anything happen to her . You know that. She needs me right now and…I don’t know, I just have to do this. It will be good, you’ll see.”
Was I wrong to think so? Even if I was going to get hurt , at least it would happen with her in my house. My heart was doing a ridiculous happy dance just thinking about having her under my roof.
“Ok man , you know better. Want to meet for drinks tomorrow night? Frank’s around six?”
“Sounds good.”
After we hang up, I start thinking about what he said. Shit, maybe he was right. What do I know about relationships, after all? I spent the last couple of years salivating over my best friend and wishing for a miracle. Maybe this was the miracle I’ve been waiting for.
The next day I woke up feeling much better about the whole thing. This was going to be good; I just knew it. So screw anyone that didn’t think so. My first job was an hour away , so after I got my coffee ready I hit the road. I was thankful this new customer didn’t mind meeting midmorning since traffic would’ve been a bitch to get to the other side of town. From our phone conversation, I already had an idea of what kind of project this was going to be, and I was having mixed feeling about taking it on.
I got there just as I was finishing my coffee and almost had a heart attack when I noticed who was waiting in front of the building.
“Hi there. You must be Mark.” He stretched his arm out in from of him, ready to shake mine.
“Mayor Withers? Hello Sir. I am so sorry to keep you waiting ,” I said as we shook hands. Shit I should’ve paid more attention to my calendar. No one ever keeps Mayor Withers waiting. This was bad. I prayed he didn’t take the job away.
“Oh damn , son, call me George. Let’s get out of this cold and I’ll tell you what I’m looking to do here.”
We walk into what looks like an oversized barn and I wonder what in the world he would want with this place.
“So here it is, son. The new shelter for every foster kid in this damn city. What do you think?”
“Sir, I don’t think I know what you mean exactly. You want to turn this barn into a home?” Was he out of his mind? I did have a crew to help out, but this was much bigger than anything I’d ever worked on.
“I know you can do it. I could’ve hired anyone , but there’s a reason why I picked you. You see, I knew your grandpa; great man and good work ethic. He used to talk about you all the time. I understand he taught you everything he knew. Look, before you say no, let me show you what I have in mind.”
Hearing him compar e me to my grandpa makes me smile a little. Everything I am today, is due to my grandparents. I knew from an early age that I wanted to work in construction. So even after I finished college, I still wanted to work with my hands and build things. George points to the table, the only piece of furniture in the large room, and I notice several sheets of paper filled with drawings and numbers.
“When my wife passed a few months ago , she made me promise that I would do this. I figured I could keep my promise, help out a few kids and create a few jobs all at the same time. Here are the floor plans. I should tell you that you’ll have unlimited funds for this, so no worries on the cost. My grandson, Bradley, did the designs and he is on board to make whatever changes you need him to. I know it’s a lot. Why don’t you take a few days to think about it before giving me an answer.”
Was he kidding? No one could say no to this guy. Not if you wanted to keep working in this town.
“Actually I don’t have to think about it , sir. I will be more than happy to take the job. I’ll still have to look over the plans and meet with my crew.” We spend the next few hours finalizing the budget and putting the finishing touches on the floor plans. Once he knew what to expect in the coming weeks, we parted ways. I
Was I wrong to think so? Even if I was going to get hurt , at least it would happen with her in my house. My heart was doing a ridiculous happy dance just thinking about having her under my roof.
“Ok man , you know better. Want to meet for drinks tomorrow night? Frank’s around six?”
“Sounds good.”
After we hang up, I start thinking about what he said. Shit, maybe he was right. What do I know about relationships, after all? I spent the last couple of years salivating over my best friend and wishing for a miracle. Maybe this was the miracle I’ve been waiting for.
The next day I woke up feeling much better about the whole thing. This was going to be good; I just knew it. So screw anyone that didn’t think so. My first job was an hour away , so after I got my coffee ready I hit the road. I was thankful this new customer didn’t mind meeting midmorning since traffic would’ve been a bitch to get to the other side of town. From our phone conversation, I already had an idea of what kind of project this was going to be, and I was having mixed feeling about taking it on.
I got there just as I was finishing my coffee and almost had a heart attack when I noticed who was waiting in front of the building.
“Hi there. You must be Mark.” He stretched his arm out in from of him, ready to shake mine.
“Mayor Withers? Hello Sir. I am so sorry to keep you waiting ,” I said as we shook hands. Shit I should’ve paid more attention to my calendar. No one ever keeps Mayor Withers waiting. This was bad. I prayed he didn’t take the job away.
“Oh damn , son, call me George. Let’s get out of this cold and I’ll tell you what I’m looking to do here.”
We walk into what looks like an oversized barn and I wonder what in the world he would want with this place.
“So here it is, son. The new shelter for every foster kid in this damn city. What do you think?”
“Sir, I don’t think I know what you mean exactly. You want to turn this barn into a home?” Was he out of his mind? I did have a crew to help out, but this was much bigger than anything I’d ever worked on.
“I know you can do it. I could’ve hired anyone , but there’s a reason why I picked you. You see, I knew your grandpa; great man and good work ethic. He used to talk about you all the time. I understand he taught you everything he knew. Look, before you say no, let me show you what I have in mind.”
Hearing him compar e me to my grandpa makes me smile a little. Everything I am today, is due to my grandparents. I knew from an early age that I wanted to work in construction. So even after I finished college, I still wanted to work with my hands and build things. George points to the table, the only piece of furniture in the large room, and I notice several sheets of paper filled with drawings and numbers.
“When my wife passed a few months ago , she made me promise that I would do this. I figured I could keep my promise, help out a few kids and create a few jobs all at the same time. Here are the floor plans. I should tell you that you’ll have unlimited funds for this, so no worries on the cost. My grandson, Bradley, did the designs and he is on board to make whatever changes you need him to. I know it’s a lot. Why don’t you take a few days to think about it before giving me an answer.”
Was he kidding? No one could say no to this guy. Not if you wanted to keep working in this town.
“Actually I don’t have to think about it , sir. I will be more than happy to take the job. I’ll still have to look over the plans and meet with my crew.” We spend the next few hours finalizing the budget and putting the finishing touches on the floor plans. Once he knew what to expect in the coming weeks, we parted ways. I
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