Memories & Dreams

Chapter 87 - Helping Family

Greg worked four out of the five days during the week the Abernathys had company over Spring Break. He heard about it at the theater when Shelly went shopping with her daughter for maternity clothes on Wednesday. But before that, the morning after he and Susan had Reuben over for dinner on Tuesday after the play, he received a surprising phone call. His grandson Aaron called him, just as he and Susan sat down for breakfast early on Wednesday morning, while the rest of the household was still sleeping.

"Hello?" Greg picked up the phone before sitting down. "Oh hello, Aaron. It's nice to hear from you. To what do I owe the honor of this call?"

Susan listened to Greg's half of the conversation, interrupting her own breakfast to retrieve Matt and Ashley's cell phone numbers for him when he asked.

"What was that about?" Susan asked when Greg hung up the phone.

"Aaron called to inform me he has been accepted for medical school both at UC Davis and UC San Francisco. Rita was accepted at UCLA and UC Davis. So they will be going to Davis. They intend to talk to Matt and Ashley about the possibility of sharing an apartment or a house while they are there," Greg explained.

Susan smiled, looking only mildly surprised. "That is good news."

"Yes, it is. It bodes well for at least some of the young people in our family," Greg remarked as he sat down again and they began to eat. He was just about to say something more about it when the phone rang again.

"You go ahead and eat. I'll answer it," Susan told him.

"Thank you," Greg said.

"Do you have to be at the theater this morning?" Susan asked as she got up to answer the phone.

"Not until 8:30 and only then for two hours, although I do have to prepare for Monday," Greg replied while phone continued to ring.

"Monday?" Susan asked, picking up the device but hesitating before pressing 'talk'.

"I'll tell you afterward," Greg promised.

Susan nodded. "Hello? Oh hello, Reuben. Good morning to you too. Yes, I have his phone number. Let me get it for you."

Greg listened to Susan relate Matt's phone number while he finished his breakfast. He heard Reuben thank her and Susan ended the call.

"Matthew is in high demand this morning," Greg remarked.

"Yes, he is," Susan agreed.

"Did Reuben say what it was about?" Greg asked.

"Apparently Matt left him a message late last night asking if he'd ever consider renting his Oakland house to a student. I mentioned it to him when I called after we had dinner with Reuben on last night, but before Zack and Kelly got home. Apparently Matt called Reuben and left a message, but he didn't think to leave his number when he called," Susan related.

Greg cocked his head. "I see. We did talk to Reuben about his house specifically yesterday evening."

"Yes, we did," Susan agreed. " Which is why I called Matt to tell him about it. It's too early to talk to Reuben about renting the house for myself, which is why I didn't say anything. I think maybe I'll call Matt again later today to talk about it after he and Reuben talk."

"When do you expect to know for certain if you will need housing in the Bay Area later this year?" Greg asked.

"I doubt I will know for certain until the middle of June ... after we've met with the department heads in Europe, but I might have a better idea about what they are going to do by the end of April," Susan related.