Chapter 58

Dinner was good. Both girls got complimented by the rest of us. Sara just beamed.

"It does taste good, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does. Part of that is knowing that you helped make it."

"Thanks, Jack."

A half hour later we were finished eating. Sara started to clean off the table.

"Uh, uh. Jill and I will take care of that. You and Mary did the cooking, it's only fair."

Mom got coffee for her and John and they all went out into the living room. Jill and I could have finished a lot quicker if we had kept our hands to ourselves.

The doorbell rang and I heard Mom answer. I heard a male voice ask if Dr. O'Hara was here and then John was asking him in.

Jill and I had finished with the dishes and went into the living room. The man who was just coming in looked to be in his 30s. He either worked outside or surfed. His blond hair was bleached by the sun and his arms and face were almost chocolate with a hint of red. John shook his hand and then put an arm around his shoulders.

"Everybody, this is Alex Woodrows. Alex is the most honest, competent builder I've ever met." He then went round, naming all of us. Of course we each reached over and shook his hand and said hello, glad to meet you. When John had praised him his face had turned redder. By the time the introductions were finished he was back to normal.

Everybody had a seat and Alex asked Mom what she had in mind.

"I want to build a self contained apartment. Ideally it will have a good sized bedroom, a living room and a bathroom. A combination bathtub and shower would be nice but a shower will be OK. I'd also like a kitchen area. It doesn't need to be huge, but I would like it functional. If the kids all move out, I'd like to be able to rent it to a local college student or a single and not have to worry about them coming in my house to cook or grab something to drink. Something on the order of a small microwave oven, one of those office refrigerators and a two burner hot plate plus some cupboards. If there's any way to put a second story on the garage with a stairway, that would be my first choice. We could add on to the house, but that would take away from my privacy as well as the occupant's. Or we could convert the existing garage. I'd rather not convert if we don't have to."

"Let's go outside and take a look at what we've got to work with."

Alex led the way and the parade followed. I was the last one and was just ready to exit the house when the front doorbell rang. I went in and opened the door to see a man who had to be in his late 40s if not early 50s. He told me he was supposed to meet Dr. O'Hara.

"You must be the architect."

"Yes, I am. He handed me a business card with William Montgomery and a bunch of initials after it."

"Well, Mr. Montgomery, the builder just got here a few minutes ago and everybody's out back. I'm Jack Hill, by the way." I held my hand out and he shook it. We started out through the kitchen. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but Dr. O'Hara said he delivered your baby."

He laughed and clapped me on the back. "He sure did. I know it's hard to believe but my wife got pregnant when she was 52 and I was 54. And I'll tell you, we were overjoyed and we were scared to death at the same time. Then we found out my wife had some problems that made it likely we'd lose the baby, maybe even lose her, too. We were referred to a specialist. John, I mean Dr. O'Hara was that specialist and he was wonderful. We have a beautiful little boy. He just turned two about a month ago."

"Yeah, I've seen John in action. He's pretty special."

We went out and I saw that everyone was in the garage. It was kind of tight with the king size mattress in the middle of the floor. Alex was using a big measuring tape to get the heights of the walls and the storage platform. He noticed us and lit up.

"William. They want to put a second floor on this garage. Do you think these walls are strong enough?"

The two of them got together and checked out some things. William seemed particularly interested in the studs in the walls. After a couple of minutes, Alex hooked his measuring tape to his belt and went over to Mom.

"The walls should support a second floor without any problem. The only problem is that only one person will be able to go up there or it will collapse."

Jill had been bouncy and smiley the whole time Alex had been talking about the room. When he said that, she almost looked ready to cry. Alex and John started laughing.

"Darlin', I wouldn't build a floor that could only support one person. You and your boyfriend will be fine as long as you don't make any sudden movements or rock any furniture."

John spoke up. "You better watch what you say Alex. Them's fightin' words."

Alex went over to Jill and gave her a hug. "You know I'm just teasing you, Honey."

I assumed Alex had met Jill before.

"So, we can put a second floor up there. It will be the same size as this garage. We'll either have to lose this storage or drop it a few feet. You won't be able to have any tall people in here if we give you the clearance you presently have."

He took Mom out the side door. "We can put a stairway on this side." He got his tape and stuck the end against the garage and pulled about eight feet of tape out. "The stairs will come out to here, in the middle of the walkway. My thinking is we lose the grass between the garage and the walk and dig up this concrete. Then we pour a slab out to here, the whole length of the garage. That will support the staircase and give you a walkway wide enough to get a refrigerator in and out of the kitchen if you need to."

Mom looked at the tape and the garage. "OK. I know we need a concrete platform for the bottom of the stairs. And I guess you're going to have some supports on this side so they don't tilt over."

He nodded his head.