Page 31 of A.I.AM.

“They laughed,” smirked Camille, “until Adele ran the trail behind them and took over their emptied tree house. We got the bigger tree house for that whole week.”

“They were furious,” laughed Rachelle.

“I wish I had that,” smiled Lauren. “I envy you guys for those memories. We’ve made up for it by having everyone so close now.”

“Hey, do you remember all the board games we used to play?” asked Grace. “I remember playing The Dating Game, Monopoly, Clue. There were so many.”

“And card games,” said Faith. “I used to love playing card games with my friends.”

“Why are we talking about this?” asked Alexandra. “We could be playing those games now.”

“How, honey?” asked Claudette.

“We have those games at the Sugar Lodge. We could bring them here, organize some tournaments, just for fun, and get the kids involved. Show them what it was like to be a kid when we were kids.”

“I love that!” said Marie. “We could do games of tag, hide and seek, treasure hunts, all the things Mama used to arrange for us here on the island.”

“We could even get the teachers to bring the kids to the gardens,” said Rachelle. “Ask them to find plants and name them. It’s totally educational.”

“I’m loving this,” said Erin. “This is how it should be anyway. Not learning by computer but learning through experience. Touch it, feel it, smell it. When was the last time any of these kids did educational field trips?”

“We could involve the animals,” said Violet. All eyes turned to their head veterinarian. “We have a big group of K9’s we’re in the middle of training at the animal center. Plus, Dad’s been fighting the animals at the sanctuary. Apparently they’re very upset about missing their television programs with the internet out.”

“Oh, no,” laughed Grace. “I’d love to see that.”

“We’ll get a full report from Nine and the others,” smiled Violet. “It seems Semu and Alvin are the leaders of this revolt but Dad did find an old projector and tape player.”

“Hey, we could use that as well,” smiled Grace. “We could do movie nights in the grove during all of this. We’ve got dozens of old movies on VHS tapes and DVD’s. Those should be okay to use.”

“I’ll confirm it with Sly,” nodded Lena, “but I couldn’t agree more. It’s time we all connected again without the use of our phones. I swear if I get one more text message from Tailor I’m going to kill him myself.”

“I feel the same way,” said Adele. “Don’t text me that you love me and miss me. You work on the property! Walk to me and hug me, tell me in my ear.”

“We have really lost a lot of what makes us human,” said Erin. “The touches. The heart of who we are as a family.”

“Well, ladies,” smiled Marie, “I’d say we have our work cut out for us. Let’s gather our supplies, send out the word, and meet back here at dark.”

The wives were so excited about their plan they could hardly contain themselves. Tables were pulled out of the cafeteria, chairs were lined up in the grove, ready for movie watchers. Popcorn was made by the bucket-full, movie-style candy was dumped into bowls.

“What is this?” asked one of the younger kids.

“Good, old-fashioned fun,” smiled Grace. “You can watch movies, play games, choose your enjoyment tonight.”

“Wow,” smiled Hadleigh. “This looks like fun.”

“It will be fun,” smiled Claudette.

The sounds of laughter and pure joy filled the night sky. The bonfire illuminated the gardens and the grove, the kids played tag and hide and seek in the dark, the adults played cards and board games, and the movies played one after another.

“I think this was a success,” smiled Alexandra.

“Let’s keep it up,” nodded Faith. “It may not last forever but at least for now, it keeps everyone together and active.”

They all stood silently watching the others. Young, old, and somewhere in between laughed with one another, celebrated their victories, learned new games, and talked. They all actually talked. Erin looked at her senior friends.

“What’s wrong? You all look so sad,” she frowned.

“Not about this,” said Lauren. “Sad that at some point it will go away again. The internet will return. Devices will be back on. Technology will take over our lives once again.”