CHAPTER 40

  A MUDDY MESS

  As summer rolled on, Darby grew frustrated with me. She felt me pulling away. I wasn't pulling away from her. I wasn't pulling away from her. I was finding myself, feeling more like one person instead of two. Just me with two things on my mind: using the map to prove to Darby that she was wrong about the giants and getting back to the porch to hear more stories about the giants from Grandpa. I was certain the more Grandpa Jack told us, the more of the puzzle I would figure out.

  On one particular morning, while I was raking out the pens in the barn, Romeo was anxious to get to his outside pen. I wasted no time; I quickly slipped the bolt out of the gate. Romeo pushed the gate with his head and scampered outside.

  Oyster, on the other hand, wasn't eager to get out. As usual, he wanted nothing but to stay in the cool, dark barn.

  "Oyster, you need to go out!" I yelled at him. "Your pen is disgusting, and I gotta clean it up."

  In frustration, I attempted to pull the stationary pig out by its collar. I even tried to push him out. But Oyster, who outweighed me nearly three to one, was not having it. He grunted and squealed but stood his ground. I knew the sooner the pig was out, the sooner I'd get back on my quest.

  After several minutes, Darby appeared in the doorway. "What's taking you so long?"

  "It's Oyster. He won't get out, and I can't get him to budge. He's a pig. I can't move him."

  "Let me help." She said, and she climbed into the pen with us. "It's disgusting here."

  I wasn't having it. "I know! That's why he needs to go out so I can clean it."

  Darby insisted, "I'll pull him, and you push him."\

  I walked around and looked at the pig's muddy backside. "No way, you push him. He needs his butt wiped."

  "Darius, be a man! I'm the one here to help you. I'm sure Grandpa Jack is waiting for us. Just get behind him and push already."

  I had little choice in the situation but to position myself behind the pig and place the palms of my hands on the pig's muddy back quarters.

  "Ok, pull!" I yelled at her.

  "Come on, Oyster, you're going outside," Darby commanded, yanking at the pig.

  I dug my feet into the muck of the stall and, with all my might, pushed the pig. With both of us working on him, the pig still didn't budge. He only squealed.

  "Keep pushing. I'll be right back," Darby said.

  "Where are you going?" I yelled at her.

  Darby went over to the pen's railing, grabbed something, and headed out the side barn door. She came around outside of the pen and looked inside the barn at Oyster standing there.

  Darby yelled, "Okay, get ready to push."

  "I'm pushing now!"

  Darby raised her arm above her head and yelled, "Oyster, come and get it."

  She then banged the can opener against the top of a can of oysters. Oyster came running right at her.

  With my hands against his backside, as soon as Oyster took off, I fell face first in the muddy muck.

  Darby couldn't help herself.

  I was so mad, but the truth was that had it been the other way around, I would have laughed much harder and longer.

  "You look like the pig!" she screamed.

  Her insulting humor got the best of me. I jumped up, muddy hands outstretched, and I raced out toward her.

  "Don't you dare, Darius!" she insisted.

  In my haste, I tripped and fell again. My head hit the fence post with a thunk.

  Darby immediately climbed the fence to the yard and, from the top, looked down at me.

  I scrambled to my feet quickly, brushing mud off my jeans. "I'm fine!" I said.

  Darby noticed that I had tripped over an indentation in the mud. "Darius, look!"

  "What?"

  "Look." Darby pointed to the spot in the pen where I tripped.

  I looked but didn't see anything from down on the ground. I got up and still didn't see anything.

  I got up on the railing next to Darby. From the top of the rail fence, we both looked down and noticed that the indentation was an enormous footprint that tracked through the mud of Oyster's pen.

  The footprints were three times the size of a man's footprint. They looked like barefoot prints. They were evidence of something that had been on the farm recently.

  "Darby, do you see them? They're giant!"

  Neither one of us could believe it.

  "Darby, the footprints lead out of Oyster's pen back that way." I pulled out the map and pointed to it. "They go in the direction on the map where the stream is located. I bet if we follow them, they will lead us to the stream. Come on, let's get going."

  Darby didn't know what to think. "We can't just take off. They'll be looking for us."

  "What's wrong, Darby? Afraid we will find something? Afraid you will have to admit Grandpa Jack is telling the truth?"

  I could see it in her eyes—that's exactly what she was afraid of.

  "Well, if you aren't coming, I am going without you." I jumped out and was off in the direction of the footprints.

  "Darius, wait! Wait right here. I think we should tell Grandma Mimi we are taking a walk."

  "Go ahead. I'm not waiting."

  I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by. Darby's hesitancy was about her, not me.

  She jumped down and followed me. The footprints disappeared inside the tall grass of the neighboring farm. The prints were not as clear as they had been in the mud of the pen, but I could still make out where the tracks were by the crushed golden grasses. They seemed to go from the grass to the gravel road heading west. We continued down the gravel road a few feet and realized the footprints were no longer visible in the gravel.

  I walked across the road to the other side, where the natural grass continued in an unfenced section of the valley.

  "Darby, over here. The footprints seem to pick up over here."

  We kept on their path across the valley and finally came to a wooded area that was deep in the valley between the neighboring farms.

  We walked until we lost track of the distance. The early morning sun was now shaded under the canopy of the wooded area. As we continued, the forest became denser with trees and rockier.

  "Darby, do you hear that?"

  "I do!" she said.

  It was the sound of water. Like a stream.

  "Come on, Darb, this way." I ran toward the sound. Darby followed.

  When we finally reached the stream, it was flowing down into the valley and was running west. The water tumbled and burbled over the rocks and stones in its path. The water was clear and clean. We were both so thirsty. I bent down to take a drink with my hand. The water was cold, and I lapped it up with several handfuls.

  "Come on. It's cold and clean and tastes great," I said, wiping water from my chin.

  I was on the hunt for my giant. Like a knight in medieval times or Robin Hood in Nottingham Forest, I felt one with nature. My quest was finally turning in the right direction.

  Darby reached into the fast-moving stream for a drink.

  "We'd better keep moving."

  I got up and began walking along the stream away from the farm. Darby suggested, "We'd better stay close to the stream for water."

  "Good idea," I said. I looked at the map again. "Look at this, Darby. I have a hunch we are going to see a giant today. I just know it."

  The farther away we walked, the more concerned I could tell Darby was about the distance. I wasn't going to worry about the distance, just the end of the quest.

  We continued following the stream to a point where it pooled up and ended.

  "That's funny," I said. "There is no indication that the stream should end here. There is not even a pond on the map.

  I looked back to where we came from. "Maybe we were going in the wrong direction?" I said.

  Darby asked, "Let me see the map again." She pulled it out of my hands. "What direction is it back to the farm?"

  "I'm not even sure. I think it is that way. I remember back a way, the stream curved around, and now we are heading more north than west. So, the farm is back that way in a southeast direction."

  "Darius, you're wrong. It was back that way toward the south."

  I looked up at the canopy of trees over us. "It's hard to see where the sun is from down here. If I could just see the sun, I could figure out what direction we are going."

  I looked around. We had been walking through the woods for a while. It was hard to see very far in any direction. And, in all directions, the geography looked the same.

  Darby interrupted my thoughts. "Darius, I think we are lost."

  "We're not lost. We have a map." Honestly, I wasn't so sure, so I said, "I think we should start to follow the stream back the way we came. I think we just went the wrong direction when we met up with the stream."

  Darby didn't argue. She actually agreed for once. We walked back in silence. I knew what she was thinking. It was the same thing I was thinking. That we were lost. I, of course, was also getting hungry.

  "I bet it's close to lunch time," I said. "I wonder what Grandma made today."

  Darby added, "We should have at least told Grandma we were taking off. I should have put my foot down and insisted before we got ourselves into this mess."

  I said nothing back to that. Maybe she was right. I didn't know and didn't want to admit it.

  We followed the stream back. Going in the opposite direction made everything look different. It wasn't easy to recognize anything in the woods from this angle. The more we walked, the more tired we were getting.

  We stopped to fill up on water, but I was getting tired of water.

  Darby suggested we stop and rest. We were both exhausted. We stopped and rested beneath a giant oak.

  In the soft, cool grass, it was easy to just let nature take its course. The splash of the creek lulled us both to sleep.

  It didn't seem like we had been asleep for very long when Darby woke me up. She was scared. The sun had already begun to go down.

  "Darius, wake up. The sun is going down. We have been gone all day."

  I looked up, and the sun was nearly out of the sky. The woods were so thick that I couldn't even tell which way the sun was setting. I asked, "Can you tell which way west is?"

  Darby looked all around. "No."

  I sat up quickly. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

  Darby wasn't amused. "Well, why didn't I know better than to follow you all the way out here? I should have stayed back at the farm. There are no such things as giants, and you are a fool for thinking anything more about it."

  That was it. Heat flooded my face. I stood up next to her and raised my fist to hit her. Darby was shocked. As kids, we fought, but we had not fought once in the last year.

  "Don't you dare!" she said. "I'll…I'll tell Grandpa Jack."

  "Go ahead," I said as both fear and anger pumped me up. I didn't care. I pulled my fist back, prepared to hit her.

  Darby turned away, "Darius, no," she yelled. "Dad!"

  We both froze. Neither one of us could believe she called out for Dad. Neither of us could believe it. It had been so long since either of us had called out for our parents.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Just hearing her say it scared me, and I could tell it scared her.

  I immediately put my fist down. "Darby, I'm sorry."

  "No, I'm sorry," she said. "I was being insulting. I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sorry."

  A tear fell from her eye, and I immediately felt responsible. Darby leaned into me and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I let her hold on for as long as she wanted.

  "Darby," I said, we need to get moving. It is going to be dark soon, and we don't have a flashlight."

  We walked at a quicker pace. We wanted to get home before the sun completely disappeared. We didn't seem to be having any luck. It continued to get darker and darker until it was completely night.

  "How is it that we could have gotten this lost?" I asked.

  Darby answered, completely exasperated, "Well, we have been walking nearly all day. We no longer even know if we are heading in the right direction."

  "Darby, I can barely see where we are going. It's completely dark. How late do you think it is?"

  "I don't know. Probably after eight, I guess. Grandma must be worried sick."

  "I hope so. At least then someone would be looking for us."

  We continued walking in silence. "Darby, maybe we should stop walking. I'm afraid we may be getting even more lost walking in the dark."

  Darby stopped walking but said nothing. I continued, "Maybe in the morning, when the sun comes up, we can get our bearings and find our way out of here. Perhaps Grandpa will come and find us."

  "Maybe," she said.

  For the first time in a long time, Darby didn't argue. That's how I knew she was truly scared.

  "Let's see if we can find a place to sleep," I said.

  The dark woods loomed. Tall trees towered over us like dark creatures waiting in shadow.

  We found a flat area against a bunch of boulders. I brushed off the ground, clearing a place for us to sit and eventually lie down.

  "Come on, Darby. Help me gather up some leaves. They'll make a nice bed."

  We gathered leaves into a mound and sat down in our makeshift bed. Hours seemed to pass. Every sound kept us rigid, too scared to close our eyes.

  The woods had far too many noises. There was constant motion in the woods. With every noise, I wondered what could be out there. Afraid to fall asleep, Darby asked,

  "Darius, what do you dream about when you sleep?"

  "What?" I was focused on watching the woods for giants, lions, and even werewolves. Silly kid stuff, I know, but that is how my imagination works when I'm scared. Fantasy blends seamlessly into reality. A therapist would call it a coping mechanism. Of course, the hundreds of books I had read up to that point likely played a bigger part than anything else.

  "What do you dream about when you sleep?"

  "I don't know," I said. "I don't usually remember dreams. Why?"

  "Just curious, I wondered if you and I had the same types of dreams."

  "I don't know. Sometimes I dream about adventures of my own."

  "Have you ever dreamed you were on a boat?"

  "Sure, all the time."

  "Really, what happens?"

  "Well, sometimes I am the captain. And other times I am on a boat with pirates. And just the other night, I was on a long ship with Vikings. It was really cool. There was this man with a red beard, and he…"

  "Never mind," she said abruptly.

  "Wait, I wasn't finished.”

  "No, I don't want to know."

  Clearly, she had something else in mind, so I asked, "Well, what do you dream about? Boats?"

  "Never mind, I said. I thought maybe you shared the same dreams I did."

  I didn't know what to say. She turned away from me slightly, pulling her knees to her chest.

  Suddenly, there was a snap! It came from over on our left. The snap was louder than the other sounds we had heard.

  Darby's voice dropped to a whisper. “What was that?”

  "It sounded like a branch snapping."

  "Like something walking?"

  Just then, there was another snap from the same direction.

  Darby jumped. "Is it coming closer?"

  "I don't know," I was scared myself.

  Suddenly, another snap.

  "Something is definitely heading this way," I said. We looked around to see if we could see anything. There didn't appear to be a flashlight. I got up to look around the boulders behind us.

  "Darius, no! Sit down."

  "I just want to see what it is." I wasn't as afraid as I thought I should be. In fact, it was obvious that I was less afraid than my sister.

  Then, there was a howl. It was a long, bewildering howl. "It's a werewolf," Darby screamed and grabbed me.

  "I thought you said there were no such things as werewolves?"

  "Well, I don't know," she said.

  I still couldn't see anything. Then, there was another sound. It was a jingling sound.

  I recognized it. "A werewolf that wears a chain collar. I don't think so." I called back with a howl of my own.

  "Darius, stop!" Darby shouted.

  I howled again. Only this time, the answer back was a low bark.

  "It's Rascal, you idiot," I told her.

  "How do you know?"

  "Can't you hear him? It's him. Rascal, we are over here!" With that, the jingling sounds and barking got louder.

  Darby finally recognized it. "It is Rascal!" She stood up next to me to watch. Darby joined in by calling him. "Rascal…come here, boy. Rascal!"

  Looking toward where Rascal was, we suddenly heard, "Here you are!" directly behind us. We jumped with fright. We turned around in the dark, and in the glow of the moonlight, we saw who it was.

  "Fitch!" I called out. I ran up and hugged him. Darby wasn't so sure.

  "How did you find us?" she asked, how it was even possible.

  Fitch answered, "I didn't find you; Rascal did."

  Darby looked from Fitch to where Rascal's barking continued. “But you were over here behind us, and Rascal is way over there.” Her brow furrowed.

  "We are so glad to see you," I said.

  "Not as glad as your grandma and grandpa will be to see you. They are both so worried. What are you two doing out here anyway?"

  I started with, "Well, uh…we went for a walk."

  Fitch was quick to ask, "All the way down here? What would bring you all the way down here? You are miles away from the farm. Anyway, you two had better follow me. It is really late, and we'd better get you home." Fitch whistled through his two front teeth for Rascal to come. Suddenly, the old dog appeared on top of one of the boulders behind us.

  Without a flashlight, Fitch led us out of the thickly forested woods. Rascal stayed right next to us the entire way. "Sure, was lucky Fitch found us," I said.

  "Sure was.” Darby's voice held an edge I couldn't quite place.

  "Just be grateful we are going home. Hey Fitch, what's for dinner?"

  "I am not so sure. I have been out all day looking for you two. It is way past dinner. I am sure your grandma will have something there on the stove for us. I don't know about you two, but I am sure hungry. I hope she has her beef stew."

  That sounded great.

  We finally came out of the woods to an old path that had only two dirt tire tracks to drive on. There was the old Chevy truck sitting in the moonlight, waiting to take us all home. Fitch went around to the back and lowered the tailgate for Rascal to jump in.

  "Sorry, old friend, you'll have to ride in the back going home." Rascal jumped up, and Fitch gave the dog a solid scratch under his belly. Fitch then went around and opened the door for us. Darby got in first.

  Fitch then went around and got in. He immediately turned the key and put on the headlights. As soon as he did, there, down the dirt path, something moved in the headlight beams down the dirt path. Large. Moving on, long legs that seemed too tall, too wrong.

  It stepped out of the light and disappeared into the thick woods in two massive strides.

  I screamed and asked, "What was that?"

  Darby said, "What? I didn't see anything. What are you talking about?"

  I continued, "Wait, you didn't see it? It was right there in front of us. It was huge."

  Fitch quickly answered, "I didn't see anything either. But I had my head down. What was it, a deer or something?"

  I shook my head. “Too tall for a deer. Too tall for a bear even.” I can't believe you didn't see it, Darb. You were looking straight ahead like I was."

  “I was looking straight ahead,” she insisted. 'But I didn't see anything.”

  I yelled, "Fitch, follow it. I want to see it again. I have to see it again; I know what it was."

  Fitch began to drive ahead. Darby then yelled, "No, Fitch. Turn around!"

  I turned to her. "Why? You didn't even see it. I did. I want to get a better look. Fitch, hurry before it's gone."

  Fitch drove up the path toward where I had seen it.

  I insisted, "Turn on the brights so we can see everything."

  The truck rolled along next to the wooded area. I looked toward the woods for any sign of movement. I grabbed Fitch's shoulder. "Stop the truck! This is where it went into the woods." Fitch stopped the truck, and I rolled down the window.

  Darby reached for my arm. "No! Roll it up."

  "No way, I want to see if I hear anything. Cut the engine."

  Darby persisted, “Don't turn off the engine!' Darby's voice pitched higher.

  I looked but couldn't see anything. "Keep rolling forward," I said. "But go really slow."

  "I think we should get going," Darby said. "I wouldn't want Grandma to worry any longer."

  "I suppose you are right," Fitch answered. "We'd better get going. I am sure it was just a deer or something like that."

  "That was no deer, Fitch. It was a giant! I saw it with my own eyes. Darby, I don't know how you could have been looking in the same direction and not seen it."

  I continued to look out the window for any signs of what I was sure I saw. Fitch turned the truck around, heading back the way we came.

  I leaned over and whispered in my sister's ear, "Are you sure you didn't see it?"

  Darby didn't immediately answer. I believed she had seen something. The day's events were more than she could handle. With the footprint in the mud, the map, and that thing that ran in front of the truck, I knew she was struggling to rationalize it all.

  I raised my voice. "It was a man, Fitch, a giant man. He had a beard, and he was huge. It was so scary. Have you seen him before?"

  Fitch just smiled.

  I continued, "Of course, you have. I have seen one. I actually saw a giant."

  Darby asked Fitch, "So do you think he saw a giant? Fitch, tell him the truth."

  Fitch answered her, "I believe he did. I believe you think he did, too."

  "I believe in no such thing," she said.

  Fitch laughed, "You are only concerned because he saw it, and for some reason you didn't.

  Darby turned away, "Just let me rest. I'm tired." She leaned back against the dirty vinyl seat.

  I knew Grandpa was right. Now, I had seen a giant with my own eyes.

  The rolling motion of the truck's ride finally lulled both of us to sleep. It had been a long and exhausting day for us. Fitch began to whistle, helping us drift off.

  Finally, we arrived at the farm, and the crunch of the gravel road woke the two of us up. It was finally time to face our grandparents after the day's ordeal.

  Fitch pulled the truck up to the porch steps. As he did, Grandma Mimi opened the front door. She did not come down to meet us. She stood at the door, holding the screen door open for us.

  "You two should probably get out now. It's best not to keep your grandpa waiting," Fitch told us.

  I opened the truck door and slid out slowly. Darby was right behind me.

  We walked up the steps with our heads down. We avoided making eye contact with our grandma.

  We entered the living room. Grandpa Jack sat in his chair, waiting. I couldn't even look at him, but I could feel his heavy stare. Grandma Mimi stood at the door and shut it behind us. She told us, "You two need to have a seat here on the couch."

  We immediately sat down and waited. Grandma sat across from us on the smaller sofa in the room. No one said anything for a minute or two. The silence was punishing. I couldn't listen to the silence anymore. I spoke up. "Grandpa, it was my fault. But…but…"

  Grandpa Jack, in his anger, shouted, "Keep quiet!"

  No one said another word. Grandpa got up from his chair and began to pace around the room. He was clearly searching for what he was going to say. He was also likely to give himself some added time to calm down. His shouting scared us, and maybe even surprised him.")

  He finally spoke again, "First of all, I am disappointed in the two of you. You broke your promise to me. You promised that if I shared with you my stories and the history of the giants, you would stay out of the cabin. I want my map back now.

  I immediately stood up, reached into my pocket, and pulled out the well-worn map overlay. I set it on the coffee table in the center of the room. My grandparents looked at it in its altered state, from being folded and torn.

  "Grandpa, let me explain," I said.

  Grandpa Jack interrupted, "I wasn't finished." I sat back down. "There is a matter of trust here, and now, a lack of trust. You know, you worried your grandma here? On top of that, we received a call today from your other grandmother."

  Darby interrupted, "Gramma Louise called?"

  "Yes," Jack continued. "They are back from their cruise and wanted to know how it was going. She wanted to talk to the two of you and see if you were alright."

  Darby interrupted, "What did you say?"

  "What did we say? We didn't know what to say!' Grandpa Jack's voice rose. “Were we supposed to tell them we couldn't find you? That you'd run off with a map to chase giants?” He stopped pacing and faced us directly. “How do you think they'd react to crazy old Jack saying that?”

  My anxiety raced. I swallowed hard to try to contain it. At times, my anxiety can whip up, and before I know it, the tears start to flow, and I have no control over them. They rule both my body and my mind. I held on as best I could and stuffed it all down.

  Grandpa kept going. "That's right, I know they think I'm crazy. For that matter, most of the world thinks I'm crazy. Why shouldn't they? I spent half my life chasing things that people don't even believe exist."

  I wanted to tell him I believed him. I was sure I saw something that could have been a giant that very night. But I thought better of it. So, I sat there in silence. I was now more concerned about what was going to happen next. I asked, "What is going to happen to us now?"

  Grandpa Jack turned his attention to me. His eyes locked on mine.

  "Grandma Mimi told Louise everything was fine. But Louise asked if we wanted to send you two home early, now that they're back from their trip.

  "What did you say?" Darby asked.

  "I wanted to say yes!" Grandpa Jack responded. "Besides, she was only asking because she did not think we could handle you, being crazy people and all. I think the two of you should go. I don't think I can trust the two of you anymore. I am afraid you are just going to get into too much trouble here. This is no place for kids."

  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I tried to control it, but my bottom lip began to quiver. I started taking short, deep breaths in an attempt to hold in the tears. Darby put her arm around me. Her touch opened it up.

  I began to cry softly. But it was audible enough that both Grandpa Jack and Grandma Mimi heard me.

  Grandma Mimi got up, came around, and sat on the other side of me. "There, there. Darius, don't cry." Mimi's actions gave Grandpa Jack pause.

  I tried to talk, but my words were hard to get out. I hated it, but I couldn't stop crying. "We're…we're sorry. I just wanted to show Darby…Darby, that you were right. That giants do exist…she is a tough one…Darby…she won't believe without seeing. I just wanted…wanted…wanted to prove to her that you were telling the truth." I began to cry again.

  Darby was stunned. She looked at Grandpa Jack, and he was looking at her.

  "Darius, it's okay," Grandma Mimi said as she continued to try to console me.

  I shouted back, "No! It's not! I don't want to go home. I don't want to go there. I want to stay here. I like it here. I made a mistake. I'm sorry. Dad always said mistakes followed by I'm sorry are meant to be forgiven. Don't make us go back."

  I continued to cry. Grandpa didn't know what to make of it. He walked quickly toward the door, leaving. As he reached for the handle, the door swung open toward him. Grandpa jumped back, startled.

  It was Fitch. Jack backed away from the door and turned the other way, walking toward the kitchen. Fitch looked at Mimi and the kids and saw me crying. He looked at Darby, and she looked terrified.

  "I'm sorry to interrupt. Ma'am, there seems to be something wrong with Duchess. She does not look well at all." Fitch told us.

  Mimi looked at Fitch with surprise. But she did not immediately turn her attention away from me. She continued to caress my back.

  Fitch had Darby's and my attention.

  Mimi asked, "What is it? Is she sick?"

  "Yes, Ma'am. She is out here on the porch. Rascal is licking her head. She's shaking. I think she is very ill."

  Mimi stopped rubbing my back. "Okay. Thanks, Fitch. Keep your eye on her. Maybe she just ate something that she disagrees with her. I need to stay here with the kids."

  Jack was now standing in the kitchen, looking out the window, and then turned around. He looked surprised at Mimi's lack of concern for the dog.

  "Yes, Ma'am," Fitch said, and he turned and went back out on the porch and closed the door.

  Mimi turned back to us. "Now, no one is going anywhere. I told your Grandma Louise you were both doing well and had been just perfect children."

  Grandma Mimi cleared her throat and continued, "We know you two are sorry. Just know that if Fitch had not found the two of you when he did, something bad could have happened. And you are too precious to us to lose."

  She then extended her arm around Darby as well. "Don't worry, you aren't going anywhere."

  I watched as Grandma looked over at Grandpa, and he looked surprised. It was as if he thought they'd be sending us home.

  "Right, Jack?" she asked him.

  "Well, right. Except there are going to be some rules, new rules. And, of course, some punishment."

  "Of course, dear," Mimi said with a smile.

  Darby said, "Sir, we are sorry. We know we disobeyed. We are sorry for that and for causing so much trouble."

  Mimi asked, "So what is their punishment, dear?"

  Grandpa Jack looked surprised by her question. "Well, for starters, you will need to take Rascal with you everywhere you go on the farm. And you are absolutely not allowed off the farm. If you step even one foot off the farm, Rascal will bark. And if he barks because you went off the farm, you both are on the next plane back to your house. Understand?"

  We nodded our heads in agreement.

  Grandpa Jack continued, "And another thing, you two will be required to cut down the tall grasses on the east and north side of the farm. There is no way Romeo is going to be able to get all that grass mowed down this year before fire season. You'll both need to do it by hand with sickles. Understand?"

  We both nodded yes once more.

  Grandma Mimi smiled. "Well, with that settled, I bet you two are extremely hungry. I have stew on the stove for you. Go wash up and sit down for a late dinner."

  Grandma Mimi got up and walked immediately over to the kitchen. Darby followed her.

  I stayed seated. "What about the stories? Are you still going to continue with the history of giants?"

  Darby and Mimi looked over at Grandpa for his answer. Grandpa wasn't sure what to say. Before he could answer, Grandma Mimi said, "Of course. You heard about your grandpa. He already told you what your punishment was. You will just need to work in the fields, cutting grass after breakfast; only then will you be allowed to join your grandpa on the porch like you always do."

  Grandpa Jack looked over at Grandma at the stove. She had taken care of everything. "Now, you two go and wash up. I'll set your dinner on the table."

  Darby immediately went to the bathroom, but I waited. "I saw one, Grandpa…one of your giants. I saw one tonight and just wanted you to know I always believed, and now I have seen one myself."

  Jack turned back toward the kitchen window but didn't say a thing.

  "Darby didn't see it, but I did. I just wanted you to know this."

  Mimi looked at Grandpa Jack. She told me later she saw his bottom lip quiver.

  I said what I needed to say, got up, and I walked out and joined Darby in the bathroom to wash up.