Justin Thyme

This is part eleven of a long story. It will not work well as a stand-alone. For complete understanding one needs to read the preceding sections. I don't believe you will be bored. I have worked hard to keep it interesting.

As always, comments are appreciated. I will be happy to respond to email comments if a return email is included. All comments are appreciated, whether I can respond of not.

I sincerely hope you enjoy my offering, and thank you to my loyal fans who have stayed with me so long. Without you I would have no one for whom to write!

It was the week before Prom, and the girls were all aflutter getting dresses taken in, let out, or whatever needed to be done at the last minute. I had decided to use that Saturday to install some of the security lighting and cameras, as that was something neither Rosemary nor Stephanie could be much help. I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from Michael on Friday.

"Hey, Justin, got a minute?"

"Sure, Michael. What's up?"

"Susie tells me I'm not wanted around here tomorrow. Are you headed up to the house?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd get some of the security stuff done that the girls are no help with. It'll probably be a long day, but I don't expect to stay over."

"Great. Susie has been wanting me to go up and take a look at the place. How about if I give you a bit of a hand and we shake Dad free to get some lunch?"

"That works for me! I like cheap labor. I'll even buy the lunch. We found a place almost like Al's, and I think you will like it. It is a little classier, but with the same sort of food. I plan to leave at six. Is that too early? With your help we can push it back a little."

"Even though six o'clock is earlier than honest people get up, I guess I can make it." Michael laughed at his own joke. "If we go that early we should be home in the early evening. Maybe I can see Susie for a while tonight."

"You've really got it badly for her, don't you?"

Michael paused for a minute, and I thought we had lost the call, and then he said, "Yeah, I guess I do. She is so different than anyone else I've ever known. At first I hung around because I didn't want her to be alone in the hospital, but then I just couldn't stay away. I really love the girl."

"I know. It shows all over you when you're around her. It's mutual. Rosemary says she can't talk with her without you being drawn into the conversation. And I don't know how you did it, but Mrs. Collins thinks you can do no wrong."

"Well, I've got her fooled, for sure! I'll see you in the morning, and thanks."

I don't know why he was thanking me. He was the one volunteering to work.

At six o'clock I was busily trying to figure out how to fit one more box into the Mini, but with little success when Michael drove into the drive in his Escalade.

He hopped out of the SUV and said, "Why don't you throw that stuff in the back of my car. I think I have a bit more room than you do. In fact, you can throw your car in, too, if you really want to take it with you!" He laughed at his own wit and I just shook my head. I really like my Mini, but it does have its detractions. I could have taken the materials I needed if Michael wasn't going along, but there was not room for both.

By the time we got everything transferred to his car, and no, we didn't put my car in, it was six-twenty, and we took off for Scottsdale. I had a large cup of coffee with me and Michael had a bottle of water.

I would have much preferred to stop at Bill's for a bite of breakfast, but decided it would be wiser to grab something quick, so we stopped at Burger King for a couple of croissants and made our way to the house. Michael had not seen the place as of yet, so I took him around with pleasure to see the place, and to give him an idea of what I wanted to accomplish today. He was quite interested in the property as a whole and even more interested in our plans for it.

"You know, Justin, someone with your obvious skills and talents would have to be of very high character not to take advantage of the situation here. It would not be difficult for someone to install hidden cameras and invade the girl's privacy." He looked at me thoughtfully as he spoke.

"I know, and don't think for a moment the thought has not crossed my mind, but I'm not interested in that kind of a thing." A quick guilty pang struck me about the Koala, but I rationalized it as different. That was someone I knew, not just random strangers. "I'm kind of glad I have you with me today when I'm installing the cameras, so if anyone has a question you can back me up. Besides, I'm pretty sold on Stephanie, and the others really don't interest me. I'll not tell you I don't like to look at a pretty girl, but not that way."

"Good. I thought that was the kind of guy you are, but I just wanted to be sure."

We walked around the grounds first, and he was intrigued by the carriage house, set back from the house a bit and asked our plans for that building. We detoured and walked into it and I told him Rosemary and I planned to use the lower level for a garage for our cars, and to use the extra bays as storage. He was rather contemplative as we walked through the upper floor and checked out the two apartments, former servant's quarters, that were long unused.

"Dad and I talked a bit about possibly renovating this area for possible expansion later on. We don't have time this year because of all the work necessary on the main house, and we would have to run water and plumbing out here. There just isn't time without hiring it all done, and we didn't think we had the market to rent this out, too. Now we see we would have, but I don't think we want to put the money in to pay for all that right now. The time to payoff is just too long. Maybe next summer, when I'll have the time to do it myself, or at least most of it, we'll take another look."

We walked back around to the front of the house to enter because I wanted Michael to get the full impact of the beauty of the house as we entered. He was impacted by the beauty of the foyer, with its rose frieze in the ceiling and the sweeping staircase going up to the second floor, just as we had been. As we made our way around the first floor I carefully kept the library for last. His reaction to it was the same as mine had been. "This would be the room where I'd spend most of my time. Magnificent! That desk must have been built in this room. I don't know how one could get it in or out otherwise. It would be very imposing to treat with anyone from behind that desk."

We made our way up to the second and third floors, which to one who was not a prospective tenant was not all that exciting. He did get excited though when I took him on up to my room.

"Wow! You got the nicest room in the whole house! Lots of room and a view like none other. This is really a great room! Want a roommate? I could see myself living in a place like this. You have almost enough bookshelves for my library. Between these and the library downstairs . . ." He walked over to the bookcases on the right hand side of the turret and looked at them with puzzlement. "There's something funny about the way these shelves are built in here. They don't match the ones on the other side of the room."

"Yeah, I know. Dad and Rosemary and I were trying to figure out why they are built that way, but we don't have a clue.

"The guy that built this place was obviously wealthy, right?"

"Oh, yes. He was well known for being wealthy, and a bit eccentric, as a Victorian mansion in a community of Spanish style houses indicates."

"I'd bet there is a false wall here someplace. It might be a room with a safe or a vault, or it might even be a secret escape. The time period in which he built the place was not as settled out here as it is now. Keep your eyes open and you might find it."

With that we went back downstairs and got to work. By the time lunchtime came around we had made great progress, and I decided we would hit Bill's and take a break from things for a while. I had been hitting things at the house every weekend now for a while, and though I wanted to get everything done getting away from it for an hour really helped sometimes. Michael was a little nervous about seeing anyone he knew, not because of the company, but because he didn't want to get drawn back into any situations of people trying to use him for their own ends, but I assured him I didn't think he would see anyone he know where we were going. "It's as close to Al's as you will find up here." He nodded and followed my directions to the restaurant.

"Well, maybe it is a step or two above Al's, Justin, but I agree with you that this is not a place I would find any of the leeches I left home to get away from. By the way, I'm really sorry Dad couldn't shake free."

"No problem. The ambiance here is a little higher than Al's, and the food is nearly as good. Janelle told me she and her roommate come here when they are homesick. It reminds them of Al's and home."

I saw Debbie, our waitress from the last time we were here and waived at her. She waved us over and we got a seat in her area, and I introduced her to Michael. She was curious about the progress we were making on the house, and was very excited about living in it next year. She asked if we had any more openings and I hesitated before saying yes, that we still had two singles, but that would have us full. "Please, would you put my sister down for one of them? She doesn't even need to see it. She'll be a freshman next year, and I just found out she is coming to ASU. She was talking about going to USC, but I think she was just trying to get my goat. Her acceptance letter came just a couple of days ago, and I was hoping I'd see one of you in here since I couldn't get over to the house when you would be there."

"Sure. We'll be happy to. Same address for her?"

"Yes, the home address, that is. She's still with Mom and Dad."

"Excellent. I'll have Mom send an extra copy of the contract for her."

"Thank you so much! Mom called me last night and said she just got the package from your mother, and she and Dad are both really happy about the rules for the place. A couple of them, while I understand them I wish weren't there, but of course, they are the ones Mom and Dad like best!" We all got a chuckle from that, and she went off to get me a large Coke and an orange juice for Michael.

As soon as we had placed our orders Michael looked up at me with a serious look on his face. "I've been thinking about your carriage house ever since we saw it this morning. What would you think about fixing it up and renting it out to married couples?"

"The thought really hadn't crossed my mind. Do you have someone in particular?"

"Possibly, if you are interested. It might be a long shot, but if they were interested what would you say?"

"Well, obviously I would have to talk with Dad and Grandpa. I don't think Grandpa was thinking about putting that much cash into the place this year, before we have a return anyway, and like I told you, it would cost more because we would have to hire it all out."

"I think might be a good idea for you, and if one couple I'm thinking of is available I will provide the funding at very good rates. I'll even provide sweat equity if you are interested."

I looked at him carefully before replying. "This couple you are talking about. You wouldn't be part of that couple would you?"

Michael reddened a bit and looked down at the table before nodding softly. "Please don't say anything to anyone about it at this time." He looked up and caught my eye before going on. "I've come to the conclusion that I really love Susie. Yes, I know it is awfully fast, but it is far beyond infatuation. I've been there, and believe me, I know the difference. I'm not sure about Susie. I know she really likes me, but I'm not sure yet if she is ready to take that step, and of course I've said nothing to either of her parents. I know they like and trust me, but I don't know if they would be willing to give away their daughter this quickly." He threw up his hands in frustration, just as Debbie came back with our food, then he blushed and apologized for almost hitting her tray.

When she set the food down and left he looked at me and said, "Maybe it is just a pipe dream. It's too fast, but I don't want to wait! We'd probably better put the idea on ice, but I've not been able to get the thought out of my head since we went up and saw those old servant's quarters."

******************

Susie and Joanne sat across the table from each other at the Dairy Queen, each with a Blizzard in front of them. Susie was really surprised how easy it was to talk with Joanne. While she had met her and even sat next to her at dinner twice this was the first time it was one on one. She had expected to be examined like a bug on a pin, but she found Joanne to be warm and genuine, not at all like she thought a celebrity's wife would be. Especially since that celebrity's wife was the mother of her boyfriend and the love of her life.

"So tell me a little about yourself, Susie. Michael has tried to talk about you, but I know nobody is a perfect as he makes you sound." Joanne gave Susie a wink and a grin. "When I asked him about you he got so tongue-tied and bumble-footed he couldn't walk and talk at the same time."

Susie couldn't help but smile. Joanne's attitude came across as total interest in getting to know her as a person, and it didn't have any condescension as of an adult talking to a child. It was impossible not to like her. Susie told her a little about her interests and goals, what her family was like, and then she got to the accident.

"When I woke up there was this big bouquet of roses on my table with a note saying he was sorry, and that he would be back later to talk to me and apologize in person. I was in ICU, so I couldn't have any visitors until the next Monday, but he came by then and knelt by the bed and asked my forgiveness. I never saw a grown man cry like that. Of course I forgave him. After all, it wasn't really his fault, although doped up like I was I didn't really understand. I just knew he was OK." Joanne just nodded.

"He sat in that crappy recliner they put in hospital rooms and stayed there. He said he didn't want me to be alone, and with my parents stuck on a cruise there was no one else. He didn't have to do that! Whenever I needed something he was there to take care of it, and he even called in his brother-in-law, oh, right, he's you son-in-law. Silly me. Anyway, he had him come in to try to save my foot. He cried harder than I did when they told me it had to come off. He had to go to court the next day, but you know all about that."

"No, not really. He just said the attorneys on both sides asked the judge for leniency based on mitigating circumstances."

"That is so like Mikey! Justin and Rosemary's Grandfather is a retired attorney, and he represented both Stephanie and me. He went and told the judge what happened and said Mikey shouldn't be held responsible for the DUI, and the prosecuting attorney agreed. Stephanie, Rosemary, and Justin were there to speak for him, too, but they weren't needed." Joanne shook her head in understanding, finally learning something of what had transpired to spare her son.

"We wanted to come down and be there with him, but he said not to come. He was afraid his father's fame would work against him. It was really hard not to be here!"

"I can imagine! Anyway, he got back from court about the time I got out of surgery. He thought he would be going to jail instead. He went with Justin and helped him with a project and Steph and Rosemary stayed with me in the afternoon, but then he stayed in that wretched recliner all night, and only left when he had to clean up or eat. When I had been in there for a week he came in with another big bouquet of two dozen roses. He said the others were starting to droop. I told him it was way too extravagant, and that he shouldn't spend so much on me, so do you know what your son did next?"

Joanne shook her head no. She had not heard about the flowers.

"He went down to the nurses station and asked for a bunch of water cups and he took a cart and some water pitchers and cups and took the flowers around to all the rooms around and left each of them a rose, and said I wanted to share, and he brought me one back. Don't tell him, but after Mommy and Daddy got back I sent it home with them and had Mommy press it for me."

Joanne nodded her head understandingly. "He's that way, always thinking of others, and he doesn't want anyone to notice."

Susie giggled. "You don't know what he did with flowers next then do you. After a few days he came in with a cart with twenty-four roses in bud vases and said, 'I thought you might want to look at your flowers before they are all gone.' Then he pushed the cart back out and took a rose to all the rooms around us, but this time they all had a card on them with my name on it saying they were from me, and I kept getting people coming in and saying 'Thank you.' He's always doing things like that for me."

"I suppose he didn't tell you about the wheelchair either, then did he?" Joanne shook her head "No." "The hospital didn't have a wheelchair made for adults in a body cast, so Michael went out and bought one so that I could get out of bed and go out in the solarium and go home. After I got the cast off he gave it to the hospital. He even helped Daddy get the office changed around so I could stay in it instead of a nursing home, and got the hospital bed and a ramp and all of that stuff for us. And, he also set up the basement for physical therapy so that I didn't have to go out for therapy."

"How did he get along with your parents? Are they OK with him?"

"Daddy was really angry at first, especially when they arrived early while Mikey was feeding me my lunch in the solarium. Mikey tried to apologize and ask their forgiveness, but they weren't really listening, so Mikey left to give me some time alone with them and I talked with them and told him all he's done for me, and that it wasn't his fault at all. When he came back to take me back to the room, (it was my first day out of the bed, and I was really getting tired), they were willing to listen and they forgave him, just as Stephie and I have. It really wasn't his fault!"

"After he helped set up a room for me in the house and Mommy got a chance to get to know him a little better she even told him to call her Madge! I've never heard her tell more than a handful of people to call her Madge, and never someone of our age! I knew then he had won her over. When Daddy found out Mikey is the one who wrote the new trading software he uses he was totally blown away. Mikey taught him how to use it better, and he's rewriting part of it because of what he learned were problems from Daddy. The two of them are thick as thieves, now." Joanne just nodded her understanding and sighed a huge sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for there to be trouble with the parents even before things went any further.

"I notice you call him 'Mikey'. You know he hates that name, don't you?"

Susie smiled an impish smile and said, "I know. He tolerates it from me, and I think he's starting to like it when I call him that, kind of like him calling me 'Little One.' Not that I dislike it, they are just sort of a nicknames that we use for each other. It started when I was coming out from the anesthesia after they took my foot. I called him 'Mikey' and he said, 'It's Michael,' but I said, 'You look like a Mikey to me,' and the name has kind of stuck since.'

Joanna was beginning to see a different side of her son than she had seen before. Michael had been known to get in fights or to castigate someone thoroughly for calling him that before. There was definitely something more than infatuation if he allowed her to call him by that hated name.