James Harper Sr. sat quietly as the plane moved in for a landing at the Seattle airport. They had had to wait for it to circle for a little while, but then a private plane flying from Alabama likely didn't have priority over major airlines and so on. The one saving grace is that the plane did have the fuel reserves to do so without having to stop anywhere to fuel up in route. In that there was the hope that things would go quickly, as he'd spent much of the flight stewing over what he perceived as a mistake in letting Jennifer come to college so far away from home.
The fact that the college had offered Jennifer a major scholarship based on her grades in high school was a plus, but Washington State was still too far away from home and beyond his control. He remembered driving Jenny to Moon Lake's college and helping her move in, as mostly to make sure that Jenny remembered that her mission at the college was to earn a major electrical engineering degree that would allow her to help Dieter Wilhelm manage the power company back in Cherokee County, Alabama and thus help get the Harper family out of the proverbial gutter. That drive had been long and while many would comment that going through the Rockies would provide a nice view, to James Harper Sr. it was a borderline waste as since he wasn't working, he wasn't paid for the time he was away from his own job. In theory, James Sr. could have taken it as vacation time, which would allow him to earn some money, but since he wasn't on a "vacation" he simply took the time off in the hopes that Dieter Wilhelm wouldn't fire him. Thankfully, Dieter did still hold to his attraction to Jenny and James Sr. wasn't fired, but neither was he paid while he was moving Jenny in. The only plus was that if Jenny had done what she was SUPPOSED to do, James Sr. could recoup his losses.
However, the phone call about Jenny being engaged to this "Harry" had proved the folly of letting her go to college so far away. Either she had forgotten her responsibilities or worse had been deliberately lead astray by some liberal hippie that didn't understand responsibility or hard work or how things SHOULD be. It was something that James Sr. really couldn't take lying down and he didn't care about the financial issues regarding bringing Jenny home. Dieter had even offered to help there as something of a "wedding gift" when the agreed on ceremony was held in Alabama. That was a plus, but it still didn't vent James Sr.'s anger or frustration at the overall situation.
"It isn't too bad," Dieter commented, "it is a sunny day and to some extent the view of the mountains is good."
"I suppose not every day can be miserable," James Sr. grumbled, remembering that it had been raining the day he moved Jenny into the dorms at the college.
"So, do we start with the church... or?" Dieter asked, letting his voice fall off toward the end, do his best to make sure that he sounded innocent.
"We'll start with the college dorms," James Sr. answered, "even with this shenanigans of whatever this "Harry" has done to deceive her and make her forget that she's been spoken for, she would WAIT for her FAMILY to arrive before going through with anything. It'd be proper, that way."
"Of course," Dieter nodded, "That makes sense. You did raise her right, I'm sure."
Of course, Dieter's words were deceptive. As far as he knew, this "Harry" was dead. In that sense there would be no wedding as the potential groom would be dead. There might be a funeral, but from what little he had heard about the wedding arrangements, he doubted that this groom's family would have had the funeral in the same church as the wedding. He knew that the Harper's were pretty traditional Southern Baptists and that the wedding was to take place in a Baptist church in this little town of Moon Lake, but nothing Dieter had heard about this "Harry" was enough to indicate that "Harry" was a Baptist. It could mean that he was of another Christian denomination or some other religion, which would mean the funeral would be handled by THAT church. However, Dieter also knew he couldn't let James Sr. be aware of his role in "Harry's" murder. As such, he needed to play it cool and like he was getting information on the plans as it happened.
"Some times I wonder," James Sr. said simply with a frown, "She was supposed to be aware that she was spoken for and supposed to remember that she had responsibilities to her family."
"Things happen," Dieter commented, "and people often do get overwhelmed by the events of a larger world."
"And things will be set right," Elizabeth said to her husband.
James Sr. could only nod to that, though he failed to notice his oldest son's frown. His thoughts were so focused that he really wasn't paying attention to any of the younger Harpers, though they did remain well behaved during the flight. The most that had been heard had been some stated awe at the mountains as they flew over the Rockies and then the Cascades.
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James Jr. meanwhile remained quiet and looked more to the window as the plane taxied toward one of the gates. He could see that loading ramp extended and ready to latch to the plane as it approached, though he really wished that his father would get out of this sort of mindset that Dieter Wilhelm was really going to help the Harper family, as in many ways, Dieter had never done so. His father had always preached against handouts of any kind, and ranted on how LBJ had made America a third world country with his handout programs, but given how much James Sr. seemed to think that Dieter would help, it seemed to James Jr. that what his father was looking for WAS in fact a handout. It was ultimately sad in the sense that Dieter had promised many things over the years and had never actually carried through with them.
"The man is a snake," James Jr. thought to himself, "and dad keeps treating him like some sort of hero or friend... It's clear that Jenny never liked him, that much should have been obvious."
Of course, maybe eventually making it to the wedding would help show his father that he couldn't control everything and that happiness wasn't necessarily connected with wealth. The announcement may have been sudden, but happiness should be the end result of any marriage. Anything else would then follow as the couple worked together. For him, meeting Aisha seemed to work in that way. They were different, but she was strong and brave, and in fact their relationship only turned romantic after she saved him from a mugger and the two had come to see things similarly in many ways, which was better than what his father had seemed to view the world in. It'd helped that James Jr. ultimately had a full time job with a computer programming company in Mississippi lined up once he graduated from his own community college and that Aisha was actually studying to work as a para in schools. Both of them might have to wait in order to graduate, but the fact that James Jr. had a job lined up was enough to show how well he'd grasped the concept and was able to do for himself. James Jr. also felt that potentially welcoming this "Harry" to the family should be the main effort.
The plane came to a lurching stop and a soft "thunk" was soon heard as the plane docked with the gate. James Jr. looked over to watch as parents and Dieter both got up to move toward the door, still talking on "preventing" this wedding. It continued to strike James Jr. as something of a fool's errand and part of the lesson his father REALLY needed to learn, but at the same time the fact that he was engaging in this seemed to indicate that he hadn't learned it, yet. As James Jr. stood up he was soon greeted by John and Janice as they came up from the seats further back on the plane.
"You two doing okay?" James Jr. asked.
"I guess," John said slowly.
"Why is dad so angry over this Harry guy? Aren't weddings supposed to be happy?" Janice asked rather softly as their parents and Dieter moved ahead and out of immediate earshot.
James Jr. sighed and looked over to his younger siblings. John looked more like a male version of their mother and Janice looked a lot like Jenny used to look, though none of the Harpers knew that Jenny was now a voluptuous werefox, so as far as James Jr. knew, Janice looked like a younger version of Jenny. He knew that their father had a strict way of discipline that clearly took many things too far. The "man" may lead the household, James Jr. figured, but the "man" needed to also act responsibly and with kindness, giving his partner an equal say, which often meant that there was no "man" in the relationship. James Sr. took it to the point of domination, which was wrong and a good leader would NEVER harm or abuse those in his care. And at times growing up, just as Jenny did, James had seen plenty of happy families that didn't operate the way the Harper Family did and were perfectly happy. In that, James had long figured to try and be the shield for his younger siblings. Keep the worst of what their father might do and what their mother at times seemed to condone focused on him and let his younger siblings be as "free" as possible.
A part of James Jr. worried that Janice and John might end up on the wrong end of their father's temper if he didn't learn the lessons he really needed to, but James Jr. also knew he couldn't be their shield forever and that both Janice and John were getting old enough now that James Sr. couldn't easily and legally keep them under his control for long. If James Sr. didn't learn the lesson, he'd rapidly wake up to find himself without a family at all. James Jr. would be away, Jenny would be here in Washington State, and John and Janice would be in the care of the state or legally independent. With all the bridges that James Sr. had seemed to burn with regard to family life, James Jr. figured that'd only lead to a lonely life with little real value, but then, if he didn't learn the lesson, he could pose a real threat to John and Janice, who James Jr. also knew he couldn't really protect as well as he had before he graduated from high school.
"Dad is in the middle of trying to learn some rather big life lessons," James Jr. said with a whisper as he lead his younger siblings toward the front of the plane, "That he can't control everything and ultimately that happiness is more important than wealth when it comes to marriage. It's a tough lesson and not one that is easily learned by people like dad."
"It doesn't seem like he can let it go," John commented, his voice sounding depressed.
"I know," James Jr. said with a sigh, "as I said... it's not an easy lesson for people like him."
And it wasn't. James Jr. had been there for plenty of his father's "lessons" on life and so on. It conflicted what he'd seen in school and with friends, which often had made him realize just how wrong his father was, and was something that both he and Jenny had privately agreed on had been something to get away from in some way. But, year after year, James Sr. never seemed to move beyond that and James Jr. could only guess that the reason that he hadn't been really pushing Janice through the same "lessons" he had tried with Jenny had been more that he was more focused on trying to get that hammered into Jenny and get the handout that he wanted from Dieter Wilhelm.
"For the moment, we just have to hope that he will learn and that maybe seeing Jenny happy with this guy that she's met at college will allow for it," James Jr. finished as the three of them picked up pace to follow their parents and Dieter.
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The walk through the airport was fairly quiet and even brisk. Despite the early hour, local time, there was a fair amount of activity as people coming in on business or other missions moved about. It then took a bit of maneuvering, but the group ultimately did make it out to the the main entrance/exit where another of Dieter's associates waited. The man wasn't an employee of the power company, but he was someone that Dieter had known privately and had been able to "employ" in terms dealing with some of the shadier things that he'd been involved in. He stood near a somewhat large van parked at the drop off area.
"Hey, boss," the man said to Dieter, "you guys made it on time..."
"Of course," Dieter gave a smirk, "the benefit of chartering a private flight. These are the Harpers, who have come with me on the way to this Moon Lake."
"To bring Jenny home," James Sr. spoke as he approached the curb.
"Of course," the man nodded, "Do you have any bags?"
"No bags, we should be heading home in a few hours," James Sr. spoke and lead his family to the van.
The man watched and noticed the look that the oldest son gave him, clearly showing a lack of trust in the situation.
"You didn't say you were bringing the whole family," the man whispered to Dieter, "even if the girl comes willingly, we may not have enough seats..."
"I'm sure we'll find a way," Dieter answered, "besides, the father wants this as a sort of "don't cross me" me lesson for the younger two. And who am I to question demands of fanatical obedience and loyalty?"
The man shrugged and nodded, "Okay... so I take it you're ready to go?"
Dieter nodded, "We'll start with the college first. Mr. Harper can direct you as needed. If Jenny isn't there, we'll move on to the Baptist church that Mr. Harper says the wedding was to be taking place in according to an email he got."
Again the man nodded, "Okay."
And with that, they moved to the van and headed out.