Our Journey

by Tey Holden

  They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying the vendors and the different games at the fair. As they walked about, with Mellie in Jo’s arms, people stopped them innumerable times to congratulate Jo for having won the shooting competition, others to thank her for the donation to the clinic, and others merely to let her know how wonderful the air show and the fair had turned out to be. Somehow word had spread that Jo was responsible for it all.

  As they walked about, Kate commented, “you know the senator is right.” Jo looked at her wondering what she was talking about. “You’re quite popular in town. I can see—.”

  “Kate McCallister, you stop it right there, ma’am. The answer is no, so don’t even think about it! I’m not a politician.” Kate said nothing and laughed.

  As they left that night, after having joined their friends for dinner at the fair, Kate took off her shoes in the car. “Are your feet swollen?” Jo asked.

  At eight months pregnant, it was a miracle that Kate still had her usual stamina. However, there were definite signs already that the baby would soon arrive. “Yes, a little bit.”

  “I’ll rub them when we get home. I’ll wash up Mellie too. She’s got candy all over her face,” Jo said.

  “She really liked that lollipop.” Kate looked towards the back seat to check on their daughter. Mellie had fallen asleep with her face smeared with colored sugar from the huge lollipop she had been sucking at the fair. “She looks so peaceful and happy,” Kate said turning, and reclining her head in her seat to look at Jo. “So, what was her offer?” Kate asked smiling, as she admired Jo’s profile.

  “What?”

  “Pam Gordon, what wonders did she offer you?” Kate asked, still smiling.

  Jo smiled also. She had thought about how she would tell Kate what had transpired because she wanted to spare Kate of the pesky details of how Pam had come on to her heavily. “Well, you know that I’m an officer and a gentlewoman, so initially, I handled it with as much decorum as I could muster, and I think she got the message.”

  Kate laughed and lovingly looked at her. “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “For sparing me the details,” Kate added quickly while looking out the window.

  Jo took Kate’s hand and kissed it. “You know me too well, love. And let me just add that there’s no need to spend a second of our time talking about this matter.”

  “I agree. However, if she ever—.”

  “She won’t. I made myself very clear. Trust me.”

  “I do. I always have, Colonel.”

  Jo smiled and kissed Kate’s hand again. Kate’s precious words were priceless. That love and trust meant everything to her.

  The truth was that Jo had treated Pam, as she said, with as much decorum as possible, but when Pam approached her for a third time, Jo just couldn’t take it anymore and simply told her to fuck off.

  Chapter 13

  It was in mid-September when Kate had to be rushed to the hospital. The second birth was a replay of the first. Wally and Dannie were at the hospital ready to assume their caretaker role with regards to Jo. This time Marjorie and Caroline were too far away to make it in time. Kate gave birth with the same ease as before, and both mother and child were healthy. Lauren McCallister was as beautiful as her mom and was a replica of Mellie at birth. The only difference was the color of their hair. While Mellie’s hair was dark, Lauren’s hair was lighter, like Kate’s.

  As usual, even though she claimed to have been prepared, when Jo saw the blood, she again fainted. Kate had not only alerted Dannie and Wally about Jo’s previous fainting spell, she had also advised the nurses to be prepared because she knew it would happen again.

  Since all had gone well, Kate was released the following day, and the happy family went home. Mellie was thrilled to see her sister, and everyone was ready to lend a hand babysitting and bringing food to the busy family. Still, Jo was running herself ragged trying to take care of everyone.

  Lauren was born according to their plan, and since Jo had already finished with her project, she was ready to stay home and care for the kids when Kate returned to work. Kate took four weeks of maternity leave, after which she went back to work.

  In addition to her domestic chores, Jo also prepared blueprints and bids for two other projects that came to her attention. Wally was amazed when she discovered that Jo had received invitations for two other bids before she had even finished her current project. Jo suspected that, once again, someone somewhere had mentioned that she had started a company, and that had triggered word to spread and offers to follow. Even harder to believe for Wally was the fact that Jo had won the bids even though they had not been the lowest bidders.

  Later that year, Jo sat at her computer to pay a few bills that were pending. When she logged into her bank account, her jaw dropped, and she immediately called Wally.

  “Wally, I know that you had mentioned that we should look for the company’s dividend payoff, but I think there’s been a mistake. My account is showing an exorbitant amount of money.”

  Wally laughed at the other end of the phone conversation, and Jo could hear as she was telling Dannie that she was calling about a mistake in her payoff. Dannie took the phone and replied to Jo’s inquiry. “Jo, as the business manager of both corporations, I assure you that the amount you see on your screen is correct.” She proceeded to tell Jo the exact number to Jo’s dismay.

  Wally again picked up the phone, “Jo? Are you going to be fainting again?” Wally asked in jest.

  Jo started to laugh at her end. “Wally, I’d be more concerned with having heart failure now, rather than a mere fainting spell!”

  “Oh, shut up! Go tell your wife the good news, and take her out to a fancy place. In fact, talk to Jim. He can fly you out to San Francisco on the company plane.”

  “Is that a real option?” Jo asked.

  “Sure, we do it all the time when we want to eat fresh seafood.”

  Jo shook her head. “Well, let’s see what can be arranged. Are you offering to babysit?”

  “Ah, oh, sure, but I need to talk to Dannie. She’s more experienced with newborns,” Wally replied.

  Jo laughed when she heard Wally’s reply shoving the matter to Dannie. “Don’t worry, we’re not ready for that yet. Maybe when the weather gets better and before starting work on the next project. After that things are going to get hectic around here, and Kate might need a break.”

  “Okay, your call. Goodnight, pal,” Wally said in her usual cordial tone.

  “Goodnight.”

  The minute she ended the call, Jo shouted loud enough so that Kate could hear her from the other side of the house, “Katie, can you come into the office?”

  “Sure, give me a minute.” She walked in with Lauren in her arms and Mellie in tow. “What’s going on?”

  “I’d like you to take a look at our bank account,” Jo wheeled her chair from the computer, in order to give Kate a better view.

  “Jo, if you’re going to say something about my online shopping-spree for baby stuff, I can assure you that . . . Holy shit! What in the world is that?” Kate looked at Jo after having seen the balance in their account. “You need to call the bank and Wally tomorrow morning. They need to fix the mistake.”

  Jo grinned. “Nope, there is no mistake. I already called Wally and Dannie. I spoke to both of them. This, lovely wife,” Jo pointed to the computer, “is our dividend from the profits of the corporation. After subtracting what I owed Wally for her initial investment, this is our net.”

  “For real?”

  “For real. Now, keep in mind that I’ll have to finance myself this time in terms of the payroll and the equipment rental for the next projects, but still, we’re going to have to find a financial advisor to invest all this money because I fucking don’t know what to do with it!” She laughed, making Kate laugh as well.

  “Oh, my God, Jo. It’s unbelievable!”

  “And let me know when you’re ready for some good seafoo
d. Apparently, Jim can fly us to San Francisco or Seattle for a weekend.”

  “Seriously?” Kate replied still astonished with all the news.

  “Yes.”

  Pursing her lips, she looked at the baby. “Can that wait? I think it’s too early to leave our new little bundle of joy behind yet.”

  Jo chuckled, “I knew you’d say that and told her we’d do it when the weather was better, and before starting on the next project. I think this spring and summer will be crazy for us. We need to talk to Cindy about the babysitting arrangements to see if she’s going to be able to handle the new addition.”

  “Yes, we need to do that. So, I guess this means I can go online tonight and do some more shopping.” Kate pecked Jo on the lips, and Jo, in turn, kissed Lauren on the top of her head, while she sat Mellie on her lap.

  “Shop away, love!”

  ***

  As expected, life continued to be hectic, especially in the spring and summer, when Jo was not available to be home as much to take care of the kids.

  Two years after Lauren was born, Kate had their third child. As with the two previous pregnancies, Jo had gone through all the sympathetic pains and aches as Kate, as well as the fainting spell at birth. So, when Frances McCallister was born, Jo put her foot down and said she could not go through another pregnancy. Kate laughed and agreed that three was a good number for the McCallister troop.

  With a third child at home, and not needing her income as much, considering the money Jo was making, Kate reduced her number of work hours at the hospital during spring and summer when Jo was not available.

  With the years, Jo’s association with Wally flourished. The projects miraculously kept coming, and they continued to win bid after bid. In addition, they had a great working relationship based on complete trust in each other. Everything had always been done to completion and perfection. Needless to say, as the companies grew, more employees were hired to tend to far-away projects, but everything was always done under Jo or Wally’s supervision. So, as the years passed, the money continued to pile up.

  When the youngest McCallister was in school full-time, Kate felt it was the right time to pursue her other dream of starting her private medical practice. All things considered and planned, she rented a space near the town, which was on the outskirts of Casper and set up her practice.

  The hours were tailored to her needs, and her commute was much closer to home. However, because Kate was so loved and respected by everyone at the hospital, her patients continued to see her at the clinic. The number of patients increased exponentially as word of mouth spread. Soon after, she had to hire additional staff to be able to accommodate all the new patients.

  In the end, it all worked out better because with more doctors in the practice, they were able to work in shifts. Because she was the most senior person, and also the boss, Kate kept day-shift hours. As things were, the small practice grew to have four doctors, several nurses, a lab, and a radiology technician. The office also required hiring an office manager, and receptionists. In short, Kate was able to establish a successful state-of-the-art practice only a short distance from their home.

  ***

  On weekends, they sometimes visited the RV Ranch to make sure that the property was maintained well by the property management company. Standing in front of the ranch, Kate happily took in the expanse of her surroundings. “Do you realize that we’ve never owned a home? We’ve always rented while I was in school, and then when we came to Wyoming, we lived in the company’s house.”

  “Maybe it’s because we always had one right here.” Jo pointed to the ranch, smiled, and took Kate’s hand to walk around it. The kids loved it every time they went there.

  “I’m glad you stopped me from selling it years ago,” Kate said.

  “I knew you’d regret it one day, and here we are.” Jo stopped to face her. “What do you say if we build that cabin by the lake that Grams wanted us to build? I can also work on the lake and make it like you said it was once. I think the girls would love it. It would be our peaceful retreat.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. Let’s ask Wally to design something for us, and then we can build it,” Kate said, excited with the prospect of having their own home, and fulfilling her grandmother’s wishes.

  Jo started to laugh. “What’s so funny?” Kate asked.

  “I think those $10,000 I gave that banker years ago was the best investment of my life.” Jo smiled, took Kate’s hand and kissed it. “Who would have thought I’d end up with the ranch and the girl? If that’s not the most magnificent return on investment in the world, I’d like to know what is! I wonder what Todd and Mike would have to say about that now!” Kate smiled and kissed her.

  Upon returning home that weekend, they talked to Wally about their plan. Wally was delighted with the idea of coming up with a new design, which she offered to build only for the cost of the materials. Jo’s part on the project was to drag the lake to restore it to its once recreational splendor, just as Kate remembered it growing up.

  Excited with the prospect of a new design, after discussing with Jo and Kate the features they wanted in their new home, Wally had the blueprint for the house within weeks.

  “Wally, you’ve outdone yourself. I love it. It’s just beautiful!” Kate exclaimed when she saw the design and all the wonderful details Wally had included. Pleased with the design, and seeing Kate so happy made Jo happy as well.

  “So, I say we start it as soon as possible, yes?” Wally asked.

  “Yes, I’ll prep the land and let you know when it’s ready,” Jo replied.

  “Good, I’ll order the materials and send you the bills.”

  Because it was a personal project, it took off immediately, and it wasn’t long before it was finished. Wally and Jo had personally worked on the intricate details of the inside of the house to give it their personal touch. Of course, Kate and Dannie came on weekends to check on the progress and have picnics by the lake with their spouses.

  Upon completion, the house was a marvel of western architecture, and for sure, above and beyond what Grams could have ever imagined. Contemplating the impressive structure and the name on the sign Jo had given to the lake on the property brought tears to Kate’s eyes. The lake was renamed Beverly’s Lake, in Grams’ honor.

  “She would have loved it,” Kate said, overwhelmed with emotion as she wrapped her arm around Jo’s waist while contemplating the beautiful lake.

  “Yes, we’ve done well, Dr. McCallister. Now let’s go grill!” Their friends had joined them that weekend for the official opening of the house and lake, and they were out on the patio grilling on the enormous stone grill while the kids swam in the heated pool. Considering the climate, the pool was designed for year-round swimming. It was connected to the house by French doors that opened into a structure with high ceilings with skylights and storm glass walls. There were sliding-glass doors on the sides that could be opened or closed depending on the season.

  Because the RV Ranch was far from their place of work and schools, they weren’t able to move there permanently at the time, however, it became their weekend and holiday home. Because the house had plenty of rooms, their friends often joined them there.

  However, since they were thinking of retiring there one day, they made other modifications as well. The barn and the old house were demolished and converted, into a huge structure, in the style of Wally’s mountain-homes that would some day house a medical clinic where Kate would finish the last years of her career. Since Kate had barely started her medical career when they moved to Wyoming, she had a few years still ahead of her.

  The rebuilding of the ranch also included stables, a barn, and a workshop within the barn. That area was to become Jo’s playground in her retirement. Over the years, Jo bought adjacent properties, and with time, the ranch grew to be one of the largest in the area.

  ***

  Rachel, Lara, Marge, Anne, and Lisa, who were the older members of the group, were already talki
ng about retiring. Wally and Dannie were aware of those discussions, and that prompted their own talks about what they would do when everyone began to retire.

  “Jo, I’m willing to continue working, but Dannie and I have talked about it, and we’ve agreed that when you retire, we’ll do the same.” The four of them were having dinner at Wally’s house. “We’ve made plenty of money already and can retire very comfortably,” Wally continued, “I don’t want to keep the business going with new people. We’ve worked well together over the years, and I don’t want to start anew. So, we all go together. I also know that Kalie and Jim will go when we go too, and I’ve already heard Kalie talking about Hawaii being their next destination. You know how she’s always talking about a lavish retirement lifestyle in some exotic location!” They all laughed, knowing that it was true.

  “Well, Kate and I have talked, and we concluded that, once Frances goes off to college, we would like to retire to the RV Ranch, and that she’ll finish her years of practice there. So, why don’t’ we plan on that?”

  Wally was now at the point where she had no more housing developments planned and was merely helping Jo with her land development projects. “Alright, we have a plan!” Wally agreed.

  “I have the bid ready for the Native American casino development, and I propose we make that our last project,” Jo said, directing her conversation to Wally.

  “Kate, why don’t we go out to the patio, and let these two talk business?”

  “Yes, let’s go. It’s a beautiful night,” Kate replied, taking her wine glass with her.

  Dannie took her glass and the wine bottle. “Wally, please open another bottle for the two of you.”

  “Yes, hon, don’t worry about us,” Wally replied.

  “To be honest, Wally, I think our chances of getting that casino project are slim,” Jo continued to explain when Wally furrowed her eyebrows, “although I like my proposal, I think we’re out of that loop. Remember that it’s a Native American casino, and I’m sure they have their preferred contractors.” Jo smiled when she saw that Wally was still wondering what Jo was talking about. “Wally, what I’m saying is that I don’t know anyone in that loop. I’m Army, which in old western movies translates to the Cavalry.”