And The Horse You Rode In On

Jim and Pam held a big Fourth of July party and they all attended. This led to discussions about the history of the country. As usual, the girls had many questions many of them beginning with "why." Gerald would often tell them a story and let them decide what they would have done if they had been there at the time.

In late July, Jim, Pam, and Jennifer went on a two week vacation and invited Cherilyn to go along. Jim was going to drive them through the east including Washington D.C. and other places. Gerald asked them to each keep a journal of where they went and what they did and saw. He gave them colorful notebooks and pens for this.

While they were gone, Gwen visited the prison and then spent a week with her parents. Gerald was very busy but he still missed his companions but knew that they would be back soon.

When Gwen returned, he had her over for dinner and they had a chance to talk without the girls around for the first time in a long time. Gwen broached the subject of her marriage again.

"Gerald, when I was at the prison, he brought up about getting a divorce again. It looks like they will add at least another ten years to his sentence. I spent a lot of time talking to mother and dad about the situation. Both of them understood my conflict but they also stressed that I deserved a happy life and that Cherilyn also needed some closure to things. I am going to think about it some more and maybe make a decision later this year. Do you think that is a good idea?"

"Gwen, I would only add that I think you will know when you are ready to make that decision. It might be later this year or next year, but you will feel it. I don't know if you and Cheri have talked about it but she might have a more difficult time understanding the decision. Getting her perspective on things will be important before you make your decision."

"We have talked a little about it. She still defends her dad but she also shows signs of not remembering much about life when he was around. I know that she admires the relationship Jenny has with Jim but she also talks about her relationship with you in much the same way. I guess that it will be hard to determine how she would react to making a final decision."

"Every time, I talk to Cherilyn about things, I am more and more surprised at how she is growing up. Her maturity is a constant surprise to me. I have a feeling that when you are ready, you too will be surprised at her response. So I guess I would offer that you just trust her. She is not ignorant of what is happening even if she doesn't understand all of the details."

"Thanks, I guess I need to hear that from someone else. I see that too but as her mother, I was afraid that I was reading too much into it."

Gerald smiled, "I guess, I ought to ask if you have thought about what you are going to do afterwards if you do get the divorce."

"Are you reading my mind? That is one of the questions I keep asking myself and honestly, I probably think more about that than anything. The truth is, I would love to travel to some other places. I really haven't been to many other places before. I envy Cherilyn's trip to the east coast but I also would like to see the west coast particularly the northwest. I know that I could move to a big city and make more money teaching. But it would cost a lot more to live and I keep hearing horror stories about some of the things that go on in schools there. I really like the students here and I love being in the classroom but the state keeps adding more and more things that I feel are taking away from teaching and just focusing on other things. I don't have time to spend one-on-one with students anymore. I thank my lucky stars that Cherilyn has you to talk to about things she doesn't understand. You are a natural born teacher and she has just blossomed since you began working with her on math and other things."

"Thanks, I guess I never considered myself to be a teacher."

"But you are. Your patience and the way you can find a way to demonstrate a lesson and not just talk about it is what teaching used to be. Now it isn't. But in any event, I have decided one thing."

"What is that, if I can ask?"

"Of course you can ask. I am going to stay here until Cheri graduates from high school. I might stay longer but I am not going to uproot her before then. Maybe my personal dreams will happen after that, but I can wait. Right now, it is more important that she has some stability in her life and I guess I do too."

Gerald hadn't been aware that he had almost been holding his breath until he let out a long exhale and began breathing normally again. He finally said quietly, "I think that is a good decision."

"Me too."

Gwen changed the subject. "I am thinking about putting the internet back in. It will cost a lot but I think that Cheri will be needing it more and more in school. Do you have any thoughts?"

"Actually, I have been thinking about that for awhile and I agree that Cherilyn needs it now and will need it more as she goes on in school. I have checked and I would like to try something first before you spend the money to put it in."

"Oh, what do you want to try?"

"Our houses are less than 100 yards apart. My internet connection is supposed to be able to support up to five or six devices but Wi-Fi won't go that far. I think that I can run a wire from my house to yours and with a signal booster or a server, you can have access to the internet without having to pay extra for it. I'm already paying a lot more for the service and the amount I use. I don't have a problem sharing it with you and Cherilyn. You will just be added users on my account."

"Will you get in trouble for doing that?"

"Oh, if they ever checked they might squawk but I doubt that they will ever check. It is no different than each of you having a laptop and using it here really. All I would be doing is to run a wire along the fence and into your house so that you don't have to walk over here."

"You make it sound so simple but I like the idea of having access here too. I could spend more time at home rather than at school when it comes times for grades and reading e-mails." She took a breath and nodded, "Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, I can still get my own service."

"I'll get the materials tomorrow and we can find out if it works before Cheri gets back."

"Can I go with you?"

"Of course you can. Let's go after breakfast."

"Only if I make breakfast for you."

"Deal."

After breakfast the next morning, they drove thirty miles to a discount computer warehouse store that carried a little bit of everything. They found a salesman who seemed to be knowledgeable about networks. After he explained that he wanted to put a computer outlet in his barn about 100 yards away from his house, the salesman suggested a small server rather than a signal amplifier. He said that it would be more reliable and send a stronger signal. Gerald nodded and then loaded the basket with the other things he would need. As they turned toward the checkout counter, he saw a red laptop sitting on a clearance shelf.

"What is the story on that laptop?" He asked the salesman.

"Depending on what you want to do, that could be a really good deal. One of our good customers bought it for his son. It turns out that the kid was a big gamer and that this guy just doesn't have the power or the memory for some of the games he plays. Two months after he bought it, he brought it back. Normally we wouldn't take a two month old computer back and it has a couple of scratches on it, but this customer buys thousands of dollars of stuff every year. So we gave him a trade in credit and he bought a lot more expensive one."

"But this one is still a good one isn't it?"

"Oh, yes. Our service guys went over it and cleaned off all of the stuff that they kid had put on it and checked it over. It runs good. It will run videos and the internet just fine and it has word processing and spread sheet software on it. It just won't run the big complex action video games that kids like to play."

"For that price, I think I will take it. I have been thinking about upgrading my home computer and that deal is too good to pass up." They put it in the cart and went through the checkout.

Once in the car, Gwen looked at him with a smile on her face and said, "So my house is now a barn, huh?"

'Well, I might want to put a connection in the barn some day." Gerald grinned in reply.

"But your barn is fifty feet from your house."

"Isn't that what I said? I said I needed about 100 feet of cable just to be safe."

"So that was why you got 100 yards of cable."

"A little extra just keeps you from having to go back."

They laughed at their inside joke.

When they got home, Gerald began figuring out how to run the cable. The wiring for their previous cable was still in place and he began splicing the new cable onto the existing one. While he was doing that, Gwen got a phone call and said that she had to go over to the school for awhile. They had her fall schedule and some other materials she needed to look over. Gerald waved her on and continued with his work. An hour later, he ran the cable along the fence and over to his house. He easily set up the server and got it going and then plugged his computer in. It worked like it always had. He then went back to Gwen's house and plugged her computer into it. It fired up right away and Gerald sighed with relief. Finally, he went into Cherilyn's room and put the laptop on her desk and plugged it in. Five minutes later, he typed "Welcome Home!" of her screen and left. He also left a note for Gwen to come over for dinner later.

He fired up the grill and marinated two steaks while the baked potatoes were in the oven. She arrived with a salad under her arms and a smile on her face.

"Thank you so much Gerald. As soon as I got home, I tried out the computer and it works so nicely." She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Gerald blushed and said nothing.

"By the way, Pam called while I was at school and they will be home the day after tomorrow probably in mid-afternoon. I told her that we would have dinner when they got back."

"Then I need to go to the store and get a couple of pounds of beans." Gerald said. Gwen laughed and handed him two bags.

"I figured that you would need these."

He smiled and put them into a pot to soak and then went to put the steaks on the table while Gwen set the table and checked the potatoes.

On Friday, he carried a pot of beans and two loaves of bread up to Gwen's and was met with a smile.

"They called and will be here in about an hour. Have a seat. I bought some beer and a bottle of wine. I think Jim and Pam will need it after herding two eleven year olds for two weeks." She handed Gerald a beer. Beer and wine was something that Gerald enjoyed but seldom allowed himself the luxury of buying.

An hour later, they heard a car drive up and went outside to greet the travelers. Both girls were the first out of the car and talking at the same high rate of speed. Both Gwen and Gerald got hugs from Cherilyn and Jennifer. Jim and Pam got out of the car and stretched with the look of two worn out travelers. Gerald handed Jim a beer which he accepted gratefully. Gwen had a glass of wine for Pam which she also took with a smile. Cherilyn got her bag out of the car and the two girls ran into her room. Before the adults could even get inside, they heard Cherilyn scream. Gwen got a concerned look on her face until Cherilyn came running out and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, thank you momma. I love it and its red too. It's my favorite color. And it has internet too." She released her mother and ran back to her room.

Understanding slowly overcame the confusion and Gwen turned to Jim and asked, "How much jail time would I have to serve for killing a man who deserved it?"

Jim looked confused but replied, "Probably five years; three is you have a good lawyer."

Pam responded, "If it was a man who really deserved it and the jury was all women, they would probably find you innocent and offer to buy you lunch. So who is this man who deserves his fate?"

"That smiling idiot over there bought Cheri a computer with me standing right next to him and never even gave me a hint that he was up to something."

Both Jim and Pam burst out laughing. Pam added, "Just like man. He does something good but really deserves a good spanking."

Gerald started to blush and then added, "Just tell her that you got it out of this quarter's royalty check."

Gwen eyed him and responded, "And I better see evidence of that when the check comes." Gerald handed her their second quarter check." She looked and smiled and said nothing else.

An hour later they pried the girls away from Cherilyn's computer where they had set up all of the social networks important to girls at the time. As they started to sit down, Jim said "I figured that I was in good enough shape to chase down a bad guy running away but let me tell, I am not in good enough shape to keep up with these two girls." Everyone smiled as Pam nodded in agreement.

Gerald went to the market alone on Saturday because Cherilyn had stayed up late and slept until almost noon. Two weeks later, school started and things returned to their normal pattern.

It was the Sunday after the last weekly market in October. Gerald was over for dinner which was running a little late. He had worked with Cherilyn on her homework and Gwen suggested that he watch the evening news as she finished dinner. He watched the news and went still as he watched the story about a new plant opening 100 miles away. They were interviewing the plant manager. When the story finished, Gerald stood up unsteadily and walked into the kitchen with tears in his eyes and apologized to Gwen and said that he had to leave. Then he walked out the door and went home.

An hour later, a worried Gwen knocked on his door with a plate of dinner for him. His tears had stopped but the sadness was written all over his face.

"Gerald, you have always been there for me. Talk to me. What happened?"

"I'm sorry, Gwen. I just saw something that hit me wrong on the news."

"Tell me, please."

Gerald looked very sad. "They did that story they did about the new plant?" She nodded. "The plant manager was the guy who was messing around with my ex-wife. That was her standing next to him."

"I'm sorry, Gerald. I know that this is still a sore spot for you."

"Actually, that didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It was that standing next to her were my two children." The tears started rolling down his face gain. Gwen just looked at him in shock. He had never said much about his ex-wife but he had never even mentioned that he had children before. She felt like a whole new dimension into Gerald had just opened up in front of her and she was totally unprepared to witness it.

Finally, she stuttered, "You never mentioned them and I never thought......." He got up and went into his bedroom and brought back two boxes and sat them next to her. Then he went into the kitchen and got a drink of water. She looked through the box and saw a few school pictures of kids in their early school grades. She saw the envelopes marked "Moved, address unknown." Then she saw the letters written every week with the last one written that very morning. The most recent letters were short but showed no signs of being folded or made ready to mail. He had just kept the letters in case something happened.

He came back and sat on the sofa again. Gwen struggled with herself before she could say anything.

"Gerald, I can't think of a thing to say except....except that I am sorry that you have been put through this. I feel like I am intruding into a place that I don't belong."

"No Gwen, don't feel that. I haven't said anything because I really didn't have anything to say. I couldn't explain things to you very well because I didn't understand what was going on either. Then I never felt like the opportunity was right to tell you. I guess, today was the day fate decided I should tell you. I just didn't do it very well."

"You did fine from my side. I expect that you haven't had time to decide what you are going to do yet."

"No, I am still in shock myself. But I will talk to you about it before I do anything. I am probably going to need some help deciding what to do."

"I will be there for you anytime you want to talk."

"Thanks, Gwen. I really appreciate you and your support."

"You probably don't have a clue how much I appreciate the support you have given me. Now, I am going to put your dinner in the microwave and heat it up. Then you need to eat. I have to get back to Cheri."

"Don't say anything to her about this, please. I can barely talk to you about this and I know that I couldn't talk to her about it for sure."

"I understand. I won't mention it to her." She heated up his dinner and after he sat down to eat, she gave him a hug and walked back home.

A week and a half later, he called Gwen and asked her to stop by after school. She dropped Cherilyn off at home and walked down to meet him. She found him sitting at the kitchen table with two envelopes and two letters. She sat down and waited for him to speak.

"Gwen, I have been thinking. I don't know what they might have told Rick and Denise about me or why I haven't contacted them. So I don't think just walking up to them is a good idea. So I decided to write them each another letter and mail it to their attention at the plant site. It might break the ice more easily for them. What do you think?"

She thought a moment and decided that this was also the easiest way for Gerald to protect himself if things weren't good.

"I think that this is a good idea, Gerald. It breaks the ice without too much pressure on you or the kids."

"That was what I was thinking too. I'll mail these in the morning."

Two weeks later, she and Cherilyn came over for dinner and she saw the two envelopes sitting on the table. They were both marked "Return to sender. No Person at this address." Gwen looked at Gerald and saw only a sign of resignation.

"Gerald, I have an idea. Would it be alright if I tried something to see what is going on?"

Gerald replied with a lackluster voice. "Sure; I don't mind. I don't have any better idea."

After dinner Gerald sat down with Cherilyn to work on her homework; Gwen stepped out on the porch with her phone and called Jim.

"Jim, this is Gwen. I'm not going to go into a lot of details but a couple of weeks ago, there was a news announcement about a plant opening two counties over. Do you know anyone over there who can find out a little about the plant manager?"

"Yes, I know the sheriff over there. We have worked on a couple of cases together. What are you trying to find out? Is this official or personal?"

It is personal and I only have limited information. The news program interviewed a guy who Gerald thought he might have known earlier but wasn't sure. He tried to track him down with a letter and didn't get a response. He is just wondering if it was the same guy and if he is in the area."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll give the sheriff a call in the morning and let you know what he says."

"Thanks, Jim. I would appreciate it."

"Gwen, there is a little more to the story than this, isn't there?"

"Yes, but let's let that sit until you find something out."

"Will do."

The next afternoon, Jim pulled into Gwen's driveway while Gerald was inside helping Cherilyn and Jennifer with their homework.

"Gerald, can you come outside for a minute?" Gwen asked him.

"Sure. I'll be right there. You guys keep working on this and I'll be right back."

He went outside and found Gwen talking to Jim. He shook hands with Jim and looked at Gwen with a questioning look.