Chapter 8

The next morning I get up at the usual time and do the usual things. Once I am dressed I call the office and talk to Diana, who was so generous with me when I had to leave last week. "Diana, its Paul."

"Hello there. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. I am working through all of this which is why I am calling. I want to come back to work if that is ok with you."

"Of course that is ok with me. When are you coming back?"

"Today if that is ok. I just can't sit around this house and do nothing. I'll just go crazy doing nothing. I need to get back at it."

"That's fine. I'll let your sub know that you are coming back and I look forward to having you back in the classroom. The department just hasn't been the same without you."

"Thanks Diana. I'll see you in a few hours."

With that done, I have a few other pressing matters to attend to.

"Hello Ashley Automotive."

"Good morning, this is Paul Johnson. I would like to make an appointment to drop off my truck with you all to have some work done. Do you have any time this week?"

"Hello Paul. Yes, we have time this week. When can you drop it off?"

"I was planning on dropping it off after 5 tonight, after I get off work."

"Fine. Fine. What do you need done?"

"Well, that is sort of a special request. Is Ashley available?"

"Yes, she is in the other room. Let me get her for you. Hold one minute."

A moment later.

"Hello Paul. What can I do for you today?"

"Hi Ashley. I have a special request that I don't know if you want to deal with or not but you are the first shop I called.

"Well thank you. I am honored that you would think of us first. What is this request?"

"I want my old truck overhauled so that I can donate it to charity."

"Really?" she interrupted. "Why are you doing this?"

"It is a sad story really." I pause to gather my thoughts, "I lost my wife and kids last week in a car accident and I am buying a replacement truck in honor of them and I just don't need this truck as well as that one. But I know that it is in pretty good shape so I don't want to scrap it and selling it just doesn't seem right with the problems that it has. So, I'm going to fix it up and give it away as a tax right off."

"That is so sad. I am sorry to hear that you lost your family. I heard about the accident on the news, I had no idea that it was your family." I heard a sniff on the other end of the phone, she must be crying. "Don't you worry about it. You bring it to us and we will go over it with a fine tooth comb and make it ready for donation."

"Thanks. Here, let me give you a small list of things that I would check first. Brakes, transmission, front and rear differential, the 4x4 transfer case, the odometer and speedometer, the stereo and speakers need to be replaced, make sure that the engine isn't leaking any fluids, change the plugs and then clean the inside."

"Wow that is quite a list." She starts typing on an adding machine and I hear the numbers start adding up. "You know that this isn't going to be cheap, right? I'm thinking about $4000 if not more for the total bill on a job like this." She hesitates, "Are you going to be able to pay for it? I know that you have had to charge stuff in the past and I don't want you get in trouble with a project like this."

"Don't you worry about a thing. The life insurance money came in and I am set. Just make sure that everything is in perfect working order so that the family that gets it won't have to worry about it breaking down."

"I got it and maybe I can come up with something to help offset the costs since it is going to charity and all. I'll get back to you."

"Awesome, I knew that I was calling the right people for this job. See you tonight."

"Ok, see you."

I hung up the phone and then went to get a phone book. I need a rental for the rest of the week until my Jeep is done.

"Hello Enterprise, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I need a rental, my truck is going into the shop and my new car isn't ready for pickup yet. Can you help me out?"

"Yes we can sir. When do you need a pickup?"

"Tonight at 5pm in Oak Grove at Ashley Automotive."

The nice young voice on the phone starts clicking on her keyboard, "is this going under an insurance claim?"

"No."

"What kind of vehicle do you need?"

"I don't need anything fancy. Oh, do you still have those Nissan trucks in stock? I enjoyed driving those last year."

"Let me check.' More clicking then "No, but I have a real nice Dodge Charger available. Would that suit your needs?"

Bummer, that big truck was fun to drive. It was huge, but "Yes, that will fine. Can you make it there tonight?"

"Yes sir, we can make it there for you. Have you rented from us before?"

"Yes I have." I go through my personal information including giving her my credit card number over the phone and she gets' it all into the computer. Everything is going fine until "I see that you had your wife on your rental last time. Will she need to be put on this rental as well?"

This caught me off guard and I stammered for a second, "Um, well, No. She won't need to be on the rental this time."

The good thing was that the agent on the phone didn't ask why. She took it in stride which was good. I didn't want to have to retell the same story all over again.

We concluded our conversation with her agreeing to meet me at the shop tonight about 5pm so that I could get picked up.

Nice. One more thing down.

I check my watch and see the time, I need to get ready for work and get going or I am going to be late. That is never good. When I finally get to work, 20 minutes before I have to start class, Diana is the first person I see as she is walking down the hallway heading off to another meeting or something. She sees me and walks to me "Oh Paul" she gushes. "I am so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks," I say almost without emotion. I am getting sick of people saying that. "I am glad to get back to work and not just sit around all day long."

"Well, don't you worry about sitting around. You have plenty of work to do here."

"Thanks."

She starts to give me a hug, but stops since her hands are full of papers and instead pats me on the shoulder and then heads off down the hallway to her next appointment. Her job is never done that is for sure.

I clock in, put my lunch away and then head over to my classroom. The room looks the same as I left it. Nothing has changed, which is good. The notes I left on the board are still there, aka the phone numbers, IP address and base-2 conversion chart are all still there.

The day and evening pass quickly. All of my students show up, they all express their condolences at my loss and I thank them politely. I also let them know that I am moving on and don't feel the need to dwell on the past. The past is the past and I don't plan on living there anymore. My students all agree that my plan would be best.

Two things happen on this fine day, one is that the police department call to let me know that they are going to arrest and charge the man who last worked on the tire that blew and killed my family. Second thing is that the lawyer for the company who was at fault called and asked for a meeting. They wanted to start talking about negotiating a settlement on the accident so that we won't have to go through a giant trial which would take years and maybe never come to a conclusion. I agreed to a meeting on Friday so that I wouldn't have to take more time off from work. This was agreeable to them and the time was set up, mid-morning in a lawyer's office downtown.

During my afternoon break, I swing by Diana's office and ask her if she knows any lawyers who might be interested in helping me with my new legal troubles. Luckily she did and would pass their numbers along to me as soon as she can find them in her phone. Based upon the look of the papers stacked on her desk, she may not be able to find her phone either. She assured me that she would have the number to me. I thank her and leave the office.

Just as I leave the office, my stomach rumbles. Oh yes, I forgot to eat lunch today. I walk to the break room for faculty and pull my lunch bag out of the fridge and warm up my meal. As I settle in to eat my lunch one of the ladies who works in the front office comes in to eat her lunch. Ashlee, 33, 5 feet 10 inches tall but over 6 foot tall with heels. Skinny but she still has nice curves and what seem to be perky breasts which are constantly hidden under her business attire. She will often wear skirts to work, many of them short. Don't get me wrong, she is not slutty, far from it. She just has such long legs that anything she wears looks short on her. I had the good fortune to be stuck in a small office during a meeting and happen to sit across from her while we were both eating pizza on paper plates being served by Diana. It was an impromptu meeting and one that both of us had to attend. I tell you this because while I was eating lunch, Ashlee uncrossed her legs and I got a clear shot of her panties from under her skirt. Lacy, black and white, very sexy. I have never gotten another look up her skirt since that one time flash, but I have been very interested in getting another one.

"Good afternoon Ashlee Jones." I say while sitting at the table eating.

"Good afternoon Paul Johnson. How are you today?" She says while getting her lunch out of the fridge as well.

"Doing very well. And you?"

She puts her lunch into the microwave and then turns to me as it runs. "I'm well, a little frustrated at the attendance we have today, but fine none the less." She pauses and then reaches out her hand and places it on my arm. "I am very sorry about your wife and kids. I couldn't make it to the funeral, but I heard from several of the others that did make it that it was very nice at what everyone said during the service. Was the whole church really that full?"

"Yes it was. I couldn't believe it either. My family took pictures of it all for me. I was totally zoned out by it all. I don't remember much of that day, but the things that I do remember were that so many people came to support me. It was very overwhelming." She removed her hand and got her meal out of the microwave and turned to go back to her office. "Would you sit with me and eat? I don't like being alone as much as I once did."