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 42

The Great Grandmother

After the Morgan’s, had departed, Cole and I took the boys to our bedroom to get them ready for bed.  I checked for spots as we dried them after their shower, but I couldn’t see any spots on the four boys.   “Guys, go get your clothes and lay them out for school in the morning.  Remember tomorrow is field day.”

Mikey looked at me, “Do I have school tomorrow?”

“Nope, tomorrow is Thursday.  Maybe Dad Cole will take you to watch the other boys’ field day activities.  When you have your clothes laid out, come back and we’ll read you a story before you go to bed.  Dad Cole and I need to take our showers.”

We took a shower, but there wasn’t time to do anything else, because the boys would be back shortly.  I was putting on my briefs when the boys returned.  Benji was carrying a book that they had decided they wanted to hear.

After the story, the boys had brushed their teeth.  Mikey announced, “I’m gonna sleep with Benji so he doesn’t get scared.”

After we had the guys tucked in, we booted the computer to see what Larry Morgan had been talking about.  Larry was forwarding the responses as they came in, along with his replies.  The last message from Larry had nothing to do with the coins. It read,

Hi guys,

Thanks for embarrassing me in front of my sons, today.  Tonight they insisted that I get naked and take a shower with them.  I did and nothing happened except Tim said, “See, Dad, it isn’t so difficult, is it?”

We can discuss what you want to do about the coins when we see you Sunday.  The boys and I will bring some melons and fresh fruit.  See you Sunday at two.

Larry

I looked at Cole who was sitting beside me, “You know Mr. Weaver, this is all your fault.  You found a way to humanize another person.  Just warning you, though, you'd better not let the head of your penis get carried away once you’re a big football star.”

Cole hugged me, “Dougie, it only responds to your body and that's the way it’s going to stay.  It’s ready to rumble if you are.”

We rumbled into the wee hours.  We rumbled so well that I had a difficult time getting out of bed on Thursday morning.  After a hot shower, I felt somewhat better. I went to make sure the three oldest boys were awake.”

After breakfast, I watched as the three boys walked to the bus stop in front of the house.  I waited until the bus had picked them up then I went and kissed Cole and Mikey goodbye, and left for the campus.  As I was driving, I decided to call Jack Kennedy and invite him and Logan Turner to come to the campus to talk about the what we might be able to do with the block that the college was purchasing.

When I walked into my old office, I quickly realized that something was bothering Clark,  “Clark, is something bothering you?”

Clark had a forlorn look, “Andre moved out last night.  He told me that he didn’t love me and was moving to Southern Florida University to be the head football coach.  He kicked me while I was down, when he said, ‘I’m marrying my old sweetheart.  It seems I have caused her to become pregnant.  Besides a head football coach wouldn’t be able to gain the respect of the players or alumni if there was any hint that he were gay.’”

“Clark, I’m so sorry.”

“Doug, don’t be sorry.  It’s my fault.  I have been so intent on getting my doctorate degree this spring that I probably drove him away.  I could feel him straying, over the last several years.  He never wanted to make love to me,  and it was as if he was a robot when I would try to make love to him, which was less and less frequent.  I guess I’m doomed to be a celibate bachelor for the rest of my life.”

I started to laugh, “Clark, I seriously doubt that.  You’ll probably become known as Dr. Super Stud after Saturday.  No one in Harwood will be safe from your sexual prowess.”

Clark started to laugh, “Doug, I have a favor to ask of you.  Could you and your family be at my graduation ceremony, since my family is going to be in Valdosta for my baby brother’s graduation from college which is at the same time as I will be receiving my doctorate degree?  They never thought he would make it, and they want to be there to support him.”

“Clark, we’ll be happy to be there.  Remember, Cole is getting his degree that day as well, and then at four o’clock, he’s going to be signing his contract with the Falcons.  By the way, we’re having a surprise picnic for Cole, which is no longer a surprise, on Sunday at two.  Why don’t you come and bring your swim suit?”

Clark chuckled, “It’s a good thing everyone will be wearing swimsuits, or I might make a fool of myself.”

I took a parting shot, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.  My sons would probably laugh if they saw you naked.”

When I arrived at my new office, Karen pointed to President Harder’s door, “Her highness would like to speak with you.”

Doris came to the door, “Karen, I heard that comment.  You may be in the unemployment line before the day is out.  Doug, get your backside in here and close the door.”

I went and sat down and Doris started, “Doug, have you had a chance to talk to Clark?”

“Yes, he informed me that Andre had left him.  The surprising thing is, I think that, in some respects, Clark is actually relieved.  He didn’t say that exactly, but he did indicate that the spark was gone from their relationship.”

“Doug, what you don’t know was that Andre was about to be canned by my husband for messing around with some of the members of the football team.”

“Andre was doing what?  Does Clark know?”

“Probably not, you would need to be the person to tell him, because I certainly don’t want to be the one to tell him.  The reason I wanted to talk to you was not about this matter at all, but to talk about your plans for the block of land that the college is acquiring.”

“Doris, on the way here this morning, I decided that I would call Jack Kennedy and ask him and Logan Turner to come talk about what we might be able to do with the land.  They were responsible for this building and they did a fine job, and we were extremely pleased with what they did at Summerhill.”

Doris started to laugh, “That’s who I was going to suggest that you call.  So get with it.”

I decided to get the last word, “We’re having a graduation picnic for Cole at Summerhill on Sunday at two.  Why don’t you and the Coach plan to attend?  Cole will be signing his contract with the Falcons on Saturday, so the Coach should be there to celebrate Cole’s success.”

Doris grinned, “We’ll be there.”

I went to my new office and called Mr. Kennedy’s office, “This is Doug Christiansen, I’d like to speak with Mr. Kennedy, please.”

“Hi Dr. Christiansen, he’s just saying goodbye to a client.  He’ll be right with you.”

“Hi Doug, this is Jack.  Don’t tell me you’re planning on adding on to Summerhill again?”

“Not exactly, we’re going to be expanding the college campus and I would like for you and Turner to meet with me here at the campus as soon as possible to discuss the expansion.  It could bring in some big bucks for you and Logan.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I can get in touch with Logan.”

Jack called back approximately thirty minutes later, “Doug, it’s Jack.”

“That was quick.”

“Doug, you’re the person who wanted it done yesterday.  We’ll meet you in your office at the Administration Building at one o’clock.”

I decided to give him a difficult time, “Just make sure that you ask for the chief janitor.”

The phone was silent for a short period, “Doug, have you been drinking, or smoking something strange?”

“I’ll explain when you get here.”

I went to talk to Doris, “President Harder, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Turner will be arriving at one.   Will you be available to walk around the land  the school will acquiring to explain your vision?”

Doris stood up, “Look, Vice President Christiansen.  I can’t always be doing your work for you, but in this case, I will be glad to accompany you.  Let’s go kidnap the new Dean of Students and take him to lunch before I do your work for you.”

We stopped and asked Clark to join us and he tried to put us off, “I have three new students and their parents coming this afternoon to look at the school.”

Doris looked at him, “Look, Dean, I’m the boss around here and I said you were going to lunch with us.  Now let’s go.”

We walked to a small diner that wasn’t too far from our offices.  This was the first time that I noticed that the block on the other side of the land the school was acquiring had sustained some major damage as well.  We arrived back at the Administration Building just as Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Turner were pulling into the visitor space.

Clark excused himself, “I need to get ready for my meetings with the possible students and their parents.”

As we walked around the block the college was purchasing, Doris explained her vision for the area.  Jack Kennedy looked at the area and the next block that had been damaged, “Doris, is there any way that the college could swing to buy the properties in that block as well.  It would make this a perfect place for people to come and study.  You could have three distinct areas.  The middle block could be the classroom area.  The area were the administration building is now located could be the administrative area and third area could be a residence area with a Student Union facility where the students could eat.”

Doris looked at me. “Doug, what do you think?”
 

“Doris, as Clark said, I’m just the head janitor.  Quite frankly, what Jack is proposing makes good sense to me.  If the school is to grow, then we need to seek the financing to be able to do so.  Perhaps, we could get some individuals, foundations and even businesses to contribute toward the cause.  If the donations were significant enough, we could name a building after the benefactors.”

Doris turned to me, “You’ve just been promoted to be Vice President in charge of fund raising as well as construction.  Jack and Logan, I’ll make sure that we have the money to buy the land in the third block.  After that, Doug is in charge.”

I looked at Jack and Logan and asked, “How soon can you get started on the project.  Jack looked at us and said, “I’ll have a preliminary proposal ready by Monday at one.  Why don’t we meet then and you can look at what I was able to come up with.  I may not have it all done, but you can look at what I have come with to that point.”

I looked at Logan, “How soon can you start removing the debris from the block the school is acquiring for sure?”

“We can start Monday, if you give us the go ahead.”

I nodded, “Start Monday, because we can’t do anything else until President Harder purchases the adjoining block and Mr. Kennedy gets some preliminary plans drawn.”

When I pulled into Summerhill, Cole and the four boys were riding in the arena.  Yes, we had a riding stable where boys and girls could have birthday parties as Jeff had suggested, and it turned out to be a lucrative business.  You can’t imagine how many children from Atlanta had never ridden a horse.  There were even children in Harwood who had never ridden a horse.

We let Denny manage the arrangements for parties and he had two of his brothers help him when there was a party.  What was not to like about the parties, because we were all making some money?  You need to remember that Denny and Patty were the oldest of ten (No, make that twelve now.) children.

When the boys and Cole saw me, they came running toward me, Benji said, “Daddy, you’re home early, we’ll come talk to you as soon as we take care of the horses.”

I watched as the boys dismounted at the special platform we had built and led their horses to the stable.  I was always afraid that they would try to jump off the horses, but Denny had trained them well.

After dinner, the boys were watching television while Cole and I went to check the computer to see if there were any new messages.  When we reviewed the latest messages from Larry Morgan, Cole commented, “We have more gold than Fort Knox, in the house.”

Friday was just like any other Friday, well almost.  I walked the three oldest sons to the bus stop and waited for them to be picked up.  Heaven forbid that I should hug them in front of their friends.  When I took Mikey to school, he jumped out and didn’t even say goodbye because he saw one of his friends.

When I got to my office, Karen looked at me, “A Mrs. McBride insists that she needs talk to you immediately.”

I looked at Karen because I had no idea who Mrs. McBride was or what she might want.  I went to the lady who was seated in front of a walker, “I understand that you wish to speak to me, Mrs. McBride.”

The lady looked up at me, “If you’re Benji’s father, you’re the person I want to talk to.”

I looked at the woman, “I do have a son by the name of Benjamin, but why should you care?”

The answer  left  me sucking for air, “Because I have every reason in the world to believe that the young man might be my great grandson.” 

Editor's Notes:  Well, for heaven's sake!  That is quite a shock.  This could become very interesting.  Where in the world was this lady when Benji was found, lying in the middle of nowhere, after the tornado?  

I guess we will just have to wait till next time to find out what happens.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/02/09