Chapter 22
The next day they went shopping for a small piece of jewelry. He found that she was more generous than he would have been. She picked out a three-diamond necklace for Betty that was quite expensive. They asked that it be delivered that afternoon with a card from Carl. Brad called Carl from his cell phone and told him what he had done. He explained that the card said that it was from Carl and that he never wanted Betty to know where it really came from.
"I want you to tell Betty that you bought it for her. I want her to think that it came from you. That's a thank you from Amy and me. Maybe that will get you out of the doghouse. And I thank you personally. You've been a good friend over the years and I couldn't have made it without you and Betty."
Carl was silent for a minute, "What did you send? I ought to know in case she mentions it."
Amy pulled the phone away form him, "You'd better learn to take care of that woman, Mr. Samples. We're starting a new business. I'm renting out my husband to teach you guys that don't know how to treat a woman. Since you're a friend we'll give you a two percent discount."
Carl asked again what they had bought and Amy told him and described it for him. He was silent for a minute.
"My God, knowing her, she'll never take it off. Thank you both. I guess I'll be getting a phone call this afternoon."
Brad drove to the car dealership and Amy picked out the jaguar that she wanted. She decided on a metallic gray that she said would be more dignified for an executive woman. Brad insisted that she go shopping for some clothes suitable for the office and had her get a few business suites.
On Saturday morning Joseph and his crew started setting up for the affair on Sunday. He had spared no expense. He had many potted plants placed around the yard and had several tents set up for protection from the sun. There weather forecast for Sunday was for sunshine all day and moderate temperatures. Carl had told Brad that Joseph wouldn't accept any money and he had told him that he was afraid that Joseph was hurting himself financially.
Brad corralled Joseph, "Look, I insist on paying for this. I know that this is costing a fortune."
"No. No. Brad, this is my wedding resent to you and Amy. I am so happy that you have found someone to make you happy. I was really worried about you."
"Look I'm going to pay for this. If you want to give us a wedding present, give us a free dinner at the restaurant. There's no way I'm going to let you pay for this and I demand a itemized bill so that I can be sure that you are including everything in the bill. I just appreciate you agreeing to do this for us. I wouldn't trust this to anyone else."
After about fifteen minutes of arguing Joseph finally agreed to let him pay for the party. He left to supervise the setup. Brad Went to find Amy and find out if she had picked out what she was going to wear on Sunday. He found her in the kitchen cleaning. He walked up behind her and put his arms around her.
"Ummm," she said, "I was wondering where you were. I wanted a man's arms around me so bad, that if you hadn't come by soon, I was going to go out and find a man to put his arms around me."
He asked her to take a break and sit down with him for a while. He told her about how the preparations were going. When he asked if she had decided what to wear she just smiled and told him he'd have to wait and see.
"I just had a fight with Joseph. He was refusing to let me pay for the party tomorrow. I know that he cannot afford to foot the bill for this. I finally made him agree to let me pay."
She smiled, "I like Joseph and his brother. They're good people. I know he thinks the world of you."
"Yes, if it hadn't been for Joseph and Carl I probably wouldn't be here today. For months after Vera died, Joseph would send over dinner and sit and talk to me. A lot of times the freezer would have several dinners in it, and you know how fine his dinners are. He's been a true friend."
"Didn't you say that you own the building that he has the restaurant in?'
"Yes, I built that building for almost nothing. The land that it is built on my father bought from the city at a tax lien sale. It was getting to be a hassle keeping the weeds down and the trash picked up. An awful lot of the material that we used to build it was left over from other projects. When material is left over from a project, it is sometimes years before you get another project to use that type of material on. Storage gets to be a problem and it's costly to store material that you won't have any quick use for. It might never be used years. Construction was slack for a while so I really built the building to keep my employees working. I would have had to pay them anyway or lose them. In the end, I built the building dirt-cheap. It is still a quality building."
Amy got a thoughtful look on her face, "How long have Joseph and his brother leased the building from you?"
"I guess about eleven years now."
He could see the wheels turning in her head. She looked like she was planning something.
"How much do you think that the building is worth today?"
"Oh, probably around three hundred thousand, maybe a little more. I could never sell it though. I'd have to pay some inheritance tax and capital gains tax."
"When do you think that you'll get your money back?"
It suddenly dawned on him where she was heading, "I got my money back years ago."
She came over and sat on his lap, "Well, if you've already made a profit and you can't sell it, why not give it to them. You know they are struggling to keep their heads above water."
He looked at her to see if she was kidding and saw that she was not.
"You told me that he saved your life and watched out for you after Vera died, I feel that I owe him too. If, it hadn't been for him and Carl I might never had the chance to marry you and be happy. Do you have the lease papers here or are they at the office."
He coaxed her off of his lap and went to his office and got the papers from the file. He came back into the kitchen and handed them to her. She went to the kitchen drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. She held the scissors to the paper and looked at him. He nodded his head and she cut the lease agreement into one-inch squares and then put them in a Zip-Lock bag.
She held the bag up, "Can I do this one. You always get to do things for people. I want to see what it's like."
She took his hand and walked outside to where Joseph was barking orders to the people setting up the tents. She got his attention and he walked over to them.
"Joseph, I hear that you don't want to take any money for this affair. Well, we insist that you let us pay. Brad tells me that you've been such a good friend throughout the years that he would feel that he was stealing form you if he didn't pay. By the way, would you take care of this trash for me? You'd better look at each scrap of paper before you throw it out to make sure that there's nothing of value there."
She grabbed Brad's hand and hustled him back into the house. She ran to the kitchen window and watched as Joseph went back to directing the work. She saw him hold up the bag and looked at the paper through the side of the bag. He pulled out several of the scraps of paper and scanned them. Apparently he came across one scrap that had at least a part of his signature on it and a puzzled look crossed his face. He started for the house at a fast pace.
Amy was holding open the door for him and he ran into the house. He had to stop and get his breath.
"Brad, you can't throw this away. It's our lease. You have to hold onto this."
Brad and Amy started laughing until tears ran down their face. He finally had to hold onto Joseph before he fell.
Finally he calmed down, "This was really Amy's idea. You know that I built that building on land that my father owned. You've leased that building for eleven years and I've got all of my money back. With the inheritance tax on the land and the capital gains on the building, it's worth more to you than it is to us. Get in touch with Carl Monday and we'll have the deed transferred over to you and Anthony. Have him set it up so that taxes won't kill you if you ever decide to sell."
Joseph started wringing his hands, "Amy try to talk some sense into this man. He's gone crazy."
Amy walked over to him and hugged the sobbing man, "We want to do this. As Brad said it is getting to be more of a hassle than it's worth."
Joseph hugged her again, "I can see why Brad married you. You are two of a kind."
She pushed him out the door, "Go, you have work to do."
She smiled at Brad, "That was fun. Now I know why you do it."