Chapter Five
Randy Libid was the next name on the list. He lived in a section of town where a lot of nightclubs were located. It was better than where Jeff Slack lived.
Jeremy finished preparing for the day. He even remembered to turn off the coffee pot when he was finished. He gathered his materials and went to find Randy Libid.
The drive led toward the side of town that was mostly industrialized. There were many bars in this area and it surprised him that many were open so early. Several must have had a regular customer basis from the number of vehicles parked outside.
He expected to find an apartment complex or condominium at the address provided because there were no houses along the road. The address belonged to a bar. One car was parked outside. The sign in the glass door showed that the establishment was open.
Jeremy found it uncomfortable to be going into a bar in broad daylight. It had been a long time since he even had been to one. It was like stepping into pure night on the inside. It was dark, dank and reeked of stale alcohol and tobacco.
He stood at the door until his eyes adjusted enough to see. The jukebox was playing an old familiar tune. The place was empty except for a heavy set man behind the bar. The man’s facial features resembled a droopy-eyed basset hound. Jeremy could see the bartender wore an old leisure suit, was overly hairy and the gold chain hanging outside of his shirt was a visual throwback to a different decade.
Jeremy approached the bar before the man seemed to notice him.
His eyes slowly looked in his direction as if he had been daydreaming.
“Hi, what’ll it be?” The man’s voice was somewhat high pitched and vacantly raspy like dry leaves blowing down a sidewalk.
“I’m looking for a man named Randy Libid. Does he work here?” Jeremy smiled trying to appear friendly.
The man still looked unsettled. “He might as long as you don’t have a daughter or girlfriend who is mad at him.”
The bartender’s response confused Jeremy a little. “No, nothing like that, I have a eulogy to write about a man named Blake Kudrow. Randy Libid was supposed to know him and I was hoping he could tell me some things to include.”
“Oh, I see. Well come on in and have a seat. What’ll you have to drink? On the house, of course, compliments of Randy Libid, nightclub manager, lady’s man and downright expert in the subject of love.” The man gestured to a nearby barstool.
Jeremy sat down and spread his notebook open getting ready to write. “You are Randy, I take it?”
The man nodded. Jeremy saw that his hair was oily. He thought it odd that the man worked at a bar this time of day. Too many assumptions and stereotypes came to mind.
“I am Randy Libid, the one and only; at your service for drinks and advice on the female gender.”
Jeremy looked around the bar and wondered what type of environment that Mr. Libid spent his work time in. This bar looked dim and smoky, barely recognizable in the daytime for comradery or debauchery it held at night.
Randy smiled. “Now about this report you are writing. What information are you looking for exactly?” He wiped a glass down with a
towel and set it in front of Jeremy. “Would you like a drink while we talk? Name your poison.”
Randy Libid seemed like a walking cliché. Jeremy thought it was too early to indulge in alcohol. “Water is fine.” Randy looked a little shocked.
“One doesn’t go to a movie theater expecting to ice skate. This is a bar. Come on. It’s on the house.” He smiled again.
“Water is fine, thanks. My name is Jeremy Worth. I really have to work on this eulogy for Blake Kudrow.”
“Ole Blake finally did it, huh? Well, no surprises there. We went to school together. He was quiet and shy and I was the lady’s man. I kept trying to tell him how to please the women. He was just old fashioned and believed in things like romance and love before sex. He missed out on a lot if you know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, Jeremy did know what he meant and found Randy to be somewhat vulgar.
Jeremy could smell the man’s cologne. It was put on too heavy. “Go on, tell me more about Blake.”
“Well, I was very popular back then with the ladies. Blake was more into books and grades. We pursued different paths. He went on to college and I got married and went to work. Had to, you see, I got this girl pregnant. We didn’t think she could and I was careful... well, kind of.
Any hoo, I was still working construction by the time Blake graduated college. The funny thing is that he was scrawny in school and I was in shape. After a while it seemed to change. I got bigger and he was in shape.
I moved on to being a night bartender and moved around, too many things to remember. The bartending job is the only thing I did steady. Cost me my wife though. Heck, it cost me three of them. Nowadays, I just keep the ladies happy when they will let me. They don’t seem to want me as much as they used to. It’s a shame too. They turn me down before I get a chance to show them what I got.”
Jeremy listened politely realizing that Randy Libid had forgotten the question about Blake. He had gotten distracted. Jeremy just did not know how far to let Randy talk before interrupting and getting him back on track. Randy paused to inhale. Jeremy took advantage of the break in conversation.
“When was the last time you saw Blake Kudrow?”
Randy scratched his head rolling his droopy eyes toward the ceiling. “Well now, let me see. I was still married to wife number two. Blake came to a car dealership I was working at to buy a car. I didn’t last long at that job. But at least I sold ole Blake a new car.”
Jeremy was confused why Blake had Randy on his list. It was obvious that the two were not friends and had not kept in touch through the years. He himself could not imagine too much that a man like Blake Kudrow could learn from someone like Randy Libid. But then, he really did not know what kind of man Blake was.
He politely conversed with Randy for another hour. Randy seemed constantly distracted in his conversations. More than once, he had to be reminded of a question or what the topic of conversation was. Very little information or insight was given about Blake. Jeremy realized he would just have to speculate.
After hearing Randy’s whole life story with its disappointments and tragedies, romances and one night stands, and even about the good times, Jeremy excused himself. He was back in his car wondering how
or why Randy Libid was important to Blake. His constant lustful comments were almost an embarrassment and it seemed like Randy was compensating for something.
If nothing else, Randy Libid had an interesting life and stayed true to himself. Or, at least he put his needs first and in spite of many bad choices, seemed happy with his lot in life. Maybe there was something more to it. He wrote it in his journal.
Chapter Six
Jeremy’s thoughts were on the talks he had with Randy Libid. He had met people like him numerous times in his life. Each one had always seemed somewhat lustful in their thoughts. Although Randy seemed to be continuously distracted all the while and talked about constant rejection in his life. As much as he hated to admit it, there were some traces of Randy Libid in himself as well, at least in the part about not being so pretty to look at.
He made it back home and checked his messages first thing. He had his hopes up that there might be a message from the company, but was not too surprised that it had not come. The bills on the table seemed to call to him as he walked past them, giving him no peace until he sat down and paid the most urgent ones from his dwindling checking account. He exhaled, hoping that a job would come through before his money ran out.
Jeremy absently flipped through the folder to get an idea of who would be next on his list to visit. He was not in the mood to work on what he was beginning to refer to in his head as the Blake Kudrow project. So far the list had continued and would keep him in the same city.
Ivan Moore’s address was in an upper middle class neighborhood in an older subdivision on the west side of town. Jeremy th
ought about putting off visiting Ivan until the next day. He realized that it would just delay him in finishing the project and getting on with his search for employment, although already the project was becoming a welcome distraction to his own personal problems.
It was early evening when Jeremy parked his car in front of Ivan Moore’s red brick home. The grass was patchy brown in the front yard. He could hear loud voices yelling inside the house. The pit of his stomach told him that he had come at a bad time. He could hear enough
of the conversation and could tell it was about money. A woman’s voice complained about spending too much of it.
Jeremy almost turned to leave and then decided to go ahead and ring the doorbell since he did not want the drive across town to be fruitless. The sound of a door slamming could be heard as he pressed the doorbell button. Loud footsteps pounded toward the door and it was jerked open.
A middle aged man with eyes like dark pits sunk into his face opened the door. He stood just under six feet tall and filled out his elaborate clothing generously. He was already balding and clung to his hair in one of the worst comb overs that Jeremy had ever seen. Jeremy looked into the man’s shifty eyes.
“Mr. Ivan Moore?” Jeremy posed the question as if it were a statement.
“Yes.” The answer was short from an obviously agitated Ivan Moore.
Jeremy shifted uncomfortably and felt his eyes dart down from Ivan’s heavy overbearing manner. “I’m Jeremy Worth. I’ve been sent to talk to you about getting information for a eulogy; Blake Kudrow’s eulogy.”
Ivan Moore moved his tightly closed lips in a frown that seemed to roll from one side of his mouth to the other before he spoke.
“Mr.... Worth, is it? This is a bad time. I was just on my way out to grab some dinner.”
Jeremy nodded once acknowledging Ivan’s statement but believing there was more to it because of the argument he had heard going on. He would just as soon talk with the man and be on his way. An idea came to him. “Mr. Moore, I’m on an expense account, how about if I buy?”
Ivan Moore looked Jeremy up and down and then glanced past to see what kind of vehicle was parked in front of his house. He shrugged. “Ok, you drive. I pick the restaurant.”
Jeremy agreed and Ivan directed him to an expensive seafood restaurant a few miles from his house. Ivan dominated most of the conversation on the way. “Mr. Worth, I am about money. I have spent a great deal of it in my life buying into different programs. Most of them are just get rich quick schemes that required more time and effort than I could commit. To be honest, they took something out of me, besides money. I know I’m gonna have money one day. Something will pay off.
It just hurts that all of them amounted to nothing. Now it’s straining my marriage. The Mrs. is mad that I just spent some bill money on a sure thing. I just have this feeling that I’m going to fail again. This fear and sorrow is enough from her. But it’s in my heart too. I suffer with that fear every night. Know what I mean?”
Jeremy nodded. He understood fear and suffering. It seemed that was what remained when the fire in his heart had gone out. He started to speak when Ivan continued talking.
“It has made for a lot of regrets. I missed a lot putting my quest for money ahead of my family. I hoped it would pay off one day. It will yet, I feel it. It just proves that life is not fair.”
Jeremy noticed that Ivan took more room in the vehicle than he needed. There was a closeness in his mannerisms that seemed to invade Jeremy’s comfort zone. They arrived at the restaurant in time to extinguish the conversation.
The two went inside. Ivan asked for a wine list and ordered a fairly expensive bottle with dinner. He also ordered the most expensive salad, main course and dessert. Jeremy kept his dinner simple and secretly
hoped the credit card would clear to pay for dinner. It perturbed him some when Ivan tried to persuade him not to leave a tip to the waiter. The odd thing was that Ivan did not speak much at all until he was finished eating.
“So, what’s this about a eulogy? I remember Blake. I worked for him for about six weeks, and then this opportunity came along in a multilevel marketing program. I worked hard on it. I just didn’t get in early enough. Story of my life, a day late and a dollar short.”
Jeremy dropped Ivan Moore off back at his house after dinner. He was emotionally drained as he drove home. He learned a lot about Ivan Moore and the effect that greed could have on a man. He did not learn much about Blake Kudrow. At least the credit card cleared and paid for dinner.
Chapter Seven
There was still no call from the company the next morning. Jeremy sat dejected thinking about the interview that they had. He thought to be courteous and hand wrote a short letter thanking them for the interview, reminding them of his qualifications and telling them that he was
looking forward to seeing them at the next interview.
That letter took seven minutes to write and two more to getting it
ready to mail. It was a simple investment of time and a postage stamp
that he hoped would place him ahead of the competition for the position.
It would be several more days until the local paper would list available job positions that he could apply to. There was nothing to do but turn back to the Blake Kudrow eulogy.
He read through his journal notes and they served to remind him of conversations. He still had no clear picture of what Blake Kudrow was like. So far the people had mostly talked about themselves and their lives. This was going to be a long job ahead of him.
Jeremy looked at the long list of names remaining and selected the next one. He organized his papers, and then set out to meet the next person on the list. He left his house and drove almost to downtown into an older part of the city. It had at one time been a local business area of shops that had been converted into boutiques. Amber Covet had a shop in the third building in the row. A tiny bell rang when he walked through the door.
The boutique sold women’s clothes and cosmetics. At first, Jeremy thought that a mannequin had been set up in the rear of the store in a red dress. The figure turned and he could see her blonde shoulder length hair and bright red lipstick that matched her dress exactly. Her blue eyes seemed to search him for something.
Her liquid movements carried a fair complected beautiful woman. “Can I help you?”
Jeremy blinked twice before answering her. “I’m looking for Amber Covet. Does she work here?”
The woman smiled slightly. “Like a slave. I’m Amber. What can I do for you?”
Jeremy smiled. “I am Jeremy Worth. This may sound a little strange, but I am here to talk to you about Blake Kudrow. You see, I am writing his eulogy.”
She frowned just slightly. “Oh, I see. What is it you need from me?”
He held his palms up and shrugged slightly? “How did you know him?”
Amber relaxed slightly. “Blake... Mr. Kudrow, was a customer of mine. He would come in and buy things for his wife. He was such a sweet guy and a romantic. What I would have done for a guy like that. Too old for me though. But, he was in love. You could see it in his eyes and in the things he did for her.
One thing too, was that he had money. I wish I had money like that. There are so many things that I could buy to make my life better.
Not that I don’t mind being single. But, at twenty-eight there are just things that I want. Like Blake, his car was beautiful and he sported an expensive watch. I would get one of those too. He must have had some good luck in his life. I could use some good luck like that.
I was envious of his car too. Too bad he didn’t leave it to me. That would have made things better. I could just never afford things like he had. Not with what this shop brings in.
This is just enough money to stay open. I feel on the verge of giving up most of the time. Having my own business was supposed to make me money like rich people have. Now, I never have enough money. I stay at the poverty level desperate for something more. Even having love in my life would
help sometimes. I just have to accept being married to my business.
Maybe I will marry some rich guy who can take me away from this, someone with a good car, a nice house full of all the amenities. Everyone is just doing better than me, has better lives and luck. I envy the lives of others too much. But, listen to me. I am rambling on and on. So, why did Blake Kudrow want you to talk to me about his eulogy?”
This time Jeremy did not have an answer, not an in-depth one anyway. “He either learned something from you or you left a strong enough impression on his life; to get input from you.”
Amber nodded. “I wish I could have had his life. His money would have been good. I’m just stuck with mine, filled with all of its problems. Being broke does not help. I just hang on by living vicariously through other people, admiring their belongings. You know how it is when there is never enough money. It’s either going on or just giving up, taking one day at a time.”
A customer walked into the boutique. The entry bell broke their conversation. Amber turned with a smile and greeted her customer. Jeremy took the hint of a dismissal and excused himself. He returned to his car and updated his journal. It took almost thirty minutes to capture all of his thoughts on paper.
He drove around aimlessly deciding if he should go home or push on with the project. His stomach was rumbling so he pulled into a café
parking lot, gathered his materials and went inside for lunch. More thoughts came to him and he jotted them into the journal while he ate.
Jeremy nursed a third cup of coffee as he decided on the next person to visit. He was surprised at how much of himself he was seeing in each of the people he visited. Many of his thoughts and impressions were negative. It made him wonder briefly how he impressed those that he interacted with. The waitress broke his train of thought by setting the lunch bill on the table. He paid, tipped and returned to his car.
The Legacy Inheritance Page 3
