The Crew
 by: Hankster

© 2008 by the author

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

Chapter 4

As soon as he finished lunch, Randy took off to prepare the contracts. The crew lingered a bit longer and then drove home, three to a car. Ron and Foster said they wanted to make sure they weren’t needed at the store. They told the others to meet them there at 3:45. Dan’s office was close by.

The remaining four crew members had nearly two hours before they had to get to the Fisher’s general store. They didn’t waste a minute of it. Ridiculous as it sounds; they would have felt guilty enjoying each other without Ron and Foster, so each couple went into their bedrooms and played only with their own partners.

Once again, the noises coming from Michael and Jerry had Jeff and Jim giggling like crazy. They just couldn’t get into their own game playing.

“I guess we’ll never have sex here until the walls are sound proofed,” Jeff said. He and Jim settled for fondling and cuddling, and dreaming of Sunday night when they would be alone. They also took it upon themselves to make sure that everyone got to the closing on time.

They got to Dan’s office a little before 4:30 and he ushered them right in to a little conference room where there would be room for all of them. Knowing that Michael was the lawyer for the group, he handed him all the documents, which Michael actually read right down to the small print.

“It looks good to me,” he announced to the room in general. Then Dan had each one of them come up to him one at a time in the order that their name appeared on the contracts. He pointed out all the various places they had to sign. It took several minutes for each crew member to do their thing, and when they were through, Dan handed Michael a copy of all the documents. Then, he took all the certified checks for the balance of the down payment. The check from Jeff’s bank had arrived two days earlier.

“Well,” he said as he went around the table shaking hands, “the place is yours. I took the liberty of transferring all the utilities into Jeff’s name and office address. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but you told me he was the official accountant for you guys. The only thing I couldn’t transfer was the telephone, but I’m leaving that to you guys if you even want a land phone. I’m sure you all have cells.”

Jeff got up and gave Dan a hug. “That’s just fine he said. “Dan, we can’t thank you enough. You’ve gone way above and beyond for us.”

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Randy came in armed with a load of papers. He dropped the papers on the conference room table and went over to Dan and engulfed him in a bear hug. “Hi Uncle Dan” he said.

“Dan’s your uncle?” Michael asked.

“Only by injection,” Randy joked. Warren’s my blood uncle.

“That’s why I gave you more than one contractor’s name, Foster, and kept my relationship with Randy quiet. I didn’t want you to accuse me of nepotism.” Dan interjected. “I’ll leave you guys now with your contractor. I’ll be outside if you need me,” he added.

As Michael reviewed the contract, Randy and Foster referred to the blueprints and when Michael and Foster approved the deal, the signing began again. Jeff prepared a check for $1,650, the 10% Randy had requested and gave it to him.

“One thing good about a small town,” Randy said. “Everyone is either related or at least knows each other. On the way down here, I stopped at the County Clerk’s office with the blueprints and drew down the permits. The fees were included in my price so it’s all taken care of. I expect to start work on Wednesday morning.”

The crew gave up one loud cheer, and Dan ran in to see what was happening. “It’s cool, Unc,” Randy said. “I think I have some happy clients here.

“What are you guys doing for dinner tonight?” Dan asked as Randy started to gather up his papers.

Ron answered. “Well we have sort of made Joey’s our unofficial dinner place, but this week I haven’t made reservations yet.

“I don’t think you’ll need them this time of year, but I’ll call anyway. I need a head count first,” Dan said. Ron called his parents, who declined this time so it would only be the six of them, Dan and Warren. Michael looked at Randy, and asked hopefully, “How about you, Randy?”

“Sorry guys, not this time. I have a date. I’ll see you next weekend.” He left with all his papers and Michael turned right to Dan.

“Is he or isn’t he?” he wanted to know.

“Stay cool, Michael. Last I heard he was as straight as an arrow,” Dan informed them.

All Michael could say was, “Shit, all the good ones are straight.”

They all laughed at the twist of an old joke. They agreed to meet Dan and Warren at Joey’s at 7 PM. It was already 6 PM. With all their business concluded, they went home to refresh themselves and get ready for dinner.

Joey greeted them like old friends, and this time added, “Welcome to the neighborhood.” He seemed to know everything that was going on in the neighborhood. Who needs a newspaper?

“Thanks,” they all said at the same time.

They all had a decadent, delicious dinner, and when it came time to pay, the check had been taken care of by Dan. The crew put up a sincere stink and wanted to pay their share, but Dan informed them that he always took out his clients after a closing. He was deaf to the argument that they were six for the earning of only one commission. There was nothing they could do but hug Dan and Warren goodnight and head for home.

During dinner, the temperature had really plummeted. They immediately turned on the space heater. The night before, the living room had gotten comfortably warm in a few minutes. Tonight, it got warmer, but was still chilly. They decided to move the coffee table and set up the sleeping bags on the living room floor, two to a bag.

When each couple was snuggled in their private cocoons, they talked for a while and agreed that until the cabin was heated, they would get up early on Sunday mornings. They would meet at Denny’s for breakfast and drive up for the day to check on things. They would try to get home before dark.

Ron said, “That sounds like a plan to me, but I do have a request. I’m not a religious fanatic, but I would like to get here by 10 AM so I can make church. It’s very important to my folks.”

“Not a problem,” Michael murmured. That was an important statement coming from Michael. He was totally agnostic.

The next morning they could not ignore the fact that they had to shower and shave as well as perform other morning duties. Jeff and Jim had kitchen duty so the others moved the space heater as close to the bathroom as they could to get the room as warm as possible. They used the shower two at a time, but could only shave one at a time. Eventually everyone was ready and dressed for church. They sat at the kitchen table and Jeff served eggs, toast and coffee. They all helped to clean up, and off they went to the Fishers.

Josie Fisher greeted them all with a kiss on the cheek and told them how handsome they all looked. That was no lie. The Fishers got in Ron’s car with Ron and Foster. Jeff and Jim got into Michael’s car with Michael and Jerry, and followed Ron to the church. The sun had warmed the air a lot and many congregants were standing in front of the church socializing before the service. The crew was happy to see Joey, Rosie, Dan and Warren, Joe Torrance, and Randy. Randy was holding on to the cutest little girl of about five years.

Joe Torrance came over first and grabbed Foster’s hand and welcomed him to ‘his’ church. It was his way of saying that there were no hard feelings, and to welcome the crew as neighbors. Foster was surprised and exceptionally pleased.

Michael made his way over to Randy. “I know you are a very private person, but you’ve got to tell me who this lovely lady is on your arm. Was she your date last night?”

Randy nodded yes. “Liz,” he said, “this here’s Michael Costello. He’s got his eye on you, but don’t even think of getting married for another fifteen years. You better listen to your father.”

“So this is your little girl. She must take after her mother who I don’t see anywhere,” Michael looked around. Randy’s face darkened. He picked his daughter up and said, “Come darling, let’s go inside.”

Michael’s big mouth often got him in trouble. His mother referred to it as ‘his big fat lawyer’s mouth.’ But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what he had done this time. Warren was talking to Jeff so he ran over and interrupted them. He told Warren what had happened and wanted to know if he had done something wrong so he could apologize.

“Shit,” Warren said. “Nobody ever talks about his wife. She married Randy on the rebound after her lover was sentenced to life in prison for murder. He was a no good son of a bitch, but Elizabeth loved him. Well, one day there’s a knock on Elizabeth’s back door, and when she opens the door, there stands Lou the low life. He had escaped from prison and wanted her to go with him to Los Angeles, where they could get lost in the crowds. He had stolen a car and gave her about two minutes to decide. She threw some clothes in a bag and went with him, leaving little Liz, who was about six months old, alone in the house.

“A little way out of town, a state trooper picked up on the stolen car and started after them. Lou tried to out run him and ended up piling into a very old, very sturdy tree. He was killed outright. Elizabeth lived for a few hours, just long enough to let us know what happened.”

“My God,” Michael was truly sorry for his big mouth right now. He ran into the church. Most of the crowd was still outside so he spotted Randy easily. He slid into the seat next to him, and mumbled, “I am truly sorry, man. I didn’t know.”

“It’s OK,” Randy said. “You couldn’t have known.” Then he did something really surprising. He took Michael’s hand and squeezed it. When he released Michael’s hand, Michael patted Randy on his shoulder and left to join his friends.

As he walked to the rear of the church, he saw his friends coming in. They took almost the entire rear row. He joined them, and found himself with Jerry on one side of him and Ron on the other. He leaned over to Ron and asked, “What denomination is this church? Jeff, Jim and I were born Catholics and Jerry is Jewish. Will it be all right?”

“Don’t worry, man,” Ron answered. “The church is non-denominational. Did you notice that it’s simply called, ‘The Summer Street Church of God?’ I think you’ll all be comfortable here.

A few minutes later, a comely woman started to play the organ and a six member choir climbed the stairs and stood behind the speaker’s lectern. Then the pastor came to the lectern. “Good morning everyone,” he said. He looked around, and smiling at all the new people, he said, “I see lots of fresh faces here this morning. Welcome to you all. I’m Pastor Patterson, and I hope to say hello to all of you after the service. There will be refreshments in the social hall as usual. Now please turn to page 38 in your hymnal.”

The organ began to play and the congregation began to sing. The newbies examined the pastor. He was about five feet, ten inches tall, and weighed no more than 150 pounds. He wore no vestments at all, but was dressed in an ill fitting business suit. They all looked into his eyes. They were a soft hazel color and they were looking over his flock with such love that anyone coming into the sanctuary would be struck by the vibes of affection that permeated the church. Never had Michael, for one, ever been in the presence of a man like this. Michael wanted to hug him and beg for his love and for his compassion. He could not explain his feeling.

When the sermon began they were all blown away. The pastor spoke of man’s need to love one another, not just family and friends, but neighbors, elected officials, people who are different than you are, and most important, your enemies. “When you can love your enemies,” he challenged his flock. “they will no longer be enemies. Hatred and wars will disappear from the planet.” He continued, “Love is the most potent force in God’s universe. Never forget that.” There was not one word uttered about sin and sinners and going to hell or homosexuals being damned. Love, only love.

Michael and Jerry were of different faiths. They had discussed their religious differences and realized they had none. Both had believed that their religions offered nothing but hypocrisy and had long wandered from them. They looked at each other now and they were both crying.

The service ended and Pastor Patterson invited everyone to the social hall. The newbies were anxious to meet him and tell him how inspiring his service was.

Out of some primal need, Michael and Jerry reached him first. They enveloped him in a bear hug and thanked him profusely for his inspiration and for his love. The rest of the crew observed this display of affection in utter awe. The pastor returned their hug, and asked that they call him, Paul. He chatted with them for a few minutes and they promised him that he would see them again. Then he excused himself to greet the rest of his flock.

Michael could not move. He just stood there trying to suppress his racking sobs. Suddenly he felt something tugging at his pant leg. He looked down to see little Liz. She looked up at him with big blue eyes and said, “I like you Mr. Costello. You’re a nice man. My daddy likes you too.”

During the social hour, Paul managed to spend a few minutes with everyone there. Jeff told him that they would be there every Sunday until their addition was finished. After that, the cabin would be heated and they would come for full weekends and vacations, whenever possible. Chances were that even if all of them couldn’t come at the same time, two of them would be there. Sometimes, his dad and his godfather might come for fishing and he would be sure to tell them to come meet Pastor Paul, even though they were Catholics. As they said goodbye to Paul, each crew member shook his hand. Later they compared notes and they all had the same reaction. As he took their hands, they each felt a powerful surge of energy permeate their bodies. Jerry described it as a powerful laser light of healing. No wonder Ron and Foster had requested that they all get there in time for church.

Jeff was determined that there would be no obstacles to their weekly trips to ‘their little piece of heaven.’ The first thing Monday morning, he went out and traded his Saturn Ion on a Plymouth Grand Voyager which comfortably seated seven people. Then he went to the bank with Michael and they opened the ‘cabin joint account’ with the remaining mortgage money. Both he and Michael could sign checks. The first check they wrote was to reimburse Jeff for everything he had laid out on behalf of the crew. They were now all on an even keel.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/04/08