Page 38 of Forged Forever

E's making the last two batches of his chocolate eggs when we arrive, and Sue jumps right in to help, while the rest of us watch football on tv. I text Jake and Bay but don’t get an answer, so I try Ray, and he tells me their power is also out and Jake's napping. I tell him to call if they need anything, and then focus on the television.

We end up staying for dinner. Jake has his power back, as does Alex, but ours is still out. E makes a delicious chicken and rice dish, while Sue bakes brownies. It’s getting dark when dinner ends, so Dad wants to go home. Seb's crashing here since his Jeep is still at our house and he doesn’t want to make the drive. I toss Dad the Jeep keys when we get outside. It’s eerie on the drive home, with a stark black line cutting Mt. Pleasant in two. The west end has power, while it seems the rest of the town does not. You don't realize how much you rely on streetlights and lit homes until there’s nothing.

Dad and I use our phones to light the house as we gather candles and flashlights. Setting up electric lanterns in each bedroom and bathroom, we light real candles for the living room, and Dad takes a flashlight outside to top up the generator. Between Dad’s time in the army and Sue and me being from a snowy mountain town, none of us are fazed by the lack of power.

Since we’re hooked up to town services, we have water, but it’s cold. Sue freshens up as best she can in the bathroom by candlelight after I boil some water for her to use. I set my laptop on the coffee table to play a movie, but we end up chatting until bedtime. I finally get a text back from Bay as I’m climbing into bed. Lightning hit a live oak in their yard, and it fell over, so he and his family spent the day chopping it up. His house is always overflowing during the holidays, so he assures me there were plenty of hands to do the work.

The Easter egg hunt is back at Alex’s house with Steven home, and Ray and Jake get to take part this year. I’m excited to see all the kids having fun again.

The power came back on during the night, so we could shower properly and have a hot breakfast. We meet everyone at Alex’s house early in the morning. When Jake arrives, I pull Sue over, linking our arms. “Jake, this is Sue, the wonderful lady I lived with in Virginia before moving here.”

“Thanks for caring for Sum,” Jake smiles at her, standing and holding out his hand to shake.

Sue isn’t interested in a handshake, so she envelops him in a warm hug. “Oh, my boy. I’m so pleased to meet you officially. We’ve met dozens of times while you were in Mal’s care. I couldn’t be happier for you and Summer.”

Jake is a little surprised when she steps back and Sue has tears in her eyes. Ray introduces himself and Will as they shake hands. Stepping beside Jake, I take his hand in mine. “So that’s Sue,” he comments.

“Yup. One of the reasons I’m still sane.” I joke.

The first order of business today is to fill the eggs, so we set up in the dining room to work. Jake helps Bay put stuffed animals in the baskets as Bay unpacks them while the rest of us stuff the plastic eggs. Once those two tasks are done, we follow Alex to the garage. He has pre-filled clusters of pastel balloons, tons of heavy velvet rope, stands, the plywood face cutouts from last year for pictures, and two white canopies to set up.

Handing Jake two clusters of balloons, I grab a bunch as we follow Alex and Steven to the side yard. The guys know what they’re doing as they set up the rope and stands. Ah, makes sense to cordon off a section for the kids. Ray, Jake, and I follow behind, tying balloon bouquets to every fifth stand, and Dad and Troy both have canopies up with chairs underneath by the time we’re done. We set up the photo cutouts in random spots next. E and Bay bring the boxes of eggs over, and we hide them everywhere, while Sue and Ray organize the baskets on a light green covered table.

Last on our schedule is making sweetgrass baskets. Unfortunately, Jake isn’t able to make one this year with his dexterity, but he’ll be able to next year. When we’re done, E and Steven take them into the kitchen to fill with his chocolate eggs as the rest of us take seats under the canopy. They even have extra guards to wander between the roped area and the water to stop any wayward kids. Mrs. Grant and E serve up salads and sandwiches for lunch outside as we wait for their arrival.

A bus honking has all of us walking towards the driveway. Seb is bouncing as he pushes Jake, much to Will’s charging. He’s just as excited as the kids are going to be.

Alex and Steven greet the caregivers as the kids file out of the bus, and it seems we have a few more compared to last year. “Hello everybody,” Seb hollers. “Welcome. We will be in the side yard for the Easter egg hunt today. Please stay within the roped area. There are no Easter goodies outside the ropes. Grab a basket from the table when we get there and line up. If you don’t want to hunt for eggs, you don’t have to. There are chairs and snacks for you to relax. Let’s have some fun!” Seb waves as he and Alex lead the way, and the rest of us surround the kids loosely.

Seb is handing out baskets as Jake and I arrive at the side yard. Will carries Jake’s wheelchair over to us, and I stand beside Jake to watch the organized chaos. After everyone has a basket and is lined up, Seb shouts, “ready, set, go!” The kids scatter into the trees, with the caregivers assisting the toddlers.

I tell Jake to follow me as I walk towards the copse of trees to see if anyone needs help. A little boy around 6 quickly attaches himself to Jake, walking beside the wheelchair, talking a mile a minute. I hear him ask Jake why he isn’t walking. Jake tells him he was in an accident but is getting better, and the boy seems to accept that answer.

I find two girls trying to climb a pine tree, but they’re having trouble. Bay stops by and offers to hoist them onto his shoulders. Although we hid eggs in the trees, they weren't further up than the guys could reach. Both girls are blushing as Bay picks up the smaller girl. Will offers to lift the taller of the two, so I stand by Jake and watch. The shyness quickly fades as they direct them to walk between the trees to check for other eggs. The little boy beside Jake seems content to pick eggs from the grass.

As the trees are cleared, we make our way back towards the canopies. Dad and Troy are taking pictures of the kids when they stop at the cutouts, and a few toddlers are already done and sitting in the shade sipping juice boxes. I spot a little girl sitting in the grass with her head down. Excusing myself, I walk over to her. “Hi there.”

She looks up, wiping her eyes. Getting on my knees, I ask what’s wrong. “I dropped my basket and lost my eggs.”

“Well, we need to find you more than, don’t we?” Offering my hand, I pull her up. “I know where there’s a secret hiding place. Want me to show you?”

Her eyes light up, and she nods. “Please.”

Taking her hand, I lead her behind the pine trees to where a group of spireas are clustered together, where I hid eggs myself. We get on our knees, locating half a dozen eggs. I climb one of the pine trees the other little girls missed, adding four more to her basket. We skip back towards the canopies, stopping when she spots several more. Her basket is full when we return, and she’s all smiles now.

Jake and Will are handing out drinks to the kids as they finish. Some are sitting in the grass, while others are in the shade.

E announces that the Easter bunny has arrived as Bay and Alex set a large chair near the cutouts. Seb comes hopping over as screams and cheers echo around the yard. I help form a line and move kids along as Alex takes pics of each of them with the bunny.

A few teens are hesitant to sit on his lap, so I tell them to just stand beside him. It takes a while, but we get photos of all the kids. Bay has a group on the grass playing I spy, and E is playing tag with another group.

As I’m turning to grab a seat in the shade, someone taps my shoulder. “Tag, you’re it!” E smiles and jogs off. Guess I’m playing tag. Smiling, I chase the kids circling E.

It must be another hour before the kids tire. We make sure everyone has a drink, and then the caregivers round up the kids to get back on the bus. I have one little boy on my back while the two little girls from the pine trees are holding onto my shirt as we walk. I spot Jake with the little boy from earlier on his lap.

I’m able to say hello to Mona as the kids climb onto the bus, and we all wave goodbye as the bus ambles down the driveway until it’s out of sight.

Steven has a crew to clean up for us, so we gather in the living room. “What did you think, handsome?” I ask Jake.