Distribution Ch. 06

"Yeah, Max is married."

"Then it had to me Mark, right?"

"Right. You saw her coming out of the loft where he lives, and now she got in his car. It makes no difference. I told Paige that I'm over her."

I heard Henrietta clear her throat. "Ahem, now it's Paige."

"We had a serious talk last night. I leveled with her about everything."

"Everything?"

"Well, no, I didn't tell her about Georgia, but I was very candid about what Peggy and I had together."

"Did you tell her about me?"

"Not in so many words."

"How many words does it take? If you're going to level with her, tell her there's a black chick with thick lips and legs that go on forever, who's crazy about you."

"How should I describe your tits?"

"Say that you don't know because you've never had them in your hands."

"That will never do. We've already got a believability problem."

"If you must say something, tell her that I'm well-endowed, not like melons, more like two grapefruits."

"Why do I have trouble believing you?"

"Okay, they're more like oranges, but that's still in the citrus family, isn't it?"

"I always pictured them as two fried eggs, sunny-side up."

"Maybe so, but you'd still like to break the yokes, wouldn't you?"

"You're making me hot."

"It was nice talking to you, Brian. I've got to go change my panties now."

I was wondering if this was a good time to call John when Paige came downstairs. "Have you looked up the prices of the stock in the cabinet?" she asked.

"Yes, it amounts to at least tow hundred thousand more."

"We've got to seek the advice of someone we trust. How do you feel about Nadine's husband?" Page asked. I couldn't help but admire the way her eyes were fixed on mine, like she was seeing me for the first time.

"The newlywed at our table held him in high regard, and Nadine seems to be sold on him. They couldn't both be wrong."

"Brian, the kid at our table was drinking his wine and eating his lobsters. He wasn't going to say anything negative about his boss, and Nadine sleeps with him. Naturally, she's sold on him. I want to know what you think about him. Did he strike you as someone we can trust?"

"Frankly, I got a funny feeling about him, but that was under stressful circumstances. He wanted to make sure his guests were being taken care of. In fairness to Nadine, I think we should meet privately with them."

"What did you mean by being fair to Nadine?"

"She was a real trooper today. She was still joking around after working ten hours."

"We could take her up on her offer to go to their house for dinner. Is next weekend all right with you?"

"No, it should be on our turf. We could take them out to a nice restaurant or we could borrow two chairs and invite them here for dinner."

"I'll call her tomorrow and invite them for dinner next weekend. I'll cook. It will be fun."

She took a seat across the table from me. I could tell that she was going to change the subject.

"Brian, about last night."

"I know what you're going to say."

"You do?"

"Yes, you're going to admit that you shouldn't have doubted me, that you believe everything I say, and you're sorry."

"That's not it at all," she said, sounding exasperated with me.

"It's not?"

"It had been a long, stressful day. I meant it when I thanked you for going with me, and for telling Gordon to keep his hands off me, but those were not good reasons to kiss you. I wanted to show my appreciation, and I got carried away. I want you to know that it won't happen again."

"It won't?"

"Brian, two weeks ago we were total strangers. Only two weeks ago, you had a girlfriend. Now, I find out that you're over her. I'd be crazy to let it happen again."

"What if I saved your life? Would you kiss me?"

She looked at me with a mixture of pity and mirth in her eyes. "That would be different."

"Why did you hug me when I met your bus yesterday?"

"I was glad to see you."

It was evident to me that Paige was torn between coming around the table and taking a seat on my lap and telling me to forget that she existed. I had an urge to tell her that we were falling for each other, but I knew better than to push it. "I was glad to see you, too."

"Goodnight, Brian," she said, and I watched her ascend the stairs.

At breakfast, we discussed our plans for the day. Paige said she was going to catch up on the meeting minutes, admitting that she'd need me to help her remember when we'd voted on certain motions.

I told her that I was going to start filming the automobile parts and the military memorabilia items.

Charlie helped me carry the large crates into the house, and we selected six of the automobile parts to offer on eBay. I used a sheet as a backdrop, and filmed each item.

Paige looked up from her computer screen at the way the crates occupied a large part of the living room. "It's a good thing that I don't sleepwalk," she said.

"Does that mean you'll be wide awake when you come downstairs to visit me?"

"Brian, I'm serious. My great-uncle was married to your great-aunt. That's as far as it goes. Otherwise, we hardly know each other."

"You're right, Paige. I'll stop pursuing you before one of us gets hurt."

"Or both of us are hurt," she corrected me before returning her attention on her computer screen.

She looked at the photos I'd taken and the description of each item while I looked over her account of the meeting minutes.

"What's on the agenda for the Monday morning meeting? I'd like to make some notes to follow," she said.

"I'll distribute a financial report to show the receipts and expenses. I paid the bill for Aunt Elsie's funeral expenses. It may be best to let Nadine report on the outcome of the yard sale. She'll make it sound like Gordon and Nancy missed a good time.

"You'll call upon me to give the status of the requests for bids, and I'll slip Mrs. Avery's visit in, painting a dim picture of what complying with her wishes to preserve the barn may cost.

"I suppose we should apprise the group about our plans to interview Fred Meriwether regarding the timing of the sale of the stock. I'd also like to hire Harold Whitney for a day of consultation."

"Why?"

"I want to see what he knows about the guy Sarah Avery recommends to do the work on the barn. I also want to get his advice on replacing the windows and painting the exterior. He may have other suggestions as to how to make the old house more appealing to the buyer."

"How much is this likely to cost?"

"I'll offer him three hundred dollars for the day. He would probably do it for nothing, but he's more likely to be candid with me if he's being paid. Anyway, we agreed that he needs the work."

Paige finished making her notes and looked at me. "It sounds like we just had our meeting. I agree with everything you've said. All the votes carry by a vote of eighty-eight to whatever. I guess that means that I can pack up and catch the next bus." "Not so fast. You need to be here for the Monday morning meeting, even if we're the only ones that attend."

"I was just kidding. What about making the first distribution?"

"One of the bank notes is coming due next week, but I'd like to see how much the barn is going to cost before we commit to making a distribution. If it's as reasonable as I'm hoping, we can distribute one hundred thousand as soon as the funds hit the account."

"That should make everyone happy. I know my parents will be pleased," she said.

We busied ourselves with telephoning and emailing our friends and relatives. It was becoming dusk before either of us got hungry. I suggested that we go for burgers, and Paige reluctantly went with me.

I guess we were tired of discussing the estate, and we both wanted to avoid the subject of where her great-uncle and my great-aunt ended and our mutual attraction for each other began.

Paige brought up the subject of college and we traded stories until long after our food was gone. She'd had a college romance, which she spoke about in great detail. "It ended badly," she lamented.

"Mine did too," I said, and that led to more questions than I wanted to answer. In the end, I told her that Samantha had driven me away, and that was a good thing because I met Peggy, her daughter and her parents.

"Being hurt is no fun, is it?" she asked, and I got the hidden meaning. She didn't want either of us to get hurt.

The Monday morning meeting only took fifteen minutes. Nadine voted with us. All motions carried by a vote of ninety-one to zip. She was especially happy to accept Paige's invitation to have dinner with us the following Saturday evening.

As the meeting was about to break up, I mentioned that I was going to try my hand at offering the auto parts for sale on eBay. Nadine spoke up, saying that she'd had some experience with eBay and offered to enter the few items I'd selected to try.

We left Nadine to her task and I took Paige to the bus station. She was dressed for work, and carried her laptop. Just before she stepped on the bus, she turned and touched her lips to mine, briefly. I was telling her to have a safe trip when she jumped into my arms and gave me a fierce kiss.

"I'll call you tonight," she said as she boarded the bus.

I checked on Nadine before I started my daily routine. She looked up from Uncle Mackey's computer.

"It looks like we're widowed for the week. You know where I live if you get lonely some night," she offered.

"Doesn't Fred come home at night?"

"No, he leaves on Monday morning and comes back on Friday afternoon. He has a condominium in the city," she said, watching for my reaction through sultry eyes.

"I'll keep that in mind," I lied.

"You do that!"