Chapter 4: Cashing In and Moving On

Strange things can happen at strange times. Just before the divorce was final, I was contacted by a big American company whose name everyone would recognize. Some years ago, on my own time, I had invented and actually built a prototype of a little electrical device that would sense subtle changes in temperature and actuate other electric systems in response. It didn't sound like much, but on a hunch, I patented it on my own. I had not used any company resources or worked on it during company time, so I had no compunction about registering the patent in my own name. I got my patent and then completely forgot about it. It had not been declared as part of my assets when the divorce was in process because the paperwork wasn't in my safety deposit box, it was in a shoebox in my bedroom cupboard. I can only assume Joyce had forgotten about it too.

It turned out the American company had developed a new device for some completely different application, but when they went to patent their invention, they ran into my design and it was a roadblock they couldn't get around. They contacted me and asked if they could negotiate a purchase and I said sure, but talk to Scotty Olson, my lawyer and we would work out a deal. Scotty loved "cuttin' deals" and he was good at it. I had hoped I could sell for at least a hundred grand but Scotty had other ideas. When all was said and done, Scotty got me $5.5 Million paid out over ten years. Scotty's cut was 10% and the rest was mine. We agreed not to sign any formal paperwork until the divorce was final, but the first day of my return to single status was the day I was set for life.

I would never have to work another day if I didn't want to and considering how I felt about things those days, it was probably just as well. I quit my job and went back to my apartment-condo for some contemplation on my future. I was pretty sure I was going to leave the province and I had a sense that I wanted to be in the west. Two months later, I sold the condo in Guelph, making a small profit and headed to the West Coast in my brand new Range Rover; The Prince Philip edition. I took more than a week driving to B.C. because I wanted to see some of the country and I didn't want to be rushed. I wasn't feeling great, but I was a little more in control of my emotions. I had resolved my marriage and it was now part of my history. I was still angry, but I couldn't pin down exactly what or who I was angry with. Joyce? Her stupid employer who thought up that encounter session? Ransid Bagashit or whatever that Swami's name was? Claire LaPointe? Ontario Divorce Law? The answer was probably all of the above.

I didn't really have a destination in mind other than the Coast, so I just kept driving. When I got there, I toured around Vancouver and the general area and while it was nice, it was just another big city in a spectacular setting. I didn't see many places I wanted to live and when I did, they were usually obscenely expensive or in some silly subdivision with huge houses on postage stamp sized lots. If that was what I wanted, I could have stayed in Toronto. I knew I wanted to be near the water and I knew that it would be more expensive, so in the end, I took the ferry to Vancouver Island and started my search there.

When I got to Courtenay and the Comox Valley, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Georgia Strait on one side and Mount Washington on the other. The area was developed, but not extremely so and the lot sizes were considerably bigger than the city areas of Vancouver and Victoria. There were hills to the west that provided a great view of the Strait and yet the area wasn't heavily populated. It had all the services including hospital, shopping centre and liquor store. It was just the place to start my search.

I shacked up at a local motel and dropped into a well known international Real Estate office the next morning. I chatted with a smart looking woman and outlined what I was looking for. She was a good looking woman of about my age and I idly wonder what she'd be like in the sack. In the meantime, I had told her what I wanted and I was pretty specific. I had it all written out on my new laptop and I had her print it out so that she would have a copy as well. She said she'd call me the next day and I gave her my cell number.