WE GATHER TOGETHER by Edward L. Woodyard

We Gather Together Chapter One Hundred Six

Ben McCulloch shifted from third to fourth gear in a black '92 Corvette; its top was down but its four windows were up – and its interior heat was on, at Alison's insistence. While it may have been a beautiful autumn day, both of them were nevertheless bundled in their parkas and winter hats. Ben said it was going to be the last time this year that the top would be down and he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity since the Corvette was going to be effectively stored in his parents' garage until spring.

The car hugged a two-lane road going around Pleasanton Reservoir and then veered onto a straightaway through woods and fields. "We're almost there," Ben said. "Just another couple of miles. Can you believe you're thirty-five miles from Times Square? We could be in the Adirondacks."

"What's that?" Alison asked suddenly. She was staring at a fast-approaching gigantic dark blue interpretation of an American eagle. It hovered between two tall thick poles over a small hill at a traffic light, complete with a wooden split-rail fence surrounding it. Ben slowed the car to a red light.

"That's the eagle. That's how you get into town. It's been there forever. Not forever, but since the Bicentennial in 1976. It's become a symbol of the town. Isn't it awesome?"

"I've never seen anything like it."

"And you won't see it anywhere else," Ben said proudly. "Think of it as Castlebury's version of the St. Louis Arch."

Alison appreciated his reference to her hometown. "Hold on," Ben continued, "Let's go down here onto Main Street and we can go through town." Ben guided the Corvette into a left turning lane. "It's not much. Castlebury's only a couple of blocks long, but it was the best place in the entire world to grow up as a kid."

The traffic light indicated a green arrow, allowing Ben to steer the classic car onto the upper portion of Main Street. Alison noticed two large plywood signs attached to a split-rail fence below the gigantic blue eagle; one hand-painted sign announced a Turkey Bowl for tomorrow and the other publicized the Christmas Parade for that Sunday. "What's the Turkey Bowl?" she asked.

Ben explained that Castlebury held a high school alumni football game every year the day after Thanksgiving at the high school field. It used to be called "the Mud Bowl" until artificial turf replaced the grass and dirt some ten years ago. He told her that many in town showed up for it and that it was touch, not tackle, since some of the alums were in their forties and fifties – and some were women. "After the game, everyone goes home and eats leftovers."

"Are you playing in it?"

"Maybe. I've had a few texts about it. Maybe if we don't go back into the city tonight."

"And what about the Christmas parade?"

"That's on Sunday. It used to be that there were more people in the parade than watched it, but when the Chamber of Commerce added fun family activities for little kids during the day and all the businesses in town got really involved, people from three states showed up for it. I was in it four years ago as part of the high school float which wasn't anything fancy. It was on the back of a flat-bed truck from the local garage that we decorated. We had a great time. It's really small-town stuff. My family never misses it. My nieces and nephew love it. Then after the parade, everyone goes to the park and watches the lights go on the Christmas tree in the gazebo and the snowflakes up in the spruces surrounding it. And people sing all sorts of holiday songs. 'Jingle Bells.' 'Winter Wonderland.' It's really small-town stuff. One of the school bus drivers dresses up as a snowman and walks through the crowd, making all the kids laugh. And there's also Santa. It's really. . ."

". . . small-town stuff."

Ben drove the Corvette into Castlebury to show Alison the historic Federal homes along Pleasant Ridge Road and then turned onto Main Street to show her stores, shops and the old Rialto Theater. When they saw that no cars were parked on the street, they observed correctly that everything was closed. Ben took a right onto Chestnut Street and showed her all the old Victorian homes and the new supermarket and old firehouse. When they passed St. Simeon's, he took a left onto Pleasanton Road, telling her that they were about five miles from their destination.

Alison found a lipstick in her purse and applied it, looking in her sideview mirror. She knew that she would be presentable and not embarrass herself or Ben since she did want to make a good first impression. When Ben had told her that he would be wearing a jacket and tie at Thanksgiving and that there was an unofficial rule to "dress for dinner," she knew exactly what she should wear. She had a patterned skirt and pullover blouse that she had worn to a job interview for a potential internship with a publishing company this summer in Midtown. It was an outfit her mother had sent her from St. Louis specifically to wear for her interview. She felt like she was going to be interviewed again – and often – once she got to Ben's house.

"Alison, I've got to warn you. My family is going to ask a few questions about us. More than a few."

"So, how do we answer them? Or do we. . . ?"

". . .keep them guessing? It could be way more fun that way, especially with Annie who will want to know everything."

As Ben drove up a long hill toward his parents' home, he recognized a minivan in front of him as he got to a straightaway in the road. "I think that's my brother and his family ahead of us."

Ben honked his horn and waved above his head over the windshield. He saw Drew's hand extend from the driver's side and wave to him. Drew honked back.

Almost instantly, Ben heard another car honk behind him; it was Jack driving the Suburban. In his rearview mirror, he saw Annie and Jack wave to him through their windshield. He put his hand up in the air to wave back. "And there's my sister and her husband behind us." Alison turned around to look at them.

When Annie waved to Alison, she and Jack saw Alison smile and wave back.

"Who's that?" Jack asked Annie.

"Ben's new girlfriend."

"New girlfriend? When's he ever had a girlfriend?"

"In high school. Remember the prom date?"

"Oh, yes. I would've been gun-shy too after what she did to him. Good for him. From here, she looks kind of cute. I bet his gun isn't shy anymore."

"Jack. . ." cautioned Annie.

"I'm just saying."

"There are two sets of curious ears in the backseat."

"Yes, and another set of curious ears in the front seat," said Jack, pointing to Annie's stomach. "Right there."

"Jack. . ." Annie said, cautioning him again.

"What's Dad talking about, Mom?" asked Jason from the back seat.

"Nothing, Jason."

"It's always nothing."

"But it will be something. I promise."

"I know. We're almost at Grammy and Grampy's, Mom."

"And don't you and Dad both look handsome in your bow ties."