Chapter 4

I awoke this Friday morning all tangled in the sheets. I must have had a really restless night. I also had a headache starting that I could already feel would be a bitch if I left it too long before I took something to stave off the effects. I didn't have any visitors today so I pretty much rested and read or listened to by CD collection.

I still had a couple of painkillers left from the hospital stay, so I took one and tried to get awake this morning. I did a quick shower and shave and then dressed to meet Silvia at the bank to get Aunt Sophie's rings at lunchtime. I called Silvia and let her know I was up and dressed and would meet her at the bank at noon.

Now if I could just come to some agreement with this inner self who was God's gift to women. If I could tame him maybe I could live a normal life. Boy, I really hope so. I didn't want to send Deb screaming into the night to get away from this sex demon I had turned into.

I met Sylvia at the bank, and the rings were really very nice. They had originally belonged to Aunt Sophie's grandmother, so they were over a hundred years old, but her husband had struck it rich in the Corsicana wells in the late 1890's and moved to San Antonio to live off his riches. He met great grandma there and married her in 1902. He was 42 to her 18, but who cared. She bore him three sons and two daughters. Sophie's father was the third son Jacob. The single stone was a 4 carat blue-white radiant cut diamond with close to 2 carats of diamond chips, in a pale yellow, encircling the large stone. It was very beautiful and worth a small fortune to a collector of antique diamond jewelry, not counting the actual worth of the diamonds alone. The rings were of yellow gold and sparkled like new, even though they were quite old.

I'm sure that Deborah would love the rings as much as I did. Sylvia did say that she had a jeweler clean the rings a couple of years ago and make sure all the stones were tight. Some of the glue used for the chips had loosened on a few stones, and he glued them again with modern glue made specifically for that purpose.

I profusely thanked her for the rings and said if Deb wanted something less ostentatious that I would turn them back to her. Sylvia said, "Rob, keep the rings no matter what Deb says, just keep them in the family, okay?"

"I promise sis. I'll make sure they stay in the family, no matter what Deborah decides. I think something like this belongs in our family forever. Especially with the history of our family with the Evans name. I may be changing my name back to Evans before I marry Deb."

"No Rob, I really appreciate your offer, but to know that it will still be in the family even with your new last name is enough with me. I'm sure I speak for our family when I say although you may be a Preston by decree; you're an Evans by birth and by temperament. I hear mother complaining to me about your insubordination in the hospital. It's about time that she was told that her meddling was no longer welcome. The rest of the family is so glad you finally stood up to her. I know that your stubbornness about school was the first step, and then you coming to work here about let her know her power over you was gone."

"How could we as children stand to listen to her reading a book to us in that monotone?"

"That only started after she married, that jerk Rodney. Before then she was more like a real loving mother. However, finding out about dad's dalliance she became so bitter that I think Rodney was just what she needed at the time, but I'm not sure that he is now. I was 12 when mother and dad divorced, I was more like dad than she could cope with so I went with him and you were relegated to go with her, so she could raise you like she wanted."

"You know overall it wasn't too bad; I did get some educational advantages, but now I wonder what I would be like if I was with dad like you were."

"Rob, that is all in the past now. You are all well again, and you have a great future, especially currently since you have decided that Deborah is the one. I wish you all the happiness in the world; I hope that you are as happy as John, and I are. Once you start a family it will be even better yet."

"Thanks sis; I think that we will be happy now. See you Monday at work."

"See ya Monday, love you Rob." Sylvia said as she left me at the bank parking lot.

I drove home and waited for Deb to come home to me. I also took time to argue with my inner self to take it easy on me and my soon to be mate. I hoped that I had gotten through to whatever was in my head besides me.

I fell asleep in my recliner until I received a sweet kiss from Deborah Susan Carlson, soon to be Mrs. Robert Stanton Preston.

"Hey sleepyhead, it's time to wake up and take me to dinner. You were going to take me to dinner, right?"

"Yes I was. Have you picked out a nice place for our dinner?"

"Oh a nice place, huh? Is that a hint of things to come? Is this some special evening?"

"Maybe, but you won't find out unless you pick a nice place."

"We haven't been to Gino's for a while. Is that a nice enough place?"

"Sure that would be good; I've had a craving for Italian since I got out of the hospital. Let me get a little more presentable. I think lying here in this recliner that my hair is all mussed up. I'll be right back," I said as I got up and headed for the bathroom.

When I came out I couldn't find Deb, but it sounded like she was talking to someone. I'll bet she was calling our friends and setting something up for all of them to be at Gino's tonight.

Somehow she must have known what I was going to do tonight, but how? Did Sylvia spill the beans? Was it that I said I wanted to go someplace nice? It must be that special women's intuition that was working overtime for her. Whatever, I couldn't complain. I really wanted this to be a little more private, just between us and strangers, but if she wanted her friends around her, then who was I to complain.