The Reunion (Part Four)

Lori convinced Tommy to drive instead of taking the plane to Missouri.  She argued that they had all the time in the world to look around and see what laid between Dallas and Saint Louis.  As usual, they had to make a stop every hour to find a restroom for Lori.  She reminded herself that she was fortunate to be with someone that was caring enough just to joke around about her tiny bladder, rather than become inpatient and cranky at her need to relieve herself so often.

“You know”, Tommy said as Lori got back in the car from her quick trip to the ladies’ room, “maybe if you wouldn’t buy the super-sized cola, you could last longer between stops. Just a thought.”  He said smiling.

She adjusted her body to a comfortable position in the seat as she pulled back her long and thick, wild red hair.  Tommy wore a baseball cap to pull back his hair while he drove.  It was red and as thick as Lori’s.  They sometimes had a good laugh when they tricked people into thinking they were brother and sister.  Most of their village back in Europe had these distinct traits, red hair, freckles and chiseled facial features. “The Two Gingers” became their favorite tag line.

“Do you think the others will understand the impact of what Joseph is showing them?  He is dead set on keeping House of Ancient Coins and Curios open and running. I know Jago doesn’t like change and Adam and Neecie would rather sit on information and stop any experimentation to find the benefits of what we can do with the coins.”

Tommy replied, “Joseph will know what to say and how to present all of this. He is the reason we are here in the first place.  Because of him I am not afraid of anything, but he makes me scared most of the time.” He gave a half smile to Lori. “We are different and we hide in the open.  Will we be able to carry on if we use the new gifts? I don’t know…”

“One thing is certain my man,” she grinned, “absolutely and positively certain.”

He looked at her with raised eyebrows, “What!?”

“I have to go to the bathroom . . .”

(TO BE CONTINUED . . . .)

The Reunion (Part Three)

We all gathered at my house after the excitement at Jago’s and Mona’s place.  Eve got everyone situated and ordered 6 large St. Louis style thin crust pizzas. I found myself wanting to be alone for a while, but couldn’t break away from the group.  These people are like family, but sometimes I get tired of being “dad” to everyone.  We have all been around long enough to know what to do in a crisis or if something life changing comes along – especially in our situation. I have often wished that they wouldn't rely on me when situations called for hiding or advice for making friends outside the group.  Our age does present some difficult challenges at times.  Am I sorry for making them like me --- never, I love them all.

“Joseph, what do you want us to do with this new gift you have found for us,” asked Neecie.

I got up from my chair and moved toward the window to peak out onto the street to setup my next sentence.  “No one is following us,” I said, “so we are safe to do whatever we like --- as long as it doesn’t expose us or jeopardize our freedom. What do all of you want to do with this new gift?”

Jago broke in, “I say we do nothing!  If we want to continue on, we do nothing.  They can’t kill us so they will detain us many years. I don’t like cages!”

Chester spoke, “I am with Jago on this.  From what you have said, we can breathe fire, levitate, make people do our bidding, turn invisible and what else --- knock down entire buildings?  Where will it stop, would it increase and could we endanger everyone around us?”

“Maybe the guys have a point,” Eve said as Dani nodded in agreement. “I think it should be laid to rest and if we need to, in a rare instance, we could use the coins from House of Ancient Coins and Curios to fix dire circumstances.  And only if there is no other way.”

Mona joined in, “We should wait for Tommy and Lori to get here next week.  Tommy has been the one who has been experimenting with the coins.  He could explain what the exact consequences are for using them.  Are there side-effects? Can these make us sick?”

Adam agreed, “We should wait…but not use these until we know what will happen.”

I looked at them as they waited for my response. “Okay, until Tommy and Lori get here.  But I will continue with business at www.ancientscoin.com as usual.”

(TO BE CONTINUED . . . .)

The Reunion (Part Two)

“Isn’t this a little too fantastic?” asked Chester.

“Yes”, Dani agreed, “we don’t want to be noticed and breathing fire really doesn’t help.”

The group chattered for a moment and Joseph broke in, “I know it’s weird, but it’s here if we need it.  The coins will affect you with abilities you only see in movies and television.  It’s sort of a trigger that erupts on contact and some coins produce the same ability as another, and there are at least 10 different reactions we’ve produced.”

Mona waved her hand in the air, “I don’t want any part of this.”  Joseph, you’re not going to make us super heroes, it’s bad enough we are already freaks of nature.”

“Look, everyone … I was just showing you something new.  You don’t have to be a part of anything you don’t agree with.  It’s just something that’s there if you want it or need it.”  Joseph took a deep breath and sighed. “Sure this could change things for us, but we don’t have to use it.”

They all agreed that this was a little too much to absorb and maybe they should call it a day and go home and sleep on things.  Jago and Mona began cleaning their patio as the couples slowly departed.  Eve stayed behind.  “Mona, I hope all of this didn’t upset you.” Eve said apologetically.

“No”, she replied, “I just wish I could be normal sometimes and have children and have friends outside our group.  I love all of you, but it would be nice to think that I could someday sit on a porch with all the other old ladies and talk about the grandchildren and knit or something.”

Eve smiled. “I feel that way sometimes, too.  I’m stuck with a very old young man that thinks www.ancientscoin.com is the center of the universe at the moment.  I know he’ll grow out of it but the older he gets, the longer he keeps his attention on interests.”

Mona nodded her head. “Well, now what?”

“I think the group really won’t go home.  I think we are all headed to our house for drinks and pizza.”

“Okee-dokee, sounds good!” Jago broke in. “I hope you guys bought some more beer.”

(TO BE CONTINUED . . . .)

The Reunion

I sat quietly as laughter erupted around me while we all sat in the backyard of Jago and Mona’s suburban home.  Their place was usually quiet because they were rarely home, spending most of their time being entertained, rather than entertaining guest or friends.  On this occasion, Adam and Neecie had moved to our city to be with all of us and we were elated to have our family so close to being completed in Missouri.

“Then when I crossed my legs again, I thought the poor little man would have a stroke.” Eve was telling the others about our encounter while on vacation.  She made a joke about how all of the blood left Raymond Johns brain and went little Raymond’s head, causing the smaller brain to keep pulling his eyes to her exposed thighs.  Jago of course found this to be the most hilarious thing he ever heard while the others were laughing more at Jago than at Eve’s words.  You really have to meet Jago to understand him . . . he finds the light in everything . . . especially after a 6 pack of Busch.

“I missed all of you so much.” Neecie said as she gave Dani another huge and tight hug.  Neecie was the tallest and strongest of all the women in our group. She stood five foot ten and looked  like a cross between an amazon warrior and a supermodel.  After many, many years of fitness and nutrition, you never would have guessed she was dying of tuberculosis before I gave her the “medicine”.   I remember her tears and how she asked me to watch over her mother and father when she was gone.  She took care of so many people in her village - I could not let her die so young.  I believe she was twenty years old at the time of her change from “them” to “us” (as Tommy so fondly repeated decade after decade).  Adam on the other hand was a bit smaller than Neecie and she had a tendency to stand out more than him in the crowd.  She would pull her thick black hair back and bind it before she worked out, while Adam would let his long dishwater blond hair blow in the breeze when they both would take to running for their morning workout.  She had steel cold blue eyes while he had eyes darker than pitch – you could hardly see any color in them.

“I see you have made yourself known to the public.”  Adam stated. “How will that affect us?  One man already came forward.  Will more follow?”

Everyone got quiet as I cleared my throat to speak.  I took my time in order to create a slight tension in the group, allowing me time to tease them a little – that’s how I had my fun – teasing the children so to speak.

“House of Ancient Coins and Curios is not a problem and will not cause any of you issues that you will need to cover up.  I have something to share with you that Tommy discovered about four years ago in Texas.  Up to two million of the ancient Roman coins struck between 100 AD and 400 AD contain traces of the meteor I used to make the medicine we took way back when.  When the coins come in contact with us, the laws of physics change.  The biological content of our bodies create magnetic fields or different chemical reactions causing us to become super charged.  Eve and I have tested this for a couple of years and have found it to be safe for us.  Eve, show them.”

Eve pulled a Valentinian bronze coin from her pocket.  She held it up for all to see and then took a deep breath and blew on the coin.  Almost instantly her breath turned into fire and then into a small inferno that she pointed upward toward the sky.  The fire was coming from inside of her.  She stopped and the fire dissipated as smoke came from her mouth.  The coin was unscathed, like its website picture at www.ancientscoin.com .

Jago turned to me and for the first time in ages said to me in a serious voice, “Joseph, you should not be selling these on your website.”

Everyone stood quiet as Jago’s neighbor broke the silence, “Entertaining circus folk today?” the old man asked in a curious but irritated voice.

(TO BE CONTINUED . . . .)

The Two Gingers

“I see Joseph is really pushing his website.”  Tommy said as he scrolled through the ‘House of Ancient Coins and Curios’ website, “He really throws caution out the window when it comes to his obsessions.”

Lori put her head on Tommy’s shoulder and peeked at the display screen. “He’s never let any of us down and he has always protected us. He knows what he is doing.  I really miss them all.  It’s been too years since we saw each other face to face and Skyping just isn’t the same as being there.”  She kissed his cheek and moved back to making breakfast.

“It looks like Jago, Mona, Dani and Chester moved to Missouri.  It must be that time again.” The red haired man looked up from the display. “It’s been about 40 years since we moved to Texas.  We have to keep the promise.”

“I’m ready for a change”. Lori said as she flipped some sausage, “It will be so good to be with the others.  Has anyone heard from Neecie and Adam?”

“They’re still in London, enjoying the Queens country.” Tommy joked.  “I think they will be moving to Missouri, too.”

Lori placed 2 plates on the kitchen table, tossing her long red locks to the side before sitting down.  Tommy joined her at breakfast and complimented her cooking with a kiss to the hand and a thank you for going through the trouble.  After finishing the eggs sausage and toast, Lori continued the conversation.

“So, when do we move?” she asked.

“Well, we can have a Realtor sell the house while we are gone.  We can leave next week.  I‘m sure Joseph and Eve have plenty of room for us while we look for a new place to live.”

“Sounds like a plan.  The two gingers are off to the Midwest.”

Tommy smiled, got up from the table and waved his hand over the dishes, sending them gently to the sink.