Virginia Is For Families

I must have slept for at least three hours because when I opened my eyes it was very dark and none of the lights had been turned on. I looked out the back window and could see nothing at all so I went out the side door and through the porch hitting my knee on one of the metal chairs Beth bought recently. My mind was still not fully awake and it seemed to me that it could have been nine in the evening or four in the morning. I hadn’t slept well for several days and it was catching up to me. I was concerned because the dogs had not come to investigate the noise I was making as I moved about the house. Where had they gone? Why was it so quiet?

I walked through the back yard feeling the damp air all around me and basically just following the path from memory that leads to my workshop. As I opened the door and flipped the light switch I realized that I was not alone. My brother and two of his alien buddies were sitting next to the workbench gazing up at me. If he had not been there I would have been very frightened. But he was home again and I was glad to see him.

And then I realized his eyes were staring straight ahead and his body was in a awkward position as if he was very uncomfortable or in pain. He didn’t say a word. No one said anything.

“I’ve heard a lot about you guys. You really do get around. But what are you doing here? And what’s going on with my brother?”

They looked up with those huge eyes and didn’t say a word. But they didn’t have to. Images surged in my mind. I saw flashing metal and sharp pointed objects. My knees started to feel weak as I tried to block it out. Because I knew what they were thinking.

They were wondering what kind of woodworking project they could complete in the next three days. It had to be done by Wednesday because they wanted to be free to go door to door when the big night rolled around. In their minds it was the best night of the year. There would be smiles all around and lots of good stuff to eat.

But D was not happy. And I was wondering if they understood about shop safety. I didn’t want any alien fingers flying across the room. And what color was alien blood anyway? Green maybe? I didn’t really want to find out. And then one of the little guys stood up.

And fell backward onto the wood floor with a clunk. I thought for a moment that he was dead. But he had this strange little smile on his face. And then I smelled the turpentine and saw the open container.

They didn’t know about shop safety. And it was going to be a long night.