A Fond Farewell Before A New Beginning

The hiring sign was in the window and again kids came in, the ones who hadn't got a clue how to install anything, Louise pointed out.

They were running out of time, so Toby got on the phone and called his friend from Fields and Son. Robert Johnson, figuring he may want an inside job. 

"He was a good worker, respected, and not bad looking," he was telling Louise as he called. It was three in the afternoon. He didn't think he would get him, but he would leave a message for him to call him. Rob called and wanted him to be on the soundstage in five days. They had no idea if he could even act, and the system sales kept coming so he had to be replaced.

"Hello."

"Yeah, Bob this is Toby."

"Hey, dude how's it hanging," Bob asked, and Toby was glad this was not on speakerphone.

"I'm great as a matter of fact. Where are you?"

"I'm at my job site. I have been framing houses this past year."

"Sounds like hell out in the sun."

"You know it, so what are you doing and what do you need?"

"Wow blunt," Toby chuckled to lighten the mood.

"Well, I have a pit bull of a boss staring at me right now."

"Well quit and come work where I am. That is what I'm calling you about. I need someone to take my place. I have been working at a good-paying job in the A/C. I got an offer for a new job, one I just can't pass up, but I don't want to leave them in a bind. I thought of you to take my place. As long as you're not doing drugs and can pass a background check."

"You know I don't use it and I'm clean. None of these builders want men who are going to steal from them or fall off the walls from a stupor."

"I know, but I had to ask. So, quit and we can work together for a week, and you can get the lay of the place before I have to leave."

"Is the pay good?"

"Much better than at Fields, yes, and it is clean and cool. Just think no more bam, bam, bam, of the nail gun."

"Ok, give me the address and a time," Bob said, and Toby put his thumb up and gave him the information.

He may need to teach him to watch his mouth. He is used to working around pigs, but he is a good man, dependable, and prompt or he wouldn't have worked at Fields for long. Bob can do this job easily. He did what Toby did just in the next assembly area. Toby assured himself as he scanned the showroom. He was going to miss this place and the people the most. He felt loved for the first time in his life, and it felt good, and he didn't want to lose that. 

*

Toby watched as Bob walked across the parking lot. He hated that he was giving away his perfect life today. He told him 10:30 and on the dot he was there. Good start. His first install was at noon or thereabouts. The man told him he was going to meet him during his lunch break. He lived in one of those high-rise apartments on the seventh floor. He bought a seventy-two-inch curved screen after they discussed the distance and the main use for the set-up. Toby was very interested to see how this man lived. He wants to see if this man can talk the talk and walk the walk. Another line from a movie he thought as he approached the front of the store. 

Bob looked good, very tan, and well-dressed, another plus. He looked back and saw Alli, and Liz straightening their clothes and smiled. They were always on the hunt. He came in doing the happy-to-see-you punch on the arm, grinning like a goof, and a bro hug for his greeting. 

"It is good to see you," Toby told him, "I love this job and I hope you will too." Letting him soak it all in he walked him to Louise's office as Bob scanned the place. 

"Then why are you leaving it?" Bob asked as he looked the place over. "Wow, nice setup."

"It is and the people are wonderful, and why I'm leaving is a long story I'll explain later," Toby said, dismissively of the reason but every time he thinks about the reason his heart pounds and he wants to cry. He can't believe he is leaving them. He knows he has a good heart otherwise he would have had a heart attack by now. 

He introduced Bob to the girls as Louise calls them. They were a few years past being girls but compared to Louise they were babies. Toby kept going as Bob finished his handshakes. Tapping on Louise's door, he knew she saw him coming. When he opened the door, she had Travis sitting on her desk. They seemed to be having a serious conversation. She smiled and Travis squealed at seeing his daddy. As Bob followed him in, he did a double take. 

"Wow, you have been busy, I didn't know you got married," Bob said as Toby went to pick up his son before he crawled off the desk.

"Oh no, he couldn't do something that easy," Louise said and stood to shake hands. "I'm Mrs. Polanski or Louise if you want. Toby has talked you up, so I expect a lot from you," Louise told Bob as she handed him a stack of papers. "Normally I'd have you go for drug testing first, but Toby wants you to start training now, so when you get back, I need you to do that test. 

Meanwhile, fill out this new hire file. I have to have you on the payroll before you can go out with Toby," Louise told him. She was pleased so far. He was a nice-looking man and seemed decent and friendly, with a great smile, and a nice tan. She could tell he had been working outside. He looked rugged. He won't be the draw like Toby was, but he wasn't scary either like the last guy. 

"Give me the paper and I'll take him by, after the install, I know where it is," Toby suggested as Bob sat down and started filling out the paperwork. 

"Ma'am I have never done drugs, my oldest brother had... well has a drug problem. I saw how it destroyed his life and vowed to never be that stupid. Never been arrested nor had a moving violation ticket. I did get a parking ticket once in downtown Dallas. Toby knows he was there when we had been out." 

She saw Toby nudge his shoulder to stop his story. She laughed and said, "I raised two sons and know what kind of trouble you guys can find."

"Yeah anyways, Toby actually paid it because he told me it would be Ok to park there," Bob offered and went back to the paperwork. She could tell even the parking ticket upset him. If only her sons would have reacted like that. What had she done wrong? 

Louise knew it had to have been well over a year ago because Toby was not the go-out-and-have-fun kind of guy as of late. He should be married with three kids and a pretty wife. That is the kind of man he is if he could find someone he could trust.

"So, Bob, are you a married man?"

"No, not me. Almost once, she found someone who made more money. She saw potential in him. I hear she is divorced with three kids now. She made a bad choice."

"So, Toby has a son?" 

"Yes, and he will tell you all about him coming into his life later. He has had an interesting year," Louise said, leaving it up to Toby to explain what was going on. 

A few minutes later he passed her his paperwork and looked over the monitors that covered the store, the back door, the parking lot, and what looked to be the staging area where the truck sat. 

"You keep a close eye on things," Bob pointed out.

"I do and I have a button to lock the door and another to call the police. Toby busted up an attempted robbery even before he started working here. It was kind of like today he was still filling out paperwork and some punks came in looking for trouble. All he did was walk out into the showroom and they took off. We don't keep money here, period. Everything is done by credit cards."

"I wouldn't want to take him on because he is strong. We always teased him about taking steroids, but that isn't him."

"No, he does pull-ups in the back room," Louise said, pointing at the garage area on the monitor. So, my offer is seventeen an hour. I give five percent commission on sales. The girls will teach you all about our merchandise. Twenty-two an hour for installs. Toby has it set up, so he only does installs a couple of times a week. The winter holidays are slammed. He was installing systems every day all day."

The pay was Ok, and he wasn't going to get rich here, but the environment was better and maybe he would meet someone rich here. He could be a kept man, Bob thought. 

"Go on out and let them show you around," Louise suggested. 

He left the office and Louise picked up the phone and called her security company to get a verbal background check. She hoped he was good and she liked him. He was easy to talk to, she hoped he checked out. 

* 

"He is good. Has only lived in the Dallas area and has nothing against him in the last seven years. His credit is decent, he is good," the security agency assured her. 

"Ok, great thanks." Looking up at the monitors she wanted to see where they were. Noticing the time, Toby was already loading the van with the order. She was going to miss him when he was gone. He is a good and loyal person. At this point, she was closer to him than her own shit sons. At least he will listen to her and act on her suggestions. Her sons look at her as if she were an idiot to suggest anything. They only need her money when they screw up. 

She sells a good quality product at a good profit, so she has money, and they know it. The rich will pay well for hassle-free service. She knew she was one of them until her husband died. He was the breadwinner and had done well all their lives. He was retired from his other business and the theater store had been his new endeavor. Now her life is up to her. 

She saw that they were about to take off and she still had Bob's shirt in her hand. She quickly went to the back and tossed him his shirt. Making their way back to her office they watched as he changed his shirt. They all agreed he was not bad, but Toby was better. This group had been through six installers they all left for different reasons, but Toby was the most unique. They hope he becomes a movie star, and he will let them come to his opening. That would be exciting, Alli added. 

* 

"You know that proves, just because you have money doesn't mean you're a decent person," Bob said after Toby explained how he ended up with his son. 

"So true, then her father came up to the store to make sure I wasn't going to ask for child support," Toby told him, making the turn to the high-rise apartments. "Again, it was the money he was concerned about. Not that they planned to abandon his grandchild to the state." He put the van in park and exited when he hadn't gotten five feet, when a man dressed like a New York doorman in the movies he has seen, charged out to the van.

"You have to move and park at the service entrance. You're delivering something, right?" He asked, scanning the road concerned that someone who lived here may drive up and be inconvenienced.

"Yes, the seventh floor," Toby told him.

"Right, go to the side and you'll see the sign. The elevator is bigger so if you go left and the numbers go higher right, lower left," the doorman told them and sent them on their way. 

"You always have to remember you're the help. Be respectful and clean up after yourself as much as possible. Don't listen to some maid who says leave the box, I'll toss it. The owners don't want the box advertising they have anything new to alert burglars. Bring the boxes back to the store and put them in our dumpster. I have had a few ask me to take away the old TV, those are usually worn-out crap, and we toss those too," Toby told him as they collected the system to be installed. Toby carried the big screen, his tool bag hanging over his shoulder as Bob carried the three other components. 

"So, I was installing a system in this fancy house and Alli came with me. She is the dark-haired one," he was telling Bob now that he finished telling him how he found his son. He had to explain why he was leaving this job he seemed to love. "And the person who came out the door was Missy Collins the actress," he told him not knowing if he would know who that was, he hadn't.

"Really, what is she doing in town," Bob asked as they exited the elevator. Toby was thrilled he knew who she was. He was far more worldly than he was.

"Yeah, they are making a movie around here and looking for people to be in it," Toby told him as he knocked. 

The man answered the door, smiling. It kind of faded when he saw Bob. That answers the question of whether he was gay. He was hoping to get Toby alone. Maybe he thought he could work some magic and turn him to his side in minutes. 

"Hi! Mister, Menconi I hope we aren't too late, we kind of got the runaround by the doorman. This is Bob. I'm moving on at the end of the week to a new job, so he will be in training with me today."

"Oh, I should have warned you about the delivery situation here, sorry," he told them, directing them to the room he wanted the system set up in. 

"Not a problem. So, show me where you want this and we'll be out of your hair quick," Toby offered. 

As Toby opened the box from around the big screen Bob asked, "You're not quitting this job to be an extra in her movie, are you? That won't last long."

"No, the producer was there too. Two weeks later they tracked me down at the store and offered me the lead male role in their movie," Toby said and watched his jaw drop and then he laughed. "That is what I did too," Toby said as Mister Menconi moved closer to hear this story. 

"I didn't know you were an actor," Bob asked, still shocked at what he was hearing. 

"I'm not, and that was the craziest thing about them asking me. The director is Rob Stringer, you know the Vampire movie director. He said he would work with me and that I was perfect for the part. He can't find anyone he likes better than me. Apparently, my build and appearance are what they want. Believe me, I fought him, but that Missy girl is determined that I can do it."

"Kind of like Marilyn Monroe, they found her in a drug store and offered her a role," Menconi added, very interested in the conversation.

"Yeah, one of the ladies I work with brought her up also. I'm not going to kill myself," Toby shot back. Alli told him how she ended up. Very sad but that was not him. He also didn't see him having sex with the President. That gave him the shivers. 

"I hope not, where would your son be?" Bob asked.

"That is a good question. I'll have to work on that. Anyways," he said, running the stud finder over the wall. He hadn't thought about what would happen to Travis if he died from some freak accident. Finding the stud, he marked the wall as the two men waited for him to finish this fascinating story. Picking up the bracket he measured the height from the floor to center it.

"The storyline is about an ex-Navy Seal back in the States and he is now working for a security company, and they put him as a bodyguard for Missy's character," he explained, "Beyond that I haven't read the script." 

"So, are you going to be kissing Missy Collins?" Bob asked.

"I think so, but like I said I haven't read the script. Starting Wednesday my Agent said I will receive the same pay extras are paid until the filming starts. Then they will work with me to act the parts correctly. They are still finding the other actors for the film. If it falls apart, I'll find another job here in town," Toby said so Bob wouldn't feel like he would lose his job.

"Nah, those ladies love you and Travis. I'll find another job if this falls apart," Bob offered.

"Well, it was Louise's pushing me to take this job, so she knew the chance she was taking."

"And she expects you to do well," Bob reminded as he helped place the screen on the wall.

"Oh, this is so exciting. If you become famous, I can tell everyone you installed my system," Menconi gushed.

"True," Toby said as he and Bob held the screen and Toby slipped the L iron in the slot. A few more plugs and the installation was done. Toby stood back waiting for the cable connection to activate. Bob was breaking down the boxes and rolled them into a nice bundle. They had three more systems to install this week so he could still learn more tomorrow. He is lucky to have someone to teach him, Toby only had Louise and the paperwork from the boxes as his teacher.

* 

"You make sure you call us often and let us know how it is going. If you ever need someone to take care of Travis, call me. You know how much I love that boy," Louise said, looking like she was going to cry as they prepared to leave. 

"Just do your best and try your hardest as you already do sweetie. This could be very good for you," Louise told him and pulled him into a hug. "Come back rich and I'll let you buy the store from me. I can retire and you can make a good living," Louise said, as she cupped his cheeks looking up into his handsome face. She was the last of the group to tell him goodbye after a small potluck party when the store closed. 

 "That sounds like a deal. Remember, you talked me into this and if I bomb, I'm coming for you," he teased and hugged her tightly. "No, I know I can do this. Like Missy said, all I must do is react how I would if this was happening to me. I think I can do that. I have been in a lot of strange situations lately." 

*

Toby took Travis home; they were an hour or so late and Regina was out the door as he walked by. It had to be a hundred and two today. The late summer sun was still high in the evening sky. Toby was in no mood for Regina, he needed to think not entertain her. Travis' and his world changed, now he needs all his wits about him to walk into that new world tomorrow. 

"Regina I'm not trying to be rude, but I have to be up and going early so we are going to try to go to sleep as early as possible," Toby told her as Travis betrayed him reaching for Regina. 

Taking Travis from him she followed them in ignoring his statement as he opened his door. Travis wanted down the moment he saw his toys piled on the floor. She did his bidding and followed Toby into the kitchen to watch him make their dinner. But tonight, he was putting away containers of leftovers. 

The need to know what is going on was eating at her. Things have been different with Toby lately, he has been preoccupied, moody, and as of tonight, very late coming home. 

"So, you have already eaten,"

"Yes, and we need to get ready for bed," Toby said very dismissively as he closed the refrigerator door. "I'm starting a new job tomorrow," he told her, just pulling off the band-aid to get the fit over. 

She was shocked and it took her a second to respond. "You quit working for Ms. Louise?" 

"Yes, she told me to take it, so yes. Tomorrow I start my new job. The money is better so I can get a bigger place for Travis and I. You know he must be my priority. I have to do what is best for us."

"Sure, I understand, so what are you going to be doing?" She asked, following him into the living room. 

"I met some people who are making a movie in town, and they need help."

"Oh, like with the sets and stuff that sounds fun."

"Yeah, that is what Louise said, I argued with her. She thought I would enjoy doing that, plus she isn't selling many systems right now." 

"Oh, so you plan on going back when they are done with the movie."

Toby smiled; he could see himself back there in a week looking for a job again. What makes him think he could act? "Yeah, that's the plan," he told her and really wanted her to leave. He was exhausted from pure nerves, and she was getting on his last one. He hated to leave the store, and this had better turn out well because he was scared he would blow this.