Sam came home one night with good news. “You won’t believe this, but we had a meeting at work and the question of holidays came up. We are all entitled to take two weeks of holidays, which is something that has not even entered my mind in years. We will take turns, and that will suit everyone.”
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard in years! So when are you going on holidays?” Barb was excited to hear about it.
Sam explained everything. “You should have seen Gina in action; she had no problem organizing everything. So when can you take some time off? We should be able to plan a trip or something, for the whole family. Don’t you agree?”
“That would be great; after all, we haven’t had a decent break in what seems like forever. What about Henry? When does he get the time off to work on the cottage?”
“We know that Henry is free to take time off whenever he wants. I know what you are getting at: We promised to help him rebuild the cottage this summer. However, we have to work it out with him and without pushing him into it.”
“Yes, I know. Well, I can’t wait to tell the children about the holidays.” Then she added; “You don’t have to worry about my taking time off; I will manage and everything will work out just fine. Let’s all get together — including Henry — and we will decide. What do you think?”
“That’s fine with me. I’ll have a chat with Henry tomorrow.”
In the end, it was decided that they would take a one-week family trip and work at the cottage the second week.
Now, having decided to rebuild the cottage, Henry had something to look forward to. He often spoke about it to Serge, and, in his own way, to Lily. He would replace her picture, the one that had been stolen. He had many. The rest of the things that were taken, when the cottage was robbed earlier, were not of that much importance. He had his memories. He often spoke of Lily to Dominic, who was willing to listen at any time. Being a good listener is being a good friend. There were times when Dominic wished he had a father like Henry, who cared about others and not just himself. Yet, he never dreamed of replacing his mother with another one, even though Susanne often wanted attention instead of giving it to her children. The boy was totally devoted to his mother. He did not mind being the man of the house, even at his age.
The Millers had decided to expand their business and in order to do so they would have to renovate the building and enlarge it. This year was going to be a busy one for them as well. The idea was that once they have a large structure, they would use half of it for groceries and the other half for hardware. The need was there for both, and they wasted no time starting.
“Dominic, have the Millers approached you about which side — food or hardware — you are going to be working?” Sasha wanted to know.
“I have no idea and I don’t care which it is going to be,” his answer came. “I just hope they will still need me one way or another. I need this job, and so do you; right?” He gave his sister a wink.
“I guess so. Actually, I’m excited about the renovation. It will bring a change to all. You know me; I get bored easily. Do you think we will still be able to help with Henry’s cottage?”
“Yes, I am sure of that. The Millers like Henry, after all. They would never prevent us from helping him. They will not sabotage us and our chances just because we are willing to help Henry. The Millers have a reputation to uphold. They have earned it the hard way. They are good people.” Dominic had a lot of respect for those people, and so did Sasha.
After their trip, the next event was the rebuilding of the cottage. Sam managed to separate his work from the holidays; Barb, on the other hand, had to go and inspect everything before she could leave for another few days.
The Prestons had a good trip; Nicole was anxious to tell Dominic all about it, but that had to wait until they went to the cottage. A lot had to be looked after before they left. The Lamberts were divided on the idea of roughing it. The kids couldn’t wait, but Susanne was not willing to go and she let them know it. She was still doing well at work, and her hours had been extended. It was to be a part-time job, but she came in very handy and was now working four full days a week. So there was less for her children to worry about while they were away.
Henry found out what the Lambert kids had told the Millers about rebuilding the cottage, so he had a chat with them. He informed the Millers that he was working on the required permits, but there had been a delay in acquiring those. First of all, he was not ready to get into that for quite some time; when he had finally decided to rebuild, he was a bit too late in getting everything together for the designated time in mind. Anyway, he was not about to make those people work on the construction site, even if he did decide to do it on a small scale. He wanted to surprise the kids without deceiving the Millers and he didn’t want the kids to feel bad about telling the Millers that they were going to work up north. So, once he had cleared the air, he was ready to go and have a marvellous time.
“Dad, I am going to help a lot this week,” Trevor promised. He was enjoying having his father all to himself. The girls were planning on sticking with their mother because she promised to do quite a bit of shopping while away. “So, are we going to have some fun as well, while we are building the cottage?” Trevor asked. “And can we go on a boat ride as well?” They all had questions, but Sam was only able to answer some of them. He assured them that Henry always made sure they all had plenty of fun while they were up there.
Finally, the time had come for them to leave. Serge was the first to show appreciation by barking at them to announce playtime. He was happy when the children were present. This was to be quite an experience for them all.
Meanwhile, Henry had brought out a couple of professionals to inspect the cottage rebuilding site and assess the required foundation according to Henry’s plans; and two days later; they returned and started pouring the foundation.
This surprised everybody, and Sam had a few talks with Henry about what he planned to build on this fascinating property. It was in a way a shock to find out about the new plans and developments. However, that did not last long. Henry took a long time deciding what to do but once he made up his mind, he went all the way.
“You know, Sam, I have been careful all my life. Not afraid — but careful. I have forgotten to take my own advice about not knowing what awaits you if you never take a risk. Just ask your wife what I mean by that.” But Sam was well aware of what Henry was talking about. “So, let’s have some fun while we are here. Your son is going to burst if we don’t stop chatting.” They laughed.
Barb managed to get the girls to help with preparing the food while the guys cleaned up plenty of debris around the place. After that, the guys went fishing and the girls had fun swimming. In the evening, they all sat around the fire and talked, sometimes even sang.
They had fun putting up the tents, but once the rain started one evening, that was a different story. However; that lasted only one day and night. The following night, the girls went home and returned the next day. Next-door neighbour Tom offered to assist as well. He invited them to stay at his house if it started to rain again. “Henry, don’t bother going home; you can all bunk with us, if you like,” Tom offered.
“Thank you, Tom. That will be up to the rest to decide; as for Serge and me, we will take you up on your offer — thanks.”
Barb said, “I think I’d better go home and check on the house. You girls might want to join me, as it can get a bit crowded here, don’t you think? At the same time, I can look in on the work at the office.”
The rain did not return, but the guys stayed at Tom’s anyway. Sasha and Nicole felt uneasy about staying, so they left with Barb. Sasha was happy to be able to look in on her mother.
The next morning: “Mom, are we going back to the cottage?” Nicole asked.
“Well, it’s Friday, and there is no reason why we shouldn’t go and finish the week helping, right?”
“What about Livy? Is she going as well?”
“Yes, she is going as well. If we can stay together one week, than we can manage this weekend as well.” She made sure Olivia heard her say it.
“But Mom, can’t I stay at home?” Olivia wanted to know.
“Get ready, Olivia, and stop being a nuisance. You always have some excuse. I suggest you learn to get along with people, if you want to have a normal life someday. You are wearing me out.”
That pretty well established how the weekend was about to begin, as well as end. Somebody always has to take a chance at being a villain. And it is usually the one who is not afraid of being unpopular, even for only a short while. After all, parents aren’t perfect.