Adventures of Devon Carlton - 12. ADC Chapter 12

As Devon laid back down, he looked at the straw in the glass and frowned, which just made Edgar laugh, and Devon just smiled at his cousin realising that he had brought the straw back just too purposely annoy him.

“I don’t know what I would do without you cousin, you seem to be around just when I need you the most, and any other time that I need a guiding hand with anything,” Devon said to Edgar, who just blushed.

When the doctor came to see Devon, it was the same Doctor that treated him before, and he said to Devon that he wasn’t happy about seeing him back in hospital so soon, after the previous stay, but this time it was just a mild case of hypothermia and a badly twisted ankle, so he would be permitted to go home later in the afternoon, but Devon was to stay off his ankle for at least four days.

After the doctor had gone, Edgar returned with a magazine and a newspaper, both had feature stories about the Celtic boy band – EQD, as they had just won a music award in Hamburg, Germany, after spending the past three weeks touring around Europe with great success, the story mentioned that there was no sign of their mystery guest singer during the tour, which some say was a bit disappointing, and there is still no word on if and when the identity of the guest singer will be revealed.

Devon took his mobile out of the top drawer and turned it on, “Hey guys, well I did it again, and I ended up back in the hospital. I tripped and fell into the brook, and ended up in the hospital with a sprained ankle and hypothermia, will be getting out this afternoon, after just an overnight stay, I have seen the latest news on your award and successful tour, congratulations, from Dev”.

As Edgar was chatting to Devon as he was eating his lunch, Devon’s phone beeped, “Hey Dev, you silly man, can’t you stay out of trouble for just a little bit longer? We are all exhausted from the tour but haveloved every moment of it too.

Yes, we want to come and visit you soon, we will be back home in the UK in 15 days’ time, where we will be doing some writing and recording for our next album, maybe we will have time to visit once that is completed. Take care of yourself a buddy and see you soon Regards EQD”.

Devon showed Edgar the message on his phone, and Edgar said that they needed to get moving on getting the bunkhouse organised before they arrived, Devon agreed and so he called the contractor and arranged for a meeting the following morning at the cottage. Two hours after lunch Edgar was helping his cousin into a taxi and they made their way back to the cottage, where Devon noticed that his vehicle was safely parked in the garage, and Edgar admitted that he was the one to bring the vehicle back up to the cottage.

Once, Edgar, had Devon settled onto the lounge suite, in front of the television, Edgar began to plan and prepare dinner, before they spent a few hours playing Canasta, and Edgar spending his first night in the cottage. The following morning, Edgar had breakfast prepared before Devon had fully woken up, and brought it to him in bed on a tray, when breakfast was over, Edgar cleaned up the house, while Devon was trying out his new wheels – a wheelchair that was on loan from the hospital.

Devon was out in the front garden when the contractor arrived and Devon asked for some movement sensors to be placed at the front gate and the side vehicle gate, with a low volume alarm located inside the cottage, he also stated that he wanted a direct telephone line between the bunkhouse and the cottage, and as they went inside, Devon asked if the wooden flooring for the bunkhouse can be done as soon as possible as he was planning a special event soon, and the bunkhouse would be needed for the celebration.

Loaded into Devon’s 4x4, with Edgar driving, they travelled down to the back property, and Edgar pushed Devon in the wheelchair down the path and over the bridge to the bunkhouse, where Devon expressed what he wanted to be done, and how soon he wanted it done, the contracted gave a quote for the work, which Devon agreed on as long as it is completed in just 2 weeks.

The following day Douglas, Julia and family arrived with their float trailer, and they all went to collect Edgar’s horse – “Horatio”, who is a 15 hand, 4 year old Australian Stock Horse, that had been especially shipped to Scotland because of its well-known quality, and when Devon saw him for the first time, he was amazed at how good Edgar’s horse was.

Horatio was given the best stall in the stables, with plenty of room, right near an outside exercise yard, and near the tack room too, once he was settled into his new home, the Carlton family got to work helping Edgar to move into the cottage, as Edgar’s parents had brought down some of his belongings from the manor, so Edgar would feel at home in the cottage, along with the additional supplies for the horse, hay bales, oats, lucern and horse cubes, plus an extra halter, saddle, lead ropes and brushes.

The twins loved the cottage and grounds and went off exploring every inch of all the buildings, but Devon didn’t mention to them the bunkhouse because of the renovations that were in progress, so once the horse and young Edgar were settled in, the who family went into town to have a nice family lunch together at a BBQ steak restaurant.

After the enjoyable family lunch, the Carlton family minus one returned home to the manor, while Devon and Edgar went back to the cottage, where Devon sat in his wheelchair while Edgar did some weeding in the front yard, the afternoon was warm with a slight crispness in the air, and Devon dozed as his cousin was working for almost two hours, until the air started getting chilly.

Once inside Devon sat in the lounge with some music in the background while Edgar washed up and began to prepare dinner, and it was while Devon was watching he realised that he needed some more help with around the house.

“I think I am going to have to employ a part-time housekeeper and gardener, or else this is going to be too much for you to handle, you already have a full timetable with just school and sports, as well as looking after me, you need to have some time to yourself” Devon said loud enough for Edgar to hear him. “But I enjoy doing all of this for you, it is my release from all the sports and school pressures, but if that’s what you want that’s fine with me” Edgar replied sounding and feeling a bit hurt.

After an hour of playing cards after dinner, Edgar went down to the stables to feed and bed down Horatio for the night, giving him a good brush down, and putting on a coat for the night, while Devon managed to have a shower without falling over and hurting himself for a change, and he was safely tucked into bed by the time Edgar had returned.

The next morning Devon was up early cooking breakfast when Edgar sleepily walked in still in his pyjamas, “Get a move on young man, its Monday morning and you have school to get too” Devon said with a smile, putting on his gumboots, Edgar made his way down to the stables to let Horatio out of his stall and put hay and food in his eating bowls, and opening the outer door to the exercise yard, so he could wander in and out as he pleases.

Once back in the cottage, Edgar went and had a shower, and leaving is pyjamas in the laundry basket and towel hanging on the rail in the bathroom, he casually walked across the hallway to his bedroom totally naked, which caught Devon by surprise, one because he wasn’t expecting his cousin to be so casual about it and two because he was so well endowed for 15 years of age.

Returning to the kitchen sometime later fully dressed in school uniform, Edgar sat down to eat his cooked breakfast and a cup of tea. “I suggest we not have too much of a display of that oversized tool when we have a housekeeper employed,” Devon said to his cousin, referring to Edgar’s naked walk across the hallway earlier.

Edgar blushed a bit and nodded as he finished his breakfast and placed the dishes in the sink, Devon grabbed his car keys, checked the back door was locked and they went out to the car for the 10-minute drive to the school that Edgar attended.

Once Edgar was at school, Devon went back home and drove down to the bunkhouse to check on its progress, and he was pleased to see the floor was nearly completed, he had the contractor make the bridge a lot more secure so no one else will fall into the brook, which was the first thing that had been done, and an electrician had been in to install better lighting into the building.

Once back home, Devon looked up on the internet for some suitable furniture for the bunkhouse, and he selected and ordered 6 double beds, 6 bedside tables, 3 matching wardrobes and a dressing table and a large floor rug, all which he hoped would fit into that bunkroom, next he ordered two large 3 seater lounge suites, a coffee table, bookshelf, a very large wall mounted television, DVD player, 20 DVD movies and the latest Xbox machine and 20 games and a large floor rug for the adjoining lounge room.

For downstairs he selected a large kitchen dining table and 6 chairs, to be placed under the mezzanine between the bathroom and the kitchen, while another 2 large 4-seater lounge suites, two-floor rugs and a large coffee table for the open area. All of these items were paid for by credit card and Devon arranged for them to be delivered from Wednesday to Friday of this week.

Once that was done, he contacted the local music store to inquire about baby grand pianos, and Devon learnt that they had none in the store, but they did have a Steinway Grand Piano, and Devon said he would like to purchase it and have it delivered on Saturday morning, along with some extra helpers to get it from the car park to its destination, including over a footbridge over a brook.

Once Devon had accomplished all of this, he made himself a cup of tea before contacting the local newspaper to place an advert, “Wanted, part-time housekeeper for a gentleman in two bedroom cottage on outskirts of Inverness, 3 days a week just cleaning and laundry duties, a little shopping but no cooking required, enquiries to Mr Devon Carlton, Atherton Cottage, Bramble Lane, Inverness” and a second advert for a gardener.

“Wanted, part-time gardener, to maintain boundary hedges, front garden and a side vegetable garden, three days a week, enquiries to Mr Devon Carlton, Atherton Cottage, Bramble Lane, Inverness”.

By lunchtime, Devon had accomplished all that he needed to do and was preparing a light lunch for himself when the contractor arrived at the cottage, to inform Devon that all the work had been completed ahead of time, and so Devon stopped what he was doing and drove down to the Bunkhouse with the contractor, and was impressed with the quality of work that had been done.

Back at the cottage Devon made the final payment for the work, and thanked the contractor for his work, and wished him a good day. Soon after finishing his lunch, Devon’s phone beeped, and it was a message from his good mate Mitchell.

“Hey buddy, hope you don’t have too much planned for the next week, Gary and I have just landed at Heathrow, will arrive at Inverness via Edinburgh at about 7 pm tomorrow, can you pick us up at the train station? Mitch.”

Devon stared at the message for a few minutes, not believing that they would spring a surprise visit on him, but then again yes, they would and have. “Hey guys, yes you are most welcome, look forward to seeing you when you arrive, Dev”.

After sending the reply, Devon contacted the furniture store where he had ordered the beds, and asked for two beds, two bedside tables, one wardrobe and one 3 seater lounge to be delivered the next day, as he had unexpected guests arriving, plus extra sheets and towels, and he said he was happy to pay any extra charges.

Devon was told that all of the furniture and linen was ready and can be delivered tomorrow, Devon was thrilled with that, and thanked them for their great service. When that was all sorted, Devon went into the study and began to read a book, until it was time to go and pick up Edgar, and he realised he forgot to ask what time, so he sent a text message.

“What time do I pick you up after school? Dev” and a short time later he received a reply from Edgar, “I have hockey after, will get a lift home, be back around 4.45pm, Edgar”.

When Edgar arrived home, he was wet and muddy, dumping his wet muddy clothes at the back verandah he made a naked dash for the bathroom to clean up, before walking back to his room to get dressed. When Edgar re-appeared he collected his dirty sports clothes and placed them in the washing machine and started it up, before accepting a cup of hot tea from Devon.

“We have guests coming tomorrow, two of my good friends from Australia; who have decided to spring a surprise visit on me, telling me only after they arrived at Heathrow today, so I suggest no more naked hikes between the backdoor and the bathroom and the bedroom from now on please, oh and can I have a copy of your school and sports timetable so I can work out when I need to collect you from school” Devon said.

“Sorry about that, I guess I’m not shy around people I’m comfortable with, especially since I’ve been taking care of you, and sure I will be good and stay decent outside of my bedroom” Edgar replied with a bit of a blush on his face, and he went out to see Horatio, to give him a brush down, and a talk.

During dinner time, Edgar looked at his cousin a few times with a questioning frown, trying to work out a way to say what he wanted to say, “Come on spit it out, what are you wanting to tell me? I don’t bite you know, well not much anyway” Devon said, and after a bit of a pause, Edgar cleared his throat.

“Well it’s just that the twins have said to me they want to stay over on the weekend, and they have been begging me to ask you, and now after telling me off about streaking, I’m not sure if you want them to stay as they are just as bad as me, plus you said you have guests coming”, Edgar said.

Devon thought about it for a while, before replying, “How about if Mitch and Gary stay in your room, with a spare mattress on the floor and you stay with the twins in the bunkhouse, all the furniture is arriving tomorrow, so it will be ready, that way both problems are sorted, and you three can come up to the cottage for your meals for the weekend”, Devon replied, “That would work great, thanks heaps cousin, I will ring Mother and let her know it’s all organised”, Edgar said with a big smile.

After dinner, with the dishes washed and put away, Edgar made a copy of his school and sports timetable, with times that he finished each day, and handed it to Devon, before going to put Horatio to bed and then to the study to do all of his homework, going to bed a little after 10pm.

The next morning Devon had to knock on Edgar’s bedroom door to make sure he was awake and shortly after, Edgar dashed out the back door, putting his gumboots on and dashing down to the stables to attend to Horatio.

After a very fast shower, this time wrapped in a towel, he dashed to his room to get ready for school, while Devon prepared breakfast, and packed a lunch for him, once Devon had delivered Edgar to school, he went to the music store to inquire about organising for the grand piano to be delivered earlier, and Devon said there was a spare time for deliveries at 4.45pm today, so Devon said yes, and suggested extra hands may be needed to get the piano to its new home.

Next Devon did a big shopping trip for supplies, since he had extra guests coming this evening, and so he bought enough to last up till Friday, when he would need to restock for when the twins arrived, when he returned home and parked the car, he saw three large trucks down at the end of the driveway, so he unpacked all the shopping, before making his way down to the back of the property.

When he arrived, he saw that the three trucks were almost empty, and on entering the building there was a big pile of furniture in the middle of the room. “Mr Carlton, where would you like the furniture placed,” one of the men asked politely, and for the next hour, Devon was directing the men to where he wanted everything placed until everything was in their place and even the beds were made, and the remaining linen placed in the cupboard downstairs.