Chapter 41

Mike and Cathy rented a car at DFW airport and drove north to Denton, Texas. As they drove along the highway, Mike said, “We’ve been driving for a long time, but we don’t seem to have left the city.”

“According to the map, we’re almost to Denton,” Cathy said looking down at the map in her lap.

“We’re supposed to stay on this highway until we hit Gainesville, right?” Mike asked.

“That’s right. It’s just past Denton. Then we take 82 across to Sherman. We’ll hit 75 and go north to Denison,” Cathy answered.

The guy at the airport had said they could drive across Dallas to 75 and then head north, but the trip across Dallas would take almost as long as it would take to reach Denison on the route they were driving.

Shaking his head, Mike said, “The guy at the airport was talking like it was just down the road a little ways.”

“It’s only a couple of inches on the map,” Cathy said with a smile. She held up her hand with her finger and thumb giving a hint of the distance.

Shrugging his shoulders, Mike said, “We’ve passed a couple of lakes. I wonder how the fishing is around here.”

“According to this map there’s a big lake near where we are going. As much as he loves fishing, I bet Sanjay buys some property right on the lake,” Cathy said.

“We just might end up being neighbors with them,” Mike said winking over at Cathy.

“I’m a city girl,” she said with a frown. Looking down at the map, she said, “It doesn’t seem like there is much of a city where we are going.”

Mike and Cathy pulled into Denison and looked around. It wasn’t much of a town from Cathy’s perspective. Mike pointed over to a small house and said, “There’s the bed and breakfast we’re staying at.”

“Wow,” Cathy said looking at the charming little Victorian style house. The house was nestled into a wooded area. She said, “Let’s check in and then find a place to get a bite to eat. I’m hungry.”

Checking into the place took a little longer than either of them had thought it would. The woman at the counter took down their information in an old fashioned guest ledger before leading them to their suite. It seemed to Mike that the whole time she was writing she was also talking. Leading them through the house, she pointed out one antique after another while giving its history of where she’d found it.

As they followed the woman down to a little house behind the main house, Cathy said, “This is lovely.”

“Thank you, honey. We’ve done our best to make this a special little place. Lots of folks from Dallas like to come up here for a relaxing weekend in the country. The men go fishing at Lake Texoma while the women folk relax around here,” the woman said. Looking over at the couple, she said, “You don’t talk like you are from around here. Are you here on business or pleasure?”

Wondering why she didn’t remember copying information from his Virginia driving license, Mike answered, “We’re looking for a house.”

“You’re moving here?” the woman asked surprised.

“That’s right,” Cathy answered.

“I think you’ll love living here. It’s a wonderful area to live. There’s no crime to speak of except for the occasional high school prank. I’ve been here my whole life and wouldn’t move for a million dollars,” the woman said gesturing to the surroundings. Turning to Mike, the woman said, “They are going to open the Institute for Asian Pacific Studies right up the street. It’s a part of Homeland Security.”

The woman paused and tapped her forehead. She said, “Stupid me ... I bet if you are moving here that you must work for Homeland Security.”

“We both do,” Mike said.

“Well, you guys did a great job in getting rid of those terrorists. There for a while, I was sure that the terrorists were going to win. Then all of a sudden they started losing. I bet you two had a lot to do with that,” the woman said with a real smile.

“We did what we could,” Mike said earning a side-long look from Cathy.

She was basically a glorified hostess and typist. He was a Section Chief.

“For a long time it seemed to me like there wasn’t a day that terrorists weren’t killing Americans. I was sure that we were going to end up wearing Burkas. You know, I go topless on Topless Tuesdays although there weren’t ever any terrorists around here. I don’t know if women in other places still do that since we took the war to the terrorists overseas. I tell you, that...” the woman paused for a moment and then asked, “Bowman? Are you related to General Bowman?”

“He’s my father,” Mike answered wondering what Topless Tuesdays were.

The woman broke into a big smile and said, “Oh my goodness. Imagine that. Living out here and I get to meet the son of General Bowman. You must be so proud of your Daddy. He’s a great man.”

“I am proud of him,” Mike said.

He wasn’t going to add that he was worried about his father. His father had not left the house since his return. His mother had said that his father was exhausted, but it seemed to Mike that it was a little more serious than that.

“I follow the war on cable television every day. I am just glued to my seat. It’s amazing, considering how few of our boys have been injured there. Now you tell your father that if he ever comes to visit you, he can stay here for free,” the woman said gesturing broadly with her hands as she talked.

“I’ll let him know that,” Mike said.

The woman turned to head towards the little house at the end of the path. As she walked, she said, “It sure is a shame that President Archer isn’t running for another term.”

Bumping Mike with her hip when he was about to make a comment, Cathy said, “It’s a shame, but I imagine that running the war has taken a lot out of him.”

“You’re probably right. It’s just that he really took control of the situation. I think that he’s one of the first politicians in the history of this country who kept his campaign promises. He took aim at terrorism and blew it to hell,” the woman said. She stopped at the door to the cabin and opened it. Gesturing inside, she said, “This is your suite. You’ve got a sitting room, a bedroom with a queen size bed and a private balcony. All of the furnishings are antiques that we’ve collected over the years. I hope that you like antiques.”

“We do,” Cathy said looking at the basin with the water jug in it.

Smiling at Cathy, the woman said, “Don’t worry. The suite has all of the modern conveniences. It’s got a coffee maker, television set, and a real shower. Of course, it also has a nice antique soaker tub in case you want to take a nice long bubble bath. I’ve got some real nice bath powder if you would like some.”

“Thanks,” Cathy said.

“Well, when you are ready to look for a place let me know. I know the best real estate agent in the area. She’s a wonderful woman — a war widow. Her husband was killed over in Iraq during the second war there. That whole mess was just a tragedy. Anyway, you let me know and I’ll have her come by to talk to you. You tell her what you want and she’ll find it for you,” the woman said.

“Thank you,” Mike said.

After the woman left, Mike looked at Cathy and burst out laughing. She looked puzzled and asked, “What?”

“I hope not everyone around here talks that much. She just about wore my ear off,” Mike said.

“I liked her,” Cathy said.

“Oh, I liked her, too. It’s just that she knows how to talk,” Mike said.

The real estate agent, a woman by the name of Sharon Daniels, met Mike and Cathy in the parlor of the main house of the bed and breakfast. She had shown up wearing blue jeans, a western style shirt, and cowboy boots. She was a lot younger than Mike or Cathy had expected. The only word that Mike could find to describe her was: ‘perky.’

After dealing with the real estate broker in Virginia, Cathy felt that the woman was dressed too casually to be taken seriously. At the look from Cathy, Sharon had laughed and said, “Honey, I just finished showing a two hundred acre spread. We walked all over that place. Let me tell you one thing, you don’t want to walk around a field filled with cows wearing heels and a dress.”

“Sorry, I didn’t realize,” Cathy said realizing she had been mistaken in her original opinion of the woman. She looked at Mike and said, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

Mike laughed and said, “It does seem like we’re in a different world.”

Sharon turned to the owner of the bed and breakfast. Smiling, she asked, “Millie, do you still have some of that wonderful pear wine left?”

Millie stood up and said, “I knew you were coming over and put a bottle in the refrigerator. I know how much you love my homemade pear wine.”

After Millie ran off to fetch the wine, Sharon said, “She has a couple of field pear trees out back and makes the best wine from them. We’ll drink a little of it while discussing what you want in terms of a new home. Just going out to look for a place will be a waste of time until I know what you want.”

“Sounds good to me,” Mike said looking over at Cathy.

Sharon said, “I know every acre of land in this county. I know who is selling and why. I know who might want to sell an acre or two to raise some cash. If there is a place that meets your needs, then I’ll know about. Of course, I have to know what you need and what you want.”

Cathy was getting more impressed with Sharon by the minute. She looked over at Mike and realized they hadn’t really talked about what they wanted. Mike had joked about wanting a place where it would be easy to go fishing. She didn’t have a problem with that, but there were certain things that she felt were necessities. One of those was nearby access to a grocery store.

She said, “We haven’t really talked about it.”

Sharon looked puzzled for a second and then said, “Maybe you can tell me about where you live now.”

Mike said, “I live in a town in Virginia outside of Washington DC. It’s really a bedroom community to the Beltway. Cathy lives with her parents in a slightly larger town closer to Washington.”

“Oh, you are both looking for places,” Sharon said.

Before Mike had a chance to clear up the misunderstanding, Millie returned with a bottle of wine and poured glasses for everyone talking a mile a minute while doing so. Cathy thought the wine was outstanding. Mike thought it was a little too sweet, but he liked it. After listening to Millie describe her hobby for five minutes, Mike decided that he really liked the wine since it gave him something to think about beyond the endless details of her hobby. Millie finally left so that they could talk.

Without missing a beat, Sharon returned to the topic of discussion. She said, “So you are both looking for places.”