by Doug Draper
“Your dad woke up with a bad headache and a sore back, but the doctor thinks he should be able to leave the hospital in a couple of days.”
Rachel warned her children that they needed to be very quiet during the visit. “Because of the accident, loud noises upset your dad. So we’ll need to whisper when we’re in his hospital room and when he comes home.”
Ben didn’t know why his mother wasted her time telling them to be quiet. They already obeyed that rule to avoid their father’s wrath. Creating noise had always been one of the quickest ways to provoke him. If their father would be crankier than normal, they faced an impossible task in trying to keep “mad Dad” from being unleashed.
Despite the “noise” warning, Ben still wanted to visit his father, especially with so much news to share. “Mom, have you told Dad what Derek did?” Ben asked, leaning forward so she could hear him from the back seat.
“No. And you shouldn’t mention it either. Your dad woke up just a few hours ago and needs time for his brain to calm down before he hears upsetting news.”
“OK, how about the wreck? Can I ask him what caused the car to flip over?”
“Hmm, that wouldn’t be good either. Your dad might think you’re criticizing his driving.”
When Ben stepped into the hospital room, he lost interest in saying anything because of how old and feeble his father looked. It shocked him. He had never seen his father in bed during the day or with so little energy.
“What’s going on with all the sad faces?” Al asked, slowly raising his head. “Why are you looking so grouchy?”
The questions came with a playful “fun Dad” tone, not the usual “mad Dad” slap-down. Receiving a sunny welcome warmed Ben’s heart and he wanted to hug his father, but Ben didn’t think he should touch him because of his injuries. Instead of hugs, the children quietly lined up next to their father’s bed and stared at him.
“Are you boys taking care of the farm?” Al asked. “I hope you’re not slacking off just because I’m not there to crack the whip on you.”
“Grandpa takes us there,” Joe said. “I’ve been feeding and milking the cow and Ben helps out with the other chores.”
“That’s good, Joe. I’m glad you learned how to milk. I knew that skill would come in handy.”
“Both boys have been very helpful,” Rachel said. “I don’t know what we would have done without them.”
“I’d like to have seen that,” Al said with a smirk. “It usually takes a battle just to get their lazy butts out of bed.”
“You’d be real proud of how hard they’ve been working,” Rachel said, smiling at Joe and Ben.
“And how’s Derek doing at the station?” Al asked.
Rachel hesitated and fussed with Becky’s hair before answering. “Derek is doing fine. But that’s nothing to think about right now. You need to focus on resting.”
“That’s utter nonsense. I’m raring to go. Find my clothes. I’m checking out of this dump right now.”
Before Rachel could gather Al’s clothes, a nurse arrived, briefly listened to his plan, and then firmly told him to stay in bed until a doctor came to see him. It took about a half hour, with Al becoming more determined to leave, but the doctor finally showed up and made it clear that Al wouldn’t be discharged that day and probably not the next one either. The hospital staff had more tests to conduct before he would be cleared to leave.
Al groaned about his situation and mentioned what “big things” he needed to do at his service station and the farm, but the doctor never backed down and Al surrendered. Rachel politely excused the doctor before another argument could begin and then told her children to say goodbye to their father.
“Kids, we have animals to feed, a cow to milk, and dinner to cook,” Rachel said, using one of her husband’s favorite excuses for making a sudden departure from anywhere he didn’t want to be.
Rachel and her children left the hospital room with quick goodbyes and no hugs. For two nights, they relaxed at home before their father’s return. Joe and Ben were in school when it happened, so they missed his reaction to the news that Derek had robbed the station and taken the prize money. But they saw the aftershocks.
“Al, didn’t you listen to anything the doctor told you?” Rachel asked while Al stormed about the house cursing Derek and vowing to get even. “You need to rest and stay calm. Getting upset will create more problems, not fix them.”
After a few minutes of suffering through his father’s tirade, Ben snuck out of the house to do his barnyard chores. While there, he prolonged his break from the shouting by cleaning the chicken coop. He stayed outside until Debbie came to get him for dinner.
“Dad already ate and went to bed because his head was spinning,” Debbie said. “The rest of us are going to eat now, so Mom wants you to come in quickly.”
With Al sleeping, the rest of the family ate silently at the kitchen table with no questions asked and no stories shared. “You’re doing a wonderful job keeping the noise down,” Rachel said, breaking the agonizing silence in the room. “After cleaning up the kitchen, let’s all stay in here doing homework or reading books quietly—no TV, no games, no talking or running around the house. OK?”
None of the kids objected, but Ben wanted to talk. He had many questions: How would his father fix customers cars with no tools? Would it be possible to stay in business if he could only sell gas? Would the family end up in the poor house?
Ben hoped his mother would reassure him that things would work out. Instead, she glumly ate her meal, providing some assistance to Becky but avoiding any conversation with the other children. In the past, Joe took the lead when tension needed to be swept aside. On this day, he imitated his mother’s silent sadness.
With no talking, dinner ended quickly, and the boys helped Rachel with the dishes—getting the task done quietly. Ben spent the rest of the evening looking at his homework but not really doing it. Fears about the future gripped his mind and allowed no room for his math assignment.
With the station closed, Joe and Ben resumed riding the bus to and from school. When they came home, their father paced in the kitchen, appearing tired and angry. Debbie sat at the table and Becky in her playpen.
“Where’s Mom?” Ben asked.
“She went back to work. She already missed two days and we couldn’t afford to have her stay out any longer. I can’t go back to the station for two more days, so my job for now is babysitting.”
Joe came up with a plan to deal with his father’s irritability. “Do you want us to take care of all the evening chores?” he asked. “I’ll milk the cow and Ben can handle the other stuff.”
“You bet. I have a splitting headache and can’t imagine having to use my head to push Daisy around tonight.”
Daisy complained with loud, bothersome mooing when she wasn’t milked at the same time twice a day, but she also rarely cooperated with the process. When milking, Al gave her a small bucket of grain to keep her occupied and then would place his head on her left flank and move her gently toward the right sidewall of the stall. He applied enough pressure to keep her from stomping around while being milked. If he didn’t hold her in place, she would step in or kick over the milk bucket.
Joe and Ben quickly pulled on their work boots and headed to the barnyard. When finished with the milking and their routine tasks, Joe said, “Instead of going back in there, let’s find a few other things that need to be done. I’d rather stay away until Mom comes home, so she can deal with him.”
Ben agreed and helped Joe clean the cow’s corral and stall. After leaving the corral with the last load of manure, Joe paused while Ben latched the gate. He took a deep breath as he surveyed the barnyard.
“We could run this place without him,” Joe said. “Mom can depend on us.”
CHAPTER 17
Usually Rachel stayed home on the weekends, but the Saturday after Al was released from the hospital she told Joe and Ben that they would be on their own. She asked them to do their c
hores and stay out of trouble. Rachel planned to drop off Debbie and Becky at their grandparents while she went on a job interview.
“We need extra money to pay the hospital bill,” she said. “And without any tools, your father can’t repair cars, which means we won’t have that money coming in. If I don’t make more money per hour and pick up overtime pay, we’ll be in serious trouble.”
“I’m sure you’ll get the job and everything will be fine,” Joe said with a confident smile.
“I hope you’re right,” Rachel said. “But if I get this job, I’m going to need both of you to help out around here even more. Can I count on it?”
“Of course,” Joe said without hesitation, and Ben nodded to indicate his support.
By mid-afternoon, Rachel returned from her interview with a beaming smile. As Joe predicted, she got the job—front-desk manager at the Green Park Inn in Pleasant Grove. Her first day at the inn came in two weeks and she liked the work.
Despite her increased pay, the Baker children still heard their parents argue about money almost every night. Living in a small house made it difficult to ignore the fights, especially when their father lost control of his emotions. Rachel would plead with him to be quiet and warn him that “you’ll wake the children.” It didn’t matter. They had already captured the attention of their children.
One of their most heated arguments took place during dinner. Rachel began with a reply to Al’s complaints about the hospital bill. “Don’t blame anyone else,” she said. “You should have known that your insurance wouldn’t cover injuries from racing cars.”
“I don’t know why we bothered to pay for insurance if it doesn’t take care of things I do to grow my business,” Al said.
Ben followed Joe’s lead and continued to eat as if the conflict in the room didn’t exist. He kept his eyes off the action and on his plate.
Making no effort to conceal her frustration, Rachel said, “Thanks to your business schemes, I don’t see how we’re going to be able to pay the hospital bill and still make the house payment.”
“Ah, don’t be such a worrywart,” Al said with a dismissive snort. “I’ll take care of it by working something out with the bank.”
“No more loans! We’re still paying off the loan for all the tools you bought and then lost because of your pal Derek Dean.”
“We’ll get the tools back and then everything else will work out fine. You’ll see.”
“Why didn’t you keep your old job instead of gambling on the station and that ridiculous race car?” Rachel asked.
“Why don’t you show a little faith in me?” Al asked, presenting his question with the harsh tone that warned he had reached his boiling point. Showing anger usually caused Rachel to back off. This time she kept going and did the unforgiveable—she wept.
“Al, I can’t bear to face a stack of bills without enough money to pay even half of them. You need to start being more careful about how much you spend. Please help me.”
“Drop that sad sack routine right now!” he shouted. “It’s getting really old. What do you want me to do?”
“It’s simple. Please close the station and get a new job.”
“Fine! If that’s what it takes to get you to stop nagging and criticizing me, I’ll do it.”
Rachel whispered, “Thank you.”
“What choice do I have? Your whining and complaining is getting on my nerves.”
To Ben’s surprise, his mother’s weepy plea worked. His father closed the station and made a deal with the bank for a new payment plan. He took a mechanic job at a car dealership in Provo and worked evenings and weekends for a construction company. He used Ben as his helper on many of those projects, traveling to the company’s work sites and making repairs on forklifts, generators, and other construction equipment. For this work, Al used tools “borrowed” from the car dealership.
For Debbie and Becky, the new work schedules resulted in more time with their grandparents. For Joe and Ben, it meant more freedom. After finishing their daily chores, they could do whatever they wanted and go wherever their legs or bikes could take them.
Joe used his time to hang out with friends in Alma. For Ben, he either read library books in the barn while sitting on a hay bale or went hiking alone or with George Oaks. Ben liked George, but he didn’t really know how to be a friend. It always felt like a struggle for Ben to do things with other kids.
By the time Al and Rachel returned from work, evening had arrived, and the entire family pitched in to help make dinner and wash the dishes. After a few months, that routine wasn’t working for Rachel. She assigned cooking to her sons and wanted the meal to be ready when she walked in the door. If she had to work overtime, the kids could eat without her. Al usually worked until early evening and then had a long drive home, which resulted in him returning home after dinner.
Ben admired how hard his father worked, especially because it didn’t seem to make him happy. Something happened, though, about six weeks after beginning his new job that cheered him up—the arrest of Derek Dean.
CHAPTER 18
Derek’s teenage girlfriend kept him from getting away with the crimes committed at Al Baker’s Service Station. After a month of constant companionship, Derek grew tired of Susan and dumped her on the side of the road in Vacaville, California, without any money or luggage.
Susan called home, crying about having made “a terrible mistake.” Her parents immediately forgave their prodigal daughter and drove to California to pick her up. They blamed Susan’s actions on the influence of an evil man who had seduced and deceived their young, naïve child. While they welcomed Susan back, the Meadows’ forgiveness didn’t extend to Derek. They went after him with a fierce desire for revenge.
Sheriff Kort visited the Bakers’ farm to share the news and included Ben in the discussion because he would need to testify against Derek after his arrest.
“I expect that Derek will be in custody soon because Susan has given us the make, model, and tag number of his new car,” the sheriff said, with Ben and his parents sitting across the kitchen table from him. “Susan told us that Derek purchased the car in Las Vegas with money made from selling his motorcycle and your truck and tools.”
The sheriff mentioned that they drove the car around Nevada and California, staying in flea-bag motels and snatching things that people made easy to steal. “When they ran out of money, Susan suggested that Derek find a job. She wanted to rent an apartment in a nice town and settle down. Derek ignored Susan the first two times she brought up the idea, but he stopped the car when she mentioned it again, told her to get out, and then drove off without her.”
Susan thought Derek would calm down and come back to get her, but she soon admitted that the romance had fizzled and started walking. “Susan found a diner where she placed a collect call to her parents and begged them to come get her,” the sheriff said.
“I’m sure they were excited to hear from her,” Rachel said. “Some people in town thought that Susan might have been murdered since her parents hadn’t heard from her since she left town.”
“Yes, they were very pleased and persuaded Susan to serve as a witness against Derek, which will help us convict him,” the sheriff said. “And Susan’s cooperation will be favorably recognized by the court when punishment for her involvement in the theft is discussed.”
Rachel began to share her support for not sending Susan to jail, but Al interrupted. “When Derek is arrested, I expect that we’ll be getting whatever money he has left plus his new car.”
“Don’t start counting that money,” the sheriff said. “You’re not likely to get anything because Derek is quick to spend every penny he picks up.”
“But he still has the car. That’s worth something.”
“We’ll see. He might have sold it by now. And Derek will have others coming after him to cover his debts. You’ll have to get in line.”
Sheriff Kort’s comments frustrated Ben because they sounded much more likely to ha
ppen than the more positive outcome his father imagined. “I need to do my homework,” Ben said, hoping to escape this uncomfortable discussion. “May I be excused?”
After getting an approving nod from the sheriff, Al said, “If you’re ready to do your part to send Derek to prison.”
Ben mumbled that he would do it, but he worried that the sheriff might find out that he had lied to him. He also expected Derek to say that Ben had stolen money from the cash register many times. It would show that Ben wasn’t trustworthy.
While thinking about these possibilities, Ben dropped his preference for Derek being arrested. Instead, he hoped that Derek would drive to Canada and disappear. For Ben, nothing good was likely to come out of Derek’s arrest.
Instead of going north, Derek and Denny ended up in Southern California about a week after Susan’s homecoming. Grandpa Thorne picked up the story from the rumor mill and shared it with the Bakers the next day.
“A police officer near Los Angeles found Derek and Denny driving around a warehouse after midnight,” Grandpa Thorne said. “He pulled their car over for driving without lights and, being suspicious of the duo, he asked both men for their IDs. He radioed in a request to check warrants for them and found out that they were wanted for theft, kidnapping, and other charges. The men were arrested and are coming back here for their trial.”
News of the arrests dominated every conversation in Alma for weeks. People began debating how severely the men should be punished and speculating about what they had done to Ben before his escape. Rumors about Susan being pregnant soared when she suddenly left town to live with relatives in Salt Lake City.
Ben became one of the primary checkpoints for gossip. Instead of being ignored or teased, kids asked him all kinds of questions. “How did you escape? What did it feel like to get hit by Derek? What did you see Derek doing to Susan? What are you going to say to Derek when you see him at the trial?”
Even adults at church and the grocery store noticed Ben and shared their thoughts. They encouraged him to be brave when testifying against the men. “We’re counting on you to put those evil men in prison for years and years,” said one man. “Don’t let us down.”