Chapter 14

We had hired the Cessna for our honeymoon, first stop though, was to drop Ed and Jan of at Binbillic and show Donna the sights of the area, she also wanted to see the workshop that I had so often talked about. While we were there I wanted to catch up with Helen Strong. With the situation at Ellinbank, it was doubtful I would be needing my house again, I would give her the first option of buying it if she wanted it.

Ed lent me his car to drive around in while we were in town, he showed us through the workshop, giving me the opportunity to catch up on developments since my departure, there were a few new machines but everything was much the same; Donna was quite impressed though. Our next stop was the Shire offices and Helen Strong, we caught up with as she was just returning after an inspection.

"Tony, what a pleasant surprise, and who is this nice looking lady?"

"Helen, I'd like you to meet my wife Donna, Donna, this special lady is Helen Strong, Shire Chief Executive Officer and a very good friend."

"It's nice to meet you and congratulations Donna. At one time Tony and I were like cat and dog, then all of a sudden I realised he was keeping a leash on me because I was a little power drunk, believe me sweetie, you're a very lucky lady."

"Thank you Helen, Tony's often mentioned you but he would never go into any details, as far as lucky goes, you don't know the full extent of my luck."

"Ladies, please, you're giving me a swollen head, I'm just an ordinary guy not some white knight."

"It was nice that you though to look me up Tony, are you going to be in town long?"

"No Helen, we flew Ed and Jan back after the wedding and we'll be flying out later this evening to start our honeymoon. One reason I dropped in was to see if you would like to buy my house, it doesn't seem like I'll be needing it any more, so if you're interested, it's for sale."

"If the price is right, most definitely, I've come to love the place."

"Get a valuer to have a look at it Helen, if you're happy with his estimate we can do business, that seem fair to you?"

"If it's within my finances, yes. I'll contact an estate agent to get a quote and get in touch with you."

"OK, we won't be back home for a week though, we're touring around for a while, so let's make it next week."

We chatted for a while longer and then made our exit. I took Donna on a tour of the town and visited all the local sights; then it was back to the workshop and returning Ed his car, he then drove us back to the plane. A quick farewell and we were up in the air and really starting the honeymoon. For the next week we skipped around the country, no specific plans in mind, just enjoying the scenery and our own company; far too soon it was time to head for home, on our final approach Donna called Tess on her mobile and arranged for a pick up.

Tess was there to meet us, so after refuelling and tying down the Cessna we stowed our bags in the car and headed for home. Tess had a smug look on her face and it didn't take Donna long to twig what was up.

"You bitch," she laughed, "You've been screwing Andy, haven't you?"

"Well we seem to have a lot in common and yeah, so what?"

"Good on you, he's a decent bloke and deserves a lot better than that dragon he was married to; just don't give him promises you don't intend on keeping Tess."

"Don't worry about that Dad, our intentions are quite honourable, we both have our heads screwed on properly. We've spent quite a bit of time talking this out. He's rather concerned about how you and Donna will take it, he's worried you might think that he's taken advantage of your hospitality."

"Good Lord Tess, nothing could be further from the truth. I have a great deal of respect for the man, I wouldn't have invited him to stay with us if I didn't. As far as you both finding each other, I couldn't have wished for anything better."

Arriving back at the house, we were greeted by an enthusiastic Tracie and Tess with a rather nervous Andy. A quick hello to the girls and a handshake to Andy to let him know that everything was OK. "I don't think Tess could have made a better choice Andy, she's got good taste."

"Thanks Tony, I was a bit concerned you might have thought I was taking advantage of your hospitality; Tess and I seem to have hit it off right from day one. It's early days yet, but I hope some time soon, if Tess is agreeable, we'll be talking about tying the knot. I still have to wait for the final on my divorce from the Dragon before we can do anything."

"If you do get hitched Andy, I'll be proud to call you son."