Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 12 He Ain't Heavy...

Lonnie had planned on calling Heath but had to run some errands in town first. While there he ran smack into the boy who acted polite but rather stiff,

"I know things haven't run so smoothly between us recently, Heath," Lonnie apologize, "And I know it's my fault, but I hope to rectify things. I'd like you to come to my house this weekend."

Heath looked almost stunned and Lonnie hurried on,

"I think it's well past time I had you over to meet your sisters."

Heath looked away a moment, quickly blinking back sudden and embarrassing tears.

"I already know Loni Faye, she just doesn't know I'm her half-brother."

"She does now. And both of them want you to come over."

Heath looked back and an eager look that nearly broke Lonnie's heart came over his face,

"Really?"

"You'll come then?"

"Well, if you think they want me to."

"I know they do and so do I."

With that they both became at ease and began to talk about other things, mostly Heath's school activities and plans for going to University next year. By the time they parted both of them were wearing big smiles.

Upon returning home Lonnie announced to the girls that they would meet Heath on Saturday. Jenny had already said she would not come down from her room. She could have gone shopping or across the street to her best friend Bobbi Jo's house. The truth was even though she did not want to see Heath, nor watch Lonnie with him; she couldn't bear not knowing what was happening. If she stayed up in her room and didn't play the TV she could probably hear how it went.

Saturday rolled around and when Heath arrived Lonnie was there to meet him on the walk. He seemed relaxed with his father; the way he used to be and Lonnie was relieved.

They came in the house and had just sat down when Liara came tearing into the room. It looked as though she was planning to take a header onto Heath's lap.

"Whoa, baby, take a breath," Lonnie warned and she stopped dead, her eyes riveted on Heath. He had never seen his youngest daughter so enthusiastic in front of a stranger, or almost a stranger. That was usually Loni Faye's department.

"Liara, right?" Heath grinned at her.

She nodded mutely and plopped down cross-legged on the floor, looking at him like she was afraid he would disappear in a puff of smoke.

 Lonnie Faye approached more slowly and cautiously. She rarely felt awkward in social situations, but she definitely did today. She knew who Heath was, of course, and he acted as friendly as he did at school, a confident easy smile on his face.

"Hey, Loni Faye, nice to see you."

She could not know, of course, but Heath felt equally off-balance, hoping the girls would accept him as a brother, but afraid to count on it. He told himself it didn't matter, but, of course, it did. Although he adored Brian, the man he considered his real father, he also desperately wanted to become close to his birth father. He wanted the approval of Loni Faye and Liara, but he was trying to act casual and yet to be himself just the same.

He decided to start with the subject of music, which both he and Loni Faye liked. As their conversation grew more relaxed Liara sat down right between them; assuring she would be closer to Heath and would miss nothing. She could hardly take her eyes off Heath; he looked so much like her daddy except his skin was even darker. In her opinion Lonnie was the most handsome father in the world and now she was pretty sure Heath might be the most handsome brother. Wasn't she lucky?

Loni Faye and Heath had been playing a video game when Liara couldn't stand it any more and told him,

"It's my birthday today, Heath. We're having cake and ice cream later, want to stay for supper?"

Heath looked from her to Lonnie,

"Well, I don't know..."

He hadn't asked about Jenny in any way, but Lonnie realized that Heath guessed it might be uncomfortable if he stayed.  Lonnie had told her she could either stay in her room or get over it and come down. Whether Heath stayed for supper or not shouldn't make much difference. Lonnie could whip up something for their meal without much trouble.

He nodded at him,

"We would love to have you stay."

Looking back at Liara Heath said,

"I don't have a card for you or anything."

"I don't care about that, please stay? Pretty please?"

Her sweet little face looked so earnest, how could he say no?

"Yeah, sure, I'll stay."

He remembered then that he had an extra ten dollar bill tucked away, maybe Lonnie Faye would get him an envelope. Then Liara could take the money to Wal-Mart or wherever and buy something she wanted. Ten bucks wasn't much, but there ought to be some sort of toy she could get.

When he agreed to remain for the celebration Liara started bouncing up on down on the sofa like a jumping bean. Lonnie looked at her, totally dumbfounded. It was hard to believe this was Liara, so quiet and usually so reserved with anyone outside her parents and Loni Faye. Yet he realized that from the moment she had learned she had a brother; she wanted him. Evidently not getting to meet and know Jenny's sons bothered her more than they realized. Besides, they were grown men while Heath was still in school and that made him more approachable in Liara's eyes.

Meanwhile Jenny sat up in her room mulling things over. Hearing Heath talk with her family filled her with sudden guilt. She began to realize she was being unkind to him and hurting her daughters as well.

Jenny loved kids and she just couldn't bear that she might upset any child, even one who was nearly an adult. In fact, especially one who belonged to Lonnie because, of course, she still was crazy about him. Really, it didn't matter what had happened so long ago; he was with her now, right?

So she made the decision to support Lonnie and befriend Heath.

To say Lonnie was surprised when she came downstairs was an understatement. In fact, both the girls' jaws dropped. She noticed the minute she came in Heath shot to his feet. He'd evidently been taught to be a gentleman in the old school way, she thought with admiration.

"Hi, Heath, I'm Jenny. I'm sorry I didn't come down sooner, but I had to finish paying some bills," she lied coolly as she shook his hand, "We're so glad to have you in our home."

"He's staying for my birthday, Momma!" Liara chortled, hopping from one foot to the other while Loni Faye looked at her in dismay.

"He is? That's wonderful--I hope you like chocolate cake with cream cheese icing, Heath," Jenny cooed.

"Oh, I like any kind of cake, ma'am. Thanks for having me."

She began to talk to Heath about his plans for college--he'd recently attended an orientation ceremony there with Brian, as had Loni Faye and Jenny. Lonnie Faye was actually nearly eight months older than Heath but since her birthday was in November the school system had held her back a year in school. It had worked to her benefit in her parents' opinion; she had always easily excelled scholastically and been a bit more mature than her classmates. This was how she came to be in the same class as Heath.

Lonnie was so happy at how Heath and his family was getting on he felt like singing. Then he looked over at Liara who was still agape, watching her mother and Heath, and said quietly,

"Liara."

She almost jumped and he patted up under his jaw indicating she should close her mouth. Snapping it shut, she blushed furiously. It wasn't the first time one of her parents had had to tell her that her mouth was hanging open.

"You look simple-minded when you do that, Li," Loni Faye had often warned her.

"I can't breathe if I don't leave it open! My nose holes are too small or something."

"Nostrils. And you can't just walk around like that."

"I'd like to see you live without breathing," Liara had grumbled.

But, never mind about that, her interest was caught again my Heath.

Scooping up the kitten Liara held her toward him and, interrupting his conversation with Jenny, she asked,

"Like my kitty?"

"I sure do."

"She's named Tangerina, but we call her Tangee. Do you have a cat?"

"No, we don't have a cat, but we have a big old dog named Elvis. He loves kids," Heath told her.

"He sounds nice, but no kitty? Well, you can share Tangee--you're family," Liara dimpled as Heath cuddled the kitten.

She was a cutie all right, Heath thought, no doubt about it. He had a feeling she'd get along perfectly with his kid sister, Raine. Maybe that would never happen but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a way.

"Well, I'm going to get started on dinner--I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs, Heath," Jenny smiled.

"Oh, yes, ma'am," he assured her.

Lonnie stood up, his eyes on hers,

"I'll help you."

He followed her into the kitchen. She'd made him very happy and he wanted her to know it.

Loni Faye didn't bring it up until her mother went in the other room, but then she began quietly asking questions about Heath's brothers and sisters. He didn't seem to mind at all and was happy to describe each one.

"We have three other brothers and a sister, but we've only met our sister. She's really nice and we go over there for the weekend sometimes," Liara blurted. She looked around then whispered hoarsely, "Momma was married before, but then she left and moved to this house. She was a diff...a diff...she was a difforcy, you know. then she married Daddy."

Loni Faye was mortified and said in a strangled voice,

"Liara Kaye! The word is divorcee--why don't you just get a microphone!"

Heath smiled at Liara who looked crushed and then said to Loni Faye,

"No biggie, lots of people are divorced and marry again. Kids are just blunt and they call'em as they see'em; at least I know my kid sister and brothers do.

Liara beamed at him, unconsciously batting her eyelashes, then turned furiously to her sister,

"You're not the boss, Loni Faye--DAD'S the boss. You're the not."

That cracked Heath up,

"Man, she's a trip!"

Perhaps Liara was more like Willow than Raine he chuckled to himself.

When supper was over, Lonnie brought out the cake they'd been hiding in his office and told Liara to make her wish.

His eyes were a bit misty as he watched his youngest daughter prepare to become a teenager. She looked at everyone and said quietly,

"I wish I would always be as happy as I am today!"

Everyone applauded as she blew out the candles, even Loni Faye, who said,

"That's a perfect wish, Li."

They all tucked into the cake amid talk of Liara going to high in two days.

Now when Loni Faye went on about people or events Liara would know what she was talking about. And she would get to see Heath and his sisters at school!

Lonnie looked at Jenny, a warm look in his eyes and she looked almost startled.

"Thanks, babe, you're the best," he told her.

Finally a soft smile appeared on her face. It would be all right.

Next blog update: Brian Ottomas Ch. 24 It's Raining Kids Part 1

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 11 Lonnie Tells the Girls

Lonnie stood in the doorway to the studio where his daughters were painting.

"Girls, let's go sit at the kitchen table; I need to talk to you about something serious. Bring your brushes so you can wash them before we get started."

Because of his voice and expression they said nothing; just put down their paint palettes, took their brushes in hand and meekly followed him into the kitchen.

Suddenly Liara was filled with concern that Jenny might be physically ill--seriously ill--especially since she had remained upstairs.

Loni Faye was terrified that her father would say they were getting a divorce.

Once their paint brushes were clean and laid out on a towel by the sink, the girls joined their father at the table.

"First of all, you two need to know that I love you both very much, and I love your mother. This is something that started out being separate from our lives together but can no longer remain that way. You know now that your mother had four children from her first marriage."

"Yes, Daddy," Loni Faye said.

Liara nodded, looking worried, and asked,

"Is Chelsea okay? We haven't been over there for a while."

"She's fine as far as I know. And you have three half-brothers that you haven't met yet."

This was old news and they just waited for him to come to the point.

"The thing is," he swallowed as he looked at Liara's little sweet face growing more tense. This was more difficult than he'd even thought it would be, but he went on, "You have another half-brother that you don't know about and that you haven't met, Liara. But it's likely Loni Faye knows him."

Loni Faye looked at him like he'd lost his mind,

"I know him?"

"Probably, he goes to school with you."

Suddenly the girls began to pepper him with questions.

"Who is he? What's his name?"

"I'll get to that in a moment," He addressed Loni Faye.

"So Momma had a fifth baby?"

"No," he answered Liara, "This boy is not your mother's son. He is my son with someone else."

"Were you married before like Momma was, then?"

"No, baby, Momma is the only wife I've ever had."

He glanced at Loni Faye who returned his look, worry on her face. She was guessing what he was talking about, but how would he explain this to Liara?

"Before I married your mother, there was a period when we broke up and decided to go our separate ways," Lonnie said.

"Was that when Momma was pregnant with me?"

He nodded. He knew Loni Faye thought that he and Jenny had chosen to get pregnant; she did not know that her mother had deliberately set out to get pregnant without telling him. He didn't really want to tell her now when it could affect her relationship with her mother. And she might even start to think he had not wanted her. He had not known but once he knew--he wanted her.

"Yes, it was. Unfortunately we were both acting like idiots, I was running away and your mother was...well, let's say she was trying to deal with the way I was then."

Liara still looked confused but said nothing.

"So during that time I dated several women. I didn't know it then but one of them got pregnant, but never told me. Not until a few years ago. She had a son and wanted me to know because she had just told him about me. He wanted to see me, although he was a bit torn, and I definitely wanted to see him. He was eleven years old and I started taking him places and getting to know him. He's 17 now and a senior. His name is Heath Ottomas.

Both girls looked stunned,

"But, Daddy, I know Heath. We're both in band!" Loni Faye burst out, "How will I look him in the face again?"

Liara almost whispered,

"I know Willow and Rocky Ottomas."

"That's right, Willow is his half-sister and Rocky is his half-brother," Lonnie nodded, "Are they in the same class with you, Li?"

"Um, Willow is older she started high, but I guess Rocky is younger," Loni Faye answered for Liara, "But we had her over for a play date with Liara a couple years ago. Daddy, why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I was a coward about dealing with it," he admitted honestly.

The sisters looked at each other; they knew who he was scared to tell. That's why he and Momma had a fight and that's why she hadn't come back downstairs. Loni Faye could see why her mother would be upset; but she was totally devoted to her father. And she had been resenting Jenny's constant jealousy of Lonnie for a while.

Liara didn't seem to be worrying about any of that,

"A brother--a real brother we could actually talk to," she suddenly looked hopeful, "Can we meet him? Does he know about us?"

"Yes, he knows about you. And I would like to have him come here, meet you and get to know you and I'd like you to get to know him."

Lonnie was beyond surprised when Liara, usually more reticent than the outgoing Loni Faye, clapped her hands in delight.

"I can't wait!"

Loni Faye frowned and ventured,

"What about...you know...what about Momma?"

"I'll handle that," he assured her quietly.

She shook he head doubtfully,

"Heath is way popular. Um, are you sure he'll want to come?"

"Sweetheart, as far as I can tell you are "way popular". It's a miracle you don't happen to hang out together."

"No, I'm a band geek, but he's like a triple-threat Superboy; he's not just in band, he plays football and basketball, he's on the debating team and the swim team. All these girls are after him but his girlfriend, Maddie, is the only one he pays attention to. I'm not saying he's stuck up because he isn't, it's just..this is so weird. I can't believe he knew and I didn't. I feel like a dork."

"It's not either weird, Loni!" Liara protested, "I always wanted a brother. When can we meet him Daddy?"

"Hopefully as soon as I can arrange it. Now, I suggest you don't talk about this with your mother until and unless she brings it up herself," Lonnie regretfully warned them.

"Don't worry about that," Loni Faye muttered darkly, "I'm not suicidal."

Liara looked at her father solemnly and then pantomimed "zipping" her lips and locking them with an imaginary key.

"I understand; your lips are sealed," he couldn't resist smiling, "I think now it might be good to get this off your mind for a while. Would both of you help me in the kitchen? I'm going to make breakfast for dinner--sausage pancakes or western omelets?"

"Pancakes!" both girls chorused, smiling.

Lonnie suddenly remembered that not much interfered with youngsters' appetites for sweets, even after an emotional revelation.

"Go wash your hands then, and put the brushes back in the studio," he said as he headed to the refrigerator.

Next blog update: Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 12 He Ain't Heavy...

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 6 Over the Holidays

With the holidays looming, Jenny went Christmas shopping for the girls at Inner Child Toys. This was the new toy shop which featured hand-made toys as well as the usual mass-produced variety. She purchased a couple of adorable old-fashioned teddy bears, two new video games and three remote controlled toys. Outdoor items were available; a water wiggler, and she bought two of the spin and twirl rides. She was sure they'd be excited about those, although they could not be used until warm weather came again.

Afterward, she went by Larry Max's cafe; she just couldn't wait any longer to see it. The food was down home and delicious as she knew it would be. He was quite busy, but he stopped long enough to have a few words with her. She was amazed to hear of his recent move to a new house and realized with a start that he was ripe to enjoy attention from some woman or another, after all these years.

Of course, I'm happy for him, she thought, it's just that I guess I never really thought about him with another woman. I wonder if he has his eye on anyone in particular...

The week before Christmas Jenny and Lonnie and the girls attended the school Christmas pageant, where the girls sang carols with their class, and a holiday party over at the Cooke's house across the street. So they actually enjoyed the fact that it was just them; Lonnie, Jenny, Loni Faye and Liara, on Christmas Eve. However; this was not unusual for them. They had cultivated few friends since they married. Jenny had already known Bobbi Jo Cooke from back when she was still married to Larry Max and she'd remained a loyal friend. Lonnie was casual friends with a good many of his customers (and his all-female staff, which irritated Jenny) and he still  saw Nicky Ferguson from time to time, but their life was still insular. Of course, Loni Faye and Liara needed their parents attention anyway, but the truth was that both of their reputations had been somewhat unsavory, especially Jenny's. Many of her one-time neighbors had been avoiding her since before her divorce. Mostly these consisted of wives who, naturally enough, took a dim view of someone who treated their marriage vows as cavalierly as Jenny had. Lonnie didn't fare quite so badly due to a combination of the fact that one; he had been single when he wandered from woman to woman and, two, there was definitely a double standard alive and well in Pleasantview.

But on this evening they were unconcerned about their popularity or lack thereof; they were happy to be celebrating the holiday with their precious daughters. When Santa Claus made his appearance, Jenny and Lonnie were still up; but the girls were fast asleep. Or so their parents thought. In reality, Loni Faye had been so revved up that she couldn't sleep; Santa was coming at any moment! So she went into Liara's bedroom and woke her drowsy sister up to wait with her for the sound of sleigh bells. Soon she had Liara wide awake and practically dancing with excitement as well.

When they heard someone chuckling in a deep voice, they scampered downstairs. Once Loni Faye saw Santa in the flesh she began hopping up and down and laughing.

Impulsively, she ran over to him crying out,

“Merry Christmas, Santa!”

Throwing her arms around him as though he was family, she even cajoled him into playing “Red Hands” with her.

Bashful Liara ducked her head and quietly started playing with the new toys.

After admonishing Loni Faye and Liara to be good girls so he could bring them lots of nice things next Christmas, too, Santa was on his way. The girls had fun with their new teddies and toys while their parents cuddle on the sofa.

After the girls were safely ensconced in their beds Jenny couldn't help but think of her other children. She did every year at this time especially. They would all be celebrating together at the Big House tomorrow. Even thought Larry Max had moved out, their youngest son, Andy, lived there with his wife Holly and they would be throwing a big-old-fashioned get-together. She knew because Larry Max had told her. She also knew that her youngest son Andy had three babies now, the twins who were two, Arliss and Alexa, and a new baby boy, Bradley. Andy had not called to tell her, but his wife had sent an announcement with a photo of the newborn and a wallet-sized professional photo of the twins. She didn't remember Holly among Andy's high school friends back in the day--they didn't date until college--but she appreciated her thoughtfulness. Their children were the first grandchildren Jenny had. She was not particularly happy to be old enough for grandchildren. Lonnie was 15 years younger than her and she was very conscious of the fact. However; she wanted very much to see them. As for Chelsea and her husband, Jenny hardly remembered Trey. He'd dated Chelsea during her last two years of high school, but Jenny was gone from the house by that time. Mike's wife, Lucy, she'd never met at all because they didn't get together until college. She knew they were all thinking that this was what she deserved and she guessed they were right. But her heart still ached to see and talk to her four oldest children and their families. Only Corky kept in touch at all and that was by phone two or three times a year. She didn't know his wife, Elle, either, but they always sent a Christmas card.

"Maybe this next year will be the one where your sons and daughter will want to see you again," Lonnie said hopefully and Jenny realized he knew where her thoughts were. She only nodded; she didn't trust herself to speak without tears and she would not ruin their Christmas. She had given up everything to have Lonnie and their daughters, and never regretted it, but in the last few years she was more and more torn. They were her very life and she would die for them. But at the time she turned her back on her former life she had realized all that she was losing or how impossible it would be to ever get any piece of it back. For years now she had still hoped to have her cake and eat it, too. Now she acknowledged at last that she had made choices and they had consequences attached to them.

The snow was once more falling softly outside as Jenny tried to sleep, Lonnie's arms tight around her. There had to be some way to unite her youngest daughters with Chelsea and the rest of the family. Now she not only wanted it for Chelsea and herself, but for Loni Faye and Liara, tool. Maybe Lonnie was right; maybe this year would be the one where she could make a miracle happen.

Next blog update: Brian Ottomas Ch. 11 Back Home From Three Lakes

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 7 Winter, Spring and Summer

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 5 Still a Work in Progress

Lonnie was worried; the grand opening of Le Magnifique! had not gone smoothly: there were fewer customers than expected, and then the first two employees were a mess, so he had to fire them and immediately hire two more. The only thing that more than fulfilled his expectations was that he had made no mistake with Elaine; she was a magnificent and enthusiastic chef.

However; the next couple days at Le Magnifique! were definitely busier and more successful. Lonnie was finding out that owning and managing his own business concern was much more tiring than hosting his own show. He could tape those shows and only work 3 days a week. Meanwhile, while she was a hard worker, even Elaine could get worn out. He sent her home early one night and took over as chef for the evening. And Lonnie has already spelled Chris as host while she took a much needed break.

 

At home Liara brought home a new friend from school, Brook Ottomas. They got along well and planned to visit each other often. Jenny saw no problem with this and said she would call Brook’s mother to see when Liara could go to their house.

The restaurant was closed on Mondays and to relax the tension he felt in his mind and body Lonnie practiced his piano playing while Loni Faye danced to the music.

That night something happened that  they would never forget. They had a frightening home invasion. Their alarm went off but the thief was already in the house. A Pleasantview policeman was there johnny-on the spot, but he did a lousy job. Jenny and Lonnie were alarmed to see that the girls had awakened and were rushing down right into the fracas. Grabbing them and pushing them behind her Jenny thought, well, he’ll have to get to Lonnie and me first to get to them.  She was a tigress with her cubs, ready to attack this interloper the moment he made a move toward them. The burglar was preoccupied with the fight he was having with the cop, though.

 

The burglar got away and the cop shrugged and said,  

“There goes my promotion”.

Loni Faye sniffed then muttered under her breath,

“Some crime-stopper.”

She was about to elaborate and in a louder voice when Lonnie gave her a warning look and she said no more. Then she realized that the burglar had stolen one of her favorite paintings and she began to cry. At least he had left the other family paintings alone; the ones painted by Jenny and Lonnie, but still he came in their home to take their things. Soon Liara was joining in with her own tears.

Right after the policeman left and as the children were about to crawl into bed Jenny looked out her bedroom window and saw that it had begun to snow—beautiful fat flakes that were accumulating quickly. It was only early November, they had not even celebrated Thanksdiving Day yet, but winter was here for sure.

Lonnie went to the restaurant on Monday (the place was closed on Sundays and Mondays) and in the deserted kitchen prepared all sorts of desserts for the next day to serve and to sell. Making chocolate-chocolate cakes, berry pies, cherry-cheesecake, he would have to make the baked alaska and freeze it so that patrons could set it aflame when they served it at home and the servers could light it just before they took it to the table. He would now need a cashier.

When Lonnie first bought Le Magnifique! he had intended to make the upstairs a game room on the way out to the al fresco dining on the roof. It had a lovely view of the ocean and could be used in warm weather. Soon he had seen that the pinball machines and dartboards were waylaying people from the outdoor tables and ordering. Even when it was too cold to use the balcony, people wondered up there after eating instead of paying and moving on. There was no money being made if they rushed upstairs to play free pinball after their meal. He realized if he kept it that way he would need a manager just for the upstairs. Now he decided to remove the games, and put in a bathroom just for his own needs with a bath and a shower. He was at the restaurant so many hours he would need it. This left a smaller lounge area for the customers, but hopefully would pave the way to the fresh air dining come spring.

 

Loni Faye had recently decided that  not only would she someday be a virtuoso on the piano and cook like a celebrity chef (just like her father), but also learn to paint like her mother. Jenny was a much better artist than Lonnie, and almost as good a cook, but had never been to culinary school or art school.

Right now Liara was content to merely enjoy her childhood, never mind about the future. Jenny had just begun her first novel about a teenage couple from a southern state who must raise their child and grow up at the same time.

It was now winter and as the weeks went by the family was busy with various things. Loni Faye had her many friends over after school and on Saturdays and practiced the piano, too. Liara loved make believe and played often with her doll house. As always she spent lots of hours at the play-station as well, using the blocks and drawing pictures. When Jenny wasn’t working on her novel she was in her studio working with her pottery.

Lately Jenny had been complaining that the family never had any time together with Lonnie gone so much so on his next weekend, Lonnie took Jenny and the girls to the Wonderland Ice Skating Rink. Loni Faye and Liara were so happy to be going out to do something with their parents that they wouldn’t have cared what it was or where they were going, but the ice skating rink was so much fun they were close to ecstatic.  Lonnie and Loni Faye practiced their spins together while Jenny worked with Liara, teaching her to skate. While there the girls ran into Loni Faye’s friend, Christopher Cooke. Jenny could see that he had a little crush on Loni Faye and that he was thrilled when she agreed to do some spins with him.

 

Poor Lonnie took some terrible spills, in fact, they all took at least one tumble before the afternoon was over.

By suppertime and after many falls and fun on the ice they all trooped home to take hot baths that would hopefully ease their sore muscles.

It was now getting close to Christmas and Lonnie decided it was a good time to make a Baked Alaska for the family. Later that night the couple read to relax before bed. Both had begun to wonder if the sweet romance and incredible excitement they had always felt for each other were gone from their marriage forever…

Next update: Harvey and Lori Ferguson Ch. 5 Takemizu Village


Next chapter on the Jenny Lomas Hammond Family HERE