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.
Chapter 6
Wylie loved his office now that it was finished.He’d been working on it for the past three days and thought that he had it just the way he wanted it.He didn’t have any work to be going on right now, but he thought that if he needed something to be looked up, he’d have the perfect place to do it in.He closed his laptop and went to find Rosie.She’d been interviewing cooks today, and he didn’t envy her the job.He wouldn’t know the first thing about interviewing anyone for any kind of job.
She said she’d only just hired them two cooks as they both wanted to work part-time.He asked her how that would work for them, and she smiled.
“One will work during the daytime and the other in the evening.It’ll be nice this way because we can work around their schedule.And since they don’t want the same day off, we can have meals every day so that we don’t have to fend for ourselves.I like that best of all.It will also save us from going out so much.While I do enjoy a meal out with you, it gets too expensive to have to do every day.”
“I’ve made arrangements for us to have a little garden next year.I miss having fresh vegetables around all the time.It was usually the only way that we could afford to eat so well.It won’t be until spring, but it’ll be something to do too throughout the summer months.”She asked him about pumpkins.“We usually grew those too, but the pie-eating kind.Did you want to grow pumpkins for the front of the house, too?”
“Sure.If we have any leftovers, we can give them to your brothers.I did notice that Kinsey and Meggie have a garden.She told me that David had had a garden in before they moved into the house.It’s well established, too, in that they have one every year.”He thought that they could do that as well.“I thought you’d say that, and I’m happy for it too.I love fresh carrots that are right out of the garden.I don’t even care if they’re a little dirty when I eat them.”
“I’m the same way when it comes to tomatoes.I love taking a salt shaker out to the garden and pulling a nice ripe tomato off the vine and eating it with a good dose of salt.It’s still warm from the sun, and the flavor is so much better than you can get in a store.”He rubbed his belly.“Now that’s all I want is a tomato fresh from the garden.”She told him that was one of her favorite memories of growing up with her grandma.“I miss mine so much.I think of her all the time and wonder if she’s looking down on us, smiling because we sold the farm.It was her fondest wish for us to sell it and become men of leisure.I loved her a great deal.”
“I did mine too.She was forever there for me.”She said she depended on her parents a great deal as well.“I know.I’ve seen the three of you together, and you make a great family picture.”
For the rest of the evening, they talked about memories they had as children growing up in their homes.He didn’t have all that good of memories, not of his parents, but he did remember his grandma and how she had brought them up to be good men.But she wanted more for them than working themselves to death working on the Pennington farm.With her dying breath, she told Kinsey to sell it and get on with their lives while they were still young enough to enjoy it.Not to be broken down by running a farm that would suck them dry.
When it was time for dinner, the roast was perfect.He’d even browned up some potatoes to go with it, as well as a nice fresh salad.It had tomatoes on it, but they were from the grocery store and not as good as they’d been talking about.He couldn’t wait for summer to roll around again so that he could tinker with a little garden just for the two of them.
It was nearly midnight when they went to bed.Their new bed would be there tomorrow, and he was looking forward to that.It was larger than could be found on the market, and they’d have to have sheets especially made for it, but he didn’t care.He was looking forward to having a bed big enough that they could sleep together and play around in it as well.
Wylie had two interviews tomorrow about part-time work.He didn’t want to be working full-time just yet and was glad that they understood that.One of the interviews was working for Meggie, and he had not told her that he applied.It was going to be a good job, and he was looking forward to maybe getting it.As soon as he set his alarm, he was ready to go to sleep for about twelve hours.Or more, but knew that he had to get up sometime sooner than that.
“I’m looking into giving my notice at work too.”The room was dark, and Rosie whispered in the night.“I’ve had enough.I’ve been doing this job since I got out of college, and it’s too much for me right now.I love the fact that you have money so that I can take my time finding something else.”
“Wehave money right now, not just me.”She said that she knew that, but would forget when she was talking about it.“I don’t want you to forget that we’re a couple and everything that I have is yours too.I love you and want you to be happy.”
