Chapter 32
Roy sat next to his wife at the table, waiting to be served. His eyes were on his partner and his wife. So much had changed in such a short time. Still stunned by being locked out of his partner's bedroom, he realized that he had never really gotten it in his head that his trusted friend was married and, therefore, never considered the possibility that he and his bride might be engaged in marital behavior behind that closed door. All he had been thinking was that his friend had a head injury and needed to be kept track of. If he'd been sleeping he wouldn't have wanted to wake him up. He had simply wanted to check on him.
As he thought on the issues with Elise, he found it hard to decide how to handle things in the future. She was alert and able to do a lot of things, to the surprise of many who had known her in the short time since she came to California to be with John. She had shown amazing ability in reason and thought as well as ability to handle a crisis when she worked to rescue the victims of the auto accident in front of her house.
Why would he doubt her ability to care for his partner and her husband? Sure she couldn't be alone because of the frequent seizures she's been having, but the biggest risk was of them going on too long or her coming to rest with a blocked airway. Even in John's condition he could have handled that situation.
When Elise wasn't working through a seizure, at least since the pacemaker was installed, she was clear headed and retained all her knowledge from years of nursing. She was more than capable of taking care of his partner after a concussion.
In his thoughts, as he watched John snuggle with his wife and joke back and forth with Cap and his wife, Roy realized that he was jealous of Elise; she was getting and going to get a lot more attention that Roy was used to getting. Gone now were the days of him taking his partner home for his wife to take care of. And it was much less likely was he going to be able to bribe his lonely friend with a home cooked meal so he'd help with his yard work.
John had his own yard to take care of now and he was soon going to have horses to look after also. Things had sure changed and he had been out of town so he missed taking part in it.
Cap had completely explained the whys and Roy understood, but he was still hurt that John hadn't waited for him. Maybe those feelings would go away after the reception at cap's place. At least he hoped so.
A red bowl was set before him and Roy looked up to see a cleaned up Marco holding a large tray of red bowls on one hand like a pro. He had heard that Marco had worked as a waiter before he attended the fire academy but he had never seen his skill before.
"Which one is this?" Roy questioned very quietly.
"I have no idea," Marco responded just as quietly. "The bowls were dished up before I got to the kitchen and the colors are hidden under each cook's placemat."
With that explanation, Marco moved on and the firefighter/waiter behind him set down a blue bowl next to the red bowl.
"Oh look at the disco ball," Chief McConnike's wife exclaimed. This is the perfect place to hold the fireman's ball this year. Did you know this is the largest apparatus bay the county has ever built?"
JoAnne leaned over to whisper in her husband's ear, "I don't think she knows this place is now private property. I sure hope she asks John first before she just shows up with the tickets printed with this address on them."
"I don't think John would sit still for that," Roy whispered back, "Not with Elise's next surgery just around the corner and the length of time it's going to take her to completely recover."
The attention was then turned to the judges, who carefully tasted the two different bowls before them. Well, most of them were. Charlie still had his nose in Elise's book looking at pictures and reading specs on the homemade fire engine. He was clearly impressed. He did manage to do some tasting but there was a question in the mind of anyone watching him as to whether or not he knew which bowl he was tasting from at the time. It brought a lot of very quiet giggles to anyone watching.
When sufficient time had been given to taste the entries, Mike stepped up to MC. "Now shall we hear from our judges?"
"I think that's the most I've ever heard him say," Chief McConnike joked before taking the position of the lead judge and asking his fellow judges for their opinion first.
"Dr. Early, you've been very vocal about your love of chowder. Why don't you go first?"
"Well this is tough, but I believe the red bowl is creamier and I love the hint of bacon. I vote for the red bowl." He then placed a small red plate on the table in front of him to show his vote.
"Alright, since we're on a roll let's go to our next doctor. Dr. Brackett would you give us your vote?"
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Dr. Early. Both chowders are superb but the red bowl has a richer flavor. I vote red." Another red plate was placed on the table.
"That's two for the red chef, Now to you Dr. Morton."
"Well I agree that the red bowl is richer, so much so that I have to question if it is healthy. Once in a while it would be great but on a regular basis I believe the Blue bowl would be the best choice, so I vote blue." The blue plate was placed on the table.
"Miss McCall, I should apologize for not having the woman of the team go first. Would you please forgive me and cast the next vote?"
"You're forgiven; I wanted the extra time to make up my mind any way. This is really a tough decision. They are both very good and I would jump at the chance to eat either one at any time but I think I like the... yeah… the red bowl I like just a little bit more." She placed her vote on the table ahead of her.
"Alright Charlie, what have you got to say?" Chief McConnike remained in control.
"This is amazing, totally amazing! So you know how much money the county could save if they followed this example? I mean I know we can't build ladder trucks or snorkels and specialty trucks like that, but there are plenty of places throughout the county where one of these babies could be stationed at twenty percent of the cost of the ones we buy today."
"Charlie, I was asking about the chowder," Chief McConnike interrupted. "Which one of the chowders do you like best?"
No one in the room could hold back. They were all laughing uncontrollably and most noticed Elise turn into John's shoulder to giggle there as he put his arm around her and giggled along side of her while mouthing the word 'sorry'."
"Oh yeah, the chowder, Well, they're both good, but I vote..." Everyone watched him and they were sure he was just going, 'eeny-meany-miny-moe' silently in his mind, but after a short minute he said, "Blue. I like the blue one," and went back to his book.
"Say, can I get the name, address and phone number of the guy that's built this?"
The room roared and John just held Elise and responded for her. "It's in the back of the book on the last page. He has built several more of those for neighboring areas in Montana."
When the laughter quieted down, Chief McConnike cleared his throat and turned to Captain Tollins. "Well Ron, it looks like it's your turn."
Ron was still giggling and since he was sitting next to Charlie, he reached out and placed his blue plate vote on the table. He then wiped his mouth with his napkin and paused for a moment to look back at the Chief with a hint of a smile. He knew what the Chief was doing and knew that he could put him on the spot.
"Well now, this is not an easy choice to make. I do like both chowders very well, however if I were eating the red chowder I would have to stop at a single bowl, but I could go back for seconds and thirds of the blue chowder. So I'll vote for Blue and then start a more intense exercise program in the morning."
As soon and the ooh's and awe's stopped Ron Tollins took the floor. "Well now Chief, it looks like it's up to you. By my count we have a tie here."
"Yeah it would seem so," the Chief responded, and there wasn't a person in the room who didn't know he wasn't especially pleased with the situation he found himself in. "I guess it's up to me now isn't it?" The Chief stalled more as he studied the two bowls before him.
Roy noticed Elise with her face in John's shoulder again shaking with laughter as John held her and rested his cheek on hers, hiding her face from the crowd.
"Well now," the chief managed to get all eyes back on him. "These are both fantastic chowders and each one deserved to win out right, which of course is why we have a tie here. As I see it there is only one way to determine a winner."
With that statement made, the man rose to his feet and reached into his pocket for a quarter, "Heads for Red and Tails for Blue," he announced and gave the quarter on his thumb a flip that sent it above the rafters as laughter filled the bay and children from all four corners of said bay were racing to be the first one to see the outcome of the toss.
Roy gave a glance and a smile toward the chef's table and noticed all eyes there were on Elise. She was unconscious with her head on John's shoulder. Cap and Emily were trying to help but John just held his hand out and Roy could read his lips enough to know that he was telling them it was okay, that he had everything under control.
The coin hit the floor and rolled, around a table, around a chair and around and around in a tighter circle until it finally lay flat on the floor doing a little gig.
"It's tails," young Chris DeSoto sang out, "that means the blue one wins!"
"But who is the Blue cooker?" Jennifer, the other 'no cheating' judge wanted to know.
Since Elise was out of it, John reached for the corner of the placemat and Hank followed his lead by taking hold of his place mat and calling, "On three."
"One, two, three," the gathered guests called out together and the placemats were lifted to reveal the red belonged to Elise and Cap claimed the blue and the prize for best chowder. But he was also sure there was room for doubt.
Elise started coming around to the cheers that rang out and John simply reached up with his hand and covered her bad ear before shouting out, "Refills of your favorite as long as there's some left."
Many of the guests lined up to be served additional helpings unaware that a seizure had taken place right before their eyes. John had successfully shielded her from them.
Roy looked down and felt a moist smile on his face as he shuffled his shoes. That was just how it should be.
The guest's choice award was overwhelmingly in favor of Elise, also demonstrated by the fact that the red-labeled kettle emptied first. But neither of the cooks seemed to care. There was a bit of a disagreement over who should get the dinner out that several of the guests came together to purchase as a prize.
"Take it and enjoy it," Elise spoke adamantly. "You have children. A night out for two isn't as easy to come by for you. John and I get dinner alone anytime he's home." She smiled and gave him a passionate kiss, which was quickly returned making it clear he was enjoying every second of her attention.
Elise was guided to her recliner and positioned for the maximum comfort and soon Charlie was at her side, just beating John out of his seat next to his wife.
"I gotta talk to this guy," he said motioning to the scrapbook in his hands. Elise just held up her hand and reached for the phone that was next to her chair.
John pulled another chair closer to the phone and motioned for Charlie to sit there while Elise dialed the number from memory and, after a brief explanation, handed Charlie the phone. Everyone there was sure the department mechanic forgot instantly where he was or that there was anyone else with him.
"They speak the same language," Elise joked tiredly as she leaned into John's shoulder again.
John knew she needed to sleep for a while now, but that wasn't going to happen while they had guests. He was looking around and thinking of the best way to get her into the bedroom and tucked in when she spoke to him.
"Maybe that's what we should do with this big apparatus bay is build fire engines in it." She joked again with her husband who saw humor in her words and laughed.
"Maybe," he agreed still trying to make an escape.
"Oh not before we have the fireman's ball, the last thing you want is to have to scrub grease and motor oil off the floor for the occasion." Mrs. McConnike spoke up bringing silence to everyone; everyone that is accept Charlie who was still yakking away with the other mechanic on the phone.
"Oh, Herbert dear, you can arrange for us to have the fireman's ball here. This place is perfect."
"Velma dear, I think you misunderstand. This is no longer County property. This station was purchased by Mrs. Gage there."
"Well how could you let that happen? We need this place," she declared in obvious displeasure as her husband took a firm hold of her elbow and pulled her away to a far corner of the bay to have a publicly private conversation. John used the distraction to slip Elise into their room and tuck her in.
"You're getting stronger every day, Eess. Just hang in there… Just hang in there," John soothed.
00000
That evening Elise received a visit from her lawyer with news from Montana. The news was both good and bad. "Greg had been acquitted of any wrong doing in the care he gave Elise. The blame was instead placed on the multiple doctors who failed to properly evaluate Elise's mental acuity and wrote conflicting and hard to understand medication orders.
John was upset but was informed that there was still a protection order in place and that he could get re-arrested for his attempt to drug Elise in the ICU, so if he ever returned to the state of California he was likely to be arrested since he could prove no good reason for doing so.
Tom, being left with no alternative, turned state's witness. He was forced to return most of the money he had taken from Elise's accounts and would face charges for altering Elise's accounts and falsifying her Will and Power of Attorney. She would not get all of her money because he no longer had it to give back. She didn't really worry about that because even in her state of recovering she had made nearly as much as he had taken from her just since she had come to California.
He would likely be placed in a witness protection program of sorts not given a new name but relocated in a new area to try and start over again, once he did some time and got some court ordered counseling.
Elise took the news numbly and turned to John. "As long as I can spend the rest of my life with you and never have to see or deal with those two again, I'm happy."
John just pulled the hand he was holding next to his mouth and kissed it before pulling her close to him and holding her tight.
00000
Before John reported to his next shift, he delivered Elise to the DeSoto residence on his way. The children were just heading off to the school bus and JoAnne looked frazzled.
"Kids!" she exclaimed. "If it's not their idea it is not easy to convince them to do it."
"I'm going to have to take your word for it. But judging by what I've seen in my nieces and nephews, I would have to agree with you." Elise responded and then was welcomed into the house before giving her husband a goodbye, kiss and asking him to come back to her safe and sound at the end of his shift.
Among the things JoAnne and 11 others learned in the classes they took to learn how to care for Elise was that she wasn't to be put to bed and kept there. Elise was approved to walk up to five miles a day, but it was highly recommended that she not do it all at once. Nor was it necessary for her to complete the five miles. Several of the women who had taken the class were worried about this part of Elise's care. Others, like JoAnne, looked at it as a good incentive to get into better shape.
The insurance company paying for their services, and their training by the way, wanted Elise to have at least two hours of occupational therapy a day. The doctors over her care concluded that those activities would include helping to clean the house, but she wasn't to lift anything heavy or do anything that required her to bend over. Translation: She can help wash the dishes but not load the dishwasher, she can sweep the floor but not operate the dustpan, she can mop but only if she uses a mop bucket with a tall handle to wring out the mop. Vacuuming was to be avoided because the vibration of the vacuum caused problems with the spare parts in her head.
Activities she was recommended to do included shopping. It not only got some of her physical therapy in, it also used her brain by figuring out the cost per pound or serving in her head.
This seemed like a challenge to the women who had volunteered, although most were looking forward to the extra paycheck coming in, even if it was a small one. But JoAnne didn't worry too much about it.
The first thing she needed to do was finish the laundry. Elise had no trouble putting the clothes in the wash, and all JoAnne had to do was pull them out of the dryer and set the laundry basket on the table where they worked together to fold the clothes and place them in piles for each family member.
"I'm enjoying this JoAnne, don't get me wrong," Elise said as they finished up the laundry. "But there is a part of me that feels like I'm being sent back to kindergarten and learning how to sort all over again."
"I can see what you mean," JoAnne laughed. "I hope you're up to it because I need to go grocery shopping or I'll not be able to feed my family."
"I'd really like to go grocery shopping too, that way John doesn't have to take me out when he gets home. That is, if you don't mind. Of course I'll pay for what I buy."
"I don't see why not," JoAnne smiled. This job wasn't as hard as she thought it was going to be. She just needed to remember to put Elise's care bag in the car as she went.
JoAnne was a fan of farmer's stands, feeling the produce was fresher and cost less. "The only problem with this kind of shopping is that they are all over the place and you have to do a lot of driving," JoAnne complained as Elise loaded up on red raspberries and blueberries.
Looking at Jo in thought, Elise then turned to the manager of the booth. "Isn't there a farmer's co-op?"
"Why yes, there is. We work together to get these spaces where we can sell our goods." Elise was told.
"Is there a place where we could buy a bigger variety of produce in one spot?"
"No. No place wants that much traffic from our customers or that much competition for their business."
"When is your next Co-op meeting?" Elise asked, and JoAnne could see the wheels churning in her head.
"Tonight," the man answered.
"Tell them you met someone who has a large field that would be perfect for a Farmers Market with room for everyone to come together, just off a busy road where you would get lots of exposure. If they're interested in working out some arrangements, call this number." Elise pulled out a set of address labels that included a phone number and stuck one to a paper sack the merchant used. "Make sure you call tomorrow or the next day because I won't be home the day after that."
From there Elise coaxed JoAnne to take her to a place where they could order wholesale meat in large quantities, and after picking the kids up from school, they headed to the home station where Elise showed JoAnne how to cut the meat budget by a third or more by buying in bulk, then packaging the meat in to meal sized portions and then packaging and freezing using a commercial vacuum seal machine that Elise just happened to own."
"I feel more like I'm getting occupational therapy," JoAnne teased.
"My dad ran a diner until he was no longer able to and raised his own beef." Elise drifted back to her younger years as she told of her upbringing while they worked. "Before my mom died they thought I was too young to be around when they slaughtered the cattle, but I was expected to help package it and prepare it to be frozen for the diner. I don't think I've ever gone to the grocery store for meat. My sister runs the cattle ranch now and I just buy a whole cow say, once a year, and an occasional pig from the guy in the next town and have it cut up. Then I package it like we're doing now and throw it in the freezer. I'm going to have to find a better place than where we got this stuff from though. I'm sure I can beat the prices. The uncle who raised me taught me a thing or two about smoking the meat and how to throw in some herbs to get some pretty good flavors. I can't wait 'till I can do that stuff again. If they can't get these seizures under control I won't even be able to hold down a job as a waitress."
Jo understood that to mean, "after the big surgery," and after talking with her husband's partner, she thought that was both a good and a bad sign that she was looking forward to being able to do things again but still feared she wouldn't be able to do things she considered to make her of worth. Jo said nothing, just took a hold of Elise's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Well, when you find the better prices let me know," JoAnne requested. Once the meat was packaged and Elise's groceries were put a way, JoAnne and the kids worked together to load up their packages and everyone went back to the DeSoto home where Elise was slightly overdue for a nap. She was on her way to her assigned room when she paused and JoAnne noticed her hands trembling. Realizing what was happening; she hurried to Elise's side while asking Chris to pull the coffee table away as she eased Elise to the floor and checked her watch. If the seizure had lasted three seconds longer JoAnne would have been required to call a squad. That was too close for her comfort so after she had Elise positioned with her special pillows and calmed her children a little; she called the station, just in case John wanted her to call a squad anyway.
As the phone rang JoAnne marveled at her children. She and Roy had sat down with them and explained about Elise and her seizures in preparation of this care arrangement, but she never expected them to take their first one so calmly.
John questioned JoAnne about Elise's vital signs and before she could get a blood pressure Elise was coming around.
All seemed to be as well as they could expect for Elise so JoAnne was just encouraged to help Elise when she was ready to get up and put her to bed, expecting her to sleep for a couple of hours and be fine. Since John's advice matched her instructions, she thanked him and did just as she was advised. Once Elise was tucked into bed, JoAnne stood in the hallway and let out a deep breath. She had survived her first seizure and it wasn't as scary as she thought it would be. With a slight amount of pride in her new abilities JoAnne went to fix dinner.
She wasn't surprised in the least when her husband told her after his next shift that Elise had set up a farmers market on the land north of home station, and the farmers were going to mow the area down as their rent on the area. She was already looking forward the grand opening and talked about it enough to all of her friends and the other firefighter's wives. She was sure there was going to be a nice sized crowd on their first day.
Roy had a lot to say about the way his friend's wife did business. "I think they call it making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. She seems to have that ability."