The Douglas Farm

Oliver woke up Monday morning to the face of his lovely wife. He smiled and kissed her on the lips. "Time to wake up, honey."

Lisa opened her eyes sleepily, caught sight of her husband, and smiled. "Vhat for?" she asked mischievously.

Oliver smiled. "Because, we still have a lot of work to do if we want to make Friday's ball a success." He got up, put his robe and slippers on, and proceeded to gather his clothes for the day.

"Vhat do you mean ve?" Lisa asked as she stretched.

"Lisa! Everyone is counting on you and your exquisite taste to make this ball a night to remember." Oliver said, trying to convince her.

"But vhy me? Vhy is it all my responsibility to make the ball beautiful for everyone?" Lisa argued playfully.

"Well, who knows more about beauty than you? You live with it everyday." Oliver replied sweetly.

"That's not fair. Flattery is cheating!" Lisa smiled.

"It is not. This is cheating." Oliver then walked over to where Lisa lay and kissed her sweetly.

Lisa smiled after the kiss was over and pretending to think. "I'm not convinced."

Oliver laughed. "Get up!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Oh, all right, dahling!" Lisa said while giggling. She got out of bed and realized that her robe was on the floor. She bent down to pick it up, but the quick action of straightening up sent her world reeling. Waves of nausea soon followed.

"Dahling!" she called out for Oliver to assist her. Oliver turned around at Lisa's call and realized that she was swaying back and forth. Realizing that she was having another dizzy spell, he ran over and steadied her.

"Lisa, all you all right?" Oliver asked with a worried look on his face.

"Another dizzy spell," was all Lisa could get out. Another wave of nausea hit her, making her close her eyes and moan.

"Sit down." Oliver said while sitting her down gently on the bed. "Now, take deep breaths while I go get your medicine." Oliver ran over to the bathroom where Lisa kept her medicine. He took out a pill and ran to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He then returned to Lisa's side.

"Here, honey, take this." Oliver said, handing her the pill and the water. Lisa put the pill in her mouth, took a sip of water, and then swallowed the pill. Oliver took the glass from Lisa, put it on the floor beside the bed, and then sat down next to Lisa and took her in his arms. Lisa laid her head of Oliver's chest, closed her eyes, and continued taking deep breaths. After a few minutes, the dizzy spell subsided and Lisa returned to normal. She picked her head up.

"Are you all right now, sweetheart?" Oliver asked.

"Yes, dahling. Thank you."

"Lisa, you must be careful when making sudden motions. You're not entirely healed yet."

"I know dahling. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. You're fine now. But do you think you'll be well enough to help decorate the civic center?"

"I have to dahling. The people are counting on me, remember?" Lisa said defiantly. Oliver looked at her and saw, in her eyes, how much she wanted to help.

"Oh, all right. You can help. But you have to promise me you won't overdo it." Oliver said.

"Don't vorry dahling. I promise I vill only lift fourteen tables instead of fifteen." Lisa said teasingly.

"I'm serious, Lisa." Oliver said. He jumped up from the bed and stood in front of Lisa. "I don't want you to hurt yourself. Now promise me you won't overdo it." he said in a stern tone.

Lisa looked into her eyes and realized he really wasn't kidding. She got up and kissed him. "Don't vorry dahling. I promise I von't overdo it." Lisa said reassuringly.

"Good girl!" Oliver said approvingly. "Now, I'm going to take a shower and would appreciate it if breakfast was waiting for me when I am done. But I still don't want you cooking on that stove. Toast and coffee will be fine."

"Yes sir!" Lisa said, saluting playfully. She then turned on her heel and marched out of the room. Oliver shook his head and smiled, then proceeded to the shower.

The Douglas Farm, later that morning

Oliver walked out the front door prepared to do a little weeding in the corn field when Mr. Haney's truck pulled up in front of the house.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Haney." Oliver greeted him politely.

"Good morning, Mr. Douglas." Mr. Haney said after he hoped out of his truck. "I heard that you wanted to see me."

"Yes. You see, today I was planning on taking my wife over to the civic center so she can begin working on the decorations, but I can't because I realized that I still need to take care of a few things for the ball as well. I was wondering if you could gather up all the people who were going to help my wife move things around, then come back here, pick her up, and drive her over to the civic center."

"Goll-ee, Mr. Douglas. That sure does sound like a lot of work. More work than you assigned me to do. And with all the gas I'm going to need, and the…"

"How much!" Oliver interrupted him, knowing perfectly well what he was driving at.

"Well, how does fifty dollars sound?" Mr. Haney asked.

"Ten sounds better." Oliver replied.

"Ten dollars! For full taxi services! Why, Mr. Douglas, that's highway robbery!"

"What full taxi services!" Oliver asked skeptically.

"I'm glad you asked that! Please follow me!" Mr. Haney grabbed Oliver by the arm and led him to the passenger's side of the truck.

"Now, looky here, Mr. Douglas. For the poultry sum of, lets say, forty dollars. You're wife could ride with all the benefits of the Haney Taxi Services. She will have the comfort of these therapeutic massaging beads." Mr. Haney said, pointing to a, what looked like marbles together in a mat-like way and strewn over the passenger's seat.

"Also, she will have the please of listening to her choice of music with my high quality radio." he continued, pointing to the old radio with wires sticking out from all sides sitting atop of the dashboard.

"Mr. Haney, I've seen enough. I'd rather not have my wife riding around in this old tin can you call a truck. She still isn't feeling well."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Haney asked.

"Well, she's still getting bad headaches and dizzy spells every now and then, and riding around in that thing will not help her condition."

"Well, that's a different story! Tell you what I'll do. I'll gather everyone who was supposed to come help decorate and send them to the civic center. I will then come back her and drive your wife to the center in your car. I will help her decorate the center, and then once she's done, I will bring her and your car home. How's that sound?"

"For how much?" Oliver asked.

"Since it's in the name of your wife's health, I will do it free of charge!" Mr. Haney exclaimed.

Oliver was taken aback. What do you know, he thought, the old trickster does have a heart after all.

"Do we have a deal?" Mr. Haney asked, extending his hand.

"We have a deal." Oliver said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Now, I better start rounding up the workers. I'll be back for your wife later this afternoon." Mr. Haney said as he climbed into his truck.

"All right. See you then." Oliver replied, still finding it hard to believe that Mr. Haney would actually do something for someone else without asking anything in return. Oliver watched Mr. Haney's truck drive away, and then turned around to go into the house and tell Lisa the news.

I guess Haney does have a soft spot after all, Oliver thought as he walked back into the house. It just took someone like my wife to bring it out of him. Oliver smiled at the thought and then proceeded to find his wife.