Chapter 38

March 26, 2002

Tuesdays were the paper day at the Bradford Courier - they had been since the 1920s sometime, and even Lloyd wasn't sure when. It had been a heck of a lot worse in the days when they actually printed the paper on site using hot type -- Linotypes and Ludlows and other terms now just words to Dave. Those days were forty years in the past, now, and Lloyd was just about as happy to have them there. For several years, he and Hazel had gotten the paper out mostly by themselves, doing the work it had taken seven fulltime staff members to do forty years earlier. Computers -- several generations of them, in fact -- were the main reason the labor intensiveness of the business had dropped off. For most of those forty years, the paper had been pasted up by hand and photographed to make the plates the paper had been printed on, but about a year before, Lloyd had gone to the newest method. This involved doing the setup of the paper entirely on the computer screen and then sending the files to the printing plant. It still amazed him every time he stopped to think about it.

Though Lloyd was out of the hospital now, he was taking it easy, only spending a couple hours a day at the paper to help Emily find her way around -- and Dave, on the days he was there, of which Tuesday led the list.

Although Lloyd knew Dave was about equally involved in the takeover of the paper as Emily was, at least on a financial level, he also noted Dave had pretty much let Emily have her way with working out the details of running it, and only offered a few suggestions. The deal wasn't actually done yet -- it wouldn't be until the first of the month -- but most of the things in need of being done were in order. "It helps," Lloyd said, "When you can tell the bank to butt out, we don't need your help."

Dave didn't really know the gruff, pithy man very well, but he liked what he saw of him. He seemed to be one of those people born with a high level bullshit detector and was known for calling a spade a spade. He was a real character, and Dave was pretty sure things were going to seem a lot milder with Emily running the place.

"Yeah, it does," Dave replied, looking up from the horribly written sports story he was trying to make understandable -- literate was beyond hope. He reflected that Lloyd didn't need to know how much money shuffling had gone on in order to make everything work out. After the meeting with Julie's folks earlier in the month, Dave had made some changes. He still held the half-million dollar note from Stan for his business. When he'd gone up to Hartford with Shae, he'd had a copy of it in his pocket -- sort of the ultimate nuclear weapon if things went badly. But, the note had stayed in his pocket, and he wasn't even sure if Stan knew he was aware of it.

After his return from seeing Stan and Deborah, Dave had called Aaron Tietelbaum to see what the effect would be on his taxes of just writing off the note and forgetting about it. He could hold onto it just in case things went sour with his former in-laws again, but wouldn't pursue it if they stayed at least reasonable. Of course, writing off a half million dollars made a considerable impact on his taxes, enough to gain the money to invest in the Courier right there, although it took some money shuffling with a mutual fund to get everything to come out even.

It had been considerably worse dealing with Emily, who was of the opinion that since it was his money, it should be his business. It took some shaking around with Vicky and Jason and some conversations with Aaron Tietelbaum and eventually with a lawyer before they worked out that they would set up a limited liability corporation. Dave held forty percent of the shares in his name, and loaned Emily the cash to buy the other sixty percent.

Dave would go on the books as publisher and chairman of the board; "publisher" was almost, but not quite an honorary title, while "chairman of the board" was nearly as meaningless as there were only the two of them who held stock, and he wasn't the majority shareholder. Emily was the editor and CEO, which as far as Dave was concerned was fine because she was going to be running ninety-eight percent of the show anyway. "I'm just glad we managed to get everything worked out," he added.

"Yeah, the timing is going to work out just about perfect," Emily agreed. "Sharon and I talked it over this morning, and we're going to turn the key for the last time Saturday night, so we don't have to worry about being open on Easter Sunday. I've still got to put together an ad about it, though."

"When I stopped off to get coffee this morning, I noticed it's looking pretty empty in there," Lloyd observed.

"Yeah, we haven't been doing much restocking since the first of the month," Emily told the two. "The last week we've been finding stuff that goes back to before I started working up there. The gas tank is about as low as I've ever seen it, and I'm not sure it's even going to make it to Saturday."

"It's got to be hard to watch it close down," Lloyd nodded.

"Yeah, it is, in spite of everything," Emily sighed. "It's a big part of my life that's ending. I wasn't a whole lot older than Kayla when I started working there a few hours a week, mostly cleaning and stocking shelves. When I graduated from high school, I was working behind the counter the next day."

"And not recognizing everybody who came in," Dave teased, trying to lighten the moment a little.

"Everybody except for Eve," Emily laughed. "The heck of it is I honestly don't remember her in the slightest." She let out a laugh, and her mood changed back to serious. "A few weeks later, Kevin and I got married, and we rode his old Kawasaki crotch rocket up to Mackinac Island for what we had of a honeymoon. I came back a few days later, put on the apron, and I've pretty much been there ever since. A lot has happened in that time, and to be honest, it's been the solid rock of my life while everything else has changed in ways I never thought possible. It's hard to believe in a few days it's going to be just a memory."

"Things change, Emily," Lloyd said philosophically. "Whether we like it or not, time passes. We just have to accept it and move on. Gather ye rosebuds, and all that. I probably should have done this ten years ago, but I kept trying to tell myself I was still a young man."

"You are still young, Lloyd," Emily replied soothingly. "Young at heart, anyway, and that's what counts."

"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged. "Deep inside every senior citizen is an eighteen year old trying to get out. Still, I should have done this a while back. It wasn't fair to Betty, if nothing else. Besides, maybe it wasn't fair to Bradford. I like some of the changes you and Dave have been making. It's giving the paper a whole new look, a whole new feeling. People tell me they think you're doing good."

"It'll be good to be able to give my full attention to it," Emily said. "But I promised Sharon I'd stick it out till the end. It's just good that Dave has been able to carry some of the load the last month or so, but he's been cutting into his time on his novel to do it."

"Things change," Dave said, not really wanting to turn back to the mess purporting to be a sports story -- the baseball team's outlook for the season, which was no better than the story itself. "And in fact, they change on you in ways you never expected. Just ask me, I know."

"Yeah, no foolin'," Lloyd smiled. "You just never know, do you? Things are changing for all of us in ways we never expected. You hear any more about where you're going to be living next year?"

"Same old, same old," Dave said. "It all depends on Avalon, and I get the impression nobody there knows what they want to do either."

Just then the phone went off; Emily wound up answering it. "Bradford Courier... " she said, then brightened considerably when she heard who it was. "So how are you doing, anyway? ... Yeah, thank God it's mostly a first-trimester thing, I think I puked more with Kayla than I have the rest of my life combined ... I tell you what, I wouldn't want to have another one now. I've got JJ in double digits and Kayla will be a teenager in a few days, so the end of the tunnel is in sight and I'll still be fairly young ... oh, yeah, he's here, I imagine he'll want to talk to you."

She put the phone on her shoulder and said, "Dave, it's Shae for you."

That was a little strange, as Shae rarely called him at the Courier, not that he was there much, only on Mondays and Tuesdays. He picked up the phone next to the computer and said, "Hey, babe, what's happening?"

"They finally announced something about Avalon. It's good news, but not real good news, if you know what I mean."

"Not really," he said. "Tell me."

"In the short run, we're going to go on hiatus around the end of next month. It may run a little longer, maybe into May some, it's still not set but my belly is going to become an issue in there much later than that."

"Well, it's about what we expected," he said. "You said hiatus, though. Does it mean they're going to start back up again?"

"Hell, I don't know and I'm pretty sure they don't either," she snorted. "We're talking about shooting a series sometime in the next month where Shaella Sunrise and her parents move away, in other words, writing me out of the show. There's no telling if they're going to use it or what, but at least it gives me the option of not coming back after I have the baby."

"It puts the ball right in your court, doesn't it?" he said.

"Yeah, it sure does," she sighed. "I guess it means I'll at least be spending the summer there with you. After that, though, we're going to have to talk about it. I'll tell you this much, though: I'm going to be primo pissed if we move back to New York and they cancel it on me after all."

"Throw the ball back in their court," Dave suggested. "Tell them you have to have a firm answer by, oh, the first of August, or you walk."

"Makes sense," she said. "It would still leave us time to move back here and get the boys established at Boyce Day if we have to, or get the apartment cleaned out before we have the baby if we're not coming back."

"There is a number of different angles to it," he said. "But it's Tuesday and you ought to have a pretty good idea of what that means by now. I'm still planning on heading your way the day after tomorrow, and we'll have all weekend to explore them."

"Yeah, I suppose," she said. "For a second there, I was all set to march right back into Sean's office and lay the August first deadline on him, but maybe I ought to hold it off till Monday, just on general principles."

"Not Monday," Dave laughed. "They might not take you seriously."

"Why not?"

"Shae, look at the calendar and tell me," he grinned.

"I don't get ... Oh. Ohhhhh! April Fool's Day, right, it wouldn't be a good idea. The hell with it, the August first deadline idea is just too good to pass up the way they've jerked me around. It's not like I really care much, anyway. I guess I'll go try to catch Sean before he runs and hides again."

"I hate to burn bridges unnecessarily," he told her. "But it doesn't mean you can't light a match near the fuse."

"I suppose," she laughed. "Hey, unless something blows up, I'll tell you what happens after story time tonight. Love ya, babe."

"Works for me, babe," he smiled. "I love you, too."

Emily had been following the conversation with some interest. "I take it they still haven't reached a decision," she commented lightly once Dave had hung up the phone.

"I don't think they can make a decision," Dave snorted. "All they're doing is hedging their bets." He went on to explain about them shooting a story arc about Shaella Sunrise moving away with her family. "I think it's getting down to the point where Shae isn't going to stay on, whether they decide they want to continue or not. She feels a duty to some of the people on the show, but it strikes me her patience is wearing thin."

"It's not surprising," Emily said. "She's feeling the baby coming on more and more, and it's bound to change the way she feels about things."

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Dave nodded. "She's getting more and more ready to put that part of her life behind her, but she doesn't want to have to be the one to make the decision on the show."

"So," Lloyd asked. "When are the two of you getting married?"

"Don't know," Dave said. "It's one of those things we need to talk about. After we talked to Julie's folks the last time I went to New York, we pretty well decided we wanted it to be before the baby came, but as long as possible after Julie's death. That seems to argue for around Labor Day, maybe a little before, but she and I haven't even thought much about it. In any case, it won't be a big deal. Emily, I suppose you're available as necessary?"