East On St. James

Chapter 13

Making a Comeback

“Music,” Dury said, being purposely vague.

“Music?” Keith said. “What did music have to do with it?”

“It wasn't just the music. It was the package in which the music was wrapped.”

“The container? I'm not following you.”

“The Beatles!” Dury said. “The Beatles saved us from ourselves. They lightened the mood. We'd become morose, expecting the worst. Our beautiful president was removed.”

“The Beatles,” Gary said.

“The musical Beatles?” Keith asked. “Or the insect?”

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! The mop tops from Liverpool invaded America and we greeted them with open arms,” Dury said. “It wasn't just the new style of music. It was them. They were funny, delightful. Actually, what they were was fun. They made us laugh and boy did we need a good laugh. We'd gone through Christmas and New Years in a daze. We had been heading in an exciting new direction, and then we were yanked right back into the same tired old game. We needed to smile. We needed to laugh. The Beatles gave made us smile. Hell, we'd have been tickled to watch them gargled and spit in a sink.”

“I remember when they came. They sang, I want to hold your hand. Love, love me do,” Gary sang. “They took our mind off what happened to Kennedy. They were entirely new.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dury sang. “They wanted to hold our hands and we let them.”

“The Beatles?” Keith asked. “It gets curiouser and curiouser, doesn't it.”

“The Beatles came to America a few months after Kennedy died. There was a lot of buzz around them. The country made it through the holidays and we were facing a new year. It was bleak and then the Beatles showed up. They were refreshing. They added some pep to rock and roll. Rock and roll took off. At first the Beatles were all sunshine and lollipops. It wasn't too different, but hidden beneath the charming mop tops were some serious musicians and song writers.

“Once they wooed us, we watched the cocoon they came crumble. Instead of four lovely boys from Liverpool, they became magnificent butterflies. They did things with music no one had ever done before. Their orchestrations accompanied carefully crafted lyrics,” Dury said. “I preferred Bach and Beethoven, but like everyone else, I needed a good laugh. The Beatles charmed me into listening to rock and roll. It was the one blemish on my otherwise stellar childhood.”

“They made us smile, and much more importantly, they made us listen. We loved the second British invasion and by the time their first tour of America was over, everyone was talking about the Beatles. It was impossible to be depressed with the Beatles tickling our fancy. We tapped our feet and sang along.”

“The Beatles?” Keith said.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Gary sang. “'The Beatles are coming! The Beatles are coming,' is how our local rock and roll station advertised them. I think it was meant to be like Paul Revere's, 'The British are coming. The British are coming.”

“That's cute,” Keith said. “I don't remember the music you're talking about, but my father had Sgt. Pepper. It was insane. There were roasters crowing and entire orchestras playing. I love it.”

“Good Morning! Good Morning! Good morning!” Gary sang.

“That's it!” Keith said. “That's how that part of the record started.”

*****

“Speaking of which, I get the Martin Luther King and civil rights connection to a legal career, and you’d have to be brain dead to miss how Kennedy's assassination figured into it, but legally speaking, what kept you on track? It’s not an easy road to hoe, Dury,” Gary said.

“I was born in 1968,” Keith said. “I have no actual memory of the events you've discussed. You've told me more tonight than I ever knew,” Keith said.

“I started law school in 1968. There were cases from 1967 and 1968 that were part of my studies, Keith. They were history making and kept me tuned in on the law as well as those times.”

“Now we're getting somewhere. I remember stuff from back then. I was thirteen and I paid a little more attention, just not in school.”

“We were required to read about the most notorious cases. We needed to know which cases established new law. Like after Kennedy's assassination, it became a federal crime to kill a president or other high powered politicians.”

“The FBI wouldn't need to steal any more bodies?” Keith asked. “Where was Hoover when all that hanky panky with Kennedy's body was going on?”

“Bethesda Naval Hospital, where they took Kennedy's body, was a federal facility. That was FBI territory. You can bet an agent was on the phone with Hoover every step of the way.”

“The FBI was there when they did the autopsy?” Keith asked.

“They were in the room during the autopsy,” Dury said.

“You think one of the Hoover boys stuck Kennedy's brain in his pocket?” Gary asked.

“Took it for Hoover to bronze and use as a paperweight?” Keith asked.

“That would give them motive an opportunity,” Dury said.

“I bet the conversation went something like, 'Hey, if you get a chance, snag that brain, I'll bronze it and use it for a paperweight.'”

“They never found the missing brain?” Gary asked.

“Not that I'm aware of. JFK was buried without it,” Dury said.

“Weird,” Gary said. “How do you loose a guys brain?”

“The guy being the president of the United States,” Keith said. “It's hard to believe that kind of negligence was allowed. That's pretty sloppy.”

“No love lost between the Kennedy's and J. Edgar,” Dury said. “Bobby was J. Edgar's boss. He gave him orders. He should have saved his breath.”

“Hoover had something on the Kennedy's?” Gary asked.

“Uh huh. J. Edgar had one of those, 'We wouldn't want this to get out' conversations with Bobby about his brother. He made himself understood.”

“What wouldn't we want to get out?” Gary asked.

“Women!” Dury said.

“The Kennedy's were stallions?” Gary said.

“Uh huh,” Dury said. “Big time.”

“Aren't men like that expected to excel in the bedroom?” Keith asked.

“That's my impression,” Gary said.

“That excellence kept J. Edgar in gossip for decades,” Dury said.

“How does a guy like that become the head of a police organization,” Keith asked.

“Very carefully,” Dury said. “He was collecting information on powerful people to secure his place as the director. He knew how to get cooperation when he needed it. 'We wouldn't want this to get out, now would we?'” Dury said.

“He sounds scary,” Keith said.

“If you were looking at pictures or listening to a tape of you making love with a woman not your wife, you were anxious to cooperate.”

“What if they were gay?” Keith asked.

“In Hoover's day, just the being part was illegal. You didn't need to do anything,” Dury said.

“That guy should have been in jail,” Gary said.

“Some of the cases I reviewed followed a certain logic. Others were as mysterious as JFK's assassination. Long on questions, short on answers.”

“The history makes no sense by design or by accident?” Gary asked.
“Making sense would be nice,” Keith said.

“Well, gentlemen, while I’m enjoying all aspects of our history lesson, I can’t help but yield to the call of nature. I’ve got to pee again,” Gary said. “A drink might be in order too. History dries me out.”

“If you didn’t drink so much, you wouldn’t pee so much,” Dury rationalized.

“Remind me to write that down when I come back,” Gary said. “I still need a drink,” Gary said. “Now that I’m on milk, I better stick with milk. It was good. No end to the vices I’ve been exposed to tonight?”

*****

“Thanks for the milk, Keith, and coffee too! That's a good idea.”

The three men finished stretching their legs before sitting down to see where the conversation took them. Dury had an attorney's knowledge and he lived during the events he talked about and had a memory of them.”

“Did the death of Kennedy make that much difference?” Gary asked. “I only remember him from film clips I've seen. I don't remember much before I was ten or eleven.”

“President Kennedy wanted a more friendly foreign affairs policy. He favored talking over bombing. He believed we needed to live together without blowing each other up. He was against nuclear war. Had he not been president during the Cuban missile crisis, we might not be here now. The generals wanted to invade Cuba and take out the nukes. Kennedy wouldn't do that. He knew an invasion of Cuba with the Russian presence there would mean all out nuclear war.”

“George Bush wouldn't have given it a second thought?” Gary said.

“And we'd have been vaporized,” Dury said. “Kennedy and Khrushchev began talking disarmament after coming close to war over Cuba in 1962. Neither liked having his finger on the nuclear button. Curtis Le May advised Kennedy to invade Cuba. When Kennedy said no, Le May accused him of the 'Worst appeasement since Nevilla Chamberlain.'

“There's a movie, Dr. Strangelove. They made it after the Cuban missile crisis. It shows the absurdity of nuclear war and the men who want to wage it. It was funny as long as it stayed satire.”

“Have things changed that much since the 60s?” Keith asked.

“Seeing where the country has gone since the assassinations of the 60s eliminated the most progressive thinkers. Today there are no liberal ideas. The democrats are where the Republicans once were. The Republicans are so far right they scare me. Heaven help us if they get control of the entire government.”

“So a lot changed after Kennedy died?” Gary asked.

“Not that we noticed. Johnson declared he'd get all of Kennedy's ideas set into law. Being a cagey politician, he merely put Kennedy's name on his own ideas and congress passed everything he sent to them. No one wanted to mess with a martyred president.

“Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and Medicare. He did it in Kennedy's name. Which means no, at first there was no apparent change, until Johnson started the Vietnam war, during his reelection campaign.”

“Vietnam sunk him,” Gary said. “'I shall not seek, nor will I accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.'”

“Very good, Gary. I didn't think you followed politics,” Dury said.

“I wasn't a dummy. I was growing up. My ass was going to Vietnam if that war kept going. It was stupid poor kids that fought that war. I knew I was going.”

“I don't remember the war or the troops coming home,” Keith said.

“How'd Nixon get in?” Gary asked. “Johnson didn't step aside to see Nixon get elected.”

“Bobby Kennedy was assassinated after winning the California primary. Nixon was a shrewd politician and his name was well known. He promised law and order and a secret plan to end the war. He said what people wanted to hear.”

“So Nixon began changing things,” Gary said.

“Nixon was a pretty good president. He was progressive. Change took off during Reagan’s administration. He favored big business and the rich people. People like him. When he was done, the middle class was shrinking. Today the distance between the rich and everyone else is massive. People who work for a living are losing ground. The rich, benefiting from labor, are obscenely rich.”

“Reaganomics,” Gary said. “Trickle down and we get trickled on,” Gary said.

“Pretty much,” Dury said.

“How do we build a self-sustaining community people can afford?” Keith asked. “I don't see the economy improving.”

“We have a big advantage over most folks who go into business,” Dury said. “I want to hear about that,” Keith said.

“I'll finance the project. We won't be getting robbed by banksters. The rest is up to you two,” Dury said. “My brain is tired getting that far.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Gary said. “How do we do what you're planning?”

“One step at a time, Gary. We've got to get the property before we can do anything. Why get ahead of ourselves? When the time comes, we'll figure it out.”

“You have more faith in me than I have in me,” Gary said. “I never had much of an imagination.”

“No matter how you build it, I can feed them,” Keith said.

“I can build it as soon as I know what it is,” Gary said.

“Patience! We allow it to happen, gentlemen. What we won't do is skimp. It'll be a place where people want to live.”

“Everything that's bigger is better, since I began building houses in the '70s. When I began, times were good. Houses got bigger. Now with the cost of electricity, the electric bill is half the mortgage in big homes. Keep that in mind.”

“We have the advantage there as well. We belong to the thinking class. It doesn't matter if climate change is real or some uncontrollable cosmic force. We'll do our part to make it safer and less expensive to live. That benefits us as well as the people living there.”

“Mixing politics with preservation sounds strange,” Keith said.

“I was a boy scout. We left a a place better than we found it,” Dury said.

“I wonder if oil company executives were boy scouts?” Gary asked.

“If so, they failed to heed that lesson,” Dury said.

“Or they're making so much money and getting so rich, destroying the earth isn't a factor in their thinking,” Keith said.

“We'll change it one street at a time and maybe it'll catch on,” Dury said.

“I hate to admit it, I've never been much of a thinker,” Keith said. “I wouldn't want to hold you guys back.”

“I wasn't the sharpest tack in class either. I was good at math,” Gary said thoughtfully. “Not great. I did fine in gym. I was good in shop. I was always good with my hands. I liked music. Who didn't like 60s music? 60's rule, I should have paid more attention. I'm not sure I'll be that much help.”

“You were a genius compared to me,” Keith said. “Most subjects either didn’t interest me or I couldn’t focus. I didn’t like anything, especially gym. I was embarrassed by being skinny. I rushed through the shower so fast I barely got wet, but you had to shower. One of the gym teachers made sure you showered.”

“I bet he liked patting the boys on the butt when they came out of the shower,” Gary said.

“He never patted my skinny ass. I'd remember something like that,” Keith said. “i was more worried about getting hard. I never dared look at other boys, but knowing we were all naked was the most exciting thing in my life. I guess I was a real mess. I still don’t like being naked, even when I’m alone. I thought about killing myself a few times. Then I decided to run away. One day I did.”

“That's what wrong with our school system. You're an intelligent man, Keith. You should have done well in school. Possibly your trouble at home kept you from focusing on school,” Dury said.

“I did hate going home,” Keith said. “Then I didn't go home any more.”

“I didn't have a problem in gym,” Gary said. “I wanted to see who was a better man than me at thirteen. I think that’s why I was checking out the other boys in the shower. I knew what most guys were sporting. I knew where I fit into the food chain where girls were concerned. Never did any good. Most girls couldn’t be bothered with boys their own age. Maybe that’s why we worried so much about what we had to offer. I wasn't the only one checking things out either,” Gary said.

“I was a good Catholic boy in good Catholic schools. We weren’t allowed to have impure thoughts, unlike the heathens our priests warned about. That would be you two. A boy who diddled another boy was going straight to hell. Don't pass go. Don't collect two hundred dollars.”

Gary laughed.

“The heathens the priests were diddling between classes, didn't they count?” Gary asked. “I heard stories about those priests.”

“You see! Always picking on the poor Catholics. Our priests were celibate. They told us so,” Dury said. “It was their job to inspect us. We had to be clean for the Lord. You obviously mean some other priests.”

“I bet that's what they told you,” Gary said. “They wear dresses for Christ sake. That should give you a hint.”

“They aren't dresses,” Dury assured him. “When my friend Dalton turned twelve, Father Mychael began inspecting him more often. When ever the subject came up, Dalton turned red. We were all in school together and Dalton was well developed at twelve. I figured there was some hanky panky going on. My inspection took five minutes. It was embarrassing but the priests ran the show. You did what they said, no questions asked.”

“Father Mychael was doing more than a superficial inspection,” Keith said. “He was sweet on your friend.”

“I asked Dalton once, why does Father Mychael call you out of class so often? Does he inspect you the whole time you're over there?”

“'Sure! Gets me out of class and I get a glass of wine if I don't act too eager. He doesn't rap my knuckles any more. Father Mychael said I had more to keep clean than most boys.'”

“You believe that and you ain’t as smart as I thunk you was,” Gary kidded. “Dalton was getting a lot more than clean.”

“You ought to charge that priest with something, Dury,” Keith said.

“For putting a smile on Dalton's face? We were twelve. We were told to do whatever the priests told us. We did. It didn't warp us too badly.”

“Boy, those priests had a sweet racket going,” Gary said.

“And Einstein’s brain was better developed than his contemporaries. His had bigger blood vessels. It was no bigger than the average brain,” Dury said.

“He was endowed with big blood vessels,” Keith said. “You'd hardly notice.”

“Size isn't everything, my man,” Gary said.

“His college professors didn't want Einstein to teach. They couldn’t conceive of him doing anything else. Einstein was the smartest one in class, including the professor,” Dury said. “Einstein didn't want to teach. He knew things other people couldn't conceive. He did have two problems. He was the smartest man around. He knew he was the smartest man around. Most people wanted to bring him down a peg or two.”

“Not much I have in common with Einstein,” Keith said.

“I think both of you might have more in common with Einstein than you think. We are too busy teaching mediocrity to recognize gifted kids. The public schools have too many students in a class and the best teachers have stopped teaching. Kids are indoctrinated, regimented, and taught to obey. Great if you have the biggest war machine in the world, but not so hot exposing creativity and for kids who don't react well to teaching to the test.”

“Don't they need to make schools that way to teach all the kids? There isn't enough money to do it any other way and teach so many kids,” Gary said.

“Ah, money, how many wars are we running now? How much are we spending to fight those wars? The war on drugs is part of that system. Start spending that money on education, teach critical thinking, it'll improve. Let the rich folks do what my folks did, pay to get the education they want their children to have. Charter schools are about getting their hands on public school funds.”

“Had Einstein been in our public schools, he is as likely to have been missed as discovered. Like you two were missed. They didn't reach you with a cookie cutter approach. What if instead of having meals prepared in a factory and trucked to the school each day, the home economics classes cooked a variety of meals, serving them to the students as part of their training. Keith, you might have found your calling.

“Lord knows if someone had come to Gary and handed him a level, and talked about how they built the pyramids, or the Capitol dome, or the Pentagon, they'd have gotten his attention. He might have been discovered, and some contractor would have bent over backwards to recruit him.

“No, we can't afford good schools with the best teachers. We need to buy bombs and don't forget the next generation of fighter jet. We haven't even used the last generation of fighter jet, but we keep building them because they make people rich. We have enough aircraft carrier battle fleets to stretch half way around the world. We keep on building aircraft carriers. You think the Chinese haven't figured out a way to destroy aircraft carriers? The Chinese build the electronics that go into them. You think they forgot to put a backdoor into that software?”

“We don't spend more on teaching and less on war, because the rich and powerful thrive during a war. As we get dumber, we become more obedient and easier to control. It won't matter how many aircraft carrier battle fleets we have.”

“I'm not sure an Einstein, or people like you, super talented in one area or another, aren't brushed aside to teach to the test. It's what we can afford and the best teachers quit,

“If we run out of wars, we can declare war on pizza. I must have gained twenty pounds eating pizza alone. It's too good to be legal, don't you think?”

“You should be careful. Don't give the politicians any ideas,” Dury said. “They could lock us all up for eating pizza.”

“You guys like that cookie cutter food? It's all mass produced. To cook pizza you need a third grade education and two hands,” Keith said.

“Spoken like a true gourmet,” Dury said. “You two prove my case. People like you are exceptional in your field. Your brains are wired in a unique way. We're all different and we all learn differently. You didn't have success in school because you weren't challenged. Most kids follow along, do what they're told. Is that being educated or indoctrinated?”

“We're programmed to accept the status quo. The builder, the chef, the oil rig worker, the salesman, sit beside each other in school. If you want to be an attorney or brain surgeon, you're right on track. What if you're a genius at mechanics? Will you really do well in Latin? Me thinks not,” Dury said. “Your kind of genius assures you’ll succeed. What makes you good at cooking and you a good contractor is your ability to learn by seeing and doing, hands-on. One on one I'd guess in most instances.”

“It took ten years before I could do carpentry half ass or lay bricks on the level. You couldn't learn that in a classroom.”

“Mostly cooking is memory and judgment. When you are willing to experiment you learn the art of cooking,” Keith said. “Throw away the measuring cup. You need to go by instinct. A dish should never taste exactly the same two times in a row.”

“Ah, we have an Einstein among us. You color outside the lines, but you know, Keith, you must color inside the lines. What if everyone colored outside the lines? We'd have chaos. If the old masters of the Renaissance were forced to paint by the numbers, they'd have hung up their paint brushes to become plumbers,” Dury said.

“In other words we lose as much as we gain by teaching everyone the same subjects at the same pace,” Gary said. “So, I wasn't stupid?”

“You were a round peg they forced into a square hole, Gary.”

“They can't afford to do something different for students who don't learn through regimented programs,” Keith said.

“How many wars are we fighting at the moment?” Dury asked. “We should spend as much on the future of the countries as we spend on making war profiteers richer. War accomplishes nothing but make future wars necessary.”

“That's the American way, Dury,” Gary said. “Why talk when you can bomb the hell out of people you don't like? What did the guy in 'Apocalypse Now' say?

'I love the smell of napalm in the morning. ...Smells like victory.' A guy that loves the smell of burning human flesh is on his way to being a general. We have plenty of bombs. What we don't have are enough good schools.”

“My parents were not rich,” Dury said. “We had a house. I went to the best school in Washington D.C., St. Albans. I went to Columbia law. Only my father worked. This was my life. I was given every opportunity to become a big time lawyer, and I became one.”

“We know that and you've said the education system was there to see that you made something of yourself. Of the three of us in the room, that makes one of us, and I consider myself a master builder.”

“As you should. Today well to do families send their kids to school much like I was sent to school. Should one of their kids fail, there are endless tutors and more schooling. It's expensive, but they are the well to do. Poor kids get to go to public school. none of that and now public school money is spent on charter schools and public school money is spent on charter schools.

“The smartest man I ever met never finished eighth grade. He helped in the preparation of his case and he understood law. He should, he'd spent fifteen years in prison and he was going back for five more years. That's at a cost of over $40,000 a year. Had he been educated properly, he'd have been earning more than $40,000 a year and paying taxes, but that's not how we do it.”

“That's $800,000 he'd have earned instead of costing the taxpayer that amount right off the top,” Gary said.

“I'll never see half of $800,000 in my life of cooking. Why didn't he put his brain to work for him?”

“He had no shot as a kid. Once he discovered drugs, he didn't take them, he sold them. He made top dollar. He was convicted and sent to jail at fifteen. His life was over. He'd never be considered for most jobs. He educated himself in prison. That's when inmates had access to education. As smart as he was, no one would hire him. He was a convicted felon.”

“So, in a manner of speaking, he never had a chance as a kid, and then no one would give him a chance?” Keith said.

“Speaking of talking, staying up all night isn't wise when you have work to do in the morning. I've got calls to make in the morning on the St. James project. I should be at my best.”

Chapter 14

Plans

Gary had plans to dig deeper into the St. James equation the following day, after the latest discussion with Dury and Keith. It had been nearly a year since Gary laid a brick or did any work at all. He knew he was ready to get started on Pleasant Valley planning.

Fran refilled Gary's coffee cup twice while he ate breakfast. He told her not to fill his thermos, although she knew he was going to a job site of some sort by how he dressed.

Gary didn't say much about his new project, but Fran knew it involved Dury. If it involved Dury, she was certain that it was a solid venture. In time Gary would show her the plans and explain what he was doing, but first he need to have a plan.

Fran hoped this was the beginning of a new routine. She'd been after him to spend more time with Dury. Now that he was spending a couple of nights a week at Dury's, his old zip was back and he wasn't spending as much time in front of the TV watching meaningless games.

Gary hadn’t come in until after midnight. Being up before eight surprised Fran. It told her he was serious about their plans. He said that he'd tell her about it later and they were still early in the planning stages. This told Fran that the final deal that started the work hadn't t been struck yet.

He’d talk to her about it later, but never this early on a new contracting job. Gary liked having things settled before he told Fran what it was he was doing.

Standing at the stove, Fran smiled as Gary kissed her goodbye.

“See you this afternoon, Babe.” Gary said, giving her a goodbye kiss.

*****

Gary turned off Jackson Highway onto onto St. James just before nine. He checked the row of shops on the right as he passed. Nothing had changed and there was no sign of life. It was an isolated location. Mindless idiots hadn’t broken every window yet, which meant they hadn't passed here.

New life was coming to St. James. The shops could open after a good scrubbing and whatever decorative touches that would make each shop unique. Gary saw endless possibilities in walking distance from the apartments and the three Kurtz buildings.

'The shops would be easy,' Gary thought.

He'd gotten assurances he could buy the majority of the shops. For the plan to work, they needed all of them. He doubted the missing owners would try to hold out. Receiving a few thousand dollars for property they'd abandoned would be gravy.

The St. James Apartments remained unsecured. It was the lynchpin of Dury’s plan. No apartments and no development. With a private owner, they needed to be careful. If he suspect development was coming to St. James, he would hold them up for top dollar.

Gary would be careful but he needed to see what he had to work with. He didn't like to wait when there were things he needed to do. St. James showed no signs of life. He'd take a good look around and start developing the property in his mind.

This was where Gary excelled. He could see what needed to be done to get the result he wanted. He knew what he could do with it and how it would look. This was his art and it couldn't be taught. When he reached the curbing at the end of St. James, Gary eased his F-150 over it and onto the grass beyond. A road that serviced the Kurtz property had been destroyed to limit access, but the ground was solid and he drove to the first factory building.

He parked under an overhang and checked to see if anyone was moving around on the street, but Gary was alone. It was a legal question now. He was Dury's contractor and Dury had a verbal deal with the state of South Carolina to develop the property and adhere to all state tax laws once Pleasant Valley was open for business.

As Gary stood beside building one, he imagined it in its heyday. He could hear the machinery turning out Kurtz doors. People and vehicles would have been coming and going. He then heard the silence.

He liked the feel of the brick and the straight perfect line they made as one brick was placed next to another, one on top of another. There was no bend in building one's wall, no uncertainty in its foundation. Kurtz one stood solid after standing empty for thirty years.

Good workmanship was appreciated. It's what Gary hoped his brickwork looked like after thirty years, straight and strong.

Kurtz doors went first class. The factory dated back to the late 40s or early 50s, when brick was king.

The windows were long ago busted out. He'd check the foundations but a man who did this kind of work didn't skimp. He wasn't going to find any shoddy workmanship. He'd been there ten minutes, but he knew what he'd tell Dury, “Solidly built.”

Gary put on his hard hat and got out his gloves. He'd worn his work boots. It's what he did on a job site. He'd admired the first Kurtz door building, and now he'd investigate Pleasant Valley 1. What, if anything, could be salvaged for PV1. He was sure the foundation would be fine if they wanted to use the same footprint as Kurtz one?

He walked around the building, paying particular attention to the base of each wall where it met the foundation. On the second walk around he looked up to be sure the walls still stood straight.

He looked at building two a hundred yards away. It looked solid too. Gary made a mental notes. He wanted to know who built them. Doing quick math, he knew the builder was dead now. Gary had a desire to talk to him. Tell him Kurtz 1, 2, and 3 stood the test of time.

This was where Gary ran into trouble. Going in through the bent broken door, the floor shifted under his boots. Climbing over debris, the interior of the building was in shambles, badly abused.

'Why are people so stupid,' Gary wondered, realizing only a few feet of the concrete floor were ruined. Light fixtures hung by electrical wire. The brick work was visible inside the factory. Only steel girders covered the brick where they furnished heavy duty interior support for the two upper floors. The staircase had several metal desks and numerous chairs thrown down from the upper floors. The stairs were wide. It wasn't much work to get around the obstacles. The stairs were concrete. He imagined indoor/outdoor carpet covering them. Gary reasoned, 'It'll cost a pretty penny to bring these buildings down. The interior could be rehabilitated. He'd done great work with remodeling older buildings years ago. He'd keep that in mind. Dury might not like the buildings. Bringing them down would be expensive.

Walking on the floor carefully, his steps made a crunching sound from glass and crumbling ceiling tiles. This was a manufacturer. The girders were needed to support the weight of the machinery. Now he understood them.

When Gary stood looking at the bottom floor of building two, the sun was shinning inside the building. He walked to the back of the first level to investigate. He found himself looking up at a whole in the ceiling of the first floor. It matched up with a hole in floor three, and a hole opened the third floor to the roof.

Gary immediately thought, elevator shaft. Only there was no shaft.

'What's the hole for?' Gary asked himself.

He walked away from the hole, using his boot to clear the dirt and debris. Ten minutes into his search, he found what he expected. He worked faster, bending to throw ceiling tiles out of the way.

He found where a machine had been bolted to the floor. When he finished clearing, it revealed the outline of a machine. Checking the hold against the size of the machine, he knew what the hole was for.

He estimated ten machines on each side of the floor.

'They brought in a crane, cut a hole big enough to accommodate the machines, put a dolly under each corner, and move each machine to the hole. The crane lifts them through the roof and sets them down onto the back of a flatbed truck.'

Gary could see how it was done. It was how he'd do it.

Kurtz didn't go out of business. They moved to a new location.

He shook his head, looking at the blue sky above.

“You left a big damn hole in my buildings,” he yelled at the sky.

Gary sat in the truck and ran searches for the builder. The corner stone had 1951 chiseled in it. He wanted to see if the building company was still around but he came up empty.

After three hours of investigating, Gary eased his truck down off the curb, parking beside the apartments, wanting to take a closer look at the outside of the building. Once he was satisfied, he decided to take a look inside and see what he could see in order to get an idea of where he'd start remodeling.

Dury didn't have ownership or an agreement on this building. He didn't want to leave without having some idea of how much work he was looking at to get the old brick structure up to code.

As he rounded the far corner of the building, a woman was hanging her wash.

“Hello, you’re Mr. Lane’s friend?” Lisa told him.

Gary jumped. His mind was somewhere else, but he took off his hat once he saw Lisa. He hadn't seen a living soul all morning and he'd forgotten there were still tenants in the apartments.

“Yes. You have me at a disadvantage. I’m Gary,” he said. “I’m Dury’s friend and contractor. I'll be remodeling the apartments.”

“I’m Lisa,” she said, moving to shake his hand. “I’m hanging my unmentionables out to dry. Makes them smell nice.”

“Well, I won’t mention it if you don’t,” Gary said with a smile.

Lisa laughed and finished hanging her clothes.

“You’re in luck. I put a pot of coffee on before I came down. You look like a man who could use a cup.”

“I am,” Gary said, wanting to see inside an apartment. “Could I look around your apartment? I want to see what it’ll take to remodel the building.”

“Suit yourself. I’ll furnish the coffee. You can look to your heart’s content,” Lisa said.

*****

Gary checked the floors, the doors, and the studs in her walls. He stood on a chair to feel the cross beams in the ceiling. He was always surprised when he found an old building in good shape. Gone were the craftsman.

Gary believed he'd seen this builders work before and not far away. The corner stone on the apartments said 1949. When Kurtz build it's buildings, they hired the man who built the apartments. That was Gary's guess. It was the same even lines. a fingerprint of sorts.

“Upgrading the building won't be as much work as I thought. If the other apartments look like this one, it'll be a matter of updating the plumbing and electric system.”

“I don't know much about building. The doors open and close. There are places where the floor creaks. It's only a noise.”

“Show me where it creaks if you don't mind.”

“Here,” she said. “Standing on a spot next to the kitchen table. I don't feel anything but it makes that noise when I walk on it.”

“Where else?” Gary asked, standing on the creaking board.

` “In front of the closet and as you go into the bathroom.”

Gary moved around and turned the light on in the bathroom. He immediately looked at the ceiling and the floor under the sink and next to the bathtub. He checked the toilet and the quality of the materials that went into the apartment.

“We'll refinish all the wood floors. I'll try to match this tile in the bathroom, but this is solid tile and everything is plastic today. We'll go low flow toilets to save water. It won't be as solid as your toilet. I wouldn't want to replace the sink or or the tub. There's nothing on the market that matches the quality of these. Cheap and easy is what you get today,” Gary revealed. “I wish they still made these sinks. I'd love to have one of these in my bathroom.”

“I'm just looking. We don't even know who owns it yet.”

“I have my rent receipts. Will that help?” Lisa asked.

“It's a front company. Collects the money takes the complaints. The owner doesn't want to get his hands dirty dealing with tenants.”

“My mother lived here for twenty-five years. At first with my father, but he died. She wasn't hard on the place and I've been here since she got sick. No parties or football in the apartment.”

Gary laughed.

“It helps to start with a well built apartment. There is no reason for them to ever fall apart. The plumbing and electricity will cost the most to upgrade. We want each apartment to be someone's home.”

“You don't want to mention I was looking at the property. I get restless when I have a job coming. We don't want to alert anyone.”

“Keith told me it was all hush hush for the time being,” Lisa said.

“I've seen all I need to see. Thanks for the coffee,” Gary said.

“Mum's the word,” Lisa said.

“Noise?” Gary asked as he turned to leave.

“The building is close to empty right now, but I was here when most of the apartments were occupied. You could hear a door slamming in the hallway. People talking as they pass my door, but I don't think I've heard noise from other departments or people.”

“That's a good sign. The building is well constructed. I'll need to check footings and I'll check the roof once we own it. I don't want to spend any more time here today.”

“You're in business with Mr. Lane?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, you might say that. We'll be making St. James a much more pleasant place to live. We'll even have a chef cooking meals.”

“Yes, Keith? He is a magician with food, and I'm a good cook.”

“Keith is our partner. Thank you,” Gary said, letting himself out.

Once back in the truck, Gary put his phone to his ear as he started his truck.

“Lane, I’m surprised you’re up at this hour,” Gary said.

“It’s after noon. I was wondering if you were up.”

“What do you say about having Keith fix us a late lunch or early supper. I’ve toured the Kurtz property and Lisa let me see her apartment. That was helpful. I’ll go home and put it on paper.”

“No one saw you looking about?” Dury asked.

“No. I parked out of sight and the only person I saw was Lisa.”

“We won't be pulling everything down and starting over?” Dury asked.

“No. They left us some well constructed buildings. I think the same builder built Kurtz that built the apartments. I can’t build you anything this solid for five million a building today. For two million a building, I can make them new and put anything you want inside. The apartments would need renovation, using what's there,” Gary said.

“So give me ballpark for the three buildings and the apartments,” Dury said.

“That’s six million to renovate the existing factory buildings. Another one and a quarter for the apartment building. We'll probably need to replace the existing plumbing and electricity. Then there will be the cost of roads and paths. Call it eight million for that.”

“Don't hold me to one and a quarter number on the apartments. I think we can get in cheaper, but I'm giving you a high ball figure. I just had coffee with Lisa and I checked her apartment. That was a big help.”

“You have been busy. I’ll get Keith to double the sirloin steak he was going to prepare. Salad, baked potato, cucumbers and onions and fresh strawberry pie for dessert.”

“Oh man, you’re killing me, Lane. I’ll take two of each. See you in three to four hours. I need to get home and to my office. That way I'll be able to backup my work. I'll break it into materials and labor.”

“We'll see you for dinner, Gary.”

Gary backed out onto St James, driving back up the street, looking for what he didn’t know, until he saw it. In the final block he found it. Pulling over in front of one of the empty shops, Gary got out his Windex and some paper towels for window cleaning.

The paper was taped on the inside of the window. It gave the name of the company to call if someone was interested in buying the property. Gary took the information down. He was making real progress. Gary was a happy camper but not happy enough to clean all the windows on two blocks of shops, looking for more fliers.

*****

Gary sat back once he'd finishing his second piece of sirloin. The cucumber and onions in sour cream was a perfect dish to go with steak. He was accustomed to Fran's red wine and vinegar on the cucumber. Keith introduced a new flavor that went with a food Gary liked and it was quite good.

“You’re in rare form today, Keith. How do you get such a great flavor in your eat? I’ve never had better steak. Sirloin is my favorite cut.”

“I marinate the meat overnight. I have a special combination of herbs and spices. I live it like that for a few hours and I add red wine and leave it overnight. Starting with a good cut of meat the key to success.”

“I do envy your ability to fix fine food. I can boil eggs in a pinch but they’re never soft boiled. I must say, I do have quite good success with frozen dinners. When Fran goes away, she stocks up on frozen meals. I rarely ruin one, unless there's a good game on TV. I can forget to turn them off on time,” Gary said.

“My kitchen is a place where a creative chef is at work,” Dury said. “I enjoy food again. I'm sure I've gained weight since Keith came.”

“I don’t usually hear what people think about my meals. I prepare them and send them through a door and that’s the end of it. From time to time, when I was a chef in New Orleans, a customer would ask to meet the chef. It’s nice to hear compliments and seeing the faces of the people eating my food,” Keith said.

“I’ll take some more of that iced tea and I’ll go out to my truck and get the drawings I made of the Kurtz property. I was busy today.”

*****

When Gary came back to the dining room, one end of the table was cleared. He opened his briefcase and laid out the sketches he'd made of St. James.

“You need a drink, Gary?” Dury asked, fixing himself a pitcher of martinis.

“After we're done. I don't drink while I'm working. Bad habit,” Gary said, spreading out a half dozen drawings on the table.

“Now I drew these once I got home from St. James, while I had it fresh in my mind. You'll get the idea of what I'm thinking from the last two sketches. The first Sketch is Kurtz one outside. I don't see how we change the general appearance of the apartments without making it look out of place. They blend in well with the shops.”

“And we own nothing on St. James. We only have the rights to the Kurtz property, which has a St. James address without being on St. James,” Dury said.

“Hopefully, after you see what I'm suggesting, you'll be motivated to get the other properties. First picture simply the facade and one side of Kurtz one.

“The second picture is of Pleasant Valley 1. I've used neon to highlight the roof facing St. James. We put in an overhang, where a driveway will allow access to the main entrance. Double doors. Nice carpet inside and a partial living room like space, where perspective tenants get their first taste of Pleasant Valley living. Stressing the pleasantness. Nicely done but not to the point of nausea.”

“Sketch three is how Pleasant Valley 1 looks after being completed, against the contrast of the way two and three looked this afternoon.”

“That's a big improvement,” Keith said. “The pink and blue accenting the roof is quite lovely.”

“Lane, you have a blank look on your face. If you hate it you need to say so before we are walking into PV1 and it looks just like this.”

“I didn't realize you were that creative. These are quite well done,” Dury said, looking at the drawing from different angles. “I don't know what I think. This is a drawing. A building is a building. I don't dislike it and if it gets better by being bigger, like on a building, I think I can live with it.”

“It's all merely mind games right now. I don't know the cost of neon and I've never installed it. I can talk to someone. When I got done seeing what's there, this was what I came up with off the top of my head.”

“For a man with no imagination, you have certainly taken the work out of a decision on what to do with the Kurtz buildings. I like the facade,” Dury said. “I don't need to see it on the building. I know it will be great.”

“It didn't take any imagination. It was apparent what it needed.”

“Easy for you to say. When I looked at it, I saw a wrecking ball and a lot of rubble where those buildings use to be,” Dury said.

“The Kurtz interior will all come out. The floors are concrete and the supports look structurally sound. You've got to think they had a half million pounds of weight on each of those floors. No matter what we do, we won't have a quarter of that weight once we're done.”

“There is a large hole in the roof. We'll replace the roof to be sure of what we have.”

“Sounds like demolition and starting over is no longer a plan?” Dury asked.

“The price of knocking them down will cost a million of your dollars. We'd be trucking those buildings out of there for two solid months or more. The interiors are huge. The supports are steel girders inside of brick. I couldn't build one of those buildings for less than five million. The structure is sound and renovating it will cost you maybe two million a piece. That doesn't include the solar array I'll put on the roof of each building or the elevators I'll fill those holes in my roof with.”

“If they're so well constructed, where'd the holes come from,” Dury asked.

“They cut the hole to lift the machines out. I've seen knuckleheads knock half a wall down to move machines. The way Kurtz did it left three solid buildings for some enterprising entrepreneurs to make something out of.

“Elevators? Why elevators? It's only three floors.”

“Because it's the easy way to fill the hole. You're going to need them for the disabled people who will come to live here. We want it friendly and accessible.”

“You don't really need me. You've already figured it all out,” Dury said.

“It's not as difficult as it sounds. There are only so many ways to go. If you don't want to waste the budget on tearing things down, you build them up.”

“I can keep them fed,” Keith said.

“I got a number off one of the shops. A real estate broker claims to represent the shops. I'll give you the number. I called and got a recording.”

“You aren't going to leave anything for me to do?” Dury said.

“Get out your wallet. The apartments are your baby. I have no urge to get involved with an absentee landlord or his front company.”

“We'll move on the the shops first. I need to talk to the people evicted from the apartments. It sounds like a landlord with plans. He's forcing out the tenants. He can't do that. I'll start a suit with Keith's name on it. The other tenants evicted can join the suit.”

“Lisa stays in touch with the guys she looked after,” Keith said.

“She came out while I was checking the apartment building. She invited me in for coffee. She let me check out her apartment. They are well built but will need upgrades.”

“Lisa is making a list of the men who were evicted,” Keith said.

“I'll draw up your suit against the landlord and expect to add names to it. If I'm the attorney of record, my name can't go on the apartments. I'll need you to buy the apartment, Gary.”

“Is that legal?” Gary asked.

“All's fair in love and real estate. This guy evicted sick men. We plan to offer them a deal to return to their apartments. I think our motives are good, and we won't do anything illegal..”

“Many money man hire front companies to keep their names off of legal documents. What you and I are doing isn't any different. You are a contractor and developer. You are the front man in our operation. It's all above board. I wouldn't want the current owner to know that, but there's no reason he should.”

“I take back all the nice things I said about you, Lane. I didn't know you knew how to do this stuff,” Gary said.

“You'll buy with the understanding that you'll deal with any litigants. If they don't ask, don't offer that information. If they knowingly sell a property to hide their unethical treatment of tenants, we'll have one more count against them. I strongly suspect the evictions violated the law. That's how we explain our forming a company to help men who were mistreated. That's way better than anything they'll bring to court.”

“So we're giving them a taste of their own medicine,” Gary said.

“And that's why there are so many lawyers. You summed it up in a dozen words or less. A good attorney would take two pages to say that.”

“You're telling us you have a racket?” Gary said.

“Of course not. You need lawyers to explain what lawyers write.”

“It's like getting your business back. It took less than two hours once we got to court. We spent two years getting there.”

“I thought you said you made sure you got that judge,” Gary said.

“It never hurts to be on good terms with the judges,” Dury said. “I mentioned over lunch that I would like him to handle your case. We did not discuss said case. I merely asked him to take it. I knew he'd hate what was done to you. His father was a top notch builder in Georgia.”

“How in the world did you find that out?” Gary asked amazed.

“It pays to be on good terms with the judges and to know his background. I wanted a judge who could relate to you. He did. It gave us an advantage.”

“Sometimes you leave me speechless, Lane. You do know your shit,” Gary said.

Chapter 15

Moving Day

“Hello, Dury. I stopped by to see if anything had changed on the apartments. I was invited to leave. Same guy. Same attitude. No information. ‘We are not interested in discussing the future of that property,' Gary said, using a gruff voice to imitate the man he spoke to.

“They've got your name and phone number. I suspect you'll be hearing from them soon,” Dury said.

“They bought that property with something in mind. Now that you've tied up the Kurtz property, they can't expand.”

“It's curious. They bought it and began evictions. They had something in mind,” Dury said.

“Their watchdog isn't saying much. I think he memorized his lines. They sounded rehearsed. He still had the paperwork for my original proposal on his desk. Seems to indicate he isn't doing big business.”

“My secretary is researching the apartments. She says St. James wasn't in the city of Charleston when those buildings went up. It was incorporated into Charleston in the 60s. The state didn't notice Kurtz until they stopped paying property taxes.”

“Funny how that works. They stop getting their cut and they are standing at your door,” Gary said. “You hired a secretary?” Gary asked.

“From my law firm. Jean's still at the firm. She likes doing favors for me. We were together for a long time. I hated leaving her behind but I made up my mind there had to be more to the rest of my life than law.”

“I stopped by the apartments and had coffee with Lisa. She's getting together the names and phone numbers you wanted. Keith talked to her about it. She is making sure the men are OK with it.”

“I'd like them to be the first residents of Pleasant Valley,” Dury said.

“I’ll need to rip up one apartment to see what’s there. I'll do that to the one that's in the worst condition.”

“I wouldn't do that until we own them,” Dury said.

“I'm not that dumb. I'm just telling you FYI. It'll help me in making decisions about the remodeling.”

“We'll give Lisa her pick of apartments once you're done remodeling. We want to keep her happy. She'd be good at interviewing perspective tenants. She's friendly and she has a great smile.”

“She's a nice lady,” Gary said.

“We invite people who were evicted to return. We’ll make them a good deal while the work is going on. Make up for how they've been treated.”

“Nice touch, Lane. I like it.”

“I'm thinking the main kitchen will go in Kurtz building one. We'll call them PV1, PV2, and PV3,” Dury said. “We can look at putting an auxiliary kitchen in the PV Apartments for the time being. Once PV1 is complete, we put in the best kitchen possible and a first class area for dining. Each building will have some kitchen capability. It's what I've been discussing with Keith. He'll know what he wants. We'll want the ability to deliver meals to the rest of the facility. This covers the disabled and those unable to come to PV1 for some reason. We don't want to run this like they're in prison. Someone doesn't feel like coming down, we take them a meal if they want it.”

“I got a call from First Mortgage Land Corporation. That was the number on the hand bill. They can speak for shop owners in an offer to buy,” Gary said.

“I want to deal with the owners if First Mortgage isn't holding the titles. Why pay a mortgage company if we can put it in the pockets of the actual shop owners? No telling how much they'll charge shop owners in the sale. We might want to put your name on the shops too, if we haven't secured the apartments by the time we buy the shops. I've committed to take the Kurtz property, better known as the property of the state of South Carolina, we want to wrap this all up pretty fast now.”

“I'll use my company name on the shops. If they see I'm moving on the property around them, they might hold us up,” Gary said.

“Good idea. I've drafted Keith's lawsuit on his illegal eviction and I'll use that as the foundation for a class action suit with the rest of the evicted men.”

“I'm ready to move in any direction you say, Dury. I'll use my company name to purchase the shops. Won't your name be on the check?”

“No, you'll have cashier's checks. Jean only needs to know the amount of each check.”

“She can get into your account?” Gary asked with concern in his voice.

“The one at the law firm. I'll put in the necessary funds. I'm retired but I'm still a partner at the firm. I still collect my share of the money the firm makes. Jean's been doing my banking for twenty-five years. When I left, I arranged for her to get a top flight retirement package from my firm. She can't be released but her duties have been reduced substantially since I retired. She's tickled to have something important to do,” Dury said.

“I wish I could say that about my comptroller,” Gary said. “As I recall, he owned my company for a couple of years.”

“He never owned your company. Theft is not a path to ownership. You might want to stay near your phone. The legal papers will be served this afternoon. I anticipate inquires,” Dury said.

“No, I don't think so, Dury. They put me off like I was some annoyance. I will not go back wagging my tale,” Gary said. “Let them sweat.”

“You're handling it. I trust your judgment, but we need those apartments. If they're rethink their plans for the apartments. They'll call soon.”

“I believe you're right. Whatever they have on their mind, a lawsuit wasn't it. I bet you have a judge waiting in the wings,” Gary said.

“No, I can't pull a rabbit out of my hat twice, and since I'm involved with you, and you are purchasing the property, we let the lawsuit do the talking. Those boys overstepped their bounds. They know it. I know it and the men they evicted will know it soon if they don't already know.”

“We’re getting close. I can feel it, Lane. Only one nut left to crack. I will begin calling my best crew to make sure they're available. Once we own it all, we'll want to move fast. Costs are going up as we speak.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Dury said, as the call ended.

*****

Two nights later at Dury's, the issues had become more material.

“Before we get started on the construction, I want to buy American. I'm taking a serious look at solar. My men will install the units but we'll need a rep from the solar company to advise us. I've found a company in Minnesota. The owner visits each job site.

“This means I'll deal directly with the boss about what our needs are. This is all contingent on your approval.”

“Don't let me slow you down, Gary. I know nothing about solar energy,” Dury said. “You're ahead of me there. We need to generate our electricity.”

“We'll generate enough energy to have plenty to spare. There's no point in scrimping. We can sell excess energy back to the power grid. We will want the best batteries on the market to store energy.

“A hurricane will come and go within thirty-six hours in most cases. During hurricanes we'll need to close the array. I'll build a structure to fold the array into in emergencies.”

“I agree with everything you just said,” Dury said. “You've obviously thought this out. The court papers on the illegal evictions have been served. I got a signed receipt for them this morning. You should be getting a call soon unless I'm way off base. Nine of the men evicted have joined the suit.”

“That explains the call before I left home. I listened but didn't pick up. It was the same guy I talked to. I'll call tomorrow after my afternoon nap. I don't want to appear anxious. I'll act like I don't remember him.”

“And if they get an offer they take in the meantime?” Dury asked.

“Not likely. I dug a whole beside the foundations to check for moisture. I put some Acme barricades around it and left it open. Anyone goes there will wonder about the hole.”

“Speaking of hardball,” Dury said. “You don't take prisoners, do you.”

“I have too much time in this project to loose it now,” Gary said. “I want to do neon lights on the outside of PV1. Around the top of the building and especially a large window near the front door: 'Welcome to Pleasant Valley.'”

“I like that,” Keith said. “Makes people feel warm. I like neon lighting if it's tastefully done. In South Beach I felt like I was in a 50s movie.”

“I'm the guy who shuffles the paper. I'd never have thought of neon. I'll want to check and what the upkeep is on neon. As for solar, I was expecting we'd go in that direction. That's as far as I got,” Dury said. “It's why you two are my partners. I know my way around business. I only know people from a limited perspective. They're usually in a jam when I meet them.

“Barbara was always telling me to lighten up when we went to functions. It was always with other attorneys. I'm good with attorneys and judges.”

“You have a lot to offer, Dury. Fran is always after me to spend more time with you. I tell her, 'Dury doesn't bowl or watch football'. I can't imagine you in a duck blind with a pump action across your lap. Do you have a television, Dury?”

“Yes, there's a television room next to Barbara's sewing room. You put sliding glass doors so she could sit outside without coming through the house.”

“In the west wing,” Gary said, with a pretension in his voice.

“Yes, the west wing. It's quietest at that end of the house. Barbara liked to read there. The library was built into my office so she had that space for herself.”

“I'm not that good with people. As long as I'm working, people can be all around me and I don't notice them. Socially, this is nice, two or three friends is what I like. I've never done that much socializing. I liked being in the kitchen cooking,” Keith explained. “I'm not comfortable being too close to people.”

“They can be a terrible disappointing sometimes, people,” Gary said.

“Yes, and hard to know too,” Dury agreed. “I've never found any friends like the ones I had when I was a kid. Hell, my two best friends are a former client and a homeless guy I met in a park. I feel closer to you to than anyone I know,” Dury confessed.

“The nice thing about friends is, they don't take any work. They accept you as is and you accept them. Like the three of us and I think that is unusual for men our age.”

“Sincerity, sharing, and caring comes natural to friends. You can give and take without worrying how much to give and take,” Dury said.

“I suspect that's a lesson from your philosophy class,” Gary said.

“Life is a philosophy class, Gary. Watching you two do what you do, your passion it. You prove how much you have to give. How we came together to be friends is part of the philosophy of life. To plan something as big as this that doesn't benefit us, that's a new philosophy in this world.”

“I don't know. I feel pretty good about it,” Keith said. “That's beneficial.”

“We're doing it but it isn't about us,” Gary said. “Using our talents to create a better way to live and none of us considers it crazy or even odd. Believe me, I know, most people don't see past their own interests. As individuals we didn't, until we came together and had an opportunity to do something good for people who don't have that much good happening to them.”

“We aren't most people and we don't come from ordinary lives, Dury. Each of us was blessed in a certain way. You with your interest in the law. Me falling in the hands of men who shared their knowledge with me, Keith finding Henrietta as he threw his fate to the wind. Each of us got out there and found ourselves. Why wouldn't we want to help others who haven't been as lucky as we are.”

“You can only have so much and then you need to give a little away,” Keith said. “I think it's giving ourselves away really.”

“It was what was done to those men with AIDS that got to me. It took me back to those poor dying men Barbara and I volunteered to help. They were abused, evicted, left without hope, and we tried to show them some human kindness. I couldn't imagine dying, while being ostracized, and people not raising a hand to help. It really made me sick.”

“Luckily it changed. Today we have drugs and can live fairly long lives,” Keith said. “If we take care of ourselves.”

“Seeing how those jerks made the lives of the men living at the apartments even worse, and all for the sake of money, made me want to do something,” Dury said. “I didn't know what to do but I intend to do something to help the men with AIDS and hurt the men who hurt them. Where you hurt men like that is in the wallet,” Dury said.

“Amen,” Gary said. “A Men.”

“It is your plan, Dury. We picked up on your passion. Gary can build it. I can feed the workers and the tenants, and not hamburgers and hot dogs.”

“I kind of like my burgers,” Gary said.

“OK, I give you hamburger and fix real food for everyone else,” Keith said.

“I don't like hamburger that much,” Gary said.

“OK, children, lets not play with our food,” Dury said.

“You'll make sure it's all legal. You're the father of Pleasant valley. Gary and I are your handmaidens,” Keith said.

“Wait a minute here,” Gary said. “That doesn't make me a member of some super secret homosexual organization, does it?”

Keith and Dury laughed.

“I don't think so. Perhaps subordinates would describe us better.”

“Subordinates!” Dury said. “You two will do all the work. My biggest contribution was getting mad about how sick men were being treated.”

“You'll keep us out of jail,” Keith said.

“Yeah, I can do that, but try not to do anything illegal.”

“You're the guy forcing the owner to sell the apartments,” Gary said.

“Nothing illegal about using your knowledge to gain an advantage over a dirt bag,” Dury said.

“I'll be sure to stay off your enemies list,” Gary said.

“You two have ideas and talent,” Dury said. “I can make sure what we do is legal, but I can't build it or make it run. You two can.”

“We're the brawn, you're the brain, Dury. We like the sound of what you want to do,” Gary said. “And we'll do what we can to get it done.”

“I couldn't say it better,” Keith said. “You're the kind of man people are comfortable following, Dury, and I can't count the real friends I've had on one hand.”

“And one left you a gift that keeps on giving,” Gary said sadly.

“One left me a gift that keeps on giving, but he was way more than a friend,” Keith said. “Friendship will rarely get you in trouble, love will.”

“New Orleans?” Gary asked.

“New Orleans. He was the Brazilian waiter who came to work after I was the head chef. Jorge was hot and handsome. Smooth as silk and twice as nice. The first time he walked into my kitchen, he saw my jaw drop. I'd been with a couple of guys I met on the road. That was hardly love. I was experimenting,” Keith said.

“Jorge was your first love?” Dury asked.

“First and last. Once I had it, I wasn't sleeping with anyone. I didn't want to do to anyone what Jorge did to me. As much as I hate him, I still love him,” Keith admitted. “I don't sleep with guys because there aren't that many I like. It's easy not sleeping with them. Love complicates things too much for me.”

“That's love,” Gary said. “I still might love him right after I shot him.”

“I knew better. I knew to have safe sex. I knew the risk and I took it anyway. The rules didn't apply to Jorge. It took a year for me to find out I was positive,” Keith said. “Jorge was long gone. I didn't get sick for years. When I did I was sure I was going to die. I didn't mind, but I wanted to die outside.”

“That's when I met a lawyer on a park bench and he shared his tuna sandwich with me. I'm not sure what took place, but here I am, cooking again, and I'm happy and participating in the best adventure of my life.”

“He did that, 'Everything will be fine,' thing with me. I'd lost everything and someone said, 'You need to talk to Mr. Lane. He's an attorney. He'll know how to get your life back for you,” Gary said. “He did. I'd reached the end of my rope, until Dury said those magic words, 'It'll be fine.'”

“I was just there. You two came to me. I just did what I thought was needed. You've given me as much as I gave to you. I didn't break a sweat with your case, Gary. It just required time and patience. Keith, you've given me as much pleasure with the meals you cook as I've had in some time. Gary furnished the kitchen where you cook and this nice house. I'm the grateful one. I'd lost interest in life once I retired. I didn't know what to do. Then I met a guy in the park and he cooked for me and showed me where he once lived.”

“Saying we're all in this together sounds trite,” Gary said. “But, I'm just saying, I feel like we are.”

*****

“You do shuffle papers well, Mr. Lane.”

“My secretary has found the owners of thirteen of the seventeen shops. She talked to the advertising department at the Daily News. She's sent each an invitation to call me to make arrangements for a sale of said property. We should be able to find out something on the other four owners from the shop owners who contact us. They probably had agreements about what one shop was selling another shop couldn't sell.”

“Three of the shops on the second block, starting on the eastern most corner, are a dry cleaners. Next door, the fourth shop from the corner, is a laundry, complete with washers and dryers. I imagine the dry cleaners is registered somewhere. They're usually nationally certified by someone.”

“No one has broken in to get the coins out of the machines?” Dury asked.

“I just cleaned enough of the window to look inside. The shops appear to be in relatively good condition. It looks like they went out the door, locked it, and never went back,” Gary said.

“It is out of the way,” Dury said.

“Someone took the time to break the windows out of the factory buildings,” Gary said.

“They've been vacant a lot longer than the shops have,” Dury said.

“The dry cleaners closed last year. Some shops operated after that. Lisa would know,” Keith said.

“I never thought of Lisa,” Dury said. “Give her a call and see, Keith.”

“Don't forget I want gardens between the buildings,” Keith said. “Mainly I want to grow vegetables. Nothing better than fresh vegetables. Our climate means a year around growing season for some things. I want to have flower gardens, but we can put them on the other side of that ditch behind buildings two and three. Maybe walking paths will work over there by the forest.”

“The main kitchen will be in PV1. Look it over and make a sketch of where you want the gardens. Near the kitchen sounds good. There is plenty of room,” Dury said. “I'm going to look over the Kurtz buildings tomorrow. You can see where you want the garden and then talk to Lisa about the shops,” Dury said.

“As for the solar, you know what's best, Gary” Dury said. “For maintenance I was thinking a retired man who is handy and wants to stay busy,” Dury said. “He gets a cut-rate unit and an hourly wage for his work.”

“We can try that to start, but once all those units are filled, it'll require more than one man. We'll see how it goes on maintenance.”

“I do not want made in China on anything at Pleasant Valley. While they are perfectly lovely people, we aren't paying for products shipped from halfway around the world. That's as crazy as it sounds. Made in American means it comes from closer than Asia,” Dury said.

“Two room apartments with full bathrooms and some kitchen capability; small fridge, microwave, toaster oven, a single burner built in next to the sink. Plenty of outlets for a toaster and coffee maker. We might think of making the interior fixtures low enough so someone in a wheelchair can reach them easily. I’ll have to do exact measurements to see how many units we can put on each floor. We'll make the bedroom big enough that it can be divided into two rooms. That makes every unit a one or two bedroom. I'll do a working model to show you,” Gary said. “I use a company in Grand Rapids. They make room dividers. We'll build each unit for comfort, but the interior can be rearranged by using the room dividers.”

“I like that,” Dury said. “We'll have versatility to make living easier for those with special needs.”

“If you have elderly, they aren't going to like searching for the light switch,” Keith said.

“Make a floor on PV1 for people in chairs,” Dury said. “We shouldn't need more space than that. We'll add space in PV3 if needed. It'll be difficult to put people in a unit set up for chairs if they aren't in a chair.”

Gary took a drink and sat back with a thought that would cover chairs.

“I'll put plates in where we can change the fixtures in some units. It'll give us the versatility you want. A man in chair moves in, we lower the switches to the bottom plate, outlets to. I can put cabinets on a tracks. It will allow me to raise or lower them as needed. We'll be able to change a unit in a matter of hours. You're going to get folks that want to live near someone they know who already lives at Pleasant Valley. If we do what we say here, referrals will be numerous. We need to consider that. Not fill PV1 before we start putting people in PV2 and so on.”

“We'll keep some units open in each building. Sooner or later we'll be at capacity. People will be waiting for a unit to be available.”

“At maximum I figure one hundred and forty units. That means we could have as many as 250 people, although i suspect the number will cone in somewhere between 200 and 225. That's a guess.”

“I fed that many at one meal in New Orleans,” Keith said. “I can do 250 three times a day and furnish snacks and coffee cakes without breaking a sweat.”

“That's answers a question I had,” Dury said.

“We own the entire block, or we soon will, I'm a builder. If we see we don't have enough capacity, we'll put in PV4,” Gary said. “There is a lot of room and we can always build higher than three floors.”

“I don't want to be so big that we're crowding people out of the dining room or off the walking paths. We need to set a reasonable limit.”

“People like eating at different times. I don't imagine you'll ever fill up a good size dining room,” Keith said.

“We'll want to make it big enough we have some flexibility to change its configuration,” Dury said.

“I've been in cities that have little to offer the elderly and disabled. We don't just provide a nice place to live. We provide a place where they can feel alive,” Keith said. “If you set the dining room up with the room dividers. We can change it around if need be.”

“Once Pleasant Valley is up and running, it might encourage like minded people to duplicate what we're doing,” Gary said. “It's a great idea, Dury.”

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we might want to start the project before we pat ourselves on the back. The easy part has been done. Now that we own it, the work begins,” Dury said.

“I would be comfortable there,” Keith said.

“Aren't you comfortable here?” Dury asked.

“I am, but I'll have to get up at four in the morning to get to Pleasant Valley to have breakfast ready for the early risers,” Keith said.

“Or the people who don't sleep,” Gary said.

“We'll need to build Keith a small unit next to the main kitchen where he can relax. I expect you'll be able to recruit assistance in the kitchen. Breakfast isn't that complicated. You can't work from four in the morning through evening snacks,” Dury said. “I've seen you preparing a meal for the three of us. It takes you half a day. I won't have you getting sick, Keith. You need to pace yourself.”

“As with everything, we'll see how it goes. We haven't started work yet, Dury. I'll see how best to get things done. I'm a chef. I can supervise a kitchen. I also like to do the cooking in my kitchen. We'll work something out.”

“I like having you around, Keith. You’re unobtrusive and yet you're good company,” Dury said.

“Is anyone getting goosebumps here?” Gary asked. “This is real. It is happening. We're embarking on something special. I can feel it. A place where people care.”

“Damn, you never cease to amaze me, Gary. 'Pleasant Valley, where people care about you.' You just wrote the Pleasant Valley motto.”

“Ain't I something. No end to my talent. I can see it in neon.”

Chapter 16

Final Piece

At the house Dury sat in the kitchen wile Lucille while she did her final check to be sure she'd completed her tasks for the day. As she was leaving, Dury got up, warmed his coffee one last time, turning off the coffee maker. Walking through the dining room, and going into his office to wait for Gary's call.

Gary's meeting to make an offer on the apartments was set for ten. Dury halfway expected to hear from him by now, but if there was an issue they couldn't resolve, it might be days before the apartments changed hands. This was the ballgame. They either bought the apartments and Pleasant Valley was on its way, or he didn't and the other negotiations would be abandoned.

Dury was well aware that watching the phone was a fools errand, but he looked at it anyway. After five minutes he reached for his coffee to finish it before it got cold.

The phone rang.

“Hello,” Dury said, filtering all apprehension out of his voice.

“Dury, Gary here. How does $575,000 sound to you?” Gary asked.

“Sounds like a lot of money to me.”

“For the apartments?”

“How'd you arrive at $575,000?”

“He said seven. I said five. Somehow we ended up at $575,000.”

“He mention his ass was being sued for illegally evicting tenants who are disabled?”

“Why no, he didn't. You don't think he was unloading those apartments before he was hauled into court? He knew I was good for the money,” Gary said. “He'll take my company check.”

“You left that paperwork. He ran a credit check on your company. The words, as is, take it or leave it, didn't enter the conversation?” Dury asked.

“Yes, that came in at $600,000, which was his last offer, until I didn't respond right away. That's when his final final offer was $575,000. I did mutter something about what the cost of bring the apartments up to code.”

“How much was that?” Dury asked.

“Probably not as much as I led him to believe.”

“So you weren't being completely honest either?” Dury asked.

“No,” Gary said.

“Jean found the Dry Cleaners Association and is in touch with the owner of the cleaners and the laundry. We want the equipment and someone to instruct us on how to use it. That'll cost us a bit more. The owner has agreed to the per shop amount the other owners accepted. We haven't come to a final amount on the equipment but we aren't that far apart.”

“Good deal!” Gary said. “That wraps it. The cleaner was the final shop.”

“Do you have enough in your account for the apartments or should Jean get a cashiers check for the agreed on amount.”

“I'm fine, Dury. Why don't you hire Jean for Pleasant Valley?” Gary asked. “She didn't waste any time delivering the goods.”

“Can't afford her. She makes good money. My firm can afford her, but I can't.”

“What time for dinner?” Gary asked.

“Dinner?” Dury asked, caught off balance.

“I'll be coming over for drinks to celebrate. We own Pleasant Valley, Dury. Why waste a trip for drinks when I can get a free meal?”

“I'll get with Keith, but it's hardly free. $575,000 buys quite a meal.”

“I'll settle for what's in the fridge,” Gary said.

“I'll tell Keith three for dinner. He said he'd call before Lisa brings him home. They're talking to as many of the evicted men as they can today. I'll get him to pick up something at Pop's on his way home.”

“I've got one and a quarter in my construction company's account. I'll be fine until we start work. Then I'll need funds for materials and to pay laborers. Initially it will be mostly labor clearing out the Kurtz buildings. I have my best men lined up to start work on the apartments Monday. I'll get in there tomorrow, after the deal is made, and take one of the apartments apart. That's when I begin ordering materials for my crew to start work. I have some idea tomorrow what it will cost to remodel the apartments completely. We might want to get together tomorrow night and discuss it.”

“I'll set up an account to transfer funds to you. Call Jean with your account number. She'll be able to make a money transfer with a phone call.” Dury said.

“Sounds like a plan,” Gary said. “Seven o'clock for dinner?”

“Seven for drinks ,” Dury said. “See you then.”

*****

“Here's to Pleasant Valley,” Gary said, hoisting his glass for a toast. “To the partnership.”

“The partnership,” Dury and Keith agreed.

“Is that grape juice or is Keith drinking wine?”

“It's Chianti. I like the flavor. I don't drink alcohol as a rule because of the medication I'm taking.”

“Speaking of which,” Dury said, “You talked to the men who were evicted from the apartments? How did that go?”

“I didn't need to say much. I know them but we weren't close. Lisa told them about our plans. She told them we wanted them to move back. We talked to eleven that live fairly close together. Four are spread out around Charleston. Two died. Of the eleven we talked to, nine are ready to move back today.”

“We'll do the first floor and they can move back if that suits them,” Gary said. “Once we've done the first floor, the other two floors will go faster, but there will be noise eight to five every day, until the job is complete. There will be trucks coming and going, heavy traffic for the next month to six weeks. If that's OK with them, we can fit most of them on the first floor. First come first serve. There will be ten to twelve units on the first floor. We're looking at four months to complete all remodeling in the apartments. That's give or take a week or two either way.”

“That's fast,” Keith said. “I said six months.”

“My men know their business. My crew bosses work beside the laborers. I pay bonuses for coming in under time and budget. They don't waste time. The crew splits ten percent of what we save between them.”

“Nice touch,” Dury said. “I saw your men building this house. They did a fine job.”

“FYI, the first floor of PV1 will be done at the same time we're doing the apartments. We should have that floor completed and operational about the time the apartments are done. I'm allowing four months because it's going to take a while to strip them down to where we can start working on the interior. We'll be stripping out PV2 while we finish PV1. Then they'll begin on the interior of PV2. That'll take half the time as PV1. I'll have all my men on it and we won't be doing a full kitchen, which has to go last so the appliances aren't subjected to the dirt and dust kicked up by the construction.”

“So in four months I can cook in the kitchen at PV1?” Keith asked.

“In about four months we'll be putting in the kitchen and you can begin cooking for my crew and the people in the PV apartments.”

Keith smiled, liking the sounds of it.

“Cool,” was all he said.

“The kitchen will be built to Keith's specs at the back of PV1. It already has a small loading dock for deliveries and such. I need to spend a couple of days drawing up the plans for PV1. PV2 and 3 will be a different configuration. I do the plans for them after we're working on Pv1. We'll learn a lot on PV!. There will be more units in those buildings and less space for alternative activities. We'll have small kitchens in PV2 and 3. In bad weather we'll fix plates up the way we do to deliver them to each unit, and in bad weather we can deliver to all the units outside of PV1. That way everyone is always assured of hot food.”

“You're thinking ahead,” Dury said. “Once you come up with a floor plan for PV1, we can sit down and discuss it. See what other ideas we come up with. Keith will get the final say on food preparation and delivery. We'll have a place in each building where food can be kept warm as volunteers deliver them..”

“As it should be,” Gary said, sipping from his glass. “How are the men doing you saw today, Keith.”

“Surprisingly, with the added stress they've been subjected to, they seem well. Lisa described what we're doing and most want to move to a place where everyone is treated like they're wanted there. It's not what gay men are accustomed to. I've got to admit, I like the sounds of it more and more.”

“That's good. We'll make this move as easy on them as we can,” Dury said.

“No perspective husbands in the group, Keith?” Gary asked.

“That sounds so strange. My entire life I've been unable to talk about such things to the people I work around. No, I haven't given marriage a thought. A few years back, when Prop 8 was on the ballot, I thought maybe I would be married one day. When they voted against marriage in California, I figured I'd never see gay marriage except in the most liberal states. I haven't given marriage a thought since Prop 8. It's too big a change in too little time to process it. I'll always be the boy no one wanted anything to do with. I was the queer boy, the fag. I won't know how to handle not being insulted everywhere I go.”

“It is sad,” Dury said. “It takes very few people to decide an issue for all the people. I think it was Mormons in California. They invested a lot of money in defeating gay marriage in California. Most of us thought California was a sure thing. It wasn't. The issue is simple. It's covered by the equal protection amendment of of the constitution. We either have equal rights under the law, or we don't.”

“Dollars decide what wins,” Gary said. “What I'm asking is, are there any boy friends or prospects, Keith. Your still young.”

“No prospects? When I left the hospital, the day I met Dury, my life was over. I had nothing to live for. I was forty-four and going downhill fast. For the first time in my life, I'm planning a future. One step at a time, Gary. I haven't given up finding someone I like and who likes me.”

“I remember,” Dury said. “I noticed your hopelessness, but I'm not that sharp most days. I was worrying about wasting another half tuna sandwich.”

“Lots of prospects now. I'm going to be cooking again. I'm part of a great new idea to create a place where people want to live together. What a great prospect that is.”

“Speaking of which, Keith isn't the only guy I met and took in.”

“Do tell,” Gary said. “I'm sensing a secret homosexual side to you, Dury.”

“It was the first guy I ever listen to who wasn't in my tight circle in D.C. He altered my consciousness, you might say. He's was a hippie. At school we were told that hippies were dirty traitors, who renounced America and were too lazy to work. When I met Dusty, he wasn't any of the things hippies were said to be. I'd started to recognize that there were many things I wasn't told the truth about.”

“I detect some drugs in this conversation. Out with it, Lane. Let's here about your dalliance in the counter-culture. D.C. had to attract a lot of hippies.”

“Yes, it did. Get a drink. I'll tell you about Dusty. You can draw your own conclusions. It's odd how similar the situations were as when I met Keith,” Dury said.

*****

“One Saturday afternoon, while I was sitting around my Georgetown dorm, waiting to hear when to report to Columbia Law for the beginning of my training to be a lawyer, I decided I’d walk over to Georgetown’s business district for some Little Tavern burgers. I was addicted to Little Tavern hamburgers. I rarely went home while taking summer courses at Georgetown.

“It was only a few minutes’ walk, and as I came out of a store with a cup of coffee, right across the street was this shirtless and shoeless kid strumming a guitar. I recognize the tune from Dupont Circle, where my friends and I went to watch the dirty trouble making hippies. They'd started filtering into town the summer before and their numbers had increased.

“I’d heard the song before, when I went with my friends to Dupont Circle. Hippies had their own music, which they sang when they gathered in groups. The clothes they wore were bright and the colors rarely matched. Often the attire for boys consisted of jeans and little else. What clothes they had were rarely clean. This guy wore the customary jeans and had a guitar.

“It was July in Washington D. C. and I guess you could survive in just jeans, but I wouldn't want to do it. It was rare to catch one of the hippies alone, but it was rare to catch me without my three friends. Summer classes separated us that year, but when my transcript reached Columbia, I needed another history credit to take my place in the class of 1967, and so when I saw the lone hippie, I decided to approach him and see what I could learn about his condition.

“I stood sipping my coffee, listening to his voice as it filtered across the lightly traveled avenue. He didn't seem to mind not having an audience. He watched his fingers as he strummed and sang softly.

“I walked over to where he sat on a small patch of lawn. Opportunity was knocking for me to learn more about who hippies were. He still watched his fingers and sang. His hair was long and very blond. It flowed over his shoulders and down onto the guitar.

He may have been my age or maybe he was a bit younger than me.

“Looking up from his fingers, flashing me a friendly smile, he sang, ‘…And the times they are a changing,’ and he whistled the part I’d heard played on a harmonica in Dupont Circle. ‘Dylan,’ he said for my benefit. ‘Thomas?’ I kidded. ‘Bobby’ he corrected me without disapproving. ‘for a drink of java, I’ll play you some Guthrie,’ he offered.

“I held out the cup and the smile greeted the offering. He shook his long hair back out of his eyes to see what he was drinking. ‘Who is Guthrie?’ I asked. The smile suddenly disappeared. A concerned look overtook his face. ‘Oh, man, you are far out. You don’t know Woodie Guthrie? This land is your land, this land is my land,…,’ he sang and I listened.”

“I did recognize Guthrie after a few seconds.”

“'That’s Woodie. He wrote and sang the people’s music. Arlo, his son, sings like this, ‘You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant, ‘ceptin’ Alice,” he sang happily. Arlo’s no Woodie, but he is Arlo,” the boy explained to me in words that made for a strange logic.”

“He strummed on changing cords and making his fingers dance on the strings in a flourish of motion that sent his hair over his arms and over the top part of the guitar.

“’Woodie is where it’s at, dude. The original hippie, you know.’ ‘I recognize it. We used to sing it in 7th grade,’ I shared. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘You’re cool, man. You look a bit square, but anyone who knows Woodie is cool with me.’ I drank from my coffee cup and handed it back to the guitarist.

“‘Where you from?’ I asked. ‘Out there, man. I’m strolling down the road of life, don't you know. Staying out of the draft. Don’t want to catch no cold, don't you know. Don’t want to mess with the man,’ he said, handing the coffee back to me before strumming some careful notes as he watched his fingers working the strings. ‘Hendrix,’ he said. ‘He’s from Seattle, you know. I was from Seattle before I was from here. Man can have his way with a guitar, you know? Hendrix. He’s electric. He makes it sing. Plays with his teeth, man. He is the most. He's where it's happening. Makes you a believer. It’s not easy doing him on an acoustic.’”

“He watched his fingers and I watched them too. His fingers were long and delicate. His blond hair hung over tanned shoulders. His intense blue eyes studied the guitar, me, the coffee cup, and then came his smile each time I offered the coffee to him. I told him to finish it. He needed it more than I did.”

“’Where are you heading?’ I asked. ‘Nowhere, man,’ he smiled, singing, “Nowhere man, he’s going. No where, man. I'm not going anywhere. It's cool here.’

“'How do you know so much music?’ I asked him.”

“’I listen. I pick it up by ear. I’m a pianist by trade. Can’t take a piano on the road, you know, man. People would look at you funny you did,’ he said, not looking at me.”

“’You didn’t say where you were going,’ I said, figuring everyone was going somewhere. ‘I’m busy being here right now, man. I’m feeling good vibes right here, since you came. It’s cool here,’ he said, letting his eyes catch mine again. ‘not so cool you need a shirt or shoes,’ I said. He laughed and ended the laughter with a smile. ‘Cool is fine, OK, all right, man, as in, I like it. You are cool too. I thought you might be a narc with that do you got, but you’re too easy to be the man. I think you have real potential, you know. I’m Dusty, man,’ he said, giving up the guitar strings to extend his hand for me to shake. ‘I’m Dury Lane,” I said, and he took his hand back, after the shake. He strummed and sang, ‘Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes,' he sang in a mellow tone, watching his fingers as they delivered a tune I felt good about.

“’Who is Penny Lane?’ I asked. ‘No one, man. It’s a place. You don’t get out much, do you? That’s the Beatles, man. They’re the most. Your name is Lane. 'Penny Lane is in my eyes and in my ears.' They’re happening right now, man,’ he told me. ‘I’ve heard of them at school. Sounded like bugs to me,’ I observed. ‘Oh, man, are you ever out of it. Watch my lips, dude. Beat, beat, Beat-les. It’s a play on words, dude. They’re so far out there no one will ever catch them. You heard Pepper? Everyone’s heard Pepper,’ he said. ‘I won’t ask what happened to the salt,’ I said. ‘Oh, man, you know how to hurt a guy. You got to know the Beatles, man. They are where it’s at.’”

“’Couldn’t you get a job doing what you do? You’re quite good, Dusty. Someone would hire you to entertain,’ I said. ‘Oh, man, you do know how to hurt a guy. I have dignity, don't you know. I’m doing it here for you, dude. Work? Work? I make music to give the world a tune to fill its heart. It’s what I do. Do you work, dude?’ ‘No,’ I said. ‘I’m in school. Georgetown. It's not far.”

“He smiled again, ‘There you have it. An educated draft dodger. I have to admire that. I, on the other hand, am an uneducated dodger of the draft. If I had a brain I’d be in school, dude. School wasn't my gig. I didn't get teachers or textbooks. All I have is a song in my soul and love in my heart, man. Don't need to kill no one to prove I'm a man, man. That's bogus, dude. The world needs someone to make them smile. Hard to want to kill someone while you're feeling the love. You can sing along if you like,’ he said. ‘I don’t know the words,’ I said. ‘That’s the trouble with this world. No one knows the words and they can’t sing together, so they kill each other over there, man. Bummer, man. A real bummer, don't you know?’”

“’Hungry?’ I asked, looking for a way to extend our conversation, even if I wasn't sure what he was talking about. I liked Dusty. ‘Does a bear shit in the woods, dude? I’m always hungry, man. I’ll play you Biaz for a burger. She’s a righteous chick, you know,’ he told me. ‘I don’t know her either,’ I confessed, hoping it didn’t eliminate me from further communication. ‘I saw Joe Hill last night. He was alive as you and me,’ he sang in a higher sweeter voice. ‘Union organizer, Joe Hill. The man killed him a long long time ago,’ he explained. 'The man don't dig the union but Joe Hill wouldn't back down. So they hanged his ass for recommending worker's rights for the workers.'”

“I felt strange, but good, being around Dusty, While I’m not a guy who likes or dislikes people at first sight, I liked him. I knew I shouldn't. He spoke English, but he had a strange way of arranging his words. When he made an effort to explain what he meant, I usually got it, I wondered if this is how it would go when the first Martians lands on the Mall?”

“No, after capping them with AR-15s, communication is most likely going to stop,” Gary said.

“Hardly, Gary. This was the sixties. It wasn’t necessary to carry a gun. Hippies believed in love and peace, not necessarily in that order.”

“I took Dusty to the Little Tavern. We ate a dozen hamburgers a piece,” Dury said. “I loved those things.”

“Damn, you really pigged out,” Keith said.

“The hamburgers were ten cents a piece. Two bites to a burger and you had to watch your fingers. I liked them with the grilled onions and mustard. The Coke cost fifteen cents. Once we were stuffed, I took him back to my dorm. We’d been warned to steer clear of the dirty hippies. They were troublemakers and the administration would kick you out of school if you associated with such rabble,” Dury said.

“On Saturday afternoon no one was at school. I had the place to myself. Some of the brothers walked from their quarters to church, but one glance told you if anyone was on the quad. I wanted to give Dusty an opportunity to shower. I had a pair of sandals I never wore and I wanted to find him a shirt. He was tickled pink about it all. He was a nice guy.”

“I offered him one of my Georgetown shirts and he just looked shocked. ‘I don’t do establishment apparel, man. You got something with a peace sign? My shoulders are getting a little burnt,’ he said. ‘Summer you know.’”

“He looked like a different guy. His hair was two shades lighter. I was never attracted to a man, but Dusty had something that drew me in. I wanted to know him. I felt comfortable being around him.”

“As comfortable as you were with your buds?” Gary asked.

“Yes, that’s the strangest part. I felt like I’d known him all my life. Except for the language problem, we weren’t all that different. He sat on the chair at my desk and took off the towel he’d worn back from the shower to dry his hair.

“He leaned his head to one side, running the towel carefully over one section of hair at a time. Naked as a jaybird and never said a word as he delicately dried his hair. No one was ever naked at the dorm. I could count on one hand the guys I’d seen naked. It didn’t bother him and it didn’t bother me. That surprised me.

“’You’re not bashful,” I said, finding it hard not to see him. ‘Hard to take a shower without stripping down. No, I ain’t got nothing everyone else hasn’t got.’ Feels good to get out of those tight jeans for a while. My balls were sweating,’ he said. ‘You don’t wear underwear?’ I asked. ‘Underwear don’t travel well. It’s the first thing you ditch.’”

“I couldn’t argue with his logic. I figured out the same thing a few months later. When you’re on the move, underwear is a luxury,” Dury said.

“That’s not exactly sexual. I’ve seen my share of guys naked. Nothing sexual in it,” Gary said.

“Speak for yourself,” Keith said. “Naked guys still make me nervous. They don’t know I don’t find them attractive. Because I’m gay doesn’t mean I find every man irresistible. They’re quite resistible to me. Damn few I’d make time with. Naked men still make me nervous.”

“What happened?” Gary asked.

“Dusty was a natural man and without hangups, according to him. I liked that about him too. I’d had the same three friends all my life. I knew a lot of guys I went to school with over the years, but Dusty was in a league all his own. At a different time, in a different place, we’d have been friends. I’m sure he liked me too.”

“What’s not to like. You gave him the shirt off your back and your coffee too,” Gary said.

“We sat and talked. He leaned his guitar against my desk. With a haircut he’d have fit right in at Georgetown, but he couldn’t stay indoors at night. He said he had to sleep outside. He feared the cops trapping him inside somewhere.

“I walked him back off campus and when we were on the sidewalk just above Key Bridge, I said, ‘I can’t be out past eight. They lock the dorms. No one is around and I don’t want to be locked out,’ I explained. ‘Cool, man. Thanks. You’re a righteous dude. If you get out to Seattle, ask for Dusty. Everyone knows me around the U,’ he told me. ‘The U?’ I asked. ‘Everyone know the U. It’s where it’s at in Seattle. Just ask where the U is. If the draft don’t get me, I’ll be there once I split from being here.’

“He turned and started to walk away. Hesitating, he turned back, and the next thing I knew, his arms were around me. I felt the guitar against my butt. His lips brushed my neck ever so slightly. Before I knew it, I was hugging him back. I didn’t even think about it. My arms just ended up around him and his warm cheek was pressed against mine. I wasn’t a hugger, but we hugged for a minute or more. Just stood there holding each other on the street. I’d never had feelings like that before. I mean he was such a nice easy going guy.”

“Ought Oh,” Gary said. “I’d say you did have a thing with a dude, dude.”

“You were simpatico. You identified with each other. A hug is a hug it isn’t love,” Keith said.

“I never hugged anyone in my life like that, until I met Beverly. I didn’t want to let him go. I thought about him a lot. I thought about what I was told and how my government had lied yet again, labeling hippies as something other than guys trying not to die in Vietnam. “That’s what made hippies so dangerous. They wouldn’t just jump into a uniform and go die because a bunch of old men decided that’s what they should be doing,” Dury said.

“He turned You hippie?” Gary asked.

“Almost,” Dury said. “It was only a few weeks before I found out I wasn’t going to Columbia Law School that year. It was a couple of weeks before I knew Arnold Prentice died over there.”

“I pulled out the letter from Dr. Lester and memorized his address. I was going to Seattle to see what I could find out in the U.”

“You were going to find Dusty?” Keith said. “You don't fool me.”

“Yes, I was. I wouldn’t find him but I looked for him everywhere I went. I asked everyone I met if he knew Dusty. I still don’t know why I was obsessed with talking to him again.

“He told it like it was. He didn't have an agenda, except to stay out of Vietnam,” Gary said. “Smart and honest.”

“It was the only time in my memory up until then that I wasn't in school or planning to go to school. When I didn't get into Columbia, I took my show on the road. I went to Seattle.”

*****

“Well, gentlemen, this contractor has a lot of work to do. I've got to start ordering materials and get ready to go to work on the apartments. In a few weeks we should be working in the apartments and in PV1,” Gary said.

“Can't wait to start cooking,” Keith said.

“I've invited Leo to open a shop closest to the apartments. He's going to set it up and pay all the costs and his son will service the construction workers,” Dury said.

“Leo's. We met over his tuna fish sandwich,” Keith said.

“We did,” Dury agreed.

Chapter 17

Welcome to Pleasant Valley

Dury left the house at nine thirty to meet Gary in Pleasant Valley. Keith was busy checking on the latest in restaurant kitchen equipment. They were ready to order what would go into his kitchen.

For the past few weeks Dury had been moving paper and money around to make the purchases needed to create Pleasant Valley. He hadn't been to St. James since the construction started. He didn't want to go where the work was going on and just be in the way.

Dury was comfortable in an office setting and he felt out of place on a job site. That didn't mean his curiosity hadn't been on the rise. He just felt a bit awkward taking Gary away from the work. He kept busy and wasn't going to St. James until Gary asked him to come down.

The night before, the first night Gary had come over for dinner since the construction started, the talk was all about Pleasant Valley.

“Hey, Dury, you need to come see what we're doing. It's beginning to take shape. We're starting work on the remodel of the apartments, and PV1 has been stripped out. Tomorrow we'll start work on the first floor of PV1.”

Gary started work at seven each morning and he asked Dury to come down around ten, when he was expecting a special delivery he'd be on St. James to direct t to the proper location.

Dury began to whistle as he drove down Jackson Highway, making a left on St. James. This was his first visit to the property since the paperwork was done and he arranged for the property to go into the Pleasant Valley Foundation.

Dury noticed a lot more dirt on the street. It was dustier than before and a man with a broad broom was sweeping crossways on the street a little above the shops. Dury remembered they were gutting the Kurtz property, trucking the debris to a dump. It had rained recently, making the sweeping necessary.

Dury pulled off St. James and parked between the two blocks of shops. Trucks were lined up as far as he could see in front of him. He walked by a dozen trucks loaded with building supplies. He could see forklifts unloading two flatbed trucks near the loading dock of PV1.

Gary waved when he saw Dury walking toward him.

“Hey, Manny, take over for me. The wire is scheduled for ten o'clock,” Gary said, looking at his watch. “It's seven minutes of ten. Go to each truck. Tell the drive's that the wire goes first. It's going straight inside of one. I don't want a half million pounds of building materials blocking the wire when my electricians get here in the morning. The rest of the trucks go in order, after the wire.”

“You got it, boss.”

“Nice seeing you, Dury,” Gary said, meeting him at the door. “This is where the action is. Nice touch opening a coffee shop for us.”

“Welcome to Leo's #2, Mr. Lane. Coffee?” Leo's son Sammy asked.

“By all means. I'm due for a couple of cups. I got a late start. You have those sticky buns I used to get in the morning at Leo's #1?”

“Two?” Sammy asked.

“Yeah, if Gary doesn't want one, I'll eat his,” Dury said. “My cook hasn't been home for two days.”

“Don't worry. I'm ready for a shot of sugar,” Gary said. “Keith's in the kitchen every time I look. He really likes it.”

“I came expecting to look for you, and you're right in the middle of the action,” Dury said smiling.

“I can't sit down somewhere and watch my guys work. I do what they do and I'm still able to pull my weight,” Gary said.

“You look the best I've seen you look in a while. Dusty, too.”

“I'd rather be busy than sitting on my butt, taking up space. I love watching it from the street up. We start with nothing and when we're done, we've got a community.”

The happy looking young man hurried his coffee delivery to the two men.

“Buns are heating. Takes a minute for those.”

“How's your dad, Sammy,” Dury asked as Sammy went back to check on the buns.

“Good. He's good. Loves being here to open up while you guys build. He's been talking about opening a second shop for some time. When the other guy came in to ask him to consider putting a shop here, he was delighted.”

“Other guy? Who set this up, Gary?” Dury asked.

“Keith and Lisa. It's symbolic Keith said. Sort of a testimony to where this entire project started. Over one of Leo's sandwiches, wasn't it?”

“I'll be. I told Keith he'd be in charge of food. I never thought of having a sandwich shop for the workers,” Dury said.

“I suppose I should have let Keith explain it to you.”

“Just like Keith. He thinks of the details that can make a big different. He knows the restaurant business.”

“He didn't need to do much thinking. Dad knew being here for the construction workers would be good for them and us,” Sammy said. “We moved the equipment in last weekend and we opened Monday.”

“This is Gary. He's one of my partner. He's in charge of the building. Keith, is my other partner. He's a chef, Sammy.”

“He never told me that,” Sammy said. “I'll have to ask him for some tips.”

“Don't be surprised if he asks you some questions. He likes picking up tips on preparing any kind of food.”

“You get what you want on the house. Dad said your money is no good here. Getting the space for free while the construction goes on is enough for us to gain a foothold for when the residents begin moving in. You made it easy for him to do what he wanted to do,” Sammy said.

A minute later Sammy was back with the buns.

“Thank Leo for me,” Dury said. “Your father's a fine man. Tell him I appreciate his thoughtfulness.”
Gary watched the windows, still worried about the wire. It was ten o'clock.

“I'm not keeping you from anything, Gary?”

“No. I get like this. I have a couple of things to attend to and I'll be on edge until they're done.”

“How's Fran?”

“Fran is happy I found something to do. She thanks you for getting me out of the house, Dury. We’re all happy about doing something. After forty years of doing something, it’s hard to do nothing for as long as I've been doing it. Every man in my crew was anxious to go back to work for me. A couple have jobs they're promised to do, but they'll join us when they finish.”

“It's funny how good a routine is. I was barely alive when I met Keith. I'd lost my way. I had no interest in anything. Can you imagine it? A relatively uneducated sick gay man put the fire back into my life. You can never know what life will bring you next,” Dury said. “I'd begun to think retirement was a mistake.”

“To be honest with you, I've never had a gay friend before. I've known guys I figured were gay. Keith is a dynamic fellow. He isn't pushy but you can't help but notice him. He may be relatively uneducated, but he's given me things to think about.”

“The same can be said of you, Gary. You came into my life like any of a thousand clients over the years. I can't tell you where any of them are. You did build my house around the corner from your house,” Dury said.

“After Bev.... I didn't do much but work. When I retired last year, I didn't realize the only thing I had was work. I had no social life, but slowly retirement has proved to be the pathway to a new life. It's what I was hoping for. It took a little while to surface.”

“To tell the truth,” Gary said. “I built the house so I didn't have far to drive when I went to your house for drink.”

Dury laughed.

“This is new to me, Gary. There's an energy here that wasn't here before. I woke up not knowing what my life would look like tonight. For forty years I knew what my life would be like every day, day in and day out. The law moves slowly and precisely. There were rare exceptions when a day had some excitement. Mostly it was routine. Now I have no idea what will happen by tonight.”

“I've got the building end of the project covered. I want you to know what is going on while it's going on, Dury. I don't want you wasting a lot of time standing around while nothing is going on. We'll continue meet as often as you like at your house, but Fran is beginning to wonder what's going on. Maybe I'll bring her one evening. She'll see how boring we are. She'll love anything Keith cooks for sure.”

“Whatever night you say. Keith will want to do something nice.”

“Fran asked me to reach out to you when Bev passed. I didn't want to intrude. I didn't know what to say, Dury,” Gary said.

“I understand, Gary. You wake up one morning and the woman you love is gone forever. People try to say something to help. Nothing does. Time is all that helps. You never forget the hole inside you, and you aren't really alive. Then, one day you begin to come back to life, and here we are,” Dury said. “We are doing something that matters. It's good to be able to do something for others.”

“That's pretty much the way I saw it,” Gary said. “We did worry about you.”

“This matters, Gary. It's startling how fast we got the project off the ground. You knew what to do to get the most out of what was already here. I can't wait to see Pleasant Valley when it's done and full of people. We're going to make this one of the most special place to live anywhere. You know more about what I’m doing than I do, but I’m alive again. I’m doing something that would make Bev proud of me, and that's a good thing.”

Dury didn’t know when Gary put his hand on his forearm, but once he finished talking it was there. He wanted to squirm out from under the touch of his friend, but he resisted the urge. He overcame being uneasy about Gary's touch. In the end Dury put his hand on top of Gary’s hand. He patted it lightly and reassuringly. It's the kind of thing good friends did.

The silence said more than any words could say.

“Hey! Hey!” Gary yelled through the glass. “I got to get out there or they’ll bury my wire. I’ll be right back, Dury. Sammy, two more of those honey buns. I’ll be right back,” Gary said, charging into the street.

All activity stopped in its tracks when Gary yelled, “Stop!”

“Manny, what are you doing to me?” Gary asked. “The wire goes first.”

“Tell this truck driver that. He blocked the lane. He won't move. He says he is next,” Manny yelled as Gary kept coming.

“Tell you what, Mack. You get back in the lane where I put you. My wire is going to be unloaded next,” Gary said before pausing to see the driver turning colors.

“I can tell you don't like my plan. Well, I tell you what, Mack!” Gary said, getting louder and using his index finger on the man's chest. They now stood chin to chin. “You got two minutes to straighten my road out so my wire can get where it needs to go. If you still think you're running my job site after two minutes, you can take your load back where you got it. Then you tell your dispatcher, I never want you on one of my job sites again. What's it going to be, Mack?”

The driver got back into his truck and maneuvered it back in line. The rest of the truckers stood watching the confrontation.

Gary moved into the open lane and yelled, “Bring the wire down and tell them it goes inside of PV1, Manny. I'll be down there in five minutes.”

“You got it, boss,” Manny said. “OK, go straight down to where the forklifts are operating at the back of that first building.”

As the first truck with the wire passed, Gary walked back into Leo's #2 without looking back. The truck drivers made sure they knew where Gary was.

“I'll need to go down there after this next round of coffee.”

“Making friends and influencing people I see,” Dury said, unable to hide his amusement at Gary taking charge with a guy half again his size. There was no question about who was in charge.

“Truck drivers! God love them,” Gary said softly.

Sammy brought two more honey buns he'd been warming. He brought back the coffee pot to refill their mugs.

“Thank you, Sammy,” Gary said. “This will get me to lunch. It's enough sugar to last the rest of the week,” Gary said. “I don't need it but I love it.”

“You seem to be on top of things. You even know what truck you want where?”

“Only those two trucks I waved through are important today. The rest of the building material will be kept on hand so we don't have any delays waiting on material. The electric lines need to be strung before the walls go up. Truck drivers are good hard working folks, but you give one an inch and you'll regret it. I know what I'm doing. I know what goes where. There's no wiggle room. You do what I tell you or you're history.”

“I had no question about it,” Dury said with a smile. “I was hoping I didn't need to go out there and rescue you.”

Gary laughed, since Dury was far less substantial than he was.

“There's a lot of testosterone a construction site. The trick is to keep it working for you. It's how things run smoothest.”

“You’ve gotten out in front of everything. I haven’t seen you work since you built my house. I remember how involved you were. I don’t know enough to ask any intelligent questions, but it's obvious you have things under control. Pleasant Valley is in good hands.”

“Exciting, isn’t it, Lane. This is what I like most about being a builder. I love seeing it fall into place. Then when it's done, I stand on the highest ground to see the finished project.”

“A little like God on the seventh day, I'd say,” Dury said.

“More like a developer on the last day. We're way ahead of where most jobs start. Having good buildings already standing makes it easy. Gutting them doesn't take any skill.”

“I can see that, Gary. Most men in your position would have three foreman between him and the work,” Dury said.

“I need to get my hands dirty. I need to know what’s going into the work. I work with the electricians, the plumbers, and I’ll be up on the roof to watch the roofers,” Gary said. I know right away when I see something I don't like.”

“I remember how many times you brought me the plans when I came out to watch the builders.”

“I wanted you to have the house you wanted, not the one I wanted to build. I was careful to spend more time with you than usual, but I owed you, regardless of what you say. You got my life back for me. It's not something I'll forget.”

“I can see you still have your touch.”

“Like Keith, I’m not well educated. I know what I know. One thing you learn on a job site, who is giving you your money's worth.”

“Like Keith, you’re smarter than the average bear. You both made the most of what you had to work with. School makes people like me believe we are the movers and shakers. I can't build anything. I can't cook. My entire life is about moving words about so they say what I need them to say to prove my case. Once the case is done, nothing is built, but I've made six hundred dollars per hour.”

“You did right by me, words or no words.”

“What do you pay the young man with the broom by Jackson Highway?”

“I started him at eight. He wandered down to PV1 early this morning looking for work. Was he sweeping?”

“Yes, he was. There's a lot of dirt for one broom,” Dury said. “It'll take a month for him to sweep up that dirt.”

“I have a street sweeper parked at my headquarters. Once the trucks are finished running, I'll bring it down and it'll sweep up the entire street in a few hours.”

“So why a kid with a broom? Sounds like a duplication of effort.”

“You give him a boring task and leave him alone the first day. If he sticks with it and comes back the second day, you may have found someone an apprentice. If he comes back for a month, you put him to work with a crew he likes. Let him do what he likes. He learns a trade and I have another phone number in my Rolodex to call for the next job.”

“How many last the first day?” Dury asked.

“Half,” Gary said. “I was the kid forty years ago. I got to carry bricks my first day. I don't know what a kid is going to give me, but if I don't give him a chance, I lose out. If he's still sweeping after three hours, odds are he'll be there at quitting time.”

“That's quite smart. Something else I'd never consider. It would be a shock if I hired a boy to sweep the floors at the firm and he turned out to be a lawyer.” “I would too,” Gary said. “That's the good thing about the kids who ask me for work. They ain't going to be no lawyers but they might become a cracker jack carpenter.”

“I'll leave St. James alone. I have a crew coming to put in an entry and exit road from the top of St. James to the Kurtz property. They'll also take away the broken pavement back there. This will be the last of the trucks to use St. James,” Gary said.

“We'll store building materials between PV 1 and 2. We'll clean up St. James and it will only be for cars down to the first block of shops. I'll put a parking lot behind the shops and next to the apartments. We can build a parking structure under ground in the future. Keeping the traffic down as you said you wanted.”

“I like it. Where are the apartments?”

“They're ready to start the building inside. Some of the material out there now will go into the apartments. We'll have the first floor done in six weeks and the other two floors done two months after that. Everyone living there now has made arrangements to live elsewhere until the work is done,” Gary said.

“Tomorrow the electricians start work on Pv1. By the time we're on the second floor of PV1 we'll be moving people into the apartments,” Gary said, revising things Dury already knew. “I expect to do each floor in a month, once the first floor of PV1 is done. That floor has all the extras in it and will take three months to complete and have operational.”

*****

Four months after Gary and Dury met at Leo's #2 that Keith cooked his first meal in the PV1 kitchen. He served twenty people who came for Pleasant Valley's first dinner. The idea that arose out of Dury and Keith going to Keith's old apartments, was taking shape.

Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and fresh peas was the simple meal Keith decided on. It officially opened Pleasant Valley.

Keith mostly moved around the dining room to be sure the meal went well.”

The men evicted from the apartments by the former owner, had mostly moved back by then. All but two intended to return. They were the guests of honor at dinner and everyone had a gay old time.

“Please! I'd like to offer a toast,” Dury said, standing at the head of several tables Keith had pushed together for the affair. “Gentleman, and lady,” he said, smiling at Lisa. “Welcome to Pleasant Valley. We hope this will be your home for a long time.”

*****

The day after the first meal, Keith was in the kitchen early to have breakfast ready for anyone who wandered in. He wanted to be familiar with the peculiarity of the appliances he. By shortly afternoon, Keith had made potato salad and two dozen roast beef sandwiches on rye or white. Half had his favorite German mustard and half had a mixture of raw horseradish and Miracle Whip that was Keith's invention..

Keith was ready to serve anyone who got word that the dining room was open. He put lunch in Styrofoam containers so workers could take them. Residence would be served on PV China if they came in a sat in the dining room.

Just before one, Keith stepped outside onto a porch where employees could eat at one of the picnic tables there. As he surveyed PV2, where the activities were moving to start work there.

As Keith looked toward the lake, which was slowly being filled each time it rained, he saw Gary at the edge of the lake. Keith went inside to collect a lunch ready to eat. He carried it over to where Gary was working.

“Hi, Gary,” Keith said. “Brought you lunch.”

“Is it lunch time already?” Gary asked, looking at his watch.

“It's close to one. Thank you, Keith. I am hungry.”

“How's business?” Gary asked. “The residents discover your talent yet?”

“It's Slow. They know I'm open. Lisa hasn't eaten. I might get her to spread the word when she comes over. I made a broccoli soup, but it's not to go.”

“Pull it back up, Gary,” a voice yelled from below the rim of the lake.

Gary pulled up a measuring device.

The next time Keith looked a dark haired man with no shirt was pulling himself up over the side.

Keith was staring.

“Oh, bring a lunch for Carl, Keith,” Gary said.

Keith wasn't listening.

“Keith!” Gary said, before seeing where he was looking.

“Hungry Kane?” Gary tried.

“Yeah, I could eat a monkey's a....,” the handsome man said, seeing Keith for the first time. “Sorry. Yes, I'm starved.”

“Will a roast beef sandwich and potato salad work for you?” Keith asked, holding his gaze.

“Oh, Keith,” Gary recovered. “This is Carl Kane. He's my building engineer. Keith's our partner and the best cook I've ever known. He's responsible for Pleasant Valley's kitchen. If you're hungry he's the man to see.”

“Hello,” Keith said.

“Hi. Roast beef would be fine. I'm sorry I was so crude,” Carl said.

“That's no problem. I'll bring you back a meal. You can eat inside or the workers just sit where they feel comfortable,” Keith said.

“Thanks,” Carl said as Keith turned to go back to the kitchen.

Once inside, Keith found he needed to catch his breath.

*****

Later that afternoon, Keith was preparing the chickens to be roasted for dinner. There was a knock at the door. When he opened it, Carl was there.

“Doors not locked. Just walk in,” Keith said. “I will have things ready to eat for workers. They don't need to wait. “Do you need something, Carl?”

Carl had moved over behind him, but Keith didn't look.

“I was afraid I left you with a bad impression of me. I'm not usually that crude. It's almost second nature on a job site,” Carl said.

“I'm not offended by that kind of thing.”

“I couldn't help but notice that you noticed me.”

“Oh, that. It's nothing to worry about. I stare at all gorgeous men with great bodies. It was nothing personal. I know, it's a bad habit,” Keith said, not daring to look at Carl while he spoke.

“I'll be on the job site every day. I wanted to clear the air.”

“I just cook the food. You're fine. It's a construction site. You don't need to mind your manners around me.”

“I noticed the way you looked. I've been around, Keith,” Carl said.

“You've got nothing to worry about. I know my place. You do what you're going to do and it'll be fine.”

Keith tried not to look but he ended up looking at Carl anyway. He had his shirt on. His hair was combed. His face was clean. He was still gorgeous.

“What I meant to say, it's not easy for a guy who looks like me. I can't go anywhere without being hit on.”

“Carl, don't make a glance into something it isn't,” Keith said. “I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable. This is where I work. I'm here most of the time. We won't see each other if you don't come to get food.”

“You're not making this easy,” Carl said.

“Look, I'm in the middle of getting dinner ready. I need to pay attention to what I'm doing. I can't with you here,” Keith said, regaining some control.

“I came to say thanks for lunch. It was perfect. Now, I'll just say, goodbye, and get out of your way.”

Keith smiled and Carl headed toward the door.

“Dinner will be ready after four. You're welcome to eat with us. We're just getting underway and I'm a bit nervous. I don't want to make you feel unwelcome.”

“Should I dress?” Carl asked, finally flashing a radiant smile.

Keith pictured him coming to eat in the nude.

“That does present interesting possibilities. Nothing fancy. What you have on is fine,” Keith said. “We are relaxed here.”

“See you in a couple of hours,” Carl said, leaving.

*****

Something had happened.

Keith couldn't be sure what.

Whatever was going on, Keith was more nervous than he'd been all week.

“You are one good looking dude, Mr. Kane,” Keith said softly. “One gorgeous hunk of man. I don't need this right now.”

Chapter 18

Rooms for Rent

Dury and Gary sat in the kitchen drinking Keith’s coffee as fixed breakfast for three.

“Are you settled into your office yet?” Gary asked.

“Furniture was delivered yesterday. I brought the necessary files from the house. I'm taking those to the law firm to get Jane to copy them. I would like a safe in there,” Dury said. “I'll have copies of everything at the law firm, but I don't necessarily want someone we don't know having access to them.”

The back door opened and closed.

“Ah, Carl, you caught all three of the partners together. Any rumors suggesting we don't exist have been proved erroneous. The third member of our group, Dury Lane.”

“Glad to meet you Mr. Lane,” Carl said, extending his hand as Dury stood to be introduced.

“Breakfast, Carl?” Gary asked. I recommend it as an excellent way to start your day,” Gary said.

“I was just going to Leo's for something to tide me over,” Carl said. “Morning, Keith.”

Carl sat in the seat that Gary offered him and put his hat in his lap.

“Morning, Mr. Kane,” Keith said. “What would you like?”

“A new pickup truck. A flat screen TV. I'd like to get more sleep,” he said in all seriousness.

“I'm the cook, not Santa Claus. Do you want breakfast or are you going to be drinking coffee while we eat in front of you?”

“Two over easy, sausage if you have it, and fried potatoes or hash browns. I like a whole grain toast if that's not too much trouble.”

“Not a problem at Pleasant Valley,” Keith said.

“What do you think, Carl?” Gary asked.

“I was on the roof from the time the sun started to rise until now. The area needs a slight southeasterly position to get the maximum amount of sunlight. Now the position of the sun in relationship to the relay will change during the year, I've marked out the most advantageous spot for the array.”

“You designing me a shelter for the array?”

“Next on my list. I'll do some design work in the trailer once I'm full.”

“While you're at it, Dury wants a safe in his office. Pull out the plans and see where you can put one where everyone isn't going to know where it is,” Gary said.

“Floor safe. I'll need to work on the floor behind your desk, but you won't even know it's there once it's there.”

Keith dropped a cup of coffee in front of Carl.

“Cream and sugar is on the table,” Keith said, filling the other cups full.

“Why did you drag that trailer down here, Gary. Why didn't you just say I want an office beside yours?”

“I didn't want an office beside yours. I'm clean now. By the time I finish crawling all over Pleasant Valley, I'm going to be covered in dirt. I neither want to let the residents see me like that, nor do I want to track that kind of mess into the building. The trailer puts me in the middle of the action. I can watch the entire community from where I put it.”

“As is often true, you're way ahead of me,” Dury said.

Keith was back and dropped a plate in front of Gary and one in front of Carl. He returned again with Dury's plate and his. He sat down in the empty chair.

“You not only are a genius with food, you read minds?” Carl said. “I've been here three minutes and my breakfast is ready?”

“Your order is the same as Dury's and mine. I don't cook individual meals. In five minutes someone will come in and want a plate. All I have to do is drop the eggs on the grill and toast the toast,” Keith said.

“Sounds nice,” Carl said. “Thank you.”

“I'm the odd duck, but I'm the only native of this place. I want grits with my breakfast,” Gary said. “Creates extra work for Keith, but I don't mind.”

“No work. I make the grits while I cook breakfast. Breakfast is the easiest meal to do. Isn't much to it.”

“This is nice,” Carl said. “I'm used to breakfast on the run, this is a treat.”

“Glad it suits you,” Keith said, digging into his meal. “I do breakfast until eleven each morning. Stop when you like.”

“I will. Thank you,” Carl said.

*****

“He's a nice young man,” Dury said, sitting behind his desk as Gary sat in his office.

“Smart! He was working in Greenville until last Friday. When it comes to filling the lake and getting the most electricity from our solar array, he's the man. If I'm not mistaken, he has Keith's seal of approval.”

“You serious?”

“I think I am. He seemed to be. I'm no expert mind you.”

“We're going to cook outside Sunday. Maybe make sure Carl knows he's welcome to stop by,” Dury said.

“Will do.”

“We'll invite the people from the PV apartments. We'll begin moving residents into PV1 next Monday. How does PV2 look?”

“I can have the first floor ready to occupy in another two weeks. Carl will design the five additional apartments we'll put into the empty space on PV1's first floor. PV2 will be complete this time next month. We're taking our time. Learn as we go. We can finish PV2 with the materials on hand. I ordered the materials for PV3. We'll start the first floor there while we finish in PV2.”

“Not bad. We've come a long way. We have one nearly filled and Lisa will start interviewing for two starting next week. We're ahead of schedule and under budget. I'd say we've already succeeded.”

“Starting with solid buildings meant we could go right inside. I thought it might take a little longer than it has. We haven't hit a serious snag. We'll have over 150 units with room to expand to 160 or 165,” Gary said.

“You dream dreams, and you never know how to realize the dream and not become distracted. I was never a dreamer, Gary. I'm too pragmatic to dream. When I met Keith, heard his story, and then we went to the place where he lived, a dream began to develop, and I called you. You said a while back, 'This is real.' It is. It's better than the dream. You and Keith made it perfect,” Dury said.

*****

“Fran, you want to go to the first fridge door in the kitchen and bring the two bowls that will be in front of you at eye level?” Keith asked.

“Sure,” Fran said.

“Need my help, love?” Gary asked.

“I'll help,” Carl said, walking with Fran to the kitchen.

“The plates are here by the grill. Grab one and tell me what meat you want and how much.”

“That's an offer I can't refuse,” Bobby Lee said to the group from the apartments.

“You never turn down an offer for meat,” Matt said, getting behind Bobby Lee in line.

“There's plenty and be nice, Bobby Lee. These are nice people. They came for lunch, not a show.”

“Amen,” Jamee said.

“I'll put what you want on your plate and the rolls are in the first cooler and the mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish, onions, and such are in the second color. Someone can put them out so you can add the condiments you want. There will be potato salad and cold baked beans,” Keith said, as the line began moving.

Fran and Carl returned with the bowls and set them at the end of the table beside the plates.

“Carl, come over here and sit,” Bobby Lee said, patting the seat next to him at the picnic table.

“I'm on duty. Promised Keith I'd help,” Carl said, standing next to the table where Bobby Lee sat.

“Keith knows the way to a man's heart, don't you Keith?” Bobby Lee said.

“Down, girl. This is a picnic and I asked Carl to eat with me. That''s if you don't mind,” Keith said, serving hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken quarters to the people in line.

“No, I don't mind,” Bobby Lee said. “I just wanted to know where he was from.”

“We know what you wanted to know, Bobby Lee,” Matt said.

“I was born in California,” Carl said.

“Told you,” Matt said. “Anyone who looks like that is from California. Never fails. Must be something in the water out there.”

“I was born in California. My father was a navy pilot. We were all over the country. I didn't have a real home until I was grown man.”

Carl moved back to where Keith was still turning the variety of meats.

“Thank you. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable,” Carl said.

“No problem. Burger, dog, or chicken quarter?”

“Whatever is ready to eat. I'm easy. Why not fix a plate for Gary, Fran, and Dury. I'll take them over,” Carl offered.

“Great! Use one of the big spoons and add beans and potato salad.”

“Your wish is my command,” Carl said, doing a half bow.

“This isn't the group you want to be too easy around, Carl. You're a big boy, but all these guys are too and they can be aggressive if the incentive is right.”

“Figure of speech. Gary told me that quite a few gay men lived in the apartments,” Carl said. “I told you I've been around gay men. I know when to excuse myself from the table.”

“Gary is telling tales. That's not like him,” Keith said.

“He told me that you lived in the apartments and were evicted. When Dury took you over there, that's when Pleasant Valley began to take shape. Dury's motivation involved seeing that the men with AIDS who were evicted got a square deal and a place they could call home. AIDS usually means gay men, especially when a number have it. That's supposition on my part, but probably accurate from what I've seen. I can't be pleasant to pushy people, I'm just not pleasantly available to them.”

“Yes, you have the facts right. Don't drop that chicken. That's for Fran.”

Keith didn't mind Gary giving the facts behind Pleasant Valley to Carl, but he wondered if his name came up when the word AIDS was mentioned. Not that it mattered. He had it but he wanted to tell people in his own way.”

“So, will you eat with me?” Carl asked, as he took the next two plates Keith had waiting for him.

In a minute Carl was back and standing at Keith's elbow. Did Gary tell you why I was evicted,” Keith asked, wanting to know what Carl knew.

“Yeah, it's what Gary was maddest about. He said they gave the guy that evicted you a taste of his own medicine. That made him smile. He said you went to the hospital and that bastard threw your stuff out on the street.”

“That's pretty much how it happened,” Keith said, knowing there was no doubt Carl could connect the dots and he knew he had been sick with AIDS.

“Are you going to eat or stand here until you wither away? Everyone has their food. Eat with me on the porch.

“It's the only offer I've gotten. Sure, but I'll be jumping up if someone wants something. I am the cook.”

“They're too busy chowing down to want anything right now. Come on,” he said, taking Keith's hand and putting a plate in it.

*****

The following day Keith was busy prepared lunch for the workers to pick up when they dropped by. Carl sat a few feet away eating his lunch and watching Keith move around the kitchen.

“I have a few slices of key lime pie if you want one?” Keith said.

“That would be terrific. I really enjoyed it yesterday. You do have a way with food, Keith. I'm no connoisseur but everything you cook has amazing flavor. ”

“It's a labor of love, Carl. I've been at it for a while. You learn as you go.”

“Well, how are you today, Carl?” Dury asked, coming into the kitchen from the from the dining room.

“Fine. Just bothering Keith while he works,” Carl said.

“He's a natural wonder, isn't he?” Dury said. “I had him all to myself for most of the last year, but now I've got to come to the kitchen to see him.”

“What will it be, Dury. I made chicken salad with what we didn't eat yesterday and I have hot dogs cut up in the baked beans if you want to go hot.”

“Chicken salad on pumpernickel. Some of that potato salad would be nice. A piece of key lime pie would be better. That'll hold me until lunch,” Dury said.

“That is lunch,” Keith said.

“That works too, Keith.”

“Thank you, Keith. Time to get back to work. See you, Mr. Lane,” Carl said as he got up and took his plate over to the sink.

“What about pizza and a movie tonight, Keith?” Carl asked.

“Pizza!” Keith said alarmed.

“Not a good deal for a chef, huh?”

“Eat here while I take care of dinner. If all goes well and I wrap it up early, we'll see what's playing at the movie.”

“I'll wash dishes for you,” Carl offered.

“An offer I can't refuse.”

“Great! See you at dinner,” Carl said, leaving through the back door.

Keith carried Dury's lunch over to him.

“Sit for a minute. We haven't talked in a week. I came through the dining room. No one is there. We need to get you some help. I don't want you putting in twelve to fourteen hour days. You'll be getting sick.”

“Not yet. I can take care of it at this point. Lisa's going to ask people to volunteer to help in the kitchen. She said older women like to feel useful.”

“Yes, I can see where that would appeal to a woman who has raised her family and is looking for things to do. Carl....” Dury said, hesitating. “Did I hear him making a date with you?”

“He said something about a movie after I'm done with dinner.”

“I like him, Keith. He's a very clean cut young man. Gary says he's smart.”

“He's fine, Dury. He is very young. I like him, but at this point in my life, I'm not sure I want to start complicating things. I have work to do and I don't feel like love is in the air.”

“Just remember, you only get so many chances to grab the gold ring. Don't pass one up so you can get a few more hours in at work.”

“We'll see how it goes,” Keith said.

“I wouldn't mind seeing more of Carl. Invite him to the house Thursday night when you and Gary are coming out. Having an engineer listening in might be beneficial.”

“OK. I don't mind having him around. He is nice,” Keith said, as he stood to start preparations for that evening's dinner.

*****

“I want an electronics shop with all the electronics gear people use and then set aside and forget about. We’ll find someone who is capable of doing minor repairs on gadgets, and to upgrade them. They’re always adding stuff to the stuff you already have. The goal being to sell you a new gadget so you can keep up with everyone else. No one ever throws any of those things out.

“I have nine phones in my sock drawer and I've got no room for socks. They’re all perfectly good. I buy each new one when it comes out. I think I need the new one, but I don't, and each costs hundreds. I’ve got money. I can afford them, but that's a lame reason to keep buying phones. From the time I was on my own, until i was forty-five, I bought exactly two phones.”

“Gary, there are a dozen available shops. Make one to recycle electronics and small appliances,” Dury advised. “Everyone has electronic gear they don't use.”

“We get a guy who knows his way around gadgets. Each time someone brings in an item, they get to pick something out to replace it. Then we have the people who haven't converted to the new technology, but would if a handyman would spend ten minutes explaining it to them. They won't want to leap right into an I-Phone but a phone with some expanded options might work if it isn't too intimidating. Then you'll have mom receiving a new coffee maker from her kids. She has a perfectly good coffee maker and she doesn't need two. She brings it to the shop and gets to pick an item she wants to try.”

“Makes me smile,” Carl said. “I bought my mom a coffee maker for Christmas. She had one she's used for years.”

“The handyman will need to be a people person,” Gary said.

“I'd say,” Dury said. “So one shop will be an electronics and appliance exchange.”

“How do you make money off a plan like that?” Carl asked.

“There's a capitalist in the crowd,” Dury said. “The idea of Pleasant Valley is to have a full service community that isn't about money. People are given opportunities to do a few hours of service each week. In the gardens, the kitchen, or in one of the shops. They earn points by volunteering and they use the points to get what they want from the shops. They get to meet residents with similar interests, which creates an opportunity to socialize. Lisa is going to do a needle work shop. Pins & Needles, for the woman who enjoy that activity. They'll work in the shop together and they'll make pieces for people in the units that want them.”

“That's a novel concept,” Carl said. “What about Leo's?”

“Leo's is Leo's. He came to supply the workers with food and coffee and such. We don't charge him rent for the shop. We simply decide what goes in a shop and that's that. Leo's will charge for his food, but at a considerable discount, because he pays no rent or electricity. His costs will be greatly reduced and his prices reflect that. He has the only private business in Pleasant Valley. It offers residents a convenient way to get something quick on their way home.”

“Dury is the money man, Carl. He's also a high powered attorney. He lived in D.C. for many years. How he avoided politics, I'll never know,” Gary said.

“We need to work up a guide to the Pleasant Valley shops. Make a leaflet with a description of what's available,” Keith said. “We can add a paragraph to let them know about earning points and what that gets them.,” Keith said. “That way they know they can volunteer for activities they like with others who enjoy the same thing.”

“Sounds like a project Lisa can get her teeth into,” Gary said. “She has more ideas each time I see her. She's an energetic woman.”

“Yes, I think she'll be able to create something to grab new resident's attention. It can go with the information packet Lisa gives them,” Keith said.

“I’ve got a coffee cake in the oven. It's time to get it out. Anyone want coffee cake and coffee?”

“You didn't need to tell us. I've been smelling it for the last hour,” Gary said.

“Anyone not want coffee cake?” Keith asked. “That was easy. “I'll be right back. It'll need to cool a few minutes, while I make the coffee.”

“He's always cooking,” Carl said.

“He's a modern marvel. I've gained nearly ten pounds since Keith came into my life,” Dury said.

“He told me about how you met. It's something like how Pleasant Valley became reality. It's a terrific story and I'm glad Gary called me to go to work. I don't suppose a thirty something engineer qualified for one of the units?”

“We do not discriminate. We discourage people who don't want to be part of Pleasant Valley, not just live there. The point is to have a place where people can depend on each other. A new resident gives the Pleasant Valley Foundation ten percent of their net wealth. They are guaranteed a set rent, which includes three meals a day, snacks, we have two doctors who will be in residents and nurses. One is a general practitioner who has retired and the other is an AIDS specialist who has work with AIDS since it first appeared. We do have a number of AIDS patients in the apartments, and the doctor will make house calls.”

“Sounds interesting. My net worth is about five thousand dollars. I am a jack of all trades. I could work in the electronics shop, but I wouldn't want to run it. I can do most things on a construction job. I worked construction to put myself through college.”

“The net worth stipulation is for residents to be invested in Pleasant Valley. Older folks have more to offer but they'll depend more on services like doctors and nurses who will look in on them when it's necessary. The investment in the foundation keeps us ahead on upkeep and any new ideas we have as time goes on. Every time we meet, there are a dozen new ideas. You've seen how it goes tonight.”

“I need to talk to Lisa? She was at the picnic Sunday,” Carl said.

“Her office is right next to mine in PV1. She will be there Monday doing interviews. See if she has time and she can fill you in on the details.”

“I'll make a point to do that,” Carl said.

“See, Dury, I'm doing my part. Filling the units one at a time,” Gary said. “You sure you're ready to give up your life in Greenville?”

“I don't have anything in Greenville. It's where I landed when I came to South Carolina.”

“What brought you here? You never told me that,” Gary said.

“You never asked. I went to school at Texas A&M. My roommate was John Robert Nelson. He was from Greenville. I had no where else to go, so I came to Greenville with him,” Carl said. “He got married last year and we decided me living with him and his new bride wasn't a good arrangement.”

“No, I don't see that working,” Gary said.

*****

Keith brought the tray carrying the evening snack.

The four men became lost in the flavor of coffee cake and coffee.

The business discussion was over and Pleasant Valley continued to develop into a place they enjoyed creating

Chapter 19

Interview

“I’m George,” the well-dressed distinguished looking gentleman said, as he stood at the open door of Lisa’s office.

“Welcome to Pleasant Valley, George. I’m Lisa and I'm here to answer your questions and ask a few to make sure we place you in a unit where you'll have people with some of your interests around you. Should you decide to come live with us, we want you to be happy. How did you hear about us?”

“Tom Tom told me when his apartment was being remodeled, after they changed hands. I’ve lived close to him since I met my lover. It’s only been a year or two since he moved out of Charleston. We stayed in contact the whole time.”

“I live just below Tom Tom in the apartments. Is that where you want to be placed. We keep several apartments available for gay men. It's a nice group over there. We all get along.”

“Let's talk before I pick a unit. I don't need to live on top of my friends. It looks like a fairly compact settlement. I walked here from the apartments. I saw the lake, the gardens, and there were people out walking. That's nice.”

“It's a people friendly community,” Lisa said. “We have activities and there are shops you passed before you got to the apartments. A person could come here to live and never leave. We have doctors, nurses, meals are cooked by Chef Keith. There's a nice dining room or if you don't feel like coming down, we will deliver a meal to your unit.”

“Sounds heavenly,” George said.

“Then I didn't think I'd ever want to give up our house. We lived there for twenty-five years, but it's time for a change. The city moves too fast. I feel out of place. I've been hearing nice things about Pleasant Valley. I came to see if you live up to your billing.”

“So there will be two of you. We do have some two bedrooms in the building where Tom Tom lives?”

“No, I lost Thompson during the crisis. He hung on a good long time. I did my best to take care of him. I’ve been alone for some years now,” George said in a pained voice. “When you find love, it isn’t easy to replace. Sex, not so much. Before Thompson anyone would do. After him, no one would. Several of my friends have moved to Pleasant Valley recently. You're tempting all the gay old men out of Charleston, but like I said, it's changed.”

“We hope what we offer is a more carefree life. We try to take care of the headaches so you can enjoy what Pleasant Valley has to offer.”

“I've come take a look for myself at a time when I'm ready to scale my life down and to be closer to my friends. I don't know what I'll do with all the junk. I've accumulated over the years. I do not look forward to sorting it all out.”

“We have a company of veterans who do our moving, if you don't have someone in mind. Several live here and they'll go through what you don't want and see that it gets to appropriate organizations to help others. They can do as much or as little as is convenient for you,” Lisa said.

“By the way, Tom Tom has told me about Lisa and her concern for the HIV+ men here. Because you were making sure he got hot meals on a regular basis, I didn't need to make so many trips out here. I try not to drive more than necessary. I don't think I'm very good at it any longer.”

“We have transportation. Our vets are helpful in that respect as well. We keep two small buses ready to take you to where you need to go. I lived in the apartments before it changed hands. I did my best to look after the men there. It was a nice distraction. My mother was ill and I moved back to care for her. Visiting and doing errands for the men kept me sane over those years.”

“They speak highly of you, so it speaks well of Pleasant Valley that they recognize talent when they see it.”

“I do my best to care for everyone who comes to live in Pleasant Valley. Most gay men choose the Pleasant Valley Apartments. We still have some fine apartments in that building. In the last few weeks we've had a gay couple move in to this building. They wanted to be in the center of things. Each individual has his own needs and his own taste.”

“Our units in PV1 and PV2 are smaller and they don’t have kitchens, although they have a space for preparing snacks. frozen dinners. And there's space for a hot plate. Food comes with whatever unit you take. With Chef Keith cooking, even the people who don’t think they'll eat in the dining room end up taking some meals there. Many seniors like eating out and our dining room is set up to make it feel like dining out..

“As I mentioned, we will deliver meals. There's an auxiliary kitchen where the laundry room used to be. We have a cleaners and laundry among the shops. Volunteers will pick up your laundry and return it if you need that service. What we haven't thought of, the residents suggest.

“We encourage residents to interact as much as possible. We try to tailor our services to the needs of each resident and as new residents move in, we find ourselves expanding activities to meet their needs.”

“I like socializing over a meal. Now that I think about it, I’d want to be in Tom Tom’s building. He was so sick last year, I was worried about losing him too. That’s when I first thought of moving here. He recovered and now he’s so tickled to live here he's got me excited about moving. I hate moving.”

“Don't we all. I know Tom Tom well,” Lisa said. “I tried to take care of him when he was sick. It wasn't a good time as I recall. All the boys who were still here were sick. They were afraid of being evicted if they went to the hospital. The old owner was a vile man.”

“Yes, I recall conversations with him. I tried to get him to come and stay with me.” George said. “I remember your name too. You’re the 'soup lady.' We’d be on the phone and he’d say, ‘Got to go, George. My soup's here. It was nice to know he was eating and someone was looking in on him. There was a time not so long ago, when gay men were very much cast out on their own. I did what I could after I lost Thompson, but those were dark times. I'm glad that's behind us.”

“Times have changed. It’s one of my best features, caring, and I love cooking fresh soup. The boys liked it when I did. I make a huge pot that lasts a couple of days. My mother was still alive then and the idea of soup appealed to her as well. It became part of my routine a couple of times a week.

“There weren’t as many of us then. Now the apartments are filling up and the food here is so good, they don’t ask for my soup as often as they once did. Of course I’m over here most days taking applications and placing people. So I see the boys in the dining room. They've really started to look good. I think they're happier.”

“I’ll be looking forward to a sample. I’m ready to move if the accommodations are satisfactory. I’ve already begun packing. If you'll write down the number so I can call to have my things moved, that'll help.”

“I can talk to them and I'll have them call you with details we can't arrange today. They have friends who do moving for a living and they rent one of their truck and furnish the labor. They’re efficient and inexpensive. The truck is the big expense. They get ten dollars an hour a piece. There are two or three, depending on your needs. Most moves are completed the same day. If you have things you want disposed of, we have people who will help with that. What we can offer in one of our shops we take.”

“If I go into one of the shops, I might see things from a past life?”

“Yes, you may and if you want it back, you need only to ask.”

“Heavens No. I need to uncomplicate my life. You make it all so easy.”

“No point in delaying. I'm ready to move,” George said with certainty. “Tom Tom said once I talked to you, I'd be ready. He was right. I'm sold.”

“You sound like a man who knows what he wants,” Lisa said.

“I have friends around Charleston. Same circumstances as mine. We’re alone. We can’t live with anyone else. Too set in our ways. We got to know each other while our lovers were dying. Hell of a thing to say. We enjoy eating together. We go out together. I’d like to think they’d be able to get into the building with me. It's not mandatory, but that would get them to move faster,” George said. “They sent me to scout the premises. I brought the idea of moving up. If they can all get into the apartments, it'll speed things us. It's not a deal breaker.”

“I keep units open in the apartments for that reason,” Lisa said.

“When I was a boy, I’d whine and yell every time I saw something I wanted. My parents had a unique way of dealing with that. They said “No.”

“I don’t know what happens to us when we grow up. I never bought much as a young man. No money, but every time I see something I like, I buy it now. That’s crazy. You know, I’ve got clothes I’ve never worn. I like them though. I just outgrew them before I got around to wearing them. That's when you know it's time to move to a place too small to collect stuff. It's time to unclutter my life.”

“It’s the national past time, George. After 9/11, the president said, ‘Go shopping.’ How insane was that? But it's what we did. All of us. We haven't stopped shopping since.”

“Pretty insane. I’m sure it wasn’t an order. I see kids now and they have everything. TV’s, phones, computers, stereos, and too many clothes to fit in their closet. I had a transistor radio and I got one pair of shoes every two years and two new shirts and two new pairs of pants at the beginning of each school year. How in the world can anyone afford to give every child everything they ask for? I think ‘No’ was a better response,” George said thoughtfully. “I'm sorry. I've never had a child of my own. I was a child, as hard as that may be to believe.”

“It’s the way it’s done today, George. The two words on everyone’s lips, ‘Charge it.’” Lisa said with a smile.

“I suppose. In any event, whatever it is, I caught it. I’m looking forward to the cure. I'm having Goodwill in to collect the stuff that has my house overflowing with junk. It’s perfectly good junk. Hardly used, but a nuisance none-the-less when it is time to move.”

“I can see we’re going to get along, George. I like you already. You sound like a practical man.”

“Thank you, Lisa. That’s a nice thing to say. Since we'll be neighbors, I look forward to getting to know you.”

“I might make a suggestion to you. We’ve got ten available units in the PV Apartments. Probably enough for your friends. There are a few one and two bedrooms. Before we go over to the apartments, I want you to see the units here in PV1. They’re a bit more compact but the floor plan makes the most of the space. The interiors are all new. It’s just a suggestion so you can describe what we have available to your friends. If you think that might help.”

“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s not only pleasant but lovely. I can’t imagine they won't like it. Looking at the new units is an excellent idea. We want to be close but it's all quite compact. Even if we weren't in the same building, we'd be a five minute walk away from each other. We're further from each other now.”

“There’s a small extra charge for each bedrooms. The basic rent per resident is seven hundred dollars a month. The Pleasant Valley Foundation subsidizes anyone who can't afford that much. Some seniors and veterans on fixed incomes need a little help. We do what we can on an individual bases. If you want to live here, and we like you, we'll make it happen,” Lisa said.

“Each resident is entitled to meals and the use of the facilities without restriction or charge. First come first serve when reserving a room for meetings or social gatherings. We're still adding activities according to the desires of the residents as they move to Pleasant Valley.

“The dining room is our biggest meeting room. It can be opened up to accommodate everyone who lives here, but we mostly divide it into more intimate spaces for a nicer dining experience with your friends. The floor plans on each floor are set up to allow to change the floor plan for the special needs of a resident. It is not one size fits all at Pleasant Valley.

“We have walking paths, gardens, and we grow some of our own food next to the flower gardens behind this building. The space at PV is meant to be used. There is no dead space, except for the area beyond PV3, which is ready to open. Once we've seen how PV3 is filling up, we'll begin construction on PV4.”

“I’ve always had a desire to garden,” George said. “Never had the time. I have nothing but time now. Maybe I’ll try my hand at it. I was quite the botanist in college. I'd have made it my field if there had been any money in it.”

“You’ve come to the right place. The residents do the gardening. The one time we have no trouble getting enough help, picking time. Everyone loves seeing the finished product. Something quite invigorating about picking something that appears on your plate that evening. I spend some of my time gardening. We are beginning to grow more vegetables than the residents can eat, but the idea was to grow as much as we can in the space we've provided for growing food.”

“Now you have my mouth watering. I’ll have to stop for a snack on my way back to Charleston,” George admitted.

“No you won’t. By the time we finish in here, Keith will have coffee cake and other delights to hold us over until lunch. We’ll stop there and you might get to meet Keith. He’s pretty busy in the mornings, but he likes to talk to the residents. He gets a lot of family recipes that way. He's an artist with food. You'd never guess how shy he is otherwise. Food preparation is his element.”

“I’m going to weigh a ton,” George said. “I love to eat.”

“We have walking paths that go for several miles. Almost everyone takes advantage of them for the exact reason you’ll want to try them out. It helps burn off the coffee cake, but then you have soups and salads and a half dozen entrees to choose from each meal.”

“Two tons,” George said. “Do you have a crane here. I’ll need none to get in and out of my building.”

Lisa laughed. George smiled, feeling the pleasantness around him.

“It sounds lovely,” George said. “Money isn’t a problem for most of us. We made good livings before the bottom fell out of the economy. We take care of each other and seven hundred isn’t nearly enough. What you offer here is worth far more, but who am I to argue. We'll be able to add value to Pleasant Valley.”

“We aren't about making money. It’s a foundation dedicated to furnishing pleasant living for people who may not have always had it so pleasant. There is a financial requirement that makes you a member of the foundation, which gives you one vote. Ten percent of your net worth.”

“Veterans and seniors aren't necessarily where the money is,” George said.

“No, they aren't. Ten percent is not a lot to ask and so you have people with a little more putting up more. If within a year you decide this isn't the place for you, that ten percent is refundable and you aren't obligated for anything but the monthly fee for living here.”

“That still isn't a lot and I've heard no complaints about it,” George said.

“The foundation is responsible to keep Pleasant Valley going and pay all the fees and taxes. The initial construction was paid for by the three officers of the foundation. They are the ones who came up with the idea and developed it. What residents are paying for is upkeep and food with a small amount for their unit. The entire idea developed out of a chance meeting between our chef, Keith, and the lawyer, Dury, It was either buy a restaurant where Keith could be the chef or build a new concept community. You can guess which idea worked out and the third partner, Gary, a contractor, came into the picture.

“Luckily they included me when it came to approving the residents. It’s a nice place to work and to live,” Lisa said. “I was facing eviction a year ago.”

“They couldn’t have made a more charming choice. I knew I wanted to live here five minutes after I met you,” George said. “My friends and I are comfortable financially and we’ve pledged help to one another should someone’s money run out. That would be a medical problem. Medical bills can take their toll. We will not end up being a drain on the foundation,” George said. We only have each other now and we are a loyal lot.”

“We do have medical staff on call and a doctor is available to see patients every day. He does make house calls. We ask for a medical history on each resident for the medical staff only. That way treatment is made easier when it’s necessary. An AIDS specialist has hours three days a week. He has a residence here. Because there were HIV+ men living in the apartments, Dury went out of his way to secure the services of someone familiar in the treatment of AIDS. Dr. Atwood is retired, but not ready to quit practicing medicine. You'll like him.”

“I’ll pass the word along and you might want to hold the spaces in the apartment building. I don’t know if they'd move here if they weren’t assured of being in friendly environs. We are past the point of wanting to be somewhere we aren't wanted, Lisa,” George emphasized.

“I know the last few years have brought incredible changes, changes none of us would have predicted even five years ago, but the thirty years before that we were told we weren't wanted here. There were cheers when gay men were dying. Our lovers were dying, our friends, and few people cared.”

“I lived through it, George. I wasn't very active when the AIDS crisis began. When I saw so many men dying, and societies willingness to let them die, I joined the cause. The apartments are almost all gay, except for me and an elderly woman the boys help care for. From what you just said, the apartments are the place for you. I'll put a hold on the rest of them, until your friends make up your mind. We were like family over there before the apartments changed hands.”

“I'm willing to put the past behind me, but after you've watched your lover and friends die, and there's no one there to help, it's not something you forget. The younger generation is great. They treat us like we're just other people. No one cares who we love but the haters. The people who orchestrated the dying haven't gone anywhere. They're still spewing their hate. It simply isn't all you hear now. It was all we heard in the midst of the crisis. We're a little long in the teeth for another protracted fight for our rights. We'd like to live out our lives among friends and at peace with the people around us.”

“That fits in with our purpose for creating Pleasant Valley. Keith calls PV 'The best place in the world to live.' It's the people who make it that way. I don't think hatred or vindictiveness would survive here for long. I can't guarantee there will be no friction. Where there are people there will be some disagreeableness, but we don't intend to allow it to fester,” Lisa said. “I'm here to make sure miserable people don't bring their misery here.”

“Yes, I can tell you're not merely trying to fill units. I’ve also got two lesbian couples who are interested in my report. They'll want new units if they like what they hear. They don’t mind us so much, but would never agree to moving into a building with so many gay men. They know us too well to fall for that.”

“You’re making my job easy,” Lisa said. “I’m at your service for whatever you need. Here's my card and if any of your friends want to see the apartments for themselves, all they need to do is call. If you have questions about the foundation, I'll get you in touch with Dury.”

“Who is it you subsidize most often, if you don’t mind me asking?” George asked with concern. “That'll be a question I'm asked?”

“Wounded warriors often haven't had an opportunity to put away much money. Two of the men in the apartments qualified for a reduced rent. Most of our residents are surprisingly secure,,” Lisa said.

“We like to think we'll be here for people who haven't always gotten an even break. We bend over backwards to make everyone feel welcome. Whatever that takes, including giving a unit to someone we want to live here. You might be happy to hear that our seniors and our wounded warriors get along wonderfully. It's been an unexpected bonus. Most vets want to live near our other vets, and as with our gay residents, we do all we can to see that they're happy.”

“That’s a nice thing. I served in Vietnam. I was in a support role. I worked in supply and never heard a shot fired in anger, but I hated Vietnam. I did see what it did to the children they sent over there to die for America. Not my favorite time,” George said. “I made it home but I never forgot the boys who didn't.”

“’War is hell,’ a civil war figure said. I believe him,” Lisa said.

“Gen William Tecumseh Sherman, I believe,” George said. “He did all within his power to see that it was hell.”

“We do the best we can to provide a good place to live for everyone here,” Lisa said.

“A good policy, Lisa. I’ve been alone for a long time. All of my close friends have been too. It’s how we became friends in the first place. We kept our nice homes, our good jobs, but the lovers we came home to, or who came home to us, died. We were all scared into celibacy then. We had no sexual interest in each other. That removed a lot of tension and we've been friends for a long time.

“We’ve talked about moving somewhere nice together, so we could stay close and be comfortable. That’s all we want. To stay close and be comfortable. It's a big step when you make a life altering move. We’ve fought a war no one should be forced to fight and we’re tired. We want to live and die at peace.”

Lisa could feel George’s sincerity. He was concerned about moving and she understood. It was a complicated event.

“You’ll find peace here. We provide as many opportunities as we can for meeting and interacting with a variety of people and activities. It’s up to each resident to find his own comfort level. I’m here to make recommendations and to see that you can make the most of what we offer.”

“We shall overcome,” George said. “I overcame being the queer boy. I overcame losing my lover to the plague, and I shall overcome old age… until it overcomes me. Then I shall storm the gates of heaven.”

Lisa laughed.

“Times they are a changing,” Lisa retorted. “There is a lot to be thankful for these days. The progress of the LGBT people comes as quite a surprise. I didn’t think it would change so fast but I'm glad it did. It is a new day and you and your friends are welcome in Pleasant Valley.”

“Thank you, dear Lisa. It is indeed a new world. It’s nice to be where we're made to feel welcome,” George said.

“My friends who want to come out to Pleasant Valley with me, we went on with our lives. It was a habit, a routine. It was the easiest thing to do. Keep up the routine. Don’t dwell on being left alone by the men we were going to grow old with. We became friends and it became easier as time went on. Time is helpful that way.”

George sat forward on his chair and seemed to be looking at something on the floor beside Lisa’s desk. It was a sad George making his confession to the past. He looked very old just then.

“We all may not come right away, but most of us are ready to make the move. We like the idea of living in the same building, visiting each other, taking care of one another when we get sick. It’s what we want now. We’ve been talking about this for years. As long as we stay well, we’ll keep this place jumping,” George said, recovering his smile.

“I’m here every morning at eight. I live in the building where you’ll be. Just knock on my door or ring me up if you need anything,” Lisa said.

“We can go get some coffee and then I’ll take you upstairs to see one of the units,” Lisa said, standing up and going for the door.

Chapter 20

The Fisherman & The Storyteller

As Dury parked behind the shops, on his walk to PV1, he saw Keith near the edge of the lake behind the kitchen.

“You’re looking dapper this morning, Dury,” Keith said, watching him approach.

“Fishing for our supper?” Dury asked.

“I promised Lisa fresh fish from our lake for lunch.”

“You’re standing here holding a pole because Lisa likes fish? Wouldn’t a fish monger take less time and be easier on you?”

“I love to fish and Lisa's lunch gives me an excuse to go fishing.”

“And if you don't catch something?”

“I will,” Keith said. “I always do. I'm a fisherman.”

“Fish monger sounds easier,” Dury said. “There are over a hundred people to feed at PV. Please don't try to catch us all dinner on fish fry night.”

“I never fry fish, Dury, and the fish monger doesn’t enjoy fishing the way I do. I often fished in New Orleans. There were flood walls a ten minute walk from the restaurant. Many a morning I began my day fishing for my supper. Nothing better than the fresh catch of the day.”

“Yes, and it’s already packed in oil. Those oil companies think of everything. You catch your fish and cook it in the same oil.”

“That’s a more recent phenomena. There was oil in the gulf way back when, but it was more water than oil in those days.”

“Kids, Keith?” Dury said with some concerns. “We need to talk about the kids, Keith.”

“Yes, I’ve been meaning to mention them to you. No good time for a conversation about how they got here and why I'm feeding them, is there?”

“Do you know where they came from? What made them pick Pleasant Valley?”

“Beginning at the beginning is usually a good place to start.”

“Works for me,” Dury said.

“One morning I was doing prep. Someone yelled, 'there's a boy at the back door asking for you, Keith.' I went to see who it was. David stood inside the back door with his hat in his hand. He's maybe sixteen. He could be older. ‘I was told that you’d feed me if I asked,' he said, once I told him I was Keith. I'm buying their food out of my money. I don't fee them Pleasant Valley food.”

“You think I'm worried about the few dollars a day you give to hungry kids? Don't feed them differently than you feed us. How much do we waste each day?”

“OK! I thought you'd be mad, because they're kids,” Keith explained.

“The thought came to me but they're here. They nee to be fed. How many?”

“David and nine other boys. He seems to be the leader. He was the one who came first a week ago. Dury, he's me. Those boys are me. That was me thirty years ago and a little old lady took me in and gave me an education that would keep me for the rest of my life.”

“Don't think I didn't give that some thought. I understood you couldn't turn them away, but now that they're here, we're responsible. They can't simply hang around. There has to be some discussion. We've got to make arrangements to include them somehow in Pleasant Valley. There may be resistance,” Dury said.

“You aren't going to turn them over to the legal system?” Keith asked.

“That's what I should do but no, that won't end well if I do. We might be able to make a difference in their lives, but there are a lot of people we've taken responsibility for. I don't want to cause a crisis if it can be avoided. If we can find a way to blend them into the community, not disrupt it, but be helpful and an asset to Pleasant Valley.”

“They're hungry. They aren't children. They've been living on the street. I can't let them go hungry,” Keith said.

“We've passed that part of the conversation, Keith. I have an appreciation for your feelings on this. That's why we're talking. I need to inoculate Pleasant Valley from legal hassles because of this. I'm not sure how yet.”

“Dury,” Keith said.

“That first time I saw him, it was like deja vu, I said, 'You hungry, boy? Come on in here and I'll see if I can find you something to eat.”

“Yeah!” Dury said.

“That's what Henrietta said to me. Those were her words. I knew I had to help him.”

“I can see that. You're going to order enough to feed them? Extra containers so they can take food with them. Where do they live?”

“Over there,” Keith said, indicating the forest. “They don't like being indoors. They fear being trapped by the cops. They feel safe in the woods.”

“I've seen a couple of them in the hall,” Dury said.

“That's funny,” Keith said. “David was in the kitchen waiting for me to pack up some food. I always do that myself. Lisa paged me. One of the soldiers hadn't been down to eat all day.”

“How did she know. Did he call to get a meal delivered?”

“Not a word. Lisa knows if one of the wounded warriors isn't eating. I guess she keeps an eye on them. She had me fix up that vets section, where all the wounded warriors can eat with their friends. This time she told me to prepare a couple of hot items and then a couple of sandwiches, so they'd be good if he decided to eat later. I told her there was no one in the kitchen but me, and David said, 'I'll take it if you want me to.'”

“Well?”

“I packed David's food. He won't eat in the kitchen. He takes the food to his friends and eats with them. He didn't come back and he didn't come back. I began to worry if I did the right thing.”

“What happened?”

“When he came back down for his food, he was all smiles. He said, 'He's a nice guy. His name is Danny. He's from Michigan. I think he's lonely. He wanted to talk. I figured just dropping off the food wasn't a good idea. He ate it while we talked. He started to nod off and I came back down.' I've used some of the boys to deliver food to the soldiers. They get along surprisingly well. I hope you don't mind,” Keith said.

“We may have found something the boys are good at. Those soldiers aren't much older than our wounded warriors. They sound like a good match. We'll see if we can offer them some security. They just might fit in here,” Dury said. “Maybe we can give them a chance at some kind of life. Just knowing Keith's story makes me think that we can do a major good for these boys, but we need to tread lightly for the time being. We need a plan.”

“If giving vets a little peace of mind is against the law, it isn't much of a law. The way it stands, we get untold benefits from the boys being here. A vet eats and has company and one of the boys feels like he is being useful. That's a good outcome for all of us.”

“That is an unexpected benefit I might not have predicted,” Dury said. “Something's nibbling on your line there, Keith.”

“No, not quite yet,” Keith said, cautiously moving the pole into position. There were there irregularly jerks. And Keith jerked the pole and began winding in the line. “Got you, sucker!”

Keith lifted the pole again, furiously reeling in the line. In a minute he was holding an unhappy fifteen inch catfish.

“How the hell did you arrange that? You got yourself a fish,” Dury bragged.

“I'm an old fisherman at heart. This isn't a fish. It's Lisa's lunch. I'll whip up some hush puppies and

“I hope she's hungry. Carl only began stocking the lake three months ago.”

“I've been keeping my eyes open. I saw a nice fish jump put in the middle on Friday. I figured it was time to try my luck.”

“You're a fisherman and a fisher of men. That's not an easy combination to come by. You always find a way to surprise me, Keith.”

“I knew you'd help after you thought about it. Pleasant Valley is the best break these boys have gotten. They feel safe here, Dury. We all feel safe here.”

*****

Dury got out of his chair and stretched, putting the resources file into his briefcase to take home with him to work on that evening.

Picking up his plate from lunch, he carried it into the kitchen, where it was busy with dinner preparation. He didn’t interrupt Keith to ask for his dinner to be fixed for him to take home with him. He left the plate and headed back toward his office. He'd go back for his dinner before he left for the day.

Dury was deep in thought when the change in atmospherics became heavy in the hallway near his office door. He looked past Lisa's office, wondering what a group of people were doing standing at the door of the Pleasant Valley library. Being a man who liked solving every mystery, he went to see what the attraction was. Every time he'd been in the library, it was empty.

“What’s…?” was all he got to say before being shushed into silence.

Dury positioned himself to see inside. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Dury checked his watch. It was two forty-five. There were two dozen people in the library. Men in chairs sat close to Joseph, a retired English teacher, who read from the book he held. The men in chairs formed a semi-circle facing Joseph's chair. Behind them were two rows of seats with senior couples and some random single residents, including Lisa.

Dury recognized the book by the time he focused on Joseph. He'd read Harper Lee's, “To Kill a Mockingbird” numerous times. In his early teens it was his favorite book and one of the forces that pointed Dury toward law as a profession. Dury realized he was no Atticus Finch. While he had tried to defend the defenseless early in his career. Life turned out to be nothing like Harper Lee's fiction. She made everything come out correctly in the end, but Dury had no such luck. He'd had no luck at all. The system ate up men who had never had a break, and the naive attorney's who thought they could save them.

He'd come a long way and he felt closer to Atticus Finch now that he was listening to the story on the far side of a successful legal career. It took no time at all for Dury to be caught up in Joseph's soft easy delivery. The words slipped off the page with his expressive and distinctive reading style. He'd been immediately drawn into the telling of a tale he could almost recite from memory.

Five people stood inside and around the door and Dury made six. He was disappointed when the reading came to an end.

“And that is the end of this chapter. I smell dinner and I’m afraid I’ll weaken and roll out of my chair if I continue. Tomorrow at two then. We shall meet again. Thank you for coming.”

“Oh, Mr. Lane, I almost knocked you down,” the UPS man said. “I schedule my deliveries so I can take my lunch break here to hear Joseph read, and I don’t even like books.”

“That’s a good one,” Dury said, as the UPS man trotted away to resume his deliveries.

Dury listened to the applause. People spoke to Joseph, thanking him before leaving. Joseph’s chair rolled to where Dury waited for him.

“Joseph, what a lovely reading. That’s my favorite book, except for the Bible, of course.”

“Ah, Mr. Lane. I’m delighted you like it. Yes, Harper Lee gave us a classic the first time out of the gate. I so wished she’d do a sequel so I’d have another gem for my students, but alas, genius doesn’t always strike twice in the same place.”

“We’ll find you a larger room if you like? There was standing room only,” Dury said. “I didn’t imagine the library would be this popular. Many of those books came from my library at the house.”

“The intimacy of the literature I read requires the storyteller not be too far from his audience. I think this is fine for the time being, Mr. Lane, but I appreciate your concern. We seem to have reached the maximum number of listeners for now. We had enough chairs until today. I'll ask for more for tomorrows reading.”

“Call me, Dury, Joseph. Do you read every day at two? I guess I haven’t been paying attention. I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“We started last week. I’ve always enjoyed reading to different groups. Pleasant Valley seems like a perfect fit for it. I've thought of moving to the gardens for the next book. That will be “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Have you read it?”

“No, not my cup of tea,” Dury said.

“They did quite an excellent movie. They had McMurphy at the center of the story but in the book the story is told from the perspective of the Chief. I find that fascinating. A mute Indian tells the reader about the world he inhabits and the fascinating man who turns it upside down. It's far more enlightening when the white man isn't always center stage. We can learn from listening to unconventional voices, don't you think?”

“The white man often sets the stage, tells the tale, and guides the action,” Dury said.

“Not in the Bible. Much of the Bible is written at a time when the Middle East male is in the center of the story, or stories, being told. I have noticed, in spite of that fact, in America, especially the South, the white man rules, even in Bible stories.”

“We have a narrow perspective,” Dury said. “We adapt things to our taste and the devil with history or facts. We certainly don't see Jesus as Middle Eastern. I think in America people reading from the Bible see all the characters as blond haired and blue eyed. Charleton Heston was Moses after all.”

“Ah, yes, the California beach boy version of the Bible. We do have a way of incorporating history into the American story. I didn’t dare start with Whitman, Hawthorne, or Thoreau. As American as they are, I want to build an audience before I slip in our Nineteenth Century classic authors.

“I’m holding Poe for when the weather turns dark and dreary, and Hemingway is best when there is time to consume his words,” Joseph said as Dury walked beside him. “I was thinking of reading Hemingway in the garden. He's so descriptive that enjoying him in the midst of natural things works well.”

“And I’ll leave you here, Mr. Lane. Keith promised to save me a slice of his delicious peach pie. Boys a genius with food. An extra dessert is the highlight of an old man’s day. One must keep up his strength. I've got ping pong with two of our fighting boys after dinner. If I don't survive, Mr. Lane, you may have my extra dinner dessert. Cherries Jubilee tonight is my understanding. Don't tell a soul. Keith swore me to secrecy. I'm sure I can trust you with it,” Joseph said, patting Dury's forearm.

“You don’t want to let his food add to the waistline, Joseph,” Dury kidded the rotund man.

“Ah, Mr. Lane, when you get to be my age, the waistline is the least of my worries. I'm afraid my days of attracting romance have passed, along with my svelte figure. No point in denying myself of epicurean delights too. No point at all.”

Both men laughed as Joseph guided his chair into the dinning room, leaving Dury to watch with envy the energy of the extraordinary man.

“You enjoy Joseph's reading, Lisa?” Dury asked, stepping into her office for their afternoon talk before he left for the day.

“He was a lucky find. He just turned onto St. James Avenue while he was taking a drive. He saw the sign in front of the apartments and he found my office. His wife had died recently and he had finding a smaller place on his mind. It was as if he was guided to the right place.

“When he came to me and suggested a reading program a few weeks ago, I told him to do what he wanted. He spread the word on his own.

For a man in a wheelchair he's active. He's on the paths when I walk in the morning. He stops to talk to everyone. I bet he was a gifted teacher. After dinner he's engaged with other residents playing games. He's a champion Bridge player, and not bad at ping pong the vets tell me. He's got the boys he plays with attending his readings. I'd never have guessed an activity like that for our vets. He's a nice man,” Lisa said.

“I didn't expect to fill up this quickly. I guess I'm surprised by a lot of things. The effectiveness of word of mouth for one and the quality of residents we've been able to place here for another.

“We'll be placing folks in building three soon. I’ve never met nicer people myself, Dury. I'm renting out the last available apartments to men who live in Charleston. They want to move here to be close to friends who are already living here. The referrals are growing. Every other interview knows someone living here.”

“We take everyone who applies?” Dury asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear Lisa's take on it. “A funny time to be asking that, but you do such a good job, I've never felt like you needed instruction from me. I don't know anything about renting places for people who are looking for a better way to live.”

“Not everyone. There are people who have no interest in anyone but themselves. I put delays in place for disagreeable applicants if their answers to questions indicate they aren't really suited to community living. I don't exclude anyone, I allow them to exclude themselves in time. Now I can legitimately say that we have a waiting list.”

Communing with their fellow residents. I stress that all the residents are involved in creating a good place for better living. I haven’t heard back from any surly folks. I don't lie, I tell them all the units are filled or promised and PV3 will open soon. I always mention working in the gardens and helping to grow and pick food. When someone I interview isn't interested in mixing or doing any activities with other residents, and doesn't even want to walk on our paths or sit and read in our gardens, I'm going to give him time to think about moving here. Yes, I do go on my instincts, but their good instincts. I worked social work for many years. I can usually tell a lot about a person by how they respond to my questions.”

“I never stop learning, Lisa. I didn't know you had a background in social work. I'd like to hear that story,” Dury said. “You are an intuitive person.”

“Thank you. My past is no secret, but I have a two o'clock interview today. I'm good tomorrow,” Lisa said. “I interview on Tuesdays and Thursday. My instincts have worked so far with people who seem wrong for PV. I dimply tell them to think about it and come back on a day when I can show them a unit.”

“That sounds above board. We certainly have some wonderful people. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it.”

“Thank you, Dury. I will. I've never had more fun. I love being here.”

“I'm surprised at how well the young vets get along with our seniors. I didn't know that would work so well. I see quite a bit of interaction. Do you encourage that?”

“For some reason they're a good fit. Our seniors are protective of the most vulnerable vets. I've watched seniors coming into the dining room and going out of their way to say hello to vets. The soldiers like to eat together, but I'm seeing more and more seniors eating with a vet. They've definitely made a connection,” Dury said.

“It wasn't what I expected either, but people can surprise you. I rarely see anyone eating alone. I also see the newest residents getting attention. It's almost like there is a reception committee to welcome new faces to Pleasant Valley.”

“The modern Welcome Wagon,” Dury said.

“Hi, Lisa,” Gary said, leaning in the door. “I've been looking for you, Dury. We're about to hook the solar array up on the roof of PV2. I wanted you to be there in case you had a question for the Solar Solutions rep. He goes home after we've finished two.”

“What happened to the solar array we were going to put behind the shops?” Dury asked.

“Right next to the parking lot where you enter between the two blocks of shops, the solar array is fifty or sixty feet west. It's not visible because we've built a protective container for it to set inside of. Once we hook the shops to it that protective box unfolds and there's your solar array.”

“I'll be back, Lisa. We still have some things to sort out,” Dury said, following Gary into the hall.

*****

“Tell me where we are on solar power?” Dury asked Gary once the solar array was set to go to work. “I've never been up here before. It's a nice view with the lake full and the flowers in bloom. So when will we have light powered by that golden orb in the sky?”

“My electricians will hook building one and two together today and the lines are run to the PV Apartments, which is run to the array behind the shops. The shops are already wired into their array and it should generate plenty of electricity for the shops and the apartments. If for some reason the apartments use way more electricity than we expect, it'll become a closed system. But the apartments are hooked in a line to both the shops and PV1, which means a flip of the switch will power the apartments from PV1. During storms and a two or three day rain event, we have enough battery storage to get us through. If for some reason that doesn't work as we plan, we bow our heads and call the Charleston Electric Company and say, “Shoot me some juice, Bruce. In other words, we're covered for anything short of a nuclear change.”

“I don't have any questions,” Dury said. “I understand everything you said. “We do have one more building and at the rate we're going we'll be at capacity before Labor Day.”

“It's amazing, Dury. Two years from the day we sat in Leo's #2, watching the trucks on St. James and we're ready to build PV4. Who could have expected Pleasant Valley to take off the way it has? We'll be able to hook PV3 into PV1 & 2. Unless Carl is all wet, and he hasn't been as long as I've known him, we've got all the energy we'll need, but there is a but.”

“Hit me with it, Gary.”

“We'll need to put a solar array on PV4, after I build it of course. Four buildings this size on two arrays would be asking for trouble. We should save enough on electricity to pay for PV4,” Gary said.

“We aren't swimming in cash at the moment, but the foundation can build PV4 without either of us needing to ante-up more money.”

“We've got the energy covered. It's pretty basic when you get beyond it being a new technology, Dury.”

“I'll tell you what, Gary,” Dury said, patting Gary's back.

“What's that?” Gary asked, suspicious.

“All that listening made me hungry. Do you think Keith has afternoon snacks ready for us to consume?” Dury asked.

“A peach cobbler which is incredible and a black walnut and cinnamon coffee cake. That will grow on you. Black Walnuts aren't my favorite but it's not bad,” Gary said.

“Well let's get down there before the people who live here eat it all,” Dury said.

Gary laughed as Dury headed for the stairs. He looked up at the bright afternoon sun before going inside. It was a real nice day.

Chapter 21

Boys Will Be Boys

“How do you feel about blue and pink neon around the roof of PV1?” Gary asked, dropping into the chair beside Dury's desk. “Carl can do it without much difficulty. He's worked with neon before.”

“Where we care about you,” Dury said.

“We do?”

“Pleasant Valley written not printed in neon. A nice swirl to the letters. Over the doors, in neon, 'Where we care about you, which should be print letters.”

“I'm proud of you, Dury. I like it. I'll give it to Carl and let him create it. I like neon but I've never used it anywhere before.”

“No end to the creativity in Pleasant Valley.

“No, there isn't.”

“I've got to go, Gary. I don't want to rush you, but Joseph is reading

To Kill a Mockingbird and I don't want to miss it,” Dury said.

*****

“You didn't have time to hear Joseph's reading today, Lisa?” Dury asked, stepping into her office for their afternoon talk before he left for the day.

“He was a lucky find. He just turned onto St. James while he was taking a drive. He saw the sign in front of the apartments and he found my office. His wife died recently and he had finding a smaller place on his mind. It was as if he was being guided to the right place. He is one energetic man.

“When he came to me and suggested a reading program, I told him to do what he liked. He spread the word on his own. For a man in a wheelchair he has no difficulty keeping up. He's on the paths when I walk in the morning. He stops to talk to everyone. I bet he was a gifted teacher. After dinner he's engaged with other residents playing games. He's a champion Bridge player, and not bad at ping pong, so the vets tell me. He's got the boys he plays with attending his readings. I'd not figured on an activity like that for our vets,” Lisa said. “He is involved to say the least.”

“I didn't expect to fill up one and two this quickly. I guess I'm surprised by a lot of things. The effectiveness of word of mouth for one and the quality of residents we've been able to place here for another,” Dury said.

“We'll be placing folks in building three soon. I’ve never met nicer people myself, Dury. Pleasant Valley seems to attract pleasant people. I'm renting out the last available apartments to men who live in Charleston. They want to move here to be close to friends who are already living there. I don't need to do much but giving them the papers to sign and explain what's expected.”

“We take everyone who applies?” Dury asked. “A funny time to be asking that, but you do such a good job, I've never felt like you needed instruction from me. I don't know anything about making sure we're taking people who are compatible with what we're doing here.”

“I don't take everyone who comes for an interview. Some people have no interest in interacting with other residents. I stress the involvement of residents in the Pleasant Valley experience. If they are physically capable, we expect them to participate in an activity that makes PV a better place to live. For that we provide a prorated living unit.

“I never hear back from the more difficult people. I let them go home to think about their move. As a rule, they don't call back. I've spent years dealing with people in an official capacity and surly people aren't hide they're disagreeableness during a thorough interview. I offer them no encouragement,” Lisa said.

“Sounds above board, Lisa. We certainly have some wonderful people. Whatever you're doing, keep doing it.”

“Thank you, Dury. I will. I've never had more fun. I love being here, doing this.”

“Neon! What say you about neon?”

“Not anything I've thought about. Neon in what context?”

“Picture it. You're driving down St. James and PV1 is directly ahead of you. Pink and blue neon outlining the top of the building. In white, Pleasant Valley is is done in a graceful handwriting. Over the main entrance, in neon, 'Where we care about you?”

“I love it,” Lisa said. “It's so Pleasant Valley.”

“I'm surprised by how well the vets get along with our seniors,” Dury said.

“Many senior men are vets. They can relate to where our young vets are,” Lisa said. “The vets respect the senior men and value their attention. While the vets like to eat together, and look after each other, I've noticed more than one eating with one of our senior men. They have developed a connection.”

“It's the essence of what I hoped Pleasant Valley could become,” Dury said.

“I expect there will be issues, clashes of personalities. We are dealing with people. We'll try to stay out in front of any feuds,” Lisa said. “There will be people who can't get along but we'll dilute hostilities where we can.”

“The apartments? I am getting the impression that the gay men want to be in the apartments. Do you think we should let them segregate themselves, Lisa? Shouldn't we try to get them spread evenly throughout PV? I have questions about one of our buildings being described as gay. We all know a building can't be gay?” Dury said.

“I've considered that question. Most of your older gay men haven't forgotten the animus of the past thirty years. Many of the gay men moving here express the desire to be in the apartments, close to their friends, because they feel safe being close to people they know.”

“I can see why that would be,” Dury said.

“ I don't argue with a man who asks to be in the apartments. They don't want to risk moving in next door to a bigot. They've endured bigots for long enough. I think we need to let them live where they are comfortable. I show everyone the same units. They decide where they want to live. We'll likely have better luck with integrating the younger LGBT people. They don't have a memory of the dark days. The older men aren't likely to forget them.”

“In Britain, while parliament argued gay marriage, one of the MPs said, 'Considering the abominable way we've treated our gay brothers and sisters in the past, voting for gay marriage is the least we can do.' Equality means we all have the right to marry the person we love. You can bet the people arguing against gay marriage are married to the person they love.”

“Even with the permission of their mistresses,” Lisa observed.

“Yes, and we get back to hypocrisy. Men wanting to tell everyone else how to live, but not thinking such restrictions apply to them,” Dury said.

“And so we get a glimpse into the heart of the hater.”

“Speaking glimpses, Lisa, what do you know about our chef feeding the boys who have come to live in our forest? Isn't that asking for trouble?”

“They’re hungry. Keith feeds them. Who can object to that?” Lisa asked, waiting for the objection she sensed was on the way.

“Well the state of South Carolina might argue they have a responsibility to get them off their streets,” Dury said.

“I'm surprised at that attitude coming from you, Mr. Lane,” Lisa said.

“That's why I put it in those terms. I want your opinion not agreement.”

“While your supposition is correct, the state would like those boys put somewhere that they don't show or get noticed. I was in social work for years before I came home to take care of my mother. States, the federal government, even charities, claim not to have money to take care of the people who should be cared for. What the government would do in the case of the boys in the woods, they'd lock them up with all the other kids unable to live at home or who ran away from the homes they were born into.”

“Not much supervision on the street,” Dury said.

“That's very true,” Lisa said. “They do have each other and most kids watch each other's back. Once you're locked up, the weaker kids are brutalized by the tougher kids. There is less and less money for education and supervision. Locked doors are what keeps order, and then, once a door is locked, the kids live by the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. There isn't enough money to furnish adequate protection for kids. There isn't enough money to properly prepare such kids to become a productive member of society. These kids are held in custody because they are delinquent by virtue of not living at home,” Lisa said. “It doesn't matter what kind of hell they've lived at home.”

“You know this how?” Dury asked.

“Kids like these boys were my full time job. They trust no one and that's a good thing too, because all they have going for them is their own tenacity. They're held until they are eighteen, behind locked doors. Then the head jailer comes and puts an arm around them and says, “You're eighteen. You've earned your freedom. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

“Cold.”

“The statistics say, one third of kids, like these boys, will be in state custody for the rest of their lives,” Lisa said.

“Prison?” Dury said.

“Or worse. There is good news. One third of kids who age out while in state custody....”

“Age out?” Dury asked.

“Reach the age of eighteen. One third find a way to make it. They strong enough or smart enough to ride off into the sunset and stay out of the hands of the man,” Lisa said.

“Aren't there three thirds?” Dury asked.

“One third of kids held in state custody, and who age out, never live to see age thirty. In effect they fail at creating a life that will sustain them.”

“That's harsh, Lisa. You aren't over stating your opinion?”

“I'm giving you the version from fifteen years ago when I was in the profession. There is even less money and even less attention paid to homeless kids. You get caught by the cops, and you're going to be locked up as delinquent. You will stay locked up until you're eighteen. As tight as money is, I see no way they are spending more than when I was tasked with assisting kids like that.”

“I'm going to ask you a question you won't like, but I know you have the answer. I'm told there are ten boys. How many of them are gay?”

“It was four in ten homeless kids were LGBT. Most of them were told to get out and not to come back by their parents. Others are forced to leave for their own protection. I'd say the odds are, four to five of the boys Keith is feeding are gay. It's a guess. It might be three and it could be six. I haven't sat down and spoken with any of them but David. He seems to be the boy the other boys follow. He is the one that got Keith to feed them all.”

“Yes, I've head his name. I don't know what to do, Lisa. I don't mind telling you. Calling the cops and putting them in the justice system isn't going to happen. I spent years defending men in New York City. The system was rigged. Most of my clients were black or brown and they were going down. For every dollar I had to defend my clients, the state had twenty to convict them. By and by one of the assistant D. A.s came around with a deal. The guys been locked up a year by this time and I've seen him three times. There's delay after delay after delay, and then here's the D.A. 'OK, this is your lucky day. I have ten minutes to talk you into taking the deal I have for you. A year in prison and the time you've already served goes against the sentence. All you have to do is plead guilty and you'll be on the street within 30 to 60 days. You want to go to court on it, I'll ask ten years hard time and five more on parole. I'll own your ass for the rest of your natural life,'” Dury lamented. “What am I going to do? Tell him not to take the deal and put his faith in a guy that has four hundred dollars to spend on proving he isn't guilty. They always took the deal and I always nodded my approval.”

“It was the best you could do with what you had to work with,” Lisa said.

“Yeah it was. I couldn't do anything. I had no power. That assistant D.A. Who saw my client once for five minutes, he had the power. He had the deal, and no one with half a brain is going to take a chance on serving ten years if by signing their name they can be out in a month or two. I quit. I came here to practice nice safe civil law, where the stakes didn't amount to, 'You bet your life.'”

“Don't blame yourself, Dury. You did the best you could do. The system is a system. It was there long before you got there and it's still there. My breaking point was Jimmy Simmons. He was one of those emergency cases that came in over night from one of the juvenile facilities. Jimmy had gone to the emergency room and before he could go back to luvvie an intake worker needed to interview him to say he was able to return.

“I'd talked to the doctor once I saw his file. The doctor told me the boys story and he didn't believe a word the kid said, but he stayed with his story and the doctor was unable to restrain him from being returned to the facility. So now I had the case and had to mark OK on his return. He gave me the same stupid story and that's all he'd say.”

“What was his story?”

“He fell in the shower and a mop handle went up his anise.”

“He was raped. That's what the doctor told you?” Dury asked.

“Exactly. I told him if he told me the truth I'd keep him from going back there. He said, 'You going to protect me in the next place they send me, lady?'”

“No, you weren't. You had no power to do anything,” Dury said.

“I talked to the doctor, and he said if Jimmy came to the emergency room again, they'd call him in on the case. It was the best he could do. I couldn't do anything but write what he told me and send him back to where the bigger boys could do whatever they wanted to him.”

“You told me this for a reason?” Dury asked.

“No. It's the way it was and my mother getting cancer was my get out of jail free card. I never forgot Jimmy. I don't know if they moved on to another boy and left him alone, or if they kept on once the lights went out at night.”

“I'll tell you what you told me, you did the best you could. You had no power to yank him out of whatever it is they call it when they lock those kids up. Our biggest problem is, we can't forget the victims we can't save from the system,” Dury said. “We know the system is broken, but we can't do anything about it.”

“No, we can't,” Lisa admitted. “But I never forgot Jimmy. So, what are you going to be about our kids?”

“They are ours, aren't they?” Dury said. “I'll talk to Gary about making a temporary shelter to keep them out of the elements. They're already being helpful to Pleasant Valley residents. I trust we can do something to offer them some kind of future. Some education. I really don't know, but I haven't had a lot of time to think about it. Pleasant Valley is more than a place where people live. We're a family and we've got kids. Don't ask me how to sell this to the people living here, but we aren't turning them over to the state without a fight.”

“The people in Pleasant Valley may surprise you,” Lisa said.

“One would hope,” Dury said.

*****

On Thursday night Keith brought dinner in containers that kept the food hot for longer than it took Gary to drive the eight miles to Dury's. This was a routine that gave the three men a chance to compare notes.

“Are there more thighs?” Dury asked. “I'm not much of a wing man.”

“You've always been a fine wing man as far as I'm concerned,” Gary said.

“More cornbread with the thighs, Dury?”

“Yes, more cornbread.”

“What are you planning to do about television?” Gary asked. “The buildings are wired for cable. I've put a sufficient antenna on each roof to pick up the networks inside each unit. That gives them a half dozen choices.”

“I myself plan to do what I’ve done most of my life, ignore it,” Dury said.

“Do we go cable or satellite?” Gary asked. “You can't rob the people of an opportunity to zone out in front of the tube, Dury.”

“We provide endless opportunity for our residents to be productive and interact with one another. Now you want me to provide them with a reason to avoid contact. They'll want meals in their unit so they can stare into the abyss.”

Dury looked across the table at Gary as he thought over the question at hand. The seriousness on his face told the entire story. How do they avoid piping television into Pleasant Valley?

“I don't want either,” Dury said firmly. “I don’t know how to answer you. I’ll need time on this one. I have principles. I won't subsidize propaganda and advertisers who are more swindlers than good faith merchants. I'm suborning their behavior if I expose Pleasant Valley to their propensity to fudge on facts.” “That’s not going to be an easy sell, Dury. Most people spend a lot of time with their television sets,” Gary said. “I have been known to watch an NFL game every now and again, but only Thursday thru Monday, during the season.”

“Pray tell whatever do you do after the Super Bowl?” Dury asked.

“NASCAR. I want NASCAR. Their season starts the week after the NFL season ends.”

“Thank heavens. I was worried there for a minute,” Dury said.

“I never had that habit myself,” Keith said. “I do remember a lot of conversation around Dynasty and Dallas when I was working in diners, after I left Henrietta's.”

“I can have signs made with a television and a red line drawn through it to make this a no television valley,” Gary said. “I somehow doubt its effectiveness.”

“I was at my doctor last Tuesday. Television is on in the waiting room to distract the patients from the three hour wait. The doctor was dealing with an emergency and it created a long wait for many people. Since he usually takes me immediately, I not anticipating the wait, I didn’t have a book with me. I found myself staring into the television,” Dury explained.

“They use a bug to sell insurance. Maybe it's a frog. It's a cartoon. One of the richest insurance companies sells insurance by using a green bug with an impeccable English accent. I ask you, what the hell does a talking bug have to do with selling insurance? What kind of salesmanship is that?” Dury said.

“It’s a lizard, Dury. It’s supposed to be humorous,” Gary explained. “A lizard speaking better English than their clients.”

“A lizard? It’s a cartoon, Gary. What does it have to do with insurance?”

“Actually it’s a gecko,” Gary corrected.

“You seem to know all about this. You find that ethical? Shouldn't a company selling a product need to tell you something about that product?”

“I’ve never thought about it being ethical or not. A lizard walking on his hind legs, speaking perfect English is funny. That's what they're selling.”

“Gecko. Why does that ring a bell?” Dury asked, looking at Keith. “The greed is good guy was a lizard? That was his name, right?”

“Gordon Gekko wasn’t a lizard but he was a snake,” Gary said.

“He’s taller too. Naturally he’d have an extra k in his name,” Dury calculated. “Greed is Good? It wasn't so much his creed as it was a prediction.”

“That’s him,” Gary said. “He started a trend. Now the world is about money. Gordon merely preceded the trend.”

“Don’t you see that as a little suspect? A little like an insurance company poking a finger in the consumer’s eye and laughing all the way to the bank. Subtle, using a gecko to not talk about insurance. It’s almost genius. The kind of gimmick arrogant salesmen use to take advantage of their customers.”

“And speaking of television, you’ve got two idiots selling a chopper or hopper, who babble like morons, and I mean no disrespect to morons. Who buys products from people with a combined I.Q. that doesn't reach double digits? Isn’t that a bit insulting to to viewers?”

“I never thought about it,” Gary said. “They're advertisers. They have no respect for anyone. You're a potential pigeon to them. They don't need to make sense as long as you dial that number, Now!”

“Yes, you've got to act immediately to get the deal. It's the same ads I heard the last time I saw television years ago, but you still must call now.”

“I don't know an alternative,” Gary said. “People aren't going to give up television.”

“Do it ourselves. Carl is as good looking as you can get. He's a charmer. Put him in front of a camera reading news and such. Have a weather girl and Gary would love to do sports. Make a deal with someone to play uninterrupted movies. Have information shows on the activities in Pleasant Valley, using the residents to tell each story.”

“I like that, Keith. We make television fit Pleasant Valley. If we can get enough interest, no one will notice they aren't watching mindless programming.”

“We could throw some of that in from time to time to let them know how lucky they are not to be watching that crap,” Gary said. “Soldiers could tell their stories.”

“We could have recipes and talk about each day's menu.”

“Joseph!” Dury said. “He could read from great literature.”

“He is a master at telling a tale,” Keith said. “Maybe make it a production and have different people reading different parts. Get everyone involved. Like a play.”

*****

“There's always one more thing to discuss over dessert. I've been saving this for when we sat down with the Lemon meringue pie. Might I say it is fabulous,” Dury said. “What about the boys.”

“Don't compliment my pie and then try to wiggle out of our responsibility to those boys,” Keith said as firmly as he'd said anything to Dury.

“Ouch! Don't hit me no mo!” Gary yelped.

“What kind of temporary structure can you build me yesterday and how long for a permanent structure?”

“Thank you,” Keith said, blushing slightly.

“I can put a wood structure up in two or three days. We have the materials on hand. We'll need to discuss what we want for a more permanent structure. How many rooms? What kind of common spaces? Plumbing might take a bit longer. It won't be the Ritz but I can have them out of the elements early next week,” Gary said.

“I'll start working on a way to break the news to the Pleasant Valley residents. While I don't want to step on anyone's toes, those boys need someone to see that they are safe and have some sort of shot at life,” Dury said. “All of us have had our shot.”

“Thank you,” Keith said again.

Chapter 22

The Takeaway

Dury sat in his office taking notes for what he was going to say in front of the entire Pleasant Valley Community. He was light on his feet and more than capable of wooing a jury of his client's peers. He did it for most of his life.

This jury included everyone who lived in Pleasant Valley. Many of whom were accustomed to being left out. The words not welcome here often applied to them. Now Dury would ask them to open their hearts and welcome the homeless boys who weren't welcome anywhere. They'd found there way to Pleasant Valley. They'd heard it was a place that cared.

Did it care enough to give the boys a home?

Now he either had to ask them, or tell them, ten teenage boys were now Pleasant Valley's responsibility. Like all the people in Pleasant Valley, the boys were looking for a place where they belonged. Some found out about it from friends and some stumbled across it.

No matter how they came, the promise was the same.

“Judge Warren, can you come on Labor Day? Everyone will be here and you can see Pleasant Valley for yourself. OK. I'll see you then,” Dury said, handing up. He was glad to get that phone call out of the way.

Judge Warren was the chief judge in Charleston. His father was a judge. Both his brothers and one of his daughters were lawyers. He was old Charleston and if Dury had The Judge on his side, the rest was likely to fall into place.

Dury walked next door. It was early and still quiet. Dury started and ended most days in Lisa's office. They talked over coffee on the days Lisa worked.

“Give me your cup. I'll fill it for you. I was just about to walk over to the kitchen to see what Keith has cooking.”

“Good luck. I think he was with Carl last night. They usually don't surface until later on the days after they go out.”

“I've never seen Keith so happy,” Lisa said. “He has a spring in his step I've never seen before.”

“Yes, and it's good to see, but I'm alone way too much. He was a godsend for me. He got me excited about living again. I guess he was bound to going back to having a life of his own.”

“We only have a few units left in PV3. I can reserve you a unit if you like, sir,” Lisa kidded.

“I did think about moving down here. I'm here all the time, but the house is where my wife was. I don't think I'll ever leave it. Besides, Gary built it for me. I wouldn't want to hurt his feelings, and he comes over fairly often.”

Lisa brought back the coffee and sat behind her desk.

“You look like a man with a lot on his mind,” Lisa said.

“I'm doing that talk to the residents this weekend. What if they ignore the invitation to meet me in the dining room?”

“Dury, we have two hundred residents. The dining room will seat two fifty without filling it. Since this is the first time you've addressed them, they'll come. You'll be fine. Thee are good people. They won't disappoint you.”

“I'm not sure if I need to tell them what I want or ask them to get on board?” Dury said. “It's not what they signed up for, Lisa. There were no strings attached when they signed on.”

“They're lucky to be here, and they know it, Dury. They know they're living in a special place. They help make it special. Pleasant Valley isn't so much a place, it's a spirit.”

“I'm not feeling it. A jury is made up of 12 of my clients peers and I can take them where I want them to go, but a house full of people might not want to hear what I have to say. It does require their cooperation.”

“Be open and honest. Tell it like it is. If Pleasant Valley is going to succeed, we'll need to take care of surprises. You're the father of Pleasant Valley. Act like you're their father and they'll listen to what you have to say.”

“You always put me on the right track, Lisa. That's what I'll do,” Dury said.

“By the way, Dr. Harvey was here while you were in town yesterday. I showed him his unit beside the AIDS clinic. I'd say by his reaction, he was pleasantly surprised. He didn't say anything but his face said it all. I don't think he was expecting it to be that nice.”

“Gary went out of his way to make his unit special. Dr. Harvey treated my sister-in-law when AIDS was just gaining a foothold. He was a kind and gentle man. Barbara really got along well with him. She was forever calling him to ask a question about one of the men we were helping in those early days. Within five minutes he'd be on the phone. He'd stop what he was doing to answer her question,” Dury said.

“He always regretted he couldn't save Brenda. Shortly after she died, he was a pioneer in Atlanta. He converted his entire medical practice to treating AIDS before Ronald Reagan ever said the word AIDS, or gave a thought to the tens of thousands of men dead from it. Harvey treated them when they were all looking at a death sentence. That couldn't be an easy thing to do,” Dury said. “He knew because of Brenda, AIDS was no gay disease.”

“He seemed nice. A bit preoccupied, but nice,” Lisa said. “The men in the apartments are excited. I spread the word they're going to like him. Some knew the papers he's written, conferences he attended, and speeches he gave.”

“How many HIV+ men do we have now?”

“Thirteen,” Lisa said.

“They were all here from before?” Dury asked.

“All but one. We have one new man who is HIV+.”

“You know them all. How are they doing, Lisa?”

“They look after each other. Keep each other's spirits up. They make sure everyone is taking their meds as prescribed. I'd say they're doing good compared to how they were doing when they were evicted from here. Like with Keith, we've gotten closer since Pleasant Valley began.”

“So with PV3 near capacity, we have two hundred people?”

“Give or take a few. We left a few units open so referrals will have a unit. Having a few open units in each building will gives us flexibility. We are just short of two hundred residents.”

“Gary is ready to build PV4.”

Lisa paused as she took a drink of coffee. She gave that some thought.

“A PV5?” she asked.

“No. I'm not sure about four. Once I give my talk and once we have the Labor Day celebration with everyone participating, we'll decide then. See how manageable two hundred folks are and if adding fifty or sixty would change the dynamics more than we'd like.”

“PV4 doesn't need to be as large as 1 thru 3. A less substantial building. Something that blends in with the scenery might be nice.”

“We'll see. I'll see that Gary checks with you before we make anything final. Remind me if we begin to move too fast.”

“I'm going to cut my days to one a week in the office, after Labor Day. We're going to be in the Needle Works after lunch each afternoon. There are nine of us at the moment. Two spend mornings at the laundry two days a week and the rest are involved in other activities. The Needle Works makes nine shops, plus the dry cleaners and laundry. There are four shops available after this week.”

*****

Dury stood on the platform that gave him a view of the final residents coming in to find a seat. It may not have been a full house, but it was close.

“Thank you for coming. I couldn't see how everyone would fit in here at one time, but Gary assured me you'd fit, and he was right. For those of you I haven't met yet, I'm Dury Lane,” Dury said.

The applause began and increased as Dury looked out at the crowd.

“I don't know all of you. I'm the pencil pusher who makes this place run.”

“You're the father of Pleasant Valley,” Gary said.

There was more applause.

“I haven't done much parenting lately, but I've watched Pleasant Valley become far more than I envisioned. I wanted to create a place where people could live together, helping each other where possible, and money wasn't the first thing on everyone's mind. What I see, and hear, tells me we're doing it so far. The original idea was mine but it took a lot of people and each of you to make Pleasant Valley a reality. I think we did what we set out to do. I think this is a place people are happy to be.”

There was more applause.

“I want to thank Lisa. She's the first person most of you see before you move here. There's no thanks that can repay Gary for building this incredible places. Most of all I want to thank Keith. The idea started with him. Keith is the man who keeps us fed, which assures we meet on the paths, trying to walk the last meal off before we sit down for the next.”

There were cheer and a lot of applaud. Keith stood to more cheers.

“We don't meet like this often, because you shouldn't have to listen to me as partial payment for living here. I promise to do this only when I need to bring something important to your attention. Since I was faced with our first crisis, I wanted to make sure you knew what I am doing and why I'd doing it,,” Dury said, hesitating to look at individual faces.

“As you enter PV1, you'll notice the beautiful neon work Carl has created for us. As beautiful as it is, I want each of you to look at the words written there the next time you come in that way. I, we, the people who developed Pleasant Valley, live by those words. 'Pleasant Valley, where we care about you.' It's no idle phrase. I believe it. I want you to believe it, and now we get to prove it's true,” Dury said, pausing again.

“When we came up with the idea of Pleasant Valley, we were thinking about people who aren't always treated well, or fairly in our society. We built a place for people like you. Where you feel like you belong, because you haven't always been made to feel welcome where you have lived. If anyone had told me that it would come to pass even better than we dreamed it, I wouldn't have believed it. I hoped it would be a good place, a decent place. The kind of place that offers a better way to live. It took all of us to bring the dream to life. Thanks for helping.”

“Pleasant Valley isn't words. It's people. As much as I thought I knew what kind of people would want to live in such a place, there are always surprises. Lisa was a surprise and all of you know her. You've got to get past her to live here. She's a force of nature and we're lucky to have her.”

There was more applause and Lisa beamed.

“Pleasant Valley has had children. I didn't see that coming, but David, the boy who led some homeless kids to the forest near Pleasant Valley, heard about us and he was sure we'd feed them. Keith, having been homeless himself at one time, didn't hesitate. I did. I didn't know what to make of it. I'm a lawyer and things need to be done according to the law. Feeding hungry kids that are homeless breaks more than one ordinance in man locals, I'm sure, but there is an alternative, let them go hungry, but that's not an alternative I like.”

There was applause and people nodded their heads in agreement.

“If you'll look at the wheelchairs scattered about, you'll see several young faces parked nearby, ready to assist the wounded warrior they made sure got down here to listen to all this hot air.”

People laughed. Some applauded the young men.

“The boys and our soldiers have bonded. There is no more than a couple of years difference in age, so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, but it surprised me. Keith, Lisa, and Gary all knew what had to be done, and believe me when I say, I had no alternative but to do the right thing if I wanted to keep the peace,” Dury said.

He paused to look at the faces again.

“You'll see a wooden frame structure just behind the main gardens on the far side of the lake. Gary put it up to get out boys out of the elements.”

People applauded Gary.

“The boys work for their supper, breakfast and lunch too, but it isn't work. They help a soldier who earned that assistance. If they need someone to lean on, the boys have been there for them. When laundry is collected from your doors to go to be washed and dried, it is one of our boys who pick it up and delivery back to you,” Dury said, looking up. “They do a lot for their supper.”

“I suppose I should have asked you if you approved or not, but I'm afraid they've blended into our community so well that there would be no way to exclude them now. They are here. They are our kids and we will care for them as we care for each other.”

“You didn't say anything to me,” Joseph said from down in front of Dury.

“No, Joseph, I didn't. We only discussed it among the board. You're a teacher. I can't imagine you having an objection.”

“I do, and I am not without experience with these boys that are so helpful to so many. Let me tell you about these young men. They regularly and without mercy beat me badly at ping pong. I'd developed a certain reputation as a man who could hold his own on a ping pong table, and these young men came along and knocked me off my perch. I'm a poor old man who did nothing to them, but I tell you how you can repay me, turn them over to me for two hours a day, together, or in small groups, and I'll drum English and literature into them so they aren't so quick on their feet comes the evening when it's time for ping pong.”

Everyone laughed.

“I'm new. I haven't settled in yet. My name is Joyce Brockway. I taught history. I'd be willing to hold classes a few days a week. Count me in and I don't even play ping pong.”

“I was a science teacher for years. I'm Glenn Mayhew. I've missed being in the classroom. I'd like to teach the boys about science and the universe in which they live if I might.”

There was more applause and more offers to instruct the boys.

“I'm Carl. I helped build Pleasant Valley. I was a soccer coach and a camp instructor at summer camp for teenagers. I'm sure I can be useful in helping the boys stay fit. That grassy patch behind the apartments would make a perfect athletic field. Just saying,” Carl said.

“i do have a favor to ask. I need a witness or two for what I want to say. I'd say that this audience qualifies. You've probably seen me with Keith, because I'm with him as often as I can be. I wanted to ask Keith, will you marry me?”

Keith turned pink and then red, holding his hand over his mouth as the audience cheered the proposal.

“Well, that about says it all,” Dury said. “Is their a preacher in the house?”

Everyone laughed.

“Keith, you deserve happiness. I'm glad you found it,” Dury said. “And you folks take my breath away. I had no idea how you'd react to what I had to say. You prove the words over our door are true,” Dury said. “I keep thinking, there's no way we can make Pleasant Valley better than we imagined it could be, but you've made it so. Thank you. I'll get out of here now.”

Everyone stood and applauded as they prepared to leave.

*****

Most of Pleasant Valley showed up for the food and fun offered at the Labor Day celebration. There were picnic tables with coffee and snacks to feed the early arrivals until the afternoon picnic and evening wedding feast filled out the day's events, and there were no shortage of volunteers to help make the day a success.

“Carl! Carl! Aren't you a shamed of yourself. A man with your assets should be spreading them around amongst the less fortunate. Like me. A man like you shouldn't limit himself to one man.”

“Bobby Lee, I only love one man. What good would I be to you? You'd know my heart belonged to Keith. I'd know it and why would you want to rob yourself of finding a man who has your heart and wants only you to have his?”

“i could suffer through it far a night with you. You really didn't give anyone else much of a chance,” Bobby Lee lamented.

“Keith and I came to an understanding the first time we saw each other,” Carl said, leaning on the table where some of the men from the apartments sat.

“Love at first sight?” Matt asked.

“I suppose. I don't know what you call it. I've never been in love before and after I saw Keith, no one else appeals to me. He's the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

“Romance is in the air,” Jamee said. “This place never had that kind of atmospherics before you came, Carl.”

“I do what I can,” Carl said. “There's a man out there waiting for you, Bobby Lee, if you took the time to look for him.”

“You've got to be kidding,” Jamee said. “Bobby Lee stick with one man? Love is a numbers game for him.”

“What do you know?” Bobby Lee said. “I could change my stripes.”

Jamee growled like a big cat.

The gay men from the apartments laughed as they considered the proposition.

*****

“Keith, you better get out of here. You're going to make a mess of your tuxedo. You don't work on your wedding day,” a plump purple haired woman said, moving Keith away from the many dishes and ingredients for the days meal.

“I can't help it. I worry things won't be right,” Keith said.

“Honey, we won't let you down. Go relax. You want to save your energy for your wedding night,” another woman said.

The kitchen, as always, was a beehive of activity and laughter.

“What's wrong, Keith?” Lisa asked, you look worried.

“I am, Lisa. What if he decides he doesn't love me? What if he looks at me and sees what I really look like? I'm scared, Lisa. I've never been married. I never thought I'd ever be married. It's a shock to my system. It's all happening so fast.”

“It's your right. We all get to marry the one we love now.”

“It just seems like yesterday I avoiding mentioning my interest in men, and now I can get married. It wasn't possible two months ago. Now it is.”

“Carl is the sweetest man I know, besides you. You're made for each other. My God, he's the catch of all season's, Keith, and he loves you. It don't get no better than that.”

*****

“Hello, Judge Warren. Welcome to Pleasant Valley. Thanks for coming.”

“Thank you, Dury. How's the happy couple?” Judge Warren said as he got out of his car. “I don't mind telling you I'm nervous about this.”

“Judge, I told them I had someone to marry them. They don't know it's the chief judge in Charleston. I didn't want to reveal that surprise.”

“I've never officiated at a gay marriage before. I hope I don't screw this up, Dury. When you asked me to come out here, it involved me meeting some teenage boys. Now I'm marrying people and breaking new ground while doing it. Things do move fast in Pleasant Valley. It's a fine looking place, I might add.”

“I'm afraid my hand in it was more in the way of ideas. The people who make Pleasant Valley what it is do the work. I want you to meet Lisa first. She interviews the applicants.”

“You trying to rent me one of your places, Dury? My wife would never leave the Warren family home. I, on the other hand, might be talked into leaving all that junk she accumulates. I've got to build another house just for her stuff.”

“Judge, you do have it rough. I suspect a drink might sooth you a bit before the hard work begins.”

Dury and the judge walked arm in arm as they paused to look at the neon on the front of PV1.

“That's quite lovely,” the judge said. “Nice sentiment. Dury, I didn't know you had it in you. You've always been all business.”

The walked down the hallway to Lisa's office and stopped.

“Lisa, Keith, this is Judge Warren. He'll be marrying you today, Keith,” Dury said with delight in his voice.

“I'm afraid I'm marrying Carl, Dury, but he is a handsome judge,” Keith managed.

They all had a good laugh.

“Keith, get lost. The judge isn't supposed to see you before he marries you,” Dury said.

“That's the groom,” Lisa said.

“Him too,” Dury said. “Lisa, come on, we're going to have a drink, and you're going to tell Judge Warren about Jimmy Simmons.”

“My pleasure,” Lisa said. “It's a bit early for a drink.”

“That story shouldn't only be told after a drink,” Dury said.

“A story?” the judge asked.

“I could tell the story, but it's Lisa's story. She can tell it better.”

*****

A few minutes later Judge Warren was back in Dury's office with his second drink in hand.

“What do you want from me, Dury. You've always been my favorite attorney, but I don't do special favors,” Judge Warren said. “We need to keep this according to the laws I'm sworn to uphold.”

“I'm doing you the favor, Judge. The boys have their own place my contractor built for them. They're going to school with some impressive teachers. They work with our wounded warriors and our seniors. I want you to emancipate them and sanction their relationship with Pleasant Valley. The city of Charleston is off the hook and the boys will have a foundation that will help them succeed in life. You can't do better than that.”

“And there will be hell to pay when someone investigate what I've done and finds these boys are around gay men on a daily basis,” Judge Warren said.

“You are giving these boys a shot. Think about Jimmy and what he endured while in state custody. The worry being, kids will have sex before they're eighteen. Do you know what teens on the street do in order to eat, Judge? I know you know. I know you know the same way I know. The fear that teenagers will have sex is used to justify all kinds of punishment, and yet sex buys and sells everything in this society. We put kids into jeopardy in a system that isn't prepared to and can't afford to take care of them properly. The sex your system is protecting them from runs rampant. It's forced on weaker boys by the bigger more powerful boys. It's a fact of life in confinement situations.”

“It is the system we have,” the judge said.

“The system we had denied gay men and woman the right to marry the person they love until now. There was no reason they couldn't marry, just meanness and hate, but here you are, adapting to a system that can change.”

“You know about Samuel, my youngest son. Was a time it could be swept under the carpet. We'd known all along. Connie knew. She babied Samuel. He was a special boy. I didn't understand it. South Carolina didn't tolerate it. Samuel was tormented to death. I regret I was too stupid to do anything to save my son. My ignorance helped to kill him, and once they're gone.... ”

“I met Samuel one Christmas at your house. Fine looking boy,” Dury said, as the judge looked up at Dury's face.

“This morning,” he went on. “My wife asked me where I was going. I turned to her and said, 'I'm going to marry two men who love each other today.' She cried. I don't think she's forgiven me yet, but I'm doing the right thing.”

Both men drank and thought about it.

“How many of these boys are gay?”

“You know the statistics as well as I do. No way to know. I know men who were in their thirties before they faced the fact they were gay.”

“Four or five,” Judge Warren said. “Why would parents throw away their kids?”

“They do. We're prepared to take care of these boys. You'd be negligent if you didn't let us do it. Can I guarantee you that none of them will become sexually active before they're eighteen, no I can't. Can you guarantee me a boy you put into your system isn't going to be sexually abused? No you can't. Let's face the facts and give these boys a chance with people and not take the chance with a system we know only too well.”

“I can't guarantee a kid will come out of state custody better than when I put him into the state's hands. Odds are he'll be worse for the experience, but it's the system we have. It's the law I'm duty bound to enforce.”

“So let us raise these kids in a place where they're cared for and about. We can make their lives better than you can. Our society doesn't have a very good record with folks who live on its fringes. It's time to put the children in the hands of people and let the state do whatever it is the state does.”

The judge sat staring into his drink. He heard every word. He knew his answer. He could just say yes.

“Give me a few days to deal with children's protective services. I might want Lisa to come over to the courthouse and talk to them. You're persuasive. I might need you to speak to them if I can't convince them. I'll have Pleasant Valley certified to educate these particular boys. The fact they're working and integrated into the community should count for something. Who knows, your revolutionary ideas might catch on, Dury. I don't mind telling you, you ask a lot of a tired old judge.”

“I want what's right. You want what's right. Let's make it happen,” Dury said. “If we can't save them all, let's save these boys.”

*****

The gazebo was constructed at the edge of the lake and it was covered in white roses and Baby's Breath. The microphone sat near the front, facing two hundred people who still sat at the picnic tables, enjoying the company of friends, and the festive atmosphere.

“I'm back,” Dury said, blowing into the microphone to be sure it was on.

People applauded the action.

“Since we've filled Pleasant Valley with you folks, we're giving thought to building PV4 in the sixteen acres beyond PV3. Nothing is final yet but we want to keep you in the loop.”

“Keith, who we've run out of the kitchen for the day, has my profound thanks for coming into my life and helping to bring this community to life,” Dury said, pausing for the applause. “I just wanted to tell Keith and Gary, my two partners in crime, how they've inspired me and made my life better. I wasn't sure what kind of man I'd become once I retired. I don't mind telling you I was worried for a while. Thank you both and may this only be the beginning of our partnership. I'll turn this over to Lisa.”

“Thank you, Dury. You are truly the father of Pleasant Valley. Thanks!”

People stood to applaud.

“I've known Keith for years. He's one of the sweetest men I've known. Seeing him so happy makes me happy,” Lisa said as people applauded. “I've known Carl for a few months. It's easy to see Keith and him are made for each other, and with no more delay, His Honor, Judge Warren, who will make the first marriage in Pleasant Valley history official. This will be a short ceremony to make it legal. There will be an exchange of vows during the reception later. Judge Warren, Keith & Carl,” Lisa said as the participants moved forward.

“I had a son, Samuel,” Judge Warren said. “He didn't live to meet the man he'd fall in love with and marry him. When I got this opportunity to marry Keith and Carl, I thought of my son, and I'm honored to participate in my first gay marriage ceremony. Gentlemen, please face each other.”

The judge stood between the two and a few steps back from them.

“We'll be brief so I keep my composure,” Judge Warren said. “Nothing I can say here will help these two love each other more. Keith, do you take this man to be your married partner for life?”

“I do,” Keith said, and the tears began to flow.

“Carl, do you take this lovely man to be your married partner for life?”

“I do,” Carl said.

“Gentlemen, you know what to do. I pronounce you married in the eyes of God, this community, and in accordance with the laws of the State of South Carolina. Congratulations!”

Keith and Carl, dressed in white tuxedos, embraced, kissing as cheers erupted from their Pleasant Valley neighbors.

The sky was a rich azure. it was another perfect Charleston day.

The End

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Hopefully, we'll meet in Pleasant Valley one day.

Just Take a left on St. James.

A Rick Beck Story

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