Wanders Ch. 05

With that, Amy rounded up Ru, and we all got on the bus and headed out together. Two weeks later found the three of us sitting on the bus in a cow pasture on the gulf coast. Amy sat there quietly, looking about with a practiced eye envisioning what might or might not work. What would be needed, and what the first steps might be.

"Neil, we need to park this moving place of passion for the time being. Cause, trying to drive this thing around out here ain't gunna happen. We will always jump back on the bus and go out looking for those lost roads we both crave."

"Hun, I think this should be our next step. I have a couple of friends; hell, they are married and likely the most committed couple I know of. He is a civil engineer who has done work in urban planning; she is a landscape architect and an environmental engineer. The three of us had kicked this idea of doing a development around for ages. Our problem was always that while we had great ideas; however, we had no idea how to give our ideas wings. Neil, you can provide that missing element, organization. With that, this is totally doable."

"I've looked at the plot maps you have. What I quickly envision is some twenty home sites backing on the bayou here. These homes would have to be raised due to the possibility of flooding. I'm guessing here, and I will defer to my friends who have expertise in this. My read of the maps is the area along the bayou is flood-prone. The flood maps show the rest of the land here as not being in a flood zone for insurance purposes, which for development purposes is a good thing.

"Amy, call your friends and see when they can get here. In talking with them, remember that the land behind here that wraps around the back of the town is available, I believe. I can structure the project; are you and your friends up to delivering on the project?"

"In a word, yes. Yes, we have the vision."

In the next week, I spoke with the man I had been renting my land to. He was pleased that I would be that I'd be exercising my option to buy his land. But, he had a couple of concerns. He also rented the trust's land behind here to run cattle on. How could he get that large a herd of cattle sold for a reasonable price?

I knew immediately I needed to talk with Charlie Willamson on this. Charlie was one of the biggest operators of feedlots and packing plants in the cattle business. I believed that his companies could easily absorb that herd as part of the routine flow business.

"Hey, Amy? Have you ever of something called the Willamson Foundation?"

"Kinda? Sorta? Don't they do something in the area of supporting art museums and art education? Why?"

"Welcome to my world, sweetheart. Charlie and his wife Sandy have been clients and close personal friends of mine for ages. With my total support, Sandy pushed my ex, Kat, into the MFA program at UC. Hell, Sandy is my former fiancee's mentor and guide. One of the issues here is the man who I'll be buying his land from also rents the trust's land for cattle. He has a fair size herd of cattle that he will need to sell. Well? Guess who buys cattle? Charlie. I need to talk to him about this. Your friends are going to be here, what? In the next couple of days. Baby, if I don't my guess and I am rarely wrong, this bird could take flight quickly."

We had gotten a pickup so getting around the property was now simple. Amy's friends came in the next day, and we gave them the nickel tour of what I began to call phase one. I spoke to Charlie; he was interested in looking at the herd. And, he was interested in the property development side as well. His family used to come to Bird's Nest to escape winter out on the plains and go fishing here. Hearing him talking about that, it was clear he was joyfully walking down memory lane. Somewhere along the line, Charlie let out that he wanted to find a way to retire and, hell, maybe even move to Bird's Nest. That got me thinking, set up a development company separate from the property management side. Charlie and I and possibly Carl might be interested too; we could fund the development company to complete the construction on the original land. The trust wouldn't have the income from renting their land. This could be a good time for them to sell out and take their profit.

Both of Amy's friends were as excited as she was about the possibilities the land presented. Hearing the three of them talking, floating ideas out was fantastic.

In the meantime, I spoke with Carl and floated my idea out to him. Of course, Carl doesn't do much anything without first talking with Cathy. But after the two of them chewed the concept over, they were on board. Hell, Carl was going to retire from Player's Association after the next contract was negotiated. They had sold the place he had in the Carolinas, so they wanted someplace to move to. This would fit his idea spot on; besides, he could have his fishing boat close by.

Amy looked over at me; that's Carl Johnson, right? The Heisman winner and also Superbowl MVP? Shit, Neil, I thought I knew some high flyers, but you, take the cake."

"Lady? Do you want to hear the stories on how I know these two characters? By the way, first and foremost the both of them are simply real people. Both of them are highly focused on what they see as an objective. Their wives keep their feet on the ground. I have seen both of those ladies lead their respective husbands around by the nose at one time or another. In public, I've seen Sandy tell Charlie that he is a horse's ass, to which he agreed. Then again, Cathy told Carl it was time for him to retire from being a ballplayer and be a full-time husband. A week later, he was doing a press conference announcing his retirement."

"Amy? I pray that you have the will and strength to keep me grounded like those two women keep their respective husbands."

"Neil, my old nickname was the ice maiden. Some would say I would freeze people with a single glance. I beg you, please, always talk with me. Be it about us and what you're feeling or some project that's going. Talk, we both need to know what the other is thinking. We need to respect each other's ideas. I don't say we will always agree; we won't. But we always need to talk with each other. We come at issues from different points of view; there is always a middle ground. Neil, you have heard me say this before; I'll repeat it, you are my man."

"Amys, as I am your man, you are my woman. I trust you and your judgment. Lady, now I have a question for you. What are you planning on doing for the rest of your life?"

"Neil? Are you saying what I think you are saying"

"Amy? Will you marry me? Will you be my wife and partner until we pass on? That, my dearest, is what I am saying and asking."

"OH MY GOD! Neil? Really? Is that what you desire, you want?"

"Amy, the most incredible thrill I've had since first meeting you is holding your hand as we sit together. Simply said, dearest, you complete me."

Before I could draw my next breath, Amy had both her arms holding me in the warmest hug any man has gotten. "I don't believe this. But yes, Neil Terrell, I will joyfully join on this crazy journey along these hidden back roads we both like to go on."

"Tell you something, which now I see as funny but didn't then. After Erin and Fred first met us, Erin took me to the side and told me that we would be getting married soon. I laughed and said to her that she was fucking crazy. Erin said, no, miss ice maiden, you two are making love with each other and not fucking. God Neil, I do so love being with you and being your woman as you are my man."

We went to a jewelry store in the local mall to find straightforward rings they had. Our wedding rings were not designed to display anything; instead, they were a way of connecting with each other. Amy didn't want her family here, and I didn't have any family to speak of. We had Amy's friends Erin and Ralph, who were now working with us on the development project, at the wedding. Sandy and Charlie came down, as well as Cathy and Carl. We had everyone in for dinner. In no time, the dinner became more of a business meeting than a wedding party. As we all tossed about different ideas on what might be done here.

Sandy took me aside and gave me an update on Kat's life at UC. She enjoyed her part-time teaching gig as it allowed her to practice what she was learning. Also, Kat had transitioned over to the doctoral program. So when she graduated, she'd have two terminal degrees, the MFA as well as a Ph.D. in education.

My bride and I took the first house completed that backed onto the bayou. With that, moving trucks arrived from Boston and Chicago that disgorged all the stuff we had from our previous lives. I was damm thankful that we had built a large storage barn to hold all the various artifacts of our previous lives. After the moving trucks had left, I was standing outside and chuckling when Amy popped up, "ok, so what's funny?"

"Amys, did you ever hear the George Carlin line about stuff? A house is where you keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. Honey, we ain't got no more room unless you build us another garage or a bigger house."

"Baby, we have lived nicely, without all this stuff. We might bring a few things in the house, like your old quarter-sawn chair, and I have a table I'd like somewhere in the house. Most of the rest is going to consignment shops, maybe in New Orleans or maybe Atlanta. But for sure, it is going."

The next four years were a whirlwind of constant activities. The development has now called the Meadows. One of the early concepts for the property was to create different communities. Each community would have its own flavor with small restaurants, bakeries, and offices set around a town square. There was land set aside for a school campus with spaces for an elementary and middle school and a high school for the development and the surrounding area.

Amy and I often enjoyed going to the Bird's Nest town square to take in the nightly sunset. This allowed us to see our neighbors and friends here and enjoy a cold beer and a hamburger. When we went to the square in the evening, of course, Ru had to go with us. As Ru had important business to attend to at these nightly meetings. He had to go around and say hello to all of his friends that had gathered there.

As was often the case, after Ru had completed his rounds, he would come back to us and camp out at our feet, keeping an eye and ear on everything. One evening, after finishing his visits, Ru was peacefully camped at our feet when he jumped up. Almost as if he was on alert. That got my attention in a heartbeat. I watched him as he made his way through the folks toward one woman who was standing in the back by herself. Then Ru started barking as he stood by this woman with his tail going ninety miles an hour back and forth. "Oh my god, Amy. Do you see where Ru is? That's Kat. Holy shit, what the hell is she doing here?"

In a few moments, Ru brought her back to our table. "Neil? Hi, it's been an age. Sandy told me that you had gotten married, are you, Amy? I'm Kathleen."

----------------

Author's closing note:

Hope you enjoyed this ride along the back roads here, and you come for chapter sex.