Gordy Comes Home - 7. Chapter 7

Saturday came and with it a compressed work schedule. The two finished up shortly after nine. Showered and shaved they decided they should go to town and finish Christmas shopping.

Even as they pulled into the dealership, men were smiling and waving hello. Before they could get out of the jeep, men were waiting to greet John. By the time they had walked in the “show room”, Wylie had shaken more than a half dozen hands.

Wylie noticed the spacious showroom held tractors, ranging from pedal tractors for kids up to one that required it’s own ladder to enter, the enclosed cab.

John explained, “ We can’t keep most of the new stuff in here. That one, pointing to the largest is about like a mid-sized sedan. It has air conditioning, power steering, video monitors, two computers and satellite connected global positioning system.

Wylie was impressed. “Wow! I’m surprised it doesn’t drive itself.”

John grinned and leaned into Wylie, “That feature will most likely be available in a couple of years.”

Guiding Wylie toward the left wall, John pointed to a display case. In a stage whisper, John, confided, “This my favorite spot in the dealership, don’t tell anyone, it’s kind of embarrassing.”

Wylie, noticed a gleam in John’ eye. He wasn’t sure if he was being played.

The wall supported a glass case, featuring a collection of miniature farm implements. Each scene included; fields, farms, animals and people. While nothing looked particularly lifelike, the scale and attention to detail were impressive. Some of the models were obviously antique with faded paint over rough metal. Some displayed busy barnyards, others had the equipment in the forefront with the farm and outbuildings visible in the distance. A couple had only the farmer and his tractor or harvester alone in a vast landscape, of wheat or cotton, that stretched into the painted horizon. He realized it was difficult to tell were the three dimensional objects left off and the painting began.

“Is John Grant, in some of those scenes?”

“Could be. I think most were here before I was born.”

“John, this looks like it ought to be in a museum. This is fantastic! If I was a kid, you’d have to keep an armed guard around to keep me from busting the glass and playing with them.”

John understood, his friend was only half-joking.

Wylie’s brain took in a blur of motion as John disappeared within a wall of white and khaki. Before he could recover his senses, John called out, “Wylie, meet Joe Don Lawson, General Manager and unofficial welcoming committee.” John’s voice had echoed off the walls before reaching Wylie. His head reappeared just above the man’s right elbow. John wanted to catch Wylie’s reaction.

Wylie recovered quickly, realizing John seemed unfazed by the assault. He smiled weakly.

Releasing John, Joe Don extended a giant paw in welcome. Wylie the paw enveloped Wylie’s hand. Glancing down, he saw only his thumb was exposed. The rest of his hand had disappeared, just as John had, moments ago.

Wylie, still recovering, was greeted by a rich baritone voice, “Joe Don Lawson, General Manager and Johnny‘s baby sitter, since before he was old enough to shit off himself.”

The oversized man had a laugh that fit his big frame. Wylie found it infectious. It was the kind of laugh that made laugh tracks believable and even bad jokes seem funny. A laugh that you missed when it ended. Joe Don was a man people liked to be around. Wylie envied him. The man stood over six and a half feet tall. Wylie found himself calculating how many ‘hands high’ that would make him. Joe Don, wasn’t fat, but hefty.

Wylie, fighting not to ask the obvious questions concerning physical dimensions, figured he would weigh more than he and John together; and then some.

John explained, “Joe Don is the reason the show room is so large. When he came to work here it forced Dad to double the size of the showroom.”

“Don’t get too uppity, college boy. That same ass I used to turn the water hose on, ain’t too big, nor too old, to get a good spanking.”

Wylie, chuckled at the thought. That hand, Joe Don had held up to emphasize his threat, would have covered most of John’s ass. “I’d like to see that. Maybe, it would make him easier to live with, back at the dorm.”

“I reckon, you and the whole dealership would. Sometimes, Johnny gets on his high horse and has to be reminded about who really runs this place.” At this last remark, the smiles that passed between the two, showed only real affection.

Feigning hurt, John glared at Wylie, “Well, I can tell you, Joe Don was as likely to spank my friends as he was me. So, maybe you should think twice about encouraging corporal punishment.”

Joe Don was called away by a salesman.

After he left, John explained, “Joe Don, went to college with dad. He played college football and spent a couple of years with the Packers. He got injured and came back here to work with dad. And he was pretty well right, about the babysitting, I mean. Almost every memory I have includes him. He’s a second father to me.”

“ I vaguely remember, when my mother died, Joe Don carried me around in his arms, seemed like for days. He made me feel like everything was going to be alright. Even now his hugs, remind me of home.”

Wylie saw a far away look in John’s eyes. This look was new to Wylie. He realized there was a lot about his friend he didn’t know. He felt eager to learn.

Everyone at the dealership seemed to want to know how college was going and why they hadn’t seen much of him during the holiday break? It was clear to Wylie, just as at the ranch; John was well liked and respected. Each employee expressed thanks to John for his generosity. When Wylie asked John, what that was all about. John shrugged and said they were just they were being nice.

He asked Wylie if he would mind hanging around the dealership while he took care of some errands for his dad? Wylie agreed. Did he have a choice? John took him into his father’s office and told Wylie to make himself comfortable. He could use the computer or just wander around the dealership.

After John left, Wylie stepped into the hall. There he ran into “Big Joe“. Apparently that was what people called him, behind his back. Joe Don insisted on taking Wylie, on a tour of the dealership. “Mr. Lawson, I, uh. Would ah.” Before the next word, Joe Don wrapped his paw around Wylie’s bicep and pulled him to a halt.

“Let’s get one thing clear.” His voice serious and his face matched the tone of his voice. “Wylie, you can call me Joe, Joe Don, JD, Jody. Hell, you can call me “Big Joe”. But don’t call me Mr. Lawson, I helped raise that boy and I can see you two are close. I’d have to consider it an insult for you to call me Mister. It would be like I wasn’t family. Ok?” The smile returned and the voice was once again pleasant and engaging.

Wylie realized he had been holding his breath. He breathed.

“Now, lets get some coffee and you tell me about you and I’ll tell you about Johnny. Deal?”

“Deal.” Wylie countered with, what John would have noted was, his dazzling smile.

Joe Don’s office was as large as John’s father’s. It held football memorabilia including photo’s from, what Wylie thought had to be, a Super Bowl. He moved closer to confirm. “Ah, ignore that stuff. That’s there just to impress the customers. Joe Don picked up a massive leather chair, one of four that formed a semi-circle, in front of his desk. He positioned it so it sat ninety degrees, relative to the next. He motioned for Wylie to sit in the unmoved chair, while he sprawled his massive frame into the one he had moved.

From his belt, he extracted a telephone and pressing a button, asked, “Sally, would you send some coffee and doughnuts in, for Johnny’s friend and me?”

“Sure thing big Joe.” Joe Don scrunched his face. “She only calls me that when I ask her to do anything that’s not directly related to bookkeeping stuff.” Letting his full attention settle on Wylie, Joe Don began, “I figured you had some questions you wanted to ask about Johnny. I know he don’t talk a lot about himself. Keeps most his thoughts and feelings to himself. Makes for a damn good salesman but it’s hard when you’re trying to get to know him.”

A nice looking, middle aged lady came in with a tray. Joe Don and Wylie both rose as she entered. After introducitons, Joe Don pulled up a small table and Sally deposited the tray, containing a carafe, two cups and an assortment of pastries. Wylie and Joe Don had both stood as she entered. Turning to Wylie, she apologized, “Well Wiley. The whole place is abuzz about what a handsome young man you are. I can see they weren’t exaggerating. I am sorry I couldn’t greet you sooner.” Turning a wilting gaze on Joe Don, she wrinkled her face into a faux look of disdain and staring straight at Joe Don, said, “I, unlike some people, have work to do.” Unable to hold the look, she smiled into Joe Don’s eyes. “You know, Wylie’s not here as a customer. He is here as John’s friend. Coffee and pastries are just down the hall. He’s been at the ranch long enough for Conchatta to teach him how to help himself.” Then her smile shifted into a accusation. “Wait a minute! You’re trying to impress Wylie.” Turning to Wylie with a warm smile she said, “Wylie, don’t let “Big Joe” fool you, he’s just my big old teddy bear. When it comes to his Johnny, he’s like the proverbial mother hen. His scared off most of that boy’s friends and a few girlfriends. If he threatens you. You come tell me and I’ll take a belt to him tonight.”

Wylie noticed that Joe Don’s face had shifted from irritation to look similar to the one he had shown when looking at John.

With that last comment, Joe Don’s face lit up. Leering and in an almost contralto voice, which had Wylie looking for the source, he wistfully countered, “Promises, Promises.” Then his voice at normal tone, he winked at Wylie, “Now, back to work woman or I’ll have to dock your pay for skylarking.”

“Maybe you should remember who handles the payroll.” With that she departed. As she closed the door, “It was nice meeting you Wylie. I’m sure we’ll see you Christmas Eve.“

Wylie, still smiling from the exchange, responded, “I’ll be looking forward to it. It was nice meeting you, Sally. Oh, and thanks for the coffee.“

With that she was gone and he was now in a “confined space” with a man twice his size. A man who, apparently, was trying to ‘impress; him. Wylie was skeptical. He sipped his coffee and waited.

Joe Don took a cup of coffee and nodded toward the pastry. Wylie declined.

“I met Johnny’s daddy in college. Like you and Johnny, we were, uh, roommates. I was a big sports jock and John was popular with the ladies, too. We hit it off right away. We shared a dorm room for four years. I can tell you Johnny’s dad helped me out. On more than one occasion he saved my sorry ass and my scholarship. Yeah, we were real close. I was from Arkansas and this Cowboy bullshit was all new to me. My family was mostly migrant farm workers. We worked the cotton fields down home and then shifted up to Michigan for the fruit harvest.”

“When they found out I was good at football. They settled in for my junior and senior years of high school. I had been “discovered” by a high school coach who got my father a job and us a house. All so I could play for his team.”

“My dad was a mean drunk. He used to beat me and my mother every weekend after he had drunk up what money we made in the fields. Back then, folks figured a man owned his family. Well, I lived with that until I realized that I was the reason we had a house. When he came in drunk and struck my mother, I beat him to a pulp. I’m not proud of it. Seemed to me, like I didn’t have a choice. He never laid a hand on us again. ”

“When I came out to Texas on a scholarship, they followed. My father got a farm job, that came with a house. My mother worked the fields right alongside him just like always. Well, seems like the foreman took an interest in my mother. I figure she was taken with him, too. I guess she would have been impressed with any man who didn’t beat her, or cuss her, on a regular basis. She moved in with the foreman. He ran my daddy off.”

“He only ran to the nearest liquor store and then to buy a gun. He killed the foreman, killed my mother and then himself.” All this took place while I was safely tucked away in college. When the state police came to tell me. They found me in my room studying with John. That was on a Friday. I couldn’t leave the room until the following Wednesday. Then, only cause I had to attend the funeral. John was by my side the whole time. I was a wreck. He made me eat. Let me cry. Hell, he cried with me a time or two. Anyway, the coach let me set out the rest of the season."

"That Friday was the one before Christmas break. Anyway, John had made arrangements for my parents to be flown back to Arkansas. Strange, first time either of them flew and neither one knew it. Like I said, John had made all the arrangements. I was too numb to realize, he took care of all the expenses. We were there two days, for the funeral.”

“Then he brought me to the ranch until school started back. If it hadn’t been for him and his folks, I don’t know where I would have wound up. Sure as hell not college and the Green Bay Packers. I spent every holiday, spring break and summer, for the next four years at this dealership. I ain’t ever liked horses, but I fit good here.”

“When I got hurt, it was bad. John saw it on television and took the next flight out. By the time I come out of surgery he was there. Him and Margie, uh, Margaret. I met her our senior year. Soon as I introduced her to John, seemed like they both lit up. They got involved and she became a best friend to me. Shit, I told her stuff, I couldn’t tell John. She never batted an eye. She just hugged me, well, as best she could. I was best man at their wedding.”

“Like I said, when I came to, they were both there. John was asleep in a chair, looking exhausted. She was sitting by my bed. She stood up and kissed my forehead and said, “Welcome back, Cowboy.” She knew that irritated me for several reasons.

“Long before physical therapy was over, it was plain my playing days were over. It took a long time for me to get right, physically. Mentally was an even bigger challenge. Seemed a lot of who I was back then was wrapped around a football. I had made football my life, and it was over.”

“John and Margie, picked me up and brought me to the ranch. Johnny was barely walking. Seems like he was learning to ride a pony soon after that. I started working as a salesman here, and was surprised how much I liked it. And I was pretty good at it too. Been here ever since.”

“About four years after they brought me here. Margie was out riding with a couple of cowhands. Her horse got spooked and threw her. Her head hit a rock and she died right there. Johnny was six. He wasn’t quite big enough to understand. She was everything to those two.”

Wylie noticed that while telling his tale, Joe Don and kept a serious but placid look on his face. As the big man’s eyes moistened he turned his head away from Wylie. Wylie, himself embarrassed, found something of compelling interest, inside his coffee cup. After a moment he let his eyes drift toward a shiny object. A ring. Joe Don was wearing an oversized ring. A Super Bowl ring!

Snorting, as if chastising himself, Joe Don continued, “Well, I was married to Charlene at the time. I took some clothes and stayed at the ranch for almost a month. Those two seemed in a daze most of the time. By the time things got back to near normal. Charlene announced that she was leaving me for a paint salesman from Austin. I closed up my house here in town and moved into the ranchhouse with John and Johnny. Stayed there over a year and met Sally. She came to work here as office manager. She and I hit it off pretty much from the start. Neither of us liked horses.“

The big man chuckled. That was followed by a sigh, which seemed both wistful and satisfied. His smile returned. “She and I, have been together ever since.”

Wylie noticed when Joe Don took a first sip, from his coffee. He scowled, “This shit is cold. We been here longer than I intended.”

Meeting Wylie’s gaze. His hazel eyes searched. At last satisfied, he held the scowl and continued, “Wylie, I ain’t blind. I can tell, you mean a lot to Johnny. I figure the way you look at him, he means a lot to you too.” He chuckled, “When I grabbed him earlier, you looked like your was ready to whop my ass.”

Wylie blushed. But, remained silent.

Grinning at Wylie’s unspoken admission, he continued, “I ain’t never told anybody here, except Sally all that I just told you. I figure we got family connections. I want you to understand, that if anybody hurts Johnny, they’ll have to answer to me. He’s a good boy. He’s the closest thing I got to a son. I love that kid almost as much as his daddy does. John and I have talked about you for a while now. He’s convinced you’re a fine young man. I got to say my first impression is to agree.

Wylie relaxed; a little.

“You should understand, Johnny and his dad are gentlemen. I am not so sophisticated. I am more likely to employ physical solutions, when I get upset.“

Wylie would have been upset, except he agreed with Joe Don. Anyone hurting their Johnny, would have to answer to Joe Don. But, to Wylie first.

He and Joe Don understood each other very well. They both relaxed.

Wylie never got a “tour” of the dealership that day. Joe Don asked questions about Wylie, that took them along until John arrived to take Wylie and Joe Don to lunch.

At some point, during lunch, Joe Don reminded Johnny, “You’re still not too old to get your britches dusted, young man.”

John laughed and proceeded to tell, about the one time Joe Don started to spank him. Joe Don had been at the barn and was walking back to the house. John had edged his horse up alongside Joe Don. Knowing when the big man caught the horses face in his periphery he would freak out.

What John didn’t know was that Joe Don had seen john ride up earlier and had now seen the horse’s shadow. Calmly he turned and took control of the horse. Holding the reins, he pulled Johnny from the saddle. Dropping the reins, he carried him alongside his hip. Far enough away, so as not to spook the horse. He stood him up. Holding onto John’s biceps, Joe Don rminded John in no uncertain terms, just how dangerous horses could be.

He asked John, “What would have happened if I had seen that horse that close to me and freaked out. That horse could have thrown you on your ass. You could have been hurt or even killed.”

With that he turned John around and swatted his ass with an open hand. The swat rattled John’s teeth. Realizing John had tears in his eyes, Joe Don dropped to his knees, hugged him and began crying right along with Johnny. They held each other, both crying like babies.

The story was meant to embarrass Joe Don. Instead he just looked at John with unadulterated love.

Wylie knew then, that Joe Don’s talk earlier was a serious warning. If he hurt “his” Johnny, Joe Don would hurt him.