Chapter 65

That year, we had both agreed to spend Christmas with Rosie. Sadly she was already getting divorced, her husband had a drinking problem that she had not realized. And after being given the ultimatum of her or the bottle and his insisting he did not have a problem, she moved out.

But she got a nicer apartment, this time a two bedroom in Canoga Park. One of bedrooms was set up as an office, so she was not using the kitchen table as she had for years. And because of this, we decided to hold it at my place. And of course, that meant the entire clan. Not just Rosie, but Andrew, his wife Sally, and Linda. I was a bit hesitant, but since the last few meetings had been good ones for the most part, I of course welcomed her over also.

But knowing who all was coming, I made some adjustments. All alcohol was up in the bedroom, and only sparkling cider and other non-alcoholic beverages were available. And it is not because I did not trust them, but I did not want to take any chances with an accident, or temptation.

Rosie of course came over early, and the three of us were in the kitchen, drinking coffee and pretending to be busy with the cooking when there was a knock on the door. Andrew came in and we shook hands, then Sally, who kissed my cheek as she hugged me. And Sally and Rosie seemed to get along well, so Andrew and I settled in the living room as the three gals continued to chat in the kitchen. I asked if he wanted a drink, and grabbed him a soda as we chatted.

“Pete, this is quite a place here, just the two of you here?”

“Yes sir, technically it belongs to the family company, we have pooled all of our properties into a holding company. I pay around $500 a month, which covers insurance, taxes, and adds to the maintenance fund. This is the house my dad bought in 1982 when we first moved to LA. He’s back in Idaho now, and I own a house there, but under a similar arrangement.”

“You are quite the mogul it seems, how many properties do you own, may I ask?”

“Well, myself it’s just the Idaho house. But even then, it’s in the family holding company, but I have exclusive use for as long as I want it. But we now own several properties here and in Idaho, but most of them are commercial use.” He was surprised that over a thousand acres were now in ranchland, and I laughed and said that is what really started it all. Describing my wanting the family ranch back, and then expanding off of there.

“Computers, cattle, campground, a machine shop, even a riding stable. You have quite a portfolio there, Pete.”

“And games, you can’t forget the games. That’s actually my original business, and have been doing it since I was 16. That is what gave me the money to start building up the rest. Now, we just reinvest the profits into adding more.”

“Trying to be the next Rockefeller?”

“Naw, nothing like that. Mostly, we’ve been working on diversity. Basically, each of the projects came from an interest or hobby. For my sister Kim, she runs the stables but is also the director of my computer store in Idaho. Her mom is not involved directly, she’s still a housewife. But she helps run the families as well as being the CFO of the combined companies. Her husband Dave, he is still mostly a rancher. I think over three head of cattle now, Angus. He’s also my main go-to guy, for things like expansions and bouncing ideas off of. Kim’s husband Jeff runs the computer company that makes the professional systems. My dad’s not really involved, he still works on RADAR systems.”

“And now Mandy, you pulled her in also.”

“Yep, she’s the Marketing President of all of the operations. Slowly building her staff, and kicking off a major ad campaign for Gem Computers and Orbit Communications next week. Plus a bunch of other things. But she is not only in that position because she’s my girlfriend, she really is good. Her organizing and running the auction of our excess assets proved that it raised almost half a million dollars for the company. Plus, she’s once again my official illustrator for my adventures.”

And when there was another knock on the door, I knew who it was. I excused myself and went to answer it. And as soon as I opened it, I could see that the last year had been good to Linda. She was still thin, but now it was more like how she was in school. A sleek and sexy slender, not an emaciated and sick girl. She stood there with her hands in front of her and crossed, her purse hanging from one shoulder. She looked up at me, and I decided to hell with it and held my arms open wide.

She almost threw herself into them, and we held each other for almost a minute. It felt so familiar, her head only reaching my chest, and I could even feel a slight trembling as she held me. I lightly kissed the top of her head and said I was glad she was there.

She pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes, and softly said “Really, Peter?”

“Of course I am, Linda. Why would I not be? The past is the past now, and I think we have both finally moved on, and arrived at better places.” She nodded, and when I turned around the rest of her family was there. She went in and hugged and kissed each of them, and after a few minutes in the kitchen, the ladies all joined us. Mandy handed me a cup of coffee and sat next to me with her own. We spent the next hour chatting, and mostly getting caught up on what everybody had been doing recently.

Linda was fascinated when we described our little crisis the month before over Boise, and Mandy and I both reassured them that we were never in any danger. She asked if that is why we were down here, and Mandy shook her head. “No, we are here because we wanted a holiday dinner with our family. We have been spending most of them with Pete’s family, but you all get a turn also. The plane is in the shop, but we both decided to have them give it a good going over, and to put in some upgrades.” When her dad asked what kind of upgrades, Mandy told him about the sound system we were having installed, as well as a pair of RADAR. “Those were suggested by Pete’s dad. He got us a good deal on them, they came from a tech he knows up there. One is collision avoidance, the other is weather. We are also getting new seats put in, more comfortable ones.”

I then said we were thinking of taking a trip to Ensenada next year, and they were all welcome to come. “In your plane?” Linda asked, and I smiled at seeing a bit of the little girl I remembered from so many years ago.

“Of course,” I said. “We can seat four in the back, and it’s only about two hours by air. We were thinking of in the summer heading down on a Friday evening, then returning on Monday. Becky has a lot of family there, and one of them owns some beach cabins. We have reservations for one, but we were told we could get three with no problem, we just have to let them know.”

They all said that sounded great, and it looked like I was going to be spending an entire weekend with the Carol family next year. The timer in the kitchen went off, and the girls all trooped off to start putting everything on the table as I put a jazz station on the stereo.

I brought in the roast, and Mandy was pouring the grape juice as we all took our seats. I asked Andrew if he would do the honors, and he smiled at me. “This is your house, but I will do it on one condition, Pete. Please, call me Andy. And no more of this ‘sir’, you are family. Twice over, as far as I’m concerned.”

After grace we started eating, and Sally and Andy both looked amazed as I put three huge spoons full of potatoes on my plate. Mandy shook her head in mock sadness, and Linda actually giggled. “Like, oh my god. I have like totally forgotten how much you love potatoes, Pete!”

I looked at Andy and Sally and nodded. “I’m from Idaho, what can I say. The hardest thing for me sometimes when it comes to potatoes is remembering to leave enough for others to get some also.” Everybody laughed, and after a few bites, Andy asked where we had gotten the roast. “Oh, this came from my Uncle David. This is the beef that he raises on the ranch, whenever I go down there I pick some up. Which with the plane is easier, as before if I got some I had to put it in a chest with dry ice and pretty much come straight home.”

“Well, with beef like this, I can see why you did so much for the ranch. This is probably the best beef I’ve ever had, Angus you said?”

“Yep, grass-fed, and mostly open range. All the pastures are grass and clover, we only supplement that with grain in the final month or two before auction or slaughtering season. Each fall, Dave sells off about half the herd, keeping only females and some of the yearlings. The rest all go for auction, except for a few he slaughters for the family. If you want some steaks, I can pull out a packet from the freezer before you go.”

Sally asked me how much they would cost in a store, and Mandy laughed. “Sally, let’s just say you would have to go to someplace like Gelson’s to get a roast like that.” She looked puzzled, and then Mandy added that was the super expensive grocery store on Ventura.

“Wait, you mean the one with the valet parking? That always have Rolls and Bently’s in the parking lot?”

“Yeah, that’s the place. Pete took me there once, a five pound roast of Angus beef was around $100. Even hamburger is like $3 a pound. Dave does not have a large herd, but it is really profitable. Idaho Angus beef is one of the most expensive in the country. That’s why the Black Angus chain is named after the cow.”

Andy told us about his working to become a master printer, and that he was looking at moving to another paper sometime soon. “The Times is still the biggest one, but the local one in Long Beach is looking for somebody to run a new operation they are setting up. And I hope to get it next year.” We all toasted him luck on that, and Linda said she had been promoted to a new facility.

“Pavel has this really big one, up in the North Valley. It has both office rentals like the others, but also a large auditorium that people can rent out for parties, concerts, or conventions. It is really a step up from the one I started at last year.”

I congratulated her on that and said I knew it well. When Linda looked at me, I nodded. “Pavel had me go over to help him plan it out, you know I do the computer work for most of his complexes. Well, not myself as much, Speedy Tech now handles most of that. But he still calls me a few times a year for personal consultation on special projects. In fact, that projector and TV system in there came from me. That was something I got from my dad’s old company. And all the lighting, that came from Becky, and Mike did the design and installation.”

Andy then asked a bit more about what all I did, which led me to explain how I was also a consultant to several businesses. “Pavel is one, we met after I fixed a bad job some other contractor had done a few years ago. He likes that I’m honest, and give him good advice. Honestly looking for what he needs, not just what I think I can sell him.”

“According to Pavel, Pete here walks on water almost. I did not even know they knew each other until Pete came over one afternoon to have lunch with him.”

I nodded, and Andy asked who else I worked for. “Well, that big Ford dealer off Sepulveda near the Budweiser plant is another one, as well as a few on Van Nuys. Let’s see, several roller rinks, a handful of bands, and two bowling alleys. The local IBEW electrical union, some of the small movie and TV production companies, and a handful of nonprofit organizations and other companies.”

“And most of the porn companies in the Valley. Pete here is the king of computer services to the porn industry,” Mandy added, and everybody laughed.

“Really, you’re into porn also, Pete?” Sally asked.

“No, just providing things like online and computer services. Most of them now run BBS systems that people can call into from their home, and the bigger ones now have Internet service. I host all of that and sell them computers. Speedy Tech does the actual hands-on work, I have absolutely nothing to do with the movies themselves. Other than sometimes helping Sue put the short two to five minute clips onto the service.”

We finished dinner, and as I was helping put the dishes in the washer, I saw Mandy and Linda talking in the living room. I was just finishing when Mandy came up and wrapped her arms around me from behind, and kissed me behind my ear softly. She then whispered into my ear “Sis wants to talk for a bit, so we’re going to take a walk. Is that OK?”

I turned in her arms and kissed her softly. “Of course it is, go ahead. Is anything wrong?”

“Naw, she just wants to talk some things over she said. We won’t be long.”

I gave Linda a big smile, as I poured coffee for the rest of us. I brought them out just as the girls were putting on their coats. And after starting a fresh pot of coffee I joined the rest in the living room. We chatted for about a half-hour until the girls got back. Both seemed to be in a good mood, and once they had their coffee in hand I walked over to the tree and pulled out the first gift.

I handed the box to Rosie, and she already had an idea. She opened it, and smiled when she pulled out the coffee cup. Which she then handed around. This time it said “Best mom in the world. And if you don’t believe it, ask me.” Of course, we then had to explain our long tradition of my giving her a coffee cup every year.

“Yeah, Pete did that our first Christmas together,” Linda said wistfully. “Mom and I had gotten into a fight a few weeks before, and Pete just happened to find one that said ‘Because I’m the mom, that’s why!’. Which is pretty much what mom here had told to me to end that fight. And now every year he gets her another one.” Rosie agreed and said they all sat in her hutch in the dining room.

I then brought out another one and handed it to her. And she smiled when she pulled out a deep purple silk robe that Mandy had selected for her when we were in Japan. Then one by one Mandy and I pulled out boxes for everybody else. Linda seemed particularly touched with the dark green dress that Mandy has bought in Japan. We got some things also, mostly small gifts but I was happy.

“Oh, and all of you go over to the original Orbit Computers store. Julie knows all of you but Andy, but you each have a computer at the store with your names on it.” Sally gasped, and Linda tried to refuse.

“Look, you all are my family. They are already loaded, and each comes with a lifetime account of Internet service, as well as full access to my BBS. We can show you how to use that, but the beauty is you can use it to send messages to each other. That is actually how my family conducts business half the time now. Dee sends me a message, I respond and she forwards it to Jeff. No long-distance charges, and faster than a letter.”

Linda agreed, saying that was how they were conducting a lot of business at the office cluster now. “But Pete, I can use the computer there any time I want. I don’t need another one.”

I simply smiled. “Linda, I know you can. Let’s just say that old Commodore I gave you is long past its time, and ready to be retired.” She came over and gave me a hug, and kissed my cheek, and thanked me again, then kissed and hugged Mandy also.

An hour later, Rosie, Andy, and Sally wished us all a goodnight and headed on home. Linda looked at me after they left, and said she had some things she wanted to talk about. I saw Mandy looked a bit somber, and I nodded and said she had all the time she needed.

I was a bit surprised when Mandy said to wait a minute and went upstairs. And as I got Linda another cup of coffee Mandy returned with a bottle of the 24-year-old stuff, and poured us each a glass. We sat down on the couch, and Linda was in the easy chair. She looked at the glass and asked what it was. I said it was 24 year old Glenfiddich, and she nodded and asked for a sip. I looked at her in question, and she sighed softly. “Just a taste, I’ve never had that before. But if that is what Mandy brought for what I am about to say, it must be good stuff. Trust me, Pete. s taste will not hurt me.”

I looked at Mandy and she nodded, so I handed Linda the glass. She took the tiniest of sips and looked like she was moving it in her mouth like it was wine. She handed the glass back and smiled. “That is good stuff, never had anything like it before. That is one of the things I miss actually, being able to just relax and enjoy a drink. But like so many things, I only have myself to blame for that.”

“Linda, not completely. You know, there is also a genetic part of it also.”

“Oh, I know that. Dad comes from a long line of alcoholics. And Sherry tried to warn me, but I did not listen. I think that has been my problem since you left, Pete. I just stopped saying ‘no’, and just did whatever I wanted to do, damn the consequences. And now, I’m paying for it.”

She took a deep breath and moved over in front of us. She sat on the coffee table and took both of our hands in hers. “Pete, there is something you should know. Mandy has known for almost as long as I have, and has kept it a secret. But I decided that there should be no more secrets between us. Like you said earlier, we are almost family now. And family should not have secrets from each other.”

I looked at her, and she sighed. “Peter, I’m HIV positive. I have been for two years now. I was diagnosed after you saved me and took me to the hospital. It’s under control, and I’m only HIV positive. I do not have AIDS, yet.”

I squeezed her hand tight, and Mandy reached over and handed her a tissue. “That is the main reason I’m still at the mental health center. It’s doing me a lot of good, and I have been off the drugs and alcohol since you saved me. But I am still somewhat a ward of the state, so they cover all the medications. They are expensive, but as long as I stay there, they cover it. The new drugs they have me on are promising though, the same ones that Magic Johnson is on. But someday, it’s going to kill me. One of the dangers they warned me about is that if the drugs stop working, I may only have months to live.”

“Linda, don’t think like that. Is there anything I can do? Anything?”

“Thank you, but no. Actually, I’m even thinking of leaving the facility next year. Believe it or not, I am still getting money from Rocco. It seems that he is still selling my movies, and the ones I helped make after I retired from performing. He has been keeping it in a separate account so the state does not take it. But I am about to enter a trial for a new drug, and that will be completely covered so I no longer need to stay in the facility. But you needed to know, so if something happens, it will not be a shock for you.”

I pulled her into my lap, and Linda wrapped her arms around my neck and cried on my shoulder as Mandy hugged both of us from the side. Finally, she was cried out, and we moved apart so Linda could sit between us. “So, is this why you have not been dating?” I finally asked.

Linda smiled at me and shook her head. “Oh, I still date. I’m just very careful about it. You see, they know a lot more about HIV now than they did a decade ago. So long as neither of us has sores in our mouths, kissing and even my giving a guy oral sex is safe. But they are still not sure about the risks of my getting such, so I refrain from that. And I use condoms at all times and with girls we use dental dams. And thankfully there is no risk from fingers, so long as there are no cuts. I do engage in some play, but if things start to get to where we might be doing risky behaviors, I always stop or tell them.”

She held our hands and smiled. “I even had a boyfriend until a few months ago. He was HIV positive also, but I think he’s gone now. He developed AIDS, and broke up with me and moved away. I think he could not stand to let me see him failing. I don’t like it, but I accept it. Many like us tend to withdraw when that happens. I know that Gary did, and eventually took his own life. But for me, I am done doing that.”

I asked her how she got it, and she shrugged. “If I have to guess, it was that last year, either before I was on the street or during. I got tangled up with this guy named Xavier. If I have to guess, it was during my time with him.”

“You think he gave it to you?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. He was a biker and hung out with this gang up in the North Valley. He is the one that got me hooked on meth, and got me into serious prostitution walking the street. Sometimes he would throw these parties with five, six, even more bikers. And let’s just say I was the entertainment. It could have been any of them, I just don’t know. I never knew any of their real full names, other than Xavier.”

“Well, can you check with him?” After I said that, she actually chuckled.

“No, I can’t. You see, I was not his only girl. He had another he was grooming the same way he was me, but she was only 16. One of the guys was called Bulldozer, and we had an arrangement. He would fuck me in exchange for some meth. Well, one night I was waiting on Sepulveda for Xavier or Bulldozer to pick me up after I was, well, working. And nobody showed up to get me. So I walked home, about five miles. When I got there, the place was crawling with cops. The father of the teen girl found out about Xavier, and blew him away with a shotgun. The entire gang scattered, and I’ve not seen any of them since. At that time, I just threw what I still had into my car and lived in that.”

She sighed and said “I miss that car. My red Mustang, the first car I bought with my own money. Well, by then it was mostly a piece of shit, and the transmission went out on it. It broke down in the parking lot of that Mexican market on Sepulveda north of Roscoe. So I lived in that, doing tricks during the day and evening, and sleeping in the car at night. Then finally they towed it away, so I threw everything into a shopping cart. I’m pretty sure you know the rest from there.”

I nodded and squeezed her hand. “I really hit a bad place then, really bad. I know a lot of the time I did not use condoms because most of my money went into meth. So it might have been Xavier, or Bulldozer, or any of the members of the gang. Or any of the anonymous johns afterward. By the time you found me, I had HIV, syphilis, and gonorrhea. The latter two they fixed up with some shots, but the other one, there ain’t no cure for.”

She wiped her eyes and smiled, then after taking a sip of coffee sat back on the coffee table facing us. “That’s why finding out you two were together actually made me happy. I know I fucked everything up with us Pete, I fucked it up badly. The drugs started just a few months after you left. The porn started a week after I turned 18. But by then, I was already doing escorting, and dancing in a bikini at a bar. And had Carlos, I was making good money by then doing porn and stripping. I thought I had everything I needed. And I was so fucking stupid, I did not realize what I was throwing away.”

I told her it was alright, and I had made mistakes too. “No, you did not. Other than in picking me to fall in love with. Even then, I was broken and did not know it. And the funny thing is, I was chasing money for so long there, thinking that made me better than you because I was making far more. But you sure showed me. I was blowing it on expensive boob jobs, expensive clothes, and Colombian nose candy. Then crack, booze, and meth. Mandy got her degree and is now an executive. You, you have more money than anybody I know next to Pavel. And me, I’m just a used-up and diseased whore.”

We both hugged her tight, and I said that was not true. “Linda, you are hardly used up, and you said it yourself you are not a prostitute anymore. And I think all of us have things in our past we regret. Heck, you know I was faithful to you until after you sent me the rings. Well, in my last year or so in Japan on more than one occasion I myself would rent a girl for the evening. I still actually see nothing wrong with prostitution, other than the effects it might have. My only problem back then is that you were supposed to be with me. It was much more the infidelity and lies more than what you were actually doing.”

She wiped her eyes and nodded, and asked for some more coffee. Mandy took her cup and refilled it, then handed it back and kissed her cheek. “Well, that’s all over now. I am never returning to that life, that’s for sure. The last year I have been more clear than I have been since you went to Japan. No more drugs, no more alcohol, no more guy after guy in an endless chain. And I actually have a good job now, that I am good at and enjoy. And I know you are now with the best girl in the world. Mandy, I know you’ve been in love with Peter since you were like 13. And I’m glad the two of you are together. Mom and dad deserve grandkids, and I think the two of you are going to give them some great ones.”

Mandy hugged her tight, and I could see she was blushing a bit. “Well, we have actually not gotten around to discussing things like that. Have we, Peter?”

I could hear a little something in her voice and smiled. “No, not yet. This takes me back to a Christmas exactly ten years ago, actually. Am I thinking of asking you to be my wife, Mandy? Of course I am. But I do not think either of us is quite ready for that, yet. But someday in the future, I do plan on asking you. When the time is right. Think of this like that night ten years ago on this very night, when I gave Linda the promissory ring. And I think inside, you would agree with that.”

Mandy smiled and I saw a few tears as she smiled and nodded, then gave me a big hug. “Yes Peter, I understand. And you’re right, I would say yes if you asked me now. But also yes, it is not quite time. Yet.”

Linda smiled and hugged us again. “There, now I know that I will sleep better tonight. And I will admit, at one time I was really messed up in the head. Mandy, remember when you slapped me? No, get that look off your face, I deserved it. When I went to the table to try and apologize, you stood up and confronted me. And the first thing running through my head when I saw how furious you were was that you had fucked him. And the thing is, I saw the same reaction from Holly and knew she had fucked him too. And that black girl, what’s her name.”

“Jacki,” I softly said.

“Yes, Jacki fucked you too. I think even Frannie, she looked like she and Jacki both wanted to come around the table and kick my ass. No woman gets that furious about somebody like me at that time just waking up to talk to you. She would only get that furious and such a hateful look on her face if she had been intimate with the guy. And yes, that was what I was thinking at the time, that you all had fucked him at some time between his leaving and that dinner, as well as all of the others. Oh, I knew he was fucking Becky then, it was obvious they were lovers when I saw them at that presentation. I even imagined then he was with two or three of you at the same time. That is how fucked up in the head I was at that time. I was jealous actually, and part of me wondered if I could get you to fuck me too, Pete. That is why I was so ashamed afterward, and when you started slapping me Mandy, I knew I deserved it. I think that is when I started to realize how broken I was.”

“Linda, that is all in the past. But yes, by that time I had been lovers with each of them at one time at least. But I really was only with Becky.”

She grinned finally and nodded. “Holly and I talk a few times a year now. Nothing like before, but I finally got the courage to ask her. And she admitted that the three of you were lovers at one time. But for her it was only during that one month. And with you also, sis. I admit, that kind of blew my mind. Picturing the three of you in bed at once, I never would have expected that. But she told me that was only one night.”

“Well, you know I had been in love with him for years. I thought that would be the only chance I ever had to actually be with him. And trust me, both Holly and me had to almost rape him. Every single step, we had to be the one to take the lead. If we had not done that, he would have gone no farther than those friend dates before he left. In fact, I’m positive that was all he expected when we told him we were both going to be his girlfriends when he came home from leave.”

I nodded and admitted that was indeed the case. “In fact, Jacki had already made me promise that if I wanted to do anything while I was home, I had her full permission. And that I should not hold anything back because of her. Of course, I did not know at the time that she was returning home about two weeks after I left. But that was not as hard, because we both knew that our affair was only until one of us left the island. It was hard, only because she did not tell me she was leaving.”

We talked until almost midnight, and finally, Linda said she needed to head home. We both gave her big hugs and kissed her cheek before we walked her out to her car. And Mandy and I held hands as she drove away.

For New Year’s Eve, Mandy and I decided to just spend a nice quiet night at home. We made love for most of the afternoon, sat in the living room and talked, then after midnight we went to bed and made love again to celebrate the start of 1994.

The next week was mostly spent in meetings, as Mandy was about to kick-off our new advertisement operation. She had gotten airtime on two local network stations, and the largest of the local stations. And she was doing the same in Idaho, as well as spots on one of the cable news networks.