The first thing I saw as I drove onto the vineyard that Dave Choir had apparently advertised was several rows of small grape vine plants growing out of the ground, supported by sticks. The dirt there looked like it had been trucked in to provide good topsoil, and there were several "trenches" dug at the end of the row, for which purpose I didn't know. As I continued up the driveway I noticed a large truck with more small grape vine plants in little pots waiting to be planted before I came up to a small home with a larger garage next to it. I guessed that the garage also doubled as an indoor workspace for the vineyard.
As I parked, Dave came out of the house to great me.
"Well hello again... can I call you George?" Dave asked.
"Sure," I replied, as I got out.
"I'd like to thank you for coming out here, George," Dave answered, "I've got a lot of work that needs to be done, and best to get it done before winter."
"Wouldn't the winter kill all those vines?" I asked, "I mean won't you miss out on getting any wine made?"
"No, I've done the research and picked a series of very hearty plants that grow in mountainous or colder climates," Dave answered, "I'll need to insulate the roots, but the plants should survive the winter. And we will get some grapes this year to create a real mountain wine."
"I hope you do well," I told him.
"I'm pretty sure I will," Dave answered, "come inside. There are a couple of things we'll have to go over before we can get started."
Dave began to walk back toward his home, and I slowly followed him.
"So, when does your training start with the State Troopers?" Dave asked.
"It depends on if they'll accept the application, so I'd guess between a month or two before I'd expected to go to Kalispell for training," I told him, deciding not to mention that the training was for the Columbia Falls Police Department not the Montana State Troopers.
"Ah," Dave answered, "well, if we are lucky, we'll have the work done before you have to go."
I continued to follow Dave into his home, and he lead me to a small office near the front of his home. As we did so, I noticed a couple of family photos.
"You have a family?" I asked.
"Yes, my wife Tabitha, Tabby, and a daughter Veronica," Dave answered.
"You have a very nice looking family," I commented.
"Thanks, you'll meet Tabby later," Dave commented, and then sat down at a desk that looked very cluttered, "I'll need you to fill out a short application to make things official."
He then handed me the small application, and I began to fill it out.
"I hate to tell you this, but I don't have a formal address yet," I told him, "it's partially why I called you and came."
"No formal residence?" Dave asked, "You're staying in a hotel?"
"No, my girlfriend and I have been staying with her uncle," I told him, "I'm presently looking for a permanent place to stay. We'd prefer a more rural home then one in town, but we're only just starting to look."
"And you've come to me?" Dave wondered.
"Well, you're the only one in Columbia Falls that I know, besides my girlfriend's uncle," I responded, "you might have some connections that I don't."
"Tabby and I will try, but I can't say how successful we'll be," Dave replied.
"You don't have connections?"
"No, I do, but they're not real "big" connections," Dave explained, "Tabby and I only just moved out here ourselves this past January."
"I see... well, any help I can get would be appreciated," I said, "as there are a lot of things on my budget that will be pretty tight."
"I'm sure," Dave nodded, "I'll do what I can to help."
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"You know... looking back at that... you never talked much about Molly then," Dave interrupted, "I mean this is the first time you've told me about her condition."
"To some extent, I thought you already knew Molly was the "tiger lady" that Veronica has called her... along with all the other kids Molly has interacted with," I replied, "I mean, Officer Harold figured out who Molly was, and I'd only told him I'd come out with my girlfriend."
"He has more experience in doing background checks then I do," Dave shrugged, "I took a lot of biology and botany in college, not law enforcement... or however they term it."
"A mixture of history, political science and government courses, as well as criminal science," I told him.
"Man, everything is a science these days," Dave quipped.
I gave a slight chuckle.
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Dave returned the conversation to the task of completing the application.
"Just put down your girlfriend's uncle's address," Dave said slowly, "this only a temporary post and small scale enough that I can just hand you your pay-check. Do you mind if we do this as a monthly payment, or will you need to be paid bi-monthly."
"I think I can manage being paid once a month," I replied.
"Alright," Dave nodded with a smile, "It'll reduce the strain of counting hours twice every month."
"Counting hours?" I wondered.
While I continued to fill out the form that Dave had handed to me, Dave opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a small card and handed it to me.
"I'm sorry if this is too much paperwork, but I need to do this properly," Dave explained, "when we get started today, you mark the time in the "in" column and when you go home, you mark the time in the "out" column."
"This looks home made," I commented.
"Tabby's idea," Dave shrugged, "I had originally started with a slip of paper."
"A step up," I chuckled.
Dave laughed while I finished the application. Once it was done, he looked it over and put it down.
"Welcome to Choir Vineyards," Dave said with a smile, "let's get started. If we can get as much done before Tabby brings Veronica back, that would be good."
"She teaches?" I asked.
"No, she's my partner and will help out as much as possible," Dave answered, "but we do live here and have errands to run, so some days I may not be here for much of the day, and some days it will be Tabby that is out for most of the day."
"You alternate your family tasks..." I guessed.
"And today was her turn," Dave chuckled, "she took Veronica to school and will run the errands we need and will then come back here. We'll start to clean up when she goes to pick up Veronica, and we'll call it a day when she returns. I like to spend as much time as possible with her."
"I understand," I nodded, "loved ones are important."
Dave nodded, "let's get going."
We then went back outside and began to approach the large supply truck near the rows grape vines.
"So, what are the trenches for?" I asked.
"Trenches?" Dave laughed, "that's where our irrigation pipes are, and are connected to a pumping house a little way down the mountain, to pump groundwater to the vines. We haven't finished filling in the "trenches" yet... and probably won't until we're certain we have no leaks."
"I'm afraid I'm no engineer," I told him.
"Don't worry, buddy," Dave replied, "one of the old ranchers around here knows all that sort of stuff, and as even loaned me the use of the equipment needed."
"I won't so long as I'm not expected to pull of any miracles," I shrugged.
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Dave and I worked at planting new rows of grape vine plants for the rest of the day. Dave would dig a small hole and I would place the pot the the plant was sitting in, in the hole. He also told me that the pots were specially designed to open up as the plants grew larger. Then Dave would move some of the topsoil back to help hold the plant down while I got the small stick that would sturdy the plant. We only had two interruptions, one was lunch, which Dave generously provided. The first was the return of Dave's wife.
She came up in a modest sized family car and parked next to my truck. On her arrival, Dave stopped to greet her.
"Well hello to you too, dear," Tabitha answered after Dave's greeting to her was over, "And who is your hand here?"
"This is George Wayne," Dave told her, "the guy who's promised to help us get set up during the summer."
"Hello," I said politely.
"George, this my wife, Tabitha," Dave introduced me.
"Call me Tabby," she told me.
"Okay," I said slowly, not used to upfront friendliness that Dave and now his wife displayed... though I also scolded myself for letting what had happened to Molly and how so many had treated her get to me. Columbia Falls was a new place for Molly and I, and it seemed like Dave and his family might make good friends for Molly and I.
"I thank you for helping out like this," Tabby told me, "we've had a lot of trouble getting a few helpers here and there."
"I'd assume that most of the people out here are tied to the ranching industry," I commented, "I'd only just moved out here, so I have no ties to the industry."
"Not everyone is, and we actually haven't asked ranchers for help," Tabby answered, "they have their own responsibilities to take care of."
I nodded, "anyway, I need to thank you for letting me help. Money will be pretty tight for me for awhile. I'll need the post of "helper" here for a little while."
"It's no problem for a friend of my husband," Tabby told me.
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"And you and I finished out that day with what we started with," I said to Dave, "Planting grape vines an listening to you and your wife talk about how you met... fell in love... conceived Veronica... got married... and moved out here. In that order."
"And you couldn't tell us about Molly?" Dave teased.
"After your tale was over, I don't think there was time to tell you about Molly then..." I sighed back, "and as I said, I had thought you had already knew about Molly's condition."
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"Any luck with a place to stay, George?" Molly asked me that night as we lay together on her uncle's guest bed.
"Not really," I sighed, "I've picked up a part time job while I'm waiting for the training school to accept my application, and he says he'll help..."
"What about a real estate agent, George?" Molly asked, "their job is to put people in good homes."
"At uber-expensive prices," I grumbled, "I'd like to try and figure out what's available before walking into a deal I can't afford."
"We don't have to live in the country," Molly spoke, "I'll be happy wherever I'm with you."
I kissed the end of her muzzle.
"Thanks Molly," I told her.