"Is this the bum Joe's residence?" Aggie said with a smile as she held up a bottle of wine. A bottle, which Joe had previously taken to her house.

Joe just was taken aback for here stood Aggie, in a blue blouse with a snug fitting blue skirt, which exhibited nice hips and legs and her hair was a dark brown and down, and he looked down and saw, hose and a pair of low pumps. His heart nearly jumped through the top of his head, for this lady, this Aggie was beautiful, well not beautiful but she was one attractive lady. "Come in, welcome to Joes shanty," he said as he took the bottle of wine and Aggie's hand and led her inside. He took her coat and hung it on the old oak coat rack, holding her hand spun her around in a pirouette and he was amazed. For Aggie had a good figure, nice on the top and not broad of the beam and svelte hips and nice legs. He thought to himself, "This is the woman I have known? Boy have I been blind."

"You going to show me the house or just ogle at me. I must say this is the first time I have been dressed like this in way over thirty years." For Aggie did feel good and she did feel good about herself.

Joe leaned forward and lightly kissed her and whatever the sachet she was wearing was marvelous, for it was not loud but was just subtle enough to make his juices flow like they hadn't in a few years. "OK, grand tour," he lead her into a small parlor, and small dining room, with a nice sized kitchen, a den, office library which was pretty good size, a bathroom, and upstairs there were three bedrooms. Two small and one large with lots of closet space. She liked it. And there was a full basement with an outside entrance. It was finished but empty except for some boxes.

They went back upstairs and into the kitchen where Joe poured them a glass of wine and she sat on a stool and watched him preparing dinner, stuffed peppers, quartered potatoes, covered with cheddar cheese and some finely diced red and green bell peppers, and on the table was a loaf of homemade bread, well almost homemade for Joe had one of those bread machines. When Joe had everything ready he escorted Aggie into the dining room where the table was set one place setting at the head of the table and the other one on the corner to the right. "Please sit Aggie while I get the food," Joe asked as he pulled out the chair and she sat down.

Aggie was in heaven for it was the first time anyone had held a chair for her since Paul died, and she liked it. She sipped her wine and her imagination whirled. "Yes Chef Joseph," she said; for Aggie like a lot of older people do daydream and have visions of Avalon.

Joe served the food, lit the candles and turned off the dining room lights and magically the stereo started to play one of those old Jackie Gleason's band albums, from way back when and they sat and ate and chatted about what had transpired in the last months and Aggie got a feeling, a feeling which she had not had in years and never thought she would ever have again after Paul died. After they finished eating and had a ginger snap with chocolate ice cream for dessert Joe looked at Aggie and asked, "May I have a dance my lady?"

And Aggie smiled and replied, "Yes, oh yes you may," and they danced till nearly midnight, when Joe drove Aggie back home and saw her to the door. "Thank you for a lovely evening Joe, it brought back so many fond memories," she turned to go inside, and stopped turned and looked at Joe's face as the full moon was directly behind his head and somehow the reflection made his face seem slightly illuminated.

Joe took Aggie's hand and spoke, "Aggie, thank you for making my evening the best I have had in many years, and may we do this again, real soon." And he leaned forward and lightly kissed Aggie's lips, quickly he turned and walked back to his truck, not looking back for he had that feeling.

The son & his wife:

When JP got home from work he was upset and not in a good mood. First off the lease for next year had been doubled and secondly the show cause writ would require a lawyer and would take money. Thirdly he knew he had been spending too much time with the country club bunch and trying to move up in the social strata of the town and had let the business slide. Today he had lost the overhaul contract with Shakey trucking, a line that had two hundred tractors, and he had lost the maintenance and overhaul contract. Seems they had given it to Bart, Bart Kaminski had taken a contract away from him and that contract with Shakey had represented 24% of his business. He had drunk three pots of coffee after work, thinking, trying to think things out in a logical and simplified way.

He found his wife in their bedroom watching a soap and painting her fingernails and toenails. She looked up at him with that smirk which she seemed to sport most of the time for nothing ever seem right to and with her. "You are home early, we don't have to be at the Country club till seven-thirty.

JP shook his head for he normally did not get home till near seven, in time to shower, shave, dress and say hi to the kids go off some place. "Hi Love, we have problems, I lost the Shaky contract today and the lease on the shop has doubled."

"Why the hell did you let that happen, and tell whatever SOB that owns the place you are not paying." she looked away as if to say, I am through with you.

"Honey with this house and this country Club bit, and golfing, I am getting out of my element." For JP did know his limitations and his strong point was hard work and his word, and his word has slipped with Shakey trucking.

"Well I want to get on the golf team and I want you to become a Shriner, and I want you . . . . . " JP reached over and put his hand over his wife's mouth. And with his other hand he put his finger to his lips for be quiet. She relaxed.

He removed his hand and looked into his wife's eyes, "Listen to me Jaylene Folander, now just hush and listen." His face said he was mad, upset and she knew she had better do as he said for JP Lane very seldom got mad, he was usually cool as a cucumber, but when he did, watch out! "I have done whatever you wanted, I even watched my mother live in a shack and grovel for a living; I let you isolate the children and me from her, and I have gone this Mrs. High and might Country club bit, but I am at my wits ends and my business is failing, our livelihood is slipping from under us. This durn house we cannot afford, and you want more, more, more." he paused opened his mouth to speak, thought and stopped.

She knew now was the time to attack and put him in his place make him cower like the dog he was and to get him back to where she wanted him, her being president of the Country Club women's gold club. "You will do what I want and you will get those contracts back and make the business grow. You will . . .. . . ." Her husband slapped her face. Not a really hard slap but a slap. The first time ever he had touched her and it was not a slap to hurt but to stress a point and to get her attention.

"Sit down, sit down and listen. You have been playing poker and high stakes bridge at the Country club and you have lost over seventeen thousand dollars in the last two months. I had make the checks good with money from selling part of the business." He stared at his wife as she started one of her crying jags to get what she wanted, for any time and every time she did JP would give in. "Sit there and listen to me and listen to me good for I will say this once and only once."

"Yes JP honey, what is it I am listening . . . . . ," she said as she started to let the tears roll down her cheek and she slowly removed her sweater and undid her bra, which usually drove her husband mad and which, along with a few other things, usually resulted in her getting a concession. But this time he ignored her.

"Jaylene we are dropping out of the Country Club and we are going to try and buy the old house back and we are going back to JP Lane diesel mechanic and equipment shop."

"Come love and make me feel like a loved woman," she said. JP walked over to Jaylene, took her arm and led her out of their bedroom down the hall into a small guest bedroom. "You stay in here and think about what I said. You will not come out of this room till tomorrow morning when I get up, and you will have my lunch packed and my breakfast cooked by six O'clock. Do you understand?" She just sat there dumbfounded, completely awestruck not saying one word.

JP waited and in a very quiet and subdued voice, said, "If you chose not to do what I wish, tomorrow I want you out of this house and I will have the divorce papers signed and delivered tomorrow. Your Tuesday and Thursday dope and intimate parties with Petey McClosky have been recorded and I have affidavits from Petey, Joe Roedeker and Bill Graybul. And some of your parties have been while the children were locked in their rooms. Your choice." JP turned and pulled the door closed.

And although it was only six thirty in the evening, Jaylene crawled into bed and went to sleep crying, and thinking. "You can't do that to me for I am too strong for you," she said as she kept saying for she had ruled JP since they first met and he had done whatever, whenever she wanted. Something was wrong, she thought, something drastic is wrong and I must figure out how to get my control back. She just kept mumbling until she dropped off to sleep.

JP got the children and they went out for pizza and he went to the shop and did a couple hours work and the kids helped him with his filing. JP made a few phone calls and put some wheels into motion.

The following morning at six-thirty JP awoke the children, and told them, "There have been some setbacks at work and there have been things going on here in this house which I don't like. Today your mother is moving out. We will stay here and as soon as we can we will move back to the old house or one similar to it.

"What is going on dad?" Jean asked in typical ten year olds kind of way.

"Yes day, mom has locked us in our rooms, or made us stay outside while people were here, but why is she leaving?" Paul asked.

"Will you two just trust me until the weekend and we can sit down and I can explain everything to you in detail and I can get your feelings and input as to what and how we will do?"

Jean smiled, leaned over and kissed her dad, "Dad I hate this house, I liked the old one, and yes mom has been smoking pot and doing dope, and doing other things she shouldn't be doing." JP's eyes grew large and he started to slap her but realized Jean and Paul were not babies.

"That is part of it honey, this is Thursday, so give me till Saturday morning, OK?"

"Dad, I have pictures of mom, I got out of my room and took pictures with the VCR. I was going to black mail her but we have them now." JP dropped his two children at school and went to work; Jaylene awoke at a little after nine, and took a leisurely shower and call T-bo Johnson her supplier. And was rudely awakened when T-bo said, "Mrs. Lane, I no longer sell anything, and especially not to you," he hung up. When Jaylene tried to use her cell phone she found it was no longer in service. She just sat and cried and drank pink gin all day. Something had happened, something strange had happened.

The next morning Aggie was up at the normal time, milking, feeding and baking, for it was baking day. She had just finished her baking and was watering the plants and bushes for it had been a dry winter when Banker Bill showed up. She knew it had to be something special for he normally called her unless some signatures were required.

"Bill, have a cup of coffee and a slice of hot butter nut bread with a little damson-blackberry jam." She served him a mug and the bread and jam, she spoke, "Bill what did you drive out here to tell me, must be powerful business?"

Bill grinned, Your son went to see Carl Ward this morning and is filing for divorce, and Judge Johnson signed a decree banning Jaylene from getting within a quarter mile of their children, the house or the old house and JP."

Aggie's mouth dropped for an instant, she turned away and when she looked back at Bill her face was solemn. "And what may I ask is this all about?"

Bill just grinned, "Well it seems that Jaylene has been having dope and sex parties during the day and in the last month or so she lost $17,000 gambling at the Country club." He hesitated for a second continued, " JP found out about the doubling of the lease on the place and he received the show cause writ and he is pulling his head out of the sand. He was in to see me this morning, and he rented a little apartment down on Kiowa for Jaylene."

"He what?" Aggie asked as a big smile came across her face.

"He rented a little two bedroom apartment within a block of Jaylene's folks, a furnished place. And he set it up for her to get two hundred dollars a week till the divorce I settled," Bill grinned for Jaylene's parents were what most would call from the other side of the tracks.

Aggie, looked at Bill with a big smile, "Sounds like the kid is starting to think."

"And he asked me if I could help him get the old house back and would or could I help him get a reconciliation with you going?" Bill was all grins now. "He knows you have spent a lot of time at the bank and something with you has changed but he does not know what, he doesn't have the foggiest, I think he thinks like half the town thinks, and that is you and Joe have something going." Aggie walked around the table, bent over and kissed Bill's cheek and said, "Hallelujah, that is the best news I have heard in quite a while." she sat down and cried. "What did you tell him? What did you say?"

"I told him to get the thing with his wife straightened out, and I would work on the house bit, and would if the chance arose, broach the subject with you, and I told him he had pretty well burned his bridges."

Aggie just sat there and Bill poured both of them more coffee and he just sat and ate his bread and sipped his coffee. And he wondered why Aggie, as rich as she was would live here although it was a nice little place now. After he had finished his bread and coffee Bill arose, put the plate and cup in the sink and turned toward Aggie.

She realized his movements, raised her head and wiped her wet cheeks. "Thank you Bill, you have been a godsend to me, and I appreciate it, I really do," and she arose and walked to him and they shook hands.

After Bill left Aggie really felt good and as she was hoeing in her garden she stopped, leaned the hoe against her side, reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and called Joe. "I had to tell somebody, Bill just told me my son is wanting to reconcile our separation. I feel good," and she wiped her eyes with one hand and chatted holding her new fangled gadget in the other. "Joe how about coming over for supper tomorrow night, please?"

"Aggie, you only have to ask, not beg, cause if you do beg, I will be obliged to say no for you will be setting me up for something." there were two laughs, "Six thirty tomorrow night." And Aggie worked in her garden did her chores worked outside till it was pitch black, when she went in had a nice long hot shower and went to bed; forgetting to eat supper. She felt good

The next morning she was up and at em' early and soon it was lunchtime. And all afternoon as she worked she felt good and sort of schoolgirl like for she knew this would be a nice evening. She planned a plain vegetable dinner, fresh green beans, cooked with salt pork seasoning, and new potatoes cooked on top the beans, corn pudding, and sliced veggies, tomatoes, onion, cukes, and her newest veggie, small fresh broccoli florets, with cornbread, and apple pie and coffee for dessert. And of course she had plenty of cool Mountain Rhine. Aggie had never been much of a drinker, but Paul would occasionally bring home a bottle and after she got where she could afford it again, she and Joe drank it most every time he came over.

She did the milking and her chores early, about four thirty she went in and had a nice long shower, she rolled up her hair and dried it with that new fangled electric hair dryer she had been given as a premium. She smiled and hummed as she put on her new undies, sheer lace undies, and the dress she had made for a special occasion, and her low pumps. She did allow herself to use a dash of cologne. She smiled as she looked in the mirror, "Aggie Lane you are becoming a wanton woman, wasting money and primping for a fat old neer-do-well." Aggie fed the dogs and checked supper, she heard Joe's truck turn into her driveway one minute before the appointed time. She looked out the window as Joe alit form his truck with the usual two bottles of wine and another little package. She heard a rap on the back door, and when she opened it Joe handed her one long stemmed red rose bud, and said, "Hi, Widder, can an Old bum beg some dinner?"

As she took the flower he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. She smiled and felt her face blush for oh was it nice to have a man give her a flower. "Thank you, thank you so much," and as she looked for something to put it in,, two tears rolled down her cheeks, and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. "Maybe we should have a glass of before dinner wine, would you care for one?"

Joe beamed, went to the cupboard and got the two crystal wine glasses she had and poured each a half glass. They just stood for a couple minutes looking at each other grinning and sipped their wine. After dinner both were too full for dessert so Aggie cleaned the table and they played Anagrams, had pie and coffee, and finished the bottle of wine.

Joe looked at his watch, "Gosh it is nearly eleven, I had better go," and he arose and headed for the door. Aggie followed and as she opened the door, Joe turned slid his arms about her and they kissed.

As Aggie felt Joe's lips touch hers and his arms pull her close, she floated, on high for oh did he taste and feel good to her, and she felt like she had not felt in many years, she wanted Joe to stay.

After the kiss, Joe released her and they stood for a minute facing each other and holding hands with obvious lover's smiles on their faces. "See you tomorrow, my turn to cook," Joe said and he put his hat on and headed for his truck. Aggie watched him get in his truck, start it and drive up the road. Oh she felt like a million as she closed up and brushed the dogs and went to bed.