“P” Is For the Peeping Pat
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 11  

The Mysterious Uncles

When we arrived at the lake, Nathan met us. “Good, you're back.  We’re tired of answering your phone calls.  We took the messages and left them by the phone.”

I grinned, “I’m sorry you feel so overworked.  Where is everyone?”

“Teddy’s parents invited Shawn to dinner, and Ethan and Travis are out on the lake, seeing if they can catch some fish.  Actually, Ethan is trying to keep Travis’ mind from thinking about his two mysterious uncles.”

“Nate, I want to sit down and talk to you and Ethan, after dinner.  I feel as if I’ve been neglecting you, since the strange entourage started to arrive.”

“Dad, actually, it is us guys who have been neglecting you, since we started working.  Maybe things will settle down once we get Don and Mike’s, Travis’ and Tommy’s problems squared away.”

“Nate, speaking of Tommy, could you pull out the cots and the sleeping bags so we have a place for Tommy to sleep.  We have to make arrangements for Travis’ two uncles to stay here, if they want to do so.”

“Right on, Dad, I’ll have the guys help me get them out, after dinner.  You might want to read the messages while we’re waiting for the Sheriff.  Dinner will be ready when he gets here.

I sat down to read the messages.  The first message was from Marc Long of the State Department.  “The Wilsons’ remains are scheduled to arrive on the nine o’clock flight from Chicago, in the morning, on flight 910.  You should notify the funeral home so they can pick up the remains.”

I called the funeral home and gave them the information, and they assured me that they would take care of meeting the plane.

The second message was from Bill Webster,  “Steve, I hope you were able to get all the important papers from the wall safe in the Wilson’s house, and the bank deposit box at the bank.  I’ll be back in town tomorrow night.  Please call my secretary so you can make an appointment to bring the paperwork to me on Wednesday, so I can conduct the reading of the will immediately following the funeral service.”

The third call was from Mrs. Hood.  “Steve, I just uncovered something very interesting about Tommy Campbell.  Could you bring Tommy to the office at ten o’clock in the morning?  Let him know that I have some good news.  It might help him resolve some of his feelings about being the cause of the accident.”

I had just finished reading the messages when Pat arrived.  He quickly got properly attired for dinner.  I showed him the messages.  He pointed out, “The guys and I can always sleep at the apartment, if Travis’ Uncle Seth and Uncle Marty want to stay here.”

“You may have to take Tommy with you.  He’s becoming very attached to Shane. Things are happening so fast that I think I’m going to need to start keeping a checklist.  I guess I won’t be doing much writing for the rest of the week.”

After dinner, Pat and I sat down with Don and Mike and went through the papers and documents.  We knew the house was mortgage free, since it had been given to them by my parents when I received the house on the lake.

Don and Mike had received a significant sum of money that was put into accounts that they could access when they reached the age of twenty-one.  I was appointed to make sure that the stipulations of the Wilsons’ will were adhered to.”

Don asked, “Why were the parents, especially Dad hung up on the fact that we shouldn’t have control over our money until we reached the age of twenty-one?  He must have had some unfortunate experience when he was younger.  Maybe we’ll find out some additional details when the will is read,”

“Guys, I have no idea what the rational was, either.  Your parents’ remains are arriving in the morning.  I’ve already notified the funeral home and they are going to pick them up at the airport,”

Nate, Shane and Travis came into the room carrying three cots.  Nat asked, Where do you want these cots put?”

“Put Tommy’s wherever he would like to sleep.  We aren’t sure what Trevor’s uncles' plans are going to sleep, so why don’t you put them in the hall closet for now.  Were you able to locate the sleeping bags?”

“Yep, we’ll go get them and get Tommy’s bed made so he doesn’t push Shane out of bed.”

“Tommy, Mrs. Hood called and she would like for you and me to go see her again, in the morning.  She says she has some good news for you.”

Tommy frowned, “Why do we gotta go there again?  Why can't she come here?”

“Tommy, she has other people to worry about, in addition to us.  We’ll take Shane with us, if that will make you feel better.”

“Shane doesn’t have to go with us, but I would feel better if he did because they couldn’t send Shane to the big house.  He hasn’t done anything bad.”

Nate asked, “Tommy, what is the big house that you keep talking about?”

Tommy stopped to think, “It’s a big home where they keep boys and girls who no one wants.  There are boys and girls who live there, and it’s not very nice.  There’s nothing to do and the people who work there don’t really care about you unless you do everything they tell you to do.  The food is awful.  I don’t ever want to go back there to live, again.”

Shane changed the subject, “Come one, Tommy, let’s get your bed set where you want it.”

Everyone was finally home, and Teddy was spending the night again.  I reminded him that Travis’ uncles would be arriving  tomorrow.  Teddy laughed, “That’s why I decided to spend the night,  tonight.  I figured I’d get kicked out while his uncles were here.  We wouldn’t want to give the uncles a bad impression,”

Pat agreed, “The boys and I will be sleeping at the apartment while they’re visiting, as well.”

Tommy asked, “Does that mean that I will have to live somewhere else while they’re here, too?  I’m  gonna miss Shane if he’s gone.”

“Everyone stop worrying about Travis’ uncles for now.  They haven’t told us any more than that they are coming to see us.  We’ll make whatever arrangements they need when they arrive.”

We finally got everyone settled.  It was so different with everyone around all evening.  Finally, everyone was settled and I went to see what sleeping arrangements Shane and Tommy had come up with.  Tommy’s cot was directly beside Shane’s bed and Shane’s bed was pulled away from the wall so it was like a double bed.  In fact a  sleeping bag was spread across both beds.”

On Tuesday, the guys had a luncheon and dinner they needed to work, so it was going to be up to me to meet Uncle Marty and Uncle Seth, since the caterers were short handed and Travis was needed to work.  But first, I had some other things that I needed to take care of before I started to worry about the two uncles.

I pinned Don and Mike down on what songs they wanted used in the celebration of life service.  It was like pulling teeth, but I was able to get a list of songs they thought their parents might appreciate.

Since we had to meet with Mrs. Hood at ten, I  dropped off the paperwork for Bill Webster, so he could pull all the information together for the reading of the will, after the funeral service.  I left a message with his secretary telling Bill that I would be having out of town guests on Wednesday, so I brought the items early.  I informed him that if he needed anything else, he should call me.

It was exactly ten o’clock when Tommy, Shane and I arrived at Mrs. Hood’s office.  She had a big smile, “Tommy, I have some good news for you.  The insurance company for the driver who hit your parents’ car has agreed to a large settlement.  There should be an insurance agent contacting you later today.  I’m going to have Mr. Sloane appointed as your guardian, as soon as I can get the paperwork is approved.”

Shane asked, “Why are you having Mr. Sloane assigned as Tommy’s guardian, now that Tommy is going to be receiving an insurance settlement.  Is there a reason that things going on the fast track, now?

“That’s a very astute observation, Shane.  There are a great many unscrupulous people out there who would do anything to get there hands on the kind of money that Tommy will be receiving.  People will be claiming to be long lost relatives, and even the parents who were foster parents, may come forward and try to claim some or all of the money.  We had an office meeting after we found out, yesterday afternoon, about the insurance money, and we decided the best way to protect Tommy’s interests is to have Mr. Sloane be his guardian.”

“Steve, this could become a bucket of worms.  We fully understand that you might not be willing to become involved anymore than you are with what you’re having to do for Don and Mike, as well as Travis.”

Tommy jumped out of the chair in which he was sitting, “Dad, you gotta do this for me.  You’re the only person I want to take care of me.  I feel safe when I’m at your house with all the guys.  I haven’t thrown anything since I’ve been there.  I promise that I won’t throw anything.  I’ll be real good, and help with the work.  Please!”

“Mrs. Hood, with a plea like Tommy just made, I’m willing to become his guardian.  How soon can you have the paperwork completed, so we can get on with the next problem we have to take care of?”

Mrs. Hood laughed, “I just happen to have all the paperwork completed.  I rather assumed that you might accept the challenge and went ahead and completed the paperwork.  Okay, so I didn’t tell the entire truth when I said we hadn’t completed the paperwork.  The only thing that remains to be done is to sign the documents.  I have scheduled a hearing in court for us next Monday at ten o‘clock.”

When we arrived back at the lake, the guys were home from their luncheon job.  Travis was the first to speak,  “Mr. Sloane, I’m not working, tonight.  I decided that I really needed to be with you when you went to meet my two uncles at the airport.  I’m still confused as to how they all of a sudden know each other.  I’m concerned that they’ll want me to move back to California with them.  I haven’t seen them for several years and then not at the same time.”

Shane grinned, “Good, you can go with Dad Steve.  Tommy and I’ll stay here and fix dinner, in case your two uncles haven’t eaten and we’ll save some for you when you get back from the airport.  We’ll feed Dad in the meantime, since he probably didn’t eat lunch.  We’ll decide who’s going to sleep where when your uncles get here.”

I kept waiting for Tommy to announce that he was going to be part of the family, but he didn’t mentioned it.  I was beginning to wonder if he was having second thoughts about what was happening, but I needn’t have worried.  As Travis and I were getting ready to leave for the airport, Tommy whispered, “Dad, I wanted to save the news about me being your son, until everyone was here, especially Dad Pat.”

Travis and I left for the airport before Pat had gotten home,  We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, only to find out that the flight, that the two uncles were to arrive on, was delayed because of thunderstorms in the area.  Travis looked at me, “Dad Steve, this is not a good omen for how this visit is going to go, is it?”

“Travis, the weather has nothing to do with your uncles’ visit.  They must have some reason for coming to visit you, now.  Let’s just wait and see what they have to say when they get here.”

The plane finally landed and it seemed to take the plane forever to get to the gate.  When the door to the passage way opened, people were scurrying to get to the luggage carousel or to meet their rides.  Travis was getting concerned, “I don’t see Uncle Seth or Uncle Marty.  You don’t suppose they missed the flight, do you?”

I was beginning to wonder the same thing because the people coming off now were mostly young families with children.  Finally a man wearing a clerical collar came off with a four footed cane accompanied by a tall gentleman who probably was a true blond when he was younger.  Travis looked concerned, “What happened to Uncle Marty?  I don’t remember him using a cane before.  Uncle Seth looks a lot older than I remember him.”

Travis and I approached the two gentlemen.  Travis questioned, “Uncle Marty and Uncle Seth?”

The taller white haired man stuck out his hand, “It’s good to see you, Travis.  I assume that the handsome gentleman with you might be Mr. Sloane who is also know as Sloane Stephens.”

I stuck out my hand, “Guilty as charged.”

The man with the cane stuck out his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sloane.  I’m Marty Skelley.  Travis, you sure have grown since I last saw you.”

After the introductions, I went to get the car while Travis helped the two gentlemen with their luggage and met me at the car in the loading zone.

As we were pulling away from the terminal, I queried, “We didn’t have a chance to discuss what your plans were.  We have room for you to stay at the house on the lake, with us, or you could stay at our house in town.”

Seth shrugged his shoulders, “It might be better for us to stay with you at the lake, since neither of us drive.  Marty can’t drive for physical reasons, and I lost my license because of a driving under the influence charge.”

Travis couldn’t contain himself, “Uncle Seth and Uncle Marty, I didn’t even know that the two of you knew each other.  I was really surprised to hear that the two of you would be coming to see me at the same time.”

Marty laughed, “Travis, we’ve know each other ever since your parents were married.  Your parents wanted us to keep our personal life a secret from you, for their own reasons.  We respected their wishes.” 

“We decided you were old enough to understand that we are more than just friends, and besides, we have some information that we felt you needed to know.  We decided we needed to come to see how much of your parents’ considerable finances that Professor Farr has gotten his hands on.”

Seth added, “I’m a lawyer and we have been having some undercover investigating done on Professor Farr.  We have been able to garner enough information which will make it impossible for him to get his hands on any more of the money.  In fact, he was never legally married to your mother, so he is entitled to nothing, even though he has been trying to manipulate the estate to get everything.  He’s going to be in for a big surprise when he rides a boomerang out of town.”

The conversation was interrupted by our arrival the house on the lake.” 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  it's nice to finally meet the mysterious uncles.  I had a feeling, all along, that they were more than friends.  Their relationship is a good thing, in that it means that they won't raise any objections to having Travis living with two fathers.

I believe that Tommy is going to have a substantial improvement in his life, now that he is going to be living with Steve and the family. He finally has people who will love him.

It will be interesting to see what will happen with regard to the nephews' inheritance.

Well, I guess I will have to wait, at least till we get the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 12/17/10