The Doctor Gets a Visitor IV
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 6

The Truth Comes Out

On Monday morning, Jeff woke me up and said, “Dad, we need to get moving, I overslept.”

Jeff went to wake everyone up and before long we all assembled in the kitchen for juice and cold cereal.  Danny said, “So this house can be normal.  It’s a good thing that Beau isn’t here or he would be ripping everyone a new body part.”

Back in Des Moines, Beau came down the stairs and Grandpa Morrison was sitting there is a jogging suit.  He looked at Beau and said, “Come on young whipper snapper, we’re going for a slow two mile jog.”

Beau went and changed his clothes and they left and talked the entire time they were jogging.  When they were getting close to the house, Mr. Morrison said, “Beau, I’m sorry you are caught in the middle of this fiasco, but I think you are the best thing that has come out of this charade.”

Beau stopped and said, “Granddad Morrison, all of a sudden, I have the feeling that this is all part of a master plan to get Dylan prepared to take over the company.  How did I get involved?  I’m just a snot nosed kid.”

“My dear boy, I listened to all of the tapes from last Wednesday, and if it hadn’t been for you, this company might be going under very soon, because of Dylan’s parents.  I had gotten fat dumb and lazy and let Dylan’s Dad take care of the business.”

Mr. Morrison continued, “Dylan’s mother was manipulating the strings.  It was a Godsend when Dylan was going to be singing in the choir.  We knew your Grandmother and we asked her to help us with the charade.”

Beau stopped and said, “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.  I am angry that no one had clued me in before.  I am sure that Gigi, D. Dad and Granddad Ben have no idea what is happening, or they would have told me.  I also know that Dylan is overwhelmed by the recent events in his life.  All of a sudden, he is dating a U. S. Senator’s daughter and then wham bang he becomes the CEO of a company and he is only a junior in college.  I don’t know if I can keep what has been happening to him a secret.”

Mr. Morrison pulled Beau close as they walked back to the house.  “Beau, I promise we will tell Dylan and Carole Anne what has been happening.  I’m just not sure how he’s going to take it.”

“Granddad M., Dylan already knows that his mother and father were keeping a mistress and a gigolo.  So, I don’t think there will be many surprises to him, but you and Grandmother M. need to be completely honest with him, because if he found out later what you had done he would feel like he was used.”

Beau stopped and said, “Please give Dylan the reigns.  I am sure that he can make it work, especially if he keeps dating Carole Anne.  She is one sharp young lady, and takes nothing from nobody.  Now I have a question for you.  Did Aunt Nan know what was happening?”

“Not exactly.  We told her to be prepared for some funny things. She probably has some ideas as to what is going on, since she knows more about the company than anyone else.”

The two males walked into the house and Mrs. Morrison said, “You two bonding males sit down and eat, while I get dressed for work.”

The two ate and Mr. Morrison said, “Beau, go get ready for work, and I’ll take care of the clean up, since I’m unemployed.”

Beau went and showered and came down dressed in his hood outfit again.  He was carrying his dress clothes in a bag.  “Okay lady, let’s roll.  Since I’m caught in the middle of this charade, I’m calling the shots.  Gramps, see you later.  Thanks for leveling with me.”

On the way to the office Beau and Mrs. Morrison talked.  Beau said, “Grandma M., I rather resent how I am caught in the middle of this fiasco.”

“Beau, we never meant to involve anyone.  We just wanted to get Dylan to step up and take over when it was evident that his father and mother were dragging the company down the drain.  We just want to retire and take a cruise around the world or some such frivolous thing.”

They arrived at the parking facility.  They were approached by the same young man who had challenged the young people on Wednesday.  Beau jumped out of the car and said, “What’s your name, punk.  I remember you from the other day when you threatened to slash our tires when my friends and I parked where you said we couldn’t park.  I want you in the President’s office at 9:00.  If you are not there, you will be looking for a new job.”

“I can’t leave the lot or I’ll get fired.  I need this job to live.”  the young man said.

“Don’t worry tire boy, if you aren’t there, I’ll torch you clothes in addition to your old jalopy.”  Beau said as he walked into the building.

They were immediately told by the security guard that they would need to sign in.  “Please sign in; it’s a new rule that everyone has to sign in and out.”

Beau said, “I ain’t signing in.”

The security person said, “I guess you’ll be fired then.  We were instructed to have everyone sign in.”

Joey came around the corner and said, “Hi Mrs. Morrison.  Mum said to tell you the coffee is ready.  Mr. C. C. C., she said she would have some hot chocolate for you.  Here are your badges.  Your pictures turned out pretty good.”

The poor security person was amazed at what had just happened, but she continued to challenge everyone who came into the building.

When Mrs. Morrison and Beau got to the Executive suite, Beau said, “Aunt Nan, since you were sort of privy to what was happening; get that Miss Jenson in here.  She’s going to be your administrative assistant, for now.”

Beau was standing at the window looking at the people arriving for work.  Miss Jenson came in and Beau asked, “What’s your name, lady?”

The young woman looked at him and said, “My name is Laura Jenson.” 

“You gotta boyfriend or what?  Beau asked.

“If it’s any of your business, I’ve been dating someone, but neither of us wants to get serious.  We both would like to go to college.  We can’t afford to go, since it takes almost everything we make here to subsist.”

“So he works here too?  He wouldn’t be the tire slashing punk in the parking lot, would he?”  Beau asked.

Miss Jenson turned bright red and asked, “Did I say something that gave it away?”

“Hey Laura, no harm no foul.  It was just a lucky guess.  For today, you are going to be playing Mrs. Chandler.  You sit at her desk, and look pretty.  There will be a lot of people coming in and out, all day.  It is your job to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable.  If there are any calls, take the messages and tell the callers that their calls will be returned as soon as possible.  We’re going down to the production area, if there is an emergency.”  Beau said as he turned to Mrs. Chandler.

“Aunt Nan, could you have Joey meet us there, just in case?” Beau asked.

Nan made a call and away they went.  Beau was in rare form when they got to the production area.  When he walked in, he said, “Hey you all, it’s good to see you again.  Hey you lady with the gray hair and the pink ribbon, we need to talk to you, in the office.”

The poor lady had no idea what was happening to her.  She came in with a bewildered look.  Beau got up and said, “Mrs. Kepler, I’m Beau Benson and I think you know the President, Mrs. Morrison, and her secretary Mrs. Chandler.  We need your help.  First, I don’t suppose that you would consider being the plant manager, would you?”

“Good grief no, I don’t want all that headache.  The plant manager needs to be someone who can work with people as well as take care of all the paperwork.  I think you need to bring someone in from the administrative area, since I can’t picture anyone out there on the floor being able to handle that job.”  Mrs. Kepler said.

“I’m glad to hear you say that.  Is there anyone in the management area who has actually worked in the production area?” Beau asked.

There are several, but if I had to pick the one that I think would do the best job, it would be Randy Barclay.  He finished his degree, and moved into the comptroller’s office.  He is a straight shooter and doesn’t pull any punches and yet is very fair if you are doing your job.” 

Beau asked, “Is it okay with you if I call you Aunt Mim too?  I heard some of your coworkers referring to you that way?  Now, if you had to pick someone out of the work force here who was a quality control person, who would it be?”

Mrs. Kepler pointed and said, “See that young man sitting there in the corner?”

Beau said, “You mean the one with the sad blue eyes?”  Beau asked. 

“He is technically the most proficient person on the floor, even though he has been here less than two years.  He never says very much, but just sits there and works his bottom off.”  Mrs. Kepler said.

Beau said, “I’ll be right back.” 

The three women watched as Beau went up to the young man.  “Hey dude, what are you doing?  It looks like you are playing with a tinker toy set?” 

The young man looked up and said, “Are you talking to me, sir?”

“Yes, I’m talking to you blue eyes.  Now get your bottom into the office there.  President Morrison is waiting there.”  Beau growled.

The young man followed Beau.  Beau shut the door and said, “Blue eyes, I’m Beau Benson," and then he introduced the others.  He held out his hand.

The poor guy was scared, but shook Beau's hand and said, “I’m Lance Elliot.”

“Nope, you’re blue eyes.  Now Mr. Lance Elliot, what is there about your life that we should know?”

Lance looked at Mrs. Kepler and asked, “What did Aunt Mim say?”

Beau looked at Lance and pointed his finger and said, “We don’t care what she said.  We want to hear what you have to say.”

Lance said. “Okay, I have a police record.”

“So, tell us how you got that.”  Beau said, without a smile.

Lance shrugged his shoulders, “I had been working here about a year during the day, and going to college at night.  One night after class, some acquaintances and I decided to go to a gay bar.  I was standing at the bar when this guy came up and started feeling certain parts of my body.  He said he was trying to determine which one of my parents had received my endowment from.”

“Anyway, I asked him to please stop touching me, and he became more aggressive in his man handling so I turned around and punched him in the face and he lost a tooth and had a broken nose.  What made it worse was that I was only 19.  I called my parents and asked them to bail me out.  They immediately disowned me when they found out what I had done.  None of my friends could or would help me.”  Lance sighed and continued.

“I was desperate, and on a whim, I called Aunt Mim and she came and bailed me out and even had me stay at her house until I could get my act together. I’m still trying to pay back the last of the bail money, and of course college is out of the question on what I make here.”

Beau got up and said, “Thank you blue eyes for being so honest with us.”  He hugged Lance and completely caught him by surprise when he kissed him on the lips.  ”We want to know which parent you did get your endowment from.”

Lance laughed and said, “Too bad you’ll never know.” 

Beau said, “Don’t count on it.”  Lance left the office with a slight smile and Beau turned to Mrs. Kepler and said.  “I like blue eyes.  I think that fills half of our requirement.  Now, is there one person out there on the floor that would make a good teacher?”

Mrs. Kepler looked around and said, “See that young lady in tan.  She was trained to be a teacher, but gave it up.”

Beau went to the floor and said to the lady, “Hey Babe, President Morrison would like to visit with you in the office.”

They walked into the office and Beau turned to the new arrival and said, “I’m Beau Benson.” as he stuck out his hand.

The lady shook his hand and said, “I’m Joy Lambert.” 

“Is that Miss or Mrs.?” Beau asked.

“Well it better be Mrs. since I have four children and a husband.”  the lady answered.

“Okay Miss Joy, how old are your children?” Beau asked.

Mrs. Lambert said,   “They are six, eight, ten and twelve.”

Beau laughed and said, “I guess you had better be married.  Who takes care of the children when you are working and they are not in school?”

“Both of our mothers take turns watching them.  They have been life savers.”

Beau said, “So, why do you work?”

“Quite frankly, the money I make here allows us to enjoy some extra things.”  Mrs. Lambert said.

Beau changed gears.  “I understand that you are a qualified teacher.  Why did you give it up?”

“I was teaching freshman and sophomores in high school and they had no desire to study social studies.  One day I just decided that I was not enjoying trying to teach someone something that they did not care about.  It was like talking to a brick wall.” Mrs. Lambert said.

“Grandma Morrison, did you hear what Miss Lambert called me?  She said I was a brick wall.  Okay, brick wall lady, do you think you could teach adults something, if their livelihoods depended on it?”

“Beau, you are one of the most refreshing young people I have met in a long time.  Yes, I would enjoy teaching adults, as long as I would be able to tailor the courses in a way so that they would interested and meet the needs of the participants.”

Beau stood and said, “Thanks for coming in, we’ll talk to you again this afternoon.”  Mrs. Lambert left after Beau hugged and kissed her.

Beau turned to Aunt Mim and said, “Madam Kepler, you have excellent tastes in people.  We’ll see you later this afternoon.”  He kissed and hugged her as she left.

“Come on ladies, we have a young man waiting for us in your office.”  Beau walked into the office and asked, “Laura is that punk kid from the parking lot here yet?”

Miss Jenson said, “Yes Mr. Benson, he’s sitting right over there.”

Beau said, “Hey tire boy, get in here now.”

The young man was really nervous as he approached Beau.

Beau turned to Miss Jenson and said, “Laura, would you please call the Comptroller’s office and tell Mr. Randy Barclay that his presence is required in the President’s office in 15 minutes.”

Beau ushered the young man into the office and said, “Now tire boy, I’m Beau Benson.”  They shook hands and Beau introduced the two ladies.

The young man said, "I’m pleased to meet all of you."  “My name is Howard Howard and I’m not stuttering.”

Beau said, “Let me guess.  Your full name is Howard Hughes Howard.”

Howard looked funny and said, “You had to have read my personnel file to know that.  I never tell anyone my middle name.”

Beau said, “Nope, it was lucky guess.  From now on you are Howie Howard.  That way no one will know what your real name is.  It’s not your fault that you have a name like that.  Now, Howie, tire boy, tell us about you.”

“You already know my name.  I’m the oldest of ten children, so when I turned 18, I was expected to move out and make it on my own.  I took the job here to pay for the dive that live in and be able to take one class at a time in college.  I figure that by the time I finish, I will be 45 and still single.”  Howie was almost in tears. 

Beau said, “Howie, I want you to sit over there and pretend you are greeting someone coming into the building.”

Beau went out of the room and came in with a bewildered look.  Howie came out of his seat and said, “How may I help you, sir?” as he shook Beau’s hand.

Beau started speaking in Spanish and Howie replied in perfect Spanish.  When Howie realized what had happened, he stopped and asked, “How did you know that I spoke Spanish?”

“It was a lucky guess.  Actually, when you were talking, you said something that made me think that you knew Spanish.  I take it that your Mother is of Spanish descent, because Howard doesn’t sound very Spanish.”  Beau said, “So tell us about the other nine children in your family.”

Howie got a funny look on his face and said, “My next brother is 18.  He just finished high school in December and he is living with me in my one room apartment until he can make enough money to move out.  He’s the intelligent one in the family, but he’ll probably never be able to go to college.  The only work he has been able to find is slinging burgers in a fast food joint.”

Howie took a deep breath and continued, “My next sister really needs to get a job because her self esteem is going way down because she doesn’t have the things that her friends have and I’m afraid she might start to sell her body to get some nice clothes.  Mr. Benson, what else do you want to know?  My siblings are all special, but there is only so much I can do for them.  I have to take care of myself, too.”

Beau looked at Howie and said, “Howie baby, things are about to change.  I want you to get your brother and sister, and be here at 1:00, so we can visit with them.  Don’t worry; you are still on the clock”

He escorted Howie to the door and said, “Thanks for coming Howie. We’ll see you and the others at 1:00.”

Beau went over to the gentleman who was sitting in the waiting area and introduced himself and they shook hands.  Beau said, “I’m sorry we’re running behind schedule, but we’ll be with you shortly.  I really need to use the bathroom.  It’s been a long morning.”

Beau went to the bathroom and when he got back, he looked at Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Chandler and asked, “Why are you two ladies not saying anything?  It’s like you are letting me out here hanging by my toe nails.”

Mrs. Morrison smiled and said, “Beau, you have been doing such an excellent job that we would probably screw up everything.  So until you say or do anything that we have a problem with, it is your show.  I can hardly wait to see what all you have in mind for the rest of the staff.”

To be continued...

Feedback always welcome:     

Editor's Notes:

All I can say is, Beau is, as usual, shining brightly, and is going to make a wonderful difference in a lot of lives.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/26/07