Chapter 2

I was settling back into a routine that was comfortable for me. I spent two hours in the mornings, on group home business. Usually between six and eight in the morning. I'd have my breakfast, then spend two hours on my trading programs. I had set up two new accounts, one for Joyce and me, and one for Brenda. There were several trading accounts for the charitable trusts, all set up to manage risk.

At ten or ten thirty, I'd quit my trading and go over to Joyce's new home office, so I could spend time with her. Gerta had found us an older lady, to live in, and do our laundry and cooking. Her name was Irene, and she was a Cuban lady. She was heavy set, and seemed to have a real good sense of humor. I had a difficult time understanding her English because it was so heavily accented.

Irene was a good cook, but Gerta had explained Joyce's weight problem to her, and she kept giving Joyce only healthy snacks to eat. Everything she cooked seemed to have a flavored rice dish with it.

Joyce and I would talk and work together until lunchtime. We usually ate anytime from noon, to one or one thirty. With Joyce, I became more focused, and I got a lot more accomplished when we worked together.

Irene had one glaring bad habit, she liked to drink while she cooked. It was mostly just wine, although she seemed to like dark rum when it was available also. I asked Gerta about this, but she said as long as Irene did her job, and all the food was being cooked well, she wasn't that concerned about it. I was glad Irene didn't smoke too. I didn't want her getting drunk and nodding off with a lit cigarette in her mouth. Joyce and I both liked her. We worried about her drinking.

"Kenny, it's almost time for Brenda to graduate, in another month. We should talk to her about what we said. I don't think we should wait until practically the last minute." This was about the fourth or fifth time Joyce had raised this issue with me. Each time previously, I'd told her I didn't want to discuss it.

"We agreed that we'd wait until after she graduates to ask her. Can't you just wait like we agreed to?"

"She asks me all the time if you're avoiding her. She thinks you're mad at her, Kenny. I'm afraid, if we don't ask her soon, she's going to be too mad at you to come with us."

"I'm not mad at her. She knows how busy I am now. I wanted to wait until after the babies are born. This isn't a good time for us to be talking to her about it. I'm still not convinced that it's a good idea for us in the first place. We're going to have our hands full with everything we've already got going. Complicating our lives further doesn't make any sense to me."

"I don't want to have some stranger watching the children. We're going to both be gone. I trust Brenda."

"Look, Joyce, this can't just be about who is going to watch the babies. If you're doing this just because you want to fool around with Brenda, that's one thing. That doesn't bother me at all. This other way though, with all of us fooling around together, I can see that leading us to trouble. It scares me, I'll be honest with you."

"Kenny, it's too late for you to change your mind now. I'm due in a couple of weeks. We've applied and been accepted at KU. You can't just go changing everything at the last minute. We've already made plans."

Joyce was getting herself excited. I didn't want her getting upset. In truth, the thought of us doing things with Brenda again was very appealing to me. It was all the rest of it that troubled me. I wasn't sure it was worth the danger it would pose to the relationship Joyce and I were forging. I kept thinking this was Joyce's way of trying to compromise with me, over my earlier plans for having my own little harem.

Joyce and I had decided on holding two weddings. The first one was supposed to be a simple civil ceremony, attended by my parents and hers, and a few of our close family members. It was to take place over at the courthouse in Bolling. We had already had our blood tests completed, and had gotten our license, so it was simply a matter of making an appointment to do it, and having some judge read the words over us.

The second wedding was planned for Christmas time, and would take place in a church, with all the trappings and ceremony that Mama seemed to want. There was going to be a lavish reception held at the lodge, over at the golf learning center.

"We need to get over to Bolling soon, and get married, Joyce. Have you called your parents yet?"

"I told my brother to tell them we were getting married soon. I'll tell him the date, whenever we decide when it's going to be."

"I'd like to get it done before the babies come. We should get it done just in case you deliver early. The longer we wait, the more chance you're going to go into labor before we do it."

"How come you haven't said anything to me about one of those prenuptial agreements?"

"If you need to protect something, Joyce, have your lawyer write one up, and I'll sign it."

"Do you trust me so much?"

"You trusted me when you let yourself get pregnant. I don't care that much about the money. Of course, a lot of the money is being held in trust for me, and some of the provisions in these trusts would make it pretty difficult for a wife to get anything from them, in the event of a divorce."

"I'd sign one of those agreements, Kenny. I'd never try to take your money."

"I only brought the wedding up because I wanted to tell you that I didn't want to talk to Brenda about coming to Lawrence with us until after we get married. She needs to know that I'm already married, before we ask her to come with us."

"She knows we're getting married, Kenny."

"Then there isn't any harm in waiting until after you deliver, and she graduates. I want her to know we're already married before she decides if she wants to do this or not."

"Mama's already talked with her about it, just to feel her out a little for us. She thinks Brenda would agree if you're the one that asks her."

"Joyce, you and Mama seem determined to create problems for me by acting on your own when I've asked you not to do that. If that's what you want, then go ahead. Don't be surprised if I end up taking another trip, so I can be alone again."

"This isn't just concerning you, Kenny. This concerns all of us. We can't make plans when you want to wait until the last minute to arrange things. We can't all wait on your schedule, because there wouldn't be time to get everything done if we did."

"You're pushing me again, Joyce. You and Mama both. The more you do it, the less chance you have of ending up with what you want. In about one more minute, I'm going to just tell you to forget this thing with Brenda. If I get mad enough about this, you can also forget about us going off to college together."

"I don't control Mama, Kenny. You're getting mad at me for something she did. Something I asked her not to do. We weren't trying to get you upset, but we need to know what she's going to do so we can plan what we'll be doing."

I picked up the telephone and dialed over to Mama's house. Gerta answered the phone.

"Hi, Gerta, is Mama there?"

"She's still upstairs, Kenny. You want me to ring her room?"

"Sure, I need to tell her something."

"Hello, Kenny?"

"Hi Mama. I've been talking to Joyce this morning, and she's been telling me that you already asked Brenda if she wanted to go to Lawrence with us, in September. I'm wondering if you're trying to deliberately hurt me, or if you just can't stand not being able to meddle in my life?"

"Kenny, it wasn't like that. Brenda and I were discussing her future plans, for after she graduates. She was the one who first brought up that you and Joyce were leaving the area. She was upset about everyone leaving here but her. I suggested she try to get into college also. It just came up, while we were talking, that she might be able to live with you and Joyce, if she decided to go to Kansas University also. Brenda doesn't have the grades to get into Columbia with Emily."

"Did you discuss any part of Joyce's idea for Brenda cooking and watching the babies for us?"

"I might have sounded her out about something like that, as one possibility for something she could do, but that was only after she had already stated that she wasn't interested in pursuing any further education, when she was finished with high school."

"I just got done telling Joyce that I'm getting very close to calling off college for myself too, Mama. In fact, I'm seriously thinking about moving down to Florida permanently, with or without Joyce. I can't take being pushed right now, and that's what you guys are trying to do."

"You can't be serious? How can you be upset over something as innocent as this was? Kenny, you're overreacting to this. It was just an innocent conversation that Brenda and I were having. She gave me an opening to see how she might react to the possibility of living with you and Joyce in Lawrence. I was simply gathering information, when the opportunity presented itself, information I thought that you and Joyce might find useful."

"You better decide what's more important to you, Mama, doing what you want to do, or staying in touch with me. This whole business is really getting me upset. I'm not going to be pushed into doing this. I'm pretty sure now that I don't want to have Brenda come live with us. You and Joyce need to come up with a different plan."

"You're just upset now, Kenny. Take a few days to think about it some more, you'll see that this is the best way. Having Brenda there with you would make it so much easier on Joyce."

"I'm going to end up in Florida if you keep pushing me, Mama, and then you'll need to travel pretty far if you ever want to see the twins. You seem to have this uncontrollable urge to interfere in my life. I've told you I wouldn't continue to allow you to do that, and I meant it."

"This was only interference in the broadest possible interpretation of that word. I didn't advise you, or even try to discuss this with you. I've told you what I was trying to do."

"I'm telling you what I'm planning on doing too, Mama. You seem to want to make this some kind of a contest, to see how far you can push me. I can't afford to play this game with you."

I hung up the phone in the middle of her next denial of having had any intentions of meddling. I knew I was getting too worked up. When Joyce started to speak to me, I held up my hand, telling her to stop.

"Kenny, can't we just be calm, so we can talk about this?" Joyce wasn't calm herself. She realized that I was more upset than she ever wanted me to get.