Untrusting (Troubled) (16 page)

Shay’s mood picks up, “He’s away
working?  As a fireman?”  Miss Lili nods her head at both
questions.  “You’re sure he’s not mad at me?”  Miss Lili nods again,
knowing no other answer is necessary.  Shay’s so happy, he jumps down off
his chair and runs around to hug Miss Lili and she’s happy to hug him back. 
She picks him up and puts him in her lap to sit while he snuggles his head
against her and wraps his arms around her ribs.

Maria and I have tears in our eyes
and so does Miss Lili.  After a few minutes Shay’s sound asleep. 
Maria gently shifts him into her arms from Miss Lili’s lap and we all walk out
to help her put him in the car.  Then Miss Lili gets in my truck and I
take her home.  On the way she tells me Bob needs to marry Maria and adopt
Shay.  Then she brightens up and says, “I bet that’s exactly what he has
in mind, too.  I would be very happy for him if he does.  She’s a
wonderful person and Shay shows it.”

I agree with her, but she goes on,
“Steve’s in love with you, too, ya know.  I’m sure he hasn’t said it yet,
he’s very cautious about the ‘L’ word, as the boys call it.  But he’s in
deep and I think you are too, but neither of ya know it yet.  Listen to me
talking like I know everything.”  She gets outta the truck and I wait for
her to get inside before I leave.

Is she right?  Are Steve and I
in love and just don’t know it?  I guess anything’s possible, but I won’t
believe it ‘til I know it and he says it.  I go to the clinic, take care
of mama and the scattering puppies, lock up and head home for a shower and bed.

The next few weeks go very fast and
yet slowly.  The arrangements with the city for the animal shelter and our
parts in it took only one afternoon, ‘til its built and ready to use.  The
partnership took two days, involving bank accounts, deeds, and other legal
matters.  It was hectic, because Maria and I had to keep swapping places
between Miss Lili and the office.  We couldn’t close the office and forget
it, too many things going on there, what with the contractors and sub
contractors meeting there to confer with us.

Maria’s letting mama out on
Saturday and Sunday and I’m letting her out at night on the week nights. 
Maria and I still talk about Steve and Bob and our questions about our
relationships.  We haven’t heard anything from the guys after two and a
half weeks.  We three ladies have become good friends in this time and are
spending a lotta time together.  We focus on the daily happenings and hope
the guys are okay and will be home soon.

We’ve stopped talking about the
guys much, there’s nothing to say, except how concerned we are.  And we
don’t want to say that, afraid the other two will become frightened.  So
we say nothing, except to ask if anyone’s heard anything from or of them, or
the fire that we haven’t heard.  We keep busy by watching the construction
going on in the back.

The outside of both block houses
are finished in three weeks.  Now we need to decide on the facade for the
resort.  We decide on a roofed, screened in balcony where the cats can get
outside where the litter boxes could be put.  A drop awning will be added
to the keep the outside areas dry.  The dogs will be below and the cats
will be on the upper “floor.”  Convenient for us to let the dogs out and
get to the litter boxes.  The block houses have grooming facilities for
the animals, keeping each facility separate, because of the different kinds of
inhabitants and keeping the possibility of cross contamination down.  There may
be more details to work out, but this will do.

Miss Lili, Maria, and I sat down to
decide on a name for the resort and came up with some funny ones, some over the
top classy ones, but decided on “Paws Boarding House,” probably.  It’s
still not expressing what we want it to, but it’s closer than anything else
we’ve come up with to date.  We still have two weeks before we have to
have a name.

The third week the guys are gone
we’re missing them more.  Maria says Shay is getting moody, sullen and
argumentative.  Miss Lili, though working, is getting depressed and
Chief’s getting sullen.  I’m depressed and can’t find enough to do.

Miss Lili has been to the fire
station to see what they’ve heard.  Unfortunately, they’ve heard nothing
and can’t find out anything.  We keep watching the news, the fire is
getting smaller and smaller but the drought continues and it’s the second week
of October.  When is it going to rain?  All the churches are praying
for rain in they’re Sunday meetings.  Since the storm and the front with
it, there’s been no rain.  We watch the weather like its life or
death.  Dad’s had to bring the cattle in closer to the creek, as has most
of the ranchers.  We’re all concerned about the dryness.

We have supper at Lili’s
tonight.  Friday night and no where to go, or anyone to go with. 
Miss Lili wants to have an early supper, tonight.  She wants to play cards
or something later.  We watch the news and the weatherman’s predicting
rain over the forest fire and most of Texas.  Miss Lili says, “They
shouldn’t allow lies like that on TV.  Somethin’ll happen before it gets
to the fire.  Maybe the heat from the fire will dry up all the clouds.” 
She chuckles, as she gets up to put supper on the table, but her face is
serious.

After supper we clean up the
kitchen, play gin rummy and talk about the county fair this week end. 
Miss Lili wants to go, but she doesn’t want to go alone.  So Maria and I
decide we’ll go with her.  Mom always enters some jam or jelly and I’d
already promised I would be there.  So we’ll go and have some fun instead
of moping around here.  We call it an early night, Shay’s tired of playing
with Chief and José and wants to go home.  The fair is in Beaver Creek and
there’s a rodeo, too.  We’ll meet here at Miss Lili’s at ten.  We’ll
take Miss Lili’s Cadillac for the seventy five mile drive.  Miss Lili says
I should drive.  She’s okay for around town and out a bit, but not for
much further.

I go to the clinic, let the dogs
out then close everything up and drive home.  On the way I think about how
big the puppies have gotten.  They’re going out with mama, they’re not
house broken by any stretch of the imagination, but they do know what to do
outside.  Maria’s brother is going to let the dogs out tomorrow at lunch
and supper.  I plan to be back for the evening romp.  All of the dogs
are going to be gone soon.  I’m going to miss them.  Maybe, I should
keep one of the puppies.  No, I won’t have time to house break a puppy,
I’m gone most of the day and house breaking would end any social life, if I had
one.

I guess I’ve decided I want a
social life.  Huh.  I reach over to turn on my windshield wipers
without a thought.  I get home and have to run from my truck to the
porch.  Then stand there and watch it rain.  I watch for about ten
minutes before it hits home that it’s raining.  I step out in it and let
it soak me.  It’s not long before Mom joins me.  We do a little dance
in the rain then go in for a cup of hot chocolate and a couple of towels. 
We hear thunder and see the flashing light from the lightening and go out on
the porch to watch the storm.  We watch and talk about the fair while we
finished our hot chocolate then Mom dashes home in the rain.  I sit and
watch the rain and smell the clean air rain brings with it.  I feel the
moist cool and shiver in the occasional breeze.  When the wind picks up I
feel the cold and go in and take a warm shower to chase the chill away.

I lie in bed and listen to the rain
on the roof and pray this storm hit the forest fire and the guys’ll be home
soon as I drift off.

This morning is so fresh smelling,
I wish I could find a way to close it up in my house so I could smell it when I
get home tonight.  The haze of the dust and heat isn’t here this morning,
and the sky is deep blue with wisps of white clouds in it.  I sigh, “Well,
that’s our rain for a while, soon it’ll be back to dusty and dry.”  I’m
talking to myself, that’s not good.  I go in, dress and head for the
clinic then to Miss Lili’s.  I notice on the way in it’d rained enough the
road was soft and Mom and Dad had left ruts when they left earlier this
morning.  Maybe it helped with the forest fire.

I started the puppies on puppy chow
and formula yesterday.  Today they get it again and another bath.  I
believe they got more on them than in them.  Another week and they’ll all
be gone.  I pick Chaucee up and snuggle with her a little while.  I
wish I’d spoken for her, but I still wouldn’t have time to house break
her.  Of course, she’s small enough I could bring her to work with
me.  Miss Lili would be heartbroken if I asked her for Chaucee.  I
put her down to romp with the others and then round them up as Maria and Shay
come in, helping me corral them.

Miss Lili is ready when we get
there at nine thirty so we leave early.  We sing and play traveling games
with Shay all the way to Beaver Creek.  We talk about the rain, last
night, too.  We all had the same thoughts about the fire.  Shay’s
quiet about Bob, the fire and when he’s coming home, as are the rest of us.

At the fair, we walk through all
the exhibits.  Mom got second prize for her apple walnut pie and first
prize for her apple butter and walnut carrot cake.  We ride a few rides
for Shay and find Mom and Dad at the rodeo.  We sit close to the arena so
Shay can get a good look at the action.  He gets excited at the little
kids riding goats and chasing baby pigs around the arena, but he goes crazy for
the calf roping event.  He doesn’t like the bull riding, because the bulls
chase the cowboys and sometimes hurts them.  He likes the bronc riding
event ‘til he sees a cowboy fly off, land on his side and get carried off on a
stretcher.  After that he covers his eyes every time a chute’s
opened.  After the rodeo, we look for something to eat and a few
souvenirs.  Shay loves the fair food, but then so do the rest of us. 
Miss Lili has kept up very well, but she’s showing signs of wearing down so we
call it a day and head home.

Shay’s asleep before we get outta
town, but then so is Miss Lili.  So Maria and I talk about the fair ‘til
we run out of things to talk about.  Just outside of Granite Falls, I
check the rear view mirror and Maria’s asleep, too.  A few minutes later,
Miss Lili wakes up.  “Looks like we’re home.  I guess I was more
tired than I thought.”  She looks in the back seat, “Guess I wasn’t the
only one.”  A few more blocks and I turn into Miss Lili’s driveway.

The bump into the driveway wakes
Maria up.  She starts waking Shay up, but the poor kid is dead to the
world.  We wrestle him out of the Caddy and into Maria’s car, say our
goodbyes and she takes Shay home to bed.  I help Miss Lili into the house
and let the dogs out and wait for them to come back in.  Then I go to the
clinic to let the puppies out before I feed and bathe them.  Afterward, I
take my tired body home.  I make it home before another rain shower
starts.  It’s a gentle rain, I watch it for a while before I take a shower
and go to bed to let the rain on the roof and the fresh air, lull me to sleep.

I’m up for church with a stop at
the clinic.  I take time to notice and value the morning and sights on the
way in to town.  Some wildflowers are budding, always a welcome sight in
Texas.  It reminds us of why we live through the heat and dry times of the
year.  Texas looks like spring, every time it rains.  We have spring
several times a year and we appreciate the break in the brown landscape.

I’m dressed for church so the
puppies are going to wait for their baths ‘til later.  I get them back in
the kennels and go to church to wait for the services to start.  Mom comes
in by herself and sits with me.  Dad’s taking care of the cattle
today.  Burt’s down with a sinus headache and infection.  “I can go
home to help him right after I let the puppies out after church.”

“No, we’re all invited to Miss
Lili’s for Sunday dinner, today.  She’s coming out for the barbecue
tomorrow.  Dad’ll meet us at Miss Lili’s.”

“Mom, tomorrow’s Monday.  I’ll
be at work.”

“Tomorrow’s a holiday, Sher. 
Founder’s Day.  We’re havin’ a barbecue.  Don’t ya remember?”

“Is that tomorrow?  I guess I
forgot what the date is.”  The minister’s walking to the pulpit so we stop
talking.  After church, I go back to the clinic and let the puppies
out.  Their house breaking is coming along, they’re making fewer
messes.  Next week I’ll have to call the prospective owners and have them
come on Saturday to choose they’re puppy.  Then my time will be freer ‘til
the “Boarding House” has “guests,” as Miss Lili insists we call them. 
That’ll be another five weeks.  She wants to open it just before
Thanksgiving.

That reminds me to take my
“pill.”  I’ve been taking them for three weeks and Maria’s been taking
hers for two and a half weeks.  Well, there’s no rush, the reason for
taking them isn’t even within reach right now.  Well, when and if the
occasion presents itself we’ll be ready.  I’m off to Miss Lili’s for
dinner.

We eat and play gin rummy ‘til
eight o’clock.  I have to let the dogs out and Maria has to get Shay home
and ready for bed.  Mom and Dad stay behind.  Maria stopped at the
clinic to help me with the dogs.  Shay’s chasing the puppies around the
kennel room when we hear him scream.  We go running in.

There he is in Bob’s arms and Bob’s
leaning on crutches.  Bob can’t move so he motions Maria to him.  As
soon as she’s within arms reach he grabs her in a bear hug with Shay.  I’m
smiling, but I’m not sure why, other than I’m glad to see him.  Steve hops
out from behind him and toward me.  As soon as I see him I go to
him.  There’s a three way hug, him, me and his crutches.  Maria and I
try to get them to sit down in the waiting room, but they can’t move for the
puppies in and around their legs and crutches.  Maria and I get the dogs
corralled in their kennel and take the guys into the waiting room to sit them
down.