Chapter 10

Back at our house, we all touched base. Mom had Cora Beth in her arms, and Becca looked like she was resting, in the rocking chair they brought with them.

I got a chair for Mom and we all sat down to talk.

“So how did your tour of the place go, honey?” mom asked Dad.

“Pretty well, I see Cora Beth has found a good friend in her Gramma?” he responded.

“I just love her so much, I wish I could help by baby-sitting, so the kids could go out,” mom said.

Becca could tell that something was up, as I moved closer to Mom and said, “Would you really like that Mom, seeing Cora Beth whenever you’d like?”

“Yes, Richard – I would,” mom said, cooing back and forth with her granddaughter in her arms.

I motioned Becca to take back her daughter for a moment.

“What’s going on, you two?”

Dad turned to her and said, “Olivia, while Richard was in a meeting I was approached by the Head of Security. After talking to him and our son, I signed a contract to become an employee of Google, effective immediately, after retiring from the Sherriff’s Department. I can cancel within three days, if you don’t want to move here. The pay is good, and the benefits along with being near these two and our granddaughter are even better.”

“Mom,” I said. “There’s a house I put on reserve when we first moved here, just in case I could convince you to move here. I could show it to you.”

“Edward, do we have to wait until you retire, or could we move here now?” mom inquired.

Dad and I were flabbergasted by Mom’s nonchalant question!

Becca said, “I have been hinting to her all day about how nice it is here.”

“What about Tiffany?” mom asked.

“Olivia, she’s nineteen, and is gone more than she’s home. We could ask her what she wants and go from there, how’s that sound?” dad asked.

“I guess so --- so why don’t we all go see this house that our son has picked out for us?” mom said, picking up baby Cora from her mother. Becca got up and took my arm and we had a leisurely walk to the house.

After we all got there and I unlocked the door, Mom’s first words were, “It’s so big?”

“Olivia, If I tell them we want it now, I get a bonus. Enough to hire a day maid as often as you’d like,” dad said, really pulling the trigger on Mom’s ‘button’s.’

You could hear her saying, ‘this could be our room,’ and other confirming remarks. She was sold!

I asked to use some of my ‘unused’ vacation time, to go back with my folks and help them get things in motion to move. Tiffany decided to stay, moving in with Sam at his apartment. Dad pulled her aside to talk to her.

“Tiff, if he ever mistreats you, just say the word and your brother and I’ll be back here like white on rice. However, your mother and I would love to come back here for a wedding, or another grandchild.”

“Daddy, if he mistreats me, I can take care of myself. There will be another grandchild in about eight months.”

I asked, “What species will it be, Tiff?”

I couldn’t resist!

She laughed and said, “Touché little brother, your little one will have a niece or nephew before you know it.”

We all hugged one another.

I said, “Tiffany, if there’s a marriage in the offing, I can get the two of you a home near Mom and Dad, in California – in a heartbeat.”

“Listen to my little brother, helping me out after all of the crap I put you through, growing up.”

“It wasn’t crap sis, it was tough love,” I said.

“Get out of here before you make me cry, Ricky?” she said, although a tear had already started down her cheek.

I went over to her and said quietly, “You have been my standard for a very long time - I almost put the moves on you myself.”

She broke out into a wonderfully raucous laugh and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Dad hired a moving company to come in and box up everything. Mom was right on top of them, making sure everything was labeled clearly and correctly. Within two days, the Mayflower truck was full.

I said goodbye to Russell and Norah, and the three of us drove Dads car to California, a day ahead of the moving truck leaving,

“I can’t believe that Tiffany is going to have a baby?” mom said.

“Don’t worry Mom, we will all come home to see her when she gives birth. I hope the voices in her head leave before she’s a mother?”

Dad laughed and Mom slapped me on the shoulder as we headed off to Northern California.

Becca and Cora Beth met us as we pulled up to our house two days later. Mom got out and took Cora Beth, while I took my wife and gave her quite the kiss, considering it was in front of my parents.

“Richard, be careful – you know what happens when you start with a kiss like that?” dad said.

“You end up with a beautiful baby like this,” mom said.

“Oh, Mom – I know! We plan on Cora Beth being the first of many, maybe four kids.”

“Can you afford to have that many kids in this economy, Richard?” mom asked.

“I’m making $10,000 dollars a month Mom, our kids will have the best, especially now that you are here,” I said, tearing up a bit.

I went over to Mom and gave her, and the little one, a kiss.

Dad and I got the suitcases out of the car and took them to the most distant bedroom from ours.

“Why are we so far from everything?” mom asked.

Dad leaned in and whispered to her causing a blush to appear on her face.

That night Becca and I indeed did start on the rest of our family - a couple of times, actually. I had one more day before I was expected back at work, so with Mom and Dad here to stay with the baby, my wife and I could go off and enjoy ourselves.

I took us back to Great America again, and we had a blast doing a lot of the things we’d done our first time, except we didn’t take any wet rides. There was plenty to do. It’s been over four years since we were here before. A few new rides, a few facelifts to some of the places, but it is still a wonderful place to go. Cora Beth and her siblings should enjoy this place for years to come.

My phone rang!

“Hello, Dad – what’s up?”

“The truck arrived, just thought I would let you know.”

“Thanks, do you want us back to help with anything?”

“Nope, enjoy yourselves – you deserve it. Your mother told the guys not to put anything inside until she says it’s OK. I think she was a MP (Military Police) in a previous life, or maybe a Drill Sargent.”

“All right, Dad – call if you need anything?” I said.

We came home about two hours later, walking over to our folk’s new house. Dad was bringing some boxes inside, so I grabbed some and followed him in, with Becca trailing behind me.

“Wow, you guys – it looks like home in here?” I said.

“Well, Richard that is the idea - hello Rebecca, did you two have some fun today?” mom asked.

“Yes, Olivia – we had a blast, thank you so much for giving us that bit of time together,” my beautiful wife replied. “Where’s Cora Beth?”

“To protect her, we’ve got her in a large container in the kitchen; Richard, those boxes go to our bedroom in the back.”

“Sure thing, Mom.”

As I came back in, Cora Beth was in Becca’s arms, and asleep.

I glanced at Mom for a second, then my wife and daughter and said, “Damn, the women in my life are all so pretty.”

“That’s exactly correct,” dad confirmed.

“I assume that you two will start sleeping in this house starting tonight?” I asked.

“Yes, dear – you and your wife can rest easy, and play hard, now that we’ve got a place of our own,” mom said.

“That goes both ways Mom, without Tiffany and me underfoot, Dad and you could roleplay a little as well,” I said.

“Richard Edward Summers, what a thing to say to your own parents?” mom said.

“Remember that school Research Project we did so long ago?” I said.

“Yes,” they each said.

“Compare your answers to the fifth question and call us later,” I laughed.

They looked at one another and Dad went to her, giving her a nice kiss. He leaned in and whispered something to her. She blushed and slapped at him.

I took my wife and baby girl home to our house, and I figure that my Mom and Dad, may just ‘play hard,’ after we’re gone.

The next day, Dad and I went off to work together, no reason to take separate cars. He reported to Security, while I went to my office, finding a message from Larry.

I went to his office, and after his personal secretary Phyllis stopped me for a moment, I went inside where he was finishing up a phone call. He waved me in, and I sat down.

“Yeah, Eric, I have him in my office right now, join us, why don’t you? Hello Richard?”

“Hey Larry, what’s up?”

“I understand that you have been sitting on a PR idea that intrigues me?” Larry said as Eric walked in. “A blimp, you know, like MetLife or Goodyear?”

“I had that idea a long time ago, it seemed too silly to even bring up,” I said.

“You must have mentioned it to someone, because it got to me. I knew the only person here who would have had that particular idea could be you. Would you be the point man on this, find out who makes them, different sizes - costs, all of that?”

“Sure, it would only work if Google started to sponsor events that we could fly it over, like a Nascar or Indy event, a golf tournament, a large spectacle of tremendous proportions. Part of my original idea was to have it painted white on one side and black on the other, building into it an ultra large screen to show video.”

“A Video-Blimp? That’s an impressive idea, Richard,” Eric said. “It’s yours to run with. Let’s have a follow-up meeting in two weeks, all right?”