ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON EARTH
Chapter Eleven
Ten Years Later
Santa Monica, California
"Mother, will you please fix my
hair?" Nicole pleaded.
Things had been rough sometimes for Jack,
Rose, Nicole, John, and Taylor, but they had always made it through, from the
time they had moved there from Chippewa Falls until now.
"Mommy, John called me a sissy!"
Taylor cried.
"John! No going to Richard's house for
the rest of the week!" Jack said.
"Nicole, come here, darling. Now, how do
you want your hair?" Rose asked.
"Braided, please," was her reply.
"Mother, can I go to Richard's house
this afternoon?" John asked.
"Is it just me, or did your father say
no for the rest of the week?" she asked.
"Then can I have some money for a drink
at Mr. Martin's store?" he asked.
"Here." His father handed him thirty-six
cents. "Buy your sisters drinks, too."
"Okay," John said as he took the coins.
Later That Day
Rose called Jack from the house. Taylor
hadn't come home that day and they hadn't gotten a reply back from the school about
where she was. After a very long talk, they hung up. Two minutes later, Rose
got a call from the school.
"Mrs. Dawson, we have some bad news. At
2:30 this afternoon, the bus was in an accident. Taylor Dawson, Bryan Mickey,
and Danny Trammer did not survive."
Rose broke into tears at the thought of her
youngest dead. After that, she called Jack and he rushed home to comfort her. When
the twins walked in and heard the news, they were very upset, especially John.
The Dawsons had been changed forever.