Chapter 13 #2
“All right. I like that idea. My mom made us cook when we were little, and with my wife…getting sick, it came in handy.” His voice kind of got lower, and she understood that he must be feeling a lot of pain every time he thought about his late wife.
It made her sad, but it also made her curious.
She really didn’t know a whole lot about his wife or about how they met or anything like that, and she suddenly found herself immensely curious and wanting to know everything.
But this wasn’t the time. They were talking about something completely different, and plus, that was too personal.
She definitely didn’t want to go there.
He looked back down the list and said, “So you just want two months’ notice if I need to sell or if you need to move, and you’re offering to do some light cleaning, but I don’t expect you to clean up after my children.”
“I need to do something to earn my keep. I can’t just live there and not pay anything.”
“You gave my kids free therapy for an entire year. I can certainly house you without you having to do anything to pay for it. And you’re already getting groceries and cooking.”
“All right. We don’t have to say that’s included, as long as you don’t forbid me from doing it. I occasionally like to clean, when I need to do something that allows me to think. You know?”
“I understand that. Sometimes I need to go out to the garage and tinker around in order to get my thoughts in order. Just give my hands something to do without my brain needing to be engaged.”
“That’s exactly right. It’s a good way to describe it. Some movement, but not needing to have your brain engaged so you can think about something.”
“I think I read somewhere that movement helps us to think.”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I think better when I’m just sitting still. I guess… Can it depend on mood, maybe?”
“I think that’s a woman’s prerogative?” he said, a little hesitantly like he was afraid that he might be stepping into territory he wasn’t supposed to be in.
She laughed, letting him know that it wasn’t going to bother her whatever he said.
“All right, so we have that we need an agreement on the list. Can you get a lawyer to write an agreement that we both can sign?”
“I definitely think it would be a good idea for us to have a signed agreement between us, but I’m just peachy for it to be between you and me.
And then…if I don’t keep my word, you can come after me however you want to, but I’m not going to hire a lawyer and get really upset if you don’t do what you say you’re going to do.
I… I guess I just believe that there shouldn’t be lawyers between Christians. ”
“That’s a dangerous position and not a popular one, but the Bible does say that Christians should not sue other Christians at law, especially in a secular court, if I understand the Bible correctly.”
“That’s what I understand it to say too. That we’re supposed to just judge each other and not go outside to secular people in order to settle our disagreements.”
He appeared thoughtful, as he nodded, running a hand over his chin, before he crossed his arms over his chest and held the paper up. “All right then, I can write something up that includes everything that we have here, and… I can have it ready by tomorrow if you need me to.”
“I guess that would be another question, how soon do you want to move on this?”
“Did you find out if you can get your horses back?”
“I thought I might be getting the cart ahead of the horse a little bit, so to speak.” She chuckled a little, and he laughed along with her.
“But I did call about them. I can get them all back. I didn’t spend the money.
I didn’t need it, since you paid more for the farm than what I was asking.
So, I can buy them back…as soon as I can arrange transportation.
” She had a trailer and could transport them, but the buyers had picked them up, so she just had to figure out if they could bring them back, or when she’d need to fit it in her schedule.
“All right then. I’m ready to move today, but I don’t want you to make your employer mad.”
“She’s not going to be mad at me, but you’re right. I don’t want to leave her high and dry, although she didn’t have an employee before I came, and I’ve only been working three days. Still, she was kind enough to give me a job when I needed one, and I want to treat her right.”
“That’s fair. You want to see how long of a notice she needs?”
“I’ll do that. It won’t be longer than two weeks, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she says she doesn’t need a notice at all.”
They sat there a little bit, both of them seeming to think about everything, and then she decided that maybe she should ask a couple of the questions she was curious about.
“I… I don’t want to overstep, because we just agreed to me living in your house, but that doesn’t give me the right to any of your personal history.”
“It’s open for discussion, if you’re interested.”
“I guess I was just thinking that I might like to know a little bit about you. Considering that we’re going to be living in close quarters. I know a good bit about your children, but you are more of a mystery.”
“My life’s an open book, for the most part.” He seemed to be thinking about something, but he didn’t say anything more.
“What kind of business do you have?” she asked, figuring she would start with something simple.
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to delve into any of the things that she was super curious about, because there were things that maybe were a little bit too personal, but she did want to know a little bit more about him.
After all, she really was going to be living in his house.
“I own an equipment rental company. My business is located in Harrisonburg, and that’s where I lived for a while, but I really wanted the kids to be able to grow up in Mistletoe Meadows.
It’s much smaller, and you know how it is.
A close-knit community with people who watch out for each other.
We like each other, and we take care of each other.
Harrisonburg isn’t that big, but it’s a completely different feel.
Although, I don’t think my business would be a success in Mistletoe Meadows. ”
“Are you going to be traveling back and forth?”
“No. I… Maybe you heard that it was on the brink of bankruptcy right after my wife died?”
“I did hear that.”
“My office manager was embezzling money. Suffice it to say she was accepting cash from clients and then keeping those rentals off the books. She was also not paying bills when they were due, and part of the reason was there wasn’t a whole lot of money coming in, since she was getting everything paid in cash. ”
“How did you figure that out? There would be no paper trail.”
“She made an offer to someone who considered themselves my friend, thankfully. It was kind of surprising to me how many people didn’t consider themselves my friend enough to feel like they needed to tell me what was going on.
Or at least alert me to the fact that it was strange she was wanting cash payments.
But this guy did, and I was able to report it to the police who did some undercover work, caught her red-handed, and while she didn’t get charged for everything she did, we can look at the books and see that she probably took over half of the money that my business made for the last six months of my wife’s life. ”
“I think it takes a special kind of person to embezzle money from a man who has three children and is losing their mother and his wife to cancer. Wow.”
“Yeah. I guess I thought the same thing. Who could do that to someone, right?” He gave a wan smile.
“Well, I found someone who could, and I hired her and put her in a position of authority. I believe I’ve been a little bit more careful this time, and I’ve made sure that my employees know that there are cameras, with sound, so I can check on my business anytime. ”