“Me too.” She looked around the condo. “Do you know if I have any kinds of rights to this place? I know it’s paid for, with the exception of the dues. But I’d like to paint a bit and get new carpets. These are showing their age a bit. Not to mention some work is needed in the kitchen area.”
“Since you own it, you can do what you wish to the inside. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that you can’t do something illegal there. But Mars told us so long as the yards were kept up, he didn’t care what a person might do to the inside to make it their own. My dad wanted an air-conditioner in his bedroom. He likes his room to be freezing when he sleeps, something I guess he wasn’t able to do when Mom was alive.” She said she liked a warm bed and a cold room too. “You would love sleeping with—never mind. You don’t need to sleep with Booker to know that the two of you have something in common.”
Her laughter felt good. She’d not had a lot of opportunities of late to think of something as funny, and this was just what she needed. After they made arrangements for him to call North for her so he’d be with her when the will was read, she laid back down on the couch.
Wats was a good friend. All the Wilkersons were that she’d met so far. They were kind yet firm. They didn’t intrude where they shouldn’t, and they would give someone their last penny if they thought someone needed it more than they did.
Her cell phone rang then, and it was Wats again. However, when she answered the phone, he told her his name was Mars. He asked her what she wanted done to the condo and that there were contractual things that he did yearly for the place.
“Your mom didn’t want us to do anything to the place because she said she was rarely there. According to the notes I have on your address, it’s due for not just all new carpets, but an upgrade to the kitchen. She skipped that one three times.” They both laughed when she told him Mom didn’t cook. “Since the place is paid off, you can pick what carpet you want in the place, and since we’re going to be doing that, we can paint all the rooms while we’re at it. Mom wanted people to be happy in their homes so they’d stay longer. Also, she said that since people stayed so long, we saved money on advertising when there was an empty spot.”
“I’d like that, please. An overhaul to the place.” He suggested another route they could go. “You mean I could actually trade in this place for another one? That would be nice. The memories here, there aren’t a lot of them, but the ones I have are painful. What sort of deal can you make me?”
“I can give you the house numbers to the ones that are fully updated. Some of them have more bedrooms, but that won’t make much of a difference if you take one of them instead. I have two that have four bedrooms and one that has five. If I were you, I’d take the five. It’s sitting alone in the street, and since it’s so big, you’re not sharing any walls with anyone. It’s the only house we have in this area.” She said she’d take it. “Good. You’ll be closer to town, as well as the other shops that are finally getting filled out in town. If you let me know when you’d like to go there, I can meet you there with the keys. Anytime is good for me.”
“Now?” Mars said that was good with him. He was headed out the door now. “I’m guessing you don’t live here anymore. That big house on the main drag, I heard it’s being renovated now.”
“Yes. It’s worse than your mom’s condo. It’s been literally centuries since anyone updated even the paint in the place.” She asked him if he thought he’d enjoy living in the house. “I think so. Abby and I are going to make memories of our own. Have laughter with all my cousins and their wives. It’s been tough, I will admit that, but Mom left me in a good place, and I’m doing everything I can to make sure she’d still be proud of me.”
“I’m sure she is.”
She told him she was leaving now and got directions to find the house. It was exciting for her to be able to start fresh and still be close to friends. While she didn’t know all the Wilkerson men, she knew that all the ones she did know were about as kind as they could be to her. And Mom had loved them to pieces too.
Chapter 8
Booker couldn’t wait for the end of the term. He had so much going on at his condo that he wasn’t sure he was ever going to see the light of day again. Then there was the move to his new home. Why did he buy such a huge assed house? He’d been asking himself the same question for days now.
Booker looked up when he heard his name being called. It was Brandon. He wanted them to have dinner together.
“I have about six thousand reports I have to read and grade. Then after that, the school is asking for next year’s plan. I don’t even know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow, much less next year.” He put his paperwork into his briefcase and looked at his friend and cousin. “You know what? Fuck it. I would love to have dinner with you.”
They ended up at their favorite place. The steakhouse on campus, usually very busy in the fall, had already gotten the parent rush over with, and it was mostly just him and Brandon there. He asked his cousin what he’d been doing.
“I have three designs I’m working on at the same time. They aren’t even related to each other.” Booker asked him if it was harder that way. “Usually not. When I get stuck on one of them, I can work on the other two to clear my mind. But here lately, it’s lost all of its appeal. Most everything has. How about you? I’m sorry about your mom. Sort of.”
“They’re all gone, had you heard?” Brandon told him he’d heard it from his dad. “We’re none of us going to miss them, I don’t think. I find myself missing Aunt Holly more than I ever did my mother. Dad, he’s happy. He has a date tonight, and he is as excited as I get when I have a new class starting.”
“My dad has been working around town with Uncle Clayton. If he gets to be mayor, he’s going to have so much help from his brothers that I wouldn’t doubt that the town will be upgraded within his first few weeks in office. Did you hear he’s running on a platform that says, whatever Mayor Caldwell says he’ll do, Uncle Clayton is going to actually do it. I laughed my ass off the first time I read that on one of his signs.” He asked him if it was slander. “Only if it’s not true. Caldwell isn’t getting anything done around the town. Last weekend Mrs. Orr fell on one of the sidewalks, and not only did Uncle Clayton help her to get a new sidewalk in front of her home, but he did some of the work himself. Not for show either—he was digging right along with the crew. That’s what this town needs. A member of the town out where people can see him.”
They spoke about the town as they waited on their salads. Booker loved things hot and spicy, while Brandon was a little on the timid side when it came to spice. Booker’s salad had sriracha sauce on it and then a bottle of it on the side. He loved it on his salad as much as Brandon hated it.
After their salads were cleared away, Brandon got serious. He wanted advice. Not sure how he could help him, Booker listened to what he had to say until he finished. Actually, he was glad to hear that someone else was thinking what he’d been thinking and let out a long breath before he spoke.
“I don’t want to work anymore either. I feel, just like you do that I’ve been forced to work at something I don’t enjoy for a long time.” Brandon asked him if he hated teaching. “Not hate. That’s too strong a word for it. But I’m ready to see some things before I get too old to enjoy them. I’ve never been to an amusement park by myself. Holly took us to those things, but now I want to see them again. Perhaps with a date this time. I don’t know. I’ve been a college professor for ten long years now, and I want a break.”
“I’ve been an engineer for that long, and I’m sick of it. Not just sick, but I think I’ve grown to hate my job.” Booker asked him what he wanted to do, if anything. “Like you, I want to see places. Also, I want to work on game designs. I’ve been doing a little of that on the side, but there are times when I just want to walk away. That’s hard for me to do.”
“Because we’ve had it beat into us
that we are to work where we’re told and not deviate from that plan at all.” Booker had a thought. “I’m going to turn in my resignation tomorrow. I’ll work to the end of the term for them, then I’m done. I’m going to be my own man.”
“Damn it, so am I.” They had a glass of wine with their dinner, something that he rarely did, and had fun the rest of the night. “Wats told me about your home, Book. Are you ready to get moved in?”
Booker told him that he was pretty much moved in now. “Come over to the house and watch some television with me. I’ll show you around. When I get out of working, I think I’ll devote some time to just being a lazy man. I don’t think I’ve ever done much of that.” He asked him if he had a place to sit. “More than enough, actually. I’ve emptied out my storage lockers and filled out the house nicely. I even had paper napkins in the cabinet.”
Something that their mothers would never allow them to use. Booker thought of being at Aunt Holly’s and how they’d sometimes use paper towels when she didn’t have any napkins. She had given them a taste of a life that they’d never had at home—a good time, as with nothing ever having to be expensive or top name.
As he walked through the house, he remembered when he’d gotten each piece and told Brandon about it. Holly had turned him on to them, and the two of them would go to them to have fun. She did something with each of them. Brandon’s passion had been going to plays with her. He was going to do that as well—see some plays and go to the movies once in a while.
The house looked good if he did say so himself. He had even gotten some nice dishes that he had put away himself, as well as cloth napkins. He wasn’t opposed to using them, but he also knew there wasn’t a reason to have them while enjoying a slice of pizza. Asking Brandon if he wanted to stay over, he took him to one of the bedrooms that were complete. The bathroom had extras in it, such as toothpaste and other items for guests.
“I have to get myself a washer and dryer, however. I never wanted to get one at an auction. Aunt Holly said if I didn’t use it right away, I might be buying a pig in a poke.” They laughed again, and Booker was feeling better all the time. “The sheets and mattresses are new, so you don’t have to worry about those. So are the towels. I do have a stack of old ones, but I’m going to be using them in the garage or the barn. I’ve not decided what I’m going to be doing with the barn yet, but I’m sure it’ll come to me.”
“There is an auction tomorrow. I’m sure you’ve seen it.” Booker asked him where it was. “About an hour from here. I thought you and I could take a trip there to see about me getting a start on my home that I don’t have yet.”
“All right.” They were going to leave early in the morning and be there in time to look things over. Booker was excited to be spending time with Brandon. “I have a few pieces that I don’t have room for if you want them. You can even store your things in my locked place. Or the barn. As I said, I don’t know what I’m going to be doing out there as yet, and this way, you can get as much as you need.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that. Lord knows I have enough boxes at the condo to fill out a couple of rooms. When Dad told me to get what I wanted from the house before he sold it, I did just that. Most of it was from my room, and then the staff packed up things from the attic that I hadn’t any idea was up there.” Booker asked him what it was. “Believe it or not, the staff saved all my baby things. Report cards and whatnot. When I was there to get my clothes from the closet, they told me that they knew Mom wouldn’t have kept it, so they did. Lots of things that brought back lots of memories.”
“That’s nice.” He asked Brandon if he had a house in mind yet. “I did look over the list you sent me about the foreclosure homes. I have to admit, I would never have dreamed there were that many around here. There are two that I’m going to have a look at on Monday. I might not buy anything yet—I’m in no hurry to get something just to get something—but I will have something soon.”
“Take Wats with you. That man can wheel and deal better than anyone I’ve worked with. Just the other day, he told me he got four buildings in the downtown area for a steal. I looked it up. He did. He paid a thousand dollars for four buildings. He told me even though he was going to have to take one of them down, he still made out well. Abby is going to use one of them for a studio for her and Amy to use to take pictures. The other place they had turned out to be a bust. It needed all new wiring, and that was well beyond what the building was worth.” Brandon said he’d do that. “We’re all getting wives. Do you suppose we’ll be in that group of old married people too?”
“More than likely.” He then asked Brandon if he’d met Louis. “I did. I heard that he came home this morning, so I went by and gave him some gifts. The kid was afraid to open the package until Rayne assured him she had no intentions of selling it off.”
“Poor kid. And I have to tell you, I’m completely in love with AJ. Have you seen Uncle Wesley around the kids? He’s in heaven. Having so much fun with the kids that I swear he’s ten years or so younger.” Brandon said his dad was thrilled with AJ too. He loved being a great uncle. “That’s right. I forgot about that.”
They wandered around the house until they ended up in the living room. There wasn’t much on the television this time of night, so they opted to just let it play in the background as they brought up fond memories. Most of them were of when they were all together, and they also talked about how much they were enjoying being around their dads. Booker said he and his dad were having a wonderful time getting to know one another.
“It’s been really comforting to know my dad is trying so hard to be the man he should have been. I didn’t say that to him—he told me that the other night when he was here. Also, and this is something I think all of us feel, our fathers are feeling better just knowing they are free of their ex-wives. I know that sounds terrible, but—”
“No, it doesn’t sound terrible. It’s the truth.” Booker asked him how he felt about them all being gone. “Nothing. I don’t feel anything. It’s as if someone told me that a great uncle I never met has passed away. There hasn’t been any feelings for my mother or the others for a very long time. I think since well before I left home.”
“That is sad. Not on our part, but theirs. If you ask me, they’re the ones that lost out. Not only did they never get to know any of us, but they missed out on knowing Aunt Holly too.” He realized they were talking about something they should be avoiding right now. Sadness wasn’t going to interfere in his life as much anymore. “Anyway, we should get going about seven in the morning. We can stop on the way and get some breakfast too. The auction starts at ten, so that will give us a good hour to look around and make notes on things.”
“I’m excited about this new venture, Book. I swear, I’ve never enjoyed things as much as I do today. I think it has to do with knowing that no one is going to be hurt or hurt me and that I’m going to do something I want for a change.” Booker agreed. “All right. Good night, buddy. And thanks for being there for me. I love you.”
“And I love you, Brandon. But let’s not be mushy about it.” They were both laughing as they parted ways in the hall. Booker set his alarm on his phone and laid down. Closing his eyes with a smile on his face, he thought of one more thing. “I miss you, Aunt Holly. Very much. But I’m moving on now. Thanks to you, I can do that.”
~*~
Charlie wasn’t sure what the hell she was doing. Not just here, but what she was to do if she wanted to bid on something. Abby and Amy had talked her and Rayne into coming up to this auction today to fill out their homes. She thought they had nice homes, but what did she know about being wealthy? Not a single thing.
The man she’d been sort of following was helping another man in things that he should bid on and how much. She had also learned not to take the first amount that the auctioneer put out there. It was only a starting point.
“Hello.” She looked around when t
he man she was following spoke to her. “You haven’t any idea what you’re doing, do you?”
“Nope. I will admit I’m in well over my head. Like I need all kinds of things for this house I’m going to live in, but I haven’t any idea how to go about it. Like, this table here. I love it. But I don’t know what would be a good price to bid or how to even make that happen.” He asked her if she had a number yet. “Yes. I got that when we first arrived. Abby told me about that.”
“Abby? You’re here with Abby Wilkerson?” She nodded, and the man laughed. “Well, isn’t this a small world. I’m her cousin-in-law, Booker Wilkerson. I’m here with my cousin, Brandon.”
“Will you help me?” He said he’d love to. “Good. First thing, this table. What is a good price to pay? I don’t want to get caught up in the bidding and forget that I’m on a budget, somewhat.”
“It’s not old if that’s what you’re thinking.” She asked him how he could tell that. “Look around at all the other pieces out here. What is the one thing they have in common? I know you can see it, but it never occurred to you yet.”
She knew he wasn’t talking about the age of the piece. To her, they all looked like they’d been around a long time. Then she noticed a few things she’d not before. Looking at Booker, she smiled.
“Someone has taken the time to dust this piece. Why would they do something like that to a piece that’s just a table?” He told her. “I guess I can see that. Polish it up so that it’s more appealing to someone. Eye catching, I guess you could call it. So it will more than likely go a little high when it’s probably just a table that isn’t going to last all that long. Thank you.”
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