Chapter 98

Sunday-Monday, July 29-30

Mom called at 7:15 to let me know breakfast was almost ready. Grandma was doing a full country breakfast with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and who knows what else.

It only took me a minute to dress in cargo shorts and a fresh T-shirt. Rather than brush my teeth, I just swished and swallowed a slug of mouthwash and was out the door by 7:20. I’d have to wait until after work to take care of the clothes I’d worn last night.

Grandma’s cooking fueled me up for a day at the pool, but I was too stuffed to try to run. It would take a bit for the meal to settle. Dad and Grandpa were going to play golf again, while Mom, Grandma and Kacie were going to start back-to-school shopping. I got to the pool by 8:30 and took a good shower in the changing room before dressing for work.

I exited the stockroom to find a few of the guys working on breakfast burritos. It was peaceful, almost serene, without the noise of swimming lessons. I let my coworkers enjoy their breakfast and made the rounds of the cabanas to collect requests. I had my master list ready to go by 9 a.m. and we split into two groups, each taking a side. I handled the four cabanas at the end after we got the other 20 taken care of.

The crowd was slow in arriving as was normal for a Sunday, but we were kept plenty busy once lunch was over. About half the cheerleaders were on hand for a birthday party that lasted most of the afternoon.

I made my appearance at No. 16, where Jan and Meredith were again in attendance along with Arlene. Most of the Gang of Eight appeared to be taking a day off after such a big night. Bethany was there with her mother and grandmother, while Callie was waiting for Hunter to get off work. It seemed they were almost officially a couple.

A stop to coat Molly Harris in sunscreen and give her an airplane ride was followed by a stint of resupplying the party the cheerleaders were working. The day rolled along with no major issues, unless you consider 108-degree heat something we should have had control over. I noticed Arlene, Jan and Meredith spent a good portion of the afternoon inside with the air conditioner and a chilled bottle of white wine.

I got a surprise when Mom, Grandma and Kacie showed up about 2 o’clock and joined in the happenings at No. 16. I made time to stop by between restocking runs.

“Your grandmother’s going to stay a couple more days while your grandfather runs home to check on things,” Mom said. “She wants to be here Wednesday to see how things go with the investment deal. You’ll need to stay at Arlene’s a few more nights.”

If nothing else, I wouldn’t have to worry about making it home after whatever Arlene had in store for me on Tuesday.

Things remained steady until Mr. Alvarez cut the early shift loose at 4 p.m. Mom told me to go home and clean up and dress to go out. We were taking Grandma and Grandpa to dinner at Familia Benavidez. Grandpa would leave Monday morning and return to pick up Grandma on Thursday.

When I got home, I had to wait on Grandpa to finish getting ready before I could use my bathroom. He and Dad had cut their round to nine holes because of the heat and had spent most of the afternoon at the 19th Hole. I didn’t waste time getting ready and headed out to the family room just as Mom, Grandma and Kacie arrived home.

Dad, Grandpa and I cooled our heels while the ladies got ready. The baseball team actually completed a three-game sweep in Houston. It got them all the way up to 17 games under. The football team was now conducting full-pad workouts at training camp. The British guy wound up winning the Tour de France. Dustin Johnson won the Canadian Open and was being touted as a favorite for the PGA.

The women came out in a variety of cool summer outfits and we made ready to leave. I learned I was to chauffeur Grandpa, while Kacie drove the others in the X5. She’d be using it in the morning for her test. She and Morgan were going to test at roughly the same time. I hoped the DMV was ready to take responsibility for what it was about to unleash on the world.

“Let’s ride, podnuh!” Grandpa boomed as he headed for my Beemer.

I got in, dropped the top and buckled up while Grandpa found a classic country station that played lots of Johnny, Willie and Merle. We were sitting at a stop sign at the trunk road, waiting for an opening in the traffic so I could pull out, when my grandfather hit me with a hard one.

“So, how long have you been carrying on with your sister?”

So much for toning it down. At least he was smart enough to wait until we were stopped to ask that. I would’ve run us off the road if we’d been moving.

“Did Mom tell you?” I asked as I made the turn.

“She didn’t have to,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to figure out that her ‘boyfriend’ didn’t put that starry-eyed look on her face. I can’t say I’m surprised, given family history.”

“Sir?”

“I’ve always had my suspicions about Doug and your Aunt Patty,” he said. “But your Aunt Karen was the one I really worried about. She looked — still looks — at your father the way Kacie looks at you.”

Aunt Patty was a couple of years younger than Dad and would have attended high school with him. Aunt Karen was the baby of the family. She was just 10 when Dad graduated high school and would have been 15 or 16 when he and Mom got married.

Both my aunts were good looking women, bearing a striking resemblance to my sister — same coloring and hair, but a little taller and not as curvy. Strangely, both were single. Aunt Patty, who had two “tween” daughters, had divorced a couple of years ago. Aunt Karen was a spinster, having decided to “focus on her career” instead of hunting a husband.

I told Grandpa the story of how Kacie and I got started. I pretty much had it down by now.

“I wasn’t lying at the club yesterday,” I said. “I’ve never pressured her, or anyone else. It was her decision to continue. I just want to make her happy.”

“Well, you’re certainly doing that,” Grandpa said. “The way she looked when she came into the kitchen this morning reminded me of your grandmother on our honeymoon.”

I did not need to hear something like that, especially while I was driving.

I was saved from further embarrassment by our arrival at Familia Benavidez. The place wasn’t packed, but it looked pretty busy.

Before we went in, Grandpa had one more thing to say.

“One of the reasons I gave Kacie that chunk of the investment is so she won’t feel like she has to find a husband to support her until her trust fund kicks in,” he said. “If she really wants to be with you, she’ll be financially independent and can live on her own. You two can at least have the appearance of separation.”

We joined the others in the waiting area. Arturo was again serving as host. He’d been putting in some 16-hour days these last three weeks between the pool, workouts and the restaurant. I got the feeling his dad was letting him have room and board for working here with the cabana job providing his spending money.

It didn’t take long to get seated and the reason for our driving assignments quickly became apparent. Mom and Grandma got started with margaritas, while Dad and Grandpa ordered a bucket of cervezas. Kacie and I were at that perfect age — old enough to drive and too young to drink. We were the designated drivers.

Grandpa dropped another bombshell as we enjoyed chips, salsa, queso and guacamole.

“I won’t say I’m retiring,” he said, “but it’s time to start slowing down. I’m not going to plant this fall and I’ll take a break after we ship the last load of yearlings. Millie wants to do some traveling and I want to watch my grandson play some football.”

Grandpa’s plan was to let the land lie fallow for a year, then see about leasing it out if anyone was interested. He said it probably wouldn’t be worth it for farming, but would be serviceable as pastureland for some of the bigger operators who needed a place to stash cattle before they were sent to the feedlots.

Grandma had already started booking trips — a week in New York to see some shows, a trip to Vermont to see the fall foliage (something there wasn’t a lot of on the treeless plains where they lived), some of the national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite.