Chapter 40: Together Again, At Home.

Rob's turn (Wednesday evening):

We walked into the restaurant and were greeted by the maître d'. Before he had been used to seeing me and now he has become used to seeing me and Kay. We were given good service here and were shown to the corner table where our life together had its start.

We placed our drink orders and I brought up a new topic for Kay, "We have some other shopping I think we need to do."

"What's that?"

"I think I owe you an engagement ring. I was wondering if you would like to go with me to pick out a wedding set. Wouldn't you like something to show everyone that you're engaged?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I mean you and I know we're engaged, our parents and families know we're engaged, your friends know we're engaged. Who else needs to know? Who am I going to show a ring off to?"

"I don't know. I thought all young women wanted a ring to show off and announce their engagement."

"I guess I'm supposed to but I never thought about it. We can't wear any jewelry in the production areas, no one can. It's a safety issue."

"What about the other areas of the company?"

"The restriction is for the production areas only."

"So does this mean you DON'T want an engagement ring?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then you DO want an engagement ring."

"I didn't say that either."

"Well do you?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll ask Mom tonight, along with the other things I was going to talk to her about."

"What other things?"

"The license, the J.P., decorating and using the barn, all the other stuff for our wedding."

"That's good. The first weekend of August will get here very soon and we've got to have all our ducks in a row. This is the only bad part about having our wedding on your family farm. I know your mom will do everything she can to help but we're still dependent on the actions of other people for us to get married. I'm not used to being dependent on anyone but myself."

"Mom will have everything ready for us, Rob, trust her."

"I do but it's hard for me."

"If you'd like, I'll have you talk with her to make you feel better."

"No, that's not necessary, I'm being silly and I know it."

"How was the trip? How'd you end up in Denver? We never did talk about what you were doing over the weekend."

"The trip went well. They flooded out their computer equipment room; it crashed their system and ruined a bunch of equipment. And if that wasn't bad enough, their backups were in the same room so they were really screwed."

"You're not supposed to have your backups in the same room?"

"No. Normally it wouldn't be a problem because you use backups to restore your system after a data loss and the data loss is usually due to an electronic problem corrupting your files. Every once in a while, though, the problem is due to a mechanical problem. If the mechanical problem affects your equipment and your backup files are on that same equipment, you very likely will lose both your primary files and your backup files. That's what happened at the resort."

"So they lost their files and didn't have a backup."

"They lost their backup files because they were on the same equipment as their primary files and they had a mechanical disaster. When they lost their primary files they lost their backup files at the same time. For your protection I tell you to backup all your files and I give you access to my business servers to do your backup. My servers are separate from your laptop. If you drop your laptop or it's lost or it's stolen your backup files are safe, on my servers."

"You told me to back up onto an external hard drive, too."

"Yes and don't keep it with your laptop."

"I don't. I didn't think about why you told me to do that but now I know why. What about you, where are your backup files?"

"I use a commercial service to back up the files on my servers, so they're separate from the house. If the resort didn't want to put in a separate equipment room for its backups, it should have gone with a commercial service. They didn't, they went cheap and just put in a separate storage location on their existing equipment. When I took them on as a client, I surveyed their system and recommended a different arrangement but they didn't want to spend the money. Now it's cost them a lot more. That was a big error on the part of their I.T. Manager."

"I'll bet he's not happy about it."

"He's not and no longer has a job there. The Senior V.P. of the holding company that owns the resort came in because of the problem. I made my report to him about the extent of the problem and my recommendations to correct it. He asked about the backups and I had to tell him why they were lost along with the primary files. I also told him my original recommendations would have protected them. He gave the authorization to replace whatever needed to be replaced and to set up backups in the Denver corporate offices for the future. That's why I went to Denver."

"That's your new client, I take it?"

"Yeah, the holding company. I met with Ian, the V.P. and he committed them to me as a client. Before that, he tried to recruit me to take the I.T. Manager position at the resort and then, within a year, I'd move up to the Corporate I.T. Manager position. The current one is going to take an early retirement, for health reasons."

"Wow, that's a big deal, isn't it? Are you going to take it?"

"Yes, it's a big deal and no, I'm not going to take it. I turned him down then and I turned him down the three or four other times he asked me. He was disappointed but accepted it when I told him he didn't have an ocean for me to put my sailboat in." I smiled.

"You said something about a project as well as a client?"

"As part of taking the holding company on as a client they want me to go around to all their properties and survey their existing systems. Once I do the surveys and make my reports, we'll have discussions about what upgrades and modifications have to be made to bring them up to whatever level we decide on. They want the surveys done before Halloween. I'll have to do some travel but it won't be too bad."

"Travel, again?"

"Yes but I wasn't planning on doing any of it before we get back from our honeymoon. That brings up the honeymoon; do you have somewhere you'd like to go?"

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it. How long can we be gone for?"

"I thought we'd travel to Kansas after you get out of work on Friday afternoon. I'd like us to be married that Sunday and we can leave on Monday. You have to be back at work two Mondays later. I don't know if you want to return to the farm first or just come straight home to San Diego."

"I don't think we should return to the farm. It would be favoring my parents over yours and I don't want to do that. It's bad enough we're having our marriage on the farm with a friend of my family doing the ceremony. I don't want to slight your mom. Neither your dad nor mine will notice, much less care but it's the kind of thing moms do notice and care about."

"It's normally the bride's choice and I don't think my folks would mind."

"I'd still feel bad about it even if they wouldn't mind, so I want to come home, here. I'd like to get home a day or two before I have to go back to work. We'll need to do laundry and I think we'll probably need a day's rest before we go back to work."

"You don't think we'll be well rested when we get back from our honeymoon?"

"Is anybody ever well rested when they return from traveling on a vacation?"

"Good point. Now, where do we go?"

"Can we take a cruise? I've never been on a ship."

"I haven't either. How about we take an Alaskan cruise? I'll let you look into it on-line. If you'd rather go somewhere else, let me know. Get whatever information you can, put it together and let me know."

"Okay, I can do that."

We continued our meal, talking about taking a cruise or doing something else for our honeymoon. We also talked about her internship and what she was doing this week.

As soon as I asked, her face lit up. "You know I had to get a security clearance for this position, right?"

"Yeah."

"I thought it was just some sort of formality but it turns out it's for real. You know I'm in research this week. Monday they gave us an indoctrination as a group and then Tuesday I had individual attention from the chief assistant in the office. I've been given some things to do individually. In the process I've had to go into classified information files. I took some time to do a comparison, I found ninety percent of everything on the open internet but the ten percent in the classified files is big. I'm having a lot of fun."

"It sounds like it."

"I'm there for the rest of the week and then Monday morning we meet in the conference room with our suitcases and we'll be gone until Friday afternoon."

"You'll take your laptop and phone won't you?"

"I was planning on it. I haven't heard or seen anything that tells me otherwise."

"I'm only asking because you're going to military bases. I thought the rules might be different there."

"If they are I'm sure we'll be told."

"What else is going on?"

"I told you Wayne was late on Monday and I still don't know why. I don't think Ryan or Linc know either. Wayne has also been surly and he's snapping at everyone. I think he even snapped at the chief assistant once today. I heard some raised voices and saw her give him a shocked look."

"That doesn't sound good."

"I don't know if he needs a vacation or what his problem is. I just keep as far away from him as I can."

"That's probably the smartest thing you can do. What about Ryan and Linc, how are you getting along with them?"

"Ryan and Linc are great. I can talk with them about almost anything. Last week we all sat together at lunch and talked. This week Wayne has been sitting by himself and I think I've caught him glaring at me and I don't know why or what to do about it. Do I walk up and ask him or what?"

"That's a tough one. If you do it alone, as a one-on-one, he might jump on you. If you do it when Ryan and Linc are with you, he might feel like you're ganging up on him. I don't know him, other than a face I might remember from your birthday party. I don't know what to recommend, other than don't get into a shouting match with him."

"I don't intend to."

"Is it since you started the internship or is it a carryover from class?"

"I don't know what or where it's from."

"Do you want to talk with Darren Williams or Bert Symes?"

"I don't think so. I think I'll just stay clear of him as much as I can. It'll be hard next week with the four of us travelling together, though."

"How's that going to work? I assume someone from the company is going to travel with you."

"Guy Portman, the Assistant Manager for Production, is coming with us. He'll be our escort and is going to be the overall supervisor for the tour. I think he'll have assignments for us, based on each stop, homework for gosh sakes."

I chuckled.

"Rob, I'm serious. Why are we getting homework assignments as interns?"

"This is supposed to be a major learning opportunity for you. It's so you can learn real life applications of your classroom learning. It's also so they can look you over. The company wants to see what you're learning in class and how it translates into usable skills for them. Remember, when these thirteen weeks are over they'll, most probably, pick one of you to work with them for the next year and pick up thirty percent of their tuition to boot."

"But homework?"

"Don't you think they want to see what you're picking up as you go through their program? I know they're probably getting some government money to offset their expenses in this program but I'm sure it doesn't cover everything and the company wants to see their money isn't being wasted. Do you have a better way to do that?"

"I guess not."

"Bring your notebook and take notes about what you see and particularly how it applies to you and the company. If it's permitted and it'll help you out, use your phone to take pictures. Don't be surprised if it isn't allowed, though."

We completed our meal while we talked and headed for home when we finished our tiramisu and coffee. I was a little tired but feeling good now that I was on my home turf again. When we got to the house, Kay made her weekly call to her parents while I pulled the cover off the hot tub and started its heater and pump. I'd been in the tub for about fifteen minutes before Kay came out bare as the day she was born. She climbed in and settled on my lap, snuggling into my chest.

"I'm glad you're home, I missed you. I had fun over the weekend but I'm glad you're home."

She snuggled and squirmed in my lap. It resulted in me having a predictable reaction.

"Rob, were you serious about us shopping for an engagement ring this weekend?"

"Yes, if you'd like to, I'll take you shopping for an engagement ring."

"I don't think I want one but I would like to shop for a ring set to use for our wedding."

"I take it you have something in mind."

"In general terms yes but not specifically."

"What are you thinking of?"

"I was thinking of a ring set on the simpler side. Not as simple as plain gold bands but nothing too much beyond them."

"As an explanation, that's about as clear as mud. You know that, don't you?"

"I can't explain it but I think if we go to a jeweler I'll be able to work out what I want with him. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure but unless you can explain it better to him or he has an ability I don't, to read your mind, this might be a long and frustrating shopping trip for only two small doughnuts of metal. Are you sure you don't want an engagement ring? It's not like I can't afford one for you. I can afford just about any ring you'd like."

"I know, I know but I can't justify it. Not to myself. I can't see any reason to spend big bucks on another doughnut of metal that has a pebble of some kind mounted on it or in it. I can't justify spending medium or even small bucks on one. Is that okay?"

"Sure but what will your folks think if I don't get you an engagement ring?"

"Dad didn't get Mom an engagement ring until they were married about ten years. He couldn't afford one for her when they first got together because of the farm. The farm may make Mom and Dad look rich on paper but it takes a lot of money to keep it running on a day-by-day basis. I don't know the specifics, they were kept from us while we were growing up and I was never told. Junior probably knows, now that he's more involved in the farm's operations but I doubt Tommy does, or will until he's done with school."

"So they won't think anything bad of me for not getting you an engagement ring."

"Not at all but what about your Mom and Dad?"

"If I tell them you don't want one that will suffice but Mom might ask you privately."

"Then that's that. We'll go look at wedding bands this weekend. Now, let's go in and go to bed."

We closed up the hot tub and went in. While I closed up the house, Kay went to start the shower. When I went into the bath, Kay was already in the shower and waiting for me. As I stepped in with her she wrapped me up in a huge hug and stretched up to kiss me.

After a moment or two Kay broke the kiss. "Mmmm, that's nice. I could do that all day long sometimes; this is one of those times."

"In case you're interested, I like it, too. There are other things I like as well and I think you also like them. Now turn around so I can wash your back, along with some other parts of you." I started working up lather in my hands to wash her and then started at her shoulders.

"That feels so good." She put her hands up to brace herself on the wall and let her head hang forward while I washed and massaged my way down her back, pushing her around.

After I did her butt I slid my arms around to her front and cupped her breasts, squeezing them and pinching her nipples. "I like doing this because I know it excites you and makes you feel good. I like making you feel good."

"Mmmm, I never knew someone doing this to me would feel so good. I've heard girls talk about it and they either loved it or complained about being pawed by guys. The little experience I had, before you came along, wasn't much when it came to attention to these, they're too small along with my butt." She clasped my hands to her breasts.

"I don't think they're too small, I think they're just right for you and about perfect, like the rest of you, including your butt. I figure if I do this for a little while you'll be nice and relaxed so you can sleep well." I slid a hand down to the juncture at the top of her thighs and applied some attention there causing her to wriggle back against me.

"You're trying to tease me." She turned in my arms and wrapped me up in hers. "You're the only one that thinks they're right or that I'm perfect, but you know what? You're the only one that matters, as far as I'm concerned. Now turn around, so I can get to your back."

She returned my attentions and scrubbed me with her hands as I had done her. I looked over my shoulder at her and said, "It's not a tease if I intend to carry through with what I've started."

She reached down and grasped my hardness. "Oooh, something here needs help to relax. Turn around so I can help you relax the way you relaxed me."

I turned to face her; she dropped to her knees in front of me as she stroked me while she rinsed me clean. She leaned forward and kissed me where it would do the most good and then looked up into my eyes with a smile on her face before she did it again. This time she held the kiss before letting her mouth open and engulf me.

"Oh my, that's so good." My knees just about buckled and I had to grab a rail to keep from collapsing. Kay's head bobbed and her tongue swirled around me in her mouth. "You're killing me. I'm going to have a heart attack right here and right now."

She pulled back, popping me out of her mouth and stood up. "I doubt it but just in case I'll stop, for now. Let's get out and go to bed."

We got out and dried each other off with big fluffy towels. I rubbed her until her skin had a glow about it from head to toe. Or did that glow come from the inside?

We went to bed where we teased, played, tickled and enjoyed each other in the best way possible for a man and a woman. Eventually we fell asleep, thoroughly satiated after wearing ourselves out.

Thursday morning Kay and I both got up. While she took a quick shower I started coffee and put together a plate with fruit and cheese for breakfast so everything was ready when she came into the kitchen.

"You didn't have to do this, Rob. You shouldn't have gotten up yet, you could have slept in for a while."

"Nah, I can't see it. I have things to do and besides, I wanted to see you off and get a kiss to get through the day. I've missed your morning kisses."

"Aww, you're sweet. Now I've got to go."

She turned and I swatted her bottom.

"Yipe! You're a beast. I don't know why I keep you around."

"After last night, you don't know why you keep me around?!?"

"All right, maybe you've got some redeeming qualities."

"Gee, thanks."

"Think nothing of it." She gave an offhand wave of her hand and a flip of her head so her nose went haughtily up in the air. "I've got to go; I'll call you when I'm on my way home."

Kay headed out and I cleaned up the small mess in the kitchen. I took my coffee with me into the office and got started for the day. I had a lot to do, starting with reviewing my client logs. I got a surprise. There was a problem developing with the aerospace company's servers. It wasn't major and I probably could have handled it from my office but I saw it as an opportunity to take a peek at Kay while she was working. I called James Pietro there and set up to meet him in his offices after lunch. I was looking forward to it.