It’s Not That I Don’t Like You….

[feralferret]

Thanks for the new chapter

[gipsy]

Thanks for the update.

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 32


Using a reciprocating saw, pry bar and a sledge hammer, Stone removed the inner walls in the house, working around the walls of the kitchen. The kitchen floorplan was good as it was, he was going to replace the old pine cabinets with hickory cabinets though. It was slow cutting out the over 100 year old wood and removing the plaster and lath but he wasn’t in a hurry, not really. There was plenty of time to put in the insulation and ceilings before it got too cold. The chimney was in excellent condition having been relined a few years ago and he had a new wood stove in the barn waiting to be installed. After getting rid of the walls and vacuuming with the shop vac again, Stone began putting the insulation into the outer walls. Luckily, there were no county zoning regulations, so he didn’t have to worry about licenses to do the work himself. The Home Depot store from which he purchased the materials, would deliver the remainder of the order the following day. Included in the order were some of the appliances and plumbing, as well as the lumber he thought he would need. The windows he would have to frame out, because some of the window openings weren’t modern standard sizes. The doors he was making out of 2” oak ripped from old barnwood timbers. The door straps, bolts and hinges were powder coated and the doors would look like something you would find in a medieval castle. He was renovating the original farmhouse, but had an architect draw up plans for additions in the future. Right now, he was wanting to get the farmhouse dried in and get power to it. That was another thing…power. Stone and his team had brought security to many villages and had built many schools and community meeting buildings. They had opted for solar power 95 percent of the time. It was quick, easy to put in and you didn’t rely on a grid the Taliban could disrupt at any time. There was a movement here in America for “going Green”, but many of the people putting in solar power had no idea what they were getting into. They thought they could add a bunch of panels or a wind generator and their power bill would drop dramatically…and it could, if you knew how to do it. You can’t go to solar power and not to expect lifestyle changes in some areas. Modern electrical appliances use a lot of power, no matter their “energy rating”. If you can regulate what you use and when you use it, you can come out ahead. If you are going to alternative energy thinking you can get your money back by selling power back to the big boys, well, good luck with that. They will NEVER give you back the amount of money they sell the power to their customers for. Yes, it can help you pay back some of the costs but the aggravation of keeping track of power sellbacks and making sure they aren’t screwing you wasn’t worth the time to Stone. Stone had talked to a company in Des Moines and they took a look at his plans and were designing a system for him. He had no intention of selling the power he generated back to the Power Pirates.


Mitch had started with a ring of rocks for a firepit months ago. As time went on he upgraded the rock to a kit from Home Depot and built a circular firepit. Bridget now wanted a covered area with a stone pavers and overhead cover for inclement weather. Mitch chuckled to himself. In the Army they called it improving the foxhole. He and Clark built a concrete footer, laid the gravel and paver sand out and tamped down the pavers. They filled in all the cracks with polymeric sand and wet the floor down. Next came digging the post holes and setting the 4x4 posts. By the weekend, Bridget would have her covered entertainment area. Knowing that down the road there would be a complaint about wind or rain blowing in, he had put in the raised footer to install wall panels that could be folded back in the summer or on more pleasant fall days, and with the screens added, be bug free. Mitch would gather the materials and had them ready. Right now, the next project would be their lumber barn. He want to get that built and stocked up with their most commonly used lumber.


“Did you call the school?” Saoirse asked.

“Yes, and they are keeping the school closed. I don't understand their reasoning. They know the children are falling behind in their work but they say they are protecting them from the virus. Children are the least vulnerable to COVID-19. I've read studies that said the data from a range of countries shows that children rarely, and in many countries never, have died from this infection. Children appear to get infected at a much lower rate than those who are older… there is no evidence that children are important in transmitting the disease. I think more people are dying from the vaccine than from the virus.”

“Well, you can just wait them out here as well as you can in Massachusetts.” Saoirse said. “Besides, I don’t think they’ll open again before Thanksgiving, maybe not even before the first of the year, so relax and enjoy the time away from the noise and fumes of the big towns.”


Stone cleaned off the trowels, hawk and brush and rinsed the bucket and stirrer. He would have to let the plaster dry 2 to 5 days depending on the humidity and the temperature. That shouldn’t be a problem because he had a fire in the wood stove and it would keep the house warm He was going to set up his cot and sleeping bag up in the house tonight and sleep there and keep the fire going. He wanted to get the master suite done first then work on the rest of the house through the winter. He rubbed the back of his neck and felt the hair on his shirt collar and decided to take a shower and head into town and get a haircut and some groceries.


At one time or another each of the three men in the barber shop had seen the young man react to some type stimulus or another and when he reacted, he moved quickly. They had all been in the service during wartime and knew all about situational awareness. That young man had it in spades. He missed nothing and they were reasonably sure from talk about town he would not put up with any crap from anybody.

Young Bobby Gilbert, at least that was what he was called back before he tore into that Billy-Joe Simmons up at the service station a few years back, looked like he was heading their way. That Simmons kid had been a bully, but he was also the star right tackle on the local high school football team. Billy-Joe liked to bully those who didn’t play football, until one day he decided to go after the Gilbert boy. Those who saw it said Billy-Joe took a hold of the Gilbert boy’s arm and the next thing they knew Billy-Joe was flying through the air, ass over tea kettle and ended up in the rose hedge between the service station and the library. After that, people were calling Bobby “Stone” because when anyone else should have been angry, he showed no emotion, just did what needed to be done and went on about his business.

Gilbert, now a grown man had showed up out of the blue in January and moved into the vacant Ledford property twelve miles out of town. It was rumored he had been in the Army and the old men in the barber shop kinda figured he had been. He had the demeanor. Since property transfers were a public matter, the town soon found out the that Gilbert’s daddy had inherited the property from his father-in-law and young “Stone” Gilbert had inherited it from his daddy.

Stone walked into the barber shop and stopped for a second to let his eyes adjust. The barber brushed off the chair and Stone sat down.

“Taper the sides and back and take some off the top.” Stone said.

“So how’s the building out at the old place?”

“Coming along nicely.” Stone said. “I tore out everything and moved a few walls. I just finished plastering the main bedroom.”

“You’re not using sheetrock?”

“No, I always liked the plaster walls in that house. Sheetrock is easy to put up but it seems so….I don’t know, cheap. I just like the solidness of plaster.”

“That’s a heap of work.” One of the old men said. “You using metal or wood lath?”

“Doing it the old way. I ripped some 2”x6” and using them.”

“Yeah, I like that way.” The old man said.”

The barber finished up, splashed some Bay Rum on this hands and rubbed it along the edges of the hairline and Stone’s neck where it had been shaved. Stone paid and tipped the barber and left.

“You can tell that boy’s a Gilbert. His Daddy was hard as nails too. Damn shame that Agent Orange got to him.”

Stone got in his truck and drove to the Hy-Vee to pick up groceries. He bought some sandwich rolls, hamburger buns, four gourmet burgers in a pack, sesame seed hamburger buns, a pack of American cheese slices and a jar of bread and butter pickles peanut butter, Grape jelly, a pack of paper plates, plastic cups, and a box of plastic forks, knives and spoons. Down another aisle, he threw in a 4-pack of select-a-size paper towels and a big bottle of dish washing soap. He also got a gallon of milk and two half-gallons of orange-tangerine juice followed with two six-packs of Mountain Dew and a case of ZiegenBock Texas Amber. Stone wasn’t fond of beers made by Anheuser-Busch but the Texas amber wasn’t too bad.


Back on the farm, Stone unloaded the perishables into the propane refrigerator. Stone had gotten the 19 cubic foot refrigerator from a salvage yard. The RV that it had come from had been totaled. Except for a dent in the side the refrigerator, which he had gently hammered out, worked fine. He had to change the 20-lb propane tank every 2 ½ weeks.

There was plenty of daylight left so Stone began to frame out the rest of the windows. He took the plywood sheets off the window openings and began framing and installing the triple pane windows. It was probably overkill in this part of the country but the windows had been a returned back order and he got them cheap. He quit working before the sun set and started a fire in his fire ring to cook two of the burgers. Stone cooked and ate his burgers, chased by a semi-cold beer and went to bed just after it got dark. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.

[gipsy]

Thanks for the update.

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 33


Mitch bought two turkeys from a local farmer and he and Clark butchered them, then put them in the fridge in the bunker kitchen two days before Thanksgiving. Everyone was gathering at the Baker cabin for the meal. Bridget had found a few Thanksgiving decorations at the Family Dollar store but made several wreaths and centerpieces herself, well, not really. Michelle, Saoirse and Aine helped also. Mitch gathered grapevines for them to make the wreaths and Michelle went out and found colorful leaves, pinecones and holly in the forest. Bridget found small white pumpkins at a roadside market and Michelle painted “THANKS” on them, a letter on each pumpkin. Those were placed on the mantels of each home. Clark had been sent out to find something to put the Thankful Tree in (Aine’s idea). He found an old 3-gallon milk can in a shed down at Bailey’s, washed it and used a wire brush to remove what little rust was on it. Michelle painted it with fall colors and filled it with stones from the creek. The “tree” was nothing more than a branch from a hickory tree placed upright in the can. Clark had cut slices off a hickory limb to make disks and Michell used a paint pen to write on them all the things they were thankful for. Everyone made suggestions and she made dozens of them. In fact, Clark had to make a special trip to Kirksville to get more paint pens. Of course, Aine had to go along to supervise him. A hole was drilled in the disks and loops of baling twine was used to hang the disks on the “Tree”.

The whole week before, Raelene had baked bread to be used in the dressing and getting the meal planned out, along with the help of Mrs. Beasley. Mrs. Beasley was using the Gators more than the rest of the Master’s family so Glen was going to get one for her own use right after Thanksgiving.

Mitch killed his first deer near the lake the weekend before Thanksgiving. He and Clark dressed it out and Bailey took the hide and disappeared. They cut the deer up, ground some of the meat and put the meat in the freezer down in the bunker.

Everyone ate a light breakfast Thanksgiving day, anticipating the wonderful meal that afternoon. Glen, Mitch, Clark and Bailey mostly stayed out of the bustle going on in the cabin and sat around the firepit.

“I think the last few nights of frost finally drove the bugs off.” Bailey said.

“No quite.” Mitch said. “I found a tick on me when I brought that deer in. I had Bridget check me all over.”

“Yeah, I saw a couple of ticks the other day.” Clark said.

“I’ve got to use that excuse and have Saoirse check me out tonight.” Glen said grinning.

“You ought to get you some guinea hens.” Bailey said, poking the fire with a stick.

“What? To check me out for ticks?” Glen asked.

“No, you idgit! Anyways, you’d have to be careful of they saw that little goober of yours.”

Clark and Mitch almost fell out of their chairs laughing.

“Guinea hens will eat every tick around here. They are good watchdogs too. They will raise a ruckus when anyone comes around.”

“How do you keep them from wandering off?”

“Train ‘em to come back to the roosting house at night. If you get you one of them game feeders, you can set the timer so’s it spreads feed before dusk. They’ll eat and go back into the roost and sleep there at night, otherwise they’ll roost somewhere’s in the trees.”

Everyone was finally called in. Michelle had everyone pick out one of the disks that had what they were thankful for written on it and hang it on the tree. Then everyone got a seat at the table.

“Michelle, would you like to say the blessing?” Bridget asked.

“Yes, but everyone has to hold hands.”

Everyone joined hands and Michelle said, “Thank you, God, for the wonderful food we have here, for everyone here to share these blessings, for leading us here to our new home and for everyone that made this meal possible. Bless those who are here and those who are in our hearts, and all those who are not as fortunate as we are on this day and thank you for my new Momma. Amen.”

When everyone looked up, Saoirse was wiping a tear from her eye, then leaned over and hugged Michelle.

“I love you my little Princess.” Saoirse said.

Bridget’s eyes began watering and Raelene had to wipe a tear away after she sat the turkeys at each end of the long table.

The meal was delicious and most had too much to eat, so much they didn’t want any pie right then. The women helped put the leftovers away and while the men did the dishes, the women enjoyed the fire in the firepit. The temperature was a cool 50 degrees, but sunny. Just right for a fire. The men quickly finished and brought out trays of glasses, a bottle of wine and a bottle of Michael Collins Irish Whiskey. They sat around enjoying the fire and joking. Finally, Clark got up.

“I’ve got to go take a walk or I’m going to sit here and conk out.”

Aine got up from her chair. “I’ll go with you. I too am feeling a bit drowsy.”

The gathering watched the two slowly walk up the trail before eyes switched to Saoirse. She shrugged her shoulders.

“What can I do? There must be something in the water around here.”


Stone hung a big tarp from an upstairs window to use as a chute down to the utility trailer parked in the yard to catch all the plaster and lath in that he was removing from upstairs. He quickly gutted the upstairs and pulled the down the walls to the four bedrooms then took the cut nails out of the wall studs to rip them into lath. His plan was to make two bedrooms with a bath in between and kind of a “Mancave” in the rest of the space upstairs. Actually, it would be an office/study type room. He hadn’t quite gotten around to planning that part just yet. He vacuumed up the bits of plaster and dust the seed scoop didn’t get and dumped the vacuum contents down the chute. Looking at his watch, he shut the generator down and went downstairs. Taking out his Remington 1100 out of the box on his truck, he loaded it and put six more shells in his pocket then headed down to the old field next to the creek. He’d seen a covey of quail down that way and wanted to get two or three for dinner. Tomorrow….no TODAY was Thanksgiving and he wanted some kind of bird to eat. He found the covey and ended up getting three, two of the birds went down on his first shot. Slipping the birds into his hunting coat, he headed back to the house.

After dressing the birds, using one hand to pump the water out of the kitchen pump, he washed the birds off and laid them on a paper plate. Stone looked through his collection of pots and pans and pulled out the Dutch oven, coated the inside with a film of lard and got out the soft butter. He smeared the birds with butter, sprinkled on a little salt and got out his spice kit. In a bowl he mixed ground sage, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried marjoram, ground nutmeg, and ground black pepper to make a rub. After he sprinkled the rub on, he returned them to the plate and got out a couple of large Russet potatoes and four carrots. He peeled and sliced the potatoes and carrots and placed them into the pot with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. After pouring in a half-cup of water in the pot, he placed the birds inside. Putting the cover on the pot, he built a fire in the old wood cookstove and let it heat up. The stove was one of the first things he had checked when he had first gotten there. Being the stove was over 80 years old, he had expected problems but the fire brick wasn’t cracked and he couldn’t find any damage anywhere. It just needed the dust washed off and a coat of stove polish. The oven temperature gauge though, he wasn’t sure of so he had picked up an oven thermometer to check it. Once the thermometer read 400 degrees, the took the lid off the Dutch oven and sat it in the stove. He stoked the fire let it cool down to 325 degrees, put the lid on the pot and kept the fire between 300 and 325 degrees. It wasn’t long before delicious smells were wafting out of the oven. He took down the package of dinner rolls he had gotten at Hy-Vee and wrapped four of them up in tin foil. He would slide them into the oven about twenty minutes before he took the Dutch oven out.

Stone opened an ale and read a book while his meal was cooking, occasionally eyeing the stove thermometer and adding wood when needed. Finally, he added the rolls and quickly shut the oven door. The smell was wonderful! He checked his watch and waited.


Clark and Aine walked slowly up the trail to the airfield. Neither saying much. When they broke out of the trees into the open area next to the airstrip Clark cleared his throat and asked, “Aine, do you really have to work? I mean, when are you going back to Massachusetts?”

Aine stopped and looked at him with puzzlement.

“Well yes, I have to make a living and as to when I’m going back, I don’t know, maybe the first of the year if the school opens back up. Why?”

“I just don’t want you to leave. Aine, if you stayed here, you wouldn’t need to work to make a living. I have money to last us the rest of our lives.”

Clark stopped and reached into his pocket and pulled a box from it. He said, "Aine, I apologize for not coming out and telling you how I feel. I asked you that first question because I wasn’t sure how you felt about me. I’ve been missing you terribly when you aren’t around and I realized that I had fallen in love with you. I would have told you sooner but I had to make sure it was what I wanted. Aine, I do love you. The second question is the most important one though. Aine, will you marry me? I know this might be sudden and if you need to take some time to think about it back in Massachusetts you can…I will wait for you and….”

“Be quiet you wonderful man. YES! I will marry you. I have been dreaming of spending the rest of my life with you! I fell in love with you the minute we met in the parlor…uh…the Great Room.”

Clark took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. Aine wrapped her arms around Clark’s neck and drew him down to her. Clark almost forgot to breathe. They finally broke the kiss and continued walking and holding hands.

“Where do you want to go on our honeymoon?” Clark asked.

“Fort Walton Beach!”

“Fort Walton Beach? It would be a little chilly there this time of the year.”

“I know, but we can go in the summer time. I don’t need a honeymoon right away. Just being here with you will be enough.”

They walked on down to the garden area then Clark helped her cross the branch and they cut through the woods back to the firepit. Mitch spotted them first and started grinning. Bridget saw Mitch grinning and turned around, looking over her shoulder at what he was grinning at. Her eyes immediately shot to Aine’s left hand and saw the sparkling diamond.

“Saoirse! Look at Aine’s hand!”

Saoirse frowned and looked at the two holding hands then spied the ring on Aine’s left hand.

“Aine! She squealed and jumped out of her chair, running quickly to her.

“Mitch, you best have this water tested.” Bailey said. “You might could start a sellin’ it.”

[kiwibutterfly]

Wow....thanks, I went out and mowed the lawns and came back to recuperate and found another chapter. Thanks so much...

[sniper69]

Love how it must be in the water. Thanks for another excellent chapter.

[gipsy]

Thanks for the update.

[udwe]

Awesome!

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 34


Stone did get six upstairs window openings completed the next day. He only had one more window and the doors to frame out, then he could install them.

It took two days to install the windows and door, then Stone began painting the master bedroom and installing the plumbing fixtures in the suite. He wanted to clean the natural stone fireplace and seal it but he’d do that while the plaster was drying in other areas.

He began building the interior walls for the laundry room and the pantry next. After framing the walls, he spent several hours ripping the old 2x4s to make the lath. The next thing he knew it was 10:00 PM. He stopped what he was doing and looked at his half-ass stack of lath. He thought he had enough to do the pantry, laundry and the rest of the downstairs. Tomorrow, he would put up the lath in the laundry room and the pantry then plaster them. While the plaster dried he could clean the stone fireplace with TSP so he wouldn’t have to worry about splashing water on new plaster. The other chimney for the woodstove at the other end of what would be his Great Room would be covered by the plaster wall and eventually be covered up and the stove removed. He was only going to use the wood stove to keep the house heated to help the plaster dry. He was going to put an insert in the big fireplace with a blower. Between the cookstove and the insert, he could easily heat the house.

Stone ate some soda crackers with smoked Vienna sausages and a can if Bush’s beans for a late dinner. He was listening to the country music in KMGO out of Centerville, Iowa when he heard about the storm. He had better run into town the first thing in the morning and stock up on groceries.

Saoirse and Glen took Clark and Aine to meet the priest at St. Mary’s. They walked the two through everything they had to do to get married. They would take some time off after the wedding but only to go to Massachusetts to get her things boxed up and shipped. What furniture they couldn’t use in the cabin, she would donate it to someone. She would sublet her apartment until the lease ran out.

“You hear the weather report?” Bailey asked.

“Haven’t paid it much attention to it. Why?” Mitch asked.

“Says a big snow storm is coming.”

“Let’s go inside and check the Weather Channel.”

They went inside and Mitch turned on the TV and selected the Weather Channel on DirecTV.

”An expansive and multi-faceted storm system has strengthened rapidly as it travels across the Great Plains. Meteorologists say it could result in a five-day stretch of threatening severe weather as well as a robust snowstorm that could produce dangerous blizzard conditions.

Some locations over the north-Central United States may be buried under feet of snow, while a severe weather outbreak is destined to unfold and may stretch from the Gulf Coast to locations as far north as the Great Lakes.

Cold air diving into the western U.S. is colliding with surging warmth and more humid air in the Eastern states and sets the stage for a high-impact storm in between, according to Meteorologist Sandy Thompson.”

"Numerous disruptions to travel and shipping efforts are likely with the potential for power outages as a result of rain, thunderstorms, wind and snow from the unfolding and strengthening storm over the middle of the nation," Thompson added.

“Well crap!” I had hoped we wouldn’t get anything like that this year.” Mitch said.

Bailey chuckled. “Hope in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets full quicker.”

“Do you need anything from town?” Mitch asked.

“Nope, I’m set. You better ask the women folk though.”

Mitch called Bridget into the kitchen and told her and Raelene what was coming.

“Do you need to go into town and get anything?” Mitch asked the two women.

Bridget looked at Raelene, who shook her head.

“I can’t think of anything. The pantry is stocked and the storeroom is pretty full.”

“Okay then. Can you talk to Saoirse and Mrs. Beasley? Let them know what is going on and if they don’t want to go into Unionville or Kirkville, we can supply them out of our stocks.”

“I’ll call them now.” Bridget said.

“Do you have your wood rack filled on the porch?” Mitch asked.

“Not quite. I was going to do that next.” Bailey said.

“Come on, I’ll help you.”

Stone put a case of ZiegenBock Texas Amber in the cart, then began going up and down each aisle. Canned soups, deli meats and cheeses, a jar of pickles, oatmeal, stone-ground grits, milk, more coffee, a 2-lb container of honey, apples, tangerines, bread, a bag of frozen buttermilk biscuits and a pack of toilet paper. He went back and picked up shampoo, bar soap and toothpaste. With this storm coming, his hot showers would have to wait and he’d just take whore baths in the kitchen sink. He needed to get the tub and vanity put in his bathroom pretty soon. As he headed to checkout, he passed a display of Pop-Tarts. Stone stopped. He hated those Pop-Tarts with the sickeningly sweet icing. Now these, these were unfrosted and he liked those. He grabbed two of the value pack of strawberry and two of the blueberry. Before leaving town, Stone stopped at the service station and filled two five gallon gas cans for the generator.

After unloading his groceries and putting everything away, Stone filled the wood rack on the side porch and took a couple of armloads of firewood inside. He added wood to the woodstove and left the fireplace alone. He didn’t want to have to wait for the fireplace to cool then clean and vacuum it out again before he could clean it. There was nothing left to do but work but so that’s what he did. He began stapling on lath.

Again, Stone paid no attention to the time. The process of stapling the lath, trimming it, then stapling on more burned the hours away. The next thing he knew it was almost 10:00 PM. He went out on the porch and shut the generator down, picked up the short pieces of lath he had trimmed off and tossed them into the firebox on the cookstove. He had paused his work earlier long enough to put on a big stainless steel stock pot of water to warm on the stove for his sponge bath before he went to bed. Stone heated up a can of vegetable beef soup and drank an ale before starting his bath.

The next morning when he awoke, Stone stoked the fires in the cookstove and the woodstove. The insulation he had installed in the exterior walls had made a big difference. The house was still relatively warm. He looked out one of his newly installed windows and immediately had a flashback of Alaska. Stone turned on the radio, set the cast iron frying pan on the cookstove to heat up and got out the bacon.


Mitch stood on the porch, looking across the yard, his breath visible even in the wind. Turning to go back in, he grabbed an armful of firewood for the fireplace.

“Is it still snowing?” Bridget asked.

“Yeah, and blowing too. I guess we can start sorting and cataloging what books we have gathered so far.”

“I just got through talking to Jerome a few minutes ago,” Raelene said. He told me it was a virtual blizzard there and they’ve closed the university today.”

“Well, the average snow accumulation for this area is about 19 inches a year. We are well over that and in just only a few hours.”

Mitch turned on the TV but the cloud cover was so thick it was disrupting the satellite signal so he turned that off and turn on the radio. The closest FM station was in Centerville and they were giving wall-to-wall storm coverage. It looked like everything was shut down. Bridget called Saoirse to make sure they were okay and Mitch told her to tell Saoirse as soon as it quit snowing they would start clearing the roads and trails.

It snowed off and on until just before dark that evening. Everyone on Blackbird Creek stayed in contact but also stayed inside.

Stone looked around before he began applying the plaster. With him tearing out the walls and going to an open floor plan, he was able to have a large pantry and the laundry room. One wall of the Great Room would have book shelves, and sort of a reading area. He had furniture stored in Clarksville he would have shipped as soon as he got more of the house renovated. The bedrooms and study area upstairs would have to wait for a while. Maybe he could find more things at estate sales.

Stone got in a groove spreading, troweling and floating the plaster. He checked his watch each time he mixed a bucket of plaster and worked until lunch, or around that time anyway. He finished out the pantry and after lunch, started on the laundry room. The laundry room was a little smaller than the pantry so he was finished right at dinner time. After cleaning up his tools, he fried some potatoes and a pork chop and heated up some spinach with some butter. The snow had stopped but it didn’t matter to him. Most of his work for the next few weeks was inside. While he was letting the plaster dry in the pantry and laundry room, he would finish out the site bathroom and get ready to finish out the Great Room walls.


Clark teamed up with Mitch and Bailey to clear the driveway and trails. Clark had a V-blade on his 6x4 with Bailey and Mitch following behind him pushing the snow farther off the road. They opened the way to everyone’s house, the hangar, the runway and the drive from Glen’s down to the main road. When they got back to the cabin, Raelene had plenty of hot coffee waiting for them.

“Clark, did you come up with any books you want to add to the recreation room library?” Mitch asked.

“I’ve got some ideas. I want to go into Des Moines and pick a few up, mostly DIY stuff.”

“I’ve got the complete set of Foxfire books I’ll donate to the cause.” Bailey said.

“That would be great Bailey. They would fit right in.” Mitch replied. “That’s the kind of books I was thinking of. I keep thinking, if everything went to hell in a handbasket all at once, and we had to start civilization over again, what knowledge would we need to preserve to bring us up to more than just a barely to a level of survival?”

“I think I’ll add books on power systems to my list.” Clark mused.


The people at Blackbird Creek faired the storm much better than many others In Putnam County. Those that weren’t prepared suffered, at least in their own minds. Before the roads were even cleared, they were trying to get into the nearest town for supplies with many ending up getting stuck or finally getting to their destination and finding the store had run out of their favorite ingredients or cookies. No one starved but the situation raised tensions and false worries. The Blackbird Creek residents dealt with the situation and went about their day to day activities but also took notes on how to make future situations better.

[gipsy]

Happens every year. People forget how to drive in the winter. Thanks for the update.

[feralferret]

Gipsy,

People here can't even remember how to drive in the rain, much less snow. Now that I am retired, I am usually able to avoid having to get out in the snow. I just wait until it is pretty much over, then clear the driveway and vehicles. Beats the heck out of having to clear everything every day to go in to work. My driveway is steep uphill to the street (about 12% grade), and the street is fairly steep uphill for about 1000 feet. Ice is a real pain.

Since my driveway is gravel, I won't use my snowblower unless it is at least 8" deep. It throws gravel as well as it does snow and I don't like having to rake and shovel it out of my yard back into the driveway.


ncsfsgm,
Thank you for the new chapter.

Between your two stories and a couple of others in progress, it sometimes takes me a moment to remember which story line is which. I would really be confused if I were writing several stories at the same time like you and several other authors I read on a couple of websites. I also just finished the last of FleaTaxi's stories from this site so that was one more story line to keep straight while reading all of his books.

[imahic]

Thanks for the update on the story.

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 35


The snow didn’t hinder Stone for the next few days except having to brave the early morning cold to start the generator. He had stopped plastering for now in order to install the bathtub and fixtures in the master suite bathroom. Finally he was down to installing the floor TILE, tile in the bathtub and the threshold. His first real shower without the immersion heater in the 55-gallon drum was exquisite. Without him paying too much attention, the snow melted away except from those areas that got little to no sun during the day. Temperatures reached all the way up to 52 degrees and most of the snow was gone by the end of the week.

Stone moved his woodworking tools upstairs to clear out everything so he could refinish the floors. He took his cot down and cleared the bedroom to start on the floor there. He took a day off to go to Kirksville to rent a floor sander and to schedule the roofers to come and replace the old roof with a Hartford Green zinc roof. Soft slate was used on the original roof and had a life span somewhere between 75 to 90 years, so it was time to be replaced. The zinc could last up to 150 years if installed correctly and was expensive, almost as much as slate, but he thought of it as an investment. He also bought paint and light fixtures for the laundry room and pantry, shelving for the pantry and polyurethane for the floors. Stone felt light-hearted when he left Kirksville. He was beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.


Clark and Aine were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on the 15th of December. It was just a small wedding but neither wanted anything more than be united in the presence of their closest friends. They left the next day for Massachusetts to close out Aine’s apartment and to get her things packed and shipped to the warehouse in Des Moines.


Mitch, Bridget and Michelle took the box trailer to Des Moines and made their rounds to all the used book stores, the Book Warehouse, and Barnes and Noble. Each person had a genre they were picking out. Mitch was specifically looking for books on Alternative Energy, Construction, Home Defense, Homesteading, Livestock, Medical and Natural Medicine, NBC War, books on Preparing, survival, books on Water, Food Preservation & Storage , WMD and terrorism, and radios and communications. Bridget picked out books on cooking, sewing, gardening, school books and home schooling, and fiction. Michelle got books that fit her age group and younger children. She was also going to donate many of her books from home she'd had since an early age. They also went through the DVDs and added to their collection. They ordered quite a few books from Barnes and Noble and picked out a few from their discount books section.


Stone backed out of the dining area, spreading the third and last coat of polyurethane. He needed to stay off of the floor for 24 hours but he had already planned for that. He needed to pick up the cabinets, tile and everything else to finish out the kitchen. He would take off and go down to Home Depot, pick everything up and look around for ideas. He hoped he Wasn’t pushing it, but he went ahead and called the moving company in Clarksville to get his stored items shipped out to him.

Stone was a collector. He wasn’t a fanatic about it, but he did collect things for future use. Before he had decided to let his enlistment run out, he had made a trip to the farm and began making plans. He’d gone back to Ft. Campbell and began making weekend excursions into Ohio, specifically around the Sugarcreek area, Amish country. He had paid a friend of his to fly him up in a Cessna one 3-day weekend, and kept going back every chance he could. He had bought a complete bedroom set for his master bedroom, some furniture pieces for the Great Room and library area, a dining table with chairs and there were many more things he wanted but had run out of time. The furniture was being stored in a climate controlled warehouse. Once he got everything here he could go buy more to finish furnishing the house. There were several Amish furniture manufacturers In the Sugarcreek, Ohio area so he had plenty to choose from. Stone liked the Amish furniture because they used solid wood, not veneered plywood. Yeah, solid wood was more expensive, but it lasted a lot longer too. Stone cleaned his equipment up then went around to the side porch to go into his bedroom to take a shower and change clothes. He might even stop by Mi Casa and have a double order of enchiladas.


Airbus A321 left Logan International in Boston for Des Moines with one stop at Douglas International in Charlotte. They had a 2 hour 14 minute layover in Charlotte, then on to Des Moines in a Canadair Regional Jet 900, arriving at 1:31 PM.

“Thank you.” Aine said, leaning against Clark in the first class seat.

“For what?” Clark asked.

“For loving me, for helping me out getting everything done, for just being the man you are.”

“I had no choice. I found you and I’m never letting you go, so you are stuck with me.”

Aine grinned. Gladly!”

They drank their coffee and had a sweet roll. When they arrived in Charlotte, They walked around a while and finally had croissants and coffee, then 45 minutes before boarding their flight, they went to Chick-fil-A and had a light lunch.

They boarded the flight and took off on time on the final leg of their journey.


“I found a couple of trees that need to be cut.” Bailey said.

“What’s wrong with them?” Asked Mitch.

“I thumped the base with a hammer and they are a little hollow. They are rotting from the inside. A good wind will probably take them down once the leaves come back.”

“Well, let’s get to it. I need to get out of the bunker and get some fresh air anyway.”

They gathered the saws and axes, hooked up a trailer to a tractor and headed into the forest up near the airstrip with Bailey driving the tractor and Mitch in his Gator. They met Glen coming down the trail and stopped.

“What’s up?” Glen asked.

“We’ve got a couple of trees that need cutting down.”

“I’ll go with you. I’m bored.” Glen said.

Glen backed off the trail and let Baily and Mitch pass, then pulled out and followed them.

Bridget, Saoirse, Mrs. Beasley, Michelle and Raelene were having a coffee klatch at Bridget’s. They were discussing different recipes.

“Raelene, what do you enjoy the most about cooking?” Bridget asked.

“Other than the food? Well, I guess it’s the smiles on the faces and the half closed eyelids when they get that first taste of good food. A lot of people will tell you they don’t close their eyes but they do. It might be only a tiny bit, but they do. That’s when you know you’ve cooked something good.”

“Speaking of which, I need to get back to the house.” Mrs. Beasley said. “I’m making a special dinner for Aine and Clark this evening and have some preparing to do.”

“I’ll go with you. I got a text from Aine earlier saying they were on time and would be home around 3:00 PM.” Saoirse said.

“I’ll help you Mrs. Beasley.” Michelle piped up.

When the other women had left, Bridget went down to the bunker library and continued cataloging books and placing them on the shelves.


The Bombardier CRJ 900 has an excellent safety history, but there is a first time for everything. The aircraft was on final when the Controller gave a warning and ordered the airliner to evade but the CRJ 900 was too big and the Eclipse 500 too fast as it clipped the tail section of the big aircraft. What probably save many was the fact the CRJ was only 20 feet off the ground but it didn’t stop the bombardier from catching a wing and spinning around, breaking off the tail section and rolling the main fuselage. No one really knows why a plane breaks up the way it does. There are many forces at play during a crash, but when the plane broke up, Aine’s window seat and a portion of the outer wall broke off from the rest of the plane and rolled like a wheel off the runway and out of the ensuing conflagration. It wasn’t until several months later that the TSA report determined the pilot of the Eclipse 500 private jet had experienced a medical emergency, banking and diving out of its directed landing pattern, then striking the CRJ 900.

Glen felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulled it out and walked away from the noise of the chainsaw.

“GLEN AINE’S PLANE CRASHED OH GOD I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WE’VE GOT TO GET TO DES MOINES!”

“I’ll be right home!”

Mitch stopped the chainsaw when he saw Glen waving frantically.

“Mitch, can you fly Saoirse and myself to Des Moines? Aine and Clark’s plane has crashed!”

Mitch’s face turned white. “Shit! Wait! If they crashed at Des Moines International, the airport will be closed. The nearest airfield I could get into would be Ankeny Regional and that’s 17 miles northeast. By the time I got you there and you got a rental car, you’d have been just as quick driving.”

“Okay, I need to get going!” Glen said, running to his Gator.

Mitch pulled out his phone and called Bridget.

“Bridget, Aine and Clark’s plane crashed. Saoirse is going out of her mind.”

“I’m on my way up there.”

Mitch ended the call and got a chill.

“Bailey, I need to go over to Glen’s, Clark’s plane crashed.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout nuthin’ here. I’ll finish up.”

Mitch shakingly got in the Gator and rushed to Glen’s. Saoirse and Michelle were crying and Bridget was packing a large bag of clothing for Saoirse. Glen was packing a bag also.

“Glen, if there is ANYTHING I can do, I’m at your beck and call.”

“Thanks Mitch. We’ll let you know what we can as soon as we find out anything.”

“Please do.”

Mitch helped carry the bags the Tahoe.

“Oh, Mitch can you make us reservations at a hotel near the airport?” Glen asked.

“Certainly, I’ll text you.”

Mitch, Bridget, Michelle and Mrs. Beasley stood by the steps, watching them drive away.

[freebirde]

"Aine’s window seat and a portion of the outer wall broke off from the rest of the plane and rolled like a wheel off the runway and out of the ensuing conflagration."

If it rolled along the outer wall, Aine could have survived, probable with trauma, physical and emotional. The other question is Clark's exposure to the "ensuing conflagration" with the outer wall missing.

Only ncsfsgm knows!

[gipsy]

Now that is a Grand Canyon size cliff. Thanks for the update.

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 36


Glen and Saoirse were lucky Mitch had called ahead for reservations. They had a room at the Baymont right next to the airport. The hotel clerk told them an information station had been set up at the airport so as soon as they checked in they went to see what they could find out. The information they were initially given gave them little hope. Of the 84 passengers manifested on Flight 4268, there were only 16 survivors. Of the 16 survivors, only 9 had been identified, but only because they were in comas and had no identification. They had a list posted on a large monitor screen of the survivors and the hospitals they were being cared for in. Neither Clark or Aine’s name were on the survivor’s list. Saoirse burst out crying. Glen held her shaking body in his arms, rocking her gently. As they were standing there a buzzer sounded and the screen was updated, Aine’s name had been added to the survivor list and Iowa Methodist Medical Center was listed next to her name.

Glen quickly took Saoirse back to the Tahoe and he did a search on his GPS for the hospital. He set the location address as their destination. It was only 4 miles away.

When they got to the medical center, they were directed to a separate wing of the hospital when an information center had been set up.

“Ma’am, we’re looking for information on a ‘Aine Benson’. That’s spelled A-I-N-E B-E-N-S-O-N.

The woman checked her list and said, “Yes, she is currently in ICU.”

“Can you give us her condition?”

“I’m sorry, but we can only give out that information to her immediate family.”

“Please.” Saoirse said crying. “She is my first cousin. I’m the only family she has left. She and her husband were on that plane. They’d only been married a few days.”

The woman took out some forms. “If you please, would you fill out these forms as much as you can and I will see what I can do.”

Glen walked Saoirse to some folding tables that had been set up, got her seated and went back to the woman.

“Ma’am, Aine’s husband, Clark Benson was a member of the Missouri National Guard. I believe they would have his DNA on record for identification purposes.”

The lady wrote down the information. “Thank you sir. It may be needed.”

“How was Aine identified? I’m sure her ID would have been in her purse.”

The woman clicked a few keys on her computer. “She survived with her seat intact along with a portion of the outer bulkhead. She was extremely lucky,” she said, eyes moistening.   “I’m sorry, I’m not used to dealing with things like this.”

“God help us if we ever do.” Glen said.

Glen saw a Priest talking to a nurse and went over to him.

“Father, may I have a moment?”

“Of course, how may I help you?”

“Father, my wife’s cousin was a survivor of the aircraft crash. I’m sure it would comfort her if you could sit with her a bit.”

“Of course! What is your wife’s name?”

“Saoirse.”

“Oh, a good Irish name.”

Glen and the Priest went over to Saoirse as she was getting out of her seat after filling out the forms. Glen took the forms from her and she went over to a couch and sat down with the Priest. Glen took the paperwork back to the lady who looked it over and began entering the information into the computer. Glen glanced over at Saoirse and saw the Priest take a little bag out of his coat pocket and opened it up. He recognized the rosary as the Priest took it out of the bag.

“Sir, I believe I can give you some information on Mrs. Benson now. She is in ICU with traumatic injuries to her legs and right arm. She has been put into an induced coma for now. If you would like to speak to a doctor, I can arrange it.”

“Yes please.”

“I’ll make a call.”

Glen looked back over at Saoirse and she and the Priest were praying. Glen took out his phone and called Mitch.

“Hey Glen, I have you on speaker.”

“Well, Aine survived and is in ICU at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. No word on Clark yet.”

“What’s her condition?” Bridget asked.

“They have her in a coma and all I can tell you right now is she has traumatic injuries to her legs and right arm. We’re supposed to be talking to a doctor soon.”

“Okay, thanks Glenn. Keep us informed.” Mitch said.

“You know I will. I’ll talk to you later.”

Glen ended the call just as the Priest got up off the couch. He went over to Saoirse and sat down with her.

“There’s a doctor coming to talk with us but from what I’ve been able to find out, they have put Aine in a coma, probably because of her injuries.”

“How bad is she?”

“Well, she has traumatic injuries to her legs and right arm. We’ll know more when the doctor gets here.”

Ten minutes later the doctor showed up. The lady at the desk directed him over to Glen and Saoirse.

“Hello, I’m Doctor Fellows, and you are…?”

“I’m Saoirse Masters and this is my husband Glen. I’m Aine’s first cousin. How is she?”

“Well she’s under an induced coma. I want to keep her off the heavy pain killers until we have a handle on the extent of her injuries. So far, Mrs. Benson injuries are to her legs and her right arm.”

“She has no head injuries then?” Glen asked.

“No, none that we detected.”

“How bad are the injuries to her legs and arm?”

“Well, she’s going to need a lot of orthopedic surgeries and time.”

“Will she be able to get adequate care here?”

“Oh yes, of course.”

“I want to get her the best care available.” Glen said. “I’m sure Iowa Methodist is a great hospital but if I wanted her treated at the very best hospital I could find, where could she go?”

“Well, HSS, that’s the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. It is rated as having the best orthopedics unit in the nation.”

“How would I go about getting her in there?”

“I can make some calls. Of course we wouldn’t be able to move her until we’ve done more tests to make sure there are no injuries to the brain. It will be expensive.”

“Doc, money is not a problem.” In fact, I need to stop by and give accounting here my information.”

“If you will give me your contact information, I’ll make sure it’s added to her records so you can be contacted about any changes.”

“Please call us when she’s out of her coma.” Saoirse pleaded.

Glen gave the doctor a card with his information and the doctor looked at it.

“Glen Masters…..did you used to play for the Chiefs?”

“It’s been a few years but yeah, one and the same.”

“I thought that name rang a bell. I’ll make that call to HSS. I know a couple of doctors up there.”

“Thanks Dr. Fellows.”

“What do we do now?” Saoirse asked Glen.

“Well, no use being uncomfortable waiting around here. We can go get an early dinner and wait more comfortably at the hotel.” Glen replied.


On the way back to the hotel from dinner, Glen stopped and picked up three bottles of wine and a pack of disposable wine glasses. Entering the room, Glen opened the wine with the corkscrew on his pocket knife and poured a glass for Saoirse as she was calling Bridget. Wine made Saoirse sleepy and he wanted her to unwind a bit. It had been a stressful day. While Saoirse was on the phone, Glen turned the TV on to the local news and turned the sound down. The news station was showing the list of survivors. Clark’s name still hadn’t been added to the list.


Stone stopped work in the kitchen and went outside. The roofers were doing an amazing job. They should be done by the end of the day. The men had even offered to install the air terminals for the lightning protection system. Stone went back in and continued the work in the kitchen. He had only torn the plaster and lath off the wall with the window in order to add insulation. The inner walls needed only a little touching up. He wanted a bigger window over the sink and to an exhaust fan system. Stone had cleaned and disassembled the wood stove and would pay the Mexican roofers to help take it out and bring in the new J.A. Roby wood cook stove he’d had shipped all the way from Alfred, Ontario. He definitely needed help getting the 600 pound stove into the kitchen without scratching the floor. Stone had tiled the kitchen floor and all the way into the pantry and laundry room/mudroom. He thought about seeing his Grandma scrubbing those wood floors years ago. Well, at least he wouldn’t be having to do that.

Stone quickly framed in the kitchen window he had cut out. He filled his back pocket with wooden shims and attached the glass suction cups and worked the window into the opening. After getting the window leveled and nailed in, he trimmed the shims and began adding the insulation to the outer wall and nailing the lath on the studs. He wasn’t quite finished with the lath when the roofers finished. They came down, moved the old stove out and moved the new cook stove into the kitchen. Stone had them set the stove down on furniture sliders so he could move the stove into place by himself after getting the kitchen cabinets and island in. He had called and the cabinets were in their way. They were built by an Amish company in Beavercreek, Ohio. He would be able to install the cabinets by himself but the countertops were another thing. Home Depot would install those. He was getting closer to having the rest of the furniture delivered. If he kept this up he might be able to plant a garden in the Spring. Stone quit daydreaming and went to get his tools and plaster to start plastering the wall.

Mitch and Bridget stayed up late, hoping for a phone call telling them Clark was in a hospital somewhere, but none came. Before they went to bed, Mitch turned on the TV to watch the 11:00 news. There was continuing coverage of the air disaster naming the survivors and those who perished. Clark’s name appeared on the latter list.

[biggkidd]

Something tells me not to write off Clark yet. No I don't have any insight as to what's going to happen I get every chapter a few hours before you guys for minor editing. He does such a good job minimal corrections are all it ever needs.

Thanks again to the author!

[gipsy]

Damn Thanks for the update sort of.

[udwe]

Hopefully, Clark will be on the unidentified one.

[cutter]

And these guys say I leave them hanging off the edge of a cliff! Great work so far. I look forward to reading more when you have time to post it.

[udwe]

Please don't kill Clark!

[ncsfsgm]

Chapter 37


Glen received a call that Clark’s body had been identified by DNA and gave him the location of the remains. Saoirse cried.

“What are we going to do about a funeral? Aine can’t attend now!”

“Saoirse, if they had to use DNA to identify the body, then the best thing to do is cremate the it. We can hold a funeral later when Aine can get about. I’m going to do the verification or whatever and arrange the cremation.”

“I’ll go with you.”


They went through the rigamarole at the morgue and yes, the body had been burned. They contacted a highly rated funeral service and had them come get the body. They were asked to come by the funeral home to complete the paperwork (sic, get paid). Glen got the address and arrived fifteen minutes later. The funeral home representative showed them various urns of which Saoirse picked out one that had an accompanying small green heart-shaped keepsake urn. Glen settled the invoice and they left for the hospital. They went to the Tragedy Assistance desk set up for the crash and a new woman was there. They told her who they were and asked if there was any update on Aine’s condition. She checked the records and sent them to the ICU nurse’s desk. They went through the same questions and answers and were told to have a seat and someone would be out to talk to them. Saoirse started shaking and Glen put his arm around her and led her to a seat.

“Oh Glen….I’m afraid she’s…”

A nurse walked over to them. Mr. And Mrs. Masters? I can take you to Mrs. Benson’s room.”

The nurse stopped at a door and turned to them.

“You can both go in but only for a short time. She’s under medication.”

Saoirse walked softly into the room. Aine laid there with her eyes closed, looking peaceful. Slowly, Aine’s eyelids fluttered and gradually opened. Tears began flowing down Saoirse’s face. Taking Aine’s hand gently into hers Saoirse said, “Oh Aine, Clark didn’t make it.”

A tear rolled down Aine’s left cheek.

“I know. He came to me and reminded me to remember him at Samhain. Saoirse, he told me his love for me would endure for eternity. We had such a short time together….”

Saoirse sat down in the chair next to the bed and laid her head on the mattress, sobbing. Aine gently ran her left hand over Saoirse’s hair. Saoirse leaned back and took a tissue out of the box on the stand next to the bed and blew her nose then took another tissue and gently wiped the wetness from Aine’s face.

“We are going to make sure you have the very best care possible Aine. As soon as the doctor clears it, we’re taking you to a first class hospital in New York for treatment.”

Aine nodded slightly and closed her eyes.

Saoirse and Glen were in Aine’s room a few minutes more before the nurse came in to get them

“Dr. Fellows would like to speak with you.”

The nurse led them down the hall to an empty office. A few seconds later Dr. Fellows walked in.

“Okay, good news, bad news. Good news is I’ve got Mrs. Benson into HSS in New York City. Bad news is, she will need to have a lot of operations to reconstruct the damage and a long time for rehabilitation therapy. Also, you’ll have to secure her transportation.”

“How soon can we move her?” Glen asked.

“I can release her tomorrow.”

Glen took out his phone and selected a contact.

“Bill, Glen Masters. I need a medical flight from Des Moines to New York City tomorrow at….” Glen said, looking at Dr. Fellows.

“9:00 AM”

“…at 9:00 AM. Yes, for a family member. Non-ambulatory. She will be on a gurney. Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Thanks Bill. I owe you.”

Glen ended the call.

“That’s a charter company in Kansas City that does Angel Flights.”

“We will have her ready.” Dr. Fellows said.

“Can we go back and sit with Aine for a while?” Saoirse asked Dr. Fellows.

“Sure. We’ve have her on a pain relief drip and she might not be awake though.”

“That’s fine, I just want to sit with her.”



Stone finished painting the upstairs area and cleaned up the brushes. The men from the solar company were placing the batteries and connecting everything up in the battery bank building and installing a remote monitoring system in the kitchen that would tell him the status of what was happening with the solar and wind systems. Three guys were tying off the guy-wires for the wind turbine and burying the electrical cable from the turbine to the battery bank house. He would have electricity tonight. Another guy was wiring in the 24v submersible pump at the well house. His furniture should be here toward the end of the week and he would be in good shape. He still had to order furniture for the upstairs bedrooms but he wasn’t expecting guests anytime soon so that could wait. He really needed something to haul his wood in besides his truck and trailer. He’d wait a bit on that since he still had plenty of wood in the shed. Stone went back into the house and put more wood into the cook stove to keep the house warm. He’d taken the woodstove out and put a flue hole cover in the stove pipe hole. A nice picture could cover that later if he could find one. But now, since he wasn’t having to work late into the night, he kind of missed TV, not the news, but the ability to watch a movie once in a while. He had hundreds of movies on a hard drive but no TV. After the installers left, he would run down to the Walmart in Kirksville and get a TV and a DVD player. Ed, the installer crew chief came in.

”Ready to test it out?” Ed asked.

“Sure.”

As Ed walked over to the electrical panel in the kitchen, he called on his radio to one of the men outside. First he turned on the kitchen circuit. Stone went over to the cook stove and switched the LED lights around the stove on, then to a switch on the wall and turned the 12v ceiling fan on. He turned off the ceiling fan then went into the dining area. Ed flipped on another circuit breaker and Stone turned on the can lights over the dining area. After turning them off he walked into the Great room and turned on the lights and ceiling fans.

“Check the Master Bedroom.” Ed said.

Stone checked everything in the Master and it all worked.

“Good to go Ed.”

“Well, if you run into any problems, give us a call.”

“Thanks Ed.”

The installation crew gathered up their tool bags and left. Stone went through the house and turned off the lights. He would be back before dark.


“Saoirse, we need to play this by ear when we get to New York. Once we get on the ground, you’ll need to go with Aine to the hospital while I get us a room at a decent hotel as close to the hospital as I can. We can stay in touch by phone until I reach you.”

“Okay, I will get as much information as I can when we get there.”

“Dr. Fellows will give us a copy of the records of the treatment they’ve given Aine so far, so you’ll need to hand-carry those with you.”

“What about Clark’s Ashes?”

"I'll have to fly back here and pick them up then turn around and head back up there," Glen said. "Wait, we don't need the big urn in New York. I'll get the room arranged and setup then meet you at the hospital where we'll wait together until the funeral home calls to let us know everything's ready and fly back here. Let me call Mitch, witch we need to do anyway to give them an update, then he and I can work out a way to get my Tahoe and Clark's urn home. I'll bring the heart urn back with me for Aine."

“Okay, that seem sensible. This is such a nightmare!”

“Things in life happen we have absolutely no control over. We just have to work out a way to calmer waters.”

“Hold me.” Saoirse.

Glen went to her and wrapped her in his arms.

“God! I love you so much!” Saoirse mumbled into his chest.”


Stone woke up at 1:30 in the morning with a crick in his neck. The folding camp chair was NOT conducive to long time movie viewing. He had started watching the Band of Brothers and fell asleep. Stone shut the TV off and went to bed.


Stone woke at 7:00 AM and made breakfast. It was nice not having to wear a headlight to get around the house. He couldn’t wait to get his furniture in.

After cleaning his breakfast dishes, the old yard still had tall dead grass in it and needed to be cut. It was another on a long list of chores that needed to be done. He needed to get a mower and the furniture was on the way. He’d call the tucking company and see just when they expected to be here.

When he ended the call he made sure he had his wallet and headed back to Home Depot to buy a mower.


Stone came back from Kirksville with a Cub Cadet, zero turn mower with a 50 inch cutting deck and a double-bagger attachment and an 18 inch artificial Christmas tree with lights. He saw the tree as he walked through the doors at Home Depot and felt a pang, remembering making decorations out of tin foil and cut up Foster beer cans when they were in the Box and hanging them on a scraggly tree branch stuck in a box of dirt. He shrugged off the wave of nostalgia and got his mower, loaded it on the trailer and went back home. That night, when he plugged the tree in, he opened a beer and sat and stared at the tree.

Mitch glanced at the phone caller ID and answered the phone.

“Glen, how is Aine?”

“She’s stable. We’re moving her to New York tomorrow to the best orthopedic hospital in the country.”

“Does she know…”

“Yes. We saw her briefly but she’s all drugged up. I need a favor.”

“You’ve got it Glen.”

“I need to get Saoirse settled in a hotel room near the hospital and then I’m flying back to Des Moines to get Clark’s ashes. I need someone to take my Tahoe and the urn back home. I’ll be flying back to New York.”

“Bridget and I can fly up and meet you.”

“This is ruining Christmas for Michelle and…”

“Glen, we’ll make it as special as we can.”

“I know you will. We’ll call her Christmas morning and I’ll call her after we hang up.”

“Just text me your itinerary when you have it Glen and give Saoirse our love.”

“Thanks Mitch. I’ll be in contact.”

[biggkidd]

Well dang I was sure hoping Clark had somehow been thrown free through one of the openings and would be found later.

Nice job!

[gipsy]

Bad luck for sure. Thanks for the update.