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Because you all are such a big bunch of whiners.........and because Wannabe... is draggin' his knuckles on adding new chapters........ here's HIS story so far

Chapter 6

Billy had just about pestered his Mom, Carol, to the point of saying no, but for some reason, she could hear the want in his voice. Maybe it was the 3 phone calls in 20 minutes just before the lunch rush. Maybe it was the eye her boss was giving her and she just said yes so he’d stop calling. She’d have just enough time on Wednesday to get home, get a few things done, clean up a little and walk over for lunch and still get a short nap before she had to be at the factory for her next job. At 41, she didn’t know how long she could keep this second job working at the restaurant 4 days a week, but the tips were good and she really needed it since her ex-husband was of no use at all. He wasn’t a bad man, but he just never grew up which was fine when they were in their 20s, but she had assumed with a son at home, he’d finally get it into gear but when Billy was born, he was off on a “trip” with his friends. She held out hope until Billy turned five, but finally had had enough. When she put the decision to Tommy, he chose to pack up and leave. It had been a struggle ever since, but she was determined to get by on her own. She never could put a finger on exactly why, but the path that Tommy was on was no good for her or for Billy. It wasn’t like he’d ever hit her, or ran around on her or was a bad father. It was more that he’d threaten to hit her and flirted more than he should and just wasn’t a particularly good father. In those last years, he seemed to find more and more excuses to be away from home, drank more and did less. At some point, Carol stopped making excuses for him and at some point after that, stopped expecting something different. It wasn’t a long trip from there until she stopped wanting something different. The final ultimatum was more of prayer for an end than it was a hope for a change.

Carol knew they were better off without Tommy. The trouble was Billy. He didn’t know he was better off without him. From 5 to 12, the visits became less frequent, then the calls became sporadic and now even the cards seemed to only come occasionally. Lord knows, the money never came at all. All of that was fine with Carol and if asked, Billy would say that was fine too, but she could tell, even when no one else noticed. Maybe even when Billy didn’t notice.

At 2:58, Billy knocked on the Baker’s door. Somehow, William knew that was going to happen and he almost caught himself smiling about it. Ann scurried to the door. “Why Billy, you’re right on time! Mr. Baker has been under my feet all day and I just can’t seem to get anything done with him in the house. I’ll send him right out to you. Did you talk with your Mom about lunch?” “Yes Ma’am. She said if it was OK with you, we’d come over at Noon tomorrow and that she was looking forward to it.” “That’s perfect! You tell her for me that I’m looking forward to it as well. Here comes Mr. Baker now” and she leaned down and into Billy’s ear so as to half whisper. “You make sure Mr. Baker doesn’t goof off and you get some work out of him OK? He thinks I don’t know that he comes to the garage to get out of housework, but I know. You just make sure he doesn’t make you do everything for him”. With that she gave him a wink and a sly smile. “Yes Ma’am, I will”, Billy whispered back. It wasn’t until he saw that wink and playful smile that Billy noticed how pretty Ann was….for an old lady anyway. And she smelled good too. That really would puzzle Billy later. Most old ladies smelled like old ladies to Billy. But Mrs. Ann was different somehow.

Wannabe...
Chapter 7

William Baker was almost looking forward to getting to know Billy, but at the same time was dreading going through all of the stuff in his boat. He’d planned and researched and tested and purchased for months on end and now it all just seemed so silly to him. All that time and money wasted on something he’d never get to use now. He’d even considered selling it all and being done with it. At least that way someone would get the enjoyment out of it that he had planned to. If it wasn’t for being so busy with the doctors, the treatments and the big move, he probably would have.

When he reached the door, Billy was almost vibrating with excitement. “Hey Billy, you ready to get started?” “Sure am Mr. Baker”. “Well let’s get to it then.” William directed Billy to climb into the boat and showed him where to step on the trailer, then the fender then the deck to climb in without slipping….or scratching the boat. He took his time and explained to Billy what the fore and aft was, which way was port and which was starboard and why they were called that. Billy drank it all in and William noticed that he was listening, not just peppering him with question like most kids do. William had Billy sit first on the aft deck and scoot over the boxes that were stacked there so William could look inside and decide where to put stuff. Most of these boxes were full of tools and spare parts. There was a prop, prop wrench and spare hub kit. Some tools in weatherproof cases. Spare fuel filters, spark plugs, test light and electrical meter. Then a whole box of electrical parts – wire, crimping tool, electrical connectors, dielectric grease tubes, fuses of every size. Next was a box labeled trailer. This box was heavy too and William warned Billy to be careful with that one so he wouldn’t hurt himself or the boat when he moved it. Inside was a complete hub assembly, and a bearing and race kit, a 4 way tool, blocks of wood, a grease gun and tubes of unopened grease, a trailer wiring harness and a tire pressure gauge. Of course, Billy had no clue what most of this stuff was, he was just concentrating on not dropping anything and studying what Mr. Baker was doing with it when he handed it off. He was also trying to focus on not asking too many questions just like he promised his mother he wouldn’t do.

William would take each object and would make a mental note of what needed to be done with it and either find a place for it on his pegboard in what was becoming the marine section of the garage of placing it on the floor of the shop in the spot that would normally be taken up by his wife’s car. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but he was separating what needed to be in the boat to make it ready to roll and what was considered a spare or suitable to be left behind for any trip. Occasionally, he would stop and explain what each item was for and why it was important to keep in the boat. Billy did the best he could trying to keep from asking too many questions, but sometimes couldn’t help himself and would ask a question about something he didn’t recognize like the hub kit and the blocks of wood when he noticed they both went in the ‘ready to roll’ stack and not in the marine section of the garage. By the time either had realized it and hour and a half had passed before they managed to clear the back deck and were almost done with the cockpit area. Next was the front deck and Billy noticed most of those boxes were labeled “Fishing” or “Reels” or “Line”. Then there were all the rods still in their plastic from the store. This was the good part he’d been waiting for.

“Cookies and drinks” Mrs. Baker called as she opened the door. “I’ll just set them down here and you two can help yourselves when you get ready” And just as quickly as she did, she was gone again. Billy was almost disappointed, but the “drinks” part sure sounded good. It was warm out and even though Mr. Baker had the two fans mounted in the corners of the garage going, it still was pretty hot. “Come on Billy, I think we’ve earned a break”. Mr. Baker pulled a couple of chair up and flipped a milk crate over for a makeshift table between them and they both took their positions in the chairs with drinks and the cookies between them.

Wannabe...