Saving Becky and me Pt. 04

The election was not even close. About 75% of the votes were against the Hoffman family candidates. Notice I didn't say they were for the other side. Mickey Mouse did get 7% of the vote as a write in. The opposing slate of candidates knocked out every Hoffman candidate. Because of the local law, the transfer of the new officers were due to happen only one week after the election.

I think Skids may have been smarter than I thought. The day after the election, he resigned and immediately moved out of state.

Two days after the Hoffman loss, word leaked out that several large paper shredders were due to be delivered to the county offices. The county financial officer made a call to the supplier. It appears that that supplier was not aware that there was no authorization from the board for such a large expense and that the supplier would not be paid if the machines were delivered. The trucks had just arrived and were at the loading dock, just starting in the process of being unloaded when the driver received a phone call. He took off 5 minutes later along with the undelivered paper shredders.

The Hoffmans must have had a pretty bad leak in their staff. The state fire marshal arrived the next day and made sure that there would not be any burnings due to the local drought and town safety. The fire department was to personally monitor the situation for the next two weeks. The Canadian wildfire smoke had made breathing difficult some days in the past month.

It must have been getting a bit tense for the Hoffmans. The forth day after the loss, the Hoffmans used their own cash to rent a large truck mounted paper shredding machine. The main bridge was still in the process of being rebuilt so the secondary bridge had to be used. The county road manager had positioned himself at the bridge and forced that truck to turn around. It appears that the bridge was not rated for that weight. Overhearing the all the yelling, people said that two smaller electric shredders were to be dispatched and arrive the next day.

On their way into town the on this 5th day after the loss, the police pulled the delivery trucks over for being overweight. The drivers were issued citations and they returned to their depot. Three hours later, the state police performed safety inspections on the lighter delivery trucks on the highway outside of town. The trucks showed some deficiencies and they too returned to their depot until the safety issues were taken care of.

It was the 6th day after the loss two smaller machines were finally delivered and installed but could not be hooked up. It took an additional 24 hours for the shredders to pass the building code electrical code inspection. The machines needed three phase 220V hook up and the electrical service had to be upgraded. As this work was also not approved by the board, the payment had to immediately come out of the Hoffman family's own pockets. It kind of served them right as they had been postponing regular maintenance and needed upgrades to all county building for years unless it was one of their friends.

The Building code inspector was actually quite sick but finally showed up on the Hoffman's last day. He was the only one certified to inspect and pass the electrical installation and service upgrade. He had been hacking and sneezing the entire time he was there. We found out several days later that several Hoffmans had been to the emergency room. The viral infection they picked up knocked them into bed for a several days and they were lethargic for another 2 to 3 weeks. Thank god it wasn't COVID.

We were all afraid that the Hoffmans would be able to destroy the evidence and evade the law, again. The local judge had been more then just slightly associated with the Hoffmans. His daughter married one of the sons. There would be no way to get any kind of injunction to halt what they were attempting to do, destroy evidence. The piles of paper boxes, some going back 15 or more years, were all ready and set to go into the shredder, when there was an accident. A plumbing contractor working in the area for the past two weeks was using an excavator several doors north of the county building complex. While the Code enforcement officer was approving the electrical improvements, there was an explosion. A single pull of the bucket on the excavator operated by an under-brained operator first opened the main waste line, and then the clean water line. As the trench filled first with waste, then started to bubble over with the pressurized clean water, the operator panicked and swung the bucket wildly to the left. He nailed the power pole and knocked out the area's main power and communications lines.

Rumor had it that somebody saw the operator leave the local cannabis shop about an hour before he started work. I personally feel that the people in the cannabis shop made it a point a giving the worker, one of their long time customers, a very strong and fast acting dose as a 'sample'. They also had been visited many times by Skids and Skids rarely paid for anything.

It also appears that the utility markings for the underground utilities may have been moved. Dozens of homes and the county offices were now off limits. It immediately became a declared bio-hazard site. There was no power, no clean water, no place for waste water to drain and no communications. Barricades were immediately set up everywhere, closing off that entire section of the town.

This 'situation' was quickly picked up across the state by the newspapers and local radio stations in the surrounding towns. I guess we lucked out that it was a slow news week. Once alerted, the state health board came in and began their inspections. These inspections included having real press conferences with the real press. Pictures of boxes of documents that were awaiting shredding were suddenly on the second page of several papers and got on the front page of main newspaper at our state's capital.

Just like the sewer break, shit was flying everywhere.

It never gets distributed evenly when the shit hits the fan.

The town became a near orgy of law and order politicians 'uncovering fraud and corruption' on the 6 and 10 PM news for several weeks. It's interesting how 45 seconds of coverage on TV can change long standing ideas. We were all pretty happy, even the folks that had to move out of their homes for a couple of days didn't mind. They never in their wildest dream thought that they'd be interviewed for TV and newspapers and then get to see themselves on it. State auditors and a group from the State Attorneys Office camped out locally for a couple of weeks. We could guess who the un-licensed contractor worked for.

Bill

It took over a week to arrange some alone time for Becky and me. Our very first uninterrupted time under the sheets wasn't two fat people screwing. We were now two new lovers in a new union. It was excitement and contentment and a real future together all at once.

Later, it became two fat people screwing the hell out of each other. What can I say. We were well rounded in many different ways. ( cha ching, BOOM ) ( This is a 'rim shot' done by a drummer for those that never heard it before. Very common in the mid 20th century late night television....)

Through all of these weeks, Becky and I and sometimes Natalie, started to spend time together away from Monty's and the scouts. Yes, I worked days and she worked afternoons, but we made it work. Becky and I spent some afternoons at my place when Natalie was at either a girl scout or a BSA event. It was not always the horizontal tango. Sometimes it was the vertical one or a very wet one in the shower.

Actually, we also spent much more time emotionally bonding with each other, getting to know each other, figuring out how we fit, or did not fit with each other. A relationship is more than just sex. A friendship can be without sex. We did not want to be only friends, but more. We both wanted to be much more. We were both a bit gun shy about relationships. We both needed to see just how we would be with another. We had lived our lives without a significant other, and now it was time for a change. Becky had the added charge of Natalie and her needs. I did find out that I was really number 2 on Natalie's list of favorite people, right after her mother. I could handle being number two by both of them, for now.

It took a bit of experiences, but my performances with her improved considerably. This was a big part of my 'shyness'. It wasn't that she didn't care how well I performed. It was that she was helping me to grow and mature with her love and support. She was in for the long haul with me. I also got to learn her likes and dislikes too. We grew with one another, we trusted one another, and we supported one another. I've never had that happen to me before with a woman. I began to see that my previous bad experiences were just that - wrong time, wrong person, and wrong attitude. Loving someone is not a power trip, it is a glider flight with you and your love holding tight to one another while sailing through the sky. Kind of like riding a roller coaster. The ride's great and thrilling, but there is safety of never leaving the rails all the while holding on to one another.

During this time, Becky and I had our own weight loss group. I really didn't think that we actually did much. Without much trying, we actually started to drop our excess pounds. We stopped eating the 'bad stuff' all the time. Occasionally we would splurge. We had started to eat the good stuff most of the time. For me, eating all sorts of deep fried foods and crusty french bread with olive oil and grated sharp cheese now only happens no more than twice a week. I would rather have that then cake, ice cream or cookies. Becky had limited her carbs and her sugars and with some exercise, she's dropping inches too. Although, I do think that we both are eating less overall as well. I've been dropping 5 to 6 pounds a month; she's been dropping 3 to 4.

Last week, we all went clothes shopping. This was after Becky and I had a talk about money.

"Honestly Bill, you don't have to do this for us. We have enough..."

"Becky, are you thinking that this is something about power? That I may own you in some way? That you will be indebted to me?" I shut up and just waited. Sometimes shutting up is the best thing that can be done.

Exhaling softly, she clenched her hands. "We can go only if I can pay you back later. It is going to cost you more than you think."

"Let me tell you something first. I live below my means. Always have and probably always will. You and I need temporary clothes because we are going to be losing more weight, but we still have to live and wearing outsized clothing is not OK. I think that buying most of these clothes at the better second hand stores is good enough for now. I figure that you also need something good for work and going out. That might take going to a real store. This is the same for me.

"I also think that being together and looking presentable is kind of like buying food. We need food. We don't buy caviar, we don't buy $100 a bottle wine, we don't..."

"Ok, only if I get to pay you back?"

"How about we try to do this as inexpensively as we can. When it comes to Natalie, I'm holding a different line. I grew up with second hand out of date clothing and really didn't like it. Some of my classmates had better and newer clothing. I want Natalie to not have to live that way. I'd..." Becky's face stopped me in my tracks. It was a combination of wonder, love, terror, gratefulness and a couple of more emotions. Then it was an immediate hot and heavy kiss.

Natalie

"WOW, what a haul. Thank you guys so much." I fist bumped Mr. P and hugged mom as we were having dinner in a diner on our way home. We left this morning at 5 AM and drove 120 miles while I fell asleep in the back. How we ended up at the first garage sale for our biggest haul at the 7 AM opening? "Mom, how did you find out about the garage sales?" She gave me her 'I am Mom and I know all what I need to know' looks. "Natalie, I used this little known device called, drum roll please". I started drumming my fingers on the table edge. She continued with a nod to my most wonderful drumming. "TA DA, the internet." The three of us laughed as she added "and searching for garage sales and clothing."

The last places we hit today were two Goodwill stores in wealthier areas, then a Target and finally a TJ Max. Eating in dinner was a real treat. Mom and I don't get to go out to diner much. Last week Mom and Mr. P. told me about a shopping trip and wondered if I wanted to go along.

DUH YES.

They planned to make it an all day special Saturday trip and we were going to get back home by 7 PM. However a few minutes out of town on the way back home, Mr. P. said "We all needed to eat something healthy and I need a break from lugging everything you two bought." Lugging our stuff? He's funny. Most of our stuff we nailed was from garage sales and all that lugging was just walking back to the car. He did pick up a few things for himself too. They've both been losing weight and needed new things.

I now have clothes that I could use now and for next season. Lots of cool colors and more jeans and tops than I know what to do with. Mr. P. also made sure that I got a nicer going out to dinner dress too. He did the same for mom too.

Becky

If I thought that Monty's was busy after Skids crashed, it was nothing like it when the investigations started. The back room at Monty's had been reserved by the State Attorney's task force for their offices and for their press conferences. It didn't take much time to see that unofficial meetings were happening where 'those of us in the know' quietly met with the 'those that wanted to know' investigators. People knew where the 'proverbial bodies were buried' although we didn't think that there any actual bodies. We knew that the Hoffmans were corrupt, but we didn't think that they would ever kill somebody. Each evening at Monty's, many people were interviewed who helped construct a road map to the investigators. It didn't take many weeks to quickly come to a conclusion.

I am dead on her feet every night. Bill made it a point of trying to take care of everything he could for me and Natalie. He'd pick up Natalie from the sitter, listened to her day as well as some of her hopes and fears. She then prepped herself for bed. About half the time she was still awake when I came home, getting that additional mom-fix that children need.

After that, he would sometimes treat me to a foot massage and an ear to help me unwind after a long hard day. It was just like married couples do, but I never said that. This is being there for each other. It felt so good to be there, to do this, to be part of someone's life.

Through all of this, Bill kept going to Monday Scout meetings, Tuesdays and now Fridays at here at Monty's, Thursdays at the Girl Scout meetings and Sundays with me and sometimes with Natalie.

As the weeks went by, Bill and I became a recognized item. Louis Ruiz told us that we were a team, and then offered to have Natalie for an overnight with her daughter whenever we wanted alone time together. I think that having Bill around me has helped him to stop filling his emptiness with food from the refrigerator. Natalie has also kept him on his toes. One day, Natalie told Bill that he made her mother very happy. He smiled with her. Then she added he made her feel good too and gave him a fist bump and a side hug. What can I say? We feel loved for who we are, we are wanted for who we are, and we love those who surround us now.

This is the closest that I've ever been to heaven.

As the weeks went on by, indictments were handed out. Some of the higher level county staff plead guilty for reduced sentences. Some of the vendors made deals with the state Attorney Office to minimize their troubles. Several large homes were quietly put on the market. They were picked up by the new managers of one of the local factories. The old managers were some of those indicted and later plead guilty.

There were several Hoffmans given jail time of 4-6 years with the top 5 doing 8-10 years. Skids only got 3 years in a 'country club' prison. He turned state's evidence to save himself from several possible sexual predator convictions. An ex-cop being in a normal prison was something that he also wanted to avoid at all costs. I bet his testifying was going to make his presence at future Hoffman family get togethers a bit tense. The newspapers reported that the court ordered restitutions halfed the Hoffmans official net worth. They sold much of their real estate holdings right away. Their remaining real estate dropped in value by 30% as reassessments doubled and tripled those real estate tax bills. We had been bilked for nearly 20 years by that family.

[A friend's daughter graduated from Law School and I was invited to the ceremony. After her class received their degrees, there was another ceremony. This was for lawyers that got a Masters in Taxation. That class was only slightly smaller than the regular graduating class. Don't you ever tell me that the ultra-wealthy haven't figured out how to game the system. ]

Bill

I ended up as part of a committee that pushed for a new school funding referendum. The schools needed updating and brought up to code as well as repairing their extensive deferred maintenance. Because the Hoffmans were no longer in charge, an honest real estate assessment county wide showed that the referendum would now result in a small increase for most of the homeowners. Most of the increase funds needed would be paid for by newly corrected assessments of the old Hoffman holdings and their ex-cronies.

Over three months ago, Becky and Natalie moved into my house. Natalie got her own bedroom and Becky shares mine. I don't have a CPAP machine anymore. I dropped enough weight and kept it off. It took another sleep study to show that I finally 'fixed' myself.

I'm now 65 pounds down and have held steady for 3 months. Not that I can ever forget, but I learned how to monitor my eating and exercise and keep in a range. I keep my last CPAP mask hanging inside my closet to keep reminding me what will happen if I let myself go.

It took me losing the CPAP machine to allow me to ask Becky and Natalie move in. Both were overjoyed. Becky and I talked about what she wanted to do. She went down to 3 days a week at Monty's and 3 days a week for school at the local community college. She was 1 year away from finishing up an associate degree in Respiratory Therapy.

On the year anniversary of Skids being found in his SUV in the parking lot at Monty's, I took Becky and Natalie back there for a celebration. Most of the regulars didn't remember that our town started changing exactly one year ago. To them, this was just another day.

After a good meal the three of us shared a single piece of apple pie. Well, Becky and I shared half and Natalie shared the other half. "Hey Natalie, how do you feel about living at my house with your mother?"

She gave me a mischievous look. We talked about this before without her mother being there. "Oh, it's alright. But I know that it could be better."

Betty looked at her daughter. "Better? Isn't it wonderful now?"

Natalie gave me a wink that her mother couldn't see and started talking about something to distract her while I pulled a small box from my pocket.

"Becky, maybe this could make things better." I opened a ring box for her to see. A large smile erupted on her face. "Will you marry me Becky?"

Natalie later told me that the room was silent. I later got the impression that everybody in town but Becky was in on it after I left the Jewelers this morning. Small towns, no secrets, tough shit if you don't like it.

Shaking, she violently nodded her head yes, jumped up, yanked me up and kissed me deeply. We got a standing ovation. By the time we sat down and the congratulations stopped, Natalie cleared her throat.