The Colonel
Copyright© 2026 by happyhugo
Chapter 8
“No, he isn’t. Molly has him at the stud farm. They are breeding naturally with a stallion on a mare that won’t settle with artificial insemination. It’s the last resort for that particular animal. Walter needed another man. What did you want Brad for?”
“I have an appointment for a doctor to look at my bad foot. It’s giving me some trouble, and I have to be in Louisville at 2:30 this afternoon.”
“I’ll drive you. I can pick you up in twenty-five minutes. Be dressed and have Amelia with you; she can help steady you if necessary.”
We went through the door precisely at 2:30. I had my VA card, and I only had to swipe it to enter, which would bring up some basic information for the doctor to review. Amelia followed me into the office for more from the nurse, who took more information, weight, height, and a pee bottle for a sample.” You’re looking trim, Major. The Doctor will be with you within a few minutes. Your friend will have to wait in the waiting room while you are being looked at.”
“Nurse, I am the person who ran over Jim’s foot, and I’m an interested party. Please may I stay with him while he is being examined?”
“Miss, please let Amelia stay. The original injury to my foot was an accident. It wasn’t life-threatening then, and it isn’t now. Amelia paid a terrible price by having her driving license taken away, which left her in a lonely apartment with few options of having any mode of getting anywhere. I realized this; she and I own a home together, and she has me watching over her. She does her part by watching over me in return. She should be able to stay.”
“Major, I’ll get a chair for her to sit on. You sit on the bed, and I’ll give you bottoms to put on. Madam, you can step outside while he removes his trousers. I’m sure the doctor will order an X-ray.” The Nurse handed me some pajama bottoms from a drawer. Amelia went out, and I knew she wouldn’t stay there long. The doctor pushed aside the curtain and wheeled the chair from behind the bed. I was taking off my trousers.
“I could have sat on the bed with you.” It was Amelia back inside. I was trying not to step: on my foot, and almost lost my balance. I turned then and sat on the bed, and wouldn’t you know? Bonny came through the door. Amelia pulled my shoe and sock off my foot. I turned my back and let the pants drop. I kicked my pants away and leaned down to put the bottoms on. Both women started giggling.
“Bonny, you take one leg, and I’ll take the other, and we’ll get the Major covered up.” Both their faces were red. I covered up. The foot swollen, and there were some signs of infection.
“Jesus, that has to be God-awful painful. Look at all the scars on his foot. Amelia, I’ve seen his foot once before. That was the night after I first met him. Did anyone ever tell you how Jim saved my marriage with Brad and why I have been so happy since then?”
“Let it go, Bonny.”
“No, I won’t let it go. Amelia has to know what Jim did for us.” Bonny went on to tell Amelia all about the night when Brad was drunk at the dance and what followed afterward. She related how Molly and Brad had a long-time relationship. “I married Brad when Molly and he broke up. I admired Brad while Molly had him, and I started my relationship with him. It was great, and Brad didn’t cause any problems unless Molly was around and Brad had been drinking.
“Jim didn’t know this when Brad came by his and Molly’s table. Molly is reluctant, but Jim tells her to dance with Brad because his foot was hurting. I sat with Jim. He began telling me about himself, and I enjoyed getting to know this new friend of Molly’s. I had my eye on my husband because I trusted Molly more than I did my husband, and he had been drinking.”
I looked up when we were interrupted by the doctor when he entered the examination room.” Okay, who is the patient here, and what is the problem?”
“Doctor, I am. Ignore these two women; they gossip about me, and I don’t need to hear it.”
“Shall I send them out?”
“No, they were kind enough to bring me here.” The doctor examined my foot.
“Give me some background about the foot. You’ve got scars all over it.”
“It was run over by a car, and it broke some bones and destroyed the arch. This pain, most pronounced at the back of the big toe. It was caused, I believe, by my square dancing on it last night.”
“I shouldn’t wonder. Describe the pain.”
“It began to hurt after finishing a dance, and when I walked off the floor. I did one more dance, and it began to pain me more.”
“Kind of foolish of you wasn’t it? I suspect that a bone chip has become loose from the original injury, possibly causing an infection. How many hours has it been?”
“I’d say about twenty hours now.”
“You two ladies look strong. I’ll get a wheelchair, and one of you can help Jim get pushed down to X-ray. We will see if I’m not right. Jim, is this woman your mother?”
“I am not his mother! I think of myself more as Jim’s girlfriend. I was the one who ran over his foot. He forgave me and made me his friend. We now own a home together.”
“And you, young lady, how are you related?”
“He is just a friend who saved the marriage between my husband and me. He told me of a way to stop my husband from drinking. He got a promise from my husband to cease drinking, and he told my husband to make the same promise to me. That was almost two years ago, and we are great friends. My husband works for Jim, and Jim’s partner is the woman my husband was hung up on.”
“There must be a good story there, but it isn’t anything I need to know.” It was just as the doctor surmised when he had the X-ray read. “This is minor. Do you want to have it taken care of now and go home tonight, or can I see if we have a bed for the night?”
“Do it tonight if you can.”
“Okay, this may be painful. I’ll inject some painkiller in, but the infection has started and will prevent some of it from being as effective.”
“Go ahead with it.”
“Good, two hours, and you’ll be on the way home.” Pushed, into a room, I didn’t think it was an operating room. Positioned so The X-ray ] was so I could see it, I could see a white dot about two mm’s on the side of my foot, just a fraction from the bone that had been so painful. A nurse came in, pulled off my bottoms, and laid a covering over my bare legs. She then washed my leg and foot with an antiseptic wash and dried them thoroughly. The Doc got out a needle and filled it.
“This is going to hurt. Luckily, the piece that broke loose is on the outside of your foot, away from the bone, at the back of your big toe. He injected me in three places with the painkiller. “It will take 20 minutes to take effect. I’ll send in your women to keep you company. I’ll take the sliver of bone that broke away. While waiting for the painkiller, I’ll apply the things that will immobilize the other bones in your foot so you can’t move them until the irritation subsides. How does it feel?”
“Jesus, Doc, did you need to torture me like that with the needle? That pain was worse than when my whole foot was crushed.” The doctor just laughed. When it was time, he motioned for Amelia and Bonny to leave and set up to operate. The doctor had a raised table with my heel resting on it. A nurse was assisting. I was lying back, not watching. Surprised, I knew the doctor was working on my foot, but there was no pain.
It took only five minutes before he showed the sliver of bone lying on the glove-covered end of his finger. “That’s what was causing you to be here. Apparently, the original injury was the cause of this; it must have been cracked, but didn’t break away until you got too active. It irritated the flesh, but there was no apparent infection. I doubt there will be any, either.
“Let me smooth the edge of where, attached, I’ll finish it up. It is best not to walk on the foot for at least three days. I’ll wrap a stiff piece of plastic around the bottom of your foot so the bones can’t flex. Keep that on for three days. If there is any pain, be sure to return here to be looked at.”
I walked out and surprised Bonny and Amelia sitting in chairs. “Let’s go home. The foot is still frozen, but the doctor said there should be no problems.”
On the drive home, I was sitting in the back seat. Amelia turned and, giggling, said. “I found out from Bonny a sure way to wake up The Colonel to give me a little more attention than he has been giving me.”
“Bonny, you couldn’t be quiet about what I said to you, could you?”
“No. I had to share when Amelia said she wanted more than hugs from the Colonel. I’m sure Amelia won’t tell anyone else about it. Jim, what you said to do was the best advice I’ve ever had from anyone. I was about at the end of my rope over Brad’s drinking. I’m at the point now where I trust Brad implicitly.”
The Colonel came out of the bus when Bonny parked the car. She wasn’t even getting out, leaving the motor running. Amelia helped me out. “I thought you might have to stay over in the hospital. How bad is your foot?”
“It was minor, Sir, and all fixed. I only have to be off it for three days.” I was hungry, and Amelia made me a three-egg omelet with cheese and spinach.
“By God, that sounds good. Make me one, too. Use only two eggs, though.”
“James, you’d better have three eggs in case you don’t get to sleep right away.” Amelia stood behind the colonel and winked at me—their business, not mine.
I kept my foot strictly off for the three days. When Amelia unwrapped my foot, there wasn’t even a tender spot. I used a cane for the next few days, taking as much pressure off it as possible. I finally could drive and returned to town at Maggie’s for lunch and dinner. Brad checked in with me daily to see if I needed him. “Bonny wants me to help you in any way I can. I am glad she was free to take you to Louisville. She made friends with Amelia, and they talk every evening.”
“I’m glad they became friends, and I’m glad that she and Amelia are friends. I don’t feel so bad about leaving Amelia to her own devices while I’m busy with the building. I’m glad she came here to live, and Molly gives Amelia some attention, too.” The Colonel and Amelia were now a couple. I never mentioned this to anyone, nor did I hide the fact, nor did I discuss it with anyone. The Colonel and Amelia often played cards to amuse themselves while no one else was around. It was mainly poker, using pennies for chips.
Molly’s three-room apartment on the first floor was the first completed, and she moved in immediately. The Colonel’s apartment was located on the second floor, adjacent to the elevator. Amelia moved into the apartment next to his. Both were on the west side of the elevator. I chose my apartment across the hall from the Colonels. There was one apartment beside me. A fourth apartment, with the same configuration, was directly over Molly, on the first floor.
The center hall led out to where the balcony would be across the front of the house. I also planned two staircases to access the second floor, one on each side of the room, at the front entrance. The stairwells began at the front entrance, were first visible eight feet above the cloakroom on the right, above the panel, and the other on the left, leading to the primary kitchen on the same side.
The four corners, curved to reflect the curvature of the stairs along the far wall, matching the curvature of the front wall. It was a vast, oval-shaped room with no square corners and approximately 1,800 square feet. On the right; the front panels would fold away into the corner, and a band, could be seated there.
Those panels could fold away on the left, and a bar with stools installed. This bar entrance also led directly to the central kitchen, where food preparation took place. Around the sides of this central room, seating provided for 125 people, leaving the center open for dancing or accommodating tables for special occasions. There was also a wide exit opposite the entrance, leading to the outside in the rear. I didn’t intend for this to be a commercial enterprise, but I wanted it to meet the fire code when I used it for gatherings or meetings.
Time flew by, and Amelia and I did go to Vermont at Christmas time. We stayed for four days, and I visited some of the young people I went to Norwich with after high school. It was nothing major, just a drink in a bar and conversations about what we had been doing with our lives after graduation. We were happy with our visit to Vermont, but we were glad to return to the warmer weather in Kentucky.
Molly picked us up at the Airport. Molly looked surprised at the Colonel when Amelia kissed him. She saw the Colonel often but didn’t realize the extent of their affection.
It seemed to take forever to build the house. I was getting down to what I wanted for decorating the walls in the large center room. I wanted something that would stand out. “Molly, do you have a stand-alone picture of you dressed in the Thorpe Farm colors?”
“I don’t, why?”
“When people come here and walk through the main entrance, I would like a large painting or enlarged snapshot, of us standing together. You, maybe, with your hand o: my arm. I will wear; all the brass and ribbons awarded during my service, on my chest, and with you dressed, in the farm’s colors. A plaque will be underneath the picture of us as the farm’s present owners.”
“No frigging way!”
“Why aren’t you proud of this place?’
“I am, but it was your money that built it.”
“Damn it woman, you’re operating a viable horse farm here, making a living at it! I’m sure I will not have a picture of me standing alone as the owner. To me, it seems very little to ask of you to help me with this?”
Molly stood there looking at me. She suddenly burst into tears. “Damn you, you make me feel guilty about pushing you away when you have done so much for me.
I can honestly feel I have never had the love of a good man. I had a lot of attraction for Brad Kendal at one time, but it was pure lust. I finally dumped him because I wasn’t happy with his drinking. I knew you were better than he was, and you showed it by getting him to stop drinking. I even envy Bonny and the life she has now with Bradley.”
“I occasionally sleep with Walter Kinston, and we get on well together. He doesn’t care that I am a bastard child and had a whore for a mother. He is as much as I am in one way: sex isn’t as important as getting a good horse ready to win. Jim, let me think about putting up a picture beside you as an owner. It seems I was bragging or something when it’s all you. I still love you enough as my brother to enjoy a hug occasionally.”
I let Molly leave the bus. She was still thinking I should be her brother. I grinned in my mind. At least Molly got laid where I wasn’t. My home was nearly finished, and this was my first argument with anyone. I will have been only here for a few months.
I slept, knowing tomorrow would be a busy day. The kitchen equipment arrived from an appliance concern, which was installing the kitchens on the second floor. Later in the week, some furniture would come for the living room, which looked out onto the balcony and overlooked the horses in the pasture across the driveway beyond.
The living room furniture was arriving this week, a day later. The larger apartment over Molly’s apartment had an identical kitchen. The reason was that the tenants of the upstairs apartments didn’t have to travel the distance to the large kitchen, which held the full commercial stoves and refrigerators.
I didn’t know how much the central kitchen would be needed, but even if it was only a half dozen times a year, I figured it would be worth it. I planned for a grand opening for all the people Grandfather had been familiar with over his lifetime. The larger kitchen, opened only, throughout the year for parties and holidays.
I went to the building and took the elevator down to the cellar. There were two entrances to the basement. This area was huge. I might install a floor suitable for dancing in case an overflow crowd was on the first floor. I could pipe the music down or have a monitor hooked up to show the band playing. All this would happen after the living quarters and the walls in the main hall were more attractive than being bare.
The family quarters would be inhabitable by next week, and we could move in then. The cellar could wait until next fall. I really couldn’t tell what the outside would look like. The six columns held the roof up already, but the balcony and the porch across the front weren’t in place yet. I was thinking two more columns might balance the front of the mansion better.
I heard the elevator go up and almost immediately start down. I walked toward it and wondered who was riding it. “Hi, Colonel, what’s up?”
“Jim, I wanted to talk to you. You must be aware that Amelia and I are sleeping together. I wanted to ask if it was okay to live together in one apartment rather than having our own. There is a large bedroom and a small kitchen, which features a table that seats four. The bathroom is certainly big enough for us, and then there is the large common living room for the two apartments. You could even move into the rooms next to us, intended for Amelia.”
“What about the other small room that goes with it?”
“I thought you could put a large dresser in it and make a folding door closet along one side. There is room for Amelia’s little vanity. She likes to put on her face every day.”
“I’ll have the other one set up the same way. Grandfather, you wouldn’t be planning on giving me a Grandmother, would you?”
“Son, we have talked about it a little. Amelia brought up the subject. I know how much she loves you, so if it happens, that will please her, and I’m inclined to make it happen to please her. Please understand that we don’t want any big ceremony or anything like that. Have Molly, Maggie, and you with a Pastor in the big living room in our front room.”
“That sounds about right. How about Walter Kingston, Molly’s partner in business? Amelia might want Brad and Bonny Kendal there as well. I don’t think Molly would mind Brad being there, plus Amelia and Bonny have become great friends.”
“I’ll ask Amelia if you will ask about Walter being here with Molly.”
“I’ll do that as soon as I see her. I’ll ask about Brad for sure. I think their former relationship is entirely over.”
“Yeah, that is something that I’ve forgotten. I guess you had better ask Molly.”
“Is there a particular day and time you would prefer to be married?”
“I’m getting older all the time, so as soon as possible! I’ve just begun to enjoy myself again and want every minute with the wonderful new woman for a wife I never expected to have.”
“I’ll tell Amelia you said that.” Two weeks later, I had one more family member. I stood with my grandfather. Bonny chosen when it was time for someone to stand with Amelia, because they had become fast friends. Maggie thought Molly should have stood with the Colonel, but she said no. I waited another week before moving into the apartment next to my grandfather and new grandmother.
Things were coming together for both Molly and me. Molly concentrated on getting a horse in training, and when the first meets began, she wanted to drive a particular horse that she had a lot of faith in and thought should win. The pasture was holding horses. She added the mares bred at the Kinston Stud farm, and they arrived as soon as they were sure they had settled. Several grooms were coming with horses to exercise in the area around the perimeter of the big pasture.
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