Tip & Ty
by: E Walk

(Copyright 2007 by the Author)
 

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

 

Chapter 15

Nano Will Take Care of It

This is Mark. 

On Tuesday morning, everything seemed to be on schedule.  I was in the kitchen when Tip and Ty came down and went to the gym.  I watched as they were departing.  It seemed to me like there was a little more body contact than normal.

After the two gentlemen left, I went to get the children up.  I was surprised at how easy the two boys were to get started for the day.  We had laid out their clothes for the day last night, so there was no problem.  Bobby announced, “We’re fine, Nano, you had better go check on our sisters.”

I went to the girls’ room.  Becky decided she didn’t like what she had selected the night before, so we went back to the drawing board.  Barbie was fine and I got her dressed while Becky primmed and prissed.  I stood up and said, “I'll let you young ladies finish dressing.  I need to go finish breakfast.  I am sure you two ladies can get yourselves ready.”

Becky looked at me, “Are you afraid of us?”

“No ma’am, but if you are going to get to school on time, I need to finish cooking breakfast.”

I finished preparing breakfast as everyone arrived. I directed them to the table and served them each a plate of French toast and bacon.

When everyone finished, Mr. Jefferson announced, “Okay, you munchkins, if you ate, you can take your own dishes and things to the kitchen.” 

Bobby put the dishes in the dishwasher after I rinsed them.  We had the kitchen cleaned in no time with everyone’s help.

Mr. Jefferson looked at me, “Mark, let’s take the children to school and then stop by the bank so we can take care of the financial arrangements.  We’ll take Barbie with us, since Tip will need to be at the clinic before we return.  I’ll call my office and leave a message that I am going to be a little late.

The three oldest children climbed out of the van when we reached the school, and Ty drove us to the bank which was not far from the condo.  Even though it was just after eight o’clock, we were escorted into one of the private offices.

Mr. Jefferson greeted the lady who was standing behind the desk, “Good of you to see us so early, Mrs. Cummings.  I would like to introduce you to my children’s Nano, Mark Leavitt, and my youngest daughter Barbie.” 

He turned to me, “This is Mrs. Rita Cummings.  She has been my financial advisor ever since I moved here to the Kansas City area.”  Mrs. Cummings and I shook hands and she asked us to be seated at the table.

Mrs. Cummings looked at Ty, “Ty, this must be important for you to be here so early.  Now what can I do to help you?”

“Rita, now that I am a working man, we may be having more of these early meetings.  The reason I asked you to meet with us today is that we need to set up a household account so Mr. Leavitt can access it with a check or a debit/credit card.  I am going to make an initial deposit into that account of $1500.00.  I would like for it to be replenished automatically if the balance gets below $500.00.”

“Okay, Mr. Mark Leavitt, I will need you to fill out these forms.  You must be a special person if Mr. Jefferson is willing to have such an open-ended account in your name.  Ty, I am rather surprised you would be doing something like this.”

While I was filling out the forms, Ty and Mrs. Cummings were visiting.  She asked about Tip and Zack.  Ty was telling her about the house that he was looking at buying and discussing the best way to finance it.  Mrs. Cummings said, “The best way to start is to get it appraised.  Why don’t I give you the name of the person the bank likes to use?  He gives honest appraisals and doesn’t pull any punches.

“That would be great Rita.  Thanks.”  Ty said as I handed the completed forms to Mrs. Cummings. 

She looked them over and said, “Gentlemen, I can get everything finished in about half an hour if you would like to wait, or you can come back tomorrow.”

I spoke up, “Ma’am, I shouldn’t need any money today, so why don’t I come back tomorrow about two fifteen, before I pick the children up from school.  I would also like to open a personal account.  Is there is any way that you can get my money transferred here from my bank in Fremont, Nebraska?

“Mark, I’ll tell you what, when you come tomorrow, bring all of the account information and I’ll take care of it.  This is Tuesday and if you bring the information tomorrow, we can have everything settled by Friday.”

Ty and I stood and shook hands with Mrs. Cummings.  Mrs. Cummings went to her desk and pulled out four Tootsie Pops and handed them to Barbie, “Barbie, you share these with your brothers and sisters.”

As we were leaving, Mrs. Cummings said, “See you tomorrow, Mark.”

When we got to the car, Ty looked at his watch, “Mark, why don’t you just take me to the office and then you can pick me up about four.  The new car should be ready by then.”

He directed to me to his office.  He had me pull in his parking space.  “Mark, why don’t you and Barbie come in with me, so you can meet my office manager?  I am sure that you will be talking to her from time to time, and I think it would good for the two of you to know the person you are talking to.”

We entered the office and a beautiful lady was sitting behind the desk.  She looked up, “Well, if it isn’t the tardy Mr. Jefferson and his Little Barbie Doll.

She looked at me, “I don’t think I know this gorgeous hunk.”

I must have turned red.  Ty started laughing, “Mark, don’t mind my office manager.  She says what she thinks.  Clarisse, this is Mark Leavitt; he is the children’s Nano.  I asked him to come in and meet you because the two of you will probably getting to know each other quite well.”

“Mark, Mrs. Clarisse Morton is my office manager.  Perhaps you have heard of her husband, Don Morton?”

I shook hands with Mrs. Morton.  She was laughing, “Don does the kicking on the field, and I do the kicking off the field including your new boss.  Mark, welcome aboard.” 

“Mark, why don’t you swing by and pick me up at 4:30 and take me to the car dealership so I can get my new luxury vehicle?”

Clarisse put her hands on her hips, “Wait a minute; I didn’t give you permission to buy a new car.  Mark, it was nice to meet you.  Barbie you take care of your handsome Nano.  I need to put your Daddy to work.”

Barbie and I left and I found our way back to the condo.  We went in the house and I got Barbie a snack and started to take care of things.

This is Ty.

After Mark and Barbie left, I looked at my schedule.  “Clarisse, would you call the airlines and make reservations for my brother and I to fly to Denver on Friday about 7:00 PM?   Also would call the Brown Palace and see if you can get us a suite for Friday and Saturday night.  We can stay in the same room.  We probably should get back home about 5:00 on Sunday.”

Clarisse scowled at me, “Which brother, Tyler?  Is the reservation for Tip or Zack?  Who is going to be taking care of the children?”

“Clarisse, the reservations will be for Tip and me.  The children will be staying with Nano Mark and Zack.  I forgot to tell you that Mark is going to be a live in Nano.  He will also be taking care of the cleaning and most of the cooking.  He is a certified teacher and has an endorsement in early childhood development.  He was a perfect match for the job, and the children already love him.”

Our conversation was interrupted when my first client arrived, “I looked at him, Alex, why are you here?”

I guess I need to explain, Alex Gordon had been a teammate of mine on the Kansas City Chiefs.  He was probably one of the most caring and kind people that I had ever known in professional football.

When I got Alex settled in my office, Clarisse served us coffee.  I looked at Alex, “Okay Mr. Gordon, this is not a social call.  So why don’t you tell me why you are here.  I will be recording the conversation so that I can keep the facts firmly established in my brain.”

Alex started, “I backed out of an endorsement contract when the company wanted me to make untrue statements about their products.”

I shook my head, “Alex, I was in this business, so I know that companies can be demanding.  When you signed your contract, weren’t the terms made clear?”

Alex answered quickly, “The terms were spelled out.  I even had a codicil added that I would never be required to say anything that wasn’t the truth.  They wanted me to do an ad which made claims that could not possibly be true.  I have been ordered to appear in court on the charge of breach of contract on Thursday.  My previous lawyer pulled himself off my case because of conflict of interest.  Please Ty; help me keep what little I have left.”

I looked at Alex, “Gees, that does not give me much time to prepare a case.  I hope you have a copy of the contract with the codicil.”

“Ty, I do have copies right here.  My family and I would be indebted to you for life, if you would take the case.”

“Alex, I’ll call you tomorrow.  I need some time to think about how to go about your defense.”

Alex left and I handed Clarisse the recording of my conversation with Alexis.  I didn’t even have time to read the papers that Alex had given me.  Clarisse kept escorting clients into the office almost non stop.  It was noon when she brought me a sandwich and some fruit and we sat at the small table in my office. 

As we were eating, she pronounced, “Ty, if you are going to be this busy, then we need some more help.  I can’t do the secretarial work and be a receptionist and gopher to make sure you eat right.  Besides, I might like to take some time off when and if Don and I ever decide to have more children.”

I started to laugh, “Clarisse, you already have six children, why would you want any more?”

She nonchalantly answered, “Well, we might have an accident.  Oh by the way, a Mr. Landover called and said your car was ready.  I told him that you would be picking it up between four and five.  There was a call from a Mr. Hastings.  He said he would be at the Quinn house at 10:00 o’clock tomorrow morning to do his appraisal.  He asked that you or your representative be there, so he could give you his evaluation.  I guess you will need to send a representative since Mr. Hunter called and would like for you to meet with him in the Kansas City front office at 9:00.  He told me to block from 9:00 until 11:30 and then he would be taking you to lunch to discuss some private matters.”

I started to laugh, “Okay Mrs. Morton, I hope you scheduled my bathroom breaks.  Here’s what I want you to do.  I would like for you to find at least one, and maybe two, good people to assist you.  Please, just make sure that they will not turn our clients away because of their attitudes.  I don’t care which sex or their sexual preferences are, as long as they can maintain their decorum in the office.”

Clarisse started to laugh, “So, you are saying that I can hire a gay stud and a young lesbian woman and you wouldn’t care?”

I shrugged my shoulders, “As long as they are doing what you want them to do, then why should I care.  We are here to provide our clients with the best service possible.”

Clarisse looked at the clock, “Ty, I had better get back to my desk, your next clients are due to arrive shortly, and they would not say what they wanted to visit with you about.”

It was exactly one o’clock when Clarisse escorted an elderly couple into my office.  “Mr. Jefferson, I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins.”  I stood and shook their hands and asked them to sit down; as the got seated, I told them I would be recording our conversation so I could make a record.

I looked at them, “Now, Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, how can I help you?  Please call me Ty.”

Mr. Jenkins looked me in the eye, “Ty, our children are trying to have us declared incompetent to handle our own affairs.  They have petitioned the court to take control of our money.  We know that it is the doing of our oldest son’s wife.  She wants to be in charge of the family fortune.”

I stood, “Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, I am not sure what we are talking about here. Perhaps you could explain to me what is involved.”

Mr. Jenkins sat ringing his hands, “Mr. Jefferson, my wife and I have been able to amass a nest egg of nearly $10,000,000.00 dollars.  We have provided nicely for all of our children and grandchildren, but they seem to think they should have more.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, why did you wait until now to seek legal advice, and why did you come to me?”

“Mr. Jefferson, we just got back into town yesterday, and found out that there was going to be a court hearing on Friday.  We were on an extended cruise of 90 days.  I called Mr. Hunter of the Kansas City Chiefs and he said you might be willing to take the case.”

I thought to myself, “What am I getting myself into?”  I picked up a pad and said, “How much time do I have to prepare for this court appearance?”

Mrs. Jenkins looked at me, “Mr. Jefferson, that’s the problem.  We have been notified that we are to be in court on Friday at 2:00p.m.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, let me think about this tonight, and I’ll call you in the morning.  We have a great many things that we need to do in a short amount of time.  I’ll do the best I can do.”

Clarisse came in, “Ty, you have one more appointment for today.  You are scheduled at the Kansas City Chiefs offices at 9:00 in the morning.  Clarisse ushered in a young man who looked like he could be eighteen.  “Mr. Jefferson, this is Shawn Ferguson.  He is here for two purposes.  He is looking for a job, and he needs to seek an injunction against a former friend.”

Shawn didn’t waste anytime, “Mr. Jefferson, I am being harassed by a former lover.  We were together the entire way through college and then he got into S&M and that is not my thing.  I booted him out.  Now I have to pay for the apartment by myself and that is difficult on what I make at the department store.”

“Shawn, you said you were a college graduate, what did you major in?”

“Sir, I have my degree in public relations.  You know what, that doesn’t mean much to many of the big companies.  They are looking for people with more specialized skills.  I am beginning to feel like I wasted four years of my life.”

I looked at Clarisse and nodded, “Shawn, if you will wait in the outer office for few minutes, Mrs. Morton and I have some things to discuss before she leaves for today.”

When Shawn had departed, “Clarisse, I have good vibes about young Shawn.  I think he could relieve you of some of your work.  He could serve as the receptionist and get the pertinent information from the clients and you could worry about the billing and paying the accounts.  Now all we need is someone who can transcribe and type the documents.”

I hadn’t noticed the door was open, but Shawn approached the door.  “Sir, I overheard what you and Mrs. Morton were talking about.  I have a sister who just finished secretarial school and is a whiz at dictation.  She might just be the person you are looking for.  There is one drawback, though.”

Clarisse and I both looked up, and we spoke almost simultaneously, “What that’s Shawn?”

She was injured in an accident and has an artificial leg.  She also has a partner of the same sex.”

I started to laugh, “Shawn, if she has a partner already, why should we care.  She wouldn’t be trying to put the make on our clients.  Have her stop by tomorrow and visit. Have her bring her credentials and she can talk to Mrs. Morton.  You are hereby hired as our public relations expert.  You can come with your sister and I will have your compensations packages prepared.”

Any further conversation was interrupted by my children and Mark.  Bobby came bounding in, “Daddy, let’s go get your car.  You gotta hear what Nano Mark has to tell you.  Uncle Tip is going to be late for dinner.  He had to go to the airport to deliver a baby.”

I held up my hand, “Bobby, slow down.  Let me introduce Shawn Ferguson.  He is going to be Mrs. Morton's assistant, starting next week,”

“Shawn, I would like to introduce my children and their Nano Mark Leavitt.  I am sure that you'll have many opportunities to speak with them.  Okay people, let’s get out of here.  Shawn, I’ll see you and your sister soon.”   I went into my office and packed up my briefcase.

As I was leaving, I looked at Clarisse, “Hey lady, you make the personnel decisions from here on.  I’m getting too old to do much more thinking.  I’ll see you about noon I guess, since I have no idea what Mr. Hunter wants to discuss.  I mean his organization is paying us big bucks, so we’ll do what we need to do.”

As we were leaving, Clarisse handed me the e tickets for our flights to and from Denver, and a confirmation of our reservation at the Brown Palace.

Mark climbed behind the wheel.  As we drove to the car dealership, he unloaded, “Mr. Jefferson, when I had the children at the park today, I was visiting with some of the mothers.  I proposed that we have a play club for the preschoolers, so they could become accustomed to sharing.  There would be four of us who initially agreed and we would host the other children for two hours per day, one of the days a week.  I told the ladies that I would check to see if you would be amenable to that.  That would permit me an opportunity to assist in each of the other three children’s classrooms for an hour each week.”

“Mark, I think that would be absolutely great.”

We pulled into the Toyota dealership.  I looked around, “Who’s going to ride with me?”

At first there was no answer but Bobby finally said, “I’ll ride with you to make sure you get home safe.  Nano, we’ll see you back at the house.”

I was beginning to get a little jealous of Mark.  He had obviously stolen my children’s hearts.

To be continued... 
 

Feedback always welcome:     

Editor's Notes:

Wow, there was a lot of activity happening in that chapter. It seems there are a lot of things that are about to happen all at once. I hope everyone is ready for all the new things.  I hope The Jenkins can prevail over their greedy children.  Somehow I have the feeling they will. I am sure that Ty will see to that.

Shawn seems like a real go getter and I know he will work out very well, and his sister will be just fine in the situation as a stenographer.

This story is getting better all the time. I love it. As usual, I can hardly wait for the next chapter.

Darryl AKA Radio Rancher

Posted: 10/26/07