Ned Takes the New Deal

If Ned had been younger, he might have let the little head do all the thinking instead of the big head. But being older and wiser, and not really in a mood to put up with more of the entity's eccentric behavior, he decided to take the new deal. "So all I have to do is sign over the house to them, and I'm free?"

"That's what I said" the entity resonated. "I know I didn't stutter."

"My apologies to you" Ned added. "I'm not meaning to disbelieve you, it's just that thirty years spent watching over you, and making sure you had tenants to toy with has taken its toll on me." Ned envisioned himself in the Florida Keys, deep sea fishing and enjoying Coronas on the beach at sunset. "Of course I'll take the deal! Signing you over to them won't be a big loss to me at all. I have plenty to retire on, and that's what I intend to do. But you know what? I will miss you."

"Now don't go getting sentimental on me, Ned. This is no time to get all teary eyed" the entity chided him. "No one lives forever. You need to enjoy the rest of your life the way you want to, which is why I am setting you free of all obligations to me. Go enjoy those Coronas on the beach."

Ned laughed. "I forgot you could read minds. But I'll get going now, and I'll get the paperwork all drawn up for them. Then they'll become your new owners and servants. I do want to thank you for one thing before I go. Thanks for giving my wife Mildred a good life while we lived here with you. If she were still here, I'm sure she'd tell you the same thing. You're not all bad, just bad enough."

"You're welcome, Ned" the entity resonated. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."

With that being said, Ned climbed into his old pickup truck, and headed for his lawyer's office to have the paperwork for house done. He was sure it would come as a very pleasant surprise, at first any way, to Jamie and Laurel. It all depended on what the entity had in store for them.