Chapter 10

The weather had turned for the better and Memorial Day weekend was approaching. Sara who was glad to be back said her parents had a tradition of hosting a large BBQ at their house for family and friends that weekend. Ken was invited and said he would attend.

In discussing it, Sara said her parents and her brother were good people and Ken would have a nice time. She did say however her father was somewhat protective of her and probably would give Ken a little cross-examination making sure Ken’s intentions as to Sara were honorable. She and Ken laughed at her saying that and Ken thanked her for the warning.

Ken attended the BBQ at Sara’s parent’s house and did have a fine time. Her parents along with her brother and sister-in-law all were friendly people and warmly greeted him. There were neighbors and other people there with whom Ken mingled. The Chapman’s house was of a good size and nestled on about one acre of land.

Sara’s Dad, Russel Chapman took some time to talk to Ken about where Ken lived and what he did. Ken said he was in the home rehabbing business but he didn’t elaborate on how big of a business it was. As to flying, Ken said that it was always something he wanted to do and he flies a small Cessna plane. When Ken mentioned the area where he lives, Russ said that north of Ken’s house is a large wind and solar panel electric generating farm of which Russ owns sixty acres of land there that he leases to the power company. He said that was the best investment he ever made in buying that land. Ken didn’t say anything about owning eighty acres of land that farm is on and just nodded his head.

There was some talk about sports with both Ken and Russ agreeing they were Dallas Cowboy fans.

When Sara could free Ken from her father she asked Ken how things were going. He said he had no complaints and was having a good time.

During the week Ken had some thoughts about last weekend’s BBQ at Sara’s parent’s home. He also thought about the other BBQs he had attended. He wondered that if these people he knew could have a BBQ, why couldn’t he? He also knew he had never had anyone over to his house to see how or where he lived. None of the women he bedded were ever here since that activity had happened where they lived or at his apartment when he was in college. It was time for a change he thought and the fourth of July would be the ideal time to do it.

He spoke to Maria about his wanting to have a BBQ. She asked what he wanted in the way of food. He said he wants it to be a top-shelf BBQ and left it up to her to decide on what the food would be. She said she would handle it but she needed to know how many adults and children he was expecting to attend which had him give her an approximate number. Ken said he would purchase liquid refreshments and would send out invitations. He was going to go all-out in hosting what he wanted to be a first-class BBQ.

On his next date with Sara, he asked her what she heard about her family’s reactions to him.

“They thought you were a nice good-looking guy. Dad wondered how you could afford to own a plane because of the business you were in.”

Ken mentally smiled to himself after hearing that.

Invitations were sent out to all the people who worked for Ken as well as Sara’s family along with Tim who was his mortgage broker. They and their families were all invited to attend and encouraged to bring their swimsuits.

It turned out that the BBQ was a good idea and a fun time. Sara and Jamie arrived early to help set up. He could see Sara was somewhat shocked to see the size of Ken’s house and the amount of land it was on.

“I thought you lived in a small house, not this large house with a pool and all this land.”

“What can I say, it’s my home.”

He introduced Sara to Maria and Sara asked what she could do to help. Maria said she could help with the salad but everything else was taken care of. The table and chairs the rental company had delivered were set up by the pool and covered with white table cloths. Maria’s husband was keeping an eye on the beef roasts that were on the grill at the outside entertainment area. He did say he had hamburgers and hot dogs for the kids if that is what they wanted. He was periodically putting more BBQ sauce on the roasts. Maria’s son had set up a table for the drinks and he would act as the bartender. Ken just sat back and let Maria and her family do their thing.

Ken had some thoughts about what Sara’s father had said about what Ken did for a living. Ken didn’t want to get into a “mine is bigger than yours” type of discussion with him. He thought that if her father was smart as he must be since he was a successful attorney, he would figure out after seeing Ken’s house and the land it was on that Ken was doing well financially. That Ken owned a plane and would be flying Sara when the season started to the Cowboy games, along with meeting some of the PMs today, should cause her father to realize that Ken’s business was not a nickel and dime operation.

It turned out when her parents arrived that Ken could see Sara’s father looking around and talking to Ben. Ken assumed Ben was explaining to Russ about the size of the business and what the PMs do. It was a guess on Ken’s part that Sara’s father was reassessing what he thought of Ken and his business.

It was a good turnout of people and it seemed that everyone had an enjoyable time. Jamie and Emily along with Eric wearing a life vest and the other young children who had brought their swimsuits were splashing in the pool. Ken talked with everyone who had come and thanked them for coming. He was glad he had done this and thought he would make it an annual event.

At the BBQ he had a chance to talk to the newlywed Beth. Ken inquired about land availability with Beth who asked him what he was looking for. He said that because of Sara’s “Big Sister” involvement with Jamie, he was kicking around in his mind maybe having a ranch or camp for disadvantaged kids. If he could find the right piece of land at the right price he would seriously consider doing it.

A few days later Beth called and said there was a listing for sale of five hundred and fifty acres of land that had a lodge, barn, and bunkhouse. The buildings she said require some repairs. Originally this was a combination ranch and farm but the present owner had changed it to solely being a hunting camp which now was closing down. There is a three-acre pond on this land and this land is located a little over a one-hour drive southwest of Austin. Beth said the asking price was in line with non-farm land and probably could be reduced in negotiating the purchase. Ken said would get back to her on this.

Beth also said, “I was talking to my husband Byron about your idea. He certainly supports what you want to do but he also says it will be costly because of the facilities that will need to be repaired or constructed on this land. Byron is a Lt Colonel in the Army reserves and he says there is a reserve training camp in the vicinity where this hunting lodge is located that is no longer being used. That’s because with the Army’s downsizing the reserve activity was moved to Fort Hood which has the room to handle it. This camp, Camp Hoban, has not been used for a few years and is about two hundred and fifty acres. It has two small houses, senior and junior officer’s quarters, barracks, a mess hall, an indoor auditorium, and a few other buildings. He said with some updating and cleaning it would be ideal for what you are planning.”

“Thanks for the info and I will get back to you on what I want to do.”

That evening Ken mentioned to Sara the conversation he had with Beth about Camp Hoban.

“My brother when he was in law school became friends with the son of our long-term Congressman in Washington. Let me tell my brother about this Camp and see if he can do anything.”