Tuesday morning I picked up Nettie, with the top down, and drove to the Commercial Center. We went up to see Argus then down to the title office. They had a couple of papers to sign there that Argus looked over before he had us sign them then he stood and stuck his hand out. "Congratulations Mr. Johnson, you now own or at least you are buying one of the nicest places in the city."
Nettie had a tear in her eye but looked up at me and smiled. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug.
We drove back to the house where Nettie had the kitchen table arranged with various utility bills and all the keys with nametags on them. "You might want to lock the doors for a while Chuck. I'm told some burglars come to houses recently sold to see what they can get. I told the Wilson's down the block to let their dog run loose for a while, as you are new. That should keep any bad, night people away. You need to go next door to Alice and say hi to the Wilson's and their dog Toy. You'll see why no one will bother you."
"Now, let me get my suitcase and you can take me to the airport. My flight leaves in two hours. It'll take us almost a half hour to get there and then a few minutes to check in and then I'm out of here." She went to the living room to get her suitcase.
"Is that all?" I asked as she only had one suitcase plus her large purse and a sweater.
"Yep." She said. "I shipped everything else and I have a book to read on the flight. I have to change planes in Atlanta then again in San Francisco. But by tomorrow morning I'll be there."
Nettie wanted to keep the top down so we drove to the airport with her hair flying. You could tell she was nervous. Happy and excited, but she was still nervous.
We parked and I took her bag to check-in. She had her reservation sheet and keyed in the number. I was surprised as she was booked first class all the way through. Nice ride.
We strolled down to the security check in and stood in line. Nettie looked up at me with a tear in eye. "You know Chuck, I've only known you for a little over a week but I'm going to miss being around you. For whatever reason, you seem like family, like one of my kids. Chuck, I'm going to miss you." With that Nettie gave me a hug. I hugged her back and kissed her forehead. She looked up at me with a tear streaking down her cheek.
"Get out of here Chuck, before you make me cry. Go home. Go to your new home and take care of it. I'll call you when I get there, I didn't disconnect the phone. And Chuck, I'm going to take you up on staying with you when my Sister and I come back to visit. We'll be here for at least Christmas and perhaps Thanksgiving. Bye now. Go." More tears were streaking.
I gave her one last hug, kissed her forehead again then turned and left. I was choked up to with some tears trying to escape my eyes. Darn, just knowing that lady for one week was special. In that short period of time she did a lot for me. She changed my life, even more than she or I knew."
I went back to the house and explored the place top to bottom, inside and out. I found lawn tools in the back of the garage in a separate room. I found a chest full of mechanics tools in the garage as well. Upstairs in the garage I found a complete apartment. A kitchen, living room, bathroom and two big bedrooms all full of furniture and decorated nicely. There was also an office at the top of the stairs. The office had only a desk, chair and lamp and looked empty where there probably had been bookcases or file cabinets.
Inside the house I found all the bedroom closets empty plus the drawers in all the bedrooms were empty. The linen closets were all full of towels. Under the bathroom sinks was toilet tissue and soap. In the master bedroom everything was fresh. The sheets and spread were freshly laundered and everything was spotless. Inside the big walk in closet there was only one thing there, a bathrobe. Pinned to it was a note. "This would have been Herb's birthday present but he passed away before his birthday. Enjoy wearing it. It was a gift when I bought it and now I can give it to someone else who is special. Nettie."
I began carrying some of the boxes from the basement and put them in the rooms where they need to be unpacked. I put the kitchen stuff away and checked the pantry and fridge to see what I might need. There wasn't a lot of food in the fridge but there were leftovers from the dinner party Sunday. The pantry had a lot canned goods plus some staples that I didn't have to replace. I was amazed at all the kitchen stuff. All kinds of pots and pans, electric skillet, microwave, mini oven, crock-pots and every kind of utensil made. The cabinets had a nice selection of dishes and glasses. The flatware looked pretty new as well. There was even a dishwasher I hadn't noticed before.
I made the last trip to my old apartment in the Taurus to get my hanging clothes. I turned in the key to the apartment manager who said he had already checked out the apartment and thanked me for leaving it in such nice shape. He handed me a check for the original security deposit, surprise, surprise. On the way home I stopped by a liquor store for beer, gin, scotch and wine. As soon as I knew what my neighbors drank I would stock up. I had not checked to see what Nettie had in the living room bar but I was sure the booze I bought wouldn't go to waste, as it was what I like to drink.
It was getting late. All the boxes were emptied and broken down. Everything seemed to be in order. I went out back to check on everything. I put the Taurus in the garage then shut the door. I backed my T-bird up next to the garage and almost left the key in it. I was going to have to be careful. I reopened the garage then took the keys from all the ignitions and made sure those doors were all locked.
As I closed the garage door again I heard a thump, thump coming across the driveway. A huge dog came right up to me and smelled me. He sniffed up and down my leg, nudged me in the crotch, and then walked around me. He came back to stand in front of me, tilted his head then barked. No not barked, wolfed a loud, deep woof. I know better than turn and run so I just stood there watching him. He put his nose to my hand and licked. Then put his head under my hand and rubbed it back and forth. Just about the time I was going to wet myself, there was a loud laugh from the other side of Jack and Alice's back porch.
"You passed." The voice said. "That dog never makes a mistake. You must be the new Chuck Johnson."
A man appeared from the shadows. " You better pet Toy if you're gonna be his buddy. He seems to like you a lot."
About the time he reached me, Jack came out of his porch door carrying a few beer bottles. He yelled, "Hey Chuck, meet Charlie Wilson and his tiny mutt, Toy."
Giant Jack came strolling over dwarfing Charlie and I handing us each a beer. "Sure glad I can tell you guys apart." Jack said. "We now have a Chuck and a Charlie. Ha, Ha." He laughed.
"What kind of dog is this?" I asked Charlie as the dog had a huge broad shepherd face but a very tall stocky body of some other breed. Toy's back was about four-foot tall while his head even higher.
"Some kind of monster shepherd, part sheep dog and part monster pit bull. He really is a sweetheart but he does scare the hell out of anybody that he doesn't know or who doesn't know him." Charlie said. "Say, I'm gonna teach him to crap in your yard at night so any bad guys would just trip over his pile. What do ya say. Think that'll work?"
Jack chimed in. "You'll need a bulldozer to clean up after that monster."
We had gravitated back toward Jack's house. There was a distinctive smell coming from the back porch and it sure wasn't cigar smoke. Smelled like very good pot. Jack saw sniff the air.
"Wacky tebaccy." Jack said. "She usually gets toasted this time of night. Hope you don't mind. She'll share if you use that stuff. Me, I like to drink my silliness."
Charlie offered, "Myra usually comes over and the two of them get funny together. Myra is visiting her Mom tonight so Alice is alone."
"So Jack said you play golf?" Charlie asked. "What's your handicap?"
"I play at golf and I have no earthly idea what handicap I would be. I shoot for bogey golf. If I'm only eighteen over, I'm still under a hundred. I have shot two games of eighty-nine on a par seventy-two course." I bragged.
"Then Saturday morning you make up our threesome for seven a.m. tee off. We'll walk over about six and drive some balls and practice putting before we tee off. How about it." Said Jack.
"This is perfect," Charlie said. "Since Dave just moved, we were going to have to take a catch as catch can third and or forth guy. They make you have a minimum of a threesome for a round. They prefer foursomes but three works.
"Did Nettie leave you her card?" Asked Jack.
"Yeah, she did. She left one from Herb and Hers. Do I need to do anything with them? I asked.
"Next time you go over there. Take them and some kind of document that you bought the house and they will make up your new card. The ones you have will work for now." Said Charlie.
"Nettie told me to leave Toy out for a while to watch the neighborhood, so just watch out for him when you move your car out in the morning. He likes to visit with anyone moving around. I'm gonna see you guys later. Got some stuff to do. Nice to meet you Chuck." Charlie said all this on his way back to his house. Toy didn't move. He still was right at my side with his head under my hand.
"Guess we ought to go in too." Jack said. "Gotta work tomorrow. See ya tomorrow Chuck."
I waved then walked to the porch. I glanced over to June's and saw what appeared to be Sunshine watching out an open kitchen window. I waved and yelled "Hi," she waved back and I went in for the night.
Wednesday started out nice. I got up, showered, put on my new robe then went down the back stairs to the kitchen. I tried out the espresso maker. It is nice to have water ready for fast coffee. I made a very strong cup of coffee then put a pan on the stove to start some bacon. Fifteen minutes later I was eating bacon, eggs, and toast with more coffee. After cleaning up the kitchen, I went up stairs and changed into some khaki's and a polo shirt. I straightened out the bed then sent my clothes from yesterday down the laundry shoot. As I was going out the back door, June came up. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt that fit her very well. She was obviously braless as she was showing some fat headlights on her rather large breasts. Size and age were making them sag a little, but very little. Her movement up the stairs made the two points of interest dance.
"Hi Chuck." June said with a bright smile. "Thought I should come over to see if anything needs done. Get a chance to look around so I will know where to find stuff. I did some housework for Nettie but not much. Do you need me to grocery shop for you? I'll be going later today."
"No that's alright June," making sure to look her in the eye and not stare at her dancing fun stuff. "I should be able to get my own groceries. Go in and look around. Don't think anything needs to be done right away as Nettie left the place spotless." I said as I stepped out the door almost stumbling over Toy.
"Oh my," said June. "You have a new friend. That dog just loves some people. Me, he comes says hi then walks away. He'll follow Sunshine everywhere. He sure seems to like you though."
"We met last night." I said. "I'm going over to the country club to get my card. What should I do if he follows me?"
"When you get to the woods, just tell him to go home. He will. When you come back, he'll meet you as soon as you step onto your grass. The path is over to the left, more on Alice's place than yours."
I walked through the woods pausing only once to tell Toy to go home. He hung his head and went back. The walk over was nice. After going through the woods, I walked across what appeared to be the eighteenth fairway right to the main clubhouse. It was fairly quiet there for a Wednesday morning. As soon as I entered the clubhouse, I could hear typing so I followed the noise till I came to a door that said office. Inside there was a lady typing up small cards that looked like they may be for place settings. I told her what I needed and showed her my cards and my purchase agreement. Ten minutes later I left with my new country club card with a bunch of papers describing services the club offered, the restaurant's menu, what all the fees were and all that stuff. This might be a place for me to bring customers. Could be a nice touch.
Shoot, what did that lady say? I went back to the office and asked her to repeat what she just told me about fees. Her name was Laura Matheson or at least that is what was on her desktop.
"Mr. Johnson, the annual and monthly fees have been paid up for five years. The former owner took advantage of our discount for advanced payment."
"Laura, what additional service fees do I have to pay for?" I asked.
"Your only cost will be dining except for the first Monday of every month, there is an open bar plus a prime rib dinner for all current members and their quests. Most everything else is paid. There is a fee for golf club cleaning but storage is free for members. There is also a fee for golf carts on days they are required. In our spa, the masseuse charges for his services but all the other amenities including the gym are included."
"Thanks Laura, you have been a great help." I said.
"Your welcome Mr. Johnson, we are glad to have you."
I followed the directions on the floor plan of the building and went downstairs to the gym. It was in the same area as the golf club storage area and locker rooms. The gym was very nice with all the current equipment and weights plus all the cardio equipment. I went back up to the pro shop to look at their prices. They were pretty much average, similar to the big golf stores in the city. The pro introduced himself and explained the course required carts Friday through Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday you could walk the course if you had at least a threesome but had to allow cart golfers to play through. That was pretty neat. Not many courses allowed walkers. Happy with everything, I wandered back across the fairway and through the woods. As soon as I stepped out of the woods Toy met me panting. He jumped around, happy to see me. Amazing.
As I walked up to my back door I looked over to see Sunshine sitting on the ground wearing shorts and tank top with a big straw hat, gloves and her sunglasses. She looked like she was weeding the flower garden. I called out, "Hey Sunshine." She looked up, smiled and waved and said "Hey!"
The phone was ringing when I went into the house. It was Nettie telling me she was now at her sister's place. She said, "I'm now home." I was able to thank her for the deal she had made for the club and she said she was happy to do it. I told her I would get the phone in my name so she wouldn't be responsible. She gave me her new telephone number, told me give it to the neighbors and to call if I had any questions about anything. We said goodbye but I felt like it wasn't, somehow I knew I would see more of Nettie.
Saturday morning came with Jack, Charlie and I walking through the woods at six in the morning. I was the only one carrying clubs as the guys said they kept theirs at the club where they were cleaned and stored after every use. We did eighteen holes fairly quick using carts. We stayed in front of the foursome following us and didn't have to wait on the threesome in front of us. Jack and Charley both shot in the low 90's while I did a 101 for my first trip around the course. The worse part of it was five lost golf balls. I hit two into ponds and lost three in the woods next to the fairways. I definitely needed practice. But, it was fun anyway. We put our clubs up then walked back home.
Jack was talking about some project he was doing at work. He was an accountant. He should be an auditor. Can you imagine Goliath checking your books. No way. Most accountants don't make that much money so I asked. "Jack, tell me if I'm out of line but I have to ask. How do you afford the country club. That place is pricey."
"Ha, ha" Jack laughed loudly, "not on my salary, that's for sure. It's all Alice. Her artsy stuff sells really well so we have been able to buy the house and pay for fun stuff like the club, all from her painting and sculpture and stuff. You've got to see it. She really is good. She'll smoke some of her stuff and start painting. By the time she's done, there's more paint on her than the canvas but man oh man does she create some good stuff. One of these nights you'll hear her singing and painting or singing and banging while carving up some rocks. She'll be high on her weed first then she'll get higher than ever on her creativity. She'll go all night then collapse when she's done. Every time she does that we just make another investment. Craziest way to live there is. She's a nut, but my big beautiful, loveable, creative nut."
Charlie shook his head. "He's telling the truth. She does do her thing in the middle of the night. But then it is fun to watch her doing her midnight work." With that Charlie jumped out of the way of Jacks giant hand swinging by his head.
"Damn Charlie." Jack admonished. "Don't be tellin' Chuck all our secrets. Okay?"
"You tell him then." Charlie challenged.
"If you hear Alice doing her thing, just look over into the windows of her studio. That crazy woman will we working away, singing, most of time stark naked. Don't tell her I told you, but believe me, you don't want to miss it." Jack said shaking his head.
"She is one beautiful amazon." Charlie added, ducking Jack again.
"Well your old lady bares it all too. She's always outback sunbathin' in the nude. She's out there so much you would think she was in a tanning contest." Jack said.
"Checkin' her out huh? Guess I'm not the only voyeur in the neighborhood." Chuckled Charlie.
"What used to be funny was seeing amazon Alice, dark as night Myra, the voluptuous June and sometimes Sunshine and then tiny little Nettie all out sunbathing naked. What a group they made." Jack was smiling with the description.
"Nettie wasn't too bad for her age. She didn't sag much and had a pretty tight butt for a gal over sixty. Next time they're out there, you gotta check 'em out. June and Sunshine are something." Charlie added.
"You know Nettie's going to be seventy-seven next month, right?" I said.
"No way." They both chorused.
"Way." I said as we broke through the woods greeted by an excited Toy.
The guys headed to their back doors while I headed to mine to change clothes. I was going to do some yard work.
I was coming out to the garage when a kid came up the driveway on his bike.
"Hi." The kid said. "My name is Tom from across the street. I do the yard for Nettie but can't get into the garage room to get the tools. Do you have the key? Can you let me in?"
"Tommy," I said, "I'm Chuck Johnson and I just bought the house from Nettie. She didn't tell me about you but you can tell me what kind of deal you have."
"Well Mr. Johnson it's pretty easy. I keep Nettie's yard, now your yard, looking good and she pays me twenty dollars a week. She also lets me use her pool table when I want. I can't bring anyone else down, but she doesn't mind if I use it a couple of times a week. She also let's me use her tools to work on stuff when I need. During football season, she lets me watch the games on the big TV downstairs too."
"Tommy, guess we have the same deal. For right now, how about I give you a key to the garage and a key for the house. After I've been here a while, I'll probably leave them open again." I said.
Tommy replied. "Shoot, you don't have to worry around here. Toy's running around again and no one is going to come around when Toy's here."
With that, the mammoth dog came barreling into the yard and jumped on Tommy knocking him down and licking him. Tommy wrapped his arms and legs around the huge dog and tried to wrestle him down. No way could he do it. Finally, Toy lay down on his side and licked Tommy's face.
Sputtering, "Toy, stop. Darn it Toy, stop. You are so bad. Don't jump on people Toy. Sure glad I'm your friend. You really are bad." Tommy stood back up brushing himself off.
Toy came over and sat with his head under my hand, panting. I scratched his head and ears while he made happy sounds.
"I see Toy knows you. You're lucky he doesn't jump up on you. He does that with most of the kids. Knocks them down and licks them to death. He is just too big. Loveable but too big." Tommy said shaking his head.
I gave Tommy the keys and went into the house for some lunch. Cool, I now had a housekeeper and a yard guy. Hope I can afford all this. The mortgage, taxes, and insurance are actually less than I was paying for rent. So far, these extras are not more than I was paying before. Guess I'll have to go back to budgeting so I know how much all the utilities will be and then find out what else I'll have to pay for.