Charlie IV

Chapter 9

"What do you think, Parnell?" Rick inquired after showing him his trailer. He would be leaving behind everything in the kitchen including any food that he hadn't eaten by then. He told him how big the tanks were. How the trailer was connected to electrical, water, and waste. What his normal costs for each service was for summer and winter and since it was a park owned by someone, he was paying rent with a tiny HOA fee.

How big the water heater was, how big his two propane tanks were, and how long each tank normally lasted given that his water heater and cooktop were gas-fired as was the heat for the trailer. The refrigerator was a combination; either electricity or propane.

"The only thing you need to be ready for is that your neighbors are going to find out that you're handy so they'll ask you for help. You can usually get a home-cooked meal out of it if you try hard enough," Rick reminded him.

"So where are you going again?" Parnell asked him mostly because he was concentrating on the trailer, not where Rick was moving to.

"Mississippi, about two hours from New Orleans."

"Nice! …Yeah, I'll take it. It gets me out of my cockroach infested apartment that the super won't do anything about. Provided you help me move since you have a truck," Parnell added since it meant he didn't need to rent a truck to move his stuff.

"Deal." Rick would help him. "It's a nice quiet space. The only cars that go past you are the ones on the end. Everyone else goes that way." Rick pointed somewhere else.

"I don't suppose it comes with Charlie?" Parnell teased him since he knew it didn't. Parnell petted Charlie since he really was a good dog.

"Sorry no, he goes where I go. Eleven days is good with you?" Rick wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, I pay month to month, no contract, and it's almost the end of the month. I'll be paying for two days that I'm not there but that's fine." They all went outside and Parnell got to see Justin almost instantly since he saw Charlie was outside and he got to throw the tennis ball.

"See you in eleven days, Ricky, and thanks." Parnell shook his hand and went to his car to go home.

"That's one more down," Rick told himself and listened to Charlie bark and run for the tennis ball since he was having fun.

What Rick needed was an address or a Post Office box. Some way to get his mail delivered and not delivered here. And there was everything else he needed to do. Tell his auto insurance company. Get a new drivers license and new plates for his truck. Moving to another state wasn't as simple as it sounded. He also needed to start planning how to get there, wherever exactly there was.

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Justin finally got tired. Charlie came running, went inside, and tried to drink his water bowl dry.

His trailer was effectively sold even if he didn't have the money yet and UPS had their two week notification of his quitting. That just left one thing. Call the Becketts and tell them that he was taking them up on their offer.

Rick had also talked to Henry with Black Pawn. At first he was shocked that Rick was moving to a small town in Mississippi. Of course Henry couldn't stop him from moving where he wished to go. However, he was satisfied that Rick was willing to drive the two hours to New Orleans to do his required book signings. Henry wasn't prepared for this but he would be after a few phone calls.

Rick was also told that his book had shipped out two weeks ago. Places like New York City might not yet have their shipments yet but they would really soon. The local stores that did have his book indicated that they were selling a few. Just give it some time. They weren't panicked so he shouldn't be either.

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Rick opened the back door, got Charlie to hop in, and got in the passenger seat. He looked at Jim. "How is she?"

"Same as always. It seems Charlie goes away and she shuts down again. We have something we want you to try today and maybe tomorrow depending on how this works."

"I'm listening." If it worked he might even use it in his next book.

"You've talked about pulling Charlie away and then Katie complains. We're thinking that if you do that a lot it might get her to do something else. What I mean is don't give her a lot of time to get used to Charlie. Give her just enough to get her to pet him and take him away. She says no, send Charlie back. Give her 2 minutes tops to pet him and take him away.

"Just keep doing that. Maybe she'll chase him. I don't mean she'll get out of bed to literally chase him but maybe her mind will chase him. Maybe she'll literally see him."

"She wants it, likes it so she chases it. It might work." Rick would do it.

"One more thing. Sight and feeling are just two of her senses. The next time you take Charlie outside and he poops, pick it up and bring it back with you. Hide it in your pocket or something. A nurse sees that come into their hospital and she'll have a cow," Jim warned him.

"You want me to stuff that open bag under her nose." Rick started grinning since Charlie's poop really did stink.

"That's the idea."

Rick had a question. "I'm assuming that she ignores pain like a needle or pin in her arm or butt, correct?"

"Yes, already tried that. It's like it doesn't exist so let's see if her nose is connected." Jim smiled at him.

"You, sir, are a devious man. If Charlie gives me a sample we're going to find out. Now I have planning to do so I need to know exactly where we are going."

Jim reached into a pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to him. "We've already arranged to rent it for 6 months. Our plan is to get there, live there, and buy a house and have it renovated to our taste. Hopefully to your taste as well."

"I'm renting a bedroom; it doesn't have to be to my taste, Jim. I don't own it. I just won't have a bed when I do," Rick mentioned and read his paper.

"The rental comes furnished so each bedroom will have a bed. You can buy one when we move again."

11 Twin Oaks Place, Laurel, Mississippi, 39440

Rick glanced at Jim."Do I want to know?"

"Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 3,650 square feet. Over twice the size of our place now. Our monthly payment includes trash, sewer, gas, and water. We pay for electricity and a cleaning fee when we leave. Don't worry about that. Your rent is listed." Jim thought he would like it but his wife thought he would think it was too little.

"Four hundred dollars! That's it? That's all you want?" Rick spent over twice that each month now.

"You're just renting a bedroom, not the entire house. We felt that was fair. Now if you want to go grocery shopping and cook for yourself, you can. Just be ready for Jo to include you in all our meals. Oh, and it backs up onto a lake and it comes with a hot tub."

"Seriously? And they're renting it?" Rick couldn't believe that.

"We have our theories but that's all they are. Theories. It doesn't matter. We hope to be out in 6 months and into our permanent home. What we still need to do is find an office space to rent. We're going to open our own law firm. Beckett and Beckett, Attorneys at Law. Catchy, don't you think?" Jim smiled at him.

"Fitting," Rick commented.

"We'll find you a job, never fear, or you can find your own. I don't know how we're going to thank you for this. If it saves Katie's life we'll find a way. I swear." They had no idea yet but they would.

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Jim and Jo were pacing outside of Katie's room. The psychiatrist was gone. They needed to cut costs and neither of them had solved anything so it was basically wasted money. They were down to just a few days before they had to take Katie out of the hospital before their insurance ran out of money based on the bills they had received so far.

Jim looked at his watch; it had been almost an hour. Suddenly they saw Rick step out and wave his hands for them – or at least Jo – to join him since Jim was still not permitted to go inside. Which still hurt. She was her daughter but he was a man. Yet so was Rick, but he was thinking Charlie had something to do with that.

"Stay here and watch," Rick whispered to her. Rick got Charlie to put his head on her chest yet again and Kate immediately began petting him. She only got to pet him for a couple minutes and Rick took him away.

"NO!" Katie clearly stated.

Rick only gave her a minute; Charlie was back and Katie was petting him. She got 2 minutes and he took Charlie away again.

"NO!" Kate stated yet again. Only this time, like some of the others, she started reaching for him. Seeing that had Jo placing a hand over her mouth and sucking in a deep breath. Her daughter was moving. She hadn't done that in weeks. It had Jo's heart racing.

Suddenly getting Rick and Charlie to come with them was the best idea they had ever had in their lives. In an instant Jo saw hope.

Charlie went back and Kate began petting him again. Rick left him and exited the room. He took Jo with him, over to Jim.

"That was the third time she's done that. I can't get her to say more than no but she clearly wants Charlie. It's just a guess, but in her world in her mind she didn't include a dog. Hence she wants to pet Charlie.

"I'm starting to think that if I can get her reaching for him when he leaves her maybe, just maybe, I can get her to call for him one of these times. Or you. You're her mother so she should know your voice. Now I'm thinking we do this a lot after we reach Mississippi. For now maybe she pets Charlie and complains when he leaves her.

"I don't want to start and stop and then really stop for the trip. Just do it. If you approve, of course. You don't have to decide until we reach Mississippi."

Jo looked at Jim for his opinion. "He may have a point," Jim said thoughtfully. "Charlie is reaching her. What we want is to get all of her in this world and out of her head. We're just lucky she wants a dog which happens to be Charlie in this case."

"A trained Therapy Dog," Jo reminded him. "Not just any dog. I heard about that poop bag idea. That was an excellent and very devious idea." Jo approved of anything that got Kate out of her own head.

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Rick's trick was helping him move from his place and into the trailer while at the same time getting his stuff out and into his truck so he could put Charlie in the front and go meet Jim, Johanna and Katie for the long trip to Mississippi.

"You're in and I need to get going," Rick told him.

"Thanks for this and don't forget to call me and tell me how you're doing, man." Parnell shook his hand and then hugged him and patted his back. "Go enjoy Mississippi. I looked it up. The beach is only 2 hours away and around here it can be the same." He joked about driving anywhere around LA.

"Enjoy the neighbors. Let's go Charlie. We have a long drive in front of us." Rick picked him up and put him on his doggie bed in the passenger seat. Rick waved at Parnell and walked around to get in and take off.

He had already talked to literally everyone in the park and he got a free home cooked meal and free beer as a going-away present. He was wished well for whatever he was doing. He also had addresses for everyone. They wanted pictures of Charlie as he grew up.

Charlie got petted and hugged by everyone and was given a bag of doggie treats for the trip.

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Rick pulled into a grocery store parking lot and looked for a green Ford Explorer XLT with little white pin stripes. He parked next to it and cranked his window down.

"All set. I have gas, doggie treats, and everything strapped down in the back and covered with a tarp in case it rains," Rick told Johanna who had rolled her electric window down.

"Just follow us. We're buying the gas. Just flash your lights to get us to pull over. When we stop for lunch or gas, you'll need to, too. We'll find a hotel by late afternoon and get you a room of your own. Follow us." Johanna rolled her window up and Jim took off. Rick got on his bumper since he didn't want to lose him. This was a minimum 5 day trip to reach the rental house and that was after they got the keys.

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Rick was learning that Jim liked to take rest stops to use the facilities, buy a drink from a vending machine, or buy gas with even a half tank of gas.

It did allow Rick to let Charlie out so he could get some exercise, a drink of water, and a doggie treat.

Now while Rick had a small problem with them paying for everything including gas, food, and hotel room, he didn't complain for long. The first hotel turned out to be a simple enough place. Nothing fancy about it. They even accepted pets. Charlie even got his own bed to jump up onto and sleep on.

There was one small problem that Rick learned about when he woke up in the morning. Charlie had moved to his bed and Rick was almost on the floor. He was barely hanging on the edge of the bed.

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Lunch was also simple, thankfully. However, there was one trick to eating lunch. Katie didn't move so she got fed her baby food in the car with it running to keep the interior cool.

What he didn't know was that Katie was wearing a diaper along with a catheter connected to a bag to collect her urine. Jim and Johanna took care of that each day in their hotel room. Also just like in the hospital she got a sponge bath. Her teeth brushed for her. The real trick was washing her hair in a hotel room.

Thankfully the UCLA Medical Center had been very accommodating in selling them what they would need. At an increased price naturally.

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In the end it had taken them 6 days to actually reach the house itself. Most of this was because Jim liked to stop and take breaks for everyone, including looking after Katie.

Rick pulled up next to them in the driveway in front of a three car garage. The house looked huge to him. It was all brick and had two dormers. It was the biggest house he had ever been inside of in his life.

"WOW!" He didn't want to know how much they were paying each month because whatever it was it was too much.

Just like at all the hotel stops Katie came first. So out of the back of the Ford Explorer came the wheelchair to lift her into. This was where yet again Rick and his muscles got put to use.

It was hot outside and humid. Inside was even worse since the A/C system wasn't on. While Rick and Jim were taking Katie to look for her bedroom, Jo was looking for the thermostat to turn on and set the system.

Having Katie see Jim and be handled by him didn't get a response from her, much to Rick's surprise. It was like Jim didn't exist. And they still had to get moved in and unload both vehicles.

"Charlie, stay." Rick patted the bed and got Charlie to put his head on her stomach. Rick didn't leave until Katie began petting him like she did in the hospital. They had done the same in each hotel room till it was time to go to sleep. Dinners had all been take-out since Katie couldn't be left alone for a minute.

With every stop they made, someone was always left with Katie. Part of all the stops was to make sure there was a phone they could use if they had an emergency.

However, Katie was safe in her bed with Charlie at her side while everything was off loaded into various bedrooms. That included the top of the Ford Explorer. Thanks to the wheelchair, Jim and Johanna had had to tie things down to the luggage rack on the top of the vehicle.

Johanna gone into Katie's room and watched her while Jim and Rick turned around and went looking for a grocery store. The house might come with everything, but it didn't come with food to eat.

The very next day Jim and Rick left Johanna, Katie, and Charlie behind to go in search of a husband and wife team that they had read about. It was their business to find a house that needed to be renovated to meet their clients' needs.

This couple was going to search the city for some houses the Becketts could look at and listen to what they could change it into for them to live in.