I woke at five thirty with an intense need to use the pot. Since I was on the outside of Sue, I easily slid from bed to use the bathroom.
I made coffee then jumped in the shower. When I was finished, I gently woke Mickey to see if she had to go to work. I didn't know her schedule yet. She asked if this was Monday, and when I said yes, she slid her legs out from the covers and sat up. I gave her a kiss and sent her toward the bathroom.
As soon as the patio light was turned on, Nelda came in the back door. Glenda came walking through the grass to join us as well. Once again, Nelda had coffee over tea saying she really did enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning. When Martin came to the patio, he told Nelda that he and Glenda were going to one of his senior Elks club meetings that afternoon. He told her they have a great time and that there are many widows and widowers there to have fun with. She wanted to go, of course.
Mickey came out in regular clothes today, saying she was going to be on the lab staff all day and if she went to the field, she would be wearing a white coat with HCSO in the back. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office) She had coffee and some fruit, saying she might get something heavier at break time. By the time Mickey left, the patio was full. People were eating the sandwiches Phil had brought, and some were snacking on donuts.
Susan and Kevin were sitting in the glider, fascinated with all the people there in the morning. Merlin and Misty came out of their room and were welcomed by all. Merlin said, "I just love this place in the morning. I want to wake up first and just watch all of you come. It's so hard to believe so many migrate over here every morning.
Sandy said something that was so true, "Merlin, we've all become a family. Most big families start their day at the breakfast table. This is our way of saying good morning, and our way to make our day go well. Who knows when we'll run out of space? I'm sure when we do, that Steve will come up with a way for the patio to just get bigger.
"What do you do when it rains?" Merlin asked.
Ruth had the answer to that one, "Umbrellas, raincoats, ponchos, plastic bags, swimsuits, or once, someone just came naked. Steve usually has towels, so it's no big deal. It's just another day or evening."
Ryan said, "You know, you could not have this type of close neighborhood in a subdivision. Even in a condo it wouldn't, or couldn't, happen. Only in an old fashioned trailer park could this gel. Every one of you was ready for this to happen, and Steve was the catalyst. Michelle and I will hate to leave when the time comes."
Glenda was sitting next to Merlin and said, "When Steve first came here, I came over one morning and had coffee with him. Then Martin came over. Steve met Charlie and Shawna, and shortly after that, they began eating supper together and sat around drinking beer in the evenings. Steve's second girlfriend wanted more people to have a party every morning, so I invited Ruth and Tiny. The girlfriend found a new guy that same day, and the next morning, Sue appeared in the rain."
Ruth interjected, "In a tiny, tiny swimsuit. It was a sight."
"Anyway," Glenda continued, "as soon as Sue and Steve got together, the place grew quickly. When they got married and bought this bigger place, Steve decided we needed a bigger patio, so he had this built and screened. When it started to get too hot to be out here, even in the mornings and evenings, he came up with the air conditioning trick. Just like you're here and are enjoying yourself, new people show up all the time. Sue adopts every stray she finds, and the rest migrate to Steve. Steve gathers people as well, like Martin, me, and Nelda. You see, Merlin, it's our magic."
"That it is, Glenda. Having this kind of good morning is a great way to start."
Shawna was standing in front of Ryan, "Wear some older jeans and an old T-shirt. Since you're not used to working with greasy parts yet, you're going to get dirty. I'm going to have you work with Sandy and Mandy. I think you'll be safest with these two. Some of the others are a little aggressive, and a few are very strange. These two girls will teach you how to build a motor. You may not have this type of arrangement in the other places you go to, but our motors are becoming famous. You need to know what goes into a perfect motor."
The patio cleared quickly as people left to go to work. Sue and Mercy came out, wearing terrycloth robes, and I got them both big glasses of orange juice and a cup of coffee. Sue usually only had a half a cup, as she didn't like decaf, but didn't want to drink the heavy caffeine.
Susan and Kevin came out to join the group after waking their kids. Their plan for today was to go back to Busch Gardens, or to go to the beach again. Merlin and Misty said, if you go to Busch Gardens we would love to go with you. That place is always a lot of fun. Mercy said she wanted to go too. The group decided to go there. Nelda said she was going with Martin and Glenda to the senior Elks meeting later, so she couldn't go with them. Sue thought about it, then said she would go with them as well.
I begged off, as I had several people to see today, and a few calls that I wanted to make to initiate some activity.
My first stop was the new office trailer in the front of the property that had been set up over the weekend. Terrell was inside the trailer. Most of the trailer had one long table built onto the side with various blueprints spread out on it. One end of the trailer had two desks. I guessed those were for Terrell and his crew boss or foreman.
On the wall by the door was a big white board with a sequence of events that he was working on. First were roadways and parking lots.
"Hey, Steve," Terrell said, as I came through the door. "The equipment for the roadway will be here any minute. The grade stakes are in place, so we're going to get started immediately. The people who will do the trenching for the utilities will be here today to start as well. I'll be putting in all of the electrical, communications, water, and sewer for this entire run before we even grade for the slabs. If we can get that part ready, then I can move this trailer back in the park so we can dress up this front area. I want this entire front to look like a park. We may have a couple of places to advertise our products out here, but it should be classy, not gaudy."
"Did you come up with the man to watch the Holiday Inn builders?" I asked, as that had been a concern.
"I did, and he's over there right now studying their prints. His name is Darnel. He's about my size, my coloring, but no hair. He shaves his head because he thinks he's going bald anyway. He knows he works for you, so go say hi to him. He was in school with me, even though he's a lot older than I am, and has some very good construction experience."
"How are you coming with people? Are you going to have enough?" I asked, knowing good construction people are hard to find.
"I have enough to get the job done right now, but it will take a long time to complete the projects with the ones I have. Hopefully more men will hear about the job and come over. This should be a project that will last well over a year, even with a big crew. The big garment building alone is going to take close to nine months to a year with a big crew."
We heard big trucks pulling onto the property. It was the trenchers. They had huge machines that dug holes and laid pipe or conduit at the same time. The sewer pipe had to be laid properly and have an angle of flow. In other words, it had to be done right. The electrical and the communications could be in the same trench but electrical had to be at a much greater depth than the conduit for the communications cable. I watched as Terrell showed the foremen of the trenching and cable laying crews the paths for the cable. The communications and electrical stakes were green and the water and sewer were blue. All the road stakes were red and none met each other yet.
I walked over to the Holiday Inn site where there was a major discussion going on. They were trying to set up stakes with a survey crew. A tall black guy was pointing to the plat plan that included the road. "You must be at least fifty feet beyond the proposed right of way, that's the law, not fifty feet from the existing right of way. They are going to widen this road to six lanes with a wide median in the next year or so. If you build the hotel there they will have to tear it down to build the road.
The contractor was being a putz. He said he was Holiday Inn and could build his hotel wherever he wanted.
I introduced myself to Darnel and the contractor then stated, "I asked originally that the Inn be at least two hundred feet back from the road. My idea was to have a more peaceful setting, with the Inn back within a park like setting. You know I bought far too much land, but then why not use it? Let's put this Inn perhaps a hundred fifty yards back. We can landscape in front of it and cut down on the road noise even more. The back of the Inn," I began again folding out the blue print, "is going to have a pool and big deck area that will face an open park area, so the farther from the highway we can get, the better."
"That's going to cost a lot more to get the utilities to the site."
"Not really, from the estimates that were with the original plans, your cost estimates included running all the way from the corner up the street. The utilities are going to be right at the new right of way line, so you will actually be saving on that portion of the construction. Come on, let's make this one a show piece so you can brag to the company about the great building you built. I want it first class. Darnell is here to make sure it's first class. I'm sure you want to be proud of this place as well."
"I have time constraints, you know." The contractor said.
"Do you have an hour you can spare, so I can show you a couple of places? I think I can get my point across." I said to the man, turning away, hoping he would take the bait and follow.
The contractor told the survey crew, "Use this plat print and then lay out everything about four hundred feet from the extended right of way. I'll be back as soon as possible."
I drove the contractor to the shop and walked him back to the welding area. Tim was working with a couple of new men showing them the way to make a perfect weld. "Tim, when you came here, what was your biggest complaint with other places you worked?"
Tim thought for a second, "I was always being made to work faster and faster. I couldn't do a good job working faster, so I just gave up making quality work, I just did it fast. Now I make sure that the work I produce is perfect. You would think it would take me longer but once I was dialed into producing a perfect product, it just got faster and faster."
We walked over to the body building area. One of the guys that had been at the original body building company was there. I asked him the same question. He gave basically the same answer but added. "The harder they pushed to go faster the slower our production became. Now that no one ever tells us to work faster, to just make it better each time, we're turning out quality that's never been seen before, very fast. We're not trying to make it fast, just good. It's just happening."
Back in the rebuild area, I asked one of senior mechanics why he didn't work for the big manufacturer any longer. "They were always on the guys to push harder to get more work out. We were pushing the work out, but it was coming back just as fast because we were not thorough. Here, nothing goes out the door until I know it's right. Another man will check my work before I turn it loose. I'm putting out more work faster now without any come backs, ever."
We walked across the street to the clothing plant. I found Mike and had him take me to the section that had been the worst as far as bad quality and seconds. I asked the lead seamstress what changes she had made. "Mr. Steve, when you came in here and said to us, no more seconds, you wanted us to clean up every mistake we made before we made one more of anything. You weren't mad, you just wanted all that garbage out of here. Then you told us to slow down and make sure of every piece we sewed, to make it perfect, just like that sign says. We started doing it your way and you know what? This shop is your top producing shop now. We just got the in-house quality award for the third straight week."
I took the contractor back across the street to the truck then drove him to the little Greek restaurant for a cup of coffee. I got the man a piece of pie and sat with him quietly as he ate. Once he was finished I asked, "Do you understand how you can get more done by doing it better the first time? Did you hear the common thread? You can push yourself all you want, but it will never be what you want because you'll know you cut corners getting there. You didn't build the quality building you wanted. Look to build the quality, look how you can plan and schedule your men and subcontractors so they blend with each other, complement each other, but watch over all of them closely so they do a good job first and not a fast job first. Good will make them fast. Fast will never make them good."
He looked at me and said, "That's an impressive couple of businesses you just showed me. I'll tell you what. I'll really work on the planning and quality you're looking for. I know the scheduling of subs is key to making a building go up right. My time on this isn't that tight, I was just going to prove to myself how fast it could get done, and how cheap I could do the project. I can see that I may be able to build it cheaper if I do it right the first time. You've obviously proven that point multiple times. Thanks for showing me."
We went back to the building site to find Darnell holding a survey pole for the surveyor. The contractor was impressed that my man was jumping right in to help. He went up to Darnell and offered his hand. "Sorry about being obstinate. Your boss taught me something today I'll try to remember. I'm ready to make this the best we can.
I drove back to Nelda's home site. The barn was gone and the house was up on wheels out almost to the roadway. I looked and finally found the well among some bushes. I pulled the bushes from the sandy soil then with a big magic marker wrote on the tank, "Do Not Remove." I called Terrell and told him to have his guys come over and build a fence around the well and tank. Terrell asked if the power was still on. I flipped the pump on and the pump came on. The pressure gauge on the tank rose quickly. When I told Terrell it did he said he would send his men out there right away to build the fence. He said he needed clean water for the men and this would take care of the problem.
As I drove out of Nelda's old lane road, I noticed the mailbox was stuffed with mail. After stopping and getting all of the mail out for Nelda, I called Glenda and asked her to take Nelda to the local post office so she could forward her mail. She said she would do that. I called Tiny and asked him to get the power out here put in our name. I read him the meter number from the pole next to the pump. The guy who took the house had been good about taking down the hot wires. There was nothing dangerous dangling. He had removed the wires at the box, after the meter.
It was getting toward noon already so I went home to have lunch. Glenda, Martin and Nelda were gone so I fixed some soup and a bunch of tuna fish salad sandwiches with lettuce and tomato. When it was ready I poked my head into the workroom to find Sue, Betty, Joan, and Hanna busily pinning up a dummy with material. Hmmm, I thought Sue was going to Busch Gardens.
When I said, "Lunch" quietly, they all looked up at me strangely, then realized it was lunch time. "Come and get it, the food's on the table."
Actually the soup wasn't on the table yet but it would be by the time they got there. I ladled soup into bowls and took them to the table. When I finished, the four girls, plus the office girl that Sue had doing books, came out to lunch. I got iced tea and Diet Cokes for everyone, then sat to eat with them.
Sue told me that Betty and Joan had a couple of items they wanted to get into production quickly so they could get it out in the web catalogue. She had stayed to help speed up the process.
They excitedly talked about the two new fashions they thought would be good sellers. They were working on creating quality staple products such as a couple of plain blouses that would always be needed within a wardrobe. They wanted to have those products for the customers and retailers they were supplying. They wanted their stuff to be of superior quality though not cheap material, slapped together. They wanted the customer to feel the quality when they put it on. They seemed to know what they were doing, and I sure agreed with their approach.
After lunch, all of us, except the office girl, went to the gym. We worked out for a little over an hour then Sue and I went up to the pool for fifteen minutes of sun per side. Clouds were coming, so the afternoon thunderstorms were on their way. I hoped the folks at Busch Gardens were having a good time.
Back at the shop, I noticed that Tiny was working with a bunch of people who were going over files. He explained that he felt we should be audited again, since we were doing so much business, he didn't want anything falling through the cracks. He said he was satisfied so far.
Tiny took me into the big office and said, "I'm going to try to hire another accountant. That will make two of them. I'll take the one who's been here the longest and try to integrate him into what I've been doing with the numbers. I'm going to concentrate on the new development, and on how to help Phil develop some managers to take the load off him. I think he needs to migrate into a management role, where he helps close a sale and not do the whole thing."
"I agree with you, Tiny. We're getting so damn big that we have to add that layer of management. Don't let us lose sight of our goals and what we stand for. Let's work to keep the enthusiasm going among the people down on the floor. That enthusiasm is what has made this a great place."
"I know, Steve. I also know you're overwhelmed at our growth. I tried to keep some of it from you, but you can't hide a couple of hundred people. The growth has been natural, just from the business and enterprises we've begun within. That's probably why it has been so fast. Each new venture has needed support people and workers, which in turn, has increased volume that has encouraged new and more business. Just your original basics haven't finished growing. The equipment sales side has the potential to grow six to eight times larger than what it is now. We can house everything we're going to do for a while right here, but we needed the new distributorships. Those additions will be hard to control, but they will be big volume once we make them like this place. Just hang on, Steve, move your stuff into the big office and let someone take the lead downstairs. You might even want Debbie to take over. She has really grown into the job."
"I'll think about that, Tiny. I don't know whether I'm ready to drop out yet. I feel like we're on the edge of something big, but I don't know what it is. I want to be involved when it hits. I have a couple of ideas for some things that I'm working on. I'll let you know as they come out."
"Well, Steve, you can create all you want. We are cash rich right now, right on the edge of being able to completely pay for all of the new land. We have a construction loan set up from Sue's estate that covers everything all the way through the new clothing factory. Hopefully, as we begin producing, we'll be able to pay off our new buildings as well. I just want you to relax here and not worry about so many people. It's a natural progression. I'm a numbers guy, so I like to see the costs escalate, especially if the cash flow skyrockets at the same time."
Tiny left me in the big office. I stood at the window looking at the many people building our products. I was filled with pride.
Debbie paged me. When I called her, she said there was a lady to see me. I walked down the stairs to find an Amazon, not really, but almost. The lady was about six two or three, probably about two fifty, very big.
As I walked up to her she said, "You Steve Sharp?"
"Yes, Ma'am, I am."
"I'm no ma'am, but I may be who you're looking for to run your truck store. My name is Crystal Mendoza. Do you have a place to talk?"
I took her upstairs to the big office. I offered her coffee or a soda. When she said it's too bad that it wasn't after five, she'd love a beer, I popped a couple of Buds and slid one across to her.
Before I could get her a glass, she tilted the bottle up and drained half of it in one gulp. "Ahh, that's just what I needed."
"So tell me, Crystal, why are you what I need," I asked while I took some normal drinks from the cold beer.
She told me she had driven a truck for a few years, both local delivery and long haul. She had grown up in a trucking family and worked in a diesel shop for a few years. She said she had been in the army and had progressed through detachment leader in a transportation group before she decided to come back to civilian life. Crystal said she had finished a two year business degree at HCC then worked for Penske as a sales rep, but they didn't like that she was so big and didn't fit their profile. Her next step was a Peterbilt dealership that folded because of poor service.
She said, "I think I'm as capable as anyone you could find, and I am experienced in all areas of trucking. I even know about the low wind resistance body you're building. Hire me for this job and I'll show you how a dealership should be run and what good service to customers really is. If you want to try me out in your body or mechanical areas at first, I'm game. If you want someone to go out to customers to sell some of your product for a while, I am game for that too. I know how to dress and act business like, even though I don't look it right now. Try me, you'll love the way I work."
"You know we are just breaking ground on the truck building plant. The next to go up will be the dealership. If I hire you right now, you'll need to work with the management here to help them in multiple areas. I think it would be fun to send you out to sell our bodies. We haven't had anyone out in the field selling them yet. I'd like to take them to a few more shows to get the exposure."
"Right now is the time to do it," Crystal said. "There are four shows in the next two months. Hire me, fix me up a demo, get me all the literature you can print, get me some give-aways for the mooches, and let me promote your product. I'll need to spend some time with your designer so I get to know the language, but I'll bet I can increase your sales."
"You know what, Crystal, I think you can. Let's talk to Ruth and get you signed up."
"Just like that, no app, no background check, no drug test?"
I smiled, "Ruth will do all that. If there are any bones in the closet, let Ruth know so she can watch out for the speed bumps. We do drug tests and I would hope that isn't a problem."
"You just surprised me is all. It doesn't take you long to make up your mind, does it?"
"Not when I'm looking for someone and they come to me," I said, as I led her to see Ruth.
"Ruth, this Crystal Mendoza. She may be the person to head up either the truck dealership or the RV store. She's is going to do some sales of our truck bodies while we are building the dealership."
I went to see Debbie for a few minutes, waiting for Ruth to call me. I did some calls that really weren't necessary, but it was nice to talk to customers. I complimented Debbie on keeping everything running so well.
When Ruth called, I went to look for Jeff and Drew. Once I found them we went to the little break room they had in the big building. I introduced Crystal to everyone, then I began.
"When we get to the new buildings, Jeff is going to set up the fiberglass shop so it can produce the quantities we need. Drew, you are going to be so busy you won't know what day it is coordinating mechanics, body builders, and interior coachmen, and working with the customers, who for the most part will be in the hotel up the road. This is going to be a big operation. That operation will require a top-notch person to ramrod the whole thing. I am depending on you for the job, Drew.
"That's where Crystal comes in. Crystal will work the dealership in the beginning. I may have another job for her shortly after she gets the dealership running, but she's going to get it started. Before the dealership is ready, Crystal is going to go on the road to sell our low wind resistant bodies. I need for you, Jeff, to teach her about quality fiberglass construction. I need for Drew to teach her about the steps we go through, from building the body, through rebuilding the chassis, to finishing off the coachwork. Drew, you need to teach her about the engineering you put into the design. Make her knowledgeable so she can get our product out to the trucking community. The orders will come. I know we are back-ordered now. That's not a bad thing. As we ramp up production, we'll need the orders.
"And one last thing, guys. Teach Crystal what my theory is on perfection. Teach her what, why, and how. She's dressed for work, signed up, and on the clock, put her to work."
You could see the wonder on all three of their faces. They knew it was coming but now it was a reality. The big one was on the way.
I smiled to myself as I walked back toward the shop. Some of the people were beginning to clean up, so I beat feet out of there so I wouldn't hold anyone up.
Ah, home. Susan, Kevin, and the kids were already home. I asked the kids if they wanted to take a quick flight over the beaches, as I heard there were a lot of sharks out today. Nelda and the two kids rode with me to the Aero Park. We pushed the little plane out, and I preflighted the plane while Nelda looked over my shoulder.
Fifteen minutes later we were turning onto the active runway. We flew straight out to the north of the Clearwater inter-coastal island. I stayed at the required one thousand feet but flew at about sixty knots as we looked at all the shapes in the water. There were a lot of sharks. We could even spot some black tip. As we turned to go back, Dennis said, "Wow! Look, look, look at that big one."
There was a hammerhead shark, that must have been way over ten feet, swimming lazily about a hundred yards off St. Petersburg beach. I radioed into the Coast Guard telling them what I spotted. The radio operator said he would pass it along to St. Pete. We saw a few more big sharks but none as large. We flew back checking out the trailer park, wagging the wings while we approached the Aero Park. We took care of the plane and went home to enjoy the evening with our friends.
Sandy and Mandy were sitting with Crystal, Sue, Mickey, and Mercy. They were all getting to know each other. As I looked at Sue, questioning the situation, Mercy touched my hand and smiled at me. I almost heard her say, 'Don't worry, she's not finding another toy.'
Crystal was extolling my virtues of quick decisions.
Tiny had Terrell with him, feeding him a beer. They were deep in conversation. Deanne was at the table, staring at the tall Terrell. You could see the female antenna was up. I needed to make sure they were introduced.
The table had been expanded by Abe and Martin to the point that we were going to have to have two tables and not just one. We were having roast beef tonight. There were three big roasts. There had to be, there were too many people. We had salad before, and all of the vegetables you should have with the roast. There was just enough to feed everyone, and the real hungry guys, twice.
When the table was cleared and the dishwasher was going, chess games and other board games came out. Dennis and Tina played pool, while Merlin and Misty got into a scrabble match with Phil and Judy.
I was talking to Terrell about the contractor at the hotel, but gradually led him to where Deanne was playing chess with Bob. I explained to Terrell that Bob was deaf, but several of the people knew how to sign, including Deanne. I introduced him to Deanne and watched as he pulled up a chair and sat beside her as she was trying to figure her next move. Another person surprised me, as Terrell began signing to Bob who was smiling broadly.
I didn't have to do anything. Deanne and Terrell just fell together. I was walking back to the girls when Mercy grabbed my arm and said, "Let's go for a walk."
We were walking slowly around the park when Mercy began, "I'm sure you're curious about John and me."
"Of course, I am."
"Well, we really hit it off. We were really good with each other for what, over a month, maybe more. I even went back up to Alaska with him. That was a mistake. He became more and more nervous, and was so closed to me, that I couldn't and didn't mentally attach to him."
"I finally just sat him down and told him he had to talk to me. He said he's gay, not really totally gay, but mostly gay. He says he doesn't want a permanent gay partner, but he doesn't want a permanent hetero partner either. As soon as he began opening up to me, I was inside his head, seeing all of the confusion he has. He said that I was the first lady to really get under his skin, but he still wanted men. That scares me, so we parted. I'm sorry we split up, but happy we did before it caused too many problems.
You and Sue are my friends, my perfect partners. You could be my mates if I would let you. I don't think I'm ready to be mated yet. I do think I need the two of you, and now Mickey, to be my special friends as much as possible. If I can, I'd like to stay here with you guys for a couple of weeks, then I'll go back home and go back to work full time in the show. I like magic, and I like the show. Every time I need loving, I'll fly out here to see you guys. Would that be okay?"
I held her hand as we walked, "You know, Mercy, it's more than just me. It's Sue too. You have to ask her. Mickey just sort of attached herself to us. I'm still a little shocked over that one."
I turned to Mercy and said, "For you though, you can stay as long as you like, and come visit as often as you like. It won't be long before you'll have to share us with a little one. I know they take a lot of time and attention. I really like having you around, even when you talk to me in my head. You make me feel good."
Mercy said, "I can't wait till Sue has her baby. It's going to be so neat because it will be a little Steve. The kid will be gold, good luck to everyone around him, just like his dad."
We walked back to the house where some of the games were being put away. Susan was packing up to go home tomorrow. They were a little sad that the vacation was over, but happy to have had such a good time.
Sue got me off to the side and said, "I don't think I want to take off on a vacation right now. Would you mind taking your sister and her family home by yourself? If you want to fly off somewhere, go on an adventure, go see Dewey, do it, but I don't want to go right now."
"I'm with you, I don't think I want to go either. It's not the right time. Mercy wants to stay a while, so how do you feel about that?"
"I'm not the one to ask, Stud," Sue said elbowing me. "You're the one who has to take care of so many women. You're also the one who has to tolerate me and my appetite for them. I'd love her to stay. Mickey can't stay all the time, and she is really becoming enamored with you. You're going to have to learn to treat women a little more brutal, so you won't attract them."
"Not me, I like women, especially cute, little, big-titted, pregnant women." I gave her a hug. "Tomorrow is Nelda's birthday, we need to do something special. Let's talk to Mercy and Merlin, they might have an idea. I'm going to fill her living room up with flowers though, not just roses either, all kinds of flowers."
"You know what, that's what is missing out here. We need some cheap flowers on the tables. That would really be nice. Let's see if we can get that done."
As people began to leave, I noticed Deanne and Terrell were still deep in conversation. It was nice to see Deanne having some luck with men. Maybe this was the one she was looking for.
Mercy wanted to fly with me to take the family back. Nelda needed to stay here, and Merlin and Misty wanted to take the rental car and go out to the beach. Mickey had to work, even though it was her normal day off. Someone needed to swap and she had agreed to do it.