The Second Half (11 page)

Ken wagged his head. “I have no words. What an original gift.” He raised a small sander and set of chisels in the air for all to see. “Thank you. I will truly enjoy using these.” He glanced at a note in the chest. “And I see here that Dr. Vigness has already agreed I can have private lessons until the next class session starts.”

“I hope you have a few words to share.” President Osler handed Ken the microphone, stepped back, and sat down.

“Only a few?” They laughed together, and Ken stepped back to the podium. He looked around the room, nodding and smiling as if he spoke to an audience of this size every day. The applause finally settled down.

“Thank you for coming tonight, for all your comments, for your contributions both tonight and to this university. Stone University is a forerunner in many departments, and yes, we set the standard for student services. If someone wants to come here badly enough, we will make a way. One program I am especially proud of is for our returning vets. Most government programs are usually with the state schools, but you will find many veterans attending here, some of them with horrendous injuries that we do our best to help accommodate. We are privileged to work closely with the University of Wisconsin, and while we are not an affiliate of Norwegian colleges and businesses, we work closely with them, too. All that to say that we serve students of all ages, all backgrounds, and many ethnicities. I believe God has blessed us mightily because we are willing to go the extra mile, share our cloak, if you will.” He paused and looked down at his family and then around the room. “I am honored to be a part of a university so alive and growing…” He took in a deep breath. “And I pray that growth in serving continues.”

Applause broke out, and table after table of guests rose to their feet.

“Thank you.” He raised his hands. “Thank you.” He smiled around the room again, this time praying he could hold in the tears burning the backs of his eyes. As the audience sat down, he continued. “Thank you. Thank you. I promise I won't do a list of those I'm in debt to, but my family is here, and above all I thank my wife, Mona, and both Marit and Steig, who are graduates of this university.” This time he had to blink several times, and when they sat down again, he said, “In closing, I want to repeat the words of one of the greatest scholars of all time, Sir Isaac Newton. ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.' May each of us be giants to pass the torch along. And now, may the Lord God bless us all and continue to shower us with His favor. Thank you.”

Bill finally got the crowd to sit down again. “Thank you, Ken. We will miss you here.” He looked at the audience. “Thank you for coming, and if you'll let Ken and Mona through, they have asked for the privilege of standing at the door. Good night.”

Chairs clanked and rattled and skidded, putting up an amazingly cacophonous roar for being mere chairs. Ken stepped down off the dais, took Mona's hand, and the two made their way to the door.

“You were phenomenal,” she told him at the doorway. “I am so proud of you I could pop every button I own. You are an amazing man.” They turned to greet those lining up. It took over an hour, but Ken managed to say good-bye to nearly everyone there. The sheer number of people astounded him.

When President Osler and her husband shook hands with him, she leaned close to Ken. “Come back to the Holmdahl Room a moment, will you?”

Now what?

Mona smiled. “I'll wait for you here.”

“You can come with me. You are my life.” He kissed her forehead.

The cleanup crew were pushing brooms, gathering up tablecloths into a big canvas bin, and reconfiguring chairs for the next day's events. Ken led Mona through and around and among the busy scene.

No one was in the Holmdahl Room when they entered, but President Osler arrived moments later. She was smiling. “Your children put your chest in the car for you. And while you were shaking those thousands of hands, I had a chance to talk to Steig and Marit a few minutes. You realize, the only time I ever talked to them before tonight was when I shook their hands and handed them their diplomas.”

Ken chuckled. “That's been a few years.”

“Hasn't it!” She sobered. “I had several callers a few days ago. Dale Crespin and John Nordlund.”

So that's where this was going. Ken nodded. “And they complained bitterly that I had filed an injunction.”

“Can you tell me why you did so?”

“Yes. To counter their sneaky moves with a sneaky move. They support a candidate to replace me that I do not support. They tried to sidestep me and weasel out of a letter of intent giving me the say in who will replace me.”

“Office politics at its finest.”

“Office politics, but I would certainly not call it finest. I doubt they remember the full content of their letter of intent in which they made the written promise, but I'm using it for my legal basis in opposing their move. Unfortunately, I am now emeritus, before the decision was made. This injunction puts the whole process on hold, giving me time to fully review applicants.”

She nodded, pausing a moment. “Fiendishly clever. Who would you say is best qualified to hold the position?”

“My office assistant, Sandra Jensen. But she won't accept it.”

She nodded again and studied the floor a moment. Then she looked him in the eye. “Ken, frankly I didn't like Dale and John trying to make an end run on the sly, you might say. Politicking privately. That's why I wanted to hear your side of that injunction business before making any decisions.”

“If you don't like end runs, you don't like my move.”

“Oh, but I do now that I know the reason.” She turned to Mona. “Mrs. Sorenson, when I ask your husband something, I know that he will give me a straight and honest answer. That's a rare commodity these days. Ken? Your answer satisfies me. I have made up my mind.”

“About…?”

“Your successor.”

Ken licked his lips. Where should he go from here? “Do I know the person?”

“You do, very well. Sandra Jensen.”

“Sandy…But…but she said…
Sandy?
”

“You put student services on its feet and made it the best. She can keep it there.” She cleared her throat. “Normally, I leave it to the board. You may not even have known—or thought—that as president I have the authority to preempt the board. Dale and John knew and tried to get me to use it, completely sidestepping you. So I did, but not as they intended.”

Ken was so flabbergasted he felt dizzy. This whole day was…was…was surreal. “Dr. Osler, that is the best, the finest thing you could possibly do to keep this school in top tier, with a first-class faculty and first-class student body. Each depends on the other. I…thank you. And I am grateful for your wisdom and farsightedness.” He pressed his lips together. “Dale and John won't like this. Their candidate, I'm sure you know, is Damien Berghoff.”

“Yes, they extolled him in the highest terms. In fact, they were so complimentary of him that I grew suspicious. The ‘Methinks he doth protest too much' thing. I have not made the decision public yet; I hope you'll keep it to yourself.”

“Of course. Does Sandy know?”

“I told her this evening. She promised silence as well.”

Ken drew in enough air to loft the Hindenburg. The sudden release of pressure had unhorsed him. “Dr. Osler, you've greatly eased my mind at a time when many other things are weighing on it. Thank you.”

“So I hear. Your son is a single parent being deployed overseas. Heavy for you in many ways. I will be praying for Steig's safety and your grandparenting adventures.”

“Adventures. Dr. Osler…” Mona suddenly moved forward and embraced the president of the university in a massive bear hug. “Thank you! I cannot begin to tell you how much this all means to us.”

The president was smiling broadly. “Go in peace, both of you.”

Ken turned Mona aside, and they walked out into…rain. And from the size of the puddles, it had been raining awhile.

Headlights approached. Ken's car pulled up in front of them, Steig driving.

Sandy stepped out of the shadows from behind them with a big plastic bag. “Your well-wishes cards. If I were you, I'd put those cards in a safe place until you have time to go through them. Don't question, just trust me.”

“If you say. Sandy…Sandy, I thought you refused to take the job. I am absolutely stunned that you accepted, and so very, very glad. But why did you?”

“When I learned you were putting your own money into legal steps, I began to see how very much this means to you and how important it all is.” She cackled. “You know that headhunter you hired to find your perfect replacement? Archer Tarkensen? He claimed I'm the best candidate; he's the one who finally talked me into it.”

I
'm sorry.” Through the kitchen window, Mona watched rain and wind whip the treetops. “The weather is worse this morning than it was last night.”

Ken nodded. “I know. Bucking waves on the lake is not conducive to fishing enjoyment, nor is getting soaked.”

“Maybe tomorrow?” Steig held his coffee mug with both hands.

Ken shrugged. “According to the weather map, it is supposed to move on about noon. Maybe we can go this afternoon.”

Mona caught Steig's raised eyebrows and shrugged. She had already talked with Marit and the party was officially moved to the Sons of Norway hall. Magnus and crew were ready to move the grills to the covered area outside. If they could pull this off, it would indeed be miraculous. Good thing they'd not planned on using Ken's grill.

But now what could she do with Ken since they couldn't go fishing? That had been the perfect cover. Options: Give up and tell him of the party. Put a sleeping pill in his coffee so he slept the morning away. She couldn't think of a third option.

“Daddy?”

Morning quiet just flew out the door.

Steig turned. “Good morning, sweetheart. Is Jakey still sleeping?” He bent down and lifted her to join him and Grampy watching the rain sluice out the downspouts.

“I was real quiet.” She wrapped one arm around his neck. “Can't go fishing, huh?”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“Or perhaps this evening. Fish bite in the evening, too.” Grampy smiled at her. “You ready for breakfast?”

She shrugged. “Is Grammy making pancakes?”

“How did you ever guess?” Mona crossed the room and turned the griddle on. “You want chocolate chips in yours?”

Steig shuddered. “Not mine, that's for sure.” He poked his daughter in the belly. “But you do, right?” She giggled and nodded at the same time.

Mona turned the hash browns in one skillet and checked the bacon in the oven. “Five minutes. Someone want to set the table?”

Ken turned to the cabinet. “Juice?”

“Of course.” This morning she was serving all Steig's favorite things. One more day after today. How would they bear to see him off when the van stopped at their door to take him to the base? They'd said five a.m. Monday morning. She jerked her mind back to the smoking griddle and poured the batter for six pancakes, then sprinkled miniature chocolate chips on one. After turning off the kettle of hot water warming the syrup, she turned with a smile; at least she hoped it was in place. “Two minutes, you better get to the table.” After dishing the hash browns into a bowl, she handed Ken that and the bacon platter to set on the table. Flipping the pancakes as soon as they were popping bubbles, she grabbed another platter.

The others took their places at the table just as “Daddy!” echoed down the stairs.

“I sure hope the cat didn't go in there. Mellie, did you close the door?”

“Yes. He has to get over this. Hyacinth won't hurt him. Besides, I want her to sleep with me.”

“You sound all grown up. Don't get in a hurry, okay?” Steig hugged her with both arms.

Mona slid the pancakes onto the platter while Steig headed for the stairs.

“I think today and tomorrow we better do cat conditioning.” Ken took the platter. “Looks like only one has brown dots.”

“That's mine.” Mellie held up her plate. “How come you don't like choco-pancakes?”

“Ah.” Ken shrugged. “Just don't, I guess. But Grammy made it for you.” He took two and put the remainders on Steig's plate. “You want hash browns, sugarcheeks?”

“Sugarcheeks!” Mellie grinned.

“And bacon?” At her nod, he scooped both onto her plate. “Eggs, too?”

“No thank you.”

Steig sat down in his chair with tousle-headed Jakey, thumb and forefinger plugging his mouth, on his lap. “Looks great, Mom.” He dropped a kiss on his son's head. “You can have part of Daddy's.”

Jakey shook his head and turned his face into Steig's broad chest.

Mona stepped to the table with another platter, this time eggs fried, cooked medium splattered just the way her family liked them. She slid two on Steig's plate and two on Ken's. “More pancakes ready in a minute. Jakey, you want pancakes?” She got another headshake for her trouble.

After breakfast, the adults spent a good part of the morning finishing off their discussion with Steig while the kids watched TV.

“Now, if something happens and I don't come back…” Steig held up a hand as Mona sniffed. “I know, but we have to be prepared.” He pulled more papers out of a file folder. “Here is my will; the kids are the beneficiaries with you two as guardians, and Dad, you are the executor, as we discussed. All this is on file with the army. I talked with Marit and Magnus, and they agreed to become guardians if something happens to the two of you. As you see here”—he pointed to a green flag—“I staggered the benefits for the kids so they don't receive a huge chunk of money on their twenty-first birthdays. Their educations will be pretty much paid for, especially with army benefits.”

Mona tried to listen carefully, but her mind fought to run off with concerns about the surprise party and pleas that none of this was necessary. Steig would return in a year or less, and their lives would revert to the retirement Ken dreamed of. They'd not had time to go through the cards yet, but that box was stashed upstairs in their closet.

Marit's song chimed. Mona thumbed her phone on and put it to her ear as she turned pancakes. Marit's strong voice: “I know Dad is right there so just listen. All is in order for the party. Don't worry about a thing, we have a marvelous crew. We even have entertainment for children of all sizes, although I don't expect a lot more to attend than ours. Now, Magnus is going to call Dad and ask for his help on buying something for the garage and no one else can come with. You and Steig get to the hall, and we'll be there already. Got it?”

Mona nodded. “Sounds good to me. Yes. Put me on the list, please. Thank you for calling.” She heard Marit giggle as they clicked off.

Steig glanced at her to catch her slight nod. “Any questions or other things you can think of?” He lifted a manila envelope. “The medical cards and records are in here, including vaccination records. This one has Mellie's school records. As you can see, I have all of this in this file box; some of it needs to go into your safety box or open another in their name. We set up the bank account yesterday, so that is all taken care of. My checks will go directly into that account, usually on about the fifth of the month. With the online banking, I can keep track, too. I'll have my laptop with me, and I told Mellie we would Skype every Thursday night.”

Ken thought. “Will that work with the time difference?”

“I'll make it work.”

Ken's phone sounded like a duck quacking. “Hey, Magnus, what's up? Sure, since we couldn't go fishing, we can do that. Okay, I'll be waiting, but I could meet you there. All right, see you.” He looked at Mona. “Magnus wants some advice at Home Depot. He'll be here in a couple of minutes. You need anything there?”

“You might want to pick up another set of those garage shelves,” Steig suggested.

“Okay, Mona?”

“Yes, we can use them if we can find someplace to put them. Nothing else that I can think of.” She started gathering the files off the table. “I'll call you if so. Hand me that file box, please, Steig.”
Keep it cool, nothing to indicate we need to get ready and
out that door in about fifteen minutes.
As soon as Ken left, she roared into action. “You look fine, I have to change, Magnus is stalling, then will take Ken to the party. The kids need different clothes on.” She grinned at her son. “So far so good—I hope. I so want to pull off a surprise.”

“If he's had an inkling, he's not mentioned it to me.” He headed for the family room. “Come on, you two, we need to dress for Grampy's party.”

They all flew around and were out the door in twenty-one minutes and on their way.

The parking lot of the hall had only a couple of cars since they'd asked everyone to park on the side streets. Steig dropped her and the kids off at the door and drove to park.

“Daddy!” Jakey started to tear up, but Mellie held his hand. “Daddy had to go park. He'll be right back. Come on, this is Grampy's party.”

“Where is Grampy?”

“He'll be here soon.” Mona checked her watch. “Come on, we have to go hide.”

Ken followed Magnus out of Home Depot. Together they loaded the cartons and two-by-fours into Magnus's pickup.

“Sure appreciate your help. Someday I'll know enough.” Magnus smiled at Ken.

“Took me a while, too. I'll help you install it anytime you want. You want to come in for coffee?” He slid into the passenger seat beside Magnus.

Magnus checked his list. “Oh no, I forgot to pick up Marit's extra pots at the Sons of Norway hall. She loaned them for some ladies' do. Then I think she has lunch ready for everyone.” He squinted at his paper. “At least I think that's what this says. I'll swing by and get the pots right now since we're closer to there. You in a hurry?”

“Nope, I am officially retired and I don't have to hurry anymore.”

“Good luck.” Magnus parked right near the front door. “You want to come help me find them? Last time I had to tear the kitchen apart. I sure don't know my way around in there.”

“Sure, why not.” Ken studied the exterior of the hall, the fake pillars that marked the entry. “You know, this old building could do with a paint job. Look. Flaking. I'll have to write out a recommendation for the board.” The two men walked up the three steps, and Magnus swung the door open for Ken and stepped aside.
Age before beauty, as they say.
Ken went in.

“SURPRISE!” over fifty voices hollered at once.

Ken grabbed the doorframe, hand to his chest. “Wh-what in the world?” He searched for Mona, shaking his head all the while. There she was, grinning like a mule chewing thistles.

She came over and grabbed him around the waist. “Surprise!”

“How did you ever pull this off?”

“Either you really are surprised or you are an Oscar quality actor.”

Marit joined them.

Mellie ran up and grabbed his hand. “Are you surprised, Grampy?”

“Yes, I am surprised. Addled. Shocked.”

“Good.” Mona took his hand. “Come this way.” They pushed open the doors to the main hall now full of decorated tables; a banner that said
HAPPY RETIREMENT, KEN
stretched across the front of the room.

“Okay, chefs, back to the grills.” With that, some of the men clapped Ken on the back as they hastened out.

“No wonder I smelled barbecue when I got out of the car.”

“They put the ribs on a while ago.”

“As if last night wasn't a huge celebration.” He looked around, seeing some folks who'd attended the retirement dinner and lots of others from church, the Sons of Norway lodge, neighbors and friends, along with the relatives within driving distance. He stared at Mona again. “This is the first time you ever pulled one off. How did you do it? I had no idea.”

“That's the best thing you could say to me.” Mona's face nearly split grinning. “I've tried ever since I met you to surprise you with something and I never could.” She heaved a big sigh and spread her arms wide. “But we did it, all of us together.” Someone started applause, and it ricocheted around the walls. “And now, you go greet your guests, and we'll get this dinner ready to serve. Party on!”

By the time they returned home late that afternoon, they all collapsed around the seats on the porch. Steig kept his sleeping son on his lap and his daughter tucked into his side. “That was one amazing party.” He grinned at his dad. “This town does indeed know how to throw a celebration.”

Ken looked at Mona. “Please tell me we are done partying, at least for this weekend.”

“We are done.” Mona did not open her eyes, her body sunk deep into her kicked-back recliner. “Needless to say, I am done in.”

“Why should you be any different than the rest of us?” Marit asked from a padded lounge chair, her arms dragging on the floor. “Please, Dad, don't go retire anymore, at least not for a while.”

He smiled. “I have nothing else to retire from. It is all retire to now.”

“Now that is a great line.” Mona looked at her husband in the neighboring chair. “Retiring to?”

“Yep, I heard someone say that people who retire from don't live long, but people who retire to have a full life ahead. Figured it made a whole lot of sense.” He heaved a sigh, looking at Mona. “How you pulled that surprise party off is way beyond me. Maybe I've been so involved on the job these last two weeks, I missed any signs.”

“Give it up, Dad, there were no signs.” Marit waved a triumphant thumbs-up at her mother.

Ken looked at his son-in-law. “You were in on it, too?”

“Of course. But we will be doing that remodel on the mudroom. I promised before winter. One of the things you are retired to.”

Mellie straightened up from her father's side. “Grammy, I'm hungry.”

“Didn't you eat at the party?”

She nodded solemnly. “But that was hours ago.”

“Spoken like a true Sorenson.” Steig grinned at his mother.

“You know what would have made these two days absolutely perfect?” Ken looked up at the ceiling.

“This wasn't perfect?” Mona's voice squeaked, her eyes wide.

“If Mom and Dad had been here to celebrate, too.”

“True, but I think a big celebration was going on in Heaven, too. After all, you have a lot of friends and relatives up there, watching the earthly goings-on.”

“I know, but Dad was so proud when I became dean of students. That his son had
made it
like that.”