(A
Money Honey
Story)
It was well after dark when Doug drove his 18 year old Ranger through his small home town and into his parents driveway. He'd worked a full day then, made the two hour drive home afterward, stopping only for fuel and a quick meal from a fast food drive through. He hated his job but at least he had one. Many of his friends were completely out of work or, the ones with education and office jobs, working at home. This Covid Shit had some baaaad JUJU. He didn't know how much longer he could keep going. More and more people were ordering items for home delivery and his route with the 'brown truck guys' was becoming busier and busier. His employer wouldn't cut him any slack either. His truck was stuffed as full as it would go every day. Some days he worked ten or twelve hours making his deliveries.
Doug would rather stay in the town he worked in so he could sample the night life on weekends but so far he'd managed to evade catching Covid by not going out except to work and for absolutely necessary shopping. Every chance he got he took advantage of delivery or curbside pickup to further reduce his chances of catching the disease. He always wore his N95 mask even though he hated the restrictions and the way it fogged his glasses. On his weekends off he made the drive to his childhood home so he could be outside safely and unwind a little.
When he glanced at his parents house he was surprised. There were no lights on and he couldn't see the faint blueish glow of the TV in the living room. He looked at the clock on the dashboard to see if he was running so late his parents might have already gone to bed. No, it was only nine p.m. They never went to bed that early unless they were sick. Shit, he hoped they hadn't caught Covid. He knew his Aunt by marriage caught it a couple weeks ago, but as much as his mother hated her he was pretty sure she hadn't given it to them. They never visited unless absolutely necessary.
Aunt Mary should be over the sickness enough he could see her. He'd call her tomorrow then, if she was better he'd go see her. It wouldn't do any good to ask his mother how she was. Doug tried to open the house door and found it locked which surprised him. They almost never locked the door unless they were gone. He couldn't remember his parents telling him they planned to go somewhere this evening.
As quietly as he could, he got out his key and opened the door, entered, then locked it behind him. He walked through the mud room and into the kitchen where he flipped on the light. He quickly walked through into the living room to verify no one was still up then returned to the kitchen where he grabbed a beer and through together a plate of nachos. After the cheese was melted on them he took them, salsa and his beer to the table and sat relaxing while he ate his snack. Doug cleaned up the kitchen after he finished and headed for his old room and soft bed.
The next morning just before eight Doug rolled out of bed and headed into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. To his surprise, not only was there no coffee perked but there was no one home. Now he was beginning to worry. Instead of making coffee he went outside, got into his truck and drove downtown to the cafe most of his parents friends frequented. When he walked in several of the folks greeted him happily.
The table full of men his father usually sat with had an empty chair so he took it. After he had his first sip of coffee Paul said, "Sure was sorry to hear about Mary. How come your folks went on their trip instead of going to the services today?"
"What? I didn't know they were going anywhere. I came home and couldn't find anyone around so came down here to see if any of you knew where they were. What do you.... Wait, services? You mean Aunt Mary died? When? When are the services?"
"You mean no one told you? That's pretty cold even for your mother. I knew they didn't get along but that's pretty bad. Oh, sorry. I suppose I shouldn't talk about your mother that way. The services are today at ten down at the funeral home."
Doug looked at the clock and said, "Well crap. I guess I need to get home and clean up so I can get down there. I can't believe no one told me. See you later."
There was a good crowd at the funeral but, other than Doug, none of the family was in attendance. He wondered if his mother even told anyone else since she hadn't told him. He and his parents were the only family that lived close by. Doug sat with several of Mary's employees and close friends, then went back to her hole in the wall bar afterwards for some refreshments and finger foods while they talked about her and told stories of her life.
Sarah was crying when she asked, "Doug, what's going to happen to us and the bar now? Oh, God, we're going to miss her. She was like a mother to most of us."
"I don't know Sarah. I didn't even know she died until I got to the coffee shop this morning. I didn't now the 'rents were gone either. You all just keep on doing what you were doing for now I suppose. If mom gives you any crap when they get back, give me a call."
"Doug, we can't. Mary held the liquor license so we have to close the bar until a new owner or operator with a license reopens it. That means we don't have any income. What're we going to do?"
"Crap, I didn't think about that. Ok. I know most of you lived with Mary or in one of her cabins. You keep doing that and let me try to figure something out. I have a little money saved. If you run short, let me know and I'll try to help but don't go crazy on me and spend a lot or we'll all be in trouble."
Doug spent the remainder of the afternoon with the five women who lived with and worked with Mary. He was almost as devastated losing her as he would have been had his mother died. Before his Uncle died they almost raised him because his mother and father were so busy working. The only source of income his Uncle and Aunt had was the small bar just outside of town near the mighty Missouri River. They never seemed to want for anything and always had friends out the wazoo but his mother looked down on them badly. She was embarrassed her brother was a lazy slob (to hear her tell it) and ran a common bar. And don't even get her started about him marrying the "town bicycle" as she put it.
To the best of his knowledge Mary was no more promiscuous than any other girl her age had been but his mother disapproved of her mightily. Doug, on the other hand, loved her to pieces and made a point of checking on her nearly every time he came home. He even called her occasionally when he was away. Many weekends when he was young he spent time with her and his uncle.
After his uncle died he did all the heavy work and repairs he had time for in order to help out. Her five 'girls' were constantly nearby and jumped to help whenever he asked. Sometimes he was embarrassed by the way they did anything he asked or told them to do, no question.
Before returning to the city on Sunday, Doug dropped by the bar to check on the women. They were coping but bored. None of them admitted to needing anything so Doug promised to call during the week and see them again the next weekend. He thought they were awfully clingy but he understood. They lost one of their own and, he was sure, missed Mary terribly.
The next week was even worse, work wise, than the previous one. By Thursday, Doug was exhausted and completely fed up with his supervisor. To hear him tell it, he couldn't do anything right and was the slowest man alive. Finally, Friday rolled around and Doug took off for his home town again. At least this time, he got into town early enough he could drop by the post office and get his mail from his post office box. Surprisingly, he had a letter from an attorney.
Before he went on to his parents home, he opened the letter and read it. It was a request for him to call and make an appointment to discuss Mary's will at his earliest convenience. Doug wondered what that was about. Well, he figured he knew what it was about, but wondered why he was involved. No matter, he put the letter in his console and decided to take care of it next week.
