Page 63 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04
“Whatever, you love my porcupine family as much as you love me,” Jiminy said with a head nod.
The kids were fascinated by the porcupines, listening carefully as Jiminy turned into Steve Irwin, giving an unasked-for class in porcupine care.Thom continued to eat as if none of it phased him, bringing Mae full circle on how they had met and the beginning of their relationship, which of course became a topic of conversation later.
However, after dinner, the menfolk wanted to see Thom's collection of trains, and he led them up the hill and across the tracks to the old station.He unlocked the doors and flicked on the lights, and every man gasped.
“Good grief!”Rick said, looking around.“You bought all of these?”
“I actually bought very few,” he said.“Most were gifts from family and friends.I mean, I have been a train man since I was 13.I got my first train set when I was six, so you're talking about 30 years’ worth of collections.”
Rae asked, “You set all of this up?”
“Most of it,” he said.“The station was falling in, and the City of Alton wanted it off their books.So, I bought it and got the right of way on the land since the 9:04 line is inactive.I lived here while I remodeled it, then drove in my box cars where they'd been stored.My sister and Aunt Sue spent a weekend helping me set up.Jeremy helped build the shelving, and Lebeau, well, he was here.”
Jae asked, “And after you remodeled it?”
“Aunt Sue told me no woman would want to live in an old train station, and I needed a house,” he said, “so I built the house.I realized after talking over my initial vision with Mary that the house is too close to the museum.After thinking it over, I don't want strangers roaming around out here, especially with Mae being here alone during the day, so I put up the privacy fencing.”
“Man, how do you get all of this done?”Rick asked.
Thom walked outside, looking over his land.In his mind, it was all simple.Create a place of peace overlooking the valley of not have to.If he could do that, then life, in general, would be good.
“My wife said she needed four things to be at peace here in her new home,” he explained.“She wanted a garden.Her train engine needed to be where she was, and now it has a home.Also, she required a vehicle to carry around all the plants and other shit she keeps buying that she finds at local little weird shops.So, I bought her one once she turned in the lease on the Audi.She also wanted space for when her family came to visit.I did all of that, so now she can leave me the hell alone.”
Thom burst into laughter.The men all laughed with him, understanding the quiet statement said aloud.Happy wife, happy life.He smiled as he ushered them outside.“Anybody want a cold one?”
“Sounds good,” they said, following Thom down the hill to the barndominuim.
****
MAE TOOK THE LADIESon a walkthrough of the home she and Thom shared.Her mother recognized a few of the pieces from her apartment, but not the china cabinet or chairs by the window.Mae tried to sound humble as she spoke.
“He left the house for me to decorate,” she said.“Each week, I pick a wall or a project to work on.So far, it's coming along nicely.”
Her mother wandered from the group, and Mae quickly found her in the master bedroom, riffling through drawers.
“Ma?What are you doing?”
“Oh, just checking how these drawers are laid out,” Bae offered, blushing.
“Nope, come on out of here,” Mae said, laughing, leading the ladies out to the back deck.
The bug zappers were on, and Mae brought out a large pitcher of lemonade, cookies, and bits of cheese and fruit.A bottle of vodka materialized to go into the lemony drink for any who wanted it.Sherryl spoke first.
“Mae, how did you meet Thom?”she inquired.
Mae sipped, “He'd been writing the company, wanting to do a partnership, or rather a sponsorship, of a jazz festival here on the land.I was sent to find out what he was on about, so I drove in on the 9:04 Line, right into that station there.He was shocked to see the train, on the dead line, and me.”
Fae asked, “What did he say when he saw you?”
“I told him I was looking for Thom Brown,” she said, laughing, “He asked if I was single and if I hunted fairies.”
“Fairies?”her niece asked.
“Baby, he wanted to know if your Auntie was crazy,” she said.“I told him who I was and why I was here, and he brought me into the house and made me breakfast that we sat and had with Megan and Jiminy.”
“And how did you meet Megan?”
“She was, believe it or not, his mail-order bride,” Mae said to the shocked faces.“Megan was supposed to come meet him, but she packed up everything she owned and moved here, but she was a fairy chaser, and he was like nope, especially after he saw all of this sexy.”
