{"id":968,"date":"2017-04-08T14:08:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=968"},"modified":"2017-04-08T14:08:43","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T18:08:43","slug":"95-america-street-chapter-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethepatience.com\/?p=968","title":{"rendered":"95 America Street, Chapter 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

April, 2005<\/em><\/p>\n

Diane Spencer, or Diane \u201cSpinster\u201d as I called her (she was actually married but until I met the poor bastard hitched to this imp, I would not believe it) was upset with my lack of progress.\u00a0 Her distaste reached the level that she approached me about it in person.\u00a0 Without knocking or announcing her presence, she walked in the front door one day.\u00a0 Mr. Pemberton was out for a walk and I was up on a step ladder, calmly painting some crown molding.\u00a0 I was in a relatively peaceful, blissful state due to the fact that all the prep was done on this job.\u00a0 Although I was not painting every room, the work ended up being much more than any of us originally thought.\u00a0 But such is the way with big ancient ladies like \u201cThe Castle\u201d.\u00a0 They never fully reveal all the time and effort required to restore their greatness until you\u2019re in too deep.\u00a0 You have to treat such jobs like the Cold War.\u00a0 You have to be tough but cool.\u00a0 Patience and nerves of adamantium must be summoned upon to slowly defeat your enemy.\u00a0 Yes, adamantium is the metal alloy found in the comic book character Wolverine\u2019s body.\u00a0 So I\u2019m saying that your nerves must be as strong as a substance that doesn\u2019t even exist.\u00a0 I realize that\u2019s asking a lot but that\u2019s what it takes.<\/p>\n

Her high heels resonated through the large chamber- like rooms as she walked.\u00a0 I was in some room downstairs.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know which room it was because when a house is this big, you run out of names for rooms.\u00a0 After \u201ckitchen\u201d, \u201cdining room\u201d, \u201cliving room\u201d, \u201cfoyer\u201d, \u201cden\u201d, and \u201cfamily room\u201d, I don\u2019t know how to label a first floor room.\u00a0 Perhaps it was some kind of parlor.\u00a0 However it was called, Diane somehow managed to let her anger enter this room before her body.\u00a0 By the time I saw her, I was preparing myself for a stupid battle.\u00a0 She was wearing the same exact suit when I met her except this one was charcoal gray.\u00a0 Her real tan was gone and was now replaced with a moderate but fake one, given away by the subtle orange hues in her skin.\u00a0 Her hair was about an inch shorter and she arrived in a brand new Range Rover!\u00a0 Damn, this lady moved fast.\u00a0 There was no mistaking that new car glow, even through the old window that I looked to witness it.\u00a0 I imagined she got a new car with the same frequency she had her hair done.\u00a0 In her style, Diane skipped over any greeting and launched into her message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen do you plan to finish up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Partly out of truth but more out of trying to get under her skin, I replied as vaguely as possible.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure exactly, one\u2026maybe two weeks.\u00a0 It depends on how the windows go.\u00a0 They suck up a lot of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I told Mr. Pemberton not to use you.\u00a0 I knew you were going to take too long.\u00a0 I have a crew I work with that would have been done two weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was amazed how cold she was.\u00a0 God, I pray that she did not breed.\u00a0 What a horrific sentence it would be to serve as a son or daughter under this foul by-product of humanity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell I hope they charge you a lot because it must be an awful experience to work with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am trying to sell this house!\u00a0 You are getting in the way of me servicing my client.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really mean I\u2019m getting in the way of your commission.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes opened painfully wide and I could see her anger taking hold.\u00a0 I was a little disappointed with myself for throwing that mud so I now tried to use logic and truth to defeat her. \u00a0\u201cLook, I\u2019m sorry it\u2019s taken as long as it has.\u00a0 I work alone; that\u2019s simply how I do it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been very up front with Mr. Pemberton.\u00a0 After a week of working here, I told him this was going to take longer than we hoped.\u00a0 I told him that it would delay the date that the house was put on the market.\u00a0 I told him that although I don\u2019t work with other people, I will try to find help to speed things along if that\u2019s what he wanted but he said \u2018No, you don\u2019t have to do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell no one asked me!\u00a0 This house needs to be on the market yesterday if we want to have a chance of selling it!\u00a0 It has to be listed before the end of spring!\u00a0 Don\u2019t you get that?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not listening!\u00a0 The customer said he was okay with not only my work but the pace in which I\u2019m doing it.\u00a0 So after that, I don\u2019t give a crap what the realtor or the potential buyer or the mailman think!\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are the most unprofessional contractor I\u2019ve ever had to work with! \u00a0I will make sure you never work on any project I am associated with!\u00a0 If I had any idea from the start\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In the middle of her vitriol that was more intended to make her feel powerful than to provide me with beneficial criticism, Mr. Pemberton walked in the back door from his walk.\u00a0 I was amazed that she kept going.\u00a0 He spoke in a loud but controlled voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Spencer, can you please join me in the kitchen?\u201d<\/p>\n

She stopped talking.\u00a0 She knew what was coming.\u00a0 Her eyelids half closed, her head shook slightly, and with her mouth just barely ajar, I could see her tongue retreat to the back of her mouth.\u00a0 Diane spun around and walked into the kitchen.\u00a0 Out of class and grace, Mr. Pemberton kept his voice low but I could still barely make out his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Spencer, when you had an issue with the timing of Chris\u2019 work, you should have expressed your concerns to me first.\u00a0 Now, you may notice that as I spoke, I used the past tense.\u00a0 That is because it is proper to use the past tense when speaking of an event and, in this case, a person that only exists in your past. \u00a0You will no longer be in my future, Mrs. Spencer and in the time it takes you to walk to the front door, you will no longer be in my present.\u00a0 Have a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, Diane Spencer was off the case.\u00a0 Thank God I remembered everything Mr. Pemberton said to her.\u00a0 I had never heard a more eloquent reprimand in my life.\u00a0 I wondered if Mr. Pemberton\u2019s hands were in his pockets as he spoke to Diane.\u00a0 I bet they were.<\/p>\n

As she walked by me, I pointed out an important fact to her. \u201cWell Diane, it looks like you went from Diane Spencer \u2018For Hire\u2019 to Diane Spencer \u2018You\u2019re Fired\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 Whether or not she got my famous 1980\u2019s television reference, I\u2019m not sure but I am sure that she understood that my statement came from the heart.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mr. Pemberton walked in.\u00a0 His expression was neutral.\u00a0 His body language gave little to go on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I really loved Spenser For Hire<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

We both laughed.\u00a0 We were clearly two people that did not like tension and looked to break it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I probably shouldn\u2019t have said that to her but if you heard our full conversation, you may have condoned it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI condone it with the little I heard.\u201d\u00a0 He then became serious.\u00a0 \u201cI am sorry you had to deal with her.\u00a0 I hired Mrs. Spencer so I must take responsibility for her.\u00a0 Friends of mine recommended her and I was willing to put up with some of her nonsense because I know that is in the nature of many successful sales types.\u00a0 But her attack on you today was inexcusable.\u00a0 To put it simply, Chris, you\u2019re a good person and good people should be defended. \u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Mr. Pemberton.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNow let\u2019s get some jazz going.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April, 2005 Diane Spencer, or Diane \u201cSpinster\u201d as I called her (she was actually married but until I met the poor bastard hitched to this imp, I would not believe it) was upset with my lack of progress.\u00a0 Her distaste reached the level that she approached me about it in person.\u00a0 Without knocking or announcing … <\/p>\n

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