Chapter 14 The Shindig and Harassment

From the practical point of view, it made sense to have the wedding in Langley and luckily, everyone agreed. It meant only five of us travelling north, since Fiona's grandmother was too frail to make the trip. This was my bride's first wedding and her parents had waited patiently for this day. There would be no new children as I had undergone a vasectomy a few years earlier when Carla developed problems with birth control pills.

My parents and grandparents would all be present, not to mention my brother Jamie and his wife, Kate. Naturally, many of my business associates would be at the wedding and reception. I was surprised and delighted that Carla's sister Ruth accepted our invitation. I wanted to stay close to Ruth in order to know what was going on in Carla's life. You can't be married to someone for almost twenty-five years and not have some feelings left, especially with the way she was handling our divorce. Ruth and Phil would be my conduit.

Fiona's father, Angus, would walk her down the aisle. She would be wearing a dress I had yet to see. Her mother, who could barely contain herself with happiness at her daughter's wedding, couldn't be counted on for much more than smiles and tears. I guess I could partly understand how she felt, but this was over the top. However, it wasn't a bad thing. I was accepted unequivocally by both parents and the feeling was mutual between my parents and Fiona.

Tina was enjoying the whole process, watching her mother dither about the big day. Manicures, hair appointments, final dress fittings, and other essentials were all part of the longer range plan for them both. Tina was the natural choice as bridesmaid and that made it easy to select Phil as best man. The two of them had been as thick as thieves right from their meeting at the airport.

Neal wasn't put out by the choice. His latest girlfriend would be at the wedding and although he said very little about her, that led me to suspect she might be someone special. Neal was very selective in his dating habits and tended to be cautious with his choices.

Fiona was a bit nervous before Leo and Bernice's party, but the number of familiar faces and the welcome she received put her at ease quite quickly. I had taken a cab, sensing I might be tempted to have more than a couple of drinks. It was mid-spring and sunset would occur about 8:30, allowing the group to use the patio to lessen the crowd in the house. Luck was with us and it was a nice evening, allowing many of us chose to be outside.

"Your fiancée is quite a remarkable woman, Andy" Leo said, not for the first time.

"She is indeed. I feel very lucky. I have a new partner in my private life and a new partner in business. As you've already seen, she is very driven to succeed. My job will be to try and keep her satisfied ... and I do mean with the job," I chuckled.

"She must have been very frustrated at Statewide, being held back as she would have been."

"She doesn't talk about that at all, Leo. I think our giving the entire group a sense that tomorrow was going to be a lot better, and that they would have a business that was going to be around for a long time was a huge motivation for them.

"My biggest worry," I continued, "was that I would lose her to someone else. She's good and I'm sure word would have got out that she was available. Sometimes timing is everything. I think we arrived just at the right moment as far as Fiona goes."

"If we'd been any later, we probably wouldn't be having this party," my boss said solemnly. "That's a sobering thought."

"More so for me than you," I mused.

"Have you talked to Paul tonight?" he asked.

"No, not yet."

"He's got an idea for packaging the generic coffee cups. He wanted to talk it over with you."

"No problem. I can get him an audience at East Bay quite easily."

"Maybe you can let him know I talked to you and the two of you can get together before you head back south."

"Sure. I'll do that."

I looked around and saw Fiona surrounded by several women, including Bernice Cornell, Mike Knowlton's wife, Pam, and Dave Charles's wife Rhonda. She looked comfortable and was chatting amiably with the women, probably being quizzed about us. I found Dave and Ralph chatting with Mike, so I moved over that way.

"Shop talk at a party, you guys?" I chided.

"It's all we know," Dave shot back in typical form. He had a quick wit and used it often.

"I owe you thanks for that coffee lidding move," Mike said. "It'll add some decent volume to the territory."

"Don't thank me, thank Leo and Dave and Ralph and Fiona. They're the ones who made it happen."

"Somehow I think you had a big hand in this," Mike said. "I can remember the first time this product came up, you shot it down in flames."

"True, but we didn't have the raw material, the press, or the slitter and the market was barely alive at that time. Things are totally different now. Ralph knew where to find the press, Fiona knew how to make it work for our key accounts, and Dave showed us how to make a profit. And when Dave talks, Leo listens," I laughed.

As I circulated that evening, I was surprised and pleased at just how easily Fiona was accepted into what was a closely knit group of people. She looked comfortable and it appeared she put people at ease when they were around her. I found I had a great sense of pride at the woman I was going to marry. She truly was someone special.

"Can you give Paul Cornell a call before we head back home?" I asked Fiona the next morning. "He's got an idea for packaging the coffee pods he'd like to discuss with you. He may need an audience at East Bay if you think he's onto something."

"Sure. I'll call him Monday while you're in your meeting."

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?" I asked.

"Yes ... I did. You work with very nice people. It's such a pleasure to be in that kind of environment. Are all Canadians like that?" she asked with a sly grin.

"Of course. We're terminally polite, inoffensive, and don't have accents ... mostly."

That provoked a laugh and a hug.

We had decided that we would remain in Fiona's home after the wedding. Why move to another similar house? Only Ms. Castro would be disappointed.

When we thought about our combined incomes, we would be very well off, although we were also mindful that Tina's college choice might require some additional funds. As well, Fiona's income was not guaranteed. It would be a direct result of her sales. It was a very small concern based on my belief in her talent. Whatever the situation, Fiona's money concerns were ended and we could look forward to a comfortable life together.

Our honeymoon would be postponed until all the new equipment was installed and operating. I had no intention of walking out of the plant until we could honestly say we were running with a conventional schedule and meeting our customer obligations. Fiona understood and accepted that provided we actually did have a honeymoon in the same calendar year as we married. I kept my fingers crossed that it would happen that way.

My meeting with Leo and Dave went a long way to relieving my concerns about our financial status. We were spending a lot of money, but not more than had been budgeted for the renovation and expansion. More importantly, the new business was coming in steadily and we were producing receivables on or ahead of expectations. I felt a lot better after that meeting and I was assured by Dave and Leo that they were very pleased with our progress to date.

Fiona was in a particularly sexy mood that night. Our flight wasn't until almost noon, so getting up early wouldn't be necessary. Good thing, as it turned out. She kept me up, literally and figuratively, for quite some time, causing me to wonder where this burst of energy came from. Mentally I shrugged. What difference did it make? I was on the receiving end of the best sex I was ever going to experience and, from my lady's reaction, the feeling was mutual.

"That was wonderful. What brought that on?" I asked as we lay in each other's arms early in the morning hours.

She didn't answer immediately, but her hand was stroking my chest and there was an air of contentment about her that I had come to recognize. I would wait for her answer.

"I don't know how to express what I feel, Andy," she whispered softly at last. "I can't seem to put it in words. I'm happy and sad at the same time. I'm happy I've found the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. And I'm sad that it's taken me this long. In another life, I would have wanted to make babies with you, but that's not to be. It doesn't change the way I feel about you, but it's something I think about."

"There's always my getting the vasectomy reversed," I said, tentatively, wondering if I shouldn't have just kept my mouth shut.

"No ... that time has passed. I'm deliriously happy with you and I don't want to change anything. I'm just being selfish again. I've won the lottery and now I want more. I have everything any woman could possibly want. Don't pay any attention to me. There's nothing you can do that could possibly make me any happier than I already am."

"Do you get the feeling that this is all some kind of dream?" I asked. "I mean, everything we've touched has turned to gold. Everything! I keep pinching myself to see if it's a dream, but I'm almost afraid it will turn out to be so."

"I know what you mean. In the real world, things just don't happen this way. Lonely spinster is struggling to make her way, raising a daughter. She meets the handsome stranger, immediately falls in love, watches her career rocket into the stratosphere, and lives happily ever after. Sound like real life?" she chuckled.

"Not when you put it like that," I agreed. "But maybe the answer is more ... understandable than that. My father has a saying he uses regularly. Timing is everything. I'm not trying to brag, but I was successful before we met. You were successful before we met, even though you had limited resources at hand.

"And further, what prompted Lorne McDermitt to call Leo Cornell and suggest acquiring Statewide? I've wanted to ask Lorne that question and I keep forgetting to. Make sure that's on my to-do list, will you?"

"So, what you're saying is that all of what's happened is just coincidence. A lucky set of circumstances that combined to put us together and have all this happen to us?"

"Well, which do you prefer?" I asked. "Timing or fate?"

"Fate ... for sure," she said as she kissed me lightly. "It helps me believe in the future ... our future."

We returned to the office on Wednesday morning and were greeted with several phone messages on both our cell phones and the office service. As I sorted through them, I saw a number from my previous customers in the area as well as one from Grant Loren at East Bay. I picked up the phone and called the number he had left.