Pinochle
by: E Walk
(© 2007 by the Author)
Editor: Will B
 

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

Chapter 76
The T.V. Star
 

This is Beau.

After a light snack, the cabin lights had been turned down and everyone was quiet.  I woke up because my leg was starting to ache, so I got up to walk around and exercise it.  Becca was asleep and I didn’t want to disturb her.  I looked at Ben and Grant and they were leaning against each other. 

When I looked at Chris and Angie I started to chuckle.  They looked as if they were an old married couple.  Chris had his arm around Angie.  I looked across the aisle and J.R. had his head on Jack’s shoulder and they were both quietly snoring.

When I saw Chase and Timmy I started to laugh, They were lying across the two seats with a seat belts around them.  Timmy had his arms wrapped around Chase.  I looked at Brian and he was sitting there smiling, “Dad, I wish there was enough light because there would be some beautiful pictures that I could paint showing what love and friendship are.”

I sat down in the seat next to Brian, “Son, are you going to be okay?”

Brian hugged me, “Dad, I’ll be fine.  I just am not sure that I’m capable of handling the awesome responsibility that Grandpa Nappy has placed upon me.  I just never expected anything like this to happen, and I don‘t really understand how or why this happened.”

I looked at Brian, “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but Rod and Hank told us that you captured Monsieur Lafontaine’s heart the first day he met you in Paris.  He has been carefully monitoring every move that you have made.  He must have felt that you were the person most worthy of being his successor.  We’ll probably find out more this weekend, so just relax and be your normal bossy self.”

Brian started to laugh, “Dad, that’s exactly what Grandpa Nappy told me.  Did you realize that he was here on the aircraft for a short time tonight?  He had checked in for the seat where you are now sitting but never physically showed.”

Our conversation was interrupted the flight attendant, “May I get you gentlemen anything?”

We shook our heads no.  I hugged Brian, “Son, get some sleep.”

I went back to my seat and the next thing I remembered was that the cabin lights were coming on and the attendant was announcing, “We will be landing in Newark in approximately an hour.  Make sure you have your customs forms filled out.  We will be serving breakfast in ten minutes.”

There were two flashes that zipped by us as Timmy and Chase went into the same bathroom.  The rest of us took our turns going to the bathroom.  I went back to see if I could help the young boys fill out their customs forms, but Brian had already taken care of it.

When we landed at Newark, we went through customs and immigration without any problem.  Brian was the first in our line and the official said, “You weren’t gone very long.”

Brian was so blasé,  “Yeh, we couldn’t leave until after my football game on Friday so we could leave for our lunch with the Queen.  We were so busy that we didn’t have time to spend any money.”

The gentleman looked up, “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”  Timmy spoke up, “Nope, we had lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip.  I sat beside Prince Harry.  We even got to ride on the big ferris wheel that they call The Eye.”

The man stamped the rest of the our passports without any questions, and we were met by Jack who was waiting for us.  “What took you so long?  I’m getting frostbite standing here waiting.” 

We were laughing and J.R. responded, “Maybe we should look into getting you some thermal underwear.”

We picked up our baggage and Ben and Grant put it on carts.  As we exited the baggage area, we were met by a young man who was holding a sign, ‘The Brian Benson Party’.

Becca leaned over whispered, “I think you have been dethroned as the head of the Benson family.”

The young man led us to an awaiting minibus, and we were taken to the General Aviation terminal where we pulled up beside a small jet.  The older guys helped the young man load the baggage to make sure that their bags were accessible since they would be getting off first.

It was approximately 45 minutes later when we landed at the Ithaca airport.  The four college students got out and retrieved their luggage, and we were airborne almost before the four guys had time to clear the runway.  After we were airborne, I looked back and Timmy and Chase were sitting next to Brian, talking to him.  I decided not to interrupt because I was sure that I would hear about the conversation later.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing  I remember was that we were landing in Lincoln.  Brian, Chris and I escorted Angie and Chase to their Dad who was waiting.  Brian handed Chase’s cheque to Doctor Little.  ‘This is the cheque for the drawings that Chase did that have been sold so far.  There will be more in the future.  Dad will talk to you later about how you would like any future funds sent to you.”

Doctor Little looked at the cheque, “Brian, this is a joke, isn’t it?”

I clasped Chase’s father on the shoulder, “No, my friend, our sons took London and the art word by storm.  We’ll talk to you later.  We need to get the boys home, so they can go to school.”

It seemed as if we had just taken off when we were landing at the Fremont airport.  We climbed out of the plane and Jason was waiting for us.  Chris hurried to his Dad, “Dad, look how much my photographs sold for.  Brian says I should send some more photographs.  There’s going to be a display in the Chicago Art Institute with some of our works.”

Jason looked at the cheque and shook his head, “Christopher, this has got to be a joke.”

I looked at Jason, “Little brother, this is not a joke.  Your son is very talented.  Brian is correct.  He needs to sort through his photographs and send some more of them to a gallery.  We need to get the boys home so they can go to school.  They’ve been sleeping all night.”

Brian looked at me, “Yeh, right Dad.” 

We had no more than gotten to the house than Timmy was eating some cereal.  “Come on Brian, we need to get ready to go to school.  It’s almost eight o’clock.”

Brian grabbed a bowl of cereal and a glass of juice and was eating when John walked in.  “You’re running a little late aren’t you guys?”

Timmy looked up and talked with his mouth full, “We’re hurrying Uncle John, we just got back from our trip.  We haven’t even had time to change clothes yet.  I guess we can do that after school.”

Becca and I were standing there laughing as the boys rinsed their dishes and put them in the dish washer.  The boys grabbed their back packs and were gone.

This is Brian.

When we started toward John’s vehicle, it looked as if it were a brand new car.  I looked at John, “Is that your parents' car?”

John got a big grin, “Nah, my Dad decided that if I was going to college, I would need some reliable transportation.  To be honest with you, I think he’s feeling guilty about how he has treated me and my brothers.  He even bought both of them new bicycles.  They spent all weekend learning to ride them.”

After we dropped Timmy off, we went to pick up Robbie and Lindsey.  As we were walking into the building, Chris joined us.  When we got near the entrance, many of our friends and acquaintances were there as if they were waiting for us.  I looked at John, “Why is everyone just standing around looking at us?”

John, Robbie and Lindsey just shrugged their shoulders.

Todd Messing gave a signal and everyone started to bow and curtsy, and the assembled group started to chant, “Hail to his lordship, King Brian, and his cousin, Prince Christopher.”

Chris looked at me as if he was asking what was happening.  I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Todd, “Todd, would you mind explaining what this is all about?”

Todd approached us, “Brian, you and Chris have been in headlines on all of the major television networks because of what you did in London over the weekend.”  There are two local stations here, as we speak, to interview the two of you.  You have really put Fremont High in the spotlight.”

Dr. Black approached us.  “I suggest that everyone except Brian and Chris get ready for your first period classes.  Brian and Chris, the television crews are waiting in the commons area to interview you.”

There was a crowd standing in the commons area who applauded as we walked in.  They dispersed and two people with microphones approached us and asked us all sorts of questions.  I was sure that our answers were so boring that they would never be seen on the air.

The person from the N. E. T. television station completely threw me for a loop.  “Mr. Benson, we would like to follow you through your schedule today, so we can present a special on the life of a not so ordinary high school student’s day in Nebraska.”

I shook my head, “You certainly have my permission to follow me through my day, but it will be so boring that no one will want to watch it.”

The day was going fine and John and I had to make a presentation in the fourth hour class.  When we got to the lunchroom for lunch, the other people in the lunchroom were acting like baboons.  But John, Robbie, Lindsey and I were joined by Todd and his girlfriend and some other football players.

The fun really started when I was starting to teach the art class after lunch.  I started, “I hope that you all practiced with your pencils over the long holiday weekend.  I’ve decided to introduce you to a new medium today.  John and Robbie, get up here and pose so I can demonstrate to the class how they can make people come alive on canvass.”

I hadn’t told either of them what I was going to do.  Robbie wasn’t even in the art class, but I knew she had study hall so I had asked her to come to the class with us. I turned to the class, “The important thing when you are working with humans is that  you need to make sure that you capture them in the mood that you want.  Today we are  going to be dealing with friendship.”

I had Robbie and John sit on the table at the front of the room and posed them the way I wanted them and had them looking at each other.  I started the painting and explained to the class what I was doing as I went.  I made the basic outlines and was starting to add some detail when the bell rang.

I looked at the class, “I'm sorry this didn’t go as quickly as I had hoped.  I’ll finish it tonight so you can see what you can do if you let your minds run free and direct you as to what you should do.”

This is John.

This is an awesome experience.  Just listening to and watching Brian was an education in itself.  The crew that was videotaping Brian’s activities were also caught up in what he was doing.  It was amazing watching what was happening, Wherever Brian went, the lights and cameras were sure to follow.  The teachers and other students were intimidated, but Brian appeared to be oblivious to what was happening.

When we got to speech class, the teacher was standing there with two bowls and said, “Please take one slip from each container.  They will tell you us the order that you will be speaking and what you’re  topics for your extemporaneous speeches.”

Brian was one of the last persons to arrive, so this could not have been contrived.  He took his slips and he came and sat with us.  He opened the first slip that said he was to be the first speaker and he grabbed his throat, “Why me?”

He opened his second slip and he plopped his head on his arms on the desk.  “The teacher hates me.”

The bell rang and the teacher announced, “I believe Mr. Benson will be going first judging by his over dramatized reaction.  I can hardly wait to hear what he has to say, even though I don’t know what his topic is.  Mr. Benson, you have five minutes.”

I watched as Brian went to the podium.  I could almost hear the cogs of his mind working,  He took a deep breath and started, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I find it totally unacceptable that the companies that are receiving economy stimulus funds from the bailout fund, so to speak, are using the funds to insure that the people who have caused the crisis to happen in the first place are taken care of first.  If I were a taxpayer, I would be up in arms demanding the money was being used to help the people who need the money, rather than making sure that the top executives who ignored the problem and allowed the financial crisis to develop;”  Brian pounded the podium, “The government must monitor how the funds are spent.”

Brian walked back to his seat and the room was absolutely silent.  The teacher finally stood, “Class, you’re dismissed.  I don’t think any of you can even come close to Mr. Benson’s performance,  so I’m going to allow you time to prepare for your speeches for tomorrow.”

This is Brian.

I’m beginning to get paranoid.  These people with the cameras and microphones have been following me all day.  I’ve been afraid to go to the bathroom for fear they would follow me.  Fortunately when Chris, John and I went into the locker room to get suited up for football practice, they didn’t follow me into the locker room.

They were waiting for us to come out and were following what was happening on the football field.  Todd was dressed, but the doctors had told him he couldn’t play football until after his CAT scan the next day.  John was still a little sore, so I practiced at quarterback, safety and wide receiver.  It was about four thirty and I went to Coach Henderson, “Sir, I’m exhausted.  We didn’t get back from London until this morning.”

The coach blew his whistle and announced that practice was over.  The camera crew took that as their signal to finally leave, since they had to go back to Lincoln.

This is Beau. 

Becca and I decided that we didn’t really feel up to working today, so I called Ruth Anne, our secretary, and told her we were taking the day off to recuperate from our trip.  I had some work that I could do with me, and I was in the office when Becca came and got me about 10:00 o’clock.

She looked flushed, “Beau, I think that you need to come hear what our visitor has to say.”

I walked into the living room and Danny was standing there.  I hugged him. “Danny, what brings you here.  You work for  the Department of  Children’s Services.  You aren’t going to try to take any our children away, are you?”  (Author’s Note:  Beau, Becca and Danny knew each other from a previous story.)

Danny started to laugh, “Nope, I’m here to give you another one.  When I got to work this morning after the long holiday weekend.  I found this file in the middle of my desk with a red flag.  I made some calls and it seems that you have a young man by the name of Timothy Daniels living under your roof when and if you are ever home.  Yes, the young man’s name is really Timothy James Daniels.  You need to go pick the young man up at school and have him in Courtroom Two at the courthouse at two o’clock so you can adopt him.”

Danny grinned at us, “Look, Beau and Becca, you better do it or Nappy and Brian will make me suffer for a long time.”

I was flabbergasted, “Danny, how did you know about Nappy?”

Danny started to laugh, “Easy, the red flag had a note that said that if I didn’t resolve the problem immediately, Nappy and Brian would make my life miserable.  Who is Nappy anyway?”

We sat down and Becca and I told Danny about some aspects of our weekend.  He looked at us and was laughing, “Your youngest son is sounding more like Jeff all the time.  I’ll see you at two at the courthouse.

Becca and I decided to go to school and eat lunch with Timmy.  I called the school to see if that would be a problem and was assured that it wouldn’t be.  When Timmy saw us waiting, his eyes lit up, “Hi, Daddy and Mother, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Becca knew exactly what to say, “We were bored sitting home by ourselves and wanted to talk to you and your friends.”

I'm not sure what it was that we were eating, but they called it a fiestada with some fruit and a cup cake.  Timmy was so excited that we were there, that we had to remind him to eat.  After lunch and recess, we walked him back to his classroom and explained to his teacher that we had some legal business that we had to take care of and that we needed to take Timmy with us.

We took Timmy home and I helped him get dressed in his blazer and slacks, “Daddy, why do I gotta get dressed up?”

I hugged him, “Timmy, you will see, shortly.  Now I need to go get dressed.”

We met Danny at the courthouse at two o’clock.  He looked at us, “So this is the Timothy James who is about to become Timothy James Benson?”

Timothy went and shook Danny’s hand.  “Good afternoon, Sir.”

We had just  entered the courtroom when the bailiff announced the arrival of the Honorable Mary Hayes.

A lady who had been in our class in high school came in and sat down.  She looked at Becca and me.  “Mr. and Mrs. Benson, I understand that you are petitioning to adopt one Timothy James Daniels.  Is that correct?”

I spoke for us, “Yes, Your Honor.”

The Judge looked at Danny.  “Mr. Tillison, have you thoroughly investigated the circumstances surrounding this case and do you find this a suitable match?”

Danny stood, “Your Honor, I have checked into the matter thoroughly and believe it would be in the best interest of Timothy to be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Benson.”

The Judge looked at Timmy then pointed at him and glared, “I suppose you’re the young man that we are talking about.  Why don’t you come and talk to me and tell me why you want to be the Bensons’ son?”

Both Becca and I took a deep breath because we had no idea what Timmy would say. 

The bailiff escorted Timmy to the Judge.  Timmy started, “Dad and Mother’s son rescued me in the park, then they took me to meet the Queen of England and her husband, and I got to even ride the Big Eye ferris wheel while we were there.  I love Dad and Mother Benson and Brian. I want very much to live with them, because they don’t yell at me and they make me feel important.”  He reached up and kissed the judge, “Please, Your Honor.”

The judge reached out and pounded her gavel, “I hereby declare that from this day forward, you shall be called Timothy James Benson.”

The judge took off her robe and came and sat down beside Becca and me, “How long have you been coaching Timmy?”

I looked at the judge, “Mary, believe it or not, we had no idea that this was going to happen until just before lunch.  Timmy was totally blindsided.”

She looked at us.  “He is a beautiful young man.  Please be good to him.”

When we got home, Timmy changed into jeans and asked, “When’s Brian going to get here so I can tell him I’m his brother.”

Becca looked at Timmy, “He won’t be home until after football practice.  Here, take these cookies and this glass of milk and eat them while you wait for him to come home.”

Timmy took the cookies and milk to the front porch.  I looked out several times and he was sitting on the steps and hadn’t eaten or drunk anything.

This is Brian.

I was so relieved when the television crew had left.  I just wanted to go home and see what had been happening and go to bed.  Jet lag was setting in.

When we pulled up in front of the house, I was surprised to see Timmy sitting on the front steps.  When he saw us, he started running toward the car.  I was just saying goodbye to John when Timmy practically knocked me on the ground even though I had the unfinished painting in my hand,  “Brian, I’m your brother.”

John heard what he said, “Timmy, what do you mean that your Brian’s brother?”

Timmy was so excited, “Dad and Mother Benson adopted me today.”

I thought to myself, ‘There’s more here than meets the eye.’  I turned to John, “I’ll let you know what’s happening later.”

My jet lag sure disappeared in a hurry.

To be continued...

Editor’s Notes:  Our esteemed author certainly knows how to add more love to a story.  Timmy will be very happy in his new home---and I’ll be happy when I get to see the next chapter.  Will B. 

Darryl's Notes:  Well, that was certainly quick. I am very glad that Timmy is now a Benson. I know we are going to see a lot more of him in the future.

He will certainly get lots of love and attention, won't he.  I guess we can thank Nappy for helping out. 

I wonder what the response will be to the N.E.T program about Brian.

For those of you who don't know, N.E.T. Stands for Nebraska Educational Television. They have a network of TV channels all over the state. They carry the PBS programs, and produce some extremely good television programming of their own, including some classroom study programming during the day. Their programs are carried on a satellite and there are somewhere around ten or twelve different channels of programming that any Nebraska public school can use. Along with the public TV network in Georgia, stations in Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston along with IPTV in Iowa, they produce a great deal of the programs you might see on your local PBS station during the day.

I bet you didn't know I knew that, did you? 

I still have one of the large Satellite dishes in the back yard, and there are still a lot of great sources of quality television programs being broadcast to anyone who cares to watch them. I have actually received Channel 12 from Lincoln a couple of times by using a big TV antenna on top of a sixty foot tower, when conditions were favourable. I am a TV Dxer, which is someone that enjoys searching for stations from a great distance away. It is too bad there isn't much worth watching on the commercial stations any more.  I suppose that is enough of my off topic ramblings. Let's all hope for another chapter very soon.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 02/20/09