by: Vixey

The Fourth of July brings friends together.
It was the day before The Fourth of July and Roscoe as usual was confused about Vixey. It had been eight months since she had arrived in Hazzard and she was zipping around the office like a bee gathering honey. She was getting lots of phone calls and getting Boss madder with each one. Let’s just see what happens.
Vixey was in her own little world thinking about this weekend and all the things she had to do before the fourth. Not noticing Boss’s mood, she kept answering phones and writing things down in a little book. Finally he couldn’t stand it. Turning to Roscoe, he blustered, “Roscoe you better find out what’s going on with that woman of yours.”
“I know exactly what you mean Boss, she’s been on a cleaning spree for weeks now and its having an effect on our social life.” He walked over to Vixey’s desk where she was going through papers and humming one of her songs. He cleared his throat several times before she looked up.
“What?”
“Boss and I both want to know what’s been going on with you these past weeks.”
She smiled, shoot. With all the goings on I forgot to tell ya’ll about the fourth.”
She stood up. “Roscoe, Enos, Boss, I want to invite ya’ll to my Fourth of July party. Lulu’s invited too of course. There’s going to be food, music, and lots of people. I’m expecting anywhere from 50 to 200 people this year. That is of course if they all show up.”
“50 to 200! They’re aren’t that many people in Hazzard,” Enos exclaimed.
Roscoe could see that Vixey was greatly amused. “Who all’s coming?”
“Most of them are friends and family. My cousins of course, ya’ll hopefully, my brothers and their wives, my sister and her flavor of the month, my parents, and my grandma Fox.”
The phone rang and Vixey went to answer it. “Hazzard County Sheriff’s Office.” By the look on face, it was clear she recognized the voice. “Hey there, so you coming this year or am I gonna have to drag your skinny butt down here?” She laughed at the answer. “Great bring him too. You know what my mom always says, ‘the more the merrier’. “Umm I don’t know what do you want to bring? Well Dad’s bringing the meat, you know hot dogs and burgers. I’m cooking the burgers, Quint’s cooking the hot dogs and making his famous Chili, Mom’s bringing green beans, my cousin Daisy is making potato salad, I’m making my famous caramel cake. Hmm, why don’t you bring your squash casserole? But make sure it’s in the big dish. I’m expecting our usual crowd this year. Great, oh but no alcohol this year. Mary Jo’s coming and you know how she is when she gets even one beer in her. Yeah, right, we are having our usual sleep over. I don’t know. I guess for the ones that are married, the guys can stay in my guest rooms. Ok, can’t wait to see you. Yeah, ok girl, see you this weekend. Bye.”
She hung up the phone. “That was my friend Jade. We went to high school together. We were so bad then.” She sighed, remembering her school days. She looked at Roscoe; “ We do get the fourth off, right?”
“Yeah, it’s the law.”
“I’m going to have to ask Boss about getting the fifth of July off too. If it’s gonna be like it normally is, I’m going to be too tired to work.”
Roscoe smiled, “so that’s why you’ve been acting like you have been.”
“Yeah, oh gosh, I’ve been so busy I’ve neglected us haven’t I?”
“Well,” he blushed, “yeah, but it doesn’t bother me.”
“The hell it doesn’t, I can see it on your face right now. Roscoe Purvis Coltrain don’t you lie to me!”
In the back he could hear Enos snicker. He gave him a sharp look that made Enos hush.
Vixey could see him getting madder and madder with each passing second. She had had enough. With a violent shove, she pushed Roscoe back into his chair, sat on his lap and passionately kissed him. She kissed him hard enough to lean his chair all the way back. She broke the kiss when the phone rang. She jumped up and answered it. “Hazzard County-,” she stopped, “well geeze don’t even let me finish. Who are you calling a beanpole? I’m gonna beanpole you if you don’t show up this weekend. That’s my baby brother. So Richard is Danielle coming too? Great, you’re kidding. Well it looks like you Beat Mark at it.” She laughed. “Ok bro, see ya this weekend. Uh-huh love you too, bye. Guess what? I’m gonna be and aunt.”
Roscoe was still recovering form the kiss. Enos grinned, “that’s great Vixey. All Roscoe could do was give her a thumbs up. She laughed. She liked having that effect on people.
As quitting time rolled around, Vixey had had all of her guests call with their answer. Well, except for Justin. Justin McCloud lived in the small town of Frog’s Mouth, Kentucky. She hadn’t heard from him since she moved to Hazzard, eight months ago. He had called the night before she left, wishing her good luck and promising to keep in touch. She figured something was wrong. Her godson Charley, who was a good friend of Justin’s, hadn’t heard from him either. She was worried. She got Maybel on the phone. “Maybel, this is Vixey over at the sheriff’s office. Could you give me the operator in Frog’s Mouth, Kentucky? Thanks.” It took awhile to connect and Roscoe could see she was very nervous. Finally she connected. This is Vixey Fox in Hazzard, Georgia. Could you connect me to Justin McCloud? Yes, he lives on Blue bay road at the old Murphy place. Thanks.” She saw Roscoe looking at her again. She winked at him. She heard Justin come on the line. “Hey stranger, I’m glad to hear that you’re still alive. Well you promised to keep in touch and I though you’d dropped off the face of the earth. Very funny, everyone’s a comedian today. So are you gonna make it? To what? To my party this weekend, don’t tell me you forgot? Sometimes I swear you’re going senile on me. Ok well can’t wait to see you. Same time. Yeah fudge brownie pie. With you, 140 people. Ok see you this weekend. Bye.”
Enos gasped. “140 people?”
She nodded, yep, 15 are family, ya’ll and Cooter make 20 and the rest are friends. 55 of those are girls.15 of those girls are spending the night with me.5 of the 15 are married so their husbands are staying in the guest rooms. The sixty five others are men that are good friends.” Roscoe looked jealous. “You have more male friends that female friends?”
She nodded, “yes, I don’t know why I prefer men as friends, I just do. I guess because women tend to get over emotional at the drop of a hat and men keep their cool in most situations. Hey it’s five o’clock, time to go home. I’ve got a million things to do before tomorrow. See ya’ll there. She grabbed her purse, locked her drawer, kissed Roscoe, and ran to her car. As they heard her peel away, Roscoe turned to Enos. “Can I talk to you?”
“Sure Sheriff, what about?”
“It’s Vixey. We’ve been seeing each other for eight months and I feel so different. I don’t know what I should do.”
“Well sheriff, if it were me and Vixey were Daisy I’d be happier that a hog in mud. It’s obvious that you love her. I’d show her somehow.”
“You’re right. I’ve been doing some serious thinking about us and I need to make decision. Thanks Enos.” He put on his hat, punched out and left.
Meanwhile back at her farm, Vixey was busy getting the house ready for her party. She was still at it at midnight, when Roscoe drove by. Debating whether to stop, he finally pulled in her driveway. Hearing a car pull up, she grabbed an old, dented baseball bat. It was the same one she had used on Paul. On time when he made a run her when she was pregnant with Lilly. She heard a knock on the door. “Who-who is it?”
“ It’s your ever-loving sheriff,” he chuckled. She unlocked to door and cracked it just a bit and peered out. Seeing his handsome face, she opened the door. Looking at the bat, he smiled. “Expecting someone?”
Putting the bat down, she offered him a seat. “Well at midnight, you never know.”
“That reminds me,” he said grinning, “ I owe you something. He took her in his arms and put that kiss she had given him earlier to shame. When they were finished, he could see that she was the one who was doing the blushing. Then she gave him a confused look. “What in the world are you doing out this time of night?”
“Thinking.”
“About what?”
“Stuff. Mostly us.”
She raised her eyebrow, “oh really and what pray tell is my sexy sheriff thinking?”
“Nothing too naughty but mostly how happy I am.”
She giggled, and then yawned. “ As much as I’d love for you to spend the night, I’m sure Momma Coltrain would kill us both.”
He nodded, “Oh yeah. I guess I’d better go to sleep.”
“Me too.”
He got up, kissed her again, and left. She closed the door behind him. He heard the lock click as he stepped off the porch. They both mad their way to bed.
The next day looked promising as people started to arrive. Mom and dad were the first to arrive. Then Mark and Rachel, Dixie and Peter, Uncle Max and Aunt Louise, Grammy Fox and finally Richard followed by a very pregnant Danielle. As the family hugged hello and caught up, Vixey put the food in the oven to keep warm. An hour later with the rest of the guests accounted for, except for Justin, and the Dukes, and Cooter arriving and meeting everyone, Roscoe pulled up. Vixey was in the kitchen, baking her cake. As she was pulling the pan out of the oven, the cake shifted and she burned her hand. “Damn!”
She quickly put it under the faucet. Roscoe stepped forward and kissed her so that she forgot the burn. Just then, her mom and Dixie walked in. Vixey opened her eyes and then nudged Roscoe. “Umm Mom, sis, I didn’t see you come in!” Her sister laughed.
“Obviously. So I take it that this is your cop boyfriend we’re heard so much about.”
Roscoe grinned, “ been talking about me have you?”
She smiled and nodded. Wiping the smeared lipstick off of his face, she introduced them.
Her father walked in. Looking at Simon, he realized how Vixey got to be so tall. Lilly ran in the kitchen. “Nana, Poppy! Simon picked up the 5 year old and gave her a wet kiss on her cheek. “EEEW Poppy! She squirmed out of Simon’s arms and ran to Dixie, who scooped her up and took her to see Danielle’s swollen belly. Vixey smiled as she heard Lilly ask all kinds of questions. Just then, Roscoe saw a tall Blonde haired teenager walk through the door. Vixey didn’t see him. He came up behind Vixey. “Anybody missing a son?” Vixey jumped, and turned around. Her face lit up as the young mad hugged her and picked her up. “Matthew put me down,” she said laughing. He spun her around before putting her down. She saw Roscoe’s confused look. “Oh gosh, Matthew, this is my boyfriend Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrain. Roscoe, this is Matthew Rogers, my son.” Roscoe’s jaw dropped, the boy couldn’t be less that 15 or 16. “I was 13 when I was raped at a school dance. Uncle Max and Aunt Louise didn’t want me to keep him but Mom and Dad didn’t want one of our blood being raised by strangers, so kept him.”
“Wait just a purple pea-picking minute,” he started, “you were 13?”
She nodded. “That means he’s 20”
Just then Justin showed up. Vixey rushed out to greet him. He noticed she was upset. She told him the whole story. As he hugged her, she could see the scars that fire had inflicted on him. That combined with his graying hair and a few more wrinkles made him look a lot older that he actually was. She introduced him to her cousins and Roscoe. Then made her way the makeshift platform that Bo and Luke had built for her. She picked up the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to start off by welcoming you to 23 annual Fox Family Fourth of July Party. Ok we’ll start with announcements. First of all, my sister-in-law, Danielle, ate a watermelon whole.” The crowd laughed. “Just kidding, she’s 6 months pregnant. Second of all this year’s turn out is better than last year’s. Last year we had 30 people, this year, we have 146. That includes my son, Matthew who has been stuck in a hole for the past 3 years, at college. Any other announcements?”
Roscoe stepped up. Looking surprised, Vixey handed him the mike.
I would like to ask you, Vixey Roxanna Fox, in front of all your friends and family.” He dropped to one knee. “Will you marry me?”
Vixey put her hand over her mouth in shock. He placed a blue topaz ring on her finger.
She smiled down at him and in a soft voice said, “of course I will.”
As they kissed, the crowd erupted into cheers, whistles and clapping. They all sat down to a scrumptious banquet with hot dogs, hamburgers, barbequed ribs, chili, potato salad, corn on the cob, green beans, squash casserole, fudge brownie pie and caramel cake. As the last of the food was eaten or out away, the last dish wash washed and the last guest that wasn’t staying the night left, Vixey gazed at her engagement ring and then at Roscoe. Then she looked at Roscoe’s cute butt. He caught her looking and grinned. As the girls that were staying found their places and laid out their sleeping bags, Vixey and Roscoe walked onto the porch. He sighed. “When we get married, are you gonna invite all those people?”
“I don’t know, most of them are very close friends and I would hate to leave them out. Bit if I had to I would choose.”
“ I won’t make you choose. She kissed him, shooed him to his car, closed and locked the door, turned off the lights and went to sleep.
Wowie folks, Vixey sure does know how to throw a party. Looks like we’re gonna have a wedding soon. Keep your fingers crossed.