“In Greece, you must either be a citizen or live in a country that’s a member of the European Union or European Free Trade Association to buy or rent property. If you aren’t, then you’re required to make an application to a government body that then must approve you. Mr. Voorhies said he wasn’t interested in following up on that, so Ms. Dixon will take care of it,” Caryn explained.
“Does she expect it will be a problem?” I asked.
“No. Ms. Dixon said that she knows a lawyer who specializes in this type of transaction and would get him to do the necessary paperwork. I just wanted to make you aware that you don’t officially own all the property yet.”
“I guess I better figure out what I want to do with all those condos,” I mused out loud.
“You could let your favorite former employee use the one in Canada for a ski vacation,” she suggested.
“You know, that’s not a bad idea. I would feel better if someone visited and saw what it was like. It’ll help me decide if I want to keep it or not. Maybe we should put the word out about the other ones and see if anyone wants to make a trip for me.”
“You paying airfare?” she asked.
“Probably not for a vacation. If no one takes you up on the offer, we may want to send someone, and then we could treat it as a business trip.”
“You don’t think you’ll have time to go?” she asked.
“Ask Brook. She’s planning something for spring break. Otherwise, I can’t see when I would get the chance,” I admitted.
◊◊◊
Greg was my next call so I could get an update.
“Good news and bad news. Dad gets to go home tomorrow, but he’s pissed.”
“What about?” I asked.
“They told him that he shows signs of some heart damage. While his cholesterol and blood pressure look to be okay, he has an elevated heart rate. They told him this was a wake-up call and that he has to get serious about his health.”
“That sounds like what we expected.”
“They told him absolutely no alcohol, and I reminded him about that expensive bottle of scotch you bought him for Christmas. I offered to take it off his hands so he wouldn’t be tempted.”
My brother was evil. If I knew Dad, he would lock it up. No one would get to drink it if he couldn’t. I was also sure he was thinking of offing his oldest child. Good thing I now had a half brother in reserve; I didn’t want to be an only child.
“Anything else?”
“Diet, exercise, no more cigars, and he has to reduce his heart rate. They’re teaching him some breathing exercises and giving him medication to help control it.”
“Did he say what triggered it?” I asked.
“He went out and shoveled snow.”
“I thought Wolf had a crew in place while he was gone to take care of that.”
“He did. The little knuckleheads had gone to a party Friday night and slept in.”
The knuckleheads were my little brother, Roc, and Yuri.
“You better warn them why they need to steer clear of Mom for a while. I’ll let her explain to Dad that he’s no longer allowed to do that.”
“Somehow, I was volunteered. It seems you’re never around,” Greg complained.
“Uncle John explained to me that we were brought into this world to be free labor and to pick out the nursing home. He said it was the checks and balances to make sure we weren’t abused too much.”
“Was that when he had you digging fence-post holes?”
“Yep.”
“Look at the bright side. Soon we will have our own little army of helpers,” Greg reminded me.
“I can just see Mac and Carol bossing the boys around while they sit in lounge chairs, drinking iced tea.”
“We’re lucky we never had a sister. She might not have survived.”
I agreed. I half hoped, and half worried, that Cassidy would get hold of the girls and turn them into ‘little ninja’ clones. If that happened, the boys might not make it.
◊◊◊
I had a couple of text messages from Cindy. My mom had told her to contact me directly while Mom dealt with the situation surrounding my dad.
“Hey,” she answered. “Do you have time to come to the job site this week? We need to get back to school and want to finalize some stuff before we head back.”
“It’ll have to be either Thursday or Friday. I have to be on set tomorrow and can’t get away today,” I explained. “Are you sure my mom can’t do this next week?”
“She and I have narrowed it down to a couple of options. She wanted your approval, plus I wanted you to see what we’ve been up to.”
“Cindy, I must apologize; I haven’t focused on that at all. I assumed you, my mom, and your Ohio State contingent had everything in hand,” I explained.
“In fact, a lot is going on. We got the county to approve all our plans. There was a holdup on the issue with the slope in the back of the property and the worry about mudslide risks and setbacks. There were also some structural issues that needed to be cleared up.
“Jack Mass made some calls and found local engineers and a builder he approved of. They were able to quickly set everything straight. We made our submission to the county too soon and should have had the locals involved from the start. It taught me a lot about the process,” she said.
