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

smile, they liked that idea. Max and Charles frowned; they just realized how much revenue those crystals could bring in.
“Kate’s right, those crystals should belong to all of us,” Max declared and everyone laughed.
“Bullshit, Max, you just want to charge us for energy,” Jan shouted and everyone laughed again. Max sighed.
“Fine, fine, he keeps the damned crystals, but we still need to find a crystal cave, especially since we’re going to be on this planet for such a long time,” he said and everyone agreed.
Harry went home and got a duffel bag of crystal boxes and brought them to the Center and handed out a dozen to everyone and they all thanked him.
“I should have known you would have thought of getting these,” Lily gushed as she took her crystals. Harry grinned.
“You’re our Savior once again, Harry, I don’t know what we’d do without you,” Carl gushed. Harry grinned and patted the man on his back.
“You’d sit in the dark, that’s what you’d do, Carl,” he teased and everyone laughed.
“Figures those idiots wouldn’t even think about energy crystals until we were almost out of energy,” Harry laughed on the way home. Jake reached for his hand.
“That’s because they’re not as smart as my babe,” he said and kissed his hand. Harry giggled and the kids in the back giggled. Danny rattled his little doll and chewed on it and Gertie barked. It was a happy car. Fran laughed.
“Edna’s garage ran out of lights last week but she was afraid to say anything to anyone, she didn’t want to be the first one to mention it,” she told them. Harry grinned.
“That Edna is stronger than she thinks, raising six children all by herself with no help from that silly David, I admire her,” he said and Jake nodded.
“Just like you, Fran, you raised Wendy all by yourself and you did a great job after your husband died, you’re two strong women,” he told her and she blushed.
“You do know, Harry, that your mother hates me,” she said and Harry laughed.
“Barb doesn’t but Kate sure does, she has since you moved in back when we were fourteen, but that’s just jealousy and she’ll get over it one day when you’re both about ten thousand or so,” he teased and they all laughed.
That Halloween Harry dressed his seven children up as the Seven Dwarfs, Fran went as the wicked step-mother, Jake as Prince Charming and he went as the Queen’s man who led poor Snow White into the forest and left her. Both of his daughters carried their Snow White Barbie dolls and of course they won best costumes and everyone laughed at the cute dwarfs. Granddad Jackson loved them especially and giggled when he saw them and tried to guess which one each of the children were.
“Okay, Jackson, you’re sleepy, right?” he asked and they little boy looked insulted.
“No, granddad, I’m Doc,” he told him. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“Oh, yeah, you have glasses, so you’re a doctor like me, I like that Son, maybe one day you’ll be a Vet like me and work in the office with me, won’t you like that?” he asked and Jackson nodded. The old man beamed and hugged him. He looked at Emma.
“Emma darling, you’re Bashful right?” he asked. She shook her head.
“I’m Happy,” she said and he hugged her.
“Of course you are, darling, and I love you,” Dr. Jackson gushed and she giggled.
“Sean, you’re Dopey right?” he asked and Sean laughed.
“No, Danny’s Dopey, I’m Bashful and Ryan is Sneezy, boy, Granddad, you don’t know your dwarfs at all,” he declared in a loud voice. Everyone around them laughed. Dr. Jackson giggled.
“Okay, so we have Happy, Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Sneezy, which one are you Adam?” he asked and Adam pretended to be asleep. Dr. Jackson laughed.
“I get it, you’re Sleepy,” he said and all the kids laughed. Then he looked at Cassie who grinned. Dr. Jackson frowned.
“So what dwarf am I missing, help me out, darling; give your old granddad a clue?” he begged and she pouted and made a mean face. He laughed and tickled her and she giggled.
“Grumpy, I get it, my little darling is Grumpy,” he declared and everyone clapped and cheered for him.
“Those are marvelous costumes, Harry, but then you always make marvelous costumes,” Linda gushed. Harry grinned.
“I’ll be glad when they get old enough to pick out their own costumes, this family theme is getting hard, I’m running out of ideas,” he confessed and she giggled.
“It must be hard coming up with ideas for seven but you have to admit, only you could do the Seven Dwarfs,” she teased and they both laughed.
At the turkey hunt David Marshall surprised the hell out of everyone including himself by killing one turkey on the ground and one in the air. He was so surprised he jumped up and down and blew a hole in the ground and knocked himself into a tree and was out cold for twenty minutes before anyone realized what he had done and they carried him home so that Harry could heal him.
“There he is, hey, David, how do you feel?” Harry asked softly and the man glared up at him.
“I don’t remember telling you, you could call me by my first name,” he snapped. Everyone laughed. Harry grinned and pulled his hands away from the man’s head.
“I think he’s alright now, he can go home to his wife,” he announced and they helped David to his feet.
“What happened, did someone shoot me?” he asked. Max laughed.
“No, you idiot, you shot the ground and the recoil knocked you into a damned tree and you knocked yourself out,” he told him and David glared at everyone who nodded.
“Well, I got two turkeys this year so I’m getting better,” he stated and Jan patted his back.
“Yes, you are, Marshall, but the next time, don’t jump up and down when you’re holding a rifle, that’s not a smart thing to do,” she advised and he nodded.
“What a fool, did someone shoot him?” Harry said when everyone had gone home. Jake grinned as he watched his babe put three birds in bags and pour the whiskey sugar mixture in them and shake them up. Then Harry put them in the fridge to sit for the next two days. He’ll take them out and shake them a few times over the next two days to mix them up. Jake loved to watch him shaking the birds because he always did a little dance to entertain the kids to make them giggle.
Thanksgiving came and the Talbert-Jackson table was the largest with twenty children and six adults and no one minded the noise they made because all of the tables were just as noisy. David and Gloria hated their table with the four noisy children and her parents. Edna sat with her six children. Dr. George had wanted his son-in-law’s three children from his first marriage to sit with them and even invited Edna and her other children to join them but thankfully for David she had declined. If more children had been at their table, David and Gloria would have simply died, they hated the four who were there and couldn’t understand how Shelley and George could beam at the little monsters.
“I love your stuffing, Harry,” Dr. Jackson exclaimed as he helped himself to his third helping. Harry giggled which made all the kids giggled.
“I can see that, Jackson, is that your third or fourth serving there?” he teased and they all laughed. Jake patted his dad’s stomach.
“I don’t see where you’re putting it all, Dad; you must have a hollow leg or something,” he teased and everyone laughed. Sissy rolled her eyes.
“He’s been talking about nothing but your turkey and stuffing for two days now, Harry, you’ve got to give me that recipe,” she declared. Harry shook his head and leaned over to his youngest.
“You heard that, Danny, your grandmom wants my secret turkey recipe, shall I give it to her?” he asked and Danny shook his head. Everyone laughed. Suddenly everyone heard the noise outside that sounded like a ship landing and gasped. Max stood up.
“Jewel’s come back,” he shouted. Everyone stood up. Harry shook his head.
“If that was Jewel she would be ringing those bells, that could be a Galatica ship, we all shouldn’t go outside, only a few of us men,” he suggested. Carl and Frank rushed to the front of the room with their guns in their hands. Jan rushed to the front with hers. Harry nodded.
A group stood at the foyer and Harry looked at the selection, Jake, Jan, Carl, Frank, Doug, Max, Charles, Reverend Milo and Reverend Phillip, Steve, Charlie, DJ, Hans, Sarek, Synta, Chan, Mike, Davy, Billy, Bobby, Dr. Dennis, Dr. Blake, Bernie, Brian, Gary, Otto, Roger and Zach, all of the men stood ready to face the enemy. They all walked out of the Center and saw the ship that had landed on the grass beyond the parking lot. Harry turned around.
“Roger, Zach, a few of you men, go around to the back of the Center and make sure no one’s sneaking up behind us, Frank you’ve got a gun, go with them,” he said and they nodded and split up. The rest of the group approached the ship, walking carefully across the parking lot, spread out so they wouldn’t make easier targets. When they got close a ramp shot out and a hatch opened and two men in gray uniforms like the one Jewel had been wearing when they had rescued her walked down the ramp followed by a man in a fancy red robe. He beamed and waved his arms around when he saw them.
“A new species living on this planet, I can’t believe I have discovered you, please don’t be afraid. I am Count Sporznag and I have come to take you to my home planet where you will be safe,” he said graciously. All the men looked at each other and frowned. Max stepped forward bravely, Harry at his side.
“How do you do, Count, my name is Max Tyler and I’m the Mayor of Edenville and while we appreciate your kind offer, we are very happy where we are, but thank you,” he said just as graciously as the Count. The Count shook his head and waved his finger at them. His two soldiers behind him pointed their weapons at them and Carl, Frank and Jan pointed their guns at them. It looked like a standoff.
“But my friends, I am afraid you will have no choice but to take my kind offer, you see I am a Galactican and my people rule this side of the universe and my friends are going to die when they see my new specimens. You will be happy in my zoo, what are you called?” he asked. Reverend Milo stepped forward.
“We are humans and, no, we do not want to be specimens in your zoo, please leave us alone,” he said in his booming voice. The Count and his soldiers laughed.
“I love you, you are gorgeous, you, I must have for my zoo right now. Take this one right away, the others we will come back for later with a bigger ship,” he instructed