I liked nothing better than planning parties and trips. I didn't waste any time getting to my research, either. I found a whole bunch of references to St. Augustine through the search engine, and I clicked on the first one. They had a link to "attractions," and that's the one I went to. I wasn't on the site five minutes when my phone rang. "Hello," I said. "Hi, Kyle. It's Cherie," the voice said. All I could think of was something was wrong with the baby. "What's the matter?" I said. "What's the matter? Nothing's the matter. Is that how you greet your favorite auntie?" "Sorry. I thought maybe something had happened to Rob," I said. She laughed. "Relax. He's fine. This is a business call. I'm calling as your lawyer," she said. "What'd I do?" I asked. "Did I catch you at a bad time, Baby? You sound awfully agitated. I can call back tomorrow, if you'd like," she said. I laughed that time. "No. This is a good time. Let's start this all over. I'll pretend the phone just rang." She laughed. "Hello," I said, in a real calm voice. "Hi, Kyle. It's me. Cherie," she said, laughing. "Cherie who?" I said. That really made her laugh. "Oh. Hi, Cherie. How are you? It's good to hear your voice," I said. "And it's good to hear yours. How's it hanging, Bubba? It is hanging, isn't it?" she said. "Not since I heard your voice, it ain't. You know what you do to me, and I love phone sex," I said. She was laughing some more. "You fool-boy," she said. "Listen, I've got some business to discuss with you. Is this a good time?" "First tell me what Rob is doing," I said. "His father is trying to feed him baby food, and he's making a colossal mess of it," she said. While we were making small talk, I was racking my brain to try to figure out what business she might have with me, and then I remembered I still hadn't deposited those damn checks. I got sort of a weak feeling in my stomach. "Do you need to go take over?" I asked, hoping she did. "No. Craig can handle Rob. You know why I'm calling, don't you, and you don't want to talk about it," she said. "Cherie, I honestly forgot. I'll deposit them tomorrow. I promise," I said. "Kyle, by my reckoning, you have one hundred thousand dollars in un-cashed, un-deposited checks lying around somewhere, and that's not good. I want those checks in the bank by noon tomorrow, do you hear me?" Yikes! She was really pissed off at me. "Okay, I'll do it. On my honor," I said. "You'd better, mister," she said. "I will. I gave my word of honor, and I'll do it," I said. "Don't be mad at me, okay?" She laughed. "I'm not mad at you, Baby," she said. "I think you need to give serious thought to putting that money to work for you." "You mean like in savings? I will." "No. I mean like in some investments," she said. "I thought I had plenty of investments," I said. "Ain't that where the money comes from every month?" "Yes, it is, and yes, you do have quite sizeable investments. I'm thinking real estate, Kyle. Rental property there in Emerald Beach. Do you know anything about that?" "No, ma'am. I know my daddy has a good bit of rental property, but I don't know how it works except that my friend Philip's family handles it for him," I said. "With your permission, I'd like to give Gene a call and discuss this with him. Is that all right with you?" I got a little nervous. "Please don't tell him I haven't deposited those checks. He won't like that at all," I said. "I'm not going to tell him that. I want to see what he thinks about the real estate market over your way right now. I have a hunch that people want to unload beach rental property at this time of year. If they do, you might be able to do really well with the money you've got undeposited in your bureau drawer. It is in the house, isn't it? It's not still in your car, I hope." "It's in the house," I said. "Well, may I call Gene?" "Sure. Just don't get me in trouble with him, okay? He'll rip me a new one if he finds out I've been irresponsible with that much money," I said. "Well, you haven't been exactly careful, but I wouldn't call what you've done being irresponsible with money. I'd say you'd been irresponsible with money if you had spent it all and had nothing to show for it. You don't spend much money, do you?" she said. "I spend money. It's just so much. Plus, I worked all summer and earned my money. That's the money I spend," I said. "I don't really need anything, and I hate to shop. That's one of the gay genes I missed out on." She laughed. "Well, let me call Gene right now. Do you know if he's home?" "As far as I know he is," I said. "Okay. Let me give him a call." "Call me back and tell me what he says, okay?" I said. "Okay. It sounds like you might actually be interested in this," she said. "Well, I am, I guess. Thanks for looking out for me, Cherie. I love you," I said. "I love you, too, Kyle. Bye." We hung up. I really felt bad for not depositing those fucking checks. I got up and took them out of the drawer. I put them in an envelope and stuck it between my wallet and my keys on the dresser. That way there was no way I could forget about it in the morning. I went back to surfing the Web for things to do in St. Augustine. I found some really neat sites about forts and such. I started writing down notes like crazy, and then I decided to just print the pages so everybody could see them. I didn't leave anything out, even though I knew I wasn't interested in seeing some of that stuff. About forty-five minutes later my phone rang again. "Hello," I said. "Hi. It's me. I just got off the phone with your dad, and he absolutely loved the idea. He had no idea how much money you get every month," Cherie said. "He didn't? Did you tell him?" "Yes. I thought I had your permission to do that," she said. She sounded worried. "You did. Cherie, I trust you. You have my permission to do or say whatever you think will help me out," I said. "Okay. I'm glad you said that," she said. "Craig thinks I'm too scrupulous about confidentiality, but I would much rather err on the side of caution than violate a confidence." She said that very fast, and I wasn't real sure what all that meant. I didn't say anything. "You there?" she asked. "Yeah. I was just trying to figure out what you just said," I said. "What do I do next? Besides deposit the checks, I mean." "I think your dad will probably call you and want to meet with you tomorrow," she said. "Can you take a meeting with him?" "Yeah, I can take having a meeting with him. We get along good, as long as I don't piss him off," I said. There was a long pause. "Kyle, 'take a meeting' means 'have a meeting.' It doesn't mean 'tolerate having a meeting,'" she said. "Oh. Yeah, I can take a meeting with him, as long as he doesn't want to parade me all around that hotel again, like he did the last time. Last time, he must have said a hundred times: this is Kyle, the 'and Son' of 'Goodson and Son, Inc.' I was dressed in a damn bellhop suit at the time. Then we went to lunch with all these major guys he knows in Destin. Sheesh!" "Was the lunch good?" "Yeah, it was very good. I didn't get enough, though. I had to stop and get me a Burger King on the way home," I said. She laughed. "You are too cute. Do you know that?" she asked. "So are you. That's why every guy in this house is in lust with you," I said. "Let's get off the phone in case your dad wants to call you," she said. "Okay. Thanks, again, Cherie. And you really do have my permission to say or do anything that's going to help me out, okay?" "Okay, Bubba. I love you." "I love you, too," I said, and we hung up. I put the phone down next to the computer and tried to get back to work. I wasn't off the phone three minutes when it rang again. "Hello," I said. "Hello, Son. Who have you been talking to?" "Cherie. How you doing, Daddy?" I asked. "I'm doing good. How are you doing?" "I'm doing real good. Were you surprised at the Gators last Saturday?" "Kyle, don't get me started on those Gators. I cussed Rex Grossman ninety to nothing all during that game for leaving that team. That was about the sorriest quarterbacking I have ever seen, and I've watched many a Florida State and Auburn game, so I've seen plenty of sorry quarterbacking before," he said. "I know. Daddy, we're fixing to go to St. Augustine next week," I said. "We've got Thursday and Friday off. Did you know I've never been to St. Augustine?" "No, I didn't know that. Our family really never traveled much in Florida, which is a damn shame. You ought to know your home state, at least. Listen, Son, I need to meet with you about what Cherie was talking about. What's on your calendar for tomorrow?" My calendar? I didn't have a calendar. "I've got classes at nine and ten, but that's it," I said. "Will you let me buy you lunch here in Destin?" "Yes, sir. Sure. What time?" I asked. "Just come straight over from the college. You could be here by 11:30 or so, couldn't you?" "Yes, sir," I said. "Okay. It's a date, then. Just come to my office. We'll eat here in the hotel. It's a damn fine restaurant, and that'll give us some time to talk," he said. "Okay. I love you, Daddy." "I love you, too, Son. Bye." Right after I hung up, I thought, Oh, fuck! I can't do that. I have to be at the bank before noon, and it doesn't open until nine. I'd just have to cut my ten o'clock class. That was all there was to it. * * * Too much had happened that night for me to be able to concentrate on planning a trip. I'd have to do that another time. I went downstairs. Denny was in the den reading, but he was the only one there. "Where is everybody?" I asked. "Murray's in his room, probably doing homework. Sean's upstairs, too, probably on the phone with Scott. The rest of them are in the clubhouse, I think," Denny said. "What are you reading?" "To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Wolfe. Have you read it?" "No," I said. I had never even heard of it. "I'm reading all of Wolfe, and then I'm going to read all of James Joyce," he said. "I just finished reading all of T. S. Eliot." "Is that the guy who wrote Cats?" I asked. "Yeah, it is. Very good," he said. "I ain't totally dumb, you know," I said. "Yes, you are. Or at least you pretend to be," he said. I laughed a little bit. "Hey, listen. I want to sit down with you one day so you can brief me on what y'all are debating this year, okay? I need to know stuff like that, and I know I'm not going to take the trouble to read about it. What's it on this year?" I asked. "Weapons of mass destruction, and, Bubba, I'd be happy to do that any time. Right now, even," he said. "No, not right now. I'm too hyped up to pay good attention. But like Kevin says, this family has resources a lot of other families don't have, and I want to take advantage of you as a resource. And I'm serious," I said, and I was. "Kyle, you just made my day, Bubba," he said, grinning big. "Maybe later this week, okay?" I said. "Sure. Any time," he said. I went into the kitchen to see what we had to eat. Somebody had gotten a huge box of Popeye's fried chicken, and I ate me four or five pieces of that. It was good, and I washed it, and two Popeye's biscuits, down with about a half a quart of chocolate milk. I grabbed me up a handful of cookies for dessert. I opened the freezer to see what we had in the breakfast department, and I took out two pounds of bulk sausage. I sliced it up still frozen on the slicing machine I had made them buy, arranged the slices on two cookie sheets, and stuck those in the refrigerator. They would be thawed in the morning, and I could just pop those in the oven. I noticed there was a pack of twenty-four frozen biscuits. I left those in the freezer, but I'd be cooking those the next day, too. Then I had second thoughts. I sprayed down a cookie sheet with Pam and arranged the biscuits on it. I put that in the refrigerator to thaw, too, and doing that would save me a few minutes of cooking time in the morning. I foraged a little bit in the refrigerator. I found low-fat, sugar-free yogurt for Murray. There was also a large container of fruit salad. Everybody would like that. I thought breakfast was done, except for the cooking of it. "What are you doing, Kyle?" He startled me, and I about shit my pants. "Sorry, Bubba," he said. It was Kevin. "What are you doing?" "I'm getting breakfast set up. I do this almost every night, Kevin," I said. "Really?" "Yeah, really. We don't have all that much time in the morning, and everybody wants to be able to eat and get out of here," I said. "You do so much for this family, Kyle," he said. "Naw. Not really. I do it because I like doing it. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it," I said. "What are Rick and I going to do when you and Tim, and Justin and Brian leave here?" "You and Rick will be glad to get rid of us," I said. He just looked at me. "Will you be glad to be gone from here?" he asked. Why did he have to say that? He knew I wouldn't. Goddamn it, Kevin, I thought. "How can you even ask that question? Huh? You know I won't," I said. I was almost ready to cry. He grabbed me to him in a hug. "I don't want to grow up, Kevin. I really like being a kid," I said. "I've been on the phone tonight with Cherie twice and my dad once. I have to meet with my dad tomorrow about investments. I don't want to do that. I just want to go out there and shoot pool and have fun. I don't want to think about this other stuff." He rubbed the back of my head, and I felt real love coming from him. "I understand," he said. "Calm down, Bubba. Kyle, you are a very special person. Many, many people have seen it in you and have commented on it. More than you realize it, you're the central force in this family. Rick and I are the parents, but we couldn't do it without you." "All in the world I wanted to do tonight was plan our trip to St. Augustine. Or at least get information so we could all plan it. I probably didn't spend more than an hour doing that. Tonight was all about investments. Shit, Kevin. Having money is a curse," I said. "Do you mind telling me how much you have?" "Hell, no. Sixteen million, or a little more. I get a check for ten thousand dollars a month, and that's just like some little minor dividend or something. I want to give money to Tim, Justin, and Brian, but Cherie won't let me. She says I can't do it until I'm twenty-one. I'm getting ten thousand dollars a fucking month, Kevin, and they're not getting shit. That's just wrong," I said. "What are you doing with all that money?" he asked. "Nothing. That's just it. I've only deposited one check so far, and I've gotten eleven. I've got ten checks in my room," I said. "She chewed me out good over that tonight. And I know she's right. She and my dad want me to buy real estate. Rental property. I know that's one sure way people make money around here, but I don't need any money. I can work, and I want to work for my money. I deposited that one check, but I haven't spent any of it. I've got, like, twenty-two thousand dollars in my checking account, from that check and from what I earned last summer. This is very frustrating to me." We were still in the kitchen, and I didn't even know why he came in. I was sure it wasn't to listen to me bitch and moan. "Let's go sit in the den. Grab some of that Tick Supreme stuff so we can both eat it," he said. I did. "Denny, give us some privacy, would you please, Bubba?" Kevin said. "Sure. I want to take a bath, anyway," Denny said. He left. "Kyle, first of all, we would be a very different family without you. I said a while ago that you're the central force in this family, and I meant that. You and Justin, and I think you know that. There hasn't been a boy in this house yet who hasn't had a major crush on you. You could have had your way with all of them, if you had wanted to. But, from what I can tell, you've been faithful to Tim. And I admire that more than I can say, Son." "I've been faithful to Tim," I said. "Kyle, you truly are a golden boy. You've got the looks, you've got the body, you've got the wit and personality, you've got the acting talent, you've got the artistic talent in your photography, and you've got the money. But a lot of guys have those things, in varying degrees. But you know what you've got that most of those other guys don't have?" I didn't say anything. "You've got character. You've got heart. I know what you did for Murray last Saturday. You made that boy so happy, it's off the scale. And you made two old ladies so happy, they won't ever forget that day. Murray told me all about it, Kyle. You can't hide the good you do. And you do it spontaneously. You wanted to go diving last Saturday. I know that. But you and Justin took Murray to Pensacola to see his grandmother, whom he worships, and all of you had a great day. Just be yourself, Kyle. Just go by your instincts, because they're right on target." Neither one of us said anything for a long time. I was thinking about what he had just said. "I think I want to go to bed," I said, finally. "Do you want me to tell Tim?" "No. And please don't tell anybody what we talked about," I said. "Even Rick." "I won't," he said. He kissed me on the forehead, and I went up to bed. I was asleep in two minutes. * * * I put a good breakfast on the table the next morning. It was easy and fun to do. I knew I needed to eat to get ready for my day. "These biscuits and this sausage are first class. Where's the gravy?" Justin asked. "There is no gravy," I said. "I cooked the sausage in the oven, not in a frying pan." "Oh. It's still good, Bubba," he said. "Thanks," I said. I left the house at eight o'clock. It wouldn't take me but about twenty minutes to get to the college, unless there was a problem on the bridge. But just as sure as I waited until 8:40 to leave, I'd be snarled up in traffic for an hour. My first class was Introduction to Business, and it was pretty interesting. Believe it or not, the lecture, or whatever you might call it, that day was on mortgages. I listened hard to what the professor was saying, and I wrote down some good notes, too. After class, I hauled ass to the parking lot, and who do I meet but Skeeter McGhee. "Hey, Kyle. Let's go get some coffee. I didn't eat no breakfast this morning, and I'm hungry like a bear," he said. "Do y'all have a lot of waffles at home?" I asked. He's the one whose family owns all the Waffle places. Some are called Waffle House and some are called Waffle Shop. They own them all, though. "Shit, no. I hate those things. My daddy could eat his weight in 'em, but I can't stand 'em. Believe it or not, I don't like syrup. He drowns his with it, too," he said. "Does your brother like waffles?" I asked. "No, he doesn't like 'em, either. My daddy says my mama must have had an affair, and he ain't our real daddy," he said. "For real? Y'all both look just like him," I said. "No, not for real. That's just some of his bullshit. Come on. Let's go eat," he said. "Skeeter, I'd really like to, but I'm kind of in a rush right now. I'm cutting my ten o'clock class 'cause I got to get to the bank and then meet my daddy in Destin. We'll do it sometime soon, though, okay?" "Sure, I understand. Tell your daddy hello for me, okay?" "I sure will. See ya," I said. I wondered how he got that name Skeeter. I knew his real name was Howard, which is a perfectly good name, to me. One I like, even. "Was he pissed off over the Gators?" Skeeter yelled to me as I was walking away. "Yeah, he sure was," I yelled back. "Mine, too," he yelled. "Bye." I went to the bank, which was west of the bridge, of course. I figured with as much money as I was totting, I'd better go inside to make the deposit, instead of using the drive-thru. "I'd like to make a deposit into my savings account," I told the teller. "What's your account number?" she asked. I told her. "And the last four digits of your Social?" I told her that, too. "Cash or check?" "Check," I said. "And the amount?" "One hundred thousand dollars," I said. I wish you could have seen that face when I said that. "Just a moment, please," she said. She went into the back, which I guess was where the offices were. In a minute, this guy came out. I knew I was supposed to know him, but I couldn't come up with a name for that face to save my life. From the look on his face, I knew he knew he was supposed to know me, too. "Can I help you?" he asked. "Yes, sir. I just want to deposit some money into my savings account," I said. "I got the checks right here." "Sabrina tells me it's quite a large amount. We're going to have to verify that," he said. "Yes, sir, do whatever you have to do," I said. "What's the name?" "Kyle Goodson," I said. He looked at me funny. "For heaven's sake. I know you. You're Gene Goodson's son, aren't you. I'm Emery Cook," he said. "How you doing, Mr. Emery? I knew I knew you, but I couldn't come up with a name," I said. "Same here, son. Kyle, we're going to have to verify those checks. This is no reflection on you in the least, but if we don't have verification, and the federal auditors catch it, we'll have hell to pay. I hope you understand," he said. I sighed a heavy sigh. "How long will it take?" I asked. "I don't know. We have to fax the issuing bank photocopies of the checks, and they have to fax us back verification. It might be this afternoon before it comes through," he said. I was frustrated and pissed off and upset. I knew it was all over my face, too. "What's the matter, son?" he asked. He was a nice man, and he was being very kind, but I was in trouble. "Mr. Emery, I gave my word of honor I'd have this money in the bank by noon today. I've never broken my word before, but it looks like I'm fixing to," I said. I knew I had tears in my eyes, but I didn't give a shit. That meant too much to me. "Kyle, would you come on back to my office, please?" he said. "Yes, sir," I said. Once we were in there, he sat me down and gave me a tissue. "I'm sorry I got so worked up," I said. "Kyle, let's get a few things straight, okay?" "Okay," I said, but I knew I was going to get a lecture. "There are ten checks there, each for ten thousand dollars, and each dated the first of a month. Am I right?" "Yes, sir," I said. "I assume it's from a trust, and I know it's good money. Just as sure as I know there will be sunrise and sunset. So that ain't an issue," he said. I didn't say anything. "What is an issue, son, is why you held onto them this long without depositing them," he said. "Yes, sir, I know. It was sorriness on my part," I said. "My lawyer called me last night to chew me out about that, and I promised her I'd have them in the bank by noon today. That's why I'm upset." "You didn't break that promise, son. They're here. And they were here long before noon," he said. "But, Kyle, here's another issue. You got very upset when you thought you weren't going to keep your word of honor. Do you have any idea what that means to the business community of Emerald Beach?" "No, sir," I said. I didn't see why it meant a damn thing to them. "Kyle, it means the next generation of Goodsons is going to be just like the current generation and like the generation before. You're a man of your word, son, just like your daddy and your granddaddy. That's priceless to us. Don't you see it?" I hadn't thought about any of that. I just knew I had told Cherie on my honor that those checks would be deposited by noon, and "deposited," in my mind, meant "cleared." "I've never broken my honor before, though," I said. "And you still haven't. That's my point. You had no idea of the bureaucratic bullshit we'd have to go through to accept those check, but you got 'em here on time. You have nothing to be ashamed of, son. You did what you said you were going to do." I felt better when he said that, and I told him so. "You're not going to leave that money in savings, are you?" he asked. "For now I am. I'm on my way to Destin to see my daddy about it. I think I'm going to start investing in real estate," I said. He got a big grin. "That's what I wanted to hear. And I'm hoping you'll let me be your banker," he said. "I reckon. I'm going to need somebody, and you seem to know me and my family," I said. "I think I'm going to get Mr. Cliff to be my real estate agent." "Cliff Andrews?" "Yes, sir," I said. "None better, Kyle," he said. "Are you and Philip still friends?" "Best friends," I said. "See, Kyle, young guys like you and Philip and Ryan Pettis are the future of Emerald Beach. And those McGhee boys. I could name a lot of others, too, and I know you know every one of them. We're all Beach Rats, and that goes deep," he said. "It's funny you should mention McGhee. Skeeter McGhee tried to get me to have breakfast with him not thirty minutes ago," I said. "Where'd he get that name, you think?" "I don't know, but I'm going to find out," I said. "Are you feeling better, Kyle?" "Yes, sir, I am. Thank you," I said. "Thank you, son, for reinforcing my faith in the next generation. When you see your daddy, tell him hello for me, and tell him I could not have been any prouder of the Gators last Saturday," he said. "You must be a Seminole," I said. "Yes, sir. I bleed garnet and gold," he said. I laughed. * * * I checked my watch when I got to my truck, and it was already 11:15. Shit. I was going to be late. I got on my cell and called my daddy. "Take your time, son. Did the professor keep you late?" he asked. "Something like that," I said. "And I don't know if I'll be held up by the construction on 98. Go ahead and eat lunch, Daddy." "I only get to have lunch with my boy every now and then. No way am I eating without you. Are you hungry?" "Yes, sir, I am," I said. "Kyle, I just got off the phone with Emery Cook at the bank. He said some very nice things about you, Son, and that made me very proud," he said. "What'd he say?" I asked. "None of your business. Just get your ass over here. Carefully," he said. "Yes, sir. I'm on my way. I just passed Phillips Inlet," I said. "Okay. I know where you are, then. The next thirty miles are a bitch, but I guess you know that," he said. "Yes, sir, I do." I could see it coming. Mr. Emery probably told him I hadn't deposited those checks, and he was probably going to crawl up my ass for being irresponsible. Shit. * * * I got to the hotel at 11:45, and I went straight to his office. "Kyle?" his secretary said when I went in. "Yes, ma'am," I said. "Go right on in," she said. I knocked on the door, but I sort of opened it at the same time. He was playing Solitaire on his computer. He jumped up, hugged me big, and kissed me on the forehead. I was expecting a handshake, not that. "You're a fine-looking man, Kyle," he said. "I think you're queer," I said. He laughed his ass off, and I did, too. "Come on. I want you to meet some people," he said. "Dad, we've done this before. Remember?" "Oh, that's right. Let's go eat. Are you hungry?" "Daddy, I'm always hungry," I said. He just laughed. Once we were at a table, we scanned the menu. He ordered sweet tea, and I ordered half-and-half tea. "You don't like sweet tea?" he asked. "Yes, sir, I do, but you can't ever tell how sweet it's going to be. I can always add sugar if it ain't sweet enough, but you can't take out the sweet if they put too much sugar in the original," I said. "That's a good point. I'm going to start ordering half-and-half, too," he said. "Let me tell you something funny. You know the McGhees that have all those waffle places?" "Yeah." "Well, Skeeter McGhee told me this morning that he and his brother both hate waffles, and they hate syrup, too," I said. He laughed. "I'll bet Buzz isn't happy about that," he said. Buzz was the daddy. All of a sudden I remembered Skeeter's older brother was named Stinger McGhee. Buzz, Stinger, and Skeeter. There was a pattern there. "Daddy, where'd their names come from?" I asked. "I don't know, Son, but those ain't their real names. Buzz is Harold. I don't know what the boys' real names are. Are you and Skeeter friends?" "Yes, sir," I said. "Good. Those are good people, Kyle. You stay friends with Skeeter. Y'all are probably going to end up helping each other out, one of these days. Now let's talk about real estate. Cherie told me she talked to you about that," he said. "Yes, sir. She told me she wants me to buy some," I said. "I agree with her," he said. "Do you know how much money you have?" "Yes, sir. It's a little more than sixteen million," I said. "Wow! I didn't know it was that much. We gave Jeff four million when Clay died, and you got the rest of Clay's trust. Your mama and I felt that Clay would have wanted Jeff to be taken care of. Jeff and Tyler don't know about that, yet. It's revocable until he's twenty-five. We wanted to make sure Jeff was going to be the kind of man that was worthy of Clay, and he is. Or at least so far he is," he said. "Daddy, Jeff is Clay to me," I said. "I know. That's what I meant. Jeff is meeting all the things your mama and I want from him," he said. "But he still has to be twenty-five before he gets the money. And don't dare tell him about this, Kyle, you hear me?" "No, sir, I won't," I said. "I'm going to call Cliff Andrews after you leave here and tell him you want to invest in rental property. We've done business with them for three generations. Now it's going to be four. Cliff's grandfather and my grandfather developed North Lagoon, Son," he said. "Yes, sir, I know. You told me," I said. "I know Mr. Cliff won't screw me over." "He better not. I'll kick his ass, if he does," he said. "Besides, that man loves you, Son." "Do you realize you just switched to the grumble?" I asked. He laughed. "No, I didn't," he said. "I heard you grumble the other night at the restaurant when Jimmy and Johnny were giving you the password. Kyle, that grumble is a big part of our way of life here on the beach. You've got it down as good as me, Son. Did Emery use it today?" "No, sir, he didn't, and I didn't either. He knew who I was, though," I said. "I'm not surprised. Kyle, I know you and Tim need to go off for college and medical school, but that's going to be real hard on your mama and me. We're going to miss you, Son," he said. "Let's don't talk about that now, Daddy. Please. We're not going to be that far." "I know you won't be, Kyle. It's just the letting go, you know?" "Clay went off to Gainesville," I said. "I know, but we still had you at home," he said. "Let's don't go there, Daddy, okay?" "Okay. Did you enjoy your lunch?" "Yes, sir, it was excellent," I said. "Did you get enough?" "It was delicious, Daddy," I said. "Did you get enough?" "I might have to pick something up a little later this afternoon," I said "I didn't think you did. Catch McDonald's on the way home," he said. "Burger King," I said, and he laughed. Phew! I dodged the bullet on that one, for sure. I guess Mr. Emery didn't mention the checks. |