The Picnic, part one
Sunday July 25th @ 12:45 AM - The King House.
Not everyone was here yet, thought Betty. She was in the kitchen
finishing up the potato salad. Ted and Gary had phoned earlier to say
that they might be a little late because they were going to stop at the
hospital to see Angie before coming. Looking out the back window, she
watched Will, Bart, TK and Bill playing frisbee. Her eyes followed Bill
as he played, She really hoped that he would be good for her Todd. When
Jean was talking earlier about the problems Bill had been having, she
wanted to say that Todd's life hadn't been that easy either. He had
normally been shy and self enclosed. As she watched him, now his smile
and laughter made him seem to be the TK of old.
It's been four years now since the accident. The four of them had
been living in Russell at the time, as her husband, Ken was employed at
the main grain storage facility as a Night shift supervisor. Ken was on
his way home from picking TK up from little league practice when the car
ended up in the ditch. The police were never able to figure out what
caused the car to swerve and crash. Todd who had on his seat belt
escaped with a just a couple of bruises and sore muscles. But Ken, who
said seat belts were for kids, ended up flying part way out of car, with
his body trapped under the side of it. The doctor's later said that he
would never have made it anyway too much internal damage.
The twelve year old TK had crawled to his dad, trying to pull him
out from under car. No matter how hard he pulled, he just couldn't move
him. Then his dad opening his eyes, saw him and smiled, "TK, I want you
to promise me, that You'll tell " He closes his eyes as a wave of
intense pain went through him, "tell your mother that I loved her all my
life ... I want you to be a man now, I've ... " the pain "... You
and
Shell mean everything in the world to ... me ... help Shell..." Then he
was quiet.
Todd was sitting there sobbing still trying to pull his dad out
from under the car 10 minutes later when the police and the paramedics
came. Ken was pronounced dead at the scene.
TK never fully recovered from the pain and the shock. To
complicate
matters even more, he and Shelley had to leave their home and friends to
move in with their grandmother. On rare occasions the old Todd would
come through but only for a second or two at a time. But today watching
him having fun with his friends, she knew he just might have found
something, or someone, to keep his mind free of those best be forgotten
images. She was hoping, this would be be a permanent change, and that
his old ghosts wouldn't return when Bill left.
When the four of them took a break from frisbee, and came in for
cokes, Bill was surprised when TK's mother walked up to him and gave him
a quick hug. She didn't say anything just a quick hug and a smile.
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back to "stray e-mail, part two"