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Creek Week: Day 3

Summary:

Past
Bernard reminisces about a day in his youth.

Future
Bernard and Alexis mark a milestone in their lives.

Notes:

For the Creek Week challenge on Tumblr:
https://www.tumblr.com/cotcweek/730638969749094400/announcing-craig-of-the-creek-week-2023

Chapter 1: Past

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“In this economy, we have to get rid of things we don’t need anymore,” Bernard, Craig, and Jessica’s mother said as the four of them examined all the things they placed around the garage. “Take this highchair, for example. It has carried you kids ever since we got it for Bernard a long time ago. Now that you are growing up, we don’t need it anymore, so we can give it to someone who does.


“Come on, Craig,” Bernard goaded his younger brother, seated on the highchair as he held a spoonful of mashed carrots while their mother looked on. “You like carrots, don’t you?” Little Craig ate it, sure enough. Occasionally, he would sometimes knock over the spoon, but other than that, he was quite content with eating the carrots and the peas, befitting a toddler’s still-developing teeth.

It was a warm Saturday morning. The sun was shining. The house was open to the seaside air. The waves were splashing on the beach, their sound carried into their small but wonderful house.

Nine-year-old Bernard and his two-year-old brother Craig were just getting started for the morning. The radio was blaring rock music.

When Craig’s food bowl was empty, their dad came by bearing breakfast, an omelet with lots of potatoes and hash browns that could either make you sick or make you feel alive.

“You better eat it all,” he said, “because I am tempted to take all your omelets!”

Paired with ketchup, and the sea breeze, the omelet tasted like heaven on Earth.


“Alright,” Mom said, “let’s sort through the stuff and organize them between ‘keeping’, ‘giving’, and ‘selling’.”

The four of them dug through the piles of things. Clothes, toys, mementos.

Bernard went and pulled out a box of old electronics, including an old MP3 player.

“Huh, I remember this,” Craig said. “You used to carry it around with you all the time, listening to stuff on there.”

“Yeah, I remember that, too,” Mom said. “But it was mine first.”


On the shores of the Atlantic, Bernard was building a sand castle around Craig while their parents watched. It was a nice castle, with a moat and turrets and everything. After about half an hour, the castle was complete.

He carefully picked up his baby brother out of the castle and brought him aside to admire his handiwork.

“Bernard! Craig!” their mother called out. “Time to put on some sunscreen!”

The two walked over to the shade gifted by the umbrella, where Mom and Dad were seated. As Mom squirted some sunscreen and lathered it on Bernard’s arms, Craig was trying to grab her MP3 player.

“Craig!” she laughed. “You want to listen to some music?” She stopped with the lathering, pulled out one of her earbuds and carefully placed it on one of Craig’s ears. Afterwards, she spread the sunscreen a bit more, then offered Bernard the other earbud.

“What?” he asked in puzzlement.

“It’s okay,” she assured him.

He took the bud and placed it on his ear. She was playing those old ‘90s R&B songs. It didn’t really appeal to him, but Craig was enjoying it. The voices and melodies came in time with the waves arriving onto the shore, and the two were carried away by the rhythms of life.


Craig set down another box. Inside it were many issues of Highlights magazine.

“Hey, you found my magazine collection!” Bernard said with glee.

“I didn’t take you for a magazine guy,” Craig replied.

“Well, it wasn’t that long ago. Mom, do we still get magazine subscriptions?”

“I think we have a subscription to this home magazine…” she guessed. “But these look great!” Do you really want to get rid of them?”

“Maybe Jessica can hold on to them for a little while,” Bernard decided.


Larry the postman had just come by and given dropped off the latest issue of Highlights when they came back from the beach for lunchtime. When the flag of their mailbox went up, he rushed to the mailbox to retrieve it, then went inside to read it.

He was a fast reader, so Bernard quickly ate the magazine up (metaphorically, of course). He set it aside at the coffee table in the living room.

Lunch was pork and beans with sausages (although Craig got mashed potatoes instead). It was a short lunch because they would be heading to the park later today. The conversation was a blur, but his parents were talking about the possibility of moving away for a new job.

Bernard felt a little sad. It was nice to visit new places. But their home was fine as is! Did they really have to go?

His mom noticed how he was getting dour.

“Bernard,” she said to him. “I know it’s hard to move. Heck, I even like this place myself! But you two are growing up. You deserve a bigger place than this. A big kid like you does.”

“Well, where do we go?”

“I’m still looking for a place. But who knows? I would like to take things in stride. Anyway, it’s not your job to worry about it. Just enjoy your life! You’re nine! Have some fun!”

He thought about it. “Sure, I guess.”

“Alright. Now we must get ready for the park. We’re bringing the Thermos.”


As the day went on, more boxes and odds and ends were being sorted out. There was less stuff inside the garage, and there were differently sized piles.

Stuff like photos were under “keeping”, stuff like clothes were under “giving”, stuff like old fans were under “selling”.

Jessica opened another box and found a bunch of papers. “Ooh, what are these?” she queried.

“Let me see those,” Craig said. He took one and read it out. “‘Yoga by the Sea – Four to Six P.M., Mondays to Saturdays, Palm Park’.”


Bernard took the brochure from the bulletin board as the family strolled around Palm Park, with little Craig being carried in a stroller and everyone else eating an ice pop.

He read the brochure. “‘Yoga by the Sea – Four to Six P.M. Mondays to Saturdays, Palm Park’. Can we go there?” he asked his mom.

“I’d like to,” she replied, “but you’d need to watch over Craig.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Nah, just walking around is good enough for me. The fresh air, the sun…”

“Didn’t you say that already?” Dad said.

“No, I did not!” she retorted. “You must be hearing things!”

“I mean, I could try yoga! Really impress my guys at Best Buy!”

“You don’t work there!”

“No, but I get my best computers from there!”

“Okay, we’ll see if we can get in a schedule.”


The four of them looked at the three piles, now fully sorted.

“It’s amazing how much we have from when we were in Florida,” Bernard said.

“Yeah,” Craig said, “I don’t have many memories of that place, but it was nice.”

“Can we go to Florida sometime, Mom?” Jessica asked. “Please?”

Mom pondered for a bit before grabbing from the “keeping” pile. “I think that’s on the table for the next couple of months. Where do you want to go?”

Notes:

I'm not really sure where the Williams lived before moving to Maryland, so I'm thinking they used to live in Florida, where Nicole says she used to live (as stated in "Fort Williams"). It's just a guess. Maybe it'll be contradicted by the new movie.

I used to own a number of Highlights magazines when I was a kid. I asked my parents to subscribe to it. Good times.