Depression by cmsix

Chapter 17

Waking early the next morning, especially considering not going to bed before midnight, I was strangely well rested. It was only five AM but seeing if I could get the pictures out of the new camera without help was on my mind. The first snag was when I discovered it didn't have a place to put memory cards into it, and of course there was no place to take them out.

Going back to the armory for the box I'd taken it out of, I found an instruction book and a special cord too. Back upstairs, in my office, the instructions told me just what came next.

The plainly written details were a refreshing surprise; they were amazingly complete without being complicated. The whole process was simple, and that was saying something, for me.

The interface for the computer was USB, which I was already slightly familiar with, but it described the one on the camera end as proprietary. That struck me as odd for a second but it was probably their way of saying nobody on earth can do it our way.

It was a snap once the connection between the camera and computer was made. A little box popped up in the middle of the center computer screen and asked Transfer Images? and it had a button for yes and one for no. I clicked on yes and one of those progress bars came into the little box, filled itself from left to right and then it all went away.

Another box came up, telling me that the transfer was complete and asked if I wanted to clear the camera's memory. I said yes and we did a similar song and dance. The last little info box that popped up seemed a little odd to me though.

It said, Camera's memory cleared. Two terabytes available. and then it asked if I was done. I clicked on yes and that was it. What I didn't know was what two terabytes meant, it sounded like a lot to me. I decided that Bob could tell me when I went to their place for breakfast.

Taking a quick shower, I dressed and headed for food. I knew Meka would appreciate it if I came in the big truck so I did, blowing the train horn when I got there.

She, Tutsie in arms, came flying out the door to meet me. I scooped her up into my arms and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. Not to be outdone, Tutsie gave me a lick up a nostril. It's the thought that counts.

"What Daddy shoot night?" Meka asked.

"Just another coyote," I said, pointing where I'd thrown it, on the back of the truck, in front of the fifth wheel.

"Good. Now breakfast, please," she said.

We went inside and the whole crew was ready. Ethel was happy that I'd bagged another coyote, but when I mentioned finding a camera that They had supplied she was even more excited.

"Did you bring it up so Bob could take the pictures out?" she asked.

Explaining about the camera was my next trick, and about only getting the one shot of the owl, and about reading the instructions, and then about taking the pictures out myself and putting them on my computer.

"Can you get it from here, Bob?" she asked him.

"Sure, I'll do it as soon as I've eaten," he said.

When we'd mostly finished eating, I asked Bob about the two terrabytes of memory. He looked at me like I must have read it wrong.

"Are you sure it said two terrabytes?" he asked.

"I'm sure. There were only a few words and they were in large print. I know I got them right," I said, maybe a little snottier sounding than I'd meant to be.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to seem like you weren't paying attention. It isn't possible for anything from here though. Two terrabytes is an awful lot of memory to be in a camera. It's more than we have on all the computers here and at your house too," Bob said.

I guess They want me to take more pictures then," I said.

"Me too, I just love 'em," Ethel said.

Bob went to take care of the pictures as soon as we were down to drinking coffee. All of us except Doctor Jorge that is, he'd had his cereal and taken off for his walk before I even got here.

Bob came out about five minutes later with a picture in his hand.

"I thought you took this at night," he said.

"I did, I forgot to tell you that the instructions said the camera could do just as well at night as in the daylight," I said.

"Just as well nothing. This picture is better than the camera you had could ever do. I can't believe you took this at night, it's in full color," he said.

He showed it to us then and it did look great, even if I did take it. The owl seemed to be looking right at the camera too, but I knew that had to be a coincidence. However it happened, it was a great shot.

"Did you get one of the coyote you shot too," Ethel asked.

"No, I'm sorry but I forgot all about it. In my defense, I shot the coyote from probably five hundred yards," I said.

"I think I might have to go with you one of these nights and measure off your after-dark yards. That's sounds like a hell of a shot to me, or a fish story," George said.

"If there's a horse around here that'll let you on its back, you're welcome to come along. I'm not gonna wait on you if you have to walk though.

"Myself, I think it'd be hard to miss with the new rifles. I've never had one that shoots as good as they do. In fact, I've never even read about or heard of one that can," I said.

"Carolyn, what did we do with my hip waders last time we put them up? It's gettin' pretty deep in here and I don't want to drown in bullshit before I finish my coffee," Ethel said, and then the rest of them, Meka included, laughed at me and George.

In payment for her jab at me, Ethel broke out some coffee cake, as if I weren't stuffed already. It was just her way though. If she made a joke at your expense, she paid her bill with food, and it was damned good food too. I took my time with the coffee cake, and even broke Tutsie off a little piece of it when I noticed him carefully watching me eat.

Even though I know Tutsie was full to the neck, he gobbled up the morsel and then, seemingly satisfied that he wasn't being left out; he lay down on his perch, casually swinging his small tail back and forth.

"I guess Meka and I can go out and pick up the last trailer this morning, I don't really have anything else to do today," I said, to the room, after I'd finished my cake.

"I think you should hang around here today, there might be something you need to take care of," Ethel said, sounding unusually tentative, for her anyway.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well, you have a job interview at ten AM," she said.

"A job interview? I don't even want a job," I said.

"I know that. This ones t'other way 'round."

"Well, I'm lost now. What does that mean?" I asked.

"You're the one that'll be doin' the interviewin'," George said, letting me know that this was a two pronged attack I'd be facing. I probably should have just given up right then, since I was outnumbered.

"But I don't want to hire anybody, and even if I did, I wouldn't have anything for them to do," I said.

"We're the ones that'll be doin' the hiring, we just want you to make sure you can get along with 'em," Ethel said.

That didn't make a damned bit of sense to me. Why should I have to make sure I could get along with a new ranch hand. I did get along with all the ones they had here now, as far as I had contact with them anyway. I couldn't figure out why they had to make sure I'd get along with the new one though. So I just asked.

"Why do I need to make sure I can get along with a new ranch hand?"

"Cause she won't be a ranch hand, even if we hire her," Ethel said.

"That's enough, I like to dance as much as anybody, but not at the kitchen table. You two are up to something and you might as well tell me about it instead of making me try to guess," I said.

"Let me get you another piece of coffee cake, or some donuts. Have you ever had any of my homemade donuts?" Ethel asked.

"If you're trying to bribe me with food, I can already tell you that it's gonna work, so just bring me anything that taste good and I'll consider myself ready to do this job interview for you.

"Maybe after that you and George might even tell me what you're going to want this person to do," I said, giving up and thinking about the coffee cake that was coming, mostly.

"Well, it was kinda Bob's fault," Ethel said.

"My fault, I just mentioned it first. Besides, why does it have to be somebody's fault," Bob said, sounding put upon.

"Ok then. Well, it was Bob that mentioned it first, but George and I both had already thought about it. We just hadn't mentioned it to each other.

"When Bob said it, we all thought that They might have got it started. You know how that goes sometimes," Ethel said.

"It wasn't like it's always been before though," George said.

"No, it wasn't, but it kinda was, and it wouldn't go away," Bob said, agreeing.

"Please. One of you please tell me what it was," I said.

"Oh, that. We think we need someone who really knows about doctoring folks that's hurt. Somebody that's done it before," George said.

"We ain't trying to root you out of the top spot, but we think it'd be easier on you if we could find a nurse, or somebody like that to help ya," Ethel said.

"Then what was all the pussyfootin' around about? I've thought we should have someone that knew what they were doing from the start," I said.

It was almost funny, the way relief seemed to spread over the three of them. I knew even Meka could see it, because she giggled and I know she couldn't understand what we'd said. Hell, even Tutsie stood up, panting a little and wagging his tail more.

"Did you get one of those feelin's about it?" George asked.

"I didn't need any damn feelings. When I found myself stitching up people and setting broken arms I knew damned well I was in over my head. After the operating room just happened to show up the deal was sealed. We have to have somebody that at least knows a lot about first aid. We probably can't grab a real doctor, but we need a paramedic, at least," I said.

"It's a load off our mind that you're takin' it so well," Ethel said.

"You three were just being silly. Why would I mind if we could find someone to help me?" I asked.

"Well, it's a woman," Ethel said.

"Hell, that's even better. Who wants to be taking time travelin' trips late at night with a man?" I asked.

"She was in the army, but from what I kin find out, she quit cause they wouldn't let her in on the special forces or whatever," George said.

"I hope she won't hurt me then," I said.

"What do ya mean?" George asked.

"I mean Special Forces is what they call the ones that sneak into enemy territory and raise hell. If she even thought she was capable of being in that she must be hard to handle, at least. I haven't even seen her yet but she can probably whip Bob, George, and me - all at the same time," I said.

"That's another thing," George said. "None of us have seen her."

"You hired her over the phone?" I asked.

"We haven't hired her yet. I heard of her leaving the army and coming back home to live. I know her folks and they're good people. Then I nosed around some and found out the few details we told you. Ethel called her and asked her about the first aid stuff and then asked if she'd be interested in a job. She's coming out this morning so we can all get acquainted," George said.

George and Ethel had eased my mind.

Doctor Jorge came in then, not even huffing and puffing too badly either; if you ask me. He chatted for a minute and then headed for a shower. It seemed like no time at all before he was ready for Meka and Tutsie, to start their lessons. I hadn't known it, but apparently Tutsie was getting some instructions too. It made me wonder which language he was learning.

Back to talking about the new arrival, I asked George if he thought I'd need to be careful with what I told her.

"I can tell ya that," Ethel said. "Don't give it a thought. You won't even be able to get anything out if They don't want ya to. That's how it's always been before anyhow."

Something about that just didn't seem right to me, and I guess it showed in the look on my face.

"I know it don't feel just right, but when ya get down to it there ain't a thing we can do about it. They are a little like the government, they make the rules and there's not shit we can do about 'em. Unlike the government, They make sure we're taken care of over it. When ya ain't got no choice, it at least helps to know that there's somethin' in it for ya," George said.

Maybe George was right. This wasn't the only situation I'd ever been in where someone else held all the cards, and at least I didn't seem to be losing the hand. That brought my thoughts back to poker, and thinking of poker reminded me that I needed to see about getting cash for one of the little gold ingots I'd bought with my winnings from Shreveport. I was running a little short of cash.

"George, I need to cash in some of the gold I bought after I went to Shreveport, do you know anywhere around here to sell some?" I asked.

"Hell, I'll buy all you want to sell. I usually have to look for it when I get too much cash layin' around and don't want to put it in the bank," he said.

"I guess I should have known that you'd be doing a little cash business for the horses, especially," I said.

"That's the way I like to sell 'em, but it don't always work out. I've been pretty lucky lately though. But stud fees are the biggest for cash. Almost everybody that finds out I'll give 'em ten percent off for cash on the barrel takes me up on it. I don't see that it's any business of the IRS what I charge to let Show Boy dick a mare," he said.

"You two stop bragging and talking dirty for a few minutes. I see Jaycee drivin' up and there's no need to let her know what you're really like right off the bat," Ethel said.

When she walked in the door I was glad that Ethel greeted her first and at least gave me some time to get hold of myself. Jaycee was a knockout, and she made it hard on an old man like me. She wasn't exactly what I'd call dressed modestly either.

Jaycee had black hair, so black it seemed to shine, and it looked a little different with her deep blue eyes. Of course it was hard to look her pretty face over for long, because she had on a tight T-shirt that was having hell hiding her big braless titties. I might have done better though if her jeans hadn't looked to be painted on. She was the first woman that really showed me in person what all the talk about Camel Toe really meant.

Even stranger was the way she acted, as if she weren't giving a thrill to any male that might happen to lay eyes on her. And in fact she didn't really look outrageous, she just happened to be putting the goods on display.

It was a job, but I managed to talk to her face instead of her titties when we were introduced. Her handshake was firm and her smile seemed genuine, but her voice, low and sexy like it was, nearly made me shiver. George was so flustered that he could barely make sense and I could see that it tickled the shit out of Ethel.

By now, Ethel figured she could get rid of some more coffee cake and when she asked Jaycee if she'd like some and got a yes, we all sat at the kitchen table again. Carolyn and Geneva, who'd been cooking and trying to keep a low profile, served us while Ethel went to get Bob and Wanda.

My mouth stayed full of cake and coffee all the while Ethel was gone, and I did it on purpose, so I'd make sure I didn't say anything stupid. Jaycee talked with George, as much as she could get him too anyway, and I spent most of my time trying not to gawk at the titties that were wiggling and wobbling beneath that T-shirt.

There were more introductions when Bob and Wanda got there, and when Geneva asked me, I told her more cake and coffee would be great. I even tried to listen while Ethel did most of the talking about the job they had open.

If things had been completely normal there's no doubt that Jaycee would have smelled a rat as big as Rhode Island. There was no way in hell that Ethel could even pretend that she had a normal job out here, but Jaycee seemed to chew it like a pickle and it was obvious that she was normally smarter than that.

She gave us some of the story of her and the army and it was kinda what you'd expect. She said she'd done great in her training, and I didn't doubt her. But the brass had discouraged her from trying to get into Special Forces. She said after she realized that wasn't going to happen, she spent the rest of her time in the service training.

She picked up on the fact that there was some type of unofficial flag on her papers and she rode it like a pony. She was a fully trained battlefield quality paramedic, and had been through every type of training the service had. She'd even spent a year in college at the army's expense, for advanced training.

Along the way she'd been to helicopter flight training. Her intentions in civilian life had been to get a job flying an EMS helicopter, the kind most hospitals had now. She didn't really want to, but she thought it would be the best thing for her financially.

"The army gives its people some of the best training around, but unfortunately, not a lot of it transfers well to civilian life. I figure that flying EMS is probably the best I can do without more schooling," Jaycee said.

"I don't want to be too nosey, but what kind of salary were you thinking about?" George asked.

"As far as flying for an EMS company, they're fairly standard if they can get away with it. When they have enough pilots you can expect forty to fifty k, if they're short of bodies it can go up," she said.

"Well, we don't have a helicopter, but we like you fine," Ethel said, but what she meant was I like you and that's really all that matters.

"We can start you out at a hundred thousand," Ethel told her.

Even though They must have been doing something to Jaycee to keep her calm and keep her questions to a minimum, she was totally floored by that little revelation. She was smart enough to stop talking once the deal was done though.

"When do I start, and who's my boss?" she asked.

"You won't exactly have a boss. Just go with John and let him show you around some. If we need anything he'll probably be the one to tell you about it," Ethel said.