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

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Chapter 36
I Think I Can

As Chris and I walked into the office, Cynthia was already there.  She was busy, but she looked up from what she was doing, “Boss, I would like to leave at two o’clock.  Jennifer has been invited to be on the Oprah Show tomorrow.  The producers have asked that Jennifer’s family also be in attendance and they are paying for us to fly to Chicago.  They are also providing us with free lodging at the Four Seasons Hotel for two nights.”

I looked at Chris, “Mr. Farway, we have been given our marching orders by her royal highness.  Do you think you can make sure I don’t get into too much trouble while she is gone?”

Chris was giggling, “I don’t know, Mr. Michaels.  That’s an awesome responsibility.”  He winked at Cynthia and started, “I think I can, I almost positive I can, in fact, I know I can.  Don’t worry Miss Cynthia, I’ll make sure he doesn’t get too wild while you’re gone.”

I never realized that running a business could be so time consuming.  I was almost 11:45 when Cynthia stuck her head in the door, “The Cowboy is on the line.”

I answered and he began, “Michaels, you Chris and Wayne are to meet me at the Bread Basket in fifteen minutes.  Justin and Chase will be meeting us there.  If any of you aren’t there, I’ll come lasso you myself.”

I snickered, “I guess I need to tell Kevin and Jacob that you are reverting to your old bossy self.”

“Steve, it was Flo who called the meeting, not me.  Be there, or you will be sleeping with the horses tonight.”

I sent Chris to get Wayne and when he came in, he was mystified as to why he needed to go to lunch with us.  “Steve, I have a lot of work to do and don’t have time for another leisurely lunch.”

“Wayne, believe me, I have no idea what is happening.  Let’s just go and see what 'whoever' has on their mind.”

Dusty had gone to relieve Hank at the hospital, so Hank was waiting at the restaurant when we walked in.  We had just been seated when we were joined by Chase, Justin, Flo and Judge Ron Baker.  I thought to myself, ‘Why isn’t Elaine Graham here?’ 

Flo looked at the gathered group as we were starting to eat, “I know that this is a fast meeting, but I have been in communication with Mr. Farway, and I understand that he and Mr. Phillips are going to be coming back to visit this weekend.  They told me that they were going to be paying for Chris and Chase’s college education.”

The food flew from both Chris and Chase’s mouth.  Chris looked at me and then at his Grandmother, “They what?  How come Chase and I haven’t been consulted?”

Flo was not to be deterred, “Probably, because you aren’t willing to accept the fact that people might care about what happens to you.  Enough about that subject.  You can work out the details with your Dad and Jeremy this weekend.  The real reason for this meeting was to tell Chase and Chris that my husband and I will be buying suitable vehicles for you two young men, so you can get back and forth to college.  Ron will pick you up on Saturday at noon and take you to find your dream machine, since I know nothing about cars.”

Both Chris and Chase were sitting there with their mouths open as if they were in a cationic state.

Flo turned to Wayne and Justin, “Mr. Young and Mr. Freeman, I guess you are wondering why you are here.  We happen to know that you are both qualified accountants, and more.  We would like for you to come at noon on Saturday to audit the restaurant’s books.  I’m positive that my sleaze ball partner has been skimming the profits from the restaurant.  The Sleaze will be leaving Friday night, and won’t be returning until Monday morning.”

Flo stood, “We’ll meet everyone here on Saturday at noon.  We need to get back to work.  Enjoy the rest of your lunch.”

As we were leaving the restaurant, Hank and I were walking together and I asked Hank, “Did you know what was going to happen today?”

He shook his head, “I was caught more flat footed than anyone else.  It will be interesting to hear the guys’ reactions to what happened.  Flo doesn’t leave much to the imagination, does she?  It’s a good thing that Kevin and Jacob weren’t here or they would have been all over Flo’s backside.”

Both Hank and I started to laugh at his last comment.  As he was getting into his car, he yelled, “I’ll be by to pick you up later.”

As Chris, Wayne and I were driving back to the office, I received it from both sides.  Chris challenged me, “Mr. Michaels, did you know that Mr. Farway and Mr. Phillips were going to pay for Chase’s and my college education?”

“Chris, they indicated that they wanted to make sure that you and Chase had every opportunity to enjoy a good life.  Your Father sprung it on us when we were taking him and Jeremy to the airport, yesterday.  I don’t know how your Grandmother got involved.  This is my personal opinion:  I think that the parties involved are feeling a little guilty for not realizing what was happening to you and Chase.  Be gracious and accept any help that they wish to provide.  Both of you deserve it.”

“Wayne, before you ask.  I had no idea why Flo wanted you and Justin there today.  I guess the guys will be taking care of the stables this weekend.  Just think, you and Justin could probably earn more money than the Geek Squad by going in and solving financial problems of businesses.  You could do it on weekends while the mice are away, and you do have someone to cover the ranches.”

Chris started to laugh, “Uncle Wayne, what the boss is saying is that you and Uncle Justin should make hay while you can.”

The afternoon had moved rapidly, since I had a steady stream of people.  My 3:30 appointment was leaving and I was ushering him to the door.  After I shook his hand, I looked around and didn’t see anyone else waiting, “Mr. Farway, do I have any more appointments today?”

“Mr. Michaels, there are some gentlemen waiting to see you.  They’re in with Mr. Summers.  I’ll let them know that you’re free.”

“Chris, I never said that I was free.  I charge dearly for my services.”

“That’s okay, sir.  I’ll take you word for it.  I’ll have to check with Mr. Rodgers tonight, though.”

Chris picked up the phone, “Mr. Summers, would you please inform your visitors that Mr. Michaels is free?”

I should have guessed who it was, but I hadn’t even thought that it might be David and Ramsey.  The two boys came out of Dusty’s office and Ramsey started, “We’ve been told to kidnap you and take you away from this funny farm before you turn into a basket case.”

“But I still have work to do.”

David was pulling my hand, “Let Uncle Chris and my Dad do the work.  We need to go, so we go see Danny and make sure that he’s okay.”

“Okay, but how did the two of you get here anyway?”

Ramsey grinned, “Easy, Poppa, we walked into a box and punched the number four and the box dumped us off outside your office.  Now come on, I have homework to do.”

I looked up and Hank was standing in the doorway laughing,  “Let’s get with it Stevie; we don’t have all day.”

I flipped the car keys to Chris, “I’ll stop and tell Wayne that you will be driving him home.”

Chris started to say something, but he didn’t get a chance to finish because I was practically being pulled out the door.  I stopped by  Wayne’s office and told him what was happening, and we were on our way to the hospital.

We went to the ICU room where we thought Danny was located, David mounted the steps to talk to Danny.  He turned to us, “That’s not Danny.  Did something happen to Danny?”

An orderly was passing by, “If you’re looking for Mr. Summers, he’s back in his old room.  Let me get you some sterile clothing kits so you can go talk to him.”

It was a riot helping the boys get dressed in the scrubs.  I was laughing, “We’ll have to bring a camera with us the next time we come.”

Ramsey looked at us, “Do we gotta take our briefs off, too?”

Hank and I were down to our briefs and our socks and Hank answered, “Nope, you can leave your briefs and socks on, but that’s all.”

When we entered Danny’s room, Danny was watching television.  When he saw us, Danny started to laugh, “Mommy, I think we have been invaded by the Martians.”

Mimi smiled, “They look more like mummies to me.  Maybe we should check to see if they are alive.”

Hank grinned, “Daughter-in-law, why don’t you go home.  We’ll stay until someone comes to relieve us.  We’ll make sure the prisoner doesn’t get away.”

David looked at us, “Grandpa, do we gotta wear these things over our mouths.  It’s hard for people to hear each other.”

Danny answered, “Doctor Harrison said that everyone needed to wear the masks, even me, because germs travel through the air.  He doesn’t want me to breathe any germs.”

The three young guys were playing a game, that had obviously been sterilized.  Danny began to get tired, so Ramsey and David were sitting on either side of his bed talking about what had happened in school.  Their conversation was interrupted by Doctor Harrison.

Dr. Harrison looked at the boys, “I suggest that you take these old men out of here.  Danny is going to be undergoing some tests and then he will be eating.  The tests will take about an hour, and no, Danny, they won’t hurt.”

Dr. Harrison looked at Hank and me, “I’m just amazed how Danny’s body has accepted the platelets from Jacob’s body.  He may be able to go home next week.”

Danny sat up and yelled, “Test away, Doctor,  I want out of this prison.”

Doctor Harrison looked at Danny, “Watch what you say, young man, or I’ll cancel your ice cream for dessert tonight.”

Danny lay back down and mumbled, “I’ll be good, Doctor, I promise.”

Danny showed David and Ramsey that he had his fingers crossed and they were laughing.

As we were leaving the hospital, we met Kevin coming in, “Hey Dads, I’m here to sit with Danny.”

David looked at Kevin, “Danny is having some tests done and Doctor Harrison told we should leave.”

Kevin hugged David, “I’ll go wait for him to return.  I can do my homework while I’m waiting.  I stopped at the Sushi Bar Restaurant and had something to eat.  Make sure you have some dessert ready for me when I get home.”

Cowboy asked, “Why aren’t you with Cindy?”

Kevin grinned, “Cindy left for Chicago this afternoon with her family.  They won’t be back until late Sunday.  The Oprah Show is paying for their lodging the first two nights and they decided to stay an extra night.  Therefore, I am a bachelor again this weekend.”

Ramsey started to give Kevin a difficult time, “Okay, Bachelor Number One, we’ll save you a couple crumbs of dessert.”

Ramsey complained the entire way to the ranch that he didn’t have any clean clothes.  He started to chide Hank, “I still don’t understand why you don’t want me to stay at the house on the hill by myself.  Are you afraid that I’m going to steal you blind or something?”

David stopped Ramsey cold, “Ramsey! Grandpa and Poppa don’t want you staying at the house on the hill by yourself.  We have a washing machine and dryer at the ranch so you can have clean clothes.  Now stop complaining, you’re giving me a headache.”

When we arrived at the house, Tim and Tad were just pulling up.  We had a great meal and David looked at Ramsey, “See, you wouldn’t have had a good meal like this, if you were at the house on the hill.  Let’s finish eating so we can do your laundry while you do your homework.”

Rosa, who usually didn’t say much, interrupted, “Guys, I took the liberty of doing your laundry today, because I was so bored.  I think it is sorted correctly.  It’s on the sorting table in the laundry room.”

After dinner was completed, Tim announced, “I’m going to go relieve Kevin.  I swear that all teachers hate anyone who wrestles.  Jacob, I have so much work to do that I’ll probably be up until midnight.”

Tad and Ramsey started to clear the table and we could hear the young peoples’ voices in the kitchen when the phone rang.  Hank went to answer, “This is Hank Rodgers.”

“Oh, hi, Brent.  What can I do for you?”  Hank punched the speaker button.  “We heard that you and Flo have been in communication with each other.  Your sons were caught completely off guard by the fact that you wanted to pay for their education.  Steve and I had said nothing to them. We  understand that you’re coming to spend the weekend with us.  When will you be arriving?”

“We are scheduled to arrive at the airport at 4:30.  Can someone meet us and can we stay with you guys again?”

Cowboy was silent for awhile, “Brent, let me check.  Tomorrow is a busy day.  Let me check with Justin.”

Cowboy turned to Justin, “Would you be agreeable to you and Chase picking up Brent and Jeremy tomorrow afternoon?”

Justin started to laugh, “We’ll be glad to pick them up, if I can get Chase moving before noon.”

Ramsey had come into the room, “So are we going to be staying at the house on the hill or what?   Probably not, the two jocks will want to stay here, where the action is, and where their sons are staying.  They can stay in Danny and David’s room since everyone else sleeps in Kevin and Jacob’s room or Mr. Rodger’s room.”

Jeremy came on, “Ramsey, do you mean to tell us that everyone sleeps in two bedrooms?”

Ramsey and David started to giggle, “Well, not exactly.  Mr. and Mrs. Summers have their own room, as do Tad and Tim.  Chris and Chase are living with Uncle Justin and Uncle Wayne.  Granddad and Grandma Ross sleep at their apartment at the other ranch.”

Jeremy was having fun toying with Ramsey, “So, are you saying that we won’t be bothered if we stay in Danny and David’s room?”

Ramsey wasn’t about to lose this war of words, “I didn’t say that at all.  There is a policy at this house that there is to be no knocking on bedroom doors after 8:00 so we don’t wake anyone, especially Mr. Rodgers since he falls asleep on his dinner plate.  Unless the door is locked, it is permissible to walk in.   Gotta go do my homework.  Talk to you tomorrow.”

Ramsey and David departed and Hank started, “Guys, we’ll see you tomorrow.  We have said nothing to Ramsey about your proposal.  I wish you could have spoken to Chase and Chris before Flo dropped the bomb on them.  I’m sure you are in for some hard questions when they are with you.  So be prepared.  They are people and not pawns.  Talk to you tomorrow.”

I was thinking to myself, ‘I can’t believe that was my Cowboy speaking.  I guess maybe that’s why I love him, so much.’

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:

It sure is nice to see Danny doing so well.  It will really be nice when he gets to come home. 

Ramsey is starting to blend in a bit better, even if he does seem to be trying to get them to let him stay at the house on the hill. 

Chris and Chase were certainly bowled over by their father's efforts to make up to some degree for abandoning them.  Of course he had no idea that he had any children, but that wasn't his fault, any more than it was Chris' or Chase's fault.

I can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Rancher

Posted: 05/01/09