10 Pound Bag Ch. 096-100

**** Chapter Ninety-Six -- The start of a Village ****

That damned rooster!

I slid out of bed and quickly dressed. It was already warm and humid, which wasn't unusual for late May in this part of the world. It was also tornado weather.

I went outside, to find that Amos and Holder had the morning chores well in hand. Mary had already got the coffee going and Matilda was working with her on breakfast. I actually had nothing to do.

On the other hand, I couldn't find my 'chair.' It had been relocated from its spot around the fire. Instead, I sat down at the tiny camp table and started in on the cup of coffee sweet Mary brought to me. I had my morning cigarette going and was halfway through my first cup of coffee, when Holder and Amos came into view, lugging a long, wooden table.

Without a word, they deposited it between the fire and trailer and left. I decided to sit, wait, and let them have their moment. They came back with benches to match the table. Next came a large chair for the head of the table.

I was stunned and amused at the same time. These young men had done everything I asked them to do and still found time to make this table so we could all sit together. It looked to be able to hold ten to twelve people comfortably. Humorously, our little population had just blew past that mark and they didn't really know it yet.

It hadn't been an easy thing to build with the tools we had. It looked like they had split several logs into six planks, which was difficult enough. They had then smoothed them with the meager wood-working tools I had in my tool chest. Those wood-working tools basically consisted of a few chisels and one very cheap draw knife. Close inspection showed that they hadn't used the chainsaw to do the job. That was a lot of work.

I took my seat in the big chair with pride and simply sat there drinking my coffee, admiring the table. My fellas had done good.

I had to point to the spots next to me before the two sat down. Mary, bless her heart, immediately brought them each a coffee and refreshed mine. Matilda brought me a rock with a good sized indention in the middle of it to serve as an ash tray. I was in the lap of luxury.

It got better. Sonya showed up with two handmade cushions for my chair. I guess they were worried about bruising my sorry ass. I was still trying to figure out exactly what to say, when Matilda set a breakfast plate in front of me with eggs, potatoes, toast, and sausage. I was in heaven with my favorite food at a new table.

A hot skillet filled with egg scramble was set down in the middle of the table. Everyone else plated up and dug in. The new women slowly started showing up and the table overflowed. The camping table was back in use, and some were sitting on the crude seats around the camp fire. A flock of kids would be out next, but the adults could be gone and we'd leave the table to the kids for their meal.

I raved about the food and, after I finished eating, I raved about the table and my chair. I profusely thanked everyone and admired each and every bit of handiwork as verbally as I could. I wondered what other surprises lay in store for this day.

Breakfast finished, I took a moment to speak to everyone at the table and remind them that we had livestock coming in. I also pointed out that we had more men coming to help and that the Pawnee were staying the summer. A lot of questions were raised around that, but I pushed them off until after we dealt with the boat. We had to get them headed back up river to retrieve our goods from the warehouse.

Questions were hitting me from all sides and all I could do was ask them to wait. We needed to clear out and let the kids eat; we'd talk after breakfast was over.

**** ****

While the children ate, I gathered everyone around and handed out camp projects for the morning. Matilda was in charge and Sonya was working with her. There were to make sure everyone knew where the outhouses were. Thank you, Amos and Holder, for those!

They were then to take the children to the stream, and all the adults were to teach the children about being safe at the stream. After that, Mary would take over and teach them some basic weaving, so they would be busy little kids while we got the world straight for them.

I didn't get any firm objections to my impromptu plan. Besides, Sonya could always put on another movie if things got out of control. I trusted the mothers to handle them, though.

After that, the rest of us headed down to the Rulo Landing. We needed to get our boat underway and begin to lay out our village.

**** ****

Timmons had gone down to the boat first thing in the morning. No surprise there, since the captain wanted to keep being the captain. The rest of us walked down and I began to explain my beginnings of a plan. The rest of us being Michelle, Amos, Holder, Mouse, and Banshee.

We walked to the end of the field road, which led due east. From here, we would start cutting a wagon road down to Rulo Village and Rulo Landing. I had come to the decision that we'd build a village at the top of the bluff and away from my homestead. There was no way it would be done this summer, but we could get the road cut and, hopefully, a trading post and dock set up. We did have the boatmen to help us, when they weren't underway. That was a lot of additional manpower

We made our way down to the Landing and sat down near the beach to plan with our boatmen. Timmons reported that they all had been off the river so long that they were still fresh and eager for a run up to the fort. Then they might want to do a run down to St. Louis, shortly thereafter. The trip back from St. Louis would require a break once they returned.

I brought up my winter plans of a lodge house for them to live in and a trade/public lodge house next to, and maybe connected to, it. Those were the fastest structures we could throw up before winter hit. We'd need something, because they would need someplace warm to stay. In the meantime, we'd cut a road from my homestead all the way to the Landing, to facilitate the movement of supplies and goods.

With that, I went into detail about what I needed them to do on this next boat trip.

**** Chapter Ninety-Seven -- Sketching out a Plan ****

Patrick and his crew launched for Fort Dickenson. It was expected to be a seven day round trip since the boat was heading up empty; it might be go faster if the weather cooperated. Captain Timmons stayed behind, because he was still persona non grata in the eyes of Leavenworth. I figured a couple of months would fix that, but it was best to let sleeping dogs lie for now.

We discussed the general plan on the way back to camp. We had a lot of immediate needs and pressing issues. Number one on the list was the incoming herds and water. We had been watering the animals by hand up until now, but that wouldn't do, going forward. Neither was there a windmill in our immediate future. We needed a plan that was a bit more primitive.

Holder came through again. He explained that there was a small brook we could divert into the pasture. We'd have to dig a holding pond of some sort, but it would work. Map study was in order and the tractor might be going to work again. In fact, a lot of topographical study was in order, and we just happened to have an app for that on my phone. It used the Pythagorean theorem, in conjunction with the camera, and presto, you had altitude.

The women all wanted to know about houses - when we'd start building them and where they would be. I should have expected that. Michelle fielded that and explained that we needed to wait until the men showed up before we had that discussion. I got my maps and started drawing out a village. It was a rough sketch and would need a lot of input, but it was a start.

The initial village would be roughly three hundred yards long and two hundred yards wide. It would be six blocks, separated out by usage. That is, we'd have light industrial, commercial, and residential. I would sell or award parcels, as Michelle and I saw fit. I also started to sketch out homestead blocks in the surrounding area. Again, I claimed this entire area as mine, and would sell or grant the parcels as I thought best. This was how a person became rich and powerful; I planned to be that guy.

Michelle and I rode out for one of our talks after a quick lunch. I had set Mary to teaching the kids the basics of weaving and she had them collecting long grass for their first simple project. Matilda had taken Banshee out foraging and Sonya was going over the food, cooking, and washing rules with the new ladies of Rulo.

The talk with Michelle was long overdue and there was a really too much to talk about in one session. It'd probably take a week before we were fully caught up again. I let Michelle go first. I'd kept her on a short leash since I got back, and, boy, did she have a lot to say. I spent an hour and three cigarettes just in listening mode. I was paying attention, but not responding unless asked. Mostly, I just watch Brin scout around and enjoyed Lunch's easy, comfortable gait. That horse sure was smooth.

Michelle spared me the social drama I had missed; it was all pretty standard day to day crap anyway. She filled me in on projects, crops, and anything else that mattered. We did spend a bit of time discussing maintenance issues and shortages we hadn't anticipated. A lot of our problems were based on things we just didn't know about, with our modern upbringing and lifestyle. Holder and the kids solved many of them for us. The rest were still on hold and could be sorted this week.

I gave her a rundown on the incoming herds and got her to laugh when I told about the geese. She was surprised to hear how much our horse herd had grown, and I reminded her that she was in charge of the horse farm. I'd like to be selling horses to the army in a few years' time and she needed to manage to that expectation.

We thoroughly discussed the brook diversion idea and wound up agreeing it was probably the best solution, but we'd have to consider what we were going to do when things froze solid this coming winter. I hadn't fully thought about that and realized that I needed to bury our fresh water line deep enough that it would be below the ground freeze. We discussed food and feed for the winter. We would need to send out haying parties, to put aside feed for the winter. I thought we might get two good cuttings from the prairie just west of here, which suggested we needed to cut a road there, also. Well, we'd soon have the manpower. I just hoped that we would have the time. I added scythes to our tool list.

We talked about the boat and the boatmen. We both agreed that the trading post was a great way to start building our little empire, so the dock and related facilities moved up high on our to-do list. We'd have the boatmen do that labor, but I reminded her that we were currently paying most of them in cash. Only Timmons and Patrick were working on shares right now although they were trying to sell any of the family-type guys on converting to share work, also.

Share work meant you had partial ownership. What it meant in my Rulo was that you got land, food, and a piece of whatever part of that business line that you worked in. If you were a boatman, you got a part of the transport and trade business, plus an appropriate parcel of land that we'd all help you build on. If you wanted to farm, we'd set you up for that. But, regardless of where you took shares, you committed to helping to build everything else that went up. Sonya was going to be in scheduling hell, very quickly.

Michelle asked me where I was going to work.

I smoothly replied, "I have a town to run."

**** Chapter Ninety-Eight -- What's love got to do with it? ****

It was time to head back. Dinner would be called soon, and at least one of us needed to be there. The two of us were currently the heads of this little group of humanity. We needed to be present, to further embed that influence.

Michelle broke the silence as we rode back, "Do you realize that you're falling in love with that girl?"

Well, color me baffled. "What girl? What the hell are you talking about?"

She laughed out loud, "You are such a hopeless fool, sometimes!"

"What the fuck Michelle!?" was all that I could reply.

"You idiot. You can't even see what's happening. You, sir, are falling for that girl. Your seven-year rule failed you," she said with a smirk.

"The hell, you say," was all that I could come up with, in response. We rode on for a minute or two, in suddenly tense silence.

"You and I - it's never been about being in love," she said gently, "it was about fun, comfort and friendship."

All I could do was look at her.

"You've never been 'in love' with me, Zach, and I've not been 'in love' with you. We've been great friends, companions, and partners in this fucked up time-travel adventure. But that doesn't mean that we're a couple. We're really still just business partners and you've just set me up in business again, in this time. It's pretty much like you saved my business in the before time." With that, she went silent.

It was finally my turn, "Michelle, you are the best friend I've ever had." Plain and to the point with a little pain in it.

She gave me a long soulful look and replied, "Zach, I'll remain your friend and business partner forever, but a wedding isn't in our future. Ever."

We rode along in silence. I lit another cigarette.

Suddenly, she laughed merrily, "That doesn't we won't have children, though..." and she galloped away.

It took me a moment to react, and only a minute or two for Lunch to gobble up the distance between us; the boy can run. Brin was happily chasing after us.

We went past Michelle and Cecile at an all-out sprint and I reined Lunch in, to confront her.

"What the hell do you mean?" I demanded.

Michelle reined up and simply looked at me.

So I stared back. I could do this. I was pretty good at staring contests.

Of course, she laughed at me and said, "The world has changed on you, big guy. Don't you realize what your new reality is like?"

Well, obviously, I didn't. So I just kept my mouth shut and waited.

Michelle had a point to make and was determined to make it, "You, sir, are the most desirable breeding stock in at least two hundred miles. Maybe a thousand. People like you just don't happen very often."

"The fuck, you say!" was the absolute best response I could come up with. I wish I could say I wasn't flabbergasted, but I was.

"Yup. You are rich, powerful, handsome, and young. Not to mention that your exploits on the field of battle precede you wherever you go. We even heard about your fight with the Lakota down here, long before you returned."

Well, hell, none of this made any sense to me. "Wha... How?" was the best I could manage.

"You seem to have a reputation spreading around the region. The Pawnee sent a runner to let us know you were with them and healing. A family from just west of here showed up to ask about you. They have the cutest daughter who said you promised her some baby chicks."

The thought of Daisy brought a smile to my face.

"Thomas also told us about your battle. You killed five Lakota warriors?" she asked.

"Nah, I only got four of them. Brin handled the other..." I replied somewhat sheepishly.

"I've seen your coup stick," she replied, "Banshee is quite proud of that. She's proud of her famous warrior husband. What's her real name anyway?"

"Chuh-wee-tuh-kah-ruh" I enunciated slowly, "but she's still Doc Banshee to me."

"Doc?"

"She cared for me when I was feverish after being wounded. Got shot with some dirty balls."

"Bad joke. Keep your day job," was all I got back from that one.

"She likes to be spanked," I said flatly, "not my thing at all."

"Oh damn! I wanted to give it a try." She quipped at me.

"Keep your day job." That got a laugh out of her.

We rode along and I contemplated this whole baby thing. That was nowhere in any of my fantasies. Knocking a chick up didn't take any skill or talent and definitely did NOT define you as a Man's Man. Big fucking deal, your balls work. They usually do. That's why there were eight billion souls walking around the modern world when I left.

Michelle had to break back in, "She knows how you feel, but she won't leave until you give her a baby."

"What the FUCK, MICHELLE!!" I exploded. "Who all do I have to impregnate before I can get out of this mess?"

Fuck me, she had a list.

"Why Sonya?" I demanded.

"Remember her blowup? She was scared just like the rest of us and just wanted you to hold her. Keep in mind all of the bad shit that happened in her life before the time jump."

Oh crap, that made sense in a very sad sort of way.

"Sonya cried alone in that camper every night for weeks. She just wanted to be held. And every day you became more important and desirable to her. She still thinks you can do no wrong and will make everything all right," she finished.

"Well, fuck me." I was getting repetitive. I needed to figure my way out of this. There was no way I was going to impregnate a bunch of women like a character you'd find in a pervy porn novel on the internet. I decided to take a stand.

"Michelle, when I decide to have children, they will be with me. I'm not some sort of stud horse out to hire. That shit ain't going to happen." I stated with authority.

"And Matilda?"

"Matilda ain't going nowhere and we both know that."

"Ain't that the truth," She said.

I urged Lunch up to a canter and went on home.

**** Chapter Ninety-Nine -- Sorting Sonya ****

I had to sort all of these women out and I'd start with Sonya. It was time to put her back to work again. She was getting a promotion to Executive Assistant and would work for both Michelle and myself. First, though, was dinner. It was time for the midday meal and I was hungry. I hoped Matilda had something fresh on the fire.

I asked Holder, Amos, and Sonya to sit with me during dinner. Michelle joined us. This was the simple part. I wanted Sonya there, to get it on the record. Everything would need to be recorded, just for our own sanity. We had some sort of curried fish over rice for lunch; it was pretty damn good. Mouse had joined us and was paying rapt attention as I gave my instructions. I had the feeling my leadership council was about to expand to three.

After the food was finished, I addressed both Amos and Holder.

"I need to you start working with the oldest of the children on the daily chores. There's going to be a lot to do and I still rely on you two, but you need to use and train these extra hands. Otherwise, you two will never have time for anything else, which isn't what we need. So you'll have those three oldest kids for now to help you. Once a boy turns eight, he starts to work for you." Damn, I talk too much, sometimes.

Amos looked pleased and proud; Holder looked a little concerned. I didn't blame him.

Time for reassurances, "You two will still be working with the men while the kids get their schooling, but this will be your first priority. Consider yourself leaders and teachers. On the plus side, you'll be carrying a lot less firewood in the future."

Well that brought smirks, and I turned to Sonya, "We need to Org Chart this somehow. I trust you to figure it out. We're going to have a lot of moving parts and we need to be able to see them."

You could see the professional in her click back in. THERE was the Sonya I knew and trusted.

"Obviously, you're back on the job - with a promotion. You are now the Senior Executive Assistant and Village Clerk. You report to and support myself and Michelle for now. Is that OK with you?"

She had a pure smile on for the first time in months, since before the incident with her sister and her now- ex-boyfriend. It was good to see.