I have no intention of boring the reader here, however I think it's important to inform the people who I am, how I got here, who's important in my life and how I came to meet my best friend, Jen Taylor. The first half of this chapter establishes all of that. The second half (and the chapters to come) are a bit more suited to the interests of the adult erotica community. Please bear with me.
As summer was coming to a close I had no idea how much my life was about to change. My mom and dad kept hinting that I should get out and find a job but my focus was on the upcoming ski season. I knew they were right but I felt I wanted some sort of a career. I just didn't know what. I did know that I didn't want to be stuck behind the counter at the local donut shop. I remember telling my grandmother about it and she told me, "Don't worry. Something will turn up and you'll know when it's right."
It was around the first week of November when I awoke to some commotion down stairs. I didn't pay much attention but I decided to get up and fix some breakfast. I got downstairs in time to see my mom backing out of the driveway and heading down the road. My dad came out from the kitchen and put his hand on my shoulder.
"What's going on?"
Dad just stared at me and took a deep breath. "Your grandmother passed away this morning. She had a heart attack and your mother's gone up to Dover to make final arrangements."
It was like someone kicked me in the stomach. I couldn't get my breath and when I finally did I cried uncontrollably in my father's arms. I loved my grandma and with her passing I felt as if my life had ended also.
We drove to Dover on Monday for the wake and the funeral on Tuesday. How I made it through that ordeal I'll never know. I knew my dad was in a hurry to get home. He owned a large construction business and had just been awarded a huge contract to turn all the old mills along the river in Adams into condos. However, he took the time to look over grandmother's property so my mom would have more information for the realtor when she called them later in the week.
There was a barn out behind the house and when dad opened the door I could see the old horse drawn carriage inside. I remember my grandfather sitting me in the seat when I was around six or seven years old and I'd pretend I was riding up and down Main Street, showing off its bright red wheels.
On the other side of the dirt driveway was a building my grandmother had told me was the servants' quarters from days long ago. Dad tried the door but it was locked. "Well, we can check it out when we meet with the realtor," he said peering through the window. "C'mon, I've got to get back."
"I just want to get my hot chocolate mug in the kitchen," I shouted.
"Well, make it quick and turn the heat back while you're in there," he ordered
I turned the heat back, grabbed my mug and went into the living room for the last time. I fought back the tears as I stared at my grandmother's empty chair.
"Good bye grandma. I love you."
We made the trip home and I went to be early that night thinking how much my life had just changed. My grandmother, who I always enjoyed talking to and could confide in about anything, was now just a memory. I had nowhere to stay if I wanted to ski., I really enjoyed my job at the motel, but it didn't pay enough and Lenny wasn't about to let me stay there for nothing.
I stared into the darkness thinking I had no reason to get up in the morning when I clearly heard my grandmother's voice. "Don't worry. Something will turn up and you'll know when it's right."
I knew the voice was in my head but it sounded so real that I turned on the light over the bed. No one was there and the clock on the nightstand read five of two. I fell back on the pillow thinking about my grandmother's words. She was always right and it seemed like a thousand thoughts raced through my head. When I reached up to turn off the light I glanced at the clock, which now read five thirty. "Guess I dozed off," I thought. I threw on my robe and headed down stairs to find my dad pouring a coffee.
"Boy, you're up early," he said with surprise.
"You got a minute? I want to talk to you."
"Sure," he answered. "What about?"
I didn't say anything as I poured a coffee.
"Are you alright?" dad asked.
It took a minute to respond. I sat at the kitchen table and rested my chin on the palm of my hand. "Do you like your job?"
"Yea," he replied with a confused look.
"How come?"
"Well, I guess I just like making things or in the case of the mill buildings, I like turning non-practical things into something useful. Dad paused. "What's this all about?"
"Wait. I've got one more question. What's going to happen to grandma's house?"
"It was left to your mother. We both work down here so there's no sense in owning two houses. As soon as we get everything together it'll go on the market, most likely in a couple of weeks. Why?"
I bit down on my lower lip and stared at the table top, hoping dad would understand what I was about to say. "You and mom want me to get a job," I said as, I looked him in the eye. "I'd like to take grandma's house and turn it into a bed and breakfast."
That got dad's attention. He rubbed his fingertips over his lips which he always did when he gave thought to something. He picked up his coffee mug and took a deep breath. "Are you sure that's something you might want to do?"
"Yeah, I'd really like to pursue it," I told him.
"Of course it would take a big commitment on your part and it would be pretty expensive to fix up that old house."
"Yea, I thought of that. If I had studied in school and got all "A"s then decided I wanted to go to medical school, how much would that have cost?"
Dad chuckled. "A lot more than it would cost to fix up your grandmother's house."
"Well," I continued. "This is something I want to do and I know I can do it but I'll need your help."
Dad paused for what seemed like an eternity. "I'll talk it over with your mother. After all, it's her decision. Now, I don't want you to mention this to your mother. She's going through a tough time right now and I don't want to upset her. With the holidays coming and all, I want to keep things calm so it may be some time before you get an answer on this."
"That's okay," I smiled. "I love you and mom and I'd like to make you proud of me."
Dad took my hand. We're proud of you now, honey. Let me see what I can do."
On Christmas I usually get loaded up with sweaters, hats and all the paraphernalia that a skier would need to survive the slopes. This year was different in that I only got one gift and an envelope. The envelope contained a card and a season pass to Squaw Ridge. The gift box really had me puzzled. I thought it might be a sweater but I could tell by the weight that it wasn't clothing. I removed the lid and pealed back the tissue paper to reveal a framed picture of my grandma's house.
My mom spoke up. "I couldn't get the real house down here so the picture will have to do. Your father told me about your idea for a bed and breakfast and I will admit I was skeptical at first but I think your father knows you better than I do so I went along with his good judgment. The house is yours. Well, let me rephrase that. The house is in your father's and my name but you're in charge of it."
I looked at my dad who gave me a big smile. I broke down and cried. "It'll be the best bed and breakfast in Dover," I told my mom while giving her a hug that almost took her off her feet.
Dad wasted no time in getting a foreman up to Dover. His name was Dan and because of the distance, he stayed at his sister's house in Easton and hired local workers as his crew. The first of January they started ripping the place apart.
I stayed at home in Adams only to go to Dover on weekends to ski and check out the work being done. I don't think Dan ever took a day off. He always took the time to go over the work being done and offering suggestions, which I sometimes thought might be too expensive.
"Don't worry," he told me. " Your father made me a temporary foreman for this job. To become a permanent foreman I have to prove myself and this house is going to be a showpiece when I'm done and it will come in under budget."
The first week of April I was informed that all the bedrooms were pretty much finished so I moved up into the house. Lenny was more than happy to have me back working at the Golden Eagle Motel and now, with a job and a place to live, I started ordering furniture, drapes, pictures for the walls, and anything else I could think the bed and breakfast would need.
Except for the kitchen, the inside work was completed and the warmer months were spent on the outside. Different crews were in and out replacing the windows, ripping out the front stairs and replacing them with a porch that went across the entire front of the house and down the side all the way to the kitchen door They also added a large stairway extending from the corner of the porch out to the driveway. The siding and new roof shingles took most of August and I enjoyed watching the hard bodied, sweaty guys going up and down the ladder from my Adirondack chair.
The only thing that hadn't been addressed was a sign for the front lawn and I told Dan that I would take on that little project. Dan took the old carriage left out in the barn and gave it to a guy named Ed Buckland over in Easton who restored old automobiles. Though this was a horse drawn carriage he thought it would be a good project for his son. In return Ed would do any furniture stripping that was needed. There was an extra carriage wheel left behind so I took it to a sign shop that Lenny put me onto. I had made a sketch of what I wanted and the owner seemed pretty excited about taking on the job. "You're a lousy artist but you have a great idea here," he laughed. "Leave it to us and we'll give you a sign you'll be proud of."
