After the shocking note left on Hick's windshield while he was eating lunch at the Senior Center... a new critic has accosted him! This is so unusual for Hick. He's the fair-haired boy of The Universe. People fall all over themselves catering to him.
Saturday evening, Hick got a text.
"Huh. I don't know what this is about. 'When are you going to pay me, buddy? It's been TWO WEEKS! I need my money.'"
"Who's that from?"
"The guy I have haul gravel for me."
"Somebody out here got a load of rock."
"When?"
"Today, I guess. Didn't you see it along the middle of the road?"
"That's not new. Somebody just bladed it. Pulled it in from the sides."
"I don't think so. It looked all white and new. No sticks or dirt or leaves in it."
"Huh. Maybe."
"What if someone ordered gravel, and since it was out here, he just THOUGHT you ordered it?"
"I hope not! But maybe somebody could have called and said, 'Hick said I should call you for some gravel.' Like when I recommend him to someone who asks where to get gravel. Maybe he could think I was the one who wanted it. But he says it's been two weeks that I've owed him."
"Did you text him back?"
"Yeah. I said, 'If I owe you money, I'll pay you. But I don't think I owe anything.' It's been a long time since we ordered gravel. So I don't know that this 'two weeks' thing is about."
Between the time Hick retired at 9:00 p.m. for his beauty sleep, and the time he got up at 5:30 a.m., that guy had sent back a text.
"He said sorry, I'm the wrong guy. It was another guy named Hick that he meant to send it to."
That's a relief. It's not like Hick to owe people, unless they have an agreement for the next time Hick sees them in person to hand over cash.
Wow! I'm glad the guy figured out that he had sent the text to the wrong person. Hick was pretty diplomatic in his reply back to the guy.
ReplyDeleteHick is part of the local Good Buddy Network. Not a real thing, but it's the kind of guys who will barter with each other, and sometimes wait until they can meet up for goods and money to exchange hands. Often they don't know each other's last name. Just first name, and a description. Hick has in his phone people like Ponytail Mike, and Flea Market Bob. I see their names come up on the radio in A-Cad when they call or send a text while we're driving.
DeleteSo it's unusual for someone to be hounding Hick for payment. I imagine the other guy must have forgotten the agreed-upon time before payment was expected, since usually these guys don't do that kind of business with deadbeats.
I'm glad that it was straightened out. It didn't sound like Hick to me, either. Does it disturb you that there is another Hick out there somewhere?
ReplyDeleteMore than you can possibly imagine!
DeleteThat is a relief. Hick might be fast and loose with helping around the house but I know from reading a long time that he is scrupulously honest when it come to things like gravel payment.
ReplyDeleteYes. Hick grew up with nothing. He started working at 14, and takes pride in being able to pay cash and not buy on credit. He would be mortified is somebody thought he was a freeloader!
DeleteEasy mistake, there almost as many Hicks as there are Cranky's in this world.
ReplyDeleteThat thought could certainly spur sales if I had my proposed handbasket factory up and running!
DeleteI bet the guy felt foolish! The quarry was just on the other side of the interstate at our exit. HeWho would call his favorite trucker to bring ours after the demise of the brakeless dump truck he purchased without consulting his partner in business. The Quarry would just call me rather than him for payment. I have no idea why they extended credit to him, other than the fact that they liked him. He is like Hick, all the locals knew him and rarely saw me.
ReplyDeleteProbably not! He just cleared the air and let Hick off the hook.
DeleteThat quarry knew where to get their money! So giving HeWho credit was profitable for them. Hick once transformed a Mack truck into a dump truck for one of his buddies. Shortened it and put in hydraulics and all kinds of stuff I don't understand. His payment? That guy took Hick and me out to dinner.