I woke to sound of the satellite phone ringing. When I looked at the clock it said five o'clock. I had set the clock to local time so it was like six hours ahead of home. That's eleven PM back there.
Sliding from bed and picking up the phone, I made my way into the galley where I answered. It was Tiny, "Sorry to call you at what would be a really early hour where you are, but I needed to talk to you for a few minutes."
"That's okay Tiny, what's up, everything okay?"
"Yes and no. Everything's okay here, but Chicago had a fire at the big Eastern plant. From what I'm told, it's pretty much a total loss. We're insured, but we can't insure the old stuff we've bought to rebuild. That's a major loss."
"Was anyone hurt? How did it start?"
"No one was hurt. The only person on premise was the security guard, and he turned in the fire alarm and was able to get out of the building alright, after helping a drunk from his car. That's what started the fire. A drunk lost control of his car and drove into the building. His gas tank ruptured and caught fire from the drunk's cigarette. The security guard is being lauded as a hero as he was able to pull the guy out of the car and out of the building."
"So this happened last night right?"
"Yes, I tried to call you a couple of times today, but you didn't answer. I figured that since you were landed that you were visiting and looking around. I waited till I had to call you so I could go to bed. Too much strain today."
"Tell you what, Tiny. Instead of panicking, tomorrow when you wake and get some coffee in you, call General Steel and find out who the builder is up in Chicago. Have him duplicate the new buildings up in Montreal because that store needs at least that much space. Try to arrange them on the property so that if we need to, we can build the third building.
"Tell the managers up there to spread the guys in the other plants temporarily until we can get vehicles on the road to cover the construction crews. Thank goodness it's winter so there aren't too many operating right now. Have them try to keep everyone working. If anyone bitches about the distances while we are rebuilding, then we'll have to lay them off. I'll call the main store up there later today or tomorrow for you and talk to the general manager. Is Ryan up there or on his way?"
"Yeah," Tiny said. "He's up there as of about two this afternoon. He's been working with the police and the insurance adjusters. All the inventory and sales records are stored at night off premise, so no records were lost. Ryan said we may be able to salvage some stuff, but the building is generally gone."
"Well, it'll work out, Tiny, so don't worry about it. I just hope we can keep pace up there without having to lay people off. It's taken too much to get that place at a nice smooth pace. So what is else is up."
"Judy's group actually got an order from Southern Spain, near Gibraltar. The customer said he saw our logo on the sails of a big boat and remembered that he needed to order his heavy equipment for the coming season. He also purchased two super lifts. Phil's man in the Near East is making some kind of mass sale to all of the oil companies headquartered in Dubai. The sale is going to be one of our largest ever. I don't have the final number yet, but the CEO from Onan called to tell me that the order was going to take up most of next year's production time."
"Sounds big. I'd love to go there and thank them, but I'm not getting my family any closer to those guys than I am right now. Go to bed, you've told me everything, so get some sleep and don't worry about it. It will all work out."
"Goodnight, Boss, or should I say good morning to you," Tiny said as he hung up.
The call had taken over a half hour. Now I was awake and was not going to be able to go back to bed. I made some coffee, went back to the bedroom to put on some pants and shirt, then went up into the lounge. When I went out on deck, there was a young man on the dock next to the boat. He asked in broken English, "Are you Mr. Sharp?"
"Yes, that's me," I said pointing at myself.
"Mr. Orkos asked that I bring you the English language newspaper. I have also the New York Times for you," he said this all as if he had rehearsed it several times.
I went for my wallet to tip the young man and he held up his hands, "No, no, I canna keep from you. Please, I do for Mr. Orkos."
I thanked the young man profusely, embarrassing him a little. I offered him some coffee, but he said he had to get back to the embassy. When I asked him what embassy, he said the United States that he was an intern there while he was in college.
I went back into the lounge with the two papers and began scanning the news in the local paper. It had just the usual type of local news and some articles about a new trade agreement with Spain. The New York Times was the previous day's paper. I scanned all the business section and didn't see anything of any interest, so I turned on the TV and found CNN Headline News to watch with my second cup of coffee.
Maggie came up to the lounge with a cup of coffee and asked if everything was alright, as she had heard the phone. I told her about Chicago, then I told her about the young man that had come with the newspapers. We were both amazed he had been there so early in the morning.
Missy came up to the lounge with a large glass of orange juice. She had a big smile on her face. She came over to sit by me, "No wonder there are so many pregnant ladies on this boat. I heard all that noise last night, and it didn't help me go to sleep either. I need to call Merlin to hear his voice, so that I may remain faithful. Otherwise, I'm going to be begging my daughter for a little time with her husband."
"Missy, Missy, we'll find you something that will help. We'll try to keep the portholes closed so you don't hear us."
"That's okay. I love to hear the way you all love each other. I know from the way you treat each other that it's not just the sex. My Mercy is a lucky woman to have a family like this."
Juanita was next to come up, with Kate following her. The three ladies were still in nightgowns, so they all finished their coffee then went below to get ready for the day. I made sure that Maggie was going to go with us sightseeing today, then went downstairs to shower and dress for the day.
Kate and Juanita were now dressed and had begun getting the kids up. Steve and Carson were excited about sightseeing and ran from their room into the galley, hoping to find Missy and Maggie for some breakfast.
I kissed my two Mom's awake and convinced them that seven fifteen was not too early to get up. By the time they were showered and dressed, Lizzy and Mike were changed and dressed. I proposed that we go to the yacht club restaurant for breakfast and that was met by a hardy approval. Our group made it up the dock and into the yacht club to find that it wasn't very busy at all. We enjoyed an excellent breakfast and went back to the boat to await Tony's call.
Tony called about eight forty-five and asked if we were ready. Since we were ready, he said he would pick us up at nine in the front of the yacht club, and we would begin our day.
The day was very long. A tour of the Acropolis of Athina, Athens, then the Parthenon, with the accompanying museums, let us know that to see all of the various museums, we would have to stay a month. Tony and his equally tired family drove us back to the yacht club and joined us eating in the restaurant. As soon as we finished eating, Missy, Maggie, and Kate took the little ones back to the boat for a bath and bed. They were all worn out. Shortly after, Tony and Alexa said their children were equally tired, so we bid them goodnight, with me telling Tony I would visit with him a little tomorrow before we left for Sicily.
The girls were totally worn out and said they were going to get a shower and hit the sack. I said that I needed to call home before I went to bed, so I showered, kissed my ladies good night, kissed the kids, said goodnight to the worn out Maggie and Missy, then went up to the lounge in some shorts and a T-shirt with my cell phone. I made a drink and had a few sips then called the shop. When I asked for Tiny, the receptionist said that I was supposed to call him at home.
Figuring that home was the patio, I called there. Tiny answered immediately. He said that he was relaxed now and wasn't in a panic anymore. "You did it for me, Steve. When I called you last night I was afraid to even tell you the bad news, but you just gave me a simple way to begin getting the place back up and it's started already. Ryan had a meeting with all the employees to tell them what we were going to do in the interim. He offered to let them use any vacation or sick time, but he had convinced the key people to make the commute to the central store until the new one is built. All of the trucks are okay, as they are kept in a garage across the street. So the loss isn't as bad as we thought. Ryan is going to set up a temporary supply room in the garage building so the service trucks can go out from there in the morning. We also didn't lose any of the new RVs that we have up there, as the RV sales and service building is also across the street. All in all, we're in pretty good shape."
"So has anyone been able to a number on the loss yet?"
"I pulled Henry so he could lead a group of three guys to go over the books to pull an accurate inventory of merchandise, tools, equipment, and office furniture and equipment. Henry's preliminary figure is three point two million, not including the building. Since the building is a total loss, we will get the tax figure at a minimum, but we did insure the building to take in consideration the modernization we had done, so we should get about two and half for the building."
"Wow, you're saying we had a loss of almost six mil?"
"Right there, Steve, not bad considering we only paid ten for the entire Chicago distributorship."
I said, "That's amazing, Tiny. Who would believe a third of the Chicago stores would be worth that much and it doesn't include the vehicles and the RVs. We did get lucky."
"Ryan said that he feels the place will operate okay until the new building is up. He has already interviewed the contractor up there and will begin clearing the property as soon as the insurance company says it's okay. The guy that hit the building doesn't have any money and only has twenty-five grand of property damage insurance. His insurance company has already offered the maximum to us. We're going to let our attorney up there handle it to make sure there isn't any change on the table for us."
"That's all good news, Tiny. This time it's me that's getting ready for bed and I'm probably doing exactly what you're doing."
"What's that, Tiny asked, having a drink?"
"You got it. I'm in the lounge relaxing before going to bed. We're leaving for Sicily tomorrow. It should be just an overnight trip and we'll meet the distributor there, then go up to Rome. I'm planing on spending an eternity in Rome, so we'll probably spend an extra day in Sicily to rest before Rome."
"Oh, Steve," Tiny said. "I've just finished the first six months on the two charter companies. The air charter group is gangbusters, with about a thirty percent return on investment. We should probably end the first year at over twenty-five percent. The boat and fishing charters are not as profitable yet as they are only running about fifteen percent. We ah, paid for all of your improvements and the purchase of the boat, then sold it back to you as scrap. That way you didn't have to take it out of your personal monies."
"Tiny," I said. "You know that this boat thing is all mine, sailboat that is. You shouldn't use any of the boat charter company's money for any of my toys. The girls wanted them, so they should pay for them."
"Oh hell, Steve, you own the damn company anyway, so you do pay for them. It's just accounting, that's all. I charged you fully on that new plane. I bought back the big 200, then sold you the 1900D at what we paid for it. I made you pay for the maintenance to get it ready to charter, and we have now been paying you for the charter time. That damn plane has been flying every day and is booked for another two months. You'll have it paid for in no time.'
"That's what I mean, Tiny, you finagle the books around and what I should be paying a whole lot for, you're actually giving me money for it. That's not how life is."
"It is for you, Steve. You have some of the best accountants around. You're paying so much income tax that you should probably get a thank you from
Bush. The company is paying so damn much tax, we should be getting a thank you daily from the IRS. Then there are the taxes in all of the states we do business in, plus all of the property taxes. You should get a break on some stuff. It's all legal, and we've already stood up under an IRS audit. We have a guy that we call on to run something by whenever we have a question. So far, he's given us more leeway that I would have taken. So don't worry yourself. You're only getting what you should."
"Okay, I'll let you guide me. Just don't let them surprise me. Have you heard any more about Phil's deal?"
"Phil is in the air, on his way to Dubai with the CEO of Onan, so they can finalize all of the numbers. The salesman over there is going to make about a mil and a half commission on this. We'll be lucky to keep him. He'll probably retire. Phil will call me and let me know."
"Wow, sounds like you have it all under control. Give our love to everyone and I'll call you tomorrow."
I made a second drink and sat there in the lounge relaxing. It's amazing that the company, six hours time difference, and over four thousand miles away, is doing fine without me. All I have to do is call and give some suggestions to a problem and it's all done. Sure is nice to have a group like that. I wonder how Canada is doing. I forgot to ask. They should be open for business.
I took a chance and called Ryan's cell phone. "Hey, Ryan, it's Steve the wayward S&S guy."
"Hey, Steve, how's it going."
"Can you talk?"
"I'm done talking to everyone but Michelle for the day. What's up?"
"You're doing a great job there in Chicago. Thank you for keeping the employees up there settled down. My biggest fear was losing the men that we had been training."
"Not to worry, Steve," Ryan said. "Everyone, to a man, has said they will do whatever the company needs them to do while we rebuild. They're excited that we will have a bigger and even better place."
"That's great, Ryan. The other thing I called about is Montreal. How's it going up there?"
"Peaches, or if you're Canadian, you would probably say ice crystals. We ended up hiring about thirty percent of the men from the former distributor. From them we were able to fill out our manpower requirement. We are now open for business, bringing in orders, and we have a sales group canvassing the construction companies about the maintenance agreement deal. The plan has been successful, plus we have a nice order being shipped up to Hudson Bay. I don't know how they will get it there, but it's a big order that includes a lot of welding equipment too. The second building is poured with all of the steel uprights in place. We haven't been held back by the cold too much, so they are moving right along. That was a good move to use the two contractors together. They've gone out and solicited a lot more work together. They should be paying you a commission for getting them together."
"That is really great. I'm proud of you and them. If we can do a good job up there, we'll begin to expand throughout Canada. You should probably look for someone you can put in charge of Canada, because there will soon be too many places for you to go."
"I know, Steve. I think Tiny has some kind of deal for the upper mid-west on out through Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas. The same guy owns all of the distributorships in those areas. They don't do that much business, but I'm sure if we had them, we could pump up the sales, especially our road construction sales."
"Then begin looking for another man to help you out there. You can include Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in that group as well, as we are beginning to have a lot of stores in the eastern half of the U.S. It won't be long before you won't even be able to cover that by yourself."
"Hey, Michelle and I are doing fine. We're home two or three days a week, and are able to oversee everything now. Since Phil put us in your old 200, we can now quickly cover a hell of a lot of territory. Thanks a lot for giving us a twin. That thing is sweet. We are able to finish up all of our work for the week in the plane. No more Saturday make up time at the office."
Hmmmm, Tiny didn't tell me about that. It's for the best though.
"Well, you've made my evening here. I'm going to bed, so thanks for keeping the company going back there. Give Michelle a hug and I'll talk to you again soon."
"Bye, Boss, thanks for the plane."
The company is humming. A hiccup here and there, but it's still humming. Tiny gets too stressed when I'm not available, so I need to stay in touch more often.
I finished my drink, washed out my glass, and went below to go to bed. Maggie was sitting at the galley counter, having some hot chocolate. "I didn't know you were up, Maggie. You should have joined me in the lounge."
"You were talking business, Steve, so I made my hot chocolate and was reading my book. I'm about to go to bed too."
I went to Maggie and gave her a hug, "Thanks for being here with us, Maggie. You're a great help with the kids. I don't know what we're going to do when we get five more all at once."
"It'll be busy, Steve, but we'll take care of it. I don't think your ladies are going to let it fluster them. They'll just keep on taking care of kids like always. They may need more help, but between Kate, Juanita, and I, we should be fine."
I gave her another hug then went to bed. The girls had left me some space next to Sue on the one side, so I slid in and was instantly hugged from behind by Sue. Sue said, "Turnover, I need another kiss."
I turned over and we kissed softly saying, "I love you." She turned over to let me hug her from behind. This caused a shuffle as Juanita turned over to let Sue spoon her from the rear, which caused Kate to turn, then Mercy who was on the far side, turned over to let Kate spoon her. I wonder if this goes on all night? When one turns over, the rest follow? I fell asleep considering the humor in our sleeping arrangements.
The morning was busy with Liz not wanting to be picked up. She wanted to be on the floor and instantly crawled to something that she could stand up on. The problem was she kept trying to walk. She was probably too young to walk, but she was determined.
Steve would go sit with her and she would use him to stand. Then, while holding on to him, his hair, his ear, his nose or mouth, Liz would try to walk. She'd fall, hard, often banging her head. She would make a noise that was almost going to cry, then she would straighten up, make a determined face, and begin standing again.
Mike was trying to follow her, but he was even younger and could barely stand, much less walk. He would put his hands out and instantly fall on his face. He didn't cry though. I guess the two of them were pretty tough.
Carson had been watching Liz in her attempts to walk and went to her, took her hand, and helped her up. He did an amazing thing. He lifted her up and put her feet on top of his then he walked all around the below deck lounge saying, "Lizzy walk, Lizzy walk."
When he sat down with her, she stood up and began walking, making a noise that sounded like "Lizzy walk." Liz didn't quit, she walked all around the lounge, then into the galley to walk to catch up with Steve. When she caught Steve, she sat down, pulling him down with her, saying again what sounded like "Lizzy walk."
We adults were all totally fascinated by what we had witnessed. The determined little girl had just the right help from Carson, then did it on her own. After the Mike and Liz sitting together thing, Liz stood up and toddled off to find Carson, still saying her "Lizzy walk."
Tony came by to say bon voyage to us. We gave him a bunch of S&S raceday T-shirts that we had brought along for gifts. You would have thought we gave him gold instead of T-shirts.
When he was gone, we let the yacht club attendants help us disconnect the shore services. We flushed the holding tanks one last time, then pulled our lines and gently moved from the dock. It took us an hour to get out far enough to raise our sails. Once we did, we had to navigate among a lot of smaller fishing boats that were around. We were soon on our way to Palermo, Sicily.
The next morning, we were approaching Palermo and encountered a Sicilian police boat. We put out our bumpers and invited them on board. The officer in charge spoke decent English and wanted to see our papers. We showed them the ship's papers and our passports. He noted we had just been in Greece, and asked us how long we would be in Sicily. I told him two or three days depending on how long we wanted to sightsee. He asked where we were docking and I gave him the name of the yacht club we had reserved space at. He acted surprised and asked if we were from Hollywood. I laughed and said, "No, we are from Florida. Do you have to be from Hollywood to dock there?"
"Many Hollywood people stay at that yacht club. It is only for the very special. It is good you stay there, it is very nice."
As we entered the yacht basin, a motor launch came out to meet us. A man boarded and asked if we need him to take us in or could he just lead us. I told him to lead us and if we were going to have a slip, I wished to rotate the boat and back in. I also asked if they had dockside facilities for flushing our holding tank and fueling, or was there a separate place for that. He informed us that all facilities were available at all slips. He suggested we use shore water for bathing only, but I declined to hook up the water. We would just use our stored water and make more as we needed it.
This place was fancy. They had attendants running around in uniforms everywhere. The girls only had to toss the lines out and there was someone to tie us up. In no time at all we were secure and hooked up to shore power.
The first thing the women wanted to do was to go look in the palatial building at the yacht club. Their sixth sense told them there were shops in there, so six of them took off with me keeping the kids. It was almost nap time, so I fed them lunch and put them to bed. Since they were so messy, it took me another half hour to clean up from feeding them.
I cracked a beer and turned on the computer to answer any e-mails. There was the usual what do we do with this or that and how do you want to handle something, but nothing that was difficult to answer. I wrote Deb a note that we were in Sicily and would be there for a couple of days. It was one in the afternoon here, so it was seven in the morning there. I used my cell phone and called home. They immediately put me on the speaker system so I could update them on what we had seen. I told them I would send all of the pictures from Greece in an e-mail so they could see what we had seen. Everyone was happy and healthy, wishing us a safe trip. When I hung up, I realized I was a little homesick.
I downloaded my camera then sent almost three hundred photos to Debbie. I figured she would be the best person to send them to. I sent a copy of them to Hannah, as she received her e-mail at the park. That took care of that.
When I shut down the computer, I went up to the lounge to have another beer, but I was shocked to see four uniformed attendants standing on the dock. I went out to ask them what I could do for them and they said they were there so they could scrub down the deck. They were waiting for permission to board. I thought that was a hell of a service, so I invited them up. They worked from one end going full tilt toward the back. While three scrubbed, one polished metal.
The women came back while the attendants were still cleaning. I explained that it was a service offered by the club. The girls thought it was a great service since they didn't have to do it.
They had several bags with them and began showing me all of the different garments and souvenirs they had purchased. It's a good thing the boat had a lot of drawer and closet space, as they had a bunch.
As the kids began waking, I took care of them while the women were still putting their treasures away. Lizzy immediately wanted down so she could toddle, following Steve who ran full tilt into the galley with Carson. Poor Mike, he also wanted to be down, but he could only crawl into the galley.
The four kids had something to drink then went into the lounge to play. I got out the big blocks for them and they were immediately occupied. Kate came in and relieved me so I could go up to the deck to see how the attendants were doing. They were gone, but a well dressed man was on the dock waiting for me.
"Mr. Sharp?" He asked.
I nodded, "Yes sir."
"My name is Paul Sorentino. I am the greeter for the yacht club. Welcome to our club. I note that some of your women have already been to the stores, but let me invite you to come to our restaurant and lounge. You will find it very private and well-stocked. You will be able to visit with many of your friends there."
"Come on board, Paul, and come in and sit down."
Once we were settled me with a Dewars on ice and Paul with a glass of white merlot, he handed me the basket he had been carrying. "This is full of some local fruit, a jar of our local olives, coupons for many restaurants in Palermo, and a variety of brochures of our tourist attractions. If you desire a guide, one can be provided to show you whatever it is you wish. Please enjoy you stay with us."
He took a drink from his glass then asked, "Do you have any plans while you are here?"
"Yes sir, I do." I said then to give some descriptions, "I'm going to meet with a distributor of our products here, and together we are to meet with a government agency about the purchase of some equipment."
"That is good that you are here for business as well as pleasure. If we can be of service, please contact us. If you need anything, stop any attendant that is passing, or you may call us from your phone. I will leave you now. Thank you for the wine and your hospitality."
I called the local distributor who said he was waiting for me to call, as he had heard we had landed some hours before. Everyone must have spies out to know what we are doing. I told him that we were going to rest and perhaps go to the restaurant this evening. If he and his wife and family would like to join us, we would make reservations for all of us. The man was ecstatic. He said I would have to leave word at the gate for him and his wife to enter the yacht club area.
"Come about six so you and your wife can meet my family and traveling companions, and have a drink with us before we go to the restaurant."
"We will see you at six then," he said, and hung up.
I called the yacht club office to tell them that I would have two guests that would arrive at about six this evening and that I wanted reservations for all of us at seven to seven-thirty.
I went below to tell the girls what was up for the evening, and to give them the basket of goodies. They immediately were going through the coupons, saying they would have to go back into the shops as they could now get discounts on items.
Missy said she was going to call Merlin and went up into the lounge to use my cell phone. She had not talked to him in a couple of days, so I know she was missing him.
I told the girls that Salvitore Santini would be coming about six with his wife for a drink before dinner. We had reservations between seven and seven-thirty. They said that I would have to wear a jacket in the club, but I didn't have to wear a tie. They had noticed the sign stating types of apparel allowed. The funny thing was jackets were required, but jeans were allowed. Strange mix, but then, jeans had become dress clothes.
We were all dressed and ready when Salvitore Santini came on board. He introduced his wife, Maria, then dismissed her to go with the women to explore the boat.
"Please call me Sal. May I address you as Steve?"
"Sure, Sal. You speak great English. Thank you, but where did you learn to speak our language so well?"
"I was a student at Oxford University in Great Britain, and I attended UCLA for two years after that."
"How did you get involved with Onan equipment and the rest of our product line?"
Sal smiled and said, "My father was a welder and began selling various power products. When your salesman approached him with your product line, he instantly became interested and began his relationship with you. He became ill a year ago, and I came to help him if I could. I've become so interested in the business that I now take care of all decisions for my father. Regrettably, my mother recently passed away, and my father's health has declined since. He has had to be confined within a nursing home, but enough sadness, how about a drink."
I told him to name his poison and he smiled and said, "If you have it, Beefeater on the rocks. An olive or two if you have them would be nice."
"I laughed saying that I had a several months supply of Beefeater, as that was my favorite drink. That and Dewar's, along with beer."
We were having our drinks when most of the ladies came up. Sue and Mercy sat on each side of me with Juanita sitting by Sue and Kate by Mercy. Missy had stayed below with Maggie to watch the kids.
Maria had sat down by Sal, took his hand in hers, and said, "Sal, we could have brought Rochelle with us. Steve has three wives, going on four. You see, we're not so different."
Sal grimaced then said, "Should I call her or would it be too late?"
"Call her," Maria said, "She'll be here quickly. She's almost ready anyway as all she has to do is slip on her dress. She doesn't wear makeup. Kind of like these ladies."
Sal called on his cell phone and we could hear a squeal in the background. When he hung up, he said she would be here in fifteen minutes.
I called the club office to tell them another person was coming by taxi and asked that they escort her back to the boat.
Twenty minutes later, a tall, dark-haired, buxom lady stepped on board, holding my offered hand. She walked up to Sal and gave him a kiss, then did the same with Maria. We did the introductions all around, then the girls took Rochelle on a quick boat tour.
Sal said, "Not many Americans have more than one wife. Here it is common, but one wife is usually subordinate to the other. With me, I will not have that and both are equal. It was Maria that found Rochelle. She fell in love with her and insisted that I fall in love with her too. That's how I have two."
"My story is about the same. Sue and I found Mercy, then later, the two of them wanted Juanita, and now they've invited Kate. I don't think Kate will become a permanent part of us, though."
The girls came back up and Sue and Mercy got everyone a drink and poured Sal and I another. About seven fifteen, I suggested we go to the restaurant for supper. The ladies gathered the children and we made our way to the restaurant. We were seated in a special area as we had our kids with us. Other parents with kids were seated around us.
The dinner was excellent. They had some great Italian dishes that we enjoyed, but were told they were not Italian, but Sicilian. By the time we were finished, it was late enough that Sal said he would take his ladies home and I said I would do the same with mine. We agreed to meet the next day so he could show me his operations, and then we would go see the government official in the afternoon.
We went back to the boat, had some coffee and ice cream, then slowly migrated to bed. The girls were full from eating, but were acting very loving. Tonight, it was Mercy who kept coming back for seconds and thirds. By the time they appeared to be satisfied, my entire body was limp. Sleep was immediate.
Morning came with a wonderful aroma. Someone was making coffee. Whoever it was, I was going to go tell them how much I loved them, right now.
Did the bathroom thing, and put on some clothes, as it was a little chilly on the boat this morning. It was a duo that had brought me to a happy wake up. Maggie and Missy were sitting at the counter in the galley, having just poured that wonderful smelling coffee.
Missy asked, "How do you turn on the heat in this contraption?"
"Hmmm," I said, not really knowing the answer. "There are thermostats around, but I've never messed with them. They are all set to 'off' right now. There is a set of Q & As up in the bridge or weather helm area. Kind of like SOPs in the military." (Standard Operating Procedures)
I went up to the weather helm and found the big book and right there was a tab for air-conditioning. When I looked at the section for heat it gave discussions of fuel oil heat and propane heat. You had to go below to the maintenance area and set the switch for one or the other. Since I had no idea where to check to see if we had propane, I went to the switch and set it to fuel oil. As soon as I set that, then set the thermostat, an exhaust fan came on, and a furnace lit with a 'whoosh.' There was a thermometer that gradually rose until it hit a hundred eight degrees, then the blower came on to blow warm air throughout the boat.
I took the manual with me back to the kitchen to have my coffee that was now cold. Maggie put the cup into the microwave and quickly warmed it up for me. I sipped the coffee while talking to the ladies and looking through the big book.
There was a section on the propane heating unit and where to check on the propane supply. When I looked over to the stove top, I groaned a "Duh" as the stove top was gas. There were two electric pads to one side but the main four burners were gas. I walked back to the maintenance access and went around a corner to find the big five hundred gallon propane tank. That ought to be enough to cook and keep us warm. I figured on switching the heat to propane once the boat warmed up and the sun was out. It should warm up nicely later.
When I went back to the galley, Kate and Juanita were up, saying that they were hungry from all of the exercise they had done the previous night. Juanita gave me a loving kiss, then pushed Kate over to me to get a hug and kiss too.
Juanita said, "If you can love our man, you're allowed to show the world that you enjoy giving him attention. After the way you've acted so far, I know you enjoy him as much as the rest of us."
Kate blushed, but Maggie said, "Don't be bashful, girl. You didn't make any bones about wanting to make sure you were pregnant when we got back home. I would sure hope you enjoyed making that baby, and I would hope you like the daddy of the kid you're making."
This just made Kate blush all the more.
Mercy and Sue walked into the kitchen with robes on, and said, "Oh, she likes Steve, alright. She likes the way he makes her feel special. She likes the way he makes her scream, and I know she likes the way he puts her to sleep."
"Oh stop, Sue," Kate admonished. "Yes, I love the way Steve makes me feel and I'm in love with the man who has made this baby grow inside me. Knowing that he gave me the baby I wanted so badly has to make me love him. I feel a little guilty though, as I still want to be Jim's wife. I just hope he will realize we can have a happy life, with both of us wanting some outside attention."
Missy stood up and said, "Let's make some pancakes. By the time we get them ready, you guys should have the kids up and dressed."
The four girls disappeared into the stateroom to wake up the kids. First out was Steve, followed by Carson, then a smiling, happy Lizzy came toddling down the hallway, happily saying, "Dadadadada, Lizzywalk, Lizzywalk, Dadadada."
Hearing her has to make you smile and laugh. Mike was the last out of the room, crawling rapidly trying to keep up with Lizzy, Steve, and Carson.
We put the little ones into high chairs and gave them a buttered pancake. No need to put any syrup on it as they just tore them up and stuffed it into their mouths. The only maintenance required was to offer them their Sippy cups with milk in them.
While we ate, the girls would give a little forkful of pancakes with syrup on them to each of the little ones. They would relish the sweet taste, but went right back to tearing and stuffing the buttered pancake.
I said that I needed to get ready to meet Sal. Sue came with me into the stateroom, saying that she wanted me to wear my best today, as I was going to be seeing a government customer later. I decided to wear what Sal thought I would have worn. I put on a western cut pair of pants and a solid light blue western shirt. I put on a dark blue corduroy sport coat with the leather patched elbows. That get up, along with a good pair of boots, made me think that I needed a Stetson to finish off the wardrobe.
The girls all thought I was overdoing it, but Missy said, "If you were out in California, the girls would be drooling all over you. Up in San Francisco the guys would be drooling too, but you probably wouldn't notice them."
I called Sal on the cell phone and asked if he wished me to take a taxi to his business. He asked me if that would be alright, as he was trying to take care of a problem.
I said goodbye to the girls as they prepared to go out shopping for the day. The main desk in the yacht club solved the transportation problem quickly. They had a car and driver at the front door in minutes. I gave the man the address and he quickly whisked me off to Sal's place.
When I walked in the building, you could tell there was a problem. There was no one up front, as the entire population of the business was standing around something in the main shop area.
When I approached, Sal said, "I can't understand it. We've never had a problem with an Onan product, but this is supposed to be the demonstration generator for the government meeting today. It won't start. The big compressor won't start either. We've read the uncrating and startup procedures dozens of times, but the men have been working on it since yesterday."
I said, "Let me get the man who can always fix one of these on the phone. I'll track him down and he'll help us troubleshoot the problem."
Using my cell phone I called Abe at home. Since it was nine here, it would two AM in Tampa. A sleepy voice answered, it was Alice. "Hi Alice, this is Steve. I need Abe to help me real quick, can I talk to him?"
"Well, you could but he's up in Montreal trying to get them started rebuilding product up there. He's probably asleep, but he doesn't sleep that sound, so call his cell phone and he should answer. What country are you in today, Steve?"
"Sicily, Alice. Sorry I woke you, go back to sleep, okay?"
"I was reading and feel asleep in bed with the light on. I'll get under the covers now and go to bed. Night, Steve."
Thank goodness I had Abe's number in my cell, so I called him hoping he would wake up, but sorry that I had to wake him."
"Huh? Who's calling?" Abe's voice was gravely with sleep.
"It's Steve, Abe, I need some help with a new generator they can't get started."
"Oh, they got one too huh? Are you around the machine?"
"Yes sir, I'm right in front of it with the engine access panel off."
"Look down and to the right, under the fuel tank. There is a petcock that is built into the tank right there. It's new and it isn't mentioned in the manual. Turn it on, wait till the pressure feeds the unit then start it up. Let me hear it, okay?"
I reached under the fuel tank and turned the very tiny handle of the petcock on. While I waited for the fuel to get into the line, I asked Abe, "So what are you doing up there in that cold, Abe?"
"Ryan said that he wasn't going to start the rebuild shop up here until it got warmer and I could come up to get his men started. I couldn't let the opportunity go by to get that youngun dirty. I told him I would come up to get it started, but he had to come out to the shop and help me train. We've been training this entire week. They have three crews and I think they will need at least two more. They are pretty good, too. They really like the perfect stuff you have all over the place. Your builders up here have done a great job."
"Hang on, Abe, let me go through the motions and start this thing."
I checked to make sure everything was clear and even hollered clear and hit the main starter. Instant on. The big diesel engine started right up with the gauges instantly showing available amperage.
"That did it, Abe. Go back to bed. It's going to be Friday and you guys will be flying home, so get some rest. Alice is going to be after you since you haven't been home for a week."
"Yep, I'm going right back to sleep, right now. I'll talk to you tomorrow or rather later today."
We hung up, and I showed everyone the new addition to the fuel tanks. One of the mechanics felt around the bottom of tank on the big compressor, then turned it on too. Shortly after that, the compressor was also running.
Sal's shop manager thanked me profusely for finding the problem so fast. Sal was very happy that I was able to solve his problem quickly, without any fuss or having to wait to call Onan later in the day.
All of the people in the shop wanted to show me their work areas and led me around to each part of the shop. They jabbered away in their Sicilian dialect of Italian, and I just nodded and smiled. They were proud to show me their workplaces. After seeing the entire place, Sal had me come into his office where a secretary brought us some cappuccino. We had a good discussion about business, then we left to meet the government agent for lunch.
Sal drove us to a small restaurant near his shop. Inside, everyone who worked there greeted him. Even the cook came out to say hi to him. Sal explained, "This is my mother's side of the family. This restaurant has been in their family since the eighteen hundreds. Even the Germans left them alone as long as they fed the officers their fine food. Come, let us sit in the private family room and await out guests.
"Sal, you said guests? I thought we were meeting only one man?"
"Oh, no, no. When he found out the American who is the shipper of the goods he was going to buy was going to be here, many of his co-workers and bosses wished to join him. He said he would limit the extras to only a dozen. This is alright, isn't it?"
Stunned at the quantity of onlookers I answered, "Sure, but they're going to be disappointed when they meet me. I'm kind of non-descript."
"Oh anything but, Steve. You're dressed perfect in your western clothes, especially the boots. You're tall, but not too tall, so they will enjoy meeting you and looking up to you. Most Sicilian men are under five ten or five nine. You're about six feet so you look especially tall to most of us."
Sal got close to me and said, "They will try to use their very poor English on you. If they butcher something up real bad, I'll try to help you understand so you may answer them. Just speak slowly and distinctly. If they don't understand, they will ask me, I will interpret."
People began coming in the door and all stood by a chair, waiting for the main contact to come in to be introduced. A short round man with very little hair came up to Sal and vigorously shook his hand. Sal introduced me, then waived his hand at all of the other attendees said, "And these are all of Mr. Manchurous' department personnel."
Sal's mother's relatives served tons of food. The surprising thing was, all of the government people ate everything on their plates and reached for more. Sal and I limited ourselves, and only sipped our wine instead of gulping the food and the wine.
The conversation was all about Frank Manchurous. If the conversation lagged, it was because his mouth was full. By the time we were served a very sweet cake, with a sweet toping, I knew where Frank was born, all of his schools, his wife, his children, his girlfriends, and his very important government position. I think he loved me, as I kept asking him more about him.
Soon it was time to exit to Sal's shop. His men had the two pieces of machinery we had started set up for a demonstration. When we arrived at the shop, Sal took us into the main shop area, where he had folding chairs arranged as if for an audience. He seated everyone, then spoke in Sicilian, describing how the machines worked and the great value that they were and would be to the government.
Sal stood back and said, "Steve, would you show the gentlemen the appropriate way to start up the generator."
I went through the various procedures that Abe had taught me a couple of years before, when we were selling the rebuilds to the welding supplier. When I stood back and pushed the big red start button, the big engine caught immediately and powered up. I pointed at the various gauges as they rose to show the desired output. Sal went over to a giant hand switch and brought it down to close, with sparks flying. Hundreds of small lights in the shape of Sicily lit up, with the major cities flashing red. Very gaudy, very cute.
The onlookers began clapping in appreciation of the display.
We shut the generator down, then Sal presented the big compressor. Again he asked me to start up the machine. This one you have to first make sure all of the valves are closed, then you check the bottom valve to let any accumulated moisture out. Once everything was set again, I pushed the big red button and felt the machine power up.
This time when Sal showed off the amount of pressure the big machine could put out, he connected an air hose from the machine to a huge basket that was full of balls. The balls instantly danced the twenty feet up inside of the cage showing the strength of the compressor. After the applause, Sal shut down the machine, and said he had one more new product that was from our company, that he had just recently found out about.
His shop manager came out wheeling a large welding cart. Another man brought out a wooden table with some clamps and metal displayed on it. I recognized the machine. It was the new multi-phased welding unit with the three types of wire to feed for welding three types of metal.
Sal went into his presentation and kept saying Steve Sharp and pointing to me, then he had his man start up the generator the plugged the welder in.
"Steve, will you demonstrate how well this works for us?"
The shop foreman brought me a big leather shop apron, so I took off my coat and put on the apron. Next I set up the steel, the aluminum, and some kind of off the wall metal that was obviously part magnesium.
The whole time I was doing this, Sal was describing what I was doing and trying to explain each step. I flipped the switches to turn on the steel settings, then drew a quick bead between the two pieces of steel. I reached down to flip to the aluminum settings, and adjusted the wire feed. The aluminum was very soft, and I was able to put a very clean bead between the two pieces.
Next would be the most difficult, as magnesium was very difficult to work with. It required a low arc, plus you had to watch not to hold the wire next to the metal very long. Since the metal is so sensitive, you could almost meld them without the wire or a rod, but I needed to show the versatility of the unit. I used the dial to reduce the arc to almost its lowest setting, then drew a quick bead along the two pieces of magnesium.
I raised my hood and inspected the weld then nodded. All three welds were some of my best. After shutting down the unit, I unplugged it, and the generator was shut down too. Almost all of the government men swamped me looking at the welder, pawing the two big machines and shaking my hand.
Sal had the main official off to the side and beckoned to me. "Steve, do you think you can deliver a hundred of the "Tri-Welders" within six months? Frank says he wants to put one in every shop throughout the country. He's also going to initiate the first order for both the generators and the compressors."
I assured Frank that he would have his equipment quickly, as I would personally make sure his order was filled promptly. This was a very nice order, well over a half million US, if the conversion I was doing in my head was correct.
Sal celebrated the occasion by having his female office staff serve all of these men more wine. The one thing that I thought Sal did right this time was to serve the mooches in plastic wineglasses. When the wine was finished, the government men all shook our hands then left en mass, the way they had come.
Once they were all gone, Sal was slapping me on the back and dancing around. The shop manager was going nuts as well. This was going to be their biggest order ever.
It was about four in the afternoon, so it would be nine back home. I used my cell phone and called the shop to ask for Phil. Julie said that Tiny wanted to talk to me first, so she put through to him. Tiny said, "You probably better cool it. Phil's about to have a stroke over the business you stirring up over there and all the business he's doing up in Montreal. The man is out calling on an old customer base list from Onan. It's ten below zero, and Phil is cold calling. Now that's cold calling alright. He has Judy's people calling every potential product user in the whole province. Ryan said it's a riot to watch Phil in action. We have to get him back here so he can do his first seminar. He's going to be wound up for it that's for sure."
"Then I have just the news for him. We just finished with the Sicilian government and they are going to purchase one hundred of the new "Tri-Welders" plus a huge order for compressors and generators."
Tiny said, "Well, let me see if Judy can track him down. She says he's calling the orders in while he's at the customer, just like old times for him."
Tiny put me on hold, then about a minute later he said, "Steve, I have Phil, Abe, and Judy on a conference call for you."
"Congratulations, Phil, on the great work you're doing up there. I hope you're using this as an opportunity to train your new sales manager up there."
"I am, Steve. I have our new sales manger, plus all of the salesmen coming with me on every call. This is so much fun, I don't even mind the cold. Abe and Ryan are both trying to get me to get going so we can fly home. How are you doing over there?"
When I told Phil of the order, he whooped loud enough that he said he startled the customer that he was at. I told him, "Make sure you thank Abe for me for helping us last night with the fuel petcock, plus today's big order included the new welding unit. Now finish up where you are and get on the plane. You'll miss supper if wait too long. Now get."
Sal and his shop manager had settled down now, so Sal said he would take me back to the boat. He wanted to have dinner with us again, and I suggested that he come out to the boat and we would eat on the boat. I was hungry for some of the good steaks that I knew were in the freezer. We agreed on a time while he drove me back to the club. As I passed the security desk, I told them that my friends would all come again tonight and we were having them for dinner on our boat.
As I was walking down to the docks, I noticed several large gas and charcoal grilles. I went inside the club to find someone to ask about them and found the manager in his office. He directed me to the rental clerk so I could have the grille of my choice delivered. We were allowed to use the grille on the dock instead of having it on the boat.
The girls and kids were not back yet, so I counted up people and dug into the freezer. There were plenty of steaks for everyone, plus we had a bunch of potatoes to bake. Our salad makings were getting scarce, so I would need lettuce, but there was everything else to get started. First was to thaw a dozen big steaks. Our kids could eat off the adults' steaks as they were all huge. Easily accomplished with the microwave. I just made sure I didn't cook them, as they would be best cooked on the grille.
We needed something else, so I walked up to the kitchen of the club to find out where I could get lettuce. The cooks there were excited that I would even talk to them. It took a lot of hand waving and describing to get across that first, I wanted four to five heads of Romaine, and I wanted some of the asparagus that I saw they had. They just gave me everything I needed so I took my haul back to boat and thoroughly washed the lettuce and the asparagus. I began baking the potatoes and prepared the sauce for the asparagus.
The girls arrived back about forty-five minutes before our guests were to arrive. I told them that I was prepared so they didn't have to do anything yet. We would steam the asparagus when it was time, but everything else was in a state of readiness.
The girls rushed around showering, dressing, then feeding the kids so they would be taken care of. The kids were so tired they were all trying to fall asleep while eating.
When Sal and his family arrived, the three kids went downstairs to watch TV, while the rest of us enjoyed a cold beer to relax. Sal's two wives were much more relaxed tonight, talking freely to all of the women on board.
When it was time for salads, I served all who could have some, Beefeaters on the rocks. My special Caesar dressing with the gin is great. Everyone enjoyed it.
I had turned on the grille as the salads were being served, so I had the girls steam the asparagus and take the potatoes out of the oven. They set the big table in the dining room below deck while I began cooking. There were only three rare requests, and only one that wanted the steak to be done all the way through, so cooking this night was easy.
Dinner was great. Everyone enjoyed having a special piece of meat for a change. This was the first good steak we had since being gone. For dessert, Sue and Mercy served us all small bowls of ice cream with chocolate syrup. The taste was outstanding. Juanita surprised me by serving us all some special café conlachie. (Strong Cuban coffee with sweet milk.)
Sal said, "It's too bad you can't be around more often. You were really good to help in the demonstration. Phil told me you were an ace welder and that you had invented the machine. All of the government workers were impressed that the owner of the company could weld. It was the final point to get the sale."
"I think you had them where you wanted them anyway, Sal. That lunch we had should sell anything for you. The food was outstanding. I can't wait to come back and take the family there."
"They would love for you to bring all of your kids and all of your women. They think that a man with many women is special. You would be fighting off my cousins. They would want to join your harem."
Juanita said, "I'm not sure there's anything left for another chica to join us. He's going to have to take vitamins to keep up with us four."
"Don't be so greedy Juanita," Mercy laughed. "Our husband may enjoy one of these dark eyed beauties."
Sal and his women were laughing as I just shook my head.
We all hugged and shook hands saying it had been a real pleasure to visit with them. Rochelle said that perhaps they would see us on the Riviera as they had a vacation planned very soon. The kids were going to the grandparents, so they could enjoy the beaches alone. We exchanged information about where we would be, then said goodnight.
We cleaned up and I took the grille back up to the rental area. The attendant told me that I didn't need to clean it up next time as that was part of the service.
We settled down in the lounge enjoying a drink, soft drinks for three and some good booze for the rest of us. Juanita had Missy joining her with a Cuba Libre, while Maggie enjoyed some good Jameson Irish Whiskey with soda.
I told my crew that we didn't have to leave early as it would take at least twenty-four hours to get to Rome. We had reservations that were loose enough to accept us anytime during the next week. We planned on staying in Rome for at least four days, perhaps longer. There is just too much to see in a day or two.
We all settled down in bed. I figured on getting some loving tonight, but the girls were all tired from their all day shopping marathon. I was given some kisses then all of us were asleep instantly.