Love Refound
by: E Walk
(© 2008 by the Author)
 

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

Chapter 17
Is That a Problem?

On the trip to Atlanta I felt as if I had been shell shocked.  What was wrong with the job offer.  It seemed too perfect.  Was I being set up to be a fall guy?

When I got to my apartment, it was already 10:30 and I was exhausted.  I took a shower and crawled into bed.  I was lying there reviewing what had happened in the afternoon.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was the telephone ringing.  I sat up and shook my head trying to remember what was happening.  I picked up the phone, “This is Doug Christiansen.”

“Hi Uncle Doug, this is Jeff, Dad is going to drive me to Atlanta on Friday after school so I can go to the ranch with you.  We should be at your apartment by 4:45.  Is that a problem?”

“No problem at all, Dude.  I take it that you have talked to Trev?”

“Yep, I’ll be staying with him.  Where are you going to shack up?”

“I guess I’d better call Mrs. Nixon and reserve the room next to where you and Trev will be sleeping, so I can make sure nothing is happening.”

“Probably a good idea, Uncle Doug.  That way me and Trev won’t have to worry about you getting into trouble.  Gotta go get ready for school.”

I climbed out of bed thinking, ‘Now people are awakening me in the morning asking where I am going to shack up.  I guess I need to get Trev and Jeff involved with Dr. Nixon’s confession, for sure.’

Fortunately the day went fine and when I finally got back to the apartment, I had some hamburger thawed so I could fix some chili.   While I was cooking, I called Austin and Derek.

Derek answered, “This is Derek Mitchell.”

I decided to mess with his mind, “Derek, this Mr. Christiansen, I just called to tell you that neither you nor Austin will be graduating next week unless…”  I stopped talking.

Derek couldn’t stand the suspense, “Unless what, Doug?”

“Unless you and your stud friend go to Fairacres, this weekend.”

“Doug, we both have finals on Monday.  We need to study.”

I was enjoying giving Derek a difficult time, “It won’t make any difference if you study, when I give both of you failing grades if you don’t go.  Besides, your Mother is going to be there.”

“Doug, why are you being so mysterious?”

“Derek, I’m not at liberty to tell you.  Be at Fairacres this weekend, or else.”

After I had hung up, I was feeling a little guilty.  I called Autumn’s and Spring’s house and Spring answered.

“This is Spring Winters.”

“Spring, this is Doug.  Why don’t you get me a formal appraisal of your share of farm, so I can advise my father as to how much money he has to loan me to buy your interest in the farm?

Spring was eager to cooperate, “Doug, I really would like to settle the sale of my share in the farm as soon as possible.  I need to spend time at home to make sure all of the arrangements are made for our wedding.  Adrian is going to wear his formal army attire.  Could you dress in a white dinner jacket instead of a black tuxedo jacket?”

“Spring, I have a white dinner jacket, so it will be no problem at all.  Is Autumn there?”

“She’s in her room working.  Why don’t you call her on her cell phone?”

I did, and as I was hanging up from talking to Autumn, I had to tell her, “I’ll be staying at the Fairacres or with Uncle Howie and Mr. Nixon.  I don’t want to risk anyone spreading false rumors about us.”

Autumn responded immediately, “Doug, you’re such a prude.”

The week went by quickly and sure enough, Dad Bill and Jeff arrived at 4:45.  Dad Bill informed me, “We’ll pick Jeff up about seven on Sunday evening, if that’s okay with you.  I need to go pick up Tom and Penny at the airport.  They’re due to arrive in about an hour.  They want to finalize all the arrangements for the wedding this weekend.   They’ll be flying back to D.C. On Sunday.”

Dad Bill looked at Jeff, “Son, don’t get into too much trouble this weekend.  Keep that little thing in your pants.”

Jeff smirked, “Dad, what’s Uncle Doug going to think if you talk like that.  He’ll know that you're checking me out and that you need new glasses?”

Jeff hugged his dad, “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll make sure that Uncle Doug behaves himself.”

I was chuckling, “Dad Bill, I’ve been offered a job at the Harwood Community College.  I would be the Dean of Admissions, Dean of Students and would be teaching two classes each term.”

Dad Longworth nodded, “Doug, that sounds like a great opportunity.  Harwood isn’t too far from Fairacres and Autumn's farm, is it?”

“It’s about twenty minutes from Autumn’s spread.”

“Doug, I think you fell in the proverbial bucket on this deal.  Not only are you going to be gaining a wife, but a job and a farm as well.  I need to go, if I’m going to be on time to pick up Tom and Penny.”

After Mr. Longworth had departed, I picked up the phone and dialed Autumn’s cell phone.

Autumn answered on the second ring, “What’s up, Doug?”

“Jeff and I are leaving now.  Please call Trevor and invite him to join us for dinner at The Shack.  I thought we would terrorize Cole again.”

“Sounds good to me, I just got home.  That will give me time to take care of the horses.  See you about 6:15.”

The trip to Autumn’s place flew by very quickly, because Jeff talked the entire way.  Don’t ask me what he was talking about because he was talking about everything from baseball to the movies.  When we arrived at Autumn’s, she was ready and we went to pick up Trevor.

He came bounding out the door when we pulled up,  When he climbed into the car, his first question was, “Why are we going to The Shack?”

I turned around, “Is there a problem with going to The Shack?”

“No, not really.  But they only serve healthy food like Mama Jane’s Place.  We teenagers need junk food whenever we can get it.”

Autumn turned around, “Trev, you’re out of luck tonight.”

When we walked into the restaurant, we were accosted immediately by Cole, “Grandma, call the cops.  It’s those people who paid with the counterfeit  money.  I’ll seat them until the coppers arrive.”

Cole looked at Trevor, “Trevor, why are you lowering yourself to eat with these people.  I thought you only went to the country club.  Who’s your friend, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before?”

Jeff stuck out his hand, “I’m Jefferson Davis Longworth, and who might you be?”

“Well if you must know, I’m Cole King Nat Weaver.  I guess you aren’t from around these parts.  Everybody around here knows who I am.”

Jeff wasn’t going to be bashed by this person, “Well, this person doesn’t recognize you.  I guess I need to go look at the most wanted posters to see if I can find you.  For your information, we people from Chattanooga don’t take kindly to people giving us a hard time.”

The sparing match was on, “Trevor, how can you associate with these northerners.  You know they don’t like us poor folk down here in Georgia. ( I believe that is pronounced Jaw-jah)  I’ll bet you that Mr. Jefferson Davis Longfellow is a member of the KKK.”

Cole turned away, “I’ll be right back with your food.”

Cole returned with steaming bowls of home made chicken and rice soup.  Jeff looked at him, “How do we know that you haven’t put knock out drops in this stuff like I do at my parents restaurant.”

“Look kid, my grandparents wouldn’t take kindly to me doing something that mean.  I might add something that would cause you to run to the bathroom, but I won’t knock you out.  Besides, I don’t have a vehicle to make sure you get home.  Enjoy, I need to go make sure they have enough crow to put in your meat pies.”

Cole returned with a green salad mixture, “I hope you appreciate the work I had to do to make these.  I had to go into the back yard and dig up all the dandelion plants I could find.”

He took the empty soup bowls and returned with warm home made rolls, “Grandma says these might make the salad go down better.”

He left and came back carrying a tray with five mini casseroles, “I’m sorry I couldn’t find enough crows.  So I had to shoot a squirrel and skunk to get enough meat for the meat pies.”

I leaned over to Autumn, “I think we need to hire this young man to help us at the farm since we’re both going to be busy all day.  He is quite a character.”

She whispered back, “Doug, he really is a neat young man.  I’m not sure that he would want to work on the farm.  His Grandparents probably need him here.  You could offer him a job and see what he says.  It might be a boost to his ego.”

As we were finishing our home made pot pies which were absolutely delicious, Cole returned.  “Tonight, for desert, I recommend that you have the pecan pie.  If your Yankee friend didn’t understand what I was saying, I recommend the pecawn pie”

I could hardly talk because of the interplay between Jeff and Cole was priceless.  “Cole, please bring five pieces of the pecan pie and sit here with us.  Miss Autumn and I have a proposition for you.”

That caught Cole’s attention, “I think I’m in trouble.”

Cole brought the pie and the refill of the drinks and sat down, “Mr. Doug and Miss Autumn, what is your proposition?”

Autumn looked at me and I started, “Cole, I assume you know what a horse is?”

Cole had the funniest look on his face, “Yeah, they’re four legged creatures with long hair on their necks and long tails.  They also have a long appendage when the they are sexually excited.  I’ve never met one up close and personal.   Why do you ask?”

Both Trevor and Jeff were laughing so loud that the people who were  dining in the restaurant were looking at us. 

“Cole, Miss Autumn and I would like to offer you the opportunity to come live with us and be our stable master.  We are both going to be very busy until and after the wedding.”

Cole’s looks told me that he thought I was teasing.  “What does being a stable master entail.  Is it as if I am going to be a slave.”

Autumn answered, “Cole, we would never try to make you a slave.  We would gladly pay you a fair wage for working for us.”

Cole stood, “Mr. Doug and Miss Autumn, I don’t have a vehicle, so how could I get to the farm.  Who would teach me what to do if I could get there?”

I looked at Cole, “I have an old truck that you could use to get back and forth to work and pick up the feed and things.  It’s older than you are, but it still runs.  We would just need to get it here.  That way you could run errands and go back and forth to school if you were to live at our house.”

Cole looked as if he were going to cry, “Mr. Doug and Miss Autumn, I can’t believe that you would not only invite me to work for you, but to also live with you.  We need to discuss this with my grandparents.  I’ll be right back.”

Cole came back with his grandparents, “Everyone, these are my Grandpa and Grandma Boone.  Granddad and Grandma, Mr. Doug and Miss Autumn have offered me a job over the summer, working for them on their farm.  Would you have a problem if I accepted it.  They have even offered to provide me transportation so I can help you at dinner time.”

Mr. Boone looked at us, “Folks. You don’t know how relieved we are.  We were wondering how we were going to be able to keep this eating machine in check.  You do realize that he eats like a horse don’t you?”

Cole took exception. “Granddad, how can you be so mean?”

“Easy, I’ve been taking lessons from you.”

Mrs. Boone looked at us, “Miss Autumn and Mr. Christiansen, we have no problem if he wants to work for you.  Just make sure that he earns his pay.  I would like to visit with you all more, but we need to get back to our other customers.”

I handed my debit card to Cole, “Please go pay the bill for me while we finish our drinks.”

When Cole returned, I stuffed a bill in the front pocket of the trousers he was wearing.

He gave me a funny look and whispered in my ear, “You aren’t one of the queers are you?”

I shook my head no.  “Cole, we’ll talk to you later about the job and retrieving the truck.  I think your grandparents would like to close the restaurant.”

Cole walked us to the door, “Are you in the competition tomorrow?”

Trevor looked at Cole, “Trent and I are.  Miss Autumn and Miss Spring are also entered.  I didn’t see Mr. Christiansen’s name on the list of people who would be competing.”

Autumn surprised us all, “Cole, why don’t we pick you at seven o’clock in the morning so you can help us with the horses and then watch the competition with us.  Doug is going to be riding Cracker Jack since Miss Spring has probably already left for Macon.”

Cole countered, “Miss Autumn, how many other black people will be there?  Equestrian events are for white people only.”

Trevor took exception.  “Look, Mr. Weaver, sports have no color barriers.  If you’re prejudiced against us white people, then maybe Mr. Christiansen and Miss Summers should withdraw their job offer.”

Jeff looked at Cole, “Cole, if a Yankee according to you can go to watch these people make a fool of themselves, why can’t you?  We’re going to need to have as much help as we can get to make sure the young people don’t look too bad.”

Cole looked at Jeff, “Are you riding in the competition?”

Jeff started to laugh, “Cole, I ain’t never ridden a horse other than my rocking horse.  Besides I’m afraid the horses might bite me and give me rabies.”

Cole was nonplused, “Yeah right.  Your Mommy probably had you on a horse from the day you were born.”

Jeff took a deep breath, “Cole, for your information, My parents own a restaurant just like your grandparents.  Why do you keep insinuating that we’re better than you.  We get up in the morning just like you and take care of needs and let our cares wash down the drain.”

Cole condescended, “Okay, if someone will pick me up in the morning at seven, I’ll make sure that my cares are washed down the drain as Jeff said.”

Cole surprised all of us.  He hugged us and kissed us on our cheeks.  He whispered, “Thanks for treating me as if I was a person who was worthy to be a friend to you.”

As we were driving Autumn home, it was relatively quiet.  I think we were all trying to digest what had happened.  I walked Autumn to the front door and kissed her.  She looked at me, “Doug, I still can’t understand why you won’t stay here.”

“Autumn, now that Spring is gone, what would people think if we were to be in the house by ourselves.  I want us to get married without a hint of any improprieties.  I’ve waited 28 years to find the right person to spend my life with, and I sure don’t want to ruin it now.”

As we were driving back to Fairacres, Jeff lit into me, “Uncle Doug, why didn’t you offer me the job instead of Cole?”

I almost stopped the car, but I didn’t.  “Jeff, your parents would never permit you to be away from them for too long.  When school starts in the fall, you would be back in Chattanooga and Autumn and I would be left without any help.  I’ll tell you what I’ll do.  If your parents agree, you can come and spend the summer with us, and I will pay you a small remuneration to be Cole’s assistant.  He can make sure that you and Trevor can get together as time permits.”

Fortunately we pulled into Fairacres just as Derek and Austin were unloading their luggage.  Derek looked at me, “Doug, why are we here?”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Now that was a quick ending, wasn't it?  I sure hope there is another chapter out soon.  As is the case with all of E Walk's stories, I sit around biting my fingernails waiting for the next installment to arrive. 

Don't forget to let him know who much you are enjoying the stories and make sure you tell him you want more. I think he likes to hear that every so often.

Remember that your comments are the only pay that any of these fine authors receive for their work.  Please take a few minutes and let them know that you really do enjoy reading the stories.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 04/10/09