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 21
Storm Warnings

I was grading the last set of papers for the classes that I had taught this past term.  I finally finished and looked at the clock and realized that it was nine o’clock.  I began to get concerned as to why I hadn’t heard from Cole and Trevor yet.  It was 9:15 when the phone finally rang.

“This is Doug Christiansen.”

I heard Cole’s voice, “Hi, Mr. C.  We’re home.”

“I expected you guys to have called sooner.”

Trevor was giggling, “What can you expect when we drove the entire way home on the shoulder of the road at twenty five miles an hour?”

“Don’t  believe him, Mr. C.  If Trevor hadn’t insisted that we stop at every rest stop that we saw so he could check out the guys, we would have been home much sooner.  Heck he even got propositioned five times.”

“Mr. Doug, Cole’s exaggerating.  He's upset because he didn’t get any propositions.  Of course when you padlock yourself into a stall that doesn’t have a glory hole, what can you expect?”

Cole was giggling, “The reason we’re a little late is that we realized we hadn’t eaten anything so we stopped at pizza joint, got to jawing and lost track of time.  See you this weekend and thanks for trusting me with the truck.”

Trevor added, “Over and out.”

“Good night, guys.”

After I hung up, I started to laugh, ’I’ll bet those two guys never dreamed that they would be riding around the countryside together.  It sounds as if they might become good friends.’

When I woke up the next morning, I went to Fitness Center and did my exercise routine and ran for a mile on the track.  I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to miss this facility.  I doubt very much if there is a facility like this in Harwood.’

As I was leaving, I stopped at the desk, “I will not be renewing my membership after this month.  I am going to be working in Harwood, starting the first of June.”

The young man behind thee desk looked at me, “Mr. Christiansen, we’ll miss you around here.  You provided the patrons with some nice eye candy, especially in the shower.”

I guess I must have turned red, “Don’t be embarrassed, Mr. Christiansen.  I took a look every opportunity I got to check you out myself.  The patrons were warned that you were so straight that a charging bull would fall to the ground after running into you.  I understand that you’re getting married.  I’ll see you at two o’clock.”

I looked at the young man, “Your name is Clark, isn’t it?”

The young man nodded.

“Well, Mr. Lewis Clark, you might just as well forget about even showing up at two o’clock this afternoon.  Your grade has already been determined, and it won’t be affected by what you do on the final.”

“Oh, you mean that I’ll get my A without even showing up?”

“I would be thinking the other end of the spectrum.”

“Look Dr. Christiansen, you fail me and I’ll make sure that you get fired from your position at the Harwood Community College before you even start.”

“Lew, how do you know so much about me?  You have to know someone who knows me rather well.”

“Elementary, Dr. Christiansen, my partner and I are good friends of your two brothers-in-law to be, and I happened to have grown up in Harwood.  My sister is going to be your secretary at the Community College.  By the way, my parents own an exercise facility right near the campus where stodgy old men can go work out on college time.”

“Lew, I’ll see you at two o’clock.  I need to get ready for the day.”

I made my way to examination room for the ten o’clock graduate course, for the final.  I was surprised to see that everyone was already seated when I walked in, even though it was only 9:45.  I handed out a packet with six sheets of paper.  I placed the packets face down.  When everyone had their packets, I announced, “You have 90 minutes to complete the exam.  Your answers can be no more than one page on one side of the paper for each of your five answers.  I will not accept any additional pages.  I will collect all papers at 11:30 sharp, whether they are finished or not.  You may begin.”

Austin read the cover page and looked up at me and mouthed, “You f_____r.”  I’m sorry I can’t write the word since it isn’t in my vocabulary.  But I will tell you that it rhymes with trucker.

Austin was the last person to finish.  He threw his paper down and snarled, “I hope you rot in hell.  You owe us lunch for being so cruel.”

I looked at Austin and he was laughing, “Don’t worry, Derek, I fixed him but good.  He’ll probably still be grading my test while he’s getting married.”

I had to look and see what Austin had done.  He had written his answers in Spanish.  Not only that, but the writing was so small that I could barely read it.  I opened my briefcase and pulled out a magnifying glass that I just happen to carry.  I quickly glanced at the first page, “Austin, I sure am glad that you’re not going to be teaching Spanish.  You need a lot of work.  Now, let’s go to lunch.”

We went to the Student Union for lunch, since it was next door, and were eating when we were approached by Dean Williams.  “Good afternoon, Doug.  I understand that Doris hired you to be the Dean of Admissions and the Dean of Students.  That’s a rather lofty position for a new Dr. don’t you think?  Good afternoon Mr. Summers, I understand that you will be receiving your master’s degree on Saturday.  I don’t suppose that you would be interested in replacing Mr. Christiansen on the staff as doctoral candidate?”

I thought Austin was going to choke on the food he had in his mouth.

I decided to play devil’s advocate, “Dean Williams, do you think that’s a good idea?  People might accuse us of nepotism since Austin is going to be my brother-in-law?”

If looks could kill, I was going to be dead shortly.  Dean Williams nodded his head, “Well, there is always that to consider, but I was thinking it would give Mr. Summers something gainful to do while Mr. Mitchell is completing his master’s degree work over the next two years.  Of course, we will need to make sure that Mr. Mitchell wasn’t in any of the classes that Mr. Summers might be teaching.  Austin, come see me this afternoon at four, please.”

The Dean left and both guys looked at me.  Austin started, “Doug, did you know this was going to happen?”

I put up my hands letting them know that I had no idea.  “Guys, believe me.  I had no idea this was going to happen.  This is the first I’ve talked to Dean Williams since he arranged my interview at the Harwood Community College.  I’m sure that they have had several applicants for the position and they must have decided that you would be the best person to fill the position.”

Austin was still confused, “But I never really applied for the position.  All I did was to apply to be admitted to the doctorate program.”

I shrugged my shoulders, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  Take the position and you and Derek won’t be starving, but you won’t get rich either.  Now for the important things.  Are your parents coming for your graduation?”

Austin looked at me as if I was daft, “I thought you already knew. They will be arriving Friday afternoon and staying at the Peachtree Hotel, so they can get together with your parents and plan Autumn’s and your wedding.”

“Guys, the only persons I have talked to since I got back last night are Cole and Trevor, and Lewis Clark.  What do you know about Lew?  He seems as if he might be a character.”

Derek grinned, “Lew is a stitch.  He is totally committed to his partner, Andre.  Andre is graduating from Teacher’s College and has an interview in Harwood for a teaching position in the local school system.  He’s a physical education major and it seems they need an assistant coach for the football team.  Andre is big brute compared to Lew, but whatever Lew says goes.  You should arrange for Lew to get a job at the junior college if Andre gets hired.”

I looked at the clock, “Guys, I need to go; I have a final to give at two o’clock and another one at four.  I sure hope that everyone doesn’t decide to answer in Spanish.  Talk to you guys later.”

It was almost seven o’clock when I arrived at my apartment.  I looked in my fridge and there was almost nothing there.  I opened the freezer and looked to see what was in there that I could have for dinner.   I pulled out a frozen dinner that didn’t even appeal to me, but I had to get the papers checked so I could turn in the grades in the morning.

I was sitting eating my delicacy and grading papers when the phone rang.  “This is Doug Christiansen,”

“Doug, turn off this dynamo.  Cole was here before we got up this morning taking care of the horses.  He came here directly after school, and by the time Spring and I got home, the horses had been taken care of.  I went to check on them tonight and they just ignored me as if I was a fly.  By the way, Trevor called earlier and said I should tell you that he and Jeff will be spending Friday night at your apartment.  He has us scheduled to leave at five on Friday.  I guess I’ll be staying with Austin and Derek.”

Autumn wasn’t finished, “Spring has the appraiser coming tomorrow at four.  She’ll let you know what the value of her share of Summerhill is, tomorrow.  I have a ton a work to do for tomorrow.”

The phone went dead and I sat there looking at it, thinking, ‘What’s happening?  There weren’t any goodnights or goodbyes.’ 

I had just finished grading the finals and recording the grades when the phone rang again.  ‘Maybe, it’s Autumn again.’

“This is Doug Christiansen.”

“Hey Uncle Doug, this is Jeff.  The weirdest thing happened earlier.  I was talking to Trevor and the phone just went dead.  I’ve been trying to call him back, but all I get is a busy signal.   I turned on the television and it seems that the area around Harwood was hit by a series of tornados.  Just thought you should know.  By the way, my parents and I are coming for your graduation.  Is it okay if Trev and I spend Friday night at your pad?  My parents are going to be staying at the Peachtree Inn with your and Miss Autumn’s parents.  Where’s Miss Autumn going to be staying?”

“Jeff, yes you and Trev can crash with me.  Miss Autumn is planning to stay with Austin and Derek.  I need to check out the news, so I can see how much damage was done.  Talk to you later.”

I turned on the television to the news channel, and sure enough, the  newsperson was saying, ‘We’re coming to you live from the Harwood area.  The electric and phone lines are down all over and the entire area is without electricity or phone service.  There was no major damage in the town itself, but there were reports that two tornados had touched down approximately 15 miles from the town itself in the middle of some horse farms.’

‘We’re driving toward the area where the tornadoes were reported. There is a spread.  The sign over the entry indicates that it is Fairacres and it appears to be fine.  There are two young men checking things out.’ 

The newscaster was talking to Trent and Trevor, “Hi guys, I'm Rick Caster from WGCL news in Atlanta.   Did your farm have any damage?”

Trent answered, “No sir, Fairacres is fine.  The worst of the storm appeared to be just to the north of us.  We could see two funnel clouds from the barn.”

“Just for the record, would you please tell me your names?”

Trevor was giggling, “Mr. Caster, just for the record, I’m Trevor Nixon and he’s my bossy older brother, Trent Nixon.”

The newscaster started to laugh, “It's nice to see that some people can even keep their sense of humor even in times of stress.  See you around, guys.”

Trent interrupted, “We were just leaving to check on our neighbors and some friends to see if they are okay.”

The news vehicle started to move and the commentator continued, ‘It’s so nice that there are still young people in the world that care about others.  It looks as if we might be nearing the area where at least one of the tornadoes touched down.  Trent and Trevor have stopped in front of what at one time must have been a nice house.’

The news vehicle stopped and the broadcaster asked, “Trent, who lived here?”

“The Morrisons live here.  Their house and stable are gone.  It’s as if everything disappeared.”  Trent had no more than said that, than a van pulled up with a young couple and their two young sons.

When the four people got out of the van the youngest boy asked, “Mommy and Daddy, where’s our house and barn?  What happened to our horses?”

Trevor picked up the little guy, “Billy, Trent and I will help you look for them tomorrow when it gets light.  Now why don’t I take you, Bobby and your parents back to our house so you can get some sleep?  Trent, why don’t you go check on Miss Autumn and Miss Spring, they might need some help, since they live so close?”

‘Ladies and gentlemen, this broadcast is coming to you live from near Harwood.  These are real people taking care of their friends and neighbors.  We’re going to follow Trent Nixon to see where he goes next.’

The broadcast showed Trent pulling up in front of Summerhill.  Cole was standing there talking to Autumn and Spring.  Trent jumped out of the truck and he was followed by the newscaster and the camera man.  Trent started, “Cole, what are you doing out here?”

 

Cole shrugged his shoulders, “I came to see if Miss Autumn and Miss Spring were okay.  They’re fine.  The horses were a little skittish, but I got them calmed down.”

Mr. Caster asked, “Cole, do you live around here?” 

Cole had a funny look on his face, “Sir, how did you know my name?  I live in a small town about three miles from here.  I work for Miss Autumn and her fiancé Mr. Doug.”

Mr. Caster answered, “I heard Trent call you Cole.  So, have you worked for them for some time?”

Cole looked at the man, “No, I just started.  Now if you will excuse us, we need to go see if we can help the neighbors.  It looked as if they had some major damage when I drove by.”

Cole and Trent climbed in their trucks and drove to the farm on the other side of Summerhill.

The newscaster was saying, ’ I must admit that these young people are not your normal young people you keep hearing bad reports about.  This is unbelievable, the spreads on either side of Summerhill have been devastated and yet it was unscathed.’

The two trucks and the news vehicle pulled into the spread on the other side of Summerhill.  It was starting to get dark so Trent and Cole left their truck lights on.  Cole stopped, “Listen, someone’s knocking or something.”

The two teenagers went to where the sound was coming from and frantically started to move the debris away from the pounding sound.  The two guys uncovered the door to a storm cellar.  They opened the door and two teenage boys crawled out with the help of Cole and Trent.  They were followed by the boys’ parents and two sisters.

The gentleman looked around and put his hand to his head, “Everything is gone.  What are we going to do?”

Trent took charge, “The first thing we need to do is to find you a place to stay, tonight.  Cole, let’s take the Lacys to Mr. Willingham’s house.  I’m sure that he would be more than glad to let them stay there until they can decide what they are going to do.  You take the two guys with you and I’ll take Mr. and Mrs. Lacy and the two girls in my truck.”

The newscaster was commenting as they were following the two trucks, ‘Well, I don’t think you can say that the young teenagers of today aren’t problem solvers, if Cole, Trent and Trevor are indicative.  We've been told that we’re going to stay on the air to see what happens when they get the Lacy family to Mr. Willingham’s spread.  It seems as if there are a large number of viewers watching as the real life drama unfolds.’

When the vehicles arrived at Uncle Howie’s spread, Trent went to the door, “Mr. Willingham, the Lacys have lost everything.  Can they stay with you until they get things sorted out.”

Uncle Howie shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know why not.  We may have to do something about clothes, since I don’t have any ladies’ clothes in the house.  We have plenty of food.  We’ll figure out what to do.”

The Lacys hugged Trent and Cole as the guys were leaving.  The two guys were going to their trucks.  Mr. Caster stopped them, “The studio in Atlanta has several questions that they want me to ask you two gentlemen.  First, Cole, what is your last name?”

Cole looked perplexed and looked at Trent, who nodded yes, “My name is Cole Weaver.  Why do you ask?”

“The viewers are just interested.  How do you two gentlemen know each other?”

Trent answered, “We go to the same high school.  Mr. Weaver is the starting quarterback for our high school football team.  I really don’t know him very well.  Now that he got hired by some friends of my family, I’m sure that we will become good friends.  If you will excuse us, we may have school in the morning.  School doesn’t wait for anything.”

The newscaster came, ‘This is Rick Caster reporting live from the Harwood area.  I have just been told to mind my own business by two teenage young men.  I would like to commend three teens that we met tonight for their caring attitudes.  First we have The Brothers Nixon, Trent and Trevor and Mr. Cole Weaver.  I salute these three young men.  This is Rick Caster signing off.”

I turned off the television and was chuckling, “What a day!”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: Now if that is a vanilla chapter, I do believe it had some darn good chocolate sauce on it. 

When I received the chapter from E Walk, he said, "Here is a very Vanilla chapter of Love Refound."  That was not an exact quote but it was pretty close. I didn't actually go check to get it down to the exact words.

So if that is a vanilla chapter, I think I might hesitate to ask for a butter pecan chapter.  I think it might more accurately be thought of as a rocky road chapter.

Let's see, we had two ranches totally flattened, and two others totally spared being damaged by the storms. Miraculously, no one was hurt, let alone killed, which was a blessing. 

It was wonderful to see how caring and helpful the teens were in getting people taken care of.

I am very happy to see that the newscaster was a bit more complete in his report than to just shove a microphone in someone's face and ask them how they felt about having their homes destroyed.  (I am not going to start a rant on how insensitive newscasters can be when it comes to reporting disasters.) I could go on for days on my feelings about heartless newscasters. 

I should point out something about our modern world and its communications systems.  Rural communities have traditionally not had the most reliable phone connections.  Usually at the first sign of a storm the phone lines and power go out.  I know a lot of people who now have cell phones, so they can continue to make and receive calls when land lines go down.  However, there is one thing that people forget; for a cell phone to work, there has to be a nearby tower to receive signals from the cell phone.  Entrenched phone companies who deliver land line phone service are required to maintain service even during power failures.  These phone companies have huge rooms full of batteries, to maintain the voltage on the phone lines and keep the system going for hours, if not days, while the power is off.  Apparently, those rules don't apply to cell companies. I honestly don't know of any cellular phone companies that have installed any kind of back up power on their tower locations, There might be some sort of UPS (uninterruptible power supply) connected to the system, but it is very short term and will not keep service running for any length of time. So if there is a natural disaster and the power and phone lines are down, chances are that the rural people will still be out of luck when it comes to using any type of phone. 

I bet you thought I was going to go off on TV reporters, didn't you?

I won't go any further with this because it is getting late and I want to make sure this chapter gets out in time to be posted.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 05/08/09