Chapter 1

The Cast:

Sam Malone

Kathy Jenkins

Dominic Val Posey

Virginia Josephine Val Posey (Gina to her family, Joey to her few friends)

Minor Characters include:

Gail

Mom

Dad

Jim

Mona

Ceil

Our story begins:

It had been a long drive, but I felt really good. Not all my attempts to do good always met with success; but this one did. Gail was safely home with her family, a trailer load of gifts, new clothes for everyone, electronic things, appliances, and 3 fairly large generators would make life on the farm a decent place to be, that; and the trouble she had met with here in Virginia made life at the farm preferably now.

I had met Gail when I was shopping at Tyson Corner Mall. The poor kid seemed like a runaway. That was, in fact what she was. It did not take long to get her to tell her story. Food and a sympathetic ear will do that sometimes; especially if the farm girl had already met the dregs of the city lowlifes.

In a nutshell Gail was seventeen, saw the farm as a dead-end life and thought the suburbs were a better place to go to rather than the big cities like New York and LA. She soon found out that life anywhere is what you make it. Over some food, real food, not the food court junk, Gail started to relax.

Getting her to describe her reasons for her leaving the farm, I soon heard that what she thought was 'greener grassland' was not really any better, it was just different. She was too ashamed to call her parents. The 'bridges had been burnt', or so she thought. I asked her to describe what she was hoping to find when she left the farm.

Oh, yes, I should tell you a bit about me, why I am doing this, and 'what's in it for me'?

My name is Sam Malone. I am twenty-three years old and for the past ten years or so I only took care of number one, me. Life took a turn for the worse before it became better. I just did not understand 'why?' so many things had 'screwed up' in my life. One day I happened to meet an old friend from grade school. We had known each other for almost twenty years. We agreed to have coffee and after I rambled on for a long time about how things never seemed to work out, she took my hand and said "Sam, you are in control of your life. If you just live it as it comes things will never get any better. I learned the hard way, that we all deserve a lot more than we think we should have".

She continued on, "Until I lost almost everything I had, I did not realize that happiness is a state of mind and unless we tried to make it better, things would only seem worse. We would not be in control, events happened and would control us. It was not meant that we would achieve happiness, but it was a far sight better to be doing something positive, rather that re-acting to what happened."

In Kath's case, she had gone from star of stage, screen and television, with her own series. Then two short failed affairs, a bad marriage and, 'God Knows' where the money went, and she now was starting over. We were the same age. Her outlook on life made me think why I was complaining.

I can't say that I took everything she said to heart, but I did start to get better control of my life. I guess in many ways the discussion with Kathy helped change the way I looked at things now.

About six or seven months later I had a chance to see those benefits in action. I had won the 'Virginia Power Ball' lottery. Forty-three million dollars. after taxes, I was on the road to... , to where, if it had not been for some good luck and few kind words from Kathy, who knows where I would end up or how?

I had kept in contact with her. We had never been very close, never romantically or otherwise, but I felt I 'owed' her now. The old me would have handed her a wad of cash then walked away. The new, improving me saw in her my way to becoming a better person. I needed to keep her close. I figured. I called and asked her out.

Her outlook was great, even though she still was broke, had not found a permanent job and lived with her parents at their home. So far her life and mine seemed the perfect match. We both had reached that same plateau, only difference was she was determined to claw and scratch her way out to something better, and I just existed. Then the money came and changed all that for me.

Kathy asked if I would pick her up as she did not have a car and hoped to get something when she had a job. I said I would. My offer for dinner was something where an old friend had asked me to see if I might help and we would be going there to dinner and to meet him, if that was Okay with her. We could go to a show or something else after. Kathy agreed. My plan was proceeding pretty well at this point.

I picked her up in my parents car. I still had not decided where to go and wanted to do that first, then buy a car and find a place to live. I pretty much had decided to also get a summer house where it was on the water or in the mountains, and a winter house near snow skiing, no matter where I ended up living.

Dominic owned a very fancy restaurant in Tyson Corners, which was considered one of the places to go to. His health was not the best and he was selling the business. I was hoping Kathy might want it. Like usual, he was outside waiting for us. He ushered us into the 'Reserved' parking slot and greeted both of us as 'family'. Kathy, needless to say, was confused.

"I didn't know you were Italian Sam?"

"Nope, Dom just likes me! He always wanted a son but only had a daughter. He is one of the reasons we are here tonight, that and the food is terrific."

Over a fabulous dinner, Dom outlined his ideas with us. Prior to that, he and I discussed the role I needed him to play. He would be the 'Godfather', funding the two of us taking over his 'baby' while he went into retirement.

Long story short, on the way back to get her home, we discussed his 'wonderful offer'(At least I thought it was) only to find out that Kathy's reaction was flatter than a pancake. She just talked all the way back how she was going to be a 'big star' once again. I wished her luck and told her that I wanted to help her out if she needed anything. We parted as friends, but we parted. I bought her a very nice CD in a national bank and included some cash for her new start. I gave her $150,000 all told. By this time it was near midnight and I headed back to fill Dom in on Kathy's negative reaction.

"Too bad Sam. This place has a fine reputation, it is well situated and has space available next door for expansion; my Gina would 'die' for something like this but she can't afford it and she is too young(18) to get the finance. She is leaving college to help me run the place till I can get it sold. She is quite the 'kid' Sam, I really wish I could afford to give her the place, but I can't. Her flight arrives at 11:45 AM tomorrow, I should go get her and bring her here but I'm showing the place to a potential buyer; so a cab will have to do, I'll call her to let her know."

"Dom, wait, I'll get her, my plans all of a sudden got changed, I could do with a familiar face. I have not seen her for a while, will I recognize her or can she meet me somewhere?"

"Sam, I know this is her Papa speaking, but you would not recognize her now. She is not the scrawny little thirteen year-old you once knew, she is a woman now, at least she looks like one. If I was thirty, no, forty years younger, 'Mama Mia'! Give me your cell phone number and I'll have her call you when she lands and meet you out front at the Delta entrance."

"Okay, Dom, you have my interest now, I rarely get to 'pick up' a beautiful woman. If I never bring her back, don't blame me!"

I was a little bummed at the reaction my ideas got from Kathy, but I did leave Mom and Dad a note on the kitchen table to wake me in time to get to the airport. It was Saturday, and we lived close to Dulles. I fell asleep and woke up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee, the 'nectar' of the gods.

I remembered to take my cell with me, but almost forgot to turn it on. How bad is that? I waited for her call near the entrance. I was glad I was early, so was she. It was perfect timing, she was already out front. I told her what kind of car I was driving and went to meet her.