The Kids Grow Up - Trish Hanan (i want to read a book TXT) 📗

flushed with anger.
“This is all Harry’s fault, he should have organized this party, where is he anyway?” Linda yelled. Jackson walked on stage and everyone looked at him. He cleared his throat.
“Listen everyone, I’ve got a note from Harry I’d like to read to you,” he said and everyone fell silent. He began to read, “Dear fellow survivors, family, and kids, sorry I’m not here to celebrate with you tonight but I really wasn’t up to a big gathering right now. Maybe in twenty or thirty years when my heart mends I’ll feel like it. I’m not the only survivor who’s capable of telling that old story, sixty-six other people were there too and I’m sure they can do a good job. If the party sucks and I’m sure it does, those old gals from Farm One probably cheated and bought cheap crap so they could keep all of your money and spend it on themselves so maybe you should all go out and celebrate on your own and have a great time. See you all in twenty years and I promise to throw a real celebration. You really should have put Jenna, Lily and Cindy and them in charge, you should have remembered the lessons from the first year, all of them people from Farm One were worthless when we landed and they’re still worthless. Love, Harry.”
“You got that right, Harry,” Carl shouted and everyone laughed.
“This party blows, I’m out of here,” Ryan shouted and everyone began leaving.
“Wait, wait, we haven’t told the story yet,” Linda shouted. All the kids booed her.
“Blow it out your ass,” someone shouted and she looked offended.
“That fucking Harry ruined the party,” Myra shouted and Kate glared at her.
“You women ruined the damned party when you hired that crap band and served this lousy food. Where did all that money go, you had ninety-nine thousand dollars. I don’t see ninety-nine thousand dollars worth of stuff here! Christ, where are all the pictures of the Roosevelt and us from the first year? You didn’t do anything right, Henry was right, you were worthless then and you’re worthless now,” she snapped and walked away.
Jake looked embarrassed and looked around the room. She was right, there wasn’t almost a hundred thousand dollars spent on this party; there wasn’t even five thousand dollars spent on this cheap shit. He sighed and took his wife out to the Bird Cage with David and Gloria leaving the others to clean up the mess.


Chapter Nine

Harry came back two days later for spring planting once again and it went like clock work. Harry did the wheat field like he always did and they all took the fields they always did and it went fast. No one said a word to him about the Centennial celebration and he didn’t say a word so it wasn’t mentioned.
Then he took off for Savannah and continued his exploration. Now he was in the jungle by the mountains where they had heard and seen the big, black cats and everyone gasped at the sight of the one who tried to attack him. It was very large and very beautiful so he shot in the air above its head and scared it away. Bo and Gertie barked furiously and wanted to go after it but Harry held them back.
“That kitty is too big for you to be messing with it,” he told them and laughed. Everyone watching laughed. Then they all heard the anguished cry of a smaller cat and Harry ran up the mountainside and the camera followed him just in time to see the large cat carrying off the body of a smaller cat. It moved so fast Harry had no time to help the smaller cat and he felt so helpless.
“Oh, that poor cat, that’s the law of the wild I suppose, the large animals have always eaten the smaller ones, but that doesn’t make it any less painful to watch,” he told the audience. Then he noticed Bo sniffing in the brush and the dog barked and whined. Harry went to investigate.
“What have you found, Bo, what’s this, oh, you little darlings,” he cooed and picked up two little kittens, both gold and white with black spots, hissing at him and growling. He held them up to the camera and grinned.
“It looks like that black cat gabbed the mother of these two kittens and now they’re all alone, if I don’t take them, they’ll starve to death out here or another bigger animal will eat them,” he informed the camera. He petted the kittens and cooed to them.
“Its okay, darlings, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, you’re safe with old Harry, I’ll take good care of you,” he promised and took them back to camp. Both dogs followed, wagging their tails. Everyone watched as Harry fetched some raw fish and feed the kittens who attacked the fish, obviously they were very hungry and then he feed them some milk. He got a plastic box and put some sand in it and aimed the camera off so they could potty in private.
“You don’t need to see this, that’s rude,” he said with a grin and everyone watching laughed. Then he picked up the little ones and examined them. “This darker one looks like the female, isn’t she a darling, I think I’ll call her Darla,” he said and kissed her little forehead. Then he looked at the second, more gold kitten. “This one’s the male and he looks just like a little bear so his name is Bear,” Harry decided and held them up for the camera.
“Everyone, meet the newest additions to the Talbert family, these two Savannah, mini-leopards, Darla and Bear and aren’t they the cutest little things?” he asked and hugged them. “I should get them to a Veterinarian right away to get them checked out,” he said and he looked around. “I’ll be off the air for a couple of days but stayed tuned for further adventures and more pictures of our newest family members, goodbye from Savannah, say goodbye Gertie,” Harry said and Gertie barked and Bo wagged his tail. Harry turned off the camera and packed up a few things. He put the kittens inside his shirt for ride back and, of course, they peed on him during the four hour flight but he didn’t mind.
“These two are so adorable, granddad is going to go bonkers when he sees them,” Cassie gushed as she held the two kittens on his couch the next day. Harry was getting ready to leave for their Vet appointment and frowned at her. She looked confused.
“You are taking Bear and Darla to granddad aren’t you, Harry, you know how much he loves cats and he’s going to die when he sees these two,” Jackson declared. Harry sighed and reached out for the two and put them in the carrier Emma had brought over for him. All the kids looked shocked.
“I’m taking them to Dr. Andrews not your granddad and don’t look at me that way, there is no way that man is getting near these kittens, besides your father will be at work and I’m not going near that Clinic,” he informed them. Adam sighed and put his arm around Harry’s shoulder.
“You’re going to have to see Jake eventually, Harry, it’s a small town and there’s only a hundred and ninety-eight humans, you can’t put if off forever and it’s been a whole year,” he said. Harry sighed.
“I’ll see him when I see him and that’ll be when I decide, now I’m going, thanks for the carrier, Emma, I’ll return it when I get my own later today, bye,” he said and he walked to his car and he and the dogs who he took everywhere with him drove off.
Dr. Andrews, an alterian Veterinarian was delighted to see the two mini-leopards and gushed all over them.
“They are the most amazing creatures, so delightful, my goodness isn’t she a beauty,” he gushed over Darla who was very friendly and purred loudly. Bear was equally friendly and the staff loved them. Everyone had to come in to see the kittens and play with them. The doctor announced them fit and gave them their shots and Harry took them to Petco to buy them everything they would need. He definitely needed to buy them radar collars so they couldn’t wander away from camp. He didn’t want one of those big black leopards eating them.
All pets were welcomed in Abby’s Petco so Gertie and Bo happily followed him into the store where he got an air-cart and carried the two kittens in his arm while he did his shopping. He got them carpet trees to climb on, a carpet house to play on and in and lots of balls, cat-nip mice and other toys. He also bought food for them and the dogs and of course chew-toys for the dogs. Everyone gushed over the dogs and kittens and he made his way to the check-out counter. The woman at the counter peered at his face and smiled.
“You’re Harry Talbert from the Travel Show aren’t you?” she asked and everyone turned to look at them. Harry smiled.
“Yes I am and this is Bo and Gertie, say hello, Gertie,” he said and Gertie, of course, barked which made everyone smile and clap. The woman picked up a picture from under the counter and showed it to him. It was one of him with his dogs. She smiled and waved him through.
“No charge for Harry Talbert,” she told him and everyone clapped. He thanked her and walked out to his Jeep happy that another one of his old friends had remembered their deal from long ago. In the car he put the collars on the kittens, blue for Bear and pink for Darla and they looked adorable. Bo licked them and they played with his tail, he had adopted them and was playing his role as their dad. Gertie liked them too but it was Bo they snuggled up to and slept next to. Gertie still preferred to cuddle up to him which he loved. At least he still had something of Jake’s who loved him.
Harry took the kittens back to Savannah and had a great time filming their antics and the audience loved them and the dogs. He filmed the jungles of the continent and brought back more animals for the zoo which they loved. Then one day in August, he came upon something interesting, a plant that looked familiar and he grinned at the camera. The dogs and cats that were now fifteen pounds and still growing were safely close by, they couldn’t go far because of their collars and the dogs would bark if any strange animals approached.
“Now this is very interesting,” Harry informed everyone and held out the leaves of the plant that was higher than his head for them to see. “We humans call this plant marijuana or if you like, pot, weed, grass, Mary Jane or a few other names. It is a narcotic similar to alcohol and it can make you quite high, as they call it. Very relaxed and mellow. It is dried and smoked in a cigarette like tobacco or in a pipe and can be alright unless you over-indulge and then