Chapter 56

We made it through the weekend and the only damage was to my waistline. Friday evening with Mike's barbecue and the Saturday night dinner at the catfish place and by the time Cindy and I were flying away Sunday she recognized our problem.

"Baby, bicycles and walking EVERY day this week. We ate too good this weekend."

We kept our promise to each other. Bicycling around the park was a bit of a bore, but we knew a stretch of road that was used by a couple of local bicycle groups and they actually set us up with one of the less strenuous of their group rides.

I spent a considerable amount of the following week at Don Spears' office. We talked about a couple of cases he had previously worked, how the technical consultant played a part in those, then we talked about a couple of active cases. It was interesting. Engineers naturally view lawyers with some trepidation, but I found Don to be funny and intelligent and we hammered out the outlines of an agreement for me to bill him for some of my services.

"You do realize of course, that if you bill me a hundred and fifty an hour, I bump thirty percent on that when my client pays."

"I figured that out all by myself," I laughed. "Man's gotta make a living."

We talked about the protection I got for my testimony, a 'hold harmless' arrangement, then started talking about our two middle-school students, his daughter Kaylee and my Cindy.

"I've heard some of the stories," he said. He looked at me, gauging my expression. "About her life before her mom left town. More than one case coming through my office had to do with acquaintances of her mom. Kaylee tells me how Cindy was last year, and how she is THIS year, and all those stories I keep hearing about abused teens just don't seem to apply."

"Judge Charlie's a good fellow. I don't think he'd have offered help if he thought it was abusive. He'd probably be the one telling how to tie the rope to hang me."

Don laughed. "You got Judge Charlie pegged. He's a real judge. Hell of a good man to be trying a case in front of if you're right. But I've watched him rip one of my colleagues apart for trying to bring some humbug suit, too."

"He's like a surrogate father to me, or a grand-dad, well, technically, I guess, foster dad to Cindy. Just good people, is all."

"I can see that. His housekeeper, Eletha? Her daughter's going to law school. I offered her a summer internship." He grinned. "And not just because I want the free help. Speaking of interns ... Cindy's scholarship? In engineering?"

"Yeah," I said. "You gotta know that I tried pointing her in other directions. She got letters of interest from MIT and Stanford. She's got a mind I only slightly comprehend and I thought she might be a good match for hard science or mathematics, but she dug in her heels and said electrical engineering."

"Kaylee's a little jealous of Cindy graduating. Me, I'm just surprised. I never heard of that before. I've heard of skipping a grade or two, but the whole high school?"

"Did Kaylee tell you that Cindy had the highest ACT score in the county this year?"

"Noooo. No joke?"

"Yep!" I said proudly. "And this week she's supposed to get the results of her high school exit exam, and assuming she passes it, next fall she's in Auburn."

"I would imagine that she's not worried?"

"Don," I said, "last summer when I first met her, she was shy and unsure, almost scared. Now she's the least worried person I know of."

We talked about our proposal for the new business. "I know Judge Charlie will be glad to help on all the legal stuff, but I am all too happy to offer my own services, you know."

"I appreciate that, Don," I said.

Wednesday morning I got a phone call from Jim Hardesty.

"Yeah, Jim. What's up?"

"I just printed a document from the school board. I think you ought to be here so I can show it to you and Cindy together."

I assume from your tone that it's good news."

"Oh, yeah," he said. "You'll like it."

I'd shown up at the school office enough times throughout the year that I was immediately recognized when I walked in. The lady at the desk saw me and sent a student helper off to retrieve Jim, then hit the public address system, "Would Cindy Richards please come to the principal's office?"

"I remember when that announcement would have been a death knell for ME," I said to her.

She laughed.

The principal came out of his office. "Hello, Dan! Jim called you?"

"Yes he did," I answered. About that time, Jim came through the door with Cindy right beside him. She was smiling, but I know it got a bit brighter when she saw me.

"You folks come into my office," Mr. Bresser said.

Jim beat me to the obvious comment. "Every time I heard that from the principal when I was in school, it was never a good thing."

"I can imagine," I said.

Cindy just giggled at the two of us. We went in and sat down.

Mr. Bresser took a page of paper off his desk and smiled. "Cindy, this makes it official. These are your test scores for the high school exit examination, and you scored 'mastery' in science and math and English and 'competent' in social studies. Looks like you're gonna be the first student I ever had graduate from high school out of the eighth grade."

Squeal! Cindy bounced. I got a kiss and a hug. Jim got a kiss and a hug. Mr. Bresser smiled expectantly and she bopped around his desk and pecked him on the cheek.

The receptionist stuck her head in the door. "I assume from the happy squeal that we just graduated Miss Cindy," she said.

Cindy's answer was a grin that measured on the Richter Scale.

"I take that as a 'yes'," the receptionist said.

We let Cindy go back to class. Somebody's class. Cindy had a half-dozen younger kids who needed math help and she had her own corner of the library.

"Dammit, Dan," Mr. Bresser said, "I'm proud of her, but I sure hate to lose what she's brought here. If only we'd've known two years ago..."

Jim said, "She was just trying not to be a problem, didn't want anything that would drag her mom into the school. Wasted her daughter's time, really."

"Well, she's on her way now," I said. I'm gonna have to run to keep up."

Bresser smiled. "You know what the great thing is, Dan? She is so level-headed. We had that gifted kid here about three years ago and he was a terror." He looked at Jim. "What's that medical term you used, Jim?"

Jim shook his head. "Nuts!"

"Yeah, nuts," Bresser said. "In his own little world sometimes, and wanted to be the center of attention." He sighed. "And Cindy? She has a way of being the center of attention sometimes, but look! She's in OTHER kids' worlds, helping them out. If the school board was smart, THEY'D hire her for a summer program as a teacher."

"Oh, that's probably further than they'll go," I said. "Besides, I promised her that she'd go to her sisters' graduation and then be there when one of 'em got married."

"Sisters? I thought she was an 'only child'" Bresser said.

Jim knew a good bit of the story. I filled Bresser in on some of it. "And after the wedding, I promised her that we'd go fly the Rockies."

"She's a jewel, Dan," Bresser laughed. "If I were you and she wanted the moon, I'd be in the back yard building a rocket."

"I've been that way since we decided to get married," I said.

I was waiting in the school pickup area when Cindy got out at the end of the day. She bounced into the truck, wrapped me up for a G-rated kiss, then buckled in. "You didn't tell Mizz Helen an' Mister Charlie, did you?"

"Of course not. I'm about to split, though. I called Sara and told HER. She's proud of you. EVERYBODY'S proud of you, darlin'."

"It's YOUR fault, guy," she smiled. "If you hadn't come along..."

"People would've noticed sooner or later, little one," I said.

We walked, well, I walked into the park office to see Helen and Charlie. Cindy veritably skipped and bounced, waving the test results.

"IDIDITIDIDITIDIDIT!" she bubbled.

Helen beamed. "I'm so proud of you, baby!"

Charlie grinned. "Wonderful news, little daughter!" That comment earned him a gentle hug and kiss on the cheek.

Cindy turned the 'demure' switch on. "You ALL made this possible."

"Oh, no, dear daughter," Helen said. "We got out of the way and let you..."

"Well it's wonderful and I thank all of you. I love you all." She latched onto my arm. "Especially my Dan!" She was grinning as we left the office, got in the truck and drove to the opposite side of the park, to OUR little home.

Inside, with the door closed behind us, I got what I expected, a giggle, and a happy, excited Cindy being a precursor to a naked and excited and eager Cindy, which in my estimation was the most wonderful thing on the planet. She jumped into my arms, wrapped her legs around me for purchase, and showered my face with a dozen little kisses before her teeth gently latched onto my ear. She backed off just long enough to whisper "TV dinners" before resuming, and I had the happy task of maneuvering the two of us up the narrow hall to the bed. Clothes were still fluttering to the floor as our mouths welded together, completing our embrace.

From a distance of inches I looked into those green eyes. She sighed. "Dan, Dan ... I am in school with five hundred kids and sixty adults and there's just ONE human being that I think about naked all day." She kissed me. "And here you are." She wiggled underneath me, her legs spread, a delightful young pussy searching for something that I had, and I had a bit of me that was searching too. We slid together with a familiar hunger. When I was fully inside her, she was purring.

"You're exactly perfect there, Dan Richards."

"That's because I am in the possession of a perfect Cindy." I was. The little redhead spreading underneath me was my ideal. There was nothing I'd change even if I could. Her short red hair splayed out beside her head.

She could read me like a book. "I like it when you think about me when we're coupled up," she said. Giggle. "Even when you're missing half your blood supply, you still think about me." She wiggled, thrusting upward, knowing that I could stand about three of those before I started my own counter-thrusts, feeling our pubic arches touching as I bottomed out, feeling the hard knot of her cervix against the head of my dick deep inside her. There was another hardness in the equation, too, a little pink nubbin of a clitoris, rubbing as hard as she could get it against the base of my dick.

Her breathing took on a timbre of urgency. "OhgodDan!" Her hands grasped at my head, pulling me closer to her and her mouth latched on my chest. I felt teeth. Suction. The vibration of her tiny cries as she came. And the tremors took me over the precipice with her. When her mouth let loose, there was a soft "Oooohhhhhh!"

I rolled sideways, carrying her in my arms, so she ended up laying full length on top of me. I sighed, "My lovely little Cindy. I love you."

Soft lips touched mine. "I love you, too, Dan. Always did. Always will."

"Forever." Yes, some people might think our conversation about love is sappy, but I am perfectly happy with it, and from Cindy's sweet, post-orgasmic smile, so is she. The words only verbalized what our bodies had just spoken. Lucidity returned to her and the eyes went from dreamy, half-lidded post-orgasm dreaming to wide open, bright, happy green.

"You gotta know that I love this on a happy day. And this is a happy day."

"Yes it is, little kitten. My baby is headed on to the next adventure."

Giggle. "Right now your baby is headed for a towel and a TV dinner."

"I suppose that's a good idea," I said.

The soft, fluffy towel we kept beside the bed was just for such purposes, although most sessions we didn't use it, preferring to 'clean' each other with our mouths, but that often led to another session. My cutie had dinner on her mind. I watched her dab herself clean, then she handed me the towel.

I felt guilty the next day as I dropped Cindy off for school and returned to the trailer. With my laptop fired up on the work table, I started emailing and calling former acquaintances and business associates who might be in positions to offer us new business. Took a break in mid-morning to go drink coffee with Helen at the office, then back to the list. Emailed Alan, both to crow a little bit about my life of leisure and also to see if he had a list.

"I'll send you what I have. We need to talk to Susan's mom, too. She's got a lead on a building for us."

"A building?" I asked. "We just all move into a BUILDING?"

"She said she's getting more information, but a couple of investors were almost through construction on an apartment building when a couple of other investments went sour. We have ourselves an opportunity."

"Interesting," I said. "Where?"

"Auburn. They were angling towards some mid-scale leases, so it's up-scale from a lot of the apartments in town. And since it hasn't been completed, we don't have to deal with occupants."

"Sounds good. Let's get some more information. Maybe Kathy can set up a visit."

"Talk to her. Work around YOUR schedule. I'm rather flexible at the moment," I picked. We talked a bit longer. I fully expected to be looking at the new building in the next week.

I retrieved Cindy and Kaylee after school. Dropped Kaylee off at her parents' house, then Cindy and I ran a few errands together before ending up at a restaurant for dinner. Then it was Friday evening and our quiet routine. Cindy was showering when HER cellphone rang, the ringtone easily identifiable as a call from Tina.

Cindy heard the phone. "Answer it, babe! Tell 'er I'm in the shower!"

Í flipped the phone open and answered, "Hi, Tina! Cindy's in the shower."

Tina's voice was excited. Really excited. "Tell 'er to call me as soon as she gets out. I think we just got us another SISTER!"

"Another sister? Who?"

She was breathless. "I wanna tell Cindy, but it's a girl I knew in Louisiana before I dropped out of school. Dan, when you hear her story, you're gonna think we're making this stuff up."

I heard the shower stop. Cindy stepped onto the bathmat. I handed her a towel with one hand, talking to Tina with the other. I watched as my delicious little redhead assaulted her glistening body with the fluffy towel, then she smiled, extending a hand.

"Here's Cindy," I told Tina.

"Hi, Tina," Cindy chirped. "What's up!" Pause. Squeal. "REALLY?!?!?" Pause. "Tell me the story. Wait. Do you mind if Dan listens?" Pause. "Okay. I'm punching you onto the speaker. Wait a sec until we sit down." Cindy sat the phone down on the shelf beside the sofa and slipped her nightshirt over her head. The fact that this hid a pair of the prettiest titties on the planet did wonders for my concentration. She sat next to the phone and said, "Okay! We're listening!"

Tina was right. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew her to be trustworthy, the story she told of her lost friend WAS a bit hard to swallow. I knew about the devastation from the hurricane down there. As a matter of fact, Cindy and I had done an aerial tour over the Christmas holidays, finding the landscape rife with ruble from demolished houses and little white FEMA trailers and larger mobile homes sitting on lots with bare slabs where real houses once stood. Tina's friend was a survivor who was rescued and subsequently married to another survivor. Something about his house weathered the storm. I didn't ask questions."