Ruby…Red Slippers & All: Chapter 1

Good evening, Joe,” Devin Upton spoke as he opened the door to the warehouse office.

“Hello Devin. Thank you for staying late. We have documents that need your signature to change the shipping accounts from your father’s name to yours.”

Devin took a seat at his warehouse manager’s conference table and began signing documents. “How is the family, Joe?”

“The family is fine,” Joe replied as he accepted the first document and glanced over it. “I’m sure your mother is excited to have you home for good.”

“Joe, may I ask you a question.” Devin stopped writing and looked up. “How has she been? Honestly?”

“Well, son, I’m just the warehouse manager. I don’t see her every day.”

“My Dad used to tell me if you want to know what’s happening in the building, ask Joe,” Devin smiled. “He may not talk much, but he treats every employee like family. And he was right. You are one of the reasons I felt comfortable leaving to take care of matters when Dad died. I knew you would check in on my mother.”

“Your mother is a remarkable woman. There were days when she was down, and I was a bit concerned. But your calls kept her spirits up,” Joe replied. “I have to say, I miss your father. We had some good talks right here at this table.”

Devin looked off as Joe talked. He never really took the time to talk with his dad. They had a good relationship, but most of his father’s time was spent at the office when he was young. Then he was off to Harvard, where they had their Sunday calls that consisted of the newest business developments, stocks, bonds, but never anything personal. He had no doubt his father had loved him, but it was his mother who had taken him to little league baseball games, the parent teacher conferences and who was the one who had the mother son talk, versus the father son talk. He’d had his first heart to heart talk with his dad ten days before he died. He came home after his mother called. She was upset. She had finally gotten his father to get a exam, but it was too late. His father was given less than a month to live. It turned out to be ten days. They talked more in that time than they had his entire life. Devin’s father told him about his grandmother. How she was a single mother who had moved from shelter to shelter to make sure Devin’s dad had a bed to sleep in and at least one hot meal a day. She would take him to school then spend the day selling her body to take care of him. She died right after Devin’s dad graduated from high school. To honor her, he’d worked two jobs, gotten an efficiency apartment and put himself through college. He lived in that apartment for ten years, until he met Devin’s mother. He had made several small investments that had done well, but Miranda did not care. She loved him unconditionally. Soon after they married, he started Upton Investments. Twenty years later they were one of the wealthiest families in the country. They continued to live modestly with neighbors who had no idea they lived next door to millionaires. Devin had had no idea how wealthy his parents were until his father’s attorney spoke with him after the funeral. For the last six months, Devin had been closing his father’s many accounts trying to determine a final dollar amount for his estate. Between bank accounts, stocks, bonds and property, his mother would never want for anything. Now he had one promise left to fulfill. His father wanted to give homeless families the chance his mother had not received. Devin’s plan was to make certain their foundation accomplished just that.

Joe studied the thirty-eight-year-old. The younger man was six-two and a darker version of his father. Joe thought he would surely make some pretty grand babies one day. “You okay, Son?”

Devin looked up. “Yes, yes, sorry about that, I was lost in thought.”

Joe laughed as he took the last set of papers. “Your dad used to do that when he came up with new ideas.”

“Do what?” Devin called out to him.

“Get lost in thoughts. Then he would walk out that door and the next thing I knew something big would happen.”

“I have big shoes to fill,” Devin sat back. “I’m not the same as my father. I have book sense where he knew how to get his hands dirty.”

Joe stood and poured both of them a cup of coffee. Young Upton was more like his father than he knew. When Aaron needed to talk, he would sit at that table with him and just listen.

“You’ve been here since the beginning of Upton Investments.”

Joe sat the cup in front of Devin. “Over thirty years. The company has been good to me. I’ve raised twelve children working here.”

“Big family,” Devin drank from his cup. “How did he do it Joe? How did he keep the company strong for so many years?”

Joe smiled. “Your father always cared about people like family. It didn’t matter if they lived on the big hill with the gated communities or down the hill where there is a liquor store on every corner. He treated people like they mattered. He listened to people and would make decisions based on what he heard.”

“You know I always wondered why he never set up a board. A team of people to help with the decision making.”

Joe laughed, a deep rich laugh. “He used to say too many people could screw up a wet dream. Too many barriers to the desired outcome.”

Devin looked up from the document laughing. “It’s hard to screw up a wet dream.”

“Not according to your father. He said every opinion added a week to getting an answer on how to reach a peak. If you know what I mean,” Joe laughed then took a drink. “In the time it would take a board to meet and make a decision Aaron said he could have screwed every woman in the building. In his sleep, that is.” Joe nodded thinking about the loss of his friend. “He trusted his gut and Miranda when it came to making decisions for this company.”

“He had my mother. Now it’s on me,” Devin stood. “Thanks for the coffee and the ear.”

Joe shook the younger man’s hand. “You’re the start of a new day here. Like your father, you’ll find the right gem to light your way.”  

“From your lips to God’s ears. Good night, Joe,” Devin said as he walked out of the office. He thought about Joe as he walked to his car. The man had worked the nightshift for as long as he could remember. When did he find time to have twelve children? He shook his head smiling as he got into his vehicle. “That man must really love his wife.”