A Better Idea
Chapter Fourteen
Jack had made a decision long about 4:30 a.m. He knew Randall's work schedule fairly well, and he would call him at the ranch during the time he usually was in the office tallying up invoices, and entering the amounts in the ledger. It seemed like the best thing to do. He didn't want to call him at home; first thing you know, LaShawn would be rattling off to Lureen that Jack had called Randall, who knew where that conversation would go?
Besides, whenever Randall wanted to see Jack he would call him during his office hours. He called the dealership, never the house. He'd ask for Jack and if Jack was out, he'd leave a message that Mr. Kemp had called. The first time he'd called and left a message, he'd said Mr. Fisher had called. Jack really had a client named Mr. Fisher and had innocently returned the call, only to hear Randall's voice answer on the first ring. So they settled on Kemp.
About 6 a.m. he smelled coffee brewing and bacon frying. Seemed like mama has a bee in her bonnet and has gotten an early start to her day, he thought. Jack took clean clothes with him, and headed for the bathroom and a second shower in just a few short hours. His mother was fully dressed and bustling around the kitchen when he hit the bottom of the stairs. "Well, good morning, early bird." Jack called out to her on his way into the bathroom. "You need to get in here before I jump in the shower?"
"No, you go ahead. Your breakfast will be waitin' for ya when ya get done."
Shower and breakfast done, Jack couldn't figure where his mother could have got off to, he'd called out for her but got no reply. He heard bumping and scraping sounds coming from upstairs, but when he got up there, she was nowhere to be found. Now where can . . . bump! Jack looked up, the sound was coming from over his head. The attic! What is that woman up to up in the attic at 6:30 in the morning?
"Jackie, can you come help me down with this? I'm in the attic!" Called Claire, using his childhood name for the second time in as many days. Prior to this she hadn't called him Jackie, since he left home to go on the rodeo circuit.
"Coming, Mama!" he called, turning into the large room he and Ennis had shared so recently. Jack looked at the bed, but there was nothing to tell him that it was anyplace special. His heart knew, and that's all that mattered to Jack.
The access to the attic was through a door at the far end of the room, it led up a staircase. At the top was a small area floored with pine boards, the rest was inaccessible as the roofline sloped severely. That sloped area was used for odd shaped items and bags of christmas garland, easter grass, or anything soft and lightweight.
Jack's mother was on the far side, pulling on a twisted mess of slim varnished boards covered in numbers and lines like a ruler. It had strange hardware, and what appeared to be spikes or nails sticking out of it.
"Here, let me get that for you." said Jack, his superior height enabling him to have just the right angle for better leverage. Soon he was pulling it toward them and his mother was guiding it, careful that the nails didn't snag her son or his clothing. When it was free, Jack saw some suitcases and a couple of heavy looking boxes sitting off to the side, that must have been the bumping he'd heard earlier, her attempt to clear a path and get at the thing, whatever the hell it was. "Why didn't you tell me what you wanted and let me climb around in here for you?" Jack scolded.
"Guess I should have!" laughed Claire. " I thought I could get it with no problem, but it's been a good ten years since I've used it, so I might be a little less agile than I was," Hearing nothing but silence, she looked back at Jack, and he had a quizzical look on his face, staring at the contraption. "Don't you remember this curtain stretcher, Jack?"
Yes, he began to have a fuzzy memory of his mother washing up everything in the entire house every spring. The wood and coal fires of the winter heating season left soot on everything in the house, so she always did a bang up job of scrubbing and washing and waxing everything in sight. She often elicited his help when he was a child. Now he remembered pricking his fingers on those nails as he helped her stretch the lace curtains from the parlor and from their bedroom, across this fixture, which allowed them to dry without wrinkles. He didn't remember it looking like this, however.
She began again, "Let's get this downstairs, son, and you can help me put it all together."
In the parlor, as they worked, Jack began to wonder if his mother's agenda for this morning was in direct conflict with his own. He wanted to get her to the hospital as early as possible, so he could go down the hall and call Randall. "What you got on your mind to do with this, mama? If you ain't used it in ten years, why now?"
"That's a long story Jack, and I could be just as happy sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee and telling you all about it, but I sense that you are anxious about something. What's going on?"
"Well, I was thinkin' we should get to the hospital early today. I have some phone calls to make, and Bobby is going to call me this afternoon between 3 and 4 o'clock. I just don't want to rush you back home, and cut short your visit with daddy."
"Oh, I see." said Claire, who really did see. "Well, I was so set on getting started with my project, that I didn't stop to think what you might have on your plate, but tomorrow will be just as good a time to start on it. And I can explain it to you on our drive to the hospital this morning. That will work just as well Jack. Let's leave this, and go get that cup of coffee before we get on the road."
"Are you sure, you don't mind, mama?" enquired Jack.
"Not at all, might even be better this way." replied his mother.
Pouring them each a second cup, and sitting at the table, Claire said, "Jack, you know you are welcome to make phone calls from here. It won't break us, and if they run very high, I'll let you know and you can cover them for me. You don't always have to reverse the charges when you call your family."
"I'm not calling my family this morning, it's more of a business call," said Jack. "Kind of a personal business call.
"Oh, I see." said Claire, who didn't see at all.
Thirty minutes later, they were getting into Jack's truck. Claire had packed John a treat from the breakfast that she and Jack had shared. John was always crazy about Claire's biscuits. From the day they married, he teased her that he would never leave her 'less she quit makin' him biscuits ever' mornin'. It was his favorite thing to take a leftover buttered biscuit, pile on a scrambled egg and a couple slices of bacon. Sometimes for good measure, he would add a slice of cheese on top. I hope this whets his appetite she thought, he's wastin' away in that hospital bed. No wonder, the food they expect him to eat. Anybody'd rather starve, and that's just what he's doin'.
"Penny for your thoughts, mama" said Jack, seeing her in quiet reflection.
"Oh, you know me, I give'em Free, always have." she laughed. "I was just thinkin' about the food in that hospital, and how thin your daddy's gettin'.
"I seen that you packed up his favorite biscuit treat." Said Jack. "It smells so good in your purse, you won't be able to sneak it into the hospital! That oughta perk him right up."
"I sure hope so." replied Claire.
"You wanta tell me about your plan now, mama? Or your project?"
"Well, it's kind of hard to say right out loud, Jack. But I think it's important enough, that I have to. You see, I'm glad Bobby's coming up to stay the summer and all, but I was worried where to put you and Ennis to sleep, so Bobby don't have no unexpected surprises. And with your dad home, we'll have us a houseful and so . . .so that's what I've had on my mind, and now I have a plan and I'm anxious to put it in place." Claire said this all in one breath, and when her recitation was over, she had to take a deep gulping breath.
Jack was a rodeo rider, nothing much threw him, except his mama. He calmly pulled the truck over to the side of the road, pulled into the parking lot of a store that wasn't open yet, put the truck in neutral, pulled on the parking brake, and turned to his mother. "C'mere you." and took her in his arms, hugging tightly. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" asked Jack.
When they pulled apart, both had teary eyes.
Jack said "Mama, ever' since I decided to ask Bobby to come up here, I've been worryin' and wonderin' how to handle this very thing. And you say you have a plan? Good woman. What is it?"
Now Claire had center stage, and she was kind of liking the spotlight. Besides, Jack could listen and tell her if there were any holes in her theory.
"Bottom line is we move your dad out of our room and into the parlor. It's larger and closer to the bathroom anyway, which he'll need. I'll stay in there, with him. You will have our room, downstairs, Bobby will have your little room, and Ennis will have the guest room. It has a door, so whether Ennis actually sleeps in there or not, Bobby won't be able to see." She eagerly watched Jack's face to see if her plan passed muster.
His face reflected a man deep in thought, then he slowly began to grin. "That just might do it, mama! If Ennis gets cought downstairs, he can just say he was going to the bathroom."
"Well, it better work, son. My only other thought was to send Bobby over to spend the night with Kyle or Eric every night. I didn't think that would actually fly. I mean, once in awhile it will, but not often." They both laughed at that.
Jack released the parking brake, and started to ease out of the lot. "Let's hope this is a temporary thing, mama. I've never wanted to live a lie with Ennis, and he won't like that either. By the end of this summer, I hope he'll feel more comfortable, he'll see that this thing will work for us. We can live together, be a couple. Then we'll tell Bobby, and whoever else matters."
"You boys are in my prayers, son. I hope it works out the way you want it to."
Jack gave his mother a look, nodded his head in agreement, and then took off toward the hospital again. "By the way, mama, I sure do want to thank you for caring about us, and trying to help us instead of how you could be. Don't ever think I don't know what you do for us. Thank you for Sunday morning, especially."
Before long, they were up in John Twist's room, getting the latest from his nurse, and even a note or two from Jack's dad on his little note pad. John scrawled a note asking Jack if he would read him the baseball news. Checking his watch, Jack nodded yes, and proceeded to open the sports page and look for an update on the Texas Rangers. Finding a full column, he read the entire article. Then checking his watch again, Jack stood up to go down the hall to the pay phones.
"Mama, daddy, I'll be down the hall for a few minutes. Be back soon." Jack said. Before heading to the bank of telephones, Jack went to the cashier to get more change. He didn't want to get stopped in mid-sentence the way he and Ennis had been. Under any other circumstances, Jack would have smiled at that memory, but he was too intent on what needed to be done this day.
He grimly headed back to the phones, pockets full of quarters.
Jack pulled a chair over to the nearest phone and dropped in some coins, he dialed Randall's office number. The ringing sounded so close, it was like he was calling next door instead of more'n 1400 miles away.
"Taylor's. This is Malone speaking."
Jack thought about hanging up, but called himself every kind of coward, and then spoke. "Randall, this is Jack. Uh, how you been?"
"Hey, Jack, s'good to hear your voice. Lureen said you were staying up in Wyoming, said your dad had a stroke. Sorry to hear that, man."
"Thank you, Randall." Jack hesitated, "I can't do this, man. I can't play chitty chat with you. I just called to say I can't do any of this anymore. I wanted to tell you in person, but god knows when I'll be back. What I'm sayin' is, Randall, don't wait for me. It ain't gonna be like that no more. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it no more."
'Jack, don't say that, I thought we were doing real well. Weren't we doing real well, Jack?" Jack had no answer for that line of reasoning.
"Randall, did I ever tell you we had a future? No, I didn't. We were just passing the time o'day, you know that. Right?" Jack rushed on, ""Sides, you never told me I was in your future, either. Neither one a us did. So, don't try to make it more than it was. Okay? Can we call it off, friendly like?"
"Jack, you're just upset 'cause your dad's sick, don't say this now, wait till you get back. Please, Jack."
Oh, holy shit, this is worse than I thought it would be, thought Jack, running his hands through his hair; he was beginning to sweat.
"Randall, are you alone in the office? Do you have a minute to sit down and talk calmly with me? Do you?" asked Jack. When he heard no reply, he asked again, "Randall, is someone there with you?"
"No," he finally heard Randall say. "I just don't want you to say these things, Jack."
"Randall, listen to me, okay? Do you remember me telling you about the guy that I've been in love with for 20 years, but he was too afraid for us to be together, or make a life together? That he had a lot of issues over killings that he'd seen as a youngster, do you remember that, Randall? How he'd seen a man who was murdered and thrown into a drainage ditch because he ranched with another man? Remember that, Randall?
"Yes, Jack, I remember that guy, how could I forget? He's all you ever talk about, goddammit! Willis this, and Willis that, till I'm sick of Willis! I fuckin' hate Willis. Jack."
"We're back together, Randall. Me and Willis are back together now. Now you understand why I had to call you? I had to tell you the truth of how it is. I couldn't let you keep on thinking that I was coming back to Childress and that we'd pick up where we left off before my fishing trip."
Silence. Utter silence on the phone line.
"Randall, are you there, buddy? Will you talk to me? You understand I've been waiting all these years, don't you Randall? We finally have a shot, I think. I don't wanna fuck it up. No matter what, I don't wanna fuck up this one shot I've got. Randall, tell me you understand! Please." Pleaded Jack.
Jack heard Randall take a big deep breath, a shuddering breath, trying to calm himself. "So, your father really didn't have a stroke, it's all a lie, Jack? All a lie to keep you up there in the arms of your lover, Willis? Is that is Jack?" Randall was raging now.
"No, Randall. It's all true. My father had a stroke and is in the hospital; actually, that's where I'm calling you from right now, we're bringing him home next week, or week after. It's just that since I been up here, we've talked it over and it doesn't seem so impossible anymore. Nothing definite, you understand, but maybe not so Impossible as before. I'm sorry if you're surprised or shocked by the timing, Randall, but you've always known what my wildest hopes and dreams were built on. Right?"
Randall took a deep breath, and let it all out in a big deep sigh, "Yes, Jack. I have to say that you were straight up with me from the git go. Wouldn't even go fishin' with me, or take one drink of whiskey with me till I understood fully and completely what you were hoping for in your life. It was this Willis fella. Goddammit, Jack. I hate this. I can't even hate you or blame you cause you been so damn straight with me, but gotta tell you, Jack, this hurts like a sonofabitch!"
"I know it does, Randall, I surely been there. Again I'm sorry for springing this on you like this. I didn't know no other way to get word to you. But I had to tell you how it was. Or how I hope it is, still hafta see."
"Jack, are you telling me that it might not work out, that you might be back?"
"No, Randall, I'm not telling you that. I'm telling you that I have Willis in a position where he's more willing to listen and I'm going for it all! I'm going for the cow and calf operation, for the sweet life. All them things I told you I wanted with that man, that's what I'm going after. Nothing else will do. That's what I'm telling you, Randall."
"Jesus Christ, Jack, but you do know how to tear the heart out of a man." said Randall.
"You been nothin' but good to me, Randall. You been a friend. We've had us some good times. I owe you honesty if nothing else. I didn't want this to drag on without you knowing what was in my mind and in my heart."
"Jack, I know you want my blessing, or my forgiveness, and maybe my friendship, too. But you already got whatever you want from me. Don't need to ask. It's yours. But you don't need none of it. If I know you, that Willis doesn't have a chance. He'll be charmed right out of his drawers, er, never mind that I said that. I surely don't want to be thinking about that."
Randall continued. "Shit Jack, I guess I can be a big enough man to say what needs sayin' here; Good Luck, Friend!"
"Thank you, Randall. I knew you'd be a big enough man and a good enough friend about this." assured Jack. "And while we are talking about hopes and dreams, Randall, why'nt you call that Darren who was with you those three years at A & M? I know your Aggie is as careful about "what other people think" as my Willis is, but he might just be willing to listen to reason after all this time. Don't know till you try, you deserve to be happy too, Randall."
"Oh, maybe so, maybe so, Jack. But it'll take me a day or two to let all this soak in. Uh, does Lureen know? Or am I s'posed to keep quiet about all this till you work things out?"
"You are the first person I've talked to about it, Ran. Keep it all on the QT if you will, till I figure out how it's going to go, or not. Especially since I can't afford a crisis on the home front, I have to be up here with my dad and mom. They got no one else."
Jack and Randle said their goodbyes to each other, and each man had plenty to think about before rejoining polite society. For his part, Jack was so wrung out, he thought they might need to find a hospital bed for him as well as his daddy.
In his office, Randall stretched out on the couch and felt like he'd been run over by a Mack truck. Both ways. Roy Taylor came in, and was all concerned over Randall's pallor, tried to send him home. But Randall would have none of it, and insisted he just needed to get busy, and get his mind offa hisself. Work was the best and only antidote.
That afternoon when they got home, Jack and his mother had a cool lunch of salad and sandwich. Claire went to lay down after, and to read her book. She got one page read before falling fast asleep.
Jack wished he could get some sleep too, as he hadn't had much in the last 24 hours, that's for sure. But Bobby would be calling any time now and he wanted to have his wits about him to talk to his son.
Nevertheless, when the call finally came, Jack realized that he had dozed off in his chair, waiting. Bobby said that Lureen had filled him in about his grandpa and that his dad needed help this summer. He sounded like he was about to dig in his heels and refuse to set foot in some hick town, or worse, some run down ranch out in the sticks of Wyoming.
Jack said, "Hey Bob, it's good to hear from you. How's school going? I bet you're glad it's about over. You guys got some fun parties planned for the end of school? Yeah? Where at?" He got Bobby relaxed and talking and he soon forgot to have a chip on his shoulder.
Reclaiming the lead, Jack said, "Well, son. I want you to have some fun with your friends. You're never gonna be 17 again. Remember that. Enjoy each age, cause when it's gone, it's gone." He waited while Bobby told of the upcoming trips and outings, and then pitched his cause.
"Bob, I need your help, son. I'd like to ask you to come up here and help me out for a few weeks while my dad is laid up. Would you like to do that? Help your grandpa and me this summer? It would mean a lot to me, Bobby and I know it would tickle your Gran and Grandpa a lot. Especially, Gran. She's already asking me what are your favorite foods, meals, and desserts."
"Yeah, they both knew I was planning on asking you to come." assured Jack. "No, you won't be in the way, matter of fact, there's a lot of things you can do to help, and I'm sure we'll find more, once you get here and try your hand at a few things."
One thing then, Bob. Go to your parties that are already planned, and then come on up. I think June 3rd sounds like it will work out fine. Second thing, son, bring blue jeans, shirts, boots, and gloves, and a jacket, but that's it. Didn't mention socks and underwear, bring plenty of them. Well, yes, that's right, bring one church outfit. But that's all the nice clothes you'll need. Well, let me back up a minute son, you got some cousins up here that might like to take you out to get a coke or somethin'. Probably your jeans would cover all those occasions, but a pair a khaki's might come in handy with a good lookin' shirt. Yeah, we got pretty girls up here, too! Don't think we don't!"
"Okay, Bob. I have to talk to your mama, about your flight number and time, and so forth, but we're set for June 3rd, and I'm looking forward to seeing you. I miss you, son."
"I miss you too, daddy. See you soon. Here's mama."
"Jack? That was pretty slick what you just did right there." sneered Lureen. She still could not see how or why Bobby got along with his gramma Newsome or his daddy, but not so well with his mama. It's supposed to be natural, you're supposed to love your mama more'n anybody.
"Lureen, I don't want to hear you say that again, is he still standing there? I didn't pull anything slick, I just talked to him like a human being. Maybe you oughta try it." Jack was flustered and didn't really know how to get through to Lureen about her son.
"I need to get offa here pretty soon, Lureen. What is the information for the flight on June 3rd out of Childress, getting into Casper around 5, 6 or 7 p.m.? Okay, unhuh, Oh, changing planes where? No, I don't like to think of that. Any other option that's non-stop, or no change of planes at all? Okay, give me that number, the one where he has a stop in Denver, but stays on the same plane all the way through to Casper. Uh huh, okay, yep. That should do it. Good job, Lureen. I really appreciate you doing this.
We'll take it from here.
Oh, one thing, will you make this reservation tonight? Or would you rather I did it? Yeah, I have the credit card handy. Okay, give me the phone number. Okay, thanks again, bye! Good night, Lureen,"
Jack got Bobby's flight scheduled, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. My godamighty, what a day!" Jack went to bed.