Chapter 13

Heath had a blast with Debbie at the mall. He took her to a local dive his dad loved for lunch, and they had soup and salads that filled them up. After they’d eaten their fill, they hit the mall. The first thing he did when they got to the mall was take her over to his cell phone carrier and get her a state-of-the-art smartphone. Begley had shut off her old cell the day he kicked her out of his house. Heath added her to his phone plan, and she left with a phone. There was no way he was going to let his wife run around, even in Phantom Horse, without the means to call for help if she or the baby needed it.

Then the fun started. He knew he was spoiling her, but he didn’t care. They looked at baby furniture, and when she found a nursery theme and furniture she loved, he slapped down his American Express Platinum card and bought it. Paying extra to have the store ship everything to the cottage.

Then he took her to the mommy and me stores, and they bought maternity clothes that she didn’t need now but would in a few months. He had her get everything the baby would need at first, too, like receiving blankets. They also purchased a baby travel set that comprised an infant and toddler car seat, and a stroller the infant carrier attached to. As the baby grew, they would remove the infant carrier and convert it into a normal stroller.

Anything that caught her eye he purchased for her. Debbie fussed at him for spending too much, and he knew she wasn’t used to the kind of money he had available. He was already thinking ahead. When they got back to the suite, he’d place a call to Fish and have him look for a safe, dependable family car for her. He’d make sure that she had everything she needed to be the best mommy she could be. When the baby was old enough, he’d help her go to college as well.

As he was thinking about that, something else struck him. She had lost her most treasured possession when her father had destroyed everything. Something he didn’t think she could live without for long. Two somethings, and he was going to correct those losses right now. He took her hand and started leading her. He’d seen the store he wanted earlier, but she’d avoided it. Probably because she didn’t want him to know how much she missed her possessions. He knew she wouldn’t be dry-eyed once he took her in and told the salesperson what they wanted.

“Where are you taking me, Heath?”

He smiled. “I’m taking you to your idea of heaven, beautiful.”

He kept leading her until they stood outside a music store. He walked her in and she said, “What are you doing?”

“I’m righting a wrong.”

A salesperson came over. “Howdy folks, can I be of service?”

Heath smiled. “You sure can. Would you be so kind as to take my wife over and show her your absolute best acoustic guitars?”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Heath, I don’t need anything expensive.”

Heath took her hands in his. “You want to write and make music, right?”

“You know I do.”

“And your guitar got destroyed, correct?”

“You know it did.”

“That’s right, I do. I also know that you deserve the best to chase your dream. Tell you what, mister. Don’t show us the most expensive, show us the best acoustic guitar you have in the store. I mean, the one if you were going to buy one you’d purchase for yourself.”

The guy gave Heath a look that said he wasn’t going to waste his time showing them something they couldn’t afford. “Sure, let me show you some great beginner guitars.”

Heath stopped him. “I didn’t ask you to show me beginner models. I asked you to show me the best guitar you have in stock.”

The guy stared at him and huffed. “Look, kid, you can’t afford the best guitar in the store. It’s a Martin GP14 electric acoustic six-string guitar and costs almost nine thousand dollars. Now if you want me to show you something you can afford, then I’ll be happy to help you, otherwise stop wasting my time just to show off for the girl.”

Heath stilled and let go of Debbie’s hand. “Go get your boss right now, mister.”

“Why don’t you just take your girl and go somewhere else, kid? I don’t have time for this.”

Debbie looked at him. “Heath, I don’t need a guitar that bad.”

He smiled at her. “I didn’t say you needed one. I said I wanted to give you one. That’s what I’m going to do.” Then he turned to the salesperson. “What’s your name, mister?”

“Ralph, but I’m still not going to waste my time getting you the Martin GP14, kid.”

“I see, so you don’t get paid by commission, then?”

The guy looked confused. “I do. What’s that got to do with it?”

Heath just smiled and saw a younger salesperson who’d been watching the whole exchange. He looked at her. “Excuse me, miss, do you get paid on commission, too?”

The woman smiled and walked over. “Yes, all the sales staff gets paid on commission.”

“Would you like to make more money tonight than this blowhard?”

“I’m not allowed to take customers from another salesperson.”

“Well, Ralph here doesn’t seem to want to help me. Would you be a dear and go get your sales manager for me?”

She looked from Heath to Ralph a couple of times. “Sure, I’ll be right back.”

Ralph was almost red with anger and embarrassment. “What are you playing at, kid?”

“I’m not playing, Ralph; you screwed up. When you realize how bad you’re going to be kicking yourself.”

Just then, the woman came back with a man about Ralph’s age. “I heard you wished to speak to me, sir?”

Heath nodded. “Yes, I have a slight issue with your sales staff.”

“Oh?”

“I asked Ralph here to show my wife the best acoustic guitar you have on site and he informed me I couldn’t afford it. Is it your company’s policy to tell customers what they can and can’t afford?”

The manager looked at Ralph, then back at Heath. “It is not, but perhaps Ralph didn’t tell you our best guitar is nine thousand dollars.”

Heath nodded. “He did, but when I told him that was fine, he still refused to even show it to us. So, I would like your permission to change salespeople. This woman has been kind and helpful. I’d like to have her ring up my purchases.”

“I don’t mean any offense, son, but are you telling me you can afford to buy a nine-thousand-dollar guitar?”

Heath pulled his wallet out of his pants and pulled out his Platinum card and one other hidden behind it. “Well, I could probably put it on this card, but since you seem to question my net worth, what say we put it on my other card?” He handed the woman his JP Morgan Palladium Card, letting the 24-karat gold and Palladium shine so that both Ralph and the sales manager could see what it was.