CommunityChapter 49
- 4 years ago
- 23
- 0
Tim’s turn:
My ex – Vicki’s mom – is in town, and in the interests of keeping things as civil between her and me for Vicki’s benefit, she’s staying with us.
That little act in itself is a little poke in her eye. Our house is meticulously clean and organized, partly due to the efforts of me and Kim and Vicki, also due to a couple of ladies whom we’ve hired to provide domestic support for a community of busy people. Karen was a lackadaisical housekeeper at best. Seeing this – well, SHE was the one who left.
This is going to be awkward, at best. I checked with Beck, and with Jack Haggarty, on how to handle this. I’m going to have to give the bitch some money, and they’re getting the documents organized for signature. If we keep the numbers below a certain level, she won’t have to pay the taxes, and we’re going to “persuade” her to sign a couple of documents that might be important at a later date. One is called a “non-disclosure agreement”, the other is called a “hold harmless” agreement. Lawyer stuff. I shake my head, but Jack’s the expert.
Arriving home, I step in the house to the smell of fresh coffee, and Kim and Vicki! That’s good. And, as expected, Karen. Less good.
I said, “Good afternoon ladies, and we’re happy that you could join us, Karen.” Wonder if she realizes that I didn’t include her as a “lady”? Probably not. (Kim hides a grin -- she caught the distinction.)
Kim said, “Good afternoon to YOU, sir!” And gave me a kiss, then pinched her nose, and pointed down the hall.
Vicki had a big grin -- she knows what’s coming in a few minutes.
Karen said, “Thank you for having me, Tim, and Kim is right -- I can smell you from here!”
I said, “Back in a few minutes, ladies. The shower awaits.” And stepped down the hall. Well, I certainly need the shower, and a shave. And Karen is going to be shocked by what comes next.
Kim’s turn:
I turned to Karen and said, “Karen, I think the coffee’s ready if you’d like some.”
Karen poured a cup, looked at Vicki and said, “I’m still having trouble realizing that you’re actually a college graduate. Girl, you’re only thirteen!”
Vicki said, “Mom, it’s no big deal. Nearly everyone I know is an engineer of some sort, except for Mizz Beck, and she’s REALLY smart!”
The doorbell rang, and Vicki stepped to answer it. She opened it to Bill Hardesty, carrying a small duffel. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the room, saying, “Bill, this is my Mom, Karen. Mom, this is my student, Bill Hardesty!”
Bill shook her hand and said, “Pleased to meet you, Mizz Karen. I apologize for the sweat and grime, but I just got off work, and drove straight over here.”
And then Tim strolled down the hall, wearing fresh khakis and a polo shirt. He shook Bill’s hand, and said, “Good to see you, Bill. Shower’s just down the hall. Vicki, could you show him, and make sure he has a fresh towel?”
Vicki said, “Got it, Dad.” She grabbed Bill’s hand and pulled him down the hall, and returned in a couple of minutes.
Karen said, “Kim, Tim, that kid stinks! But he’s a HUNK! I wonder if he’d fit in my luggage?”
Tim said, “Karen, Bill is an oddity here. He’s an athlete whose career got shortened by a knee injury. But he’s a good kid, and a smart guy. Vicki tutors him in math and engineering, and he’s learning rapidly. We think he has serious potential.”
Karen said, “But why’s he working, and stinky and sweaty?”
“Mom,” Vicki said, “Bill says it’s not right to mooch off his parents, so he has a part-time job. He doesn’t make excuses, and he’s a hard worker. We kinda like that attitude around here.”
“I never understood that, Tim,” Karen said, “A guy with a college education should never have to get dirty like that.”
Tim said, “Karen, some don’t, but you need to watch engineers at work to understand. In any case, Bill will be ready in a few minutes, and we can enjoy dinner, for a while.”
Karen said, “OK, Tim. Now, about the money...”
“Let’s get to that conversation after dinner, Karen,” Tim interrupted and said, “Honestly, I’m starving, and it’s a safe bet that Bill is, too. He still has an athlete’s metabolism, so he tends to eat like your average horse.”
Karen, somewhat distracted, looked again at the diplomas. She shook her head and said, “Kim, this isn’t some kind of joke, is it? I always thought Vicki was smart, but this...”
Vicki said, “Real stuff, Mom. I can give you Dr. Hoskins’ phone number, if you want to check it out. We had to WORK for those. Not the math so much, but those engineering courses were pretty tough.”
Just then, Bill came back down the hall, carrying his duffel bag. He said, “Thanks for the shower, Mister Tim. I still need a shave, but that can wait.”
“Bill, you clean up nicely,” Karen said. “Want to escort me to dinner?”
Vicki’s eyes narrowed, and she did NOT smile. Tim has told me that the lady can be rather forward. I think that’s the angle that got them together in the first place. I just can’t see him initiating contact with that. I guess he thought she was being flighty. And interested.
Bill said, “Thanks, ma’am, but I’d better stick pretty close to my favorite tutor, here. She’s REALLY smart, and a cutie, if you’ll notice.”
Vicki’s eyes turned a couple of shades bluer.
Tim’s turn:
Odd dinner at the Pavilion, trivial conversation in most ways, but things have changed some, including Karen’s odd looks at Mandy, and her (too obvious) vamping at Bill, which clearly wasn’t funny to Vicki. Jesus, Karen has neither brains nor subtlety, and I wonder why I didn’t catch it years ago.
Anyway, with dinner concluded, we returned to the house, while Vicki snagged Bill, saying, “Hummingbird needs a belt change -- shouldn’t take long. We’ll be back in a while.”
Back at the house, I said, “OK, Karen, break out the credit account statements, and let’s see what we can do, here. And Kim, could you get a couple of manila folders? We’ll try to introduce some order to the chaos.”
Karen didn’t like it, but went to retrieve the statements, and returning, she said, “Tim, I don’t know what can be done here, but any help would be appreciated.”
I said, “Let’s look at the details, and then maybe deal with the small stuff first.”
Scanning the statements, I started sorting them into “small vs. large”, and decided this was workable. Making a few notes, I said, “Karen, I think this is actually going to work. We can’t pay all of these, but we can handle several of them, and you’ll be able to knock the rest out easily. Kim, go into our office and scan all these -- Karen can keep the originals. And while you’re in there, pay these four small ones directly, email them all to Beck, along with these instructions, and we’ll deal with the others tomorrow.”
Kim nodded and stepped back to our office. I turned to Karen and said, “Karen, we don’t keep enough money in our checking account to pay more than the four smallest ones, so we’ll have to move some money out of an investment account for the remainder. That gets a little tricky, because Beck will be the one doing it, and we have to avoid double taxation. The taxes have already been paid on the money, so we need to make sure you don’t have to pay them again, right?”
She nodded, so I continued: “Now, I made a list of the remaining account balances and their minimum payments. From our investment account, we’ll pay off the next three small ones, and make 20% payments on the others -- that’ll put those accounts back in good standing. But there’s a neat trick you can play, which is to take the old payments from the seven accounts we’re retiring, and apply those amounts to this small one here -- you’ll have it paid off in a few weeks. Then, go to work on the next one -- see how that works?”
Kim returned with the documents and handed them to Karen. She said, “If you’ll take a look at the small ones, you’ll note that I marked them “paid”, with today’s date.”
Karen said, “Thanks, Kim and Tim. You have no idea how this helps. But I’m thinking that if I had access to Vicki’s accounts, this would have easily been fixed.”
“Karen,” I said, “I don’t have direct access to her accounts, either, and it would violate the terms of her trust if I did. We’re not fixing this with her money, nor should we.”
Kim added, “Karen, consider two things. First, your ex-boyfriend was the one who caused this mess -- he had access to your accounts. If you’d had access to Vicki’s, he’d have had the same access, and he’d be spending HER money right now!”
“Second, think about the moral issue: Bill Hardesty doesn’t mooch from his parents, and similarly, we shouldn’t mooch from Vicki.”
I said, “Karen, it’s not over, of course, but now it’ll be manageable for you. We’ll still need to have you sign some documents for Beck tomorrow after breakfast, and the wire transfers can’t be done until Monday, but at least the procedure will be in motion.”
Karen said, “Thanks, Tim. What’s all this costing you?”
I said, “Karen, eyeballing this stuff, the rough total is right around $18K, and while we wouldn’t do this for most people, you’re still Vicki’s mom, so we think it’s worth the effort.”
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Bill Carmody's turn: Interesting turn of events, I think. Two years ago I had Dan Richards on my power plant project. I knew him and Alan Addison from a previous power plant project where we were engineers, all three of us, on the same project. They're technically beyond reproach. Now I'm on THEIR payroll. 'Their' is, of course, 3Sigma Engineering. We're redoing several rural substations in Georgia. I ride herd on contractors, mainly, and make sure that they adhere to plans, and I...
Bill Hardesty’s turn: I’ve just become Bill 3.0. Cindy officially conferred the status upon me. “Bill 1.0’s my adopted dad. Bill 2.0’s Haley’s husband in Louisiana. Since you’re part of this now, you shall be Bill 3.0.” Which is fine, except to Herself, the Vickster, I’m ‘Billy’. “Cindy said you were ‘Billy’ when she first met you.” “I was. I like to think that I’m mature enough to be ‘Bill’ now.” Sparkly eyes. “Not ‘William’?” “Bill.” Snicker. “Billy.” That snicker is one reason I’m...
Beck’s turn: First thing I did when we got home is call Mom. “Hello, my lost daughter,” Mom said, using her best ‘poor me’ voice. “Did somebody go into the hospital? It is not yet Saturday.” “Mom, your GRAD-daughter...” ““GRAND daughter,” Mom corrected. “My grand-daughter the millionaire...” “Your grand-daughter the research scientist...” “What has become of her now?” “She’s holding a letter in her hands that says she’s graduated college with a degree in engineering.” “My...
Teresa’s turn: Mom’s totally destroyed. I’m standing on a pedestal, a seamstress, a REAL seamstress, is taking measurements for my wedding dress. “Mom, stop crying, for heaven’s sake...” “Every time I think about you getting married,” Mom sobbed. “It’s the expected progression in life. Grow up, leave home, get married...” “Finish college is in there somewhere,” Vicki said. She’s my co-conspirator. We’re getting married the same day. She’s tagged my little brother, a big surprise, since...
Susan's turn: I'm waiting for the aliens to show up. Here's how I figure it will break down. Nikki and Cindy will work with Terri and Rachel on the Star Wars squirrel denial system. They'll actually GET that 95 gigahertz transmitter, and in the process of modulating its output so that it only severely annoys squirrels instead of cooking them on the spot out there in the yard, they'll transmit a signal into space where it will be picked up by an alien spacecraft. The aliens will come...
Bill Carmody’s turn: Yesterday’s wedding was a delight, especially watching my NEW daughter (!) and Cindy, my original daughter, looking and acting very much like twins. Can’t help but grin, just thinking about it. Both of ‘em have a little fire in their eyes, and when they’re together, you can nearly SEE the sparks flying between them. Couldn’t have asked for a more unlikely development, right up to matching green dresses they bought together for the wedding. And my phone buzzes --...
Tina's turn: "What's so funny?" my husband asked. "Stoney and Jo are coming back and they're still flyin' that Pitts." "Did they buy it?" "She says 'no', but two trips, you gotta wonder." I giggled. I know the real reason. A combination of scheduling conflicts and weather had kept us from holding the weekend airport social and landing contest. The social, however, now had a few outside participants. I mean, it was bound to happen. We don't exist in a vacuum. On any given...
Cindy’s turn: 0700 for a wake-up. The alarm caught me when it went off. Sometimes I’m drifting between sleep and awake, but not this morning. I finally got to sleep, found out that Dana’s a kicker, so I kicked back. When the alarm went off, I let it roll for a bit, listening to the whines and other sounds of the gang waking up. I killed it, turned to get out of bed, but was a bit slow. I saw a T-shirted Rachel flash by muttering “bathroom...” Well, at least with two rooms we can split the...
Tina's turn: I keep telling myself that Bot-bot is not a real pet. I only wish I knew what was going on in my little girl's mind. Parse that statement, won't you? I have a stepdaughter who's ten years younger than me, who is probably past me in some ways, academically speaking. I know she does things with technology that all of us in the community wonder about. What went on in her head that caused her to take a mobile squirrel repeller platform and convert it into a pet? Yeah, I know,...
Tim's turn: I'd be a janitor for 3Sigma after seeing how Vicki and Kim fit in here. I'm THAT happy. That whole 'divorced dad' thing is horrible. I mean, you talk with your daughter on the phone once or twice a week, trying to stay up with what's going on in her life, and then you get a week or so for Thanksgiving or Christmas and you get a few weeks in the summer. A week was BAD. I don't know little girls. Until this past year, I didn't have my own place, so we cribbed up at Mom and...
Donna's turn: Do you know how to bring on pure pandemonium in my daughter's little community? Let me tell you. Saturday nights are the big night for music. Everybody's usually there. Well, sometimes we add Stoney and Johanna, sometimes Jason and Susan are off visiting one set of impending grandparents or the other. This particular weekend, though, we're all together. Me and Bill, we have our own swing there. So we laugh and sing and dance and then there's a break and my Bill stands...
Terri's turn: I really DO love my mom. I'm speaking of my natural mom, the person who carried me for nine months, then gave birth to me. I did not and still do not understand why she left Dad for Mister Martin. I know both men and there's no comparison. Tina tells me that there are things that go on in people's hearts and heads that are not easily defined. Defined. If you define 'step-mom', it means the woman who marries your dad. That's Tina. Dictionary definitions are so...
Nikki's Turn: Mommyhood hangs over us all. Don't get me wrong, I am in no way disparaging FOUR new mommies. Let's run down the list. Susan 'n' Jason have little JW – Jason Wallace, named after him and his dad. Alan and Tina have Katherine Genevieve – after nobody in particular, but Terri is forbidden to call her Kathygen. Johanna and Stoney have Randall Stonewall, and Mister Bill and Mizz Donna have Cindy's half-sister Elise Ann, a whole two days old. I'm likely to be the next. My...
Still Nikki’s turn: I squeezed Dan’s fingers. “A bit of bad luck, this,” I said. “Baby, be so kind as to hand me my iPhone. I need to get the news out.” Dana’s turn: We’re a pretty connected group here. I mean, everybody’s always texting and posting updates during the day, so when I got one from Nikki, I knew where she was supposed to be – on campus with the munchkins. I thought I’d see another ‘you won’t believe what Terri (or Rachel or Vicki) just did’ post. It wasn’t. I’m at the...
Derek’s turn: This is trouble. Wonderful, happy, delightful, ecstatically wonderful. But trouble. I knew what was going to happen when Rachel called me to help her feed Dana’s cat. Empty apartment except for me and Rachel and the cat, and the cat gets petted while I’m sitting next to Rachel and the cat leaves and Rachel turns to me. I like kissing her. I like holding her. We talk about everything. Tara says we’re too young to have a past, but I’ve lived through a car wreck and the loss of...
Cindy’s turn: It was just another morning in the office when the phone rang and as Maddie was occupied, I answered it. “3Sigma, this is Cindy. May I help you?” “Cindy? Good, it’s you I wanted to talk to.” “Hello Mizz Patel. What’s going on today?” “Would you mind if I drive out to your office? I’d like to talk about something in private.” I noted that she didn’t have her normal happy lilt. “Of course it’s okay. You’re always welcome here.” This was unusual for her though, so I added,...
Tara’s turn: We did it. Derek and I talked. He agreed, but honestly, I’m the adult in this equation, actually his legal guardian, and he would have had to go along with my plan. However, a certain pre-teen Jewish princess seems to have gained my little brother’s eye. I think that if we HADN’T decided to move, he might’ve hitched a ride back here. The apartment. Cindy and her Dan used to live here. It belongs to the corporation. They told me I could paint it any color I wanted, but honestly,...
Dana’s turn: I’m lying in bed in that wonderful cusp between awake and asleep at the end of a very good day. Cindy’s done her presentation at NASA, and to my knowledge, they haven’t yet recruited her for a space mission. Nikki’s been, well, Nikki, and she’s a superstar in her own right, maybe a little more sane than Cindy, but those two are a binary system, both bright in a way I never witnessed until I found her sitting across the table from me and Ed one night at dinner. And...
Nikki’s turn: I managed the stress of Mom’s interaction in my life quite well, I thought, right until Mizz Donna met me at the plane and hugged me. Then the floodgates opened. “What was I supposed to do, Mizz Donna?” I sobbed. Poor Dan. He’s standing behind me, wanting to do SOMETHING. “Darlin’,” she said comfortingly, “You did the right thing. World’s full of assholes. I used to be one, so I know...” I heaved a wordless sob. Mizz Donna was hugging me, Dan’s hand was touching my...
Kara’s turn: The world NEEDS a pregnant fiddle player. That’s what I told Dear Old Dad when I broke the news to him. “Dad,” I said, “I have a wonderful, successful husband and it is only right that we present you with grandchildren.” I heard a definite sigh over the phone. My dad. I’m trying really hard to conjure (one of Johanna’s words) a vision of business-suited Dad bouncing a grandbaby on his knee. “You make me regret that I didn’t make myself a bigger part of your life, Kara...
Nikki’s turn: We’re still talking about new toys, right? Cindy was PIC for the flight back from Colorado with the new plane. Fair enough. After all, Cindy IS ‘Cindy of the Skies‘. When we landed, though, we had the entire community standing there waiting on the arrival. It’s a big deal. Cindy exited first. Me? I stood in the door, my butt still inside indescribable luxury and newness, and said, “Okay, who wants a ride?” We have seating for eight – one of their ‘executive’ options – plus...
Cindy’s turn: Tina started this volume. I get to finish it. Christmas season. Or Chanukkah, because we have a sizable Jewish contingent now. It’s been quite a good year in a million ways. Okay, SEVERAL million ways, financially speaking. 3Sigma’s original business, engineering, is now engineering and construction, and we regularly berate ourselves because we’re bursting the seams on our SECOND building since the company started. Millions going into various accounts, and some of the happiest...