Sunday morning, after all the excitement last night as the Man burned, I woke in the dimness of the truck and was alone. Better than being blasted by the sun and the dust in my tent, I thought. That mess needed tending to.
A vision in tee shirt and running shorts was climbing the ladder, bringing coffee.
"Marty, you were useless last night. No talk and no action." Elena prodded me with a toe.
I sipped very hot and very black coffee. "Sit and tell me what is going on. What have the Russians decided for today?"
"We have been on the web and found log cabin place. You need to come and see." She leaned over and her tongue attacked me. My fingers found their way under the tee shirt.
"Nyet. No play until work is done." Her mouth descended on me, tongue first. She took the mug and put it safely to one side as she pushed me on my back and stretched her body totally into mine.
My hands were inside the shorts, kneading hard muscles. "What is this, if I can't play?"
The heavy accent was back. "I am teasing. You will obey orders, or no more fine Russian pussy!"
The body was over my shoulder and we were down the ladder in a flash and running in circles around the food table. Elena was shrieking and I was paddling her bottom and laughing wildly. I sat in one of the camp chairs and kissed her.
"Be careful how you tease Plumber. He can be violent!"
She straddled me and said to the others, "He is up." Mama was eating her fruit and smiling at us. Katarina's finger beckoned me. She sat before her laptop, which apparently had a net connection. Wifi at Burning Man was a sometimes thing. She pointed at the current page. It said, "Superior Log Cabin Company. Eagle Lakes Road." And a gallery of nice looking cabins.
"Where is that?"
"Near Susanville, off 395, like you said."
I crouched behind her, a knee in the sand, as she paged through the site. It was well done. You could buy anything from a bare log kit for $15,000, all the way up to a complete house with roof and utilities for $75,000. And an invitation to have them build your custom design.
All of a sudden, I was antsy and thinking of all the work my instant friends and I had ahead of us. If we diverted from the bumper to bumper traffic flow at Gerlach, we might be able to visit Eagle Lakes today. The site said they had Sunday hours until five.
Svetlana handed me a bowl of cereal, "Well?"
"I am thinking it would be a good idea to visit them today, if we can get organized and out of here in good time."
They cheered and said, "Yes, yes, that is what we are thinking. Do Temple next year!"
We rushed around and more or less threw things into the truck and my pickup. The Pashamobile was disassembled just enough to get it in the truck. Would take weeks to get rid of the last playa dust anyway. I called the Superior phone number and asked if they were open and received confirmation that they were. An hour later, we were easing into the long line of departing vehicles, which were being released onto the exit highway in waves. Two hours after that, we were turning off to the west in Gerlach, headed for Susanville and Eagle Lakes.
Svetlana was with me. "Professor, you know mathematics. How do we decide how complete a cabin to buy?"
"Plumber, in Russia, family and friends go in woods and cut right size trees, haul home, and start building. No fancy flattened logs like those on website." She looked at me, half serious, half smiling.
"Professor, in America, more complicated. They have special saws that are better than we can do by ourselves. Fit tight, so warmer. I think we need to set aside $25,000 for foundation and utilities. And have budget of $50,000 for package. See how much house and package we can get for that. Probably cannot qualify for financing because do not have full time jobs. But my friend will take a note for the lot. Pay him later. Also need money for permits and drawings, although Superior probably has plans that building department will accept."
I looked at her. She was still half serious, half smiling. Must not have said anything too terrible. She picked up my hand and kissed knuckles.
"Marty, I think dumb plumber, dumb professor and dumb librarians can do this."
We found the way on the first try, about ten miles from highway 395. There were other dusty vehicles in the parking lot. A young man came up and introduced himself as Hank. "You are refugees from Burning Man like these other folks? Need housing urgently?" Everyone laughed and he showed us around. The women were impressed and chattered in Russian. Hank gave me a raised eyebrow look and I explained, "Family friends from Russia. We are going to settle and build near Truckee. Have a lot with utility access, but nothing else, so far."
After an hour of conversation, we were closing in on a single story with loft design of about 900 square feet. One large, one small bedroom, one bathroom, but the rest generous open plan. The basic package was $40,000. Transportation to Truckee area and putting it up would be another $10,000. Rough electrical and rough plumbing, but no fixtures, no insulation, no windows, and no roofing beyond the tarpaper.
I asked Hank to do a written quote while we caucused. Elena and Katarina looked at Svetlana, who looked at me. We laughed. I said, "Do you like it?"
Enthusiastic nods. I went on, "Very sketchy on budget. We have work to do."
Hank handed me the quote and a set of building plans. "Marty, this is good for thirty days. The terms are 10% with the order, 20% two weeks later, and the rest on completion. Delivery within thirty days of order, assuming you have a completed and approved foundation in place. We will finance up to 50% of purchase price, but you have to give us acceptable collateral. Depending on the circumstances, we may accept the cabin as collateral."
We sat at a bench in Superior's customer picnic area and chewed on very late lunch sandwiches. I looked at them and innocently asked, "Where have you arranged for us to stay tonight?"
The stares were surprised, and then frowning. I threw up my hands, "Just asking, that's all."
Svetlana, who was closest, had an iron armlock on me. "No teasing, Marty, this is serious."
"Yes serious. Since we have water and food and a mattress in the big truck, what about going to the lot and finding a place for the log cabin?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Maybe we stop for fresh salad makings."
Katarina said, "Plumber, if you tease us, we will beat on you. Very hard beating."
Her twin said, "Yes, but I think he likes his women beating. Makes him think of sex."
Svetlana used my hair to pull herself up. She kissed the side of my face and said, "Yes. Us too."
Elena was assigned to ride with me. She sat over against the door and stared straight ahead, but glancing at me and then away. Her washed red tee shirt was nicely filled and I got more and more perturbed.
Finally, I said, "You are bad."
"Yes, will have to be punished." A smile crept into her face.
"If I am busy punishing, how will the cabin get built?"
She took my free hand and nibbled on it. "Marty, you are the best tease. We are very lucky to find you."
We were on a back road again, winding through a high mountain valley toward my friend's property.
On the southern edge of the valley, the timbered hills rose on three sides. There was a dirt road leading southwest through second growth pines. In a mile, there was a locked gate. I drove off in the trees to one side and the truck followed me in.
"We have to walk from here. Let's take a snack and some water. It's maybe another mile."
I dug out the property map Doug had given me. Before subdivision, it had been a half section, bordered by public forest. They surrounded me and I pointed out features. "He subdivided 160 acres of his half section into ten acre lots. This one here, number eleven, is the one I talked to him about buying. I've only been out here a couple of times to see it."
We walked along the road until we came to a flagged marker. It was obvious on the map where we were, and in a few more minutes we were at another flagged marker that said "#11" on it. I told them, "The property runs about a quarter mile that way, and a quarter mile this way. That rocky knob is on the edge of our lot. That granddaddy tree down there is about on the far corner." I found a soft spot in the late sunshine and opened the pack. Mama had been smart and brought some beers. It tasted really fine, sitting there in the quiet of the tall trees. There was a brown meadow in the distance that would be green in the spring. Probably, deer would browse in it.
"Marty," Svetlana said, "this is special. Do we deserve such nice place?"
I pulled her back to relax on me. "People will build here anyway. We can help by using land well. Keep cabin off ridgeline. Don't put up fences. Plant more trees."
The twins lay on my other leg. "Librarians approve. Work hard to deserve this."
After all the excitement and dashing around of the last few days, it was peaceful to relax and listen to the birds and watch distant contrails overhead. When the beer was gone, we walked the property lines and talked about where the cabin should go. "There is a water line in the road that runs to an all year creek and a big tank that way. The electric utility will go in the road also, probably within a month. We will have to use generators until then. We can dig a septic tank hole and leach field for sanitation."
I didn't want the utility trenches to be any longer than necessary, but didn't want to be that close to the road either. We were lucky to find one spot where the rocky knob hid us from the road, but it was perhaps three hundred trench feet away. I sat the women down about where the deck would be and asked, "What do you think?"
"Good sun." "Nice rocks." "Wonderful view." Smiles all around.
"Let's go fix dinner."
The women put me in a chair at the camp table where I could write lists of things to do, while they made me a drink and worked on dinner.
The meal of leftovers was delicious. Elena found the kerosene lantarn and lit it as darkness settled in. I wanted to call Doug about acquiring the lot, but there was no cell signal. It seemed important enough to drive back to the highway and find a signal. The twins sent Svetlana with me. I held her hand and asked, "Mama, what name do your friends call you? You are not my Mama, but I do love you!"
"Marty, so-so friends call me Sveta. Close friends call me Svetochka." She kissed my hand and said,
