wasn’t worried about Wilson, because Wilson ran off the calories, while tubby little Winnie preferred to laze about. He hoped her bad habits didn’t rub off on his dog.
Ten minutes later, Maggie came in with the dogs, looked around, and asked if Gus wanted breakfast. He said no, and she disappeared, probably to make his bed, which hadn’t been slept in. God only knew what the little housekeeper thought about her newest guest.
At six-forty, Gus had both dogs loaded into the Jeep and was on his way to Blossom Farm. Winnie moaned and groaned the whole way, while Wilson poked his head out the half-open window to enjoy the early morning air.
Before he got out of the Jeep, Gus checked his cell phone to see if the fireplug had sent a text. She had not. His fist shot in the air. “Okay, guys, let’s hit it!” Wilson hit the ground, ran to the kitchen door, and barked. Gus was left to carry Winnie into the house, where all the seniors made a fuss over her. He watched in horror as they all fed the dogs bits of bacon, waffles, and scraps of sausages and toast.
“Keep this up, and that dog is going to have a heart attack. And don’t for one minute think dogs can’t have heart attacks. She’s too fat, Granny. You need to stop giving her extra food. I already fed her kibble and her regular food plus half a Pop-Tart, which I am going to cut back to a quarter, then just a pinch,” Gus said half under his breath. He waited to see what the seniors’ reaction would be.
“He’s right; my old springer spaniel had a heart attack,” Fred said. “What are you doing here so early?” he groused.
“Getting ready to get this show on the road. I need to get a bus. Do any of you know where I can get one?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I’ll call Pastor Evans at Sycamore Baptist Church. How long do you think you’ll need it, Augustus?” his grandmother said.
“At least till noon. Depends if your new recruits are ready, and how long I have to wait for them at each stop. Noon, and I’m being conservative. Ah, what time do you all start to . . . ah, work?”
“We like to be at our workstations by seven a.m. We get up at five. We were busy last evening trying to set up accommodations at Shady Pines for the newcomers. A few of us got up late this morning as we had only a few hours of sleep last night. We were just trying to figure out how to do kitchen duty. We’re going to have a lot of mouths to feed. And a lot of food to order,” Rose said softly. To Gus’s ears, it sounded like he was back in the fold with his granny.
“You should have called me. I would have helped.”
“We thought about it, but decided against it,” Violet said in her most unforgiving tone of voice.
“Well, I’m here now, so is there anything you want me to do? I don’t have to pick up Elroy Hitchens until ten. He’s at Sea Crest.”
“No, not right now. Besides, you’re on probation,” Iris said.
“Probation! You put me on probation? When did that happen? No one said anything about probation!” Gus exploded. Wilson was at his feet, not liking the tone of his master’s voice. Winnie whined from the rag carpet by the sink.
“We told you that yesterday morning. You were so busy grumbling and complaining about the old sycamore, you probably didn’t hear us,” Violet said. “Or else you simply tuned us out. Now, which is it?”
“I didn’t tune you out. I didn’t hear you. Yes, I was grumbling and complaining about that old tree because I loved it. It was part of my growing-up years. Barney’s, too. How long is the probation?”
The Blossom sisters looked at one another. “Ninety days! You have to prove yourself. Then we’ll vote on whether to make you a permanent employee,” Rose said. “In the meantime, you will receive a stipend of sorts. We still have to vote on that.”
“Ninety days! That’s three months! And then you’re going to vote on me? I don’t believe this! I’m your grandson.” Gus looked at his aunts and bellowed, “I’m your nephew!” The Blossom sisters shrugged.
“While we’re talking about making people employees, Elroy Hitchens said that the seniors would not be coming to, as he put it, buy a pig in a