I give her a wave as she drives away and turn to Clem. “Take Dan with you. I’ve seen it, and honestly, I saw nothing but a fresh pair of eyes won’t hurt.”
They have to be in the building next door an hour before they both return. Clem saunters over and gives me a shrug. “We saw nothing we’d not noticed when we had our first walk through. Dan agreed that we should just rip everything out and replace as we want. The idea of just a door or an opening through from here to there would be enough. It would also leave us a wall we can rack out and even put a workbench along.”
“Yeah, good idea,” I nod.
“The apartment is a good size if you knock out the wall between the two bedrooms and make the bathroom en-suite. It would be a good lease. I would consider leasing it because honestly the place we are renting is not worth the money we are paying.” Dan scrunches up his nose, and I know from his address he's not living in the best part of town.
“If you lived in the apartment, it would be a form of security, so we could lease it to you for next to nothing, or nothing so it helps subsidize your salary. Worth thinking about!” Clem mumbles, more to himself than to us.
“I think that’s a good idea. Make some plans for the apartment and let’s see what you do. It would save us time trying to plan it out. If you are going to live in it, then you could at least have it as you want it,” I suggest, and when Dan nods agreement, I turn back to the job at hand.
The afternoon speeds past with the work I have to cover. By the time Lou arrives, I’m too tired to bother and leave it to Clem to speak with her. Closing up and on the way home, I lean my head back and close my eyes for a moment.
Clem is driving today, and he must cotton on to how I’m feeling. “You okay, Myles?”
“Yeah. I’m tired that's all. How did things go with Lou?” I belatedly ask.
“Fine. She is going to get everything covered so we have nothing to do.” Clem is smirking, and I can see the excitement he’s trying hard not to show.
“It’ll be a good thing for us, Clem. We’ve worked hard to get the garage recognized and people confident in using us on a regular basis. Getting Dan working for us was an excellent move, and if he has the apartment, it would be on-site security, so to speak.”
Clem agrees, “Yeah, and with no rent to pay we won’t have to increase his salary too much, but he’ll still have a good deal.”
“Yeah. I think it’ll work out well for all of us. Now, what has Whitney been up to?” I ask because we try to keep eachother up with what is happening, because honestly, they are like partners in crime and get into trouble without even trying.
“Oren, it’s time for bed. Drink up that hot chocolate and I’ll tuck you in,” Maylee is rinsing our mugs from the hot chocolate drink she has us all having before Oren is put to bed.
“Mom, I have to sit with Bonnie tomorrow, and I don’t want to.”
“Why do you have to sit with Bonnie?” Maylee asks as she stops what she’s doing to look at Oren.
“We have to make Valentine cards, and the teacher told us who we have to sit with to make them.”
Oh dear, it looks like Oren has a thing for another little girl. I’m guessing, but it seems he isn’t struck on Bonnie at all. “You got another girl you want to sit with, Oren?”
Oren looks at me and frowns. “I like sitting with Lily.” Ah, the little girl he saved from being bullied.
“Oren, Lily is not being bullied now. She’s fine and does not need you to be her hero.”
Maylee squats in front of Oren. “You are a good boy, but don’t get overprotective. It gets too much, and you want Lily to stay friends, don’t you?”
“Yes, I like Lily.”
“Okay, then you need her to have other friends too. But you can play with her at recess if that is what you both want to do.” I enjoy watching Maylee teach Oren how to act and how to develop his natural nature. He is a protector by instinct, but we don’t want him to be overprotective.
Once Oren is in bed and we are sitting cuddled on the couch in front of the TV I blurt out, “Do you want to have more kids?”
“Yes, I’d like either one, or three. I don’t want odd numbers, so we have a total of two kids, or four.”
I chuckle because this answer I didn’t expect. But I’m happy with over two, if that is what we have. “Okay, no problem. Once the garage expansion is done, we can add another kid to the mix. But I think we should get on with making one.”
“I’ll have a checkup at the doctor's office before I stop taking the pill. Just to be sure everything is okay. But if we get pregnant before the garage is done it’s fine because it’ll be nine months in the oven.” Maylee looks at me and grins.
The subject is dropped, and Valentine’s Day is discussed. The idea of a town party at the barn is good, and I think a lot of the younger generation will enjoy it. If they do it early, then kids could have time to play while parents have a relaxed time. I like the idea, and I’ll support what Maylee and Whitney want to do.
“Come on, Maylee. Let’s get to bed. I’m tired tonight. It’s been a long day, and I can think of a way to chill out for a while.”
Maylee laughs. “Oh, you can, can you?”
