Friday morning Paige and Walter took separate showers at the condo , today would be the last day they would be able to enter the garage , as Walter would be handing back the keys to the bank . The new owners of the garage .
However they need to go over as the company that shred and burns important documents were sending a van to the garage to pick up ten sacks of material that Walter wanted destroyed .
Walter had showered first and once he had dried off and got dressed , he went to the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on and broke eggs into a bowl ready to make scrambled eggs . Paige came into the kitchen about thirty minutes later and immediately walked over to Walter and gave him a kiss .
" No sign of Ralph yet ? " She asked .
" No , but I have not put any bacon in the oven , a smell that will usually get him up . Walter replied a smile on his face . . "
Paige moved away from Walter . " I will go and knock on his door . "
She was back a few moments later He is up , he says he will be here in a couple of minutes , but he sounds really sad . "
Walter's face lost it's smile . " What as he got to be sad for , there is nothing wrong I know of . "
A couple of minutes later they heard Ralph's bedroom door open . He walked In the kitchen , his head bowed , his shoulders slumped . Paige looked at him and a look of fear came across her face .
"Sweetie what is wrong ? "
Ralph stopped walking , but did not raise his head and simply said in a very sharp voice . " Nothing . "
Walter looked across . " That is not the way to speak to your mom , she is concerned for you , so I think an apology is in order . "
Ralph did not speak for about thirty seconds , he raised his head slightly . " Sorry mom , sorry dad , I am just sad I will never see the garage again . "
Paige walked over to him and pulled him into a hug . " I know how you feel , I spent the best years of my life there and I also feel guilty because it was my fault that Walter as been forced to give it up . However I am sure once we find some suitable premises we can begin to make a lot more happy memories . " By now tears were running down her cheeks .
Walter moved over to them , then put his arms around both of them . " It was not you walking out on me that as made me have to hand over the garage to the bank . In many ways it was my own fault, I told you a lie and I gave , trying to help two ;people who I thought as friends , the money I got for Cabe's bail , to have a child . Then they repaid me by walking out on me as well and from what your mom as told me . Toby tried to drive me out of business by persuading them to form a company and be determined to undercut me on all bids . But as your mom as told you , we will find some new premises and begin to build our own new memories . "
Paige looked into Walter's eyes and mouthed " Thank you . " She then gave Ralph a kiss on the top of his head .
" Tell you what , how about I phone the school and tell them you will not be in today and then you . can come with us to the garage today . But you will need to go to your Caltech lessons after lunch . "Paige told him .
Ralph's shoulders immediately lifted and he picked his head up a half smile on his face . " That would be great , thank you . "
" Right lets get breakfast , then I will phone the school . " Paige said the smile now back on her face .
They were on the way to the garage by 9.00am.
" If I go to Caltech this afternoon I won't be able to go and see the next office . " Ralph suddenly spoke up from the back seat .
Paige half turned to him . " Nice try mister ,you cannot afford to miss your Caltech lessons . Beside I doubt the next office will be any different to the other two we have actually seen . Should it be just what we want , we still have the two industrial units to see tomorrow , if they are not better , then we need to arrange a second viewing . So you could see it then . "
Ralph stayed silent for about thirty seconds . " Ok , I suppose you are correct . "
" Correct answer . " Walter told him .
Once inside the garage Walter and Ralph began checking downstairs to see if they had left anything behind that may be useful in the new office . , were ever that may be . This gave Paige a chance to go upstairs and make sure everything was as it should be after their romp yesterday .
She found a black bag and put the used bath towels into it , she had taken her hair dryer home the , previous day . Once she had done this she worked her way through the loft . Apart from the furniture , which Walter was leaving , she stripped the bed and put all the bedding in the black bag , she left the pillows on the bed after removing the pillow cases , which she also put in the black bag . She found some part used shampoo and shower gel , which when she picked that up it bought a big smile to her face , these she put in another black bag . She checked the living area , removing the cushions from the sofa ,all she found was dust and a few food crumbs . .
The kitchen was a little different , a half can of coffee , a small can of cinnamon , which bought a smile to her face . They had already emptied the fridge and freezer and they had been cleaned and switched off again , Walter was going to leave them in the garage . The food cupboards had already been emptied , most of the contents ending up in the garbage .
Another quick check in the living room area only a couple of her romantic novels could be found . Once she had finished she put the two black bags at the top of the stairs . She turned back to take one last look at the loft , remembering all the fun and at times upsetting times she had spent up there in the four years she had known Walter O'Brian , a man so unique , that when she had tried to change him , the wheels had definitely fallen off the wagon .
As she stood there reminiscing , she noticed sunlight coming through a window , set high in the far wall of the garage loft , as it began to get brighter it seemed to be bouncing back from something metal in what seemed a void behind the living area .
Her curiosity got the better of her , she removed her phone and switched to light mode , she quickly made her way to the end of the living quarters . Stopped and shone her phone light into the void . The light was not that powerful , so she shone the light , on her phone , on the wooden frame , that seemed to be holding the roof of this part of the loft up . Her light reflected off a light switch , with some trepidation , she walked over to it and a yellow white light , which came from two 4ft. fluorescent tubes , hanging from the ceiling in a light fitting by two chains , illuminated the area .
Now she could see , she walked into the area and saw metal shelving which seemed to be full of various items , none that really made much sense to her . A lot looked like uncompleted pieces of equipment , others just odd bits of metal .
She turned around and ran down the stairs to find Walter . Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs , she heard a knock on the door. Walter seemed to hear the noise at the same time , as he appeared at her side closely followed by Ralph , all three went to the door together .
A young man dressed in a brown coverall , stood there . " Miss Dineen . " He said as he looked at Paige . " I am from Destroy a Doc. I believe you have ten bags of sensitive documentation for me to collect . "
Paige smiled at him . " Yes they are just inside the garage . " She told him as she pointed to a pile of black bags .
The young man came in to check just was there . " Ok, let me go fetch a cage . " He turned and went back to the van , he was back a few minutes later with a metal cage , which he wheeled in to the garage . He opened the cage door and loaded the ten bags into the cage , once all were loaded he shut the door , then pulled a metal seal from his pocket which he put around the door and doorframe , similar to a small bike lock he then got Paige to sign a paper tag attached to it , then he signed at dated it . He then filled more paperwork in including the code number on the lock , again he got Paige to sign it and he signed under her name ,tore the top sheet of and handed it to Paige the other copies he placed in a wallet attached to the cage . He moved the cage out of the door and loaded it on to the van and drove away .
Walter turned to Paige . " Well that is everything cleared , we have found one or two small items , but that is all .
A big smile came on her face .
" Well I have another two black bags one I filled with dirty washing . " As she said this she gave Walter a wink , causing him to blush so he knew what she meant . She immediately began speaking again .
" I have found a lot more items , but I don't know what they are . "
Walter looked at her a little confused . " Were ? "
" Back of the loft . "She replied .
A smile came across Walter's face , although his eyes seemed to go vacant for a few seconds before he began speaking . " Well it all goes back to when I had just bought the garage , it took all my money but I could see a lot of potential in the building . When I moved in all I had was a few clothes , a single camp bed and a single sleeping bag .
The loft was just an empty space , so I put my camp bed up there , then used the kitchen and bathroom down in the garage .
It was like that for about nine months , when I met Happy , I offered her a job and told her she could live in the R.V. , as at the time she was sofa surfing . Happy being Happy was only happy when banging metal , unfortunately she tended to do that until late into the night . I came to the conclusion if you can't beat them join them . So I built myself a small work bench and began working on some projects of my own , most of which I never finished . After almost twelve months , the loft looked more like it is now , all the work carried out by Happy in between our paying jobs . I decided to buy some furniture , so with Happy's help I went and found items in thrift stores which are the items you see now , except I did buy a new bed and mattress .
Once I was settled in the loft , Happy had saved enough for a deposit on a suitable apartment of her own . When she left and moved out , I sort of shut that part of the loft out of my mind .
Both Paige and Ralph remained silent all the time Walter had been speaking .
Ralph spoke up . " Can we go and see them ."
" Of course lets go . " Walter said as he led the other two up to the loft .
Once Walter led them into the back of the loft , Ralph took off on his own .
" Be careful Ralph and don't touch anything before asking your dad . " Paige raised her voice at him .
" Ok Mom . " He shouted back .
" We would like you to explain some of what we have here ? " Paige asked as she pointed to the metal shelves .
" I am sure most are useless , like a lot of things I have attempted . " Walter answered in a sad voice .
Paige put her arm through his and looked up into his face , her whole face full of love for him . " My dear Walter , nothing you do is useless ,impractical at times , but with maybe with a little bit of modification they could be world beater . "
" What like the U Sausage or lead lined hat ? " Walter asked in a somewhat sarcastic way .
" Well there could be an exception to the rule. " Paige told him with a big smile on her face .
She called Ralph back to her , he returned quickly to her a smile on his face .
" Some of these things seem fantastic . "
" Ok sweetie , but how about the three of us walk round the loft together then Walter can answer any questions either of us may have . "
Both Walter and Ralph gave her a look of surprise .
She put on a cute smile . " Well I was just thinking , there could be things here that could be developed and sold to put money into S.C.S."
Walter leaned in and kissed her on the cheek . " You have your business head on today . "
" It is a good job one of us as , just looking quickly , I can see different metals , which we can weigh in for scrap if nothing else . " As they began walking round the loft , at almost every item Ralph had a question for Walter , who was more than happy to answer anything Ralph was asking about , even though most of the information Ralph was being told was going over Paige's head by at least three feet . By the time they had walked all the way around the loft it was 12.30pm.
Paige looked at her watch . " If we are going to get lunch and Ralph to Caltech by 2.00pm. we need to leave now . "
Ralph had a look of total disappointment on his face . " But what will happen to all these projects if dad puts the keys into the bank today ? "
Paige looked at Walter , that pout on her mouth , that he cannot resist . " Do you have to put the keys in today ? "
Walter smiled at her . " Not exactly I have until next Friday , but I just want to let it go so I can draw a line under that part of my life and begin another part of my life with you and Ralph . "
" What about we hire a van tomorrow and take all these items into our storage unit ? "
Walter answered almost immediately . " That is a good idea , I can hand the keys in on Monday . "
A big smile broke out on Ralph's face and Paige threw her arms around Walter and planted a kiss on his lips . time was passing so they came out of the garage , locked everything up and set the alarm .
Walter stopped at a sandwich store . Paige went in and selected some food for the three of them . As it was 1.30pm. Ralph ate his food on the journey to Caltech .Walter pulled up outside of Caltech at 1.50pm. by which time Ralph had finished his food . He got out of the car after saying goodbye to his mom and dad , both said goodbye to him and arranged to pick him up at 6.00pm.
They had two hours to wait until their 4.00pm appointment with Mary . There was a coffee shop not far from Caltech . They parked their car in a parking bay with a one hour parking limit , then walked to the coffee shop .
By 3.30pm. they pulled up outside the office . This one was in a much better area than the other three . In fact Rodeo Drive was only a couple of blocks away , which explained the much higher rent than the three before . Ten minutes after they arrived , Mary pulled up along side of them . She got out of her car waved and walked up to the office and unlocked it . Paige and Walter got out and followed her .
" No Ralph today ? " Mary asked .
" No he has Caltech lessons this afternoon , we will pick him up when we have finished here . " Paige explained .
" I thought Caltech was for 18 year old's and older people . What is Ralph thirteen ? "
Walter was quick to cut in . " Yes a very intelligent thirteen year old . I must say this office is certainly in a much better district than the others .. "
All three walked into the office . Walter's eye's scanned the room , this is smaller than either of the two we have seen .
Mary looked at him . " It is actually six inches shorter , that's all . "
" Don't be surprised , that is only one of the things he is able to notice . " Paige told her a big smile on her face .
They walked through the rest of the rooms , but neither were impressed on the overall size .
Paige looked at Mary . " Thank you but there is insufficient room for what we need , especially in view of what we have found this morning .
Mary looked disappointed . " Does that mean you have already found a location that suits you ? "
Paige's face broke out into a big smile . " No we uncovered a load of Walter's unfinished projects , probably sufficient to fill this office . so we are looking forward to what your industrial units look like . "
Mary's disappoint changed to one of hope as a smile broke out on her face . " Then I look forward to showing them to you tomorrow . "
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Grykon Waige are certainly behaving like teenagers , Toby he could be a lost cause LOL .
Pearliegirl Love attracts different people in different ways , but this relationship certainly takes some understanding . Sorry but it is a case of the garage must go .
Loube96 . That is one site that is definitely off the list , I wanted a way to introduce Cabe back in the story and what better than a drive by shooting .
I just wanted to make a bit of a fool of Toby , watch out for a little one shot . Not sure what coffee is like from a non coffee stall in the States but I always find it rubbish from the road side mobile food stalls in the UK , so just went with that LOL .
A shower in the industrial units , you will have to wait until chapter 13 . They may have won this bid , thanks to Paige , but how will it be carried out ?
DaToad Thank you , you are correct Ralph is trying to find some comfort after the loss of the garage . I think Paige is getting more than his fair share of Paige LOL .