Salt and Pepper

Sometimes life gives you a bunch of lemons. Sometimes it doesn't. The key is how you work it out. All my adult life I had put the needs of others first. Whether it was my parents, wife or children I made the sacrifice by leaving my desires by the wayside. Prime example my wife and I had gotten married young because I had knocked her up in our last year of high school. Looking back to that time I am no longer sure that I had loved her.

Our three children were almost grown. My wife and I were both quite successful in our careers. I was a CFO with a midsize firm here in the heartland. Since I said my vows, I had never looked at another female my whole married life. Lauren my wife a real head turner was the department head for the arts at our local university. She was a natural blonde who was tall big breasted with wide thighs. Since childbirth, she has been built more for comfort than speed. We both had earned our degrees online.

Daniel my oldest had joined the forces to further his education and had done so well he'd been invited because of his grades to Officer training thanks to a certain senator's help. Our daughter Caroline had gotten married right out of high school and was taking her courses online. Her husband was an okay guy but so far had not amounted to much. My youngest my namesake had just been signed to a minor league baseball team.

I attended attentively all the universities ongoing social events where the senior staff was expected to show a presence. Let's be honest I had a good relationship with all those liberal socialist snobs like sour cream and peanut butter. Being the head of the arts meant us attending all plays all concerts and all guest speakers. Most of these had a notable left bent. My wife was absorbed in these things I wasn't. As a result, politics was not discussed in our house.

During spring break every year my wife with four of her female coworkers would go on a mini-vacation. This year would be their tenth. Each year they would go to a different place for the cultural experience. It was supposed to be a time for expanding their understandings of basic humanity. This year it was Jamaica, Over the years as people left new ones were brought in but it always stayed a tight lady's group of five. This year they would fly out of Cape to St Louis then on to their destination.

I was downstairs working in my workshop at the back of the house on another project my wife decided we needed to have. I swear she kept finding projects for me to do to keep us apart. Every guest we had loved the quality of work they saw. The biggest job I ever did was designing and building her new kitchen after I knocked out a nonsupporting interior wall. The cabinets had all the bells and whistles. Her island overlooking the dining and living room could seat six. The white clear stained pine floor and matching custom made countertops made it rock. I had caused a power surge which caused one of the main breakers to pop shutting off the power to the shop.

I went out the exit to the back yard because our electrical box was built in and hidden in the wall behind a picture in the family room we had added on. I had just turned the switch back on when I heard my wife's cell ring. I don't know who she was talking to, but I didn't like what I had heard coming from her mouth.

"I do Spring break every year because it allows me to get wild and live it up.' Lauren said. "The last school day is Thursday. We all take a sick day and fly out on Friday. It gives us nine nights and ten-day to get all the pepper we want without hurting anyone and keep our reputation squeaky clean. Those who are already pepper like you can always find plenty of salt."

I quietly went outside and sat at the picnic table for a moment. To get my anger under control. Once I had gathered my thoughts, I knew what I had to do. I went back into my workshop to go upstairs as if I had just come up. Lauren was still on the phone. I went and grabbed the keys to my ford truck. I yelled going to the store. I headed out to my favorite local lumber store. On the way, I called one of the husbands of the ladies who were going to tell him what I had heard. He had his suspicion too. He said he would call the rest and arrange a meet over beers.

The lumber store had a new name and a new owner the family had sold it out to a group, but they had kept the old-timers on. I was looking for Dennis Pott a lifetime friend whose father back in the day had bought land all over for as cheap as possible by tax sales. I wanted some land anywhere as cheap as possible hopefully with a barn. He was on. I was lucky he had a twenty-five-acre lot near Knob Noster in Johnson County Missouri. It was only about three hundred miles away near Kanas. I learned that Dennis had tried to sell it many times without success. He took his coffee break so we could banter. I'm glad we did. I got the whole package for a lot less than the price of a city lot here. It was near a state park, was full of tree's and had a small base nearby. We agree to meet at the notary on Monday after work to complete the deal. I think he was just glad to get rid of it.

That night I set up a new corporation online. Its shares would be totally owned by my 401K. Anything I put in would be shareholders loan. Anything I drew out would come out of that. If I sold the company, it wouldn't be taxed till I retired

Every couple of years I would go hunting for the pleasure of it. None of the family would eat wild meat if I killed anything, I would get it cut up, keep a few steaks for myself and donate the rest to the food bank. Going to work on Monday I made sure that I could get time off in a month for a hunting trip. At least that is what the family thought.

It was all I could talk about. It drove my family batty. None of them were thrilled especially, my wife. I would have to miss two of her special events. I thought to myself at least her special friends won't be laughing about me behind my back. When I got back there would only be two weeks before her girls holiday began.

The week before I left my youngest son Dean was packing up his car to drive down to join the team for spring training. I walked out to his car giving him an envelope. He looked at me as he took it.

"It's a slush fund for emergencies," I said. "We both know you are going to have to find a part-time job just to barely make it. Use it wisely."

He looked in the envelope. "Dad's it's too much."

"Look at it this way if you make it big you can pay me back," I responded. "Just be true to yourself and follow your dreams."

I was up and out that Saturday morning heading to look at my new property before my wife got up. I was using built-up sick time instead of my holidays. It was about a five to six-hour drive. I had contacted a local timber company and they were meeting me to look at it. They had to see it, to decide if they wanted the timber.

It took us a couple of hours of walking around checking it out. The land was basically level. It had a nice creek running through it. The pine was mature and tall. They offered me top dollar taking it all except the twenty feet from the property lines and agreed to do the cleanup if I was willing to split the cost. The barn was built on a concrete slap and had running water. It had good bones. They would start on it in two weeks. Working the area around the barn first. They said they would have to expand the driveway in and upgrade it before they could start. We agreed to split that cost and settle it when the site was completely done.

I spent the weekend camping out waiting for the county office to open Monday morning. I got permission in writing to live in my forty-foot travel trailer while I converted the barn into my new home. I picked up a new cell phone and got it activated using my new address. Everything I had done since seeing Dennis Pott had been done through the limited company, I had set up online.

I spent the rest of the time stripping what I could out of the inside of the barn. I removed stale bales of hay, stalls and all the junk I could burn. The small second floor at the back of the barn the loft was still solid, but it needed to be sanded down. The roof would need re-shingled, but the rest was in good shape. Outside of a paint job It was ready to go. When I got back, I could use my blower to clean the dust the cobwebs and dead bugs out.

Usually, when I went on these trips, I sometimes would come home early if I got my limit. It was just not my year I didn't come back with anything. I spent the two weeks working to get a head start and ended up getting myself in better physical shape at the same time. My wife when I returned seemed surprised at how good I looked.

I returned to work to give them my notice. I was quitting. It was time to do something else in my life. The day before my wife left for her trip, I had finished her latest project. It just needed staining. I noticed the things that she packed were not what a wife or mother would normally wear on a vacation.

I saw her off as she started her little vacation with her five female friends Just like all the other husbands. Then we went to Golden Corral for breakfast. Tomorrow morning all the ladies cell phones would be shut down. None had taken their laptops as work was the last thing on their minds. I handed over the cash I had agreed to. It would pay my share for the carrying out of our plans. Over the next nine days, their facebook pages would be filled with live memories of their trip. The man we hired said they were easy to hack. For those sexual encounters captured they would have a link "to see the full video click here." Which was going to be stored in the cloud? All would be coming back to a different reality. It was worth it but dam it wasn't cheap.

I went home to pull my trailer out and get it cleaned up. Making sure it was ready to go. I started packing the tools and the equipment I wanted as tight as possible trying to save space.

On Friday night they had a surprise get together at the end of the day to wish me good luck on whatever I was going to do. Earlier that week I had taken half of all our monetary assets out in a bank draft. I got the final paycheck which included accrued vacation pay, and sick days. My retirement funds were transferred to the new 401k I had gotten set up.

From day one I had always bought US bonds through payroll cashing them out without my wife knowing and had the funds invested by my financial planner. He had agreed to sell off my stocks and deposit the net amount direct to the USBank near Nob. Everything had been deposited into my corporate account for which I had already gotten a credit card and a bank card. I had set up. That account now held close to six hundred thousand. Everything I put in the corporate account would be recorded as a noninterest loan. Once the divorce was final, I would separate everything. Right now, everything I was doing was to protect myself from losing my shirt in the divorce.

Saturday Morning, I emailed my children just before I left from a new email account as I had closed all others out. It read:

Dear Kids! This is what I heard your mother explain to someone she was trying to get her to go with her on the spring break trip. "I do spring break every year because it allows me to get wild and live it up. The last school day is Thursday. We all take a sick day and fly out on Friday. It gives us nine nights and ten days to get all the pepper we want without hurting anyone and it keeps our reputation at home squeaky clean. Those who are already pepper like you can always find plenty of salt."

My cell phone is canceled, I have quit my job, took half our monetary funds. Look at your mothers' facebook page if you need a further explanation. You can reach me via this new email address if I turn my laptop on. Tell her to contact William Connors, my lawyer, to work out the terms of the divorce. Let her know she now can have all the "Pepper" she wants. She now can live her liberal lifestyle full time and spread her legs for whoever she wants. P.S. someone needs to pick up your mom at the airport at three on Sunday. I can't I'm gone.

The last thing I did for my old home was to stick her new nick knack stand on the kitchen table filled with ten little tins of black pepper before flushing my wedding band down the toilet. I threw my reset old cell on what had been our bed.

After locking the house up, I pulled out with my truck towing my trailer both were filled with the stuff I wanted. Life had thrown me a bunch of lemons. I had peeled and cut them up eating them raw.

My dad said one time that there was nothing in life worth fighting about unless it's for your country. He was right we all have the right to live our lives the way we want. Lauren had made her choices which had forced mine. So here I was at forty starting life all over again. Dennis Pott, a true friend had given me a great start.

As I drove through the small town near my new home, I noticed the only convenience store and gas bar was for sale. I decided to investigate. Pulling in I went in. I bought a cold fountain Coke and a package of jerky. It needed modernizing because it came across as a mom and pop operation.

The lady working the store and I got into a chat. It was her parent's store and they were wanting to retire. All my life I had made my money by sizing up people. I asked her why she didn't buy it. She replied because then the operation would be stuck the way it is. I would not have the funds to expand for at least five years. It makes a good living even after paying all the staff but not enough profit for the bank to consider loaning me the money for expansion and upgrade.

I held out my hand "I'm Dean Kebbell. I bought twenty-five acres here just recently. The timber company should be harvesting it right now."

"I'm Jeanie Sexsmith so you're the city slicker that bought the old brown homestead," she said. "My parents are your neighbors. What are your plans may I ask for the place?"

"Going to start converting the barn into my new home" I explained. "I'm hoping that an electric line has already been put in so I can start on Monday when the first truckload of lumber shows up. It already has a water line. Not sure if I'm going to use country sewage or put in a septic tank."

"County is best, the winters here have caused problems in the past," Jeanie said.

"Thanks for the tip," I replied. "Do you know anyone in the area willing to work for cash for a few months?"

"My best friends' oldest son just got laid off. He's a bit of a scatterbrain with no real skill but would be willing to learn. Why?" Jeanie asked.

"I could really use a second hand while building my house." I said while writing out my number." Have him come and talk to me as soon as possible. Do me a favor write out a plan on what you would do if you could afford it to this place. Get estimates of the cost. Show me a projected two-year cash flow factoring in what increase you think it will have in sales." I said. "Come find me and we'll go through it to see if it is workable.'

"Are you serious?" Jeanie asked in excitement

"Serious enough to look at it," I said with a smile. "You know where I will be living. If the truck is there I am."

"What's with the trailer?" Jeanie questioned.

"County has approved me living in it while I build my house." I laughed.

I was surprised how much had been cleared out. Stumps were being ripped out and stocked piled on top of tree branches. Once they had dried out, they would burn for days. Rock and fine sand had been brought in to form a proper wide driveway for the heavy equipment. The cost of that in part would come out of my proceeds. The utility company had installed a power line and had a meter on the pole ready for me to hook my power box. It was brought in along the new driveway which suited me fine. As per agreed they had stopped twenty feet from the barn. I backed in the trailer and was setting it up when the boss of the crew working that Saturday walked up. I explained who I was and what I was doing. I asked him he knew anybody with a backhoe who could do a rush job he asked what I wanted to be done. I explained. He said wait till the shift is over and I will stay and do it for you.

The barn was almost forty feet high, so I had already decided to leave a three-foot crawl space before starting the first floor. By eight that night the trench was dug around the barn. The dirt spread to slope downward from the barn. On Sunday while driving around I found a place that sold rebar and had what I needed cut to three-foot lengths. I was building a three-foot-high wall of cement against the floor of the barn and three sides all the way to prevent unwanted water flowing in. It would be topped off with a freshly poured thick five-foot-wide sidewalk.

Jeanie showed up two weeks later. On a Sunday. The cement work was done including the foundation for the raised patio deck. We had the sewage line in and connected to the county with a sewage connection for my trailer. There were sixteen huge piles of tree roots and branches burning. The new ground floor was in, all the rooms on the first floor had been framed. The spaces cut out for doors and windows. The two sets of stairs to the next level had been installed. The barns small second floor would become a sitting area with a huge window replacing the loft's door before heading up to the third. That was where she found me. Working on laying once inch plywood for the second floor.

"Hi, Dean! you were serious. I'm impressed with what you have done. Jeanie said. "You have already framed the first floor. It's going to be huge. Why did you put plywood on all the outside walls?"

"Hi, Jeanie," I replied. "Your right. Even with two by six outside walls I never considered how much room doing it this way I'd be getting. The one-inch plywood will allow me down the road to change the barn structure without harming the inside. Thank you for getting Cj he's really been a big help. He's becoming a good framer and he adapts fast. We work twelve hours a day and he doesn't complain. I had to tell him to take today off."

I stood up in front of her. That is when I realized that she must have had a raised floor behind the counter at the store. I towered over her. I was six foot she had to be five foot six at the most. We went to my trailer. I made coffee before we started into it.

I was impressed with her proposal. It was complete. Her sales increases had been a steady ten percent for the last five years. She wanted to double the size of the store. Her greatest growth would be in the acholic beverages she wanted to bring in with the expanded stock. A percentage of those customers would buy addition stuff. She wanted to go 24 hours because the only cost for the extra hours would only be the wages. It was nice to see she was business smart.

I suggested that the graveyard shift could do the floor and bathroom cleaning thus freeing up the two thousand a month they were paying the cleaning service. Upgrading to a computer system, charging for air and adding a self-service coin car wash with an outside dog wash on the far side of the property would create added revenue. She at slow times could do the accounting entries by using a commercial system thus cutting down her accountant's fees to a onetime charge at year-end. An outside firm should be hired to do payroll. With a one-cent increase in gas per gallon that alone would generate more than enough to cover a mortgage. We agreed over coffee to form a new limited company with both of us putting in the same amount of money. I would loan the extra one hundred and fifty thousand dollars needed at the current fed rate as an open mortgage over the building and property out of my 401K.

Jeanie phoned her father and told him of our plans. He said he would listen to it seriously when he met me. Why don't you both come for super? Tell him he can bring his wife.