The Widow Ch. 16

Passion in James County XII

The Widow

By D.C. Roi

Chapter sixteen

When Larry and Joanne were returning to Fran's cabin after their walk, Larry noticed a man and two women working in the open lot next to the Atkinson cabin. "I wonder what's going on at Greg and Abby's," he commented. "They just had the old cabin bulldozed and hauled away the other day.

"I think Abby said something about building a jungle gym when Fran and I were over there for dinner the other night," Joanne said. "Greg said something about his uncle coming up to help build it. That's Abby. The man must be Greg's uncle. I don't recognize the woman."

"Greg didn't tell me Uncle John was coming up," Larry said.

"Do you know Greg's uncle?" Joanne asked.

"Uncle John was like an uncle to me, too," Larry explained. "He used to come up here a lot when Greg's folks were alive. He taught me how to shoot a rifle, and how to fish, and a little bit about carpentry, too."

"Is he a carpenter?" Joanne asked.

"He's a retired cop," Larry said. "He could have been chief of detectives in Jamestown, but his wife got sick and he quit the force to take care of her. She died a couple of years after he retired. He lives in Arizona now." He started down the driveway toward where the people were working. "Come on, Joanne, you've got to meet Uncle John, you'll love him."

"Let's see..." John said. He studied his drawing, then he looked over the work he, Abby, and Gail had done that day. "I think we have all the holes we need dug. When the lumber and other stuff is delivered tomorrow, we'll set the posts in cement in the holes." He looked up, saw Larry and Joanne coming down the driveway, and grinned. "Hey, Ben Casey, how are you doing?" he called.

"Probably better than you, you old flatfoot," Larry snapped back. "You sure you aren't working too hard?" He broke into a jog.

When Larry reached John, the two men threw their arms around each other.

"Be a cold day in hell when I can't out-work you, you young whippersnapper," John said, slapping Larry on the back. "I don't spend my days sitting around a fire station waiting for someone to have an accident or get sick."

"Somebody's got to be around when old farts like you over-do it and go into vapor lock," Larry retorted, grinning. "You haven't changed a bit, have you Uncle John?"

"No, and I damn well don't intend to, either," John said. "Come here, there's someone I want you to meet."

"I've got someone I want you to meet, too," Larry said. He waved for to Joanne to follow them.

John led the young man over to where Gail and Abby stood, leaning on the shovels they'd used to dig holes for the jungle gym. "Larry, I want you to meet Gail Burger," John said. "Gail, this is Larry Brewster. I've known him ever since he was running around in dirty diapers."

"Hello, Larry," Gail said.

"It's nice to meet you, Gail," Larry said. He turned and beckoned to Joanne. "Uncle John, Gail, I want you to meet Joanne Williams," he said. "She's a friend of Fran Martin's. She's staying at Fran's place."

The three new acquaintances exchanged greetings.

"So, what are you doing, Uncle John?" Larry asked.

"I'm building a jungle gym so Abby and Greg's kids have a safe place to play," John replied.

"I didn't think Greg and Abby had any kids," Larry replied.

Abby's face turned red and she coughed.

"They're working on it," John said. "I thought it was a good idea to build one now, in case they figure out how to make kids. You working tomorrow?"

Larry shook his head. "No, why?" he asked.

"I'm going to need help mixing the cement and setting the posts," John said. "I need someone with a strong back and weak mind. You know anybody like that?"

"You mean other than you?" Larry replied. "Yeah, I'll give you a hand, Uncle John. It's probably just as well. That way, if you conk out, you'll have medical attention handy."

"Come on, kid, grab a shovel and give me a hand getting some of this stuff cleaned up," John said. "It isn't fair to make the ladies do manual labor. Tires them out so they can't cook, you know?"

"Uncle John, if I wasn't so tired, I'd clobber you with this shovel," Abby snapped, smiling. "Joanne, would you and Larry like to join us all for dinner?" she asked.

"Are you sure it won't be any trouble?" Joanne asked. "I don't want to put you out."

"It won't be any trouble if she lets us help cook, will it, Abby?" Gail said. "Seeing as how that's all we're good for."

While John and Larry cleaned up the construction site, the three women went inside the house.

"It looks like you finally found a woman dumb enough to go out with you, huh, kid?" John teased as he shoveled excess dirt into the wheelbarrow.

"I'm glad to see you aren't here alone," Larry said. "I wasn't sure you'd ever even start looking, you old fossil."

"Guy as handsome as me doesn't have to look," John laughed. "I've been fighting women off for years."

"Uncle John, I don't believe you ever looked at anybody other than Aunt Marion," Larry said.

John stopped working and leaned on his shovel. "You know, I didn't," he said, looking very serious. "Even when I ran into Gail, I wasn't looking. But then I walked into the restaurant where she was working, we got to talking and..." He shrugged.

"I'm glad it happened," Larry said. "I can't remember the last time I saw you this happy."

"Yeah, I know," John said. He put down the shovel and watched Larry pick up the handles of the wheelbarrow. "You know, sometimes I think I feel younger, too." He followed his young friend, who started pushing the wheelbarrow toward the edge of the road where they'd been dumping the gravel. "What about you, kid? What's the story on the lady you're with?"

"We met when I was doing some work around Fran's house," Larry explained as he pushed the wheelbarrow. "I've never known anyone like her. I did date a little over the years, in spite of what you and Greg are always saying, but nobody I've ever known is like Joanne."

"Hey, kid, I think it's great," John said. "Sometimes fate puts the right people together. And, if we're smart enough to recognize it when it happens, we have a pretty good chance of being happy." He chuckled. "And I guess it can even happen twice, you know?"

"Right now, I'll be happy to settle for once," Larry said. "Especially if it works out as well as what you and Aunt Marion had." He dumped the wheelbarrow and they started back across the road. "How long are you going to be staying up here?" he asked.

"As long as it takes to get this project done," John said. He chuckled. "And long enough to convince Gail that she can't live without me and will go back to Arizona when I do."

"Judging from the way she was looking at you," Larry said, "I'm not sure that's going to be much of a job."

"I sure as hell hope not," John said. "I'm not sure I can go back to Arizona alone."

When the two men finished what they were doing, they went into the house.

Abby smiled when they walked in. "Good, you're done," she said. "Here..." she handed John a piece of paper. "You have to go to the store. We need this stuff to finish dinner."

"Darn, woman," John said, trying to look tired. "Me and this here boy, we been workin' hard. We was a-goin' to sit ourselfs down, suck down some beers, and watch us some TV."

"You can do that as soon as you go to the store," Abby said. "And if you want beer, you can add that to the list. We don't have any."

"Come on, Larry," John said, "let's get out of here before they find something else for us to do."

"Gail, you've worked a miracle on Uncle John," Abby said after the men left. "He's never been this silly, all the years I've known him."

Gail's face turned red. "Ah...thank you," she said. "I've always thought he was wonderful. I had a crush on him for years."

"I heard about that," Abby replied. "Greg told me about your crush on Uncle John last night."

Gail's mouth dropped open. "I can't believe Greg knew that. I tried really hard not to let it show," she said. "I loved Aunt Marion, too. She was a wonderful lady."

"I wish I'd known her," Abby said. "Greg talks about her a lot." She turned to Joanne. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to leave you out of this conversation, Joanne," she said. "You seem to have worked some magic on Larry, too. I've never seen him look at a woman the way he looks at you. And it isn't that other women haven't tried to nail him down. A lot of the nurses at the hospital where I work consider him a prime catch."

"He is special, very special," Joanne said. "I've never known anyone quite like him. But...sometimes...I...I worry about the fact that I'm so much older than he is."

"I worry about the difference in age between John and me, too," Gail said. "But I love the big lug so much, I don't care. I have a feeling what's happening between us is supposed to happen."

"I've been telling myself that," Joanne said, "It's just that I'm not sure I've convinced myself yet."

"You both have wonderful guys smitten with you," Abby said. "If I were in your shoes, I'd do whatever it takes to make sure they don't get un-smitten. I can tell you from personal experience, being married to the wrong person can be hell."

Just then, Greg walked in. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "Talk about a nice way to end the day. You can't beat walking into a house and finding there are three gorgeous women waiting for you."

"Only one of us is waiting for you, buster," Abby said. She walked over to her husband and put her arms around him. "The other two could care less whether you were here or not."

"Oh, darn," Greg said. "Hey, it looks like Uncle John got a lot done today," he noted.

"He worked Gail and me nearly to death," Abby said. "Luckily, Larry and Joanne came along and got us off the hook."

"I hope you're not too tired," Greg said, grinning.

"Greg!" Abby responded, blushing. "We have company!"

"Where are Uncle John and Larry?" Greg asked.

"They went to the store," Abby said. "We have company for dinner."

"Sounds good," Greg said. "Look, honey, I'm going to go and get changed. Is there anything you want me to do?"

"Well," Abby said, smiling. "We women have been slaving over a hot stove all afternoon. Why don't you set the table while we sit down in the living room for a while and rest up?"

Greg kissed his wife, then headed for the bedroom. "You want me to put out the good china and silverware?" he asked as he went, "or should I use the plastic forks and paper plates?"

"Greg!" Abby said.

By the time Larry and John got back from the store, most of dinner was ready. The women put the finishing touches on the meal, then everybody sat down to eat. When they finished eating, the men, saying they wanted to show their appreciation for the fine meal the women had cooked for them, cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher.

After dinner, they played a long, silly game of "Trivial Pursuits," which the men won. Finally, Larry and Joanne got up to leave.

"What time do you want me here in the morning, Uncle John?" Larry asked before he and Joanne left.

"I normally get up between six-thirty and seven, sometimes earlier," John said. "Don't I, Gail?"

"John!" Gail exclaimed, turning bright red.

"I'll try to get here by eight," Larry said.

"I'll keep him busy until then," Greg added. He grinned. "Unless Gail does."

Abby saw that Gail's face had grown even redder. "Greg, stop teasing Gail!" she said.

"It's OK," Gail said. She looked over at John, who was grinning at her. "You ready for bed, John?"

"I'm pretty pooped," John replied, getting slowly to his feet. "I can probably make it upstairs if you help me, honey."

Abby sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't you guys ever stop?" she asked.