Chapter 3

My internal alarm went off and I rolled to sit up on the side of the bed. I had to lift myself over June who had snuck in during the night on the other side of me. The morning was cooler, so the smaller girl snuggled to her oldest sister as soon as I moved. I pulled the top sheet over them and went to the bathroom. I was finishing when Jeff stumbled in to use the toilet. My youngest sibling said, "Go wake Chet," when I had finished brushing my teeth and splashing water on my face. "He's in with Monique. At least I didn't have to worry about her this morning."

I looked into the two girls' room and sure enough, Monique was wrapped around Chet. I shook his shoulder until he looked at me through half open eyes until recognition came to him. I twirled my finger and left. I didn't want to know whether or not he was dressed.

Only June was in my bed when I went back to my room; Josey had disappeared.

It was five fifteen on the kitchen clock when Jeff and Chet came into the kitchen to the welcoming sound of coffee being made. Josey was frying bacon, and had most of a dozen eggs whipped up to cook. The toaster had all six slices full as she poured milk into three glasses. I sipped some of my coffee as I got dishes out for the four of us. The bacon came out of the pan to drip onto a dish towel while the toast was in and the eggs were scrambled. The boys and I heartily ate while Josey watched us and smiled. I finished my milk and warmed my coffee up, as well as Chet's. Jeff held his now empty mug out for more too. I told the two as we finished enjoying this second mug, "We should finish tonight if we work steady today. Go back over all the lubrication points to make sure the head is in good shape before we begin. Check the chain drive and clear the blower for the chop. We'll make some good money on this job. We might get the Bennett place too, and they have over two hundred acres in soy beans. They'll use their own trucks and wagon, and it'll mean we are that much faster."

The boys walked out the door, but Josey held onto me and hugged me. She sweetly kissed me and told me to be careful. My sister sure could confuse a guy. We had been over this a hundred times, and it just wasn't right for a brother and sister to be too close.

We started the combine at six sharp. Chet took it down the first row after letting it idle for a few minutes. He filled the hopper first before directing the beans to the wagon that was now hung on the rear. He shut the working parts down so that I could check the chain tensions to make sure it was gathering the dried stalks to be ground and blown out the back. I let Jeff take the massive machine around the first loop when we were satisfied all was well. I had to slow him down a little, but he still kept the rows right into the gathering head. Jeff was smart, and when he had the right speed, he set it and used that speed for all his passes. I sent Chet to the grain elevator with the wagon and I took the big truck. Chet was just getting the wagon dumped when I pulled into a long line. If anything was going to hold us up, it would be waiting to be weighed, dumping the beans, and being weighed again. All the men waiting in line asked how we were doing and wanted the gory details of the confrontations we had. I glossed over the bad stuff, and assured everyone that we were going to be fine. I picked up another corn picking job that was three hundred acres, with all the hauling going to be done by the farmer. He had two older boys already out of high school to help him. He should buy his own equipment and do some custom work. I also was asked to bring our New Holland baler over to bale up about a hundred acres of his last alfalfa cut. Our baler could give you heavy wire bales or lighter twine bales. Some people just wanted square bales instead of round bales. We didn't have a round baler, although Dad was determined to buy one at one of the auctions this winter.

Mr. McPherson, a nearby neighbor, wanted to talk to me. "I talked to your dad and asked him about harvesting the beans in that big field along the road a while back, Kenny. He said he could do it and told me he would charge whatever the national rates were. Are you willing to still do that?"

"I can, Sir, but I have to finish this job first."

"I didn't mean that it had to be done today or tomorrow. It'll probably take a few days to do everything. I'll use my wagon and trucks to bring the beans to the elevator to save some money. When do you think you can begin?"

"How about I bring the combine over Sunday evening and begin Monday morning? Make sure you have your wagon ready because it fills pretty fast. We'll need your truck to dump the hopper. I blow all the chopped up stalks out the side so you can plow those under."

The man asked, "I looked up the numbers and it seems to be about $34 an acre. Is that what you need?"

"I'll do it for $32 an acre, but you have to do all the running to the elevator. It would be good if you can find another wagon. Make sure you seal the edges up so that you don't dump beans all the way to the elevator. How big is that field?"

The man smiled, and said, "Two hundred and ten acres. The beans are planted all the way to the edge so you'll have to make a pass around the edge of the field to give yourself room to move around. There will be a lot of weed seed in that, so we'll keep it separate."

That would be another sixty-seven hundred bucks to put in the bank. We might not need a loan for spring planting if the machinery holds up. I promised myself to do every maintenance item for the machine, but knew there could still be breakdowns.

The girls brought us a mid-morning snack, and then lunch. They could see we were going to be done early when they brought an afternoon snack. The boys and I had been pushing hard and never let the equipment sit idle. The most time off was for preventative maintenance. Some of the gearing required servicing every four hours, but it only took about ten minutes to check everything and grease the necessary parts. It took longer to clean the dirt and dust away than the actual work. We had a small compressor we used to provide air pressure for our tools when we were dismounting guards and covers to open the machine up for servicing, and we used that to blow the trash and dirt out of the chains, cutters, and augers. A lot of farmers take those safety covers and guards off the first time they serviced a machine, but Dad wouldn't let us do that. He pointed out the numerous eight-fingered and one-armed farmers at the State Fair and told us we could find their safety guards up against the fences of their farm yards.

The girls brought us supper as Jeff brought the combine through the last rows with Mr. Jenkins sitting with him to make sure that we had harvested every plant in the field. We unloaded the hopper into the big truck and then took the wagon and our truck to the grain elevator at the customer's request. We were behind a few wagons and trucks, but were ready when it was our turn to weigh in. We were being paid by the acre for combining and by the bushel for cartage. Mr. Jenkins handed me a check for the agreed upon price when we went back to take the combine home, and told me, "I hate to tell you to charge me more, but you boys probably aren't charging enough. Check the national scale to make sure your prices are right. I'll be seeing you for corn picking in October."

Chet drove the combine, with me in the big truck in front, and Josey in the pickup bringing up the rear. Monique was in the Suburban at the tail end of the parade. We parked the monster piece of equipment in the machine shed, pulled the doors closed, and went inside for a quick cleanup and fresh clothes.

Monique and June had our late supper of more stew ready. That's always good, especially if it's accompanied by biscuits. We six sat at the table smiling at each other as we had just proven that we knew how to sustain ourselves. I told everyone, "We need to go over the head to make sure it's in good shape. We'll clean it up in the morning so that I can begin working on the next project by myself. Josey and I can take the combine over to the neighbor's big field Sunday evening. I quoted them about the same prices as I did Jenkins. I'll take the pickup with the equipment to the field Monday morning. They're going to be surprised at the time it takes to dump their wagon and truck, but that'll give me time to do the PM on the machine.

The Trooper who sat in his cruiser all night came in for breakfast Saturday morning, and told us, "The Commander thinks the threat is gone now, so you kids will no longer have a guard. Stay vigilant, but I think that you'll be safe from now on. You know, you guys are the talk of our precinct. The way you haven't quit and have continued to work at what you know is very admirable. I'll miss the good food and coffee." The man gave us his personal card and said, "I live pretty close by, so call me if any of you need to talk or you have a question about something. A Trooper has to be more than a guy who writes traffic tickets."

I suggested to everyone, "Let's put our rifles and shotguns away for now. There's no need to have them out any longer. I think we're safe now."

I sure hoped so.

Monique and June cleaned up breakfast dishes while we boys tore the corn and bean heads down to make sure everything was right. We did all the chain adjustments and lubricated all the parts. The equipment looked nearly like new, although I knew that it wasn't.

Josey told us, "Go clean up so we can go into Walmart to get cell phones," when we came inside about eleven. We'll take Grandpa's to him and we'll all learn how to make them work. We three guys showered and got the grease off our hands. I went last so that I could clean the bathroom up. Guys can be pigs.

I checked the pant leg length of Jeff's and Chet's jeans when I was downstairs in clean jeans, and they were okay. Their shoes might need an upgrade, but they didn't look bad and would be fine for school.

We took the Suburban to town and went straight to Walmart. Josey had done her homework and asked the clerk for seven of a very cheap LG smart phone that was on clearance. She told all of us, this will give us a chance to learn how to use these things. They're cheap enough we can pitch them when it's time to upgrade. It's $45 a month for unlimited talk, text, and data so we'll be spending $315 a month for seven phones. I'll put all our phones on auto withdrawal so we don't get cut off if I'm late paying the bill. The phones will only be $140 so it will be cheap to learn how to use them.

We were lucky and they did have seven of those phones. Since they were a clearance item, we helped them as we helped ourselves. It took over an hour to activate the seven phones. I thought it was neat that we had six consecutive numbers with Grandpa's number ending in a zero, mine a one, Josey's two, until Jeff was at six. He smiled and told everyone he had the lucky number.

We went by the Salvation Army store to find some pants and shirts for the boys and some nice pants and skirts for the girls. We checked the shoes to see if they had something that would work for the two boys, but it looked like we would have to go to Sears. Next stop was to see Grandpa. The man wasn't in good spirits because he said that Grandma was having a bad spell. Josey and I went to see Grandma while the other kids showed Grandpa how to use his phone and told him that he had to charge it at night.

Grandma wasn't good. A nurse came in and said she was declining. She opened her eyes and smiled as both of us hugged her. She actually said, "Kenny, Josey, you take care of Kenneth. Your Grandpa needs you."

She fell back asleep for what probably was the last time. We watched her for a long time and left with tears in our eyes.

When we went back to Grandpa, I told him that we should all go see Grandma one more time. Grandpa said, "No, you kids go say goodbye. I've done that. I can't stand to do it again."

The kids all hugged Grandma, and we all told her how much we loved her. Her lips curled up when each of them spoke. I think we all knew this was the end.

Grandpa was crying, but still holding his head up, when we went back to see him. He asked me, "Take me to her one last time, Kenny. I just can't let her be alone when she passes."

I told Josey, "Take the kids somewhere, and I'll call you when you should come for me."

Grandpa leaned over his wife and kissed her on the lips. Her body convulsed and she tried to hold his hand. Grandpa sat in a chair next to the bed and held her hand. He continuously talked to her, telling her about all the wonderful times they had together. We watched her pass. She took a last deep breath, smiled, and that was the end. The man I had always admired sat in the chair holding his wife's hand with streams of tears running down his face. He finally said to me, "Go tell a nurse that Mabel has passed. You can take me home now. I don't need this place anymore."

I went for a nurse who was ready for this. I gave her the instructions I had been given months before. Then I asked her what I needed to do to take Grandpa home. The old man and I slowly walked up to the office where he had to sign a bunch of papers. One of the administrators said there were probably extra charges that would have to be taken care of. Grandpa shook his finger at the woman and told her, "I gave this facility a lot of money to keep us until this day. I'm sure I've overpaid, and should probably demand a partial refund. My grandson will give you my attorney's card if you have a problem with that. Now, can I clean out my room and leave?"

The woman looked at the file for a long while before her face turned crimson and she closed the file. "You owe us nothing, Mr. Schultz."

Grandpa nodded and we walked back to his room. His phone was plugged in and was sufficiently charged that I called Josey. I told her Grandma had passed and Grandpa was coming home with us when she answered. She said they would be back in a few minutes. They were back at the Salvation Army store and had found shoes for both Jeff and Chet, along with some other items.

I had all of Grandpa's things in a small box, along with the few things the nurses brought from Grandma's room. We walked to the front of the building and were sitting on the benches outside when Josey drove up to take us home.

On the way home, Grandpa said, "I can wear your dad's suit for church tomorrow if you haven't thrown your folks clothes out. He and I were the same size on everything. I might feel younger if I wear his clothes." That made us all smile.

All us kids plugged our phones into any available electrical outlet as soon as we were home. I plugged Grandpa's in to get a full charge. He told all of us, "I wanted all of you to have these phones so that you can get hold of each other any time you need. You can call me if you need to talk to me. I'll see if I can still drive, but I may not be able to do it safely. I guess it will depend on whether Josey and Kenny will let me."

We all laughed at that.

The girls fixed a decent supper for us and we ate with Grandpa sitting in Dad's place. It was nice to have him there.

The man recognized how we all looked up to him. When we had finished eating and had a small piece of pecan pie, Grandpa said, "I'll never take your dad's place, but I want to be here for you. You kids are probably better farmers than I was because you've been studying about farming and listening to your dad. I know pretty much, but I admit that I don't know everything. I'll do what I can to help you kids out. This is a new life for all of us. Now, one of you come with me to the living room and teach me how to use this new fangled cell phone."

That got a chuckle from all of us. Josey and I watched as the four took Grandpa to the living room. There was a scramble for them all to get their phones. Josey and I took care of the dishes and hung the dish towels up. My sister told me, "We found good school shoes for Chet and Jeff. We also found some almost new jeans for both of them. They found some button front shirts with collars that look nice on them. We'll have to buy them underwear and socks and they should be all set. We girls all found some nice skirts, blouses, and pants. Everything was like a dollar or two dollars. We'll make a trip to Sears in the city to get what else we need. I found some jeans in your size and bought those for you. Your work boots are starting to get worn pretty bad, so you need to shop for a new pair for the winter."

I just stared at this person who was taking charge of the domestic stuff in the house. She told me, "I deposited the check in the bank and we have plenty for utilities, payments, and food until next June after I totaled everything up. We'll be good right through and past next harvest if we recover the grain money, and I haven't taken what we get for our corn into consideration. We should have a fat bank account for a while if you can keep that combine with the corn head working through the late corn harvest. It will be nice to have a cushion."

I told her about the job I needed her help with to get the combine to the field Sunday night, and also the hay baling job coming up. My sister smiled and said, "Yes, Sir, we're going to be fine. How about a cup of coffee so that I can tell you how to shop for a wife?"

I broke up laughing. "I'm not interested in finding a wife yet, Josey. How about we wait until I can't do much more than hide inside to stay warm? I'll go looking then. It must be the right time since we were all born in September and August. I'll have to learn to drink beer so that I can be one of the boys. I'd rather not, but we'll see what it takes to shop for a wife."

Josey smiled and said, "You make it sound like you're going to Walmart to see what they have on clearance or rollbacks. Wives don't come with price tags and reduced stickers. You're going to have to talk to them and to make them want to spend time with you. Just relax and smile at the girls. One of them will steal you away."

A cell phone was ringing, so Josey and I went to find our phones. I found mine and figured out how to answer it. I said hello, and June was giggling when she said, "I just made a call to my big brother. You need to save my number in your contacts. You and Josey need to come in here and we'll all put each other's name and number in our phones."

Josey was laughing at receiving a call from Jeff. We had a good time learning how to record the various numbers. Grandpa was smiling at us, and told us all, "You kids are acting like I did when I first saw television. We've just had a good time all evening, and didn't even turn the TV on. You kids are probably pretty strange."

We didn't think so, as we all had other things to do without watching the TV. It was past nine, so I told all the kids, "It's time for bed, Guys. I'll do chores in the morning and you guys get dressed for Church. We'll have breakfast before you finish so that you don't get your good clothes dirty. Josey and Monique are going to check our fingernails so they're all clean. I hung onto Chet's shirt as they all got up so that he knew I wanted to talk to him privately.

When we were sort of alone, since I saw Josey standing just beyond the hallway, I said, "You and Monique need to be careful. You guys aren't hiding anything, and we all know that you two are closer than a brother and sister should be. I want you to think about how it would be for your sister to go school with a big belly before you two take that last step. I know it's been done before, but do you want that? The Department of Children and Family could take you kids away and break the family up if you two do that. Talk it out between the two of you, and make sure that you don't do something that can't be undone."

Chet looked down and said, "We've already gone that last step. Honest, Kenny, we love each other and we now have condoms to keep Monique from getting pregnant. I know this isn't the right thing to do, but..."

Josey and Monique came into the room and both hugged Chet. I could see that he was about to break down, so I told him to sit. Monique sat with him and hugged him. She told him, "It's going to be alright, Chet. We let it get out of hand, but we made sure we began to be careful. I'm not pregnant and I'm not going to be. We can decide how we'll handle this when we're both eighteen. It won't be that long."

Chet said, "I know that I was going to college and Monique was going to go to school to become an actress. I think what she wants has changed."

Monique said, "Oh yeah, a lot has changed. I know I want to be a farmer's wife now. Chet's wife, that is. I really don't care what the neighbors think, but Chet is going to be a good farmer and I'm going to be a good farmer's wife. Maybe we'll fall out of love by the time we're both out of high school, but I don't think so. We're both old enough to quit school, but we won't. Mom knew how we felt about each other and constantly talked to me about the problems. Josey and Kenny, that you haven't gotten together is surprising. You two are even closer than Chet and I have been. You both handle it well, though."'

Josey said, "I know that I want something more from Kenny, and I feel he wants something more from me, but we both know that we can't. We'll be fine and be snuggle buddies just like June is."

Monique said, "You need to watch June. She is really into getting off in bed at night. She's a hot one. We talk and she says that she knows what it's all about and knows that she has to wait. Watch yourself, Kenny."

I laughed and looked at Josey, "I suppose that I need to ban all the nighttime visitors from my bed. Come on, Guys, are we that corrupt? You know how I feel, and I hope you know how Josey feels. We need to go to bed and that means alone. We'll talk about this some more, but you guys need to be by yourselves and make some decisions right now."

Monique and Chet went upstairs and we could hear their steps going to their rooms. Josey looked at me, and said, "I knew it was happening. I didn't say anything, so part of this is my fault. They do care for each other and they love each other in their minds. We need to be careful keeping them apart. It could lead to them getting careless."

I looked at my sister, "I love you dearly, Josey, and sure, I've had fantasies about you, but I would never take that final step. Would you?"

"Girls are different than boys, Kenny. We feel differently than you guys. Our bodies tell us that we want something, but we don't know what it is. Mom explained to me that we would want each other since you and I are so close. She also told me that Dad understood and was supposed to have talked to you. I guess he didn't. I know Mom did, and that embarrassed you. We both know what's right and wrong and we have resisted each other. We will continue to do that. I love you, and it's probably more than love for a brother, Kenny. You and I are going to be fine. Come on, let me snuggle you and let's go to bed."

It was almost eleven by the time we lay down. The attic fan was sucking the outside air through the upstairs rooms, blowing over my sister and me. I lay there thinking about this development, realizing how easy it was for this to happen within a big family. I wonder if this was common in other families with a lot of kids. I'd have to pay more attention.