House and Home
After departing from his house and Sarah, David and Connor were driving down the road to his grandparent’s house in the old red pick-up. David wore his usual attire of a plaid shirt and blue jeans with his worn out work boots that were still dependable after years of hard work. His clean and slicked back gray hair told Connor that he didn’t work in his forge today. David started up a conversation, once things were settled in and they were clearly away from prying eyes and ears. “Well my boy, this is a different change of pace. I want to surprise your grandma, so I didn’t tell her where I was going.” He had a playful smile written on his face as he drove with little care. “How long are you planning on staying with us? You were quite vague on the phone.”
“Hopefully you can put up with me for about a month.”
“Really? We get to spend time together for a full month? It has been well over a year since you’ve stayed nearly that long with us.” His eyes were twinkling with glee as did his voice. His grandparents loved spending time with him.
“Yes a full month. There is something special I would like to do during this time. It will cost a little bit, but I will find a way to work it all off for you.” Connor stared straight ahead while speaking. He then rolled down the window and rested his right arm on the windowsill, letting the whipping motion of the wind caress his face as the truck went down the road. Connor has always loved the rapid breeze that comes from an open window, it feels almost like one is flying.
“We can discuss the finances later, Son. Your grandma is making dinner as we speak, so we can sort matters out then. What I really want to know is what started all of this? What has gotten you into this particular situation that is making you do this?” He still continued smiling playfully.
“No use trying to deceive this old man.” Connor stated “Sarah did.”
“Oh really?” His smile turned into a grin “What did your little girlfriend do exactly?”
Unable to hold it in any longer from him Connor said “I showed her my chest!” He now looked at his grandfather meaningfully.
David’s smile instantly evaporated and replaced itself with a mask of anguish. The truck started decelerating as he pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the dirt road. No one, besides them, occupied the desolate road surrounded by the forest as he steeled himself for what he needed to get off his chest. David turned in his seat to look at his grandson. Connor too turned in his seat too return the look with a calm and content expression.
“Connor, I hate to ask, but how did she handle your mark? And what was her reaction?” David sincerely wanted to know.
Smiling softly at him Connor admitted “I will not give you all the juicy details, but she handled it very well.”
“Really?” He raised a questioning eyebrow while still looking pained.
“Granddaddy, Sarah is the woman I have always been searching for and she has also been searching for me as well.” Connor smiled in reassurance.
Breaking into one of his deep belly laughs David said “I’m so very happy for you, my boy. I couldn’t be more grateful to that little lady now.” His body relaxed and his pale blue eyes were saying that he meant every word.
“I would have thought you’d say something like ‘Connor, don’t you think you’re moving a little too fast in this relationship?’ or ‘How do you know she’s really the one for you?’ … Granddaddy, how did you know when you were ready?” Connor leaned his shoulder in the comfortable seat.
“You’re old enough now that you don’t need me to lecture you in romance and dating. Plus it is weird talking about it in the first place. And Connor you just know when you find the right one. Age and status doesn’t matter when you find the one you’re destined for. It’s like close up lightning. It blinds and deafens you, only it never goes away. Apparently you do know that your girlfriend Sarah is the right one for you. I can see it in the way you two looked at each other with those big puppy dog eyes. I’ve met her just the once, but you two have a connection, that much was clear to me. But instead of being close, you were hit head on by that bolt.”
David then turned back in his seat and pulled the truck back onto the road. The two of them sat in silence as they traveled to the next fateful destination.
Twenty minutes later and still in mid-afternoon they pulled into his grandparent’s dirt driveway.
Connor’s grandparent’s property is situated on a sixty acre, family owned farm. There are two barns on the property. One is two stories tall and is strictly used for the cattle and is painted a typical barn red. They own fifty head of cattle that they either sell at the market or used for personal sustenance. The other barn is a smaller, single story structure and is mostly covered in black soot, especially around the mouth and chimneys. It’s where David utilizes his personal forge.
Their house itself is two stories and the outside walls are painted a dull yellow. They have an old rusty mailbox out on the main street, that has the word May written on it in a faded white paint. In the main two story house, the upstairs holds three bedrooms and one bathroom. Downstairs is a big family kitchen, that is off limits when his grandmother is busy, an entertainment room, a study and finally a dining room.
Getting out of the truck and grabbing his bag and chest strap out of the bed of the truck, Connor caught up to his grandfather at the front door. Connor looked up at the eve of the door and written on it:
Welcome to May’s
Ranch farm and Black Smith
That sign gave Connor a funny idea.
Opening the front door David called into the house. “Hey Honey, guess who’s going to be staying with us for awhile?”
From the kitchen Connor heard her voice “What have you gotten us into now, David?”
“Hi Grandma, how are you doing today?” Rhoda entered the room at the sound of his voice, wearing faded pink shorts with a purple and white polka-a-dot t-shirt. She has a few wrinkles like any respectable grandmother, but don’t let her looks fool you. She knows where to hit any man where it counts, right in the stomach, with no food. She retired not too long ago from being a chef at a local five star restaurant. That being said, she is a terrific cook. Her hair is mostly grey with natural blonde camouflage peppered in and it is kept in a neat perm. She is as tall as his mother, but is about a head taller than Kara.
“Connor! Welcome home.” She then looked to his right and held a deadly accurate wooden spoon in her right hand. Rhoda walked up to David and ruthlessly cracked him hard over his head with it and the impact alone was hard enough that Connor heard even his own skull rattle. “Why didn’t you tell me that Connor was staying over?!”
“Rhoda, I wanted to give you a good surprise.” David sat down on the arm of the sofa and rubbed his head where she probably fractured the skull. After so many decades he should be used to it by now.
“Your surprises are the worst… usually.” Chastising him has always been Rhoda’s favorite game, seconded only by hitting his head, one that she’s a master of. Many spoons lay massacred over the long years.
“Play nice, Honey.” He smiled weakly.
“Oh, I will play Nice later.” She said menacingly and then spoke playfully to say “We both know how much our grandson needs to eat, to keep up his strength.” She turned to Connor and smiled warmly. “Welcome home.”
Knowing his grandma was just teasing, in her way, Connor said “Sorry to cause so much trouble.” he smiled to her and leaned on the door frame. He sat his duffle bag of clothes inside and slid Tool out of his belt loop and rested it on top of the bag because his grandma will not allow him to carry it on his person, inside the house. The only weapons are at her disposal.
“Oh no worries. I love cooking, you know that, and you only eat so much because you burn off your energy just as quick. Also I was looking for an excuse to clock your grandfather over the head.” She pointed to her husband, turned and started walking towards the kitchen with a pleased grin. “Supper will have to be pushed back till seven.”
Before hi
s grandmother left the room his grandfather blurted “Rhoda, do you remember me telling you about Connor’s girlfriend, Sarah?” She stopped in her tracks, but didn’t turn around as she asked “Yes, why?” He said seriously to her back “He showed Sarah the X on his chest.”
Rhoda spun around to look at Connor still leaning on the doorway, as he now crossed his arms. “How did she react to it?” He gave her a proud grin as an appropriate answer. She smiled and seemed satisfied with the simple response. She walked into the kitchen again, wearing a pleased expression.
When she left, he looked at his grandfather, who still rubbed the top of his head. “I need to do some research online. May I use your computer in the study?” David looked up, smiling. He’s used to his wife’s treatment.
“Sure, go right ahead. I will see you at supper anyways.” He stood up and entered the kitchen, taking his life in his own hands.
Pushing himself off the door frame, Connor walked down the hall and entered the study. There were many books covering the wall in no particular order. There was one big desk and a comfortable chair. The walls were painted in a sky blue and a fan on the ceiling remained motionless. On the desk sat his grandfather’s laptop and connected to it was a mouse and a printer. David recently upgraded to digital, high-speed internet, not too long ago and it really helped when anyone needed to do some research and not hog the phone line.
After sitting down and turning on the computer, Connor went directly to his favorite search engine. The first topic he entered into the search line was house foundation diagrams. They were then printed on a few papers, showing lengths, diagrams and angles to fit his needs. He continued searching and printing everything he deemed necessary for the upcoming project; from plumbing, furniture, fireplaces to kitchens.
Sarah’s mother, Jillian kept creeping into his mind. She kept telling him about Balancers and their powers. And an idea struck.
Connor didn’t want to research anything on Balancers because he wanted to hear it all from the woman he loved, but he did want to know more about the elements. In the computer, he typed Elemental representations, and there were over two hundred million possible results. He sifted through many websites until he found exactly what he was looking for.
Understanding washed over him as Connor read this particular site. Originally he thought that there were only the four elements; Fire, Air, Water and Earth. But there was much more to it than that. In fact there are five basic elements, all with a different meaning. The screen showed the name and their definitions.
Fire (Energy) – The movement of molecules that can either emanate heat as it moves faster or cool as it decelerates. Kinetic energy is the source of warmth.
Terra (Earth) – Solid material that holds minerals.
Liquid (Water) – All forms of non-solid elements like water. (The air we breathe is classified as a fluid just like the water you swim in or drink.)
Pressure (Wind) – The application of force on an object to alter and change its outcome, movement or shape.
Metal – An alloy that is capable of being fashioned into a new form and can be liquefied and reshaped by heat. It is a malleable element.
After reading everything on the site, an image popped into his mind that could represent all of these most basic elements. It was a simple and elegant mental image. It felt right.
The last line of the site read “If all of these elements come together, you create life, but take just one element away, it will result in death.” It reminded Connor of Sarah. “Without knowing her secret and her not knowing mine, we were like the five elements. It was all or nothing. Sarah, I love you, all of you.” He looked up at the now spinning ceiling fan in the study. “When you see the surprise I have in store for you, I hope it’s to your liking.”
“Connor, Dinners Ready!” Rhoda announced from the dining room. He looked at the clock on the wall and outside the window to notice how dark it became. The hours of research flew by all too quickly.
Connor sat all of the printouts on the side of the desk and grabbed the spiral notebook and a pen and sat them all together.
Entering the dining room, Connor stopped suddenly. A mouthwatering scene laid out before him. His grandparents were both sitting together across from where he usually sits at the table and seemed to gloat from his reaction. The old oak dining room table sat brimming with food. Upon it were three crystal glasses, filled with sweet iced tea and lemon, stuffing, mashed potatoes, Corn bread, Cranberry sauce, biscuits, sweet potatoes and last but not least was a large, uncut slab of steak. It felt almost like a May’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Connor sat down in a daze and asked “What is all of this?”
Rhoda looked beyond pleased at his response and started “Jenny called here just after you left the house to come over and said for us to trust you with whatever you are up to. Your mom also said ‘Connor’s ecstatic about something. So Mom, please cook up something hardy for him.’”
Davis looked at her in obvious confusion. “You mean to tell me you knew he was coming, yet you still hit me on the head?”
She looked at him with a feral smile. “I told you I was looking for an excuse to hit you, didn’t I? This simply fit in with my plans.” He shook his head in defeat as she looked back at Connor and said with a playful smile “Let’s dig in.”
After ten minutes of eating, David started the conversation they all wanted to hear, after putting his fork down on the table. “Alright, Son. Now we may talk about whatever you have planned.”
Taking a breath and laying his utensils down Connor started with “I know I do not have any money, but I’m strong enough to work off whatever debt I accumulate. If you need anything done around here I’ll do it, no questions asked. Give me the tasks that are especially too difficult for you to do.”
“Go on.” David wore his calm business expression.
“Well I will need some building supplies bought and to borrow some of your tools. I’ll need to also borrow your trailer to haul the materials.” Looking businesslike himself came easily and natural.
“You may borrow whatever you need. Do you need to use my truck?”
“Only for a part of the way, I’ll pull it myself for the rest of the journey, when I find the ideal spot. That’s why I brought my harness that I pull Kara to school in every morning. I’m going to use everything I’ve got for this project.”
“That’s understandable, now what kind of supplies are you going to need?” David leaned forward, interlacing his thick fingers on the table.
“Some lumber, plywood panels, plenty of two by fours and several posts, insulation, some piping; preferably PVC, some concrete, plenty of nails, glue, calking, red bricks, and some double pane glass panels. I will get you a more accurate list in the morning; I still need to plan and draw out everything I have in my head.”
“Sounds like your building a house?” Rhoda jumped in the conversation.
“A small cottage.” He corrected with a smile.
“But why?” She looked frustrated.
“I’ve only told Mark this, but it looks like I need to tell you as well. I need your word that you will not tell anyone. Not a single person can know or the surprise will be ruined, not even Mom can know and especially Kara.” He looked them in the eyes seriously.
“You have our word.” Said Rhoda and David nodded in agreement.
“Sarah and I are now privately engaged. I want to make a small house just for the two of us. After I am finished with everything, I will show it to Sarah as an early wedding present, then I will bring everyone over to see our home.” Connor leaned back in his chair to let this sink in. They grinned at each other and Connor continued “I will also need to use your forge for another side project.”
“I think that we can handle that! Anything else you need from us?” David asked calmly.
Connor then steadied himself. “This last request is going to be more difficult to acquire.”
“Well out with it! I’m getting excited; I’m looki
ng forward to this project.” Rhoda chimed in and began bubbling over with anticipation.
“I need raw silver ore, about the size of my fist.” He balled up his fist to show as an example.
“That might be difficult, as you said.” David said, looking up to think.
“Not for me!” Rhoda blurted out with a gleeful laugh. Grandfather and grandson both looked at her with dumbfounded expressions. It made her laugh harder. “I might be an old woman, but jewelry is still my best friend. I have a girlfriend who owns a jewelry store. She and her husband make everything themselves from raw materials. She buys raw ore and uncut stones all the time. Since I personally financed her store to open a few years ago, she owes me Big. So Connor don’t worry, I will get you that silver on one condition?”
“Anything.” And he meant it.
“Whatever you make from it, I want to see the final product first.”
“Done.” Connor got out of the chair, ran around the table and picked her up in a hug and spun her around saying “Thank You So Much, Grandma.” She giggled ever so happily. Setting her on the ground again and looking at them both, he said honestly “Thank you. Both of you. You will not regret it.”
“Well a good man takes care of his woman and the woman does the same. A relationship won’t work if it’s one sided.” Rhoda said, smiling up at him.
As he left the dining room, Connor overheard his grandfather say to his grandmother “Your right honey, this will be exciting. Well it seems like I need to find some things for him to do around here, huh?”
She said “You’re right, David. He will be upset if we gave it all to him without him feeling like he owes us. I’ll call Monday morning about the ore…”
Entering the study again, he acquired the printouts and drawing instruments and then headed upstairs. Connor spread the papers over the spare bed and began the first step of building a home for Sarah and himself. He first began drawing out the dimensions and estimating the materials he’d need to begin construction.