Chapter 53: A Very Busy Week! Part 2

July 15-20, 1985

[“I’ll have a long heart to heart talk with her, Linda. Maybe it’s good she’ll be here for a few extra days. Let’s get home and look at these pictures!”]

We greeted the family when we returned home, then Linda and I promptly went to my office to start laying out pictures. I pulled out my pad of 18”x 30” lightly gridded graph paper and tore off a sheet for each of us. We each had a legal pad and began writing down all of the things Stan had ‘dreamed’ to us, that he wanted in his house.

The list was extensive.

He wanted his ‘Master Bedroom’ to have a spiral staircase leading up to a quiet/study room that would be like a crow’s nest on a ship. I saw him looking out 360 degrees surveying his whole forested domain! He wanted his home to be his castle. He wanted three more smaller master bedrooms, for special family.

His other wants included a professional kitchen, with walk-in cooler and freezer in addition to a huge refrigerator and Vulcan range with a grill. The kitchen work area should overlook a great room/family room. He often entertained groups of up to 20, so I envisioned a semi-circular counter top with at least 10 spaces for bar stools. That would provide the open look he wanted.

He indicated that there should also be an indoor/outdoor heated pool with a hot tub and an 8-car garage.

The rec room was to be VERY large with two pool tables, at least eight pinball machines, ping pong table, workout area and a 2-lane bowling alley. While his vision had the big oak tree in the middle of the house/backyard area.

The problem with that is, the root system wouldn’t allow for the extensive basement required for his recroom. It would also be a problem with the pool, with leaves and droppings. Linda suggested we shape the front of the house like a “U” with a large covered porch in the center, between the extended sections of the “U”. We both felt the tree could be in the center of a circular, brick paved drive.

It would still be a focal point, without handcuffing the rest of the layout. We decided that if we designed the house like a large, fat “H”, we could put the pool in the back and only need to wall off the back end. This would also allow for the bowling alley on one side, the pool tables/Ping-Pong tables on the other and a bar/gathering area in the middle, with easy access to both sides.

If we could get lucky, the back of the bowling alley side would have enough elevation drop to install double doors. If it had a walk-out basement, the pinsetters wouldn’t have to be dropped in before the first floor was constructed.

Linda had just been rough sketching, as we came up with ideas. She’d already gone through 20 legal sheets as ideas were changed and finalized within our continuous mental ‘dance’.

We had been in such a zone that we missed dinner!

Mary had come and told us it was ready, but we asked her to just fix us a plate and we’d warm it later.

That was at 5:30.

It was now 9:00 and we were greeted with smirks and razzing as we entered the kitchen. Linda and I took our ‘nuked’ dinner and large iced teas out to the patio, where the rest of the family joined us. Linda and I were VERY thirsty.

Greg chuckled, “Do you guys realize, that about an hour after we got done eating, all five of us were standing around you looking over your shoulders?”

Linda and I looked sheepishly at each other and said, “Um, no, we had no idea you were there.”

Mary giggled, “You guys were in such a zone we were in awe. You two never said a word to each other, although we could ‘hear’ your mental connection, which was nonstop ideas, flying back and forth. Every time Linda would scratch an idea, she wadded up the paper and just pitched it over her shoulder! In the 15 minutes we were there, she hit both Sarah and Bob and you hit Greg and me! We had to get out of there before our laughter broke you out of your zone. We all felt it would be criminal to do that.”

I tried to apologize, “I’m sorry we blew off dinner. This was very, very good.”

Sarah said, “No apology needed. I really want to see your final design. From the little bit that I saw and heard, this is gonna be one hell of a house! Indoor outdoor pool and a bowling alley? My boss has 10 acres up on the North Shore that fronts on Lake Michigan. He’s already interviewed four architects and they’re asking between 50 and $65,000 just for designs and plans!

“He’s not really happy with anything they’ve come up with. He knows Stan, I even think he’s been on one of Stan’s cruises! But, what I’m saying is, if Stan ends up being very happy with your design, you guys are gonna have to think about making up a portfolio and going into business for yourselves. I’m telling you, it’s something to think about. Just out of curiosity, if you were doing this full time, how long would it take before you had the plans all finished?”

Linda looked at me, smiling and shrugging her shoulders.

I thought about it for a second and said, “Depending on how many revisions the client ended up wanting, I’m guessing we could probably have it ready in about two weeks. That is of course with both of us working pretty much nonstop every waking hour during that time. Tonight, we pretty much finalized the basic layout. Hopefully, between tomorrow at work and tomorrow night, possibly working late, we should have the overall elevations and rough floor plans ready for Stan’s inspection and comments. I have a feeling he’s going to like them the way they are. If that’s the case, then we could probably have a set of foundation plans ready by the time we set sail. A lot depends on how much we can get done at work. We’re at a point on the 12 story building where we could devote a few hours every day to this project. We promised Sam that we wouldn’t neglect our main job, but since this is on the books, so to speak, we can work on it while we’re at work.”

Bob said, “Don’t take this wrong, Charlie, but we’re ALL very envious of the kind of work connection you and Linda have. Watching and listening to the two of you was unbelievable.” Chuckle. “Just to let you know, I got inspired and called that dance instructor that I know. Mary and I are going to take intense lessons on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights this week. Anyone else that wants to join us is invited, and of course, you need instruction the worst, Charlie, but I understand your priorities.”

Sarah and Jamie grinned at each other, then both of them eyed Greg. Jamie said, “Why don’t the three of us join them, big boy? That does sound like fun.”

Greg smirked, “I’d rather take my two redheads and go bowling! Don’t forget, Jessica’s coming over on Tuesday. She can go with us, so she won’t feel left out. Let’s do our own thing because I have a feeling we would just slow Bob and Mary down. If they connect anything like Charlie and Linda connect, designing buildings, it would be a hell of a shame to have the three of us mucking up the works.”

Mary embraced Greg in a warm, deep kiss, “Thank you sweetheart. After we get back from the cruise, Bob and I can set the rest of you up with lessons if you want. We both appreciate your thoughtfulness. I’d like to suggest that until at least Wednesday night, we switch up sleeping partners. Charlie can sleep with Linda, Bob can sleep with me and the three of you could sleep together.” She smirked at Greg, “Do you think you can handle two hot redheads for a few days, Big Boy?”

He laughed, “They might kill me, but what a way to go! I think it’s a great idea. When Jessica gets here, I have a feeling she’s going to need some attention too. We’ll just work her in as necessary. I love the idea though!”

Linda was grinning at me, Bob was grinning at Mary, while Sarah and Jamie were smirking playfully at Greg. After hearing all that I said, “And so it is written! Let’s hit the pool for a bit and get ready for a long, busy, but fun week.”

Clothes went flying as the seven of us bailed into the pool. The seven of us physically joined with each other in various combinations of sexy fun. We were all mentally joined and even when I had Jamie riding my throbbing pony, we were laughing and joking with Greg, who was being ridden by Linda on his cock and Sarah riding his face. Bob and Mary were joined on one of our rafts, gently floating along, as all seven of us were mentally ‘sharing’ and started working ourselves into a true orgasmic frenzy.

In a fit of laughter, we broke our simultaneous connections just before the seven of us drowned!

Greg smirked, “Good call my man! Going down the ‘Rabbit Hole’ is NOT a good idea when that ‘Rabbit Hole’ is full of water.”

Bob chuckled, “I can just see the headlines, ‘Seven Lovers Drown in Suburban Pool of Iniquity,’ but what a way to go.”

We were all laughing heartily, as we got out of the pool, dried off and sat around the table enjoying a before bedtime drink. All of the questions and doubts that we might have had earlier, about our relationship vanished Without saying a word, the seven of us WERE a family, a very tight, loving, yet ‘interchangeable’ family. Our ability to happily adapt to each other’s needs and desires, at a moment’s notice, confirmed that belief.

We finished our drinks and headed to bed. Bob said we could have his room tonight, but, he and Mary called ‘dibs’ for their dance nights.

Greg suggested that both his and my rooms needed the same kind of setup. Bob said that since we needed an amp, turntable, tape deck and speakers, he could get us set up with a nice system for $850 each. We both cut Bob a check after he promised he’d have it set up by Tuesday night.

Linda and I put on a nice soft Jazz tape and made love, visualizing doing it in every room in Stan’s future house! Ahhhh.

My eyes popped open, my blissful night’s sleep terminated by a soft, tick, tick, tick. I looked around to see that Bob’s alarm clock was just out of reach. Dammit! Oh well, my chuckling caused my beautiful drafting pixie to giggle, then she reached over to hit the snooze button, just in time! She kissed me sweetly, “Good morning, Boss.”

“Good morning Tinkerbell,” I chuckled, then pointing towards my room, I added “I do believe War’s been Declared!”

“Ohhh yeah. Let the games begin! ... Right after I go pee-pee. Hee-hee.” She said, sprinting to the bathroom. As I finished, I saw Linda sneaking back into the bedroom, “Hee-hee, in two minutes, we get payback.”

Chuckling, “What did you DO, my scathingly precocious pixie?”

Hee, hee, “I put that tape in THEIR alarm clock and set it under their bed!”

“Tick, tick, tick BANG, CRASH, SLAM, ding a ling a ling!”

I heard Bob, “Where’s that damned clock? Holy shit! This has Linda’s fingerprints all over it.”

Mary was giggling, “I tried to warn you! BUT, NOooo. You just HAD to mess around. That warped sense of humor is going to get you into real trouble one of these days!”

Linda and I were just getting in the shower, as Greg, Sarah and Jamie came in, to take care of THEIR morning duties.

The one drawback of the house was, that both the 2^nd and 3^rd bedrooms shared a common bath. On work days, five in one bathroom was quite a traffic jam. The tub/shower was only big enough for two, further complicating things.

Over breakfast, I said, “I think we may have to consider a remodel of the common bathroom.”

Greg chuckled, “Yep, I’m glad you noticed. I didn’t want to say anything, but, I’m not sure how to make it better, without making it bigger.

“Well, then, what if we finish the basement? It’s huge, and we’re only using it for a laundry room. Whoever chooses the basement will have more stairs, but could have a much bigger room and a private, full bathroom. I was also thinking of finishing the whole basement and maybe putting in a large, 8-person hot tub.”

And the crowd goes wild!

Greg said, “I guess Bob and I will have to fight it out. I can tell we BOTH want the basement, especially if we’re serious about the hot tub. Not that the hot tub goes with the bedroom, but, the idea of completely finishing the basement would make it really nice down there.”

Bob added, “And since everyone is getting new sound systems in their bedrooms, the separation of the three bedrooms would help the sound bleed-over from ever becoming a problem.”

I said, “As long as the bedroom isn’t directly under either of the other two main bedrooms. It will also give us a true guest bedroom. It looks like Greg, Linda and I will be drafting up a major remodel when we get back from our ‘Honeymoon Cruise’! We’ll also redo the existing bathroom, to turn the tub into a nice 3-person walk-in shower, like our Master bath shower.”

We all left for work, thinking of the possibilities.

We had our usual Monday morning team meeting, with Larry, Morgan and Allison. Cindy said we could have her until Wednesday at 1:00. That’s when she and Art were meeting with Art’s new client for the new condo job. Larry informed us that they were already starting to design the HVAC (Heating and Air Conditioning) control systems and general wiring and electric routing. The HVAC ducting had already been completed. They were on target to be finished in two weeks. He said Cindy was ours, Linda and mine, for the rest of her time. The floorplans for the six ‘regular’ floors were taking shape, but Linda and I still had much to do.

That’s when I had a revelation.

My senior project had been to develop floorplans for ‘non-standard’ dimension units. 1, 2 3 and 4-bedroom units! I had gotten high marks and one professor even said I should use them if I ever had the need. His comment, “I would gladly purchase any of these. They show originality and sophistication, not seen in most student projects.”

I flashed Linda and her eyes lit up. “You have to go home and get them! With any luck, they might only need minor tweaks. If so, we could have all six floors done by Thursday!”

I told Larry about my revelation and asked if I could be excused for about an hour. I told him what I was going to do. To my surprise, he asked if I wanted company. He suggested that we invite Sam to come with us, so we could have our Monday morning meeting on the way. We told Sam of our plan and the three of us jumped in his Mercedes, headed to my house.

Sam said that Stan was happy with our progress and had already called him this morning telling him about his newly purchased lot and our visit there on Sunday. I was surprised that Sam didn’t harp on putting the 12 story project first. He said he hoped we could find time during the week to work on Stan’s ‘Dream House’.

I made sure Sam was still coming to the wedding and asked him what the etiquette was as far as inviting or not inviting people from work.

He said there was no true etiquette and not to feel that I needed to invite anyone I didn’t consider a close personal friend.

He asked what we were going to do for our honeymoon. I told him we were going on a cruise. I didn’t know how detailed I should get, since Stan told me about it in private. So I was quite surprised when Sam said, “Oh, you’re going on one of Stan’s cruises?”

I chuckled, “Um, well yeah, as a matter of fact we are. How much do you know about his cruises?”

He laughed, “Everything! Melissa and I have been talking about going on one for the last two years. We just don’t know anyone who we’d feel comfortable going with. We don’t really swing, but would be up for just about anything with the right people.”

Larry looked at me, grinning and shrugging his shoulders.

I chuckled, but had to ask, “I know it’s kind of late notice Sam, but, would you and Melissa like to go with us? Stan wanted at least 24 people but we’ve only been able to come up with 15. We wanted to invite our parents, but it seems they’re all having passport problems and couldn’t make it. Do you have a current passport?”

He had a strange grin on his face, “Yes, both Melissa and I have passports, and we would love to go. But, I don’t know, on such short notice, that I could leave for a whole week, especially with both you and Larry being gone. Someone has to steer this here ship. It’s nice to know that you invited us though, thanks for asking.”

When we got to the house, I told Sam to leave the engine running. I sprinted into my office, grabbed the portfolio containing my senior project and was back to the car in less than two minutes.

I was showing Larry what I had and he was grinning, “Why you sly dog! These are pretty damn good, you know, for a senior project. If you want, I can sit with you and Linda and help you modify these, so we can start laying these into your overall floorplans.”

I told him we already had the numbers of the different sized units set in concrete, as they were already sold. We took my school designs and copies of the overall floorplans and sat down at Linda’s and my side by side drafting tables. Larry brought in his stool and by lunchtime, we had all of the units modified and identified as to where they would be used.

Larry took everything back to his office to have Morgan and Allison draft the floorplans onto the master. He smirked, “Now you two can work on Stan’s ‘Dream House’!

Linda and I ran to Burger King and had lunch, discussing how we’d attack the project. By 12:30 we had our headphones on, tapes inserted, minds connected and we were off and running.

I started drawing a scaled floorplan of the basement, while Linda started drawing the conceptual elevations. Her drawings were true artwork. She was even using chalk to color the very realistic views of what different areas would look like. Next we did the main floor, then the second floor and ‘crow’s nest’.

We paused to get something to drink, before doing the outside elevations and pool.

We found our office jammed with people watching us!

“Don’t you guys have anything to do?”

Sam chuckled, “Um, it’s 5:30! We WERE all going home, but, we saw you two and wanted to watch. We’ve been here since 5:00!”

He looked at the stunned gathering, “Ladies and gentlemen, DON’T try this at home. If anyone was wondering why I let these two work together, well, NOW YOU KNOW.”

Art was grinning at Cindy. Cindy said, “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to keep up with THEIR pace! They never said a word to each other!”

Art exclaimed, “NOBODY can! It’s like they’re telepathic or something. They even look flushed, like they just got done making love.”

Linda was blushing, since in a way, he was right-on.

Larry said, “Holy shit! Since lunch, you two have done twice the work that Morgan, Allison and I have done. I stopped in around 3 o’clock, wondering if you two were just listening to tunes and messing around. Then I went and told the gang we had to pick up the pace, because you two were working up a storm.”

I looked at Sam, “Would it be okay if Linda and I stay late? We’ve only got a little more to do and I really want to take this with us for our meeting with Stan tomorrow.”

Sam was grinning and shaking his head, “Of course, just be damn sure you call your room mates, so Mary doesn’t send the cops to come and lynch me!”

Everyone said goodnight, leaving Linda and I alone. We flashed the family and told them we were staying late. Mary flashed that since her and Bob’s dance lessons were close to the office, they would bring us some carry-out chicken dinners and eat with us. We set up the pictures then laid out the sheets for the exterior plans and elevations. We unplugged the headphones, planning instead to use the speakers, since nobody was here to worry about.

We could really crank it up.

Mary and Bob showed up at 6:15 and we had a nice dinner together. Bob said that Greg, Sarah and Jamie were going to West Chicago, to Bowling Green Lanes. A half hour later, after exchanging hot kisses and hugs, the four of us parted to do our ‘thing’.

I noticed Mary left a duffle bag and flashed, “What’s that for?”

She giggled, “That’s for YOU two! There’s a fresh set of clothes in case you two workaholics ‘fall in’.”

Bob was laughing as the two of them set off, arm in arm.

We locked the front doors after they left and embraced in a very intense kiss. Linda said, “Let’s do this! We’ll show them. We’ll still make it home, probably before THEY get home!”

We refilled our ice tea from the pitcher Mary brought for us and hit it. We were soon in our zone and it was magical! I finished the details for the pool and enclosure, after doing the overall dimensioning and garage details.

Stan wanted an 8-car garage, but I split it into two 4-car garages, each being two stories high, on opposite sides of the house. This would allow for expansion for more bedrooms, or perhaps a workshop or storage.

I watched as Linda was putting the finishing touches on the 4^th elevation of the outside of the house, portraying a corner view of the front. It had the brick paved drive, the big oak tree and the house with the crow’s nest appearing to be up in the tree tops. She even had a silhouette looking out, over the lot.

Magical!

I was admiring it as she put her chalk down, checking it over for herself. It was an emotional moment, as we both knew we had captured Stan’s ‘Dream’. We embraced, just holding each other.

Then we realized we were very tired.

When I looked at the clock, I gasped, “Oh Jeez, it’s 5:00 in the morning!”

Linda just smiled, “Let’s go in our little room, open the couch and try to get a nap. I’m too tired to even make love.”

We stripped to our shorts and panties, cuddled and the second our heads hit the pillows, fell fast asleep.

Flash! “That’s perhaps the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” Sam sighed.

We sat up, and Linda’s breasts were now proudly on display. Sam was smiling and lowered his camera.

“Are we in trouble?” I asked.

Sam began laughing, “Only if the two of you don’t immediately go home after your meeting with Stan and get some real sleep! Larry should have some coffee ready, why don’t the two of you put some clothes on and meet us in the break room?”

Linda hadn’t even been trying to conceal her naked breasts and the effect they were having on Sam was humorous. He was trying to hide the bulge in his pants, as he turned and headed for the break room.

We had stacked all of our drawings, anticipating putting them in a tube. I noticed they were gone. We got to the break room and saw that Sam had spread them out across various tables and he and Larry were studying them closely.

Sam looked up at us with his mouth open. “Oh my God! Stan is going to flip out! Would you guys mind terribly, if I went with you for your meeting this morning? I HAVE to see the look on my friends face when he sees these.

“Do you know he’s been talking about this house for the last three years? Looking at these elevations, I do believe you’ve captured everything he’s ever dreamed about! Even the bowling alley! He’s always wanted one but didn’t think it was possible. Did he ask you to put one in?”

I shook my head, “Not with words, no. I guess you could say I cheated, because I connected with him and read his mind. Please don’t tell anyone that, I’m only telling you because I knew you’d understand.”

Sam zipped his lips and just smiled.

Larry said, “I can’t believe the two of you got all of this done last night! I know these are preliminary drawings, but the level of detail and dimensioning would’ve taken me three days to do, at least. Nevermind those elevations. Linda, I thought the elevations that you and Cindy did for the atrium of Stan’s building were amazing. These completely blow those away!”

Linda was smiling at him and winking at me.

Larry continued, “I’ve been here since 6 o’clock. I came in to try and get the 12-story drawing’s ready for your meeting this morning. When I saw these on your desk, well, I spent nearly half an hour just mesmerized looking at them. Make sure you get some of those good color copies made before your meeting. There’s no way Stan’s going to let you leave with these still in your possession!”

Sam took a sip of coffee, “If it’s okay, we’ll stop at that same copy place you stopped at before. Since we have an account there, I want at least three copies of the elevations. Blueprints of the floor plan should be sufficient for both Stan and us.”

It was just past 7:30 AM and some of the ‘earlybird’ employees started filtering into the break room to get their morning helping of mud. Everyone was stopping to look at our drawings.

Allison asked, “Geez, just how late did you guys stay here last night?”

Larry laughed, “Allison, they never went home! Sam found them taking a catnap in their little hideaway in their office.”

Sam came back in the break room and told us that he moved up our meeting with Stan to 9:00. He said that works out better for everyone, as Stan had someplace he had to go early this afternoon.

Larry summoned his troops, saying they had a little bit more to do to be ready.

Linda and I gathered up our plans, putting them in order, with her last elevation on top.

Just before 8:30, Linda and I were headed to the copy store, with Sam following us in his Mercedes. We made the requisite copies and got to Stan’s office right at 9:00. Sam had suggested we show him the 12-story building’s drawings first, or he was afraid we would never get to them.

Stan was very impressed with our progress, especially the different layouts for the condo units. He said awkwardly, “I know I’m not the expert, but calling these ‘standard’ units is wildly understating how nice they are. I may have to upgrade the nomenclature for the six stories to ‘tailored standard’ units.”

We all got a laugh out of that and said we could change the nomenclature on the title block. As we were putting away the 12-story drawings, Stan was fidgeting around with a hopeful look on his face. Sam teased him for a few minutes, then said, “Oh gee Stan, would you like to see the preliminary drawings Charlie and Linda have done for your new home?”

He was nodding excitedly, “You mean you guys actually have something for me? I told you I wasn’t expecting anything until after your cruise.”

I smiled and picked up the tube with his drawings in it. “Well, if you want to wait, I guess we can wait.”

“Oh no, no, you mean you actually have a couple of drawings for me?” He looked very surprised.

As I was opening the tube, Sam was grinning. Before I could even unroll them Stan’s eyes got huge seeing that there were perhaps 10 pages. When I unrolled them and he saw Linda’s concept drawing/elevation of the front of his house, Stan broke into tears. Sam went over and put his arm around him, afraid he was going to pass out.

“O h m y G o d! Oh my sweet Lord, I can’t believe how beautiful this is! It’s like I’m looking into my own dream!”

He started pointing at the crow’s nest, “This parapet here, this is perfect. I wanted something just like this but, I didn’t know how to ask you for it. Oh my God, that looks like my silhouette looking out! That’s going to be my favorite room in the whole house.”

As he went through the rest of the drawings he was equally astounded. He was totally in awe that everything was just the way he’d always dreamed it would be, even down to the bowling alley and rec room in the basement. He gave me a hug and quietly whispered in my ear, “Please tell me you can actually build this Charlie? This is MORE than everything I could’ve ever dreamed of! Someday I hope you’ll tell me your secret as to how you managed to come up with all this.”

I whispered back, “Stan, having people react just the way you did is why I do this job. Someday I’ll tell you everything, but for now, just believe that I have a special gift and that gift is making peoples dreams come true. As you can see, my assistant Linda is truly my soulmate. The elevations are purely her creations based on our connection ... And yes, we CAN and WILL build it!”

Stan went over and gave Linda a tentative hug, not wanting to be forward or suggestive. I heard him whisper something to Linda that brought tears to her eyes and she hugged him with much more fervor.

Stan went over and hugged Sam. They were whispering to each other as they engaged in a ‘man hug’ for the ages. I heard Sam chuckling, “I was planning to do that very thing Stan, actually everything you just said, but as their boss, I do believe they’ve earned it.”

Linda and I were looking at each other and grinning at their comments. Sam started laughing, “Stan wants me to give you two the rest of the week off! He said he is even willing to pay your wages. I told him with everything you did last night, that wouldn’t be necessary because I was going to bill him for it. As of right now, unless some outrageous emergency comes up, you’re off until after your cruise. Get out of here and I don’t want to see your faces until Saturday. You two did one hell of a job and both my friend here and I appreciate it”

We gathered up our copies of the drawings, for our portfolio, and Sam took the rest of them back to the office with him.

Linda and I stopped and got some lunch/breakfast at the Manor.

Tammy was surprised to see us at such a strange hour on a workday. We told her we just finished a major job and were going to be off until after our wedding. I had my usual biscuits and gravy with two eggs on top (a Charlie skillet) and Linda had a Gyro with extra sauce and some French fries. We were still very tired, but knowing we didn’t have to go back to work for the rest of the week, certainly had the adrenaline flowing.