The next couple of months were a blur, as the outfitting was down to two team leaders, with Donald recovering and all of the new leaders of the different jobs being trained. Before you knew it, it was time for the ones moving back to Portland to pack. Donald and Sue had decided to wait to get married until Donald returned from Portland.
Sue had her hands full with the spring allergies. She had talked with Jim about getting someone to start keeping bees, as the honey from the area should help the ones with allergies to be able to overcome them. Pete volunteered to build them a hive. Donald thought how that should help keep him and Max from fighting.
Anne, Donald’s housekeeper, had come back for the next season of outfitting. She wasn’t sure how she felt about all of the elderly people who had invaded her domain. The day she moved back in, she wandered around, looking at all of the changes. She went through the line for lunch and got some of the delicious sesame chicken and rice that Mai had made. She walked over to the couch to sit down and she and Sue caught each others’ eyes. There was a recognition there on both of their parts, but neither seemed to actually know who the other was. Anne, grumpily started eating. It was not what she would have fixed, however her eyes lit up at the taste and she had a new favorite!
All of a sudden, Sue jumped up and said, “Cousin Anne! You are my cousin! What are you doing here?”
Anne looked at Sue and realized she was right! “What are you doing here? I am Donald’s housekeeper. I never would have expected to find you here!”
Sue explained about all that had transpired with the homeless situation and how Donald had rescued them. She also explained to Anne about her own situation and how she became homeless. They talked for a while and after finishing breakfast Sue offered to walk around with Anne and show her the different changes that had taken place. Anne was impressed with the pantry and even more impressed when she saw all of the canned goods and the meals prepared ahead. “This is such a good idea! Food is so seasonal around here and it makes the out of season foods available when they wouldn’t normally be! I can’t believe all of the work you guys have put into this!” Next, Sue took her to the meat processing shed and showed her the skins drying out, getting ready for sewing. “This is amazing! I am speechless!”
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The ladies spent a few hours together until Sue had to go check on Donald. He had healed just fine from the gunshot wound, but Sue had to watch him to make sure he didn’t overdo it. Anne was shocked that he had gotten shot from the careless hunter. She accompanied Sue since she wanted to see first hand how he was doing.
Donald got the whole crew together in the main room that afternoon for an announcement. “I am going to be gone for a few weeks. It is important that this lodge continues to run like a fine tuned machine. So I am setting up a chain of command that I hope you will all follow. Jim and Anne will be the head of this machine. The two of you will need to get together each evening after supper to discuss the next day. Each morning, I want the heads of the departments to meet with Jim and Anne so that everyone is on the same page. That will be the time to get everything ironed out for the day. If anything does get out of hand, Lord forbid, you have my cell number and both Carl and Anne have cell phones that I’m sure they will gladly let you borrow. Someone walked up and handed Donald a note. “I just found out Grace Wilkens will be doing all of the ladies' hair and cutting the men’s hair before we all leave for Portland. She asks that everyone see her for an appointment as soon as possible so no one gets left out.”
At the tail end of the meeting, Sue saw Carmella head out of the meeting holding her hand over her face. She followed Carmella and they went to the clinic to treat, yet again, a bloody nose. Sue said, “Carmella, you are going to do so much better in Portland’s climate. I bet you never have another bloody nose!”
Carmella smiled and said, “I can’t wait! I’m glad you told me why I kept getting bloody noses. I actually had myself convinced it was something serious like cancer!”
Sue smiled and said, “Oh, I'm going to miss you, Carmella. I’m really glad we have gotten to know each other!”
Carmella said, “Oh, you are not rid of me yet. I am going to write to you often.”
Glenda came into the clinic just then, interrupting their goodbye. “Oh, honey I am so sorry to have come at a bad time. I just wanted to get the inhalers you got for me in town. I can come back later.”
She turned to go, but Sue stopped her and said, “We were just saying our goodbyes and stopping Carmella’s nosebleed. Please stay.” She pointed Glenda to a chair and went to get the inhalers.
Angie, who had run to get Sue when Bruce died, walked in just then. “The bees just came in, Sue. What should we do with them? They are in a box and we should take care of them soon.”
Sue said, “OH, I didn’t realize they would be here so soon. Pete has been building a hive for them. You should see if he is able to get them squared away today.”
