New Beginnings: Bob and Jolynn Ch. 01

"Bob, Margaret has some questions about the garden you want. Go ahead Margaret."

"Have you got your potatoes in yet?" She looked at her coffee cup and not at Bob.

"No. I have the seed potatoes, but they aren't in the ground yet."

"OK, that's first. We still have a mostly full moon for a week or so. How many tomatoes and peppers do you want?"

"As many as you want to plant."

"How about carrots, onions, lettuce, and radishes do you want?"

"Same. As many as you want."

"How big a garden do you want?"

"I have tilled about fifty foot by eighty foot so far but it can go up if needed."

"Crap, we could grow a grocery store with that. How much were you willing to spend on this garden?"

"Margaret, I want a first class garden. I will spend what it takes. How much do you want to make it happen?"

"I was thinking about $100."

Bob replied, "I think $100 per week is fair, don't you honey."

Jolynn eyed the surprised look in Margaret's eyes and said, "I think that is a very fair price for the work that needs to be done."

"I was saying.............." Margaret started before Francie cut her off.

"Margaret, I think that Bob and Jolynn are just about right, don't you? I think you ought to take his offer."

"I'll tell you what Margaret. You are obviously a shrewd business woman and know how to drive a hard bargain, so you plant it and grow it. I get half and you get half of the harvest. You can share your part with Francie and Lissa. Anything extra, you can take to the Farmer's Market and sell. Deal?" Bob held out his hand across the table.

Margaret looked up and into his eyes. Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she raised her hand and put her little hand in Bob's big one. They shook in front of three witnesses.

"Oh, and as a business man, I pay people a week in advance. So here is your first week's wages." He dug in his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and handed it to her. More tears rolled down Margaret's face. Then she tried to pull herself together.

"The first thing I will need is a ton of manure. Can you get it soon?"

"I'll put the trailer on the truck and go to town now."

"No, you won't, big boy. Lissa and I are going shopping in the truck. We will be back after lunch and you'll have plenty of time for manure then. Besides, if you put the trailer on the Chevy, it might pull the rear end and transmission out of the truck before you get out of the driveway." Jolynn said. Everyone grinned. "I'm just hoping it gets us to Athena and back without more than one or two breakdowns. It may be late getting Lissa back, Francie."

"I'll trust you and I'll trust the Chevy too.

"OK, Margaret come on down when you are ready, and I'll show what I have and where things are."

They walked out the door and headed back toward the house.

Lissa asked, "What's wrong the Chevy? I think it looks pretty good."

Jolynn responded, "There's nothing wrong with a Chevy, except that it's not a Ford." Bob snorted. "The very best old Chevy I have ever seen had a sign painted on the tail gate that said 'Take me to the junk yard. Please.'"

Bob finally got a word in edge wise. "That Chevy will be around to pull the hearse carrying your body to the graveyard. And that might be sooner than you think."

"Well make sure you have my Ford handy to pull the Chevy that is trying to pull the hearse." Lissa giggled. Jolynn added, "Keys." Bob handed her the key chain and went to open the garage door.

She walked in and admired what was clearly a labor of love for Bob. The engine fired up on the first try and sounded strong and she backed it out into the drive way. Bob came to the window and leaned in for a kiss.

"By the way that was just beautiful how you handled Margaret, just beautiful. You have a friend for life, I think." Jolynn said.

"Well it will be worth it. I got a price from a contractor to just till it and put in compost and manure and it was over $2000. Then I would have to do the planting. I think she is happy and I know I am. Happy shopping." They kissed again and she started up the drive. She spun the wheels for just a moment before she turned behind the trees but drove it carefully and with respect. When they got on the highway, she stepped firmly on the gas and the engine responded and took them up to the speed limit smoothly and quickly.

She turned to Lissa and said with a smile, "Nice ride, huh. But don't you dare tell Bob I said that. This is really nice. It is probably in better shape than my Ford but not by much."

"Do you like teasing Bob like that?"

"Yes I do. We did that a lot in school in St. Louis and it just carried over. But I've already told him to not let tease me him about important things, only the fun things. I think he enjoys teasing me too. Go ahead and ask. I can see that you want to ask something but are afraid to."

"Were Bob and you completely naked under the sheet this morning?"

"Naked as the day we were born. I thought I caught you looking and trying to figure it out."

"I've never been that close to a naked woman before except Momma. And I've never been in the same house with a naked man much less in the same room."

"Like I was saying this morning, your body is yours; be proud of it. You don't have to flaunt it all over the place like some girls do. Letting your boobs and ass hang out of your top or shorts is just begging the wrong people to hit on you and for the wrong reasons. Dressing nicely even sexy is fine. The right people will notice and pay you the kind of attention you want and deserve. The mother of a friend of mine told us something one time when we were wondering about going topless on a beach. She said, 'If you have the figure to go topless, you don't need to. If you don't, it won't help you.' Those are very wise words. Sometimes someone, a girl or a boy, is going to catch you in an awkward moment. You don't have to be embarrassed, just surprised. It might be in a dressing room in a store or like this morning, they just walk in unexpectedly. If I had known you were there, I probably would have put a robe on and had Bob put pants on. But I didn't have a chance, so I just made the best of it. That's all you can do."

"You make everything sound so normal and natural. I like the way you make things sound but I am so not used to it."

"The problem today is that everyone tries to make everything unnatural and abnormal. Then if things aren't dead perfect, everyone feels disappointed. You know that this guy likes Taylor Swift. So you try to dress like her and make up to look like her and try to act like her. The only problem is, you are five inches shorter than her, you don't play the guitar and sing like her, and you don't have millions of dollars to keep you looking that way. So in short, you aren't Taylor Swift and someone else is likely to be disappointed sooner than later. If you are Lissa who admires Taylor Swift and listens to her music, someone who likes Lissa and Taylor Swift is going to really like you that way. Now everyone is happy."

"I see that. I see a lot of girls who are trying hard to be something they aren't. It's funny sometimes."

"Trust me it is hard enough being you. It is impossible to be someone else. Now do you know where the Target is?"

"Yes, it is on this road just past the Wal-Mart. It is about two more miles. The feed store is across the road from Target."

"Let's get the feed first then we can put the other stuff around it since it will be the biggest."

"Sounds good to me."

They got the feed and went across the street to Target. Jolynn made short work in the house wares department and filled half of the basket. Then they went to the food section and filled the other half with non-perishable items. Jolynn sent Lissa to get another basket and they went through the women's clothing department. If it looked good and appeared to be the right size, she threw it in the basket. If Lissa looked at it closely, it went into the basket until it was three quarters full. She pulled the basket into an out of the way spot and said to Lissa, "OK miss, you have ten minutes. If you don't like it or won't wear it, take it out and put it in this basket. I you like it, put it on top of our other cart. Go."

"Jolynn what are you doing this for?"

"A third of this is for a late Christmas present since I forgot. A third is your early graduation present. And the rest is your early birthday present. You are going to spend the days in high school in style. Now, you have eight minutes."

"Momma isn't going to like this." But she started sorting.

"Your momma can take it up with me in private."

It took Lissa fifteen minutes but she carefully looked at each item thoughtfully. In the end she put aside two items that were the wrong size and one that she didn't like the color but kept everything else. There were bras and panties and jeans and blouses and two vests and a couple of camisoles.

"Great let's go check out." Jolynn led the way.

"Jolynn, this is beautiful I've never had this many new clothes. But this is too much. Let me put more of it back. Please?"

"Nope you had your chance. I want you to look fresh and new and sharp for you last couple of months. You have worked hard and earned a makeover. That starts today. Now shut up and decide where we are going for lunch. I only have one more stop to make and I think we passed that store on the way in."

It took twenty minutes to scan everything and bag it. Jolynn was glad she brought the truck. They filled the entire bed and had several small bags in the cab with them.

"Where are we eating lunch then?" Jolynn asked.

"I hate to admit it to you, but my favorite place is an Italian place back down the highway."

"Then that is where we will eat. I'll withhold judgment on the Italian until I have seen their menu."

They drove to the shop that Lissa pointed to. It was a small place but looked fairly busy. They went in and the hostess greeted them in perfect Italian. So Jolynn began talking to her in Italian. The young girl looked at her in surprise and turned and called, "Joe, come here please." A man probably in his sixties came out wiping his hands and asked "What's up, Linda?"

"This lady started talking to me in Italian and I was lost."

The man turned to Jolynn and asked her in Italian what she needed. Jolynn responded and they carried on for five minutes before she turned to Lissa and asked "What do you want honey?"

Lissa replied, "I love their linguine and clam sauce."

Jolynn replied, "Good choice," and continued talking to the man in Italian. In a moment he smiled broadly and left to return to the kitchen.

"What was that all about?" Lissa asked.

"He almost told me his family history. He came from central Italy fifty years ago with his family. They settled here in Texas and his mother and father opened this restaurant and he still runs it using the same old recipes. He liked your choice but suggested his mother's pasta y fagioli for me. He said it is special. So that is what I am getting. He says that he teaches all of the girls to greet properly in Italian and to say the menu properly but stops there unless they want to learn more. He says he doesn't get to practice his Italian much anymore because there are so few natives or near natives around here. He hopes we will come back often."

By the time Jolynn finished, he was back with a plate of pasta for Lissa and a large bowl for Jolynn and a plate with hot bread. He left them to their meal and promised to check back before they finished.

One spoonful and Jolynn was in rapture. She knew that this had simmered for at least since morning and was full of stock, three kinds of beans rather than the usual one, hand cut pasta, and herbs. It wasn't over cooked, but just simmered slowly for a long time. The bread was homemade and was excellent. Before they finished, the man came back as promised eager to see what Jolynn thought of the soup.

Jolynn ran on and on praising it and describing each and every flavor she had found. He seemed pleased and handed her a bag that felt like a half gallon jar. She peeked and said "No, No, I can't" He replied something and she relented. They rose to leave and she gave him two kisses, one on each cheek. He thanked her profusely. When Jolynn got to the register, she was shocked that price was so little for their meals. As she handed the girl a $50 bill, she said quietly, "$5 is for you, put the rest in the register. It is a crime that that soup sells for so little. If I were you, I would recommend it to everyone who comes in here." The hostess looked surprised but answered, "I never tried it, but I will now and I will recommend it. Thank you."

They walked out to the truck and got in. Lissa asked, "What was that about the soup?"

"It is a simple Italian soup with beans and veggies and pasta. You can find it in many places. Usually it has too much salt, too little flavor, and they use macaroni for pasta and pinto beans for beans. It isn't too bad, but this was his Mother's recipe and I have never tasted any better. It has three types of beans, handmade pasta, veggies and fresh herbs and it has been simmering since this morning and is to die for. He gave me a large jar of it because it always goes to waste at the end of the day. He sells it for $4 a bowl with bread. In St. Louis if would be $10 a bowl with bread and people would demand the recipe. It really is that good. You come to dinner tonight and you'll see. We will have it after antipasta."

She drove back down the highway and walked in the computer store with Lissa in tow. Lissa looked around but Jolynn walked right up to the salesman and listed exactly what she wanted. He looked surprised especially since it was a woman who knew what she wanted and it was one of their top of the line machines. In less than ten minutes, she had the computer in a bag and the receipt in her hand. Lissa peeked and saw that the total was over $2000. They got back in the truck and headed back home. They pulled into the drive way at 1:30. They unloaded the feed at the barn and Lissa's clothes at her house. Francie got up to see what was in the bags. Jolynn looked at Francie in the eye and said, "I don't want any crap from you. She is going to live her last months in high school as one of the premier girls there. If you have a problem with that, meet me behind the barn in twenty minutes and we'll settle the issue there."

Francie broke out in a big smile and said, "I have no issue with that. She is one of the premier girls at that school. I'm OK with her looking like it. I just wish I had been able to provide it for her. But I'll accept it from you." She came over and gave Jolynn a big hug.

"Good, and Lissa is coming for dinner tonight so she can taste some excellent Italian food."

"That's not a problem. I have to take Margaret somewhere and I might not get back until 8:00 or 9:00."

"Lissa, I'm going. Come on down about 6:00 or earlier if you want to."

"OK," Came from the back of the house.