The Kids Grow Up, Trish Hanan [books you need to read .txt] 📗

too late to go back and say you’re sorry and correct them,” he advised gently. Jake looked surprised.
“Maybe you’re right, I’ll see you later, I’ve got a patient now, maybe I’ll have you kids over for supper, that’ll be fun,” he said and Jackson nodded.
“Sure, Jake, that’ll be fun,” he agreed and hung up. He couldn’t wait to tell his siblings old Jake was unhappy and what Harry had said about Violet. Maybe there was some hope the two of them would get back together after all these years after all.


After Harry built his barn he sneaked back to Eden and brought all of his food and some clothes and stuff that he wanted. Then he began work on his house and by himself that took almost a month to build but it was a nice house and had a fantastic view of the waterfalls. Then he planted a big garden and flew to Hawaii and pulled up some banana, mangoes and papayas and other fruits so that he wouldn’t have to go back and forth to get them. He didn’t know how long he planned on staying on Mykonos but if it was more than a year then it was worth it.
Then he started to explore the island like he never had before and found lots of interesting caves and tide pools filled with lots of interesting creatures and plants. He dreamed the dream here too but it didn’t seem as scary or as real, it was like putting the distance took away some of the power. And staring at the waterfalls cleared his brain.
The cats loved the island. They loved chasing the goats but after killing and eating the first one, they just chased them. What they really loved doing was fishing in the surf, catching big fish and eating them raw. Bear especially loved trying to catch the small tiger sharks that roamed the reefs. Harry warned him away from them, scared that the sharks would harm him, but the cat wouldn’t listen so Harry sighed and hoped that the cat would be quicker than the fish.
Harry’s children would all call and check up on him from time to time and they all laughed at the beard he was growing and said he looked like a beatnik. He just said shaving every day was a nuisance and who was there to see? Cassie said it made him look like a mad professor and he laughed. When his mother Kate found out he was on Mykonos she called and demanded he come home immediately. She frowned the moment she saw him on the view screen.
“My God, Henry, what on earth is that on your face?” she demanded. Harry grinned.
“It’s called a beard, Mother, how are you today, I’m fine,” he retorted. Barb in the background giggled. “Hi, Barb, how are you?” he called out. She waved.
“Hello, Harry, I love your beard, it makes you look smashing,” she called back. Kate snorted.
“It makes you look old, you look thirty, good heavens, people will think I’m old enough to have a thirty year-old son, Henry, I demand that you shave that thing off immediately,” she snapped. Harry laughed.
“There’s no one here on Mykonos but me, Mom, no one will know I have it,” he assured her. She frowned.
“Why are you on Mykonos all by yourself, this isn’t about Jake leaving you is it, because if it is, my God, Henry, it’s been ten years, enough is enough, get over it already, the man has been married to Violet for ten years, its time for you to leave the past behind you and make a life for yourself, get a husband, get a lover, for God’s sake, get a hobby, get something, but get over Jake Jackson,” she said firmly. Harry sighed.
“Don’t you think I’ve tried, Mom, I really have,” he told her. “I had that travel show for ten years and that didn’t work. All I think about all the time is Jake. I want Jake, I love Jake. I can’t help it. I’ve been in love with Jake since I was fourteen. Maybe that’s stupid but it’s the way I feel and I can’t help it. Maybe I just need more time, after all, I was in love with him for almost a hundred years; maybe it will take twenty years to get over him and not ten. So I’ll just stay here on Mykonos and get a hobby, maybe I’ll take up painting or something, or woodworking, who knows. But I’ll get over him when I get over him and nothing you or anyone else can say or do is going to make him go away any faster so just leave me the hell alone and let me whine and cry on my own.”
“Fine, stay on Mykonos and mope, I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want, but no man’s is worth all of this Henry, not even Jake Jackson, he’s just a man and from what I hear, his mighty sword has been very busy at Gloria’s parties while you’re moping, he’s been playing you for a fool,” she informed him. Harry shrugged.
“If that’s what he wants to do, that’s his business, goodbye, Mother,” he said and hung up on her. Then he stuck his tongue out at the screen. “You really had to tell me that didn’t you, you witch.” He decided to take a walk and explore some caves.
“You really didn’t have to tell him that, that was cruel,” Barb admonished her and Kate sighed.
“Maybe it will help him wake up and smell the roses a little faster, God knows nothing else I’ve said has, Henry has always been obsessive but this is ridiculous, Jake is just a man, it’s time he moved on with his life and found another one,” she stated. Barb sighed and hugged her.
“Would you find it that easy to replace me?” she asked her. Kate sighed and patted her back.
“I love you, dear, but if you left me I’d replace you quickly, I don’t like sleeping alone, you know that,” she told her. Barb giggled.
“You are so practical, you’d probably have someone the day I left,” she teased and Kate grinned.
“Just don’t leave me at night, that wouldn’t give me enough time,” she teased her back and Barb rolled her eyes. Then Jan and Joy came in and it was time to fix lunch.
Harry found some interesting caves on the other side of the ridge where the goats hung out and they were filled with some rather colorful clay. He took some and played with it and wished he had a kiln so he could make some stuff and bake them. He sculpted a very pretty dolphin out of some blue clay and with a sigh, left it in the sun to dry. Gertie sniffed it and they walked home. Maybe he would check the stores he had left to see if he had any art supply stores or toy stores where he might find a kiln. Sculpting with the clay had reminded him of those little brides and grooms he had made for the wedding cakes those many years ago and that had been fun. Maybe his mother was right and he should find a hobby.
The next day Harry carried an empty fifty pound drum down to the caves to put some clay into. Even if he couldn’t bake it in a kiln, he could play around with it and that would be fun. He spied the little dolphin in the sun and it looked funny so he approached it slowly and gasped with shock as he neared it.
“Holy crap,” Harry exclaimed and he bent down to pick it up. The dolphin had dried to fine porcelain finish as if it had been baked in a kiln, painted and sprayed with enamel. It was absolutely gorgeous. Harry was astonished. He held it out to Bo and Gertie for their appraisal.
“Look at this, isn’t this amazing?” he asked and they both wagged their tails. He grinned and kissed them. This got him to thinking. He rushed into the cave and filled the container with yellowish and red clay and lifted it back to the house. There he made two sculptures of his two dogs in sitting positions using his hands and some chopsticks to make the fur and help shape the eyes. He thought about it and decided he really needed the proper tools. So he went through the stores and found an art supply store and laid the finished pieces in the sun and grabbed some food and headed for Sherwood.
“I think this is the right bin guys,” Harry said to his friends who jumped up and barked. He found the sculpting tools and two tables and other stuff he thought he might need and took them back to Mykonos and went to bed. The next morning he noticed that Darla was acting weird, meowing and scratching at the door so he rushed down to the beach to find Bear laying cold and stiff in the sand with a big gash in his side where a shark had taken a bite out of him and killed him. Harry sank to his knees and burst into tears.
“Oh Bear, you stupid cat, I told you to stay away from those sharks,” he cried and held the dead cat. He carried him home and milked Bessie and ran the milk through the pasteurizer and drank a whole half-gallon. Then he rubbed his hands together and placed them over the wound and healed it. Bear remained dead. Darla meowed very loudly and rubbed against Harry who petted her.
“Don’t worry honey, I’m going to bring him back if I can,” he consoled her. Both dogs whined and he petted them. Then he rubbed his hands together and like he had done with DJ, Harry placed one on the cat’s forehead and one over his heart and closed his eyes. It was dark and he couldn’t see anything but eventually he saw Bear sitting in the dark and picked him up. Then the cat under his hands took a deep breath and began to move. Harry laughed and hugged him. Darla rushed over and began licking Bear and the two had a happy reunion. Bo came over and began licking Bear who greeted him like he knew he had been lost. Harry poured some milk for the cats and some for Gertie and Bo and rushed to the kitchen for fish and meat to feed them. When they were all eating he sat at the table and cried, mostly with relief that he had been able to bring his friend back to life. He looked over at the feline giving himself a bath.
“Maybe now you’ll stay away from those tiger sharks, you idiot,” he said and Bear looked at him and yawned. Harry laughed. “Oh, am I boring you?” he teased and Bear came over and hopped on the table. Harry petted and rubbed his tummy while he purred.
“Oh, Bear, what would I have done without you,” he cooed and Bear smiled at him. Harry then threw him off the table so he could fix his own breakfast. The cats settled on the couch and the dogs on their bed while he ate. After he cleaned up Harry went out and checked