The Influence(41)

“Of course!” Lita assured him. “We love having you here!”

“We’re thinking of expanding,” Dave said. “Now that we have some money. Eventually, I’ll probably have to hire another person, but I thought, at first, the three of us could handle things. Until we get settled and figure out exactly what we need.”

Ross was relieved. “Great,” he said.

Lita smiled. “Then it’s settled.”

“I do need to go back to Phoenix for a few days,” he told them.

“What are you going to do?” Dave asked. “Rent it out or sell it?”

“I think I’m going to sell. I need the cash, and I don’t think I want to live there again anyway.”

“If you rent it out, you’ll have a steady income,” Lita pointed out. “Plus the market is depressed right now. If you hold onto it, prices may go up.”

“I’m not sure that’s true. The neighborhood’s been going downhill for awhile now, and I don’t think that’s going to change. This is the same amount I paid for it; I might not get this chance again.”

“Will this get rid of your debt?” Dave asked.

“With a lot left over.”

“Then go for it.”



****



He left the next morning, after breakfast. He offered to leave later, after feeding the chickens and collecting eggs, but Dave assured him that he had things under control and told Ross to go.

He’d been gone for only a couple of weeks, but the city seemed more crowded than he remembered. And dirtier. As he approached Phoenix from the south, Camelback Mountain was little more than a hump outlined in gray behind a wall of white sky. Wind from a passing truck blew a plastic grocery bag into the front of his car, where the top of it fluttered above the edge of his hood for several miles before deserting him for a Lexus. It was weird seeing so many vehicles on such wide highways after traveling down narrow dirt roads with his the only car in sight, and it made him feel surprisingly ill at ease.

Ross had arranged to meet Jamie Wong at her office at two. Though he was nearly a half hour late, the real estate agent was still there and waiting for him, and she showed him two printouts detailing the financial pros and cons of both renting out and selling. Politely, he let her give her presentation, then told her that he wanted to sell the condo—her choice as well, since she’d be making a commission. The realtor expressed surprise that someone was willing to offer full price for a place in that neighborhood in this market but suggested that they not look a gift horse in the mouth. Ross sat there as she called the prospective buyer, who said he would meet them at the condo tomorrow morning. Jamie hung up the phone and told Ross that, if all went well, they could sign the papers in the afternoon and the money would be transferred into his bank account within five business days.

His cellphone worked here, but when he tried to call Jill, all he got was static. It was the same thing when he placed a call to Lita, and he gave it up. He’d be back the day after tomorrow anyway.

He stayed overnight at his parents’ house, after meeting his friends for dinner. Alex was moving to Salt Lake City in two weeks, so they had an early going-away party at Yossarian’s, a burger joint/bar in Tempe that several of them had frequented during their college days at ASU. It was still popular with students, though the clientele ran more toward jocks these days, and they were forced to leave early before a drunk and belligerent Trent got into a fight with a pair of steroid abusers from the Sun Devils. Patrick and Trent had carpooled, and while neither of them had brought along a designated driver, Patrick was closer to sober and got behind the wheel.

“Again?” Trent called through the open window. “Tomorrow night?”

Ross laughed. “We’ll see.”

After Trent and Patrick left, with J.D. and his latest girlfriend following immediately after, Alex asked Ross if he wanted to meet for lunch.

“Sure,” Ross said. “If I’m finished with all the real estate stuff in time.”

“Because I have a proposition for you.”

“I’m not moving to Salt Lake City.”

Alex laughed. “We’ll talk. See you tomorrow. Garcia’s. Noon.”

“I’ll be there. Or I’ll call if I won’t.”

It was after nine when he arrived at his parents’ house in Chandler, and, to his surprise, they were still awake. They seemed to be waiting for him, and from the expression on his dad’s face, it was not to offer him a warm welcome and hearty congratulations. He ignored those signs, however, overlooked the restrained greeting, and told his parents that the sale was a lock, only signatures were needed to make it official. Sitting down on the couch, he talked about how it was nice to see his friends again, and how it was too bad Alex was moving to Salt Lake City.