Chapter 21

Home was on my mind as the guys drove us there. With Ann Marie gone, I was back to having to do things for myself, but that wouldn't last. There had to be other domestic women who needed a job, and a place to live...

Then it hit me.

Teri and the children could live out on the farm, and take care of the housework and cooking, as long as she cleaned up nicely, and was able to cook, that is.

When we arrived, I called the contractor that redid the house and asked about having a three bedroom, two bathroom apartment built over the garages. I wasn't keen on having two children, who were not mine, living with me, under my roof, but building them a garage apartment was a great alternative. "We can do that," he said, sounding happy, which am deme think they weren't very busy. "The superstructure is all in place, the load bearing walls will handle anything we need to do, and the plumbing will be easy, since the septic tank is so nearby, and you had us build in the plumbing and electrical systems for the apartment in case your security guys needed them, when we built the garages.

"When do you want to do it?" he cut straight to the chase.

"How about today? Start right now, and set a record for getting it done right, and I will give you a twenty-five percent bonus in cash." I could hear him suck in his breath thinking about that.

"But ... I haven't given you an estimate," he said almost sadly.

"I don't care what it costs as long as you start right now, do it quickly, and do a great job. Charge me whatever you wish, and if you get it done fast, I will hand you your bonus in cash, just like I promised." If that didn't get results nothing would, and Teri and the kids would be living in that hotel suite for a little longer.

"We're not busy. Truth-be-told, we're not working much right now. If I had a hat on, I would take it off out of respect for the dead, because that's how not busy we are, so I will drag every mother's son out of bed and get started as fast as we can throw out tools in the truck, grab some stuff out of our garage and get there."

All it ever takes is money...

The guards at the house gave me a rundown on Ann Marie's departure, and I spent some time doing nothing, before heading back to the hotel to see how my guests were faring.

The Crowne Plaza Resort was close to where we came upon Teri. That's why we took a suite there. When I arrived and knocked at their door it, was about six-thirty, which gave them more than enough time to see the doctor and dentist. The three people who answered the door looked like complete strangers.

Teri had her hair up, pinned back from her face, and looked splendid in her new clothes. Judy seemed to glow in a brand new Nike warm up suit, and Timmy looked precious in Dockers and a collared sweater. They looked like normal people, which had to please them, especially Teri.

She held the door and smiled radiantly when she saw that it was me. "Oh, come in. Thank you so much for all of this. It's ... it's..." she started to cry. "It's like we woke up in that alley this morning, in Hell, and an angel came to take us to Heaven. Thank you..."

She continued crying. Timmy hugged her from the back, and Judy slowly joined the family hug. When I saw Teri watching me to see how I would react, I joined the group hug, and let them all cry, again.

Eventually we all moved to the sofa, and the children arranged themselves around us. Teri held on for dear life, reluctant to let go, apparently. Judy didn't understand, but knew that it was important to let Mommy cry, so she held on and supported Teri while she let go.

It took time, but eventually Teri wound down and started to talk.

"I don't understand why you did what you and your friends did for us today, but you have to know you saved our lives. We have been homeless for over five weeks. I know that because I saw a calendar at the clinic." She apparently wanted to talk to me privately, and sent both kids to their room so we could talk.

"Judy has been sick almost since she was born. She's fifteen, but looks seven, because she has a glandular problem that requires more treatment then my husband's insurance would cover. We reached the limits of Calvin's policy, about six months ago, and he informed me that he didn't want to be married anymore, or be a father.

"What he didn't tell me was that he left with all our money. He took every cent we had, and left his children destitute when walked out.

"We'd sold the house because we had to downsize due to Judy's medical bills, and within a few days the new owners showed up and kicked us into the street. I didn't even have a car we could live in until I figured something out. I tried to find someone - anyone - to take us in, but everyone has their own problems, and their own excuses. I thought the church would help, but when I walked in, the secretary locked the office door in my face and told us to get out before she called the police.

"The owner of the Mexican place let us sleep in a cardboard box I fixed up next to their exhaust vent to get warm, and once in a while he let me clean their restrooms in exchange for leftovers. It kept the rain off of us, and we wasn't always freezing that way.