Magicanimalclub: 2 : What Happened?

Reunion

--DAVIDS POV--
I was driving up to Yorkshire. It had been years since I had visited my home, my original home.
Everyone else in the car was asleep.
It reminded me of a scene; from years ago; about twenty years ago when I was driving up to Yorkshire after coming home from war; everyone was asleep, and my two precious  tiny toddlers lay in the back seats of my old Mercedes Benz.
A happening lost in time; that I'd never forget. Or would I?

I looked in the wing mirror and saw Joe.
"You're remembering aren't you?" He said, I looked at him again in the wing mirror.
"Yes.. Yes I am.. But I won't for much longer and-" a tear ran down my face as I glanced down at Nicole,
"Dave, calm, keep yourself together.."
"How can I keep myself together when I'm falling apart..!" More tears flooded my vision. I pulled over on the hard shoulder. It was 1am, I was exhausted, upset and schizophrenic. My eyes drew heavy and my lips were chapped and red.
I leaned on the steering wheel, being careful not to purse the horn, I let my eyes precipitate and my emotions drain out of me.
After about an hour Ash woke up.
"Dad.. Why are we stopped?"
"I just needed to pull over.. I'll get back on the road soon."
"I heard you speaking.. Who were you speaking to?"
"Y-your mum."
"It wasn't-"
"Ash could you drive for a bit."
"Y-yeah sure.."
"Just drive on the motorway for about half an hour, I'll take over afterwards I just-"
"Dad your eyes-"
"I'm tired, okay?"
"You're upset."
"Aren't we all?" I could explain further but I didn't want to upset Ash any more.

Ash and I swapped seats and I fell asleep immediately.

*****

I woke up; I wasn't in a car, I was.. I was..
I looked around, a small single bedroom.
White walls; a laptop on the carpeted ground...
I was...: home.
This is where I grew up, upstairs in the attic was where I began my channel and-

I winked my eyes open.
I was still in my car.
The dark sky moved with the light of the moon far away.
I raised my eyebrows and sat up, Ash was still driving.
"Ash.. How long was I asleep for?"
"Not too long." He said, but when I looked at the road signs it said Sheffield 20km.
"Wait-" I looked at my phone, it was 6am, "Ash! Pull over!"
"What, you were asleep."
"I said pull over." I spoke sternly.
He pulled over in the hard shoulder and stepped out of the car.
I let my legs breathe in the air.
Ash was just about to walk into the back seats when I took his hand. He stared at me before I hugged him.
"Thank you son. Thank you Ash." I whispered to him.

I sat back down in the driver's seat and reved the engine. I saw Ash smile, Nicole's eyes opened.
"Almost home beautiful." I said, smiling.

We smiled as we identified our old school, the home we grew up in and finally.. Our first house; which had now been turned into a 'to-let' house which we had rented for a couple months.
I closed my eyes and smiled which satisfaction as I heard the crumble of the tires crackling on the gravelled ground: the driveway of my house.

As soon as I arrived I unlocked the door then ran back to the car to help my wife.
I put my hand over hers as we opened the door of our old house. We both smiled, seeing the staircase which split in two at the top: it hadn't changed.
I lifted Nicole up the stairs to our old bedroom, where she lay there fast asleep.

The doorbell rang just as I sat down on the quilt. I hurried down to see two people at the door.
I looked them up and down.
A young lady: quite short, a large grey scarf draped around her skinny neck, and her face, and her eyes... Her brown hair...
She was my daughter: Rosie.
And the young man beside her, a youthful version of myself: my son: James.

"Hey dad!" Rosie whispered excitedly, putting her arms up and hugging me. I curled my arms around my beautiful daughter; my Cambridge girl.
James didn't speak he just hugged me; he was a gentle boy, but hilarious at times.
Ash walked down the stairs, I saw a faint smile from him as he saw his siblings for the first time in years. They all shook hands in a joking manner before reintroducing themselves with the house.

"Oh my gosh James this was our bedroom! Remember this!?"
"Oh God yeh I slept... On the left side of the room I believe?" He opened the door and looked at the single beds.
"And that was.. Tom's bedroom wasn't it?" Rosie asked, pointing at the room opposite. At the word 'Tom' my heart pounced, remembering my brother, remembering how he lived and how he died..
"Yeh, yeh it was. I wonder how it looks now." I hesitated before opening the bedroom door, I couldn't quite remember how it looked before it was refurbished, but it now had a double bed with blue bedding, white wallpaper, and a desk in where I believed the desk used to be when Tom occupied there.
"Nice. Who wants to sleep here?"
"I will." Ash said.
"Alright." Ash put his suitcase on the ground before sitting on the bed and lying down, it was 8am and none of us had really slept during the night. We were exhausted.

Once we had all found our bedrooms we all went into Nicole and my bedroom and sat on the bed, I gave Nicole a small poke on the cheek and whispered her name.
I saw her gentle eyes flicker open, and a smile lit up her face as she recognised the faces of all her family.
"Are you alright Mummy?" Rosie asked, holding her hands.
"I'm more than alright, Sweetheart." She replied.

At that we all hugged, it had been the first time since before Joe died that we had all been together as a family. At last I saw Joe.
"You see, this is what makes you happy. You should get over me dying and think about your family, your life and your future. You only happen once, enjoy this happening."