Chapter 21

"David, at some point you have to accept the fact that you are one of the richest people in the world. Just because you gave us access to the trust doesn't mean it isn't yours. None of us want you to ask permission to spend your own money. However, if you need our help, then we are here to help."

It was two weeks later. We spent a lot of time poking holes in the baseball team idea and were finally ready to make the hard decisions. How much would it cost, and was the team worth paying that much?

"So - how can we help?" Mr. Bell clearly spoke for all of them. His point was firm and he was not debating it. Colleen had her face set. She wasn't budging. Rebecca and Millie just looked adorable, trying to seem firm.

"Ok. I give," I said, caving to their united front. "I want to buy the minor league team we discussed and move it to Branson, as soon as possible but, by the first day of next season at the latest. They play against Springfield, and it sets up a home and away rivalry that we can exploit to generate interest, and I think we can make a go of it within five years.

"It's not cheap, but it's a huge bargain, and major league baseball is kind of anxious to find a new owner, so moving won't upset them. If we use the college stadium for the rest of this season, we can have our own field built and ready for April.

"Ok. So tear it apart."

I waited...

... and waited.

Finally Mr. Bell said, "The city and county are totally on your side, David. We can count on their support as far as zoning, permitting, and road building is concerned. If you intend for the trust to pay for the actual stadium, and they are only involved in infrastructure of public areas, then they are one-hundred percent behind you. This thing will soar through the county offices in no time. The even better news is, they are willing to provide the land for the stadium, practice areas, offices, and parking. If the trust builds it, they will give us the land."

"Then the thing to do is to put a price tag on the team, and get things started. Colleen, are you going to make the approach?" We were at the office. Colleen and I rode in, with Benjamin, who was dozing at my feet, under the conference table. Mr. Bell brought all of Annette's forensic accounting notes, and we began to pull apart the corporation that owned the team.

Two hours later, Annette, Colleen, and Mr. Bell agreed on a price, contingencies, and set asides for unexpected expenses, undisclosed debts, and legal costs. Another hour went by before Colleen was satisfied with the language in the offer, and we broke for lunch feeling content with our work. The only left was to pick a lunch place.

Mr. Bell suggested Mama's, and Colleen called Rebecca to see if she was free to meet us. Millie had the car because she was in town doing some shopping, and Mr. Bell called and asked her to meet us there. We piled out to my Lexus and our protective detail scrambled to play catch up. Jack's guys went to pick up Rebecca, and she would ride home with me and Colleen.

Lunch was ... well, loud.

Mama's was packed with laborers, and they were having a ball shouting at each other, and cutting up. Rebecca looked offended. Colleen gave some of the worst offenders her lawyer stare, and Martha kept looking at our guards, afraid they would start shooting at any second.

It was a pretty typical lunch in Branson, I thought ... as long as you ignored ten armed guards, surrounding a table occupied by five people, who were chowing down on fried chicken, white gravy, three different kinds of potatoes, and pitchers of iced tea.

After destroying Martha's cooking, and exhausting polite conversation, I carefully bagged the leftover white meat chicken for Benjamin and we headed home, after getting loving hugs and kisses from Millie. Before she could get away, Rebecca looked at her and nearly begged, "Would you and Jim have a few minutes to meet us back at the house, before you head home, please?"

Millie loved us too much to even think of declining, and our respective details scrambled all over again, to cover us as we drove to the lake house.

Rebecca was running this show, and I realized that she and Colleen had cooked this up ahead of time. We were all directed to the family room, and served another round of iced tea, and tiny chocolate, Bundt cakes. Millie and Mr. Bell were particularly pleased with them.

Rebecca finally had things exactly as she wanted and settled herself between Colleen and me, facing Millie and Mr. Bell on the other sofa.

"We have some exciting news. Millie, I hope you can forgive me for waiting but I needed to feel sure before I mentioned it, but you need to get ready to be grandparents. David here forgot he'd changed bodies and we all assumed he was still shooting blanks, but I'M PREGNANT! AHHHHHH!!!!

"I can't believe it feels so good to say that."

Millie sat stunned for a little while, then said, "You're WHAT? WHAT? Jim did you hear that? We're going to be grandparents. Oh honey, are you feeling Ok? Is everything healthy? Do you need me to come and sit with you when these two go off to work every day?

"Oh my gosh. Jim, we have SO much shopping to do. Honey, I don't have anything left from when Colleen and Coulter were little. We HAVE to buy everything. Everything!

"You know how people child proof things these days. I need to read up on that. Colleen you must be about to bust you're so happy.

"Do you know if it's a boy, or girl?

"Have you thought about names?

"When are you due?

"Is the morning sickness very bad? I know it was for me with Colleen. But when I was expecting Coulter, I never had a bit. Oh, Jim. There's so much to do. We have to get started..." She was ecstatic. I wanted to hold her and calm her down, but realized it was part of the joy of having a loved one expecting.

Rebecca proved she had been paying attention. "Millie. Our baby is due right after the first of the year. It will be cold, and we all might want to go somewhere warm for the delivery. You, Colleen, and I need to talk about that." She flicked her hand towards Mr. Bell and I. "They'll do whatever we tell them to do, when the time comes." That got all of us laughing.

"It's way too early to know if we're having a boy, or girl. David swears it's a girl and we wanted to talk with you two about names. Brian ... David swears we're having a girl and wants us to name her Millicent Jane, for you, and my mother. Before we decided on that, we thought we should run it by you, first." She waited for the explosion and it was right on time.

"OH MY GOD! Oh my God." She was crying now. "Oh Honey. Millicent Jane will be the most loved child that was ever born. I can't believe you want to name her after me and your mother. Thank you so much for thinking of us that way.