Chapter 29

Monday, I woke before the alarm and even before Dawn was whining to get out. That surprised me and I glanced at the clock, noting that it was close enough to that time that I shouldn’t bother going back to sleep. I carefully escaped from the group hug that we’d become overnight and shut off the alarm, going to get a quick shower before I took Dawn out for her morning trip to the backyard. When I got back, Dawn was awake and watching me as I moved around quietly, getting dressed.

“Come on, girl!” I whispered and she yawned and bounded off the bed, following me out and letting me tether her in the yard for a bit while I went back inside. I gently woke the girls and let them wake up while I took the opportunity to start planning the family portrait that Emma’s parents wanted done. I’d seen her family, so the only ones I hadn’t met in any way were Hanna’s parents. I could get their photos from Facebook. I was planning on doing a family reunion portrait and being a perfectionist, I wanted to avoid leaving anyone out.

They eventually managed to finish showers and find clothes and then we all went next door for breakfast. Dan and Mom were just finishing and getting ready for the day at work when we arrived. We greeted them and then I wandered into the kitchen to see if I could help.

“Sit!” Patty said simply. “We have everything just about ready. We’ll bring it to the table.” I returned to the table and a few moments later, Patty sat a plate of pancakes in front of me before returning to the kitchen. Lilly brought a plate to Tricia next and then Lana and Beck got theirs a few moments later.

We talked about plans for the day and Patty said that she was going shopping once breakfast was over to resupply for the next few days. We were returning next door as soon as we were done to meet Louisa and Gina and then we were going to take her to Dad’s place and get all her paperwork signed.

We all had our plans for the day, so it seemed. I mentioned I was really looking forward to trying the caramel apples Louisa was going to teach us to make.

“I’d like to see that,” Patty said. “Is she doing that today?”

“I hope so,” I said. “I’ll call you when she’s going to show us if you want,” I offered.

“Sure,” she agreed. “With her helping out around here, I have more time to do desserts like that.”

“If you’re doing any baking, Tricia wants in,” I said, glancing at her. “She loves to bake. Not such a fan of cooking though, just baking.”

She nodded. “I can always use more kitchen helpers,” Patty said, giving Tricia a smile. “I’ve got some tricks you’re gonna love,” she told her.

Tricia grinned back. “I’d like that!” she said delighted.

Once we were done, the four of us went back to the house to wait for Louisa and Gina. I started to tidy up the bedroom a little, making sure that there was space for her clothes and wondered about her machines and a space for her sewing. I decided that we’d figure it out and she’d probably have a few ideas.

We heard the front door open and went upstairs to meet a manic Gina, who barreled into me in a tight hug. I put my arms around her and hugged her back. “Welcome home, Gina Honey,” I said, squeezing her gently.

She’d already dropped a bunch of bags at the door and the girls were gathering them up and carrying them downstairs. When Gina let me go, she was grinning widely. “You need to show me where I can put everything,” she said sweetly. I smiled and kissed her softly. “That can wait,” I told her. “We need to show your mother around.”

She nodded and we let go of each other. She started helping the girls move her stuff downstairs and I went to talk to Louisa.

She smiled as Gina took a box downstairs. “She’s happy,” she said softly. “Happier than Miguel and I can remember her being. What happened in September hurt her.” Louisa’s face clouded at that, but she pressed on. “Gina was always a girl who seemed to be waiting for something. She was always reserved, quiet. She never dated or talked about boys until she met you, that was after everything that happened to her. What you’ve done for our Gina has wiped away the hurt those boys put on her. Maybe it’s answered the question of what she’s been waiting for too.”

We heard the girls coming up the stairs and shared a small smile. “I’m deeply humbled,” I told her quietly before we were joined again and the moment was gone. After that, we decided to go to Dad’s and get her familiar with him and his apartment, get paperwork done so she could start there. Frank’s would be tomorrow morning, but we’d take a few moments at the end of the day for her to meet him and be shown around the house there since we’d all be out at work or school tomorrow.

Gina was headed back to her place to get more of her stuff and Beck was going with her. Louisa was driving a rather old, decrepit-looking Toyota and I made note to look into it. I rode with her and Lana followed us since she knew the way.

We chatted a little more on the way there since it was just the two of us. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you about things with Gina,” she assured me. “I just wanted you to know that she’s very happy. We still expect to see her regularly, but you’ve been a big help to her. That went a long way toward convincing us that she’d be fine with you.”

“I understand,” I said softly. “Gina is very special to me. She’s looked out for my well-being as much as I’ve looked out for hers.”

“I know,” She smiled and glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “Gina tells me everything,” she said. “She’s told me how trusting you are and how generous. Those two are sometimes a recipe for disaster when you meet people who will take advantage of you.”

“Like Cheryl’s parents wanted to do,” I confirmed with a shrug. “I would have gladly helped them if they hadn’t been intent on taking whatever they could get their hands on.”

She nodded. “She told me about that, but she spoke more about how you have girls interested in you not for yourself, but for your wealth. She’s vowed to stand between you and them.”

“She need only tell me who they are and that she doesn’t trust them,” I said simply. “I trust her and when she tells me something, I believe her.”

“That’s something that she tells me about too. She says you’re very smart, but that you take advice without hesitation. That makes her feel special too.”

“She IS special,” I said with a smile. “I’ve found out the hard way that just because I’m smart, doesn’t mean I always come up with the best solutions. I’d have to be pretty stupid not to listen to her advice.”

She smiled. “Not everyone thinks that way though,” she pointed out. “Men in particular think that asking for or following advice makes them look weak.”

I shrugged. “That seems silly,” I said lightly. “I’ve got a habit of overthinking problems and missing obvious solutions. Sometimes it’s better to listen to someone with a different perspective than to keep bashing your head against the wall.”

“That is true, but men are prideful creatures. Your intelligence makes you prone to that more than some, but you seem to avoid it. I don’t mean that to be insulting. I just meant that being as smart as you, it’s natural for you to assume you know best.”

I nodded. “I understand. I don’t think my gifts make me any better than anyone else. I’m also trying to be careful not to eclipse anyone else with the things I choose to study.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, following my directions as we drove.

“Well, for example, I don’t learn music because of my sister. Where things come so easily for me, it would be easy for me to inadvertently take over her dream and leave her feeling like I stole her future from her. She’s already had some difficulty in dealing with how much attention I’ve been getting. Taking up a musical instrument would just be too much for her.”

“Ah, yes,” she nodded in understanding. “Siblings often feel that way if there’s success for one and not for the other. I think you staying out of her music is probably a good thing. You do that with all your girls?”

I nodded. “For the most part. I’m not going to take up sewing for the same reason I stay away from music. I’ve been slowly learning how to cook, but I avoid baking because Tricia is interested in doing that. I AM looking forward to learning how to make these chocolate covered caramel apples though. I can see me spending a lot of money on apples based on what Gina’s told me.”

She laughed at that. “Like I said, they’re a little work and some expense, but they’re very good. I don’t mind making them when I have the time and supplies.”

“We went out and bought everything the other day. We actually overbought since I wanted to try making some and I don’t think I’m the only one.”

She nodded. “I’ll teach you to make them this afternoon if we have time once everything is cleaned up.”

I pointed out the building and we pulled up to the visitor’s parking area. Lana pulled in behind us and the three of us went inside. We took the elevator up and Dad met us at the door with a smile and a handshake for me and Louisa. Lana gave him a small hug and then he showed Louisa around. I notice he conveniently skipped the room with the fetish furniture and Lana and I shared a knowing smile.

We left them alone and slipped into the room, looking at the furniture a little more since we were here. “It’s really a shame that we don’t have a place for all of this,” Lana said with a sigh. “Some of it looks like a lot of fun. Beck would love to be strapped into half of this stuff.”

“I know,” I said, looking at the whipping bench. It must have cost a fortune, but it was also huge. “Maybe when we get a new place,” I mused absently.

“Planning on moving again?” she asked, giggling.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” I admitted. “Gina’s sewing needs space, you and Beck are almost certainly going to want to move back in, Tricia AND Frank may end up folding their household into ours, Tabby and Collie may want to be back once their lease is up and I’ve noticed that the house isn’t really set up for Dawn very well either. I was thinking about getting her a dog door, but where the back door is doesn’t give us a good spot to let her in and out.”

She nodded. “Do you really think you’ll be able to find a house that works for everything we need?” she asked skeptically.

“No, I think we’ll have to look for land and build what we want. Hell, I’d be comfortable buying a large property and building two or three houses around a central pool and deck.”

“That would be cool,” she admitted. “That way we’re not tripping over each other.”

“Exactly. Even our kitchens are too small for what we need when everyone’s there. Look what we had to do for Christmas. It worked, but it was more work than it would have been if we had one kitchen designed for a family our size.”

“We should have a family meeting about it,” she suggested. “Maybe Saturday if no one’s busy.”

I nodded. “We can do that. Not in the evening though. I have a dinner to go to and I’d like to take several of the girls with me.”

“Formal?” she asked, her eyes brightening.

“Let’s find out,” I suggested and led her back out to find out what Dad and Louisa were up to.

He was helping her fill out the details for her tax forms. She’d never done this before and it was a new experience for her. I saw that most of the paperwork was finished and they were polishing off the last few pages, so we waited to talk to him about dinner on Saturday.

He’d made a reservation for a private dining room at a restaurant that specialized in steaks. He gave us the restaurant details and the time of the reservation.

I nodded. “If there’s a problem, I’ll let you know. I’ll try to talk to her this week to confirm everything. What’s the normal dress code for this place?” I asked.

“It’s a fairly upscale restaurant. I normally would have picked something a little more casual, but you said you wanted to find other restaurants,” he admitted.

“Cancel the reservation and pick something you’re comfortable with,” I said. “This is your introduction to the woman. We want to set the baseline where you’re comfortable. Pick the kind of restaurant you’d want to take her on a special occasion.”

He nodded. “Okay, then how about the Captain’s Table?” he suggested. “It’s new, so I don’t really know much about it, but a couple of people from work have been there and said the food and service was good.”

I nodded and looked up the place on the internet, found their number and gave them a call. “Hello,” I said when the phone was answered. “I’m looking to host a private dinner this Saturday and The Captain’s Table was suggested. Do you have private dining rooms?”

“Yes, we do,” the woman on the other end of the phone answered me. “What size party were you looking to host?”

“Ten or twelve people, I think is our upper limit,” I told her.

“We have a twelve-person dining room. What was the time of your dinner?”

“Saturday at 6:30 would be perfect,” I told her. “We can be a little flexible with the time though.”

“We have it booked up to 5PM,” she told me. “I’ll pencil you in for right after that, but if their engagement goes long, there may be a slight delay in seating you.”

“That’s fine. We’re hosting an informal meeting, so I’m willing to book the room for the rest of the evening. Just add that surcharge to the bill.”

“Of course. What’s the reservation name?”

“Matt Russell,” I told her.

“Perfect. You’ve got the room from 5PM until midnight. I’ve made a note that your expected arrival is for 6:30, but that should keep you from having to wait for the room to be serviced.

“Thank you. We’ll see you Saturday.” I hung up the phone and looked at Dad and Lana. “Done,” I said and gave him the restaurant address. “It’s online if you lose track of it,” I assured him.

“Now we just have to make sure she can make it,” he said, slightly nervous.

“I’ll talk to Victoria and see if she can put me in touch with her,” I assured him. “For now, I think we’re gonna leave you and Louisa to figure everything out.”

I went to say goodbye to Louisa and told her we’d see her back at the house.

I took Lana’s hand and was about to leave when something occurred to me. I paused and looked at her with what must have been a strange look on my face because the look she returned was confused and concerned.

I smiled and let her hand slip out of mine, turning and walking to the balcony. I opened the door and stepped out, hearing her and Dad both exclaim over what I was doing.

I went to the railing and looked down. I could remember every detail of the view this summer and other than the snow, it was no different now. I couldn’t see the stain on the pavement now, but no doubt it was gone between the snow, traffic and time. I looked down with an emotion I’d never felt when I viewed this scene in the past: serenity.

Lana came out onto the balcony and grabbed my arm in a death-grip. I looked up into her eyes and saw worry there. I smiled at her and shook my head. “Nothing,” I said. “That’s why I came out here. It has no draw now. NONE!”