Chapter 10: We Move Kay In.

I got back home from Colorado early Thursday afternoon. I finished the actual work late Wednesday and spent Thursday morning giving the CTO my sales pitch. It was looking good for a new client keeping me on retainer but not confirmed yet. There was going to have to be some discussions with the company's CEO and more of his staff but I thought it likely they would put me under contract; it was just a matter of when.

Thursday afternoon I spent checking on all my other clients. While I was able to do some checks on my lap-top from the hotel room, the checks I do from my office set-up are more thorough. The program I had written ran the checks automatically but I needed to review the logs to ensure everything was operating correctly. While looking over the logs, I made a couple of phone calls to local clients arranging for site visits. I particularly wanted to go back out to the airline client and look over the repair I had most recently made. I routinely did this type of follow-up call as a quality check of my own work and to make sure, as sometimes happens, nothing else wrong had shown up. You fix one thing and it causes a different weak component to fail, sometimes obvious, sometimes not. The clients liked it because they considered it a proactive approach to keeping their systems running and communicating properly. It was one of the things that enhanced my reputation.

I had effectively been gone four days so it was late when I finished the checks. I was hungry and headed out for a meal. I wasn't looking for much; it was just too late for me to do anything in my kitchen. I ended up at a diner not too far from my house. After looking over their menu I had a Salisbury steak dinner, complete with green beans, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. It wasn't fancy but it was good. I don't care that much for fast food but this wasn't a sit down type restaurant either. The place wasn't crowded and it fit my needs. I went home and after spending a little time paying attention to the cats I went to bed. I was tired.

Friday morning I was just getting to my coffee when Sue arrived. I sat down with her in the kitchen because it was her last day and she had been a big help to me as more than a housekeeper. "I'm sorry to see you go Sue. You've been a rock I could count on and you've never let me down on how the house was kept or anything else. I know you want to move closer to your daughter and grand-kids and I don't blame you but I'll miss you."

"Thanks Mr. Rob, you know I wouldn't leave you for any other reason. I just can't give up the chance to be with them in New Mexico. Of all the people I do houses for, you're the only one I really regret having to leave. I feel better about leaving now that I've met Kay and spent some time with her. She seems like a nice girl and, I think she wants to do a good job for you. She was here most of the day Tuesday and we talked about what she would need to do for you. I'm comfortable with her because she pitched right in to work with me and she was asking the right type of questions while we worked and talked. She'll need some guidance from you but I don't see you having any problems with her."

"I'm glad to hear that Sue, particularly in this, I value your opinion."

"Kay and I talked and we sat for a while too. I told her you would have to put her on your insurance which surprised her. She said she hasn't got anything on her driving record and she had to drive everything on the farm so she'll be more than able to drive either your car or your truck."

"Yeah, I have to remember to make a copy of her driver's license for my insurance agent. Thanks for the reminder."

"She asked me about you too. I told her the same thing I'd tell anyone else. You've always been more than fair with me, I'd work for you anytime and I'm only leaving because of family. She was a little bit hesitant about moving in here, putting herself at risk and that you might have some demands other than the housekeeping and cat sitting. I told her she had nothing to worry about; you are an old fashioned type of gentleman. It seemed to make her feel better. I think she just was looking for reassurance and I gave it to her, in spades."

"Thanks for that. I'm kind of glad she asked, it shows me she's not blindly going into this. Okay, I'm going to let you get to whatever it is you're going to do today. Please do not leave without stopping in the office for a last goodbye."

"I'll do that and I'll also give you my daughter's phone number. If you need to call me after next week, you can reach me there but I'm sure Kay will be okay on her own in nothing flat."

As I was walking to the office the doorbell rang. Since I was closest I opened the door. As I expected, Kay was standing there and she had a suitcase at her feet.

"Good morning, I hope you have more than just that to move in with." I said this as I was stepping aside so she could come through the door.

"Hi Mr. Rob. Yes I do have more but this was all I wanted to bring with me on the bus. This has some of my clothes and my bathroom stuff so, if for some reason, I couldn't go back for the rest of it today, I can at least spend the night here and shower in the morning."

"I told you I'd help you and you can use my truck so there isn't any reason not to go back for more today. Do you want to put that stuff away first or just put it in your room?"

"If it's okay with you I'd like to get the bathroom things put away before we make a trip back. That way I won't have to worry about them and I won't lose them among the other things when I get started unpacking and putting the rest of my stuff away."

"Okay, you go do whatever you want. When you are ready to go back for a load come and get me."

Sue had come into the great room while Kay and I were talking but she apparently hadn't heard our conversation. "Do you want me to help you? Is there more to bring in?"

"Thanks Sue, but this is it for right now. I'm going to put a few things away in the bathroom before Mr. Rob and I go back for another load."

"Well if you need me, give a shout. I'm going to get started on the house. If you move your suitcase to the bedroom and you're not going to unpack it, please put it on the bed so I can get that room vacuumed while you and Mr. Rob are gone."

"That's okay Sue, I'll vacuum later."

"I'm sure you will but this way if you are too tired to get to it today it will still be done, and if you do get to it today it won't hurt that it gets vacuumed twice. Right?"

"Okay, thanks Sue."

At this point Kay headed for her bedroom with the suitcase, Sue headed for my bedroom with her cleaning supplies and I headed for the office to get some work done. I didn't think it would take Kay long and I wanted to get a couple of things done yet today.

Twenty minutes or so later Kay was standing at my office door. "Do you have time to go pick up some of my things now?"

"Sure, let's take the truck. We'll use my keys but I want you to drive."

"How come?"

"I want to see you drive before I put you on my insurance, that's all."

"Is that going to be a problem?"

"I doubt it. I'll have to make a copy of your driver's license so I can e-mail it to my insurance agent but there's no rush. As long as we do it before too long, it won't matter."

We got in the truck and I watched as Kay adjusted the seat and mirrors before starting the truck. She was doing it right, BEFORE she moved the truck. We were talking as we drove to her apartment. I kept my eye on her driving as we went to see how she did.

"I take it you've talked with the apartment manager and he's okay with you moving out."

"Yeah, I talked with him on Monday and told him Robin was already gone. He asked me what I was going to do and I told him I was renting a room from someone on the other side of the campus. He asked when I could move into that room and I told him anytime but I was prepared to pay for the next month. Then he asked me when I WANTED to move so I told him as soon as I could put it all together. He said Robin and I had been good tenants and he wouldn't hold me to that last month if I wanted to move out sooner. So I told him I'd be gone by the end of the month."

"So you have a month's rent in your pocket you didn't expect to have. What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to put most of it in the bank for the car but there are a couple of things I need to get. One of them I need your permission for since it's your house."

"Oh, what's that?"

"I need a desk in my room and I thought I'd get one of those you put together from Walmart."

"You don't need my permission for a desk."

"I didn't think so. What I need the permission for is a small refrigerator so I don't have to leave the room to get a drink. Just one of those little ones I can set beside the desk."

"I don't see a problem with that. We can pick one up from Costco but before we get that or the desk, I think we should look at the room and measure where you want to put them to make sure they'll fit."

"I don't have a Costco membership so I can't get it there."

"I do and I'll get you a card on my membership. You're going to be shopping for me and I expect Costco to be one of the places you use to help save me some money."

"That'll be a big help."

"If you want a refrigerator that's okay but I don't want you to have a hotplate or coffee maker back there. I'm a little leery of heat producing devices in bedrooms and that includes those little space heaters some people use to warm their feet. Too many fires are started that way. It hasn't happened to me but our neighbors, back in New York, lost their house because of a fire started by one of those."

"All I want in the way of appliances are the refrigerator and a good desk light. I'm not looking to cook anything in the bedroom; I just want the convenience of the refrigerator so I don't have to go through the house to get a soda or a glass of tea."

Right after that we pulled into a parking space at Kay's apartment. As we got out I stopped to put the back seat in what I referred to as 'cargo mode' so we had the most space possible to get Kay's things in.

We were standing in Kay's living room and I was looking at the boxes she had stacked up. "We should be able to get all those in one trip, I think,"

"I've got the boxes, my TV, my stereo and there's a bunch of hanging clothes in the closet. The furniture all came with the apartment so it all stays. They normally rent this place out to students so the furniture isn't great but it's functional. We didn't have to worry about hurting this stuff. As long as we didn't break it outright and didn't have loud parties, we were okay with the manager. He'll throw a coat of paint on the walls, clean the rug, flip the mattresses and be ready to rent it out again. I doubt it will be empty more than a week or two."

"How about the kitchen and are the linens yours?"

"There are a couple of pots and pans that are mine along with some of the cooking utensils. I'm keeping those. The linens and towels are mine too but Robin and I picked them up two years ago from Goodwill, they're shot. I've boxed them up but just so it's easier to throw them out."

"Well let's load the truck. I want to lay a layer of boxes down and we can lay your hanging clothes on top of it."

We had the truck loaded and ready to go in about an hour. Kay was making a last walk through to make sure nothing was left behind and I was standing in the living room. We were ready to leave. "What about the keys?"

"The manager told me to leave them on the table and lock the door on my way out. He'll be in tomorrow or Monday."

I drove when we left her apartment. I took us to the diner where I had dinner last night. "Let's have lunch before we go back to the house. I've eaten here before and it isn't bad. We can't always go to the Italian restaurant." I was smiling when I said it and Kay smiled back at me, lighting up her face.

When we got back to the house we started unloading. We each had a box in our arms as we stepped into the house. Sue met us in the great room. "I'm done with the cleaning; the cats have food and water. The litter box is fresh. Let me give you guys a hand."

"For now we can just put everything in the great room and tomorrow you can put away what you don't finish before you go to work this evening."

"You won't mind my leaving things there tonight?"

"For one night I can live with it but don't leave any boxes open or the cats will be jumping in and out of them. I know you've got to work tonight. As long as I can use my recliner and see the TV I'll be okay. Tomorrow I have yard work to do."

We had the truck empty and Kay was moving things into her room. She was doing one box at a time and seemed to have a handle on it. I went back into my office and got back to work. It was Friday and that was my half day so I didn't lose anything helping Kay.

About a quarter after four Sue came to my door. "I'm all done Mr. Rob. Actually I got done shortly after the truck was emptied. I've been helping Kay get things put away in her room. She's getting ready for work now."

"Thanks for helping her out. She's a nice girl. I think this will work out okay. It's worth the try in any case. What have you done with your keys?"

"I've already given them to Kay. Now remember Mr. Rob, she doesn't have an access code for your alarm system. You've got to take care of that or she's going to wake you up when she comes in from work."

"Thanks for the reminder. I'll take care of that tomorrow."