9idrr, just for that, you owe me a dollar.
Here's the next chapter.
Chapter 7
(Lunch)
“How’d y’all do?”
“Well, the orchard and grapevines are done. Erin didn’t do half bad. We’re going to take the rest of the day off. I’m going to eat and lay down. I’m hurtin’ and wore out. Would you please pass the salad?”
“Geez, Bro! You ate 5 eggs, 6 pieces of bacon, 4 pieces of toast, an apple, and an orange for breakfast, 2 more apples and a ham and cheese sandwich outside, and now you’re on your second plate FULL of food! Where are you putting it?!?” I mean, I’m glad you have an appetite but Geez!”
“You do seem to be putting away the groceries, Love. Does that mean you are feeling better or just that I haven’t been feeding you enough for the past YEAR?!?”
“First you tell me to eat, then she threatens to force feed me, NOW you’re both ganging up on me because I’m doing what I was told. I swear you can’t make a woman happy! (grins)”
“Make me a list and I’ll go to the store after dinner. You two need some alone time anyway. I’ll need some money though.”
“Tell you what, after lunch, I’ll call the bank and have them make you a company card and make you a shopping list. The bank is a block past the store on the same side. You can go pick up the card then go to the store. Get a receipt and write homestead on the top. That way I know to code it as an owner draw for the personal homestead here.”
“You’re giving me a company credit card?”
“Why wouldn’t we? You are an employee of the company and you will need the card to do your job.”
“I’m not an employee yet.”
“Actually, you were an employee as of 7 o’clock Monday morning. Brian told me to make you “farm help” and start your pay from Monday.”
“That’s BS and you know it! I’m living here rent free, eating your food, and all I’ve done is cook a couple of meals, after Morgan showed me how, and did some gardening. This isn’t working.”
“Now hold on right there. If you weren’t here, we would have to hire someone to do it until I get well. That “gardening” you’re talking about isn’t just for us. What we don’t use will be sold at the farmer’s market or the store or we’ll trade it for things like the wheat that goes into the bread we are eating. That’s not BS. That’s how business works. That’s a real job. You looking after me is family, but the work you do for our businesses is a real job and you WILL get paid. You screw with me on this and I’ll make you muck out the animal barn.”
“HA! Ok, you win but I still say I’m not doing anything you should be paying me for. So, the barn needs “mucking”? Sounds disgusting, how do I do it so I can get it over with while you take a nap?”
“Larry can teach you this afternoon. I asked him to work over to do it.”
“Sis, are you trying to set me up?”
“No, I’m running a farm. If I was trying to set you up, I would have told him the things you like to do.”
“Don’t! You! Dare! So help me, I will put ex-lax in your coffee if you do! After that, I’ll really get nasty!”
“Don’t worry, you’re on your own for a boyfriend.”
“Call the bank. I need to go to town before this gets out of hand.”
“Here’s the list. The key to the truck is on the ring I gave you. Go on, I’ll call them now and they should be ready to get your info and make the card when you get there.”
“Ok, she’s gone. Now why did you want her to not be around?”
“She left school 2 ½ months before graduation. I’m going to call principal Martin and see if anything can be done so she can graduate. She can always get her GED, but graduating would be better.”
“You sneaky Devil! Ok, if you don’t need me, I’m going back to work. Before I go, you really are eating like a horse. What’s up with that?”
“Part of it is just boredom. I’m not working and I’m not doing anything around here. I really am hungry though. I don’t know what’s going on with that. Think it’s a problem?”
“I doubt it. As long as you don’t start putting on a lot of weight, I think the extra calories help your body heal faster. Now, make your call.”
(Brian on phone)
“Yes, this is Brian Marshall. Is Principal Martin available?....News travels fast, gossip even faster. I broke a few ribs and had to have surgery. I am home now and not healing fast enough to suit me...Well, my wife’s sister has moved in with us. It’s a long story that isn’t mine to tell, but she left school to move here. I can tell you that she is estranged from her parents just like Morgan. She’s 2 ½ months short of graduation. She is 18 years old. Is there any way she can finish her senior year or test out of it and walk with the senior class at graduation?...That might present a problem. She is currently working for our company. With the situation, having to be in class all day might be a deal killer for her. She is taking care of me while I heal so Morgan can keep the company running and she’s working full time on the farm...Westhill high school in Stamford, Connecticut... Erin Baxter...043-04-0000...Thanks Mr. Martin. Please call me when you know more...With these two mother hens hovering over me, I can’t help but get better...I know they are, but all the worrying is driving me nuts. They won’t let me do anything but eat, sleep, and sit...Well, that’s true, but I don’t want them to know it...Thanks again...Bye.”
(Friday Morning about 8 AM)
(Brian’s phone rings)
“Brian Marshall...Oh, hi Mr. Martin...No, I was awake, just not moving much yet...That’s great news! What does she have to do?...She’s out running some errands right now but I’ll have her call you as soon as she gets back...Thanks Mr. Martin. This will mean so much to her.”
“Who was that?”
“Mr. Martin. He says that under the special circumstances, she can graduate and walk with the senior class if she passes essentially a final exam for each subject she was taking and shows enough hours employment to constitute an internship. He said her payroll record would serve as proof of her hours.”
That’s great! She will be so excited. It really bothered her that she wasn’t going to graduate high school. You’ve done it again. Has there ever been a time in your life when you weren’t helping somebody?”
Yeah, when I broke these damn ribs. That isn’t helping anybody, including me. They are still hurting bad enough that they wake me up a few times a night even with the pain meds.”
“How you are taking your meds is part of the problem. You wait until you are in enough pain that you are having trouble functioning. By then it’s too late. Your prescription says 2 every 6 hours. I know how much you hate taking pills, but I want you to start taking 1 pill every 6 hours. If that works, great. If that doesn’t work, I want you to take them exactly as prescribed. Your body is fighting pain which is making your recovery longer and more unpleasant than it has to be.”
“At this point, I’ll try anything. At least I still feel like eating and have read a couple of good books. I’m glad Erin is here or we would be in trouble with the gardens and orchard. She has taken to that work really well. She’s even doing a fair job with the livestock.”
“I think the guys teaching her have a lot to do with that. You told me you wanted to make a good impression when she came here. Well, you have succeeded beyond anything you can imagine. She almost idolizes you. Did you know she has been praying for you every night?”
“NO, REALLY?!? She’s praying? She’s been asking questions and we have been talking about God, but I didn’t know she was praying. That’s great, but I still worry about her soul. She still has to accept Christ as Savior, by her own choice. She’s not out of danger until she does.”
“She did, Tuesday night after you went to bed. Thanks to your hard work, I got to lead my sister to Christ. It should have been you, but she said it couldn’t wait anymore. She said she had to “get everything out from between them.” You said those words exactly to her, didn’t you?”
“Not quite. What I said was, “I don’t want anything to come between me and God”. I don’t care who showed her the way as long as she took the trip. Oh my God, I was so worried about her.”
“I know. Now you don’t have to worry anymore. Her soul is secure.”
“I’m relieved. That’s a big load off my mind, but I’ll always worry about her just like I worry about you. What were you talking about “guys” a minute ago though?”
“I think she’s developing a thing for Larry. She’s trying to keep it low key, but she lights up a little when she sees him. He started a fire last night and they sat out there for almost 2 hours talking and laughing. She wasn’t quite floating when she came in, but she was definitely happy.”
“He’s a good man and he wouldn’t do anything to intentionally hurt her, but she’s still fragile. I guess there isn’t anything we can do about it but support her and see where it leads. Well, that’s not true. There are a lot of things we could do about it. We shouldn’t do anything about it except be there for her if she needs us.”
“Agreed.”
“Hey guys, I’m back. The deposit is in the bank. I got my driver’s license changed over. Brian, I stopped by the bookstore and picked up a couple more books for you and the package Morgan said to pick up, here it is. Oh, and I stopped by the store and picked up a few things to make dinner tonight. I hope you don’t mind but I asked Larry to stay for dinner when he comes by today.”
“That’s cool. What are we having?”
“Chicken alfredo, garlic bread, and salad. I picked up a peach pie too. My last attempt at dessert didn’t go so well.”
“Sounds good. Hey Morgan, I didn’t know we were expecting anything. What’s in the box?”
“Here Erin, you need to open this.”
“Okaaay, what did you, MORGAN! It’s beautiful! Oh wow! This is just like your Bible!...It’s...it’s got my name on it...and Tuesday’s date. Oh Morgan, it’s...beautiful. I lo...love it, but you sho...shouldn’t have done this. It’s too...too much. These are expensive.”
“It’s a Scofield reference Bible. The one I used last night is the Bible Brian gave to me after I came to Christ. It has helped me a lot in understanding the Bible. I hope yours helps you as much as mine has helped me. It doesn’t matter what it cost. Your reaction just now makes it worth it at any price.”
“You did good, Love. Should we tell her the rest or leave it till later?”
“Tell me what?”
(Morgan nods)
(Brian hands Erin a name and phone number) You need to call Mr. Martin there right away. He did some checking for me and found a way for you to graduate from Franklin-Simpson High School here in town and walk with the graduating class. I knew you were upset about not graduating, so I called Mr. Martin to see what he could do.”
“I would love to graduate, but it can’t happen. Y’all need me here. I can’t go back and finish school and leave y’all hangin’ like that.”
“Bob Martin went to a lot of trouble to find a way for you to walk with your graduating class. At least call him and hear what he has to say. If it won’t work for you, we will back you, but at least hear him out and think about it.”
“Ok, I’ll go call him now.”
“What do you have planned today, Love?”
“I need Erin to learn how to drive the tractor and plow, but I’m hurting too bad to teach her. If Mr. Martin doesn’t need her to come in today, how about I cover the office for a couple of hours and you take her out and teach her how.”
“I can do that if you promise to just answer the phones.”
“I can do that. I hate to admit it, but I don’t feel like doing much more than that.”
“Hey guys, Mr. Martin said for me to come in Monday at 1 PM to fill out some paperwork and go over what I need to do. He said we could schedule my tests then.”
“Well, that’s that. Erin, Morgan is going to teach you how to operate the tractor with the plow today. I’m sorry but I’m not up to riding on the tractor yet or I’d teach you myself. I’m going to answer the phone while you two are out.”
“Morgan, I don’t trust him to give me a straight answer. Is he ok?”
(Morgan laughing)
You really are learning Brian. Yeah, he’s ok, but he hasn’t been taking his pain meds like he should. Even if he was, bouncing around on a tractor is probably more than his ribs can stand.”
“Ok, let’s do it. Brian, call us if you need us. The fields will wait if they have to. You’re more important.”
“Man! Carry a girl to bed one time and she gets all overprotective!”
“That’s SO not funny, Bro. You know, I still can poke you in those ribs and I do have a roll of duct tape in my room.”
OW! Dammit, you’re making me laugh again. Stop it. It hurts. Now get out of here and go learn how to run the tractor.”
(.........)
(Brian on his cell phone)
“Hey Brian. I was wondering how long it would be until you started bugging everybody.”
“Not everybody, Larry, just you. What’re you doing right now?”
“I’m on my way to Communicare to pick up a gang box they said they don’t need anymore.”
“It’ll wait till tomorrow. Skip it and come on into the shop. I need to talk to you.”
“Something wrong, Boss?”
“Not that I know of. See you when you get here.”
(30 minutes later)
“What’s up Boss”
“First off, I owe you an apology. I know how important it is to you to learn the trade. I’m sorry you aren’t in the field yet. I promise you, as soon as I can go back to work, you and I are tooling up together.”
“You don’t owe me an apology. It’s not like you meant to get hurt. I’ve waited this long, I can wait a little longer.”
“There’s more to it than that. I had Morgan do some checking. If you are willing, we would like to sponsor you to the apprenticeship program starting in the fall. It means a late night one night a week and it’s a 4 year program, but I would have no problem with you starting a little later the next day. Also, as long as you maintain an A average, we’ll pay your tuition and books.”
“That’s more than I could ever hope for. I’m in.”
“Good. There is one thing though. I’m going to offer the same deal to the evil twins. Don’t say anything about this until I get to talk to them. I would rather you didn’t tell anybody about this.”
“Done. I won’t even tell Erin.”
“Erin’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. This has nothing to do with work. Morgan told me you two are getting close. I’m ok with that and so is Morgan. I think you will be good for Erin, but there’s a lot about her you don’t know. I’m not going to tell you any of it because it isn’t my story to tell. What I will tell you is that she is fragile right now. She is starting a whole new, and very different, life than she had. I met Erin when she was 15. She isn’t the same girl she was then and she is becoming more different every day. As her brother, all I ask of you is to be gentle and patient with her. Past that, whatever happens, happens.”
“Brian, that was the understatement of the year. I don’t know what to make of her or where this is going. I don’t know if it’s going anywhere, but I’m thinking I want to stick around and find out.”
“Fair enough. Please don’t tell the girls we talked. Morgan and I agreed that we should stay out of this, so I just broke that agreement, but I love Erin dearly and want to protect her. I care about you too, so I thought you deserved to have some idea what you are, and are not, getting yourself into. Whatever happens, you and I are good so long as you don’t mistreat her. I can’t believe you’d do that. I don’t think you have it in you. Now, do you still have time to get to Communicare and back?”
“Yeah, I might be a little later getting here to tend the animals but I can make it without speeding.”
“Then get gone. Wait, I do have one favor to ask. Here’s some money. Could you stop by the tobacco shop and pick me up a box of Maker’s Mark cigars?”
“Sure, see you later.