Chapter 11: A Bountiful Thanksgiving

"Hello?"

"Hi Karen, I've been thinking about you."

Silence ... complete silence for a full minute.

"You treated me badly, Sammy."

"I know, that's one of the things I want to talk to you about."

"I know what you want to talk to me about, and I don't want to listen."

"Let me give you my number in case you change your mind."

"I have your number, but you'll wait a long time if you expect me to call."

The line went dead and she was gone before I had a chance to tell her that I would wait. It had been unsaid, but I got the message. I was not to call her again. It came through, loud and clear.

As I thought about our conversation, I was struck by two things she had told me. I had treated her badly, and she knew what I wanted to talk about. She didn't say it, but we both knew I wanted to talk about her body, and what I wanted to do with her.

Suzanne had heard about the slide show Wanda had created on my laptop, and she and Mr. Oldham wanted to watch it. Instead of taking an hour and a half, we watched it together in thirty minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Oldham asked me to bring my laptop to his Monday morning staff meeting, and again, it only took thirty minutes to show, without interruption.

Simon Barker raised the first question, wanting to know how the hell I thought the economy would improve in the next three years, inferring that I was young and inexperienced. Should I ask if he thought this was a good time to be sending his resume' to prospective employers?

"I don't think there is any way this will work unless the Lynch brothers sign the building over to us. I've told them as much," I said, dismissing Mr. Barker's comment about the three year scenario.

Tom Pierce spoke up. "What's going to happen to the rooftop units and other items that were recovered from the Omaha building?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "They say those items are negotiable."

"Those items could make the difference if the price is right. Do you know the age of the units, Sammy?"

Before I could answer Tom, Barker piped up again. "You didn't discuss what was going to happen to those valuable items? I would have made them part of the deal, no questions asked."

I was about to answer Tom's question when Suzanne spoke. "Simon, if you have an issue with Sammy, I'm sure he will make time to hear it in private. If you have issues with me, I'll meet with you in my office as soon as we are finished here."

From the way Barker paled, he had detected what Suzanne had alluded to. It was also evident to me that she had heard how he had spouted off about 'Having to report to the old lady and now he had the kid giving him orders.'

I waited for him to respond to Suzanne, but when he didn't look up, I explained to Tom that Neill had taken down the information on the units and he had given it to me. "I'll give you an inventory after the meeting," I said, and watched him give me the thumbs up sign.

Back in my office, I told Wanda that Suzanne obviously knew about Barker's assertion that he was disgruntled about the old lady and the kid giving him orders.

"Do you know if Ruby told her?" I asked.

"I'll find out," she said, adding, "I wonder if Suzanne told your father?"

"I don't think so," I said, hoping that I was correct.

Daniel McDonald called to say that he had the three bids back. We arranged to meet after lunch to review them and select the contractor that would be awarded the contract.

The contractor we picked guaranteed to finish the work by the fifth of November. Since he was not scheduled to start the job until the second week of October, I made plans to visit my mother, sister and K.O. before the work commenced. It was not necessary that I be back in time to witness the beginning of the demolition. It was just something I wanted to see.

I left on Friday, the first of October and stayed the weekend, returning on Monday, the fourth.

Driving through the old home town was always exciting. Everything looked the same as it had on my previous visits. The most significant change I found was that the hotel had eliminated the custom of having a bellhop show you to your room. Freddy Connors had apparently moved on.

No one recognized me until I got to my mother's house. She was expecting me. K.O. was expecting me too.

"What did you bring me?" he asked as soon as I stepped inside.

"I didn't bring you anything," I said, and watched him go into tantrum mode.

That's how the entire weekend went. I wondered what Heather was doing to make her kid behave. My mother was having no luck in controlling him. She looked tired and weary. I wondered if she was just run down or if it was something more serious.

After having dinner with them, I went back to the hotel and called home to tell Suzanne that I'd arrived and was having a good time. It was still early so I took a walk around town before I turned in.

The next morning, I bought K.O. a new tricycle. It was the largest model made and I knew immediately that it was a mistake. The house was too small for him to ride without bumping into furniture, doors and walls.

Thinking that I would slow him down, I went back out and bought six children's books. K.O. sat in my lap and listened to me read a story to him for thirty minutes before he became bored, and wanted to return to riding the tricycle.

My mother wanted to know about my work, if I had a girlfriend, and if I was happy. I told her that I was working hard, did not have a girlfriend at present, but that I was happy.

I told her about the Florida house, and promised to have her come for a visit, possibly in the spring, before the heat became unbearable.

I don't know why I didn't visit the two men who had transformed my life from lackluster to meaningful. Daniel Olsen had unknowingly sent me home early from the pond one July day in 1985, and Judge Slocum had sent me to his friend, John Oldham, who had molded me into the man I'd become.

I don't know why I didn't at least drive by Becky's house either. It didn't occur to me to phone her mother to find out where she was and what she was doing.

The only time I saw Heather was when she came to lunch with us on Sunday. She brought a man that never took off his cowboy hat. He also wore a belt with a large buckle, western style boots and his shirt had lots of pearl buttons.

"We've been on the rodeo circuit. Andy was doing really good until a mean old bull threw him and nearly broke his collarbone," Heather boasted.

"I didn't know bulls had collarbones," I said, and watched my mother cover her mouth to hide a grin.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother, Andy. Sammy thinks he's smart because he went to college," Heather said, but I saw no indication that Andy had gotten my little joke. He was too busy chewing on large portions of steak.

"Does bull riding pay well," I asked, directing my question at Andy.

.

He continued to chew his meat until it was convenient to answer me. "It does if you win."

"It's expensive to stay on the circuit until you win, Sammy. We need a stake to get started. Will you help us? We'll pay you back as soon as Andy starts winning," Heather appealed to me.

"What about your son? Are you going to take him with you?"

"There isn't room for him in the truck. He'll stay with Mom."

"That's asking a lot of Mom, Heather. How can she take care of K.O. and go to work?"

Heather looked at our mother, and then at me. "She doesn't work at the hospital any more. Didn't you know?"

I didn't know, and I felt ashamed for not keeping in better touch with my mother and sister. How could she go away and leave her son with someone that didn't feel up to taking care of the kid? How was my Mom getting by financially?

"What's the name of the last book you read to him?" I asked Heather.

"I don't ... what's that go to do with anything?"

"How much do you need to stay on the circuit until the end of the year?"

Heather looked at Andy, who couldn't talk with his mouth full of steak, but he nodded as if to indicate she should proceed as planned.

"Not much, two thousand a month would pay for gas and food and entry fees. They don't charge to park the truck at most arenas."

"Is the truck where you sleep?"

"Yeah, we've got it fixed up real comfy."

"Okay, Heather, here's the deal. K.O. has six new books. You read to him every night the rest of this month. You may need to read them two or three times for him to pass the test. When he can tell me the gist of each story, and something about the characters, I'll stake you for the first month on the road. You let me know how you're doing at the end of November. If Andy hasn't won any money, I'll send another two thousand dollars on the condition that you come home to be here with Mom and your son for his birthday and Christmas."

"Gee, Sammy, you're going to make me read all those books to him when we could be back on the circuit. Why can't Mom read them to him if it's so important to you?"

"If you don't know why it's important that you read to him, I'm wasting my time. You've heard my offer and you can take it or leave it."

"Every night?" she whined.

"Forget it. I'm wasting my time."

Andy suddenly found his voice. "We'll take it."

"K.O., your Mom is going to read your books to you. Listen closely, okay? Ask her to read them over and over so you can tell me what the stories are about, okay?"

I'm not sure he understood me, but he nodded his head.

The next day, I copied the titles of the six books before I left.

"Did your Mom read one of the books to you last night?" I asked K.O.

He had to think before answering, "Yeah."

Before leaving, I wrote a check and told my mother she could expect another one the first of November. My duty done for another year, I drove to the airport and boarded my flight, heading back to the family and the life I'd grown accustomed to.

Demolition of the first floor space was underway. I stayed late each day to monitor the progress, and stopped by every morning before going upstairs to my office. Daniel McDonald was always there when I visited the space.

The Lynch brothers didn't call and I didn't hear from Mrs. Collingsworth until the fifteenth of October. She first called Wanda to say that we would be attending The Reapers meeting at the home of Rudolph and Clair Phillips.

"How much longer are you going to let her lead you around by the nose, Sammy?" Wanda asked, obviously concerned about the way the woman was treating me.

"What can I do?"

"Speak to Suzanne. She'll tell Mr. Oldham what's going on and he'll do something about it."

"It's not that simple," I said.

"I told her you were downstairs showing the space," Wanda said, with a giggle.

"What did she have to say about that?"

"Nothing, I'm not sure she understood me."

Mrs. Collingsworth called again later, demanding to speak to me.

"This is dress-down Friday. Wear something casual. We'll drive the black car," she said, ending the call before I could object.

I went home and changed into jeans and a sweater before having dinner with Mr. Oldham and Suzanne. We talked about the trip we were taking to Florida. They would be going on Saturday before the holiday and returning the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I would wait until Tuesday and travel with Ned, Penelope and Samantha. Mr. Oldham's main concern was how we would all fit in the small car that I'd left there. It was decided that Ned would rent a car that would accommodate all six of us.

I told them that I was going to The Reapers meeting at the Phillips' home, but avoided saying anything about driving Mrs. Collingsworth in the black car.

She was waiting for me in the garage, standing next to the passenger door and tapping her toe on the concrete floor. I got out of my car, opened the door for her and watched her duck her head as she got in.

The Phillips were in the footwear business. That's all I knew when we arrived. Clair was a member of The Reapers, but 'Rudy' was there, mixing drinks and making sure the snack table was well stocked. From the looks of the house, the shoe business was treating them well.

I remembered most of the names of the members I'd met the previous month, but Mrs. Collingsworth made sure that they remembered me as she hovered near me the entire night. I didn't get a chance to use the cigarette lighter she'd had delivered to me. Had she given up smoking?

She only left my side long enough to visit the bathroom. That's when Kelley pounced.

"Have you thought any more about Nantucket, Sammy?"

"Didn't I tell you about our plans to go to Florida for Thanksgiving, Kelley?"

"I thought you might reconsider. I'm sure Nantucket would be more fun."

"What's new with your photographer friend? He could take pictures, and you could pose for him."

"Really, Sammy, don't you have any forgiveness in your heart?" she asked, as she moved away from me. Mrs. Collingsworth was glaring at her from across the room.

The main topic at the meeting that night was the collection of children's toys for parties that were going to be held for kids in some of the poorer communities. Marsha Cody named five members who had volunteered to call local businesses for donations. She also said that appeals would be made to the general public, advising them of the drop-off locations where children's toys and clothing could be left. She also said that Kelley Harvey would be hosting the next meeting to be held on Monday, the fifteenth of November.

I wondered how long it would be before I'd be asked to host a party or volunteer for a job.

I got a chance to speak with Rudy Phillips about his and Clair's footwear business. Mrs. Collingsworth was hovering next to me, absorbing every word. They imported shoes from the Orient and sold them wholesale. He said the secret was quick turnover of inventory, and keeping up with the latest styles. "We're investigating internet marketing. It's the wave of the future," he said and I felt Mrs. Collingsworth's arm tighten around my waist.

"I want to ... how do you say ... pick his brain about internet marketing," she said on the way to her house. "Call him on Monday and invite them to have dinner with us next Friday. Find out if they can eat shellfish and which wines they prefer. Margaret will make one of her specialties. Do you like salmon, Mr. Oldham?"

Was she ordering me to help entertain the Phillips at her home on Friday evening? What if I had other plans? Well, it was a damn good thing that I wasn't busy.

Marcie roared when I told her how Mrs. Collingsworth was treating me like her boy toy.

"What was she wearing?" she asked.

"It was casual night. She wore designer jeans I'd seen before, along with a dark blue sweatshirt that had 'Mexico' printed in red across the front, a turquoise pendant and matching earrings. That's the first time I've seen her wearing jewelry other than the pendant.

"High heels?"

"Are you kidding? Hell yes, I don't think she goes anyplace without four inch heels."

"Did you get a kiss?"

"It's not really a kiss. She brushes her top lip across my mouth. I may have felt a little tongue last night, but I'm not sure."

"What are you doing?"

"Reading children's books," I said, and followed up with the deal I'd offered Heather to read the books to K.O. in exchange for a stake to support them while Andy pursued his dream of becoming a rodeo star.

Marcie said it was a good idea, and left me to my reading. I wondered if the books were too advanced for a little boy whose fourth birthday was over two months off. I decided to try reading the books to Samantha and after reading the most advanced book twice to her, she was telling me what was going to happen when I turned the next page.