Page 28 of Ghost

L ater that morning , after much discussion, Ellen and Gerald left, and no sooner had they departed than the phone man showed up to install the new phone.

Mason was thrilled when he opened the door for the man.

He was less thrilled when Francis kept popping in and out behind the man, trying to get a reaction from Mason.

“That was so not cool,” Mason said to Francis when the man finally finished up and left.

Francis laughed heartily. “It has been a long time since I have had so much fun.”

Mason tried his best to keep a frown going but ended up laughing with Francis. “The man probably thinks I’m crazy.”

“Do not worry, Mason. I doubt that you will ever see the man again.”

Mason only shrugged. “But you never know.” He looked at the new phone hanging on the wall just inside the kitchen. “I need to call Mitch and Paul and give them the new number, as well as Patty and Nick.”

“While you are working, do you think you might turn on the television for me?” Francis asked. “I will try not to disturb you.”

“Sure, not a problem.” They went into the living room. Francis sat on the sofa as Mason turned it on. “Anything in particular you’d like to see? I’m afraid there isn’t a whole lot on during the day.”

“I am not sure. This is all so very new to me.”

Mason scanned the channels, finally settling on an afternoon talk show. “I think this will be more your style than a soap opera.”

Francis looked quizzically at him.

“Never mind. I’ll explain it to you later.” Mason turned to leave. “I’m going to make myself a snack and then make some calls. Yell out if you need anything.”

Looking over his shoulder he could see that Francis was already focused on what was being discussed on the TV. He smiled to himself and went to the kitchen.

He picked up the phone, looked at the clock on the stove and dialed Mitch’s number.

The phone rang four times before Mitch’s voice answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Mason answered.

“Who’s me?”

“Don’t be a jerk.” Mason rolled his eyes as he opened the fridge. “I’ve got a phone now. I’m being polite in calling you with the number.”

“Ohhh, it’s you.” Mitch chuckled. “For a minute there I thought I was about to have an obscene phone call.”

“Yeah, you wish.” Mason pulled out a bag of carrots. “Got something to write with?”

“Hold on.” Mason could hear riffling on the other end as Mitch got something.

“Go.”

Mason gave him the new number. “Are you still wanting to move down here?”

“Hell, yeah!” Mitch belched loudly.

“Charming.”

“I told you I was.” Mason could hear the pop of a can opening, presuming it was beer, knowing Mitch as well as he did. “I already turned down a job and gave notice to my landlady. She was none too happy and told me she wasn’t giving me my deposit back because I didn’t give enough notice.”

“Damn, I’m sorry, Mitch.”

“Naw, no big thang. It was only a hundred bucks,” Mitch said, indeed making it sound like it was no big deal. “I was thinking, if you were free, you could come up, not this coming weekend but the one after, and help me move some stuff?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Mason poured himself some of the lemonade. “I’ll make sure my truck is empty and we can load it up.”

“Perfect. I was thinking I’d rent one of those U-Haul trailers.” He guzzled some of the beer he was drinking. “That way, I think we can get it all in one go. Of course, the price is going to be astronomical with the Olympics going on and all. Traffic is a real bitch, too.”

“That’s not a bad idea. If push comes to shove, I can rent one as well. I’ve got a trailer hitch too.” Mason bit down on a carrot.

“What’s that noise?” Mitch asked.

“A carrot.”

“Maybe I should start calling you Bugs Bunny,” Mitch giggled.

“Yeah, you do that, Mr. Skinny-ass.”

“My ass ain’t skinny!”

Mason laughed. “Have you heard anything from Paul?”

“Yeah, actually, I did. He talked things over with the wife and it looks like she’s on board. Said the timing was perfect since the kids are out of school for the summer.”

“Wow! It’s like this was meant to be or something.”

Mitch burped again, only not as loud this time. “You know, I was thinking the same thing. But you know it’s going to take him a lot longer to get packed up and down there. They’ve got that big ass house to pack up, and they’ll need to sell it.”

“That will probably work out even better. I still need to talk to Mr. Stockbridge about renting out the whole house.” Mason leaned against the counter as he drank down some of the lemonade. “How long will it take to get you all packed up?”

“Hmm, I’d say just a day or so. I can start on it tomorrow. I have almost the whole day free. I’ll probably get rid of a bunch of junk.”

Mason laughed. “Yeah? Like that beat up old recliner?”

“Don’t go dissing my chair, man. I love that chair!”

“Man, that chair looks like it came out of an old homeless shelter.” Mason laughed again.

“Hey, you’ve no room to talk with that tiny little sofa you got.”

“Yeah, and I’m working on that.” Mason quickly thought of all the furniture in Ellen’s basement. “You might be surprised.”

“I ain’t gonna hold my breath, neither,” Mitch responded sarcastically.

“Anyway, I need to make a few more phone calls and this is long distance, so I’ll call you next week. I’ll plan on heading your way on Friday.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Mitch said. “I’ll talk to you next week, then. Bye.”

Mason hung up the phone, a big smile on his face.

His next phone call was to Mr. Stockbridge.

“Hi, Mr. Stockbridge, this is Mason Montgomery. How are you?”

“Good afternoon, Mason.” The man cleared his throat before continuing. “I was just thinking of trying to get in touch with you.”

“Oh? About what?” Mason was a little surprised.

“The first thing was to find out when you were planning on vacating the basement apartment,” he answered.

“Funny you should mention that because that’s the reason I was calling you, that and to give you my new number,” Mason chuckled.

“Excellent. How about you give me the number first?”

Mason gave Mr. Stockbridge the new phone number. “About the apartment, I was wondering if you would either let me sub-let it or even rent it to my friend who has decided to move down here. You probably met him at the party the other day. He’s going to be my new business partner.”

There was a brief silence. “Well now, that’s good news. I’m glad to hear it. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to be able to manage all this work just on your own.”

“And my other buddy, who you also probably met, is moving down here too.” Mason took a deep breath. “I was wondering if perhaps he might be able to rent out the rest of that house. Might need to do a little renovation on it before he and his family arrives, though.”

“What? Really?” Mason could hear the man take a deep breath. “So, what you’re saying is that you, or your friends, want to rent out the entire house?”

“Yes, sir, if that is possible.” Mason held his breath.

Mr. Stockbridge burst into laughter. “That’s the best news I’ve had all week!”

“Of course, it will also depend on how much you’ll want for the upstairs part.” Mason wasn’t sure what Paul could afford but he was sure any savings would be appreciated.

“Well, now, maybe we could work something out.” He paused.

“I’m still at the office in town. Why don’t I drop by in, say, thirty minutes and let you have a look at the place?

There’s only one tenant there at the moment, and she is behind on rent, and it won’t be much trouble to get her out of there, I don’t think.

I can always say that I’m going to start renovations and she has to leave, which would be the truth. ”

“Sure, I can do that.” Mason’s shoulders sagged a bit with relief. “I’ll meet you out front of the house in thirty then.”

“I’ll look forward to it. Bye.” Mr. Stockbridge hung up and disconnected the call.

Mason smiled slightly. Things are really looking up.

His next phone call was to Paul. His wife, Debbie, answered.

“Hi, Deb, this is Mason Montgomery. How are you?”

There was a squeal on the other end. “Oh Mason! I’m so glad you called. I’ve been bugging poor Paul to death to get in touch with you. Does this mean you have a phone now?”

Mason laughed. “Yes, I have a phone now.”

“Give it to me!”

Mason gave her the number. “Does this mean that you’re excited to move to Savannah?”

“Oh boy, am I ever.” She sighed heavily. “Things here have been getting worse and worse. There is so much traffic that you can’t even go anywhere, any time of day, without getting stuck in it. The schools have become so overcrowded, it’s ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry to hear that but glad all at the same time,” Mason said with a slight chuckle. “And you don’t mind Paul going into business with me and Mitch?”

“As long as you’re in charge, I’m fine with it.” She huffed a bit. “Mitch... well, I’ll reserve judgement on him for a while, if you don’t mind.”

“Ah, now, Mitch is a good guy. Just a little rambunctious is all.”

Debbie huffed again. “That’s a polite way of saying he’s a beer-drinkin’ skirt-chaser.”

Mason couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Okay, you got me there, but I have a feeling there is a lady here that might just take the wind out of his sails.”

“Oh, really now?” Deb chuckled. “I need to meet this woman. Sounds like my kinda gal.”

“I’ll tell you one thing; she doesn’t put up with much shit.” Mason also laughed as he remembered Molly telling Mitch he couldn’t have a beer until after work was finished.

“Yep, need to meet her for sure.” Debbie took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask you about where we might be living?”

“I’m going to go and meet the guy who owns a house just down the street and have a look at it.” Mason looked at his watch. “In about twenty minutes. I’ll see what kind of condition it’s in.”

“That sounds great. I can’t help but be a little concerned. You know, going in sight unseen.”

“Yeah, and I get that. I won’t let you and the kids move into some dump,” Mason said. “I promise.”

“Thanks, Mason. You’ve always been a real stand-up guy. Your Uncle Bud would be so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Deb. That means a lot to me.”

“Hey, you wanna talk to Paul?” Mason could hear kids in the background. “He’s just walked in.”

Mason laughed. “Sounds like a rowdy bunch there.”

“The kids love having him home, though I think they are a bit much for him to handle on his own on a daily basis. I myself love to torture the poor man a bit and leave him with them. Make hay and all that,” she laughed.

“Sounds like it.” Mason had the phone away from his ear as a high-pitched scream nearly pierced his ear drum.”

“Mas, that you?” Paul asked.

“Yeah, man, it’s me,” Mason blinked a few times. “Damn, that little girl of yours has some lungs on her.”

“Pfft, who you tellin’?” Paul took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know how Deb does it. I love my kids but damn, kids have run me ragged all day long.”

“Yeah, I know you love ‘em.” Mason couldn’t help but smile broadly, knowing that Paul loved being a father.

“Yeah, I guess.” Paul cleared his throat as he tried not to laugh. “You know I’d do anything for my kids. So, what’s the word?”

“I just told Deb that I’m about to go see the house that Mr. Stockbridge has. See what all needs to be done before you guys move in.”

“That’s great news, especially since my next job has been put on hold.”

Mason could hear the irritation in Paul’s voice. “What happened?”

“It’s the city’s fault,” Paul sighed. “They haven’t got the road, sewer in or any of the power poles even up. Don’t even know when they’ll get to it! The Olympics have totally screwed things up. It could be months before all the infrastructure is finished.”

“Oh, man, that sucks.” Mason was quickly doing some math in his head. “You guys, okay? Need a loan or something? I don’t have much, but I’ll help if I can.”

“See, that right there is why I didn’t think twice about coming down there to lend you a hand.” Paul chuckled. “We’re all good. Deb is tight with a dollar, so we have a nice little nest egg.”

“Okay, but the offer stands.”

“I appreciate it, Mas, I really do, and so does Deb.”

“Listen, I need to go and meet Mr. Stockbridge.” Mason looked towards the living room, still hearing the TV. “I’ll give you a call as soon as I get back.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Paul said. “I’ll be here waiting.”

“Okay, later, man,” Mason said.

“Later! Bye.”