Dick

Although the day was hot, Josie stood with her arms crossed, hands on shoulders. She was beginning to shake. "Just answer me this Dick. What would you do in Rex's shoes?"

"That's a sneaky woman's way out to worm around me."

"Dick, I've always stood by you, always, from the moment we first met and I saw Kade in your arms."

"Fuck Josie, can't you take no for a no?"

"Dick, I've always stood by you."

Dick slapped his head in frustration. "God you women!"

He paced around and stopped right in front of her, nostrils almost flaring. "You'll be a fool if you listen to me Josie McDermott. I reckon the only thing going for people who sit on their butt and think about pros and cons is they are in a great position to crap. In this situation, I'd to for the window of opportunity. The trucking company invested in its new depot last year so probably has big bank borrowing on its plate. If I had one hundred thou in cash plus a bank loan guarantee for a big amount I'd walk into Elk Briscoe and say, "Hi Elk let's talk about the current bottom line of your business and about me giving you a cash injection in return for a slice of the company and you clear the way for me to become operations manager. It's about time Alex had one hand on the helm, isn't it?"

"I see. What about the risks?"

"There always are risks. If I'd stayed on in that facility the super would have ended up maiming me for life or even killing me. I had decided to take the risk and fuck his wife so when he found out he'd throw me out. I had no idea she'd become pregnant and it that was me, but as it turned out so what? I got out a year earlier than waiting to plead for release that comes up when orphan inmates turn nineteen. So looking back I'm satisfied I look the risk and look at what I've ended up with: a family and happiness. I've become much better educated, I've been taught to fuck properly and now women around here want a piece of me. But this burbling is going nowhere, perhaps all I'm saying is sometimes it pays to take risks."

"I see."

"Go away and think. Please do not call Rex for another hour. Give yourself time to think."

"All right. I'm driving up to the plateau to think. There is cell phone reception up there. Give the children something to eat and drink when Tyson wakes."

As Josie was walking off to the vehicle she turned and called, "You must try not to use that F-word when talking to women Dick. The same goes for asshole and if breasts is too formal for you think about using boobs. Anyway, thank you for being such a darling."

He grinned and gave her two fingers. She grinned and used the one finger sign.

"At least you know how to act the lady at appropriate times," Dick called and was ignored. Watching her drive off he whispered, "If I ever marry she just has to be a swell dame like you. I love you Josie."

It was just on two hours before Josie arrived back, just as Dick was ready to panic. He waited until she stopped the vehicle -- its lights had been flashing at them -- before he allowed the kids to run out to her. He went off to shower.

There was a knock on the door just as he was drying.

"Come in."

"Are you decent."

"No."

"Good," and the door flew open.

"Oh God," Josie said, eyeing his shoulders, chest and stomach. "You are changing into a man before my eyes."

He grunted something that could have passed for a reply and said, "Someone called Rebecca Smith called and invited me to the movies."

"Oh, you'll need to put more oomph into that piece of meat if you're going out with Rebecca."

Flushing, Dick pulled the towel around his waist, aware her comment had him on the rise.

He knew he was being teased when she said had he any idea who Rebecca was.

"All she said was she was home staying with her mom for a couple of weeks."

"She's Sam Beatty's wife. He's twice her age and is probably away somewhere on business with his sexy personal assistant. Rebecca will be wanting it so much she'll eat you."

"Well, she can eat me in the movies if we sit in the back row but she's not getting it unless she spreads over her mother's kitchen table."

Josie clutched the middle of her chest and cackled in laughter. Now that sounds like a teenager who talks like a man. By the way, when will you turn nineteen?"

"Two weeks ago."

"Oh God, oh I am so sorry."

"Why -- I'm not your kid?"

To Dick's astonishment Josie lips pushed out, her face hardened, and she screamed at him, "Don't you dare ever talk to me again like that. Ever. Do you understand?"

"Yes, all right."

She turned and left, slamming the door so hard that the hook glued to the back of it to hold a dressing gown fell off to the ground.

"Phew," Dick breathed aloud. He'd seen the side to Josie that had been dormant, the toughness that Rex said he saw when he first met her, just after she'd tried her best to make it to the top in women's rodeo to allow her to turn professional. She had still been in a down about that when she was raped and Rex said he'd often thought had he not terminated the rapist and Josie had been able to get to her feet she may have finished him off. Well, perhaps Rex hadn't been dreaming.

Dick dressed quickly and went out to her. Although the kids were out of sight in the bath he stopped short of hugging her.

"I'm sorry."

She looked at him painfully, "Not as half sorry as I am. I had no right to shout at you like that."

"I accept your apology, so now shut up about it."

She grinned, opened the fridge and tossed him a can of beer. "This ordinary day has turned out to be rather stressful. I called Rex and he listened with interest and said with your mind you will go far -- you should work to become an expert in building up their assets, starting like setting out to construct a fence..."

"But not forgetting the gate," Dick grinned, noting Josie looked much better.

"Automatically including the gate will come through experience. Rex decided to wing it, so immediately put the suggestion to Jefferson to get his brother-in-law to buy out Rex. That took time, so that's why I was up on the plateau so long. Jefferson called back to talk price. They both know the value of their joint business so it was just a matter of Rex attempting to reel in a premium and Jefferson to thwart him. They agreed to a 15% premium but the brother-in-law, who by that time was at Jefferson's home, offered 7%. Rex said get fucked and slammed down the phone. Ten minutes later Jefferson called to say 15% was acceptable. The brother-in-law was keen for a quick deal so they arranged to go to the lawyer tomorrow and finalize the deal immediately. The purchase price will be paid into a trust fund tomorrow and Jefferson will sign an additional agreement for all payments owing to Rex will be paid across on the 28th of this month."

"Wow, deal done."

Josie, pouring herself a wine, said not quite. "Rex called Elk Briscoe and had a chat and Elk is definitely interested because he and son Alex have been talking about finding someone to buy Elk out because he's decided to retire. Rex pushed and as soon as an appraisal of the business is done they will meet for talks, as early as this Friday. Alex was called in and said he's prepared to acquire up to two-thirds of stock with Rex buying one-third. He and Rex get along very well so everything is looking good. We paid back the $689,000 mortgage when purchasing this property and the bank advised Rex it was very likely he could secure $700,000 on it because improvements had been made and he was investing into the trucking firm that was one of the stronger businesses the bank had on its books. So, Dick, what do you that of that?"

"It looks very positive and Rex can invest elsewhere if the proposed deal with the trucking company falls through. My only concern is how does the trucking company get its finance to expand."

"Alex says they are likely to accept Rex's suggestion -- that the company sells the thirty-something trucks it owns to owner-operators so that the entire fleet of almost fifty trucks are owner-operated with the company concentrating on being the owner drivers' business operator. In other words in exactly the same way the company served Rex and Jefferson."

"Sounds good," Dick said. "I hear a vehicle approaching. Give me a kiss, I'll nip in and say goodnight to the kids."

Later in the evening Josie called a few people and invited them to a surprise birthday lunch for Dick on Saturday. He knew them all and she invited the unattached females to bring a partner if they wished but she called Molly and invited her to stay Sunday night.

"You don't mind me sleeping with him?"

"For God sake Molly, it's his birthday."

* * *

And so life continued to lead to new beginnings for Dick. His last birthday party had been when he turned twelve -- the next seven years later, but it turned into a great event with people turning out to honor him, people who really liked him, mostly promiscuous females but they really liked him and their unsuspecting partners probably thought Dick was an okay guy. Josie turned on a great spread and Kade helped him to cut the birthday cake.

The day after Rex's money for the sale of his half-share in the truck came through he took Dick to a cattle sale and during the next two days 220 two-year-old steers were delivered to the ranch. Rex had said, "Well, let's get on with it and become ranchers," so Dick said buy steers because the land needed rebuilding before it regained 'heart' to support in-calf breeding stock or yearlings. He said it would take two years before they had weeds under control and the results of rotational grazing became apparent.

Dick began improving fences on the upper half of the ranch, assisted by Rex at the weekends and he also put hours in during evenings from late spring through to early autumn. Then came the announcement came Josie was pregnant so four months later Kade was enrolled at junior grade school and taken down to the highway each morning and collected each afternoon. Before too long she was riding her pony out to where Dick was working, Dick being in CB radio contact with the house so knew to expect her and to receive progress reports from Kade with her radio because it was essential she kept clear of the dams.

Before too long Rex as partner and operations manager at the trucking firm began calling Dick in to assist with rescheduling, double bookings, and delays and to help complaints about no-shows and chasing up relief drivers. Dick got to handle the nasty complainants because he used the way he succeeded with women to cool the male 'hot heads' and whenever drivers lost their tempers with other drivers Dick was initially sent in because he was the considered the most expendable guy in the office. But before long it was found he could take a punch and punch back harder that most, but not all, that hotheads dished out but when he appeared one day with a solid rubber baton he suddenly became top dog. Rex's requests for him to 'help out for a couple of hours' increased to four hours, to six hours, to eight hours and even ten hours. Rex listened to Josie and hired a guy to look after the stock who slept in the loft that Rex and Dick fixed up for him and ate meals in the house.

Five months after Rex started working at the truck company he and Josie decided to sell the ranch. Josie approached a real estate company and two hours after listing the realtor's agent was on the property with a guy and his wife who two days later brought the property.

Dick missed the farm but took up rock climbing, skiing and cycling to keep fit. Molly also moved to town where she shared an apartment with two other female teachers. Within a fortnight she was being dated and that guy stuck with her and she was very happy. She and the very pregnant Josie became even closer as friends.

The only big change for Dick was his relationship with Kade faded because living in the town she now had girlfriends to play with, as did Tyson. Dick felt it was time to move on but with the arrival of the baby imminent he decided to stay and be of assistance to Josie as Rex had become involved in expansions to the warehouse.

The baby named Carolyn Jane was born healthy and bonny and with Kade assuming the role of second mother Dick finally headed out of town. Rex was saddened but over it quickly whereas Josie became depressed and that was attributed to post-childbirth blues. That condition lasted almost three months. Josie missed Dick badly and refused to talk about it, even to Molly. Josie knew Dick wouldn't write, and he didn't. It was as he'd disappeared off the planet. Either that or something bad had happened to him. Gradually her worry eased.

Chapter 8

On the day of Kade's 16th birthday local car dealer Tom Pearce, a Rotary Club buddy of Rex's called Rex, who had worked hard over the years and have become principal stockholder in the trucking company.

"Hi Rex, it's Tome Pearce. Your daughter Kade's car is ready. Please come in and sign the papers."

"What car, what papers?"

"Kade's car of course and it's desirable the ownership is held in a parent's name on behalf of the child if he/she is a minor."

"But I know nothing about a car."

"Wait, I'll grab the file. Here we go, paid for in cash, plus an extended warranty contract to include all routine maintenance pre-paid for three calendar years. Ordered and paid for, as I said, by cash, by a Dick Savage."

"This has to be a joke."

"Just a moment, I'll check with the accountant."

Rex scratched his head, tapped his fingers and looked at the calendar on the far wall of a woman mountaineer standing on some high peak somewhere. She was topless.

"No joke Rex. She counted the money personally, mostly in $100 bills, handed across in a cardboard box that the purchaser said, apparently with a smile, that we could keep."

"Well, I did know a Dick Savage from eight years back. But he left no forwarding address. You'll have one won't you?"

"No, the note attached to the file says no forwarding address and none required because the transaction was completed with cash. The purchaser requested daddy sign the ownership/registration transaction and buy a birthday card and write in it, 'Happy Birthday Kade. It's a special birthday for a young girl. Love Dick'."

"I see. I best come over and do what he says. Have you ever dealt with a transaction like this before Tom?"

"No, but there's always a first for everything."

There were girls storming through the house when Rex arrived home and parked his car. Sixteen girls, all around sixteen years of age in fact. He walked out to the cab waiting for him and went to the dealership and returned in the black VW car. He unfurled the ribbon around it that he'd purchased and went inside.

"Oh hello darling," Josie said, a new hairstyle and looking great in her new lemon dress. "Had a good day?"

"A puzzling one."

"Oh that's a change."

"Dick's given Kade a car for her birthday."

"What was that dear? Oh could you help Sheryl and Mae carry out drinks. Everyone is around the pool but not swimming yet. The boys arrive at 7:00 and then the fun starts."

"Boys, you haven't said anything about boys to me?"

"I didn't think it was necessary. Everyone knows girls invite boys to their 16th birthday party."

"I didn't."

"Oh darling, you do need to keep up to date. The drinks, the drinks -- please take out the drinks."

Fifteen minutes later Rex penetrated the constant babble of scream-pitched voices and succeeded in hushing everyone. "I'd like everyone to follow me to the front lawn, Josie and birthday girl to walk with me. A special birthday present has arrived and I emphasize Kade it's not from your mother and me. Come along everyone."

Feeling a little like a Pied Piper, Rex asked Josie and Kade to take him by an arm and the girls behind them mainly linked arms in threes, Josie's friends Mae and Sheryl bringing up in the rear holding the hands of Tyson and Carolyn. In the pressure on him Rex had overlooked his two younger children. He was half expecting Josie to go ballistic when she learned who'd given the car to Kade.

They lined up on the lawn, looking down at the black Volkswagen.

"Ohmigod," screamed Kade and a roar of ohmigods echoed across the immediate neighborhood.

"Who's it from daddy?"

"It says here on the card darling," Rex said.

"Ohmigod," Kade said, reading the card and thrust it into the hands of her mother. She jumped over the flower border and slumped over the bonnet crying, "Ohmigod, Dick. Ohmigod Dick."

Her girlfriends looked at each other asking, "Who's Dick?"

Rex just managed to catch Josie as she fainted.

The party picked up as the boys began to arrive and invariably said 'Cool!' when told the VW was a birthday present from Kade's mysterious and much older boyfriend. The boys were so impressed than none bothered to scratch the paintwork.

* * *

The former Molly Peake, now Molly Scott, married with two children and recently returned to school teaching, called on her long-time older friend Josie next day and was told about the birthday party and, of course, the car.

"From Dick Savage, no longer the disappeared-off-the-face-of-the earth Dick Savage, Josie said excitedly. "Oh, how I wish I could see him again, to find out all about him. I'd have so much to say to him, to ask him."

"Well, that could keep him away," Molly joked, hastening to say she was only joking after catching the horrified look her friend gave her.

They talked on and that evening Molly emailed to an address she had on trust, to her old lover Dick Savage.

Dear Dick

Apparently your present caused a sensation and consternation. Poor Josie is half out of her tree wondering about how are you, where are you. Why won't you contact her? She fainted and was just caught in time by Rex after reading your name on the birthday card revealing you were the donor of the Sweet Sixteen car. It was a fantastic birthday present Dick, but why? Even I want that answer.

I confirm, yet again, that Kade is a pleasant and very likeable teenager, has heaps of friends and you will be interested to know that she now has a steady boyfriend who is the second son of one of one of Rex's best friends. I'll tell you his name Dick but please don't hurt him. He's Mike Lock, a gangly seventeen-year-old. He talks to me because he's intending to become a math teacher.

Keep well and keep happy

Molly

The morning after her birthday party Kade peeped out of her bedroom window and sighed happily. The car hadn't disappeared overnight as her mom, weeping, had said the man who gave it to her had done, disappearing from their lives. Mom had a poor quality photograph of him -- the only one the family possessed -- taken on the day of his twentieth birthday party. The woman with her arm around him and looking like she owned him, although years older than him, was Aunty Molly. Dick -- she hated the stupid name -- was in her memory, like a shadow she thought. But she knew she had liked being with him.

She yawned and then yelled, "Come in Carolyn." The door burst opened and in rushed the seven-year-old who must have been sitting outside in the hallway waiting for the call. Every morning the baby of the family, soon to have her birthday party, came into Kade's bed. On school days the stay was very short but on Saturday and Sunday mornings they'd stay together until mom made them get up. Sometimes on Sunday morning they'd both drop off to sleep, no one hassling them until usually stupid Tyson would come in whining, "Where's my breakfast? Why is everyone asleep? Are we going to have fun today?' Oh why couldn't boys learn to converse and be interesting like girls?

"I now own a car."

"I know," Carolyn said. "I've been out to see it. Will we go somewhere in it today?"

"Yes, but mommy says I cannot drive it without her or daddy sitting beside me until she is satisfied I am competent. That means skillful and safe as a driver. She thinks that will be at least a month but she'd got another think coming. I reckon one week if we drive every day."