The Doctor Gets a Visitor III
by: E Walk

(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
 

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


Chapter 42

The Funeral and Dusty Arrives

Saturday morning I was awakened by Danny crawling over me saying, “Excuse me, D. Dad, I have to go to the bathroom really bad.”

Beau heard Danny and bounced over Jeff.  The two guys took a shower and came out of the bathroom naked and disappeared into the study.  The next thing I remember was a different voice saying, “Dr. Wilson sir, here is your coffee.   Beau said to tell you that breakfast will be ready in 30 minutes.”

Danny shook Jeff who ambushed Danny and pulled him close and said, “Tell the monster in the kitchen I ain’t getting up today.”

“No way Jose.  He’s already fretting that he is going to screw up at the funeral and make a fool of himself and ruin Mr. Davis’ funeral.”

We got downstairs and Beau had breakfast ready.  Everyone gathered and ate.  Jason and I did the dishes while everyone else got ready to go.  Jeff, Beau, and Danny picked up Denny.  Tommy went and got Chris, Spencer and Chip.

The guys met at the church.  The ushers and the pall bearers were briefed by the funeral director and Father Gilbert.  Chip and Spencer stood with Mrs. Davis as the people started to arrive.  The ushers were seating the people and handing them programs.

At precisely10:00 Mrs. Davis was escorted down the aisle by Spencer and Chip.  As the casket was being brought forward, Beau sang "Here I Am Lord".  At the appropriate time, Beau sang "In the Garden" and followed with a recitation of the 23^rd  Psalm. He then sang "He Leadeth Me" and as the casket was being taken out he sang "The Lord’s Prayer".

I was watching Beau and he was emotionally exhausted and I was afraid that he was going to pass out or something, but he sat down and pulled himself together.

After everyone exited, the guys disappeared into limousines with Mrs. Davis and they followed the hearse to the cemetery.  Jeff handed his banjo to Kenny and told him what Beau was going to sing.

As the casket was being lowered, Beau sang "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and got the ushers and pall bears and Jeff to help with the refrain.

As Beau finished, there was a wind that came up and Chip looked strange and then Spencer got the same look as did Mrs. Davis.  Jeff got a funny look on his face and Beau began to shake.  I moved beside him put my arms around him.

Chip looked at Mrs. Davis and said, “Grandpa Davis just said goodbye and is on his way to heaven.”

Everyone was stunned and it returned to being a calm day.  Chip put a rose on the ground at the head of the grave and everyone started to leave.

Beau saw Judge Leavitt and asked, “Judge Leavitt, did you know Grandpa Davis?”

“Yes, the Davises live in the house directly behind your new house, when you move in.”  she answered. 

Beau said, “Cool, then she can just walk to our house for dinners.”

We went and said goodbyes to the Peoria people as they were leaving.  The guys all hugged them and told them to come visit again real soon.

The guys rode the limousines back to the church and Mrs. Davis asked the guys to come inside for just a minute.  She handed envelopes to the six pall bearers first.  They thanked her and followed Tommy’s lead and just put the envelope in a pocket without opening it.

The four ushers did the same thing.

When she handed Chip and Spencer envelopes, Chip asked, “What’s this for?  I didn’t do anything?

“Grandpa Davis and I want you to have it, to show you how much we love you.”

Chip and Spencer both kissed her and put the envelope in their pockets like the big guys had done.

She went to Beau and Jeff and they both shook their heads no.  Mrs. Davis shook her head yes and stuffed the envelopes in their back pockets.

Beau said, “Guys, did you see that?  Grandma Davis was touching the merchandise.

That was what everyone needed and they all started to laugh.  The guys walked Mrs. Davis to her car and kissed her.  Beau asked her to come for dinner but she declined saying that the Potts had already invited her to dinner.

“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow night for sure.  There are going to be a bunch of people there that you already know.    Come comfortable because we may be eating on the floor.”  He kissed her again.

When the guys got home, Jeff and Beau started some soup and sandwiches while the other guys changed.  Tommy came down and took over while Jeff and Beau changed.

While we were eating, the phone rang.  It was Drew.  He wanted to speak to

Jeff.

“Drew, I had nothing to do with it. … How much did you get? … $100.00 for doing nothing.  That’s pretty good. … Tommy, how much was in your envelope? …Tommy hasn’t opened his envelope yet. … Don’t worry about it.  Grandma Davis must have really appreciated what you guys did.”

Jeff just hung up when the phone rang again.  Jeff answered.  “Hi Reg, what’s up? … I don’t know why she gave Chip $500.00. … Let me talk to him. … Chip, Grandpa and Grandma Davis love you like a grandson and want you to be able to do some fun things. … Just have your Daddy and Mommy put it into your bank account and then when you want something you can buy it. …  Okay, Love you.”

Jeff said, “Danny, how much did you get for being an usher?”

Danny said, “I wasn’t expecting anything.  I put the envelope in my pocket and figured I would open it later.”

The four guys went to retrieve their envelopes and Danny opened and read his first.  He started to cry. “I’ve never had a $100.00 before in my life.  What am I going to do with the money?  I can’t take it back to the home and if I come back with anything fancy, the residents would accuse me of doing all sorts of things.  They already don’t understand why people keep checking me out of the facility.”

Tommy opened and read his note and he also had a $100.00.

Beau said, “Jeff, you’re next.”

Jeff read what was written on the outside.  “Jeff you were absolutely brilliant again.  He opened the letter and there were ten $100.00 bills and he almost lost it.  He read, “Dear Jeff, I just wish that you could have been our son.  You are so talented and seem to be always giving to others and helping them to become better.  Thanks for everything. D.”

Jeff started to shake and Tommy held him.  Jason said, “Okay General, what does yours say?”

Beau read the outside, “Dear Beau, you put your heart and soul into the service today.  I know Mr. Davis could feel every emotion that you were feeling.  You are a wonderful and talented young man.”

He opened the envelope and read it and bolted from the room. 

Jeff went to go after him but I said, “Beau needs some down time.  He has had a lot of things happen to him this week.  He’ll be back in a few minutes and be as bossy as ever.”

Everyone had cleared the table and was doing the dishes when Beau came in and started.  “Tommy, we need to go to Uncle Barry’s, so we can make sure the cleaning crew is doing everything correctly.  Dad and Jeff, here is the shopping list of everything we need for tomorrow, and make sure you have enough whiskey for the punch and enough white wine to go with dinner.  There will be about 60 people for dinner.  About 25 of them will be unable to drink alcohol.  I hope I’ve remembered everything.  Buy some steaks and we’ll grill outside tonight and don’t forget that Trey, Ranger and Chip are coming about 7:00”

Tommy said, “I’m not working today.  I’m rather tired.”  “Oh, so Uncle Lyle wore you out last night?” Beau laughed,

The four guys left with the extra towels.  The guys did their magic on the house and it was shining.  They came back to the house at 5:00.  Danny and Beau were laughing about something. 

Jeff and Beau started to get dinner ready and Jason asked, “Dad, can I have Davey, Larry and Lenny over to spend the night.  We can help take care of Trey and Chip while Beau is working on the food for tomorrow night?”

Jeff and Tommy were laughing and Tommy said, “I’ll sleep in the study and you four can use my bed.  Chip and Trey can sleep in your room.  Beau, where are you and Danny going to sleep?”

“Oh, we’ll sleep in the dungeon as normal and swill beer.”  Beau answered.

Jason made his calls and Beau started the grill.  Jeff had started the baked potatoes and husked the sweet corn and made a salad.  Danny was relegated to setting the table and taking orders for the steaks. 

As we were eating, Danny asked, “Do you people just pitch in and help each other all the time.  No one seems to tell anyone to do anything.  Jeff and Beau were cooking and Tommy and Jason were doing laundry and D. Dad goes quietly about his business.  There is no yelling or accusations.  Everything just seems to happen naturally.”

Beau asked, “Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to happen.  After all, we are all part of this family, right now.”

Everyone cleared their own dishes while Beau and Danny did the dishes.  Jason was making the beds and Tommy was getting ready to leave. 

As Tommy was leaving, Beau went to Tommy and kissed him and said, “I hope Little Tommy is feeling a little rested.  I want a five page report on what happened last night.”  Beau said, as he dashed away and stood behind me.

Tommy shook his fist and laughed as he left.

Beau announced, “The kitchen is off limits for the next 24 hours.”

Everyone started to arrive and Chip came in and asked, “Where am I sleeping?”

Beau said, “You’re sleeping in our room with Trey and Ranger.”

Chip took his bag up and put it in the room.  He became the greeter as everyone arrived. 

Beau and Danny were working in the kitchen and the younger six were in the basement playing and watching videos.  At 8:00 Beau served them their snacks and had them line up and count them off.  He said, “All ones go to Dad’s bathroom, and no messing around.  The twos will do the dishes and then they will go get their showers and get ready for bed.  I want everyone to shampoo and condition their hair.”

“I want everyone to leave their doors open tonight so Ranger can make sure everyone is okay.”  Beau said.

By 8:45 the guys were settled and there was a knock on the door.  Tyler and Kevin brought a crying Spencer into the room.  Beau and Danny heard them and came in to see what was happening.

Spencer said, “I can’t take this money from Mrs. Davis.  I didn’t do anything.”

Jeff said, “Spence my man, we have all had the same experience, today.  I think that what you and Chip did today was just what Grandma Davis needed.  The ushers and pall bearers got gifts.  Beau and I got very generous gifts, which we did not earn or deserve but I think Grandma and Grandpa Davis would be deeply offended if we didn’t accept the gifts graciously.”

Spencer fell into Jeff’s arms and asked, “Why is it that you and Beau always know what to say and do?”

Danny was holding Beau who was shaking.  He said, “You should have seen Beau.  He went into total meltdown when he read his note.  Even Jeff had a hard time accepting his gift.”

Spencer perked up and said, “You mean they’re human after all?”

“Yep, if we could get their blood to be red instead of green then our mission would be complete.” Danny laughed.

Everyone started to laugh and Beau dove for Danny, took Danny down and said, “Hey, at least we have blood.”

Everyone was laughing when Trey and Chip came down the stairs and asked, “What’s so funny?”

Spencer said, “Nothing guys.  Go back to bed.  Beau and Danny are being their nasty selves.”

The two went back up the steps and Beau asked, “Spencer, I thought you had a sitting job for tonight?”

I did, but while we were cleaning this afternoon, the people called and said that their son had come down with the measles and they decided to stay home, but they have already booked me for next Friday and Saturday.  Oh by the way, there have already been 20 calls about the yard company.  We need to talk about that on Monday.  Thanks for being here.  I love you guys.”  Spencer said as they left.

Beau announced, “Danny and I are going to bed.  We already had a shower at Uncle Barry’s when we were cleaning the bathrooms.”

Jeff and I waited for Tommy to come in and we all went to bed.  Jeff was emotionally and physically exhausted.  After our shower, he pulled me close and the dam burst.  He finally stopped crying and just collapsed.  Little did I know what was about to happen.

Everyone was asleep when Beau was awakened by Ranger.  Ranger put Beau's wrist in his mouth and Beau realized he wanted Beau to follow him.  Ranger stopped at the front door.  Beau grabbed my overcoat and opened the door and turned on the light.

Ranger bounded out and cornered a young guy in the corner of the porch.  “Please don’t let the dog bite me.  Please, may I come in, I’m so cold and then you can call the police.”

Beau took the person inside and saw a shivering young man about his age.  He took the young man into bathroom in the downstairs suite and said, “Strip and take a hot bath while I fix you some hot chocolate and fix you something to eat.  Ranger is going to stay in here to make sure you don’t try anything stupid.”

“You want me to take my clothes off in front of you?”  the person asked.

“Yes, unless you’re going to take a bath with your clothes on.”  Beau started the water as the new arrival was stripping. 

Beau picked up the clothes and hit the new person’s penis and said, “Not bad for a 12 year old.”

“I’m 14 you creep.”  the person said.

“Okay 14, Ranger is going to watch while I fix your snack and wash your clothes.” Beau left.

As the intruder was getting out, Beau came in and handed him a pair of briefs and said, “I hope you took care of you needs and cleaned the bathtub.  I mean you are going to be sleeping with two virile teenagers tonight. Now come in and eat.”

They went into the kitchen and Beau gave the person a cup of hot chocolate and a grilled cheese sandwich and asked, “Do you suppose you could tell me your name, so I don’t have to call you hey you all the time?”

“My name is Dusty Striker.”  the young man answered.

Beau said, “I’m Beau Benson and your rescuer is Ranger Crosby. 

Ranger raised his head yipped.  Beau opened the back door and before long Ranger was back.  He tapped at the door and Beau let him in. 

Beau took Dusty downstairs and said, “I’ll sleep in the middle since you don’t know Danny.”

Ranger stationed himself on the first floor so he could take care of the guys upstairs and the guys downstairs.

To be continued...

Feedback always welcome:     

Editor's Notes:

Is there any doubt what so ever that there is in fact a loving God?

Who else would make sure to send all these wonderful kids into situations that bring to the attention of Jeff, Beau and the rest of the guys?

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/12/07