Fourth of July

The Christian family Fourth of July was an exciting day for everyone. Lilia couldn’t wait for the fireworks tonight. She loved it when all the kids ran around in the dark with sparklers. It looked like disembodied lights, which made their way around the yard on their own. It was a perfect end to a perfect day of family activities.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the families started to arrive. Lilia could feel the excitement build. The new family from church arrived, too, the Lindermans. Kids age five to age fifteen poured out of their van in every direction. Mrs. Linderman had had a baby every year for eleven years, and she didn’t have any help. Lilia’s mom didn’t know how she did it and neither did anyone else.

Her mom introduced Lilia to Mr. and Mrs. Linderman. Lilia liked the gentle and sweet Mrs. Linderman immediately, and took an instant dislike to Mr. Linderman. He employed loud and crude language, words that children shouldn’t hear, or for that matter, even adults. Lilia speculated about what the kids would be like. The little children appeared quiet and held onto their mother. Lilia liked Mary and Larry, who were eleven and twelve, but the thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year-old Dean, Dick, and Bill were another story. They were just like their dad, profane and disruptive.

The afternoon with the three young men challenged Lilia’s temper. Her father suggested she give the three young men rides on her magnificent American Saddlebred horse, King. Dean kicked King and abused him, and so Lilia returned Dean to the paddock and ordered him to dismount. Bill insisted that he was next. The first part of the ride commenced smoothly until he decided to fondle Lilia’s breast. The mortified and angry Lilia reared King and dumped Bill on his butt on the ground. She left him there in the red dust, cantered King home, and ended the afternoon of rides.

After dinner that evening, everyone felt amicable, even the nasty Linderman boys. The moment approached that all the guests waited for, the fireworks. The dark navy sky turned darker yet and cars gathered on the highway. Lilia spied the sheriff’s car three cars down. Contented adults and children filled the picnic tables, chatted agreeably, and waited for the famous Christian Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza.

The dads delivered sparklers to all the younger kids with a warning not to burn themselves. Lilia trotted around with the children, waved the sparklers, and pretended to be happy. Dick, Dean, and Bill lit sparklers, too, but Lilia couldn’t figure out why. Usually the older kids weren’t interested in sparklers. She gazed on at their actions in utter horror. Like planned clockwork, Dean, Dick, and Bill launched their half-burned sparklers, one, two, and three, into the large box of fireworks before anyone could stop them.

The box exploded like a bomb right in front of the boys. Dick shrieked that he had burned his hand. Dean and Bill tore off from the onslaught of fireworks artillery. The guests howled, screamed, yowled, and wailed as moms and dads dashed to protect their children.

The aerial repeaters shot off in whatever direction the original explosion forced them. They careened into cars, scarred buildings, and broke windshields. Firecrackers danced and popped unpredictably and threatened anyone nearby. The spark-emitting fountain shot out sparks right, left, up, and down on the mound, all at the same time. The ground spinners ripped furiously across the grass in every direction. Moms, dads, and children sprinted away uncertain of the next bombardment. Rockets and missiles crackled, popped, and spewed stars on the grass where the children played. The high-pitched screams of the children curdled Lilia’s blood. Roman candles burst and repeated as the missiles shot over the heads of everyone there, and forced people to dive to the ground in the dirt.

Lilia stooped behind a car next to the wheel to shelter her legs. She quickly donned her baseball cap as sparks lit on her hair. She felt discouraged for the people on the highway, who anticipated the cosmic light show, but didn’t know for sure what had happened. The only thing the highway spectators witnessed was ground explosions and chaos as moms, dads, and children ran and shrieked all over the yard. The onslaught ended as quickly as it had started. Adrenalin ran so high that people half-fainted on the ground.

Without a word of apology, Mr. Linderman whistled a loud and distinct whistle that all his kids recognized. The mom and children scooted to the family’s van and hopped in. Darrell rolled down his driver’s side window, waved good-bye to the other guests, and yelled with great pride, “Aren’t my boys a hoot?”