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

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Chapter 42

Taking Care of Business

I loaded up the three smallest Latham boys and made arrangements with Randy for him to meet us at the bank with Walt and Wade, with their money, at eleven o’clock.  I figured Witt was familiar with what to do, so he could stay home and manage the farm until we returned.

When we arrived at Blake’s office, I had Wally get his teeth cleaned first.  Blake came out and explained to the two younger boys what was happening. 

Three appointments went smoothly. After Wylie’s appointment, Blake reported that the three were fine, but needed to spend more time brushing their teeth.  Wally should see an orthodontist and Willy should see one after his two front teeth were completely in place.

Wylie looked smug since he wasn’t mentioned, but Blake didn’t let him get away without reminding him that he needed to take care of his teeth, “Wylie, I’ll see you in six months to make sure you’ve been giving them a good brushing.”

We met Randy, Walt and Wade at the bank at eleven o’clock.  That was another eye opening experience for all the boys.  None of the guys had been to a bank before.  The building was old and more elaborate than any place they had ever been in, except for the church.

I made a command decision to have Walt and Wade get debit cards.  That prompted a myriad of questions.  Walt asked, “I thought we had to put the money in an account for college.  Does that mean that we can spend the money anyway we want?”

“Nope, it means you’re going to have a debit card in case you are caught short of cash.  We’ll deposit one hundred dollars into a checking account that is tied to your debit card.  The rest of the money will be put into an account for your college fund.  You’ll have two accounts that you will need to manage, but under no circumstances can you withdraw funds from your college accounts, as long as I’m your guardian.  I’m going to have the statements in both our names, and the statements will be available to me on line.”

Wally asked, “Why can the big guys have debit cards and we can’t.  We’ll need to have money to pay for things, too.””

I looked at Wally, Willy and Wylie, “We’ll take care of that when you go to high school.  Until then, Dad Randy and I will take care of anything you need.  Besides, all of you will probably be earning some money which you need to save for things that you would really like to have.”

When we were leaving the bank, Randy announced, “I told Billy and Bobby to go ahead and fix lunch without us, since your mother was fixing something for dinner when I left.  I swear she’s afraid something bad is going to happen while we aren’t there.  Let’s take the boys to the Golden Arches for lunch.”

That was another experience.  It took us longer to order than to get our food.  When we arrived at home, Mother was waiting to lay into us, “Honestly, you just can’t leave all these young people here by themselves.  Someone could get hurt and there would be no adult here to take care of them.”

“Mother, Witt was here.  He could handle any problem.  Ritchie, and Aaron both have cars and the Wallaces are here.”

“Henry, Witt looks as if he has been swimming in a pool of oil.  He not only has Tim’s car up and running.  He’s tuning up the Wallace’s car.  You need to tell him to stop and smell the roses.  Jake and the other guys are trying to finish the last bathroom in the house.  Sarah shouldn’t be responsible for the six young guys by herself, without being paid for it.”

I threw up my arms, “Mother, we’ll make sure that everyone is adequately recompensed for their endeavors.  How much do we owe you for your services?”

“Henry, your incorrigible.”

“Mother Dearest, I took lessons from the best.  Thanks for being here.  Okay, guys, go get changed; we have work to do.”

After everyone had departed to change, Mother asked, “Hank, what are you going to do about Wylie when everyone goes back to school this fall?”

“Mom, that’s where Sarah comes in.  She can take Wylie and pick him up, from preschool, if she’s amenable to it.  She could take care of him until the older guys get home.  That would give her something to do, and besides, she probably knows the farming business as well as anyone here, except for Witt and Jake.  It can get pretty lonely sitting home by yourself in the middle of nowhere.  What preschool would you recommend?”

“Hank, I’ll go home and get some recommendations for you.  I’ll call you tonight.  We can’t wait too long to enroll Wylie or all the good schools will be filled.”

I watched as Mother departed.  I thought to myself, ‘Talk about needing to be busy and useful.’

I went to change clothes so I could help with the work around the farm.  I checked on Randy and his workers and they didn’t need me, that was for sure.  As I was walking to find the young guys, I met Witt walking toward the house, “Hi Dad, Grandmother wouldn’t let me eat lunch in the house.  She said I had to eat with the pigs.  Of course she gave me so much food that I had enough to feed the pigs, too.”

“I think I have both of the Wallaces’ cars tuned, so they run, at least for a while.  Don’t say anything, but I don’t think they’ve enough money to take care of them properly.  I put in new filters, belts, spark plugs and changed the points as well as the oil.  I hope I don’t upset or embarrass them.  I need to go get cleaned up and go pick up Tim.” 

“I’m going to call Grandma Rhodes and ask her if she would like to take a ride since her house is on the way to the University.  I thought she might like to get away and I’ll invite her to dinner.  I’m sure Grandmother made enough to feed an army.” 

“I’ll rearrange the freezers so that all the older meat will be in only one area and we can use it first.  I hope we have room for everything that is delivered.  I’ll deliver the things to the grandparents when it comes, tomorrow, since you’ll probably be at your meeting to hire your new teachers after your dentist appointment in the morning.”

“Tim doesn’t have classes tomorrow, so he can be here to help supervise the arrivals of the chicks and the food.”

As Witt walked away, I thought to myself, ‘It sounds as if Witt has been taking lessons from my mother. I never realized that I was so incompetent.  Of course, having ten people around instead of only one of me is a little different.’

When I walked into the peep house, Wyllie approached me, “Daddy, we think we have everything ready for when the little chicks come, tomorrow.  Is there going to be room for five hundred new babies.  Won’t they be sleeping on top of each other?”

“Wylie, that’s why they need so much attention at first.  You may have to sleep in here, at first, to make sure they are okay.”

“That’s okay, Daddy, but could someone bring me a bed and make sure I get something to eat and have a chance to go to the bathroom.”

“Wylie, I was just teasing.  The chicks will be fine.  We can always get more chicks later if we need them.  Guys, everything looks fine.  It’s about time to start the chores.”

Walt pointed, “We’ve got everything under control.  We’ll call you if we need you.  Why don’t you go check on our old house and see if there is any mail in the mail box since I’m not sure Witt cancelled the delivery and we had a bunch of mail arrive here.  Grandmother made Wade and me write thank you notes for two hours this morning.  We need to get some postage stamps.”

As I was entering the house, Sarah was working in the kitchen, “Your mother and I decided that we should all eat dinner together.  That would save double work.” 

“Sarah, I have a proposition for you, if you are interested.  When school starts, Wylie is going to be the odd man out.  I need to get him enrolled in a preschool.  Would you be amenable to making sure that he gets to and from the school and take care of him until the other boys arrive from school.  We’ll make sure that you get paid for your endeavors.  You would be here to make sure the next four were home safety as well.”

“I feel completely safe, with you here on the farm, since you probably know as much or more about farming than your husband and Witt.  We need to sit down this weekend and work out pay packages for everyone.”

Sarah had a big grim, “Hank, I was wondering what I was going to be doing around here.  It would be ideal if I could get a part time job, so we can finally finish off our bills.  You have no idea what a relief that it was for Jake to be able to find a position like this,  To have eight young people around is a godsend for us, since we don’t have any children.  It’s amazing how different they all are.

Randy was leading his entourage from the house.  “Hanky Poo, the house is ready for inspection.  We’ll start the demolition of the Latham house in the morning.  If we do the house properly we need to make a master plan to make it so it has more than one bathroom.  This is where Tim will be able to provide some assistance,”

Witt, Tim and Grandma Rhodes had arrived, and Tim challenged, “I don’t know nothing about plumbing except if it works or it don’t work.  Speaking of which, I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Dads, Grandma Rhodes and I are going to go check on the guys.  Ritchie and Aaron, I’ll tell your riders that you're ready to depart for the big city.  Why don’t we plan to do something Saturday night?”

Ritchie grinned, “That sounds good to me.”

Aaron nodded, ‘We’ll be ready to celebrate, as well.”

All the people going to town except Grandma Rhodes had departed and she was holding onto Witt's arm as they went to where the guys were all working,  When she returned, she had a big smile on her face, “There is no question that the boys know what they are to do.  It’s as if they all have their areas of expertise and take pride in what they are doing.  I get the feeling that the new peeps are going to be the domain of Wylie.”

After dinner, Grandmother Rhodes was surprised when the guys took care of the dishes without being asked to do so.  After the dishes were finished, the three oldest guys started to work on the thank you notes without being told, Walt commented “We want to get them finished, so that the people know that we appreciate their thoughtfulness.”

Tim and the Wallaces excused themselves,  Sarah wanted to go to the mall for a few things.  Tim was going to Witt’s farm to check the walls to see if they were plastered or were dry walled which would make a difference on the work that might need to be done.  Randy decided to go with him.

Witt was showing Grandmother Rhodes around the house and showing her the sleeping arrangements and the bathrooms now that everything was complete.

I was sitting by myself in the living room when the phone rang.  “Hank Adler here.”

Hank, it’s Mother.  I called some of my friends and they all recommend the Learning Blocks Academy.  They have a qualified staff and have the children well prepared to enter kindergarten when it’s time.”

“Mom, I have had students from the Academy, but I understand they are very pricey.”

“Henry, you should know by now that all the grandsons are going to have only the best education from now on.  Your Dad and I will pay for their education, if need be,  We have an appointment at three thirty tomorrow, to check out the school.  I’ll meet you there.  Surely, you’ll be finished filling your positions at your school by then.  Sarah can meet us there with Wylie, if need be.  I’ll see you then.  Good night.”

I was looking at the phone in disbelief when it rang again, “Hank Adler here.”

“Hank, it’s your Uncle Mark.  I was able to talk to Doctor Gordon, and Mr. Latham did indeed have all sorts of mental problems.  He was compulsive, impulsive, psychotic and paranoid, plus he constantly heard voices that told him bad things were going to happen.  Doctor Gordon volunteered to be of any assistance he could.”

“I also spoke to my friend at the base legal office.  We’re to meet with him and the six boys on Monday at ten o’clock.  You need to call the Snowdens and inform them of everything that is happening.  Talk to you later.”

I dialed the Snowden’s residence. 

“Wanda Snowden, speaking.”

“Wanda, this is Mr. Adler, May I speak to Mr. or Mrs. Snowden?”

“Just a minute, sir.”

“This is Rob Snowden.”

“Rob, it’s Hank Adler.  I have some paperwork that you need to see and read.  We have some money for the girls’ education funds as well. There will probably be more money coming.  Why don’t you bring your wife and the girls to dinner, tomorrow night.  Uncle Mark thinks you might want to rethink adopting them, just yet, in view of some new information we have uncovered.”

“I’m getting the high sign that we’ll be there for dinner.  My wife was on the extension.  What time?”

“Why don’t you get here about five thirty?”

“We’ll see you then.”

Witt returned with Aunt Della.  She was raving, “Hank, you certainly have fixed yourself a nice home, here.  It’s comfortable and is big enough for you and your nine guys.  Witt’s going to take me home now.  I really enjoyed getting out, and the dinner was great fun.  It’s so nice to be around young people again.”

Witt and Aunt Della had hardly departed when Sarah and Jake arrived.  Jake asked, “Where’s Witt?  Do you know what he did to our car?  It doesn’t sound like the same old car?”

 

“He told me what he did?  Don’t be surprised if he tackles the shocks and springs and other things, shortly.”

Tim came in with Randy, “Where is the mechanical genius?  He not only got the car running.  It sounds better than it has in months.  How much do I owe him?”

I started to laugh, “He’ll get it back in trade when you supervise the remodeling of his house.”

The five youngest came into the house.  Billy started, “Dads, we need to buy one more horse so we have one for each of us to ride.  Wiley should have a pony of his own.”

I pulled Wiley close to me, “I thought you were going to take one of the peeps and learn to ride it so you can ride around the farm bossing everyone around.”

“Daddy, you’re being silly.  No one will listen to me.  Remember, they treat me like a little kid.”

“Well, little boy, why don’t you tell everyone to get a snack and get ready for bed.  Tomorrow is going to be another very busy day.

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  It Is really nice to see another chapter of this delightful story. 

Things seem to be coming together nicely, don't they? 

I am not sure that is a good omen.  It seems that so very often, just when you think things are going to go well, mother nature, or something even worse, manage to foul things up. 

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that some really good things will happen.

Hank's Mom really is a piece of work, isn't she? She is a lot like my mom.  We were always at one another's throats, with barbs,  Mostly, she had the barbs, and was ready to stick them in my back. 

I know that she loved me, but she almost always thought of me as someone who couldn't do anything correctly, and, of course, she was always ready with her endless supply of proper answers to all of the problems that she was certain I was having.

Dad was a wonderful person, and he was very  smart, especially for someone who only went to school through eighth grade.  His parents died when he was only ten, and he had to work, to have a place to live.  He had a little sister that he had to care for, so he quit school and got a job. 

I was so happy for him, when he was in his early seventies, he aced  his GED test, and got his high school certificate.  He was absolutely overjoyed.

I said that, to say this: He was never the boss in our house.  Mom was definitely in full charge. There was absolutely no doubt.  I was her baby till the day she died.

I see a lot of my mom in Hank's mom. Grin.

I am ready for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher   

Posted: 11/26/10