Ed Nelson [Nelson - Surfing Dude

The Richard Jackson Saga

Book 6: Surfing Dude

By Ed Nelson

This is dedicated to my wife Carol for her support and help as first reader and editor.

Opening Quote

That is exactly how it happened, give or take a lie or two.

James Garner as Wyatt Earp describing the gun fight at the OK Corral in the movie Sunset.

Contents

Copyright September 2019 by E. E. Nelson

Eastern Shore Publishing

7545 Lovey Lane

Parsonsburg, MD 21849

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage retrieval systems without written permission from the author, e xcept for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Chapter 1

We had got back last night from England. We stumbled into the waiting limo which took us to Jackson House. Our bedrooms were ready, to the point that the staff had made up our beds. Not that it would have mattered to me. I crashed for ten straight hours.

Monday I woke up still tired from the trip. Not sleepy, just tired. I hoped there wasnt much planned for today. I went ahead and showered which helped immensely. I almost felt human when I went to the kitchen to find a cup of coffee.

I found out quickly the world had changed as a cook, I dont think it was the head chef, chased me to the family breakfast room. I didnt even know we had a family breakfast room. Mum and Dad were there with coffee, tea and newspapers. From their subdued greetings they werent in any better shape than I was.

The room was bright and sunny. There was a buffet along the wall which had a self-serve full breakfast in warming dishes. I helped myself to scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns wheat toast orange juice and coffee.

I think I could get used to this family breakfast room. I wondered what the lunch and dinner rooms would be like. Maybe there was an afternoon snack room, and even a midnight snack room! There would be no heavy thinking on the agenda today.

After a while and several cups of coffee I asked if there was any schedule or plans for the day. Dad told me there werent any but that tomorrow morning there would be a business review. It would be all of my companies under Jackson Enterprises: Jackson Productions, Jackson Home Products, Jackson Personal Products and the newest, Jackson Transportation.

How long will it take, I asked Dad.

Plan on it being most of the day, it has been months since there has been an update and Im certain you will have to make some decisions.

That didnt sound like a thrilling way to spend the day, but I was interested to see if I was actually making any money. I certainly had been spending it like I had it.

Mum informed us she would be out with Anna Romanov and Sharon Bronson for most of the day. They had some things to check out, she didnt go any further than that. I was curious what they might be up to, but knew that Mum had told us all she was going to, at least to me, Dad probably already knew.

I went back to my room and changed to running gear. This would be the first time I would be able to run the trails in the park in back of the house. Using the man sized door in the wall near the stables I ventured onto the trail. I found out quickly that the running I had done in England on their flat trails had not kept me in shape for this.

It wasnt like running up a mountain, but it still pulled muscles that hadnt had a work out since Campbells Hill in Bellefontaine. My run took me past a public parking area. There was a map posted so I spent a few minutes reviewing it. This was a large park and there were many miles of trails. They joined and separated but all circled back. If nothing else, I wouldnt get bored by the scenery.

I headed back to the house at lunch time. I had probably done ten miles and was sweating like one of those horses we didnt have in the stables. If I didnt have another shower soon Mum would put me out there.

Denny and Eddie were out in the backyard when I got home. They were playing lawn darts. Mary came riding through on her bike just as Eddie threw. The dart missed her, but it was close. The kids didnt seem to think it was a big deal but I saw disaster in the making. There were horse shoe pits near the outer wall. I suggested they throw next to them. This would be parallel to the wall so there was less chance of someone running into the line of flight.

The boys saw the sense in that and moved right away. Mary was already gone like a madwoman on another round of the house.

After cleaning up and putting on fresh clothes I had lunch. It turned out we had a family dining room which we would use for lunches and dinner. There was also a formal dining room that looked like it would seat over a hundred. I later learned that it would only seat sixty.

At lunch there was a menu next to each place setting. It had light, medium and large meals listed. Since I had been running I was hungry and chose large.

I decided to take a ride in one of my T-Birds. They had brought all of our vehicles from Ohio, including the Chris-Craft from Indian Lake. It was on its trailer in the garage area. All of the cars were lined up, with the keys in them so it was easy to take off.

At least I thought it was. I was stopped by the guards at the front gate and they wanted to know where I was going, the route I expected to take and what time I would return. I must have looked like I was going to pitch a fit because the head guard quickly told me that was standing orders for all of the family. He even showed them to me in writing. Both Mum and Dad had signed them so that ended that.

I told them I was going for a ride with no particular route in mind and that I would be back in time for dinner at six. This worked as they opened the gate with no further comments or questions.

I really didnt have any plans in mind so I just drove downtown Beverly Hills to see what was going on. Since it was Monday, but school hadnt started yet there were plenty of kids walking past the stores. I didnt see any of the few I knew from Hollywood High so just kept moving.

As I drove I mentally reviewed my summer, it had been full and different, you might say it was action packed, which it was, but what I remembered most was the girls I had interacted with. There was the girl in Argentina, Dorotea. I thought I would remember how she looked forever, but now all I had was a general impression. It was a good impression that was for sure, but only an impression.

Then there was Christina, what a gold digger. I was taken in by her looks, I learned a lesson there. I was so lucky that Mary spilled chocolate on her to reveal her true character. I guess someone up there was looking out for me.

I almost missed a red light and had to jam on the brakes. I realized that I could think heavy thoughts or drive, but not both. I headed back home and got ready for dinner. Even Mary was quiet during dinner.

Later that night I read a book about Gerard Gates a sailor stranded in Antwerp with no citizenship papers. He found work on a coffin ship, the Yorikke. After spending most of my summer on a freighter what the author wrote was easy to imagine and all too real and horrifying.

Chapter 2

Since Tuesday was going to be busy I was up early doing my exercises and then a run. I only went a couple of miles, figuring that I would be ready for a good work out this evening to clear my head. While I liked the money part, sitting in meetings all day wasnt my idea of a good time.

After my shower I put on one of my best suits and tie. If I was going to be a business man I should look the part. Heading down to breakfast I passed the kitchen and heard some very bad languages. Looking in I saw the cook had cut herself opening a can of Crisco, breaking the strip the key was attached to. It didnt look like a bad cut, and she was continuing to open the can with a pair of pliers. I went on by; we all had cut ourselves that way, one time or the other.