Chapter 10: Shopping

We removed ourselves from the premises ... arranged ourselves in the Mercury and began to leave.

"Charles ... you did ask me to call you Charles," Wendy said. "Charles, I'd like to go clothes shopping."

Daddy made a U-turn and headed to Sears.

"Oh, No. I want clothes, not seconds." Wendy confessed, "I like Neiman Marcus or Arbaugh's. If I must wear jeans, I want only Levis.

"Charles ... we, David and I, have a great deal of money and I want to spend some of it. I feel it's my duty as an American citizen to spread it around. I want American Made."

"Don't you think you should save for a rainy day?" Pops asked.

"Charles, we have a few million dollars ... it's tax paid. How much rain were you planing on us saving for? The Bank is paying 5% on Savings. 5% of one million is 50 thousand a year. A line worker at Oldsmobile typically makes 45 dollars a week.

"College educated white collar jobs typically pay between seventy five hundred and twenty thousand a year ... before taxes. Even at 5%, David and I will have a joint income of two hundred thousand a year. The President of the United States doesn't make that much. Let's live a little, besides, I want to transform Vera, and David really could use a new suit ... or two or three or six."

We went to downtown Lansing. Everywhere we went, Wendy asked for the owner or manager ... they all knew her. She was, after all, a downtown fixture. Seen everywhere, knowing everyone, and they all liked her ... a better behaved young lady did not exist in Lansing. She showed The Check, managers called Medawar, hung up and beamed, "Yes. You may. 90 days same as cash."

We spent like drunken sailors in port after a year at sea. As hard as we tried we still couldn't spend past the five grand mark, the car wouldn't hold it all. We shoehorned us in the Merc and headed home. The car was so full, we had to sit up front with Daddy. Wendy fell asleep on my shoulder, a smile on her face.

"David," whispered my Dad. "She wants to move my office to the billiards room. She wants CharlesB moved to my old office. She's willing to pay, but she wants it done NOW. She wants air-conditioning NOW. It's your money too. What do you want to do?"

'You better agree, buster. Your balls are awfully close to my hand.'

"Sure thing, Dad. Whatever she wants."

'Smart boy.'

'You're asleep.'

'I'm faking it.'

'Why?'

'To see if you would take advantage of my new assets.'

'I'm a gentleman.'

'Gentlemen never tell.'

'This is true.'

'Tonight, buster, you get to scratch my itchy breasts.'

'Gulp'

'I can't stand it. I'm going to hate these things.'

'I'm not.'

'You won't scratch?'

'Oh, I'll scratch for you ... but I'm not going to hate them.'

Time waits for no one ... unless you happen to have a certain watch.

Daddy got his basement office, with four rooms and walnut paneled walls. Office, waiting room, library, and girl friday room. And a walk-in safe under the concrete porch.

Mother got her living room. Charlie got Dads old office. Wendy got my old room, I got Charlie's. The entire upstairs got remodeled, insulated and Oak floored. Mother made sure Wendy had a quality lock on her new door in her new wall between our rooms. The entire job took three weeks. There were people working everywhere.

New furnace, new whole house zoned air-conditioning, paved drive, paved four car parking in the back, slate roof and the Victory garden became a backyard again.

The lilacs got thinned, we had a new privacy fence all around the backyard.

Mother got a maid 3 days a week.

I scratched Wendy's itchy breasts every night while they were growing. I kept my pecker in my pants unless she wanted to watch it work. She remained a virgin, so did I.

She grew taller, I grew taller. We studied, got good grades, and stayed out of trouble. She had me running, lifting weights, swimming in the summer, indoor sports in the winter.

At 15 I had a 48 inch chest and 20 inch biceps. At 15 she was a marvel in angora. We both got jobs. Wendy, a Work Study secretary. I became an apprentice electrician, on Work Study.

We went to bonfires with the school, rode buses to the away games, cheered our teams and turned 16 ... time flies when you're having fun.

Mr. Gruener died. Wendy inherited a 1938 Bugatti Bella Figura Type 57 Coupe, worth in 1958, One Hundred Thousand Dollars, with a standing offer. She put it in climate controlled storage.

We got learners permits when we turned 14, restricted privileges when we were 15, and full honest to goodness drivers licenses on our 16th birthdays.

1958 cars sucked!! She bought a still on the lot but undelivered Special Order 1957 pink over grey Chevy 210 two door post with a 283 positrac and 4 speed. I bought a lightly used 1957 Suburban Delivery 4x4.

We made our first foray into the past with The Watch, in June of 1958.

'Are you sure this will work?' she asked. Wendy had my arm clutched with claws of steel.

I'm gonna bruise, I just know it.

'Oh, sorry!' her grip eased a tad.

'Am I sure this will work? No.'

Wendy's grip turned into a vice.

Yup, I'm gonna have a bruise.

'You wretch! If you're not sure this will work, why are we here?'