Being Neighborly Pt. 10

Elaine lives next door and is a regular visitor, friend, lover and partner. She spends most of her days dealing with all the legal wrangling over her land purchase. Between the entitlements and requirements involved, she seems to have mastered their intricacies and particularities, winding her way through the volume of documents. Fortunately, she is succeeding and is hoping to start building next year.

Sam seems settled and happy. We have a good thing that continues each day. In fact, there isn't a day that goes by without us waking to wonderful intimacy, which only grows as the day grows longer. These days, she is busy assisting Elaine but also volunteering a few afternoons at the local public gardens. I was fortunate to meet her and to hook up with her. It was all a matter of being neighborly.

Me? I'm getting more cortisone shots and playing guitar with Scott. A few weeks ago, we added Joel on bass. He's a local musician who has played with Dickie Betts, Damon Fowler and Selwyn Birchwood. Damn, if we don't sound good in the few shows we've done.

My art has become a fever with my canvasses stacked up against the wall of the loft. Elaine and Jane have made inquiries into galleries that would show my work. I am not that interested but I'll leave it to them. I must do something to get rid of these canvases so I can make way for new ones.

And, oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. Do you remember that computer malware I discovered in my client's server? Well, a couple of months ago, I received a registered letter from the Department of Homeland Security, CSIS Division. It requested me to come to Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C to accept an award. Sam and I encamped at The Avery in Georgetown and enjoyed the museums and monuments for a few days. The last time she was in D.C., it was on a school trip and she was fifteen. The last time I was there, I was on tour and except for the motel walls, Washington was a drive-by. So, we sopped it up. Our favorite stop was the The Smithsonian, an amazing museum.

Finally, it was Friday, our day at the DHS. It was a short and very private event. They gave me a plaque for my accomplishment and then explained what I had done to earn it and the subsequent ramifications. They discovered that the malware was a seed of the Solarwinds hack. The CSIS had reversed and reengineered the seed and sent it back to Russian Intelligence Services in St. Petersburg where it created all sorts of havoc. After explaining that exploit, the Director handed me a ten million dollar check, a federally stipulated reward. Needless to say, I was astonished.

There was no news coverage of the event and I was told that the entire affair was still secret. I was bound to keep my mouth shut and just enjoy the money. What could be bad? Sam was beyond thrilled and later, alone in the hotel room; we imagined what we do with the money. A nice luxury vacation in the Maldives or the Seychelles was on top on the Leaderboard. Still, we had plenty of time. We had the future. We had all the time in the world.

Unfortunately, this will probably be the last story that I submit. Age and its related ills have caught up with me and I can no longer sit and write. With the exception of a couple of very old stories that I have revisited, this is my last story. Thank you all for your support over these past many years and for enjoying my stories.