Chapter 3 #2
The knock on the door pulled him out of his silly, circular thoughts.
The dogs went nuts, and when he let James inside, all four of them crowded around him like he had bacon in his pockets.
Once they got pets from him, they ran over to Lyle, all excited.
“You guys are goofy,” he told the dogs. “Come on in,” he said to James.
“Dinner has about fifteen minutes to go. Can I get you something to drink? I have lots of things.” Maybe he had overbought.
“Water would be great,” James said, and Lyle knew he had gotten way too much.
“I have beer and a bottle of wine,” he offered.
“Then wine would be nice.” James followed him into the kitchen, the dogs padding behind, checking out what was happening before getting bored. Daisy decided to climb into her doggie bed, and the others followed suit.
“Sometimes I swear they have a hive mind. One of them decides to do something, and the others either follow or decide on something else, and eventually they all end up in the same place. So how were classes?”
“Pretty good. I have a paper due on Friday, but it’s almost done. I also have a great deal of reading to do. But I’m getting ahead of that. Some of it is interesting and some is just kind of bland. I know what I’m taking now is to prepare for other things to build on, but it’s just so dry.”
“I suppose it isn’t written by Tom Clancy.”
James chuckled as Lyle opened the bottle of white wine and poured two glasses. He handed one to James, and they sat in the living room. The dogs were behaved and happy, which was good.
“What’s this?” James asked, pointing to the letter on the table. “It looks official.”
“From Corky’s lawyer. I think this has something to do with Debbie and her foolishness.”
“Do you mind?” James asked and picked up the letter once Lyle nodded. He hadn’t wanted to think about that too much. It only made him worry that Debbie was going to take the dogs away. “This is notification that he needs to meet with you. It’s official because it was sent registered.”
“So what do I do?”
“Call first thing and see what they want. I doubt it’s something to do with Debbie, because it would be too fast. If I had to guess, I’d say that it’s Corky’s will, which could be good news. Just call and see what they want.”
“It’s probably too late now,” Lyle said.
“Yeah. But you could call and leave a message if you wanted.” James sat back, and Lyle called the number on the letterhead.
He got voicemail, as expected, and left a message along with his phone number.
Then he went into the kitchen to check on dinner and pulled the dish out of the oven.
The scent of herbs and chicken wafted through the room on the steam.
The dogs all rushed in, scampering around his feet as he set the dish on the stove to cool slightly.
“I keep expecting Debbie to show up with the sheriff or something. Corky didn’t have a lot, and what she had, she spent on the dogs.”
“Yeah. I looked it up, and these dogs can sell for five to eight thousand dollars, especially ones that are younger, like these, and of breeding age. A puppy will sell for four thousand dollars or more.” James put the letter back on the table.
“That’s why Debbie wants them. She even said that she had found people to take them… she probably meant buy them.”
“I guess.” He patted his lap, and Daisy jumped up. “I hate to see these dogs in cages or something, just lying around waiting to give birth to little after litter.” He hugged her, and she licked his cheek. “God knows what that woman will do with them.”
“Well, I suspect you’ll find out everything from the lawyer when he calls.” James leaned a little closer. “Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?”
“Nope.” Lyle set Daisy down and jumped up.
He checked on the beans. They were done, so he finished them up and brought everything to the table.
“It’s not very fancy. I’m not the world’s best cook.
But I made this before, so I hope you like it.
” The last thing he remembered was the dressings for the salad, and then they sat at the table, with the dogs lying under it.
Dinner was fun and light. James made him laugh, and they ate and talked until the food was gone.
Lyle refilled their glasses, and they continued talking about everything…
and nothing. It was a weird combination, and yet it worked.
Nothing seemed off limits, and Lyle even found himself sharing stories about when he was a kid.
“What were your parents like?” James asked.
“It was just Mom and me. My father… or the sperm donor, as my mother referred to him, didn’t stick around much after my birth.
He wanted Mom to give me up for adoption, but she told him to pound sand and took me home.
We lived with my grandparents for a number of years.
They lived upstairs, and Mom and I lived in the walkout basement of the ranch home.
I think it was stressful for Mom, but I loved having Grammy and Gramps upstairs.
If Mom was working, then I’d stay with them.
” Lyle sighed. “I was fourteen when Gramps died, and seventeen when Grammy passed. That was really hard. Mom still lives in the house, only she moved upstairs. She isn’t home a great deal, though.
Mom got promoted a number of years ago and she travels a lot. ”
“That must be tough for her,” James said.
Lyle shook his head. “She loves it. Last month she was in Kuala Lumpur for a couple of weeks, and then she went on to Singapore and eventually Hong Kong. Right now she’s in Japan.
She loves her work, and travel is something she always wanted to do.
Later in the year she’ll be in India. Then she’ll be home for a month before heading to Europe. ”
“What does she do?”
“Mom was always into fashion, and she scouts trends and sources manufacturing for Saks. Europe is usually where new things come out of, but a lot of trends have come from Asia recently. So she scouts what’s new and helps get those designs and colors into the stores before anyone else has a chance to catch on.
That way she keeps the stores on the edge of fashion where the prices are highest and people will pay just to be ahead of the pack. ”
“Sounds like a lot of pressure,” James said. “Though she must really love it.”
“She does. And I don’t think Mom sees it as pressure.
She has an eye for what’s coming. So for her, being there where trends start is important.
I went with her to Tokyo two years ago, and she spent a lot of time walking outside, making notes on what people were wearing and what new types of stores had opened.
Then, when we went to India, she found quality manufacturers to make what she wanted. ”
“Sounds like she has real talent,” James observed.
“She really does. So what about your family?” Lyle asked, and James sighed.