Benji in Control
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 39  

Meet the Doctors

Cole left on Tuesday morning.  “I’ll call you tomorrow night.  We’re scheduled to fly to San Diego on Thursday.  I’ll probably never last through practice today.  I’ll probably fall asleep standing up.”

I watched as my man disappeared in his truck.  I went to make coffee and was sitting on the deck when Benji appeared.  He crawled on the deck chair with me. “Good morning, Daddy.  I guess Dad has already left?”

I hugged Benji, “Yep, he’s on his way to Atlanta.”

“Shucks, I wanted to give him a kiss for good luck.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Rocky and R.B.  It's going to be difficult calling Burnsey, R. B. “Good morning, men.  Nice to see you up and about.  R. B., I have some paperwork that you need to take to the office at school, so they don’t make you get some shots.  Tell the people at school that if they need anything else, to give me a call.”

The three youngest boys appeared.  Mikey started to complain, “Daddy, we need to eat, so we’re not late for the bus.  Does the bus know that it’s supposed to pick us up?”

“Mikey, the bus will pick you up, as long as you’re standing at the bus stop when the bus comes.  We can see it coming, so there isn‘t any reason for you to stand and wait.  Let’s go get some breakfast to keep you people from starving this morning.”

I watched as the six boys boarded the bus.  I waited for them to wave goodbye.  But that was out of the question.  Their friends were more important than their dear old dad.”

When I arrived at the school, no one was in my parking space.  When I walked into the office, Alexis greeted me with a cup of coffee, “Good morning, President C., do you have any special instructions for us, today?”

“Nope, you and Karen need to keep everything under control.  Make sure I’m awake for my ten thirty class.  I need to go get ready, since I was rather busy last night.”

When I walked into the classroom, I looked around and the room was almost full.  There were only three faces I recognized:  one was Tim Cooper, the second was Miss Bailey and the third was Jordan Carpenter.  I was surprised by the number of older people who were there.

As class was ending, I announced, “Mr. Cooper, Miss Bailey and Mr. Carpenter, I would like to speak to you after class.”

Tim and Jordan knew each other and it turned out they both knew Miss Bailey.  As they approached me, I heard Jordan ask, “Julia and Tim, do you have any idea why Dr. C. wants to talk to us.  You don’t suppose he’s going to ask us to drop the class because there are too many students, do you?”

“Jordan, I’m not going to ask you to drop the course.  I want to know how and why you enrolled in this class, when I didn’t know I was going to be teaching it until yesterday.”

Julia answered, “That’s a no brainer,  It’s one of the few courses the school is offering that isn’t a freshman or sophomore course.  I’ve had most of the basic courses that the school is offering, except the ones that you are unfortunately teaching.  I am doomed to being bored to death for a semester.”

Jordan laughed, “I second what Julia said.  I was relieved that there was at least one course that was being offered that might stimulate this little ole brain of mine.”

I looked at Tim, “Tim, I know that you’re a true freshman.  Why are you taking this class?”

“Simple, my dear Dr, Christiansen,  I was scheduled to take a class that Uncle Clark was teaching, and he convinced me that I needed to take a course that would prove to my parents and myself that I had the ability to finally make something of myself.  So here I am.  Have pity on me when it comes to grading our work.”

I changed my mind, ‘I think this is going to be my favorite course.’

We were interrupted by the arrival of Alex and Greg.  Alex looked a little sheepish, “Come on, Julia, I brought us a sandwich and a drink.  I need to get to work and relieve Alexis, so she can attend her afternoon classes.”

Alex and Julia departed.  Greg explained, “We need to go see if Drs. Summers and Mitchell need some help.  Dr. Christiansen, how many more students are we going to be able to handle?”

“Greg, I honestly don’t know.  I guess I need to have a staff meeting to find out what’s happening.  No one tells me nothing.”

I didn’t think anything of it when Tim was walking beside me until he went into the office with me.  Finally, I caught on.  When we walked in, he grinned at Alexis.  “Alex will be here as soon as he wines and dines Julia.  Have you had lunch yet?”

School’s been in session two days, and love is in the air.  ’Who is  Julia Bailey if she’s taking up level courses?”

“Karen, when Alex gets here, would the two of you arrange for a short staff meeting at four o’clock if everyone can be available.  I feel as if I’ve lost control.”

Alex came into the office at nearly three o’clock, “Dr. C., Doctor and Mrs. Bailey would like to speak with you.”

Since the only Bailey I knew in Harwood area was Julia, I assumed the Baileys were related to her.  “Alex, please show them in.”

Alex brought a distinguished looking couple who had a complexion a little lighter than Cole’s.  I stood to greet them, “Good afternoon, Doctor and Mrs. Bailey, please have a seat.  Alex, see if there is anything that you can get the Baileys to drink.”

The lady shook her head, “That won’t be necessary, Putty.  We can’t stay long.”

I looked at Alex and mouthed, ‘Putty?’

He grinned and put out his fist as if he was going to give me the bird and disappeared.

The lady put out her hand, “I’m Dinah Bailey and this is my husband Jack Bailey.”

After we were seated, I asked, “I assume that you’re here to talk about Julia?”

Doctor Bailey appeared to be a little nervous, “Dr. Christiansen, we’re concerned about what kind of education Julia is going to be receiving here at Harwood.  When she informed us that she was going to have you for her instructor for three courses, we really got concerned.  We began to think that this was a one man operation.”

I put up my hand, “Doctor and Mrs. Bailey, this is anything but a one man operation.  We have seven people who have their doctorates on the staff, full time.  That does not include a number of qualified instructors who will also be teaching classes  Enrollment has gotten to the point that nearly all of us full time people have had to add a third class to our workload to service the people of our community who want to take advantage of what we have to offer.  It was a sheer act of fate that caused Julia to be in all three of the classes that I’m going to be teaching, which is surprising since two of them are upper level courses.  There must be something about Julia I don’t know.”

Mrs. Bailey nodded, “Julia attended Columbia University last year and was an honors student.  She informed us about the first of August that she wasn’t returning to Columbia this fall.  That caused Jack and I a lot of grief,  The only way she would even consent to going to school was if she could attend Harwood JCC.”

Doctor Bailey shook his head, “We were concerned about Julia’s mental state and took her to see Doctor Lancer.  Do you know who Doctor Lancer is?”

I shook my head no, “The only Dr. Lancer I know is Craig and his wife Eleanor.  We sat beside them at the football game last weekend at the Falcon‘s game.  I assumed that they were from the Atlanta area.  We didn’t talk about what business he was in.”

Doctor Bailey laughed, “You were correct in your assumption that Craig and Eleanor live in Atlanta.  Craig is one of the best psychiatrists in the Atlanta area.  He has a satellite office here in Harwood where he has appointments on Tuesdays.  Julia has an appointment with him this afternoon and is there as we speak.  It will be interesting to see what Craig has to say.  Thanks for taking the time to meet with us.”

Mrs. Bailey stood, “Dr. Christiansen, I feel so much better now that we had a chance to meet you.  Make Julia work her little butt off and maybe she’ll decide that Columbia wasn’t so awful after all.”

Doctor Bailey handed me a business card, “Call me if you ever need my services.”

At the staff meeting, I told the staff about my meeting with the Baileys.  Clark started to laugh, “Doug, Doctor Bailey is an orthodontist.  He is the best in the Harwood area.  People come from miles around to take advantages of his expertise.”

Derek and Austin reported that new enrollments had pretty much stopped.  Mackenzie reported that it would be almost impossible to offer any more courses, since all of the facilities were being used to the maximum.

I looked at the people, “I want to thank all of you for your excellent work.  Let’s hope that enrollment doesn’t drop off too dramatically next semester.”

As I walked out of the conference room, Doctor Lancer was sitting there.  I walked to him and shook his hand, “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Doctor Lancer?”

“One of my patients was talking about you, this afternoon, and I thought I would stop by and see how the boys were doing.”

I laughed, “Why don’t you go to Summerhill and you can see for yourself?  They were on mountain high after the first day of school yesterday and didn’t stop talking.  Summerhill is on the way to Atlanta.”

When the two cars pulled into the driveway, the boys were in the riding area.  As soon as they saw us they started to the dismounting platform.  I was pleased to see that R. B. was riding by himself and seemed to be doing quit well.  Benji was the first to dismount.  He hugged me and shook Doctor Lancer’s hand, “Hi Dr. Lancer, are you going to be staying for dinner?”

“Benji, I need to get home to Atlanta.  Mrs. Lancer will be waiting for me.  I just wanted to stop and see how you guys were doing.  Your Dad tells me that you’re really excited about school.” 

Benji grinned, “Yep, but I think R. B. is the most excited now that he doesn’t have to go to the Military Academy anymore.”

Doctor Lancer looked around, “Who is R. B.?  I don’t remember anyone by that name.”

R. B. stepped forward, “That’s me, Doctor Lancer.  The kids at school started to laugh when I told them my name was Burnsey, so I changed it to R. B.  I sure don’t want to be called Ray like my Dad.  And I don’t want to be called Junior because that means I’m like my Dad and I’m not.”

As I was walking Doctor Lancer to his car, he stopped, “Doug, I think that it might be good for you to bring R. B. to my office next Tuesday.  He is filled with a lot of hate for his father.”

I nodded, “Doctor Lancer, that’s just the beginning.  He doesn’t like his Mother and he absolutely hates his stepmother.  I can’t say that I blame him, from what I know about the three people.”

“Doug, you’re scaring me.  Have him in my office next Tuesday at eight thirty.  We need to get rid of that animosity, or it’s going to consume him.”

“Doctor Lancer, both Cole and I are concerned about his mental health.  He even intimated that he was considering the idea of committing suicide or running away and disappearing, if they tried to take him away from Summerhill.”

“Oh my God.  Doug, I’ll bring Eleanor here on Saturday, if that’s okay with you, to talk to R. B.  What time would be convenient for you?”

“Doctor Lancer, why don’t you plan to come in the afternoon and I’ll tell the guys that I invited you to dinner.  We have nothing planned until Sunday.  We’ll take the Great Grandmothers to church and dinner and we’ll have to watch the game, starting at four.”

“Great, we’ll see you on Saturday.  The other guys can take my wife riding, which she’ll love, while I visit with R. B.”

The rest of the week went fine and R. B. seemed totally happy.  I was beginning to think that perhaps I had overreacted.  The guys were excited about the Lancers coming for the dinner on Saturday.  After we had met the Lancers, Mrs. Lancer asked, “Guys, it’s been a long time since I’ve been riding.  Do you think any of the horses would let me ride them?”

Benji answered, “Of course, they let big people ride them all the time.  Let’s go ask Dan and David to help us saddle the horses.”

Doctor Lancer put up his hand, “Guys, R. B. and I will be with you shortly.  Tell the guys to saddle horses for us, as well.  I have some questions I need to ask R. B..”

It was almost an hour later when Doctor Lancer and R. B. came out on the deck where I was watching Mrs. Lancer and the guys.  Mrs. Lancer was a proficient horsewoman.  She was jumping the obstacle course, as was Benji, while the other four guys were watching.

When Doctor Lancer and R. B. appeared, I pointed. “Our horses are waiting for us.  R. B. saw them and started jumping down the stairs.  He was sitting astride his horse by the time Doctor Lancer and I arrived at the riding area. I was a little dubious about what might be happening, but Doctor Lancer only said, “Doug, R. B. will be fine, as long as someone doesn’t try to take him away from here.  I’ll explain more later.”

We joined Mrs. Lancer and the other five boys and Benji asked, “Daddy, can we take Doctor and Mrs. Lancer to the lake.”

“Of course, let’s go.”

As I knew would happen when we arrived at the lake, Mikey asked, “Daddy, can we go swimming in our briefs since we don’t have a our swimming suits and there’s a lady with us?”

Mrs. Lancer looked around, “Guys, get comfortable.  We had three sons and we have six grandsons and four granddaughters.  You have nothing I haven’t seen before.  Besides, it wouldn’t be very comfortable to have to wear wet briefs back to the ranch.”

None of the boys argued and they were in the water naked before I could say anything.  Mrs. Lancer was sitting on the pier with her feet in the water while Doctor Lancer and I were sitting on the grass watching the boys. 

He looked at me, “Doug, it’s too bad that you can’t reassure R. B. that his parents aren’t going to take him away.”

“Sir, I do have papers from both parents assigning me as the person who is responsible for taking care of R. B. especially in the event that something should happen to them.”

“Does R. B know?”

“No, sir. I hadn’t thought to talk to him about the papers.  He’s been so happy, I thought it best not to disturb him, since I felt he was safe for the time being.”

R. B. came and sat down between Doctor Lancer and me, even though he was naked, “Dad Doug, was the reason that you invited Doctor Lancer here, so he could take to me?  He’s one of those shrinks that my Mother made me go see, isn’t he?”

Doctor Lancer answered, “R. B., I am a psychiatrist.  I asked Dr. Christiansen if I could meet with you?”

“Why?  Do my parents want you to put me back on medicine, so I’ll do they want me to do?”

The vehemence of R. B.’s comment caught both Doctor Lancer and me by surprise.  Doctor Lancer took a deep breath, “R. B., I do not personally know your parents, or step mother, and I don’t think I want to, from what you told me about them.  Medicine isn’t the answer to anything.  You need to be the best kid you can be, for Dr. Christiansen, and make sure that his sons and Rocky don’t have to have a life like you must have had.”

Saved by Benji, “R. B., are you going to sit there and show off for the men, or are you going to swim.  Come on, I’ll race you across the lake and whip your butt.”

R. B. took off and the two guys were swimming; it was evident that Benji was the better swimmer, but not by much.

Dan and David arrived in a go cart with their swimming suits on.  Dan grinned, “Dr. C., we thought the guys might need some towels.  We didn’t realize that this was going to be a nude swimming party.”

“Thanks, guys.  The guys will be much more comfortable going back to the ranch with dry clothes on.”

I whistled, “Guys, we need to go.  We need to finish fixing dinner for our guests.”

When we arrived back at the house, Mrs. Lancer, Dan, David and the guys went to take care of the horses while I took Doctor Lancer with me.  I handed him the two packets of papers that I had signed, and had everything on the grill when the boys and Mrs. Lancer arrived to be of some assistance.

We were just about ready to eat when Doctor Lancer appeared.  He approached the grill where I was cooking and whispered, “Doug, you need to sit down and go over the paperwork that you have with R. B., immediately.  It will take a load off of his mind.  Trust me.  This is something that you need to do, and do now.” 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Getting the paperwork from both of R.B.'s parents was very important.  Doug and Cole now have all the legal rights, for them to take care of R. B. 

The wicked stepmother can't ever get her hands on his property, no matter what she tries.  Even R. B.'s father sees her for what she is, and doesn't want her to get control of R. B. or his property. 

I am glad that Doug is going to explain everything to R. B. so he knows that he is safe from that awful bitch, and that both of his parents actually took the time and trouble to provide paperwork, and make it ironclad.

I can hardly wait for the next chapter so we can find out what happens next.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/08/10