The Carpenter

By Jeffrey M. Tulppo

Bugtussle, Tennessee, was a thriving tourist escape that featured a manmade lake until 1986, when Gilzen Dam, which was a source of water for the lake, was relocated, draining the beautiful lake and financially crippling the town. But today, things are about to change.

Thirty-eight-year-old carpenter Bobby Baker was on his way to work when he learns through a surprise encounter with a wealthy businessman that Gilzen Dam is being relocated to its original spot, which could revive Lake Bugtussle. The businessman propositions Bobby and his crew of misfits to enter a building competition against Bobbys lifelong rival to save his mothers land. Heartfelt decisions will have to be made, and Bobby will need his family and friends more than ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499085082

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

T HE MORNING SPRING sun starts to rise above the rolling Appalachian hills of present-day southern Tennessee. Cock-a-doodle-doo , Ricky the Rooster belts out his routine crack-of-dawn wake-up call as he has done countless times over the years.

Thirty-eight-year-old carpenter Bobby Baker extends his arms above his head and begins stretching, followed by a long, exaggerated, and loud moaning with that first morning stretch. Do you think that rooster is ever gonna die? Bobby asks his wife, Melissa Ann, whom everybody, including Bobby, calls Miss.

Stop it. You love that rooster. And, Bobby? What I do know is we won’t be living much longer if you can’t find some steady work. We’re almost out of food, and Joey and Mandy need shoes and some new clothes, and our phone’s fixing to get shut off. I can try to ask Sammy for another night at the bar, but you know that it’s slower than hell there. I’m going to have to break down and ask my mom for a loan if things don’t turn around soon. Real soon, Miss snaps.

Things are gonna work out, Miss, Bobby says with an attempt to not sound worried but quickly realizes from Miss’s expression that he was not very convincing. And please, Miss, I’m begging you, please don’t ask your mama for money. You know she still brings up that two hundred fifty dollars we had to borrow from her when Joey broke his leg riding that minibike a few years back. I even paid her back early, and she still rubs it in my face, Bobby says with a slight shake of his head.

I know, Bobby, but eating is kind of important, and did you happen to see that pile of papers on the kitchen table? They are all past due bills, Miss says as she exits the room with heavy feet.

Bobby lies in bed for a moment, lightly pulling on his wavy thick but short and neat golden blond hair with both hands trying to gather his thoughts. Bobby exhaled again, now sitting up in bed. He turned his head to the calendar that was thumbtacked onto the wall next to the bed. He rubbed his eyes for the second time finally getting them to focus. April 15, Bobby reads. Generally, one day wasn’t much different than the next in Bugtussle, the previous day had marked the 29 year aniversy of Bobbys father unexpected death Bobby hoped this day would be a little easier than the previous one. At least I have work lined up. Hopefully, I get paid. That would be nice, Bobby thinks when an all-too familiar sound comes blasting into the Baker home. It’s the horn of a 1969 Dodge Charger Imation General Lee racing up the long driveway and being driven by his best buddy Billy. Bobby, the Duke dicks are here, Miss says with a little chuckle. Although Bobby’s two best friends, Barefoot Billy and Lou Dog, can be rather obnoxious at times, Miss loves them both dearly. They had all grown up together in the tight-knit community of Bugtussle, Tennessee, and went to school together from K-12. Bugtussle has only one small school and a population that hovers at around 627 people, which makes it the kind of place where everybody knows everybody along with everybody’s business.

Come on, they’re an hour early, Bobby hollers as he jumps out of bed to gather his work clothes and scrambles for the shower.

Well, of course they’re early. They want breakfast and coffee, Miss quietly mutters to herself as she digs out a pan to throw some eggs together.

Yo, Bobby, Billy bellows as he and Lou burst in the door.

Shhhh, quiet, you morons, you’re gonna wake the kids. They have another hour before they get up.

And as quickly as Miss is trying to quiet Billy down, the house fills with sounds of little feet running down the hall. Uncle Billy! Uncle Lou! Joey and his little sister Mandy yell out simultaneously as Joey jumps into Billy’s arms and Mandy into Lou’s. Did y’all bring us something? Can we go for a ride in the General? Can I go to work with y’all today? Joey blurts out without barely taking a breath, and although they just woke up, both kids were bright eyed and bushy tailed.

Mandy quickly follows with I want to go to work too!

Easy, killers! Joey, you just turned eight, and Mandy, you’re only six, so y’all got a little bit of time before you start working. Besides, why would you want to anyways? Billy says. But I did bring something for y’all. Attention quickly turned to Billy’s pockets as he rummaged through them. Okay, let’s see. In my left pocket, I have a nice flower and a lollipop for Mandy, Billy says as he hands the items over to Mandy.

Thanks, Uncle Billy! Mandy says excitedly and scurries off.

And this is for you, big guy.

Yahoo! Joey jumps up and down as Billy pulls a live bullfrog from his coat pocket and hands it to Joey.

Dangit, Billy, I told ya no live critters for the kids, Miss hollers with a shake of her head as she is trying to resist a smile that quickly erupts into laughter as Joey races past, holding the frog out in front of him with both hands and making swooshing sounds as if the frog was flying. You know what Joey did with that giant beetle you brought last week. He pulled the legs off the poor thing, said he was making him a roly-poly because they don’t make them big enough, Miss informs Billy.

No kidding. Did it work? Billy asks with a confused look as he is really thinking hard if that just may work.

No, dummy, it didn’t work out well for the poor thing at all. He’s dead.

Oh, that is terrible, Billy says with a shake of the head as he hovers over Miss’s shoulder looking at the eggs she is scrambling.

Ah dang it, sorry, Miss, I think Joey may have gotten that idea from me, Lou quickly confesses.

Why doesn’t that surprise me? I don’t even want to know, Miss says and quickly turns her back on Lou, making a talk to the hand motion to cut off his explanation.

CHAPTER 2

B OBBY BAKER WAS a lifelong Bugtussle, Tennessee, resident. Edna Baker, Bobby’s mother, had given birth to him, the oldest of her two sons, on December 23, 1975. Bobby’s only sibling was born ten years later. Bobby’s father, Chuck, was a well-known and loved carpenter in their small community. The Baker family had once operated a small country store out of the home where Bobby grew up and his mother still resided. The Baker family business rested on Lake Bugtussle’s only cul-de-sac and lay directly in the middle of several cabins and cottages that lined each side of the store.

Bugtussle was once a thriving tourist getaway, with Lake Bugtussle being the main attraction. The fishing was great, the water was warm, and the scenery was exceptionally beautiful as Bugtussle is tucked away in an Appalachian mountain nook. The summer cottages would fill up with families escaping the everyday grind of the city.

Edna Baker’s parents had started the family store in 1910, and the store stayed in operation until 1985 when Gilzen Dam was torn down and relocated three miles west of Bugtussle. When Gilzen Dam was installed in 1909, it was the first dam in Tennessee, and it gave them the first man-made lake in the entire state. When the dam was torn down, Lake Bugtussle, along with the revenue that the tourists had generated for the most part, had vanished overnight. Within a few short years, the population of Bugtussle greatly diminished from over three thousand residents to less than one thousand.

Before Bugtussle’s beloved lake had dried up and turned into a giant overgrown weed bed, Bugtussle’s main street was filled with a various selection of small shops, ice cream parlors, and restaurants, and they even had a small theater where Elizabeth Taylor was rumored to have participated in a play once many years back. Now the main street was littered with deserted shops that had long been closed and cracked sidewalks with protruding weeds. Bugtussle’s police force, which consisted of two police officers, had three traffic lights removed, leaving Bugtussle a one-light-broke town.

Growing up, Bobby always had a love for tools and building things. Most kids preferred matchbox cars or action figures, but Bobby preferred a hammer and a board to bang on. Bobby looked up to his father and had great respect for him. Chuck was Bobby’s hero, and the two were extremely close, to say the least. When Chuck died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack while cutting firewood in front of their home, Bobby was only thirteen years old, and it left the Baker family along with many close friends devastated. Not a soul on Earth had anything bad to say about Chuck Baker. At a young age, Bobby had recognized the respect and love that people had for his father, and he wanted to be just like him. When someone would ask Chuck Baker for a favor, his answer was always Sure, what do you need? It wasn’t What is it? or Maybe.

Shortly after Chuck Baker’s death, Gilzen Dam was torn down. In a span of two years, the Baker family had lost a father and their only source of income, the family store. Immediately after Chuck Baker’s death, Cobby started picking up side jobs to help provide for the family. Bobby had promised his father that if somehow, something bad would happen to Chuck, Bobby would be the man of the house, a role that came with many responsibilities. Chuck Baker had brought it upon himself to have this talk with Bobby starting when he was only eight years old, as Bobby remembered it. When Bobby was eleven, Chuck had shown him how to read and draw up blueprints. By age thirteen, Bobby could throw an addition up on a home in just a couple of days flat. After Chuck’s death, the Bakers’ bills had quickly piled up, and Bobby made good on his promise to his late father. He managed to juggle work, school, football, and time with his tight-knit group of friends—which included Lou, Billy, and Miss Ann—that had been running together since grade school.

Although Bobby and Miss Ann had practically spent their entire lives at each other’s side, they didn’t start dating until they were seventeen. Two years later, they had a shotgun wedding on the ninety acres where the Baker home stood, followed by a honeymoon at Sammy’s on the swamp, Bugtussle’s only watering hole. The negative impact of the relocation of Gilzen Dam could still be felt even twenty-nine years later. Occasionally, Bobby found himself talking out loud to his late father, and even at age thirty-eight, Bobby still felt the pressure to make his father proud.

CHAPTER 3

G OOD MORNING! Y’ALL eat up. We gotta finish up the old McDonough barn and see if we can’t fix Mrs. Gwenn’s roof real quick and for real cheap, Bobby says as he takes a few bites of eggs straight from the pan and grabs a piece of toast.

Yes, sir. Cheap is the magic word there. Last time ya sent me by there to fix that hanging gutter, she paid me with a jar of marmalade and a small bag of nickels, Lou replies.

Yeah, I know, Lou. But she is just so old and damn sweet, Bobby replies.

Sweet and old don’t pay the bills, Miss chimes in.

I hear ya, honey, but what I am I supposed to do? Her and my mama been best pals forever. It kind of puts me in a tough spot, ya know, Bobby says as he gives Miss a quick peck on the cheek. Let’s roll out, boys. Billy, I may need you to jump the truck with the General. She been giving me some troubles lately, Bobby informs Billy.

Hot damn, she fired up, Bobby says, wearing a large grin as his white rust-spotted 1976 Ford F250 quad cab roars to life, kicking out a cloud of black smoke while struggling to stay running. This old girl still got some life left in her, boys. It’s amazing how attached we can get to these here vehicles, huh? Bobby says as he rubs the dashboard of the old truck like it’s the belly of a dog.

We gonna swing by and scoop up Junior? Billy asks.

Naw, not enough work today. Junior, Bobby’s little brother and only sibling, has never been crazy about carpentry or working for his big brother’s very small company, All About Construction. But in Bugtussle, Tennessee, there aren’t a whole lot of options for work; either you’re going to be a handyman of some sort, a farmer, or stock shelves at the local market, Big Ben’s.

Being eight years older than Junior, Bobby has always been more of a father figure than a big brother to Junior, given that their father passed away when Junior was only three years old. Junior doesn’t seem to think he is really cut out for life in Bugtussle. He isn’t crazy about manual labor and getting dirty dragging wood around, pounding nails, and listening to the same old stories day in and day out. He dreams of being a business owner and wants to wear nice neat and pressed clothes. Junior felt that a collared shirt with a tie would be nice instead of your typical Bugtussle gear, which is a flannel and a pair of torn blue jeans. But with his mother still alive and living in their old family store on the dried-up lake bed of what used to be Lake Bugtussle, Junior could never seem to venture too far from home. He’s the baby boy, and Junior and his mother have always been extremely close as if losing his father at such a young age had created some sort of paranoia that if he ventured too far from his mother, he may not ever see her again or if she had some kind of urgent health issue, he would be too far to make it to her side fast enough.

Hey, Bobby, what’s that up ahead? Billy asks as he points through the windshield of the old, beat-up truck.

Looks like a big ole white limo, Bobby replies.

Yup, sure is, Lou adds.

Whaddya reckon a limo is doing in these parts, Bobby?

Your guess is as good as mine, Billy. I’ve never even seen a limo in town, let alone on a two-track dirt road, Bobby replies with an unsure look.

As they inch closer to the limo, Bobby’s unsure look turns to a look of concern as they creep to a stop with the limo inches from the bumper of Bobby’s old truck. The men look at each other in silence and confusion, their jaws slightly open. The driver of the limo exits the vehicle and heads out on a long walk to the back of the limo.

Damn, that thing must be fifty feet long, Lou says.

Or longer, Bobby adds as he climbs out of his truck.

The limo driver opens the door of the limo. An extremely well-polished man dressed in what appears to be a very expensive suit with glowing white gloves and carrying a very fancy-looking silver cane exits the limo and approaches Bobby. I’m assuming you must be Bobby Baker.

That depends on who’s asking, Bobby quickly replies.

Charles Edgar Winston the Third gracing you with my presence.

Yeah, I feel really graced. That’s quite the accent ya got there, fella. What is that—Britland? Bobby asks.

Yes. Actually, now that you mentioned it, are you familiar with Britland?

A little bit. It’s some island over there in the Atlantic Ocean, and we had to beat up on y’alls a couple of times, Bobby replies, grinning.

Well, Mr. Baker, actually, Britland is a small island off the coast of the France, Mr. Winston says.

Yeah, that’s pretty much what I just said, Bobby replies.

Mr. Winston just shakes his head; he doesn’t know why he attempted to have that particular conversation with this grubby woodsman. Charles was not born British, but his father had strong ties to England and he had spent more than half his life there, where he owned several homes and business. Actually, my name is Sir Charles Edgar Winston the Third, but I assume you wouldn’t understand that and it’s most likely a tad much for you, Mr. Winston snarls as Billy buts in and grabs Mr. Winston’s hand.

Kickass ride dude, very cool, Billy comments, gripping Mr. Winston’s hand tightly.

Mr. Winston quickly yanks his hand away from Billy and glares at him. Reginald, Mr. Winston belts out along with a loud clap of his hand. Mr. Winston’s driver moves quickly to remove the white glove Mr. Winston is wearing. Mr. Winston observes his hand as if it may be tainted or something and quickly motions to his driver, who pulls out a clean white cloth and a spray bottle and starts spraying and flicking Mr. Winston’s hand with the cloth. He then quickly replaces the glove with a clean one.

Dang, I gotta get me one a dem. Does he wipe your ass, too? Lou hollers, grinning.

Mr. Winston looks at Lou in silence for a moment then rolls his eyes.

What can I do for you, Mr. Winston? Bobby asks.

Mr. Baker, would you mind taking a seat with me in the limo so we can talk in private? Mr. Winston asks, Glaring at Lou and Billy circling the limo

Sure, but easy on the ‘mister’ stuff, please. Just Bobby will do fine. You’re making me feel old. I’m not even forty yet, Bobby replies.

"Let me explain something to you, Mr. Baker, I am a professional. And although you are not, I would appreciate it if you could at least attempt to act like one while in my presence.