Life after the Lottery Ch. 83

"We can. That would go well with the exterior. Nice timbers and high ceilings. Forty x 60 is a good footprint for timber frames. Forty is a good width. They work well for nice large windows also. With the high vaulted ceilings in them, it makes putting a couple of bedrooms upstairs easy."

"That could work. But you have the basics. We need about 2,000 square feet or more for the house, also for the training center, and a huge basement for meetings. We are using the other half as an educational center. The tribe was going to build a separate building for that, but they ran into budget issues. If we build it on Dawn's land, we can do as we please. The front of the house will face the casinos, but big windows on the back would be great. I'll messenger you a big aerial photo of the land."

"Let me play with this. So, at least 2,000 square feet times two, with a basic footprint of no more than 60 x 70. I can play with that and give you some preliminary designs. What is your budget?"

"That is a good starting place. Don't worry about the budget. When can you get the engineers there?"

"After the first. Listen, I have about three dozen plans already for timber frame houses of all sizes. Let me send them to you, and you all get some ideas. Maybe we can use something I already have and just put the big basement under it."

"Great."

"I'll have a messenger drop them off."

"That would be great."

"And Dr. Smith, if they have young men looking to learn to build houses, I would be happy to have our contractor train some. I am always looking for builders in North Carolina. The timber frame designs take a different skill set, more like building a log cabin. The builders have to be very detail-oriented.

"Wilson, that would be great! Talk to Running Bear about that. We will look over what you send. I'll have the messenger bring back the large aerial photo."

I gave him Running Bear's information.

I went through our photos on the server and found an aerial photo I had taken above Great-grandfather's house. I sent it to the big digital printer to make several 48 X 48-inch prints.

After I had that taken care of, I went outside to work with my new tractor. When I went in to get some lunch, Dawn's parents were coming in with Amelia.

Charlie came to the kitchen while I was making a sandwich.

"Are they driving you crazy?" He asked.

"That was last week."

"Worse now?"

"You bet. You three should have flown and rented a car."

"No need. The drive is not that bad. If the three of them are like Ann, they must be wanting sex all the time. She wore me out when she was pregnant with Dawn."

"All they want to do is fuck. That's okay, but I haven't had a good blow job in a month or more."

Charlie laughed at me.

"Why?" He asked.

"They don't want to get on their hands and knees...they can't lay on their stomachs...if they get on their knees on the floor...they can't get back up!"

Charlie kept laughing.

"And! When they are riding me...they end up pissing on me when they come!"

Charlie continued to laugh.

"I remember that part! Ann stayed so horny when she was pregnant with Dawn. All she wanted to do was fuck. We were having sex when she went into labor!"

"Maybe that is where Dawn got it from!" We laughed.

I finished, and we went to get the bags and took them to one of the bedrooms.

Ann and Amelia fussed over my girls the rest of the day while Charlie and I tinkered with my tractor. Later, Enolia and I cooked dinner and had some laughs.

"When will Sue and Larry be here?" Charlie asked as we ate.

"Tomorrow...sometime."

I had gone down and gotten the big aerial photos of Great-grandfather's house and land and drew on it to mark the front of the house and the direction of the casinos. I put it in a mailing tube and set it by the front door.

"What is that?" Dawn asked.

"Aerial photo of Great-grandfather's land for Wilson. He is sending some timber frame plans for us to look at this evening."

"If he has something that is nice and squared off, it would work well with a basement."

"That is what he is thinking. I told him the exterior would be like a log home. He told me that if they had young men wanting to learn how to build houses, he would train some."

"That would be great."

*****

I was in my study Tuesday morning when the gate buzzer went off. I walked out to the front door.

"Who was that?" Dawn asked.

"UPS."

I opened the door and waited. He pulled a box from the brown truck and came to the door.

"Hi, Dr. Smith."

"Hi, Jimmy."

"One more."

He went back and returned with a bigger box and sat it down.

"That's it. How is it going with three crazy pregnant ladies!"

"You got the crazy part right! Samantha and Amy are out of school now. They all are driving me crazy."

"We heard that!!" Came from inside.

"My wife is due in late January. Glad I am working extra hours!"

"Have a good Christmas," I told him.

"You all, too."

I carried the boxes into the house.

"Most be something for you," I said to Dawn.

"I haven't ordered anything."

I looked at the label, and it was from North Carolina.

"It says it is from North Carolina."

"Those are from me," Grandmother said.

"See what is in them," Amy said.

"No! Those are your Christmas presents!" Enolia exclaimed and laughed.

I sat the boxes in the den by the Christmas Tree.

"I'm going back outside to finish," I said.

I left all of them in the house to talk while I went outside to finish working on the garden. It had not rained for three days, so I finished turning the ground for the garden. I managed to find enough to do until nearly 4:30. I had almost four acres plowed. It looked a lot bigger than I thought we could take care of. I walked back to the house and went and showered. My parents had arrived by 3:00. Later, my mom helped me cook dinner.

"You seem to be hiding out," my mom said.

"Just taking a breather while everyone is here to keep them occupied."

"I can understand. It is going to get busy."

"I know...I just needed some time for me."

"Son, make sure you always make time for yourself and each of your wives. That has not and will not change. You just forgot."

"I guess I did. It has just been overwhelming."

"Well, I am here now!"

We had some laughs while we cooked. I was happy mom was there.

*****

After dinner, Samantha was back on her computer as she sat in the den with everyone.

"Samantha, what are you working so hard on now?" Dawn asked.

"Just finalizing my spreadsheet for the loan to Dr. John...or to our business."

She hit print, and I went to my study to get her printouts.

"Thanks, Grandmother. That brings up something else..." Dawn was saying as I walked back.

"I know, honey, but you are the only one that can do it," Enolia said.

"I know. I have been thinking about it."

"What?" I asked.

"On the reservation, the Spiritual leader blesses the mothers and the unborn baby the day before the delivery. It would have been my Great-grandmother's duty if we were on the reservation..."

"Now it falls to you, honey," Grandmother said.

"I don't have leathers for being pregnant!" Dawn said as she laughed.

"You have your tunic."

"It will have to do. I need to call Linda and Rachel because it should be done at the house they will live in."

"Do you need to wait until the day before?" I asked.

"No."

"Then you better do it soon!"

"I'll do it tomorrow."

We all had a nice evening talking and catching up. Amy and Samantha asked Grandmother a lot of questions about Dawn when she was growing up. We had never had the opportunity to have my parents, Dawn's parents, and Grandmother in the same place at the same time to talk about all of us growing up. Amy and Samantha wanted to know everything.

*****

Wednesday, Amy and Samantha wanted to know from Dawn what she did and said when she blessed a house. By lunch, Dawn needed a break from everything, and we walked down to where we were putting the garden.

"They are just curious," I told her as we walked.

"And bored, I think. I needed a break. They can go back to talking to Grandmother."

We walked around most of the ground I had turned over. Almost four acres.

"I don't see many rocks," Dawn said.

"I didn't hit any big ones. I will have to walk it over this Winter to pick them all up. Dale said as the ground freezes and thaws, it will push more to the surface. I still don't think there will be many."

We walked and looked and talked about where to plant the corn, the melons, and the squash.

"The squash, melons, and pumpkins will take up a lot of room," Dawn said.

"Why do you want to plant pumpkins?"

"Just a few, so we have some for decorations. We can use them and the corn stalks in the Fall out by the gate. I also will need something for cucumbers, beans, and gourds to climb on."

"Dale said to put some metal fence posts in the ground along some of the rows and attach large opening metal fencing to it for things to climb on. We will need to get some of those metal wire cylinders to put over the tomatoes."

"Can't you make them out of the metal fencing?"

"Probably, but I may just pick up pre-made ones at the Co-Op and save myself the trouble. They said the local high school makes them to sell."

"We'll want several long rows of different kinds of beans."

"What if I run the fencing down each side and plant the beans along it? That may help keep some of the critters out...and the deer."

"Let me research how many feet we need for each variety. That may work. I want some gourds for decorations."

"I'll also plant some that get big. We can make birdhouses out of them and hang them in the trees," I said.

We looked and talked for about an hour before we walked to the hangar.

"It looks like you got all the tools organized," Dawn said.

"I paid the mechanic some extra to help me with that. We wrapped that up last week. He did make a recommendation to add something."

"What else could we possibly need?"

"An overhead small lift."

"For what?"

"He had them put a larger one in Linda's hangar. It is used to lift something like the rotor blades if they need to be taken off, or even parts of the engines. He said without it, if the rotor blades have to come off, it is challenging, and they can be damaged. Ours would not have to be as heavy-duty as Linda's. Since we built the hangar on steel posts and beams, he said it would be no big deal to run the beam across. Just about $12,000. I told him to make it happen after the first of the year."

"Will that be all we need for working on the helicopter?"

"I think that will do it. We added the extra lights inside and out you wanted. I got a pressure washer for cleaning it, the tractor, and the cars. I guess if we need anything else, we'll figure it out as we go."

We talked more and looked around at everything. Dawn hadn't been down to the hangar since I had gotten it all cleaned up and organized.

"I see what you have been doing when you were down here."

"It kept me busy."

"I know the three of us have been a lot, honey."

"It's not that. I just got worried that after Christmas, I wouldn't have time to do things like this."

"With Sylvia, it will settle down quickly."

"Well...I am going to be home now and take care of things and help with the babies. The three of you will have plenty on your table."

"You won't have to do everything, honey. Get people to help when you need it."

"I'll just have to see what all has to be done and what I can do."

"I think you are overthinking things."

"We'll figure it all out."

We closed the hangar up and walked back to the house. Everyone was eating lunch when we went in. We grabbed some food and sat at the bar.

"A messenger dropped off some big rolls," Amy said.

"That will be the house plans," I said. "Did you give him the other tube?"

"Yes."

I went to the door, picked up several large rolls of blueprints, and brought them back to the den. I unrolled a smaller one, and there was a letter attached. We read it.

"Dr. Smith,

I thought you might like this one! It is nice and rectangular for the full basement. We built this hybrid in the mountains of North Carolina, so I have full plans and even photos enclosed.

The exterior can be hewn logs or chinked ones. This one was built with hewn logs. The engineers would need to assess the source for your logs if they are local.

The interior of this one is done in hewn square timbers. It can also be built with round logs inside. We have a source for both. White Oak is common and readily available in North Carolina and is a preferred timber. We have a local source for dried timbers for the exterior and interior.

Let me know.

Wilson"

"Wow!" Came from Dawn.

I put the letter down and looked. She had some photos of the finished home interior.

"Oh, my," I said as I rolled out some more. "This was built as a high-end house, honey."

"It is beautiful."

"What?" Came from Amy as she walked up. "Oh, that is pretty!"

We looked through the photos. Whoever had built it obviously spent some money on the interior. The interior timbers were rich in color, and the posts and beams were great. Huge arched vaulted timbers with large open windows.

"It looks more like a ski lodge," Samantha said as she looked.

"Look at this massive stone fireplace!" Dawn exclaimed as she looked at a photo.

We unrolled more and looked at them.

"Wow. Look at this. It must be a lodge," Samantha said.

We pulled the plans out and looked. It also had photos. The legend said it was a lodge in North Carolina.

"It is a lodge," I said.

"It is beautiful," Samantha said. "Look at all these huge timbers and arches inside."

"It is also nearly 9,000 square feet," I said.

"It's pretty," Dawn said as she looked. "It has some great details for ideas."

"I guess it is a lodge, but it has a huge second floor that looks like a living area," I told them.

"The lower level has several great rooms, two fireplaces, game rooms, and a kitchen, too," Dawn said.

I found a note for it as we looked.

"Wilson said he wanted to include this one with the photos to give us some ideas of what an interior can look like."

It was a fabulous house with a full living area upstairs and what was basically a lodge downstairs.

"It's pretty," Amy said.

We looked over all the different floor plans and the photos. My girls loved them. I focused on one we could see working well on the side of a slope with a full basement with a porch and deck along the outside above the basement. It had a big, great room in the middle of the house with high ceilings. The overall living space was 3,500 square feet on one level, plus a 45 X 75 footprint for the basement. After a few hours, everyone had decided they liked that house. Dawn and the girls had decided they could make it really nice inside. I thought that adding a two-car garage would provide room for some storage and a place to store a car for us.

"I'll send an email to Wilson and ask him about this one. I'll ask him what that one cost to build. With a full basement under it, it will fit all our needs."

The house plans for the reservation were the topic at dinner. After we ate, our parents went through all the floor plans.

Enolia, Ann, and my mom had worked all afternoon to make enough food for dinner and to have for the next few days. Dawn had gone upstairs to her lab. After we had a very nice dinner in the dining room, Dawn prepared to go to Linda and Rachel's house.

"I'm ready," Dawn said as she exited the elevator with her leather bag. She had managed to put on her long tunic and some of her beadwork and her feathers.

"Okay. Let's go. Enolia? Are you going with her?" I asked.

"That is her job, not mine. I'll do yours tomorrow."

I took her bag and helped her to the Escalade. I drove to Linda and Rachel's house, helped Dawn to the front door, and opened it.

"Hey, you two!" I said as we walked in.

"Dawn? Are you up for this?" Linda asked.

"Sure. We have to do this."

"Do you need my help?" I asked.

"Nope. Come back in two hours."

I headed back. When I walked back into the house, everyone was laughing.

"James! You know what Samantha said!" Ann exclaimed.

"No telling."

"She said you were making a great chauffeur, and all they needed now was to get you to do all the shopping!"

"I see. Sam? You do remember the riding mower I just bought? It has your name on it this Summer!"

"I'll see!"

"And that four-acre garden has all three of your names on it!"

"I'm sure you can handle it!"

"We'll see!"

*****

I picked Dawn up at 9:00 and was driving back to the house.

"How did it go?"

"It went well."

"You need to talk to your wife."

"Which one?"

"Which one do you think?"

"What did Sam do?"

"Just remind the two of them the garden was your all's idea."

"We'll help when we can, but...I got an idea."

"A bigger garden?"

"Not really, but you know the guy that always has the veggie truck in the Spring and Summer by the interstate?"

"The one you are helping his kids through college!"

"All right! I like fresh vegetables. You do, too."

"What about him?"

"I was talking to him this Summer about us adding a garden and asked him how big his garden is. He said he had about six acres that provided him all his goods during Spring and Summer."

"We are not going to six acres!"

"I was thinking the other night that maybe...we could ask him to help us part-time in return for sharing some of our vegetables with him to sell from his truck. He doesn't have watermelons because he doesn't have enough land. Maybe we can work out something with him. It would help make up for what we won't be buying from him any longer."

"That may be a good idea."

"He told me that squash takes up a lot of room, and we keep him cleaned out of it. Maybe between melons, corn, and squash. He might want to work out a deal."

"What does he not have you usually want?"

"Watermelons, different squashes, cantaloupes...okra would be nice."

"I hope you don't plan on boiling okra," I said.

"Why not? You like it fried."

"I do...but when it is boiled...it looks like snot!" Dawn laughed. "Wish I knew how to get in touch with him. I'll ask the guys at the gas station across from where he sets up."

"I'll look and see what all takes a lot of room besides the melons. I bet okra does."

"I know you said an acre of corn, but when it comes in, we'll never be able to eat all of it," I told Dawn.

"I'm sure he could sell what we don't eat. We get a lot of yellow and white corn from him. I don't know if you can stagger planting it so it comes in at different times. Oh...I am going get some of the old types of corn seeds from the tribe for dried corn."

"I'll have to get your mother to come and show me how to cook and freeze a lot," I said.

"She can teach you how to can, too."

"Maybe next year. That always looks like too much work!"

"Yes, but the tomatoes!"

"I would like to learn to can tomatoes," I told Dawn.

"We can plant different types depending on when they come in. And cucumbers!"

"I hear the garden growing... You need to start drawing a map as you figure these things out."

"We can start out small this year! I have a sketch started on one of the aerial photos you took of the area. Can you print me a bigger one on the digital printer?"

"I will. When you are researching what to plant, find out what critters eat what and how to deal with them. I don't want to put a fence up!"

"I'll talk to the critters and tell them what is theirs to have. We'll plant things just for them."

I rolled my eyes as I pulled up in front of the house, but I was sure she could do it.

I helped her out, and we went in.

"Mom, James wants you to teach him how to can tomatoes!"