A Hard Man

Jess put an advertisement for help up on the bulletin board at the local lumber yards and a few of the grocery stores. He really wasn't expecting much but wanted to try that before he spent the money to put an ad in the paper. He obtained several phone calls and interviewed three men for the job.

One of the men he interviewed was over 50 years old. His wife died from cancer recently and he was looking for something to do to fill his time. He was retired Army and didn't really need a high paying job. He claimed to be good with his hands. The second applicant was a young man just out of high school. Jess took an immediate dislike to him when they met face to face. He sounded good on the phone but in person he came across as arrogant and shifty. He made several comments Jess didn't like and a couple of off color comments about Angel who was sitting at another table listening to the interviews. He did not know Angel was Jess's wife and the boy made comments about what he could do to her in the bed. Jess didn't give him but about ten minutes of his time.

The third applicant interviewed was a young Hispanic man. He was almost embarrassingly deferential. He looked like he was on his last legs. His clothes were rough and threadbare, his hands rough and chapped. Jess told him he was his second choice for the position. The young man almost cried when Jess told him that. He slumped at the table and pressed his lips together. He looked at Jess with a pleading expression and said, "Please Senor. I lost my job building houses a month ago when my boss finished his last home for the winter. I have a wife I must support and we have a child on the way. We have used all our money and have none to buy more groceries. They are going to put us out of our house. I do not even have enough money to go back to Mexico. No one will help us. Please. I will work for less and you can pay in cash but I have to feed my family. Please Senor."

The Hispanic man was not much more than a boy really. Jess felt an instant tug at his heart. Say what you will about his asshole father, he did raise Jess to have a conscience. He felt a need to help those more unfortunate than he was. He helped Angel and look what he gained. "Throw bread upon the waters" was a good philosophy to live by as was "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Jess looked over at Angel. He raised his eyebrows while he shrugged his shoulders. She smiled and nodded her head yes. Jess turned to the young man and said, "Ok Pablo. We'll give it a try. I have another man I really would like to hire for the job working with the furniture. He has done some of that kind of work as a hobby before so has more experience than you do. Would you be willing to work part time on the furniture and cut firewood for sale the rest of the time? I really don't need two full time employees in the shop.

"Yes Senor. I will do anything. I just have to have work so I can feed my family."

Jess had the two new men report to work the following Monday. The retired Army Sergeant Morris (Mo) watched and listened to Jess for most of the morning then took off working almost as if he had been doing that work for months. Poor Pablo was slow and hesitant. Part of that was because he felt he was interacting with his betters, part was because he was unsure how to do the work.

The next day after Jess got Mo started working he left him and Angel in the shop building furniture. He took Pablo to the woods. Jess cut down several dead trees and began cutting them into firewood lengths. Pablo assumed Angel's old job of stacking the brush and firewood that did not have to be split. After he dropped the trees Jess began training Pablo on the use of the chain saw. To his delight he found Pablo knew how to use the saw and needed little training. For the next three days they cut firewood. On Friday Jess pulled the wood splitter into the woods and taught Pablo how to use it. By the end of the second week Pablo was able to do all the cutting of firewood except dropping trees. Jess did that himself mostly for safety reasons but also because he was choosing which trees they cut. He still tried to cut dead or damaged trees only although he did cut some he no longer wanted growing where they were.

The end of October Pablo came to work despondent. The bed of his old rattletrap truck was filled with boxes and a small amount of furniture. There was a short younger Hispanic woman sitting in the cab. She did not get out when they drove up.

Jess was loading the wood cutting tools into his truck getting ready to take Pablo to the woods once again when he took notice of Pablo's truck and the woman inside. When Jess managed to get him to talk about his problem he found Pablo and his wife were evicted from their small rental apartment the day before. Pablo told Jess when he got home the day before he found his wife sitting in the parking lot surrounded by their possessions.

Jess listened to Pablo's tale of woe and remembered something similar happening to him. He asked, "Where did you spend the night Pablo?"

"We slept in my truck Senor."

"Crap!" Jess said. "That's bullshit. Where are you going to stay tonight?"

Pablo looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.

Jess stood and walked into the shop. "Angel," he said. When angel looked up at him he said, "Could you come outside for a moment please?"

When Jess and Angel got outside he told her what he had just learned from Pablo then said, "What do you think about letting them stay in our old camping trailer for a while? We just can't let them try to sleep in his truck."

Angel smiled and laid her hand on Jess's arm. She said, "That's fine with me. Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"Let's both do it then if they want to use the trailer you can help his wife get comfortable."

Jess and Angel walked back to where Pablo was standing beside his truck. The passenger window was down and he was talking to his wife when Jess and Angel walked up. Jess looked at the two young people and said, "Pablo Angel and I have been talking about your problem. If you would like you and your wife may stay in our small camping trailer. Angel and I lived in it for almost three years before we built a larger apartment in the shop to live in. It does not have a toilet or running water but we have no running water in our home now either. You can use the toilet in the shop and we will let you bathe in our home if you want."

Pablo looked at his wife with a question on his face. She gave a slight nod of her head. He turned to Jess and smiled before saying, "Thank you Senor. We would be very pleased to live in your trailer. What will you charge us for the use of it?"

"There will be no charge Pablo. We will let you use it for a short time rent free until you get your feet under you once again. We will even pull it closer to the shop so you do not have to go so far to use the toilet."

"Then we would be very grateful for the use of it."

"Don't you want to see it first Pablo?"

"No Senor. You have told me you lived in it so how bad can it be? In truth though, we really don't have much choice. We have no place else."

Somewhat to Jess's embarrassment Pablo and his wife Maria insisted on her helping with the work around the place since he would not accept rent for the trailer. He was becoming somewhat angry when Angela pulled him aside the next day and said, "Honey please let Maria help. It is a thing of honor for them. They feel honor bound to compensate you somehow for the use of the trailer."

Somehow or another Pablo and Maria decided that her contribution would be preparing food for the four and cleaning Jess's and Angel's trailer. She also went to the woods many afternoons to help Pablo in his work. Maria was an excellent cook and everyone quickly got used to eating her wonderful meals.

Jess, Angel and their help worked hard producing their rustic furniture and other items. Jess was now a respected member of the community. He fit in well with both the businessmen and the laborers because he really worked in both areas. One of his contacts mentioned a friend who had a small portable sawmill he wanted to sell. It would cut up to 24" diameter trees. Jess almost choked when he found out how cheaply it was offered for sale. He and Angel went out to look at it that very night and purchased it. They took it home and set it up underneath the shed roof on their wood working building. He began cutting his own lumber for his projects. He installed a wood stove and used the other enclosed shed attached to the building to stack and dry his lumber. Of course since the wood he cut with his mill was rough cut Jess had to purchase and install a planer when he began using his wood. That just made his costs lower however.

After they cut several trees into lumber Jess and Angel were sitting outside one evening resting after yet another strenuous day of work. They had been swimming in their stream cooling off and loving each other. They were not able to do that as often now since Pablo and Maria began living in the little trailer. Luckily Pablo and his wife went to town so they could indulge in open air loving that day. Their young son was napping on a blanket nearby. Now, basking in the afterglow Angel turned and looked at Jess. She reached out and gently caressed his face then said, "Oh, I love you so much Jess. I don't know how I got so lucky as to find you."

Several days later Jess was busy working inside with Mo while Angel and Maria worked in the garden. The two women stopped working and looked toward the road when they heard loud engine noises. They saw a large truck loaded with pipes come into sight. Behind it came another truck with what appeared to be a derrick on it. Following the two larger trucks came a crew cab pickup.

When Jess heard the noise he came from the shop and walked into the parking area. He stood watching until the driver of the pickup walked to meet him. They talked for a short time then began walking toward a spot between the shop and the house trailer. Angel watched the men for a moment then moved to join them. As she walked toward Jess and the man she saw them gesturing several times.

Before she got to Jess the man he was talking to moved to the truck with the derrick on it and talked to the driver. He moved toward where Jess and he had been standing and began directing the large truck to turn and back toward him. When the first man was satisfied with the position the truck stopped. Large leveling supports came down front and rear until the truck was exactly level. The derrick began to rise. Soon the men were gathered around the truck working. They moved purposefully to and fro while Angel stood beside Jess and watched.

Angel turned to Jess and asked, "Jess what are they doing?"

Jess smiled down at Angel and wrapped his arm around her. He pulled her to his side and said, "That's your anniversary present Honey. They're going to drill us a well and install water in our home and the shop. We will keep pumping water from the stream to water the garden but now we will have safe well water in the house for you and the kids."

Angel looked up at Jess and jumped up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She was smiling and had tears running from the corners of her eyes. After giving him a long kiss she leaned back and looked at him. She said, "Oh, thank you Jess. I have dreamed about having our own water ever since we moved the new trailer in. Oh, I can't wait to use the shower and have hot water I don't have to boil. How long will it take to finish?"

"I don't know exactly. They said probably within a week we will have running water but it mostly depends on how deep they have to drill and how long it takes to lay the pipes and set the pressure tank."

The rest of the fall Angel and those living and working at what had become known as Simpsons Rustic Furniture were on a natural high. They had running clean potable water. The equipment was operating well and they were catching up on the order backlog. Twice during the summer and fall Jess hired more help to keep up with demand. He expanded the workshop twice also. Now his manufacturing area was 24 X 40 feet. They used the first building cobbled together with salvaged parts solely for sheltering the sawmill and drying and storing their lumber and small tree trunks. Jess turned the old apartment/finishing room into their office. He ran his yard service, firewood and furniture sales from there. Now he and Angel had two crews cutting wood and two yard crews. The crews that cut firewood also provided good tree trunks for Jess's lumber operation.

In late April almost 6 years after Jess's father met him at the door with his pistol Jess was busy in his office. Jess supervised his mowing crews from there as well as the furniture and other manufacturing business. He also took the orders for their goods from their web site and queued them in the manufacturing queue. They were selling more items on the net now than they sold from mail and phone orders. They even made money on the shipping and handling for the internet sales so profits for internet sales were greater than those sold by traditional means.

Jess had the windows and door open enjoying the warm spring day while he worked. Angel and their two children were working in the garden planting vegetables. Well Angel was working and the children were nearby so she could watch them. Maria was helping while watching her one child and Jess's two. She had assumed duties as the Nanny as well as continuing her cooking and cleaning. She rarely went into the shop to help there. Now Pablo supervised the sawmill and wood cutting portion of the business. Jess and Angel had finally managed to get Pablo and Maria to accept pay for her help. They also built a small cabin near the entrance to the little clearing for them to live in and agreed to accept rent on it. Strangely Maria's salary paid the rent on the little cabin as well as the added utility costs. Jess and Angel still felt as if they were taking advantage of Pablo and Maria but they were insistent that they would pay rent.

Jess heard wheels crunching on the gravel of the parking area then a car door slammed. He leaned back in his chair and looked toward the door. A young woman came into the office and stood just inside the door. She looked around the room quickly then her gaze settled on Jess. He felt a strange lurch. He felt as if he knew the woman but he couldn't place her.

The woman took a couple of steps toward Jess and stopped once again. She said, "Jess? Are you Jess Simpson?"

Jess said, "Yes I am. Who are you?"

The woman smiled and tears came to her eyes. She rushed toward Jess and jumped into his lap. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Jess was trying to release her arms when Angel came into the office. Angel stopped in the door and glared at the woman in Jess's lap. She saw Jess trying to get away from the woman and started toward the two.

The young woman leaned back and looked into Jess's face. She smiled and said, "You really don't remember me do you? I'm"

Jess's response exploded from his mouth. He was grinning and wrapped his arms around the woman as he said, "APRIL! Oh GOD I've missed you. When you left no one knew where you all went. You just disappeared into thin air. Where have you been? What are you doing here?"

Jess looked at a pensive Angel and said, "Angel Honey this is my sister April.

"April this is my wife Angel and these are our boys Toby and Jacob."

When Angel heard Jess introduce her to April her glare disappeared immediately and she moved to their side. She leaned forward and wrapped one arm around April for a hug. Her other arm was full of their youngest son Jacob. She said, "It's great to finally meet you April. Jess told me all about the trouble he had with your father. He has been heartbroken that he did not know where you were."

That evening after supper Jess and April caught up on their lives. When he asked how she found him she said, "I saw your invoice for some furniture my employer purchased. I went onto the web site and read about your business. When I saw your picture I was sure it was you. I took my vacation and came to see you. Simple really. Oh, Jess I'm so happy you're doing well. I was so worried about you when Daddy ran you off and threatened to shoot you. I tried to sneak off and find you but only got away once. I couldn't find you before Daddy found me. He told me you left town and he didn't know where you were. Then when he got fired we moved too far away for me to find you."

"Where did you all end up April?"

"We moved a lot for the first two years. Daddy had trouble finding a church and had to work a lot of part time jobs. That just made him hate you worse. Finally he decided he would open his own church. He was working with a bunch of like minded men and he convinced them to come to his church. At first he held services in our garage then later he found an old church that had closed its doors. He bought it and we lived in some of the old classrooms and the community room. It took him the next three years to build the congregation up enough to make much money. He still had to work part time.

"We finally ended up in Colorado between Colorado Springs and Denver. You know how Daddy got when he was on a tear? One Sunday he was giving one of his typical sermons. He was ranting and raving and pounding the pulpit like he usually did when he died of a stroke. Momma tried to find a pastor to take over the church and pay her rent on the building that we still owned. They finally found a pastor and the church members bought the building from Mom. We had to move then. Less than a year after Daddy died Mom married one of the Deacons. I got a job near Aspen at a ski lodge and live alone now. That's where I was when I found you. I tried to get Mom to come with me to see you but she said she had no interest in seeing the sinner she raised. She ordered me not to come but I came anyway."

The rest of the week seemed to fly past while Jess and April reconnected. Finally Friday came and April had to leave for her home and job once again. They exchanged contact information and April promised to come back during her next vacation.

Simpson Rustic Furniture continued to grow as did Jess's and Angel's finances. They finally dozed some trees out to build a larger manufacturing site near the road. Jess also built a fine four bedroom house near their old swimming hole and retired the little trailer they lived in for so long. April moved back to run the office for Jess three years after she first recontacted him. Their mother died several years later still refusing to see or talk to Jess.