What If Things Were Different...

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Frank heard the phone ring and knew who was calling. "It's Joe," he said to Claire, his wife as he rose from his favorite chair and made his way to the kitchen counter.

"Frank here."

"Hi Frank," Joe said. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Of course not, son. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing, really. Just home on a Saturday with Jenn and the kids. I was thinking of going down to the CAL Store maybe this afternoon and I wondered if you'd like to go."

Frank smiled and winked at his wife. He placed a hand over the phone and whispered, "He wants to go to the CAL store." Claire smiled at the news. They both knew their son didn't want to go to that particular store (one of Frank's favorites...). He called for another reason.

"Joe...what's up?" His question was met with silence.

"What do you mean," he finally said.

"Something tells me you don't really wan to go to CAL. What's up?"

"Listen, I need a favor."

"You name it." Claire knew just from her husband's side of the conversation what was happening. Joe needed help, again. She watched Frank nod as he heard his son's latest predicament.

"Did you bury the wire? Or is it just above the ground?" Silence. "No, you've got to...I mean, it could have been anything, skunks, foxes, coyotes...even raccoons."

Claire left the kitchen where she was making an apple pie and walked to the door separating the house from the garage. She lifted the keys to Frank's F-150 that hung on a nail on the wall and brought them into the kitchen as Frank continued talking.

"Listen, Joe. Let me come over and see what you've done. It's hard for me to explain what you need to do over the phone. Yeah...no, it's no problem at all. I'll be right over."

Frank hung up the phone, turned and held out his hand to which Claire dropped his keys.

"The coop?" Claire said as she turned her attention back to the pie she was making.

"Yup, the coop."

"Don't be too hard on him," Claire admonished. "These kids nowadays are really at a disadvantage. They don't know how to build a decent coop, or plow a straight line, or rebuild a carburetor. Some can't even milk a cow. Since that whole electronic lifestyle ended, it's like all these kids are lost. I feel bad for them sometimes."

"Me too, Honey," Frank said as he kissed his wife's cheek and headed for the garage. "You know," he stopped and turned around. "I sometimes wonder what they'd do without us."

"Glad they don't have to find out."

"I shouldn't be long."

"Give my love to Jenn and the grandkids," Claire said as Frank left the house and the door closed behind him.

* Photo used without permission from: https://plus.google.com/+MarquesBrownlee/posts/39qiLgghYu8