What Do I Do Now, Mom?
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2010 by the Author)
 

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

Chapter 37 

The First Ride

I was standing there, trying to contemplate what needed to happen next.  I heard voices coming at me from three directions.  I watched as Witt and Wiley approached me from the shed where Witt’s car was located, “Daddy, tell Witt to stop wiping his car.  He’s going to rub all the paint off of it.”

I wanted to laugh but refrained, “Witt, Wiley says for you to stop rubbing your car.  He’s afraid it will be afraid to go outside and think it needs to go back to bed and stop running.
 

Wiley shook his head, no, “Daddy, that’s not what I said.”

“I guess I misunderstood.”

Bobby shouted, “Dad, we’ll take our shower as soon as we clean the eggs.  The chickens have stopped laying so many eggs.  I guess they know that they’re going to be replaced, soon.  Where are we going to put all the food that is going to be coming?”

Randy, Jake and Sarah were standing behind me unbeknownst to me.  Randy startled me, “Hank, why don’t you show Jake and Sarah the trailer and the farm, if you have time.  I’ll make sure the guys are ready to pass your parents’ inspection.”

I sighed, “Does anyone else want to tell me to do something, as well?  Come on, Sarah and Jake; let me show the trailer while the guys try to make themselves look handsome.”

Wade made the signal for up yours, “Sorry, if we’re bothering you, Dad.”

As we were walking to the trailer, I apologized, “I’m sorry, but I haven’t been in the trailer since the guys moved my things out.  I don’t think it’s in too bad of shape.”

I opened the door, “It’s not the biggest home on the planet, but we had seven people living here for a while.  It has the basic necessities.  Why don’t the two of you look to see if you could live here, if things work out?”

I was standing there twiddling my thumbs when I suddenly realized that the trailer was immaculate and that the only thing missing was the television set which was now in the family room at the house.  Sarah and Jake came from the bedroom area.  Sarah commented, “Hank, did you have the trailer cleaned.  It’s immaculate.  The beds are made, as if you were expecting company and there are even fresh linens in the bathroom.”

“Don’t blame me, blame our sons.”

We were interrupted by Wade who was dripping wet, “Dad, why didn’t you answer the phone?”

“Probably because you have the phone that was in the trailer, in your hand.  How could I answer it if you have it?

“Dad, be serious.  Dr. Hunter wants to talk to you.”

“This is Hank.”

“Hank, this is Larry Hunter.  There’ve been a few changes in the planned events.  We’ve delayed the interviews for the new teachers until Thursday, since some of the applicants are out of town for the holiday.  The meeting with the legislators has been moved to Friday at ten.  We’ll see you at ten on Thursday at the central office.”

“See you then, sir.”

“Let’s go to the house.  We need to be going soon.”

When we walked into the house, I looked around; everyone was present except Billy and Bobby.  Witt announced, “The B and B boys will be here shortly.  They volunteered to take their shower last.”

Wylie looked at Sarah and Jake, “Are you going to go with us?”

Sarah shook her head, no, “Wylie, we need to start home to Nebraska City before it gets too dark.”

Randy scowled, “That’s silly.  That would mean that you would have to drive back here tomorrow, since you haven’t decided if you wanted the job or not.  We really haven’t had an opportunity to explore what’s going to happen.”

Jake put up his hands, “Randy, we have hardly enough gasoline to make it back to Nebraska City and we’re strapped for cash right now.”

Wylie piped up, “I have some money you can have.  I don’t know how to spend it, anyway.”

Bobby added, “We have some egg money that you can have.  Why don’t you spend the night in the trailer?  We tried very hard to make sure it was clean and ready when someone moved in.  The only thing that is missing is the television and the telephone.”

Sarah was openly crying, “Guys, thank you for your offer, but we weren’t invited to whatever it is that you're going to.”

Billy giggled. "Don’t worry about that, “Dad Hank and his Mother will have a fun time fighting over that.  Come on, Mr. Hughes, you can ride with Daddy in the pickup.  Witt can drive his car and Dad can take Mrs. Hughes with him.”

Wylie started toward the vehicles, “I’m riding with Daddy.”

Jacob was frustrated, “We didn’t come here to freeload.  We need to be headed home.”

Witt quipped, “How can you be considered freeloaders when we invited you to a surprise dinner?  Let’s load 'em up and head out before the dictator comes and commandeers us away.”

The poor Hughes were trapped.  If they didn’t do as the guys suggested, they realized that Jake might not get the job and the trailer was more than suitable for their needs.

I led the caravan toward the carnival grounds and Bobby commented, “Dad, this isn’t the way to the grandparents' house.” 

“Bobby, I’m doing what your Grandmother told me to do.”

Wylie asked, “Is she going to be my Grandmother too?
 

“Wylie, she already is your Grandmother.”

As I was parking the car, the guys were straining to see where they were.  Bobby sighed, “Dad, I thought you said we couldn’t come to the carnival.”

“Bobby, it wasn’t me who said that, but Witt.”

“Why did he change his mind?”

“Her majesty changed his mind.  Let’s go meet your grandparents.”

As we were walking the carnival grounds, Witt caught up with me, “Dad, the guys are really mad at me, because I told them we couldn’t come to the carnival and here we are.”

“Witt, do like I did and blame my Mother.”

Mother, Dad and Aunt Della were waiting for us.  “Everyone, I’d like to introduce Sarah and Jacob Hughes.  They’re here for a job interview and we’ve invited them along, tonight.  Sarah and Jake these are my parents, Leon and Meg Adler and our dear friend, Aunt Della Rhodes.  Aunt Della, I’ll introduce you to the other guys since you already know the stud, Witt.”

Mother took control, “You have three options for dinner: a hot dog, a chicken patty sandwich or a Sloppy Joe sandwich.  They all come with an order of French fries or onion rings and some fresh coleslaw and a drink.”

Witt, Wade and Walt found two tables and pushed them together so we could all sit together.  I assumed incorrectly that the adults would sit at one end of the table and the young people at the other end, when we were eating  Aunt Della was sitting with Witt, Willy and Wally.  Dad was sitting between Wade and Walt and Mother was between Billy and Bobby.

Two things of significance happened while we were eating and talking.  Wiley started eating his hotdog.  He put it down, “Daddy, do I gotta eat the bread?  It’s gonna make me too full again.  Can I eat just the hotdog?”

“Of course.”

Wiley started to pick up his hotdog wit his fingers.  Mother had to put in her two cents, “Wiley, you shouldn’t pick up your food with your fingers.”

“Grandmother, Willy, Wally, Billy and Bobby are eating their hotdogs with their fingers.  Why can’t I?”

“But theirs are in rolls.”

Aunt Della laughed, “Meg, lighten up.  Wylie’s right.  If it’s okay to eat a hotdog in a bun with your fingers, then it should be okay to eat just the hotdog with your fingers.”

I leaned down and whispered, “Let’s make your Grandmother happy.  I’ll cut your hot dog and you can eat with your fork.  That way you won’t get ketchup on your fingers.”

Randy reached behind Wylie who was seated between us and punched me on the side and whispered, “Coward.”

As we finished eating, Jake was looking around, “I need to make a phone call and tell Tim that we won’t be home tonight.”

I looked at Randy and he shrugged his shoulders.  I asked, “who’s Tim?”

“Tim’s my younger brother and he lives with us.”

Bobby had been listening to the conversation, “Mr. Hughes, is Tim going to be living with you when you move into the trailer?”

Jake looked surprised, “Bobby, we don’t even know if I’m going to be working with your Daddy yet.”

Bobby nodded in the affirmative, “We guys have decided that you are.  We don’t want any of those other people around.  Besides, Mrs. Hughes could help take care of Wylie when the rest of us go back to school.”

Wylie asked, “Why don’t I get to go to school, too?”

 

Billy answered, “Wylie, you gotta be five to go to school.”

Wylie looked up at me, “But Daddy, I wanna go to school.”

I hugged Wylie, “Son, we’ll see if we can find a good preschool where you can go for a couple of hours each week.”

Mother opened her purse and handed her cell phone to Jake, “Jake, use this to call your brother.”

Jake pushed the numbers, “Hi Tim.  It’s Jake.  We’re spending the night here in the Belleview area.  Do you have classes tomorrow? … I forgot that tomorrow is Tuesday and you don’t have classes. …  Talk to you tomorrow.”

The whole conversation shifted when Wally asked, “What else can we do at a carnival, except eat?”

Dad answered, “There are some rides and games.  Why don’t we walk around and see what you would like to do?”

Witt admonished, “Remember, guys, we can’t do everything.”

We started to walk toward the rides and Wylie was holding my hand.  When he saw the ferris wheel, he stopped and looked up, “Wow, that goes up high.”

Aunt Della heard his comment, “Wylie, why don't you and me take your Daddy on the ferris wheel?  He’s afraid to go on by himself.”

Aunt Della handed Randy a twenty dollar bill, “Randy, go get us twenty tickets for the rides.”

Aunt Della had us organized so that Randy, Billy and Bobby went on the first open car that arrived.  Wade and Walt went on the next.  Wylie watched as Witt, Wally and Willy got into the next car.  As the next riders were being released from in the car that we would be riding, Wiley was squeezing my hand so tight that it almost hurt.  We helped Aunt Della get in first.  I lifted Wiley and put him in the middle and I climbed in.

When the attendant secured the safety bar, Wiley grabbed hold of it and was squeezing so hard that his knuckles were turning white.  It wasn’t until the third revolution of the wheel that he began to relax.  When the ride was ending, our car was the first to stop at the top and Wylie looked panicked, “What's wrong?  Why did we stop?  How are we going to get down?”

Aunt Della whispered, “The ride is over.  We’ll start moving as soon as the new passengers get on.”

I swear that Wylie didn’t breathe until we started to move again.  When we arrived at the getting off ramp, Aunt Della pointed.  “Wylie, I have a hankering to ride the merry-go-round.  It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden one.”

Wylie questioned, “It’s not going to stop up high, is it?”

“No, it just goes round and round and the horses go up and down.  It was made for boys just like you.”

Wylie turned and announced, “Aunt Della and me are going on the merry-go-round.  Who else wants to go?”

The three older guys deferred.  We watched as Aunt Della and the five youngest guys waited in line.  I helped the three youngest get on the horse of their choice and Aunt Della sat in the seat behind them.

It suddenly dawned on me that Dad and Mother had been talking to the Wallaces almost the entire time the boys were on the rides.  I leaned over to Randy, “I think the Wallaces are being interrogated by my parents.”

Randy grinned, “It will be interesting to see what their verdict is.”

When the ride was over, Randy and I went to help the youngest off and Wylie went to help Aunt Della, “That was really fun Aunt Della.  Thank you for taking me on it.”

Aunt Della hugged Wylie, “Your very welcome, young man.  Here, give the last three tickets to Witt, Wylie and Wade and we’ll see what big boy rides they decide to ride.  We’ll watch them get sick.”

Wylie took the tickets to Witt, “Aunt Della says you’re to go on a big boy ride.  We wanna see if you get sick.”

The three guys had been talking to Ritch, Aaron and Eric.  We watched as the six guys rode on the Rollo Plane.  When the first four guys were in and stopped on the top to load the other car, Wylie turned away, “I can’t look.  The guys are going to fall out.  Daddy, tell them to stop the ride.” 

Billy, Bobby, Wally and Willy were standing at the railing laughing.  Bobby turned to me, “I hope the guys don’t get sick.”

When the guys got off the ride, they didn’t look any worse for wear.  Wylie looked at Randy and me, “Dads, can we go home, now?  I'm getting kind of tired.”

I nodded yes, “Yep, but I think you guys need to thank some people for the fun evening.”

All eight guys hugged my parents and Aunt Della and thanked them.  As we were starting toward the vehicles, Dad approached Randy and me, “Guys, your Mother and I agree that the Wallaces would be a good fit for your needs.  It will be interesting to meet the missing brother.”

On the way to the farm, Wylie went out like a light.  His head was resting against Bobby.  The ride home was extremely quiet.  When we arrived, I collected Wylie and carried him up the steps and got him undressed and took him to the bathroom and had him standing in front of the toilet, hoping that he would relieve his bladder.  He was standing there, swaying, so I turned the water on and the sound activated his spigot.  I had to quickly direct the flow of liquid to keep it from splattering the floor and walls.

After I had Wylie in his bed, I went to see what was happening. Everyone was in the kitchen except Witt, “Where’s Witt?”

Wade answered, “He’s making sure that we didn’t get his car dirty.  He’s probably gonna wear out the vacuum cleaner.  I can just see it now.  He’ll issue all his passengers booties and white gloves so they won’t get his car dirty.”

“Guys, be patient.  A guy’s first car is something special.”

Billy went to the freezer and took out a package, “Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, I’m going to put a package of bacon and a dozen eggs in the refrigerator for you, since we sort of fix our on breakfast on weekdays.  There is a loaf of bread and tub of butter in the refrigerator, also.”

Bobby hugged Randy and me, “We’re going to bed now.  Come on, Wally, Willy and Billy.  It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace.  We’ll see you in the morning.”

The other three guys hugged us and departed.  Walt asked, “Dads is it okay if we watch television for a little while?”  

“Of course.  You don’t need to ask to watch television, unless you start to abuse the privilege.”

Witt appeared, “Dads, I’m overwhelmed by everything that has happened today.  I need to go bed and sort everything out.  I feel as if I’ve fallen into a pile of marshmallow cream.  I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

When all the guys had been accounted for, Sarah shook her head, “Guys, we have a lot of nieces and nephews.  These young guys act nothing like them.  I hope that you can keep the guys this way.”

I stood, “Why don’t we move the rest of the discussion to the living room, where we can be more comfortable?  But first I need to visit the little boys’ room.”

As I was relieving my bladder I was thinking, ’We gotta make this work.’ 

 To be continued...
 

Editor's Notes:  I think that the Wallaces will fit in very nicely.  All the kids, young and older, seem to really like them, and even Hank's parents approve.

What is the missing brother going to be like? 

I think everyone enjoyed going to the carnival.

I am ready for another chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/01/10