BAD TIMING
CHAPTER 11: Normal Happy Ordinary Everyday Life
Weekends were one of Alex’s favorite times. Those days were the only two he could sleep in for however long he wanted, and this day was no different. The growing boy lay on his stomach with his arms underneath his pillow and his face turned to the far side of his bed. He was in a deep, restful sleep until something landed quite painfully on his back. “Ouch,” he mumbled as the small form wiggled against him, not seeming to notice that he was getting irritated. “Heidi go wake daddy and mum,” Alex mumbled as she sat up on his back, bouncing as if she were riding on the back of a horse.
Heidi continued to bounce on him. “Go horsy riden,” she said patting his shoulders. It was obvious, as it had been for the past few weeks, that she was feeling better, and while Alex was happy that his baby sister was on the mend, he was not happy with the current situation. “Heidi if you let me sleep I will take you into the city and buy you anything you want,” Alex said, hoping a little bit of bribery would work.
Just outside the room which her two children shared, Evelyn was about to go downstairs when she heard Alex’s frustrated groans, and had a feeling that Heidi likely had something to do with that. Knowing that he liked to sleep in on Saturdays, she decided to take pity on him, and approached their room finding Heidi on his back. Without giving her daughter any warning Evie walked over to the bed and lifted her away. “Why don’t the two of us have a sit outside on the swing?” Evelyn asked as she settled Heidi against her left hip.
“Go see horsey,” Heidi said, before she stuck her thumb into her mouth, laying her cheek against Evelyn’s shoulder as she was carried out of the still darkened room. Evelyn shut the door as they made their way out, then addressed her baby girl. “Yes we will go see the horse’s but after everyone else wakes up and after we have a good breakfast,” she replied. Before taking her daughter outside, Evelyn took a knit blanket from one of the chairs then went out to the swing. Once they were settled she wrapped the blanket around her daughter, mindful of the early morning chill in the air.
A few minutes later Rick came outside, still dressed in a pair of long pajama bottoms and a worn T-shirt. As he settled beside his wife and daughter he noticed that Heidi was asleep and offered to take her back to bed, but Evelyn shook her head. “So what are our plans for the day?” he asked as wrapped his arms around his wife, gathering her and their daughter to his right side.
“We need to think about going back to England. As much as I love being here, we need to return, so that Alex can attend school.”
“You think she’s ready for all of that cold weather?” asked Rick, still a little hesitant to take Heidi back there.
“I think as long as we take care to limit her time outdoors, and keep her room warm, we should be safe.” Evelyn stifled a yawn, realizing that she herself could use a little more sleep before the day officially began. The past seven weeks had been difficult on all of them, and both she and Rick were still catching up on their sleep. “I think I may go back to bed for another hour or two.” She watched as her husband stood up, and allowed him to take Heidi while she stood up. Both of them went back to their room, taking their baby with them, then all three of them settled into bed for another few hours sleep.
~*~
Being allowed to take his sister into town was something which made Alex happy. His parents were trusting him to look after her, and in truth he was glad to have her to himself, and glad she was well enough now, to go on short outings. Now the two of them stood in a small stall looking at carved wooden animals and other statues of various sorts. Alex was more interested in the different statues of ancient Egyptian Gods, though was mindful to keep his eye on his sister, who for the moment was content to look at the carved animals.
As with any two year old, Heidi’s attention was short lived, and after a few minutes of being in the small stall, she was ready to go look at other things. “Go Alex,” she said as she tugged at his hand.
“Okay, where should we go now?” he asked as he knelt down to wipe her nose. Instantly she put her hands up to block his attempts at wiping her runny nose, and when Alex persisted, Heidi smacked at him. “Noo,” she yelled.
Alex managed to get one swipe in before standing up to take her hand, and for a moment she seemed calm once more. The next small shop they stopped at was a jewelry shop, and Alex was content to watch as Heidi fingered through some of the beaded necklaces. It only took a few minutes for him to grow tired of being there, and this time when he tried to get her to leave she flat out refused to go. “Ahh, come on Heidi, don’t you want to go back to the house and have a big bowl of nice ice cream?”
“No see pitty beads,” she said as she tried to take one of the necklaces down from the small stand.
“No no, she must not take those,” a little woman said, noticing for the first time that a small child was touching her merchandise. When she walked over to Heidi and tried to move her out of the way, she was startled when she got a loud scream of protest. Suddenly the woman was speaking in Egyptian, too fast for Alex to translate, but the way she was moving about, made him realize that like it or not he and his sister were not longer welcome there. Despite Heidi’s screams and loud cries, Alex drug her out of the shop, and was embarrassed when he saw how everyone was looking at him. “HEIDI,” he shouted, trying to make her hear him. He knelt down, and grasped her arms trying to hold her still but she was in full tantrum mode, and suddenly he wondered what had possessed him to bring her to the Market place alone. Alex tried to hug her, and hold her still as he had seen their father do several times, but that only seemed to make her even more angry. She didn’t want to be held or touched, and when Alex let go of her she threw herself to the dusty ground, breathed in so she could scream some more, and promptly choked on all of the dirt.
~*~
In their room, while the house was quiet, Evelyn sat on the bed folding clean cloths as well as packing them into the large suitcase sitting behind her. She and Rick had made reservations to leave Egypt on Monday, giving them today and tommorow to prepare for home, and to spend a little more time in the city before departing. Jonathan had talked Rick into going with him to the docks to look at a yacht that he was thinking of buying, though she wasn’t sure what he would do with it if he did purchase it. As she was finishing with her tasks she heard a child’s cry, and realized in a moments time that it was Heidi. Abandoning her packing, Evelyn hurried downstairs, walking through the kitchen, and into the parlor where she found Alex sitting on the sofa against the left wall out of breath, and Heidi laying next to him crying as though her heart had been broken. She noticed that the front of his shirt was filthy but moved to take care of Heidi first.
At first Heidi fought her attempts to pick her up, then once she was in her arms, she began to settled down. Evelyn carried her to a near by rocking chair and sat down. “What happened?” she asked, looking at her disheveled son.
“We go into this Jewelry shop, and she starts pulling down necklaces, so when I tell her to stop she doesn’t, and the shop keeper comes and tells her to stop, then she has a temper tantrum in the middle of the bloody Market place,” he said, obviously exasperated.
“Alex, watch your tone please,” Evie reminded as Heidi lifted her cheek from against her shoulder. “Want pitty beads,” she said before she began to cry again. “Shhh, I think it’s time for a nap,” Evie said as she stood up. Heidi cried harder, but didn’t fight. “Come on Alex, you need to get cleaned up,” she said, not willing to let him stew in his anger.
With a sigh, Alex stood up and followed his mum upstairs, waiting while she gathered the things she needed to get his sister’s nappy changed, then after she was gone, he stood at the sink and splashed some cool water on his face. After drying off he felt better, and walked the few steps to his and Heidi’s room where his mum and sister sat in a rocking chair sharing a story. “Heidi, I’m sorry I was cross with you,” he said as he walked over to them.
“I sowy cross you too,” she said around her thumb, not willing to take it out of her mouth. After her apology, Heidi patted on the book in front of her and Evelyn continued to read until she was asleep.
~*~
Their last night in Cairo, Jonathan once again volunteered his services to watch after Heidi, thus allowing Rick and Evelyn time to go out on their own. Alex was upstairs with Tobias, a young boy whose parents worked at the Fort, and who was staying the night with them. In the morning before going to the Docks to take the boat to Alexandria, they would take him home. Alone with his two year old Niece, Jonathan was up on his hands and knees while Heidi sat on his back; her small legs hanging from either side of him as he crawled around the parlor.
“Go fasser,” she called out when Jonathan slowed down to take a breather. “Oh, Heidi, I’m getting to old for this,” Jonathan said as he sank down to the ground. He was instantly drawn to her cries as he stopped, and quickly turned gathering her in his arms. “I know someone who is tired,” he said as he kissed her nose and her chubby cheeks.
“No I not,” she replied, making no move to get away from him. Heidi laughed when he leaned down and nibbled her neck. “Un Jon, we go home morrow?”
Jonathan remained seated on the floor gently rocking her. “We sure are. I bet when we get home Cleo will be happy to see us,” he said thinking of the old cat that had been his sister’s since a little before their first adventure with Imhotep. “Horsey happy see me, an kitty in barn happy too?” Jonathan managed to stand up without having to move Heidi, and walked over to the book shelf. “I imagine everyone will be happy to see you when we get home. You were very very ill when we left you know,” he said as he found the book he was looking for. He sat down on the Sofa closest to where they were sitting, allowing Heidi to sit up before he opened the book and began to read to her.
~*~
Upstairs while his uncle kept watch over his sister, Alex and Tobias sat in his room, which was now clean, and tidy for their leave tommorow. “It’s too bad you have to go so soon. My dad was going to take us out on his boat in the afternoon,” Tobias said. He and his family were from the United States. They were in Egypt to see his mother’s relatives.
“I know but I have school to get back too, and Rugby as well,” he said, happy that they were going back to London. Unfamiliar with that game, Tobias inquired about it. “What is that?”
“Rugby? Well my dad says it’s like your game football, but it’s different because we can run with the ball in our hands as well as kick it about the playing field. There’s more to it than that, and I get lots of bruises but it’s a really great game to play. Alex was about to show him how to play, when the door to the room opened, and Jonathan walked in carrying his sleeping sister. “Come on,” he whispered as they walked out of the room. He led Tobias downstairs, and outside in the small garden his mum had kept when they lived in Egypt after he was born. There Alex showed him some moves, and after a few minutes both boys were rolling on the ground, making a mess of themselves having a marvelous time.
That was where Jonathan found them a little after putting Heidi to bed. He told them it was time for them to get ready for bed, but they talked him into playing a game of tackle and soon all three of them were a mess to be hold. “I better get the two of you into the house before Evie gets home, or she will have my hide,” Jonathan said. He had promised his sister he would have the kids in bed almost an hour and a half ago, and knowing that they could walk in at any moment, he knew he had to get all of them moving.
Neither boy wanted to get Jonathan into trouble, so they did as they were told. It only took them a few minutes to get bathed, and into bed, and as Jonathan was saying goodnight to them, they heard Evelyn call out his name. “Not a word out of either of you,” he said as he hurried out of the room. As he shut the door and turned around, Rick, and Evie came up the stairs, both with that mushy look in their eyes. “I was just checking in on Heidi,” he confessed, hoping they wouldn’t realize that the boys were awake.
“Jonathan thank you for staying with them,” Rick said, before he surprised his wife by taking her into his arms, and pressing a hard passionate kiss to her lips. Jonathan shook his head as he watched them go into their room and once their door was shut he breathed a sigh of relief, happy that he had avoided hearing another one of Evelyn’s lectures on responsibility. With his night now free, He headed downstairs to prepare for one last night in Egypt. After a quick bath and a shave, he dressed up in a pair of tan slacks and a white shirt then headed off for his favorite pub, ready to have a few drinks and some good cheer.
~*~
Early the next morning, after a small breakfast comprised of the food they had left to eat, Rick and Jonathan loaded his Ducey with their luggage, then when they were ready the six of them, including Tobias loaded into the car and they made their way toward the Fort. Tobias was delivered to his parents, ready to go back to sleep, and once underway to the Docks, Evelyn saw the tired look in Alex’s eyes, but decided not to inquire about how late they had stayed up.
Their day long journey home was a day of discovery for Heidi, who enjoyed being on the boat, and flying in the airplane. She had missed out on alot of things during their journey to Egypt, and now that she was in good health, her natural curiosity of the world and of the environment around her was taking hold. It was early evening when their plane landed in London, and Heidi O’Connell was still awake, content for the moment to sit on her father’s lap while the plane taxied down the runway to the small terminal where their ride would be waiting. She felt the plane come to a stop and turned her head to look at her daddy. “Go home?”
Rick smiled and kissed her baby soft head. “We are home,” he replied as Evelyn handed him the thick wool sweater and cap for him to put on their daughter. Heidi held still while her daddy got her all bundled up, then wanted down onto her own two feet. “Momma me carry sashal,” Heidi said seeing that everyone else in her family had something to hold.
Evelyn turned around, and looked down at her daughter before reaching into her own satchel to take out her change purse. “Will you please carry this for me?” When Heidi nodded her head, Evelyn handed it to her, then with the rest of the passengers aboard the plane, they walked toward the front where they would exit.
Rick held Heidi’s hand as she climbed the steps down to the cold ground, and both of them noticed as she began to cough. The air was bone chilling cold, and it was very apparent that they needed to get her into a car and home, as she coughed more. “Hey Sugar, will you let me carry you?” Rick asked as he knelt down.
Heidi responded by walking into his arms, and before Rick stood up Evelyn draped a blanket over their little girl.
While his parents tended to his sister, Alex helped his uncle Jon get their things stashed into the waiting taxi cab, then once they were all settled inside, with him sitting in front with his Uncle, Alex thought about his time in Egypt. He was happy to be home, but he also realized that he already missed being there. Something about that land and it’s people drew him, and he wished that they could spend more time there. “Mum?”
“Yes Alex?”
“Do you suppose we could go back to Egypt in the Summer?”
Evelyn felt the same way as her son, and smiled. “I think that might be a definite possibility,” she replied as Heidi struggled in her father’s arms, wanting to be in her arms. Evelyn reached out, and took her from Rick, then got her to settle down. When they arrived at the manor, Heidi was asleep, and Evelyn put a blanket over her before getting out of the car. As she approached the house the front door came open, and Aunt Maggie was waiting to welcome them home.
“How is our little Heidi?” she asked as she allowed Evelyn to move past her.
“Very tired. She didn’t have a nap today,” Evelyn replied. As she walked toward the parlor, she smelled fresh apple pie and felt her tummy grumble. A fire was going in the large fireplace across from where she entered the Parlor, keeping the house warm, and Evie let Maggie help her with Heidi’s hat and sweater. She smiled as Jonathan entered the room and asked about the apple pie, then headed upstairs to put Heidi down in her bed.
Upon entering her daughter’s room, Evelyn found a fire going in her fireplace, and found that the room was toasty warm, without a hint of chill. Heidi woke up briefly while Evelyn got her dressed for bed in a warm long nightgown, then went back to sleep once she was in her mother’s arms.
Evie stood next to her bed gently swaying as her daughter rested against her shoulder and chest, feeling gratefully lucky to have her back in good health.
“Your going to miss out on the fresh apple pie,” Rick said as he walked up behind his wife, pulling her gently against him as he wrapped his arms around both of his girls.
“It’s good to be home isn’t it?” she asked as he moved away from them to pull the covers down on their daughter’s bed.
Rick detected the note of sadness in her voice, but didn’t comment on it as Evelyn laid Heidi down on her stomach, the way she preferred to sleep these days. When she moved away he pulled the soft sheets and quilt over her body and kissed her head, then turned around to face his wife. “I’m glad to be back, but why do I think maybe you aren’t so happy?”
Evie shook her head. “I am happy, I just always feel a little sad when I’m away from Egypt. This is our home, but I still miss being there,” she said. When Rick drew her into his arms, Evelyn took in a breath and let it out, as she pressed her cheek against his chest.
“We could always move there you know. There isn’t anything here that we couldn’t have there,” he pointed out feeling her head shake.
“Alex and Heidi will receive a better education here, as well as better medical attention should they need it,” though she stopped when she said that, realizing at least in the case of their baby, that the care she received from the Med-jai had been far better than the care she had received here.
Not willing to let his wife dwell on sad thoughts, Rick tilted her head up and kissed her full lips before pulling away. “Lets go get some pie before Alex’ and Jonathan horde all of it, then maybe we can retire early,” he said, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
Evelyn smiled, and reached up pulling his head down to her, taking his lips in another kiss. “Pie later, us now,” she said as she took his hand, and led the way to their room.
Everything was finally back to the way it should be. In her bed surrounded by her babydolls and teddy bears, Heidi slept peacefully without a hint of the illness which had taken ahold of her life for the past two months. Not far from her room, her parents shared a more physical form of their love for one another, reaffirming their love without any thoughts other than the pleasure they were giving and receiving from one another.
Downstairs, Jonathan and Alex finished off the last piece of Apple Pie, both deciding that a game of chess was in order. As they sat down at the table in the Parlor, Jonathan idly wondered why he was playing at all, knowing that Alex would win the game, but realized it was just being in the company of his favorite and only nephew which really mattered. Life was back to the way it should be, and it seemed everyone was ready for things to be that way, back to normal, happy, ordinary everyday life.