The Fremont Saga
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 15 

Walking On Hot Coals

On Monday morning, I looked at my two guys who were still asleep.  I went to the bathroom and was getting dressed to go running when Timmy woke up and woke Tanner.  As we were walking back to the house after our run, I stopped, “Timmy and Tanner, please don’t talk about our trip this weekend.  Tanner, you especially need to be careful what you say to Ron.  Please don’t talk about how we made the trip and everything that we did.”

“First, people wouldn’t believe that we could have done everything we did and gone to so many different places.  I know it’s going to be hard, but we just can’t talk much about our trip.”

Tanner asked, “Brian, did I say too much to Ron last night?”

I nodded, “Tanner, you came very close to telling Ron too much.  That’s why I’m asking you to be careful how much you tell him.  I know it was an exciting time, but there are going to be some things that probably no one would understand.  All I’m asking is that we all be careful about what we tell our friends.  I know it’s going to be difficult, but people would probably think we were nuts if we said too much.  Now, let’s go get something to eat.”

Timmy frowned, “I’m not going to say anything, because my friends wouldn’t know what I was talking about, anyway.  The only people here who really know what’s going on are the three of us and our parents, right?”

“Yes, even Grandmother Gleason and our sisters have no idea what exactly is happening.”

Tanner asked another question, “Brian, what are we going to do with the money that Monsieur Fourcault says we’re going to get each month?”

I chuckled, “Well, for starters, now that you have a car, you’re going to need to feed the car gasoline and oil, and pay for tune-ups and whatever.  Again, we shouldn’t talk about how much money we have, because people will try to take advantage of us.”

When we walked in the house, Dad was sitting in his robe and slippers, drinking a cup of coffee.  Timmy looked at him, “Daddy, are we in trouble?”

Dad shook his head no, “I just wanted to talk to you three guys before anyone else is up.  First, I want to tell you how proud I am of the way you acted this weekend.  I also wanted to warn you that you shouldn’t say very much about what happened this weekend.”

Timmy went and sat on Dad’s lap, “Daddy, Brian just splained that we shouldn’t talk about what happened this weekend, because people would think we were telling little white lies.  He says we should never talk about how much money we have because people will try to take advantage of us.  I don’t understand, because all the money I have is upstairs and it isn’t very much,  He says that you and Mother are the only people in Fremont that we can talk to about that stuff.”

Dad put up his hands, “I should have stayed in bed.  Tanner and Timmy, why don’t you go get ready while I talk to Brian.”

Timmy looked up at Dad, “You’re not going to spank Brian are you?”

Dad got a devilish grin, “Now that you mention it, it might be just what he needs.  Maybe, I’ll change my mind and give you and Tanner one, too.”

Timmy jumped off of Dad’s lap, “Come on Tanner, let’s get out of here before Dad changes his mind.”

The two guys left and Daddy was laughing, “How can anyone not like Timmy?  We need to clone him.  We could make a fortune.”

Dad came and stood beside me, “Brian, I can’t begin to tell you how proud your Mother and I are of you.  We need to be prepared for the unexpected when Morgan arrives home today.  Be patient with her. I’m concerned that she resents the fact that Timmy and Tanner are here.  We’ll just have to see what happens when she gets home.”

Dad and Mother picked me up at lunch time.  On the way to the bank, Dad suggested, “Brian, I think that you should put all the money from these checks in your accounts.  Timmy and Tanner are fine.  Ron’s parents aren’t exactly poor.”

I started to argue, “But Dad, why do I need any more money?”

Mother turned around, “Brian, trust us.  Your father and I discussed this, this morning and think it is in everyone’s best interest that you do so.  You were the artist who did the artworks, so the money rightfully belongs to you.  You have been extremely fair with the funds that you have received from your works, but you need to stop doling out money, or people will come to expect it from you.”

Dad added, “Brian, I’ll sit down and explain our rationale later tonight after the dust settles.  We need to get Morgan home and see what happens.”

When Tanner and I arrived home from football practice, Timmy wasn’t there to greet us, which was unusual.  Tanner and I went to the kitchen to see if there was anything that we could help with for dinner.  Mother was standing there with tears in her eyes.  “Be prepared for anything tonight.  Morgan has been lashing out ever since she got home.”

I asked, “Mother, where is Timmy, now?  How is this affecting him?”

Mother looked at us, “Guys, if there is anyone who can make Morgan realize that she has a problem, it’s Timmy.  He’s the only person she has talked to since we brought her home.  Timmy and your Dad are at Grandmother Gleason’s right now.  Your Dad called and said that Timmy was making your Grandmother eat.  I haven’t the foggiest idea where Lauren is.”

We were eating our dinner which at best was very tense when Lauren made her appearance, “I’m sorry I’m late, but we decided to go to Omaha to get a manicure and a pedicure so we could be ready for the big game on Thursday night.”

Timmy looked up from his food, “What is a mani and pedi thing that you got?

Lauren showed us her fingernails, “They’re painted in the Fremont team colors.  We had our toenails trimmed and painted the same colors.”

Morgan tensed, “That seems like a waste of money, since no one is going to see your toenails.  You wear socks and sneakers while you’re being a cheerleader.  Who’s going to see your fingernails anyway.  The people aren’t going to the football game to see your fingernails.  They’re going to go watch the guys kill each other.  That must have cost you a pretty penny.”

Lauren responded, “I’m broke,  I even had to borrow money to pay the tip at the salon and for dinner at Panera.  Dad and Mother, I also need money to buy gas. The gas gauge in the van is on empty.”

Morgan looked at Timmy, “Let’s go take care of this mess that everyone made.  You bring the dishes to the kitchen, and I’ll rinse them and put them in the dishwasher.”

Dad stood, “Lauren, your Mother and I would like to talk to you.  Guys please excuse us.”

After Dad, Mother and Lauren had departed, Tanner asked, “Brian, am I imagining it, or is Morgan deliberately ignoring us?”

“Tanner, I don’t know what’s happening.  Mother said that Timmy was the only person Morgan had talked to since she came home.  Hopefully, Timmy can get her to open up.  Let’s go into the kitchen and see what’s happening.”

Timmy was standing on a stool next to the sink, “Morgan, wait until you see the place where we’re going to go skiing after Christmas.  It’s really, really big.”

Morgan looked confused, “When did you go see it?”

I held my breath for fear Timmy would say too much. 

Timmy was very cool, “Brian, had to go take care of things at the art gallery.  So we flew to London.  We figured that we should go check to see what the place where we were going to go skiing looked like.  So we flew to Swissland.”

“The Chalet has two buses that pick people up at the airport and takes the visitors to the Chalet.  The Chalet has a big center part where people eat and have drinks.  Upstairs there are rooms for people like Daddy and Mother.  We’ll be staying in the dorms that are on either side of the main building.  The boys’ rooms are one side of the big house, and the girls’ rooms are on the other side.”

Morgan asked, “So the guys will all sleep in one big room and the girls will sleep in another room.”

Timmy shook his head no, “Un uh, there are only two boys in a room and they share a bathroom with two other boys.”

Morgan grinned, “It sounds really neat.”

Timmy looked at me, “Brian, why don’t you send Uncle Will and Uncle Archie an email and ask them to bring some pictures when they come on Thursday.”

Morgan asked, “Who are Uncle Archie and Uncle Will?  I’ve never heard of them.”

Timmy stopped to think how he should answer, “They’re these two men who we met at the chalet.  They’re coming to talk about some things with Daddy and Mother.  You’ll really like them.  They look like movie stars.  One of them used to play basketball and the other used to play baseball when they lived in Denver.”

Morgan turned to Tanner and me, “Guys, I’m sorry for the way I was behaving before I had to go the hospital.  That visit made me realize how much we have when compared to other people.  If I get too far out of line, remind me.  It sounds as if Lauren needs to work in someplace where she can see how many poor people there are.

Thanks for helping with the dishes Timmy.  I need to go see if I can find out what homework I can do to make up for the days I missed.  I’ll talk to you guys later.”

Timmy came and hugged Tanner and me, “Is it okay if I go see if there is anyone outside, so I can play for a little while?”

I hugged him, “Of course, but make sure you come in before it gets too dark.”

Tanner excused himself, “I need to go do some homework so we’re not up all night.”

I decided to follow the instructions that Master Timothy had given me and sent Uncle Will and Uncle Archie a note telling them that they were to bring some pictures of the chalet and ski areas when they came to visit on Thursday.  While I was at it, I checked the inbox and there was a note from Kelly and all it said was ‘More, More, More.’

I took care of the emails and was getting ready to shut the computer down when there was bing announcing that I had a new email.  I opened it and it was from Will.  Hi Brian, I thought I’d send you a power point presentation that we provide to prospective customers.  I think it will show the chalet and the area better than photographs.  We’ll be there about noon your time on Thursday.”

I had just saved the attachment when Timmy came in, “Hi guys, whatcha been doing?”

Tanner pointed to his books, “Some of us have homework.”

I motioned for Timmy to come look at the computer, “Uncle Will already sent some pictures of the chalet.”

Timmy started toward the door, “Let me go get Morgan.  I don’t think she really believed me when I was telling here about the chalet.”

I yelled after him, “Why don’t you tell Lauren and the parents that were going to watch a presentation of where we‘re going skiing?”

I turned the computer monitor so it was facing the bed and the visitors could sit and watch the slides.  Timmy came and sat between my legs.

I was surprised when even Dad came and sat down.  When I put up the first slide, it showed a shot of the front of Chalet Lafontaine from a distance that showed the entire building.  Timmy pointed, “This picture was probably taken from one of the buses that brings people from the airport to Chalet Lafontaine.  The boys will be staying on this side and the girls on the other side.”

“This is a picture of Johan and Gretel who manage the chalet for the owners.  They are a really nice people.”

“This is a picture of what the dorms look like where we’ll be staying.  There are two beds, a sitting area with two chairs, television and a little refrigerator.”

The next slide was the owner’s suite.  Timmy pointed, “This is where Daddy and Mother will be staying.  They have a neat balcony that looks out at a very tall mountain.  That’s where the experts go skiing.  Johan says that I need to be older before I can ski there.”

The next slide showed people laying in front of a big fireplace with some local people entertaining them.  Timmy was on a roll, “This is where everyone gets together after dinner and relaxes before going to bed.”

“This last picture is the dining area where we’ll be eating.”

Lauren asked, “Guys, how did you get an invitation for us to go to this place, after Christmas.”

Timmy looked up at me as if asking me to answer, so I did, “I helped the owner and the trip was my reward for helping him.”

Morgan commented, “The owner must be rich if he invited us to come at what has to be one of the busiest times of the year.”

Tanner chuckled, “Morgan, I don’t think the owner would appreciate you calling him rich.  I know, for a fact, that he had to borrow ten Euros when we were in church on Sunday.  He’s just a very generous and caring person.”

Dad stood, “I suggest that we leave, so Timmy can get ready for bed.”

After Morgan and Lauren had departed, Dad grinned at us, “You guys certainly handled this very well.”

Mother shook her head, “Guys, your Dad and I don’t need that big suite.  We could even live in the dorms with you people.”

Timmy jumped off the chair, “Mother, we’ve already told the people that you and Daddy would be staying in the suite, so we can’t change it.  Besides if we get bored, we can always come to your suite.”

Timmy hugged both parents as they were leaving.  Dad, turned to me as he was going out the door.  “Brian, you need to think about what you want to happen to the chateaux in Paris since Timmy has decided that it’s your house.  We’ll talk to you guys in the morning.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  It was very nice to get another chapter of the Fremont Saga.  Morgan seems to have learned a few things during her visit to the hospital, and she does seem to be a bit more rational.   Lauren still seems to be in a world of her own.  I mean, she doesn't really think about much of anything but her own happiness. Maybe Timmy can get through to her, too. 

We will just have to wait for the next chapter to come along before we find out any more.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 03/1910