We Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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

Chapter 34
You Want What?

The six young guys quickly took care of the dishes and David was ready to leave for the wresting meet.  Hank slowed him down, “David, those of us who were around horses probably should change clothes, since we do smell a little horsey.  It’s a good thing Ramsey brought some clean clothes with him.  I’ll go change and I’ll be right with you.”

Chase looked at Justin, “Boss, is there anything that I need to go take care of?”

Justin shook his head, no, “Ramsey and David have everything under control.  I am just amazed that Ramsey is already feeling comfortable around the horses.  You’ll have to teach him how to drive a golf cart so he can get back and forth between the ranches when the weather is bad.”

I laughed, “Chris, we need to get you a driver’s license as soon as possible so you aren’t dependent on other people to drive you around.”

Chris frowned, “What good is a license going to do for me, when I won’t be able to afford a vehicle for a long time?  I’m going to need all of the money I can earn to pay for college which is my first priority.  I can always ride public transportation.”

“Chris, in case you hadn’t noticed, we live rather away from the public transportation routes out here on the ranch.  I guess you could always buy a motorbike.”

Our discussion was interrupted by David, Ramsey, and Jacob, who had gone to get a change of clothes to take with him so he could go directly to school from the hospital in the morning.  Wayne and Justin opted out of going to the wrestling meet.  I had the feeling that they had some things they wanted to talk about or do while they were alone.

We took three vehicles to the meet.  The stands were full, but not as full as last week.  I was surprised when Jeremy and Brett decided to go to the meet with us, but then I realized they might have wanted to have an opportunity to be around Chris and Chase.  Plus they were in a strange city, so they didn’t have any people they really knew here.

Tad had a real tough match and the score was tied at two to two and the match was about ready to end when Tad made a sudden move and took the other wrestler down then pinned him.  All the visiting spectators stood and applauded as Tad and the opposing wrestler walked off the mat together. 

Tim’s match was just the opposite.  It was over almost before it began with Tim pinning his opponent. Hank turned to our group, “We’re going to take David to see Danny.  Kevin, why don’t you make sure that Chris and Chase get home, and Jeremy, would you make sure that Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips get home.  Ramsey, do you need any money?”

Jeremy spoke up “Don’t worry, Cowboy, we’ll make sure that he has everything that he needs.”

I looked at Hank and he was seemingly thinking the same thing I was.  ‘Why would Jeremy care about what Ramsey needs.’

When we arrived at the hospital, we had to slow David down.  When we got to the isolation room where Danny was confined, Ross and Rosa were sitting there.  Ross looked at us, “Danny's been sleeping since we got here.  He hasn’t responded to anything we said.”

We were interrupted by Danny’s voice, “Did I hear David?”

David climbed on the steps so he could talk to Danny.  Danny sat up in his bed, “David, who won the wrestling fights?”

David provided a blow by blow account of the two matches.  Then he started to tell Danny about taking Ramsey home and having him help with the horses.

Danny asked, “Who is Ramsey?”

I guess no one had told Danny about Ramsey.  David started, “He this kid who lives in Granddad’s basement in the house on the hill.  He’s older than us, but he’s younger than anyone else.  You’re really going to like him.  I’ll get Poppa and Grandpa to bring him by, so you can meet him.”

I interrupted, “Danny, we’re going to take motor mouth kid here and put him to bed.  We’ll bring him back to see you tomorrow.  Jacob should be here shortly.  You be good, you hear.”

Danny giggled, “Poppa, how can I be bad with all these tubes and wires hanging out of me.  Davey, you be good and tell everyone I said hi.”

When we got to the ranch,  Dusty was already home.  He looked at us, “Guys, you’re not going to believe this, but I am going to be able to actually use the campaigns that I worked on at the office, as my reports.  I can use the Senator Throckmorton campaign and whatever we do for Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips as my two projects.  Class will actually only meet on Tuesday nights.  Thursday nights are so we can document the campaigns and I will need to make one presentation at the end of the term.”

Mimi rolled her eyes, “I wish my last class was going to be so easy.  I have to come up with a complete line of children’s clothes before the end of the term.”

I started to laugh, “Mimi, that should be easy.  Just think what you would want your five children to wear, if they were living on a ranch, and then what you would want them to wear when you went on a luxurious vacation where they were to meet the President and his children. At the end of the vacation you were going to spend some time at the beach before you went mountain climbing.  Better have the children ready to be involved in some weddings and dances and other special events.”

Cowboy hugged me, “Just leave it to The Michaels’ Ad Agency.  They’ll settle all your woes and cares. David, I believe that you need to go get ready for bed.  Kevin will be home shortly.”

Dusty stood, “Come on, son.  I’ll make sure you are clean.”

Dusty had just departed with David when Kevin came in, “Chris and Chase are as different as night and day. Chris is so serious and Chase is care free.  Where’s David?”

Mimi answered, “His Dad just took him to get him ready for bed.”

Kevin started up the stairs, and Mimi was starting to get tears, “Dad Hank, it was the luckiest day of our lives when you flashed Poppa Michaels in that bathroom.  The two boys have someone they can they can relate to.  I just hope David and Danny don’t become too dependent on Jacob and Kevin.”

Hank hugged Mimi, “I'm guessing that will all change when their siblings arrive.  You’re correct though that is was a lucky day for all of us.  I feel very optimistic about Danny having a full recovery after hearing him giggle while Steve was talking to him.  We just need to be patient.”

Our conversation was interrupted by the return of Dusty, “I’ve been relieved by a sixteen year old.  David scolded me because I wouldn’t get in the shower with him.  He’s wound tighter than a drum.  It’s as if he’s going to take off into space at anytime.”

Hank was laughing, “Steve and I are going to our room.  I just had an inspiration for the last part of my new program.  I’ll have to run the program by Kevin and Jacob after I get it done.  See you in the morning.”

Hank had other things on his mind rather than his program. “President Michaels, I promised you this morning that we would take care of little Stevie tonight.  I have a severe itch that needs to be taken care of first.  Let’s go take a shower and see if we can solve our mutual problems.”

We took care of the mutual problems and then some.  When we were finished, Hank asked, “Steve, I wish we could have found each other earlier.  Why don’t you go to bed while I work on my program and don’t put on any clothes?  I'll be there shortly.”

Shortly never arrived because when I was awakened by David, Hank wasn’t in bed.  After David departed, I went to find Hank lying on the sofa in his office area.  I looked at his body and liked what I saw and decided to taste the wares that were prominently on display.  When I started my ministrations, the victim awakened and tried to push me away, “Steve, please don’t do that!  I need to go to the bathroom.”

I released my captive and I chided him as he was relieving himself, “So, you don’t love me any more?  You never even came to bed last night.”

“Steve, that’s not funny.  I was working on the program; I hit a snag and laid down to try and figure out why I was having a problem.  I was awakened by someone licking my lollipop which was about to explode.” 

There was a knock on the door, “Dads, get your butts up.  Most of us are ready to leave.  See you tonight.”

I watched out the window as Kevin left with David and Dusty and Chris departed, followed by Wayne.  Then I saw Ross leaving, so I assumed that he was going to stay with Danny which turned out to be a correct guess.

When we were eating breakfast, Rosa shook her head, “Guys, who’s going to take care of you when we get everyone moved to the ranch?”

I started to laugh, “Rosa, my sons and I did fine on our own for almost ten years.  We’re all decent cooks.  We aren’t gourmet cooks by any stretch of the imagination, and I have the feeling that Ramsey might be a decent cook, also.”

Rosa started to laugh, “So you won’t miss me when I don’t cook anymore?”

Hank hugged her, “Rosa, you’re going to have your hands full helping with the triplets when they arrive.  We will sorely miss you, but your family needs to come first.  Besides our sons are going to be going to college before long and we will be able to establish a nude resort here.”

Rosa pretended as if she were shocked, “I’ll have Ross build a tall fence so Danny, David and the triplets won’t interrupt the proceedings.”

Hank challenged her, “Yeah, and at the same time as he is building the wall, you are probably going to be having him build a lookout tower, so you can watch what is happening.”

Rosa wasn’t backing down, “Now that you mention it, that’s a good idea.  That way I can report my observations to the sheriff.”

Hank stood and hugged Rosa, “Rosa, it is going to be different for all of us when we get everyone situated.  We’re not going to be so far away though, that we can’t still take care of each other.”

We started to take our dishes to the counter and Rosa shook her head no, “That will give me something to do while I’m here alone.”

When I got to the office, “No one spoke to me.  It was as if I didn’t exist.  As I walked by Chris, he handed me a list of messages but said nothing.  Cynthia was talking on the phone, “Okay sir, I’ll tell him.  I’ll make sure he’s there on time.  Yes sir, I understand, sir.”

I walked into my office and looked at my messages.  The Harrisons and the Hamiltons wanted to close on the properties on Friday afternoon.  The Hamiltons wanted to close at 2:00 and the Harrisons at 4:30.  I made a note to call Hank and tell him.

I was just getting up to go to the bathroom when Chris came in, “President Michaels, Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips are here for their appointment.  Mr. Summers will join you shortly. I started to wonder why everyone was acting so squirrelly?

I invited Brent and Jeremy into the office and they acted as if they had never met me before.  When Dusty arrived, he was very formal, “Sorry, I’m late Mr. Michaels.”

I was totally confused by the way everyone was acting.  ‘What had I done to upset everybody.?’

Dusty took charge, “Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips, I understand that you would like for us to do an advertising campaign for your new line of sporting goods when you open your store here in our fair city.”

Brent pulled out a brochure, “We already have stores in six other major cities.  We are looking at opening stores in three more markets within the next six months.

I won’t bore you with the details of the meeting, but the two visitors were very impressed with Dusty’s and my suggestions.  I explained that Dusty and his staff would be responsible for designing the marketing campaign.

We were just about to conclude the meeting when Cowboy burst into the office, “Good, most of the gang is here.  Let’s bust out of this place and move into the office area.  I hate conference rooms.”

When we walked out of the conference room into the front office, there were balloons everywhere and a big birthday cake.  Everyone started to sing Happy Birthday Steve.   I just about lost it, because I had totally spaced off that it was my birthday. 

Hank looked around, “We’re going to go to the Bread Basket for lunch.  Everyone is invited.  Shut down the office and let’s head out.”

When we got to the Bread Basket, we were shown to a private room.  I was bushwhacked again.  Kevin, Jacob, David, and Ramsey were there, along with Justin and Chase.  Flo made a big production out of feeding us.  We were just about finished when she handed me a phone, “There’s a young man who would like to speak to you.”

“Hello.”

“Poppa, I just wanted to call and wish you a Happy Birthday.  Maybe next year I can be there and make sure you can blow out the candles.  Please tell Doctor Harrison that I need to go home.  I’m really bored here.”

I took a deep breath, “Danny, it won’t be long before you can go home.  We need to make sure that you’re all better first.  I’ll bring David by this afternoon.”

“Make sure  you bring that Ramsey person, too.”

I had just hung up when Tad and Tim arrived, Tad apologized profusely, “Dad Steve, I’m sorry we couldn’t be here earlier.  I had a major test in the class before lunch, since we have last lunch.  Happy Birthday.”

Kevin, Jacob, David and Ramsey had to leave.  I was totally floored when Ramsey even hugged me and wished me a Happy Birthday.  That was a sign for the people from the office and the ranch to leave.  As soon as Tad and Tim had eaten, they left, leaving just Hank, Brent, Jeremy and me. 

Brent started the conversation, “We need to leave this afternoon, we have commitments in other cities for the next two days.  Could you please drive us to the airport?”

Jeremy added, “We already have our bags in the car.  We have some other things we would like to discuss with you when there is no one else around.”

I called the office and informed them that I was taking Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips to the airport.

I don’t think even Hank had any idea what they wanted to talk about that was so secret.  We were soon to find out.

Brent started, “Hank and Steve, the past four days have been some of the most exciting days that I have ever had.  Not only did I find out that I have two sons, but they are both so handsome.  I know this probably sounds crass, but I want to make sure they have only the best.  I guess they will never be able to accept me as their father, but I would like to make sure they go to college, and I will pay for it.  I want more for my sons than for them to be an assistant to the Executive Secretary and the assistant stable master for some beautiful horses.”

Jeremy interrupted, “There is also something else.  We would like  to take Ramsey and have him live with us, and we could raise him, as we would the son we will never have.”

Hank answered for us, “Guys, you need to talk to the people involved.  Steve and I and are not in a position to make decisions for the three young men.  You should have sat down and talked to them and not us.”

Brent nodded, “Hank, I agree, but we only decided last night, that this was what we wanted to do.  We would like to return this weekend so we can talk to the guys.”

Hank looked at Brent and Jeremy, “Where would you like to meet with the boys?  You are welcome to stay at the house on the hill.”

Brent laughed, “Thank you for your offer.  We’ll take you up on it.  Perhaps we could have a pizza party; we would pay for the food.  I have Elaine’s number.  I think she and Flo should be there with their families.  They might have something to add.

We dropped the two guys off in the unloading zone at the terminal, and Brent looked in the window, “We’ll call you when we know what our travel plans are.

I had forgotten that this was Wednesday.  As we were driving back to town, Hank looked at me.  Text the boys and tell them to meet us at the house on the hill so we can go to choir practice.  Bring Chris with you.  I guess we need to find out if Chase can sing too.

With my marching orders in hand, I went to the office and I swear the flood gates opened because the calls kept coming the rest of the  afternoon.  Cynthia finally came into the office at 5:30.  “Boss, I turned off the phones.  Let’s get out of here while we can.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  Somehow, I think that Danny is going to be all right and that things are somehow going to work out just fine.  Don't hold me to that though, because I have been known to be way off base in cases like this. 

Ramsey is getting more used to the family now, and I think he is going to be a fine young man as well.  He is very intelligent, and he is soaking up all the attention and affection that everyone is showering on him.  He has never before been treated fairly and with genuine love.  It is still going to take him a while before he completely trusts everyone.  He is making progress though. 

Chris and Chase are really going to be in for a surprise when their Dads come back and fill them in on what they have in mind. I don't know how they will react to what is coming, but I guess we will find out eventually.

I can hardly wait for the next chapter. I hope it won't be too long in coming.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher    

Posted: 04/19/09