Fallen - Chapter 006

Chapter Six:




“Man!”



“Did it worry ya?”



“I guess I've never paid attention to a plane landing.”



“You'll hear pilots on board carriers say landing atop one of those is equal to a controlled crash. It's about that way with all of the landings...but then again, I've never heard of an uncontrolled crash. They just say the damned things crashed and get it over with.”



He chuckled, “Ok”



I killed the power and said, “Let's get out of here and go home. I'll call Mom and tell her we arrived alive. She'll definitely want to meet ya.”



We got out and I shut the door. He carried the laptop and I carried the clipboard and went to the night deposit to deposit my flight plan. Then, I went to the Rolls and took the keys off the driver's tire.



I opened it and said, “Climb in!”



“I'm looking at it. It's beautiful!”



“I designed it from paint to everything. The provided the body and engine, but it's a fully custom car.”



“The suicide doors are cool.”



“That's their doing. I'll tell you it's cool, but in the rain, it's dumb.”



“Why?”



“You've got to get out in order to get the umbrella out of the door.”



“Out of the door!”



“Take a look, we're not going anywhere for a moment. ”



I put the clipboard and the laptop in the compartment behind the seat and he said, “Cool!”



“I'm guessing it's for the valet, or something.”



I started it and said, “Ok, we're ready to go.”



He got in and buckled up. I put it in drive and drove home. When we got there, I said, “When I open the door, stand off to the side and let Gyp smell you. Brad's a dumb ass. He'll run on out and then realize he bypassed us after he's done watered everything.”



I opened the door and sure enough, Gyp went over and sniffed him. Brad came bounding by and went on out. Gyp rolled over and I said, “That's a good sign. Rub her stomach and you've got a friend for life.”



He was down talking baby talk and I killed the alarm. Then, I programmed in his code. “En, come here. I want to show you your code.”



“Ok”



He picked Gyp up and she immediately began kisses. He was giggling and said, “She definitely likes me.”



“You're babying her. She'll run right past me now to get to you because I won't do that.”



“Why not?”



“If I did, she'd want to be in my lap all the time. With me writing, it's her typing too because she gets jealous of the keyboard.”



He came in and turned to stare at the keypad. “Ok”



“Yours is EMIP”



“Why?”



“Because it's your initials. En is too short and Enriches is too long.”



“Ok”



“It's motion, heat, video, and perimeters. It started out there at the street and when we got within ten feet of the porch, it went to the next zone and when that door got opened, it sensed the breach and went alive. As you see, all the lights outside are on.”



“I never paid attention.”



“It did that as soon as we entered the yard.”



Brad came bounding towards us and slammed on the brakes. He sniffed En and then, came over to me.



“Hey babe, did you miss us?” I said petting his head.



He gave me a happy look and I said, “Ok, let's go take the tour.”



“It smells old.”



“It's all the antiques and the cedar in the closets.”



I pointed. “That's the parlor. Those lamps there were in Gone With The Wind. That sofa was in Holiday Inn with Bob Hope starring. That carpet was in Baby Jane.”



“Man!”



“When I give you this tour, please realize all these antiques were bought for less than three hundred and seventy dollars. One clock cost more, but other than that, these are auction finds.”



We went into the dining room. He looked that dining table, 'That too!”



“Yup, forty five bucks. That hutch over there was bought elsewhere, but as you see it's a perfect match and all of it is Chippendale...it's not knock off or repro, it's the real stuff.”



“Man!”



“In the living room, you see the modern furniture here.”



“That plasma is awesome!”



“It's a computer monitor as well as television. I'm not telling you a thing is off limits to you in this house. I don't do that with those I'm in relationships with. The house policy here is if you put it on the floor, pick it up.”



“Ok”



“Let's go, there's a lot of rooms and then we're in bed.”



I took him into the downstairs bath. “Here's the hint here. There's one upstairs but this one is the best. It's got the washer and dryer here and none of it will scald you or freeze you if you're taking a shower.”



We went into the kitchen and I said, “It's the kitchen.”



“I like it!'



“The pantry is over there. It's got the micros, convections, and rotisserie. They're all stacked and it's compact in there, but it's loaded. I had to put inch thick plywood behind the paneling to hold all the weight on the walls.”



“Man, that's a lot of cans!”



“Four cases of everything. I like to stay stocked up.”



We went out and to the office. “This is the office. Normally, I'd tell you if you cross that doorway, you die, but you're entitled to be in here. Just don't delete anything on the computers and don't bother the servers.”



“Ok”



We went upstairs and I pointed. “Upstairs bath. It's haunted, but you won't know it until you leave that door open. If you go out and leave it open, he'll let you know about where we're standing now by slamming it. If you don't believe me, watch.”



I went over and opened the door. I walked back and before I had gotten turned around, it slammed shut.



“Thanks Mr Bridges.”



“Is that his name?”


“Yeah, he lived here all his life. He was born here and died here. I'll show you his grave.”



“This is the green bedroom. The furniture is Eastlake. Once again, I got the entire set for three fifty.”



“Really?!”



“Yup, when I got it, it was coated with chicken shit so bad no one wanted it. I was brave enough to open a drawer and see it was Eastlake and was stupid enough to bid three fifty at the beginning. I was the only bidder and probably could've had it for twenty dollars.”



I opened the door. “This is the pink bedroom. That chair is a Stickley. I got it for four dollars. It's worth fifteen to thirty thousand. The bedroom outfit I got for a hundred and fifty. It's from the 1920's. I found out who made it and it's a rarity. I can't tell you what it's worth, but I like sleeping there instead of the master, but I sleep in the master. That lamp over there was three bucks. It's a Frank Lloyd Wright original from some house he built and it's worth more than this entire house.”



“Man!”



“I'll tell you I hate the lamp because any sort of light bulb in it except florescent will heat that metal up and burn the hell out of you.”



“That's metal?”



“Yeah”



“Wow, I thought it was wood!”



“Here's the master bedroom. I'm showing it last because you can see there's four rooms down and three up. That's because the closet is the other room. It looks like that door goes to that closet, but we tore through the wall and took it on in.”



I opened the door and the lights came on. He went in and said, “Man, this is awesome!”



“All those drawers are full of shoes. There are boxes of them in the basement and you'll see I'm fond of one kind of shoe.”



“Why so many?”



“As you can smell, I've got my own scent. You might've thought it was cologne, but that's my body scent. When I sweat, it gets worse.”



“I like it. I was going to ask you what cologne it was.”



“Either you like it or hate it. I can't wear any other scents with it, so you don't see colognes in this house. I'll tell you I've bought and have tried all of them and nothing works, however, I'll tell you it doesn't matter to me if you do or don't wear cologne. If you do, great. If you don't, great also. I've been with guys who wear it and those who don't. I wasn't with them because of a cologne bottle, I was with them because they were parts of my life I wanted there.”



He went over to the t-shirts, “I think you've got more than me!”



“Let me give you a tidbit there, down in that building which you see down there with the white roof is a place which makes t-shirts with rock groups on them. The way it goes is if you buy eleven of them for ten bucks, they'll give you thirteen free so you've got two dozen. I go down a lot and get them.”



“Man!”



“They're what you call rejects. Each has a minute flaw in it someplace, but for what I wear them for, they're great.”



My cell phone rang, “Hello?”



It was my Mom's voice, “Yeah, I meant to call at the airport but didn't want to wake you.”



“Your house alarm woke me.”



“I'm sorry.”



“I'm glad to hear you made it in ok.”



“I've got someone for you to meet.”



“Who?”



“Hang on a moment, I'll let him speak to you but don't let him tell you who he is. Then, I want us to walk into the hallway so you can see who he is yourself.”



“What's the mystery?”



“Let's just say I'm going to have his Dad out at the theater in Vegas.”



“Really? So, his Dad is famous?”



“Was yeah, you lusted for him rather hard.”



“I did?”



I pulled En out into the hall and handed him the phone.



He said, “Hello?”



He listened and said, “We met tonight and we're doing what they call a marriage contract.”



He listened and he turned to me, “She says she's looking at the monitor but can't make me out.”



I turned on the light and heard, “Oh my God!”



He laughed, “I take it you recognize me?”



He laughed hard and handed me the phone. “She says you're to bring me right out.”



I took the phone, “Ma, I've got to get to bed. It's been a helluva day and we're both tired, but I promise you he'll be out there soon after we wake up.”



“My God, I can't believe you!”



“He's as interested as me, but I'll explain it more when we can talk in person.”



“You know your sister is just going to shit, don't you?”



“Why?”



“She saw him on television and called to tell me that it was official, she was as hot for the son as I was for his Dad!”



I laughed, “Ooh, that's going to make her mad at me.”



“Hon, she'll be happy for you.”



“I hope, I'll call her and break it to her gently.”



“Don't do that, you'll wake up the house. She's here.”



“Why?”



“She said she had a break in taping of the show and wanted to come home.”



“Ok, well, don't tell her and I'll bring him out and let her have heart failure on her own.”



She chuckled, “Is he nice?”



“Wonderful nice. The more we talk, the more I like him. He loves the house and Gypsy adores him. Brad can't figure out anything, so you know how he is.”



“I swear that dog is a smaller version of Marmaduke.”



“Me too. I love him, but I sure didn't realize how dumb they were.”



“He's smart, he's just a pup yet.”



“I know. Well, I'll get off here so we can get some sleep. He's an insomniac too, so you know how it will be for us.”



“Oh Lord, well go to bed so you can get up and get out here. If it's before nine, I'll have breakfast for you.”



“Ok, I imagine it will be.”



“Love you.”



“Love you too Mom.”



I hung up and said, “Well, Mom got told, but the news is Mom's got Jilli out there and thinks Jilli will be jealous.”



“Why?”



“I'll tell you my Mom adores your Dad. She swoons and carries on something fierce when he's on some show or video.

It seems Jilli saw you on something and called Mom to say, “Mom, it's official, I'm as hot for his son as you are his Dad.”



He laughed, “Oh man! And you got me!”



“Yeah, I'm nervous.”



“Don't be.”



“Ok, I've got to tell you another rule and then I'm done with them.”



“Sure.”



“You've got to sleep on the right. The dogs sleep in the bed and if I'm not on Gyp's side, she'll bother you.”



“I'm sort of used to the other side.”



“Ok, try it, but I think she'll bother you. She might not since she's already thinking you're great, but go fold down the covers and then stand back.”



“Why?”



“It's the way things are here. If you get in bed, it's not good because they are spoiled.”



“Ok”



He went over and folded down the covers and I went over and hit the switch. They came running and lunged onto the bed. They got their toys and Gyp instantly went off the bed sitting in front of him.

Brad got off the bed and stared at me. I said, “Sit!” He sat and I took his toy.



I said, “Hon, take her toy and then, we can get into bed. We play fetch a few minutes before bed because it wears them out and then, they don't rough house.”



“Oh! Ok, that sounds fun.”



“Gyp knows tricks. I'll teach you her tricks and then, it'll let you get to know her better. With Brad, he's learning the tricks, but it's still new to him.”



He got in the bed and I got in also. I threw Brad's toy and said, “Ok, you can throw hers.”



“She can tell the difference?!”



“Yeah, his toys are the ones she didn't want any longer. As you can tell, she's a prima dona.”



My cell phone rang, I looked at it and answered, “Hello?”



Jilli's voice came on sounding tired, “Mom said you called and had something to tell me I wouldn't believe?”



“Yeah, I'm getting married in Vegas on Friday.”



“Huh?”



“A marriage contract.”



“To who? And you better be telling me you're the girl or THAT won't work!” she said with a hint of a smile to her voice.



“Hon, do you remember my dogs?”



“Yeah.”



“Well right now, in my bed are Gypsy Rosa Lee, Brad Pitt, and Enriches. One of them is the actual person. Figure it out.”



“Uh huh.” There was a long pause and then she said, “You've got to be shittin' me!” with more smile in her voice.



“No.”



“How in the hell?”



“I went to Vegas and performed and got lucky, I guess.”



“You're trying to tell me you're there in town with him in bed with you and I'm sittin' here sleepin' on a couch and you've not invited me over for a bunking party?”



“How about tonight. We're rather tired and need to get to sleep.”



“Hang on, Mom's saying something for me to do...besides amass my weapons of war.”



I turned to him. “You know my sis is going to want us to step into the hallway again.”



“Why?”



“To see the monitor of my house with you in it.”



“I'd have to get dressed again.”



Jilli's voice came on, “Did I just hear that he'd have to get dressed again?”



“Yeah sis, you tend to take off your clothes when you get into bed.”



“Tell him we're all family here and I've seen men in nothing before.”



She said to tell you we're all family here and she's required C batteries before.”



“You little shit!”



He looked shocked, I said, “Here's the phone. She's rather stunned right now.”



I handed him the phone and he said, “Hello? Oh! Ok, I'll tell him he's dead and you're deciding the slowest most painful way. Hang on, I'll walk out there in my boxer briefs to make it less painful for him.”



He got out of bed and walked over to the hallway. “Yeah, I'm standing there. Are you looking? You can see me and now I'm to tell him he's deader than before? How does that happen?” He listened and laughed, “Oh! Man! You're his little sister alright!”



I yelled, “Have her tell you who she is so you have an idea.”



He came in, “Huh?”



“Have her tell you who she is?”



He said, “I'm supposed to have you tell me who you are.”



He smiled and said, “You're dead three times buddy!”



“Tell her the record is seven...and the day is young.”



He laughed, “She said for you to tell me and you should've already done that.”



“How do I know if you watch television!”



“She's on television?”



“Yeah, tell her...well hand me the phone.”



He handed me the phone and climbed over me and stopped. He smiled and kissed me.



“Sis, he's wanting to make out. I gotta get off here.”



“Oh! Don't you dare!”



“Ok, listen then.”



“Tell him.”



“Ok, bye now!”



I hung up and said, “That just went to four.”



“You hung up on her?”



“When given the option of talking on the phone with my sister or making out with you, I'm not dumb.”



He smiled, “Who is she?”



“Do you watch television?”



“Yeah?”



“Tuesday nights?”



“What's on on Tuesday nights?”



“If it's NBC, it's her and some murder show. She's on with a guy named Bob who's a real sweetheart and some girl from Days of Our Lives with casts of people losing weight.”



“Really!”



“Yeah.”



“THAT Jillian?”



“Duh, yeah.”



“Oh man! She's your sister?”



“Yeah, but I'm her brother.”



“I can see the resemblance now in your eyes...well, in your builds too. She's rough on them!”



“Yeah, apparently she's wanting me to tell you so you'll want to run right out there to the farm and let her train you!”



He laughed, “I'd rather stay here in bed with you!”



“I would too.”



He leaned forward and kissed me and that began a slow make out session. When I got my lips free, I said, “Lights!” and they dimmed out.



When I awoke, I got out of bed and went down to shower. I dialed Jeff's but there was no answer. Then, I dialed Jaymes' number.



“Hello?”



“I'm in town.”



“Where at?”



“My house.”



“Oh, ok!”



“Don't come up yet, but I wanted to let you know when you come up, I've got a new boyfriend.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, I wanted you to know so you were ok with it.”



“What's he like?”



“Latin. Hot. Handsome.”



“Like Juarren?”



“Nope, not that good, but he's a babe.”



“Oh!”



“That's good, I was going to tell you Juarren came over and stayed last night.”



“Really?”



“Oh yeah. Dad brought him in. We had a talk and Dad is really surprised at how things went for us!”



“Where are you at now?”



“Out by the soccer fields. I was watching them practice.”



I saw En up, “We'll be out there. I've got my Rolls. I'll trade you vehicles and let you meet him.”



“Out here?”



“Yeah, he won't mind. We can stop over and get some breakfast on the way, but then I've got to get out to Mom's because Jilli is in and she's got the hots for him already.”



“Really?”



“Yeah.”



“How's she know who he is?”



“She's seen his videos.”



“He's a singer?”



“Yeah.”



“Would I know who he is?”



“Yeah.”



“Tell me.”



“It's a surprise. We'll be out there. We're going to take a shower and then, we'll be there.”



“Ok”



I got off the phone and said, “We're going to the college to have Jaymes and Jeff meet you. Well, I guess the team will meet you too, but then, we'll get my truck and let Jaymes drive the Rolls.”



He looked surprised, “You're going to let him drive it?”



“Well yeah, if I'm going to let him have all I possess someday, a Rolls certainly isn't going to be a problem.”



“Oh!”



“Wanna shower with?”



He smiled, “Is it safe?”



“Yeah, it's water.”



He chuckled, “I'm allowed to touch?”



“Yeah, just no sex until we get tested.”



“Ok”



We showered and I put Gyp out the door.



“Come on up to the closet, I've got some clothes in your size.”



“Why?”



“Because Kevin's waist size is yours and those fifteen thousand dollar jeans didn't wash themselves over night.”



“Ok.”



We went up and I said, “The shirts at this end will fit you. Here.” I handed him Levi 501's and said, “They might be two inches too long, but you'll be fine. We wear the same shoe size. If you want, there are the shoes.”



“Underwear.”



“Over here.”



“Kevin left underwear too?”



“Yeah”



He stood there and got dressed and I opened the top drawer. “There's accessories like glasses, belts, ties, and everything else.”



“Oh man, are these Ray Bans real?”



“Well yeah.”



He put them on and said, “You've got a lot of them!”



“It covers my eye.”



“Oh!”



He tried several on and went to the first pair. “Man, I look good!”



“Hang on, you'll look better.”



I took Pantene and sprayed his hair and put it through.



“It's says it's for blondes.”



“Yeah, but it's for everyone. It makes your hair shine and stay tangle free.”



When we were finished dressing, we went down and I handed him a breakfast bar. “Those say they're oats and maple, but there's a lot of butterscotch chips in them. That's why I love them.”



“Mmmm, this is good!”



“Made out here in town.”



He stopped eating and I chuckled, “Go ahead. It never affected you before you knew what was in it.”



He started chewing again and I went out the door to the back yard. He came and Gyp wanted to play. I threw a stick and she ran to fetch it.



“It's beautiful here. The view is a long ways!”



“The view and the woodwork in the house is what sold it.”



“I can see why!”



One of the Mexican walked up the alley and stopped and stared. I waved and then the guy started speaking rapidly in Spanish. En spoke and the guy let out a shriek and ran.



“He is running to the house to tell everyone else. He thought he was seeing things.”



“If you don't want to be mobbed, we better get.”



“That's ok. I'll see them and let them know we're a couple now.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, that's ok, isn't it?”



“Well sure, but I was meaning about wanting to be mobbed.”



“Well, not that, but if it gets it over with, that'll be fine.”



“Let's go to the back fence. That's where they'll be coming.”



As fast as the guy ran in, there were probably eight running out of the house.



“Here they come!”



When the got to the alleyway, they stopped and stared. He spoke and held out his hand. They came over and he shook all of them. The conversation was lively, but I didn't understand any of it. I took Gyp in and got my laptop and his billfold.



When I took it to him, he looked at me and said, “Why bring it?”



“We've got to go in a moment.”



“Oh! Ok.”



He spoke again and then shook hands again and they left. He turned and smiled, “They're surprised.”



“I'd say they'd be.”



“They all said you personally picked them to stay.”



“Yeah.”



“They are told it's a great honor for you to pick them.”



“Bullshit.”



“To them, it means a lot.”



“Maybe, but we never speak, so it's not much to me.”



“They know that, but now it's a bigger honor, I imagine.”



“Ready to go?”



He smiled, “Yeah”



We went in and I locked up the back door. Then, I showed him how to arm the system.



“Here's your key. It fits all my houses.”



“Ok”



When we got to the Rolls. I said, “When we get to Mom's, I'm going to want to take you up to where the new house will be built. Is that ok?”



“Yeah.”



We drove out to Burger King and got breakfast croissants and then drove over to the college. I saw my truck and drove over to it.



“That's your truck!”



“Yeah.”



“Man! That's awesome!”



We got out and Jaymes came running. “Oh my God! You two are really together!”



“Yeah.”



He held out his hand, “I'm Jaymes.”



“Rhette's told me a lot about you.”



He smiled, “Really?”



“Yeah, he said you're real special to him.”



“He did!”



“Yeah.”



Jaymes turned to me and smiled, “I can't believe this!”



Several of the guys were staring. I said, “En, we better get over by Jeff. We're disrupting practice.”



He looked out and asked, “Why are they just standing there?”



“They see a hot latin over here and wonder why he's not on the field with them!”



He laughed, “I can't play soccer worth anything.”



Jeff blew his whistle and yelled, “What are you guys doing!”



I said, “Jeff's caught on they're not paying attention. Let's go save them.”



We walked over and Jeff stared. As we got closer, he smiled and asked, “Is that really...?”



“Yeah.”



“What's he doing here?”



“We're together now.”



“Oh!”



I said, “En, this is Jeff. Jeff and I were lovers in high school. Jeff, this is Enriches.”



Jeff smiled real big, “Man! You just pull all sorts of famous people out!”



“Call the team in so we can introduce them and then, they can get back to practicing. You're not going to get much with them staring.”



“I was wondering!”



He whistled and motioned for them to come in. I said, “Guys, this is Enriches. Enriches, this is the number three ranked college team in the country right now!”



Jeff said, “Number two, postings just came out again and we went up one with our win.”



“You won!”



He smiled, “Yeah, but it takes a few days for rankings to come out. Until it's official, we have to wait.”



Juarren came over and stood by Jaymes. I said, “En, this is Juarren. Juarren, this is En.”



They shook hands and then, Juarren went over and stood behind Jaymes. I smiled and thought, “Man, he's definitely using body language to say he's not available!”



I turned to the guys, “We were just out trading vehicles with Jaymes. I want my truck back. When you get through, you're welcome to look at the car all you want.”



Jeff said, “Guys, back on the field.”



He turned and asked, “You going to be in town tonight?”



“Yeah.”



“Want to come over?”



“Yeah, but I have a feeling we're eating at Grande Rio. All the guys from there met him up at the house.”



“Oh!”



“Then we can go to Nipper Park and walk it off. Jilli's in, so I imagine Mom's going to want to feed us. We're heading out there now. I'll probably have the whole family for supper.”



He nodded, “Ok, that'd be cool.”



“Well, we better get going. I want to tell you you've got to get some time available for your shots up there.”



“I'm working on it” he said patting his belly.



“Did Jaymes show you our shots from yesterday?”



“No, he said you wanted to show me.”



“We'll wait until tonight. That way I can show you on a big monitor. Seeing them on my phone would be wrong. His are wonderful.”



“He said yours are amazing.”



“Yeah, but the camera loves him.”



“Good!



I hugged him and said, “We're going to get going. How are things with you and Skip?”



“Wonderful. I like him a lot.”



“Great. Invite him for dinner if you want.”



“I'll see, he might have to work.”



“Ok, but he can still take time for dinner if he knows ahead of time.”



“I'll call him.”



He looked over and said, “You better get going. Word's trickled back and they're now heading this way.”



I turned and said, “En, we gotta go!”



“Why?”



“There's about fifty heading this way!”



He looked and said, “Man! Word travels fast!”



He stood there and I said, “Hon!”



“That's ok, we might as well get it over with. You don't know how it goes. If we don't do it, our street will be nothing but cars driving by.”



“Ok, but on the bleachers. With us on them, we're safer.”



We walked over and he held out his hand and started a meet and greet. The girls were all giggly and the few guys were definitely all eyes.



I left him and got the truck. I wanted it running and open when it was time to leave.



I went back over and as soon as I heard him, I was thinking, “Fella, you should be a politician!” He was telling everyone he'd heard they were number two in the country and since he was such a huge soccer fan, he thought he'd come congratulate them on their ranking.



When everyone was met, and a few autographs were given and a lot of cell phone pictures were taken, he said, “We've got to go.” and as quick as a flash he was already heading to the truck.



I got in and he said, “What's with everyone? As soon as I said I was here with my lover, they got stiff!”



“It's a Baptist college. You'd just as soon announced to them you were going to hell and they wrote you off.”



“Really?”



“I got thrown out of this place for being gay.”



“Oh man!”



“Well, one thing about it, you and Michael Phelps have one thing in common.”



“What's that?”



“Kelloggs won't hire either one of you anymore. They don't make the brownies he represents and you don't do Brownies.”



“What's that mean?”



“Girl Scouts...Brownies...You don't do girls!!! So you don't DO them!”



He laughed, “Oh! I forgot what they were called!”



We rolled on and I took him out to Industrial drive and showed him the sights and companies until we got to the sign shop. We parked and I said, “This is what I built from the ground up.”



“Man, it's big!”



“Yeah, lots and lots of hours here. Right there is where I was beaten.”



“It doesn't bother you?”



“No, but then again, I can't say that. I'm sitting in a truck that if their truck rolled up, I'd back up over theirs. This truck is bulletproof, and I never had that before, so it's affected me.”



I backed out and said, “Let's go over by my brother's office. I'll invite he and his family to supper...maybe they'll come, or maybe they won't.”



I pulled in and he asked, “He's a doctor?”



“Yeah.”



“You never said that!”



“Hon, this is the preppy, yuppy, judgemental one. We used to be really close, but now we're not because things have changed.”



I parked and said, “Come on.”



“I don't like doctors.”



“He's ok.”



We went in and his receptionist smiled, “Hey!”



“Hi hon, is he busy?”



“Yeah, but he won't be a moment.”



“I'm going to take him in to put him on the massage bed.”



“Ok, you know how to run it.”



We went in and I said, “Lay on that.”



“Why? What is it?”



“It's a massage bed. That over there is a massage table and this is a massage bed. You lay on it and it massages you.”



“Really?”



“Yeah.”



He lay down and I started it up. He looked surprised, “Oh! It's good!”



“Lay here, it'll be done in fifteen minutes.”



I went out and his receptionist asked, “IS THAT who I think it is?!”



“Yeah, my boyfriend.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah, cute huh!”



She smiled, “I thought he was...”



“He is.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah.”



“Oh man! How'd you get with him?”



“I was singing up on stage and he just ran up and decided I was it for him.”



She laughed, “You're so full of it sometimes.”



“Seriously. I'm going to be a famous star!”



“Uh huh!”



“For real hon, listen to this song and watch the video. That's me.”



She watched my phone and said, “That's you!”



“Yeah, we shot that yesterday...well, I wrote it yesterday and then you hear it being performed.”



“Man, you look good as a girl!”



“Don't say that too loud, your boss thinks I'm an embarrassment.”



“Oh pffft! If I looked that good...”



Brent came out, “Rhette! How are you?!”



“I'm well, I wanted to come by and introduce you to En and invite you all to dinner tonight as a way of the family getting to know him.”



“Where's he at?”



“In on the massage table. He'll be out in a moment.”



He looked at my phone, “What's this?”



“This is my new song and the video we're making for it.”



He watched and said, “That's you?!”



“Yeah, I know you don't approve, but that's me.”



“Damn!”



“I wrote the song yesterday morning. We got a good recording of it last night.”



“You wrote that?”



“Yeah, and sang it.”



“That's you?!”



“Yeah.”



“Who's the guy?”



“Jaymes. You know his Dad Jeff.”



“That's Jaymes?”



“Yeah.”



“Wow!”



“Here's the next one I wrote. It's rough, but we got a good recording of it last night too.”



“You've written two?”



“Three.”



“I didn't know you could do that?”



“Listen to this one. Everyone's saying it's going to be a chart topper.”



I pushed to play and turned it up and went in where En was. He was asleep...the massage table did that to me also.



I went back in, “He's asleep.”



She smiled, “Is that him for real?”



“Yeah, I'm meeting his Dad tomorrow.”



“Really?”



“Mom can't wait to meet him. She's been hot for his Dad for years.”



I went in where Brent was. He had his hands up on his face sobbing. I went over and hugged him, “What do you think?”



“That song. Did you write it about me?”



“No.”



“I sure took it that way.”



“Everyone's taking it differently.”



“I know you think I've abandoned you as a brother, but marriage is more difficult than I imagined.”



“It doesn't have to be. You've got too many bills and too many commitments.”



“It's rough.”



“Say the word and I'll take away the bills.”



“I can't. She won't let me.”



“Then, let me invest in your practice. She doesn't have to know I'm footing the bills here and for you student loans.”



“I'll think about it. Tell me about your new fella? Is it Jaymes?”



“No, What Jaymes and I were doing was acting. En's in there. Everyone wonders how we got together, but he saw me performing last night when we were recording and he took the bait. Now we're discussing marital contract.”



“Really?!”



He motioned to my phone, “Has she heard that?”



“No.”



“Let me have her come in and hear it. That song is amazing. If it affects everyone like that, you've got talent.”



“It does.”



“Has Mom heard it?”



“No, I'm going to play it for her when we go out.”



I walked out and said, “He wants you to hear the song. He's recovered now.”



“What's wrong?”



“Everyone cries when they hear it.”



“Really?”



“Oh yeah.”



She went in and I went to get En. “Hey babe.”



“I fell asleep!”



“I do it too. Come on, let's go meet my brother.”



“Was I asleep long?”



“No.”



“Man, I want one of these!”



“We'll get one. It's like fourteen hundred dollars.”



“It's worth it.”



We went out into the lobby and went into Brent's office. His receptionist was listening and crying. Brent saw En and smiled, “This can't be real!”



He held out his hand and said, “I'm Rhette's brother.”



En smiled, “I'm Enriches.”



Brent looked at me and chuckled, “You were right, Mom's going to have the big one!”



En put his arm around me and said, “We'd be honored if you and your family would come dine with us at the big river.”



I smiled, “Grande Rio.”



Brent nodded, “What time?”



“Seven. The rush will be over and then, we'll have more privacy.”



“I'll call and tell her we're going.”



When the song ended, I went over and hugged her, “How do you like it?”



“It's sad. It stirs memories and emotions in me which are sad.”



“I wrote it because of all the times I've had to say I'm sorry to people.”



She started crying again and said, “It's sticking with me.”



I hugged her, “It's the melody.”



Brent asked, “Would you send that to me?”



“Yeah. Now, let me cheer you guys up with the last one and then, you won't be so down.”



I played 'One Road' and as they listened, they laughed and as it continued, they laughed harder until the tears were from laughing.



“I wrote that last night after I played 'Baby' for a bar full of people and it was like I told them Anheiser Busch had closed it's doors. Needless to say, they were laughing when I was done.”



She was laughing, “Oh man that's funny!”



Brent was red faced, “We've been drunk more than a few times brother!”



I laughed, “Yeah, but we learned better.”



I took my phone and sent him the songs to his. He nodded, “I got them. I'm sending it to Brittany at her office. I'll have all of them crying out there.”



He sent it and in no time, he got a call. He answered, “Hello?”



“Watch the first one and then listen to the second one. When you've had a good cry, play the third and you'll be laughing.” He paused and said, “My brother wrote those songs.” He then said, “Rhette.” And then, he said, “Just listen to them. They're all super great. Call me when you hear the second one. Let everyone in the office hear it at the same time as you and let me know what everyone thinks, but I'll tell you to get out the Kleenex, you'll need it.”



He hung up and said, “She's going to do it.”



Brent smiled, “Go out to Mom's. I'll let you know how it went with her office...when they stop crying.



We went out in the lobby and his receptionist held out the phone, “She's crying.”



Brent took the phone, “What do you think?”



He listened and said, “Hon, calm down. He said everyone reacts that way. Play the third one for everyone and you'll all be laughing. I guarantee it.”



He hung up and said, “All her co-workers and patients are crying.”



I said, “If people will pay to hear it, I'll have a hit. If they're all too busy crying, it'll be a mess.”



He laughed, “You're right, that melody sticks with me.”



“We recorded it like a music box. I wanted it real simple and with nothing except that one sound.”



Brent's phone rang and he answered. He smiled, “Yeah, it's funny. I told you, you'd laugh.”



He hung up and said, “Everyone's dying of laughter in there now.”



“Good.”



He asked, “Are you doing more?”



“Oh yeah, we recorded another last night, but it's not something I wrote. It's a remake of a classic.”



“Really?”



“It'll take you to church.”



“Do you have it?”



“Yeah.”



I pulled it up and said, “I'll let everyone hear it. En wasn't there.”



En looked interested and I said, “It's when Gladys and I performed.”



“Oh!”



I said, “Let me play you guys 'Midnight Train' first. Then, we'll go over to the other.”



I played and Karyn looked surprised, “You sang with her?!”



“Yeah.”



As they listened, I went over to the side of the lobby and stood and watched them. Then, when 'Rugged Cross' came on, they all looked surprised and as they listened, I saw Karyn start crying again.



I went and hugged her and she said, “That's just beautiful.”



“Thanks. It just hit me it needed to be performed that way and we did it.”



When it was over, Brent said, “Brother, you're going to make a spiritual go top ten! I want to send it to her...well, can I send both?”



“Yeah.”



He sent them and I said, “When we do my concert, Gladys will open for me and then, I'll open for En. He and I have to work on a duet yet, but I've got it in mind.”



“Really?”



“It's latin in flavor...well, a whole lot latin in flavor. It's more carnival music.”



En smiled, “Sing it for us.”



“You don't want to hear it.”



Brent chuckled, “You're not going to get out of here until you do!”



“Ok, but remember this is just off the top of my head. I'll need to record it on here”



I pressed record and went over and started doing the beat box and went into it doing my parts and then his...making myself sound like him. When it was over, I said, “Well, that's how the writing goes for me. I get the words and then, I start getting the melody and it comes out a song.”



Karyn said, “You've never did that before now?”



“The words didn't hit me until a few moments ago. Then, I heard the music and now, you've heard it. That's how it goes”



En was nodding his head, “I really like it. It's going to be real popular.”



Brent's phone rang, “Yeah hon.” He smiled real big, “Yeah, it's good isn't it! He just wrote one and performed it in front of us and I'm just speechless how he's doing it. Yeah, I'll send it.”



He hung up and said, “Their entire office is just amazed. She said they're all demanding to know who it is singing like that and she's telling them it's her brother in law.”



I laughed, “That's probably got them all shocked.”



“They've got several gay guys working out there.”



He sent the carnival song and I said, “Ok, we've got to go to Mom's. Jilli is in and you know how that's going to go!”



He laughed, “Is Jilli going to be there tonight?”



“Yeah, you know how she eats. Let's pray she gets hungry soon and decides it's got to be sooner than later.”



I asked, “Would you call the restaurant and reserve us a section? I've not done it and think we better get it reserved.”



“How many?”



“You better tell them thirty at least...no, tell them I'd like the restaurant for a private party...that way, he's not mobbed.”



“Ok”



I turned to Karyn, “You bring your husband. It's not just for family.”



“Ok, I'll do that!”



We left and En asked, “I want to hear that carnival song again. It's really catching my interest.”



“Sure.”



I played it and we drove through town. While driving out to Mom's, he saw the views of the river and was amazed. “It's beautiful!”



“Yeah. In the fall when the leaves are changing on the trees, it's spectacular.”



“I bet!



When we got to my property, I said, “That's where the new house will be, up there.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah, we'll go up there in a moment.”



When we got to the driveway for Mom's, I pointed up. That's the house up there.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah, it has the same view our house will have.”



We went up the driveway and when we got to the top, Mom and Jilli were out back.



We got out and Jilli came running. En smiled, and said, “I can't believe it! I'm such a fan of yours!”



She smiled, “And I am yours too!”



She turned to me and said, “Man!”



“Yup!”



She laughed, “I can't believe you!”



“Let's go in. I've got to tell you guys something before word gets out too far.”



“Ok”



We went in with our arms around each other and Mom gave us all hugs. I said, “En, this is my Mom. You can call her Mom. And this is Jilli. Mom and Jilli, this is En.”



Dad came in and said, “Well, you finally got here. They've been outside trying to act like they weren't waiting on you, but they were.”



I chuckled, “The secret's out now.”



We all sat down and Mom asked, “What's the announcement?”



“Mom, you know it, but Jilli and Dad might not know it, but I'm writing songs and performing them. We just stopped by Brent's and they heard them and then, he sent them to his wife. It seems she played them for her entire rehab center out there and everyone likes them. SO, with that test group, I'm sure they're good.”



Jilli asked, “Ok, let's hear them.”



“Let's go in so we can put it on the plasma. I want you guys to see the recordings we got made of them instead of listening to my phone like everyone else is getting.

Now, I'm going to forewarn you it's of me in drag, so be prepared.”



Jilli chuckled, “Ok, now I know why you were reluctant.”



We went in and I hooked the laptop up and said, “What I want to do is play one at a time to get your reaction.”



I put on “You Can't Do That' and let them see the rough of the video.



Mom watched and said, “Wow!” and then, as it played out, she watched more and more with interest. At the end, she said, “My God that's hot!”



Jilli said, “I love the song and that video is just wicked. It's seductive and yet, you didn't show hardly anything and I feel like I've seen you making out. It's like a G rated XXX!”



Dad chuckled, “It's sure going to put people in the mood!”



En smiled and I said, “The way we're going to do this next one is I need to have you watch the performance where I explain it first and then, you'll know why I wrote it and what it means to me. Everyone's getting their own meaning from it, so before you hear it, I'm giving you napkins.”



Mom said, “Oh Lord, it's a sad song.”



“Yeah.”



I put it on and the view of me on stage introducing the song came on. Then, the music started and the sound coming through the surround sound hit me and chills happened all over again.



When the words started, En hugged me from behind. I knew it'd be bad, but my Dad's crying really put me over the top. Mom and Jilli were losing it and by the end, I was real worried.



I put it on pause and said, “Ok, you've heard it. What do you think?”



Mom didn't stop crying at all, “That's the saddest song I've ever heard. The words go right through me and I think about too many things while listening to it. There's Amber, there's Brett, there's the baby I lost, there's your Dad, and then, there's so many things I just don't like with how things are going with my life. Getting old sucks.”



Jilli stared up and said, “Rhette, when you came to get me, I knew you were hurt, but I had to try one more time. Going home from the airport that day, I knew I'd screwed up and that was the hardest because it didn't change. If anything, it was more painful because I saw myself going down with the sinking ship. When it got to be too bad, I got out, but Mom knows I lived through hell saving money for six months before I could make it on my own. I'll tell you it was a depressing time for me, but reliving it with your words makes all that pain real again.”



I said “We all think we're alone when it hurts. I've learned if I put it into words, it comes out. That song seems to be a culmination of all that hurt.”



En hugged me tighter and my Dad started, “When we brought your grandma out here to live because she couldn't live in her house any longer, I knew it was painful for her, but in a lot of ways, her dementia had robbed her of that. As we watched her go from bad to worse, each day, I prayed the Lord to take her and for two years, the prayer didn't seem to be heard.

Seeing her lose Dad and then all of that, I've long wondered what it'd be like for our time and have wondered what it'd be like for me if I lost your Mom or what it'd be like if I should go first.

Then, living through the past few years of nearly losing you, your Mom losing your aunt, and all of that, it's just been one painful moment from the next.

What I've felt is us shutting down to each other. I know your Mom is in pain and I couldn't help her by making it better when your aunt died. Words didn't help and all I could do was hope time would heal the wounds.

When we lost Missy (their dog ), it hurt because I know your Mom had put so much love into her holding her and hugging her when it was too much at times, I felt we were losing each other all over.

Until this song, it's just not been talked about openly. It's like you put out there what everyone feels and now I know what it was like for you too.

I feel I've let everyone down.”



Mom went over and hugged him and I turned to hug En. I went to hug Jilli and I guess En went to take it off pause.



My voice came on again and I introduced 'One Road'. As the song started, I was wondering if it was heard until Jilli started chuckling. My Dad let out with a big laugh and Mom was snickering.



In the second verse, Jilli was holding me saying, “Oh my God! I can't believe you're singing that!”



“I wrote it hon. I had to do something to make people laugh after the other.”



By the end, everyone was laughing and I put it over to 'Midnight Train'.



“This song is going to be performed with she and I. Out of all the stars I've wanted to meet, this one is like the current dream come true. She's gracious enough to put up with me on her song, and then, we went into another which everyone is just blown away by. I'll play them together so you can see what that was like.”



When Gladys' image came on, Jilli let go of me and said, “You sang with her?!”



“Oh yeah. And honey, I sang...I sang.”



Everyone listened and when the Boxcar Willie whistles came out of me, my Dad was lost in the images on the screen. Mom was just looking awestruck. Then, we went into 'Cross'.



I was a bit worried about how it'd be taken. My parents are somewhat religious but they sure won't tolerate anything which degrades anything spiritual...so I was worried.



At the end of it, Mom ran over to me and hugged me, “My God that's beautifully sang. It's chilling me to think until I heard it that way, I'd never really heard it or paid attention to the words.”



Jilli came over and hugged me, “Rhette, I can't say what all I'm feeling. It's like you find ways to just go where I've never thought in songs and that version makes me want to hate all the others I've heard.”



My Dad asked, “Are you going to perform that in concert?”



“Yeah Dad, I'm thinking about it being a release for radio play.”



“I want to see you perform it. I know when you sing that, people are going to be rushing the stage like an evangelist.”



“There's one more, but there's no music to it. I just made it up at Brent's office and we recorded it on my phone. It's going to have En and I performing it.”



Mom looked surprised, “Really?!”



“Yeah, Brent was blown away at how it works that I write these things. It's like I get the feeling and then, boom, the words are there and as I'm hearing the words, the music is coming along too. By the end, it's not a poem, it's a song.” I paused. I need to tell you this is different. If you think of Mardi Gras or Carnival in Brasil, you'll have the idea for it.”



I played it and over to the side, I heard En singing it and harmonizing. Mom smiled and Jilli was just awestruck watching him sing. At the end, my Dad was first, he looked over at En and said, “Boy, you can sing! I knew Rhette could sing, but you over there singing along and hearing how you do that, I'm seeing it and it's going to be a real crowd pleaser.”



Mom said, “Hon, he's a star. He's already got songs out.”



Dad said, “Really?!”



I chuckled and said, “Ok, let's play his videos and let Dad see them.”



En looked embarrassed and I said, “Hon, don't be embarrassed. It's us doing what we do good.”



I put on the videos and En sat down with me sitting on the floor between his legs. He was singing along and when they were over, Dad smiled, “I like them!”



Mom was smiling, “You've heard me play his Dad's music time and time again.”



“You have?”



“She went over and pulled up the recordings and videos I'd downloaded her and began playing one. She breathed in real deep and my Dad said, “I'll be damned! I can see now he looks like him!”



Jilli chuckled, and En smiled. Mom said, “Rhette's meeting his daddy tomorrow. I think it's good he brings him to meet us first.”



When the song was over, I said, “Mom, Dad, Jilli, I've reserved Grand Rio for supper. I want him to meet everyone. You might call Ash and see if he'll bring his girlfriend so we've got everyone told. Invite who you want, but it's at seven. Ok?”



Mom nodded, “That'll be nice.”



I said, “Jilli, we're going up on the hill. Are you interested in going?”



“Sure.”



Dad said, “We don't get to go?!”



“Sure, we can all go, it's just I want to show En where we're building the new house. I want to put some stakes in the ground where I want things.”



He asked, “What sort of house are you building?”



“It's going to be a copy of the house in South Carolina. We're making a few changes, but it's going to be the same.”



He nodded, “Your Mom loves that house. I know where she'll be all the time.”



Jilli smiled, “That house is beautiful. I've never fallen in love with a house as I did that one and now, I go around out there and just don't like the ones I see.”



“Are you thinking about getting a house hon?”



“Yeah.”



“If you want, we can get you the blueprints copied.”



Mom smiled and said, “Let's go up.”



I said, “We can all pile in the truck and go up. I think it'll make it.”



We all went out and got in with Mom, Dad, and Jilli in the back and En and I up front. When we got to the road to go up, I said, “En, this isn't the road we'll have, but this is the road we've got for now. Hang on!”



We went up and the truck pulled it, but En was hanging on for dear life. When we reached the top of the hill, I drove up and turned around.



As soon as he saw the view, he was spellbound. Mom said, “I take it he thinks it's pretty.”



Jilli chuckled and we all climbed out and down. En looked around and said, “It's so big!”



“It's three hundred acres hon.”



Dad and I took the stakes out of the bed and I said, “Dad, I want the house to be up here. I want the front yard to be five hundred feet from the point where En's standing to the bottom step of the stairs out front.”



“That's a lot of mowing.”



“I'm going to put golf course fairway seed in. It'll grow six inches tall at full height.”



“That's a good idea.”



We put the stakes in and as they went in, I said, “Dad, what do you think?”



“Let's go for a walk.”



“Ok. Let's go to the old road because that's what I want to use to get up here. We can log it and get the wood for the fireplaces and then doze out the stumps.”



“Are you going with gravel?”



“No, concrete. I found out it's twenty three dollars a yard their cost and with that quarry not being far, I'll put a batch plant up if needed to get everything needed.”



“That's a lot of money.”



“Yeah, but you've told me to build it right the first time and we won't have to rebuild it over and over.”



“True, but building it right the first time will be expensive.”



Mom and Jilli were walking together and Dad watched, “Rhette, I'm going to ask you a question.”



“Sure.”



“That fella over there. What do you think of him really?”



“Life's changing for me. I'm going for permanence. The car, the truck, the lifetime houses, and now, I'm at a point I think I've been given a second chance.

After Kevin, I'll tell you I was unstable. It rocked me and it seemed like I reached out to regain stability and it wasn't found so I was floundering.

Now, I'm building a relationship with him and what's different this time is I'm opening up totally with him. There's no reservations and it just feels right. What's foreign to me at this time is my lack of success and me constantly wondering if I'm setting myself up again for another fall.”



“You'll always feel that way. You know when I met your Mom, I was transfixed by her beauty. Not her external but internal. She was the first woman I'd walked with where an expensive date wasn't going to get her. I knew that and it allowed me to be at ease with her, made me want to provide more, and to be more for her.”



“I'm feeling that.”



He looked over and stared at En standing at the top of the slope. “He's feeling this place. I'll tell you either you feel it, or you don't. It's got to become a part of you, or you're not at home...and won't ever be.” He paused and said, “You know, I know you loved Kevin but it wasn't right. I don't know how to put it, but I saw two individuals when I saw you two and not one.

Up here, I see you connected to him and I see him over there feeling this place and know he's most likely going to come back here and let you know in some way he's here and isn't going to be gone.”



I'll tell you I don't know if it was a premonition or not, but it wasn't En doing that exactly which told me. The silence up there on the hill, the birds faintly singing in the woods and the sounds of farm machinery off in the distance, but what I heard plain as day was En begin singing 'America, The Beautiful'.



My Dad took the shovel and heaved it in the soil deep and leaned on it with his foot on the top edge. “I'll be!”



My father was forgotten. I began walking to En and stood there staring out with my arm around him and my head on his shoulder as he sang all the verses word for word perfectly.



When he was done, he said, “Don't make me leave here. I'll go out and perform, but until this moment at this place, I never thought I belonged someplace so much.”



“It's home.”



“Yes.”



“Our home.”



“I want it.”



“We'll make it.”



“I want us to make a commitment not in years, but in words. I'll give you the rest of my life if you'll have me.”



“And I'll give you mine, my trust, my loyalty, and my bond with honor and respect.”



He turned and drew me into a hug. I looked up into his eyes. He smiled, “Rhette, I worry you are so many things to so many, but all I can ask is be mine.”



“From this moment on, I am.”



He kissed me and in that moment, I felt it. It was as if all the pigeons had come home to roost and all the butterflies of doubt in my stomach were settled happily nursing on their nectar.”



He hugged me tighter and whispered, “Do you feel it?”



“Oh yeah.”



“Me too.”



“If I could be anywhere else with you right now, it'd be making love.”



“We've got a house to build. Show me how it will be?”



“All this out here will be front yard. Where the stake is up there by the front of the truck is where the bottom step will be. Over there, where my Dad is standing, is where the driveway will come in.”



“What's he doing?”



“Watching us fall in love.”



“Really?”



“He knows. He said he knows it's with you.”



“I feel more with you. Does that make sense?”



“Completely. Get to know him. He's a great guy and will teach you a lot.”



“Really?”



“Let me tell you what I see with him as my Dad. There's peacefulness with him. There's patience. And there's pride. He let's us be us and doesn't try to guide us, change us, or stop us. He watches and he does it with peacefulness like he knows it's meant to be as it will be and no amount of external force is necessary when it's right. In doing so, he's shown me more patience in letting it come about than I ever could've given.”



“You're much like your Mom and your sister. You are driven.”



“I was, but it's like I was driven to get up that hill. Once we got up here and you were here, I knew it was time. Now I know what I've been searching for and desiring is found.”



“Me too.”



We walked and when we got over to Dad, he smiled at us. “You know, I've lived a long time, but until this moment, I've never seen two people fall in love like your Mom and I've got. Let's go be with them.”



He pulled the shovel out of the ground and used it as a walking stick. He said, “En, let me tell you something. My grandpa taught me when you go for a walk, always walk with a stick.

I don't know if we're descended from shepherds or not, but when I was little, I had a stick and as I've grown, I've used one and all these kids of mine have thought they've not needed them.

Then, they've had kids and I put sticks in their hands. I show them how to use them and rely on them and they've all continued to use them. I now realize my grandpa knew right in teaching me by putting the stick in my hand.”



When we got to Mom and Jilli, Mom paused and looked at us. She smiled and went to Dad and put her arm around him. Dad said, “Jilli, girl, you need a stick.”



She smiled and said, “Dad, if you walk with a stick in the city, they say you're going to use it on someone. With the way I feel sometimes, I probably would.”



He said, “Learn to rely on it out here. Then, when you're there, you won't need it.”



I added, “Or call family. We'll come and be your stick.”



She smiled, “Is that stick or schtick?”



“Ha ha ha, very funny sis.”



En chuckled. I said, “En, do me a favor. When I challenge Jilli to a race up to the end of the field, you take your shirt off and dazzle her. I'll win and then, we can say she runs like a girl.”



Mom laughed, “Rhette, you're cruisin' for a bruisin'.”



Jilli said, “Mom, Rhette's wanting to put the focus on me because he knows who runs like a girl!”



I went over and bumped her shoulder with mine. “Always diverting away from the challenge.”



En said, “Get to running. One lap around the outer edge. When you get back, we'll see about my shirt being off.”



Jilli's eyebrows went up. “Rhette, I'm gone.”



She took off running and I took off after her. I got up beside her and said, “Jilli, never think you can't ask for help.”



“What the hell's that supposed to mean?”



“It means I love you and we're going to be through everything together.”



“Thanks for the truck, it's beautiful.”



“Do you like it?”



“Yeah, what did you do to it?”



“Why?”



“I filled it and thought it would go through the fuel. It's not.”



“It's got the energy efficient cam in it and the computer chip in it. Mine has the power and performance chip in it, but you can get it with the energy efficiency one. I got that chip for you so it'd get eighteen in town.”



“Oh!”



We jogged and she said, “Something's happened up here. You two are absolutely glowing. Mom noticed it and I know something's different.”



“Oh that, we fell in love. He sang the national anthem out there and Dad witnessed it.”



“Do you know that'd sound like pure ick if it wasn't so romantic?”



“It feels right with him. I can't describe it. I just know it's right.”



A song entered my head and I started singing. She looked over and I smiled, “It's just coming in my head.”



We jogged and as we continued, I sang. “No one else could go on a jog and write a song. You do it and make me sick.”



“When you get back to film, teach your people how to love themselves. Tell them when they can compose a song to themselves, then they know they've achieved it.”



“Some of 'em won't ever get it. It's like they just give up.”



“Can I tell you something?”



“Yeah.”



“You're so competitive, why do you let Bob smoke and you choke?”



“What's that mean?”



“He's over there wearing form fitting clothes seeking the accolades about his body and you do what it takes to wear pants and try not showing your build.”



“It's not about me.”



“Make it about you. You sit there and say you don't get how he has a cult following with his people and yet, he's pulling them in with their eyes and then getting results. I'll tell you he's not nicer than you, it's just he's using what he's got to get the results.”



“Do you have the hots for him?”



“Who wouldn't? Yeah, I think he's cute, but I've had too many lovers like him. That one up there just begged me not to send him away. Do you know what that just did to my heart?”



“Aweee...did Rhette melt?”



“Yeah, now why are you running instead of jogging. Pick up those knees sister!”



“What?!”



“Knees to hip level. Work it.”



She looked over and asked, “How long have you been running like that?!”



“It works the hamstrings. You don't get an ass without it.”



“I can't believe you!”



“Sis, think about it. If I've got to be a female impersonator to get what I want, I'm going to have those legs going all the way to my ass and then having an ass when it gets there WHILE I'm in those high heel shoes.”



“Why are you doing that?”



“Because I know I'm good doing it. Have you ever done anything where when you do it, you know you're hot doing it?”



“No.”



“Speaking of which, I want to ask you to consider doing a movie for me.”



“What?!”



“Watch the original 'Love Story'. I wanted to do it with Jaymes, but I know all they're going to see is me being a drag queen doing it. And if I don't let it out, I know I'll most likely get that Best Actress award and then have to give it back when they find out. Rather than fuck up a good movie, I want to let it have a chance. You're who I want since I can't do it.”



“Do you really mean that?”



“Think about it. That's all I ask. You and I have the same eyes and I know our eyes are great when we're in love, but when we're in pain, they're expressive. All I ask is let me have it so I can put that song to it.”



“Oh man.”



“I think it'll be the melody everyone thinks about for years afterwards and I think you'll be the girl after it like Kate was after Titanic.”



“Why not someone else?”



“Why ask someone else when I know the best person is next to me.”



“Are you sure?”



“I'll pay all the money for the movie out of my own pocket if you'll do it.”



“With Jaymes?”



“Yeah.”



“Why him?”



“Because the way I feel about him, if I can't have him as a lover, I want him as my successor.”



“What's going on with you? Are you dying?”



“No, I'm living. It's just changed for me. I'm seeking permanence and something I can do to leave my mark on this world. Without that, I'm just dust and should the cancer ever win, I'll have left nothing. I want to be known for something.”



I looked up ahead and said, “Do you realize he's self concious about taking his shirt off?”



“Is he?”



“Yeah, that's why I asked him to do it. We've got to get him working out and ripped. I want him out on stage taking those blows for me with everyone knowing he looks better than he's ever looked and it's making everyone view him more sexual.”



“He's putting a lot in jeopardy.”



“Not really. If you realized how little he's saw of his career so far, you'd be sick.”



“What?”



“There's four million and all that is in holdings. There's no cash reserves. There's no securities for the future, nothing.”



“Why?”



“His Dad's in debt over past tax problems. His Dad whored him out to make the money to pay them.”



“That's bullshit.”



“Yup, but now, I'm buying up the debt and putting his Dad to work in a theater. He'll work for twenty million a year and pay me ten. I'm getting him free of that and letting him see he'll have it better.”



“Is he wanting that?”



“He's getting his head dunked under right now saving his Dad. How can he not want it? It's allowing him to be who he is and have a future he deserves.”



“I sure never knew that.”



“It's not known publicly.”



“How much are you buying in debt?”



“Ninety three million.”



“Jesus Christ!”



“It can be swung. His Dad has a name we can use as an anchor and he'll know success while working himself out of debt.”



“I guess we never know what's across the fence when we're thinking it's looking better. At least you've got it to give.”



“And what I'm giving to an in-law, I'll give to my baby sister if she'll just fuckin' ask.”



“What's that mean!”



“It means if you want that house, I'll build it for you.”



“Why?”



“Because I want you happy, content, and satisfied. If you're that, then it radiates from within and you're far too pretty to be less.”



“Thanks.”



“Do me a favor. Go looking for land. Find some place where it's on a hill and not going to get you burned out of the place. I'll landscape it with plants which won't be a fire hazard and will have it looking like you spend a fortune in water.”



“How?”



“It's my job. Landscaping is using what grows best in certain climates and painting the picture with it. Without it, that house is nothing but a big white house with a vacant lot around it. With it done right, it looks like you spend a fortune in water and manicure it, but you don't.”



“Show me how and I'll know better.”



“Ok, find the lot. Get that and I'll put it together for you.”



“Really?”



“Jilli, look at our family. It's factioned and fragmented. Brent suddenly wants me around when his wife is getting attention because of my talents. She's a bitch and we know it.

I'll play into it if it brings him back and suddenly makes us look good to her. I'm tired of feeling like we're poor white trash when we can buy and sell the cunt.”



“She's always been that way. I used to sit behind her in assemblies and put bubbled gum in her hair because I hated her so much. She's always looked down her nose at people since we were in first grade.”



“I used to think people like that needed a come down in life in order to be more real. I pray it doesn't happen because she's got him so far up it, he's going to pay the price when it happens.”



“I doubt that.”



“Don't doubt it hon. Let me tell you a tidbit. In hospitals, she and her family are vultures. When he was in there and we were wondering if he was going to walk again, they were over there fretting how he'd ever make a dime to support her. Nevermind he's got that insurance which pays way better than what he's earning if he goes disabled, they were heartless.

I'll tell you I spoke up then and they don't like me for it. I kindly told them he was a human being and the moment they would stop looking at him as an ATM for their daughter, they might see that.”



“Ooh”



“Fuck them people. They're paper rich. They own a huge farm out in Kansas and see money off it in earnings, but they've not saved a dime for their future other than that. Mom and Dad have all this and the nest eggs which are golden and they want to look down on us...because we're farmers. I'm sorry, but the other side of the tracks where they see us is a helluva lot better than them.”



“Do Mom and Dad know that?”



“No, but let me tell you how our sister-in-law is. When Mom was in the hospital from having the heart attack, the bitch was at the door wondering aloud if she was going to get the three meat buffet out of Mom and Dad or the unlimited buffet.”



“What?”



“You didn't know? Here's what got paid on that damned blow out after their wedding.

Her parents told them they'd pay ten grand and that's it...after they'd invited nearly seven hundred people.

Brent went to Mom and asked if they'd help not bothering to tell Mom they'd already spent seventy grand of her money without asking. Mom paid sixty four thousand for that reception and her parents paid ten and yet, Brent and his wife stood up and thanked her parents for a lovely reception and didn't acknowledge Mom and Dad at all.”



“Is that why you were so pissed that night?”



“Oh hell yeah. Mom's paying for eighty dollar a bottle wine and her parents ordered a case of it and put it on the tab. Of course, all overages after that ten grand got wrote from Mom's account. Now you know why Mom had the heart attack.”



“Son of a bitch.”



“That day, Aunt Wilma had a mini stroke. You know how Mom is about her sisters. Of course she was panicking. Then, she comes by to get me and we're going out and looking at halls for the reception. We think we're doing fine and that's when one place told us, 'You've already rented another hall. Didn't you know?'

So, we went there and found out they want six grand for the place and that includes chairs and table cloths...big whoop de do. Then Mom gets told they've reserved place settings for eight hundred people and the meal is going to cost forty bucks a piece.

I knew Mom had lost it when she turned to me and asked, “That's thirty two grand, right? And I said, 'Yeah, but add on another twenty five percent because tips are fifteen percent and sales tax is eight.'

Mom staggered then and I wondered what was going on.

On the way out, the woman said, “That's without beverages and our beverage coordinator has an extensive order already.”



“My God!”



“When Mom took me home, she was looking pale and then, later, Dad called me and asked what was wrong because Mom's on the couch puking up her toenails and saying her back hurts. You sure know I tore up the highway getting out here!”



“Now I know why you hate her. Until now, I was wondering what she'd done to you and now I'll tell you it's going to be hard being nice to her.”



“Let it go. All Mom asks of us now is to get along and I'll suck a sewer of shit for Mom if I gotta. I just hate doing it and being told I'll never amount to shit by that bitch.”



“Is she going to be there tonight?”



“Yeah and you know the cunt is going to flirt with En.”



“You already know that?”



“Know it and have suffered through it. She's about as faithful to Brent in their marriage as the knife she's got skewered in someone's back. She was looking for a doctor, make that any doctor, when she went husband hunting and all the smart ones got the fuck out of Dodge. Brent's so dumb he thinks because the pussy is good, all the rest is juices.

I'll tell you when the guy is hot who is in front of her, the flirting starts and she makes Brent 'go-fer guy' fetching her whatever she desires so she's not seen doing it. She did it with Kevin, she did it in Brent's office when my ex Mike was there. And she's done it with other married guys.”



“What?”



“Have Mom show you the pictures of their neighbor's Halloween party. If you want to see something, look at those and you see it in pictures. What's messed up is she was stupid enough to give Mom the whole roll of film to have developed and then thought Mom wouldn't have double prints made. Mom saw that and has them locked away so when the affair gets found out, it's documented.”



“IS she having an affair?”



“Don't ask me that! It means you're asking me to divulge things and an ongoing investigation.”



She chuckled, “Good.”



“Here's what I'll tell you. Monica is her workout trainer at the Y. While speaking with Monica, she didn't know Monica is as close to me as she is. She admitted there are days when she doesn't go straight home and the other guy is the manager of the Hospitality Suites hotel.”



“What?!”



“Yeah, so I did some checking and the man in the pictures is that guy. I got someone in there and found out yes, she does go there on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

On Tuesdays, Brent has Lion's Club and on Wednesday's, he's got Jaycees. He doesn't know when she gets home and doesn't know the baby stays an extra hour and a half each night.”



“Do you have proof?”



“Let me tell you what I've got. I've got pictures of them going in rooms and sheets bought from maids who've cleaned up the rooms. I've got independent lab DNA results and you know what that said.

If she ever denies going there, I've got the sheets with the hotel stenciling on them and I've got the pictures.”



“Is the baby his?”



“Brent's? Yeah.”



“Good.”



“Not so good when it's going to cost him thirty grand a year minimum in child support.”



“Son of a bitch! He's making that much?”



“Yeah, and drowning in debt. She's got two million put away in retirement and do you think she'd take it out and get them debt free? Nope, because credit card debt, to her, is status and the nineteen grand country club dues annually means they're in there with the elite.”



“You're scary.”



“Sis, in all the time we've not gotten along, I've never went over to the hate I feel for her. When I set it in motion, it goes to a level I reserve for few.

I've not used it, but that because it'd break his heart. It doesn't mean I won't go private with her and break her back with it.”



“Ooh”



“I'm nearly to that point. The man's divorce is final and in his divorce, his wife got everything because she was given information about his adultery. I'm not bragging, but it's a part of the service.”



She chuckled, “You did?!”



“Oh hell yeah. In order for the dominoes to fall, they've got to be played. I'd hoped if I made the man appear broke, it'd shut her down on him. It didn't.

So, now what we've done is we've went in and we've rented fourteen rooms in that place so far and installed mini-cams with hopes of getting some shots.”



“Anything yet?”



“Nope, they never use the same room it seems. Maybe she's wanting to go through every room there before she's done, I don't know.”



“Keep me informed.”



“Will do. Just let me know if you can eek anything out from him.”



“I know he's not happy.”



“Can I say something which may be going over the line?”



“Yeah.”



“Brent's bi-sexual as hell...let me clarify it. He's a distant bi-sexual. What that means is the further he's away from home, the more the pendulum swings the other way.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, it's been that way for a long time..well, since high school.”



“How do you know?”



“Hon, when I was in college, he came up with a guy who was just awesome looking. You dated him.”



“I did?”



“Yeah, that sandy headed kid.”



She looked shocked, “Dillon?”



“Yeah. Brent came up with him for the weekend and spent the weekend. Now, let me say something there, I can't prove it, but I'll tell you what put me on that trail.

In that bedroom, we put the twin beds. It was done that way because we had multiple guests and we didn't want them to have to sleep together.”



“I remember. I was up there.”



“Yeah, but when you were there with whats her name, you two slept in separate beds and you didn't make sex sounds and try pounding a headboard through the wall.”



“What?”



“Dan and I were in the other bedroom trying not to make noises giving each other head and then we hear sounds of sex, moaning, and the bed going whunk a whunk a thunk a thunk and we're like, 'Damn! Someone's getting lucky!'

Well, you know me. If it looks like a duck, I'm going duck huntin'. And, what I did was go put some cellophane tape on the door because I want to know if it was someone he had in there, or someone he already had in there.

The next morning, the tape is there and I'm making breakfast. They come out and you know Brent, never a bed got made when he slept in it.”



She laughed, “Yeah”



“So, I go in and you know how I make my beds...a drill instructor would be happy with me. So, I unfold the unmade bed and then, I undo the bed which was already made and sure enough, it's not been slept in.

The only two people in that room that night were he and that boy.”



“Damn and Dillon ended up gay too!”



“Did he?”



“Hon, he's out in Sacramento now. He's a Proctologist and apparently, he's quite good at the golden finger thing.” She said smiling.



“He'd sure know what he was doing!” I said chuckling. “Just the same, it didn't stop there. When I was in Kansas City, he came over a lot and stayed at the house when I was and wasn't there. You know only one bed got slept in and you know he was always getting lucky.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but then I started getting reports he was frequenting bars I'd tended and was leaving with guys. I told Dave to have the house watched and when I asked about what he'd seen, I got embarrassed silence.

What you don't know is when we put out money to watch someone, it's in the files because we view it as an expense. Now, even if someone's not found to be doing anything, it's in our files.”



“Why?”



“Let me give you an example so you understand. There are guilty people and there are guilty acting people.

If you went in that house on that show and you had someone always skulking by the food, would you think they were eating when no one was looking?”



“Yeah.”



“But what if you had surveillance put on them and nothing was getting eaten?”



“Oh!”



“They're guilty acting. It doesn't mean they're thinking it in their head, it's that it's not getting acted upon.

With me, if I'm going to put good money out to investigate someone, I'm going to put it in the files they were acting suspicious, but it was unfounded. That way, if someone notices them ten years from now and says the person looks suspicious, I can go to the files and have help before I invest more good money to investigate them again.

It doesn't mean they won't get investigated again. It just means I know the odds are in favor of that person and know it could be bad money spent. What I will say there is if I pay money twice and they're not founded, I write that person off and won't ever investigate them again.”



“Ok”



“With our little brother, Dave put someone on him and didn't answer me directly. I went to the files and found all I needed to know from smooches and pecks in the car to the same thing at the door in the porch light.”



“Why am I getting told this?”



“Hon, why the hell did he get married? Was it for acceptance? Was it for a cover to be the prosperous doctor with the idealic life? It's just dumb.

What I will also say is this. I'll tell you his wife has a big mouth and speaks a lot about her sex life with her beautician.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but I also know the beauty appointment is always on Thursday and the hair always is the same color and it's always perfectly done and ALWAYS cost a hundred and sixty dollars.”



“Damn!”



“For this little burg, that's a friggin' fortune.

But, if I know the creature has habits, I've got people there. I've got someone always sitting there on that day and I'm getting print outs in the files about what is recorded.

With our sister-in-law, she's made it clear she announces whether she got some from her husband during that week and then giggles and says, but I did have sex a few other times!”



“What a dumb bitch!”



“Yeah, so when it comes to divorce court, I want her hung out to dry because I know and you know when he finally risks the embarrassment and admits it's over, it's over with him and there's no turning back.”



“That much is true.”



“Please don't think I'm praying for a divorce. I'd smile if it happened, but I'm also offering him ways out of the debt too.

He told me today he'd consider letting me buy a share of his practice and if it means I can get him a little security and he'll use it to get down their debt, I'll pay it.”



“That's cool.”



“It's only money Jill. If it's not used for securing happiness, it's not used. If it is, then I'll use it. I'd much rather sit down with him and discuss bills and a budget, but that's not going to happen.”



“What's that mean?”



“Let me take you through their bills. Monthly, they've got an income coming in of something like twenty seven thousand dollars.”



“Man!”



“Hang on because here is where it's going to make you sick.

What I know is their monthly outgo is almost thirty thousand.”



“How in the hell?!”



“They've got that house. They've got those cars and you know I gave them a Rolls Royce. She drives it, but they still have two cars which are brand new and yes, they took hers in and traded it for another new car although she doesn't drive it.”



“Why?”



“Don't ask me. I guess a Mercedes decorating the driveway next to his Land Cruiser looks good. I don't know.

What I will say is this. Their kid gets to go to the toy store on Wednesdays and buy whatever he wants. Not one toy, but whatever he wants. I'll tell you that bill is something like twelve hundred a month.”



“Fuck!”



“Clothes. She shops for clothes way above their means. Why? Don't ask me but it's monthly trips and there's something like twenty grand on the Bergdorf card all the time.

He's no better. I'll tell you I've repeatedly offered to bring them out to Vegas to comp him at our high roller room just to save them money.”



“Really?”



“Hon, Missouri has a limit in their casinos of five hundred dollars an hour loss. Were you aware if you ask for multiple cards, they'll give them to you?”



“What? Why?”



“For people like our little brother who will go in and put five hundred in the twenty dollar slots and then lose it in five minutes. He's only allowed to go once a month and that's while she's down there shopping. He goes and he spends nearly equal to her in the casinos.”



“Does he hit big?”



“Define big? Does he get comp'ed for free hotel rooms and dinners? Yeah, but they do that for Mom and Dad who play twenty in there. It's a difference what days a person is allowed to go.”



“What's that mean?”



“Let's say you're Daddy Warbucks and you come in and drop three grand a month. I'm going to put you up on the weekends. You've easily paid for the room and I want you there on my peak time.

With people like Mom and Dad. I'm going to put you up on my off peak days like Monday through Thursday. They like it because they're retired and it makes them feel like they're getting something good. They come in, they eat, they play their money, and then they go to the room and they're out. We struck even and we're fine.”



“Ok, so it's a write off for you.”



“Yeah but for our brother, he's definitely letting me come out ahead, but it's not going in my pockets because I don't own the place he goes.

Now, what I've offered is to have him come out and play five grand a month and put them up and even let her shop at the shops there. We've got high end retail as you know, so all I want is for them to let me casually manipulate things to help them.”



“How?”



“A three hundred dollar pair of pants doesn't cost us but thirty dollars at the most in our shops. If you spend three grand on clothes, you've bought three hundred dollars worth of merchandise. If you charge it on your card, I can credit back your card discounts.”



“Oh!”



“I'll let her pay me three hundred and feel fine. That way, they're getting ahead and think they're spending a lot. It's manipulating my losses, but I'll do it for them. They're family.”



“He won't do it?”



“Fuck no! They'd rather drive an hour and a half down there than fly comp jet out for two and a half hours and let me help them out.”



“They're idiots.”



“Well, there's always ways. I'm about to do that.”



“How?”



“Today, she played right into my hand. He sent her my songs on her phone and she played them for the whole clinic out there. They loved them and now she's known as having the loaded brother in law who is just oozing with talent....and charm.”



“Ok”



“She doesn't know about En yet. Tonight, she's getting that sprung and you know I'm going to have him go up and personally invite her clinic out of a concert. You know she'll do that because it's making her look good in front of those people.

Then, when I get her out there, I'm going to be so ever charming and hand her a five thousand comp card to our shoppes. She's going to do it and on the way on the plane, I'm going to give her another for her next return trip and tell her the jet is there for her disposal whenever.”



“So you end up paying their bills that way instead of outright.”



“Yup, and what do I care? One way, I do it and it helps them. The other I do it and it helps them and I write it off. The end result is what matters.”



“Would you do that for me?”



“Name it. Fuck for that matter, I'll be there and shop with you!”



We came upon the final five hundred yards and I sprinted them out leaving her in my dust. En had his shirt off and smiling.



Mom and Dad were off to the side and Mom was yelling, “Rhette RUN!”



I ran over and winked at Mom, “You wanted something.”



“You're terrible!”



“I had to let her beat me.”



I walked over and Jilli smiled, “You let me win!”



“Sis, I'm going to have him for the rest of my life. I can let you win a race.”



I walked over to him and kissed him. “Mmmm, you smell good!”



“Sweat.”



Jilli yelled, “Mom, it's official. En's in love with him. He thinks Rhette smells good!”



En smiled and asked, “How far is that back there? You were gone a long time!”



“It's a big L. What you see is the short side of it. Back there is the long side.”



“Oh!”



“Way back on the corner is what remains of the old house which originally was this farm.”



“Your Dad was talking about the old road having a lot of mushrooms. What are those?”



“You've not had mushrooms?”



“Yes, in sauces, but your Mom was talking about eating them by themselves.”



I handed Mom and Dad the keys to the truck. “Would you guys drive down and meet us at the entrance where the road comes out?”



“Are you going mushroom hunting?”



“How many are there?”



“You'll need garbage bags. There are a bunch of them.”



“We could go for a few hours. It'd get him a mess of them to try.”



Dad said, “They're yellows. I only saw one gray.”



“Ok, that'll make them easier to spot. I'll need my glasses out of the truck so he can spot them.”



Dad smiled, “You're cheating!”



“Hey, I can't help it I discovered the things glow!”



I went to the truck and got the glasses and gave them to En. “Here, put them on. If you see something glowing, it's a mushroom.”



“Really?”



“Yeah. I'll use my shirt to hold them.”



Mom said, “Give us a call.”



“Would you call Ash and invite them? It's seven o'clock at Grande Rio.”



“Ok”



“Call Aunts and see.”



“Will do.”



I hugged her and said, “Thanks.”



“For what?”



“For just being for us.”



“We had a wonderful talk while you two were running. I'm happier now than ever.”



“Good.”



They got in the truck and drove down the hill. Jill, En, and I climbed over the gate and En asked, “I see a lot of things glowing.”



“Do they look like sponges on sticks?”



“Yeah.”



“That's them.”



Jilli asked, “Let me see En, I can't see a thing.”



He handed them to her and she put them on. “Wow!”



“Blueblockers hon. When they're sporing out, they glow with them. With the Ray Bans he had on, there's nothing. We didn't know until I had my eye surgery that they glowed.”



She handed them to En and said, “You spot them, we'll pick them.”



We walked and he'd point. My shirt got full in it's pouch and I said, “En, let me have your shirt. We need a sack.”



He took it off and I tied the arms in knots. Then, I flipped it so the neck hole was covered. I put mine in the sack and Jilli brought hers over. I handed it to En and said, “Carry this hon, we're doing good!”



“This will be our driveway?”



“Yeah, What we'll do is we'll cut the trees and chunk up the wood for firewood and then doze the stumps into a pile and burn them. Then, we'll run a scraper up through here and get the dirt so we can spread it out through the woods. That way, what spores there are, we'll have to grow more.”



We got to a point where the road was virtually non-existent to be seen and I said, “Jilli, be careful up here.”



“Why?”



“There's a little bridge. It's wood and might not be safe to walk on.”



“You remember this, but I don't.”



“You never used the field to make out in.”



“You did?!”



“Yeah, why search for gravel roads when you've got fields you know aren't patrolled.”



En smiled, “Jilli, it sounds like you should've asked for advice.”



She smiled, “I was good while he was out being bad.”



“By the time you came through, all of us boys had schooled Mom what to look for with you. You had no choice but to be good!”



“I had my times.”



“Yeah, and most of the time, you got caught. If you'd been around us, we'd shown you how to not get caught!”



“Mom knew you were up to no good. She's get calls all the time.”



“That's because I didn't hide it. I figured if I took it to the camp, they knew what I was doing and where I was. They didn't care.”



“Don't say that. Mom cared.”



“I didn't mean it that way. What I meant was not one time did I ever get told not to have a party.”



“No. I guess you didn't. Mom told me if I wanted to have parties, all I had to do was ask and she'd have them at home.”



“Man, do you know how many I would've had?!”



“None. She wasn't going to buy any kids alcohol. She's talking about pin the tail and musical chairs!”



“Oh bull, do you know what Dad would've done? He'd let Mom set it up and then, he'd gotten you the booze and took her to town for the night. You forget about him!”



“That's because you're a boy!”



“Oh bull! You're Daddy's little treasure. You could get things from him none of us could get!”



She laughed, “Like what?!”



En was smiling. I said, “En, listen to this. When I got my first cars, I bought them. Dad gave us the keys to the fuel tanks and we always had our cars full.

With Ash, he got a truck. Dad helped him put that thing in the air like a skyscraper and Ash needed a ladder to climb up in the thing! But, that was cool for him. Still the free gas.

Brent comes along and he worked like a dog for a '72 Mustang. It was cherry and beautiful. Still, he got the keys to the fuel tank.

Now, what do us boys have in common little sister didn't? We got up at five am and we milked cows until seven thirty. On weekends, we bucked bales and cleaned barns while SHE sat in the house and watched t.v.!

SO, us boys are thinking, “Jilli ain't getting' shit because she's not working.”, but you what Dad did? Not only did she get a brand new store bought car bought for her, she gets the fuel put in by Dad because she didn't know how to pump gas!

Did she go knee deep in cow shit? No. Did she milk? No. Did she buck one bale? No. She's a girl and boys do farm chores, not girls!”



She laughed, “I had to do dishes and laundry!”



En laughed and I said, “A hundred fucking degrees out and hotter in a barn and she's doing dishes in air conditioned comfort! I'm sorry, but ask me what I'd do?! It's no wonder why none of us boys went into farming. We were already worn out on it!”



Jilli chuckled, “You wouldn't've ever made a good farmer. All the boys around here who were interested in farming weren't cute!”



“Oh, I beg to differ! What about Scott Tatman? I'll tell you that guy was a babe.”



She scrunched her nose, “Ooh, Rhette, he chewed tobacco!”



“Jilli, you're lookin' at the wrong end. I don't care what that end's doin when it's bent over and facin' away from me!”



She laughed, “Well, I guess that's what you go for!”



“Not now! Look at En. Does he chew tobacco? No. Does he look mighty fine? Oh hell yeah! Could he get me to bend over?....”



“Rhette! Keep me out of your bedroom, puhleaze!”



En laughed, “I thought it was sounding pretty good!”



She smirked, “Rhette's never shut up about a thing yet, he's not going to start now.”



We continued to pick and got to the bridge. I said, “En, remind me to get a six foot box culvert section ordered for this.”



Jilli asked, “Why do you need it?”



“Here's why. On each side of the road are ditches. They take the water so it doesn't wash out. At this point, it comes across so it's not filling the ditches to overflowing on down. You want good drainage in case of ice and heavy storms. We'll have concrete, so it's not going to wash as bad, but it'll still need grooves for traction and getting rid of water.”



She nodded, “See, you learned that and I didn't, so your farmin' did get taught for some good.”



“I'm not complainin', it's just the price we paid to learn it. I'd still take farm livin' versus town livin' any day.”



“You think?”



“Oh yeah, not one time has Mom and Dad's house been robbed, but mine has in town. That's because it's ok to shoot out here whereas it's not in town. IF you shoot in town, fifty people call the cops. Out here, if you shoot, it's assumed someone's got supper.”



We went around the bridge and after that, the mushrooms pretty much petered out. We walked along and Jilli asked, “How much did you pay for this land?”



“Nothing.”



“Why not?!”



“Because for fifteen years, I asked for it. I knew this view up here and I wanted it. Then, unbeknownst to Mom, Dad put the land up for sale for a million dollars. I told her to ask Dad how much he would take less because I know they paid eighteen thousand for it.

She found out I'd been begging for it and she told Dad he had one kid with hurt feelings who was about to come buy it from him and if he wanted a happy home, he better give it to me.

Well, that was during the brief period of time Kevin and I were back together, so I asked him to come out and negotiate for me. Dad acted like he wouldn't sell it to me and told me to go look at it again.

I brought Kevin up and he liked it so we went back and Dad had the deed out and told us for the cost of the filing, he'd give it to us.

Kevin and I got the deed and then, we couldn't get along and the fucker tried telling me Dad had given it to both of us and he'd sell his half for three hundred thousand!”



“What?!”



“Yeah, but by then, I'd had enough of giving him things and made a public display of getting Carol's pistol from her and telling Kevin we were taking a ride to the country and all he'd need to bring was a shovel.

Well, his dumb ass thought we were coming out here to mark off what was mine and what was his, and then, I'd buy his half.

Mom knew something was up when I asked to use the Bobcat and she told me I'd have to ask Dad. I asked him and he said, “Wait until you get out here.”

So, we drove out and all the while, I'm telling Kevin exactly what I think of him and telling him he's done everything for the last time and when we get there, Dad's like, “What are you wanting to do?” And I told him, “Kevin says you gave the land to both of us and not just me. I'm about to take him up there and have him draw a line down the middle of it and then dig a grave on his side and fill the son of a bitch and deeding the whole fucking thing to me the way it should be.”

Well, Dad turned to Kevin and said, “You're about to find your ass dead over a piece of ground that kid's begged for since before he knew he liked guys and I'm going to let him use the Bobcat to do just that. You decide if it's worth it to you, or not and when he comes back and tells me the job's done, I'll know he definitely wanted that ground.”

I'll tell you Kevin looked at me and tried being sarcastic and I calmly walked over to the Bobcat and got on. Then, I took it up and waited for him to get there. His ass chickened out and told Mom and Dad he was giving me the land.”



“Ooh, did Mom let him know he was stupid?”



“Dad did. And you know when Dad puts his foot down about something, he's mad.”



She nodded and said, “En, my Dad is one great guy. You'll see him take stuff off people you and I would normally be exploding on. What happens is Mom is the one who usually comes out fighting and Dad scolds her later for being so feisty. BUT, when Dad comes out on something and he's set, I'll tell you now, he'll never change his mind on it.”



I said, “Just the same, we're building this house here and it's going in En and I's name. I'll give Kansas City a lot of things, but I won't give him our home land...that stays in our family and in our hearts.”



She smiled at En and said, “Do you know what that just told me? It just told me he's put you above Kevin ever got. You better respect that.”



I said, “He does. Do you realize it took a year to get the look En's got in his eyes and En's said words Kevin never said? It's two different people and there's a person here I know is going to be there for me.”



Jilli had a smile and came over. She hugged me and said to En. “You've got that trust Kevin violated. It's back. Do you know how many times I've thought about Rhette since Christmas and how jaded he's gotten? He's not the same. Now it's back. Don't fuck it up.”



I felt arms encircling me from behind. He said, “I'm not. What hurts me most is a song like he wrote should've never been wrote. It says the hurt is too much and the pain which happened should've been allowed to happen. It's not going to happen again.”



Words suddenly came to me and the melody soon followed, I grabbed my phone and pressed record. The words for 'It's Over' came out.



It's over and the dawn is here. Night time is gone and the destruction is clear.

It's over, I'm now here. The war is over and peace is near.

Hold me baby. Make all be fine. Say you love me for all of time. Give me your arms, wrap them around me. Comfort me and protection be.



Jilli smiled, “It sounds like a lullaby and a waltz.”



En whispered, “Babe”



“Yeah.”



“I'm here.”



He slid his hand down my waist and cupped my ass in his palm. We walked and soon, we were at the highway.



I said, “It's only a third of a mile to the driveway. Do you want to walk it?”



Jilli said, “Are you nuts? It's all up hill!”



“Yeah, and?”



A truck came by and slammed on the brakes. “You all need a ride?”



“Hey James! Yeah, we're goin' up the hill to the house.”



“Hop in!”



Jilli smiled, “I'm getting' up front!”



En and I got in the back. He sat on a wheel well and I did too. The truck started and the way he looked with the wind rushing through his hair had me really admiring his looks.



He looked over and smiled, “What are you staring at?!”



“A handsome man.”



He smirked and asked, “Have you ever had long hair?”



“Shoulder length was the longest, why?”



“I just saw you with nothing on and hair down to the middle of your chest.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, it was hot.”



We pulled up the driveway and when the truck stopped, we hopped out. Jilly got out and said, “Jim, come on in. We've always got a glass of tea for you.”



En and I went in the house and Mom said, “Who's that out there?”



“Jimmy. Jilli's liked him for years.”



“Really?”



“He wouldn't ever respond. He works for Dad.”



Mom said, “That's dumb. He's about to retire.”



“He's not old!”



Mom smiled, “You know him. He always buys things and makes money. This time, he bought a farm and sold it off in plots of land. He's made enough he can afford to retire and because he's been there thirty years, he's got retirement when he wants it.”



Jim and Jilli came in. Mom said, “You kids put them over in the sink. I'll get them cookin'.”



I went over and asked, “Jimmy, do you still have that Cat dozer?”



“Yeah.”



“Can I borrow it sometime?”



“Yeah, why?”



“I need to make that old road back to usable. We'll cut the trees and get them topped off and then drag them out, but we need to get the road so construction equipment can get up there.”



“You dividing it?”



“No, I'm building our house up there.”



Jimmy looked at En, “You look familiar? Where you from?”



“Miami.”



“Oh, I thought you might be from around here.”



“You've probably seen him on one of his videos.”



Jimmy looked up, “Are you a rock and roll star?”



En smiled, “Pop.”



Mom said, “His Dad is famous too. You might be thinking of him. I play his music all the time.”



Jimmy looked sort of strange and asked, “Who's he?”



“Mom went in and put on the videos.”



Jimmy smiled, “Well, I'll be!”



En smiled.



Mom asked, “Jilly, go up there to the barn and bring down that chicken feeder. Jimmy's needin' it.”



She looked at me and I said, “Sis, I'll go with you since the big bad owl might get you.”



She gave me a look like she wanted to cuss me and I smiled. En chuckled and said, “I'll go too.”



Jilly chuckled, “Mom, they're pickin' on me!”



“If you'd gone, you'd already be back. Now get a move on!”



Jilli gave Mom a look out of the corner of her eye and I was already moving.



Jilli came out and soon, En was coming. “What was that about?”



“Mom's puttin' Jimmy to rights and wanted you out of the house.”



“Why?”



“Because he won't date you because he works for Dad. Mom's about to put a stompin' to Jimmy's ass for wasting all this time.”



“Really?!”



“You're her baby girl. You don't think Mom won't?!”



She smiled, “He has always been cute.”



“And you have always been transparent to me in regards to him.”



“What do you think of him?”



“About him? He's straight. He's built fine, but I know he's straight so I don't consider him. I'd rather concentrate on things I can get.”



“Do you think he'd be good?”



“Good as in the sack? Fuck girl, the guy's forty eight and a virgin! With what he's got down South, if you're walkin' straight after a night with him, I'm going to by you a can of Alum.”



She laughed and En chuckled, “His eyes are you. Don't you see that?”



She turned to him and asked, “You noticed?”



“I thought he was your boyfriend already with the way you were about him and the way he was looking at you.”



She smiled, “I've liked him a long time.”



I said, “En, she's talking a LONG time. Jimmy's always been around and Jilli's always had her eye on him. Him being as older than she is was a problem, but I'll tell you if they started having kids, they'd have a dozen by the time his parents stopped having them.”



En looked surprised and I said, “Twenty three kids in that family. When the Dad retired, Jimmy started raising them. Then, he started raising his nieces and nephews. He's got all them raised and finally has something of his own.”



I got the chicken feeders and the watering jars down.



Jilli asked, “Why's Mom want these?”



“Jimmy's wantin' to raise chickens. He's ordered something like twenty thousand of the things.”



“What the hell for?!”



“He figures if he raises them once, he'll have enough of them put away for the rest of his life. You know his mama canned the things, didn't ya?”



“How?”



“Stuff it in a jar and put some water in it. Put it on to boil and then pull it out and let the lid seal. You know how to do it!”



Jilli laughed, “I swear you were always the better daughter.”



En laughed, “Thank God I got the right one! At least I won't starve!”



I said, “Jilli, invite him to supper tonight at the restaurant. If it's a relaxed date the first time, it'll be good for both of you.”



We went out of the barn and I put the feeders and water jars in his truck.



I said, “En, Jimmy's the only guy I know who goes to the bread thrift store and says, 'I'll take it' and then loads everything up. “



“What?”



“He's feeding like a hundred people on weekends, but what you don't know is when Jimmy goes there and gets that, he gets a huge discount. Then, he comes by here and gives Mom and Dad all they want and he goes on home.”



“How cheap is it that way?”



“I don't know. I've never had the freezer capacity for it, but if you saw his freezer, you'd be blown away.”



“Why?”



“Back in the eighteen hundreds, the one building they built secure in any town was the school house. It served as a storm shelter and kept the kids safe. He bought one and used the basement as his freezer. It's like a big huge walk in.

Well, they outgrew it and he decided to mke the room up above into a freezer too. They bricked up the windows and those two foot thick walls hold in that cold like you wouldn't believe. What they did was they put saw dust in the attic of the thing and now, it's his freezer.”



“How does he make that much money to feed all them?”



“The cost to buy that many chickens is where the money is. If you put twenty five hundred dollars in them, you'd get that much and when they're on an old alfalfa field, they'll eat it and be open ranged in two months. Then, it's time to process them.

What you don't know is he had professional meat processing equipment and when that tribe gets to processing meat, they'll go through a herd of cows in a weekend. I'm sure they'd handle chickens like it was nothing.”



“Do you go there?”



“Me, yeah. They think I'm funnier than hell, so I'm allowed down there without problems. But, then again, Jimmy worships my Dad because he's never worked for anyone else all his life.”



“Really?”



“He used to work this farm and then, he went to the grain terminal. Now, he's about to retire and I think he's about to come out here again.”



“Doing what?”



“Running cattle. We could fence off the pasture up there and put fifty head in and then, Dad's land would run sixteen thousand head.”



“There's that much land here?”



“Look out through that Valley. All of that land is this farm. I'll tell you that farm up on the horizon is twelve miles away and that's this farm.”



“Really?!”



“We ran beef cattle forever and milk cattle for a long time. If you saw the milking barn, you'd just be amazed.”



“Where's it?”



“Down in the valley.”



“What's that like?”



“Raising milk cattle?”



“Yeah.”



“It's a helluva lot of hard work. It's long hours and not that much pay. Then, you sell the milk and you clean the tanks and start all over working on more milk. I'll tell you that my Dad didn't get that Bobcat until after us kids were gone and he had to clean the barn himself. Until then, it was snow shovels and a full day on Saturday cleaning it and putting down new straw.”



“Would you do it with me?”



“Now? Or when we're off the road?”



“I want to do it some time.”



“When we come in off the road, I'll do it with you if Dad doesn't have a herd in there. BUT, I'll tell you now, I'm not going to sell milk. We'll make it into butter, cheeses, and everything else, but there's more money if we do it ourselves.”



“How do you do all that?”



“There's a creamery down there. You put the milk through a cream separator and then, it's a lot better.”



“Why?”



“What you have then is skim milk. I'll tell you on up the valley is a hog area where we'd use that. With the butter fats, you can make cheese out of them and butter out of them and it's all good.”



“Do you know how to do that?”



“Oh yeah, butterin' is something I could do all day long. Cheese makin' is something I love to do.”



“Is it hard?”



“It's hard, but it's rewarding. You have a lot of good product from that work. It's a whole helluva lot of heavy lifting, pressing, and mixing.”



“I'm surprised you know how to do all that?”



“My Mom taught me. She learned from her people and when she makes cottage cheese, you better watch out because I'll tell you she'll bury your ass with all the lifting she'll have you doing.”



“Why?”



“Have you ever heard of cheese cloth?”



“I think so.'



“It's like gauze. Let me tell you how that works. You see that clothes line out there?”



“Yeah.”



“There's four lines fifty feet long. You drape cheese cloth over it and then she gets to making up curd pans. She cooks it up and she makes it so there a pan rolling off the stove about once every ten minutes. She'll send you out with five gallons of it and you lift that thing up and dump it in. The whey comes out through and it drains through until you get done making it.

I'll tell you each pan's like fifty pounds. At first, you're like liftin' and it's cool. Then about the twentieth pan, you're like dragging ass and by the fiftieth, you're crying because your muscles hurt so damned bad. By the end, everything's just numb and that's when you get to go out there and roll that shit over and let it drain again.”



“Why?”



“It's cheese. What cheese is is curds all pressed together. Cottage cheese is loose cheese with the curds floating in whey. With ours, you don't have much whey, but you do.”



“How's that?”



“Even though you flip it, and drain it, there's always whey in there. When you take a paddle and start putting it in jars, you pack it in and try pressing out the whey yet, but there's still some there. Then, you seal it and after a few days, you'll see it's like three quarters and one quarter whey.
What I'll tell you is good is when we make string cheese. That stuff is awesome.”



“Like you buy in the store?”



“Yeah, but no. What you buy in the store is a short little link of it. Ours is like a hundred feet long.”



“Wow!”



“It's easy, but it's fast work. What you do is...well, how we do it is we put it through a sausage press and it presses out a long long link of it. Then, what happens is when it comes out, you've got a long turkey roaster of paraffin wax. You pull it through and then coil it up and let it age. If you age it for ninety days, it's awesome. It's like cheddar cheese.”



“Really?”



“Oh yeah. I'll tell you if you ate that, you'd never want store bought again. Let me go down to the basement and see if they've got some.” I got to the house and said, “Come on!”



“Oh! Ok!”



He came and we went down to the basement. He saw the ropes of links hanging from the ceiling and asked, “What's that?”



“That there is brats. That there is pepperoni. That there is sausage and that there is bologna. Over there is salami and there is kielbasa.”



“Homemade?”



“Oh yeah. My mama's daddy was a deli man. He owned delicatessens over in Germany.

When Mom gets the hankerin' to start making them, she makes enough to last forever. You see, over there when she helped make this much, it was enough for a week. She only knows the recipes for this amount, so we make that amount.”



“Do you know the recipes?”



“I've got them at home. You see, she had them all memorized and for me, it had to be us measuring everything out and putting that down. Now it's on paper, but it's all terrible hard work.”



“Why?”



“It's lots and lots of cutting and mixing and preparation. Have you ever made sloppy joes?”



“Yeah.”



“Ok, take out the sauce and you know what that's like?”



“Yeah.”



“That's what it looks like. You have this big old pan here full of mixed meat and you put the spices and flavorings in. You put it through the grinder and you keep grinding it down until it's really super fine and ready to be linked.

Fortunately, she doesn't use casing because that's just terrible, but we've used casings before and you don't know sick until that happens.'



“What's casings?”



“Intestines.”



He made a face.



“Yeah, you get to go in and turn all them damned things inside out by hand and wash them and soak them in salt water. Then, just when the smell is gagging you, you get to smoke 'em and get them terrible enough they're killing you with the smell and that's when you get to fill them with the mix. Then, what happens is you squeeze and pack it down with your hand and you've got to roll and smoke, roll and smoke, and then hang 'em in the smoker and let 'em smoke. Then, you take the stake and you carry 'em in here and hang 'em.”



“It smells good down here.”



“Yeah, but it sure isn't when they're new.”



I found a coil of string cheese and said, “Here it is.”



“That's string cheese?”



“Yeah.”



“Wow, that IS long!”



“Let me see if we can have it. She's got four more.”



We went upstairs and Mom was cooking mushrooms. “Can we have one of the string cheeses?”



“Yeah, why?”



“He's never had it homemade.”



She smiled, “Did you give him your opinion of it?”



“Yeah, he says he wants to try making all that stuff.”



“Good! We'll do that!”



I rolled my eyes and she smiled. She looked at En and said, “Rhette is my helper. He does it and he'll complain the whole time, but he likes the results. His problem is he's so little those pans weigh too much for him.”



En said, “I never thought about that until you said it.”



Mom said, “When we make cottage cheese, we make enough to fill the spring house.”



He asked, “What's a spring house?”



“It's a building where a spring runs through it. It's what they had before refrigeration. The water coming out of the ground was always fifty degrees so it cooled the air inside. Have him show it to you. The mushrooms will be a while yet.”



I snagged some and she slapped my hand.



She smiled, “But then again, if he keeps taking them, we'll never get them done!”



I fed him one and he smiled, “That's good!”



I put on some rubber boots and said, “Put on some boots and we'll go to the spring house.”



Mom said, “Bring up enough for you to take something of everything home.”



“Ok”



I got a cardboard box and we walked out and down over the hill towards the pond.



“Who's lake?”



“That's our pond.”



“That's a lake.”



“Out here, it's a pond. My Dad thinks a lake is the size of the great lakes, so this is a pond because it's got an earthen dam. All the water comes from the spring from the spring house.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, we drilled the spring and built the spring house and Dad made the pond with Jimmy's dozer. This spring house was made by us mixing up concrete and using the water on hand but carrying all the other stuff down over this hill with wheel barrows. Hard work.”



When we got there, he was looking, “It's big!”



“It's the size of a house...thirty two by forty. I turned on the light and went in.



“It's cold in here!”



“Yeah. Do you see that over there? That's the spring. It comes in the wall and then flows all the way around in that trough around the edges and then goes out that drain. The pipe goes down and in the pond. Because it's higher here, the pressure pushes the water out into the pond.”



I pulled out jars of cottage cheese, cheese spread, a block of colby cheddar, and a cake of swiss.” I went over and took a core and plugged into a wheel of sharp cheddar and said, “Try it!”



He took some and said, “Man, that's good!”



“Cheddar.”



“What do you do now with that hole you made?”



“It can either scab over, or you put some of this wax paper in it. Then you put a cork in.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, us kids would cork the hell out of it when we were young. Now you don't see a cork one in here. Just wait until Brent's kids get old enough and you'll see corks happening again.”



“How many does he have?”



“One, but I imagine they'll have some more...maybe. If not, I'm sure Ash will have some. If Jilli can find someone, we'll get some from her. She'd be a good Mom.”



“Why not you?”



“Wanna get pregnant? I'm willing to try! Then, if you want, I'll get pregnant too! We can walk around all bowed out and complaining about our hemorrhoids and ankles swelling.”



He smiled but looked down, “I want kids.”



“Ok, let me make a call.”



I pulled out my phone and dialed Dave. “Yeah Rhette.”



“I need you to get us in contact with a Peruvian or Brazilian orphanage. I need one who will adopt to Americans and don't look up the girl's skirts to see if they're boys.”



“Will do. Are you still wanting to tour?”



“Yeah, but he wants kids and I'm giving him kids. If it means he stays here and farms, then I'll be on tour. If it means we have nannies out on the road with us, then we'll make it.”



“You're changing a lot!”



“Dave, do you know I always made fun of Tom Cruise for jumping on Oprah's couch? Do you know right now I'd jump over the damned thing?! He's the one and no one else is going to do. We're going for lifetime marital contract because we know.”



“Good, I'm happy for you. It's about time.”



“I'd say! Now what's the news on everything else?”



“His Dad is going to be here. I've got you a slide show made up of the things we've got against him and Miami has it's money already.”



“Whew! You work fast!”



He had a smile to his voice. “I want to ask for one thing.”



“Yup, you got it and you didn't have to do that to get it.”



“I know, but what I want is a twenty five year contract from the man. I want to sell it to him with us naming the largest theater after their family's last name and want to ask you getting a record company with yours and his last initials. He's with Capitol, but I know we can get them away.”



“Get on it so we can sell the package. Tell Clive we're going...no, I'll call Clive.”



He laughed, “Ok”



“I'm cooking lunch and serving it to everyone tomorrow. Get me the best strips you can and have them chopped up into quarter inch cubes.”



“Why?”



“It's going in my stir fry with the shrimps and chickens breasts. You're going to wonder why we never did it before. Also, I need red peppers and some sweet bells and some jalepeno sliced into little strips. I want him eating and thinking it's different but it's a marriage of the two cultures which is a nice fit.”



“Oh!”



“I'll get off here. I want to call Clive.”



“Ok”



I got off the phone and he hugged me and kissed me. “I see what you're doing and like it.”



“In regards to the Oprah comment, I don't want you to think I was belittling us. It just gave me a way of explaining us to the press which is going to have America finally getting it.”



“How?”



“Ok, here's how. They're going to ask you, “Yeah, but he's a guy. All that's pretty decoration but underneath, he's a guy!” That's when you say to her, “It's Rhette under there. It'd be like you, Oprah, hearing me say Stedman is just a guy. If so, would any guy do? If so, what's that say about your relationship? Underneath all that is someone I love and he's a beautiful person I love.

Then, I'm going to lighten the mood and say, “And underneath all that is Enriches and don't dare ask if I'm putting myself down for being with him!”



He laughed, “Ok, I get how we're going to do it.”



“En, what I want you to know is I've got to be honest with America. I've got to put out that video of me going from guy to girl. I need to have everyone knowing so when I blow them away afterwards, they realize they didn't care while they were being entertained I was a guy. Then, they know and I can go forward. After that, they'll see me as a girl so much they'll tend to forget I'm anything other than Rhette.

Now, let's get this and let me make the call to Clive because I want him there tomorrow.”



“Why?”



“Because we're getting you out of your recording contract and your Dad out of his. We're forming IM records with our initials and I want your Dad on there with a cd which appeals to the newly retired couples of todays age.”



“Why?”



“Because he's got to appear fresh and appealing to them for when they come to Vegas. All the other old stars aren't going to have their faces on a sign on the side of our building as big as his.”



“Why are you doing that?”



“Honey, let me tell you something. It's psychological.

Dave wants to sign him to a liftetime contract. Do you know what that means? It means your Dad now will have a place on the strip like Wayne Newton and all the other huge names.

It means when they come, the fans enter your family's theater and they see him as a star, not as someone who is getting rescued. I'll also tell you that ninety three million spread out over thirty years instead of ten, when he's making twenty million a year makes it a six hundred million dollar contract which we can put out in the press.”



“Oh!”



“What it is, is selling and promoting him. In regards to the signage, you need to realize we can only go so big out on the street sign, however if we take a sign and put it on the side of the building, it can be the whole side of the building and they're not going to complain.

I'll tell you I'm going to be promoting him like you wouldn't believe.”



“Why? So you can get your money?”



“No, the money is irrelevant. With the sign, with him as a star here, with us having more rooms in our place than anywhere else, and with us having a stadium, more gambling floor, and with more shoppes, restaurants, and amenities, I can stand out front and say, “At Ginorocity, everything's bigger!” And then list everything including him by name.”



“Ok, I think he'll go for it. I already know he's said a latin wouldn't ever get that contract like whites do.”



“Oh puhleaze, it took someone like me who realizes being ostracized isn't fun.”



He hugged me and said, “We've got to get the tests done. I'm really wanting to make love with you badly.”



“We'll do that tomorrow night after your shows. I want all this wrapped up and you knowing it's over in regards to how things have been for you.”



“I know it. I'm hearing it.”



“Yes, and your Dad could say no.”



We walked out and I shut the door and turned off the lights.



“Why's the light switch outside?”



“The moisture in the building gets in everything. If you noticed, the light bulbs are sealed in those canisters in there. It's like a cave, but it's above ground.”



“Oh!”



“Out there in the pond is some mighty fine fishing. We'll have to come down sometime and go.”



“You like fishing, don't you!”



“Let me tell you about my fishing. A few years ago, I was against putting a worm on an hook. It grossed me out, but if you'd ask me to put a hook through shad and minnows, I'd do it gleefully. Then I realized one is as bad as the other.

When it comes to fishing, it's the one sport you don't see bleachers on the sidelines with people screaming as it'd scare the fish away. So, I've picked it up.

What's funny is I enjoy fishing for some and not others. We went up to Molson fishing and I didn't enjoy it at all. The fish are huge long like eels and they've got teeth. I'll tell you they know how to use them. Besides, I don't think they'd let me back in a boat up there.”



He laughed, “Why?”



“Little bitty boats and great big fish and me in amongst them don't mix someone's got to go over the side and it was me when Jaws tried coming at me. Unfortunately, when I went, so did my companion and the guide was rather disgusted having to go fishing to get us out. We ended up fishing from the docks.

What's great about that is I met a great friend up there and he's a good person.”



“Who's that?”



“Boone Pickens. He owns BP.”



“As in gas stations?”



“Yeah. He thought it was funny I was sitting on the dock fishing instead of going out in a boat. He really thought it was funny when I told him the reason was because out in a boat, the fight is fixed with the fish trying to get me in the water, but with me on land, I could beat that fish to death!”



He laughed, “I bet that look funny.”



“You don't understand it. You see these guys standing there with these big fish draped over their arms or holding them up with one hand and you're failing to realize that fish is damned near as tall as me and weighs about half what I do. They took a picture of me holding mine and it's like the fish had caught a guy.”



“Where else do you like to fish?”



“Deep sea fishing with my uncle is the most. When we go out to L.A., we'll go fishing with him and you'll see me reeling 'em in. I think the fish think it's funny to try making the little guy try coming out of the boat. What they don't know is those boats got seat belts and will keep me in!”



He smiled, “You better call Clive.”



I dialed Clive and he answered, “Hello?”



“Hey, it's me. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?”



“Why?”



“I need you to come out to Vegas and sign a new star of yours to a six hundred million dollar contract.”



“You?!”



“No, I'm afraid if the Ginorocity ever wanted to sign me, they'd have to give me the place...Oh, I guess I better start working for them! Not!”



“Who?”



“En's Dad.”



“Eric?!”



“Yeah.”



“He's not mine.”



“He will be if you get out there!”



“Rhette, I'm too busy to sign him!”



“It's just a contract for him to perform live in a lifetime contract at the Ginos. In the contract, it'll state he can use the Gino sound people as his and record what he likes and release it on a jointly owned record label owned by he, En, and myself.”



“So basicly, all it is is a pasture contract.”



“Yes. But, we're going to need you to sign En and be ready to market us for a stadium concert tour.”



“Doesn't he have management?”



“Not after tomorrow. I'm not going to let him stay with someone who allowed En's Dad to have his rights and royalties and put him in the Gino performing instead of himself.”



“What's that going to entail?”



“It's a ten year contract for one billion. If at the end of the ten years he doesn't have a billion in his bank accounts, I'll put it there. Just the same, after that, he has the right to renew with you forever.”



“That's assuming a lot on my part.”



“Let's see, me handing you a quarter of a billion dollars today without my career earnings in that sounds like it's quite a lot. Maybe I could shop it around and maybe I should be an agent. Do you think with my connections I could fuck you out of bookings with a few phone calls?”



“Rhette, I'm talking about me being alive in ten years.”



“What aren't you telling me?”



“Nothing.”



“Clive, I'm about to go to the airport and get my ass up there. Now do you want to tell me, or have me use seductive charms?”



He laughed, “Well talk tomorrow. I'll do it.”



“You have to be in Vegas by two pm. It's going to take a bit and probably won't happen until five, but I need you there at two.”



“Ok, can I bring along friends?”



“Yeah, tell them I'm signing a lifetime marital contract with En tomorrow also. I really want them there for that.”



“What?!”



“When it's right, it's right. I know it's right and why dance around with ten year contracts when I know we're going to renew.”



“Why?”



“Because in the heart of this stud is a farmer dying to get out. SO, you've got the heart of a soul sister merging with a farmer and we're going to be great at singing Old MacDonald and have babies.”



“Really?”



“I've got Dave looking for orphanages.”



“I've got one in San Paulo!”



“Good. Call Dave and tell him so we can get an appointment.”



“How many do you want?”



“I don't know, we've not discussed it yet. I'll let you know tomorrow.”



“Oh man! I'll call everyone.”



“When you make that press announcement, you do so gently and find me a wedding dress! Also, I need a beauty team who can do extensions fast.”



“Why?”



“Because I've decided to go for a Farrah look.”



“Oh man!”



“What do you want the dress to look like?”



“I want it knee length with a bustle and Victorian collar with shoulder blade length veil. Also, call Van Cleif and tell them I need a copy of that Sultan's bridal jewels if he's got it. We're borrowing with them mentioned in the picture credits.”



“What about his Tux?”



“Black with black satin shirt. He's stunning in black.”



“What sizes?”



“Large shirt. Thirty four waist with thirty two inseam. His sleeve is thirty.”



“Diamonds too?”



“Black Diamonds. I'll buy all of his.”



“Oh!”



“I'll get on it. It might take some time.”



“It doesn't have to be tomorrow. The marriage contract will be tomorrow, but it's got to be low key and very beautiful.”



“Ok. I'll call you later.”



“Thanks Clive.”



I hung up and he laughed, “Nothing goes small with you!”



“Things are like nuclear bombs with me. They look little until they open up and then, it's always big.”



“I'd rather already have it out of the way before you get your career. That way, I'm seen as marrying you and not all the other.”



“Ok, it'll be that way then. Do you realize I'm loving this?”



“Why?”



“Because you are the first guy who has been free to tell me how you want things and what you want and not just wuss out and tell me it's fine with you how I do things.”



“And you like that?”



“En, do you realize when it's been the other way, I grow to resent it? It makes me feel like they're along for the ride and I'm carrying them on my shoulders.

In prison, Kevin did it how you are doing it and I loved him. Out here, it's like he gave up and told me to do it how I wanted. It's been that way with too many and that's why I don't think it's worked.

Now, don't get me wrong. The moment you start saying it's your way or the highway, I'll take my out. I expect respect just as I intend to respect you.”



“What's Clive doing?”



“I think he's making calls to get everyone on the plane who are friends of mine to get out here. You might find your show tomorrow is an all star spectacle.”



“Really?”



“I know if Anna and Elton find out I'm tying the knot, they're going to be there. I already know Pink is in town, so we'll have her.”



“What are you going to wear tomorrow?”



“I'm going to be in drag. I'll tell you now, I want that first impression to your father being you hooked up with a knock out and not a guy. Yeah, I'm a guy, but he's got to be stunned and fucked mentally. I might even stage it so I'm there singing in front of everyone so when he hears the songs, he's thinking I'm auditioning and he's thinking I'm talented before I drop the boom on him.”



He laughed, “You're going to play him like a fiddle!”



“I know men's egos and how to sway them when they think they're all that. He doesn't know he's being played until it's already in his head I'm talented, good looking, and able to be in a career without you.”



“Why?”



“Because there's a large part of him who is thinking I'm using you. He's going to be seen as having to give up all he created for someone else to use and I want him to know I'm capable without him and what I'm doing is giving you back to you.”



“Ok, but I want us singing a duet.”



“Sure, but let me be singing alone at first so I get him. Then, we can do it so he sees you've got a duet partner who is stunning and talented.”



“I like that.”



We walked in the house and Jimmy smiled. I went over and hugged him, “Did you get what you want?”



“Yeah.”



“Is Jilli happy?”



“I think so.”



“Did Mom make you think your butt is swiss cheese?”



He chuckled, “Yeah.”



“Good, everyone's happy.”



He laughed and said, “You two look good together.”



“And you and she look good together.”



“I'm not sure how that will work.”



“It's easy to work around public appearances and around her schedule. Just remember she doesn't work all the time. It's only about twelve weeks out of a year.”



Mom came in and said, “Good, you two are back!”



“Mom, I will probably need you out there tomorrow.”



“Why?”



“Marital contract. I figure if I'm going to have everyone there, I better have you there.”



“Let me see what your Dad has planned.”



“Ok”



“How many corks am I going to hear about?”



“One.”



En smiled, “We shared.”



She smiled and said, “Run down the hill and go in and get whatever it was and bring it up. I know it's cheddar because Rhette always does cheddar.”



“Yeah.”



En left and Mom said, “Come in here and sit down.”



We went in and she asked, “Are you sure about this?”



“Mom, it's totally different than anything else I've been in. I'll tell you I can only compare him to one guy in my life and that was Gino. It might sound bad, but I've been told I'm an insufferable bitch in my relationships, but do you realize it was me carrying them?”



“Yeah.”



“Well, he steps in and tells me what he wants. He's willing to carry the burden with me and I like that.”



“Jilli told me he's doing it and she expected you to blow when he said one thing. She said she was really taken away when you didn't.”



“It's because it make me feel secure when someone tells me what they want. I don't have to feel like I'm guessing what he wants because he tells me.”



“It's a lifetime commitment.”



“Yes, and with others, I'd tell you at the beginning I wanted it, but there'd be doubts. Do you realize I wanted ten and he told me lifetime? Do you realize he loves this place more than me and wants to be a farmer? He's wanting kids and I'll tell you now isn't the time, but does anyone ever get the option of when they want them? I figure we'll make it work and it'll be.”



She smiled, “You're finally growing up. I worry about how you'll be with all your antiques and kids, but I imagine you'll learn.”



“It'll be hard I know, but I'll make do. I'll tell you now I'll probably be going to Brazil next week to an orphanage.”



“Really?”



“He wants the marriage to be before all of it comes out about me. I'll respect that because I think it'll be best. I'd rather us have that let out and then go to Brazil to get a child and be seen that before it breaks open.”



“It's going to be nasty when it does.”



“What do you advise?”



“I advise you do it how it's going to make you feel comfortable. If you don't, you're doing it for everyone else.”



“Let me ask him. He's in this too.”



She smiled and I could tell her eyes were getting misty. “We don't always get what we want, but when those we love are happy, it's worth it nonetheless.”



“Where's Jilli?”



“In the computer room leaving your Dad be with Jimmy.”



“Why?”



“Your Dad has to know he's been a hindrance there and has to let Jimmy know he's not going to be used as an excuse anymore for that situation.”



“Oh, well Jimmy said he was happy.”



She smiled, “It's about time.”



“I'll go in and see Jilli.”



“Tell her your Dad has had ample time and now it's time for her to be back in there.”



I went in and she smiled. I hugged her and she asked, “Is Jimmy still in there?”



“Yeah,Mom said Dad's had ample time to get your dowry so you should just face it...you're going to be an old maid.”



“Bullshit.”



“No, you're right, he couldn't get a dowry together big enough to get rid of you.”



She laughed, “You're an asshole.”



“I know, but I'm your brother, so I'm special. You need to go in there.”



“I'll assume someplace in there was the truth.”



“Yeah, Mom said to get in there. Dad's had ample time to tell Jimmy he's not going to be used as an excuse anymore.”



“Dad won't say that.”



“No, but Mom's probably already said as much to him like that.”



“She sure did! She was terrible.”



“When it comes to getting for your babies, you'll do the same.”



“I probably will.”



“Your kids will probably have to blindfold their boyfriends and girlfriends when they bring them home to you. They'd pass out if they knew they were going up against you to get your kid's hands.”



She smiled and hugged me, “Thank God you're not going to have 'em. I pity those kids.”



“I'll have you know we're going to an orphanage next week in Brazil.”



“What!”



“Tomorrow, we're having our marital contract signed. If you want to be there, you've got to apply pressure on Dad. Mom said she's leaving it up to him.”



“You talk to him.”



“I will. He'll be thinking it was his idea when I'm done.”



She chuckled, “He probably will.” She paused, “Where's En?”



“Going back down to the spring house to get a cheddar wheel because we corked it.”



“Ok, but why?”



“She'd rather explain it being gone than why there's a cork in it and you're the only one who's been out there...and we know his darling daughter wouldn't risk lions and tigers and bears, oh my to go cork a wheel of cheese!”



“You're a horse's ass.”



“And you're a spoiled little girl!”



With that, I got hit in the stomach.



“Easy sis! I might have to show this stomach in drag tomorrow!”



“Really?”



“I want his Dad to see me as a knock out and hear me sing before he realizes I'm the big old queer taking his son away.”



“Do you think that?”



“Hon, think about it. Italians and latins are all about the boys. You know the first one always goes into Daddy's business, the second always goes into the trades and the third is a priest. Well, he's in his Daddy's business and is probably wondering why I'm not in the trades. All I can say is all I'm wanting to nail and screw is his son.”



She laughed, “And his son is probably going to be quite the stud and let you.”



“Oh yeah, he's begging for it now, but we've got to wait until tomorrow.”



“Why?”



“I'm saving myself for marriage.”



She laughed, “You're a nut.”



We went out and down the hall to the dining room again. Dad turned and told Jilli, “It's fine now.”



I asked, “Did you tell him that anyone she gets rid of has to go a few rounds with me?”



Dad laughed, “Jimmy, I forgot to tell you something...”



Jimmy laughed, “I heard. You have to tell her to save me from that.”



I said, “Jimmy, tonight, we're having a family dinner at Grande Rio. I'm footing the bill and want you there. Will you come and be Jilli's man?”



He smiled, “Yeah.”



“Good, now we know there'll be food for everyone.”



He laughed and I got hit. Dad said, “Rhette, you better leave her alone!”



“I can't help it Dad, she sets herself up for these things.”



“Your brothers used to say the same about you, but I told them to leave you alone.”



“They liked picking on those who were littler and they knew Mom would kick their asses if they touched Jilli.” I paused and said, “I need to speak with you.”



“Ok”



He stood up and I said, “Let's go for a walk.”



We went out and En was walking up the hill with the cheddar. Dad saw and asked, “Your Mom giving all the cheese away?”



“We corked it and she thought it'd be easier to explain all the cheese being gone instead of one little cork.”



He smiled, “It wouldn't've been bad if you kids had stuck to the same ones over and over. It's hard explaining all the holes in them when we gave them to people.”



“Ok, I'll tell him to take it back.”



He looked at me with a look of, 'Don't you dare!' and hurriedly said, “En, put it in the truck so his Mom doesn't see you're taking all the cheese!”



He winked at me and said, “There, he's a co-conspirator now.”



I laughed and could hear En chuckling.



I said, “Dad, we're doing a marital contract tomorrow out in Vegas.”



“Why?”



“Because we want it and he wants us to get a child adopted.”



“Oh!”



“We found an agency and will probably go there next week. I'd like to have you and Mom out there, but she said to discuss it with you.”



“Why?”



“Because your schedule is so busy you might have a clump of grass you want to watch grow.”



He chuckled, “It's not that bad.”



“Would you help us put a herd together for up on the hill?”



“How many?”



“I'm thinking about fencing off the rest of the pasture and putting a barn up there. He wants us to do dairy cattle sometime also.”



“When?”



“I don't know, but I don't want to sell the milk. I'm thinking about having a brood of pigs.”



“Why?”



“Because he wants to be a farmer and run off to be a rock star in the down time.”



“Did you tell him that idea is nuts?”



“I told him it's hard work and he'll work his ass off, but he's got it in his head he wants to be a farmer. You know when they get like that, it's best just to let them prove you right instead of the other way around.”



“Planning on having lots of kids?”



“I don't know. I want one at least. I've not asked him how many he wants. I'd tell you to have three and have two boys and a girl. The lies you get told are always more interesting when it's that.”



He smiled, “Uh huh. Oh yeah. The boys tell on the girl for tipping the cow and you know your little darling wouldn't do that!”



“She did.”



“And I saw about twelve sets of footprints around that cow. If she did it, she held a board meeting before doing so and I'd say her brothers were there coaching her on.”



“Well yeah, she had to be goaded to do it. I mean, she couldn't have the perfect reputation always!”



He smiled, “She didn't. I heard more about what she did mischievous than you boys. She'd come home and brag about on the phone for hours. I heard the story over and over until I got tired of hearing how she did things.”



I laughed, “Well, all the best light bulbs were taken by us boys. She kind of got stuck with the dim one.”



He laughed, “I learned with a girl they've got a different way of being vindictive...that's for sure.” He paused and said, “I'll tell your Mom we're going.”



“I'll have a jet here to take you out.”



“Where are you going?”



“I've got to be out there to conduct business and have everything arranged.”



En came over and Dad came right out and asked, “How many kids to you want?”



En looked like he was thinking and said, “I want about six or seven.”



Dad smiled, “Then four it is!”



I laughed and En smiled real big, “How come I feel like I walked into a joke there?!”



Dad said, “Son, let me tell you something. Take four and if you think you can handle more, you're letting them get by with too much. These kids ran me ragged and I had to dream up ways of keeping them occupied in order to keep them out of trouble. If you have that many, the chores get done too fast and you've got problems for sure.”



I laughed, “ Now I know the reason!”



Dad smiled, “You were good kids. With some luck, your sister will be back and settle down here somewhere.”



“You've got to keep them away from his clan. My God they'll see them as fresh blood!”



He laughed and said, “You know, I could've had you boys married off into that family so easily it was pitiful. Thank goodness each of you ran for the hills before it happened.”



I said, “Poor Jilli, she has no clue.”



“Yeah she does, she's got the best one of the bunch and she knows it. It's about time to get him settled in and she's the one to keep that bunch straight.”



“Can you imagine if she worked them out?”



He laughed, “Maybe that's what they need.”



“Has Mom called Ash?”



“Yeah.”



“He coming?”



“Who knows. We'll see when we get there and he's there. IF he's not, then he didn't come.”



“I'm not calling him. I thought it'd be better if we had representation as a family. Those who want to be there will be there.”



Without saying anything else, I went in the house and I heard Dad tell En, “Let him go in and us speak out here.”



I went in and went to Mom. “We're going. Did Ash even give an idea if he'd be there or not?”



“He said he's not going to be there.”



“Ok, that's all I needed to know.”



“It's best without him when he's being like that.”



“At least the truth didn't get varnished with him not liking Brent's wife as an excuse.”



“You know that's the reason.”



“I know I asked him to be there and I asked Brent to be there. When I get turned down, it's like turning down a command performance. You don't get consideration after that and you don't given the command twice. He's now got to worry about the slight he gave me.”



“All I did was ask. I don't want to get in the middle of all of it.”



“Ok, I'll lay odds he'll be there when I'm done with my call.”



“Don't get hateful.”



“Oh, I'm not! You don't know how I can make him WANT to be there!”



“That's what I'm afraid of.”



I pulled out my phone and dialed him. “Hello?”



“It's me. Mom said she asked you to come to the get together and you turned her down.”



“Yeah.”



“Care to explain to me why?”



“Because you don't run my life.”



“Oh, ok, I thought maybe it was because you didn't like your sister-in-law. I was going to tell you it'd serve the bitch fine if she saw us standing next to each other, but now I realize it's me and I don't run your life.

Maybe you need to realize I've got that bitch where I want her and maybe you don't see tonight as a part of that. Maybe you think you hating from afar is helping Brent, but it's not. I guess I'll just do what I need to do there and leave you out of it.”



“What's going on?”



“Come tonight and watch, but you bring your girlfriend and whomever, if she's got kids and you be a part of a family instead of alienating yourself from us because of a bitch whose days are numbered.”



“Ok”



“I'm footing the bill, so bring an appetite. It's at seven pm and we've got the entire restaurant for a private party because of my new partner's fame.”



“Who is he?”



“Enriches Immanuel.”



“What?!”



“You heard right. She's not been told and I want her learning the surprise and turning on the flirtation in front of Brent.”



“Oh!”



“You know when the bitch finds out he's her brother-in-law, I'm suddenly in good standing in her superficial little world. THAT will be her downfall because I'm going to use the greed against her.”



“We'll be there.”



“Good. I appreciate it. I love you, but you can be a hard headed ass to get moved over sometimes.”



“She's ruined our family.”



“And families stay around and punch back when they're taking lumps. She's about to learn all of us together outrank her and know how to out play her in ways she's got no clue.”



“See what you can do about seeing if she's having an affair.”



“That's already being done and verified. That man has been on her for over a year now.”



“Really? And is she?”



“Yeah, but I want all the proof we could ever need when we take it up.”



“He won't believe it.”



“You don't get how I play. If I've got a problem with you, I call you. If I have a problem with her, I'm going to take it to her.

I'll lay all that out and tell her to either run back and try telling him I'm bothering her and make me go to him with the evidence, or she'll get out of it and be what she should be.

I'll tell you there won't be a divorce where she gets out with everything and sticks him with all the bills. I'll take that to the judge myself if need be.”



“Ok, I'm glad to hear it.”



“Hate in constructive ways Ash. Put it to use instead of letting it eat you up. She gave us all we needed to take her down and I've used it. Now she's being handed more rope.”



“Good. Where is this going to be at?”



“Grande Rio.”



“Why there?”



“Because all the Mexicans in my neighborhood worship him and know it'll be a good atmosphere where too many people are in the way.”



“Ok, we'll be there.”



“Thanks.”



I hung up and said, “He'll be there.”



“You're terrible.”



“Mom, not one thing I said wasn't true. You just don't stand in the way when it goes to war. Let your kids win one for the family instead of us taking the leftovers.”



“What's that mean?”



“In divorces, you side with the woman. That's all fine and dandy if we're in the wrong.

With her, we're getting tired of being told we shouldn't hate her and be hateful towards her. Let her know she's got to conform too. If not, then let her decide she couldn't cut it instead of your kids thinking we have to bow out of the family and family get togethers.

I'll tell you now when she goes, she's going to try taking hostages and all she can to assure herself an income and future. I'll see to it that you and she have nothing except the hard feelings of this family if you side with her. I'm asking you to cut the girl loose.”



“Not all is as you imagined it.”



“Let's see, her husband doesn't give her sex but once a month, so that justifies she going out and getting it on the side? Let's see, her husband goes out and tries boosting his reputation while dragging an anchor who chooses to flirt up all she can in those establishments. Let's see, she got married to a doctor and that's all she wanted...not a family, his family, or anything else.”



“There's more with your brother than you know. She's not the only one in an affair.”



I smiled, “And how's that make you feel?”



“What's that mean?!” she said with her anger rising.



“If you stand there and tell me it's a girl, I'll call you a liar and a pawn in that bitch's scheme.”



“Now you just hold up one moment!”



“Mom, he's bi-sexual. I've got proof out the ass. That's why he's not having sex with her but one time a month and that's why he goes off to conventions with his buddy. IF she's said he's with anyone else, I'll embarrass the fuck out of her and you with proof.

Her ego won't admit she's man enough to handle her husband. He shouldn't have gotten married, but he did. For her to attempt to slander him with an affair to a woman from a motel room bed where she's getting the daylights fucked out of her by another man is pure bullshit.”



“Can you prove that?”



“Come here.” I walked over to the computer and pulled up the file in my server. “That's the photographic proof. I've got DNA proof from sheets and those sheets in my care. I've got rooms in that motel readied to get me photos from within them when they go in those rooms. I've got proof from his divorce his wife got everything because she knew he was having an affair and you've got your photos of them together.

In regards to my brother, there's the proof. Like it or not, he does go home to her when he's home. He only goes to conferences and conventions with one person and you know the guy. They stay in a room together and I've got the proof the rooms are always single bed.”



“So he's gay!”



“He's bi-sexual. He's trying to make it fly with her and have his icing too. Yeah he's having an affair and no, he doesn't need ragged about it, but if she thinks she's got damning proof to take him out with it, I've got more going her direction.”



“I think we need to stay out of it.”



“I'll step back when you do. And, if you think I think you'll step back when you think you could lose a grandchild, you're obviously thinking I'm dense. I'm going in and fighting for my brother who stands to get the child also. He's got the income, he's got the stability, and he's got no police record.”



“What's that mean?!”



“Take a look. It seems sister-in-law shoplifted and it seems she got a drunk driving charge. Think about whether you want your grandbaby in the car with him, or her after that.”



“He's driven drunk too!”



“Yeah, as we all have. One has a record and the other doesn't. Records have teeth in court and rumors don't hold water.”



“What are you intending on doing?”



“I'm going to try making it so they've got no bills. I'm going to try making it so their life is better and see if they respond. If not, then when it cracks up, he's not saddled with everything.

So far, he's not letting me do anything for him, but I offered to buy into his practice today so he could sneak bills over to me to pay.

You know it's got to be overwhelming for them with the debt they have, but I don't see it getting better. Last year, he had half the income a month he's got now and half the amount of bills. This year, he's got twice the amount and they're running to the limit instead of paying things down.”



“They've got a lot of bills, I know that.”



“Do you know if he'd stop gambling and she stopped shopping for clothes they'd have nearly eight thousand a month to pay down on something? Do you know if they'd stop buying their kid all his toys, they'd have over ten thousand a month to pay down? When you take the country club membership off, that's something like fifteen hundred a month extra.

Now, I've offered to buy in because he can do a lot with his corporation if he would.”



“How?”



“Her clothes, if she's an employee of his, it's a write off. IF she puts a business card of his in the window of their vehicles, it's a write off for him. The country club and all he other organizations are a write off if he'd hand out a business card while there. For all that matter, he could leave it on the table and just by a bus boy taking it off is showing it was received by someone. The kid's toys can be written off if he puts the ones which are old in his waiting room for kids to play with.

In regards to his gambling, I'm trying to get him to go to Vegas where I can comp him. I think I can do that if I get them out there for a performance. It's as simple as me handing her a five thousand comp card and telling her to go shopping. I'll foot the bill for that because I know it's worth it.

With her going there to shop, you know he'll go there to gamble and I'll comp him all they need.”



“So it's not just about a divorce with you.”



“No, but if they can't make it be, then I'll certainly help him out when it's the other. I DO think if they don't have the bills, it'll be better for them, but I don't know how.”



“What's that mean?”



“With them, they've demonstrated living at the edge of their means is how they view themselves as getting ahead. You and I are about getting out of debt and living with savings. I'll tell you if they paid off their house tomorrow, you'd see it up for sale and them building a castle. I think it's about the perceived status instead of the comfort.”



“You're probably right.”



“So do I bite the bullet and just tell them to fuck all that and build them the castle? And then pay the bills? Because I've tried helping and it's no use.”



“I can't tell you. I think they're like the little rats on the wheel not realizing they're not going anywhere. At the end of the day with them, they're still going to be here and he's not going to be making more money. He's about at the top of his game.”



“I'm surprised he's not going down with the prices he charges. I get free exams, but I saw his receptionist write off seventy five dollars for En's treatment.”



“That much!”



“Everyone else in town charges forty.”



“He's probably doing it for insurance.”



“Just the same, the average Joe can't afford that.”



“When you get those pictures of her in that room, you let me know. She's lied to me and I don't like it one bit.”



“Tuesdays and Wednesdays is when she's there from three thirty to five thirty. I'll tell you I'm about to the point to put someone different in all the rooms and get the whole place done up.”



“Why haven't you gotten anything?”



“Each time, they're in a different room. I've had surveillance on them for over a year and we just started with the minicams. There's fourteen in those rooms they've been in.”



“It'd probably be good for you to go ahead and rent all the rooms then.”



“Hang on.”



I dialed Dave.



“Yeah Rhette.”



“In regards to the minicams here in Hannibal. Would you have all our available guys come over and rent rooms and get them in them? I've decided to just rent all the rooms and get them installed rather than us risking one being discovered and then all of them being found.”



“We can do that.”



“Have them arrive by bus. They'll tell you they've only got x amount of available rooms and rather than driving off, put those guys in the available rooms and then ask if they've got any openings for more rooms on Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm sure he's got weeklies rented out and those probably tend to stay rented, so we'll be safe with locking all them up. It might be interesting to see what he does when all his rooms are rented and he wants a room.”



“I need to ask a question there.”



“Yeah.”



“I'm thinking about going in with televisions with the cams in them. Will you approve it?”



“Yeah...if you get them in all the rooms.”



“I've got the contractor willing to do it.”



“Yeah, write it off and it'd be real good if you could get me stills as well as video.”



“Can do.”



“Thanks”



“Rhette, what do you want on his contract?”



“En's or his Dad's?”



“His Dad's.”



“What do they give down the strip?”



“A lot.”



“Then give him what it takes.

Do you have access to what he asks for in other contracts?”



“Yeah, it's pretty extensive.”



“Make sure he gets a Crown suite in the star tower.”



“That's already arranged.”



“Good. Is he anywhere now?”



“At the El Conquistador. I'm looking into that.”



“Ok, then get a twenty four by fifty foot sign on the casino's outer wall. Then have them silkscreen mylar for it with an ad of his face on it. Put up at the top he's now appearing but put a tarp over it until he's in.”



“What about an orchestra?”



“Does he require one?”



“At some he has and others he doesn't.”



“How much would it cost more a night?”



“About five thousand.”



“That's a million a year for two hundred shows. See if we can cut it down to half of that.”



“I'll do it.”



“I want him happy, but I don't want him having the moon and the stars now and him thinking he could ask for the Sun.”



Mom shook her head. I interrupted myself and said, “Dave, give it to him. If we give it to him all the time, it makes us look better. We'll make it somehow.”



“Ok”



“In that theater, you have the good liquor served. They're there to get a quality evening, we'll give them a quality night.”



“Ok”



“Did you call Jerry and tell him I want twelve instead of six?”



“Yeah, he said he's got one designed for ten already, but someone took it down to six.”



“It wasn't me...maybe it was Gino.”



“Just the same, he said adding two more floors isn't going to be that hard and he's got the footings needed for it designed in.”



“Ok, we should go ahead and have him design in the three more sisters so they're tied in.”



“I told him. He's sure surprised we're going as large as we are.”



“It's a benefit of a down economy. We can afford it when we've got the help available to build it. I'm thinking about asking for a larger theater.”



“How big?”



“Twenty thousand seats.”



“Why?”



“Because if I go out on a road and have to come in off it, I'm going to want a theater. And with the way I'm writing songs, I'm going to have a lot of albums.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, we went hunting mushrooms today and I wrote a sad song. Jilli and I went on an jog and I wrote a love song. The only place I didn't write one was the spring house and...damn, I've got one coming in about it now.”



He laughed, “Ok, I'll let you go.”



I hung up and pressed record on my phone and started putting in the words and the melody. Mom looked surprised and I smiled, “That's how easily they come.”



“That's just amazing! If I didn't see it coming out of you right here in front of me, I'd not believe it!”



“It's interesting to me because I started writing plots for stories like this and couldn't keep up. Maybe the creative side of me thinks a song is faster and I'm heeding them.”



She hugged me, “Thank you on behalf of his Dad. That was a thoughtful gesture.”



“I did it because I know you're a fan and you might feel ripped off if you went and wanted to hear a song of his with full orchestration.”



We stopped hugging and I said, “I DO have to get to town.”



“Ok, we'll be there tonight.”



“I appreciate it.”



“Did you speak with your Dad about the trip tomorrow?”



“Yeah, he said he's going to have you out there. Man, I forgot to tell Dave to get you a plane sent here!”



“Why can't we go out with you?”



“We're going out early and staying late. He's got to perform shows and it's probably going to turn into an all star event.”



“Why?”



“It appears all my friends want to witness the event.”



“Do you have what you need to wear?”



“No and if I described it to you, you'd swear Tammy Faye got in my head.”



“What is it?”



“I want knee length with a little bustle. I want Victorian collar and a thing over my shoulders built into it.”



“How about a heart shaped cut out over your chest?”



“That's be cool.”



“Come in here.”



“You've got that?!”



“No, your sister had a full length version for a prom.”



“I want knee length. It's got to show my white hose and me in heels.”



She pulled it out of the closet and said, “I'll go get Jilli. You put it on.”



I took it out of the plastic and slid out of my clothes. I put it over my head and got it down. It was tight in the waist, but Jilli was a size 3 all her life.



Mom came in and Jilli smiled, “Yeah, he can have it. I think he looks better in it than I ever did.”



“Thanks, it'll be a famous dress for sure now.”



Mom went in and got a pill box hat with veil and came in. She plunked it on my head and said, “It's too big.”



“I'm having someone put extensions in tomorrow. I'm going to have a Farrah cut done.”



“Oh!”



“He wants me with hair down to here.”



Mom smiled, “Not for the wedding.”



“There's no wedding Mom! It's just us signing a contract and then having photos like a wedding!”



She smiled, “It's a wedding if you ask me.”



En came in and said, “Wow!”



Mom said, “He wants it cut off at the knees and no train. I'll tell you he should be blond in it, but it's you guys decision.”



He smiled, “Would you dye your hair blonde?”



“Yeah, but I don't want it down in front if I have the extensions put in. I'd want it in a French twist or something pulled back. I'm having Van Cleif diamonds brought in and need to have them shown.”



Mom smiled, “What's En wearing?”



“A black tux with black satin shirt. He's having Van Cleif black diamond accents which are my gifts to him.”



“Ok, we've got to get you something new. The dress is old. We also need something blue.”



“En's got blue...”



“Rhette!” Jilli interrupted me.



“I wasn't saying balls sis!”



Mom said, “I heard that!”



En chuckled, “He's not far off.”



I said, “Mom, I'll get a pale blue bustier. I've got to find a way to show some boobs in this.”



Mom came in and said, “Use this”



“What is it?”



“Take that dress off.”



I took it off and Jilli said, “Rhette, how can you call that a thong with how little it is!”



“It's not, it's a cock sock.”



“What?!”



“It's a swimming suit.”



Mom said, “It has to be from the Caribbean. No one would wear it up here...too much skin.”



“I'm wearing it!”



En said, “I think it looks hot.”



Jilli chuckled, “Now we know why you've got blue...”



Mom said, “Jilli! Enough of that kind of talk.”



I stuck my tongue out at her. And then her eyes went down. “Mom, his sock has blue in it.”



“I won't be wearing it tomorrow.”



“What will you be wearing?”



“I'll have a garter belt on and garter bands. Maybe we can find one with pale blue satin in it.”



Jilli said, “My brother has fancier underwear than me!”



Mom said, “Maybe you can borrow them. You're about the same size.”



“I'm a three and he's a four.”



Mom said, “He's in your dress, I'd say it fit.”



“I'd say!” En said smiling.



Jilli smiled at him, “I'm glad you've got eyes for him. Now you can see what he has to go through to look the part.”



“He could wear a tux and I'd be happy.”



“No because the dress would be too little for you!”



His face got red and Jilli said, “People would probably be fine with him in nothing.”



“That's the honeymoon attire. Things won't be blue then. They'll be blown instead.”



Mom chuckled, “Would you two let it be!”



Jilli smiled, “Mom always let you get by with gutter talk.”



Mom said, “I couldn't stop him!”



I started humming and said, “Grab my phone.”



En grabbed it and I pressed record and started singing. Jilli stood there with her mouth open and Mom said, “I can't believe how he does that.”



Jilli said, “He did one down on the road earlier and one while we were jogging, but I thought he had already made them up earlier. Now I'm getting it that he's just making them up as he talks.”



Mom said, “He did another in the living room. It's quite good.”



En asked, “I want to work on one with him about holding my baby in my arms.”



As soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth, it hit and I pressed record. I started singing and he looked shocked. When I was done, I asked, “Like that?!”



Jilli chuckled, “That's just unreal!”



Mom said, “Rhette, let me work on that dress you put on that chemise.”



En came over and held it over my head. As is slid down, his hands wend down and around me. I leaned back into him and ground my butt into his groin. He put his hands across my chest and hugged me from behind.



Jilli smiled, “Guys, you're too good looking to be performing a porn in front of me.”



“Where'd Jimmy go?”



“He had to go home. He'll be back to pick me up.”



“Are you riding in with him? Or are you two riding with Mom and Dad?”



“Probably riding in with him.”



“See if he'll drive you two and Mom and Dad in. Dad doesn't see too good at night time while driving.”



“We're planning on going out afterwards.”



“Ok”



“Is Ash coming?”



“Yeah, I talked rough to him. Now he wants to come.”



“How'd you talk rough to him?”



“He hates our sister-in-law. I told him he was being a pussy standing back from family functions and hating her afar. It's better if he's up in her face doing it.”



“He will be. I've heard him speak to her.”



“And that's what she needs.”



Jilli said, “When Mom was in the emergency room having the heart attack, he came in from work all dirty. She asked him if he couldn't've worn something more suitable and he told her he didn't know it was a fuckin' fashion show. You should've seen her sit down and shut up!”



“I must've been in the emergency room with her.”



“Yeah, you hogged up all the time.”



“Hey, I came out here and had to manipulate her into going! She was content laying there and dying.”



En asked, “How'd you manipulate her?”



“She came out on the patio and you could tell her color was pale as a sheet. She sat down and I asked, “On a scale of one to ten, what is it?” She said, “Giving birth is always going to be a ten, so this is a nine.” That told me we were in trouble, so I switched tactics on her, I said, “If Dad were having this pain and if he were showing the symptoms of having a heart attack, what would you do?” She said, “I'd either already be there or on my way” So I said, “Get in the car.” She didn't argue.”



Jilli hugged me, “I'm glad you know how to handle her.”



En asked, “Was it a heart attack?”



“Yeah, ninety two percent blockage. They said if she'd went to bed that night, she'd not woken up.”



“Oh man!”



“They said I dominated her in the emergency room, but you don't know how she was. She was using THEIR phone calling and doing business while laying there!”



I heard the sewing machine in the computer room and said, “I'll tell you Dad got an ass chewing from me that night in that room. He knows if he gets more forceful with her, she'll do what he says, but he didn't. I told him if it took throwing her over his shoulder, the next time he better have her ass at the hospital when I get the call she's having pains.

Now she gets drug to the hospital over everything!”



Jilli said, “Good.”



“Do you know she had an asthma attack one day while everyone was gone hunting? And that she waited for them all damned day to get home to try telling them she was ok?”



“No!”



“Yeah, he took her to the hospital and they damned near lost her when she was walking in the entrance. She thinks she's Superwoman and she's not. That's why I call all the time now.”



Jilli said, “I'll start calling more.”



“Good. They're not getting younger.”



En said, “I'll start calling also.”



I hugged his arms to me. “She'll like that. Dad will too, but she'll let you know she likes it.”



The sewing machine stopped and then I heard the lower whine of the serger start. When it stopped,Mom said, “Rhette, come in here and put this on. Let's see if it needs anything.”



I went in and put it on and she stood up and zipped up my collar.



“Now turn around.”



I turned around and she said, “You need opalescent hose. Hang on.”



She went in the bedroom and said, “Try these.”



I put them on and she said, “My shoes are too big, but try these for now.”



I put the shoes on and stood there.



“Don't slouch.”



“I won't when I get a bustier on. They make me definitely stand up.”



“It' looks wonderful.



En came in and whistled. Jilli looked in under his arm and said, “Yeah! That's good!”



I said, “En, come over and stand by me. I want to make sure I'm not standing to where I'll be a distraction.”



He came over and stood in front of me facing me. I looked up at him and he said, “You'll be the distraction because you're so damned beautiful and if they want you out of the way, I'll let them know you are mine and that's where I want you.”



Jilli said, “I'm giving the bride away after that!”



I smiled, “You better charge a pretty penny for me because I'm getting this dress warmed up for your wedding.”



“I want my wedding up at the park. I want the view of the river and the Eagles flying overhead.”



“Jimmy will like that. That's where they have his family reunions.”



“They do?”



“Yeah.”



Mom came in and handed Ash's tux to En. “Try it on.”



He went in the other room and Mom said, “I thought it was an expense when we bought you those clothes, but now I'm happy we did it.”



When he came back in, my breath caught. Jilli whistled and I said, “Turn around but go slow when you're showing that butt!”



He turned around and Mom asked, “Is there a thong under there?”



“No Mom, he's boxer briefs.”



“Oh, I never saw a line so I knew it wasn't briefs.”



He came over and stood and I said, “Hon, you look good!”



He smiled bigger and I said, “That's Ash's tux. You two are the same size except you carry your shoulders different.”



Mom said, “Ok, lets see you so you're standing next to each other on stage.”



I said, “Hang on a moment.”



I played 'Being Held In Your Arms' and went to be in front of him. He started slow dancing with me and started singing the words to me.



Dad came in and stood at the door behind Mom and said, “Boy, they sure do look nice!”



When the song was over, he hugged me and I said, “I love you.”



“I love you too.”



I turned and saw Mom with a tear down her cheek. I went over and hugged her and she said, “That song is beautiful and it's going to be a song people will request for their weddings like you two.”



“Good, it's his. If he gets royalties from it, then it'll help.”



“Take your clothes off. You'll need them nice for tomorrow.”



We went into the bedroom and took our clothes off and I said, “Hon?”



“Yeah.”



“They're bringing a tux for you tomorrow. Do me a favor and wear this one. I thought black looked good on you, but that white really looks awesome. We'll get you some diamonds for this one.”



“Why do you want me to have diamonds?”



“Because the lights make them shine. It shows you've got class when you've got diamonds everywhere.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but the black diamonds with the black are amazing too.”



“How are you going to have your hair?”



“I'll get it dyed. It'll be white with a tinge of ash blonde. It looks natural that way.”



“How can you go from dark to light so fast?”



“My hair takes dye well. Normally, it goes orange for someone dark to go light and then, it takes another dye treatment. With mine, I've been enough colors, it seems I can just do it and not have a problem. What I'll do is I'll have the extensions and dye job done and then, I'll go to the tanning booth to get the glow and then get in to get made up before we get dressed.

IF Clive can get me the diamonds I want brought, you'll see a fine lace work of diamonds over my hair and coming down. The necklace is a lot of them and is just stunning.”



He stood there staring and watching me dress. “You know, it's fascinating how fast you can go from one look to another so fast.”



I reached out and caressed his package.



“Don't!”



“Why not?!”



“I'll go hard and then we'll have a problem. It's been down and up so much today with you, it's thinking I'm on some sort of trampoline.”



I smiled, “Later, I promise.”



“Tonight, or tomorrow?”



“Tonight one thing, tomorrow another.”



“You're a tease.”



“No, I promise! I don't think my Mom would appreciate if I blew you in her house!”



“You never had sex in her house before?”



“No!”


“Why not?”



“Because, there's just something real creepy to me about it.”



He smiled, “Did you have sex anywhere out there?”



“The barn once, and that field up there lots of times.”



“Really?”



“Yeah.”



“Is that why you wanted that land?”



“No, it's got a connection to me mentally. You should know if I was willing to pay a million dollars for it, I sure wanted it!”



“Why?”



“Here's why and maybe you can think about it. This place is special to me. When we lived in town, we were scum. People treated us like dirt and it was terrible.”



“Why?”



“Because we were poor and I knew it was like that. When you're poor of the poor you get treated like shit and it either makes you a scrapper, or it makes you resent it. I resented it and I tried doing my best to have a job at an early age in order to get out of it..to have nicer clothes than rummage sale and to not feel low.

It didn't work, when they've got you down, they do what they can to keep you down because they know when you get up, you're dangerous to them. You've beaten the odds and they know you've made them a target. That's why I hate my sister-in-law so much. She treats us like that and I'll be damned if I go down again.”



“Oh!”



“What happened is my Mom worked two jobs. She was a school bus driver and a bartender...so she literally drank and drove for professions.

What I'll tell you is she's a scrapper. She went to work at a younger than legal age in a factory and people lied to protect her from being found out because they knew she needed the money.

What happened there is she found strength and confidence in gaining knowledge, but it didn't pay worth a fuck. About the time we thought we were getting ahead, she popped another kid or my real Dad decided he didn't like working anymore.

He finally got a decent job because she told him to either get one and stick with it, or don't come home again after the next job loss. He kept it, but then the fighting started and the beatings started and since he resented her, she'd get beat down and then, he'd turn on us kids. Finally, one night, he hurt her bad and she called my aunt right before he ripped the phone out of the wall.

I'll tell you that night was different. My older brother went for his rifle and I went for my ball bat. The babies all bawled, but Mom was hurt and we were going to kill...me at the age of nine.

What was bad, is Mom split up with him and dated a great guy. He treated her good and although we didn't have money, we had good free fun at parks.

I loved it because she spent time with us, but I'll tell you she hated it because she's a scrapper and working means income and income means she's getting ahead...she thought.

Where it went bad was the fire. The house caught on fire in the attic due to electrical wire. I'll tell you we heard it about ten o'clock. It sounded like a bull whip cracking in the attic.

Mom looked, but nothing seemed a problem. Later, we woke up with the house full of smoke and fire falling down through the ceilings. We got out, but Amber went back in to get a doll. She died and Mom took Dad back.

What happened there was he changed. He didn't beat her no more, but she got the job tending bar and those beatings he gave were hell. He'd yell so hard he'd spit his false teeth out and then because his dumb ass was embarrassed, we got beatings.

Finally, the beating of all beatings happened for me because I dared to take a bath with the door locked. He kicked it in and beat me with the towel rod he'd ripped from the wall and then, I got drug out of the tub naked and drug through the house getting beaten by a belt.

The next day, at school, the teachers saw the whelts and that was the day I stopped lying and saying I'd gotten in a fight or ran into something. I told the teachers I got beat and how I got beat.

They called Mom in and she was shocked. I told her I was done and if I had to take it anymore, I would find a way to kill him and kill her for making us live that way.

Well, how dare I say that shit to my Mom at a school! The principal deemed me a problem child and the harassments started...not against my parents, but against me by that fucker.

Mom lowered the boom on Dad when he got home. She told him if he so much as touched us again, she'd kill him. I proudly told him I'd tell and he better kill me the next time because if I so much as had a dying breath left in my body, she was getting told with it.

He hated us after that. Abuse has many faces and that fucker knew them just like her brother who molested us. Our supper got thrown on the floor and we got told to eat it cold. Mom got told and of course, the fighting happened.

One day, she didn't have to tend bar. The bar had given her the day off from work and she got a lot of meat in the cleaning of their freezers. They were remodeling and we benefited.

Mom cooked and us kids sat around the table. It was good because we were eating off the table and we were eating something which resembled real food.

What happened is he thought he could order her like he did us kids. He told her to pass the God Damned potatoes and she turned to him and said, “Say please”. He said, “I said pass the God Damned potatoes” and she threw them across the fucking kitchen bowl and all.

Of course he should've been forewarned, but his dumb ass thought he should press it some more. He smacked the shit out of her and the kids started crying. He said, “Bitch, now pass the fucking salt!” She told him to eat shit and he reached across her plate to get it. She stabbed the dog fuck out of his arm with her fork and then calmly reached behind her for her purse and pulled out a pistol.

She said, “I'll eat a good meal in this house if it kills you!” Then, she turned to us kids and said, “Finish your supper and get up from the table and leave.”

She gave us twenty dollars for gas and told us to go out and get gas and ride around until the car was out of gas or until we saw the front door was open.

Well, we went out and rode around and it seemed like hours, but finally the door was open.

When we walked in, Mom said, “Kids, sit down, we're going to have a family meeting.” I'll tell you that was the day the world changed. Until then, we never had a family meeting unless it was Mom flying across the room and landing on us while we cowered on the couch.

She said, “Your father and I have came to an agreement. We're getting a divorce.”

I'll tell you I remember one saying it was about time and others cheering, but I think she expected sadness but she got the opposite.

She told us what would happen and then let us kids speak our minds. I'll tell you I remember telling my Dad I hated him and hoped to never have to go visit him. He thought he'd be a big man and tell me he'd show me by taking off his belt and Mom pulled the pistol and told him, “Unless you plan on being found hanging with that son of a bitch, you best find a way to get it back on your body damned fast. You've terrorized this family enough and before you lay a hand on me, you're going to find you're going to have to kill me and him because I'm going to throw him the pistol to kill you when I go down.” That's when I said, “I'll use it too!”

What you've got there is dysfunctional living at it's finest. People hating people in a house and all pretending it's normal and we love each other.

My older brother sided with my Dad. He's now an abusive hard drinking bastard and you don't see him around here. He's been around some, but it's been for funerals and those sorts of things, not for one bit of respect from any of us kids.

I'll tell you that boy can take a beating because he dared think he could piss my Mom off out here one year at Christmas and hurt her feelings. He hit her and I think Dad saved his life because us kids beat the dog fuck out of him and he drug him out of the house. That's the day he drove off cussing us and yeah, I've seen him since, but I'll tell you I'd throw gas to put him out if he was on fire.”



He looked at me and asked, “Do you think that's why you're gay?”



“No, I've always felt this way. I remember being three years old in church and having a crush on a little boy across the way. A little girl had a crush on me at that same time and I thought that weird because I liked boys.”



“I was abused by my Dad too. He'd come in off the road and would beat us. We'd hate him for being out on the road and hate him for coming home. It never did get better for us. He's always been domineering and the authoritarian.”



“Well, it's over now. This is the house love built and this is nicknamed “Haven Hill”. Yeah, there've been arguments here, but I'll tell you it's not been hell like it was in town.

But let me tell you how it changed for us and then, you'll see why I love my Dad out there so much.

Mom met him tending bar. He was attracted to her and he'd come in with all his guys, buy them drinks, and then he'd sit and tell her jokes just to see her smile.

When he found out she was getting a divorce, he asked another bartender if she thought Mom would date him. That bartender told him she knew Mom was looking for a change and not to ask her out if he thought he was going to keep Mom in a bar.

I'll tell you Mom had three suitors. They asked her out before the divorce was final, but she refused to do it. She also told them she wasn't going to date anyone until they met us kids and got our approval.

The day their divorce became final, Dad out there got the first date with us kids. He took us out and we went to Hardee's. That to us was fine dining, I'll tell you that now. He then took us over and showed us the grain terminal and then took us down and showed us his property. We went down by the river and he told us why he wanted to date Mom and really laid his heart in our hands. He took us home and that was that.

The next guy owned a meat packing company. He didn't mince words. He told us Mom was going to be a trophy wife for him and us kids were going to a military school or boarding school and fuck us if we thought it'd be different. Needless to say, we got taken home and us kids didn't want anything else to do around him.

The last guy owns a Supermarket chain and with him, it was him thinking he could buy us kids off to get us to vote for him.

Well, when you don't have money and this person is talking about buying you all sorts of things, it's not like the Price is Right. It's us looking at him and saying, “Yeah, we've been promised shit before and no one delivered. Santa Claus was broke last year, so he left I.O.U.'s and if you think you can promise us something and not have it in hand, fuck you.

We went home and needless to say, we saw one real guy out of the bunch and Dad out there got the vote every one. My older brother, of course, voted for the one who wanted to buy him a Corvette, but that didn't count.

What I will tell you is between the divorce talk and the divorce happening, our house got hit by a rock saw Southwestern Bell owned. It totaled the house and we'd begun living in a motel. It was rough, but the divorce decree read she and my real Dad would split whatever came of it.

The night she and Dad out there first dated was exactly a month after the divorce first became final. It was November and she dressed up and we were super happy for her. Somewhere, there's still a photo of her that night.

They went out and he gave us something like five bucks a piece to use in the motel's game parlor. I remember us kids staring at it and wondering if we should spend it or if it was a test. We ended up deciding to spend the night swimming in the pool and when Mom got home, he was with us and asked if we had a good time. We handed him back the money and I'll tell you then, that was the night he realized we were poor and didn't trust people giving us money.

What happened was the next day was Saturday and we came out here. He pulled up the hill and it was a lot like over on our hill. There was nothing and we had a picnic.

I'll tell you Jilli was the one who broke that man out there. She climbed up on his lap and just cried when he gave her a hug. All that time, she never got hugs from our real Dad.

When he hugged her and she cried, that man cried too. He started showing us affection and a month later on Christmas Eve, he popped the question and I think us kids answered before she could nod her head yes.

It was rough because this house wasn't built. It took time to build it and we wanted to be a family. That house down in the valley was the house and we lived there.

When this house got built, us kids thought we were in utopia. We had a swimming pool and we had things. It was good, but we worked our asses off to do whatever it took not to lose it.
Mom had a hard time adjusting. She'd come from an abusive background and a man who drilled into her head that if she didn't work, she didn't eat. Suddenly, her not having to work was strange to her. She rebelled and they fought and us kids looked at her like she was insane.

Somewhere in there alcohol started coming into the house. They'd drink and then, they fought.”



“Why?”



“Let me tell you about how it was. Mom expected to become the queen on the throne and not have consequences and backlash from Dad's employees.

She'd go over and the guys who thought she was hot treated her nice. All the others treated her terrible. They saw her as the bartender and how dare she think she was better than what she was in their eyes.

She wouldn't say anything to them, but she sure would ride Dad's ass about it when he got home.

When he drinks, he gets to be like a professor. He teaches and in teaching, he's trying to teach her how to manage using the style of carrots and mules. He gave guys who worked for him a lot and she thought that was dumb because she worked in factories where the supervisor was God and you did what he said, or you got sent home and you learned he was God or you didn't have a job. She thought he needed to crack the whip a little harder and punish those who didn't give respect to the boss's wife.

That led to arguments and a lot of yelling and finally, they'd go to bed and us kids started hating her for rocking the boat. That led to rebellion and finally what happened, was us kids sat her down and told her if she left, she'd leave alone but she wasn't fucking it up for us no more. Of course, how dare he undermine her authority with us and that led to an argument.

What happened there was she decided to leave. It was a snowy night and she went out in a white night gown. He followed her and she fell down in the snow. He tried to get her up and she told him it was her driveway and she could lay there if she wanted.

In his infinite wisdom being crocked, he decided he was going to come get the truck and go down and load her in it and bring her back up the hill.

Well, in her infinite wisdom, she decided that spot got cold, so she came back up the hill and laid down again. Him driving to the spot where she WAS and not where she was now, he ran over her and broke her back.”



“Oh man!”



“It was so surreal that when he came up and said, “Boys, come on, we gotta go load your Mom up, I ran over her with the fuckin' truck. We were like, what the hell?!”


We did and he used a wide plank board as a gurney and put her in the back of the truck. He drove to the hospital and of course, wind chill factor with fifty mile an hour wind at thirty something and him being crocked, us kids put our coats over her and chose to freeze to death.

When we got to the hospital, it was a mess. We were frostbit and Mom was truck hit, and Dad's passed out in the waiting room and he's one of the richest guys in the area, so they sure weren't calling the cops!

Well, that night pissed us kids off. I'll tell you we were good and pissed when we loaded him in the truck because he went in head first and the head went in the floorboard and the rest of his body got shoved in afterwards and since I was driving, the other kids weren't going to freeze, so they piled in on top of him and we drove home.”



He laughed



When we got home, we decided to have our own family meeting. Bottles got broke out in the back yard and there'd be no more booze in our house.

He woke up when he decided he was going to freeze to death in the truck and came in. When he walked through the back door, I was sitting there and fortunately, he was sober enough to hear the chuck chuck of the rounds hitting the barrels because he dove.

When he came up, he was hands up in the air and saying, “Don't shoot!” I told him, “Fucker, you ran over Mom and you don't deserve to live either. You want to fight, you want to drink, you want to not stand up for her, figure it out, us kids will kill both of you before we give it up.

He sat down and listened to the new rules of the house and signed the contract which is still on the refrigerator door.

The next morning, he went to the hospital and because it was a snow day, we did chores and stayed home. That night, he came home with a bottle and found out how seriously we took breaking his word to him was. AND, he learned what a manipulative asshole I can be.

I deliberately poured him drinks and I deliberately got him drunk to the point he was willingly wanting to go out to the barn to see what I needed to show him. There, he got pushed down and rolled over to one of the poles and tied to it. When he was bitching about it being cold, we threw cow shit on him until he was neck deep in it. Then, us kids went in and left him out there.

The next day was another snow day, and I went out and held up the contract. I said, “You break the rules around here, you get your ass beat. If us kids live by it, you gotta too. When you think you can break it to us kids, we'll beat you down every time. Now, you go to the hospital and you get Mom. You bring her home and you tell her the rules in our house. IF she doesn't want to live under the rules, put her ass out the door.

If you think you can stand there and tell us you live by different rules, then you two drink it up and get drunk, because the moment you two lay down, you're going to be drug out here and I'm setting the barn on fire with you two in it. YOU WILL NOT live in our house and put us through that again!”



“What'd he say?”



“He realized it was us kids telling them shit had gotten too weird. He agreed and left. When he got home, Mom got told the rules by shotgun point and she thought she was going to yell at us and tell us we were a bunch of ingrates.

She got drug to that barn and I poured the gasoline around her. I said, “Make the decision because we're not going to live with him and we're not going to live like this.” She yelled for Dad and he came out and tried yelling at me asking me if I'd gone insane. That's when buckshot hit the wall beside him because Ash had shot. Us kids told them they were about to die and we walked out of the barn. Suddenly, they knew we were going to throw the torch and they agreed real fast.

From that day, this became Haven Hill and life got better. They drink on New Year's here, and the guys at the grain terminal who didn't like Mom got laid off and not called back. Those who treated her good became a part of the family out here and that was that except the one woman who got fired thought she could start a fight with Mom on Kroger's parking lot.”



“What happened?”



“Mom beat the hell out of her and damned near snatched her bald while I calmly put the groceries in the trunk.”



He laughed, “Did the police get called?”



“Oh hell no! That's the way it was if you were rich in this town back then!”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but get this because it was a huge double standard. You had the adults treating my parents like they were above the law and all those kids at school treating us like we were poor poor.

What changed is the lawsuit money happened from the house and Mom got an inheritance from a relative dying. Suddenly, I had fifty grand and bought my vette and Eldorado.

You'd think with a vette and Eldorado, I'd be treated good and be in with the rich kids. I wasn't. Instead, the Eldorado got vandalized and I went to school in the vette and sat guard with a shotgun. Kids came towards it and pellets ricocheted off the pavement. My Dad got called to school.

What happened there was my Dad is old school. When you fuck with him, he'll beat your ass if you're a man and if you're a woman...well, they didn't fuck with him because of the money.

With Dad, he got to the school and he threw me the keys to his truck and told me to drive home and get my car. I did and when I got back to school, he took the man out there and told him. “Either produce the kids who did that to his car, or forget he's choosing to do what you can't...protect his car.”

The man couldn't produce anyone, and those who had done it knew they'd get shot if they did anything again, so nothing happened again.

All the way up to the eleventh grade, I was a recluse. I knew I was gay and decided to kill myself. Mr Korf saved me and he put me in advanced courses and got me into some really good classes with good teachers. One of those was Mrs Dent who had drama.

Her being a drama teacher, she told me it was ok to be gay and started telling me all the famous gays in the theater. One thing led to another and I decided it was ok to be in drama.

What's the bad news there is all the rich kids are in drama. I'm in there and it's like, all them over in a little group and me sitting in the far opposite corner.

Well Danny figured it out and sat in front of me hoping I'd notice him. I did, but my shyness encapsulated me and me feeling different and being called a faggot all the time sure wasn't going to let me act upon my lust for him.

By then, Tony and I were together, so I had a secret life and it was my savior. I'd begun drinking and stayed drunk a lot. The grades stayed good and then, fate happened.”



“What happened?”



“Well, one rich girl who always had parties I never got invited to couldn't have a party and Danny told everyone I had a swimming pool and would be happy to have a party. They looked at me like I'd grown two heads and pointed, “Him! He's poor!” That was when Danny told them my Mom had married a rich guy and we lived out here.”



“How'd he know?”



“His Dad worked for mine. They'd been out to the house at sometime and I sure didn't know it, but then again, it might've been a Saturday and we were shoveling shit.

The way I was about it was hateful. I saw them for their fakeness and decided if I wasn't good enough to be invited to their parties, why have one and invite them?

Danny had other ideas and went to my Mom who thought it was a great idea.”



“Why didn't you want it?”



“Think about it. Let's say I lusted for you all those years in high school and now, you're wanting to be at my house in a bikini. Do you think I'm going to pop wood? And if I do, am I suddenly all the words I'm getting called for real? I decided to bow out and let them have their party and went to the camp and got fucked up.

Well, the parties started happening at my house and I was checking out and having my own at the camps. All my family is now poopular with the rich kids and this place was party central except I was holding onto the grudge.

My grades were excellent, so it put me in advanced which got me extra credits and it got me out of school a year early. I'll tell you Mr Korf saw me going downhill and pulled some severe rank to get me out of there because he saw school killing me.

I graduated and as soon as I did, Tony wanted me to go to Kansas City, so I checked out and moved there.”



“Man!”



“By then, I was already going to Kansas City and had met Gino and had remodeled his house and had already done a lot of construction, so I thought I knew it all.

What was crazy was I had rebuilt Tony and I's house while it was being built, so that boosted the little ego and yet, when you would ask me if I was going to college, I'd tell you yes, but I was going to be an entertainment director on a cruise ship like the Love Boat and be the hell away from people and throw parties.”



“Oh!”



“What happened is Tony committed suicide and I fell into a black period. Suddenly I had money and decided to go to college for Mortuary Science, not because of me wanting to do it for the right reasons, but because I could write off a Cadillac for the job.

All the while, I was being an architect without the license. I'm designing houses, and then Gino decided to build Ginorocity. I did the designs and he worked with Jerry who took mine and turned them into blueprints with very little changes....well, he fucked up the designs, but we got them changed back to rights for the ones after the first three.”



Mom yelled, “Rhette, are you guys going to stay in there all day?!”



I stood up and said, “We better get out there.”



We went out into the dining room and Jilli smiled. Mom said, “That was fast, either you weren't making out and Jilli owes me ten bucks, or you dress faster than firemen.”



“Jilli owes you ten bucks Mom. I was telling him about how it used to be when we lived in town.”



She nodded and said, “I call those the hell years. None of it was good except I've got my kids.”



She looked stern at me and said, “You need to tell him you and your real Dad got a relationship again.”



“I will.”



“None of the other kids got it, so you need to at least admit you got it.”



I nodded, “I will. We're going into town.”



She looked at En and said, “He's depressed. His eye is telling me that much. Get him cheered up.”



“I'll try.”



We went out and I pointed at the little shed. “My real Dad and I built that together.”



“Really?”



“Yeah. He knew he was dying and called me up one day. I went up and the way he was, was he wouldn't speak and say, “I'm dying and I want to have some father/son time.” Instead, he took me to the lumber yard and bought all the materials and handed me the blueprints which were all fucked up.

Well, I thought, “Ok, he wants to build a fucking shed. I wish he'd said something because I sure could've brought an air compressor and an air nailer and some good saws and we could've gotten this damned thing pounded out in no time.”

Instead, we've got a fucked up set of designs and me working with a man I hadn't seen in years and he's not speaking to me. About the time I'm cutting the sleds under it with an axe, my oldest brother showed up and started saying a bunch of ignorant shit like Dad's not going to give me no dick and that I'm a sick fuck for thinking so.”



“What?!”



“That's his mentality. Well, my mentality was too close to being out of prison and I went after him with the axe. He ran and we went around Dad's house and by then, he's way out ahead and I threw that axe like a tomahawk and it went right between his legs and pounded him in the nuts with the wrong end...or the right end depending how you looked at it. He didn't get castrated and I didn't go to jail, but I did catch up with him and stomp the fuck out of him.”



“Oh man! I don't blame you.”



“Well, I went back to the house and handed Dad the axe and said, “When you can keep the fucker gone long enough, I'll come back and build it with you. If not, good luck and have a nice life.”

I'll tell you he must've reamed him good because when I got home, my brother called and talked shit. He's going to come kick my ass and he's going to do this and he's going to do that, and I said, “Bring it on, when you get here, expect the worst beating you've ever gotten and know when I go back to prison over your dumb ass, it's going to be with you in a wheelchair for the rest of yours because I know the three areas to put you there.”

Mom overheard the conversation and asked me where and I told her I was taking a bat to his knees, to his back, and to his head. He'd have three reasons to be there.

Well, we sat there three hours and finally, I called him and told him he needed to show up and stop being a pussy. What he did was he called the Sheriff who came out and told me to stop calling him and threatening him. Mom overheard it and told him what the full story was and the Sheriff said, “Ok, do it and then lay him down on the highway at the bottom of the cliff so I can say he fell off it in a drunk haze and you won't go to jail.”



“Really?!”



“You need to remember I said my brother's a drunk and abusive. Well, he's gotten arrested for drunk driving after beating the wife and thought he could beat on the Sheriff. The Sheriff owes him a few bruises.”



“Oh”



We got in the truck and drove towards the parks.



“Where are we going?”



“Up to the parks. Jilli mentioned them, so I thought I'd show you them.”



“Ok What happened with your brother?”



“Mom is what happened. She called David and told him my brother was being a problem.

I think she knew my Dad was dying and decided to clear the way for me to have time with him. Well, my Dad called and said, “Are you going to come help me finish the shed, or what?” So, I took my tools with me and went.

As I said, the blueprints were fucked up. You can't take eight foot long boards and eight foot long metal and make a building. You've got angles and it's just a mess. The problem is you've got the frame put up and don't know it until you go to putting on the metal. THEN, you realize it real fast!

What we ended up doing was having to tear it down and then, I had to go buy more lumber and build the damned thing right.

During all that, he sat on the front porch and looked at the blue prints and kept saying, “I can't believe they'll sell you a kit to build a barn and not make them right!”



He chuckled, “I can't believe it either!”



“Well, they did. I drew up my own because they had it all fucked up. Whoever designed it, designed it four foot on center instead of sixteen inches and counted on using the outer skin to be structural supports so that if a high wind came up, it'd flatten real fast.

Me, knowing a lot of that, I took the two by fours which were scrap and built it on sixteen centers and then used the scraps to put in structurals for strengthening and got it built so it made sense.

We got it finished at the beginning of August and he died August 11th.

During that time, we did have a few meaningful conversations. He never apologized. Instead, he gave bits of advice and told me to never let a man hit me or put up with a man's shit. I told him I wouldn't and right after that is when my ex, Dave, hit me and I beat the dog fuck out of him and Kevin and I got back together and he treated me like shit and then, finally hit me where I tried killing him.

Since then, Steve treated me like shit, so he got dumped. Joe tried stealing from me, so he got dumped. And Jess cheated on me and vandalized my Rolls, so he got dumped.

In the meantime there, I built a company and learned how to be independent. I learned how to work hard and count on myself and I learned I could live through cancer and be ok.

Now, I'm moving forward with life and fate throws me a good man that I wonder if I'm going to ignore and fuck up the relationship through neglect.”



“You won't.”



“Hon, you know my history here and you know a lot of negative shit. That's not my motive here is to get you to thinking it's all about the boohoos. That's not me.

You need to know it in order to realize I'm a hard worker and hard work for me isn't something I shy away from. Yet, when I tell you farming is damned hard work, you need to realize for me to say it, I'll do it to be with you, but I'm going to be there asking you if you're ready to give it up, and be damned glad when you tell me, 'Yes!'”



“Why?”



“Because it's something I don't gotta do. I'm not like my Dad out there and consider it a hobby. It's work to me and unless I'm raising miniture horses and letting them run in my house like dogs, I'm not thinking running cattle are grand.”



“We don't have to run cattle. We could do something else.”



“Not in this country you're not! What you see out here is cattle farming because it's too fucking hilly. If you put a tractor with a planter on it, someone's going to drive by and call you a dumb ass and remind you where a tractor will go with a planter, isn't where a combine will go. That top heavy son of a bitch will roll and if you've seen the way one is built, you'll see one doesn't roll worth a fuck and someone stay alive at the end of the ride.”



“Ok, so what can we do?”



“All of it's labor intensive if you're wanting to farm. Grapes are good here and there's no such thing called a grape picker except for these two hands.

I'll also tell you doing that is rather romantic until you realize where there's grapes, there's sweetness and laying at the bottom of those vines is snakes and in them is bees which will sting the fuck out of you.

My Mom and Dad thought grapes were a great idea until a black snake ran Mom off and the bees ran everyone else off. That's when I decided I'd show the snake I'm boss and be patient enough to blow the bees off my hands. That's why the arbor is still there and I'm the one who does that.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, because in my basement is the winery. All those damned cheeses in the backseat go good with the wine.”



“Oh!”



“I'll also tell you I'm an alcoholic and I'll drink a glass of wine with you, but if I have more than that, a lovely evening isn't so lovely anymore because it's telling me I'm back to that and it's not happening.

I'll also tell you I can be a hard bitch if someone wants to buy me a drink of hard liquor. I'll throw it away and if someone wants to think they're big enough to make me drink it, I'll show them they're big enough to wear it and if they want to press the issue further, I'll press my fob and have people there to go for the kill damned fast.”



“Ok, so why have a winery in your basement?”


“Because I know I've got control of it and I know an idiot who's been through AA will try to tell me I don't. I'll read them the riot act and let them know they're susceptible to brain washing and tell them to go take a flying fuck and call their sponsor.”



“Man!”



“Listen. In prison, you've got fences. The whole time in there, you've got those fucks saying they're powerless over the shit. I'll tell you I pointed at the fences and said, “Go get me one. I'll drink it when you get back. You're powerful over it because if you weren't, you'd already be gone you dumb ass.”

I'll also tell you that realization taught me I'm more powerful than I thought in a lot of things and can be judgemental when others want to say they're victims.”



“I don't think so.”



“Let me show you a point and ask you a few questions.”



“Ok”



“Who stole the money from you? You, or your Dad?”



“My Dad.”



“Who made you sign the contract? You, or your Dad?”



“My Dad.”



“Who beat on you, you or your Dad?”



“My Dad.”



“You're a liar three times.”



“How can you say that?”



“Because unless he put a gun to your head and physically forced your hand to sign the contract, you signed it. You might've been coerced, but I'll tell you if the situation were me, I'd smiled and said, “Go get some other stooley, you dumb fuck.” And got up and walked away.

AND, the moment he tried to take a dime from me, I would've put him up on charges so fucking fast, he's see what I thought of dear old Dad the moment he got out of prison when I was there to beat the hell out of him.

AND, speaking of the abuse, I'll tell you it's about power and control. You give him the power and he controls you with it. You give him the power and he abuses you with it. When you take back the power, he's unable to control you and the second he thinks he can attempt to dominate you with physical force, you go to the cops or you turn to me and I'll make sure he doesn't ever make that mistake twice.”



“How?”



“Since I've got a ninety three million dollar investment, I'll tell you I'll have my guys break his arms and put out a story about how he fell down a flight of steps. He learns for the next six weeks, he's not going to raise a hand to so much as beat his own meat, so he's powerless. AND, the moment he thinks he can hire something done, I'm going to show you how strong skin is when I have the man hung by his nuts from a nail and then let him know what pain is about.”



“You really know about that stuff...control and power.”



“I got it beaten into me and got psychoanalyzed by Kevin who taught me the rules of the games in prison. I learned and yeah, I learned...to do it, to recognize when it's being attempted to me, and know how to get out of it.

I'll also tell you when a powerplay is happening to me and tell you when to get off that trip if I don't like it.”



“I don't think I will.”



“I think you'd be wrong.”



“How?”



“Ok, let me tell you something. It's a cyclical disease. It's a mental disease, and it's generational cyclical.”



“What's that mean?”



“Think about it. Your Dad beats his wife, therefore you grew up thinking it was ok and acceptable. You know it's wrong, but you also know it's ok to be forceful when you get upset...because dear old Dad didn't know any better ways of dealing with anger.

If alcohol was the problem, you were taught it's ok to check out and numb the pain with alcohol.

My Mom and Dad there thought that until we took away that option. Now, it's not a part of their lives anymore and definitely isn't because they're on medication which doesn't allow it.

Me, I learned it was ok, and did it. All of my family has learned to overcome it and Jilli's not had a problem with it, I don't think. However I do know she's been in abusive relationships, so she definitely knows what it's like to get air miles on the husband airlines with fist propulsion.”



“What about you?”



“Have I beaten up boyfriends? Yeah. Do I use it as a fear tool? No. I use it to get someone the fuck away from me and then, I get other tools. And then, I use what tools I have at my disposal like this phone, to call David and make sure that man stays away from me.

Now, with us, I'll tell you when we've got a problem and I expect you to tell me. The second you think you can stand over me, you've got a problem and the moment you think you can even so much as start down the abusive road, you've got a BIG problem.”



“How do you know?”



“Listen, it doesn't start with a punch. It starts with desensitizing.

First of all, I call you a dumb bitch and if I'm not packing my goods, it must be ok and then, I'll start with more name calling until one day, you fly across the room and I pour out the tears about how sorry I am I'll never do it again and fill you full of lies to stay out of trouble. Then, if you don't send me packing, I wipe my forehead and go 'whew! It must be ok to beat the fuck out of him and be sorry for it!'

Then, it starts happening regularly and one day, I just don't even apologize. Instead, I'm telling you how you MAKE me do it and then, I've transferred that guilt over onto you and you get into the fear game by cowering instead of dialing 9-1-1.

The day you call 9-1-1, the power is gone and I'm on my way to jail and yet, you love me and you make all sorts of excuses about how I'm such a nice guy except when you're receiving free tickets on my airline and how if I'd just change, I'd be lovable.

Well, you know what? That's not happening because I don't love myself. AND, until I learn about the cycle and what it takes to make it change and how it's NEVER acceptable to hit someone, then it won't.”



“Really?”



“Hon, do you know why I can step in so freely and take that control? Because you gave it to me and he doesn't know it yet, but with it, I've got control over him. If you don't think so, watch me the second he comes at you and I'll show him who has control by intervening.

You'll learn you've got control because I'll turn to the dick head and tell him you're going to call the boys on him the next time and when he comes at you, I'm going to tell you to call the boys and step back. THEN, if you allow him to hit you, I'll step in and beat the dog fuck out of him myself because the second he raises a fist to me, my guys will cut his arms off.”



“What will they do if I call them?”



“Put him away from you and then, if he threatens you, they'll hurt him in ways so he's still making me money and learned to find a different way.”



“What if he doesn't?”



“He's not an idiot. Do you realize what prison does to people? It makes them think long and hard about things. When I was in there, I learned and believe me, if I've got to be a professor and school him, I'll take away his freedom and leave him one out and that being the window where he can always jump. I'll bet you he won't.”



“He'll call the police!”



“Yeah, and then what? My boys will be there telling the police he's got security and show them tapes about how I've not been near him for six months and apologize to them and tell them we'll get him some medication to keep those calls down.”



“Will you?”



“No, I'll call in a programmer and set his ass in a two foot by two foot cell with a television as it's only light and run subliminal tapes on it until he's programmed into doing exactly what he's supposed to be and do.”



“Why not cut through all that and do that?”



“Because some people learn better by learning the power they've got within. If programming were everything, we'd have no prisons and be programmed at kindergarten to be perfect model citizens.”



“Oh!”



We pulled into the first park and I said, “This is the park where Jilli most likely will get married.”



“I see the river over there!”



“Yeah, but let's go to the next. I like it better because I had a History book in college with that picture on it.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, it was cool.”



We drove to it and he said, “I like this one better.”



“I do too, but the next one is the best one.”



“Really?”



“Yeah.”



We turned right and went around the corner. He said, “Man, look at that straight away!”



I put the pedal to the metal and said, “Yeah, it's where we test our vehicles for speed and you'll hear motorcycles clear over at Mom and Dad's screaming with their exhaust because they can get those crotch rockets up to 200 here.”



“Oh man!”



“Over there to the left is Jimmy's place.”



“Really?”



“It's a former road house.”



“What's that?”



“Speakeasy.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah. The way it was, was back in those days, they had warnings set in place if the government was coming. You have to remember highways back then weren't really highways, but mostly gravel roads. Missouri didn't get a good paved road system until after World War II.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, it cost a lot to build a road and unless you've got taxes, you're not getting a road. After the war, they had taxes, so they built them, so everyone pretty much got roads.

Before the war, you had a road tax, but it was for major highways and not local. That's where you had Route 40 and Route 66 and Route 61, 63, 65, and 36 here in Missouri. Basicly, even number routes with the first number being even went North South and the odds, like 36 went East West.”



“I never knew that!”



“That wasn't always the case though, so you need to know that. We're on 79 which should be EastWest, but it's North South. I don't know if it's because it's a State Route, or what, but maybe state routes were opposite so they could tell them apart.

In regards to the Interstate Highway System, I can't even begin to tell you how they numbered them because I heard Interstate 40 down near St. Louis is the very first Interstate Highway which got funded.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, they've got a sign down there which says that.”



“I wonder why?”



“I'd say someone from Missouri was on that commission. I do know Eisenhower was in office when it got funded, but if you knew why we have them and what 40 looks like, you'd say, they lied.”



“Why do they have them?”



“Eisenhower saw the Autobahn in Germany and saw how fast they were able to move military goods from one place to another and realized there was no way possible we could move things that fast.

Then, he learned they could land their planes on it and hide the jets so no one could bomb an airfield and think they were hurting them, so that was another reason we got them.

EXCEPT, If you saw 40, you'd see an up and down rollercoaster highway and the idiot whoever thought he could land a plane on it or take off was drunk.”



“Oh!”



“Right now, it's all under construction to get it all made to Interstate Standards, but for fifty years, it wasn't. I think it was the only interstate in the country except for that one through Florida where you could pull out on it like a normal street. All the rest have interchanges and ramps and overpasses.”



“I never knew that!”



“I'll tell you their way of deciding who gets the highway dollars is pure bullshit. They divide up the state according to population and if the state has two million people in it and St. Louis has five hundred thousand, then they get a quarter of it. Then, it goes like that all the way until the littlest areas get very little. That's why you've got parts of rural Missouri looking like you're back in the 30's and other parts looking like they're modern.

That all changed with what I call the 'Big Lie' back in the election of '88. Back then, we had Mel 'the tax man' Carnahan pledging he'd get everyone with a population of five thousand or more a four lane highway.

He got in as Governor and he got the tax passed, except he forgot to tell everyone the tax was going to the general fund instead of highways and his pledge of ten new prisons needed funding. So, he got his prisons and Missourians got fucked. That's why he didn't get elected again and he ran for Senator. I'll also tell you he wouldn't've gotten elected Senator if he hadn't died in a plane crash and instead of him being in the Senate, his wife went...but, she proved herself to be as big of a liar as him and we got him out. Now, his daughter wants a go at us and the idiots who don't remember history will probably elect her.”



“Did they ever get the highways?”



“Nope, and now, anytime they have a highway election since then, it's been voted down. They did get increased funding for them, but it failed the first time because it didn't have guarantees in it and passed only after they showed us it wasn't going to be another lie.

What they didn't tell us was the funding was going to be all fucked up like before and St. Louis was getting a quarter of it.

Now, I'll tell you we got some of it for the Avenue of the Saints on Highway 61, but it's sure not going to everyone with a population of five thousand and over.

You will see Highway 36 is getting turned into an Interstate, but that's only because the State of Illinois sued the Missouri for fraud.”



“Why?”



“Ok, you need to understand there's a grudge there which dates way back. What happened was Missouri used to be good about highways. We'd hear Illinois was building a highway and we'd build one to meet up and pay for our part of the bridge going over the Mississippi and then, you'd have it ending at someone's corn field.

Well, Missouri got fed up and told Illinois, 'We're the 'Show Me' state, you're going to have to show us you've got the highway there before we even offer to go halves with a damned bridge or highway to meet up.

So, Illinois wanted Interstate 72. Missouri was like, 'ho hum, the fuckers are lying again', so when they said they were building it, we didn't believe them, when they got the funding, we didn't believe them, when they started building it, we said, “Oh, get it to us and we'll believe it”, so they did.

Then, Illinois said, “Hey, you got the same federal funding we did, where's the interstate?” That's when Missouri said, “Oops, sorry, we sort of spent that money in St. Louis, so we'll catch you on the next go 'round.”

I'll tell you that when it comes to funding, you don't fuck Uncle Sam. He gets pissed and tell you to shit some money back to him or he's going to shut all your moneys off.

When a state hears that, they suddenly wake up like the kid who got the shit slapped out of his knuckles by the nun! He suddenly pays attention and puts effort in things.

Well, Missouri suddenly realized the cost of the Interstate was going to be something like three times the amount it would've been if they'd just built the thing in the first place and started posturing to the feds. Illinois saw the feds were about to forgive it and chose to sue Missouri.

As you know, fraud's easy to prove if you've got the evidence and Illinois had it...so did the feds. So, Missouri asked us to tax ourselves and get the highway built. We did and what happened them, was not only did we pay to build the Interstate, they also snuck in TIF funding for us to build all the God damned Walmart*s you see popping up around here.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but let me tell you Walmart* is smart, they know if you vote for a TIF, their store will paid for in x amount of years and they've got y amount of years of income, so where you see a Walmart*, you see a Lowe's because we've bought both.”



“That's sneaky.”



“Yeah, but they've screwed the pooch around here. They came in with their claims of value pricing. When you go out there with a price list of what the prices are everywhere else, you'll see they're higher.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, that's why I'm shopping everything around before I build our house. What I will say is I've learned a lot by building the house in Kansas City and know there's no law against ordering directly from the mill and getting things. That's why when we build, I'm putting plywood in and ordering an entire train car full of the stuff. We'll get what we need at below wholesale pricing.”



“Cool!”



“What you don't know is if you pay close enough attention, we're sitting in a good spot to get things. Over at Mt. Sterling is the Pella plant, so we can go there and get windows and doors.

I also know how much the machine cost for the roofing and siding and we'll have steel siding and roofing up at cost.”



“Why?”



“Because it's guaranteed for fifty years. With the baked on finish, the house isn't going to need to be painted for that long. If it does, we'll be too fucking old to worry about it. But, the advantages of steel over aluminum, or plastic is it's a lot stronger.”



We pulled into the next park and I drove back to the overlook.



“If you ever go riding around with Jaymes, don't bring him here.”



“Why?”



“His Mom killed herself right here.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, over that guard rail is a cliff and down below is a junkyard of cars which kids steal and run off for fun. I'll tell you my brothers were in on that.”


“On her dying?”



“No, but yeah, in a way.”



“What's that mean?”



“Well, if I brought you out here to fuck and told you how cars are ran off and then, you decide to commit suicide by doing it, I'm partly responsible.”



“Ok.”



“It's a good place to fuck. That road we came in on is right over there. You don't see it, but at night time, we could fuck here and have about five minutes notice after we saw the lights to be wiped off and buttoned up before we saw the person here.”



“Man, you know the places!”



“What I'll tell you is this time of year, it's nice here. Come July, August, or September, you won't catch locals here because this is hotter than hell. All this asphalt up here unprotected is just a furnace.”



“I never thought about it, but you'd be right.”



“At those times of year, we went down by the river and parked. We could skinny dip and party and not have a problem. I didn't because we've got the camp, but my brothers did because it's closer to home than the camp.”



We drove to the last one and I said, “This used to be the best one, but they let the trees grow up. What I will tell you is down over that hill is the best damned marijuana on the face of the planet.”



“Really?”



“Hon, they'd party here. Let me park and you see what happens.”



I parked and got out. “Come back here.”



He came back and I pulled out my dick and pissed. “See where it runs? Now, say you and I are out here toking it up and spittin' out the seeds. They go and run right off with rain. A plant grows and then next year, we're smoking a different strain and we do it. It runs off and it grows and they cross breed.”



I walked over to the edge and said, “Take a look at how steep it is on the other side of the guard rail. No cop's going to fuck with it because they don't really think people notice, but the locals know and they know a rope tied to the guard rail and some repelling experience and you've got your own grove. However, since I'm lazy, if I park the truck like I did, if I've got a winch, I can go down with a machete and let the truck pull me and about four plants up the hill.”



He laughed, “Do you get high?”



“Nope, but I used to...and I was quite popular with being able to get it. I'll also tell you my brother showed me and he was popular at his parties and I was popular at mine and we never ran out of the stuff.”



“I can't believe you know all this!”



“And THAT my sir is why our kids don't have a chance growing up here! The moment they think they've got all this, I'll be down here shoving their car off this motherfucker on fire and burn down the whole mountain!”



He laughed, 'And be standing up here sniffing away.”



“Nope, I'll show you where I'll be.”



“Hang on a second.”



He whipped it out and pissed. “I've never done this outside like you did.”



“It's the country! Boys learn to do it at a young age and girls learn to look before they squat so they don't get poison ivy.”



He laughed. We got in the truck and I said, “Hon, let me tell you something. Back in 2000, the do gooders tried burning the grove. They thought if they put fire trucks up here and started the fire down below, they'd have it contained. What you don't know is this is at the end of a tornado alley and this hill tends to accelerate the wind sideways. So, when you've got a five mile an hour breeze down in bumfuck, up here on this hill, you've got something like eighteen miles an hour sideways.

What started out as a controlled burn damned near burned down Mom and Dad's place eight miles away.”



“Wow!”



“This fire spread and with this all being natural forest and mountain tops, that fire spread, embers flew, and they had a helluva mess which went from what they thought a few guys could handle to them having to call out prisoners, national guard, and everyone who wanted their houses in to fight.

I'll tell you I was in St. Louis when I got the call on Saturday morning from Mom telling me they had embers raining down on the house and the woods were on fire.

I drove like a madman...well, I did stop at Home Depot and Kentucky Fried Chicken and got twenty buckets, but I drove up here and threw sprinklers on top of the house and all over the yard.

As you know, we've got the pond, and there's a pump which brings water up the hill. They used to use it for water to the house, but they got rural water and changed to that, but Dad still waters the garden with it.

So, we saved the place and what I did was I learned a very valuable lesson.”



“What's that?”



“It was November and cold. YET, I walked down this road right here and looked out on what had burned and in all that charred blackness were thousands of mushrooms! Guess who went mushroom huntin' and called in sick for four days to do so!”



“Why?”



“Thirty dollars a pound, twenty five dollars an hour in a plant, I can pick fifty pounds an hour...the choice is simple.”



He laughed, “You're an opportunist!”



“Hey, it worked for me and that's how I bought that entire block of buildings down there less than eight months after I was out of prison.”



“A whole block of buildings?”



“A friend turned me onto it. He learned the city was condemning buildings and selling them. At first, it was, “If you want a house, come make an offer and we'll sell you one.”

Well, at that time, the heart of the city was like war central...Watts...Compton...you get my drift.”



“Man!”



“What you don't know is I went down and looked and got out and walked and the guy was scared shitless because I'm white and the world is black down there. BUT, what you don't know is I was in prison with probably ninety percent of them, so me walking down there it's like old homecoming day!”



He laughed, “You're crazy!”



“What I found out was they didn't require a residency which means I can buy it and rehab them and resell them and be fine. I found a block of them and went in and made a bid for a whole block of them for a hundred and twenty five thousand.

With deed in hand, I went and got a developer's loan on the deed and paid seventy five thousand to those buddies to strip them out and then put new windows and shellac on the bricks and paint on the floors. When that was done, I put them up for sale for a hundred and eighty five thousand and if they wanted a kitchen, bathroom, and laundry, it cost them a quarter of a million.”



“Man!”



“Yeah, but get this because I think my Mom was really scared for me. One night, I'm sitting in an open window watching the police helicopter hover over and shine it's light down. I decide to call Mom and she's hearing the chopper and hearing the background noise.

She asked, “Are they shooting fireworks down there?” And I said, “No Ma, that's gunshots!” Well, she got quiet and she said, “Honey, you come up here and stay, I'll pay for the fuel for your car, that place isn't safe!”

Well, she thought I was nuts because I laughed and said, “Ma, they're not going to shoot me, I'm their employer and get them their pay in cash. I'm probably the safest guy down here.”



He laughed, “You're probably right.”



“Yeah, but you know what? I made two million in no time down there. I still own a lot of properties down there.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, that first block of eleven houses bought me fifty more blocks. Then, when I was rehabbing those, the man who I bought them for told me I could get a grant to make them section 8 and they'd pay me to make them into them and pay me to rent them to people. So, I did. Now I own something like seven hundred apartments down there.”



“You don't know how many?”



“Dave manages them. I can take you down and show you every one of them and you'll see I own a helluva lot of ground, but there's apartment blocks, town houses, and houses. Some sold, some didn't and are section 8, but we've also got a bunch of others which are regular rent.”



“Why?”



“Because we developed them into nicer units. I still own a house down there for me, but it's rented out. That's my first one.”



“Is that the one you told me about with Reggie?”



“No, that was prior to prison. This is all since prison. It's a whole different section of downtown.”



“Ok”



We drove back towards town and when we got to town, I called Jaymes.



“Hello?”



“What 'cha up to?”



“I went and worked out with Juarren. Now we're going to the motel to get my stuff and take it to Dad's. Why? Are you wanting your car back?”



“No, I was going to tell you to come to Grande Rio at seven tonight and I'd buy supper. We've invited all my family and friends so they can meet En.”



“Ok, we'll probably do that.”



“Has your Dad got your car fixed yet?”



“No.”



“Why not?”



“I think we're thinking about getting another one for me.”



“Ok, let me know. IF you want, I'll advance you some money.”



“Would you?”



“Yeah, but there's a condition to it.”



“What's that?”



“The condition is it's got to be a Dodge Challenger and you can't trade it off for twenty five years.”



“Why?”



“It's economics and knowing what makes a car a collectible car or not. This year, the ability to get a car is way down and they've decreased production of them, so a new car with this model year on it is going to be a collector's item. With it being a sporty one, it's a collector's item for sure. What I'll also tell you to do is to go to the dealer and tell them you want to order one special which will make it a special order car which puts you into the rarest of them from the get go.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah, so what I'll do is I'll advance you thirty grand which will get you the Hemi Cuda Challenger and then, you can order one in one of the colors which are going to make it rare.”



“Like what?”



“I'm not sure what they've got, but I know they have red and orange, but I don't know if they have purple yet, or not. IF they don't, I'd order a purple one.”



“Why?”



“The originals came in purple, and the older Cudas came in a burnt red which was almost a maroon with black interior.”



“Oh, that'd be cool.”



“Yeah, but the dealer here in Hannibal might not do a special order. If not, we might have to go to Quincy, or St. Louis. I do think if you tell them you'll go elsewhere, they'll kiss your ass in getting a car sold to you. If they don't, they're damned dumb. Well, if they don't, let me speak to old man Poage who owns the dealer now and see if he'll do it. I do know I've played hard ball with him before.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, I bought a Cadillac after one of his salesmen told me I couldn't afford it. I took the VIN of it and went to Quincy's Cadillac dealer and told the man I wanted that exact car and would go pick it up as long as he told them down here I wanted to speak with the owner. When Poage heard what had happened, he fired that salesman because I'd bought four cars from GM that year already.”



“Why?”



“Hon, it was a crazy life. Chad and I were together and money was easy, so I got a Corvette with everything on it and souped it up. Then, I got an SS Caprice and a SS pickup, and then I got the TransAm. The guy saw me in the TransAm and thought because I was driving a twenty three thousand dollar car that I couldn't pay thirty seven thousand for a car, but besides that, we had a Porsche and a classic RoadRunner R/T.”



“Man!”



“It was a crazy fucked up life then.”



“Let me go see the Challengers and see. It'll be later though.”



“Ok, give me a call when you go out. I'll meet you out there.”



“Ok”



I hung up and he smiled, “You're spoiling him.”



“Hon, he's doing good with his life. His Dad just broke a promise to him and I don't like that. In fact, it irks the shit out of me he'd do it.”



We pulled up in front of the house and parked. I said, “We need to let the dogs out, but put Brad's collar on him.”



“OK”



“But first, show me you can disable the alarm. I want to be sure you can do that.”



“Ok”



I looked across the street and saw about thirty Mexicans on the front porch.



“En?”



“Yeah.”



“Wave across the street.”



“Why?” He looked over and I smiled.



He chuckled and I said, “They'll risk INS driving by to look at you.”



“I can't believe them!”



“Oh, I can. IF it were me, I'd be going in and blacking my eye with how hard I'd be pounding the thing!”



He laughed, “You're nuts!”



“It'd probably be bruised too.”



“It?”



“There's only one left. The other got lost due to cancer.”



“Man, I'm sorry.”



“Hey, they left the best one!”



“Let's get inside.”



“No, I want to speak with them.”



I walked across the street and asked, “English?”



“Si”



“Who's working tonight at the restaurant?”



Several motioned and I said, “We've got a private party at Grande Rio at seven pm. He'll be there. You tell Miguel I expect the best service they've ever had and for him to be generous on the portions. Tell him it's one bill and I'm paying, so he needs to do that.”



“Oh ok!”



I pointed over, “You like?”



He smiled, “He's very famous.”



“Yeah, he'll be here quite a bit when he's not performing in Las Vegas.”



“Oh!”



“IF you guys want photographs to send back home, I'll do that for you.”



“We can't.”



“Yes you can! I'll have the pictures taken and then, what I can do is mail them from out in Las Vegas. No one will know you are here. They'll think you're out there.”



They looked surprised, “You'd do that?!”



“Yeah, I know your families down there would like to see you're living next to someone famous. Maybe they'd not worry about you if you do that.”



The dogs came out barking. En came out and I motioned him over. He came over and I said, “Hon, they'd like to have their pictures taken with you. I told them we'd mail them to their families when we go out to Las Vegas. That way, the INS won't think they're here.”



He nodded, “Ok”



I said, “I'll go get my camera and then, we'll get that done for them. They can see the photo and we can get the right ones in the right envelopes and get letters or whatever for them in with the pictures.”



“Ok”



I ran across the street and got my camera and then came back. We took pictures and then, I went over and got them printed out on photo paper.



When I got back, En was up on the porch playing guitar with them singing 'Valla Con Dios'. I started singing with him and everyone looked surprised. A lot of them started making comments and En told them, “Rhette is going to be very famous some day as a singer.”



They agreed and then, En sang another which was more lively. All the guys knew it, but I didn't. It was beautiful.



When he was finished, he came over and kissed me, “You are mine. That's what the song says.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, they know it because it's an old song I did, but now, we must go.”



“Ok”



We said our goodbyes and I took the stack of photos in each of their prospective envelopes and promised they'd get them mailed in Vegas.”



Back over at the house, I went in and made us sandwiches. I brought him his and we ate in the living room. He was going through his phone and listening to messages.



He made a call and started speaking in Spanish. As he spoke, the conversation got more rapid, then, he said, “May we send a plane to Los Angeles tomorrow? My family wants to come.”



“Sure.”



He spoke into the phone and got quite animated. Then, he got more calm and motioned with his hand to sit with me on the sofa with him. I leaned into him and put my head upon his shoulder. I could hear the woman speaking rapidly and then, he sounded more soothing. He spoke some more and then, he said his goodbyes.



When he hung up, he said, “I need to make another call to my manager. What do I say?”



“Tell the person you want them in Las Vegas tomorrow. Tell them you want your contracts and all their records brought and if they will not bring them, you'll have fraud charges placed upon the person and embezzlement. Tell them you've already got your father's misdeeds being handled and for them to expect your contract to be cancelled tomorrow as well as your recording contract if it's still in effect.”



“Ok”



He dialed and got told the man wasn't available. He left a message to be called back and I called Dave.



“Hello?”



“Do me a favor. Have someone go to En's manager's office and stand over the man while he calls En. Then have them photocopy all the records in En's files and have those brought to me so they're not lost.”



“Ok”



“I can't believe when En calls the man he can't get through.”



“It's a typical power play they do. Some want the little ego trip of making everyone think they're so busy even the named stars have to wait.”



“Ok, I need you to do me a favor.”



“What's that?”



“I've got diamonds ordered for him from Van Cleif. I want those, but we've changed the color of his tux to white. Would you order a tie bar with diamonds, a tie tack, cuff links, and a dove made in diamonds?”



“The dove might be hard to get.”



“I know, but that's the symbol I want to be ours.”



“How big on the stones?”



“For his ring, I want it to be large and set in platinum with carat ones on each side and then halves on the side of it. Go no larger than a five in the middle but have them be inset in the settings. You'll need a size ten.”



“Ok, what about yours?”



“The same except a size five. You might have a ring of smaller ones around the center one.”



“I'm not sure what you'll like.”



“Do you remember Meemaw's wedding ring?”



“Yes.”



“Like that, but in platinum.”



“Her's didn't have the stones inset.”



“Right, I want mine like hers but his with them inset. Guys tend to get them caught on things, women don't.”



“Ok”



“I just thought of something humorous.”



“What's that?”



“Are you familiar with that commercial for that Open Heart necklace that actress designed?”



“Yeah.”



“If one breaks, would the man who repairs it be considered an Open Heart surgeon?”



He chuckled, “You're a nut, but I like that one.”



“I need to get off here, I just thought of another song.”



“Ok.”



“Loves.”



“I love you too.”



I hung up and pressed record. Then, I sang 'Open Heart'. When I was done, I saw him smiling and off the phone.



“That was beautiful.”



“I think it's yours.”



“Really?!”



“Yeah, I want you to have a really good album with a lot of good songs on it.”



“That'd be good.”



“My problem is to remember you're not working with a full orchestra like your Dad.”



“Yeah, I like mine better.”



I sat back in his arm again and asked, “Let's go upstairs and make out.”



“Why upstairs?”



“This sofa is uncomfortable to lay upon.”



“What about the other? In the parlor?”



“Even worse. It's really comfortable, but it's feathers and you sink so deep in it, it's just nuts.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, and when you get up from sitting upon it, you've got to fluff back up the cushions.”



“That's unusual.”



“Not really, that's what they did before foam. I looked in them to see if I could do something and saw they've got real cotton around all the feathers.”



“It's a beautiful sofa.”



“Yeah, but it's not practical for active use. I'll tell you I'm intending on having a whole room designed around it, but it'll be used rarely.”



“Why?”



“Because it's more formal.”



“Ok, but I'd rather have rooms in our home we can use.”



“We'll have plenty of rooms to use. I'm not saying it won't be used, but I imagine one of the children will take to it.”



“Do you think?”



“Oh yeah, I'm not saying it's not comfortable. In fact, it's very comfortable, but it's impractical when the cushions have to be fluffed.”



We went upstairs and he dropped his clothes. I got out of mine and soon, we were in an passionate embrace. He scooped me up into his arms and carried me to the bed. His smirk told me something.



“What's funny?”



“Oh nothing, I saw all those old movies where the man did that and thought I'd never do that.”



“Well, you did!”



“And I want to do so much more with you.”



We began kissing and as our passion grew, I found myself yearning for more. Soon, there was no turning back and I opened the bedside stand.



“No, we will wait. When I make love with you, I don't want there anything between us.”



“Ok”



He resumed and I'll tell you each moment he continued drove me further and further in love with him. I'm not into frottage, but what he was doing was incredible. Soon, we were so off into it, I exploded all over us which was soon followed by his scream in my mouth and his spasms.



When he was subsiding, I heard soft sniffles, “Oh my God that was beautiful.”



I didn't want to tell him, but a song began itself in my head. Soon, it was full symphony with it building and building until the drums were pounding and cymbals were crashing. His voice in high came through coming down with breathless words.



“What are you thinking?” he asked.



“A song.”



“Now?”



“Oh yeah, it's you making love in a song.”



“Really?”



“My God that song's powerful. It's erotic and all the orchestrations of it are just so full of symbolisms and your voice is just crying out.”



“Do you think it can be done?”



“It's music. Nothing is wrong. The words are beautiful and the music is amazing...but it's full symphonic orchestra.”



“Oh man.”



“I need to clean up.”



“Babe, don't move.”



“Ok.”



“Right now, I'm so in love with you, I can't be anymore in love with you. If you were a woman, I'd want this one to be the one which conceived our child.”



“It was amazing for me too. I can't believe I achieved orgasm without taking a Cialis.”



“Really?”



“Since my testicle was removed and they froze my prostate, I've never gotten sensations like that with anyone. Usually, I don't even get hard. This time, you showed me intensity is possible without stimulants. The doctor said it might be possible, but I'd thought I'd lost it forever.'



Another song came roaring in and I said, “Hon, I've got to get up. There's yet another roaring in my head. I need you to look up a word for me on the internet because the way this one is coming, it's full symphony and it's meant to follow up 'Your Passion'.”



“What's the word?”



“Dericho...not Jericho, but Dericho.”



“I'll go look.”



“I'll go wash up.”



“I'll be in.”



“Ok, the water will be going.”



I went in and got in the shower. Soon, he came in.



“What's it mean?”



“Powerful winds.”



“Really?”



“It's a hurricane, but without the rain...well, it's got rain too, but it's like a hurricane on land.”



“Like wind sheer?”



“No, worse. Wind sheer is probably what a Jericho is in the air. The Dericho is when it reaches the ground and gets propelled forward. It said 'at times, the wind speed is unmeasurable with the force. It's estimated to be five hundred miles an hour'.”



“Man!”



“There's photos and it looks like something nuclear happened.”



“My passion for you returned. Isn't that interesting.”



“What's interesting?”



“Your song you were singing was called, 'My Passion'. Then, this one came out with the same thunderous intro and I'm singing about the passion racing inside of me and everything waning in it's path. It builds up and then, with operatic highs, it's 'Dericho!'. Then the words come faster and they're more powerful. My voice gets deeper and more breathless until a music interlude and my voice coming back more silent but full of more passion.”



I washed his hair and he moaned, “Storm's rising.” I said, “Oh God! Another song.”



I started singing and washing his back. He turned around and his eyes were full of passion. He kissed me with such intensity it pushed me against the wall and I hugged him to me to remain upright, but pinned by him. I thought, “My God, I'm composing a fucking opera about this man making love to me!” Another song, “Storms Colliding” and then “Passion Subsiding”



Our kissing was so intense, he was moaning with ever abandon. And then, it decreased and he let his lips off mine and said, “I just came twice kissing you!”



“And I just come up with another two songs. It's not an album, but an opera.”



“Wow!”



“Love Storm”



“Really?”



“Yeah, I've got to get these songs in. It's just amazing me.”



As he washed me, I sang him the songs. When I was finished, he said, “That's beautiful.”



“And I hate opera. Isn't that the kicker!”



“It's got to be recorded. It might not go anywhere, but I want it down.”



“Ok”



When we were finished, we dried each other and then went upstairs. I pulled him out some clothes and he put them on. “Did he ever wear this?”



“No, he said it didn't fit right.”



“It's the part across the back. It's like it's tapered to accentuate the vee shape.”



“It looks amazing on you. You can wear white and black wonderfully.”



“I like these jeans.”



“Wranglers. I got them for him because they were black. Of course, he never wore them. That's why they're folded in the dresser.”



“Why didn't he wear them?”



“He said they cut his dick in half.”



“Lucky him!”



“You're perfect. Don't think anything less than that.”



“I meant.”



“Honey, remember when you're working with all the equipment, it's a curse to you and your lover at times.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, he'd have a lot of times it was painful. He'd be up cheering a game on television and would sit down and sit on it and then, he'd be on the floor like someone punched him. When we made love, if he wasn't gentle, I felt like someone had bruised the hell out of me inside.”



“Oh! How'd you put up with it?”



“Silently. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I'm thankful no one I've been with has had that size since. You're perfect.”



“Really?”



“I know my body and what it takes to please me. Believe me, you're perfect.”



He smiled, “What about shoes?”



“Hang on, the good thing there is you're the same size as me. Sit down there and take these socks.”



“I love these underwear.”



“Cocksox. They're really swimming shorts, but I love the lycra, it's like wearing spandex.”



“I don't know, I've never worn spandex.”



“That's how it makes you feel except biker shorts are more down your legs. This is like a biker brief.”



“I like them. They feel good on my butt.”



“Yup.”



He put on the socks and I got out some wings.



He looked up at me quizzically and asked, “Why these?”



“Put them on. Stand up in them and see why.”



He put them on and stood up and walked. “Those shoes are old style men's dress shoes. Obama wears the hell out of them because they're comfortable for long periods of standing. Tonight, we'll be standing and we'll be walking around visiting a lot of people. You'll need them.”



“I'm glad you think of those things. Why are you wearing those?”



“I'm wearing this entire outfit because I know I look my best in it. I bought these pants down in Jacksonville, Florida. I love them and yes, they're women's, but you can't really tell when I put them with this pirate shirt.”



“That's what it looks like! Well, you look like a pirate in that outfit.”



“The pants have the coloring which is different. People don't associate dark brown as being a neat color, but I love the lace up in the front.”



“That's cool.”



“I wear moccasins with it because it's the same color and if you've ever worn them, you know they're like going barefoot.”



“Really? I've never worn them.”



I got dressed and put them on. Then, I leaned forward and shook my hair out. When I stood up, I smiled and he said, “Oh man, can we not go and just let me stare at you?”



“No, but thank you.”



“For what?”



“I'm going to say it once and then, you'll know what it was like with Kevin.

During the time we were together before my beating, I can count on three fingers the times I was told by him I was attractive. Afterwards, I can't tell you on any fingers the number of times I was told...until the day we got back together. Then, he told me after he told me I wasn't the same person in looks. It hurt because he wasn't complimenting me now, he was complimenting my looks then.

With you, you don't say words which come out and say, “Man, I think you're hot.” You do it with your eyes, actions, and in ways you say things. It makes me feel good and alive. That's why I feel more with you and that's why you need to know I know this is going to be so much better. So, if you ever wonder if I'm comparing, know you are way better.”



He smiled, “Do you realize when you speak of him, that hurt in that song carries through?”



“That song is fourteen years in the making with a lot of hurts. Yeah, there were good times and yes, I loved him and felt lucky to have him, but we wore each other out. I don't feel like I was ever exactly what he desired, but what he took as a replacement instead.

With you, I find it complimenting because there's hunger when I see you look at me and I know I'm what you've wanted.”



“Oh yeah!” he said breathlessly, “but can I say something?”



“Sure.”


“I've known some pretty women who were beautiful.

One of the most beautiful women I've known was in that video shoot for 'Hero' and we were supposed to be romantically linked. I knew it wasn't right.

Holding you, I know it's there. Because it's there, I'm feeling more alive and more full of....I want to say, yearning, desire, passion, but it's more than that. It's like I want you in me and knowing what's in my heart and I feel like I'm about to explode when I feel it.”



“I know, it comes out when you kiss me. It comes through in your looks, touching, and the way you carry yourself.

Do you know my Dad saw that?”



“Really?”



“He saw it and he predicted you were feeling all you were feeling up on the hill.”



He smiled, “Do you know when I stood there I looked out on the valley and the skies and the first thing I thought was that theme song to the Sound of Music? Then, I saw the sky and it was like until that moment, I never realized the words to 'America, The Beautiful' and there it was right in front of me with the valley, the land, the hills, and the skies.”



“I know, that's why I love it up there. That view is equal to my Mom and Dad's, but I like it better because the trees are framing it like a big beautiful picture.”



“I feel a connection there. I know it's yours, but I feel like it screams, 'This is mine and it's beautiful.'”



“Honey, it's ours. Don't look at things like mine and yours. Look at them like they're ours and know what you can't obtain with your word, if you tell me, I'll get it for you with mine.”



“Really?”



“Yeah.”



“Can we have a pool out there?”



“Yeah, it's already planned. I've not drawn it up, but the garage is going to be a two story and the back wall of it will be dressing rooms and the pool will be under conservatory.”



“Why?”



“Because this isn't Southern California. This is like on a par with Lake Tahoe with weather. We get cold and snow and a lot of cool weather. In order to use it year 'round, we need it covered.”



“How are you going to make it?”



“Very nice. Come out here and I'll show you what I want. Have you been to an arborarium?”



“Huh?”



“Hang on, let me pull up some pictures.”



I did and he said, “Oh ok!”



“Over in England, at one of the gardens, they've got a beautiful one. I want that style. It's a lot of custom work with the wrought iron, but I want it verde green so it looks antique and I want the old style of lights so it looks old also. It won't be, but it'll add to the look.”



“You've got a way of knowing what's right and making it.”



“You'll catch on. Before long, you'll be throwing the ideas at me the way I do you and you'll know.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, but think about this because I want you to know how it's going to be out there. The driveway is going to be concrete, but it's not going to be regular concrete. It'll be what they call exposed aggregate in tan so it looks gravel, but isn't. I want it wide enough we've got a two lane street there going up instead of a single path like my Mom and Dad's. With the length of it, if one of us meeting the other, one's got to go over that embankment and the other's going to have to go in the ditch to get around each other. I don't want that.

I do want a sort of guardrail system there, but I hate guardrail and want the wildlife like the deer to be able to go across it easily. If I've got to use guardrail, I'm going to want it painted black or a color which blends in better so it's there, but not a bright silver.”



“They've got the cable rail.”



“I thought of that, but the thought of a deer getting caught in it and breaking a leg stops me.”



He nodded, “What are the deer like?”



“Nothing like what you've seen out in California. Those out there are like baby deer here. Have you ever seen reindeer at a park anywhere?”



“Yeah.”



“They get that big here. They're not as big as Moose or Elk, but some of the older ones get really big. Well, come on, I'll go show you some.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, we've got a couple of hours and I know where there are a bunch out in the wild.”



“Really?”



“Hon, on the drive I know, if you drive it and don't count fifty, you've missed a bunch of them. It becomes a challenge of seeing them all.”