Chapter 32

11^th Friday – Lone Pine -

Susan had just entered the dining room when she heard someone exclaim, “There you are!”

Turning toward the sound, she smiled when she saw Kendra hurrying toward her.

On reaching her, Kendra said, “I looked for you after Tai Chi, and obviously wasn’t successful. I have a present for you from Tracey and Steve.” With that she gave Susan an intense hug and kiss. When they separated she added, “That was Tracey’s, now Steve’s,” with that she hugged Susan as she kissed her. Their interaction caused several in the dining room to emit a loud whistle or clap.

After they separated Susan said, “Thank you. Now, let’s select our breakfast then you can tell me of your adventures.”

“Cool.”

Once they were seated, Susan said, “I spoke to Tracey and Steve on Wednesday. They indicated that they had enjoyed your visit. So how did your adventure work out?”

“They were great. I really enjoyed my time with them. Did they say anything about delivering the babies?”

“Yes. We chat once a week, so it was shortly after you arrived there when they advised me that the delivery was successful. If I remember correctly Ms Thompson’s sister is caring for the babies.”

“Yes, Adele, stepped into the role with virtually no hesitation once she understood the situation. In hindsight, I was very fortunate to have Tracey and Steve accompanying me. As you know, I had been unable to contact Ms Thompson before boarding the plane. It wasn’t until shortly after arriving at the Lancaster airport, that their phone was answered. However, it wasn’t Ms. Thompson. It turned out to be her sister, and she informed me that Ms. Thompson was not available. She then inquired as to why I was calling. After hearing my answer, there was a short pause, then she told me to come ahead and asked if I had the address.

“When we arrived, we were greeted by Ms Thompson’s sister. Behind her on the porch was a large group of people. They turned out to be family members. After introducing myself, Tracey, and Steve, we learnt that her name was Adele Wilson. She invited us inside, where we learnt the reason Thompsons were not there. They had died due to injuries suffered in a traffic accident, and tonight was the families remembrance gathering. While I don’t know the mood before we arrived, to me it felt like the arrival of the babies had a positive impact.

“Shortly after our arrival pizzas were delivered, so we had dinner with them. Over dinner, they quizzed me a bit about the babies and where I was from. They were a bit surprised that I wasn’t the babies mother. So I explained the effort we make to delay a baby bonding with their care giver and the perceived long term impact on the babies development. While they all accepted my explanation, I am not sure all fully agreed.

“During dinner, Adele indicated that she knew about the upcoming adoption which was a surprise to the others. Although the adults seemed to know that Ms. Thompson hadn’t been able to conceive. Adele firmly indicated that since she was executor for the estate, she would assume the role of care giver provided no one objected. The babies were the focus of everyones attention when I nursed them after dinner, especially by the children. After the babies were asleep, the family members began departing. Soon there was only Adele, her husband Rusty, and their four children. Well Steve and Tracey were there as well.

“Adele invited Tracey and Steve to stay the night, as she thought it was too late for them to start for home. They didn’t object cause there was the issue of transportation for me that needed to be sorted out. So the three of us, Adele, and the babies spent the night in Thompson’s home. The next day Rusty, assisted Steve in obtaining another rental, and they departed.

“I spent a little over week with Adele and the babies. At first Adele was bouncing between two homes, trying to take care of her children, the babies, dealing with arranging the Thompson’s funerals, and the estate. Her children and Rusty did a lot to support her during this time. By the end of the second day, they decided to temporarily live in the Thompson’s house, as it was larger than theirs. Adele checked with the relevant siblings and they agreed. So by the time I left, things were settling down. The babies were doing well and seemed to have bonded with Adele. Her children were assisting her in the care of the babies. It seemed to me that they did this on their own initiative. I enjoyed my time with them, as they treated me like I was a member of the family. When I left they asked for my contact information, so they could keep in touch. That was a first.”

“Sounds like it turned out well.”

“I think so. This was the most enjoyable delivery that I’ve done. My bonus was being able to spend time with your friends. They have a very nice home if a bit unusual. I gather that you know it is built into the side of what they call a mountain. After living out here, to me, it is just a large rock. While there I did some sightseeing day trips. For most of the excursions, either Tracey or Steve accompanied me. They claimed it was to keep me from getting lost and gave them a reason to relax. Even so I felt guilty cause I felt that I was taking them away from their work, which they do enjoy. We did have fun, and dined at some very nice restaurants.

“So I guess I have you to thank for my vacation.”

“I am glad that it all worked out for the babies and that you had a vacation.”

“They indicated that they would be visiting again.”

“Yes, that is our plan.”

“Will you let me know when they are coming?”

“Certainly.”

“Thanks. That way I can seek to minimize my work load during that time.”

“So what do you do?”

“Make babies,” she responded with a smile. After a pause she continued, “Besides that, I virtually fill the role of office manager for a small company. In that role, I turn preliminary contracts into real ones, which means you can read and understand them. Some people do not have the best penmanship.”

“True. You can probably include me in that group. Using a keyboard all the time sort of covers up that issue.”

“True in part. A keyboard just gives you the opportunity to make other errors. My tasks also include ensuring that they keep their activity summaries and expense reports current.”

“Well, I have some tasks that need to be done, but let’s get together again. Are you a horseback rider?”

“I’ve done it a couple of times. They were organized group trail rides, which was nice but kind of boring as it was like follow the leader.”

“Well here we don’t take rides like that. It is a way to get out and see a bit of our surroundings.”

“True. Are these planned?”

“Not really. I guess spontaneous would be a good way to characterize them. When you have some free time wander out to the barn, to see what is happening. Alternatively, I can let you know if I hear of an outing. So far the groups I’ve ridden with have been small, say four to six riders.”

“That is different than when I went riding. Sure let me know. If I can get away I will join you.”

“Great. Have a good day,” said Susan as she picked up her breakfast dishes.

“Well the next few days will be interesting as I have two weeks of work to sort out, but I think it was worth it.”

On leaving the dining room, Susan stopped by her suite to get dressed for outdoors then headed for the barn. When she stepped into the barn’s breezeway, she saw Dante was at the gate to his stall looking around. On seeing her he huffed causing Susan to smile. On reaching him, she said, “Looks like you were waiting for me.”

Dante shook his head up and down. Susan patted him as she chuckled at his response.

She said, “It looks to be very nice out today so I think the pasture would be a nice place for you to spend the day.” With that she clipped a lead on him, then led him out to the nearby pasture. On reaching the gate, she noticed that Cedar and several horses were already there. After opening the gate, she unclipped his lead. Dante nuzzled her then bounded out into the pasture. She watched as he ran for a bit. Back in the stable, she cleaned Dante’s stall, then put out more hay, and refreshed his water. Looking around, it appeared that the other stalls had already been cleaned, so she considered what to do next.

With the decision made, she headed toward the site of the new building. She wanted to see how they were coming along with the foundation. When it came into view, she saw that they were loading forms on a trailer. There was a skid steer pushing dirt in around the outside of the foundation. Inside the foundation another skid steer was leveling gravel. On reaching the viewing spot, she saw a front end loader with a bucket full of gravel cross the foundation where the door would be. Her first response was to wonder if the concrete was strong enough. Then on looking closer she saw that there was a layer of gravel over the foundation wall. When the loader went across it there wasn’t any obvious bouncing, which eased her concern. She then chided herself as her knowledge of this aspect of engineering and construction was minimal. She had only been there a few minutes, when she noted a shadow come up by hers.

“Good morning,” said Lena. “They certainly are moving along.”

“Good morning, and yes they are. When I mucked Dante’s stall, I put him out with the others.”

“I figured you would. I thought about doing it but decided to leave it for you. I saw you chatting with Kendra at breakfast. I bet you got an ear full.”

Chuckling Susan noted, “Well she did have a very unusual trip. I invited her to join us on one of our rides.”

“Good. She is quite nice.”

“You know everyone I’ve met has been quite nice.”

“Well there are a few that have their prickly moments, but for the most part it is hardly noticeable.”

Just then they were joined by Kendra, Crystal, and Brian.

Kendra said, “From everything I heard, I had to come have a gander, before starting on the pile of work waiting for me.”

“It is interesting to watch,” added Crystal. “It seems like they will soon be pouring the floor.”

Brian said, “Good morning ladies.”

Several jumped on hearing his voice, but all responded, “Good morning.”

“We will likely pour the floor on Monday. When we do that we will move this viewing area further away to make sure it doesn’t hinder the truck’s movement.”

Lena responded, “If a viewing area is a hinderance, then we will let the other residents know that the area is off limits.”

“Actually, I think some of you all being out watching is beneficial. I have heard several appreciative comments. We are also making quite good progress. Actually better than I expected.”

Susan said, “I don’t remember the details of the plans but isn’t there a large gravel area at the two entrances?”

“Yes. Once the slab is set, the gravel at each entrance will be packed down so there is a smooth transition. You might consider having a paved approach to the entrance of around 16 feet or so and 4 feet wider than the door.”

“Why?”

“It will be easier to clear in bad weather. I think we can do it within what we’ve agreed to.”

Susan looked at Lena then said, “We accept your recommendation.”

Brian smiled and nodded, then after few moments, he walked back over to the site.

As he was walking away Susan said, “While it is tempting to stand here and watch the activity, there are things that I need to do, so see you all later.”

“Me too,” responded several others.

With that Lena, Kendra, and Susan headed back to the building. As they were walking back, they passed several others on their way out to the viewing site. They exchanged greetings as they passed each other.

On reaching the building Susan said, “Lena, has Brian mentioned tearing down the barn?”

“Nope.”

Kendra exclaimed, “You’re going to tear the barn down. What about the horses?”

Smiling Susan responded, “I guess the grapevine has some flaws. The barn will be replaced with a stable, which will provide a much better environment for the horses. The building that will go on the concrete slab is where we will store their hay and grain. On the other side of the new stable will be a moderate size arena. We will use it to exercise and train the horses, especially during bad weather.”

“Good. I like watching them but as I noted this morning I have only had minimal interaction with horses, well any livestock.”

After entering the building, they gave each other a hug then Kendra headed to her suite. Lena said, “What were you going to tell me before we got distracted?”

“Ah ... Brian advised me that they were formally interested in tearing the barn down in return for the material. All it would cost us is the rental fee for several pieces of equipment they would need. They want us to rent the equipment, so I ask for one of them to accompany us when we go to arrange the rentals.”

“That makes sense.”

“He was a little puzzled by the request to accompany us until I noted that we were not familiar with what was needed. That reminds me, we need to ask Kim to set up an account with the rental company.”

“Do you know which one?”

“Nope.”

“Well I have nothing pressing, so I’ll check with Brian then speak to Kim.”

“Thanks. In that case, I am off to examine the mysteries of data sets.”

They were both chuckling as they went their separate directions. Lena went to speak with Brian while Susan headed to her suite.

When Susan checked her email, she found a message from Tracey. It was to thank you for the project report. There was a note from the stable builder with attachments. The attachments were a detailed site plan for the stable, along with an updated floor plans showing utility placement. The note included a request to review and advise whether they were acceptable. On checking the distribution she saw that Lena had been included. While the temptation to review them now was great, she decided to finish setting up the data analysis and start it. She thought the analysis would take at least several hours perhaps a day to complete.

After starting the data analysis, she checked the time. She decided there was enough time before lunch to take a quick look at the stable plans. It didn’t take her long to realize that she would need to sit down with Lena to go over them. There were two proposed site plans. One had the arena at the far end of the stable and another had it a short distance to the side of the stable. For the latter layout, the arena entrance was lined up with the stable’s side breezeway door. After studying the renderings and the layout for a bit, she decided that she preferred having the arena to the side.