**** Chapter Twenty-Four – Lunch and Tennessee Whiskey ****

After Michelle made her early morning departure, my first order of business after morning chores was to order a double wide cot for my tent. Space would be a bit tight in my tent but a standard cot just wouldn’t do for two people. After that was breakfast and pack up.

We were on the road by 8am; it was a long drive to Memphis and this day was going to be tough for a lot of reasons. It was the day that the official announcement of my lottery winnings was going to be made, so my name and face would be on the news nationwide. If I thought the sharks had been circling before, things were about to get serious now. I had to deal with that first.

Secondly it was the day that Sonya’s life was going to completely blow up on her, I knew about it but she was still mostly in the dark.

I got down to business and started making calls using the hands-free that was built into the truck. Contacting all my siblings, I reminded them that today was the day that the news was going public. Most of them reported that they had already started getting hit on by leeches. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sonya cringe slightly confirming what I had been told about her leaking the news. I really didn’t have plans to confront her about it and merely stated that I wish I knew who had leaked early. I told them all I’d see them soon and that they would be informed of the location of my new home as soon as the noise died down.

After that I put my headset on and called up David. He confirmed that everything was well in hand and I could do what I needed to do. We were ready to go so I kicked it all off by playing my role; this was when the shit hit the fan.

I hung up the call and told Sonya, “David says you need to call your grandmother right away, it’s important.”

“Why?”, asked Sonya.

I merely shrugged and drove on. When I looked in the review mirror Matilda was glaring at me, I simply shook my head and focused on the road.

Sonya made the call and shit predictably went to hell, she cried in anguish then screamed in rage and even pounded on the dashboard. Boy we were having some fun now I thought.

After the call she threw her phone down and turned on me, “You knew, didn’t you” she accused.

I was honest, “I found out and Traci told me to you needed call your grandmother, because she believed in you.”

“So everybody fucking knew except me?” was the screaming response.

She then turned in her seat to face Matilda, “Did you know too you little bitch?”, she accusingly asked.

Matilda merely shook her head in the negative. After Sonya turned in her seat I looked in the mirror again and Matilda calmly gave me the finger.

Sonya was raging still but also now on her phone furiously typing away; I reached over, took it from her and calmly threw it out the window. That earned me more than a few slaps and punches.

I merely endured and focused on my driving.

Minutes later my phone rang over the truck’s system and I answered; it was Sonya’s father, so after polite exchange I disconnected my phone from the speaker system and handed it to her.

That was about all I could do for now. Matilda still glared at me in the review mirror; Mila was unsettled and circling in her seat.

I was pulling into the next rest area when Sonya got off with the phone with her father; apparently it was a day of great trauma in that family’s household. I asked Sonya to please try and calm Mila while I saw to the rest of the animals; I hoped Mila would comfort Sonya. When Mila and Sonya had gone I asked Matilda to move to the front seat; she glared at me but did what I asked. I walked Brin and Kordi and checked on the horses.

We got everyone handled and situated and got back on the road. Both women were glaring at me but we weren’t fifteen minutes down the road before Sonya was cuddled up with Mila sobbing; soon after she slept.

Matilda and I had driving snacks for lunch and didn’t wake Sonya, who slept until we reached our destination. I wasn’t surprised in the least.

******

We were scheduled to stay in a large paddock on the actual farmstead of the breeder in Tennessee, he had insisted on it after hearing we were camping anyway. A large and elegant wood sign at the end of his drive informed us that this was the home of “Stephen White, Equine Veterinarian” and that this was the home of “Quality Morgan Horses”.

Stephen was waiting for me as I pulled up the drive, he guided us through a few gates and had me park in a large paddock that was enclosed with beautiful white wood fencing. We had our introductions and pleasantries, then he left to allow us to set up.

The dogs were brought out and tethered while the horses were let loose into the pasture. I set the camper up and then Matilda and I both pitched our tents. It was just over an hour later when Stephen and a woman I assumed to be his wife showed up. I gave them the grand tour of the rig, I avoided the camper as Sonya was holed up in there and she needed her space right now. Matilda was setting up her dog cart while we talked and Stephen’s wife took great interest in that; it wasn’t long after that when the two of the rode away on the cart. Stephen gave me a curious look and I simply shrugged.

As we started our walk up to the horse barn Stephen asked me directly, “How does it feel to be suddenly famous?”

I responded, “I feel like an outlaw on the run, the leeches are everywhere”.

That earned me a laugh and he said, “I honestly don’t envy you with that in mind, but I do wish I had your trailer”. It was my turn to laugh.

“Perhaps I’ll tell you the story later on if you have time”, I replied. With that we turned our focus to the task on hand and his farmhand brought a magnificent chestnut Morgan stallion. He stood over 16 hands and was of champion stock all the way. His official name on his papers was Sir something-or-other the Earl of Sandwich. I decided to call him “Lunch”.

He was surprisingly calm for a young stallion and moved well. We saddled him up and, after I went for a short jaunt, I was sold. We walked him down to the paddock to see how he interacted with my mares and all went well. I stashed his tack in the tack room, and we went up to Stephen’s office in the house to finalize the paperwork.

The deal sealed, Stephen suggested we have a toast; I readily agreed and he brought out a nice bottle of bourbon. We were going to get along well. We moved out to the porch to enjoy our bourbon and relax in the approaching evening. I gave him the basic overview of my plans and trip so far. We finished our drinks and wandered back over to the campsite.

As we approached, his wife rode up on the dog cart; Matilda followed behind her with what appeared to be three young llamas on lead. I was flabbergasted and Stephen laughed, “I felt the same way” he said.

Matilda had stunned me yet again, I simply turned away and offered Stephen a glass of Max’s bourbon. As Stephen and I sat at the table and shared a glass of bourbon, I studiously avoided Matilda and her llamas. I distracted myself by asking Stephen about the veterinarian portion of his sign out front. I learned that he was retired from the actual work and now made money on the side selling veterinarian products and livestock medicine wholesale to the larger horse farms in the area.

I ran with that and tried to get some free knowledge to make up for whatever I had just spent buying llamas. I told him of my plans for horseback excursions and asked him to advise me on a first aid kit for my horses on these off-grid trips. He offered to outfit me fully at cost as a favor - after all I had just spent a serious chunk of money. I reminded him that I was disappearing for about six months and could I just have the supplies by the case. He reminded me that all the medicine had a shelf life and some had to be refrigerated. I reckoned I could handle that, and we came to the agreement that I could clear him out of his current inventory at a discount to his standard markup. I wrote the check.

The night passed smoothly after that, Matilda and I eating at the table and Sonya taking her dinner in the camper. I asked Matilda about the llamas and she made a snipping motion with her fingers and then showed me her yarn. I just shrugged and we went to our respective beds.

Stephen brought my new medical supplies down the next morning; some needed to be refrigerated, but the rest went into storage or the first aid cubby at the front of the trailer. We said our goodbyes and I pulled-out and drove away heading off to our next stop; we had a layover scheduled there and I was going to be visited by a lady by the name of Michelle.