Chapter 26

Chuck

Lisa and I practiced hard with the band Thursday, ending in a great practice with the kids late in the afternoon. We asked the kids to be sure to get a good night's sleep and to take a nap if possible on Friday. The group practiced at the studio Friday morning, doing the complete show before heading to the boat for one last practice of the kids' set.

Everything sounded good, but what worried me was letting an inexperienced kid at a real drum set for the first time at a show. I decided we should take the Roland electronic drums to the show to be on the safe side. We ended up having to take the electronic drum set, a Roland keyboard, and the Yamaha keyboard to the stage for the various configurations we were going to use.

Whew, what a rush it was to have to go into a reception room full of really high profile people Friday night,. There were more movie stars in the reception room than at the Oscar awards, and they all wanted special treatment. The kids didn't get involved in the pre-show autographs, but I told them to be ready for the after the show signing. We would probably have to have them at tables with us for the pre-show tomorrow as well.

I wonder what the writers were going to say about using a bunch of kids to perform at a concert charging a minimum of seventy-five bucks for a seat? With it costing fifty bucks for standing room, and up to five hundred for a seat in the plush boxes, the agent had to do some big time talking to get our large group into a special box. He did his job, now it was up to us to do ours.

The family showed up at the pre-show reception room for a few minutes, but they could see we were swamped. I think the Frivolous Five were more impressed with all the movie stars and celebrities than they were with us. I watched out of the corner of my eye as the kids took in the press of people that we had. You could tell they were wary.

The show went off like clockwork, perfect from the opening crash to the kids' set. When the kids swarmed the lower stage to begin their set, a lot of the crowd became just a little skeptical. But at the end of the set, they were on their feet cheering and hollering for an encore. Bonita led her group into the encore piece like a pro and gave the crowd something else to cheer about. The rest of the show was almost anti-climactic, as everyone playing knew exactly what was going to happen and when it was going to happen.

We gave a good performance with everything we had and were cheered for it. The show wasn't flat, but it lacked something and we all felt it. The crowd didn't, and we ended up giving a little extra for encores by playing an additional piece that we had never practiced. It actually ended up being the most fun we had all night.

The reception room was jammed. Who would have known so many celebs would have been in the area this weekend. We hardly had a chance to have a beer, much less something to eat, for almost two hours until they finally closed the bar. Our family group was long gone by the time the room cleared. The place was a disaster with hardly anything left to eat and not one beer left in the ice.

Kenny suggested, "Hey Guys, let's get something at a restaurant on the way back to hotel. If we're lucky, it will have a bar."

Everyone thought that was a great idea, except we had over a dozen kids that were so tired they were about to fall over. We didn't stop at a restaurant, but went straight to the hotel where the family cheered the kids and gave them lots of hugs along with some milk and cookies provided by Glenda, Beth, and Lorna, Mackenzie's wife.

When the band saw the kids were taken care of, we headed to the resort's late night bar that served food. We pigged out on menu items meant for snacks and augmented our feast with some really heavy local ale. As we were finally winding down, Kenny asked, "What do you think was wrong tonight? Why were we so blah? I don't think the audience noticed, but I sure did."

Lisa said, "I noticed and I think it was that we were trying to be too perfect. We've practiced everything until it comes out studio quality, but you know what? I wasn't having fun like we did in Italy. I think we need to work up a couple of new things and have some fun. Let's change our opening, let's change our mix, we can join in with the kids, and let's change our close a little."

Fred said, "I think we need to keep the guitar war, but we need Chuck, and you, Lisa, to do the battle between bass and guitar. It was really pro when you two did that. We can put that right before the kids so the audience is already wound up.

Kenny said, "After that, we'll play nothing but signature stuff, and finish with the last set the way we have it now, but it's going to be all peaceful stuff, all meant to put the crowd in a mellow mood. What do you think?"

There was a long silence before Carlos said, "I think we should do it, but I want a couple of the kids to join us on the last set. I think Liz can really contribute to the ballads, and I want Bonita to begin to let go behind Lisa's singing. With Chuck singing on the bass, and Kenny and Fred playing rhythm and backup, I think we'd have a winner. Let's practice it all together in the morning. I'll call to have our stuff brought to the boat in the morning instead of the studio." Carlos thought for a second, "Or would it be better if we practiced all together at the studio?"

After another long pause, Carolyn offered, "Let's do it on the boat where the kids are comfortable."

It was a done deal. Kenny called the road manager to tell him what we needed to happen. He sleepily agreed to have the equipment at the yacht club by eight, but needed to have someone meet them to find the right boat.

When Lisa and I joined our family pile in bed, they were as tired as we were, but it probably had to do with them entertaining each other while waiting for us. Tina still wanted some personal attention by Lisa and me, and received it on the couch in the room while the rest of the family slept in the beds. Tina was whispering, "Are you going to keep that Italian beauty? She is really tuned into what another woman likes. If I have a vote, it is to keep her. Keep her for the fun, but keep her to keep her happy. She told me that being with you guys has been the happiest she has been in years."

Lisa told her, "Not to worry, Tina; all of us girls have decided to keep her. Chuck doesn't have a say anymore."

As we groaned through multiple happys, Tina asked, "When do you think you guys will get home? Are you going to go anywhere else?"

I told her, "If Sue needs to go to Ireland again, we might do that and on the way home, I want to stop at the island to see Mark. I think it would be nice to see how the island inhabitants are getting along with all of the changes and visiting workmen. We're probably three weeks away from getting home."

Tina giggled and said, "You know you have three women who could decide to deliver early and you'll be helping to birth a bunch of women out at sea. You might consider sending them back on the plane with me."

Lisa said, "We should talk to them about it tomorrow. You have to leave tomorrow or Sunday, right?"

"I should leave tomorrow, but my reservation is for Sunday," Tina said. "I'll get home in time to get ready to go on duty, but they only work me about ten hours lately so I can get some rest after my shift. I'll try to sleep on the plane."

The three of us were falling asleep on the couch so we decided to get in the bed with the least amount of women. Lisa and Tina put me in between them and snuggled to me. What a nice way to fall asleep.

Steve

I was up early, as usual, getting coffee when Dewey came out to be with me. After we poured our coffee, we went to the patio outside our suite.

Dewey began telling me about what they had found. "Steve, we spent all day at the resort and casino in Monaco. We decided to have the accounting firm send groups to each of the facilities to work them at the same time, so we will be done a lot sooner than I expected."

It was easy to tell that Dewey was still upset. "The resort over there is running very well and almost always near capacity. The casino was another matter. Some big clown, sort of like the guy we met before, decided he was going to keep us out of the cashier's vault. When we fired him, he became very angry, threatened to call the police, and said that the partners were going to sue us if we persisted. As a group, the five of us thought it was funny that an employee was going to keep us out. One of the partners tried to explain to the man that the other partners had been voted out and we were the only remaining partners at this time. He continued to not believe us until the police came, inspected our documents and told the man he had to leave. The guy went nuts and was going to pull a gun, but a French policeman was faster, disarming him before anything bad could happen. The guy is in jail now, probably for a long time."

Dewey continued, "We held a meeting with all of the employees, doing it in groups. It didn't go over very well when we explained that there would be no shortchanging of customers at the high stakes tables or anywhere else, and that anyone found doing it would be immediately terminated and probably jailed, more than twenty of the high stakes people quit. They must have worked on a percentage for them to just leave like that. The partners are notifying all of the other casino owners of what we found, so they won't hire any of these people, and that they should thoroughly investigate their own casinos and workers."

I asked Dewey, "You said you could vote them out, did you? How are you going to give them their buyout?"

Dewey said, "Easy, we're going to assume that the amount stolen from us is their buyout, even if there is gold to represent a lot of it. The legal firm we hired is taking care of it right now. We hired a private investigation company to find out if the partners taken away had family that needed to be taken care of. So far, it appears they were not family men. They were married, but ignored their families and have left a ton money and investments for their families to manage."

Chuck came out wearing his peg leg and shorts, stretching and yawning, but still carrying a cup of coffee. He sat with us and asked Dewey how he was doing. Dewey repeated almost everything he told me word for word. When Dewey was done, Chuck told us, "I have to get ready. The roadies are bringing equipment out to the boat this morning so we can practice with the kids out there. It's a lot of work for them, but it will be better for the kids."

Chuck looked at Dewey, "Dewey, you were going to fly back to the states from here. I know you're not going to get finished working with your holdings here for at least another week. How do you want to handle that? Do you want us to wait and take you with us or are you going to finish here before flying back home."

Dewey said, "I have to stay and should probably fly directly back when I'm done. I'll have to talk to Sheila and Sheena to see how they feel. I do know that wherever the girls go, the kids will be with them."

Chuck asked me, "So what do you know about Ben and Beth, as well as Merlin and Missy? Tina has to leave Sunday morning, and I should probably encourage my three women that are about to hatch to fly home with her. They might be getting a little close to be out at sea like that."

I told Chuck, "I'm not sure whether Sue is going to have to go to Ireland before we go home or whether we should all sail there before going home. Mac said that he and Lorna were flying back home Sunday. He has several business problems that need attention. I think Glenda and Martin are ready to go home too. All of the sightseeing has worn them out.

Lisa and Tina came out dressed. Lisa said, "Tina and I are going to meet the roadies to let them onto the boat. It's going to take an hour or so to set up out there, so plan on beginning practice at nine." The women gave Chuck a hug and kiss before heading toward the yacht club marina parking area.

Chuck said, "I guess I should get going. I'll talk to my ladies and see what they think. Steve, do you still want to sail back with us. I know you have some business that may need to be taken care of, so let me know. If needed, your kids are all welcome to travel with us. And if needed, we can go to Ireland so Sue can take care of any business she needs to handle personally."

Chuck then told me of another plan, "I want to stop by the island on the way home to see how Mark is doing. He's been doing so much that I want to make sure the island inhabitants are still okay with everything."

I told Chuck, "Now I have to sail back with you so I can see your island. I should see Mark and Carolyn too to see how they are doing. When I tell Sue, she's going to want to go straight there and the heck with Ireland."

Chuck laughed as he got up and went inside to dress for the day's activities. Dewey stood, stretched, and said he needed to get going as well.

I followed the two men inside and was confronted by the kids all talking at once about practicing with the band on the boat. The moms were trying to feed them, which had become a chore as the table only held eight, so there were kids with plates of food sitting everywhere.

I went over to Sue and quietly said, "What do you think, do you want to go to Ireland or would you like to stop by Chuck's island on the way home?"

Sue turned to me quickly with her eyes wide and mouth open. She said, "Silly boy, what do you think. How about we take a flight straight there now?"

Mercy came over and said, "Hey, I want to sail back. I can never get enough of being out on the water."

Kathy, Juanita, and Mickey put in their two cents worth, when Kathy said, "Speaking for Nita, Mickey, and myself, we vote for going to the island on the way home. Sailing there will be even better."

As breakfast wound down, the band came to our suite to have the kids go to the boat with them. Chuck, Gina, Giovanna, and Mercy led the kids as they went with the band to go practice.

When people cleared out, I had a chance to speak with Martin and Glenda. When I gave them the opportunity to fly home from where we were, they looked at each other and smiled. Martin said, "Thanks for offering, Steve. We really enjoyed sailing, but we've been gone for over three weeks and miss home. That you and Chuck brought us along was a wonderful vacation. We really do appreciate that we could see Ireland, England, Paris, and Rome. This has been a really exciting time, but I know Glenda is as tired as I am."

Sue and I began going from person to person, couple to couple, family to family, to see who might be traveling home on Sunday. Ben and Merlin were planning on flying back, but Beth and Missy were sailing to be with the kids. Don and Jan, John and Wanda, Dennis and Marie, were all flying back, while Sheila and Sheena said that they would stay with Dewey and go back with him. Sheila said, "I'm sure Dewey will have one of his big planes come get us. He loves to fly on his executive plane. It's like a giant hotel suite complete with a big bedroom."

That's when John asked, "What do you think if I called home to see if the 737 is busy. Considering how much it costs to fly commercial from here, we might even be saving if we charter our own plane."

Sue said, "Check into it. That would be a hell of lot easier for everyone."

Brandy came out of the room and said, "Chuck talked to us about going home early. Frieda, Judy, and Nancy think that would be a good idea. We would love to go to the island, but we all think it might be getting too close to the girls' time for them to take the chance. I'll call for reservations. We'll leave tomorrow or Monday."

I told Brandy to ask if the others would rather fly back Sunday on our luxury 737. We won't be at max capacity, but it will have most of the seats filled for takeoff and landing. The crew will be bigger too for the overseas flight.

John came back after calling the charter office. He said, "The plane is idle until next Thursday and is in the luxury configuration. I know it's the middle of the night back home, but I told the on duty girl to alert a crew of four pilots and have them start for here as soon as they can. If they hurry and get here, they will have some down time before we leave tomorrow. With four men flying, they can take turns taking a nap in the crew bunks."

All of the interested travelers were smiling that they wouldn't have to travel back home on commercial flights. There was some increased activity as those traveling began getting their clothes together and planning to go down to the boat to get what was remaining there.

I overheard Brandy and Tiani talking to Maria and the Asian sisters about flying home early. The three wanted to stay with the families, as they said it was so much fun to be with the big group.

The boat is going to feel empty with Dewey and his family, and with Martin and Glenda gone as well. The older couple was two of my best friends.

While all of the women were busy getting their things ready for a quick shopping trip into Nice, Ben and I spoke for a few minutes. Ben asked, "Steve, there are two things that you have to consider. One is the oil lease buyouts, and the other is the gold mine profits. I think you should keep the money from both investments offshore. Chuck and I have a bank we can use in Costa Rica, but if we do that, we may have to pay some extra taxes. If we use the British Virgins, or the Caymans' we can stash the money or convert it to gold without having to pay any taxes until it is needed for investments in the states. What do you think about using the banks in the British Virgins or Caymans too?"

I told Ben, "You know, you told me about a big slug of money coming from the oil leases, but I thought you might be exaggerating the amount quite a bit. You weren't, were you?"

Ben answered, "No, the total payout is eleven and half billion. Chuck gets fifty percent, you and I each get fifteen, and Tiny and the 401K plan each get ten."

I did some math and was amazed, "Fifteen percent is what, over a billion, seven hundred million?"

Ben said, "To be exact, your profit is a billion, seven hundred twenty-five million. We're going to have to pay some Mexican taxes, but probably not much as we were investing in Mexican infrastructure. I'll know soon, but meanwhile, I want to get the monies put into some accounts that will be interest bearing and protected for right now. If you want some of the money, we'll import it and pay the appropriate taxes on the way in."