The Beginning Page 4

  “See, there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Jerome said. “I take good care of her. If it’s got an engine I can make it run.”

  “That’s incredible,” Frankie said. “Do you just have a natural knack for mechanics?”

  “Well, yes sir, ever since I was little. I’m trying to go to school to become an engineer.”

  “Wonderful,” Frankie said.

  “Trying? If you don’t mind me asking,” I corrected myself.

  “No, I don’t mind. I didn’t know what I wanted to do right after high school, I was lucky I finished high school. So, I just worked here and kept dating my high school sweetheart, Marcella. Finally, about six years ago I decided I wanted to become an engineer so I can take care of these rides. I started one class at a time, you know. Take it slow, keep the costs down.”

  “I understand,” Frankie said.

  “But then, we discovered that Marcella was pregnant. Well, I ain’t a man who shirks his responsibilities. We got married. My first child was born a little bit after. Little boy. We named him Marcus. After he was born I kept on doing one class at a time. Still trying, you know.”

  We both nodded at him and waited. I mean, there had to be more. Right?

  “Then about two years later Eric was born. Then a year later my little girl was born. The Lord almost took her from us both before and after she was born so we named her Angela, because she was given to us by God.” He had tears in his eyes as he was telling his story.

  “She’s ok now?” I asked.

  “She’s ok. Gets sick more than other babies, though.”

  “Does your wife work?” Frankie asked.

  “No, sir. Marcella takes care of the children and the home. She was a teacher until Marcus was born. Now we say she has a class of three, Marcus, Eric, and Angela,” Jerome said.

  “My daughter is also named Angela and she’s my youngest,” I said.

  “And is this your husband?” Jerome asked.

  “No”, I said blushing, “this is my son. His name is Frankie.”

  Jerome looked a little embarrassed. “I beg your pardon, ma’am, but you don’t look old enough to be his mama.”

  “I had him very early in my life. My name is Misty.”

  “How do you do ma’am.”

  We shook hands across horses. His hands were rough. Definitely the hands of a man who worked with his hands for a living. I got the feeling I was really going to like Jerome.

  We heard someone shouting off in the distance.

  “Jerome,” Frankie said, “I think that man is trying to get your attention.”

  Sure enough there was a man waving his arms and yelling Jerome’s name. Jerome jumped down from his horse and stopped the ride.

  “Jerome,” the guy yelled,” it’s time for your lunch break.”

  “Ok, Bobby, thank you,” Jerome not so much yelled but simply annunciated, his voice carried beautifully. He then jumped down and stopped the ride. Frankie and I dismounted our horses and joined him.

  “Jerome,” Frankie said, “thank you so much for the ride. Can we buy you lunch? We’d love to talk to you some more, learn more about the park.”

  “Well, thank you, sir, that’s very generous, but we all get to eat here for free. The food is awful, but you can’t beat the price,” he said smiling.

  “In that case, may we join you?” Frankie asked.

  Jerome shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “If you want to eat lousy food, you are welcome to join me.”

  The three of us walked together to the section of the park called Western Planet. It was quite a walk, but Jerome explained that he goes there because it’s the only place the health inspector hasn’t closed down even once.

  Frankie and I ordered exactly what Jerome ordered; a tuna sandwich, a bag of chips, and a bottled beverage. We found a clean table and sat down. We ate our lunch in silence for a few moments. I was examining the place. It wasn’t too bad; it was just really run down and in need of a paint job and a good scrubbing.

  “Last night at the restaurant I heard you talking. I heard you say that you were having a hard time making ends meet and I wanted to help you,” I said handing Jerome a folded up bill that he could not see was a fifty.

  “No, thank you, ma’am. I can’t take charity.” I could see sadness in his eyes as he said this. I got the feeling he wanted to take the money, but his pride wouldn’t let him.

  “Ok, it’s a tip for being our VIP tour guide today,” Frankie said. “Can you show us around the park? Maybe teach us about it, share its history?” Damn my son was clever.

  “I can do that. I am supposed to make my rounds after lunch and check on the rides. I’ll take you folks with me. Then I’ll take that tip after I’ve earned it.”

  “It’s a deal,” I said, smiling at Jerome.

  “Frankly, the best thing anyone can do for me, for us, is to buy this park and fix it up,” Jerome said.

  “Is it for sale?” Frankie asked.

  “No, sir, not really. The problem is that Mr. Neuspech, the park owner that is, well his wife’s family wants him to sell the park so they can have the half they think she should have had. They think it’s worth a lot more than it probably is. Mr. Neuspech wants to sell because he doesn’t want the place anymore, but he doesn’t want to give her family any money since she left him and disappeared.”

  “Interesting,” Frankie said. I looked at him. When Frankie said something was interesting, he meant that he really was interested. I knew his wheels were turning. He pulled out his phone and started tapping on the screen.

  “You won’t get much of a signal out here. And we don’t have wifi. There is internet, but only on company computers,” Jerome informed Frankie.

  “My phone is very strong, Jerome,” Frankie said smiling.

  We finished our lunches and began our tour of the park by following Jerome on his afternoon rounds. We got to hear stories from the park’s hay day. We learned a lot about the park and how it operates.

  For example, the park was set up hub and spoke style with the Sun being the center. However the different planets had no official pathways leading between them. So anytime you wanted to go to a different planet, you had to return to the Sun first. Jerome thought the original idea was to keep people from getting lost. Of course over the years dirt pathways had been made through the trees to connect the planets to each other. The guests and probably some of the employees saw to that.

  We also learned from Jerome that the employees did not have their own break rooms. So they had nowhere to escape the guests. Instead, they had old lockers from the high school that they could use when they worked. Nor did anyone get uniforms or name tags. There was no real way to know who worked here and who didn’t. Jerome seemed to take everything in stride, but most of the employees were either rude or bored. Some were on the cell phones. A few were even asleep, literally, at their posts.

  Our first impression of the park was reinforced more and more as we explored with Jerome. The paint was peeling or gone everywhere. Signs were falling down or had fallen down. The few signs that were still up were very hard to read. Much of the metal looked rusted and dangerous. I felt sadder and sadder the more I saw and the more I learned. A once glorious place was now trash and rubble.

  Frankie, however, just looked more and more like a cat about to pounce on his prey. He was eager and asked Jerome all kinds of questions. Some of which even Jerome didn’t know the answer to. Once in a while Frankie would pull out his phone, take a picture, and tap something in to his phone. I had no idea what he was doing, but I knew he was up to something and I couldn’t wait to find out.

  At the end of the tour Frankie and I thanked Jerome. I handed him the bill I tried to give him earlier and he accepted it. Then we slowly walked back to my car. Slowly, because Frankie kept stopping to take pictures and tap on the screen of his phone.

  Once we were in the car I looked at Frankie and said, “What the hell were you up to?”

  “We’re going to buy
it,” he said.

  I looked at him, “Buy what?”

  “The park.”

  “Adventure Planet? This park?”

  He just looked at me and nodded his head, “Yeah.”

  “What, are you insane?”

  “No, I’m a genius.”

  “There’s a fine line, kiddo.”

  “Mom, don’t yell at me. I have a plan. We’re coming back tomorrow with a couple of friends of mine and they’re going to take a look at the park. They’re already on their way to the airport or in their cars.”

  “Oh, my God, Frankie.” I was panicking. Had my son lost his sanity?

  “It’ll be ok, Mom. Let’s go have dinner.”

  In the restaurant, I couldn’t focus. My head was spinning. What the hell was he thinking? Buy the park? And do what with it? Demolish it? Blow it up? It’s a huge mess. It’s falling apart. Frankie meanwhile just remained calm and tapped at his phone while he ate his dinner.

  Once again I was listening to conversations at the same restaurant as last night. My attention was focused on the conversation at the table next to me.

  “Listen, to me George, you’re my lawyer, you do what I say. I need to sell the place now. I can’t do it anymore.”

  “Adolf, if you sell the place now, her family gets half. Besides it’s not worth much”

  Was this Adolf Neuspech, the owner of Adventure Planet? Did he want to sell? My ears perked up.

  “She doesn’t legally own the park.”

  “No, but as your wife she is entitled to half.”

  “They don’t deserve it, she doesn’t deserve it. I can’t believe they think I killed that cheating little bitch.”

  “So you can’t sell. Let it run itself in to the ground. It will become worthless, you can declare bankruptcy, get a tax right off, and her family gets nothing,” George said.

  And all those people will be out of a job, was my thought.

  “But I want out now. I want to get out of here. Her memory is everywhere. I have to go I can’t live like this anymore,” Adolf whined.

  I was starting to feel sorry for the man. He was clearly upset.

  “Well, I don’t see another way,” lawyer George said.

  “You hear all the time about people selling valuable things for one dollar just to piss off their ex. Why can’t I do that?”

  “Those are urban legends, Adolf, people don’t really do that,” George said.

  “I will.” Adolf stood up and announced, “I am willing to sell Adventure Planet right now to the first person who puts a one dollar bill in my hand.”

  Frankie had the bill in his had before the man finished is sentence. I didn’t even know he was listening.

  “He didn’t mean it”, lawyer George said to Frankie. George tried to take the bill from Adolf and give it back to Frankie but Adolf was gripping it too tightly.

  “Yes, I did. And all these people here are my witnesses,” Adolf said.

  Frankie held up his phone. “And I’m streaming it live as well as recording it,” he said smiling.

  Adolf pulled a notebook out of his briefcase. Then he announced, “everyone who would like to be a witness to this sale, please line up and sign here. “

  “What’s your name?” he said turning to Frankie. Adolf waved at the camera.

  “Frank Summer Jr. Add the name Misty Summer too. She’s the co-owner.”

  “Frankie!” No, no, no, was all I could think.

  “It’s ok, Mom. Trust me.” He touched my hand and I felt a little better. He was smart, I should trust him. But, still…

  Adolf wrote a few lines on the top of the sheet of paper in the notebook. It said:

  I, Adolf Neuspech, herby sell Adventure Planet and all of its lands and assets to Frank Summer Junior and Misty Summer for the sum of one dollar on this date...

  Adolf signed it. Frankie signed it. I signed it. George refused to sign. He kept trying to protest and Adolf kept telling him to shut up. George looked surprised; I guess Adolf never talked back to him before.

  And then the line began. Every patron in that restaurant signed it. In fact it seemed to me that some people may have called their friends so they could come and sign it. After everyone signed, the restaurant manager made photocopies for us. Frankie photographed it and sent a copy to someone. Then he and Adolf shook hands and set up an appointment to meet at George’s office the following morning.

  I watched it all as if in a blur. What was Frankie thinking? What was I thinking? I was excited. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that park. I must be losing my sanity. I’m supposed to go to Orlando. I’m supposed to work in a theme park, not own one.

  This isn’t what was supposed to happen, was all I could think all night. This isn’t what was supposed to happen.

  Chapter 5: Deal Maker

  Morning took way, way too long to arrive. After dinner Frankie and I went to our separate rooms and I did not see or hear from him all night. I was excited; I liked the idea of fixing up Adventure Planet. It had been years since I’d had a major challenge. I really liked the idea of restoring the park to its former glory. It would never be up to the standards of the famous Florida theme parks, but it could still be a great family destination. And yet all I could think was; this wasn’t supposed to happen.

  I dreamed a lot that night. I dreamed of employees in their clean, neat uniforms putting happy families on safe, attractive rides. I saw blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and green grass. Children were running with balloons in their hands. Parents were laughing and running after them on their way to their next ride or show. There was a six-foot teddy bear walking around. The children loved him.

  Then there was the other half of the night. The half where the rides were falling apart and people were running away screaming. Where people were getting sick from food poisoning. Where the carousel horses were falling to pieces. Where the guests were pounding on my office door demanding their money back.

  Wait. Someone really was pounding on my door. I opened my eyes. Well, maybe it wasn’t pounding so much as knocking.

  “Mom, are you up yet? We gotta go soon. It’s a big day,” the pounder yelled through the door.

  Oh, it was just Frankie. And he wasn’t demanding his money back. I looked at my clock. Six am. Was he insane? There was no way we were meeting with the lawyer this early. I got up and let him in to check his sanity.

  “You could have used your key,” I said.

  “Yeah, but I didn’t know if you wore pajamas and I didn’t want to be embarrassed.”

  I just shook my head. “What do you mean we have to go, it’s only six?” I said.

  “Oh, didn’t I tell you.”

  I looked at him and took a deep breath. “Didn’t you tell me what?”

  “I’ve got a couple of business associates who are going to the park with us before it opens. Jerome is going to meet us there and let us in so we can really inspect the place before the meeting.”

  A couple of business associates. In Frankie’s world a couple usually meant anywhere between one and one hundred. Wait, did he say Jerome was letting us in?

  “Frankie, when did you talk to Jerome? How did you get his number?”

  “I got his number during one of your many trips to the bathroom. He really knows his stuff, Mom. Anyway, he can’t wait to help us. Especially because he wants to save the park as much as we do. So get dressed and I’ll meet you in the lobby in fifteen minutes.”

  “Fifteen minutes?”

  “Yes, fifteen minutes. Now get moving.”

  With that he left. I just stared at the door. I never get dressed in fifteen minutes. What was he thinking? Well, I’d try, because really, I knew better than to question him. Even though I usually did anyway. Once in a while I just had to remind him who’s the parent and who’s the kid.

  I knew from almost the beginning that my son was some kind of genius. He was reading the financial section of the paper as soon as he could read, and he could read at age three. He was giving h
is father and I accurate stock advice not too long after that. He graduated high school at age fifteen and business school at eighteen. People from all over the world asked him for his financial advice. He’s had job offers from all over the world too. He could have worked anywhere he wanted too. And yet, he stayed in Pennsylvania. I always wondered why he never left. I’m sure I would have.

  When I met Frankie in the lobby, he was sitting and talking to about six people. Six very important looking people. I wondered if they spent the night here and if they did how much of a shock it was to their systems. They all stopped talking and looked my way. I just smiled and said hello.

  “Mom, I’m glad you’re ready. Let me introduce you. Everyone, this is my mother. Mother, this is Don Haskle. He owns a construction company. He’s built a lot of buildings that you’ve heard of.”

  Really, I thought, because I’d never heard of him.

  “This is Frank Driscole. Frank is a city planner from you know where.”

  I didn’t know but I didn’t want to insult the man.

  “This is Donald MacGilvey. He is a real estate investor.”

  Never heard of him either.

  “This is Chef Michael LaGivens. He owns several restaurants you’ve heard of. He also has a TV series.”

  Ok, I think I’ve seen him on TV.

  “This is Emeril Fontaine. He designs thrill rides for theme parks and amusement parks worldwide.”

  Never heard of him, but it didn’t sound like I should have either.

  “And finally this is Rosemary Thyme. She is a very famous botanist. She also designs some beautiful gardens all over the world.”

  Nope, never heard of her either, but I thought the name was great. One out of six isn’t bad, is it?

  I shook hand with everyone and we exchanged the “nice to meet you’s”. I hadn’t heard of most of them, but that was ok. I was still very impresses by my son’s ability to gather them all up at a moment’s notice.

  “Where’s Pete?” I asked Frankie. Pete was Frankie’s lawyer. Somehow he was the only one I was expecting to see today.

  “Pete’s meeting us at Adolph’s lawyer, George’s office. He’s preparing al the legal stuff before the meeting. Our agenda is to tour the park and get a realistic picture of what is wrong with it. And how much it will cost to fix as well as how long it will take.”