Lucky

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 13 CONTINUED

[Grand58742]

It's aliiiiiiiiiiiiiive (said in best Vincent Price voice)

Sorry I hadn't kept up with this more, but "Second Chance" has been wrapped around my brain like I said it would be. But I was reminded very pointedly I promised a new chapter. I'll try to keep up more.

[FM18]

Another great chapter in Lucky! Looking forward to the next one! I check back daily to see if you have posted anything new! Great characters that you really can relate to.

[Grand58742]

CHAPTER 14


Sunday 4:11 AM, Denver Colorado


Beth woke up to a new resident of the house whining at the end of the bed wanting attention. It had been a long time since they had a puppy and he wasn’t used to having to sleep all the way through the night. She rolled out away from Jim and checked once again on his hand just to make sure the bandages hadn’t slipped off while he was sleeping. Mack was whining at her side of the bed, obviously knowing she belonged to him now. As her feet hit the floor, he started wagging his small tail and his ears perked up. She slipped on a pair of house shoes and walked out of the bedroom, whispering to the dog to follow her down the stairs. She let him out the back sliding door onto the patio and walked him into the yard where he conducted business. It was nice to see he was already getting house trained at such a young age and she rewarded the behavior with a doggy treat she had picked up yesterday.

After coming back inside, she and Mack went to the living room where she started petting him and letting him chase a few of his new toys. He wasn’t yippy like a typical puppy, but enjoyed being able to chase down the toys and play with them. He would bring them back to her after he got done chewing on them and tossing them this way and that and she would toss it back into the room where the fun would start again. She hoped to wear him out to be able to get him to sleep a little longer before they had to get up entirely for the day. As she was playing with him, she spied one of the owner’s manuals from Jim’s new stoves. She picked it up and looked at it absentmindedly before starting to think.

That business in California really got to Jim. I wonder why all the sudden he wants to be prepared for emergencies? Not that it’s a bad idea, but it’s all just so sudden and with a sense of urgency. But even before the earthquake, he had this on his mind. At least it looked like he had something on his mind. As soon as he showed up out there, he had something eating away at his brain, but it seems like the quake snapped something in his brain and made him resolve to do something about it. But that’s Jim…once he puts his mind to something, he isn’t going to let it go until he either solves the problem or works his way through it.

I suppose I should be glad he is at least thinking of things like that. I mean, we aren’t really prepared around here for that sort of business, but there never has been an earthquake in Denver at least that I know of. Sure we have winter storms, heat waves…but nothing like we saw out there. I wonder what he saw that scared him that much. Sure, having a person die in your arms would be enough to do it, but I don’t know what happened before then. That was more of a catalyst to get him into the mindset, but why the sudden urgency. Jim never does anything without thinking it through and beating it to death from every angle. So why all the sudden does he feel like we aren’t ready for…what?

So he gets me a new dog…which is what kind of dog exactly? I mean, I’ve already fallen in love with Mack, but what kind of dog is a Belgian Malinois anyway? Let’s look that up, she thought and went into the study and got on the computer. The computer was asleep right then and it took several seconds to wake up before she put the words into the search engine. She saw the first article and clicked on it, finding the dogs were used a lot by police departments. Looking down the article, she saw they had a lot of good traits, were very loyal and could be trained for a variety of purposes. She looked away at Mack and saw him chewing on one of his new toys. Once he saw her looking at him, he looked up and wagged his small tail back and forth. She smiled at him and scratched him on his head.

So Jim gets me a protective police dog. But for the both of us maybe? He is worried about security and this kind of dog will work well for protection at least the article says. They have to be trained that way, but I doubt very seriously we are going to train him to attack. But it still comes back to the original point, what tripped in Jim’s mind to suddenly be more prepared?

She saw Mack was starting to wind down a bit and picked him up to take him back upstairs. He wiggled around, uncomfortable being handled, but once she got him on his back and scratched at his belly, he calmed immediately. She took him over to the doggy bed and crawled back in beside Jim gently. Grabbing him around the waist, she tossed back off to sleep still wondering what was going on in her husband’s brain and how she could approach the situation.


Sunday 8:17 AM, Denver Colorado


“You do cook a good breakfast baby,” said Jim as he finished up.

“Part of my charm,” she laughed and took his dish away. “And you are taking it easy today.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a chuckle as he knew she wasn’t going to be argued with that day. “Why did you get out of the bed this morning?”

“Mack wanted some attention and needed to be let out,” she said.

“He is a little more than paper trained,” said Jim.

“I was surprised myself,” said Beth. “I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot,” he said.

“How come all of the sudden you are getting us more prepared?” she asked point blank.

“I don’t know, just seems like the right thing to do,” he said.

“It just seems like a passion for you about right now,” she said.

“Well, not too many folks get to experience what we experienced,” he said evasively.

She didn’t want to bring the subject further since he might start relapsing into the same way he had been in California. She wanted the memories to come out in time and at his pace, but she at least wanted him to talk about it and get it out. But overall, she didn’t want to force him to remember and wanted to protect him from the horrid memories he had seen and experienced.

“I understand, I was just curious,” she said and went to cleaning the dishes.

“Just seems like something we should do,” he said again.

“Okay baby,” she said. “I’m not stopping you. At least not until you do something dangerous again.”

“I promise to be more careful,” he said.

“You had better mister. You scared me to death with your yell,” she said.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said.

“I know, but you have to be more careful!” she exclaimed.

“I will, I promise,” he said. “And besides, I’m not going to be playing with them right now since my hand is bandaged up.”

“Speaking of which, let’s change them out,” she said and got out the materials to do so.

“I can get it,” he said and grabbed at one of the bandages. She almost let him give it a try, but was worried he might hurt himself more if he attempted to do so.

“Jim, I’m doing this. No arguments,” she said and held out her hand for him. He consented and sat down to hold his hand over to her. She gently unwrapped the bandages from his hand, being extremely careful while doing so. Once she got down to the actual burn area, she saw the blisters hadn’t broken yet and was extremely careful while working around them. She carefully applied new bandages and wrapped the hand up in the gauze again. And while doing so, discovered something new for Jim to worry about.

“This stuff doesn’t last as long as I thought it might. We are using a lot more than I planned,” she observed as she cut a piece of the surgical tape and placed it over the edge of the bandage.

“We need more?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’ll be okay for today and probably tomorrow, but after that, I’ll have to buy more,” said Beth.

“How much more?” asked Jim.

“I don’t know. I haven’t had to apply bandages before,” said Beth.

So there’s a lesson learned. Things get used faster when something happens. I wonder if the same thing applies to food, water, ammunition and other stuff? I thought we had plenty of bandages for the injuries, but apparently not. Something to consider, plus a way of storing things. We can’t just throw them into a drawer and call it good. I think one of those organizer boxes would work great like I read about. That would help us to know how much we’re using as well as having the supplies readily available. As well as food and water. I really need to start thinking of plans to organize everything. But also of location. Location, location, location. Hal was only set up great because he had a location picked out already and prepared for off the grid. Do I need to look for the same thing? Maybe a cabin or some property up in the mountains? Or out east where there farming is possible? Or is farming possible in the mountains? Just someplace away from the urban area here in Denver. I wonder which one would be best? Or even in another state entirely? Wyoming or New Mexico? Close enough to drive, but not too far. I saw how gas prices shot up after the earthquake, what’s to say this won’t happen here?

So gas storage as well. I never really thought of that, but a more fuel efficient vehicle like Hal suggested maybe? No, a truck or an SUV would work best as long as I can get decent mileage out of it, but with either a larger tank or with the gas cans mounted on the back. Another item to check. But let’s focus on the problem at hand. How much more medical supplies would we need? So we’ve used how much on this and based on how long should we be prepared? A lifetime perhaps? Nah, not that bad. Small steps first. A decent first aid kit for the vehicles, one for the house, maybe even a smaller one to carry in our luggage when we take trips? With one thing happening after another, where is the best place to start with all this? Medical supplies don’t really fall into the rest of the four big ones. Food, water, shelter and security? Security maybe?

“What’s on your mind Jim?” asked Beth.

“Just wondering about the medical supply things,” said Jim.

“Such as?” asked Beth.

“Wondering if we needed more than we think we do for the house. We have that kit started and maybe we should think of expanding it,” said Jim.

“Maybe,” said Beth. “We are going through them a little faster than I thought we would.”

“Maybe we should get one of those large organizer box things. Ones that have the different compartments for storage,” suggested Jim.

“Way ahead of you on that. I already planned on it,” said Beth.

“Smart woman,” he grinned at her.

“You married me,” she smiled back. “I can swing by and pick up some things, but I think I’d rather get that first aid course out of the way before making any large purchases.”

“How come?” asked Jim.

“Well, there’s plenty of medical supply type stuff out there, but what do we really need to buy? Sure there are some things that stand right out we can’t really do without, band aids, bandages, peroxide, gauze and things like that, but what else would we need or what would sit in a box and collect dust?” she asked.

“Never thought about it that way,” said Jim. “Yeah, that would make a difference wouldn’t it?”

“Better to know in advance the right things to buy rather than buy a whole bunch of crap we don’t need,” said Beth.

“But there are some things we could buy and keep around just in case someone knows how to use them,” said Jim.

“That’s kind of silly. I mean, what’s the point behind having a whole surgical kit if neither one of us knows how to use it. And we have it just in case someone happens to be around to use it? The odds are against us on that,” said Beth.

“So we learn how to use it,” grinned Jim.

“Honey, I love you to death, but at the same time, I am not letting you perform surgery on me,” she said with a wry smile.

“Awww,” he said with a laugh.

“I’m going run out for a bit, you okay here by yourself?” asked Beth.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said. “Bout how long?”

“Couple of hours or so,” said Beth.

“Okay, I’ll amuse myself here with our new puppy and the TV,” said Jim.

“I’ve got to get a shower out of the way,” she said. “Make up, get myself pretty and all.”

“You’re always pretty baby,” he said with a smile.

“I just feel like dressing up a bit today,” she said.

“Meeting your boyfriend?” he laughed.

“No!” she exclaimed. “I only meet him on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“Right,” said Jim with a laugh, knowing that’s when she helped out at the retirement home and generally had George flirting with her.

Beth headed upstairs while Jim took to playing a little with Mack who was starting to get rambunctious. He played with the toys for a bit until it was apparent Mack wanted to play tug of war. Jim got the rope out for him as the other toys lost interest and he bounded over playfully to Jim at the couch. He tugged as hard as possible for such a small dog and growled while wagging his small tail. Jim enjoyed having a new puppy to play with and continued until Beth came back down. Mack heard her coming and ran to the bottom of the stairs to greet her.

“Wow! I’m impressed for just making a simple run,” said Jim.

“I just grabbed the first thing I could find,” said Beth.

“Well, it’s quite nice,” said Jim.

“You need anything while I’m out?” asked Beth.

“No, I should be okay,” said Jim.

“You two be good while I’m gone,” said Beth as she grabbed her purse and car keys. She gave Jim a quick kiss before heading out.

“We’ll try not to destroy anything,” said Jim as he went back to playing tug of war with the puppy.

Beth headed out to grab the medical supplies first and then do some other errands. She preferred to do her running around on Sunday since most of the time the crowds weren’t out and about and it was far easier to get things done. After hitting the drug store, she headed off to pay a bill and ran into something she wasn’t expecting.

“How long has it been?” said the man as Beth was getting into her car.

“Apparently not long enough,” said Beth as she recognized the man.

“Wow, that’s kind of harsh,” said the man.

“We didn’t exactly leave under the best of circumstances,” said Beth.

“Yeah, I made a mistake,” said the man very charming like.

“What brings you out to Denver?” asked Beth, being somewhat sociable.

“Business. I’m in town for a meeting,” said the man.

“Long ways from home,” said Beth.

“I really don’t have a home so to speak. Not now,” said the man.

“Right,” she said.

“Listen, I know the last time we saw each it wasn’t under the best of circumstances,” said the man.

“You think?” asked Beth.

“I’m sorry,” said the man. “Can I make it up to you somehow?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” said Beth.

“Let me buy you a drink or something. It’ll make me feel better,” said the man, very charmingly again.

“On a Sunday morning?” asked Beth.

“My hotel has a bar,” said the man with a charming smile.

Beth thought about it for a moment and figured it was innocent enough. Plus she was being pulled into his charming persona once again. “Just one.”

“Want to ride with me or follow?” asked the man.

“I’ll follow,” said Beth, not entirely comfortable with the arrangement.

“Okay, I’m over here,” he said and pointed at his car.

“Lead away,” said Beth as she got in her car and pulled out of the parking spot. She followed him to a nearby hotel and parked, meeting him at the door after exiting. They went into the bar area and found it was open even this early on Sunday.

“Thanks,” he said after looking over the menu.

“For what?” she asked.

“For meeting me and giving me the chance to start over,” said the man with a charming smile.

“It’s the least I could do,” she said and ordered a water.

“Nothing stronger?” he asked.

“I’m driving,” she said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Let’s talk about where we went wrong last time,” he said with a smile.

“How about we talk about something else?” she asked.

“Just trying to break the ice,” he said. She felt herself getting pulled into his charms once again and tried to guard herself against them. But something inside of her told her he wasn’t a threat and it would be okay to just talk. Even though she had reservations before, she was starting to sway into his world and was being charmed.

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

“Leaving so soon? We just finished,” she said as she groaned after the romp they had shared in the hotel room.

“Yeah baby, I’ve got a meeting to get to,” he said as he rolled off the bed and went towards the shower.

“Awww, right now? We just started baby,” she said rolling onto her side and watching him. She pulled the sheet over her body since the air conditioning was chilling the room slightly.

“It’s an important meeting I can’t be late for,” he said as he turned on the water.

“On a Sunday?” she asked.

“Business never stops,” he said as he grabbed the small soap off the counter.

“More important than me?” she said with a look.

“Nah, but this will be my retirement plan if it all works out,” he said as he grabbed a towel off the rack.

“Retirement plan? You can do that anytime!” she exclaimed.

“Not this kind. If I miss the boat on this one, I won’t get another shot,” he said.

“What kind of retirement are you talking about?” she asked.

“The oil kind. There’s a new outfit around here and I’m getting a stake in it. They are going to start drilling soon,” said the man as he got into the shower.

“And that can’t wait?” asked the woman.

“Not when they are flying back to Singapore in a couple of days and have meetings scheduled up ‘til they get back on their plane. I’m not that important to them,” he laughed.

While he quickly showered off, she decided to be nosey and check what he had in his briefcase. And little did she know what she would find. She was typically just a nosey person and wanted to know everything that was going on. When she opened the briefcase, her eyes just about popped out of her head. She didn’t have the opportunity to close the briefcase by the time he came out of the shower.

“What is this?” she demanded.

“Are you going through my stuff?!” he demanded.

“Are you some kind of drug dealer?!” she demanded.

“What? Drugs? No! That’s the down payment on my retirement fund!” he exclaimed.

“What retirement fund?” she asked.

“The oil thing,” he said, trying to calm her down.

“And it takes cash?” she asked, not exactly believing the answer.

“Yeah, more or less. A full share is a half a million. I’ve got enough for a half a share. In two years or less, that money is a tenth of what I’ll have in the bank just from the initial strike. And it will continue to grow each and every year at twenty to thirty percent if the field is as big as they think it is. I’ll reinvest fifty percent off the top and double it in no time,” he said.

“Where did you get that kind of money?” she asked.

“My entire life’s savings. Everything I’ve ever owned, bought or earned is right there. I’ve begged, borrowed and stolen everything in that case. Why do you think I’m living out of a hotel sweetheart?” he chuckled.

“You only have half a share and it will go up tenfold in two years?” she asked.

“Basically when the drills are in place, the big companies come in and buy you out. But here’s the kicker…if I get into it right now, I can go up to five, maybe eight percent. They buy out half of that at about five to ten times what I put into it. But that other four percent gets lumped into a claim on the well itself and they have to pay me for the oil that comes out,” he explained as he grabbed his clothing.

“That sounds like an unbeatable offer,” she observed.

“Yeah, oil is good business,” he said as he pulled on his socks. “You just have to get in at the start.”

“Five hundred million to start?” she asked.

“Offshore drilling ain’t easy,” he said. “Plus the environmental concerns, new equipment, new refinery, all that stuff. Depends on investments and I could look at five million a year over a five year period.”

“No wonder you want to retire,” she laughed.

“Yeah, buy me a boat and sail around the world. Maybe even come visit you once in a while,” he laughed and gave her a quick kiss.

“You better,” she said before thinking about his retirement fund. “How many other shares are available?”

“I don’t know. Most of the time they bring in about twenty-five shares or so,” he said. “Why?”

“Sounds like good money,” she said, truthfully.

“Lot of cash up front,” he said.

“We could get that much. At least the other half of your share,” said the woman.

“Not easy to walk into a bank and pull out a quarter of a million dollars,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot more than that around,” she laughed.

“I knew I liked you for more than your looks,” he laughed.

“Seriously though, is there any chance of getting another share or two?” she asked.

“It will have to be a quick turn on it. Like I said, these guys are out of here in a couple of days,” said the man.

“Could you at least check? At the very least we could go half with you and make a full share,” she said.

“Maybe, but I would have to have something by day after tomorrow at the latest. I’ll check today and see what’s left over,” he said as he buttoned up his shirt.

“Okay, so I’ll talk to him and get the other half of your share paid up. Maybe another share,” she said.

“Better have the half mil ready to go then. These guys only deal when you have money on the table,” he said.

“In two days time, we can get it,” she said confidently.

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, I don’t know of any bank in the world that turns down money when you put it back in,” he laughed. “I’ll give you a call tonight and let you know.”

“Call me on the other cell,” she reminded him.

“Okay, I’ll call no matter what,” he said as he closed the briefcase and went out the door, leaving her to think about her future. She would never make it big in acting, she knew that. But what she did know was she needed her own nest egg in case Chad ever walked out on her. But getting three quarters of a million dollars would take his help. She walked over and picked up her cell phone.

“Hi baby…out shopping…yeah…no, the same old thing…I’ve got to talk to you about something really soon…ran into an old friend from New York today…yeah, unbelievable I know…he’s getting into some business out here and invited us into it…well, it’s going to take some money up front…he can explain it to you better than I can, but it’s the deal of a lifetime…I know how that sounds, but you know…say in about an hour and a half at Romero’s…okay Chad…yeah, love you too…bye,” said Julie Woods as she ended the call and started cleaning up herself.

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

“I’m sorry it never worked out for you,” said Beth.

“She wasn’t what I expected. You even told me as much before I got married,” said the man.

“Very pointedly if I recall correctly,” he laughed.

“You were really drunk at the time. I’m surprised you remember,” laughed Beth.

“It wasn’t exactly the finest performance of my life,” he said, remembering the night he had broken a friendship with Beth and Jim. He was going through a messy divorce and had heard about enough of people telling him where he went wrong. And Beth had been his target of opportunity. He had regretted it later on, but had never gotten the chance to apologize to either one of them.

The man was a somewhat successful businessman from New York that knew the Williams’ for a long time. He had somewhat helped Jim get some informal contacts within the market and had dated Beth at one point in his life. But she had fallen in love with Jim and gotten married not long after. But the man never resented that fact and had gone on to marry another girl he knew. Beth hadn’t approved of the marriage and urged him to call it off based on her behavior while they were together. But love had blinded him to the fact and he had walked into the marriage with rose colored glasses. After a while he started to see what others were telling him were true and ended up getting a divorce. But only after she had practically cleaned out his entire bank account and taken the house as well. So the man started over, but had broken a friendship along the way over a drunken rage. This was the last time he had spoken to either Beth or Jim since that night.

But this was his opportunity to make amends with the Williams’ and just happened to be in the right place at the right time to meet Beth in Denver. He knew they lived there, but didn’t know exactly where and had no contacts. But today’s meeting had been a rousing success and Beth promised she and Jim would get back in touch. She remembered how charming he was and could sell ice cream to Eskimos most of the time. But he just wasn’t the right man for her. Jim was the one who had her heart and soul and she would always remain faithful to him. After they said their goodbyes, she attempted to invite him to dinner, but was informed he had to leave the next evening to head back to New York and was doing dinner with his clients that night. She wrote down their phone number and e-mail before giving him a hug and wishing him the best of luck on his new path in life. After they departed the bar, she called Jim to let him know she was on her way home and about the meeting with their old friend. Jim repeated the invitation to dinner but she told him about the plans he had. She still had that one errand to run, but decided to put it off until the next day. Saying she loved him, she hit the end button and headed straight for home.

After arriving, she grabbed Jim and held onto him while she silently thanked God, the stars and all points in between for being so lucky to marry such a man. He was slightly taken by the prolonged hug, but figured she had a good reason for it. They spent the remainder of the afternoon in each other’s company just talking and sharing old memories.

[610Alpha]

oh that was a good twist, had me thinking it was that con man from california until the end there :)

[Grand58742]

oh that was a good twist, had me thinking it was that con man from california until the end there :)

Half right, it was the same con man from California, just still in California and with Beth's friend.

Now how am I going to twist this into the remainder of the story...

[nickmimi]

great story. waiting for more.

[mnn2300]

Great story so far, looks like you might have watched LOST as that con sounds really familiar.

[Grand58742]

That's where the inspiration came from, but it's an age old con. Appropriate with the news and all as I remember seeing something about drilling off the coast of LA a couple of months ago.

This story has taken the back seat to "Second Chance." It'll get finished eventually, just for the moment, I spend the majority of my time on the other.

[Grimjaw]

Grand58742, I hope you find time to complete this story. I have enjoyed it so far.

[PA GENE]

GRAND - HAPPY TO FIND YOU HERE

GRAND - enjoying LUCKY very much. I'll be here when you get back to this great story.

PA GENE

[610Alpha]

All - Grand has been working very hard on "Second Chance". That story has been a burning passion for him. I am confident that once he completes that story that he will return to this one and finish it. Please be patient.

[Grand58742]

All - Grand has been working very hard on "Second Chance". That story has been a burning passion for him. I am confident that once he completes that story that he will return to this one and finish it. Please be patient.

Thank you!

[Jellyman]

REALLY enjoy your style, Grand! thank you for sharing with us all!

[errn]

I remember when I was a child, going into the Sears or Wards or where ever they had the old candy counters (you know, the one that seemed about a hundred feet long and had sections of candy sold by the ounce or pound) staring at the coconut haystacks, and chocolate chunks and bridge mix and toffee and caramels and, and, and.........Once in a while I have some money and I'd buy a bit of that candy after school. Before I was asleep the candy was gone and the next day I was back at the candy counter wishing I had more money so I could have more candy.

Now, diabetic and fat, I occasionally, rarely, buy a small box of Godiva chocolates and, watching my sugars and exercising more than I want, I will indulge in one every few days. That small box lasts a long time.

Grand, you keep making the excellent candy and I'll try to be an adult when I get some.

Thanks again,
don