Christmas in the Country (A Pocahontas FanFiction)

Third Day of the Journey Home

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" was the next thing Thomas heard.  He opened his eyes to see John smiling down at him, "We get home today!"  Thomas rubbed his eyes and yawned.  John laughed and took out his phone, "Hold that pose."  he took a picture and sent it to Pocahontas.  He slipped it back in his pocket, "Come on, Mom and Dad are waiting for us in the lobby."  The boys changed into clean clothes, packed up their suitcases, and headed down to the lobby where their parents were waiting.  Mr. Smith tossed John the keys, "There you are, take your stuff to the car and then come on and eat.  The boys nodded, took their stuff out, made their plates, and sat down.  John took a bite of breakfast, "So, about what time will we pull into home?"  Mr. Smith sipped his coffee and thought for a second, "We'll be pulling in at about six in the evening."  He set his cup down, "By the way, since the day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, we'll have tomorrow be a recovery day.  We'll sleep in and you boys and I will go over to the fireworks stand at the Baptist Church."  The boys nodded their agreement.  The local Baptists always sold some of the best fireworks at prices you couldn't compete with and all their proceeds went towards different ministries.  Last year, the majority went towards the youth group's mission trip.

After breakfast, Thomas turned in the key card to the desk clerk and thanked her.  Mrs. Smith looked at her husband, "David, you want me to drive today?  You've driven so much, why don't you take a rest."  Mr. Smith kissed her, "Of course, Mary, if you want to."  The boys rolled their eyes.  

In the car, the boys chatted for the longest time, played a trivia game on Thomas' cell phone, played Battleship, and Backseat Bingo.  After the fourth game of Bingo, Thomas started to yawn.  John tried to hide a smile and covered his brother with a blanket just as Thomas began to fall asleep.  John put on some earbuds, turned on One Direction, and put his arm over Thomas.

John was just about to turn on Alan Jackson when they turned into the next gas station.  Mr. Smith looked in the back, "Alright, come on, boys.  Everyone's gonna give a try.  I'll fill up the car and you boys go give a try."  John nudged Thomas awake and they both realized how much they had to go and how thirsty they were.  They walked in and used the bathroom, while they washed their hands, "Hey, Thomas.  You wanna get some drinks? My treat?"  

"Sure."

"Cool.  We'll get some for Mom and Dad, too.  I'll just put it on my credit card."  The boys looked through the store, got drinks, and John payed for them.  John handed Thomas his Vanilla Coke, "Now look, this isn't very much to get attention from Mom and Dad, but they told me that my credit card is only for emergencies, even if the money is made by me.  So, don't tell them I used my credit card."  Thomas nodded, "Okay, John."  

John, back home, worked at the Sonic next to school as a bellhop.  If Thomas really wanted to talk about something and John wasn't home or couldn't drive him home, he'd walk over to the Sonic on his way home.  Around that time, people were usually coming over, so John would usually see Thomas there.  One time, while John was talking to Thomas about a problem Thomas had at school, the manager actually saw what they were doing.  Because John was helping Thomas with a problem, he didn't count it against him, he actually gave him a raise, "You're a big brother, you have an obligation to help him."

The boys brought the drinks out and, when their parents found the drinks in their drink holders, they looked in the back at John.  The boys smiled at each other.  Mr. Smith patted John's knee and thanked them and Mrs. Smith pulled them back on the road.  

Thomas stayed awake longer than he ever did since the trip started.  Thanks to the Vanilla Coke and John talking a mile a minute.  They put a checker board up in the middle seat and played best two out of three.  They managed to win one each and then Thomas won the last game.  Their dad started pointing out important things on the way home and, by the time it was about time for supper, the area around them was starting to look more familiar.  They were nearing where their orthodontist's office was and it always took an hour to get there.

The boys insisted that the grownups got to choose that time.  So, they stopped at a restaurant that used to be a railroad station.  They remembered getting told about this place.  Mr. and Mrs. Smith used to go their when they were going together.  For them, it was like becoming young again.

When they got in, the boys began staring around.  It was like a restaurant built inside a museum.  As they ate, Mr. and Mrs. Smith started relating stories of the times they came their when they were dating.  Even a few of the workers there seemed to recognize them.  The boys began wondering if they would someday find a restaurant that would be the same way with them and their girlfriends.  Since it was special, they decided they would order dessert.

When they were ready to get back on the road, Thomas was glad he and John saved their drinks from the gas station.  It was late and they both wanted to be awake when they got home.  John always said that, when you're trying to stay awake for a long time, caffeine was always your best bet.  They talked on and on about New Year's Eve coming up.  Tomorrow, they would get to shop for fireworks, Nakoma, Pocahontas, and their dad would be coming with the drinks, their dad would cook out, and they would have an awesome time.  Uncle Ben and Uncle Lon even promised to send them pictures of their New Year's Eve if they sent pictures of theirs.

When they finally got home, it was nearly ten o'clock at night.  When they parked in front of the house, Mr. Smith told the boys to bring in all their things and trash.  The boys gladly did that, thanks to their drinks, they had plenty of energy.  After everything was brought in, the boys got ready for bed and came back upstairs for the surprise that Mr. Smith had saved for them.  He told them as they were bringing stuff in that Uncle Ben and Uncle Lon had a surprise for when they got home that they entrusted to him.  The boys helped unpackage it and, inside, was the complete series of The Dukes of Hazard.  Mr. Smith allowed the boys to stay up and watch one episode that they each got to choose.  Afterwards, Mrs. Smith saw the time and ordered them, "To bed, to bed!"

As the boys settled into bed, Thomas couldn't help saying aloud, "It's good to be home."  John gave him a hug, "Isn't it?"  he gave his little brother a kiss, "Goodnight, bub."

"Goodnight, John."