Janie and I grew up together on neighboring farms in the small town of Parker's Meadow in Northern Missouri and before we could walk or talk, we were friends.
Her family owned the largest farm around and a few of other properties and my parents farm was just a small cattle farm that grew corn as feed. Our families were best of friends and always did things together.
We would always be riding horses, swimming in the lake or just hanging out on one of the porches at each other's house when I wasn't working on the farm.
I was the tall skinny kid and she was the overweight short gal. She was very pretty and had the most mysterious green eyes, but because of her size, kids would pick at her.
When we were at school, I was her guardian angel because of the bullying she got. I got in trouble so much defending her we ended up being sent to a private school nearby.
She was my best friend in the world and I wasn't about to let dumb ass idiots make her life miserable without paying for it.
I joined the Marines out of high school to get my college mostly paid for and got stationed overseas for 2.5 years. After Basic Training, I got transferred back to South Carolina and started night college classes. After being discharged I finished my degree as fast as possible in two years.
I stayed in touch with Janie and she just would say she had to work the diner and that she missed having me around. I figured she met someone and had settled down.
I had told her after I was discharged and my degree was completed, I would be coming home for a while.
We are 24 now and both seemed to have had problems socially.
Janie.
Randy was always my protector and angel. I was heartbroken when he left for the military then college. I had no clue I had loved him so much. I was 5'5" and weighed 200# and he was 6'3" and built solid due to all the farm work and working out he did.
I just knew he would find someone beautiful that would enrich his life. He would never say if he had met someone or not. He did say he would be coming home for a while after being discharged and finishing his degree. That would be another 3 years from now.
I needed to change for when he came home to visit, so I started working on my diet, found a personal trainer online and hoped against all odds he would come back for me. If not, then I would always have an empty spot but at least I would be healthier.
I owned the diner that had been in my family for 47 years and was convinced this would be my life forever. This diner was the number one reason I gained so much weight. My grandmother and mother cooked such great food and deserts and I hung around eating and laying around reading.
I changed the menu to start including healthier foods and cut back on so many sweets. Remove temptations, LOL.
I was cleaning tables when a customer walked in, sat at the counter, ordered a protein salad with a glass of water and started making small talk with me. He introduced himself as John Walkman
He had been traveling around looking at prospective properties to build a Health Resort and found a place he was very interested in.
"I am interested in a piece of property I saw down the road. It looked like at one time it had a motel and has perfectly placed land around it. I want to build a Health Resort that will be one of the top Health Resorts in the Country."
"I want to not only make people healthier but want to help them build up better self-esteem and learn how to relax."
"Would you know who to owns it and do you think it might be for sale?"
"You seem to know a good bit about health resorts, are you in the business and why this area?" I asked.
"I own 3 resorts right now. One in New York, one in LA and one in Miami. Since I grew up in Kansas City, I knew the areas I wanted to look at. Properties away from cities where the air is clean and noise pollution is minimal. People respond better if there are no stressful environments. This area is less than an hour drive from the nearest town that has a small airport so it makes this the perfect area."
I told him, "I own the property. My father died of a stroke when I was 2 so everything went to my mother. When I turned 18, mom wanted out, so she took a lump sum of money, signed it all over to me, and now lives in a retirement community in Florida."
"That motel has not been used for 25 years but I have the land and building kept up a few times a year by migrant workers when they come through in exchange for a place to stay."
"I am willing to lease that piece of property but am not going to sell it. The land has been in my family for almost 200 years"
"That would be perfect. I can write off a lease on taxes, Ha-ha. When can I do a walk through?"
"We can do it tomorrow morning since I am closed on Sundays and Mondays."
They met at the property the next morning and Janie explained the origins of it.
"This was built on this side of the road for the farmers to unload their crops to be siloed and sent to be sold. Since a rail spur could be put in without crossing the Nodaway River, this was the idea location."
"The motel was built because this place was extremely busy during harvest and planting seasons and some people needed a place to stay overnight."
There is about 20 acres of land between the road and the rail spur and the rest, behind it where this motel is located has about 73 acres. At one time there were silos' here and storage barns. They were damaged by a tornado that hit 16 years ago and were torn down by migrants to build themselves housing on properties leased to them by the local farmers. All the trees you see here were planted to help reduce noise and dust away from the motel and help keep it secluded from the road. It was getting old so the Co-op built another place near the main road and rail line on the other side of town."
"I know it's none of my business, but how much property do you own?" John asked.
"I own four sections; each one is 640 acres plus this acreage. Three full sections are leased to farmers and 310 acres of the 4rth one. Those final 330 acres, has a 63-acre lake that separates the last section of land almost in half. My house, a barn and an old guest house are almost in the middle of the remaining land not including the motel land. It keeps my house away from all the farming dust and noise and far enough from the road I barely hear what little road traffic there is on that road."
John left a few days later after scouting the area, and within a few months my broker and his attorney reached an agreement on the motel property. They signed a conditional lease for 25 years and the option to renewal if both parties agreed. He also leased my guest house for one year.
Work was moving fast and we became fairly good friends. One night sitting at the diner he said," I hope you don't take this wrong but I want share an observation and make you a proposition."
"I have thick skin," Janie said laughingly as she poked her arms.
"I would like you to work for me in Customer Relations. I want to use you as an example on how well my program works and for you to interact with clients and potential clients. From what you said about changing your menu and hiring a personal trainer online, I can tell you are motivated by something and I can tell you are self-conscience of your weight. I want to see you with confidence and pride in yourself. Part of my program is to build confidence in people to make them feel better about themselves and help them relax and be happier in life."
I had nothing to lose but weight and everything to gain, so I agreed.
Randy.
I felt bad leaving Janie for the Marines and college. I tried to get her to join me but she wanted to stay home and work the diner. I knew in my heart it was because she was so conscience about her weight and she wasn't going to leave her mother.
We stayed in touch regularly and she had told me about leasing the motel land for a health resort to be built there. I had always been impressed with the business skills she seemed to have naturally. She may have been a bit reserved due to being teased so much growing up, but she was one of the smartest people I knew because she read everything and retained what she learned.
I dated a few times but for some reason I never found anyone I felt I could be comfortable with. It seemed all they were interested in was my looks. The Marines had shaped me out really nice. I was amazed how shallow minded people had become. Everybody was offended by something. I missed the closeness and friendship Janie and I had and didn't have to guess what her motives were or what offended her.
I finished my military commitment and finished business school and had some good job offers, but I wanted to go home where people were real. Hopefully Janie had not changed.
Home.
I arrived at my parents' house in the early afternoon and moved back into my old room. There was a lot of hugging and a lot of small talk on the front porch but they never said much about Janie except she was doing well for herself. I just knew she had found someone else because my parents kept our talk about her minimal with-out much information.
I let Janie know I when I got home and we agreed to meet at 7pm at the diner. Our plan is to sit out on the lake and catch up on each other's lives.
I drove to the diner and saw the lights off and found the door locked. Looking around I could see no one around except for a very pretty lady walking toward me. She had dark hair just below her shoulders, very nicely formed breast that were well defined in the blouse she was wearing, a figure that had curves and legs showcased by the skirt she was wearing and a body that looked like a fitness model. I thought she was one of the clients or a worker from the Health Resort.
She kept walking toward me and smiling and finally twirled around and laughed. "Hey handsome, you know who I am?"
The voice was familiar and as she got closer, my heart pounded loud enough for her to hear.
"Janie, is that you?"
She laughed again and said, "Maybe."
I could not believe what I was looking at.
