Page 9 of Booth

Laughing to himself, he made his way to his bed and closed his eyes.He’d be up in a few hours and would enjoy the day like he’d gotten eight hours of sleep.Today was going to be a better day simply because he was going to tell himself that it was going to be.That usually didn’t work, but he had a feeling that it might today.He was going to give it his all to make sure that it did anyway.

Chapter 5

Booth was all set for school to start on Monday.He had just finished up his room when Dee had come by to help him.Instead of leaving when he could, he asked her if she’d help him hang up some of the posters he’d gotten of Spain on the walls with Spanish descriptions.

“I’m using these as a teaser to see if they want to learn the language instead of just being in here for the credit.I love Spanish and Latin, and since I’m teaching them both this year, I’m excited to be able to use my room as a jumping off place for students.”She asked him how many were second-year students.“I have one class of first year and two of second year.And about half a class of third year.For which I’m grateful for.Those third-year students will need a refresher course on the first two years, and I’m glad that I’m going to have time for them.The Latin class is for second-year students who are taking some biology and premed classes in hopes of getting into a better college with the knowledge.”

“You said that you can come home when you have lunch on some days, too.That’ll be nice.We can see each other if I’m home.I’m taking the job that your mother offered me with the organizations that she’s on.”He told Dee that was wonderful.“I’m not so sure how good I’m going to be in them, but I’m willing to try.She has a lot of confidence in me doing a good job with her.I hope so.”

“You’ll do wonderfully.”She told him some of the things that she was going to be doing with his mom.“I know that she’s been looking for help on the Mother’s Day program for a while now.Everyone wants to be a part of it, but no one wants to put in the effort to make it happen.You’ll do well with that one.As for the Flowers on Main, I know that she’s only just taken that over in the last couple of years.My grandmas usually help her out with that one.”

“I always thought that the city did that, putting the large baskets on the light poles that run along Main Street.She said that she gets the funding from them, but they rarely have anything to do with it other than watering the planters once they’re up.”She smiled at him.“Then there are the containers that she wants to get to put in front of the police station and the mayor’s offices.I don’t think that’s going to go over as well because she’s going to be counting on the people in those offices to take care of the watering of them.”

They talked while she helped him with the posters.There were only five of them, but they were large in taking up nearly a five-foot space on the walls.But once they were up, the room took on a more festive air rather than a classroom look.He was quite proud of it.He asked her what they were doing for dinner tonight.

“We’re grilling out.I’m not sure what it would be.Salmon was on the menu, but that got changed at the last minute when the cook realized that they didn’t have enough for both of us.I was willing to forgo my portion, but she insisted that we both have a good meal.I suggested burgers and hot dogs on the grill, but I think the cook was thinking something more.”He asked her, like, what?“I’m not sure, but there was mention of cake, too, when I left the room.”

“I like cake.”She said she knew that about him.“Yeah, I have a sweet tooth when it comes to cakes and pies.I’d rather have cookies for every meal, but I know better.”He laughed when she did.“I know I’m such a kid at heart.”

“Speaking of a kid, my sister got in touch with me.She saw the announcement in the paper about us getting married.I’m not thrilled about seeing her, but she insisted that she come for a visit.I made her reservations at the nicest hotel in Zanesville.We’d be fighting all the time if she were to be staying with us.She’s not happy about it, but I don’t care.Lynn isn’t the easiest person to get along with when things aren’t going her way.”

“So she’s thinking to come here and do what?”She told him money.“What do you want to do about it then?Pay her off or not?I’m willing to do whatever you wish.”

“My wish is that she’d never come around, but I can’t have that.After she comes to visit, then Shawn will.My parents will get wind of her coming, and they’ll want to visit too, so as not to be outdone by their children.None of them are the nicest people, just so you know.And my brother Shawn is the worst.He still thinks that I’m a ten-year-old kid that he can bully around all the time.Mom and Dad will pretend that we’re something like a close family when I bet they’ve not seen any of us in a decade or two.They keep tabs on us, but nothing more than that.They’ll say that they didn’t know about the accident when I know that someone here had notified them about it and the judgment against Fullner.”He asked her again what she wanted to do about them.“I’m not sure, to be honest.I want to think that they’ve all changed and will fool me into thinking that they’re here for no other reason than to see me, but in my heart, I know better.They’ll try to say that we’re so close that miles don’t matter.That’s the one thing that my mom says all the time to strangers who come around, too.However, I don’t want to give them any money.They’ll come right out and ask for it, then demand it if that didn’t work, but there will be some kind of exchanging of money if they have anything to say about it.”

“Then there will be no problem with me saying no to them.I’ve gotten pretty good at it as a teacher, and I can do that without any trouble for any fundraiser when it comes around, they want me to be a part of.In other words, they want my money.I don’t part with it any quicker than most would in my family, so we’ll be good on that.”He laughed hard when she told him that was a good plan.“I’ll warn my parents too.Let them know that you don’t want them to be sponging off of us when they get here.All right?”

“Perfect, if it works.I’m not saying that you won’t try your best, but they can wear a hole in a stone when they want something from someone.I’ve seen them at work.”He laughed again, and she finally joined him.“Hopefully they won’t all be here at the same time, so that’ll help out too.”

As they walked home, Dee told him what sort of things her family had been up to.Mostly, it was living beyond their means, but she said that for the most part, they were all right people.Her parents lived out of the country and wouldn’t come home under threat of death, but they’d come if they thought that they could get their hands on someone else’s money.Especially hers.

“Why yours?Is there something about you giving them money that they try to hold over you for some reason?”She said she’d been known to bail them out before when she’d first been working.“They’d take your money and run off again, I take it.”

“Something like that.They would stick around long enough for me to get into trouble, my rent might be late, or I was close to getting my utilities turned off.Something they didn’t want to have to deal with.They never stay that long, usually because I’ve gotten smarter over the years, I think.Mom and Dad will say that they brought me into this world for one thing, and that was to live off me in their golden years.I have no idea what any of them do for a living other than to try and scam people out of money, but that’s all right too, so long as they understand that this bank of Dee is closed to them.And don’t get me started on the other two.Shawn used to think that I was only working for him when we were together, and Lynn thought that whatever was mine was hers as well.She once took all the money I had in the bank because she needed to borrow ten dollars from me, and I told her it was in the bank.I still don’t know how she was able to convince them to let her into my accounts.”

“I’ll take care that that doesn’t happen to you again.I’ll call the bank today.When are we expecting your sister?You said she was coming first, correct?”Dee told him the date.“That’s only in a few days, and after school starts.I wish we had more time to get ready for them.”

“That’s her plan, too.To keep us on our toes when she visits.She’ll also expect us to take her out to dinner nightly when she’s here and make it so that the other two meals are paid for by me as well.Not join her, mind you, but just make sure she can go anywhere she wants with the meal paid for by me.”While he’d never met these people, he was beginning to dislike them a great deal.But like Dee had said, it was one at a time this time, and he could handle one person demanding things that he wasn’t planning on giving up.“She’s coming by plane and expects me to be there when the plane arrives or before.That way, she doesn’t have to wait for me to pick her up.Also, whatever luggage she’ll bring with her needs to be gotten by me so that she doesn’t have to travel with heavy luggagearound the airport while looking out for me.She’s a peach, just so you know.”

“I’ll go if her plane is coming in late.”She told him the time.“Good.I can handle that and her.Set her off from the start on how things are going to go with her.I’ll pick her up the way I do my family.I expect them to be on the plane and to go get their luggage with me.How the hell are you supposed to know what’s hers in the first place?”

“She sends me the number of the bags along with a picture of what they look like.I usually do all right with that, but there have been mishaps with her stuff.Mostly it’s because she’ll tell me she had three bags and they’ll be four or only two.Just to fuck with me.”He said his way was better and it wouldn’t get them into trouble by taking the wrong luggage.“I love that you’re doing this.I might go just so I can see what she looks like when you tell her to get her own bags.”

“You go and let me take the lead.I got this.”He would so love to see her face when she tried to manipulate him on things.He was made of sterner stuff, he told himself.“We’ll go together and be on time.That should get her panties in a twist.”

While they had dinner, he was getting as much information on his in-laws as he could.None of them were like Dee in that she saved her money and they flittered it away when they got it.Also, the parents sounded like they were the type of people who would expect someone to pay for their lives simply because of who they were.Whatever that meant to them.

By the time it was time to go and get her sister, two days later, he was armed with as much information as he could get.He wasn’t going to be rude, not at first.Dee had pointed out that she’d not seen her sister in a while, and for all she knew, she could be a different person.He would change his attitude depending on how she greeted him.And Booth thought that he could charm her into things that she might not realize, too.He was simply looking forward to whatever she brought to the table in the form of being her sister.He’d even warned his own family about what might happen.Dad said he’d not allow them to take his little girl to the cleaners when they arrived.Even the bank had been put on special alert.

The plane arrived just on time.He was holding up a sign that said her last name, Smyth, and hoped that there was at least one more Smyth on the plane to cause confusion.As soon as he saw the woman, however, all the kindness that he might have had for her was gone.She acted like she was in charge of the whole damned airport as soon as she come out of the tunnel.

“There you are.Where are my bags?I did tell you what they looked like, Lydia.”She called her sister by her first name, which was very telling.“Why can’t you do the simplest things when I tell you what to do?”

“She didn’t get them because we only just arrived, and the luggage won’t be released from the plane for another ten minutes.I thought it best that we get here as soon as possible, so you’d not think that you’d been abandoned when you got here.Come on, let’s get your stuff.”By the time they were at the conveyor belt, they still couldn’t get her things as nothing was coming out of the chute just then.While they waited, he did some small talk with Lynn to find out if she’d changed at all.“Why are you visiting if I might be able to ask?”

“Why should it matter to you that I’m visiting my sister?”He told her that it was because they were married.“I know nothing about that, and I’ll judge if you’ve married or not.Nothing happens in this family unless I approve of it first.”

He couldn’t help it, he burst out laughing.And he didn’t even try to cover it up at all.“You get to decide if we’re married or not?Is it just your family, or do you have to approve of all marriages around the world?That could be pretty extensive for you.How do you do that?”

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