For some fifty-five odd years, the old Montgomery House was a local reputed haunted house on Chicago's west side. The local Red Lion's Club had used the location to feature their regular Halloween attraction to raise money for needy kids, but following the last thunderstorm, the back porch had collapsed and part of the roof had caved into a second floor bedroom. The location was now leveled and Jim's company was building a restaurant on the site to be called the Asian Buffet. Jim's brother-in-law, Andy Harridge, already had visions of repeated visits to the sushi table and loading up on shrimp and calamari before the place was even built. Marking off the days on the calendar to the opening, he took his large but proud girth on a lively strut through the worksite and entered the portable office carrying a box of doughnuts. Jim looked up from his blueprints as Andy entered.
"How's my favorite brother-in-law?" He said everyday.
"I'm your only brother-in-law." Jim reminded him everyday.
"Well, at least until Dana sinks her teeth in and drains one dry." Andy sniped his sister in her absence. "Jelly doughnut?" He opened the doughnut box into Jim's direction.
"Don't mind if I do…" Jim started reaching for a grape-filled doughnut.
"Not that one." Andy watched as Jim started for the strawberry. "Not that one…." Jim finally took the lemon-filled one.
"Your sister really gets on my nerves." Jim turned back to his work with the lemon-filled doughnut as his only solace.
"Do what I do…" Andy walked through the one room trailer and sat at his desk next to the bathroom. "Tell her off."
"Not Dana - Cheryl." Jim was already licking his fingers of the glaze from the doughnut. "Did you see that article about the movie crew filming in our neighborhood? She won't let me call to let them see the house to film in it. I just so wanted to get the house in the movies."
"Well, if that's just it…" Andy had finished his doughnut and was licking his hand. "I'm with you, buddy. I'll call them for you."
"I promised Cheryl I wouldn't let you or the kids call either." Jim confessed.
"Why that's down-right diabolical!"
"I know!" Jim was nodding his head in agreement. "But you know… Cheryl said nothing about you calling about your house!"
"Jim…" Andy was feeling nostalgically close to Jim and briefly hugged him. "I'm touched. Thank you, thank you so much. I'm so honored, but… what about your house?"
"Andy…" Jim was scheming again. "You live across the street from me. Invite the guy to your house and then invite him over to mine for drinks or something. I keep my promise, he sees both our houses and maybe we can get both our houses in the movies!"
"Jim, that's brilliant." Andy shook his head in awe. "You just got to leave your brain to science."
"I'll consider it." Jim stood arrogant in the bizarre praise. "Now, back to work…." He started reaching for the blueberry doughnut in the box.
"Not that one." Andy slapped his hand. Jim gave him a warning glance and took the other lemon-filled one. He placed it in his mouth and turned to his seat while a rap came from the trailer door. Andy looked to see who it was just as the door opened and a figure stepped up into the trailer. Jim turned and looked to the bearded gentleman with sunglasses wearing a white shirt and brown khaki pants. His dark hair was cut short on top and he wore a man's earring in his left ear. Tugging off the glasses, their visitor looked them over with piercing brown eyes.
"If this is about the loan, the check is in the mail." Andy leaned slightly back.
"No, I'm James Danvers…" The guest introduced himself while dropping his glasses in his shirt pocket. "I was wanting…"
"James Danvers?" Jim did an almost over-ecstatic double take. "The same James Danvers directing a movie, here, in Chicago?"
"Yeah," Danvers briefly scanned the interior of the office over. "I'm renting the empty restaurant in town and I need to hire a small crew to design an interior and a few fronts. I'm on a budget and I saw your placard from the street and I prefer hiring local non-union contractors."
Jim and Andy looked at each other barely able to hold in their hysteric joy over the opportunity.
"Can you fit in the job?" Danvers asked.
"Definitely!" Jim grinned at his impromptu luck and serendipity. "In fact, why don't we talk it over dinner at my home? I bet you Hollywood types never get home cooking and my little woman is just the greatest cook in the world!"
"Uh, Jim…" Andy started seeing his previous plans going astray. "How about my…."
"Andy, geniuses are talking here." Jim looked back willingly to do anything for this job especially if it meant getting this guy to see his house. "I live at 412 Maple Street, and Mr. Danvers, I would love to have a hand designing your movie."
"Great…" Danvers shook Jim's hand. "412 Maple, I can be there and I'll bring you the specifications for what I'm looking for."
"I'll see you there!" Jim looked back to Andy while trying to contain the huge grin trying to spread to his face. Danvers pulled out his glasses as he turned his way out and exited back out into the muggy Chicago heat. In Danvers' absence, Jim started to doing a short brief egocentric victory dance.
"Now, no one's seeing my house." He reacted disgustedly upset and dropped to his seat.
"So he sees mine first and yours last…" Jim mugged ear-to-ear content in his dealing. "I got a job and maybe a house in the movie. I can't wait for the cash to roll in."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Andy sounded upset. "But you still got to get Cheryl to cook him dinner." He stared into his doughnut box. "Okay, where's my blueberry?"