Gordy's Wife

"And don't you forget it!" He snarled as he turned and stalked off.

As he turned an evil grin filled my face. When Caroline saw it a light filled her eyes and she too grinned as she realized I wasn't giving in, just playing a bluff.

I rode home and slept the rest of the day. Monday at work the world seemed gray except for those times I thought of the night with Caroline. As the weeks and months slipped by I wondered how she was doing and the night we had spent faded to a golden memory. As June approached I began to get restless and excited. I wanted the time to go faster and the gathering to arrive sooner. It finally did.

This time I had made arraignments for accommodations well in advance of the gathering. It was a 40' house boat moored in a locked windowless boat house attached to the fishing dock. I had seen the boat house the year before and wondered what was in it. While swimming one day I dove under the floats and took a look to find the house boat inside. I puzzled at who it belonged to.

When I checked into it I found that the owner of the camp ground and house boat was none other then an old high school chum of mine, Franklin Bennett. Franklin and I had been tight friends in high school, but when I went into the army and he to college we drifted apart. It wasn't that we didn't like each other, it was just that our lives took different paths. We had seen each other only twice since high school. It seems Franklin had made a bit of money as a lawyer and decided to buy the camp ground as an investment as well as for nostalgia's sake.

When I called him he was excited to hear from me. He lived in New York, but told me he was going to be at one of his branch offices in Star City (170 miles from our home town) during June and July and we should get together. I told him about the family gathering and when I asked about the house boat, he offered it to me free.

When the gathering arrived I was ready and nervous. I hadn't seen nor spoken to Caroline the entire year and was looking forward to seeing her. I rode to the camp ground and just like last year aunt Ida was at the reception table.

"Hi Andy." She greeted me, " I have you down for the same camp site as last year."

"No thanks aunt Ida." I said, "Thank you for that but I made other accommodations."

"What accommodations?" She asked puzzled, "I've got every cabin and camp spot here on this list and your name isn't on any of them."

I grinned and said,."You know that boat house at the dock?"

"The one that's locked?" she asked.

"Yea. It so happens I know the guy who owns it and he let me use the house boat inside."

Aunt Ida laughed and said, "Andy Ferrell! You always were one to find the best of a situation!"

I rode over to the dock and used the keys Frankie had sent me to open the boat house. The boat was fabulous. I carried in the few supplies I had with me, then headed over to the camp ground to find my sister to get the rest. I had told no one about the boat so when I found Carla and told her where I was staying she flipped out and had to go with me to see it. She helped me put away the supplies then asked if I was going to take the boat out onto the lake. I told her I wasn't really comfortable with that and was only going to use it for accommodations.

I put away my supplies, then wandered over to the main area to see if Gordy and Caroline had arrived. No one had seen them yet so I figured they hadn't arrived. About an hour later I spotted Gordy walking into the kitchen area. I looked around, but didn't see Caroline. I didn't want to ask him where she was, so I slipped out and made my way to the very large, very expensive motor home Gordy had arrived in. I looked around to see if anyone was close. Not seeing anyone I knocked. There was no response. I knocked again with no response.

I thought Caroline might be at my last years camping spot so I headed there. When I arrive the spot was occupied by my cousin Franklin's family. He was just laying a fire when I stepped through the screening brush.

"Hey Andy." He called.

"Hi Franklin. You haven't seen Caroline, Gordy's wife have you?"

"No but I saw Gordy. He was looking for you. He was gloating about how Caroline's family was going to lose their farm and wanted to tell you personally." Franklin said.

I walked back over to where Gordy had his huge motor home parked and banged on the door. He wasn't there so I began to walk around the camp ground looking for him. I finally found him in the community kitchen.

"I hear you're looking for me." I said as I walked up to him.

"Yes I have." He said with an evil grin, "I wanted to let you know that I sent Caroline home because she broke our contract. Because of that I'm foreclosing on her family's farm this week."

"What do you mean she broke the contract? How?" I asked.

"She cheated on me. With you!" He snarled.

"How the hell do you know that's true?" I asked.

Gordy again grinned that evil grin and replied, "A month ago she told me she couldn't be with me any more. She said if she did she would hate herself forever. She also told me she had sex with you and then called me..." He stopped, frowned and finished, "That nick name you call me."

"Gordy?" I asked just to irritate him.

"Yes! Now quit calling me that!" He yelled.

He stopped, calmed down a bit then added, "You had sex with her, so it's your fault her family will loose their farm, unless they can get $250,000.00 to pay off the last of the mortgage and penalties by Friday. I really don't think they will. They won't have that kind of cash available even if they get their harvest in. "

I was shocked, angry and wanted to punch him in the face. It took all my will power to not do it. Instead I turned and walked away. I stomped back to the boat, poured myself a huge glass of whiskey and gulped it down without stopping. The only thought running through my head was,'You stupid bastard! You caused her family to loose their farm!'

As the alcohol spread through me I calmed myself and began to think of a way to make things right. As I stared at the bulkhead I noticed a plaque attached to it. It read, "Crew: Captain Franklin Bennett and his first mate Susan".

As I stared at it an epiphany hit me. I grabbed my cell phone and punched up Franklin s number.

When he answered I asked without preamble, "Frank, this is Andy. I need another favor and this is a huge one."

"You know I'll help anyway I can." He replied.

I quickly outlined what I needed and why.

When I was done he chuckled and replied, "Andy I wouldn't do this for just any one, but I will for you. You do know Gordon is going to be really pissed and will try any way he can to stop you, right?"

"Yea, I know. I'll face that when I get there." I replied, "Can you have the contract ready in a couple of hours? I'll come over and sign it when it's ready."

"Yes, I'll have my office have it ready for you when you get here."

"Thanks Frank. I'll be at your office as soon as I can." I said.

"No rush Andy. Like I said, I trust you."

I hung up the phone and sat smiling at the wall. Sometimes it pays to be a standup guy and have standup friends. This was one of those times. I left a few minutes later for the 3 hour ride to Frank's office. It was late, 8:00 PM when I arrived but Frank and one of his junior lawyers were waiting for me.

"Damn it Andy, we could have done this tomorrow!" Frank said as he opened the door for me.

"We could have, but I want to leave tonight to ride to their farm and give them the check. I know it's only Sunday and I have the rest of the week to do this, but I learned a long time ago that things can and will go sideways on you so I want to have a time buffer just in case." I replied.

He grinned and said, "Yea I figured as much."

Frank laid out the contract and said, "Ok here it is, a contract for the loan of $250,000.00 and the payment schedule. The interest rate is there too. I wish you'd let me make it 0%."

"I can't do that Frank. The best way to loose a friend is to take advantage of them. Little favors like the use of the boat is one thing. This should be and will be a business deal. Besides, you are doing me a favor by just loaning the dough to me in such a hurry. That's enough of a favor to ask. The interest is the going rate right?" I asked.

"Yea, 4.75%." Frank replied, exasperation plain in his voice.

I signed the contract and stood. Frank handed me a cashiers check for the money.

"Thanks bud." I said grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"For you, anytime." He replied with a grin.

I was on my bike and on the road a few minutes later. I had a long way to go. Caroline's family's farm was 1000 miles and two states away. I wanted to be at their farm in 24 hours. Most people would be intimidated by the distance and time factor. I knew it was going to be a hard, tiring ride but I had done it before. The experience I had from the two Iron Butt rally's I had ridden was now coming in handy.

The next 24 hours was a blur of white lines, asphalt, gas stations, black coffee and the landscape going by. A hair over 24 hours from the time I left Franks office I was dismounting in front of Caroline's family's house. The farm was right out of a poem. A large red barn, tractors, combines as well as other farm equipment sitting around and a herd of cattle in the fields.

The house was a white clap board affair with a wrap around porch. It was 10:15 PM when I walked up on to the porch and knocked. A few seconds later a woman in blue jeans and a plaid shirt answered the door.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"Is this the Andersen farm?" I asked.

"Yes it is." She replied.

"You have a daughter named Caroline?" I asked.

"The woman's eyes grew wide and she gasped, "Yes! Have you found her? Is she alright?"

I was stunned at first, then asked, "Found her? Is she missing?"

"You haven't found her? You don't know..." The woman let what she was going to say die, then asked, "Who are you?"

"My names Andy Ferrell. I met Caroline at a family gathering." I said, "What's this about her missing?"

"Yes, Caroline mentioned she met a cousin of Gordon's and that he loved to needle that slimy little shit." The woman said, venom dripping from her words.

"Caroline disappeared right after she left Gordon." She replied.

"Gordy always was a slimy bastard!" I growled.

"If you feel that way about him, " the woman said, taking my arm and pulling me through the door, " I think you deserve a good cup of coffee! My name is Gladys. I'm Caroline's mom."

As she closed the door she yelled into the house, "Carl! We have company!"

Carl appeared a moment later. A tall, tanned man dressed much as Gladys was in blue jeans and a flannel shirt. Gladys guided me to the table and served me a cup of coffee. Being particular about mine, I usually don't drink other peoples coffee, but I'm glad I did. It was perfect and I told her so.

After a few sips and my introduction to Carl I asked, "If I might ask, why did Caroline disappear? Where did she go?"

"Well...aw...it's a long story..." Gladys began.

"To save time and trouble, Caroline told me all about why she married Gordy and he told me he was foreclosing on your farm." I said.

Carl snickered and said, "Gordy huh? He hates that name!"

"I know." I replied with a grin, " That's why I call him that."

Carl's snicker turned into a laugh, then he said."Thanks, I needed that."

"No one knows where she went." Gladys said, "After she left Gordy, " again Carl snickered, "She was so upset about her part in losing the farm that she cried for two days then told us she couldn't stay here because it hurt here to much to know she was the cause of it. We tried to tell her it didn't matter, that she tried and we were glad she left the, excuse my language, arrogant little bastard. But she left anyway and we haven't heard from her since."

"Well I have good news." I said laying the cashiers check on the table, "Here's the money to keep the farm."

Both Caroline's parents stared at the check, then me as Carl asked, "Where did that come from?"

"I got a loan from a friend." I replied.

Carl scowled and said, "I'm sorry but we can't take it. We won't take charity."

"Not charity." I replied, pulling out the contract Frank had drawn up for me, "Here's a contract to pay it back."

"I don't know."Carl said, "The last time we did that we got Gordy in return."

"Look it over and you'll see it's a straight forward contract. No hidden clauses, no gotchas."

Carl picked up the two page contract and read it through as Gladys and I sipped coffee. When he was done he set it on the table and said, " It appears to be just what you said. But I notice you are the one we're paying it to. Why's that? Do you have that kind of money?"

"No. With my retirement from the Army and the pay from my job it would take years to save that much. I took out a loan from a friend and passed it on to you." I replied.

Carl frowned again and asked, "So if we default, you're on the hook for it?"

"Yes." I replied simply.

"You sure you want to do that? You don't know us at all."

"I know Caroline and what she did to save this place. She learned that from someone and I'm guessing that's you two. I have no qualms about doing this."

"Well since this is a straightforward deal, we'd be happy to do it, but Gordy's got some really nasty clauses to the contract we signed to get him to loan us the money. You see the contract was between him and the three of us. I didn't want to do it but she threatened to do it alone if we didn't go in with her and we didn't want her shouldering the whole thing."

"Do you have a copy of that contract? And would you mind if I see it?"

"Yea, hang on." Gladys said as she got up and walked out of the room.

She returned a few minutes later with a sheaf of paper in her hand. I scanned through it and by the end realized that there was something very wrong with it, but not being a lawyer I couldn't decide what it was.

"I have to call a friend." I said.

I pulled up Franks number and he answered on the second ring.

"Hey bud, where are you now?"

"I'm sitting at the farm talking to Caroline's parents."I said.

"WHAT???" Frank yelled into the phone, "It's 1000 miles from here to there and you made it in 24 hours???"

"Yea well I like to ride." I chuckled, realizing that exhaustion was starting to close in on me.

"Like to ride my ass! You're a glutton for punishment! So what's up?"

"Well I took a look at the contract they signed with Gordy and it looks hinky to me." I said.

Frank chuckled and snarked, "Hinky, yea that's a great legal term."

"Oh bite my ass!" I snarked back, "I need your legal opinion on this. Can I fax it to you so you can look it over? And what's your retainer? I'm not sure how much I have in the bank."

"Oh for fuck sake! Just send the damn thing and we'll settle up later." Frank growled.

"I'll fax it to your office. I owe you buddy." I said.

"Yes you do asshole." Frank grumped, "Now go fax it then get some sleep!"

He didn't even say goodbye, just hung up on me. I grinned at the phone and realized that the friendship was as warm as it had ever been.

I turned to Caroline's parents and said, "Would you mind if I fax this to a lawyer friend so he can look at it?"

"I don't know what good it will do, but sure." Carl said.

On a hunch I asked, "Did you have a lawyer look at this before you signed it?"

"No, we didn't have money for a lawyer." Gladys replied.

"OK. Where can I find a fax so I can send this?"

Gladys said nothing, but rose and curled her finger indicating I should follow her. She lead me through the house to a small room off the living room. When we entered I found they had a complete business office set up.

"We need all this to keep track of soybean, corn and cattle futures." She said.

I shook my head and replied, "Modern farming."

I faxed the contract to Frank and as the last page rolled out of the machine exhaustion finally got to me.

I turned to Gladys and asked, "I do need some rest. Can you point me to the nearest motel?"

A hard look filled her face as she said, "No I will not! You will go straight up stairs to Caroline's old room and go straight to bed!"

"I don't want to..."I started to say only to be shut down by the most withering look I've seen since my mom.

"Ok, I give up." I said with a grin as I let her lead me to the room.

After she left I managed to get out of most of my clothes and crawl into bed. Just like every other time I have been that tired I lay there wondering if I could fall asleep, only to start awake and look at the clock and realize I had been asleep for 12 hours.

I got up, dressed and went down stairs. Gladys was in the kitchen and when she saw me the first thing she did was pour a cup of coffee. I sipped it with relish. As I said not many can make a cup of joe to my satisfaction.

"Thanks. There aren't many who can make a good cup of coffee. You make it perfectly."

Gladys smiled and said, "I won't let anyone else make mine. I like it just so."

"Perfect." I replied with a smile.

As I drank my coffee Gladys made pancakes, sausage and eggs, piled them high on a plate and set it in front of me.

"Thank you. This is fabulous." I said.

Gladys smiled as I dug into the eats.

As I was taking the last bite my phone rang. When I answered it, it was Frank.

"Well, " He said, "After reviewing the contract you're right, it is 'hinky' as you put it. For one the penalty is much more then them losing the farm. According to this they owe the rest of the mortgage at the time of default plus a fine of three times the value of the farm."

"How the fuck could he do that?" I snarled.

"He did, but the bright side is the law doesn't allow for such outrageous excess fines. I know I can beat this in court. Also I can find nothing in this contract that allows him to foreclose if she was unfaithful. The only thing it says is that she will marry him and stay married until the contract is full filled. "

"Great! So what do we do?" I asked.

"Pay the mortgage off and when Gordy tries to enforce the contract, let me know and I'll take it from there."

"Great! thanks bud." I said.

"Now we need to talk about my retainer and fee." Frank said.

"Sure, so what's it going to be?" I replied, starting to do calculations in my head to figure out how much of my Army retirement I could pay him.

"It's going be a bit steep." Frank replied, "What I will charge you is the pleasure of shoving this up Gordy's ass and breaking it off!"

"That's not..." I began only to get cut off by Frank as he said, "That's the fee. If you don't want to do that, you'll have to find another lawyer!"

I grinned and replied, "Alright, I'll go for it."

When I hung up I quickly filled Gladys in on what was happening, then told her the mortgage should be paid off as soon as possible.

"I'll take the check in today." She said.

"That won't work." I said.

She looked at me puzzled and asked, "Why not?"

"I have to do it, my names on the check."

"Why would you..." She began then her eyes opened wide as she said, "You want Gordy to know you were the one that helped us pay it off don't you?"

I grinned and said simply, "Yes."

Carl showed up a half hour later after doing his morning chores. A half hour more and we were on the way to the bank. At the bank the entire transaction took five minutes. When it was done I told Carl and Gladys I had to get back to my family reunion. Gladys gave me a hug and Carl shook my hand.

As I straddled my bike ready to leave I said, "If you hear from Caroline call me please?"

"You know we will." Gladys replied.

It took me longer, a day and a half, to get back to the reunion then it took for me to get to the farm, primarily because I was tired and didn't need to hurry. I rode until I was tired then stopped at a cheap motel for rest. I arrived back at the camp ground Tuesday evening, 3 days after I had left. I rode to the kitchen, parked my bike and went in to have something to drink . As I entered I was greeted by numerous relatives with a pat on the shoulder or a cheerful greeting.