Jack was a dealer; when he was at primary school, he was dealing, buying things then selling them for a profit. At high school, he was still trading, the local Auction House, held a Saturday General Auction, Jack got a Saturday job there, he would also go in and help during the week after school. At school, he was making money; he calculated that in one year, he had made a profit of eighteen thousand pounds, which was a lot of money for one so young. Jack's problem was that he had nowhere to store his things. His Aunt Su had a villa; it was where she and Jack's mum had grown up. It was in the best residential area of the city, close to the University. There was a Mews Stable Block which Aunt Su never used. That's when Jack set up Mews Antiques; he was fourteen years of age.
Aunt Su helped Jack a lot so did his mum. Jack had one older brother; he was very like his father, very arrogant and self-centred. Jack was very like his mum, kind, considerate and helpful. They were both very quiet; they both didn't gossip much. Jack was now spending most of his time with his Aunt Su. One day Jack came home from school, his mum was crying. Nobody told Jack why she was crying, but Jack suspected that it had something to do with his father.
Jack's Mews business flourished, at sixteen he was employing a pensioner to look after the store when he was at school. This was good; Jack was too young to drive. Jack bought a van, so Tom, the pensioner, could do the deliveries. Jack wanted to leave school at sixteen, but Aunt Su wanted him to stay until he was eighteen, he would also have his certificates from school. Mews Antiques had grown into a great business. Jack had made many contacts; his overheads were negligible as he paid no rent. Jack left school at eighteen, Tom and an older lady were now running Mews Antiques, everything was computerised, managing it was easy.
Aunt Su ran Jack's grandfather's property business. Aunt Su and mum owned a lot of properties. There was a large town on the coast, a forty-minute drive from the city; it had no quality Antique shops. Much was going there, it had a University, it was a County town, it had a port, but there wasn't much shipping going on. Jack asked Aunt Su if she had a property with a shop and living accommodation. Jack was surprised when she said that she had. It had been a successful grocery shop, owner-run, then the supermarkets opened up. Three people had tried to run a grocery business there; they had all failed. The final nail in the coffin came when Aldi, the German Supermarket company opened four hundred yards from it.
Jack drove down to view it; he liked it. Aunt Su let him rent it for a nominal rent; Jack had it opened and trading within a month. It was a bustling shop. Both the businesses thrived over the next two years. Jack was running out of storage space; he was making money hand over fist. He had over two hundred thousand pounds lying on deposit in the bank. He approached Aunt Su again to see if she had any properties. She had two which interested Jack. They were both beside each other; a large Public Company had owned them. One had four floors; each floor had a square metre area of over five thousand two hundred and fifty square metres, it was enormous. There was also a colossal lift which a van could fit in easily. Jack liked the building. Beside it was a vast warehouse, fully equipped with steel shelving, there were also three forklift trucks with a thirty-meter lift. Jack wanted both of the properties.
Aunt Su had bought them very cheaply eight years ago. She thought that the four-floor building could be converted into residential apartments. The warehouse could also be demolished and used for residential development. Aunt Su was intelligent; she was an accountant, though she didn't practice. She was aware of Jack's financial position; he was a private company; she did his accounts and tax returns for him. She suggested that Jack set up a Private Pension Fund; this would own the properties, any rents that they earned would be tax-free.
Jack then told her that he intended to convert the four-storey building into an Auction House and an Antiques Centre, he was sure that he could quickly get three hundred dealers renting space from him. The warehouse he would use for storage, he would also set up a Theatrical rental division for films and television companies for renting props. Aunt Su was impressed; she sold both properties to Jack's new Pension fund for eighty thousand pounds; it was a bargain. Jack knew then that he was now made for life.
It took Jack four months to get the ground floor workable. He had set out the Auction House on the ground floor. He had also installed a Bistro which could service the Auction House and the Antique Centre. The toilets were beside the Bistro. Two months later, the second floor was operational. He had underestimated the number of dealers; he had over two hundred and fifty on the first two floors, he still had another two floors to go. The reason for this was, many people wanted to rent a cabinet. Jack was now renting out many cabinets.
Jack will never forget the Friday night, just after eight, mum had phoned him, she was distraught, Aunt Su had just died of a massive heart attack. Jack drove immediately to Aunt Su's house, mum was there alone with Aunt Su, lying in a coffin, she looked so at peace. Mum was sobbing away. Jack tried to comfort her; it was difficult. Jack asked if mum had eaten, she wasn't hungry. Jack noticed that her voice was a little hoarse, mum said, "I would love a cup of tea, I have a throat infection, I am on antibiotics, I have had a nightmare of a week and now this."
They went into the kitchen, mum looked haggard, but she still had a presence, she was tall and good looking. Jack filled the kettle, then mum said, "I'm divorcing dad, I can't take anymore. I threw him out of the house on Tuesday; I can't stand the sight of him. I have done my best for you Jack, I've wanted to leave him for a long time, but I waited mainly because you were still at school. You have left school; you are doing well in your business. I won't go home tonight. I will stay here with Jo until they take her coffin to the Church on Tuesday evening. The funeral service will be on Wednesday morning at eleven."
Jack replied, "Mum, I'll stay with you. It would be best if you weren't alone this now. I am sorry about you and dad, I have always had the feeling that you loved him, but he didn't love you."
Mum squeezed Jack's hand, then said, "I would like it if you stayed with me. You're right there; I stopped loving your father a few years ago. It's now finished, I'm now fifty-five, I want to have some happiness in my life. I haven't spoken to your brother for over seven years; I helped him when he was buying his house. You are all that I have now, Jack."
