Dave Casler
PO Box 98
Ridgway, Colorado 81432
Young Adult Novels by Dave Casler...
I've been told by publisher after publisher that there's no market for Young Adult novels. I think they're wrong! So I'm putting my novels on-line for you. Forget the publisher! Read to your heart's content--it's free! And, I'd like to hear from you, too! Contact Page.
You're reading About Dan. Be sure to check out About Phillip here.
Dan is a normal kid who loves his soccer. Except everything goes wrong. Everything.
About Series Home
About the About Series
Index to All Chapters
Here are all the chapters, disguised as asterisks. Hover your mouse over an asterisk to see the title of the chapter. Click on the asterisk to go straight to that chapter.
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(About Dan Home) (Last) (Next)
Thanksgiving with the Fawkes
Thanksgiving Day brought sunshine, lots of it, as well as a breeze and plummeting temperatures. It was a day for a good coat and scarf.
Peter's mom invited the two of them for dinner. Maria protested at first, but it didn't take much for Marilyn to persuade her. Dan wondered if Peter's knowledge of his mom’s state of health had anything to do with it. But now there would be a real turkey and enough people around so there'd be conversation worth tuning into.
Dan’s mother agreed to bring a pumpkin pie (fresh from Safeway), which she carried as they walked down the block to the Fawkes' home. She wore her heaviest jacket and disappeared into its folds. He was more worried than ever about her health. She was losing weight and complained about her stomach all the time. She wouldn't eat. But when he inquired, however politely, she'd always put him off. There were strange messages on the answering machine, usually about tests or changes to appointments, but not enough information to piece anything together. He tried to resign himself to just letting things work themselves out. It was hard, though, since his mother was changing into someone he didn't recognize, both physically and psychologically. The church’s relief society president dropped by unannounced one evening but Maria threw a fit and the poor president withdrew. Dan quickly found an excuse to see Peter so he could avoid his mother’s inevitable tirade.
He couldn't quite walk without crutches but sensed he was making progress. And, Dr. Jones promised him he'd soon be in a brace. Anything had to be better than crutches and a cast, right?
Marilyn Fawkes always kept a neat house, but today it seemed cleaner than usual. Little paper turkeys and pilgrims dotted the walls and tables. Jesse Fawkes was welcoming and upbeat. He ushered them in, took their coats, and insisted Maria sit in one of the overstuffed chairs. She'd protested she should be helping, but Marilyn came in to tell her everything was under control. Maria looked grateful and settled deep into the chair. She was asleep in five minutes.
Jesse and Marilyn joked as they helped each other in the kitchen. Peter even goosed his mom at one point. No one needed an assignment to set the table. Soon Maria was gently awakened, everyone sat down, and the traditional Thanksgiving dinner began.
Jesse, quite aware of Dan's Mormon background, asked him to give the blessing on the food. Dan did this fairly frequently at the Fawkes, but this was his first time to do so in front of his mother. She was too tired to be annoyed or even to comment. The Fawkes were not particularly religious, in fact, Dan would have been hard-pressed to identify them with a denomination. But, then, he never thought of trying to do so. Dan liked the Fawkes, all of them. They made him feel welcome.
Marilyn made tactful inquiries about Dan's soccer plans for the next season. Dan replied quite honestly that he didn't know, but thought he might be out on the practice field in the spring. Everyone carefully avoided the Fall Festival. The one time it came up Peter deftly changed the subject.
When dinner was done Maria was once again sent to the easy chair. Though the television was blaring with the usual Thanksgiving football game, she was asleep moments after sitting in the chair. Marilyn took Dan into the kitchen and asked about her; she looked worried. Day or night, she said, and reiterated, call her day or night, and pointed her long finger at Dan's nose. Dan, Peter, Marilyn and Jesse ate their pumpkin pie in the kitchen, standing up, so they wouldn’t wake Maria. Dan said he wished he knew more about his mother’s condition; he really had some right to know. Jesse remarked that he’d surely had had some occasions when he'd had his own troubles he wanted to handle by himself without motherly intervention. Marilyn pretended to look shocked. When Jesse went on to add that this certainly wouldn't apply to his son, Peter lost a piece of pie on the floor. Marilyn wagged a finger at Peter; they all laughed.
As Jesse and Marilyn started to wash dishes, Dan said to Peter, "Show me that new game, would you?"
Marilyn shooed them out of the kitchen; they walked silently past a dozing Maria and down the short hallway to Peter's room. Their house was laid out the same way as Dan's, except the plan was reversed. That meant Peter's room was like Dan's, except backwards. And except that it was much neater. Dan always thought this was Marilyn's doing, not Peter's, since he'd never seen any evidence that Peter was particularly neat in his housekeeping habits.
Peter played first. Dan looked out the window. The sun was just sinking over the Flatirons.
"Still thinking about Lisa?" said Peter as he looked up from the game.
Dan was startled out of his reverie. " Yeah, I suppose so."
"So what really happened? Dr. Peter is listening." He pushed the joystick away.