Chapter 55 – Mark´s birthday

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.

Chapter 56 – Teens at the farms

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

Chapter 57 – Cattle auction

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

Chapter 58 - A dream is revealed

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

Chapter 59 – Much to do

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

Chapter 60 – New attacks from Clayton

The passing of time had not helped Clayton to overcome his feelings for Mandy. On the contrary, he seemed to have become still more obsessed. He had amplified one of Mandy´s pictures that he had taken on the National and then printed it to have it hanging on his bedroom wall. “Nice looking girl.” His mother was sweet to make this comment while she was preparing to vacuum his bedroom. “She is my girlfriend.” “Good for you, son.” “And she is loaded too.” “Even better.” For two months Clayton had taken interest in many part-time jobs offered by neighbors. He had mowed their lawns and washed some cars. It made his father happy because many times he had feared that his son was just plain lazy. Being a hardworking man all his life, he knew that Clayton could use some sweat for his own benefit. By now Clayton had enough money saved to buy some presents and also to take Mandy on a romantic dinner, which he considered essential

Chapter 61 – Steph´s first fan club

Steph was still attending school with her friends this semester. She would be able to finish junior year regularly, because it would take a while before her tour started. But then she would have tutors for her last year of high school. In the home school method. Her mother was selecting excellent tutors for her.Her managers were working on her new look for her world tour and she was very excited about it.Steph also had songs enough to record her first CD and much of her free time was spent recording it at a professional studio.On some Saturday nights she still sang at Carol´s restaurant, mainly to launch new songs and watch the public´s reaction.And as always, the public loved her. She posted these pocket shows on the internet.And then she dedicated some of her time answering the emails and comments that she received.And suddenly, one day, there it was. Steph´s first fan club. It was so exciting. They were from people

Chapter 62 – Choosing love