The Kids Grow Up by Trish Hanan (novel24 .TXT) 📖

the food arrived and they feasted.
During lunch they talked about wedding plans and Harry’s plans for a real Founder’s Day celebration and all the kids made faces.
“Oh, man, Dad, no ones used the Community Center for years, that place is pretty run down, I don’t think they even cleaned it up from the Centennial,” Adam informed him. Harry shrugged.
“So we’ll clean it up and slap on a new coat of paint, we’ve got eleven days and with a lot of money you can accomplish a lot in eleven days,” he said and they all grinned.
So after lunch Harry got his hair cut which everyone loved and they took a ride out to the Center and found out that Adam had been right. The ladies of Farm One had even left the uneaten food on the tables where it had caked on the plates and glasses.
“Oh, this is so disgusting, we’re never getting this stuff cleaned,” Cassie declared. Harry grinned.
“So we won’t bother, we’ll just trash it all and replace it,” he said. “Ryan and Sean, that’s your job, trash and replace all of the dishes and pots and pans, and we want good stuff,” he told them. They both nodded. Harry turned to Jackson.
“Jackson, your job is to get a crew working on cleaning and repairing the inside. I want it to shine, throw as much money and hire as many people as it takes but get it done fast,” he instructed. Jackson grinned and reached for his cell phone. Harry turned to Adam.
“Your job is the outside, do the same, hire as many people as you can, get rid of all this old crap and make it beautiful for your brother’s wedding,” he instructed and Adam patted his shoulder.
“You got it, Dad,” he said and rushed out. Harry turned to the girls.
“You girls are in charge of the food, tell them I’ll supply the meat, dairy and seafood so all they need to do is fix it, I’ll get the stuff to them in the next few days, hire the best and throw money at them, they all will do anything for the right amount of money, don’t worry about the cake, I’ll get Fran on that, she’ll die if someone else does it,” he said and they nodded. Then Harry turned to the engaged couple.
“You boys can help with the cows, we’re going to need a lot of cows,” he said and they were mystified. “Let’s get to work,” he said and they all rushed off.
That day Harry and the boys gathered twenty green dairy cows and fifteen fat, juicy looking cows and butchered them over the next few days. All the kids helped and it was messy disgusting work but Harry wanted prime ribs, filet mignons and the nicest steaks he could get. All of the rest of the meat they split up and then he sold the leftovers to the meat packing plant who loved getting the fresh meat.
Next Harry went fishing and brought back shrimp, lobsters, flounder, salmon and giant crabs from the Artic Circle. These he snapped the legs off of and threw back into the ocean. The boys made faces as they did this but he informed them the legs would grow back on and they liked this idea. All of the seafood was packed on ice and delivered to the caterers except for the lobsters; they were delivered in giant tanks and kept alive until they were cooked.
Founder’s Day Party invitations and Wedding Announcements were sent out by courier and everyone gasped at the thought of a wedding after all of these years. Harry made the two men inform Jake in person rather than let him find out by courier and they drove by his office one day in the middle of all the excitement. Fran drove by and helped by baking the cake and helping with the food preparation. So did the four lesbians, Kate, Barb, Jan and Joy who were ecstatic to be included with the kids. They were all very happy to see Harry looking like his old self.
“Do you have any of the hundred year old liquor left for the celebration?” Harry asked his son Adam as they were milking the cows two days before the event. Adam looked at him blankly.
“What hundred year old liquor?” he asked. Harry grinned.
“The hundreds of thirty-gallon barrels of whiskey, rum, gin, vodka, scotch and tequila that your dad and I made in forty-two fifty-six and we were supposed to open in forty-three fifty-six and sell,” he informed him. Adam grinned.
“I guess Jake forgot all about that while you were in Mykonos,” he said and Harry called all the kids and Roger and Zach from the newspaper and Steve and DJ from the TV station and they all gathered at the barn in the woods and Harry broke open the seal on the door and they entered the old barn.
“God, its musty in here, was that a rat?” Emma squealed and grabbed her dad’s arm. Harry laughed.
“Of course it was a rat, baby girl, this is an old barn,” he teased her and she giggled. They turned on the lights and everyone gasped at the sight of all the plastic encased barrels. Then Harry faced the camera and told the story of how he and Jake had made the liquor and sealed it up in the barn for a hundred years.
“What are you going to do with it now?” DJ asked him. Harry put his arm around Danny and Martin.
“These two men are getting married in two days so I’m going to serve it at the Wakeup Celebration and at their wedding,” he informed everyone. “Then my son Adam, who owns the Liquor Mart will get the rest to bottle and sell.” All the kids cheered and clapped.
When David and Gloria saw the interview they were stunned and envious.
“Just think of all that alcohol sitting in the barn all these years and stupid Jake forgot all about it,” David muttered. Gloria shook her head.
“I don’t know why Violet wastes her time on him, he’s nothing but a big prick and that gets boring after a while,” she declared. Then she thought of something and ran to call her best friend. Violet approached Jake after they got home from dinner when he was relaxing on the couch watching the newscast and laughing about forgetting about the barn.
“Man, I forgot all about the liquor barn, good thing Harry remembered it,” he said and she smiled and nodded.
“You know, Jake, half of that liquor belongs to you,” Violet informed him. He looked puzzled. She continued. “You and Harry were married in fifty-five when you made that liquor so half of those barrels belong to you and you should have gotten them in the divorce settlement.” He grinned.
“What the hell am I going to do with three hundred barrels of liquor?” he teased and she shrugged.
“Oh, I don’t know; we could store it in the basement or give it to our friends as gifts,” she said and then she smiled like she just thought of something. “I know, David used to own a liquor store, I bet he has a lot of old bottles just sitting around, we could give it to him; wouldn’t that be a great idea?” she gushed. Jake looked at her like she was crazy.
“You did hear what Harry is going to do with it didn’t you?” he asked her and she nodded.
“He’s going to give it to Adam, so what, he can give his to Adam and you can give yours to David, why are you shaking your head, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” she pouted. Jake snorted.
“Maybe if Harry was giving his to Steve or DJ,” he retorted. “But Adam is our son and that’s family. I’m not taking away money from my son to give it to your friend David, no way. It’s ridiculous of you to even ask. Adam is my son too, for Christ’s sake, David is only a friend, you don’t take away from family to give to friends; you don’t do that.” His tone said it was final and she glared at him. Then she made him sleep in the guest room which was really his bedroom, most of his clothes were in there and he slept in there most of the week.
Harry flew to Sherwood the day before the great day and brought back the contents of an Armani store, a fancy gown store and an elegant shoe store and they all unloaded it into Danny’s Toys R Us which was practically empty. None of the kids mentioned their empty stores to their Dad and he didn’t mention filling them again. All they worried about was the party and the wedding. All of Harry’s siblings and the Jackson children helped and dressed themselves for the event out of Harry’s store except for Jake, of course, he wasn’t invited.
March ninth came and everyone arrived at the Edenville Community Center promptly at four in the afternoon like it said on the invitation and was astonished at the magnificent place that awaited them. Harry and the boys had performed a miracle on the old place. It shone like new and flowers grew everywhere, some that had never grown there before. Lights were place strategically and the old cracked sidewalk and parking lot had been replaced.
“Wow, this old place looks like new,” Jenna gushed as her and Carl walked up the sidewalk, they were dressed in their finest. He smiled and they greeted their son Mike who was with their daughter Carla. They were both all dressed up.
“You should see the inside, they’re got all these old pictures hanging up, I saw me when I was only twelve and all of standing by our old house,” Mike told them. Carl’s eyes lit up and they all rushed inside. Jackson and Emma greeted them at the front door. Jackson was handsome in a black Armani suit and Emma was stunning in a black strapless ankle length gown with diamonds at her throat.
“Welcome to the Talbert Wake-up Celebration, come on in and have a look at the pictures,” Jackson greeted them. Emma smiled and shook their hands. Carl told her how stunning she looked. Emma grinned.
“Thank you, Carl, you look handsome tonight yourself,” she declared and he blushed. They went inside where all of Harry’s children and siblings and the Jackson children were all dressed up and led them through the center where everything was laid out like a maze as they went from room to room where pictures and old relics from the past were on display.
“Hey, that’s Armani,” David said when he looked at Jackson standing in the entrance. Jackson smiled at him.
“Welcome to the Talbert Wakeup Celebration,” he said to the foursome. Jake smiled at his two children and kissed Emma on her check.
“You look stunning, sweetie,” he told her. She grinned. Violet frowned.
“Where did you get that gown, I’ve never seen you wearing that before,” she said. Emma shook her head and rocked a little so the gown swayed a bit and made a nice rustling sound.
“Isn’t it heavenly, Dad brought over this wonderful little dress shop for the wedding, you should see what I’m wearing tomorrow, it’s absolutely to die for,” she boasted. All of the men laughed. Jackson rolled his eyes. They