Normal
Introduction:
A boy wants to live a normal life
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I knocked on the heavy oak door of my father’s study and waited patiently for him to acknowledge my presence. He finally invited me in and I found him in his usual place behind his massive mahogany desk. His study looked exactly like you would imagine a billionaire’s study to look. Deep rich wood paneling, the thick carpet, and more books than most people ever thought about reading. The only clue to the fact that this was not a scene from the eighteen hundreds was the computer monitor on his desk. Even the smell was what you would think a study should smell like, old books and expensive cigars.
“Do you need something David?”
Without hesitation I said, “Yes sir. Are we rich?”
That stopped him cold in his tracks, which wasn’t something that was very easily done. “Excuse me?”
“Are we rich?”
“Why do you ask, son?”
“Well, I was wondering why we don’t go to the same school as the kids down the street? Their parents take them to school and we ride with Samuel in the limousine. Michael Stuart said that only rich kids get driven to school in limousines and that poor kids either have to ride the bus or get their parents to take them. Does that make us rich?”
“No son, riding to school in a limousine doesn’t make us rich. But, to answer your other question you are not rich. I am rich. It is because I am rich that you are able to go to Prepwood Academy and not public school. My being rich is also why you are able to ride to school in a limousine and not on a bus as a lot of other kids have to do.”
I thought about what he said for a moment and I chose my words carefully when I did. “Dad, if you are rich, and I am not, would it be possible that I could go to school with the rest of the kids that aren’t rich?”
My father again was silenced. He thought about my request for a moment before asking me, “Why would you want to go to public school and not Prepwood Academy?”
“Well, if I am not rich, like you said, then I cannot afford to go there. An education is more than just the things you learn in school, it is also the things you learn in life. I feel that if I went to a public school I would have a better understanding of the world we live in than if I spent my entire school career around people that have basically the same life as I have. At home I would be living the life of a child whose father is very wealthy, with housekeepers and chauffeurs and such, but at the public school I would be just another kid, no one any more special than anyone else.”
“You do realize that even if you aren’t rich, you are very different. Right?”
Unfortunately, I knew what he meant. I was once tested and found to have an IQ of nearly two hundred. There was very little that I couldn’t do. I fed my voracious thirst for knowledge by actually reading the books that he had in his study and most anything I could get my hands on at the library. My father encouraged me to read as much as I could, but I don’t think he would be real happy with some of my choices in reading material. My favorite things to read were automotive magazines.
“Yes sir. I know that I will never be the same as most of the people in this world. However, I do not want to miss out on how to interact with normal people. I have met far too many intellectuals who didn’t have a clue how to interact with people that weren’t on the same plane as them intellectually. It is really sad actually. I want to know that in a few years if I want a cup of coffee I can stop at just about anywhere that sells coffee and be able to get some. I would hate to think that I wouldn’t have enough common sense to make a cup of coffee. I am afraid that is exactly what is going to happen if I don’t get out into the real world sooner rather than later.”
My father put his hands together in front of his face as if he were praying and thought about what I had said. “Very well, since you actually seem to have thought this out, I will let you go to public school. However, you will not be going to the school that serves this area. Before you ask, let me tell you why. There are plenty of people that would love to find out that you are my son and that you go to public school. They would kidnap you and hold you for ransom. If anything were to ever happen to you I don’t know what I would do. It will take a few days to get everything set up the way I want it, but I will let you go to public school.”
I couldn’t believe it. I was actually going to get to go to public school. It has been a long time since I was this happy. That night as I lay in bed I thought about all the things I might get to do. I really had no idea what to expect since my only knowledge of the public school system was what I had seen on the television and the internet.
The next few days I found my father always in his study on the phone. I had no idea who he was talking to but I knew that it had something to do with my future educational options. I knew that my father really did love me for him to stop whatever he was working on and personally get involved with this. As I was sitting in the den watching television I heard the doorbell ring. After a minute I heard it ring again. I couldn’t understand what was taking Claudia, the downstairs maid so long to answer the door so I thought I would go answer it myself. When I opened the door a lady, close to my father’s age I guess, was standing there. I had no idea who she was so I asked her, “Hi, there. Can I help you?”
She smiled at me and said quite politely and in no way condescending, “Why, yes you may. I am Sarah Barker and I am here to see Mr. Martin about a nanny position. Is he available?”
“He should be. Come with me and I will take you to his study.” I closed the door behind her and asked her to follow me. I led her down a couple of hallways and a flight of stairs before we reached the door to my father’s study. It was open and like always I knocked and waited for permission before entering. Since he could see me and was on the phone he just waved me in. I turned to Miss Barker and put my finger to my mouth to indicate to her to be quiet and waved her in behind me. As we neared his desk my father indicated to the two chairs in front of it. We both sat and waited patiently for him to get off the phone.
After he hung up the phone he stood and introduced himself to Miss Sarah Barker. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “I was finalizing a sale and couldn’t cut it short. It was rude of me and again, I am so sorry.” That was weird. I had never heard my father apologize to anyone. He was generally never rude to anyone but I could never remember hearing him apologize. That was definitely weird.
“So, Miss Barker, can I call you Sarah?”
“Yes sir.”
“Please, call me Paul. I think it will make things a little easier. Besides, calling me mister makes me feel old.”
She laughed and said, “I agree. I feel the same way about Miss.”
“Did Beverly fully explain the situation I am facing?”
“She explained that I was to be a live in nanny and that was about it.”
My father looked surprised, “Oh. She didn’t fill you in on any of the details then?”
“Unfortunately not. Is there something I should know?”
“Well, quite a lot actually. Let me explain.” He went on to tell her my plan for wanting to go to public school and how he didn’t want me going to a school close to where we lived. He told her that he had bought a nice house in a decent middle class subdivision in the next county and that he wanted me to live there during the week but that I was to come home on the weekends. He also told her that she would be paid very well for playing the part of my aunt that I lived with. He also told her that she would be getting the complete benefit package that his upper management got since she would be taking care of his only living family member.
Sarah seemed stunned to hear that she would also be getting a car of her choosing and a company credit card to cover expense so that she didn’t have to shell out her own money for anything I might need. She did seem to be a little worried about the fact that she would more or less be raising me with my father living in the next county.
Before she could say anything that might jeopardize her chance at the job, because I really liked her, I spoke up. “Miss Barker, don’t think of it as you raising me. I am very mature and have been raised by two of the most loving parents a kid could ask for until my mother died two years ago. I know what it is to be loved and I know what is like to lose someone you love. To my father’s credit he did tell me that if I ever needed anything I could come to him, but I wasn’t prepared when he came to me. He loves me, I know this. That is why he is letting me do this. I am sure that if there were no laws preventing it, I probably could survive on my own. I don’t like to brag on myself, but in this case I must tell you that I am a little bit smarter than the average 14 year old. I could have finished school several years ago but chose not to because I enjoy being around people my own age. I asked my father if I could attend public school so that I could be exposed to as normal an upbringing as possible given his wealth. As I see it, your job is basically going to be to make sure I have an adult around the house. I may call on you to teach me to cook though. That is one skill that neither my father nor I have ever been able to master.”
My father laughed at that because he knows that it is true. “Our cook caught us in the kitchen once and threatened to quit if we didn’t get out. She wouldn’t even let us help her clean up.”
Miss Barker joined us in laughing about that. “Mr. Martin, I am still not sure that I am the best candidate for this position. I don’t have any children of my own and I was an only child. I killed four goldfish when I was in middle school and had two dogs that ran away. I can’t even keep a fern alive.”
My father listened to her and seemed to be pleased with what he heard because a smile crept across his face before she was finished speaking.
“Mi….Sarah, I didn’t want to hire you because you were a good mother or a great lover of aquatic pets. I wanted you specifically for three reasons. One of which is personal to me. First, you are a veteran of our great military having served two tours in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq in an M.P. battalion. You are an expert shot with several different weapons as well as a black belt or better in three different disciplines of martial arts. Secondly, you have three different degrees from institutes of higher learning. A master in Mechanical engineering from the prestigious M.I.T., a law degree from Harvard Law School, as well as a degree in Physical fitness from Virginia Commonwealth University. All three of which were completed before you turned 25 which is quite a feat. The third reason, and personal to me, and I am afraid it makes me sound like a complete chauvinist; you are an extremely good looking woman.
The first two reasons were why I considered you alone for the position, before I even knew what you looked like. In fact, I had no idea what you looked like before you walked through that door. You could have been a hunched back hag and with your credentials you would have still gotten the job. I think you will do everything in your power to keep David safe. All I ask of you is that you act like a loving aunt and do the things that he needs you to do. He is right, he is very independent and won’t want you to do much for him, but I would like you to do the things he needs you to do. I will show up to as many after school functions as I can, but unfortunately with my schedule, functions during school will fall on you.
Are these terms acceptable?”
“Paul, I will do everything in my power to help David have the experience that I know he is hoping to have.”
“Thanks. I hoped you would say that. Now, before we go out to celebrate, let’s ride over and check out y’alls new house. What do you say?”
We both agreed enthusiastically and climbed into my father’s Mercedes and headed for the house I would spend my high schools years in. It was exactly what I imagined a normal family home would look like. It was a two story house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, a kitchen, living room, dining room, den, spare bedroom, laundry room, and another full bathroom downstairs. It even had a garaged attached to the house So Sarah didn’t have to get out in the rain.
My father pulled into the driveway and immediately got out to open Sarah’s door for her. She thanked him and I joined them on the paved driveway. We all went inside after my father unlocked the door and I felt at home immediately. My dad told Sarah that she could the master bedroom and that if she wanted she could hire someone to redecorate the place. She told him that she would rather do it herself since she didn’t like the idea of too many people being in her home, and for the next few years it looked like it was going to be her home.
After we left the new house my dad took us to one of the nicest restaurants in town to celebrate. He and Sarah had wine while I had iced tea with dinner. Our meal was superb and the conversation was light with everyone getting better acquainted, especially Sarah and myself. I told her all the things I was in to, leaving out of course the automotive stuff; I would tell her about that later. At some point during the conversation the subject of the school year came up and I told her that I was due to get out of school in a few more days. That way I would have the summer to get adjusted to the new house and I could start at my new school at the beginning of ninth grade.
The day after school got out for the summer Sarah came by and asked if I would like to go shopping with her. Since my father was at work and I would soon be spending a lot more time with her I said yes. She told me that the very first thing we had to do was get new cell phones. Her contract was up on her old one and she wanted to get us phone on a family plan so that it would be cheaper. I of course told her that price wasn’t going to be an issue since my father’s company would be picking up the tab.
“David, I know that your father’s company is going to be picking up the tab. However, if you want to be able to fully understand how the other half lives, you are going to have to live like they do. I know you are probably used to buying clothes and not even looking at the price tag but the other half doesn’t have that luxury. They have to watch every penny to make sure they don’t go over budget. Too many people try to keep up with the Jones’ by buying the best of everything only to find out that they can’t buy happiness. Do you understand what I am trying to say?”
I sat silently in thought for a moment before I answered her. “Yes ma’am. I do. If I want to live like they do I have to remember that it is my father that is rich and not me. Therefore I can’t spend money like I have it to spend.” I even went so far as to dig my credit card and ATM card out of my wallet and hand them to her.
“What are these for?” she asked, more than a little confused.
“If I have access to my money and bank account then I will be able to spend the money that I have in the bank. That is not in keeping with the spirit of what I am trying to accomplish. I truly want to be a normal member of society, not one of those kids that think they can get away with anything because mommy and daddy are filthy rich. I will get an allowance like a normal teenager, whatever that may be, and I will find other ways to earn money so that I don’t have to ask you for money all the time. Just like normal people do.”
She smiled at me, glad that I understood what she was saying and put my cards in her purse. “David…”
“Please, call me Dave. David just sounds so formal. Besides, Dave sounds normal and David sounds a little too stuffy for my tastes.”
“Okay then, Dave, but I may still call you David when you upset me. Anyway, what I was going to say is, you don’t have to give up your credit card and ATM card. You just have to know how to use them.”
“I know. But, I want to be as close to a normal kid as I can be. I do have one request though. Can we get a garage built in the back of the house? I have a secret hobby that my dad doesn’t know about and since I am certain that he isn’t going to come over here very often I thought maybe I could really get into it now.”
Sarah looked at me like I had some deep dark secret that I was hiding, like maybe I was an axe murderer or something and that I wanted a place to torture my victims. “Um, Dave, Why do you want a garage in the backyard?”
“Promise you won’t laugh or tell my dad?”
“Only if it is nothing too creepy.”
“Cool. I want to work on cars; maybe not for a living, but I like mechanical stuff and want to be able to fix things.”
“Well Dave, as you know I am a mechanical engineer amongst other things. It has been a while since I have gotten my hands dirty in a shop and I think it sounds like a splendid idea. How big were you thinking for the garage?”
“Well, I was thinking three bays at least. If you can wait until we get back to the house I can show you what I have drawn up. I want it to be the size of a four bay but with room to actually work. I’m not sure what kind of tools I need to do things, maybe you could help me out there.”
As we pulled up in front of the neighborhood Super Center, a store I had never been in, she said, “I can do that.” We got out of the car and she said, “Let’s go in here and get a start on your back to school shopping.”
When we walked through the doors I couldn’t believe my eyes. I walked close to Sarah’s side and whispered,”It looks like they have everything in here.”
“Pretty much,” she said. “If it isn’t in here, you probably don’t need it. Well, more to the point, you could probably live pretty well if you never shopped anywhere else. They have groceries, household goods, clothes, sporting goods, electronics, most of the major cell phone carriers are represented, and they even have a garden center and automotive service center. Up front they have a few smaller specialty shops that I think are independent businesses. I’m not sure about this Super Center though since this is my first time in this one. Most of them are set up pretty similar though.
So what do you want to look at first?” She grabbed a cart and we started walking. We went towards the clothing side first since it was a Super Center. I was amazed at all the clothes they had. I was used to going to specialty shops where they only had one or two types of clothing. I would buy dress clothes in one shop, shoes in another, and swim wear in yet another. I had never seen all three in one place. I hadn’t looked at the prices but knew that they were going to be a lot cheaper than what I was used to paying.
After spending three hours picking out my clothes for the upcoming school year we headed for the checkout lanes. I was floored when the entire total came up to just under four hundred dollars. I had spent that much just buying a few pairs of jeans before. Now when I looked into the basket I had all the clothes I would need to get me through most of the school year and most of my supplies as well; amazing.
As we loaded my stuff into her car I realized that I didn’t buy any shoes while we were in there. “Uh, Sarah, I just noticed that we didn’t buy any shoes in there. Is there a good reason for that?”
“Honestly, yes, there is. Their shoes suck. Unfortunately, if you want good shoes you actually have to spend a few dollars. You can buy a pair of shoes in there for twenty or thirty dollars and they will fit, but, you will have sore feet at the end of the day and that is not what you want. Now, if you go and spend between fifty and one hundred and fifty, you can get a really good pair of tennis shoes that you can where just about anywhere all day long.”
I couldn’t argue with her logic. Sore feet were not something I ever wanted to experience. Besides, with her military training I am sure she knew more about sore feet than I did. I would have to defer to her on this one, if she said spend money on good shoes; well it looked like I was going to spend money on good shoes.
We left the Super Center and went right across the street to a mall that had a large sporting goods store. We spent another hour looking at the various styles of shoes and then trying on the ones we liked. I ended up getting a pair of high top basketball shoes, a pair of running shoes, a pair of hiking boots, and a good looking pair of casual shoes. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with all of them but Sarah recommended that I have them. Again, I was going to defer to her expertise.
We arrived back at our house and unloaded the car. Since we didn’t have any furniture yet we just sat all the bags in the room I was going to have and decided to call and order pizza. Sarah looked up a local pizza place on her smart phone that we had just gotten and called them up.
“What do you like on your pizza Dave?”
“Anything but the little fish, they are too salty for me,” I told her.
She placed the order for a pizza and a two liter soft drink and then came and sat on the floor beside me. After she was comfortable she pulled a small notebook out of her purse, grabbed a pen, and opened it up.
“Ok, while we are waiting we need to do something very important.”
I had no idea what she was referring to and told her as much.
“Well, since I am to be you “aunt” we need to decide why you are living with me. It has to be something believable, especially if you dad is going to be showing up from time to time. I can’t be something that anyone could look up on the internet and disprove.”
I sat in silence for a moment before telling her, “We simply tell the truth. Well, mostly the truth. My mom died a couple of years ago, my dad travels a lot for work, and you just relocated her for a new job. If anyone asks you are my aunt, but you are being paid to be my nanny. You are my dad’s sister. That way they can’t look up my mom’s obituary and find out that she had no sisters and they will probably not be able to ask my dad about it since they won’t see him much.”
Sarah looked at me very strangely before smiling and telling me, “That is a great idea. That way there aren’t too many facts that we have to try and remember. It’s simple. I love it. Ok, the next thing we have to do my darling nephew is get some furniture. I am not as young as I once was and sitting on the floor is not my idea of a good time anymore.”
“Well, since it is still early afternoon, after lunch we can go to a furniture store and look at furniture. I just have to ask you to buy the good stuff. We are going to be sitting and sleeping on this stuff for several years and I would like for it to remain comfortable. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive stuff out there, but it does have to be good.”
“I won’t argue with you there. Besides, this is one time I am glad your dad is paying. We can go to the furniture store and then I want to go to the home improvement store to check out paint and some other things.”
I couldn’t wait. I had never been to a furniture store or a home improvement store. If something needed repair at my dad’s house he simply had someone come and take care of it, or rather the chief of staff, the butler, did it. I was beginning to think that I was going to like living like normal people.
An hour later after we had eaten all of the pizza we got back in her car and headed out again. I didn’t want to say anything to her but her car was a pile of crap. I glanced at the odometer while she was driving and noticed that it had almost two hundred thousand miles on it. While it seemed to run ok, I knew that it was just a matter of time before it was going to break down. Now I know that now she could easily afford to have it repaired, but why? My dad had offered her a company car and I was going to see to it that she got a good one. I already knew what I wanted her to have. All I had to do was tell my dad or Clark, the butler, and it would be delivered as soon as possible.
We got to the furniture store and began to look at the things that they had to offer. A salesman came up and began talking to Sarah asking her all sorts of personal questions and I had to bit my tongue to keep myself from telling him off. I just looked at Sarah and she seemed to understand the look I was giving her. She turned to the salesman and ever so politely told him, “If we need some help we will be sure to come and find you. Thanks.” She then grabbed my hand and we walked away.
Since we had been going all day we decided that she would go back to her hotel for the night and I would go home. We would head out early tomorrow to go to another furniture store. That evening at dinner I told my dad about our grand adventure today and he just sat there smiling at me.
“I’m glad you had fun. Did you find everything you needed for you foray into the public education system?”
I couldn’t control my enthusiasm as I told him about our trip to the Super Center. I even told him that I doubted I would ever shop at the specialty shops again unless I had to. He told me that he was impressed with how well I was learning to deal with the lack of money that most people have to deal with.
The next morning Sarah was at my house just before my dad left for the office. He was heading out as she was about to ring the doorbell.
“Well good morning “aunt” Sarah. I hear you and David had a good time yesterday.”
“Oh yes sir. He is a great kid. Today we are going to go spend some of your money and buy some furniture for the house. I do have one question though, am I paying the rent on that house or are you?”
“That’s a fair question and I have to say honestly, neither. I bought the house outright so neither one of us is paying anything on it.”
I walked up at that moment and saw her standing there with her mouth hanging open.
“Wait, you mean to tell me that I am not going to be paying any rent while I am living there?”
My dad smiled as he told her, “That’s exactly what I am telling you. You won’t have to pay the rent, power, or anything else. You are going to be living there for free. Well that’s not exactly true. You are getting paid to live there. Anything you buy that goes into the house, including groceries I am paying for. Personal things for yourself, like soap and shampoo though, I am sorry to say, you have to pay for. Other than that, I got it covered. Oh, and by the way, David told me that you are going to be in need of that company car sooner than later since, as he put it, yours is a pile of crap. Therefore, taking his recommendation on the vehicle you should have I had Clark order it for you and it should be delivered to your house this morning. If you want to stop there first you can take it to do your shopping so that you can get used to it. Use the credit card I gave you for gas and maintenance and I will take care of the insurance. I’ll just add it to my company fleet account.”
“Thanks Mr.…I mean, Paul. I really don’t know what to say. I mean, you told me that I would get a car but I never thought it would be this soon.”
I could have told her that if my dad said it was going to happen then it was going to happen but I thought I would let her see that for herself as time went on. I gave my dad a hug before he left and then I got into Sarah’s piece of crap car and we head to our house.
