groceries.”
Willow busily worked in the kitchen while watching Connor ready the grill. Once everything was organized, she called out to Conner. “Come in and open the wine. I want to share a few calm moments.”
Connor looked into the wine cabinet. “Chardonnay or Merlot?”
“I think a 10-year-old Merlot would satisfy my thirst.”
“Merlot it is. You get a couple of glasses and join me in the gazebo. We can sit in the swing and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.”
Connor followed Willow outside. “This is going to be a very good night. It is great having you here again.”
Raising her glass toward Connor, Willow said: “A toast to my man and to a very good night. I’ve dreamed about this and look forward to relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility. I see you have cleared some of the trees that blocked the view of the flatlands below.”
“Yeah. I remember the last time you breezed through; you made the comment about the tall trees and how much they obstructed the landscape at the bottom of the bluffs. I’ll have to admit I like the view much better, too. When the leaves are off in the winter, I can see my old home place on Long Lake. But I enjoy it more when the spring water rises on the Yazoo River flooding my old home and I realize I don’t have to contend with that problem anymore.”
Willow finished her second glass of wine and motioned for Connor to refill.
“Good wine, huh? I’m glad you like it.”
“It is not just good. It is excellent. I hope you have several bottles left.”
“No problem. Keeping a good supply of excellent beverages is something I learned from you many years ago. Don’t you remember how much you hounded me to keep an adequate supply of drinks in our cave?”
“It means a lot to me for us to sit and talk,” Willow said, laughing. “And speaking of our cave, when are you going to take me up there?”
“That’s something we don’t need to rush. We need to be very careful. We don’t want to call any attention to it.”
“Connor, at this point, I don’t want to call any attention to it, but I do want to correct those stupid things we did way back then.”
“There’ll be plenty of time, especially when we build or remodel a house for you.”
“So many things occupy my conscience and I want to clear some of that clutter out.”
“This weather is absolutely wonderful,” Willow said, pushing a bit harder, swinging higher. “This morning in New York the temperature was in the high twenties with rain and snow showers.”
“Willow it feels good now, but you haven’t forgotten about the high humidity that follows later in the year?”
“No. I remember very well how humid it gets here and how much we used to enjoy going to the cave on those hot, sultry days. The constant temperature in the cave made it an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon or evening.”
“What exactly do you want to do? And why didn’t you call me to let me know you were flying in?”
“I thought the idea of a surprise with the news that I was retiring from the ad business would be a fun thing to do.”
“I like the surprise, but I could just as easily not been here. Did you ever think about that?”
“Not really. You’ve always been here. I guess I’ll have to make some adjustments in my spontaneity. It’s a woman’s thing. I didn’t mean to cause a problem.”
“No big problem. I’ll have to go to the office first thing in the morning and make a few phone calls. I don’t think you know, but McKenzie Towing is playing a major role in the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf. We’ve got a tow boat and two barges assisting in containing the oil spill and removal of the polluted waters. We’ve got a big vacuum truck mounted on one of the barges that picks up the oil and stores it in the other barge. This has been a very lucrative venture for McKenzie, but the company responsible for paying us is nearly two months behind. I’ve got to jack them up
Willow busily worked in the kitchen while watching Connor ready the grill. Once everything was organized, she called out to Conner. “Come in and open the wine. I want to share a few calm moments.”
Connor looked into the wine cabinet. “Chardonnay or Merlot?”
“I think a 10-year-old Merlot would satisfy my thirst.”
“Merlot it is. You get a couple of glasses and join me in the gazebo. We can sit in the swing and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.”
Connor followed Willow outside. “This is going to be a very good night. It is great having you here again.”
Raising her glass toward Connor, Willow said: “A toast to my man and to a very good night. I’ve dreamed about this and look forward to relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility. I see you have cleared some of the trees that blocked the view of the flatlands below.”
“Yeah. I remember the last time you breezed through; you made the comment about the tall trees and how much they obstructed the landscape at the bottom of the bluffs. I’ll have to admit I like the view much better, too. When the leaves are off in the winter, I can see my old home place on Long Lake. But I enjoy it more when the spring water rises on the Yazoo River flooding my old home and I realize I don’t have to contend with that problem anymore.”
Willow finished her second glass of wine and motioned for Connor to refill.
“Good wine, huh? I’m glad you like it.”
“It is not just good. It is excellent. I hope you have several bottles left.”
“No problem. Keeping a good supply of excellent beverages is something I learned from you many years ago. Don’t you remember how much you hounded me to keep an adequate supply of drinks in our cave?”
“It means a lot to me for us to sit and talk,” Willow said, laughing. “And speaking of our cave, when are you going to take me up there?”
“That’s something we don’t need to rush. We need to be very careful. We don’t want to call any attention to it.”
“Connor, at this point, I don’t want to call any attention to it, but I do want to correct those stupid things we did way back then.”
“There’ll be plenty of time, especially when we build or remodel a house for you.”
“So many things occupy my conscience and I want to clear some of that clutter out.”
“This weather is absolutely wonderful,” Willow said, pushing a bit harder, swinging higher. “This morning in New York the temperature was in the high twenties with rain and snow showers.”
“Willow it feels good now, but you haven’t forgotten about the high humidity that follows later in the year?”
“No. I remember very well how humid it gets here and how much we used to enjoy going to the cave on those hot, sultry days. The constant temperature in the cave made it an enjoyable place to spend an afternoon or evening.”
“What exactly do you want to do? And why didn’t you call me to let me know you were flying in?”
“I thought the idea of a surprise with the news that I was retiring from the ad business would be a fun thing to do.”
“I like the surprise, but I could just as easily not been here. Did you ever think about that?”
“Not really. You’ve always been here. I guess I’ll have to make some adjustments in my spontaneity. It’s a woman’s thing. I didn’t mean to cause a problem.”
“No big problem. I’ll have to go to the office first thing in the morning and make a few phone calls. I don’t think you know, but McKenzie Towing is playing a major role in the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf. We’ve got a tow boat and two barges assisting in containing the oil spill and removal of the polluted waters. We’ve got a big vacuum truck mounted on one of the barges that picks up the oil and stores it in the other barge. This has been a very lucrative venture for McKenzie, but the company responsible for paying us is nearly two months behind. I’ve got to jack them up
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