Chapter 07

Housing Helper

Two days after returning to his condo Mo is on campus for a lunch with Mike and Ellen Rains. He’s going to meet them at Ellen’s office and they’ll go to lunch at one of the on-campus eateries.

Mo can hear two women shouting at each other as soon as he enters the building. Walking up the hall to Ellen’s office he recognises one of the shouting women is Ellen. The office door is shut and muffling the words but the angry tones and loud voices can be heard through the whole building. Stopping to stand beside Mike waiting near the desk of the secretary of the Academic Counselling Unit Mo asks, “What’s up, Mike?”

Mike turns to him and says, “Three of the basketball team are about to drop out due to not meeting academic standards and Ellen blames housing for the problem. The manager of the housing section is telling Ellen it isn’t her fault.” Mo gives a slight frown so Mike adds, “They’re on partial scholarships that cover tuition, books, and field trips only. So they weren’t given priority for the assigned Athletic Department rooms and by the time someone realised they had an issue all of the AD assigned dorms were full so they were put in general student rooms. That wouldn’t normally be a problem, except some idiot stuck them in ’Party Central’ and they don’t get enough rest or quiet study time.” Mo nods his understanding. Party Central is the nickname applied to two of the larger old style student housing blocks close together, one for females and one for males. Generations ago the university party animals started congregating in those two blocks to the point the two buildings now have a permanent party atmosphere in them all year round.

While shaking his head Mo asks, “Why not just move them out?”

“All of the housing is full. No one wants to swap and the students can’t afford private housing. Their families are having trouble paying the university housing rates and are scraping by to do so. To make it worse, when they saw they had three scholarship people in a four person room someone in housing put an academic scholarship student in with them. So there’s four of them in the same boat. Ellen is at the end of her tether trying to sort out how to get them suitable housing so they can study and not lose their scholarships. To make things worse, due to the situation with the housing the university could be seen as being liable for the costs because they failed to support the students properly.”

“So you need housing for four students?” Mike nods. “Do they have cars to get about with?” Mike nods again. “Give me your whistle.” Mike hands Mo his whistle while he wonders what he’s going to do.

Mo puts the whistle in his mouth ready to blow it, walks to Ellen’s office door, and opens it without knocking. Stepping inside the room he gives a long loud blast on the whistle. There’s instant silence. Mo brings his hands together in a ’T’ signal as he says, in a commanding tone, “You two! Time out and shut up!” The two women standing and leaning over Ellen’s desk turn to look at him then they both go to speak, and he says, “I said shut up! Now sit down.” Both women look at him for a moment, glance at each other, then both of them sit down.

A voice floats in from the hallway, “Thank heavens, quiet.” Both of the women are embarrassed by the comment and what it implies.

While giving both women a stern look Mo says, “Let me summarise the situation. You have four scholarship students having academic issues due to not getting enough time for study because someone stuck them in Party Central and there’s no other housing available on campus. Also, no one wants to swap. Because they’re on scholarships they have to meet a higher academic standard than the other students in Party Central and that means they need a much more peaceful atmosphere.” He looks at Ellen and she nods.

He looks at Mrs Young, the head of Housing, and she nods while saying, “One of my new staff screwed up. But we can’t fix it this year.”

Both women are stunned when Mo says, “I realise that. The four scholarship students are moving out into private housing off-campus. You need to organise a pro-rata refund of their housing fees for the rest of the year.” Ellen frowns at him so he adds, “Six minus one is what?” She smiles as soon as she realises what he’s doing. Then her smile widens when she realises he doesn’t know who the students are or how they’ll affect his life while living in the condo with him.

Mrs Young says, “They only paid for the one semester, but I don’t have the budget to refund them right now. I can convert what they paid to be a credit on their student cards to help buy things at the cafeterias and university shops. Sorry, but that’s the best I can do.”

Ellen picks up her phone while looking at Mrs Young and saying, “I’ll call to tell them to start their packing. You best get your people organised to sign them out.” She turns to Mo, “You and Mike can go to Party Central to help them pack and move out. They’ll need your big van to help move their gear.”

Mo nods, turns, and walks out. Smiling at Mike he hands him back his whistle while saying, “Come on, Mike, we’ve got work to do.”

Walking out into the parking lot Mike says, “Mo, thanks for sorting that out. I know Ellen was having sleepless nights over it. However, I think you’ve made a wrong assumption.” Mo turns and frowns. “The players concerned are on the women’s basketball team, not the men’s.”

While slowly shaking his head Mo says, “You’re right! I thought it was four guys we were talking about. However, I’m used to living in a house full of females, so I’ll manage.” Mike turns to Mo and is about to speak, so Mo adds, “While I was in high school Dad married a widow with four daughters and a son. Three of the girls lived with us. I survived that. I’ll survive this. Anyway, Sarah will enjoy having four more kids to look after and be a grandmother to.” Mike laughs while they get into Mo’s van for the short drive to Party Central.

When they arrive at the housing Mike Introduces Mo to three of the students involved by saying, “Mo, this is Antonia Santos, Louisa Santos, and Lee Hanes of the basketball team. Ladies, this is Mo Walker, your new landlord. You’ll be off-campus but not that far away. However, you’ll have plenty of peace and quiet to study and sleep. Also, I know Mo kept all his text books, reference books, and work books from his studies in business, law, and teaching. So they’ll be good study aids for you to use. When he’s about he’ll be able to tutor you as well.”

Lee says, “Thanks, Mo. But why won’t you be about all of the time.”

Louisa responds, “He’s a professional baseball player and he’s often away on trips during the season.” She turns to Mo, adding, “I’m Lou, and she’s Toni,” while hooking a thumb at Antonia. “We three are close cousins so we get on well because we’ve been close all our lives. Jo fits in with us so there shouldn’t be any problems at all.” Mo simply nods. “Right, I see you’ve a big van. That’ll help with the desktop computers. Can you guys get busy bringing them down, please?”

Mike grins and says, “Housing should send someone over with carts. We’ll do them when they arrive. Until then I suggest we bring down your hanging gear to put it in the cupboards of Mo’s camper. That should save time on the packing.” The girls grin as they nod their agreement. A few minutes later the five of them are carrying down the clothes on coat-hangers to put them into Mo’s camper cupboards. They’re getting the last of the hanging clothes from the room when Ellen turns up with food and a housing worker with two carts. They hang the clothes, have a quick lunch, and the guys get busy with the computers and larger personal items while the ladies pack bags and boxes which the men take down after getting the big stuff into the van.

Nearly two hours later Jo Mills arrives from her class and is told about the move while being introduced to Mo. She smiles and gets busy with packing her gear. When Lee, Lou, and Toni finish with their gear they help Jo with hers. It takes them another forty-five minutes to get it all packed and loaded into Mo’s van plus the three cars the ladies have. The helper from housing signs off on the housing exit paperwork then returns to housing with the papers and carts.

Ellen and Mike have to return to work. Mo leads the short caravan to the condo where he has them wait in the street while he parks, and then he comes back out with the garage door opener so he can let them into park in his designated parking spots: he has four of them right beside the elevator as each condo penthouse has the first four spots on their side of the elevator. It’s part of the premium price for the penthouse condos.

The Condo

They all grab an arm load of gear and take the elevator up to the top floor. When they enter the condo they meet Sarah cleaning the lounge room so Mo makes the introductions. For the next forty minutes the six of them are very busy carrying things up from the cars. They simply put them into the rooms assigned to the ladies for now. The girls will unpack and sort them out later.

With everything in the condo they take a break for a drink and a chat. Mo hands out keys, garage door openers, and access cards to each of them while laying down the house rules. He says, “Each of you has to keep your room neat and tidy. You have to do your own clothes washing unless you make personal arrangements with Sarah. Leave the dirty towels and sheets in the linen basket for Sarah to wash them. I want the linen changed each week. You’ll make your own meals. If you provide Sarah with a list of items and the money she’ll do your food shopping at the same time as she does mine each week. No parties to be held in the condo unless I give my permission or Sarah approves it for one held while I’m away while working. You can have guests over, but you’re responsible for their behaviour and for cleaning up after them. You’re now tenants and all tenants can have guests over to use the common facilities, including the party area around the pool. However, you have to keep it clean and tidy when you use it, and be respectful of the other tenants. You’ve seen all of the study material in my office so feel free to use them. But don’t loan them out nor allow them to leave the condo. Stay out of the master bedroom unless I invite you in. Otherwise treat the place as home. I’ll talk with your mothers when they visit on Saturday and we’ll sort out the financial aspects then. In the meantime, give a list of your grocery needs to Sarah and I’ll cover the costs for now. We’ll sort the money side out with your mothers on Saturday.”

The ladies all nod and start writing lists of what they’ll need for food for the next week or so. When they hand her the lists Sarah takes them on a tour of the common use areas of the condo before she leaves to get the shopping while the ladies go to unpack and put everything away in their rooms. Mo goes with Sarah to help with the shopping, and they take his van to carry it all back in.

Parental Approval

On the Saturday, a few days later, the mothers of all four girls turn up to inspect the condo and Mo. They’re happy their daughters are out of the troublesome environment of Party Central, but they aren’t happy the girls are living in the condo of a young man. Although, the fact it’s one man and the four girls with a housekeeper often dropping in does alleviate a lot of their concerns about the situation.

When the mothers arrive Mo sits them all down to discuss finances. He says, “The university was unable to provide a cash refund for the unused housing and food component but it has provided a credit to the student accounts. They may be able to provide a cash refund in the new semester or the new academic year, but we’ll have to wait and see. Until then the girls all have a large credit balance on their student cards. As to the costs of living here! For now I’m treating it as a loan to the girls and I’m paying for the groceries they need. Sarah is keeping a record of that and I expect to get paid back when you can afford to do so. I’m not in a hurry so don’t feel pressured about it. With the housing I want a rent of fifteen percent less than what the university charged,” this gets some raised eyebrows because it’s a low rate for such quality housing. “I’m not doing this to make a big profit or recover my investment so I don’t need a big rent. I’m also deferring that until you can afford to pay it. I will be away part of the year with my work so I want the girls to learn self-defence and to get pepper sprays to protect themselves when I’m away. OK?” They all nod their agreement. “If they want to stay over any of the holiday breaks it’s not a problem. If family want to visit for a short while that’s not a problem, but they have to share their girl’s room when they do. Some of my family members will visit and they’ll stay in the spare room so I want it kept free for them.” He gets nods from them all. “Right, let me show you around the place.”

The Condo Layout

The condo is well laid out with the master bedroom in the corner with windows on two sides and a full en-suite bathroom. Along the back wall are Mo’s office which is on the plans as a study, and two bedrooms with a bathroom in between them. Jo took the bedroom between the office and the bathroom on this side. Down the side of the condo facing the playground are the other three bedrooms, another bathroom, kitchen, laundry, and the outside / inside area where Mo has a barbecue and a recently installed hot-tub. The rest of the condo is a large open area for use as a lounge room and dining room. However, Mo cut this down by building two walls to create two four foot wide hallways between the bedrooms and the entertaining areas. These walls have gaps at each end instead of doors and one ends at the kitchen. Their sole purpose is to provide a privacy screen for the bedrooms and bathrooms so people don’t have to keep walking through the lounge and dining rooms. He had the walls put in after he was living in the condo for a few months. After seeing it most of the other condo owners have done the same thing and Pat added it to the design of his later condo developments.

While showing the mothers his collection of study books in his office one of the ladies stops to have a close look at the large family photo of Mo’s family he paid to have taken the last time he was in Tampa. Mrs Anna Santos turns to Mo and asks, “Who’s in this photo?”

The others all move to look at the photo while he says, “Obviously the seated male is me. The man standing behind me is my father. Beside him is my step-mother. Behind the two of them is the mother of Mum’s first husband. The child in front of me is my half-brother, and the other kids are my step-brother and step-sisters, the children of Mum and her first husband. Why the interest in the photo?”

Anna grins while she gets out her cell phone to make a phone call. It’s answered, and she says, “Hello, cousin, it’s Anna. I need to know all you can tell me about a Mo Walker. He’s trying to get my Louisa to live with him.” Mo wonders who she’s talking to while she listens to the person on the other end before she says, “It’s not as bad as it first seems because he’s having Antonia and Lee move in as well.” A longer period of listening then she explains the whole situation.

After hanging up the phone she turns to Mo and says, “I was born Anna Santiago and I grew up in a small community where we all knew each other. Living near me were my best friends and cousins. One of them being the daughter of my father’s brother, Sophia Santiago.”

Mo grins as he interrupts with, “Who married Pedro Pérez and later married Randy Walker some years after Pedro died.”

“Yes. Also, when I married Juan Santos my other best friend married his brother José. Soon after that my husband’s sister married Juan’s best friend Lester Hanes. So these three are all first cousins and you’re the step-son of my first cousin.”

They all laugh then they laugh harder when Mo starts singing, “It’s a small world, after all, it’s a small world...”

Having the girls move in with family is a lot more reassuring to the girls’ parents than if Mo was a total stranger, despite them never having met or heard of him before this week. Family is family, plus he’s known to those who are known and they speak well of him.

They all break down in laughter when Mrs Hanes asks, “Mo, have you ever considered marrying a cute cousin?” The three girls concerned blush which causes the rest to laugh harder.

Everyone soon settles into an even lifestyle at the condo. Some evenings the girls ask Mo for help with their studies and he helps them with whatever else he can. Over the rest of the term the girls’ grades all pick up back to where they belong. When he’s at the condo Mo spends a lot of time with the girls, especially Lou.

It takes some time, but Mo does get reimbursed for his initial food costs and the first semester’s rent for the girls. Because the girls are all paying a realistic rent and for their own food the NCAA isn’t worried about the basketball team members living off campus in the condo.

Between Seasons

There’s not much Mo can do in regards to his employment between seasons except exercising and keeping fit. He bought some professional quality exercise equipment during his first year at college so as to be able to keep a regular exercise program despite the college policies. Having exercise equipment at home means he doesn’t have to visit a gym and the covered track in the courtyard is big enough for a decent running workout for Mo and many of the other residents.

The club he’s signed up with contacts Mo to do several PR activities in the area, most of them to do with orphans and children in hospital. He agrees to all they ask him to do, so he gets some good bonuses out of the work. The club is happy for the PR because they get a lot of good media attention.

A week is spent in Tampa for Thanksgiving, and again at Christmas. But the rest of the time is at his home in Clarksville or the neighbouring communities. In early January Mo starts spending time in local parks playing baseball with the local kids and coaching them while he does.

Sometimes Mo takes the girls out for dinner or a show, not all of the girls can go but Lou always goes with him. He also helps them with their studies. This sets the pattern of their life for the next few years.

The time passes, neither slow or fast, it just goes by.

Spring Training

In mid February Mo goes to the Spring Training Camp for the club he’s contracted to. All those with a contract to the Major League Club are there for the first few weeks of spring training while the players who are contracted with the Minor League Club itself are at another camp.

Mo was given the date to turn up as a fielder, but he arrives there in time to start with the pitchers. The coaches let him join in because they know he sometimes does short relief pitching. When the fielders arrive he gets involved with practice for all of the positions, even as the catcher because it’s the one position he has the least experience in.

One thing that does grate on Mo is the way the Major League players accept all of the Minor League players being at the camp except for Mo. Their attitude to him is still very hostile. During the course of the camp some of the players are told to leave for the Minor League Club’s spring training camp. The attitude of the Major League players toward Mo gets much worse when one of the players from last year’s roster is sent back to the Minor League affiliate.

Three weeks into spring training Mo is sent to the spring training camp of the Minor League affiliate. Before he leaves the camp Mo has a word with the team manager and says, “Skip, I think you should know the tension in the locker room is still as bad as it was before. It doesn’t encourage me to want to play in the Major Leagues at all. I’ve been in two Major League Club locker rooms and both were hostile. They made me feel unwelcome and very happy to leave them.”

The team manager replies, “OK! I hear what you’re saying and I’ll see if I can find out why they don’t like you. I’ve noticed they seem to accept the other players we’ve got in development, but not you. Heck, when I said I was putting Hank on the roster and sending Bill back for more seasoning they had no trouble with Hank, but they still have an issue with you being around. I’ve not seen it like this before. Just go back and play some good ball and we’ll see how things go.” Mo nods and leaves to pack his gear to get travelling to the other training camp.

Second Season

In general a starter on a professional baseball team plays in the same position almost all of the time, rarely do they move around to relieve another player. However, Mo is a starter in each game for his first real season with the AAA Club affiliated with the club he’s contracted to, but he rarely plays the same position two games in a row. The manager shifts Mo around every game so he can rest his main players a lot during the main season. He hopes to have them in a better condition than usual at the end of the season. The only positions Mo isn’t listed for as a starter are as catcher and a pitcher, although he does do some relief pitching in some games. Mo performs well and he soon shows he’s a valuable player at this level. By the middle of the season the team managers feel he’s up to the standard needed for playing in the Major Leagues, but they don’t say anything to the senior club they’re affiliated with.