Joel: Book Eight ~ The New Patriarch

After watching the Kim's car exit through the gate and onto the road, we went back inside and I activated the gate to close it. "I wonder how the tennis match is coming," I said to Donald.

"There's only one way to find out," he said, leading me out onto the patio.

It was a scene of happy boys that we observed. TJ, Peter and William were playing with the dogs. Mel was tossing a Frisbee to Luke and at the same time Sam was trying to catch it in his mouth. Then, of course, there was the tennis. Larry and Lenny were playing doubles with Chin and Cho while Chris called the lines. There was a lot of laughter coming from all corners.

A while later, Lenny cried out, "We won!"

It was greeted by friendly derision from the opposing team. "No fair, you cheated," one of the Kims said, laughing. They rushed to the net and shook hands with Larry and Lenny.

"Who's going to play me?" Chris asked.

"I will," one of the Kims said. I still was unable to tell the two apart.

"I need a few warmup strokes," Chris said. For the next couple of minutes he hit a variety of shots, winding up with a few serves to both courts. "I'm ready. You serve."

We watched as Chris and Kim number one (as I resorted to thinking him as) were fairly evenly matched, but eventually Chris won 7-5, breaking serve to win the match. They both shook hands before they headed to where Donald and I were standing.

"Dad, can we get something to drink?" Chris asked.

"Sure thing," I said. "Why don't you guys have a seat at the picnic table and we'll bring it out to you."

Donald and I had just turned to go back into the house when Gilda and Hildy showed up with a couple of pitchers of punch, some plastic glasses and a plate piled high with cookies. "I thought it was about time for a snack and something to drink," Gilda said.

"Just in the nick of time," I said.

Donald gave a whistle and waved for the other boys to join us. That caused a stampede of boys and dogs. Mel was right behind them.

"Sorry, we didn't bring anything for the dogs," Hildy said with a smile

"I'll get some doggy treats," TJ said and took off for the house. He returned shortly with a handful of dog biscuits and handed one to each of the dogs. Gilda had saved him a glass of punch and a couple of cookies, otherwise the cookies might all have disappeared before he returned. He sat down beside Luke while he ate.

"Mr. Manfred," Luke said, "can I learn to play tennis?"

"I don't know why not," Manfred replied. "Maybe you and TJ can play after the other boys are done. How about that?"

"Okay," Luke said.

TJ had heard the exchange and said, "I'm not very good, but we can hit the balls back and forth. Maybe your uncle can help us."

I had overheard the remarks as well. "Are you guys going to play more tennis?" I asked Chris, who was sitting closest to me.

"I think we're going to play some more until lunch time and then play with the dogs or the Xboxes while our lunch settles after," he said. "I wouldn't want to throw up on the court. We'll probably go swimming later."

"I think Luke and TJ want to hit a few balls," I said. "I would appreciate it if you and one of your brothers would let them use a couple of your old rackets."

"Sure, dad, I'll go get a couple so they can play right after lunch," Chris said. He told the twins what he was going to do and took off for the house. The twins had smiled and nodded their heads in agreement with the plan. He returned shortly with two rackets.

I went and sat at the picnic table where Manfred and Mel were sitting and told them what I had arranged.

"Yeah!" TJ said, having overheard what I said and then giving Luke a high five.

The two sets of twins went back to playing tennis, after which, Chris played, I assumed, the other Kim, in a singles match. It ended up 6-6 and they decided to call it a draw. By that time it was nearly time for lunch. I suggested that they all go wash up.

"Come on, guys," Larry said. "We can use the bathroom in our room." The five of them took off for the house. I motioned for the other four playing with the dogs to follow them.

Since it was such a nice day, we decided to eat outside at the picnic tables. It wasn't long before Hildy and Gilda emerged from the house followed by the four girls. The four were each carrying small plates that were holding part of the lunch.

"I'm helping, daddy," Lenore exclaimed, as she set the plate she was carrying on the picnic table.

"Yes, you are," Donald said, giving her a hug. "That was nice of you to help." Lenore beamed with pride at the praise her dad gave her. "Are you and your friends having fun?"

"Uh huh," Lenore answered. "Soo Jin is really nice. Can she come back to play again? Jeannie and Ginny like her too."

"We'll have to talk to her mom and dad about that," Donald said.

"Dad, we're going to show Chin and Cho the Xboxes," Lenny said, after they had finished their lunches. "They don't have any."

When I nodded my head, the five of them took off for the house.

It was a bit comical to watch TJ and Luke hitting the tennis balls. TJ was pretty good about keeping his hits inside the fences, but Luke was more likely to take a mighty swing and knock the ball over the fence. When he did, he would double over laughing. Mel tried to show Luke that he didn't have to swing that hard to make the ball go over the net, but was not having that much luck. The most important thing was that he was having fun. It was a good thing that Peter and William were willing ball boys and were able to chase down Luke's errant shots.

As I saw that the tennis lessons were coming to an end and more of Luke's shots were staying inside the court, I suggested that the four boys put on their swimsuits and cool off a bit. That met their approval and they took off for the house to change. The two sets of twins and Chris must have heard the commotion and figured what was going on, because a few minutes later nine swimsuit clad boys streamed out of the house. Donald and I went to put on our swimsuits.

While I was in the house, I asked Gilda and Hildy if they would see if the girls wanted to join us in the pool.

"I don't think that Soo Jin brought any swimwear," Gilda said. "She wasn't expected to stay. If the girls are interested in getting into the pool, maybe she could wear one of Lenore's."

When I got back to the pool, Mel had already changed and was giving Luke a swimming lesson. Manfred joined us a few minutes later. "Hildy said the girls didn't want to swim right now, maybe later," Manfred said. "Soo Jin really fits in with the girls. They like her a lot. I hope her folks let her visit again."

The rest of the afternoon, the boys spent in the pool, only leaving for the snacks that Hildy and Gilda brought out later. The girls joined us for the snacks, but declined the opportunity to swim with the rest of us.

All the dogs had been sitting around the pool, hoping that someone would play with them, That is, except Bandit. He was content to jump in the water and play with TJ, mainly, and the rest of the boys. He was the only dog that liked the water.

Sometime later, I told the boys that they needed to go shower and rest a while before their friends' parents arrived for supper. I think everyone was getting tired and I received no complaints about having to get out of the pool. I just hope that the water wells would be able to handle the load of nine boys and four men needing to take showers.

The Kims arrived in time for us to have a glass of wine before supper. When Soo Jin heard her mother's voice she came running down the stairs and climbed into her mother's lap. She began telling her all about the things they had done and insisted that she be allowed to come back again.

"We may have made a mistake allowing our daughter to stay here today," James Kim said. "We may never get her to leave."

"You know she is always welcome to come for a visit," Donald said. "Lenore, my daughter, has already asked me to have Soo Jin come again. Sometimes being in a house full of boys can be intimidating for Lenore."

"Our daughters, Jeannie and Ginny, had a great time playing with Soo Jin and want her to come back," Manfred said, getting a nod of agreement from Hildy.

James and Jung-soon were very interesting people. They were both well-educated and were easy to talk with. I was surprised that Jung-soon had a Master's degree in clinical psychology, but was not a practicing psychologist at the moment. She said she would probably open a practice once Soo Jin was in school full time.

By the time we had all finished our wine, Gilda informed us that supper was ready. The dining room table had all the extra leaves put in to accommodate everybody. The food that Gilda and Hildy had prepared for us was delicious and plentiful. I was always amazed at the amount of food that our boys were able to put away and the Kim boys were no exception. They even ate all their vegetables without prompting.

"Will you boys help me take the dishes to the kitchen?" Gilda asked. "Then you can bring the dessert plates back to the table."

The mention of dessert caught their attention and they immediately got up and began clearing the dinner dishes. Jeannie and Ginny also took their plates to the kitchen and returned with desserts for themselves, Lenore and Soo Jin. The boys returned with desserts for the adults and larger servings for themselves.

"How do you afford to feed your sons?" James asked. "I thought our boys ate a lot, but we only have the two of them. You have six. I'd have to get a second job to afford the grocery bill."

"I know. It amazes me to see them put away all that food and still not gain weight. If they weren't so active, we would definitely have to watch their food intake," I said.

After supper, the Kims declined the offer of another glass of wine. They thanked us for our hospitality and then began rounding up their sons and daughter. We assured them that Chin and Cho were welcome to come back at any time and that went for Soo Jin as well.

After the Kim twins had thanked us for letting them come, they rounded up their tennis rackets and other things they had brought with them and were escorted out the front door by Chris, Lenny and Larry.

"Thank you Mr. Johnson and Mr. Baker," Soo Jin said, after getting a little prompting from her mother. "I had fun."

"We enjoyed having you visit our home," I said.

"And Lenore would like for you to come back sometime," Donald said.

Lenore took Soo Jin by the hand and she led her to the front door, followed closely by Jeannie and Ginny. At the car all the girls got hugs from Soo Jin before her dad lifted her into her car seat and buckled her in.

Everybody waved, as their car drove down the driveway and out the gate.

"I think we need to be heading for home," Manfred said. "It's getting late and we need to get up early if we're going to the early service in the morning. Mel, you're welcome to come along."

"Sounds good," Mel said. "What time do we have to leave?"

"If we leave around eight, we're there in time for the 8:30 service," Gilda said.

"That should give you plenty of time to get back home before we take off to ride the horses," I said.

"The girls and I are going to pass on the horseback riding," Hildy said. "We have a little shopping to do for some clothes."

"I'll hold you to that 'little shopping'," Manfred joked, dodging a playful punch on the arm from his wife.

"You know full well if you went along, the girls would come back with a lot more things than if you didn't go," Hildy said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Good night, all," Manfred said.

"Did you guys have fun today?" I asked the twins and Chris.

"You bet," Lenny said. "Those guys are good tennis players."

"And they learned how to use the Xbox controllers really fast," Chris said. "They'd never played before. Chin almost beat me in the car race."

"Lenore could probably do that," Larry said, giggling.

"Oh, yeah," Chris said. "Just wait 'til next time and I'll beat your pants off."

"In your dreams. Let's go," Larry offered.

"Hold on, guys. It's almost bedtime," I said. "You'll have to settle this challenge some other time. It's been a long day. Why don't you go brush your teeth and put on your pajamas? Since you took a shower after swimming, I don't think you need to take another one now. We'll come and say goodnight later."

"Lenore, let's get your bath taken and get you ready for bed," Gilda said. "Your daddy can come and tuck you in when we're done."

Lenore had been sitting on Donald's lap while all this had been going on and it was plain to see that she was nearly asleep. Donald kissed the top of her head before she climbed off his lap and took Gilda's hand. Together the two of them climbed the stairs to Lenore's bedroom.

Later, after we had made the rounds of the bedrooms, Donald, Gilda and I settled down and enjoyed another glass of wine each.

"Gilda, I want to thank you for all the hard work you did to get ready to feed twenty-one people," I said. "I don't know how you pulled it all together so quickly."

"You know I love to cook, and with Hildy's help it was easy," she answered.

"Well, it was delicious," Donald said. "I didn't see any food left on anyone plate, and certainly none on the boys' dessert plates."

We finished our wine and I went to close up the house and set the alarm for the night.

I had just poured my first cup of coffee Sunday morning, when Mel walked into the kitchen dressed for church. "Want a cup before you go?" I offered.

"No, thanks," he said. "I'd better head over to their house. I wouldn't want to miss church."

"Are you still planning on going horseback riding with us later after you get back from church?" I asked.

"I'd like to, but I'll probably walk funny for a couple of days," he said. "I haven't ridden a horse in years. Not much of a chance in the army."

As Mel left the house, I picked up a note that Gilda had left near the coffeemaker. It was instructions on how to bake the breakfast casserole she had made the previous evening and put in the refrigerator.

"I see you found my note," Gilda said, as she came into the kitchen.

"Yes," I said. "You just missed Mel. You might be able to catch him if you hurry."

"I'm sure he wants to ride with Luke," she said. "I'm taking my own car this morning. After church I'm going to see a friend who's in the hospital and then have lunch with a couple of old friends. Everything is ready for you to pack the coolers. Hildy and I fixed and wrapped the sandwiches and the other stuff while we were getting things ready for last night's supper."

"What can I say? You're miracle workers. Thanks."

I followed the instructions on the note and got the casserole in the oven that I had pre-heated according to directions and set the timer.

I retrieved the Sunday paper and sat down at the breakfast table to read it while I drank my coffee. Donald arrived in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Need a refill?" he asked.

I nodded my head and held up my cup, which he filled.

"I'm surprised that the kids are not up," he said. "It was early when they went to bed."

"All that activity yesterday, wore them out."

"I'm hungry," TJ said, coming into the room a few minutes later.

"Breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes," I said. "I'll get you some juice while you wait."

"Okay," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

It wasn't long before all the boys had assembled around the breakfast table and were drinking their juices and anxiously waiting for the casserole to come out of the oven.

"A couple of you can set the table. Put the stack of plates here and I'll dish up the casserole." I said. Larry and Lenny jumped up and the table was set in no time.

Donald came down the stairs carrying Lenore and sat her down in one of the chairs. He got her a glass of juice. He retrieved a bowl of strawberries and grapes from the refrigerator and a couple of bunches of bananas from the counter and placed them on the breakfast table.

It didn't take long for the breakfast to be eaten, the dishes rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher.

"Everybody, upstairs to brush your teeth and get dressed," I said. "We'll be leaving for the farm as soon as Mel gets home from church. I went to follow my own instructions and had just returned to the living room and sat down to read the rest of the paper when the phone rang.

"I wonder who that could be," I muttered to myself. "Hello"

"Hi, dad."

"Good morning, son. You're up early."

"I thought I had better call before you all took off for the farm and I wanted to tell you about the symphony last night."

"How was it?"

"It was great. Jones Hall is magnificent and the orchestra was wonderful."

"I guess you enjoyed yourself, then."

"Yes, I can't wait to go back to the next performance."

"Did you take my advice about going to eat afterwards?"

"Yes, the food was great and we all came away stuffed. Jeremy gave me a little static about paying the bill, but I told him that you told me to pay. I told him it was a special occasion and we'd go someplace cheaper next time. The waiter gave me a strange look when I gave him my credit card, but he didn't say anything. I thought maybe he was going to give me a hard time about it. I guess he didn't think someone my age would have a credit card that could charge that much on it."

"How did Jimmy like the symphony?"

"Except for having to wear the tux, he really liked going. I told him next time we didn't have to wear it. I didn't care for it either, but we sure looked good in them."

"I never really like having to wear a tux, either. But, sometimes the occasion calls for it," I said. "I wish I had pictures of you in your tux."

"Beth Ann had her camera and she took some pictures of each of us and one of Jimmy and I. She gave me the camera and I took a picture of Jeremy and her. We were taking the pictures outside for the better lighting and Mrs. Hudson took a picture of the four of us."

"Who is Mrs. Hudson?"

"She's the lady who lives in the townhouse next to ours. She's an older lady and really nice. I see her out in front of her place tending some flowers. We've gotten to know her pretty well in the past couple of weeks."

"That's nice that you're meeting some of your neighbors. Make sure you send me copies of the pictures."

"I'll email them to you later today. Beth Ann's camera was digital and I downloaded them to my computer this morning. She spent the night with Jeremy."

"They're both adults," I said. "What have you got planned for the rest of the day?"

"I've got a couple of hours of studying to do and then I have to go to the library to start some research for a paper that's due in a couple of weeks. I just wanted to let you know that we had a great time last night. Tell everybody I miss them. I love you, dad."

"I love you, too, son. We miss you also. Goodbye," I sighed, as I hung up the phone.

"I assume they had a good time last night," Donald said.

"Yes, they did, according to Joel," I said. "Except for having to wear a tux."

It was almost ten o'clock when Mel arrived home from church. "Ready to go riding?" I asked.

"Let me put on a pair of jeans and I'll be right with you," he answered, heading for the guest room.

Donald and I loaded the coolers into the back of the van and waited for everybody to get settled in their seats and buckled up.

"How much land do you have?" Mel asked, as we turned into the Smith's place.

"We have two farms on this side of the road and three on the other side," I said.

"Who takes care of them?" he asked.

"We've got five people who do most of the farming. Rosie, who you'll meet shortly, is in charge of the horses on this farm, although her brother, Bert, does a lot of the work and helps with the farming when he's not taking classes down in San Antonio. Charlie takes care of the quarter horses on the farm next door and does a lot of the farming. His little brother helps with the farming and the horses. Ian and Lionel live on one of the farms across the road and do much of the farm work."

By the time I had stopped the van, the boys were unbuckling their seatbelts and had the door opened. They took off for the stables at a dead run.

"You'd think they liked riding," Mel said with a grin.

"If we don't get to come out here every week due to weather or something, they are really bummed out," I said.

Rosie approached as we were getting out of the van. After the introductions were made, she said, "Bert and Jason got a late start on saddling up the horses. They'll have them ready for the boys shortly."

Lenore was tugging at Rosie's sleeve. "Where's Carrie Louise?"

"She's in the house in her playpen," Rosie said. "Why don't you go in and play with her. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you again."

There was no need to tell Lenore twice. She was on her way almost before Rosie had finished talking.

"That daughter of mine loves babies and can't understand why we can't have one," Donald said, shaking his head.

"Where's Tracy?" I asked.

"He got called out a while ago," Rosie answered. "He said he should be back by noon."

"Mel, you ready to go for a ride?" I said. "I see the horses are saddled and waiting for us."

"Ready as I'll ever be," Mel answered. "Where did Luke go?"

"He's with the other boys," Donald answered. "They take off for the back of the pasture. They've got a sort of track marked out back there where they race each other. He and TJ usually race against each other. Peter and William usually just watch, thank goodness."

"Let's go check them out," Mel said, mounting his horse.

"If you're not careful, you'll get suckered into a race," I said. "Until you're a little more comfortable on your mount, it would probably be best if you declined the race. We wouldn't want to send you back to Fort Bragg with broken bones."

"Right, it'll be bad enough that I'll be walking funny," he said. "I don't want to know what the troops will think about that or what gossip that will spring up about it."

"By the time you get back there on Tuesday, the soreness should be gone," Donald said. "You could always tell them you had decided to switch teams."

"Thanks, but that is not happening," Mel laughed. "Now, where's that nephew of mine?"