Chapter 18: The Fun Never Stops Around Here

It was all quiet again for a few moments before Jared said, “Whew! That sure is one hell of a story! But what on earth do you intend to do now?”

“I don’t really know,” said Gloria. “I will have to report all this to the police and get some sort of a restraining order put on Blake. Then I might just have to move up to Oregon. I’ve got a sister up there who I know we can stay with for a while till all this sorts itself out.”

Just as Gloria had finished saying this Jared’s iphone gave a little buzz to tell him a text message had just come through. Jared looked at it quickly then smiled at his phone and said, “Well, I might not be unemployed after all. Well for one week at least. I got turned down for a six week teaching post I applied for but I’ve just been told that the same college can give me one week’s substitute teaching on account of someone falling suddenly ill. They want to know if I can be there on Monday.”

“Oh, that sounds promising,” said Gloria. “What college will that be at?”

It was Jared’s turn now to turn deep red in the face at the thought of telling these ladies about Blanke Schande College. But just as he was about to say something about the place he sniffed the air and said, “Have you got something in the oven? I can smell something burning!”

Vanessa Benson looked at her mom and said, “I can smell it too. But that’s not a food smell that’s a wood fire or something.”

No sooner had Vanessa said that when they all heard that very distinctive wail of a fire truck coming up the street. They all rushed to the front door and looked out to see that fire truck pull up at a house that had smoke billowing from some of its back windows.

When Vanessa saw the house, the smoke and the fire truck she screamed, “THE HOUSE! THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE! Our house is burning down!”

Suddenly Gloria Benson was just overwhelmed by everything again and just turned and collapsed into Jared’s solid chest and began sobbing her eyes out. All Jared could do was to softly put his arms around the woman and hold her tight in an attempt to comfort her somehow. Gloria’s daughter was soon bawling her eyes out too and snuggled up hard against her mother as Jared found himself putting an arm around her too.

At that point Mrs Clusky showed up from next door with a big pile of home baked cookies on a tray. She just looked at Jared with his arms around both those sobbing women and just chuckled again to herself as she made her way in.

“Well, sonny,” she said as she put her tray of still oven warm cookies down, “I reckon yuh got yuh work cut out fer yuh now! Them two’s gonna need a good man to lean on for a mite and I reckon’s they have both voted for you. Yes indeedee, sonny Jim. Yuh lost one young fillie but got another two in the bargain. Ain’t that just the way life goes.”

Mrs Clusky then plonked her little old frame down onto a kitchen chair and smiled her big grand-motherly smile at Jared and the two pretty girls pulling hard into his chest and sobbing their eyes out.

Jared looked back at his neighbor and just said softly, “Yep, it’s just one exciting thing after another at the moment. The fun just never seems to stop around here! That’s for sure.”