Page 26 of Unchained
Jon saw Levi smiling at him. He knew he hadn’t stopped smiling since they left the dealership. The salesman they met had been the owner. An old friend of Gus’s. Both he and Levi had been frustrated that Gus had orchestrated a deal designed to prevent them from figuring out the down payment Gus had paid, but they had somehow expected him to pull something like that. In the end, Jon had settled on a low mileage used compact SUV. When they had gotten home, Jon went to work on the laptop they had picked up, and Levi had packed some of his sentimental items that Jon hadn’t been comfortable touching yet.
“Jon, are you ready?”
“Almost. The last of the updates just finished, and I’ve got a couple of installs to start. As soon as they do, I’ll grab my bag.”
“Alright, so ten minutes?”
“Should be less. I know we need to get going, but the updates took a little longer than I had hoped.”
“It is what it is. I just know we need to leave soon. Did you say the truck was loaded and ready to go?”
“Pretty much. Probably just a couple of things left to load by now. Gus said he’d start without us and be waiting when we got there. I think he’s ready to get the show on the road. If anything’s left, I’d say it would be a piece or two that he couldn’t carry by himself.”
“Well, he knows we have to unload quickly so I can bring the truck back and get to the bar.”
“Too true. At least hopefully traffic won’t be too bad.”
“You’re staying there tonight, right? To help him get unpacked?”
“Yep. And before you ask—yes, I packed my swimsuit for the hot tub.”
Levi laughed.
“Ok. The last of them are running. I’m gonna throw my bag in my car right quick.”
Jon had his computer, Gus’s new computer, and his overnight bag in the back of his car. Levi climbed into the passenger seat.
“This feels weird. It’s been a while since I had someone drive me around.”
“Well, I owe you and Gus a huge thank you, so I’d be happy to play chauffeur anytime you want.”
Levi smiled at him. “I’ll remember that.”
“Good, because I mean it.”
“So, what did you all do this week?”
“Well, we packed everything that was still out up, sorted it into going to the beach house or not, then took stuff to storage. The furniture you said you didn’t think we needed went in first, then the boxes. The unit’s mostly full, but Gus seemed pleased. Then the past couple of days, we loaded everything in the truck except for what he needed last night and this morning. He said that stuff would go separately in his car. There were just a few boxes left to go on the truck.”
“Good. Sounds like y’all worked hard this week.”
“We sure did. I hate to see him go, but I’m ready for the moving to be done for a while.”
“Me too. It’s really going to be an adjustment.”
“Yeah. The stuff in his car needs to stay there until everything else is unloaded. I hope y’all marked everything with where it goes.”
“We sure did.” They pulled into Gus’s driveway for the last time with it as Gus’s. Gus was standing in front, looking at the house. Jon got out and rushed over to him and put his arm around him. To his surprise, Gus embraced him.
“We made a lot of memories in this house. I know y’all will take good care of it. It’s ready for new memories to be made.”
“Gus, I want you to know Levi and I both appreciate the house. It means a lot, not the money we’ll save on rent or anything. We appreciate it because it will always be your house and our house. The memories will blend together. Joy and love will fill it.” He took in a deep breath. “And thank you for helping me with the car situation. I probably could’ve done it myself in a few weeks, but I do really appreciate it. I won’t say I’ll ever repay you because what you’ve given me is so much more than money can buy.”
Gus smiled. For a moment, Jon thought he saw a tear forming. “You two deserve to be happy.”
Levi had been standing back with the truck. Jon motioned for him to come over and yelled.
“Levi! you get your fine ass over here. Gus is being all sentimental.”
“Shit, that’s never good.”
“Oh, shut up Levi.” He let out a sigh. “But we do need to hit the road.”