There was a white Lexus parked alongside the east wing so Jeff figured someone must be there. He was supposed to meet the realtor, Ann, and Evelyn Conklin, the decorator, sign some paperwork and see what progress had been made on furnishings. He wanted to spend the night there rather than at a hotel in town, so he hoped Evelyn had at least found a bed. Jeff tried the front door but it was locked, so he tried the doorbell. “Westminster chimes, nice touch.” Shortly, a handsome women, Jeff guessed, forty-ish, in a nicely tailored white suit appeared at the door, “Mr. Grey?”
“Yes.”
“Evelyn Conklin. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Pleased to meet you too.”
“Please come in.” She stepped back and held the door for him. “I feel kind of silly inviting you into your own home.”
Jeff laughed, “That’s quite alright. You probably don’t get a lot of clients that want you to decorate a home they’ve never seen.”
“No, you’re the first. And it’s a bit of a challenge, particularly considering the size of this place and the fact that it was completely empty, a blank slate.”
She accompanied him through the foyer and into the ‘great room,’ the click of her high heels echoing in the large, sparsely furnished room.
Jeff stopped and looked around, “The U. S. Tennis Association doesn’t need to put a roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium, they could just play in here.”
Evelyn laughed, “It is a ‘great’ room. I’ve managed to acquire a few pieces of furniture here in Newport, but the supply is, um, limited. I’m looking as far away as Boston and New York, but it will take a while.”
Jeff nodded, “Understood, but stay on it. I’ll need this ready sooner rather than later. Why don’t you give me the grand tour?”
“Alright. Oh, by the way, I have a line on the piano you wanted.”
“Really?”
“Yes, there’s one for sale in Texas, like new. But they’re asking $55,000! That seems like a great deal of money for a piano.”
“If it’s like new, that’s a good price. Find somebody there qualified to inspect it and, if it checks out, buy it and have it shipped. Tell the movers not to scratch it. Oh, and find a piano tuner. After a move like that, it’ll need it.”
“Do you play?”
“Some. Not nearly as well as I’d like to.”
Evelyn led Jeff off, showing him around the massive house. He already had the floor plan memorized, but was awed at every turn with what he saw.
The main floor comprised the great room, library, dining room, kitchen, pantries, entry hall and two bedrooms, each with en-suite bathroom and fireplace. On the second level were the ceiling of the great room, as it rose some thirty feet from the floor, the master bedroom suite including his and hers dressing rooms and bathrooms along with two fireplaces, five guest bedrooms each with its own bath; laundry and utility rooms, and an orchestra balcony overlooking the great room, a leftover from the days long before high fidelity surround sound. The third level existed only in the east wing, a bedroom suite with den and bath. And on the lower level, underground except for portions of the east and west wings were the theater, recreation room, billiard room, den, wine cellar, furnace room, and three more bedrooms with baths.
“This place has more bedrooms than Motel 6,” Jeff mused. “I like what you have planned for the upper floors. Looks like that’s all on track. Let me tell you what I’m going to need down here. Not only will I be living here much of the time, but this will also serve as my principal business site. This lower floor is going to need to be sort of a giant in-home office complex, serving myself and three or four employees on a full-time basis. Let’s start with this corner bedroom. I see this as a conference room. A whole lot of brainstorming will be going on in here. I’ll need dry-erase boards all around the room, a comfortably large table for, say, eight or ten, and a counter or buffet, something like that, on this wall for coffee, sandwiches… whatever. Nothing down here needs to be period correct like upstairs, but I want it nice; elegant but functional.”
Evelyn nodded, “I see. Will you want all this carpeted to hold down the noise?”
“No, the hardwood is fine, but you might want to make generous use of area rugs. The billiard room here, as much as I’d enjoy using it as such, is going to be an office for three people. I’m not big on the idea of cubicles, so let’s avoid the dividers, but try to arrange it in three distinct clusters of personal space, but all facing one another to promote easy communications: desk, file cabinets, credenzas, the usual. Once they’re settled in they may opt to rearrange things so we may be getting back to you, but let’s start with this. Oh, and good lighting. Not overhead fluorescents, too… industrial, but plenty of indirect lighting that can be turned up or down to suit.
“I’ll get back to you on this recreation room. The character of this will probably change regularly depending on our operational phase. The theater here will need to serve both it’s intended purpose and as a, well, giant-screen computer display. Have you lined up computer and audio-video folks yet?”
“Sort of. There’s not much here in Newport, but I’ve arranged for a consultant from CORE Business Systems in Providence to come down this afternoon. He should be here around one. I don’t know about the audio-video side, I’m hoping that CORE may have some suggestions.”
“Okay, that’s a start. I’ll talk to them and we’ll go from there. There’s going to be a lot of cabling done throughout the house, but particularly down here, so you’ll probably want to coordinate that.”
“Mr. Grey, you told me you’re in the aerospace industry but, if you don’t mind my asking, what is it that you do?”
“Space exploration mission planning. Specifically, we’re working on a manned mission to Mars.”
“Good grief! Alright, well, that does explain a few things.”
“Uh huh. This tower room suite back here will likely be an environmental systems lab, but I’ll leave it to our flight surgeon to sort out what will be needed in there, so we’ll get back to you on it. This den will be another office, secretarial type, and let’s leave this adjoining bedroom just that. It’s small, so make it very comfortable. Some poor soul I haven’t hired yet is going to be spending a lot of time down here. And that about covers it, for now. Do you have any idea where Ann is? She was supposed to meet me here this morning.”
“I spoke to her on the phone earlier, she had another appointment but should be here pretty soon. I think she’s also bringing a contractor.”
“Ah, good. Okay then. Well, I’ve been doing all the talking, did you have any questions for me?”
“No, I think I’ve got all I need, as you say, for now. How long will you be staying?”
“I have to go back tomorrow.”
“Oh dear, that’s a short trip.”
“Yeah, unavoidable. But I’ll be back in a week or two for a considerably longer stay. Thanks for finding me a bed; it looks far more comfortable than the floor. But anything you can do over the next week to expedite the master bedroom will be greatly appreciated.”
“That is right atop my list.”
“Good.”
As they exited the elevator on the main floor, Jeff quipped, “That’s a kick. I’ve heard of homes with elevators, but never thought I’d be quite so bourgeois.”
Evelyn laughed, “It’s a nice touch and convenient. This house has a lot of stairs.”
“It certainly does.”
Approaching the front door, it suddenly opened and in came Ann and the contractor.
“Ah, perfect timing,” Evelyn observed.
Ann introduced herself to Jeff along with the contractor, Bill Walton, and Evelyn trotted off to locate more furniture.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Jeff said. “Why don’t we get this paperwork out of the way and then I can show Bill what I’d like to have done.”
Ann pulled a stack of papers from her briefcase and handed them to Jeff, “Nothing earthshaking in here, just a
few things for escrow and the title company. I would imagine that escrow should close quickly, probably two weeks or so, not that it makes a lot of difference. As the funds are already in escrow and we don’t foresee any issues with the title, you’re pretty much free to do what you want with the exception of physical alterations, since you will need clear title to get plans cleared. Oh, and did you bring the minutes for the title transfer to your corporation?”
“Yeah, right here. My lawyer drafted this, says it should do the job.” Jeff signed and initialed where indicated and returned the papers to Ann. “Okay, then. Why don’t we wander out back here and I’ll show you what I’d like. It would certainly be convenient to have a garage.” Jeff talked as they strolled to the north side of the east wing. “My first thought was to put one on that flat on the west wing, but this looks like it would make a lot more sense, particularly given that existing door into the hallway adjoining the kitchen. And these parking areas in the drive over here would seem to indicate that somebody already had that in mind. Ann, are these parking areas here and running out back there, new?”
“Yes. Originally, the drive came up the hill and ended in the circle here. But since there was no garage, during the renovation, the owners had these parking areas created so as not to bottle up the drive. Then they had it all resurfaced, or at least back to where the drive crests the hill.”
“Yeah, I thought so. I’m not crazy about this light-colored gravel. This would sure look nice all in flagstone.”
“Oh, that would be beautiful. But very expensive.”
“Yeah, probably save that one for later. So, Bill, what do you think? Could we put a garage here, just extended out from this wing?”
“Well, I don’t know. I don’t think anyone would have any heartburn with it – from a historical design perspective – so long as the architecture looked like it belonged. The problem is these windows here. You’ve got a rear window in the kitchen and that window down there in that small corner bedroom on the lower level. The Building Department is not going to be at all happy about the idea of covering those. They just don’t like the idea of covering windows, particularly on bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens. You may be able to get a variance, but I kind of doubt it.”
“What about the other side?”
“Same problem. You have a bedroom and bath over there on the main floor.”
“What if we were to just re-designate that bedroom as… something else, and take out the bath? It’s not like this place has a shortage of bedrooms and baths.”
“That’s a fact. No, they’ll just argue that you could change it back as soon as the work is done. Remember, you’re dealing with a government bureaucracy here that has absolutely no sense of humor.”
“Is there one that does?”
Bill laughed, “Nope, not that I know of.”
“Well, what about something like a carport, maybe on that parking flat out there, with a covered walk that winds around to the kitchen door there?”
“That could work. Again, they’re going to want to see something that looks like it belongs here, but that shouldn’t be too hard. You might want to think about getting an architect to take a look at it and draw up some elevations. See what it might look like.”
“That’s a good idea. Alright, guess we’ll put this part on hold for now. How about we go out front and see if we can do a little better with a pool. I’d imagine that there would be rioting in the streets if I did anything to mess with Olmstead’s landscaping, but out here adjoining the back patio is nothing but half an acre of grass. I can’t imagine anyone being too emotionally attached to that.”
Bill laughed, “No, I wouldn’t think so. Other than putting one down in that ravine on the west side, this is your best bet. And it would be a lot more convenient. I wouldn’t expect a permitting problem, but you’d probably want to consider a design that’s in keeping with the overall look and feel of the place. You probably won’t want to just dig a hole and drop in a plastic liner.”
“Uh, no. That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”
“We don’t do pool work, but there’s an outfit up in Providence that does real nice custom in-ground work, and we’ve subcontracted a number of jobs to them over the years. Good folks. But here again, you might want to get an architect involved, and maybe even a good landscaper. One of the glories of this place, unlike all the big overstated mansions over on Bellevue, is this place looks like it belongs here. It looks like it just grew out of the ground. It all fits. Between Hunt’s architecture and Olmstead’s landscaping… I dunno, this place is just remarkable. It was a stroke of genius. And if I were you, I wouldn’t want to change that any more than is absolutely necessary.”
“No argument there. Sounds like you’re pretty familiar with the place.”
“Yeah, we were the lead contractors on the renovation. Boy, that was a job and a half. This was a wreck. It would have brought tears to your eyes. All boarded up, broken windows, roof leaked, rotted paneling everywhere, the floor there in the big room had collapsed into the lower level, graffiti all over. Oh man, it was hideous. The folks that allowed that to happen should’ve been shot.”
“Huh! I had no idea it was that bad. Sure looks great now. You did a beautiful job.”
“Thanks. Yeah, the last owners put an awful lot of money into it. They did it right.”
“Okay, well thanks for coming out. I don’t want to take up any more of your time. And Ann, thanks again for everything. Do you have some keys for me?”
“Yes, right here.” She gave him an apologetic smile as she handed over a large ring with about thirty keys on it.
“Oh lord.”
“Sorry about that. The front door and kitchen side door are keyed alike, that’s this one, but everything else, including all the original interior skeleton locks are different. I’m sorry, I have no idea which one is which. Good luck. But at present, everything inside should be unlocked.”
“Good. And it’s probably going to stay that way.”
“And here’s the alarm code. You can, of course, change it whenever you’d like. However, if you’ll need me to let people in when you’re out of town, I’ll need to know what it is.”
“No problem. Are there instructions somewhere?”
“Yes, there’s a drawer in the kitchen island with instructions and paperwork covering all the new systems and appliances. The alarm instructions are in there along with everything else.”
“Great.”
Jeff showed them off and found himself standing alone on the front porch, the master of Wrentham House. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Long Beach anymore.”
That afternoon Jeff met with the rep from CORE Business Systems and gave him his marching orders: Passive optical Internet connection, GPON or better; gigabit Ethernet, hardwired on the lower level, wireless everywhere else; extensible server rack in the climate controlled wine cellar with online mirror redundancy; firewalls; a block of static IP addresses; a domain, greyaerospace.com; top-of-the-line desktops and laptops; VOIP; computer driven audio-video throughout the house, and on and on. “Don’t spare the gigabits.”
Late in the afternoon Jeff suddenly realized he had missed lunch and was getting hungry. As he also needed a few things for the house, he drove into town for a little shopping. Bedding, kitchenware, a few hand tools, a small table and a couple patio chairs from Wal-Mart; scotch, wine, and a bag of ice at Vickers’ Liquors; and a large sack of takeout Szechwan from Kio’s Asian Stir. “That should get me through the night.” Back at home he spread out on the patio to enjoy the ocean breeze, the view of Goose Neck Cove… and some Chinese.
Reflecting on the three and a half weeks since the lottery payoff, Jeff was satisfied with his accomplishments so far, particularly since he was still working. One week of school to go, and then he’d be able to devote 100% of his time to the project. He felt like he was at the beginning of a marathon, somewhere back in the pack and yet to even cross the start line.
Jeff
retrieved his ‘To do’ list from his briefcase, a yellow legal pad with page after page of notes that was rapidly reaching the stage of chaotic incomprehensibility and cried out for a better solution. He added another line to the last page, “Get a secretary.” Unfortunately, that would have to wait a few weeks until he actually made the move to Newport.
He flipped back to his notes on getting help; that was certainly the next critical step. He knew what he wanted: a small nucleus team – four or five – that possessed enthusiasm for the project equal to his, and willing to devote the next six and a half years of their lives to the single-minded goal of accomplishing the mission. And he wanted them here at Wrentham House. No semi-autonomous collection of nine-to-five department heads that only saw one another once a week in the conference room, but a family that lived, breathed, ate and thought together as a single entity. One goal, one purpose, one existence, no distractions; nothing else mattered until they were done. There was no other way; there just wasn’t enough time.
Jeff had also concluded that this should be, in a broad sense, an owner-operator mission. Not just from his perspective, but the crew as well. After all, if those that were planning the mission knew they would be going on it, they’d likely have a bit more motivation to get it right.
The required skill set was easy enough to define: astronautics, aeronautics, physics, engineering, communications, medicine and, of course, an abundance of intelligence and organizational talent. Oh, and a pilot. A geologist would be nice, but looking at rocks was not high on the list of mission priorities. Getting there and back – alive – was the first order of business. But just as important was attitude. These people would need to get along with each other, not to mention Jeff himself, and for a long time under some of the most difficult conditions and circumstances imaginable. These people would have to be very special. Indeed, extraordinary. And he had to find them quickly.
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 5