Chapter 319 - A year has passed - mdfour
Roland
This winter came with full force; it’s been raining all week, and the creek is about to overflow. We’ve been working for an hour under the rain, almost done erecting the pure concrete retaining walls in the most vulnerable spots to prevent flooding. We haven’t stopped working for the past eight days.
“Boss! This is the last batch.”
Lara shouted. Everyone pitched in; if the creek overflows, several lands will flood, and we have a lot of cattle. Workers from all eight farms came together to help.
“Hearing that makes me happy,” I commented. The horses were several meters away from us; we needed eighty men to complete the engineering works. All the workers will receive an extra bonus; they’ve committed from dawn till dusk to get the job done.
On our side, we’ll be protected, while the lands on the other side of the creek are abandoned; we don’t know who owns them. If there’s no avalanche, the wall we built will help us; otherwise, time and money will have gone to waste if nature decides to mess with us.
For now, I’m calm; we finished on time, and the creek isn’t close to any of the ranches. “This will help only if the creek rises, but if an avalanche comes, there’s nothing we can do.” It was only one in the afternoon, but it looked like six. It was dark, and lightning started to strike.
“I’m hungry already,” said Arnold. “This morning, my Sweetie told me she’d make me a delicious lunch.”
“Don’t be cheap, Manure, and hire a maid!” Miguel teased, trying to rile him up.
“Don’t mess with me, Onion! My Lupe can have all the maids she wants, but she’s stubborn and loves cooking. Besides, she cooks like a goddess. I don’t force her; she does it because she likes having this guy eating from her plate.” We all burst into laughter; this guy never changes.
“You’re not the only one who’s hungry,” Rascal backed him up. “At my house, it’s old Josefina who cooks; no one can get her out of there.”
We had finished; now we wait for Mother Nature’s decision. We started walking towards the horses. Jacinto loaded the materials and some employees from El Renacer into the truck, while the others got into their vehicles. We were the only ones on horseback.
“We were definitely the dumbest,” I said as my father-in-law’s truck stopped to say goodbye. They were in cars, and we were on horses. How lovely!
“Guys, we’ll see you tomorrow at Las Alondras.” I shook hands.
“Kalley, drive carefully. Don Fausto, call Verónica once you arrive; you know how she gets.”
“Now the roles are reversed; I’m the kid!” We smiled. “Santiago, Luz Marina, and Salvador are arriving tomorrow.”
“Verónica will be happy. We’ll be there, father-in-law.”
The trucks drove off; we watched them until they were out of sight. The rain got heavier, thunder started, and then lightning.
“This thing turned nasty. Gladis must be nervous, and my kid is probably running around now that he’s learned to walk.”
I looked back once, hoping the work wouldn’t be in vain. The wall was aligned, the workers were on their way home, and we were the only ones still out in the rain.
“Not just your wife, my phone hasn’t stopped vibrating. My Cabbage must be the same, and Daniela doesn’t like thunder; my little girl is easily scared.”
We reached the place where we had the horses. I mounted Ocean, my new spotted horse. With the abundance of our children, I needed reinforcements. The mare and partner of my horse is named Beach. My wife and I have this silly habit of giving them matching names.
"What's wrong, Roland?"
That's my second-in-command, nothing escapes him. I haven't told the guys the news Any gave me this morning.
"Any called me. We need to meet tonight; we'll have to work a lot. So, I suggest you spend the afternoon at home, get laid if you feel like it, but I need you at the headquarters by nine," I said. Miguel burst out laughing.
"As soon as I get home, I'll call Lobo and Rino to make sure they're at the meeting."
Lobo lives at Blanco, where he has an apartment with his wife Carlina, who's pregnant and their baby is due soon. She studies nursing in San Antonio and is about to start her third semester.
They're on vacation. Kevin is studying another language, which will be the seventh on his list. Rino... God, that guy, I don't know exactly what's up with him. He really likes Gustavo's sister, a lot, but he hasn't made a move yet.
He's taking a specialization course and helps Dr. Jones at the clinic on weekends. Patricia is going into her third semester of psychology. The truth is, they all live in the same apartment while they're studying and come to Blanco on the weekends.
Pato stays at the house now owned by old Josefina, just a few meters from her son's place. The others finishing their studies are Arnold and Guadalupe, who decided to pursue a single career in education.
From Monday to Thursday, they live in San Antonio in their apartment, and on weekends they stay at their ranch. The nanny travels with them too. Arnold's kids are going to be a handful. No wonder Alfredo calls them the Aliens...
Though I can't say much, my older kids are troublemaker one and two. Add my nieces, the little hurricanes and their mini-me, and that's six future troublemakers. For now, they're all on vacation, and Blanco is nearby. We mounted our horses.
"Is the matter important?"
Rata was on my right, Cebolla on my left, with Cereza, Mojón, and Rasca culo next to them.
"I've been working on something for a while!" I spoke loudly so everyone could hear me, the rain pouring down on us as if it were nothing. "I want to hear everyone's opinion."
"Got it!" more than one said.
"Guys, in a week, it'll be a year since Aníbal died."
We looked at Miguel. It was true, Shirly was organizing a mass. She hasn't stopped mourning, no longer wears red lipstick, just a subtle gloss. Her clothes are black, white, brown, beige. She's dedicated to her eight-month-old baby. That little one is the spitting image of his father. Seeing him smile is like seeing Aníbal. Gregorio, my godson, is the only thing keeping Shirly going.
"Yeah."
We each kept to our thoughts, riding our stallions at a slow pace under the torrential rain. All this time, we've taken turns, each of us looking after him one day a week.
Looking after him is a way of saying it; we have staff hired exclusively for his care. Today, the doctor will give us a report. For now, he's the same, no progress, his brain is completely un-swollen, and there was no irreversible damage.
The doctors have told me that if he wakes up, he'll be able to do things, but he'll need to learn them all over again. Alfredo said that if a miracle happens, which I'm completely sure it will, it'll be in God's time, not mine.
"Hey, we're talking to you!" Simon's voice brought me back. "You spaced out."
"What planet were you on, Roland?"