Chapter 5

Saturday morning I informed everyone that I was going over to JB Enterprises. I would do some planning on the way I was going to rearrange the business. Ron and Henry decided they would go with me. We got there and I began thinking out loud, “There is room down near the loading dock. I’ll make the extra space into two offices and along the back opposite of the dock, I’ll have the packing and shipping right on the dock level. There is room on that level for the restroom and a break room.

“Where the office is now, there is water, the heating plant and the electrical entrance. Just inside, the first two benches and machines will be where the prototypes and will be created on those two computers. That leaves me five extra laptops that aren’t needed after I get things organized. The printers will be used for production on the remaining stations. I was thinking I would have two rows of printers, but looking at the room there may be three rows without being too crowded. That’ll give me twenty-four or thirty-six more printers for production.”

“You’ll need a restroom and someplace for your help to eat lunch.”

“You’re right Henry. Let me think, I shouldn’t need more than one bathroom. It’ll have to be unisex, because I’ll be hiring some women for operators. Maybe it’ll be kept cleaner than what these guys have kept this one. These workers I’m inheriting are not long out of college and still are somewhat in that same lifestyle. That includes John Becker whom I bought out. I’ll be hiring older workers and some of them will be women with families. That is the mix of employees that Henry has in his factory and he has been highly successful.”

“You’ll need a toilet in that area too.”

“I guess.”

Ron asked, “How are you financing this? All this sounds like a lot of money going out.”

“Lorna is going to buy my house.”

“She’ll only be paying half won’t she since you’re getting divorced?”

“No, she’s paying full price because it was mine. We have divided things to both our satisfaction already. This is something new. I owe Henry $100,000 on what I borrowed to buy this business, but I still have three quarters of the value when I pay him off. I think I can get tax abatement if I’m providing another dozen jobs for at least five years and maybe ten.”

“How do you know you can do this?”

“I had a good teacher. I have watched Henry and asked questions. I had the office next to him and he had me in when business was conducted.”

“Ron, don’t fear for Howard. He’ll come out on top.”

“And you know this how, Henry?”

“Because he was my right hand man in all things. He made me more money than any other two of my employees.”

“Oh.”

I looked toward the door when I heard it open. John Becker was standing there ready to say something, “I thought you might be here looking over your new business. I’m kind of at loose ends before leaving tomorrow. The guys and I have been together for a few years and I’ll miss them.”

I spoke, “I would imagine. What are your plans?”

“Don’t have any, really. I’m going to go see my folks. I have to face them sometime. I’ll be looking for work seeing as I failed in this one. I don’t suppose you would hire me, would you?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t afford to put another person on until I get this going. I’m sorry about that. A year from now, I might. I hope I will need a salesman by then. And if my plans turn out, I’ll need a floor manager as well. If you could find something to do for a year, I’d consider you. That way you would be back with your friends when I hired you.”

Henry spoke up, “Why don’t you become an intern for me back east. Howard is still my son-in-law and I know he will be a success here and will need extra help in the future. I can teach you what you need to know as time goes on to make him more of a success. You won’t be getting much money, but it will be enough to live on. Hell, I’ll even put you up. The wife and I are opening up a new business and the house will be empty a lot.”

“John, there you go, there is your future all laid out for you and you will be back with the skills I need and with your friends again. Henry will push you and he is a bit of a prick sometimes, but you’ll be an asset when you come back a year from now.”

“Thanks, I’ll consider it. I’ll go see my Mom and Dad and maybe they won’t give up on me if I have a place to land. I’ll just explain that it is like going back to school. I’ll be at your door the first of the year. Would that be okay?”

“That will work. Hey today, follow us back to Howard’s house and meet the family.” We walked toward the back of the building and I laid out more of the plans I had thought I would make the business better.

We didn’t stay long. When we got outside, I said to John, “Follow me and when we get there, I’ll talk to you before we go inside. The family is a little mixed up and I’ll explain.”

“Are you sure it is okay?”

“It is or I wouldn’t have said so.”

Ron and Henry went inside and I slid into John’s car. “First, you’ll meet two older women. Mable is Henry’s wife and her sister Mary, who is with Ron whom you just met. The two younger women are Kittery whom you met before. She is pregnant and will soon be my wife. Her sister, the tall, pretty one, is named Lorna. She was my wife up until the day before yesterday. We are divorced. Both are daughters of Henry and Mable. Questions?”

“Nothing about your family I need to know, but I have a question about Henry. Why would he be interested in me?”

“Henry has always had a young person in training. Someone took him under his wing just out of college and he has continued the practice when he got into the same situation where he could. Most have done well for him. He has a man named Hamilton who replaced me when I moved up. He kept me around when Lorna became interested in me. It is a good practice to promote people. I warn you he’ll work your butt off and sometimes you’ll get pissed at him, but I found out it is well worth being under his wing.

“I suspect he made the decision to have you with him when I said I’d be interested in you coming back to your old business next year. Henry likes me and we’ve been through the fire together so-to-speak. And to top it off, I am going to marry Kittery, his pregnant daughter.”

“You said you were married to the other daughter. How did that come about?”

“I just picked the wrong daughter to love the first time out. Now Lorna has a widower with two children she is interested in, so she may soon be as happy as I am. Guess that’s all you need to know.

“That’s more than plenty.”

“Okay, let’s go inside.”

Kittery welcomed John, wondering why he was with me. Henry explained, “John is going to be my intern for a year. If he does well and Howard’s business is large enough to need someone other than a regular employee, Howard may hire him.”

Mable asked, “Are you traveling back east with us?”

“No, I’m visiting my parents, but I will be there the first of the year. I’m happy Henry has asked me. That may soften the blow with my dad when I tell him I lost the business. Telling them I’m going to become an intern in a modern factory. They will believe that I’ve gone back to continue my education. And I have the promise of a position after a year if I do well. I won’t be lying either.”

“I will back you up if need be.”

“Thanks Howard. Henry, I have your home address and you said I could room at your home. I’ll be in two days early. I probably can find a sports bar to visit for the New Year’s celebration.”

“Mable and I will take you with us when we go out for the evening.”

“Thank you. I’ll take off. I want to say goodbye to the guys and then I’m flying to California and my parents. I’m leaving my car here and I’ll pick it up some other time.”

“Hey, use my car when you get to Henry’s. Maybe Henry will give you time off to drive it out for me and pick up your own sometime. You can see your friends and how I’m doing.”

“That would work. I’d be glad to.” John left and Kitten spoke, “I like him. Howard maybe you should have become his partner rather than buying him out.”

“No, that wouldn’t have worked and it wouldn’t have worked if I had hired him as an operator either. There can only be one boss of an operation of this size. I do hope he does come back for an interview after he learns what Henry teaches him about good work practices.” Both Henry and Ron Blackburn agreed with me.

We sat around that evening talking about our lives. Ron filled us in how he had ended up running the dude ranch. Henry got off on Hetty Comstock, Mable and Mary’s mother. Mable realized just how much she had been favored over her sister, Mary.

Kittery spoke up and said, “Yes, mother, and you turned around and did the same thing, favoring Lorna over me. That’s okay, because Howard is going to make me happy the rest of my life.”

“Kitten, don’t go there.”

“Howard, Kittery is right and I have favored Lorna. Right here and now, I’m apologizing for that. One reason was because I thought she would give me my first grandchild. Lorna didn’t, but Kittery will. I won’t explain, but Lorna has turned out just like her mother by thinking of herself rather than other people. It looks as if she has changed. She is now caring for two children who need her. I can live with stepchildren, but I will cherish the child that Kittery and Howard are having making me a grandmother.”

Mable stopped talking and then went on, “I didn’t care much for you, Howard. In fact, I can tell you I hated you. I blamed you for Henry finding out what a poor wife I was to him. I was the poorest of wife and was willing to do penance for what I did. I still love him and somehow he still loves me. I don’t know how you did it but you lifted that penance from me and I’m back in Henry’s arms again.”

I couldn’t stand this. “Mable, stop it you’re going to make me cry.”

“Okay for now. Henry and I weren’t blessed with a son, but you have to marry Kittery as soon as possible so we can call you son again. When are you two getting married, anyway?”

“We haven’t discussed it. Kitten, I guess that’s your department.”

“Howard, we are going in and get a license just as soon as your divorce decree arrives. I think we have to wait three days after we get a license. It will be this week sometime.”

“That’s great.”

Lorna spoke. “I can’t be here. Rod will be back with the kids tomorrow by the time I get home.”

Henry said he couldn’t be here either. I looked at Mary and Ron. “Aunt Mary, can you be here to see us married?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. How about you Ron?”

“Hell, yes, I’ll be here. Got to give that kid a father. Mary was telling me how Kittery got pregnant and how she joked about what she called the baby.”

There was dead silence and everyone looked at Kitten. Kitten’s face was red. Henry had to ask, “Kittery, what are you calling the baby?”

“Dad, I call this my Consummation Baby. Lorna was otherwise occupied when Howard came to the marriage bed to consummate his marriage. I just happened to be there for him.”

Lorna asked, “Kit, are you sorry?”

“God, no. I’m so happy and I’ll be happier by the end of the week.”

“I’m happy for you too. I guess if there is any blame to be had it is on me. I was in the same situation as Mom was with Dad and Howard treated me better than I deserved. Not only that he asked that our marriage be terminated and I asked for a waiver ... and it has been granted. So Sis, I guess you’re the first one in our family to be married with true love.” Lorna choked up. “Lucky you.” She turned and went upstairs.

Mable, Mary, and Kitten immediately got up and followed her. Kitten was slow, but determined not to be very far behind. Henry asked, “Is there anything to drink?” Ron and Henry got into a bottle of bourbon. I opened a beer.

When finished, I went up stairs. Mable and Mary were in Mary’s room, one sitting on the bed and the other in a chair. Kitten and Lorna were in our room. They were lying on the bed holding hands. Their eyes turned toward me as I entered. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s great Howard. Lorna and I have decided that the baby is going to be your baby because you created it legally when you consummated your marriage. Lorna wasn’t there when she should have been and I was there when I shouldn’t have been. As long as you are here, I’m keeping the baby with you. Lorna is going to be Godmother and favorite Aunt.”

“That would make me happy. In return when Lorna has a baby, can Kitten and I be the child’s favorite aunt and uncle?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Howard, I do have one request. Would you treat Rod Peters as if you weren’t aware that he was with me when I should have been with you? Honestly, he has mentioned how guilty he feels about it. He has felt guilty enough to wonder if that was why his wife died to pay him back for being unfaithful.”

“Lorna, I’m serious when you tell him how sorry I am that he lost his wife and I’m so very sad his children lost their mother.”

Lorna turned to Kitten. “Kit, you got yourself quite a man there. I know he is slightly used, but cherish him.” Lorna looked up at me, “Any regrets, Howard?”

“Absolutely not. Hey, come back down stairs before your father gets too drunk. I found a bottle for him and he and Ron are sucking on it. Maybe you had better collect your mother and Aunt Mary and we’ll all go down together.”

————————————— Henry and Mable flew out for the east at eight-thirty the next morning. Lorna’s flight was for the same destination two hours later. We had purchased another bag and filled it full of small toys at the mall for the two children. It would be a little difficult to get it on the plane, but Lorna didn’t object.

Lorna called from home the next morning while I was feeding Mary’s two pets. Mary of course was with me and had something to say. “Howard, this was the best Christmas I have ever had. I really feel like I have a sister who loves me and she and Henry are closer to me then they have ever been. Kittery feels the same way about her mother and father. She said she and Lorna are going to be talking a lot. God, a month ago we both felt abandoned and didn’t see as it was ever going to change.”

“That would be about the time I came out and discovered I was going to be the father to a child and came to the realization that it was Kitten whom I had loved all this time.”

“I’d say so. That was when I saw how much she loved you and it made me get off my butt and find a man for myself—and boy did I ever.”

Ron and Mary were leaving later that day, but would be back for the wedding as soon as we had it arranged. The mail did hold my divorce, coming just before noon and Mary hadn’t left yet. The four of us went into Helena to the city desk and Kitten and I spoke to a clerk, asking for a license to marry.

We had down loaded the forms and had them filled out. I was questioned about my address where I was living. I stated that I had just purchased a business within the last week on the edge of the city and hadn’t had time to have my post office address established. For now I would use my business address until I was married and then use my bride’s as I was already living there.

“Do you have any paperwork to buttress the fact that you are indeed divorced?”

“Yes, it came this morning. It was sent by my attorney to my fiancée’s address.”

The clerk looked at it. “This says you received a marriage waiver. The dates are good and means you are now divorced.”

“Great. How long before we can get married?”

“Anytime ... today if you wish. If your bride hadn’t been prepared and brought in the information from her doctor, you might have had to wait three days and sign a waiver. But you must be anxious. The fee for the license is $53 to be paid in cash.”

I got a receipt and as he handed it to me, he said, “Knock on that door and ask the person inside. He will be able to marry you if he is free. Have a nice day.” Kitten never hesitated, and in a minute she was knocking on the door.

This wasn’t a marriage to be remembered. There no flowers and no pictures. Twenty minutes later, though, Kitten and I walked out of that room as husband and wife.

“Come on, Mr. and Mrs. Prentice, Mary and I are taking you out to dinner.”

I apologized to Kitten, “Honey, we could have waited and made this a more memorial wedding.”

“Howard, I didn’t want to wait. Just think; this baby I’m carrying now has a father. This has been my wish ever since I found out I was pregnant. It couldn’t get any better for me.”

“Me either, Kitten.”

——————————— We had an early dinner. Actually it was just as the dining room opened at a famous name hotel. Ron said, “Why don’t you kids stay here tonight? Mary and I will go back and take care of the two horses. You can call room service if you want a drink or a late night snack.”

I looked at Kitten. She was shaking her head, no. “Aunt Mary, I really want to go home and be with my new husband. It isn’t just to consummate our marriage. We did that almost seven months ago. I suppose I’ve felt guilty about stealing something from my sister and I want to wake up in our bed in the morning knowing everything is alright with the world. I can’t do that waking up in a hotel room.”

Aunt Mary understood, “Okay, Ron and I will go along to the ranch. He hates to be away too long. Call me. We most likely will be back for dinner next Sunday to see how married life is.”

I opened my arms and Mary came into them for a hug. “Aunt Mary, I’m so glad you were here to be with us when we married. I’ll treasure the memories of this event for the rest of my life and I’m so pleased you were a part of it. Ron, I thank you too and take care of my one and only Aunt.”

“I will. Take care; we’ll be back in a few days.” We watched them drive away.

“Kitten ... Mrs. Prentice, let’s go home.”

We reached home and did chores. I didn’t muck out the two horses, just raking it back where they wouldn’t pack it down and they would stand level. I’d do that in the morning. Neither of us was hungry. Kitten came up with the idea to lie on the living room floor on the couch cushions and snuggle together. Mary had a small pellet stove for added on heat, so we started that. We were positioned where the hot air would blow on us and we would be nice and comfortable until we got too warm.

Kitten laid with her back to me and I had my hand over her on her tummy.”I love you, you know?”

“I know, Kitten. I don’t believe I have ever been this happy.”

“Think of me what I have been through? Who would believe that I would be married before this year ended? You’re with me and we are soon to have a baby. You have a business and Mary said we could make this our home. I was thinking, can I get through work and help you get the business up and running ... Just until the baby comes, anyway?”

“I’d love to have you. I have a dozen things to do. I have to make up a business model because I’m going to need money from a bank at different times. I think your father will help with getting me credit at the bank. I want to make lists when I start an ad campaign. I can’t make this business work with the little client list that Becker has been working with. I’ll need at least twice this and maybe fourfold before I’m comfortable.

“I want to have a plan to go to the city and get the taxes abated for a period of five years, that’s the usual time span. I’ll be hiring more help and I may even be able to expand into another building. I’ll drop that in the attorney’s lap and he can guide me.”

“You have great plans.”

“I do. I want to clean up the orders I have as soon as possible. I’ll use the help I have to train them to work the same way I learned from your father. They will be happier for it when they see more money in their pay envelope.”

“Are we going over there tomorrow?”

“Only if you want to. I promised that you come first and I meant every word of it. I was wondering if you didn’t want to do some honeymoon things at least for the rest of the week. You never had one before.”

Kitten giggled, “I had my honeymoon months ago and I have the evidence to prove it. I think we should get your business organized starting tomorrow.”

“Okay, Kitten, we’ll do that. We’ll plan on working only a few hours and find something fun to do in the evenings.”

“Speaking about fun things, I think your wife of only a few hours needs some attention. ——————————

We didn’t hurry in the morning, but we did reach the business a little after 9:00. I had a chalk and a tape rule with me. I wanted to mark out a dozen new work stations. I would order lumber and have one or two of my operators that wanted to stay over build them some evening. I’d plan on two weeks to get a dozen new machines here and by that time the stations would be completed. Kitten was writing down what I needed to build with.

“Howard, we have company.” I got off the floor and looked toward the door. Three men stood there uncertainly.

I walked toward them. “Can I help you?”

“We were looking for John Becker, hoping he would be here even though he might be closed for the holidays. We have a project he might help us with.”

“John sold out to me last week and has left the area. My name is Howard Prentice and I’m continuing with the business he was in. What’s the project? I’m not too busy at present and don’t have very much ahead of me.”

“Well, I guess we could explain. I’m Joe Graziola and I’m into high-end home building. John and my nephew went to university together and that’s why we are checking his business out.”

“How big a project is it and when would you have to have it completed?”

“The project is to build a village in a gaited housing project. There are 267 separate houses, most of different styles and designs. We want a prototype of each house built to scale. The architect has the land prototype almost finished in place. It is quite large being over thirty-four feet long and half as wide. It is being built and installed in the foyer of my corporate office building. This is just for advertising purposes when we get ready to sell the different properties.”

“This sounds expensive?”

“Yeah, even the smaller properties will be going for about a million and the larger ones for a few million. We have an artist rendering showing which each house will look like. We are going all out.”

“You know when these objects are finished they will look like just what they are. They will be plastic and generally the same color with little variation.”

“I know but if need be we’ll have to hire them painted.”

I started shaking my head. “That will cost you a fortune and can’t help but look like a kid’s toy.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“I might have an idea. First, can you show me what the project details are? I mean if you have a house that is sixty feet long, I want to know what size the prototype will be. You said everything is to be to scale. I’ll need your figures to punch into the computer and let the app do the rest.”

“We have the architect blueprints. Can you take what you need off of those?”

“Perfect. Get me the smallest one and one of the bigger buildings. I’ll need to look at all the different sizes to give you an estimate of what this will cost to build these.” One of the younger men scurried out to his vehicle to get what I asked for.

“Have you done this before?”

“Yes, just not house prototypes, but the method is the same for most prototypes. My father-in-law owns a tool factory and I was his engineer working in designing tools. Medical instruments were what I specialized in. I decided to strike out on my own and I ran into John Becker. He is starting work with my father-in-law on Monday to replace me. John may come back and go in with me after he polishes his skills with Henry in the factory.”

Kitten had been ignored while I was talking. “Before we get started on this, meet Kittery Prentice, my wife. She is my partner in this operation.”

Joe acknowledged Kitten, “Hey, I like your name. Guess I’ve never run into that one before.”

“Thank you, Howard calls me kitten, but most people call me Kit.”

There was room on the last station in line to spread out the blue print. I was asked if I could read it. “Yeah, how big do you plan on the footprint for each dwelling? They should all be to the same scale. It will be easier.”

“Of course. All the lots are one and two acres. Most lots are irregular in shape and the homes will be placed randomly to keep away from a cookie-cutter affect. If the footprint is all the same for the buildingsm, it all will be relative.”

“Explain a little more of what you mean, if you would.”

“Okay, an acre of land is approximately 44,000 square feet. We were thinking of using 50 square ft equals .2 square inch.”

“That still would still be quite sizable. A prototype of a 50 by 35 foot times .2 inch building would be 10 by7 inches. I would suggest a .15. That would be a size object of 7.5 inch by 5.25 inch. That should be large enough for what you need. Another question: are there any outbuildings like sheds, garages, barns, etc., going to be on the plot? They would have to be crafted the same way.”

“Yeah, and sometimes there will be a gazebo as well.”

I did quick figuring in my head. “That means there could be 1500 separate prototypes to manufacture. This could take awhile.”

“That’s about right. Do you think you could handle that?”

God, I wanted this job! I reluctantly shook my head, no. “I’m not geared up to handle that amount of business at present. I could format the design and make up the code without any problem in a short time, but as you can see, I was here marking out stations to place another two dozen machines. I have to upgrade my power source. I haven’t even contacted the power company yet.”

“How long ago did you buy out Becker?”

“Last Thursday. I had family in for the holiday. Kittery and I were married yesterday. I have a six man crew that will be back to work next Monday. That’s pretty much my situation. I think I have enough financing to buy what I need if the sale on some property I own goes through and I’m almost positive about that.”

“You must be tearing your hair out over the uncertainty of everything?”

“Not really. I was second in command of my father-in-laws factory and if something doesn’t work out today, there are more good days around the corner. And a person can’t always take advantage of every opportunity.

“How long before you think you can get set up?”

“I can get the machines I need here in a week, but I need the stations built. That’s just carpentry and then there is the wiring. I also have to clear the work I have. It will take two weeks to complete, but that can be ongoing while the other is taking place. I should have everything ready for new orders to be worked on by February first.”

The door slammed and the young man came in with two packets of blue prints. I took the small one and spread it out. There was the main building, a two-car garage, and equipment shed. There was also a small changing house for a swimming pool. An artist had done a colored pencil sketch of each building on a separate piece of paper.

“You know I can build these objects to fit, but they will just look like shaped blocks of plastic when they come out of the printers. How are you going to dress them up to look like buildings with windows, doors, different types of roof material and different sidings on the walls? Some will have fireplace chimneys and those I’m sure will be stone or brick.”

“Geezus, you’re throwing up road blocks for the whole project.”

“I know, but if you are going to put up the money to make an advertising display, you are going to want it the best it can be or it will look tacky and unfinished. It would defeat your sales team.”

“What is the answer, then? You must have an idea.”

“I do, but the cost again will be high. Contact a concern that creates decals. I see a number on the blueprints. Have someone figure out everything that is to have a decal and order a sheet with has all the decals needed on it. Have at least two copies made so if the person that is applying them screws up and you will have a spare at hand.”

“Do you know who does this?”

“Yeah, we used a certain company in the tool factory. Let me boot up and I’ll show you the website.” The site came up and I scrolled from the menu ... Roof design ... It showed tile, shingles, corrugated tin, standing seam, aluminum, vinyl, and plain color for rubber. “This is usually such a large amount, there would be a whole sheet and you cut it to fit. You can order whatever in flat, satin, and gloss. I’ll tell you from experience to always order in flat unless it is a street sign or something like that. Here, look at chimney treatments.”

“How does this come and how would it be applied?”

“Small amounts are on a sheet. Large amounts could come in a roll. If you have the same siding on a lot of houses, order a roll and the person applying the siding just cuts it and puts it on. The person would be working with tweezers for the small things like doors and windows. This blueprint here will call for a section of the porch that is facing the pool to be glassed in. If you have a like design on several houses, you order in a roll representing a glass wall and cut it to fit. It does take a patient person to apply it and get it so it looks correct.”