Chpt 1
Peter knew they were almost to Grammy's place. The last 20 miles of the ride was down a narrow county road lined with orchards and vineyards. Eventually they'd make a left at the township hall, take a bumpy 2 mile drive down a gravel road and they'd be there.
As a boy Peter had lived for trips to Grammy's. . There was always something fun to do. Building forts in the woods in the fall. Sledding down the lane in the winter.. Spring brought a rush of new life with transplants in the cold frames and chicks in the brooder. And in the summer there was the swimming hole.
The swimming hole was a wide spot in a river that flowed through the woods on the back of the farm. Grammy had had a deck, fire pit and benches built on the river bank A rope swing, diving board and slide added to the fun.
"There's the yard with the funny gnomes. Almost there." At the sound, Peter looked over at his little sister. Mary Anne was peering out the window again, watching for the next landmark.
"Um, ya, I know," nineteen year old Peter said. "I've been here before.. You don't have to keep calling out landmarks and saying, 'almost there.' Don't be a dork"
"Peter, be nice to your sister," his mother scolded from the front seat. "I hope you two are not going to squabble the whole time we're gone. Don't be giving your Grammy a hard time."
"We'll be fine mom," Peter said, "best behavior." He poked his little sister in the ribs.
"Ya, mom, we won't do anything to bug each other, we promise," Mary Anne piped up, then stuck out her tongue at her brother. Broad grins spread across both their faces. Truth was, Peter and Mary Anne had always gotten along well while growing up and since he had returned home in May they had become even closer. Neither had a regular boyfriend or girlfriend so more and more they'd found themselves hanging out together that summer
"There's the Miner Lake boat launch. Almost there," their dad called out as they passed the turn-off.
Peter and Mary Anne burst out laughing. Even their mother's shoulders tensed for a moment or two as she stifled a giggle..
"I really do hope you kids have a good time these next two weeks. This could be your last time."
"Mom, nobody is dying" Peter said, "There will be plenty more times."
"No, not like this there won't. Mary Anne turns 18 tomorrow and next month she'll be leaving for university. Lily is already there. Kirk's vocational program is 18 months, straight through, no breaks. And who knows where you'll be next summer? Probably off to find the source of the Nile."
"Already been done, Mom. It was in all the papers."
"Ha, funny. You know what I mean. This could be the last chance for you and your cousins to be together as children. Adult responsibility is just around the corner. And you know, Grammy isn't getting any younger. I want you to make this time very special for her, please."
"It will be fine mom. It's all good." But his mother was on a roll, not to be redirected.
"Grammy is going to be on her own with four teenagers for two weeks. Go easy on her."
"Aunt Carrie will be there."
"Ya, OK, so that makes five. She may as well be a teenager. She's only 21. Oh, I hope you kids have fun. I wish I could be here for your birthday, dear. Mary Anne, don't forget to use sun screen. You've got my fair skin. You know you burn so easy
"Yes mom I do know. It will be fine."
"It will be fine, Claudia," Ken said to her from the front seat. "It's just another visit Not everyone sees things in terms of life milestones."
An awareness of the passages of life had been much on Claudia Cortez's mind this last year as she approached and then passed her fortieth birthday. She couldn't believe it, where had the years gone? And the dreams? Her life with Ken had been good but with their chicks ready to fly the nest, she didn't want to just settle into a long slide into twilight either. She still wanted some adventure. She wasn't ready to get old. Last winter, commiserating with her younger sister Connie, who was not much more than a year behind her, they had hit on the idea of a African safari. A rafting safari.
So that was the plan. The two sisters, and their husbands, Ken Cortez and Lars Bonn, were flying to Namibia and then spending a week rafting down the Okavango River, along the northern border with Angola. All told they would be out of country for two weeks.
The one fly in the ointment was the kids. True, Mary Anne had graduated high school and would soon be on her own at university but Claudia, and especially Ken, were not quite ready to let their daughter stay home alone for two weeks. Even if big brother was around. Lars and Connie felt the same about their two, Lily and Kirk. So, before anyone else really knew what was happening, the two sisters had it settled. The four of them were going to Africa and the cousins were going to have one last summer vacation on the family property with Grammy and their Aunt Carrie.
"Sure mom, I understand. I promise," Mary Anne said and looked over at Peter, prompting him with her blue eyes to speak up. But he wasn't so sure they were children anymore. For one thing, he'd noticed sister's body was finally showing some curve and it wasn't the knobby knees that drew looks to her long legs anymore. He snuck another sideways glance at her. He could just see the rise of her small breasts under the loose cloth of her shirt and wondered if she had dared bring a skimpy two piece bathing suit he knew she kept hidden far from their mother's prying eyes.
"Mom, all goofing around aside, I am really looking forward to this. We'll be fine, really and I promise not to give Grammy any grief. Now go, have fun with Aunt Connie and Uncle Lars. You need to be worrying about not getting eaten by a crocodile or stomped by a hippo or something, not worrying about us. They have snakes in Africa don't they?" he jibed, knowing his mother hated snakes.
"Uuuugh," his mother shuddered. "Ken, can I depend on you to protect me from any mean old snakes?" Then, with a quick peek over her shoulder to make sure her hand was out of the children's sight, ,she reached into her husbands lap and give his penis a quick squeeze.
"You better be on the lookout for one eyed, spitting snakes," he retorted out of the side of his mouth, only loud enough for his wife to hear.
"You know how much fun we have at Grammy's," Peter continued, unaware of his parents sexual teasing.
Claudia sat back in her seat and smiled contentedly. She was off on a great adventure with a man she loved dearly. A good man who loved her back. And there was no one she would have more preferred to share their adventure with than her sister, Connie and brother-in-law, Lars. The four of them shared a friendship that went all the way back to the elementary school playground. Of course Ken had been infected with a bad case of kooties back then and Claudia was just another slimy girl if you'd asked him but over time they had grown on each other. They'd been high school sweethearts, prom dates and married two years after high school graduation.
In balance it had been a good marriage, too. After the wedding, the newly-wed Cortez family had settled in a rural mid-Michigan county seat. Peter and then Mary Anne had come in quick succession. Ken was a terrific, involved father and a generous provider with a secure job managing a grain elevator. After the kids started school, Claudia had taken nursing courses. Together they had a six figure income. They went to church most Sundays, voted in most elections, got along with most of their neighbors and never missed the Booster Club's Annual Memorial Day Barbeque and Art Show in the village park. Life was good.
Connie Klaus and Lars Bonn had been in the same class since kindergarten and they were both active in 4-H, too, facing off several times in the show ring. So they'd long known each other. But they hadn't started dating until the summer after graduation. When their love did ignite, it blazed hot and fast. Maybe just a bit too fast, too hot because late the next winter Connie became pregnant.
It took Claudia a few days to forgive her sister. Not because she disapproved or sat in moral judgment. But Claudia had just announced that she was pregnant Even though she knew better she couldn't help suspecting her sister of some bizarre scheme to upstage her, to take away Claudia's own moment in the sun. This was her pregnant time and now her sister was trying to steal it. Of course that was silly and she soon got over it.
A wedding was hastily organized. When Connie & Lars' daughter Lily was born the following January she wasn't exactly out of wed-lock; just not the full 10 months into wedlock that is considered traditional. But there was never a baby more loved, more wanted. A son, L.K., or Little Kirk, named for her father, soon followed. As a young family of four it had been hard but Ken and Connie had scrimped and saved and sacrificed to put themselves through college. Now they were both teachers in Hingham, a small town just north of the Indiana state line, giving them a comfortable living. By all appearances the Bonn family was as ordinary and grounded as the Cortez crew.
A few minutes later they turned into the driveway. Ken pulled the car up, parking it next to a new convertible. The engine had barely gone silent before the back door flew open and Grammy came through the door.
"Claudia! Ken! And Peter, you did come after all, I am so happy. Where's Mary Anne? Let me take a look at you. Oh you are so grown up. I like the blouse dear, did you make it?"
Mary Anne's face lit up. At least someone noticed. She planned to study fashion design and merchandising this fall and did her own sewing.
