The Michaels' Family: Book One - We Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus

When I walked into the office, both Cynthia and Chris started to bow to me and Cynthia spoke for the two of them.  "So nice that you could join us your Royal Highness.  What might I be getting for you this morning?"

I was caught by surprise but thought, 'I can play their game'. "I'd like twelve maids a milking and a partridge in a pear tree please.  That would make me most happy."

Chris spoke up, "What would you wish the maids to be milking, Your Highness?  Chickens, perhaps, since geese are busy laying golden eggs while drummers are drumming and pipers are piping and the ladies are dancing."

I thought to myself, 'Chris is even sharper than I thought.  We have to get him into college.'

I decided to get serious, "Look you two, we have work to do.  I want to speak with Mrs. Hamilton and Doctor Harrison as soon as you can get in touch with them, please.  I have some other calls from yesterday, that I need to return."

Dusty's door was open, "Steve, I just talked to Mrs. Hamilton and she will be here at 10:00 to meet with me.  You can visit with her then.  The new equipment will be arriving on schedule.  It is so nice that you could join us today, boss.

"Knock it off Mr. Summers, you can always be replaced by a baboon you know.  I'd like to see you and Chris in my office after I speak to the real boss."

Cynthia followed me into the office, "Is there a problem, Steve?"
I looked at her, "Cynthia, I don't know how much you know about what is happening with Dusty's oldest son, Danny.  But if Dusty is not here, it will be because of Danny.  We need to give him some leeway until the situation has settled down.  Dusty will also be going to school two nights a week to finish his master's degree.

Cynthia looked at me, "I gathered something was happening, but I have no idea what it is."

When I explained what was happening, she looked at me, "Well why isn't Dusty at the hospital?"

I shook my head, "Everyone has worked out a schedule so that someone will be with Danny 24/7.  Cowboy is there as we are speaking, and Jacob insists that he stay with Danny at night.  We aren't exactly sure when they plan to do the transfer of the blood platelets from Jacob to Danny.  It depends on Jacob's blood tests and how Danny's system responds to the treatments.  He looked so feeble last night when we saw him, that I just wanted to hold him and hug him."

Our conversation was interrupted by Chris, "Mr. Michaels, I think you might want to visit with the two gentlemen who are sitting in the waiting area.  I have alerted the security office and they have some personnel on the way.  The gentlemen claim that they are here to collect the keys and deed to the house on the hill as collateral for a gambling debt that Mrs. Clark owes their bosses."

I looked at Chris and Cynthia, "Chris, go call Mr. Young and tell him I need to him to come to the office immediately with the records showing that the house on the hill is in the company's name and not Mrs. Clark's. Cynthia, please call the police and have them secure the building.  I don't have a good feeling for what's about to happen.  As soon as Wayne gets here, show the visitors in and leave the door open so you and the security people can hear what's going on."

When Wayne walked in with a folder, Cynthia escorted two very well dressed men into the room.  Wayne and I stood, "Gentlemen, I'm Steve Michaels.  How may I help you?"

They didn't even introduce themselves before the older of the two of them spoke, "We're here to obtain the deed to the Clark residence on the hill.  Mrs. Clark put it up as collateral for her gambling losses.  It's probably a piece of trash and our bosses will never be able to recover the more than $500.000.00 that she owes them."

I looked at Wayne, "Mr. Young, would you please explain to these people that Mrs. Clark never owned the property in question?"

Wayne looked at the two men, "Sirs, I regret to inform you that the title for the property in question is listed as being owned the Ad Agency which Mr. Michaels now totally owns as the purchaser, so Mrs. Clark had no right to put it up as collateral for her gambling losses.  It seems that your bosses are even more stupid than she is."

The younger of the two gentlemen stood, "Look, Mistah, you better watch who you're calling stupid, Our bosses told us to come and get the title or you need to pay the money that the dame owes them."

He pulled out a gun, "Mistah, we wants the money and we wants it now, or you are going to be spending time in the hospital."

Chris had moved into the room and placed his arm around the thug's neck and stuck his knee in the thug's back, "Drop the gun mister or I'll break your back.  I have already caused one gentleman to lose the sight of an eye and nothing would give me more pleasure than breaking a few of your bones."

Chris' move had caught the other gentleman's attention and he started to pull a gun.  Wayne responded and he obviously knew something about martial arts because the next thing we knew the gentleman was lying on the floor writhing in pain.

Two police officers who had been involved in the incident the day before arrived and took charge of the two thugs.  The young lady officer looked at me, "Mr. Michaels, I'm glad that your offices will be closed tomorrow, or we would have to set up an around the clock patrol of this facility.  We'll take these two and book them.  I hope you won't be needing our services again any time soon."

I hadn't seen them, but Mrs. Hamilton and Dusty had witnessed almost everything that had happened.  They entered the office as the police were taking the visitors out in handcuffs.  Mrs. Hamilton was laughing, "Wait until I tell Senator Throckmorton what happened here today.  He'll have a new campaign issue to bring before the voters.  No one expects the mob to be using strong armed tactics in this state."

She looked at me, "Now, Mr. Michaels, what have you and your sons decided about the house?  How soon can we take occupancy?"

The door to my office was open and Hank walked in,  I looked at Mrs. Hamilton, "My sons and I have …"

Everyone was leaning to hear my response "We decided to sell the property.  We will have the house cleared of our belongings by Tuesday at the latest if I can find some place to store them.  My lawyer will draw up the final paperwork as soon as Mr. Jansen provides the official evaluation."

She looked at me, "Who is your lawyer, and how can I get in touch with him?"

I started to laugh, "If you reach out and touch the person behind you, my lawyer will be the one that you're touching."

Mrs. Hamilton turned around, "So, you're Mr. Michaels' lawyer.  You must be good if he trusts you to take care of his business."

Hank was ready, "Well, he's the only client I have.  I'm having a difficult time keeping track of him and his sons.  They are interfering with my true avocation.  All I want to do is to create video games.  I'm Henry T. Rodgers, who be you?

She stuck out her hand, "I be Janice Hamilton and my two sons would give their eye teeth to meet you.  Whenever a new game that you have created appears on the market, their rooms are cleaned and they even mow the lawn and edge it hoping to earn enough to buy your over-priced products.  Hey, this might be a godsend if I can tell them that you live here.  They've been resisting our moving here.  I don't suppose that you would be willing to meet them?"

Hank in his inevitable style suggested, "I'll have to think about that over lunch.  Come on people, let's go to lunch.  I'm starving after sitting in the hospital with no one to talk to for almost five hours since Danny was undergoing treatments or was always asleep.  I felt so helpless."

Cynthia shook her head no, "I need to leave to see my shrink as soon as Chris gets back.  These guns and stuff are causing me to develop a phobia.  My husband and I will be leaving for Las Vegas where our oldest daughter is participating in the Miss America Contest as the state representative this weekend and I haven't finished packing."

Hank quipped, "Oh, I didn't know that they were crowning the Ugliest Woman in the States this week."

Cynthia was ready, "Cowboy, if you're not nice to me, I'll have you banned from the building.  In actuality, my husband and I are just amazed that Jennifer made it this far.  She's a beautiful young woman.  We want to be there to support her even though we don't expect her to win anything."

Hank laughed, "Sometimes good things happen when you least expect it.  Right, Mr. Michaels?"

"Right, Cowboy, Now let's split this place so Cynthia can get out of here."

Chris spoke up, "I'll stay here and you gentlemen might bring me a sandwich when you can return.  That way Mrs. Wright will have time for a lengthy visit with her shrink before she finishes her packing.  If something important comes up, I have Mr. Michaels' cell phone number."

Cowboy laughed, "Good thinking, Chris.  You're probably right about Mrs. Wright's shrink keeping her so long that she'll miss her flight."

I looked at Mrs. Hamilton, "Janice, I'd like to introduce you to the two gentlemen you haven't met." I introduced her to Hank and Wayne.

Hank shook her hand, "Ma'am, why don't join us for lunch so you can make sure that the four of us guys don't get into too much trouble."

She started to laugh, "I think I'd better after everything that has happened today.  I would enjoy that since my husband is at a meeting with Congressman Throckmorton."

I nodded, "Dusty, why don't you take your car, so you go to the hospital after lunch and check to make sure that Mimi and Danny are okay.  I'll drive the rest of us since I assume that we'll be going to the Market Basket for lunch."

Cowboy nodded, "I'll take my car, too, so I can go and check on moving and storage arrangements for the furniture and items in the two houses.  Have you talked to Dr. Harrison yet?"

Chris interrupted, "I called his office and they said that he was going to be busy until later this afternoon.  I left a message asking that he call Mr. Michael's at his earliest convenience."

We departed and it was only a three van caravan going to the restaurant today.  When we walked the hostess took us to Flo's station.  Flo was waiting for us, "Where are the two good looking gentlemen that were with you yesterday.  Janice, how did you get hooked up with this mob anyway?  Cowboy, do you realize that this is the second Friday in a row that you've been here for lunch?  Is Mr. Michaels forcing you to work on Fridays now or something?"

Flo took our orders and as she was leaving, she looked at us, "Don't even think of talking about anything important until I get back."

Cowboy looked at Janice, "How do you know Flo?"

Janice laughed, "We were at a reception for Congressman Throckmorton the other night and we met Florence and her husband Judge Baker.  I'm beginning to think that she has multiple personalities.  She certainly wasn't like this at the reception."

Flo was serving our food when Janice asked, "Dusty, who is in the hospital that you are going to check on?"

Dusty looked up, "Our eight-year-old son is in the hospital.  They're trying to get his system ready to receive a bone marrow transplant from one of Steve's sons.  My wife is with him now and she is pregnant and we're expecting triplets in June.  She has had some complications."

Flo looked at Dusty, "Who's your son's doctor?"

Dusty looked at her, "The lead doctor is Doctor Harrison."

Flo nodded, "Good, then you can be assured that he will be receiving the best care possible.  I have known the Harrisons for a very long time and he has a tremendous reputation.  How long has your wife been there with your son?"

Cowboy answered, "Mimi is covering the 11:00 to 3:00 shift.  Jacob, Steve's son has taken the night shift permanently.  I relieved Jacob this morning at seven and he said, he was fine when he left to take a shower and change clothes at the house on the hill.  Danny had slept through the night and was alert and was talking to me before they came and took him for another treatment.  When he came back he was zonked."

I decided that we needed to go, "Flo, how about fixing a club sandwich to go for Chris since he is manning the office?"

Flo laughed, "Is he the young man with the heart on the left or the right side?"

Janice got a funny look, "You mean someone has a heart on the right side of their body."

Flo was laughing so hard that she could hardly speak, "Not the heart that pumps the blood.  It's a birthmark that is somewhere on their bodies that we ladies shouldn't talk about."

Dusty stood to go, "Steve, I'll see you later.  I'll call the office if there is a problem."

Flo hugged Dusty, "I'll be praying for Danny and all of you."

Flo brought Chris' sandwich and dessert and Hank took care of the tab.  Wayne and I went to my car since Mrs. Hamilton decided to go with Hank because she was interested in looking at storage facilities in the area too.

When I walked into the office, I handed Chris his food and he handed me a stack of messages.

I went into the office and quickly read through them and had just finished putting them in piles of how I should take care of them when Chris knocked on the door, "Mr. Michaels, Ms. Cheryl Lee would like to talk to you."

I looked up, "Please show her in." My mind was trying to decide what she might want.

I stood and greeted Cheryl.  We were old acquaintances because we had worked together ever since the agency started.  "Please sit down Cheryl, what can I do for you?"

She smiled, "Steve, I really came to talk to Mr. Summers but since he isn't here, I had to tell someone the good news.  Mr. Summers' idea of teaming a sales person and a graphic design person together is playing off big time.  Since he introduced his plan we have seven new clients and it hasn't even been a week.  That doesn't even include the Throckmorton account that he emailed us about.  Do you realize that is more new accounts than we have had in some months?  Everyone is excited about what is happening and the creative juices are flowing.  Steve, I'm so excited."

I hugged her, "Cheryl, Dusty is a wonderful young man.  He has a big problem that may divert his attention from the being able to fully take care of all the details for several weeks.  His oldest son is in the hospital and is going to be undergoing a bone marrow transplant for leukemia.  Please inform the staff so they know why he might not always be available."
Cheryl looked at me, "Steve, I know from personal experience how devastating that disease can be.  Let's hope that they can find the right donor for his son.  There were no available matches for our son Tommy in time to save him."

I hugged Cheryl, "Cheryl, I had no idea that you had suffered a loss."

"Steve, it was before I started to work here.  In fact, that is what caused me to start to work.  I still have a hard time dealing with Tommy's loss even though it was sixteen years ago.  We decided not to have anymore children because we were afraid they might also suffer from the disease."

I shuddered, "Cheryl, please don't tell Dusty that because he has another son who is six, and he and his wife are expecting triplets."

Cheryl started to laugh, "Maybe they'll share the children with us since we'll never have any grandchildren.  Steve, I'll let everyone know what's happening.  I need to talk to you about that young man who is acting as your receptionist or whatever.  He's about the cutest thing I've seen in a long time."

There was a knock on the door, "Come in Chris."

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Michaels, but Doctor Harrison is on the phone.  I thought you might want to talk to him."

I picked up the phone, "Hi, Doctor Harrison, the reason I called was to tell you that we are planning to have the house cleared by Tuesday.  You already know my lawyer, Hank Rodgers, he'll be in touch with you with the arrangements to transfer the house after we receive Mr. Hansen's formal appraisal on Monday."

"Steve, that's not why I'm calling.  We've decided to do the transfer of the platelets on Monday.  Jacob's test before he left this morning showed that the shots were working overtime.  We need to get the platelets transferred to Danny's system as soon as possible.  By the way, Dusty is going to be staying with Danny, because his wife wasn't feeling well and went home.  Dusty said that he would be back after he picked up David."
Cheryl had just departed when Chris stuck his head in the door, "Mr. Michaels, there is a Mr. Brent Farway on the phone.  It sounds like a long distance call."

I picked up, "This is Stephen Michaels, how may I help you?"

"Mr. Michaels, I'm going to be flying into your city tomorrow to look at opening a sporting goods store.  Your company has been recommended to handle a mass media blitz to announce the opening of the store.  Would it be possible to meet with you and some of your key staff tomorrow."

"Mr. Farway, I will be glad to meet with you, but I will not ask any of the staff to meet with you.  We have just been through a troubling period and are now getting our company back up and running."

The voice on the other end took a deep breath, "Mr. Michaels, please at least meet with me so we can talk.  Eric recommended that your company would be the one who could handle the job.  He and Mrs. Hamilton are impressed with you and your staff."

Mr. Farway wasn't done yet, "Perhaps you could meet me at the airport and we could talk there.  I'm sorry to be so pushy, but I was going to use another company until I heard that you had bought out the agency from that Clarke woman, and I use the term woman loosely."

His last comment caught my attention, "Mr. Farway, I know your name, but I can't place why.  Perhaps you might enlighten me as to who you are?"

"I was the the quarterback for the Denver Broncos until I retired."

I just held the phone and looked at it, "Mr. Farway, I will make arrangements to meet you at the airport.  What time will you be arriving?"

The voice answered, "We're scheduled to arrive at 3:45 tomorrow afternoon.  I would appreciate it if you could make sleeping accomodations for my companion and me.  We don't need anything fancy.  Just a bed to crash in."
I had to ask, "Mr. Farway, is your companion male or female and what type of sleeping arrangements would you be needing?"

Mr. Farway answered, "My companion is male and we would require only one bed if you understand what I mean."

I wanted to laugh, "Perfectly, sir.  My friend and I will be meeting you at the airport when you arrive."

I hung up and thought, 'The world has been taken over by aliens.  What's so important that Mr. Farway wants to meet with me on a Saturday.  Oh well, nothing will probably come of the meeting anyway.'

Editor's Notes:

Somehow Mr. Farway seems familiar to me. I can't exactly place him just yet, but there is something strangely interesting about him.  I certainly hope that Danny's treatments work for him. As I have said so many many times, I sure hope the next chapter is ready soon.