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 38 

The Midnight Visitors

Jake, Sarah, Randy and I talked for almost two hours, and they agreed that Jake would work with Randy, as an apprentice.  They would live in the trailer rent free, and Sarah would be available to take care of the boys, in the absence of any other adult. We agreed that we would take care of the small details, once they were settled.  As Sarah and Jake were getting ready to go to the trailer, I reminded them, “Don’t forget to take the things the guys put in the refrigerator for you, or they'll eat me alive.”

Since I was the only person who hadn’t had a shower before we went to the carnival, I decided that I should take one.  When I came out of the shower, I announced, “Lambkins, I'm ready to let these hot lips of mine show you what they can do.”

“Sweet Lips, I think you’d better get decent.  I’m almost sure we’re going to have a visitor.”

I was putting on my briefs when there was a knock on the door.  I
adjusted the briefs and yelled, “Enter, if you dare.”

The door opened very tentatively, Wade appeared.  “Dads, I came to apologize for being so flip today.”

Randy and I looked at each other.  I could tell that Randy was as lost as I was, “Son, we haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re talking about.  Did you jack off too often today and you need some ointment to relieve the pain?”

“Dad, be serious.  I meant when I gave the up yours sign in front of everyone.”

“Wade, I wasn’t offended.  I would have flipped you the bird, but there were some of the younger guys present and I didn’t think it  would be appropriate.  We only ask that you refrain from doing such things in front of your five younger brothers.  Is that all you wanted to talk about?

Wade sat down on the edge of the bed beside me, “Dads, I am who I am, because I’m the third in the line of the Latham boys.  There is no way that I can measure up to Witt and Walt.  I try to compensate by being a smart ass, to make people notice me.  I mean Witt is practically Mr. Everything at school, and Walt is so laid back and studious that he is oblivious to what people think.  He’s probably as intelligent as Witt.”

“Me, on the other hand, I could give a darn, because no one has ever really cared about me, so why should I even try to do good.  I never realized that people would ever care about us. I can already tell that you guys love us, so I promise that I’ll try the best I can, to make you proud of me.  You may have to kick my ass, from time to time, to remind me, but please do so.  You don’t know how great it feels to not go to bed hungry, and to feel that someone really cares about me and all of the brothers.”

Tears were starting to come from his eyes, I hugged him, “Wade, it’s okay to cry.  Thank you for sharing with us.  We’ll try our best to make you proud of us, too.”

We watched as a sniffing Wade departed. I looked at Randy. “Lambkins, do you suppose that was the last of the midnight visitors?  These lips are ready to do their walking.”

Before Randy could answer, there was a knock on the door. I spoke in a loud voice, “We aren’t home and we don’t need anything.  We’re too poor to be able to afford anything.”

The door opened and Witt entered.  He was very serious, “Dads, I guess I’ll buy the too poor bit, after what happened today.  I’m really concerned about how I’m going to be able to repay you for the car.”

I pointed to the bed, “Witt, sit your butt down.  You’re going to have your first lesson in Economics 101.  Aunt Della gave us a fantastic deal on her car.  We’d have been utter fools to turn it down.  We’ll check the bluebook value of it, tomorrow, but I‘m guessing that she saved us more than five thousand dollars.  Witt, all I am going to ask of you is that you offer to help her in any way you can.  I’m quite concerned about what she told us about her eyes.  We’ll have to have her come to the farm as often as possible. I think that she would really enjoy that, since she has no family that I know of.”

Witt sat up straight, “What do you mean she doesn’t have any family?”

I started to explain, “Aunt Della and Uncle Percy had a son who was a year older than me.  Uncle Percy and Chuck, their son, went on a Scouting expedition when Chuck was fourteen.  They went on a white water rafting expedition, to the Lakes region of Minnesota, and Canada.  I wanted to go, too, but I was only 13 so I wasn’t eligible to go.”

“Anyway, Uncle Percy and Chuck were caught in a sudden storm, along with one of the other canoes, and their remains were never found.  Aunt Della went into a complete state of denial for almost three years, before she could or would accept their deaths.”

“Thanks to my Mother, we were able to get Aunt Della involved in what was happening around her, and she became an active volunteer in every group that was involved with homeless children.  Ever since I started teaching, I’ve tried to stop and visit with her about once a week.”

I was shedding tears, as were Randy and Witt.  “Son, you need to make sure that she knows she can call you, if she needs something.”

Witt didn’t say anything but got up and left.  He looked back and as he was leaving, he started to say something, but it was as if the words wouldn’t come out.

After he closed the door behind him, I laid down and gently put my head on Randy’s chest. “Randy, my lips don’t feel so hot anymore.  Let’s go check on the boys, and make sure they’re okay.”

We looked in Wally, Willy and Wylie’s room and it was almost comical.  Wylie was curled up into a ball, Wally was spread-eagled on his stomach and Willy was sleeping on his side.  I stood there looking at them.  I turned to Randy, “How in the world can six boys from the same family be so different?”

We moved to Billy and Bobby’s room and they were sleeping on their stomachs, but they each had an arm extended, so they could touch each other.

When we looked in Walt and Wade’s room.  They were sleeping back to back, and their bodies were touching.  I whispered, “I guess they’re afraid that they’ll spring some wood if they sleep any other way.”

There was still a light on in Witt’s room.  Randy hugged me, “Hank, I think we should leave him to sort out his thoughts.”

I awoke the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed.  I looked at the clock and it indicated that it was five thirty.  I raised up on my arms and looked at Randy who was lightly snoring.  I thought to myself, ‘I’m so glad that I stayed with Billy and Bobby, that afternoon, until their Daddy arrived.’

I was sitting in the kitchen finishing my coffee when Billy came in, “Good morning, Dad, we had a really good time last night at the carnival.  Thanks for taking us.  Why are you up, already?”

“Billy, I’m used to getting up early.  Grab a piece of cinnamon toast and let’s go make the other guys feel guilty.”

As Billy and I were walking to the barn, he asked. “Dad, what did it mean when that guy leaned out his window and stuck up his finger at us?”

“Billy, I think he was saying that he didn’t like us very much.”

Billy grinned, “That’s okay.  I didn’t like either of them, at all, either.  What did the other man’s arm with the picture of a penis with the words ‘Eat me’ mean?’

“Billy, he was being crude.”

Billy stopped and looked into my eyes.  “Dad, you think I’m too little to know what the man was saying.  I’m so glad that you didn’t talk to them.”

I thought to myself, ’Oh shit, Randy needs to sit down and talk to Billy.  I’ve probably warped Billy for life.”

Billy and I had the milking under control when, Walt arrived, “Dad, I’ll take over.  I guess I overslept.”

I was walking toward the pigpen when Bobby arrived with Jake, “Dad, why don’t you show Mr. Wallace the other animals, while I take care of the pigs?”

Jake and I walked into the stable and he looked at the two guys, “Good morning, guys.  You have some pretty healthy looking cows there,”

Billy grinned, “They’re kinda lazy.  All they do is eat and lay around all day.”

Jake laughed, “I know some people like that, too.”

As we were walking to the chicken house, we met Witt, “Dad, I’m going to take the truck over to the other farm and make sure things are okay there.  What are we going to do with the farm equipment that’s over there?”

“Son, that’s something else we need to talk about,  Why don’t Jake and I ride along with you?  I don‘t understand why the formal appraisal is taking so long.”

As Witt was driving, I explained what had happened to cause the farm to belong to Witt. 

As we were looking around, I reminded Witt that he needed to see if he could find the papers for the farm, so we could take care of the paperwork, when we were at the courthouse, registering his car.

Witt handed me a folder with some papers, “Dad, is this what we need?”

I looked inside and there were insurance papers, the birth certificates for the ten children and some other important papers, but more surprisingly, there were keys to a safe deposit box at the bank.”

Witt asked, “What are those keys for?”

“Your Dad had a safe deposit box at the bank.”

Witt frowned, “Why would Dad have a safe deposit box at the bank?  We had nothing of value that would need to be kept in a safe deposit box.  Dad didn’t trust banks very much.”

As we were driving back to the farm, Jake observed, “Guys, you should put that farm to work for you, as long as Witt owns it.  You should think about raising some beef cattle instead of just letting the land sit there doing nothing.”

When we arrived at the farm, Sarah met us “Jake, we need to eat and get going, if we’re going to get back, tonight.  I hope you’re not going to disappear all the time and not tell me where you are all the time.  I checked with the guys and they had no idea where you were?”

“Relax, honey, we were checking out Witt’s farm.”

“What do you mean, Witt’s farm?”

 

“I’ll explain over breakfast.  These people are even more complicated than we thought.”

As Witt and I were walking into the house, Witt started to chuckle, “I’ve been called a lot of things, in my life, but being complicated is a new one.  What do you suppose Mr. Wallace meant by that?  Dad, do you think Mr. and Mrs. Wallace would be offended if I were to give them some money for gas, since he said he was running on fumes?”

 

“Witt, I think they might accept money from you faster than they would from me.  Make sure you indicate that it is a loan, and that you’re not just handing them money.”

Witt took the money to the trailer.  When he returned, he had a funny look on his face.  “Dads, I almost thought Mr. Wallace was going to smack me in the mouth when I handed him the $40.00 and told him it was a loan until his first payday.”

Randy asked, “Well, did he hit you?”

“Nope, in fact, he and Mrs. Wallace both hugged me, and they had tears in their eyes.”

After Witt and I had all the papers I thought we would need, we were walking to the shed to get his car when Ritchie pulled in with his six passengers.  Witt went to talk to Ritchie. I watched as the Rollins, Hamilton and Brown boys crawled out.”

While Witt was talking to Ritch, I went to talk to Walt, “It looks as if  you’re the big cheese, for now.”

“Dad, would you and Dad Randy have time to talk to me sometime?”

“Of course, son. We'll talk to you any time you want us to.”

As Witt was driving toward town, I suggested, “Witt, let’s stop by Uncle Mark’s office and check to see if we have everything that we might need, to register the car and the farm in your name.”

When we walked into Uncle Mark’s office, his secretary looked up, “Good morning, Hank.  Haven’t seen you for a while.”

“Hi Mrs. Lacey, this is Witt Latham.  Is Uncle Mark available?  We have a couple of questions we would like to ask him.”

“Oh dear, he’s not in a very good mood.  When he came in this morning, he slammed the door so hard that my coffee mug split in half and I’ll probably have to have a skin graft to repair the damages.  Let me see if he will talk to you.”

She punched the intercom, “Mr. Adler, there are two handsome gentlemen here asking to see you.  They say it’s important.”

We heard Uncle Mark saying, “I don’t know anyone more handsome than me.  If they look like they can pay my exorbitant fees, send them in.   I need to make a quick buck.”

Mrs. Lacey motioned for us to go in.

Uncle Mark met us, “Well, if it isn’t my favorite nephew and his oldest son.  To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“Uncle Mark, I’m your only nephew.  We need some advice as to exactly what we need, to take care of Witt’s business.  We’re on the way to the courthouse, and would like to try to take care of as much as possible.  First and foremost, we need to get his car registered and we thought we'd have the title of the farm transferred to him at the same time.  We have a folder of legal papers that we recovered from the house. There are keys for a safe deposit box at the bank, as well.”

Uncle Mark started to look through the paperwork that Witt handed him.  He got a funny look on his face, “This can’t be correct.  Della didn’t really sell you her car for $2,500.00 dollars, did she?”

Witt nodded yes.

Uncle Mark shook his head in disbelief.  “Perhaps that’s why she called and made an appointment to see me this afternoon.”

Uncle Mark looked through the paperwork that Witt had given him and was making a list.  “Guys, the first thing you need to do is get a copy of Wilber’s death certificate.  Those people move at a snail’s pace, in that office.  Once you get that, get at least six certified copies, because everyone and their brother requires paper proof.”

“Leanne, call Mr. Lambert and tell him that the guys will be stopping by, and they need ten certified copies of Wilber Latham’s death certificate.”

Uncle Mark handed the folder of paperwork back to Witt, with his handwritten list of things that we should do.  “Guys, getting into the safe deposit box might be a bit tricky, but if you have all these papers and this letter with you, you should be able to do so.  I don’t know how you can accomplish everything that you want to do in one day.  Good luck.” 

To be continued...

Editor's Notes: This was quite a jam packed chapter. 

It is looking more and more as if Jake and Sarah are going to fit right in with the rest of the family. 

Aunt Della certainly did give Witt a good deal on that car.  Della needs to see a good optometrist, and get proper medication to try to stop the progression of her Macular degeneration.  There are some specific remedies available, and in some cases it can even be reversed to a limited degree. 

The macula is in the center of the retina, and is where the eye sees the most clearly.  So when macular degeneration sets in, the central vision starts to deteriorate.  If left untreated, the patient will only have peripheral vision, and most if not all ability to read and see things clearly will eventually be gone.   By the way, I have no idea if I am spelling all these terms correctly.

I hope that she is smart enough not to use the over the counter or mail order drugs, that claim to cure the problem.  She really needs to see a good eye doctor. The longer the problem is left untreated, the less likelihood there is that she can stop it or slow it down before it reaches the point where she can't see much at all. The disease is not curable. It is treatable and can be controlled, but unless I am mistaken, it will be a chronic problem, and will need to continue to be treated, indefinitely.

I am ready for the next chapter, and I am hoping things work out well for all concerned.

Optical information was checked for accuracy by a qualified optometrist.

I am certainly looking forward to the next chapter!

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/08/10