Chapter 14
Silas had been home from the hospital for nearly two weeks and was more than ready to return to work. Doug had dropped by the house every day to give him a daily report of the going’s on around town, as well as several of the townsfolk dropping by to check on him and to leave goodies for him.
“Damn, if I don’t get back to work soon, I’m gonna gain a hundred pounds from all these sweets,” Silas winked as he shoved another homemade chocolate chip cookie in his mouth.
“Well, I have to say the people in town seem to want to make sure that you are well cared for,” Jen laughed as she watched him reach for another cookie.
“They sure do. I can’t wait to dig into that carrot cake that Maribelle brought earlier. I just hope that she didn’t let Timmy lick the spoon. I’ve seen her share her food with that darn, old cat.” Silas chuckled at the memory of Maribelle sharing a bowl of ice cream with her big, tabby cat.
“I think you’ve had enough sweets for now.” Jen reached for the platter of the cookies when there was a knocking at the front door.
“One moment,” Jen called out as she walked toward the door. She peered through the small window and saw Frank standing under the porch light.
“It’s Frank,” she whispered then opened the door.
“Good evening, Frank. What brings you here?” Jen opened the screen door and motioned for him to come inside.
Frank smiled and then stepped inside without saying a word. He looked over at Silas, who was sitting in his recliner.
“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by so late; I would’ve come by sooner, but things have been busy. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling much better. At least, I can breathe without feeling like I’m being kicked by a mule,” Silas chuckled.
“I bet. I’ve broken ribs before, so I know what you mean.” Frank thought back to the time he had broken three ribs while chasing a perpetrator during a drug bust.
“Frank, why don’t you take a seat on the couch, and I’ll get us all something to drink.” Jen motioned toward the couch.
“Thank you, that sounds wonderful. I am a bit thirsty.” Frank sat on the couch, next to the decorative pillows.
“Honey, why don’t you bring us some of that sweet tea you made earlier,” Silas asked. “You do drink sweet tea, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do. Is there any other way to drink tea?” Frank teased.
“Not in my books,” Silas grinned.
Jen left the room, leaving Silas and Frank to sit in an awkward silence until she returned a couple of minutes later with three glasses of sweet tea.
“Here you go.” She handed a glass to Frank, and then one to Silas. Once the men each had their drinks; Jen sat in the overstuffed chair next to Silas.
It was Silas, who finally broke the silence. “I gather that you haven’t found out who stole my gun.”
“No, I’m sorry, but I ran into a dead end. I’m sure you’ve heard that the Sheriff’s department wasn’t able to pull any good prints from the door of the grocery store.” Frank took a sip of the sweet tea. “This is good tea, Jen.”
“Thank you. I make it the way my mother did. She never did like instant tea. She said the only way to make sweet tea was to dissolve the sugar in the hot water before adding the tea bags.”
Frank took another swallow of the tea. “Well, your mama knew how to make great sweet tea.”
Silas waited for them to finish speaking before he finally said, “What are you doing to figure out who they are. We both know they had to be from that group you brought to town.”
Frank could see the anger in Silas’ eyes, and he thoroughly understood. The last two weeks, Frank had watched the younger men to see if he could catch them trying to sneak out at night. He had put a curfew in effect, but no one seemed to be leaving the camp at night. With the delivery of the FEMA trailers and setting them up, it had been rather hectic around there.
“I know that you want to make an arrest, but whoever assaulted you is playing it smart for the time being.” Frank hated it as much as Silas, but he just had to wait for them to slip up and expose themselves.
Silas knew Frank was right, but it still did not make him feel any better. He decided to put it behind him for the time being, and maybe whoever attacked him would get comfortable and eventually make a mistake. “Jen, would you get me and Frank a piece of that carrot cake that Maribelle brought over?”
Frank’s eyes lit up at the idea of a piece of carrot cake. “I love carrot cake. My wife makes it for me all the time.”
Jen looked at the excited expression on both men’s faces and laughed. “You two look like a couple of little boys. Hold on, I’ll be right back with your cake…boys.”
Frank and Silas looked at each other and smiled, each anticipating the special treat they were about to enjoy.
A couple of minutes later, Jen walked back into the living room with two large pieces of carrot cake. She handed one to Frank and then gave Silas the other piece. Each man grinned, as they each took a large bite. Frank moaned his pleasure, as Silas quickly took another bite.
“This is delicious,” Frank said, as he savored the sweet flavor teasing his taste buds.
“Oh, honey, I hate to say it, but this is better than your mothers.” Silas waited for her to protest, but Jen only smiled and nodded her head.
Jen sat back in her chair and smiled as she watched them enjoy the last of their cake.
Once Frank had finished, he sat his empty plate and fork down on the coffee table then leaned back on the couch with a look of pure satisfaction his face. “Thank you, Jen.”
“Yes, thank you, honey,” Silas chimed in.
Frank looked at Jen, wondering what she thought of the changes the town was facing with the new arrivals. He cleared his throat and asked,” Jen, may I ask you a question?”
“Sure, what do you want to know?” Jen glanced over at Silas then back to Frank, unsure of what he would possibly want to know from her.
“I understand that there have been some rather harsh demands made on the teaching staff at the school, regarding the children at the mill. Are you going to be able to meet the new requirements?” Frank hated how this whole thing was turning Sandley upside down. In the short time he had been there, he had come to like the town and its residents.
Jen suddenly felt a mixture of anger and sadness overcome her at the thought of what could happen. She glanced over to Silas and saw a look of encouragement in his eyes. She then turned back to look at Frank and exhaled a long breath to calm her nerves before she spoke.
“I’m not sure what is going to happen, to be honest with you. Our school district has struggled for years just to make ends meet, so this sudden influx of students is going to be a real burden on us. Not to mention the fact, that we now must teach our classes in both English and Spanish. I don’t even know how that’s going to work, and not shortchange the students. This whole thing has everyone quite upset and wondering what we can do to stop it.”
She glanced at Frank and could see the shame in his eyes, realizing that he hated to see things taking the direction they were as well.
Frank lowered his gaze, unable to meet her pain-filled eyes. “I can get into loads of trouble for saying this, but they are shipping in more next week. The worst part is from what I understand this group will have several young children as well as school-aged teenagers. They told me that they wanted all of them settled in before the start of the school year.”
Jen felt sucker-punched. “You’ve got to be kidding? We can barely handle the ones already here, let alone several more.”
“These school-aged teenagers, are they more like the ones already here? From what I saw they don’t look like the type who would be interested in attending school. They look more like the type who would run with some of those gangs from South America,” Silas’s eyes narrowed at the thought of gang-bangers brought to town.
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p; “I’m afraid that you are probably correct, Silas. I’ve already had some reports that this new group looks to be a rough crowd. I’m sorry, I wish there were something I could do to prevent this.” Frank looked at Silas as though facing a firing squad, and pleading for forgiveness.
Silas knew it was not Frank’s fault, but it still did not remove the fact that he had brought this plight down upon them. “I know it’s not your fault, Frank. I just wish there was something we could do to stop it. I worry about the future of Sandley, and the lifestyle we have all enjoyed over the years. I’m not saying it wasn’t rough on the town after the mill and window factory went out of business, but we never had to face the crap we are now.”
Frank knew Silas was right. He had spoken with other’s working on settling the illegal’s in different areas and each one voiced the same concerns.
Frank looked down at his wristwatch and shook his head in disbelief. “Wow, I can’t believe how late it is. I need to get going. I have an early day tomorrow, and I’m sure you need your rest. It’s nice to see you on the mend and thank you for the delicious piece of cake.”
Frank stood and walked over to Silas, and offered his hand.
Silas returned the handshake, “You’re welcome to drop by for a visit anytime.”
“Yes, please come by anytime. As a matter of fact, you should come for dinner some evening,” Jen said.
“That would be nice. I sure do miss a good home cooked meal. I haven’t been home for several weeks, and those microwave meals are getting old,” Frank chuckled.
“Wonderful. Why don’t you come for Sunday dinner? I always make a pot roast, so there is always plenty to eat. We usually eat around 5 o’clock.” Jen said then she laughed at the smile that appeared on Frank’s face.
“Sunday pot roast sounds perfect. I’ll be here a little before 5 o’clock. Do you need me to bring anything?”
“No, just a healthy appetite because she makes enough to feed an army,” Silas teased.
“I look forward to it. Well, I need to go. Goodnight and thank you again for the carrot cake.”
Frank walked toward the front door with Jen following close behind.
“Goodnight, Frank. Feel free to drop by anytime,” Jen said as she closed the door after Frank had stepped outside.
“I like him,” Jen said as she walked to the coffee table and picked up the plate and fork that Frank had set there earlier. She then walked over to Silas and got his plate from the end table next to his recliner.
“I do too,” Silas said. “I just wish that we would’ve met under better circumstances.”