Jack's Gremlins.... Part 6

Finally back to my tale of Jack and his family...  Sorry for the delay, life was a bit overwhelming, quite a bit busy throughout all of October.  Hopefully you all remember the storyline (you can find links to the other, previous parts on the right hand side of my blog page).  And, as usual, I am linking this part of the tale to Magpie Tales hosted by the lovely Willow.  This weeks photo prompt #40 is shown here.  You can also explore poetry and tales by other spectacular writers just by following the links from there.  Again, thank you to all of my readers for patiently awaiting this next section.  Hope you enjoy...

Magpie Tales #40

'Pops, it's beautiful... but what is this monkey thing?' I asked.  'Well sweetie, it's the mighty monkey deity in the Indie religious beliefs.  Its called the Hanuman,' answered Pops.  'It's believed that if you recite the Hanuman Mantra, that it helps in overcoming fear... it is also believed one will be blessed with courage and wisdom.'  'Where did it come from Pops?  Why did Mom have it?,' I asked.  'Because your Uncle Jack gave it to her when she was in high school.  He was doing a history project, and in his research he came across this and thought your mother would really like it.'  'Wow, the stones are beautiful, and the story about the monkey god thing is wonderful.  Didn't she like it?'  'Yes, she just felt it was too large to wear, the shield thing, so she was going to hang it in here on the wall.  She had gotten the material to use as a backdrop.  You know, one of the projects that she never quite finished.... maybe we could finish it for her, together.  What do you think?'  'Oh Pops, I would love to work on it with you.  What was she going to put it in or on, to display it?,' I asked.  'I'm not sure, but I'm sure if we keep our eyes open when we go shopping, we could find just the right frame,' Pops said as he looked at his watch.  'How about I go down and make some dinner and check on your brother.  You put all this stuff up and then come down and get washed up.' he said as he stood up and headed for the stairs.  'Okay Pops, I'll be down in just a few minutes....'

When I was walking down the stairs, I could smell the chicken baking... I knew I better hurry, it must have taken me a while to put the albums back and put the cloth with the necklace back in the box.  I made sure I had wrapped it gently around the stones and the shield, just like Mom had left it, but then placed the box on her desk, so when we got the frame we could find it easily.  I rushed into the bathroom and washed up for dinner, then as I was walking down the hallway past Jack's room, I saw him playing on the floor with Toby.  'Come on Jack, smells like dinner is almost ready.  Let's get you washed up so we can eat,' I said as I entered his room.  Toby jumped up, her toenails clicking on the wooden floors, and meandered over to the top of the stairs, looking back toward the doorway.  Jack got up from the floor and we went into the bathroom and I turned on the water for him.  He put his small hands under the water and I reminded him to use the soap.  I could hear Pops calling, 'Jack, dinner time, can you tell your sister it's ready?'  I poked my head out of the bathroom, 'We were just getting washed up, be right down.'  Jack rinsed the soap from his hands and turned off the water as I handed him the small towel from the bar.  Jack wiped his hands and dropped the towel on the sink and raced for the stairs.  I folded the towel and placed it back on the bar on the wall.

When I got down to the kitchen, Jack and Pops were already sitting at the table, waiting for me to catch up.  I sat down and we began to eat our meal, chicken, baked potatoes, dressing and corn.  The smells from the food were wafting throughout the kitchen, and something else, apples or something.  Jack was eating his chicken leg and asked, 'What's for desert Pops?' a smile beaming across his face.  Pops answered, 'Well, when your Uncle Howard came by this morning, he left us an apple pie.  Said him and Jack picked them fresh from their tree. I thought you might...'  'Oh boy, apple pie is my favorite!  Can I have some now?' beamed Jack.  I reminded him, 'I think you need to finish your food first.'  Pops continued my answer saying, 'It'll take a bit for it to cook, so maybe after your bath tonight.'  You could see the smile drain from Jack's face and his lower lip sticking out as he pouted.  Pops turned to me, 'Sweetie, I was thinking about the Hanuman necklace.  What do you think if we did some checking into and maybe we could find the Mantra and somehow put it with the necklace in the frame?...'  Jack interrupted, 'What's the mantra and the hanu...?'  'Okay,' I answered, 'or maybe we could ask Uncle Jack about it.  Maybe he would know where to find one.'  Pops answered, 'That's a really good idea.  He's coming for dinner with your Uncle Howard tomorrow, maybe you could ask him then.'  Jack again asked, 'What's the hanum?'  Pops turned to Jack and explained that it was a monkey god and that Uncle Jack had given a necklace with it on it to Mom.  'Can I see it sometime?  Are you sure the apple pie isn't ready yet?'  Pops answered him, 'No, about another 20 minutes, how about we go get your bath done and then you can have your apple pie... Are you finished with your dinner?'  Jack jumped up from the table and raced up the stairs ahead of Pops.  I sat quietly finishing my dinner thinking about the necklace, thinking about Uncle Jack giving it to Mom...  I wondered about Uncle Jack, if he was always so serious, if Pops didn't want him around us without someone else, 'an adult' around, why did he do things like giving Mom the necklace?  He seemed pretty nice, okay I mean, when he brought Jack the collection of leaves and stuff at the hospital.  I wondered...

I got up from the table and started clearing the dishes into the sink.  I filled it with soapy water and started washing them, when I heard Pops and Jack walking back down the stairs.  'Is it ready, is it ready?' Jack asked as they rounded the doorway into the kitchen.  Pops answered, 'I think it probably is, let me just check it.'  Pops opened the oven, grabbed the potholders and lifted the pie out setting it on the stove.  Pops pulled down three smaller plates as Jack pulled forks from the drawer for all of us and jumped into his chair, that big old smile stretched across his face, 'Is it ready?'  'Honey, why don't you come have some pie, then we can finish the dishes.'  Pops placed the first plate with pie in front of Jack, reminding him that it would be hot.  We all sat quietly savoring the flavors of the pie, the apples still slightly crisp, a hint of cinnamon in the crust.  After we all finished, Pops went up with Jack to tuck him into bed and I finished up washing the last of the dishes.  Then I went up to my room to get ready for bed, I was pretty tired after spending most all of the day sifting through all the wonderful crafts and albums still up in Mom's space.  As I layed down on the bed, pulling the covers up, Pops poked his head in the doorway and said, 'Goodnight sweetie.  See you in the morning.'  I layed in the darkness, listening, thinking until I slowly drifted off to dreamland....