Chapter 2

I took her back to her motel the next day. When she told her girlfriends about our future wedding, they were ecstatic. They told her they knew she was doing the right thing. It was almost evening and they had to catch their plane out. Mine was leaving near the same time. I drove us all to the airport and we said our goodbyes. I told her I would be getting in touch with her sometime during the week to start our wedding plans.

I couldn't believe I was so happy. Here I was on a business trip and finding a woman that I considered a soul mate. I knew no one else in the family would believe it; hell, I hardly believed it myself. I was always known for my self-assurance and decision-making. I knew my previous marriages wouldn't last. They were models and actresses who wanted to get ahead. They got what they wanted and I got what I wanted.

When I got back to Youngstown I went to see my mother and father. "How was the trip, son?" my dad asked.

"Very good, Dad. The project is coming along great. We hired the right people; they're even ahead of schedule. But, I have even bigger and better news."

My mom started to walk out of the room. "It's alright, Mom, this isn't business. I'm getting married."

My mom was still like all mothers. She started crying, came over, and hugged me. On the other hand my dad said, "Rob, this is number four, isn't it? Another model or actress. Hell, son, just fuck them and give them a few bucks. You should know that by now."

"No, Dad, Dawn is different; she's a real estate agent around Pittsburgh. I know you don't believe me right now but wait till you meet her. She's the one, Dad; she's like mom and wants all the things that I want."

"What about the business, son? What did you tell her?"

"The truth, Dad, but not any details. I told her about our pasts and how you have been turning everything over to legit businesses. Dad, she didn't know anything about us till after I told her. She's so different, Dad, I know you're going to love her."

"We'll see, Rob. I hope you're right about her. I will run a background check, you do know that."

"You don't need to, Dad; I'm in love, not stupid. I called Michelle from Vegas and the check is already being done."

When I went to the office the following day Michelle, my executive secretary and cousin already had reports on Dawn.

"Everything checks out so far, Rob. A good old, I should say young, country girl. She makes her living selling real estate, just like she told you. She comes from a large family, mostly blue collar people. Her employer is above board and we are running checks on some of the employees. There are only about seven of them. You really like this one, don't you, Rob? I've never seen you so happy. I hope it all works out for you."

This was standard procedure with everyone we came in contact with. If I didn't run the check, I knew my dad would have. This way it was above board. Dawn's family didn't have much money. Dawn herself had an apartment she shared with one of her younger sisters. She made enough to support herself but not a whole lot extra. She had two thousand in the bank. I'd have to do something about that. I had Michelle wire fifty thousand dollars into her checking account.

The next day I got a call from Dawn. Michelle patched the call to me. "Rob, what did you do? I told you I didn't want your money. I just want you."

"Don't I at least get a 'Hello, Honey', I missed you, before being yelled at?" I asked.

"Oh, God, Honey, I'm so sorry. You're right. Let me start over. Hi, Honey, how are you? I thought I'd call you to let you know my bank called me and said there was fifty thousand dollars deposited in my checking account. You wouldn't happen to know how that happened, would you?"

She was a little spitfire and I loved it. I had to laugh.

"Dawn, that is our money. You need some money for our wedding plans. I figured that would be a nice start. Your two thousand wouldn't quite do it."

"How did you get that information about me? You ran a background check on me, didn't you? You don't trust me? What kind of marriage is that going to be?" I could hear her crying lightly in the background.

"Dawn, I knew it would be done, I'm sorry. I wanted to do it before anyone else did. You're welcome to run one on me if you like. Honey, I trust you, you have to believe me. I'm coming to Midland Saturday to meet your family. Is that alright?"

"What? You're coming here? What should I tell my family and friends about you? I don't know what I can say or not say," said Dawn.

"Tell them the truth. Only recent stuff. Just not the personal things I told you about the family. Tell them I'm madly in love with you. I really am, you know?"

"You're the talk of the office. I didn't say anything but Julie and Lisa told them that I met a rich guy and am going to get married. They mentioned you were a businessman and that you were really good looking. Is that alright?"

"Honey, you don't have to walk on egg shells. Tell them about my business and things like that. Just keep the so-called family out of it. If they ask anything say you don't know, you haven't known me that long. Don't worry; everything is going to be alright. We're meant to be together. See you Saturday."

"Oh, God, this is stupid but my little sister lives with me. Would you mind if I got you a motel room for the night. At least till after you meet the family?"

"That's fine. Maybe you can sneak out of your room and come see me for some illicit sex."

"You got that right, Buster! I love you. See you Saturday. Bye."

On Saturday I showed up at her apartment. Her younger sister looked a lot like her. "You must be Rob. Dawn hasn't stopped talking about you. Did you two really fall in love in just a couple of days? It hardly seems possible," said her sister Susie.

"Strange things happen in this world. If someone would have told me that I could fall for any woman that quick, I'd have laughed at them," I replied.

"Come on in. Sis is getting ready. So, you are going over to meet Mom and Dad. I'll tell you ahead of time that Mom will love you and Dad will be leery of you. He doesn't trust anyone who wants to date his daughters. He hated Ralph, Dawn's first husband. None of us cared for him, especially after he cheated on Dawn. She deserved much better," remarked Susie.

I already verified something. Dawn's first husband was a cheater. Why anyone would cheat on her is beyond me but I guess life is full of surprises.

Dawn came into the room. "Hi, Rob," she greeted me with a light hug and a kiss. "Has Susie been giving away all our family secrets?"

"Just a few; she said your mom will like me and your dad won't trust me. Does that sound about right?" I laughed.

We went to Dawn's parent's home. They still had two teenagers at home but they were gone for the day. I did all the gentlemanly things that I had been taught, like opening her door and such. When we walked into the house, her mom came right up to me and gave me a hug.

"Welcome to our home, Rob," she said.

It just occurred to me that I didn't know her parent's names. Dawn went by her old married name of McCall but her parents were Bill and June Somebody.

I replied the best I could, "Nice to meet you, Mrs..." I looked over at Dawn.

"Oh, my God, I never told you my parents' last name. I'm so embarrassed. It's Sadowski, Bill and June Sadowski."

"It's okay, Dawn. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Sadowski. Dawn has told me a lot about you. Quite a feat raising all the kids. I come from a large family too. Mom always said it's a thankless job but she wouldn't have changed it for the world."

"When you see your mom, tell her I feel the same as she does. By the way, you can call me June if you like."

We went out back and met Dawn's dad. He wasn't an overly big fellow but he had a hell of a tight grip when shaking hands. Right off the bat he asked me what I did for a living. I explained that I basically owned and ran a trucking and construction operation. "Are they union companies?" he asked.

I knew he worked in the mill and union people sort of stick together.

"A lot of our workers belong to the building and trades union. We have both independent and union truckers. It's up to the individual business how they operate," I replied.

"What kind of name is Milo? I guess you could figure Sadowski is Polish, and we're proud of it," remarked Bill.

"I'm of Serbian descent. My great grandparents came here from Yugoslavia. They're name was Milosevich back then. My dad had it shortened to Milo."

"Dad, enough questions. I told you how I felt about Rob. Isn't that enough?"

"It's okay, Dawn. I don't blame your father. If we have girls I would be very leery on who they dated too. Real men worry about their daughter."

Of course that was the right thing to say. I was now on the good side of Bill. We sat down and had dinner and then Dawn and I went for a drive around her town. She pointed to where she worked. I asked her if she liked working there. She told me she loved Lisa and Julie and that Bill was a fair boss but a couple of guys were always hitting on her.

After she came back from Vegas and everyone found out about me, a couple of guys snickered behind her back. She later overheard them discussing how she would spread her legs for money but wouldn't do it for them.

"I was really pissed, Rob. There was no call for talk like that. I always treated them fair but no woman wants to be hit on all the time after she tells someone 'No'. When I heard them talking about me it made me mad. I was going to confront them but what good would that have done, so I let it go. I'm glad I don't have much time left there. They're starting to give me the creeps."

"Would you like me to intervene? I can have them cool it some. Make your final working days enjoyable."

"No, I think I can handle it. Just a few more weeks. Besides, you told me you were out of the mob business," she smiled.

"That's not any kind of mob business; that's protecting my fiancée."

We went on and she continued to show me her town. She showed me where a few of her relatives lived and the motel I'd be staying at, but not alone. Life felt so good to me. I hope that everyone could experience true love in their life.

I stayed the one night and we made love over and over again. She told Susie to keep her mouth shut about her not being home. Even though she was in her thirties, she didn't want to make it known that she spent the night at the motel with me. We both figured everyone knew but it was just one of those moral issues.

The following week we decided she would come and meet my parents. I told her she would be staying at my apartment. I had extra bedrooms and she could have her choice.

My parents loved her. As I have mentioned, she was like the girl next door. She offered to help my Mom in the kitchen but I told her to relax and talk to Dad. I'd help Mom set the table.

You would have to know my dad. He spoke with a slight accent. Not sure where it came from. He was a good man in his own way. A lot of people just got on his bad side. That wasn't a good thing. He talked to Dawn and was surprised how smart she was. He decided to ask her kind of a trick question.

"Dawn, who does the wife of a blind man dress for?"

"Well, Mr. Milo, it's a rather easy question. She dresses for her husband. She wants to look good for him. He may not see her but everyone else does. Let's take Rob for an example. I want to look nice when I'm not around him. My dress, my actions, and my demeanor will reflect on him even though he may not be there at the time."

"Very good answer, my dear," replied Dad.

"To be completely honest, Mr. Milo, I should say that I also dress for myself. When I dress nice outside, I feel pretty inside. I want to look my best for myself as well as my husband."

"Stop questioning the poor girl, Ned. I don't want you scaring her away," said my mother, Agnes.

"The only one who could scare me away would be Rob if he decided that we shouldn't be together," replied Dawn

For the next month we went back and forth to each other's house. We decided we would be getting married that next month. I didn't want to wait any longer. Dawn was worried about all the plans. I told her I would take care of it if she wanted me to.

"You're going to plan the wedding? Rob, I did my first one and it was nothing but a hassle. I would just as soon elope and not worry about it. I just want to be with you."

"So we'll do that. Next month we'll go to Las Vegas and get married. We'll spend a couple of nights at the Grand. My friend Micah will surely give us a nice room," I suggested.

"Oh, Honey, I'd love that but your mother and my mom are both looking forward to the reception. They have a list of invitations a mile long. I can't hurt their feelings, I just can't," said Dawn.

"I'll take care of it, Honey," I replied.

The following weekend I took my parents to meet June and Bill Sadowski. For some odd reason they hit it off great. Dawn and I were so happy about it. I walked in the living room where they were all seated and said I had an announcement. Everyone stopped talking as I stood up and took Dawn by the hand and she stood next to me.

I knelt down on one knee and asked her to marry me in front of our parents. She said yes with tears in her eyes and I slipped an engagement ring onto her finger. I stood up and we kissed. Everyone started talking at one time.

"I have another announcement to make." Again there was silence. "Dawn and I are going to fly to Las Vegas to get married."

My mom said, "What about the reception and party."

June said, "We told all our friend and relatives. What are we supposed to do?"

I spoke up. "I have an idea if you want a reception. Mom, Dad, June, Bill, we'll fly you to Las Vegas for the wedding. The following weekend we can have a reception here but I'm not having my new wife doing all the work. Mom, June, we decided to leave it all up to you two. If you want a reception you can get together and have as small or big a party as you want. Have it catered or get a planner, I don't care. Dawn and I will be too busy trying to make grandchildren to worry about a party."

I forgot to tell you that I live in a penthouse apartment. Dawn was speechless when she first saw it. Her breath was taken away one other time when I introduced her to one of my best friends. Actually she was scared to death. He is one of my lead assistants, and has been known to watch my back. There is nobody that I would trust more. Let me explain him to you and how we met. I've explained it to Dawn.

I was picked up for tax evasion. One of my ex's turned me into the Internal Revenue on tax fraud. It was a good ten years ago. I was picked up at the office on a Friday and was placed in a holding cell. Also in my cell was a big black man. He stood about 6' 6" and must have weighed 300 pounds. He asked me what I was in for and I told him tax evasion but there was no case but I probably couldn't get out till Monday.

"What are you in for?" I asked.

"Assault and battery. My employer was trying to put the make on my wife. She told him to stop and he laughed at her. It was then I walked in and beat the shit out of him. The stupid idiot messed with my wife. I couldn't let that happen. I put him in the hospital. They said he will probably pull through but be hurting for a long time."

"I was a professional wrestler before working in the warehouse. After our fourth kid I decided to find another type of work. I started at this warehouse and it was okay. Of course I got fired the same day they put me in this joint."

"Sounds like you'll get out of that one," I said.

"Afraid not, second offense, got in a fight last year. I guess my hands are considered deadly weapons. All I was doing was protecting what's mine. The lawyer told me to plead no contest and I might only get two years."

I held out my hand. "I'm Rob. What's your name?"

"Bubba, people call me Bubba," he said.

"Is that really your name?"

"Jerome, Jerome Parsons, my close family and friends call me Jerry. I guess Bubba stuck when I wrestled."

"Glad to meet you, Jerry. Don't plead no contest. Let me get you a lawyer and we'll see if we can get you out of here."

"Man, I don't have the money for no lawyer. This one they're giving me is free."

"Don't worry, Jerry, I'll take care of it."

"Why you do that for me man? You don't even know me?"

"Jerry, everyone deserves a fair shake. I'm going to see you get one."

On Monday my charges were dropped for lack of evidence. My ex had no proof at all. I had my lawyer contact one for Jerry. For some reason, all charges were dropped against him. I guess the guy he put in the hospital had second thoughts.

I was at my office when my receptionist told me a Jerome Parsons would like to speak to me. I heard him yell out in the background, "It's Bubba."

"Show him in, Michelle."

"What can I do for you, Jerry?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just wanted to stop in and thank you for helping a brother out. I feel I owe you man."

"No, you don't owe me, just glad I could help you out. Do you have a job lined up?"

"Nothing yet but I do have a degree in business. It was just easier to start into wrestling. I'm not as dumb as I look," replied Jerome.

I offered him a job. I told him he would have to be kind of my bodyguard. It was more watch my back than anything. I explained what I would pay him and he started the next day. He was a hard worker, and learned fast. Now he became more of my personal assistant when necessary.

After a couple of months he invited me over for dinner. He lived in a project type housing. His wife made a hell of a meal but I had to do something about their living arrangements. I went out one day and found a big house out in the country. I showed it to Jerry and his wife and asked if they wanted to buy it. We went to the bank and I cosigned their loan. Jerry was a proud man and now he was buying a house for his family. I could easily have bought him the house but I preferred to help others help themselves.

Now of course ten years later I would totally trust Jerry with my life. He also has eight kids now. Thank God for the big house.

I talked to Dawn and she told me that her office was going to throw her a going away party on Friday. It was mainly the office group and a few other people in the building. I told her to enjoy herself and I would be there Saturday to see her. I thought about going Friday to her going away party but I figured it was her day. Besides in a week we would be married.

On Friday morning I got an unsigned e-mail from someone in Dawn's office. They told me they overheard a conversation that one employee wanted to get even with Dawn. The e-mail said the man involved - his name was Justin - was going to try to blackmail Dawn. He figured she had all kinds of money now.

I have to say this really bothered me. Blackmail her for what? What did she do? I do get crank e-mail but I was going to take this one seriously. This was my future wife we were talking about.

I was talking with Jerry and we were discussing the going away party for Dawn. I was bothered by it. I asked him if he would mind going to Midland with me and keep an eye on the party. I didn't want Dawn to know I was close by. I trusted her but something was wrong.

I called Dawn on Friday morning. She said she was happy to hear from me. I asked her more about the party and she told me it was going to be held at the Ramada Inn banquet room. She mentioned that she wished it would be over. She didn't like being the center of attention. She would be so glad to see the next day