Chapter 6

The drive out to Western University was easy and a little boring. It did give Noah some time to think about what he would say to Kim as to why he came there. He had hopes that she would see that he was interested in her and that he wanted to rekindle the relationship they once had.

He had no problems finding the baseball field and parking his car. He was surprised to see the large crowd that was there to watch the game. He found a seat in the stands that was behind the visitors’ dugout. With this crowd that was here and with him wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, he doubted that Kim would see him in the stands. She would be too busy coaching her team.

It was a good game, with the home team winning six to four. Kim, he could see was all business, especially when she was in the coach’s box by third base giving signs to the batter, and the runners she had on base.

With the game over, the crowd started to disperse. Noah waited in the stands for the crowd to thin further out before he would go over and say hello to Kim.

As Noah was waiting, he saw a fellow somewhere around his age walk over to Kim and give her a hug and then a kiss on the lips. Noah immediately put two and two together and he didn’t like what it totaled. Apparently, Kim had established a relationship with this man, and any hopes Noah had of doing that had just gone down the drain. His drive out here amounted to a wasted effort on his part to get something going again with Kim. He couldn’t help on the drive back home to think about the times when he was with Kim, but now, any hopes for more of that happening were gone.

In the passing months, Noah was back into his pattern of teaching and writing the “She Stirs the Pot” column. The more he more columns he did, the easier it was to do them. The time was flying by and pretty soon the holidays would be here.

Noah’s parents usually hosted the Thanksgiving Holiday. Besides Noah, his parents would invite his mother’s sister, Maddie and her husband Norm Burton. Maddie had been an associate professor at UT and Norm a Police officer. They both had retired and were enjoying the “good life.”

When they were over for prior Thanksgiving dinners, Noah enjoyed hearing Norm tell of their plans for when they retired. They had no children, so they were free to do whatever they wanted to do. In preparation for their retirement and spending the cooler months of the year in Florida, they purchased a condo in Gulfport, Florida. This was done when housing prices crashed because of the nationwide problem of giving out low-cost loans. They paid 65K for the condo and Norm bragged a little when he said Zillow now showed the current value of the condo was 135k. This unit had been rented out till they retired.

No matter how much you plan, things can happen that ruin your plans which was the case for Norm. Just over two years after he retired, Norm suffered a massive heart attack and passed away. This definitely put a damper on Maddie’s plans of traveling and seeing the world. She however, did not become a recluse. She said she had made friends with several people who lived in their condo complex in Florida, and she would continue to spend the cooler months of the year there. She confided to Noah that she had the funds to be able to continue this lifestyle. She alternated living in Florida and Texas. When she was back in Austin, some problems developed as to things needing fixing in her townhome that had her calling Noah asking for help.

Noah enjoyed Maddie’s company which had him helping her with these problems. He was somewhat handy around the house. He replaced her garbage disposal, installed a ceiling fan, fixed a leaky faucet, an installed a ceramic back splash in her kitchen. He didn’t mind doing these things as he had the time, and it gave him something to do. Maddie was always good-company and she was grateful to Noah for the help he gave her.

It was just after the Christmas holidays, about two years after Norm had passed away, that Noah received a phone call. The caller ID indicated the caller was R. Martin.

Answering the call, Noah heard, “Mr. Stevens, my name is Robert Martin and I am an attorney here in Gulfport, Florida. I have the unpleasant task of informing you that your aunt, Maddie Burton passed away two days ago. She was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer three weeks ago. She knew she didn’t have much time left and contacted me to make plans for this eventuality. She wanted her body cremated and her ashes placed next to her husband who is buried here in Gulfport. She didn’t want any funeral service and requested that I see that it be done, and it has been done.”

“The reason I am calling, besides telling you of her demise, is that I wish to inform you that you are the sole heir to her estate. She told me that you did things for her that she appreciated you doing and you would never accept anything for doing them. Her estate consists of her two residents, one in Austin and the other here in Gulfport, which are mortgage free. In addition to that, there is her automobile, bank account, and investment account, along with you being the beneficiary of her life insurance. I can do the changing of the title on most of these items and can give you what is necessary to change the title on her residence in Austin. Can I expect you to come down here to Gulfport in the near future?”

Noah was shocked to hear this news and didn’t know what to say. Eventually, he said that he would try and get down there as soon as possible.

He phoned his parents and told them what the attorney had said. His mother was shocked to receive the news of her sister’s passing. Noah also phoned his school and told them they would need to get a substitute teacher for him. His call to Stan resulted in him leaving a voicemail message saying he was taking a week’s vacation. Going on the web, he purchased an airplane ticket for a flight to Tampa the next morning.

The flight to Tampa was for the most part uneventful. The one thing that caught Noah’s attention was the boarding area. There were sixteen people there in wheelchairs waiting to board, along with their caregivers who all were allowed to board early. This totaled some thirty-two people who first boarded the plane. When Noah boarded, he noticed that with this airline not assigning seats, all these people occupied the choice seats at the front of the plane. After the plane landed in Tampa and as Noah was leaving the plane, he noticed that there were a total of four people sitting in these front seats, who must have been waiting for everyone to leave the plane before they would leave as they needed assistance.