“Wait, wait, just hear me out,” Brent said, holding his hands up again. “I would feel comfortable with knowing I had someone I could trust looking after my place. And don’t worry about having to pay rent or my mortgage or anything. I’ll take care of that. Nor do you have to worry about the light bill or cable bill. I’ll take care of those utilities too.”
Travis couldn’t believe his ears. He was speechless. “The only thing I will ask is that you watch and take care of my place and mow the grass at least every other week and trim the bushes as needed. My homeowner’s association can be pretty anal about the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood. I have a mower and hedge clippers in my storage shed.”
Sitting in utter disbelief, Travis took his hand and pinched himself on the leg under the table, trying to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. The pinch hurt and he was very much in the here and now.
“So, what do you think?” Brent asked.
Travis shook his head slowly. “Man, I don’t know what to say about an offer like that.”
“Okay, you don’t have tell me right now. Think about it. I know this is a pretty sudden thing to spring on you like that, but I was just thinking how perfect it would be for me.” Brent wiped his hands on his cloth napkin. “Let it marinate overnight and let me know tomorrow if you can. I don’t mean to put pressure on you, but I fly out in a few days and I’d sort of like to have things squared away.”
“Okay, let me do that. Give me a night to think about it and I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know.” Travis didn’t want to seem too eager, but then as he thought about it, he didn’t want Brent to think he was totally uninterested in the idea. “To tell you the truth, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. I just need to do a few calculations, on my end, to see if it is something we can work out. I’ll be sure to give you a call early in the day tomorrow.”
Brent clasped his hands together in a clap. “Great.” He stood. “I am going to head to the bathroom before we leave. I’ll be right back.”
Travis continued to sit in pure awe. He couldn’t believe the proposition he’d just been offered. When the waitress came and set the bill down next to him, he quickly slid it over to Brent’s side of the table.
Curiosity got the best of him and he slid it back to peek at the amount of their meals. Travis’s eyes bugged when he saw the amount. The bill had come to a little over one hundred sixty-five dollars. He snapped the little folder shut and put it back down on the other side of the table.
A minute or so later Brent returned, picked up the bill, and glanced at it. Without flinching he pulled out his American Express card, slipped it in the folder, and set it back down for the waitress to retrieve. Then Brent pulled his cell phone out and asked, “What’s your phone number?”
Travis told him the number. Brent dialed it and Travis felt the vibration of the phone in his pocket. He took it out, and looked at the caller ID to check and make sure the phone number had come through along with the call.
“All right, I’ve got your number,” Travis said.
“Make sure now. Save it, don’t lose it. I want to see your number come up on my caller ID tomorrow saying you have accepted my proposition.” Brent chuckled.
Travis chuckled too. “Don’t worry. I have a strong feeling you will not get disappointed.”
After the waitress took the payment and returned with the receipt, Brent left the woman two ten dollar bills as a tip. Both men got up to exit the building and once they were outside the restaurant, Travis told Brent he’d forgotten his keys. He ran back inside to retrieve them, then met Brent back outside.
“So I can take you back over to the strip mall to your car if you’d like.”
“Oh, my car is in the shop. Can you drop me off at home if you don’t mind?”
“Sure. Where do you live?”
Travis gave Brent the address of his Uncle Billy’s old apartment. He didn’t want his friend to see the run-down apartments he was living in. And after Brent dropped Travis off and drove away, Travis headed to the bus stop.
He stood and waited with ten of the twenty dollars Brent had left for a tip at the table. Even though he felt bad about taking half the woman’s tip, he didn’t think she’d done that good of a job waiting on their table. Plus, it had gotten late and he needed the bus fare. So in his mind it was more than justified.
Travis had to get home to start packing his things. First thing in the morning he was going to call his friend and take him up on his proposal. Finally it seemed as though his luck was changing for the better.
Chapter 3
A week later, Travis still couldn’t believe his luck. In just a few short hours he’d have a new address he would be calling home. Brent had picked him up from the car place at which Travis told him his car was being repaired. And he was now taking him over to his house for a tour. Brent needed to be dropped off at the airport and Travis told him he would take him but his car was in the shop. So Brent asked Travis if he wouldn’t mind taking him in his car instead so he wouldn’t have to pay the fees to park long term.
Travis gladly told him he didn’t mind taking him and now Brent was pulling up into the garage of his home. The home was situated on a tree-lined street in a subdivision in which there were other similar two-story homes. When Brent had pulled up to the home, at first Travis wondered if he had pulled into the wrong place. With Brent being a bachelor, Travis figured the guy would be living in a little townhouse or at least a smaller home with a one-car garage, if that.
What Brent had pulled up to was a traditional-styled detached family home with a full front yard and a fenced-in backyard. The home had a full front porch big enough for rocking chairs and a porch swing. Brent opened up the garage and they pulled in. There wasn’t another car in the other stall, and Brent had informed him that it would be fine for him to park his car in that spot.
They had entered the home through the attached garage.
“This is a nice home you have here, Brent,” Travis complimented him.
“Thanks. Mom and Dad picked it out. I personally don’t need all the space, but I think they are trying to think ahead, trying to tell me in a not-so-subtle way that they would like for me to settle down. My mom is always talking about how she would like to have some grandchildren before she is too old to enjoy them.”
“Why don’t you go ahead and make your mom’s wish come true?” Travis asked.
“I will, all in due time. I wish Mom and Dad had gone ahead and had more children. This only child pressure gets to be a bit much at times,” Brent said.
Travis couldn’t understand why Brent was complaining; he wished his mom could have afforded to buy him a house. Shoot, right now he’d have been happy if his mother or the father he never knew would have been able to provide him with reliable transportation.
Brent looked at his watch. “Okay, I am making good time. Let me show you around and I’ll give you the code for the house alarm, also. Pull your bags out of the trunk and I’ll put my stuff in there; then we can head for the airport.”
Travis was given a quick tour. Brent showed him the downstairs, which consisted of a foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen with an eat-in breakfast area, and a half bathroom. The foyer was the size of the living room area in his old apartment. Travis didn’t see a television in the living room and was a little disappointed. He had seen the fireplace, but knew that he wouldn’t need it during the few warmer months that he would be staying at Brent’s place.
The upstairs consisted of three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Brent showed Travis the guest room that would be his for the next few months. To complete the tour, he showed him the other bedroom, which was used as an office, and Brent’s master bedroom suite, which had a sitting area, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom with its tub separate from the shower stall. And the toilet had a privacy wall.
As Brent was telling Travis about the washer and dryer being on the second floor, he opened the door to another room. At first Travis thought he was opening
the door to the washer and dryer, but realized there was another room situated over what Travis figured must have been the garage.
Travis’s eyes bugged out when he stepped into this room.
“And this, my bonus room, is my man cave.”
Travis stepped into the room. “I should say. Wow.” He nodded his head as he stood in the middle of the room and turned around a full 360 degrees.
“Mom and Dad had originally put the TV, a couch, and a love seat in here. But I donated the couch and got chairs to replace it and the rest of the items you see in here.”
There was a flat-screen television with a stereo system, and what looked to Travis to be all the games a man could wish for. There was a Sony PlayStation, the Nintendo Wii, and an Xbox. Sitting in the center of the room facing the large-screen television were two leather recliners, each with their own side tables.
“How big is that television?” Travis asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.
Brent’s smile beamed. “Looks pretty nice, huh?”
Travis nodded.
“That, my friend, is a sixty-four-inch 3D plasma HDTV. And you should hear the surround sound on it. It makes it sound and feel like you are sitting right there in the movie theater.”
“Man, I can’t imagine,” Travis said.
On the other side of the room Brent had a mini exercise room, with weights, a treadmill, and an exercise bike. He also had a mat, medicine balls, a jump rope, and a scale. And on one of the side walls, Travis saw something that made his heart race. Brent had a wall full of DVDs.
“This is really nice. You must be doing pretty good for yourself,” Travis said.
“Oh, well I do all right. I just got that television last month as a graduation present for myself.”
Brent showed Travis how to work the television and DVD player, and how to adjust to play mode for the games he had. Then he took Travis back downstairs where he showed him the backyard.
“Are you serious?” Travis asked as he looked around at all the bells and whistles the backyard held.
There was a deck that had two levels with a screened-in porch. Brent had a hammock, a man-made miniature pond, and an area in which Brent could practice putting his golf ball.
“See? I told you my parents are hinting hard.” Brent smiled.
“I have to agree with you there.”
“You see the back area over there?” Brent said as he pointed to the back corner of the yard.
Travis noticed that there was nothing there, in this almost-filled-to-capacity backyard. “Yeah.”
“I believe my parents left that space for a play yard or something for kids. I am actually surprised they didn’t buy one just to have it waiting.”
Brent chuckled and Travis chuckled with him. But inside he thought what a lucky man his friend was. This was entirely too much space for one person. The space would have been more perfect for him, Beryl, and little Cameron and Jayden. He could just see his two little guys running around the backyard, trying to play tag and hide and seek.
Travis shook his head; he couldn’t dwell on what would never be.
“Let me show you this before we head on back in to get the bags,” Brent said.
He showed Travis the outdoor shed that held the yard equipment. “The mower should be full of gas, and the gas container, when you need it, is right here.” Brent pointed to the gas can on the shelf. “So, if you can, cut the grass at least every other week. Like I said before, my homeowner’s association can be a little anal when it comes to weeds and the height of the grass.”
“No problem,” Travis said.
Brent looked back at his watch again. “Okay, let’s head on back in and get these bags situated.”
The men walked back into the house and got Travis’s bags first. Travis put his things in the guest room and then helped Brent put his things in the trunk of the car. Next, Brent showed Travis how to work the home security system and gave him a code to use. Lastly he handed Travis a set of keys to the house and the car.
“All right, let’s roll.” Brent headed for the passenger side of the car and got in.
Travis took this as his cue to get into the driver’s seat. He slid in and closed the door and couldn’t believe how good it felt to be in the driver’s seat.
He cranked the car and looked around the steering wheel to make sure he knew where most of the buttons he needed were. Brent pointed out how to use the radio as well as how he could open the sunroof if needed. Then Travis pulled out of the garage.
Brent pushed the garage button and closed it back up. “You can just put this remote for the garage in your car to open and close it.”
“Oh, okay,” Travis said, knowing the only place he could put it right now would be in his pocket.
Travis continued to pull out of the driveway and headed for the airport.
Two hours later, Travis returned to the house. He’d stopped at the grocery store and picked up some food and a couple of personal items since he didn’t know when he’d be venturing out again. He figured he’d make the stops while he was on the way home; better to justify driving the car by the store. He’d been careful the whole time, not wanting to get into an accident, much less put one scratch on another man’s car.
As soon as he got inside he unloaded his groceries. He’d just gotten an unemployment check and the five bags of groceries he had were more than he had ever bought at one time since separating from his ex-wife. But now, since he didn’t have to worry about paying rent that next day on April 1 or for the next eight months, he could afford it. He was glad, too, that he didn’t have to think about owing any debts to the apartment complex since he had been on a month-to-month paying status and he had paid all of the late fees.
He opened the refrigerator and could have kicked himself. Brent had a refrigerator and freezer full of food. And Travis should have known the man would. Travis opened the cabinets and found food in them as well as matching sets of glassware and silverware, as well as cookware. Many of the items still looked brand new. Brent’s mother was still probably treating him the same way she’d treated him when they were in college. He was sure she was probably the reason for Brent’s kitchen being stocked the way it was.
Travis nodded his head, thinking that if Brent did ever find a woman, he wondered if she would put up with the degree to which Brent’s parents, especially his mom, were so hands-on. Shrugging his shoulders, Travis commenced unpacking his groceries. As frugal as he had become, he wouldn’t have to worry about shopping for groceries for a while. He had bought some theater-style microwave popcorn so he could sit in the bonus room and watch some movies. After popping the popcorn he opened up the bottle of Welch’s Sparkling Grape Cocktail he’d purchased. He put a couple of ice cubes in a glass, poured himself a drink, and air toasted to himself, knowing this was an occasion to celebrate that called for way more than just grape Kool-Aid.
Chapter 4
Travis was on top of the world. For the first time in days he sat in peaceful silence. He knew there was no way life could get any better than what it was right now. He was sitting in the lap of luxury. He ran his hand across the leather recliner he was sitting on, and looked out of the window of the bonus room, in his home. Well, he knew it wasn’t really his, but for the next six months he could and would refer to it as his home. Besides, his friend had said, “Mi casa es su casa.” God had really been looking out for him right in the nick of time. Travis looked up toward heaven and mouthed a “thank you” to God. But somehow this small gesture did not seem like enough. He was going to have to make an effort to make it to church at some point in thanks for God’s blessing.
But after a week and a half of wasting his time enjoying the luxury and finer things of life, he was starting to get a little restless. It was almost tax day, but Travis put that thought out of his mind. He hadn’t filed taxes in years and wasn’t planning on filing by the deadline in a couple of days either.
He’d watched movie after movie and when he needed a
break from the movies he played games. Travis had eaten so much popcorn that the bonus room smelled like a movie theater. He was sick of it and didn’t care if he saw any more anytime soon.
Once he tired of playing games he would turn the television on, enjoying the hundreds of satellite channels his friend had. He’d been able to catch up on more recent episodes of The Biggest Loser, and marveled over how real the people on television looked, not grainy as they had on his old-fashioned television. He’d left it on the curb, along with many of the other furniture odds and ends he’d purchased from the Salvation Army to furnish his apartment. He’d figured the items were probably still going to end up out on the curb, but because of God’s grace he hadn’t ended up on the curb with them. He wouldn’t worry about that old stuff now, because if he budgeted and saved his money, he would be able to get some nicer things once he moved out of Brent’s place. And maybe he would be able to afford a smaller version of the television Brent had. I should be, he thought. It was about time. After losing his wife, and another job, his luck was finally changing.
After picking up the remote and sliding his fingers over the buttons, Travis decided to forgo turning it on. He shook his head. Even though he wanted to look at the marathon that was running on cable with old episodes of Law & Order, Travis had more pressing things that were starting to nag his mind. He had six months to get his act together and if he didn’t then, he might find himself out on the streets.
He was going to have to think of something to get out of the predicament he was in. If only his wife, Beryl, had stuck with him and given him another chance. He knew he would have been able to eventually find the right job. Then he would have been able to help pay the bills and get their second car fixed. But his wife hadn’t kept the vows she’d said during their marriage ceremony. She said she would be there, “for richer or for poorer.” She’d left him when hard times hit.
Although he didn’t want to admit it, he missed having someone to talk to, and to love and hold. He missed those great home-cooked meals Beryl made, like the chicken and pastry. His mouth watered just thinking about her banana pudding. But most of all, he missed having someone to be his helpmate with the bills, when he was between jobs.
The Marrying Kind Page 3