Ann entered into her parent's summer home and was surprised to see that the house was still in good shape. Her father passed away and all of his estate was left to her. The summer home in Iowa was his only real property and the rest of the estate was liquid assets. She hadn't been there since the late 1950's. The house only needed dusting and cleaning. Ann walked through each room and then entered on the covered back porch which looked out to the high wooded hills rising up from the flat fields of corn. Her journey back to the family summer home was to decide to keep it or sell it but as she sat and rocked on a noisy old porch swing, the place just brought back memories, pleasant ones at that.
Ann's father graduated architectural college before the World War II and spent most of his career designing ammunition plants for the army. Her father's parents passed away during the war and he inherited the family farm of his youth. He sold most of the flat agricultural acreage to the neighbors but kept about the 50 acres of scenic woods and the home with the entrance to the county highway. After the war, he had the old house torn down and replaced it with a new contemporary ranch home. At least what was contemporary for 1946. It was intended to be the family's summer or vacation home.
Her father traveled extensively and she remembered her many summers there with just her mother and the weekend visit or occasional week with her father. Then she remembered all of the photos. Her mother had a passion for photos and was self taught in photography including developing. Ann leaped from the porch swing and went into her father's architectural studio/library. She headed towards the bookcases passing his dusty drafting table with the drawing tools still scattered about. Ann stacked the old photo albums in her arms and carried as many as she could to the porch swing. She placed the stack on the wooden porch floor then sat on the porch swing with the first album, looking over the black felt sheets that held the old black & white photos. She felt so relaxed and calmer than she had in years. 1970 hadn't been a good year for her as she was recently divorced, had a daughter that just graduated high school, and a son that was a day or two from being draft age. Ann was fed up with her life as it was and the general events going on in the country. She hated to see her son being drafted. So unfair! Life was so much better for her in that summer house during the 1950's.
Then one of those provoking thoughts came to her. Maybe she should gave it all up and disappear on the farm with her kids. "Yeah" she thought, "Just drop out just like Leary said." Her son had no social security number yet, not registered for the draft, and no criminal record. If they just left, how could he be traced or found? She had enough funds from her alimony and her father's estate to live comfortably for a number of years. She didn't know if he kids would like it there but why not. Would the kids want to live there in seclusion? She decided keep the house and go into seclusion if the kids were willing to go along with it. She worked hard the next few days sprucing up the summer home. She was going to have her children come up for a short vacation since it was the beginning of June and then approach them with the idea.
The return drive back to her home seemed quicker than before as her mind was buzzing with everything that would need to be done. She picked up her children from her ex husband's place then spent the next few hours telling her children about the summer home and how beautiful it was. They seemed to be interested in their mother's chatter about the summer house but seemed slightly distant. She picked up on the faint smell of marijuana about them and figured what was up. She didn't disapprove of pot as she had enjoyed it on several occasions but wanted her children to be careful with it as it was very illegal in their state.
"So what about the three of us going up there for a couple of weeks for vacation?" asked Ann.
"Works for me" said her son, Pete. "I've got nothing going on."
Her daughter, Laura, seemed more excited than her brother and said, "I can use the break. I don't know if work will let me off but screw them, I am going to quit anyway. Can your work let you go?"
Ann smiled and said, "They know that I need some time to settle the estate and while it may be with out pay, I have some money to cover us for awhile. I think all of us need the break."
"How come we have never been up there before?" asked her son.
"Because your father didn't like it there and he didn't like my parents very much." Ann said with a scowl.
"Sorry Mom." said her son quietly. "I didn't mean to bring up Dad in the conversation. I understand."
Ann dropped the subject and told her children. "Ok...well it will take about to wrap my personal affairs here and you should do the same. I want to leave next Monday and we should be there for about three weeks. That OK with everyone?"
Her son and daughter nodded in agreement. Both were anxious to get some vacation as it had been a few years since they had been anywhere. The year or two before their parents divorce and the divorce itself left little time for play and was a tough time on everyone. Laura was glad to be out of school but had no real plans for her future. She hated her small time job and her high school boyfriend dumped when he went to college. Pete was going to turn 18 in a few days which would make him draft eligible. The only good thing was that he had one more semester to graduate high school and it delayed him from the draft. Many of his friends who graduated on time had received their notices and were shipping off. The vacation would be welcomed by all in the family.
Time passed quickly and that Monday morning they packed their suitcases into their mother's car. Pete slept for several hours in the backseat while his mother drove and chatted with her daughter in the front seat. There was going to be a long stretch of driving on the highway with no turns or change in directions which seemed to be a good time for Ann to take a break and let her daughter drive for a few hours. As they got closer to Des Moines, Ann took over and guided the car through the capital then north to where the flat rolling farmland meets heavily wooded hills. Pete woke up and watched out the window as the car left the highway for a state road then after crossing a set of railroads track made a right turn onto a dusty dirt road. They seemed to be on the dirt road for some time until they came to a post box with their grandfather's last name on it. Ann almost missed it, stopped, backed up a few feet, and turned on to another dirt road leading to the summer home. They pulled up to the house and everyone wearily got out of the car, stretched and looked around.
"The house looks nice" said her daughter. "I thought it was going to be some run down farm shack."
"Oh no." smiled his mother. "My dad was an architect not a farmer. Pete, help us with the bags."
Pete picked up more than his share of the baggage and followed his mother to the front door. After she unlocked the door, they proceeded to bring in the bags and groceries. She directed certain bags to the bedrooms and then to kitchen. Ann said to the kids, "I hope you don't mind sharing the bedroom but the house only has two bedrooms. Yours has a queen size bed but if one of are uncomfortable with it, you can sleep with me in my bed." The children rolled their eyes but said nothing back to their mother. After the car was emptied, Ann proceeded to put groceries away in the pantry or refrigerator. "Take a look around" said their mother. "You have never been here before so check out the house. Tomorrow I'll show you some of the trails and the swimming hole."
Pete and his sister looked around the house, poking their head into each room, then exited to the back porch. They walked around the outside of the house and returned to the back porch. "So, what do you think?" asked Pete.
"It's a lot nicer than I thought." Laura said. "Very quiet out here. I like the countryside and I think it will be like camping with all the comforts of home."
"At least there is a TV." joked her brother. "I hope I don't get bored out here. Really don't look like much to do"
"I know" sighed his sister. "Wasn't that much happening at home either. I wouldn't worry about it. You sleep through almost everything anyway."
Pete didn't respond to his sister remark. "Hey something smells good."
"Smells like mom is frying chicken" said Laura. "I didn't realize how hungry I was."
"Me too." said Pete. "You know we haven't eaten since we left this morning."
Brother and sister walked from the porch to the kitchen. The kitchen was heavy with the smell of fried chicken and the sound of popping grease. Ann turned her head towards her children and said, "Glad you came in. Dinner is almost ready. Can you go in that second cupboard and set the table? Rinse the plates off in the sink first. They haven't been used for awhile. The forks and stuff are in that corner drawer. Pete and Laura worked quickly and had the table set as their mother just finished cooking. Ann placed a large paper lined bowl of chicken on the table then a paper lined bowl of fries. "Its quick country cooking so I hope you like it." Ann opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of champagne. "Pete can you open this? I think we should celebrate our get away with something special." Pete opened the cork which echoed in the high ceiling kitchen then poured the bubbling liquid from one green table glass to other until each one had more liquid than foam in it. They began to sit and eat.
"This is the best." said Laura. "This is so good. How come you never made this at home?"
"I have." smiled her mother. "It just tastes better here in the country. I forgot...We need a toast. To just us and a peaceful but fun couple of weeks." Everyone clinked their green table glasses together then took a drink. The family chatted and ate until nothing was left except for the greasy paper towels in the bowls. "Laura, help me with the dishes and Pete, you can help dry them in a few minutes." Pete went out on the back porch for a minute as the girls cleaned the table and ran hot water in the sink to wash them. The sun had set and it was black outside except for the stars.
"I have never seen some many stars in the sky in my life" thought her son. The quiet of the day was replaced by the loud droning of crickets and cicadas. There was a pleasant cool evening breeze replacing the heat of the day. Pete began to daydream but perked up when he heard his mother call his name. He came back in and began to dry the stack of wet dishes that his sister and mother worked on. After everything was finished, they turned out the kitchen lights and went into the living room to watch TV for awhile. Ann flipped the switch and turned the turner dial to see what was on one of three stations that they could receive. "This is a black and white TV" moaned her son.
Ann quietly laughed and said, "Yes.... My father never did get a color TV. This is probably from the 50's but hey it still works." The sights and sounds of Laugh In filled the room as everyone watched and laughed. After the program, Ann announced she was tired and was going to bed early. After telling her children not to be up too late, she left to her bedroom. Pete and Laura watched for another hour then Laura decided that she would call it a day as well. Pete didn't want to be alone watching TV so he would go to bed as well. Laura turned off the TV and Pete hit the lights after his sister left the living room. Brother and sister entered their bedroom and awkwardly paused looking at each other.
"Well" said Laura.
"Well, what?" stammered her brother.
"This is just a little weird." said Laura. "We haven't sleep in the same bed since we were little. Just don't hog the bed."
