The Doctor Gets a Visitor
by: E Walk

(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Radio Rancher
 

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

 

Chapter 32
Sunday Afternoon

Everyone was finally leaving and Jeff was locking the organ when Drew said, “I’m going with David. I don’t trust that truck and I’m hungry.”

“Don’t worry Jeff, I’ll go with you.” said Spencer.

Jeff and Spencer were the last to arrive at the club and Spencer went to get Jimmy. “He’s been good hasn’t he, Mr. and Mrs. E.?”

They nodded yes. Spencer took him and put him on a chair next to him. Jeff, in the meantime, had been talking to Mitchell. When he sat down in the last available space, Mrs. T. asked, “Bishop Lancaster would you please bless the food?”

He did, and the staff brought a fresh fruit cup. When everyone had finished, it was replaced by a hot tomato base soup, with crab. When they finished that, and the bowls were cleared, Mitch said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please help yourselves to the buffet.”

Spencer took Jimmy to Jeff and said, “Would you please hold Jimmy and talk to him, while I help Mrs. Baxter get her food. He knows you are his godbrother too.”

I was watching what was going on. I was amazed when Toby escorted Mrs. T., Teddy escorted his Grandmother Robinson, Drew escorted Aunt Cora and Kenny escorted Mrs. Lancaster.

When they were finished, they stood back and waited for the rest of the adults to finish and then the young people came back with loaded plates, Spencer came and got Jimmy and talked to him and took him to his place. Jeff was the last person to go through the serving line.

Everyone was eating and Mrs. T. asked, “Eric, when is your interview at Valmont?”

“They want me to be there at ten on Tuesday.” Eric answered.

She turned to Josh and Ben and asked, “Josh and Ben, what are your plans when the Regional Center in Norfolk closes?”

“Mom, we were thinking about moving back here to Fremont and setting up practices here, but are a little apprehensive since we don’t know how the people would react to us living together.” Josh answered.

“Uncle Josh, Mom says that you and Ben are gay. Is that right?” asked Melanie.

“Yes, Ben and I are partners, and have been together for twenty five years.” Josh answered.

“So what's wrong with being gay?” asked Teddy. “I don’t think people choose to be gay. Jeff lay awake at night and cried himself to sleep saying ‘I don’t want to be gay.’ When he finally talked to our parents, he finally accepted there was nothing he could do about it, and worked harder to make himself a better person.”

Jeff interrupted the discussion and asked, “Granddad, how many horses do you have now?”

“We just bought two more. I don’t know how good they will be, because they are still quite young. That makes a total of 27 I think.” He answered.

Toby got excited, “Can we come and ride them, Sir?”

“Well the horses are at the ranch in Texas, and they are race horses, so I don’t think it would be good for you to ride them. We do have some stable horses that you can ride when you come to visit.”

“Mrs. Tillison, how come you're sending back the checks that I send you?” asked Mr. Hendrix.

“Do you remember what I told you to do with the money? After all, Melanie and Melody are my granddaughters also.” she said.

“What’s Grams talking about?” asked Melody.

Mr. Hendrix answered, “Your Grandmother loaned me the money to start my business about 20 years ago. About three years ago, she said that I should put the payments into a college fund account for each of you."

I watched as Mandy and Barry were absorbing the information. Just then Mitchell asked, “Would anyone like any more wine?”

Everyone shook their heads no and Melanie said, “Good, maybe Mommy and Daddy won’t be yelling at each other all night.”

Mandy and Barry went white.

“Desserts are on.” Mitch announced.

Spencer took Jimmy to Jeff and helped Mrs. Baxter through the line and everyone else helped themselves. Spencer came back and said, “Thanks Jeff, I’ll take him now, while you get your dessert.”

“I am not having any dessert, so you go ahead and eat. We’re fine.” Jeff answered.

When Spencer finished, he got up and took Jimmy and was talking to him. Spencer turned to Cindy and Steve and said, “I think Jimmy is getting hungry. He has promised to be good or he knows I will give him a quick smack on the back side.”

Everyone got up and Toby said, “Swim time at Grams house.” Jeff thanked everyone for coming.

“We’re all packed ready to go home.” said Mr. Robinson. “Jeff, talk to Mr. Thompson before you go home. Cindy and Steve followed, “Thanks Grams and guys. This has been fun.”

Spencer walked them to the door and said, “Jimmy promises he will be good because he wants me to teach him how to swim and play baseball.”

“Jeff, come here please.” Mrs. T. requested, as she handed him two envelopes.

Jeff went to Mitch and handed him one of the envelopes and then they went to the kitchen and Jeff gave the other one to Chef Henri.

Jeff came back and everyone got ready to leave and Mrs. Tillison announced, “I’m going to ride with Jeff in the red bomb, and Jack you take Cora with you. See some of you back at the house. Thanks for coming.”

When we got back to the Tillison house, we were joined by Barry and Amanda, Jane and Hank, Linda and Eric, and Ben and Josh. All of the young people were there except for Tyler and Kevin who were taking Mrs. Baxter home.

When Jeff got there, he told the group, “I want a certified life guard on duty at all times, when you are swimming. You have one hour, and then the pool is closed for today.”

Jeff went to Barry and Amanda and asked, “Can I talk to you in Gram’s study please?”

They got up and followed him. When they got to the study, Jeff asked, “I take it that you two do not like me very much, and I don’t know what I did wrong. Would you please tell me what’s wrong?”

Barry answered, “We truly respect you, but we are so embarrassed by the way we have treated my Mother. The girls have made us feel like total idiots the last two days.”

Mandy interjected, “I guess, I am the one that caused all this unhappiness, because I always wanted to have things that are better than anyone else. When I watch Kenny, he is so unassuming and doesn’t expect anything from anyone. He would probably give everyone the shirt off his back and his pants too, if they needed them.”

Jeff said, “Thank you for sharing. I am sure that the girls will enjoy their parents more if you stop worrying about everyone else, and pay attention to them. I would suggest that you also try to make amends with Grams, because I know she doesn't hold any grudge against you.”

They were coming out of the den when Ben and Josh got up and motioned for me to come, and led us into the den. When we got there, Ben said, “Jeff, here is a check for the changes in the Baxter house. We agree with what you are trying to do for Spencer and Tyler. We talked last night and we want you to make it happen so that the guys can live with the Baxter’s. It would be best for all of them. This is probably more than you need, but use whatever is left over to make the house comfortable for everyone.”

Jeff looked at the check and hugged them both. “I’ll keep the receipts so you know how I spent the money. Thank you, gentlemen.”

“Don’t tell anyone where the money came from.” Josh reminded him.

“Yes, Uncle Josh.”

We all walked into the living room and Kevin and Tyler were coming in. Hank said, “I need to see you two, and Spencer, in the bank at 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. Can you be there?”

“I’ll make sure they are there, Uncle Hank. Now Tyler and Kevin, go get everyone out of the pool, and tell them to get dressed.” Jeff said.

Hank turned to Linda and Eric, “How about you bringing your four boys to the bank at 11:00 tomorrow morning? Will that work?”

“We can be there.” Eric answered.

The young people all came up and Toby said, “We’re leaving the suits here for the next time, except Kenny’s. Drew is going to wash them and the towels, so they are ready for the next time. Is that okay, Grams?”

Jeff looked at his watch and said, “Kevin, Tyler and Spencer we need to go. We are meeting Mr. Snyder in 10 minutes.” They said goodbye to everyone and left.

They had just arrived when Mr. Snyder arrived. Spencer answered the door and ushered him into the living room.

Jeff said, “Sir, let me show you what we have in mind, and he led him to the bathroom and Tyler and Spencer followed. Jeff showed him what he thought should be done, and told him what Tyler would be doing. Mr. Snyder looked around and said, “I think it could work nicely, if Tyler could do some extra things in the bathroom to prepare the area. Now, let’s go and see what you are thinking about.”

They went back to the living room and Jeff looked through the catalog and he found exactly what he was looking for. “This is what I had in mind. Let me show Mrs. Baxter to make sure she would be happy with it.”

He handed the catalog to Mrs. Baxter and said, “This shower has rods so you could get into the shower and there is a seat with a ledge and a hand held shower so that your cast would not need to get wet. When the cast is off, there is also an overhead shower so you could take a normal shower,”

“It looks perfect, if we could afford it.” she answered.

“What would it cost to have it installed Mr. Snyder?” Jeff asked.

“I have to order it, and it should be here by Thursday. If I could get some muscle to help next Saturday, we could have it installed by Saturday at noon.”

“We have three strong bodied men here sir, and if we need more, I can round up at least four more guys.” Jeff answered.

Mr. Snyder sat down and started to figure and handed Jeff the estimate. Jeff looked at it and asked, “Is this correct sir? It doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Yes, if Tyler can have the opening cut and the things done in the bathroom by then, it should be relatively easy.” he answered.

You better believe it will be done, Sir. Please order the shower. Would you like to be paid now?’ Jeff asked.

“No, let’s wait until the end and everything is done, and you can write one check. I’ll see you all next Saturday at 9:00.” Mr. Snyder said, as he was leaving. “I’ll call you if there is a problem.”

Jeff escorted him to the door and walked back into the room.

“Jeff, where is the money for this coming from? I won’t take anything from Mrs. Tillison or your father, so you better call Mr. Snyder and tell him to cancel the order.”

Jeff pulled out the check and said, “This check is not from Mrs. Tillison or any relative of mine. I was given this check with the stipulation that the donor remain anonymous. I can’t even tell you how much I have, so get ready to enjoy. Now Tyler, Spencer and I need to get home. What time would you like to go upstairs/”

“I’ll go up now, so one of you won’t need to come back. Kevin can bring me some tea and a sandwich. I’m not hungry after the big meal today.”

“Tyler, help Kevin. We will meet you back at the house.” Jeff said.

On the way home, Spencer asked, “Jeff, can you tell me who the check is from?”

“No Tiger. I promised not to tell anyone.” Jeff answered.

To be continued...


Editor's Note:

It looks like the renovations will happen. That is really nice. Things seem to be working out nicely. Spencer really has a way with Jimmy, doesn't he?

I wonder what will happen next.

Darryl
AKA The Radio Rancher

 

Posted: 4/21/07