Chapter 28

As we drove to my place, I asked Pete if that was a good idea. “Oh yes, it is. Especially as it might help us get some more Hollywood charters. They really like things like this, and we had already been considering how to add movies. But this is even better, as it offers six channels, and a single box will handle all six of them from tapes. There are airlines that do not have seats this nice, even if these are over a decade old.”

On the way back Pete insisted we stop at a place in Sepulveda, where he bought us two of those large beef bowls. I laughed at that, but he just gave me one of his grins. “George, you can laugh if you want. But I just can’t get these back home. Mandy and I have tried, and we just can’t make them the same. And it reminds me a bit of my time in Japan, so I always try to get them when I come down.”

And the first surprise was when we got to my place. He admitted he was impressed when we were inside, and I think my TV conversion surprised him. And as we were getting ready to eat, I surprised him again when I set down two glasses with ice, then the green bottle.

“Wow, I’m not even going to ask how you got this. But thank you, baby brother. I have to admit this surprises me.”

“Well, I know it’s your favorite brand. I know a guy in the dorm that would buy things for us. I don’t live there anymore, but he will still pick things up for me. So I had him pick this up.”

“Well, I do appreciate it.” We started eating, and mostly talked about general things. And once we were done we sat in the living room and he said it was time for a more serious talk. I suspected that was one of the reasons he was here, so I told him to hold on a moment.

I returned and put the box on the table, along with the cutter I had bought in Mexico. He laughed again, and nodded. “Yes, this might actually be a good idea also. George, you are surprising me here. If I did not know better, I would think you were trying to bribe me.”

“Nope, I saw those actually the other day because I had to overnight on my last trip. And I remembered it also was a brand you liked, so got a box.” He nodded, and soon we had them lit up. “OK, before we get to serious matters, get yourself a small humidor. You can get one for under fifty dollars, and it will prevent them from drying out. Otherwise, they would dry out and not be good in a few weeks.”

I told him I would, and he suggested a few I could look into getting. “If you just smoke them occasionally, an inexpensive one with a sponge and a humidity gauge would be enough. If you hold a lot, look into an electric one. Those cost more, but also hold more cigars and are easier to take care of.”

And at that, he got a serious look on his face. “George, one of the reasons I am down here is at the request of the Board. You were so upset when we pulled your voting shares, and you said you were going to return to being a full time student again. And you did, but only for one semester. You were about to get those rights back, then you went back to part time, and now you are not taking summer classes at all. So I gotta ask, what gives? Are you dropping out?”

I sighed, and shook my head. “No, I’m not dropping out. Yes, I decided to take the summer off because I could not pass up this opportunity when Pavel asked me to take it. In the fall I will return, but once again part time. Pete, I’m making good money doing this. And I’m racking up a lot of hours. I figure I will have enough come fall that I would apply for a Commercial license. Then get my IFR rating. I am currently flying three days a week, I will schedule my other classes for the two days a week I am not flying, so I will still be going to school.”

I saw him nod at that, and take a drink. “And tell me, tell me honestly. I’m paying for it, right?”

I looked into my eyes, and nodded. “Actually, you are paying for about half of it out of your trust. The Board is paying the tuition and boarding, you are paying for the out of state tuition rates. And in case you did not know, your credit hours are almost three times what in-state students pay.”

“But I’m not paying that at Glendale.”

“Yep, and I bet you just did not tell them when you registered that you are really a resident of Idaho and not California. Plus, they generally do not care so much for part-time students. But that is the difference between say Glendale Community and CSUN. There, they would check even then. If you decided next year to return to Cal State Northridge, they would check that and you would be paying them at the full out of state rates.”

I looked at him, and he struck a match and relit his cigar. “So the board, we made the decision when you were still in Junior High that we would cover tuition for all of you. You threw us for a loop when you said you wanted to come here, but we decided that as a compromise. We assumed you all would go to Idaho State, or BYU or maybe Southern Idaho. That way you could stay at home.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “But no, you picked CSUN. So together we decided on that as a compromise. We would pay for your boarding, you pay the out of state tuition fees. Well, then you screwed that all up again and moved here. Well, that is out of your pocket and you decided this on your own. The board by the way is thankful for that, it is costing us less and you more. But that was entirely your decision, you made that entirely on your own.”

And I nodded, as indeed it was. “But in my defense, I did not know that. I simply realized I could afford to not live in the dorm. I did not hate it, but I had no privacy there. If I wanted to say spend the night with Shawna, I had to pay for a motel room. Or mess around on the synth and not want to wear headphones. I simply did the math, and this was in my budget.”

“Yup, and because you were smart enough to tell Linda you were looking for a place. Oh relax, she told me about it and you had no idea that she could help you get this place. I know you were not trying to use our friendship to get something for yourself. And I know Pavel enough to know he is all business. He will help a friend, but also looks out for his own interests first. They both told me this was hard to rent because of the conditions, and this works for both of you. But tell me, when are you going back to school?”

I sighed, and took another drink. “Well, I was thinking maybe in the Spring. I can talk to Pavel about finding a second pilot, and do only one trip a week, maybe two. For Fall and Winter do it part time, then in Spring return to more of a fulltime class schedule. And maybe one class in the summer and flying full time again.”

“OK, so at least you do have a plan. That is actually what we were concerned about. You are working, and we are all proud of you for that. But we also do not want you saying ‘fuck-it-all’ to your education just so you can fly.”

“Naw, I ain’t gonna do that. I just figured I could take six years instead of four to get my degree. And I am now really considering specializing in aviation law. And I think that my having not only piloting experience but commercial license would be a big benefit in that area.”

He smiled and nodded, and asked if I was considering joining a partnership, working corporate, or trying private practice. And there I had to admit I was completely undecided, but leaning towards private practice or a small partnership.

“I can’t see working for a large firm, but I now know I can afford to work on my own, or find another like me and enter a practice with them.”

“Ah, so like ‘Nelson and Murdoch’.” I looked at him, and he shook his head. “From the Daredevil comic book. Murdoch is Daredevil, who fights crime at night. In the day he is an attorney that formed a practice with his friend helping the poor in New York. So not joining an established firm, but making your own.”

At that I nodded. “Yes, like that. I know Pavel had to pay an attorney to get this transport company all set up and legal. He has not told me, but I’m sure it cost him a pretty penny. And if there is one Pavel, there are likely a lot of others that I can do that for.”

“Yup, that there is. We use a firm out of Seattle, they helped us get it all up and running legally. And I can tell you this, get some experience under your belt and we might even hire you ourselves. Or if you want to try the corporate side, bring you in-house as our general legal expert. That is actually what Dee was hoping you would do eventually. Get some experience, then come to work for the Mañana Land Corporation. Dad, he was actually hoping you might take over for Mister Flushing. He is planning on retiring in a year or two, and we know that will not work because you will not graduate by then. But if that is something you would want, we could probably still work something out.”

I looked at him, and he nodded. “I have already talked with George, that’s another reason I’m here. If you expressed interest, he would take on a junior partner and continue part time. Then when you graduated you would join the firm, with him largely retiring and only coming in if needed. Then a few years down the line have you take over. Is that something you would be interested in?”

I poured myself another drink, and leaned back in my seat. Wow, more options than I ever knew. And they kept it all a secret from me, that was so typical of my family! It seems that every time I turned around, they were making all of these secret arrangements behind my back. Never telling me about them, just hoping they could manipulate me into doing what they wanted.

“So tell me Pete, which one would you want me to do?” And I am proud that I was able to keep the sneer off of my face when I said that.

“Honestly, whatever you want to do, George. One thing Linda finally got me to understand along with our dad, is that you need to make up your own mind what you want to do. Our dad and I butted heads a few times over the years. He was not all that happy I was working part-time at a junky computer shop when I was waiting for my discharge from the Marines. And in that, he was kinda like Becky. She did not like it either, and they both thought I could do better. However, he eventually did see where I was going while she did not. Your mom helped him see that when she would tell him the financials, she actually knew that far better than I ever did. And he supported me when he saw how fast I was growing the company.”

He stood and went to the kitchen to get more ice for us, and poured himself another drink. “Our dad, he just tries to protect us as much as he can. Hid from both of us how much money we had. Neither of us ever knew we were rich.”

“But those two houses, those are easily over a million and a half, maybe two million.”

“Yep, now it is. George, housing prices in LA have gone through the roof since we all lived here. I want to say dad bought that at maybe a sixty thousand, and put about that much money into it as it was a wreck. We paid almost a million for the house behind it, and that staggered even me. But we all decided it was good as an investment. And that if someday in the future the board decided to rip them both out they could build a nice apartment complex there. In fact, we have a local broker that will notify us if either of the two corner units become available. So someday, there may well be a time those four houses are converted into an apartment complex.”

“Over my dead body!” I said, and he actually jumped. “Pete, remember that is my house now. The house I grew up in. And the only way I can see my ever allowing that is if we owned all four units, and say a fire or earthquake destroyed our house.” I took a deep breath, and sighed. “Then, maybe then I would agree to that, but not as long as that house is still standing.”

He actually reached over and pulled me in and gave me a hug for that. “Wow, it’s been a long time since I heard you like that. What brought that on?”

I thought a moment, and took another drink. “Well, I think for the first time I realized how you probably felt seeing the Ranch as it was after you all left. I imagined a bulldozer tearing down my house, our house, and I got mad. I know it makes no sense, as I actually lived most of my life up there in Idaho. But that house has my oldest memories. And the thought of seeing it destroyed made me mad.”

He nodded, and raised his glass to me. “Trust me, I do understand. And I felt the same way, I was furious and heartbroken when I saw the original ranch house was gone and that, that thing in its place. I admit I love the Big House now, but at that time I saw it as a monstrosity. Far too big for what was needed, and it did not fit in the area. But now? Now, Kim and her family have made it a home and it fits. In fact, I sometimes teased her that they had so many kids just so they could fill it.”

We both laughed at that, and he smiled. “And remember, I did a lot of work on the house here also. And feel the same way, hence my saying ‘someday in the future’. As in, after I had retired and you and Grace and your kids were in charge.”

I looked sharply at him when he said that, and he chuckled. “No, not you, Grace, and your kids with her. We all recognize though that in the future you and your family, and her and her family would likely be the leaders of the company. And you two and your spouses would more or less be like Kim and I now. Our parents really do take a backseat in how the company is run, the four of us largely run it. Her parents are already largely retired, as is our dad and Dee. We rely on them for advice, but they are not all that involved as they once were. And within another eight to ten years we all hope you and Grace will be starting to step in and take some of the responsibility yourselves and we can step down. Hence, my asking what your plans were.”

I had actually started to calm down again, but once again I felt furious. Did their manipulations never end! “And when exactly were you going to tell me about this! All those lies about picking my own course, when you really wanted me to work for you!”

I saw him jerk at that, and then shake his head. “George, relax. What, you did not figure this out for yourself? Why in the hell do you think your mom and me were so worried about your voting shares! Bro, you already own a part of the company. I guess you never realized it, but think a moment. We are manipulating you into nothing. Hell, our dad barely did anything other than our board meetings because we valued his input. He worked full time, and has never had an official part in any of the companies other than being on the board. The same with Dave, he was so tied up in running the cattle part that he had little time unless we needed his input or vote.”

He looked at me, and I admitted he was right. “Your mom and Darla were both moms, Dee with a career of her own. They took up the parts they did on their own. With Grace’s parents it was the same. Jeff was working as a minister, and seasonally for the State. He had an idea to make computers, and I thought it was a good idea. That is how Gem started, it really was a garage operation originally. In my garage at the ranch as I was still living in LA. That really was all Jeff, I just advised him. By the time I moved back to Idaho, it was almost all in his hands, at most I made appearances and helped predict future trends in the industry.”

He looked at me, and could tell I was still mad. “God, I wish Mandy was here, or your mom. They are much better at things like this than I am. Look, if you don’t want that, and want nothing to do with the company we can just buy you out. Come to a price for the value of your shares, give that to you in cash and you just walk away. Or you can do like earlier, assign somebody as your proxy and do nothing other than collect the quarterly checks. George, you are not being forced into anything, trust me! You are free to do whatever you like, I just want you to realize long before I did that you have options.”

“Yes, I have options. Work for the company or walk away.”

He actually laughed at that. “Sure, you can do either of those. Like you told dad, take up surfing and live in a trailer on the beach if you like. No, you have options, and what you do in the future is entirely up to you. Hell, want to just give us your shares back and take nothing for them, we can do that. We will have to pay you the cash value for your house, because the tax man will insist on that being paid. Or continue to hold it and if Sue and Rob ever move out you can move in. But remember, if you decide to go that route and ever want to sell it, the Company has the right of first refusal. And odds are we would simply buy it from you as I don’t want that house leaving the family.”

He reached out and put his hand on the back of mine. “George, you have so many fucking options. The only thing is that no matter what you decide, you do not have to be poor. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“Oh bullshit, Pete. You were never poor. Just as I was never poor.”

He looked at me again, and shook his head. “Yes, actually you are right there. But hear me out a bit, please. You don’t know what it was like when I grew up on the Ranch. The house I have now is nicer and bigger than the old ranch house was. The top of the hill? That was split in two, half for hay and the other half for Dave’s cows. It made a little money, just enough to pay for the taxes and upkeep. Our dad and my mom had good jobs, and it landed us comfortably in the upper middle class.”

He looked at me very intensely. “But realize, I never knew that. I worked hard for over a year to buy my first car. Because my mom made it clear they would not buy me one, I would have to work for it. We rarely bought meat, we got it from Dave. I knew they had an arrangement for a steer as part of the rent, but I thought it was because we had little money. When we went on vacations, we borrowed a motorhome or stayed with friends. Normally I got two vacations, one with mom and the other with dad. Back then I thought it was all we could afford, one worked as I took a vacation with the other because we could not afford a vacation as a family.”

He looked at me, and he looked a bit distant. Probably remembering his mom. “I did not realize that was just so both had some time with me and them alone. The only real trip we ever took was right before my mom got sick, when together we all went to Disneyland. Easily the most expensive vacation we ever took. They never bought new cars, and lived like we were just another family. Even the house here in LA, dad bought it as a trashed crackhouse and fixed it up. If we needed parts for the cars, we went to a junkyard if possible. I did not know for years how well off financially we were. And it was the same when I started my business.”

His glass was empty and he poured it half full. “I started Computer Outlet just to give myself something to do. Take the old computers from Cliff, sell them and split the profit. I knew my retirement was enough to live off of, but I wanted something to do. I moved in with Becky, a tiny two bedroom bungalow in North Hollywood that was smaller than your apartment here. She grew up poor, and we lived very simply. I bought a used Toyota, we lived off of my retirement and what she earned at Sears. I never saw what I made from the games, your mom simply took what I earned and reinvested it back. I would ask her if I could afford something, and she always said yes. The money did not matter to me, just so I had enough to grow the business.”

And it’s funny, I had been told this before, but never like this. “Mandy is the one that forced me to open my eyes. She had me call and ask my dad how much I was worth. And I was in shock when he said almost a million dollars. I could not even imagine it, but it was true. Later we laughed that I would call and ask your mom if we could afford my spending eight thousand dollars to buy out a bankrupt computer store or two thousand dollars for a printer and other things. Not even knowing I had almost a million in the bank.”

I asked him if that was true and he nodded. “So yes, Becky and I lived like we had around fifteen hundred a month between us. Enough for rent, decent food, and to get a few nice things. All of our computers then I built or upgraded with parts I got cheap from Cliff or other stores. Her music shop? That started as a hobby for her in part of the store. Buying things used from pawn shops, or on consignment from other musicians. We lived like we were lower middle class store owners, because that was how we saw ourselves.”