| Old Fashioned Ways by Dina Chapter One Eric loved fixing up old houses. He fell in love with it when he was younger, helping his father around their old house. Once he was old enough to move out, he tried college for a while, but found that he really didn't have the aptitude for it. He left for a couple of years, but then came back when he really didn't have any career or plans for his future going. He was taking a few classes while he was looking for work, and even though he was only physically three or four years older than most of the other college students, he felt light years away from them emotionally and mentally. They all seemed to feel that attending college was a right, not a privilege, and that it was nothing but a big party for four years. While going to class one day, deep in thought, seriously considering dropping out and heading back home to Mom and Dad, he passed an old Victorian style house. There was a 'for sale sign' out, that indicated it was an open house day. Deciding to skip class and spend some time wandering around this house instead was one of the wisest decisions Eric ever made. The current owner, nephew of a recently deceased Uncle, had inherited the house. The nephew didn't like the house at all. His Uncle couldn't keep up with the improvements that the house needed. The nephew wanted the house sold as soon as possible; he didn't want to waste a penny of his money on it. Eric was fascinated with the house. It needed a lot of work, up to code wiring and pipes and such, but he had done that stuff with his Dad plenty of times. His enthusiasm overwhelmed the nephew, who was there with the real estate agent when Eric came by. Eric had a brilliant idea. He quickly corralled the nephew and tried to convince him. Eric's plan was simple. The nephew would take the house off the market for one year. In that time, Eric would live in the house rent free, in exchange for his services in updating the house. The nephew would chip in half the money for the materials needed. At the end of the year, Eric would try to buy the house. By then, the worth would be twice what the nephew was asking now. The real estate agent chipped in at this point and said that this house would be worth three times what they were asking now, if it were renovated and up to code. Especially since it was a big, four bedroom house right next to the college. The owner probably would rent out the rooms to college kids, just like the agent had suggested that the nephew do. The nephew didn't want to be bothered with having to deal with rent and repairs though. The nephew didn't have to think too long about Eric's proposal. Even with paying for half of the material, he still would be making a profit of over twice what he would be making now. They shook hands over the deal and the nephew said he would call Eric to arrange a meeting with the nephew's lawyer, so that everything would be spelled out nice and legal. The real estate agent was happy, even though he had lost a sizable commission. Like Eric, he loved the old houses, and hated to see this one in such a state of disarray. After talking to his parents and meeting with the nephew's lawyer, Eric dropped out of college and moved into the house. He went to several family-owned type of stores and found out which ones had a son or daughter attending the college. He met with the parents and discussed an arrangement. The kids could live in the house rent free in exchange for a 50% discount on any supplies Eric bought. He could only get a plumbing supply shop and a lumber yard interested in this bargain, but Eric figured with the nephew paying half of the other things he would need, a part time job should be enough to make ends meet. He went out and got a job at the college, working in the dorm as a handy man, on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With that job, he was free to be at his house working, as he was close enough to run over to the college if anything was wrong. And so a year passed. Eric had the house renovated and up to code. He had applied for two credit cards and used them wisely, so his credit rating was good. He financed a used car and made sure he paid it off within the year. His parents helped him out with money once in a while, since he wasn't going to college, they sent him some cash instead. He was able to get approved for the house loan, and soon was a new homeowner. All this was 5 years ago. Eric kept the first house, but in a year, managed to refinance the mortgage and purchase another fixer-upper. Since then, he had bought, fixed and sold 3 houses. He rented out the other 3 bedrooms in his house to college kids, occasionally. He had a small crew he worked with, sometimes one or two of the guys moved into the house for a while. Then one day, Eric got a call from his parents. A friend of theirs had a daughter who was good with repairs. She had lost her job, again, and she was looking for something new. Her parents didn't know what to do with her; she was in her early 20s and had already had nine or ten jobs. She went to school but dropped out, saying it was a waste of money since she didn't know what she wanted to do. Privately, Eric thought that maybe the girl showed some sense there. College was a lot of money if you didn't have specific courses in mind to advance your career. He felt the same way, the first time and the second time he had gone to college. The girl's name was Tia, and Eric's parents asked him if he could find a place for her in his little company. Eric's father assured him that she knew what she was doing, which for him was high praise indeed. Even Eric only rated a 'pretty good' from him. Tia's parents were older than Eric's. She had been a late in life baby, and as a result was spoiled terribly by both of her parents, but especially her father. She was a nice enough person, Eric's mother told him over the phone, very polite and respectful, but it was a known fact that the girl could be a brat. And that if she got in a mood, she would walk off the job, not even worrying about tomorrow. She had bad credit, since she spent her money as fast as she got it, and her parents were just now realizing that their little angel needed something they never gave her, structure and discipline. 'We feel, that is, all of us, Tia's parents and your Dad and myself, we feel that if Tia were to come and rent a room from you and work at your company, you could keep an eye on her.’ ‘Maybe with a steadying influence like you watching over her, she can get her act together.' Eric had his doubts, but he loved his parents and it sounded like this Tia was really stirring them up. He had vague memories of a girl about 8 years younger than himself coming over to visit with her parents, but he never paid too much attention to someone that young. Especially a girl! Tia used to play more with his sister than him when she would come over with her parents. As if reading his mind, his mother said, 'About your sister.' 'Oh, Mom,' Eric said. 'I really don't want to hear about her.' Eric's sister Eliza was almost 10 years younger than him. She had gone to college, but just couldn't make the adjustment from being the popular head cheerleader/prom queen in High School to being just another student on campus. Then the credit card companies started offering cards to her, and soon her credit was ruined. She came home to her parents and was currently looking for a job. Eric's Mom called him every week with a report. He knew she wanted him to offer to take her and get her a job, but he didn't want to. Eliza was nothing but trouble, especially when he didn't have time to watch out for her. But now it seemed like his mother was thinking, as long as Eric was going to be taking care of one girl, he could handle two with no problem. 'You really can't be living in a house with Tia alone,' his mother started. Eric sighed. He had a girlfriend who had lived with him for almost a year, and a couple of girls who worked for him had lived there at one time or another. It was funny that it was OK for them to stay with a single man, alone in the house, but not for Tia. 'Mom...' His mother cut him off. 'And if both girls came up, they could hang out with each other and it wouldn't be so hard for you to have to keep an eye on just Tia.' Eric almost laughed out loud. He had a pretty good idea what kind of run-around he was going to have, trying to keep an eye on his sister and his mother thought adding another brat to the mix would help? The two of them together would make his job watching them *three* times as hard! 'You know this is a small town,' his mother continued. 'The whole place closes at 5 PM. Eliza has no chance at finding a good paying job here. In your town she would have a better chance.' Eric sighed. God knows what his sister would get up to, let loose on the town. He could put her to work in his office; she could use the experience to get a better job later on. He was ready to admit defeat, but held back, wanting to see what card his mother would play next. 'Your father would take both girls with him, but he's getting on in years and can't do as much as he used too,' was his mother's next shot. Eric did laugh this time. 'Mom,' he said, 'Are you talking about the guy who kicked my butt at touch football last month?' His mother laughed and said, 'Well, he *has* slowed down a little.' She added, 'It would be great to be able to spend some time alone with him, but I guess if you don't want the girls to come there...' 'No, Mom, don't bother Dad, I'll do it.' Eric could feel a headache coming on. He thought he should get used to having a throbbing head, he had a feeling it would be a constant state soon. They talked a little more, and Eric promised he would meet the girl's bus on Sunday. He hung up the phone feeling like he had gone 10 rounds with the heavyweight champ. return to Dina's Den proceed to chapter 2 |