As he left the office and headed for a brief shopping spree, all he could think about was how it seemed his work at HRT seemed to only inspired lies and deception from Simon Kent. Granted he had exchanged some words that he shouldn’t have, but the man continually seemed to be goading Ian into a battle he had absolutely no intention of getting involved in.
Maybe that was a mistake. Perhaps Ian should get involved in all the politics of power. Should he worry about who actually got appointed to Tolan’s position once he retired? Tolan had given Ian this job, when clearly many thought he was the wrong choice.
He would earn this year more money than he had his entire life three times over. Thanks to some wise savings and investments he had been able to purchase a beautiful home at a yard sale price with practically no mortgage. All that could all be put into jeopardy, should Tolan be replaced by Kent or someone with a similar opinion.
No, Ian’s best bet was to do the best work he could and keep as far away as possible from what would obviously become a ferocious battle for VP. It was a job that clearly Ian had no chance of obtaining this early in his career, and the possibility of making more enemies by aligning himself to any part of that bloodbath would just be, well, bad politics.
He piled everything into his old Chevy, pulled into the Shores and managed to get everything in his arms in one careful trip. He had managed to get up the steps without dropping anything and then stood there wondering how the heck to ring the doorbell. Just as he was about to slip off his shoe and aim his big toe, the door swung open, a beaming Tippy on the other side.
“Boys!” She immediately screamed. Reese and Jesse sprang to the rescue each grabbing part of Ian’s wares and carrying them to the kitchen.
“Okay, what’s cookin’ in here?” Ian asked as he made his entrance. Jesse was at the sink washing potatoes, Tippy was stirring something boiling in a pot and Reece was looking into a bag.
“What are all these green beans for?” He asked.
“That’s a little something special for your Mom.”
Tippy’s eyes got wide. “You’re not! Tell me you can’t do that!”
“I can…my Aunt Hil’s very own recipe!”
“Ant Hill?” Jesse stopped scrubbing spuds. “You gonna make ant hills out of green beans?”
“No, my neighbor back home. Her name was Hilary, but I always called her Aunt Hil.”
“Baby Doll, I don’t care if you called her Uncle Cow Plop, if she taught you how to make Pickle Beans.”
“She did, as soon as we get them snapped, I’ll get the pressure cooker started.”
Reese pointed to a box on the table. “Is that what that thing is?”
“Yep, wasn’t sure if you had one, so I bought one…”
“How did you learn to do all this, honey?”
“My Grandma died when I was young and I was raised by my Uncle who basically just expected me to do everything, so I cooked and I cleaned and I raised myself.”
“Oh Baby Doll…”
“He nearly had a fit when I was given a full scholarship to college. He was demanding that I not go, I had obligations, fortunately he got drunk one afternoon working in the fields and ran himself over with the hay baler.”
“Ewww!”
“Next subject.” Ian said.
“I’m on potato duty. Spuds all cleaned up, sir!” Jesse saluted.
“Peel ‘em, soldier.”
Jesse saluted then found a peeler in a drawer and started peeling. Ian found a large pot and filled it full of water, adding salt and rosemary.
“You put rosemary in your potato water?” Tippy asked.
“Yes ma’am.”
“That’s why they tasted better than mine.”
“Tippy nothing tastes better than yours. Mine just tasted a little different.”
“They were better…” Reese said and quickly ducked the handful of potato peels Tippy lobbed at him. Her phone rang.
“Hi honey! I’m divorcing you and marrying Ian, it’s just for the food though, we can still have sex…Sure we’ll be here for a while I assume…what kind of problem…Earl Wayne, I told you to watch him…Just pour him in the AV and get him here…You are in so much trouble…Love you too.” She hung up the phone.
“Boys listen up for your Daddy’s AV, when you hear it, run outside and give him a hand. He said he was just up the street. Ian check and make sure there are clean sheets in that guest room right there.” She pointed to the closest of the two. “I think we’re gonna end up with an uninvited overnight guest. Sorry.”
As Ian double checked the guest room he yelled back to the kitchen. “Whose the guest?”
“An friend of ours, Jimmy Sage.”
Jimmy Sage was one of the hottest country music acts around. He’d had 14 straight top tens, 9 of which went number one, in a short five year span. It seemed nothing could stop the man. His rugged country boy looks, his sexy baritone and his self depreciating demeanor sent him straight to the top.
He had abruptly cut his tour short last year to spend time with his wife. Rumors flew about trouble with in his marriage. He had married his high school sweetheart the day she turned 18, he was only a few weeks older. Three months ago his record company announced that his wife had succumbed to a long fight with breast cancer at the age of 31. The public hadn’t seen or heard from him since.
Suddenly there he was, at the Shore’s front door, three sheets—no make that five sheets---to the wind and barely being held back by three full grown men.
“Miss Tippy!” He slurred and did something slightly resembling a walk to Tippy and hugged her. “Me and Colton had a couple of small beers. I don’t remember this part of your house. Did you just built it?”
“Yes, Jimmy, while you and Colton were having a few beers, the boys and I built a whole new wing. Do you like it?”
“Yes, ma’am” Jimmy Sage nodded and pointed at Ian. “Who this?”
Ian stuck out his hand, “I’m Ian Justyn, Tippy and Colton’s neighbor. It’s nice to meet you.”
Jimmy fell forward and threw his entire six foot three body weight onto Ian’s shoulders. “Gawdang, boys watch yerseffs. You tripped me.” He pronounce tripped with two syllables.
“Why don’t you come over here on the couch Jimmy?” Ian offered.
“I’ll get some coffee.” Tippy offered and shot a look at Carlton who was white with silence. “Earl Wayne! I will deal with you later.”
“Who the hell is Earl Wayne?” Jimmy hiccupped.
“Uh, that’s m’Dad” Reese offered.
“Mom always calls him by his real name when she pissed at him.” Jesse added.
Jimmy nodded his head, “What’s she pissed at ya for Earl Wayne?”
“I’m afraid I let a buddy have a little too much to drink. Course, it didn’t help that while I was nursing a beer, he was sneaking shots of bourbon.”
“Ooh, bad buddy…bad buddy…Is it just me or iss it hot in hyere?” Jimmy started unbuttoning his shirt and unzipping his pants at the same time.
“Here let me open the windows.” Ian said.
Carlton jumped in, “I’ll do that, you just see if you can keep him from getting naked…again.”
“Again?”
“Yeah, I’ve given up.” Carlton threw back the curtains and twisted the latch.
By the time Ian had turned back around. Jimmy was standing up with his jeans down around the tops of his boots, and was struggling to get his hands out of the inside out shirt hanging from them. Reese and Jessie were struggling not sure which way they should be helping.
Jimmy stopped in mid struggle. “Oh Gawd! I need to use the bathroom. Where’d you boys build the new one?”
Reese had managed to get Jimmy’s hands free. Ian slung one of his arms around his shoulder and helped waddle Jimmy to the bathroom as quickly as he could.
Amazingly, Jimmy’s cowboy hat managed to stay on the entire time, until the moment he bent to the commode and vomited. At which point and time the hat was the first thing to be filled.
At the first sight of vomit, Reese covered his own mouth and ran off to the next free toilet. Ian had been through this many times before, but this time he at least felt sorry for the man and didn’t have to fight the urge to hold his head down in his own vomit and flush.
Ian grabbed a guest towel and ran it under cold water, twisted it and dabbed Jimmy’s face in between rounds of puking his guts out. He flushed and rubbed Jimmy’s head and fed him soothing words. Jimmy kept looking at Ian, helplessly as he just could not control what he had done to his body.
“Just relax, Jimmy, everything will be fine. Just relax.”
Jimmy would nod his head, and vomit some more. Ian knew the best thing for him was to get as much of the alcohol out of his system as possible. He kept flushing as often as possible, knowing from experience that the smell of fresh water would cause a drunken stomach to heave.
Tippy slipped in the bathroom and put a tray of black coffee on the vanity. “Looks like you have everything under control.”
Ian looked at Tippy. “I have lots of experience with this.”
She patted him on the shoulder and nodded. “You just holler if you need help. We’ll be by the pool snapping beans.” She started to turn and leave but paused long enough to grab the hat and slip it one of the empty grocery bags. “I’ll just have Colton hose this off and send it to the cleaners. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”
“Tippy, don’t be too hard on Colton. When a man’s in pain, he’ll find a way to make it stop no matter how hard good friends with good intentions try.” Tippy smiled and nodded her head.
Ian turned back to Jimmy. The heaving had stopped and he was still on all fours panting, eyes watering and red faced. Ian rinsed out the towel again and patted his face and mouth. “How ya doin, Jimmy?”
“Oh…" Jimmy said, “I’m hanging in there…”
“Hope it doesn’t make you taller…” Ian flushed the toilet. “Come on…” He helped Jimmy stand up and got him to the sink. Ian filled a big disposable cup with tap water and handed it to Jimmy. “Here. Don’t drink it. Just rinse out your mouth…you’ll feel better.”
“No I won’t.” He said quietly and flat.
“Yeah you will. Just trust me, Jimmy. Maybe not now, but you will feel better.”
Jimmy slugged the water and Ian could see him swish it around in his mouth. He leaned over and spit and burst into tears. Ian turned on the spigot and rinsed the sink, steadying Jimmy who was uncontrollably sobbing.
“Let’s sit back down, just you and me. We’ll close the door and you just let it all out.”
“Okay.” He said like a child.
He helped Jimmy to the floor and eased the door shut with his free hand. Ian reached down and yanked Jimmy’s boots off, tossing the boots and the vomit covered jeans in the tub. He sat down beside Jimmy and put his arm around his shoulders.
Jimmy turned and looked in his eyes and softly said, “I loved her so much…” and then absolutely crumbled.
Ian held him tight. “Yes you did, Jimmy.” He rubbed his shoulders with one hand and patted his back with the other. “It’s okay, buddy, just let it break.”
And he did, sobbing so long and so hard that by the time the tears stopped flowing Jimmy couldn’t even speak, his throat as raw as his heart.
Ian finally poured a cup of coffee and helped hold it as Jimmy drank thirstily. “Let’s get you to bed and some sleep, okay?”
Jimmy nodded his head, and Jimmy seemed pretty steady only using Ian as a crutch a couple of times. Ian finally got him to sit on the bed. “You just relax and try to get some sleep. We’re all here for anything you need.”
Jimmy looked at him with red puffy eyes and just nodded. Ian took a fresh towel and wiped Jimmy down with it. Jimmy held out his arms and feet while Ian cleaned them like a toddler dutifully being bathed.
By the time he had dampened another towel and returned to the guest room, Jimmy had managed to stretch out on his back, hands at his sides staring straight up at the ceiling. Ian covered the trembling cowboy in a throw. “Good night, Jimmy.”
Ian turned off the light and turned to go. Jimmy grabbed his hand and pulled him back. “You want the light on?”
Jimmy nodded his head, and let go of Ian’s hand. In a moment he was sound asleep. Ian pulled the throw around the sleeping cowboy’s shoulders and quietly pulled the door to.
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