Depression by cmsix

Chapter 14

The limo was a long bastard and harder to drive than a big truck, but it was plush inside. The seats in the rear weren't really seats; they were like long couches down each side. It had a bar, a complicated stereo system, and a hell of a lot of stuff I didn't even recognize. There was even one of those disco balls back there, but its lights didn't show up much in the daytime. What the hell, I was up front and didn't have to worry about all that crap.

We decided not to try driving up and honking the horn in this ride. We pulled up, meek as lambs, got out, and went into the house.

"What do ya know, Wanda, they found their way back by themselves," Ethel said, as we came in.

"Not only that, we found a new toy down in my garage. I think we should all take a ride in it," I said.

"What kind of toy?" she asked.

"George told me you'd been threatening to call a limo for a ride. Somebody else must have heard it too. Your chariot awaits," I said, grinning.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Why don't ya go on out there and see for yourself, Ethel," George said.

They decided that was the best way to get things moving so Ethel and Wanda went to the back door. Both of them were shocked motionless and speechless when they opened it. They didn't even go outside, they just stood there and stared.

Ethel recovered first.

"Where in the hell did you buy this, George, and when?" she asked.

"I didn't do it. When we went in the garage down there, we found it, and a few others," George said.

"Well if that don't beat all. John must a done something they really liked," she said.

"I hope I've already done it," I said, "At least I hope I don't have more to do that seems like it would make up for this and the other stuff. I'm a little worried that they're gettin' me rigged out so I can't complain about what comes next."

"At least they've put some effort into keepin' ya. It coulda been a lot worse," Wanda said.

"Now that you mention it I know you're right."

Ethel went to get Doctor Jorge, Meka, and of course, the new dog. They all came to take a look, and I'll swear the dog was more impressed with the limo than Meka was. That came to an end when they went out to look inside.

Meka was inside it for a minute or so and then she and the dog came back out. Meka smiled at me and then put the dog down. He was not one to miss a chance to pee, but he was done soon enough. Meka picked him back up and then looked at me.

"Take us ride, Daddy?' she asked.

Who could resist her? I knew I wasn't the one. Nodding my head, I went back to the driver's door and saddled up, with George sitting up front with me.

Doctor Jorge was sitting up near George and I, so I asked him about the name Meka was calling the dog.

"She hasn't named him yet. She said tomorrow would be a good day to name him. She's waiting until then," he said.

"But I've heard her call him something in her language a couple of times," I said.

"It didn't happen to sound like sound like ch'uht'uh dìitsi? did it?" he asked.

"I think that's it," I said.

"Ch'uht'uh dìitsi? means fuzzy dog in her language," he said, and then laughed.

"That hits him right on the head. Now that you mention it, I think it would help if I knew at least a few words in her language, so I could talk to the others if I go back," I said.

"The most important word for you to use is Texas," he said, leaving me batting my eyelids and shaking my head.

"There's no Texas back then," I said.

"The actual word in their language is taysha, but Spaniards later spelled it tejas, but Texas will do fine, it means friend," he said.

"Can you hit me with a few more?" I asked.

"Kùmbakfühah - my name is," he said, "and Dahyáhyut is come in."

I spent the next ten minutes driving and trying to get my mouth to make the same sounds Doctor Jorge's had made. It was a real bitch, especially after he threw in the rising and falling pitches.

"Very good, next we'll try some of the words that sound like you're trying to swallow a letter," Doctor Jorge said, and then laughed.

"I might not need to communicate with them as badly as I thought."

"Don't give up yet, John, just don't think you can learn it in an afternoon. It might not seem right, but Meka has a much easier time of it than you will," he said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she isn't so set in her ways yet. Also, everyone around her is speaking English and I'm there to help her anytime.

"Of course it's a learning experience for me too. She is a native speaker of the language and she hasn't been corrupted by English the way modern Caddos have. They're trying to resurrect their language while she knows it already," he said.

"I think I can understand that," I said.

"No matter what any so called expert on the language thinks they know, Meka knows more. She is the current authority on Earth. Many scholars would give up years of their life to study it under her, if they could only know," he said.

"I guess you're glad to get the chance then."

"I'm thrilled. I won't be leaving until someone makes me go. Unless there's a chance I can go with you sometime," he said.

"I'd be more than glad for you to go, but you know it isn't up to me. I am guessing that you'll be coming along soon though. I have plenty of room for passengers in my house now," I said.

Jorge gave it a rest then and I concentrated on giving them the scenic tour of Atlanta Texas. Since I'd been to Atlanta Georgia before, I knew that they had one thing very much in common, pine trees. In fact, Atlanta Georgia was in the poor house as far as the pines were concerned.

We were taking a detour through the city park when Meka graced us with one or her English words.

"Stop, Daddy," she said.

I pulled off into a small picnic area and then Meka was chivvying everyone out of the limo. When I got out too, I saw the reason. We had called a halt so the Ch'uht'uh dìitsi? could do his business.

The little rascal made a puddle and then decided to dump a load on the park. I could barely believe the praise heaped on him at the successful conclusion. Meka, Wanda, and Ethel went on and on - in two languages - about his prowess in dumping maneuvers.

He hadn't caught a ride on the gravy train; he'd fallen directly into the gravy ocean. He was smug about it too. When he realized he was the star of the show he strutted around as if it were his due.

After a few minutes Meka found the slide and seesaw and the fun was on. She'd climb the ladder and then Wanda would hand her the dog for the trip down the slide. They both enjoyed it immensely.

The seesaw was problematic for a few seconds, until Ethel had me work my end with my hands while Meka and the dog rode on the other end. I had to be extra careful since Meka was holding onto the dog and not onto the seesaw's handle. I didn't want her to fall off.

Thankfully, she wasn't impressed with the monkey bars. I guessed it was because she'd already had the chance to climb as many trees as she'd wanted to. Climbing around on the bars was probably pale in comparison.

Soon enough we were back in the limo and then back to Ethel's house. Meka went in for more lessons from Jorge while George and I put the limo away and came back in his pickup.

"I guess I'll go ahead and take this load down to the house," I told George, when we were back.

"Probably be best. I'll gather up a few guys to help you start unloadin' and send them down there."

I started to go see if Meka wanted to come along but decieded not to disturb her lessons. Besides, I wasn't really too lazy to get out and put my hand on the curb to raise the elevator.

When I got there and lined up, the elevator surprised me by coming up on its own. Now that was service. I didn't now how it knew but I was glad it did.

The whole thing was like that. The elevator doors shut behind me and when it was down to the basement level the others opened too. I headed for the tunnel and it was all automatic. I did have to get out and open the trailer's doors before bumping the dock though.

When I had it in place, I went up into the house and opened the front door. Carl, Jake, Farley, and Cuatro were pulling up in George's Silverado and they had Chuck and Dave in tow too.

We could have used about four or five more. I hadn't bothered to look in the trailer after it had been loaded at Old Towne Antiques, I'd just shut the doors when I pulled away from the dock

The whole fifty-three foot trailer was full of crap, and I didn't have any idea about where Ethel wanted it put. We just carried it into the big living room and stacked it neatly. We'd need guidance from the big house to put this where it belonged.

It didn't take as long as I'd thought it would, mostly because we just made it handier for Ethel to put it where she wanted it. I let the guys out and then returned to the truck. My magic doors worked all the way out too, and when I headed the truck into one of the garage's center doors, that opened for me too.

I still had about an hour before suppertime, so I went back into the house and then the basement and reentered my arms locker. Picking out a bow, a box or arrows, and some practice points I headed into the shooting range.

After a few minutes putting the points into a dozen arrows I set a target at twenty-five yards and began feeling my way for the bull's-eye. I'd used a compound bow a few times but just to get the feel of one. One arrow with this one let me know that it was made even better than I'd thought.

It was extremely smooth to draw and holding it ready was trivial. Hitting the target wasn't though. It was much more powerful than I'd thought and I barely hit in the very top of the target with my first arrow.

After nearly an hour of practice, it was no trouble to get good shots into the big round target at fifty yards, and I considered myself well on my way to becoming proficient.

Actually, I didn't intend to use a bow and arrows more than I had to. I'd be concentrating on using a rifle if I needed to deal with something. Bows and arrows were fine for the Natives, but I already knew how to use a rifle. If I had to shoot something, I wanted to do it with the best weapon available.

It was time for supper by now though, so I made it to the garage and decided to give my Hummer pickup a try.

It was sorta strange to be driving a pickup that was so wide. The first time I'd seen one I'd assumed they only looked wider because of their odd shape. Wrong, it was nearly eight feet wide, and this pickup version was close to twenty feet long.

When I got in I noticed other things that didn't seem like regulation army equipment. The first thing was the air-ride seat. I'd never sat in a real hummer, but I was pretty sure the army didn't shell out for leather seats. Aluminum wheels either, but this one had them.

The odd thing about the aluminum wheels was their color. That's right, they weren't the polished type, they were forest camo, like the rest of the truck. I don't know how it was on them though since it obviously wasn't paint. I'd have to see if Bob would show me how to look up the regular army specs for a Hummer on my new computer.

At least the ride was good, and with the tires They'd hung on it, I wasn't likely to have that much trouble if I ended up driving it somewhere there were no roads. I figured there'd be a pretty good chance of that coming up.

At George's house I was just in time for supper and Ethel made me glad of it. We had steaks again, with creamed potatoes, and Ranch Style Beans. Well, most of the rest of them had the home cooked pintos, and I even tried a helping or two of them too.

Meka was done for the night after she finished her helping of peach cobbler, and I was feeling a little lethargic myself. Since her furniture wasn't in place yet, Ethel and Wanda put Meka and the curly one to bed in her normal room up here. I decided to spend my first night in my new house.

Armed with a mug of fresh coffee, I headed home. On the way I remembered that we needed to move Joe Bob, Little Missy, Jasper, and Jeffry back to my place tomorrow. It wasn't that they didn't get good care in George's barn, but if things happened, as in if the house was going somewhere, I might need one, or even all of them.

The door I needed opened when I pulled up to it and I drove right in. After getting out of the Hummer, I started to give all the other cars and the ambulance a once over, but when I headed toward the Model A first, I changed my mind and decided to put it off for a few days.

I left the garage by the big door I'd driven the Hummer into and it started closing as soon as I was out. It was still a little strange to me, but I could get used to not having to deal with things like that. It was same song, second verse when I reached the back door of the house. Somehow it knew I was coming and it opened so that I didn't even have to slow down, I just walked right in and it closed behind me.

I know that automatic doors aren't a big thing, they're pretty much normal now a days, but not on your house. I also knew that it wouldn't open for someone that I didn't want to come in. I don't know how I knew, but I was sure it was the case.

I tried out my new bathroom next. The shower was easily big enough for a few friends and thinking that made me wish I had a friend to shower with. It seemed like it had been ages since the fun and games with Karen, down in Shreveport. The shower was also reminding me of Jahedo's woman and the energetic washing she gave my dick when we showered together.

Alas, I'd be washing my own dick tonight, as usual. I did take advantage of the new facilities though. After I was clean, I filled the hot tub and when it was good to go, I got in and let myself be bubbled. That might have been a mistake, because I started thinking of Karen, and Jahedo's woman, again. No doubt about it, I needed to get laid in one time or the other.

I was up early, dressed, and at George's back door in plenty of time for breakfast the next morning. Meka met me with doggy in her arms and then damned if she didn't introduce us.

"Daddy, this Tutsie. Tutsie, this Daddy," she said, smiling.

The first thing I wondered was what the hell Tutsie meant in her lingo. I kept my mouth shut though and when Meka held the pup's paw out, I shook it. He finished the ceremony by licking my hand, and we were friends.

We went to the table, and I had to bite my tongue again. I know Ethel and Wanda, and hell, everybody here, thought that Meka made the sun come up in the morning. It must have rubbed off on the dog too.

I don't know when it happened, but there was a highly modified highchair at the table this morning. It wasn't really a chair anymore. It had a platform in place of the chair seat, and there were rails all around it to keep Tutsie from falling out. There was a stainless steel water and food dish on the platform too. One of those double bowl things. The new highplatform was placed right beside Meka's chair.

No one said a thing about it so I didn't either. It didn't hurt my feelings any and if Meka liked it, I loved it. When the food began appearing, Meka broke up Tutsie's bacon and sausage patties, put them in his bowl, and then slid three fried eggs on top of the mix.

The damnedest thing was the dog waited for her to finish before he dug in. I could hardly believe it, and in fact I didn't. No one had trained that puppy to do that. They must be responsible for his manners. What the hell, it wouldn't hurt anything. In fact, it was nice.

I fouled up during the breakfast chitchat and mentioned that we'd need to take the horses and mules to the new barn. Doctor Jorge gave me such a look and I knew I'd put my foot in it and ruined any chance of Meka's morning lesson. I just shrugged at him and he seemed to forgive me.

After breakfast we all went out for Tutsie's walk. Not everybody of course, most of the hands went to work. Ethel let me know that they'd be down at the house doing moving duty this morning.

"They still need to get started on the fencin' but we can't be caught short if something comes up down at your place," she said, after most everyone else had gone back in the house.

I made another fuck up then, and after I realized it, I begged her not to tell on me. My mistake was asking if Jerry Charlton had come around yet. It made her suspicious and she dragged the rest of it out of me.

"Oh, don't worry about George finding out about your slip of the tongue. I'll just march in there and tell him we need to put up a strong pipe fence and ask him if he knows a good welder," she said, and then I thanked her until she made me hush.

I went ahead and started saddling horses and haltering mules. I was just finished with Little Missy and Joe Bob when Meka, George, and Doctor Jorge came out.

"Daddy, Doctor Jorge needs horse," Meka said.

"No doubt about it," George said. "I don't think there's no hurry, but I can tell he's a gonna need one."

I guess that might sound nearly normal, but Doctor Jorge just didn't look like the equestrian type, if you know what I mean. He wasn't obscenely fat, but he did have padding on his padding. Not to mention that he was pale white, and almost short.

"Have you done any ridin' before, Doctor Jorge?" I asked.

"I've never been on a horse, and I never wanted to until this morning," he said, looking a little sheepish.

"Don't matter," George said, "There's plenty here that can teach ya the basics, and the horses is pretty smart. I'd say Simon would be a good ride for the Doctor. Whatcha think, John?" George asked.

"Well, Simon ain't fractious and that's a good thing. He's big and strong enough to carry Jorge too," I said.

"I should mention that I've also realized I need to lose some weight. I've calculated a good diet but there's no way I can keep to one here. I'll have to work the extra pounds off," Doctor Jorge said.

I thought it was one of the smartest things out of his mouth. If he could do enough exercising to work the weight off he might be able to lose some. People are always going on diets and they usually end up gaining weight.

They should face the facts. You can't lose weight by lying around and moaning about not getting enough to eat. Especially at first, they are hungry all the time and in a bad mood too. I hoped for the best and we decided that Doctor Jorge could make his first try at riding this afternoon.

George and Jorge went back toward the house. I finished getting the stock lined out for the short trip while Meka and Tutsie watched. Our next snag came when it was time to mount up.

There was no way in hell I was going to let Meka ride Little Missy while trying to carry Tutsie in her arms. Meka was only a lesson or two ahead of Jorge. I braced myself for a lot of explaining, and figured we'd end up with the good Doctor translating before we were done. Meka slayed me though.

"Daddy, you Tutsie. I can't hold him I ride," she said.

I gave her a big smile.

"I don't get to hold him much anyway. I'll carry him," I said.

"We need box for Tutsie horse," she said next, and I didn't doubt we'd have one soon after she mentioned it to Ethel.

When we mounted up, I took the mule's lead rope and looped it around my saddle horn. Meka and Little Missy led us out of the barn and toward the back door of the house. I didn't know what she had on her mind but I didn't say anything.

Ethel, Wanda, George, Bob, and Jorge must have been watching out of the back window. They all came out to give us a send off. Meka took this chance to let Ethel in or her needs.

"Need box Tutsie horse," she said, grinning and asking with the same expression.

"Shore do, don't cha? I'll see 'bout some wicker panniers," George said, beating Ethel to the punch.

"Thank you," Meka said, and I'm sure that Doctor Jorge hadn't known teaching her that was like handing her a weapon. Meka could get a lot of good out of Please and Thank You.