Chapter 6

I got to thinking about how I was going to cook with just a microwave, barbecue, toaster and crock pot. I wanted something a little more eco-friendly. So I did some research online and found myself a solar oven. That would be the perfect solution for my new, off-grid lifestyle.

Chuck sent me a message telling me he had a great surprise for me. It was in the barn waiting for me. No, he wouldn't give me even a little clue. He wanted it to be a truly great surprise when I returned. He mentioned that I might not hear from him so much now as he had become a member of the volunteer fire department and was going to lots of training sessions. I was so proud of him. I was sure this would be good for him in many ways.

Later he started sending messages of distress about his rental situation. He had lost his job at the mill and was back on welfare. The other guy on the property where Chuck lived didn't like that Chuck was there all the time now, since the guy's wife was also there and he seemed to think something might be going on between them. Meanwhile, Chuck had started not paying the full rent amount, due to broken water pipes and electrical issues. So the landlady, Pam, had left an eviction notice on his door.

Chuck knew that this notice was not legal and had no validity so he was making plans with his social worker to fight it in court. He told me how much this social worker, Ann, liked him. He could get her to do just about anything for him. He said she always told him that he was unique. Here is something he wrote to me, explaining how she was looking out for him.

Oct 6            

My worker told me that the landlady called social services, complaining about me not signing the lease and whining I was giving her a hard time. Ann sort of hinted that they told her that if I was paying the rent to go blow it out her ass . Pam also told them she was going to evict me, but social services already knows my situation here, the insulation/sewage problems, etc.

Nice try, Pam. I'll be "doing" her as soon as I know she's in Florida - wonder how THAT will go when it comes to the part for her to attend a court hearing. A no-show on her part would almost guarantee a win for me. I'd probably win anyways, but I'd love to see her holiday interrupted - serve her right. Everything should be froze up pretty good by then, too.

So forget her 1 year lease - I'll fuck her on her 60 day notice too - I'll go straight to the dept. of health - they're a lot quicker than the court. But I can possibly get money off her thru the court - I'll sting her on both ends - but no rush on my part. Ann read me the whole report on Pam's call, and Pam will never know that I know, unless I tell her.

I was pretty anxious to get back and see what I could do to help. Just before my next trip he told me he had been sick a lot, probably due to not being able to afford decent food. This had caused him to be “fired” from the volunteer job because he wasn't able to keep up with the other fire fighters. He had been looking online for food supplements and found something that looked good called N-large. It's a powder you mix with liquid and has lots of nutrients in it. Chuck couldn't order it because he had no credit card. So I found it online and had a gallon of it delivered to him, $100.

He said:

In a way you sent me up some Health "Insurance"!! - Well done :)

I said:

Well, you know, sweetie, that I worry about you. You seem to have so many challenges.

He said:

Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I have a guardian angel who watches out for me. No matter how bad things get, they always end up working out just fine. It's probably because I'm such a good guy. I am totally honest and I would never hurt anyone. So Momma Nature provides.

Then I didn't hear from him again. 

I returned at the end of November, wanting to spend another Christmas and New Year. First thing I did was call Chuck, but his phone was disconnected. I went to the barn to see what my surprise was. The first surprise was the barn was half filled with Chuck's stuff: boards, mattresses, window panes, old computer parts, all sorts of things. Then I saw it, a wishing well! I had mentioned before how much I wanted one to set over my well head, which was a big metal thing sticking up in the yard. Now, this wishing well had obviously been picked up at the dump as it needed painting and such, but I loved it. It was just what I wanted.

I went over to Phil's where I learned that Chuck had moved out about a month ago. Phil said he'd seen his truck around now and then but had no idea where he was living. So I went back to my moving in chores. I still had boxes of clothes I hadn't unpacked yet. I do have a lot of clothes, I admit it. But I figured if I kept them all then I would never have to buy any again. Another way to save money. 

 

This little old house, though, doesn't have much closet space. I had only brought two sets of drawers so I knew I was going to have to put up shelves. But where? Well, there was the one room with Chuck's cupboards which he had built, and all of his personal belongings were gone from there now. I didn't feel right using his furniture so I took it all out and put it in the barn. At long last I no longer had to climb over boxes scattered about the house. They all went in my newly emptied room.

I pulled out my wishing well and painted it and put shingles on it to match the shingles on my roof. I had found some in the barn left over from when the house was shingled, just a few years ago. I kept myself very busy all the time to keep from stressing about why Chuck had just vanished. 

 

I spent Christmas and New Year with Phil and his family. It was, as always, a wonderful time, lots of food and laughs. I was sure fighting off some major depression, though. It looked like my friend had abandoned me and I did not know why. It poured down rain on New Year's Eve and I stood out in it at midnight to add my tears to the drops falling on the ground. Then I told myself that I had the most wonderful place on earth to live and I would just have to learn to be happy with that.

A few weeks later I was downtown and I saw Chuck's truck in the parking lot of the post office. I took a few deep breaths and went in. Chuck was at a counter, sorting through some mail. In spite of my pounding heart and the electrical shocks running through my nerves, I managed to walk behind him and “accidentally” bump him. I mumbled, “Sorry.”

He said, “No problem,” and then he turned and looked at me. “Well, hi! How are you? How has everything been going for you?”

“I'm okay, I guess. Kind of been wondering what happened to you.”

 

“All kinds of things have happened to me. I got booted out of that other place and had to spend a little time living in my trailer which the Clines let me stash on their property for a while. Then I found another little place for rent. It's cheap and the only heat is a wood stove so I've been spending all my time cutting wood. I had another job at a garage for a bit, but I didn't like the way the owner treated his customers so that didn't last. My wee house faces the river over there, across the bridge. Do you have time to come over for a coffee and you can see it?”

“Well...all right.”

So, I followed him over and he showed me where and how to park on the other side of the road, because once again there was another house on the property and they were real nasty about anyone taking up even an inch of their “side.”

It was a nice enough little place; the view of the river was fantastic. Chuck had made a number of modifications to the place to make it warmer and more comfortable. I was impressed. 

 

We had a coffee and chatted about this and that. I was very pleased to see that he was wearing the house shoes I had given him our first Christmas together. I decided not to mention anything about them, but I told him how much I loved the little wishing well and how I had fixed it up.

He then said I would have to go now; he had lots of stuff he had to do. But he asked me to return tomorrow and plan to spend the night. He had two beds and I should bring some beer and it would be just like old times. We could drink, play some Cribbage, have a meal and then sleep. Sounded good to me.

I went over early afternoon the next day and he seemed a little jumpy. He kept getting up to look out whenever a car would go by. We had a couple of beers and he relaxed a bit and was showing me all of his photos on his computer. Then I heard a car door outside and said I'd get up and look.

“There's a little red car in your driveway and a very attractive red-headed lady just got out and is headed for your door.”

He jumped up. “You just stay there, I'll be right back.”

So he went to the door and brought in the woman and said, “Maria, I want you to meet Ellen. You two have a whole lot in common. She is single and just moved here the same time as you. She even lives out by where you do.

 

“I met her a couple of months ago while I was outside working on my wood pile. She was driving by and saw the stacks of wood and wanted to know if I had any to sell. So we got to talking and I've gone over and chopped some wood for her. I just knew you two should meet each other. And now, here we are.”

She and I chatted for a bit, exchanged phone numbers, but the tension in the room was sure palpable. Thankfully, she left fairly soon. Then Chuck was Mr. Cheerful and we spent a delightful evening together. All was well and we were back together again.

I would go over and he would show me all about how to chop and stack wood. He taught me how to tell the difference between types of wood and how they would burn differently. He showed me how to load a wood stove and how to keep it burning. He had rigged up this nifty device with a thermostat and a light bulb. At night when the fire died down the thermostat would turn the light on by his bed and wake him up so he could reload wood. He was truly the most inventive person I had ever met.

But, again, one night came a panicked phone call. “Maria, I really need your help. My landlady is coming over tomorrow, with the police, to inspect my house. She's been bugging me about my wood in the yard and how I enclosed the front porch with glass. You saw all of that; you know I did nothing to alter the place. I just put up things to keep it warmer in here. The walls are all self-supporting and can be taken down in a matter of minutes, no damage to the property.

“So I told her no, she could not just come into my house. Then she said she was coming with the cops and would break the door down if necessary. All I want you to do is come over and write down everything that happens and everything that is said. I know you are really good at that. You can do some sort of shorthand, right?”

“Well, of course I'll be there. You can always count on me.”

It turned out to be not all that dramatic. Yes, she came with two police officers. She had some sort of club to break down the door, which she did swing a little bit and hit the door knob. Chuck took pictures of that. But he had left a key outside and told her she could use that instead, if she wanted to. So they came in, walked around, and I wrote down everything that was said and done. Then they left. But she left Chuck with an eviction notice based on what she had seen that day, for the very first time.

We discussed that at length after they left. How could she already have on paper something they only just saw that day? Did the neighbors peek in the windows when he wasn't there? Chuck said he was sure they just had a family member they wanted to move in, so he would have to go. But he was going to fight it. He had my notes; he had his own notes and pictures. He was going to court.

But, then it was time for me to leave the country again, in order to stay legal. So I had to go.