Untrusting (Troubled) (15 page)

“Are you serious?  This is all
on the up and up?  It’ll cost us nothin’ but some work?”  Maria’s
skeptical and I can’t say as I blame her.

“Yes.  Yes and yes.  She
had a very big, very prestigious attorney in Dallas draw up the papers. 
They’re foolproof.”

“What if we don’t want to be paid
that much money for payin’ a few bills for the animal shelter?”  I ask.

“Well, I guess that could be
negotiated, but there may be months you’ll earn more than that.  It’ll
average out, because you could work youself to death, like with the dogs ya
just adopted out, and ya won’t get paid any more.”  Larry’s suggesting we
take the contracts as is, I think.

“Are you sayin’ the contracts are
good, firm, and legal as they are?  And are ya sayin’ we should sign them,
as is, with a clear conscientious?”  I’m not so sure they’re equitable for
all concerned.

“Yes to both your questions.”

“I believe Maria and I are thinkin’
this all too good to be true.  We want to be cautious and not be thought
of as cheatin’ the town outta of money.”  Maria nods.

“Let me ask ya, do ya think this
last month with all those dogs would be worth six thousand dollars, even if ya
didn’t have another dog in here the rest of the year?”

“Well, the county did pay five
thousand for their stay here, for the month.  So I guess the answer would
be ‘yes’.”

“Then ya have your answer to
cheatin’ the city.  Is there anything else?”

We shake our heads and, after our
thanks and goodbyes, he leaves as Miss Lili comes in with lunch and José and
Chief.  “Did ya know José would ride in the basket on the front?” 
José has a tiny serape on.  “And Chief loves to walk beside the
bike?”  She sets the food down and starts setting it out for us.  “I
see Larry was here, but he didn’t have a pet with him.  Is he gonna take
one of the puppies?”

“No, Miss Lili.  We took your
advice and asked him to look over the contracts for us.  He advises us to
sign them, but Maria and I want to talk about it now that we’ve talked to him.”

Chief and José go back to the
kennel room and lay down while we eat.  Miss Lili brought Mexican food
today.  Maria and I smile at each other, putting José and the serapé
together with lunch.

“How’s José takin’ to livin’ with
ya?”

“José’s great.  After ya left
last night he sat in my lap ‘til I went to bed.  I got him a bed to put
beside mine today, and Chief has a big pillow for his favorite spot by the
stairs.  They’ve been a lotta company today.  It’s not too much for
Chief if I take him with me, walkin’ along ‘side my bike, is it?”

“No, it’ll be good exercise, but
don’t over do it, meanin’ not more than a few blocks a day and you’ll need to
stop several times.”  Lunch is very good.  I’ll have to convince Miss
Lili we should go out for supper tonight, my treat.

“How’s Shay?  What’s his full
name, all I know is Shay and I know that’s not all of it?”

“Shay’s fine.  He was really
tired Sunday night when I put him to bed.  His name is Shayne Michael
Gomez.  He has my maiden name.  I took it back when I was divorced,
before Shayne was born.”  Maria goes back to her lunch, hoping her answer
was enough.

It was and wasn’t.  Miss Lili
doesn’t pry too far into other people’s history.  “Where did the names
Shayne and Michael come from?”

“I always liked the name Shayne and
my father’s American name is Michael.  He insisted Shay have American
names.  Dad’s a naturalized American Citizen.  He got his citizenship
before they had they’re first baby.  They wanted all their kids to be
American.”

“Michael, that’s Miguel in Spanish
isn’t it?”  Maria nods.  “I know Miguel, he’s a nice man.  He
knows brick layin’, doesn’t he?”

“Yes.  He’s a mason by
trade.”  Maria’s not sure where this is going.

“Does he have a crew?”  Maria
nods again.  “Ladies, what works best as kennel material?”

“Concrete and cinder blocks,
why?”  I ask.

“I’m just fishin’ around for
someone to build the kennels.  Has he done very much masonry work in the
last few years?”  Maria nods again, she’s trying to finish her
lunch.  “I think I need to talk to ‘im about the kennels.”

Maria swallows and looks up, “Dad
can use the work, but we haven’t decided we’ll do it yet.  But I can’t
suggest a better person to build the block house.  He’s taught my brothers
his trade and they work with him.”

Miss Lili’s eyes light up, she
knows something we don’t.  “The lot behind this one is gonna be cleared
startin’ tomorrow.  The city has agreed to the contract, so the animal
shelter is goin’ up.  I’m buildin’ the kennels, I need the tax break, or
so my accountant says.  You ladies just need to decide if ya want to work
for the city for a cheap, cheap wage.  I would like for there to be only
one Vet in town, but if y’all don’t want to, they’ll have to look for another
administrator…Vet, so they can take advantage of the grants available to them.”

“Now as for our partnership, I want
to do this with you ladies, but I will do it.  Again, a tax break, but I
want to tie these entities together.  Shelters for animals have some
distinct features and should be close together.  I own all the vacant land
adjacent to this lot, that’s why there’re sidewalks here.  But, I jumped
track.  I’ve kept this property for just such a development.  I don’t
like people, or animals going hungry in my forefather’s town.  I know that
sounds pious and that’s the last thing I want.  But, Sher, since you’ve
come back to town, I’ve been waitin’ for a chance to approach ya about some
type of humanity toward animals.  Now I have and I hope you and Maria will
sign on.”

“Now, I’ll give you two time to
talk it over, later.  We have a newsletter to get ready to go out. 
Wes, the student that will be designing the posters for us, will be over after
school to get the information.  He wants to work on it tonight.” 
During this last little speech, she cleared the desk and walked to the box to
retrieve the schedules.

We add the schedules to the boards. 
We get them transferred to the computer and are ready to print them in two
hours.  Wes comes in to check the schedule and looks at some of the old
posters to get an idea of what we want.  We tell him we only need one
poster and we’ll use it to print them off.  He understands and is ready to
work.  He takes a printed copy of the weeks’ activities and will work with
it.  He’ll have two colored flyers to choose from tomorrow morning.

Miss Lili’s ready to leave when I
ask her about Chinese food, and eating out tonight.  She agrees it would
be nice.  Just as she’s going out the door the phone rings.  It’s
Steve and Bob.  I call Lili back so she can speak to them.

“We’re at the last phone before we
go into the fire zone.  We thought we’d call before we lost the
opportunity.”  Steve’s vague about the time and the danger, but we’ve
heard stories of how aggressive the fire is.  Since they’ve been gone
we’ve been keeping track of it.  Miss Lili’s strong ‘til she has to get
off the phone.

“Steve, you be careful.  Miss
Lili and I need ya back safe and sound.”

“I miss you and Grams.  How’s
she doin’?”

“Good.  Maria, Shay and I are
keepin’ an eye on her.  Don’t worry and don’t be gone long.  I miss
you, too.”

“I gotta let Bob talk to Maria, so
I gotta go.  Sher, I’ll be back soon.”

“Good, I need my guy.”

“Do ya?”  I hear banging on
the phone booth and “I’m gonna get killed if I don’t get off the phone. 
‘Bye, Sher.”

Bob gets on the phone and Miss Lili
speaks to him for a minute then she hands it to Maria.  I’m on my way out
the door and into the kennel room to check on the dogs, a cover for my
concern.  The puppies are starting to walk and their eyes are completely
open.  When Miss Lili comes out I have her help me bring the puppies out
for some fresh air and ask her to watch them while I clean the kennels.

Maria comes out shortly, tears in
her eyes and starts helping me without saying a word.  I take her into an
exam room to find out the problem.  “Bob said he loves me, before he got
off the phone.”

“What are ya gonna do?”  I
can’t ask her how she feels, I know.

“I can’t say it back to him,
yet.  I think I do, but I’m not sure.  Yet, I was happy to hear
it.  My chest hurt when he said it, like it was a balloon about to burst
from being over filled.”

We go back in the kennel room to
finish cleaning it and hear Miss Lili laughing at the dogs.  We finish and
turn a fan on it to blow it dry so we can bring the puppies in.  Mama
follows the puppies and they’re set for a while.

We close up and I take Miss Lili,
her tricycle and the dogs home.  She freshens up and we go to Kim’s for
supper.  Maria and Shay join us.  After supper and I’ve dropped Miss
Lili off, Maria meets me at the office.  We’re using this time to talk
about the contracts.  Maria had a chance to talk to her father about them
and though she’s not sure, she trusts her father.  He says its okay and
she could use the extra money.

I have to tell her that since we’ll
be employed by the city, I’m fine with that contract.  “What I’m wonderin’
is, why is Miss Lili is wantin’ to partner with us in the boardin’
kennel?  I don’t think it’s anything wrong or bad, I just don’t understand
her motive.  You know what I mean?”

“I asked Dad the same thing. 
He thinks she likes us and wants a reason to be around us, or just wants to
help us.  He says she’s out every afternoon, in the heat of the day,
ridin’ her tricycle around talkin’ to people and lookin’ things over.  Dad
says she pretty much owns the town, at least, the land in the town and because
of her great, great grandfather, she believes she has a responsibility to keep
things lookin’ nice and in good repair in town.  Five years ago, she
organized a renovation on the old part of town and leased it out to small
businesses to keep the town goin’.  He said she leases the shops out at
very small rents.  I guess she just wants to keep the town prosperous.”

“Maybe I’ll talk to Mom and Dad
tonight when I get home.  They may be able to help me figure it out. 
I’d like to open a small pet resort, but this is just too easy to trust or understand.” 
We say goodbye and I let mama out and go home.

I talk to Mom and Dad about my
concerns with the partnership and they tell me much the same thing Maria’s Dad
had told her.  They tell me Miss Lili has a lucky thumb, anything she gets
involved with usually does better than okay.  The carnival for example,
made twenty five thousand dollars for the town, just at the carnival.  Oh
my gosh, I forgot the money Miss Lili gave me, it’s still in the truck and I
don’t even know how much is there.  Oh well, I’ll deposit it
tomorrow.  I don’t need to know how much it is, tonight.

Mom makes us ice cream sundaes and
when I finish I go home to shower and to bed.  I’ll sign those papers
tomorrow.

I arrive before Maria and still
have the idea I’m biting off more than I can chew, but I’m determined to go
through with signing the contracts.  Mama’s out back with I hear a
bulldozer and a couple of trucks coming up the land behind me.  Miss Lili
wasn’t kidding, I decide.  Then hear a truck coming up my drive way.

I go over to see what goin’
on.  They’re here to put a temporary wooden fence up around my
fence.  They say Miss Lili wants to be sure they don’t chase any critters
into my yard.  I give them a clear path.  I don’t relish finding a
rattler in the yard, not with the puppies starting to roam.  Maria comes
out with Miss Lili to watch the proceedings for a while.

We go in and Dan’s standing in the
waiting room.  I ask him what I can do for him.  He says he’s
supposed to meet Miss Lili here.  I show him through to the backyard where
Miss Lili is organizing the fence fabrication and stopping the clearing of the
brush ‘til the fence is up.  I go back in where Maria and I start to work,
but we don’t have any appointments today.  So we plan another cleaning day,
starting in the meds room.

Miss Lili comes in with Dan and
asks us to come into the office so we can get the contracts taken care
of.  I look at Miss Lili, “Did ya ever think we wouldn’t sign those
contracts?”

“Yes, I did and still think you
might not, but today’s the deadline and I brought Dan to notarize the
signatures if ya do sign.  If ya do, I have a lotta work to do
today.  Now, I want to reassure ya I have very little interest in how ya
run things at the animal shelter, that’s Cal’s business.  I want to help with
things at the boarding kennels.  We share and share alike, once I pay for
the construction.  That includes the work keeping things in repair. 
We haven’t talked about things much, but we’ll get into a rhythm once it gets
going.  Now, are ya ladies in this or not?”

Maria looks at me and I nod
slightly and she nods back.  “Where do we sign?”  Once the hiring
contracts and partnership agreement papers are signed and Dan notarizes them,
Miss Lili hands us plans that we need to okay.  “We have the rest of this
week to make any changes, so look them over.  I’ll be back at lunch and we
can talk about the specifics then.  Gotta get these papers to the mayor
and my lawyer, pick up lunch and the dogs, then I’ll be back.”  She walks
out and we follow her.  She gets in a nice Cadillac convertible and drives
away.  Maria and I stare after her, then look at each other and
shrug.  We’re no longer surprised by anything concerning Miss Lili.

We clean the exam rooms, the
waiting room and the meds closet, losing track of time.  Miss Lili comes
back with the two dogs and lunch just as we finish the closet.  She asks
us for help and we come back in with a box of food and a box of
magazines.  During lunch, sea food dinners, we look at magazines with
ideas for opening a pet resort.  There are yard toys and not just balls
and ropes, though those are included in the magazines’ plans.  We’re
talking everything from exercise machines and toys for the dogs to, of course,
fire hydrants.  Maria and I are laughing at all the things Miss Lili wants
to put up in the yard.  Finally, we ask her what yard we’re talking
about?  The yard for the pet boarding, my yard.  From there we go
over to the plans, but we need a table to stretch them out.

In the exam room, we’re figuring
out what Miss Lili has in mind.  We can’t find any changes to be made so
Miss Lili hands the plans to Maria and tells her to give them to her father and
have him contact her before Friday with an estimate.  Maria is learning
quicker than I am, I guess, because she takes the plans and puts them in the
office without a word.

“Now, let’s get the posters ready
to be put out.”  Miss Lili’s on a roll and doesn’t want to waste a minute,
but Wes didn’t drop off the originals.  She leaves, is gone about forty
five minutes and is back with the originals.  Wes was sick this morning,
but he got the posters made last night before he went to bed.  He has the
flu.  She had gone to the school and then to his house in her search for
him.  She’s had her flu shot she says, before we can scold her for going
near him.

Right after school there’s three
kids standing in the waiting room.  Miss Lili hands them the newsletters
and the posters with written instructions as to what they are to do and where
to do it.  They’re gone about an hour and are back, in the waiting
room.  Miss Lili gives each one twenty five dollars.  After they
leave, Maria and I look at her and start to say something.

Miss Lili holds her hand up “Those
kids are from three of the poor families in town.  That money was for them
to eat the rest of this week.  Now, what were you going to say?”

Maria and I say in unison,
“Nothing.”

“Good.  Now we need to figure
out a cat play house that can be inside and out.  We need a cat house you
know, cats need to be boarded, too.”

Maria and I burst out laughing, “A
cat house, Miss Lili?”

She laughs, “I guess I wasn’t
listening to my words in quite the same way y’all were.  However, we do
need housing for cats.”

“Reminds me of the ‘Cheyenne Social
Club’.”  Maria snickers.

“Or ‘Animal House’.”  I supply.

Miss Lili’s laughing, but says “I
don’t believe that’s the kinda character we want to put on the resort. 
But we could make the front of the kennel look like the ‘Social Club’.” 
We laugh, but stop.

“It’ll look like a colonial house
and that’s pretty classy.  I like it.”  Miss Lili’s serious, but the
sparkle is still in her eyes.  “We could have it facing this yard, but
build on the back lot.  What’d ya think?”  We get up to look at the
back yard.  We decide the yard is big enough and it would link into the
clinic so we wouldn’t be run ragged.  We like the idea.

I look at the big oak tree in the
middle of the lot behind us.  “Miss Lili can we keep the big oak and maybe
one or two more for shade for the animal shelter and the boarding house?”

“Sher, the buildings are going to
be cooled and heated.  Why do you want the trees?”

“They’ve been here a long time,
they’re pretty and it’ll give the animals shade when they’re out for exercise
and going to the bathroom.”

Maria agrees, “That way they can
stay out longer, incase we get distracted for a time.”

Miss Lili agrees.  Then I
suggest the buildings not face east or west, but face north or south.  The
buildings will stay cooler and we’d like some natural light too.  Oh, and
vents on the roof to help with the odors.  Miss Lili agrees again.

It’s passed closing time. 
Maria has to go and Miss Lili still has her car and the dogs to get home. 
She’s going to ride to dinner with me and she wants Maria and Shay to join us,
for a celebration dinner.  She promises we won’t keep eating out. 
Shay needs some play time with Maria in the evening instead of sitting in a
restaurant.  Maria agrees to dinner tonight, but tomorrow night we’ll have
dinner at her house.

We go to “Grillin’ Glen” for
supper.  A screened in, open air restaurant that sets in a meadow like
setting, in the shade of trees and has a man made creek on one side of the
dining room.  Maria and I get a small steak and Miss Lili gets chicken. 
Shay gets a child’s portion of hamburger steak, mac and cheese and cole
slaw.  It’s very good.  Shay eats all of his, turns to Miss Lili and
says, “Will you tell Bob I finished my supper so I can grow up big like him?”

“Why, yes, Shay, but why do ya want
him to know?”  Miss Lili asks.

“Because I miss him and I want him
to come see me.”  He’s almost in tears.

Miss Lili looks at Maria, “Doesn’t
he know?”

Maria shrugs.  “Bob hugged him
‘bye and kissed him on the head Sunday and said he’d see him in a few
weeks.  I guess he didn’t understand.”  Maria’s holding Shay against
her side.

Miss Lili tries to explain. 
“Shay, Bob’s outta town working for a few weeks, that’s why he’s not been by to
see ya.  He’ll be by as soon as he gets back.  I’m sure he misses you
and your Mommy, too.”