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Email feedback can be sent to trager2275@gmail.com. © 2015 by Eric Trager.
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NOTE: Several readers have asked me about Ginny's back story. This chapter should go some way toward revealing that.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Unlike most School Board meetings where the public disappears once the stated business was completed, almost no one left when the President of the Board gaveled the meeting to a close and announced the Board would retire to review and vote on the matter.
An hour went by, and still almost no one had left. The crowd milled about, growing a little impatient. The Sergeant at Arms informed the Board that the crowd was still there, and from what George Dickson had told him was awaiting, and expecting a decision on the matter right then and there, that evening.
Almost another hour went by, the time nearing 11:00 p.m., when the Board returned and took their seats on the dais. It did not go unnoticed that presiding was the Vice-President of the Board, the President seated off to the side, staring at the floor with a scowl on his face.
The Vice-President asked everyone to be seated, and for those standing to find a place, indicating also that he would be brief. "Ladies, and Gentlemen, thank you for waiting on us," he began. "We have reviewed and voted on the matter in front of us this evening. By a vote of six- to-one with two abstentions, the Board has voted to certify that Sean Wyman is the Acting Head Coach of the Craig High School Varsity football program, and that his tenure shall be back- dated to the date Coach Slater appointed him and shall extend not to exceed a period of four weeks from today's date. If after four weeks from today's date the matter should require further review and another vote, we shall revisit it at that time. Each member's vote, as well as the abstentions, has been tallied by the Secretary of the Board, and shall be posted on the School District's website just as soon as practicable after the open of business tomorrow. We'd like to thank you all for coming, and once again, thank you for waiting on us to take up the matter and reach a decision."
The crowd gasped. Then fell silent. Then broke into applause which quickly turned into a standing ovation. Anyone in the audience who cared to look would have noticed the look of dissatisfaction in the pursed lips of the President of the Board, one of the other Board members and the Superintendent of Schools.
Sean, Andy, George Dickson, the team, and all others greatly concerned knew they would have to wait, at least a little while, to piece together what went on behind the scenes. Sean, especially, needed to read the findings that Ginny obtained from Charlie Ditmar.
After practice the next day, that is exactly what Sean did and he and Andy made their way to Ginny's house. Answering the doorbell, Ginny only said, "I've been expecting you. Follow me..."
Ginny led them to her office, turned and left the room, returning with a tray containing a Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet in a Highball glass for herself, and two 16-ounce PBRs for Sean and Andy.
"Alright, guys, here's what we got," Ginny began. "You remember when that idiot Superintendent spouted off about making a policy to stop the WIAA investigation right then and there at the meeting?"
"Yeah," they both answered.
"Well, it turns out she did that, I'm pretty sure, to suck up to the President of the Board and make sure he kept the rest of the Board preoccupied just in case one of them wanted to reopen the issue of how the systems she put in place were unsupervised and allowed someone to steal $300,000 from every student club you could name. See, her contract is up at the end of the school year, and while she should have been fired already, and should still be fired, she's just trying to run out the clock so she can collect her retirement. She's a worthless cunt, always has been, pardon my French..."
"OK, Ginny," Andy cut in, "that's fine and all, but what's that got to do with Sean-o?"
"I was getting to that..." Ginny said, pausing to take a sip of her drink, and light a cigar, the puffs billowing like steam from an old locomotive.
"Here's the deal... Ditmar's report found out that the guys behind this crap are none other than the President of the School Board, who if you noticed abstained from the vote, well, there were a bunch of emails back and forth between him, the Head Coach at Madison LaFollette and the Commissioner of the WIAA. And I'll tell ya how all that hangs together, too. See, the LaFollette Coach is the brother-in-law of the President of the School Board here in town, and he's also the cousin of the WIAA Commissioner. The emails show that these assholes have it in for you, Sean. They don't want someone your age there. They just don't. And they hate you. It was a conspiracy. The Lafollette Coach hates you because he's a dick, and you made him look bad. The President of the Board hates football as a sport and thinks everyone should play Soccer, which if you ask me is a Communist sport – Americans don't play Soccer. Period. And the Commissioner of the WIAA is on a power trip. You're not the first Coach he's harassed, but he usually goes after the real small schools where there's no one who's got the chutzpah and the resources to put up a fight. They reckoned you not only wouldn't, but couldn't fight back. And our School Board President... He facilitated the whole thing."
"What the FUCK?" Sean exclaimed, shaking his head and half-laughing.
"That's right, Sean. Now, believe you me, I've sent someone around to `invite' the Board President out for a cocktail tonight and explain to him that he needs to be spending more time with his family right now if you catch my drift, and because of that he's going to resign. And he's going to resign now. George Dickson is in touch with the Madison School Board to let them know about the antics of one of their own, and he's going to be in touch with you to see if you'd like to file suit against the Commissioner of the WIAA. And that leads me to one last thing here..."
"What's that?" Andy asked.
"Anyway, there's gonna be a vacancy on the School Board. I intend to fill it. I've never done anything like that. I don't like to lead publicly, but I only have to hang on to the job for a few months until the Spring elections and I can put someone else on the Board, so guess what...until then, they're gonna have ME sitting on that stinking Board, and I can tell you that fucking Superintendent will rue the day. I'll fix it so she just has a no-show job until she can disappear into the sunset when her contract is up this Spring. It'd cost more to stir up trouble with her, just be throwing good money after bad if ya know what I mean. But, she's outta there."
"I'm tired of Courts, and lawsuits..." Sean said. "Besides, I've got too much on my plate right now. I don't wanna sue anyone. Not today, Ginny..."
"I figured you'd say that, and that's fine, but I wanted to check first. The Commissioner will be resigning within twenty-four hours."
"How do you know?"
"Well..." Ginny chuckled. "You see, he's going out for a little cocktail tonight, too... He doesn't know you don't want to sue him. I've arranged for him to get a pittance as a Golden Handshake, and then he'll be out the door. Clean out his desk tomorrow morning, the rotten fucker, and that's all she wrote. Ah, he won't starve... He'll end up as a Sports writer, or commentator somewhere, Madison, Milwaukee, who knows... But gone he will be. And I've arranged for him to name someone as a replacement who I believe to be honest."
"But why me? Why?" Sean asked.
"They don't like success, Sean. It threatens them. There's a lot of people like that. Small people with small minds. You're a leader. They don't like that. They see you as a punk. You're gonna run into that in life, you two are, and there's another lesson for you to learn: lead from behind the scenes. At the end of the day, you'll get more done. But, at the end of the day, by God, lead, and if you hafta lower the boom, then do it and don't dawdle about it."
"I think for now that'll be fine," Sean laughed. "Anything else?"
"Well, as a matter of fact, there is..." Ginny replied.
"Uh-oh!" Andy chirped while Sean rolled his eyes.
"Can I get a break?" Sean asked, tongue-in-cheek.
"Well, it's got to do with that hotel deal."
"Lay it on us..." Sean sighed.
"Well, as you already know, there's no way to really force the current owner to sell short of a taking by eminent domain. Now, through back channels, I made a fair offer – cash – for the property in its as-is condition subject only to a structural inspection. The owner rejected it. And the City doesn't have the stomach to be creative and set up a downtown redevelopment authority with eminent domain powers, or at least they don't right now. Another bunch of half- wits."
"OK, and..." Sean asked.
"Well, this Spring, Sean, YOU are gonna run for the City Council, you are gonna win a seat, and we're gonna change all that."
"Oh, no! OHHHHHH NOOOOOO!" Sean shook his head. "How the hell am I gonna do THAT?"
"Well, you will be done with football by then, and I know you're not planning on going to College because of the twins, so what better way to spend your time than to ensure that you can get the project done that will make your name in this town forever? Twenty, thirty years from now nobody's gonna remember you Quarterbacked a State Championship football team, trust me, but everbody's gonna drive by that hotel when it's brought back to life as top-shelf condos, and they'll know YOU did it. They'll know you had the vision, and the drive AND THE BALLS to get it done. And they'll know that when push came to shove, that you grabbed the bull, and the City Council, by the horns and made it happen. I'd do it. I'd do it all day long if I were just starting out. It'll be worth its weight in gold... I'm just too old now, boys."
"You seem pretty sure..." Andy said.
"I am. You see, guys, my sister thinks I didn't inherit the same gift she did, but she's not quite right. I can't see a lot of things she can see, but I can see how to use power, and I can see when to hold em and when to fold em. You trust me on this. Sean, one term on the Council, that's all you'll have to serve. Run on the issue of the hotel. Put it right out there in front of every voter in the City. Put it out there that the present Council is so stupid that they don't have what it takes to take a building that they collect taxes on now at an assessed valuation of $234,000 when redone as condos the valuation would easily total about seven million... And that's conservative. It could end up being ten million. The present condition of the building is a source of ongoing blight. They're costing themselves, and the rest of the taxpayers of the City money every day they ignore the problem. Besides, it will open other avenues of development and you two will be pre-positioned to be the firstest with the mostest. It's a no-can-lose deal, Sean. Trust me..."
"HOW do I get myself into these things..." Sean sighed.
"I know!" Andy exclaimed. "You ever think, Ginny, that Seano-'s like that Peanuts character, the one that carries his own dust cloud around with him? I mean, can't he catch a break?"
"Boys, either one of you would toy with the other Councilors like a cat with a mouse. And, Sean, I have ways to guarantee you a massive victory."
"Whadya mean?" Sean asked.
"I just do. It's all in the art of knowing where the votes are, and knowing how to apply the old rule that you don't steal the other guy's votes, you steal your own votes. Anyway, this time on the Council there will be three seats up for election. Two of the guys running will be my guys who are already on the Council. They'll get back in. I don't pick losers. Now, the third guy, well he's not my guy and I've got some dirt on him which, if need be, can be released at the appropriate time. And, Sean, you are gonna do what no one does in this town: you are gonna go door-to-door and ASK people for their vote. Jesus Christ, one look at you and you've got the women's vote in the bag, that's for sure. And we'll also do one, or two big town meetings about the whole hotel deal. People will be interested, especially since it won't cost them anything... You will win in a walk."
"Ginny?" Andy asked.
"What is it, sweet potato..."
Well, I dunno really how to ask this, but I'm gonna anyway. How did you get all of the power you have? I mean, it just seems like it might be an interesting story..."
"How long do you have?" Ginny chuckled.
"Well, we can sit a while and listen..."
"Ok, well, where do I start... Some of it you guys already know. I mean, you already know that my parents had to give me away when I was born. And you've both met my sister..."
"She never told us her name..." Sean said.
"Her name's Irena. Just like I pronounced it, in the Russian way. e-RAY-nuh. Anyway, I was adopted by some nice people here in Janesville. Their name was Jackman, and they were old money. About as old as it gets in this town. I didn't have a name yet when they got me, so they named me Virginia Beverly. Beverly was my adopted mom's name. They couldn't have their own kids, and they were already almost fifty years old when they adopted me. They were good to me. But, back in those days, I wasn't raised to pursue a career of my own, or anything like that. It was always just figured that I'd marry into one of the other old money families in town... I did learn a lot from my dad, though. He was a real estate tycoon around here, and in Chicago and Milwaukee. I'd ask him stuff about the business until he was sick of hearing from me..."
"So, that's where you learned it!" Sean said, perking up.
"Well, not so fast..." Ginny continued. "When I finished High School, I went to UW-Madison and believe it, or not, I have a Degree in Nutrition. So, after I graduated I came back to Janesville and that Summer I got a job at the Country Club. Mom and Dad were scandalized that I was waiting tables, butcha know what? For me it was freedom, and besides, the tips were good. Back then, I had nice tits, and I knew how to show `em off, too. I was making way more money than I could at some stupid food chemist job... I had enough to have my own money, my own place, and my own car. Well, how it went was that those nice tits I showed off so well ended up getting me in a little bit of trouble. And that was my affair with old Pat Kennedy that resulted in Bill Kennedy's entry into the world. Word at the time was that his wife threatened to divorce him unless he took the baby as their own and bought my silence. He did that. I never saw him again because I had to quit my job at the Club. And my parents were out of their minds – they sent me to an unwed mother's home until I gave birth. Yes, there were still those things back then, mostly for rich people like we were. So, I ended up back in Janesville with some money, but no job. I mean, I did get fifty grand from Pat Kennedy which would probably be like almost $400,000 now, so I mean, it was nuthin' to sneeze at..."
"I guess not. So what happened next?" Andy asked.
"Well, I had some money, and I had some time, and I learned Real Estate from my dad, so I got my license and I opened an office. I was there just a few years, doing pretty well for myself, and in comes this guy I'd never seen before. Said he needed a house. So, I sold him one. This house, actually. Anyway, we hit it off pretty well, and we were both single, so I ended up marrying him. His name was Al Miller, short for Alfred. He was also a Jew by birth. He was ten years older than me. The family name was Muehlstein which means "millstone," but they changed it to Miller shortly after they got here from Poland. This is where the story gets sort of interesting..."
"Thank GOD!" Sean kidded.
"Say, this story is gonna go on a little bit. How about another beer, and how would you to like to take a toke?"
"YOU smoke weed?" Andy gasped.
"My dear Andrew, I've been smoking pot since 1965... How do you think I put up with some of the assholes in this town...?"
"Well, alrighty then!" Sean laughed. "We're in! I'm enjoying your story, Ginny."
"Good, because the most interesting parts are yet to come." Ginny winked back, standing up, walking into the house and returning with the drink refreshments and a bong.
Skillfully taking a hit off the bong, Ginny said, "OK, so where were we... Oh yeah...
"So, anyway, I marry Al Miller. Like I said, he was older than me, and it was obvious he came from money. His dad was still alive when we got married. He was a bit of a mystery, lived north of town on the river and you almost never saw him around town unless it was at the Country Club. He'd come into town in a chauffeur-driven, black Chrysler Imperial limo, and he'd go to the Club for private meetings, but that was about it. Didn't dine there, and didn't play golf. Went in, took care of his business and left. Quiet man, but he always looked like the type of guy you wouldn't wanna fuck with. I never met Al's mother. She had already died.
"We tried a few times to have kids, but it didn't happen. I'd given Bill up as a baby, so it was just me and Al until he died. I already told you guys that story. Anyway, I had my real estate office, and for all I knew, Al was into investments. He had an office in the house we lived in at the time, and he'd spend most of the day in there unless he had to go out of town, which he did now and then. I had my own money from the Real Estate office, anyway, and I inherited some when my parents died, not as much as you might think, but it was a decent amount...
"OK, I later found out, after Al died, that Al's dad was Jewish mafia. He was from New York, and then Chicago. The Chicago mafia were Irish and Italian, but they were causing trouble for the New York mob. This was all back in Prohibition days. So, anyway, Al's dad went out to Chicago to try to clean it up, They sent a Jew because that way it couldn't be seen to be favoring the Irish, or the Italians. Well, cleaning up Chicago proved to be a bigger job than anyone thought. Al's dad didn't want to live in Chicago at the time, for obvious reasons, so he settled here, in Janesville. And how he solved the problem was by controlling supply. Al's dad had control of all the Midwestern import rights from any foreign liquor producer anywhere else in the world. The stuff would come in by ship through Detroit, Chicago, or Milwaukee, or by rail and come right here to Janesville. They'd ship it out with the cars made by the GM plant here in town, or drop- ship by rail on cars Al's dad owned and no one was the wiser. They controlled the flow of everything from Cleveland and Detroit to the West coast. Capone and the other guys thought they ran things? What they got was crumbs, trust me. And if they stepped out of line, they got cut off. The only person who might have been as big as they were was old Joe Kennedy, the father of President John F. Kennedy. And it's not like the laws were really enforced the at that level anyway. Al's dad controlled the supply, so he controlled guys like Al Capone. And don't kid yourself, either, Tim's Great-grandfather was Al's dad's lawyer. The two of them were thick as thieves, no pun intended. But they were good men, and they put their money to work. And the amount of money was staggering.
"I found out later, too, that is was Angus' idea to get Capone on income tax evasion charges. He told the FBI that it was stupid to try to get him on his gangster activities and that they'd spend time from her to China trying to get that to work. Probably told them something like, Ye git im fur no payin' `is fekkin' taxes.'
"Now, about the money, I found out much later that they had to launder it, alright. I mean, you don't think that the townhouse on Flood Street in London is the only property I own over there, or that the Dicksons don't own property over there... Before the war, they laundered their money by moving it abroad. When the war hit, they bought British Government bonds which I still own. That's one thing about the Brits: they're businessmen, and if you have money they won't ask ya twice where ya got it. I own enough of those bonds so that I can get an appointment with the British Chancellor of the Exchequer if I need to. Those bonds pay interest in perpetuity. In the early 1960's they still had some money left they felt needed cleaning up, so they ran that last bit through Saint John Vianney Church, which ostensibly the Dicksons forked over to establish. Now, I'm not against the Church, mind you, boys, but study it throughout history. The Catholic church can be found wherever large sums of money are being moved, either that, or Swiss Banks. It's like the No-Tell Motel, and they've got branches worldwide."
"Jesus Christ," Sean said, taking another bong hit. "That's fucking incredible! How did they get away with it for so long?"
"Well, ya see, when Prohibition went in, the federal government made the law but then they left it up to the states to pay to enforce it. The states weren't gonna do that for the feds. It cost too much. There was nothing in it for them, and besides, they were all paid off anyway... Al's dad and old Angus Dickson made regular political contributions from what the stories are. And then after two Republican Presidents came FDR, the Democrat. His family was rich, and they had their fingers in the pie, too. Hell, he made Joe Kennedy his Ambassador to the King of England, so what does that tell ya... Anyway, by that time Prohibition was out and then came the war. Al's dad was a behind-the-scenes big shit in a bunch of labor unions which he did while Prohibition was on so he could keep the booze flowing, but during the war the union guys had agreements with the government to make sure no one went on strike while we were at war. It was a little tit-for-tat, you know. And it was insurance for Al's dad and Angus. Then came the 1950's and the Red Scare, but all the while Al's dad and old Angus were making sure there was no way to trace any money back to them. Angus wasn't in it quite as much as Al's dad, he was always more of a Consigliere, if you will, and so the Dicksons don't have quite as much money, but it's still a ton."
"Did they invest in Las Vegas like the rest of the mob?" Andy asked.
"No, no they didn't," Ginny answered. "Al's dad and old Angus, they saw that for what it was. Angus called it Amateur Hour.' He said the Las Vegas boys would eventually get caught and lose everything, and so they did. Al's dad and Angus didn't go near Vegas. I can almost hear Angus now. He'd have said something like, Thae stewpid feks! Ye invest yer mohnae intae rrrrrrreal estate an' Brrrrritish Consols! An' I no gonny tell ye twice!'"
Andy and Sean both doubled over in laughter at Ginny's excellent Scottish Burr. "He sounds a lot like Dix!" Sean gasped.
"Actually, the one most like Angus is Kevin," Ginny answered. "Kevin's shy, and he stutters, but he won't say a word unless he's thought it through a hundred percent. And when he talks, he's to the point, and he's right. So, back to the story... How do I figure into all this, you two wanna know? Well, Al's dad left everything he had to Al, and when Al died, George Dickson, fresh out of Law School, was given the job of settling Al's estate. Anyway, on my first meeting with George, he laid it all out for me. Angus was still alive for a few years, but he didn't want to get involved with telling me anything and dragging old skeletons out of the closet. I couldn't fucking believe what I was being told. The money, the corporate deals, the real estate holdings, the stocks and bonds... It was too much to wrap my head around at first. It took me years to figure it all out... But the one thing that got me was how Al and his dad, for all those years, together with Angus Dickson, and Bruce Dickson, that's George's dad, and some others were the ones really running this town. I mean, they owned the City Council, they owned the School Board, the Police Department, and the County government including the Sheriff. Lock, stock and barrel. Shit, they probably owned every fucking book in the Library, too. Oh, yeah, they did a lot of good, I mean, the town's got three middle schools and two high schools and all five schools have Olympic-size swimming pools, for example. And where would a town this size get the money to build an 18-hole golf course on river bluff land in the middle of the Depression? Those kinds of things weren't paid for by taxpayers, I can tell ya that much... And neither was a lot of other shit around this town. Anyway, they ran it that way so in the end they could keep their money. No one came sniffing around because they wouldn't get anywhere even if they tried, and they knew it, so they never bothered...
"And when Al died, like I toldja before, all those other guys here in town, with the exception of the Dicksons, thought they were gonna put one over on the Widow Miller. Sweep me under the carpet, so to speak. Get me out of the way. Well, it was clear to me at that point that I'd just inherited more money than anyone could count, never mind all the other stuff. So, I did what anyone would do. I bought them all out. One-by-one, I either bought their businesses, or their silence and departure. When it comes to money, boys, people are worms, and you're gonna find that out. And I had enough dirt on all of them to do it, anyway. Run ME off? I'd see them in hell first... They weren't as smart as Al's dad, Al, or the Dicksons. And then, by the time Angus Dickson died, George's dad wasn't interested in doing it anymore, so he retired and went to Florida. The family concern fell to George, and George really only wanted to get on with managing the family holdings. He wasn't interested in power. He left Peggy to keep an eye on that for him, and that was smart. Who'd think of looking at Peggy-the-Math-Teacher with that Milwaukee accent of hers? Peggy got involved in all those civic things because underneath old Peg Dickson is ruthless. And she'll kill you with a smile. She doesn't exercise any power, but if shit needs to get done, she knows what's going on everywhere. And, yeah, there's been a time, or two she's tipped me off to stuff I needed to know about. Be glad she loves you guys. Peg Dickson knows where ALL the skeletons are...
"Anyway, that left me in charge, and I've been in charge ever since. Maybe for too long now, only God knows, but I was a widow in the dark. I did what I thought I had to do to protect myself and my assets. I wasn't gonna be a worm. Oh, sure, I could have just kept the real estate office and my inheritance and had a nice enough life. And I did keep the office open until five years ago when I turned 65 and sold it, but it's this way, guys: who wants a nice-enough life when they can have it all? I stayed behind the scenes, I tried to use what I had to do good, and if I had it to do all over again there isn't a fuckin' thing I'd do different. That's just how it goes. Yes, I had it all. And someday, my boys, it will all be yours."
"WHAT!?" Andy gasped.
"You heard me..." Ginny chuckled.
"Um, well, um..." Sean stammered, uncharacteristically.
"I should qualify that," Ginny said. "I have only three relatives that I'm leaving my estate to. The twins, and Kathleen. I've had a will made, boys. It splits the estate three ways in terms of money and half of my securities. Kathleen may be of age when I die. She probably will be. If not, I appointed Rosemary Kennedy as her trustee. I can see now how Rose was beat down by Bill all those years. She's actually a decent person, and I trust her. Now, the twins probably won't be of age when I die. My will instructs that the twins' share of the estate be held in a trust with both of you as trustees, and to provide you both with a decent annual income so you won't have to touch your capital. The other half of my securities and my real estate holdings, which generate a substantial annual income, will be held in an off-shore corporation on the Island of Jersey upon my death, the income of which is to be used for civic purposes here in Janesville, or reinvested. There are six shares of non-transferable stock in the corporation. One share each for you, Sean and Andy, and the other four for Tim, Brett, Kathleen and John. I did not include my sister, or my niece in any of this because they've already been taken care of. I never knew them, but once I found them, they might as well have won Powerball. So, it will be the six of you who run this town once I'm pushing up daisies."
"Why us?" Sean asked.
"Sean, who else? All six of you have what it takes. I see so much promise. And the biggest reason of all is that I know you six will always do what is right. And that is why I am going to put you on the City Council, Sean. Andy, once my fill-in stint on the School Board is up, you will take that seat in the Spring election. All I ask is that you both serve at least one term. It will be invaluable to get an idea of how the public side of things are run, and where the pitfalls might be, whose skids have to be greased, and how to do it and win."
"Wait..." Andy said. "I have to be on the School Board now? What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Yes, my dear. You do. And that is not negotiable. I mean, what? Do you think it will be hard? Look at the idiots we had to put up with when they couldn't decide whether, or not to stand behind Sean... I mean, most of these people are as dumb as a box of rocks... You are anything but. You'll be five steps ahead of them before they remember they're supposed to wipe their asses after they take a dump... Besides, in the time I have there, I will be providing you with an audited set of the School System's books. No doubt, there will be an irregularity, or two..."
"Guess you got a point there..." Andy laughed. "But Sean-o has an issue to run on for his race. What do I have?"
"You have the issue that the Board needs common sense to avoid another shit show. And that as a current student, you are able to speak straight away to what's best for actual learning. And like I said, you will have an audited set of the books. I already have a Big Eight Accounting firm audit team standing by. I mean, these jokers want to build a new elementary school, right? Well, the ones they already have are not used anywhere near capacity. Oh, sure, I'll contribute to a new one, maybe someday there will be an actual need for it, but for your purposes it will be an example of taxpayer money being spent that educates no one. People are pretty cheap in this town, you know, and those issues should get you a seat. I'm sure of it. At any rate, you two doing those things will be invaluable preparation for you down the line. I never had the chance for that. I had to make it up as I went along, and in the beginning, it wasn't fun, lemme tell ya... One wrong move and..." Ginny said, making a slashing motion across her throat.
"I expect it wasn't fun for you," Andy said, draining his beer. "Ginny, we have a shitload to think about. Do you mind if we go home and just kinda try to digest everything you just told us? I mean, it's A LOT..."
"Not at all, my dears, but I need to see you both again later tonight to talk about the hotel condo conversion. We need to be ready to roll in about twelve months. I've already got an architect on it, and I want to go over some preliminaries with both of you."
"That's fine," Sean said. "We'll be back after dinner. Is, say, 8:00 OK?"
"See you at 8:00, boys..." Ginny said, packing another bong hit.
Once back at the Alamo, Sean and Andy noticed an article in The Janesville Gazette on page one below the fold. It read as follows:
SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT QUITS
In a surprise move, the President of the Janesville School Board, James F. Petras, resigned late last evening. Citing the need to spend more time with his family, he thanked the Janesville community for their support of the public schools and for, "...the opportunity to move the ball down the field for all of our teachers and students. It's been the privilege of a lifetime."
Meeting this morning, the remaining Board Members by a vote of 8-0 invited long-time Janesville Real Estate Broker/Developer and philanthropist, Virginia Miller, to take Petras' seat for the remainder of his term. When reached for comment, Miller stated that she accepted the Board's invitation and it is her intent only to serve out the remainder of Petras' term which expires at the upcoming Spring 2016 elections.
Miller added, "I'm thrilled to have to have been asked. This town has been very good to me over the years, and it's only right that I accept, even if it will be for only a little while. I'll just be filling in, and in the Spring, I think it'll be right to get some fresh blood on the Board."
The "fresh blood" comment was not lost on Andy, or Sean, and it was certainly not lost on James F. Petras.
After dinner, Sean, Andy and Ginny went over Ginny's preliminary plans for the Monterrey Hotel Condo Conversion. To Andy and Sean, the plans, even at this early stage, seemed to be well-formed, but as usual, Andy had his own ideas about style and finishes, and Sean had his ideas about returning the amenities of the old hotel to its 1930's Art Deco glory. Both of them spent far more time, though, going over the projected costs, and profits with Ginny. So far, so good they both thought. Sean and Andy left convinced that even with Ginny's deliberate overestimation of the conversion and carrying costs, and her conservative estimate of sale prices that once done in the next two years, or so, they'd pocket a minimum of $2 million between them once taxes had been paid.
Andy was adamant that if Ginny was, and though he knew she'd never force him, basically insisting that he run for the School Board, that he'd only serve just one term. Sean, for his part, came to a different conclusion about the City Council. The more he looked at it, the better it seemed to suit him. He might just prefer to stay on the Council as long as he kept getting voted in. Why not, he figured. With the twins, he wasn't ever going to be a full-time college student anyway, no matter what he'd told Joe. He was beginning to think that it might be a useful place to be in order to gather knowledge valuable down the road. Even if he served three terms, he'd still be only thirty years old by then, and twenty-six if it was only two. Further, he reasoned, between Andy and him, they had more than enough money anyway, so why not put it to use and make it grow? And Sean knew he wasn't stupid. With the benefit of Ginny's experience, he wondered of what real value college would be to him, and he was unable to come up with an answer telling him that it would be worthwhile taking four years of his life right now to do that when he could be making serious money.
To Sean's thinking, Tim needed his law license in order to run the family business. Brett needed an advanced degree in order to maintain a good living standard for himself in case something happened to Tim. Besides, Brett was a Brainiac and should be in school anyway. Of the others Sean thought about, he thought about his brother John. John still had things he needed to prove to himself, and while he shared in the windfall, he wouldn't be happy unless he was able to put his name on something tangible so the world could see it was his work. Kathleen might, or might not go to college, and Sean figured for her it probably wouldn't matter. Danny and Jim needed their degrees, too, because they hadn't any money, other than what money Danny might someday inherit through his mother, as a Dickson. Brad, Sean thought, could benefit the most from higher education, but as much as it pained Sean to have to admit it, Brad simply lacked the intellectual horsepower. He'd be twenty years old when he graduated from High School and didn't have anywhere near the marks it took to get into college. Sean shuddered at the thought of Brad attempting something like writing a college paper.
And then there was Ginny's money, two-thirds of which would be going to the twins. Yes, Sean knew that meant to the twins, not to him, and not to Andy, but he also knew it meant that if, which was more likely than not, Ginny died before the twins were of age, then Sean would be managing all that money, and he deemed it fair that, as Ginny said, he should be compensated for managing it. Sean had absolutely no idea how much money was in question there, but he'd bet his last nickel that even though he and Andy were millionaires, their money was trifling compared to Ginny's assets. In spite of all that, Sean's mind, in its ever-uncomplicated way, kept going back to something Ginny said, "Who wants a nice-enough life when they can have it all?"
For the past year-and-a half, Sean reasoned, his life had been but a series of reactions to events around him over which, for one reason, or another, he'd had no control. Right then and there, Sean vowed to himself he would never be at the mercy of events again. The people in the recent past that conspired against him he had, indeed, seen in hell first, but more as a result of their own mistakes than of Sean's doing. He vowed he would never let that happen again. All his life, he'd done what was expected and done it well, but now he could see how reactive it had all been. From now on, `proactive' would be Sean's watchword. He had a family now. He would protect his family.
Sean brought it up to Andy on the way home. "Hey, Brown Eyes, ya know, I think I have a plan here..."
"Uh oh..." Andy laughed.
"Well, here's the deal: you remember all the shit Ginny just told us?"
"Yeah, so..."
"OK, well, I guess I might just come right out and say it. You wanna go to MSOE next year, that's fine. And if you want do the first year, or so from home, I'm with ya, but I gotta look out for all of us. That's my job now. When Ginny said, `Who wants a nice-enough life when they can have it all?' that really hit me. I want it all, And. I want US to have it all, and I really don't think I need to spend the time and money on college to do it. Oh, sure, I might do something part time until I get a Degree, but I'm gonna put my effort into making money. And there's another thing, too..."
"Here we go!" Andy said, playfully punching Sean's shoulder. "Blondie, you know that whatever you decide to do, I'll know you had damn good reasons for making your decision. I'm not here to second-guess you, ya know..."
"Yeah, I know. You're the best, Brown Eyes. Anyway, not a word of this to dad, OK?"
"Sure, but I'm still a little confused..."
"Well, I'll make it short. My job is gonna be to make whatever money we have, and whatever money the twins have grow. Look, Ginny's leaving the six of us in charge. Well, here's how I break that down: Dix, man, there's no one in the world other than you that I'd rather have on my side than Dix, but I just don't see him leading the thing. He'll have enough on his plate just tending the Dickson dealings. Brett? I really don't know. I see him as the guy that keeps Dix on an even keel. I value his smarts, but he's even newer than we are to stuff at this level. The Bambino? He needs to prove himself to himself. He's gotta do that before anything else. Kathleen? Well, she's gonna be busy having the Bambino's bambinos. We both know that. She's useful as a link to the old money. You? You are the one I need by my side to keep it real. And that leaves me. I don't think anyone else can lead this group but me. I never asked for it, but I never asked for any of the shit that's happened... I know what I want in the end, and I need to be able to make sure I get what I want. And unlike this last year, I need to be destiny's master, not the other way around."
"OK, but...I mean...are you SURE you can just run the thing and nobody else will say any different?"
"I know... I thought about that, and I think it'd be best if it was more along the lines of, say, a Prime Minister. You know, I run it, but everyone has to be in agreement. After everything that's happened, I just want..." Sean paused, reflecting.
"What is it you want?" Andy asked.
"I want it all... And I want you by my side."
"And you shall have it, then! And me by your side. Always, and forever."
"That's all I want."
Meanwhile, a message went out from Ginny to George Dickson and Joe Wyman that Sean and Andy were on board, and the last two she'd deal with were John and Kathleen. Ginny deemed it to be alright to take them to dinner at the Country Club and get a private room. She didn't think either one of them would be unduly surprised, and she anticipated no problems with getting them on board, too. In a separate message, she reminded George that it would fall to him to get Brett on board as she didn't want Tim "nervous in front of his husband and getting tongue- tied and fucking it up."
George laughed.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, George," Ginny said. "Tim's the best combination of Kevin AND David. We'd never have thought he should be the one to carry on if he wasn't able. It's just that around Brett, he goes to pieces, you know that..."
"Oh, boy, do I!" George answered. "I mean, he'll always get his point across. Faster if Brett completes his sentences for him... But that's the thing, Gin, I think it'd be best if I sit Brett down, just him and me, and let him know where the bear shits in the woods."
"I think so, too," Ginny said, matter-of-factly.
Three days later, George Dickson was sitting in a booth in the soaring dining room of the Edgewater Hotel in Madison. The Edgewater was Madison's Grand Dame, opened in 1948 with classic Art Moderne architecture and a dining room showcasing stunning views overlooking the sweep of Lake Mendota on one side and Wisconsin's lavishly-built, white granite Beaux-Arts State Capitol building on the other. George arrived a few minutes before the scheduled time, but presently he saw Brett approaching the round corner booth he'd reserved for their meeting.
"Hey, George!" Brett said, taking a seat in the booth. "Thanks for inviting me to lunch! I didn't mention anything to Tim like you said, but I am a little puzzled."
Just then, they were interrupted by their waiter for drink orders. "San Pellegrino, please." Brett said. "Same for me, with a twist of lemon," George said. The waiter thanked, them, turned and left.
"Yes, I thought you might be a little puzzled. Anyway, before I start let me recommend the Cobb Salad. I know it's only lunch, but their Cobb is excellent. They make the bleu cheese dressing in-house. Very good. If that's not to your taste, the French Onion soup is top-notch, and I'd get that with a petit filet. They only serve Kobe beef. Melts in your mouth. Anyway, Brett, Tim may have told you some of what I'm about to say, but probably not all of it..."
"Um, OK, I'm all ears. What's this all about? Nothing's wrong, is it?"
"Far from it, Brett... By the way, I spoke with your dad last night. He tells me you're excelling in your studies. I knew you would, but I just want to encourage you. You're an exceptional young man, and Peg and I are proud to call you family."
"Well, honestly, George, I am doing well. I thought college would be hard, but it's not. I want to get through with it in the least amount of time, you know? And so does Tim. By the way, he's doing well, too. He just powers through it all like a robot."
"I see... Well, he's like his mother that way. You put work in front of him and he just starts sorting through the crud... Anyway, back to the reason we're here..."
For the remainder of the meal, George filled Brett in on exactly what Ginny went over with Sean and Andy. In every detail from the story of Angus Dickson, Al and Al's dad, Ginny, all of it. For his part, Brett listened with rapt attention. When George got to the part regarding Ginny's will, Brett's jaw almost fell on the table.
"But, but..."
"No buts, Brett. Such will be your lot in life, and the lot of the rest of you."
"And Tim knows about this?"
"He does. Neither one of his brothers wanted it, but Timmy did. He's always been a go-getter, and he always wants to help others. It's what makes him tick."
"Yes, yes that's Tim alright..." Brett answered.
"Oh, trust me, Brett, I know very well the only one he can't tell what to do is you. That's what makes you two such a good team. Now, I know this has been a lot to drop on you all at once, but you can't tell me you didn't suspect at least something."
"Well, maybe, but not like this! I mean, Tim told me a little bit about Ginny's past, but I just filed it away under `things that are interesting.' And I knew he'd end up running the Law Firm someday, but I thought it was just that – a Law Firm. I really didn't know about all the rest of it... It just never dawned on me..."
"That's Timmy. He knows how to be discreet if he needs to be. Please don't be upset with him that you didn't find out before now."
"No, I'm not upset. I have no reason to be. He did kind of hint around a couple of times, but then he just said it wasn't important just now, and we needed to make sure everything gets off to a good start. I mean, you know, it all happened so fast. We met, then fell in love, then we got married and it's been maybe just a little more than a year, so I can't blame Tim. And I never would."
"Very well. Anyway, Ginny and I thought it would be best that I told you, and the sooner the better. The reason is that Ginny had this will made up and we didn't want anyone being surprised at the moment of her demise, and she didn't want Timmy getting all tongue-tied and maybe not being as clear as he should be. You are free to discuss this with Timmy and the others, but..."
"Yes, I know, George. Discretion is the better part of valor. Loose lips sink ships, and all that. I get it," Brett answered with a grin.
"I never doubted that, and for me to tell you that is unnecessary," George said. "We thought about arranging the use of the Founders Room at the Country Club for your use as a group if needed, but we thought better of it as the sight of a group of five young men and a young woman entering and leaving that area might arouse, shall we say, unwanted interest. In lieu of that, Joe Wyman will let you guys use the Library at the Alamo."
"Is Joe aware of this?"
"We had to make him aware, so yes. Remember when I told you that it wasn't an accident that he got the job when GM reopened the plant? Well, there was a reason it wasn't an accident. GM didn't pick him to run the plant. Ginny did. And she knew all about his background in the military, and with military security in the Green Zone after the war was over, and that he's a self-made man. So, although Joe is not a direct player in any of this, he's a `need-to-know' player."
"Wow... This is like something out of a novel!" Brett said.
"Yes, yes, I suppose I can see how it could seem that way. But it isn't. And I cannot overemphasize that."
"I understand, George. You can depend on me."
"I know I can." George then folded his napkin and asked the waiter for the check. "I'll pay the bill, Brett. You can take me to lunch someday. You might want to have a talk with your husband tonight."
"I will, George," Brett answered. "And thanks again." Brett gave George a hug, asked him to say hello to Peggy, and left the hotel on his way to his next class.
George smiled, shaking his head watching Brett walk off knowing that his youngest son had, indeed, picked a winner. Brett simply took it all in, and walked away unruffled.
On the same day after school Ginny sat down for an early dinner at the Janesville Country Club with John and Kathleen.
"So, tell old Ginny, how are you two lovebirds doing? You're using protection I hope..." Ginny said with a raised eyebrow as John was taking a sip on his water.
For his part, John all but choked on the water, turning beet red.
"Of course we do!" Kathleen said without missing a beat. "We always have!"
Ginny quickly observed that although young, Kathleen was not a girl to be trifled with. `Reminds me a lot of myself at that age,' Ginny thought.
"Very good. Listen you two, I asked you here for a reason and I won't take up a lot of your time. I know you've got homework to do. This has to do with your future, so listen up, OK?"
Both nodded.
"Good, OK, here we go..."
In her salty, matter-of-fact way, Ginny laid it all out on the table for her two young guests. "So, that's the picture, guys. And the other four already know. Any questions?"
John sat, shell-shocked. For the last year, all he'd ever wanted was a chance, just one chance, so he could make something of himself and have a nice, normal life and here he was being told that it had just been gifted to him. That, and more. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
Kathleen had listened with a more studied attitude than John. While surprised, she was at the same time unfazed. Kathleen had grown up a rich kid. She knew that her father had money and power, and while she was never a daddy's girl like her late sister was, she was used to moving in the town's upper eschelons. The way she figured it was that with this development she'd end up with a lot more money and along with that went a lot more responsibility. Mentally, she shrugged.
"What's the matter there, my little Hot Tamale?" Ginny asked John. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Well, um... Um... I mean... Oh, hell.... Ginny, I mean, I am gonna hafta sleep on all this so I can make sense out of it. It's a lot..."
"Yes, well, you sleep on it, then. But it ain't a dream, kid. It's as real as a fuckin' heart attack. Kathleen?"
"Ginny, I mean Grandma... It's gonna take a little bit to get used to calling you Grandma," Kathleen laughed. "You know... I'm fine with all of it. I know you're asking a lot of us, but we can do it. And don't worry about John." Kathleen leaned over and gave John a peck on the cheek. "He's up to it. Count on it!"
"I know that," Ginny said. "John, look at me..." Ginny drilled her eyes into John. "I know all about you. I know where you came from. I know where and how your mother died. I know what your grades in school are. I even know that you missed a day of school last year because you had a cold. I know EV-RY-THING there is to know about you. I wouldn't have picked you if there was a scintilla of a doubt. I'm pretty sure some day you and Kathleen will get married, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna have a whole house full of kids. Think of their futures. I know all you ever wanted was to have a good life like anybody else. Well, now that's just been guaranteed. Remember what I just said: I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't think you could do it, and I got a lotta years sizing people up."
"OK, you're right," John said. "I can do this! And thank you..." Ginny saw tears well up in John's eyes.
"That's better!" Ginny said. "I hadda pick ya anyway, Johnny. I picked Andy and Sean, so even without Kathleen I'da hadda pick ya anyway. And Kathleen, other than the twins, you're really my only family that qualifies. My sister I don't think will live much longer, and my niece is too old. I made sure they're well off, so it doesn't matter anyway. But what I wantcha to know is that starting soon I'm gonna begin handing over. I'll stay where I am for a little while, but then I'll be behind the scenes. And don't worry, I'm setting you up to win, not to lose. You guys are all I have. And someday, years from now, you'll hafta decide when it's your turn to get off the stage."
For the next few weeks, things settled down. On the fourth week after Sean and Andy's meeting with Ginny, Coach Slater returned, relieving Sean of his position as Acting Head Coach. For his part, Sean was relieved to be relieved, but he turned the reins back over to Coach Slater with an undefeated 8-0 record. Coach Slater asked Sean in for a meeting the day after he came back.
Sean showed up for the meeting at the appointed time, giving his trademark door knock, and hearing the trademark "Enter!" in response.
"Thank you for coming, Coasch Wyman. And I want to congratulate you on the zhob you did when I wazh out."
"I only led a group of good men, Coach," Sean replied.
"Yesh, yesh you did. But you were their leader. You did not fail. Either yourself, or them."
"I don't wanna keep you too long, Coach. You've got a ton of stuff to catch up on, but I did leave you with an outline of the high points that we can talk more about..."
"I shee that. What I want to ashk you izh that I want to return you to your pozhition at Quarterback Coasch. But I want that to be in name only. I want you to advizhe me behind the shenes until the end of the sheazhon. We're unbeaten, and I shee no need to fixh what ain't broke. Do you agree?"
"I am at your service in any way you think best, Coach."
"Very good. By the end of tomorrow let me have the game plan for thish week'sh game, will you?"
"It's already done. I have it at home, and I'll email it to you tonight."
"Good. That will be all."
Coach Slater then rose, using his cane as he was no longer in a wheelchair. He reached out to shake Sean's hand, a tear in his eye. "You are a leader of men, Coasch Wyman! Alwayzh remember that! Again, dishmished."
Sean took his leave, relieved to be able to lay his burden of responsibility for their Varsity football program down. He would Coach the Quarterbacks, and come up with game plans to finish out the season. He knew how thrilled the entire team was to have their Head Coach back, and the fact that their morale was already top-notch, his task would be that much the easier. He basked in the opportunity to have nothing more to do than turn in his homework on time, and keep his two Quarterbacks in top form. It would give him time to lay out a plan for what Ginny told them lay ahead, and maybe, just maybe, to find something fun to do extra- curricularly once football season was done.
At the same time, Sean made an appointment with his hair stylist. He reckoned if he was going to be running for City Council he'd have to ditch the shoulder-length hair. He also decided he'd trade in his contact lenses for a pair of conservative glasses to help him appear older and more urbane.
The next few months would be a wild ride, and he knew it.
END OF CHAPTER FIFTY