Chapter 5 #3
“You should see Kinsey when he makes her cry. All he has to do is mention that she’s doing something wonderful, and he gets all stressed up.
Like her crying is a part of him or something.
I’m betting by the time the baby’s here, things will even out.
She’s just tender like that because her body is working hard on creating a life.
” He was asked how he was so knowledgeable all of a sudden.
“When she started crying about everything, even before they told us, I knew something was wrong. So I looked it up on the computer and found out she was more than likely going to have a baby, and I just kept reading from there.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” He said he might have been wrong. “Yeah, okay, I can see that. Better to keep your mouth shut than to ruin their surprise. I was, too. I know most of us were.”
“I think they told David and Alice before us. I think they were hoping that he’d stop pushing for a large wedding.
He wants to show off his kids. He thinks of all of us like his kids now that we’ve been hanging out with them.
” Gleason agreed and said he thought of him as a father figure and went to him when he had questions.
“I do too. Even going to Alice sometimes when I have questions. She’s pretty good at not laughing at me when I do have something to find out. ”
The four of them finished up their meals and sat and talked for a while.
There were no others in the diner, so they didn’t feel bad about taking up the table.
They did pay their checks so that the waitress wouldn’t be worried.
He might well have too, but for the fact that they all had money now when they hadn’t before.
When they got on the subject of living in town again, he tuned them out.
They’d been going over the same thing since they’d sold the farm, and he didn’t understand what they were upset about.
Kinsey said he didn’t want any of their money, and that was final.
He too wanted to give his brother extra money for helping them out with sharing the money, but he wasn’t going to take it, so he moved on.
Then they started talking about the new building that was being added to the high school because of the taxes paid on the land that David bought.
“I also heard that the football team is getting all new uniforms, too. Along with the band. They’ve had the same uniforms since I went to school there, and that’s been a long time.
” They figured up how long it had been and were all shocked that they’d been out of high school that long.
“I guess we’re older than I thought. I have to get going with my house so that I’m not too old to enjoy it.
I keep thinking about what Grannie said to us about living on the land that would kill us.
I’m so happy that things are settled with the land.
I was never so happy that Kinsey agreed to sell it when he did. ”
“I just love that he took a vote on it. He said it was all of us or none of us would be making out from the sale. Do you really think he would have done that had there been one of us who didn’t want to leave the farm?
” Bodi said he thought that Kinsey knew that everyone was going to be leaving and made it easier for the rest of us.
“Do you suppose he ever regrets it? I mean, selling the farm.”
“I think that he’s a happy man with a wife, money, and a baby on the way.
Not necessarily in that order, but you understand what I’m saying.
” They all agreed and decided that they were all happier, too.
“I know I am. Working two jobs and trying to keep the bills up was killing us all. Even when we were thinking about the sale, I don’t think that any of us believed it would sell.
I know that I didn’t think it would happen.
Not in our lifetime. Maybe twenty years from now, perhaps, but not on the same day that it went live to sell.
We have a lot to be thankful for about Meggie, too.
She’s the one who got all the right people together so that it would be now.
She’s the best wife of Kinsey there is.”
They all laughed at that, and he wondered what his wife would be like if she ever came around.
He wasn’t really looking for anyone; hell, he didn’t date all that much.
But he did find his mind wandering from time to time, what it would be like to be in love with someone the way that Wylie and Kinsey were.
After their dinner, they walked around town together to see what they could get into.
He enjoyed having all the free time and was glad not to be working on two farms to make ends meet.
But he was going to do what he said in the spring and knew he’d enjoy doing that little bit for the people around.
He might even make someone happy enough to share some of their fresh crop with him, and he’d love that as well.
After it started getting dark, they went their separate ways. He was headed back to Kinsey’s house when his cell phone rang. It was Wylie. He wanted to know if he wanted to get breakfast in town in the morning, as Rosie had to work.
“I’d love that. I’ve missed you.” They talked again about the things going on around town, and he gave him an update on the things he’d heard from his brothers.
“We need to get together once a week or so that we can catch up on gossip. There is a lot of it going around, and now that we don’t have to work from sunup to sundown, we can listen to what’s going on. ”
“I’ve been getting some information from Rosie. If it’s going on around town, she’s the first person to know about it.” He supposed that, as chief of police, she would hear the best gossip. “I’ll make a list of things to tell you, and you can tell me what you’ve heard. Where do you want to meet?”
“Scotties Den, if you don’t mind. I had dinner at the diner, so I’m thinking I need to change it up a bit.” He told him how he’d had dinner with the others, and Wylie said he was jealous. “We’re all jealous of you and Kinsey having your wives. You did get married, didn’t you?”
“This morning. She had to go right back to work, too, so there was no time for us to have much of a honeymoon.” Gleason laughed at his brother. “Yes, laugh it up, little brother. You’ll be here in my position soon enough.”
“I’ve been thinking about that very same thing.
I’m not saying that I’m looking for the next Mrs. Pennington, but I have given it some thought.
I’m not sure that I’m ready for a wife and all that comes with it.
It hit you two so quickly and hard that it’s hard to imagine it doing the same thing with us.
I think I’ll be engaged for years before I actually get married.
I don’t want a whirlwind courtship while I’m building my dream house. ”
They talked about him building his home, and he thought that he was going in the right direction for him.
Wylie had found the perfect house for them, and that was wonderful.
But he wanted all new things in his place, including carpets if it came to that.
Gleason said that he was going to keep himself hidden away until he was ready.
“Good luck with that. I’m sure that none of us are going to be ready when she comes along. I knew I wasn’t.” Gleason didn’t say anything, and that seemed to be fine with his brother. “Oh well, I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going to be the one with the sappy look on his face.”
“Good night.” After getting off the phone with his brother, he went up to his room.
He knew that Meggie and Kinsey had plans tonight, as it was the cook’s night off, so that was why he’d eaten at the diner.
But he wasn’t going to make a habit of going out.
He liked being able to do it, but he had to save his money too.