Chapter Seven

Back to the present

" And that's how we met." Gordon told Kyle.

Kyle had been served several drinks by Douglas, each gaining in strength, and was starting to feel pretty good and tired. "That's nice Gordon. It was a good story, but I need to get to bed so I can wake up at six tomorrow morning" he finished with a yawn.

"But there's more to it" Gordon said.

"Ya. He's about to get to the part where I beat him in a race." Douglas added.

"I won that race" Gordon said.

"I don't think so." Douglas argued back.

"Douglas is right. You didn't win, I did" Natalie interjected.

Kyle spoke up. "I bet Egan would say he won the race if he was here."

The three friends looked at each other. Then they laughed.

"He probably would" said Gordon.

"Why doesn't Egan hang out with ya'll if the four of you were good friends?" Asked Kyle.

Natalie answered him. "Me and him got into a dispute a few years back. Jake and Ray got into an argument and we both took our son's side.

"What was the argument about?" Kyle asked her.

"I don't even remember. We got over it but it hurt all our friendships."

"Seems like after a few years you should be able to renew that friendship." Kyle thought he sounded very sagely right then, of course those things happen when you've been drinking.

"Maybe he's right Natalie. He should be here" as Douglas said this it looked like a tear was welling up in his eyes.

"I agree when we meet back up to finish the story we should invite him. Agreed?" Gordon asked them.

"Agreed" the three of them answered.

Gordon, Natalie, and Douglas looked at Kyle.

"What? I agree."

"OK" Gordon said with a chuckle. "How about we pick back up two days after tomorrow?"

"Why not tomorrow?"

"Because you've got a lot of work to do on your farm and with that hangover you're gonna be moving pretty slow tomorrow."

"Hangover?" Kyle said this confused.

"You'll find out all about it tomorrow. As far as the day after tomorrow I'll be busy." Gordon said with a smile.

Kyle thought about it. "Ah it'll be Sunday. Well we'll meet back up on Monday. Ya'll have a good night." Kyle stood up "whoa" he almost lost his balance "whoa" now he grabbed his head.

"Headrush? You stood up to fast!" Douglas told him with a laugh.

"Ya'll have a good night" Kyle told them as he stumbled to the door.

Special subchapter

Kyle and Mana

The next morning Kyle did not get up at six In the morning. In fact he didn't wake up until at least eight; he didn't get out of bed until nine.

He worked his way down the stairs of his house and towards the kitchen. He didn't remember much after leaving the clinic, but the mess that awaited him told him he must have tried to make something to eat last night.

Oh… My aching head… Kyle thought to himself as he worked his way through the disaster area. He got himself a cup of water; his mouth was a desert. Kyle took a big swig of water.

"Ah" he gasped out then his eyes shot wide open and he ran for the door. He barely made it out the door and down the steps before he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Urp. Blaaahhh." He up-chucked last night's dinner. Ah Macaroni and cheese that's what I had. I think I feel a little better.

"So it's true!" This exclamation from a very familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Uhh Mana... Good morning" Kyle stammered out. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough" Mana said annoyed. "When dad told me you were drinking with him last night I just couldn't believe it, yet the evidence is right there on your front lawn."

"Am I not allowed to drink?" Kyle asked her. He had known Mana long enough to be ready for this and he figured he had a fifty percent chance of catching her by surprise.

"No.. I...errrr… yes?" Mana's demeanor changed with the surprise question.

Alright it worked, but I better be careful I can still blow this. Kyle thought to himself before passing the blame. "Douglas didn't tell you he was the one that convinced me to have a drink and that he was mixing them, did he?" It was mostly true, though Natalie had mixed the first one. Probably to break him in easy.

"No... he didn't." Mana said as she started to do her angry pout.

Kyle felt his face start to heat up as he thought about telling her she looked cute when she pouted like that. He slowly dismissed the idea since he wasn't sure about his feelings towards Mana and he didn't want to lead her on until he was sure.

"Your face is getting red. Are you gonna puke again?" Mana asked as she took a step back.

"No.. My head still hurts though." He said pitifully.

"Aww. Do you need help with anything? She asked.

"Ya. Here you can start watering my crops while I check on my livestock."

"OK…" she said hesitantly as he handed her a watering can.

Yes. That went over well. Kyle thought to himself as he quickly shuffled his way to the barn before she could change her mind.

Come Monday night Kyle found himself walking with Mana toward the clinic. She told him she wanted to hear the rest of Gordon's story, but he had a feeling she just wanted to keep an eye on him and her dad.

As Kyle pushed open the door to the clinic he could hear laughing and another man talking.

"And then Buffus he… he…" The man, who Kyle recognized to be Egan, started laughing and couldn't finish.

"It wasn't that funny" Douglas growled.

"Yes it was." Gordon and Natalie said together.

Kyle and Mana walked around the corner.

Gordon, Douglas, Natalie,Egan and surprisingly Herman (The town's food connoisseur and millionaire) had wine glasses in their hands.

"Dad! I Thought you said you weren't gonna drink!" Mana asked angrily.

"Oh. I forgot you were coming." Douglas said lowly.

Gordon started to snicker.

"And you" Mana pointed at Gordon. "You're the town priest, you should behave better."

Gordon looked down at his drink in shame.

Natalie spoke up "Gordon and Douglas have lived your lifetime at least twice over. You don't have the right to tell them what to do. They both are good men and have done good deeds."

"Well we didn't help by encouraging them either.." Herman interjected.

"It was my fault I brought out a rare bottle of wine to celebrate" Egan intervened. "Rollibouti in fact only ten bottles ever made and we haven't even taken a sip yet. I just got done pouring the glasses."

"No. I'm sorry Natalie is right." Mana said hanging her head in shame.

"I think they forgive you" Natalie told her.

Gordon and Douglas nodded in agreement.

"Alright now that we've settled down. I've got this wine I've been holding onto for close to half a century and I would really like to drink it with my pals." Egan said.

"I agree" said Douglas

"I second that" Gordon said.

Natalie held her glass up and made a toast "to good health".

"And good friends" added Gordon.

They all toasted and took a sip. Their faces puckered up.

"No wonder they only made ten bottles" Douglas said.

"And to think of the money I would have paid for a bottle…" Herman said.

Kyle laughed and asked "are we ready to continue the story now?"

"Ya I'm ready to pick back up. Are the rest of you ready?" Gordon asked them.

"Yes" a few answered.

The rest nodded.

Kyle looked over at Herman and Egan. "Are ya'll caught up?"

"I've heard it before" Herman answered.

"I was there" Egan replied.

"Of course" Kyle said slightly embarrassed. He had filled Mana in on what she missed though he felt like she had heard it before. "Ahhm" Kyle cleared his throat and gestured for Gordon to continue.

"Let's see… I was just about to win a race against my companions." Gordon said with a grin.

"Wait the race from the crossings to Salty Harbor? Didn't I come in first?" Egan asked.

"You were a close second behind me" Natalie told him.

"I don't think so I won." Douglas stated.

"No, the race from Sea Dunes to the crossings. I won that one. I won both actually." Gordon said proudly.

"If you want to call that a race…" Douglas said. "And I won both."

"It was close enough, anyway let's continue." Gordon started back on his story.

"Now before I could win said races I had a stubborn buffamoo to deal with…"

Late update on this one, but it's a little longer. Not a big demand for this story anyway at least as far as I can tell, but for those that are reading, this story will be separated into story arcs (about three) separated by Kyle chapters. This is the end of arc one and chapter eight is well on its way.