The Misadventures of the Krafts

THE MISADVENTURES OF THE KRAFTS

  By

  Don R. Hubbard

  * * *

  The Misadventures of the Krafts

  Copyright © 2013 Don R. Hubbard

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  Any resemblance of any character in this story to any person living or dead is coincidental. This story is a work of fiction.

  * * *

  Saturday morning Rex Kraft awakened to the sound of a dog growling and making the most peculiar sounds, as though it was shaking its head with something in its mouth. As he lay in bed and looked up at the ceiling, he also could hear a sound like the links of a small chain clinking against each other. And then there was the sound of wood cracking and splitting like wooden lath or lattice might make if it were being twisted and bent. “Lattice?” Rex thought to himself. Suddenly his eyes widened. “LATTICE!!” Rex exclaimed as he jumped from the bed, almost knocking his sleeping wife Dolly to the floor. Rex landed squarely on both feet, grabbed his pants and shirt off the back of a chair near the bed and stepped into his slippers as he headed for the door. He stopped abruptly, leaned back toward the window, and glanced out to verify his suspicions. “THAT DOG!” He exclaimed. He looked down as he tucked in his shirt and darted out of the room, fastening his belt as he ran.

  “What lattice?” Dolly asked, as though someone were still there to hear her. She rubbed sleep from her eyes gently with her fists. The morning sun illuminated the bedroom softly as its rays filtered through the leaves of dozens of quaking aspen trees across the courtyard outside the window. A gentle breeze furled the sheer white curtains that covered the windows, now left partly open as the spring nights were growing warmer. She looked around the room and noticed how the morning light looked so beautiful on the gray-blue color of the walls. She drew in a deep breath as if to drink in the beauty of the day. She laid back and watched the shadows of the leaves as they danced around on the wall next to the bed, back and forth and around in little ovals, as if they couldn't make up their minds which way to go. In spite of the unusual sounds coming from the yard outside, she couldn't help thinking how peaceful it was.

  “YOU STUPID DOG!!” Through the open window came the words which put an end to the serenity.

  Dolly got up and grabbed her robe from a chair on her side of the bed. She pushed the curtains aside slightly and watched as Rex tried to wrestle a section of broken lattice from the jaws of Woofie, their dog. Rex finally gave up and turned his attention to the remains of what formerly was an eight by two foot section of lattice from the courtyard fence. Woofie, the young, but mostly full grown dog, was part German Shepherd and part Malamute. He looked like a German Shepherd, but with a rounder face and body. He was now sitting - tongue hanging, tail wagging, looking friendly, innocent and adorable, as Rex picked up pieces of the fence from the lawn and muttered unintelligible words. After a few minutes of cleanup, Rex walked over to Woofie and stood in front of him with his hands on his hips. Then Rex shook his head and said, “What am I going to do with you?” His tone of voice was too soft to be a reprimand. Woofie, still holding a large section of lattice in his mouth, just cocked his head to the right, snorted twice and wagged his tail faster.

  “Well, I'm going to have to chain you up for the day boy, now that there's a gaping hole in this fence.” Woofie barked, dropped the lattice, and then laid down on his belly with his paws stretched out in front of him.

  Rex fastened one end of a lightweight chain to Woofie's collar, and the other end to a metal stake he drove into the ground in the center of the courtyard. Then he stood up, looked into the clear blue sky, and noticed how the sun illuminated all the new green foliage in a way that only happened in Spring. He looked back at Woofie with a squinting expression. Woofie just wagged his tail.

  * * *

  Dolly leaned toward the bathroom mirror as she put the finishing touches on her eye lashes. She turned her head left, then right, completing a quick inspection, then nodded approval to herself and dropped her make-up kit into her purse. She primped and patted her blonde hair one last time. “I'm leaving now,” she called to Rex, not knowing exactly where in the house he was.

  Fortunately, the door to the garage was partly open and Rex, who was in it surveying his wall of tools, could hear her faintly. “I'm in the garage!” he called back, just as Dolly appeared at the door. She stepped down onto the concrete floor and closed the door behind her. Rex glanced over at her. “Are you going out?” he asked, as he turned his attention back to the wall.

  “I'm on my way to the store to get the flower pots I told you about.”

  “Flower pots?” Rex turned toward her as she approached him.

  “I told you the other day, they're having a sale and I can get some clay pots for a great price. I have an idea of how to dress up the east side of the patio. I've got to go. Tell Sheryl to do the dishes.” She stood on her toes to give Rex a kiss good-bye.

  Just then, their twelve year old son Chase came through the door.

  “Chase is going with me,” Dolly said.

  “Bye Dad,” Chase said as he climbed into the passenger side of the SUV.

  “Hey, could you pick up an eight by two foot piece of vinyl lattice while you're there?” Rex asked. “I'm going with vinyl this time. It'll be harder to dismantle.”

  Dolly chuckled and said “Eight by what?” as she got into their SUV. She hit the remote to raise the door.

  “I know what it is mom,” said Chase.

  Dolly pulled the shift lever into reverse and backed out of the garage.

  After the door came back down, Rex decided he would wait until Dolly and Chase returned before starting to work on the fence. He turned and headed back toward the door into the house. He was surprised when he tried to turn the handle on the door. It was locked. And he hadn't taken his keys with him when he went into the garage to get tools. The door had a spring hinge on it to keep it from being left open accidentally – to prevent unwanted critters from gaining entry unnoticed. Rex thought for a moment, then decided he could probably jimmy the latch with a thin-bladed screw driver.

  After ten exasperating minutes at Plan A, Rex gave up trying to defeat the lock and switched to Plan B - shouting. “Sheryl! he yelled to his daughter. He tried again, but she apparently did not hear him. He opened the garage door and walked around to the front of the house.

  Plan C. Rex rang the bell and waited. After a minute, he rang the bell two times. Another minute passed. Rex was starting to stew. He was just about to reach out his hand for another try when the door opened, and there stood Sheryl, the Kraft's eighteen year old daughter, in her bath robe with her hair wrapped in a towel. “Dad?” she said rather perplexed.

  “I was in the garage and the hallway door got locked,” said Rex as he walked past her. “Then I tried . . . oh, never mind. Thanks for letting me in sweetheart.”

  As Rex headed for the kitchen, Sheryl said, “Dad, why didn't you just use your phone?” Rex reached down and felt his right front pants pocket. Sure enough, it was there. He stopped walking, and looked back at Sheryl, who was eying him with her mother's 'uh-huh' expression on her face. Sheryl had Dolly's blue eyes, but her dad's brown hair. Rex turned, went into the family room and plopped down on the sofa. Rex picked up the TV remote, looked at it and put it back down. There was just too much to do on a Saturday morning. He got up off the couch and headed back outside.

  Rex got the lawn mower out of the sh
ed behind the house and fired it up. First he mowed the back yard - a large open area surrounded by hybrid poplars which had grown quite tall. The result was a pleasant mix of sun and shade all day long. When Rex worked his way through the courtyard Woofie started panting and began wagging his tail excitedly again. Rex smiled, but shook his head “no”, as he passed Woofie with the mower.

  The front yard was a beautiful place. Dolly had a green thumb and a good plan. She designed most of the landscape taking advantage of many plants that were native to the area. A few flowering trees, several varieties of well-placed perennials along with some slow growing shrubs, kept all the areas surrounding the house bright and tastefully decorated from season to season.

  Out back was most of the three acres, which usually had alfalfa growing in it. The Kraft's had an arrangement with a nearby farmer whom they allowed to use the field for cash crops in exchange for a third of the proceeds. East of the house was a lane which ran parallel to the driveway, from the field down to the road.

  In the midst of the lane, straight across the yard from the patio, was an old pickup truck Rex had bought one time at an auction. It needed a paint job. The interior was worn. The doors hung slightly crooked and creaked something awful when they were opened or closed. But Rex liked that old truck, so he kept it registered mainly for hauling anything too big or heavy or dirty to go in the SUV. Dolly usually avoided the truck because she often saw bees flying around it. She thought they might have built a nest or hive in it somewhere.

  The house faced south and sat along a narrow blacktop road which wound its way through an area of gently sloping hills covered with soft green meadows. Here and there were areas of trees and brush. The Kraft's brick ranch style home sat on a partly wooded three acre parcel of land which sloped slightly downward toward the road.

  Across the road, the land continued downhill about 50 feet to a shallow pond. The shores were lined with cat tails and lily pads. A few willows and small pine trees surrounded it. On the far side the land rose gradually and disappeared into a dense wooded area. A small creek ran alongside the road and flowed into the pond from the west. Another flowed out of it to the southeast. Rex would often stop when working in the yard, just to admire the beauty of the area. On more than one occasion, he told Dolly it was like living in a picture postcard.

  After he was finished, Rex returned the mower to the shed.

  * * *

  As Rex was returning to the house, Zack, Sheryl's boyfriend, pulled up in his little red sports car, with the top down.

  “Mornin' Zack!” Rex said.

  “Hello Mr. Kraft.” Zack replied.

  “Great top-down weather today.” Rex went on, “Nice and warm.”

  They walked together toward the house. Rex was fond of Zack. He and Sheryl knew each other from high school. Zack was a couple years older. Now he was a sophomore at the local University. He was working toward a degree in pharmacology.

  Inside they both headed for the kitchen. Rex called out, “Sheryl, Zack's here.”

  Zack took a seat at the kitchen table. Rex opened a small drawer and pulled out a pair of pliers and a small adjustable wrench. Then he slid the refrigerator out from the wall far enough to slip in behind it. Zack asked, “What are you doing Mr. Kraft?”

  “We're having a new refrigerator delivered Monday. I'm going to disconnect the water line to the ice-maker today. “Try to get ahead of the curve. Know what I mean?”

  Zack nodded. “Good idea.”

  Just then Sheryl walked into the kitchen. “What are you doing dad?”

  Rex looked at Zack and raised his eyebrows. It was guy code for “Can you handle this one?”

  Zack got it. He turned to Sheryl. “Let's go – I'll tell you on the way.”

  Sheryl smiled at Rex and said, “Bye dad.”

  “Bye Sweetheart, bye Zack.” Rex managed to get his left arm around Sheryl for a quick hug. “Have a good time.”

  “See you later Mr. Kraft,” Zack replied.

  A moment later, Rex heard the sound of the sports car start up, and then fade as the young couple drove away.

  Rex found a small valve in a recessed area in the wall behind the refrigerator. He twisted the knob to shut off the water in the plastic line. Then he loosened the nut on the compression fitting and pulled on the water line to disconnect it. Suddenly the line popped out of the fitting and water gushed from it. The force of the water caused it to slip out of Rex's hand. He quickly got hold of it again and put his thumb over the end. He had to press hard to hold the water back. He looked around for a bowl or anything within reach to put the line in while he ran for the main water valve in the garage. He sat for a minute thinking about his alternatives. He thought about when Dolly and Chase might get back. He thought about how tired his thumb was getting. And he thought about never tinkering with any kind of plumbing again when no one else was around.

  Finally, he let go and made a run for the main water valve. He ran through the hall and out the door, into the garage. He opened the door to the utility closet. There, next to the water heater was the main valve. As he pulled up the lever to a horizontal position he could hear the flow of water slow and then stop. And then he heard something else. The door from the hall to the garage had swung closed and latched again. “Ohhhh,” – Rex said in tone of exasperation and hopelessness.

  Just then, the garage door began to open, and he saw the SUV in the driveway. Rex raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Thank you Lord,” he whispered.

  * * *

  Dolly and Chase climbed out of the SUV and began unloading the cargo as Rex mopped up the water in the kitchen. As he worked his way in behind the refrigerator, he bent down and looked at the water valve. He discovered he had simply not closed the valve all the way before disconnecting the water line to the refrigerator.

  “Hey dad,” Chase said, “Want to play catch when you're finished?”

  “Uh, sure,” Rex replied. “I'll be about ten more minutes son.”

  “I thought you were going to help me with these Pots,” Dolly interjected, looking at Chase.

  “Oh . . .,” Chase began.

  “It's alright,” Dolly said. “How about, I get things set up, put the flowers in the pots, and then you can help me stack them.”

  “OK!” Chase replied, thinking this would give him the best of both worlds. Then he disappeared into his room.

  * * *

  Downstairs in the laundry Rex wrung out the mop over the wash tub. Then he went back up, put the wrench and pliers back in the kitchen drawer and then reached into a hallway closet for his and Chase's baseball gloves. “I'm ready Chase,” he called. After a few seconds he heard the desk chair in Chase's room slide up against the desk and after a few more, his son popped through the doorway.

  Rex held up a hard ball and a softball in his right hand, and raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Hard!” said Chase.

  Rex dropped the softball back in the closet, and handed Chase his mitt and the hard ball. Then they looked at each other with a “let's get to it” look, and made their way out of the house and into the back yard.

  As Rex and Chase passed the opening in the courtyard fence, Rex said, “You stay at this end and I'll go down to the other end. First, I think I'll let Woofie run a bit while we throw the ball.” Woofie came to his feet quickly with tail wagging rapidly as Rex approached. No sooner did Rex unhook the chain from his collar, than Woofie took off like a bullet and raced through the opening in the fence, around the clearing and through the trees. Rex and Chase looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

  “Wow, I've never seen him go that fast,” said Chase.

  “Me either,” said Rex as he turned, and turned again watching the dog run. Then Woofie ran around the back of the house and out of site.

  Rex walked further toward the back yard and then stopped. He turned toward Chase who was now about fifty feet away. He began punch
ing the pocket of his mitt indicating he was ready for Chase to throw the ball.

  As Chase threw it, Woofie came around the corner of the house from the front yard still moving fast. Woofie ran in and out of some of the trees in the back yard, and then came back past Rex. He made a hard turn and ran back into the court yard where he lapped up some water from his bowl. He sprang back up, darted back through the hole in the fence and headed straight for Chase. He ran around Chase, then over to where Rex stood, around him, and then ran and back into the courtyard, where he lapped up some more water.

  “Kind of like Barrel Racing Dad!” Chase called out.

  “Yeah, that's what I was thinking,” said Rex. “I wish I had that on video.”

  When Woofie re-emerged from the courtyard he headed straight toward Rex. As Woofie broke into a full 'gallop' Rex bent forward and egged him on, shouting “C'mon boy! C'mon boy!” Suddenly Rex knew Woofie would not be able to turn in time to go around him. As Rex tried to turn sideways, all 60 pounds of Woofie hit him across the backs of his knees and knocked both of his feet in the air. Rex hit the ground on his back with a loud thud! “OOF!” was the only sound Rex made as he landed.

  Chase ran over, looked down at Rex, and said “Wow Dad – Woofie knocked you right off your feet!!”

  Rex, trying to recover his wind, took two deep breaths and said, “THAT STUPID DOG!!”

  Woofie had stopped a few feet away where he sat upright, panting loudly and rapidly, with his head cocked slightly to the left, and looking innocent as always.

  * * *

  Dolly spread out the materials she and Chase had brought home on a folding plastic table on the patio; twenty-one clay flower pots, with round trays, assorted flowers including geraniums, orange, red and yellow zinnias, and assorted petunias. Also, they had brought two large bags of potting soil. Dolly slit the seam on a cardboard box, opened it up and covered the table with it. She set to work, removing tags, organizing the materials, and deciding how she would arrange the flowers in the pots. Then she marked the positions where the pots would go on the floor of the patio.