Chapter 17

Soon the three of us were driving to Granada Hills, and I saw it was an old area of town. Linda told me that had actually been one of the oldest parts of the Valley, back when it was still farms and farm workers. “In fact, there were still a few farms up here when I was growing up. My mom used to drive us to a fruit stand for oranges. Mandy and I always loved it because they had a kind of petting zoo in the back with sheep.” And soon we were pulling off the road and through a gate that had been opened.

The house was amazing, kind of a sprawling two floor ranch house, and huge. But we went to the back, and there was what looked like a garage. But a huge one, as it would house at least five cars and was two floors. And as we pulled up next to a dark blue Lexus a guy climbed out. And I saw it was the guy she was talking with at the movie several months before.

The guy shook my hand, and introduced himself as Pavel. He had a thick accent that sounded Russian, but I could still understand him. “Ah, so this is the legendary brother I have heard about for so long. I am pleased to meet you, Georgy Larentiyvich. My Linda, she says you need place?” At that time Linda had finished pulling Sherry from her car seat, and she ran to Pavel with her arms open wide and he picked her right up and kissed her cheeks as she hugged him. And I saw that Linda had a really soft look in her eyes.

I looked again at Pavel hugging Sherry, and suddenly I just knew. Their faces were actually very similar, and he was not hugging her like she was the daughter of one of his employees. He was hugging her, like she was his own daughter.

But soon he put her down, and I saw he was holding her hand as he took us and opened the door on the far side. “I own this, is rented out now by movie company. They rent house for people who come to town to do movie, to stay in for month or so then go. Also they shoot movie sometimes inside or on grounds. But the garage I still use, park extra cars in it and they say I can rent out. You come, see inside.”

Well, the living area was on the second floor and took up the entire area. Two bedrooms, kitchen, dining area, even a large family room that actually had a fireplace in it. It was old, and Pavel told me it had originally been the carriage house back when this was a working ranch. “Stableboys and others live up here, downstairs stalls and buggy. But back when TV start actor and wife buy it, raise horses and have parties then. They divorce, sell, eventually I buy it. But now this is guest house, you like?”

I was actually astonished. It was easily over 1,000 square feet, and I knew I could do a lot with it. I asked him how much, and was surprised at the price. In addition, it was mostly furnished. I still needed to get a bed, but there were couches, an ancient console TV that even had a record player built into it, and the dining table and chairs were old, and heavy wood. “Surely, that is less than you can get for this, sir.”

He chuckled, and said I was like my brother. “No sir, call me Pavel. Your family of friend, family of two friends really. No, this is not easy to rent because of conditions.” And they were not all that bad. I was to never try and greet those that rented the big house, unless they came to meet me. Never talk about who they were, or to ever take pictures of them. Or tell others who they were even if I recognized them.

“And sometimes, they film movies here. You see lot of vehicle then, at least one truck and many vans and others. If you see that, stay inside as much as can. They not want others inside their movies.” I laughed, and said I could handle that.

“OK, first garage next to door to stairs is yours. And in small room next to is laundry room. You free to use, but buy own soap. Linda say you musician, right? You can have others here, but this you must do. Noise of music must not leave apartment. If they complain of music or noise, out you go. Linda or no Linda, I do this for money and movie contracts are very good. Do not worry about yard, I have people do that and maid in big house. You keep clean and cause no problems, you welcome to stay.”

We went down to show me the garage and laundry room, and it seemed perfect. I told Pavel I would take it, and he grinned. “Alright, you can give check to Linda each month, or take it to where she work and give to girl there. You have problem, you call Linda.” At that he handed me a ring with three keys on it and a remote control for the gate. As well as a code for the gate. “You have button in apartment to open, but tell guests to call you and not use buzzer. That buzz house, not you.”

I asked about utilities, and he said they were all included but phone. I said that was fine, and after walking through and noting some damages he smiled and left. But I noticed that he gave Linda a big hug, and also for Sherry and kissed her cheeks. And after he left, I looked at Linda in amazement. “Why is he doing this for me?”

“Well, you heard him. I have worked for him for years, and he really likes your brother. And trust me, George. Among some people your brother’s name means a lot. Julie and Becky would do almost anything for you, because of him. He is one of the few people that Pavel would tell to do work based on an estimate unquestioned. Hell, did you know the first job he did for Pavel came in well under budget?”

I shook my head, and was locking the door and we got back in her van when she continued. “Oh, Pavel had these Russian guys doing his computer work before Pete. But it was a mess, and Pete had just started Speedy Tech and showed up to get it working. And he redid the entire thing, for less than the other guys did. And when he turned in the bill, he admitted they had made a mistake in the number of hours to bill, and Pavel expected he was about to get screwed over again.”

She laughed, and smiled. “But the estimate was high, not low. And he charged him about a grand less than he thought it would cost. That right there is what sold Pavel on your brother. He could have said nothing, and Pavel would still have been happy and never known he was overcharged. That alone he said told him that Pete’s word was good, and he was very honest. In fact, if you ever go to a computer store in town, look for a badge on the front window or inside saying they are part of ACE. That is something else he did, to help keep computer store owners honest. But if you were to ask those owners, they also know your brother and would give you a discount.”

“Well, I might go and look, but I can’t imagine going anywhere other than Orbit, to be honest.” We continued talking on the way home, and had a great dinner. After she had read Sherry a story and put her to bed we sat in the living room over coffee and talked for a few hours. And I mentioned that Sherry really liked her boss. She looked at me sharply, and asked what I meant.

“Oh, it’s just that when they hugged when he got there, I almost expected her to call him ‘Daddy’. I take it she does not?”

Linda sighed and shook her head slowly. “You damned Culver men, if you look for something you all are incredibly sharp. No, Pavel is her father. I don’t think she is aware of that, but he is.” She then told me about their relationship, and the fact that he was married.

“We do love each other, but he will not divorce his wife, and I will not ask him to. In fact, I think she knows. But as we are discreet she ignores it. Now you do understand that you can talk to nobody else about this, right?” I said I would never say a word, but it was obvious the moment I saw him hugging Sherry.

“Linda, they really do look alike, especially in the cheeks. And I have seen Pete hug kids of his friends, and it was never like that. It was obvious the moment I saw that it was not because she was your daughter, but his daughter also.”

“Well, like I said about your dad a long time ago, you would make a great detective. Pete is the same way, with both of them they are so damned logical if they do not let their emotions get in the way that they are able to see things like that. And I see you have it also.” Soon the coffee was finished, and after a hug I headed home.

The next morning after breakfast I started packing things up. Chet asked me what was up, and I told him I had rented a place out in town. He called over Mike and Josh, and they both said they would miss me. But agreed that living in the dorm kinda sucked. And as the rooms were rented in advance by semester, he liked that he would have the room to himself until the next semester started.

I had not added much, and was able to cram everything into my truck and do it in a single load. And once I got there it did not take long to get everything moved in. There was a heavy metal desk in the smaller bedroom, and I decided to set that up as my study and music room. And when I looked around, I saw there was no phone jack in that room. I sighed, and gave Linda a call.

She said she did not know the number of the guy who did the phones for Pavel, but he always used the same guy. “You know, give Julie a call. He’s a guy Pete suggested, and I think he still does work sometimes for her. I know I have the number at work, but she could probably give it to you now.”

I thanked her, and sure enough Julie had it. “OK, here’s his number. His name is Jack Felter. Just tell him what you need, and that you’re Pete’s brother. You said you need a phone line installed? Do me a favor, and have about $40 in cash for each line. Knowing Jack, he will want to refuse taking any money. He and your brother are friends, but Pete has a policy of never accepting free work from him. Just put it in his pocket, he will not get mad. I have had to do that to him a few times.”

And I was surprised when I called, and when he asked what I needed I said phone lines installed. We talked for a bit, where I dropped that I was Pete’s brother. And when I admitted the service was not live yet he said he could do it on Wednesday. “I can do it before, but it is best after so I can check to make sure everything is done right.” We set it up for the late afternoon, then I went shopping.

I hit a few stores, and dumped a small bundle on everything I would need. Dishes, cookware, towels, linen, and at one I found a nice futon. Then after stopping off for groceries I had everything put away and was having a cup of coffee when I realized I had no tools to put the futon together.

I was heading back out to get some when Shawna called me. We talked for a bit, and when I got out of my truck she asked me where I was. I told her I was near the mall at a hardware store because I needed some tools, I decided to tease her a bit and said I needed to put some furniture together.

And after selecting a small tool set as I was leaving she asked if she could come and help. So I picked her up on the way home, and she was surprised when we got to the gate and I used the remote to open it. She asked where we were, and I simply said it was a house that my Aunt Linda’s boss owned and rented out. We walked inside, and she took a look around as I went into my bedroom and took out the tools I needed.

She watched this, and asked who lived here. And I could tell I surprised her when I said I did. “I rented this yesterday. I told you I was thinking of moving out, and when I was talking to my aunt yesterday she called her boss and we came here. The price was right, so I took it.” She gave a squeal and gave me a big hug, and an even bigger kiss.

“Thankfully it was already furnished, but lacked a few things, like a bed. And the only solution was to wait several days to have one delivered, or get the futon. I figure in about twenty minutes it should be put together.”

She smiled at me as I knelt on the ground and started to assemble it, and went to my computer and put on some music. I grinned when I realized it was my demos, and thankfully it was just me and the keyboards, and not me singing. Finally it was all put together, and she asked me when we could try it out. I grinned at her, and said in another hour or so. She gave me a pout, and I laughed and took her hand.

I walked her downstairs, and she laughed as I took the bedding out of the washing machine and threw it into the dryer. “You are such a tease!” she said, and I grinned at her. “Well, we could try it sooner, but I did not think that you would find wet sheets very sexy.” She agreed with me on that, and we went back upstairs.

I handed her a beer and we were sitting on the couch when she laughed at the TV set. “God, my grandparents had one like that! Why, that thing’s older than we are! Please tell me that came with the place, and you did not buy it.” I laughed, and assured her that I would not buy something that old. “Hell, it does not even have a remote. But I will look for a newer one, and a DVD player. If nothing else, I can just throw a blanket over that and use it for a stand.”

Shawna laughed, and it was a beast. However, I watched her ass as she got up, and was able to figure out how to get the stereo going. And it did not sound bad, but I could tell that the speakers had gotten brittle and should be replaced. Shawna asked me if that is why it sounded so cheap, and I nodded.

“Those speakers are probably forty years old, and made of paper. And when they get old, they get brittle. I bet with some work I can yank those out, and put in some new ones.”

“But why, if you’re going to replace the entire thing anyways?”

I got up and went over and pulled the unit away from the wall, and got on my knees and looked in the back. And with Shawna looking over my shoulder I grinned at her. “See the data sticker? This was made in 1973. And see here? This is an input and output for a tape unit. And see this? These two are for extra speakers, ‘Quadraphonic’ they called it. Kind of like an early surround sound. This is actually a nice unit, even if it is huge and the TV is largely junk. But replace the speakers and add two new ones, this will actually be a killer system.”

I saw Shawna nod as I said that, and asked me how I knew all that. “Well, blame my dad and some of my friends. He was a RADAR tech, and did a lot of things like this at home. And for my old band, we did not have much for equipment so bought a lot of it used. I’ve replaced speakers before, that’s easy. Our first set were about as old as this is, same problem with the speakers. I can even get some cloth and replace it on the front, it is a bit worn and ripped in a few places.”

Shawna brought me my tools, and soon I had the back off and with a flashlight was looking inside. I used a measuring tape to measure the speakers, and soon had it pushed against the wall again. Shawna went to get us some more coffee, and I followed her into the kitchen. I watched her put a package of cookies on the table and return to the kitchen to get a plate. And as she was putting them on, I decided I did not want to wait for the damned sheets. I moved up behind her, and pressed myself against her bottom, reaching around and grasping her breasts.