Ne'er Do Well

"That's bullshit. I can't afford to pay that amount of rent, living expenses, and college expenses on what I earn. Wait, you say the old bank is mine now? The hell with this. I'll just move into it. If I remember correctly Grandpa said there were apartments upstairs at one time. I'll just move into one of the empty apartments on the second floor. Will that work? I won't have to pay rent on that will I?"

The attorney smiled and said, "Yes, I believe it will work, and, no, you won't have to pay rent to yourself."

Wilma screeched, "Well, what about the money he owes for back rent? We really need more money. And how do you expect us to live if he doesn't pay? I can't live on my salary alone."

"I will arrive at fair market rental value and deduct that amount from his inheritance and pay it to your daughter, Mrs. Mans. As to how you will find the money to live, I can't say. I was under the impression you were employed full time."

"Well, yes, I am but I can't live on that. I only make about $48,000 a year you know."

"I'm sorry you are having trouble living on that salary but I find it hard to fathom. You make more than most of the working people in this area and they get by ok. You should be living quite well on that."

The attorney pushed back from the table slightly and said, "Well, unless there are further questions, that seems to cover the day's topics."

CHAPTER 4

Everyone stood and began to walk out of the room. Wilma and Beatrice were the first ones out. The attorney said, "Garrett, would you please remain for a few more minutes? I have some other business I need to discuss with you."

After his mother and sister were gone, the attorney motioned to the door and his assistant closed and locked it. He then turned back to Garrett and said, "I'm sure you realize the items we discussed here today were far fewer than what your grandfather owned. I'm surprised your mother didn't catch that and ask where the other property went. I need to tell you that before he died he transferred all of his business holdings to his long-term employees by creating a Transfer On Death (TOD) deed. What this means is the business and associated property never entered into his estate nor did the property given to you and your sister. I am also surprised your mother and sister didn't mention the business during our discussion, especially since your mother works there."

The attorney reached into his folder and pulled a letter from it. He looked at the envelope for a moment, then handed the letter to Garrett. He said, "Your grandfather left this letter for you. I will take a few minutes to allow you to read it, then if you have any questions we can discuss them before I move on to another matter."

Garrett opened the letter and read it. It said, in part, "Garrett, you have been a great pleasure to me. I know it sounds silly but I love you very much. I have left you the means to make a good living for yourself if you apply yourself to the labor necessary to do so. Perhaps your only failing is your laid back attitude. I had hoped your enlistment in the Guard would change that. The military tends to make men out of boys. I was so proud when you enlisted.

"Unfortunately, you only work enough to get by. If that is your goal in life, so be it. If not, it's time to apply yourself, boy. If you apply yourself, there is no limit to where you can go with your intelligence. You can dick around here like I did later in life and take short tours with the Guard and still make a comfortable living or you can apply yourself and excel. I hope and pray you apply yourself and excel. You have the ability to do so.

"I know your mother and sister are spoiled bitches and I'm sorry you'll have to put up with them. I can legally cut your mother out of my will but I couldn't your sister. I had a moral obligation to leave her something so I gave her the house and a small acreage. She can live well there if she will stop her uncontrolled spending. It will be a nice place for her and a future husband. I rather suspect she and your mother will sell the place and spend the money. In any event, I have done my duty to her.

"As for your inheritance, I hope you keep the land and enjoy it, either by farming it as I once did or just by fishing and camping on the old place as you and I did the last several years. I also left you the old bank building and lot on which it sits. As you know, I haven't been in the old bank since it was closed. I really don't remember exactly what is still inside the building. I do know there are some stock certificates there that are now yours. That is where I got a large portion of my income.

"It really doesn't matter what else is in the bank, however, because everything there is now yours. I never returned to the bank after Dad died. I did send one of the maintenance men over regularly to check the roof for leaks and to make sure the building was still in good repair. We had to remove the external stairs to the apartments to safeguard them, but when that was done they were in tolerable shape for a building as old as the bank is. We also took down the external stair landing and the side and front deck at the same time to keep kids from climbing up on it to access the apartments. As far as I know the building is structurally sound. Again, I don't know what you will do with it but it is yours to use or sell. I am sure some of the old furniture will bring a good price if you want to sell it.

"Remember this old man with love and fondness, dwelling on the good times if you will. I will do the same for you. Good bye, son."

After he read the letter Garrett sat back in his chair and looked at the attorney. When he saw Garrett lean back, he said, "Your grandfather left me some money on retainer, Garrett. He expects your mother to try and contest the will. In the event she does not I am to retain the funds to use to provide you legal services until such time as they are exhausted or I retire, at which time I am to release the balance remaining to you. Your grandfather placed the property and stock accounts as TOD, but there isn't much left in the brokerage. Soon you and your sister will receive confirmation of the ownership transfer to the property you will receive as TOD. I have already provided his death certificate to the institutions that require it and began the transfers for you and your sister. The only items that have to go through probate are the few personal items and bank accounts.

"You may take possession of your building and land at any time. Now, I need to get to my next appointment. If you have questions or need more help just call me, please, Garrett. See Stacy for your keys to the bank on your way out."

That afternoon Garrett went to his grandfather's old house and packed his few belongings. He went to the old bank and looked around with the intention of moving into one of the apartments. When he entered the building he sneezed from the smell of the long closed up building. To his surprise all the desks and teller cages still had papers, calendars and writing implements on them. It was as if someone left the day before and expected to return to work again the next day. Unfortunately, there was no stairway to the upper floors from the inside. He went outside and saw a door in the side of the building on the second and third floor but no way to reach them. He remembered years ago his grandfather hired a firm to take the outside stairs down because kids were breaking into the apartments and playing on the stairs. He would have to either live in the bank itself or build stairs to reach the apartments. At least the concrete bases for the stairs and balcony supports were still present.

Oh, well, for now he would make do with the bank itself. His first order of business was to get power and water into the building once again. From his inspection he knew he would have to rewire the building because the wires were the old style with cloth insulation and were nowhere near safe to use. There had never been city water in the building so he had that to take care of, also. When the bank closed it actually used its own well. He was sure it was now dry or the pipes and/or pump didn't work. Besides, city water was available so why rework the well?

The next morning Garrett rose early. He usually slept late every chance he got but the hard floor of the bank wasn't conducive to lying around and dozing. He quickly dressed and headed for the door intending on finding something to eat, perhaps at the next-door cafe.

He was still drowsy and consequently didn't pay attention when he wandered out the front door of the bank onto the sidewalk. He stepped out right in front of Kathy Wilson and her father as they, too, headed toward the cafe. He caught sight of them from the corner of his eye and stumbled, almost falling as he tried to avoid crashing into them. Kathy reached out and grabbed him to keep him from falling. She said, "Garrett! Where did you come from? You appeared almost out of thin air as if you came out of the old bank."

"Well, yeah, I did. Gramps left the bank to me when he died. Since I don't have anywhere to stay, I spent the night there. I suppose that'll be my new home for a spell. Bitchy Bea and Mom more or less kicked me out of Gramps house yesterday. She inherited it and wanted my whole paycheck from the construction company, almost, for rent, so I came here."

"Wow. Well, come on with Dad and me. We're headed to the cafe for breakfast."

"Yeah, me, too. I don't know what I'm gonna do about food and water. There's no power or water in the old bank and I have to rewire and plumb it before there will be. No power means I have to eat out or do the sandwich thing as I can't afford to do anything else."

Bill looked up when he heard Garrett say that. He said, "No power or water? You can't live like that. Let's go look at the old place after we eat. Maybe we can do something about that for you."

After the meal the three headed over to the bank. When she entered the door Kathy stopped and looked around. "Wow," she whispered. "This is really neat. It sure doesn't look like the banks today."

Kathy walked around and picked up several items, looked at them, and put them back down. When she got back to Garrett and her father she said, "Garrett, a lot of this stuff is really, really old. I bet you could sell it for a ton of money and use that to install your water and power. What else is here?"

"I don't know. What you see is all I've seen. The vault is locked and I don't know the combination for it. I haven't looked in any of the drawers or desks, either. I have no idea what is here."

"While you and Daddy look around to see what needs to be done can I go through some of the desks?"

"Yeah, sure."

After Bill and Garrett did a quick survey of the bank, Bill said, "The old building seems to be in pretty good shape structurally, but we'll have to tear out all the wiring and plumbing. It's all shot to hell. Are you sure you want to live here?"

"Well, maybe not here, but in this building. The two upper floors are supposed to have apartments in them but Gramps had to have the stairs taken down years ago to keep the kids out of the apartments and to keep them from climbing on them and maybe getting hurt. I was hoping to live upstairs in one of the apartments."

Bill walked out of the building, saying as he went, "Well, let's get the ladder off my truck and see what is up there. I know we can at least check out the second floor and I think we may be able to get to the third one."

After they placed the ladder, Bill looked up at the boarded up doors and windows. He put on his tool belt and climbed the ladder carrying a small pry bar. He looked over the plywood covering on the door then inserted the pry bar under the edge of it. He carefully worked around the wood, prying it loose as he went. When he had the bottom and part of the sides loose he stepped down the ladder a short distance and pulled the wood over his head then climbed up the ladder under it. He braced himself and finished prying the wood off, letting it fall to the ground below.

Bill tried the doorknob and cursed. He looked down at Garrett and said, "The damn door is locked. I don't suppose you have the keys for it do you?"

"Uhhh, I'm not sure. I got a lot of old keys when the attorney gave me the bank keys. Let me go inside and get them."

Garrett trotted around the corner and into the bank (The doors into the upstairs of the old building were on the side overlooking the parking lot). He quickly came back with a large bunch of keys on an old metal ring. He looked up at Bill and said, "Here, catch," before he tossed them up.

Bill caught the keys on the second throw and turned back to the door. He tried almost all the keys before he found one that unlocked the door. There was a dangerous appearing dance as he tried to get the door opened because it opened out. Finally he got it opened and carefully climbed the rest of the way up, then disappeared inside. Garrett immediately climbed up the ladder and followed Bill inside the second story.

When Garrett got inside the building he saw they were in a small entryway. There were two doors opening off the entry, one to the front, one to the back. Bill had the rear door opened and was working on finding the keys to the front unit. As Garrett walked up beside him the latch clicked and Bill said, "Finally. Why is it always the last key you try that works? Well, no matter, the doors are unlocked." Bill gestured toward the door and said, "After you," and motioned Garrett into the front apartment.

The two friends stepped into a dark, dingy room. They could hardly see anything because the windows were boarded up. Garrett walked over to one of the side windows and tried to open it. Finally, with Bill's help and careful use of the pry bar, the window opened and they applied the pry bar to the covering plywood. Finally, with a screech, it gave way and fell to the ground. The light showed a partly furnished room containing a couch and old-fashioned chair and lamp. They walked back into another room that was the kitchen and saw an old-fashioned stove and what appeared to be a gas operated refrigerator. There was an old wooden dinette table and four old wooden chairs. A small bathroom opened off the kitchen with a door into a small bedroom. There was even an old 3/4 bed and chest of drawers in the room with a nearly useless mirror over it.

"Well, on the surface, this isn't too bad," Bill said. "Let's see what the other room looks like."

The two friends moved across the small entryway and entered the second apartment. Garrett and Bill once again opened a couple of windows and pried the wood off them to get some light in the room. After the room had some light coming in the windows they found it was a mirror image of the other apartment. Garrett looked around and said, "I think I can live here ok with just a little work. We need to get some wiring and water up here, but I can live with the old fashioned decorations for a while. I'll have to build some stairs, though. I sure don't want to climb a ladder every time I want to come home."

Bill stood looking around for a short time, then said, "Yeah, this wouldn't be too bad if it was cleaned up and brought up to code. At least we're lucky here in this town and they don't have zoning regulations or city building codes. We only have to worry about the national and state requirements. I think we can help you with things if you want us to. We can get some of the materials we need from waste if you're not too picky about things like that. It will still cost quite a lot to put in a safe set of stairs, though."

"Yeah, I had already thought about raiding the trash bins on the jobs for some of the things I might need here. We're always throwing away things that are still useable. I'll still have to buy the plumbing and wiring though. I sure don't want to fuck around with building stairs and a deck for the upper floor, either. I wonder if we can make an inside stairway off the entry?"

Bill walked back into the apartments and looked around. He said, "It looks as if the two bedroom closets are directly behind the entry here. Assuming the upstairs is the same we can run the stairs across the building and eliminate one of the closets on each floor."

"That's not a problem for the second floor anyway. I think I'll turn the whole floor into one apartment for me. I'll make the front into living area and put a bedroom and family room or office in the rear. Hell, I might even just make three bedrooms back there. I think there's room. We can leave the upstairs as a two apartment floor and maybe I can rent them for some extra income."

"Well, Garrett, I think that would work but it'll be pretty costly even using trash and second hand things from the job sites. I'll help you but I won't cut corners or compromise on safety. Again, we're lucky this town doesn't have any zoning regulations or building inspectors to worry about."

"Yes, but I still want it done right if we do it. And thanks for the offer of the help, but I really can't afford to hire anyone. I do think I want to make a larger deck outside, though, to sit on. Maybe even run it around the front to look over Main Street like before."

"Who said anything about money, here? You're a friend and if I want to spend some of my free time helping you, I will. As for the deck, maybe we can do that. It depends on how much work it will be to install anchors and bracing to hold it. Remember, it'll cost. I think you need to do all you can to preserve the original wood and fixtures too. Before we do much you need to check with the government. If you can get the building on the register of Historic Buildings there are grants and help available for the remodeling. I think there is even some tax breaks. Of course, if you do list the building, you will have to preserve the historic façade at the very least. That may impact putting a balcony on the front. If you get the building on the register you have to leave the exterior as nearly like it was originally as possible."

"Great. I like the way the building looks, and I like the idea of tax breaks and grants even more. I don't know anything about the process of applying for the benefits though. Do you?"

"Some, but Doris in the office is the go to person for that. She can help you. Let's get you some wiring into the bank for now and see about getting you hooked up to city water, then you'll have a place to stay while we do the rest of the work. It'll be slow going, working part time evenings. I won't work every evening or weekend, either."

"I don't expect you to. I'll be able to do most of the work myself, anyway. I'll definitely need help on the heavy work and getting the stairs and deck framed correctly. If it isn't too expensive I think I want the deck frame made out of steel."

They walked into the bank to find Kathy sitting at a desk reading some old magazines. She looked up and said, "Garrett, I found all kinds of really neat stuff. Look at some of these pictures. I think this one is the building at the grand opening. There's an article with it that must have been cut out from the newspaper at the time. The building looks just as it did back then except for the missing stairs and landing. There even used to be a balcony on the front of the second story."

"Did you say balcony? Let me see that picture, please," Garrett said with a bit of excitement. I thought I remembered Gramps saying there used to be a balcony overlooking main street."

Garrett took the article and pictures from Kathy. He gave them a quick perusal then said, "Look at this, Bill. There used to be a balcony just like I was describing when the building was erected. Will that help us?"

"It sure will, Garrett. There must have been anchors in the front at some time. Let's go look a bit closer and see if we missed something," Bill replied. You'll have to keep the width the same as before but at least you can have the front balcony you wanted. It looks as if it is only as wide as the sidewalk. I would guess maybe eight feet at the most. There was no balcony on the third floor but there was a nice roof protecting the second floor balcony and sidewalk. For the times this was really an elaborate facade."