He called them and told them to go down to the particular dealership and pick up the Jeep and just drive back. Percy would pay for it with a credit card over the phone the next morning by the time their mother could drop them off at the dealership. “You should be able to get a refund on your tickets because of the mandated flight shut down,” he told them. “Pick up what you need with that money and I’ll reimburse you for your expenses on the way down, since I’m asking you to do this, and I’ll be keeping the Jeep.”
Percy went to bed feeling a little easier about things. It’d be Sunday by the time they got home. At least he knew they would get back. Sunday would be the first day they could fly, and that wasn’t a sure thing.
The next morning Percy put on his best suit, the charcoal gray one, after getting the cows milked and the eggs collected. He gulped the juice Mattie handed him, but declined the rest of the breakfast. “Too nervous to eat,” he told the grinning Mattie and the giggling Suzie.
“You’re gonna do just fine, you old codger,” Mattie said, handing him his gray fedora. “This isn’t the first time you’ve spoken before the state Emergency Management Agency.
“Yeah,” Percy said dryly, “But this is the first time they might actually be listening. Always before they just thanked me and sent me packing. There’s meetings scheduled for after my presentation already.”
Suzie quit giggling. “Mr. Jackson, what you’ve been saying for years… it’s starting to make sense to a lot of people. I never think about that stuff very much, because I live here and grew up around you. Everything you do has an element of preparedness to it. I know people still make fun of you for some of your ways, but don’t let that stop you. People need to think about this stuff and start doing something. I had the news on when I was getting ready this morning and Pakistan and India are into it again over that border issue. It’s scary.”
Percy frowned. “I know. I watched several reports early this morning.” He forced a smile. “But don’t worry, Susie. You’re right. We are about as prepared as we can be here.” With a bit more of a sincere smile on his face he said, “If you want to talk to Andrew about having a place out here if something were to happen… even weather related, like last winter… feel free. He can stay here if you or your mother aren’t comfortable with him staying at your cottage.”
Susie blushed, “Oh, Mr. Jackson! I couldn’t!” She glanced over at her mother. “Could I?”
“You’re twenty-three, sweetie. Old enough to make up your mind about such things,” replied her mother.
Suddenly Percy was grinning mischievously. “If there’s anyone you want to talk to about staying out here in times of trouble, feel free, Mattie.”
Mattie didn’t and she wasn’t going to let Percy get away with the teasing. “Oh, no one really special. But I was thinking, since you brought it up, about talking to Sara McLain to see if she needs a safe place… just in case, you know.”
Again Susie giggled, due to Percy’s sudden look of panic and very red face. “I… uh… don’t think that would be such a good idea…”
“True,” Mattie said, quite matter-of-factly. “Probably should come from you. You being master of the estate and all.” She grinned.
“You just make sure you don’t annoy her in some way.”
Mattie continued to grin. “Of course not, Mr. Jackson. I would never do that.”
“Just see that you don’t,” Percy said, rather gruffly. “I don’t need any help with… anything.”
Both women were chuckling when Percy headed out the door.
“Are you okay, Boss?” Susie asked when Percy came in a little after noon. “You look a little funny.”
Percy did look a bit dazed, Mattie decided.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just… Well, they asked me to put together some more comprehensive recommendations for the Agency with some other people. They want it within two months. Shouldn’t take us that long.”
The two women saw a bit of red come to Percy’s cheeks.
“And… well… Sara’s office was closed because of the rolling blackout so she came to the meeting, too. She volunteered to be on the committee.”
“Won’t that be a conflict of interest since she’s Equalization Agent for this district?” asked Susie.
“Not since she is an official state member of the committee. There are a couple more state employees.” Percy sighed then. “A couple more local citizens. Jeb Canada and Abigail Landro.”
“Ooh,” responded Mattie.
Susie looked at her mother. “What?”
“Jeb’s the one that tried to foreclose on the farm right after Mr. and Mrs. Jackson died. And Abigail… just sort of… doesn’t like Mr. Jackson.”
“That’s enough, Mattie. That’s all in the past. We’re all just citizens, trying to do what’s best for the majority without hurting anyone. Now, I need to change and check the fields. It’s shaping up to rain.”
“Don’t you want some lunch?” Mattie asked, not bothered in the least by Percy’s minor admonishment.
“Sara and I grabbed a burger after the meeting.”
When Mattie and Susie grinned at him, he harrumphed and left the kitchen.
Rain it did, but no snow. Springtime storms, but a notch or two more extreme than what used to be considered normal. Percy was glad he had gone ahead and prepped the fields. Even with the severity of the weather at the moment, the rain was good. There was some runoff into the collection canal that ran along three sides of the property, with each field being graded to drainage ditches that emptied into the canal. There wasn’t much water in the irrigation holding pond the canal fed. The fields had soaked up the rain like sponges. It had been a very dry winter.
The severity of the drought had been worse the last few years, interspersed with some of these downpours. Percy didn’t waste water. That was the reason for the canal around the property. To capture excess rainwater and hold it in a pond. The irrigation wells were only to supplement rain during the driest times.
Of course, the canal served another purpose, which Percy didn’t talk about much. With the pipe fence around three sides of the estate that had blackberry brambles growing along it, just inside the canal, and the thick stand of trees that also bordered the estate inside the brambles, getting onto Percy’s property was very difficult. A gated drive on each of the sides and back of the estate cut the triple barrier.
The front of the estate, along the highway, also had a fence, but it was an earth berm, faced with a concrete block and brick wall. Two sets of gates served the expansive circle driveway and parking area. The road ditch substituted for the canal around the other three sides of the estate. The front also had a stand of trees, though no blackberries. Instead, the berm was terraced and planted with strawberries, another cash crop for Percy.
Each of the front entries had heavy rolling gates that closed the driveway. They were on automatic openers, but Percy kept them open most of the time anyway. It would take a concerted effort to enter the property by destroying a gate. To get through the barriers would take heavy equipment, such as a bulldozer, and quite a bit of time. And all it looked like was good farm management. The trees were windbreaks and source of firewood. The blackberries were a major cash crop. The canal conserved a precious resource. Water.
Percy smiled as he surveyed the pond. If they got much additional rain the next few weeks, the pond would be well on the way to being full. He checked the well and pump at the edge of the pond. If need be, he could fill the pond, and the entire canal, with extra water for irrigation if they had another drought year, as they’d had the year before.