Joel: Book Eight ~ The New Patriarch

Two weeks after New Year's, Luke's lawyer had notified Hildy and Manfred of the schedule for Luke's adoption hearing. His Uncle Mel was notified, but was unable to be at the hearing due to a secret overseas deployment. The rest of us showed up for it. Penny's adoption could not be done at the same time. There were still some things that needed to be resolved before she could be adopted. Needless to say, Luke was a very happy boy. Now all that was necessary to complete the process was to get all the various records changed to show his new name, Luke Adrian Strasser.

Peter and Rodney had become good friends. Peter looked forward to their soccer practices and matches so he could see his friend. Neither one of them was going to be a great soccer player, but they sure had a lot of fun. I think they spent more time laughing than they did actually playing soccer. Jordon would scold them and they would be serious for a few minutes before one of them would kick the ball sailing it out of bounds or would miss the ball completely. That would cause them to start giggling again.

After their fourth Saturday, which was their second game, Mrs. Polson told Peter that Rodney would not be able to play next Saturday.

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"I have to work all day Saturday and won't be able to bring Rodney," she said. "He'll have to go to the sitter's."

I had overheard their conversation. "Excuse me, Mrs. Polson, we would be willing to pick up Rodney and bring him along with Peter," I said.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to put you out," she said.

"You wouldn't be," I said. "He and Peter have a lot of fun playing soccer. According to the schedule, they have a game at ten. One of my other sons has a game at eight. If you have to go to work early, we could pick him up any time before eight. He could go home with us and then one of us could bring him home after you were off work. It would not be an imposition. We have six boys and one girl in the household and one more would not be an imposition. If you will give me your address and when you need him picked up, we'll be there. Our cook will try to fatten him up, I'm sure."

"Please, mom," Rodney begged.

"Let me think about it," she said.

"Here's my card," I said, handing her one. "After you have decided, let me know."

Every day during the next week, Peter would ask if I had heard from Rodney's mom and I had to tell him I had not. It wasn't until Thursday evening that I received a phone call from her.

"Mr. Johnson, this is Gina Polson, Rodney's mom. I just called to let you know that I've decided that my son can go with Peter after their game. I have to be at work at eight o'clock. Would it be possible for you to pick him up before that? If that's not possible, I could take him to work with me and you could pick him up there."

"I will be there to pick him up fifteen or twenty minutes before eight, if that will give you time to get to your job. Let me have your address and anything special I should know. Oh, before I forget, if Rodney has a swimsuit, have him bring it along," I said. "All of our and the neighbor kids swim nearly every day it's warm enough. What time would you like for me to bring Rodney home?"

She gave me the information and we hung up. Naturally, Peter was excited that his friend was going to come home with us. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was going to be a regular thing.

Saturday morning we left home early with three sleepy boys in the back seat of the car. TJ and Luke had the eight o'clock game and I was taking Luke because Manfred had to take Jeannie and Ginny for their ten o'clock game. Three musketeers didn't have their game until two in the afternoon. Cary was going to take them. Donald was taking William to his ten o'clock game. Lenore was going along to watch. Every week the schedules were different. Thankfully the schedules were posted and handed out weeks in advance, which made it possible to get drivers assigned to get everybody where they were supposed to be on time.

We arrived at Rodney's apartment building about twenty minutes to eight. He and his mother were waiting for us. Rodney was carrying a small bag, which his mother said contained a change of clothes and his swimsuit.

After TJ and Luke's game, TJ sat with me and cheered for Peter. Luke went to cheer his sisters in their game. He decided that he would ride home with his dad, but didn't turn down the snacks that I had brought. There were even enough left after he and TJ had their fill for Peter and Rodney when they finished.

Rodney was overwhelmed as I drove the car through our gate and into the garage. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "This is as big as the whole apartment building where I live."

"Come on in," I said. "I'll introduce you to Gilda, our cook. I bet she has lunch fixed for us as soon as you guys get cleaned up."

Gilda was busy in the kitchen, but turned around when she heard the backdoor close. "So, Peter, this is your friend?"

"Yeah, his name is Rodney," Peter responded.

"Hello, Rodney," Gilda said. "It's nice to meet Peter's friend."

"Hi," Rodney said shyly, his face turning red.

"As soon as these guys get cleaned up, they will probably be starving," I said. "Rodney, if you want to shower in one of the spare bedrooms, you can. Or you can go with Peter and shower in his bathroom."

When he didn't answer for a couple of seconds, Peter said, "Come with me, I'll show you my room. My two brothers sleep there, too." Off they went, Rodney carrying his bag of clothes.

"You'd never believe he was shy if you saw him at the soccer games. He and Peter have so much fun. Not much soccer, but a lot of fun. Do you think we have any clothes that haven't been taken to the church that might fit him?"

"I'll check after lunch, but I'm quite sure there are some," Gilda said.

"His mom doesn't have much money, so anything we can do would be helpful," I said. "I just hope she won't be offended by anything we give him. The apartment where they live is not the best. It reminds me of the one where Marie lived, way back then."

TJ had not stopped to talk to Gilda and instead went up to their room and beat Peter and Rodney to the shower. He was first down the stairs and ready to have lunch. A few minutes later, the other two freshly scrubbed boys joined him at the table. It wasn't long before the three musketeers and Cary joined us.

I was wondering where Donald, Lenore and William were when they walked in the back door. "I hope you weren't waiting for us. These two wanted to stop at McDonalds for lunch," Donald said. "Run along, son, and take a shower. You're sort of dirty and grass-stained."

"Can I go swimming?" he asked as he ran up the stairs.

"Sure," Donald told him. "I think it's warm enough."

"Can I go too," Lenore asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Donald said.

"Come on, Rodney," Peter said as they finished putting their dishes in the dishwasher. "Let's get our swim stuff on and we can go swimming, too."

The three musketeers swam with them for about half an hour before they had to get ready to go to their soccer game. Rodney was not a good swimmer. He could dogpaddle, but didn't know any other strokes. That didn't matter to him. He was having too much fun. When he and Peter got tired, they went to play with the dogs. With all the roughhousing and rolling around on the ground with the dogs, they were ready for another shower.

Gilda had sorted out several items of clothing that she thought that Rodney could wear and had him try them on. Several items did fit him. They were added to the bag that he had brought with him.

I took Rodney home at the appointed time. Of course, Peter went with us. Mrs. Polson was waiting for us at the front of the apartment building.

"Did he behave himself?" was the first thing she said.

"He was no problem at all. They played so hard, I doubt you will have any problem getting him to go to bed tonight," I said. She was looking at the bulging bag that Rodney was carrying. "I hope you don't mind, but, Gilda, my house-manager/cook put together some clothes that no one in the house could wear, but he could. She packed them up for him. I hope he can use them, otherwise they would have gone to the church jumble sale."

"They're really neat, mom. Miss Gilda had me try them on and they fit," he said. "I can keep them can't I?"

"Yes, you can keep them," she said. "Did you thank Mr. Johnson?"

"Oh, I forgot."

"But you did thank Gilda and even gave her a hug," I said. "Will you be working the same shift at work next Saturday?"

"Yes, and it looks as if it will be for a month or so, at least."

"Well, plan on us picking up Rodney at the same time next Saturday," I said. "If anything changes, give me a call. He's always welcome in our home."

Until Spring Break, our lives revolved around school, the dogs, swimming, tennis, soccer and, of course, riding the horses. There were no soccer games or practices scheduled during Spring Break. There would be too many kids absent to field teams.

The week before Spring Break, TJ kept asking when we were going to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It didn't matter how many times I told him, the next day he would ask the same question. Finally on Saturday he was satisfied when I told him we would fly out tomorrow morning. We were planning on arriving there by noon local time. Leaving San Antonio at 10:00 would get us there around 12:30 San Antonio time which would be 11:30 Cabo time.

The Strasser family was unable to make the trip with us because Penny's adoption had not yet been finalized and Luke's passport had not arrived. We were as disappointed for them having to stay behind as they were, but with the promise of future trips, they were somewhat mollified.

Our flight was very smooth except for a small stretch going over the mountains. We landed at Aeropuerto de Cobo San Lucas right on our expected arrival time. After we cleared customs, we were met by a driver and a bodyguard. Donald was taking no chances of experiencing another episode like the one he had the last time he was here. The two men helped load our luggage into what looked to be a 12 passenger van and we were off to the hotel.

Although I had seen pictures of the hotel on their website, I was impressed at the changes that Donald had made to it. I was even more impressed by our rooms on the top floor of the hotel. They could best be described as palatial. The master suite had a king-size bed, a sitting room and a huge bathroom. The other three bedrooms each contained two queen-size bed and their own bathrooms. There was also a connecting two bedroom suite, with similar amenities. The connecting suite was reserved for Gilda and Lenore. The boys and Cary were given their choice of bedrooms. Joel and Cary chose one of the bedrooms. That sorted out, everyone found their luggage and took it to their rooms to unpack.

"I'm hungry, dad," TJ said, as he carried his luggage into the bedroom for him, Peter and William.

"We'll eat as soon as you guys get your clothes put away and hung up in the closets," I answered. Donald and I went to unpack our clothes.

One of the dining rooms had an all-you-could eat buffet for lunch. Naturally that was the one where the boys wanted to go. The food was very good. Some of it the boys didn't recognize, but the servers were able to identify it for them. When we finished with lunch, we walked around the hotel complex to familiarize everybody with what was available and where everything was. The hotel boasted three swimming pools, one with a three-meter diving board. There was an 18-hole golf course that caught Joel's attention. And of interest to the three musketeers, there were four tennis courts. There was even a miniature golf course. Peter and William were all excited about that attraction.

Joel signed up for an early tee time in the morning. He was told they would pair him up with a threesome.

After our walk around the hotel, we all went up to our rooms and got into swimwear. Although the three musketeers wanted to go to the pool with the diving board, I shook my head no. I don't think they were too disappointed when we got to the pool. There were several very attractive young ladies in skimpy bikinis lounging around the pool. From the looks on the boys' faces, I could tell that Larry and Lenny had figured out what Chris saw in girls. The bikini-clad ladies were too old for the 14 year-old boys, but the boys did enjoy the sights.

"I think you three had better get into the water," I said, pointing to the front of their bathing suits. When they didn't move, I gently pushed them to the edge of the pool. They finally got the message and jumped into the water.

"Daddy, help me swim," Lenore called to Donald.

"Okay, sweetie," he responded, climbing into the shallow end of the pool where his daughter was dangling her feet.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon around the pool, even Gilda. Although she didn't get in the water, she relaxed in a lounger under a large umbrella. I think what the boys enjoyed the most, leaving the bikini-clad ladies aside, were the snacks that Donald and I ordered from time to time that the waiters brought to the poolside.

The next morning, Joel went to the golf course to meet his tee time and to pick up the clubs that Donald had arranged for him to rent. The three musketeers and Cary went to play tennis on one of the courts. Rackets and tennis balls had been arranged for them to use.

"How did you play?" I asked Joel when he came into the room.

"It was strange, dad," he said. "Three guys joined my tee time. After they introduced themselves to me, they said they usually played for a dime a hole. I said that was fine with me and we teed off. I played really well. I don't think I hit a bad shot all day. I couldn't miss a putt. When we added things up in the clubhouse after the round, I couldn't believe it. I won ten holes, lost one and the rest were tied. I ordered a burger and coke. They ordered beer. At the table they tallied up who owed who money. They started opening their wallets. I couldn't understand why until two of them each handed me ten one hundred dollar bills and the third guy handed me nine. He was the one who had won the other hole. It took some explaining but when they said "dime" they really meant $100. What should I do with this money?"

"Well, I don't think you should play with those gentlemen again. You might not be as lucky," I said. "As far as the money goes, it's yours. You can do with it whatever you want."

"But I don't feel right about keeping it. If I had known what the bet was, I would probably not played as well as I did," he said. "Maybe there's a charity that I could give it to around here. I think I'll go down to the front desk and see if they know of one that needs money."

"Take the bodyguard with you," I said, smiling at my son's back as he made his way to the door. I'm so proud of him.

When he came back an hour or so later he said he had learned of a children's orphanage a couple of miles from the hotel. He and the bodyguard took the van and went to visit it. It really could use the money, so Joel gave it to the Sister who was in charge.

Lenore was turning into a little fish. All she wanted to do was go to the pool. She had made friends with one of the young female lifeguards by the name of Rosa Perez. Rosa had taken a liking to Lenore and would help her improve her strokes when she was not on duty. Donald had struck up a conversation with her and learned that she was going to start college at UTSA (University of Texas, San Antonio) in the fall. He also learned that she would need a part-time job to help pay for her expenses while at the university. He had an idea, but wanted to pass it by me before taking action on it. We discussed it and all the arrangements we would have to consider.

Donald made a call to a local private detective agency that afternoon. He had them do a quick background check on Rosa Perez. When the report came back clean, we made up our mind to offer her the job.

The next day, Lenore was again at the pool. When Rosa went on her break, Donald approached her with his idea. We would provide her with room and board as well as a small salary if she would continue teaching Lenore and probably our neighbors' girls. In addition, suitable transportation would be provided for her to attend classes in San Antonio. If she accepted, her start date would be whenever she arrived in San Antonio. We urged her to talk to Gilda to find out the living arrangements. We had earlier discussed the proposal with Gilda and she thought it was a good idea.

If TJ, Peter and William weren't in the pool, they were playing miniature golf. Joel played another round of golf, but not with the same threesome as before. The three musketeers had found three other young boys about their ages to play tennis with and they could be found at the courts most days. Rosa accepted our invitation on our next to last day in Cabo. Sunday morning a tired but happy family made our way back to the airport where we boarded the private jet. We were back in San Antonio shortly after noon.

Everybody had enjoyed themselves in Mexico, but it was good to be back in our own beds. Joel gathered up his school things and headed back to Houston. His classes were to begin Monday morning. Corinthian Academy also began classes in the morning. It was off to bed early. Nobody complained about it, we were worn out from all the activities over the past week.

The school year seemed to fly by. Before we had time to recover from the Cabo visit, school let out. The boys still had a couple of soccer game to go before the season ended. It was really getting too hot for the younger boys to run up and down the field in 90 plus degrees. Joel had received his grades and was notified that he was on the Dean's List.

"Way to go, son," I said, giving him a hug. "Did you get signed up for your classes next year?"

"Yes, I did. It looks like they get harder each year," he said. "I'm looking forward to next year."

The three musketeers had done very well. The twins showed me their report cards. They had gotten all A's. Chris stood before me with his head down before handing me his card. He had all A's except for one B.

"I'm sorry, dad," he said, barely holding back a sob.

"Why are you sorry, son?"

"Well, I didn't get all A's like Larry and Lenny."

"Did you try your best?"

"Yes, sir."

"You have nothing to be sorry for then," I said, reaching out and pulling him toward me. "All I ever ask of you is to do the best you can. You are not in competition with your brothers. You're competing against yourself. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir."

The summer went too quickly for the boys. It was soon time to check their school uniforms to see if they still fit. Naturally, many items of school uniforms had to be replaced which meant a trip into San Antonio to purchase them.

Two weeks before her college classes were to begin, Rosa arrived at the San Antonio airport shortly before one o'clock. She called and Donald arranged for his driver to pick her up and bring her to the house. She was barely out of the car when Lenore jumped into her arms.

"I missed you too, little one," Rosa said.

"This one could hardly wait for you to get here," I said, as I watched the driver unload her luggage from the car. "Do you have any more things coming?" She acknowledged that there was a box of clothes coming. "Come in, let's get you settled. Gilda will show you the choice of rooms that you can have." She chose the room next to Gilda's that Kelly had used.

With the boys' and my help, we got her luggage delivered to her room. Before she could get her things put away, Lenore was pulling on her to go see the swimming pool.

"My, you have a beautiful view across the lake," Rosa said. "Do you swim in it, too?"

"No," I said. "It's too deep just below the cliff. We have the pool, if we want to swim."

"Can we go swimming now?" Lenore asked.

"I tell you what, you go get dressed and I'll try to find my swimsuit in my luggage and we can go swimming," Rosa said. "How about that?"

Until school started, twice a day Lenore would be in the pool with Rosa. There were many times that Jeannie and Ginny would be in the pool with them. After school started, Lenore would rush to her room as soon as she got home, get into her swimsuit and rush out to the pool. Rosa usually would be home from her classes and would already be in the pool. Donald swore his daughter would turn into a mermaid.

When Cary and Rosa's classes coincided, they would ride together to UTSA, now that they were both taking classes there. Finding a parking space around the university was not always easy.

Rosa and Gilda became good friends. Our meals began to change. Rosa loved to cook and she would show Gilda how to cook some of her favorites from her home country. She also helped the boys with their Spanish class they were taking. She had never ridden a horse before, but after a couple of times, she was joining the boys in the races.

Now that we had help taking care of the kids after school, I felt better with spending more time with the charities. The veterans' charity was making good progress with the backlog at the VA. It was never going to be completely eliminated. There was just too much bureaucracy to overcome.

The farm boys wanted me to buy another farm that was coming up for sale in the area of the other ones, but I said we had all the acreage I was comfortable with.

The school year passed by quickly and it was approaching Christmas. Donald suggested that we spend it at his villa in the US Virgin Islands. We hadn't been there in several years. We invited Rosa to join us, but she declined. Her parents were expecting her home for Christmas. It was a little different spending Christmas on the island. We couldn't find a tree to decorate, so a large rubber-tree plant served as surrogate. Cary was in awe of the place when we first arrived. The same cooks were there as the last time and they remembered us.

As always, it was good to get back home after our trip. School started and before long it was time for the boys to sign up for soccer. Peter was disappointed when he found out that Rodney and his mom had moved to a little town just outside of Austin and wouldn't be playing soccer with him this year.

With Rodney gone, Peter took soccer a bit more serious this year than last. That's not to say he was a good soccer player, it's just he didn't spend as much time giggling and more time on what was going on in the game.

Two years later, it was graduation time at the Johnson house. Joel would graduate with his BS from Rice with a double major in Computer Engineering and Mathematics. The three musketeers would graduate from high school. They had spent the last year and a half researching colleges and had applied to several. Joel was going to continue his education at Rice with the idea of receiving a Masters and PhD there.

The three musketeers were accepted by several colleges. They had a hard time deciding which offer to accept. After much discussion and weighing options they made their choices. Chris chose to attend Texas A&M, while the twins chose University of Texas. I was a little surprised that they decided to split up the musketeers, but it was their choice.

With the three of them and Joel off to college, the house seemed awfully quiet

Rosa had spent four years with us by the time she had received her degree from UTSA. She had coached Lenore into becoming a strong swimmer. Lenore would be entering sixth grade when school started in the fall. One night she asked her dad why the school didn't have a swimming program.

"Well, the main reason is that they don't have a swimming pool," he said, looking at me. I was still on the School Board of Corinthian Academy.

"The money is not there to construct an Olympic-size pool and hire coaches," I said. "And, to date, no one had thought it was needed, or was interested."

I saw a gleam in Donald's eyes, but neither he nor I said anything.

At the next board meeting, when it became time for New Business, Headmaster Pierce announced that the school had received a very large, anonymous endowment. When the board members quieted down, Headmaster Pierce went on to describe the conditions of the endowment. It was to be used to build a Natatorium. The enclosed pool was to be a regulation Olympic-size pool. Exact dimensions of the building and pool were to be determined by an architect. The endowment also would pay the expenses of operating the facility and the salaries for two coaches, one for females and one for male students. These expense payments were guaranteed for twenty years. All the school had to do was to allocate land on which to build the facility and give permission to build it.

Needless to say the board unanimously approved a motion to accept the offered endowment with the restrictions on its use. I never let on that I had a very good idea who the anonymous donor was.

When it became known that a state-of-the-art swim facility was being built at Corinthian Academy, enrollment applications by swimmers poured in to the academy.

Her senior year, Lenore placed second in the state in freestyle and fourth in the backstroke. She attended the University of Texas and swam for their team all four years.

Only Penny was left at home. All the other kids were off to college or working at jobs. It was very quiet around the house, too quiet.