Foreword
Normally, I write it, read it, fix the obvious screw ups, and then post it. This time was a little different. Ok, a lot different. I had an offer to edit my story and I'd like to thank a great lady for taking the time to do that for me. She is a writer here at Lit and her name is Alexis Haines. She did her best to correct my punctuation and grammar, which is a full time job. I took most of her advice, so any screw-ups should still be attributed to me. She also took interest enough to ask questions about why my characters did things and to point out confused sections and goofs. I hope I fixed them all or she'll come and haunt me. So please read something of hers as a payback from me.
*
Two weeks ago, I won the lottery. Now what the fuck do I do? I didn't hit it real big but then again, I didn't ever want to be rich, just comfortable. Eight million dollars sounded like rich to me, until I found out that I got it in twenty-five yearly installments. I thought I had checked "lump sum" but I guess I didn't. It was probably for the best, as the taxes would have eaten me alive. Even so, after taxes that works out to around two hundred and twenty thousand a year. To my poor dumb ass that's both rich and comfortable.
Now back to the original question, what now? Don't worry; I've had plenty of suggestions, propositions, and proposals. Some of them were even of the business type. Then the list of long lost and not so lost relatives started to grow by leaps and bounds. The cards, the letters, the phone calls from total strangers at all hours of the day or night, they're enough to drive you to drink; but don't go to the bar, or you'll be expected to buy all night long. If that sounds cynical, then I'm sorry but it doesn't take long to get that way.
Enough was enough. Using a lawyer as a go between, I started the search for a piece of property to hide on. I'm not the mansion or townhouse type. I prefer the country so I decided to buy a large tract of land. In my mind's eye, I knew what I wanted but it took a lot of looking to find it. I wanted trees (preferably oaks), water (a lake, pond, river, or large creek), and isolation (but not too far from civilization). Getting the idea across to a lawyer is next to impossible. Most of the lawyers I talked to seemed to think the world ended at the city limit signs and the country was the golf course.
After a long and frustrating search, I finally decided on a piece of land. It was larger than I thought I needed or really wanted but it was beautiful. Large oaks and pecans were everywhere, there were seven large, deep ponds dotted around the place, and it was well off the main highways but only forty miles from a large town. At one time, it had belonged to a large corporation and they had used it as their executive and family retreat. It hadn't been used for nearly five years but was in surprisingly good shape. There was a large conference building with a dining area situated in the center of the compound. Around it were a dozen small, furnished duplex cabins and a large recreation building. Off to the left was a large two bedroom rustic house with a porch running all the way around the outside and a carport. Huge oak trees shaded the whole area with large grass expanses separating the buildings. Pathways wandered everywhere, almost at random. Overall, it was quite a fancy place, way out in the woods with all the major comforts.
I signed all the paperwork on Thursday and left the lawyer's office with my copies and a large key ring with at least twenty-five keys on it. I couldn't quit smiling as I drove home. Never in my life had I ever thought I'd own a place like this. I had dreamed of it, yes; but I couldn't believe it, even now. I felt on top of the world, but a little overwhelmed and lost at the same time. My life was changing fast, almost too fast in some ways.
Since the new place was furnished with better stuff than anything I owned, I had sold or given away all of the furniture in my apartment. Everything I owned was packed into my old truck, which wasn't much. The trash man was going to have a field day on Monday. I had gone through the apartment one room at a time and trashed anything I didn't like, need, or that was worn out. Most of what was in the truck were mementos of the last forty something years of my life. I had started to trash them too but couldn't quite do it. A fresh start was one thing but I needed to keep some roots and a reminder of who I was and why.
I figured I had enough of the essentials to get settled into my new place, so I could spend a quiet, peaceful weekend alone. Next week would be soon enough to start shopping for what I needed. This weekend would allow me to figure out what I did need. I had put a fair sized down payment on the property, and had arranged for the bank to handle the payments and insurance. It's funny how helpful banks can be when you have a guaranteed six-figure income. If I ran short of cash, I could even draw against next year's check. All in all, it was quite a good feeling not to have to worry about money. A feeling that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Friday morning, I drove south until I came to the small two-lane asphalt road leading into my new home. Once on the side road, I turned off the truck's air conditioner and rolled down the windows. I drove along slowly, enjoying the cool morning air and the clean smell of the woods; also, I was kind of keeping an eye on whom, if anyone was following me. Just because you're not paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you.
Six miles later, I turned left into a gravel county road and followed it another two miles until I reached my gate. There were six different padlocks on the gate, daisy chained together. Opening any one of the locks let that key holder in. I didn't have a key for two of the locks. I removed four locks and replaced them with a new one of my own. That should, in theory, limit the number of people able to unlock this gate and give me some privacy. The white rock and sand road winds off through the woods for another mile before it reached the compound. I parked in the carport of the house and got out.
I had been here twice before to look the place over. The first time I had inspected all the buildings and made quite a few notes as to things that needed fixing and general repairs. The second time I had spent half a day driving around the property on a network of sand and gravel roads that covers most of the twenty five hundred acres. Now I was here to live.
I paused a moment and leaned against the truck looking around. One part of my brain was wondering what the hell had I done, and another part was happy and content. This was a big place and it hit me that it would be a full time job taking care of it. It's too late for doubt, I told myself; I was here now, and that was that. I'd have to take it one day at a time and see how it all worked out. Things had changed fast and... I let the thought trail off as I turned and walked toward the house. I'd worry about everything later; now was a time to rest and relax.
I unlocked the house and went around opening all the doors and windows. The house isn't as large as it looks from the outside; the porches make it look that way. The central portion of the house contains the living room, dining area, and the kitchen. The kitchen is separated from the rest by a wide counter and breakfast bar. To the right is a doorway leading to a twenty by twenty-foot bedroom with the bath in the left rear corner, separated by a five-foot wall. I had noticed a fireplace in the living room and realized it went through the wall to this bedroom. Two six by six-foot walk-in closets are on the right wall, with a large picture window between them in an alcove. To the left of the living room is another bedroom and bath. It's identical to the first except for the fireplace. The house, like the duplexes, came completely furnished, right down to pots and pans, dishes, and glassware. The only things I really needed were pillows, linens, food, and drink.
For the next hour or so, I unloaded the truck and moved into the house. I chose the right-hand bedroom because of the fireplace. It took another couple of hours before I was satisfied with the arrangement of everything, for the moment anyway. I had made a list of things I needed and wanted as I thought of them. Since none of them except food was really important, I decided to wait until Monday to make a trip to town. There was a small country store back out on the highway, and I could get the groceries I needed there.
I wandered around the place for several hours just getting a feel for it and looking into places I'd not noticed the first time here. The most interesting place was the combination barn, storeroom, and tool shed that stood at the back edge of the compound. In the barn was a tractor, every implement known to man to fit it, and a large flatbed hay trailer. There were dozens and dozens of hay bales stacked here and there around the thirty by forty-foot room. The storeroom in the top of the barn was full of furniture and furnishings of all styles and types. It seemed as though whoever decorated this place never threw anything away, they just stored it. It was a treasure chest of items. The tool shed attached to the side of the barn was full of tools and workbenches. There seemed to be everything from hand tools to table saws in there. It was a handyman's dream.
Around midday, I got in the truck and headed for the store. I stocked up on the groceries that were on my list and several other things that caught my fancy. Not being on a budget was weird after all these years of pinching pennies. I even bought a couple of cases of beer and several bottles of wine. Splurging was fun.
