Elka and I were back at the neighborhood bar for fish fry when she asked. “Do you have all of your research backed up Lars?”
I nodded. “Then why don’t you print it and have it ready should someone else want to see it. After all, if these bozos don’t want it, and you can prove it’s yours, some other hospital will. I’m gonna talk to Marie tomorrow and see if her dad would be willing to sit down with you.”
Long story short, her dad and I met over coffee. I felt a moment of hope when he mentioned that the board hadn’t made a final decision on the system and after listening to me, he shook his head.
“This makes sense Lars. When Tom did his presentation, we all left confused and unconvinced. You can prove this is your work?”
“Yes sir. It’s all backed up on hard drive, the cloud and a flash drive. It’s also dated and linked to my home computer proving everything was done on my time and not at work.”
He shook my hand as I stood to leave. He held on a moment longer than usual and spoke. “I have no idea why you didn’t say anything sooner. Get that ready for a presentation young man. I’m going to call the other board members.”
Not only did they like the presentation, they were also willing to purchase it from me. Once again, I came out of what could have been a disaster smelling like a rose. I won’t list the figure, but it was in the low seven digits, certainly more than I would ever have imagined. Tom on the other hand was left holding the shitty end of the stick when he was let go. His position was offered to me, I turned it down. There were others as good or better than me on the day-to-day stuff who deserved it more than I did. Besides, after having worked IT for a few years I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that sort of work my entire life. No, I wanted something of my own.
For Elka the long arduous hours in ER were beginning to take their toll along with all the death and carnage she saw daily. While sitting in the fishing boat on Clear Lake Elka looked at me and said.
“Let’s move. There are lots of smaller regional hospitals that would hire me. I’m sick of the GSR’s, beat up housewives and blood-soaked clothing that goes along with stabbings. There has to be more to nursing than this.”
I gawked at her, “What about me? What will I do?”
She smiled and stated, “We’ll figure that out. The fish aren’t biting, I’m hungry as hell, let’s find somewhere to eat.”
She pulled her line and started the motor, I thought to myself, “I guess we’re done fishing.”
On the way home we happened upon a place called Smitty’s Supper Club. I enjoyed the best damned prime rib I’d ever had, in fact we both did. It was after that Saturday night we began our search. One of the criteria we talked about was that it was about time to think of settling down. Elka reiterated her silly notion about if we didn’t find the right person we always had each other. I once again ignored her. We wanted somewhere that had a decent population, maybe in the 7000 range, but also still maintained a lot of the small-town values we’d grown up with.
We had both dated off and on over the years but as I mentioned earlier, nothing serious ever came of those relationships. There were a few times we were knocking boots with someone in the next room and thought nothing of it. I found it odd that from time to time whomever we happened to be dating would comment about how close we were and that it was weird. We would laugh and sluff it off, in our minds we had a good brother/sister relationship.
With the money we now had from the sale of my program and what was already in the bank we didn’t need to work. We gave proper notice at our jobs and decided to take the summer months to unwind and figure out what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives. During that time we fished, laid around in the sun, fished some more, and hit every Saturday flea market or craft show we could find. It was also when we happened upon a smaller sized city in the upper northeast part of the great state of Iowa a few miles from the Wisconsin and Minnesota state lines.
We had been slowly making our way through the state for a week with plans to drive into Wisconsin when we happened upon the destination that would eventually be our home. It was late summer and county fair time. Neither of us had been to a county fair since we were kids and had an absolute blast. Unhealthy carny food, too much beer and two late nights in a row had worn us out. What we weren’t prepared for was having to share a room with two beds, we had been staying in separate rooms elsewhere, but we made do.
When I went to start my truck the next morning it was dead. The sucker didn’t even click when I turned the key. The motel owner suggested a farm store on the other side of town and offered to drive me there. I removed the battery and jumped in his car. (Gramps had taught me as a lad to always take tools along on a journey) Driving down the main street of town there were a few banks, a credit union, fast food places, store buildings that looked 100 years old with the fronts modernized. A bakery and a meat market side by side. Turning onto a side street I spied where we were going. Boones Farm and Dairy Supply. Next to it was a boarded-up building with weather faded letters that said Phermans 5 and 10. Walking in the old guy at the counter looked to be well into his 70’s.
He waved, “Mornin Dave. What can I gitcha?”
“Mornin Clarence, got a dead battery. Can you test it for this young fella?”
Clarence nodded without uttering a word. I put the battery on the counter and walked around the store. Having worked on a dairy farm the summer between junior and senior year of high school I knew what some of it was but not everything. There were milker inflations, pipeline washing chemicals, udder balm, mastitis treatments, cow magnets and plethora of other dairy related items including filters for the old step savers. On the other side of the store were nuts, bolts, screws, washers and assorted other items one might need to maintain equipment.
All were in bins, you bought them by the pound, not in a bag like the big box stores. Bolts were listed per piece, you didn’t have to buy a package of three like Home Depot and Lowes. I’ve always wondered who needs three bolts, it’s generally two, four or any other combination of twos. There was rope and chain of numerous sizes, batteries, pitchforks of all varieties including silage forks. Batteries that ranged from riding mower to 24-volt tractor size. Lawn mower blades, logging chains, in the corner I noticed a new cant hook for rolling logs. Along the wall hung just about any implement with a handle you could imagine. I was enthralled with the place. When I found my way back to the counter the two old guys were talking.
As I stopped Clarence said. “There ya go sonny. Other one had a dead cell. New one is all charged up and ready to go.”
As he wrote out an invoice, yes, he still wrote out individual invoices. He and Dave talked about why Clarence was still in town.
Dave started, “Thought you was sellin? Said you wanted to be out’a here afore winter.”
I wasn’t at all startled by their speech, they had to be smart to keep their perspective businesses open how many decades. No, it’s just the way they had always spoken.
Clarence handed me the change and turned to Dave. “I thought I was too but the kid from the city with all the fancy talk didn’t have near the money he said he did. Wanted me to sell it on land contract. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”
Dave asked, “Whatcha askin?”
“Yeah, well, that’s another issue. Had it listed for 150 but if somebody came along and gave me 100 cash I’d sell it lock, stock, and barrel. Includin all the inventory in the back lot, gates and such. Hell, if they got another fifty grand I’ll throw in the old five and dime building next door. I boarded it up after the pizza place went belly up. Damned kids can’t get in and ruin the place with their pot and sex parties. Everything’s still sound inside. Yup, be a good buy for the right guy.”
He laughed as he pointed at me, “How bout you sonny, you got enough money to buy me out?”
That comment got the juices flowing. All the way back to the motel his words ran over and over in my mind. After installing the new battery I cranked up the old girl and let her run long enough for the on-board diagnostics to reenergize. I didn’t see Elka as I entered the room and I wondered where she might be. About that time the door opened, there stood Elka with a grin I knew all too well. She was up to something.
“Hey, since we haven’t eaten let’s have brunch. The lady in the office says Brenda’s Diner has a tremendous breakfast menu, we can just make it a late breakfast. You know, brunch.”
After eating we sat and talked, Elka started. “You were gone a long time. What were you doing, Cindy in the office said the store was only fifteen minutes away.”
I swooned like a kid on his first date, “You wouldn’t believe this place. It has everything for dairy and farm maintenance you can imagine. Bolts, screws, you name it he’s got it. Shovels and tools galore. Out back there are gates, stock tanks, cedar fence posts, barbed wire, salt licks under the canopy. It has everything Elka. And it’s for sale. He also owns the old five and dime building next door and that’s for sale as well.”
She looked at me and asked, “What’s he want? Four, five hundred thou?”
“Hold onto your horse’s girl, you aren’t gonna believe this. One hundred fifty for both properties and all the inventory. Like Dave told me in the truck coming back, he doesn’t need the money, he simply wants to be done so he can move to Alabama where it’s warm all the time.”
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