Taking Texas By Storm
by: E Walk
(© 2009 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 15 

The Vandals

When I walked into the house, Allie announced, “Dad, we’re packed ready to go.  All you need to do is change clothes.  I’ve made some sandwiches that we can eat as we travel, to save time and money.  Did you have a good day?”

“Allie, I had a busy day.  I’ll tell you about it while we’re traveling.  How about you?”

“It was okay.  Get changed.  Granddad and Grandmother are probably waiting for us to arrive.”

As we were driving, I explained, “I had lunch with Mrs. Carr and she wants us to come to New York as soon as possible.  She wants to show you two guys off to her friends and acquaintances in New York.”

Bra interrupted, “Ed, it might be impossible for me to get away until Rigoletto is finished.  I received word that rehearsals are going to start on Monday.”

Allie asked, “Bra, surely you won’t have rehearsals seven  days a week, are you?  After all, you already know your role.  I would think it would be the supporting cast and the orchestra who needs to practice.”

“Allie,  I have no idea what the director has planned.  I’ll just have to find out on Monday.”

Allie changed the subject, “Dad, you need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Kimball and tell them that they don’t need to pay me for taking care of Jesse and Tucker.  Mr. Kimball made me take $5.00 today.  That’s ridiculous.  I haven’t even had to watch them an hour yet.”

“Allie, I’ll talk to Mrs. Kimball on Monday and tell her how you feel.”

We were on the outskirts of Austin and Brahim pulled over, “Ed, please drive through Austin.  The traffic here is horrendous and I’m not familiar with all the zigs and zags you took when we went to the ranch the last time.”

I figured my leg had healed sufficiently that I could drive through Austin.  In fact, I was fine and drove the rest of the way to the ranch. Dad and Mother were indeed waiting for us as Allie had predicted.  Dad came to the car and helped us carry the luggage into the house. 

After we had hugged everyone and put our luggage in our rooms, Mother announced, “I have some warm apple cobbler for dessert.”

We were sitting at the table eating when Mother had a glint in her eye that told me she was plotting something.  “Brahim and Allie, we have choir practice tomorrow morning at ten o’clock.”

Allie started to choke, “We what?”

Dad pointed his finger at Allie, “Little Al, your Grandmother said the three of you have choir practice in the morning at ten o’clock.  Do we need to have your hearing checked while you’re here?”

“What did you say Granddad?”

We had finished eating the apple cobbler and Allie was taking the dishes to the sink so he could rinse them when the phone rang.  Mother looked at the clock, “Who’s calling at this time of night?  It’s either bad news or a wrong number.”

Dad answered, “This is the Waller residence. … Oh hi, Adam. … Yes the guys arrived here safe and sound about forty five minutes ago. … I’ll get Ed for you.”

Dad handed me the head set, “Ed, it’s Adam Odom.”

I figured it would save a lot of questions if I put the phone on speaker, “Hi President Odom, is there a problem?”

President Odom answered, “Yes, there’s a problem.  Why aren’t you answering your cell phone?”

I was confused, “Sir, I haven’t heard it ring.”

“You need to check it.  Both Oz and Joe have been trying to contact you.  There have been some vandals at work at the headquarters.  Your and my offices were trashed.  It seems that we aren’t the most popular people around the headquarters.”

“I guess I should start back so I can be there to help my people.”

President Odom spoke loud and clear, “Ed, under no circumstances should you come back early.  Your people have things under control. It’s as if this attack is aimed at you.  So stay and enjoy your weekend; you deserve it.  I’ll make sure that your people get adequately recompensed for the hard work they’re doing and will be doing.  But you should call your people and let them know that you’re okay.  Oz,  especially, has been worried that they somehow had gotten to you.  I’ll talk to you bright and early Monday morning.  It’s going to be an extremely busy day on Monday.”

Allie went to get my cell phone which was on the dresser in Bra’s and my bedroom.  He handed it to me, “Dad, you need to turn the phone on, if you expect it to work the way it is supposed to.  Call your people.  We want to know why everyone is so concerned about you.”

I looked at the messages and I didn’t recognize any of the numbers, so I started at the top.  I put the phone on speaker so the other four interested people could hear what was said. 

The first caller answered, “This is Oz Thompson. Ed, are you okay?”

“Oz, why is everyone so concerned about my welfare?  First, President Odom called my parents’ house and now you.  Why wouldn’t I be fine?”

“Ed, the vandals said they were going to get even with you for ruining their perfect setup.  They wrote a note in black spray paint all over your office wall, saying that you were a queer who was servicing President Odom so you could make the big bucks that you’re making.  They didn’t stop there.  The rest of our offices were treated similarly as was President Odom’s office.”

“Oz, when did the vandalism take place and how was it detected so quickly?”

“We know that it happened about seven o’clock.  Joe and Grant were compiling the reports of everyone who had left the facility by six o’clock  They left at six fifteen and took the reports home to  massage them.  The Wakefields asked Tripp and me to take some things to the executive dining facility so they would be in place for Monday.  We arrived at the building at six forty five and took the service elevator and put the things away.  Something didn’t feel right to me as we were getting ready to leave, so we went into the hallway and saw four men laughing and getting on the elevator.”

“I knew it couldn’t be the cleaning crew because they elected to work on Sunday as opposed to Friday night.  When I saw what happened, I called Joe and Grant and they informed me of when they departed the facility.  When they returned, they made a list of who had departed the facility after them.  They have already flagged the names of anyone who was still in the facility when they left.”

“Myrabelle has the Houston Police Department’s fingerprinting team  here taking prints from everything that the vandals might have touched.  Steve and Juan are going to have work crews here to take care of the damage as soon as they receive the go ahead.”

“We’ve decided that it must involve someone from the Finance Department since the vandals seem so obsessed with what everyone was making.  How would they know, otherwise?”

I was concerned, “Oz, are you sure that I shouldn’t come back tonight?”

“Ed, President Odom made it clear.  He doesn’t want to see your fat butt back here until Monday.  We’ll muddle through this mess as best as we can.  Now get some rest.  One of us will call you tomorrow, so make sure you keep your cell phone turned on.”

Mother asked, “Who is this Oz person?  If he works for you, why is he talking to you like that?”

I suddenly realized the irony of the situation, “Mother, Oz was a security guard when I first got shot at Shell.  He walked me to my car after I refused any medical treatment and accused me of being the Superman of Shell Oil.”

“Oz is a handsome black man and I took a liking to him because he was so caring.  When I pulled his dossier, I found out that he had a college degree in hotel administration.  I subsequently have put him in charge of the cleanliness of the building and managing the food facilities at the building.  Of all my people, who are all wonderful, he has probably spent more than twice as many hours at the headquarters than I have.  Not only that, he is willing to help others when they need help.  I’ll have to arrange for you all to meet him.  Dad knows who he is.”

Dad laughed, “Brahim, you’re safe.  I think that Oz already has a special friend.  Ed, since everyone seems so concerned about your salary, how much are you making that has caused these people to do what they have done?”

I threw up my hands, “Dad, I don’t have a clue.  I’ve signed nothing.  We received pay statements today for the middle of the month checks.  I’m assuming mine was deposited in the bank here since I haven’t had an opportunity to change it to the bank in Houston.  Allie, please go get my briefcase.  I threw the pay statement in there when I was getting ready to go home.”

When Allie returned with the case that had my laptop and my pay statement, I handed the pay statement to Dad.  “This is the pay statement for the last two weeks.  We get paid on the fifteenth and the last day of the month.”

Allie was standing with his arms over Dad‘s shoulder looking at the statement, and he reacted, “Dad, this is more money than Brahim made in three years.  Did you really get paid that much?”

I still didn’t know what the amount was, so I really couldn’t answer.  Dad handed the stub to Mother and she started to laugh, “Allie, I think your Dad will be able to put both you and Brahim through college with no problem.”

Brahim looked at the statement, and there was no reaction except, “If you’re going to keep getting shot, then tell the company to stuff the pay.  Your life is more important than making big money.  What would happen to Allie and me if something were to happen to you?”

Mother looked at Dad and they must have communicated, because Dad stood, “Everyone, I think we need to get some sleep.  Things will seem clearer in the morning.  I, for one, am tired.”

I looked at the pay statement when we were walking to our bedroom, and it dawned on me that I was making $600,000.00 a year because the statement said that was what my gross pay for the pay period was $25,000.00.  Dad was right, taxes, social security and other deductions do take a big chunk out of a paycheck.

When we were in bed, Bra leaned on his elbows, “Ed, our life isn’t going to always be this hectic is it?  I don’t know if I could handle it if anything more should happen to you.  I’m sure Allie feels the same as I do.”

I pulled Brahim to me, “Bra, my people aren’t going to let anything bad happen to me.  You’ve already met, Katie, Juan and Greg.  The others are equally devoted.  For some reason President Odom and his wife have taken a fancy to us.  Let’s get some sleep.  Dad is right.  We all need some sleep.”

When I woke up in the morning, I felt surprisingly refreshed.  I reached for Bra but he wasn’t there.  I looked at the clock and it said it was nine o’clock.  That couldn’t be; I hadn’t slept that late since I was a teenager.  I didn’t even take a shower before I pulled on some clothes to go see where everyone was.

Allie and Mother were in the kitchen, but Dad and Brahim weren’t anywhere in sight.  Mother looked at me, “Ed, you’ll have to fix your own breakfast.  We need to get ready to go to choir practice.”

I frowned, “Why did everyone leave me sleeping so long?   I can fix toast as well as the rest of you.  Where are Dad and Brahim?”

Allie giggled, “Granddad was taking Bra to the woodshed to whip his butt because he spilled his breakfast on the floor.  He’ll probably be going to choir practice with wet pants after Granddad gets done whipping him.”

Mother started to laugh, “Allie, you should be a comedian.  Your Granddad would never whip Bra, but he might whip you if you’re not nice.  Let’s go round up Bra, so he can drive us to choir practice.  We walked out the back door and Dad and Bra were sitting on the fence talking.  Allie climbed into Mother’s car and honked the horn and Bra went to the car.

Dad came to where I was standing watching the car depart with Brahim driving.  Dad put his arm around me, “Son, Brahim has his head screwed on straight.  He’s really concerned about what would happen to him and Allie if you were hurt or even worse.  He says that you’re going to need a second vehicle when the Daniels move, so he can get back and forth to school and to the practices that he’s going to need to attend.  Why don’t I call John Paul and see if he can make you a good deal?  He’s always done right by your Mother and me.”

Dad made a call, and we were on our way to the only car dealership in the area unless you went to Austin.  When we pulled in, Mr. Jones came out to meet us.  After we said our hellos, he commented, “Ed, it seems as if you’ve aged a little since the last time I saw you.”

I decided to be diplomatic, “Mr. Jones, you look even younger than I remember.”

“Little Eddie, flattery isn’t going to get you a better deal.  What kind of vehicle do you have in mind?  Are you going to trading in a vehicle?”

“No sir, we’re going to need two vehicles now that my friend will be driving back and forth to school and to practice for a show he’s going to be in.”

Mr. Jones stopped, “Big Al, you mean to tell me that your son turned out to be queer?”

“Yep, he’s found himself a good man just like you found Jerome, cepting his man brought Ed a son.”

Mr. Jones looked at me, “So, your man was married before.  How old is the son?”

Dad was enjoying this encounter, “John Paul, Bra was never married and his brother, Little Al, is ten years old.  Why don’t you show us vehicles that would be practical for commuting back and forth to work in Houston.”

Mr. Jones shook his head, “Ed, are you still driving the Corolla that you bought from me when you graduated from college?”

“Yep.”

“Perhaps you should look at a van since you now have a family.  Why didn’t you bring your men with you?”

Dad answered, “Ed’s men are the same place your Jerome is.”

Mr. Jones started to laugh, “So those two young men with the great voices are Ed’s men.  I’ll call Jerome and tell him to bring Liz and your two men here and we can go to lunch.  After lunch, they can help you decide which vehicle you want.”

Mr. Jones pulled out his cell phone, “Rome, collect Liz Waller, her son-in-law and grandson and bring them here to the dealership and you can take us to lunch.  I’ve already captured Big Al and Little Eddie.”

“Rome must have had his ringer off, because it switched me to voice mail immediately.  He always gets  excited when he has his phone in his jeans pocket and it starts to vibrate.”

Dad and I had pretty much narrowed the choice of vehicle down to four by the time two cars pulled into the lot with Mother, my two guys and Mr. Bitner.  I’d forgotten how big Mr. Bitner was.  He was almost as tall as Dad but he was a bit stockier.”

Allie came to where we were standing, “Dad, are you going to buy a car?”

Dad interrupted, “Allie, this is John Paul Jones.  He trying to take all your Dad’s money.  Little Al, let’s go get some lunch, and then we can come back and you can help your Dad select which vehicle you want.”

Mr. Jones looked at Allie and at me, “Little Eddie, are you sure that Little Al isn’t your son.  He looks as cute as button like you did before you grew up.  Come on, let’s go to the Greasy Spoon and give Mabel a hard time.  We need to get back, so I can make a sale so I have some money to put in the collection plate at church tomorrow.”

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  I had a feeling that there would be trouble from the people in the finance office.  They were doing a lot of sloughing off.

I wonder what is going to happen Monday when Ed gets back to the office.  I have a feeling that the excrement will collide with the rotating blades of the air movement device.

I do wonder how long it will take before all the dead rotting wood is removed from Shell Oil.  

I have the feeling that the trip to New York will be very interesting. 

I am not sure yet just how they are going to work out the details, but I think that the chances of the trip being made are very near a hundred percent. 

I guess we will just have to wait for the next chapter to find out what will happen next. I hope it won't be too long.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 02/19/10