Not that he ignored the men. That first night, Tuck had talked up Mango so much that a couple of them, John and Bill and Lloyd, decided they couldn't wait to see the place, so Tuck volunteered Ervin T.'s truck and drove them there. Mango was a long day on horseback, but only forty minutes by car, yet they didn't make it back until after midnight, smelling of beer and the three men raving about what they called "The most beautiful little place in Florida."
It irked Ervin T., being left out like that. "Hell's fire, the old fart leaves me here with nothing to-drink but tea and buttermilk, and stays gone in my truck! And they don't got no satellite dish here, neither."
But it didn't bother Joseph at all. Anyplace that Tuck wasn't seemed quiet in comparison, and it was a relief after so many days with him on the road. Besides, that nice woman, Thelma, had invited him back to her trailer for dinner, saying, "I'm a very good cook." Which may have been true, though Joseph never found out. But she sure did have smooth skin.
The next day, John and Lloyd and Bill, along with a few others, wanted another look at Mango. So many they had to take a couple of cars, and Ervin decided he'd just go along and not come back. Let Tuck and Joe finish the ride on their own, while he remained in Mango to keep an eye on things. That night, Jenny said she felt sorry for Joseph, him left at Palm Valley all alone, so she invited him to her trailer for dinner. Same thing happened-Jenny never got around to cooking, and Joseph got out just in time to listen to all the beery men tell him what a nice place Mango was.
Now, leading the horses back toward the aluminum barn, Tucker said to Joseph, "The trailer park men want to have a meeting with me this morning." He let Joseph see his sly smile. "Wonder what it could be about. Yes indeedy… I just wonder."
Joseph said nothing, just walked along, feeling Buster's warm muzzle rubbing at his arm, his back.
Tuck said, "Should be able to pull out right after lunch, if things go right. At the meeting, I mean. Ride back to Mango."
Joseph said, "None too soon for me. If we didn't, I'd have to eat dinner with Miz Butler tonight. Edith? I think that's her name."
"I know, I know"-Tuck was making a conciliatory gesture with his hands-"you're kinda pissed off about me leaving you alone so much. But you have to admit, these here are nice people.
The way the women keep taking you in, stuffing you full of food. Hell, I musta had four women come up to me at breakfast, ask me if you was free for dinner. Couple more days of this, you'd be too fat to move."
Joseph nodded his head soberly. "Another couple of days, I'd have trouble moving. That much is true. You know"-he looked over at Tuck-"I think them women are gossips."
Tuck started to say something, but then he jerked up on his horse's lead rope and wagged his finger at him. "Gawldamn it, Roscoe! You eat one more of them golf balls, you'll be shittin' rubber bands for a week!" He pursed his lips at Joseph. "And they call this place a ranch."
A whole group of the trailer park people were waiting for them in the barn, sitting around a table that had coasters for the glasses of iced tea and little doily place mats probably made in one of the craft classes. Tucker picked up one of the place mats and said, "Hoo-ee, now ain't these pretty?" as he swung himself into a chair, moving his head around so he could beam at everybody at once. "You keep this place neat as a preacher's sock drawer. No wonder you love it, folks."
Sitting at the far end of the table, John Dunn cleared his throat. "We appreciate that, Mr. Gatrell-"
"Tuck! You got to learn not to be so formal. You folks ain't livin' up north no more."
Dunn chuckled along with the others. "Exactly right-Tuck." He glanced around the table as if to say, "See? He's gone right to the point of the matter." "In a way," he added, "that's what we want to talk to you about. Where we live. Where we want to live. That's why we wanted to meet with you."
"No place nicer than this," Tuck said. He turned to Joseph and gave a little wink. "Three days here makes me ashamed of that old shack of mine."
"See, that's where we disagree, Tuck. We've been talking about it-" Dunn took another look around the table, gathering support. "Everyone you see here, we've visited Mango. You took us around, then we went back on our own. Hope you don't mind, but we did. Just walked around looking and thinking and talking. This morning, we went back again just to be sure."
"Be sure of what?" Tuck asked.
"To be sure, well…" Dunn hesitated. "This is awkward for me, and if you're not interested, just come right out and say it. There'll be no hard feelings. But we've been talking about it, and everyone here feels the same. We'd like to try and work out a deal with you-"
"About buying Everglades Springwater? No problem. You can have all you want." Tuck thought for a moment before adding, "At a discount, too."
"It's not the water," one of the other men said. "It's those little houses of yours you said you used to rent. Down by the bay? That's what we're talking about. Tell him, John."
Dunn said, "That's exactly right. We're offering to rent those houses. Or perhaps buy them, if you're willing. We want to live in Mango."
Joseph watched Tuck take his hat off; saw the familiar look of stage surprise on the man's face. Thought to himself, They can't see through this flim-flam old fool? as Tuck said, "Them old shacks of mine? That's what you're talking about? Why hell, folks, they ain't fit for animals to live in."
"We'd fix them up," said one of the women. "It would give us something to do besides sitting around here playing shuffleboard, listening to our veins harden."
The man named Bill said, "I spent forty years in the construction business, Tuck. John put in about the same amount of time as an engineer."
"Electrical engineer," Dunn said. "That's what I was getting around to. If you would rent those places to us at a reasonable fee, we'd do the work, take the cost of the materials out of the rent, and within a year we'd have Mango looking like a postcard. Here-" He reached out to hand Tuck a rolled sheet of bluish-looking paper. "We sat around last night, Bill and I, and drew up these designs. The way the houses would look once we were done. They're just quick sketches, of course. If there's anything you don't like…"
Tuck rolled the paper out on the table, scratching his head. "Little dots and dashes…" He glanced up. "These are my shacks?"
Bill came around to stand behind him, pointing to show him what was what. How they'd rip out such and such beams, put pilings in where, how they'd re-tin the roofs and pour cement for new foundations, where the flower gardens would be planted, what the porches would look like. "A couple of us want to keep our units here, sort of commute," Bill said. "But most of us are willing to move in, go to work right away."
"It would be like camping out," one of the women-Jenny- said. "An adventure, like in the pioneer days."
Tuck said, "Just so you can be near the spring?" Enjoying it, letting all these people convince him.
"No," said Dunn, "the spring has nothing to do with it-no offense, understand. We don't question your claims-"
Thelma said, "I certainly don't," smiling at Joseph, watching him sigh and look at the ground. "I'll be drinking that water! I have a feeling I'll need the extra energy."
Dunn said, "That's up to each and every individual. What I'm saying is, Tuck, we'll support your claims when it comes time for you to talk to the park people. That'll be part of the agreement. We'll be your neighbors, and neighbors help neighbors-that's the way I see it. My own reasons for wanting to move to Mango are…" He smiled softly, looking from face to face. "My personal reason is, I see it as a chance to do something constructive, something different. Personally, I'm damn tired of being old."