by Tj Reeder
Sing keep a running report on the state of the bank account, with my buy in share and the matching money Jody put in we were doing pretty good, but I knew if the need arose I would add more to the pot, what good is a lot of money if you don’t use it? and for ten long years I had not done so, ten years of big investment growth, and it was looking like it was time to think about spending it before it was worthless, so I wasn’t worried about it, in fact I was having fun for the first time in ten years, it was great to have a idea, work with Sing to get the information and then make it happen, I really had been missing a lot, I felt alive for the first time in…well…in years.
One day I asked Jody what his thoughts on security were, he asked if I meant like alarms, No I said, like weapons, lots of them. He also had thought about it but had been too busy to do more then that, so I told him I had an idea, We would build another business within the Mall complex, a gun store, a special gun store, one with a first class gun smith and we could also get in addition to the needed Federal firearms Lic. Any and all licenses needed to allow us to build and buy full auto weapons, along with having the ability to buy wholesale we could stock pile what we wanted right in the business close at hand to the ranch. But not having to allow the to come onto the ranch it’s self by setting up a separate LLC just for that business which would rent space from the Mall LLC which was separate from the ranch, sounds complicated but it wasn’t, Jody and Sing readily agreed and I undertook the task of finding the right people to run that business, and I had just the man in mind.
His name is John Quill; also known as Johnny Quick for his ability to beat all of the other guys during the shoot offs at the police range on weekends.
He was an ex LEO from my former Dept who had gone out on Disability after being shot in the line of duty, he had been the Special operations chief
(He hated the term SWAT Team) trained for everything in the books.
Then walked into an armed robbery while off duty, getting some beer to take home, he got two of them but the third got him, off duty, no vest, lucky to be alive.
After he was put out to pasture he decided since he love guns and anything else that made loud noise he went to school and became a gun smith, he was also a very big time competition shooter in most all the shooting sports.
We had kept a loose contact with each other thru the years, and I knew he was recently divorced from a woman who turned out to be a raving antigun nut who thought it was a passing phase for him and she could cure him.
We had last met up on one of my R&R trips to Vegas, we spent a week there, most of it at the range out side of the city, well the days, and the nights were another subject.
After telling the others about him I called him and set up a meeting just like with the other people, I knew he would go for the set up but we had agreed to not have anybody to the ranch unless they were fully informed with the purpose of the entire plan and had joined.
Jody and I went in to meet John and it went just like I figured, he was up for it right off the bat, when Jody explained just what the whole idea was he was really in, he too had been worried about the state of world affairs.
After hearing the entire plan and my ideas for a shop set up he said, OK, here’s the deal, you build it, stock it, and make it a turn key operation with my input and when it’s done I’ll run it and make it show a profit, and will do so for no pay, he said he too had gotten a settlement and his disability pay was more then he needed.
But he wanted a basement, heavily reinforced with the main gun vaults and his living quarters down there. We both agreed on the spot, he also said he wanted to interview all the people who might be working in the shop, we agreed!
He headed out right then to settle up things where he was and to pack for the move, he would supervise the way the shop was laid out and would live in a camper on the site.
After he was gone Jody said “Man that’s one sharp dude!” I had to agree, he also asked if I had any more like him stashed away, I said I’d think about it, John didn’t know it yet but he was going to be the head of security for the entire place and the training officer, a good move as we would one day find out.
Jody called me the next morning on my cell and asked me to meet him at the mall, when I got there he and Sing were standing off to the side watching the work.
When I walked over he asked if I had anything pressing at the moment, I didn’t and said so, he said I would like you and Sing to head into Dallas to look into some prefab buildings to use as bunk houses, Sing said, we need maybe three, built into small studio type apartments.
Looking at them both I wondered why it needed both of us to get it done but I sure wasn’t going to object to a road trip with Sing, it was settled that we would leave the next morning and drive the 125 miles and get our rooms near the plant that made the buildings.
Our trip to Dallas we had fun, Sing chattered along , talking about her life in America, her schooling which had been in a private school usually used by people from other countries who’s jobs had brought them to the US for a few years.
Most of whom wanted their kids to have a better education then they felt was available in the public school system, she said Jody had her and her brother there mainly because it was a boarding school, and the Dean was a former Marine he had served with who took the kids under his wing so to speak.
Also quite frankly Jody didn’t want Sing to be ridiculed over her tribal markings as children were sure to do, whereas the kids who’s parents worked all over the world would be lest inclined to pay much attention to such things having seen many other cultures in their short lives.
I thought it sounded like a lonely life for the two of them but Sing said they were happy and that when at all possible Jody worked out his leave time to coincide with the school breaks, so the three of them had at least some family time.
I was very curious how a single Marine was able to not only adopt two young kids from another country but to bring them to this country and set them up as he had. Sing only said that not only was Jody very resourceful but he also knew some very powerful people in very high places and as he joked, also knew where the bodies were buried, I some how didn’t think Jody was joking, and I for one sure knew how resourceful the man could be!
I’ve never liked Dallas, too big, too fast, and to much noise, but lady luck was in our favor as the place we were dealing with was actually about 20 miles outside the city.
Our Hotel was a very nice new place with everything a person could want without having to leave it, the rooms were awesome, Sing had gotten a suite with 2 bedrooms and sitting room and a bathroom bigger then my bedroom at home with a large hot tub, which gave me some unsettling thoughts but this was business so …
Our appointment was for later in the afternoon which gave us time to clean up and have a very nice lunch out on the pool deck off the dining room. This was my first exposure to being with Sing in an area where people had never seen a woman with markings like hers, It was interesting to watch, the women looked and then looked again, some with a frown, some with their heads cocked over like they were thinking Hmmmmm….the men looked several times, first at the markings, then the woman, then the woman some more, She was by far the most exotic woman I had ever known, there was an air of mystery around her and yet still something of the wild jungles of her homeland, between the markings, the long raven black hair and the fact that she never looked away from anybody who stared , well she was just …perfect!
I had seen her dressed in muddy boots with dirty jeans and sweaty from working with us guys outside, and as now dressed like a world class model dressed as a business woman. I was just happy to sit in the glowing aura that surrounded her.
We arrived for our appointment right on time and were taken right in to the CEO’s office, I liked what I saw right off, Bob was his name, he was wearing lace up boots and a blue work shirt, blue jeans.
When we shook hands, his were the work hard hands of a man who did not sit behind the desk all day.
He first looked at Sing, then me, then back at her as all men do, his smile showed that he was very impressed with her looks at least.
After seating us he got right to it, no small talk, he asked how they could help us and wasn’t too surprised when Sing took over the meeting, she laid out her thoughts, what we wanted, how we wanted it done and where we wanted it delivered to and when.
Bob asked us to wait a moment while he picked up a phone and asked somebody to step into the office, a moment later a lady walked in, she too was dressed just about like Bob but looked much nicer in her jeans, he introduced us to his wife Sally who was his office staff and second in command.
This pair was all business, no big fancy desks, nobody sitting around; the people we saw were all moving at a very good pace, work was getting done and no wasted time or motion.
He asked Sing to lay out the project again, Sally took notes and asked questions, the two women had taken charge so Bob and I sat back and watched them work together like they had been doing it for years. In less time then I could have handled it, the whole thing was laid out and agreed on, we would have three buildings, two of which would be more or less dorm rooms, with communal showers and rest rooms, like collage all over again, one for women and one for men.
The third building would be bigger, with small apartments with their own bathrooms and small kitchens, these for the couples as they formed, as they would. After talking a bit the gals came to the conclusion we would need a forth building as a mess hall to feed the permanent personnel since the dorms would have no kitchens so to speak except a microwave and a coffee maker and a sink.
When the ladies had hammered out what was needed and how it was to be laid out we took the tour of the place, people working everywhere in teams.
Bob said they had found that having the same people work together as a team as opposed to mix and match daily that things got done much faster and better because the people knew just who they would be working with, and each others best qualities and since some people were better at one thing maybe then another.
Plus there was a weekly competition between the teams to put out not just the most but the best work, it wasn’t a giant operation but it got big things done and done right the first time.
The job laid out, the quote done, the agreement signed and a promise of delivery within 60 days. Their crews to do the set up work, it was to be a turn key deal.
We parted company with Bob and Sally with the understanding that they would come to the ranch with the first set up crew, to look over the operation.
The evening was now free for us to do as we pleased, we headed back to the Hotel, and agreed to relax and then clean up for dinner, Sing made us a drink and we made small talk for a while then she excused herself and went to her room, I decided to try out the big tub with very hot water for a soak, with a fresh drink I slid into it, it was heaven!
Even after 10 years my leg would get stiff if I sat too long and that’s all I had done all day. The drink forgotten I went right to sleep in the wonderfully hot water, and only woke when Sing was lowering herself down into the water, I could only stare, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, she slid up and laid in my arms with a sigh, and that is all I shall say about that.
Morning came and Sing was still wrapped in my arms, but in the king sized bed in my room, I eased away and headed for the shower where she found me a few minutes later, it’s a good thing that hotels have plenty of hot water.
We ordered breakfast and when it arrived we sat on the small deck hanging on the side of the building about a mile up or so it seemed, we were both quiet but ate with one hand while holding hands.
After the waiter had cleared the mess away we sat with coffee and looked across the distance until I said “And what is Jody going to say about this”
She smiled the big smile and said “I had a talk with him the day before we planned the trip, told him how I felt, his only concern was that neither of us would get hurt, he didn’t know how you would feel what with your wife and baby, I told him not to worry because it would all work out, so he sent both of us to do this deal when I could have handled it alone”
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She was a very remarkable woman and very astute at least where I was concerned. I asked her where we stood in this, “ I’m not making demands Sam, if you want a little R&R as Dad said you had been into in the past then that’s what we have, if you want more , as I do then I guess we decide right now where we stand”
Talk about having the ball slammed into your court!! I did not even stop to take a breath, I just smiled and said I love you and have from day one, and I’ll leave it up to you if you want to be married to a gimpy old fart like me.
She looked at me a bit and said well, I’ll think about it ok? I said sure, she kinda wrinkled her brows and then smiled and said ok! I accept!! Just like that! I said well what happened to thinking about it? She said I’ve thought about it since day one, I was just tired of waiting for you to make a move so I made it for you!
We didn’t make it back home till the next afternoon, I took her shopping for a ring but she didn’t want a diamond, as she put it, we could buy a matched team of Clydesdales for what I was trying to spend on her, we settled on a nice pair of matching rings that were less then the tax on the one I wanted to buy her, very thrifty lady.
Arriving home I was a bit worried, but Jody came out and looked at us and burst out laughing and said for god’s sake I ain’t grabbing my shotgun!! Got anything to tell me?
Sing said yes we do, the buildings and the set up crew will be here in a month or so. Now it was my turn to laugh, she got him, so all smiling we headed to the porch that had become the boardroom, after we all had a glass of tea we told him everything, well most of it, he was very and truly happy for us both and showed it. He said he could never have asked for a better man for his daughter, but that if I ever called him pop he’d shoot me! While laughing I remembered that line form a movie.
As soon as Sing and I got to the basement we headed to our bedrooms, for me it was to put some of my life behind me before starting a new part of it. I sat for a moment looking at the pictures of my wife and baby and then started packing them away, I knew I couldn’t toss them in the trash but I also couldn’t start to live again with Sing and have them any place out in the open, so I packed them all away, and sealed the box very well, then I wrote out a letter stating that upon my death the box was to be burned unopened, placing the letter in an envelope I tapped it to the lid of the box, it would go into storage. It was very hard to do and left me sad but after a bit I felt like a weight had been lifted off of me and I knew I was doing the right thing.
After going thru everything in my room to make sure there wasn’t anything left that might cause Sing to feel like she had less then all of my attention I headed out to the basement Den/TV room and waited for Sing to come out, when she did I asked her if she wanted to move or should I, since my bed was king size, we decided that would be our room, she asked how I felt about her moving in right now before the wedding was a fact? So I picked her up laughing and carried her across the threshold and tossed her on the bed. She made a come here gesture but I said no way, get your butt up and let’s go see Jody, and we did!
After rounding up Jody we talked about everything concerning the coming construction phase, he said he had a thought while we were gone and that to stop so much talk about what we were doing we were going to put out the word to all the construction types that we were opening a school/home for troubled kids and that caring for livestock and gardening would be a part of the program to help them fit into life better, that would explain the dorm buildings and the third dorm with the bigger rooms were for the large staff that would be required for the operation of the place, Now that was a great cover story!
After talking business we talked about the wedding, I had assumed that Sing would want the usual type with all the trappings but was surprised to find out that things were not to be what I had thought….at all!!
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Jody said Song was heading home and would arrive in 3 days, and that the wedding would take place by tribal tradition on the first night of the full moon in all it’s Pagan glory so to speak!
There would be guests but not a lot, Miss Ellie of course and the Jonas Brothers, John Quill, the Head Master from the school where the kids had lived and learned, and many more whom I had never heard of.
And surprising me a great deal there would be at least two dozen members of Sings clan who had all made it to America, with help I suspected from a man I was coming to admire a great deal.