Duxford Airfield (the band) Pt. 07

God, I missed Doc...

After our light breakfast, Andrea and I exchanged heartfelt hugs with Lita Romano and reminded her, once again, that she was always welcome at the Lazy-G ranch. Andrea and I each received a promise from Lita that this event would transpire within the relatively near future.

Andrea and I also hugged Helen and then said a final goodbye to Lita. Helen was now going to take Lita to the airport now. Helen explained that she then planned to spend the rest of the day doing some polishing on the finished portions of Danny's autobiography.

As Helen and Lita drove away in the rental car, Andrea and I decided to walk over to a nearby mall and do some window-shopping, or maybe even catch a movie inside the mall's movie cinema. The stormy forecast seemed to encourage this.

After paying the tab and grabbing our windbreakers, my wife and I left the hotel restaurant and began the quarter-mile walk toward the large mall. The walk was cold and windy, but with our fast walking pace, we were soon inside the large mall. We now leisurely strolled hand-in-hand with each other, just gazing at the merchandise of each little shop.

...My wife was noticeably quiet. Throughout the entire morning, I'd noticed that Andrea had slowly, but surely, been putting on mental armor in anticipation of tomorrow's meeting. - There probably wasn't any way in the world that I would be able to keep her from leading us in the upcoming meeting but I wasn't going to concern myself with any of that right now.

- If she wanted to lead us in tomorrow's meeting, then that was fine with me, - as long as it ended there. I was absolutely adamant that we weren't going to drag around Danny Wickersham's ghost any longer, after tomorrow.

Tomorrow we were going to settle the issue of Prominent House, one way or the other. This whole Danny Wickersham fiasco really wasn't a real estate transaction, per se, but then again, really it was in a weird sort of way.

God, what a horrible mess, I shrugged to myself...

...Andrea had played in the big league of real estate for several years during the Vegas boom years and she knew what she was doing. Andrea had helped negotiate more than one multi-million-dollar transaction during those years and she knew how to wheel and deal with the very best of them.

She could also play rough when she wanted to.

Once we did walk into that meeting, no one, including the oil execs or lawyers, were going to push my wife around or intimidate her.

This made me feel an extreme degree of pride in Andrea...

Seemingly able to read my thoughts, Andrea now turned and faced me, still holding my hand.

"Baby, I'll never ask you to balk on a, must-have, but I need to lead us in that meeting tomorrow. Tim, I NEED to do this, please trust me.

- The reason that I broke down in tears yesterday, with Andy and Annie, is because I felt that I was becoming a burden to you with all this.

Tim, I know what I'm doing in the real estate arena, PLEASE trust me - hell, I'm begging you!" she said, with tears in her eyes.

I rather roughly pulled her toward me and looked deeply down into her eyes, I wasn't playing games now. I stared into her eyes for a full minute without either of us speaking. What I saw staring back at me was the same cold, hard, steel that was within the ninety-year-old painting of Andrea's mother, inside our own bedroom at home.

Andrea's eyes have the same strength as her mother's, I confirmed to myself, with an inner nod.

"Is this about your ego or is it about your loyalty to Danny Wickersham?" I asked bluntly.

"Neither, I NEED to do this!" she answered.

That was the answer I'd been looking for. Andrea knew this, of course.

I looked deeply into her eyes again for another thirty seconds, just gauging her. Inwardly, I suspected that Andrea was hedging just a bit on the ego part of my question but I didn't feel it was enough to cloud her judgment.

" - YOU, are never a burden to me, woman. You are the source of my strength as well as my joy. Andrea, I'm going to trust you and retract my, must-have, provided that, this all ends tomorrow - period, end of statement, no more games with this. We can stay and search through Prominent House with Helen Lunsford a few more times, but in no way, do I want us to have ANY obligation to that damn house or property. I also WILL NOT have you dragging around Danny's ghost any longer either. I'd also like for us to be home, no later than this coming weekend," I said flatly.

"Agreed, and thank you, husband," she said quickly as she leaned into me with a deep sigh of relief.

"...You're more trouble than you're worth, most of the time - other than your lovemaking," I said, using Andrea's own line on herself now as I rubbed her back firmly.

"Trust me, baby, please, please, trust me, OK?" she said, with more tears in her eyes as she hid her face in my chest.

"I'd marry you again, in a heartbeat, woman," I said soothingly.

I held her close to me for several minutes as other people within the mall walked by us, completely oblivious to my wife and me.

...A short while later Andrea and I found the mall's movie theatres and caught an early afternoon matinee which I paid little attention to. The movie was a chick-flick involving a middle-aged poet during mid-life crisis and in search of life's meaning after his recent divorce from a successful woman within the Wall Street in-crowd.

Andrea seemed to be interested in the movie so I just decided to hold her close to me and let her enjoy the film.

I quickly tuned out the movie and began thinking of my little brother and home. Brenda had told Andrea that my little brother Ricky had just recently purchased a BikeE recumbent bicycle, like mine. Apparently, Ricky was now riding the bicycle to and from work.

I was very happy about this.

Also, according to Brenda, Ricky's new employers were very satisfied with him. I was very happy about this too.

Now I was just hoping that Andrea, Helen Lunsford, and me, could be done with Prominent House, and on our way home by this coming weekend. Helen was welcome to join us but I wanted Andrea and I to be home, no later than the weekend. I was going to push for this.

...Andrea was shedding a few tears now, in empathy with the movie's characters. Realistically, I think my wife was simply releasing pent-up emotion. I quickly glanced up at the screen again and then pulled her closer to me, kissing the top of her head.

"We'll be home soon, baby, everything will be OK, and I trust you," I said quietly.

She silently nodded her head and squeezed my hand in reply.

...After the movie was over, Andrea and I walked back toward the hotel through the same dust storm that we had trudged through earlier.

Upon reaching the hotel, I noticed that the rental car was now parked inside the hotel's lot again, indicating that Helen had returned from dropping off Lita at the airport.

...I was hoping that all of us would see more of Lita Romano in the near future, I liked her.

Andrea sent Helen a quick text message as we entered the front foyer of the hotel. "We're back at the hotel now. Wonderful movie, thanks for recommending it! We just saw it at the mall's theatre. You doing OK, babe?"

My God, it's already after two PM, I noticed as I glanced at Andrea's phone...

"What time do we see Herb tonight?" I asked as Andrea locked our suit's door.

"He'll be at Helen's by six tonight" Andrea answered.

"Sounds good," I said, flopping my butt on the bed.

"Want to grab something to eat now?" she asked.

"After we see Herb, if that's OK" I answered.

"Sounds good to me" Andrea replied.

I picked up the hotel room's remote and clicked on the TV, hoping to find a movie that might interest us for a few hours.

After several minutes of channel surfing, I finally settled on a low-budget Western that I'd seen many years before. The movie really didn't hold my interest but it was better than nothing.

Andrea fiddled about with her laptop and the weather outside stayed dismal and cold...

" - Baby, wake up, Herb's next door at Helen's. It's six o'clock now" Andrea said shaking me awake again.

...Herb was a man in his late sixties, I guessed. With his warm smile and a firm handshake, I found that I immediately liked the man. The four of us now sat within Helen's suite and got right to the point of things.

"Tim, your wife has indicated that you would like to walk away from Prominent House without receiving any money at all. May I ask why?" was Herb's first question to me.

"Herb, the ladies both speak very highly of you, so I'm going to be perfectly blunt. I've worked in construction and demolition, my entire life, and one thing I've learned is this; nothin's for nothin'. It's going to cost millions to demolish Prominent House - and I believe the oil company will demolish it, sooner or later.

Other than the millions it would cost to demolish the house, there may also be back taxes - or who knows what else, that we're not aware of which we could become liable for. In other words, I don't want to be a scapegoat or dupe for either the Feds or the oil company. We want to wash our hands completely of Prominent House and walk away." I stated emphatically.

"Let me make sure that I understand you correctly, Tim. You're afraid that the oil company is going to slip something past you in fine print and hold you accountable for some obligation or the other. " Herb said.

"Exactly" I sighed, closing my eyes.

May I make a suggestion?" Herb asked.

"Certainly" I nodded.

"This oil field is leased on Federal land with a ninety-nine-year lease. That lease is up in five months and the oil company is edgy about it being renewed. - It will be renewed, that I can assure you of, but neither the oil company; nor the Feds want ANY complications. Danny Wickersham's ownership of Prominent House is already a complication and has been a thorn in their sides for decades. - Quite simply, both the Feds and the oil company, simply want to get rid of you and see you go away, that's their sole objective in all this.

By law, the oil company has to play fair, otherwise, the Feds are going to land on them with both feet, and then it could get into the newspapers and complicate the renewal of the lease - not what the oil company wants. Prominent Energy is expecting you to walk in there on Monday morning and demand some ridiculous amount of money for the place, most people in your position would.

However, If you walk in there and announce that you want absolutely nothing for Prominent House, then you're going to raise more red flags with them than you're going to avoid. They might believe, then, that you're some sort of political activist and out to smear either the oil company; or the Feds, in the press. That's what they're afraid of most, and believe me, it's a very real concern for them. A bad write-up in the papers could further complicate the lease renewal.

May I suggest that you tell them you'd like sixty thousand dollars for each party, sixty for you and Andrea, and sixty for Helen - with no expectations of oil royalties forthcoming to either party" Herb said.

There was a long silence in the room now as Herb and the ladies looked at me and waited for my reply.

I closed my eyes and ran a hand through my hair.

" (***sigh***)...In the event that we decided to go that route, Herb, would you be willing to look over anything that we're required to sign?" I asked, a bit unsure.

"That's what I'm here for, Tim, and we can also fax anything that I'm unsure of to one of my colleagues for his or her opinion, also" Herb nodded.

"What will your expertise cost us, Herb?" I asked, point blank.

"Herb is on retainer, to me, Tim, so don't worry about it" Helen interjected a little abruptly.

"Helen, the question wasn't personal" I replied.

"It's a fair question, Tim, and I'm glad you did ask," Herb said.

I nodded an affirmation but made no reply.

After a long silence, I looked over at my wife, in regard to Prominent House.

"Well, it's going to be your show tomorrow morning, Andrea Millhouse. What do you want to do?" I asked.

"Herb, how in the world could Danny have acquired Prominent House in the first place? - It's on a Federal oil reserve, for God's sake" Andrea said incredulously.

"Danny Wickersham inherited Prominent House in nineteen-sixty-eight, he inherited it directly from The Countess, herself" Herb explained.

"Wh- what? Danny what?" I asked suddenly completely dumbfounded.

"He actually knew the Countess?" Helen asked, herself bewildered.

"That, I don't know, but the record clearly indicates that's exactly what happened. It doesn't matter if he knew her or not, what matters is that it's all perfectly legal and in order. The Countess was the sole owner of the entire oil field at one time. In nineteen-sixty-eight, however, she only owned the small wedge of land which Prominent House sits on today, the forty-four acres, now willed to the three of you." Herb said.

"This piece of land, is referred to as "Parcel 134, isn't it?" Helen asked.

"Yes, it is" Herb answered.

Andrea slowly sat down on the opposite bed and put her head in her left hand and closed her eyes.

"Danny Wickersham and the Countess of Knoff, now we'll wonder if the two actually knew each other at one time. This whole thing just keeps getting weirder and weirder" my wife exclaimed, slowly shaking her head.

"It's all a game, remember, Andrea?" Helen reiterated with a tired voice.

Andrea made no verbal reply, she simply closed her eyes and shook her head slowly again.

"Herb, should we mention Helen's book?" I suddenly asked, having just thought of it.

"Thank you for asking, Tim. - No, none of you should make any mention of the book, unless asked. In the event that they do ask, Helen should give an honest, yet vague, account of the book and explain that it deals specifically with Danny Wickersham's life in the band, and nothing else. Hopefully, they won't ask. - Don't ever volunteer information in a situation like this" Herb said, sternly, looking at all of us.

"Keep our cards close to the vest," Helen said.

"They're going to play close to the vest, so we should too" Herb nodded.

...Herb and the ladies continued to talk for another forty-five minutes speaking in legal terms that were completely foreign to me. I just prayed to God that we'd be out of this horrible mess by tomorrow evening and home, by no later than next Monday.

The ladies and Herb now stood and there were brief hugs, all around. All three of them had decided to call it a night and begin again in the morning. I also stood myself now and shook hands again with Herb and briefly hugged Helen. It was just after nine PM and all of us were tired.

Andrea and I said goodnight and then slipped into our own suite.

I now noticed that Andrea was carrying a loaner suite for me, which was obviously from Herb. We were approximately the same size so my immediate assumption was that I would be wearing the suit in the morning; when all of us headed to the meeting. I made no comment on this as Andrea laid out the suit on our vacant bed and closed our adjoining door to Helen's room.

Apparently, Herb was staying in our same hotel, just a few doors down from all of us. He would meet the three of us for coffee in the morning and then proceed to the meeting with us. I liked the man and he had inspired confidence in me. This was a good thing, considering our present position with Prominent House.

How did we ever get here, to begin with? I asked myself, closing my eyes. Danny Wickersham, The International Monitor and Prominent House, God, what a fucking mess all of it was...

"Did you want to grab something to eat now?" my wife asked.

"I'd rather just go to bed, if that's OK with you, honey," I said.

"Aw, c'mon, Tim, let's walk over to the truckstop and grab a quick burger" Andrea protested in a chipper tone.

"Alright, that's probably a good idea, honey," I said, grabbing my windbreaker.

...The weather outside was just as cold and windy as it had been earlier during the day but Andrea and I had a much shorter walk now. We soon crossed the neon shadows of the paved parking lot and ventured inside the cozy diner.

There was a fair-sized crowd inside the diner this evening as Andrea and I quickly found a booth and sat down. As before, glancing out the windows, we could see that the fuel bays were full of trucks, as always. It also appeared that the truckstop's parking lot was full, near to overflowing. In picking up snippets of conversation from the drivers all around us, it became rather evident that the wind had actually tipped over a few dry vans out on the interstate this evening. Drivers, pulling vans, were taking shelter for the night to wait out the storm; and quickly filling the truckstop's parking spaces.

"Baby, please trust me on this, everything will be OK. I give you my word that we'll be home by the weekend" Andrea said, reaching across the table and taking my hand.

"Andrea, we have to be done with this by the weekend, I can't do this anymore. I haven't had this much stress in my life since back when I was with Susan" I said tiredly.

"Tim, Herb has been Helen's attorney for years, he's a good guy and he's honest, he'll keep us out of trouble. Herb is a very sharp guy and he's been through the wringer a few times himself and he loves Helen as if she were his own daughter" my wife explained.

I said nothing, I was completely exhausted with all of the nonsense from the last ten days.

" - Tim, the stress we've experienced with Prominent House is nothing compared to some of the real estate deals I worked on in Vegas, during the boom years," Andrea said now with authority.

"- Andrea, I fucking know that, but this isn't what I had in mind for our goddamn retirement!" I suddenly snapped.

I quickly closed my eyes and held up my hand with my palm outward "Sorry" I said.

"Please trust me, Tim," she said quietly.

"One way, or the other, I want us to be home by the weekend, Andrea," I said firmly.

"Please trust me," she said again.

I waved her off as the waitress came to take our order...

"...Are you sure you're ready to walk in there tomorrow morning?" I asked after the waitress had taken our order and left.

"I'm ready," she said confidently.

"If you change your mind, at the last minute, it's OK, Andrea. I don't give a fuck anymore, and I'll just tell them that they can keep the sonofabitch. At least that way we could be on the plane a few hours later" I said dismissively.

"Tim, when we walk in there tomorrow morning, I'm going to be front and center stage and I need you to stand tall and support me, all of us need to be on the same team for this to work," Andrea said sternly and looking me in the eye.

"Then let's do it and be done with it," I said without emotion.

"Can I rely on you to stand behind me and trust me in this?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, impatiently.

"Babe, I know you're tired of all this - we all are, but we're almost there! Don't quit, now that the finish line is within reach" she said.

"Just let me get some sleep and I'll be OK," I said with a tone that implied that the subject was now closed.

...My wife and I didn't talk much during our meal nor when we got back to our hotel room either. The reason for this, I believed, was because I was now forced to do something which I'd never been very good at - trusting someone. Memories, and many regrets concerning my ex-wife, Susan, were now quickly flooding my mind with stark recollection.

Andrea wasn't Susan, I knew, yet this knowledge didn't seem to comfort me any during the present moment. Whenever I thought of some of Susan's antics during our "marriage" it almost made me become physically ill to recall them. Susan had been absolutely horrible at blowing through money and I'd watched most of what I'd worked for vanish like snow in the month of June.