Chapter 9: Off to College

The four of us were sitting at the kitchen table a couple of weeks before Ted, and I would be heading off to the university. We had called a meeting to discuss what we would do with our lawn maintenance and snow removal business. The three of us had each made about $2,700.00 for the summer. Carl still had another year before he graduated. We decided Carl should take over entirely and hire help and pay them by the hour. I volunteered to ask Mr. Korenski if he would do the books, take care of taxes and do the payroll for a 3% fee. Ted and I retained a 10% interest in the business. Carl was confident that he could get a couple of reliable guys from school.

My dad walked in just as we finished up and said, “So the three of you will be heading off to college in a couple of weeks.”

Carl laughed and said, “Not me, Mr. Paterson. I still have another year of high school.”

“I didn’t mean you, Carl. I meant those three.” as my dad pointed to Ted, Jenny, and me.

Jenny waved her hand in protest, “I’m not going to college. I have to get back to work.”

Dad pulled up a chair and said, “I understand that, Jenny. But you can do just as well in a college town as anywhere else, and these two boys will look out for you. It would be a load off my mind if the three of you stuck together and got an apartment off-campus. It’s not my place to tell you how to run your life Jenny, but I worry about you and don’t want anything to happen to you. I looked into it, and if the three of you shared expenses, it would be cheaper than two of you living on campus.”

Ted perked up and said, “Shit, yeah, Jenny come with us. It will be great. Next year when Carl graduates, it will be the four of us back together again.”

Jenny furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me, “You and your dad planned this little talk?”

I shrugged and pointed to a smiling Ted, Carl, and Dad.

“All four of you cooked this up?” Jenny asked accusingly.

I was about to say something when Carl interrupted me and said, “This is how it is, Jenny. If you don’t go with them, I will be so worried about you that I will be following you around to make sure nothing happens to my best friend’s girlfriend and flunk high school. Then John’s dad would have to quit his job to watch out for the both of us.”

That got a laugh from all of us. But Carl was not done and became very serious.

“I don’t know why I feel so strongly that the four of us need to stick together to make it in this world, but I do. Sure, John has been our best friend for a long time because of our little business deal, but that will come to an end. Something happened when John brought you into our group. If you do not stay with us, I know we will all eventfully drift apart and go our own way. You need us Jenny, and I know that we need you to hold us all together until we can stand on our own feet. We are better and stronger together, so let’s keep it that way. That’s all I have to say. I will shut up now.”

None of us could think of anything to add, so we all looked at Jenny.

Jenny shrugged as if resigned to the inevitable, “Well, I guess I am going with you guys. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking up a great group of friends. But if you want to know the truth, I would have followed you guys there even if you had not asked so eloquently. I love John and think of the rest of you as family. After all, two of you are going to adopt me.”

Dad was relieved and said, “Okay, everybody in my car, our little family is going out to dinner, my treat.”