Dangerous Hilarity

by Sioux Dallas

  “Did you teach these rascals, young lady?”

  “Yes, sir. I did and it was a lot of fun. I’m proud of my brothers.”

  “Rightly you should be. They’re both doing extremely well.”

  “Dan, my man, you did well, but you did drag on the speed. Apparently you were unsure. I would far rather that you start like that and then pick up speed with experience and confidence than be a speed demon and have an accident. You did well.”

  “Jimmy, you didn’t check anything before you pulled out. Otherwise, you were good. All of you are going to do well when you go for your test. The written part will be first. If you pass it, then you’ll be taken on the street by a designated state police. Just be yourself. I’m pleased that you boys waited until you were old enough, and mature enough, to do the job well. Too many youngsters start too early and aren’t mentally or emotionally ready. I’m giving each of you the notes I made. Good luck to all of you.”

  “Thanks a million, Uncle Earl and Cpl. Thurbow. This started out as a bet as to who could do the best.”

  “Jimmy, driving is a big responsibility. You’re not only responsible for your vehicle, your passengers, but also other drivers on the road. It isn’t smart to try to outdo others. A car can be a dangerous weapon if not handled correctly. I have a Virginia State Highway Manuel for each of you to study for your test. Keep it in the glove compartment after you have a license.”

  “Excuse me, sir,” Alex spoke to Sgt. Dodd. “Do you have an extra copy of the manual I might have? I’d like to learn what is required. I drove illegally and carelessly, and now two innocent girls and I are paying for it, I caused trouble and heartache for other families. I’m honestly sorry for that, but it’s too late to be sorry. The damage is done.”

  “It’s never too late to be sorry and recognize our mistakes. Don’t give up. Keep exercising. You’re young yet and you don’t know what might be in your future. There are special built cars for your needs.”

  They were interrupted by a figure yelling and running into the group. “Am I too late? Don’t tell me I’m too late. I wanted to watch.”

  Tom squatted in front of David, looking at him in surprise. “Where’s mom and dad?”

  “Oh, I guess they’re at home. I’m big enough to come by myself.”

  “David,” Anna spoke firmly, did you tell mom and dad where you would be?”

  “No. Cause they wouldn’t uh let me come,” he pouted.

  Tim glared at the others for giggling. Sgt. Dodd quickly caught on and squatted down in front of David.

  “Young man, did you cross streets and traffic to get here?”

  “Yes,” David said softly, hanging his head and hunching his shoulders.

  “And you didn’t ask your parents’ permission?”

  “No, I didn’t” David said loudly. “I didn’t ask cause they’d uh said no.”

  “My goodness. They’re probably crying their eyes out wondering what happened to you. They must feel awfully bad. Do you know why they worry?”

  “They don’t need to worry. I’m big enough to cross the street.” David now looked defiantly at the officer, but there was a hint of tears. He held up his arms for Tim to pick him up. “I just wanted to be with you.”

  Sgt. Dodd quickly stood and took David’s hand. “Come on. I’m taking you home.”

  “No!” David yelled. “I go with my sister and brothers.”

  “Not this time, son. You did something wrong, so you have to go with me to talk to your parents. You know I could put you in jail. Or if your parents are not caring about you, I can put them in jail, son.”

  “Not your son,” David stamped his foot.

  “David,” Anna spoke. “Go with the policeman and mind your manners. If we had done something wrong, we would have to go with him. We’ll meet you at the house.” David stood still. “NOW David.”

  “I thought you loved me,” David sobbed.

  “Don’t start that,” Tom said. “You know we love you but when we make a mistake we have to face it. You said you were big enough to cross the street, well, be big enough to go with the policeman.”

  David crawled in the seat of the officer’s car and slumped down. As the car pulled away the Jacksons had to turn away so David wouldn’t see their sad faces.

  “It breaks my heart,” Alex said with a catch in his throat. “How could you stand there and do that to the little fellow?”

  “He won’t learn any younger,” Anna answered. “If we always let him get by with what he wants, he’ll get into serious trouble because he’ll never learn to analyze a situation and maybe he would endanger many lives with his thoughtlessness. I’m sorry, Alex, but you, of all people, should know what we’re doing.”

  Alex hung his head. “Yeah. I know. I wouldn’t be in the shape I’m in if someone had loved me enough to lay down the law when I was younger. You’re right.” He turned to push his chair away.

  “Thanks for coming to give us support, Alex.” Tom said. “We appreciate it. We’ll pick you up next Wednesday at six for church.” Alex nodded and left.

  Irene was sitting with tears in her eyes but not speaking. Herb looked sadly at David. “Son, why did you run away? We thought you loved us and were happy here. We were so afraid you wouldn’t come home again. Suppose Chuckles had followed you and got hit by a car. How would that make you feel?”

  David hung his head and cried. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see the boys drive for the policeman.”

  Sgt. Dodd put an arm around David. “I think David now knows what he did was wrong and caused you a lot of worry. I bet he’ll tell you from now on where he’s going. Won’t you, David?”

  David nodded. “I am sorry.” He sobbed louder. Irene opened her arms and ran into them. Anna and the twins walked in.

  Sgt. Dodd stood up. “I have to go. I told my brother that my partner and I would be joining them for dinner. Thank you for including me in your driver training. You’re wise to want to be safe, courteous drivers.”

  “You boys are going to be excellent drivers,” Cpl Thurbow said and left.

  David,” Herb looked at him, “go to your room and stay there until I come up. You need to think about what you’ve done and I need to think what I’m going to do about it.”

  “But I said I’m sorry,” David protested. Slapping his feet on the stairs he went on up to his room mumbling to himself.

  “I don’t know whether to hug him or yell at him,” Tom sighed. “We explained to him how busy we would be and that there wouldn’t be anything for him to enjoy, but he did as he pleased. What do you do with a kid who does as he pleases without thinking?”

  Herb threw his head back and laughed loudly. “I remember a boy who climbed out his bedroom window before daylight and scared the stuffing out of all of us.”

  “Don’t forget the walrus and the exploding shed,” Tim grinned. “Oh, yes, and the scare at the Grand Canyon.”

  Tom blushed and stammered. He smiled weakly as the family laughed and prepared for bed.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The next morning, after breakfast, the family gathered in the den. Herb took David on his lap and hugged him. “David, you must always remember this that we love you and we think we’re lucky to have you. You’ve been going with the boys when they take chuckles to the hospital and nursing home. To make sure you remember your mistake of yesterday, you cannot go with them all next week.”

  “That’s not fair,” David yelled.

  “Was it fair that you left without permission and worried us so much and placed yourself in danger?”

  Pouting, David slowly shook his head.

  A few days later David came skipping into the kitchen. “How much longer, Mom?”

  She knew what he meant. “Just a couple more days and you can go with your brothers. I’m sure you’ve learned to tell us before you do something.” He grinned and kissed her cheek.

  “Can I have some cookies and milk?”

  “May I?”

 
“Sure, you can. You’re big and can have what you want.”

  Irene bit back a smile. “Being big doesn’t mean you get what you want.”

  The twins celebrated their birthday by receiving their driver’s license. As David’s birthday was the next week, the twins planned a surprise for him. Herb and Irene smiled at each other. The twins were doing for David what had been done for them over the years.

  Tom and Tim were delighted to meet new students at their school. Twins Michelle and Martin Winfield had moved to Fairfax from Indiana. Their father had been transferred to Washington, D.C. to work for the government after he came home from Iraq.

  “Do you have a room together?” Martin asked the twins in surprise.

  “No. We did when we were smaller, but after we returned from Alaska, dad had a big room built downstairs and two bedrooms over it upstairs. David has our old room.” Tim explained

  “None of my business. I just thought it might be inconvenient to have any privacy if two grown boys roomed together. Naturally, my twin being a girl necessitates us having two rooms.”

  “We figured we’d have roommates when we go to college and we decided not to room together so we could meet more people,” Tom explained.

  A few days later the twins talked to David about celebrating his first birthday with them. He would be a big seven. “David, would you like for us to drive you to a park where there are a lot of rides and fun things?”

  “Just you and Tim and me?” he asked excitedly.

  “You know Tim and I will be going to college soon and you need to have buddies your own age. Why don’t you invite some friends from school to go with us?”

  “We’ll see,” David copied Herb.

  On Thursday evening Tim called to David. He ran into the room and climbed on Tim’s lap. “Why don’t you call Eddie and Chuck and invite them to go with you for your birthday in the park?”

  “They wouldn’t be interested.”

  “You won’t know until you ask them.”

  David finally agreed to call them. He turned from the phone with wide, happy eyes. “They want to go. They want to be my friend,” he said as if he couldn’t believe it.

  “Well, why wouldn’t they want a great guy like you for a friend?” Irene asked him hugging him.

  “I never had a friend before,” he said excited.

  “Never? None at all?” Tom was surprised.

  “No. My real daddy said me and him were friends and that’s all we’d need.”

  The twins and Irene looked at each other. “David, why don’t you go get an ice cream bar,” Irene suggested and he ran off. “That explains his immature social skills. Why would a man do that to a bright, little boy?”

  “Mom, remember we were told that the parents shunned David’s parents after they were married. Apparently it hurt his father to the point he rejected everyone except his own family.” Tom surmised.

  Tim brightened up. “We’ll see that he has friends of his own age and learns to socialize. That explains why he clings to us. I thought it was just because he met us first, but he’s used to one adult.” David came in eating the ice cream and Irene asked him to take it to the kitchen.

  David, Eddie and Chuck had a whopping good time. Tim staggered into the house that evening. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk straight for a week. We rode so many rides that my brain hasn’t caught up yet.”

  Tom dropped to the couch with a groan. “Dad, Mom, how did you stand us growing up? Keeping up with three little energetic boys was a major effort. I’m really tired trying to keep up with them.”

  “You learn fast,” Herb smiled at the twins. “Think how we felt after having a well-behaved little girl and then two energetic boys came along. You’re getting practice for your own little boys in the future. Far in the future, I hope.”

  “Oh, no,” Tom groaned. “Right now I feel as if I’ll never get married. I’m afraid I’d half kill a kid of mine if he acted like I did,” He collapsed on the couch and his parents laughed loudly.

  The remainder of the school year passed quickly and summer vacation started. The phone rang and Tim reached it first. He listened. “Thank you for calling, Mrs. Fuller.” He hung up and looked sad.

  “What is it?” Irene asked.

  “Trina went into a violent seizure and is in the hospital. Her mother thought we would want to know.”

  David surprised them by saying, “Why don’t we ask God to take care of her?”

  “Excellent idea, son,” Herb said as the family gathered for prayer.

  The next day the twins went to the hospital. Mrs. Fuller was in Trina’s room. The boys were disturbed seeing so many tubes and gurgling machines on Trina and her head wrapped in a bandage.

  “What’s happened now?” Tom whispered. At that moment the doctor slipped in.

  “Why don’t you folks come out in the hall and I’ll try to explain.” they quietly followed him. “We found a blood clot forming on the brain. Another result of that senseless accident. We drilled in and drained it. All we can do now is wait.”

  “Did everything look good to you after the surgery?” Tim asked.

  “It sure did. I have a good feeling that little lady will have some good news after this.” His pager sounded. “Sorry, I have to run.”

  The twins kept checking on Trina even though only family was allowed in the room with her. A week later, when they went to the hospital, they were pleasantly surprised to meet Trina walking shakily in the hall with her hand on Hope’s back.

  “Guess what,” Trina was thrilled. “The doctors think I’ll not have any more seizures unless something unexpected happens.” His expression changed to sadness. “I guess you’ll want Hope back. I’ve learned to love her and would like to keep her.”

  “We know how you feel, but we never intended to give her up for good.”

  “I understand, but I do love her.”

  “We won’t separate you. Visit her any time you want.”

  The people at Canine Wonders rejoiced with Trina at her good news. John talked to the twins. “Boys, would you consider donating Hope to our program? We need more like her.”

  “No.” Both boys answered quickly. Tom looked thoughtful. “Do you know of a healthy, registered Malamute that could be bred with Hope? Our mother will be upset, but we’ll talk to her about donating the puppies to your program. They could be trained from the beginning.”

  Two weeks later John called them. “I found a dog like you wanted and we approve of him. Keep a check on Hope and when she’s ready to be bred, bring her in.”

  Chuckles and Hope both continued to visit the Children’s Hospital. They never forgot how to deal with the children.

  “David, come here,” Tom called. David ran from the back yard with Chuckles and Hope in hot pursuit. He stopped to stare at the two strange boys. “David, these are our good friends from Alaska. This is Benjamin Yoakno Eskise and he’s a real Eskimo. This is Charles Running Horse and he’s a real Indian. We just picked them up at the airport. They’ve come all the way from Alaska to see us and meet you.” David just stared.

  All through dinner David sat unusually silent. After dinner Tom and Tim excused themselves to take Ben and Charlie to visit Alex. Friends in Alaska had been told all about the friends and problems here in Virginia. Everyone looked puzzled when David didn’t beg to go with them.

  David took his bath, brushed his teeth, said his prayers and got into bed.

  Irene and Herb sat on the bed to read to him. They grew concerned because this was not like David to be so quiet and still. Was he sick?

  “Why are you so quiet, son. Don’t you feel well?” Herb gathered David in his arms. David still said nothing.

  Irene put a hand on his forehead and then stroked his cheek. “Sweetie, we can’t help you if we don’t know why you’re upset.”

  “Are those boys going to stay here?”

  “They’re just here for a visit, then they’ll go back to Alaska. Why? Don’t you like them? They came
to meet you.”

  “Tom and Tim like them better than they like me.”

  “Where did you get that idea? Of course the boys like their friends, but they love you. You’re their brother.”

  “They went off with those guys and didn’t even ask me to go.”

  “Oh, darling,” Irene reached to take him in her arms. “Tom and Tim are a lot older than you and those boys are their age. When you get as big as they are, you can stay up later and go out with your friends.”

  “Is that all?”

  “You betcha bottom dollar, cowboy,” Herb grinned. “I’m going to read a story and you’re going to scoot down, close your eyes and have beautiful dreams.” Chuckles whined and put his head on the bed, then sighed and lay down on the floor.

  “Chuckles doesn’t understand why you’re upset. He thinks there’s something wrong with you. Calm down. This story is about a dog and a cat who became good friends and protected each other.”

  The twins invited Mark and Jimmy to go to a theme park with them. The six boys had a great day. It was the first time Ben and Charlie had ridden a roller coaster.

  Ben had brought a video of Greatheart. It included the town and some of the people. The best part was Chief Houmay kneeling with his arm around Greatheart and grinning widely. The boys’ visit went by much too quickly.

  Charlie and Ben won David’s friendship by telling him about their exciting times when the twins lived in Alaska. They told him about Galena and Greatheart. He was very proud when they bragged on Chuckles. Charlie and Ben were thrilled with the hospital visit and the one to Canine Wonders.

  When Ben and Charlie were taken to the airport, David hugged them and told them he wanted them to come back. “I’m glad you came.”

  “We loved meeting you, sport. Wouldn’t you like to visit us in Alaska? You could see Greatheart and a sled dog race and a lot of fun things.”

  The twins had a summer job which helped them earn money for college. Their volunteer work and church work went on as usual. Anna worked every day at Canine Wonders.

  One night, after David was in bed, the family was enjoying a quiet time. Tom stirred. “Mom, I’ve been thinking over what’s happened since we returned to Virginia. You could write another book about Alex learning the hard way and Trina’s and Meg’s misfortunes. Hillary learning to share and open her heart to others and how Hope worked with Trina. Millie is making a great therapy dog. Knowing Marshall was special. David coming to be part of our family and Hope having babies to donate to help people.