Chapter 7

“Hi Honey, I’m home.” I received a kiss the same as I always did. “How was your day?”

“Good. Pete, I went alone to see your grandmother today. I found her at the address you gave me. I saw your Aunt Ida, too. They are living together and helping each other. It seems that your aunt was sick one time and your Gram heard about it. Wonders, they became friends and because money is short, your Grandmother invited her to live with her. Pete, they are just existing on so little. They were going to serve me tea, but there wasn’t enough to make a pot. We have to do something for them.”

“Well, figure out something and we will.”

“She is your grandmother.”

“I know that, but she wasn’t that nice to me. My parents were lost to me and she never gave me any sympathy. I can understand that part because she didn’t get along with my mother at all. It seemed that she transferred her dislike to me.”

“She was pretty pleased to find out you were alive. She did know you had gone into the service because the Army sent her a pamphlet about you being in basic training.”

“I’ll have to catch up with her someday.”

“You will, and soon. You can take a day off to go visit them.”

“What’s my aunt like?

“Kind of pretty in a faded sort of way. I saw a picture of your mother and they looked a lot alike. They treated me so nice and are so happy we are having a baby. We are going to have to rescue both of them and bring them here so they will know him.”

“So we are having a boy, for sure?”

“We had better because I always think of the baby as a he.”

“Does Aunt Ida work?”

“Part-time in an office only. She works in a used clothing store. I thought of Sandy when I found that out. You were talking to Sandy about starting a non-profit. Aunt Ida works in the office of a non-profit. Maybe she can give Sandy some ideas how to go about it.”

“How old is my Aunt?”

“I’d say about fifty. How old would your mother be?”

“I’ll have to look it up. I always think of her being young. She was and she suddenly didn’t get any older.”

I turned away, for the memories of my parents invaded my mind. “Mary, I can’t go see them this week or this weekend because we are having company. Hey, do you want to hear about my day?”

“What about your day?”

“I talked to Sandy about her barn after work. I’m going to buy that lumber from her shortly. I’m going to pay the back taxes on the building and keep track of all the thinks she needs to do. I may help her out financially for a bit because that door without the chain falls just won’t do. It would be too much for Fred to handle.”

“Are you spending all of our money?”

“Not on that, but I did talk to Fred about the land he owns. I called Charlie to see how much money we have. There is another check coming soon. Charlie will finance it anyway when I laid out what I wanted to do with the land. Fred quoted me with a great deal. Not all of it money either. He wants to keep forty acres to hunt on which leaves one hundred, sixty acres for building houses on.

“I’ll have to let Geno know my plans tomorrow so he won’t get pissed at me. I wrapped up the deal for the Capparelli Construction to have room for our business in a small part of the barn. I tell you, these deals with these squatters are turning into our life’s future. I feel more secure than I have in a long, long time. Almost more than I did in finding the mine.”

“You’re crazy, but I love you. Supper is cold you know?”

“I expect so. Mary, I’m glad you asked about spending our money. It isn’t about me spending my money, because it is our money. It is yours as much as it is mine.”

“Oh, I know that Pete, but you don’t have to ask. We started out, basically even, you had a little bit of money and I was almost broke. I have been studying to finish my schooling by learning how to become a financial advisor. As far as I can determine, you are using a good pattern in spending and saving. Money isn’t worth much if it just sits in the bank not working. You must have the same book I’m learning from.”

“Okay, on that, now feed me.”

“I hope you like cold macaroni and cheese.”

I talked to Geno in the morning. This was when he, I, and Guido had our usual morning meeting planning the day’s work. I told him what the plans I had for helping out Sandy in getting the barn ready for us to use to store our tools in. “I woke Sandy up after our meeting with me telling her how she could become well-to-do with the barn. Just by leasing some of it to us and what the storage space on the first floor would amount to. She is going to have Fred organize it so it doesn’t interfere with us.

“Her biggest asset is the second floor for storing boats and bikes and other small equipment that people need stored for the winter. She is going to call around about getting the overhead back door easier to open. She claimed when I talked to her the first time about this, that she didn’t want to become a business woman. She thought over what I told her was possible, and she decided that she would be better off than panhandling on the streets most days.”

I added, “Hey, Gina is interested in helping her and she said she and Mary had discussed this. Maybe they will get Chloe in the mix. God, think of what a force our women can do together!”

Guido laughed and said he would call Chloe. He added to this, “You know I want to do something about that Harrison asshole who did her wrong. She is struggling terribly with little Ricky. Harrison owes her back money for alimony and won’t pay any child support for the boy. Maybe we should pop him?”

This scared me because I knew I would be looked at if he did disappear or worse. “Let me get a lawyer to look into her situation. My brother-in-law might not want the job, but he will know someone who will.”

“Call him.”

I called Kenny Goodell, but he was busy. Guido went to work and I hung back to tell Geno about the land deal I was talking to Fred Hamilton about. I explained, “That plot of land could be something for the future of our business. It is rolling land with some low hills. When we finish rehabbing the houses on this street, what are we going to do? I thought maybe we would go into new house construction.” Geno asked questions and I laid my thoughts out.

He thought for several minutes and then asked, “Can you swing the cost of it yourself? I don’t think I’m interested. If you can’t, maybe your brother-in-law at the bank would lend you the money if you want to tie it up for the long term. You do know this job we are on now is way more complicated than I imagined? I would have gone under already if it hadn’t been for you saving my butt. Rebuilding twenty some odd houses all at once has made me ask, ‘what was I thinking.’ I just don’t know!”

“Geno, I’m not looking to get rich but I do feel this is a chance of a lifetime and I want to put my money to work. What about us and the business we have started?”

“It’s going great and I was hoping after we finished this job here we would take the time to relax more than we have been. There is just so much to take care of all at once.”

“That is the way of owning a business. You aren’t planning on giving up on this are you?”

“No, of course not, It’s just that you are much better keeping things moving right along than I am. You have the way of not sweating things. Tell you what, if you buy that property now and we still have Capparelli Construction in business when we finish this project, you can sell the business one lot at a time and we will put a new house on it. That way you can own one half the lot and sell me the other half at top dollar and we split the profit on the house we build.”

“Okay Geno, but you know over time I’ll be doubling my investment.”

“Pete, I wouldn’t kick a bit. You deserve to earn it if you buy it.”

“Would you like to have me to speak to Gina?”

“No please no, let’s just ride long the way we are.”

“Okay, if you say so.” I was hoping Geno wouldn’t regret this move. I stepped forward and shook Geno’s hand. Why I did that, I couldn’t say.

I had an awful lot going on. Sandy was getting comfortable getting her storage business settled and she was coming to me for too many minor things. I bore with her and knew this would disappear after she gained more confidence. Fred was a big help to her as well and finally he told Sandy to not bother me so much.

Mary and I did have Mildred, Fred, and Sandy over for Sunday dinner. When Mary showed them the picture of the Smoky Quartz Gem Mary had discovered, she explained how I had extracted it, they thought I was a wizard. Chloe and Guido were there as well and listened intently.

I asked Chloe if she had arranged anything with Kenny. She answered that Kenny promised to get a court date as soon as possible with the court about having her back alimony and child support with Harrison, her ex-husband, looked into. “Kenny knows the judge well and thinks I will have a good case. I told him about how Chuck ended up with your $28,000. You know I am going to pay you back, someday.”

“Not until you get Ricky’s foot fixed, you aren’t. He comes first. I was thinking about that the other day. You know Kenny could go after the half of the business that Chuck bought with the money he coerced from my bank account. I understand the partner who owns the other half of the business would like to get rid of Chuck. You might take Chuck’s half and become a partner with him. What’s his name anyway?”

“It’s John Langford. Capparelli’s crew of carpenters have been hanging out in the bar and they say he is a decent sort.”

“Is this just a bar or does it serve food?”

“It was a spaghetti house before Chuck bought into it. He took half the restaurant and made the bar that much bigger. Not many people go there to eat any more because it isn’t a family establishment any longer and has a rough reputation.”

“Does Kenny know this? If he doesn’t, you should tell him. Might be a little remodeling and you would own a growing business.”

“I’ll tell Kenny what you said.”

“No, don’t do that. I believe he thinks I poke into other people’s affairs too much.”

“He doesn’t, not the way he talks about you and what you have done with Mary’s life. He says you are making her so much happier than what she was before you two got together.”

“That reminds me, you might be interested that I have a Grandmother and an Aunt I haven’t seen for years. Mary went to see them on Monday. I didn’t get along with either one when I was growing up and under their care, and I have certainly neglected them. I will see them by next weekend and then I swear, I’m going to devote all my time to Mary. I’ve been neglecting her too.”

“That’s because everyone else claims your time and you can’t say no.”

“Watch me change.”

Wednesday, Mary and I drove the sixty miles to reconnect with my Grandmother and Aunt Ida. We left home at one and reached there about three. Mary went to the door and knocked. Aunt Ida came to the door. “Oh Mary, I am so glad to see you. We found the money you left the last time you were here and we can serve you tea today. We also have been cooking some goodies now that we have the ingredients. Come in, please?”

“Is this man Peter? I wouldn’t have recognized him. My, you turned out to be handsome! I’ll take a hug from you. Your Gram is in the kitchen,” She turned and shouted to Gram, “Peter and Mary are here.”

I had left eleven years ago and both my relatives didn’t look that much different to me. I knew I had filled out more than the stripling almost-man I was when I left. The house showed wear and could use some updating. I could see some repairs were needed doing as well. Feeling came to the fore about living here. I remembered this wasn’t a happy place, but I was glad to see my Gram and Aunt again.

“Grandmother, I have been so awful derelict in not coming to find you. I am here now and I hope you will forgive me.”

“Of course I will Peter. I have thought a lot of how I treated you when you were growing up. It is all on me. I resented having to care for you and it didn’t seem as though I could reach you when I did make a small effort.”

“Let’s not go there now that we are together again. Aunt Ida, I understand you were sick for a while?”

“I was. I fell and damaged my knee. I finally had it replaced after trying to correct it without surgery. By that time I had lost my steady job and was lucky that Gram took me in even though your grandmother couldn’t afford to have me living with her. That goes back to the two sides of the family who were never able to get along.”

“I know some of what the family was like in never getting along. Is that all behind us now?”

“I guess it must be. Peter, you and I, and with Gram, are the only ones of the family remaining. You do know your lovely wife put food on our table. We found the money shortly after she left. Can you really afford to do that much for us?”

“Yes, and more. For some reason we two came together and it is a match made in heaven. We’ll explain more fully about that after we get know you some day in the future. Now, would you both explain your financial situations? We should be able to help you with it.

“First, though, I must tell you a little bit about Mary and me since we met. Mary was an unhappy person before her brothers decided that she needed someone with her when she was traveling out west. They hired me for the summer to watch over her. For some reason when I was with her, life began to change for both of us. I say Mary was unhappy, and at the time if she was unhappy and resented the situation, she used revenge as a way to correct it

“A situation did come up and it involved me more than her. She set out to get revenge on another person. Anyway, the law came after me when I was blamed for something she had done. I was exonerated and cleared because I was with her during the time something bad happened to this other person.

“That was the moment when Mary began to change. She had tried to get revenge for me because of something others had taken when I first got out of the service. She did come to see that revenge did not pay and didn’t always pay off. A person just ends up ashamed of what you have done.

“Right after this she had a bit of success by finding something quite valuable. Then within a small time-frame, I had a bit of luck, myself.

“This drew us closer together and we found that love had developed between us, so shortly we married. Mary had been long estranged from her half-brothers’ wives. It took some apologies from Mary to correct that and now all are a happy loving family. There are other things that we are working on to correct and it may take some time. Again, I was referring to the revenge Mary was after on my behalf. However, we are prepared to help you two out. Gram, is this house rented or do you own it?”

“I own it, but taxes are owed and there is a mortgage on it. Both are due and it is going to a tax sale in another couple of months. I’ll have to relinquish it which will make us homeless.”

“I won’t let that happen to you. Do you have figures available? I may be able to stave off both the town taxes and the bank.”

“I would deed the house over to you if you could.”

“I think it would be better to leave it in your name for the time being. I would like to have you closer to Mary and me, but I can’t do much about that for a while. If I can free the house up for the winter you should be okay until spring when I see about having you move closer to us.”

Gram asked how long had I been out of the service. “Going on five years now. I lost my savings and went out onto the street panhandling for the first two years. Then I spent two years working for Mary’s brother, Sam. That ended a year and some months ago. Her brother had hired me to keep Mary safe while searching for gem stones. As I have said, that is when our lives changed for the better.”

“Mary, did you find any valuable gems?”

“I did, and I have a picture of the best one. I have to say when I found it, it was locked into solid stone with just some of it showing. Pete figured out how to extract it without damage and it is one of the finest specimens there is. It is even named after me, “The Mary Goodell Smoky Quartz Chrystal.” It isn’t the largest of its kind, but one of the most perfect.”

“It must be valuable.”

“Valuable enough to be named and in a museum. It is getting more valuable as it is becoming better known by other people interested in gems. Pete should be the one it is named for because it was his expertise that unlocked it from the mountain.”

“How wonderful! Are you going to look for more?”

“I still own the mine, but much of it is leased to owners of a mine on the plot next to mine. They needed a portion of my land to build a road to their property. Maybe some day we will go back and look for more gems. It’s impossible anyway to work the mine this time of year. It is too cold and within minutes, a storm may come up so it isn’t safe to even be on the mountain.”

“Gram, why don’t you show me the paperwork you have? Mary and I can’t stay too long. I have to work and Mary has to study.”

Gram seemed reluctant to get her bills. But finally conceded to my wishes when I promised I did have a little money and wouldn’t make myself short if I helped her with these bills. “I’m ashamed Peter, to show these to you. Honest, I have scrimped and saved to do my best keeping up with the expenses. It just isn’t possible.”

“Gram, let me see them.” Gram was almost two years behind on the taxes. I figured that in March, she would be two years in arrears and the property would surely go for taxes. At that time, the bank most likely would bid it off and pay the taxes. This, leaving Gram foreclosed and the bank would only recover a percentage of what both bills amounted to. Gram had no intent of screwing the bank out of what she owed and it would bother her for the rest of her life.

The taxes were a substantial sum. It was the interest on the back taxes that drove it up so much higher. It amounted to 8% on the unpaid balance, compounded. In the sleeve of papers Gram handed me there was also the water and sewer charges. This was more recent and a notice that the water was going to be shut off within fifteen days from the date of the notice. That was going to be next Friday. I added these all up. I had brought some personal checks with me and made one out to the town, handing it to Gram. Tears began to flow.

Mary had been looking at the other papers and I hadn’t been paying attention. I spoke, “There, Gram that takes care of the taxes. Now I’ll see what I can do about the mortgage. Maybe I’ll give you a check for the months you are in arrears.”

“Pete, don’t bother, I have a check here from my account, and I have made it out for the balance of the total mortgage, less 4 percent. The interest at 7.5% is one of the higher loans in place for years. Try to negotiate it down to 3.5 percent which is the normal rate now. It won’t be much money saved because it is just for the months you are in arrears.

“If it looks as if the bank won’t deal. Ask for the Mortgage Loan Manager. Make the statement that you have other bills and you will put the bank on the bottom of the list. Just say you hope to have enough left to clean up the arrears and ask to have the interest rate reduced to what they are advertising on home loans.”

“Mary, I can’t do that, I would be cheating the bank.”

“No you aren’t, they have been charging you too much interest and someone at the bank should have informed you years ago to refinance. If it doesn’t work, have them call Charlie Goodell, who is the manager of the bank this is drawn on. Try it anyway. The savings will be a little bonus.”

Aunt Ida said, “Gram, I’ll do it for you. I’ve been living on your dime for a long time. I’m not afraid of any old bank. You just stand by and watch me! I’m not going to show them the check until I try, anyway. The bank isn’t going to deny you who have had trouble keeping up in the past and you have in your hand a check to close out the mortgage. To give credence to this, they suspect you might be trouble again because you have so little income. That’s when I’ll show them the check.”

“Aunt Ida, I like the way you think. I’ll bet you read that in a book one time.”

“I did, Pete.” Here I thought my Aunt Ida wasn’t too smart and she came up with this idea to save a little money. There might be something to this old girl after all.

Mary and I were going to take Gram and Aunt Ida out for dinner. “No, Peter, would you order in pizza? We both have been hungry for a pizza and if there is any left over we can put it in the fridge for tomorrow.”

“Okay, tell me where the pizza parlor is that you like best is and I’ll pick it up. What do you want to drink?”

“For me, I’d like a light beer. Ida likes a soft drink of some kind.”

“Ginger ale will be fine. I love the way it fizzes in my mouth.” The pizza parlor was only ten minutes away. I stopped at a grocery and got a six pack of Bud lite and a six pack of Ginger ale. The pizza wasn’t quite ready so I ordered two orders of bread sticks and four orders of wings. Mary and I had one slice apiece of the pizza and we split one can of Ginger ale. We soon were on the road home.

“How much did you leave for money?”

“Pete, I left five hundred dollars. They objected, but I ignored them. They didn’t protest much. Maybe I should have given them more.”

“No, that was plenty. How do you think they will make out paying their bills?”

“I’d like to be a fly on the wall when Ida pays the mortgage. She sure was fired up.”

“Pete, I’ll bet she gets some reduction, anyway. I really like those two.”

“They are much different than I remember them. They acted like I was a burden before I left.”

“Yes, and now they are a burden to you.”

“I don’t feel like they are. I’m still ashamed I haven’t looked into how they were before this.” From then on, I called at least once a week and through the fall and winter, if the weather was good, Mary would go visit and Chloe and Ricky often joined her.

We promised that Gram could put her house on the market the first of March and I would have a place for them to move into the house that the Hamiltons vacated. I intended to have the Hamilton family in a house of their own by then, and Gram and Aunt Ida would move into the house they squatted in.

I did purchase the land from Fred. The winter was open and I convinced some of our men to help me get a foundation ready to put a 1,400-square-foot manufactured home on it. This was iffy, but we did have some days to work it in. When it got really cold, I had a canvas put over the poured concrete and installed two kerosene heaters to keep it warm enough not to freeze until the cement was set.

This was placed near to the burned out house so I could hook onto the facilities that went with that one. Fred and Mildred were to be able to move into it the weekend before Christmas. Sandy was to have the second bedroom and the two others have the third one.

The new house arrived before we anticipated, but we were ready for it, so no problem. As soon as the house arrived, we built a garage with a sizable loft and the two men never moved into the third bedroom. The claimed they liked it this way. This was all part of the deal I had made with Fred when I purchased the 160 acres of land.

Fred worked in the barn sorting and stacking the salvage items as they arrived from the houses where the Hamilton family continued to remove some of the salvageable items from the street of houses. Mildred seldom joined him, just glorying in having the new house to care for. There was no way we could sell the first house because there was work to do on the exterior. There had to be a new lawn installed, with flower beds dug in with plants and bushes when snow receded in the spring.

Gina did get her associates license to sell real estate and helped out in the agency. Geno and I promised that we would give her the listing as soon as the first house was ready for market.

There was plenty of work on the next four houses to do through the winter waiting on new interiors. Sandy’s crew continued taking the salvage out of the remaining houses. Sandy and crew had quite an assortment of items to be sold when the weather would warm.

The house Sandy was using before Fred and his family moved was now empty. The four men who worked for me had no place to go for Christmas. Guido, Chloe, and his three crewman decided they would have Christmas together in the house the crew lived in and show Ricky just how good Christmas could be.

That changed suddenly. Two days before Christmas, two of the Boston men came to me with this, “Pete, not much going on. We all three bought tickets for Boston and are headed home tomorrow to see our families. We’ll be back mid-week.”

“Work isn’t pushing, why don’t you take the week off. You’re leaving tomorrow?”

“Yeah, early morning.”

“Wait a minute, I have a bonus for you. Get your Mom a present or something.”

“Thanks Pete, You’re the best.” This was on a Thursday.

I reached home and Mary looked up at me. “You’re home early?”

“Yeah, the guys from the east who were going to give Ricky such a good Christmas crapped out on me and are leaving for Boston early tomorrow morning.

“Anyway, the middle house is empty. What’s say we call Gram and Aunt Ida and have them stay there and suggest they make a good Christmas for my men next door. Guido and Chloe aren’t going with Geno and Gina so maybe they will stop in to visit my men and Ricky can have a good Christmas after all. He does love it when the men fool around joking with him.”

“That’s a great idea, Pete. We can go over and join them. I’ll call Gram right now.”

Mary came back shortly, “Pete, We have to buy food and we’ll need some presents. I’m going to call Chloe and Gina and see if she and Geno will want to join us.” Mary was on the phone most of the evening making plans. We would have to skip out Christmas day and visit Mary’s family at Sam’s house where Christmas was always held.

“Mary, are they going to be hurt if that is all you will see of them?”

“No, Pete, I told them you and I needed some alone time because we had been so busy. I did promise we would spend New Years Day with them. Is that okay?”

“Fine with me. That’s sport’s day for me.”

Christmas was a great day for all. None of my crew had had a good Christmas for years, because they had been in jail and only one of them had any family. We managed presents for all, mostly clothes.

At the last minute, Mary and I went shopping and bought each one of the crew a nice shirt and tie to wear so they could dress up a little. It was time they thought about the future and joining society if the chance arose. I couldn’t see what would stop them for they had paid their debt to society.

Ricky had more toys than he knew what to do with. I suspected he was going to have a dad sometime in the future, Mary and I could see that Guido and Chloe were a couple.

Mary was definitely showing the baby. I stopped and thought one day about how I was neglecting her because I was so busy with the many details that I was involved in. “Mary, you have finished your classes and have a diploma to prove it. Let’s take a trip.”

“I’d love to. Where though?”

“We could take a cruise or just spend some time by ourselves in Florida or anything you would like to do.”

“Pete, can I tell you what I’d really like to do?”

“Your wish is my command.”

“Well, I was thinking that I’d like to see the mine that is making us so rich. Wouldn’t you like to see what is happening and what it looks like? I’m sure John Blackstone can get us into the mine to look around. I want to see how much the road across my mine has disrupted the property. There is enough wood at our camp so we will be warm. I can still climb the ladder to our bed. Maybe we would fool around some and reminisce how you seduced this poor woman who had never known a man.”

“Mary, that’s odd, I seem to remember the seduction differently. I think you headed right into town the next day to find a carpenter outfit so we could be comfortable.”

“Oh, yeah, I did, didn’t I? I’ll get plane tickets tomorrow. How long can you take off from work? Will Geno be upset if we go away for a few days?”

“No, he is taking Gina east during Valentine’s week to visit his folks. I think Guido and Chloe are going with them. I also think he is going to introduce his folks to Chloe. It will be Guido’s mother who has the final say about her. Guido is a little worried because Chloe is a divorcée, but Ricky will be with them and that kid can melt anyone’s heart.”

“Pete, I don’t see that Chloe is anything but okay. Sure, she was married before and has a disabled child, but Ricky is about as nice a kid you could ask for. Oh, I meant to tell you that Kenny has a court date for Chloe and Harrison. Let’s see––that comes up before they go east. I hope she gets some money out of Harrison so Ricky can get his foot corrected.”

“I don’t know, he’s a deadbeat. Aunt Ida and Gram feel so bad about the boy. I guess we all do. Aunt Ida was talking about setting up a “Go Fund Me” program for him. She said those are quite prevalent back where they lived. What do you think?”