A view from the dark, part 3

Mr. Black was an outsider in his community. Everybody knew and respected him for what he was, but he was “different”. While most people drove Mercedes or Lexus, Mr. Black preferred his mountain bike. When he needed to go longer distances, he had a small pickup truck. His boat was a small houseboat, used mainly for watching marine life and the occasional fishing trip, unlike the yachts and powerboats that dominated the area of the ocean surrounding his estate. Though his house was exceptionally ornate and extravagant, his way of living was very modest. He drank tap water, grilled hamburgers on his barbecue. He did not have a staff of cooks and cleaners, only a grounds crew that maintained the immaculately landscaped yard. He would maintain the grounds himself, but the expansiveness of the estate made it nearly impossible.

“We have faith in you, Todd” his parents said to him when he told them of his engagement. His father patted him on the back and his mother lightly hugged him. “Well, I need to get going, Merson and I are going to go play the back nine” his father said as he swept out of the room. “I’m terribly sorry, Todd, but I must be going as well, I have a tennis lesson in half an hour” his mother said. Though he only returned home on rare occasions, his parents rarely had time to sit and talk, rather they had busy social lives to attend to. Todd was used to this by now and carried on to the pub in which a mug still hangs with his name. “This is her, isn’t she a real hottie” he said to his friends, holding out a picture of Sarah in a bathing suit. “Wow” Stephen said, “I bet she’s good in bed too” Mark quipped with a slight wink. Todd chose to ignore the latter remark. “Yep, boys, I’m gonna get myself married”.

“Proud” was not the proper word to describe Todd’s feelings about his engagement, it was bordered more on the obsessive. He was accused on a few occasions of being a braggart. He often spoke of her like she was his trophy, but this was much like Todd. He was the centre of attention, the life of the party. His outgoing personality didn’t know the meaning of “personal boundaries”. He would flirt with whatever woman his heart desired, regardless of a wedding ring on her finger or a boyfriend beside her. Very seldom did anybody object to his behaviors, “Todd is Todd”. It seemed as though he could do no wrong. Todd’s obnoxiousness and arrogance did not go unnoticed. When somebody objected to his behavior, he would proceed to publicly ridicule them and dismiss them saying “They just want to be like me”.

Sarah dreamed of a spectacular wedding, seaside views, fine champagne, everything a little girl dreams of. She started planning her guest list. “Well, Lisa is my best friend, and I must invite Mandy, Charmane, Harold, oh, so many people, I wonder if Robin will show up?” She quietly daydreamed until she was interrupted by the doorbell. “Oh, hi Mandy, did you bring the magazines?” Walking quietly behind her was Ben, loaded down with a massive stack of bridal magazines. “You know, I did feel kinda, well, off, buying these dang things” Ben said. “Todd is downstairs watching the game” Sarah said, knowing that Ben had absolutely nothing to do with the goings on that were about to take place upstairs. “This one would look so good on you, it looks like it might even be able to cover that flabby ass of yours” Mandy said jokingly to Sarah, pointing out a dress in a magazine. “Thanks, hun, I’ll make sure they make the bridesmaids dresses in the most horrific colour I can find” Sarah replied sarcastically.

Robin has just put on the kettle to make his afternoon tea when a knock came at his door. “Senor, Senor, come quick, Hector has somebody he wants you to meet” said a young boy, tugging at his suede jacket. Robin had nearly forgotten about Hector in all of his affairs, “I wonder if he got me my return, or at least the five hundred back” he said to himself. “Senor Robin, I would like you to meet Charles, he is offering to buy us out” Hector said excitedly. Expecting to haggle over pennies, Robin reluctantly asked “How much?” Charles, a somewhat heavy set American said “how does half a million sound to you?” Robin was visibly surprised, “what for?” he asked, questioning the American and wondering what he had invested in to begin with. “Well, son, you see, your friend Hector here managed to find what could be the biggest copper deposit I have ever seen, and we would like to buy your stake.” Robin thought for a moment and asked whereabouts this deposit was. “Well, senor” Hector started, “you know that piece of land that Enrique sold, the one that he could not grow his crops on, it’s in there”. Much to Robin’s surprise, he had entered a partnership for copper exploration on his own land. Keeping his ownership of the land to himself, he asked the Yank “And do you have rights to the land?” “Well, Robin, is it? We have been unable to locate the owner of the property, so we are beginning to think it may be unclaimed, and that we will only have to speak to the local government to acquire them”. Robin began to think, and realized that in the title to the land, he did purchase the mineral rights to the land, fifty dollars American, Enrique thought he was the richest man in the world with fifty dollars in his pocket, he bought twice the land he had before, and good land at that. Robin invited the American back to his hut for tea.


“And right now, our financing rates are next to zero” Todd said to the couple examining the new model Minivan. “We’ll have to look at our budget” the gentleman said to Todd, “But we’ll come back and let ya know”. “You come back and see me, and I’ll make sure that we have the best deal in town” Todd said as the couple disappeared from the dealership. Todd’s current career was less than charming, selling cars part time. Sarah showed up and the two of them went out for lunch. “You know hun” she said to Todd, “I’ve been thinking about who to invite to the wedding, what do you think about having Robin as a groomsman, that is, if he’s around.” “Absolutely not” Todd replied scornfully “I don’t want to have a welfare case standing beside me, no way, no how.” Sarah began to frown, “He’s probably just sitting somewhere feeling sorry for himself, I’d rather not see him at the wedding, but if you insist, I’m sure we can send him an invite, but that’s as far as I go, and don’t expect me to be civil”. Sarah was less than pleased with Todd’s comments “You know, Todd, he was there for me through tough times, and believe it or not, I do love the guy, he’s like a brother to me, though a long lost one now” Sarah said, trying to hide the tear forming in her eye. “Fine then, we’ll invite him, but he probably won’t show up anyway” Todd said, trying to hide the anger in his voice.



Charles and Robin sat, talking over a cup of tea. “So, what do you expect this mine will be worth?” Robin asked. “Could be well over a Billion, we think we might have hit the big one here” Charles replied, in his most salesman like voice. “How much are you willing to pay for the land?” Robin asked. “Up to five million” Charles replied. Robin took a sip of tea and said “Five million, and two percent royalties”. Charles raised his brow and replied, “That’s absolutely preposterous, and I’m sure whatever local may own that land would be happy with two hundred dollars”. Robin fished in his briefcase for the title to the land, and without looking up said “Six Million, and two percent royalties”. Charles was awestruck at the sight of the deed. Robin quipped, “You can include the buyout price of the partnership in that as well.” “I will have to talk to my superiors about this, but I’m sure with some testing it will fly” Charles replied, sounding slightly worried.

After a phone call, Charles returned to see Robin, “You have a deal” he said quietly. The two finished another cup of tea. Soon thereafter, the money was wired into Robin’s account, and Robin was returning home. Buying a small house, Robin decided to make a few investments. The royalties that came in from the copper mine were at first small, but grew significantly. With reckless abandon, Robin decided to invest in more commodities. In his first month, he lost nearly a half million dollars. His luck quickly changed, his investments started coming in, ten thousand here, half million there. His wealth grew somewhat significantly, but he decided that he had enough gambling, so he financed a technology company.