Staying home on the weekend apart from services felt like a treat after being gone so much during the month of December. It was a chance for the family to regroup, reorganize and to get ready for starting again in the New Year. Susan got organized for her first business trip following the holidays, the children got ready to go back to school, and Greg spent some time preparing for the week ahead, fully anticipating that Monday, January 7th would be a momentous day.
It certainly seemed like it should be, and when he looked back on it later, that day did stand out as a day to remember, but for an entirely different reason than he originally supposed. In truth it did because it was the day he suddenly became so busy, the rest of the month passed in a blur.
It started out calmly enough, with an ordinary breakfast and morning routine with the children as they both returned to school, followed by time with Susan in their shared attic office after they left. She started work early on her projects that morning, conscious of the time she would need to take off at some point to visit the bank and to sign the escrow papers while still getting ready for her business trip the next day. Greg brought her a cup of coffee, and had barely sat down with his own cup in his hand when the telephone rang. The clock on his desk read 8:01 am, and it was Mr. Rutherford on the phone. That was the beginning of everything.
Susan looked up when Greg hung up the phone.
"What time will he be here?"
"At noon. We need the cashier's check cut before then," Greg advised.
"We'd better take care of the banking now then," Susan commented as she pushed back in her chair.
"Do you have time?" Greg questioned. To him it looked like his wife was in the middle of any number of things.
"I'll have to make the time ... and I'll probably have to work this evening to be ready for tomorrow. I'm sorry ... but that probably means I'll need you to take care of dinner too," Susan apologized.
"I can do that," Greg assured her. "I can even take the children out with me this afternoon so you can concentrate."
Susan smiled. "Thank you."
"Thank you for being so willing to accommodate me, Susan," Greg told her genuinely.
Greg gathered the documents he needed and a short time later, they were headed out the door, eager to be at the bank and waiting, the moment they opened.
As Susan predicted, getting their joint household account set up, appropriately tied to their debit cards, the funds deposited, and the cashier's check cut took most of the morning. As a result, Mr. Rutherford was on their doorstep waiting for them with a stack of paper under one arm when Greg and Susan arrived home. Greg ushered their realtor into the family's dining room where they had room to spread out. They each took a chair and a pen, and all together they began to review and sign each of the forms, various papers, and other documents involved in the close of escrow. By the time they were signing the last one, Jessie was home from school. To Greg's surprise, as he was walking Mr. Rutherford out the door, Zack arrived home too, passing him on the front walk.
"I'll meet you there in an hour, shall I?" Mr. Rutherford offered.
"Please," Greg agreed as Zackary paused on the front porch, watching the proceedings.
"What was he doing here?" Zackary asked Greg as he returned to the porch and they went through the front door together.
"Our escrow closed today. He was here so we could sign the papers," Greg explained. While he was downstairs seeing Mr. Rutherford, Susan had already returned to their study to finish some last preparations for her business trip the following morning.
"So what does that mean?" Zackary asked when they found themselves in the living room alone.
"It means the property is ours. After this afternoon, we will no longer have to ask to go there and we can begin preparations to make the property ready to build on immediately," Greg said.
"What happens this afternoon?" Zackary asked curiously.
"Mr. Rutherford will be meeting us there to unlock little shack so we can all look inside, after which I will be ready to meet with Brian, our architect about our plans tomorrow," Greg explained.
"Does he need to see the property too?"
"He may. My feeling is we will be making several trips there this week," Greg said.
"Okay. We got out early from school ... it's a teacher in service day. Can I come too?"
"I don't see why not. Your mother will be working, and I promised to see to both you and Jessie this afternoon. Given that, I think we'll all go," Greg announced.
At that Zackary grinned.
c
"So where are we going, Greg?" Zackary asked when the three of them left the house that afternoon a short time later.
"First, we're going by the deli to pick up some lunch," Greg told him. "Then we will meet Mr. Rutherford at the property we just bought where we will spend the rest of the afternoon."
"Is this part of Mama's surprise, Papa?" Jessie wanted to know.
"Yes. This is Mama's very big surprise Jessie," Greg told her.
"Ohhhooo," Jessie exclaimed and suddenly she was excited about going too.
They ate their lunch down by the pond and were still enjoying the sunny January California weather while waiting for Mr. Rutherford to arrive, when suddenly he was there.
"Hello," Greg rose to greet the man as he hiked down through the stepped valley to meet them.
"Hello," Mr. Rutherford replied, pausing to catch his breath.
"Would you like something to drink?" Greg offered. "We have extra."
"No thank you. That was a good idea to bring your lunch," the realtor commented. "I wish I'd thought of that. This is a very good spot for it."
"It is, isn't it," Greg agreed. "Thank you for agreeing to come and open the shed for us. I wanted the children and I to see the inside."
"It's no bother. Turning over any keys that might be associated with a property is part of the closing activities, so I'm happy to do that this afternoon."
"Well thank you, anyway," Greg said amiably. "I am eager to see it myself, and also to show it to the children."
"Any particular reason? Or are they just curious?" Mr. Rutherford asked.
"We are trying to come up with a reasonable and safe way to use the tunnel," Greg explained. "I was hoping that seeing it might spark some creative juices for us."
"The tunnel?" Zackary questioned.
Greg smiled. "I suppose it's time I told you. That little structure you and Matthew found turned out to be far more interesting than a simple shed. It covers the mouth of a tunnel."
"It does?" Zackary asked in surprise. "What kind of a tunnel?"
"A relatively shallow one from what I understand," Mr. Rutherford told him. "I don't think it goes anywhere, though I haven't seen it."
"Have you, Greg?" Zackary asked.
"No. I had a geologist look at it to tell me what it was and to make sure it's safe. It seems to be, so that's one of the things I wanted to look at today," Greg explained.
Zackary grinned. "Okay."
"Are you finished with your lunch?" Greg asked.
"I am, Papa," Jessie said.
"Me too," Zackary agreed. "I can save my chips for later."
"Then as soon as Mr. Rutherford catches his breath, I believe we are ready," Greg said.
"Did you bring a flashlight?" Mr. Rutherford asked.
"Right here," Greg said.
He pulled three little flashlights from a pocket of the bag he'd used to carry their lunch. Greg put their left over food back in the bag, gave them each a flashlight and holding Jessie by the hand, they made their way behind the brushy oak tree to the rocky outcropping on the other side. Mr. Rutherford pulled out a key and used it to open the padlock connected to a heavy chain which had been used to lock the door of the structure.
"That wasn't here last time," Zackary commented.
"No, it wasn't," Greg agreed.
"The geologist had to force open the door. It was nailed shut before. I brought this down afterwards to lock it up again," Mr. Rutherford explained as he handed the key that fit the lock to Greg.
He set the lock aside and pushed the door open to reveal the narrow opening of the tunnel covered by the door. Everyone turned on their flashlight and with Mr. Rutherford leading the way, they all went inside.
The initial opening to the tunnel was very low and both adults had to bend low so as not to hit their heads, but once they were past the wooden structure and the low natural opening beyond, the space they were referring to as a tunnel got a lot taller inside.
"This first part looks like a natural depression in the rock," Greg commented. "I hesitate to call it a cave as it doesn't go very far, but it does look that way to me."
"It does to me too," Mr. Rutherford agreed. "Past this point though, it looks like it's been dug out. This part has even been reinforced by timbers, similar to what you'd see in a mine. Is the geologist sure that's not what this is?"
"It may have been a test tunnel for a mine which they decided not to pursue, according to what the report said. There is no evidence aside from the tunnel itself that any mining ever occurred here, and according to the report, the tunnel isn't deep enough by itself to be considered a mine," Greg said.
"What's back there?" Zackary asked shining his light into the depths of the tunnel.
"I don't see anything," Mr. Rutherford said.
"Neither do I," Greg said.
"I do. The color of the wall changes," Zackary observed. "I see something shiny on the wall just past that."
They went to take a look and discovered a post extending from the wall with a hook.
"A perfect place to hang a lantern," Greg commented.
"That may well have been what it was for," Mr. Rutherford agreed. "Look over there."
The post with the hook turned out to be the half-way point between the entrance to the tunnel and its end. Or at least they thought it looked like the end. As they shone their lights in the direction Mr. Rutherford was pointing they could see the earthen wall which made up what looked like the far end of the tunnel. At its base, three boxes sat up turned, two relatively low ones with a tall one between them. On the top of the tall box rested an old and very dusty chess set with its pieces scattered across the top and around the box on the tunnel's floor. Zackary ran to the back of the tunnel to take a better look.
"Hey, look at this," he said as they joined him. "Over here, back in the shadows."
Greg shone his light in the direction Zackary was going and saw what at first looked like a shadow, until he realized it was simply a jog in the length of the tunnel. They followed it back another twenty feet and came to a very flat, very uninteresting, bare rock wall. There were marks on the wall showing that the tunnel in this section at least was definitely man made, though there was nothing they could see that would explain why it was there.
"A secret chess club perhaps?" Mr. Rutherford suggested.
"Possibly," Greg agreed as his foot hit something, and he shone his light on the floor to reveal a number of empty beer cans lying about. "Or possibly a teenage hangout?"
"Maybe," Mr. Rutherford said. "If it was, it's one of the tamest of those I've seen. Chess and beer; I've definitely seen worse."
"So have I," Greg said. "But this tunnel is well built and supported by somebody who knew what he was doing. It definitely wasn't built by teenagers."
"No, but it does look like it was used by them," Mr. Rutherford said. "Have you seen what you need to see to be ready to show this to your architect?"
"Yes, I think we have," Greg said as he consulted his watch. Already the hour was growing late and there were still things he needed to do to be ready for the next day.
They retraced their steps back through the tunnel, and Greg locked the shack again with the new key. They said goodbye to Mr. Rutherford before gathering their lunch things and hiking back to the top, stopping here and there to look at things with the children.
"Greg look. There's that deer again," Zackary remarked when they got close to where the cars were parked near the top. "The one you shot the picture of when we were here with Matt and Mom."
"Are you sure it's the same one?" Greg asked in surprise.
"It sure looks like the same one," Zackary said.
"It's Bambi's mother, Papa," Jessie agreed. "Look ... she gots the same white spot on her nose."
"So she has," Greg observed. "She has white on her feet too."
"She's got socks," Jessie agreed.
They studied the animal for a few minutes before she looked up at them, then wandered off. It hadn't taken all that long, but their encounter with the deer lasted long enough for them all to study her carefully before she left, and Greg resolved to re-examine the photo on his desk more closely when they got home.
Sure enough it was time to leave by the time they got to the car, and the three of them made their way back to the farmhouse, still talking about the deer. As soon as they got there, Greg went directly upstairs to consult the photo of the deer he'd shot some two months before. Jessie was right. The deer in the photo was the one with the white socks and the spot on her nose. It seemed significant somehow that they could identify her as the same doe and he considered it a good omen; a sign he was on the right path in regards to what they had planned.
c
Susan left on her business trip before dawn on Tuesday morning, reminding Greg she planned to be away a full three days. Greg kissed her goodbye, then began the chore of getting the children up for the day. They all ate together, but when the children left for school, Greg was carrying his gathered notes and leaving for the day too, reminding them it would be Marion picking them up after school and the he would be home relatively late that afternoon.
Greg's first task was to take their notes about the plans and news of the close of escrow to Brian. Their meeting to go them and discuss the parties Greg needed to contact and when in preparation for building took most of the morning.
"Do you have time to come see the build site with me this week?" Greg asked as their discussions on the plans were coming to a close.
"Escrow closed yesterday?" Brian verified.
"It did. We have full access to the site for anything you might need," Greg assured him.
"Then I think it's time I took another look," Brian agreed. "I have time this afternoon, if that will work?"
It didn't take them long to come up with a plan for where and when to meet, and as Greg predicted on Monday, he spent the second afternoon in a row on their property, this time showing Brian around.
Greg stopped pick up lunch on his way back to the Malibu Hills and once again carried it down to the pond to eat, so by the time he got back up to the top, Brian was waiting for him, standing beside their parked cars.
"There you are," he commented when he spotted Greg coming back up through the valley. "I was wondering if I was going have to call out a search party."
"My apologies for being late; I was simply enjoying my lunch down by the meadow near the tunnel," Greg related.
Brian arched his brow. "How is it?"
"Interesting," Greg remarked. "I look forward to showing the tunnel specifically to you. I feel fairly certain we'll want to find some interesting way to use it."
"Do you want to start there?" Brian asked.
Greg looked around at the terrain.
"Let's go over the building placement we discussed in your office first, shall we?" Greg asked.
"Very well. If you don't mind, I'd like to start with the garage," the architect said, and he began to describe to him one of the options he envisioned for how the driveway might approach the house from the road nearby. They discussed several possibilities for how the little detached building that would serve as the garage might sit, including how landscaping could be done that would increase the sense of privacy of the place in various ways.
Next they walked down into the first two steps of the valley, with Brian describing how the house they were planning could be set into place, and Greg did his best to envision it as he talked. They walked through each of the valley steps, one by one, identifying the four levels of the valley. The first, nearest the top was where they generally parked their cars as without a graded drive, it was the easiest way to access the valleys below, set as they were between the hills.
The first level consisted of only a gentle depression between the two hills which was steeper on one side than the other and looked as though it had been partially filled in by mudslides at some time in the past.
The second was more pronounced in its drop, a bit wider, but didn't extend all that much farther to the west. Roughly a hundred feet from the step that led to it was the drop that led to the next level.
The third was deeper, wider, and extended nearly twice as far to the west as the second. It also had the advantage of being relatively flat and as they walked they discussed what the best use of the area it provided might be.
The fourth and final little valley was also the largest. It was roughly bowl shape and encompassed the meadow Greg and his family had already been enjoying, the deer path along its rim, and the pond. The shack covering the entrance to the tunnel was off to one side and wasn't immediately obvious due to the think stand of scrub oaks growing out of the rocks it was built on. This valley was not only the largest, but was also the deepest of them, and was sloped on all sides towards the pond.
"This is delightful," Brian said in surprise when they came to it.
"It is, isn't it," Greg said. "I was hoping to leave this area as untouched as possible, with the possible exception of doing something more with the tunnel."
"Let's see this tunnel of yours, Greg," Brian said.
"Right this way," Greg invited and he led the way behind the scrub oaks, to the shack. Using the key Mr. Rutherford gave him the day before he unlocked the padlock and opened the door.
"Fascinating," Brian commented as they emerged out into the sunlight again fifteen minutes later. "And you're sure you want to make use of it?" he asked as Greg closed up the little shack again.
"I am, minimally as a place for children to play. Provided we could make it safe enough and perhaps finish it in some way," Greg remarked.
"What do you mean, finish it?" Brian asked as they began the hike back up to the top.
"The surface should look natural, but be finished to make a relatively clean place for play," Greg suggested.
"Like an underground fort you mean?" Brian suggested.
"Or an imitation cave," Greg said. "A Disneyland quality hideout of some kind would be perfect."
"You don't say. This project just gets more and more interesting all the time," Brian remarked.
"Have you seen everything you need to see?" Greg asked.
"For now I have. Are you satisfied with the areas we plan to use for the two main structures?" Brian asked.
"Yes," Greg said.
"Then our next step will be to get a topographic survey of that specific area done. We will need that information before we can determine the exact position for your house, what sort of grading we might need to do, that sort of thing. We also need to know where the utilities will come onto your property. Until we know those things, we can fine tune the floor plan, room sizes and arrangement, that sort of thing, but we won't be able to finalize anything until we can figure out the footprint you upper valley can support and our access options," Brian cautioned as they walked back up through the valleys again.
"I can do that," Greg said, withdrawing his notebook from his pocket as he began to jot things down.
"I need to see the details of the geologists report also. This upper valley looks like it could be unstable to me. We need to verify it can actually support what we plan to build before we proceed. Depending on what that says, we may have to modify the design for the foundation," Brian cautioned.
"I can send that to you immediately," Greg said. "What else?"
Brian continued to talk as the pair of men hiked back up to where their cars were parked. By the time they arrived, Greg had a long list of people he needed to contact and companies he needed to arrange things with. Susan was right, he thought. There were a lot of details to take care of when it came to building a house.
"I'll take care of this as soon as possible," Greg promised.
"Very good. Let me know as soon as you do, Greg. I'll be in touch," Brian promised as he got back into his car.
Greg said his goodbyes, then stood leaning against his own car, once again reviewing the list, deep in thought about how best to go about getting everything done. He was still standing there when a rustle nearby caused him to look up. Again the white-socked deer was visiting the upper valley and stood looking at him.
"Hello," Greg said to the creature.
He wondered if the doe would run at the sound of his voice. She didn't. Instead she flicked her ear, watching him intently, her deep brown eyes considering him carefully. They studied each other for a time, each one listening and watching for the other to make a move. Eventually the white-socked deer moved off, turning her attention to the fallen acorns beneath the trees, apparently having decided Greg meant her no harm.
Greg considered the timing of the doe's appearance as he watched her go. This was the second time he'd seen her on her own ... without the rest of her family, and he couldn't help wondering what had become of them.
Eventually however it was time to go home. The list of things to take care of was still in his hand, and he reflected there was still enough time left in the day to make a start on some of those things while still relieving Marion from caring for their children.
c
"Thank you," Greg said to the wife of his best friend when he arrived home.
"It's no problem, Greg. With Richard gone, I have extra time on my hands," Marion assured him. "And I've enjoyed helping Jessie with her homework. It's been a pleasure, really."
"Well Susan and I do appreciate it. She doesn't travel often for her job, but when she does it does sometimes conflict with things I have planned," Greg said.
"I understand," Marion assured him as she gathered her things. "Zackary is working on his homework in his room, and Jessie is playing with her Barbies. I'll just say good bye and get out of your hair."
Greg went with her to say 'hello' the same time Marion told the children she was leaving.
"When's dinner, Greg?"
"In a couple of hours," Greg answered.
"Cool," Zackary replied and he went back to working on his assignment.
Meanwhile, Marion let herself out the front door, and Greg spent the next hour in their attic office where he began making calls, trying to take care of the things Brian told him were the next things to do.
c
Although the task of contacting utility companies and surveyors all took time, those weren't the only things Greg had to do the week Susan was away. There was also the work Alex had lined up for him over the weeks ahead which he needed to prepare for. Scripts began to arrive by mail and Alex contacted him with the filming schedule for the rest of the month mid-day on Wednesday. It was then Greg discovered he needed to be in the studio roughly two days per week through the end of January, beginning the following week. That meant, by the time Greg began receiving calls back later in the week about the appointments related to the house, he knew his work schedule for the rest of the month and began to fill in his calendar accordingly. Before he knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and time to pick up Susan from the airport.
Feeling pleased with all he'd accomplished Greg left early and was there waiting for her when Susan arrived.
c
"Welcome home." Greg said with a smile when he met Susan at the airport with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He was waiting for her in baggage claim instead of simply picking her up in their car at the curb as he usually did.
"Thank you," Susan said in surprise when she saw them. "What's this for?"
"Things have gone very well this week ... and I'm happy to have you home," he said truthfully.
"Really? What kinds of things?" Susan asked curiously.
"Things for the house. I feel I've made a start on all there is to get done ... and I received confirmation from the bank that the account we set up on Monday is working correctly. Denis made a test transfer into it and everything went smoothly. We now have regular income into our household accounts provided by me," he said with a grin. Actually in the back of his mind, Greg felt there was more than that he wanted to celebrate, but he knew most of those things were part of the secret he was keeping, so he said nothing about them specifically.
Susan smiled, apparently taking him at his word. She clearly knew how hard it had been for Greg to accept that at least on the surface, it looked like she was the one supporting them again, and he knew she wouldn't be surprised by his response to this change.
"That's great Greg. Congratulations," Susan said genuinely as she accepted the flowers while he helped her with her bags.
"Thank you," Greg said looking pleased she understood what that meant to him.
"So did anything else important happen while I was away?" Susan asked as they walked together to their car.
"Importance is a relative scale, Susan," Greg said evasively.
Susan arched her brow. "Meaning some things you think are important did happen this week, but nothing you're going to tell me about," she guessed.
Greg leaned in to kiss her in response as they arrived at their car. "You are very perceptive. It's one of the things I love about you," he replied.
Susan laughed slightly. "So tell me, of all the important things that happened that you're not telling me about, are any of them likely to impact our schedule or our life tomorrow?" she asked.
"No, not tomorrow specifically," Greg said. "However it will over the next few weeks."
"Oh? Anything you can tell me about?" she asked curiously as they both got in.
"I do have to be at the studio for work two days next week," Greg said and he began to tell her about the schedule and the scripts which had been sent to him by Alex while she was away. Susan didn't say anything initially as he talked, and so Greg began to tell her of the other days in the coming weeks when he expected he'd need the car too.
Susan glanced at her husband as he continued to talk and sighed as he started their car.
"I wonder if it's time to consider getting a second car, Greg," Susan said.
"Why?"
"Because our lives are only going to get busier," Susan observed. "You've got multiple projects going on that you need the car for; Zackary is already talking about signing up for baseball this year, which starts in February although the sign-ups are this Saturday. Jessie's talking about it too. Zackary's been telling her about T-ball. There's a division for boys and girls her age so she wants to try it. Given that, there is going to come a time before long when we both need a car on the same day."
"We may but not yet. I am certain that we can work around one another for the coming week," Greg promised.
"If you say so," Susan said. "Which days are your studio days next week?"
"They need me on Monday, and then on Thursday," Greg said as he backed out of their parking space and began to circle in the parking garage headed towards the exit.
"But you need the car on Tuesday and Wednesday too?"
"Only for a few hours on each of those days," Greg assured her. "My appointments are in the morning, so the car should be available to use in the afternoons for the children's after school sports."
Susan nodded. "Okay, so that's next week. What about the week after?"
Greg continued to review what he knew of his schedule from memory as they reached the exit and pulled out onto the boulevard. He was sure he was forgetting some things, but already the days and weeks ahead sounded very full. Susan shot him a look but didn't say anything until he finished. Greg sighed as drove toward the freeway and got on it headed towards home.
"You may be right," he conceded. "It's just that I was hoping we could get by with the one we have until next June at least," Greg said.
"Why until June?" Susan asked curiously.
"Our income from my new estate account is expected to go up substantially then," Greg related. "Denis sent me the schedule for when he expects my various income sources to kick in. We will be in a much better position to absorb extra expenses by June. If we decide we need to buy a car now, we may need to redo our budget for the next few months and rethink things again."
Susan nodded. "Okay. We'll try to get by with the one we have until June ... or at least until March."
"Why March?" Greg asked curiously.
"That's when our regular bonuses come out and raises at Ingene Pharma are announced. It is possible I could help us buy one then, but I agree we need to get by with what we have at least until then."
"Thank you, Susan," Greg told her.
"We may occasionally have to rent one though," Susan cautioned.
"An excellent suggestion should we encounter an unusually busy week," Greg agreed. "Perhaps we should maintain a calendar in our office to help us?"
"A car calendar?" Susan asked.
"Yes. Use it as a place to specifically track those times when we anticipate needing the car. That might help us to better plan our use of it until June," Greg said. Susan shot him another look. "Or March," he hastily amended.
"I think we could do that," Susan agreed. "I've got things on my calendar for the rest of the month too. There's no two ways about it, Greg. January is going to be a very busy month for us all."
c