Untrusting (Troubled)

by A. J. Wells

  She doesn’t know much about Miss Lili’s routine, either, but she thinks it’s the fact that she’ll be home with no distractions that bother her, other than missing the boys…boredom. Once Mom said that, I could relate. I can probably find something for Miss Lili to do, heaven knows, I have the list of clubs and activities for the whole town. Mom smiles, “Why are you so concerned about Miss Lili?” That’s when I bring up the events of the day.

  Mom’s a bit surprised about the speed Miss Lili has accomplished all this. She thinks it’s a good idea, but she’s not sure about some of the particulars. Like: Why does Miss Lili want to be partners with me and Maria; what the rush is; and why is the Mayor suddenly interested in the city having an animal shelter? Is there a need for an animal shelter? It’s never been mentioned at the town meetings before.

  She’s right. I need to talk to the Mayor—tomorrow.

  I say good night to Mom and go home for a shower and to bed. I miss seeing Steve today.

  This morning, Maria and I talk about Miss Lili and what happened yesterday. I tell Maria I want to talk to Mayor Cal today, without Miss Lili knowing it. She calls to make arrangements for me to see the mayor. I can see him right after my first appointment.

  “Sheralyn Dycus, to see Mayor Cal.” I tell the secretary and she announces me.

  The mayor greets me pleasantly. After forty five minutes, I think he was glad to see me leave, I return to the office to talk to Maria. “Well, Mayor Cal was very informative. Seems this will be the only animal shelter in fifty miles and the grant possibilities are huge. The SPCA, the county, the state and the Federal Government offers grants and will back the need for a shelter in this region. The fact that a Veterinarian will be the main administrator is a plus for all of those entities. The town will be on the map and there are other services the town might qualify for, that has nothin’ to do with stray animals, if the shelter becomes a reality. It’ll bring money into the town and, possibly,’ other state offering’s for the citizens of Granite Bluff.’ He says the accident with the dogs has brought attention to the town and the town council wants to take advantage of the bit of notoriety we’ve gotten, to accomplish a few things.”

  “We need to talk to an attorney about the contracts and consider it, carefully, before doin’ these things. Can you call around for an attorney to look over the paperwork for us? We’ll need to have the information as soon as possible. Mayor Cal needs our agreement to work for the city in the next few days.” I stop pacing and sit down. Maria’s looking at me like she doesn’t know me. “I hope an attorney can explain it better to us than I did, but it sounds like if we don’t do this, the town could be goin’ into harder times, especially the poorer of us.” Maria nods and has the phone book out as my next appointment comes in.

  After my appointment leaves, Maria says Larry Sims is coming over to look at the contracts. “He’s already heard about them, if that means anything.” I’m not surprised, this is a small town. The grapevine works faster than a flash flood.

  Larry arrives half an hour later, just after my next appointment. I’m in the exam room for half an hour while Larry reads over the contracts. It’s my last appointment for the day. When he’s through, I tell him what Mayor Cal told me. “Well, Sher, Maria, the contracts are standard contracts for what they represent. I can see where an upgrade like an animal shelter could bring attention in the form of services and revenue into town. The construction of these facilities will bring work to the town and your finances will increase from all of it. The town will be payin’ the life lease to Miss Lili. You’ll be receivin’ a monthly salary for taking care of the animal shelter, whether there’s anything to do other than pay the bills or not. Your duties will be just like you did for the accident dogs, when there are duties. Of course, any medication you need to use will be compensated. It’s a simple hirin’ contract.”

  He continues; “The partnership with Miss Lili leaves her share of the partnership to the two of ya upon her demise. In return you take care of the animal resort, name of the resort to be determined at a later date, and share in the profits on a quarterly basis. I don’t know how profitable that will be in this small of a town. The three of ya will equally share the paperwork and any expenses after the maintenance percentage of thirty percent is taken out. I assume Miss Lili needs the tax break, which explains her takin’ the construction costs on herself. When she passes, the two of ya will own the whole business, buildin’s and land. With this type of partnership the ownership will simply pass to ya and since the land is included in the partnership, there maybe property taxes, but no inheritance tax, as long as the business exists and the two of you own it. That’s not always the case, but it’s written so that will happen. A loophole in the law of partnership. Anything else ya want to know?”

  “Are you serious? This is all on the up and up? It’ll cost us nothin’ but some work?” Maria’s skeptical and I can’t say as I blame her.

  “Yes. Yes and yes. She had a very big, very prestigious attorney in Dallas draw up the papers. They’re foolproof.”

  “What if we don’t want to be paid that much money for payin’ a few bills for the animal shelter?” I ask.

  “Well, I guess that could be negotiated, but there may be months you’ll earn more than that. It’ll average out, because you could work youself to death, like with the dogs ya just adopted out, and ya won’t get paid any more.” Larry’s suggesting we take the contracts as is, I think.

  “Are you sayin’ the contracts are good, firm, and legal as they are? And are ya sayin’ we should sign them, as is, with a clear conscientious?” I’m not so sure they’re equitable for all concerned.

  “Yes to both your questions.”

  “I believe Maria and I are thinkin’ this all too good to be true. We want to be cautious and not be thought of as cheatin’ the town outta of money.” Maria nods.

  “Let me ask ya, do ya think this last month with all those dogs would be worth six thousand dollars, even if ya didn’t have another dog in here the rest of the year?”

  “Well, the county did pay five thousand for their stay here, for the month. So I guess the answer would be ‘yes’.”

  “Then ya have your answer to cheatin’ the city. Is there anything else?”

  We shake our heads and, after our thanks and goodbyes, he leaves as Miss Lili comes in with lunch and José and Chief. “Did ya know José would ride in the basket on the front?” José has a tiny serape on. “And Chief loves to walk beside the bike?” She sets the food down and starts setting it out for us. “I see Larry was here, but he didn’t have a pet with him. Is he gonna take one of the puppies?”

  “No, Miss Lili. We took your advice and asked him to look over the contracts for us. He advises us to sign them, but Maria and I want to talk about it now that we’ve talked to him.”

  Chief and José go back to the kennel room and lay down while we eat. Miss Lili brought Mexican food today. Maria and I smile at each other, putting José and the serapé together with lunch.

  “How’s José takin’ to livin’ with ya?”

  “José’s great. After ya left last night he sat in my lap ‘til I went to bed. I got him a bed to put beside mine today, and Chief has a big pillow for his favorite spot by the stairs. They’ve been a lotta company today. It’s not too much for Chief if I take him with me, walkin’ along ‘side my bike, is it?”

  “No, it’ll be good exercise, but don’t over do it, meanin’ not more than a few blocks a day and you’ll need to stop several times.” Lunch is very good. I’ll have to convince Miss Lili we should go out for supper tonight, my treat.

  “How’s Shay? What’s his full name, all I know is Shay and I know that’s not all of it?”

  “Shay’s fine. He was really tired Sunday night when I put him to bed. His name is Shayne Michael Gomez. He has my maiden name. I took it back when I was divorced, before Shayne was born.” Maria goes back to her lunch, hoping her answer was enough.

  It was and wasn’t. Mis
s Lili doesn’t pry too far into other people’s history. “Where did the names Shayne and Michael come from?”

  “I always liked the name Shayne and my father’s American name is Michael. He insisted Shay have American names. Dad’s a naturalized American Citizen. He got his citizenship before they had they’re first baby. They wanted all their kids to be American.”

  “Michael, that’s Miguel in Spanish isn’t it?” Maria nods. “I know Miguel, he’s a nice man. He knows brick layin’, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. He’s a mason by trade.” Maria’s not sure where this is going.

  “Does he have a crew?” Maria nods again. “Ladies, what works best as kennel material?”

  “Concrete and cinder blocks, why?” I ask.

  “I’m just fishin’ around for someone to build the kennels. Has he done very much masonry work in the last few years?” Maria nods again, she’s trying to finish her lunch. “I think I need to talk to ‘im about the kennels.”

  Maria swallows and looks up, “Dad can use the work, but we haven’t decided we’ll do it yet. But I can’t suggest a better person to build the block house. He’s taught my brothers his trade and they work with him.”

  Miss Lili’s eyes light up, she knows something we don’t. “The lot behind this one is gonna be cleared startin’ tomorrow. The city has agreed to the contract, so the animal shelter is goin’ up. I’m buildin’ the kennels, I need the tax break, or so my accountant says. You ladies just need to decide if ya want to work for the city for a cheap, cheap wage. I would like for there to be only one Vet in town, but if y’all don’t want to, they’ll have to look for another administrator…Vet, so they can take advantage of the grants available to them.”

  Chapter 8

  “Now as for our partnership, I want to do this with you ladies, but I will do it. Again, a tax break, but I want to tie these entities together. Shelters for animals have some distinct features and should be close together. I own all the vacant land adjacent to this lot, that’s why there’re sidewalks here. But, I jumped track. I’ve kept this property for just such a development. I don’t like people, or animals going hungry in my forefather’s town. I know that sounds pious and that’s the last thing I want. But, Sher, since you’ve come back to town, I’ve been waitin’ for a chance to approach ya about some type of humanity toward animals. Now I have and I hope you and Maria will sign on.”

  “Now, I’ll give you two time to talk it over, later. We have a newsletter to get ready to go out. Wes, the student that will be designing the posters for us, will be over after school to get the information. He wants to work on it tonight.” During this last little speech, she cleared the desk and walked to the box to retrieve the schedules.

  We add the schedules to the boards. We get them transferred to the computer and are ready to print them in two hours. Wes comes in to check the schedule and looks at some of the old posters to get an idea of what we want. We tell him we only need one poster and we’ll use it to print them off. He understands and is ready to work. He takes a printed copy of the weeks’ activities and will work with it. He’ll have two colored flyers to choose from tomorrow morning.

  Miss Lili’s ready to leave when I ask her about Chinese food, and eating out tonight. She agrees it would be nice. Just as she’s going out the door the phone rings. It’s Steve and Bob. I call Lili back so she can speak to them.

  “We’re at the last phone before we go into the fire zone. We thought we’d call before we lost the opportunity.” Steve’s vague about the time and the danger, but we’ve heard stories of how aggressive the fire is. Since they’ve been gone we’ve been keeping track of it. Miss Lili’s strong ‘til she has to get off the phone.

  “Steve, you be careful. Miss Lili and I need ya back safe and sound.”

  “I miss you and Grams. How’s she doin’?”

  “Good. Maria, Shay and I are keepin’ an eye on her. Don’t worry and don’t be gone long. I miss you, too.”

  “I gotta let Bob talk to Maria, so I gotta go. Sher, I’ll be back soon.”

  “Good, I need my guy.”

  “Do ya?” I hear banging on the phone booth and “I’m gonna get killed if I don’t get off the phone. ‘Bye, Sher.”

  Bob gets on the phone and Miss Lili speaks to him for a minute then she hands it to Maria. I’m on my way out the door and into the kennel room to check on the dogs, a cover for my concern. The puppies are starting to walk and their eyes are completely open. When Miss Lili comes out I have her help me bring the puppies out for some fresh air and ask her to watch them while I clean the kennels.

  Maria comes out shortly, tears in her eyes and starts helping me without saying a word. I take her into an exam room to find out the problem. “Bob said he loves me, before he got off the phone.”

  “What are ya gonna do?” I can’t ask her how she feels, I know.

  “I can’t say it back to him, yet. I think I do, but I’m not sure. Yet, I was happy to hear it. My chest hurt when he said it, like it was a balloon about to burst from being over filled.”

  We go back in the kennel room to finish cleaning it and hear Miss Lili laughing at the dogs. We finish and turn a fan on it to blow it dry so we can bring the puppies in. Mama follows the puppies and they’re set for a while.

  We close up and I take Miss Lili, her tricycle and the dogs home. She freshens up and we go to Kim’s for supper. Maria and Shay join us. After supper and I’ve dropped Miss Lili off, Maria meets me at the office. We’re using this time to talk about the contracts. Maria had a chance to talk to her father about them and though she’s not sure, she trusts her father. He says its okay and she could use the extra money.

  I have to tell her that since we’ll be employed by the city, I’m fine with that contract. “What I’m wonderin’ is, why is Miss Lili is wantin’ to partner with us in the boardin’ kennel? I don’t think it’s anything wrong or bad, I just don’t understand her motive. You know what I mean?”

  “I asked Dad the same thing. He thinks she likes us and wants a reason to be around us, or just wants to help us. He says she’s out every afternoon, in the heat of the day, ridin’ her tricycle around talkin’ to people and lookin’ things over. Dad says she pretty much owns the town, at least, the land in the town and because of her great, great grandfather, she believes she has a responsibility to keep things lookin’ nice and in good repair in town. Five years ago, she organized a renovation on the old part of town and leased it out to small businesses to keep the town goin’. He said she leases the shops out at very small rents. I guess she just wants to keep the town prosperous.”

  “Maybe I’ll talk to Mom and Dad tonight when I get home. They may be able to help me figure it out. I’d like to open a small pet resort, but this is just too easy to trust or understand.” We say goodbye and I let mama out and go home.

  I talk to Mom and Dad about my concerns with the partnership and they tell me much the same thing Maria’s Dad had told her. They tell me Miss Lili has a lucky thumb, anything she gets involved with usually does better than okay. The carnival for example, made twenty five thousand dollars for the town, just at the carnival. Oh my gosh, I forgot the money Miss Lili gave me, it’s still in the truck and I don’t even know how much is there. Oh well, I’ll deposit it tomorrow. I don’t need to know how much it is, tonight.

  Mom makes us ice cream sundaes and when I finish I go home to shower and to bed. I’ll sign those papers tomorrow.

  I arrive before Maria and still have the idea I’m biting off more than I can chew, but I’m determined to go through with signing the contracts. Mama’s out back with I hear a bulldozer and a couple of trucks coming up the land behind me. Miss Lili wasn’t kidding, I decide. Then hear a truck coming up my drive way.

  I go over to see what goin’ on. They’re here to put a temporary wooden fence up around my fence. They say Miss Lili wants to be sure they don’t chase any critters into my yard. I give them a clear path. I don’t relish finding a rattler in the yard, not wit
h the puppies starting to roam. Maria comes out with Miss Lili to watch the proceedings for a while.

  We go in and Dan’s standing in the waiting room. I ask him what I can do for him. He says he’s supposed to meet Miss Lili here. I show him through to the backyard where Miss Lili is organizing the fence fabrication and stopping the clearing of the brush ‘til the fence is up. I go back in where Maria and I start to work, but we don’t have any appointments today. So we plan another cleaning day, starting in the meds room.

  Miss Lili comes in with Dan and asks us to come into the office so we can get the contracts taken care of. I look at Miss Lili, “Did ya ever think we wouldn’t sign those contracts?”

  “Yes, I did and still think you might not, but today’s the deadline and I brought Dan to notarize the signatures if ya do sign. If ya do, I have a lotta work to do today. Now, I want to reassure ya I have very little interest in how ya run things at the animal shelter, that’s Cal’s business. I want to help with things at the boarding kennels. We share and share alike, once I pay for the construction. That includes the work keeping things in repair. We haven’t talked about things much, but we’ll get into a rhythm once it gets going. Now, are ya ladies in this or not?”

  Maria looks at me and I nod slightly and she nods back. “Where do we sign?” Once the hiring contracts and partnership agreement papers are signed and Dan notarizes them, Miss Lili hands us plans that we need to okay. “We have the rest of this week to make any changes, so look them over. I’ll be back at lunch and we can talk about the specifics then. Gotta get these papers to the mayor and my lawyer, pick up lunch and the dogs, then I’ll be back.” She walks out and we follow her. She gets in a nice Cadillac convertible and drives away. Maria and I stare after her, then look at each other and shrug. We’re no longer surprised by anything concerning Miss Lili.

  We clean the exam rooms, the waiting room and the meds closet, losing track of time. Miss Lili comes back with the two dogs and lunch just as we finish the closet. She asks us for help and we come back in with a box of food and a box of magazines. During lunch, sea food dinners, we look at magazines with ideas for opening a pet resort. There are yard toys and not just balls and ropes, though those are included in the magazines’ plans. We’re talking everything from exercise machines and toys for the dogs to, of course, fire hydrants. Maria and I are laughing at all the things Miss Lili wants to put up in the yard. Finally, we ask her what yard we’re talking about? The yard for the pet boarding, my yard. From there we go over to the plans, but we need a table to stretch them out.