THE STORY CONTINUES . . . (10 16 10)
Jill was in a tizzy after breakfast. She heard her dad say they would
do some yard work that day. “But Dad! It’s late spring. There aren’t any leaves to rake now.” “I’m glad to see you’re paying attention during your earth science class,” he smirked wryly. “No leaves to rake, but lots of branches to trim in our trees and shrubs, and lots and lots of weeds to pull,” he explained. “I could use your help, Honey,” he added. “No thanks, Dad. You know I really don’t care for yard work.” “Bill is helping out. He was kind to volunteer,” he added as an aside.
Gene Grayson was a smart man. He had seen the look in his daughter’s eye when she was near Bill. He had heard the way she was speaking to him; he saw the playful way she pushed him that morning after breakfast. He knew his nephew was a fine, “safe” young man for his daughter to get to know in a whole new way. And of course, he very well knew of the life changes which were passing through her life right now. “Okay, well – er – I guess I’ll help!” she said, brightly, changing directions swiftly.
But what to wear? It had to be just right for this special occasion of working side by side with her handsome, smart, wonderful Cousin Bill.
Jill went upstairs to her room and threw open her closet door. It was a large walk-in closet, and soon, she had done just that, switching the light on as she entered. Hmmmm. Outdoor work. Jeans, of course – but not just any jeans: maybe those well-worn ones with some fashionable holes well above the knees. Yes, that was just the ticket. The wild, country girl look. What about a top or shirt? She selected a tie-dyed t-shirt with lots of green and blue in it. That would go well with the green leaves of the trees.
Jill dressed quickly but with care, and stood in front of the mirror for one last time. Her hair wasn’t quite rite. A few good strokes of her long brown hair with her wonderful wide tined, long-toothed comb, a gift from her parents, did the job. She smiled big then rushed out of the room and down the stairs. What she found there turned her smile into an angry pout. Danny was already out there, laughing and even sitting on Bill’s shoulders! That little twit, messing with “her man”! Bill was grinning too and chuckling, trying to attend to the work at hand while holding onto
his squirming younger cousin. She was reaching up for the smaller mulberry branches well above his head and pulling them down so her father could snip them off with the branch clippers. This was hard to do while sitting on Bill’s shoulders, because he could not possibly stand completely still with a squirming, laughing girl on his shoulders.
Jack wasn’t being much help: just sort of wandering around the edge of the yard, looking for cut branches; but of course there were none to be found there. For a quiet, blonde boy, he was fairly smart when it came to avoiding hard work. Darn it! Jill said to herself, grumping out loud. While she had been busy primping, her sister had gotten to Bill ahead of her. That was the way she saw it all anyway. Then when she realized that was her chief thought, she felt ashamed – but still good and angry – at her jealousy.
Her father was not
blind to all of this. He paused in his clipping to see the frown on her face. “What’s the deal, Kitten? You go back for an extra stack of pan cakes?” he winked. “Dad! No . . . Sir,” she answered. Gene knew that one good cure for a foul mood was a few minutes of hard work – and some humor along the way. “Grab that roller barrel, Jill, if you don’t mind. You can push it over here and start picking up some branches.”
“Yeah, Kitten,” mimicked Bill. “Get over there and pull your weight! Please!” he added when he saw she was staring daggers at him. “Sorry, Jill, -- I was just – I just meant,” he made a start at apologizing.
He jostled and Danny lost her balance. “Hey!” she lost hold of the branch above her that she’d been pulling down, and began to fall. Swiftly reacting, Bill caught her and landed her easily on her side. “Sorry, Danny. I got distracted. Man, you are light as a feather!” “So am I!” asserted Jill, as she pushed the roller can up close to her sister. She looked like she was about to roll it over Danny, but turned at the last moment to hea
d toward one of her father’s piles.
Bill helped Danny to her feet trying hard to stifle a smile. “Well, you’re a little bigger . . . .” “Shut up, Bill!” she shot angrily, rumbling to a halt right by him. Immediately she was sorry. Her father spoke before she could. “Jill! I am surprised at you, Girl. You apologize this instant. We do not talk that way, and especially to our relatives.” “I’m sorry, Bill. I shouldn’t have said that.” “I only meant that naturally since you are older, you’re probably too big for me to lift.” “I know, I know!” “But I bet you could,” she added to herself. “Hey, gang: let’s get this pile picked up!”
Even Brother Jack joined in at this, and the five of them went to work gathering up the various stacks and stuffing them in the barrel Jill had wheeled up. But Jill was fuming all the while at what she had missed. Her sister’s smirks only made her more jealous for her cousin. Why did she feel this way? Why these feelings for a cousin she had known and loved for all these years? Yes, that was it: she
had always loved in. But up to now she had taken him for granted. Now, these new stirrings in her body made her see him suddenly as a young man. She loved him wholly for who he was. More than that, puberty had even given her a glimpse of the man he might one day become; and in her mind’s eye, that had to be a good man. The best.
But one more question loomed as Jill and Danny rolled the full barrel to the dumpster in the alley: was this even right? Was it right for her to feel this way about Bill? Whatever way precisely she was feeling, that is. That was the question that troubled her the most, and she could not brush it aside. Jill only hoped the answer would be “yes”. “Good job, Guys – and Gals,” said Gene with a wink. That’s the biggest part of it. We’ll take a break, then finish up the trees in the back yard. I really do appreciate your help!” “You're welcome, Uncle Gene,” replied Bill and Jack with enthusiasm. ‘The former had been eager for some kind of hard work after experiencing the weirdness of the recent interactions between his two cousins. The outdoor work enabled him to escape those weird vibes for the time being at least . . . .
LBC
Jill was in a tizzy after breakfast. She heard her dad say they would
do some yard work that day. “But Dad! It’s late spring. There aren’t any leaves to rake now.” “I’m glad to see you’re paying attention during your earth science class,” he smirked wryly. “No leaves to rake, but lots of branches to trim in our trees and shrubs, and lots and lots of weeds to pull,” he explained. “I could use your help, Honey,” he added. “No thanks, Dad. You know I really don’t care for yard work.” “Bill is helping out. He was kind to volunteer,” he added as an aside. Gene Grayson was a smart man. He had seen the look in his daughter’s eye when she was near Bill. He had heard the way she was speaking to him; he saw the playful way she pushed him that morning after breakfast. He knew his nephew was a fine, “safe” young man for his daughter to get to know in a whole new way. And of course, he very well knew of the life changes which were passing through her life right now. “Okay, well – er – I guess I’ll help!” she said, brightly, changing directions swiftly.
But what to wear? It had to be just right for this special occasion of working side by side with her handsome, smart, wonderful Cousin Bill. Jill went upstairs to her room and threw open her closet door. It was a large walk-in closet, and soon, she had done just that, switching the light on as she entered. Hmmmm. Outdoor work. Jeans, of course – but not just any jeans: maybe those well-worn ones with some fashionable holes well above the knees. Yes, that was just the ticket. The wild, country girl look. What about a top or shirt? She selected a tie-dyed t-shirt with lots of green and blue in it. That would go well with the green leaves of the trees.
Jill dressed quickly but with care, and stood in front of the mirror for one last time. Her hair wasn’t quite rite. A few good strokes of her long brown hair with her wonderful wide tined, long-toothed comb, a gift from her parents, did the job. She smiled big then rushed out of the room and down the stairs. What she found there turned her smile into an angry pout. Danny was already out there, laughing and even sitting on Bill’s shoulders! That little twit, messing with “her man”! Bill was grinning too and chuckling, trying to attend to the work at hand while holding onto
his squirming younger cousin. She was reaching up for the smaller mulberry branches well above his head and pulling them down so her father could snip them off with the branch clippers. This was hard to do while sitting on Bill’s shoulders, because he could not possibly stand completely still with a squirming, laughing girl on his shoulders. Jack wasn’t being much help: just sort of wandering around the edge of the yard, looking for cut branches; but of course there were none to be found there. For a quiet, blonde boy, he was fairly smart when it came to avoiding hard work. Darn it! Jill said to herself, grumping out loud. While she had been busy primping, her sister had gotten to Bill ahead of her. That was the way she saw it all anyway. Then when she realized that was her chief thought, she felt ashamed – but still good and angry – at her jealousy.
Her father was not
blind to all of this. He paused in his clipping to see the frown on her face. “What’s the deal, Kitten? You go back for an extra stack of pan cakes?” he winked. “Dad! No . . . Sir,” she answered. Gene knew that one good cure for a foul mood was a few minutes of hard work – and some humor along the way. “Grab that roller barrel, Jill, if you don’t mind. You can push it over here and start picking up some branches.” “Yeah, Kitten,” mimicked Bill. “Get over there and pull your weight! Please!” he added when he saw she was staring daggers at him. “Sorry, Jill, -- I was just – I just meant,” he made a start at apologizing.
He jostled and Danny lost her balance. “Hey!” she lost hold of the branch above her that she’d been pulling down, and began to fall. Swiftly reacting, Bill caught her and landed her easily on her side. “Sorry, Danny. I got distracted. Man, you are light as a feather!” “So am I!” asserted Jill, as she pushed the roller can up close to her sister. She looked like she was about to roll it over Danny, but turned at the last moment to hea
d toward one of her father’s piles. Bill helped Danny to her feet trying hard to stifle a smile. “Well, you’re a little bigger . . . .” “Shut up, Bill!” she shot angrily, rumbling to a halt right by him. Immediately she was sorry. Her father spoke before she could. “Jill! I am surprised at you, Girl. You apologize this instant. We do not talk that way, and especially to our relatives.” “I’m sorry, Bill. I shouldn’t have said that.” “I only meant that naturally since you are older, you’re probably too big for me to lift.” “I know, I know!” “But I bet you could,” she added to herself. “Hey, gang: let’s get this pile picked up!”
Even Brother Jack joined in at this, and the five of them went to work gathering up the various stacks and stuffing them in the barrel Jill had wheeled up. But Jill was fuming all the while at what she had missed. Her sister’s smirks only made her more jealous for her cousin. Why did she feel this way? Why these feelings for a cousin she had known and loved for all these years? Yes, that was it: she
had always loved in. But up to now she had taken him for granted. Now, these new stirrings in her body made her see him suddenly as a young man. She loved him wholly for who he was. More than that, puberty had even given her a glimpse of the man he might one day become; and in her mind’s eye, that had to be a good man. The best. But one more question loomed as Jill and Danny rolled the full barrel to the dumpster in the alley: was this even right? Was it right for her to feel this way about Bill? Whatever way precisely she was feeling, that is. That was the question that troubled her the most, and she could not brush it aside. Jill only hoped the answer would be “yes”. “Good job, Guys – and Gals,” said Gene with a wink. That’s the biggest part of it. We’ll take a break, then finish up the trees in the back yard. I really do appreciate your help!” “You're welcome, Uncle Gene,” replied Bill and Jack with enthusiasm. ‘The former had been eager for some kind of hard work after experiencing the weirdness of the recent interactions between his two cousins. The outdoor work enabled him to escape those weird vibes for the time being at least . . . .
LBC
