Friends Part 2

Chapter 201-1

Friends

Part 2

 

In many ways Eli was right there was a lot to be worried about, I knew something big was going on if Bishop Earl’s time table had just moved up very quickly. Normally I would think Stringum was behind this, but I trusted Bishop Earl and if he says that Dad and he wasn’t in on it. And he and they were in trouble that meant things were moving quickly. Yet I was stuck, I couldn’t drop everything and head back home to help. Besides, if Dad needed me he would call me and say he was coming to get me. I asked. “So what can we do to help?” Eli looked at me and nodded that was a smart thing to do.

Bishop Earl said. “You guys can help with the heavy lifting, I think we have all the help we could even ask for with you guys and your friends we could have the first batch ready for the movers by Friday and Saturday and still have time to spend time with all your friends here, before they go back home and the ones here in Santaquin. Your Dad says I can order a large storage shed and it can be up at his place by Saturday…

“We have to store most of it anyway until the house is built. I can call the new Bishop in the morning and see if I can put storage shed on his property that can be used for your things or someone up close to your mother so it wouldn’t be so hard to get access to it. I am guessing that you will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas break according to what your adoptive parents promised your mother. So shouldn’t be a big deal.”

I said. “Ok, I can live with that. It’s just really going to suck not having you here. My brother really likes spending time here, compared to anywhere else.”

Bishop Earls said. “I know, but I wouldn’t worry too much because I happen to know that the new Bishop will be more than willing to help him out. In fact, you met his wife today. And she has a son his age and I know for a fact he’s already friends with him in school.”

Eli eyebrows widen and said. “Ok, that makes things even weirder.”

I smiled and said. “I told you something times Jeff finds a way to make my life a living hell, but I thought you said that you couldn’t tell me who the new Bishop going to be?”

Bishop Earl said. “I didn’t, all I said you met his wife, I didn’t mention her name now did I? Besides I am trusting you guys not tell anyone. Because trust me the devil is listening with ears wide open and telling the people right this minute to make sure that it doesn’t happen. That’s why it is always done in secret so the new Bishop can conduct business by choosing his people who are going to run the church the moment they release me on Sunday. Nobody will know except for us and my family when we walk into the building on Sunday like it was any other Sunday.

“I am told that when the new Bishop is called and put before the ward that I will feel the weight of the world lift right off my shoulders and the new Bishop when he is ordained and they lay their hands on his head and give him the keys he will feel and see everything like I do when special people like you and Eli shake hands with them. He can look into your soul he can gather knowledge of everything you have done and make you spill your guts as you did for me when we first met and I drained you as I did with Eli. Which doesn’t happen often, but when it does we take notice and make a little note in a big black book that you are someone that we will need to watch carefully.”

Eli said. “Great, just great, I am already been branded as the most wanted to be noticed.”

Jackie said. “Well, I think it’s better to be noticed by the good guys than the bad guys Eli. At least we know they won’t try to kill us every time we turn around. I haven’t seen one person try to stab me in the back here. In fact, they all have been pretty nice, well except for his bratty sister and his father.

“They could fit comfortably in the do not disturb or you will get frostbite category. Rhoda and I met several girls today that called his sister something that would turn your blood cold they name her the Ice Queen or something not to be repeated in company. I won’t mention what they call his father. Because I prefer not to use that kind of language, and his mother well they call her crazy Linda because they never know when she going to have a nervous breakdown. I say we call it a night so we can have good night sleep.”

Rhoda yawned and I said. “Sounds good.”

Eli got up out of the tub and dried off and turned. “Are coming, Greg?” He looked at his Dad and Dad said. “Go on Greg you might well if you’re going to be married to them.”

Rhoda said “Chad, Cindy you come to if you like. That way we have enough boys and girls for some of those games we been wanting to try. Besides we gave up your rooms so Eric’s mermaids could sleep in a bed tonight.”

His Dad smiled and said. “I guess that leaves me  and you dear.”

She smiled and said. “I guess it does… Boy, I am going to miss this house.”

He said. “No you won’t, you told me many times if had you a chance to start over and had enough money you would like a bigger kitchen, and nice master bedroom like the Rothwell’s have.”  He said. “Wait until you see the size of the check.” She kissed him as she straddled him. I closed the door and stepped into our room. 

I asked. “Where are the boy’s?”

Rhoda smiled said. “They wanted to play with Eric’s mermaids. I couldn’t see the harm, in them sleeping with them. After hearing about what their father did to them. I wanted them to have a special moment with the girls they can dream about and brag to their friends.” I had to admit the boys were lucky, and so was I. who in their right mind turns down that offer?

I was never really a morning person, but when a hot breakfast calls your name my stomach was already at the door before I was. Robert and Michael both had smiles on their faces as I came into the kitchen for breakfast. Today we would be spending the day helping Bishop Earl pack and work on the car making it a babe magnet.

We also had decided that we would spend the night over at Ben's house just four of us. Considering Ben didn’t have a large house for all of us and his parents weren’t nudist and they weren’t LDS or they were die-hard Catholics, both parents worked so Ben would spend the day at my house while his parent was at work, The girls would stay here and help Mrs. Earl pack, that way on Saturday we could take our first load up to Heber. Bishop Earl felt… no matter what I needed to keep my promises to my friends.

The moment breakfast was over I quickly made my usual phone calls one to my adoptive family and one to my grandmother. Because of the satanic church mess my grandma made sure I called her every day without fail unless I was undercover and I couldn’t get to a phone, then it was Dad and Stringum’s job to assure her I was ok. She nearly had a nuclear meltdown when I told her that Bishop Earl was moving to Heber and needed to be out of the house by next Saturday.

What was worse that Greg was going to become my second husband. She already uncomfortable about me being married to Eli but she was accepting it as part of the cover story. Now I was taking a second husband and taking the Earls with me. She liked Bishop Earl right where he was because that gave me and Aaron a place to go when we needed a break from my mother.

I quickly handed the phone over to him so he could get his share of grandma. As I watched and listen to her scream at him as he held the phone away from his ear until she calmed down enough so he could tell her, that he was being released anyway in a couple of months, but using the excuses that he wanted to be moved before the heavy snows came.

He even added the reason he was being released now and it was they were dividing his ward and another and they would be moving into a brand new church building that would be ready around the first of the year. Since he was being released anyway they felt it would be better to turn over his duties to the new Bishop that way he was already set when the building was ready for occupancy. He didn’t tell her what he experienced last night. And he didn’t tell her who the new Bishop would be. He only told her that Aaron and I would be just fine, that’s he has already seen to that.

He knew my grandmother trusted him and counted himself lucky because very few people she trusted. He handed me back the phone and grandma said now that she thinks about it she likes the idea of Bishop Earl being so close to me with the devil's people all around me. She asked about my new car and other things. Like my plans for the day and the week and so on before she was satisfied. I hung up the phone and finished dressing I wouldn’t need much except a change of clothes.  Greg was already writing down a list of things I would need from Stringum’s and the things we would be looking at the wrecking yard.

He would be going with me once he had his room packed up everything except his clothes and his bed and desk, but his pictures and room collectibles would be put in boxes, which gave me the time to be with my mother for a few hours from 10 to 3. I would spend time at her house doing homework and working on my car in her yard. Today we were going to look at fixing the interior and the radio, and price tires as well as find a set of cool looking hubcaps. Each of the Earls children would be doing the same thing as Greg before anything else.

The girls would work in the house and the boys would be dismantling the shed and outer buildings around the property. Moving was more a woman’s job because they had to have everything just so, so and decided what they could live without. Bishop Earl and boys were only good with our man toys and weren’t suited to make the decisions when it came to the house items, according to his wife and the girls, and we were smart enough to leave them to it.

It was almost 7:30 in the morning  when the moving guys showed up with a large moving van and had him move all the cars so they could park it in the driveway. It was our job to fill it up with everything that Earls wouldn’t need until their house was built. Bishop Earl had decided to take time off so he could spend the time moving. Yet he wasn’t just moving his home, he was moving his office as well and buying a new store for his business it would be his 10th store he owned. So it was our job to do the heavy lifting. So it was just as well that us three boys and the Cranny boys left the girls and Mrs. Earl to it.

Yet when I was about to leave for my mothers home she pulled up to house telling me that she and Jennie needed to go to the school and work on finishing their paper they were doing together and was just dropping off Christopher and Tanya. She looked over at the moving Van setting in the driveway as the boys were filling it with boxes.

Bishop Earl came over to the car and explained that his time table had been moved up, she watched my friends load one box after another and huge items that wouldn’t fit like lawn equipment and pool equipment and things from the sheds on the property being placed into the moving van. Bishop Earl provided us each a pair of workmen coveralls that were made for outdoors in cold weather, having Tony brings them from Stringum’s store. So we would ruin our clothes.

My mother nearly had a nuclear meltdown when he told her he was moving to Heber now instead of two or three months from now and needed to be out of this house by next Saturday. She said. “Ok, and what I am going to do in the meantime, with you gone and not having a place for Aaron to go?”

He said. “It’s already being taken care of Linda. I’d tell you more but I have sworn an oath that I wouldn’t reveal who the new Bishop will be, you’ll have to wait until Sunday like everyone else. I have set up an appointment for you and your family to meet with him sometime next week.

“Not to worry Aaron will be in good hands and your bills will still be paid just like clockwork. Now go and do what you needed to do; I rather have them here than sitting up at your house bored out of their skull when there is plenty to do right here. I’ll send someone to collect Susan and Becky and put them to work with the sisters in the ward doing services projects.”

My mother said. “Susan still refuses, Becky been invited to stay at a friends house in Provo and said she doesn’t feel up to working today.” She cringed when she said it, realizing I was right. She said. “I did remind her that she did promise, but she said she wasn’t being paid enough.”

Bishop Earl said. “I see, well then I guess I will have a little talk with her. Give me the address and where she will be. I am headed out that direction anyway so my clients will know where to find me during the move.” My mother quickly wrote it down and the phone number and wished him luck. He put it in his pocket and told me to take Tanya and Christopher inside and hand them over to the girls. I did what I was told and Mrs. Earl asked if they had eaten yet.

They shook their heads and she told them to take a seat at the counter while she warms them up some breakfasts. She didn’t complain, she just accepted the fact that my mother was the worst mother of the year. She knew that we seldom had breakfast that included a bowl of cold cereal, in fact, we were lucky to even to get a hot lunch when we are home from school.

The only way we ever got breakfast was if I made it and the same for lunch. It became a bad habit because I seldom took the time because we had to catch the bus and my mother preferred sleeping in then getting up early to provide a hot breakfast for us. We had lunch at school. I usually worked for my lunch even though I could have gotten it for free. I chose to work in the lunchroom either serving or washing dishes. I was the king of the dish room. Susan and Becky refused to even consider the idea. Aaron liked the idea because when worked we got extra food and we ate first before everyone else instead of having to wait in line.

Even when I moved out on my own I didn’t waste time fixing breakfast. Instead, I ate on the go as I headed to class. I usually got all my meals for free because I worked 90 hours week at Utah State College and went to school there. I saved more money not having to buy food all the time. Even when I quit working there and went to work for various restaurants all my meals were provided because I worked long hour’s every day. Even today I don’t mess with it unless I am in the mood. Call me lazy, but bad habits are hard to break.