Chapter 32

Uncle Bunny joined us for golf Saturday morning. He refused to bet with Mr. Parsons because they couldn't agree on the number of strokes he needed to be given. Mr. Parsons offered him five strokes a side, but Uncle Bunny wanted a stroke per hole. When they finally gave up trying to make a money match, I offered Uncle Bunny two strokes a side for a ten dollar Nassau. When he found out that Mr. Parsons was giving me eight a side, he accepted my bet.

My mother was a little off her game, shooting a 40 on the front and a 38 on the back for a six over 78. It didn't matter at all because Mr. Parsons started off playing poorly and let that keep bothering his play all day. He wound up with an 89, with a 45 on the front and an 44 on the back, and this was with a lucky bird on the eighth and another hole out chip in birdie on the fifteenth. I played my best golf, carding an 85 with a 44 on the front and a 41 on the back. I putted very well, taking only 32 putts for the whole round. Uncle Bunny had a 115, and told me after we finished, that he felt his play was improving. He and I were riding in the same cart. We were kidding and joking around the whole time we played. Uncle Bunny wasn't a good golfer, but he knew how to relax and enjoy himself.

"Kenny, Tommy told me what you propose to do with Walt. At first, I thought you were making a big mistake, but now, I'm not nearly as certain. Walt isn't a man who would appreciate someone turning the other cheek. That isn't the way he plays the game. That isn't the way any of us play the game. Still, the more I thought about it, the more it intrigued me. The only profit we've ever gotten out of doing business with Walt, was in knowing that Georgia and the kids would have a roof over their heads. That was something that was more important to me than it was to Tommy. The reason for me caring, is that Georgia and I have a past history together. We needed to buy from some vendor in any case, so why not Walt?"

"Mr. Parsons said he was a dependable source of supply."

"He brokers the purchase, Kenny. Most companies the size of Consolidated Foods prefer to deal direct. They have their own, in house, brokers that handle purchasing. We always found it easier to deal with outside brokers for our needs. It gave us more price flexibility. Any broker could provide the same service that Walt does. No, the reason we went through him had more to do with Georgia, than it did with Walt, or his brokering expertise. Which makes it a valid reason for us to continue dealing with him. The reason you gave for us doing this to Tommy was intriguing as well. I wish though, that you'd explain your full reasoning to me."

"I don't really have a reason. If Mr. Parsons can afford to buy from anyone, and the cost won't be much different, then why not buy from Mr. Connor? I still worry about Brenda, and you seem to worry about Mrs. Connor. The more business Mr. Connor gets, the better off all the Connor's will be. It seems to me that by giving him even more of the business, we'd be showing him that we still want to be friends with him, even if he's mad at me right now. Brenda told me before that Mr. Connor is afraid of you and Mr. Parsons, because he knows he needs you, but you don't really need him."

"If he knows that, he sure picks strange ways to try to stay on our good side."

"He feels powerless. That is something I can understand. When someone else has all the power over you, you resent them, even if they try to treat you good. He knows that you make decisions that are life and death to him, but he doesn't get any say in the making of those decisions."

"Then, if what you say is true, the better we treat him, the worse he's going to resent us?"

"Probably, but, the better we treat him, the better he and his family will do. He's going to resent us anyway, but this way we get something we want out of it. Brenda and Mrs. Connor don't have to worry about being poor. Isn't that why you gave him your business in the first place?"

"We don't really care how Walt feels then?"

"Well, we'd like for him to like us, but that isn't the main reason why we help him with his business. It isn't really costing us anything to let him get the business, right? If it helps his family, then that should be enough reason."

"Did you want me to go see Walt and explain this to him?"

"No. That might make him more angry. If you told him that you and Mr. Parsons just like him too much to let him destroy himself because he's mad at me, that might make him appreciate what you're doing more."

"Tell him we liked him too much to destroy him?"

"If you aren't going to destroy him, isn't it better that he knows that you like him?"

"Tommy was right. You do need to gain a better understanding of how things work in the real world, Kenny. The funny thing is, the things you're thinking, they might be the best way for us to start thinking, especially when it concerns Walt. I'll be honest, I was looking for a way to hurt Walt, and not do any harm to his family. Instead, I should have been looking for a way to not harm his family. Hurting Walt shouldn't have been a consideration."

After we settled up, I had won three hundred and thirty dollars, and my mother won three hundred from Mr. Parsons too. At the rate we were beating him, he'd probably lose six or seven thousand dollars in a year. He didn't seem at all worried by it though, and neither did Uncle Bunny when he paid me the thirty dollars. I was going to be rich if I could keep these guys playing me like they were.

After golf, we all went home together, and had an early dinner. Mama was worried because she had missed her appointments with the two golf course architects she had been scheduled to see during the previous week, when she'd been not feeling well. Uncle Bunny told her that he'd reschedule for her, and if she couldn't make the meeting for any reason, he'd meet with them himself. By then, Mama had written down a lot of questions that she wanted answered, and had a series of drawings that she had made, showing the different practice areas she wanted for the learning center. Mr. Parsons wanted to know if Uncle Bunny could schedule the meetings for a time when he would be available to attend as well. Uncle Bunny said he had already prepared and filed the articles of incorporation, and that there were accounts opened at the bank that just needed signature cards signed, and for money to be deposited in them.

I found out, after Uncle Bunny had gone home, that Mama and Mr. Parsons had just decided that they were going to a big charity dinner in St. Louis, and were going to be leaving early in the morning, not returning until Monday sometime. I remembered that Mama had wanted to go before, but Mr. Parsons had been unwilling to travel that far just to go to some dinner. He had told her to just send a check with their regrets. Another thing I noticed, was that the two of them were bumping into each other again, whenever they moved close enough to do that. The last time I had noticed them bumping like that, they had gone up to bed early. This time, they both made excuses about how early they had to leave the next morning, and went into their rooms before eight o'clock, just like they had before. I didn't understand why they couldn't just admit they wanted to have sex, because they weren't fooling me. They were already married, so what was the big secret?

Elena came back to the house at around nine thirty, and she was in a bad mood. At first, I thought it was because three of the teams she and Mr. Parsons had picked to win, had lost, but I found out she was upset about something that had happened back in Lincoln. Something to do with a girl that she had liked. I was in the library when she came in and started making herself drinks. Gerta and Hans came in too, and Hans made himself a drink. Gerta just sat down and started talking to Elena and me.

At ten, I went up to my room, and went to bed. I didn't bother locking my door. I figured now that Bea was gone, no one would be sneaking in to give me blow jobs. I was right too.

I got up at seven o'clock, but Mama and Mr. Parsons had already left. Gerta told me that they had left before six. She and I were the only ones up, because she told me that Elena and Hans had gotten into a contest to see who could out drink the other. I asked her who won, but she just shook her head and said no one did.

By the time Hans got up, around twelve, I was already bored, and thinking about asking him to take me back to school early. I waited to ask him until after he had breakfast in the kitchen. He looked like he was really feeling bad, and I wondered if Elena would look as bad as he did. I didn't have to wait long to find out either, because she came out of her room about ten minutes later and went into the library and made herself a Bloody Mary. I know that is what she was drinking, because I asked her, and that's what she said it was. Elena didn't look as bad as Hans did, but she was trying to walk a lot lighter than she usually did. I think she had a bad headache. I heard the phone ring, and Gerta opened the kitchen door to tell me it was for me.

"Who is it, Gerta?"

"I don't know Kenny. It isn't Brenda though, I recognize her voice now."

"Hello?"

"Hi Kenny. This is Claudia. Do you remember me?"

"Hi. Sure I remember you, Brenda's friend, from the pool at the club. How did you get my number?"

"From Brenda. She told me that you broke up with her, so she gave me your phone number. What are you doing?"

"Not too much right now. I was planning on going back to school early, because my mother went to St. Louis this morning."

"I was hoping you could come pick me up and take me for a ride in your limo. Brenda told me what you guys did in the back that time. I'd let you do that to me too."

"I don't think so. I hardly even know you."

"You can get to know me real quick if you want to. I'm easy to get to know."

"Yes, Brenda told me you were."

"Was that a wisecrack? What was that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure, just that Brenda told me that you had already been friendly with about ten different boys."

"Oh. That's right, although the number is twelve now. You could be next."

"No thanks. Look, Claudia, I'm really not interested in just having sex with a girl. If Brenda said I was, she's wrong about that."

"Suppose it was Brenda then, instead of me. Would that be better?"

"Is she there with you now?"

"She might be, but you didn't answer my question."

"No, I don't want to have sex with her either." I heard whispering in the background, then Brenda got on the phone.

"Kenny, why are you mad at me?"

"Look at where you are, and what you're doing right now, Brenda. This is the exact same thing I warned you about before. Do you think that Claudia is going to keep your secrets too?"

"My parents already know."

"Did you see how much good that did? Do you know that Mr. Parsons was going to stop doing any business with you father's company because of what you told him?"

"My father already told me that he talked him out of doing that. Why don't you want to see me any more? I love you."

"Brenda, I care about you too, but you don't seem to understand what I'm telling you. Just you having Claudia call me to offer me sex proves that."

"She wasn't really going to do that, Kenny. She was calling for me. You never take my phone calls."

"I'm going to hang up now, Brenda. I guess I don't want to have sex with either of you."

"I'll make you sorry if you hang up on me, Kenny."

"I'm already sorry, Brenda. I'm sorry you get mad when I won't do what you want. It won't change the way I decide things though. Goodbye."

I went into the kitchen and told Gerta that I wasn't taking anymore calls from anyone. She could take a message if she wanted to, but I wasn't going to take any incoming calls unless they were from the family. When I asked Hans if he'd take me back to school early, he asked me if it could wait a little while longer. I told him that I'd be in the library. Gerta told me that she'd baked a few things that I could take back to school with me. Her few things turned out to be two big bags filled with cookies and pastries.