Grabbing the stroller, Arthur walked off grumbling. Feeling a tap, Andrea turned. “I’m Shawn,” Shawn introduced himself and then held out a sheet of paper. “I suggest moving,” Shawn advised Andrea. “When Arthur starts cursing at God, he’s really cranky.”
“Shawn, could you point out and name everyone?” Andrea asked and Shawn nodded and pointed around the store, naming their group. He stopped as Robin, still only wearing her cowboy boots, ran from Vicki.
Hearing an electric motor, Andrea and her group turned to see Arthur driving a standup forklift. As Arthur passed them, they noticed a pallet full of welders was on the forks and Arthur was holding onto the stroller with his left hand. The stroller was following along like a trailer and from the squeals of Pam and Lucas still in the stroller, it seemed fun.
Andrea felt Shawn grab her arm and she turned to look at him. “I’m serious, you need to move. Arthur moves all the time and expects us to do the same,” Shawn told her in a low voice.
Hearing the forklift returning, everyone turned to see the stroller up in the air on the forks and heard the babies now laughing as Arthur headed to the front of the store. As he drove past, Andrea saw Arthur was feeding a bottle to Nicole in the sling. “That can’t be safe,” Andrea said, looking at the stroller.
Shaking the shock off, Andrea moved over to her group and pulled them to the work clothes. When Andrea picked up a pair of women’s Carhartt pants, she gasped doing a double take at the price tag. “These cost as much as my designer jeans!”
“Yeah, but they will last twice as long until you can make your own,” Arthur said, driving past her very slowly on the forklift. Lowering the pants, Andrea saw Arthur had loaded up a stack of green John Deere bunkbeds. In awe, Andrea’s eyes widened at seeing Arthur still feeding Nicole and driving along. Arthur had his left foot out and hooked under the handle of the stroller, pulling it behind him.
“Make my own?” Andrea asked, but Arthur was already past her. “Now that’s multitasking,” Andrea mumbled as Vicki walked past.
Carrying Robin under one arm, “All the clothes Arthur has on, he and his wife made,” Vicki told her and then put Robin down.
“Robin!” Vicki snapped and Robin stopped fighting and looked up at Vicki. “You stay beside me and I won’t put your clothes on but leave, and I’ll glue them on.”
Robin just looked at Vicki with an innocent smile.
Looking at her list, “Am I supposed to try them on?” Andrea asked.
“If you do, do it fast,” Shawn answered and Andrea turned to see him pulling up a pair of pants on Beth.
Turning to her group, Andrea looked at the list Shawn had given her. “Everyone, get one pair of cowboy boots, but make sure they have grips on the bottom. Next, get lace up work boots, one tall lace ups and the other short. If you can, get some tennis shoes. When you find your size, get another pair that’s one size larger.”
Looking up, Andrea saw her group was gone. Turning around, she saw them digging through the boxes. Folding her jeans up, Andrea moved over to the boots, finding her size and kicking off her shoes. Hearing the forklift stop, Andrea looked up to see Arthur getting off and the forklift was loaded with large storage bins.
“Each of you, load your stuff in these and use the markers to put your name on it,” Arthur said, pulling off the bins and setting two at each new person. “If you have room get extra boots, pants and shirts until the bins are full.”
As Arthur climbed back on the forklift, Andrea saw the others had put their bins in shopping carts. Running to the front of the store, Andrea came back pushing four carts.
Driving to the front of the store, Arthur stopped the forklift and climbed off. “Kirk, I’ll take watch, go load up,” Arthur told him. As Kirk moved to leave, “Will you take the stroller? I’ll come and get the babies in a minute,” Arthur asked. “I’m going to glance around outside.”
With a big smile, Kirk nodded as he grabbed the stroller. “Pam and Lucas are easy compared to Robin,” Kirk declared, pushing the stroller to the back of the store.
Glancing outside, Arthur saw Andrea’s car was barely smoking and he didn’t see anything else noteworthy. He turned to the pickup trucks in the parking lot. “Daisy,” Arthur called out, lifting Nicole to his shoulder and putting the empty bottle in his cargo pocket.
When Daisy sat down beside Arthur, Nicole let out a loud burp that the others heard back in the store. Lowering Nicole down, Arthur let her hang in the sling and lifted his AR up. Ejecting the magazine, Arthur pulled another one out and slapped it home. Putting the partial magazine in the magazine pouch, Arthur stepped through the door. “Daisy, heel up,” Arthur said and Daisy followed him out.
Glancing in the minivan, Arthur didn’t see the keys so he stopped and again stared at the pickup trucks. Two were three quarter ton with hitch trailers; a Chevy and a Ford. The last was a black Dodge quad cab dually, with a thirty-foot heavy duty triple-axle goose-neck trailer.
Getting closer, Arthur saw it was a brand new Dodge 3500. “Damn, even four-wheel drive,” Arthur mumbled and then a grin spread across his face, seeing it was gas powered. He loved diesel but they made too much noise, that’s why he wasn’t in his truck. Stepping up to the door
