Joel: Book Eight ~ The New Patriarch

The boys enjoyed their after-lunch rides, but as the afternoon wore on, a few at a time rode back to the stables. When Bert and Jason saw what was happening, they too rode back to the stables, where they helped the younger boys to remove their mounts' saddles. Peter and William had trouble brushing down their horses. They weren't tall enough to reach the top of their horses, even with a stool that was in the stables. Joel and the older boys helped and soon all the horses were in their stalls, munching on their feed.

"Everybody ready to go home?" I asked.

There was a tired response from them all in the affirmative.

"Thank Bert and Jason for helping you and say goodbye to everyone," I said.

"Come on, sweetie," Donald said, taking hold of Lenore's hand. "Carrie is taking her nap."

"Okay," she said and climbed into the van.

"Everybody into the showers when we get home," I said. "Hildy and her family are going to join us for supper."

"Good," Joel said. "I wanted to make sure I saw Hildy while I was home. She's always been the next thing to a grandmother that I've had."

"I'm sure she'll be glad to see you as well," I said. "You'll get to meet the new additions to their family since you went away to school."

"I've heard a lot about Luke from the three musketeers when we talk," Joel said.

By the time we all had taken our showers and put on clean clothes, the Strassers had arrived. When Joel saw Hildy, he rushed up to her and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Here, now," Manfred said, "that's my woman you're kissing. How about you giving me a hug? You can skip the kiss, however."

"Aw, shucks," Joel said, giving Manfred a hug.

"This is one of our newest additions," Manfred said, holding Luke in front of him.

"I'm glad to meet you, Luke," Joel said, extending his hand to shake Luke's. "I've heard a lot about you and now it's good to see you. I hear you are quite the cart driver, at least sometimes."

"Did you tell him?" Luke asked Manfred, turning to look up at him. "I only ran off the path once."

"No, I didn't tell him," Manfred answered. "There are a number of other suspects who could have told, though. Besides, Joel was only teasing."

"That's right, you can blame those three standing over there with the guilty looks on their faces," Joel said, pointing to the three musketeers.

"I should have known. I'll get even with them somehow," Luke said with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Maybe I should tell you a few things about them."

"No!" the three guilty parties shouted in unison.

"This is Penny," Hildy said, reaching down and lifting her up. "She's Luke's sister. We're working on adopting them.

"Hi, Penny," Joel said. "You're a doll."

"We think so," Hildy said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "At least most times she is."

"Jeannie and Ginny, you look like you've grown since I left," Joel said.

"Yes, they have grown, as has this one," Manfred said, ruffling Luke's hair. "We hardly get the clothes home before we have to go back and buy a bigger size. Love and Hildy's good food is good for the body and the soul."

"Let's go sit down in the living room and you can tell them all about college life," I said to Joel.

For the next half hour, Joel answered their questions and related some of the funny things that happen on the campus. While this was going on, Jeannie and the three musketeers went upstairs and shortly we heard the sounds of the Xboxes flowing over the balcony.

"That reminds me," Donald said. "I've ordered a new game for them to play. It's a tennis game. I heard Lance, one of the young guys in the office, talking about it and I asked him where he got it. The place was out of the game, but they ordered it for me and it should be in on Tuesday. Lance said that his friends had networked their computers together and four people could play the game at the same time. That way they could play doubles. I don't understand any of it."

"The twins and Chris will like that," I said. "Maybe we could talk to Lance to see who did their network and see if he or she could do it to ours. We might have to upgrade our system. It's a few years old."

"It's more than likely that someone in your computer group knows how to do it. There are some sharp people in your group," Donald said.

"MY? My computer group?" I asked.

"Well, for now it is," Donald said.

"Supper will be ready in about ten minutes," Gilda announced.

All the kids rushed off to wash their hands. The adults were a little slower to do the same thing.

The table in the dining room was nearly full with the 20 people around it. Of course, Penny didn't take up much space. The centerpiece of the meal was a huge ham Gilda had bought that was pre-sliced. It must have weighed at least fifteen pounds. From the size of it I thought we would be eating ham in one form or another for the next week. I was wrong. When supper was over there was barely enough left over for a sandwich.

For dessert, Hildy had brought over two of her delicious chocolate cakes. Gilda topped the kids' pieces with scoops of vanilla ice cream. The adults settled for small pieces of cake without the ice cream. Penny ended up with bits of chocolate cake and ice cream on her face and hands. It looked as if that was where the majority of her dessert ended up.

"She's messy," Manfred said, "but being cute makes up for it."

"That's what wet washcloths are made for," Hildy said, taking the cloth that her sister handed her.

"That was amazing," Kelly said. "Growing up as I did, I never experienced having that many people sitting at a table all at once enjoying themselves. We never had that much food, and what we had was definitely not that good. I'm really lucky to have run into you all in New Orleans."

"You're part of this family now, for better or worse," Donald said. "We're a little unusual, to say the least."

"Can we go play the video games?" Chris asked. "Jeannie thinks she can beat me. Fat chance."

"We'll see about that," Jeannie said.

"Okay," I said. "Just hold the noise down."

"One of the guys at school was telling me about video games that he and a bunch of his friends play," Joel said. "It sounded awfully violent to me. I hope we don't get any of those games."

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Donald and I have an agreement about the type of game we buy for them," I said.

"I found a tennis one that I ordered. But when I was in the video game store, I saw a lot of the violent ones. There were a couple of others that I'm going to look at that might be suitable when I go to pick up the one I ordered. There's a soccer and a football game that would probably be okay."

For the next hour we sat around drinking coffee or iced tea until Penny fell asleep on Hildy's lap. "It looks like we need to be heading for home and get everyone ready for bed," Hildy said.

"I'll go get Luke and the girls," Manfred said and started up the stairs. Ginny was in Lenore's bedroom playing with her toys. Jeannie was still involved in the video game.

"Good," Chris said. "Now you have to forfeit and I win."

"Yeah, but I still beat you in the first game," Jeannie said proudly.

"Don't remind me. Those two won't let me forget it," he said, pointing to his twin brothers.

"You got that right," Larry said, taking off at a dead run for their bedroom, followed by Chris and Lenny. There followed a yell for help and a lot of laughing.

"I think one of your sons is being murdered," Manfred said, "or at least tickled to death."

"Well, I had better go save him," I said. "But that can wait. I'll walk you all out."

"Thanks for coming," Joel said, giving Hildy a hug, which she returned. "I miss you guys."

"When will you be home again?" Hildy asked.

"We have a couple of days off at Thanksgiving," Joel said. "I'll be home four days, Thursday to Sunday."

"Can I drive?" Luke asked.

"We came in the car, remember?" Manfred said.

"Oh, I forgot," Luke responded sadly.

"I was going to mention," Cary said. "Instead of you bringing your kids over here every morning to be driven to school, I could stop by your house and pick them up on the way."

"Don't let Luke hear you say that," Manfred laughed. "He looks forward getting to steer the cart over and back every day. I'd hate to deprive him of that. Maybe on days when it's raining hard, I could convince him to be picked up at home."

My 'murdered' son, his tormentor and his twin brother came downstairs in time to say goodbye to the Strassers.

After things quieted down, I sent the boys to get ready for bed. Joel stayed and talked with Kelly and Cary. Joel seemed very interested in Cary's taking classes online. "Between your dad and Mr. Baker they set me up with the computer and paid for the courses. It's been great so far. I've only gotten started. I signed up for two courses. I have plenty of time between taking the kids to school and going to get them in the afternoon."

"Joel, don't even think about signing up for an online course," I said. "You need to concentrate on your regular class work. Maybe over the summer you could."

"I know, dad. It's just interesting that you can do college level courses over the internet," he said.

Shortly, I went to tuck the boys in. Peter was already asleep and William wasn't far behind. TJ had been reading them a story and when I entered their bedroom, he put the book away. "I didn't realize that Peter had gone to sleep," TJ said. "I was so interested in the story I didn't notice."

"It's nice that you read to your brothers," I said. "I'm sure they enjoy it. Goodnight. Love you."

"You, too. Goodnight, dad."

The three musketeers were sitting on the sides of their beds talking when I opened their door. "Ahem," I said and pointed at their beds.

They quickly scrambled under the covers before saying goodnight.

"No talking," I said. "Go right to sleep. I love you guys. Goodnight."

Joel was about to enter his bedroom when I left the musketeers' bedroom. "You don't have to tuck me in," Joel said with a smile.

"I know, but I can still give you a hug," I said and did. "What time do you plan to leave for Houston tomorrow?"

"I thought I would leave around one o'clock. That would allow me to miss a lot of the traffic coming back into the city," he said.

"Well, goodnight then. See you at breakfast."

"Goodnight, dad."

It wasn't long before the rest of us decided to turn in for the night.

Since we weren't planning on going to the ranch on Sunday as was our usual habit, I let the kids sleep in. Gilda had fixed breakfast casseroles that stayed warm in the oven. As the kids straggled down for breakfast, it was ready for them.

Cary had gotten up at his usual time. He was planning on going to church with Gilda. Kelly thought about going to church with them, but decided it was too much hassle to take his wheelchair.

Joel was one of the first ones up. When he came downstairs, he was carrying his bags. "I thought I would get everything ready to go. It's going to be hard enough to leave without having to pack everything up at the last minute."

"Wasn't Jimmy able to come with you this time?" I asked.

"No, it was his weekend to work," Joel said. "He really wants to get his car paid off. He doesn't like being in debt."

"That's not a bad thing," I said. "There are a lot of college students who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt when they leave college. They take out student loans without the full realization that they have to start paying them back when they leave school. Student loans are not bad and many students need them to get them through school, but as with all types of loans, they should be used wisely. Thankfully, that will not be your case."

"I know, dad. I'm very fortunate."

"Are there any other students there at Rice that are from the nearby area?" I asked.

"I've met one that lives fairly close by. He lives in Spring Branch. He's a sophomore. I met him at the library. He was wearing a Smithson Valley sweat shirt and I asked him if he lived around here."

"Do you know if he has a car to get home?"

"I don't know for sure, but I don't think he does. He rides a bike every place," Joel said. "I don't think he comes from rich parents. That's just a guess based on what I've seen him wearing."

"You can't always tell by what college students wear. Next time you see him, you might ask him if he needs a ride home for Thanksgiving. It would make the long drive seem to go faster when you have someone to talk to," I said.

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Something else I wanted to tell you before you leave. I want you and Jeremy to make an appointment to get flu shots. He will have to go with you because you are still a minor and he has your medical power of attorney."

"Yuck! I hate shots."

"Nobody likes getting shots, but not getting a flu shot is not an option. That goes for Jeremy as well," I said. "If he has any problem with getting the shot, tell him to call me. I'm going to call Dr. Sam to see if he can get us all in to get ours. I haven't talked to Hildy and Manfred about having their kids get shots at the same time."

After everybody had eaten their breakfasts, the boys took off for outside to play with the dogs. I think Joel was interested in having a last time to play with Sam. It seemed to make both of them happy. It wasn't long before the tennis rackets came out and a loosely defined tournament was started. They even got Joel into the games. Joel was never a good tennis player. He even had a hard time beating TJ.

"Tennis is not my game," Joel said as he sat down beside me. "I think I'll stick to golf."

Donald got roped into the tournament and was matched up with Chris who soundly beat him. "Did you see that? I got my rear end whipped by a teenager," he said, taking a seat on my other side. "It must be because I'm out of practice."

"Keep telling yourself that," I said, barely able to suppress a giggle. "I think I'll protect my dignity and decline to participate."

"Can we go swimming?" Peter asked.

"Why don't you wait until after lunch?" I said. "It's almost time and you wouldn't get to swim very long. It's supposed to get warmer this afternoon."

As if on cue, Gilda appeared at the patio door and announced that lunch would be ready as soon as everybody had gotten their hands washed. Naturally, this caused a stampede of boys rushing for the patio door.

Gilda had set out a sandwich bar for everybody to fix their own sandwich. There were cold cuts of all types, several different breads and everything needed to build everyone's own monster sandwich. Donald and I helped Peter, William and Lenore with their sandwiches. I couldn't believe the sandwiches that the three musketeers built. I was wondering how they were going to get them in their mouths they were so thick. They must have put some of everything that Gilda had laid out between two slices of bread. I nudged Donald and pointed to them. He just shook his head.

By the time the sandwiches were eaten and everything cleaned up, it was a quarter to one. Joel went to Gilda and gave her a hug and thanked her for preparing his favorite foods. He then came to Donald and me and gave us each a hug.

"Come on, guys," Joel said. "Walk me to my car. I have to be on my way."

"Do you really have to go?" TJ asked, holding back tears.

"Yes, I do," he said. "I'll be back at Thanksgiving for four days."

"But that's a long time from now," TJ said, hugging his big brother.

"Not that long, only a few weeks," Joel said. "You tell your brothers to let you know when they are going to Skype me and you can talk to me. Okay?"

"Okay," TJ mumbled.

Joel turned to Lenore and said, "You're the lady of the house. You make these ruffians behave while I'm gone. You tell me when I come back if they have been behaving themselves. Will you do that?"

"Uh huh," Lenore said, nodding her head.

The crowd moved to the garage area where each of the boys got their hugs from their older brother before Joel got into his car, backed it out of the garage and headed down the driveway. He honked his car's horn as he went through the gate.

It was quiet in the house for a while, but it didn't last all that long. Soon their natural exuberance had the house full of the sounds of happy boys.

"Can we go swimming, now?" Peter asked.

"I think that is a splendid idea. Go put on your swimsuit," I said. "I'll beat you to the pool."

That was a challenge that he could not resist and he took off like a shot up the stairs, taking two at a time. I changed into my suit and waited until Peter burst through the patio door. I left through the exterior door of the bedroom and ran to catch up with him. Just as he was a few feet from the pool, I grabbed him and held him as I jumped into the pool.

"You cheated," Peter sputtered as his head emerged from the water. "That was mean, I could have beat you. Are you gonna toss me up in the air?"

"Sure I will. Come here," I said. For the next several minutes I tossed a giggling boy into the air for him to splash down. Soon there was a line of boys wanting their turn at being tossed. Donald joined in the tossing.

"Can I get tossed?" a timid Lenore asked.

"Of course, sweetie," Donald said. "Come here, I'll toss you." Her tosses didn't go quite as high as the ones given to the boys, but by her giggles it was apparent that she enjoyed them just as much.

"That was quite a workout," I said as Donald and I climbed out of the pool. "I must be getting old."

Donald wisely said nothing.

We settled down in the loungers to watch the boys bat a beach ball around the pool. It morphed into a rag tag version of water polo with no rules except to have fun. Lenore had climbed out of the pool with her dad and slid into the chair beside him.

"I never asked, I guess I just assumed that you would want William and Lenore to have flu shots as well," I said.

"Definitely," he said. "There's sure to be a student at the school who comes down with the flu. I don't want either of them to come down with it. I want one as well."

"Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?" Cary asked.

"I was wondering if you two were going to swim with us," I said, noting that Kelly had also wheeled himself to the pool's edge.

"My therapist said swimming is good exercise for me," Kelly said, as he slipped out of his wheelchair and into the pool.

"I'm going to arrange to have flu shots given to everybody," I said. "I want both of you to get them as well. Any objections?"

"Not from me," Cary answered.

"Nor me," Kelly agreed.

Later that evening, I asked the boys if they had any homework to do. They assured me that they didn't. They went off to play their musical instruments and I decide to call Dr. Sam.

"That's Dr. Greene, isn't it?" Donald said. "Maybe he can fill us in on how Mike is doing."

"Yes," I said, and made the call.

"Carol, it's Crane Johnson. How are you? It's been ages since we've seen each other," I said.

"It's been much too long," she said. We chatted for several minutes before she asked, "To what do I owe this call?"

"I wanted to talk to Sam about getting some 20 of us coming to the office to get flu shots."

"That's a lot of people," she said. "Your family must have grown since we were last there. Let me put him on and you can ask him."

I spoke with Sam for several minutes, bringing him up to date on our family before I got around to asking him the reason of my call.

"That would cause a lot of congestion if you all showed up at the office at the same time," he said. "What if Carol and I came over after supper tomorrow evening and we can do everybody at the same time. She still has her nurses' license."

"That would work, but I have a better idea," I said.

"And what would that be?" Sam asked.

"Come eat supper with us tomorrow evening and then you can take care of the shots at the same time, either before or after. We have a few new people hanging around that you haven't met."

"You've got a deal. Let's say around six. I should be home by that time," Dr. Sam said.

"Sounds good," I said.

I relayed the information to Gilda that we were going to have guests tomorrow for supper and the reason for the visit. "Do you think Hildy and Manfred will have any objections to the shots?"

"There's only one way to find out," she said and picked up the phone. After several minutes of conversation, she hung up and said, "They think it's a great idea. They wondered if Penny should get the shot as well."

"Sam will know if she can get it," I said.

After all the kids were in bed, Donald and I settled down with a glass of wine each. Gilda joined us. Cary declined. He and Kelly elected to have iced tea. I was glad to see that the two of them were getting to be good friends. I don't think it was more than friendship, but it was really none of my business.

"I think I'll make Swiss steak," Gilda said. "It's easy and I can make it ahead and keep it in the oven. I'll need to go to the grocery store tomorrow. There are several things I need to pick up. And I need to coordinate with Hildy." This latter seemed to be a reminder to herself rather than information she was giving us.

"I love your Swiss steak," I said. "It tastes just like what my mother made."

It was not too much longer before everyone headed off to bed. Gilda was still mumbling to herself as she went to her rooms.

"How lucky we are to have that woman," Donald said. "I think we would have a hard time managing around here without her."

"I agree," I said. "You know she doesn't have to work. She doesn't need the money. Her late husband left her with a sizeable estate when he died. She works because she wants to. And I thank the heavens that she does."

"I wondered about that when she said she would pay for the addition to Hildy's house, but I didn't think it was any of my business," he said.

After breakfast, the boys rushed back upstairs to brush their teeth and put on their school uniforms. When the three musketeers came down, I saw they had something on their mind. "What's up, guys?" I asked.

"Can we invite Chin and Cho to come play tennis on Saturday like you said?" Chris asked.

"Let's see, now. Is there anything else going on that day?"

"The Blue Man Group, but that's Saturday night," Larry answered.

"Think, is there anything else?" The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads. "How about Saturday morning?"

I could see the gears grinding in their heads and all of a sudden it dawned on them. "The race," Lenny burst out.

"Right. That would leave you very little time for them to be here to play tennis," I said. "I think you will need to put off the invitation until the next Saturday."

"Everybody ready to go?" Cary asked.