37. Brett was moving into his parents' home. His mom had recently died of cancer, five years after his dad had died in his sleep. His sister had kept or sold all the furniture in their parents' house, which was in the same town she lived in. She was upset that their parents had left the house solely to Brett. She had told Brett that he should do the right thing, and give her money for "her" half of the house.

He had hired two movers at $40 an hour. They worked hard and fast. Brett was impressed with how they had maneuvered their large truck into a tight loading area. Movers seemed to know lots of tricks—some good, some not so good.

Brett was a bachelor, but in the last 30 years he had accumulated a lot of stuff in the various apartments he had lived in. The movers were there for the big stuff—the bed, chest of drawers with mirror, refrigerator, computer desk, coffee table, dining room table, TVs, stereo, sofa, and, of course, the books. Earlier, Brett had packed more than a thousand books into cardboard boxes and sturdy paper bags. More books than he would ever have time to read, unless scientists discovered a cure for the aging process. What a day that would be!

The movers were finished in only four hours. Brett gave them each a $10 tip. He wondered if that would be an insult or a compliment. They smiled and said thanks. (He would never know.) He told them he would meet them at the house in a few hours.

The apartment now looked a lot bigger, but there was still a lot of work to be done. All the big things were gone, but there were lots of smaller things. The kitchen cabinets were still full of dishes, plastic ware, and canned and packaged food. All the towels, bedding, and clothes were still in the bedroom and bathroom. In the living room and hall closet were his golf clubs, fishing rods, and toolboxes.

He was going to have to pack all this by himself and then make many car trips to his parents' house. He had thought about asking his best friend for some help, but then decided against that. Jerome had helped Brett make his last two moves. A friend can ask just so many favors from a friend before a friend loses that friend, especially when it comes to helping a friend move or taking a friend to the airport. Brett decided, if worse came to worst, he'd just pack all the remaining things and then hire the movers again.

His phone rang. It was his sister. During a thunderstorm the previous evening, lightning had struck her house, starting a fire that burnt the house down before the fire department showed up. Luckily, she, her husband, their daughter, and their cat escaped unharmed. But they were going to need a place to live while their house was rebuilt. 5.0, 501