Chapter 17

Mandy and Beth heard the sound of a big diesel engine right after they turned into the entrance of the trailer park. They looked over their shoulders and saw Tim ease the truck over the first big speed bump. He waved and the girls waved back.

"Would you like a ride?" he called through his open window.

Mandy and Beth looked at each other and shrugged before running around to the passenger side. It was only a couple of blocks to the 5^th wheel but they hadn't ridden in Tim's truck yet. Tim's truck had bucket seats in front so Mandy got in front and Beth got in back.

Mandy was grinning at Tim when she said, "We are really sorry for interrupting you this morning."

Tim blushed and mumbled, "That's OK." If he had known the kid was going to bring that up he would have let her walk.

Beth reached forward between the seats and lightly punched her sister's arm. "Don't pick on him. Remember what Aunt Ruth said. He isn't used to being around girls."

Mandy frowned over her shoulder at her sister but Beth ignored the frown.

Beth looked at Tim and said, "We really are glad that you're marrying Aunt Ruth. You're lucky to get her and you had better be good to her," Beth warned.

Tim smiled at the girl as he eased over another speed bump. "I know I'm lucky and I promise that I'll be good to her."

"You should probably park at our old spot," Mandy suggested. "Bill's truck is already parked in the only parking spot where he is set up."

"Good idea," Tim said as he passed the turn to Bill's. He glanced at Mandy before asking, "So, what do you think about your Aunt Ruth and I getting married?"

Mandy hesitated a moment before saying, "It's OK. I mean, I really am happy for you guys but, well, getting married is a big step. Mom's a good person and she got divorced. A lot of my friends at school have good parents and a lot of them got divorced. Are you sure that you're ready for it?"

Tim had to suppress a smile. He was 37 years old and planning to marry a 34 year old woman and this 16 year old was advising him that it was a big step. It was hard not to smile but he managed it. In all seriousness he said, "I think we are ready for it but you know Ruth better than I do. Do you think she would cheat on me?"

Mandy looked at him in shock. "No," she blurted. "Aunt Ruth would never do something like that. She has too much honor for something like that."

"OK," Tim said. "Do you think she will decide that she doesn't love me anymore?" he asked.

"Of course not," Beth huffed.

"No way," Mandy said. "Once Aunt Ruth makes her up her mind she doesn't change it."

"So, what you're saying is that she is stubborn and I should watch out for her. Is that right?" Tim asked, his eyebrows rising.

"That's not what I meant," Mandy said. "She isn't stubborn at all."

"So, she is wishy-washy so I shouldn't depend on her," Tim asked, his eyebrows going even higher.

"Don't you say that about my Aunt Ruth," Beth warned.

"She isn't wishy-washy," Mandy said. "But she isn't a push over either. If you want to change her mind about something they you had better have a good argument because she is just about the smartest person I know."

"OK," Tim said in a musing tone. "Let me see if I have this straight. She won't cheat on me because she is an honorable person. If she has decided that she loves me then she isn't going to change her mind unless I give her a good reason for changing her mind. Since I know that I love her and will be doing everything I can not to give her a reason to not love me then I should be safe there. I think we are pretty safe in moving forward with the wedding plans. I think we're ready."

Mandy and Beth both glowered at Tim. Mandy said, "You're messing with us aren't you?"

Tim turned into the parking place beside the black spot on the ground that used to be the girls home. He turned the engine off and looked at the girls before answering. "I was messing with you but I'm not messing with you about something this serious," he said gently. "Your Aunt Ruth means a lot to you and you are worried about her. You mean a lot to her too so it's important to me to reassure you two."

Tim looked at the burned out place then through the windshield at Bill's 5^th wheel. "I could have simply told you that I'm ready but those are just words. For you to believe that we are ready to get married there has to be some rationale behind the words. What I did was ask you questions so you could provide the rationale behind the words."

Mandy nodded her head slowly and a little smile quirked her lips. "You're smart too. You and Aunt Ruth will get along good."

"Thanks honey," Tim said smiling back. He looked at Beth and asked, "What do you think? Will your Aunt Ruth and I make a good pair?"

"Yep but don't forget. We'll have our eye on you," Beth said warningly, but she was smiling too.

They got out of the truck and walked towards the bare hedge between the trailer spaces.

"Aunt Ruth wants to tell mom so we can't say anything about you guys getting married," Mandy warned.

"I know honey. She already told me," Tim said smiling. "I'm just coming by to see if Bill needs me to do anything for tomorrow to get ready for the construction meeting on Wednesday. It's our first one that will include the cement, heavy equipment and electricians and the whole project will go better if we get them working together right off the bat."

"Mandy and I put those packets together on Friday. They're in a box beside the file cabinet," Beth said proudly.

"Yep, one for each crew member, each foreman, and two extras," Mandy confirmed over her shoulder as she ran up to the door. "One extra for a file copy and one extra in case someone extra shows up and needs a copy," she said as she opened the door.

"Mom, were back and..." Mandy started. She stopped in the door way and quickly backed out and slammed the door.

There was a shriek and a crash from inside the trailer.

"What the..." Tim started.

"Mandy?" Beth asked.

Mandy started to say something but only managed to get out a croak. She tried again and said "Mom's, ah, busy."

They could hear hurried movement and some of the words coming from inside the trailer. "Where's my bra," a female voice whispered, at about 90 decibels. "I can't put these on without shorts," a male voice whispered only a few decibels less. "Sure you can," the female voice hissed. "It's called commando."

Tim blushed and said, "I think I should go pick up Ruth now."

Beth and Mandy both grabbed one of his arms and said, "No way. We aren't going in there alone."

Beth looked around Tim's bulk and suggested, "We could go with him."

"Mandy," the female voice called out sweetly from inside the 5^th wheel. "Why don't you come on in? We need to talk about this."

Mandy rolled her eyes and said, "Maybe we don't need to go in." But, she didn't hesitate when Beth started toward the door.

Beth and Mandy had to pull Tim through the door.

Susan and Bill were sitting on the couch. The lamp that used to be on the table at the end of the couch was in pieces on the floor. Mandy and Beth sat in the kitchen chairs and Tim sat on a bar stool. All of them were red faced except for Beth. She just looked angry. Tim was slumped down as if he wanted to be anyplace in the world except here.

Mandy looked at the shattered lamp and sweetly asked, "Was there an accident?"

"I kicked, ah, bumped it and it fell over," Susan said defensively. She looked at Bill and he nodded to her.

"That doesn't matter," Susan continued. "I have some news. Bill and I are going to get married."

Tim sat up straight and looked at them hard for just a moment. Then he looked at his watch and said, "Oh darn. I'm supposed to be picking up Ruth right now," and ran out the door.

All of them stared at the door that was swinging closed.

"Well, I guess we have his opinion," Bill said sadly.

Mandy and Beth looked at each other before looking back at the grownups and frowning.

"Maybe he was just embarrassed because we walked in on you doing it," Mandy muttered.

"We weren't 'doing it'," Susan retorted angrily. "The way things are looking I'll be an old woman before I get to 'do it'."

"Mom, I saw you," Mandy retorted right back.

"Mom, are you sure about this?" Beth asked worriedly. "Isn't it too soon to know if you love him?"

"Well we didn't," Susan shot right back to Mandy. She looked at Beth and only a little softer said, "Yes I'm sure about this and yes I love him. He makes me feel..."

"We know, we know," Mandy interrupted. "He makes you feel good about yourself," she said sarcastically. "We've already been through all that."

"Oh really?" Susan demanded standing. "And just where did you get those words of wisdom?"

"Aunt Ruth," Mandy yelled as she stood up. Tears were glistening in her eyes. She didn't know why. She was happy for her mom and Aunt Ruth. It just seemed like her world was being turned upside down. Everyone was getting married and where did that leave her and Beth. "Aunt Ruth explained about loving someone making you feel better about yourself," she yelled. She couldn't hold the tears back any longer.