Those Crazy Katz' of Windsong Lane: Epilogue

Epilogue

The new house had turned out even better than Karen had even hoped. It really was perfect for them, and she didn’t regret their move so much. Every room had new bedroom furniture, all paid for by the insurance, and the living room and kitchen were graced with new sofas and a kitchen table they had acquired from a family that was having to downsize. It was a gorgeous farmhouse table, well marked and worn and big enough to seat all of them. It barely fit into the breakfast nook, but not everything could be perfect. It turned out to be a cozy space for meals and schoolwork. The kitchen really needed updating, but Karen could manage.

There was a lovely fireplace in the living room, and the basement was set up as both an office and a place to store the school materials. There was a desk for the kids to use if they needed to get away from everyone else to think. Finally, there was a computer down there for their use, in addition to the couple of laptops they had.

The yard was big enough for games of tag and for riding bikes up and down the driveway. They had also acquired a basketball hoop, and Jack, Ellie and Johnathan were really glad about that. Yeller had been quite upset with the move and had skulked about for a day, but then seemed to perk up and could be seen in every nook and cranny of the house exploring her new territory with alert interest. She took to sleeping with Sarah, and Sarah and Ellie were really glad for the extra space in the room they shared because Emma had moved in with them. There was a bunk bed and Ellie slept on the top and Emma on the bottom with a bed rail. She still ended up most nights in the bedroom with their parents, but she would probably eventually want to stay with the “big girls”. Jack and Joe had more space as well and Jack had his own dresser now, so that he could keep things private from his little brother. They had gone ahead and gotten a full size bed instead of a toddler bed for Joey, since he would be needing one eventually and the toddler bed they had had from Goodwill had been thrown away.

Snitch was as happy as he could be. He had his family all in one place again and a yard to patrol. This was much better than that little den they had not fit into very well. He was very glad the alpha he and she had decided to move dens again. It was just enough room for him and he could patrol the yard without anyone getting upset at him, and best of all, he didn’t have to wear a leash.

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor had come to visit and they had all been really glad of it. The kids had missed their Grandparents. They lived close enough now that the weekly visits could resume. Grandma Taylor looked a little thinner and frailer and Karen was a bit alarmed by this. She was glad she could be close by to help make sure her parents were ok. Eli meant well, but he wasn’t down their way enough to really know what was going on with their parents and she felt somebody needed to be nearby to help out. She didn’t have much free time, but at least she could go see them if needed.

Ellie and Jack and Sarah had all had playdates and park days with their friends and had had so much to talk to them about. Not much had changed here in Raleigh. Some of their friends had switched extracurricular activities and a couple had gone back to school, but in general, it was a community they could plug back into. Karen knew they were a bit behind with all of the activities. Fall was coming up soon and she hoped to get in on a co-op group or two. She had also located a riding school. The cost was a bit more than what they had enjoyed at the stables in the southern part of the state. She was still trying to figure out how to make that work. Ellie was so hopeful though, maybe just she could take lessons. It was yet another thing they needed to work out.

Other than the breakfast nook and the farm table that she was in love with, the best thing about this house was a window seat in the master bedroom. It was a cozy little spot where she could read or look out the window. Yeller had decided it was his favorite spot as well, and Karen would sometimes come upstairs to find both Sarah and Yeller curled up in it. Sarah would have her back to the wall and a book in her hand and the two would be bathed in sunlight. It was a very pretty picture. Karen could see herself having more time for that activity in a few years… she hoped.

Sarah seemed to have adjusted to the move. Karen had worried about her pining for Leo, but Sarah seemed to be ok. She got frequent emails from him. He had said he would write, but it turned out that he wasn’t much of the kind to write with pen and paper, especially when the computer was so much easier. Sarah had her own laptop, so she kept some of their conversations private, but Karen would sometimes take a peek just to see that all was on the up and up. Seeing that Sarah was on a pretty even keel emotionally, she had also had a talk with her and extracted a promise from Sarah that if she ever got to a point where she wanted to have physical relations that she would procure protection first.

Sarah was, of course, extremely embarrassed by all of this. She couldn’t imagine “physical relations” and talking about that with her mom was just beyond the beyond.  She missed Leo, but not as much as she thought she would. It was strange. When they had been together, she had felt like she wanted to be with him all of the time, but now it just didn’t seem so critical. It seemed like a lost cause anyway. He was never going to come up to Raleigh. His parents would never allow that.

The doorbell rang and Karen went to see who was there. The options at these point were either the neighbor kids on either side of them (There were two large families nearby and not all of the kids were her ideal for playmates, but it was nice to have other kids to play with on a moment’s notice. She did hate the constant interruptions though. Especially on weekends, the doorbell was wont to ring several times a day and it made it difficult to get lessons going. She was going to have to make a rule soon about no play until after lunch at least.), her parents, who sometimes showed up unannounced, or the mail delivery. She opened it to a surprise. David and Rose stood on the porch with a couple of big boxes in their arms. “David! Rose! What a surprise! Come on in! Give me a hug, we missed you guys!”

David said, “We had so much produce and nobody was buying, we thought we would take you up on your offer for a visit. I hope it’s not a bad time. Rose had an appointment up here and we decided to swing by and try to see you as well.”

Karen said, “I’m so, so glad you did! Come in and put that stuff down. What did you bring?”

Rose said, “Well, you know I get kinda of carried away in the garden. I have more cucumbers and peas and tomatoes and lettuce than we can eat and we knew it wouldn’t sell fast enough at the stand, so here you go.”

“Thank you!” said Karen. By then, the rest of the family had materialized out of every nook and cranny and were at the door with them waiting for the chance to say high and get a hug from their surrogate grandparents. Emma went to Rose and asked to be picked up.

“How long can you stay? Do you want to stay for dinner?”

“That would be lovely. said David. “We can’t stay the night, you know, because of those pesky chickens!” Jack asked if they were all ok and David said, “Onery as ever. Those little biddies discovered a stray cat in the yard and you know what they did? They chased that poor feline off, squawking and pecking and making such a fuss, I had to go see what was going on. They pecked and flew at the poor thing until it cowered and ran off. Hercules didn’t get with the program until it was all over with. Guess they didn’t need his protection. I’ve brought a few dozen eggs for you as well, by the way.” Jack was happy to know that the seven chickens still left were doing well. He hoped that his mom would let him get some more soon.

They had a lovely visit. Johnathan came home from work that evening and they used some of the stuff that the Shwartz’s had brought with them to make a dinner. The making of the dinner was a communal affair and a group effort. Rose and David got a tour of the new place and they pronounced it perfect for the Katz’s. Karen said that if they ever needed or wanted to come stay the night, they had an extra futon in the basement and would love to have them.

David went outside with Johnathan, Ellie, and Jack and played some basketball, but he didn’t last long. He said, “My old bones can’t take this kinda stuff anymore. You guys are wearing me out. Don’t break me. I gotta drive back home this evening.” It was a good game while it lasted though.

They had a wonderful meal of salads, kale, chicken, and homemade peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert.

David told them that the Davis’s had moved out already. It seemed that Bob had moved them there because he had seen the “for sale” notice while working at the bank and wanted to jump on it as an investment. Rhea had not taken to the place at all, though, so they had recently found a place that suited them better in town and had put the farm up for sale again. David and Rose had seen some people looking at the place last week that seemed very nice. It was a hardy looking couple with three kids. They looked like the kind of people that might be able to turn it into a productive place again. They would wait and see what happened. The father had even come down the lane to talk with them, having seen Rose out in her garden. It looked like this was a family seriously considering taking the place on. David had told him that it had been a family farm, a farm in the same family for three generations and that they had known the last owner. It was with great reluctance that the owner had left and would probably love to know that another family was taking it on. David didn’t mention the Davis’s.

They had a wonderful meal and it was times like this that the new house felt most like a home. Karen felt especially blessed. They were almost back where they had started. They had rekindled their old friendships and acquaintances and had moved into a place that suited them more the their previous home. The kids and she had grown in both experience and knowledge of the world around them, and they had made new friendships that might last a very long time. It was a bit like coming full circle, but it was a bigger circle and a sturdier one.

They said goodbye reluctantly that night. Johathan asked them repeatedly if they would be ok driving home this late. It was not a short drive, but they said they would be fine. Rose said she hardly slept much anyway these days and if David got tired she would take over. Karen wished she had something to give them in return for the food they had brought up. They would have to find something and send a package soon. They waved the two off and all was quiet again. Johnathan gave Karen a hug and said in her ear “I love you, you know.”

“I know you do and I love you too.” They turned to go in.

Just then the phone rang. Sarah answered it and after a moment she yelled, “Mom! It’s grandpa! He says Grandma fell down and they took her to the hospital! Come take the phone! I think we better get over there!” Oh, no! Karen thought. I knew there was something wrong. Her heart clenched in worry and she ran into the house to talk to her Dad. It seemed her mom had been out for her nightly stroll and had suddenly fallen down in a faint. They were evaluating her at the hospital and Karen’s dad really wanted Karen to come talk to the doctors. Karen was so worried she almost ran out the door without a jacket and keys. Johnathan asked her to slow down. He said he would take care of things, but that she needed to keep her head about her and then watched her drive away. He sighed. Somewhat wryly, he thought, things were never calm around them for long.