MRS. BOSSThere was one more introduction so necessary to happen before the wedding day and that was to Arthur´s mother, Mrs. Boss.It was arranged that she should come over before they went on vacation. And so she arrived all shining and bright making her presence impossible to ignore.She had maids running up and down only to get her a glass of water and then she would decline that and ask for coffee instead.She made one cook cry and one maid quit.Mr. Sunsquash had to write down lists and lists in the improvement of the house´s administration, only to have Mrs~Boss tearing them apart and declaring dramatically, “This place will never be a castle.”It made Mr. Sunsquash open his eyes very wide and show that he was enormously impressed.And all of this had happened only during the first morning of her stay.Arthur was excited and he went personally to pick up Carol at her house.She had chosen a

CLAYTON Clayton was far from being a genius, but he was intelligent and dedicated to his studies. He went to this great private high school thanks to a scholarship granted to him because of good grades. The only down point in his situation was that his emotions did not match his intellect. Not only he was introspective, but also he wouldn´t ever see the good of anybody else. His parents never encouraged or complimented him about his school achievements, because they didn´t understand them, for the guy was a mechanic and the woman was a cleaner. They loved their son but only talked about football and soap opera, which made him mad. Many times, his father had told him to drop school and get a job since they could use the extra money. Their house was kind of falling apart. It made Clayton furious and his mother interfered telling his dad to let him be. So, up to now, Clayton´s expectations were to win prizes that allowed him to get a college scho

The fun started on the way to the farms. Different from the car trip of previous years, this time they went by jet plane. The group was formed by two couples, Arthur and Carol, Mark and Mandy. Mama Castle had stayed behind to visit some old friends and enjoy the city life because she had reservations for the opera and was invited to the inauguration of a Modern Arts Museum. She promised to join them later since their stay would last almost sixty days, there was plenty of time. The jet landed in the airport of the small city that was in the proximities of the farms. That´s why Arthur had decided to build a proper airfield at Paul´s place. Though the trip was short, it allowed them to chat and exchange ideas about this vacation. “There´s so much I want to show you, Arthur. This is the place where I was born and every little tree or rock has a story of my childhood and youth.” “And I want to see all the special places and hear all the stories, Ca

The mornings at the farms passed quickly. It was summer and the weather encouraged all the outside activities that they longed to do. Long walks, riding, swimming, and fishing at the river. Arthur and Carol would take their horses after having breakfast with the family and then ride together to explore the beauties of the region. Mandy, of course, would stay with Mark. When Papa John found out that he wanted to learn how to ride, he offered to teach Mark himself, which was a great honor, because there were employees that could do that. And here they were at their first lesson and Mark was listening to the instructions with much attention. “Even if you have a fall, try to jump. Avoid by all means to be under the horse and between its legs. You don´t want to get a kick. This mare is old and very calm. So, what you do is, place your foot in the stirrup to support your body, get an impulse and mount it. Look at Mandy.” When Mandy did it he had the impress

In a few weeks, Mark was already able to ride along with Mandy and explore beautiful sights with her. Papa John´s farm was a vast land occupied by the cattle that was his pride. At a distance, some mountains helped the landscape look like a dream. “The combination of colors is so perfect, Mandy. It is like someone painted it with his own hands.” “Come to think about it, someone did Mark. God painted it with His own hands.” “It´s true, my love. Can we reach those mountains?” “Let´s give it a try.” And they explored every nook of the farm and when they got back to the house, Mark was profuse in complimenting the grandparents. He also showed interest in the cowboy´s work and asked papa John if he could learn some of the simple tasks. Again, the old man wanted to teach Mark himself. This pleased Mandy so much that she started to allow them to have some guy times together and stayed home with nana Helen to enjoy her company more. Nana would

When the day of his birthday arrived, Mark decided not to mention it to anyone. First, because it was not a big deal, in his opinion. And second, he didn´t want to trouble anyone to make him a cake or worry about a gift. The biggest present in his life was Mandy. And he was enjoying this vacation so much that it felt like a celebration every day. And then, wasn´t he surprised when he woke up to a breakfast party? There were signs of HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARK all around the dining room. And a big chocolate cake of many layers. On a side table, there were packages of presents. He couldn´t believe it. The grandparents, Arthur, Carol, and Mandy were all singing the Happy Birthday song. And then they proceeded to hug him and compliment him. “A long and happy life to you, Mark,” grandpa Paul wished from the heart. “May your dreams come true,” Carol added. “Congratulations, my boy,” papa John had a wide smile. And all the others said nice things.

The morning after the birthday, the teens had gathered for a picnic on the river banks. “Thank you guys so much, for coming to my birthday party.” “We wouldn´t miss it for the world, my friend,” Charlie assured his friend and then they ran and jumped in the river. “Swimmers will be swimmers,” Steph said jokingly. “Come on, girls, join us. The water is great.” Charlie shouted from a distance. “Maybe later, bro. We girls have some catching up to do.” So, Charlie went to race Mark and dive for a grabbing rocks competition underwater. “Tell us, Mandy. Is Mark adjusting to the farm life? I mean, two months can be a long time if you feel bored.” Dorothy was very curious, being a city girl herself. “I was afraid this could happen, Dorothy. Some people just hate the countryside while others just love it. Luckily Mark belongs to the second group.” Steph felt happy for her best friend. “It´s good to know, since th

Papa John was very happy to have the opportunity to take Mark to his first cattle auction. It was an important event for farmers because it permitted them many exchanges necessary to improve their herds. Sometimes they would sell the cattle that was ready to go to the markets. On other occasions, they would buy calves of different races. Many horses were auctioned there too. There were auctions frequently, but this one was bigger and happened every two months. All the family decided to go because it was a new experience for mama Castle too. And most of all because they enjoyed being together and the clock was ticking for the end of vacation. It was on a Saturday night, at a ‘cowboys club’ just outside the city. Before entering the main shed prepared for the auction, they went for a visit to the corrals outside, where the animals were numbered and kept separated by each owner. “Here we have a closer view of the animals, Mark. Notice how many fa

There were only a couple of days left to spend on vacation at the farms. The jet plane would pick them up directly from the field at grandpa Paul´s. Arthur´s project was concluded and everybody admired it. He was planning on buying one or two more planes because his family had grown since his acquisition of the two first. Carol had discussed with him the possibility to visit the farms more frequently because the grandparents had advanced in age and she wanted to be with them as much as possible. Arthur agreed with her. That was not a problem for him, because his work could be done from any site on the planet. He had his headquarters of course, but they were very independent there. In fact, the board of directors controlled his business all over the country and overseas. Factories, offices, lands, energy, intellectual properties... They were all part of his corporation. Not to mention the stock market, and then, the sky was the limit. Or maybe not, because Art

Being back home there is much to do. Carol has to approve many things regarding the wedding. Mandy needs to choose her clothes for Mark´s senior year prom as well as the one for her mom´s wedding. Mama Castle intends on bossing around Arthur´s housemaids some more, just for the fun of it. Mark has his finals exams and two interviews with the deans of the Law Colleges that he must choose from. Both offered him scholarships. Arthur is concentrating on some petrol fields new acquisitions. So, life runs its course and they soon enter the rhythm. MORE PREPARATIONS FOR THE WEDDING Carol took Mama Castle to visit the wedding hall that she had chosen for her party. The old lady was very active in the preparations and offered many ideas. “You see, Mama Castle, these premises are not only elegant and large enough to fit the five hundred guests, but also it is located right in front of the Cathedral where we will be having