Chapter 24: Opportunity

Over the next weeks, Helen and Danny continued to switch between the apartment and Trudy’s house, mostly staying with Trudy over the weekend. It was on a Friday in mid-May when they stopped the Passat in front of Trudy’s house and unloaded their weekend kits. After unstrapping Larissa from her car seat, they walked up to the door and let themselves in. Entering, they already heard that Trudy had a visitor, and a second later Helen stiffened, recognizing her stepmother’s voice.

“It’s not his fault, really!” she almost whined. “He did it for the best of the company, but when things came out, they used him as a scapegoat.”

“That’s bullshit, Margaret, and you know it. He was taking kickbacks from suppliers. He defrauded the new owners of that production plant. It’s all public record. Pull your head from your ass for once. He was fired for cause.”

“But he didn’t keep anything for himself!”

“Again, bullshit! He pumped all that money into your stupid church so he could stay on the board of elders. Your Reverend Talbot assigns board membership by contributions, and Hiram wanted to keep that front row pew.”

“It is important for us to keep our congregation on the right path!”

“What about that commandment, Thou Shalt not Steal?”

Before Margaret Gunderson could answer, Helen cleared her throat. Trudy was unfazed.

“Hi, Darling! Hey, Danny! Come on in! Oh, here is my little angel. Come sit on Grandma’s knee!”

Larissa squealed and jumped on Trudy’s lap while Margaret Gunderson had bolted up from her chair, her face turning beet-red.

“Hi, Aunt Margaret,” Helen said lightly. “You know Danny, of course. Over there, that’s our daughter Larissa.”

“H-hello, Helen,” the woman almost whimpered.

“So what’s up? Did my dear Uncle get caught with his hands in the cookie jar?”

“It’s a ... a technicality only,” Margaret whined, her forehead perspiring.

Trudy snorted. “The stupid horse’s ass ruined them. He got off on probation and a hefty fine, and now they have to pay reparations for the damage.”

“Ouch!” Helen said with a touch of sympathy.

“Earl is helping them out, of course, but he cannot offer his whole signing bonus. He’s only a rookie, and God knows how long his career will last. They need another 200,000 dollars, and their house is already mortgaged to the hilt.”

In this moment, Danny was immensely proud of Helen. She did not gloat, she did not rub salt into her aunt’s wounds.

“That’s rough,” she only said.

“It is. Now Margaret has this idea that I could move into the apartment I own over the studio. Selling this house will give me the reserves to help them out, so I’m considering it.”

“But this is...”

“It’s a house. I’ve spent sixteen years in it, not my entire life. Besides, Margaret and Hiram will not get all the money. Hiram would just give it to his church, and I don’t fancy financing Reverend Talbot’s next Cadillac. You and Earl will get a share each, and I will keep some for myself.”

“But Hiram says...”

“I don’t care, Margaret. He fucked up. He doesn’t get a vote. I don’t care about him; I care about you. You are my daughter. You will get my help. And if I find out that even a Nickel of my money ends up with your money-grubbing preacher, I’ll cut you out of my will. Is that understood?”

“But we ... Hiram has pledged a tenth of his income to the church.”

“Does he have an income? He can pledge a tenth of every dollar he earns with honest work, but this will be a gift from his heathen mother-in-law to her benighted daughter. I repeat: any money goes to that preacher, and you’ll be out of my will.”

“He’ll lose his seat on the board! The Renshaws have been vying for a seat for years,” Margaret almost wailed.

“Look around this room, Margaret! Do you see a single person who cares? Hiram had better focus his energy on finding a job, a paying job.”

“But he’s been blacklisted in the industry.”

“He’s a chemical engineer. He can work lots of places. And I mean work, not goof off every morning to play golf.”

Margaret shrugged. “The country club forced him to resign his membership. Mathilda Darlington is on the board, and she holds a grudge. She lost control of Villier, and she blames Hiram.”

Villier Pharmaceuticals was the former employer of Hiram Gunderson, Danny knew. A medium sized company that maintained its independence in a tough market. Then another idea popped into Danny’s mind. He knew Trudy’s house well by now. The ground floor held living room, kitchen, a bathroom and an office. On the second floor, there were four bedrooms and two full bathrooms, plus two rooms in the attic that were used for storage only.

“Umh, Trudy, how much do you think this house may fetch?” he asked.

Trudy stopped the next tongue-lashing intended for her daughter and looked at him.

“Why?”

“We’re looking for a better place to live, you know, Ashley, Lynn, Helen and I. Our building super is a nosy asshole and is constantly bugging us about things. If we knew what you’re asking for, we could discuss a buy-out. You know, save you the realtor.”

Trudy looked at Helen. “When did that idea come up?”

Helen looked at Danny first and then at her grandmother. “About fifty seconds ago? I don’t know. Danny?”

“It’s over a minute by now,” he grinned. “Look, it’s just an idea. I’d have to talk to Ashley and Lynn first, and yeah, to Helen,” he grinned sheepishly.

Helen reached over and patted his knees. “It’s not a bad idea at all.”

“It has merits, particularly saving the realtor’s cut. I can have the house appraised. That will give you an idea. I’ll also have to kick out the guy who currently rents my apartment at the studio. Now that will actually be a pleasure. He’s always bitching about something inane. You may want to think of upgrading electricity and the heating before moving in. That furnace is over thirty years old, and you may want to have a GFCI breaker installed in the breaker box.”

“That’s an idea. Right now, the electrical wiring is crap in our apartment. Do you have anybody on hand for the appraisal?”

Trudy grinned. “Do I look like a realtor? I’ll ask my lawyer, Charley Weissman. He’s a family and estate lawyer, so he must know about this stuff.”

“Okay, and I’ll talk to the girls about it.”

All through the exchange, Margaret Gunderson had listened in open-mouthed astonishment. Now she felt that she needed to intercede.

“Hiram may not like it if the house goes to Helen.”

Helen just snorted, and Trudy shook her head. “Again, find somebody who gives a shit. You and Hiram need money. I’m willing to help out, but that means I’m calling the shots.”

“You don’t have to be so crude, Mother!”

“Yes, I must! Margaret, Hiram never gave me any respect. He’s been calling me a hippie dingbat and worse. Well, maybe I am. What I’m not is a thief. Your husband is. If it were just him, I’d leave him to rot. I’m only doing this for you, but make no mistake: I don’t like you much either. You betrayed my trust after I agreed to let you raise Helen. You let Hiram run roughshod over her, you would have let her marry a closeted gay man, and you helped kick her out when she really needed support. You’ve been a shitty stepmother for her.”

“We raised her just like our son,” Margaret protested.

Trudy was already inhaling, clearly ready to fire her next salvo, when Helen put a calming hand on her grandmother’s arm.

“It’s useless. She’s like she is, and she’ll never take position against Gunderson. She was nice and caring to me when I was small. True, I never rated a thought if Earl needed attention, but she treated me kindly until I reached puberty. Maybe it was because I started to look so much like my real mother that she became so uncaring and resentful. I don’t know and I don’t care anymore. I have you, I have Larissa, I have Danny and his family, and now I have my dad’s father and his family. They all like me and accept me. Screw the Gundersons!”

Trudy shook her head and smiled. “You are right, Helen. It’s useless. Margaret, I’ll let you know as soon as I have things figured out. I’ll help you out now, but don’t count on more. Tell your husband to find work, any work. He’ll never have a cushy job like the one at Villiers again, but there is no reason that he couldn’t support you and himself. Now go.”

Margaret Gunderson sent one more reproachful look at Helen and at her mother; then she gathered her purse and left without another word. Seconds later, they heard the front door close.

“Is it just me or did she forget to say something like ‘thank you, mother’?” Danny remarked.

Trudy actually giggled. “It’s been a quarter century since I’ve heard that sentence, and then it came from Grace, not Margaret. It’s not just Hiram’s influence. She was always like that, making demands and needling me with that passive-aggressive whining. Oh, well, she won’t change. Danny, you really think of buying this house?”

Danny made a decision. “Tell you what. This place is really close to Penn. Even if Ashley and Lynn balk, I think I’ll do it. If Helen wants, she can chip in; if not, I’ll do it alone. What do you think the price will be?”

Trudy made a waffling motion with her hand. “I think the going prices in central Philly are somewhere around 160-200 dollars per square foot. The house is about 1900 square feet, so I’m sure you can do the math.”

“About 380k at the most,” Danny mused. “Maybe another 30k for upgrades. That’s doable. I haven’t really touched my trust fund yet, not even all the capital earnings. Of course, that engagement ring has set me back a bit, but...”

Helen slugged him. “You’re being an ass. Trudy, we’ll do it, just the two of us if need be, but I’ll just as soon have Ashley and Lynn join in the buyout. I really love this house, and as Danny said, it’s located perfectly for us. But how about you? Do you really want to move to your apartment?”

Trudy gave her granddaughter a wry smile. “Darling, if it hadn’t been for you moving in with me, I’d be living there already. You guys will move in together in no time, and then I’ll be sitting alone in this big house. I don’t need this much room; the three-bedroom will be plenty for me. Now let me call Charley. I need to send the termination notice to that Garland character, and Charley will know how to couch it in legal slang.”

Saturday, at 1 p.m., Ashley and Lynn came over, wanting to see the house right away, as soon as Danny had texted them about the opportunity. They both gave a smiling Trudy fierce hugs, who in turn let them roam the house at will. Lynn in particular was practically skipping up the stairs and they spent a lot of time in the attic rooms. Ashley had a notebook, measuring tape and pocket calculator with her, and when they descended to the ground floor, they wore shit-eating grins on their faces.

“Guys, we’re in!” Ashley declared. “Mind if we took over the attic? We can have another bathroom up there, a bedroom and a study.”

Trudy smiled. “Actually, the water pipes already run up there. So do the heating ducts. I always planned to do something about the attic, but I never needed the extra room.”

“Deal,” Helen said. “Danny and I can take one upstairs room, and Larissa can take another. The other two rooms can be studies-slash-guest rooms.”

“That’s brilliant!” Lynn enthused. “I’ve been thinking, if you guys chip in your shares in cash, we can get a mortgage for my share which I’ll pay off.”

“You wanna be the first Keel to own real estate,” Danny stated. “I get it, and I’ve no problem. Let’s figure 420k total, meaning...”

“Let’s just say 400k, including all upgrades,” Trudy said calmly. “We’ll have the work done, I pay for it, and you guys get the finished house for 400k. You are saving me the realtor’s cut and a lot of hassle.”

Danny cast a grateful smile at the old woman. “Thanks, Trudy, for everything. So, 400 divvied by five is 80k. I’ll pick up Larissa’s share. She’ll be in the deed, and Helen gets to vote on her behalf. ‘Kay?”

Helen objected. “You can pick up Larissa’s share, but I’ll not act on her behalf. I don’t want us to outnumber Lynn and Ashley.”

“I say four shares,” Ashley said, and Lynn nodded. “We don’t want to run into rearranging shares if and when any of us has another child.”

“On second thought, I second that,” Helen said. “I understand your reasoning, Danny, but Ashley’s right. We should all be on equal footing here.”

Seeing himself outnumbered, not a new experience for him, Danny accepted.

“Okay, but living costs are split five ways.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” Ashley laughed. “Okay, have it your way. I have a friend whose great uncle owns a construction business. I’ll call her and see if she can have somebody sent to get cost estimate.”

“DiRosa Construction,” Danny nodded. “You know, DiRosa Security can also upgrade windows and locks and such.”

“Good point, but security features will come out of our pockets. Well, if I tell Mom, she’ll probably nag Dad until he offers to pay.”

“High speed internet!” Lynn demanded. “I’m so sick of the slow downloads.”

They sat collecting ideas and making plans until it was time for supper. Danny called a neighborhood pizza service, and a half hour later, they were munching pizza slices, still discussing plans. Ashley and Lynn called it an evening then and drove back to the apartment while Danny, Helen, Larissa and Trudy stayed behind. They sat on the living room sofas while Larissa was watching a DVD with clips of her favorite Disney characters, Chip’n’Dale. Helen and her grandmother were talking about the Gundersons, so Danny mostly zoned out and watched the cartoons instead. It was he who brought Larissa to her room to sleep, and when he returned to the living room, the two women had switched topics.