Hearthstone Entertainment
68 Horseback
AT THE RANCH, life shifted into overdrive. It took two weeks for everyone to get there. Parents were constantly arriving and leaving, even after their kids were settled. And it seemed like everyone had someplace to go during the summer as well. Sarah spent two weeks on the road with Jessica and then she assisted Maggie and Jess with taping the first episode of Redress for the second season. I was with them for the first couple days and watched how smoothly the team worked.
Pam’s parents wanted her home for part of the summer for a trip to visit her grandparents. Susan went with her. Surveyors came out to subdivide the ten-unit development next to the ranch. Ron, Rhiannon, and the guys from Nappanee were working hard on creating a village atmosphere that was completely compatible with the ranch. Whitney went to tryouts for the Olympic team and came back happy she’d gone and hopeful for the next four years. It was funny in a way. Sora was already too old to be considered a gymnastics contender when she turned seventeen. All the women on the Olympic basketball team were in their twenties with a couple pushing thirty. Still, we watched every game from Barcelona for both the women’s and men’s team. The Dream Team crushed everyone who came near.
We were far more organized with summer taping than we’d been last year. Hannah drove the schedule, but aside from directing Elaine, left all the production and directing to Lonnie’s class. That meant fewer people from the ranch were involved overall. I had new directors, producers, and crews for Young Cooking and they really went out to get a diverse series of guests and audiences. We were actually selling tickets to be in the audience and it was a popular thing for the parents of new and prospective college students to do when they visited Bloomington. We retired the ‘Brian’s Girlfriend’ aprons, as I often had male guests. Mary became my kitchen manager and the triplets worked as the sous chefs. They were getting more onscreen time as we prepared more sophisticated menus.
When I wasn’t on set, I spent a lot of time on horseback. Thinking. Some of the glam of being a television production studio had worn off. We were professionals with jobs to do. We went to work each day. We came home to our family after work.
Is this what I want for my life? What about being a chemist?
Doug came out to join me on Saturday morning as I was saddling up Jingo. In his arms he carried our son.
“Hey. Matthew wants to go riding with Papa,” Doug laughed. “Think you can handle this big boy?”
“Heck, yeah. Give me the Snugli.” I got the little front baby-carrier strapped on and mounted. Doug handed me my son and I got him tucked safely into the pouch. He was alert and looking all around. At seven months old, he was really developing his personality. He’d managed to push himself up and scooted all around the floor, especially if Ellie was there to goad him on. She was vertical and cruising now.
I looked at Doug. We shared a unique bond. His sister was cónyuge to both of us. I was father to his son. My cónyuge Liz was his lover. But most of all, it was this little bundle in front of me that held us together. He patted Jingo on the rump and we headed for the fields.
If I didn’t become a chemist, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it, honey? I’ve been so driven to get my degree and move on to my master’s. And all the time this wonderful life has been unfolding in front of us. You’re no longer a teenager. Courtney is twenty-one now. Jennifer will be in a couple of weeks. I’ll be twenty-one this fall!
We’re fucking grown-ups!
Well, I should be able to finish my degree this year with a more or less normal load. I think I’ll talk to Lonnie about what I’d need to do to get into media graduate school. I mean, if I’m going to be your co-CEO of a television production company, it seems like I should know a little more about what I’m doing. Help me, Hannah. I don’t have the foggiest idea what I’m doing.
But this little guy in front of me is the future. I’m not going to get stuck in a career that keeps me away from my children. Or my lovers.
I promise you that.
The End
Continued in
Living Next Door to Heaven 8: Becoming the Storm
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