My Life & How It Has Changed Me Book 5

Chapter 4-2

Rules and Responsibilities

Part 3

It did not take me long to read the chapters or pages I was assigned to. I even marked the answers to the questions with page numbers where to find the answers I had highlighted them, something I couldn't do if I did not own the book. It did not bother me that the book was used because that meant it did not cost as much. It still had the same material in it as a new one would. I worked on my paper until it was time for me to go pick up Greg and Chad. Jody would bring Cindy. I did not know about Dave and if anyone else wanted to come. Greg's parents could bring them, or my mother could in Dad's car.

Mom asked me if I needed anything from my room. I said my pictures of my nudist's friends and my overnight backpack and my church clothes. Mom was the only one who had a key to my room beside me, other than Officer Kenly and Stringham. I was more concerned if my father somehow got hold of one. He would snoop and freak out, seeing my nudist friends hanging on my wall. The only way into my room was through the door or breaking the window. The window was the main reason I was worried because I knew Susan and I knew my father. If they wanted it bad enough, they could get in.

Stan rode with me, passing his sister as she was making her way to my house. I pulled over and said to make herself at home I would be back. Instead, she wanted to come with me. Stan slid over as she put her backpack in the back of my truck, lifting the cover just enough to slide it in. I stopped for gas and filled it up. Realizing how much gas cost for the very first time, as it came out of my pocket. Not my parents.

I felt the weight on my shoulders for the very first time that my day of mooching off my parents for almost everything was quickly coming to an end. It said I needed another source of income. Mowing lawns would only be seasonal and I did not make a lot, just enough to buy my school supplies. Now I had an extra expense, and it was gas and date money. It made me glad and much appreciated by Mom and Dad. I did not complain about it, instead, I sucked it up and put on my big boy pants.

I quickly stopped at the bank and cringed when I noticed how low my bank account was. I had yet to replace the money I had used during our vacation and had given my mother a large part of what I had earned working for Stringham. Something I shouldn't have done and did not realize it at the time. It stated that I had just become my mother's money tree. I decided right then and from now on. That I wasn't going to be so loose with my hard-earned cash. She was still my mother and that meant that it was her job to take care of me until I moved out on my own, not the other way around.

Call me cold and heartless if you like, but later on, I knew I made the right choice when my mother always came to me, asking for me to lend her some money. Finding out she only wanted it to treat herself, not to pay bills or buy our family groceries. It was for her to spend a night in the town or buy Susan a nice prom dress or school dress she saw hanging in the window. Even though she had an entire closet full of them, instead of having Susan earn the money herself.

Like my Rothwell sisters did when they wanted something really nice, Mom and Dad made them earn it on their own so they could learn responsibility, and because of that, they learned to use that in their daily life. That not everything should be just handed to them on a silver platter.

Susan and Becky never learned that lesson. Even today, she comes down here; they ask for handouts and money and expect us to pay for everything just so they can have a nice vacation with us. I hate to say it, but it's true that Aaron is so gullible and just gives it to them as he and his wife go without, struggling to pay their bills after Susan and my father have squeezed him for every nickel before going back to where they belong. Knowing that they won't get a red cent from me or even open our home to them for that very reason. I am good with that, and I am good with them hating me because of that. Considering I was never part of their family in the first place.

Mom and Aaron were the only family I had at the time I lived at home. Now my mother's dead and Aaron is married and has died of covid in 2021. I am basically alone, but rather be alone than have anything to do with Susan, Becky, and my father. When Aaron and I used to go out on the town before he died, we always split the cost. I pay for the movies, and he pays for dinner.

Sometimes he treats me, and I treat him when one of us has the money and the other doesn't. Unlike Susan, she pays for nothing and expects us to. So, call me cold and selfish if you like. Just because they expect it doesn't mean it's your responsibility to give until it hurts.

I only had to pay for gas for my truck and the movie tickets for me and the girl I was with tonight, which was Ronda. Greg was paying his way as well, and so was Chad. I had no doubt that Stan would, or even Charles; I wasn't sure if my best friend Ron was or if he was to bring a date. I wouldn't know until I got back. Realizing I should have called him and found out.

So, I cringed, taking out a little bit more just in case knowing he was good for it. If not, that was ok too. He was still my best friend. Man, I really could have used a cell phone back then. Then again, it would have been another expense that I would have to pay for. I laugh about it now, because back then my worries were small compared to now.

My mother and my Dad broke off the second we reached Santaquin, telling me they would meet us at Bishop Earl's place. To make sure who was going so Mom would know how many were coming to dinner. Now that our plans had changed slightly, true, I could have easily stayed here with my mother. And Dad could have driven everyone back afterward.

Personally, it sounded like a good idea in my head, knowing I wouldn't have to come back here Saturday night for Greg's and our date with Kenny's and Zane's mother. Then the idea hit me. What if they came to me instead and spent the night and went to church with us all on Sunday?

It would give me the time I needed to work on my paper. Plus have wild and hot sex not only with them but my best friends in Highland could have a little sex party of our own. Maybe I was being selfish because I had to pay for my own gas, but I liked the idea of both my Santaquin friends and my Highland friends getting to know each other. So, I quickly asked, there is no harm in asking. The worst thing they could say was no.

I knew Greg would be just getting off work, so I pulled up to Stringham's. I went inside the store and went to the counter to see him. He was busy with a customer, so I politely waited. Mr. Stringham saw me first as he came out of the office.

He said. "Greg said you would be stopping by, so I saved myself a stamp and a trip to the post office to mail you your check after hearing that you went back home early.

"And I did not know what your plans were for Saturday because you were spending the day with Kevin and Zane's mother. So here you go, son. I know it's not much, but it's yours and you earned it." I opened the envelope, finding a check for five hundred dollars after taxes of course.

I choked when I saw the hourly wage. It was four times the amount my father made in an hour working for the church as a custodian and part-time working for Santaquin School during the school year. Doing the same job. I said. "Are you sure I am worth this much?"

Stringham's said. "Every penny, no one works as hard as you two boys, and you're the best when it comes to keeping my books straight and keeping track of my inventory. When you both get your driver's license, I will give you each a raise and pay for gas and insurance when you are making deliveries. In fact, if you find the time and need some cash, I will pay you just for doing my books. I'll have Dave bring you all my receipts and purchase orders to your home in Highland and every couple of weeks you turn them into me and the bills you paid."

I said. "You realize you are trusting a sixteen-year-old with your bookkeeping and your personal checking account?"

Stringham said. "Son, I have always trusted you. I was fifteen when my father gave me the same responsibility and it was only money. Besides, it's not like I don't have plenty of the facts I will be going over your work with a fine-tooth comb with another accountant. I just want you to learn the value of hard work and how to make it on your own when the time comes.

"You'll have your own bank account to pay the bills that need paying and when you need more, I will know it by the figures you send me each week. You know how to make a monthly statement, and that's all I would need at the end of the month."

Stringham gave me another check to pay for my office supplies and enough money to buy a brand-new state-of-the-art electric typewriter and my personal ten-key adding machine. The same kind I use when I am doing his books here in his office.

It was like the golden goose laid a golden egg, but it also meant I was going to have to find a way to balance a job as well. I could feel the weight on my shoulders as he handed me the check and signed the paper that would give me access to the money. I knew it was going to be the hardest job I have ever done. Because not only did I have to account for every cent, I also had to be hard with my self-knowing I couldn't use it to do anything I wanted. That included not giving any of it to my mother or to anyone for that matter. It wasn't my money; it was Stringham's and nobody else's.

Part of me was screaming don't do it, just say no, and stay a kid forever, something that would never happen. Stringham trusted me with his livelihood. I wanted to make him proud of me, so I said I would, feeling the weight on my shoulders getting heavier.

I needed to find that balance, which meant sacrificing something in my life. The school wasn't one of them, and I was going to have to decide what I was going to have to give up. In the years to come, it was the best decision I ever made. It put me one step ahead of a crowded workforce and gave me that extra edge when it came to me to live on my own and finding a job. I did not have to settle for flipping burgers or being like my father in a job he hates and going nowhere fast.

Mr. Stringham had Dave put several boxes of receipts in the back of my truck. I groaned inwardly, counting four large office boxes filled to the top. It was my job to put them in order, by date, put them in the ledger, add them up, make out the purchasing orders, and keep track of goods going out and goods coming in. Then, at the end of the month, make a monthly statement. It was a lot of responsibility for a sixteen-year-old.

I looked at Greg and my two companions as they saw those boxes. It meant I was growing up, leaving my childhood behind me. It also meant if they did not grow up with me, I would have no choice but to leave them behind as well. Thank God that never happened. I don't know what I would have done without them. Greg said as he climbed in the back of my truck. "So this is a new take on sex to go?" It would have struck me as funny, but I lost the mood seeing those boxes. Greg made himself comfortable as I drove to his house.

I quickly said. "I have a proposition for you. How about we ask those fine ladies if they wouldn't mind coming to my house in Highland instead of coming down here only to have to go right back that same night and they and her boys could go to church with us? It would give us both time to do homework and give me time to do a little shopping for the supplies I need for school and now my new bookkeeping job. I would like nothing better to have sex all day and all night, but I can't." Pointing to my boxes.

Greg said. "I am glad you asked because I have a paper I have to write as well." I laughed when he said what did he do over the summer and what did you learn from it? How corny and crazy could that be?

I said. "Need a good typewriter? It looks like I have one you can use."

He said. "How did you know it needed to be typed?"

I said. "I did not. I assumed you asked if the teacher wanted it single space or double space."

He laughed because that's exactly what he did, hoping to be a smart ass. Unlike me, he had only taken one course in typing and hadn't made up his mind if he wanted to take the second class. It was elective and not required at the time.

Like me, he did not want to get to college, having to pay for someone to do it for him and reading his bad handwriting. Mine sucked worst then his, but only if he did not take the time to do it. He was better at grammar and spelling than I was. And he wasn't a henpecker, but neither could he type forty words a minute. His best was twenty-five words a minute.

He liked to blame it on his big fat fingers, which were perfect for playing the trumpet. Not so much for tiny keys on a typewriter which needed a sledgehammer because of all the sticking keys, and when you hit return, it moved your paper sometimes. So, I was more than happy to give him mine.

By the time my mother and my Dad showed up. Greg and Chad were ready to go. His mother thought it was a great idea because her husband did not need to be in church. The stake presidency normally takes over. He had no meetings until five p.m. and those he could be postponed until next week because of a special priesthood meeting. That he wasn't planning to go at 6 p.m. It was basically a big break for the Bishops and their counselors to spend some time with their families.

They normally send the highlights to him to make sure what they talked about was used as part of the lesson the following month. LDS Church was nothing but repetition as they covered the same material over and over.

Dad loaded all the sleeping bags and clothes they would need for church, just like home they wouldn't need much. My mother knew the second I got paid, figuring if Greg got paid I would too. I lied and said I had already received my check and had given her most of it up when grandma came to our house; I felt bad because I lied, but I wasn't going to give her any more money.

She needed to know the money tree had stopped producing it. Greg knew I lied, and he knew my mother when it came to money. She thought it was printed from a machine that said spend all you like, there is always more. She was one of those people that think just because she had checks that meant she had money in her account until the checks bounced.

There was no way I was going to tell her about my work bank account or show her the check that Stringham gave me to buy my supplies. Knowing when she saw it, she would see dollar signs wanting to go on a shopping spree. Even though I was told what was left over, I could use it in any way I liked. Both weren't going to happen.

Office supplies are expensive. If I had any leftovers, I would use it for when I needed to replace those supplies. Do not use it for a night on the town. I pulled Dad aside so I could have a private conversation, and asked if it was ok to take the job or should return the check and tell Stringham no.

Dad said. "Son, you're old enough to make your own decision. If it was up to me, I ask myself how is this job was going to help me in the future? You can't mow lawns forever and College is just around the corner. This means not only will you have to balance school, but you'll also have to have money to live on your own. I am not paying rent, and I am not going to pay your bills for you or provide food and clothing. The State will no longer be your meal ticket, and neither will we.

"Jody pays rent to Kerry and her husband and helps pay for the food on her table and utilities. When you turn eighteen and stay at home and go to school. I will expect you to pay your fair share. Shane too will have the same responsibilities when he comes home.

"So, either decide to make something of yourself or become nothing more than a worthless bum asking for handouts. Like your father and most likely both your sisters Susan and Becky." Dad saw the surprised look on my face when he told me that Jody pays rent and her own way. All this time I had thought that she lived with Kerry and her husband for free while she went to college. I understood why she worked and had thought it was all for school, not living on her own.

He said. "Think long and hard about how you're going to balance everything because from this point on son it only gets harder. Even more so when you are raising kids of your own and having to support a family. The world is not fair, it's cruel and hard. It has rules you must follow and with it comes responsibility. I am sorry, son if you thought it wasn't, but it's not."