Just so you know, there is no sex in this chapter. Just a preparation for the future of Bill and Kathy... and possibly Valerie. Hope you don't get bored with the details... that's how I write. The hot sex starts up again in the next chapter and from then on. Please enjoy.
I was up at 6:30. The drive from my parent's house to my new job was a little less than an hour. I wanted to be early. I had noticed what everyone was wearing when I was there for my interviews... dress shirt and tie. Both my parents were up, even though that wasn't their usual wake up time. They both wished me good luck on my first day. My dad was beaming with pride.
After the usual round of introductions of the 'new guy' I was introduced to my mentor, given some technical stuff to read, and was put into a cubical... my first office. The way the mechanical engineering department was set up there five windowed 'cubicles' along the walls with two rows of drafting tables in the middle. The ages of the other engineers varied. There were four that were about my age. Two were probably early thirties, and one that as a senior guy.
I hadn't brought a lunch, so at noon I left to find a restaurant. The day progressed slowly, and kind of boring.
Lunch the next day was more exciting.
Close to noon, one of the younger guys, Dale, asked if I wanted to join them for lunch. I was surprised when they stopped at a bar. I was even more surprised when everyone ordered a beer. This was way different than I ever expected. Later I would learn that the real fun lunches were when a vendor would come in and take some of the engineers to lunch.
It was a bar where you would grill your own burger over a rectangular indoor grill. There were condiments, potato salad and beans off to the side. We all sat at a table. It was time to get to know the 'new guy' and vice versa over a second round of beers. Over the next few weeks, I discovered that this was 'normal' for this group, lunch and a few beers.
Dale and Mark were single. Ken and Roger were married. Ken had a young daughter and lived in his own house on the other side of town. Roger had two kids and lived about twenty minutes south in a small town. Dale lived in an apartment by himself. Mark lived with his parents, he was the newest addition, having only been there about six months. He was also the only other one with a mechanical engineering degree.
They described some of the company 'politics' who to watch out for, and who you could trust. It seemed each department: sales, engineering, purchasing, and fabrication were each in their own little worlds. Engineering complaining that sales didn't put enough money into the project budget. Sales complaining that engineering spent too much. Purchasing complaining that engineering never gave them enough time to get the specialized components in on time. Fabrication complaining that engineering kept changing things and then the mistakes. It wasn't open hostility; just 'drama queens'.
They were curious about me. So I filled them in on where I went to school. How it was that I had finished early. How I found the company. Explained that I was actually two quarters late due to my previous ROTC classes. That I was planning on going back down there the first week in June for the graduation ceremony. My boss already knew about that, and had told me not to worry about it. Where I was living now. I said I was looking for a place closer. I could see the wheels turning in Mark's head on a possible future roommate. They told me areas to stay away from and where the best places would be. I got a range of rents. Didn't seem too bad. They added that I would be best off in an apartment complex rather than a private room above a house. The subject of any kind of roommate to share expenses, never came up, and I didn't think it was any of their concern on my/our plans.
The week dragged on. Same stuff each day. I figured it would take a while before I would have something 'real' to work on. Saturday I would start my search for an apartment.
I wrote to Kathy every night. And every night, I had a loving letter from her. It was the highlight of my day. Reading and then composing a letter to her. She thought it was funny about the beer lunches, and that the guys I had lunch with sounded really great... she couldn't wait to meet them. I told her that
I
really couldn't wait to introduce her to them as my girlfriend, and roommate.
She had been spending a lot of time with Valerie and her roommates. They would hang out in their apartment, sometimes hitting the local bar scene. She told me how Marsha and Terri were like 'guy magnets'. I already knew that. That she and Valerie would just sit back and watch. She didn't think those two ever bought themselves a drink. Too bad, the guys always left with a depleted wallet, and nothing else. Some might call them 'teases'. Yeah, they were. I know that when Terri and I had gone out those few times it was fun, and I did get kissing time.
I came home disappointed and dejected Saturday after driving by, and looking at various potential places for us to live. I had the local paper, and had located a number of those listed 'for rent'. They were either in a shitty and unsafe part of town, or a room above a private house, or the rent was way more than I could afford. Single bedroom apartments, in safe, neighborhoods, were almost non-existent. And those that were, were expensive.
I tried to be positive in my letters to Kathy, but I'm sure my frustration showed through, at times. Kathy saw it, and gave me much needed encouragement... that everything would work out.
I had been in the 'search' mode for a couple of weeks. I was getting panicky. In my mind, time was running out. I only had a little over three weeks left. Still no place. No furniture. No waterbed. No nothing.
Sometimes, 'Lady Luck' is on your side, and smiles down at you.
I was sitting at the table on a Wednesday evening, having dinner with my parents when my mom asked if I had found a place yet. I was now starting to spend my lunch hour checking out some new listings. I said I had not. She went on to say that she thought she had a lead on something from one of their 'Club' friends, and then went on to describe it from what she had been told.
It was a two story solid farmhouse that was about seventy years old. It sat on twenty acres of land. Most of it was wooded. It had a spring-fed pond that covered a little under an acre set back from the house in the middle of the woods. The house sat back from the road about fifty yards and was hidden from the road by tall trees. It was located about a mile off the main county road about two thirds of the way to my work, so my drive would be cut to about twenty minutes. And being off a county road, traffic would be minimal and quiet.
There were four bedrooms on the top floor. The master bedroom had its own attached full bath with a shower and walk-in closet. The second bath on the top floor had a tub and shower for the other bedrooms. The lower floor had a wood burning fireplace with a chimney fan to capture the heat in the living area, during the winter. The basement was unfinished... just a concrete slab with a fruit cellar and some storage cabinets.
Outside: a two-car detached garage, a couple of empty buildings that could serve as storage or another garage.
I said, "Sounds really nice. I can't see how I can afford something like that," I'm sure the dejected tone in my voice came through.
"Here's the best part. They're not looking to make anything on it. It's been sitting empty since last fall. They inherited it from her parents, when they passed away. They have their own house, that's paid for, and don't want to move in themselves. They're leery of renting it to strangers. All they want is enough to cover the property taxes, and a little extra for any repairs that come up. I don't know exactly what they are looking for, but it can't be that much. I would be willing to bet that it will be much less than what you have been looking at. They just want someone they can trust to take care of it. The wife grew up there and doesn't want to sell it... to many memories. Their kids aren't close to being old enough for it yet. They don't even know if they'd even be interested when the time comes. They know us. They know you. They know you are a hard dependable worker, and know you would be good with it."