All people having sexual activity in this story are eighteen and over.
Mum and I were up early the next morning. Sally phoned me at seven-thirty to tell me the trailer was on its way to Ava's. Ava messaged me ten minutes later to say the first trailer had arrived, and she was waiting for the second. She told me she'd ask George for the zapper so she could give it back to me.
Mum and I left early for the meeting with Gary and Sally. Mum's tradesmen were waiting at the door when we arrived. Sally and Gary arrived minutes later. Mum quickly explained what we intended doing. Gary had brought plans for both properties. We all walked through the building so everyone had a feel for it. When mum spoke, everyone listened. She was so professional in her approach.
After the tour, we all congregated at the reception desk. Gary spread his plans out. Sally gave several suggestions on dimensions. Gary gave her his card, asking her to contact his office with her contact details. The electrician and painter made suggestions about electrical power points and lighting. Gary had worked in an antique centre with thirty dealers. He was so knowledgeable about the dimensions required.
I was so confident with the way Gary, mum and Sally were attending to things. I said, "This has been a great meeting. There's a big house clearance to attend to. We won't store any of the house clearance furnishings in the grain store until we've completed all the initial preparatory work. Best to store all the house clearance materials in the warehouse, along with the two containers Sally has provided us with.
Mum and Gary both said this was a great idea. Gary said in my experience, a rushed job is always a poor job. Gary also said he'd give the electrician details of the power supply for the first two floors tomorrow. Mum also said, "All financial matters must come through my office as we're on a tight time frame. I don't want any hold ups because of finance."
When I heard this, I knew mummy was looking after me. Sally and I left. She followed me to Ava's house. Her two vans were being filled. The two containers were open, and both had a vast selection of blankets for wrapping the furniture in. Sally and I walked through the house. Sally saw what impressed her and asked, "Barry, how much are you paying for all of this?" I'm trying to place a value on it all. We are talking big money here. The library has thousands of books. A lot of them are first editions."
I told her we hadn't agreed on a price yet. Our problem was getting everything out of the house in four weeks. Mum's joiner arrived as I wanted to know the best way to dismantle the kitchen and get it fixed as a feature in the Bistro restaurant. The guy studied it for over half an hour. He smiled and said, "This is a work of art. It's well over a hundred years old. I'll need to find some old floor tiles as I can't save the flooring. The ovens, stoves and pots and pans are easy as the wall covering. In three days, it will be the best feature in any restaurant in the city."
He left and Sally said, "Barry, that kitchen is incredible. It should be in a museum, you're lucky to have it as few people have the space to show such a piece of history."
We packed and transported so many things. Sally had got five helpers, dealers who were interested in taking space in the centre. This helped a lot, as now ninety percent of the main house had been cleared. We were all doing fourteen hour shifts. Sally and I were trying to put a value on it all. Sally suggested we take the work we were doing into account. I was paying a lot out in cash. The important thing was we'd easily have it cleared. The old stables and staff accommodation were full of collectibles. They could all be design features in rooms. Probably Ava didn't realise the value. I wanted to be fair with her. The two containers were now full and stored in the warehouse. Sally and her porters reckoned another four days and the house would be cleared.
I had approached Gary to arrange an apartment for me on the second floor. The auction house was now partitioned off. It also had a storage area on the second floor above the auction house. Tenders had come in for the Bistro kitchen equipment and tables and chairs that would match the old kitchen feature. One helper was an excellent cook who was also an antique dealer. She was preparing delicious meals for us all during our working days. I paid her for this. Everyone looked forward to her meals.
Ava was also working hard. She had a massive collection of antique Persian carpets. Sally told me there was a lot of money in them and her stall would attract the right type of people to the centre. I still hadn't had my first date with Ava. Mum and gran were the only ones who didn't feel neglected. As our work load got less, I was going to need to spend time with Ava and Sally.
Sally had come to an agreement with Peter. She had listed all the usable display cabinets from the auction house, including the vans and containers. After the final auction, the new company would employ all staff members. Sally would be a director of the company. Every thing she brought with her was her contribution to her directorship. Peter had accepted this gladly and also raised Sally's housekeeping money.
Tina and her daughter were helping with packing the clearance. Gran had told Tina I was setting up an antique centre. Sally had told her we were all working on a house clearance. Tina had phoned me saying she was interested in a stall and she'd also help with the packaging too. Her daughter, Lucy, was home for her Easter holidays and would go back to university in ten days' time.
When I first saw Lucy, you could easily take her and Tina as sisters. They both were so busty and both of them dressed in a discreet but sexual way. Lucy also dealt in antiques. She wanted to share a stall with Tina. I told them they'd be one of the first stall holders when we were operational. Lucy had given me a card with her mobile number and her email address, asking me to keep her updated. She smiled when I gave her one of my cards. As I gave it to her, I said, "Keep in touch."
Sally was in charge of the house clearance. She'd taken pictures of every room and numbered them. Each room had a number and a list of the contents. I was working a lot with Pam Carter, a dealer, who also wanted to take a stand in the centre. It had been Sally that had us working together. Most of the work we were doing was the packaging of delicate articles, porcelain, and ceramics. Anything that was fragile, we packaged it. Pam was so neat about her work. There would be no breakages in what we were doing.
I once asked Sally if Pam was married. She told me she didn't know, as they'd never discussed their personal lives. One day mum came into the grain store. Mum knew her as they started chatting. Pam told her that she was happy that Barry was creating the centre as Pam had bought one of mum's apartments with a double garage where she stored her antiques.
That night I asked mum if Pam was married. Mum told me that Pam had come into her office six years ago. She told mum the kitchen and bathroom she wanted, then wrote a check for the total amount. Mum had chatted with her. Pam informed her she was separated. She had four kids who were all grown up. Her husband couldn't afford to divorce her. She loved dealing in antiques. Along with her allowance, she could live well.
I had been working with Pam every day for over three weeks. She'd mentioned nothing about her family. Pam was a tall, attractive, intelligent, voluptuous woman. She dressed conservatively, though most of the time she was wearing baggy jeans and loose tops. I didn't see her in any sexual way. To me, she was a very distinguished lady who I enjoyed talking with as she always could put an interesting view across.
