Chapter 56

Harold Hanes of durham

It had been two months since I had done anything, other than take Mikah for walks. Yes there was the occasional repair to the car wash itself but that was just a couple of time otherwise it was just sit and watch time pass. Janet didn’t seem to get bored as I did. Maybe because she had found a martial arts instructor with whom she began to study. She also kept working on her TV scripts from memory. She was able to adapt some of the events of our first Virginia script into the second show.

I, on the other hand, was allowed to read them only when she was almost ready for the final draft to begin. Then we had a day long consult on the structure and dialogue. Her sense of dialogue was shit, but her sense of layout of the script was much better than my own.

I remember that it was a Monday morning with Harold Hanes, the executive producer and penny pincher, of the new show called, I was thrilled. We had called it ‘Researcher’, it most likely would be changed before the pilot was shot.

Harold spoke to Janet, which was fine with me. I hadn’t had good luck with the producers of Durham County shows. She had sent the final pages of the revised pilot script to Harold on Friday. Harold was evidently a workaholic, since he had read them by noon Monday. While Janet talked on the phone I left the house with Mikah for her walk. Mikah was a star in the hood. The people both black and white spoke to her. Some of them either just nodded or ignored me completely as I walked with her.

On that Monday morning the ‘cat lady’ was standing in her front yard waiting for me. Spring has definitely sprung, I thought.

“Good morning,” I said trying to pass by without stopping.

“Have you got a moment,” she asked.

“Sure,” I said impatiently.

“I had to have my cat Bella put down,” she said almost in tears.

“Oh I’m sorry Lilly. Is there anything I can do?” I asked.

“I have got a new kitten coming. I was wondering, if we could set up a play date for the kitten with Mikah,” she asked.

“Sure, if we aren’t busy that would be fine, Just let me know when,” I replied. I hated myself for being so weak. “I’m sure Mikah will get along fine with your kitten. She was trained to tolerate other animals of all kinds.”

“Gee, I had hoped for more than toleration,” The old bat said.

“Well we will have to introduce them and see what happens. But Lilly whatever happens is on you. It’s your idea,” I said.

I left with Mikah after that. I was met at the door by Janet. “That other bitch, Mica, called me. You weren’t answering your phone, and she said that she needs to talk to you immediately about Jon and Effie.”

“So this is going to be another one of those Mondays,” I replied with a sigh.

“That’s not all we need to go to Durham tomorrow. Harold Hanes wants to meet with us. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant.” she said.

“Okay, make it anytime after eleven,” I said.

While Janet went to her room to call Harold, I called Mica. “Hey girl what are the kids up to now?” I asked.

“Effie wants to drop out of school, get a job, and move in with Jon. You did know he plans to get a place of his own after high school graduation? Mica asked.

“No and I’m pretty sure that Thia doesn’t know either. What is he planning to use for money?” I asked.

“We didn’t get that far. When I said, ‘Oh hell no you are not,’ the conversation ended. Please tell me you aren’t offering him money,” she demanded.

“I am not offering him anything. He has a graduation present coming, but not nearly the kind of money you are talking about. I suggest you talk to Thia,” I said.

“The hell I will,” she said.

“Come on, you need to show a united front. You also need to coordinate your response. Just fucking talk to her, then if you need me to, I’ll put in an opinion.” That pretty much ended the conversation.

“You know I’m a cop. I can put an end to this, but I don’t really want her known as the town slut,” Mica said.

“Mica, just talk to Thia and calm down. If you two decide you need me to mediate, I will get involved. But try to keep it out of court, and off the gossip hot line please,” I said.

We stayed busy all day with the teenage drama straight off the TV shows. I had one of the single moms after the other calling me right up until midnight. I wasn’t mediating, I was refereeing. It got old quick.

“Tuesday morning, I woke up happy to greet a new day. I left dressed in a cotton tee shirt. I pulled on a pair of cargo shorts, Bermuda length. I added the hiking shoes with Velcro closures and my lightweight fishing vest. When I went out the door, Mikah was right behind me. Janet came along for the morning walks, since she missed the afternoon walk most days, and was surely going to miss our after lunch walk that day, since it was likely to be canceled.

Since I took my morning pills, I had a glass of chocolate milk before the hike. Janet was responsible for her own daily maintenance, so I had no idea what she used for fuel. We were up to a hike of 2 ¾ miles by that time. There was still minor pain at the end, but it was easily manageable. Since I was probably going to miss the lunch hike, it was even more important to push the morning hike. We came home, fed Mikah. took our showers, then left for Durham in my Accent.

The meeting happened at eleven sharp. I was thankful that Harold was a stickler for punctuality. His office was on the edge, of the ground floor, of the old Sears building. When his teenage secretary led us into his office, I looked at the clock on my phone. I certainly couldn’t argue with his time management skills.

When he stood behind his desk to greet us, I had to fight to keep from laughing. Harold was a man short in statue, maybe five four at the most. He was also effeminate in his mannerisms. I was going to have a hard time not laughing. Still I maintained my professionalism.