Chapter 11

Thursday, June 4, 1987

With finals over, the excitement of graduation was hitting Dan and Mart full force. As class president, Mart would be giving the welcoming address. Dan had also been asked to give an address. Neither of them had had time to polish their speeches. The girls were excited to finally almost be seniors. While none of the guys would be with them at the school next year, they figured with all of the senior activities they might not miss them too much. Mart had been anxiously waiting to hear if he had gotten a scholarship to Syracuse University. It was his first choice of schools but if he didn’t qualify for the scholarship, he would probably go to the community college in White Plains for the next year to save money so he could attend Syracuse the following three years.

All of the high school Bob-Whites were done with their finals by eleven thirty. They had made plans to meet Brian and Jim at Wimpy’s for a celebratory lunch. Then they would meet the train that Cap, Hallie and Knut were going to try to catch from the airport. Tom Delanoy had volunteered to pick up the Idahoan Beldens but they had said they’d take the train.

The group was abuzz with chatter all through the meal. They had commandeered the largest booth. Jim and Trixie were seated together in the middle of the banquette with Dan on one side and Honey on the other. Brian sat next to her on a chair. Mart and Diana were seated next to him.

“No more academics for three months,” Trixie said.

“For you maybe,” said Brian. “But don’t forget, next Monday Jim and I start summer school. I’m just glad I chose to take one of those graduation requirement classes and not something tough.”

“Me, too,” said Jim. “I’d probably flunk it. Remind me why we thought it was a good idea to do summer session?”

Diana told everyone about the play she was going to try out for. “The Sleepyside Theatre Guild is doing The Sound of Music for their summer production. I really want the part of Liesl. My pen pal Donna from Texas played the part and she said it was so much fun.”

“When are the auditions?” Honey asked. “It sounds like it could be fun.”

“Auditions are next week and rehearsals start shortly after that. The performances are the first two weeks in August.”

Mart sighed in relief. “I was afraid you were going to say the performances were in July. Then I’d have to miss it because we’ll be at camp for most of the month.”

“One other thing I want to do this summer is take a road trip,” Jim said.

Mart and Dan ribbed Jim about the purpose of the road trip and Trixie blushed a little.

“No, I’m serious. I’m hoping a least a few of you can go with me. I’ve been doing some research and planning for my school. I’m hoping that when I get to declare my research for my PhD, I can tie it into the planning part of it,” Jim explained. “Anyway I was reading about the Milton Hershey School.”

“Hershey as in chocolate?” Mart asked.

“Leave it to Mart to associate it with food,” teased Dan.

“Actually, yes,” said Jim. “Milton Hershey was the founder of Hershey Chocolate. He founded the school after adopting a couple of older kids. It’s a boarding school that provides for all of the needs of the students, including health and dental insurance. Kids are from low income families, not orphans, and while most of them are from Pennsylvania, the school accepts students from all over the country.”

“Wow, Jim, that does sound an awful lot like what you’re planning on doing,” Brian said. “I’d love to see the school. It doesn’t hurt to start planning how you’re going to handle the health issues at the school. I won’t have as much time after next year but if I start now, hopefully I can help you with that.”

“You can count me in,” said Mart. “It sounds like fun. We could go for a long weekend. Spend a day at the school and then go to Hershey Park. I’ve heard it’s a great amusement park.”

“Come on Mart,” Diana teased as she leaned over to place a quick peck on his cheek. “The real reason you want to go is for the chocolate.”

The rest of the Bob-Whites ribbed Mart as well.

“Well, I would certainly hope that we would have some chocolate while we were there,” said Trixie, uncharacteristically coming to her brother’s defense.

“We should start planning soon,” said Honey. “With all of the activities going on this summer, we’d better get it on our calendars now.

“I’m pretty flexible,” said Trixie. “When they hired me at the library they said that if I needed a few days off here and there, that wouldn’t be a problem. I can’t take a ton of days off but if I give them enough notice I’m sure they’ll let me off. My job is funded through a grant. I’m allowed so many hours and the work needs to be done in a year.”

“Well, Honey and I are pretty much tied up for three weeks starting next Monday. The parks and recreation programs run for three weeks. Then there’s a week break the week of July fourth and then there’s another three week session,” said Diana.

“That puts us almost to August,” said Jim. “Why don’t we plan on going right after Diana’s play? It will be a good break before we start school. It will also give us time to plan.”

Honey glanced over to Dan, “The only drawback will be that Hallie will have gone back to Idaho by then.”

“That’s okay,” Dan said lightly, “I’ll just take my axe and see if anyone needs some wood chopped.”

Brian looked at his watch and realized they only had a few minutes to meet the train. They argued over who would pay the bill. Normally, everyone paid their own way, but Jim wanted to treat everyone since it was a celebration. Finally, they gave in but only after Jim agreed to let the rest of the guys put down the tip.

The group split up. Dan, Mart and Diana went in the Bob-White station wagon that Mart had driven to school that morning. Jim, Trixie, Honey and Brian went in the new metallic red Jeep Cherokee Mr. Wheeler had recently bought.

“Wow, Jim! That’s some car,” Trixie said.

“Yeah, Dad decided we needed another vehicle around the estate. He said something about needing something that could haul groceries and the like more conveniently than the limo. I think he was just trying to make sure there would be ample vehicles around here for the B.W.G.’s to use this summer. I wasn’t going to call him on it. From the sounds of our schedules, it will come in handy. He already told me that it’s at the Bob-Whites’ disposal,” said Jim.

Honey and Brian climbed in the back seat and snuggled up to each other. “Well, you can act as chauffer all you want. The back seat is very comfortable,” Brian said.

Trixie giggled and reached across the console to put her hand on Jim’s knee. “I’ll gladly ride shotgun,” she said.

Within a few minutes they were at the train station and the Bob-White station wagon had pulled up behind them. A train was just pulling into the station.

“I hope they’re on this train and we won’t have to wait for the next one,” Diana said.

Everyone piled out of the vehicles and headed into the station. The passengers had begun disembarking the train. For a moment Trixie thought her Idahoan cousins were not on the train. Finally, she saw Knut walking off the train followed by Cap and finally Hallie.

The two guys had small duffle bags in their hands since they were only staying until Monday. Hallie struggled to get off the train before it took off. She had two rather large suitcases.

Knut and Cap looked back at Hallie in disgust.

“Come on, Hallie,” Knut said. “The train’s going to leave and you’re still going to be on it.” Neither of Hallie’s brothers exerted any effort to help their sister.

Dan ran over to the train and helped Hallie get her luggage off of it. Before he did anything else he pulled her in an embrace and gave her a quick kiss.

Jim, Brian and Mart were not far behind him.

“Thanks, Dan,” Hallie said. “These two goons have been a pain in the butt all day.”

“Well, if you hadn’t packed rocks in your suitcase it wouldn’t have been so bad,” said Knut.

Hallie stuck her tongue out at her brothers and replied, “I did not stick rocks in my suitcase. You forget that I’m going to be here for almost two months. You guys are only here for the weekend.”

“That’s right, Hallie,” said Cap, “but you seemed to forget that Aunt Helen does have a working washing machine. It’s even an electric one. You don’t have to wring the clothes out by hand.”

Hallie sniffed at her annoying brothers, turned on her heel and headed toward the Bob-White station wagon. Dan and Jim picked up her bags and the rest followed. It all happened so fast that, with the exception of Dan and Hallie, no one was given a proper greeting.

When they got to the parked cars, Brian belatedly said, “Welcome to Sleepyside.” He gave Hallie a hug and shook his cousins’ hands. Mart followed suit.

Trixie gave Hallie a big hug and whispered in her ear, “I promise I’ll be in a better mood than I was at spring break.”

“You better be,” Hallie whispered back and then winked at her.

Trixie gave her other two cousins a hug as well. Diana and Honey greeted Hallie like a lost friend and shyly hugged the guys. After all of the greetings were complete, everyone piled into the cars. Hallie and Knut climbed into the Bob-White station wagon while Cap joined Trixie, Jim, Brian and Honey in Jim’s car.

“We’ll go to our house first,” Jim said to Dan through a rolled down window. “We can decide what we’re going to do from there.”

Jim pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the Manor House. When they pulled into the driveway, Miss Trask had just walked out on to the veranda. She waved at the kids and beckoned them up the steps.

“Honey,” Miss Trask said. “I put Hallie in the guest bedroom next to your room. Cap and Knut are in the one across the hall from it. I’ve just spoken with both Mrs. Belden and Mrs. Lynch. Dinner will be at Crabapple Farm tonight but everyone’s invited to a house party here tonight. You’ll have to get up early tomorrow, though. Dan and Mart have graduation practice and there’s still a lot to be done before the party.”

“Thanks, Miss Trask,” said Honey. She turned to her friends and said, “Why don’t we get everyone situated and then decide what we’re going to do this afternoon.”

While Hallie, Knut and Cap got settled into their rooms, Mart took Diana to her house to get her overnight bag. They would meet back on the veranda in thirty minutes.

Honey and Trixie helped Hallie unpack a few things. “I should have packed a duffle bag for this weekend. Then I wouldn’t have to open up the suitcases until after I move my stuff down to Aunt Helen and Uncle Peter’s.”

“Don’t worry about it, Hallie. It’s not like we’re short on space,” said Honey. “There’s still one more guest room if someone snores too loud.”

Hallie had enough time to freshen up a little before they were due back on the veranda. She grabbed a pair of denim shorts and a red t-shirt to change into. It was much more comfortable than the dress pants she’d worn on the plane.

The three girls were the first ones back to the veranda. They were lounging in the deck chairs when Jim, Brian, Cap and Knut came down.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you women take longer to get ready then men do,” said Honey nonchalantly buffing her nails and pretending to ignore the guys.

“Is that so?” said Brian sneaking up behind her. Honey squealed. Trixie rolled her eyes at their antics.

“Where’d Dan go?” Hallie asked.

“Afraid he ran off and left you?” teased Knut.

“He couldn’t be so lucky,” provoked Cap.

Hallie’s face fell. She usually could tolerate the teasing she received from her brothers, but after spending all morning traveling with their tag team banter, she’d had just about enough.

Jim noticed the slight change in Hallie’s demeanor. He didn’t say anything to his houseguests about their teasing. Instead, he answered Hallie’s question as if no one had said anything. “He ran over to the stables to talk to Regan. Regan was going to go pick up a couple of new horses for the stables this morning. Dan just wanted to let him know his plans.”

“I thought Dan lived with your gamekeeper in the woods,” said Cap.

“He does,” explained Brian. “Mr. Maypenny was Dan’s legal guardian until Dan turned eighteen. Regan is Dan’s uncle. Dan still lives with Mr. Maypenny but, as his only relative, Dan tries to keep Regan in the loop as to what’s going on.”

“Well, Cap and I were just thinking about having a word with Dan,” Knut said.

Hallie stomped off toward the stables looking for some refuge. She was so sick of her brothers. They were so overbearing. She didn’t know what they were going to do to Dan. They knew that she and Dan had been seeing each other, if you could call it that. After all, they lived more than two thousand miles apart. In her heart she knew that she and Dan were meant to be together just like everyone knew Jim and Trixie belonged together.

Her family would tell her that she was too young to know what she wanted and she was in love with having a boyfriend. That he lived so far away just made it more exotic. She had quit trying to explain her feelings. They just didn’t understand.

Cap and Knut had only met Dan once before when they had come to Sleepyside for Brian’s graduation two years ago. According to her parents, her brothers were old enough to stay by themselves when business called them out of the country. Forget the fact that Hallie was now two years older than Cap was the first time they left them alone for more than a couple days.

She supposed she shouldn’t be too upset. She would much rather be in Sleepyside than in Idaho. There was much more to do, although now that she had her driver’s license she wouldn’t have been stuck at home waiting for one of her birdbrain brothers to take her.

Cap and Knut just laughed at her histrionics as she walked away. Everyone else seemed a little uncomfortable. They were all used to the sibling ribbing that Mart and Brian gave Trixie. That seemed different. While Mart and Brian had stepped over the line once in awhile they never purposely tried to be mean, especially if it were in front of people they didn’t know well. Of course, over the years Trixie had gotten good at giving it right back to her brothers.

Trixie excused herself from the group. Jim started to go with her.

“Stay here,” she said. “I’ll go check on her.”

“Are you sure?” Jim said. “I saw what was happening.”

Trixie reached up and gave Jim a quick kiss on the lips. “If anyone knows about sibling rivalry, it’s me. I’ve learned a thing or two in the last few years.”

Trixie took off after Hallie. The others assumed Hallie had been heading to see Dan, but Trixie knew that would be the last place she’d go to in her state of mind. Hallie wouldn’t want anyone to see how upset she was with her brothers.

Jim watched Trixie go and then slowly turned back to the rest of the group.

“Did you see that?” Knut asked. “Brian, you let Jim do that to your sister? I can’t believe it.”

Jim had had just about enough of Trixie’s cousins’ behavior. He had never seen anyone so overbearing.

“Welcome to the twentieth century, guys,” Brian said. “Since Jim and Trixie have been dating for several years, I’d be more nervous if they hadn’t. Besides it’s really none of my business.”

“But really, Brian, that doesn’t bother you?” Cap said.

Mart piped up. “It doesn’t matter if it bothers us or not. It’s not our business. Trixie isn’t getting hurt and she’s old enough to make her own decisions. You’ve both got girlfriends, right? Do you feel the same way about what’s appropriate for them as you do for your sister?”

Both Cap and Knut had the good sense to blush. “But she’s our sister. Someone needs to look out for her.”

“Hallie’s a big girl and Dan’s a great guy. They can take care of themselves. You’re just going to alienate her,” said Brian. “We almost did the same thing to Trixie.”

Jim nodded in agreement. “She was on the war path for awhile. Every time I even looked at her I got the evil eye from Frick and Frack over here, even after they started dating Diana and Honey. It took some strong arming on the girls’ part to get them to see the light.”

“We didn’t even realize that we were doing it,” said Mart. “We had become so used to keeping our eyes open for Trixie that it was second nature.”

“So what did you do to get them to see the light?” Cap asked.

“Refused to go on a date with them until they apologized to both Jim and Trixie,” said Honey.

“And they had to mean it,” added Diana.

“It didn’t take long and we changed our tune,” said Brian. “I’m just glad that Jim didn’t hold any grudges.”

Trixie ran after Hallie. “Wait up,” she cried.

Hallie slowed down but didn’t turn around. Trixie could see Hallie’s shoulders shaking. Cautiously, she approached and wrapped her arm around them.

“Brothers sure can be jerks at times,” Trixie continued.

Hallie started to defend her siblings. It was one thing for her to say so, but for someone else to criticize her brothers was a whole different story.

Trixie stopped her. “I know. I’m not supposed to say bad things about your brothers. That’s supposed to be reserved for you. Well, I’m changing the rules. Cap and Knut are being jerks.”

Hallie tried to smile through her tears. “Yes, they are being jerks. Why do they always have to pick on me?”

“I think it’s in their genes or else it’s in the older brother handbook,” Trixie said. “Mart and Brian used to be just as bad.”

“Really?” Hallie asked.

“Yep, and the closer they got to Diana and Honey the worse they got. Talk about the old double standard.”

“So how did it stop? Or didn’t it?” Hallie asked.

“For the most part it stopped. It helps that my brothers are dating my best friends and my best friends are smart gals. They threatened to break up with them if they didn’t change their attitude. They’ll never admit it but I think Dan got on their case as well.”

“Well, unfortunately my brothers aren’t dating my best friends,” said Hallie.

“Yes, but you’re in Bob-White territory. Brian and Jim saw what was happening, as did the others. They’ll set them straight.”

“Oh, how embarrassing,” said Hallie. “How am I ever going to face them?”

“You’ll do fine and if they give you a hard time just sidle up to Dan and give him some PDA.”

“PDA?” Hallie asked.

“Yeah,” Trixie said. “Public Display of Affection. Nothing too steamy but a kiss on the lips, a hug, sit on Dan’s lap. Then watch their reaction. Don’t let them get to you.”

“Are you sure? Won’t that make them be even more obnoxious?”

“Not after Brian and Mart have had a word with them. They’ll just squirm in discomfort. Don’t do anything inappropriate. Just clue Dan in on it ahead of time. He’ll go for it. He’s seen what I’ve gone through.”

Hallie still wasn’t quite convinced.

“I do it all the time,” said Trixie. “When Mart and Brian start going big brother on me I’ll sit on Jim’s lap, run my fingers through his hair, you know. It drives them nuts. They won’t say anything but you can just see their minds going.”

“I still don’t believe you,” Hallie said.

“Just watch tonight after dinner. I’m sure Mart will say something obnoxious. I’ll go into action. It should be funny.”

Hallie felt much better after talking with Trixie. She thought back on that summer three years ago and how she and Trixie were at each other’s throats for most of it. She was so glad they had worked out their differences. She thought of Trixie as her surrogate sister. They had their disagreements but they would always be there for each other.

Instead of heading back to the group, Trixie and Hallie headed toward the stables looking for Dan. When they found Dan, they explained to him what had transpired and what they had planned.

“Now I know how Jim felt for all those years,” said Dan.

“I would say the Idahoan Belden boys are worse than the New Yorkers,” Trixie added. “And my brothers were pretty bad.”

Dan placed his arm around Hallie, “Well, I’m not afraid of Cap and Knut. I’ve survived the Bob-Whites, I can survive them.”

“Yeah, and we were so cruel to you, Dan,” Trixie teased. “We made you do all sorts of horrible things.”

The trio headed back to the veranda. While things weren’t too uncomfortable, nothing was said either.

“I suppose I’d better head down to the house,” said Trixie. “I’m sure Moms could use my help with dinner. Uncle Andrew was supposed to arrive sometime this afternoon. I don’t think Aunt Alicia will be here until tomorrow. Something about working late at the library tonight.”

“We should go down and say hi to Aunt Helen and Uncle Peter as well,” said Cap. “Some guests we have been.”

In the end, all of the young adults went down to Crabapple Farm to help get dinner ready, as well as any work that needed to be done before the graduation party on Saturday.

Trixie grabbed Jim’s hand and pulled him to the side as everyone headed down the hill. She explained to him about Hallie and her diabolical plan for the evening.

Jim’s eyes twinkled. “This will be so good, but do you think Dan and Hallie can follow through with it, too? I’ve had a few more years of dealing with the Brothers Belden than they have.”

“Oh, they will,” Trixie said. “I haven’t ever seen Hallie as mad as she was today. I think the stress of seeing Dan and not knowing how to act in front of her brothers added to it. She was livid.”

They followed the rest of the group, hanging back so they could continue their conversation.

“Well, I could see that she was upset, but I don’t think Cap and Knut realized how much they were hurting Hallie. I can remember a few times when Mart and Brian went a little too far. There was a time or two where I wanted to deck them, but I knew that you needed to find your voice,” Jim explained.

“I found my voice all right. I think all of Westchester County heard me the day I lost my temper with the two of them. I know Honey and Di were afraid I was going off the deep end that night.”

“It worked though, didn’t it?” Jim asked.

“For the most part, and now when they tease me it’s not cruel and I’ve learned how to get back at them.”

When they reached the farm, Bobby, Larry and Terry were already there. They were playing catch with their baseball and mitts practicing for summer league. Bobby and Terry were showing great promise. Larry gave it his best shot.

Uncle Andrew was coming outside as they approached the kitchen door. He greeted his nieces and nephews and their friends.

“Well, it’s good to see all of you again,” he said. “I understand there’s a house party up at the Manor House tonight.”

“It won’t be too wild, Uncle Andrew,” Trixie said. “Dan and Mart have graduation rehearsal tomorrow and I promised Moms I’d help with party preparations.”

“Yeah,” Mart said. “As long as she stays out of the kitchen, I don’t want anyone to get food poisoning.”

Trixie stuck her tongue out at her brother but said nothing. She and the girls went in to see if Mrs. Belden needed help with the supper. Brian and Jim started the grill, since they were going to have burgers and hot dogs tonight. Mart, Dan, Cap and Knut joined the younger boys in playing baseball. They would help with clean up after dinner.

While Trixie and the rest of the girls were in the kitchen helping, Trixie brought Honey and Diana up to date on what had happened and what they planned to do. She also let her mother know she would be showing a little more public display of affection than she normally would in order to prove a point.

Once dinner was done and the dishes completed, Peter and Andrew Belden lit a fire in the outdoor fireplace. Everyone sat around roasting marshmallows for s’mores, telling ghost stories and catching up with everyone’s activities.

Casually, Trixie had made sure that she was sitting next to Jim on a bench. First, she started to snuggle up to him. Jim put his arm around Trixie’s shoulder and pulled her close. He placed kisses on her forehead and lips, all the while keeping up his end of the conversation.

Mart and Brian tried to ignore what was happening. So Trixie took things up a notch. She roasted a marshmallow and brought a s’more back to Jim. Instead of sitting next to him, she sat on his lap. She shared her s’more with Jim and when they were finished, she kissed the gooey marshmallow off of his lips.

Mart and Brian’s eyes just about popped out of their eyes but with everyone looking on, including their parents, they didn’t say anything.

Dan and Hallie followed suit. While Hallie couldn’t be quite as blatant as Trixie, she did snuggle close to Dan and they shared a bottle of Coke. Cap and Knut were beside themselves. Dan made sure that he didn’t do anything inappropriate.

Mart looked over at Diana to see what she was thinking. She could hardly keep from laughing out loud. Then Honey suddenly stood up and headed to the kitchen with the excuse that she would get some more graham crackers for the s’mores. She could be heard giggling as she entered the house.

Surprisingly, Peter and Andrew Belden were not upset at all with what was happening. They carried on a loud conversation about how the lambing had gone this spring.

“You guys are pathetic,” Trixie finally accused. “You have such a double standard. Hallie and Dan, and Jim and I haven’t done anything tonight that you guys haven’t already done, yet if we do it you’d think we had committed capital murder.

“But we’re older than you,” Brian started to protest.

“And I’m older than your girl friend,” Trixie shot back. “It’s not like we’re playing tonsil hockey or anything. I mean, that would be gross.”

“You mean to tell me that you guys don’t do anything more than a simple kiss?” Knut asked.

“I plead the fifth on that,” Trixie said. “But if I did, I wouldn’t do it in front of all of you.”

Knut and Cap seemed to finally get the message about Hallie and Dan’s relationship.

Cap asked Jim, “So how are you at playing goalie in tonsil hockey?”

Dan and Hallie started to giggle and within seconds everyone had joined in.

Trixie’s dad finally said, “I don’t want to even think about the answer to that question.”

Trixie thought about how different that answer had been compared to what had happened the weekend before. She realized that her dad was really trying to trust her relationship with Jim. She wasn’t going to promise that nothing would ever happen; she did know that she was going to make sure that she was really ready when the time was right.

At about ten o’clock, the group started to break up. Brian and Honey helped clean up the s’mores and put away the leftovers. Jim and Trixie took off for the Manor House. They wanted to make sure that everything was ready there. Mart and Diana took Larry and Terry home and then would drive over to the Manor House.

Dan, Hallie, Cap and Knut visited with Uncle Andrew for a few minutes before they headed up the hill.

That allowed the couples to have a little private time to themselves and Dan some time to get to know Hallie’s brothers better. Dan hoped that they wouldn’t want to kill him or do something worse than death.

When the foursome was out of sight of Crabapple Farm, Cap and Knut stopped. “Dan,” Cap said. “We owe you an apology. We acted like jerks.”

“You think?” said Halllie.

“Just a little,” agreed Knut. “We should have realized that Hallie was not a little girl any more, but a young woman who can make sound decisions. I guess with our parents gone so much we tend to be overprotective.”

Dan didn’t know what to say. He was glad they realized what they had done but still was a little angry at how they had treated Hallie. He didn’t want to make the weekend uncomfortable either. Finally he just said, “Apology accepted.”

When Jim and Trixie got back to the Manor House they checked in with Miss Trask. She had some snacks set up in the den. “You guys are old enough that I don’t have to play over eager chaperone. Just don’t do anything stupid and remember there’s a lot that has to be done tomorrow.”

It wasn’t long before Dan, Hallie and her brothers joined Jim and Trixie. The guys decided to play a game of rummy while Hallie and Trixie sat down to catch up on each other’s lives.

Mart and Diana were the next to arrive. They walked into the den arm in arm. Diana’s hair was a little out of place and she couldn’t take her eyes off of Mart. Trixie laughed when Mart walked by the snack table and didn’t even notice it was there.

It was thirty minutes before Brian and Honey showed up. Neither one of them had a hair out of place but the look of guilt on their faces gave away what they had been up to and it wasn’t washing dishes.

Trixie whispered to Honey, “Did you have some fun?”

“More than I can tell.”

Honey went over to the new CD player her father had recently purchased and put on some music. Pretty soon those that weren’t playing cards were dancing. Knut proved to be a pretty good dancer and took a lot of teasing for it.

As the evening wore on, people started to head up to bed. As much as they would have liked to have stayed up all night, they knew there was too much work to be done the next day.

 

 

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