Billy

Billy stared out the window of his office while the meeting continued on without him.

Last quarter’s numbers exceeded the proposed budget by 12%, although receivables are still lagging…

Billy had been running the company his father had started for the last fifteen years. Billy and Bill Sr. were never close. People around the office called Bill Sr. “Bull”. Bull made deals with handshakes, but broke a few hands along the way too. But the rock crushing business was like that. You couldn’t be weak. At least that’s what Bull always said.

Bull had sent Billy to college to study business, assuming he would take over the company one day. Billy was more interested in science, but Bull was a lot better at negotiations in those days.

An MBA, a wife, and two sons later, Billy was the youngest executive in the company. A sudden heart attack for Bull forced the company to draw up a clear succession plan and Billy became a thirty year old Vice President. A second heart attack made him an orphaned CEO.

Import sales are continuing to pick up on a month-by-month basis, with granite showing the largest gains…

Billy had done good things with the rock crushing company. He combined his ingenuity, passion for technology, and his father’s continued influence to grow the company into a nationally recognized name. He was the first in his region to start international operations and made opportunities where none existed.

Billy’s sons, Will and Nick, couldn’t have been more different as brothers. Will was the kind of kid who knew where his bread was buttered. He liked running and football, but mostly liked being at the plant with Billy and watching the huge machines do their work. Since he was four years old, he had told Billy that he was going to work for the company on one of those big machines. Will had stuck to his word, and spent every summer working at the plant. Will and Billy had an immediate connection on work and machines. They could sit and look at product catalogues together for hours. Will told his mother he was going to get married and move into the house next door. And he did.

Nick was different. Billy had struggled to connect with Nick when he was younger. Nick preferred reading comic books or playing video games. He never wanted to go to the office; he thought the machines smelled bad. Bull had passed away when Nick was five, and Billy had other priorities at that time.

As Nick got older, he spent more time with his friends and less time with his family. His summers were spent at movies, camps, and down by the river with his friends. At first, Billy didn’t think they were bad kids, but admittedly didn’t know much about them at all. There was one time when the police brought Nick home. It wasn’t as serious as it sounds, although Billy’s wife didn’t agree. But Billy knew Nick would turn out alright. Most kids do anyway, that’s what Bull said.

When both boys were in high school, Billy took the whole family on a trip to India to begin some new expansion plans in granite. The trip was a magical one for Billy and Nick. It was the first time Billy really felt a connection with his younger son. They both loved the travel, the train trips, the auto rickshaws, and the street food. They would stay up at night talking about what happened that day while Will spent most of the time complaining about the smells and counting down the days when he could get a real hamburger.

Billy had promised his wife that he would never force his sons to join the business, but on the plane trip back, he had already drawn up an org chart with Will managing all of domestic production and Nick using his charm and wanderlust to lead all of the international sales and partnerships. The family would spend Christmas together at the cabin and take a trip to the Bahamas every year. Billy could already see all the grandkids running around, collecting shells on the beach.

But it didn’t work out that way.

That concludes all the new business. Billy, here are some papers to sign, and Mr. Sturgeon from the bank is coming at 3pm today. 

Nick and Billy’s connection slowly faded as did memories from India. Nick continued to spend more time outside the house. He grew more reclusive, aloof, and sarcastic. It wasn’t uncommon that Nick wouldn’t show up for a few days. He would come in and fight with his parents, and Will would smile with satisfaction that his brother was finally getting what he deserved.

If it had been someone else’s son, Billy would have suspected drugs, but he really didn’t want to admit it. Nick’s quality of friends had significantly decreased, but Billy didn’t feel like pushing the issue. His wife kept telling him to do something, but he was afraid of losing him for good, so he didn’t push it.

After barely graduating from high school, Billy pulled some strings to get Nick into a college a few states away. By Thanksgiving, Nick was back in the house just before a letter came that said he wasn’t allowed back on campus.

The next few months were like living with a ghost. Billy and his wife would see Nick once every few weeks. He would grab some food and money and then leave again.

Then, on a day that Billy would never forget, he was in his office and saw Nick’s car pull into the parking lot. Actually he heard it first. Nick had been driving an old beat-up coupe that badly needed a muffler. He watched the tall, gangly young man get out of the car, and pull his long hair back in a bun. A girl in a tight shirt and shorts emerged from the passenger’s seat, followed by a few more bodies from the back seat. Nick walked confidently toward the office building while his friends stayed with the car. Nick hadn’t been to the office in more than twelve years. The receptionist had no idea who he was and asked if he had an appointment to see Billy.

Nick opened the door to the office and sat in the chair farthest from Billy’s. “What’s going on, Nick?”

“I need money.”

“Are you in trouble?” Billy’s mind raced through every possible reason Nick would need money, hoping a new car topped the list.

“No. I just want my money.”

“Your money?”

“Yeah. I mean, look Dad. We don’t need to pretend anymore. I think it’s obvious that things are pretty much over here. I have some things I want to do, and I need money. So I figured I’d do us all a favor and get my money out now, and then you’ll never have to think about me again.”

“Quite a plan,” Billy said in shock. “Look, Nick, if you need some cash, I can help you out, but I can’t just give you ‘your share’ now. That’s not how it works.”

“I just want to be done with this and move on. We all know where this is going.”

“So you just want to act like your mother and I are dead? Is that what you want?”

Nick just stared back at his father. “Don’t worry. I won’t bother Will later on. I’ll be out of his hair too. You can leave everything else to him.”

“Nick, I can’t just do that. You are talking about the house, the business, the properties. I can’t just magically make that much appear as cash.”

“Just do what you can. I’ll come back on Friday.”

Nick got up and left the office. Billy watched him jump in the car with his friends and drive off. Billy grabbed for the antacids he kept in his desk. He called his secretary and told her to clear his day. His stomach started to churn as he held the receiver to his ear. “And get my accountant on the line.”

On Friday, Billy’s eyes shifted to the window every 30 seconds. He had an interview with a new HR manager at 10. He ended it not remembering if he had hired her or not. Will came in at 11:30 to talk go over the new expansion plans. Billy suggested that they delay the expansion plans for a while, based on sales forecasts. Will asked Billy if he was coming home for lunch, but Billy said he had a meeting.

Finally a little after 3, Billy heard Nick’s car thumping down the road. He looked out the same window, watched Nick get out of the car and walk into the building. Within a minute he was walking out again, stuffing an envelop in his jacket pocket.

Billy, Mr. Sturgeon just arrived.

Ok, Judith. Send him up.

That was all four years ago. Billy hadn’t heard a word since then. No phone calls, no emails, no text messages. Billy and his wife didn’t talk about it anymore.

Will and his wife and kids spent every Sunday at Billy’s house. Will was smart, and Billy suspected that he figured out what happened. The company was still struggling to rebound, and the trips to the Bahamas had been put on hold.

“Do you want to go to the game this weekend, Dad?” Will asked. “No, I think I’ll sit this one out.” Billy sat a lot of things out now.

Billy tried taking up some other hobbies, but he didn’t have the patience for gardening and hated golf. He and Will had done a 10k together, but that stopped after a bad knee injury.

The only thing Billy had changed in four years was that he moved his office around so that his desk looked out over the big window that used to be behind him.

“Mr. Sturgeon, good to see you.”

“Hi Billy. I’ve brought my partners here for this meeting. You remember Stan and Ted, right?”

“Of course. We played golf together last year.”

“Right. Billy, I hate to get right into business, but we need to talk. We’ve been very generous and patient. I’m not trying to talk tough, but we have to start getting serious.”

Billy nodded his head. He knew this day might come. He’d thought it would come a lot sooner. He’d weathered through these seasons before and this one wouldn’t be any different.

Frank Sturgeon kept putting it in the nicest way possible that he was going to crush Billy for everything he was worth, and Billy kept smiling the same way he smiled through their last golf round.

Then, Billy saw a figure move in the window. But, it was just another homeless guy walking down the road. He hadn’t noticed how many of them had walked by the office before he shifted his desk. He made up names for the regular ones he saw. Billy squinted his eyes. “Too tall to be Shorty, and he didn’t have anything with him like Cart-Man always did” – Billy wasn’t that great at nicknames.

The man kept walking down the road. Then he raised his arms to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Then he pulled back his matted hair.

Billy’s eyes dilated. He pushed back away from his desk.

“Billy, what’s going on?” Frank Sturgeon was suddenly off his game.

Billy rushed out of the room. He knocked over Judith who was coming in to serve coffee to Frank Sturgeon and his partners. He passed by the elevator door and burst open the stairwell. He took three leaps down each of the three flights of stairs, and busted through the door at the ground floor. He started to feel his heart now.

He came to the double doors, but the delivery man was bringing in a big stack of boxes on a cart. His inner twenty-year-old thought of jumping over them, but he quickly thought better and ran for the side entrance.

Billy ran down the gravel entry road that led to the paved parking lot. He wished he had kept up with running as his heart pounded. As he rounded the security booth, he prayed that his knee wouldn’t give out.

Billy made it to the main road and the man was about 200 feet away from him. The man stopped walking and Billy ran harder than he ever had in his life. About 20 feet away, Billy realized that he would not be able to stop and completely ran over his son, knocking them both to the ground.

As he tried to regain his breath, Billy wondered if he was having his first heart attack. Nick tried to choke out something, but his face was wet with tears and the wind was knocked out of him too. “Dad, I…”

“It’s ok son. It’s ok.” Billy said as he slowly regained his breath. “You came back.”