Image by (Joenomias) Menno de Jong from Pixabay
Seating order for little ones eating in the Ludlow and Trent households was not fixed by place or by number … both households of adults by this time had accepted that occasionally a friend from the other house was going to be deep in conversation and at least for lunch might choose to sit with a friend, and inside each sibling group this sometimes happened.
The Ludlow grandchildren were seven, and it would make sense to seat them youngest to eldest since Lil' Robert Ludlow was five and his biggest sister Eleanor was eleven – quite a difference in hand-eye and motor coordination and mentality, or at least you would think.
In reality, because Lil' Robert and Grayson, respectively the youngest two at five and six, were always up under their grandparents and so precocious in their respective ways, and because Andrew and Eleanor, on the other end at ten and eleven, were so intellectually precocious and so active with their younger siblings and therefore affecting their brain development, the seven were being pushed and pulled at a higher mental development level collectively.
So, the Ludlow grandparents, since they were home schooling anyhow, just decided to let it happen, and one could see it at dinnertime because although the older ones who could wash up first and help more out went first and the younger ones who needed more help went last, people waited for whoever they had been in conversation with, and sometimes, like six-year-old Grayson all hugged up with his fellow thoughtful intellect ten-year-old Andrew, or five-year-old Lil' Robert all hugged up with eleven-year-old Eleanor because they just adored each other (a special case; Capt. R.E. Ludlow their grandfather saw himself and his first wife, reconciled in the grandson and granddaughter most like them, but in the love of young siblings), that just continued, the eldest two gladly helping the youngest two.
Then there were the “love centers” of the group … seven-year-old Amanda was actually the chief of those, so you could tell how the day had gone for some by how close they wanted to sit with her, with Eleanor being second. Mrs. Thalia Ludlow could clock it: if nine-year-old George, who had been through the most severe abuse in foster care with the possible exception of Edwina, was sitting next to Amanda, and about 75 percent of the time if he was sitting next to Eleanor, he had experienced or was potentially about to experience a flashback or a panic attack. Also clockable: if Andrew took a look at George and instantly chose to sit down by him, that meant grandparents needed to come to assist pronto, because Andrew was the “care center.” Eleanor was second there as well, but also was the “peace center,” with Grayson coming in a surprising close second on that … any of his siblings might come and relax in the Lego pile with him after whatever.
But on top of all this … well, there was just life, and in life, conversations can get interesting.
“But, see, what you have to do in a case like that is, kick him harder,” George was saying to Edwina as they walked in to wash up. “Rob stays in some hard-toed shoes and I don't even bother him because his shin-kicking is kinda rough.”
Again: the Ludlow gap was not as big as one would think. All of the Ludlow grandchildren had experienced hard times in foster care and had both their grandfather's warrior spirit and innate ability to match. Lil' Robert, at five, already knew how not to be bothered by any older child. George was nine and had learned that about Lil' Robert the hard way.
“But the thing is, stilettos are cuter – I'm asking for a pair with my first training bra!” Edwina said.
“Well, yeah – stomp, not kick,” George said. “Gotta be ready for everything out here!”
“It's a good thing we really ain't out there any more,” Andrew said as he came by with a helpful reminder.
“Yeah,” George and Edwina said, and relaxed.
“No more Crazy Town,” George said.
“No need to break bad,” Edwina said.
The two hugged, and cried for a little bit, but then went to the table arm in arm. George pulled out Edwina's chair and helped her up before getting in his own chair, and there they were, the most unlikely seating combination of all, all hugged up and healed and happy.
Capt. R.E. and Mrs. Thalia Ludlow, who had worked so hard to get to this day, focused getting their adopted children fed, loved on through evening activities, showered, and to bed, but afterward lay in bed and cried tears of joy together.
