And The Horse You Rode In On

When he returned with two hot cups of coffee, he was met at Gwen's door by a smiling Cherilyn.

"No daddy, you don't get to see her until the ceremony." She took one of the cups from him and continued, "Go eat breakfast and then play with one of your tools until 11:00. Then you can come back here and clean up and get dressed. Be at the chapel by noon. Got it?"

"You know, you are not so old that I can't spank you."

"You have never been angry at me much less tried to spank me and you aren't going to start on your wedding day. Now scoot."

The words "Wedding Day" resonated through his mind as he went down and had a quick breakfast. Instead of going to the shop as Cherilyn had suggested, he went for a walk through the woods reminiscing about the past nine years. He felt really calm and happy compared to how he felt at his first oversized, overly expensive wedding. But then, he knew in his soul that Gwen was the right woman for him. He returned to the now empty room at 11:00 and cleaned up and dressed. Dressing for the wedding was simple because he was going to wear a new pair of jeans and a flannel shirt with a warm under garment beneath it. Gwen was going to be wearing something similar although Cherilyn and Jenny had a surprise for her to wear. There would be no flowers since they were out of season in the cold mountain area. Simplicity is what they wanted and simplicity was what they got.

He stood inside the chapel talking with the minister who was over-wintering while writing a book. When Jim arrived, he knew that it was about time. Jim stood next to him while the recorded music began to play. The other over-wintering villagers rose and the door opened. Jenny came first followed by Pam. They were wearing matching flannel shirts and jeans. Then Cherilyn came in carrying a bouquet of artificial flowers. She was wearing a light green silk blouse over her jeans. Finally, Gwen stepped into the doorway with a huge smile on her face and Gerald fell in love with her all over again. She had on a bridal veil with little white flowers on it. She too was carrying a bouquet of artificial flowers. Her blouse was a lighter shade of green than Cherilyn's but was a silk lace fabric that looked like a traditional wedding gown. The fact that she wore jeans below it only made the contrast more enchanting.

The ceremony was short and the newlyweds were met with fluffy snowballs when they left the chapel. The entourage of twenty people crossed to the cafeteria and everyone had grilled salmon and vegetables for the wedding reception. The cake was a simple two tier one with light green icing and a little bride and groom on top. The entire cake disappeared in short order. Then the couple left on their honeymoon which was probably the shortest one on record. They went for a walk along the creek holding bare hands while their other one was safely in a mitten. The honeymoon lasted about 30 minutes when their bare hands got too cold and they came inside to sit by the fire with a cup of coffee. Gwen still looked radiant and Gerald had the look of a man whose future was now in front of him and no longer behind him.

Pam and Jim left the following day on the boat. The happy couple and the two girls spent the rest of the week skiing and staying warm. They even got Gwen to try skiing, something that she had never tried before. She found that she liked it and she and Gerald went out for an hour every day. She finished her blanket on New Year's Eve and shared it that night.

Year Nine

The four of them left on the boat on January 2nd and were met at the train station in Seattle by Jim and Pam who drove them to Pam's sister's house. Gerald was pleased to find her sister to be as low key and down home as Pam was high key. They spent the night in the guest house and took the morning flight back home. Everyone was exhausted and spent the next day just recuperating. When school started again, Cherilyn and Gwen returned to their routine and Gerald began moving things from Gwen's house to his. The first things that went were Cherilyn's and Gwen's beds. Both Gwen and Gerald decided that hers was far superior to his old one. By the end of the week, virtually everything had been moved and he began selling and getting rid of the things that the girls decided that they no longer wanted.

When mid-term report cards came out, Jenny and Cherilyn were number 2 and 3 in their class. The former number 1 had moved away. Both girls rededicated them to catching and passing the new number one. It turned out that they didn't need to do much as the girl who was the new number 1 stumbled in the spring after she got a boy friend whose academic career was reported to be spotty at best. At the end of the school year, Jenny and Cherilyn were firmly implanted in the number 1 and 2 spots. They teased each other about who was 1 and 2 but neither girl really cared as long as they finished on top together.

One day in March, there was a big event in town where it was announced that a long awaited and needed highway was finally approved and was going to be built. Once Gerald saw that the highway would by-pass his property by over a mile, he put the idea in the back recesses of his mind. A month later, he saw two men surveying the road in front of his property. He came out and asked what was going on. They replied that they were surveying the property next door in relation to the new highway. It seemed that none of the property around them had been sold or surveyed in over 40 years. They had to trace back another mile to find a reliable marker and were working their way toward the adjacent property. Gerald showed them the survey spikes on the corners of his property and they thanked him as this would make their job much easier.

Time passed and the end of school came. The girls wanted to go back to the village that summer until Jim and Pam offered them a trip to Italy for a month. Pam had come into another trust fund and needed to spend some of the money "to expand her mind." Italy was a place that she felt comfortable expanding herself in. They were going in late July and stay until the week before school started in August. Jim was staying home. As a result, Gerald and Gwen planned another two week stay at the village with a long drive back through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

Two weeks before they were scheduled to leave, both Gwen and Gerald received registered letters advising them that the state was going to take control of their property by means of eminent domain for the proposed new highway. A hearing would be held in early September if they wished to contest this notice.

Gerald was sitting in Jim's office thirty minutes later and Jim was explaining the law and his options. As he finished he said, "Gerald, I don't for the life of me know how or why yours and Gwen's properties ended up on the list for two reasons. First, you are more than a mile away from the proposed freeway. Second, they would not put you on the list without trying to make you an offer first."

"He didn't say anything about a freeway or anything else but a guy from the capitol came by last fall and offered us both a big price for our properties. He wasn't interested in Gwen's or part of it; he only wanted both or nothing. We turned him down and that was the end of it."

"Well, that is a little unusual to be sure but that may have been the offer. These kinds of deals have so many fingers in them, it would be impossible to find out who or why this is happening. I'll ask some questions and see what I can find but I'm not optimistic. My recommendation would be for you and Gwen to talk it over and decide what you want to do. You can appeal it but there is a lot of big money and lots of powerful people behind this project. I doubt that you would win an appeal. I'm sorry but that is the way things go sometimes."

"So I just lose everything and there isn't much I can do about it."

"Basically that is almost true. This offer says the land only. After the hearing, they will send you a final official document on what they are claiming, the price they are going to pay you for it, and the date they will assume ownership. That will be final as far as the state is concerned. If they claim only the land, which is usual in highway projects, everything on the property is yours and you can take it with you. That includes equipment and improvements. People have been known to move their houses and a couple have even burned it down so no one else can live in it."

"Is that legal?"

"In this case it is. Technically you are doing the state a favor by clearing the land for them. It is your property and you are free to do anything you want up until the date they take it over. If you do burn it and it catches your neighbor's house on fire, I will have to arrest you for arson. So make sure the fire won't spread." Jim laughed. Gerald smiled and shook his head.

"Jim, why don't you run for governor or something? I know that you are a deal maker but I think that you would at least see that things are up front."

"Gerald, I trust you to keep this a secret, even from Gwen but Fielder is retiring; a lot of it is because of the flack that was stirred up from that television interview. I have been asked to run for his seat in Congress. So don't be surprised if you hear that I am running."

Gerald looked at his friend, "You have our votes."

Jim rose and shook hands. Jim said, "Thanks."

That night, Cherilyn and Jenny were shopping for things for their trip. Gerald sat down with Gwen and explained everything that Jim had told him. When he finished, Gwen looked at him and asked, "What do you want to do, my love? I am going where you go and we will do what we must do."

"Gwen, I'm not sure. I guess we can discuss options and make up our mind after the final hearing and we get the formal notice. But we ought to start thinking about where we want to go."

"I have already been thinking about that and I have an idea but I don't want to talk about it around Cherilyn. Let's wait until we get to the village and talk about it there. In fact, I would rather we didn't say much of anything about this until spring. This is her last year of high school and it will be filled with special memories. I don't want this to ruin anything for her."

Gerald looked at her and said, "You always said that I was the one with the answers but you were wrong; you have things thought this through better than I have."

"No, I have learned to think a little like you and I draw from your strength. We will survive and prosper. I know that."

"Well then, Mrs. Murphy, shall we go out for dinner, eat in, or take a trip into the bedroom?"

"You know darn well which choice I would make before you asked that question, you naughty boy. Come on, we probably have an hour."

When Cherilyn got home with an armful of bags for the trip, she found them making soup and grilled cheese sandwiches at 8:30 at night.

"What have you two been doing since 6:00 tonight? Oh hell, forget I asked that. I don't want to know. Actually, I do know; I just don't want you to tell me. Parents don't do that kind of thing."

Gerald grinned a mischievous grin at her and said, "You don't want to know that we went to see the submarine races at the lake and saw all of your friends?" Gwen swatted his arm.

"No, I don't want to hear that! La la la la." And she disappeared into her room.

They put the girls and Pam on the plane and went home to finish packing for their trip. Rather than wait, they left at 6:00 that night and drove until they were tired. They arrived and caught the boat in the early morning and had lunch in the cafeteria the day before their scheduled arrival. That afternoon, Gwen explained her idea to him. She expected that he might ask a dozen questions but instead, he simply said, "I love it. Let's do it regardless of what happens."

She smiled and hugged him. At that moment, all but one answer became clear to him. The one answer wasn't terribly important compared to the other, but it still bothered him a little. The question was "Why?"

The next day, they began their third volunteer stint and quickly put their future plans on the back burner and focused on the job at hand.

Two weeks later, as they got off the boat and reclaimed his truck, they spoke about the future for the first time since they had arrived. Gwen said, "As much as I love the village, this town reminds me so much of our town; just big enough to be small and small enough to be big. I could live here I think."

"Let's drive around and look at the area. We haven't done that before." They drove around and admired the surrounding area. As a result they spent three more days in the town and had talked to several people. One in particular promised to get in touch with them soon.

As a result of their stay, they had to drive straight home to be there when the Italian contingent arrived. When they walked off the airplane, neither of them could believe what they saw. Cherilyn and Jenny had both had their hair cut into a very Italianate short style. They wore Italian peasant blouses and skirts and spoke Italian to each other.

" Buon Giorno, madre e padre."

"Bon Jouney, yourself. I want a hug, goofball." Gerald said.

Cherilyn ran into her mother's arms and then into Gerald's. Jenny did the same to her dad. As usual, they then began talking a mile a minute all of the way to the car. Once there, she continued talking about all of the places she had been and seen. Gerald lost track of the details but he always was excited when Cherilyn was excited.

When they arrived home, she went into her room and unpacked while Gwen prepared dinner. Gerald was deep in thought. After dinner, Cherilyn said, I think the most interesting thing I found in Italy is the realization of how old it really is. They have things for sale in shops that we would put in museums here. Mom, I bought you this necklace. I wish we had had it for the wedding but it will look beautiful on you." She clasped the necklace around her mother's neck. "I have a certificate that this was made in the 1600s and was worn by one of the nobility."

"Thank you honey; it is gorgeous and I can't believe that it is so old."

"And for you, daddy, I have two things. This is a Roman bronze coin dating from the reign of Augustus and is about 2000 years old. I couldn't afford one of the gold or silver ones."

"Cheri, this is perfect; just perfect. Thank you."

"That's only one thing. I got it because it is old like you." She giggled.

"Oh a special thanks for that."

"This is the special thing. It is a measuring instrument I got in Florence. It was made at the time of Leonardo di Vinci. Builders and craftsmen used it when they made things. They guy said that it was used by Leonardo himself, but I doubt that. But it is probably similar to what he used."

"Kitten, this is marvelous; I'm speechless."

"That's not likely. You always have something to say."

"Honey, I think you just gave him something that will keep him quiet every time he holds it in his hand." Gwen said. Gerald got up and encircled Cherilyn with his arms and hugged her tightly.

When he released her, she said, "Wow, for a hug like that, I should have brought him three old tools." Gerald just smiled.

They were silent for a moment and the Cherilyn began again. "Um, mom and dad, something else happened on the trip."

Both Gwen and Gerald were alert in a moment.

"No, it's nothing like that. Do you think Pam would let us out of her sight for a minute?"

They both relaxed and waited for her to begin. "Um, Jenny and I decided where we want to go to college next year. Now before you start in on me, please hear what I have to say. Pam's sister works in the admissions office at Seattle University. After hearing Pam brag about us, she talked to the head of admissions who then called the school for a copy of our transcripts. They also looked up out SAT scores. We haven't even received them yet and they could get them. They have offered us half scholarships for the first year with the possibility of a full scholarship after that. Shecame over to Italy and brought us their catalog and applications and information about the school. It is a private Jesuit college almost in downtown Seattle. It is expensive but with a half scholarship, the price would be about what we would pay here in state. She offered to let us live in her guest house which would save a lot of money. We talked and this is where we want to go. I know that it is a long way from home but you will be going to the village probably every year and I can see you there. It is ranked in the top ten universities in the west. I know that you have questions and if I can't answer them, call Pam or her sister." She fell silent and waited for the barrage of questions that she hoped she was prepared for.

The first thing she heard was Gerald. "Gwen, what do you think?

"I don't know about you honey, but I think that it is a great idea."

"I agree. It is a perfect choice. Have you filled out the application yet, Cheri?"

"Wait a minute; something is wrong. You both agreed without even a question or an argument. What's going on?'

"Gerald, you tell her."

"Honey, your mom and I had already decided that we would support you in whatever choice you made about college with no exception. Frankly, the only surprise to me is that you want to go to a small private school rather than a big school. But I don't have a problem with the school at all. I know that it has a great reputation."

"You do?"

"Yes, in spite of my hermit like ways, I am not totally ignorant about the world."

"I didn't mean that. I mean....."

"Don't worry about it. But things have been going on here too and there is something we have to tell you too." Gerald told her about the highway and the eminent domain.

"You mean they are going to take our land and build a highway on it? They are going to tear down the houses? Where are you going to live? Have you talked to Uncle Jim? Of course, you've talked to him. What are you going to do?"

Gerald replied, "Honey, we have talked to Jim and he said that we can fight it but we would lose and we would make a lot of important people mad. So we decided to not fight it."

"Mom, where are you going to go?"

"That is what we want to talk to you about." As Gwen explained their plans, a smile grew across Cherilyn's face.

"That couldn't be more perfect. You guys are the best. Does Jim know yet?"

"Only in general. We just made these plans a couple of weeks ago. We will tell him and Pam after the big meeting next month when we know for sure about all of the details."

"Oh wow, this is exciting. I can't wait for school to start."

"Just make sure that you don't do anything to mess up the scholarship." Gwen said.

"I won't. Jenny and I want to go out as number 1 and 2 in the class and give speeches at graduation.

Gerald said, "Oh Lord, that means two hour long speeches. I hope the Jesuits can teach them that only Baptist preachers talk for hours."

"Gerald Murphy!" Gwen said with a grin and swatted his arm. Cherilyn just grinned.

School started with the usual amount of confusion and adjustment. Gerald decided that he shouldn't tutor this year because of the things that he would have to be doing. The principal was disappointed but understood that he had some important things to take care of.

Two weeks later, the big meeting was held at the city hall. Surprisingly, no one at the meeting stepped forward to dispute the eminent domain letters. A few people asked questions. One was what amount were they going to pay for the land. The speaker replied that they were going to pay $25,000 per acre which was above the average for land sales in the area. Another question was when the transaction would take place. The speaker said that officially the transfer of ownership would take place at mid-night on May 31 of the following year. The money would be electronically transferred at midnight and the transfer would occur at that moment. One person asked for clarification on what they could take with them and what they should leave. The speaker said, for most all of the property in question, all they wanted was the land. They were free to take anything else that they desired. If they chose to leave anything, they should assume that it will be removed or destroyed as part of the construction process.