Ne'er Do Well

If Kathy did like him as more than a friend, what about him; what did he feel for her? He felt like crap right now thinking about hurting Kathy. What did he feel about her? He sure did like her around and she was built like the proverbial brick shithouse. She sure was nicer and prettier than Sarah, as well as more mature. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

A very confused Garrett pushed away from his table and stood. After he pushed his chair in, he walked to the register to pay for his breakfast and coffee. While Betty Jean, the café owner, was making his change Sarah came up and put her arm around his waist. She smiled and said, "So, whatcha gonna do today Garrett?"

"Not sure. I have some things I need to do on the remodel but I have to buy some material first. Probably go to town for that."

"I get off at two."

"Huh? Oh, that's nice, you'll have most of the day to relax then." Well, catch ya later." Garrett walked out of the cafe and didn't even see the shocked expression on Sarah's face. Betty Jean had to turn away quickly so she didn't see the grin breaking out on her face. Apparently the date didn't go too well from Garrett's viewpoint. From the way Sarah had been gushing all morning the staff had the opposite impression. Humm, Garrett was preoccupied, Kathy almost ran out of the cafe when Garrett sat with her...Yep. That boy was in a world of hurt. He had two women pissed at him now.

Garrett got into his truck and drove to Neosho where he visited the friendly folks at Lowe's. They were more than happy to sell him the material he needed to begin working on the first floor of the bank. He still hadn't decided exactly what he wanted to do with his second floor apartment so decided to do the first floor while he thought more about it.

For some reason that summer business slowed down for the construction firm Garrett worked for. On Friday, three weeks after his date with Sarah when Bill handed out checks to his crew he told them, "Sorry, guys, but we have to lay some people off. We're dropping back to three crews from four so the last six people hired have to be laid off."

He looked over at Garrett and said, "Garrett, I'm afraid you're one of them, and Jorge, you're another. Each of your envelopes has an extra week's pay in it to help tide you over. If you are interested when things pick up you can both be hired back. Sorry, guys."

Thankfully, the lay off didn't really bother Garrett that much because of his inheritance and the rental income. He felt sorry for Jorge. He was Catholic and Hispanic. Like many married Hispanic Catholics he and his wife had a large family. This was going to be tough for them.

Saturday morning Garrett was sitting on his balcony enjoying the morning when he had an unwelcome visitor. He saw his mother drive up and instead of going into the cafe (a place she usually wouldn't be caught dead in because it was a low class joint) she came clomping up his stairs.

Garrett was trying to decide how to handle the visit when he heard his door open and his mother walking around inside his apartment. That angered him for several reasons. It was common for family in the area to just walk into a relative's home without knocking and even some close friends did the same. For some reason, his mother doing that after the way she treated him pissed him off.

Garrett was just about to get up and go inside to see what his mother was doing when she came out his door onto the balcony beside him. She stood looking down at him then said, "Well, that sure is a hovel. I heard you had fixed up the apartments and were trying to rent them but if your apartment is any indication your renters sure must be scraping the bottom of the barrel. I've seen barns that look better than that."

"Good morning, mom. What brings you to my humble abode this morning? And thanks for the critique of my home."

"Don't get your shorts in a wad. We still haven't received the rent you owe your sister and we need money. I was hoping to get something from you today."

"Sorry, all tapped out. I was laid off yesterday. I think the money has been paid, though. If I remember right the attorney said he would put the fair rental value into Bea's trust fund. Have you checked with him?"

"No, I have not. You owe that money to us, not her trust fund, and I want it. Now, how much can you give me today?"

"Nothing. I'll call Mr. Douglass Monday and check on it."

His mother glared at him and said, "Oh, don't bother. I'm sure he'll tell you to let him handle it and we both know what that'll entail. We'll just do without." His mother stomped away and down the stairs. She chirped her tires when she drove off.

Garrett reverted to form. He had money to spend and no job. The fish were biting so what was a guy to do? Damn straight. He went fishing. He went camping. He sat on his balcony. He went to the cafe and talked with his friends. From time to time he even saw Kathy, but other than a good morning or a hi they didn't talk.

The summer ended and fall arrived. With nothing better to do, Garrett enrolled in college once again and attended class part of the time. More often than not, he could be found in the Student Union playing cards or pool but he did attend enough and study enough to make what was once called a "gentleman C".

On New Year's Day Garrett went to the cafe for coffee as usual. This time the discussion was loud and serious. There had been a party at the house of one of the property owners Kathy and her mother managed property for. It seems the property owner's son decided to get something from Kathy she wasn't willing to give him. She pushed him away and tried to run. He hit her several times in his anger. Some other guests heard the screams coming from a closed room and broke the door down in time to keep Kathy from being hurt worse than she was. Kathy was in the hospital and the asshole that beat her was in jail. Instead of laughing with the other men when it was told that she kicked the asshole in the balls, Garrett felt himself boiling in anger.

After his breakfast Garrett got into his truck and took off for the hospital. On his way in he stopped in Wal-Mart and purchased some flowers and a funny card for Kathy. He got to the hospital and entered the room to find Kathy laying in the bed and her mother sitting in a chair alongside her bed reading.

Sally looked up when Garrett entered the room. Her eyes got large then she grinned and got out of her chair. She said, "I'll just go down to the cafeteria for some coffee."

Kathy saw Garrett when she turned to watch her mother leave. Her face was a mess. She was bruised badly and gasped when she tried to roll toward Garrett. She said, "Garrett, what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were hurt and wanted to check on you." He sat the flowers on her small table and then moved to her side. He held her hand after she took the card and said, "Kathy, I'm sorry. I just didn't know and didn't know how to fix things. I've missed you so much and now I've got you hurt."

"What the hell are you talking about Garrett? How do you think you got me hurt?"

"Well, if I hadn't been such an ignorant fool you might not have gone to that party with that asshole. You know this isn't the first time he's done something like this. His dear Daddy got him off before like he probably will this time. If he walks again, I'll make the bastard pay."

Kathy tried to laugh but stopped abruptly and grimaced in pain instead. She said, "Garrett, you goof. I suppose I should have said something, too, but I thought we had an understanding and when you went on that date I just couldn't face it."

"Kath, I never thought. She had been flirting with me like she does with all the other guys and I asked her out like a lot of them do. Hell, I don't know why I kept on. It was sort of like a game I guess. She turned me down a couple of times and I kept on. It was a hoot to flirt with her but she's an airhead, Kathy. Hell, even before you got upset I had decided it was a one and done kind of thing with Sarah. She's a fun flirt but there's nothing there in her head. I kept thinking how I wished I was with you that night. In my defense, I never realized you thought we were anything but friends and I didn't want to spoil that, then I did."

There were tears in Kathy's eyes. Her voice was breaking when she reached for Garrett again. She said, "I only had two dates after you and they were with different guys. They just didn't compare well with you, Garrett. When I was with them I kept thinking about how much fun we would have if you were there instead of them but I didn't know how to fix it."

"Well, its fixed now, Kath. Can we stay friends and maybe have some dates, too? I want to be with you more and,"

Kathy cut him off saying, "You goof. What do you think we were doing? We spent time on your balcony. We went to town together. We swam, camped, and fished together. It was just the two of us. Isn't that what dates are?"

"Yeah, I guess they are. But I didn't know..."

Kathy smiled and said, "Well, now you know. OK?"

Garrett heard a noise and turned to find Sally standing in the door smiling. She said, "Well, I guess it's true. It truly is an ill wind that blows no good." I'm glad to see you two back together. Now, see if you can stay there. Garrett, if you're going to be here a while can I go home and clean up? I'll be back about one or two."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll watch her for a while."

CHAPTER 8

After Sally left, Garrett took her chair and began talking with Kathy. They caught up on all the personal happenings, then addressed the other elephant in the room. She said, "Garrett, I'm so sorry Daddy had to lay you off. Have you found work yet?"

"No, I haven't really been looking. I went ahead and enrolled in college again. I'm taking business courses and some construction and project management classes. I really like working with my hands but I still don't know what I want to do when I finish. Except for the Guard. I want to stay in for my 20 at least. I got promoted to Sergeant last month and the Captain is trying to talk me into going to Officers Candidate School (OCS) when I finish college and get my degree. I only have one year left after this one. He says I have turned my act around and he thinks I would make a good officer."

"Do you like the Guard that much? What if they call you up again? Instead of becoming an officer, have you thought about staying in construction? Or maybe you could purchase and do property rentals or both? You know I got my real estate license so I could work in mom's office and I see so many houses and other buildings that are worth the money. You could buy a house from time to time and fix it up then flip it."

"Yeah, I suppose I could do construction or rentals, but I don't know if I want to do that. It's a shame so many of the houses in town are still empty. Some of them are past fixing up, I'm afraid, and they wouldn't sell for much if they were in good repair. I'm afraid the old town is dead and just doesn't know it. It's a little too far for to the jobs for a bedroom community and there's nothing local to keep people living there. They all move to where the jobs are or, after they get old, they move to town so they can be near family or health care. I really think I will go for OCS and stick with the Guard. I can keep working part time and do the guard and live ok. Gramps left me enough to get by on."

"Is that all you want? To get by? I can live with the Guard if that is what you really want to do, but we need more than that. You know even if you didn't do something in our town, you could do it elsewhere."

"I'll think about it, Kath. I do like messing with remodels and building and I could set my own hours if I only worked on my own projects. I kinda like that."

After Kathy got out of the hospital she and Garrett became an acknowledged couple. They were inseparable like they had been in the past before his ill-advised date with Sarah. Three months later, Geoffrey Goddard, Kathy's attacker, went to trial. This time Daddy's money didn't get him completely off but it helped. He was sentenced to 3 months in county and forced to go to an alcohol detox hospital to dry out. Neither Kathy nor Garrett was completely happy with the sentence but at least he was sentenced this time.

On April 1 Kathy came up to Garrett's place about her normal time—right after she got off work—and bounced across the balcony to plop down on his lap. After their hello kiss she said, "Garrett, I heard a great rumor. Hell, it's more than a rumor. You know the White Oak Cabinet shop burned about a month ago over in Neosho? Well, they just signed a contract to buy the old Eagle Picher plant up on the hill here in town. They're going to equip it and build cabinets there. They'll move all their production down here. They have 43 employees now and plan to hire at least 7 to 10 more. Some of the employees were living in company owned apartments that were damaged so much in the fire they were condemned. I bet we could rent some of them houses here in town if we had some ready to go."

"That sounds good but we don't have the houses and I bet those folks already have another rental. Well, yeah, I'm sure they do, but they won't want to drive 22 miles one way every workday when they can drive a mile or even walk to work in nice weather. I really think you should buy those four houses we were talking about here in town and do a quick renovation so you can rent them."

"I don't know. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to think about it. Now, what do you want to do today?"

"Go look at the houses some more!"

"Besides that. How about we go to town for a while and get a pizza?"

While they were eating their pizza Kathy made a face and said, "This place used to be so good. Heck, I can make a better pizza than they've served the last several times I've been here. And their salad bar has gone to pot, too."

"Yeah, you're right. That pizza you make is awesome. We should have just stayed home and made pizza there."

"Well, that wouldn't have worked. I know we don't have the ingredients and I bet you don't, either."

"No, you're right. Well, if you're done, let's get on down the road. I need to make another stop before we go back home."

They got into Garrett's old Ranger and drove down to the mall. They walked almost the entire distance around the mall interior then Garrett guided Kathy into a jewelry store. A clerk came up to them and asked if she could help them. Garrett said, "Yes. I'm Garrett Mans. They were sizing a ring for me."

"Of course, sir. Let me check to see if it's ready."

When the woman left Kathy turned to Garrett and said, "What are you getting a ring for, Garrett? You don't wear jewelry."

"No, I don't, but it's not for me. I was sort of hoping you would wear it. I, uh, It's an engagement ring and I was hoping you would marry me and,"

"GARRETT MANS! That is about the lamest proposal I've ever heard of. Is that the best you can do? Oh, well, never mind. I'm sure it is, knowing you. I shouldn't, but yes, I'll marry you. Now, let's see that ring."

The smiling clerk was standing beside them when Kathy stopped talking. She looked at Kathy and said, "I have to agree with you, honey. Are you sure you want to marry someone that takes you for granted like he just did?"

"Oh, yes. You have no idea. Now let me see my ring. Oh, It's gorgeous!" She slipped it on her finger and jumped to hug Garrett. Soon a happy couple was headed out of the mall. Kathy was leaning against Garrett, head on his shoulder and her arm wrapped around his waist. Every so often she would raise her finger to look at her ring. That night, for the first time in their relationship, Kathy did not go home after a date. 'Nuff said.

The next morning, after their "snuggling," Garrett said, "I guess I'll call Mr. Douglass today and see what he thinks about your idea, Kathy. If you and your mom will keep managing the properties we might do a couple more rentals. We can see about flipping houses, but I don't think I'm really interested in that for some reason. I have all the money I can ever spend and I really don't want to work that hard. I think maybe I'll put in a few crops on Gramps old farm and just do the rentals on the side. I can be happy with that. Hell, it was good enough for him. We'll have more income than he did because we still have his stocks and I've invested a lot of the money we got from the bank vault. Then there is the rental income and what I make in the Guard. No, I think that will be plenty for me. Besides, as I get more rank I can pull some extra duty in the Guard from time to time and make more active duty pay that way."

"Ok, whatever you think, honey." Kathy gave him a quick kiss and skipped for the door. Just before she went out, she said, "I've got to get home and change so I can get to work. Mom will have to have a blow by blow before the morning is over, you can count on that. See you tonight."

Mr. Douglass was able to see Garrett before he went home that afternoon. During the conversation, he said, "I don't see a problem with rental housing, Garrett, but I think you should form a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) to protect you from lawsuits. I can set one up for you for about $250. It will only take a day or two for me, and then we have to wait for the state to do its thing. What would you want to name it?"

"That's an easy one. We'll call it GKM Properties, LLC."

When he got home that evening Kathy was waiting on him. Before he even sat down she said, "Well, what did he say?"

"He doesn't think it's a bad idea. He did say we should form a LLC to protect us from lawsuits. He's taking care of that. We can go ahead and buy those houses. Do the paperwork as GKM Properties, LLC. Oh, and I really don't want anyone to know I'm involved in the ownership if we can help it. They'll see me working on the buildings and will think I'm just a maintenance man or something. I don't want mom sniffing around if I can help it. If she or Bea smell money they'll be there."

It took Garrett all summer to renovate the first two houses. They were smaller—about 1200-1400 square feet and rented as single-family houses. The other two were two story square houses that he intended to turn into duplexes, one up, and one downstairs apartment in each. They would take more work but would have about 1200 square feet in each unit when he was done.

To his surprise, he actually rented the two single-family houses before the renovation was complete. They rented for $900 per month, each. He only had to pay $93,275 for all four houses. Renovation costs for the two already complete were an additional $27,000 and he expected to spend another $40,000 on the other two houses. It looked as if he would make a return on his investment in the neighborhood of $3,300 per month or 24.75% a year before expenses. Taxes, insurance, maintenance, and so forth would lower that somewhat but he had no idea how much at this time. Kathy said, historically, about 24% of the gross rental went to expenses.

For the next year Garrett stayed busy renovating the houses, then his apartment and the bank. He did take time out for a wedding in June, but the honeymoon only lasted a week before he and Kathy were back home working on their dream. They did take time to fish and lay around the farm on the riverbank.

After the houses were completed, Kathy and her mom managed the rentals as they did with the apartments in the bank. They still had not decided what to do with the downstairs of the bank building. With the vault in it they decided it really should be some type of office so that is how they renovated it. So far, no one wanted to rent it for an office, however.

Off and on for the last two years Betty Jean would moan and groan about being tired of running the cafe. She was 63 and wanted to retire. Her husband was retired and she wanted to spend more time with him. One morning when they dropped in for coffee, Garrett and Kathy saw two new signs in the window. One said, 'Going out of Business, Closing for Good Dec, 31'. The other said, 'For Sale'.