Just a dumb fuck

Just a jealous guy

It was only mid-afternoon, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves after a brilliant lunch. Quite a few people were still blasting away at clay pigeons under Elijah’s supervision farther down the riverbank, and others were busy at archery. There was even an impromptu golf tournament being organised on the five holes scattered around the Bauer’s grounds. I fancied another zoom up or down the river on the motorboat but that was still nowhere to be seen – Lee and Kyle were clearly taking the opportunity to be alone.

“Will you join us to play golf, Boots?” asked Shane. “You can team up with me against Nathan and somebody he chooses.”

I was about to agree when Nathan intervened. “No, Boots can be my partner. You’ll need to find somebody else, Shane.”

To be honest, I didn’t mind who I partnered with if I had to play golf. It’s not the golf that interests me, but being with Shane or Nathan is fine. As Shane was looking around at the other guys who were forming up into pairs for the golf to see who was available, Jackson stepped up.

“It’s okay, Shane, you can partner with Boots, Nathan is going to be my partner. I’m equally bad at golf as Boots is, so it’ll be a fair competition between the four of us.”

Nathan looked as though he was going to dispute the decision but then thought better of it. We might not be at college, but you just don’t argue with Jackson. Mrs Bauer, who had been standing nearby, smiled and said, “It must be so nice to be popular and have people competing to be your partner.” I wasn’t sure whether the comment was aimed at me or Nathan.

As well as his own set of clubs, Nathan had produced a second set from somewhere in the boat house and there seemed to be plenty of unmatched clubs and putters available too. Given that we aren’t world class players it doesn’t really matter if not everyone has a full set of tailored clubs. I could probably do just as well using a cricket bat. Actually, maybe that could be a thing, whacking my way round a golf course with a cricket bat could be quite fun.

Because the holes are shorter than on a golf course, and the greens are just patches of grass that are mowed a bit shorter than the rest of the lawns, it’s more like we’re playing pitch and putt rather than proper golf. Everybody still found it fun though and the competition quickly turned very serious. After watching me hit the ball on the first hole, Shane was eager to offer me some advice on the second. Before I took my shot, he stood behind me and put his arms around me, showing me how to hold my club better and line up with the ball – much as Nathan had done when we had played at the golf course. Nathan didn’t look to happy about that. Not the coaching lesson, but the fact that Shane was putting his arms around me. He actually looked jealous, and as soon as it was my turn to putt my ball across the green Nathan was quick to step up and offer me some similar advice. Jackson noticed too and though he was smiling when he told Nathan that he shouldn’t be helping the opposition, I felt that the comment was a little more pointed than merely that.

It didn’t take long for us to complete our five holes, with Nathan and Jackson winning by three strokes. Me and Jackson had effectively cancelled each other out, leaving the real competition to be between Shane and Nathan. Nathan is a very good golfer, but Shane was always in contention. Another pair of cadets won the competition, quite convincingly, but Jackson suggested a second competition, though this time with Nathan and Shane paired together. I was pretty sure they’d win!

“Perhaps while they are playing golf, Boots, we could have a chat,” said Jackson. He wasn’t really giving me a choice.

As the guys playing golf lined up at the first tee, with Shane and Nathan leading the way, Jackson and I wandered back to the boathouse terrace, just making small talk until we were well out of earshot of everyone else. Jackson led the way to a table, about as far away from the buffet as possible, pausing only so we could each get a cup of coffee before sitting down. There were only a few people nearby: Milly was replenishing some of the salad bowls and a couple of cadets were sat with Noah at the opposite side of the terrace watching him draw the river.

“It seems I was right about you, Boots,” said Jackson quietly. ”Kyle and Nathan have told me that you weren’t responsible for what happened at the party, so you’re now in the clear. I’ll tell the Commandant tomorrow morning. I don’t think he’ll be surprised, he seemed to believe in your innocence too. He will be a little disappointed though, Boots, as I am. You could have saved a lot of trouble by being open about this right from the start.”

I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure just how much Kyle had told him. Plus, of course, if he’d only told Jackson about the party. Maybe he’d told Jackson more, told him about me being gay. No, Kyle probably wouldn’t have mentioned that. He wouldn’t consider it any of Jackson’s business. Maybe I should tell him though. People are going to find out sooner or later. Keeping secrets doesn’t work, I’ve learned that.

“You might want to think about phoning your father, Boots. Let him know that everything is going to be cleared up. I’d be happy to call him myself to back you up if you want. The Commandant will do the same thing tomorrow morning to make it official. It might save him a trip down here. There’d be no need to come on Wednesday and take you out of college.”

“No, Jackson. I mean, yes, I’ll call my father tonight, but I still want to see him. There’s something else I have to tell him too, and I think it’s best to do that in person.”

Jackson looked at me, but didn’t ask. “Okay Boots, but the offer is there. If he needs confirmation tonight about what you tell him regarding the party, I’m willing to talk to him. The Commandant will do so tomorrow morning in any case.”

Jackson’s still looking at me. I can’t work out if he knows something more, is waiting for me to tell him, just like Nathan does, or if I’m just over thinking stuff, like Nathan says I do.

Why does everything seem to come back to Nathan?

Before I could think of what to say, if anything, to Jackson, I saw Mrs Bauer walking over to us.  I jumped to my feet, glad of the interruption. Jackson stood up too. I wasn’t sure if Jackson had been introduced to Mrs Bauer. Obviously, she knows who he is, she saw him made Captain of Cadets at college, and he danced with Elizabeth last night at the gallery, but I don’t think she has met him. I know Kyle has been here to Nathan’s house, but I don’t think Jackson has.

“Mrs Bauer, may I introduce Jackson Davis?” I glanced at Jackson as I pulled a chair back for Mrs Bauer. “Jackson, this is Nathan’s mother, Mrs Bauer.”

Jackson smiled and sat down again as Mrs Bauer sat with us. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs Bauer. I had the pleasure of dancing with your daughter last evening at the gallery. An excellent end to a very stimulating evening. And thank you for inviting us here this afternoon, it is much appreciated.”

Mrs Bauer smiled. “It’s very nice to have the opportunity to meet more of Nathan’s friends, Jackson. I have to confess to being a little concerned about how he would fit in at a military college when his father decided to send him there, but he does seem to have coped remarkably well and we were very proud to see him gain an early promotion a few weeks ago.”

“He’s making a good Sergeant, Mrs Bauer,” I interjected before Jackson could say anything. “He was a good Corporal, never let us get away with anything, but he’s a bit more relaxed with us now that we are finding our feet too. I’ve been a marine cadet for years so I knew what to expect, but the other guys in our dorm are all new to it so the last couple of months have been a bit of a shake up for them. Nathan and Kyle have been good at helping everybody fit in.”

Jackson didn’t disagree, but he did give me a stern look. I don’t think he approves of Nathan’s tiger face – Nat’s not made any effort to wash off the charcoal marks that Elizabeth scribbled on him. Maybe I should ask Elizabeth to draw mouse faces on me, Shane and Travis - ‘The Three Mouseketeers’ – and see how Jackson likes that. I was still considering it when Nathan appeared, back from finishing his golf round with Shane. Given the score they have just chalked up, I don’t think anyone is going to beat them. Nathan and Shane definitely make a good golf pairing.

“Hi Jackson,” said Nat, “I’m just wondering what time you want everybody back at college? They all seem to be enjoying themselves and Milly has just restocked the rice and salad, and can bring some fish down from the house to grill later. If you are happy to let people stay longer, we could finish the day off with a fish barbeque at about six and then people travel back to college at about seven? It’s only an hour away after all.”

“Yes, that’s an excellent idea, Nathan,” said Mrs Bauer, “That would be all right, wouldn’t it, Jackson?”

Jackson appeared to ponder the idea briefly but it was clear that he was going to agree. He was enjoying the day out as much as everybody else.

“A final thought,” added Nathan, “Craig needs to phone his dad tonight and if he were to stay here he’d have a little more privacy to call, and I could bring him back to college first thing tomorrow morning, We’d definitely be there in plenty of time for our first classes. Maybe you’d like to stay over too, Elizabeth was saying earlier it would be nice to see you again. Isn’t that so, mom?”

Mrs Bauer smiled and said “Yes, Jackson, you’d be very welcome to stay overnight, we have plenty of spare rooms and I’m sure Elizabeth would be happy too.”

I wasn’t quite so sure, I got the feeling that Nat had definitely just stitched her up again just like he did with the art critic at the gallery last night. She’ll definitely be out to get her own back on Nat just as soon as she finds out. Nat’s plan seems to have worked though, Jackson’s definitely keen on Elizabeth. I can’t figure out what Elizabeth thinks of Jackson. She’s two years older than him for a start, and probably way less interesting to her than the guys she knows at university. Then again, she did make sure to catch his eye at the gallery last night and danced with him. Who can tell with girls?

“Well, that’s settled then,” said Nathan before Jackson could actually agree or disagree, “I’ll let Milly know we’ll all eat again at about six, and that you’ll be staying over tonight so she can have another room made up for you.”

“Here’s Elizabeth now,” said Mrs Bauer, “Just strolling back down from the house with Will Brooke. His father’s at NASA I believe. Will and Elizabeth are always talking about rockets and space exploration. Well over my head if you’ll forgive the pun, but I’m sure that is where a lot of money will be made in the future.”

“Come on, Jackson,” said Nathan, “I’ll take you over and let Elizabeth know you’re staying with us tonight. I need to grab Will in any case and ask him something.”

As Nathan dragged Jackson away towards Elizabeth and Will, Mrs Bauer leaned over to me as she too prepared to go and talk with some of the other cadets. Very quietly, she said, “I understand from Nathan and Elizabeth that your little difficulty at Oakdale has been resolved. I’m so glad about that. Do think about what Nathan said earlier, about phoning your father tonight. We can let you have all the privacy you need, but if you think it would help I’d be very willing to speak to your father first and let him know what Elizabeth was able to find out. That might perhaps make things a little easier for you if you didn’t have to go over all the details from cold, you and your dad could then just concentrate on the things that really matter.”

“Thank you, Mrs Bauer,” I replied, “I’d like that.”

* * *

With a couple of hours of the afternoon left, somebody suggested that we should all play football but we didn’t have enough people to make two teams for that, so Shane suggested that we could play a scaled down version of baseball instead that didn’t actually need teams. Apparently, it’s loosely based on a Swedish game called Brannboll.

Shane explained that there’s a pitcher, who throws the ball, and a backstop who catches it if the batsman misses. The batsmen compete as individuals rather than as a team: when they hit the ball they get a point for reaching first base, two points for reaching second base, three points for third base and five points for a home run. They can be caught out or run out. The game continues until all the players are out and the one with the highest cumulative score is the overall winner. All the players field until it’s their turn to have a go at being the batsman.

It seemed simple enough so everybody was in favour of playing and Nathan found some parking cones from the boathouse to use as the bases. It was agreed that as it was Shane’s idea, he could be the pitcher and when I volunteered to be the backstop nobody objected – mainly I think because everybody wanted to be a batsman.

Just as we were laying out the course, Lee and Kyle came back in the motorboat and it didn’t go unremarked how long they had been away. Lee just smirked and warned everybody not to go upriver because ‘you’ll get kidnapped by aliens.’ That excuse didn’t wash: Travis was quick to look at me and point out that the only alien for miles around had been in their sight all afternoon, then grinned at Kyle and reminded him that if he wanted, he could borrow the clippers used on his farm.

The first guy to bat was Cameron, an officer cadet I only vaguely knew, and he managed to hit the ball first time and got to second base. Next up was Connor. He missed his first strike but I caught it and whizzed it straight back to Shane for a second pitch. Connor hit that one a really good thump and got three points by reaching third base. Noah was up next and several of the fielders appeared to relax and a couple even moved in a few yards closer. I got the feeling that was a mistake. Most of the guys probably haven’t seen him play lacrosse and were no doubt underestimating his ability, kind of thinking ’Oh, it’s just the quiet, weird kid’. Noah had a good look round, spotted a gap in the field and, when Shane pitched him a perfect ball at shoulder height, slammed the ball right through the gap and made the first home run of the match. As soon as he reached the final base, he turned around and took up a fielding position right in that gap so that the next batsman, Jayden, couldn’t do the same thing.

Jayden stood on the spot and casually swung his bat around, reaching out towards me, as we waited for the ball to be returned to Shane.

“I’d step back a bit, Boots,” he grunted, “I’d hate to accidentally hit you with the bat.”

I’m not going to let him intimidate me. He’d probably love to ‘accidentally’ hit me with the bat. I stayed close, ready to grab a catch if he just kissed the ball with his bat and it continued back past him. I often play wicket keeper back home so I’m not scared of being up close and facing a hard, fast ball. Cricket is about the only sport back home I can think of where we actually do wear armour. Well, padding at least.

I don’t think Jayden actually saw his first strike coming. One second, Shane was casually holding the ball in his hand, the very next it was whistling past Jayden’s shoulder as he flailed, late and slow, to hit it. It bloody stung when I caught it! Maybe I should ask Nat if he has one of those padded gloves. 

Jayden was watching closely for the second strike, paying more attention to Shane. It didn’t help. Shane again pitched a perfect ball, a good height, well within Jayden’s reach, but simply too fast for him. Jayden screwed up his eyes and muttered something about the sun, which made those of us who heard it snigger: the sun is behind him, not in his eyes. Shane was smiling.

“You have to run this time Jayden, hit or not. If you don’t hit it, you still have to run round the diamond but you don’t score any points and you can still be got out if somebody touches the base or you with the ball.”

Jayden tried to look casual as Shane stepped up to pitch his third ball. He’s got a habit of slowly shifting his weight back and forth from foot to foot when he’s nervous or impatient. I’ve seen him do that at boxing. He’s doing it now. Shane and the pressure are getting to him. Shane smiled, flicked his head back to lift his curls from his face and then unleashed the third and final ball. Jayden was moving the moment he saw Shane’s shoulder rise, had the bat travelling forward in a wide but controlled arc even before the ball left Shane’s hand. It was a hugely powerful stroke, just like one of his punches.

Shane had fooled him. Followed up the two fast balls with a real slow one. Jayden’s strike had already been expended when the ball arrived, perfectly square with his shoulder. I caught the ball with ease then, slowly, timed for best comic effect, gently touched it against the back of his head.

“Out, Jayden.”

Jayden’s not having a good day. He’s good, very good, at boxing, but Elizabeth trounced him at archery and Shane has just run rings round him with his pitching. From the sly look on his face, I think Shane was quite enjoying that, maybe regarding it as settling the score for when Jayden was getting aggressive to him, me and Travis in the boxers’ changing room a few weeks ago.

Lee was next to bat. He sauntered casually over to Jayden and took the bat from him, then winked at Shane as he walked to the batting position and asked, “Hey, Goldilocks, can I have one of those nice slow, perfect height balls too?”

Lee’s very much like Kyle: awesome build of course, and with that same confident swagger. He looks good, and he knows it. His white T shirt is deliberately a size small, emphasising his muscles.

“How ya doin’, Boots? Life good over on your planet?”

I chuckled back. I like Lee. His dark hair and eyes, that sultry look he cultivates, contrast well with Kyle’s blond, blue-eyed, square-jawed looks. Two wholesome, all-American quarterbacks. Those two must disappoint half the girls in Pittsburgh. Each.

Huh? I’m sure he just wiggled his arse at me! Just as he turned to face Shane, raised the bat to get ready he bloody wiggled his arse. I’m sure he did.

“Boots?”

It’s Shane, looking right at me. Grinning.

“You ready, Boots, or day-dreaming? I’m waiting to pitch…”

I could feel my face going bright red. Nathan had definitely noticed too.

“Sorry, Shane.”

Shane tossed the ball over into his right hand, leaned back, pitched a good ball at Lee. Medium pace, and about perfect height. Just a little further out than Lee was expecting. Made him reach for it. Lee connected with it, hit it with quite some force, but Shane had robbed him of that bit of control he needed to place it well. The ball soared high, out towards the edge of the field where both Will and Jackson were racing to catch it. Jackson, mindful of a collision, held off, allowed Will to position himself right under it and scoop out a perfect catch. Nicely done guys. This is real teamwork. Shane is pitching a range of different balls, teasing the batsmen out of their comfort zones and into making small errors that the fielders can capitalise on. If Shane plays like this all the time he’s sure to make it into the college baseball team soon. He really wants to be their pitcher.

As the game progressed, two players started to stand out; Kyle and Jackson. Both managed to hit an occasional home run, and usually got two or three points for a strike which, given the quality of Shane’s pitching, was pretty good. The rivalry between them was evident, each spurring the other on.  As the clock counted down towards the fish barbeque only three players remained in the game, the third being Noah. Kyle or Jackson were clearly the favourites to win, but Noah had turned out as the surprise dark horse, consistently scoring well until Shane managed to catch him out with a curveball that he only just managed to snick, allowing me to stretch out and take a diving fingertip catch. Noah just shrugged his shoulders and smiled as he handed the bat to Kyle and went to re-join the fielders.

As fewer and fewer batsmen are left in the game, it becomes increasingly difficult for them. They have to bat and run more frequently, which tires them, and there is always the risk that the game can become more tactical with one of the remaining batsmen deliberately hitting the ball towards a fielder ahead of any other running batter to help get an opponent out. Even with only the two of them remaining, Kyle and Jackson didn’t do that. Both played a straight game, fighting it out purely on skill, speed and stamina rather than batting tactically against each other. Both wanted to win, but weren’t prepared to resort to gamesmanship to do so. I hadn’t expected Kyle to do that but, given what my dad had said about how ruthless Jackson appeared, I did think that he might. In the end, the game was declared a draw when Milly announced that the barbeque was just about ready again and people should start to fill their plates. Led by Travis, virtually all the fielders turned about and headed towards the terrace leaving me, Shane, Jackson and Kyle with no choice but to join them. Jackson actually put his arm round Kyle’s shoulder as they wandered over for food. I would have loved to have done that with Shane but didn’t think it was a good idea.

“You look happier now, Boots,” said Shane as we reached the terrace. “You were a bit quiet and serious earlier.”

He was right. Playing mini-baseball, especially being the wicket keeper or whatever it’s called here, had taken my mind off things for a while. Well, with Shane hurling the ball downrange directly at me for over an hour and trying to break the sound barrier as he did it, I needed to concentrate! It would have given everybody a really good laugh if I had clocked it smack in the nuts. But I am sure Lee did wiggle his arse at me. He kept smirking at me for the rest of the game.

Lee had skived away from fielding not long after Will had caught him out and he’s been helping Milly and Jeremiah prepare the second barbeque. There were still steaks and sausages and burgers for those who wanted them, but the main menu now was grilled fish, either whole fish or flaked and mixed with rice to form a kedgeree.

“Whaddya want, Oregon?” Lee asked from behind one of the grills, pointing to several rows of fish. “Those‘re trout, or you can have red snapper, or a butterfish.  Some of the trout are local caught by Jeremiah, but the rest are from Wholey’s Market in Pittsburgh. Milley’s got some salmon and mackerel over there. I’d go for a small trout and a butterfish, and some of my special sauce. Lemon and pepper.”

I nodded in agreement and Lee scooped up a trout and a butterfish on a spatula and placed them next to the mound of rice I had already spooned onto my plate. I’ve no idea what a butterfish is. “Don’t forget the sauce,” he added, ”It’s my grandma’s secret recipe.”

I didn’t get a choice of where to sit. As I turned around from the grill, Nathan and Elizabeth appeared at either side of me and steered me towards a table where Mrs Bauer and Jackson were already deep in conversation. Faster than a fast thing on speed, Will scurried over from Milly’s grill with a plateful of salmon slices and slotted himself between Jackson and Elizabeth, taking the last of the six available seats. Jackson looked a little put out by Will’s arrival but Elizabeth was soon busy chatting to both of them, though mainly about thermal barrier coatings to Will, which left the rest of us struggling to keep up. At least we could understand what Jackson was saying about college life and his ambitions.

There’s no doubt about it, Jackson has his life well planned out. West Point next year, five years’ service in the army and then joining his father in politics. He intends to be a Senator in his thirties. He didn’t mention being President, but it seemed a given that he had plans in that direction. Mrs Bauer seemed genuinely interested and had lots of questions for him about what he believed in and where he stood on quite a few issues. Nath kept wrinkling his nose up like a cat to try and make me laugh whenever the conversation between his mum and Jackson got serious.  

“What about you, Nat?” enquired Jackson, “What plans do you have?”

Nat smiled and cast a snarky grin at both Elizabeth and his mother. “Probably best ask these two,” he said, “I’m not sure my opinion counts for much.” Before either his mom or Elizabeth could say anything, he continued. “Traditionally, it’s my destiny to lose the family fortune, so dad’s pretty much made sure I can’t get my hands anywhere near it until I’m thirty. I was planning to lead a life of idle luxury until then, or until it’s my turn to be Governor. I wasn’t expecting to go to Allegheny Acatraz, but despite that I’ve found I actually like it there and it’s got better since Boots turned up and rattled a few cages.”

Mrs Bauer and Elizabeth didn’t seem the least bit disturbed by Nathan’s remarks and Jackson looked interested.

“What about after you graduate, Nat? On to West Point? Good grounding for future political life and, don’t forget, as Governor you’ll be responsible for the state National Guard so a military background will stand you in good stead there too.”

“That would be the sensible option,” smiled Elizabeth, “But if we let him grow up, I’m sure my little brother would rather become a tiger, or maybe a river pirate. Possibly a jazz cellist too.”

“I’d combine all three,” said Nat, looking directly at me. “Maybe start my own jazz club on a boat down on the Mississippi and do a bit of marauding in my spare time. It didn’t seem to do great grandpa any harm, he went on to become Governor despite what…”

“Well yes, Nathan dear,” interrupted Mrs Bauer, “But a good education is always a firm foundation for later life. You have almost three more years at Allegheny college and plenty of time to think things over. Don’t you think so, Jackson?”

Before Jackson could offer an opinion, which I am sure would have agreed with Mrs Bauer’s, Nathan continued.

“What do you think I should do, Boots? Grow up? Or take a leaf out of great grandpa’s books? He’s left me some money that I can access when I’m eighteen and doesn’t mind how I spend it.” He glanced at his mom. “Some of it I’ll use sensibly. I’m thinking of starting a business with Elijah and Jeremiah, backing them to buy their dad’s gardening business from him so he can retire early and they get to be their own boss. It has great future in the right hands. They can do all the gardening and I’ll look after the financial side of things. Lots of growth potential. Do you know anything about plants, Boots?”

“Plants? This one is tasty,” I said as I shovelled some salad into my mouth. “But, no, botany isn’t high on my list of talents.” It had the desired effect of lightening the mood, which I thought was getting a bit edgy. Elizabeth and even his mom do seem to put Nathan under a spotlight at times and poke him like he’s a lab rat.

“And you, Craig, what plans do you have? I understand you’re over here for a year with your father, then presumably you’ll go home, finish school and go on to university? Perhaps Oxford or Cambridge?”

I think Mrs Bauer is actually serious! Oxford or Cambridge? Who does she think I am? Einstein? And you need money to go to Oxford or Cambridge. Lots of it.

“I’m going to join the Royal Marines, Mrs Bauer. Just as soon as I can.”

“It would pay to go to University first, Boots,” said Jackson. “Get a degree, meet the right people, make contacts, then a few years in the marines would be an excellent launch pad for greater things.”

I think Nathan saw my hackles rising when Jackson mentioned ‘greater things’. He was swift to intervene. Probably doesn’t want blood splattered over these nice teak tables and decking.

“I’ll be needing good crew for my pirate ship, you could consider that for a career, Boots. Start out as a cabin boy and work your way up. Are you any good with a sword?”

We all laughed and before things could get serious again Kyle wandered over to join us.

“Thanks for a wonderful afternoon, and the magnificent food, Mrs Bauer, it’s been a real pleasure to be here. Sadly, it’s time for me to round up my cadets and return them to college. I’ll try not to leave any behind, though given the amount of fun they have had today, and Milly’s cooking, they may try to hide and set up camp in the bushes.”

“Why, thank you Kyle,” said Mrs Bauer, “That’s good of you to say so. It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable weekend for me too. First Craig here escorting me and Elizabeth to the opening of the exhibition yesterday and then this afternoon all these young gentlemen bringing their enthusiasm for life to our grounds. You must all come again in spring when the weather returns. I’ll see Nathan arranges it.”

Kyle walked over to his truck and drove it up to the terrace as a hint, then proceeded to round up all the guys from the dorm. That was slowed down as they all took turns to come and thank Mrs Bauer for her hospitality, and then readily acquiesced to Milly’s assertion that they should each fill up one of the takeaway food boxes she conjured up out of nowhere with the remnants of the barbeque. The officers followed suit, and so it was a good thirty minutes before we saw the convoy of sports cars follow Kyle’s Bronco and Lee’s battered pick-up out of the gates and onto the highway.

I was about to lend a hand to Milly, Elijah and Jeremiah as they began clearing up but Nathan pulled me aside as Mrs Bauer, Elizabeth and Jackson began to stroll up the hill towards the house. “No need to bother, Boots” he said, “That’s what we have slaves for.” He was quick to duck to avoid the last remaining hard-boiled egg that Jeremiah grabbed from the salad bowl and threw at him with a grin and a sarky “Yes, Massah Bauer, please don’t beat me, Massah.”