Time Frame: Keith is 21

POV: Ellis

Main event: Keith gets a house, and then loses it.

Did I ever tell you about the time Keith's grandpa died and left him a house?

Before you get excited for him, he didn't get to keep the house for more than one day, but the story behind it was great.

See, his granddad passed away and he was the ONLY member of Keith's family that loved him, so it crushed the guy hard. Keith's grandpa was who taught him how to be a man, cause his dad sure didn't. Keith's granddad was his mother's dad. Never approved of the relationship she allowed her husband to have with Keith. He always said, "Maryanne, I didn't raise you to love someone what treats his own little boy like shit."

When he passed away, he left his home in Iowa to Keith in his will. So the guy goes to the funeral and he planned to make arrangements for having someone look after his house, since he didn't plan on movin to Iowa. He was lookin at makin the house more of a "summer" home. I woulda gone to the funeral with him, but I had to fill in his shift at work so he could go on account of how busy we were that whole month.

So he goes and he didn't bother to check the news, I guess thinkin that he was only gonna be gone for three days. He couldn't have arrived at a worse time. A tornado was expected, and the day after the funeral, it delivered, rippin apart houses and shit all over the place.

Keith notices that a bunch of people didn't leave so he goes down the street, knockin on every door he can see and invites people to come stay in his granddad's basement until the tornado is over. I guess people didn't figure it was gonna get so serious, which is why they stayed home in the first place, but they all agreed. He got 12 people into the basement before the tornado crossed down that street.

EVERY. HOUSE. Was destroyed on that street.

I mean every house.

When the tornado was over, Keith opened the basement door into daylight. The house all around the door was torn to hell. He had that nice house of his granddad's for two days before it was ripped apart. I mean this thing was beyond repair. Even the foundation got tore up. The only thing that survived was the industrial strength toilet, sittin in the middle of the wreckage.

The neighbors all lost their homes too.

I woulda been pissed had it been my house, but Keith just laughed it off and blamed bad luck. I wouldn't have believed it but he was on the news, tellin the reporter that the house didn't matter, because he just felt so damn good that none of those people got killed (which they would have if they stayed at home).

This story did have a silver lining. Being that the house was technically his, the insurance had a hefty pay-out and Keith was able to take care of some of his debt, made 100% due to hospital bills.