A Cheat and a Liar, page 42
‘Oh, wow,’ Nettie said after holding her breath for much of George’s conversation. ‘Like all your ideas, my love, they have merit. However, I think you need to do some costings, or, better still, let me do some costings after you have calculated quantities. That way, we can inform Father very accurately what the costs of timber and other items hardware items will cost. That total will equal the loan we will have to repay.’
They both talked it all through again, and when they were close to deciding that bed was the next best option for that day, Nettie said, ‘Over the next week or so, you give me quantities of building timber you think is required, and then give me a list of roofing and other plumbing and hardware items, and we will talk again knowing about what cost there will be for Father initially and us to repay as a secured loan.’
With that, they each cleared away supper dishes and made their way one by one via the bathroom and into bed. It was getting late, and once both were in bed, neither felt particularly tired. They continued to talk and add various afterthoughts to all that had been discussed until both drifted into dreamland, and another day was done.
The next day continued as it normally would for each of them, and that evening after supper, both Nettie and George engaged in their conversation regarding the new build. George knew he would take at least two weeks to calculate timber sizes and quantities of all exterior and interior materials for the build, and he told Nettie he would start on that exercise the following evening.
Meanwhile, he was able to complete a list of hardware required: roofing iron per lineal meter, guttering, downpipes, lead flashing, a hot-water cylinder, galvanised piping, water taps of different sizes, a bath, a wood-fired cast iron stove with oven, and the list went on that Nettie could find prices for in the meantime.
The mill’s joinery department would need to make window frames of various dimensions and two exterior doors and all the interior ones also. George had designed a kitchen with cupboards and a sink bench that they would require that department to make for them. So already Nettie had a list that needed to be priced.
There certainly was much to be done before even the idea could be put in front of Edward and the company. It was just over a month later that all prices were supplied for the quantities George had calculated he would require.
Another two weeks, and George had a list of all materials required for the building of an 940-square-foot three-bedroom home with upstairs attic, kitchen, dining room, lounge, and bathroom, with a veranda along the front and a smaller veranda/porch at the rear, and a little wash house/laundry to one side, plus a detached outhouse at the rear. There was an open fire in the lounge and a cast-iron wood-burning stove in the kitchen connected to the hot-water cylinder, and on the other side of the kitchen wall was the laundry, which would have a wood-burning copper. All George wanted was a cost of materials, and he could present plans and costings to his father-in-law for consideration.
‘What if he doesn’t want to purchase all the materials?’ asked Nettie.
‘Why would he not want to do that?’ George queried.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I am always a little doubtful when transactions involving a lot of money are concerned,’ she replied.
That night, they went to bed—George, happy and optimistic; Nettie, dubious and on edge. ‘I think we should invite them to supper on Saturday,’ George suggested. ‘Have them arrive at about 4.00 p.m., and then we can discuss the project before supper and go into more detail once we have all eaten.’
It was agreed that Nettie would talk to her mother the next day and have everything ready to show them on Saturday.
Everything was ready on time. A cup of tea and cakes on arrival, idle chatter, and then George cleared his throat and invited Edward aside, while Nettie entertained her mother.
The two men had spoken several months before about the mill and Edward’s investment in it, and at a different time, they had touched on Edward’s position and when and if he might one day retire. More recently, Nettie had explained, somewhat to George’s surprise, the fact that George and Helen’s home was really only that for the duration of his mill management. Accordingly, what George was going to discuss was perhaps not common knowledge within the family but was known.
They sat down. George produced cigars for them both, and Edward, with a smile, commented, ‘This has the makings of a long and serious conversation, George. What do you have in mind?’
George, with a slight smile, looked long and hard at his father-in-law, before he spoke. ‘I have a plan, Edward. I think it has merit, and I will explain it rather quickly in its entirety first, and then I would like to hear everything you like and dislike about the idea.’
George then proceeded to say that, as he understood it, Edward and Helen would require another home to live in once they had to relinquish the house they were in. Then he asked how Edward felt about him building a new home for them on the very land they had gifted Nettie and him as a wedding gift.
‘What I would like to do is build the house with timber and fittings that were purchased through the mill,’ he said. ‘Now, in return for that, as I would like to think that those costs could be arranged to be at prices less than retail, you and your good wife live there for as long as you want at no cost to you whatever.’
With that, Edward went to speak. George raised his hand and said, ‘Wait, let me tell you everything Nettie and I have discussed, and then I shall be silent whilst you shoot questions at me.’ He continued. ‘Perhaps the question you were about to ask was how we are intending to finance this project. Well, once we have spoken, and hopefully, you and I will see eye to eye, I will be off to see my groomsman, Gordon. That perhaps may raise the questions of how much do I need to finish the house, what security can I provide, and how will I repay the loan.
‘First, thanks to your lovely daughter, she has costed out the entire build based on my estimates, and I would hope to borrow the total cost of everything. As regards security, the bank could have a first mortgage over the new house and the land it is on; they have the same on this cottage, and we are ahead on repayments with that, but their question as to how I will repay the loan only needs to be addressed whilst the house is being built. I intend to spend all my waking hours of every fine day building the house, so during that period, we will have less income, but the loan would only be drawn down to the extent the house was built at any particular stage. Repayments will only be for the part that has been drawn down at any point. Once the house is complete, I would hope there was a job back at the mill for me. I do have some savings, which I will use for living costs, if required, and that is why I intend to ask the bank for the total cost. The other matter the bank should consider is that if I was a builder doing the work for some third party, part of every progress payment would be to cover materials, and also the labour costs to be paid to the builder.’
There was a pause while George stopped for breath, and Edward thought about all that had been said. Finally, he spoke. ‘You are a forward-thinking guy, George, and a damned thoughtful guy too. Helen and I have always been conscious that one day, we would need to move out of where we are. We have savings and have always thought about what we would do if the cost of a replacement home, whether it be in this town or any other, was more than what we have saved, and then we would be forced to borrow; but how does a guy who stops work pay a mortgage?
‘I will talk to Helen, of course. I will need to run the idea of selling at wholesale to you past Gerard and the other directors as well. It may not quite be at cost, but it will be close to it I am sure. I think your suggestions have merit. Helen might like to see a plan of the house, but if it has all the features you put into the cottage, I am sure she will be happy. When you have a plan, particularly with elevations, I am sure she will be interested.’
George smiled. ‘I have my copy here. I can show you almost exactly how it will look when we talk to the ladies.’
The two men stood and faced each other. ‘Well done, George,’ the older man said. They shook hands again and went to see their wives.
The ladies were sitting at the kitchen table talking. As the men walked in, Nettie said, ‘That was a long conversation. We heard no arguing or raised voices.’
Helen asked what was discussed, so, with that, George produced a scale drawing he had done of the proposed new house. Even Edward had not seen it and, in a loud voice, said, ‘Hey, we have spent an hour talking about that place, and now you show me what it looks like.’
‘Where is it? What are you talking about?’ asked Helen, and Nettie was left to explain what George had in detail spent the last hour talking to Edward about, without showing him the drawings or the plan.
George did not have a second copy but offered to copy what he had drawn, and more particularly write down the dimensions of the various rooms. ‘We will need that,’ said Edward, ‘to ensure that the furniture we require will fit where we want it.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Helen, and then Edward went into quite some detail setting out what George had offered to build, which would be ready for them both when Edward finally retired.
Everyone was impressed with the appearance from all sides, but Helen agreed with her husband that they had hoped that all furniture that they had some attachment to would comfortably fit in whatever house they eventually shifted into.
An hour later, everyone was in agreement. ‘Well, George,’ said his father-in-law, ‘that just leaves one job for each of us. You talk to the bank. I will talk to the directors and Gerard. Nettie, you supply the list of timber and materials to me as soon as you can, and, Helen, can you please write a list of all the furniture you want to take with us when we eventually shift and measure each piece for length, width, and height?’
The talking was done. It was time for home. Edward and Helen said their goodbyes and left.
On the way home, conversation between the Nichols brought Helen up to date with all that had been spoken about. ‘Do you really think we will have to move out of our home right now?’ she asked.
‘Not at all,’ he replied. ‘The new house could take a large part of a year to complete. If and when—well, when really—I decide to announce my retirement, it can mean we will move into the new house, and Gerard moves into our place, and for the next six to twelve months, we can work alongside each other, so he gets an understanding of everything and I can oversee the factory operations whilst he supervises the establishment of the new mill. When we are both ready and the rebuild is complete, he can take over, and I sit back to enjoy retirement, and, my love, we might start holidaying in California or even farther south during these northern winters and return in mid to late spring.’
‘Oh, doesn’t that sound inviting,’ Helen replied, ‘and with the house arrangement with George, we will not need to spend our savings on a new home but instead use a little each year on a winter holiday in the sun. Oh, how wonderful.’
The very next morning, as soon as Edward had left the house on his way to work, Helen, found a writing pad, turned to a new page, and started making her way through the house jotting down furniture items she thought she would like to take with her when they shifted. The first list included everything they owned, and she quickly realised, exclusions were required.
Edward and Nettie, as each had time, sat in his office and went through the lists that George had supplied. Nettie had quantities; it was up to her father to set prices that the directors would approve. They would work together occasionally for an hour; at other times, for only a matter of minutes.
George, on the other hand, was off to make an appointment with his bank manager/best man, Gordon. He arrived not long after the bank opened their doors. George and Gordon had kept in fairly regular contact with each other. George, on three or four occasions, had been invited to Gordon’s house. It was a comfortable home, but George always described it to Nettie as Gordon’s bachelor pad. ‘He should find himself a wife,’ George told Nettie. ‘His house is always clean, but he never seems to think about putting things away; it is as if he will need to use every item he owns the very next minute, so everything sits out on the bench or spread over a chair and occasionally on the floor. He could never fall in love and take her home. She would guess that her designated purpose was totally to be as a live-in housekeeper and cook.’
‘Oh, George, you might have been like that once.’
‘No,’ he replied, ‘I always lived by myself and made sure that everything was tucked away in its proper place, so if I ever fell in love, they would know it was their body I desired and not just their housekeeping skills.’
‘Oh, George, don’t talk like that. One day, someone may hear you, and as a part-time man of the cloth, such lustful thoughts should not be uttered by you.’ He stopped smiling and said he was sorry. Nettie felt sorry for his embarrassed look and walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, ‘But it’s OK if you desire my body, and I don’t ever mind showing off my housekeeping skills to you also.’
George grabbed her and pulled her towards him and kissed her firmly on the lips. ‘Sorry, I spoke like I did,’ he said softly.
Anyway, George made an appointment to see his bank manager for eleven thirty because the man had business until then. When the prescribed time arrived, he was there, and the two men joked and talked, and each brought the other up to date with what they had done since they last met. At the end of pleasantries, Gordon asked the question, ‘And, George, my man, how can I be of help to you today?’ George proceeded to detail what he wanted to happen and how he thought it could happen.
‘What are you going to need, George? When do you hope to start? How long will it take?’ And there were another dozen questions that he wanted answered.
‘Great,’ George replied. ‘My visit today was primarily to find out what you wanted answered. I will now get out of your way and see you in a week.’
The one question that George had been asked that he had not thought of but wanted to know was, ‘What will be the value of the new house, including the land it is on, when it is finished, and what is the current value of the cottage now renovations are complete, including the land it is on also?’
Before he returned to work, he detoured and stopped in at the office of a valuer, who had not long been in town. The man was in when George arrived, so the two men, after introductions, sat and talked along similar lines to those that George and Gordon at the bank had discussed.
Then George moved down the road to the local printer, where he ordered six copies of the complete set of plans he had drawn.
That’s enough time off work today, George, he told himself. Get back there and make a dollar for yourself, and with that, he headed back to the mill.
A few weeks later, it was late February. The weather had improved, and although there was still quite a lot of rain about, the days were certainly warmer than they had been.
George had all the facts for the bank. The valuer’s report showed the cottage and its land to have a value of $840. The value of the new house, per the plans, and the section it was to be built on, but not allowing for any extension of the floor area, was $1,475. George owed less than $200 on the cottage, and provided the mill would guarantee him a position on at least the amount he was receiving at present, they would lend him sufficient to complete the new house. Edward had arranged costings for all materials and whatever George wanted incorporated into the build. George could not wait to tell Nettie the good news; and ‘on Saturday, if the weather allows, we shall take your parents to the site and let them determine how they would like the house set on the lot so as to maximise sun and outlook’.
Everything was signed and sealed. George would commence building at the beginning of March and aim for a finish before the onset of winter. That set him a goal to have the house totally weatherproof, at least by then, so he could continue with interior work no matter how wet it was outside.
Edward felt he had gained direction. He would continue working for the next twelve months. At that stage, the mill should be totally rebuilt. It would be close to spring, and the new house should almost be complete. If all his and the company’s affairs were in order, he would retire and hand over total management to his brother, Gerard, and, of course, vacate the house for them also. As soon as Gerard was ready, he would move to Bucoda if a nice home was available for him and Cecille to move into; otherwise, he would travel at the beginning of each week himself and stay with Edward and Helen during the week and return home for the weekends. By doing so, he could gain knowledge of the day-to-day running and management of the mill before actually living in the town and assuming control of the new mill.
There was, however, an urgent problem that needed a solution before too many plans could be put in place. Helen, as had happened to some extent in the past two winters, was quite unwell. She found winter harder and harder for her to maintain her health. Her lungs seemed unable to let her breathe. This year more than ever, she was worse. Some called it consumption, others tuberculosis. Edward had made her bed in the lounge and kept the open fire in that room well stoked.
He felt at times the whole house was like a furnace, but it certainly was allowing his wife to breathe easier and maintain her breathing and general quality of life. The family doctor had tentatively reserved a bed for her in the recently opened Red Cross Hospital in Bucoda. Helen did not want to go into hospital, and while Edward and Nettie were able to check on her regularly, she was happier staying in her own home.
