Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Warehouse Auction (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"AT&T has split and merged multiple times, but after tracking it down, it's worth at least sixty grand now! Even after taxes, we'll clear forty thousand!"
Bill's explanation, delivered in a fever of excitement.
Hearing that sent a thrill through me so electric my head spun.
I flopped straight down into the chair.
"Forty... thousand dollars?"
"You bet! Haha, we hit the jackpot!"
Bill clapped me on the shoulder.
"Congrats, Jake. We're each pocketing at least twenty grand!"
"Me too?"
"Damn right. Fifty-fifty, remember?"
"But you fronted the cash."
"Still our teamwork that made it happen. And without you, no secret drawers, no stock certificates. Haha!"
Bill was one hell of a good guy.
"Bill, what do we do with all this stuff?"
"Hmm... Letters and diaries? Donate 'em to a museum. Major historical value."
"Smart call."
Bill tallied things up as he sorted the haul in the warehouse.
"Four desks... hundred fifty each. Six hundred bucks."
"Eight chairs, fifty apiece... four hundred."
"Three file cabinets, hundred each. Three hundred."
"Huh, Apple monitor... nice shape. Two hundred."
"Junk pile, hundred."
All told, sixteen hundred dollars.
After pulling out our four-fifty investment, that left eleven hundred fifty in profit.
"And cashing the stocks and watch on top..."
Not bad for the buy-in.
Hell, by Bill's reckoning, a 'once-in-a-lifetime score.'
Loading it all into the van took a solid three hours.
We were both soaked in sweat without noticing.
By evening, everything was squared away.
"Jake. What a day."
Bill said it with a proud grin.
"And teaming up with you? Feels like these days are gonna keep coming. You lucky bastard."
"Think so?"
He burst out laughing at my reply.
Then playfully punched my shoulder.
"Hell yeah! Keep eyeing stuff, practicing—you'll get sharper. Your eye... everything. Got it?"
I knew exactly what he meant.
And damn if he wasn't right.
Started as quick flashes; now I could hold the visions longer.
"Next auction, same deal. Partner."
"You got it. Looking forward to it."
Heading home in Bill's car again.
He handed me an envelope after dropping me off.
"What's this?"
"Today's pay. For helping sort the warehouse."
"We're splitting profits fifty-fifty."
"That's auction take. This is for the labor."
Two hundred inside.
"Too much..."
"Take it! You earned every penny."
Before I could argue, he peeled out like a getaway driver.
I stood there, envelope in hand, staring after him in a daze.
"Ha, haha..."
Today's luck still felt unreal.
Twenty grand from the stocks. More from the rest...
Now... now I can really start paying off debts.
Sam was waiting on the porch when I pulled up to the trailer.
"Jake, you're late."
"Still up? Got good news, Sam!"
"Warehouse auction, huh? How'd it go?"
"Heh... jackpot."
I spilled the whole story to Sam quick.
Even straight facts sounded too wild to believe.
"...Forty thousand?"
Sam's face said it all—pure disbelief.
"Lord almighty, for real?"
"Yup. Next week we cash out, my cut's over twenty."
"Jake, that's incredible!"
Sam pulled me into a hug.
"Now you can breathe."
"Yeah... pay debts, fix the truck..."
"Get a real place too."
"Not quite yet..."
"Haha! Good luck piling up like this? You're just getting started, Jake."
Yeah, Sam had it right.
Just the beginning.
Heading to my trailer.
I glanced up at the star-packed sky.
If this power keeps growing...
I'd read deeper stories from objects, unearth more treasures.
And with those, reshape my life—and the lives of everyone I cared about.
Ring-ring-
Phone buzzed.
Dorothy.
"Jake? You good?"
"Yeah, had some good news today."
"No way? Tell me next time. Nancy misses you."
"Yeah? Gotta visit soon."
"Please do. Sharing good news makes it even better."
Her warmth rang true.
I smiled back.
"Of course. Family, right?"
Hung up, thinking.
Tomorrow, cashing stocks with Bill.
Big money hits—what first?
Debts top the list.
Then the long-overdue truck fix...
And a proper celebration with Dorothy, Nancy, Sam.
Texas' best spot.
Imagining their happy faces warmed my chest.
Lying in bed, Nancy's drawing on the trailer wall caught my eye.
And better gifts for Nancy too.
Her crooked 'Our Family' scrawl shone brighter tonight.
Even without Sam in the pic... whatever.
"Better days coming soon. For all of us."
Muttering that, I remembered the old film I'd pulled from the Leica.
Need to hit a developer tomorrow—Bill mentioned one.
Wonder what stories those shots held.
Ding-
Phone again.
Bill's text.
[Bill: Auction week after next. In?]
[Me: Hell yeah.]
Warehouse auctions.
Felt like pure gamble at first.
But paired with my gift? Unexpected windfalls.
No reason to skip future shots.
I flexed my hand.
This hand reads the past. Reshapes my future.
More stories ahead. What next?
Excitement kept sleep at bay.
But exhaustion tugged hard.
Made sense—full day of hauling.
Tomorrow'll be even better.
Drifting off, convinced this blessing wouldn't vanish.
Repeating it like a lullaby, sleep finally came.
A week passed.
After hitting the brokerage with Bill, twenty-two thousand five hundred hit my account.
Post-tax, but my first big haul like this.
The sign money vanished straight to surgery bills.
First, cleared the twenty-grand debt backlog.
Credit cards, part of Sam's and Aunt's medicals, truck repairs.
Still two thousand five hundred left.
Saturday morning.
I knocked on Sam's trailer door.
"Sam, ready?"
"Been waiting."
Sam in a crisp shirt and jeans.
Dressed up for the occasion.
"Off to Dorothy's."
We loaded into the truck, heading to her trailer park.
One stop en route.
Pete's Photo Lab
Austin's oldest film developer. Bill's rec.
Sign paint peeling, but open.
"Hold up, Sam. Be right back."
Inside, a white-haired old-timer behind the counter. Pete himself.
"Welcome."
"Here for the film I dropped last week. Jake Winch."
"Ah, that old one? One sec."
Pete fetched an envelope from a drawer.
"Wild film. 1940s Kodak, preserved like new."
"Photos come out?"
"Most developed fine. A few damaged."
I opened the envelope.
Color prints inside.
First: group shot in front of a big building.
Young guys in uniforms, grinning.
Second: woman posing in a garden.
Beautiful brunette in a '40s dress. Faint 'M' scribbled on back.
From the third: war photos.
European front—cities, woods, and...
"Whoa..."
One stopped me cold.
Blond young soldier supporting another.
Both bloodied. Real combat snap.
Last: same soldier getting a medal.
General pinning a Silver Star to his chest. Angle too tricky to ID him.
"Special shots."
Pete commented.
"Someone's prized memories."
"Yeah... any chance of tracking the owner?"
"Doubt it. Eighty-plus years old."
"Developing fee?"
"Fifty bucks."
Whose photos? Camera from Phoenix—Arizona link maybe.
Back at the truck, Sam eyed the envelope.
"What was that?"
"Film from the Phoenix camera. WWII pics developed."
"No kidding? Wild."
Dorothy's trailer park wasn't far.
Most rigs rundown and grimy, as expected.
Bell rang; Nancy flung the door open.
"Jake!"
She barreled into my arms.
Pink dress—special for today.
"Hey, little princess. Big feast ahead—hungry?"
"Yeah! Just a little breakfast!"
Dorothy stepped out.
Jeans, white blouse. Light makeup, still stunning.
"Jake, not somewhere too fancy? Don't wanna burden you."
"Relax. Warehouse jackpot—my treat."
"Still..."
"Dorothy, family's family. Let's go."
Sam ruffled Nancy's hair.
"C'mon, Nancy. Grandpa's got you."
"Yay! Hold Grandpa's hand!"
All piled in.
Nancy chattered nonstop from the middle backseat.
"Mom says barbecue today. What's that?"
"Kinda... slow-cooking meat over wood smoke."
"Wood smoke? Like camping?"
"Similar, but special method."
Thirty minutes later: Franklin Barbecue.
Austin's barbecue legend.
Saturday lunch line snaked long, as expected.
"Whoa! So many people!"
Nancy gawked.
"Haha, that's the fame. Tastes so good, worth the wait."
"Really? Ngh... I'm good at waiting, so I'll tough it out!"
Nancy rubbed her belly with a brave pout.
Too cute—we all cracked up.
Inside was humble: wood tables, chairs, old photos on walls...
But the massive smoker by the door pumped out overwhelming smoke scent.
"Welcome! What'll it be?"
Counter guy greeted.
Huge cutting board ahead, fresh slabs steaming.
Nancy, in my arms, went wide-eyed.
"J-Jake... huge... campout!"
The little princess's first take on her inaugural barbecue joint.
Her only frame of reference: our camping trips.