Page 21 of Kinsey

“There is a mess going on with the merger that is supposed to be going on next week.The elderly man wants to back out now that he realizes that the younger man is going to tear his company office up and make it more modern.”He asked her if that was normal to do that to an old company.“It’s the only way that it’s going to survive, and the influx of cash will keep it open until all the renovations are finished.”

“So he doesn’t like that his company isn’t going to be the one that he went to every day.”She told him that was it exactly.“I feel sorry for the older man.It’s not that he doesn’t like change, I mean, he did go into this merger with his eyes wide open, but starting with the offices might not be the way to go right away.I mean, that’s just me.”

“What would you do first?I mean, a great deal has to depend on the offices being redone so that the transit part can get started.It’s not important that it be done immediately.”He told her what he’d do.“The bathrooms do need to be upgraded, too.But I can see what you mean, it will be a promise of bigger things coming to the company, instead of starting out with the most mess and going from there.”

“Unless he has a thing for the bathrooms being the way that they are.I don’t know the man.Then I’d work on the breakrooms if there are any.If not, then put some in.That will tell the people working in the building that he cares for them, too.It’s not much, but it might go a long way in making sure that everyone is on the same page when everything is getting done.”

“I like that.Getting them all to feel like they’re a part of the merger will help with morale when things start getting very messy with the reconstruction going on.That’s a brilliant idea.”She started to stand and looked at him.“Want to come with me?I know you’ve not been out of the house since we moved in, and it might be fun for you to get out and about.”

“I don’t have to drive, do I?”She asked him why that would matter.“I’m not sure I can just yet.Every time I think about getting behind the wheel, I have a nervous breakdown.Seriously, it might take me a while to get back to driving.”

“Then that is something that we’ll work on later.”She kissed him on the cheek and told him to get ready.“We can take this slow, too.But you really need to get out of the house.You’re beginning to smell like old socks.”

Laughing, he got dressed.He didn’t have any jeans here, but he did have some new dresser pants to wear.Pulling a shirt over his head, he realized how much weight he’d lost and would work on that too.He’d never been a thin man, but he had been buffed up.It was from working all day on the farm and with the cattle.Yes, he thought, he needed to get in better shape all the way around his body.

Chapter 10

Wylie hated his house.He had been all right moving into it, but spending a month getting used to living alone and in the place made him realize that he didn’t care for it.There was so much more that he needed than just four walls and a toilet.That wasn’t all he had, but it felt like it when he had to stop and think every time where he was going in the place.It was laid out all wrong.

Standing in the hallway that divided the living room and the dining room, he realized that the hall was what was messing with him.There were no decorations on it, and it was a bit too narrow.Like it had been put in as an afterthought.He’d had pictures on the walls when he’d moved in, but had to remove them when he kept knocking them off the wall every time he came down the stupid thing.It wasn’t necessary to the flow of the house.And it was a dead end at the very end.

“What are you doing?”He’d forgotten that Raphael had spent the night last night.“If you’re going to bitch about the endless hallway, I’m leaving.I don’t see anything wrong with it.Other than it’s too narrow for men our size, and that it seems out of place to the rest of the house.You know, you’re right, it is the worst place to put a hall.It only goes from the dining room to the living room.Why not just leave it open instead of putting up more walls?”

“That’s just what I was trying to tell you last night.”He said he got it now.“What would happen if I were to tear these two walls out?Do you think the upstairs will come down on top of us?”

“Something about load-bearing walls.Is it one?I have no idea.That’s out of my league.We could find someone to help with that, I’m sure.”He said he’d have to spend money on that.“Yeah, but we have enough to do things like that.Wouldn’t you rather know now, other than when the ceiling is coming down on our heads?”Wylie grinned and said it would more than likely make the bank happier.“Yes, there is that too.Tell me again why you took out a loan to buy this house?”

“To stimulate the economy or something like that.Meggie told me it’s better for the town.I don’t know.If they want to sell houses, they should let you rent them first to find out if it’s a fit for you, rather than having to go through all this to find out if the wall will be able to be taken out.”He looked at the ceiling.“I wonder if it’s true that the upper floors depend on the walls down here?I can see it happening, but I wonder too.I find myself wondering about a lot of things lately.”

“Me too, but mine is on buying things.Like, do I really need two packs of underwear when one is fine?Do I need both black and white socks now that I own a suit?That one has been driving me crazy.Also, and this is a biggy.Do I need to buy a house right now, or can I just get myself something like a condo?There are some nice ones in town.And if I don’t like living in it, there are all kinds of houses to rent, like you said, I want a fit first.”Wylie asked him if he had a place in mind to rent.“No.But that’s only because I don’t know how to rent anyplace that I might want to live.I thought about asking Meggie, but she’d just pop me in the back of the head and tell me what I need to do.I want to talk to someone first.Not be told what to do.”

“She doesn’t really do that, does she?”Raphael shook his head and said that the popping part he’d made up, but she would tell him what he should do.“I can see her doing that.But you know she only wants what’s best for us.Right?”

“I get it.She’s forever asking me if I need anything.I do, but not what she could offer me.I need someone to talk to.I thought about David.”Wylie said he’d be a good one to talk to.“Yeah, I think so too.Not that Meggie wouldn’t listen, but she’s so stressed out about Kinsey, too, and her job.I don’t think she likes her job all that much, do you?”

“No.I think you’re right there.She seems to spend a lot of time hanging out with our brother.Which I can understand, they love each other.But she’s really worried about him all the time.”He was too until he saw him walking around.That sort of set him up to thinking that his brother was gettingbetter and not getting worse.“I’ll never forget that truck accident.I wonder what the attorney David hired is going to be doing about it?”

Wylie had purchased himself a car.No one could drive the truck anymore, and he had been getting tired of walking everywhere he wanted to go.So when they had speculated about the house as much as they could and the falling down upstairs, they decided to have lunch.He was careful with his money and not eating out all the time, but it sure made it easier when he just wanted a meal without having to fix one for himself.David was in the place with Kinsey.

“We were just talking about the two of you.Well, all of you guys, but we did mention you too specifically.Are you still renting out the hotel on a weekly payment plan, Raphael?”He said he’d been thinking of getting a condo until he could figure out how to live by himself.“Good plan that.Then keep it when you decide and rent it out.That’ll be a nice income for you.”

Wylie smiled.And just like that, Raphael had the advice needed without any fuss or head popping.He asked him about his wall problem.David said that it would structurally have the house falling in.

“Not all at once, but if it’s a load-bearing wall, then over time the upper walls will come down a bit more all the time until one day it will just happen.But like I said, not all at once.Are you sure it’s a load-bearing wall?”He said he wasn’t sure but didn’t know how to tell.“I have a buddy of mine who can tell you about it.You do know that if you don’t like the house you’re living in, you need to get out before it sours you on all houses.You’ll be comparing all homes to that one, and you’ll never find a place to live.But don’t sell it, like your brother, rent it out.Renters don’t fuss much about a wall or not if they’re getting a good price.I’ll have my attorney go over your options about rental agreements before you get that far.”

He wished he’d come to David before he purchased his first home.But he liked the idea of renting it out.Having income coming in could never hurt, but he’d be a good landlord, not one who wouldn’t fix anything.That was the most common complaint of his friends who had rentals.That nothing was ever fixed.

They enjoyed their lunch together with Kinsey and David.David picked up the check, which was nice, and they all had some fun.Kinsey was looking good; he had on some pants today with a nice polo shirt that looked good on him, and he was glad to see that he was still using the cane.Every time he had to think about the accident, he would think of his brother saving his life.He had too.

After lunch they all went house hunting together.It was fun with David and Kinsey.He was getting good at spending his money for investment purposes David told them and he was proud of his brother once again.

“Finding yourself a fixer-upper is both a good thing and a bad thing.You have to balance how much you’re going to have to spend to get it back up to where people will want to live in it and how much you will have to charge them to live there.All the fixing in the world won’t help the area that a rental is in.You have to take that into consideration, too.”Kinsey said that Meggie had told him that.“I’m looking for a rental that can be used for office space.But I’m not opposed to paying for it if it’s in the perfect spot.I’m going to be working with some of the farmers around town to help with their animals.Not a vet, not yet anyway, but I need something to do that doesn’t involve farming to the extent that we were doing it to before.”

“Don’t you have like a million rooms at your house?”He’d been so happy that David had given the house to his brother for him and Meggie to live in.It was the type of house that he wanted.All one floor and big enough to spread around in.His brother told him why he was looking for space.“I can see that.Not bringing your work home with you or having it there would be a problem if you just wanted to step away.Good idea.How big are you looking?”

“I don’t want it to be too big, then I’ll just be roaming the halls like I am at home.But something big enough that I can spread out if I want to.”That too made sense to him.Wylie didn’t think he was stupid, but he was learning a great deal about things on this trip.“Meggie has decided to quit her job and have someone else run it.She wants to work only a few days a month instead of every day.I’mhappy about that.”

They spent the day together, the four of them.Wylie finally got him a small notebook to make notes in so that he didn’t fuck up again.He should have done what Raphael was doing and not bought the first house that he saw.He’d been stupid about that.But he’d been without a home right after the accident and had panicked.He wouldn’t do that again.Careful planning would keep him in money, too.

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