Chapter 1: Whoops, Jeff's Surprise House Guest

I was 17 when Jane and I were married. She was 16. Life held more respect back then. Instead of walking down to the local Planed Parenthood and dropping an out of wedlock unborn kid in a surgical trash-can, people lived with the results of their actions. So, when Janie's rabbit died, we got married. A few months latter, Brian became a part of our new family. Jane and I made our way through high school and college working at a construction company. When we graduated, Jane became CFO, and I became Chief Engineer.

David Belkie was not only my boss during this time; he was also my mentor, my friend, and my role model. His take on family and business ethics made our organization the top construction company in Ohio. Hire the best and take care of them. There is no difference between business ethics and personal ethics.

David decided he wanted to retire and spend his time chasing trout in the wilderness. So, with the help of David, 10 years and 2 more kids later, Jane and I owned the construction company. In the next two years, we became the top construction company in the Great Lakes area by following David's model.

Two years after we acquired the company, Jane walked into a bank building during a hold up. The retired marine, who was in charge of security for the bank, took that moment to remember the Halls of Monte-something-or-another, and let loose with his Glock. The last round of the 17-shell clip hit Jane in the chest and killed her instantly. Six months after that, David Belkie died of lung cancer. Three things keep me from going completely off my nut. Brian, Sera, and Barbara became my life. Everything I had went into them.

Ten years later, Brian is 29, Sara is 25, and Barb is 24. They have all graduated from college, and are living on their own. Brian also took a little trip after college to the Far East as a guest of Uncle Sam. Brian owns 50% of the construction company, I own 5%, and I sold the other 45% of the company to an engineering firm that had illusions of becoming the next Bechtel. (Think it, draw it, and build it.) Brian, at 29, had 21 years of experience in the business or in leadership positions and was better qualified to run it than most of the more seasoned contractors around.

I could never bring myself to date or, at least, become serious about anyone after Jane, so for my birthday, my concerned kids chipped in and sent me on a three-week cruise on some kind of Love Boat. It took me 3 days to decide that this was not the place for me. The women were either 20-year-old gold diggers looking for a sugar daddy, or 40 plus women trying to act like 20-year-old gold diggers. Why can't people just be themselves? Anyway, at the first port of call, I caught a plane back home, but I went into hiding because I did not want to hurt the kid's feelings.

All my life I had fought a tendency to be overweight. I ran, walked, and lifted weights to maintain myself. When Jane was killed and I got out of the business, I became obsessive about walking, running and lifting weights. I have to say that I was quite happy with the effect. I could keep up with Brian and the girls when we went for charity runs and such. In fact, on most runs, I came in first in a very competitive sports family. I also found that I liked nudity. When no one was around the house, I didn't wear any clothes. After so many years of hiding my less than pleasing (to me) body, I just didn't want to hide anything.

Now public buff was something else, and most people still considered me very conservative. In fact, my kids thought of me as a prude. I think they still believe that their mother was a virgin when she died. I ran 5 miles 6 days a week. When I came in from a run, I would come through the garage, shuck my clothes directly into the laundry, walk through the house and take a shower. Then I would pop on the computer to see what was happening in the world, take a couple of college electronics classes, check the stock market, and then surf for an hour or so.

Hudson, Ohio, Day 1

The flight back from the cruise got in at 4:00 in the morning, and I slept on the 7-hour plane ride. When I got to the house, I changed into the running clothes I kept in the laundry room, did my five miles, threw my clothes into the laundry, and walked through the kitchen to get a glass of juice. At least that was the plan. Instead, I froze in my nudity and held my breath. Standing in my kitchen was the most beautiful black woman I had ever seen.

She was bent over reaching into the bottom of the refrigerator. The white bra and panties she wore didn't come close to covering a perfect body. My guess was she was about 5'10" tall with a well-distributed 36, 22, 36 frame. Her skin was a flawless light coffee that sparkled in the morning light. Her hair was just longer than shoulder length. The straight brown was accented with an occasional streak of almost blond highlight. Her eyes were a dark brown, but there was a slight slant that hinted of Asian heritage. The morning light hit her head in such a way as to suggest the hint of a halo about her head. I simply stared in surprise and looked at the poor girl with a blank look on my face until she felt my presence.

She screamed and reached for a butcher knife out of the knife set on the counter. In a crisp British / Bermuda accent, she threatened, "You come any closer to me, you bloody pervert, and you won't have anything left to flash. How did you get in here?"

For a second or two, I didn't answer. When she waved the knife again, I was able to blurt out, "I live here. How did you get in?" Then the damn broke in my mind, and I realized that I was standing nude in front of what looked like a 19 year old girl (I later found out she was a very young looking woman of a surprisingly older age.) who didn't have on much more than I. I grabbed an oversized kitchen towel and tried to hide my privates. "Oh, sorry, I was just going to take a shower. Now, who are you?"

"You can't be Brian's father. He's on a three-week cruise. If your are him, how can you be back already?"

"I can be Brian's father. Yes, I was, but now I'm back. Now, who are you?"

"I'm Amanda. Brian and I met in college. I got into some trouble. He got me out of it and put me here."

I noticed her eyes glancing at the growing erection I was trying to hide behind my towel, and again remembered that we were both somewhat clothing deprived. "Let's get some clothes on, and continue this conversation over breakfast."

"Mr. Jeffers, where I come from, we do not have a problem with nudity. Don't get dressed for my benefit. In fact, why don't I join you? Why don't you take your shower? I'll fix our breakfast, and we can eat at the pool." Almost as an afterthought, she said, "Please don't dress."

"OK, but we do have to talk. By the way, call me Jeff."

"I would like that."

After an excellent breakfast, (Have you ever had a shrimp omelette with homemade Benedict sauce?) Amanda and I started discussing our situations.

She explained her relationship with Brian. "He was in engineering and I was in music. I don't know how it happened, but we became chums. Nothing sexual, just friends. He was interested in opera, and I was interested in math, so we ended up helping each other with each other's projects and such. It is a shame to waste his musical talent in construction. He is one of the best keyboards I have ever worked with." She chuckled and then added, "He used to say the same thing about my grasp of math. He said a mind like mine shouldn't be wasted on music."