Chapter 15

Cletus closed up the old truck, and we went to lunch. I am to the point now that there just aren't enough ways to describe lunch or any other meal than to say they're wonderful. When you live through the college experience, and the fast-food times of starting your own company, those meals are just processed nutrition, high in everything that is not good for you, with taste, they get from chemical wonders. These meals my friends are home cooked food that is to live for. Well enough about the meals here.

We had finished and instead of getting up I just stayed seated. The table was cleared and then everyone came back to sit down. "It seems that we didn't close up the discussion last night and some issues have been settled so we should finish, and then you can ask any questions you might have."

Lana asked, "What's been settled since last night?"

"I finished the negotiations that Pap started, and we will have Rachel and Hap's place the end of next week."

"What will we do then?" Shana asked.

"Well I got the grand tour of the house today, and I don't think it will work the way it is currently. I want my mates including Tammy to work on a plan to remodel the house." The women sat there, stunned eye, opened mouth, but not one word was said about catching flies.

"Rachel has plans for what she wants in the new house we're building for her and Hap as part of our agreement. I want Connie, Mam and Betty Ann to work on getting that house built." Of course now they all had their mouths open, including Cletus and Pap.

"Since we have all of these fly traps open now around the table it should be pest free for the rest of the day." Every mouth snapped shut at that.

"Now are there any questions?"

It was Mam who asked, "Do you have any more surprises today or are we done?"

"I'm sure there is always something I'm working on Mam but for today, we're done."

"Any other questions?"

"Hearing no other questions I declare the clan meeting over." I got up went over and poured myself some more iced tea and went to the porch.

It was Pap and Cletus that came out first. They went to sit down, and I said. "I'm going to have several questions really quick from the women, you might want to disappear and go to work on the new Ford."

"I'm a hearin' that. Come on Cletus, let's skedaddle before we get caught up in his mess." And off the two of them went.

Next came Mam, Betty Ann and Connie. They were quiet until Mam broke the silence and said, "We don't know what to do about buildin' no house."

"Well first step you need to do is go and see Rachel and Hap and get the list of what she wants in her house."

"But how do we built it?" Betty Ann asked.

"Same way you eat an elephant." I replied.

"What does eating an elephant have to do with building a house?

Connie answered for me. "You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Same with the house, we just go one step at a time."

"Exactly, and the first step is talking to them." Mam and Betty Ann went inside to get their purses and Connie asked, "Why am I helping with the new house?"

"Experience."

"Experience for what?"

"For when you and Cletus build your new house."

"We're not building a new house."

"Not yet you aren't."

"What does that mean?"

"It means not yet but I have more plans, and they include you and Cletus and a new house." She came and kissed my cheek and gave me a hug.

"You are just full of surprises today."

"I have always been full of surprises, just had to get where the timing was right to tell you about them." Mam and Betty Ann came out then and Connie joined then, and they got in the minivan and drove off to see Rachel and Hap.

No sooner were they out the drive way than the trips and Tammy came out. I sat down and they took the hint with Tammy coming to sit on my lap.

Lana asked, "What do you want us to do about remodeling the house?"

"What I saw today is the house as it is now is not laid out the best way it could be for us. Remember that we are all going to be living there with our children. We need more bedrooms and bathrooms and likely an addition at some point. Plus, while everything in that house works, it probably needs to be replaced due to age and the strain we will put on it once we live there."

"How do we do all of that?" Tammy asked.

"You first get the measurements of the house, and then you work on making it how you want. Then I get to ask questions about your plans and designs."

"Why?" Tammy asked.

"Because I'm head of the clan and that's my job." And I kissed her.

"Hey no fair, we all want kisses if you're passing them out," Shana said.

"Well I'm stuck here so you'll have to get in line to get your kisses." That got the three of them up. I gave Tammy another kiss, and then she got up so each of them could sit on my lap to get their kisses.

"You might want to wait before you go over to Hap and Rachel's. Mam, Betty Ann and Connie are there getting the information about the new house they are responsible to build."

"What should we do then?" Jana asked.

"It's your decision but it might be nice to think about what you would want on each floor for now, and what we might need in the future."

"What would you like baby? Lana asked.

"I would like a big bedroom for us maybe a third to half of the upstairs, that includes a large bathroom. And we should have a nursery for the babies. You can make whatever else you want out of the space left. Downstairs we need a really big kitchen with a family room and some more bedrooms."

"We can start with that and work on the rest of it from there."

"Good, could you send Harry out here when you go back in?"

"Sure baby." Lana said and off they went. It was going to be interesting to see what everyone came up with.

Harry came out a couple of minutes later. "You wanted to see me Steve?"

"Yep, I gave everyone a job to do. You and I have an appointment later this afternoon, but I want to sneak away and have some ice-cream before we went."

"I think that is an excellent idea." Then he smiled.

"If we don't get out of here right now someone will come and ask me more questions, and we won't be able to get away."

"You did give them all a lot to work on."

"It all needs to be done, but I'm man enough to admit that it is easier to have them make the decisions, and I just ask questions about them than it is to do all the work and have to defend why I want something that way."

"Pap teach you that?"

"No, I learned it when I owned the business; it made my life a lot easier when I delegated. Thought it might work here, plus what they decide about that will be fine with me anyway."

"You're a wise head of the clan."

"I try to be, now let's get going."

I got up opened the door and told the trips and Tammy; I was leaving and that Harry was going with me. I don't know if they heard me or not as they were working on what they wanted in the house. Harry and I got to the Ford and were gone. Once we were on our way, he asked, "What is this person we're seeing supposed to do for you and I?"

"I don't know exactly, we will have that explained to us when we meet them."

"What are you going to do with all of that money?"

"Spend it."

"On what?"

"On helping all of us have a better life."

"That won't take all the money."

"You're right, and I don't know what else I will do with it. But I am sure there will be suggestions from the rest of the clan." We arrived at the ice-cream parlor and each got some. It was a hot afternoon and the ice-cream really hit the spot. I pulled the information about the therapist out from my wallet and asked Harry if he knew how to get to her office. He knew the town, which for men is all we need to know, so after we finished our ice-cream and stopped for a pit stop we got in the Ford and drove.

"Steve, I'm scared about what is going to happen on Monday."

"Harry, we have been playing the devil's advocate and planning for the worst-case scenario. Nothing might come of it, and we will have been worried for nothing. But it is better to do that than be surprised."

"I am just going to trust you on this. It is hard to do but there is nothing else I can do."

"Harry that is why all of us are working so hard on this, just in case."

"Thanks Steve."

"What do you want to do when you graduate high school?"

"I had only thought of working on the farm."

"You can do that or you can go to college if that interests you."

"What would I do at college?"

"Study about something that interests you."

"Humm, I haven't thought about doing that. I didn't think it was important to think ahead that far."

"It is now." We arrived in the town where the therapist's office was and after searching back and forth we found the street her office was on. I made a mental note to get a GPS navigator on the next vehicle we bought.

We went in and met with Donna; she was the therapist that Bobby had recommended. It was a get to know you meeting discussing what had brought us to her. We discussed how each of us felt about what had happened and there was an inquest scheduled for Monday. Donna had some concerns about having a more therapeutic meeting with Harry until I provided her with the guardianship documents that were due to be signed off tomorrow. That made sense and after our hour (50 minutes, the professional hour) I said that we would get back to her about our next appointment after Monday. We said our goodbyes and headed back to the Ford.

It dawned on me that I needed to get a local agent for my car insurance, and that I should see who they use at the farm. Harry and I talked about Donna and our feelings about seeing her. I didn't know if I was all that angry at that moment but I hadn't had much time to just sit and think about what had happened; there was simply too much going on now to look back.

We had driven for fifteen minutes when Harry asked. "What have you told Tammy about all the money you have?"

"Nothing more than I have told you and the others why?"

"She is in awe of it."

"What makes you say that?"

"When we were talking about the money you transferred in the barn before our meeting. It was just the look she got and that funny smile she comes up with when she has something in mind."

"And that funny smile tells you what?"

"That her mind is going a mile a minute, and she thinks something is in her favor. It was how I could always beat her in any game. She would let you know that she had something really good she was hiding."

"And you think the money fits into this how?"

"That I don't know but if you were seventeen and lived the farm life and then suddenly you have a mate on the horizon, and he tells you he has one hundred million dollars, and he holds it equally with all his mates..."

"I just offered her the lifestyles of the rich and famous."

"What's that?"

"Just an old television show that fed into people's natural greed, it showed how people with a lot of money lived."

"Well we don't watch much television, but I would say that for a poor farm girl this is quite a shock about all of that money, and you sharing it all."

"It's just another issue to work out with her."

"What?"

"Harry, I had no idea about how she felt before her statement at the ice-cream parlor. We have had some talks since then but this adds something new to talk about."

"Ah, like the papers she gave you."

"Exactly."

"Well you're the head of the clan, I'm sure you can take care of it." He was laughing after he said that.

"You know you're not too old to spank."

"You can't do that it would be child abuse."

"Not tomorrow after I'm your legal guardian."

We drove up the driveway and parked at the house. I looked around while we drove up and again before I got out. Maybe I did have some issues to talk to Donna about.

Pap and Cletus were sitting on the porch when Harry, and I came and sat down. Betty Ann brought a pitcher of iced tea for refills and two new glasses. She asked, "How was your appointment?

"Well, she said I'm crazy, and he's nuts for being around me but other than that we're fine."

"Cut that out now Steven. I'm serious."

"Now I thought you were Betty Ann, but if you want me to call you Serious instead I'll be happy to do that. Pap, Cletus have you met Serious." That got both of them to chuckle.

"You do know that I am still holding this pitcher of tea."

"She was fine. We will call her back next week after the inquest to set an appointment for both of us."

"Thank you." And off she went into the house.

"Well, I almost got my second baptism."

"She wasn't even close. Takes more to rile her than that," Pap said.

"So how did the negotiations go?"

"Not bad at all, Pap got them to agree to just give us a big discount on parts for the old truck instead of getting a new one, and so we took them. The mechanic told me how to fix it so it should all be running fine tomorrow."

Looking back I should have seen it coming, I could see movement out of the corner of my eye and the women seemed to all be around the sink, but instead I bit, and they have sunk the hook. "You were to get a new truck, not fix the old one."

"We talked about it and done decided we could make the old one work just fine," Pap said.

"What parts did you get to make it work just fine?"

"Brakes, water pump, windshield wiper motor, new battery, spark plugs, wires. Just a bunch of stuff but it will run like new once I am done with it."

"Where is all this stuff you bought?"

"We put it in the bed of the truck, want to see it all?"

"Might as well, I can't believe you didn't..." And off, we all walked out to the barn. I turned the corner and there was sitting a brand-new F350.

"Gotcha!" Cletus said.

"That you did but remember that paybacks are hell," and I grinned.

Pap had his hand out, palm up. "Thata be costin' you a quarter."

I fished out a quarter and gave it to him. He slipped it in his pocket.

"So what does this have besides blue paint?" I asked.

"It's a four-door four by four with a towing package. Plus all the bells and whistles that Pap got them to throw in so we would have to pay something for it."

"So why is it here today?"

"That is a story in itself. When Pap and I entered the showroom all the salespeople left. Only the sales manager was left. Seems after your last buying experience no one wanted to be involved again."

"They just can't be a haggelin' like, I can is all," Pap said.

"I don't know the whole story but when I went to use the rest room I overheard them in the break room about how the sales manager chewed on the salesman who got him involved in that deal."

"So they be a skedaddlein' when we got there," Pap said.

"It left only him to deal with Pap."

"Ten minutes and he just gave up. Just had us take the truck and just come in tomorrow, and you just sign the paperwork. Of course Pap made him write down the deal and sign it agreeing to take the truck back if the price changed. He about blew a gasket, but he did it."

"Be wantin' us to have it first and then be tryin' to negotiate the price after we be a likin' it."

"How did you know to do that Pap?"

"My pap use to be sellin' milk cows. You send that cow home with them for a week and get them use to drinking that milk everyday. They pay more than they think they wanted to just to be a keepin' that fresh milk from that cow."

"Some plan."