It's embarrassing how long ago I started this, but I still like it and I know I should continue. I don't necessarily want to publish it, just get the story out of me. One day I'll set a deadline to get it done.
.“Style vs. Substance” or “Wednesday Club Meetings”
Delores
Dee’s Total Look is the place Delores Washington owns, but it doesn’t own her. She is determined to delegate more responsibility to her newly appointed manager and allow herself to have time for the rest of her life. In the early years, right after opening, she needed to be there at all times. Even after closing, there was cleaning to be done. And of course money was important and in short supply, so she took advantage of every opportunity to work. Looking back now, she’s very grateful that she now sets reasonable working hours and sticks to it rather than taking any and all requests for service, even if she didn’t leave the salon until midnight or very often much later. Like the Christmas Eve that she didn’t leave until 5am. By the time she got home, Anthony was up and tearing boxes open under the tree. Still those early years are the reason she’s still in business now, makes a comfortable living and actually enjoys life.
The word retirement has often crept into her consciousness lately. Butch has even been hinting about it; talking about extended vacations and how smoothly Barbara manages things on her own. Yeah, she’ll stick a pin in that and give it some real thought soon.
Today is Wednesday and Wednesday is club meeting day. She, her sister and a couple of friends from high school gather at the salon at 6pm, do each others hair, bring dinner, discuss life and their business ventures. Besides her husband Butch, club meeting was a major touch stone in her life. Once a week, this was the time to get centered, arrange priorities and have immediate feedback from people she trusted. The salon was closed, the last appointment available on a Wednesday 5pm for all but chemical services which could be scheduled no later than 4 pm. There had been plenty of attempts to challenge the rule, especially by new, young and arrogant stylists. But Dee had learned and heeded one of life’s lessons, if it’s important to you, and you don’t want to be asked to move a mile, don’t give an inch. So no matter what or who, the salon closes at 6pm on Wednesdays. They’d been doing this for fifteen years, the four of them. It started naturally out of convenience. Dee’s sister Vivian has a standing appointment at 5 on Wednesdays. Dot and Linda were regulars and the girls got together from time to time at each other’s houses or social events.
It was Vivian’s idea to set a regular day that all four could get together, then Dee decided to make it exclusive so that they could speak freely and cover all the topics they wanted.
Vivian was only 2 years younger than Delores and the two grew closer as the years progressed. Although Viv had a lesser interest than Dee in hair styling, she had learned some basics from Dee that allowed her to make some extra money in college, manage her daughter Maya’s thick, curly mane and be able to use the knowledge from time to time as a tool to make connections and communicate with some of her middle school students.
Wednesday June 5th
Dee stated for the 3rd time, “Aisha, the salon will be closing at 6 o’clock, no exceptions. You know that.”
“But I can probably be done by six fifteen at the latest”, Aisha said for the 4th time.
“Six fifteen is too late, I’m sorry. I cannot make an exception to the Wednesday closing time. You know there’re no restrictions for any other day of the week, but we close at 6 on Wednesdays, no matter what”
Delores had learned the hard way, never to give an inch on this matter. After the meeting, in the first year that ended up not happening because a 20 minute blow-and-go at 5:30 had turned into a relaxer, color and cut, Dee set Wednesday rules in writing, had a meeting with the staff and emphasized the rule with all new stylists, thereafter. But there were always challengers. Twenty year old neck swinging mini divas, the hetero pretty boys who always got their way with women and the homosexual Grand Divas who were on their way to Hollywood, so these minor rules were surely not intended to include them.
“Aisha, you’re going to get behind with your current appointments if you don’t hurry back. If you want me to be the one to tell Mrs. Stevens that you can’t fit her in today, I will.” Delores stood up from her desk and started toward the office door to indicate the end of the meeting.
It was her turn to bring dinner for the meeting so she needed to leave to pick up food she’d ordered from the new vegetarian restaurant in the next block. Food was a very important component of club meetings. Although all members were diet and weight conscious, boring food was not an option.
The new restaurant had provided menu samples to other businesses in the neighborhood and Dee was impressed with how good tofu could actually taste. And the Brown Rice Salad was truly awesome. Today, along with that salad, Dee had ordered a pizza and desert.
Vivian
Vivian Marie Valentine was having the best kind of day. The first day of summer vacation from school, beautiful weather for breakfast on the patio this morning, then yoga and lunch with Maya. And club meeting tonight.
Maya had even let her get a word in edgewise and pretended to be interested in Viv’s plans for the summer and assessment of how the past school year had gone. I made her this way, Vivian thought. I spoiled her and made decisions in deference to her wishes throughout her childhood, so now she thinks that’s normal and expects the world to do the same. Viv knew there was an ulterior motive for being asked to dinner with Maya and her new boyfriend; something way more selfish than just wanting to introduce her to Anthony.
But Viv had no doubt that he’d be pleasant and polite, and even if she didn’t care for him, dinner wouldn’t last more than a couple of hours. So they had a date; tomorrow at Frankie’s Steak House downtown.
With two hours until club meeting, Vivian was at the library stocking up on summer reading material. Her plans for the summer included nothing related to work. No educational materials, no lesson plans, no talking to or wishing to talk to any parents. The focus of this summer was going to be Vivian. This would be the first summer in who knew how many years that there were no tuition payments due. Free of tuition payments, for the first time since Maya was six years old. Private schools, then college in Florida, had been a struggle she’d been willing to bear for the sake of her daughter.
Doing it alone hadn’t been part of the plan when she and James had sat at their kitchen table, for the first time in the home they had purchased less than a week prior and put in writing the map of their lives. Vivian still had the paper, it wasn’t even as yellow and fragile as she thought is would be by this time, eighteen years later. They put the plan in their dresser so that it would be visible and available for reference or if needed, to settle any disagreements about what to do or where to go next. James was struck by a hit and run driver on his way to his car after work, six weeks later.
After the funeral, Vivian folded the plan and put it in the jewelry box her mother had given her for her sixteenth birthday. She took it out at least once a year to verify that she was not far off track from their original plans. There was no new and bigger house, no second child and no James but the spirit of the plan was preserved, if not the letter.
Tonight she’d share her summer plans with the girls and possibly get one of all of them to join her for a spa weekend in New York.
Dot
Dorthea Hawkins couldn’t wait to be done with work today. Stressful was one thing and she was used to that but today was a tad beyond the normal confusion, interruptions, near disasters and employee issues. “Yes, Dave I understand the gravity of the situation but today is Wednesday and you know that I must leave by 5 o’clock at the very latest”, Dot said in the firmest tone of voice she could muster. She had never explained why she needed to leave on time on Wednesdays, she knew they wondered, Dave, her boss and the whole department. They dared not ask her although from time to time, like today, they tested her resolution on the matter. Dorthea was nothing if not serious. Her professional demeanor was by the book and nonsense was not tolerated. Dorthea thought it best in the workplace. That way no lines got crossed, there was little chance of impropriety or the appearance of such. Also personal questions were minimized. Dot felt no compulsion to divulge, as she’d heard many coworkers do, the details of her home life. Club meeting was the time that she could fully be herself, her time to truly exhale. One day a week where she felt surrounded by love, trust and total acceptance. Even at church, her second home Dorthea was on guard lest anyone think she was weak in the spirit or capable of back sliding. And as head of the Mentorship Ministry, she wanted to be considered above reproach.
Dot organized her desk, retrieved her purse from her bottom drawer and took her keys in hand, all the while praying that all would be solved before she returned tomorrow. Before closing her office door, she said her usual prayer of thanks for having a job to be glad to leave every day.
Linda
“Not one closing all week is not a good thing” said Linda, thinking out loud. She was reviewing her personal calendar for the month and trying to determine how much her personal finances were being affected by the current slow real estate market. Not that she was worried. Linda just wanted to formulate a strategy for the rest of the year. As a real estate broker, Linda was considered highly successful and had flourished in slow markets over the years. Although none had been as bad as the past year, Linda felt that she was properly prepared to withstand even a few years at this pace. Preparing for the future had been her focus since high school. Her father emphasized the importance of being independent. Having her own money, car, house, savings or whatever. Lest she live at the mercy of anyone, let alone a husband, boyfriend or any man. Robert Dawson took his job as a single father very seriously and felt a duty to Linda’s deceased mother to do a good job of raising the daughter she died to deliver to the world.
The one very good thing about the current market was the opportunity to buy property at bargain prices. In this area, Linda’s careful planning and saving could pay off big time. The key to coming through this with the results Linda speculated were achievable was to balance purchases with income from current rental property so that there was no cash short fall. An appointment with her business coach/accountant was in order, she’d call to schedule that for her business and talk to the girls tonight about a venture she had in mind for the group. Four years ago, the Wednesday Club members had gone into business together with the goal of killing two birds with one stone by creating income opportunities for themselves, while helping others.
Packing her briefcase to leave for the day, she included the folder she’d put together with what she would be proposing at club meeting.
Wednesday June 23rd
Vivian arrived at Dee’s early, as usual and greeted the two stylists who were still preparing to leave for the day. She’d talked to Dee and knew that Aisha, who was sweeping hair from around her chair, had tried to squeeze in another client this afternoon and was probably not in the best mood, having been turned down in no uncertain terms. But Aisha smiled and waved at Viv, having accepted with resignation that there was just no way around this Wednesday closing time thing.
Aisha considered the older ladies just silly to need the shop cleared just so they could do each other’s hair and eat. Even if they want to be able to talk privately, they could do that at 6:30 just to let somebody have a chance to make some money.
By five forty five, the WC members were all assembled and had the salon to themselves. As usual, Viv and Dee shampooed Linda and Dot, applied conditioner and wrapped towels around their heads, and then they all gathered in the kitchen to eat and catch up on each other’s lives.
As soon as Dee had closed the door and locked it behind Carl, who was the last stylist to leave for the day, Dot had stepped over to the CD player and inserted one of their favorite compilations. Music was the other major component of club meetings, consisting mostly of what Maya called old school R&B. But the ladies were nothing if not eclectic; they listened to their share of Rap, Country, Reggae and Latin. But today, for Dot, some serious Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Luther therapy was in order.
“Ooh Dot, your nerves must really be fried today” Vivian offered. Normally, Dot preferred to start with a gospel selection, just to be sure the proper atmosphere was set.
“Yes ma’am, I’ve been pleading with God for strength all day long” Dot closed her eyes and silently thanked God for answering her prayers yet again today.
“Maya invited me to have dinner with her and a new guy on Friday.” Viv started the conversation. “I knew there was a catch but she didn’t reveal it when she asked me. She called me later to tell me that Anthony’s father was going to join us too. So I questioned her about how this dinner plan came about and found out that originally, Anthony and his father had a long standing plan to meet for dinner this Friday, then, he and Maya met and can’t stand to be away from each other long enough for him to spend time with his father without her. So it was her bright idea to con me into coming along.”
“Well, hopefully he’s a nice guy” said Dee.
“Who, Anthony or his dad”, asked Viv.
“The dad, maybe he’s nice and you’ll like each other and who knows.”
“Well, did anyone ask if the father was actually single”, this was Dot, ever the skeptic.
“You know, you have a point Dot, I just assumed if they were asking me along, that he was single. But you never know, they’re only thinking about themselves, especially Maya. But I’m sure he must be single, they aren’t that stupid. At any rate, I’ll let you guys know what happens. But I wanted to ask you if anybody wants to go on a spa retreat with me this summer.”
“Is that something you’ve added to your list for this summer?” Linda asked.
“Yes, I think I’m done with the list but it’s so long, I know I’m going to have to tweak it. The summer is only so long.”
“How much is it, I want to go. Maybe I won’t kill anybody if I get away and relax for a few days” said Dot.
“Dorthea Hawkins, are you losing your cool as a cucumber demeanor?” Linda laughed.
“Girl, I don’t relax until I come here or go to church. At work, I’m being pulled in every direction. At home it’s too quiet and Darryl is out of town more than ever nowadays. Besides that, I think he’s going to move to Atlanta for good.” Dorthea’s twenty eight year old son, Darryl was a professional musician like his famous dad and traveled with his father as part of his band. Darryl spent a great deal of his childhood estranged from his father who was, at the time he and Dorthea dated, singing backup for a local celebrity who was a regular on the city’s nightclub circuit. They met when Dorthea joined coworkers to celebrate completing a month long project that resulted in bonuses for everyone. Doug was charming, handsome and serious about his singing. He asked Dorthea for her phone number that night after joining them when his set was done. He was impressed with her air of dignity while being able to laugh and converse with her friends and a stranger who imposed himself into their celebration.
Maya
In the month they’d been seeing each other Maya and Anthony had been spending a lot of time at either her suburban apartment or his downtown high rise condo. Maya knew it was selfish of her to impose on Anthony’s dinner with his father, but Friday had become their hang out with friends night and it was her turn to host. She’d invited a coworker to join her best friends Terri and Denise and Anthony was bringing three of his buddies. Diane would certainly carry the word back to the office that Maya had snagged a top catch. Anthony was handsome by any meaning of the word. And Maya was a sucker for a great mustache and perfect teeth, which Anthony had in spades. His hair and mustache were so black that when he wore a black shirt, he went beyond handsome. Maya saw women starring when they walked by. So the plan was to have dinner over by eight and be back at her place by eight thirty to greet her guests at nine.
Wednesday June 30th
They each indicated their willingness to proceed, which meant the mortgage application process was next. They’d been through this before. Four years ago, Linda had hatched the plan after a discussion revolving around the cycle of poverty as they saw it. Dee and Dot each voiced how fortunate they were to have had resources, support and a leg up when raising their children. It was agreed at that time, that they were in a position to be of help to someone else. That led to a brain storming session around specifically how they could assist others. The ladies considered buying and donating used cars to assist parents with getting to jobs and day care. Linda had been encouraging them to invest in real estate as part of their personal strategies for the future.
Delores
Dee’s Total Look is the place Delores Washington owns, but it doesn’t own her. She is determined to delegate more responsibility to her newly appointed manager and allow herself to have time for the rest of her life. In the early years, right after opening, she needed to be there at all times. Even after closing, there was cleaning to be done. And of course money was important and in short supply, so she took advantage of every opportunity to work. Looking back now, she’s very grateful that she now sets reasonable working hours and sticks to it rather than taking any and all requests for service, even if she didn’t leave the salon until midnight or very often much later. Like the Christmas Eve that she didn’t leave until 5am. By the time she got home, Anthony was up and tearing boxes open under the tree. Still those early years are the reason she’s still in business now, makes a comfortable living and actually enjoys life.
The word retirement has often crept into her consciousness lately. Butch has even been hinting about it; talking about extended vacations and how smoothly Barbara manages things on her own. Yeah, she’ll stick a pin in that and give it some real thought soon.
Today is Wednesday and Wednesday is club meeting day. She, her sister and a couple of friends from high school gather at the salon at 6pm, do each others hair, bring dinner, discuss life and their business ventures. Besides her husband Butch, club meeting was a major touch stone in her life. Once a week, this was the time to get centered, arrange priorities and have immediate feedback from people she trusted. The salon was closed, the last appointment available on a Wednesday 5pm for all but chemical services which could be scheduled no later than 4 pm. There had been plenty of attempts to challenge the rule, especially by new, young and arrogant stylists. But Dee had learned and heeded one of life’s lessons, if it’s important to you, and you don’t want to be asked to move a mile, don’t give an inch. So no matter what or who, the salon closes at 6pm on Wednesdays. They’d been doing this for fifteen years, the four of them. It started naturally out of convenience. Dee’s sister Vivian has a standing appointment at 5 on Wednesdays. Dot and Linda were regulars and the girls got together from time to time at each other’s houses or social events.
It was Vivian’s idea to set a regular day that all four could get together, then Dee decided to make it exclusive so that they could speak freely and cover all the topics they wanted.
Vivian was only 2 years younger than Delores and the two grew closer as the years progressed. Although Viv had a lesser interest than Dee in hair styling, she had learned some basics from Dee that allowed her to make some extra money in college, manage her daughter Maya’s thick, curly mane and be able to use the knowledge from time to time as a tool to make connections and communicate with some of her middle school students.
Wednesday June 5th
Dee stated for the 3rd time, “Aisha, the salon will be closing at 6 o’clock, no exceptions. You know that.”
“But I can probably be done by six fifteen at the latest”, Aisha said for the 4th time.
“Six fifteen is too late, I’m sorry. I cannot make an exception to the Wednesday closing time. You know there’re no restrictions for any other day of the week, but we close at 6 on Wednesdays, no matter what”
Delores had learned the hard way, never to give an inch on this matter. After the meeting, in the first year that ended up not happening because a 20 minute blow-and-go at 5:30 had turned into a relaxer, color and cut, Dee set Wednesday rules in writing, had a meeting with the staff and emphasized the rule with all new stylists, thereafter. But there were always challengers. Twenty year old neck swinging mini divas, the hetero pretty boys who always got their way with women and the homosexual Grand Divas who were on their way to Hollywood, so these minor rules were surely not intended to include them.
“Aisha, you’re going to get behind with your current appointments if you don’t hurry back. If you want me to be the one to tell Mrs. Stevens that you can’t fit her in today, I will.” Delores stood up from her desk and started toward the office door to indicate the end of the meeting.
It was her turn to bring dinner for the meeting so she needed to leave to pick up food she’d ordered from the new vegetarian restaurant in the next block. Food was a very important component of club meetings. Although all members were diet and weight conscious, boring food was not an option.
The new restaurant had provided menu samples to other businesses in the neighborhood and Dee was impressed with how good tofu could actually taste. And the Brown Rice Salad was truly awesome. Today, along with that salad, Dee had ordered a pizza and desert.
Vivian
Vivian Marie Valentine was having the best kind of day. The first day of summer vacation from school, beautiful weather for breakfast on the patio this morning, then yoga and lunch with Maya. And club meeting tonight.
Maya had even let her get a word in edgewise and pretended to be interested in Viv’s plans for the summer and assessment of how the past school year had gone. I made her this way, Vivian thought. I spoiled her and made decisions in deference to her wishes throughout her childhood, so now she thinks that’s normal and expects the world to do the same. Viv knew there was an ulterior motive for being asked to dinner with Maya and her new boyfriend; something way more selfish than just wanting to introduce her to Anthony.
But Viv had no doubt that he’d be pleasant and polite, and even if she didn’t care for him, dinner wouldn’t last more than a couple of hours. So they had a date; tomorrow at Frankie’s Steak House downtown.
With two hours until club meeting, Vivian was at the library stocking up on summer reading material. Her plans for the summer included nothing related to work. No educational materials, no lesson plans, no talking to or wishing to talk to any parents. The focus of this summer was going to be Vivian. This would be the first summer in who knew how many years that there were no tuition payments due. Free of tuition payments, for the first time since Maya was six years old. Private schools, then college in Florida, had been a struggle she’d been willing to bear for the sake of her daughter.
Doing it alone hadn’t been part of the plan when she and James had sat at their kitchen table, for the first time in the home they had purchased less than a week prior and put in writing the map of their lives. Vivian still had the paper, it wasn’t even as yellow and fragile as she thought is would be by this time, eighteen years later. They put the plan in their dresser so that it would be visible and available for reference or if needed, to settle any disagreements about what to do or where to go next. James was struck by a hit and run driver on his way to his car after work, six weeks later.
After the funeral, Vivian folded the plan and put it in the jewelry box her mother had given her for her sixteenth birthday. She took it out at least once a year to verify that she was not far off track from their original plans. There was no new and bigger house, no second child and no James but the spirit of the plan was preserved, if not the letter.
Tonight she’d share her summer plans with the girls and possibly get one of all of them to join her for a spa weekend in New York.
Dot
Dorthea Hawkins couldn’t wait to be done with work today. Stressful was one thing and she was used to that but today was a tad beyond the normal confusion, interruptions, near disasters and employee issues. “Yes, Dave I understand the gravity of the situation but today is Wednesday and you know that I must leave by 5 o’clock at the very latest”, Dot said in the firmest tone of voice she could muster. She had never explained why she needed to leave on time on Wednesdays, she knew they wondered, Dave, her boss and the whole department. They dared not ask her although from time to time, like today, they tested her resolution on the matter. Dorthea was nothing if not serious. Her professional demeanor was by the book and nonsense was not tolerated. Dorthea thought it best in the workplace. That way no lines got crossed, there was little chance of impropriety or the appearance of such. Also personal questions were minimized. Dot felt no compulsion to divulge, as she’d heard many coworkers do, the details of her home life. Club meeting was the time that she could fully be herself, her time to truly exhale. One day a week where she felt surrounded by love, trust and total acceptance. Even at church, her second home Dorthea was on guard lest anyone think she was weak in the spirit or capable of back sliding. And as head of the Mentorship Ministry, she wanted to be considered above reproach.
Dot organized her desk, retrieved her purse from her bottom drawer and took her keys in hand, all the while praying that all would be solved before she returned tomorrow. Before closing her office door, she said her usual prayer of thanks for having a job to be glad to leave every day.
Linda
“Not one closing all week is not a good thing” said Linda, thinking out loud. She was reviewing her personal calendar for the month and trying to determine how much her personal finances were being affected by the current slow real estate market. Not that she was worried. Linda just wanted to formulate a strategy for the rest of the year. As a real estate broker, Linda was considered highly successful and had flourished in slow markets over the years. Although none had been as bad as the past year, Linda felt that she was properly prepared to withstand even a few years at this pace. Preparing for the future had been her focus since high school. Her father emphasized the importance of being independent. Having her own money, car, house, savings or whatever. Lest she live at the mercy of anyone, let alone a husband, boyfriend or any man. Robert Dawson took his job as a single father very seriously and felt a duty to Linda’s deceased mother to do a good job of raising the daughter she died to deliver to the world.
The one very good thing about the current market was the opportunity to buy property at bargain prices. In this area, Linda’s careful planning and saving could pay off big time. The key to coming through this with the results Linda speculated were achievable was to balance purchases with income from current rental property so that there was no cash short fall. An appointment with her business coach/accountant was in order, she’d call to schedule that for her business and talk to the girls tonight about a venture she had in mind for the group. Four years ago, the Wednesday Club members had gone into business together with the goal of killing two birds with one stone by creating income opportunities for themselves, while helping others.
Packing her briefcase to leave for the day, she included the folder she’d put together with what she would be proposing at club meeting.
Wednesday June 23rd
Vivian arrived at Dee’s early, as usual and greeted the two stylists who were still preparing to leave for the day. She’d talked to Dee and knew that Aisha, who was sweeping hair from around her chair, had tried to squeeze in another client this afternoon and was probably not in the best mood, having been turned down in no uncertain terms. But Aisha smiled and waved at Viv, having accepted with resignation that there was just no way around this Wednesday closing time thing.
Aisha considered the older ladies just silly to need the shop cleared just so they could do each other’s hair and eat. Even if they want to be able to talk privately, they could do that at 6:30 just to let somebody have a chance to make some money.
By five forty five, the WC members were all assembled and had the salon to themselves. As usual, Viv and Dee shampooed Linda and Dot, applied conditioner and wrapped towels around their heads, and then they all gathered in the kitchen to eat and catch up on each other’s lives.
As soon as Dee had closed the door and locked it behind Carl, who was the last stylist to leave for the day, Dot had stepped over to the CD player and inserted one of their favorite compilations. Music was the other major component of club meetings, consisting mostly of what Maya called old school R&B. But the ladies were nothing if not eclectic; they listened to their share of Rap, Country, Reggae and Latin. But today, for Dot, some serious Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Luther therapy was in order.
“Ooh Dot, your nerves must really be fried today” Vivian offered. Normally, Dot preferred to start with a gospel selection, just to be sure the proper atmosphere was set.
“Yes ma’am, I’ve been pleading with God for strength all day long” Dot closed her eyes and silently thanked God for answering her prayers yet again today.
“Maya invited me to have dinner with her and a new guy on Friday.” Viv started the conversation. “I knew there was a catch but she didn’t reveal it when she asked me. She called me later to tell me that Anthony’s father was going to join us too. So I questioned her about how this dinner plan came about and found out that originally, Anthony and his father had a long standing plan to meet for dinner this Friday, then, he and Maya met and can’t stand to be away from each other long enough for him to spend time with his father without her. So it was her bright idea to con me into coming along.”
“Well, hopefully he’s a nice guy” said Dee.
“Who, Anthony or his dad”, asked Viv.
“The dad, maybe he’s nice and you’ll like each other and who knows.”
“Well, did anyone ask if the father was actually single”, this was Dot, ever the skeptic.
“You know, you have a point Dot, I just assumed if they were asking me along, that he was single. But you never know, they’re only thinking about themselves, especially Maya. But I’m sure he must be single, they aren’t that stupid. At any rate, I’ll let you guys know what happens. But I wanted to ask you if anybody wants to go on a spa retreat with me this summer.”
“Is that something you’ve added to your list for this summer?” Linda asked.
“Yes, I think I’m done with the list but it’s so long, I know I’m going to have to tweak it. The summer is only so long.”
“How much is it, I want to go. Maybe I won’t kill anybody if I get away and relax for a few days” said Dot.
“Dorthea Hawkins, are you losing your cool as a cucumber demeanor?” Linda laughed.
“Girl, I don’t relax until I come here or go to church. At work, I’m being pulled in every direction. At home it’s too quiet and Darryl is out of town more than ever nowadays. Besides that, I think he’s going to move to Atlanta for good.” Dorthea’s twenty eight year old son, Darryl was a professional musician like his famous dad and traveled with his father as part of his band. Darryl spent a great deal of his childhood estranged from his father who was, at the time he and Dorthea dated, singing backup for a local celebrity who was a regular on the city’s nightclub circuit. They met when Dorthea joined coworkers to celebrate completing a month long project that resulted in bonuses for everyone. Doug was charming, handsome and serious about his singing. He asked Dorthea for her phone number that night after joining them when his set was done. He was impressed with her air of dignity while being able to laugh and converse with her friends and a stranger who imposed himself into their celebration.
- Linda: Has he said he wants to live there permanently?
- Dot: He’s been hinting. He asked me some questions that sounded like he was thinking about buying a condo. And he loves having younger brothers and being around his dad. I can understand, after growing up with only his mother.
- Dee: Well you can borrow my youngest two anytime you want.
- Viv; But they’re almost out of the house too. David is in school on the other side of the country and Marcus will be going in a couple of months.
- Dot: And when they go, you’ll at least have Dave.
- Linda: Oh, Lord. Please don’t start with the I ain’t got no man mantra. Are you going to go with Viv or not? What dates Viv? I’ll go if I can.
- Dee: Me too. Just let me know when and where and I’m there.
- Viv: Everybody check your availability on the third weekend in July and I’ll take care of booking us. I found a couple of places in New York, you guys think we should see a show while we’re there too?
- Linda: Well, wait a minute. I have a proposal for us that may cut into some of our discretionary funds this summer. I’ve done some research and ran some numbers and I think we should do this.
- Dot: Do we need to decide today?
- Linda: We should, given the market, I don’t think there’s any real hurry but I’ve found a bargain that’s so good, I would want to lock it down this week to be on the safe side.
- Dee: Well, let’s clean the kitchen and you can explain to us while I do your hair.
- Linda: So, I told you guys I was going to be on the lookout for bargains since prices are falling so much. I thought we’d pick up one maybe two houses this year in the Royal Oak area and be able to get them rented immediately and that would have been awesome. Well, what I actually stumbled onto took that plan to a whole new level. What if I told you that we might be able to buy an apartment building?
- Dot: I’d say where do you think we’ll get that kind of money?
- Linda: Well, as it happens, single family houses aren’t the only properties that aren’t selling. Multi family units are sitting on the market for even longer and sellers who need to sell are even more desperate. There is an eight family unit for sale on Baker that we can definitely afford. I drove by to make sure it wasn’t a tear down and from what I can see, all the units are occupied, the windows have been replaced within the last few years and the without an inspection, I cant’ be sure but I didn’t detect any obvious issues with the roof. But even if the building isn’t in the best condition and needs some work, the price is right. Unless it is about to fall down, it is the bargain of the century.
- Viv: Exactly what do you mean by “We can afford it?” We won’t have to eat cat food in order to afford it, I take it.
- Linda: No, I mean that it is completely within our plans for this years spending anyway, we will need a mortgage but we were planning for that anyway. Because two of you four homes are paid, we have enough cash flow to put a sizable down payment on the building and be covered for monthly payments by the rents. We’d still be on track to pay off the house on Central in two years.
- Dee: But the reason we started buying in Royal Oak was to make affordable housing available to single parents in a good school district. If this place is already rented, what does that do to our plan?
- Dot: Yeah, even though ultimately these are great investments for us, we started it to help women who need the kind of break a decent place to live and a way to get to work while your kids are actually learning can give. What about that?
- Dee: I’m not saying we should just reject it, but I don’t want to get too far away from what we had in mind when we started.
- Linda: I thought about that and almost rejected the idea for that reason, but it really is a deal too good to pass up. So what I’m thinking is that as people move out, we’d still be able to offer units to our target group. In the meantime, this place comes with its own cash flow already in place. I talked to the listing agent yesterday to ask some questions. The seller lives in Florida, the manager lives in one of the apartments, he cuts the grass and does general maintenance and cleaning but he’s moving out of state now, so the owner wants to sell rather than be a long distance landlord with no one he trusts to watch the place. He’s had it on the market for ten months with no bites at what was considered fair market value, so this price is intended to get the place sold before the manager leaves in September. So that’s the first unit we’ll have available if we buy but we may need an onsite manager also.
- Dee: Okay, you said you crunched the numbers, so show us how this would work and let’s discuss all the pros and cons before we say yay or nay.
Maya
- Anthony: My father usually likes to make these monthly dinners a long affair. Dinner then drinks, maybe stop in at Arturo’s to hear some live jazz. He’ll know I want to cut it short if you’re there.
- Maya: Well he and my mother can keep each other occupied until dinner is over, then we can get together at my place. Then we will have both fulfilled our quality time with parents obligations for the month in one felled swoop.
In the month they’d been seeing each other Maya and Anthony had been spending a lot of time at either her suburban apartment or his downtown high rise condo. Maya knew it was selfish of her to impose on Anthony’s dinner with his father, but Friday had become their hang out with friends night and it was her turn to host. She’d invited a coworker to join her best friends Terri and Denise and Anthony was bringing three of his buddies. Diane would certainly carry the word back to the office that Maya had snagged a top catch. Anthony was handsome by any meaning of the word. And Maya was a sucker for a great mustache and perfect teeth, which Anthony had in spades. His hair and mustache were so black that when he wore a black shirt, he went beyond handsome. Maya saw women starring when they walked by. So the plan was to have dinner over by eight and be back at her place by eight thirty to greet her guests at nine.
Wednesday June 30th
- Linda: Now that our offer is accepted and the building has been inspected, I want to bring you guys up to speed so that we can decide whether or not we want to proceed with the sale. Dot and I both attended the inspection, which is great because we get at least two points of view. Let me go over the report first, then Dot and I can let you guys know what we think. Let me list the good news first. I was worried about things like electrical wiring, plumbing, the furnace and the roof. According to the inspection, the wiring is in good shape and every unit is up to code so that we don’t need to upgrade whenever an apartment turns over. The furnace is new as of two years ago, and the plumbing was rehabbed within the last 10 years. So those are major issues off the table. However, per the inspector, the roof does need to be replaced. There are signs of recent patching but he recommends a complete tear off within the next couple of years at the latest. Then there are the windows; the first floor windows were replaced last year. I think the seller was planning to do the second floor within the next year or so. So that means the entire 2nd floor needs new windows but they aren’t exactly falling out of the sashes, they’re just old and let in a lot of air. As far as the individual units go, the bones are good but the building is old so the fixtures and finishes are outdated. Otherwise, it’s a good sound building and I say we go ahead.
- Dot: Each unit has a living room and dining room, two bedrooms and an eat-in kitchen, which I was surprised to find. And the one bathroom is bigger than I expected too. I was very impressed with them because I was expecting a lot less.
- Dee: In the other places, we remodeled the kitchens and baths, are we going to do that for eight apartments?
- Linda: We wouldn’t do that all at once, especially since all the units are occupied except the one that the manager is leaving. We need to consider the fact that the cost of replacing the roof and windows will prevent us from being able to do much in the way of reno for at least a few years. On the other hand, we have eight, two bedroom apartments in the best school district for the money and within walking distance of public transportation.
- Viv: But if the units are occupied, it doesn’t help us help the people we want. I mean, how long have each of the current tenants been there? How often would a unit be available that we could put someone into?
- Dee: And if we are doing this for the money, does that change our focus for the future?
- Linda: I don’t think so. First of all, it will create a great deal of cash flow that we can use to either fund other purchases or renovations on other places. Second, we will always replace tenants with our target tenant. Each of the current tenants have been in their apartment for at least two years and the longest is 7 years. He’s elderly, though healthy and will likely be there for the duration. As far as the others, in my opinion, they aren’t likely to do anything in the current economic climate, so I’d be surprised if we have more than two units available within the next year or so. For sure, the manager is leaving but for all we know, the others will be there for the next few years. But they all pay rent on time. That means we don’t have any lag time for money to roll in to pay the mortgage. And no that front, what I’m hoping is that we will have three rents over and above out mortgage payment. We will be immediately building our cash back up to replace the down payment.
- Dee; But what about the manager, who’s going to do what he did? If we have to pay someone, that cuts into our cash too.
- Dot: I was thinking about that. I don’t think it would be hard to replace him. If we do this, I’ll put an ad in the church newsletter. A free apartment in exchange for general upkeep is a great offer. I wish I could take it.
- Linda: So what do you guys say? The price is right, no matter that it needs a roof and windows. But if you don’t think we should do it, we can decline to purchase based on the inspection.
They each indicated their willingness to proceed, which meant the mortgage application process was next. They’d been through this before. Four years ago, Linda had hatched the plan after a discussion revolving around the cycle of poverty as they saw it. Dee and Dot each voiced how fortunate they were to have had resources, support and a leg up when raising their children. It was agreed at that time, that they were in a position to be of help to someone else. That led to a brain storming session around specifically how they could assist others. The ladies considered buying and donating used cars to assist parents with getting to jobs and day care. Linda had been encouraging them to invest in real estate as part of their personal strategies for the future.