Chapter 9

I made it home for early and Kitten was tickled to see me when she picked me up at the airport. I asked what was new if, anything.”Howard, we do have a guest for tonight and Aunt Mary is coming here tomorrow when the horses get here. She’ll introduce you to the women who ride the horses. It shouldn’t take long, and you can go into work a little late. By noon, anyway.”

“Who is the new guest, for tonight, Lorna?”

Kitten giggled. “Nope, not even close. It is a woman, though, I’ll surprise you. Did you get Steven settled into his room?”

“Yes, with an older person and the one who will be teaching him. I couldn’t talk but a few minutes for the cab had his meter running. I’ll call Steve in a couple of days. Did any of the Indians come down to visit?”

“All of them I went through what the boys duties are going to be and how they are to address the women when they meet. I’ll be out there at the same time with Aunt Mary.”

“What’s for supper?”

“A roast of pork. You should remember, you picked it out.”

“Yeah, I guess I did. How come Billy isn’t in the car with us?”

“Sandy Wolf is still there at home with our guest. Sandy will be leaving for her house and lunch as soon as we arrive.” Kitten said this as we pulled into our yard.

Sandy held the door open a we entered. “Hi, Mr. Prentice, Is Steve okay?”

“He is fine and all set for his first lesson tomorrow. Tell the others he is pleased for this chance to learn about the machines if you would. You forgot that my name is Howard.”

“I did didn’t I? I’ll remember next time, Bye.”

The roast was coming out of the oven as we went in. A women was bending over and stood up, carrying the roast to the table. “Hi Mr. Prentice, I’m Glenda, Uncle Ron’s niece. Kittery invited me to stay the night and talk with Aunt Mary tomorrow. She will be here early before the four horse trailers arrive.”

“Oh, pleased to meet you. Are you going to help with the horses. The last I knew you had a room in the City.”

“I may, that’s why I’m talking to Aunt Mary. My Dad and Uncle Ron are very unhappy with me. I convinced Aunt Mary to at least talk to me about how I felt Dad was treating me and Kittery said to apologize if I had to, to both Dad and Uncle Ron, so that’s the plan.”

“It might work. Let me attack that roast with a knife, I’m starved.”

That night in bed, I asked, “Tell me about it and how we became involved?”

“Aunt Mary called right after I dropped you off this morning, and she said that Glenda was giving up her room and rethinking about what went on with her father and uncle and what she had said to them. Glenda wanted to know if my horses with the women was still open? I said not really but I had two boys were in training for it.

“Aunt Mary is coming anyway and she could figure out what she should do. First, Aunt Mary, had no one but herself to care for the horses and now she has too many. I did find out from Glenda something that you might use in our business. Glenda knows a lot about computers and has equipment, enough to teach lessons to them. You were thinking of hiring Sandy if she was computer literate. Howard, I only want to take care of Billy, I don’t want to be out there with the horses. Billy is so young, only three months old.”

“That’s what I want for you, sweetheart. We’ll talk it over with Mary when she gets here, I missed being so far away from you today, you know?”

“I know, I felt the same way.”

Mary drove her truck right over to the stables and went inside to the tack room. She had boxes of salve, liniment, bandages and tape, in case a horse got injured or there was swelling in the legs and ankles. The Medicine Cabinet was stocked for any eventuality. Glenda was up and dressed and went right across the lot to the stable, to meet Mary. “Aunt Mary, Howard said breakfast is ready and we can talk afterward.”

“Good, I need coffee. I finished mine fifteen miles back. Are you over your huff with Ron, yet? He was awfully disappointed the way you acted the last time you were together,”

“I know, and I want to make it right. I’ve got all my friends mad at me too, and I’m calling them and apologizing. I’m still mad at my ex-husband and I’m not apologizing to him. He should be apologizing to me.”

“Glenda, please leave it until I get some coffee in me. Now, I have to pee and that coffee is just so much further away.”

“I’m sorry Aunt Mary.”

“So, Glenda, what are you doing here?”

“I’m hoping you will give me the job of working with your horses, like you and Uncle Ron wanted me to do. I’ve made an awful mistake by turning it down. I’ve just turned thirty, divorced and went home to my parents. They didn’t want me there and Uncle Ron didn’t want me at his ranch either. It was his plan for me to work here without clueing me in and it just pissed me off. I hated living in Helena in a single room. I guess I’m down to begging you to let me get back the job I was offered before,”

“I have made other arrangements but they aren’t perfect. I was planning to have Kittery help, but Howard wants her to take care of Billy and not have the responsibility of watching the two boys, the horses and the women. There is always the paying attention to the women who will be riding the horses as well. That isn’t always that smooth either.”

“So where does that leave me?”

“It would be for you living here with the Howard and Kittery in one of the rooms, or living in the other house with the Indians. There is extra room there as well as here.”

“What are the Indians, I mean is it the two boys you are talking about, that were going to have this job, with the horses?”

“Yes, and there is their sister who has just graduated high school who will be there with them. That’s just during the day. Howard employs the two older sisters and the oldest of the family is a twenty-eight-year old man who doesn’t talk much. Howard has sent him off for six weeks training to learn how to service the machines Howard has in his factory. I understand when he returns he will be sending the high school girl for computer training so he can employ her as well.”

“I’ll bet I could train her. I graduated in computer science seven years ago and that was my job, overseeing a large computer complex. My big mistake was marrying the boss. I was happy until he started running around on me. The settlement from that lets me live independently, but I haven’t found a job or a place to live I like that much. I have some up-to-date computer equipment that was mine from the settlement.”

We sat there looking from one to the other. Mary spoke first. “Let’s walk up to the other house and talk to the three Indians that are there today, The two older sisters will be home about the same time Howard comes home this evening.”

I had listened to this exchange, “I have to go into work in a few minutes. Kitten, why don’t you and Billy go with Mary and Glenda and I’ll call you at noon and see if any decisions have been made. Walk me out to the car. Glenda and Aunt Mary, I’ll see you this evening.”

We went out to my car. “Kitten, that may be how we can get Sandy trained without sending her off somewhere. The business can pay for Sandy to learn enough to operate my machines. I can even bring a machine home for her to train on.”

“Okay, but it is Aunt Mary’s business and I won’t say very much. I’ll listen to Aunt Mary and Glenda’s conversation and fill you in when I call.”

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“Hi Howard, I told you I would call. Aunt Mary has gone into Helena to get Glenda’s things, and Glenda is moving into one of the rooms in the other house with the Wolf family. Glenda has promised a lot to the three Wolf’s that are here so she can room with them. Steven doesn’t know about it yet and neither does Sheila and Sherry. They will find out about it tonight.

“When Sandy found out how Glenda could teach her about operating a computer, she asked Aunt Mary if Glenda couldn’t move in with them. Aunt Mary agreed she could. I don’t know what Steven will have to say about it. I guess Steven wants all his brothers and sisters to be computer literate. It was a shoo-in when Glenda offered to teach Shell and Scott on her computer as well, and said they could convince Steven to let Glenda stay with them.

“Oh, I found out more about the women and the horses. The horses will be here about two this afternoon. Only eight belong to Aunt Mary and the other two are owned by the owners who are training them for Gymkhana. Here again Glenda is involved in teaching Shell and Scott how to be grooms for such people like the women that are riding the horses. It looks like there is going to be a lot going on this summer.”

“We still have the two horses that are pets.”

“No we don’t. Aunt Mary is taking them home with her. She is replacing them with two horses that Shell and Scott can ride. That way they can go riding with the women when they are riding up the trail. Glenda knows a lot about Gymkhana and will be here to handle that with the trainees.”

I didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Howard, are still there?”

“Yeah, I am. I’ll have to worry about Glenda and Steven getting together and hooking up. That can destroy what I was planning on a long time future for, and with the Wolf’s. I’ll bet it all goes to crap.”

“Yes Howard, and I’ll have to worry about Glenda and you getting together. She is damned hot, you’ll have to admit? Howard, you will never lose Sherry and Sheila, they adore you too much and were hired when your business was just beginning You brought those two out of the dark ages, so to speak. And they will hang in there with you, so you won’t be worse off than you are right now.”

“Okay, Sweetheart, it is out of my hands. We are practically living free in Aunt Mary’s house. I feel sometimes as if I owe her for how she looked after you when you came here. I’ve got to like horses, as well, and I don’t want to move from here. What we should do is buy the property from Aunt Mary. I’d feel better if we did. You might talk to her about that if it comes the right time. I’m damned sure we can afford it. I’m making four times what I was making when working for your father. I am watching my pennies, though, because I want to expand next year.”

“Howard, stop worrying, you have trained good workers in only one month. Service reps from the factory are here overnight when you need to call them, but Steven is trained now. Every one of your workers are satisfied with your pay scale. You treat your new help just like you treat your more experienced that came with the business. You have only owned the business seven months. Your work queue is full almost two months out. So what have you got to worry about?”

“Okay, Kitten, you are right of course. It was much simpler when I moved here. In the back of my mind it seems very complicated with Aunt Mary not being here to tend to her business and leaving it up to so much untrained help. Sometimes, I have no idea what it is all about.”

“Hey, I’m here. I know most of the women that will be riding the horses. The two Gymkhana women only have to have a little help and Scott can take care of that even as young as he is.”

“Hey, I’m back to work and at least I know what I’m doing there. See you this evening.” The yard seemed at first glance to be crowded with people when I drove in after work. Sherry and Sheila were talking to Kitten, and Sandy was talking to Glenda. I could see Scott and Shell near the horse stable petting the horses out in the paddock. I counted eight head. Must be the horses in training for the Gymkhana were not here yet. I received a huge smile from Billy when I picked him out of his stroller.

“Hi Kitten, how did things go today? Has Aunt Mary left for home yet?”

“She did just a few minutes ago. I suppose you are hungry. Supper is not ready yet because I was outside watching the horses arrive. I swear some of them remembered me.”

Hearing, this, Sherry and Sheila headed for the rest of the bunch and said they were leaving. “Howard, I did make chicken stew this morning. I have to heat it up and I’m putting dumplings on it. Play with the baby.”

“Is this going to work for us?”

“Howard, I think so. Most of the women will be here and the other two will come, bringing their horses tomorrow. A couple of the women that were here last year decided not to come, but there are two friends that have never ridden before.” After supper we walked to the paddock so I could see the horses.

“Kitten, I wonder if I would like to ride?”

“You will find out soon. Aunt Mary is bringing two horses for the boys to ride. They will be here stabled where the two pets were. Maybe they will stay the winter after the others leave.”

It took a few days for our life to settle down, more for Kitten than for me. My day at work didn’t change much. A lot of my time was spent looking for orders. Much of the items we were creating now were toys, for I had hooked up with a major toy company. They claimed that I could create parts for some of their toys, and now was the time when they needed to be produced for the Xmas market. Some of the toys would hit the Market in late October when the Christmas advertisements began running They had to be a large inventory for the Friday after Thanksgiving.

We often did a prototype of a toy item, and send it back to a factory where they would have these pieces molded out of the same plastic that I used. The factory would make a mold of my prototype that would produce a dozen or more at a time. It came time when I wished I had concentrated on building another building that would contain more machines.

Glenda was teaching Sandy how to operate two spare machines that I installed in the barn where the Wolfs and Glenda lived. I say I did, but it was Steven Wolf who did things like this as part of his job. Steven didn’t have any advanced education but found himself as being capable with the various 3D printers that I was using. The person who trained him wrote a note to me saying that Steven was eminently qualified for working on these machines. I found him so when he finished his training and it was money well spend to send him to the manufacturer.

It was a great summer for Kitten. There were a lot of people around during the day to talk to. The boys, Scott and Shell took care of the horses before and after the riders came and went for the day. Aunt Mary brought horses for them to ride. Also, they were often invited to ride with these women when they went up the trail. These women didn’t come every day, so the boys had time on their own to ride.