After the Christmas vacation, Jake was reliving the events of the holidays with the kids. He made an appointment with his attorney to make sure that the kids were taken care of after his death. George and Ida were well off enough to do well after they retired.
Jake told George how he felt about the kids' visit. George was surprised by his father's expression of his feelings. As a kid, he never remembered his dad doing that.
Jake was like many of that generation living through the Great Depression. They were conditioned not to show emotion no matter what the situation. George could see the profound effect the kids have had on him.
He has never seen his father as happy or at least showing his happiness since the summer and now Christmas visits. The Wickersham clan does not know all the deep dark secrets they have uncovered or are about to discover in the future.
Watching them drive down the road, Jake felt sadness in his heart. Since they first came to the farm in the summer, their adventures became his.
He relived parts of his childhood that had long been forgotten. The farm itself was a living adventure.
He had forgotten about all the fun times that had taken place; in the barn, the meadow, all the woods, and Seth Jensen with all his stories of his adventures.
Patti, Bailey, and Bobby were his adventures restarting in another generation. Jake had tears in his eyes as they drove away. Watching them getting smaller and smaller, he had an idea that he should talk to his attorney.
He wanted to make sure that the kids received equal shares of the two farms. Richard Danaher, Esq. would make this wish come true. Richard had been his attorney for many years and always did the right thing by him.
He went inside the house, called Richard, and made the appointment for the next day. Once this piece of business was completed, he could rest no matter what happens. The farms would stay in the family as long as there was any one named Wickersham.
Sitting in his Barcalounger, Jake started thinking about Seth Jensen. He had left town supposedly and not a single word was ever heard from him.
People just thought he up and left without a word. Jake thought the good old days when life was relatively easy and much slower than today's world. Reflecting on the past two visits of his grandkids, that was something to be grateful for the time spent with the kids.
The kids were involved in scouting, Patti with the Girl Scouts and the twins with the Boy Scouts gave them a well-rounded view of life. All three seemed pretty set in to what responsivities were expected of them. Yes, my son and daughter-in-law are doing a grand job raising the kids, Jake thought.
After going to see his lawyer the next day, Jake was thinking of a way to get the kids back for a weekend or longer on their next time off from school.
The tunnels under the barn needed to be explored more thoroughly and an inventory of everything in the tunnels would take several days to complete.
Jake was trying to contrive a reason to bring the kids back to the farms. Once the attorney changed Jake's will, Jake could breathe a sigh of relief, and go about his daily routine.
January had been relatively quiet in the little town of LaFarge, New York. The only thing of any consequence was a snowpack deeper than normal.
Jake had been busy cleaning up his barn and getting things in order for the grandkids next visit. George had called to see if his Dad could watch the kids again.
George asked, "Hi Dad. Ida and I want to know if you would like some company over the winter vacation. We would like to go to Montreal over that week."
