Chapter 78

That bonus room over Jen's garage got changed as often as my panties, it seemed. When I got discharged from the Air Force, it had been an exercise room. I'm not sure it ever got used for that. After I got to town, it became a studio apartment for Jen's high school friend, me.

After I left, it became her party central room. I had gone to a couple of parties there myself. You could get ten to twenty people inside it with room to mingle a little. Or set it up for a dinner with a dozen guest.

With the addition of some furniture, borrowed from other rooms in her house, it again became my small apartment. Jen's plan was not so much to 'take care of me' as to give me a space where she could check up on me easily. It was as much for her convenience, as mine. I still loved her for it.

She refused to take me to the office for the cruiser. Instead she drove me to her place. The contradiction was that she left me to climb the stairs alone. Now that was a bit painful. The incision, that the bad guy made with his dying energy, was a big nasty one. It was closed but it still had that raw feeling.

Once I was up the stairs, I decided not to go back down them for a long time. I knew that was wishful thinking, but it was what I planned. With a little luck I could manage to put it off for a while at least. Jen would probably be around long enough to bring me a pizza. I mean how much trouble would it be to carry if from the door to my one over sized room. All I had to do was order it from our town's one delivery restaurant.

It sounded like a plan to avoid those steps for at least that one evening. I sat down with the pen and note pad, from my over sized purse, to make a list of things that I needed from the store. Diet Coke topped the list. Then frozen dinners, fancy rolls, eggs, cheese, one of those picnic salt and pepper sets, paper plates and bowls (not plastic), and plastic glasses.

First I called Lucas, "At your service," he asnwered.

"Hey, I see you figured out how to route the calls to your phone. Good for you."

"I'm the digital genius, remember?" he actually laughed.

"So things are going alright with the business?" I asked.

"Sure, I work almost a full day every day," he said all pleased with himself.

"Very good. Listen I'm at Jennifer's house. Why don't you stop by a grocery store and pick up few things for me. Deliver them and bring your paperwork for the deliveries. If you do, I'll write you a check."

"Sure, is it okay if I bring Gwen?" he asked.

"Of course, she can even bring her camera, if she wants. I'll do a sit down talk about the whole hospital experience."

"She said, if we do that Mike is going to want to be there," Lucas said.

"Alright bring Mike. Jen won't mind. I'll text you my grocery list. If Gwen thinks of anything I forgot, just buy that as well. And Luke continue to feed the cat a few more days please, but without Gwen along."

"You got it boss." he replied.

So I sent a text to him with the list of groceries. After that I checked out the bed and found it comfortable enough to fall asleep. I did that until Jen woke me knocking on the door. "Hey you got Geeks bearing gifts out here, open up." she demanded.

The apartment sized refrigerator was filled to capacity by my few groceries. Jen was a little upset until I explained that the food was for breakfast and lunch when she wasn't around. I didn't plan to leave the house for a week. I knew my body was in no shape to do anything for at least that long.

What I didn't tell her was that at the end of that week, I would be headed back to my own place. The thought 'my own place' turned my mind toward what I was going to do about the cabin. It had terrible living conditions, but it was also remote and secure. I had taken it when security was my number one concern. I wasn't sure, if that remained the case or not. It was possible I could find a place like the Gunny's little apartment and just buy it outright. With that I could make ends meet and be in town and nearer to everything. I had the week to decide what to do next.

The con's little old lady mom wasn't in a great hurry. At least that is what Ed told me at the hospital. But he also said that she couldn't wait forever, so I had to make a decision soon or she would make it for me. Once they started to show the place, I was finished there for sure.

I sat down with Lucas to write him a check for the week I had been out of commission. In four days he had made 25 deliveries. "Okay Lucas here is how it breaks down. The fees for your deliveries run $50 each, so you earned $1250 dollars gross. Instead of the $500 I would have paid you, if we were working together. Now if this were your business, you would need to set aside the payment for rent on the office about $250 bucks for a week. Then $150 for the car payment you might have, if you were running the business. Phones of all kinds about a $100. After taxes you might get to spend about $500 on yourself."

"I had no idea," he said.

"Neither did I. I had to play it by ear the first year. Now I have a pretty good handle on it."

I handed him the check for $1250. "This time you get it all, but don't get used to it."

"Okay, I'm going to get Gwen and take her home to change. While she does that, I'm going to go put the cat food out. I still don't think it is a cat eating the food, but it's gone every day so I can't be sure." he said.

Since Mike couldn't make the trip, I expected that Gwen was giving Jen and update on the progress of the TV show. Marty wanted it on line the moment it was ready. He was already marketing the kits, but the more publicity the better in his mind I was sure.

"Boss, thanks for the extra money. You didn't have to do it. I would have stayed, just because it needed to be done. It was the right thing." He had heard that for sure from me, and most likely from Gunny as well. It was a good lesson for a young man to have learned.

For lunch I was planning a sandwich of some kind. I had intentionally left chips off the grocery list. I had a feeling that chips wouldn't do my ragged stomach much good. I wanted to stay away from sharp things for a while.