Playing the 'Son' Card (3 page)

There was even a row of lockers, all
labeled with names. One of them had ‘Troy Evanson’ written on it. I
was almost in shock at all of this.

I looked around, and decided that a
shower would go really nicely right about now. I did feel a little
grungy from the travel, and a shower would help.

I made my shower a quick one, and
less then ten minutes later, I stood at the bathroom counter
looking in the mirror. With my t-shirt and jeans, I looked quite
young, in spite of my newly increased height. My fair hair, and
smooth skin completed the look of a young boy.

I brushed my dark blonde still-wet
hair with a part down the left side, and that helped make me look
more presentable. My hair was not long, and I usually just let it
hang around my head and face, but this time I made an effort. I
suppose it was the nice surroundings that made me think about it,
but I was predisposed to make changes in my life.

All done, I made my way back to my
office, now refreshed and dressed in a clean shirt. Not a minute
later, Melanie was at my door.

“Troy,” she started, “If you’ll
check your email, there’s one from your Mom about going over to the
men’s store across the way, to get some clothes. She’s still in
some heavy negotiations right now, and it’s going to take a bit
longer than she thought. I’ve ordered in some food, and it’ll be
here in about half an hour, so you have time to get over there and
back.”

I was having trouble taking this all
in, but managed a simple, “Okay. Thanks.”

She answered my next question before
I asked it. “Your login and password for the company email are on a
paper in the top right drawer.”

“Thanks,” I repeated, and she turned
and left.

I opened the drawer, wondering about
all of this. Then, another surprise. There was a stack of business
cards with my name, and the title ‘Broker’s Representative.’ I was
starting to get really confused now. Did my mother expect that I
was going to go into the business with her? After all, I was still
in school, and I’d never even talked to her about going into the
real estate business.

I knew a little bit, sure, from just
listening and being around my mom, but I had no detailed knowledge
of the business.

I sat and looked at the cards for a
moment. At least they didn’t say ‘agent’ or anything like that. I
knew that Mom was the broker for the office, and I supposed that I
could be her ‘representative’ but I really was just a 12-year-old
kid.

Looking down, I glanced at the paper
to get my user name and start the login process. A moment later, I
read that Mom wanted me to go over to the men’s store nearby, and
have them fit me for at least two suits, or jacket and slacks,
along with some shirts and a couple of ties.

I thought for a moment about what
nice clothes I had that still fit me and I came up with nothing.
I’d grown a lot in the last year.

‘You’ll need these clothes for a few
times around the office when we’re having a function, or if you’re
going somewhere with me. After all, we have to dress the part,
Troy,’ it read.

Okay, then, at least she didn’t
expect me to go out and sell houses. I certainly could see that
she’d want her teenage son to be able to look respectable on
occasion.

A moment later, I was headed out of
my office. Stopping briefly at the front desk, I told Melanie where
I was going, and headed out across the strip mall parking lot. As I
had been directed, I could see the men’s store from Mom’s office,
and it took all of four minutes to walk.

I opened the front door, and walked
in, now once again more than a little nervous. I’d never been in a
place like this. It was pretty much all suits and stuff, and
certainly I’d never had to buy clothes like this before. The only
other times I’d worn a jacket and tie, my mother had bought them
for me at Sears, or something.

At least they were pleasant in the
store.

A salesman looked at me as I walked
in, and I wondered how I must look to him in t-shirt and jeans. I
hadn’t even put a sweater or jacket on for the short
walk.

“How can I help you?” he asked,
quite nicely.

I was really nervous as I answered
his question. “Ah, hello,” I squeaked in my old high
voice.

I tried again. This time I managed
to lower my voice, and speak like a more mature teenager. “Ah, I’m
Troy Evanson. Apparently, my mother made
arrangements...”

The salesmen took me off the hook by
gently interrupting. “Quite so, Mr. Evanson. We were expecting you.
Welcome.”

“Thank you.”

“I think we’ve got some things we
can fit you with, Mr. Evanson,” the salesman continued. “We fit a
number of men in the real estate business here in town, and two of
them from your office.”

I was about to say that I was not
really in the business, but he had more to say.

“Can we get you a coffee, Mr.
Evanson? This will likely take a few minutes.”

I thought about the lunch that would
soon be waiting for me, but I hadn’t had anything since the
mountain pass restaurant. “Ah, yes, please. Cream and sugar, if you
can, please.”

I didn’t really drink coffee, but I
thought it might make me seem older if I did, but I definitely
needed cream and sugar to make it palatable.

With a nod, one of the other
salesmen went to get me the coffee, while the first man got busy
with the task at hand. He showed me a few suits and made some
suggestions about slacks with jacket and tie.

He did a lot of measuring and
fitting. I figured I’d be a tough fit, being so skinny and tall,
but he took all of that in stride. I supposed in a specialty shop
like this, they had all shapes and sizes.

About 25 minutes after I walked in
the door, I was wearing an off the rack dark blue jacket, tan
slacks, a pale yellow shirt with a darker pattern tie. I’d also
been fitted with some really comfortable new shoes that looked a
lot dressier than they felt.

I’d also selected one really nice
suit that they were going to alter for me, and picked out two other
pairs of slacks along with four shirts and one more tie.

In addition, I got six pairs of dark
dress socks, and even added some underwear. That was the only time
I was a little embarrassed, but everything was matter of fact as I
added four extra small grownup cotton briefs to the pile on the
counter.

I was a little nervous about getting
all this stuff, but I knew that Mom would expect me to have enough
good clothes to wear.

My only concern was that I was still
growing, and whatever I bought might not fit me for too long. My
helpful salesman knew of my concern without me expressing it. He
indicated that they’d leave a little material in the suit so that
it could be let out, and he’d deliberately fitted me with a jacket
that had a little room to grow without looking too
large.

Even the shirts had a little room.
The only thing that I wasn’t worried about too much was my shoes,
and my feet had pretty much stopped growing.

I found that I actually enjoyed the
process of shopping, and I was treated really well by the salesman.
I had even enjoyed the coffee and their efforts to make me feel
comfortable in the surroundings. It was not very busy in the store,
so they were able to give me a lot of attention.

At the salesman’s suggestion, I kept
my new outfit on, and carried my old clothes in a bag along with
the shirts, ties, socks and slacks.

I pulled out my bank card, preparing
to pay for everything. I still had most of that money in my
account, so I was not worried. The salesman told me that it had
been arranged that they would bill Mom’s office for everything. I
acquiesced, not about to argue.

As I prepared to go, the salesman
even told me that he’d drop the suit off at the office before the
end of the day.

“That fast?” I asked, quite
surprised.

“Certainly, Mr. Evanson. Our
seamstress will have it done in a couple of hours.”

“Well, thank you very much, and
thank you for all of your help this afternoon. I really appreciate
it. This turned out to be a much easier task than I thought it
might be.” I was polite, but I really did feel that way.

I got a genuine smile now. “Mr.
Evanson, it was a real pleasure helping you this afternoon, and I
look forward to seeing you again.”

Carrying my purchases, I made my
back across the parking lot to the office.

Melanie had her usual smile. “Hi,
there, Troy. Welcome back.”

“Thanks, Melanie.” Her smile was
contagious, and I gave her one of my best.

She gave me an update. “Your Mom is
still in that meeting. Your lunch is on your desk. I hope you like
a sub and salad lunch, but if you have requests in the future, just
let me know. We order in a lot around here.”

Melanie paused as I took this all
in. “Now, your Mom has a showing in just over an hour, so she
better finish that meeting. She did say that she wanted you to go
along with her, so it’s great that you’re all dressed for that
already.” A slight pause. “So, if you need anything, just let me
know.”

“Ah, thanks, Melanie. Thank you very
much.” I was still quite overwhelmed at the way I was being
treated. I was being made to feel like... well, an adult... or at
least definitely not a kid.

I turned to head down the corridor
to my office, still carrying my newly purchased
clothing.

“Oh, sorry, Mr. Evanson,” Melanie
called, “I forgot to tell you.”

I turned back to look at
her.

Still wearing her smile, but looking
a little apologetic, she explained, “The kitchen is just down the
hall past your office, and there’s coffee going along with lots of
different sodas in the fridge. Just help yourself at any time. If
there’s any special kind of juice or soda that you need, just let
me know and we’ll get it in.”

I managed to reply, “Thanks again,
Melanie,” as I turned again to head down the hall.

This was all so incredible, and I
was only going to be here for a few days, right now. All of a
sudden, I was being treated like one of the staff of the
office.

As I sat down at my desk a few
moments later, I looked at the salad and sub sandwich that had been
left for me. I’d had the forethought to take my new jacket off, and
hang it up in the cupboard, so that I didn’t mess up my new
clothes.

I looked at the time, to keep track
of what time I had to go out with my Mom, and then turned my
attention back to my lunch. I thought about how much my life had
changed in the last 24 hours. The last lunch I had eaten was in the
school cafeteria, along with a few hundred other kids.

They were still there today, while I
was sitting in my own office being treated like an important adult
and wearing new grownup clothes. I’d wanted a new start on life,
and I was certainly getting it.

Of course, I still had to go back to
my old life for a few more months, and I didn’t know what school
would be like in Bellingham, but at least now I had something
really good to look forward to.

I looked around again, still feeling
a sense of wonder at how things were working out, and hoping that
the end of my story would be as good as I hoped.

CHAPTER

5

I was hungry now, and I pulled open
the wrapping on the sub sandwich and opened the container with the
salad. For a boy used to eating on his own and looking over his
shoulder to see who might appear to bother him, it was amazing to
sit at my own desk and eat with some privacy and
comfort.

It took me a moment to realize that
all the details had been looked after. Melanie had provided
utensils and napkins along with extra mayo and mustard.

As I ate, pulled at the mouse on my
computer to get the screen back on, and started to look through my
inbox. Pretty much everything was group mail sent to the whole
office, but I went through them all just to see what they were
about. The mail dated back four days, so I guessed that was when
they’d set up my account.

I was hungry and I ate everything,
stopping only to go down the hall to the kitchen and grab two
regular colas. By the time I was done eating, I had only a few
minutes to go brush my teeth before I figured I’d better be ready
to go as soon as my Mom was ready. That was another new thing.
Being able to take my time to eat, and then go brush my teeth in a
very nice staff washroom. I was really getting to like this
office.

Just before three o’clock, my phone
buzzed and I picked it up.

I was going to say hello, but I
remembered how Mom had answered the phone in her old office back in
Spokane. I’d been there enough to see it.

“Troy Evanson.” I put on my deepest
and most mature voice, feeling almost foolish, but grown up in a
way.

It was Melanie.

“Mr. Evanson,” she said, “Your Mom
will be leaving in five minutes. She’ll be in a hurry, so I was
going to suggest that you might want to wait out front for her.
She’ll be taking the green SUV close to the front door. That’s
hers.”