Day Fifty-three - Thursday
My eyes opened because I had heard a sound. There it was again. Noises were coming from out on the street, but I couldn't tell what it was.
I got up, pulling my 9-millimeter from the headboard drawer. I looked out the side window, but I couldn't see anything. I heard the noise again and went to the other side, the side where the patio was, and looked toward the street.
In the middle of the street was tin can. Pushing the tin can was a raccoon. I guess the can smelled good, so he was pushing it along toward I guessed, where he lived. I looked at the kitchen clock it was five-fifty. Time to get up anyway. I put on a couple pots of coffee then went in the bedroom to put the gun away and snuggle sweet Sue awake.
With several kisses, she turned to me hugging me, saying she didn't want to get up yet. I told her she could sleep all she wanted, but I needed to take a shower and get the day started.
Sue opened her eyes and turned to look at the clock. "Darn, it is time isn't it. Okay, one more kiss then it's shower time."
We did our tag team on the throne then both got into the shower. We really weren't up for games this morning, so we were out on the patio by six thirty, dressed and ready to go.
Shawna and Charlie came over with empty cups, saying they were going to have a cup of coffee then go finish the bike. Charlie was going to go in late at Dell's so he could help Shawna finish up. They were excited because it was an important customization. It could possibly be seen on nationwide TV.
Phil and Judy showed up before Tiny and Ruth came. Hanna and Jim, along with Debbie and Hank, showed up with Martin and Glenda. Tom and Al, with Joan and Betty, came around the house about the time Tiny and Ruth showed.
Everyone was a little sluggish but in a good mood. It smelled like rain so we might get a shower before the day was over. The TV weather lady said there was only a thirty-percent chance of rain but you know how those folks are. That's right, hardly ever accurate.
Everyone ate the breakfast sandwiches Phil had brought then packed up to head to work. Joan, Betty, and Hanna were staying at the house office, while Glenda was going to do her morning cleaning of the house and do some laundry for us. Jim was the only one heading to a different location.
We were all busy doing something by eight, or at least we had a fresh cup of coffee in our hands. The motor shop people were all standing around with a cup of coffee while Charlie and Shawna were putting the finishing touches on the bike. It really looked classy. At first glance you thought it was just a copy of a car then, looking closer, you saw the small pictures of all the different Busch and Winston Cup cars that had won big races, including the date and driver. The tanks were painted with more numbers and cars including a replica of Gene's old car. Shawna had her signature, in a low but prominent position on a tank, and had included the S&S logo among the decal looking sponsor logos. They had put white wall tires on the bike, complete with chrome wheels.
The bike looked really good.
Charlie put some gas in the tank then used the kick-start to push the engine through a couple of times. He then pointed his finger to a button and pushed it. Shawna had installed an electric start on the bike. That would really make Gene happy, as he wasn't a spring chicken any more.
Shawna got on the bike, shifted the tank shift into gear, and rode out of the shop. She took it up and down the street next to the shop then rode back, saying it was right.
Charlie gave Shawna a hug and kiss then helped load the trike onto the trailer. Sue, Charlie, and Shawna all rode in the truck over to Gene's. We parked in front so he wouldn't see us and pushed the bike around back then covered it up. I went through the side door to find no one in that part of the shop, so I pushed the button to open the door.
We pushed the bike into the shop, closed the door, and went to find Gene. He was in his break room having coffee. We said for him to hurry and come out to the shop. All of his men followed him, knowing something good was up.
Shawna went and stood next to the bike and asked Gene if he were ready. When he nodded, she whipped the cover off it.
Every man there took in a deep breath in a gasp. The bike was lit perfectly by the shop lights and stood out on the painted floor. The bright blue with all of the colorful logos jumped out at the looker, while the chrome flashed in their eyes.
Gene staggered to the bike looking at it. Then he began looking at the detail of all the little paintings all over the body. When he lifted the lid on the body, he saw that the inside was painted as well, but in the box was a fire extinguisher in a holder along with a bottle of champagne in a special cradle. Shawna said that was for his next win.
After he looked it all over, he asked if it ran. Charlie took over and said, take it for a ride but remember it has a foot clutch. Three speeds forward with one reverse. Neutral was between first and second, not first and reverse. Then he showed Gene the magic button. Charlie said, "When you don't feel macho and don't feel like kicking the thing, turn on the gas and push the button.
Gene reached down, turned on the gas and hit the button. The little motor caught instantly. Charlie explained that Shawna had converted the electrics to solid state so he didn't have to mess with points. He instructed him that Shawna had a detailed description for him of all the items of conversion so he would know how to take care of the bike.
Gene put the bike in gear and eased out of the door and twisted the throttle a little to get the feel of the motor and acceleration. We heard him shift into second, then third, as he rode around the block to arrive back at the shop. He put it in reverse and backed it up to see how that was.
"Well, Shawna, this is magnificent. Much more than I could have ever imagined. I can't believe you researched all my major wins to include them on the body. It is enough to make tears come to the eyes. Probably like the bill you'll have.
Shawna handed him a company invoice printed out nice and neat. Gene looked at it then said, "Are you sure, is this enough?"
"I charged you our shop rate for the work we did, and for the time we put in on the bike. You have the list of parts we used that we marked up twelve percent, the same as we do your motors. I even included my husband's efforts on the bike as well. I don't think I forgot anything. You get this at our shop rate for all the business you have given us and all of the referrals you have given us. Thank you sir, the company appreciates it."
Gene said he would be right back. When he came back he gave me a check for the invoice then he handed Shawna a folded check telling her it was his way of saying thank you for her special efforts.
Shawna looked at me to see if she should accept it and I nodded to her to keep it.
She smiled and gave Gene a kiss on the cheek, saying she hoped they won this weekend.
We left as Gene was loading the bike into an enclosed trailer with a spare car, about to leave for the track in Georgia where time trials were in progress.
On the way back to the shop, Shawna and Charlie were giggling until they finally told Sue and I how much the check was for. Our bill was only eight thousand and change, so Gene had tipped Shawna five grand. That was a nice bonus.
The rest of the day was going to be boring for both of them, so I told them both that they should take the rest of the day off, put the check in the bank, and go for a nice ride over to the beach. Shawna said, "I would, but I need to be here so we can get some work out. Jim has some important stuff at Dell's to do too, so can we have a rain check?"
Don't you just love those dedicated employees? Sue wanted a ride home after she looked at the brochures that were being designed. Twenty minutes later, I was letting her out at home.
Back at the shop, I checked with Debbie who reported business was back to total chaos with orders for everything pouring in on the fax, as well as the phone. She said if we could continue to put out three motors a day, we would be caught up in two weeks, as long as no more orders came in. She said that, at our current rate of production, the frame shop was an easy month behind, while the sheet metal shop was only running three weeks behind.
Debbie said that I should steer clear of Abe until he was over his panic, as we had received an order from Panama for fifty rebuilt generators. Abe was trying to figure out where to come up with that many old broken down ones to rebuild.
Wow, an order for seven hundred and fifty grand of rebuilt product. The reason was that there was a heavy tariff on new stuff, but no tariff on used or rebuilt items. Even their government couldn't bypass the tariffs.
I told Debbie that we would just have to advise customers of our lead times from now on, so they would not think that we had stuff on the shelf. Just tell them that everything is built to their order.
She said we had received some big rolls of blueprints for some Busch cars, some short track sprint cars, and a couple of models of trucks. We also had a new frame order for a Dodge team, along with an order for us to build an engine. The factory had been notified, and we were to receive the crate engine, along with the NASCAR specs.
I called the team and told them that we were a little backed up on orders, but were getting out product as fast as possible. The frame and sheet metal could be quick, but the motor was going to be at least ten days if you factored in shipping. The owner understood and said the order was more of a test than anything else. He asked if we could use the eighteen-percent stainless material that Gene had told him about. I quoted him the additional for the change in metal and said that was fine, that he would adjust his P.O. and I should do his here, as well. When he asked about the motor, I told him when I had all the costs, my assistant or I would give him a call. I thought to myself, now there is a start with a whole group of new owners. Wonder if I should contact a Ford team.
I told Phil to have his field men to look really hard for used and abused generators to fill the big order Abe had. Phil began telling me how he was raiding several big supply companies of road salesmen that had been lured away from Onan in the past. He said that with our new open-ended deal, we could probably just keep hiring until we had a salesman or two in every state.
Tiny said that he should have sample brochures back from the printer this afternoon, now that Sue has taken a look at them. He felt that if we began with a neat mailing he had designed, then followed up with calls and visits to the bigger supply houses, we should do some good business.
Debbie came upstairs to get me, saying she just had a call from Hillsborough county. There was a steel stairway that had cracked and broken at the county courthouse. They needed a company to come and weld the breaks then inspect all of the fire escapes and exterior steel stairways. She said they were saying this was an emergency, as the broken stairway was a primary fire exit.
I told Debbie to call them back and say we will be there in thirty minutes. She was to get exactly where we could pull our truck in, and who our contact was.
I went out to the welding area and asked who would go with me to work at the courthouse. They all wanted to come so I thought for a minute. "I really could use two guys, so I think today I'm going to take Tim and Bob. I'll probably do most of the welding, but we may all do some. We'll take the big truck and go down there." Tim went through the truck supplies real quick to make sure there is enough gas supplies, as we may have to use a portable rig for some of this. We will also need a lot of grinding tools to make sure existing welds are good. I'll have Bob do our running to bring more supplies. The additional supplies will be in the tool room that we don't use."
I got the information from Debbie, then went to Abe to see if he had any extra block and tackle that I could use. The truck had one, but there was a good chance it would take two to handle a stairway.
The three of us drove to downtown Tampa where the county courthouse was. It didn't take us long to find where the problem was, as there was a fire truck, with its ladder extended, over where the stair way was hanging.
I had all three of us put on orange coveralls from the truck then hard hats to comply with OSHA then approached the guy apparently in charge. When he found out who I was, he directed me to the fire chief.
I asked the fire chief if I could go up to look at the break.
Climbing up a fire ladder that is at a forty-five degree angle is not fun. Firemen do that when the ladder is used as a bridge. You have to walk on your hands and feet like a dog. Thank goodness my usual attire included heavy work boots.
I could see where the weld had broken right where the base rail connected to the platform by a fire door. The hardest part would be to get a block and tackle above the platform to hold the stairway in place. In addition to that weld, I thought there should have been pieces of steel between the stairway and the rear of the platform for additional support. I asked the fireman with me how strong the ladder was. He said it should be able to pull the stairway closed so it could be welded. The problem was going to be the old weld should be cleaned off before a new weld applied.
I went back down and gave the chief my plan. I was going to have Bob on the roof holding my safety rope, while I used a portable back pack gas rig to first clean the old weld, then connect two support pieces that should have already been there. When it was stable I would re-weld the cleaned ends where it was broken. I separated a couple of eight-foot pieces of heavy angle iron and cut them to six feet with the truck's big torch.
Tim signed to Bob what he was going to do and a fireman that knew how to sign took him in the building to get to the roof. I put on a two-point safety harness, then the backpack. I connected a deep pouch that carried extra rods and a regular tool pouch to my safety belt, then hooked my gloves in my belt, and put my hood on my head, but tilted up.
With the block and tackle over my shoulder, I once again followed the fireman up and across the ladder to a point now, just above the platform, at the top of the stairway. Bob threw me the two safety ropes with carabiners on the end. The fireman with me hooked them to my safety harness. I waved at the roof guys then we maneuvered the ladder so I could step onto the platform. I pulled the rope from the block and tackle down attaching it to the stairway and had the fireman take up the slack.
With everything stable, I fired up my torch and cut off the old weld. It was easy to see what had happened, as there were air bubbles throughout the weld. I heated and filed, then heated and hammered, to clean and shape the area to weld.
I dropped my supply rope to Tim and he attached the first piece of angle iron and I hauled it up. Using the rope, I clamped the piece in place then delicately stepped down the steps and clamped it to the base rail. While down the steps I welded the support onto the steps then went back to the platform to weld the support to the platform.
I repeated this for the other side, then welded the base rail to the platform the way it was intended. The other side was bubbled too so I cut it clean shearing off the old weld material then welded it solid. The fireman unhooked the safety ropes from my harness then disconnected the block and tackle handing it to me to take down the stairway. I carried everything down the stairs and began storing it in the truck compartments. When I was down to my jumpsuit, I looked to Bob and mouthed. "Check all the welds on the stairs." I gave him a piece of chalk and said, "mark bad welds." He nodded that he understood. Thirty minutes later he came and signed to Tim.
He had found two welds that were bad but everything else looked good. I handed Bob the tool belt, the pouch, and the backpack gas rig, and he was off taking care of the bad welds. Bob was a good craftsman and I knew he would do a good job.
I told the county maintenance guy, who was my contact, that the welds and the two new support braces needed paint right away, so rust wouldn't start.
Several firemen were looking over my truck, saying the only thing I didn't have on the truck was a boom for a bucket. I told them that welders didn't normally do high work unless it was a major construction job where there were scaffolds or big commercial lifts. I could see where a heavy-duty boom could have been used today, but that would have taken up space that we used for equipment on the truck.
I wrote up an invoice for the time we were there with three men and my minimum for the truck, along with the two pieces of heavy angle iron. The county guy said the bill was very fair and thanked me for responding so fast.
"Why did you call me?" I asked the county guy.
"The fire chief said to call you as you were doing some custom welding for a bunch of NASCAR guys. He said that if you were good enough for them, we needed to get you. Thank goodness you had the right equipment for this type of job."
I went over to the fire chief and thanked him for recommending us. We shook hands and both of us prepared to leave.
Back at the shop, I straightened the truck, then took the backpack and drove over to the welding supply house to get the bottles refilled. You never know when you're going to need everything on the truck.
After putting the backpack kit away, I thought that an item like this fully equipped truck would be a hell of a product. I took a piece of paper and made a list of the equipment and supplies needed for the truck. The add-on stuff, like the generator for the arc welder, carried a nice price tag, along with a commercial compressor. There was a gas rig with a wire feed on a hand truck, along with the backpack rig. I had three arc welders on the truck. Two wire feed and a standard. If you worked two men on the truck most of the time, that would be about right. There was an assortment of big clamps and a few heavy-duty ground straps.
I could see a big company buying a truck like this, completely fitted with all the equipment on it. I would see what it would take at cost to fit out a truck like this. I wrote down the number and name of the bed then went inside.
I called a Chevrolet dealer and a Ford dealer to get a quote on a three-ton truck for commercial after market beds. Ford's F450 and F550 were the better priced, so I used that as a base. I called the company that made the nice bed and got a quote from them.
I figured out all of the different type of equipment I would put on the truck and had a pretty good idea of how much everything was. I figured two men two days to put it all together, then added what I thought it should be worth to us to build and sell it.
I called the bed company and got a quote on a heavy-duty boom lift. They recommended an F550 as a minimum to use with a lift, and said a body could have as many storage areas as I wanted.
After re-figuring the whole thing we could sell a package deal without a boom for ninety-five thousand, and a package with a heavy-duty boom for one hundred twelve thousand. If we paid our regular commission on something like this, we would need to be a little higher. I'd give my numbers to Tiny and let him come up with a number. If we built them as they were ordered, we would never be stuck with something that didn't sell. If we were too high, we just wouldn't sell any. We would have some additional cost, as we needed to create a brochure for it. We could use our truck for pictures.
I asked Ruth if she could get a price for bright orange heavy-duty coveralls in bulk so we could promote those through our road guys. I wanted our logo on them somehow so folks could see the S&S Enterprises while the man was working.
We could add that to our welding supply product line. It would be an item we would have to ship out of here, so it would be a bit of a pain, but it might be profitable. I wonder if Sue's company could make them. If so, they could ship them.
I took my digital camera outside to take a bunch of pictures of the truck. I pulled the table out and set it up with the big shade cover erected. I took individual pictures of the welders, including the backpack. After fifty or so pictures, I buttoned up the truck and put the cover back over it. I even took a picture of the covered truck. I should sell a cover with the truck as well.
I remembered a newspaper photographer at the courthouse downtown today, so I called the paper and was finally connected to the guy. I asked him if he could send me any pictures of the truck and us at the scene that he had taken today. He asked if I had Internet and e-mail, and said he would e-mail them to me right away. He gave me his cell number and said to call him if I didn't get them. I checked my e-mail and found a huge e-mail with almost thirty pictures. There was a great picture of me hanging off the side of the balcony platform by the safety ropes. You could see Bob on the roof and Tim on the ground, with the truck framed in the center of the photo. The fire truck was behind our truck giving the photo a great action look. This would be a good photo for the jumpsuits too.
There were a few more pictures that were good, but this was the best so I let my color printer make a bunch of copies.
I asked Debbie if she was good with the computer and she asked what I wanted to do. I showed her all the different pictures with the long list of equipment and told her what I wanted to get across.
"Let me work on it and I'll see if I can make us a homemade brochure," Debbie said taking all the information from me, along with the digital camera.
I copied the list of parts and the prices, then took it up to Tiny to work on. He looked at all the costs and said he knew he could do better on the base truck, but that I knew best on the rest of the equipment. He used my numbers and the costs that would be included and came up with one hundred four thousand for the standard truck, and a hundred seventeen thousand for the truck with the boom lift. He said this was an item he didn't think we should stock. I laughed and agreed with him as not too many folks could afford one.
I went out to the shop, through the lunchroom, to see how my four teams in the motor room were doing. They were all almost ready to test a motor and it wasn't even noon yet. Kurt said that they had it down to a science now. Shawna was doing the base cleaning of the blocks and heads while they were doing the balancing and metering of the motor. Shawna was also doing the valves, as she had a more delicate touch than the others did. They even had Hank polishing parts with an emery cloth when he was not painting.
Sandy said she thought they might be able to produce four motors a day if their tests held up.
"This is really great guys but please, make sure that we are making them perfect. Teams are really depending on us to make them a good motor."
Robert offered that we had so much business because we were selling a quality racing motor cheap enough, that a lot of sprint car owners were buying them, as well as short track teams.
The question was, do I continue to sell to everyone for a lower price, or do I raise the price and only sell to the elite. My answer was, "If we can put the quality into the work and make a good profit at our price, then we will just have to keep making engines for the masses."
Donna said, "That's good for us. The more work you have backed up, the longer we will be around."
The sheet metal guys had a stack of completed sets ready to ship. They had a system between them that kept Drew from having to move around so much, but seemed to have production really moving.
Tom told me that as they were getting faster, he thought they were going to be able to put out a minimum of eight frames a day, even when using the stainless. It was nice to see Tom gain confidence with the job. He had surprised me by learning how to lead.
I tiptoed into the rebuild area to find Abe on the phone. His assistant said he had been rounding up used equipment all morning.
Abe got off the phone and said, "We could use our own trucks to pick up the equipment, if we had them. So far I've found sixty-eight big generators for next to nothing. If I'm lucky I should be able to rebuild most of them." When I pointed out he still had nearly twenty units outside to be rebuilt, he asked if I had seen the other big order that had come in. He had another order for thirty-five units for the country of Bolivia.
"I should have never sold that unit to the guy down in Miami. He deals with every third world country on Earth. He's telling everyone how good the product is, even though he isn't getting a dime out of it. Now he wants to buy a bunch of forklifts. We don't have a bunch of forklifts to sell anyone, and I'm not giving up our two. That big one is worth its weight in gold. Have you seen it since we refinished it?"
Abe took me outside and showed me the big forklift. It had been totally repainted, making it look brand new. The other forklift out there had been dolled up too. It wasn't the newer one I had bought, but one of the ratty ones Abe's men had rebuilt. It looked like the company had just gone out and paid over a hundred grand for forklifts.
Keep tracking down equipment, Abe, but if you don't have them, you don't have them.
Back up front, Debbie was holding multiple sheets of paper together. She put a set in a binder and handed it to me. The first page was the courthouse scene with a headline; S&S can help you be ready when you need it. The second and third pages were a collage of pictures of the truck and the accessories. Pages four and five listed all of the equipment and supplies that came with the package. The back page was simply our logo.
"Looks good Debbie, make up about ten of these and I'll ask Tiny if we can get some printed.
Tiny looked at the handmade brochure and said sure, let's get them printed, how many do you want? I said just a thousand, as that would give all the field folks a hundred and some to mail out from here.
As I passed Ruth, I said I was going to lunch with the partner then went downstairs to tell Debbie the same thing.
I called Sue on the way home to find out she was already in her workout clothes waiting for me. After changing quickly, we were at the gym limping through the treadmill for a half-hour, then working with weights for almost forty-five minutes. Back home, we ate then walked up to the pool for some sun. The morning cloud cover had disappeared, so the pool area was full of folks getting a tan.
Sue's tan had deepened again and I was actually getting color. It made me look like married life was agreeing with me. While we were lying on our tummies talking, I told Sue of my idea of having coveralls to sell. Since the coveralls would all have our logo, some of the cost could be considered advertising, but I thought we could still make a profit on the items. My question to Sue was could her manufacturer make them and if so could they ship them as well. We could make sure there were sufficient shipping charges to give them some additional profit.
Sue thought that was a great idea, as it would put the production of the factory over the amount needed for a major expansion. I asked if her company could embroider the logo too, so that it would last and be seen longer. Sue said sure but she suggested just putting it on one shoulder, with something like "Work with S&S on your back," and the S&S in a circle with Enterprises on the bottom.
When we went back to the house, I got one of the homemade brochures out of the truck to show Sue. Sue loved the picture of us at the courthouse. She said it was on the news that a local company had been called out to do an emergency repair. She was disappointed she didn't get to be there, wearing her orange jumpsuit, helping out. She thought I might be trying to sell something too expensive, but time would tell.
While I was still there, she called the manufacturer and asked what they needed to begin manufacturing the jumpsuits. They asked for the garment number from the label of the jumpsuit saying they could get the sizing information from the registration or just have the regular manufacturer sub out the work. Sue said she would send a picture of what she wanted embroidered on the sleeve.
I went back to work to find the world at peace. Everyone was busy, no one looked or acted panicked but there was a strange drag bike in the showroom. I asked Debbie where it came from. She said Shawna pushed it in from the back while I was gone.
The bike looked slick. Freshly painted with an S&S logo on the rear fender and small fuel tank.
Back in the motor shop Shawna saw me and ducked. I went to stand next to where she was trying to hide, saying loudly, "You don't have to get on your knees for me, Shawna." All of her people laughed at that. Kurt said he would be willing anytime. Several oily rags flew his way when he said it, though.
"Jim from welding just brought it in. All we did was paint it. We could make it run if you wanted, but I thought you just wanted something for the showroom. Is it okay?"
"It looks great, now I can take my bike home and ride it. Sue and I both miss the wind in our face," I said, pulling Shawna to her feet.
Shawna smiled and said, "A garbage truck is nice sometimes, but I like to feel the wind most of the time too."
I went out to thank Jim and ask him what I owed him for it. He said, "Nothing yet, the guy was trying to give it away when I went by to see about it. He helped me put it in the truck and said good riddance. If he asks me for something, I'll let you know.
Abe said he had over a hundred units committed to be picked up by truck. I asked him to give me cities and quantities so I could plan on a route for the truck drivers. Abe said it was already taken care of. Tiny had contracted a long haul owner operator with a flatbed to pick up equipment. He figured we could just about keep the guy on the road four long days a week. The driver was already en route to the first pick up. Abe said the guy could pick up equipment faster than he could rebuild it, so he should be fine for a while.
His girl was busy ordering parts for work in progress. She thanked me for inviting her over so she could meet Sue. She had already ordered a bunch of clothes from her catalog.
Another big girl wearing nice clothes is always good.
I went upstairs to talk to Phil and Judy. Phil was at his desk with one of my homemade brochures. He asked, "How many a month can you make of these things. They are going to sell like hotcakes. I can't wait to get brochures in the hands of my salesmen."
"Relax Phil, when folks see a price tag of over a hundred thousand, they're not going to be breaking down our doors."
"Bet me, our welding equipment sales have already been outstanding and I'll bet dealers will be calling as soon as we can tell them about it. What we need is a video of the truck with all its equipment. A piece of equipment over a hundred thousand needs something special to sell a bunch of it. Want to do a video for me?"
"Sure Phil, set it up, and I'll even get Sue to model with me."
Judy said, "Oh my God, now I know the truck will sell. What man can resist those big a, um, ah, those big brown eyes."
"Wait till you see her in an orange jumpsuit with the front zipper down a bit, very distracting," I said pulling on the front of my shirt.
Phil said, "I'm selling equipment, not sex. Can you imagine selling fifteen or twenty of those things a year? That's some big volume. The salesmen will go nuts. Be sure to talk to Sue tonight and get your orange jumpsuits cleaned. I'll have a video guy here in the morning."
I called home to ask Sue if she would do a video with me in the morning. She said she would be happy to. I told her about the jumpsuits and she said that we had some at home. She would have Joan or Betty embroider them with their new machine.
I went back to ask Shawna if Hank would wash and wax the big truck and what it was for. They both said he would get after it right away. I told the guys in welding that I wanted to use their area for a movie in the morning. They said they would have it beautiful and uncluttered in the morning.
I went back upstairs to tell Phil about using the area with a big logo and he thought that was a great idea. I also told him that Sue was having our logo put on the sleeve of the coveralls I wanted to sell. "Even better," Phil said.
Downstairs, my Debbie had made twenty brochures and was sending ten out FedEx to each of the two road-salesmen, so they could begin promoting the item so big dealers could sell it. She thought we were under-pricing the trucks but said if we sold too many, we could just raise the price.
This was some company. A half-baked idea before lunch turns into a major marketing venture before five.
I went up to Ruth and said, "This is a day to remember. We didn't hire one person all day long. A real red letter day."
Ruth looked up at me, "Wrong, Phil hired four new road guys so far today and Abe hired two more road techs. Maybe tomorrow, I think we've hired as many as our building will hold.
Speaking of the building, I went out the hole that was now a doorway on the side of the showroom to find two cranes putting panels for a second floor in place. On the other side of the showroom, through that oversized double door, the same scenario was taking place. Out back, men were staking off where the building was going to be extended. I wondered how we would handle getting stuff in and out. There were side doors through Abe's shop, so we could use those for one or two days.
I told Debbie I was going home to work on my mental health, causing her to laugh. I asked her if she rode in with Hank or did she drive in herself. She said she had ridden with Hank, so I threw her my keys and asked her to drive my truck home. I was going to take my toy out of the showroom and ride it.
Before I left, I e-mailed Sue all of the pictures from the photographer so she could look at them.
I pushed the shovel out the front door, put on my helmet, turned on the gas and kicked the bike into life. After warming up a minute, I took off for home, stopping once for gas.
When I pulled up with a loud rev outside the patio, Sue came out saying she was happy I brought the fun bike home, as she was ready for some wind in her face. It was nice to get a full body hug and kiss from your wife when you got home.
Sue whispered in my ear, "I'm plug free and ready. I'm planning on having a good time for the next three or four days, then it's all you. Are you ready for me, baby?"
I laughed saying, "Is the world ready for Sue?"
Within a half-hour, all the folks from work who usually came to the patio were drinking beer or whatever they made at the bar. Hank said that Debbie and he were going to Atlanta for his bike this weekend, so next week they were riding with us.
Charlie took Hank off to the side to probably talk about Hap and the club, but came back happy. Atlanta was a city that had a major rival club. Charlie just wanted to make sure Hank didn't have any affiliation with anyone.
While we were enjoying a drink, we watched a TV news report about our morning job at the courthouse. The video looked scarier than it really was as the safety ropes always supported me, and the stairway was attached to the block and tackle on the ladder. They made a big deal out of us showing up, doing a thorough job, and getting out of there in an hour and a half, and saving the county thousands of dollars instead of padding a job that was obviously critical. They also commented that we had left the stairway in better condition than it had ever been before the break. I thought we screwed around, but the rest of the world thought we did well. When the anchor finished he gave a short editorial that more companies should follow our example.
The patio audience applauded.
After supper, Charlie and Jim asked me if Hank could ride the garbage truck with us. Charlie said that Hap had said it was fine if Sandy and Mandy rode with us if they kept their mouths shut. The two girls heard the comment and said, "We are honored. We will be model biker bitches and keep our traps shut. Just feed us beer and we are happy."
Ruth and Tiny said they would wait up for us if we went to the tub later.
Six bikes tried to leave the park quietly. "Tried" is the operable expression, because it just can't happen in a pack. One person revs, followed by the next, and so on, until you have a roar leaving the park.
We rode to the clubhouse first where Hank was introduced to Hap. Hap even said something to Sandy and Mandy, saying they hung out with good company. Bear was there and gave me a big bear hug, hollering Semper Fi, waiting for the "Hoorah" from his fellow Marines. My two new employees came up and shook hands, thanking us for coming by. Hap seemed to approve of their attention.
After lots of chat and two beers apiece, we took off for Jim's to molest "Double D," then head to the St. Pete club bar. As usual they were expecting us, including Hank and the girls. News travels fast among the clubhouses. The St. Pete guys were having a tough time with dual redheads and Sue all showing more than they should in sexy tops. Sandy and Mandy had on tank tops that displayed big nipples, but I think their reputation as tough lezzies kept guys away.
From St. Pete, we rode north to Hudson and a tiny bar that obviously catered to bikers. We had one last beer there then headed home. We were quietly in the park, with bikes put away, by nine forty-five. Shawna invited Debbie and Hank to the hot tub and apparently had a previous discussion about the antics there. We told Tiny and Ruth it was time so there were five couples, with two spare babes, traipsing to the pool area.
All the girls were finished with their monthlies, so all were ready for some good old-fashioned fucking. Sue told all the guys that she was safe for four days. Anyone wanting some after I got firsts should take a number, because she was going to be exclusive in a couple more days.
With no preliminaries, Sue was bent over holding the side of the tub with me behind her sliding in. Sandy and Mandy got under her chest, sucking her tits and fingering her clit. Sue blasted off before I even had a tickle going. They swapped locations, with Sue now sucking on one of Mandy's tits and fingering her clit while I bottomed out in her snug snatch. After only about twenty strokes, Mandy's legs gave out from coming so hard. Sandy was next in assuming the position. She was really oily and ready. I was balls deep in just a couple of strokes, and she was near screaming in ten. Another well-fucked babe.
As soon as the three girls were sitting on the edge of the tub, three guys converged on them, with Hank diving into Sue's cleavage. Charlie told him to be careful, as we had not found the last guy that got lost in there.
Shawna grabbed me and brought me her cousin, saying you gotta fuck this little slut. She loves Charlie's thick one, but she's gonna really love your long one. Debbie said that she needed a tongue first. I'm sure that was another set up from Shawna, as she always wanted you to sample her creamy pie. About three licks and my daytime assistant was off to the races. I stood and slid into her, filling her until I was balls deep, banging on the back of her box. In no time at all, she was coming like gangbusters, speaking in a tongue no one understood.
The other redhead wanted some, so I plowed her till she begged me to stop. I think it was her cousin and Hanna that put her over, as they were both sucking her titties. Hanna wrapped herself around me and slid her pussy onto my dick saying in my ear, "I know you haven't come yet and I want your juices in my mouth. Go fuck Ruth, then come back to me so I can have that big load."
Ruth was laying on the platform at the back of the tub, propped up on her elbows. She had her feet on the edge of the tub with her legs spread as she had just received a good fucking and a load from Jim. She welcomed me as I slid in to bounce against her cervix. We fucked hard till I was tingling and she was near comatose so I pulled out and aimed at Hanna again. We fucked like bunnies, hot fast bunnies until I was right there. Hanna instantly had her mouth locked on my dick, drinking down a very big load. When I was drained, she sat back, rubbed her tummy, and smacked her lips.
Jim said, "Damn Hanna, you are one sexy cum slut. No one loves that stuff the way you do."
She smiled lovingly at her husband saying, "Remember to save me some to go to sleep by."
Sandy and Mandy had Sue on her back, with Sandy face first in her pussy, while Mandy was kissing Sue and fondling her breasts. Debbie was beside Sue sucking on a free nipple.
Everyone was satisfied and content. We had not brought beer, so we decided to go back to the patio for a last drink, then to bed.
Sue had a rum and Coke, while I had a Beefeater martini. Some had beer, some had wine, and others another form of booze. We all adjourned to bed, but Sandy and Mandy stayed behind. While I was straightening up, the three girls disappeared into the house. I went in and locked up, then went to the bedroom where the lights were low, but I could see three faces sticking out from the covers.
"Hurry, get under the covers," Sue said while a space appeared between her and Sandy. I was instantly between the two girls where my wife quickly and lovingly kissed me. When Sue separated, Sandy kissed me just as lovingly, and a hand began fondling my mostly firm dick. Mandy leaned over the top of Sandy and gave me a toe-curling kiss too, that put my semi to full attention quickly.
Sue took over, sliding over me and sitting on my middle, raised up and slid me inside of her. Sue used all her internal tricks to tease, caress, and make my balls twitch. Just about the time her pussy was quivering its hardest, my juices launched into her, filling her to begin spilling back out. We had been kissing the whole time. Sue whispered in my ear, "I love you, now make love to these two lonely women, they need you."
As Sue and I separated, Mandy dove onto my dick, sucking it to keep it up, while Sandy was between Sue's legs enjoying what I had left there.
I returned the favor to Mandy, lovingly kissing her breasts and nipples, then finding my way to lick, suck, and tongue her pussy till she was shaking. I slid slowly into her, hitting the back of her pussy again and began a more rapid pace. Within a couple of minutes of fucking and kissing, Mandy was coming hard, squeezing my dick till it loosed another torrent of sperm into her. Mandy held me tight; kissing my face, till she finally quieted with a serene smile on her face.
Sandy was on my dick in a flash, while Sue buried her face in Mandy's gooey pussy. Just the thought of Sue sucking up my juices from another girl's pussy kept me hard. What a wife I have. Sandy was a firecracker. She went off with our kisses, she squirmed and came again when I nibbled and bit her tits. Her screams and kicks were really off the wall when I buried my face in her pussy. In no time at all, she was pulling me up to enter her.
We fucked, I made love, we fucked, she made love, and she began groaning really loud in a steady rhythm with each of my thrusts, until she arched her back, lifting me into the air. That tripped my trigger, and I shot anything I had left into her. She was hugging me, kissing me, and whispering, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Sue and Mandy were cuddled, their eyes closing. I settled down snuggled with Sandy, next to Sue, drifting off fast.
As I fell into my slumber, I fleetingly wondered what this was all about.