With these revelations, I now understood why Caryn had said I needed to make some more sunglasses money. I did know one way I could make some quick cash.
“Call Mr. Hill and see if he needs me to do some newspaper-insert ads. I could do some Sunday-afternoon shoots.”
“Before you do that, Saul has some opportunities for you since you’re popular in Japan. He has three ads lined up for your approval. They were impressed that you speak Japanese so well,” Caryn said.
I just blinked at her. Speak Japanese?
“I learned my lines by rote.”
“Saul knows that, but he suggested that you take some conversational classes so that when you go there, you can at least communicate.”
“Wait, when am I going to Japan?” I asked.
She showed me on my calendar. It was during the summer, and I would be gone for my birthday. It was one of the few weeks not already booked. Caryn showed me the three contracts, and I smiled. Each was for a one-day shoot and was for more than I would make in a year doing insert work for Mr. Hill. I was relieved I didn’t have to kill a weekend day each week.
I looked at the names on the contracts: Kisai, Dynamism, and Yohji Yamamoto.
“What do these companies sell?” I asked since I had no idea what they made.
“Watches, electronics, and clothes,” Caryn supplied.
“If I’m going to be there for a week, make sure Saul fills up my time. I would love to play tourist, but papa needs new toys.”
I think Caryn realized her budgeting classes were only going to go so far. She did get us to agree to follow a budget. I was a little pissed when she said she was lowering my debit card limit and would only put more money into it once a month.
I told Megan to sign me up for the American Express Black Card for emergencies. While I was willing to play along, I wanted some backup in case I needed it, especially when I was traveling.
“I want one of those, too,” Brook chimed in.
Caryn said something about having a migraine and kicked us out. I wasn’t sure if we were getting our Amex cards or not. I would have to ask my dad.
Caryn stepped out of the conference room and stopped me before I left. She wanted to give me a tour of the strip mall.
“I talked to the restaurant, and they want out of their lease. They aren’t making it,” Caryn shared.
“How long do they have left?” I asked.
“Eight months. The problem is it’s a big space, and we don’t have enough parking.”
“Are there any lots close by that we could buy and convert into parking?” I asked.
“Your mom said there are three lots behind the strip mall she believes she can get. However, that would require a zoning change from residential use only to a commercial overlay. The extra parking would be something that would help with some of our other potential tenants. I recommend that you give us the go-ahead to make the purchase contingent on the county working with us on zoning.”
“What about the restaurant?” I asked.
“I think we let them out of their lease, but require them to leave the equipment. There was some confusion as to who owned it when we bought the strip mall. It would be cheaper than having to buy new and collecting rent for the next few months.”
“The place looks like crap. What would it cost to redo it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t have experience enough to figure out what needs to be done.”
I smiled.
“That’s why I get help. I can think of two people who’d know what we would need: Granny and Mary Dole. Heck, I would love to partner with those two, if they wanted to open a restaurant,” I said, dreaming.
“Okay, let me work on it.”
Caryn then showed me the rest of the units. Mom had set up shop next to the restaurant and had placed in her window a big-screen TV that showed their listings. Megan had helped set it up. She had also suggested they put some small tables out front so people could relax before going into the restaurant.
Greg and Angie had one of the upstairs units for their business; their suite had a reception area and then two rooms in the back for massages. They were currently only open weekends and a couple of nights a week. A cell-phone provider had leased one of the downstairs units, and a barbershop had another. That left one space downstairs and two upstairs that weren’t rented as yet. Caryn had left the open units as shells with the plan to build them out to meet our renters’ needs.
On the far end was the Quickie Mart. It had seen better days. The family that ran the place kept it open 24/7. I worried that it attracted the wrong kinds of people late at night. In an ideal world, it would only be open until ten and not sell alcohol or cigarettes. I would also like to sell our produce and thought we could turn it into a vegetable stand. I told Caryn all this. She worried that alcohol and cigarettes were probably large profit centers. I then had an idea: what if the Mennonites wanted to help us with the vegetable stand? They might also rent one of the other units for furniture sales.
Caryn’s final piece of news was that Kendal had accepted Ms. Dixon’s offer and was moving to Chicago to work with Tom. She’d trained Megan on how to sell my photos to the various websites. We would still work with all the models and Ford to maintain and expand that stream of income. Tom had given that up so he could steal Kendal away. Megan was also working for Adrienne to help her with her back-office bookkeeping needs. Tom would be my lawyer for entertainment matters. Ms. Dixon would be responsible overall, especially if I got myself into trouble. I wasn’t sure how Kendal fit in, but I would be 18 soon and wouldn’t need a chaperone. Caryn or my parents would fill that role for the next few months.
◊◊◊
After I left the offices, I drove to Halle’s. I’m not sure who was happier to see me, Bandit or Halle. I tossed his squeaky mouse while we talked.
“Our play is this weekend,” she reminded me.
“I suppose I have to skip the dojo and come to play practice after baseball.”
“That’s probably a good idea. You also have to be my date for the cast party Saturday night. I plan to have a few drinks and need you to keep me from doing something stupid.”
“What if you do something stupid with me?” I asked.
“Like what?”
“I could show you my tan lines,” I teased.
Halle gave me an exasperated look and then smiled when I waggled my eyebrows.
“Mom! David and I are going to work on our lines!” Halle called out.
“Take your cat with you!” Rita called back.
“Come on, Crybaby,” I said, picking up Bandit.
He showed me he’d killed his mouse. Halle tolerated my praising him for being a big-game hunter. When we got to her room, I became the hunter. Halle squealed when I picked her up, tossed her on the bed, and then pounced on her. I made a big deal of showing her my tan lines.
Halle wiggled out of her clothes, and it was game on. Brook and Cassidy had been fun all week, but there was just something about Halle. I missed the heck out of her, and she showed me she missed me every bit as much. When I finally rolled off her, Bandit climbed up and settled on my chest. The three of us curled up and had a nap.
◊◊◊
My next stop was to see Pam. Lacy met me at the door and invited me to dinner. We spent the evening looking at my vacation photos. Pam told me that Greg had been a perfect gentleman like I knew he would. He offered to let her come to his place and get free massages until she had the baby. He’d explained that I paid him back in babysitting services.
Pam lured me to her bedroom with the plan to give her a massage. One thing led to another, and I fell asleep with her in my arms.
◊◊◊ Monday April 4
I arrived at school and found Tracy, Pam, and to my surprise, Lisa. At first, I didn’t recognize her because she was in jeans and a sweatshirt. I’d never seen her in anything other than a short skirt before.