| General Fiction posted July 3, 2021 | Chapters: |
...127 128 -129- 130... 
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Our nephew comes to visit.
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
Our Nephew, Jimmy
by BethShelby
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
It seemed a bit odd to us, after years of hardly ever seeing your sister’s son, Jimmy, he apparently decided we were his favorite relatives. Before he brought Becky by to spend the night, we’d only met one of his previous wives, and that was at your dad’s funeral. We were impressed with her, but Diane, a teacher, wanted a child with all her heart. Since Jimmy’s other marriages had not included children, we assumed he might be unable to have children, or he didn’t want them.
In the past, Jimmy had never attended any of the family gatherings, although his mother was always there. The marriage that had lasted the longest was when he was married to Trudy, the Proctor and Gamble heiress. Trudy was someone who provided Jimmy access to a more prestigious group of people. She had been a college roommate with Annie, who was married for a while to John Denver. She probably considered it slumming to attend our family gatherings. After several years of marriage, she spent most of her time traveling around the country with her mother and leaving Jimmy behind.
After the last divorce, Jimmy appeared at our house in early summer and took up residency in our guest room, on the pretense of looking for work. I’m pretty sure he was taking prescription drugs to get him past the failed marriage. He talked endlessly, expressing his anger and disgust about how badly he had been treated by his latest wife, who he declared to be clinically deranged.
He claimed his greatest desire was for her to suffer a stroke and die, so he could somehow get custody of her children. He said the children weren't safe with her. This kind of talk made no sense to us and made us believe that he was the one who had the mental problem. His ranting made him seem completely unhinged, and we feared for his stability. Perhaps this was the first time one of his wives had actually cheated on him.
At any rate, the summer was passing without him showing any indication of finding work or of him moving on. I had some vacation time coming, and you wanted to go down to our place in Mississippi and work on our property, so we could get the house in shape to rent. You offered to pay Jimmy if he would come and work with us, helping to get our house in shape. He agreed, and with the three of us working, we were able to get our place looking good.
Jimmy’s next stop was with your sister Maxine, who offered to let him stay with her and work at painting and doing some repairs around her house. In need of money, Jimmy had no choice. This manual labor was a far cry from the work he would have preferred. He still seemed to see himself as an executive, having once been a bank vice president.
Again he outstayed his welcome, and finally Maxine had to steer him back home to live with his mother, Helen. She was in poor health and needed his attention. Over time, Jimmy’s attitude of entitlement evaporated. He realized he was only human like the rest of us, and he came back down to earth to join us peons. It would be several years before he married again, but this time his marriage would last. He and Lynn would become active in the church, the community and in family gatherings. At this time, they have been happily married about twenty years. Sometimes things work out.
We were able to rent out our house in the country to a large family. The rental income took care of the taxes and insurance and made it worthwhile to keep the place, for the time being.
In September, Connie began her second year of college at Chattanooga State and Lenny began his third year at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. They continued to spend as much time as possible together. Christi was still working as a receptionist and was dating Denny again. She had Don build her a massage table and she started doing a few massages in Don’s old room. You weren’t too pleased with the arrangement, because we had strangers coming into our house at late hours to get massages.
This was the year for a presidential election. George H.W. Bush was running for his second term on the Republican ticket. Bill Clinton was the Democrat candidatic. You and I weren’t totally pleased with either man. Ross Perot was new on the scene and making some impact as an Independent. We had always voted for the man rather than the party, so we decided to support Ross, knowing he wasn’t likely to win.
In November Bill Clinton won making, George Bush a one term president. The war we had during his presidency and the fact that he had raised taxes after vowing not to, apparently caused him to not be reelected. The fact that Ross Perot took away some of his votes by running as a third party didn't help his chances for reelection either.
Everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly in our lives, but we had no way of knowing of the changes which were in store for a couple of members of our family before the year, 1992, would end.
Evan is 63 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 54 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working with a local printing company.
Carol is 30, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 27 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 29 and attending Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical plant and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is nineteen. She is in her second year in college.
Lenny is Connie's boyfriend. He is a Junior in college.
Helen is Evan's sister.
Jimmy is Helen's son. He is about 45. Trudy, Diane, and Becky are his previous wives.
Lynn is Jimmy's present wife.
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
It seemed a bit odd to us, after years of hardly ever seeing your sister’s son, Jimmy, he apparently decided we were his favorite relatives. Before he brought Becky by to spend the night, we’d only met one of his previous wives, and that was at your dad’s funeral. We were impressed with her, but Diane, a teacher, wanted a child with all her heart. Since Jimmy’s other marriages had not included children, we assumed he might be unable to have children, or he didn’t want them.
In the past, Jimmy had never attended any of the family gatherings, although his mother was always there. The marriage that had lasted the longest was when he was married to Trudy, the Proctor and Gamble heiress. Trudy was someone who provided Jimmy access to a more prestigious group of people. She had been a college roommate with Annie, who was married for a while to John Denver. She probably considered it slumming to attend our family gatherings. After several years of marriage, she spent most of her time traveling around the country with her mother and leaving Jimmy behind.
After the last divorce, Jimmy appeared at our house in early summer and took up residency in our guest room, on the pretense of looking for work. I’m pretty sure he was taking prescription drugs to get him past the failed marriage. He talked endlessly, expressing his anger and disgust about how badly he had been treated by his latest wife, who he declared to be clinically deranged.
He claimed his greatest desire was for her to suffer a stroke and die, so he could somehow get custody of her children. He said the children weren't safe with her. This kind of talk made no sense to us and made us believe that he was the one who had the mental problem. His ranting made him seem completely unhinged, and we feared for his stability. Perhaps this was the first time one of his wives had actually cheated on him.
At any rate, the summer was passing without him showing any indication of finding work or of him moving on. I had some vacation time coming, and you wanted to go down to our place in Mississippi and work on our property, so we could get the house in shape to rent. You offered to pay Jimmy if he would come and work with us, helping to get our house in shape. He agreed, and with the three of us working, we were able to get our place looking good.
Jimmy’s next stop was with your sister Maxine, who offered to let him stay with her and work at painting and doing some repairs around her house. In need of money, Jimmy had no choice. This manual labor was a far cry from the work he would have preferred. He still seemed to see himself as an executive, having once been a bank vice president.
Again he outstayed his welcome, and finally Maxine had to steer him back home to live with his mother, Helen. She was in poor health and needed his attention. Over time, Jimmy’s attitude of entitlement evaporated. He realized he was only human like the rest of us, and he came back down to earth to join us peons. It would be several years before he married again, but this time his marriage would last. He and Lynn would become active in the church, the community and in family gatherings. At this time, they have been happily married about twenty years. Sometimes things work out.
We were able to rent out our house in the country to a large family. The rental income took care of the taxes and insurance and made it worthwhile to keep the place, for the time being.
In September, Connie began her second year of college at Chattanooga State and Lenny began his third year at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. They continued to spend as much time as possible together. Christi was still working as a receptionist and was dating Denny again. She had Don build her a massage table and she started doing a few massages in Don’s old room. You weren’t too pleased with the arrangement, because we had strangers coming into our house at late hours to get massages.
This was the year for a presidential election. George H.W. Bush was running for his second term on the Republican ticket. Bill Clinton was the Democrat candidatic. You and I weren’t totally pleased with either man. Ross Perot was new on the scene and making some impact as an Independent. We had always voted for the man rather than the party, so we decided to support Ross, knowing he wasn’t likely to win.
In November Bill Clinton won making, George Bush a one term president. The war we had during his presidency and the fact that he had raised taxes after vowing not to, apparently caused him to not be reelected. The fact that Ross Perot took away some of his votes by running as a third party didn't help his chances for reelection either.
Everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly in our lives, but we had no way of knowing of the changes which were in store for a couple of members of our family before the year, 1992, would end.
Evan is 63 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 54 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working with a local printing company.
Carol is 30, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 27 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 29 and attending Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical plant and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is nineteen. She is in her second year in college.
Lenny is Connie's boyfriend. He is a Junior in college.
Helen is Evan's sister.
Jimmy is Helen's son. He is about 45. Trudy, Diane, and Becky are his previous wives.
Lynn is Jimmy's present wife.
It seemed a bit odd to us, after years of hardly ever seeing your sister’s son, Jimmy, he apparently decided we were his favorite relatives. Before he brought Becky by to spend the night, we’d only met one of his previous wives, and that was at your dad’s funeral. We were impressed with her, but Diane, a teacher, wanted a child with all her heart. Since Jimmy’s other marriages had not included children, we assumed he might be unable to have children, or he didn’t want them.
In the past, Jimmy had never attended any of the family gatherings, although his mother was always there. The marriage that had lasted the longest was when he was married to Trudy, the Proctor and Gamble heiress. Trudy was someone who provided Jimmy access to a more prestigious group of people. She had been a college roommate with Annie, who was married for a while to John Denver. She probably considered it slumming to attend our family gatherings. After several years of marriage, she spent most of her time traveling around the country with her mother and leaving Jimmy behind.
After the last divorce, Jimmy appeared at our house in early summer and took up residency in our guest room, on the pretense of looking for work. I’m pretty sure he was taking prescription drugs to get him past the failed marriage. He talked endlessly, expressing his anger and disgust about how badly he had been treated by his latest wife, who he declared to be clinically deranged.
He claimed his greatest desire was for her to suffer a stroke and die, so he could somehow get custody of her children. He said the children weren't safe with her. This kind of talk made no sense to us and made us believe that he was the one who had the mental problem. His ranting made him seem completely unhinged, and we feared for his stability. Perhaps this was the first time one of his wives had actually cheated on him.
At any rate, the summer was passing without him showing any indication of finding work or of him moving on. I had some vacation time coming, and you wanted to go down to our place in Mississippi and work on our property, so we could get the house in shape to rent. You offered to pay Jimmy if he would come and work with us, helping to get our house in shape. He agreed, and with the three of us working, we were able to get our place looking good.
Jimmy’s next stop was with your sister Maxine, who offered to let him stay with her and work at painting and doing some repairs around her house. In need of money, Jimmy had no choice. This manual labor was a far cry from the work he would have preferred. He still seemed to see himself as an executive, having once been a bank vice president.
Again he outstayed his welcome, and finally Maxine had to steer him back home to live with his mother, Helen. She was in poor health and needed his attention. Over time, Jimmy’s attitude of entitlement evaporated. He realized he was only human like the rest of us, and he came back down to earth to join us peons. It would be several years before he married again, but this time his marriage would last. He and Lynn would become active in the church, the community and in family gatherings. At this time, they have been happily married about twenty years. Sometimes things work out.
We were able to rent out our house in the country to a large family. The rental income took care of the taxes and insurance and made it worthwhile to keep the place, for the time being.
In September, Connie began her second year of college at Chattanooga State and Lenny began his third year at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. They continued to spend as much time as possible together. Christi was still working as a receptionist and was dating Denny again. She had Don build her a massage table and she started doing a few massages in Don’s old room. You weren’t too pleased with the arrangement, because we had strangers coming into our house at late hours to get massages.
This was the year for a presidential election. George H.W. Bush was running for his second term on the Republican ticket. Bill Clinton was the Democrat candidatic. You and I weren’t totally pleased with either man. Ross Perot was new on the scene and making some impact as an Independent. We had always voted for the man rather than the party, so we decided to support Ross, knowing he wasn’t likely to win.
In November Bill Clinton won making, George Bush a one term president. The war we had during his presidency and the fact that he had raised taxes after vowing not to, apparently caused him to not be reelected. The fact that Ross Perot took away some of his votes by running as a third party didn't help his chances for reelection either.
Everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly in our lives, but we had no way of knowing of the changes which were in store for a couple of members of our family before the year, 1992, would end.
Evan is 63 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 54 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working with a local printing company.
Carol is 30, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 27 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 29 and attending Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She is working as a receptionist at a chemical plant and doing massages on the side.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s wife. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is nineteen. She is in her second year in college.
Lenny is Connie's boyfriend. He is a Junior in college.
Helen is Evan's sister.
Jimmy is Helen's son. He is about 45. Trudy, Diane, and Becky are his previous wives.
Lynn is Jimmy's present wife.
 Recognized |
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband, Evan, as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents.
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