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Automobile Steam Pump of the Paris Fire Brigade
French vintage postcard, mailed in 1910
#automobile steam pump#pump#carte postale#old#ansichtskarte#automobile#mailed#photo#vintage#postkaart#the paris fire brigade#photography#fire#briefkaart#postkarte#french#ephemera#1910#postcard#steam#sepia#postal#paris#tarjeta#historic#brigade
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Global Top 15 Companies Accounted for 58% of total Boiler Feedwater Pump market (QYResearch, 2021)
A boiler feedwater pump is a specific type of pump used to pump feedwater into a steam boiler. The water may be freshly supplied or returning condensate produced as a result of the condensation of the steam produced by the boiler. These pumps are normally high pressure units that take suction from a condensate return system and can be of the centrifugal pump type or positive displacement type.
According to the new market research report “Global Boiler Feedwater Pump Market Report 2023-2029”, published by QYResearch, the global Boiler Feedwater Pump market size is projected to reach USD 0.88 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period.
Figure. Global Boiler Feedwater Pump Market Size (US$ Million), 2018-2029
Figure. Global Boiler Feedwater Pump Top 15 Players Ranking and Market Share (Ranking is based on the revenue of 2022, continually updated)
The global key manufacturers of Boiler Feedwater Pump include KSB, Grundfos, Flowserve Corporation, Ebara Corporation, TORISHIMA, Sulzer, DESMI, MTH Pumps, SanChang Pump, Speck, etc. In 2021, the global top 10 players had a share approximately 58.0% in terms of revenue.
About QYResearch
QYResearch founded in California, USA in 2007.It is a leading global market research and consulting company. With over 16 years’ experience and professional research team in various cities over the world QY Research focuses on management consulting, database and seminar services, IPO consulting, industry chain research and customized research to help our clients in providing non-linear revenue model and make them successful. We are globally recognized for our expansive portfolio of services, good corporate citizenship, and our strong commitment to sustainability. Up to now, we have cooperated with more than 60,000 clients across five continents. Let’s work closely with you and build a bold and better future.
QYResearch is a world-renowned large-scale consulting company. The industry covers various high-tech industry chain market segments, spanning the semiconductor industry chain (semiconductor equipment and parts, semiconductor materials, ICs, Foundry, packaging and testing, discrete devices, sensors, optoelectronic devices), photovoltaic industry chain (equipment, cells, modules, auxiliary material brackets, inverters, power station terminals), new energy automobile industry chain (batteries and materials, auto parts, batteries, motors, electronic control, automotive semiconductors, etc.), communication industry chain (communication system equipment, terminal equipment, electronic components, RF front-end, optical modules, 4G/5G/6G, broadband, IoT, digital economy, AI), advanced materials industry Chain (metal materials, polymer materials, ceramic materials, nano materials, etc.), machinery manufacturing industry chain (CNC machine tools, construction machinery, electrical machinery, 3C automation, industrial robots, lasers, industrial control, drones), food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, agriculture, etc.
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Screw (turbine accessory) GB68C-85 GH4145 Steam Turbine RSV for Bangladesh power system
Screw (turbine accessory) GB68C-85 GH4145 Steam Turbine RSV for Bangladesh power system The use of advanced technology, absolutely first-class service quality, is our constant faith over the years. Production is in strict accordance with national standard, line standard and technical standards. The main technical backbone are retired senior engineer and senior technicians, who has participated in the design, manufacture and installation of Gezhouba, Ertan, Three Gorges and other power plants. We have served hundreds of hydropower stations, thermal power plant overhaul, and technical transformation to provide high quality equipment, construction design, installation, spare parts, and after-sales service. Yoyik can offer many spare parts for power plants as below: #DF-Screw (turbine accessory) GB68C-85 GH4145 Steam Turbine RSV-DF hydraulic oil filter housing FAX(NX)-1000×10 water filter housing cartridge SL-9/50 oil filter price SZHB-850×20 best oil filter SCKLCO5S50 Air filter BDE200G2W1.X/-RV0.003 filter FBX-100*30 oil hydraulic filter HC9600FKZ16Z Filter element WU-400*100-F-J pp filter housing SWF water filter price SL-9/50.03 pp filter cartridge making machine SGLQ1000B filter SWUX-100*30 pp cartridge filter SGLQ-6000A filter cartridge housing WYX-400×1012 filter HC9020FKP4Z pp filter core SWF4 Filter HC8314FCS16H filter JWUX-100*180 oil filter YWU-400*180-J hydraulic oil filter housing ZPD160×600×2B80 filter FAX (NX)-100*1 oil filter XFL-190X10H filter water systems SL-12/50 oil filter SFBX-400×1 high pressure hydraulic filter ZU-E400×5FS jacking oil pump filter TLX268/20P hydraulic return filter SFAX.BH630×1 water purifier KLS-1001 water filter housing DLS-100 filter XU-25*100-J filter SKX-60*10 filter TXX2-800*10 filter water systems DLS-150 hydraulic filter press V4051V3CO1 filter water SG-125/0.7 oil filter DP405EA01/-F Screw (turbine accessory) GB68C-85 GH4145 Steam Turbine RSV automobile filter element HP0501A10WNP01 oil filter cartridge TZX2.BH-100×10 filter HX.BH-160*5Q filter SWCQX-450*25 oil filter elements HX-40×30Q oil filter price WU-400×200 filter hydraulic oil FC1240.Q020.XSMAX filter TZX-E250*10Q2 activated carbon filter cartridge STXX-25×20 filter 0330R010BN3HC/-V string wound filter XLSL-001-03 5 micron pp filter DLS-700 water filter housing SGLQ-300A Filter element ASME-600-150 filter DP602EA03V/-W filter cartridge machine TZX2-1000×10 filter HX.BH-40*10Q filter for water KLS-100I Filter element HP0502A10VRP01 cross reference hydraulic filter WU-A630×50FS hydraulic oil filter remover HX.BH-63×10W oil filter Q2U-A25*30BS water filter replacement SG65/0.7 activated carbon filter cartridge 0660D020BN3HC EH oil main pump suction filter OF3-20-3RV-10 actuator filter (flushing) AP1E102-01D01V/-F melt blown cartridge filter MSL-125 filter water purifier SGLQ-1000A oil filter making machine 21FC1521-160×800/14 hydraulic filter price list 50AY35X12 Filter element DZC-D600B element filter ZU-H100×40S water filter straw KLS-100I water filter cartridge quick KLS-50U/200 string wound filter cartridge SG125/0.8 replacement filter HCY0212FKT39H Screw (turbine accessory) GB68C-85 GH4145 Steam Turbine RSV DFYLSYC-2024-5-16-A
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Maintain Peak Performance: Porsche Coolant Change Services
In the intricate mechanics of automobiles, coolant plays an instrumental role in maintaining engine performance and safety. Often referred to as antifreeze, this specialized fluid safeguards engines from extreme temperatures, ensuring optimal functionality. However, over time, coolant loses its efficacy, prompting the need for replacement. Here, we delve into the Porsche coolant change service, shedding light on its significance and the pivotal role it plays in safeguarding your vehicle's engine.
Understanding Coolant's Role and Evolution
Coolant, primarily a mixture of water and ethyl glycol in equal parts, serves as a thermal regulator for engines, preventing freezing in cold temperatures and boiling in hot conditions. Initially, vehicles utilized water for engine cooling, but the prevalence of vapor formation led to the adoption of coolants. Early versions had shorter lifespans due to their inorganic acid composition. However, modern iterations incorporate additives to combat corrosion and enhance longevity. Yet, even advanced coolants necessitate replacement due to the development of detrimental properties over time.
Implications of Aging Coolant
The consequences of aged coolant extend beyond diminished efficacy. Corrosion, sludge accumulation, clogs, and leaks within the cooling system can be attributed to the use of deteriorated coolant. Corrosive properties within the coolant often lead to radiator corrosion, thermostat malfunction, and hose or water pump cracks. As the coolant's deteriorating quality interferes with the cooling system's efficiency, the engine's temperature begins to escalate, posing a risk of overheating.
Recommended Interval for Coolant Change
To maintain a healthy cooling system, Porsche recommends a coolant change every 2 to 3 years or within 24,000 to 36,000 miles. However, conducting periodic checks at 15,000-mile intervals is advisable. Routine inspections of coolant levels and color facilitate swift identification of any issues, allowing for immediate rectification and preventing significant system damage.
Signs Indicating the Need for Coolant Change
Certain indicators signify the deterioration of coolant and the necessity for a change:
Steam emanating from the radiator
Unusual burning odor from under the hood
Presence of sediments or rust in the coolant
Temperature gauge indicating levels above normal
Unusual grinding noise from the engine
Illumination of the check engine light
Inoperative heater
These signs serve as warning signals indicating the urgency for a coolant change and necessitate prompt diagnosis and resolution to avoid potential damage to the engine.
Detailed Process of Coolant Flush Service
During a coolant flush service, several crucial steps are undertaken to ensure a comprehensive rejuvenation of the cooling system:
Addition of a cleaning compound to eliminate contaminants such as rust, sediment, and corrosion.
Thorough flushing of the system to remove old coolant, sludge, dirt, and other impurities.
Refilling the cooling system's reservoir with the appropriate coolant.
The flush process involves the removal of substances that promote radiator corrosion, ensuring the complete elimination of corrosive elements from the system. Post-draining the old coolant, a circulation of distilled water purges the system of any remnants, preventing frequent coolant changes and system repairs.
The Crux of Coolant Change
Regular coolant changes are pivotal in safeguarding the cooling system, preventing potential damage to the engine due to overheating. Therefore, it is imperative to schedule a coolant flush, either through self-maintenance or with the assistance of a qualified mechanic. The average Porsche coolant flush cost stands at a small price to pay for preserving the engine's longevity and reliability.
In conclusion, prioritizing regular coolant changes is a proactive measure to maintain the engine's health and ensure its consistent and optimal performance. By adhering to scheduled coolant changes, Porsche owners can mitigate the risk of engine overheating and subsequent damages, thus enhancing the vehicle's longevity and reliability.
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Complete Guide to the Best coolant for Honda Civic for overheating
It is made up of many parts, such as the coolant, water pump, thermostat, and radiator. The lifetime and general health of the best coolant for Honda Civic for overheating depend on the choice of coolant. The correct coolant offers the required heat transfer characteristics, lubricates the water pump, and aids in corrosion prevention. Maintaining the system's effectiveness requires selecting the finest coolant for an overheated Honda Civic that complies with the manufacturer's recommendations. It is advised to use a coolant made especially for Honda automobiles, which is sometimes referred to as OAT (Organic Acid Technology) or HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology). If you're looking for the manufacturer's recommended coolant requirements, always consult the owner's handbook. Maintaining a properly working cooling system is essential to the durability and dependability of your Honda Civic. Regular coolant tests and maintenance help achieve this. Best coolant for Honda Civic for overheating Coolant Leaks: Broken hoses, problems with the radiator, or a broken water pump may all lead to leaks in the cooling system. Thermostat malfunction: An ineffective thermostat might result in incorrect temperature control and overheating of the engine. Radiator Issues: The cooling process may be hampered by radiator issues such as clogged or leaks. Inadequate Coolant: Overheating may result from low coolant levels or the incorrect kind of coolant being used. An elevated temperature gauge indicates that the engine is operating at a higher temperature than usual. Steam or Smoke: Evident indicators of an overheated area, often coupled with a pleasant scent. Coolant Puddles: The presence of coolant underneath the car may indicate a leak. Warning Lights: The dashboard's warning lights illuminate to indicate problems with the engine's temperature. Coolant's Significance for Engine Health Heat is taken up by the coolant and sent to the radiator for release as it circulates throughout the engine. The right mixture of coolant improves the fluid's capacity to control temperature, averting extremes that might harm the engine. Engine Damage: Blown gaskets and deformed cylinder heads are only two examples of engine parts that may be damaged by overheating. Reduced Efficiency: Engine performance and fuel economy are negatively impacted by inadequate cooling, which also lowers engine efficiency. Increased Wear: Engine parts experience increased wear and tear as a result of persistent overheating, which shortens their lifetime. Coolant Types The most popular kinds of coolants are those based on ethylene glycol, which has good heat transmission capabilities. They assist in keeping the cooling system from corroding and provide superior freeze protection. They must, however, be handled carefully since they are poisonous. Coolants based on propylene glycol may be used instead of ethylene glycol. They are a safer alternative since they are less harmful, particularly for homes with young children or pets. Their advantages to safety and the environment outweigh any potential cost increase. Propylene and ethylene glycol characteristics are combined in hybrid coolants to provide a balance between safety and performance. Their design aims to provide lower toxicity, corrosion protection, and effective heat transmission. Honda Civic Coolant Specifications For the recommended coolant parameters from the manufacturer, always consult the owner's handbook for your car. This guarantees compatibility and top-notch functionality. Observe the coolant codes and ratings that Honda specifies, such as HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) or OAT (Organic Acid Technology). The chemical makeup of the coolant and its compatibility with the cooling system are indicated by these codes. Reviews and Experiences from Users Obtain input from several sources to provide a thorough summary. Emphasise often reported good and poor user experiences. Provide case studies or stories from customers of Honda Civics who have tried certain coolants. Take into account the control of temperature, system efficiency, and any problems that may arise. Coolant Alternation Period Observe the coolant replacement interval guidelines provided by the manufacturer. Take into account elements like the weather and driving conditions. Talk about circumstances that can call for more frequent coolant replacements (such as high temps or a lot of towing). How-To Guide for DIY Coolant Change? List the supplies such as coolant, a funnel, and wrenches—that are needed for a coolant change. Make sure you have safety gear on, such as gloves and goggles. Describe every stage of the procedure, including the cooling system's replenishing, flushing, and emptying. Stress the need to take safety measures and dispose of old coolants in an eco-friendly way. For correct information, always refer to the vehicle's service manual and abide by safety regulations. Tips for Maintaining a Coolant System - Check the coolant level and check for noticeable damage or leaks in the radiator and hoses regularly. - Follow the suggested coolant replacement schedules to avoid pollutant accumulation and guarantee peak performance. - To avoid freezing or overheating, keep the coolant-to-water ratio at the proper level as recommended by the manufacturer. - Make sure the system pressure is maintained and the radiator cap is in excellent shape. If needed, replace. - To promote effective heat dissipation, clean the cooling fins and radiator regularly to remove debris. - Check to make sure the thermostat is regulating the temperature as it should by opening and shutting it as designed. - Significant changes in engine temperature might be a sign of a cooling system issue. Conclusion To sum up, keeping your Honda Civic's cooling system in good working order is essential to its general health and durability. To avoid overheating and guarantee optimum engine performance, coolant selection and maintenance are crucial. You can protect your car by being aware of the typical causes and symptoms of overheating as well as the significance of selecting the proper coolant. Take a deep dive into similar car niche blog posts to sustain your appetite for reliable and current information, building on the insights shared in this article. Read the full article
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Wheel Horsepower vs. Horsepower: Unraveling the Powertrain Mysteries
introduction
When it comes to discussing the performance of vehicles, two terms are often thrown around: wheel horsepower and horsepower. These two concepts may sound similar, but they represent different aspects of a vehicle's power output. Understanding the distinction between them is crucial for any automotive enthusiast, driver, or potential buyer. In this article, we will delve into the world of horsepower and wheel horsepower, demystifying their definitions and exploring their significance in the realm of automobiles.
What is Horsepower?
Horsepower, commonly abbreviated as "hp," is a unit of power used to measure the rate at which work is done. It was originally coined by the engineer James Watt in the 18th century during the early days of the industrial revolution. Watt wanted to demonstrate the power of his steam engines by comparing them to the work performed by horses, which were widely used for labor at the time.
One horsepower is equivalent to 746 watts or the power required to lift 550 pounds (250 kilograms) one foot (30.48 centimeters) in one second. In the automotive world, horsepower refers to the engine's power output, typically measured at the engine's crankshaft.
What is Wheel Horsepower?
Wheel horsepower, often abbreviated as "WHP," is the amount of power that actually reaches the vehicle's wheels and is transferred to the road. Unlike horsepower, which is measured at the engine's crankshaft, wheel horsepower takes into account the power losses that occur between the engine and the wheels.
Several factors contribute to these power losses, including transmission losses, drivetrain friction, and inefficiencies in the vehicle's mechanical components. Additionally, other accessories like the alternator, power steering pump, and air conditioning system draw power from the engine, reducing the power available at the wheels.
The Importance of Wheel Horsepower
Wheel horsepower is a more practical and realistic representation of a vehicle's performance on the road compared to raw horsepower figures. This is because it considers the losses that occur as power travels through the vehicle's drivetrain, providing a clearer understanding of the actual power reaching the ground and, ultimately, how the car performs in real-world driving conditions.
When evaluating a vehicle's performance, wheel horsepower is a critical metric to consider. It directly affects how quickly a car can accelerate, its top speed, and its overall drivability. In the context of motorsports, wheel horsepower is crucial for determining a car's competitiveness and its ability to deliver power efficiently to the track.
Dyno Testing and Wheel Horsepower Measurement
To determine a vehicle's wheel horsepower accurately, automotive enthusiasts and professionals use a dynamometer, commonly known as a dyno. A dyno is a specialized tool that measures the power output at the vehicle's wheels while the car is running under various conditions. By running the engine on a dyno, experts can measure power and torque, allowing them to calculate wheel horsepower and identify any potential issues affecting performance.
Conclusion
In the world of automobiles, understanding the difference between horsepower and wheel horsepower is vital for gauging a vehicle's true performance potential. While horsepower is a measure of raw engine power at the crankshaft, wheel horsepower accounts for the losses in power transfer from the engine to the wheels. Consequently, wheel horsepower gives a more accurate representation of how much power actually reaches the road, making it a crucial metric for assessing a vehicle's real-world performance capabilities.
Next time you discuss horsepower and performance figures, remember the significance of wheel horsepower in providing a more comprehensive understanding of a car's prowess on the road. Whether you're an automotive enthusiast or a prospective car buyer, embracing this knowledge will undoubtedly elevate your appreciation of the engineering marvels that propel us forward.
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Why Professional Car Wash Services are Worth the Investment?
A professional car wash service provides a comprehensive cleaning of a car's exterior and interior using specialized equipment, products, and techniques. This service is performed by trained and experienced professionals who use high-quality cleaning solutions and equipment.
The service may include exterior washing, interior cleaning, waxing, polishing, and other services designed to protect and enhance the appearance of a car. The professionals use specialized equipment, such as high-pressure washers, steam cleaners, and air blowers, to clean cars. They may also use specialized cleaning products, such as pH-balanced shampoos, tire cleaners, and interior protectants.
Auto Car Repair offers professional car wash services in Gurugram. The mechanics are trained to provide high-quality car services for various automobile brands. The multi-brand service center uses genuine quality products to guarantee the best results.
There are several reasons why getting a professional multi-brand car wash service is important. Here are some of the main reasons:
Improved Appearance: A professional car wash can improve the appearance of your car. Dirt, dust, and grime can accumulate on the exterior of your car over time, making it look dull and unappealing. A professional car wash can remove these contaminants and restore your car's shine, making it look like new again.
Protection: Regular car washing can help protect your car's paint from damage. Dirt and grime can scratch the surface of your car's paint, which can lead to rust and other damage over time. A professional car wash service can remove these contaminants and protect your car's paint from damage.
Better Resale Value: A well-maintained car can fetch a higher resale value than a car that has not been well-maintained. Regular professional car washing can help keep your car looking its best. Hence, it can help you get a better price if you decide to sell it.
Health and Safety: A dirty car can harbor harmful bacteria and allergens that can affect your health. A professional car wash can remove these contaminants and help keep your car's interior clean and healthy.
Convenience: Professional car wash services offer a convenient way to keep your car clean without doing it yourself. This can save you time and effort, especially if you have a busy schedule.
Multi-Brand Car Wash Service at Auto Car Repair
Auto Car Repair provides comprehensive car wash service. The following services are performed by the mechanics at the center:
Pressure Car Wash
A car pressure wash, also known as a car power wash, is a method of cleaning a vehicle using a high-pressure water spray. It involves using a specialized tool called a pressure washer or power washer. It uses a motor-driven pump to increase the water pressure and create a high-pressure spray.
This spray is then directed at the surface of the car, effectively blasting away dirt, grime, and other debris. Car pressure washing can be an effective way to clean a car quickly and efficiently. The high-pressure water spray can reach areas that might be difficult to clean otherwise.
However, it's important to use the appropriate pressure setting and technique to avoid damaging the car's paint. Excessive pressure or incorrect use can cause scratches or other damage during car wash service.
The benefits of car pressure washing include:
Saving time and effort compared to manual washing
Removing tough dirt and grime more effectively
Extending the lifespan of the car by removing harmful contaminants
Improving the appearance of the car by restoring its shine and color
Wax Polishing
Car wax polishing is the process of applying a wax product onto a car's exterior surface. It helps to enhance its shine, protect the paintwork, and preserve its appearance. The wax is typically applied after the car has been cleaned and dried thoroughly. It acts as a protective layer against dirt, UV rays, and other contaminants that can damage the car's paint.
Polishing refers to the act of removing any swirl marks, scratches, or other imperfections from the car's paintwork before applying the wax. This is usually done using a polishing compound or machine.
It helps to smooth out the surface of the car and create a uniform shine. The result is a car that looks glossy and new, with a protective layer of wax to help maintain its appearance.
The benefits of car wax polishing are:
Protects car paint from fading, oxidation, and UV rays
Enhances the shine and gloss of the car
Provides a layer of protection against bird droppings, tree sap, and other environmental hazards
Makes it easier to clean the car and increases the durability of the paint job
Interior Vacuuming
Car interior vacuuming service is designed to remove dirt, debris, and dust from the interior of a car. This service involves using a high-powered vacuum cleaner to clean the seats, carpets, mats, and other surfaces inside the car.
The service may also include wiping down surfaces, cleaning windows, and removing any trash or clutter. Car interior vacuuming can help to maintain a clean and hygienic interior, improve air quality, and preserve the resale value of the vehicle.
It is recommended to have the car interior vacuumed regularly, especially if the car is used frequently or for long periods.
The benefits of interior vacuuming service during car wash service are:
Removes dirt and debris from carpets and upholstery
Reduces allergens and improves air quality
Enhances the appearance of the interior
Engine Dry Wash
Engine dry wash service removes dirt, grime, and other contaminants from the engine bay without using water. Engine dry wash service is becoming more popular because it is a faster and more environmentally friendly. It is also less likely to cause damage to the engine or its components. It is because there is no risk of water or chemicals entering areas where they shouldn't.
The benefits of engine dry wash are:
Cleans engine without water, reducing risk of damage to sensitive electrical components.
Environmentally friendly alternative to traditional engine cleaning methods.
Helps improve engine performance by removing built-up grime and contaminants.
Protect your Painttsg
Paint protection film (PPF) service involves the application of a clear, thermoplastic urethane film to the painted surfaces of a vehicle. The film protects against scratches, chips, and other types of damage caused by environmental factors, while still allowing the original paint to shine through.
The benefits of paint protection service are:
The film as a barrier between the painted surface and the environment, protecting it from damage.
It providing long-lasting protection for the vehicle's paint by protecting it against harsh environmental elements.
The film allows the vehicle's paint to shine through while still offering protection.
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History of vehicles in the world
The very first self-powered road vehicles were powered by steam engines, and by that definition, Nicolas Joseph Cugnot of France built the first automobile in 1769 — recognized by the British Royal Automobile Club and the Automobile Club de France as being the first. So why do so many history books say that the automobile was invented by either Gottlieb Daimler or Karl Benz? It is because both Daimler and Benz invented highly successful and practical gasoline-powered vehicles that ushered in the age of modern automobiles. Daimler and Benz invented cars that looked and worked like the cars we use today. However, it is unfair to say that either man invented "the" automobile.
Internal Combustion Engine: The Heart of the Automobile
An internal combustion engine is an engine that uses the explosive combustion of fuel to push a piston within a cylinder — the piston's movement turns a crankshaft that then turns the car wheels via a chain or a drive shaft. The different types of fuel commonly used for car combustion engines are gasoline (or petrol), diesel, and kerosene.
A brief outline of the history of the internal combustion engine includes the following highlights:
1680 - Dutch physicist, Christian Huygens designed (but never built) an internal combustion engine that was to be fueled with gunpowder.
1807 - Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented an internal combustion engine that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Rivaz designed a car for his engine — the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful design.
1824 - English engineer, Samuel Brown adapted an old Newcomen steam engine to burn gas, and he used it to briefly power a vehicle up Shooter's Hill in London.
1858 - Belgian-born engineer, Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir invented and patented (1860) a double-acting, electric spark-ignition internal combustion engine fueled by coal gas. In 1863, Lenoir attached an improved engine (using petroleum and a primitive carburetor) to a three-wheeled wagon that managed to complete a historic fifty-mile road trip.
1862 - Alphonse Beau de Rochas, a French civil engineer, patented but did not build a four-stroke engine (French patent #52,593, January 16, 1862).
1864 - Austrian engineer, Siegfried Marcus, built a one-cylinder engine with a crude carburetor and attached his engine to a cart for a rocky 500-foot drive. Several years later, Marcus designed a vehicle that briefly ran at 10 mph, which a few historians have considered as the forerunner of the modern automobile by being the world's first gasoline-powered vehicle (however, read conflicting notes below).
1873 - George Brayton, an American engineer, developed an unsuccessful two-stroke kerosene engine (it used two external pumping cylinders). However, it was considered the first safe and practical oil engine.
1866 - German engineers, Eugen Langen, and Nicolaus August Otto improved on Lenoir's and de Rochas' designs and invented a more efficient gas engine.
1876 - Nicolaus August Otto invented and later patented a successful four-stroke engine, known as the "Otto cycle".
1876 - The first successful two-stroke engine was invented by Sir Dougald Clerk.
1883 - French engineer, Edouard Delamare-Debouteville, built a single-cylinder four-stroke engine that ran on stove gas. It is not certain if he did indeed build a car, however, Delamare-Debouteville's designs were very advanced for the time — ahead of both Daimler and Benz in some ways at least on paper.
1885 - Gottlieb Daimler invented what is often recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine — with a vertical cylinder, and with gasoline injected through a carburetor (patented in 1887). Daimler first built a two-wheeled vehicle the "Reitwagen" (Riding Carriage) with this engine and a year later built the world's first four-wheeled motor vehicle.
1886 - On January 29, Karl Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car.
1889 - Daimler built an improved four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves and two V-slant cylinders.
1890 - Wilhelm Maybach built the first four-cylinder, four-stroke engine.
Engine design and car design were integral activities, almost all of the engine designers mentioned above also designed cars, and a few went on to become major manufacturers of automobiles. All of these inventors and more made notable improvements in the evolution of the internal combustion vehicles.
The Importance of Nicolaus Otto
One of the most important landmarks in engine design comes from Nicolaus August Otto who in 1876 invented an effective gas motor engine. Otto built the first practical four-stroke internal combustion engine called the "Otto Cycle Engine," and as soon as he had completed his engine, he built it into a motorcycle. Otto's contributions were very historically significant, it was his four-stroke engine that was universally adopted for all liquid-fueled automobiles going forward.
Karl Benz
In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world's first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Cie., the company started by the inventor, became the world's largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900. Benz was the first inventor to integrate an internal combustion engine with a chassis - designing both together.
Gottlieb Daimler
In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (together with his design partner Wilhelm Maybach) took Otto's internal combustion engine a step further and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. Daimler's connection to Otto was a direct one; Daimler worked as technical director of Deutz Gasmotorenfabrik, which Nikolaus Otto co-owned in 1872. There is some controversy as to who built the first motorcycle, Otto or Daimler.
The 1885 Daimler-Maybach engine was small, lightweight, fast, used a gasoline-injected carburetor, and had a vertical cylinder. The size, speed, and efficiency of the engine allowed for a revolution in car design. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach and adapted it to hold his engine, thereby designing the world's first four-wheeled automobile. Daimler is considered the first inventor to have invented a practical internal-combustion engine.
In 1889, Daimler invented a V-slanted two cylinder, four-stroke engine with mushroom-shaped valves. Just like Otto's 1876 engine, Daimler's new engine set the basis for all car engines going forward. Also in 1889, Daimler and Maybach built their first automobile from the ground up, they did not adapt another purpose vehicle as they had always been done previously. The new Daimler automobile had a four-speed transmission and obtained speeds of 10 mph.
Daimler founded the Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft in 1890 to manufacture his designs. Eleven years later, Wilhelm Maybach designed the Mercedes automobile.
If Siegfried Marcus built his second car in 1875 and it was as claimed, it would have been the first vehicle powered by a four-cycle engine and the first to use gasoline as a fuel, the first having a carburetor for a gasoline engine and the first having a magneto ignition. However, the only existing evidence indicates that the vehicle was built circa 1888/89 — too late to be first.
By the early 1900s, gasoline cars started to outsell all other types of motor vehicles. The market was growing for economical automobiles and the need for industrial production was pressing.
The first car manufacturers in the world were French: Panhard & Levassor (1889) and Peugeot (1891). By car manufacturer we mean builders of entire motor vehicles for sale and not just engine inventors who experimented with car design to test their engines — Daimler and Benz began as the latter before becoming full car manufacturers and made their early money by licensing their patents and selling their engines to car manufacturers.
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor
Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor were partners in a woodworking machinery business when they decided to become car manufacturers. They built their first car in 1890 using a Daimler engine. Edouard Sarazin, who held the license rights to the Daimler patent for France, commissioned the team. (Licensing a patent means that you pay a fee and then you have the right to build and use someone's invention for profit — in this case, Sarazin had the right to build and sell Daimler engines in France.) The partners not only manufactured cars, but they also made improvements to the automotive body design.
Panhard-Levassor made vehicles with a pedal-operated clutch, a chain transmission leading to a change-speed gearbox, and a front radiator. Levassor was the first designer to move the engine to the front of the car and use a rear-wheel-drive layout. This design was known as the Systeme Panhard and quickly became the standard for all cars because it gave a better balance and improved steering. Panhard and Levassor are also credited with the invention of the modern transmission — installed in their 1895 Panhard.
Panhard and Levassor also shared the licensing rights to Daimler motors with Armand Peugeot. A Peugeot car went on to win the first car race held in France, which gained Peugeot publicity and boosted car sales. Ironically, the "Paris to Marseille" race of 1897 resulted in a fatal auto accident, killing Emile Levassor.
Early on, French manufacturers did not standardize car models — each car was different from the other. The first standardized car was the 1894 Benz Velo. One hundred and thirty-four identical Velos were manufactured in 1895.
Charles and Frank Duryea
America's first gasoline-powered commercial car manufacturers were Charles and Frank Duryea. The brothers were bicycle makers who became interested in gasoline engines and automobiles and built their first motor vehicle in 1893, in Springfield, Massachusetts. By 1896, the Duryea Motor Wagon Company had sold thirteen models of the Duryea, an expensive limousine, which remained in production into the 1920s.
Ransome Eli Olds
The first automobile to be mass produced in the United States was the 1901 Curved Dash Oldsmobile, built by the American car manufacturer Ransome Eli Olds (1864-1950). Olds invented the basic concept of the assembly line and started the Detroit area automobile industry. He first began making steam and gasoline engines with his father, Pliny Fisk Olds, in Lansing, Michigan in 1885. Olds designed his first steam-powered car in 1887. In 1899, with a growing experience of gasoline engines, Olds moved to Detroit to start the Olds Motor Works, and produce low-priced cars. He produced 425 "Curved Dash Olds" in 1901, and was America's leading auto manufacturer from 1901 to 1904.
Henry Ford
American car manufacturer, Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory in Ford's Highland Park, Michigan plant, around 1913-14. The assembly line reduced production costs for cars by reducing assembly time. Ford's famous Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes. Ford made his first car, called the "Quadricycle," in June 1896. However, success came after he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903. This was the third car manufacturing company formed to produce the cars he designed. He introduced the Model T in 1908 and it was a success. After installing the moving assembly lines in his factory in 1913, Ford became the world's biggest car manufacturer. By 1927, 15 million Model Ts had been manufactured.
Another victory won by Henry Ford was a patent battle with George B. Selden. Selden, who had never built an automobile, held a patent on a "road engine", on that basis Selden was paid royalties by all American car manufacturers. Ford overturned Selden's patent and opened the American car market for the building of inexpensive cars.
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Brass Casting Parts
Brass castings are widely used in machinery manufacturing, ships, aviation, automobiles, construction and other industrial sectors, occupying a certain weight in heavy non-ferrous metal materials, forming cast brass series. Copper alloys with zinc as the main alloying element are commonly referred to as brass. The copper-zinc binary alloy is called ordinary brass, and the ternary, quaternary or multi-element brass formed by adding a small amount of other elements on the basis of copper-zinc alloy is called special brass.
Brass Casting Parameter
Product name
Brass casting
Material
Brass, etc.
Tolerance
According to demand
Surface treatment
Anodizing, polishing, annealing, electroplating, anodizing, sandblasting, etc.
Application
blanks for machine parts, machine tool, internal combustion engine, Steam accessories, Piston Rings, shipbuilding, Valve body, Pump impeller, etc.
Custom drawings
Please provide detailed drawings of specifications CAD, PDF, DWG, JPEG, STP, IGS, etc. or according to the inquiry data, we will not disclose to third parties without your permission.
No drawings please send us pictures or sketches with dimensions (length, height, width), CAD or 3D files will be made for you if you place an order.
Process of Brass Casting Casting
1
Choose sand cores with good concessions to reduce casting stress and prevent cracks and deformation.
2
Set the riser to strengthen the feeding.
3
The setting of the gating system should ensure directional solidification, and the structure of collecting and retaining slag should be set up, and the liquid flow should be filled smoothly. The layout of the inner runner should make the castings cool evenly.
4
The pouring process minimizes the pouring temperature of the cast brass to reduce liquid shrinkage and prevent vaporization.
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Oilfield Providers Truck & Trailer Fleet Ca Global Partners
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bring home a haunting (4/12)
Fandom: The Haunting of Bly Manor
Pairing: Dani Clayton/Jamie Taylor
Rating: M
Wordcount: 20,133
Summary: Dani almost has her life together, when a familiar face arrives back in town after ten years. A childhood friends AU written with @youngbloodbuzz
read it below or read it on AO3 here
It was well and truly autumn. The air had a bite to it and the ground crinkled with every footstep. Everything had lost its vibrant edge and had become brown and wet and stagnant. Nothing but mud and rain and fresh crops on the produce shelves in the grocery store. The nights grew longer and the days shorter, and winter would be fast upon them.
In other words, Dani's least favorite time of year. She had long come to the conclusion that she was not built for the cold. Even now, sky overcast and gloomy, struck through with bared tree branches like black lightning, she wore a thick coat, scarf, and hat. Her boots were splattered with mud from the walk, and she would occasionally admire the way her breath steamed in the air like a cloud with every exhalation. Meanwhile, Jamie wore nothing more than a woollen jumper over her usual t-shirt and jean ensemble. Her scuffed and battered shoes looked even more worse for wear with a layer of caked dirt all up the soles.
They were digging through the illegal dump found midway down the abandoned rail line, affectionately called 'Mount Tire' by the locals. Dani had heard her mother complain about it along with other townsfolk at the annual general meeting of the Council, as though it were a dark mark on the face of the town rather than a treasure trove of objects that otherwise might have gone without a home.
From further along, Jamie made a triumphant noise, and Dani lifted her head.
"Did you find something?" Dani asked.
Jamie's reply was a series of grunts and the sound of something clattering. Dani wandered over to find her brushing off an unearthed bicycle that had seen better days.
Jamie held it propped up with both hands while she inspected it with a critical eye. "I can fix this," she said.
Dani's eyebrows rose and she gave the bike a dubious once over. "It's missing a seat."
Jamie made a dismissive sound while she crouched down to test the chain. "Damn," she swore. "This'll need replacing. Spokes are fine though. And it all looks like surface rust to me. I can fix it."
"Again," said Dani, pointing out the obvious. "There's no seat."
"Always such a Debbie downer," Jamie said even as she aimed a grin at Dani over her shoulder. She straightened. "C'mon. Let's go down to the petrol station."
"What for?" Dani asked, following along beside Jamie as she guided the bicycle with her hands, rolling it along down to the train tracks.
"Tires are flat," Jamie said, tapping one of said tires with the toe of her shoe for good measure. "Tread's fine, though. They've got free air down at the station, and I want to see how bad the damage is."
It was miles away to the gas station, but Dani didn't mind. Not when it was with Jamie. Not when their Saturday was free and they could spend their time aimlessly chatting about everything and nothing in particular. They were still talking and laughing when they arrived at the station, the bike ticking like a clock with every rotation of its old wheels.
Jamie propped the bike against the wall outside before they went in. The owner, Mr. Thompson, was wearing a baseball cap and reading a magazine inside. His head lifted when the bell attached to the door rang, but as he saw who it was that entered — not a customer, just a few kids — he swiftly lost interest. His gaze dropped back down to the magazine on the counter.
"Afternoon, Mr. Thompson," Dani greeted with a little wave.
He grunted a wordless reply, then said, "I don't do candy discounts."
Beside her, Jamie bristled. "We're not that young."
As he flicked to another page — some sort of automobile magazine with shiny cars and motorcycles splashed across it — his eyes moved up to them with a lazy sort of indifference. "You really are, kid."
There was a determined set to Jamie's jaw as she approached the counter and placed her hands on it. "I want to use your air pump outside."
"It's free, isn't it?" he said, his attention firmly back on the magazine. "Don't need to tell me you're going to use it. Just use it."
"I also want to buy some stuff to fix up a bicycle. Tire repair kit. New chain," Jamie ticked off items on her fingers. "Do you have anything that'll help clean up rust?"
Mr. Thompson was watching her now, cheek resting on one fist. "Matter of fact, I do."
"And I want to use your tools out back."
His eyebrows rose and he blinked slowly at her. "You got money to back up that mouth of yours, Miss Taylor?"
Jamie dug her hands into her pockets and pulled out a few crumpled up bills and spare bits of change. She slapped them onto the countertop. Mr. Thompson glanced down. "That's enough for a new chain and none of the others. Sorry, kid. Come back when you have more."
Slowly, Jamie deflated. She began to drag the money back into her hands from the table, but Dani stepped up beside her, rising up on her toes to better be seen. "Excuse me?"
Both of them turned to look at her.
Clearing her throat, Dani forged on. "Can we pay in something other than cash?"
Mr. Thompson's brow crinkled. Somehow he still managed to look bored despite it. "Like what?"
"Well, no offense, Mr. Thompson, but your shop -" Dani gestured around them, "- is kind of a mess. How about we clean it? Windows. Floors. Or -" she said hurriedly as he leaned back, "- we can operate the pump for anyone who comes around? That's -? That's worth something? Right?"
Glancing around the shop, he tipped back his baseball cap with the knuckle of one finger, then swiped at his nose with a thoughtful sniff. Jamie opened her mouth to say something, but Dani stood on her foot and surreptitiously shook her head. Jamie scowled but closed her mouth and kept silent.
Finally, he waved towards the door that led to the little warehouse and service shop out back. "Brooms and cleaning equipment is back there. And for God's sake don't touch the pumps. Last thing I need is you two spilling gas all over the road."
The effect was immediate. Jamie's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and she began tugging Dani towards the back room, saying, "I get the windows! I'm taller!"
"Hey!" Dani complained, but grudgingly accepted mop duties when push came to shove.
It was slow work, with very few customers to interrupt the boredom. Jamie made a game of pulling faces at Dani through the glass as she cleaned the windows from outside. Dani laughed and would pretend to descend down stairs as she walked. Mr. Thompson kept an eye on them from behind the counter, shaking his head and flipping through his magazine with a mutter under his breath, "Kids."
When a car eventually did roll up to one of the pump stations, Mr. Thompson straightened in his seat. Dani and Jamie were just about finished cleaning when Judy stepped out of her car and saw them. She hesitated, cocking her head curiously, before striding inside. As she opened the door, she kept it propped open with her hip and lifted her sunglasses so that they were perched atop her head.
"What on earth are you two doing?" she asked, looking between Jamie and Dani.
"Trading," said Dani.
"For bicycle parts," Jamie added, and she gestured with a rag towards the old bicycle leaning against the wall.
Judy aimed a questioning look at Mr. Thompson. "That right, Hunter?"
If anything, he looked a bit bashful. "Place needed cleaning, and they don't have money," he grumbled. "Didn't think there was any harm in it."
With a shrug, Judy said, "All right, then. If everyone's happy, then I'm happy. Can I get this filled up?" She pointed to her sedan. "Should only be half a tank, but I'm driving to Cedar Rapids to visit my sister tomorrow."
"Sure thing," Mr. Thompson said. He rose from his seat and ambled out to fill up the car.
Judy kept the door open for him and remained standing in the doorway. She crossed her arms. "And what are your plans for Christmas this year?" she asked Jamie.
Jamie lifted a spray bottle and squeezed some solution onto the window before wiping at the glass with the rag. "Dunno," she answered. "Same as last year. Home with Nan."
"Well, Dani's coming over to my place with her mom," Judy said, nodding towards Dani in question, who listened with a keen ear. "Why don't you and Ruth come over like you did for Thanksgiving? We usually open presents in the morning and have a big lunch."
"Oh, uh -" Jamie hesitated. She glanced through the glass at Dani, who was nodding furiously and all but bouncing on the balls of her feet. Even then, Jamie's expression was unsure. "I'll have to talk to Nan about it."
"Well, you tell Ruth to give me a call, all right?"
Jamie nodded and mumbled something that was too muffled through the glass for Dani to hear properly. Whatever it was made Judy laugh. "Oh, you're going to be trouble one day, Missy," Judy said with a good-natured chuckle.
Jamie’s only response was an impish grin.
When Mr. Thompson had finished refuelling Judy’s car, Judy approached the register to pay. As she pulled out a few bills from her wallet and handed them over, she said, “You know, you should hire the Jones’ boy. Stanley? I hear he’s looking for part time work.”
Mr. Thompson took the money and punched in a few buttons on the register to get her change. ���Shop’s fine.”
Judy took the change with a shrug. “If you say so.” And on her way out, she paused, door held open. “Don’t work them too hard, Hunter. I’ll see you girls later.”
After her car had pulled away from the station and they were left alone with Mr. Thompson once more, Dani and Jamie turned to look at him. He had returned to his place ensconced behind the till, magazine open on the countertop, hiding behind a row of confectionaries and chewing gum. When he felt their eyes upon him, he went very still, hand frozen in place as he turned the page of a new magazine.
Sighing, he jerked his thumb to indicate the wall behind him. “Tools are in the back. Don’t hurt yourself. Especially you.” He jabbed his finger in Jamie’s direction. “Your grandmother puts the fear of God in me.”
--
The news of it spread like wildfire across the school the moment it happened. A fight in the east wing.
Dani and Eddie were already on their way there in search of Carson and Jamie who were late to lunch, when other students rushed past them shouting back the news. The pair exchanged a worried glance before taking off, following the clamor around the corner to where a group of kids were shouting and cheering on at a pile of indistinguishable bodies scuffling on the floor, swinging and pulling violently on each other.
Dani’s stomach dropped, and immediately cast her eyes around in search of Jamie, worrying at her lower lip when she couldn’t spot her in the crowd. In that same moment, a group of teachers came rushing through.
“All right, all right, settle down!” Mr. Roberts shouted, pushing his way through the crowd and pulling apart the wrestling bodies with the help of the art teacher, Mr. Keller.
When Mr. Roberts pulled up the recognizable form of a disheveled Jamie, breathing heavy, her nose bleeding, and a righteous fury burning in her eyes that Dani hadn’t seen since that day in the back alley, Dani sucked in a sharp breath.
Eddie sighed exasperatedly. “Again?”
“Nan’s gonna kill her,” Dani murmured, frowning in concern. When Jamie wiped at the blood pooling from her nose down to her mouth and chin with the sleeve of her shirt, wincing as she smeared it over her face, Dani winced along with her.
It didn’t make any sense. No one had bothered Jamie since the first year she arrived at North Liberty after her fight with Roger in the stairwell. The knowledge that Jamie was perfectly capable of defending herself, and fought like a caged beast when cornered had grown widespread across the school. Dani knew. She’d seen Jamie fearlessly tackle one of the twins during a playfight session at the river where, at the time, Tommy had already stood well over a foot taller than Jamie.
Dani took a step forward, scanning the pile of students being pulled to their feet to see who was responsible. A hand grasped her arm, pulling her to a stop.
“Danielle,” Eddie hissed.
Dani almost spun around to glare at him, but her eyes unexpectedly caught Jamie’s. Jamie’s eyes darted pointedly to a corner in the hallway before catching Dani’s again. Dani frowned, but Jamie only responded by pressing her mouth into a thin line and jerking her head towards the same direction, slowly being pulled away by the arm down the hall.
With one last grimace of a smile, Dani watched her go as another teacher began dispersing the crowd. When Jamie turned a corner, Dani finally exhaled, her shoulders dropping from where they had bunched up, and she scanned the direction of the hallway where Jamie gestured towards. Stepping towards it, she was once again tugged to a stop. She looked down at her hand where Eddie’s had at some point slinked down from her forearm to her hand, holding it in a loose grip. Dani darted her eyes up at him to see that he wasn’t even paying attention, still frowning uncomfortably at the laughing kids who still loitered the hallway.
Dani huffed. “Eddie.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I have my hand back?”
He turned to blink blankly at her, and then down at their clasped hands. “Oh,” he said, snatching his hand away, his cheeks turning pink. “Sorry.”
Dani sighed, and returned to scanning the hallway, stepping further through groups of her classmates, until she spotted a familiar figure on the ground, curled up and trembling against the lockers with their head buried in their arms.
Dani gasped. “Carson!” She rushed towards him, kneeling on the dusty floor and pressed a hand to his shoulder, “Carson, are you okay?”
He flinched away, head jerking up to stare at her with wide watery eyes. He relaxed when he saw it was just Dani, his face crumpling in relief as he nodded and wiped his cheeks.
Eddie kneeled on the other side of him, eyes fearful. “Are you sure? What happened?”
Risking a glance around them, there were still students being ushered away, some even staring and snickering in their direction. Dani’s stare hardened into a scowl. “Not here,” she said, pushing to her feet, holding out a hand for Carson, “Let’s go outside.”
With downcast eyes, Carson took her hand for her to help pull him up and didn’t let go as she guided both boys outside to their usual spot along the brick walls. They huddled together in a circle with their lunch bags in their laps.
“Well?” Eddie said, his knee bouncing, wearing a worried frown. “What happened?” Carson sighed and didn’t answer. “Are you in trouble?”
“No,” Carson said, then twisted his face. “At least, I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean you don’t think so? It’s a yes or no question.”
“Eddie,” Dani said, and his mouth promptly snapped shut, looking sheepish. Shaking her head, Dani returned her gaze back at Carson, the youngest O’Mara looking so unusually despondent. She shifted a little closer to him, their knees knocking together, rested a hand on his back and said softly, “It’s okay, you can tell us.”
Carson sighed again, and after a moment, he finally said, “You remember those guys I told you about?”
Dani’s heart sank, knowing immediately what he was referring to. She caught Eddie’s eyes and saw the realization slowly hit him, his face pulling into a grimace. It was only the natural state of things, when Tommy and David graduated from elementary school to the golden gates of high school, for opportunities to arise on the pecking order. With the twins gone, they had taken with them a safety net that had left their little group in peace for the past few years, and out of all of them, the ire of a particular group of the student body had zeroed in on Carson.
“What did they do?” Dani asked.
Carson shrugged morosely. “Calling me names again. Shoving me. Whatever.”
“But why was Jamie there?” Eddie asked, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“She walks with me to lunch sometimes,” Carson said.
Slowly, Dani softened, recalling all those moments in the past month where Jamie would rush off after the lunch bell rang, claiming to need the washroom, and arriving later at the lunchroom with Carson by her side.
The rest of the story came out of Carson gradually. Jamie not being there on time to accompany Carson to lunch. Being cornered by a group of boys in the hall, and by the time they were shoving Carson and getting aggressive, Jamie jumped into the fray.
“And she just -!” Carson’s eyes by now were wide and fervent, “She came out of nowhere and told them to the piss off!”
“Please don’t say that in front of mom,” Eddie groaned.
“And then, I don’t know, someone started shoving again, and suddenly they were just all fighting,” Carson said, taking a wild bite of his sandwich that he had pulled out in the middle of the story, “Oh! And then Roger jumped in — “
“Roger?” Dani and Eddie blurted in unison.
Swallowing hard, Dani leaned forward with a worried frown, “Was - was he fighting Jamie, too?”
The thought of Jamie taking on not just three, but four boys by herself sent her heart crashing, but Carson was already shaking his head before Dani even finished the question. “No! He was helping her!”
Dani blinked. Roger Simmons helping Jamie in a school fight. Maybe pigs really did fly.
As Carson’s story began to wind down to what Dani and Eddie already knew, Dani sobered, biting at her thumb. “I think you should go to the principal and tell them what happened.”
Eddie frowned. “Why?”
“Because he was there and the fight started because they were bullying him in the first place!”
Shifting on the concrete, Eddie hunched his shoulders. “I don’t know. It might make things worse.”
Dani huffed. “How?”
At Eddie’s noncommittal shrug, Carson shrank back, his eyes darting between Dani and Eddie before landing back on Dani. “I didn’t mean to get Jamie in trouble, I swear,” he mumbled.
Dani sighed and grasped his hand. “You didn’t,” she said, “Jamie knew what she was getting into. But if we go to the principal’s office now and tell them what happened, she might be in less trouble if they knew she was defending you and herself.”
Nodding eagerly, Carson was already haphazardly packing away the rest of his lunch and pushing to his feet. Dani almost smiled as she followed him to stand, but the tight lines of Eddie’s mouth stopped her.
They retreated back inside and towards the school office in silence. When they arrived, Dani immediately scanned the room for Jamie, but there was no sign of her and the office was empty. She eyed Principal Davis’ office, her brow knitted as they stepped towards Ms. Reeves.
After a short conversation with Ms. Reeves, Carson was guided towards the principal’s office with Ms. Reeves' hand on his back. Dani balled her hand into fists and bit her lip as she watched him, his shoulders bunched and his head bowed. Beside her, Eddie was anxiously bouncing on his toes, before abruptly blurting out, “Wait - uh. Ms. Reeves?” At the sound of her name, Ms. Reeves glanced back. Eddie stood up straight, pushing his shoulders back, and said, “Can we come with him?”
Ms. Reeves sighed and gave them a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, honey, but no,” she said,
“But he’s my brother.”
Ms. Reeves gestured towards the bench. “You can wait here for the rest of lunch if you’d like, but I’m afraid unless you have something important to add, you can’t go in.”
Both Dani and Eddie deflated, giving Carson one last grim smile and thumbs up that he returned with a small wave. When Ms. Reeves knocked and opened the principal’s door, Dani craned her neck for any sightings of Jamie, but all she could see were the backs of chairs populated by boys, and a stone faced Principal Davis. Carson was guided inside, and then the door was shut with a thud of finality.
Giving them one last pointed look, Ms. Reeves gestured towards the bench before retreating back to her desk, picking up the phone with a sigh.
There was nothing more to be done except to take a seat and wait, pretending like they couldn’t hear Ms. Reeves explaining to parents that they needed to come down to the school. Dani winced, a pool of dread whirling in her stomach for the oncoming hurricane of Nan. They snacked on the remains of their lunch as they waited silently.
When ten minutes had passed, and Carson still hadn’t made a reappearance, Eddie sighed anxiously. “He’s okay, right?”
Dani almost didn’t hear him, absentmindedly snacking on peanuts as she stared at the principal’s office door. “Yeah, if Jamie’s there, of course he is,” Dani replied.
“God, mom’s gonna kill me.”
“Why?” Dani finally pulled her eyes away to frown at him.
“‘Cause I didn’t watch out for him like Tommy and David,” he said, bouncing his knee, staring at the floor, his face distressed. “Or like you and Jamie.”
Dani’s shoulders dropped and she reached out to grasp his hand, easing it out of its clenched fist to clasp their palms together. “It’s not your fault,” she said, “There was nothing we could’ve done. Jamie was just lucky to be there at the right time today.”
Eddie huffed, his mouth twisting, still visibly concerned and displeased. Dani didn’t know what else to say, she opened her mouth, hoping to find the words to comfort him, but the distinct ominous sound of a tapping cane stopped her. At the sight of a scowling Nan marching in the office, the first to arrive as if the wrath of God had lit a fire under her, Dani immediately shot upright, pulling her hand from Eddie to stand.
Nan’s mouth thinned when she caught sight of her. She tisked, tapped Dani on the ankle with her cane, and said, “Sit.” Dani did as she was told, biting her lip as Nan stared at her, and then said, “Well? Where is the little shite?”
Swallowing hard, Dani pointed towards Principal Davis’ office. “Already in there,” she murmured.
With a grunt, Nan didn’t even bother checking in with Ms. Reeves. She marched towards the door and knocked hard on it with her cane. “Harvey Davis, open this door before I break it open.”
The door swung open to reveal Principal Davis wearing a grim smile, just short of paling. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Heron, thank you for — “
“Shut it, and let’s get this over with,” Nan said, pushing past him in the room. Principal Davis exhaled and shut the door.
Lunch passed quickly after that, a few other parents arrived but there was still no reappearance of Carson or either one of Eddie’s parents yet. They unwillingly shuffled off back to class where they waited out the rest of their day anxiously. Eddie was only able to finally relax when he received a note from the office telling him that Carson was taken home early by their dad, his head thunking on his desk with a loud sigh of relief. Dani chuckled at him, but she still felt worry pulling at her stomach. By the time the final bell rang, Jamie hadn’t returned to class at all, not even for the few things still remaining atop her desk. Dani took it upon herself to gather it all up and stuff them in her locker, careful to keep any loose pages wrinkle free.
When they were outside, free from school for the weekend, walking towards the beige car that was already waiting for them by the curb a little ways down the street, Eddie looked to her with an eager expression. “Hey, do you want to sleep over this weekend? David and Tommy promised to play Dungeons and Dragons with us.”
Dani’s face twisted. “To play what?”
“Don’t you remember? I told you ages ago. You said you’d play with us.”
“Oh, I - I wanted to go to Jamie’s to see if she’s okay,” she said, grimacing, and then added, “I was gonna sleep over.”
Eddie’s face fell. “But you promised.”
Dani did remember promising, absentmindedly nodding along to the idea in the O’Mara’s basement where they had all congregated around the tv to watch the latest animated Robin Hood movie, snickering quietly to Jamie’s commentary.
“I know,” Dani said, “I’m sorry. I’m just worried.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “She’s probably fine.”
“She was bleeding everywhere!”
“So? She gets hurt like every other week, it’s nothing special,” he said, scowling at the ground.
Dani grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop, her mouth thinned. “I’m sorry, Eddie,” she said, “I promise we can hang out soon, but Jamie’s my best friend, I can’t just not see if she’s okay.”
“I’m your best friend, too,” Eddie shot back, his face flushed and his eyes bright, and then froze, ducking his head with a timid expression, and murmured, “I just wanted to hang out.”
Dani’s heart sank. She didn’t know what else to do or to say. She squeezed at his arm that she still held and moved to slip her hand down to his, but he pulled away with a huff.
“It’s fine, just forget it,” he said, and continued towards the car.
She followed after him. “Eddie,” she called out, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” he said, resignation in his voice, not looking at her.
Quietly, Dani worried at her lower lip and followed Eddie into the car where Mike was waiting for them. They settled into the backseat and buckled up, both visibly troubled that Mike twisted in his seat to give them an awkward consoling grin. “Hard day, huh?” Mike said, eyes darting between them. “Don’t you kids worry. Carson’s doing all right.”
When they both silently nodded, Mike’s gaze landed on Dani. While for the most part, Dani and Mike rarely spoke more than five minutes at a time with each other, he was still always a kind and welcoming man. He gave her a tight grin and a nod. “Jamie, too. I think. Lord knows with that grandmother of hers. Never seen Davis turn that color before.”
Dani breathed out a chuckle.
“Ah, there it is,” he said, shaking a finger at her, “Knew that was hidden there somewhere.”
Dani ducked her head as Mike twisted back around in his seat to start the engine. As they took off down the street, Dani risked a glance at Eddie out of the corner of her eye to see him already staring at her. When she caught his eyes, he spun his head away sharply. Dani rolled her eyes and nudged at his feet with her own. When he didn’t respond she did it again, knocking it hard enough that there was an audible thud. He sighed and gave her a look that she returned with a grin. He huffed and turned back to the window, but Dani could still see his smile in the slant of his profile.
When they arrived home, Eddie was the first to offer a murmured goodbye once they got out of the car. Seeing the peace offering for what it was, Dani hugged him tight and said, “I really am sorry.”
“I know,” he murmured, a dejected slump to his shoulders, before pulling away and starting towards the front door of his house where Mike was already shuffling inside.
With the O’Mara’s front door shut, Dani was off like a shot towards her own house. Unlocking the door with her keys and shoving her way into the empty house to rush upstairs to her room and pack.
--
Nan gave her a withering stare when she finally opened the door to Dani’s insistent knocking. Lungs just short of burning from speed walking to the white bungalow, Dani almost shrank back when Nan arched an eyebrow, but she stood her ground and gave Nan a hesitant grin.
Breathing out sharply through her nose in what bizarrely sounded like laugh, Nan shook her head and dryly said, “Took your sweet time, did you?”
“Um.”
Nan huffed, and jerked her head towards the house. “Well, get inside. I’ve got a pot brewing already,” she said, disappearing back into the house. “And take your bloody inhaler before you pass out on my floor.”
Dani did as she was told, shuffling inside and shutting the door behind her to peel off her shoes and coat. She could hear Nan moving around in the kitchen, porcelain cups and plates clinking as Dani quickly took a puff from her inhaler, feeling better already as she stuffed it back in her bag and followed the sounds.
Nan was already setting the table with three sets of cups and a blue tin that Dani knew held Nan’s coveted cookies, the old rickety table wobbling with every gentle movement due to its uneven legs. Dani dropped her bag in the corner of the kitchen as she scanned the rooms, not finding Jamie anywhere. “Where is she?” she asked quietly.
“Out back working on that mess of a bike,” Nan said.
Dani eagerly turned to make her way to the door leading to the backyard, but jerked to a stop when Nan held up the length of her cane to Dani’s stomach. She darted her eyes up towards Nan, blinking in surprise. Nan’s mouth thinned and she jerked her head to the table. “Sit,” she said in a tone of voice that brooked no room for argument.
Feeling her stomach sink, Dani spared a glance towards the back door, and followed Nan to the table, sitting opposite where she stood, stiff in her seat and her hands balled into fists in her lap. “Is she grounded?” Dani carefully asked.
“Aye, she is,” Nan said, busy making a single cup of tea and setting up a saucer of what Dani recognized were Jamie’s favorite cookies.
Dani waited for a moment before asking, “How long?”
“As long she needs to be,” Nan sharply replied.
Dani sank back into her seat, biting her lip, watching as Nan set the cup of tea and saucer of cookies onto a small tray before sliding over an empty cup towards Dani. “Make your tea,” she said, her eyes so piercing that Dani slowly sat back up and reached for the pot. Nan nodded once and gathered the tray in her hand. “Wait here,” she said, and started towards the back screen door.
Straining her ears towards the backyard, Dani made her tea as silently as she could, hearing the tap of Nan’s cane and the whooshing sound of the door being pulled open, letting in a cool draft. But when all she could hear from the pair outside were muffled voices, words indistinguishable and muted, Dani huffed. For a moment, she strongly considered sneaking closer, taking advantage of her socked feet sliding against the floor, but the fear of getting caught kept her rooted to her chair.
The muffled voices abruptly grew louder. “But that’s not fair!” Jamie whined.
“You don’t see me complaining about missing half a day’s paycheck, do you?” Nan retorted, “You sit out here, have your cuppa and biscuits, and keep your hands busy or so help me God.”
“But —”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, girl. It’s not the end of the world,” Nan said, and stomped back inside, closing the screen door shut with a hard thud.
Wincing in sympathy, Dani could easily picture the indignant glower on Jamie’s face, her cheeks flushed and her brows deeply furrowed.
Nan returned with a scowl, sitting in her seat opposite Dani and resting her cane on the table that wobbled slightly at the movement. Holding her cup in her hands, letting the heat warm her skin, Dani sat quietly as Nan made her own cup of tea, not knowing where to start. It wasn’t that Nan was that terribly difficult to talk to, with her shrewd eyes, endless tales of her time during both World Wars, the spite that kept her going, and a sixth sense for whenever Dani and Jamie somehow managed to find themselves doing something they shouldn't, but well — she was difficult to talk to.
Shoving the tin of cookies towards Dani, Nan gave her a sharp look and said, “Before you get ahead of yourself, I’ve already heard the sorry tale of it.”
Dani paused, and then reached into the tin for a Jammie Dodger. “So you know it’s not her fault?” Dani tried, blinking her eyes innocently, taking a small bite of the cookie, “That she was defending herself?”
Nan snorted, pointing at her with a cookie. “Don’t try that look with me,” she said, “It may work on Judy, but it sure as hell won’t work on me.” Dani ducked her head and took a morose sip of her tea. Nan continued, “I know she was defending the O’Mara boy. But she broke her promise. Got into another fight. Got into trouble. Sure, she helped the boy, but she got nothing for it except a week's worth of detention and the threat of suspension. Again.”
Dani shrank further back in her seat, her frown deepening as she let the words sink in and ate her cookie, and finally said, “But she did though. Get something out of it, that is.”
She looked up and caught Nan’s eye, expression unchanged save for the arch of an eyebrow. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. What she wanted to say — that Jamie proved how much she cared, that Jamie earned a wealth of loyalty that Dani witnessed bloom in Carson’s eyes that she hadn’t seen before — all of it seemed to lodge itself in the back of her throat. Instead, she needed Nan to know the truth of it, she needed Nan to see Jamie for who she was, the importance of it pressing on her chest.
“Jamie’s a good person,” Dani finally murmured.
Nan’s mouth pulled tight. “Well, of course she is,” she said sharply, “She may be a bleeding pain in my arse, but she’s a far sight better than her mother and her knob of a father.”
Dani blinked. Taken aback at not only Nan’s irritation, as if annoyed that Dani reminded her of something that should’ve been obvious, but at the mention of Jamie’s parents. Parents who Jamie had never once mentioned before besides that one time during Dani’s birthday. Always shrugging off questions and changing the subject when mention of them were brought up. It felt strange, discussing something so deeply personal about Jamie, something that Jamie seemed to avoid at all costs, when she was only a few feet away out of hearing range. Dani chanced a glance behind her to where the screen door would be, fearing that any second Jamie might crack and stomp back inside.
“Doesn’t talk much about them, does she?” Nan said, pulling back Dani’s attention. At Nan’s questioning stare, Dani quietly shook her head. Nan hummed, and then she too shook her head, leaning forward on the table, ignoring the way it shifted again, the pull of her stare so acute that Dani couldn’t blink or turn away.
“Now, you listen here. I’ll tell you exactly what I told her,” Nan said, ”She did a good thing, truly. But she went about it the wrong way, you see. There are more ways to go about things than with the end of your fist. I won’t tolerate it. Not in this house. Not again. Nothing good will ever come of it if she keeps it up. Do you understand?”
Dani was quiet for a long moment, absorbing the words, and then nodded.
“Good,” Nan said, leaning back and taking a sip of her tea. “Figured as much. Lord knows the girl was as wild as the wind blew back in England. But ever since coming here and meeting you, she’s been mellowing in her own way, so I suppose…I suppose I should offer you my thanks for your bit in it.”
Dani’s eyes widened, a hot flush warming her cheeks and spreading across her chest. It wasn’t often Nan handed out such free praise or thanks. A pleased thrill ran down Dani’s spine, and the corners of her mouth curled into a shy smile that she hid behind her cup as she finished her tea.
Tisking, Nan took a healthy bite of a cookie. “Don’t let that get to your head. And don’t expect me to ever say that again. You both still drive me mad,” she said, and after a moment, she sighed. “And I reckon you should be getting home now before it gets too dark. Last thing I need is your mother over here.”
“Oh,” Dani murmured, and then finding her courage, she added, “Could you — um. Could you not tell Jamie that I was here, then? I just — I don’t think she’d be happy that I was here, and she didn’t get to see me.”
Nan harrumphed. “Would serve her right,” she said with a displeased twist to her mouth.
“Please?”
Nan watched her for a long moment, expression blank save for a squared jaw, and said, “I’ll think about it.”
Dani’s mouth dared to pull into a grin. Nan huffed and stood, moving to gather her cup. Seeing this, Dani rushed out of her seat to help, gathering both her own and Nan’s cup to set in the sink.
“Buttering me up now, eh?” Nan said, a hand on her cane and the other on her hip. When Dani merely grinned and shrugged, Nan shook her head and then abruptly paused, her eyes scrutinizing. “Did you walk all the way here?”
Nodding, Dani ducked her eyes away from the intensity of Nan’s gaze. Nan hummed again, made a gesture towards the front door and simply said, “Get your things.”
While Nan disappeared somewhere deeper in the house where the bedrooms were, Dani gathered one last cookie, her bag, and slipped back on her shoes and coat. As she waited by the door, itching to see Jamie just once before she left, Nan reappeared wearing a thick coat. Dani offered her arm for Nan to hold as she pushed her feet into a pair of boots and spared one last glance towards the back of the house, letting Nan guide her outside.
The drive home was silent between the pair, the cabin quiet besides the rickety rumble of Nan’s truck and the radio on low playing some oldies station. When Nan pulled up to Dani’s house, the skyline pink and purple in the evening twilight, she turned to thank Nan only to find her scowling towards her home. Frowning, Dani followed Nan’s gaze to look it over, seeing nothing amiss. An empty driveway, a neat lawn, porch lights off.
“You got something to eat for dinner?” Nan abruptly asked.
Dani caught her eyes again and shrugged, vaguely recalling leftovers in the fridge. Peanut butter and bread in the cupboard. “I think so, yeah.”
“Best pop over to Judy’s then.”
Her eyes drifted away to the O’Mara’s house, recalling Eddie’s dejected face. A spark of hope lit inside her. Maybe there was still time to turn things around. Turning back to Nan, Dani nodded, and said, “Thank you for tea. And the ride home.”
Nan grunted in response, and just as Dani unbuckled her seat belt and moved to open the door, Nan’s voice stopped her. “Dani,” she said, her voice demanding attention. Dani paused as Nan gave her a look, knowing and firm. “Two days. Then you’ll see her.”
Dani nodded faintly. Two days. Two days without Jamie. An entire weekend. Almost a lifetime really. Not once in the past two years could Dani recall going more than a day without talking to or seeing Jamie. The idea of it felt almost like cutting off a limb.
“Two days,” Dani repeated, nodding again. She could manage that, she thought, resignation settling heavy on her shoulders. What could be worse than two days?
--
The moment Dani saw Jamie stepping foot back on the school grounds the following Monday morning, Dani nearly took her off her feet in a running hug. Jamie grunted upon impact, forced back a foot or two.
“Ow, fuck.”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Dani said, starting to remove her arms from around Jamie’s shoulders, but Jamie just laughed, pulling her back into the hug.
“Missed you too,” Jamie said, a smile in her voice.
They stood there hugging for a good minute, giggling as they roughly rocked each other back and forth, as if they hadn’t seen each other for years instead of two days.
“Okay, okay, let me see,” Dani finally said, pulling away to rest her hands on Jamie’s shoulders, getting a good look at her face. Jamie sighed and rolled her eyes under the scrutiny, but sure enough, her face was a discolored mess. The skin around her left eye was bruised purple and red, looking tender to the touch, and her cheek and jaw were mottled a dark purple. Dani winced and said, “You look worse than you did last time.”
“What? You don’t think it brings out the color of my eyes?”
Dani snorted and shoved her by the shoulders. Jamie allowed herself to rock back with a good-natured grin.
“Least my nose didn’t break, thank god,” Jamie said, gently prodding the bridge of her nose, knuckles also discolored, then grimaced. “Though one wanker did manage to get a grip on my braid. Felt like my scalp was gonna rip off. Had a headache all weekend.”
Dani winced again, leaning closer to get a better look, and then gently poked at her bruised cheek. At the slight touch, Jamie jerked back as though Dani had struck her. “Ow! Christ, what’s wrong with you?” she said, though there was a teasing glint in her eyes.
Biting back a laugh, Dani poked her again, this time in the chest. “You don’t get to do that again,” she said, sobering.
“Or what? You gonna call the sheriff on me?”
“No,” Dani said hotly, “You just — you scared me. And I’m pretty sure Nan will lock you away forever next time, so please don’t.”
Jamie’s face blanched, and then shook her head, scowling. “That old nag has it out for me, I swear.”
“She cares for you.”
Jamie gave her a look. “That right?”
“Yes,” Dani said earnestly.
At that, Jamie’s shoulders dropped, her face softening for a moment and then she huffed. “Right. Or you were just that bored without me,” she said, smirking.
Dani rolled her eyes. The weekend hadn’t been a complete waste in truth. Eddie had brightened immeasurably when Dani returned with only the simple explanation that Jamie was grounded. He had even managed a sympathetic grin before leading her deeper into the house. It was like any other weekend spent at the O’Mara’s, except this time there was no Jamie with her silly commentary or teasing as Dani fumbled her way through some game involving fantasy creatures and dice. It almost felt like the days before Jamie and Nan had arrived at North Liberty, except now there had been a distinct large gap of the puzzle missing.
Before Dani could respond however, there was the sound of shoes slapping on concrete.
“Jamie!” was all the warning they both got before Jamie was once again nearly bowled over by the slim frame of Carson. Dani laughed when Jamie swore again, hugging Carson back and laughing, ruffling his hair.
When the bell eventually rang to signal the start of the school day, they made their way to class. There wasn’t much fanfare to Jamie’s return beyond the quiet stares and hushed whispers behind hands through the halls and during class. Jamie at this point had learned to ignore it all, sighing and rolling her eyes whenever she managed to find herself the centerpoint of gossip. Dani on the other hand had no issues with scowling back until those staring spun away. By the time lunch rolled around and they were settling in their seats in the lunchroom, Dani was in the middle of pinning a smirking Jackie with a hard stare when Carson slid next to Jamie with a large tupperware in hand.
Jamie snorted. “Don’t tell me you brought an entire meal with you for lunch,” she said, pulling back Dani’s attention.
Shyly shaking his head, Carson pushed the container towards Jamie. “It’s for you.”
Jamie blinked. “For me?”
Nodding, Carson grinned and said, “Open it!”
A look of uncertainty crossed Jamie’s face. She caught Dani’s eyes, quirking an eyebrow, but Dani just shrugged in response, at a loss herself. Shaking her head, Jamie finally opened the container and her eyes went wide at the sight of a pile of chocolate chip cookies and a big ziploc bag of puppy chow packed inside.
“Holy shit,” Jamie said. “This all for me?”
Biting into his sandwich, Carson nodded and grinned around a mouthful of food. Chuckling, Jamie immediately snatched up a cookie and took a bite. Dani laughed, and reached forward for one of her own.
Jamie swiped at her hand. “Ah, haven’t you heard? These are mine,” Jamie said. Eddie snorted into his own lunch as Dani scoffed, pulling her hand back. “What? You telling me you don’t have your own stash somewhere at home?”
“No,” Dani glowered, her mouth threatening to pull into a smile.
“We made them only for you,” Carson said.
Jamie paused, frowning. “Why?”
Growing shy again, Carson shrugged. “When mom heard what happened, she thought it would be nice if we made you some cookies.”
A grin slowly grew on Jamie’s face. “You helped make these?” she asked, gesturing with the half bitten cookie in hand. At Carson’s slow nod, her grin grew wide and she stuffed the rest of the cookie in her mouth, “Think you’ve found your future calling.”
Carson brightened, shooting upright, but then pulled his lips between his teeth, growing visibly anxious. “I’m sorry you got in trouble.”
Jamie’s chewing slowed. “Don’t worry about it, mate,” she said, shrugging.
Carson’s face twisted. “But, you got beat up! And detention! And grounded! And -!” he paused, pointing at Dani “ — Dani was sad you weren’t with us for the sleepover!”
Pausing, Eddie blinked at Dani. “You were?”
Warmth spread across Dani’s cheeks as all eyes turned towards her. She shrugged helplessly under their stares.
“Well, duh,” Carson said, like it should’ve been obvious. Then he sobered again, remorse in his eyes, “But yeah, I’m — I’m sorry.”
Jamie sighed, and was silent for a long moment before meeting Carson’s eyes. “Well...have any of them bugged you since? Looked at you funny at all?” Slowly, Carson shook his head. Jamie grinned softly in response and shrugged. “Then it was worth it.”
At that, Carson’s shoulders dropped from where they were bunched to his ears, and he matched Jamie’s grin when she ruffled his hair. Even as she did so, she slid the container closer to Dani, who happily took a cookie.
“Ed?” Jamie said, smirking as she shook the container at Eddie. “Biscuit for your clearly shattered nerves last week?”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop calling me that,” he mumbled for what seemed the millionth time, but eventually grinned and took a cookie, “Thanks.”
The rest of the school day passed by in a blur, happy that Jamie was back, happy that things were back to normal.
After waiting out Jamie’s detention, they all exited the school together where Jamie jostled Carson with a wide grin and egged him on into a race towards the car. Before either of them could start a proper countdown, Jamie shoved her books into Dani’s arms and took off like a shot, laughing madly.
“Hey! That’s cheating!” Carson shouted, shoving his own books in Eddie’s arms and ran off after her.
Dani smiled broadly and shook her head as she watched them go, juggling the books in hand. Jamie, already far ahead with her speed and jumpstart, twisted her head around to shout something back at Carson, and abruptly tripped over her own feet in the slick frozen grass and went tumbling across the ground. Dani somehow managed to wince and laugh at the same time as Carson sped past Jamie’s sprawling form, pointing and cackling before tripping himself, going flying on the grass. Even Eddie managed to double over laughing with Dani as they reached the prone pair.
When Jamie hitched along for the ride home, Mike, who had been patiently waiting with a magazine in the car, twisted in his seat to give Jamie a grin. “Nice shiner, bud. Welcome back.”
Jamie’s shoulders straightened proudly. When Dani snorted and rolled her eyes, Jamie nudged her in the ribs, and Dani quickly nudged her back, the pair grinning wide.
But when they arrived at the O’Mara household, a strange tension coiled at Jamie’s shoulders when they stepped inside and slipped off their shoes. Dani frowned curiously at her and the tightness of her mouth and the hard grip she had on her school books that were held together by an old brown belt, an unusual apprehension about her. When they all wandered to the kitchen where Judy already set up shop, chopping at vegetables, Jamie stood even more upright.
“Oh, there she is!” Judy said, brightening into a smile when she caught sight of them. She left her kitchen knife on the counter and made a beeline towards Jamie. “All right, come here. Let me take a look.”
At the sound of the boys snickering, Jamie’s eyes went wide as Judy carefully framed her face with her hands, gently tilting her head side to side, Judy’s face one of concentration as she studied Jamie’s bruises. “Hmm, just as I thought,” Judy said, nodding decisively and smiled wide, resting her hands on Jamie’s shoulders. “A raging case of moxie and a heart of gold.”
Underneath the bruises, Jamie’s face went red as she blinked, the tension easing from her shoulders. Judy merely laughed, and pulled her into a hug, murmuring something that Dani couldn’t hear. Jamie stood stiff before slowly returning the hug, her arms held loose and awkward.
When Judy finally pulled away, Jamie ducked her head and murmured, “Um. Thank you, Mrs. O’Mara.” She raised her head, meeting Judy’s eyes, only to drop her gaze once more. “And for the biscuits, too.”
“I should be thanking you. Carson hasn’t stopped talking about it.”
Carson sputtered, an arm elbow deep in a bag of chips he had pulled out from a cupboard. “No, I haven’t!”
Eddie laughed, making a grab for the bag, but Carson snatched it away just in time with a scowl.
Judy hummed, unconvinced, and turned to give Dani a knowing grin. “He even mentioned what you did, Danielle,” she said, “What you did for Jamie when she first got here.” At the mention of that old memory, of stepping between Jamie and a group of bullies before they were ever friends, Dani blushed hotly, catching Jamie’s eyes as she smirked at Dani. “So, I figured, I’d make us all something special today, just for my two brave girls.”
Jamie blinked again, seemingly frozen as Dani lit up and asked, “Lasagna?”
“Got it in one,” Judy grinned, but then sobered as she looked back at Jamie, “Just please, promise me no more fights? The twins give me enough stress as it is. Not just for the sake of my own heart, but the health of your grandmother’s?”
Jamie’s mouth twisted. “Did Nan talk to you?”
“She may have mentioned it.” Judy’s face gave away nothing.
Jamie’s brows knitted into a slight resigned frown, and slowly she nodded. Pleased, Judy grinned again and gently nudged Jamie towards Dani with a pat to her back. “You kids go wash up and do your schoolwork, and then maybe you could come help me put the lasagna together. And — “ she sighed exasperatedly, returning to the counter “ — boys, put that away before you ruin your appetite.”
Carson nodded eagerly as Eddie groaned, his mouth full of chips, rolling the bag up and stuffing it carelessly back into the cupboard before they both shuffled out of the kitchen. Dani snorted, shaking her head after them, and turned to see Jamie stepping quietly towards her, an odd look on her face.
When Dani led her out of the kitchen, Jamie turned to her, her eyes filled with quiet bewilderment, and slowly asked, “What just happened?”
Dani smiled faintly, recognizing the look in Jamie’s eyes, one that Dani occasionally wore herself after long days in the O’Mara household. If there were words for it, an explanation to it all, then Dani couldn’t even begin to name or explain it, so she shrugged helplessly, grinning when Jamie rolled her eyes.
Later, as Eddie and Jamie were finishing the last of their math homework at the kitchen table, and Carson and Dani helped Judy layer massive baking pans with lasagna noodles, sauce, and various fillings, they heard the sound of the front door opening and the twins crashing in.
“Is she here?” one of them called.
“She better be here!”
Judy pointed. “She’s here.”
Tommy and David rushed into the kitchen, and made a beeline towards Jamie.
“Oh, Christ,” Jamie groaned, already tensing her shoulders.
Judy tisked. “Language.”
Dani laughed, a warmth settling over her as she watched the twins accost Jamie, jostling her shoulders as they proudly remarked at her bruises, comparing them to their own old fighting tokens, and demanded she tell her side of the tale. Jamie tried shoving them off, grumbling and elbowing them in the ribs, but couldn't hide her wide smile.
--
On the day after the first snowfall of the year, Jamie insisted they go for a walk.
"Don't you have snow in England?" Dani asked.
They were sitting on the back porch of Jamie's house, jamming their feet into boots. Dani was dressed in a pink puffy jacket and swaddled up with a hat and scarf. Meanwhile Jamie had haphazardly tossed on a baggy jacket over her woollen sweater with some ragged fingerless gloves, as if that ensemble would be enough protection from the cold. Years of experience of Iowa winters told Dani that would not be the case.
"Yeah, but not like -" Jamie gestured with one of her boots towards the backyard, "- this."
The blanket of snow was deep and utterly untouched, extending beyond the treeline. The front lawn was another matter entirely. Jamie had spent the previous day shovelling a path from the sidewalk to the front steps until she was pink in the face from exertion, all while Nan watched with a waiting cup of tea in hand as Jamie's reward.
Dani squinted across the glare of sunlight that glittered across the white bank of fresh snowfall. "Not sure why this is so impressive," she said. "It happens every year, and just makes it difficult to walk everywhere."
"You love it," Jamie said.
Dani made a face. "I don’t. It's so cold. And I hate slipping on the sidewalks."
"Yeah, but it means the outdoor track days are cancelled for gym class."
At that, Dani paused. "Well. Yeah. Okay. I do like that."
"Told you." Jamie grinned and Dani rolled her eyes.
Jamie stamped her heel into the final boot, and stood, holding her hands out to Dani, who grabbed hold and allowed herself to be hauled to her feet. Jamie tugged her upright with such force, that Dani — eyes wide — lost her balance, and they went toppling over backwards off the porch into the snow with a chorus of cries and laughter and a spray of white all round.
Dani shuffled into a crouch, Jamie's body warm beneath her and shaking with laughter. "You did that on purpose!"
"I didn't! I swear!" Jamie said, and her smile was so broad it beamed almost as brightly as the sun's reflection. "This, I'm doing on purpose though."
Dani screwed up her face in confusion. "What -?"
In answer, Jamie reached to either side, grabbed two handfuls of snow, and shoved them into Dani's face and neck. A burst of icy water melted down the gap in Dani's scarf, and she shrieked, rolling off Jamie and further into the bank, limbs flailing in her attempts to escape. If this had been the twins, they would have pounced, turning it into a fight to test the trammels of time. Instead, Jamie cackled with laughter and scrambled to her feet, already bounding off towards the treeline with unwieldy steps.
"C'mon!" she shouted over her shoulder.
Shaking herself off, Dani pushed herself upright and started after her, ire singing in her teeth. She slipped and caught herself and stumbled along in Jamie’s wake. Jamie's footsteps were less dainty little impressions and more great gouges taken out of the snow, as though two tracks had been dragged from the porch and off to the trees. Jamie waited for her to catch up beneath the oak from which they had hung a tire swing the two years before. Her dark hair was struck through with snow as if it were a net of clustered stars, and her eyes sparkled. Whatever vengeance Dani had been planning to exact withered and died at the root when Jamie looked at her like that.
"Where are we going?" Dani asked.
Jamie shrugged and turned, stomping away with Dani at her side. "Dunno. Wherever we like. Don't suppose that old tire dump is still a few miles that way?"
"Probably," said Dani. "Why?"
"It's the closest thing to a hill in these parts. I was thinking if it's covered in snow, we might be able to slide down it."
The logic was sound, so Dani nodded. "All right. Are there lots of hills where you're from?"
They stepped up and onto the slightly elevated ground which indicated the train tracks. When Jamie's footing slipped, Dani grabbed hold of her arm to keep her from face-planting into the snow.
"Cheers," Jamie said, but she did not let go of Dani's hand, instead weaving their fingers together and tugging Dani straight down the abandoned track line. "Some hills, yeah. Bigger than here, by far. No mountains though. I'd love to see some honest mountains."
"We can go sometime. You know -" Dani swung their arms back and forth in an exaggerated arc. "When we learn to drive. Maybe before college."
Jamie's brow furrowed. "College? That's not old enough, is it?"
"Yeah, it is. I want to go to one out of state. Somewhere -" Dani hesitated to even voice the idea, but here, alone with Jamie, a pale sky overhead and a pale earth stretching out before her for miles in every direction, she felt brave enough to admit it. "Somewhere not here."
Jamie's gloves were scratchy against her fingers. "You mean university?" she snorted. "Christ. Never imagined myself going to one of those."
"Well, why not?" Dani asked. "Doesn't your Nan want you to go?"
"Not sure if she could afford it even if she did," said Jamie dryly. "But, nah. Not for me. After this, I'm done. Can you imagine me sitting around reading books and writing papers all day? What a laugh."
Jamie chuckled and shook her head, and a fine dusting of snow was knocked loose from the shoulders of her jacket. Dani didn't join her. She contemplated the idea — finishing school here, running off somewhere else, anywhere else, incurring the wrath of her mother, who had always insisted Danielle would go to university — and found the very notion thrilling in a way that made her feel slightly ill. She swallowed, and Jamie squeezed her hand before letting go.
The train tracks were lifted just enough that they poked up through the snow, narrow twin mounds that ran for miles and miles and ended at an old shunt that was still in operation beyond the next town's fertilizer plant. Jamie stood atop one track and walked the steel. The toe of her boots brushed away any snow atop it as she went. She held her arms outstretched to balance herself, and Dani stayed within reach so that Jamie could grab onto her shoulder should she need to regain her balance.
"What do you want to do?" Dani asked.
"Don't know. Don't care," Jamie answered. "I'll figure it out. One day at a time. What about you?"
Dani cast her mind back. She considered the question carefully. Jamie's outstretched hand tapped her on the shoulder, not out of a request for her to answer, but only because Jamie was see-sawing her arms back and forth to keep her footing without needing to hop off the track.
Eventually, Dani said, "Teach kids, maybe."
Jamie snorted, and a plume of white left her mouth like a cloud. "What? Like Mary Poppins?"
Dani could feel her own cheeks burn, and knew she must have been as pink as her puffy jacket. "No," she said primly. "Like Miss Blythe."
Miss Blythe, their new homeroom teacher this year, was young and smart and pretty. She smiled a lot, and she always wore nice skirts and flowing blouses. She remembered everyone's names, and her hair was shiny and dark when she bowed her head at her desk to read their assignments. Dani couldn't think of anyone she would like to resemble so much as Miss Blythe.
Jamie shot her a grin. "You like her, don't you?"
"Of course, I like her," said Dani. “I think she’s wonderful.”
"Not like that. You like like her."
If Dani's cheeks had been flushed before, it was nothing to the way heat flooded her face now. "I -! I do not!"
"Mhmm," said Jamie, and her grin had graduated into a fully fledged smirk now. "Sure."
Dani spluttered indignantly. "That’s not -! I don't -! Well, she's very pretty, but that's hardly -! I just think she's nice. And she always treats everyone fairly. And she - she makes you feel included, and she's so good at - Stop laughing! Jamie!"
"Aw! Poor Poppins with a crush on teacher!" Jamie laughed. "Don't let Ed hear about that. He'll be jealous."
With a huff, Dani shoved at Jamie's shoulder, and Jamie staggered off into the snow — arms pinwheeling — but didn't fall down. Jamie snickered good-naturedly and stepped back into place atop the rail to continue balancing her way down the track. "You'd make a good teacher."
Dani sucked in a lungful of icy air so fast it made her chest burn. She glanced up at Jamie, who was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. "You think so?"
"Yup," said Jamie, and for all her earlier teasing her voice now was sure and firm. She did not expand; she had only certainty. Then she added with an exaggerated shiver, "Wish we'd brought a thermos with a cuppa. Bloody freezing out here."
"I told you to bring Nan's extra scarf."
Jamie pulled a grotesque face as though she'd bitten into something rotten. "It smells like mothballs."
"Better that than be cold."
"Rather be cold than smell like pure shite."
Shaking her head, Dani reached up and unwound her own white scarf. She zipped up her jacket the rest of the way to accommodate the cold, and held the scarf out to Jamie. "Here."
Jamie blinked down at her. She lowered her arms and her steps slowed. "Really," she said. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Just take the scarf, dummy," said Dani, shaking it at her so that one of the tasselled ends trailed from her fist.
"You get cold easier than me."
"True," Dani said. "But my jacket is puffier and I also have my hat."
Reluctantly, Jamie took the scarf with a mumbled, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Dani replied and began to continue on her way.
Jamie did not immediately follow. Confused, Dani turned around after a few steps to find Jamie still staring down at the scarf with an odd expression on her face, as though she didn't quite know what to do with it.
"Do you need help?" Dani asked. "Is your collarbone okay?"
At that Jamie gave a derisive snort. "Collarbone's fine. That was ages ago, anyway."
Dani frowned. She knew Jamie was stubborn. And she knew that some sub-surface injuries could ache for years. Nan was always cursing about her knee in the cold weather, after all. She herself had never broken a bone in all twelve and a half years of her life, and had only the experiences of others to go by.
Before she could say anything else though, Jamie had begun walking along the track again, scarf stretched between her hands. “It’s just -” she lifted it round her neck “- still warm. Wasn’t really expecting -”
It happened in an instant. One moment, Jamie was balancing her way across the rail track. The next, she had slipped headlong and was writhing on the ground, gloved hands clutching her face. Dani’s eyes went wide. A splash of red sliced all across the snow.
“Fuck!” Jamie’s shout was muffled into her palms. “Fuck!”
“Jamie!”
Stumbling forward, Dani rushed to her side. As gently as she could, she pulled Jamie’s hands away from her face. The honed and frosted edge of the old railway track had split a broad line along Jamie’s chin and lower lip, so that the skin there had burst at the seams like the flesh of an overripe fruit. Blood dripped steadily from Jamie’s chin and the line of her jaw, splattering the ivory-coloured scarf around her neck with wine-dark splotches.
“Are you all right?” Dani asked, trembling hands still holding Jamie by the wrists.
Jamie’s eyes were squeezed shut. She nodded. “Yeah. Absolutely peachy. Shit -!” Her tongue darted out and she hissed when the tip of it touched the gash in her lip.
“Here.” Dani grabbed the ends of the scarf and pressed them tightly against the wound, stemming the flow of blood.
Jamie tried to pull away. “Your scarf - It’ll get all -”
“Who cares about the scarf?” Dani said, and she wound the scarf in such a way that it could act as makeshift gauze. Even after it was tied and tethered in place, her fingers lingered against the warm skin of Jamie’s neck. She brushed her thumbs against the bluffs of Jamie’s cheeks, rubbing away a smatter of blood there. “Let’s get you home. You’ll probably need to see a doctor and get stitches.”
Jamie’s eyes were wide and she was staring up at her. The scarf bobbed as she opened and closed her mouth, but said nothing. Then she winced. “Yeah. Yeah, all right.”
Dropping her hand to Jamie’s shoulder, Dani helped her up and guided her around so they could slowly make their way back to the house. Jamie shivered, and Dani draped her arm across her shoulders to huddle her closer, so that their hips jostled when they walked. When Jamie made a soft noise muffled by the scarf, Dani stole a glance at her profile.
“Does it hurt a lot?” she asked.
Jamie shook her head. Then after a pause she nodded in defeat. She groaned faintly. “Nan’s gonna kill me," she mumbled. "Again.”
--
"Danielle, slow down!"
Reluctantly Dani did as asked, her boots skidding to a walk. The street between Dani's house and the O'Mara residence was deep with snow. Christmas morning was crisp, the sky a blue so bright it almost hurt to look at. Her breath shivered on the air, and her mother's fingers were bright with the spot of an ember from a lit cigarette. Karen had a hastily wrapped present beneath one arm, while Dani carried the rest, so that she crinkled with foil paper and excitement with every step.
Dani reached the front door first and bounced on the balls of her feet until her mother arrived. Sighing, her mother flicked the cigarette into a bank of snow, where it hissed and vanished in a thread of smoke. Judy was the only person Dani knew who observed a strict ‘no smoking indoors’ policy. Not due to any health benefits, but because she complained that cigarette smoke stained the wallpaper yellow. The moment Karen stood beside her on the top step, Dani reached out to ring the doorbell only for her mother to stop her with a hand on Dani's cheek.
"Look at you. What a mess," her mother muttered, licking the pad of her thumb and using it to rub at a spot of syrup on Dani's cheek, all pink from the cold.
"Mom," Dani whined, but when Karen gave her a look she went quiet. Her nose scrunched up and she closed one eye until Karen deemed her suitable for company.
"I told you to wash your face before we left," Karen said. "Obviously I wasn't worth listening to."
"Sorry," Dani mumbled.
Lowering her hand, Karen made an abrupt gesture towards the door. Dani did not wait a second longer to push the doorbell. She could hear the two-toned chime inside followed by the sound of thudding footsteps, and then Eddie wrenched open the door. His face broke into a beaming smile when he saw who it was.
"You made it!"
"Merry Christmas," Dani said, returning his smile.
"Come on. Let's get these under the tree." Eddie reached out to take some of the presents, but froze when Karen cleared her throat pointedly. "Uh - I mean -" he pushed his glasses further up his nose and shuffled his feet. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Clayton. Won't you please come inside? My mom and dad are in the kitchen making coffee."
"Thank you," said Karen and as she stepped past him into the house, she pressed the present she was carrying into his hands.
They waited awkwardly for her to take off her boots and leave them on the towel stretched out in the foyer for just that purpose. Only when she had left did Eddie turn back to Dani, "Bad morning?" he asked.
Dani shrugged. "Not really. Just normal."
"Ah.” Eddie nodded in solemn understanding, then gave her a smile. “Okay. Here let me take those." He freed her arms of presents so Dani could take off her own boots and coat and scarf. Then he shut the door with his foot and nodded towards the living room beyond. "Let's go."
Every inch of the living room had been transformed by the addition of Christmas decorations strewn about — wreaths and holly, pine cones and tinsel, a tree that scraped the ceiling and a nativity set on the mantelpiece over the crackling fireplace. Tommy and David were already bickering over a card game, while Carson looked on, whining about not being dealt a hand.
“C’mon,” he said. “I wanna play, too!”
“You can’t,” said Tommy, frowning down at his hand.
“But it’s better with more people! Why is it you two always do stuff alone!”
David drew a card and shrugged, sharing a secret grin with Tommy. “It’s a twin thing,” he said.
The moment Carson saw that Dani had entered the room however, his eyes lit up and he abandoned his older brothers.
“Hi!” he said, rushing forward. “Need help with those?”
Without waiting for an answer, he took what remained of the presents still in Dani’s hands and went with Eddie to place them under the tree with the mound of other presents already assembled there. Dani could see him looking over the presents she had brought for any sign of names, and when he found his own he tossed down the others in favor of shaking the box to determine its contents.
“Knock it off!” Eddie swatted the back of Carson’s head and took the present from him.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
Carson tried to snatch the present back, but Eddie held it high above his head where Carson couldn’t reach.
“Mom!” Carson called out towards the kitchen. “Eddie took my present!”
“Edmund, give Carson back his present!” Judy’s voice called from the other room over the murmur of adults sequestering themselves away for as long as possible before they had to face the onslaught of kids with too much sugar in their systems for ten in the morning.
Rolling his eyes, Eddie shoved the box into Carson’s chest, so that Carson grunted and had to take a step back. “Whatever,” Eddie said. “Just don’t open it before everyone else gets here.”
"Who else is coming?" Carson asked. He turned the box over a few more times and shook it, only to give up and put it beneath the tree.
"Jamie and Nan," Dani said.
"Oh! Great!" said Carson. "More presents!"
Dani glanced around towards Tommy and David, but the twins were engrossed in a way that she knew meant they wouldn't be open to intruders — especially not ones they thought were young and annoying. So, she instead said, "Monopoly?"
Eddie scratched at the side of his head, dark curls mussed beneath his fingers. "Kind of a long game to start. Don't you think?"
"Well -" said Dani, but Carson had already darted towards a wooden chest that doubled as a coffee table, opening it to pull out the Monopoly board.
"I get to be the dog!" Carson called out, yanking open the box's lid and setting up the board on the floor before the Christmas tree.
Eddie sighed, but Dani just smiled at him. She grabbed his arm and hauled him over to play a game while they waited. Dani picked the unassuming little iron token, and led the other two on a merry chase around the board. Fake paper money slowly flowed onto her side of the board, neatly tucked away in piles of descending order, whilst Eddie and Carson frowned and puzzled over how she managed it.
"You're cheating," Eddie said with narrowed eyes behind his round spectacles. "I don't know how, but you're cheating."
Dani held out her hand primly towards Carson, who was glum as he counted out bills and pressed them into her waiting palm. "I am not cheating," she said. "Carson, you've stiffed me twenty dollars."
Carson screwed up his face and stuck his tongue out at her, but handed over the final twenty that he'd slipped beneath his leg in the hopes that she wouldn't notice.
"Thank you," she said in a light sing-song tone that made Carson harrumph wordlessly in reply.
Eddie craned his neck and looked over his shoulder at the clock hanging on the wall. "Where are they?"
Dani glanced up from where she was dividing up her cash into their respective piles. An hour had come and gone, and still no sign of the others. As if summoned, there was a knock at the door.
"Thank god," Carson muttered, darting to his feet and scampering towards the door. "Game's over. Dani cheated."
"I didn't cheat!" she called after him, exasperated.
But Carson was already pulling open the door, and she could hear his voice floating into the living room from down the hall. "Hi, Jamie! Hi Mrs. Heron! You're late!"
"Don't just say that!" Eddie shouted. Then he shook his head and began helping Dani clean up the board. "Still don't know how you managed to get all those hotels."
"Maybe if you're nice to me, I'll tell you," Dani teased.
Going stock still, Eddie blinked at her.
"What?" Dani asked slowly.
The odd expression on his face washed away like yesterday's sunlight, and he shook his head with a huff of nervous laughter. “Nothing.”
Briefly puzzled, she watched him place the lid back over the box and put the game away. There was movement at the edges of her vision, and when Dani looked up it was to find Nan and Jamie removing their coats and hanging them on hooks that lined the wall by the door. Jamie was brushing snow from her long hair, brow furrowed, while her other hand was balancing gifts that were expertly wrapped, not a crease or fold out of place. The gash slicing through her chin and lower lip had healed somewhat since their last fiasco — the stitches removed — but the skin around it stretched and pulled, looking reddened and angry.
Dani waved and Jamie’s expression brightened. Jamie started towards her, only for Nan to reach out and haul her back by the scruff of her neck.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Nan said. “Shoes off. And don’t roll your eyes at me.”
With an extra exaggerated roll of her eyes for good measure, Jamie leaned over to undo her laces and rid herself of her snow-dusted boots.
Judy emerged from the kitchen. "Oh, Ruth! I'm so glad you could make it! Do you want coffee?"
Nan shook her head and began limping in her direction. "No, thank you, Judy. Just some boiled water for me should do the trick." As she went, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a ziploc bag filled with tea bags.
Judy smiled. "Sure thing. I'll stick a mug of water in the microwave for you."
Judy disappeared back into the kitchen, and Nan's expression was completely horrified. Dani watched this interaction and bit her lip to keep from laughing. Nan noticed and glowered. "Think that's funny, do you?"
Dani shook her head furiously. "No, ma'am. It's just — they don't have a kettle."
Nan sighed. "Uncivilized country." And, muttering to herself, she retreated into the kitchen after Judy to meet her fate.
Footsteps padded across the carpet and Jamie approached. "Can I put these down?" she asked, cradling a small tower of packages.
"Yeah, of course," said Eddie, darting up to help.
"Sorry we're late," Jamie said as they arranged the last of the presents beneath the tree. "Nan's fussy about wrapping. Likes everything to be perfect."
"They look really nice," Dani assured her, admiring the pristine packaging with a tilt of her head.
Jamie snorted. "Made me do that one three times. And then I had to clean up everything before we left."
"Mom!" Carson yelled, running so fast down the hall towards the kitchen that he skidded across the wooden flooring in a blur. "Mom! Everyone's here! Can we open presents now? Please?"
Jamie arched an eyebrow after him. "He always this mental during the holidays?" she asked.
"Yes," said both Dani and Eddie in unison.
"Don't see what all the fuss is about, personally."
"Well," said Eddie, drawling out the word in a thoughtful manner, "Getting new stuff is always nice."
At that, Jamie seemed a bit dubious. She scratched contemplatively at the raised pink tissue of her chin until Dani reached out to still her hand.
"You shouldn't scratch," Dani said.
Curling her fingers into a fist, Jamie dropped her own hand into her lap, looking churlish. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Still itches, though." And then her eyes skimmed over Dani’s outfit, blinking, as though now just noticing it. “Why do you look like you just jumped out of one of your mum’s catalogues?”
“Because I did,” Dani said, fighting back a sigh. “Or well, the dress did. Mom got it for me for Christmas.”
Dani glanced down at the outfit in question, a long sleeved dark green dress with a red floral pattern by the hem and a lace neckline. It was a dress that felt more suited to warmer weather, the thin material doing next to nothing to help keep Dani warm, regardless of the white tights she wore or how warm Judy kept the house. What Dani didn’t mention was that while it wasn’t a terrible dress, she’d had a completely different outfit in mind this morning, but when she had pulled out the dress from its box, her mom had held it up to the length of Dani with such a wide pleased smile and demanded that Dani wear it in a tone the brooked no room for argument.
Jamie scanned over the dress again, humming in contemplation, and shrugged. “Looks nice, actually,” she said, catching Dani’s eyes and giving her a grin.
Before Dani could respond, her cheeks warm, the kitchen door opened and the parents began to filter out into the living room. The Christmas tree sparkled, casting a warm glow against Jamie's profile as she craned her neck to watch. Dani barely registered everyone else, and when Jamie turned to find her staring, Dani smiled.
With a befuddled smile of her own, Jamie asked, "What?"
Dani shrugged. "It's just nice to have you over."
"I come over here all the time."
"Yeah, but this is different."
"If you say so."
The couches and armchairs were quickly taken up by adults, while anyone under the age of eighteen was forced to continue sitting on the floor. Nan lowered herself into a chair with care, maneuvering her cup of tea and her cane. Karen perched herself idly on the arm of the couch right beside Judy, sipping on a cup of coffee. Mike sat by his wife, looking tired but content in his Argyle patterned sweater vest and matching socks.
"All right -" Judy started.
"Me first!" Carson blurted out, diving for the nearest present with his name on it.
With a grin and a rueful shake of her head, Judy motioned towards Eddie and Dani. “Just start passing everything around, won’t you?”
Nodding, Dani and Eddie reached for the presents. Dani read out the name scrawled across the wrapping paper and handed it over to Mike, who had to lean half out of the sofa to take it with a smile and a murmured, "Thanks." Carson was already ripping the paper off of a racing kit set for toy cars, but Dani set one of her own presents aside until everyone else had one in their hands. She kept her eyes on Jamie sitting next to her, as Jamie turned over a lumpy package that Dani had wrapped just earlier that morning. The expression on Jamie's face was both odd and awed, as if she couldn't quite believe that she had received presents at all. Every now and then she would dart her eyes towards Nan like she was checking to see that she was even allowed to do this, to be here, surrounded by people who liked her enough to buy her gifts.
Dani nudged Jamie's elbow with her own. "Open it," she said.
Jamie did not immediately do so. She turned the package over once more before carefully running her thumb beneath a fold in the wrapping, tearing through a scrap of tape holding the pieces together. Dani opened the present from Jamie at the same time — which was far better wrapped than her own — and the two of them blinked at each other in startled confusion when they each revealed a scarf.
"I got you one because I ruined yours," Jamie said.
"Well, I got you one because you don't have one," said Dani.
They held each other's gazes for a beat longer, until they cracked and snorted with laughter.
"Okay," Jamie said with a grin. "We're dumb."
"Funny, though," Dani replied.
Jamie shook her head, but her smile was broad as she leaned across Dani to reach for another present beneath the tree. "Hey, Ed," she said, tossing the present towards him. "This one's for you."
Eddie caught the gift. "Thanks. I wonder what it could be," he said dryly, weighing the package that was so clearly in the shape of a baseball mitt it would be impossible to mistake.
"A cricket bat, maybe," Jamie said.
Eddie made a face at her, but when he opened the gift to reveal a brand new mitt, his voice was warm when he said, "My old one is falling apart. Thanks, Jamie."
"Thank Nan. I can't afford shit."
"Language!" Nan barked, while at the same time Judy scolded, "Jamie Taylor!"
Jamie ducked her head and grimaced, reaching for another gift and handing it off to one of the twins. "Whoops," she muttered under her breath, not sounding sorry at all.
Dani shook her head but smiled. One by one the gifts were parceled out until Judy's living room floor was a mess of shredded wrapping paper and opened boxes spilling out with packing peanuts and bubble wrap. David and Tommy fought over who got to play the Mattel Electronics Football Game first. Carson had encloistered himself in a corner nearest the fireplace and was busy setting up his racing kit set with a single-minded focus, tongue between his teeth. Dani smiled at a jar labelled 'Travel Fund' that she had received from Jamie in a rucksack that already had a US flag patch sewn onto the red canvas fabric with space left for other future flags. And all of them had received a signature sweater from Judy, which was ugly beyond compare and which made Karen's face pucker up when Dani immediately pulled it on over her dress.
"Do they have to look like that?" Karen asked.
"What?" said Judy with a guileless shrug. "They're warm!"
Sighing, Karen stood and started towards the kitchen. "I'll put on another pot of coffee."
"Ruth, do you want another cup of boiling water for your tea?" Judy asked.
Nan's answering smile looked forced. "Cheers, but I'll be right."
Most of the presents had now been opened. Mike had pulled on a new pair of socks — the same gift he received every year, but which he always seemed pleased — and Eddie was fiddling with a pair of walkie talkies, trying to figure out how they worked.
"Hey, dad?" he asked. "Do we have any batteries?"
"Garage," Mike said, and Eddie went off in search, taking the walkie talkie set with him.
"Bring back some double As for me, too!" Jamie called after him. She waved with the pocket transistor radio that she'd been given by Judy and Mike, and which hadn't left her lap since she had first opened it with wide eyes.
"Yeah, sure," answered Eddie.
Dani ducked down to reach the last of the gifts hidden beneath the low-slung branches, dragging them out into the light. "This one's for -" she tilted her head and twisted the package around. "- Jamie. From Nan."
Jamie opened the gift and rolled her eyes. "A new pair of gardening gloves," she said in a deadpan voice, holding up the leather gloves. "Joy of joys."
"Ones that fit this time," said Nan, nodding. "And if you lose this pair like you did the last, you'll be paying for the next yourself."
Jamie grumbled something under her breath.
Nan sniffed. "In my day, we were thankful if a bomb didn't drop on us during Christmas."
"Oh my god. The Blitz is over, Nan. Give it a rest," Jamie groaned, but dutifully set the gloves aside atop her transistor radio.
From the couch, Judy gestured towards one of the remaining presents with the toe of her slipper. "Danielle, there's another one there for you that you missed."
"Oh." Dani turned it over to see that it was labelled for her from the O'Maras. While she opened it, beside her Jamie began pulling on every article of clothing she had received as a gift — sweater, scarf, and garden gloves — until she was wrapped up and ready to brave the elements at the drop of a hat. Dani grinned at her, but then blinked in surprise at the box beneath the wrapping paper portraying a new polaroid camera.
"Oh, wow," she breathed.
Hastily, Dani pushed aside the wrapping paper and pulled open the box. The camera was small enough to fit in both her hands. She fiddled with it, reading the instructions so she could point the camera and squint into the eyepiece at Jamie. Through the lens, Jamie's figure was slightly distorted. Jamie turned, saw the camera aimed in her direction, and waved. Dani pressed a button down, and there was a resultant click, a flash and whir, and a square slip of film was spat out by the camera. Lowering it, she tugged at the film. Its surface was greyish, the image slowly taking hold, a silhouette as faintly visible as a specter cast in watery sunlight.
"This the last one?"
Dani's head jerked up before she could watch the image fully materialize. When she saw Jamie inspecting the final present to be unwrapped, she set the camera and the square strip of film down. "Yeah. That one's from me."
Jamie's eyebrows rose. "But you already got me something," she said. She took off the gardening gloves and tugged at the scarf wound about her neck, tossing both onto the ground.
"I wanted to get you something else, too," Dani said.
Jamie stared at her for a moment, her expression unreadable. In the background, Tommy had wrestled the handheld video game from his twin brother. Mike and Nan were chatting away about something boring and adult — war and history, perhaps. Judy had leaned back against the couch, neck craned so she could peer into the kitchen and say something to Karen, who was standing in the doorway with an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth. Dani smiled and made a motion for Jamie to open her final gift.
Clearing her throat, Jamie began unwrapping the present, taking great pains not to rip a single section of the paper no matter how hastily wrapped in the first place. The box beneath was small, small enough to fit in Jamie's palm. Brows furrowed, she opened it and sucked in a lungful of air. The two identical necklaces entwined inside were cheap and plated, but they gleamed in the Christmas tree lights when Jamie pulled them from their box, sinuous chains pinched between thumb and forefinger.
"Why are there two?" Jamie asked.
"One for you," said Dani, reaching out and taking a necklace with a self-satisfied grin. "And one for me."
Even after Dani had put her own necklace on, Jamie remained frozen in place. The simple chain rotated slowly in place, suspended from her hand, and the half dollar piece pierced midway down the length was a match to the coin that now hung at the hollow of Dani's throat.
"Mike helped me drill the holes," Dani said proudly. "But the rest I did myself."
Jamie swallowed, her throat working, but she said nothing.
Dani frowned and said slowly, "Do you want this one instead?" She lifted the chain away from her neck with her thumb.
Jerking as if from a reverie, Jamie shook her head. "No," she said. She cleared her throat and continued, “No, I like this one. Thank you.”
“Dad, I can’t find them!” Eddie’s voice called from down the hall.
Sighing, Mike pushed himself to his feet and went off to help look for batteries. “Did you check the drawer above the tool set, bud?”
“I did!” Eddie insisted. “They’re not there!”
Jamie was tugging aside her braid so she could fasten the necklace in place beneath it. Behind her, Judy leaned forward in her seat. “Jamie, I told Mike that you were working on that old bike you found.”
Glancing up at her, Jamie gave a nod that she was listening.
“And,” Judy continued, “he said you’re welcome to bring the bike around any time to work on it over here. If you need tools or spare parts, the garage is your oyster.”
Jamie lowered her hands and the necklace was a silvery glimmer that hung down her chest, disappearing beneath the neck of her sweater. “Thanks, Mrs. O’Mara.”
“Please. Call me Judy.”
From the sidelines, Nan lifted a finger to point threateningly at Jamie and growled, “Do not do that.”
Jamie gave Judy an apologetic grin and lifted both hands, palms up, as if in surrender. Judy laughed fondly, eyes bright as she watched Jamie resettle her braid. “Honey, you have such beautiful long hair, why didn’t you leave it open today?”
Nan snorted. “Hell would have to freeze over for that girl to leave her hair down.”
Visibly fighting back a scowl, Jamie shrugged and offered Judy a weak smile. “Just gets in the way, is all.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t have to worry about that if you’d let me help,” Judy said, “We could tie some of it back and tame those curls to some lovely waves like Danielle’s hair.”
At the mention of Dani’s hair, Jamie’s eyes darted to the loose blonde waves cascading over Dani’s shoulders, and both Dani and Judy laughed when Jamie failed to hide her wince.
Meanwhile in the nearby corner, Carson threw down a piece of plastic car track in exasperation. “Jamie,” he called across the room. “Can you help me build this? It’s not working.”
“Sure. Hold up.” Seeing her chance to escape, Jamie quickly stood and wandered over to him, crouching down before the warren of track he had assembled already. “What on earth have you done?”
“I followed the instructions!” Carson whined, holding up a piece of paper.
“Why don’t I believe you?” Jamie snatched the instructions from his hand, then rolled them up to lightly smack him over the head with the pages. He spluttered and slapped her hand away.
“Look at them,” Judy said to Nan while they watched Jamie help Carson set up the toy car track. “Aren’t they cute together?”
“Bit young for that sort of thing, don’t you think?”
“Well, she did defend him from all those bullies. And afterwards, Carson spoke of nothing else. It was ‘Jamie this’ and ‘Jamie that’ for a week solid.”
Jamie overheard the adults talking. She shared a befuddled look with Dani and then mimed being sick. Beside her, Carson had gone bright red, trying and failing to pretend he hadn’t heard anything, while Dani bit back a smile.
“Gross,” Carson said under his breath.
“You can say that again,” Jamie muttered.
“Gross.”
“That’s the spirit. Now, hand me that bit of track over there. No, no, the other one.”
Dani’s gaze dropped to the picture she had taken. She picked it up from the carpet to inspect it more closely. It had finally taken form, and she smiled at the image of Jamie’s half-hidden grin behind a big scarf, her hand bulky from the gardening gloves and blurred from movement. Tucking it away for safekeeping, Dani lifted the camera into her hands once more and pointed it in Jamie and Carson’s direction for another picture.
Much later after lunch, still laughing at the way Nan had spooked Mike and the twins into action to clear the dining room table and clean up the dishes with just a single look and comment, Dani and the others had taken to testing out the limits of Eddie’s walkie talkies around the house. At the moment, she and Jamie were holed up in the upstairs bathroom with one set while Eddie and Carson were running around with the other.
“Can you hear me now? Over.” Eddie’s voice came through the speakers, tinny and muffled.
“Yeah,” Dani responded, “Where are you?”
“You’re supposed to say Over,” Eddie said, “Over.”
Jamie sighed and rolled her eyes, pulling the walkie talkie in Dani’s hand close to her mouth, pressing down on Dani’s thumb that she held over the push to talk button. “Just answer the question, you tit.”
Dani snorted as Eddie grumbled on the other side. “Hold on,” he said, and then a beat passed before he said, “We’re in the garage, how about now?”
“Loud and clear, soldier,” Jamie said dryly and let go of the walkie talkie to turn to Dani with a glint in her eyes, “Y’know, I reckon this thing could even reach beyond your house. Could you imagine putting one under his bed and being able to scare the shite out of him and he wouldn’t even know you were a block away.”
Dani laughed, but said, “That’s mean.”
“Oh, come off it. You’ve thought about it.”
In truth, Dani hadn’t. While Carson had already laid claim to one half of the set much to Eddie’s annoyance, Eddie had already quietly offered Dani to share so they’d could have conversations between their houses without Dani having to come over or hog the house phone. It was a sweet offer, and a tempting one, being able to talk to Eddie whenever she wanted, but looking at Carson’s eager expression, she couldn’t bear to take away the excitement from him.
“Nope,” Dani replied, ignoring Jamie’s dubious look, and continued, “What I am thinking about though, is if there’s any cookies left downstairs.”
Jamie’s eyes lit up just as Eddie’s voice returned. “Okay, we’re in the basement, how about now?”
Taking the walkie talkie from Dani, Jamie said, “Perfectly. Are Tweedledee and Tweedledum down there yet?”
“Yeah,” Eddie replied.
“Ask them if they’ve eaten all the biscuits yet.”
“Biscuits?”
Jamie huffed. “Cookies,” she said, then pulled her finger off the button to mutter, “Christ's sake, you Yanks.”
Snorting again, Dani gave Jamie a curious look, but Jamie just grinned at her until Eddie finally responded, “They said no, but they laughed so I’m not really sure.”
“Means they probably left the shite kind,” Jamie said, “Doesn’t matter, I’ve got a plan. Dani’s gonna run down to grab us a plate, and I’m gonna sneak out to her house to see if this thing can reach there.”
Dani’s eyes went wide.
“Roger that, over and out,” Eddie said, and then there was silence.
“Jamie,” Dani hissed, “Nan will kill you.”
The look Jamie gave her was exasperated. “You’d think she’d done it by now after everything, yeah?”
That made Dani pause, recollecting all the moments when she was sure Nan was about to pop a blood vessel, but never once did anything more beyond a light thwack on the head with her hand or on the ankle with her cane.
Seeing the realization creep onto Dani’s face, Jamie grinned. “See? Won’t take but a minute,” she said, already rushing out the bathroom door.
“Wear a jacket,” Dani called out, and in response, Jamie grinned and saluted her with two fingers before disappearing.
Sighing, Dani waited a minute to give Jamie the time to sneak out without making too big of a scene and then finally descended the stairs. When she reached the ground floor with no Jamie in sight, Dani carefully peeked into the living room to see that all of the adults were none the wiser, Christmas music playing on low as they talked and laughed, the tv playing some movie on mute. The only thing that was curious, was that her mom was missing. Shrugging, Dani ventured off to the kitchen.
True to word, there were cookies left, and just as Jamie had said, they were the kind that would always be left for last on the plate or in the tin. But cookies were cookies, so Dani began helping herself pile some on a plate for the four of them, and just as she decided that some milk would do nicely to go with it, her mother wandered into the kitchen from the back door. Her hand jerked back from the fridge door handle when her mother caught sight of her and the plate of cookies on the counter.
“Cookies? Danielle, you just had a big lunch,” Karen said, stepping closer with a near empty glass of wine in hand, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold, and smelling strong of fresh cigarette smoke.
Dani shrugged, and murmured, “We wanted snacks.”
Her mother sighed, a hand on her hip, her eyes darting over Dani’s sweater. Dani looked away, shying away from her mother’s scrutiny, her shoulders bunching up. “Are you going to wear that all day?” Karen asked. “It’s covering up your pretty dress.”
“I like it,” Dani said, chancing a glance up at her mother to see her mouth slowly twist into a displeased frown. Dani quickly added, “It’s warm, and-and it’s a little cold, so I thought — “
“Danielle, if you didn’t like the dress, all you had to do was say so,” Karen said, her voice sharp, taking another step closer.
Dani blinked up at her, taking a step back until she was pressing against the counter. “I didn’t — I didn’t say that,” Dani murmured, her hands clenched into fists. “I like it. It’s just cold.”
Gradually, the firm lines of her mother’s face cleared until she was staring down at Dani with a near unrecognizable expression. Her mother glanced down at the glass in her hand for a moment before slowly holding it out to Dani. Frowning, Dani looked down at it. Dark red wine swirled in the glass, just only a mouthful left. She had lost track by now since escaping deeper into the house with the others; she couldn’t tell if this was the third glass after the first two Dani counted her mother having during lunch, or if this was somewhere in the realm of the fourth or fifth.
Dani glanced back up to give her mother a questioning look. “Try it,” Karen said, gesturing with the glass. The wine swirled dangerously near the lip of the glass. “Just a sip.”
Hesitantly, Dani unclenched one fist and reached out to the glass, slowly taking it from her mother’s grasp. She swallowed hard, staring down at the ominous burgundy liquid, and darted her eyes back up to her mother for any sharp glint in her eyes, any tension to the corners of her mouth, any clue to see if this was some trick, some test. But her mother only breathed out a laugh and murmured, “Go on.”
Taking a second to gather her courage, Dani lifted the glass to her mouth and took a small sip, and almost immediately twisted up her face. It was bitter, settling heavy and thick on her tongue even as she swallowed it down. Her mom laughed at the expression on her face as Dani pushed the glass back in her hand, wine still remaining at the bottom.
Dani wiped her mouth as though the motion could remove the sour taste in her mouth. Her mom stepped away, still laughing and lifting a finger from the glass to point at Dani. “Consider yourself lucky,” she said, “The first drink my father ever let me try was scotch when I was nine. Now that burned.”
That made Dani pause, staring at her mom as she downed the rest of the wine with ease. It wasn’t often her mother spoke of Dani’s grandfather. “He always used to do that,” Karen said, a rueful look in her glassy eyes, “He was always such a sweet man when he was drinking, like it was the only way he knew how to show affection. But when he was sober though —” her mother chuckled, a short bitter thing “ — that was an entirely different story.”
Dani stood frozen, watching her mother swallow thickly and clear her throat, opening a cabinet to pull out a bottle of wine. An uncomfortable churning began in Dani’s stomach, though she couldn’t tell if it was from the sip of wine she tasted, or from watching her mother pour herself another glass, more than she had in previous drinks. As though sensing Dani’s discomfort, her mother stared at her, resting the bottle on the kitchen table with a heavy ominous thud.
“Don’t you start,” Karen said, her eyes suddenly and inexplicably hardened.
“Start what?” Dani asked, her eyes darting up to her mother’s, curling further into the hunch of her shoulders. She hadn’t done anything beyond stare at the wine with some measure of concern, but at the sight of mother’s face shadowed with a severe frown, Dani knew immediately that she had misstepped somewhere over the course of the day.
“You think I haven’t seen your little looks all day? Counting? Judging?”
Dani could hear it then, the slight slur to her mother’s voice. Could see it in her piercing glassy eyes. Could feel it in the way her mother stepped closer again, her shoulders tense and feet moving with purpose. The urge to run struck Dani hard in the chest, but she remained frozen, pressing back harder into the counter behind her as her mother loomed over her.
“I didn’t - I wasn’t doing anything,” Dani stuttered, her heart crashing against her ribs.
Karen scoffed. “No? So, I imagined it then. Like a fool.”
“N-no, I — “ Unable to look her mother in the eyes anymore, Dani bowed her head to stare at the ground, her feet so small compared to her mother’s stocking covered pair.
“You couldn’t give me just this one day, Danielle,” Karen said, “You know how hard Christmas can be for me.”
Dani nodded, words trapped in her throat. Her mother exhaled sharply. “You always have to do this, don’t you?” Karen said, her voice low and acrid with strained bitterness. “First with the sweater, and now this.”
The words seemed to wrap around Dani’s heart and clench painfully tight until a dull but deep ache spread across her chest, leaving her throat thick and her eyes burning. Any cheer or joy Dani had managed to revel in throughout the day seemed to slip away and vanish like a cloud of smoke.
“I’m sorry,” she finally murmured, “I won’t do it again.”
Her mother scoffed again, and just when it felt like she was about to say something else, there was a distinct tapping sound nearing the kitchen. Her mother paused, and after what felt like an eternity, Dani watched her feet step away with a sigh. All at once it felt like Dani could breathe again. She glanced up as the tapping cane came closer, and fiddled with the cookies on the plate.
“Ruth,” Karen said, her voice sounding so clear, as if nothing had just transpired, “Would you like a glass of wine?”
Dani reached for a cookie and bit into it, with nothing else to distract her from the roiling in her stomach and the thickness in her throat.
“None for me, thank you,” Nan said, stepping towards the sink, “Afraid I’ve damned myself to another cup of microwaved tea. Dani, be a dear and fetch me the milk.”
At the sound of her name — her preferred name — Dani jumped, twisting around to blink at Nan who was already busy filling her cup with water from the tap. Dani stared, frozen for a moment before jumping into action, setting down her cookie to pull out the carton of milk from the fridge without looking in her mother’s direction. After a moment of contemplation as Nan heated up her mug in the microwave, Dani helped herself and poured the glass of milk she had wanted for the cookies in the first place, a noticeable tremble in her hands.
With nothing more to do, Dani stood there staring at the glass, the room eerily silent save for the buzzing hum of the microwave, until —
“Dani,” Nan said. Jerking just slightly out of her reverie, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes darted to Nan who was watching her steadily, soft around the edges and so unfamiliar that Dani could do nothing but blink. Nan gestured her head towards the kitchen entrance, and murmured, “They’re all waiting for you downstairs, love.”
Dani nodded, biting her lip hard at the unrelenting feeling of her mother’s piercing gaze on her back. She picked up the plate and glass of milk and slowly made her way out of the room, her head ducked. In between the moments of taking her leave from the kitchen and gradually making her way down the stairs towards the basement, Dani’s heart settled and she managed to push down the lump in her throat, but the ache in her chest remained.
When she reached downstairs, the room packed with mismatched furniture and a tv in the corner that was surrounded by the boys arguing over which program or movie to watch, there was Jamie, laughing brightly with her cheeks flushed red and her hair cluttered in a starburst of melting snow. But when Jamie turned, catching her eyes, instead of a smile Dani expected, victorious from her quick jaunt outside, Jamie frowned and started towards her.
“You all right?” Jamie asked, her eyes darting between Dani’s.
Dani nodded, her mouth pulling into a smile. “Yeah, of course,” she said, and held up the plate for Jamie to see, “These cookies just really suck.”
Jamie glanced down at the plate before returning her gaze to Dani, arching a disbelieving eyebrow.
“Seriously, I think there’s raisins in them,” Dani added. Pulling her mouth into a thin line, Jamie took the plate and glass from her hand to set them on a nearby table. Dani frowned. “Hey, wha — “
“C’mon,” Jamie said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards the stairs. “I want to show you something.”
Dani’s stomach twisted. “Jamie — “
“S’alright,” Jamie said, turning to grin at her, her eyes soft. “You’ll like it, I promise.”
Slowly, Dani’s mouth shut, Jamie’s cold hand squeezing her own in a careful grip. Dani couldn’t help but match Jamie’s grin and follow her back up the stairs, the pull of her hand insistent but gentle as she guided Dani up to the second floor towards a window on the landing that overlooked the backyard.
“C’mon, take a look,” Jamie said, leaning against the windowsill with a smile over her shoulder at Dani, their hands still clasped.
Shooting Jamie a puzzled grin, Dani stood next to her to look out the window, and felt her breath catch in her chest. Outside, flurries of white gently floated down from the sky in a dance to unheard music.
“Pretty, right?” Jamie asked, her voice unusually soft. Dani nodded, her eyes wide as she stared up at the sky, the sound of Christmas music muffled through the floor. And then, Jamie carefully said, “Dunno why it seemed like you just went through the ringer in the minute I was outside, but I felt like this could cheer you up a bit.”
Dani squeezed the hand in her own, feeling the ghost of the pressure returned. “It did,” Dani said softly, “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Jamie murmured, and then added, “You wanna come over soon? Escape your mum for a bit? We could eat leftovers ‘til we’re sick and make Nan watch White Christmas again? She may actually try to kill us this time, but worth the risk.”
Dani laughed, feeling an inexplicable lightness to her shoulders and chest, the aching pressure gone. Dani turned to catch Jamie’s eyes, only to see that Jamie was already staring at her with a pleased grin. “Yeah, I’d love to,” Dani said, her smile wide, and Jamie’s hand warm in her own.
--
The first thing Jamie said when she opened the door was, "You've got to help me."
Dani blinked in surprise. She stood, dumb-struck, on Jamie's front step with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder. Night was already swiftly descending even though it was only six in the evening. Behind her headlights like a pair of eyes flashed through the gloom against the windows as her mother's car pulled away from the curb, where moments before Dani had hopped out and trotted up to Jamie's house without a backward glance. Dani glanced down to where Jamie's fist was clenched around a pair of kitchen scissors, spotted with rust.
"What -?" she asked, and had barely enough time to toe off her snow-struck shoes before Jamie was grabbing her by the wrist and hauling her inside, shutting the door with a kick of her socked foot.
"Shh! Keep it down!" Jamie hissed.
Her head whipped around to see if anyone had heard them, but the living room was empty and there were no tell-tale sounds of the tap of a walking stick down the hall or in the kitchen. Her hair was uncharacteristically down, Dani noticed. Long and auburn-dark as autumn leaves, curled from all its time spent coiled up in a braid.
"Okay," Jamie whispered, "We're clear. Follow me."
Dani made an abortive noise in the back of her throat, but tamped it down as Jamie tightened her hold on her hand. They scurried through the house like thieves. Jamie led them on a circuitous route around the furniture, as though stalking a beast through the jungle. The tops of their heads peeped out over the cushions of a green couch with a lacy throw draped across its back like delicate snow. With a final dart down the hall, their footsteps muffled by the carpet bearing tea stains and cigarette burns — tea stains from Jamie, cigarette burns from the previous owner — they made it to the spare half bathroom, which had no shower. Jamie locked the door behind them with careful precision, so that the sound was only the lightest of clicks against the brass knob.
"What's happening?" Dani asked, voice hushed in the dark.
Jamie only flicked on the light when she had grabbed a towel from the rack and pressed it up against the bottom of the door to keep as much light from leaking out as possible. Then, she rounded on Dani and held up the scissors. "I need you to cut my hair."
"Is that it?" Dani asked, straightening her spine.
Jamie made a motion for Dani to keep her voice down. "She'll hear you!"
Rolling her eyes, Dani nevertheless gamely kept her voice to a low murmur, "Why doesn't Nan just take you to the hairdresser in town?"
"She did! Look!" Jamie pointed at her own hair, which admittedly did look to be an inch or so shorter than when Dani had seen her last.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Everything!" Jamie hissed. "I wanted it all off, but Nan said no! And the barber refused to take the money I tried to give her when Nan wasn’t looking! Fucking coward.”
"And you want me to do it instead?" Dani asked. "So I can face Nan's wrath? No way!"
"She won't hurt a child!" Jamie said. Then after a moment, she added, "Much. Anyway, she likes you. Way more than she likes me."
"Now, that's not true."
"Inn'it though?" Jamie said, narrowing her eyes and nodding as though they both knew the answer to that rhetorical question.
"It's not!" Dani insisted.
Through the door, they could hear a distant cough. Both of them froze, deer in the headlights, trapped in a looming, luminous stare. There followed a shuffling as if of someone shifting their weight atop bed springs, and the papery turning of a page. When it became clear that Nan wasn't coming to investigate, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you're not going to help me, then I'll just do it myself," said Jamie, already grabbing hold of her own hair and lifting the scissors.
With a groan, Dani dropped her overnight bag to the peeling linoleum floor. She held out her hand. "Give me the scissors."
"Oh, hell yes," Jamie breathed.
Scissors in hand, Dani directed Jamie to sit atop the scarred wooden toilet seat. Jamie eagerly complied, facing away from her so that Dani could have easy access. For a moment Dani hesitated. She reached out and touched Jamie's long hair, combing her fingers through the wild tangle of dark untamable curls. It was, she realised with an odd thread of excitement weaving a warm path through her chest, the first time she had ever touched Jamie's hair like this. When she dragged her fingernails lightly along Jamie's scalp, Jamie's shoulders relaxed and she swayed back into Dani's hand with a soft sound.
Dani withdrew her hand as though scalded. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"S'alright," Jamie said without turning around. "Feels nice. You can touch my hair."
"Yeah?"
Now, Jamie did turn her head, angled just enough so that Dani could see her roll her eyes. "How else are you supposed to cut it? Christ. You are thick sometimes."
Dani flicked the back of her head as revenge. Jamie flinched from the contact, but Dani could hear her laugh quietly, could catch a glimpse of her smile.
"Go on, then," Jamie said, squaring her shoulders once more as though readying herself for a march into battle. "Do it."
Carefully, taking her time so that Jamie could back out if she wanted, Dani pulled around as much of her hair as she could so that it draped down Jamie's back. "You're going to owe me big time for this," Dani muttered as she worked.
"Name the price."
"I want the good pillow tonight," Dani said. Jamie's bedroom was small and cramped and there were no other spare rooms in the house, so every time Dani stayed over it always ended up with the two of them crammed together on Jamie's narrow mattress, where one of them — usually Dani — was inevitably stuck with a lumpy pillow from the couch.
"Done," Jamie agreed without a hint of hesitation.
“All right,” Dani said. She steadied herself with a deep breath and placed the flat of the closed scissor blade against Jamie’s shoulder. “Here?”
“Shorter.”
Dani dragged the scissors up a few inches higher. “Here?”
“Shorter.”
Swallowing down her nerves, Dani lifted the scissors so that they hovered over the back of Jamie’s neck just below the base of her skull. “Here?”
Jamie nodded, her head bumping gently against the scissors. “Yeah. Perfect.”
“All right,” Dani repeated. She opened the scissors and held them in place so that a good portion of Jamie’s long hair was folded across the sharp edges of the blades. Still, she did not cut. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
“Hurry up,” Jamie said and she cast a furtive glance towards the door. “She could come any second.”
And, taking her life into her own hands, Dani squeezed the scissors shut. The first section of Jamie’s hair fell away like a curtain with a single clean snip. As if watching herself perform the deed from out of her own body with a kind of dull horror, Dani continued along — two more great big cuts in a horizontal line — until Jamie’s curls brushed the back of her neck and no further.
“Is that -?” Dani lowered the scissors. “Is that what you wanted?”
One of Jamie’s hands reached up and she felt at her own hair with a silent wonder.
“Jamie,” Dani breathed nervously. “Please, tell me that it’s all right.”
There was no mirror in this bathroom. Indeed, the only mirror in the whole house was a small rectangle of reflective glass in the bathroom with only a shower over a bath adjoining Nan’s room further down the hall. And there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell they would be braving that tonight.
Jamie turned around so that she sat facing Dani, and she beamed up at her. “Perfect,” Jamie said. “Absolutely bloody perfect.”
The creak of bed springs, and the tap of a cane, and both of their eyes widened.
“Shit,” Jamie hissed, leaping off the toilet so she could lift the lid and begin shoving hair into the bowl. “Help me hide the evidence!”
“Hide the evidence?” Dani repeated incredulously. “You think she’s not going to notice?”
Even so, Dani scrambled to help, while they continued whispering and hissing at one another like a pair of angry geese. Except Jamie was wearing the biggest smile on her face, one Dani could not hope but mirror, and biting her lip as they tried to stifle their giggles and flush the toilet quickly enough.
There was a knock on the door, and Nan’s suspicious voice from the other side, “What are you two up to this time?”
Stuffing the pair of scissors under her sweater even though the door hadn’t opened, Dani straightened, Jamie’s shoulder and elbow jostling her own, and they both chorused in unison, “Nothing!”
#thobm#the haunting of bly manor#damie#dani clayton#jamie taylor#dani/jamie#roman writes#I hate tagging on tumblr#cfau#bring home a haunting
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Air Dryer Filter FF180604 for Pakistan Thermal Power
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Tile Cutting Machine, Water Jet Cutting Machine, Water Jet Cutter
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Hydraulic excavations were first made using high-pressure water in the 1800s. Developed the first thin water jets for industrial cutting machines in the 1930s. The Wisconsin Paper Patents Company invented paper metering. It used a continuous-moving waterjet nozzle to slice horizontally moving papers sheets. These were the first applications that used low pressure and only soft materials like paper.
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Stone cutting machine
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3. I want to cut the sinkhole. Can I use this machine to do the job? Can use the handy cutting machine to cut curved cut and sinkhole. We have different options for contour sled blades for different materials. Would you please leave a message or send an email to ask any of your questions?
4. I have a container left from China. Can you help us send the stone handy cutting machine to our container?
Yes, we can help with that.
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Water jet cutter
Hydraulic excavations were first made using high-pressure water in the 1800s. Developed the first thin water jets for industrial cutting machines in the 1930s. The Wisconsin Paper Patents Company invented paper metering. It used a continuous-moving waterjet nozzle to slice horizontally moving papers sheets. These were the first applications that used low pressure and only soft materials like paper.
Researchers around the world were looking for cutting techniques in the post-war period. Carl Johnson of Durex International in Luxembourg developed a method to cut plastics with a thin stream, high-pressure waterjet. These materials were, however, more delicate than paper. In1956, Billy Schwacha of North American Aviation developed a system that used ultra-pressure-liquid liquids to cut solids. Can connect high-powered devices.
High pressure
High-pressure pumps and vessels were more economical and reliable when introduced steam power. High-pressure pumps were used at 500 to 800 PSI High-pressure systems were further developed by the oil industry, aviation, and automobile. Automotive designers did similar research for hydraulic suspension systems.
The invention of seal technology and the rise of plastics in the postwar years led to the development of the first high-pressure pump. This was the basis for waterworks' commercial success. A design that was improved in 1976 by Flow Industries.
Stone cutting machine
1. Do you sell tax blades using this machine?
Yes, we have different types of blades for different purposes. Please feel free to contact us, and we will be glad to help you find your most suitable sled blade.
2 will How many days do you need for delivery?
We have stock of some equipment available; once you place the order and pay, we will deliver it by then. If it has no stock, we may need about 5-15 days for new production. Of course, the delivery time is determined by the order you purchase. We will do our best to produce quickly if your schedule is urgent.
3. I want to cut the sinkhole. Can I use this machine to do the job? Can use the handy cutting machine to cut curved cut and sinkhole. We have different options for contour sled blades for different materials. Would you please leave a message or send an email to ask any of your questions?
4. I have a container left from China. Can you help us send the stone handy cutting machine to our container?
Yes, we can help with that.
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Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Because of the start of human life, substantial modifications around us have taken us to a path of scientific progress, which consequently has benefited mankind in numerous means. In every era, man has innovated a lot of points to accommodate his rising demands. you can also check invention help
The primitive methods of living simply made up a guy's activities revolving around the search for food and also a sanctuary. They pursued pets for food and also used caverns as sanctuaries, and also animal skin and also leaves to cover their bodies.
Undoubtedly, these seem meaningless to us today, however, consider life without these discoveries as well as inventions. Would certainly you be able to delight in the very same quality of life without them? Yet the fact is that the appearance of necessities led the guy to discover even more.
As time passed, the man recognized other needs emerging around him. After catering to his essential demands of food and shelter, the man felt the requirement for getting goods, which he could not produce. This resulted in the concept of the barter system under which products were exchanged without making use of cash, yet a restriction to this device was his restricted activity. Just how far could guy travel, filled with lots of wheat just for the sake of some kilos of meat? After that, a male thought of the idea of the wheel.
The wheel is unquestionably among the earliest and also essential mechanical inventions. The invention of the wheel worked as a turning point in the history of scientific research because it was a prerequisite for several various other inventions. It introduced the suggestion of a transport network without which the economic situation can never have developed. Without it, there would be no motion, no automobiles, no trains, and also aircraft. It diminished ranges as well as the offered man with a chance to check out the globe.
The Chinese developed the wheelbarrow, that made use of lever action.
The first non-transport application of the wheel came in the Bronze Age with the invention of the Potters' the wheel, first used in Mesopotamia in 3500BC. Pottery began to be formed on a sluggish wheel in old Egypt in around 3000BC as well as on a quick wheel some centuries later on.
As communication was guided, climbing perspectives of the world led to the necessary demand to reveal oneself. As the requirement occurred, the male took the use of photos as well as paints for self-expression, which later created the principle of composing. Currently, the method of expression needed a tool to move.
With the need for creating developed the demand for a substance to create on. Rocks, parchments, as well as leaves, were at first made use of however they were not satisfactory. With time paper was first created in China as well as later mushroomed in the rest of the globe.
Male maneuvers and hence his developments continued. Now the guy was able to generate in massive quantities.
Initially, the emergence of the steam engine supplied a landmark in the Industrial Change of Europe. The very first vapor engine was constructed by a designer, Thomas Newcomen in 1705 to boost the pumping equipment used to remove infiltration in tin and copper mines. He placed vapor in the cylinder and afterward compressed it with a spray of cold water. The vacuum cleaner produced permitted air pressure to push the piston down.
Later the very same suggestion was established also better to progress the procedures of the heavy steam engine. Currently, the search was for inexpensive transmission of power because how far can man count on hand-operated conduct.
It was a propitious time to introduce novel suggestions. The basic concept made use of in the steam engine as well as electricity paved the way for proceedings in the scientific block. To reinforce communication, the telephone was designed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. In 1886 a German, Gotlieb Diameter constructed the initial petrol-driven automobile which reduced male activity in the form of less time and more comfort. The initial TV broadcast appeared on the world horizon at the Alexander Royal Residence, London, in 1936 which further accelerated the procedure of exchanging ideas and concepts.
The above great clinical inventions deserved discussing not just to make you accustomed to such innovations but additionally to translate the truth that how guy formed himself following his demands. As the requirement emerged, the man thought of new ideas, brand-new ideas and forcefully pushed his mind to operate on that certain line of action.
Also in the modern age, man has been found to observe the same behavioral patterns. Some years ago TB, as well as cancer cells, were regarded as an incurable illness, the man performed huge research on them as well as finally generated efficient solutions.
Until the World war and also II, the world never experienced any type of danger to its peace and harmony. However, after these 2 occasions, the much less developed nations were endangered by the more highly innovative nations concerning their defense. This led to the introduction of the United Nations Organization, which was established to promote maintained political, economical, and social problems conducive to tranquility.
Likewise, the computer system was required to manage the procedure and configured the data collected in different forms. The invention of the Net was ultimately a result of the demand to diminish ranges and raise fast connectivity.
Historically fossil fuels have been the major source of energy supply and also have offered human energy needs for thousands of years. Currently, their depletion has emphasized male to utilize some different ways to meet growing energy demands. You can also check out https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/inventhelp for more help
Whether it is the aging or modern age, man has been found too reliable to please his requirements and has established various examples of it. Regardless of whether it was a political problem, scientific concern, or perhaps everyday tasks of life guy has responded in an adaptable mood to produce a way for himself whenever he realized his requirements. Unsurprisingly he has achieved success in accomplishing a different source for his demand each time as any place there is a will certainly there is away.
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Bicycle Paths in Minneapolis, Part 1: The Early Years
“The future of the wheels being assured, those cities that will first acknowledge it by improvements that will add to the pleasure of its riders will reap a solid advantage; for the building up of a city depends as much on the advantages it offers for pleasure as it does on business chances, says the St. Paul Dispatch” - Minneapolis Tribune, March 14, 1896
Bicycle paths in Minneapolis first date back to the mid-1890s. Planning for bike paths was spurred by a surge in bicyclists on the road, increasingly impassable conditions on the city’s unpaved streets, not to mention the danger resulting from frequent collisions of bicycle riders with four-wheeled vehicles. Cycling was so popular in the late 19th century that an entire section of the Sunday newspaper was devoted to the sport.
In May, 1896, Minneapolis alderman Julius E. Miner introduced an amendment to the bicycle ordinance, providing for the construction of bicycle paths. His proposed amendment allowed 25 or more “wheelmen”, as cyclists were called, to petition for permission to construct, at their own expense, bicycle paths on and along the public streets and highways. Routes would be reviewed and approved by the city engineer.
Several alderman opposed the amendment stating it gave wheelmen “all the rights of the road” and none to the carriages. Alderman Francis Drew said most of the wheelmen were “scorchers and wanted all of the street to themselves.” Yet they were soon persuaded. Adoption of the ordinance was recommended with minor amendments. The full ordinance can be read in the Minneapolis Tribune, May 8, 1896.
Also in May of 1896, the Committee on Improvements of the Board of Park Commissioners decided to experiment with bicycle paths, recommending that a path 10 feet wide be constructed at Lake Harriet, and that a steam roller be used to make the gravel and clay road as smooth as possible.
By June, a bicycle path around the north and east sides of Lake Harriet was nearly complete and work was underway on bicycle paths on East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. The Minneapolis Cycle Path Association was formed, and in the decade to follow, bicycle paths were a hot topic of discussion.
As New York Mayor William Strong said in 1895:
“The bicycle is not a fad, like roller skating. It has come to stay, and it will grow until, I believe, in the years to come there will be bicycle paths all over the cities. It will be not merely a means of recreation, but the predominating means of locomotion.” - Minneapolis Tribune, May 18, 1895
Mayor Strong perhaps didn’t anticipate the rise of automobiles. As automobile use increased, conversations around bicycle paths diminished, not really ramping up again until the environmental movement of the 1970s.
May is National Bike Month and Minneapolis Bike Month. Find more local bike history from Bike Months past in our Tumblr Archive. And stay tuned for part two of Bicycle Paths in Minneapolis, later this month.
Photos from the William G. Wallof Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.
#Minneapolis#Minnesota#bicycles#bicycling#cycling#Bike Month#National Bike Month#biking#bikes#bicyclists#bike paths#1890s
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