Chapter 21: Back to Denver

The next morning Pop was a little slow getting up and we all teased him a bit. Later we took another tour of the house and saw the great progress that had been made. I talked to Mitch and again thanked him for his effort on our behalf both at the cabin and the house. Mitch said they should be finished with the painting by Wednesday and then would start on the cabinets and flooring.

Pop did not object when I suggested we spend the night at Brenda's ranch. After dinner we taught Teresa how to play cribbage. We ended up with three different games going for a while. Then we played four-handed cribbage and overall Pop and Linda as a team won the most games.

Later we returned to Brenda's and held a family conference. First, we all assured Brenda that we would not forget her and we encouraged her to start a search for a ranch foreman. Brenda added some new information. "Today while was in town I found out that Dave and I had an insurance policy on the ranch that will pay off the mortgage in case one of us died, so the ranch is paid off! While I was at the bank I heard that the Triple-C ranch maybe up for sale since Mr. Carstairs had passed on over a year ago."

"Okay, I know the ranch and it is good property. It would more than double our combined ranch size. I suggest you go see Mrs. Carstairs and see what she wants to do. If she wants to sell get her to suggest a price then pay that amount if it is anywhere near reasonable. Also if you can hire her ranch foreman José Herrera, do so! We will be getting a bargain!"

The second thing to discuss was moving Linda to our ranch and opening up or running her business from here. Linda stated that as soon as we got some computer equipment she was ready to make the move. Virginia suggested that between all our monies that Linda might be busy enough monitoring them. I asked her what she meant and Virginia said, "You know I have $50,000.00 to invest right now and although I do not know how much you are worth she could handle that too. I know that Linda has close to $1,000,000.00 herself."

"Well as far as I know I have a little over $1.5 million in stocks and bonds right now not to mention what will be coming in over the next several years for the three patents I hold and what the Lab does." I sent.

Teresa said, "I have close to $150,000.00 in a Swiss account, which was part of my settlement from my marriage."

"Teresa have you filed your amended income taxes yet?" asked Virginia

"No I haven't"

"I suggest you see our attorney to see if we can get that money back into the states without paying taxes on it" sent Virginia.

"Teresa," I asked, "now that you have had time to think about it, would you want to become a veterinarian."

Teresa said "I would love to be a vet but I don't know how long it would take nor which school."

"That's not a problem as far as I was concerned" and the other wives agreed with me. "How long does a normal DVM degree take?"

She replied, "Four years after your bachelors but I have a Masters in Rehabilitation Medicine and it is less than ten years old so some of those courses should count!"

"Teresa you will not know what you have to do until you locate a college and apply. Then you can make a decision and as a family we will support you!" stated Brenda.

Teresa was almost in tears. "You would send me to school just like that?"

"Sure! Why not if it what you really want?" Virginia asked.

"Its really what I want but meeting you all and everything has been so much like a dream I keep thinking it can't be true!" sent Teresa.

This called for a group hug and general agreement from everybody. Then Teresa asked, "What about you George?"

"Well, I have the cabin to finish and furnish, the house, the Lab and you all! If that is not enough I could always look for another wife!" I sent.

The next few minutes we spent with me getting pummeled with pillows. Believe me when I say I stood no chance of winning once they all tackled me. I was so busy trying to protect myself I could not effectively use my mental powers to tickle them. As we settled down there was a lot of cuddling and changing of partners and more cuddling.

The next morning we picked up Pop and went to town for breakfast at the Corner Café. Pop drove Brenda back to the farm and the rest of us headed for Pueblo to see Gary Watson. Gary was waiting when we arrived and led us to a conference room. Gary introduced us to Katie Brown an Interior Decorator. Gary told us that she was the one who designed the décor in the simulation of our new home.

Virginia asked, "Has the simulation been finished?"

"Yes, that is why I am here; Gary said that you like the interior and may want me to obtain it for you." stated Katie.

"Yes, I personally like what you have done but we have only seen the great room. Could we see the rest of the house as you propose it?" I asked.

"That is why I am here and if you want a color change we can do it now as you watch." stated Katie.

Gary left to take care of some other business and we moved to the end of the room and Katie turned on the big screen TV and the started the program on the computer that fed it.

The women wanted a slight change in the kitchen layout, which was to go with commercial grade range, which was larger with two full size ovens and 6 burners and a griddle in the center. Next they wanted a side-by-side refrigerator and freezer where both were full size. Later in the utility room they added a chest type freezer too.

The study took a little more time when we explained we wanted five desks and a central area for the server, printer and other related computer equipment. I told Katie we would be buying our own equipment, which seemed to relieve her a bit. Each bedroom got a queen size bed and a nice dresser and a comfortable chair for reading.

Our master bedroom threw Katie a bit when we said we needed a bed big enough to sleep six. Linda asked about painting one wall a different color. Katie picked a wall that was different than I would have picked but once we saw it and the color we all agreed to it. The best way I can explain the color is it was a burnt orange with a little more of a red cast in it.

We left Pueblo shortly after a late lunch at 2 PM. We had made arrangement to have the house painted and the tile installed as seen on the TV. Katie was also going to buy and arrange delivery and set up of all the kitchen appliances and furniture.

After we entered Denver we stopped for a Chinese dinner at the Good Earth. Then we went home and saw Bob and Jen, getting our mail and talking about our trip. The stair lift was working well for them. Later Virginia and I sorted through the mail while Linda and Teresa looked for the Vet School.

A while later Linda and Teresa returned with a copy of the VMCAS Application and CSU Supplemental Application, which must be submitted to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. The school was located in Fort Collins, Colorado just up the road about 250 miles. They also had a method for applying online but Teresa said it was too late for this fall. I suggested that she fill out the required application and submit the required paperwork anyway because she might be able to start in January.

Teresa was also worried about starting her job in another week and we told her if she didn't want to not to bother but it might be a good idea to get local references for future need. Next Teresa was worried about a car and lodging and I told her for a while she could commute from the ranch until the weather got bad and that would give us time to find her a place.

Later in bed, it hit Teresa that no matter what she did she would be spending some time away from the family. Virginia picked up on this first then Linda. They reassured her it would not hurt her standing in the family and Linda said that if you go to school you would be able to set up business at home and not have to travel later.

I had a better idea and set about showing Teresa just how much she would be missed and shortly Linda and Virginia were helping me in this endeavor. Teresa swore that she would not be able to walk straight for a week when we were finished.

The next day Virginia and I went to the Lab and I checked with Chip Malcolm the Labs IT Specialist. Chip had the spec's for our system and even had most of the equipment on layaway waiting out final approval. The next three hours were spent taking care of Lab problems and the promise that two weeks from now we would be back for a solid week to do proposal reviews.