#11b
Thursday morning was a rare day. The massive high pressure system was stalled in the Pacific, sending clear skies, warming temperatures and a gentle breeze to begin drying the mud. Doors opened, windows went up and wash went out on the line. Blankets, quilts were aired out in the 50 degree weather. Kids were bundled up and sent out to play in the secure yards built for them. The activity was humming in all but the main house, Clora was huddled under the covers wishing she were better.
Cheryl was like a one woman dynamo and Ev fled to the shop. He had mentioned getting the tractor and starting to clean up the burned mess in the barn, but that was promptly squashed when Cheryl fixed a evil eye on him and said, "Don't you dare stir up cinders and ash the only good day we've had in four months."
That ended that particular line of thought; so Ev turned his capabilities toward building a milking shed for Bossie. Using the wall of the horse shed, he used saved boards from another project to extend a wall on the weather side and tack the 1x8's as a sloping roof. The tin came from around behind the shop, put there by Walter years ago. It wasn't perfect, but it was dry and out of the wind. Ev stopped long enough for lunch when Cheryl called from the house.
"Ev, we need a dinner bell or a triangle for calling you guys in from the outskirts. I hate screeching like a banshee, it hurts my disposition and my throat. Why don't you or Wayne make us all a 'cook's bell', we could use it for danger, or just a whole bunch of things," Cheryl set a large bowl of chili and several slabs of homemade rye bread on the table for Ev.
Considering her request as he shoveled in the grub, Ev looked around at what had happened in the house. He was gonna need a map to get in the house tonight. In her cleaning frenzy, Cheryl had moved furniture, scrubbed, washed, polished and waxed until his house was almost turned inside out.
"Looks good," he approved. "just please don't move the toilet, I get up at night half asleep."
"Ev Wilson, for a crack like that I have a good notion not to give you a cinnamon roll," Cheryl paused as she was digging in the pan with a spatula. Ev threw up his hands in surrender and gave her puppy dog eyes, pleading for a gooey goody.
Cheryl relented and cut two of the squares for him, holding the plate just out of reach until Ev mouthed, 'I'm sorry.'"
Ev thought about Cheryl's cleaning spree, coming to the conclusion that Ronnie had cast a dark pall over all of them. It had been months since she had made rolls, and Ev came to understand that the family dynamic had been changed for the worse by the antics of the disturbed child.
Finishing lunch, he kissed the cook and went to fashion a stanchion for Bossie. This time he made the manger deep enough for her hay and a box for her grain. That way they could finish milking, release the stanchion lever and she could back out whenever she was ready.
By the time he got the lane fashioned with pipe panels, it was almost time to milk. Bossie had wandered up from the pasture and was watching the proceedings with interest.
"Watcha think old gal?" Ev stopped long enough to start the generator to run the outside pumps and fill the water troughs for the cow and the horses. It was a pleasure to watch the frisky colts run and buck in the warm sunshine. Bossie was focused on the new shed arrangement and had no interest in the horses.
Ev opened the pasture gate for her, and she eased in to have a important inspection. When it met her exacting standards, she gave her approval by depositing a cow pie. Ev cleaned the mess, and began the process of milking. He had forgotten about the water for udder washing, and decided to think on an easy way to set up a washing station. Bossie started in on the grain, mooing when Ev didn't get right with the program of relieving her tight bag. Brought back to the present, he scrambled to get the milking done.
Ev's house was fragrant with the scent of venison roast with onions, potatoes and carrots. He stopped in the doorway and took a deep sniff. It said welcome home, come in and get ready to eat.
Ben had helped Lainey all day. They worked making a storage room into a nursery for Anne, not in their bedroom but near enough for Lainey's comfort.
The combination of Anne and Teddy in the same room was proving disastrous, the kids talking and playing and making noise when they should have been sleeping. It was OK for Teddy, but add Milo for the day and Anne wasn't getting enough sleep and the whole family was beginning to suffer.
They moved furniture and Lainey cleaned, humming and whistling in the great weather. This was the first time Ben had spent the entire day with his family, and he saw the wisdom of keeping Otis outside. Wisps of dog hair were floating everywhere much to Lainey's disgust, especially when she found a fistful of dust bunnies and hair in Anne's hand, headed for her mouth.
"Otis has to stay outside," Lainey laid down the law. "I can't keep the kids clean." She swept and ran the dust mop until it was time for lunch. When the youngsters were down for a nap, they spent a quiet time talking about the future.
"Cheryl has a great idea," Lainey enthused as she cleared the dishes. "The power company needs to bring our power in underground, so there aren't the interruptions. It seems they will foot some of the bill, but not all; so we need to have an accurate estimate so we know what our portion will be. What are your thoughts?"
"If it's not prohibitive in cost, I don't see why not. I'll ask the guys and you poll the ladies and we'll get the electric back on. I can see with the amount of work there is to keep house, you really need the advantage."
"Thank you sweetie, that means more to me than a pot full of money," Lainey blew a kiss in his general direction. "The diapers are the worst. When they are boiling, I can hardly stand the smell." That made Ben look a little green, and he agreed rapidly.
"Since you were so handy to agree to that request, I have another," Lainey spoke over her shoulder as she started washing dishes. "I really think it is very important for us to have cell phones. Many times now, it has been so imperative I get a hold of you, and we have no way to communicate. Now I realize that the rest of the family isn't the worry wart I am, but please consider it."
Ben wasn't all that surprised at Lainey's request, he had thought about it before but something had always interfered with the time needed to get to town. Now with Wayne, Mark and Will gone during the day on a regular basis, that left Ev and himself to work and provide security. It was going to be tight duty as it were, and phones would help greatly.
"Why don't you talk with Ev, and one of you go to town tomorrow and get us set up. If you don't want to go, Ev has to take Christy in tomorrow morning for her test. Will and Wayne already have one, and I suppose Mark does, but I'm not sure," Lainey proposed. "One of us needs to check on Clora, Mark said she was better this morning when he was off to work, but do you want to go, or let me run up there?"
Ben stood at the sink and said go, it's a change of scenery for a moment.
Lainey was out of the door in a flash and enjoyed the walk up to the main house. After the fresh air, the house was stale and sick smelling. Clora was awake and complaining of a headache, so Lainey made some weak tea and gave her two aspirin. "No more than that," Lainey cautioned Clora. "That's powerful stuff. Do you need anything else? Oh, how about I feed Mark, Milo, Wayne and Will supper?"
Clora managed a "Thank You," and then fell back against the mattress ready to sleep.
Will and Mark went to their respective jobs as usual. It was difficult to work as Mark had one eye on his surroundings to see if the hammer was going to fall. They waited until his lunch break to contact him.