Chapter 7 #3
Foreclosure. That word he knew. They’d been terrified of it happening to them the entire time he’d been living on the farm.
The bank could and would come in and take it all away from you.
Your house, land, clothing, and anything that might have been left behind.
They didn’t care what it meant to you; if they could get a dollar for it, it was going to be put up for sale so that they could get their money back from you forfeiting in a deal you had with the bank.
He realized that he’d missed something when Howard had been talking.
Asking him to repeat himself seemed rude since he’d asked the question, he only nodded his head and told him that it was a shame.
Smiling, Howard told him that one man’s problems could be a gain for him.
He didn’t know if he could buy a house that had been foreclosed on.
The people might still be around town, and that he’d never be able to live down.
Buying a property that had had a family in it that he knew.
That was why he was so keen on building a home.
No one had lived it in before him, and he knew that it wasn’t going to be someone’s livelihood that he was profiting on.
He thought that he needed to get his head together before he started giving all his money away so that he’d feel better.
He decided to go and see David. He’d give him advice on how to combat these feelings of being too rich.
Making his way to his car, he even thought about how none of his brothers had brought a new car when they had the money to do so.
Not even himself. Shaking his head, he made his way to the farm to see how the best man he knew was dealing with being a billionaire.
David wasn’t home, but Alice was, and she fixed him a cup of tea to go with the cookies that she’d just baked while he poured out his story.
He had skipped around a couple of times, but she said that she understood what he was saying.
When she finally sat down, he waited for her to tell him he was being foolish.
“The house that we gave your brother was foreclosed on. Someone who had been friends with us, as a matter of fact. We tried to help them, but they wouldn’t have it.
Their pride got them into trouble, and it was keeping them from getting the help that they needed to save their home.
I’m sure that the bank tried to work with them, too, as they don’t want to foreclose on anyone.
There’s not just a lot of paperwork to be filled out, but they might not get what they want from the house in the end.
” He said that he’d not thought about that.
“I’m sure if you were to ask Mr. Howard about it, he’d tell you the same thing.
That the people just wouldn’t play ball with them, and that’s what made them lose their homes. ”
He told her about how he’d been trying to spend money and hadn’t gotten the hang of it yet. She told him that it was a good thing. That they’d have money well beyond their lives, and that would be a good nest egg for their children.
“I’m not sure that I want to have a family. I don’t know why, but I think there are enough people in the world who have children they can’t afford.” She said she wished they’d had children. “I’m sorry. I had forgotten about that. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“I’m all right. Today. Some days are worse than others.
But I have to tell you that having you six around, coming to us for advice, has been the best thing that has happened to us.
We just love you all like you’re our own children.
” She laughed. “We’ve even thought about adopting the six of you, but you’re a might old to be calling us mom and dad at this late in the game. ”
“I was just a kid when my mom was killed by our father. Did someone tell you that he died in prison?” She said that she’d heard about it from Kinsey.
“He goes to you for advice all the time he told me. I love having you guys around to help us. What I was getting at, I’d love to call you mom.
You’re the best thing that has happened to us since I was a child.
And I couldn’t ask for a better role model. ”
She got up and turned her back to him. He could tell that she was crying, and it hurt him in his heart that he’d caused her to do that.
Getting up, he pulled her into his arms and held her while she sobbed.
His own eyes filled with tears as he held her in his arms while she cried.
He wondered what he’d do if she were to tell one of his brothers that he’d made her cry. They’d more than likely kill him.
After a bit, she stopped crying, but he continued to hold her. She laid her head on his shoulder and told him he was a good man. He thought that she couldn’t have given him a better compliment than that, and he was proud to have her say that to him.
Sitting down when she said she was all right, he enjoyed another cookie.
He didn’t much care for the tea, preferring a nice glass of milk instead.
He drank it with the cookies and didn’t say anything.
She’d been kind to him, and he hoped someday that he’d be able to repay her for her kindness.
The Winchesters really were the best part of selling the farm to them.
They’d become close friends, and it felt good to have someone in his corner all the time.
Being invited to stay for dinner, he couldn’t find it in him to turn her down.
They were having steaks on the grill, and it was his favorite meal.
David arrived home around four, and they sat in the living room of their new home and talked about what he’d talked to Alice about earlier.
He got a kick out of the story about having money on him and how it had made him sick.
He related his own story about money, too, that had him laughing hard.
“I’d been about seventeen and wanted to show up that I had some money.
I didn’t. I was just beginning to show my worth to my father when I wanted to be a big man.
So I went to the bank and got myself two stacks of ones.
They made my wallet look fatter, you see.
When I pulled out one of the tens I had too, I made sure that they could all see that I had a wad of cash.
Little did I know I was showing them that I had all ones while I was at it.
It took me making my first million before I got over that.
Today, I carry around money so that I know that I can spread it around.
What I love doing now that I’m making my own way in the world.
” Ara said he’d have to do that, so he’d feel better if he were to lose his wallet.
“No, don’t do that. You be who you are, young man, and you’ll be just fine.
If you can’t spend your money on things that you want, you’re going to regret it.
Find a passion and fill your home with it.
Even if it’s making puzzles. You do what makes you feel good. ”
He was going to do just that. As soon as he figured out what made him happy.
Right now, he was able to afford the things that he needed when he needed them.
He knew that before long, he’d find what made him happy.
The first thing that popped into his head was traveling.
He wanted to see the world, but he’d start with the country that he was in.
He’d not seen much of it since he’d been a kid and wanted that more than anything.
As soon as he found himself a house, he was going to travel around, finding new adventures to tell his family about someday.
Yes, he thought, that’s just what he was going to do.
He’d figure out a plan and go for it. It would be an eye-opener because he’d only been in Ohio all his life and wanted to try different foods.
See different things while he was out and have some fun, and spend a little bit of his money.
He might even get himself a truck and a tent to go on his camping trips and do that.
He was excited about going around to the different states and was going to start on his planning as soon as he got home.