A few weeks later.
Waking up between to loving women is always a treat. Now that the baby was sleeping all night, and Sue's playground was in working order again, we were back to some wakeup playtime and teasing, along with some additional attention from Mercy. This morning was no exception, and it just about took everything I had, plus a little over a half-hour, before they let me out of bed.
Little Steve has a sixth sense, as he sleeps until Sue is out of the shower, before he begins letting the world know he wants to be changed and fed. Uncanny, but convenient, as some of our showers do get extended.
This morning I was on the patio by six fifteen having coffee with Glenda, Mercy, Ruth, and Tiny. I asked Tiny if he wanted to take a plane ride with me today, and if he did, we would be gone till evening. He said it sounded like a plan to him, so I called out to the Aero Park to have the 200 prepped.
Sue and Mercy knew of my plans, so they were not curious as to what I was doing. Tiny is really big but loves to crawl into the right seat up front in our junior rocket ship. As we were getting ourselves comfortable after doing the exterior pre-flight inspection, but before I began the cockpit checklist, Tiny said, "You know I've been paying you for the advertising on your plane. Both companies pay you now since you won't let the company pick up the cost of the plane. You know you should sell it to us so it doesn't come from your own pocket."
As I began doing the checklist I answered, "If I sold the plane I'd have to get permission to use it for personal business every time I wanted to go somewhere."
"You know you wouldn't have to do that, Steve, you would still be in charge of where and when the plane went anywhere. You have this thing in the air a lot lately, since you're renting it out. From the receipts and invoices we process for you, it hardly costs you anything to own. Your little plane is even making money as a student airplane. The only time it's idle is when it is due for maintenance. You should probably get a couple of more airplanes and start your own flight school."
"That's one business I don't want to be in, Tiny. I might get some planes to play with though. You do have an idea there. I could always lease some of the Aero Park's land and build my own hangar. That might be good to do."
Tiny finally settled in while I went through the engine start procedure. "Where are we going anyway? I didn't ask at breakfast as you seemed a little secretive."
"First stop, Atlanta. Put your headphones on while I open our flight plan and get permission to take off."
A couple of hours later, we were in a rental car in Atlanta driving into a big Southern distributorship for outdoor equipment. This was a location that even kept one of our big trucks on display. When we went inside, a gray-haired older gentleman greeted me warmly.
"Great that you could come up so soon, Steve. Let me give you a quick tour, then we'll have a talk." They had a huge repair and parts business for several lines of equipment. He had a pretty clean shop, but nowhere near ours. He did have a field service group with trucks that went to job sites for repair calls. His operation was a lot different than ours since he wasn't as diversified.
We went into his small conference room and were introduced to his attorney and his accounting firm's representative. When we were settled, he said, "I didn't think I would ever see this day, but since none of my kids want to continue the business, I want to sell to someone who will maintain the business and perhaps even make it grow. Steve, you're the only one that I know that has the capital and management manpower to make this happen. That's why you and I have made this deal. Tiny," he continued, "I know you've called me multiple times to talk about S&S buying us out, but it wasn't time yet. Now it is. These guys have all of the documents ready for us."
The accountant said to Tiny, "This is kind of convenient that the firm represents both companies. Here is last year's P&L and this year's year to date. I have all the numbers that you like to use for your organization."
Tiny was really surprised. He sorted through the papers, while the owner and I went to get some coffee and brought some back for the others. Fifteen minutes later Tiny said, "Your company is doing well. Steve, are we buying this company now?"
"Already bought it, Tiny, we're here for your inspection and for me to sign off. Money has already been set aside to do this deal," I said.
"You set aside far too much for this place, Steve. I didn't question that but we should..."
"Hold on, Tiny. Look at this; it's what we're paying for the company, a very fair price. Besides, all of the management is staying, and the person chosen to run the place has been with this company for over twelve years. All we have to do is to bring him to Tampa to show him what else he can do to make money. Once the employees find out what kind of benefits we have, I'm sure they will all stay."
"This is more like it. It's a good deal."
I signed the papers, and was introduced to the manager prospect. He told Tiny that he was excited to learn how we did things in Tampa and wanted to know when could he come. I told him to come at his leisure. If he would call us, we would arrange travel for him and his wife. If he had kids in school then he might want to wait for spring break. He said he wanted to come quick, so he could comply with S&S methods, as we were known for our productivity. He could always plan something additional for his wife and kids.
An hour later we were lifting off, heading northwest. We landed at Chicago Executive airport. As soon as we parked at the private terminal, a limo came to the plane. An attendant took over the plane for servicing so we could get into the warm car. The driver had two parkas for us, one normal size for me, and one giant size for Tiny.
We drove to a group of buildings on the west side of Chicago. We were at the Midwest Onan distributorship. This had been a factory owned store ten years before, but had been sold off as they didn't think it was productive. The new owner had made the place profitable and had expanded the operation.
We met the owner, Mark Lawton, and an attorney as soon as we entered. "Mr. Sharp, thank you for coming so fast, and thank you for accepting my offer. This is sudden, I know, but when your family is in need, you do whatever is necessary."
I introduced him to Tiny, then he handed Tiny a stack of papers. "My accounting firm is the same national firm yours is, so you should be able to trust the audit they finished last week at Steve's request. The company is making money, and I have plans for continued expansion using some of the same techniques that Steve uses. He has revolutionized how distributorships think."
The attorney pushed a pile of papers over to me to look at and sign. Tiny looked up at me and asked, "Two in one day?"
"This is kind of what I was alluding to, but I wanted to be sure before I let the cat out of the bag."
Tiny looked over the contracts and asked, "This says you have two more facilities in the Chicago area."
Mark said, "We couldn't service the entire Chicago market from this location, so we bought existing buildings in far south Chicago and east Chicago, which is actually in Indiana. They were both good moves and we now are probably getting near fifty percent of the market up here."
Tiny remarked to me, "You might want to review some of the benefit packages as these people are all union. Their pay structures are different than ours."
"We'll work on all of that, Tiny, but first I want to hire Mark as our consultant and management trainer for this market. Call Ruth and tell her to open the big envelope I gave her last week. It has Mark's employment application and his insurance application."
"Thank you, Steve, your help right now means more to me than you will ever know. I promise to help you build these businesses up to out-produce even your Tampa operation."
Tiny almost began laughing, but a look from me kept him quiet. I signed the papers while Tiny called Ruth. Once we were done, I was introduced to four men. Three were the individual plant managers, and one was the newly appointed manager of operations. I had the same discussion with all four, explaining that I wanted them to visit with us for a month to learn how we did things, then for them to do the same up here. Tiny said he would take care of getting them to Tampa one at a time so their operations would not falter during their absences.
We took a quick tour through the buildings, noting that a major cleaning and painting job would be necessary to duplicate our bright shops. It was too cold to wander around much, so Tiny and I headed back to the airport.
Once in the air on the way home, Tiny said, "You know you're going to give Phil an attack. Those two markets have been tough to penetrate for him and now he has Carte Blanche to market at will. Poor Ryan is going to be so busy that he will need wings to get around."
"My thought exactly, Tiny. He has been taking flying lessons, but I think I will get some kind of plane and a pilot that he can fly around with. When he gets his instrument rating and lots of experience flying, perhaps then he can fly on his own. He needs to have some time while he's in the air to do work and to relax. I think he needs a pilot. I want to hire his wife as his executive assistant, so they can always travel together, as he will be busy."
As we were flying, I gave Tiny the last of what I had been thinking. "I'm transferring fifteen percent of the company to you, Phil, and Abe. I want you three to know how much you have meant to making the company work. Now if I should ever get a wild hair and decide to go public, you three will be taken care of, hopefully for life. You still have your fat 401K's right now, so with the additional five percent of the company, you three will feel more in control of your future."
"My God, Steve, you're making us millionaires." Tiny gasped.
"I have no idea how much it's worth, I just needed you three to be partners so you don't mind controlling and managing the place while I'm off doing things."
"Keep doing them, Steve, the addition of those two dealerships is one of the biggest wins our company will ever have. It sure is convenient they both use the same accounting firm. How did you arrange that?"
"I asked both if they could hire the same firm so we could be assured of the same accounting practices and have audits to justify the price."
"You paid a very fair price for Atlanta, but you stole Chicago, Steve. You paid about seventy-five percent of market value."
"We got the deal because Mark needed to sell so he could pay for his wife's medical care, and it will cover some of my apprehension of dealing with the unions. We will have some work to do with them."
"When are you going to tell Phil and Abe about their five percent?"
"Tonight after I announce the purchase of the two distributorships, Ruth is trying to get all of the S&S people out to the house tonight for the announcement. No effort is being made to get Sue's people to the house."
When Tiny and I arrived home, the place was bustling with preparation of a Friday night party. The big tent was up and the caterer was busily putting food out.
Shawna was home early, and the four mothers and Mercy had the little ones on the floor in the living room, watching them as they were trying to hold themselves up, and in Stevie's case roll himself over onto his back, then wiggle back to his belly. CJ (Charlie Junior) was going to be huge like his dad, but he was going to have Shawna's red hair and fair complexion. Debbie's baby had red hair but Hanna's did not. We guessed that her next one probably would. Steve was going to have his mom's rich auburn curly locks.
Tiny and I had a beer as Phil and Abe pulled up together. How convenient that they both took off a little early. When they were on the patio with a drink in hand I told them of buying the two distributorships that day.
They both looked at me, unbelieving, until Tiny said, "I was there, I saw it with my own eyes."
They both sat back in their chairs contemplating what this might mean.
"Now the good news," I said, as I opened up a file folder I had with me. "I need some partners in the business, so I've elected you three. If you will look at these papers you will each see you are now five percent owners of the company. This is in addition to your joint ownership within the 401K plan. You each now share in every dollar that goes in and out of the company, including the two new places."
Abe sat there smiling, very happy, very satisfied. "Thanks, Steve. Alice and I are already set for life. This is just that much more. It means I am a real part of the company. Thank you."
Phil was still staring at the document that transferred five percent of the company to him. He finally looked up and said, "Christ, Steve, how much do you want to give me? You've already made me a millionaire, now I'm more of one. You brought me on board when I was just about ready to begin selling yellow page ads. Now look at Judy and me, we are awash in money. The best part is that we are kept so busy that it's fun to go to work every day to see what new way we can make a deal or help a customer. Jeez, Steve, thank you. Judy is going to have a fit."
"This is not necessarily something that we should broadcast around. You three are already the management staff. Keep it going and thank you for making the company what it is today."
The party was fun. The announcements were applauded loud and long as the two new dealerships would virtually give us the entire eastern United States as our playground. Phil would now be the most powerful sales manager or vice president of sales in all of Onan. His total sales responsibility could make or break the company. It was a good thing he was training multiple area managers, he would need even more now.
Ryan and his wife, Michelle, wanted to talk to Tiny, Phil, and me. Ryan asked if they could live here in Tampa with us, to buy and live in the park with all of us. They wanted to live with friends, not in some far off place where they would not have as many close friends. He proposed that he could use commercial flights for one location a week, or more if necessary, but be home on weekends. He said he was traveling better than fifty percent of his time now.
"Tell you what, Ryan, talk to Charlie, the park manager, and see if you can get a lot, then go get a home or you can even rent one if there is something available. I'm not going to make you lose so much time anymore using commercial airlines, since you will be flying in a company plane with a company pilot. Michelle is now your executive assistant and will be traveling with you. Will that take care of what you want?"
Ryan looked really happy, "That is better than great. This will give us more time together, plus I'll be able to work on the plane if I need to. Now I feel like I will be able to do the job you need me to, I'll get to keep my lovely wife and I'll be home with friends on weekends. Life will be good again."
Tiny leaned over and laughingly said to me, "So you're not going into the airline business, are you?"
"I think the hangar thing would be a good idea though. Perhaps we could go into aircraft maintenance if the Aero Park thinks they need it out there."
About eight, Ernie Wainwright and Nelda came up to the group of the park crew sitting together. "Steve, Sue, and all of you great people here. I want to announce that Nelda has agreed to become my wife. We are officially engaged. I want you to know that we will be having a pre-nuptial agreement made up for us, as Nelda has a tidy growing estate, and you all know I have a little land."
Nelda was smiling broadly, "It took me a while to land this rascal but I have him now. He wanted me to move in to his musty old house down on Swan Avenue, but I want to live right here. We will get a bigger place so he can have his office at home and have room for all of his leather furniture he wants to keep. Now he can sell that old termite infested place he has and get some money out of it. I'm going to be high maintenance though. He's going to have to take me places, like Atlanta, Key West, maybe even Hawaii."
Ernie smiled, "Nelda, all you have to do is ask. Don't even ask, just mention that you would like to go somewhere and we will be off."
Sue asked when they wanted to get married and Nelda said, "Do you think we could get married right here, just like you did and just like Debbie and Hank did?"
"Of course you can, Nelda, you're family. When do you want to plan it for?"
"How about next Saturday? That way we can go to the Keys for our honeymoon if we can get the S&S airlines to get us down there," Nelda said. "I don't want to wait much longer before I get this man into my bed. We have some catching up to do."
We all laughed with them but the prospect of a wedding sent the women into a frenzy. Immediately, they were making plans, and Sue directed me to make arrangements with the caterer instantly. Thankfully he was open for next Saturday and said he would coordinate with Sue later. I told him that I would need the florist again and wanted to get the same altar that we had rented previously.
The next week was busy. Tiny and Phil pulled Ryan off the road for a week to get moved and to set up a local office in our shop building for him and Michelle. The couple had made a deal on a double wide to be put on the new street in the park a few streets from ours. Nelda and Ernie were also going to buy a double wide and have it put next door to Ryan and Michelle.
Tiny came up with a plan that allowed the two families to travel back and forth to the patio. He purchased a couple of our gas golf carts for the two couples to use. Not surprising was that as soon as other park residents saw the two couples running around in their carts, sales at the golf cart store in our business mall took off. Charlie, the park manager, said he now needed to build some pathways so people could use their carts to get over to the new business park and to the grocery store. That gave me an idea.
I asked Tiny to see if the there was a piece of land between the park and the huge housing developments north of us. We could develop a small shopping center for a grocery store and a few other shops like a barber shop, a beauty shop, a dry cleaners, and maybe even a sports bar. He said he would get right on it as our construction company was going to need some work soon.
After thinking about the idea, I told Tiny to plan for cart paths between the housing developments and the shopping center. He thought that would be a great idea.
Monday I went out to the Aero Park to talk to the park owner. I told him I wanted to find another plane, probably something like the 206 we used to have, possibly a 210. It would be used to travel weekly, and we might need to hire a pilot. I told him we would use the 200 initially, but I didn't want to tie that plane up with shuttle duty.
He thought he knew of a nice turbo 210 that was for sale and would be a good plane for shuttle duty. He said he would find out about it and let me know.
By Wednesday he had the plane at the Aero Park for Sue and me to look at. This was a nice older airplane, in excellent condition. It had been kept up and had been stored in a hangar. I asked him to have his mechanic go through it to make sure it was in good condition so we could make a deal. We bought the plane by Thursday and had hired a single retired airline pilot by Friday who was happy to wander around, shuttling a couple of people. The plane was fitted for business with only six seats but had work desks built into the cabin. If Ryan wanted, the pilot was willing to continue Ryan's flight education, as he was also an instructor pilot. That was set.
The girls had Nelda's wedding taken care of, including a nice cream colored lacy dress. Ernie had become a pain in the ass, as he was so nervous he couldn't function.
He told me on Wednesday, "Steve, I've been a widower for thirty years. I really do enjoy Nelda and love her for her spunk, but this marriage stuff scares me to death. What if I'm not good to her, what if I'm not what she expects? I'm really scared, Steve."
Sue and I assured him he would be fine and the two of them would enjoy themselves together for the rest of their lives.
When the wedding was performed Saturday, I think the entire park turned out for Nelda. She had made many, many, friends in the little time she had been there. Glenda was the matron of honor, and I was Ernie's best man. They were a cute couple and everyone applauded when they kissed.
A couple of older lost souls had found a life partner and mate.
Somewhere around five, Sue and I took them to the airport and flew them to Key West where we were met by a limo to take them to their resort. They would call when they wanted to come home.
Sue and I knew Mercy was getting anxious to go home, so Sue suggested to her that we take a trip out west. Mercy was all for it and had us ready in a day. Sue and I tied up the loose ends then took off for a week or so on the west coast.
After we dropped Mercy off and visited with Merlin and Missy, Sue and I flew up to see Dewey, Sheila, and their little boy. They were thinking of taking the boat for a trip south along the same path we had taken. Sue and I considered going with them but decided we were going to fly instead of sail. We were surprised when Dewey and Sheila wanted to fly with us. The girls and babies stayed in the passenger area while Dewey rode up front with me.
He enjoyed the flight and commented that he should learn how to fly so he could just take off whenever he wanted. Back in San Francisco, we went to the magic show and the restaurant, visiting with Mercy. She had decided she was going to stay for a while; she had missed working in the show. Missy said it would be nice for Mercy to be back so she didn't have to perform, as she didn't care for it.
Dewey said, "Let's fly somewhere, how about Las Vegas?" So we did. Dewey and I discovered both our women were nuts about slot machines. It was everything we could do to get them away from the crazy machines.
We decided that we wanted to fly over the Grand Canyon and check it out thoroughly. A smaller airplane would have been better for sightseeing, but it was nice to be able to see so much of it.
The next stop was San Antonio, Texas. We did the tourist stuff by visiting the Alamo and walked on the Riverwalk. We stuffed ourselves with real Mexican food.
From there, New Orleans was too close to pass up. We spent three days seeing the sights of the old city and eating great Cajun food. We flew down to Key West to see how the newlyweds were. When we found them, they were out on the beach beneath umbrellas, sipping cool non-alcoholic fruity drinks. The two of them looked very happy and content.
Ernie said, "I think I'm going to buy one of these condos, right here on the beach. Nelda and I can come down here often. We both love this place." Nelda told Sue and me that they would find their own way home and not to worry about them.
We flew back to Tampa to find our house and patio changed. The patio was now sixty feet wide by seventy-two feet and the house was now built into the new configuration. We had only been gone ten days and the work was complete.
The patio was totally different now. There were now three shorter tables that would hold between forty to sixty people total. Between the tables and the new bigger bar were various chairs and table groups for people to play games or just sit and talk. The old TV had been replaced by an even bigger one along with a couple of smaller flat screen TV's hanging down in a couple of places like a sports bar. In the back corner, behind the bar, were now two very big restrooms.
Sue and I were amazed at how big our home room area was now. The whole place seemed so much larger as it was now well planned.
We stayed for three days, then decided to fly Dewey and Sheila home. We stayed over in Kansas City, then flew the rest of the way into Friday Harbor. They radioed that they didn't have any fuel for me, so we stopped in Seattle to top off before flying out there. It had been a great trip with our friends. The two little ones had not been difficult at all. When they were fussy, it usually only took a warm breast to calm them down. Sue and I thought Stevie might be a little fussier as he was cutting teeth. Sue said she could feel them sometimes.
On the way home, we wanted to stop in San Francisco to see Mercy. She had been in our heads for a few days, so we knew she wanted to see us. As soon as we called her to tell her we would be at the airport, she said that she would be packed and meet us out there so we could leave for home right away.
When we landed and taxied to the operations building, Mercy was standing at the door with Missy and Merlin. When we got out Mercy gave Sue and me a big hug and kiss then scooped up Stevie, telling him how much she had missed him.
Missy said it looked like we were getting our boarder back as she was too lonely without us. Merlin said we needed to open our own comedy club and have Mercy perform there once a week so she could get some enjoyment from her magic. He also suggested we might even begin a magic club in Tampa for people interested in the craft. He made me promise to call him if I decided to do it and he would help me set it up.
We flew back to Tampa in two hops, with the girls and Stevie staying in the passenger seats. We arrived early Friday afternoon, two weeks after we had started out. Time flies when you're having fun.
Mercy couldn't get over the size of the new patio and how roomy the new house was. She said it will be perfect for when her parents come now, as they would have even more room to perform for the patio crew.
She did find the empty drawers we left for her. Sue and I were never able to fill the old closet, much less this new one. There were even more drawers within the closet.
The party that Friday night was not that big, only about sixty to seventy people from the two businesses. But the big announcement of the evening was about eight o'clock when Sue announced to everyone, "I want everyone to know that little Steve is going to have a baby sister. I don't want to wait till I'm too old to have any more so this is perfect. We will now have two kids to enjoy all of you folks."
Not to be outdone, Shawna grabbed Charlie and made him stand up. "Since I've been busy with the baby, this lug had been pounding me senseless. He thinks he needs some lovin' daily, if not more often. Well, he's screwed the goose, I'm pregnant too. Sue and I compared notes and we're probably due about the same time."
We all looked at Hanna and Debbie, but they both shook their heads no and held their fingers up in a cross saying, "Keep away from us."
Life keeps getting better and better.
That night while the three of us were playing together, Mercy said to Sue, "You know you and I are almost the same age. I'm almost thirty and don't have anyone that I want to settle down with, except you two. This is a lot to ask, Sue, but what would you think if I were to have a baby?"
Sue didn't hesitate, she nearly leaped across me to land face to face on top of Mercy. "Oh, Mercy, Steve and I do love you so much. And that goes double for little Stevie. If you want to have a baby, pick a daddy, and I will make sure it happens."
"You know what I want, Sue. If both of you could get me pregnant, then I would have you both love me until my belly swelled but if you let me have a baby with Steve, you will be giving me as much as Steve. I'm not sure what will happen after I have my own baby, but right now I think I want us to raise our children together. Different as it may be or become, I want this a lot."
Sue was kissing Mercy and hugging her. She pulled my arm so that I was rolled into them. "Steve, make love to Mercy, make love to her as you never have before, fill her with what it takes for a baby."
Mercy colored in her face a bit then said, "I quit the pill before I went back to California the last time, wanting to ask you two for this. Your welcoming me back last night could have been the making of a baby. My body is ready and I'm right in the middle of my cycle."
Sue held Mercy, then lay on the side of her, caressing and kissing her, "Steve, you have to do it even more now. Make Mercy a mommy. Give us another baby."
It was very late that night before both of the girls were satisfied that I had made enough deposits to create what they wanted.