39
“Let‘s do this right now,” said Drew and retrieved his cell phone from the front pocket of his long-sleeved, buttoned shirt.
Just when Drew was about to dial his home number to talk to Jessica, Haggai said, “Not so fast, Mr. Riley.”
Drew closed his phone. “Call me Drew, please. After all, you‘re going to be my son in law soon,” and smiled. Everybody looked at him, stunned.
Haggai was so emotional that rather than crying, he just cleared his throat and decided to forget that Drew had ever made that comment, at least for the moment, while he finished his thought. “Anyway… you have to wait until I buy you a new house and put it in your name… Drew.”
Drew was stunned. “Say what?” Rebecca was just as astonished. She didn‘t know what to say. She thought that when she sent those text messages asking Haggai for help, that Haggai would just provide her and her father with a place to live, temporarily. Haggai had two houses that he was renting to two different families, but one of those families had moved out after getting their own home, and Rebecca knew this.
“Yes, Drew, I am buying another house and putting it in your name. I know you‘re going to suggest I do this with one of my rental houses, to just sign it over to you…”
“Yes,” said Drew.
Haggai interrupted him. “But I‘m not going to do that because I just received a phone call from a woman whose family desperately needs that house because it‘s equipped for handicapped people and she has a mildly physically-handicapped fourteen-year-old daughter, so…”
Rebecca said, “Mildly handicapped meaning…”
“That the only thing she can‘t do is walk,” said Haggai.
“Oh…” said Ron.
“Like I was saying,” said Haggai as he walked closer to Drew and Rebecca, “I agreed to rent them the house and I can‘t back out now. I am only asking for $350 a month, $350 deposit and no security because the family‘s middle class and, you know, I can‘t charge them what other landlords charge. That‘s why I am just going to buy you a new house.”
“…A used house,” said Drew.
“…A new house,” Haggai corrected. “I‘m the one who‘s going to buy it, so I will decide if it‘s going to be new or used.”
Everyone laughed and Drew said, “Ok, whatever you say.”
Haggai laughed. “Yes. It‘s going to have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room to receive guests and a family room. Of course, you‘re going to have your own bedroom, Rebecca‘s going to have her own bedroom, and the extra bedroom will be for when you remarry and have another child…”
Drew asked, stunned, “I‘m going to remarry and have another child?” “Yes,” said Haggai.
“How can you predict the future?” asked Richard, stunned.
“I don‘t know how. I just know I can. Before we change the subject I‘m going to tell you this. The only reason why you‘re going to have a child with your second and last wife even though you have two grown daughters is because your future wife is young and she doesn‘t have any children yet.”
Drew repeated, looking at the ceiling, blown away, “Second and last wife,” and then asked, “Does this mean that I‘m going to spend the rest of my life with this babe?”