Creation Ranch 2

Lois meets Zoe the would be queen of Creation after Zola's demise.

Chapter 2: At the Ranch

So Lois arrived at the ranch near Dacica the closest town and where she lived also.

Then she was off to the ranch among those, most of whom were Havoll’s family with many being the spouses and children of a family member, with only a few being people who were not related to anyone, and even fewer who were transient and not expected to stay long.

Lois was assumed to be one of the latter at first.

“You there, young woman, can you cook?” Zoe asked her as she stood beside the Havoll’s house unable to understand I had placed her in that very spot for, knowing Zoe, she would not only take charge of the ranch, but that she would immediately have to hire a cook since she hated to cook and Zola cooked every day from the time Zoe arrived until now. “You there … can you cook?” she repeated then.

“Yes, my lady, I cook,” she said only knowing Zoe was probably some kin to Zola, and was therefore glad to be of any service to the famous man, or if it turned out to be that way, even his famed family. So, as Zoe turned to enter the home Zola had raised his children in she asked, “May I speak to Zola?” and when Zoe looked at her knowing she could not know he was dead, she said, “I was told by one who was like Deag, Zola wanted to see me.”

“That might well be,” Zoe said, “but now that he is dead I doubt that will occur.”

Lois was disheartened and concerned for the obvious grief of the entire ranch, but she said nothing.

“What have you to do with the memory of Zola?”

“I am his daughter,” she said humbly, knowing it would be most difficult to prove.

Zoe stopped walking and stared at her, “Your mother has been verified then. Where is your medallion?”

Lois asked, “Medallion?”

“I was just testing to see if you even had knowledge of the verification process! Who is your mother?” she asked and when Lois was silent, she also asked, “What is your mother’s name and where does she live? We must have her verified before you tell anyone else of this. Is that clear?”

Lois understood Zoe had enough authority even then to cause her a great deal of trouble if she did not obey her. “I have no name but Lois,” she said humbly.

Again Zoe stopped what she was doing and stared at Lois another moment. Then she said, “Yes, you will do. You shall be called Lois Havoll, especially if you are in fact Zola’s daughter as Deag has said.” Then, as she turned back to what she was doing, she giggled as they entered the huge kitchen and put her arm around Lois and pulling her close to her alarmed Lois who pulled away from the obvious sexual advance.

“We are sisters, for Deag’s sake?” Lois said with genuine sadness for Zoe whom she viewed as hopeless.

“So we are,” Zoe said and took her arm away and stepped back, “Okay?”

Then Lois said, “My mother is just a w***e. She has no name and often travels but maintains a little shack in the woods north of here. She is difficult to find, and she will never think to look for me here. She probably cannot prove who I am for she has never once acknowledged me as her daughter in my entire life.”

“Hmm!” Zoe said rubbing her temples with the base of her palms. Then she said, “Cook, and I shall take care of the matter.”

Then she began to leave, saying to what seemed a transient boy, “Go! Find Tom for me. I have an important task for him. Oh, and tell him to bring his favorite sister, Lora, with him,” and immediately the boy left having received nothing to insure he would receive more, and even before Zoe had completed leaving, for she felt a need to reassure Lois everything would be done to find her mother, in the woods, another town, or wherever she might be.

“They can never get along,” Zoe said, “they are too much alike.”

Lois curtsied in the presence with pure wisdom recognizing the words as Zola’s.

Zoe took it in and left.

Lois began to look around for something, anything, to cook and finding a whole ham she also found a large pan and placing the ham on it placed it in the oven. Then she found dozens of eggs and the stuff necessary to scramble many of them; judging by the size of the kitchen she was going to be feeding many people and so she began making a large batch of flapjacks too. She was scouring the kitchen, looking for syrup when Zoe reappeared behind her laughing boisterously.

“That is far more than I can eat by myself!” Zoe said as she stopped laughing long enough to allow it, “And unless you are very hungry, Lois, there will be a lot of leftovers.”

Lois was stunned. She had assumed … and now it was going to be wasted?”

“I should have made it clearer it was just for me, and you of course, but not the entire ranch!” Zoe said.

In her frustration Lois began to scrape some of the now scrambled eggs into a dustbin, but Zoe grabbed her arm gently and said, “Don’t worry there are always the homeless,” She smiled to think that this great woman would have compassion even on the homeless whom Lois often thought of as being as helpless as babies.

Then she took a large plate from the cupboards and put some of the scrambled eggs on it and handed it to Zoe who took it and began wolfing it down. Then Lois cut off a smaller piece of the ham and began to cook it separately but Zoe motioned for Lois to give her the cured ham instead, and Lois used a fork to place the piece of ham she had not really warmed on Zoe’s plate. Then she returned to the ham and cut off another smaller piece and let it be warmed by itself. It wasn’t long, however, until Zoe indicated by motioning with her fork that she wanted even more ham. This time Lois also cut off a warmed piece, and put some eggs on another plate and some more ham on it and two glasses of milk on the table across from Zoe. Then, Lois finished making her own breakfast before handing one of the glasses of milk and the last slice of ham to Zoe along with two flapjacks which Lois didn’t like.

They ate. They smiled. They giggled. Life seemed to be so much better here at the ranch with Zoe than they had been at home with Hap. Lois was glad she had so quickly made her move, for Hap would have delighted to be here, but he was a type of con artist. Her face clouded over a moment when she thought of him, but soon returned to the merriment of breakfast at the Ranch.

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