“It ain’t every day a white lady comes by here,” another said.
“Well,” I said, “this house belongs to her now. But she doesn’t want to kick you out.”
“She doesn’t?”
“She’s got a soft spot for boys on a rough road.”
“Lucky for us,” one of the boys said, and laughed.
The oldest one rose his hands. “Wait a minute. If she ain’t kicking us out, what is she doing?”
“That will be up to her, but I imagine she’ll want what’s best for you.”
“What’s best for us?”
“Yes. So as of now, you’re all good to stay here, as long as you stay enrolled in the high school, and maintain good enough grades to graduate.”
“That ain’t hard,” the oldest boy said.
“Good. I’ll make it your responsibility to make sure everyone’s taking school seriously. If anyone flunks out or gets in trouble, I’ll need to know.”
The boy shrugged.
“What’s your name?” I said to him.
“Arnold.”
“All right, Arnold. My name’s Grant. This is the deal.” I handed him a credit card. It was one of many I had, and the limit wasn’t especially high. I knew he couldn’t cause too much trouble with it if he let me down. “You hold onto this card. As well as making sure everyone’s in school, I want you to call the power company, the heat company, the internet company, the phone company, and even cable if you like.”
“You mean, we can get hooked up?”
“Yes. Hook everything up. If there are any problems, let me know.”
I wrote down my cell number on a piece of paper.
“You got a phone?” I asked.
“Yes, sir.”
I gave him my number.
“Thanks, Grant,” Arnold said.
“Don’t thank me,” I said. “Thank Lacey. She’s the one who’s responsible for all of this.”
“Will we be seeing her?”
“You’ll see her soon enough. And you better be nice to her. She’s a good woman, and if you do right by her, she’ll change your entire life. Her father did it for me, and now I live a life most men could only dream of.”
“Because you stayed in school?”
I smiled. “There’s more to it than that, but don’t worry. I’ll show you when the time comes. For now, stay in school. Later, I promise you I’ll teach you skills that you’ll be able to use to give yourselves good lives.”
“What kinds of skills?”
“It’s too early to tell you, but know this. If you listen to me, and if you listen to Lacey, you boys are going to do all right. I guarantee it. It’s not going to be easy, but we’ll make men out of you. Effective men, who know how to get what they want, and know what to do with it when they get it.”
The boys all nodded, as if they were hearing for the first time what they’d been waiting their entire lives to hear.
“So you’re saying, you’re going to look out for us?”
“Sounds good, don’t it?” I said.
“Too good,” Arnold said.
“Well, it won’t be a free ride, but I promise you this much. Lacey and I won’t ever ask you to do anything that won’t help you to become the men you want to become. So you think about it, and if it sounds good, you stick around in this house.”
They looked at each other. I knew they’d all take the offer. They didn’t have a lot of options.
“So when you said to hook up cable?” Arnold said.
“Everything,” I said. “Sports, movies, whatever you want. Just make sure you all don’t flunk out of school. If anyone’s failing, the rest of you help him out. If anyone flunks out of school, you’ll all pay for it.”
“All right,” Arnold said.
The rest of the boys seemed to be in agreement.
“Arnold, come over here with me,” I said.
He followed me out of the house, to the sidewalk. I wanted to speak to him privately.
“I know this is a lot of responsibility to put on you, but you look like you can handle it.”
He nodded.
“I’ll get a cleaner, a plumber and an electrician to come over and check things out. We’re going to make this a nice home for you guys. I’ll also get some furniture and other stuff organized. In the meantime, you help these boys get their schoolwork together, and keep the house clean. Do you hear me? When Lacey gets here, if this place is a mess, she ain’t going to be happy.”
“I hear you, Grant.”
“And go to the grocery store. Get some groceries. Fill the refrigerator. Healthy stuff. Milk, fruit, cereal, snacks. Use the credit card.”
“Yes, sir,” he said.
“Lacey will be here soon. You have this place looking good for when she arrives.”
Chapter 43
Grant
AFTER SORTING OUT THE BOYS at the house, I made a phone call to Jackson. I always knew I could count on him for anything.
“Grant, what is it?”
“Jackson, I need your help with a few things.”
“Anything you want, brother.”
“I’m planning something. An event.”
“What sort of event?”
“You’ll be able to guess. Will you help me with it?”
“Of course.”
“Do you have a pen?”
“What do I need a pen for?”
“To take down a list.”