RIDE THE TIDE

Chapter 16- Milk and Butter:

After spending the long lazy rainy afternoon discovering sweet sensations in bed with Tom, Penny was making coffee in his office.  Looking out the window at the grey skies and rolling dark green hills, she felt a wave of homesickness. 

"What time is it in North Carolina?" she asked softly.

"About 11:00. Are you ready to make a call?"

Jess had the fan set up on the kitchen counter to stir up the hot, humid air. The fact that she was ironing added to her discomfort. The dog days of summer were in full swing in the mountains of North Carolina. She was thinking of Penny today and getting concerned they hadn’t heard from her.  Terry had tried to call her cell phone once and found the service wasn't available so that left them on the waiting end. One more darn shirt and she would be finished and have that tall glass of iced tea.

The phone rang just as Jess was about to sit down in the white wicker rocker on the screened porch. She put her tea class down and went back in the kitchen for the phone. “Hello, “she said, walking back outside.

“Jess, it's Penny how are you?”

“Penny, oh lord, girl, where are you? We’ve been so worried. Are you all right?"

“We’re just fine, Jess. I'm in Yorkshire at Tom’s family farm, actually. Pateley Bridge is the closest town. It’s raining cats and dogs here today. How’s Terry?”

“Terry’s good. He’s been working some this week. School is about to start up and he’s had some planning sessions to attend.  I’m glad for it. He can get to be a pill sometimes. Now tell me about you. How is Tom’s father?”

“Well, Jess, Tom’s father has passed, Wednesday last week.  The funeral was held on Sunday and things have been hectic around here.  It seemed every time I wanted to call it was before daylight there. I’m sorry not to have let you know.”

“Oh, Penny I'm so sorry to hear that. You give our sympathies to Tom and his family. We went up to the cabin on Thursday, I believe it was, and cleaned out the fridge.  We brought your things here, Penny. I didn’t know what else to do, so we closed up the cabin. I know there was

no time to think when you left.”

"I really appreciate you guys cleaning up after me. I don’t know when I can collect my things

or when I'll be back. Just hold on to them, ok? Tom bought me some clothes so I'm okay for

now. When is Terry’s Christmas break?  How many days will he have off? 

"I don’t know yet, Penny, but I can ask him tonight. Why?"

“Jess, we're going to be married here sometime around Christmas.  No plans have been made yet. I wanted to know when ya’ll could come and before you say anything, the tickets will be

sent to you with the invitation, okay?”

“ P E N N Y! Oh, I'm so happy for you!  Terry will be, too. He’s been real worried, you know. Wow! That’s the best news I could have today.”

Tom heard part of her conversation about the tickets and was glad she'd said that. He knew if

he offered them to Terry, he would have refused and probably borrowed the money to come. Funny little thing, why hadn’t she said she wanted to call Jess? He rolled off the bed and hunted his sweat pants and shirt. Penny would want her things here. He recalled the two plastic bins of keepsakes. He'd have to figure out how to get them here. She was telling Jess all about what she had seen and where she had been since arriving here. They were having a real chinwag. He

decided he would go see if the TV still worked.

Jess could hardly wait for Terry to come home. She had so much to tell him. Penny sounded wonderful, so happy. Jess had to wipe a tear or two. A trip to England? Now that needed some thought. She had never been any farther than Myrtle Beach SC and Richmond VA and never

on a plane in her life. Law, we won’t know how to act, she thought.

Terry pulled the truck up by the garage and, taking his papers, walked to the house. Jess met him on the porch, smiling. "We had a call from Penny."

They walked into the kitchen where Jess poured him a glass of iced tea and told him everything Penny had said. He was mightily relieved to hear she was all right.  "I'm sorry, though, about Tom’s dad."  He went to get his atlas so they see where she was.

“Boy, she’s almost to the top of England,” Terry remarked. “Imagine our girl all the way over there. I don’t know about the tickets, Jess.” He studied her from under his eyebrows.  He didn’t like other people paying for things.

“Now, Terry, don’t you go and try to put a rock in this. We’re going. Have you got your schedule there?”

“Yeah, Christmas comes on Tuesday this year and the Friday before will be our last day.  We’ll be off until the Wednesday after New Year's.” Looked like he lost before the fight started.

"I have Penny’s address and phone number now. I'll send a letter and let her know the dates so she can plan her wedding."  Jess was so excited, but wished she could be there to help.

"What am I supposed to do with the Cherokee? Terry asked practically.

"Park it," Jess replied with a cock of her eyebrow.

Thus instructed, Terry walked into the den and turned on the TV.

Tom and Penny wandered upstairs into the house to see if there were anything left for tea. 

She discovered a plate of ham rolls and the rest of the custard tarts. Tom found some pickled onions to round out his plate.  After their meal they walked into the living room, finding Anna asleep on the sofa. Tom looked her over to make sure she was alright then they went back to the bungalow.

When Anna awoke it was dark in the room.   She couldn’t remember the last time she had a nap in the afternoon. It felt good. There was no reason not to take a nap if she wanted to. She found the ham rolls and a couple of custard tarts and made herself a cup of tea. It was quiet in the house. She could hear the rain still falling outside and the wind against the windows. She decided to take her tea upstairs and turn on the TV in her bedroom. Maybe there would be an old movie to watch.

The next morning brought the sun. It was still windy and cool and the yard awash in puddles. Tom thought he would find somebody to work on his mother’s car and called Peter to find out who could come to the farm.  Peter gave him a number and Tom arranged for the man to come out that afternoon. He also needed to go the bank to get an account set up for Penny and check on his mother’s financial status.  He went up to his father’s office to see if he could find a bank book.

Anna had been out in her rose garden trying to repair some of the damage the storm had caused.  She brought her dripping roses into the scullery and put them in a jug of water. They could sit until they were dry enough to bring into the house. Akkers heard her come in and poked her head in the scullery door. “I left yer sleeping last evening. All right ,were ya?” Akkers kept a close eye on Anna since John died.

“Oh, yes, Akkers, it felt so good to sit down with a book and read until I fell asleep. I feel much rested this morning.” She toed off her boots and walked through the passageway.  Anna stopped at the dining room door when she heard the noise coming from John’s office.  Her heart skipped a beat. Opening the door she saw Tommy with a shoebox full of papers on the desk. “Tommy, you gave me a fright.”

“Oh, sorry, Mum. You wouldn’t happen to know if Dad had a bankbook in here anywhere? I have never seen such a mess.  He’s got a box of receipts from 1995 and probably beyond. I haven’t got to the bottom of this one yet.”

Anna walked over to an old oak filing cabinet and looked in the top drawer. “Tommy, I believe all his private papers are in this filing cabinet.  The rest has to do with the stock and feed.”

“Peter said he was going to move all this lot out to his place. I wish him luck. Let’s see what we have here.” He began going through the filing cabinet and at last found the bank papers. His dad kept very good records, they just weren’t organized. Anna left him to it and went upstairs. It took Tom a couple of hours before he thought he had enough information to take to the bank. The farm was doing well and he was glad to see that. Having found the same signature on several pieces of correspondence, Tom called the bank and asked for Mr. Harris. He explained what he wanted and was told to come in about 10:00 in the morning.

Janey came after breakfast and collected Penny.  She was going to the dairy for milk and butter and thought Penny might like to come along. She made her way down a curving wet country road to the dairy.  The black and white cows paid no attention to the aged Rover as it went by. They passed by an old stone two story house and down a hill to the dairy.  A long low building, white washed with a tile roof, was their destination.  A little anteroom provided covers for their shoes and they went through the door into the milking room.  All was mechanized stainless steel. Janey called out for Cherry and a short girl with a mass of red hair bundled into a net came around the corner of the room.

“Hey, Janey, come for the milk and butter today?”

Janey introduced her to Penny and they walked into a cool room where rounds of butter were kept on marble slabs. Cherry found a box and packed up two rounds.  Penny asked her if they made cheese and was shown to another rack where rounds of cheddar covered in wax were aging.  She let Penny sample one and Penny asked Janey if they could take a round with them. Cherry boxed it up and they went to the cooler for the two gallons of milk. Penny thought it was wonderful to go the cow store. Cherry walked back outside with them and they talked for a while. Penny noticed the flowers blooming along the back side of the dairy building and was told they came from Janey’s greenhouse as transplants. Penny wondered if they bartered their products.

On the way back they stopped in Pateley Bridge for a cup of tea. "The tourists are thinning out now and it's getting back to normal," Janey remarked.

Penny loved Pateley and would like to come by herself one day and wander in and out of the shops.  They passed by a book store and there was a display of Tom Cox books in the window. "Tom's a local celebrity," Janey said as they paused for a moment. Penny knew, though, how much of a celebrity he was outside of Pateley Bridge and thought brought the upcoming book tour to mind.

They made it back to the farm and Janey stayed for lunch. Peter was there, called by Tom to come and collect his papers.  They sat down to a bowl of vegetable soup and palm-sized Cornish pasties.

"I've got a meeting at the bank in the morning," Tom informed his mother. "Would you like to be there?" 

"No, I trust you to take care of me."

Penny suggested some cheese with the apple tart for afters. Anna smiled. Penny was finding her place but she would have to watch out for Akkers.  The kitchen was her territory.

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