Chapter 6

When we woke up the next morning, nothing at all was mentioned about the little sexual interlude I'd awakened to at three that morning. We quickly finished our morning ablutions, dressed, and headed off to the storage locker to begin our separate workday.

I felt really good all day, working on opening up new outlets starting from just before nine that morning, and not quitting work until a little past seven that evening. I'd made two trips back to the storage place to get new product during the day. The first had been a normal stop after I'd gotten low on product to place in my new accounts, but the second had been after I'd received a frantic phone call from the day manager of that new truck stop, complaining because he was out of steak pieces and running really low on all the other jars and canisters I'd put in there the previous Wednesday afternoon.

I had sold them over nine hundred dollars worth of product when I opened the account three days before, including six hundred streak pieces, two full cases. The new order came to almost twenty three hundred dollars, including eight new cases of 300 count steak pieces, and twelve cases of mixed beef jerky jars. The manager told me he thought they were all right for the pepperoni sticks which I'd kind of loaded them down with when I'd opened the account, because I'd sold them a case of each of the four flavors I carried.

Even with the new price I was now paying for steak pieces, that re-order made over a nine hundred dollar profit for Nancy and me. I'd turned the account over to her on Friday, so she was entitled to half the profit I'd made on this sale.

When I finally called it a day, I'd opened seven new commercial accounts. For me, that was a new one day record for opening new outlet accounts.

I pulled up in front of my apartment at seven thirty, hoping to see Nancy's truck parked in the guest parking lot, but it wasn't there. I turned around and drove over to her parent's house and was rewarded for my effort. Her truck was parked in the driveway right behind a white van with Towns Cleaners painted on the side. I parked in the street and went up to the door and rang the buzzer. When the door opened, my first thought was that I'd had the misfortune to come calling while Nancy's uncle, Earle Towns, was visiting. I was wrong though, because it was Nancy's father, Merle Towns, that had come to the door.

"You must be that Ralph fellow I've been hearing so much about. Come on in, we're just getting ready to sit down to supper, so you're in time to join us. Hey "Ninney", your boss is here.

"Ninney?"

"Family nickname. When she was first born, that was how her brother, Dave, pronounced her name. As she got older, her own actions proved to us that the name might be appropriate."

Just then, Nancy came scurrying out of the kitchen. I was still trying to get adjusted to the uncanny resemblance Merle had to his brother, and trying not to think about what I'd face if I ever accidentally referred to Nancy as "Ninney".

"Ralph, why are you here?"

"I needed to warn you about that big new truck stop that opened up just north of the airport. I opened the account on Wednesday, and today they called me to get more product. They were out of everything but the pepperoni, and the manager said he really needed a refill right away. I took him over almost twenty four hundred dollars worth of jerky and steak pieces. This is on top of the nine hundred I placed there initially. The counter guy told me they've been selling the jerky by the jar, for thirty bucks each. When I put out three boxes of the steak pieces, two guys came over and bought twenty five each. Some of these drivers are as big as Fat Frank, and they seemed to like smoked meat almost as much as he does too."

I handed her my sales book for the day, so she could copy out the seven new addresses and contact information for the new accounts I'd opened. Her father showed me where I could wash up for supper, and then went into the kitchen to inform his wife that they were having company that evening. Nancy followed me right into the bathroom, watching me as I washed my hands and face.

"Uncle Earle called me this afternoon. He asked me a lot of questions about you, Uncle Jimmy, and what your plans were. I told him I didn't know anything about any plans you might have. He wasn't happy before, when I told him we might start working together, and now I guess Daddy told him that we were business partners. He's even less happy now. He gave me this long sermon about family, and how something like this could unravel everything he's worked so hard to build up. He said he won't be able to assume responsibility if this ends up badly for me."

"Did you ask him how much responsibility he'd assumed when you were out of work for so long?"

"Are you kidding? I don't say things like that to him. You don't understand our family situation, Ralph. Uncle Earle has all sorts of ties to everything we either have or do. Like this house. When my parents bought it, Uncle Earle had to go to the bank and sign papers guaranteeing that we'd make the payments. He owns the dry cleaners, and he's the one that helped my mom get her job with the state liquor board. It isn't just our little part of the family here either. He has these kind of holds over all my uncles and aunts, even my mom's brothers. If he gets mad enough, he can bring a lot of pressure to bear on all of us."

"He would look pretty bad if he started bullying you because you had a job now and were finally making decent money. It would look to others like he couldn't stand to see you doing well without his help."

"He asked me to have you come see him. He said he has something we might be interested in."

"He said "we"?"

"Yes, I asked him about that too."

"After what happened before, I can't see myself wanting to do any more business with him."

Dinner was great, some kind of beef roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn. Dessert was a cherry pie, which Nancy told me she had made, while she had stopped off at home for lunch earlier. Dinner conversation was minimal while we were all eating the main course, but it picked up quite a bit over the pie and ice cream.

"My wife keeps wanting me to ask you about why you keep having "Ninney" over to your place so often at night?"

"Daddy!"

"Don't be yelling at me, girl. We're your parents, and we have a right to ask these kinds of questions."

Nancy got up and left the dining room. She seemed in a hurry to get away from the interrogation that was just starting.

"Well?" I couldn't detect any teasing or even a sense of humor in his question.

"Well, what?"

"I asked you why you keep having my daughter spend her night's over at your place?"

"It would be pretty hard to do what we like to do over the telephone. Shouldn't you be asking Nancy these kinds of questions?"

"Am I to infer, from that flippant remark you just made, that you think my questions are some kind of joke that you can just play off?"

"No sir. Tell me what you want to know, and I'll try to satisfy your curiosity."

"I want to know why you keep having her spend the night at your apartment?"

"Your daughter and I are in the process of negotiating the parameter's of our future relationship. It is to be an adult relationship, and, because of that, it requires a certain degree of privacy amid intimate surroundings. My apartment is a dump, but it does have a door that locks, and places where we can go to further our acquaintanceship in relative comfort."

"Are you abusing her in any way?"

"We talk, we argue, we disagree about so many things, and often, when we engage ourselves in that way, one or both of us get so frustrated that we need to have time away from each other, time to be separate. We also have our reconciliations, and time where we no longer wish to be separated from the other. As I said earlier, it is a process. At this moment, it appears to be going well for us."

"Are you sleeping with my daughter?"

"Every chance I get."

"That was all you needed to say. How did you like that pie of Ninney's?"

"I no longer eat her pie, since she refuses to reciprocate."

I had the satisfaction of listening to him choking on the piece of pie he'd jammed into his mouth right after asking his final question of the night. I found it very interesting that Mrs. Towns started laughing after I'd answered him.

Overall, I thought the evening went pretty well. Merle did a little glaring at me for a few minutes, but he didn't say anything more to me about his daughter. I got up to excuse myself, thinking that my departure might reduce the tension I was presently feeling. I thanked my host and hostess for an enjoyable meal, and for the after supper entertainment.

"You have gumption, I'll grant you that much, Ralph. I'm starting to see how you might be a burr under my brother's saddle. Are you planning to go over to Milwaukie and see about what he wants?"

"I'll have to think about that. I can't see myself giving him another chance to try to put me out of business. It bothers me that he's able to intimidate Nancy like he does. I'd hate to see her suffer, because he feels such a strong need to try to push his weight around. I might go over there to let him know that I'm not going to just sit around while he tries to make her life miserable. That's my job."

"She's been a sight better recently. Even seems like she might be starting to stand up for herself, like she used to do, before all her troubles. I'd like seeing her happier, but that doesn't mean I approve of how you two have been carrying on. I'll stay back for a while, watching how this process of yours looks to be playing itself out, but I'm not giving any long term permission or approval to what I've been seeing going on here."

We shook hands, rather solemnly I thought, and I walked, under my own power, through their front door. I had only made it halfway down the driveway to my truck before Nancy came running out the door with an overnight bag over her shoulder. I could see she had on that same dress once again. I opened the passenger side door and held it for her as she climbed up into the cab.

"Don't you have any other dresses?"

"I have several, but this is my only "whoo hoo" dress. When I'm wearing it, I feel like I'm the person who's in charge of my life."

"It was so strange meeting your father, then finding out that he's a dead ringer for that evil uncle of yours."

"You think Uncle Earle is evil?"

"Maybe evil is too strong a description for him. He's definitely mean, and he's overbearing too. I strongly disagree with most of the choices he seems to have made when it comes to living his life. It appears to me that he's at a place in his life where he can afford to be kinder, more benevolent. He appears to have plenty of money, and a lot of people who, one way or another, are somewhat dependent on his whims and shoot from the hip decisions. I think he will eventually allow his bullying nature to sully his legacy within his own family, and that is never a good thing, in my opinion."

"He has helped a lot of us in the family. He's done quite a bit more than anyone else to help keep everyone afloat. We all know he can be ruthless at times, but we also know he'll help us if we ever really needed it."