Andrea Donovan Pt. 07

The antiquated safe was about the size of a small gun cabinet and covered with dry dirt now.

"That was buried beneath the floor hoist?" Hans asked incredulously, looking at the safe.

"Weird, isn't it?" I asked.

Ricky and I silently watched Hans as he spun the dial and yanked on the door handle of the safe, with no result forthcoming.

"This safe is World War Two surplus, Tim. One of my last jobs in the Army, during the late sixties, had been with GSA and we got rid of several dozen of these types of safes every year. There were a lot of these World War Two safes still around, even then, when I did my hitch." Hans said quietly as he brushed the dirt off his hands.

"What's GSA?" Ricky asked.

"Government Surplus Auction, open to civilians and everyone else. Armies buy a lot of new stuff but they also need to get rid of a lot of their old stuff and GSA is one method of liquidating used assets." Hans answered.

"It's really World War Two vintage, Hans, you're sure it's that old?" I asked eyeing the safe now.

"Yes it is, Tim" Hans answered with confidence.

"Makes sense, Tim. It was dumped into the hole when the place was built" Ricky reasoned.

"The station was built in nineteen fifty three but I think the floor hoists were put in some time later, Ricky" I answered.

"Indio seemed to think that the hoists were here from day-one, Tim" Rick replied.

"Well maybe they were, Ricky. ...Let's go back and have a Bar-B-Q with the ladies now, you guys" I said, suddenly losing interest in the safe.

...

"Mary, we're so glad that you came to join us this evening ...I know that the last ten days haven't been easy for you" I said delicately as I handed her an unopened soda.

Mary Lane thanked me for the soda and then set down her paper plate of food and opened the canned drink.

"I should have seen it coming, Tim, but I'm not going to cry over spilt milk - pardon the expression. Apparently Mike was under the impression that monogamy is a type of wood and Carol used to be my best friend, before she started fucking my husband. ...It's good to be out from under a lie now and I'm moving ahead with my life, she can keep the sonofabitch. As far as I'm concerned, they deserve each other" Mary said bluntly.

"...Andrea and I have each been through the same scenario in our first marriages, Mary. She and I are happier now than we've ever been before" I replied, closely studying Mary's face.

"What are your plans for the station now?" Mary asked, intentionally changing subjects, as she began eating again.

"We've been kicking around the idea of opening an antique shop and maybe selling obsolete car parts; Ricky and I both enjoy that kind of thing." I replied as I finished my roast beef sandwich.

"Andrea mentioned that, I think. I'm just glad to see the place go to someone that appreciates it and not some fly-by-night developer that's going to tear it down and then vomit up some cheap condo's to dump on someone. I grew up in that little Texaco and have many fond memories there with my folks." Mary replied.

"I'm sure you do, Mary" I answered.

Mary's language and demeanor were hard right now and she was just a bit edgy I noticed, understandably so with her recent loss of a marriage and also a best friend. Something deep within me warned not to bring up the subject of the two safes which we had recently found within the little Texaco. Andrea had already mentioned the two safes to Mary, who had claimed no knowledge of either of them. ...The lady has had a very tough week, just let her enjoy a nice meal among friends, I thought to myself.

"I hope you're in town long enough to meet Pippi, this weekend, Mary. We plan to have some really good people here at Pippi's house warming party and many of them are equestrian minded folks that I think you'll like" I said encouragingly.

"I already know Mark and Peggy, - Duffy; I've seen riding around town before but never spoken with. I actually considered buying Pippi, myself, several months ago" Mary concurred.

"I think she'll be perfect for Andrea. Can I get you anything else, Mary?" I asked in reference to food.

"No, thank you" Mary replied as I excused myself for the Bar-B-Q grille again.

I went to the grille and built myself a large steak sandwich, kissing Andrea as I did so.

"How's she doing now?" Andrea asked under her breath.

"About the same as Vic" I replied, shrugging.

"I told her that she's welcome to join us at the house warming party for Pippi, I hope she comes" Andrea said.

"Me too, Honey" I replied, biting into my second sandwich and winking at her.

Looking across the yard, I noticed that Brenda and Mary were now engaged in conversation. Probably be best for Mary Lane to talk with other women right now, I nodded to myself.

"Vic how you doing, need another beer or soda? How's the arm today?" I asked the younger man.

"Doing better today, Tim, no I don't need anything right now, thanks" Vic answered.

Since my early teens, I had always loved reading about gunfighters of the old West. Now, here before me, sat a real gunfighter within the modern day era. True, he wore no cowboy hat and his semi automatic pistol was more advanced than the 1873 Colt Peacemaker of a hundred years ago but the caliber of man was exactly the same. Vic had served as an M.P. in the Second Gulf War but he really wasn't any different than the old small town Sheriffs that had toted a tin star during the mid to late eighteen hundreds after the Civil War. Vic was willing to stand and uphold our Nation's laws, whether he personally agreed with those laws or not. Vic was a man that stood proudly upon "The thin blue line" as it was often referred to by cops. I had a lot of respect for this courage.

"OK, just yell if you need anything, Vic" I nodded.

"How you doing Hans? still have some jetlag, I bet." I said seating myself beside the older gentleman in one of the fold-up chairs.

"Aw hell not too bad, Tim. I'm just glad to be here and away from airports. ...Your start on the stables and coral look really nice, Andrea's very proud of your work so far" Hans acknowledged.

"Ricky's been a big help and a coat of paint will really make a big difference, when we're done." I said with a mouth full of steak sandwich.

"Yes, paint always makes a huge difference in a project's appearance. ...That's Mary Lane?" Hans suddenly asked, nodding his head toward her.

"Yes" I replied.

"Pretty girl" Hans replied.

"Broken hearted girl, right now" I said a little sadly.

"The boys will be lined up around the block to console her, as soon as word gets out that she's up for grabs again" Hans replied, knowingly.

"They probably already are, Hans" I said nonchalantly and tipping my Coca-Cola.

"We had Mary Lanes and Andrea Millhouses in my day too, Tim, I had one once" Hans replied quietly.

This was probably the most personal conversation that I'd ever had with Hans. It conveyed years of loneliness within the man and I suddenly felt very sad for my friend but chose not to show it. I instead, decided to turn the tables slightly with some locker-room humor.

"Your day? ...hell, I'll bet you're still sweeping them off their feet in every damn truck stop between here and Fairbanks Alaska, I doubt if there's a waitress under fifty that's safe around you, Hans." I said incredulously.

"Once upon a time, maybe, Tim" Hans smiled slightly.

Don't try to bullshit me, you're probably the biggest stud here, only you choose to keep a low profile so they don't all come at you at once." I said as we both laughed.

"You just hang on to that Andrea, Tim. She's a good one and I'm so glad you both invited me to come down and see the ranch, it's beautiful!" Hans said, quickly putting up his emotional guard again.

"You're family, and always welcome here, you know that, sir" I said genuinely.

...

"You get Hans all tucked in on the sofa now, lady?" I asked as Andrea closed our bedroom door and slid out of her clothes.

"Yes, left him in the care of Stormy and Wolfie, he's in good hands - or paws, rather" Andrea said as she slid beneath the covers, beside me.

"You and Ricky did a great job on the Bar-B-Q this evening, Honey" I said.

"It was fun and Ricky can sure grille a steak" Andrea replied as I pulled her closer.

"Hans doing OK, you think?" I suddenly asked.

"Seems fine to me, why do you ask?" Andrea inquired.

"I just get the feeling that he's lonely sometimes" I said.

"Tim, he is lonely and I wish we could do more to help him. He knows that we love him and that he's always welcome here" Andrea said, pushing herself against me.

"...I never really thought of it that way but I guess we do love him, Andrea" I said.

"He's a tough old guy, Tim, but not as tough as he pretends to be. That's why he still works all the time, to shut off all the memories of losing his wife. He has his beloved children but he also has enough respect for them not to lean too heavily on them for emotional support, that's another reason why he works all the time. Hans misses his wife every hour of every day" Andrea explained, blatantly.

"God, I'm so sorry, Honey. He hides it so well that I always thought he was mostly over her loss now." I admitted.

"You never get over it, Tim, not when you're in love the way Hans and his wife were or the way Lovey was with Rick either" Andrea answered.

...What happened to his wife, did he ever tell you?" I asked.

"They were out walking, she slipped and hit her head on a damn drainage culvert - killed her dead" Andrea said quietly.

"How old were they?" I asked.

"Their daughter, Raven, was about fifteen then, so they must have been in their mid thirties, I'd guess." Andrea said, speculating.

"I don't think he has ever gotten over the loss of his wife, Andrea, now that I think about it" I replied.

"Tim, he never will, but we'll always be here for him and he knows that" Andrea assured me.

"I'm glad he came. ...I think you remind him of his wife, Andrea" I said.

"I do remind him of her, Tim" Andrea concurred.

"You remind me of A.J. West, you know that?" I asked, rubbing Andrea's bottom.

"You wouldn't have liked her, Tim. A.J. West was a self centered and shallow individual. I'm just glad that I met you when I did, I was too self absorbed when I was A.J. West" Andrea replied, on the verge of sleep.

"It's going to work for us, wife" I answered solemnly.

Andrea Millhouse was already asleep.

Andrea always referred to A.J. West as "her", as if the famous model had been another person and not Andrea herself. Some of this attitude had to do with passing the age of fifty, I believed. In my own case, I would sometimes look back on my younger self and think "I would have hired that kid" or "I would have liked that kid." ...Maybe a person was in fact, someone else after they passed fifty.

"There will be a woman, come to you, son. One woman, that is so above and beyond all the rest that you won't even remember the others. If you will honor this woman then she will bring you great joy in life but you must honor her with all your heart" My mother's words now echoed back to me. ...Mom had always been so exceedingly wise in matters of the heart.

God, I missed her...

...What a bland and selfish existence I'd had before Andrea. I now had genuine joy and laughter within my life, this evening's Bar-B-Q was a perfect example of this. Prior to meeting Andrea I had always considered the word "joy" as nothing more than a meaningless fantasy expression of melancholy used by elderly women within a sewing circle somewhere while reminiscing of glory days long since past. Before Andrea, the word "joy" really hadn't even existed within my own vocabulary yet now it seemed a natural word for me to use, especially when describing my marriage to Andrea.

...Andrea's mother's name had been Joy and Andrea's middle name was also Joy. This was uncanny when I considered that my mother had, years ago, declared that a woman of great joy would someday come to me. I had always loved and respected my mother but had considered her words in describing joy as nothing more than the romantic blather of someone hopelessly engrossed in romance novels and idealistic movies. My mother had been a true romantic to the very core of her heart; she had believed in the childish idea of two people falling in love forever and happily ever after. ...Perhaps her idealisms hadn't been childish at all, maybe my mother had simply believed in the power of love.

Romantic movies had always made her cry...

My marriage to Andrea wasn't perfect by any means, and in all honesty, there were times of temporary discomfort that came along with her - baggage, some might call it. Andrea didn't believe in short-cuts or half measures in life and she expected nothing less than my absolute paramount efforts in keeping myself healthy and fit. Part of this was for the sake of Andrea's own pride and vanity I knew, but much of it was also because she wanted nothing but the very best for me in life. Andrea was herself, a fitness minded person, and lived by the same high standards that she held me to.

She also didn't beat around the bush or mince words when something was on her mind and this was something for which I was in fact grateful for, even though it could at times sting. Yet this same blatant honesty also allowed us to quickly find solutions for whatever problems we might be experiencing and then allow us to move forward again within our marriage. Andrea was a solution orientated individual and she didn't like dwelling in the problem, she was interested in finding the solution.

...Andrea was the girl who had presented her husband with a toy gas station and then given him a B-17 ride. She was the girl who had once enjoyed immense fame and fortune as a career model and been actively sought after by many prestigious agencies. She had also been envied by many of her rivals and contemporaries by seemingly making the A-list among the jet-set. Andrea had partied with film directors and dated rock stars for a brief time during her early thirties until she had become bored with the plastic and superficial redundancy of life within this incredibly fast lane. Quite frankly, she had eventually just simply lost interest in this lifestyle and its players.

Noticed by various affluent men during her successful career, Andrea had many times been offered marriage and several chances at acquiring tremendous wealth and prestige yet she had turned away from the glamour and jewels offered to her by these incredibly wealthy and powerful men. During her modeling career Andrea had declined a Senator's offer to become his mistress and at one point in time she had even been offered a staggering amount of money to break her modeling contracts and pose nude within an adult men's magazine.

...Without so much as a backward glance, Andrea had promptly declined the offers of these men and laughed in their faces. Now she was happy being married to a hillbilly from Alaska with nothing more to offer her than the jewels of a starry night sky and golden rays within the morning's sun. Andrea was without doubt, the biggest mystery to have ever walked into my life.

"If the ladies weren't a mystery to us, Tim, then we wouldn't love them. If they weren't a mystery to us, then it wouldn't be such a rush to steal a kiss from them - and maybe even get kissed back" my little brother often confessed ...maybe he was right. I know that I loved kissing Andrea and that it still felt like I was stealing them from her.

Because of Andrea there were now people in my life instead of selfish things like toy cars and other metallic objects. There were now people like Duffy in my life, Hans, Mark and Peggy Morgen as well as several others whom I had only recently met. Since meeting Andrea it seemed like I was being introduced to new people all the time, as well as seeing old friends again like Buddy and his wife Amanda. I still loved our toy cars and other possessions but I no longer worshiped these things, these things no longer controlled me - they were simply a means of sharing joy with others now.

My wife was a "people person" and others were just naturally drawn to her ...I knew that I was. Andrea couldn't set down her phone for fifteen minutes without Emma Zimmerman, Hans, Brenda, Duffy or someone else calling or leaving her a text message. Mary Lane considered Andrea as a friend and now Rosita Garcia was also in Andrea's contact list. Andrea just seemed to make friends everywhere she went, it was natural for her. Because of Andrea, I was now a different man, a better man, I believed.

What the hell does a beautiful woman like Andrea Millhouse see in someone like me? ...I had no answer for this question but I knew that I was going to try and honor this woman with all my heart, as my mother had once encouraged, long ago.

Andrea and I slept.

...

"Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast - come get'em now or forever hold your peace! There's orange juice in the pitcher. Hurry up, let's go gentlemen!" Andrea now commanded like a drill sergeant.

The four of us, men, lined up now as if we were in an Army chow line. It was going to be a busy day and Andrea ran a tight ship.

"Coffee, black, there's cream and sugar here too, everyone" Brenda said from beside Andrea and setting down the coffee pot.

"Very nice lay-out, ladies, thank you for all your hard work in creating breakfast for everyone" Hans said, smiling, from the front of the line.

"You're welcome, Honey, please don't lolly-gag now, there're people behind you. Brenda and I want to eat sometime too, Hans" Andrea said abruptly.

"Yes ma'am" Hans said nodding.

Hans's reply suddenly brought a smile of humor to Vic's face; this was the first time I'd seen him smile since his arrival, maybe his time here at the ranch really was doing Vic some good. I had also noticed him with his arm outside of the sling several times now within the last few days. Vic's body, and hopefully his spirit were now mending some within the comradery of family and fresh air.

"It's going to be a busy day here at the Lazy-G ranch, so you cowboys eat hardily - we've got a lot of hard work to do today!" Andrea informed us as she removed her apron.

I was suddenly reminded of all the cowboy books that I had ever read over the years. In the old days unemployed cowboys could ride up to any ranch and stand within the grub line and eat, no questions asked, but they were also expected to do a day's work in return. Hans, Ricky and I already planned to put in a full day's work on the stables and coral today. Pippi would be arriving here within the weekend and the corals and stables needed to be sufficient enough for her to stay in, even though they still wouldn't be finished for some time yet. The nineteen thirty four Ford Deuce Coupe also needed the first oil change on its new engine now, Andrea and Brenda had plans to drive the vintage car to Tucson and back later today. "Marriage is about service, we SERV our spouse, Tim" Duffy had explained to me, some weeks ago. With this thought I suddenly envisioned a row of Supermarine Spitfires with their engine cowlings removed and swarms of maintenance technicians doing routine maintenance - or "service." Andrea was the Spitfire within my own life and it was time to roll up my sleeves and do some servicing.

I smacked Andrea on the lips with a kiss as I grabbed a bright green plastic plate and utensils.

"Love you" I said.

"I know" she answered with pride in her eyes.

...Hans, Ricky and I spent the entire morning cutting, grinding and welding pieces of pipe for the coral. The three of us stayed busy and only stopped long enough to refuel the welder. Hans, it turned out, was very proficient at grinding the rough edges of pipe within the places where I would notch them for the upper coral rail. We would lift each of the individual pieces of pipe onto two wooden sawhorses and then begin our assembly-line process. After I had made my cuts, I would roll the pipe towards Hans, who would then grind smooth, the notches I had made; he in turn would then roll the finished pipe to Ricky who would assemble and then weld the pieces together. This combined effort of three men was certainly much quicker and more efficient than just my own effort, as a single worker. "Many hands make for light work" my mother had often declared.