Friends with Benefits Chapter 3 By Archer [ archerscurve@gmail.com ]
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Chapter 3
We were both working at different jobs for almost 30 years. He loved his, mine was OK. I guess I did enjoy it. It was 2012 we would play the Mega Millions we would buy $10.00 worth of tickets twice a week and fax each other a copy of the tickets we had bought. This had been going on for almost a year. We hit and had won close to 3 million each after taxes. It was decided we were going to still work seeing that we were still too young to retire on that kind of money. Two years later my company was offering packages and with my investments and what not I was able to retire at 55. Derrick kept working he didn't care; he absolutely loved his job and was great at it. Always earning raises and getting little incentives. When I was visiting in October 2019, he told me he made up his mind and was retiring at the end of the year and wanted to move further north. He didn't like Florida anymore and was only staying because he was close to work. His company had offices in most of the major cities in the country. He said he was thinking Nashville. Neither of us had been there. We had visited most of the gay meccas in this country San Diego, Seattle, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, and of course Florida where he lived for the past 11 years. Also the small ones like P-town and New Hope.
He put his property up for sale in Jan. 2020. Got one of those huge pods that you put you stored your belongings in. Packed up his car with clothes and basically personal items and found a rented furnished house right in suburban Nashville. He moved Super Bowl weekend and my b-day weekend.
It is March 3, 2020 at 5:20am. I'm up getting to go to the gym. The TV is on and the local news is talking about the tornadoes and severe storms that hit Nashville a few hours before. I grab my cell and try to call Derrick, it goes right to voicemail, I leave a message, and then I send a text. Just then my cell rang and it was another friend Leo. He asked if I had heard the news, I said yes and explained what happened when I tried to contact Derrick, he said he did the same. Then he asked me a question that was already on my mind. "You are still his next of kin contact, right? " I swallowed hard and nodded then realizing he couldn't see me nod and said yes. All we can do now is wait, and told me to go to the gym and have a good workout. While I was at the gym I made up my mind I was going to rent a car and drive to Nashville.
A couple of hours later my cell went off and it was a number I didn't recognize I usually don't answer them but I did. It was Derrick; he was calling from a neighbor's house that had a landline. He said the neighbors and he were only of a few houses that had no damage. (Their houses were brick). His car was totaled under a big oak tree in his driveway. They had no power or cell service. I told him I was going to rent a car and was coming down to get him and would let him know when I was leaving.
I then called Leo, and filled him in. He said you don't have to rent a car we can take my Volvo wagon; I need to put some miles on it before I decide to trade it in. Leo is a retired truck driver for SNET, which later became AT&T, then Frontier, which was when he retired. Leo is 68 shaved head, muscles, and always was a big player and still is. I am the youngest of us 3 and always referred to as Pup or baby boy, which sometimes can be annoying, but it isn't done in a mean way. It was settled that we would leave at 11pm that night and should be in Nashville the next afternoon which would be Wednesday. I then called the neighbor asked if she could give Derrick the message, and also knowing they had young kids was there anything they could use and barring no unforeseen delays we will be by 3pm Wednesday. Leo was going to get the car checked out before we left and I ran to the store to get a few things for the trip and some essentials for Derrick's neighbors. Also would try to nap before we left.
Archer
Next stop Nashville.
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