Big Business
Chapter 4

Copyright© 2008 by Old 1 Eye

After the sheriff left, things calmed down, I thought. Janie needed to be rebandaged right before bedtime. I took care of it and Amy helped. After Janie was safely in bed, Amy and I cleaned up the kitchen form our sandwich meal.

As we were finishing the dishes, I noticed Amy had tears on her cheeks. "What's wrong, Sweetie?" I asked.

"I hate it that I had to shoot Daddy," she tearfully answered.

I hugged her and said, "The main thing he did for you was to give you some nice looking DNA. He has been using you children and your mama to support his bad habits for years. I know it is hard to shoot anyone, but you did the right thing. You saved Janie from a worse beating, and all of y'all from going back to a bad home situation." Janie tickled me when she sniffed and asked, "Do you really think I'm nice looking?" I chuckled and said, "Amy, I think you are a beautiful young lady. You are smart, and will make some lucky young man a good wife and Mama one day." She smiled and said, "Thanks, I am feeling better now." I kissed her cheek and said, "Good, I'm glad." She went on to bed. I went into the office /parlor and looked at the time table for planting and cutting the sod.

By the end of February, we had the sod equipment ready to go and had the bean field ready to plant. About that time Janie and Amy both got subpoenaed to appear at Tex's trial.

He was charged with the assault of Janie and domestic violence against his children. They both asked me to go with them because they had never done anything like this before.

I advised them to simply tell what happened and not to give any other information unless the lawyer asked them directly.

The trial only lasted one day, and was very straight forward, for a change. Janie and Amy both had to testify. Both of them were nervous, and looked at me every time a question was asked, I just smiled encouragement and tried hard not to look like I as coaching them.

Tex was found guilty on both counts, and was sentenced to one year in the county jail, and five years probation. I figured he would be sentenced to a harsher punishment, but I think the judge took pity on him because he was on crutches with both legs in casts.

Amy and Janie both told Tex they were sorry he was shot up, but he needed to get his temper under control.

I bought a mobile home in March. I told Janie that it was for the people that helped with the sod to stay in, but she would need to keep it up, along with the big house. I had an idea that the Ritters might want to move into their own place for privacy and to have their own family life without my intervention.

We set it up about 100 yards down the hill from my house and the boys and I dug the septic system and drain fields and plumbed the house for water and gas. I just hooked it up to my water system and gas tank.

Jose had some family that wanted to come and work on the sod operation for the harvesting phase. Cutting sod requires a crew of 5 along with a forklift driver and truck driver. Our sod crew consisted of Amy for the forklift driver, Tex, Jr., Pepe and Paco, along with their cousins Alberto and Eduardo Lopez were the loading crew and Linda drove the tractor. I ran the sod cutter.

We began cutting the sod in March over the children's spring break. Talk about a hard tiresome job, this was it. We were all nasty by then end of the day every day.

We hung in and cut an acre a day to deliver wherever I had orders. I made some good money on the sod even after I paid my crew a good wage. I still had about 30 acres left to cut when the kids got out of school for the summer.

Janie was surprised at the money that Amy and Tex, Jr. made on the sod crew. I told her, "I paid everyone the same wages. It was a hard nasty job and they earned their pay.

Linda came up to me the next day, kissed my cheek and said, "Thanks, Bobby, my family can really use the money we made on the sod hauling." I was blushing like crazy. "Linda, y'all earned your pay every day. Thanks for helping." She giggled and said, "You are funny, thanks again."

 
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