Times Are A Changing Chpt10
Back at the camp in the seclusion of their tent, the brothers had gathered to discuss Big Swede prior to their meeting with him. Jason with a hot cup of coffee in hand recollected when his mother died and at 15, he had to temporarily replace his father when the tall Scandinavian came begging for a job. Jason freely told everyone that Big Swede kept the company going as much as him; hard to believe, but that was seventeen years ago. Jason admitted that there were few employees who could be relied upon like Big Swede and it could be difficult sometimes completing their quotas without him logging. Jason sighed and asked Josh "Bring him in, let's get this done." Josh slipped through the flap to go search for his friend, Jeremy looked at Jason and questioned " How do you expect him to react, except for that one episode when he left for Tacoma, he always appeared to love his job." Jason laughed "Don't you remember when he was a deputy for that crazy sheriff, he didn't even give us notice but we took him back." Josh and Swede arrived but Swede was anxious as he had no idea why he had been pulled away from his assignment. Swede looked at the brothers waiting for an explanation as Jason pointed at Jeremy to handle the situation. Jeremy stuttered as he started "Swede, you have been with us for a long time and we appreciate all the great work, however, we think it is time to move on." Swede excitedly argued "My wife is pregnant, and you are letting me go?" Jason, Josh and Jeremy glanced at one another and began to laugh which enraged Big Swede even further. Jason put his hands up "Let Jeremy finish before you blow your top." Jeremy continued "You are aware that Josh is going to school and working with the judge starting this fall. We have been discussing how to fill Josh's void. We would like to promote you to manager. If you accept the position beginning immediately, Josh will start training you on the books and all the various jobs. Eventually, we hope that you would be meeting customers and doing bids. How do you feel about this?" Swede stood there wide eyed in disbelief. Josh as usual the first to bring humor "I think he has become mute. Do you want the job or not?" Swede in a whisper "I am so grateful, and you can be assured that I will do my best." Jason held out his hand "Welcome my friend to the world of being a professional. You will be expected to get your hands dirty from time to time as we do when circumstances require that we do the hard labor to meet a deadline." Swede hugged each of the brothers. Jeremy assigned his first job "We are going to call the men together and advised them of your promotion and let everyone loose early to celebrate your promotion and the bosses wedding." Jason added "This was an incredibly difficult decision for us, Swede. It was not because you didn't deserve it totally, but we rely heavily on you out there. I suggest you tell Essie before you let any of the men buy you a drink." The Bolts and Swede exited the tent and headed for the emergency alert clang. Jason patted Swede's shoulder "Welcome aboard."
The brothers closed the camp and proceeded to go their separate ways in order to get washed up and dressed for the rest of the day's festivities. Previously it had been arranged to meet at Lottie's at five with their families prior to proceeding to the graveyard. Jason, Kathleen and Johnathan were the first to arrive. Kathleen requested a glass of wine her nerves were on edge; Jason was happy with a beer. Jason asked Johnathan if he might like a beer. Johnathan waved him off "Never." Jeremy, Candy, Chris and Molly arrived next accompanied by Josh who met Maggie at Lottie's. Chris and Molly were carrying flowers which they had gathered during the day. Uncle Duncan came downstairs; he was unnaturally quiet, but no one was complaining. Jemma, Aaron and April were the last to arrive. Jason began "Kathleen felt that we should include our parents and sisters in this weekend, so let's go and introduce all the new members of our expanding family." They started out the door when Jason realized that Clancy and Lottie weren't coming. Jason stopped and said "The family is going and even without the addition of Maggie, you are part of our clan. Let's go."
The Bolt family plot was near the entrance to the cemetery. Everyone gathered around the four graves. Jason asked Molly and Chris to lay the flowers on the graves. He started in a solemn tone, "Mother and father, tomorrow I am finally going to marry the great love of my life Kathleen who is right next to me along with our son. I really wish that you could have met him and her; he looks just like you and me, father. They make me happier than I could have imagined. The one thing which could have made tomorrow a better day would have been if you and my sisters could have been there. I love you and miss you every day in my heart." He nodded for Josh to step forward. Josh holding Maggie's hand advanced, he began "Mother and Father, I would like to introduce my fiancé', Maggie Crane. Mother, you would love her as she is a wonderful artist and you enjoyed art so much. She makes me very happy and has put my soul at rest. I have always been so restless but no more. She is Lottie's daughter. I wish you could be here for Jason's big day; you will be missed." The tears were beginning to flow from everyone including Clancy. Josh and Maggie took a step back in order that the Jeremy, Candy and the children could advance. Jeremy took a deep breath and hoped that his stuttering would not return at this moment, he said "Father and mother, I am married to the perfect woman, Candy Pruitt. We met on the ship bringing the brides back to Seattle. I know that you would love her. In addition, I am helping to raise her younger brother and sister. Everyone in the family loves them as do I. I am truly happy but wish that you were here." He was relieved that he had managed not to stutter once. He stepped back so Jemma, Aaron and April could mover forward. Jemma had been crying and was struggling to start "Mother and father, I wonder if you would recognize me. First, I wanted to tell you what a good job Jason did raising me in your absence. Next, I married Aaron Stempel whom you knew. I know there was friction with the families, but he treats me like a queen. You have a granddaughter, April. I wish you were here to see her; she is so wonderful and beautiful. I love you." Jason stepped forward and said "We all miss you and I intend to stop by for a visit more often to keep you informed on how you family is doing. We love you," They all turned to leave, next stop the church.
The Bolt clan filed into the church and took seats in the pews awaiting the arrival of Reverend Brown. Jason was fiddling with his collar; he recognized that he was suffering from anxiety but didn't understand the cause as he was overjoyed to be getting married finally to Kathleen. Clancy was whispering to Lottie how touched he was by the ceremony at the graveyard. He wondered if he should change his lifestyle if there would be people who cared for him in that manner. Josh excused himself from Maggie and asked Jason to talk with him. Josh inquired "What is wrong with you, if I didn't know better, I would think that you are having second thoughts the way you are fidgeting." Jason reassured Josh "Not at all but we were here before with a not so happy ending." Josh put his hands on his brother's arms "Give me a moment, I will be right back." Josh went over and spoke briefly with Aaron and Jemma and returned "Kathleen and Johnathan will stay with the Stempels. She will be protected. Does that help?" Jason took a breath and realized it felt like the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Jason hugged Josh and thanked him.
Reverend Adams appeared from the back of the church, with a great deal of joy in his voice he stated "Let's get this show on the road. This time we are finishing the job. From what I understand this is going to be quite a celebration. They have already started placing tables and chairs outside." Kathleen excitedly requested a few minutes so she could explain what she had envisioned. She wanted everyone involved in the wedding to be up front not in the pews. Kathleen explained "I have lost my birth family, but God has sent the most wonderful family as a replacement. At my wedding, I don't want anyone to feel more or less important to us, so everyone will stay up front surrounding us. The men will gather around Jason, and the women around me. The procession to start will be accompanied by the Bagpipes played by Uncle Duncan. The procession will begin with Molly, Cassie, Maggie, Jemma, Candy, and Lottie followed by me. The men, Clancy, Chris, Aaron, Jeremy, and Joshua will be stationed around Jason with the exception of Johnathan who is giving his mother away. Once the ceremony is finished as we leave, I don't care about height. Please find your partner and follows us out to the rest of our life." Reverend Adams acknowledged "Seems simple enough. Let's run through it though. No one is going to blame me for causing any problems." They ran through it once; it went perfectly. With the Reverend's blessing, the increasingly excited Bolt clan decided to get the rehearsal dinner started.
As everyone headed towards Lottie's, Josh, Jeremy and Jemma tagged their brother and requested that they go to what had until recently been the cabin in which they lived for a toast amongst the four of them. Jeremy pulled out a bottle of whiskey and four glasses "Let's toast Jason's last single day on this earth. Jeremy held up his glass "Thank you for keeping us together. We realized that it would have been easier to give us to someone else. We could have found good homes, or we could have been used for labor. You stood by us through thick and thin. Never did we feel insecure. Don't say this enough, I love you, brother." Josh pensively held up his glass "Jason, you may not admit it, but I know that I have hurt you. If there was a way for me to take those actions back. I would do anything. Don't say this enough, I love you, brother." Jemma was getting teary held up her glass "I have no real memories of mother and father, you were my guiding light, security and I don't say this enough, I love you, brother." An emotionally touched Jason raised his glass and swallowed in one gulp. Jason rarely at a loss for words added "I am who I am because of each of you. I am so proud of you and I don't say this enough, I love you." Jason extended his hand out and Jeremy, Joshua and Jemma placed theirs on top. Jason recited "One for all and all for one." They left for the rehearsal dinner with their arms intertwined on their shoulders, a sight to which Seattle had become accustomed.
The rehearsal dinner was amazingly low key considering the Bolt family's reputation for knowing how to party. Kathleen and Jason had requested that they take it easy on the alcohol because tomorrow was another very important day. Clancy was thoughtful as he observed the family celebrate the marriage of Jason. He desired to participate in celebrations similar to this. Lottie finally asked him if he was alright. Clancy admitted he was thinking of selling his boat and coming ashore. Lottie bent over and gently kissed his face and said, "This has to be your decision and yours alone." Johnathan had never participated in a large boisterous family dinner, but Cassie told him the Greeks could celebrate similar to this weekly. Aaron shouted across the room to Josh "I thought you were going to invite Jason's friends to the dinner?" Josh laughingly replied, "If you are referring to the trees, Jeremy and I went out and tried to persuade them to come, but they refused to answer or budge." Jason stood on a chair as he responded "I have been pretty good natured about the trees until now. With the exception of Aaron, I raised the other three tormenting me. I have seen all the bizarre and stupid things you have done since birth. Leave the trees alone or at the most inconvenient moment, I will with say something juicy from your past." The party continued to about 11 when everyone decided to turn in so they would be in good shape for tomorrow. Jason and Kathleen had managed to slip outside by themselves so they might have a moment or two alone. She rested her body into his body as he had his hands around her waist, they stared at the moon for a while. She turned around to face him and they kissed softly and just held each other. She romantically said "Tomorrow." Jason replied with a hint of anticipation "Tomorrow!"