All I can say is WOW! (and here I was thinking that this wasn't one of my better stories). Thanks for all the reviews and I'm glad that everyone seems to be enjoying it (you guys are great!) Okay on with chapter 2.
Chapter 2: Afternoon Woes
After cleaning himself and the lunchtime dishes up, Bo headed back out to the barn to finish the morning chores and to start on the evening chores too. He released Maudine and Millie to the small pen that was outside the barn so that he could clean out their stalls and breathed in a sigh of relief when neither of the two animals gave him a hard time. After mucking out the stalls, he returned with the hose to wash them down thoroughly since it hadn't been done for quite some time. Using the hose water he sprayed down the floor around the stalls and with the broom swept the wet remains out the back door.
Allowing the floors time to dry, he started releasing the goats out to the small pen so that he could start on their stalls. He quickly cleaned and washed them out just like the others and finished by washing down the floors. As those floors dried, he started laying fresh hay in the now cleaned stalls and fresh food and drinking water in the buckets. Bo realized that with taking care of his family that he had neglected to feed the animals and that they were really letting him know that they were miffed about that. As he was guiding Millie back to the barn, Bo was surprised as he felt himself being shoved and found himself sprawled out in the muddy, mucky water just outside the barn door. With his hair dripping with muddy water, he looked over his shoulder he saw Nelson with a very satisfied look on its face.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot," Bo grumbled as he pulled himself out of the puddle, once again rubbing his backside. Looking down, he saw that he was covered head to toe in the mucky water and sighed in disbelief. "Could anythin' else go wrong today?" Bo asked as he looked up into the sky. "Wait a minute, forget I asked that," he mumbled fearing he might have just jinxed himself. Putting Millie and then Maudine back into their stalls, Bo then finished the goats' stalls, making sure that they were fed and watered before herding them back inside. Sighing again as he looked at his muddy clothes, which were now beginning to harden, he made his way back to the house, stopping on the porch long enough to toe off his boots and strip down to his skivvies, quickly making his way back to his bedroom hoping that Daisy was still asleep.
As he entered his room, Luke stirred and stared at his very dirty and half naked cousin. "What happened ta you?" he asked in horse voice.
"Nelson," was all Bo would say as he grabbed another set of clean clothes and headed to the bathroom and a hot shower. Luke just shook his head and rolled over, borrowing deep within the blankets so that Bo wouldn't see him laughing. Quickly washing up and getting dressed in case one of the others needed to use the facilities he looked at the clock and realized that it was heading towards suppertime. Knowing that his culinary skills were severely limited, he frantically started searching through the cupboards again. Panic started setting in when he couldn't find anything suitable to make. As he stood there thinking about what he would do, the phone rang. Running over he quickly answered it before the ringing would wake everyone else.
"Duke residence, Bo speaking."
"Hey Bo, Crazy C here."
"Cooter, am I glad that ya called," Bo said in a relieved tone.
"Well, I'm glad ta talk ta ya too. Just wonderin' if y'all had any plans on headin' out ta the Boar's Nest tonight?"
"Uh, sorry Cooter. Everyone here but me is sick and I'm kind of in trouble here."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"
Bo could hear the concern in his friend's voice. "I need ta make them somethin' for supper…"
"But you and cookin' are not the best of friends."
"Yeah, ya could say that," Bo sighed as he ran a hand though his blonde hair. "And I already used all the canned soup up in the house…"
"Say no more, Buddyroe. I'll stop over at the diner and pick somethin' up that y'all can eat."
"You'll do that?"
"Sure I'll do that. I can't keep subjectin' your family ta your cookin' now, can I?"
"Thanks a lot, Cooter," Bo said in a sarcastic tone. "Really though, I appreciate what you're doin' for me."
"Not a problem, Bo. Be there in about an hour. That work for ya?"
"That sure does. Thanks again Cooter."
"See ya in a bit, buddy."
Bo sighed in relief and slumped against the wall as he hung up the phone.
As Bo waited for Cooter to arrive with the food, he continued feeding the rest of the animals, his mood matching many of the ornery critters. "Don't ya be blamin' me for bein' so late with your food, blame Nelson. He's the one that knocked me into the mud," Bo grumbled as he threw the seed down for the chickens.
Bo's smile grew when he saw Cooter's tow truck pulling up the driveway an hour later. He quickly finished what he was doing and ran over to meet the older man. "Oh Cooter, you are a life saver."
"Yours or your families?" Cooter asked with a mischievous look on his face.
"Cute Cooter," Bo said in mock hurt. "True, but cute. What'd ya bring?"
"Well after telling Ms. Higgens over at the diner what was happening, she filled up a large container of soup and some other soft foods like jello and pudding." Cooter turned and pointed out a pot of soup and two heavily laden brown bags that was sitting on the passenger side of the truck's seat.
"Cooter, there's got ta be two gallons of soup here," Bo said in astonishment.
"Yep, and it's on the house," Cooter smiled. "Ms. Higgens is still grateful for all the work that you, Luke, and Jesse did for her on her house this summer. Said that she had no idea how she was gonna get the damage fixed, that is until Uncle Jesse heard about it and volunteered y'all services."
"But it wasn't any big deal," Bo replied, still stunned at the generosity.
"Well she thought it was," Cooter said with a shrug. "Come on, let's get some of this heated up. Ya should have enough for a few meals for everyone and oh," Cooter said as he leaned back into the truck, "she sent this along knowing that soup wasn't gonna cut it for ya."
Bo took the bag Cooter handed to him and opened it. Inside was a complete fried chicken dinner including mash potatoes, gravy, stuffing, and coleslaw. "This is too much," Bo protested.
Cooter held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm just deliverin' the stuff, you're the one eatin' it."
A smile split Bo's face. "Well then, let's get inside and get everythin' ready and get everyone fed."
"Let's do it," Cooter said slapping his friend on the back as they walked into the house.
Two hours later, Bo and Cooter had everyone fed, and while Cooter did the dishes for Bo, the younger man helped Jesse and Luke to wash up a bit and change into clean pajamas. With Daisy, he left the washbasin, washcloth, towels, and pajamas out for her to use and change into and came back later to pick up everything. At first he felt guilty for not helping her but she quickly soothed him and told him that she was feeling better and that it wouldn't be a problem for her to do it herself. She laughed at the relief that she saw on his face.
After getting everyone settled in for the night, Bo and Cooter sat at the kitchen table relaxing as they drank some of the coffee that Cooter had made. "Thanks for your help, Cooter. Appreciate it."
"Anytime Bo," Cooter smiled back. "Just glad ta help. Just wish I could come over and help ya out tomorrow, but I have ta go ta Hotlanta and pick up some parts for the garage."
"Don't worry about it, Cooter. I should be able ta handle things a little better…I hope."
"Yeah, Luke told me what ya looked like after Nelson got a hold of ya."
"He told ya that huh?" Bo chuckled. "Well, at least I don't have ta do any major cooking thanks ta Ms. Higgens. After all this is over with, I'll have ta go over there and thank her personally."
"Ya know she'd like that," Cooter laughed. "She always says that you are one of her best customers, appetite wise at least."
After Cooter had left for the evening, Bo did a quick check on his patients and found them all safely tucked in, Luke included, and went to sit down on the couch to catch his breath. It was only a few minutes later that he was softly snoring.
The sunlight that was hitting him in the face is what woke him the next morning. Slowly Bo opened his eyes, wondering where he was at first, but quickly realized that he was still sitting on the couch. Lifting his head, he groaned at the stiffness that was in his neck and shoulders and he grimaced as he stood. Looking at the clock he saw that it was already six-thirty and remembered that he had three sick people in the house. He did a quick check on his family and sighed in relief when he found them all still sleeping soundly.
After attending to the morning chores, he allowed himself a few moments to freshen up, and then he made himself a quick breakfast as he started making toast and tea for everyone else, along with the jello that Ms. Higgins had sent the night before. Taking a tray into each room, he had his cousins and uncle eat in the chairs that were in each room while he stripped the bed sheets and remade the beds.
"Uh Bo, what do ya think you're doin'?" Luke asked as he watched Bo working on his bed.
"Gonna wash the sheets," Bo answered as he tucked the end of a clean one underneath the mattress. Bo stopped what he was doing when he heard Luke choking. "You okay?"
"Fine," Luke answered in a strangled voice. "Did ya say that ya were gonna wash the sheets?"
"Yeah. They need ta be done. Why?"
"Do ya even know where the washin' machine is?"
Bo threw Luke a look that told the man that he wasn't amused. "Funny. Yes I know where the washin' machine is."
"Bo, ya don't know how ta do the laundry!"
"How hard can it be?" Bo shrugged. "Besides, I'm only doin' the sheets, not the clothes, although between you and Nelson, I might need ta do mine soon."
"Maybe ya better just wait until Daisy is feelin' better."
"I am perfectly capable of doin' the wash," Bo stated adamantly as he stood in front of Luke. "Besides, Daisy and Jesse don't have a problem with me doin' the sheets."
"That's because Daisy would be perfectly happy havin' one of us do the laundry for her all the time," Luke answered. Looking up at his cousin, he saw the look of hurt on Bo's face and sighed in resignation. "Okay, okay, ya can do it and I'm sure that you'll do a great job too".
"Thanks Luke," Bo grinned backed. "Ya ready ta get back inta bed?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Nope."
"Then I'm ready."
Throwing open the folding double-doors that hid it from the rest of the kitchen, there it stood…the one machine that could make most men cringe in fear. It was one thing if that machine had a carburetor, a gearshift, and a set of tires; that would be a machine that Bo Duke could handle, but this machine had none of those items. This machine instead had a motor that twisted and mangled clothes and sheets in water and then spun them so fast that it would make most men sick after only a few revolutions. No, this machine was much more dangerous than any car that he had ever driven...it was the dreaded washing machine.
Bo knew it could have been worse; they still could have had that old wringer washer that had terrified him for years, the same machine that Luke had once told him the story about a man who had been flattened like a pancake when his arm had gotten caught by the wringers and was pulled all the way through. It was a harmless Halloween story that Luke had told to a seven-year-old Bo, but it scared the younger Duke so bad that he wouldn't even enter the kitchen, eating his meals in the living room instead. It took Uncle Jesse three months to convince Bo that that washing machine wasn't going to get him, about the same amount of time it took Luke to finally be able to sit back down without wincing in pain from the lashing his uncle had given him.
Bo shook is head of the memory of that washing machine and stood in front of newer one and shivered slightly at the feeling of intimidation that this one managed to give him. Taking a deep breath, he took a look at the knob and buttons that were on the panel behind the tub of the washer.
"Small…medium…large…delicate…normal…permanent press? What's a permanent press?" he asked himself as he scratched his head. Shrugging, he pushed the button for "Large" and then he turned the knob to " Normal" and stood there waiting for the machine to do something. "What's wrong with this thing?" His hand hit the side of the washer several times before he gave up on that idea. He went to twist the knob again when he accidentally pulled it and the washer started filling with water. "All right!"
He then started reading the box to see how much detergent to use. Carefully, he measured out the amount he thought that he needed and dumped it into the water. Next, Bo grabbed all of the sheets and started stuffing them into the washer, pushing in as many as he could. He smiled with pride when he managed to pack them all in, all the colors complementing each other. Closing the lid, his smile widened even more when the machine kicked into washing mode. "Well, all right!" he cried out happily, and turned to head outside to do some more chores.
A half hour later, after avoiding another run in with Nelson, Bo entered the back door to find the washing machine walking itself from its small cubbyhole into the kitchen, thumping all the way. Without even thinking, he went and grabbed the sides trying to muscle it back into place. He found himself in a losing battle when suddenly the machine just stopped. Looking up, he saw his pajama clad uncle standing there holding the power cord in his hand.
"Bo Duke, what in tar nation do ya think ya are doin'?"
"The laundry?"
Jesse could see that Bo was panting heavily from the exertion of fighting with the washing machine. "By wrestlin' with the danged thing?"
"Well, it wasn't in the middle of the kitchen when I left ta go outside," Bo explained. "Somethin' must be wrong with it."
"Let me take a look," Jesse said as he opened the lid. Looking inside, he saw how full it was. "Uh Bo? Just how many of the bed sheets do ya have loaded in there?"
"All of them."
"All of them? Well no wonder the washer was takin' itself for a walk," Jesse laughed.
"What? What did I do?" Bo asked in confusion.
"Ya put too much in. When it went ta spin the water out, the weight of the sheets knocked the washer out of balance. You're lucky that this thing didn't walk itself right out the door."
"What's goin' on?"
The two men turned to see Daisy standing by Luke holding him up against the kitchen doorframe. "Oh, nothing's wrong," Jesse smiled. "Bo's just doin' the laundry."
"But why's the washer in the kitchen?" Daisy asked in astonishment. She could see the look of embarrassment on Bo's face.
"Now don't ya fret none about that, girl," Jesse ordered. "Ya two just go on and get back ta bed."
"Hey Bo?" Luke called out with a grin on his face.
"Yeah?"
"Told ya ya should have waited for Daisy before doin' the laundry."
"Luke!" Jesse warned causing his oldest nephew to turn and stumble back to his room. Jesse turned and saw at the crestfallen look on Bo's face. "Now don't ya worry about any of this. How was ya ta know that the washer couldn't handle all off the sheets at once?" Bo just nodded his head.
Daisy moved over and gave him a hug. "I don't care what Luke says. I think it was nice of ya ta offer ta do the sheets for me. Thank ya, Sugar." Giving Bo another hug and a kiss on his cheek, she turned and headed off towards her room.
"See there? No harm done. Now let's get this machine pushed back against the wall and we'll take some of the sheets out."
"No Uncle Jesse, I'll do it. Ya get back ta bed," Bo pleaded, seeing how pale his uncle looked.
Jesse looked at his youngest and smiled. "All right, I'll get back ta bed, but if ya need anything, ya let me know."
"Okay. Thanks Uncle Jesse." Jesse patted Bo's cheek with his hand and shuffled back off to his room.
Shaking his head, Bo carefully pushed the washer back against the wall, after checking all of the connections first, and then removed half of bed sheets, shrugging slightly when he saw some of the sheets were slightly different in color. Plugging the washer back in, the machine started humming like it normally would, finishing its cycle a few minutes later. Pulling out the sheets that were now clean, Bo loaded in the other half and started the machine back up. Grabbing the basket he then headed outside to hang them on the clothesline.