The 'Cousins'

Part Twenty-Two: Questions, Surprise and a Truck.

The Story So Far:

High flying, egoistic English businessman Greg Mitchell was cheated out of his business and marriage in a messy divorce settlement. He came to the USA on a  long driving vacation to find himself and get his life back in order.

While driving through a small, chicken farming town in Nebraska he knocked down Jess White- a high school junior- in a moment of driving carelessness.

Greg is impressed with the boy’s integrity. He has nothing and will not be able to finish school and graduate. Greg decided to do the first unselfish thing in his life and assist Jess to complete school and maybe go on to college. 

There are forces in this backward town that would wish to prevent him and dirty tricks and back-stabbing gossip about their relationship spreads. 

Greg teaches Jess how to do deals on Ebay to make money for his schooling. But it will not produce enough. Waste cooking oil is a problem and Greg goes about setting up a plant to use it to produce diesel oil. 

The story continues with his meeting with his appointed accountant where they go over the difficulties and formulate a plan of action – and Greg gets to meet Jennifer!

Greg has recently been divorced from Victoria, his second wife. Bill has just asked Greg about Elsie, his first wife and what happened there.

                                                                            *     *    *

Greg laughed derisively, ‘That’s right, dear Elsie, she had her own ideas about marriage. I was for Tuesday and Sunday nights and paying the bills. Every other day was for some other woman’s husband.’

‘You’re not very lucky with women are you?’

‘I don’t know, I’ve never been in love with one, but I don’t think I’m queer if that’s what you’re leading up to asking?’

‘Not queer! You told me that the other day, what about bi- sexual?’

Greg didn’t answer at first as his thoughts ranged again briefly over the strange feelings he felt as he massaged Jess’s leg.

‘I don’t think so, but I have no abhorrence to the practice as long as it’s for the right reasons.’

‘And what are the right reasons?’

‘Love and not lust.’

Elbury sucked his lip for a few moments while he took that on board, then spoke crisply.

‘I’m here to help you in business. Your personal life is your own business, but it helps me to help you knowing what you’ve told me. Thank you for that Greg, it can’t have been easy and I respect you for it.’

‘Thank you Bill. I feel rather silly right now.’

‘Don’t! You still haven’t told me how this money came into Fisher’s company.

Greg shifted to make himself more comfortable on the hard chair.

‘Victoria and I were married for just over two years. It was about three months before our wedding. Victoria and her brother had been invited by the Simpson’s to accompany them on their yacht cruising the Aegean Sea.’

‘Aegean Sea?” Bill looked perplexed and Greg explained.

‘It’s a Gulf really, part of the Mediterranean between Italy and what used to be Yugoslavia.  This was in August. The firm was mostly closed for annual holidays and working on a skeleton staff only. I had a month off and nothing to do and nobody to do it with, so I came to the States.   I like the States and had done business there for Baileys, and for others, before I joined Bailey’s. I’ve always enjoyed doing business here; I like the open style where people take you at your word and you just have to be honest and do the business and not have to be recommended by a third party.  I came into New York Kennedy, hired a car and drove down the US1 taking in and looking around the old civil war sites. By the time I got to Georgia I was bored.’