Chapter 42

 

Adam arrived home about seven. Milton met him at the door.

“You look as if you’ve had a particularly difficult day, sir” he said as he reached for Adam’s coat and briefcase.

“You can’t even begin to imagine. I’m going to freshen up first and have a drink before dinner. I’ll be in about 7:30. I’ll be in the den until then.”

“That’s fine, sir. Is there anything else I can do?”

“I don’t think so. I know you told me at breakfast what were having tonight, but it slipped my mind.”

“Roast duckling in a plum sauce.”

“I remember now. I’m looking forward to it. Would you do me a favor and remind John that I’m visiting with my father at 8:30 tonight.”

“I’ll take care of that right away, sir.

Adam washed up and went to his den. He made a rusty nail and sat back in his recliner. He wasn’t surprised that Bootsy and Flopsy were already playing bookends with his chair. Bootsy was always on the right and Flopsy on the left. He smiled as he thought about how some things never changed. As he got settled he heard the sound of the explosion at the water system and a felt a mild tremor. He looked at the clock; it was 7:20. The dogs started barking and ran out the door towards the kitchen passing Milton on his way to the den.

“What on earth was that noise?”

“I have no idea, sir. It felt like a mild earthquake, but the noise sounded more like an explosion. I’ll make a few calls and let you know.”

“Thanks, Milton,” he said as he returned to his chair and drink”

He returned a few minutes later. “I’m afraid I have some rather bleak news. I spoke with Jim Wesson, the head of the Town Council. He said the pumping station exploded and broke the main water conduit. The water tower drained into the hole. Downtown is about a foot underwater right now. The town is without water and Jim thinks it may take several days to restore service, but, he was just hazarding a guess. He hasn’t spoken to any of the system engineers yet.”

“You better check on the back-up generators in case the flood waters knock out the town’s power. I remember what happened when we had that hurricane.”

Yes, sir. I’ll do that right away. I’ll tell the staff to conserve water until service is restored. I took an inventory of the bottled water the other day. We have twenty five-gallon bottles stored under the grand stairway. We’ll need to ration them until we know the status of things.”

“I know I can count on you to manage things. Do the best you can. If it’s going to take too long, we’ll just move out until things return to normal. The West Wing will be a problem, though. Tomorrow, when we know more, we’ll see if we can move my father to a private facility. In the meantime let’s not keep that duck waiting. Suddenly I have a ravenous appetite.”

At 8:30, Adam entered the West Wing. John greeted him and Adam filled him in on the water situation and plans to evacuate the wing if the water problem became prolonged. “See Milton about getting some extra water bottles for the toilet tanks. Set the floaters lower to preserve what little water we do have.”

“I’ll take care of that right away. I’ll bring four bottles and store them in my office.”

“Adam picked up his father’s chart, scanned it for any warning flags, and motioned to John that he was ready to meet with his father.

John turned to one of the nurses. “Neil, will you make sure Mister Hampton is ready to visit with his son.”

“Sure, John.”

As Neil was leaving the reception area, John turned to Adam. “I turned off the recording devices as you requested.”

“Thanks John. Why don’t you keep the dogs here with you tonight? They distract my father sometimes and I need his full attention.”

“Not a problem. I have some dog biscuits and some squeaky toys that should keep them amused for a while. I enjoy their company.”

Neil returned, and held the door open for Adam.

Adam headed back to his father’s den determined that by the time he left he would know the name of the “mystery heir”.

Adam was surprised to find his father dressed in a blue suit with a red “power” tie. His father gestured to Adam to sit in the chair opposite him. John should have warned me. The old man is acting as if he’s holding the meeting. I don’t like the look of this.

He looked into his father’s eyes. “I need to get a few things straight with you.”

His father looked surprised. “What on earth are you talking about? I called this meeting and I’ll thank you to sit there quietly until I’m finished. I warn you that I won’t tolerate any of your insubordination.”

Adam was startled by his father’s behavior. What the hell has gotten into him? This isn’t going to be as simple as I thought it would be. Why does everything have to be so damned difficult?