The Consummation Baby

 

The Consummation Baby

happyhugo

 

80,257 words

Copyright 12/17/2023

Cheating, Romance, Drama

Score:6.99

Jump Break

Howard Prentice married his boss, Henry’s older daughter, Lorna. It was a long day and he became inebriated. 2 AM in the morning, he was able to accomplished the consummation. Forward six months, he had a surprise waiting for him when he visited his sister-in-law, Mary. Suspicious, now, A Detective and Lawyer were hired to confirm. Why his mother-in-law and wife were always out shopping, but rarely brought any goods home. The two women’s guilt forced a lot of changes.

Chapter One                                                                                                                                

I rolled off the couch while turning over. I struggled to look at my watch and finally brought it into focus. Two a.m. Well it had been quite a day. Getting married, dining, dancing and drinking too many toasts. Funny, I thought I could hold my liquor better than this. I also had a terrible taste in my mouth … something like moth balls. Again I struggled and made it to my feet. Someone put their arms around me to hold me steady.

“Thanks, sweetheart, I’m awful unsteady. Guess you’ll have to help me walk. I can’t believe how I feel. Help me to our wedding bed.” My new wife of a few hours didn’t answer, just heading me down the hall, she behind me holding me up. We passed my former room. I was awake enough to hear someone having sex behind the closed door.

“That must be one of the usher’s getting lucky. Well, you’re about to get lucky, I do think I can perform well enough to make this wedding legal. I’m sorry about getting so drunk." There was a dim nightlight on.  The covers were pulled aside so when I reached the bed, I just rolled into it. My wife immediately turned to the door, whispering she would be right back. I closed my eyes and waited.

The next thing I realized she was removing my clothes and I did what I could to give her a hand. It was totally dark in the room. I felt the bed sink as she got into it and I rolled to her side and there she was as naked as I was and her hands were pulling me closer. I was getting excited now. She turned away and shifted her butt so it was now brushing against my member. She leaned away from me until I felt her hand reach between her legs and guide me.

I closed up and then connected. Instinct took over and I began to thrust. My new wife was meeting me, pushing back vigorously. She actually backed me up to the edge of the bed. I couldn’t have that as I was now nearly awake and more than a little interested and I moved more aggressively. I felt Lorna orgasm, and I didn’t stop.  I wanted this to be good for her. Maybe it was the amount I had drunk, but it took awhile for me to build until I could finally finish. I thought this was better than the sex we had when only engaged.

I stayed in until I was deflated. I sank back and mumbled “I love you.” I was so tired now, I could hardly move. She was getting out of bed as I sank into slumber.

———————————————

 It was nearly nine o’clock when I awoke again. Lorna was beside me. She had a nightgown on and it had raised high enough for me to see there was some slight evidence showing that I had consummated our union early this morning.

I leaned over and kissed her and she pushed me away. “Not now Howard, I’m too tired. We’ll make sure we are married legally later.” I was a little puzzled by this, but if she wanted to play coy with me for taking her during the night, that was okay. I was hungry anyway.

I went into the kitchen and made coffee.  When brewed, I poured a mug full and sat at the counter, discovering a note propped against the sugar bowl. “Lorna and Howard, thanks for inviting me to your wedding. I had to leave early and you didn’t look like you were getting up soon so I called a taxi and I’m on the way back to Montana. Love you guys, Kittery.” I was disappointed for I loved Kitten like the sister she had just become. I thought the world of her. I had only seen her twice until yesterday since becoming engaged to Lorna. She had run off to Montana to live with her Aunt Mary six months ago.

An hour later Lorna came into the kitchen. She had showered and dressed. I was still in my robe and I had showered before I had coffee. “Good morning, Mrs. You’re looking lovely this morning.”

“Thank you, Howard. It’s a great day to be alive. I wish we didn’t have to put off going on our honeymoon, but Daddy promised to pay for the whole wedding if we would wait. Is this the way our marriage is going to be?”

“No, of course not, your father just needs me to complete a scheduled job at the shop. I was the one who planned the job, but then he promised it completed early for our client without checking with me. It will be only a month from now and we will be on the high seas. I paused to sip coffee, “There is a note here from Kitten. She left before I got up. I’m sorry to have missed her.”

“You really like her don’t you?”

“Of course I do, she’s your sister and she’s family now.”

“She acts like she has a thing for you and always has. I’m glad she went back to Aunt Mary’s. Aunt Mary is a little weird since she lost her husband a few years ago. Kit went running to her Aunt when we announced our engagement. I guess Kit feels comfortable with her.”

“Well, I do like her and I’m still sorry she didn’t wake us up to say goodbye. Do you want to go back to bed now?”

“No. I’m dressed. We’ll take care of that tonight. Is everyone else gone?”

“I guess so. I saw your old boyfriend, Peters here during the wedding, did you invite him?”

“Of course not, I love you. He and I were together a long time, so he was interested in seeing me married. He is married too, you know, with a wife and has two children. Don’t tell me you are going to be a jealous husband?”

“Not without cause, I won’t be.” Lorna was soon on the phone to her mother and we ended up that night with her parents for dinner.

Lorna was fidgeting, “Mama, why didn’t Kit stay over another day with me, or even you? She left a note that she had to get back to Aunt Mary’s?”

“I have no idea. She called this morning early from the airport. It sounded like she was crying. Your Dad had to bribe her to come to see you two married. I think she was jealous of you and now that Howard is married she’ll put all of her feelings behind her. She promised she would come for Christmas so the lot of us will be together as a family again.

———————————

Lorna and I settled into married life. We tried to outdo each other in bed during the honeymoon cruise. Home from the cruise I returned to the job that I had with Lorna’s father, Henry Harris. I had been working for him now for a few years. This was the only job I had since getting my engineering degree. Kittery, Lorna’s sister, seldom called her mother and never called Lorna. It was like she was out of our life.

I was the only one who mentioned Kit and I was mostly ignored when I did. I had been fond of Kitten as she grew from a gawky teenager into a beautiful young woman and I often teased her about boys. The last time when I asked about her dating, she ran away with tears in her eyes. We weren’t as comfortable with each other after that.

I had met Aunt Mary a few times. She was a widow and did something with horses, living in Montana. She was sister to Mable, Kitten and Lorna’s mother. She was independent of the family here in the east. This went further back than the sisters, but actually to Hetty Comstock, Mable and Mary’s mother. She was a total bitch to Mary. She did get along with Mable as her first born and Lorna was Mable’s first born. Kittery was the mistake which every couple has just like the mistake Mary was for Hetty.

I didn’t regret marrying Lorna, but we never seemed to be as close as when we first became engaged or close like some married couples. I had a demanding boss in Henry, but the pay was great. I gave Lorna half my pay check and I supported her by paying all the household expenses. I couldn’t seem to arrange to save much. I didn’t worry because the house we lived in came to me without a mortgage on my parents death.

Lorna didn’t work and she did a lot of shopping. Evenings she was often out with her girlfriends and she was always going somewhere with her mother. Right after Thanksgiving, I decided to call Montana. “Aunt Mary, may I speak to Kitten? I haven’t talked to her since Lorna and I were married.”

“Oh, Howard, this is unusual for you to call. Kittery would love to hear your voice. She has some sad days and this has been the worst one this week. Guess she misses Lorna and her mother. I can’t see why someone hasn’t been out to visit either of us either.”

“Henry keeps me terribly busy. If Lorna didn’t entertain herself, she’d be lonely too. I tell you what, plan on Lorna and me for a visit next weekend. I’ll pry Lorna away from her friends and we’ll fly out for two nights. Kitten will be coming back here to visit over Christmas three weeks later. Are you coming with her?  Please do because I don’t really know you.”

“Maybe I will, hang on a minute and I’ll get Kit to the phone.”

“Hi Howard, how are you?”

“God, it is good to hear your voice.  You do know how much I miss you don’t you?”

“That’s nice, Howard, I’ve missed you too. How is married life?”

“Okay, and except for the honeymoon cruise, we don’t do much together. Your Dad keeps me busy. I don’t know what he would do without me.”

“Howard, Dad will keep piling work on your shoulders forever and it will only get worse. He has done this to several young men ever since I got old enough to be aware. He promised always to bring the young men into the business, but he never did until you came along. Whoever married Lorna was to get the business someday. When it gets really bad they leave. I don’t suppose with you being happily married to Lorna, you would ever want to leave.

“Probably not, because I do enjoy what I’m doing. This is what I trained for.”

“I’ll bet you haven’t had a full day off since you were married, have you?”

“Lorna and I had our honeymoon cruise. That was fun. I’ll take another month off next summer.”

“I’ll bet Dad can talk you out of it.”

“I’ll take that bet. Lorna and I will spend a whole week with you.”

“Howard, don’t make a bet like that or you’ll be disappointed.”

“Kitten, you are coming for Christmas aren’t you? I have to see my favorite friend who I’m missing.”

“No, I won’t be coming this year. I’m not feeling up to flying. I would like to see you though. Hearing your voice makes me so happy, but sad at the same time.”

“Please don’t be sad.”

“Okay Howard. Hey, it has been great talking to you. Call again when you can. I’ll clue Aunt Mary in to take your call. If I’m not here, give her the message for me. I do have to work, you know.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. I have a wife and she doesn’t have to work.”

“I know, but life isn’t fair and I’ve come to expect it will always be that way. Lorna was born first and she always gets what she wants. I’m resigned to the way my life has turned out. Howard, hang up please, or you will hear me crying.”

“Okay, Kitten. I wish I could hold you like I did sometimes when Lorna was being bitchy to you.”

“Howard, I remember you were always a good friend to me. Goodbye and think of me sometimes.”

“I will, Kitten. Goodbye.

Something was going on. I sat thinking about Kit. She seemed so forlorn. Why? I was awake when Lorna came to bed that night. “Hi sweetheart, you’re late.”

“Are you checking up on me? I was with Mom.” Lorna was acting a little defensive.

 “No, I wasn’t checking up on you, I was just making an observation. Should I be checking on you?”

“No, of course not. You know faithful old me.”

“I hope so. Hey, I was thinking of Kitten tonight so I called her. She said she wasn’t well enough to travel for Christmas so we won’t be seeing her.”

“What’s the matter with her? I’m still pissed because she wouldn’t hang around after our wedding. It made Mom terribly mad and that makes me mad that she would do that to Mom. Let’s drop it. Do you want sex tonight? If you don’t, I’m going to sleep.”

“Go to sleep then. Sex and a bitchy wife don’t set that well with me.” 

In the morning, I called Mother Harris, “Mable, what are you doing on the weekend?”

“Nothing that I know of, why?”

“I’m going to fly out to Montana and see Kitten. I thought you might like to see Mary and Kittery.” 

“Lorna won’t like that. She thinks you have something going on with Kittery.”

“I don’t and never have, but it sounded like there was catch in her voice because she was so happy to hear from me.”

“I don’t think I can make it, Sorry.”

“Okay, Mable.”

“Are you still going? 

“Of course.”  I smiled to myself. I’d give it not more than two hours before Henry would have work for me this weekend.  The phone rang exactly one hour later.

“Yes?”

“Howard, I have a rush job that has to be done by Sunday. I’ll have it sent to your file.”

“Sorry, Henry, I’m going to be gone all weekend. I’m busy and wouldn’t want to start and then leave it. Give the job to Hamilton. He can do anything I can do.”

“This won’t look good on your yearly report.”

“I can survive it and I believe my job is safe. I’m family now, remember?  One bad report for the years I’ve worked for you can’t be too bad.”

“Well, do what you have to do, but you’re making a mistake. Where are you going anyway? Is Lorna going with you?”

“I’m going out to visit Kittery. I was talking to her and she sounded like she needed a shoulder to cry on. I’m not asking Lorna, I saw in her daily planner she was going shopping in the city with Mable.”

“Christ, haven’t you bought enough stuff for her yet?”

“You would think so, but she never brings much home.” This thought rang bells in my mind. Why didn’t Lorna bring home more purchases from her trips? “Okay, Henry, sorry you’re in a bind about the job.”

“Son, say hi to Kittery and Mary for me. I do care for both.”

“I will, Henry.”

————————————

I rented a vehicle at the Helena Airport and traveled east along Route Twelve, using the rental GPS to find my destination. It was just 7 a.m. when I pulled into the driveway. It looked like this was a small ranch. I could see a few saddle horses in a corral standing breech to the breeze.  Kitten answered the door to my knock. I stood looking at her. She was obviously pregnant—I would say several months along. Suddenly she began sobbing. I opened the door wide and she backed inside the hallway so I could close the door.

“Hi, Kitten, honey, is this why we weren’t going to see you come Christmas?” She nodded and I hugged her to me. She kept me close and hugged me even tighter. She looked up and it was so natural to lean down kiss her. She shuddered and then pushed me away.

“Come in Howard, Aunt Mary is in the kitchen getting breakfast. I’ll get you coffee.” Composing herself, she asked how my trip was. “I knew you were coming. Mother called me and then Lorna called me and screamed at me. She wants me to keep my mouth shut about some things I know about her that I noticed going on during your wedding.”

“I’ve been the butt of some remarks lately, so I know what you are saying. I take it then that the man responsible for your condition doesn’t want anything to do with you. That’s sad. What is he, married or something?”

Both women stared at me. Finally Kit started laughing almost hysterically, but her voice was catching every time she took a breath. “You don’t know do you?”

“What’s to know? How would I know anything about how you got pregnant?”

Kitten sobered and answered my previous questions, “Howard, the man is married, and whether he wants to do something about it is to be determined. Let’s eat breakfast and then I’ll fill you in.

“Okay, I can go with that. I’ll bet I can find the bastard and talk turkey to him. Oh, your father sends love and misses you both terribly. He is awful busy though. He tried to get me to work this weekend, but I was adamant that I was coming to see you. You sounded so sad on the phone.”

“I am sad, but I’m so glad you came. I’m glad that Dad is thinking of me.” I was hungry and I polished off the eggs, bacon and hash browns. I drank two cups of coffee. Satiated, I sat back.

“Howard, sit still. I have a reason for asking a couple of questions and I want you to answer the best you can about the day you got married and got so drunk. We took you home early and put you on the couch so you wouldn’t make a spectacle of yourself.”

“I don’t remember that at all. Who is we?”

“Dad, your best man, and me.  We left you on the couch and we went back to the reception. The fun was gone out of the party so it soon broke up. I went back to your house, sat in the corner chair and watched over you. Lorna came in some time after midnight. I don’t think she even knew I was in the house at that time. I was so mad at her. She went directly to your room and I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up. But you did. What do you remember doing after you fell off the couch?”

“Kitten, I remember Lorna helped me to my feet and guided me down the hall. I remember hearing someone having sex in my old room and commenting on it. I remember wondering if I could perform my duty in consummating my marriage. I guess I did. I remember it was the best sex I ever had. It was a hell a lot better than I get now. The next thing I remember is waking up, seeing that my wife hadn’t showered yet and I wanted to repeat what I had done with her when only half awake.”

I stopped speaking, seeing Kit and Mary looking at each other. “Howard, you didn’t consummate your marriage that night with Lorna. Oh, she had sex that night, but it wasn’t with you. She had company and it was she in your old room. What I’m trying to say is, if the preacher had said the marriage vows in front of you and me, our marriage would be legal and I have the evidence to prove it.

Kitten smoothed her hands over the baby bump and looked me in the eyes. “It was me who put you to bed that night. I felt so bad for you because of what Lorna was doing. I was just trying to console you but it worked out differently than I planned. Oh, everything is my fault because I didn’t stop you. I’ve loved you for so long. I just didn’t plan on getting pregnant, so you’re off the hook for this.” Again Kit smoothed her dress over her belly. It was a loving gesture.

“Who was the man with Lorna?”

“Rod Peters, her old boyfriend and I don’t think you were just drunk. They must have given you some sleeping pills or some kind of drugs for you to sleep so long and hard. You passed out suddenly about six right after the wedding dinner and would have slept longer if you hadn’t fallen off the couch.”

“So, you’re carrying my child?” Both women looked worried about how I was going to accept this that was sprung so suddenly on me. “Is he or she moving yet?”

“Just a little, but not much. It is more of an uncomfortable feeling.”

“Can I feel your tummy?”

“Do you really want to?”

“Yes, of course I do. Aunt Mary, do you have a big chair in the living room. I want Kitten sitting on my lap.”

 Aunt Marry practically ran into the next room and put a soft blanket on a big chair. I took Kitten’s hand and led her to the chair. I backed into it and pulled her onto my lap. “May I kiss you?”

“Howard, you can do anything you want with me.” Our lips met softly and then became more demanding. Her hands came down and found mine, bringing them up so they could fondle her breasts. “Oh, I have dreamed of having you do this for so many years. I’ve always loved you.”

I began running my hands over Kitten’s tummy. She looked so happy. She giggled, “I’m not too heavy am I? That thing poking me won’t get too stiff and break off will it? I wish it was inside of me.

I began to back off. I suppose I was often too moralistic. I had a code I lived … well up until now I thought I had one. I had never had the code tested like it was being tested until the present. “We have to talk about this. I had an excuse not knowing it was you I was making love to you the first time. What am I going to use for an excuse this time?”

“You want to have sex with me? I mean, I think it is safe enough because you can’t make me any more pregnant than I am,” Kitten said with an excited giggle.

“Again, I have to think about this. I don’t think I can willfully break my vows.  We have the rest of the day before I go to bed. How do you feel about this Aunt Mary?” Mary was the adult here. She shrugged her shoulders and didn’t speak.

“Lorna will never believe I didn’t take Kitten to bed while I was visiting, anyway. If I decide to divorce Lorna, she will fight it tooth and nail. And I can’t go to her and say I got her sister pregnant and I want to make an honest woman of her. You may have to swear to the fact that I never touched Kitten while I was under your roof.”

“Howard, I’ll swear to anything that will make Kittery and you happy. I’ll swear that she slept in the same room with me every night you were here if need be. We could all get into bed and maybe I can get a little of what you are passing out.

 “I hope that won’t be necessary.”

“You are having second thoughts, aren’t you?”

“Kitten, not while you’re sitting on my lap.”

“I was invited.”

“Kitten, you were so sad when I talked on the phone with you, I want you to be happy.”

“Those damned vows are in the way, aren’t they?”

“Yes. The first time was an accident, but now I’m setting out to willfully break my vows.” Kitten climbed off my lap.

“You’re right, Howard, I want so much to crawl into bed with you, but I know it is wrong. Let’s look at this dispassionately. Do you love me a little?”

“I do, and carrying the baby makes me love you a lot more. I didn’t know I did so much until you just told me that I was the one to get you pregnant. A lot of what sways me is that Lorna was, and I suspect still is cheating on me. But does that give me the right to break the vows I made in good faith?”

“I guess it doesn’t. So what are we going to do?”

“Kitten, can you be around me and still respect me if I wait until things are resolved with Lorna before becoming intimate?”

“Will you be coming to me if you find the proof that she is cheating and you get a divorce?”

“Kitten, of course I will. We still don’t know each other that well, but you having a baby with me certainly moves us along faster than it normally would. ”

“Okay, that’s settled. Now, how far can we go and not break your vows? I suppose we’ll have to keep our clothes on to prevent us from doing anything.”

“Yes, I know. I so wanted to rub your tummy some more though.”

“And I want you to. I do get a lot of feeling even with clothes on. We could allow that, I would think. What do you think, Aunt Mary?”  Kittery was getting giddy.       

“Honey, you tricked Howard into making love to you. He thought enough of you to come across the country to see you after talking on the phone and you only sounding sad. Breaking his vows might destroy the one chance of him being happy with you.” She now smirked when she continued, “But I think you should give him enough to keep him interested. Under the circumstances, a little foreplay would be nice for both of you. It would be like being engaged with the marriage sometime in the future.

I knew this was splitting hairs, but I so wanted to put my hands on this wonderful pregnant woman, again.

Kit came close and I helped her lie down on the couch.  Her tummy was like a basket ball sticking straight up. I began running my hands over this and then I would lean down and kiss her tummy. Kitten’s hands came up and rustled through my hair. She was so enjoying this. I then started to work on her breasts. “I do love this, but I’m afraid my breasts will get sore. They are sensitive, you know. Would you kiss me? Kiss me so I know you love me.” There was no holding me back. I made love to her lips and her face and her eyes. I even rolled her head over and kissed her ear.

I didn’t want to get tiresome so I began rubbing Kitten’s tummy again. I leaned down, took a deep breath and wrapping my lips where I hoped her nipples would be, I let the hot breath penetrate the cloth and warm her nipples with heat. “Oh, oh, oh. Howard, I love this.”

Mary was watching us and I suspect vicariously feeling what Kitten was feeling. Mary was fidgeting and I caught it out of the corner of my eye for she was doing with her hands on her own body what I was doing to Kitten. Kitten was as uncomfortable with Mary watching us as I was. “Aunt Mary, would you leave us alone, please?”

I let my hand circle lower from the place that contained my child. Kitten spread her legs and then closed them again. This left my fingers enough room over her loosened dress to be able to rub between her legs. My hand worked furiously over the area.  I couldn’t stop my hand from diving under her dress. I continued until I slowed my hand movements as Kitten reached her peak. I kept my hand there reveling in the warmth and closeness. I softly kissed her lips and she smiled up at me. “I love you, Howard, but I wished you had given me enough time to take my panties off. Someday you will have all of me.”

I felt much closer to Kitten than I ever had to the sister I was married to. I would deal with the guilt sometime later when I didn’t have this woman in my arms. Again I leaned down and we lovingly kissed. We got up and went to find Aunt Mary.

Mary was sitting in the kitchen She made an announcement, “Kids, I’m going to begin dating. I suspect I’ll be alone again soon and this is something I have put off. Kit, I believe you have a future with Howard. It may be awhile before it comes together, but I honestly believe in him.”

Kitten headed for the bathroom. Mary spoke while she was gone, “Howard, let’s get our mind off this. I want to show you my home and what I do here. I board horses for a living. Kit has been exercising the horses when she isn’t in the office in Helena. She has been using a sulky now since the third month after she stopped riding astride. It won’t be but a couple of weeks before she has to quit that. I have college kids exercise the horses now to fill in for Kit when she stops. There is a community college down the road about a mile.

“I do have a chance to send my horses south to warmer quarters for the winter and maybe I had better do that this year.”

“Is it safe for Kit to exercise horses in her condition? I wish you wouldn’t let her any more. I can leave some money to pay to have it done.”

“Money wise, I’m fine. My husband left me quite a bit … enough anyway. You could leave a little for Kit if you can, one friend to another. She was pretty down some days when she felt no one loved her except me. If you come again, she might like a trinket of some sort. We never go anywhere and we probably won’t now, but a woman likes pretty things.”

“Can I send you something?”

“No, I’m good. I’m just an old lady, getting older every day.”

“You didn’t act too old an hour ago.”

“My husband used to say, ‘seize the moment’ and I guess I did that. I feel totally rejuvenated in watching you two.” I brought Mary into my arms and hugged her. Kit came in and I let Mary go and hugged Kitten to me. I loved feeling the baby bump against me. I kissed her and we walked hand in hand outside so Mary could show me what she did here.

“I’ve just decided I’m going to arrange sending the horses south to their winter quarters Monday. I’ll keep the two that are our pets here to keep us company. They are stabled inside and only let out for exercise. The others can come back when the weather warms.”

For the evening the two women got dressed up and we went out for dinner. We dropped into a lounge that had a dance band, but we only stayed for one drink. Kitten wasn’t drinking. Over the course of the evening I found that Mary had been widowed after only five years of marriage and her husband had died five years ago. She was a self contained woman and pretty much had her life together. I took it she was well off, although it wasn’t too visible.

I slept with Kitten that night. Kitten did for me what I did for her the previous morning. Would it pass a fidelity test … probably not? For me the guilt was about the same. Kitten now trusted me when I assured her she had a future to look forward to. It wasn’t just for her, either, but for the assurance that her child would someday have a father’s presence in its life

Mary asked a question, “Howard, are you planning on marrying Kittery when you get free of Lorna?”

“Yes, she is carrying my baby and I’m pretty excited about it. We have liked each other ever since I met Lorna and that was when Kitten was fifteen. I thought she was a brat, but it didn’t stop me from liking her. I wish I had seen her then as I see her now. Things would be a lot different.”

There were tears at my leaving. Mary promised to take care of Kitten and herself. Before this, I hadn’t known Mary very well. She was a lot different than my mother-in-law, her sister Mable. Life had dealt her a blow when she had lost her husband, but she had dealt with it and followed his life by keeping the horses and the business he so loved. In essence, the horses became her family. Kitten had joined Mary when I presented Lorna with an engagement ring.

When Kitten found she was pregnant, Mary folded her into her arms and gave Kittery the support she needed. I wanted to be part of that same family.

I got on the plane and lay back in my seat thinking over what had gone on with the two women I had just left. I was so surprised at Mary’s actions.  She definitely needed a man. I had a few single friends that worked with me.  Maybe if she met them over time, she would become attached to one of them. I’d work on that.

——————————————

The plane set down and I went to get my car, arriving home an hour and a few minutes later.  Lorna wasn’t home which didn’t surprise me. I made me a ham sandwich and sat down, pushing the recliner into sleep position. There were no lights on and it would be full dark in a few minutes. I decided to sleep right there.

I didn’t sleep. My thoughts were on Kitten and Lorna. There was no comparison in the two sisters. Lorna was tall with blond hair.  She had all the classic features and her demeanor was slightly haughty. I wondered now why at one time I had been so impressed. I certainly wasn’t now.

Kitten, was shorter, smaller, and leaner. Her hair was brown and she was covered with freckles. When she smiled her good disposition showed. I knew now that I had chosen the wrong sister with whom to fall in love.

I heard Lorna come into the house. She was talking to her mother on the phone. I caught some of it, “So, did you have a good time last night? I lost track of you, but you were in good hands.” Lorna giggled and listened to what her mother was saying. 

“Mom, are you going with me again next weekend? You’ve got a taste of how exciting life can be when we let it all hang out.” She laughed again. “Dad would never believe it if he saw what you were doing last night. God, you can handle two men at the same time better than I can. If Howard goes out to see Kit again, I’ll tell him he ought to take Dad with him. That’ll keep them both off us. Howard is so boring. He gets on and gets off and goes to sleep.”

She was listening to her mother again, and then continued, “Mom, you say Dad is the same way? They can continue that way until they die, but you and I have found a way to have some fun. I don’t see how they can ever discover what we are doing if we are careful. Hey, Howard’s car is here so he must be here somewhere. I’ll call tomorrow and you can tell me in detail what you actually did for fun. For a woman nearly fifty you’re doing all right. Night, Mom.”

I was snoring heavily when Lorna came into the living room. She poked me, “You’re home, I see.  How were Kittery and Aunt Mary?”

“Okay, both a little lonely. I never knew what Aunt Mary did before. She rents out saddle horses to ride and has some horses to board that are kept in the barns. Kitten exercises them for her when she isn’t working in an office in Helena.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that either. Did you make love to Kit? I’ll bet she would have let you.”

“No, I didn’t, but maybe I could have. How would you have felt about that?”

“Well, if you ever have the chance, you shouldn’t hesitate. Vows are made to be broken.  I would have an excuse to go out and break some on my own.

“Lorna, you won’t get the chance to use me for an excuse. Kit’s your sister and I’m married to you. My vows mean a lot to me.  I’m hoping yours mean the same.”

“They do, Howard. I love having you for my husband. At least I kept you from making a fool of yourself over my stupid sister. Are you going out there again?”

“Someday, I will … maybe after Christmas, because she’s not coming east this year. She has some kind of gastritis problem and it bothers her stomach to fly.”

“Too bad, but I’m sure she will get better. I’ll tell Mom she won’t be here for the holidays. You know you might take Dad out to see Aunt Mary over the holiday while Mom and I escape having to put Christmas together. After Christmas we won’t have to put everything away. Maybe Dad will want to go out to see them both.”

“Henry is terribly busy.”

“If  he will go, Mom and I will survive and it won’t be as much work for us here at home. Will you suggest it to him? I know you want to go, you like my sister so much.”

“I will suggest it. Do you feel like having sex tonight? It has been awhile.”

“Not tonight dear, maybe tomorrow night. I’m a little tired and you must be tired after flying.”

“Okay Lorna, I think I’ll go to bed.  I was sleeping soundly when you poked me.”

————————————

Henry called me into his office early the next morning.  “How was Mary? Did you tell her I still cared for her?”

“Yeah, she told me to kiss you for her, but that isn’t going to happen. I did take a kiss from her, though. She is a sweet person. Kitten is too. Henry, I learned something from Kitten that I’m going to check out. She thinks Lorna is cheating on me. I’m going to hire a detective to find out. I have noticed some small things with her that doesn’t quite jibe. I just thought I would let you know. I mostly trust Lorna, but I need to know for sure.”

“Have at it then, and if you don’t feel you can check it out for yourself, hire someone. I don’t blame you if you have some doubts, and it is better to know. Is Kittery coming for Christmas? I miss her.”

 “She said not this year. There is something wrong with her stomach. I told Lorna about it last night and she suggested maybe you should go visit her over the holidays. Lorna implied that we both should go.”

“I’ll think about it after I talk to Mable. Are you looking for a private detective?”

“I have no idea. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

“I’ll come up with a name for you. I know some guys at the club who have used a detective, but I don’t remember his name. I’ll get back to you.”

An hour later, Henry called my office, “Howard the detective’s name is Gordon Hammerstein. His office is on the second floor at 222 Temple Street. Your appointment is in an hour. You just have about time to make it.” I dropped everything and headed for Temple Street.

“I’m Howard Prentice and I have an appointment.”

“Go on in, Mr. Hammerstein is waiting on you.”

Nervous now, I went through the door. “Have a seat please. What can I do for you?”

“I believe my wife is cheating on me. I’d like to know if she is for certain. If she is, I want enough evidence to bring suit and win a divorce.”

“That’s going to be costly, you know?  Divorces always are.”

“I know, but I have only been married six months and if it goes on it will only get more costly.”

“True. So give me the details where and how to find your wife. I’ll need a key to your residence for phone taps and I’ll see if I can bug your house. Does she have a GPS on her vehicle?” I nodded. He continued, “I’ll give you a bug to put in her purse. Try and get it into a small envelope and put it into a side pocket that she might not open. Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, her mother might be with my wife this weekend. I’ll give you Mable’s plate number as well. I think you had better follow her if they change cars. I suspect my mother-in-law is as guilty as my wife. Do I have to pay extra for that?”

“Not if your wife is at the same place as she is. We would consider it the same package.”

“Pictures of my mother-in-law doing what I suspect my wife of would be a bonus.  I work for my father-in-law and he would want to know about her.”

“You got it. How long do you want me to stay on this?”

“I’ll say two weeks unless you get a lot of evidence right off. There may be something going on with the two this coming weekend. I’ll definitely want that covered.”

“Okay, we’ll start at four tonight and we’ll be on her whenever she moves. Tomorrow we’ll put the bugs in place if your wife leaves the house. We’ll check in with you every day by computer. Let me have your office e-mail for that. You can stop by your office on weekends can’t you for a pick up? We take credit card payments, checks, and cash. You can pay the lady in the office on the way out.”

I was almost to the door when the detective said, “Leave this in our hands and don’t try to work at this on your own. If there is anything we find, you’ll have what you need.” He waved his hand and I left with a $2,000 charge on my credit card. I was thinking this wouldn’t take long to make me poor man. I went back to work. Henry came by and I said I’d know something good or bad within two weeks.

I went about my life the rest of the week. I did go into a jewelry store and buy a locket and chain for Kitten. It was one you could open and put an image in. Mary said Kitten might like a trinket and this was something personal. Wednesday and Thursday the email had nothing to report from the Hammerstein. Late Friday afternoon, I checked my messages just on the chance something had come in.

There was, “We have downloaded what was on the phone tap. There is a flurry of action being planned this weekend. Apparently your mother-in-law will be with your wife the whole time. Your wife is leaving you a note on your dining room table. I assume she will tell you why she won’t be at home when you get there and the excuse of why she will be busy this weekend. She plans to be back late Sunday evening. These messages were always unsigned by Hammerstein.

I sat there and stared at the message. The die was cast now. Oh, I suppose I could change my mind when I received the report and sit on it, but then I doubted I would go that route. I left work and stopped into a pub that I sometimes frequented. I had a beer and then another. I smelled fried chicken so I had an order of chicken and fries. The side veggie was corn, and it looked good, but it was terrible.  Yes, just like my life was.

I headed home and found the note. Mable and Lorna were going to make a weekend of it in the city. They were planning doing some shopping and going to see a stage show they had heard raves about. They would be back Sunday, late. I should call her dad and do something with him. Go out to a bar in the evening and play a few games of golf during the day. It would be terribly cold but it would be fun for me.

I thought to myself, maybe they were going to a show and maybe they weren’t. I would know on Monday. I took a hot bath, something I seldom did. I lay in the tub and my mind turned to Kitten and the baby she was carrying. Our baby … my baby. A child whom I could teach my values. And if a boy, it would grow up in my image. If a girl, well she would have a better mother in Kitten than Lorna. I dozed until the water turned cool. I toweled off and went to bed.

No sleep for me here. I relived my two days with Kitten and Mary. I was so surprised at Mary’s actions. Horny bitch, but yes, in a good way. I looked at the clock. They wouldn’t have gone to bed yet. I took my cell off the stand and dialed.

“It’s Howard.” Mary screamed for Kitten to come. She switched the phone to speaker. “Howard, we were just talking about you. I’ve never had such a good time in my life then I had when you were here. Kit, tell him.”

“Hi Kitten. I took a hot bath and just came to bed. I was lying here thinking about the weekend past. Lorna and your mother are off to the city for the weekend to see a show. I overheard a smidgen of a conversation between the two and they may have something else planned.  Maybe I’ll find out what when they return.”

“Howard, did you think about what we did? Are you regretting our actions?”

 No, not at all Kitten. I’m hoping some day to be able to go further.”

Mary’s voice came over the wire. “Kit, and I were talking about you. Do you think there is a chance you can come out here to live?” It will be difficult for me to give Kit up if she moves away. I wish Kit was my daughter rather than my niece.”

“Mary, how do you feel about your father?”

“I’ve always liked him. I think of him as being sweet. My sister treats him like crap and he takes it. I wish he was more like you.”

“Maybe he will get some backbone if I divorce Lorna.”

“He doesn’t need backbone, he needs some balls.”

Kitten, commented, “That is what you both need.” I took it she was disappointed I restrained myself from making total love to her. But then she wasn’t married and I thought she understood. Carrying my baby as she was, she probably was worried I wouldn’t follow through on my promises.

“Kitten, how is my baby tonight? I was thinking of him and that’s why I called. Do you think he minded you getting so excited last weekend?”

“No, not at all. Maybe because he is growing, he is moving around much more. He hasn’t kicked me yet and I’m waiting on that.”

“Have Mary rub your tummy for me. I want to picture it in my mind.”

There was silence for all most a minute. I asked, “Are you still there or did we get cut off?”

“No Howard, we are still here. Howard, we’ve talked about Mary rubbing my tummy, but I’m afraid to let her. I’m afraid if she does, we won’t want to stop and I’ll want her to rub places rather than my tummy. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I do now. Sorry I said anything.” 

“That’s all right, we have discussed it, but we have decided it wouldn’t be right. I’ll wait for you. When am I going to see you again?”

“I think at Christmas time.  Would you like to see your father at the same time?”

“Does he know about us and the baby?”

“No, I haven’t told him. Your mother suggested maybe he should visit over the holiday. I’m coming out anyway so plan on me being with you.”

“That’s in seventeen more days, isn’t it?”

“I haven’t counted.”

“I’ll bet you have. Which is it?”

“You’re right again. I think I’ll go to bed now and think about both of you. I miss both.”

“Good night, Howard, I love you.”

Mary said, “I love you too, Howard. Good night, think of me.” I hoped Mary found a man soon. She appeared to need someone.

Let’s see Kitten was twenty-three, five years younger than me. Mary said she was ten years older than I was. So she would be thirty-eight. Hell, she had enough time to get pregnant and have a child before she was too old. I laughed out loud thinking Kitten and I had woken up Mary’s libido. I’d have to find a man for her. 

I slept for a few hours and then was wide awake, wondering where my wife was and what she was up to.  Oh, well, the Hammerstein agency was on it. 

I was up early and made coffee. The newspaper came and I read it from front to back. It was eight when the phone rang. “Howard, are you alone. Mable has gone off to the city and stayed overnight I guess. Do you want to go get breakfast?”

“Sure, do you want me to pick you up?”

“Yeah, you might as well. We’ll go to that hash house on Lyndon Street. Bring your clubs. I’ve got a spot on the links at eleven. We’ll play a round before lunch.”

We played and then had lunch at Henry’s club. It was nearly three.

“What do you want to do now? I’m sick of golf.”

“Henry, do you want to find out what Mable and Lorna did last night. I should have some kind of report on them from the detectives who were tracking Lorna. It could be quite upsetting, though.”

“You had Mable trailed? I didn’t know that. What did she do?”

“I don’t know as she did anything, but if the detective reported in, he will tell us.”

“How will you know?”

“He is sending a report to my office. I can download it and print it out. If they didn’t do anything, there will be pictures of where they shopped and them at the theater.”

“You’re going right after Mable to, aren’t you?” Henry looked sour while asking this.

“No, I’m just seeing what my wife is up to. I am aware that Mable is with her. If the two are doing what they said they were going to do, there is no harm done.”

“And if they are caught cheating, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll use the evidence and divorce Lorna. If Mable is cheating on you, I’ll turn all that evidence over to you. Either way this is going to be costly. I’ve put up $2,000 dollars already and I expect it will cost up to $20,000 before I close the investigation.”

“Howard, if by chance Mable is caught cheating, I’ll pay for half the investigation. I’ll even pay for half of your divorce, just because Lorna is my daughter.”

“Yes, and go broke when Mable counter sues.”

“No, she will get some, but the business and its assets won’t be touched. I don’t have a full pre-nuptial agreement, but the business isn’t included if either of us divorce for infidelity. I have never considered being unfaithful and I won’t.”

“Well, let’s go see if there has been anything to report. They have been tailed for twenty four hours while out of town already.”

We headed for the company and went into my office, followed by a very nervous Henry. I booted up my computer. There was a note that was delivered first, “Mr. Prentice, you will be seeing a-half-dozen explicit stills. These can be downloaded. There is no voice with these but I do have sound captured with the video the stills come from.

“I also have conversations of what was said while Mrs. Prentice and Mrs. Harris were in her vehicle. The motel and the room were identified which made my investigation much easier. They changed into party clothes and left the room after they arrived.  I was able to get cameras into the room before they returned. There will be a separate charge for a bribe to a motel worker on your bill. The two women have been in the motel all day today resting. I assume they will be partying again this evening. More reports tomorrow.”

—————————

“Henry, shall we open the email to the stills? I can look at them and turn them over to your lawyer if you think you should continue with this.”

“Yes, open them up. I suspect I’ll see Lorna without much on, but I have seen her without any clothes on when she was a baby.  Maybe Mable won’t be shown.”

“Okay.” I downloaded the file. The six pictures took awhile to load and very slow to come completely out of the printer. Not much to worry about from the first one. The first one was of Lorna, Mable, and four men sitting in a club at a table. The table was covered with empty bottles and glasses.  There were three empty Pepsi cans there too. We looked at each individual.

The men appeared to be of one family of an older man and his three younger sons. The youngest person appeared to be a boy of fifteen or sixteen.  Their clothing looked rich. Lorna had on a black dress which was very low cut and showed considerable flesh. I wondered what kept the top from falling down. Mable had on a dress of light blue. It looked decent enough until you looked closer. There were shadows of her breasts and you could see her dark nipples tenting the cloth.

“Christ, they both might as well be naked. How can that young boy be in a place like this?”

“Probably a bribe would take care of any problems. You can see a stripper on the stage. That’s what they are watching.”

“My God, Mable is only a few years short of fifty. What’s the matter with the woman?” I just shook my head. “Well, open the rest of the pictures. I might as well know how bad this is.”

The rest of the photos were taken in the motel room. It was bad. All six persons were naked and Mable was right in the middle of the action, although she was only in two of the images. One was of her getting serviced by the older man with a look of ecstasy on her face. The other picture showed her lying on a bed with her arms open and the naked young boy approaching her. 

The last three showed Lorna being serviced by the old man and one of the sons and was getting taken care of orally. That was one picture. Number two was of all three boys playing with my wife. Number three, she was involved with the older man and one of his sons.

I looked at Henry. He had a look of shock on his face with tears coursing down his cheeks. “Christ, Howard, put those pictures on Facebook or YouTube and show the world what sluts our wives are. What are we going to do about this?”

“Well, I’m not going to show Lorna’s picture anywhere. It would be too humiliating. I’m getting a lawyer and I’m going to divorce Lorna.  We are going to have to be careful with the picture of the young boy. I wished I hadn’t seen him there.”

“Me neither. Maybe we won’t have to use those. If we get the same lawyer maybe we can keep the public from seeing how bad our wives are. I’ll pay for both divorces. Can we shut your investigation down as soon as possible?”

“I’ll do it by phone whenever you say.  Some of this will be on video with sound and I have one bug in Lorna’s purse and there are several at home. The first hint I had was when she was on the phone with someone.”

“Yeah, like her mother.”

I didn’t answer that. “Okay, we might as well let the detective continue tonight and tomorrow morning.  I’ll call about two tomorrow afternoon to discontinue. We’ll get us a lawyer Monday morning and have him make out the papers. We’ll give him all the evidence we have and let him deal with Mable and Lorna. I don’t even want to confront her. Those images and a video will have said it all. We also have to remember they will be back tomorrow evening and we will have to face them.”

“That would be best, I guess. It makes me want to sell the business and move away from here or kill the cheating bitches.”

“No, Henry, no violence; they aren’t worth it. You should go out to Helena to visit Mary when I do and get away from all of this for a little while. You can leave the company to run its self for a few days.

“You’re going out there?

“Just as soon as there is a divorce hearing here. I’m going out for Christmas anyway.”

“If you do, I’ll go with you. I’m sure Mary would never have done anything like Mable is doing. God, it makes me sick to think about.”

“Every woman is different just like every man is. I don’t know as you can tell for sure about anyone. It would be nice if we knew why, though.”

“Howard, maybe they will say something on the video or from those bugs you have placed that will tell us what they were thinking.”

“Henry, what are you going to do now?”

“Not much. I guess I should go look up my assets and list them. I’m going to fight for everything up to a certain point. If Mable is reasonable in her demands, she’ll get more than if she fights the divorce.”

“Lorna won’t get much from me. My major asset is my home. That belonged to my parents and came to me when they died. If the private detective bill is more than $20,000, I’ll be broke anyway.”

“I told you I would pick up half of the bill. It will be worth it.”

“Thanks Henry, that’s kind of you.”

“You know Lorna has some money of her own don’t you? It came from her grandmother on Mable’s side. Old Hetty Comstock was fairly well to do. Kittery didn’t get very much. She couldn’t get along with her grandmother and that may be some of my fault. I didn’t like the old bitch and I guess Kit picked up on my dislike. I was pretty vocal about her.”

“I don’t think either Mary or Kitten is hurting very much for money. Mary said her husband left her enough to be comfortable. Kitten works and seems happy enough helping Mary with her horses.

“Howard, how come you call Kit, Kitten? Her real name is Kittery.”

“I know it is. The first time I met her and heard her called Kit, I made the smart-assed comment I was going to call her Kitten. You know how she is; it struck her wrong and she fired back that she was no damned cat. I laughed at her and said her claws were out and I hoped she wouldn’t scratch me.

“She wouldn’t speak to me for several days until one day when I was over at your house.  She came into the kitchen when I was alone and she looked a little shy. She said, ‘Howard, you can call me Kitten any time because I like it from you. I’ll bet if you rubbed up against me, you could hear me purr.’ I made light of her comment. I wish I hadn’t because it might have been she whom I would have married instead of Lorna.”

“That makes sense. Everyone knows she has a thing for you. It used to make Lorna really mad.”

“I guess men like me can be so dumb at times.”

“You said that, I didn’t.” Henry was quiet and then said, “I wonder if our wives are partying tonight. They’ve had all day to rest.”

“Henry, thanks for reminding me. Let’s just watch a ballgame for today. You said you might sell the business. Have you had anyone interested? I tell you I need the job. I still owe money I borrowed for my education and I suppose this divorce is going to cost me a bundle.”

“I keep telling you I’m going to be helping you with some of this. Hell, I’ve been close to selling the business several times. Companies like mine are always being looked at. I can think of two prospective buyers right now that would like to acquire mine. Maybe I will give them a call and see what they will offer.”

“Well hang tough and don’t give it away.”

“I won’t, Howard. You said you were thinking of going out to see Kittery over Christmas. Why don’t you spend some time in Helena and maybe there will be something similar to what we are producing. I’ll have several million to buy with and I would like to downsize. If we found something I could pay cash for, it wouldn’t have to have so many employees and I wouldn’t have the debt load.”

“Are you serious?”

“I don’t know as I am, the thought just struck me. The beauty of this is, Mable can’t touch any of it. Hell, you could be on your way by Tuesday. You’ll still be on the payroll. We’ll get us a lawyer Monday and have the bitches served on Tuesday.” Henry wasn’t laughing until he said, “You know if those women of ours had invited me to the orgy, I might have joined in. It’s been awhile since I’ve been laid. I thought Mable wasn’t interested in sex any longer. I’m such a fool.” His derisive laughter wasn’t because he was happy.  Tears were close and Henry got up and left the room.

I heard Henry moving around in his office.  I shouted, “Henry, let’s go over to my house and watch a ball game. I think there is a team that still has a chance to make the Rose Bowl.”

“I’m with you. We’ll stop and get a bottle of Scotch on the way, okay?”

“One bottle?”

“At least two, I’m thinking.” We’ll name one bottle Mable and one Lorna and see which one gives us the most pain.”

———————————

Henry and I didn’t last beyond 10 o’clock. I poured him into the bed in my old room. I went right off to sleep, waking feeling not too terrible. I let Henry sleep. I called the Hammerstein Detective agency. “Howard Prentice, here, concerning the Prentice and Harris investigation.”

“Hang on; I’ll put the detective on.” I was switched to another phone.

“Hi, I expected you would call after seeing the pictures I sent yesterday.”

“Yes, I have one question, did you get me enough information for me to divorce my wife.”

“Yes, there is more than plenty. I take it you want to discontinue? I still have the bugs to pick up from your home. You’ll have to retrieve the one from your wife’s purse. We have downloaded the information from all of them, but it might be best to have them removed. I can bring everything and deliver it to your home about two this afternoon.”

“That would be fine. What about Mrs. Harris? Is there more than the two pictures we have?”

“Many more. I would entertain that she is the leader in these sexual endeavors. She was certainly the most active.”

“Okay, I’ll be calling a lawyer and turning everything over to him.”

“That would wise. It might be wise if you didn’t view the images or the video. The same goes for Mr. Harris as well.”

“Thank you, I will expect to see you this afternoon. Oh, would you suggest an attorney that would fight for us throughout out our coming divorces?”

“I’ve always heard that Sarah MacDermott has had good success with suits such as this. If you have paper, I’ll give you her number.  I know she will take calls on Sunday and maybe she will give you an appointment for tomorrow.”

“Thank you for being so expeditious and the advice about not viewing the evidence you found for the divorce.”

“Yes, infidelity and the divorce that usually follows are quite painful to both parties.”

Henry was awake when I went into the bedroom. “God Henry, you had better not have too many nights like the one we had last night. You look like shit.”

“Yes, and I feel that way too. Anything happening?”

“Yes, I called Hammerstein and took him off the case. He is bringing the evidence he collected over here this afternoon. He gave me the number of a woman lawyer and said she would look out for our interests. I can call this afternoon for an appointment and maybe we can see her tomorrow. He also said for us not to look at the evidence. I guess it is better we don’t know how bad our wives acted and what they did.”

“I’ll go with that. I wish I hadn’t looked at those pictures yesterday. He indicated these were worse, didn’t he?”

“I got that impression. Go stand in the shower and I’ll get us something to eat. How about SOS made with hamburger?”

“That would be good.”

I made a big bowl because I was hungry too. I spiced it up with Worcestershire sauce adding garlic and onions. Henry went right after it. I had one plate with two slices of toast.  Henry was scraping the bowl trying to get enough to put on his fifth slice. “God that was good. I haven’t had that since I was in the service. This was much better than what we had back then. All we got was salt and pepper to season it with.”

Gordon Hammerstein drove in and came inside carrying a brief case. He looked at Henry. “You must be Henry Harris” Henry nodded that he was. “Okay, I’ve got plenty of evidence to get you out of your marriages if you so wish. I told Howard that what I have here is pretty explicit. If you listen to what was pulled from the phone tap you can get a good idea of what your wives were doing or were going to do. The photos I have prove they did what was anticipated.”

He looked at us. “I’m really sorry for both of you. You’ll hear them trash talking you. When you go before a judge, that will be as good as what the images he will be seeing and he should file in your favor. Mainly because they were said right here in Mrs. Prentice’ home. Howard, I’ll send along a bill. This was a pretty easy commission so I’m only charging a thousand a day for the six days.”

“Uh, Detective, I don’t suppose you would call an attorney for me? I don’t know really how one would approach a lawyer for something like this.”

“I can. I’ll call Sarah MacDermott because I’ve worked with her before. I’m positive you’ll find her satisfactory. Do you want me to make an appointment for you or for both of you?”

Henry was already nodding his head. I answered. “Yes, that will be two separate suits using the same evidence that I hired you to gather for me. Henry didn’t become involved until after I had hired you.”

“I’ll explain how to act with a lawyer.  The more an attorney knows about the party they are representing the less chance of a surprise further into the suit as it progresses through the system. Tell her everything about your life and the way you and spouse lived together. Your spouse’s lawyer will try to trip a person up and it is better for your attorney to be prepared.”

Detective Hammerstein went into another room and shut the door. He returned after fifteen minutes. “Gentlemen, you have an appointment in a half hour. The appointments are separate.  Mr. Prentice is first and then Mr. Harris follows. She will be with you however long it takes. Sarah is not one of the elite and seldom stands on ceremony.  Just be honest and truthful with the questions she asks.” He shook my hand and moved to leave.

He picked up his brief case and the little packet of electronics he had pulled from various areas of the house, leaving behind the black bag that contained the evidence I had ordered him to collect. I slipped on a jacket and Henry shrugged into his parka.

Chapter Two

Sarah MacDermott was a pleasant-faced woman, meeting us at the door, and ushering us into her home. There was a closed door that had an office sign on it across the room. “Coffee or something to drink?”

“No, I’d like to get this over with. Truth, I never thought I would be in a situation like this.”

“I understand. Okay, I’ll talk to you first.” She indicated me, and led me through the office door. “Mr. Prentice, is it okay for me to call you Howard? And please call me Sarah, I find it eases the tension. Tell me how you discovered or had any suspicion your wife wasn’t being true to you?”

“My father-in-law made a statement one time about my wife and her mother, Mable. Something to the affect they were always going shopping, but never seemed to be bringing any purchases home. Shortly after that I heard Lorna on the phone discussing with her mother of being out and having fun the previous evening. Understand I only heard one side of the conversation, but it didn’t sound right. The next day I asked Henry if he knew of a private detective and he gave me the name of the Hammerstein agency.”

“So Henry knew all about his wife and had suspicions too?”

“I’m not sure that he did and I didn’t say much at that time. I think he was upset he wasn’t involved in his bedroom enough. I’m sure he didn’t know for sure about Mable until I received the first report from the detective. There were two photos of my mother-in-law fully involved.”

“Okay, let’s leave that for now. Tell me about yourself. Are you happy in your work? I understand you are employed by Henry?”

“Yes, I’m the leading engineer in his company. That’s how I came to meet his two daughters and eventually married the oldest, Lorna. She is my age and I have been acquainted with the family for years. The other daughter is younger by five years and named Kittery. I’ve always called her Kitten. That’s kind of an affectionate nickname I call her. Everyone else calls her Kit or Kittery.”

“And how affectionate are you two?” I looked down and Sarah knew I didn’t want to answer.”

“Tell me. We don’t want any complications.”

“Well, Kitten was fifteen when I met her. She was brash and funny and then again serious at times. She liked me and I liked her and we used to tease each other. I found out two weeks ago how much she liked me, but it was more than like because she loves me.”

“And you? Do you love her?”

“I pretty much have to. I should have realized this sooner because Kitten moved out to Montana when I became engaged to Lorna. She came back the day I was married to her sister. I didn’t see much of her. She was more serious, of course. She had the upstairs room in my house but I didn’t remember seeing her while staying with us. She left us a note of goodbye and was gone before we were up the next morning.”

“And why do you say you have to love her?”

“Because she is six months pregnant. I didn’t know this until I went out to visit a few days ago. Henry and the rest of the family, except for her aunt Mary, whom she lives with, know nothing about this.”

“Is the baby yours?”

“I’m certain it is even when I didn’t know I made love to Kitten the night I was married.”

“I need more details.”

“It seems as if I got drunk at the reception very, very suddenly and passed out. Henry, Kitten and my best man brought me home and dumped me on the couch and they went back to the reception. This was about six in the evening. I fell off the couch and woke myself up at two in the morning.

“There was very little light and I struggled to get to my feet and then I felt someone helping me down the hall to my bedroom. I thought it was Lorna. We had to pass my old room to get to my marriage bed. I could hear someone having sex in that room and I figured and made the comment that it might be one of my ushers. The room I was headed for was dark when I entered.

“Anyway, still more than half out of it, Lorna got me to my bed and helped me remove my clothes. I relaxed and turned over putting my arm around her and consummated the marriage right then. It wonderful and I was so in love. When I woke up I could tell that Lorna and I were legally married because of some evidence showing. I got up then and found that Kitten had already left for the airport. Sad story, I haven’t had a very satisfying time being married to Lorna. The respect I feel I should get isn’t there.”

“Tell me about meeting Kitten again some days ago?”

“Aunt Mary and Kitten knew I was coming. I knocked on the door and Kitten stood there and I could tell she was pregnant. She said she got knocked up by a married man and he couldn’t do anything for her. I went into a rant about finding the bastard to make him pay. He couldn’t do that to my dear friend.

“They looked at me and asked a couple of questions. Anyway Kitten had left the reception and came home sitting in the corner watching over me because she was worried and wanted to make sure I was okay. She saw Lorna come home with a previous lover and go into my old room. It was Kitten who I had sex with that night, She swears she doesn’t mind being pregnant with my child but she does love me and I’m not happy with Lorna.”

“I suppose you and Kitten jumped right into bed,”

“It is a little more complicated than that. I wanted to so badly, but I have this thing about vows and giving your bond. I’ll admit I have kissed Kitten repeatedly, and I have fondled her by rubbing her tummy where the child is waiting to come meet me. Kitten has never taken off her clothes and I have never seen her naked. You can’t imagine how much I want to.”

“I guess I can. Let’s get back to Lorna. So you come home and find your wife cheating. Solves your problem doesn’t it.”

“Yes, but I would do the same if there was no Kitten and if she wasn’t pregnant by me. The detective tells me that I shouldn’t view the evidence he collected because Lorna isn’t a good and true wife any longer. I feel badly for Henry for the same reason.”

“Okay, I’ll look at the evidence and call you tomorrow. You seem to have been taken in by both sisters.”

“That may be, but there is a child now to think about. I would do much for it even if I didn’t love the mother. I think I will love the child or give it my best shot.”

“We’ll see what I can do for you.”

I went out into Sarah’s home and told Henry he could go in now. The television was on and I watched that for what seemed forever.  It was seven that evening before we left. I started my car and turned to Henry, “You know our wives are going to be home when we get there. Are you going to start trouble?”

“No, I’ll act just the same as always. I imagine Mable will keep away from me and I’ll growl at her.”

“The same here, I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow. We may have to see Sarah again tomorrow if she gets the paperwork for this done. There are always papers to sign.”

“Okay Howard, get some sleep if you can. I’m going to.” I was worried about Mable, because I knew Henry and he would never contain himself like he said he would.

———————————

Lorna was home when I got there.  “Where have you been?”

“Henry had some papers for me to look at. I was with him. We played golf and last night we got drunk. I’m feeling frisky. I plan on getting something going when you are ready for bed.”

“No way. I’m too tired. Jesus, you’re always wanting sex.”

“Yes, and the reason is because I ain’t getting much or very often. There’s going to be some changes around here soon.”

“Keep it up and you won’t be ever getting any. “ Lorna thought about the statement she had just made.  “Howard, I didn’t mean that. Tomorrow night I’ll rock your boat as much as you want. There are some new things I want to try, anyway.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

I went in to bed after showering. I didn’t sleep, just lying there thinking of what was coming up this week. I was a little scared, I hated confrontation and you never knew how a divorce was going to turn out. My mind was going round and round. I must have gone to sleep. I went out to the bathroom during the night and Lorna was in bed. She flipped over and put her arms around me. Oh, what the hell, I enjoyed feeling her close to me. I went back to sleep.

Lorna was sleeping in. I did go in and tell her I was leaving for work and she just said okay but didn’t really pay any attention. It made me a little sad. Sad for her because in a day or so I wouldn’t be here to tell her I loved her … well maybe skipping the love bit. I wouldn’t be in her bed anyway.

Sarah called my office at noon and said she had the papers ready for both of us to sign. We said we would be right over. When we got there and signed the papers, she laid out the reasons we could charge our wives with. This was a No Fault divorce state so we had to end up letting the evidence speak for us to get the marriage dissolved.

Henry was hurting more than I was and told Sarah to put down adultery. Sarah said that adultery was obvious and again the evidence would be proof enough. “I’ll file these this afternoon, and both spouses can be served tomorrow. I’ll hire a process server to do it. It is a thankless job, but some people enjoy bringing pain to others.

“Your wives will have to get a lawyer to represent them. You’ll have to do a little trading of what you want from the divorce. With this amount of evidence, it shouldn’t be long before some agreement is reached. If it is not settled before the suit is brought to the judge, it will depend on the judge to set the conditions. We’ll see won’t we?”

—————————————

 Lorna was looking at me as we sat down for supper. She did have a roast of pork just the way I liked it. I complimented her. “You’re a fine cook when you are here to set out a fine meal. You just haven’t been around that much.”

“Thank you, I guess, Howard. My grandmother ran a restaurant and did pretty well with it. I thought I might follow her footsteps, but then I took a business course in college. Grandma Hetty passed away so young and she wasn’t here to advise me. I was lucky I met and fell in love with you and haven’t had to work. I can be with Mom and we are close.”

“Well, if something happens to me, you would have a fallback position knowing about running a restaurant. We don’t have hardly any savings to get started, though. I do have a pretty good insurance just to protect you.”

“Howard, you certainly are going to get lucky tonight.”

“Good, you never know what tomorrow will bring.”  We did make a night of it and Lorna was up to make breakfast for me.

I kissed her and went to work, with the words she had spoken in parting, “Mom and I are going out tonight. You don’t mind do you? We’ll be late.”

My last words were in answer, “Have fun.”

My secretary buzzed me, “Howard, you have a very upset wife on the phone. Do you want to take it?”

———————————

“Yes, I’ll take it. I know what it is about.” I waited a minute and then spoke, “Lorna.”

“You bastard, what are you doing. I was served a few minutes ago. You have nothing where you can divorce me.”

“I think I do. You had better get a lawyer and have him contact my lawyer, Sarah MacDermott.”

Lorna was sputtering and it was more about whom I had hired to represent me. “No Howard, you can’t do this to me. I know Sarah’s reputation and she is the best in town. Are you leaving home?”

“No, it is my house left to me by my parents. However, I’ll let you stay until after your lawyer talks to Sarah. It might be better if you moved in with your parents because I won’t tolerate you screaming at me and I’m that disgusted with you cheating on me."

 "I certainly will move. Where in hell did you get balls enough to even consider this?"

“Lorna, get a lawyer. For now, I’m up to my neck in work. Good bye.”

My secretary stuck her head in the door ten minutes later. “Odd Howard, but Henry got a call just a minute ago. It sounds like he had the same conversation with Mable as you had with Lorna. What’s going on?”

“Sorry sweetheart, I can’t say. Besides you must know what this is about you since listened in on the phone.” I grinned “Who is the maddest?”

“Mable is, Henry is going to lose everything including his underwear, and Mable said his tiny little dick is going too.”

I laughed, “Stay tuned.”

Henry came in after a half hour. “I hung up on the bitch. Whew, I know what my wife thinks of me now.  She absolutely hates me. Don’t laugh, Howard, I think she is headed for your house to live. Sorry about that.”

“Geez, I sent Lorna to live with you, but I do expect they will be with me when I get home.”

“You’re going to go home? You can stay with me.” 

“No, the house is all I have. I’m going to live there and guard it. Mable’s lawyer will tell her to not move out. Your house is jointly owned so she has more right to yours than Lorna has with mine. I would guess you soon will be living with me.”

“Good, you can feed me some more of that SOS you fed me the other day. Howard, to get serious, I am going to contact those corporations who have looked at my company to see if they are still interested. I’ve lived here all my life and it may be time for a change. If things get too bad in the next few days; I’ll cut you loose, and send you out west to look around. You might be able to shack up with Kittery while looking around.”

“I’d like that.”

“If you find something, I’ll let you take over here and I’ll go shack up with my sister-in-law.”

“That is even better and I’ll bet you would. She is a lonely widow and I’m almost positive she would welcome you.”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but you know I might look at my sister-in-law in a different way if I divorce Mable. When do you think we will hear from Sarah again?”

“Tomorrow most likely if our wives can find a lawyer.”

I went home at my regular time. Mable was there glaring at me. There was no supper on the table. “Lorna, would you please get Mable and me something to eat? It has been a stressful day for all of us.”

“You’re going to let Mother stay here?”

“Yes, until you get a lawyer and see what you are up against. Mable, I don’t expect you had much conversation with Henry. I will tell you this, neither of us have looked at all of the evidence I collected by the detective I hired. My Lawyer said that we shouldn’t because if we did, we would never get past what you both have been doing.”

Lorna spat, “It was you who hired the detective; Why?”

“Because I heard something that made me uneasy about what you may have done on our wedding night. I couldn’t verify it, because I was passed out drunk and drugs may have been involved in my being passed out. If the detective hadn’t found anything, I would have worked harder to get beyond the feelings of being disrespected. I will say that Mable is collateral damage, because I had no idea that she was disrespecting Henry by cheating on him. Mable proved to be there when the evidence was collected and she was totally involved.”

“But why did Henry sue me for a divorce … we have been together thirty years?”

“Mable, you’ll have to search your mind for the answer to that. You’re fairly intelligent.”

Lorna sat supper on the table, never looking at me at all. Mable sat looking at the plate before her, making no move to eat. She was destroyed. Tears were running down her face.

When I decided to go to bed, I said to Lorna. “Mable and you use our room tonight. She needs someone close to her. I’ll sleep in one of the rooms upstairs.”

She said, “Use your old room?”

I held Lorna’s eyes for a minute and then said, “I don’t think I like that room anymore; I’ll be fine upstairs.” She just turned away from me. Let the memory of Rod Peters with her on our wedding night keep her warm tonight.

I was up and out of the house in the morning. I couldn’t face the women again so soon. Henry was already at work even though I was early myself. “Mable at your place last night?”

“She was.”

“Did you stay there?”

“I did. I told them they could stay until they saw a lawyer. After that I’ll let Sarah sort it out.”

“Why are we putting everything in her hands?”

“I was thinking about that last night. Hammerstein told me to let Sarah act for us. For another thing, both said we shouldn’t be looking at the evidence he collected. He did show us how bad our wives were acting. I suspect Sarah and Hammerstein did this so we wouldn’t get down on the opposite sex because not all women are like they are. Too, I suspect Hammerstein and Sarah have seen so much of this in life that they know it could ultimately destroy both the women as well as us.

“I was terribly tempted to strike out and unload on both with something nasty. I did speak plainly enough by hinting how bad they had been acting, but I don’t think I was mean in doing it. Mable is really crushed, but I don’t want her to take her own life. Think what that would do to us if she did.”

“You’re giving Lorna a free pass, aren’t you?”

“No, I’ll never be able to live with her again after this is over. Lorna can make her own way by working. Mable though, may not be able to unless she can do something she knows. I understand her parents ran a restaurant.”

“I can see where you are going with this. You want me not be so harsh to take everything so they couldn’t start something like that. I say no. Let that old bastard and his sons do it for her.”

“Henry, I doubt he would. For all we know he just picked them up for the weekend. I’m not going to investigate into how far back Mable and Lorna got involved with this sex addiction, which I believe is what they have, and I don’t think we should investigate either. Let’s drop the whole thing until the lawyers get together and listen to what they propose and what Sarah comes to us with. Think about it.”

“I wish I could get it off my mind.”

“We won’t be able to for awhile. Hey, I have to get something done today or you will be firing me for not doing my job.”

“Yeah, like I’d do that.” Henry left my office walking almost blindly. Was he thinking about what I had said? At two I put a call to Kitten, knowing she would be on her noon hour.

“Hi, Kitten, are you free for a minute to talk?”

“Oh. Howard, I think of you all the time. I’m so glad you could call. I thought I might hear from you this week end.”

“Kitten, we are so busy. Some of it may concern you and me, and ultimately the baby. I hired a detective to follow Lorna and I knew your mother would be with her. The detective came back with evidence that your sister and mother were being terribly naughty. Henry and I have instituted divorce proceeding. Henry kicked your mother out and she is staying with Lorna in my house. They don’t have lawyers yet. I said they could stay until my lawyer said otherwise.”

“Are you living there with them?”

“Yes, for a few days. I don’t want Mable to go off her rocker. She needs Lorna to cling to.”

“You’re too nice Howard, but I understand. When are you coming to visit?”

“I said I would be out at Christmas if you and Mary don’t mind.”

“We don’t mind and I’m not sure I’m going to keep my clothes on when you are here. Let’s see that will only nine days from now isn’t it?”

“You do love to keep track of days. What would you like for Christmas?”

“Just you to rub my tummy. Oh, I’ve told the office I’ll be all done the first of February. Our baby will be coming the first week of March and I’m not working until the last day.”

“I’ll be sending you a little bit for the baby soon. I don’t know how much. I spent a lot on gathering evidence so I can be free to be with you all the time. The only asset is the house and that may go in the divorce. It seems so unfair that I can’t help you more.”

“Howard, don’t worry about it. Aunt Mary lets me live here for practically nothing. Bring a man for her with you. You started her thinking about sex after it being locked away after her husband died. Hell, she even looks at me.”

“I hope not, but I suppose it was to be expected after what we did when I was there. Kitten, I’ll call again soon. Your father and I are waiting on the lawyer to get back to us.”

“Howard, thank you for calling me. I’m so much happier knowing the baby is going to have a father in its life. I was pretty depressed before you found out what I had done to get pregnant. I’m not blaming you at all because it was my choice. I love you.”

“I love you too. Good bye for now, and I’ll see you at Christmas.” I hung up the phone. God, I wanted to leave right now for Helena to see the mother of my unborn child. My attention turned to Kitten. Was she different than her sister? She had the same genes. And when she climbed into bed with me that night she had to at least partly be thinking of herself. Looking at it in a different light, she was stealing a baby from her sister.

And me; was I rushing to get away from Lorna for the right reasons? I guess if I kept dwelling on things such as this, I’d drive myself crazy. I turned to my work. That was good for awhile until I thought of Henry talking about selling out this company and going onto a different smaller one. I was a good engineer and could certainly transfer my expertise to any of several applications.

“Howard, are you going home tonight?”

“Yes Henry, I thought I would eat out somewhere first though.”

“I hate to go home, so can I join you?”

“Sure, but let’s not get drunk.”

“I agree, I had one of those recently.” Henry found a restaurant. It had two bars and a small dance floor on each end of the building. The food that came out of the kitchen was barely edible in the one that appeared to serve a middle class clientele. Henry asked, “Marge, what happened to the food? Is Robert slipping?”

“Robert died and I’m trying to make a living from just the bars. The bar on the other end is doing better and keeps this one going. I’d like to lease this one out and concentrate on the other that has only booths and a little larger floor where people can dance to the jukebox. I need a chef like Robert was. I may shut the kitchen down the first of the year after the holidays are over.”

“What’s the whole operation worth including the real estate?”

“I don’t know. It was appraised at $750, 000 at one time. I’d sell it for a half million right now. I want to sell anyway and move out to California next September.  I might just close it down and walk away.  God, remember what the place was like when you and Mable used to come in to eat and dance.  That was what, twenty years ago? How is Mable anyway?

“She’s around. She hangs out with Lorna most of the time. Both of us are having a little trouble with the two women. This is Lorna’s husband, Howard. I’d like to hear about your problems and you could let me cry on your shoulder. Really, Marge, why is the food so bad. You must have some idea?”

“Sure I do. I can’t find anyone to cook home cuisine any more. These so-called chef’s see ads saying prepackaged and frozen home cooking is as good as the original. I don’t know a damned thing about food and never have, but I know it is tasteless. You want to help me? Get me someone who knows something besides salt, pepper and hot sauce for condiment and doesn’t know what a freezer is.”

“I’ll think about it. Say I meet you here Saturday morning about eleven and we’ll discuss your problem and ours. I say ours and Howard’s because he is in it too. Just to give you hope, make me two of my favorite mixed drinks so Howard will know what a great drink really is.”

“You got it. I’ll be right back with them”

“What the hell are you doing, Henry?”

“I’m hoping I’m getting the two sluts we are married to off our backs and out of our hair. It’ll cost me, but that’s okay. It might get us away from them getting alimony and too big a settlement from us. I’m going home with you tonight and talk to the bitches.”

“What you just said doesn’t tell me much.”

“No, and I don’t have it all together yet.” We enjoyed the drinks and had another different one that Marge brought to the table for us to try.”

We thanked her and Henry and I headed to my house. It was almost nine in the evening.  Mable couldn’t believe it when Henry came into the living room. She had a shocked expression on her face. He looked at her with distaste. “Mable, sit, I have some things to say … you too, Lorna. Howard and I ought to whip your asses raw.

“Now, I suppose you bitches are counting the money you are planning to get from us. It won’t take much Lorna, to leave Howard broke. All he had a few weeks ago was a few thousand in your joint savings. It is mostly gone, because he spent it to find out what sluts you are.”

“Mable, it didn’t cost me anything because you were with your slut of a daughter and I picked up the evidence for free. Jesus, woman screwing a fifteen-year-old boy; you could and should be in jail for doing a kid that age.”

Lorna, screamed, “It was his eighteenth birthday party.”

"And I suppose you are proud of that?” Henry shook his head in disgust. “Okay we know what you both are. I’m here to see how little damage you can do to us.  I’m ordering you to listen to all of the conversation that was gathered and recorded from the taps and bugs here in the house. Howard, get the bug that is in Lorna’s purse. You were supposed to do that last night.

 "Also, I’m ordering you to watch all of the video’s that were recorded. That will give you an idea how upsetting the few photos that were shown to us were. It has brought us to the point we have to leave our marriages because they are broken. In return I will give you something. Mable, you know that you can’t touch the company or its assets. I guess everything else is on the table … The cars, the savings, and the house that used to be our home.

“Mable, I’m asking, are you going to take it and screw it away searching for a measure of happiness? I would advise you against this. You have never worked for wages, but you are educated and you have the experience you learned from your mother. You spent a lot of time helping in her restaurant kitchen. Lorna also has education and was somewhat familiar in the same endeavor at her grandmother’s restaurant. I will help place you in a similar establishment where you will work and can earn a living to support yourselves.

“Howard has counseled me not to be too mean. I didn’t at first understand his reasoning, but I spent time last night hating you and the situation you have placed me in and didn’t sleep very well, so I understand him now. The restaurant I have in mind was a quality establishment with a great clientele at one time and it can be again. All it lacks at present is a quality chef, but right now it serves the worst food in the city. 

“There are two bars that go with it.  One, is a bistro and the other, is the restaurant. The one kitchen prepares meals for both. Mable, years ago you and I have eaten there many times. Where I am going to fight you is on the division of our assets. I’ll let my lawyer and yours fight it out until we can get to agree on something. I will take money from my company to lease the kitchen for you to work in and match whatever you put in from your settlement. It’ll probably amount to several thousands of dollars.

“Why am I doing this … It is because I think I can and also to assuage my disgust of how you have disrespected me for I don’t know how long. I believe you will have time with your lawyer by Friday evening and I will take a meal here with you if invited.”

Lorna showed she wasn’t going to be intimidated by her father. “It’s Howard’s house. He can invite you, I won’t.”

“Henry will be here. Will you cook for us?”

“Yes, if you tell me to, Howard.” I nodded to Lorna.

Henry said, “Okay, Friday then. I’ll leave you two sluts for now. Howard, I’ll see you in the office tomorrow.” I nodded again. Henry stomped out the door. Mable was crying and went down the hall to the bedroom.

“Howard, what is Dad doing?”

“Lorna, I have no idea. This is the first he has spoken about it. I suspect he doesn’t want your mother out on the street.  This thing with the restaurant is something Henry just thought of. I have no idea what he has in mind. It might have some merit, though, so you might consider what he comes up with. You and I don’t have much to divide up. I’ll let you live in the house and maybe if you find work you could give me something for rent.  Look, I’m advising you to not look at the evidence my attorney has. It isn’t necessary in my opinion and it will weigh heavily on your mind.

“I don’t want to get involved in Henry’s scheme with the restaurant so I may be looking somewhere else for a job. For now, I’ll use the upstairs bedroom. If I’m here at mealtime, you might fix me something.”

“I can do that Howard. I appreciate you not calling me a slut. That helps a little. Dad looks like he wants his pound of flesh from Mom and I suppose I’ll be included in however the way he treats her. I certainly am as guilty as she is.”

I was going upstairs as we continued this conversation, “Whatever, Lorna. Do whatever you have to do to get a little respect back for yourself for you won’t ever be happy again. Goodnight,”

“Goodnight, Howard.”

————————————

“You’re looking excited this morning, Henry.”

“Yeah, I am. I was thinking all night how to get even with those sluts we are married to. I’m going to buy that bar and restaurant from Marge. I’ll keep her running the bars and put Mable and Lorna into the kitchen and dining rooms. I’ve supported Mable long enough. To get on her feet, let her get out and earn a living where she won’t have time to slut around on me?”

“You can’t do that to Lorna. You aren’t responsible for her, I am.”

“Are you backing out on me?”

“Hey, Henry this is your deal. I’m an engineer and I know nothing about the food industry.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

 "I paused and then, “You talked about leaving town anyway. I was supposed to go looking for a smaller company that you could purchase and I’d help you run it.”

“Okay, Howard, I did talk about that, didn’t I?  I’ll tell you what, why don’t you follow up on that and see what you can find. I’ll still see about selling the company and meanwhile I’ll look into the restaurant to put those bitches in.”

“Henry, I’m not going into that with you at all.”

“Okay, but it will be fun to watch them struggle to survive by working for a living. Hell, you can even tell them my plans and what can they do?”

“I could talk to Lorna, but I’m not saying anything to Mable.”

“That might be better and not give Mable any warning about what I’m planning for the slut. When do you want to take off to look for a company? I’ll keep paying you while you’re doing that.” 

“I’ll leave on Saturday. I’ll stop in and see Kitten and Aunt Mary if I get out that way. You said you would be out there at Christmas time.”

“Hell no, not now. You can make my excuses.”

“Okay. If I can find something, it might be a good idea if the company I find needs an engineer, I’ll work for them until you sell.”

“That’s a great idea. You’re smart.”

I got on the phone to Sarah. “Sarah, I need to talk to you about my divorce. Henry is coming up with some wild schemes. I think he wants to get revenge on Mable and it may bleed over onto Lorna.”  Sarah said she had time to see me late this afternoon.

I worked hard until after three and then told Henry I was leaving. He said he was going over to talk to Marge at the restaurant. I told him I would be into work on time tomorrow.”

Sarah was waiting for me and led me into her office. “Tell me what’s going on.” I told her all about what Henry was planning and how he was going to try to force Mable and Lorna into working at a restaurant where they would be under his control.

 “And how do you feel about this?”

“Not good. I’ve been hurt as much as anyone, but I don’t believe in kicking someone when they are down. Lorna seems genuinely sorry and that colors my thoughts a lot. I’m letting her stay at the house and I just told her if I needed a little money sometime maybe she could send me some.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Saturday; and here’s why.” I explained about looking for a different business for Henry, but the way he was acting I doubted he would sell and buy another. “I’m looking for work doing what I’m trained for and most likely will never return. I don’t plan on having any contact after this with Lorna and I want you to act as my agent in all things pertaining to my divorce from her. I will keep you posted where I am living in case there are papers to sign.”

“I can work around you not being present.”

“I’m also going to tell Lorna not to look at the evidence their lawyer has. Henry is going to demand that Mable does, but the women know what they did so they shouldn’t have to. You’ll have to take it up with him.”

“I’ll do what I can to convince him. That is why I’m glad I insisted you and he not combine your suits.”

“Okay, the last thing I want to do is give you what money I have. Henry told me he would pay half the cost of collecting the evidence and pay for both divorces. That’s pretty iffy with me leaving. You’ll still be working on my behalf so I’m just paying it forward. I guess that’s all that was on my mind. Can you think of anything?”

“No, nothing except to say, you are a strange person. I think you will always sleep well at night.”

“Thank you very much. I intend to have a good life.”

Lorna’s car was there when I came home. Mable’s was gone. I went inside finding Lorna doing a crossword puzzle in the paper. She looked up at me. “Hi, supper’s not ready.”

“That’s fine. Where is Mable?”

“She went home to clean the house for Dad. She’s afraid he will start beating her if it isn’t. It’s all in her head, of course.”

“Don’t be too sure, he might. Maybe she is hoping he will. She was hanging on every word last night as he was telling you two what to do. She didn’t seem to mind when he called you sluts.”

“Well, I didn’t like it. I’d like to kick him in the nuts. I’m his daughter for Christ’s sake. He should treat me like you are handling this. I accept that I went wild and was a slut for a time, but not anymore. The thing is, I’m going to have to stick with Mom to protect her from Dad. I got her into this and now it is me that has to pay for it. But then, that is it should be.”  Lorna studied me, “You’ve got something to say?”

“Yes, I’m leaving Saturday morning. Henry is paying me wages to find another company. He wants to find a smaller one. Between you and me I don’t think he will ever leave here. He is going to get tied up in this restaurant scheme. I was talking to my lawyer about it and she agrees.”

“You talked to your lawyer.”

“I just came from there. I am turning the house over to you to live in and of course she has the law suit. I’ve made her my agent to take care of business for me. If you have any problems or need to get in touch with me, she will contact me and I’ll decide what is to be done. Maybe you can write a letter and give it to her to mail to me. What I am saying is that I’m making a clean break. I’ll contact Henry with my address and he may give it to you. Otherwise, everything will be done by phone.

“Howard, that seems so unnecessary.”

“Yes, I suppose, but that’s what I’ve decided.”

“You’re going out to see Kit, aren’t you?”

“I may see her, but I’m not starting a relationship with her. It will be more than six months before the divorce is final and I did make a vow to you.”

“Christ, take her to bed and screw her as soon you get out there. She’s always had a thing for you. You have both the right and my permission to make love to her after the way I have been cheating on you. You were right when you said you thought you were drugged on our wedding night. Rod Peters showed up and I was just drunk enough so I went along with him so we could have sex together one last time. He is has a nice family and I wouldn’t want to tear them apart. I haven’t seen him since, but that’s neither here nor there.”

“Water over the dam at this point. I will take it under advisement, though.”

“Howard, come out into the kitchen and I’ll make Macaroni and Cheese. If this is the last time I make it for you I’ll put extra cheese in it.”

I was sarcastic, “Whoopee, that would be good. When are you meeting with your lawyer?”

“Tomorrow at ten in the morning. Then Dad will be here tomorrow evening to swear at us some more. Howard, I’m going to miss you. I can’t believe myself thinking this way. Damn it, I think you are worrying about me more than I am myself.”  I arose and she came into my arms. I was going to kiss her, but then she struggled from my arms. “No, Howard, that would make me feel worse.” Just then the kettle boiled over and I sat back down. Saved by the bell; thanks for the hug.

After our meal, I watched Lorna clean up the kitchen and then she returned to the paper to finish her puzzle. I sat watching the news on a cable network. It was eight thirty when Mable arrived. She came in and stated, “I think Henry still loves me. He called me all kinds of names and swore at me, but he wants me to keep up the house for him. I told him I would think about it. What do you think?”

“I don’t know Mother. You have a divorce to go through. I think Dad is using you.”

“He probably is, but I can hear love in his voice even when he is calling me horrible names. Howard, this is your fault. If you hadn’t hired that detective, I’d be back in Henry’s bed and everything would be fine.” I felt like blasting the woman, but didn’t say anything.”

“Mom, Howard is leaving town Saturday. I can wish he wouldn’t, but he has to get on with his life. I screwed our marriage up and he deserves some happiness.

“Well, I’m going to do everything Henry tells me to. Maybe someday we can be happy together again. He talked some more about that restaurant. I know Marge who owns it. Henry said she was asking after me. After we get done with the lawyer, he is going to take me over there. He wants you to come with us.”

“I don’t know, Mom. He has to stop calling me names. When this divorce is settled, I may leave and go somewhere people won’t know me.”

“You can’t do that. Henry is depending on you to help me in the restaurant.”

“We’ll see.”

Our meeting with their lawyers took place in Sarah’s office conference room. The lawyers knew each other well and had sat across the table many times. Sarah opened the meeting. “Good morning George, You are always on time as I have come to expect. Thank you. This shouldn’t take but a few minutes. I make the statement that this an uncontested divorce in a No Fault State and I understand the defendant, Lorna G Harris Prentice doesn’t intend to contest any part of this divorce suit brought by the plaintiff. Howard M Prentice. Is that correct?”

George Simmons, the attorney for Lorna answered. “That is correct. However, there are a few things to go over so there is no question as to the facts that were presented in the asset declaration and to their distribution.

“First, the vehicle she is driving will remain in her possession and she will continue to pay the mortgage on it until it is fully discharged. Mr. Prentice will do likewise with the vehicle he is presently operating.

“Second, Mrs. Prentice has declared that she has an amount that came to her from her grandmother, Mrs. Hetty B. Comstock. The defendant asks that she retain this in its entirety. Mr. Prentice agrees to this and will not make any claim on it.

“Next, the dwelling where the couple is residing came to Mr. Prentice from his parents, Percy and Bertha Prentice on settlement of the estate after they were deceased. Mr. Prentice has asked to retain ownership of this property. Mrs. Prentice agrees that he do so and she will make no claim for it.

“Next, the furnishings in the dwelling that were there on Mr. Prentice’s marriage to Mrs. Prentice will remain with the dwelling as owned by Mr. Prentice. When Mrs. Prentice removes herself from the property, she may take any furnishings she brought with her when first married or were purchased together with Mr. Prentice after the marriage took place. These will be considered property of Mrs. Prentice and may be removed.

“Next: Occupancy. Mrs. Prentice may remain in the dwelling and Mrs. Prentice will become the occupant of record until such time she makes arrangements to live elsewhere. If Mr. Prentice asks that Mrs. Prentice leave, she will have thirty-days to accomplish this.”

“George, well done. There is a request that has merit and is that the Plaintiff, Mr. Prentice, seeks from the court a waiver to reduce the waiting time for the divorce to become final.

George turned to Lorna. “Would this be something you would accept, Lorna?”

“Yes, of course. I wish I had thought of it. Howard and I are setting out to rejoin society as single persons. It seems so restrictive to have to wait six months to be released from a union that we both knew was a mistake we made in the first few days when we married. Please seek a waiver on my behalf.”

Sarah asked, “We are in agreement on this, then?” It was agreed. “Is there anything else?”

Lorna spoke to George, “There is one thing that might go along with what we just agreed to. I’d like it to be stated that if there is any sexual congress between the opposite sex by either the Plaintiff or the Defendant before the divorce decree is final that it be a non-event and never happened.”

I was looking at Lorna and she smiled at me as if it was a gift. It was. “Thank, you, Lorna.”

“Howard, I was thinking of Kittery.” She turned to both attorneys, “I know that wouldn’t float in court, but if it is ever taken to court, you are both witnesses to what I said.”

Sarah and George both laughed. “Okay we are done here. That was pretty simple. You two have a good life, separate though they may be.”

We filed out. Henry and Mable were sitting there. Mable’s eyes were red and I guessed Henry had been trash talking. I pitied Sarah and George having to deal with these two.

Henry asked before I left, “How was it?”

“It went well. Lorna and I had agreed on everything that was on the forms, so it was just verifying what was there.”

“Well, you’re lucky. Mable’s lawyer has talked her into asking for a lot more than I’m willing to give. I’m not rewarding her for breaking our marriage by being a slut.”

“Henry, walk outside with us. I want to talk to you.”

We moved outside the room. “Henry, ask Sarah for advice. She’s at the top of her game and she’ll be working on your behalf. Let her and the other attorney fight it out and it would help if you would stop calling Mable a slut. It makes her stubborn and if her lawyer hears you, he’ll ask for another thousand dollars every time he does. Use your head.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you this afternoon. Are you still leaving tomorrow?”

“I think so.” Good luck.” I could see when Henry opened the door the two lawyers had come out and waiting on Henry to return

“Lorna, it is a bit early, but would you like coffee somewhere or even lunch.”

“Is this a date?”

I broke out laughing. “Yes, I guess it is. Let’s have lunch.”

We sat, had coffee and waited for our order to come. “Howard, how come you aren’t treating me like Dad is treating Mom?”

“You’re different than your mother and I’m different than your father. You are taking responsibility for your actions. Also I don’t think we are in love like your parents are. They are still so much in love. If Henry would pause and see that Mable loves him even though she went out did these horrible things, they might get past this. A person believes they are never going to get caught and aren’t prepared for it when they do. I suspect you were more prepared than Mable.”

“Yeah, I guess I was.  I thought I could give you up and Kittery would catch you and I’d go on and find someone more interesting than you. Marrying you was a mistake, we both know that now.”

“Hopefully we get out of this without either of us getting too humiliated.”

“Is that what has driven you to be so kind?”

“Maybe, I haven’t thought that much about it. Let’s talk about your parents. It is going to be you who have to see that they don’t blow up and really hurt each other. I’m kind of bugging out and leaving you to handle it all.”

“Howard, I don’t mind. It was me who suggested to Mom we go have some fun. Last weekend was wilder than I ever imagined it would be. I would never want a repeat of it. I’ll bet with the right person you could be just as wild. Would you like to try it your last night in town?”

“Can’t, we aren’t married.”

“Howard, I wasn’t only thinking of Kittery when I said we could go screw someone.”

“I know that, but Lorna, I still wouldn’t feel right.”

“Kit has got to you already hasn’t she? You’ve already screwed her. You did when you went out there earlier this month.”

“Lorna, I didn’t and one of the reasons was because I knew you would accuse me of doing just that.” I looked at my watch. Kitten was at work, but maybe she could talk. I got out my cell phone and dialed.

“Hi Kitten, I have some news about what I have been doing today. Lorna is sitting with me at lunch. She’ll tell you all about it.” I handed Lorna my phone.

“Hi, Kit, how are you? — Do you like your work? — I think Howard wants me to tell you we are divorced and that was only an hour ago. — No, it isn’t final for six months, but we asked for a waiver to have the wait period shortened. He went out and hired a detective and got evidence I was being a bad wife.  He caught Mom with me at the same motel room. I’m handling it pretty well, but Dad is being a real prick to Mom.

“Howard is being good and I think he doesn’t want anyone to know what kind of slut he has—had for a wife. I’m still living in his house until I find something.—He was so nice I offered him goodbye sex, but he turned me down. I suspect you may be the reason. You two have always got along real well. You’ll probably see him tomorrow.—You have to go back to work? Well, take time to tell Howard you love him. Here he is.”

“Hi, Kitten. Yes, I will be out tomorrow. I’m flying and will be in about noon if all goes well.  I’ll call you tonight. Bye Kitten.”

I laid the phone on the table, “Lorna, you’re interfering in my life. I don’t think I like it. When you and I are divorced, I’ll set out to have a relationship with someone and it most likely will be with Kitten. I’m not going to be in your life and the only reason I’m sad about the divorce is we both are going to have an empty feeling for awhile. And you may be out of our parent’s life while they settle their own problems.”

“Well, don’t interfere in my life either. I made my bed and I’m lying in it. Don’t worry about me being lonely, either. I was lonely often times while we were living together, but you had no clue and I did go out and do something about it. Don’t feel sorry for Mom either because she knew what she was doing. If Dad gives her what she wants, she’ll be happy.”

“Just what does she want to make happy?”

“She wants Dad to throw her off her pedestal and treat her as his slave. It looks as if she is going to get her wish from what I’ve seen so far.”

“Is that something like what you wanted from me all of this time?”

“Absolutely not! To be honest, I don’t know what I wanted from you. I never found out what it was, and I’m not sorry we are divorced. Leave me alone so I can find my own way. Oh, I do appreciate you making the transition for me easy. I suspect you will take up with my sister, if you haven’t already and have a dozen kids and both be happy.”

“So, if I said I have no regrets about being married to you, you would say the same?”

“Exactly.”

Chapter Three

I talked to Kitten that evening, telling her I would be at the Helena airport about noon tomorrow. “Howard, I will meet you. You can use my car so you don’t have to rent one. A fellow worker goes by the ranch everyday and she will give me a ride if you need my car looking for work.

“I also have some news. Aunt Mary isn’t here right now. She left this morning and is with a man who runs a dude ranch. He uses the same winter quarters for his horses that Aunt Mary does. He invited her to spend Christmas with him at his ranch. Does this give you any ideas?”

“It certainly does.”

“You know I’m going to mount a full scale assault on your vows don’t you?”

“I expect you will. Sweetheart, rub your tummy tonight and let the little one know   I’m on my way.”

“Hurry and you can rub it for me. I might even have you do it before we get out of the Airport.”

“I may just do that. See you in a few hours. I love you, Kitten.”

“I love you too, Howard.”

I came down from the room upstairs. Lorna was sitting in the kitchen by the door. “So this is it for us, Howard.”

“Yes, and I’ll tell you one more thing. I’m not coming back here. Henry thinks I’ll be looking for a job in a business he can buy, but I’m not going to. I’m going to find a job that will support me and I’m going to start a family and be just like a million other guys in a nine to five job who goes to work, comes home meeting his kids at the door and snuggle up to the wife every night.  What are you going to do?”

“I was sitting here thinking about that. Tell me Howard, am I pretty enough to be arm candy for some older rich man?”

“Married or Mistress?”

“It doesn’t really matter. It probably will be as a Mistress, because I’ll have more freedom to live my life the way I want to.”

“Lorna, I’m sorry I can’t help you by giving you more from being married. Do you have enough to set yourself up?”

“If I can live here, I can. It shouldn’t take more than a year.”

“I’ll give you that much time before I ask you to move. That’s a promise.”

“Thank you, that’s all I need.”

I looked at my watch. “I have to go.” I opened my arms for a goodbye hug. This time Lorna let me kiss her. “Be well, Lorna. No regrets about having you for my wife, either.”

“Howard, give my love to Kit.”

“I will.”

                                     ————————————

Kitten was standing just outside the baggage area waiting for me. She came up to me and took my hand and put it on her tummy. I rubbed it and then hugged and kissed her. I looked around and everyone was intent on their own business. I was rubbing the baby bump through her coat. Soon my hand went down below the bump and I forced it between her slack covered legs. Her eyes opened, surprised. “Howard, what are you doing? Someone will see.”

“Sweetheart, you said you were going to assault me. I wanted to get my licks in first.”

“Two can play this game.”

Her mitten covered hands tried to grasp me, but between my heavy pants and her mittens she couldn’t find what she searching for. “I’ll wait only because I have to. How come you are so bold and what happened to your vows?”

“Let’s get into your car, its cold out here. I thought there would be an awful lot more snow.

“Not always. There is usually more wind, but some years there isn’t that much snow. This is one of them, but then winter has just started. Before we go home, do you want to drive by the office where I work?”

“Sure, can we stop at a store before we leave the city?”

“What kind of store?”

“A jewelry store. I want to buy you a ring. It won’t be very expensive, but I want to give you one and I don’t know your size.”

“You don’t have to. But if you think it necessary, I know just the one I want. Oh, this so exciting.” 

We went into the city and Kitten gave me direction. We were almost by a large office building when Kitten said, “That’s where I work. It’s on the third floor. I do data entry and it is pretty boring, but it has kept the wolf from the door.” We turned right onto a street that had shops along it. “Pull to the curb, there’s room to park.”  

 “Hello again, Mrs. Prentice. Is this your husband?”

“Yes. He promised he would make it by Christmas so I can have the ring I picked out. You do remember which one I wanted don’t you?”

“Of, course we never forget a prospective customer.” The clerk reached under the counter and brought out a small tray of rings that had tags on them.  He extracted a gold ring that had small grooves going around the ring on each side. The grooves were filled with different colored enamel.

“Kitten, are you sure you don’t want a diamond ring or with at least a cubic zircon stone?”

“No, this is what I picked out to wear even if you didn’t buy me one.”

The clerk explained that this was 14k gold and the enamel was guaranteed to never crack or fall out. The price was $109.00. Kitten proudly said she would wear it and put it on. “Let’s go home, Howard.”

When we were in the car and pulling into traffic, I said, “Mrs. Prentice?”

“Howard, it was only a little fib and I’ve considered I was your wife ever since I found out I was pregnant. I just didn’t tell you, that’s all. I’ll remind you I was in your bed when you consummated your marriage and you would have sworn to that.”

I laughed out loud. “There has been a terrible amount of splitting hairs over my marriage. My ex, your father, and your mother still are not aware we are going to have a child together. And now I find out I have two sisters who are going by the name of Mrs. Prentice. And me, I’m as good as single.”

“Howard, don’t say that, it hurts me too much.”

“I’m sorry Kitten; I didn’t mean to hurt you. We will be married just as soon as I really am single. I’ll also make it up to you tonight.”

“Does that mean there are no more vows to keep you from making me happy?”

“It certainly does.”

When we reached the ranch, there were two horses to feed and to make sure their water wasn’t frozen. Kitten put a casserole into the oven. She sat across the table after we had eaten and just stared at me. “Howard, I feel as if my life has just begun. I’m hoping you will make love to me tonight.”

“I’m going to and every night when I’m home. I’m glad Mary isn’t here. I was afraid she wanted me to make love to her as well as you. She got worked up watching us play around when I was here the first of the month.”

“She did want you to and I told her she could, but I would have hated it if you had.”

“I’m not that insensitive. I like her, but I love you. Is this guy she is with good for her?”

“You would think so to see them together. He is pleasing her, I know that. He is a widower. Luck was with both of them when they met down south a week ago. He has a lodge and is opening it for Christmas for the people who work for him. I suspect he and Mary will spend most of their time in bed. Oh, I have the week off for vacation the week between Christmas and New Years.

“We’ll do the same. They have nothing on us.”

“What happened to the vows you weren’t going to break?”

“I can say my going to bed with you is a gift from Lorna. Lorna claimed she wasn’t going to be celibate and I was foolish if I didn’t make love to you if you were willing. You’ve given me a taste and I want a whole meal.”

“It’s dark.”

“I know, but it isn’t six o’clock yet.”

“It will be by the time we get to bed.” Kitten and I had three weeks to fulfill our desire as any married couple would, knowing the last few weeks it had to be put on hold before the little one came. Kitten was now 30 weeks into her gestation. She had been advised not to have sex the last four weeks before birthing the baby. One thing, Kitten’s health was great and as active as she had been she hadn’t gained that much extra weight. The doctor thought the baby would have a normal birth.

We didn’t deny ourselves. If we felt like having sex we headed for a place to act on it.  Aunt Mary called Sunday to make sure I had got here okay. “I’d have called last night, but I was busy. Are you having any trouble restraining yourself?”

“Who is restraining whom?  Nobody like that lives here. Kitten and I are in a full relationship. We are engaged after all.”

“You grew some balls, I take it?”

“I didn’t have to. I didn’t want to have sex in front of you when I was here last time.  I’m shy, you know.”

Mary let out a hoot and said. “Bullshit.”  She talked for a half hour with Kitten.  I heard one side of the conversation and it made me blush. I wish I was performing the way Kitten bragged about how good I was.

———————————

I had three days before Christmas next week to look for work. I dropped Kitten at her office and headed to the unemployment office to see what was available.  The State of Montana had a job that called for an engineer in the Water Environmental Department. It would demand some traveling. It was collecting samples and doing the testing on them and it sounded boring. The Employment office urged me to leave my name and to send a resume to the state. I asked what there was for manufacturing concerns nearby. I got a list of these and would investigate what was produced.

I met Kitten for lunch and we ate in the car. We got each of us going during the short time we had and it would take hours to calm us down this evening. I looked at different business websites on my laptop after she went inside to work. I couldn’t find anything that interested me. I then looked at social media. Henry had belonged to “Linkedin” and had sometimes searched for help on the site. I used Henry’s connection and scrolled down through the people who were on the pages.

I almost missed one that held some interest. There was a young man’s image and it had just one line in his description (Prototype Construction 3D Printer Application.) There was an email address listed.  I had no idea where this business was located. It could be anywhere

I’d give him a shot. I wrote an email requesting more information and the location of the business and had it returned by my email address. I almost forgot to state that I was at present living in the upper mid west area of the United States. I figured it might be days before I would get an answer and maybe not even then.

I went back to scrolling down the LinkedIn postings. Nothing more caught my eye. An hour later I went back to my inbox and there was, and an answer to my request for information. The business was right here in Helena and according to the GPS about eighteen minutes away from where I was sitting in my vehicle. There was a phone number.  I called the phone number given and was invited to look over the facility as soon as I could arrive if still interested. I couldn’t believe this. I checked the time and figured I could give the interview at least an hour before I had to pick up Kitten from work.

I found the address and drove up to a cement block building with the sign J B Enterprises on the end. There looked to be a small loading dock down on the far end. I counted seven cars parked near the building, just far away enough so snow could slide off the metal roof without hitting them. I walked through the door and a man about my age walked up to me. “Hi, I’m John Becker, are you Howard Prentice?”

“That’s correct. I called a short while ago. I’m moving out here from the east and looking for work. I saw you on LinkedIn.”

“Yes, well are you familiar with how to make and generate prototypes?”

“Yes I am. I have been making these for the factory where I’m now employed.”

“What is it your company produces?”

“Our bread and butter are tools. They are basically knock-off  Sears tools. That may sound cheap, but our products are tested at certified Independent Laboratories and our record is fully as good as the better known brand.  A lot of companies like to have their own logo on the tools they sell. We don’t do much advertising but our tools are used in several countries. I, myself work on making and upgrading designs for high-end small medical tools used in hospital emergency and operating rooms.”

“That sounds pretty impressive. What systems do you use?”

“I use a CAD (Computer Aided Design) application to create the files and 3D printers to manufacture the prototypes. These are used right in our own factory where the tools are made.”

“You seem to be up on what we do here. If you are from the east, why are you out here in Helena?”

“A woman. I’m getting divorced from one woman and just waiting for the final decree. My ex-wife’s sister lives here and I’m staying at her aunt’s small ranch. The divorce wasn’t terribly contentious and we decided to part without recrimination, so here I am and still a part of the family.”

“You aren’t employed now?”

“Yes, I’m still employed. My father-in-law owns the company I work for and he is keeping me on his payroll and will continue until I decide to return or find other work. He also is at a crossroad. If I don’t return, he may sell the company and retire, although he is barely fifty years old and in good health.”

“That seems strange.”

“Not really. He is talking about selling and setting his wife up in a restaurant business. He has made his pile since starting the factory and it got too big for one person to handle. I was going to be part of it when I married his oldest daughter. I just don’t want to continue living in the same city where I would be running into my ex-wife.”

“I guess I can understand that. Won’t it be quite a comedown to begin over again by working in a small place such as this?”

“No, not at all. Oh, I would like a good pay check and all, but I have no urge to become a big executive in a fast paced environment. I like the seven to four hours and after that be free until the next morning at seven again. My father-in-law had me working well into the evenings more days than not. I will say he was right there every day with me. It did cause some trouble with my wife and me.”

“God, I’d like a chance to grow into something like that.  I thought when I started this business orders would be coming in the door and I’d grow by leaps and bounds. It was good at first but the technology is growing so fast and the printers required to keep up are too costly.  Oh, I’m not going broke and I pay well, but there is a lot of business I could go after. The machines here cost from $100 to $1,200. Then you can get into the more complicated machines that costs more that will do just about everything

“I began this business and everyone who works here makes a decent living, and that’s okay for the ones who are satisfied with a paycheck, I want more. I want a fast car and a big house and a beautiful wife. I want money enough to send my kids to college without having to borrow. I’d like to join a country club where I can relax.”

“That sounds like my father-in-law.” I looked at my watch and asked, “Do you have any openings. I have to leave to pick up my ex-sister-in-law soon. Are you going to be busy tomorrow so I can come back and visit? I’d like to see your whole operation.”

“I have one machine idle right now without an operator. Sure, come back we open at eight.”

“I’ll see you a little after that. I’ll be coming into town.” I picked up Kitten. She backed into the car. I was standing by the door to close it for her. I had noticed she had trouble reaching for it; the baby bump and all.

“What did you do today?”

“I went looking for work. I found one job working for the state. They need an engineer in the state water resource agency. The top pay is about what I am making now. I know I can’t ask for that, but the upside isn’t going to change and I don’t know as I want to work for that amount the rest of my life.  Besides it looks like a very boring job.”

“Well, don’t take it then. Did you find anything else?”

“I’m going back to visit another business in the morning. It is about the same as what I do for your father. But I don’t know … fact is I don’t know if there are any prospects there. The owner is willing to talk to me so I’m going by in the morning. I’ve only been looking one day, so I’m not discouraged yet. If I don’t find anything, I’ll take you east to live. I can ask Lorna to move out of the house.”

“Forget that for now. Would you do the chores in the barn tonight?  I want to make you a wonderful supper.”

“Kitten, anything else on your mind?”

“You do have to pay for this wonderful supper. I’ll think of something.”

“One more day after today and its Christmas Eve. Maybe we should go shopping tomorrow or even this evening. The stores are all open.”

“Sweetheart, I don’t need anything.”

“Howard, do you have any money?  I could lend you some.”

“I have enough to buy you something and I suppose I should buy Aunt Mary something.”

“Aunt Mary won’t becoming until Sunday. Let’s wait until Thursday to shop. We can pick up some deals since it is Christmas Eve.”

I had never been as comfortable with any person as I was with Kitten. I know we were early in our relationship, but then she had loved me for years according to what she had told me. Myself, I was looking to be happy and this is the first time since my parents passed away that I was.

We sat relaxing after the dishes were put away. Kitten told me how sad she was when I asked Lorna to be my wife. That was why she moved out here with her aunt.  She resisted going to my wedding, but Henry threatened Kit with cutting her off entirely if she didn’t come and support Lorna. She resisted past the time when she naturally would be asked to be part of the wedding party and then came unannounced.

She had no intention of crawling into bed with me, but when she saw Lorna go into my old room with her lover and I needed help after falling off the couch she wanted to be close to me. I just never came fully awake and she seized on the moment. “I have never regretted getting pregnant either. The baby was made with love because you thought you were making love to your wife.”

Tonight we went to sleep snuggled in the same position in bed as we did when the baby was conceived. I was certain that Kitten would still be there when I awoke at daylight this time.

I arrived at John Becker’s business at eight-thirty. There were only four cars parked next to the building. The newest was a Lexus. That had to be Becker’s. Inside, John met me, and I questioned, “Didn’t need a full crew today?”

“I do, the others are not here yet. The rest of the gang will be here by nine. That’s one problem of starting a business with a bunch of friends. You make rules, but they aren’t always kept. I think a lot of my friends and hate to lose one so I let them slide. The three that are here are married and need more money because they’ve bought a home or a car and need to pay for them.  The rest of the guys are all single and party a lot. If it was different and if we weren’t friends, I would insist on them keeping regular hours.

John grinned at me, “Howard, if I hire you, which group would you naturally side with?”

“I’d be here and working long before this. Doesn’t that upset those that arrive early and those that don’t, cause friction?”

“Not really, we were all friends to start with. All will be getting married someday and will need more income so they would join those who show up on time. That would include me.  I came in early because you said you would be here.”

“Do you mind, or would the ones working mind if I looked over their shoulders while working?”

“Have at it, I told them someone might be in. Walk around and examine the machines and the work in progress. If I hire you, the printer, the last one in line on the right bank would be the one you would be operating.”

I walked slowly down the aisle. Behind two stations that had a worker at the desk. They were intent. One of them was at a laptop and was drawing a schematic in 3D. There was a paper file they were working from that held the data they were using, drawing that on the laptop as an image. I walked on to the next occupied desk and this man was standing watching the printer create a solid object made of plastic. He was as intent as the previous operator.

The printers, seven of them, were fairly basic and on the low end cost wise. The man looked at me. “Hi, saw you around here yesterday.”

“Yeah, I was interested in the operation. I’m out here from the east. I may move and will need a job.”

“Well, you won’t get rich here. John takes his cut as we agreed to when we set this up. He promised we’d be so busy we’d make a lot of money. It’s been two years and I haven’t seen any great amount yet. I’ve got a kid on the way too and jobs aren’t too plentiful.”

“I know; I’ve been looking around. What’s your name?”

“Rick Hammond.”

“Are the wages your only complaint?”

“Hell, that’s the least one. John’s no executive. If one of these printers breaks down, we have to send for parts and repair them our selves. Orders aren’t too plentiful either. The guys that aren’t in yet make almost as much as we who are here on time do.” Rick shook his head.  I’d say moral wasn’t that high here either.

There was thrice as much empty space before coming to the loading dock as the eight stations. On the way back to the office, I noticed a reject bin under the work area. The stations that didn’t have anyone there at their machines had three and four rejects. I passed one more operator and his bin was empty. I guess the overall quality needed attention as well.

John was sitting, down drinking coffee. “What do you think, ready to go to work?”

“Not decided yet. It won’t happen until after the first of the year.”

“Yeah, the whole place is off for the Christmas Holiday. We’re knocking off tomorrow night until the fourth of January. Everyone will be in that day because it gets pretty lean around here this time of year.”

“That’s too bad. It should be a happy time of year. So what is this operation worth?”

“I’ve never figured it up but it ought to be worth a couple hundred thousand wouldn’t you say? There’s the building, land, the machines, and the business name. There’s about $10,000 in receivables.”

“What about money owed?”

“Yeah, well there is some.”

“How much?”

“Can’t tell you unless you want to buy me out.”

“More than the receivables?”

“Yeah, some.”

“What about taxes? You know federal, state, property, and workman’s comp.”

“I may be a little behind on those.”

“It sounds like you’re damned near bankrupt to me.”

“I’m looking into it.” I walked over and got a cup. It was dirty, so I rinsed it from the wash basin used as a sink.  I poured myself a cup of coffee. John asked, “Are you going to tell the guys?”

“No, I’m thinking this is a hell of a way to treat your friends, though.”

“Hell, don’t you think I know it is?” Becker’s face was a grey color.

“John, how can I help you out of this?”

“If you got any money, you could buy me out. You told me you knew the operation and you might keep my friends employed. I do have enough orders to keep the business going almost through February. More should come in by then. Being honest, it will be enough for the payroll and catch up on some of the taxes, but wouldn’t pay you a wage.”

“Why don’t you spend the day listing what you owe and I do mean everything. List what the projected income comes to on the orders that you have. Is there a mortgage on the property?”

“No, the bank wouldn’t give me a mortgage. I tried to get squared away using the building for collateral back in November. I was hoping the business would last through the year and I almost made it. If I had gotten the mortgage it was going to be enough for a Christmas bonus of three hundred dollars for each of my friends.”

“What amount were you asking for at the bank?"

“$67,000. I think I owe $59,000, but I needed two new printers. The supply houses I purchase supplies from have shut me off until I pay for what they have billed already. I’m in a bind with no way out.”

“What would it take to buy you out? That would be everything, including the land, building, equipment, debits, and receivables?”

“Christ, I have no idea. There are three acres of land and the building is in good shape.”

“Yes, and you are technically bankrupt. Your guys would be out of work and if the business went into receivership, it probably would be something not worth saving. The land would be auctioned off and that might cover some of your bills, but I suspect not all. You’d still be on the hook to some of your creditors and the government would be on your ass and you’d still be owing money. Either way this will be a fire sale if I purchase the property and the business.

“I tell you what I’ll do. You have your accountant certify what you say is owed, I’ll furnish money for the bills and after they are marked paid I’ll also want the deed to the land warranted. I’ll give you $10,000 over what it takes to clean the transaction up.

“In the meantime I’ll be out seeing if I can get the funds to buy you out. Can you get me the figures by four this afternoon?” John was looking sicker than he had been an hour ago."

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good, I’ll be back then. It would be great if we could get this finished up before the first of the year. We have three days next week to work on this. I’m going to see if I can engage an attorney to make sure everything has been addressed.’

“I’ll get right to work on it and I’ll have hopes of getting a good night’s sleep again soon. Do your damnedest to make this happen.”

“John, be sure I will.”

I called Henry on my cell, “Henry, how are you doing?”

“Hey, things are going great. I’ve got Mable right where I want her. ’course I had to give up a little, but it is working out okay. How are Mary and Kittery?”

“I haven’t seen Mary. She has connected up with a dude ranch owner who is putting on a spread for the holidays. I don’t even know where his ranch is located. I’m helping Kitten out though. I’m shoveling horse shit from the two beasts that are here for the winter.”

“That sounds like fun. How is Kittery?”

“She’s fine. She works and I’m using her car while she’s there. Do you hear from Lorna?”

“Yeah, you weren’t gone an hour when she got a phone call from some man with two kids whose wife just died. Guess there was a fire at his house and the woman died saving her kids. I think the guy was at your wedding. His name is Peters. Anyway she moved them right into your house. Good thing you two are divorced. Did you call about anything special?”

“I did, Henry. How is your credit line?”

“I haven’t used it this year. You need money and how much?”

“Don’t know for sure, but upwards of $100,000. I ran onto a little business that is about bankrupt. There is a solid building on three acres of land. It has six pretty solid workers. Seven friends got together to start this, but none of them knew anything about business. The work is about what I was doing at the factory with 3 D printers and a CAD design application and they are concentrating on making prototypes.

“That’s good, but they’ve done nothing to keep the printers busy. They should be producing some of the things that they are building prototypes for. All six men have laptops and the designs could be done on one with another for backup. When each operator is building the prototype, he stands there idle at the printer until it is all finished. If they were producing product and had better machines, one operator could produce hundreds of pieces a day besides a few prototypes. You know this, you’ve seen me work.”

“I have.”

“They have seven small printers, but there is room for at least an assembly line of three dozen or more. The business has already been permitted to expand within the building, but the owner gave up even thinking about that after the first year. The building has a dock and room for shipping. So Henry, I’ll mortgage my house against $100,000. My house is worth at least $400,000.”

“How do you want me to get the money to you?”

“I don’t have a bank account yet, but I’m sure Kitten has a checking account. I’ll get her to arrange to have the money wired to her account and she can write checks for me.”

“Call me when you want it sent. You didn’t say how you and she are getting along?”

“I didn’t, but we’re fine. She loves having me here now that Aunt Mary is shacking up somewhere else. I haven’t heard you cuss out Mable and call her a slut; some different than a few days ago. Tell me about you and her?”

“I told you about getting her to work and keeping her occupied so she wouldn’t be out screwing someone else? I’m buying the restaurant I mentioned and told Mable to get in there and go to work. Right after the first of the year she has Carte Blanche to renovate and upgrade everything. It will take a month after that before it reopens, but it is going to be something. So far she is doing everything I tell her to.

“Is she still at home with you?”

“I’ll say. I am training her to do just what I want, when I want, and how much I want. There is one drawback though. When she gets that kitchen up and running, I won’t be allowed through the door. I agreed to that in a weak moment. What we men won’t do for a good piece and I guess she has become damned experienced with all her running around.

“Oh, I forgot, I had Sarah send you a check and you should get it today. It was for a little over $9,000. That’s for the detective’s charges and for Sarah’s bill for your divorce.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Well, I said I would but I didn’t have your address so that’s why I went through Sarah. As far as putting up the house for the money, you can pay me back when you sell Lorna the house. She’ll be asking to buy shortly. Anyway, get me Kittery’s account numbers and you’ll have your money.”

“Henry, thank you. When I get this business going, you’ll have to come out and look over my operation. There may be ways we can do some business together. By the way, when are you coming out to see Kitten and Mary?”

“Oh, just let me say I will get it into my head and surprise you. Is that good enough?”

“Only if you make it soon. Thanks again Henry.”

“Howard, I haven’t forgotten you were my son-in-law and you got divorced from my daughter. I miss the friend I had when I was your father-in-law.”

“I’ll always be your friend, Henry. I think the world of you too.” I looked at the time. Kitten would be taking her noon break soon. I picked up sandwiches and waited at the door for her.  She came out and I let her into the car.

“Hi, sweetheart, I have questions. You have a checking account don’t you?”

“Of course. I have about $700.00 in it. What do you need?”

“I just need to use your account. Your father is wiring me some money and I don’t have an account of my own. I may want to have you write a check out of it sooner than I could set up an account of my own.”

“I can do that and I do know the procedure for wiring funds. Do you want me to do it today?”

“If you would. I think I’m buying the business I was talking about last night. I have to get me a lawyer to make a deed search and look over some papers to see that they are in order.”

“There is a law firm on the floor below mine. Do you want to try them? You can walk in with me.”

“Sure, that will give me a few more minutes with you and the baby.”

“You talk like the baby is an individual already. Which do you want, a boy or girl?”

“It makes no matter.”

“It’s going to be a boy. I just know it. Then I can have a Howard and a Howie.”

“No way; do you know how many fights I had before kids decided it was better to forget calling me Howie?”

“You’re so funny. Let’s eat, I’m hungry.” I reached over when Kitten undid her heavy coat and I rubbed her tummy.

“Stop it Howard, You’re keeping me so horny all the time and little Howie doesn’t like it.”

“No wonder, you called him Howie.”

“Oh you!” We settled on how Kitten was going to handle the bank transfer. When she had instruction from her bank she was to call Henry.”

“You’re getting money from my Dad?”

“Yeah, I put up my house against what I need.”

“And I’m supposed to call him? I haven’t talked to him in awhile.”

“You should. I like your father a lot. We kind of held each other together through the trouble with your mother and Lorna. I don’t think your father is going to be divorcing your mother. He started it, but the way he is talking about her, he has her acting like she is his slave or concubine and she loves it. It’s a little kinky, but it is working for both. She does have some power. She is going to bar him from the kitchen when she gets the renovation completed.”

“What kitchen?”

“Your dad bought a restaurant and is putting Mable to work to keep her from screwing around on him.”

“I certainly will talk to him.” We walked along until Kitten pointed, “Howard, there is the law firm. Are you going to pick me and little Howie up?”

“Watch it woman or you might get spanked.”

“Maybe Mom is getting spanked. You said they were getting kinky.”

“You’re safe, Kitten

————————————

I stepped through the door into an office. The woman at the desk looked up at me. “Hello, how I may do to help you.”

“I believe I need a lawyer. I need a title search performed and I need to have some papers generated which were looked at by an accountant. After that I’ll need the sale done if I find everything to my satisfaction. I am on a tight time line and hope to get cleaned up this year.”

“I think we can help you. We have a young lawyer who has just passed his bar in this state. Would someone as inexperienced as he is be what you would be satisfied with?”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. Everyone has to begin somewhere and fresh with his new certificate he should be able to give me what is necessary.”

“You’re generous. I’ll call him in.” She pressed her buzzer on the intercom. “Richard there is a man here looking to engage an attorney. Would you talk to him, please?”

It was five minutes before he hurriedly came into the office. I’ll bet he had run from somewhere to get here. He came up to me and introduced himself. “I’m Richard Bailey, Attorney at Law. What is your problem and what can I do to help you, Mister … ?”

“Howard Prentice. Not much of a problem, but I do need help. I’m looking at a piece of property to purchase. I haven’t really made an offer on it yet. To tell you the truth; the owner operates a business at that address and he is almost bankrupt. He and his accountant are getting figures together and I’d like those looked at too.”

“I’m sure I can handle it. Where do you wish me to begin?”

“I think to research the deed and make sure he owns it. I don’t know where the records are housed. This is the address where the property is located. It is a single building on a three acre lot. I’m also purchasing the business and the equipment that is in the building. It would be nice if you could come out there this afternoon and maybe look at the papers about four. I’ll ask if you may take them with you to look over at your leisure. When I’m sure everything is as it should be, I’ll make an offer. This is almost a fire sale because Becker needs out.”

“I’m positive I can handle this okay. If you would leave your address, phone, and any details with Jordan at the front desk, I’ll leave and get started at the courthouse.” 

He stuck out his hand, whirled, and was gone before I got to the desk in the entry room. I laughed as I approached Jordan, “Ambitious isn’t he?”

“Yes, all new attorneys are when they first join the firm. This one I like very much. He reminds me of my son.”

“He’ll do. Do you ever meet a small, pregnant woman, coming and going around here? She works in the office on the floor above.” All this time I was filling out the details of my address etc.

“Kittery?”

“You know her? We’re friends living in the same house.”

“I ate lunch with her sometimes when the weather was warmer. She’s nice.”

“She’s really nice. I’ve known her since she was in her middle teens when I first met the family. I’m working for her father until the first of January. I’m now heading back to the property and in case Richard is looking for me, I’ll be there until four. Nice meeting you, Jordan.”

I got back to the business at 1:30. “Hi John, I’m trying to get the money together to buy you out. In fact I’m sure I will somehow, I’ve commissioned an attorney to do a title search on the property.  How are you doing on the figures? I’ll want the lawyer to look at those as well. I hope he’ll be a long before you close today. If he doesn’t find anything wrong with the title, that is.”

“There shouldn’t be and trouble. I had it looked at when I went to the bank. The men know something is going on. I had to tell them I was broke, but was working and hoping to save their jobs.”

“That’s fine, I guess, if the money comes through in time. They shouldn’t have to worry whether they a place to work when the holidays are over. Are you positive your figures are all in order for the attorney to look at?”

“Yes, I’m sure. The accountant will be bringing them back at 3:00 o’clock.”

“Good, you could tell your help, you will have something definite before they leave tomorrow. In fact, why don’t I have some sandwiches and snacks catered for end of year get together. I assume you will have their weekly pay before they leave?”

“I do. I squeaked out a Christmas bonus to go with them. There was one client who paid up. It just came in the mail. That of course I was counting in the receivables I quoted to you so that will change.”

“Better to keep the men happy. May I go through your client list while I’m waiting?”

“Sure. Their names and the contracts are all in the folders. There are also the complaints they had about the service we gave them. I’ve kept track of everything.”

There was another desk and John brought the files for me to look over. I decided this wasn’t a very well run company.  There wasn’t a punch clock so time was kept by each worker. All were paid for forty hours. I knew three of them came in at eight, but wondered about the others. I also was surprised at how little the business produced. I worked in Henry’s factory and me and the other workers put out three times as much product in one day. The one other thing no one had bothered to keep track of was the number of rejects.

I turned to John, “If you don’t mind me asking, who financed this start-up to begin with."

“I did, mostly. My father gave me the property when he and my mother moved to Southern California. My buddies and I got out of college and we all were looking for something we could do together. My grandmother gave me $25,000 and the guys all chipped in enough money to buy laptops and a couple hundred dollars each toward the printer’s. Two weeks later we were in business. The first year was great. The company paid back the guys for what they had put up.”

“Even the laptops? You didn’t tell me they don’t come with the business.”

“No, they belong to the business. The second year wasn’t as good as the first one and this last year has been terrible. Something went wrong somewhere. I’m going down and live with my parents. I told them a week ago when the bank turned me down for a loan that I had lost everything.”

I turned back to the desk. I thought to myself that I could point out a half dozen places why this business had failed. Would it be kicking a man when he was down if I did. I didn’t know John well enough to open up to him.

I drank another coffee. It was a little before 3:00 when the accountant came in. “I’ve been John’s accountant since he started this place. I’ll swear these are true figures. I’ve kept the income and disbursement figures and made out the checks for the payroll. I think you will find everything in order. So, will you be looking for an accountant?”

I looked at the card he handed me with is name on it.  “Okay Sam, I will need one soon, I have your card and if I purchase the business, I’ll interview you. I haven’t bought it yet. I’m waiting on whether I can get the money. I’m also hoping the lawyer I hired will be here before 4:00 o’clock.”

My phone vibrated and I stepped into the work area to take it. “Hi Kitten, any trouble with the wire?”

“Nope. Dad was in the bank when I called and five minutes later the money was on the way. I had been warned that it might take three days to be put into my account, so I talked to Dad. I had a great conversation with him. It is the first time I felt he really wanted to talk to me.  He is going to call me again when I get home tonight. He wants you to tell me about him and Mom. He called her awful names. He even asked me if I knew my mother was a slut. I said I didn’t and he came back with, ‘well, she is’ and I had to agree that maybe she is if what he said about her is true. Howard, I’m supposed to be working. I’ll see you at 4:30. Love you.”

I went back into the office and the two in there looked at me with a question in their eyed. “Just the woman where I live. I have her car and she wants to be picked up at 4:30. I’ll have to leave by 4:10.”

John asked, “You said your lawyer was coming?”

“If he gets the title search done, he’ll be here. The only other thing I wanted him to do was look at the accounts. If he should come after I leave, would you let him have them to look at this evening?”

“Sure, there isn’t anything more we can do.”It was 3: 40 when Richard Bailey drove in. He came rushing in.

“I’ve completed the title search. I need to type it up, but it has proved to be a good solid title. Howard, you wanted me to go over some figures?”

“Yes, they are here. Would you take them and go over them tonight. I’ll come into your office about 1:00 if I can and go over them with you. If you have the afternoon free, we’ll come back here and make John an offer. If he accepts and the money has arrived I’ll get it and we can finalize the purchase. I’m going to be having a little get together here and meet everyone at that time right after I make out the check.  I’ll have a woman with me because the money is in her account, so the check will be signed by a Miss Kittery Harris.

“Howard, we could do this in my office.”

I looked at John and. “Where would you be the most comfortable?”

John answered, “I’d feel better not to do this in front of the guys. We’ll be coming back afterward. You can call me and tell me if everything is ready before I come in.”

“I’ll call John if the money has arrived. Richard, make sure they know where your office is.”

“Where will the lady be that signs the checks?”

“She works in the same building as Richard. I’ll just ask her to come down.”

Richard spoke, “I didn’t know that.”

I laughed, “She is the person who pointed out your law office. That’s how come you are working for me.”

“Wow, I needed a client. I’ll kiss her if you don’t mind.”

“I’m sure she would welcome a kiss. We might as well leave now. I’ll call everyone and confirm.”  We went out. Sam had the bundle of papers he was going to go over. I asked, “Should I make out the checks to you to pay all the bills separately or all in one?”

“Howard, let me ask at the office, I’ve never run into this before?”

“Sure, I’ll be ready either way. It is better to be sure.”

I followed Richard’s car into town and parked at the curb. I was five minutes early and Kitten soon came out. “Hi, Kitten, how was your day?”

“I had a great day. I talked to my father and I have over a $100,000 in my bank account. Who wouldn’t have a great day?”

“The money made it here then?”

“Yes, I called the bank just before I left my desk. Are you going to spend it all?”

“If the attorney agrees with the accountant, I have to decide what to offer. There is a total of $60,943.00 in bills. John was going to borrow $67,000 but couldn’t. I’m going to offer $75,000 and tell him I won’t go higher.”

“That seems like a lot.”

“I know, but not much for what it is. I’m hoping he’ll split some of the extra with the guys he works with. A man shouldn’t forget his friends. Once he has the money I have no say in what he does with the amount above the bills. We’ll see what kind of a person he is tomorrow. I suppose you want me to shovel horse shit again tonight?”

“Would you, I’ll make sure you’re happy before you go to sleep.”

“I’ve never been happier since we’ve been sleeping together.”

“Aw!”

We pulled up to the mailbox when we got home. There was a check from Henry in it for $9,000 just as he said. The phone rang as we were getting supper. I told Kitten that I would finish preparing it and to go talk to her father.  I didn’t hear Kitten saying much because Henry was doing all the talking. I indicated I wanted to say a few words and finally she passed the phone to me. “Hey Henry, I got your check in the mail and the money you wired.”

He wanted to know what I was buying and if I knew what the land and building was worth. He didn’t think the business was worth much. “It isn’t but the property is worth about twice what you wired. There are six workers that will come with the business and a little equipment. The client list looks interesting. I’m wondering if I can’t pick up making the product from the prototypes they are buying. I’ve got the room to put in a small production line in the building and if I want to expand I’ve got the room to build.”

“You’ll have a factory as big as mine before you get done. Lorna was such a fool to let you go. You’ve got one more chance in connecting with Kittery. You had better take it.”

“I do like her a lot, but remember I’m still married.”

“That wouldn’t stop me in a like situation.”

“Give me time, Henry.”

“Howard, you may think me a damned fool, but I’m going to let my suit go right up to the last few days and then I’m withdrawing it. I hope you don’t think me a wimp.”

“I don’t, Henry, if you are happy with Mable.”

“I am, but don’t tell her that I still love her.”

“I think she knows you do. You come out soon and look over what I’ve bought. Bring papers and I’ll sign off on the house. I’ll give you a mortgage deed to it.”

“We’ll talk about it. See you sometime.”

“Kitten, what’s with your father? He sounds happy.”

“He is. It is an odd situation for both of them. He’s made some changes yesterday at work by appointing an assistant. He figures he won’t have to be in his office only five or six hours a day. You know that could have been your job if you hadn’t come out here to be with me.”

“Probably, but believe me, Henry won’t give the guy any freedom to act on his own.”

“I know you’re right and I’m glad you broke away from Dad. I can make you happier in ways he can’t.”

“That’s a fact. Now all I have to prove I can make a good husband and father.”

“I have no doubt.”

“It isn’t too late. I think I’ll call John and Richard and let them know I’m about ready to buy. I’ll call Sam too.”

“Who is Sam?”

“He’s John’s accountant. I may hire him to do the same for me. I am going to have to train the guys that I’ll expect more of them than what they have been doing.”

“I hope you don’t lose them. If you do, you won’t produce anything.”

“Actually I don’t need all six. Two would be enough. Two could do the 3 D designs and the rest anyone can do. You could even do it without any problems at all. Of course I’ll have to wait until your tummy shrinks but we know it will in the next couple of months.” Kitten stuck her tongue out and I grabbed her. I let her go and made my calls.

“John is ready to sell. Can you get off from work early tomorrow?”

“I get out at noon. I used the baby for an excuse, saying my back was aching and I had to bake pies on Thursday to make you happy because your wife had left you and you were so sad and lonely and needed cheering up.”

“That’s too many excuses for them to believe you.”

“They said that, but let me have it anyway. Being with child has its advantages.”

I checked the barn one more time before I retired for the night. It was nice to crawl in beside a nice warm body.

Kitten was up before me and I put on heavy clothes and headed for the barn I began to realize these horses would greet me in certain way as I came in. They would blow air through their nose and shake their heads hard enough to rattle their halters. I began talking to them as I fed them the hay. I would check to see that the water cups weren’t frozen, slap them on the rump and tell them I would see then tonight.

Kitten would greet me at the door as I came in and tell me I smelled horsey. I asked, “Where’s the profit in keeping old horses like these?”

“They’re family just like a dog or cat. You wouldn’t get rid of your 80-year-old grandmother or friend from next door would you? I’ll cry when they die just as you would any pet or relative. It makes me sad to think about it.” There was no way to rebut this.

I had a time getting the $9,000 check cashed and I needed cash for today. A call to Kitten helped and I finally had the bank call Richard at the law office. I took $3,500 in cash with me and opened my own account with the remainder.

I was waiting for Kitten at noon. We went and had lunch at a deli. I ordered subs for the lunch at end of work this afternoon. I picked up three different kinds of soda and a white and red bottle of wine. I bought some plastic glasses and napkins. “Would you put everything into boxes that I can carry? Please add chips and dips and any other snacks, and ah, peanuts, maybe. Oh, and a thirty-pack of Bud. Some won’t like it, but they won’t say anything.”

“Your Subs will take an hour and a half.”

“Take your time; we’ll say two hours.”

“That will be fine. Drive up to the back door and we’ll load it for you.”

“Okay, Kitten, let’s go buy a business.”

“Howard, you sound excited.”

“I am excited. I’m building a future for us and our son. How do feel about it?”

“I feel I love you and always will.”

We went into the law office. Jordan came from behind her desk and hugged Kitten. “So this is your man, Kittery?”

“Yes, and he has asked me to marry him as soon as his divorce is final. He is going to father my baby. I’ve put my trust in him … yes and my faith too.”

“I’m happy for you, Kittery. Howard, Richard is waiting in the conference room through that door. I understand there will be John Becker coming in and Samuel Saunders, I guess that is.” 

I laughed, “That’s closer than I came to figuring out the name. He does answer to Sam.”

Kitten and I walked through the door. Richard stood immediately and held out his hand. “Miss Harris, I said to Howard I was going to kiss you for pointing out the firm’s location which has resulted in him becoming my first client. Do you mind?”

“I’m sure it will be alright. Please do. I’m sure this may be a long term association for both of you.” Richard’s face was red and he made sure when he kissed Kitten on the cheek he didn’t come near the protruding tummy. We all laughed.

We sat at the conference table. “So Howard, how are you going to make this nearly bankrupt business into a profitable one?”

“It may not be easy, but I believe it can be done. Those college boys had a dream, but didn’t know how to carry through. I’ve been out in the world and have a father-in-law who wants the most possible out of the people who work for him. He is a great model for me to follow. I never could imagine a business being more inefficient than Becker’s. He wasted more than the man hours of his work force. He quoted he had enough work for his six man crew for six weeks. Two men should be able to get that work done and shipped in less than two weeks.”

“How is that possible?”

“I watched one worker and I think one of the best John has. He used his laptop to code the project. That was fine, but then he set up the printer and started building the prototype. He stood there watching the machine produce it. To me, every minute he stood there watching, he was idle. What John should have had him doing was to use the laptop and get three more ready to build. He could watch three and even four prototypes being made because once you begin, as long as you make sure you have material to do with, everything is automatic.”

“Those guys are all smart enough but another way they were cheating the business was by not putting in a full day and often getting paid for the eight hours. Some of the rejects looked as if they were coming along okay until it was time to quit at the end of day. About half the time if you shut a printer off, it will reset in a different place. It may not only be one slice that was added or subtracted, but it was enough to need to throw the prototype into the reject bucket.

“Two ways to solve this is to come to work on time and do an item that takes eight hours. If you have to stay long enough to finish it, you can’t leave before it is finished, especially if you are late in starting. If you are doing three items a day and the last one is a reject, you’ve blown one third of your day.  Some of the fault may be that the material that makes these items is so cheap you overlook the fact that time is the governing factor and not the material.

“I’m sure there are other things that will stand out. I figured this out in less than the twenty-five minutes I was on the floor observing.”

The door opened and John and Sam walked in and sat down after shaking our hands. I introduced Kitten as Kittery Harris.  No one commented on her being pregnant. Richard spoke, “I believe we are ready to proceed. First we must agree on a sales price. Mr. Becker what amount are you willing to sell the property and the John Becker Enterprises business for?”

“I’d like a higher price than I first quoted Howard Prentice. The one thing I don’t believe an amount was quoted for the company name. I’d like to gain something for that. My name is of course important to me and I feel it is worth something.”

“I’ll agree that a man’s name has value. Give me a ball park figure you would accept.”

“$72,000 and you pay the bills that Sam set forth. You said you would go $10,000 above the bills when I thought the amount owed was about $59,000. That will give me about $1,000 extra when all is said and done for the business name. I’ll divide that up with my friends for a Christmas bonus.”

“That’s agreeable, but looking ahead I think your friends deserve a little more for Christmas than that. They are going to be almost two weeks without pay. You do have their wages set aside I take it for the last week?”

“Yes, they’ll have their pay and I’ll bump the bonus up to $200.00.”

“I’ll put in another $3,000 each to divide up. That will give them $700.00 for a bonus. So right now I have to come up with $75,000 to buy John Becker enterprises and money for the help’s Christmas bonuses. Are we agreed on this? Sam?”

“I believe the figures are correct as stated. How do we want to do this?”

“Let’s get the bonuses out of the way. I have 30 one hundred dollar bills here. Would Jordan have six envelopes we can use?  Maybe she would type each workers name on them.” It all came together. Five bills from me and two from John and the paycheck for the week’s wages.

Of course she would have the necessary envelopes and he went out to direct her to do just that. When Richard returned he said that he had created a notice to go in with the past due bills put into the same envelopes announcing that the business had been sold but was continuing to use the same website, the phone number, and hoped any business association would continue without interruption. There was a short bio, my previous experience and my connection with a well known tool making concern in the east.

“Shall we begin writing checks so when we leave there will be no outstanding debt?” This was Richard directing the process.  He also said to add the impressive short bio, the checks, and invoices which would be put into envelopes with the law firm’s letterhead and would be mailed by the firm.

Kitten asked if Jordan had a neat hand and would she make out the checks and she, Kittery Harris, would sign them. There were seventeen of these to write. It took two hours to accomplish this. Every bit of correspondence was double checked by Sam, John, Richard, and me before the envelope was sealed. Howard Prentice now owned a business

When finished everyone shook hands and Kitten and I went to pick up the deli items. When we arrived at the business, the three married men had their wives with them. There was one child about a year old. Kitten went right to them where they were standing off to one side and joined them to get acquainted.

The six men were worried about the future so I had made a little speech, assuring the men that they still had employment. “There will be some radical changes coming up to make the business more efficient. For the first few weeks, the hourly rate will stay the same, but I assure you when the changes begin to generate more profit, your wages will increase. John will give you your pay envelopes which will be the last you receive from him. I brought a few snacks to enjoy while we are getting familiar with each other.”

All were curious about Kitten and I let her explain, “Howard and I have known each other for years and we have always been friends. He was married, but is waiting on his divorce to become final. He has promised to lend my baby his name when it is born so the baby will have a father presence. We may even choose to marry in the future.”

I was asked the usual questions about my education and work experience and how I came to be in Montana. I did have a chance to slide in the fact that I expected everyone to be here on time when the day started. I also said that each worker’s strengths would be rewarded and pay would reflect this. In other words they would each would be paid according to their abilities.

One of the workers ripped opened his pay envelope when his wife asked him how much his pay was this week … seven-$100 bills fell on the floor. Both he and his wife stared at it before scrabbling to pick it up. Within two minutes, all the envelopes were open.

I don’t believe anyone had ever stayed beyond five before, but as the hour crept beyond, I stated that Kitten was tired and needed her rest and I should be breaking this up. There was some who slapped my back and promised they would be the best God Damned worker on this earth.  No one was drunk but all were happy. John invited everyone to his house.  I gathered this had happened often. I was glad everyone left and the responsibility was on their own shoulders.

“Howard, what do you think?”

“Kitten, basically, I think they are an okay bunch, but we’ll see.”

“Hey, little Howie just kicked me.”

I tried to be stern. “Wife-to-be, there are two names that my son will not be named and Howie is one of them.”

“What’s the other name?”

“Peter. No kid could live with the name of Peter Prentice.” That struck Kitten terribly funny and she went into gales of laughter.

Chapter Four

Kitten and I did the barn chores together. Kitten had taken some of the subs that weren’t eaten and together with heated tomato soup we called this a meal. We went in to the living room and put all of the pillows from the two couches on the floor and listened to Christmas Carols while snuggled together.

“What are we doing for Christmas Dinner, Kitten?”

“I’m cooking it. You can make the pies tomorrow while I’m making bread rolls. I’ll do the vegetables and potatoes Christmas morning.”

“Are we having Turkey?”

“Of course, but I’m cheating. You have to pick it up by eleven Christmas day, Friday, at the restaurant. Dressing and Gravy come with it. It’ll be a great meal.”

“What kind of pies am I expected to bake?”

“Pumpkin, apple and maybe a pecan.”

“I’ve never done a pecan before, but I will try it. How come you think I can bake a pie … any kind of pie?

“I used to hang out with your mother before she died. I thought you were a hunk and I went over there a lot just so I might get a glimpse of you when you came home from college. You were helping her make them the last Christmas before she died and she bragged on your prowess. You didn’t notice me did you?”

“I noticed you. I wish I had really noticed you, but I just thought you were a geeky little squirt. I didn’t realize at the time you were sister to Lorna and I guess I was in love with her like you were in love with me. How dumb could I be?”

“Pretty damned dumb and you wasted so much time. We are together now, so it doesn’t matter.  Also, you are rescuing me from a fate worse than death. You know like being unmarried and knocked up.”

“Sweetheart, that is going to change, I swear it.”

Kitten’s mind was on the business I had just purchased. We were getting ready to roll away from each other, “Howard, do you have enough money to pick up where Becker left off and make your endeavor profitable?”

“I think so. I have $6,000 left from what Henry sent me for the detective I hired and for my divorce from your sister. I have $24, 000 left of the $100,000 I borrowed on the house I own and I came out here with nearly $20,000 that I didn’t have to split with Lorna. You have to remember that I just purchased a piece of property for $75,000. It is on the tax rolls for $250,000. That’s easily worth $200,000.”

“Why didn’t John get his loan at a bank when he went after one?”

“Because he didn’t go to them with a plan showing how he was going to make more business. He was only borrowing to pay off his bills.”

“Well, how are you going to get money from a bank if you need it?”

“It’s going to take some doing. First I’m going to make sure the six laptops are loaded with the C A D applications I need. I may have to spend money to bring them up to where I need them. That will only take me a few hours. Then I’m going to do a full press on getting some more work in here for the 3 D printers that I have. I’m familiar with most of them already so that’s no problem.

“I think Henry will give me a contract to make the plastic containers that each set of small socket tools are inserted into. You know each socket has its own place and after filled the set slips into a sleeve. I wrote the code for these. Henry thinks that it is a nuisance, and is sticking with metal. I think I can convince him otherwise by making the set holders color coded by S.A.E or by M.M. and he will get his money back after an ad blitz. I could do that for him as an incentive to let me make the holders.

“Back to getting a bank to lend to me. I’ll have a business plan which John never bothered to put together. I’m hoping I won’t have to go to the bank anyway. Just as soon as I talk with a prospective customer and as soon as a contract is written with possible more to come, I’ll purchase a printer to do the work. I have room for about three dozen new and different printers. The six laptops should be able to write code for what printers I have and many more.”

“You’ll be working all hours of the day and I’ll never see you. That is what brought about two divorces I’ve heard about.”

“No, I may get into work a little earlier in the morning, but I know about those same divorces and my day, every day will stop at 5:00 o’clock. That’s a promise … not so much to you, but to myself.” I stopped speaking and then I said, “I am worried though.”

“Don’t worry about the business, Howard. I have faith in you.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about the business; it’s about the pumpkin pie I’m making tomorrow.”

“Oh, you!”  We snuggled together and went to sleep.

The phone rang at 5:20. Kitten picked it up. “Kittery, tell Howard to get his ass out of bed and come pick me up at the airport. They got no cars to rent. What kind of back water place is this anyway?”

“You’re at the airport here in Helena?”

“Yeah, that’s the place. Have coffee ready when he gets back with me.”

“Okay, Dad, He’s just coming in from the barn. He should be there in less than an hour.”  Kitten grinned at me where I was laying beside her. “You better go and hurry, Dad sounds like he is on a tear. I wonder if Mom is with him.”

“Who knows? Your secret about being knocked up is no more. What are you going to tell him?”

“I’d like to tell him the truth.”

“I think we should. It has bothered me not being able to claim the baby. A father shouldn’t do that. It’s like denying the baby’s birthright.”

“Howard, I love you more each day.”

I drove right along and reached the airport when Kitten said I would.  When I pulled up to the disembarking area, Mable was sitting outside on a large solid sided bag. I got out and asked her, “Where is Henry?”

“He’ll be out. He stayed inside where it is warm.”

“That won’t go with me, he being cruel to you.”

“Howard, please don’t interfere. In way you caused this so you don’t have a right to tell me or Henry what to do. I’m satisfied to still be with him. In a way it is him showing me he still loves me. I’d die if he didn’t.”

I opened the trunk to put the bag in. I reached down to pick it up. “Let her do it. Get into the car where it is warm.”  Henry tossed a small carry-on into the back seat and slid into the front seat. Mable was struggling with the case. I held the trunk open and leaned far enough down so she didn’t have much weight to lift.

As we went around the car, Mable, whispered, “Thank you.”

“Henry, I’m glad you came. You won’t see Mary. She has a man friend and is having Christmas with him. I haven’t met him yet. How long are you staying for?”

“Mable got me a reservation for Sunday afternoon. I want to see what kind of business you bought. I want to make sure you have enough money to get it off the ground.”

“I believe I’m in good shape. I might make some of the things you have contracts for from other suppliers. That would be the only help I will need.”

“Is it going to cost me more to switch to you being my supplier? If it is, I’ll still look at it, but business is business.”

“Oh come on Henry, I know it never made any difference before, but I am your son-in-law.”

“You were, but you’re getting divorced and won’t be my son-in-law and longer so you can’t trade on that.”

“Divorce is not final for months so you’re cutting me off now?”

“No Howard, but as soon as you’re not my son-in-law, no more favors.” I almost told Henry that I intended to marry Kittery and we would still be related. Naw, I’d let Kitten have fun with that fact.

I pulled into the driveway. Henry got out and headed for the house. “Henry, come back here and get this suitcase. Let Mable go into the house to see her daughter first.”

I hurried and I knew it wouldn’t take long. Mable had looked for Kitten and found her making breakfast. Henry and I walked in and we heard from the kitchen “OH, MY. Oh, my. Kittery? Oh my. Henry, come in here!”

“Howard, what’s the matter with Mable?”

“Go see for yourself. I’m going to have a coffee.”

Mable, louder this time, “Henry, get your ass in here. Forget your silly fucking games. This is important!”

Henry went through the kitchen and stopped. Kitten had but on a tighter dress than usual which accentuated her condition. “Hi Dad, haven’t you and Mom ever seen a pregnant woman before?  Sit, I’ll get your breakfast. I’ll answer questions about this afterward. There’s bacon and sausage, eggs and toast. Howard you can help. Dad here’s your coffee, relax, this won’t take long to put on the table. How long will you be with me?”

“Until Sunday, Kittery.”

“Good. Mom, I think I need some questions answered about why Dad is divorcing you.”

“I would have called you but Henry said I couldn’t. He’ll have to let me tell you now that we are here. I will say I did it to get his attention. It worked and I had some fun doing it too. Howard must have told you about it. It was his meddling that caught me out.”

“Mable, shut your mouth.”

“Henry, you shut your mouth. When I’m in a kitchen, I’m boss. Remember you agreed to these rules.” I couldn’t believe this. Henry shut up and took a sip of his coffee. He winked at me when Kitten and Mable weren’t looking.

I wanted get away from Henry and Mable. I couldn’t believe but what someday this wouldn’t blow up and one would hurt the other … maybe even physically. “Tell me about Rod Peters, Lorna, and what happened to Rod’s wife.”

“It really is sad what happened. It was in the news. Rod’s wife was home with the kids and Peters was working. The fire was in the kitchen and no one really knows what occurred. The rumor is that she was frying something, maybe French fries and the oil caught fire and maybe she got burned or caught her clothes on fire.

“The oldest child said his mother screamed to get out of the house. The youngest is a girl and wouldn’t leave her mother. So the mother grabbed something and broke out a window and picked up the little girl and threw her out. The mother tried to make it to the door, but succumbed from the smoke. The fire was between her and the door and the window was too high and too small to allow her get out that way. She just didn’t make it.

“It was on the news and Lorna went right over to the place where the Red Cross had found shelter for them. Lorna asked Peters to come home with her so she could help the children get through this. The little girl received a broken arm along with the other trauma so she really needs someone to mother her. The sad thing is that the kids will be going to a different school if they stay with Lorna. The last time I talked to her, Lorna said she and Peters don’t have any plans at this time.”

“That’s pretty sad.”

“It is. Lorna is a little concerned about how you will feel when you find out about Peters living in your house.”

“She shouldn’t. She was given the right to live there and she said she wasn’t intending to be celibate. She also told me that I had no need to deny myself of a woman’s favors either. She is the one who is listed as the person of occupancy and is in full control of the residence. Mable, would you tell her that for me? Also relate I’m sorry that her friend lost his wife.”

“I will. That will relieve her mind a little.” 

There was silence among us and we concentrated on drinking our coffee. I could tell Mable and Henry wanted to quiz Kitten about being pregnant, but didn’t want to broach such a sensitive subject. I wanted to put off the explanation as long as I could, so I changed the subject to Henry and Mable.

“Henry, how are you two getting along?”

“Oh, everything is fine. Mable knows she did wrong when she humiliated me by going out and screwing around. I guess I did a lot of shouting and swearing at her and I had the right. For now I’m in control. She has to learn how it is to feel terribly humiliated. It just isn’t in me to retaliate by going out and doing the same thing to her as she did to me. The divorce is still on the table. I am letting her live at home and she keeps the house just as if she was my loving wife. That goes for the bedroom as well.”

“You mentioned you purchased a restaurant and it is being renovated.”

“Yeah. She has to learn to support herself when we are divorced. I still think enough of the slut not to throw her out into the cold. I expected Lorna was going to help Mable, but it doesn’t look as if that is going to happen. She’s got those two kids to look after now. Personally I think you let Lorna off way too easy.”

“Maybe. I’m sleeping well at night though, and I very seldom think of her. I guess I wasn’t very deeply in love with Lorna or it would have bothered me more.” I stopped speaking and then said something. I might wish I had kept my mouth shut, but Henry was a friend.

“Henry, I saw how you were treating Mable today and I don’t think I agree that you are going about this the right way.”

“What do you mean? She fucked around on me didn’t she? She deserves the way I’m treating her. I have never struck her and I could and she would take it and say nothing. That’s what she should get and she’s only being treated just as she deserves.”

“You have that power, but what happens if someday you do strike her. Suddenly she realizes that letting you humiliate her will never be enough and her trying to atone for what she did will never bring her back into your heart. Damn it man, Mable still loves you. If you go too far, her love will turn to hate and she’ll realize that you are a wife abuser even it isn’t that physical. She could someday decide she has had enough and leaves you. What are you going to do then?

“I saw the way you were treating her at the airport this morning. You made her sit out in the cold on your luggage while you stayed inside where it was warm. I felt shame, Henry. I was a bit shamed too because I am the bottom of it all. It was me who brought her infidelity to your attention when I was getting evidence on a woman I didn’t love. At present only the detective, two lawyers and the four of us who are the subjects know what this is all about.

“But if you persist in humiliating Mable, all your friends and associates will find out why you are treating her in such a horrible way. At that time Mable will become the victim and you are just a mean old man. You’ve been a great friend of mine, but in this case I’ve had to speak up.”

Henry stared at me.  “You’re turning on me boy, and I’m surprised. I just lent you $100,000 and you’ve also asked me to give you a contract to produce some of the things I use in my business. I have a check made out in your name for wages through the first of the year. You’re hurting me terribly. First my wife and now the man I’ve loved like a son. Remember you are the one who turned up the evidence of what she was.” Henry was shaking his head, looking down at the table.

Suddenly his head came up and he looked at Kitten, “Kittery how come you’re pregnant and when did you get knocked up?”

“It’s a long story, Dad. I’ll be seven months pregnant the third of January. How did I get this way? Well the usual way most women get pregnant. I was at a party and I had a chance to get into bed with a person I thought a lot of. He had been drugged and was drunk. He didn’t even know it was me when I reached for him. You can say I seized the moment while I was seizing the one thing I have wanted since I first met him as a teenager. The person never knew but what he was making love to his wife.

“I don’t regret it for one minute. This man you are so disappointed in has agreed to lend me his name to put on my baby’s birth certificate. He may even give me his name to add to mine when he is free to do so.”

Mable made the connection immediately. “It’s, Howard’s baby isn’t it? He was married on June third to Lorna.”

“I didn’t say that Mom, but I did get knocked up that night.”

“Kittery, you’re no better than your mother.”

“Maybe I am Dad, but if Howard gives me his name, he won’t treat me like you are treating Mom. Dad, you may think Howard has turned against you, but he hasn’t. He sees injustice in how you are treating Mom. The money you lent him is easily resolved. He has a mortgage deed on his property all made out to give to you so you won’t be out of anything. Sure, he has asked for work from you, but he has run the numbers and you’ll be saving money on the deal better than doing the work right in your own factory.”

“Kittery, you’re acting awful independent for a girl who got knocked up and is without a husband.”

“Dad and Mom, I’ve had to be independent and Aunt Mary has too.  It all goes back to Grandma Hetty Comstock. Mom was her favorite and Aunt Mary, was out. Dad, you didn’t like her either, but you went along with Grandma. When Mom had Lorna, this pleased Grandma and she gave what love she had to Lorna, leaving me out the same way as Aunt Mary was. I’ve been out here since Lorna became engaged and I’ve caught the independent spirit. Howard has been out here a week and he has caught the same disease.

“Something else to think about. What would Grandma Hetty say if Mom and Lorna did what they did while she was alive? Would Grandma come down on them or would she find an excuse for her daughter and granddaughter? Aunt Mary and I are just independent enough so we really don’t care. I do care about how you treat Mom for your sake because it makes you look small and I have to have one parent to look up to.” Kitten paused and then said, “Guess I’ve said enough.”

Henry asked, “Kittery, why did you bring your Aunt Mary into this?”

“Because Aunt Mary felt the same about you when you married Mom the same way I felt about Howard when he became engaged to my sister. She felt she had to get away from you and I felt the same with Howard. I wasn’t contented and when the chance came, I grabbed Howard and then I grabbed him by his by dick.

“I saw a chance to have a little bit of Howard even when I couldn’t have all of him. I was six months along when he first found I was pregnant and he didn’t know it was his. He still foolishly resisted me until the last week when Lorna gave him his freedom and I took him to bed here.”

Mable, got into the conversation, “Kittery, I don’t understand what you are saying about my mother, Mary, and Lorna. Who figured this out; was it Howard?”

“No, certainly not; Aunt Mary and I figured it out. When children aren’t favored in the family unit, they talk to each other and figure out how to have some measure of happiness. Dad, you’ll have to stick with Mom now because Aunt Mary has gone out and found someone to be happy with. Me, well I stole the consummation baby from Lorna. Howard placed the seed in my womb that he thought he was placing in my sister’s on his wedding night.”

She looked around and then said, “Dad, Mom will have to make pies for tomorrow. Howard was going to, but I want to tell Mom all about how it is to have a consummation baby while Howard takes you over and shows you the business he just purchased.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised at his acumen and by the time you get back I think you will have changed your mind how to treat Mom about her screwing around on you.

“I say this because Howard is able to see things that most normal people wouldn’t. Howard thinks the world of you and he thinks you’re wrong on this. I hope so because it has been a long time since I’ve sat down to a holiday dinner with you. Let’s leave all our problems behind us while you are here. Please, Mom—Dad?”

Henry didn’t answer, but did get up and give Kitten a hug. Mable looked at me. What the hell? I hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Let’s go Henry, you know if you don’t want a mortgage on my house, I can give you one on the property I just bought. I figure I have about $125,000 extra equity in it.”

“Don’t talk money until I see what you got.” We were almost to Helena when he asked if he really was treating Mable badly.

“I think you are. If Mable becomes the underdog or victim when people see how you are treating her, they’ll forget she was a slut and go against you instead of her because they don’t know for certain that she was. That’s why I mentioned that so far there are so few people who know what she was doing. I certainly haven’t told anyone.  But I know she is a slut, and Hell, when we go to bed she acts like that with me.”

I didn’t say anything and then, “Henry, so you have your own personal slut. That can’t be all bad?”

“Mable is getting rewarded for that.”

“Explain.”

She’s getting the restaurant to manage any way she wants to, I’m even barred from the kitchen.”

“Does that bother you?’

“Of course it does.”

“So you aren’t quite happy what you have set up? Is she happy?”

“No,”

“Time to change the rules then. I’m going on what I see as the facts.”

“What are the facts as you see them?”

“The fact is that you two are still in love.”

“I think I’ve gone too far already to be able to change the rules.”

“I don’t believe it. Tonight when you get in bed talk to Mable and tell her you love her. Next, ask her what would make her happy. This would be the time to cease making demands. If she wants to get things back to before she began running around, tell her you would make the commitment to have your vows renewed, and start over in the marriage. I suspect she’ll go for that because the restaurant is a big deal for her.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because she has made you agree already to stay out of the kitchen.”

I looked up and realized I was in front of my new business. “Henry, this is it. I want your honest opinion on this.” I walked Henry through the expansions I intended to make. I quoted figures of what I knew it would take to make it happen. The major investment was going to be in more printers, but those didn’t need to be purchased all at once.”

“What kind of a crew do you have working for you?”

“Not sure yet. I’ve only watched half of them work. Those three will be good. The other three weren’t here on time, and I have mentioned what I expect of them. We’ll see on January, 4. They are all college kids out of school three years. The one whom I bought the place from was the seventh. He had never run a business before. They don’t know anything about working a daily job, but if they graduated school they must be intelligent enough. It will be up to me to train them. I’ve had great training, thanks to you.”

“Thanks Howard, I had to learn everything on my own and I think I’ve done well.”

We sat in the tiny little office and I told Henry more of my plans. He changed the subject, “Howard, so the baby Kittery is carrying is really yours?”

“I’m almost positive it is. I wasn’t aware of much of it. Why don’t you ask Kitten when we get back? You’ll hear it just the way I did. I think you will believe her just as I do.  Say, can we stop at a store on the way back. I only have one Christmas present for her. It’s a locket I bought before I came out this last time. I could tell she wanted a ring so I bought that and was waiting for tomorrow to give her the other.”

“I could buy Mable something, I guess. In fact I think I will. Let’s go into a jewelry store somewhere. I might find something I think she will like. What are you looking for?”

“A pin, I guess. I certainly can’t buy her any clothes. She might like a heart pin or brooch.”

“Mable is into collecting elephants. Maybe I’ll see one.” We went into town and I parked in front of the same jewelry store where Kitten had picked out rings. Henry was excited to think he was buying Mable a trinket. I think my advice for him to forgive Mable her transgressions were having some affect.

The jeweler brought out a tray of enameled brooches. I let Henry go first. He described what he wanted. There was one gray elephant in the tray. He pointed to it. “Is the eye, a diamond?”

“No, sir, its glass.”

“Can you replace it with a diamond and do it today?”

“It will be possible, but it will be late before you can pick it up. This is Christmas Eve and they are busy out back.” 

“That’s fine, I’ll take it.”

While I was waiting on Henry, I walked down the counter and looked at the brooches. I spotted just what I wanted. It was a black onyx pin of a cat. The eyes sparkled. They might be diamond. When the jeweler returned, I asked. He looked at me. “Prentice … I never forget a face. You bought a ring that your wife picked out. Kittery … lovely name.”

“I’m Kittery’s father.”

“You must be proud that you’re going to be a grandfather. Is this child going to be your first grandchild?”

“I hadn’t thought about the baby being my first. Yes, I’m proud, in fact, I’m damned proud. I only found out a couple hours ago. Guess it hasn’t sunk in.”

The jeweler turned back to me and got the pin out and handed it to me. “Yes, these are diamond chips. Anything larger would throw the proportion of the pin off. This is a well made pin without any flaws. Kittery will love it. It is for her isn’t it?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll box this for you. Will there be anything else?”

“How much is that pony brooch?  Kittery wanted to get something for her Aunt Mary. The Aunt has been like a mother to her.”

I was quoted a price and it was well within my budget. “I’ll take that too.” Again I heard the jeweler ask if we needed anything else. We looked around and guessed not.

Then Henry spoke up, “Why don’t you put a diamond eye in the pony and Kittery and I will give it to Mary together. She is my sister-in-law. Okay with you, Howard?”

“Sure, that’ll be fine.” 

“These are wonderful gifts. I’ll go put a rush on these diamonds. You can wait it won’t be long.” I settled my bill. I left my purchases with Henry’s. There was a package store across the street.

“Henry, I’m going across the street and get some liquor. I know what you drink. Maybe I’ll get some sparkling wine for the women. I’ll be right back.” The lines were long and I had to wait a half hour and then ten minutes to get back across the street.

Henry was putting the packages into a bag when I came in. “I had these wrapped in Christmas paper while you were gone. Let’s go home, I’m hungry. Pies should be done and I need coffee

                                ________________________

“Coffee, Dad?”

“Please, Honey.”

Mable came in tentatively, and sat across the table. “Henry, does Howard’s little factory have viable prospects?

“Yeah, it has. I’m giving him the business he asked for. I’ll save some money, not much but enough to pay for me to change over. He will do both the designing and then do the production.”

“What does it take to design what you need?”

“If I have a small set of tools I want packaged, I’m going to send him the tools and he writes code on the C.A.D app he has on his computer and then when he has it written he feeds that into the 3 D printer, turn it on and it automatically builds it. He’s thinking of making the package in different colors for different sizes of tools. He’s done a little of this when he was in the factory. This will be a production factory using plastic, where my production factory is producing metal tools. Whoever buys a set of tools and keeps them all together they will last a lifetime.”

“Will he make a living at this? He’s going to have a wife and baby very shortly.”

“He laid it all out to me and I’m positive he will. Speaking about a baby, Kittery, tell me in your own words so I can understand why you call the baby a Consummation Baby.”

Mable spoke up, “Henry, she has told me already. Lorna was doing Howard a great wrong and Kittery took advantage of the situation.”

“Well, let her tell me.”

Kitten started right where Henry, she, and my best man had dumped my drunk and drugged ass on the couch.  How I fell off the couch. How she guiding me down the hall with me hearing Lorna having sex in my old room. How she got me into bed, removed my clothes, and where when I thought she was my just married wife I had proceeded to consummate my marriage.

“Dad, I knew it was wrong, but it was wrong for what Lorna did. She admitted to him that she went along with cheating on him. She doesn’t even know I am pregnant yet. No one has told her. I don’t even feel guilty about what I did either. Dad, I’ve been so in love with Howard for so long and I’m so happy. Just as soon as he is free he wants to marry me.”

“I’m happy for you. Just as side note, I suspect Lorna will be glad she is going to be single soon as well.”

“Yeah, and it will be the man she was screwing the night I tricked Howard into giving me a baby.”

“Do you know that for sure?”

“I do, I watched her lead him into Howard’s old room. I was there sitting in the corner watching over Howard in case he got sick and choked or something.” She glanced outside and the sun had set.

“Howard, will you do the horses tonight. Dad can help.”

“No way.”

Mable spoke, “I’ll help Howard. I’ve had a nice talk with Kittery today and I need some air. What do I have to do?”

“Put on one of Kitten’s heavy coats and a hat. This doesn’t take long. Kitten cleaned them this morning while I was picking you up at the airport.”  We had to go around to the back of the house and the cold wind hit us right in the face. It was fairly warm in the little barn. There was however white whiskers around their noses which made Mable laugh.

“Howard, is there any hope that Henry will ever forgive me?”

“I tried to soften him up today. I can’t really tell how I did. One thing I will say, if you make a promise to be true to him and you break that promise, I’ll get those videos and post them on YouTube. So it is up to you.”

“I’ll remember that. Can we go inside now?”

“Yes.”

“That didn’t take long.”

“That’s because it’s cold out there. The stars are all out. Singing Silent Night seems apropos.”

“I can’t sing. I could eat something, though. Kittery, can you make SOS like Howard?”

“I don’t even know what it is.”

“Howard, have you got any Hamburger in the fridge?” I nodded. “Mable, you watch how he makes it.”

Kitten and Mable followed me into the kitchen. I peeled an onion and sliced it fine. I looked at it and peeled another, slicing half of it. I put this into a fry pan with quite a lot of butter. I took two pounds of Hamburg and crumbled it up in the pan. “The onion doesn’t have to be done, just softened somewhat.” I doused it good with Worcestershire sauce and put in some minced garlic. I put in a minimal amount of black pepper and a half spoon of salt. I let it fry until it began to brown.

I mixed up flour and water for a thickening. I dumped in more than a quart and half of milk and stirred in the thickening. “Kitten, please toast eight slices of bread and have another four slices ready to toast if we want more. I’ll need a good-sized mixing bowl to put the gravy in. The toast is sunk right into the bowl and it doesn’t have to get too soft. Put one slice onto each plate with a pat of butter on top. Set the bowl in the middle of the table and let’s eat. I’ll drink beer with mine.” Again the bowl was scraped by Henry to cover the last slice of toast.

“Mable, at least once a week, when I come visit your restaurant, would you please make that for me just as near as you can the way Howard made it?”

“Henry, I’ll do better than that. This will be on the Bistro’s menu as Henry’s SOS. What does SOS stand for?” I thought Henry would die laughing at Mable.

When Henry told her what SOS stood for, she soberly said, “Henry, I will figure out some way to present that on both menus for the restaurant and for the Bistro.”

“Thank you, Honey.”

“I know; I’ll have one free small draft beer served with each order. How’s that for making my husband famous?”

I went into the kitchen for another beer. Kitten followed me. “Howard, you’re a fuckin’ genus. How did you do that? I turned and grinned at her, “What?”

“Mom and Dad are in love again.”

“Kitten, they’ve always been in love. Look, only those in the family know what your mother and Lorna were doing. I couldn’t go back to Lorna because since I never did love her like I love you. Your mother knew the minute she received the divorce papers that she had lost the one she really loved. She’s willingly been doing terribly humiliating things just to get Henry’s love back, but that would never work. Soon they would end up hating each other. I did talk to Henry today and I guess I said the right things. Hey, it’s Christmas and I believe it is going to be a great one.”

“I think so too.  Ooh, the baby just let me know he agrees; he kicked me hard.” I reached around Kitten and rubbed her belly. She backed away, “Don’t do that. Mom is here.” She was grinning though and covered my hand with hers. “Howard I’m going to call Aunt Mary and see if she has any Christmas decorations I’m feeling festive.”

She went to the telephone. “Hi Aunt Mary, am I disturbing you? I just wanted tell you Mom and Dad are here for Christmas tomorrow and not going home until Sunday. Do you have any Christmas decoration? I’m feeling festive … Okay, I’ll look there for them. Howard is here and he bought a business and is living with me. Actually I feel married already. I’m getting all the benefits anyway. Can you come home before Mom leaves? … Okay I’ll see you then. How is your new man … You’ll have to tell me all about him. Bring him with you so he can meet Howard. Love you and Howard does too. Bye.”

Kitten said, “Aunt Mary has a ceramic Christmas tree and a few decorations we can put around the room. Let’s go dig them out. She said if she didn’t get here tomorrow she would come early on Saturday.”

We went by Henry and Mable. They weren’t having intercourse, but it wouldn’t be long. We dug around in the back of the closet where Mary had said Kitten could find the Christmas tree. It was in the room where we were sleeping. “Whew, that was difficult. I should have had you get it. I have to sit down.”

Kitten backed up to the bed and sat down. I sat down beside her and reached over and rubbed her tummy. “Howard, no, Mom and Dad are downstairs.”

“I know, but they went into the back bedroom. I’m not the only one rubbing a tummy. Ignore them; Henry has to make up for treating Mable like a slut. Mable has to apologize for being a one. Besides, make-up sex is the best kind.”

“So they say.”

“I’ll bet regular sex with the man who is the father of the baby you are carrying isn’t that bad either.”

When Henry and Mable showed up later, Kitten and I had the box decorations with the Christmas tree and stuff arranged. Henry looked a little sheepish but happy. Mable was humming Christmas Carols. “

“Henry, haven’t we got some packages to put around the tree?”

“We do, all they need is who they are addressed for and who they are from. I marked them with a small letter in pencil so they wouldn’t get mixed up. Shall we open them now?”

“Let’s have a drink to celebrate before we do. Mable, would you like a glass of eggnog with something in it. I have some flavored brandy. Kitten, you can have plain eggnog or I have some sparkling grape juice. I have a bottle of rum for Henry and me to mix with ours.”

“I’ll have a cup of eggnog; just one though, I don’t want to get fat. Shouldn’t we have something to eat first?”

“Nah, we’ll have that baked cheese casserole after we open the presents.”

“I have two for you Mable.”

“You thought to get me presents, Henry?”

“I did, they really aren’t much, but I hope you like them.”

I wasn’t to be outdone.  “I have two for you Kitten; one I brought from home and one I bought this morning. Henry and I together bought a trinket for Mary as well.

“Aunt Mary will like that. You guys are so thoughtful. Howard, I didn’t get you but one thing. Well, two, but they go together.”

“I’ll love it, I know I will. Who wants their present first?”

“I want to give Mable the one I picked out.”

Henry picked up what I knew was the elephant with the diamond eye. He handed it her and leaned down and kissed her. She reverently opened it. The box flipped open and the diamond glittered. Henry said. “The eye was originally glass, but glass wasn’t good enough for you so I had it changed to a diamond.”

“Henry, it is so beautiful! This is the best of all my elephants.  Thank you so much.” She rose and hugged him.  I wondered for a minute if the two weren’t going to have sex right in front of us.

Kitten said, “Me next.” I handed her the locket I had brought with me. It was in a jewelry black box from a different Jeweler. It was gold and octagonal in shape. The chain was in the box with it, but not attached. It was mostly plain but there was an etched edge around it. It was made so both the hinge and the clasps were hidden. Kitten hadn’t figured it out and I took it and showed her how to open it and handed it back to her. She opened it and I had installed my image. It was just the bust from a snapshot.

Kitten didn’t say anything, just rising and hugging me. Henry said, “I also bought both of you something else.” He handed Mable and Kitten each a box.  They were diamond pendants on chains, quite long, made to rest in their cleavage. Kitten wasn’t tall so she would have to wear a low cut gown for it to show … or shorten the chain.

“I have one more little present for Kitten.”

I gave her the black onyx kitten pin. It shone and the eyes glittered.  “Oh the eyes are so bright.”

“That’s because they are diamond chips. Do you like it?”

“It is so beautiful.  I love the locket too. Now you will always be with me when I’m wearing it. I have a little present for you.”  She went into the kitchen and came back and handed me a box.

I opened it and it was a brass money clip and a leather wallet. “Your wallet is about worn out and I thought you needed a new one.  Dad and Mom, I didn’t get either of you anything, but I do love both of you. I’m so happy you are back treating each other as lovers.  Howard told me what had happened and it made me so sad. Dad, what’s in the other box by the Christmas tree?”

“That’s a brooch much like the one I gave Mable.  Howard and I went in on it together.  I’ll give it to Mary. She’ll be surprised because I haven’t given her anything for years.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a pony. Howard bought that and I exchanged the glass eye for a diamond.”

“Wow, you did a lot for the time you were away today. Oh, someone has to go in tomorrow and get the turkey, dressing, and gravy. Howard and I didn’t want to get up early enough to roast it in the morning. Howard, may I have some more eggnog?”

We settled down on the couches watching Home Alone. It wasn’t long before I was in one corner with Kitten’s head in my lap. I could reach under the blanket and rub her tummy. Her hands were holding it still after awhile. I think I dozed off when the phone rang. The movie was almost over.  “Mable, would you get that? Kitten is laying on me.”

The phone was in the kitchen and I could see Mable when she answered it. She picked it up and listened and suddenly looked at me. I heard her say, “I’ll send Howard after you. Yes, your father and I came out to see Mary and Kittery. Mary isn’t here, just your sister and Howard. Wait inside, its cold out. It’ll be a half hour before he gets there.  See you soon.”

“Who is it, Aunt Mary?”

“No, it’s your wife.”

“What in hell is she doing here?”

“She said something about Rod taking his kids to spend with their grandparents for Christmas. He didn’t think it right that Lorna should go with him so soon after the children’s mother died.”

“Does anyone want to go with me?” No one did so I headed out to get the woman I was still married to. I did take time to kiss Kitten and rub her tummy.

Passengers were still being picked up and I had to park away from the door. I walked down to the area and opened and slid by inside when a half dozen people were coming out. Lorna didn’t see me when I came up to her. “Lorna.”

“Hi Howard, surprised to see me?”

“Yeah, quite some. How have you been?”

“Good. You know about you having kids living in your house?”

“Yeah, lucky you had it to bring them to.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not. Tell Rod I’m sorry for his loss. He can stay as long as you want him to.”

“I was going to ask. That’s one of the reasons I came out. I didn’t know Mom and Dad were out here and I was surprised she answered the phone. Is Dad still treating Mom like shit? I wouldn’t put up with it, I’ll tell you that.”

“Um, yeah, neither would I. Ah, before we get home I have to tell you, I’m sleeping with Kitten now.”

“That’s sensible. Are you going to marry her?”

“I’m planning on it. She loves me. In fact she’s loved me ever since she first met me. I wish I could marry her soon.”

“Well maybe Santa Claus will come through for you.”

“I couldn’t be that lucky. Your Aunt Mary may be here tomorrow and has been staying with a guy who runs a dude ranch. I don’t even know where it is. It’s been nice having Kitten all to myself. Is Peters going to be your man?”

“I think so. We haven’t had sex yet. The last time we had sex was the night you and I were married. He’s still feeling guilty about it. He really did love his wife. I’m his paid housekeeper. I kind of like his kids. I feel sorry for them and they are becoming attached to me. We haven’t talked about the future at all. Oh, I’ve got some money for you for the rent that he paid me to give to you. The insurance covers rent until they settle on his house.”

“Lorna, Kitten and I would like to have a little meeting with you right after we get to the house. It doesn’t concern your parents. Maybe when we go to bed, you can come up with us?”

“Sure, we can all pile into bed together.” I started laughing. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing really, I was just thinking how incongruous the situation would be if we did.”

“I don’t see anything that funny.”

“You’ll see. We’re here in five minutes.” I pulled up in front. Lorna opened the door and I followed her into the living room. 

Mable and Henry had gone to bed. Kitten was curled up on the couch. She looked first at me not speaking to her sister. “Did you tell her yet?”

“Nope. This was your deal and I wasn’t involved when it started… well in way I guess I had to be. Any explaining has to come from you.”

Lorna was looking back and forth at us, upset a bit, but not surprised at Kittery for not acknowledging her. Kitten threw the blanket off and I gave her a hand getting up. She was almost seven months pregnant and getting up and down was beginning to be awkward for her.

“Howard, I could see now why you were laughing before, there isn’t room in bed for the three of us. Hi sis, is the baby, Howard's?”

“Yes, but it is going to take some explaining how I came to be pregnant. This baby I’m carrying is what I call a Consummation Baby. Howard consummated your marriage the night you were wed, but he did it with me not you. Oh, he believed he had made his marriage to you legal that night up until he came out to visit a month ago. I was six months along at that time. I have to think this is as much your baby as mine but you’ll never be more than Aunt.”

“Where was I when our baby was being made?” 

“You were in Howard’s bedroom getting it on with Rod Peters. I saw you go into the room with him and I felt sorry for Howard. I got Howard up and half carried him down to the room where he was to consummate his marriage with you. He was so out of it from the drug you fed him he didn’t know what was going on. I managed to undress him and I got into bed with him. I guided him into me, so we now are going to have a baby.”

“Howard, you must have known?”

“I didn’t. You said you and Peters got me drunk and gave me something to keep me out. I could see you had sex in the morning when I woke up and I thought it was you who I consummated the marriage with. For six months I believed it until I opened the door here and Kitten told me how her pregnancy came to be and how ecstatic she is having my baby.”

 Lorna looked at us. “Well, I must say this has worked out well for all of us. Congratulations! Oh, and I don’t know how she did it, but your attorney, Sarah, worked some magic and got us our waiver so we don’t have to wait six months for the final decree. We have been divorced since yesterday. You’ll get word by registered mail by Monday for certain.”

“Wow, I do think I may be responsible for the divorce waiting period to have been shortened. I told Sarah the situation with Kitten. She promised to see if she could do something about it so the baby would have my name on the birth certificate.”

“Well, isn’t this something? I was tickled when I received the notice that I was free. I will wait a decent time before asking Rod what his plans are concerning me. I’m hoping to start a relationship, but in deference to his wife, I’m not going to be making demands. Maybe if his kids like me enough over time, they will make it easier for me.” Lorna paused to think and then asked, “May I hug you and wish you both a Merry Christmas?”

Kitten and Lorna hugged first and then Kitten pushed me toward her sister, I hugged my ex-wife. “This calls for a drink.” I began walking toward the kitchen. I paused and turned back to Kitten, “Dear, will you marry me?”

“I will marry you anytime before the baby is born; or after it’s not possible before.” 

She turned to her sister. Lorna didn’t give her a chance to say anything, “Kittery, congratulations. I’m sure you will be happy with Howard. There was never anything wrong with Howard, I just didn’t love him and you do. Please, can I sleep with you and have some girl talk? I’ve had some rough times since I married Howard and none of it was his fault.”

Kitten looked at me and I laughed, “Okay, but you are the one that has to massage her limbs and back. I’ll get a good night’s sleep on the couch.”

Mable was the first one up. “Where’s Lorna?”

“She is sleeping with Kittery. They were going to have some girl talk. I’ll bet they’ll even talk about you.”

“Lorna better keep her mouth shut.”

“At least it will be kept in the family. Kitten should be brought up to what the rest of us know about you and Henry. I have never told her anything about you.”

“What do you know?”

“Quite a bit and I have the pictures to prove it.” Mable was quiet, not knowing what to say. I continued, “Mable, Henry has been like a father to me. I was hurting almost as much as he was when I saw those pictures of you. I would do nothing more to hurt you. I’ve talked to him and he has backed off from treating you like a slave or whatever. As far as I know, it is only us four and our attorneys who know about you and Lorna. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“I’m sure Lorna has told Kittery.”

“Probably. She won’t say anything if I ask her not to.”

“You’d do that? Howard why are you being so nice to me?”

“I just told you. I want Henry to be happy and he wasn’t when he saw those pictures of you. He felt he had to get even, but that is something he didn’t want to do after the first couple of days treating you like he was. I’m saying this because he could see how much you did love him, so he caved when I mentioned that I could see your love shining through. You do have a lot to do to keep his love from now on, though.”

“I will, Howard; last night was like going to heaven for me.”

“Nice talk, Mable. I hear my two wives coming down.”

“What do you mean, your two wives?”

“Kitten has been calling herself Mrs. Prentice and Lorna is still Mrs. Prentice. Pretty good for a man who isn’t married at the moment isn’t it?”

“You don’t mean that, do you?  Kittery loves you and Lorna may wish she wasn’t divorced someday.”

“I know, I was trying to make a funny, but there is nothing funny about it.”

Kitten and Lorna walked in and both asked, “Hi Mom, Dad not up yet?”

“No, I think I wore him out. God, do I ever love him. I love Howard almost as much for getting me back into your father’s good graces.”

Lorna spoke up, “I love him too for not treating me like the slut I was. He certainly showed me the error of my ways. Getting slammed with divorce papers is a wake up call. I’m walking the straight and narrow so I can make Rod notice me. I know what Rod is and I know he is a good man.”

Kitten laughed, “I love Rod too you know. If he hadn’t screwed you on your wedding night, I wouldn’t have this baby in me and the promise of marriage to Howard. I believe I’m the real winner here.”

I ignored the conversation. “Let’s have breakfast. Its Christmas morning and I have to go get the turkey by eleven. Did you order one big enough, Kitten?”

“I’m sure I did even if Aunt Mary is here. I ordered a twelve pound bird because I love leftovers. I hope she is coming. In fact I’m going to call her right now.” Kitten went into the living room. Ten minutes later she came back with Henry behind her.

“She and her boyfriend will be here by 1:00 o’clock. We’ll plan on eating at 2:00 if that’s okay.”

“Merry Christmas everyone. When Mary gets here that means our whole family will be together.” He paused and continued, “Here together and the happiest we have been in a long time. I know I am.”

We all spoke at once, “We are.”

Lorna informed us she was going to call the Rod Peters’ children to inquire about their Christmas. She went upstairs to Kitten’s bedroom to make the call. It was noon before she came back down about the same time as I returned with the turkey I had picked up.

“The Kids were ecstatic that I called. I had sent several presents with Rod for them to open. Rod was very appreciative. He misses his wife terribly, but thinks I’m pretty wonderful for filling in for her. He inquired if you would consider selling the house and then I wouldn’t have to move.

“He can’t imagine anyone else for his children and neither can the kid’s grandparents. They did talk to him about finding someone permanently. He says he wants me to continue living with him long-term. Nothing was said about a relationship, although I think I’m halfway there. Having my divorce final and I’m now without entanglements I’m certainly where I want to be.”

“Lorna, is this just you going after a man or is it for the children too?”

“Mom, it is for the kids as much as for Rod. My heart aches for their loss. When you meet them you’ll love them just like I do.”

“Did you tell Rod that you were spending the week with your ex-husband?”

“I did and I told him that my sister always had a thing for Howard. He asked if Howard felt the same way about you and I said you were planning to be married shortly. I haven’t explained about you having a baby and I may never.”

Mable spoke just then, “There is a big black vehicle stopping so that must be Mary. I haven’t seen her since Howard was married.” It was.

A big man got out and came around the back. He opened the deck and picked up a large box. It took both hands to hold it. Mary closed the back and headed for the house. Mable held the door open for them to enter. “Hey Sis, I’m glad you are out here. Mom, sorry I wasn’t here to greet you, but I got tied up with Ron. I met him a few weeks ago and I haven’t left his side for one minute. Kittery talked to me so I knew you were okay. Hi Henry, you’re looking well. Kit, come hug me and Howard, I’ll take one from you too. I understand you are divorced now. Lorna, how do you feel about that?”

“Aunt Mary, I’m okay with it. I’ll tell you why when we get a minute. Introduce us to your man. He sure is a big one.”

“Yeah, he’s big alright. He’s big where it counts too. Oops, sorry I shared that. This is Ron Blackburn and he runs a dude ranch about fifty miles from here. He needs some more horses for his ranch and I’m thinking about throwing mine in with his business.  Kittery, I have to talk to you about you living here. What I mean is it would help if you would stay here.”

“Howard can stay too, can’t he? He has purchased a business near town and as of yet we haven’t made any plans where we will be living. I like living here, but I miss you being gone.”

“Well, someone has to take care of my two pet horses, so we can work something out. How’s the baby?”

“The baby is fine, especially since Howard arrived. I swear he starts kicking the minute Howard speaks. The doctor said that was normal.  Come, let’s eat. We are all hungry, we can talk later.”

Ron related to us about running his dude ranch. He was a widower and appeared to be quite taken with Mary. They did have a lot in common with both having a business using horses. He had known Mary’s husband, but not well. “I’ve grabbed this little filly and she is just what I need. She understands horses and she understands me. I’m not ever letting her go.”

“Ron is just what I need too. When Howard came out here a month ago and I could see the love blossom between him and Kittery, I decided I would get off my butt and take a chance on the first available man. I ached for him and Kittery because I thought with him married to Lorna there was no chance for them having any happiness.”

Lorna spoke, “Don’t forget me, I’m responsible for that. I started out treating Howard terribly and then didn’t show him any respect by going wild. I’m glad he caught me because now we are both free to follow our heart.”

I asked, “So Mary, what are your plans now?”

“Ron has asked me to stay at the ranch with him for the winter until the horses return in the spring. There are only enough hands there to take care of keeping the yard free of snow and watching the roofs if the snow gets too heavy. We won’t even have to get out of bed if we don’t want to. If Howard and Kittery will watch my two pets, they can stay right here and watch my place.”

“Aunt, Mary, we will gladly do that for you. Maybe you can come down and help Howard a little when the baby comes early in March. There is a lot going on back east. Mom has a new business to get started and Lorna has a family she is taking care of.

Aunt Mary looked at Lorna, “Tell me about this family.”

Lorna explained. When she finished, Ron spoke up, “Bring your new man and the kids out and we’ll show them what it’s like to live on a ranch. There is always a lot going on. I have campfire sings and I usually have a couple celebrity singers come in for entertainment in August. It’s crowded because I open it up for the public. Just let us know a month ahead of time when you are free so Mary can pencil in a reservation. Mable and Henry, that goes for you too.”

We slept after the big dinner we had consumed, Aunt Marry remembered she had a blow-up mattress so she got it out and put it on the floor. Lorna was supposed to sleep on that tonight, but I said I would rather there than the couch. The sisters could sleep together again tonight.

Chapter Five

Saturday morning I informed everyone that I was going over to J B Enterprises. I would do some planning on the way I was going to rearrange the business. Ron and Henry decided they would go with me. We got there and I began thinking  out loud, “There is room down near the loading dock. I’ll make the extra space into two offices and along the back opposite of the dock, I’ll have the packing and shipping right on the dock level. There is room on that level for the restroom and a break room

“Where the office is now, there is water, the heating plant and the electrical entrance. Just inside, the first two benches and machines will be where the prototypes and will be created on those two computers. That leaves me five extra laptops that aren’t needed after I get things organized. The printers will be used for production on the remaining stations. I was thinking I would have two rows of printers, but looking at the room there may be three rows without being too crowded. That’ll give me twenty-four or thirty-six more printers for production.

“You’ll need a restroom and someplace for your help to eat lunch.”

“You’re right Henry. Let me think, I shouldn’t need more than one bathroom. It’ll have to be unisex, because I’ll be hiring some women for operators. Maybe it’ll be kept cleaner than what these guys have kept this one. These workers I’m inheriting are not long out of college and still are somewhat in that same lifestyle. That includes John Becker whom I bought out. I’ll be hiring older workers and some of them will be women with families. That is the mix of employees that you have in your in your factory and you have  been highly successful.”

“You’ll need a toilet in that area too.”

“I guess.”

Ron asked, “How are you financing this? All this sounds like a lot of money going out.”

“Lorna is going to buy my house.”

“She’ll only be paying half won’t she since you’re getting divorced?”

“No, she’s paying full price because it was mine. We have divided things to both our satisfaction already. This is something new. I owe Henry $100,000 on what I borrowed to buy this business, but I still have three quarters of the value when I pay him off. I think I can get tax abatement if I’m providing another dozen jobs for at least five years and maybe ten.”

“How do you know you can do this?”

“I had a good teacher. I have watched Henry and asked questions. I had the office next to him and he had me in when business was conducted.”

“Ron, don’t fear for Howard. He’ll come out on top.”

“And you know this how, Henry?”

“Because he was my right hand man in all things. He made me more money than any other two of my employees.”

“Oh.”

I looked toward the door when I heard it open. John Becker was standing there ready to say something, “I thought you might be here looking over your new business. I’m kind of at loose ends before leaving tomorrow. The guys and I have been together for a few years and I’ll miss them.”

I spoke, “I would imagine. What are your plans?”

“Don’t have any, really. I’m going to go see my folks. I have to face them sometime. I’ll be looking for work seeing as I failed in this one. I don’t suppose you would hire me, would you?”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t afford to put another person on until I get this going. I’m sorry about that. A year from now, I might. I hope I will need a salesman by then. And if my plans turn out, I’ll need a floor manager as well. If you could find something to do for a year, I’d consider you. That way you would be back with your friends when I hired you.”

Henry spoke up, “Why don’t you become an intern for me back east. Howard is still my son-in-law and I know he will be a success here and will need extra help in the future. I can teach you what you need to know as time goes on to make him more of a success. You won’t be getting much money, but it will be enough to live on.  Hell, I’ll even put you up. The wife and I are opening up a new business and the house will be empty a lot.”

“John, there you go, there is your future all laid out for you and you will be back with the skills I need and with your friends again. Henry will push you and he is a bit of a prick sometimes, but you’ll be an asset when you come back a year from now.”

“Thanks, I’ll consider it. I’ll go see my Mom and Dad and maybe they won’t give up on me if I have a place to land. I’ll just explain that it is like going back to school. I’ll be at your door the first of the year. Would that be okay?”

“That will work. Hey today, follow us back to Howard’s house and meet the family.” We walked toward the back of the building and I laid out more of the plans I had thought I would make the business better.

We didn’t stay long. When we got outside, I said to John, “Follow me and when we get there, I’ll talk to you before we go inside. The family is a little mixed up and I’ll explain.”

“Are you sure it is okay?”

“It is or I wouldn’t have said so.”

Ron and Henry went inside and I slid into John’s car.  “First, you’ll meet two older women. Mable is Henry’s wife and her sister Mary, who is with Ron whom you just met. The two younger women are Kittery whom you met before. She is pregnant and will soon be my wife. Her sister, the tall, pretty one, is named Lorna. She was my wife up until the day before yesterday. We are divorced. Both are daughters of Henry and Mable. Questions?”

“Nothing about your family I need to know, but I have a question about Henry. Why would he be interested in me?”

“Henry has always had a young person in training. Someone took him under his wing just out of college and he has continued the practice when he got into the same situation where he could. Most have done well for him. He has a man named Hamilton who replaced me when I moved up. He kept me around when Lorna became interested in me. It is a good practice to promote people. I warn you he’ll work your butt off and sometimes you’ll get pissed at him, but I found out it is well worth being under his wing.

“I suspect he made the decision to have you with him when I said I’d be interested in you coming back to your old business next year. Henry likes me and we’ve been through the fire together so-to-speak. And to top it off, I am going to marry Kittery, his pregnant daughter.”

“You said you were married to the other daughter. How did that come about?”

“I just picked the wrong daughter to love the first time out. Now Lorna has a widower with two children she is interested in, so she may soon be as happy as I am. Guess that’s all you need to know.

“That’s more than plenty.”

“Okay, let’s go inside.”

Kittery welcomed John, wondering why he was with me. Henry explained, “John is going to be my intern for a year. If he does well and Howard’s business is large enough to need someone other than a regular employee, Howard may hire him.”

Mable asked, “Are you traveling back east with us?”

“No, I’m visiting my parents, but I will be there the first of the year. I’m happy Henry has asked me. That may soften the blow with my dad when I tell him I lost the business. Telling them I’m going to become an intern in a modern factory. They will believe that I’ve gone back to continue my education. And I have the promise of a position after a year if I do well. I won’t be lying either.”

“I will back you up if need be.”

“Thanks Howard. Henry, I have your home address and you said I could room at your home. I’ll be in two days early. I probably can find a sports bar to visit for the New Year’s celebration.”

“Mable and I will take you with us when we go out for the evening.”

“Thank you. I’ll take off. I want to say goodbye to the guys and then I’m flying to California and my parents. I’m leaving my car here and I’ll pick it up some other time.”

“Hey, use my car when you get to Henry’s. Maybe Henry will give you time off to drive it out for me and pick up your own sometime. You can see your friends and how I’m doing.”

“That would work. I’d be glad to.” John left and Kitten spoke, “I like him. Howard maybe you should have become his partner rather than buying him out.”

“No, that wouldn’t have worked and it wouldn’t have worked if I had hired him as an operator either. There can only be one boss of an operation of this size. I do hope he does come back for an interview after he learns what Henry teaches him about good work practices.” Both Henry and Ron Blackburn agreed with me.

We sat around that evening talking about our lives. Ron filled us in how he had ended up running the dude ranch. Henry got off on Hetty Comstock, Mable and Mary’s mother. Mable realized just how much she had been favored over her sister, Mary.

Kittery spoke up and said, “Yes, mother, and you turned around and did the same thing, favoring Lorna over me. That’s okay, because Howard is going to make me happy the rest of my life.”

“Kitten, don’t go there.”

“Howard, Kittery is right and I have favored Lorna. Right here and now, I’m apologizing for that. One reason was because I thought she would give me my first grandchild. Lorna didn’t, but Kittery will. I won’t explain, but Lorna has turned out just like her mother by thinking of herself rather than other people. It looks as if she has changed. She is now caring for two children who need her. I can live with stepchildren, but I will cherish the child that Kittery and Howard are having making me a grandmother.”

Mable stopped talking and then went on, “I didn’t care much for you, Howard. In fact, I can tell you I hated you. I blamed you for Henry finding out what a poor wife I was to him. I was the poorest of wife and was willing to do penance for what I did. I still love him and somehow he still loves me. I don’t know how you did it but you lifted that penance from me and I’m back in Henry’s arms again.”

I couldn’t stand this. “Mable, stop it you’re going to make me cry.”

“Okay for now. Henry and I weren’t blessed with a son, but you have to marry Kittery as soon as possible so we can call you son again. When are you two getting married, anyway?”

“We haven’t discussed it. Kitten, I guess that’s your department.”

“Howard, we are going in and get a license just as soon as your divorce decree arrives. I think we have to wait three days after we get a license. It will be this week sometime.”

“That’s great.

Lorna spoke. “I can’t be here. Rod will be back with the kids tomorrow by the time I get home.”

Henry said he couldn’t be here either. I looked at Mary and Ron. “Aunt Mary, can you be here to see us married?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. How about you Ron?”

“Hell, yes, I’ll be here. Got to give that kid a father. Mary was telling me how Kittery got pregnant and how she joked about what she called the baby.”

There was dead silence and everyone looked at Kitten. Kitten’s face was red. Henry had to ask, “Kittery, what are you calling the baby?”

“Dad, I call this my Consummation Baby. Lorna was otherwise occupied when Howard came to the marriage bed to consummate his marriage. I just happened to be there for him.”

Lorna asked, “Kit, are you sorry?”

“God, no. I’m so happy and I’ll be happier by the end of the week.”

“I’m happy for you too. I guess if there is any blame to be had it is on me. I was in the same situation as Mom was with Dad and Howard treated me better than I deserved. Not only that he asked that our marriage be terminated and I asked for a waiver­ … and it has been granted. So Sis, I guess you’re the first one in our family to be married with true love.” Lorna choked up. “Lucky you.” She turned and went upstairs.

Mable, Mary, and Kitten immediately got up and followed her. Kitten was slow, but determined not to be very far behind. Henry asked, “Is there anything to drink?” Ron and Henry got into a bottle of bourbon. I opened a beer.

When finished, I went up stairs. Mable and Mary were in Mary’s room, one sitting on the bed and the other in a chair. Kitten and Lorna were in our room. They were lying on the bed holding hands. Their eyes turned toward me as I entered. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s great Howard. Lorna and I have decided that the baby is going to be your baby because you created it legally when you consummated your marriage. Lorna wasn’t there when she should have been and I was there when I shouldn’t have been. As long as you are here, I’m keeping the baby with you. Lorna is going to be Godmother and favorite Aunt.”

“That would make me happy. In return when Lorna has a baby, can Kitten and I be the child’s favorite aunt and uncle?”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Howard, I do have one request. Would you treat Rod Peters as if you weren’t aware that he was with me when I should have been with you? Honestly, he has mentioned how guilty he feels about it. He has felt guilty enough to wonder if that was why his wife died to pay him back for being unfaithful.”

“Lorna, I’m serious when you tell him how sorry I am that he lost his wife and I’m so very sad his children lost their mother.”

Lorna turned to Kitten. “Kit, you got yourself quite a man there. I know he is slightly used, but cherish him.” Lorna looked up at me, “Any regrets, Howard?”

“Absolutely not. Hey, come back down stairs before your father gets too drunk. I found a bottle for him and he and Ron are sucking on it. Maybe you had better collect your mother and Aunt Mary and we’ll all go down together.”

—————————————

Henry and Mable flew out for the east at eight-thirty the next morning. Lorna’s flight was for the same destination two hours later. We had purchased another bag and filled it full of small toys at the mall for the two children. It would be a little difficult to get it on the plane, but Lorna didn’t object. 

Lorna called from home the next morning while I was feeding Mary’s two pets. Mary of course was with me and had something to say. “Howard, this was the best Christmas I have ever had. I really feel like I have a sister who loves me and she and Henry are closer to me then they have ever been. Kittery feels the same way about her mother and father.  She said she and Lorna are going to be talking a lot. God, a month ago we both felt abandoned and didn’t see as it was ever going to change.”

“That would be about the time I came out and discovered I was going to be the father to a child and came to the realization that it was Kitten whom I had loved all this time.”

“I’d say so. That was when I saw how much she loved you and it made me get off my butt and find a man for myself—and boy did I ever.”

Ron and Mary were leaving later that day, but would be back for the wedding as soon as we had it arranged.  The mail did hold my divorce, coming just before noon and Mary hadn’t left yet. The four of us went into Helena to the city desk and Kitten and I spoke to a clerk, asking for a license to marry.

We had downloaded the forms and had them filled out. I was questioned about my address where I was living. I stated that I had just purchased a business within the last week on the edge of the city and hadn’t had time to have my post office address established. For now I would use my business address until I was married and then use my bride’s as I was already living there.

“Do you have any paperwork to buttress the fact that you are indeed divorced?”

“Yes, it came this morning. It was sent by my attorney to my fiancée’s address.”

The clerk looked at it. “This says you received a marriage waiver. The dates are good and means you are now divorced.”

“Great. How long before we can get married?”

“Anytime … today if you wish. If your bride hadn’t been prepared and brought in the information from her doctor, you might have had to wait three days and sign a waiver. But you must be anxious. The fee for the license is $53 to be paid in cash.”

I got a receipt and as he handed it to me, he said, “Knock on that door and ask the person inside.  He will be able to marry you if he is free. Have a nice day.”  Kitten never hesitated, and in a minute she was knocking on the door.

This wasn’t a marriage to be remembered. There no flowers and no pictures. Twenty minutes later, though, Kitten and I walked out of that room as husband and wife.

“Come on, Mr. and Mrs. Prentice, Mary and I are taking you out to dinner.”

I apologized to Kitten, “Honey, we could have waited and made this a more memorial wedding.”

“Howard, I didn’t want to wait. Just think; this baby I’m carrying now has a father. This has been my wish ever since I found out I was pregnant. It couldn’t get any better for me.”

“Me either, Kitten.”

———————————

We had an early dinner. Actually it was just as the dining room opened at a famous name hotel. Ron said, “Why don’t you kids stay here tonight?  Mary and I will go back and take care of the two horses. You can call room service if you want a drink or a late night snack.”

I looked at Kitten. She was shaking her head, no. “Aunt Mary, I really want to go home and be with my new husband. It isn’t just to consummate our marriage. We did that almost seven months ago. I suppose I’ve felt guilty about stealing something from my sister and I want to wake up in our bed in the morning knowing everything is alright with the world. I can’t do that waking up in a hotel room.”

Aunt Mary understood, “Okay, Ron and I will go along to the ranch. He hates to be away too long. Call me. We most likely will be back for dinner next Sunday to see how married life is.”

I opened my arms and Mary came into them for a hug. “Aunt Mary, I’m so glad you were here to be with us when we married. I’ll treasure the memories of this event for the rest of my life and I’m so pleased you were a part of it. Ron, I thank you too and take care of my one and only Aunt.”

“I will. Take care; we’ll be back in a few days.” We watched them drive away.

“Kitten … Mrs. Prentice, let’s go home.”

———————————

We reached home and did chores. I didn’t muck out the two horses, just raking it back where they wouldn’t pack it down and they would stand level. I’d do that in the morning. Neither of us was hungry. Kitten came up with the idea to lie on the living room floor on the couch cushions and snuggle together. Mary had a small pellet stove for added on heat, so we started that. We were positioned where the hot air would blow on us and we would be nice and comfortable until we got too warm.

Kitten laid with her back to me and I had my hand over her on her tummy.”I love you, you know?”

“I know, Kitten. I don’t believe I have ever been this happy.”

“Think of me what I have been through? Who would believe that I would be married before this year ended? You’re with me and we are soon to have a baby.  You have a business and Mary said we could make this our home. I was thinking, can I get through work and help you get the business up and running ... Just until the baby comes, anyway?”

“I’d love to have you. I have a dozen things to do. I have to make up a business model because I’m going to need money from a bank at different times.  I think your father will help with getting me credit at the bank. I want to make lists when I start an ad campaign. I can’t make this business work with the little client list that Becker has been working with. I’ll need at least twice this and maybe fourfold before I’m comfortable.

“I want to have a plan to go to the city and get the taxes abated for a period of five years, that’s the usual time span. I’ll be hiring more help and I may even be able to expand into another building. I’ll drop that in the attorney’s lap and he can guide me.”

“You have great plans.”

“I do. I want to clean up the orders I have as soon as possible. I’ll use the help I have to train them to work the same way I learned from your father. They will be happier for it when they see more money in their pay envelope.”

“Are we going over there tomorrow?”

“Only if you want to. I promised that you come first and I meant every word of it.  I was wondering if you didn’t want to do some honeymoon things at least for the rest of the week.  You never had one before.”

Kitten giggled, “I had my honeymoon months ago and I have the evidence to prove it.  I think we should get your business organized starting tomorrow.”

“Okay, Kitten, we’ll do that. We’ll plan on working only a few hours and find something fun to do in the evenings.”

“Speaking about fun things, I think your wife of only a few hours needs some attention.

——————————

We didn’t hurry in the morning, but we did reach the business a little after 9:00. I had a chalk and a tape rule with me.  I wanted to mark out a dozen new work stations. I would order lumber and have one or two of my operators that wanted to stay over build them some evening. I’d plan on two weeks to get a dozen new machines here and by that time the stations would be completed. Kitten was writing down what I needed to build with.

“Howard, we have company.” I got off the floor and looked toward the door. Three men stood there uncertainly.

I walked toward them.  “Can I help you?

“We were looking for John Becker, hoping he would be here even though he might be closed for the holidays. We have a project he might help us with.”

“John sold out to me last week and has left the area. My name is Howard Prentice and I’m continuing with the business he was in. What’s the project?  I’m not too busy at present and don’t have very much ahead of me.”

“Well, I guess we could explain. I’m Joe Graziola and I’m into high-end home building. John and my nephew went to university together and that’s why we are checking his business out.”

“How big a project is it and when would you have to have it completed?”

“The project is to build a village in a gated housing project. There are 267 separate houses, most of different styles and designs. We want a prototype of each house built to scale.  The architect has the land prototype almost finished in place. It is quite large being over thirty-four feet long and half as wide. It is being built and installed in the foyer of my corporate office building. This is just for advertising purposes when we get ready to sell the different properties.”

“This sounds expensive?”

“Yeah, even the smaller properties will be going for about a million and the larger ones for a few million. We have an artist rendering showing which each house will look like. We are going all out.”

“You know when these objects are finished they will look like just what they are. They will be plastic and generally the same color with little variation.”

“I know but if need be we’ll have to hire them painted.”

I started shaking my head. “That will cost you a fortune and can’t help but look like a kid’s toy.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?”

“I might have an idea. First, can you show me what the project details are? I mean if you have a house that is sixty feet long, I want to know what size the prototype will be. You said everything is to be to scale. I’ll need your figures to punch into the computer and let the app do the rest.”

“We have the architect blueprints. Can you take what you need off of those?”

“Perfect. Get me the smallest one and one of the bigger buildings. I’ll need to look at all the different sizes to give you an estimate of what this will cost to build these.” One of the younger men scurried out to his vehicle to get what I asked for.

“Have you done this before?”

“Yes, just not house prototypes, but the method is the same for most prototypes. My father-in-law owns a tool factory and I was his engineer working in designing tools. Medical instruments were what I specialized in. I decided to strike out on my own and I ran into John Becker. He is starting work with my father-in-law on Monday to replace me. John may come back and go in with me after he polishes his skills with Henry in the factory.”

Kitten had been ignored while I was talking.  “Before we get started on this, meet Kittery Prentice, my wife. She is my partner in this operation.”

Joe acknowledged Kitten, “Hey, I like your name. Guess I’ve never run into that one before.”

“Thank you, Howard calls me kitten, but most people call me Kit.”

There was room on the last station in line to spread out the blue print. I was asked if I could read it. “Yeah, how big do you plan on the footprint for each dwelling? They should all be to the same scale. It will be easier.”

“Of course. All the lots are one and two acres. Most lots are irregular in shape and the homes will be placed randomly to keep away from a cookie-cutter affect. If the footprint is all the same for the buildingsm, it all will be relative.”

“Explain a little more of what you mean, if you would.”

“Okay, an acre of land is approximately 44,000 square feet. We were thinking of using 50 square ft equals .2 square inch.”

“That still would still be quite sizable. A prototype of a 50 by 35 foot times .2 inch building would be 10 by7 inches. I would suggest a .15. That would be a size object of 7.5 inch by 5.25 inch. That should be large enough for what you need. Another question: are there any outbuildings like sheds, garages, barns, etc., going to be on the plot? They would have to be crafted the same way.”

“Yeah, and sometimes there will be a gazebo as well.”

I did quick figuring in my head. “That means there could be 1500 separate prototypes to manufacture. This could take awhile.”

“That’s about right. Do you think you could handle that?”

God, I wanted this job! I reluctantly shook my head, no. “I’m not geared up to handle that amount of business at present. I could format the design and make up the code without any problem in a short time, but as you can see, I was here marking out stations to place another two dozen machines. I have to upgrade my power source. I haven’t even contacted the power company yet.”

“How long ago did you buy out Becker?”

“Last Thursday.  I had family in for the holiday. Kittery and I were married yesterday. I have a six man crew that will be back to work next Monday. That’s pretty much my situation. I think I have enough financing to buy what I need if the sale on some property I own goes through and I’m almost positive about that.”

“You must be tearing your hair out over the uncertainty of everything?”

“Not really. I was second in command of my father-in-laws factory and if something doesn’t work out today, there are more good days around the corner. And a person can’t always take advantage of every opportunity.

“How long before you think you can get set up?”

“I can get the machines I need here in a week, but I need the stations built. That’s just carpentry and then there is the wiring. I also have to clear the work I have. It will take two weeks to complete, but that can be ongoing while the other is taking place. I should have everything ready for new orders to be worked on by February first.”

The door slammed and the young man came in with two packets of blue prints.  I took the small one and spread it out. There was the main building, a two-car garage, and equipment shed. There was also a small changing house for a swimming pool. An artist had done a colored pencil sketch of each building on a separate piece of paper.

“You know I can build these objects to fit, but they will just look like shaped blocks of plastic when they come out of the printers. How are you going to dress them up to look like buildings with windows, doors, different types of roof material and different sidings on the walls? Some will have fireplace chimneys and those I’m sure will be stone or brick.”

“Geezus, you’re throwing up road blocks for the whole project.”

“I know, but if you are going to put up the money to make an advertising display, you are going to want it the best it can be or it will look tacky and unfinished. It would defeat your sales team.”

“What is the answer, then? You must have an idea.”

“I do, but the cost again will be high. Contact a concern that creates decals. I see a number on the blueprints. Have someone figure out everything that is to have a decal and order a sheet with has all the decals needed on it. Have at least two copies made so if the person that is applying them screws up and you will have a spare at hand.”

“Do you know who does this?”

“Yeah, we used a certain company in the tool factory. Let me boot up and I’ll show you the website.” The site came up and I scrolled from the menu … Roof design … It showed tile, shingles, corrugated tin, standing seam, aluminum, vinyl, and plain color for rubber.  

“This is usually such a large amount, there would be a whole sheet and you cut it to fit. You can order whatever in flat, satin, and gloss.  I’ll tell you from experience to always order in flat unless it is a street sign or something like that. Here, look at chimney treatments.”

“How does this come and how would it be applied?”

"Small amounts are on a sheet. Large amounts could come in a roll. If you have the same siding on a lot of houses, order a roll and the person applying the siding just cuts it and puts it on. The person would be working with tweezers for the small things like doors and windows. This blueprint here will call for a section of the porch that is facing the pool to be glassed in. If you have a like design on several houses, you order in a roll representing a glass wall and cut it to fit. It does take a patient person to apply it and get it so it looks correct.”

“I get it. I wonder if this is the way we want to go. You say this is going to be expensive?”

“Joe, I can work up an estimate. I do need to know how soon you need this project finished. That is because I might have to go to using overtime to complete it.”

“We need all the pieces in place by the first of May. On the fifteenth of the month we will be hitting the airwaves about this new housing development. We will have at least half-dozen compounds built and ready to show. Those actually are sold already to some of the people involved in this project. You know that we aren’t just building and then moving on, but our people will be actually living there.”

“That’s good advertisement in itself.”

“That’s the plan.” Joe paused and then said, “Howard, let me send in a construction crew to get you up to where you can handle this. If what you do comes out to our satisfaction, I’ll make it known how satisfied we are. That should let your little factory here have all the work to keep your crew busy in the future for a long time. So do you think you can meet our schedule?”

“Yes, I’m positive. I will ask for one thing, though. I’ll need a letter of intent from your concern for the bank so I can arrange financing if I need it. I believe I have enough to see me through to completion, but I’d hate to have it held up if I did need more. You’ve put your company out there without knowing anything about me. I’ll give you the address of Harris Tools back in Pennsylvania. Speak to the owner, Henry Harris.”

“That’s thoughtful of you. How soon can you give me a ballpark estimate?”

“How long are you going to be in town?”

“I’m here visiting family and flying out Wednesday afternoon. My mother is getting old, so I’m spending the week with her.”

“I’ll have some solid figures by Wednesday morning.

“That will work. I’ll speak to my crew that will be here at daylight Monday to help put together what you need for stations with your machines wired and ready to go. Is there anything else they could do for you?”

“I need a packing area with walls. I’m going to have an office and a break room too.  All of this will be behind the loading dock along the far wall. This isn’t a very high priority, though.”

“Okay, we’ll look at it while the men are here. I think I’m going to like working with you and I have the feeling we are going to have a long and profitable association.”

Kitten and I watched them walk out. “Howard, what just happened?”

“Honey, I think the man up above just smiled at us. Now we have to make it work. Let’s go to lunch, after all it is our honeymoon.”

“Are we coming back here after lunch?”

“No, we’ll do something fun together. Would you like to go to a show or movie?”

Kitten looked like she was thinking and then asked, “Howard, if we came back here, what would you do?”

“No, I’m not cheating you out of a fun day. You were good enough to come this morning with me.”

“It was my idea. Really, what would you do?”

“I guess I’d call the six on my crew and ask them if they would give up a couple of hours to meet.  While waiting for them, those who are available, I’d list what I needed for decals for the two prototypes and call in an order. They might get here Friday and I can have one prototype done to show Joe on Monday. I can be more definite on my estimate figures.”

“Why are you calling in your help?”

“Because I want them to know what I’m expecting of them. They aren’t making much money, especially after having just graduating college. Becker, I’m sure never pushed them at all. I’m hoping another $6,000 to $8,000 a year will get twice as much work out of them.”

“Maybe, but they might quit on you and then where will you be?”

“Trust me, they will stick with me.”

“Do you want me to call? I saw the phone list for all of them in the office.”

“Would you? If the men with wives will come, have their husbands bring them, too.”

“Why, aren’t I enough for you?”

“I was thinking maybe one or two of the women might want to earn a few dollars extra. I’ll need someone in house to apply the decals. Oh, Kitten, you are all I want and need and you certainly are enough for me.”

“I’ll get on it.” Kitten whirled me up against her tummy, kissing and hugging me.

“Go, before I think of something else we can do together.”

I finished marking up the floor with chalk. I began looking over the blue prints, jotting facts in two small note books.  The facts I would use to write the code for printing the objects.  In the second notebook, I was making a list of decals that I would need. I had worked with this company before.  They had a menu. One was decals for the exterior of model buildings I could order from. 

The barn was easy:

1. Asphalt roof –black—Size— order #

2. Vertical siding­ —red.

3. Door /w/ casing—white

4. Barn Door/ no casing—white

5. Windows /w/ casing—glass

6. Door fancy/w/casing and glass.

In the artist’s rendering the corner boards and fascia were black. A felt pen would do for that, put on before the siding decal was installed. I put the order numbers for each item and the size of: 1 foot equals .15 inches. This was going to be the standard size throughout every item. I had ordered from this company many times and I’m sure when they saw my name on the order they would bend over backward to give me what I wanted.

The company would put as many decals as possible on each sheet and the person I hired to install them would cut the decal to size, soak it for the required time in water and lift it off and slide it onto the prototype.  Tweezers would be one of the tools used the most.

When I started out ordering decals, they were with a sticky back, but if they wrinkled, it was almost impossible to save while trying to adjust it. Decals with glue could be moved into place better when wet and wrinkles could be smoothed out.

This didn’t take me long because I had ordered many decals before. I was finished when Kitten returned.

“All of your men are coming. The only one who isn’t is the mother with the baby. Howard, I’m getting hungry. Why don’t I go get pizza and beer enough for everyone? They probably have all eaten, but with pizza they will eat again.”

“Good Idea. I’ll keep working. I’d like to get this order in tonight and I should have most of it back and I can show Joe what I think will work.”

“Howard, remember this is a holiday week?”

“I know, but we have Wednesday and Thursday. If I get the order in by morning tomorrow, they’ll put it together and ship it overnight. I’ll have four days to work on it.”

“Ron and Aunt Mary are spending the day with us on Sunday. Can you be home?”

“I’ll have this all wrapped up by then. Maybe I can get it done by Saturday at noon. I think I’ll make our work week eight hours during the week and five hours on Saturday. That will like getting forty seven and a half hours which will make the paychecks look good.”

“How much are you counting on that?”

“A lot. I’m planning on paying them a dollar more than they are receiving now and add in the extra five hours of time and half will give them $118.00 more a week than they are earning now.”

 “Do you want to hire me?”

“No, you would see how terrible a boss I was and wouldn’t love me anymore.”

“Bet I would. Hey, I have to go get Pizza. I’ll be back about the same time the guys get here.” I walked Kitten out to the car and kissed her when she rolled the window down to say goodbye.

It was twenty five minute later that I heard the door open and close. Rick Hammalund came up beside me. Rick was one of the operators who was married, with a wife named Jenny. “Hi Howard, your wife called and said you wanted to see us. What’s up? What’s that you are working on?”

“I’m making an estimate for a job that came through the door. First I want to figure how much it will cost us to do it and then I’m going to see if we can handle it. The last part is pretty much up to you guys.”

“If it is more work we’ll try our best. The last year we haven’t had that much ahead of us. To be honest we have been stringing the jobs out so we would have something to do when we got here every morning. John didn’t mind. We have been waiting for him to tell us he was folding.  You came along at the right time, but that doesn’t help our situation out much if you can’t get work in here.”

“That’s about the way I figured it. I begged some work from my father-in-law and he has come through for me. I’m going to be asking you all some questions about how much you are willing to do if I get work in here. That’s why I asked you to come so we could discuss it.”

Two more men came through the door they had their wives with them. One woman stopped and held the door open for Kitten carrying a thirty pack of beer. “Somebody please go out and get the pizzas out of the car. Howard and I haven’t eaten and I didn’t know if you guys had either. There is a six pack of Coke for me.”

“Before we get started for why I asked you in, grab the pizza and a beer while Kitten and I get filled up.”  I gobbled down two big pieces and Kitten ate one and began another, bringing me part of it for me to finish.

“Okay, that was good. Now why I have you in, I want to apologize for taking up some of your time off.”

One of the women spoke, “We weren’t doing anything. We spent all our money on bills and for Christmas. We were sitting around wondering how you were going to make a go of this business when John couldn’t.”

“I think I can answer some of that. I have orders coming from my father-in-law.  The codes will be coming with them so it will be for production only. First, I want to see if you will work five hours on Saturday. The pay that day will be time and a half. I also want you here every day for a solid eight hours. Would you be interested in stepping up to the extra hours?”

Rick answered for all, “I would and I’m sure the rest of us will too.”

“There are other changes I want to make. I only watched you guys working a part of one day. John explained how he had each one of you were responsible for writing a code and then producing the prototype you had written the code for. Then you went to a machine, produced it and took another job and starting writing code for another prototype.

“What I want to do is have the two of you who are the best at writing code; write all of the jobs, and the rest of you work at producing the work. Don’t think the production job will be easy, because you each are going to have three machines running at the same time.”

Two of the men started shaking their heads. “It can’t be done. There isn’t time enough for the operator to keep up.”

"Hey, I don’t expect you to start right off being able to. I’ll start you off with watching over two machines, but I’ll bet before long you’ll be nearly falling asleep on two machines like you do now with one machine.”  Everyone laughed, for that was a problem on a production line. “It won’t take you long before you will be asking for the third machine.”

Rick asked, “Is there benefit package coming with this job? John gave us one week of vacation.”

“No Holidays?”

“We could have them, but they were unpaid.”

“Well, I think you should have two weeks of paid vacation and nine paid holidays. Understand you will have to stagger the vacations, because I can’t have more than two of you out at a time. The two code writers can’t both be absent the same two weeks. There is workman’s comp that I have to comply with.  I’ll buy each of you a death benefit of $5,000 if you should die. That will be there from day one. As far as health insurance, we’ll see what we can do. I’ll have three companies come in some evening to talk about their policies.

“If we don’t have work, how are you paying for all these benefits you are promising?”

I laughed, “You are. How? That’s why running that third machine is so important.”

Everyone laughed with me and there was no disagreement. “Now, I understand John was paying you $9.50 an hour for 40 hours, which was less than $400 a week. If your work week includes five hours on Saturday and I pay you $.50 cents more and your pay will be approximately $475 dollars. I think it will take only a month for us to get settled into the routine I need. The first of February, I’ll get you another $.50.”

“Your father-in-law must have come up with a mountain of work for you to be able to pay us so much. You don’t even have the machines for us to operate if you should get the work.”

“Today I don’t. Monday there will be a crew here to build more stations. I’m ordering a dozen more machines tomorrow and they should be here within a week. The carpenters who are coming are building an office and a shipping area by the dock. There will also be a break room and restroom. Now let me ask you how many prototypes did you get out last year?”

“I think we completed a few more over 2000. We needed at least 2500 to be really profitable. At least that’s what we did the first year. Last year was enough to pay us, but John was getting behind every month.”

“I know. I went though his books. Okay, I’ll let you in on how I’m going to be able to pay you. There are two blueprints there. I have been asked if I could do them and have them done by May fifteenth. I assured him I could and I’m counting on you to produce.”

“What are they?”

“Each of those blueprints is of the buildings on one and two-acre acre private compounds. The one I’m working on is the smaller one. There are samples of the buildings for us to build. It has to be exact and to scale. I’m using a size scale of one foot to .15 inches. That means a 12 foot Gazebo will be 1.8 inches in size. In this compound, there will be the gazebo, a barn, a garage, the house, and a tool shed. There is a glassed-in patio that is attached to the house that will be built separately.

“That isn’t the only part of the project either. He wants decals applied to cover every object as close to the artist’s sketch as possible. I’ll have those ordered by bedtime tonight. It will take me another two hours to figure out the complete set of decals to order.”

“So what is this, really, and who is it for?”

“The work is being ordered by a housing construction company. Each of these miniatures will be set in a large advertising display set up as an advertisement for selling the properties in a high-end gated community.”

“And we are supposed to have this done by May, it sounds like we could do it by next week.”

“Actually there are more compounds—265 more. To be honest I don’t have the job yet, but I believe when the head man sees what I can do with the decals, we’ll get it. I’m asking you guys to step up and put your heart into it. There will be at least 1500 separate models to make and maybe as many as 1700. That’s almost as many as you did all last year.  We have to get it done in two and a half months.”

“Now I’m ordering 12 machines to arrive next week. There is room to install at least 12 more after that and I’ll hire more help as needed. I will caution you not to discuss your pay, though. I’ll start new help a little above minimum wage and raise it accordingly when they get fully trained.”

“Are you going to be here tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good, I’ll be here to see what this all entails. You say a person can operate three machines at the same time. I want to see you do it.”

“I’d never ask something of you I can’t do myself. I’ll be glad to show you. The person who ordered this is around until next Wednesday and maybe we’ll have two of these projects completed.”

Kitten was looking weary and indicated she wanted to wind this up. I could see the guys were excited about the prospect of increasing their take home pay by 20%. I knew they would work with me. I took just the blueprints from the smaller of the two that had been left with me. Somehow, I was going to get the order for the decals in this evening. Maybe I could do this after Kitten went to bed.

As everyone was leaving, one of the wives asked me if she could come with the guys tomorrow. “I want to see what applying decals is all about? I used to cut and paste when I was young girl. My mom couldn’t go into a toy store without getting me some books of models where I could pick what dresses I wanted them to wear.  She even got me some boy’s books of farms and equipment.”

“This would be only a part time job and maybe a onetime thing, you understand?”

“I know, but you said you might be hiring more operators. It would take less training for me to become one if I was right on the ground already.”

“For now, come in with your husband tomorrow and we’ll see.”

“That’s all I ask. Thank you.”

On the way home, Kitten asked. “You would hire a woman for an operator?”

“I’m planning on it. Your father has several women working in what would be considered men’s jobs. They do as well or better. I’ve found they are a little more emotional, but most are as dedicated and want to prove they can be an equal to a man. I have never had a married couple working for me, but I certainly would give them a chance.”

“Well, aren’t you modern?  Would you hire me?”

“In a minute, but I think you will have a full time job raising our baby. You will be helping some and I’ll see you get paid for it.”

“I know what I want to get paid in. You know it isn’t going be many weeks before we have to quit having sex. I figure I’ll keep track of the times when we can’t have sex and you can pay me when I get back into commission again.”

“Count that as working overtime and I’ll pay time and a half.”

“Howard, I know you will take care of me.” We reached the ranch and I did the horses. It was a little early and we had a late lunch. I spread the blueprints out on the dining room table and continued to list the decals I would need. The gazebo was a problem. The one decal for this needed to be round, but I couldn’t find what I needed. I would send a note with my order. I’m sure the company would fix me up.

I don’t know how long I worked; a couple of hours anyway. It was dark outside and I went looking for my new wife. She was curled up on the couch in the living room. She was sleeping soundly. Did I dare wake her up and tell her she was drooling?  Nah, I’d get supper instead. I made macaroni and cheese and put some left-over chunked up roast pork in it. I scattered some French-fried onion rings on top and slid it into the oven for twenty minutes.

“Hey Kitten, time to get up and have supper?”

“Are you all done working?”

“No, half-done. I’ll finish it later. I’m all yours for now.”

“Is this how it is going to be? You know always something to do, but stopping and being nice to me?”

“Kitten, I promised I would pay attention to you, not like I was with Lorna. There is a difference between you and her for sure. She wasn’t that domesticated like you are. I had a wonderful honeymoon with her, but the month before we went on the cruise and the next few months when it was over, she was off with your mother. It was a terrible shock to find out what she was doing, and to be honest I guess I didn’t mind that much.

“I don’t think she loved me. I buried myself in my work which made Henry happy. Other than the shock she gave me, I was happy the way everything has worked out. ’Course you gave me a bigger shock when I saw you after so long.”

“It must have been. Howard, I was so afraid you would be mad when you found out what I had done the day you got married to Lorna. But then I remembered what she had selfishly done to you. I would’ve been satisfied if you hadn’t come to me with love and left me with just the baby to make my life alone without you. I dreamed though, and it has come true. Now help me to sit up. Oh, would you get me a Kleenex? I drooled.”

We ate and then Kitten said, “Howard, can’t I help with ordering the decals. You know mark them down as you decide which one you want? I noticed you downloaded some order forms from the website.”

“You really want to help?”

“You mean I can help you? Of course I do.”

“Wow! Really?” We went to where I had set up my work on the dining room table. I had been hoping Kitten would offer so I had brought home a second laptop from the factory. I handed Kitten the list of items I had written and asked her to fill out the order. “I’ll fax this in when you get it done. I’ll begin writing the code for the 3D printers while you’re doing that. Wouldn’t it be something if the guys come in tomorrow and we can get one set of the miniatures completed for this compound?”

“Why are you working so hard now when you won’t be starting it until the first of February?”

“Because I want more than a letter of intent from Joe. I want this job more than I ever wanted anything. Just think, this is a solid two months work and I won’t have to spend as much time drumming up orders to keep everyone busy. I can do it, but the pressure will be off. Remember I am counting on selling Lorna the house to finance this startup for me. Even if I arrange financing with the bank it will be tight.”

“How?”

“Because I’m ordering the machines tomorrow and the bill will come due long before I get money for this job.”

“How much do you have right now?”

“I have $20,000 I brought with me and $25,000 left of the $100,000 I borrowed from Henry. There is $4,500 from the $9,000 that Henry reimbursed me for paying the lawyer and detective for us being able to get divorced. That’s about it.”

“Howard, I have $9,000 in savings if you need it. You’re my husband and even though I wasn’t married to you when the deed for the factory was made out, I noticed you put me in as heir if anything happened to you. How could you do that?”

“You were my sister-in-law at the time weren’t you?  I just cut my spouse out and you would have inherited. It was legal. Two days later anyway, I was divorced from Lorna so it didn’t matter at that point.”

“I’ll have to thank you some way for being so good to me?” It wasn’t long before Kitten was done and handed the orders to me to check. They were fine. Kitten worked at her job doing data entry so I knew I wouldn’t find any mistakes. I faxed them off to the business that created the decals.

Kitten came and watched me as I wrote code. This was building an image on the screen and when finished it was what the object would look like. I did the barn first and then the garage. I was tired and Kitten had lost interest. “Let’s go to bed. I’ll finish this in the morning while you’re doing chores and getting breakfast.”

Henry had me often times working under pressure. Now it was me pushing myself. My body knew when it was time to hang it up and get some rest. I had reached it tonight. I followed Kitten up the stairs. I thought of one more move I had to do. Maybe Ron, Mary’s friend, would help me move Kitten and my things down to the first floor. It was getting a bit much for Kitten to climb the stairs that easily.

“Howard, do you want some loving tonight?”

“I’m tired, but not sleepy. Let me lie here and hold you while I relax.”

Kitten reached for my hand and brought it over to her tummy. “The baby always lets me know when your hand is on me. Go to sleep if you can. We have our whole life ahead of us.” I rolled as close as I could and put my arm on her with my hand on her right breast. “We are a family aren’t we, Howard. Go to sleep. I know you don’t intend to stay in bed long. You just came to bed so I would.”

I did sleep for a solid five hours. It was 4:00 o’clock when I awoke. Kitten still had my hand clutched to her breast. I moved a little and she let go. I eased out and made a piss stop. I went down stairs and picked up where I left off last night. I tackled the house next, leaving off the glassed-in porch. I’d code that separately. It was 6:45 and it was getting a little light out. All I had left were the porch and the gazebo. Enough.

I went into the kitchen and put the coffee on. It felt like the house shook from a gust of wind. I looked out. There was fine snow blowing around; quite a bit of it. I poured a cup of coffee and sat with it in my hands, taking a sip occasionally. Horses, I’d better take care of them. I went back upstairs and got my clothes and got dressed. Kitten was still sleeping.

I headed for the barn. I thought the wind was going to take me off my feet. The horse manure was frozen around the edges and I had a little trouble getting down to the floor. I piled it into a wheel barrow, but decided I didn’t want to face the wind to wheel it outside. I gave the two animals a little grain.  Ordinarily they didn’t get grain, stabled as they were. Aunt Mary would say I was a softy in babying the two old horses the way I was.

Kitten was getting breakfast when I came in. “I’m going to take a quick shower and get warm. God, is it ever cold outside.”

“Breakfast will be ready when you come down. Howard—?”

“Yes?

“Howard, I love being married to you.”

“Kitten, I love being married to you. My marriage to your sister wasn’t a marriage. I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t anything like this.” I returned, kissed Kitten and brushed a happy tear from her eye.

Kitten served me a small bowl of oatmeal when I sat down.  There was a small pat of butter melting in the center and brown sugar sprinkled over it. “There is half and half cream in the pitcher. I’ll let you put that on. There are fried eggs and sausage coming.”

“I feel like a king the way I’m being treated.”

“That’s what you are in my eyes.” 

Kitten agreed with me that it was unnecessary for her to go with me today. I wished for my car because I was leaving Kitten without transportation. I’d have to do something about that.

I reached the factory. The wind was blowing almost at gale strength and it was cold. I doubted any of the guys would come out in this weather. I warmed the place up anyway and sat at one of the stations making a list of what decals I would need for the other compound that had been left for me to look at and help me make an estimate for the job. I still was on the assumption that this was going to be a job I would have a contract for.

Chapter Six

An hour later, just before 10:00, the door opened and four guys and the wife who had asked for the job of applying decals came in. They all came in one car. The weather was discussed. “Rick, I got the small job coded last night. First pick out three pieces you want to construct. I’ve typed up a set of instructions of the order to begin with. If you follow those you won’t have as much down time when a printer is waiting to be set up for the second run.” I handed a copy of the instructions around.

“When you have each printer set up, pause and double check the first one. Start it if you believe it correct and then go to the second one and double check before starting that one. Now go back and look at the first one. If everything is running okay, do the third one. Wow, you have three printers running at once. Spend your time checking each machine. If you loaded them in the best sequence, probably the third machine will finish first because it was a simple prototype and would take less time. Next it may be the second in the sequence for the same reason of being a little less complicated.

“If you think this through, you’ve spent most of your time watching the first printer because that was the most difficult one. The third one was the simplest and almost a freebee. That’s where your raise in pay is coming from. Okay, go ahead and start printing. The first prototype will take about two hours to print, and the other two will be done before the first.

“The way John was having you operate it would have taken you most of the day to finish all three. So the company has saved at least four hours in labor. I can save the business that ordered this 10% and almost it will guarantee me I will get their business again.”

All five people stood around looking at each other. I asked, “Questions?”

“What if everything we are printing is alike, time-wise and won’t fit into an eight hour day?”

“I can handle that in two different ways. I can have you stagger the printers so you might only be running one at punch out time. It should be for only a few minutes, and I’ll watch it myself.  Or if you guys want to get twenty minutes of overtime, you might arrange it so all three machines stop within that twenty minute extension. I would gain three pieces and I have paid you less than what it cost me. This of course depends on how much work we have.”

While I had been talking, all three printers were started and running. “Okay you guys are all set. I’m going to put in the order for more machines and ask for delivery next week and then I’ll be working on the estimate for Monday when Joe comes by again. I’m hoping to have something definite from him on Wednesday when he leaves town.”

“We hope so too.”

I had Jenny, who had asked for the decal work come in to look at the website and see the catalogs with the different decals they had in stock. “I ordered the ones I need for the job the guys are running off now. I hope they will get them to me by tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow night is New Years, they won’t be working, and there is no way you can get them here by then.”

“They will be working today and I ordered them to come overnight.  I’ll get enough of the miniature objects covered to give Joe a good idea what they will look like.”

“Are you working tomorrow?”

“No, I’m staying home with Kitten. I promised I would. After all, we have only been married since Monday.”

“Most wives would demand a honeymoon. I would, but I didn’t have to for he insisted we have one. Rick urged me to find a place for us to be happy before we settled down to make ourselves a happy life together.”

“And how has that worked out?”

“Well, I’ll admit there have been times when I wished we hadn’t spent the money for the honeymoon.  We were pretty worried because we didn’t think Rick was going to have a job by the first of the year. We would have some great memories while we struggled if he didn’t have work and we have tried to tell ourselves it was worth it.”

“Jenny, hopefully you will have your memories and Rick will have a good job. If things come together the way I hope, he’ll have both.”

Jenny smiled, and then asked, “Are you going to be working on applying the decals at home tomorrow?”

“If the decals arrive I will.”

“Can I come to your house and watch you?”

“That would be great. Kitten would love to have you there.”

“Kitten is a strange name.”

“Her name is Kittery. I’m the only one to call her Kitten.”

“I’ll remember.”

I worked steadily. I could hear the men discussing how I wanted them to change the way they produced the prototypes. Rick Hammalund was the designated operator as he was the one who the others looked up to. The garage on number three printer finished first. Twenty minutes later the barn was finished and a half hour after that the main part of the house was completed.

“There are three items left. There is the gazebo, the porch and the equipment shed. It won’t take but an hour and a half to do these. Is it okay if we run them? Jenny can bring them with her tomorrow. She said she was going to watch you put decals on.”

“That would be great. Leave the heat up a little when you leave here and I’ll see you all Monday morning. We’ll be finishing up the orders that Becker had in queue before we do anymore on this. That is if I get this job and I’m confident we will.”

“We are all confident you will get this project for us. God, how could we think we could make a living without knowing how to go about it?”

“Hey, at least you gave it a good shot and you have learned a lot. How many times did I have to leave what I was doing and get you back on track? Not once! I have faith we are going to make this company into something we can make a good living at. I’ll see you next week. Have a good holiday. Stay sober.” A laugh went up as I went out the door. I had three miniatures of buildings in a box under my arm. I also was wearing a satisfied smile.

“I thought you would be home at noon. Your dinner can be warmed, though.”

“I’m sorry, Kitten, I should have called. There were four of the guys there. I decided to show them how to make a run through handling three printers at the same time. They didn’t have any trouble. They are still there with a shorter run. If the decals come today, I have what they produced to work on.”

Kitten looked disappointed. “Honey, I’m all yours for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t start that today. Hey I’ve got you and I’m going to keep you.  I’ll be home all day tomorrow, too.  Jenny may come by; she is really interested in applying the decals. She is bringing the last few pieces with her. This means Monday morning I can have one of the housing compounds all completed. I’ll have the estimate all done too. I won’t have to leave the house either.”

“You’re going to take care of your wife like you are supposed to?”

“I said I would and I mean it. I keep telling you, you come first.” Kitten came and hugged me and kissed me.  “Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Do you want to go out?”

“No Howard, I want to snuggle right in front of the pellet stove like we did last night and let the hot air blow on us. Aunt Mary called and she and Ron are coming for dinner Sunday. She sounds so happy and she said I did too. God, two months ago we kept telling each other how happy we were and facing the world alone was great. Then you came to see us. Our world began on that day.”

“Keep that thought. I’m going out and do chores. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to break with the wind going down and the sun is going to shine. What a way to begin the New Year.” I went out and did chores. FedEx pulled into the yard with the package that held the decals. I took it in and put it on the sideboard, not even opening it. I ate and then we got cozy on the floor.

I had just got really comfortable. Kitten seemed uneasy. Finally she asked, “Howard, you really want to open the package that FedEx brought, don’t you?”

“Nope, I want to lay here with you and hold you.”

“Well, I’m going to open it. I want to see what you have been talking about. Get one of those miniatures and we’ll put one of the decals on and then come back and lie down like we are now.”

I laughed, “Okay Kitten, I do want to get your idea if what I planned is going to work.”

I helped Kitten up and we opened the package. I looked at my order. Good, everything came.  There were two sets of the same decals. They weren’t that expensive and I didn’t want the job held up if a mistake was made during application. “Let’s do the barn. That will give you the right idea. There is the red siding, the black roof, the white doors, and the windows that look like glass. The sashes and door frame decals are colored white. Before we begin we’ll use felt tip markers to color the corner boards and the fascia on the eves. This is my idea and I’m a little worried about it looking professional enough.”

I broke up a packet of felt tip markers and proceeded to apply the ink where I knew the decals wouldn’t cover. Some places I went over the second time where I didn’t think I had made the color heavy enough.

“Okay while that is drying, have you got a 9x13 glass cake baking dish? That’s what will work the best. Water will stay warm longer. We don’t want it hot, just lukewarm. Where do you want to begin?”

“Let’s do the sides first. It’s a good thing we have the artist’s rendering to go by.”

“That is pretty much how I know what decal to order. If I follow their colors, window and doors, I shouldn’t be too far off. Really this should be fairly easy. By being easy, I mean for making the estimate. I’ll figure out what this will cost to produce, give the customer what the people want and add 40%. That leaves me about 10% to play with. If I clear 30% we’re making money.”

“We’re making money? Who is we?”

“We … me and you. You’re my wife, remember? We’re a team.”

“Howard, you make me so happy.” We worked slowly and I showed Kitten how to measure the decal before we cut it. It was impossible to do any trimming after it was applied without it tearing. I could see I needed a paper cutter for the straightest of edge.

I told Kitten about the old carpenter saying of, “Measure twice and cut once.” She laughed at me. “That was Grama Harris’ saying when she was teaching me how to make a skirt and blouse. She wasn’t a carpenter either.”

Kitten was a wiz at placing the decal after it had been slipped from the backing and at smoothing the decal into position. We were almost finished with the barn with only three windows left to paste on. The barn came out as perfect as I had hoped. “I’m almost sorry I offered the job of putting the decals on to Jenny. I should have offered it to you. I still can, but it might cause hard feelings.”

“Howard, I don’t want the job. I’ll help, but before you get anywhere near finished with this project, we will have a baby and it will take up most of my time. I want to give our baby all of my time.”

“And I’ll help take care of the baby. Remember, I promised I would work only a normal day and that still is my intent. I’m hoping Aunt Mary will be here for awhile with us until we get into a routine with the new one.”

“She will be. She is only going to work on Ron’s ranch weekends. I called to make sure she and Ron would be here Sunday. You know they are moving really fast with their relationship. Aunt Mary is in love with him already. She’s even talking about having a baby. She wants the experience watching me with our baby before she decides.”

“That is a little odd?”

“I know, but Aunt Mary will be only thirty-nine when the baby comes. That’s late, especially for a first child. Don’t mention that I said anything.”

“I won’t. It would be her decision and we would support her, whichever way she goes. Kitten, are we staying up to see the New Year in?”

“Not necessary if you kiss me before we turn over to sleep.

—————————

“Good morning, we missed the New Year.”

“Not much of it, and the rest of the year is before us. You stay in bed and I’ll get you breakfast.”

“No, we’ll get it together. That’s what our life is going to be. I suppose we have that Jenny coming this morning to learn how to apply decals. I hope she is good.”

“We’ll teach her to be good. This project has a good beginning and it will continue. After she gets started, would you stay with her? You are still my backup.”

“Of course, I want to get to know her.”

We were waiting at ten when Jenny, Gary and Rick drove in. Rick had the remainder of the objects they had run off yesterday.  “How’s it going Howard?”

“Great, Kittery and I worked at putting decals on the barn last night. You can tell me what you think?”

Kitten had baked muffins and we all had coffee before I led the way into the dining room where I had everything laid out.  “Wow, that’s impressive. I hope Joe Graziola will be impressed too.”

“I think he will be. He came here not really knowing what he wanted or how to have it done. Becker or none of us would have been able to do this. Just how are we going to get it done in the time frame that he wants?”

“Okay, we will have 60 working days to do this in. That’s about four and half building compounds we have to do a day. Would you think that is possible?”

“It will if we have enough machines. Remember too, the bigger compounds have many more pieces.”

“I remember. I have one of the bigger ones I’ll be coding here at home and I’m working on that before finishing my estimate. There are other ways to save on labor as well. Like the gazebo you did.  I’ll bet there are at least twenty properties that call for a gazebo. I need machines that can do multiples. Say we can do ten at a time. That’s nine that doesn’t have much labor cost and would not be reflected in the estimate. Hopefully there will be a little bonus for everyone when we finish the project.”

“That would be nice, but you had better bank it for the lean times that are bound to come. Having steady work means more than a few dollars now and then.”

“We’ll see when we finish. Today we will begin with the gazebo since the roof is tricky because the gazebo is six-sided. I showed Kittery last night how to whiten an object so we’ll do the roof edge with ink before we apply the roof decals. It doesn’t take but a few minutes to dry. Jenny, you can get the water for loosening the decal adhesive. I have a clock here to tell you how long before the decal is softened enough and ready to handle.

“Okay, notice there are six wedge shaped roof decals. One for each face and you need to be careful to line up the shingles, minute as they are. I’ll do two to show how they must come together. I do have a set of extras, but I hate to use them because I know there are bound to be screw-ups. There again, they are interchangeable, so you do have leeway.”

I worked with Jenny for an hour until I was confident she could proceed without my help unless she got stuck. Kitten was there to help also.

I took Rick Hamalund out into the kitchen where we started work coding the larger property’s building. He was acting as my secretary. As I finished a building I had him list what we would need for decals. He had the artist’s rendering in front of him and the catalog of decals on another laptop.  He was good at pairing what was needed together.  Kitten got us lunch and we broke for that.  Another two hours would see us well along.

Jenny would have the decals all applied on the project I had given her. The only mistake she made was the long side of the main house. The decal creased and when she tried to straighten it out it tore. “Why did it do that?”

“Because you left it in the water about a minute longer than it should have been. That’s why you should use the clock to time the decal while in water.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, that’s why I purchased the second set of decals. Mistakes are bound to be made. You’re doing great and I would like to have you working for the company at this for us. You can start Monday as a gopher for us until we get into this totally.”

“I’ll be there.”

It was three-thirty when we had the job I was working on completely coded. Rick had made out the order for the decals on the larger property and we faxed that off. “I’ll have those back Tuesday morning and Jen can begin applying them just as soon as we get the prototypes off the machines.” I stopped talking and then asked Rick, “How many hours will it take to produce what we have just coded?”

“Do you mean using one machine or someone running three machines?”

“Give me what you think for time for both.” Rick was close to what I thought the time on the machines would be. It was a little low for one machine and I figured he was taking into account the unfamiliarity with watching three machines, so he was high in time using three machines. 

“That’s damned close to what I figured. I think I would lower it just a little because there is a chance to do more than one item on most every property at the same time. With three machines running that way, we might get four items completed.”

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?  Do you have enough information to do the estimate?”

“I believe so. I’ve made some notes and have mentally kept track of other things. I’ll write it up first thing Monday morning. I’m giving the rest of the weekend over to Kittery. Her aunt will be here Sunday for dinner. Oh, we may be a little late setting up Monday because there will be carpenters all over the place building stations for the machines that will be here on Wednesday. It will only long enough to put up a plastic dust barrier to keep the dust down

“Rick, you will be strictly doing the coding for the work we have in shop. We have to get that all out by the first of February.”

“I’ll need a little help with that.”

“Pick whomever you think best. It will take a little time to sort all these changes out. If it looks like something isn’t working, we’ll talk it over and decide on the best course to take. I’m a big believer in teamwork up until a decision has to be made. That would be me, but you’ll find my decisions aren’t set in stone.”

“Sounds good to me.”

I took Kitten out to dine, which was a treat for her. She seldom went out especially after she began to show her pregnancy. Now though, she clung to my arm, proud that she had a man to go with her protruding tummy.  “Do you want to go to a show, or anything?”

“No Howard, I want to go home. I saw a couple of women I knew when I went to the restroom. They inquired if I was with my husband. I said yes. Before this they had known I was pregnant, but I was never able to say much about the baby’s father. I hated to lie, so I said nothing. Word will get around that the baby’s father has finally shown up to be with me and the baby. They asked what you did for work and I told them you had just purchased a small factory that produced prototypes. I declared you were able to pay cash for it.  Hope you don’t mind?”

“You really did have it tough before I came to see you, didn’t you.”

“I suppose, but I only had myself to blame. I am so thankful that everything has turned out like it has. One more thing that I’m thankful for is how Lorna has come out of this.”

 “I am too.”

“She is older by a lot than me, but I did look up to her. I felt terrible about what I had done by crawling into bed with you. My feelings are mixed about that. I crawled in with you without even planning on doing it. That was when I saw her go into your bedroom with Rod Peters. The next morning I was ashamed and that was why I escaped back here to Montana to think this through. I thought all along you were madly in love with Lorna and I had taken something from you and you would hate me when you found out about it.”

I broke in, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?  It still bothers you or you wouldn’t be telling me now.”  My wife was near tears. I didn’t like this at all. “Kittery Harris Prentice, listen to me. Honestly, do you regret being with me on my wedding night?”

A subdued, “No, but I feel so guilty and it is getting worse.

“Why?”

“Because I am so happy with you at my side and I don’t know that I deserve to be this happy.”

I stared at her before speaking, Then, thinking quickly, “Look, Kitten. Think about your sister. You think you cheated her by having the baby you feel should have been hers by law. Lorna and I never would have been happy together because we didn’t love each other. I knew it soon and she knew it too. Ask her how many times she cheated on me after we were married. She was cheating me. Look at her now. We are divorced and she may find the happiness she needs with Peters.

“Think of your mother and father. Lorna led your mother down the wrong path and I heard her talk to your mother about how much fun they were having. Mable got caught at the same time I caught Lorna. Your father was being cruel to your mother and they would’ve ended up hating each other for something that Lorna started. That’s resolved now.  Lorna appears to be on the road to happiness herself. You deserve to be happy just like I’m happy. Enough said and there is nothing to be guilty or ashamed for.”

“Howard, you always see things so clearly.”

We had been sitting in our car. I was cold and started the engine. I didn’t move it yet. “Kitten isn’t there a Honky-tonk that will be open. I need a beer and I want to see people having fun. Maybe we can have some fun too.”

We drove around, but couldn’t find one. I had forgotten this was Jan, 1 and places were closed. “They’ll be open tomorrow night. We’ll try then.”

“No need, Howard. I’m over my guilt trip. I just got to thinking I was too happy for what I had done and should be feeling more guilt than I really was.”

“Well, if you get to feeling this way again, talk to me about it. Are we alright with the world, now?”

“Take me home, Howard, it’s been a long day—and a very, very good day!” Just as we pulled into the driveway, “Howard, I think we can say I lucked out when I fell in love with you. I hope you feel the same way about me.”

“I do.”

Saturday we got up late, just lounging around taking it easy. It was two in the afternoon when Kitten said, “Howard, work on your estimate. Every time you walk through the dining room, you look at that pile of papers. I don’t mind, really. You’re here and you’re near.” I walked up, hugged Kitten, ran my hand over her tummy and kissed her.  I didn’t say anything, but we both smiled.

I had done many estimates for Henry so it was no problem getting one ready for Monday when I expected Joe Graziola to show up with the work crew he promised me. I typed it up and printed out three copies. I’d go over it with Joe and note changes if any. It would be nice if he could give me the okay on it, but that was too much to expect.  I finally had everything done possible for Monday and felt really relaxed.

Sunday, Aunt Mary and Ron came a little after nine in the morning. Love was in the air between the two of them and it was obvious. I commented, “You guys haven’t known each other but a month. You’re moving almost as fast as Kitten and I did.”

Mary spoke, “Yeah, but I have seen Ron every day of that month. I think you only had about nine days together before you tied the knot.  We have talked about getting married already. We haven’t decided definitely, but are close making it so.”

Kitten spoke up, “Aunt Mary, don’t you be on a honeymoon the first week of March. That’s when I’d like you here with me.”

“I’ll be here, that’s a promise.”

“Howard, how is the business coming?”

“Great Ron, I finished the estimate for that job that came through the door. The ten weeks of work it takes to complete is more than Becker, the former owner did all last year. So far, I’ve laid out a lot of changes and I have all of Becker’s crew totally with me. I’ve given them all a small raise in pay starting Monday and promised another one the first of February. Wages here are so low for this type of work it is embarrassing, but by the end of the year my workers will be making above what small concerns like mine in the area pay.”

“Do you have enough help to do this or are you going to have to hire more?”

“I’ve hired one person already. I’ll add more when orders come in dictate. I’d like about three woman hires that have young families in grade school.  I’m aware they would have problems at home they have to deal with, but they would counter the college grads that I have now. 

“Henry, my father-in-law, has promised me work. I don’t know how much yet but it will be considerable. The orders won’t take long to run and that would be good if a woman has a sick child at home and suddenly has to leave.”

“Where did you get these ideas like this?”

“Again, from working in Henry’s factory under him.  He could get more work out of his help than you would think possible. Sometime a woman couldn’t work the hours scheduled and if they were well trained and could find another person to work with her, he’d have them work whatever hours were convenient.”

Ron passed judgment on me, “You have some weird ideas.” I had the most relaxing day I had in a long time.

I mentioned I was short a vehicle and guess I would have to buy one. Aunt Mary asked Kitten if she wanted to drive her car. All she had to do was go back with her to the ranch and she could have the use of it. Ron had several vehicles connected to the ranch. Mary could drive one and didn’t use her car much. That solved a problem that was bothering me.

Kitten got ready to leave with Ron and Aunt Mary, “I’ll be back by noon tomorrow. You’re going to be busy at the factory, anyway. I doubt you will even miss me.”

“Kitten, the house is empty already.”

“I know, should I stay home?”

“No, go along, but come back to me.” I stood in the doorway waving as Ron drove away. I wasn’t kidding, the house was empty. I went out and fed the two horses. I came back in and turned the television on, but nothing held my attention. They had been gone a little over an hour when the phone rang. Kitten had promised to call that she had reached the ranch okay. This had to be her.

“Hi, Howard, did I call too late?”

“No, Lorna. I thought that it was Kitten calling. Ron and Mary were here for dinner and Aunt Mary is lending us her car. Kitten went home with them and Kitten will be driving it home in the morning. How are things with you and Rod?”

“We’re good. We have talked some about making our association more definite. I just wanted to be sure you would sell him your house. The children like it here. Rod does too. Howard, Rod asked me why you and I got divorced. I explained how I had cheated on you. I didn’t go into too much detail, but did admit I had done it numerous times. I was fearful he wouldn’t want me around after I told him, He is worried that he was at fault because of what he and I did the day you and I were married.”

“Hell, tell him I was going to divorce you anyway because I got your sister knocked up and wanted to marry her so I divorced you to be with her. I’m glad your father and I quashed those pictures of you and your mother. If you aren’t explicit, you’ve gone far enough explaining about what happened while we were husband and wife.”

“Howard, you’re going to make me cry. Why are you being so good to me?”

“I don’t know if you have heard, But Kitten and I were married last Monday. Aunt Mary and Ron were there. That’s part of it, the other part; you knew I purchased a business?  Also, this week a concern came in the door and while I was up there and asked me to make and estimate on a job that we can do in my new business.  I’m meeting him again tomorrow morning. I’m confident I’ll get the job. I’ll need to expand some, so I’m tickled that Rod wants to buy my house.”

“Things are looking up for you, then?”

“I’d say so.”

“How do I handle the paperwork in you selling Rod the house?”

“See Sarah, my attorney, she has the authority. When you see Sarah, have her send me a contract on it.  I may have to go to the bank if it takes awhile. Remind Sarah that Henry has a lien on the property. Henry lent me the money to buy the business.”

“How strapped are you?”

“I think it will all work out. I have machines ordered, but I have thirty days to pay for them.” 

“There was a pause, and then Lorna offered, “Howard, I have some money, I could lend you some.”

“No! I want you to work on getting a new husband and it won’t work if you are making make deals with your old husband. Don’t even mention this to Rod. When he can buy the house that will be good enough. You need to start building some trust with him. It’s funny, but I trust you in everything except being faithful with me and that’s all water under the bridge now.”

“You’re too good to me and I’ll make a promise to you that if Rod will have me I’ll be faithful to him.”

“Make the promise to him, not me.”

“To you both, then.”

“Hey, call your sister tomorrow evening. Anytime after 8:00 your time.”

“I will. Night, Howard.”

“Night.”

I went to bed early after packing up what I was taking into the factory in the morning and was up before five. I did chores and fried myself some eggs and bacon. I was jumpy, wondering if Joe would have a crew at the factory like he said he would. It was six-thirty when I arrived. I was just carrying in the box that held the miniatures when three pickup trucks pulled in behind me.

“This the place that Joe is having us working on?”

“I’d guess so. Is Joe coming today?”

“Yeah, he is right behind us. He bought us breakfast and is paying for it. What are we doing?”

“I’ll show you. See these benches that hold these machines. You’re building benches long enough to hold three machines instead of one for each machine. I need four to do the job for Joe. Eventually I’ll have twelve benches, if the orders come in. You can see the chalk on the floor. Here is a sheet with each bench laid out to sizes.” 

“Good, that won’t take long I’ll get the lumber order ready and go after it. What else is there? He said something about building some walls for a couple of small rooms.”

“Yeah, a small office and a break room. There will be a washroom too, but that won’t be needed until spring. We’ll use what we have before hooking onto the sewer at that end of the factory. First though, I’ll need you to put up a dust barrier, because we are working these machines today. The workers will be here at 8:00.

“We’re on it and we brought plastic with us. What is it Joe is having you do, anyway?”

“I’ll show you. It is a scaled down miniature of what you guys will be building.” I had set the cardboard box down I was carrying on the end bench when I came in. I took the top off and the men looked down at what the men had produced last week. I had placed the items on a green towel just as the artist had described the buildings would be placed.

“God, would you look at that! My kids would love to have those to play with. I can’t believe the detail. Christ, that barn roof looks just like it had shingles on it.”

I stepped back and bumped right into Joe Graziola. He spoke, “You did one of the sets, when?”

“I called the crew and they were interested that I was I was working on a possible job. They decided to do it up when they saw what it was. My wife and one of the guy’s wives did the decal work. I promised if I got the job I would put her on the payroll.”

“Well, let me study these and then we can talk figures.”  He turned to his construction crew, “You men get to building what Howard needs for stations. We’ll leave the walls out by the dock for later.”

I picked up the box and carried it into the cubbyhole that Becker used for his office. “You look at these and I have an estimate worked up for you to look at. It is in my car.”

I went out and a little worried, but that was business.  I couldn’t read Joe, but figured I would know soon. At least after glancing at the figures he hadn’t pulled the men off from building my bench stations.

Joe had all the pieces out from the box and was studying them. I opened up the sheet that had the artist’s idea of what the house would look like and laid it open before him. He glanced at it a few times and then put them back into the box. “Maybe we can wrap these up and I’ll take them with me.”

“Sure, we have packaging here. You do realize that the box is almost the same scale as the objects. It gives you a little more perspective how the buildings would sit on an acre of land.”

“I didn’t, but nice to know. I’ll tell the architect. Let me take a look at your estimate?”

Just then the door opened and all six of my workers came in. “Morning Howard. I saw a lot of vehicles parked outside. Is it okay to go to work?”

“Yes, start right in where you left off with what John had scheduled you to do. You might take turns in practicing like I showed you when we made the prototypes for Joe, here. Men this is Joe Graziola. He is looking over my estimate now.  I should have more machines here by Wednesday and then we can really get under production. The only thing I’m worried about is the power.”

Joe stated, “They are all 110 aren’t they, like you are running now?”

“Yeah, all three.”

“You’re okay. I opened the entrance and looked at it when I was here last week. One of my men will have them all wired by tomorrow at noon. Plenty of room to put in a couple more circuit breakers.” He went back to the estimate. My men went out and started work. Two were doing coding and three of the men had two printers to operate and one man had only one. This was the way we decided they would work until the new printers came.

I was watching Joe, although I couldn’t see how he was changing my estimate. Well I could shave my bottom figure a little, but not by much. Finally he looked up at me. “How close to the bone are you on this estimate?”

“Too high? I could shave it by 3%, but no less.”

“Well, I’m in a quandary here. The investors suggested a sum they wouldn’t go over and you’re about twenty percent lower than what they expected. Now, I wouldn’t as a rule say anything, but they published what they expected to pay. Take this back and rework your figures. I would like to save the investors 5% if I could and when they observe the work you did getting your estimate together, they’ll think I’m pretty damned good myself.”

“You’re serious?”

“I am. I know you are just getting started and I want you to succeed. I’ve been in business a long time and I’ve seen so many in my business being greedy. It doesn’t pay in the end, and I sleep very well at night. So go ahead and make the changes. If you would let me use one of your laptops, I’ll create a contract and you can take it to the bank. They should give you all the money you need and when you need it.”

“I’m in, then?”

“All the way, son. I’m impressed with your work and the investors will be too.”

Just then someone started kicking the door. It was Kitten and I recognized her voice when she shouted, “Howard, open the door.”

I did and my wife was standing there with a tray of coffee cups and a cake balanced in the other hand. Still balancing the cake in one hand and the tray of coffee in the other, she demanded. “Howard, kiss me, it’s our anniversary.  We’ve been married one whole week today.” I leaned forward and kissed her.

“Now kiss me again, this is another anniversary.”

“What anniversary?”

“One that happened exactly seven months ago.”

“That would have been yesterday on the third of the month. That was the day I was married to your sister.”

“That’s right, but I crawled into bed with you on the fourth of the month.  The consummation baby, remember?”

Joe, spoke, “What’s got you two all riled up and excited?”

“Oh, Howard I thought you were alone. Hi, Mr. Graziola.” She laughed. “I wasn’t home last night and I thought I would surprise my husband with coffee and cake. We were married last Monday. “

“That is the answer for the first anniversary. What was the other one that makes this a seven month anniversary?”

“Oh, that is a little bit personal. In fact, Howard celebrates these anniversaries, but he wasn’t aware it would be something to celebrate with me.” Kitten unconsciously rubbed her tummy.

“It is when the baby was conceived, wasn’t it. There must be a good story there, but as you said, it is personal. I won’t be a boor and intrude.”

“Kitten, Joe is just about to give me a contract to do several thousands of dollars worth of work. I wouldn’t mind if you shared. I’ll leave it to you to share; after all I was there, but I wasn’t aware.”

Kitten laughed, happily. “Okay, first of all. I’ve loved Howard the day I met him. I was too young and homely for him to notice me. My sister is very pretty and my parents thought the two were a perfect match. I left and moved out here when they became engaged. Six months later they married on June third of last year. I went back for their wedding. My sister wanted one more time with her previous boyfriend.

“They got Howard drunk and proceeded to copulate in Howard’s old room. Unaware anyone knew I was in the house, I observed what my sister was doing. I seized the moment and helped Howard into his marriage bed. He, still inebriated, proceeded to consummate his marriage, thinking it was with my sister. The evidence soon appeared, but no one knew until he came out to visit me and my aunt six months after the deed was done.

“For reasons, I won’t go into Howard divorced my sister and has married me. My sister is happier now than she was with Howard and please know, I’m very happy.”

“Well congratulations on both anniversaries. Enjoy your coffee.  I’ll go out and see how my crew is doing.”

“I like Joe.”

“Kitten, are you working today?”

“Yes, I called when the office opened and said I would be late.  Why?”

“Because, would you stop in and see if Richard Bailey would stop by to look at a contract which I’m going to sign anyway just as it is. I’ll explain that tonight.”

“Okay. Which car should I drive?”

“Your choice. Do you want your keys?”

“No, Aunt Mary’s car is warm.” Kitten left and I filled out a new estimate, leaving it on the desk. I then went out to speak with my men.

“Christ, I never knew we could get so much work done in so little time. We’re busy and I swear the day is zipping right along because we are so busy.”

“That’s great, Rick. Uh, was Jenny serious about working? I think I have the job that will require putting on decals.  This won’t be full time, but if she wanted to work at packing up our finished products and doing the shipping, I can make it full time. She won’t make as much as the operators, but when this jobs is finished, I’ll consider her for tending the printers like you. Eventually she could make what you are making.”

“I think she will. We talked about this last night. We want to buy a home after we have saved enough. That’s our dream anyway.  You really are hiring women to operate the printers?”

“I am. My father-in-law has a mixed crew and whether man or woman, if they do the job, they get paid the rate that the job calls for.”

“Where’d he come up with that idea or is he just progressive?”

“It came from his grandmother as a young woman. She was a welder back in the second-world war and helped build airplanes. Read your history, women of the time were needed desperately and were amazing. Well, I guess they have always have been.”

I ducked through the plastic dust barrier. There were no men in there, but I could hear conversation in the dock area. Joe spoke as I came up to them, “Hey, Howard, we have this all planned out. The men have gone after material. We’ll have your work stations built by early morning tomorrow. Jack will have the power to all the printer stations by tomorrow night.

“The rest of the guys are planning where the walls are going up. Take a minute and show us where you want them. The studs are coming back with the boards for the work stations. They’ll get the sheet rock this afternoon. You’re going to need two interior doors. Plain ones okay?”

“Yeah. With you promising me a contract, I can afford this and can get right to work cleaning up what orders I have already.  I might even be able to start a day or two sooner on your work.” 

“Howard, I’m helping you out in this so you can.”

“No Joe, I’ll have the financing to pay for everything your men are doing.”

“No, I promised you the men to get it done. You can pay for the material, but these guys are my responsibility. You’ll get me pissed otherwise. I have connections and my uncle heads up the union, so enough said.”

“Got’cha, and I’m really thankful.” Joe’s statement bothered me.  I didn’t want anything to do with union bosses. Joe intimated when he said his uncle was connected and that pressure could be applied in the future. 

Joe went into the little office with a laptop. One of his carpenter’s came out to where I was watching my men work. His head came through the plastic dust, barrier,

“Howard, we saw your face when Joe said something about an uncle. Take it from us, that’s Joe’s way of turning you away after doing something really nice for a person he is impressed with. The day he offered to build your benches was just a come on to see if you would take it without offering something back. You’ll find Joe is just as nice underneath as he appears on the surface. Getting that set of miniatures completed during the time you should be on your honeymoon tells him a lot about you.”

“Well, don’t tell him that I was almost desperate for more work. I was having second thoughts about buying this business. I knew it was going to be awhile before it would be profitable, but this starts me off being there much sooner.”

“I would say you’ve earned it. What about your bride though?  Isn’t she upset about this?”

“God no, as long as I’m here to be with her, she would forgive a lot.  Actually, she was the one who asked if I didn’t want to work on this last week. Some of the reason goes back to when she first knew me and involves our personal lives. I did make her a promise I would be home every evening with her. I will keep to that promise.”

“I’m sure you will.”

It was an hour later that my attorney, Richard Bailey came in. Joe was just printing out my contract. It took Richard until noon to go through it.  There were a couple of places he suggested that some wording be changed to clarify an item, which was no problem because Joe and I were right there. “

Joe spoke, “Howard, let’s go get something to eat. What about your crew?”

“They are good. They just can’t leave because the machines are running. If you don’t mind, we’ll eat down the street from where my wife works and I’ll have her join us.”

“Good idea, do that.”

Richard couldn’t be there because he had another appointment.  I called Kitten to meet us and we loaded up and headed into town. Kitten met me at the door as we filed into the diner. I had a word with her. She had one for me too. We found seats and ordered and soon were eating. I kept looking at my watch. Joe asked, “You have somewhere you need to be, Howard?”

“Yes, Kittery and I have an appointment at the bank.”

“I know, I arranged it. I’d like to go with you if I may.”

“Certainly. Let me pay for the lunch and I’ll ride with you.”

“No need to, we can leave now. Kittery took care of it when she arrived.”

“Well, aren’t you something? I guess we can leave anytime then.”

One of his men shouted, “Don’t rob the bank Joe.” Everyone laughed.

“Mr. Thurston is waiting on you, Mr. and Mrs. Prentice. Hello, again Mr. Graziola, It’s been nice with dropping by so often.”

“Remember, it’s Joe, Elaine.” Elaine laughed.

I was puzzled a bit. Joe was apparently well known here in the bank. Mr. Thurston was holding the door open for us to enter. “Come in and sit. I was aware that Kittery was a customer and I haven’t yet met Howard although there has been some action recently with John Becker selling you the property. He was lucky you came along when he did, you know. His business was on its last legs.”

“Yes, that may be, but I did make him what I thought was a fair offer. If you look at the accounts I have here you can understand that I couldn’t have paid him more or else I would be in the same position as Becker was and just starting.”

“Whoa, I’m not blaming you. Becker came in and saw me. He almost demanded that the bank lend him money. Maybe he forgot that it isn’t my money to lend. And I alone wasn’t the one to turn him down. The other commissioners saw it the way I did.  We do have a meeting to lend money over a certain amount. The meeting was unanimous in turning him down.”

“That was your business with John Becker. I understand Joe arranged this meeting which puzzles me a little. However, I am here to ask for a credit line.  I shouldn’t need more. Let me tell you my total situation as far as financing. I have approximately $50,000 in my personal account as of the present. My ex-wife has asked me to sell a friend of hers my home in the east. It does have a lien against it for $100,000. When he buys it I will receive $300,000 above the lien. There is no hurry to pay the lien because it is my father-in-law who holds it.

“I have a full plate of projects to get done before the first of February. Joe has helped me get set up to have more machines running and I’ll be hiring three more people and I hope they are trained by the first of the month. There will be twelve more machines that I have online this week.  I also have a small contract to produce containers for my father-in-law.  That isn’t too big, but it will pay my total payroll. I’ll let you peruse the contract I am ready to sign with Graziola Construction.” I passed it over to Mr. Thurston.

“So how large a credit line are you applying for?”

“Understand, I hope I won’t need to dip into the credit until I decide I should to expand outside the present building. When I get to that point, I’ll be coming in for a normal construction loan. Mr. Thurston, things are moving pretty fast and I am surprised when you called Kittery with the appointment that Joe arranged. I will fill out a detailed credit loan request to have on file and send it in when things slow down a little.

Mr. Thurston was studying the contract instead of what I was saying. I looked at Joe.  He had a small smile on his face. Thurston closed the papers and looked up “This is complete and I knew it would be. This should keep you in business for a long time. Apparently Joe is well satisfied with your work and he did call me earlier.”

He looked at Joe, apparently wanting Joe to explain why he had arranged this meeting. Joe smiled, “Howard, I am impressed with you in many ways. Two weeks ago you didn’t own a business and you were single. You purchased a business that was right on the edge of failure. Using only what you purchased, I’m sure you would have had a tough time making a go of this company.

“But you forged ahead with what you had, even promising higher pay to the men working for you. Up front, you planned how to get more work out of them which came from your experience of operating this type of machine. The first thing you did was ask your former employer to furnish you with some of his projects to keep your machines running and your workers busy.

“Then I came through the door with a major project. What impressed me the most was that you put my work into a queue at the end of the line after completing your promised agreed-on projects.  Knowing you needed this work desperately and couldn’t let me take my project someplace else, you busted butt to show me just what you could do for me. I’m so impressed I’m here at the bank to turn over 10% of the estimated cost of my project to make sure you are not constrained in any way of getting it completed on time.”

Chapter Seven

Joe’s construction workers had everything in place by quitting time on Friday.  I had twelve new 3 D printers set up and running. 24 more stations were waiting on machines. This was twelve more than I planned for. I belatedly went for a permit to put up walls for the packing and break room. The bathroom was plumbed, but not hooked up.  The stations were no problem for Becker had a permit that was still in force for those. I made out the permit for the rest of the construction and it wasn’t even necessary to have it viewed for approval.

The contract work I was going to do for Henry arrived and two small prototype jobs came in that Becker had estimated. These were fed into the queue. Directions came from Joe Graziola in what order we were to begin working on the 267 building models we had the contract on.

Kittery decided she would quit work and gave her notice. She wouldn’t be going back to work for the concern. She was well liked and every one of her co-workers wished her well. They all knew her new husband had just purchased a business and she wanted to help him until she had her baby.

There wasn’t much for Jenny to do yet, so she painted the walls in the shipping area and the break room. I felt flush with money so I installed a large refrigerator to keep lunches in.  Someday if my crew was large enough, I would put in a sandwich machine. I turned some of the bookkeeping entry over to Kitten. My accountant, Sam was an easy-going person and he showed her how to set us up with better method than the one John Becker had used.

I kept two of my best crew on coding prototypes. The four others settled in and all were watching three of the production printers easily. I promised raises to everyone on the first of February. With the half day working Saturday, they were making nearly $200 more dollars a week. I ordered 12 more printers and began searching for operators.

I went to the employment agency. I engaged two men. One lasted the day and said he wouldn’t be back. “This is a slave shop. You work your help too hard and are paying just a little over minimum wage. I wouldn’t work on Saturday for any amount of money, anyway.”

“I guess I’m glad you aren’t staying with that attitude. See my wife in the office and she will pay you for the day.” The second worker had been struggling all day to learn on one machine with Gary teaching him.

Gary said he thought the new man, Murphy, was a slow worker and would eventually make good help. He was a little older and trying very hard. “Give him a couple of weeks and I think he will get there.  He only has a high school education, not like us who went to college. He does have a family and will do his damndest to come up to the production we need from our workers. He has been working on a farm and has developed an allergy against hay.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll go back and see if I can find another two or three people. Whomever I hire will have to be running at least two machines after three weeks or we won’t keep up when we finish the backlog that Becker left us. We need at least six machines in production to fulfill our contracts.

I went back to the employment agency. “Sorry, we don’t have any prospects for you. You can check back next week. I suppose you could try at the closest Indian village. Most of the Indians willing to work have positions in the casinos on the reservation.”

“That’s an idea. I understand the Indians have  high unemployment. The job doesn’t have to me a male. I would entertain having women working for me if men weren’t available. I’ll check it out.” I received directions to a reservation located several miles from Helena.

I was about three miles from my destination. I came upon a pickup truck beside the road. Two women were standing outside as if waiting for a ride. I slowed down and they saw me as a Gentile and turned away. It was very cold and they were well bundled up. I stopped and asked, “Is your vehicle broken down?”

“It’s out of gas.”

“I’m heading for the reservation, can I offer you a ride?”

“It is cold, we could ride with you, I guess.”

“Get in.”

“We have groceries. Can we take them too?”

“Do you need help loading them?”

“No, we don’t have that many.”

I turned the heat on high to get the two women warm. I asked if there was someone I could speak with that knew if anyone wanted to work in a small factory.  “By the way my name is Howard Prentice.”

“What kind of factory do you operate, Mr. Prentice.” I explained what I produced and what the machines were like.

“Our brother might. Our parents died recently and he is managing the household. He was hoping it would be us two who found work because we have two younger brothers and a sister in her teens who is old enough to help.”

“Do you two have an education?  You speak well.”

“We both have associates degrees. It is all basic stuff, but we did well. It was a grant program from your government. We were hoping to go to college, but with our parents gone it isn’t possible.”

“Is your brother home?”

“Yes.”

“I’d like to talk to him. Maybe we can work something out. What are your names? I know I shouldn’t ask, but how old are you?”

“I’m Sherry Wolf, twenty-two, and Sheila is twenty-three. Our brother is named Steve and he is twenty-six.”

"Are you familiar with computers? In this job everything begins and ends with computers?”

“We’re both pretty good or were when we had access to one.  We don’t own one and only rarely get to use one. Steve has a phone so we get to use that sparingly.”

“If you worked in Helena would you have to be home every night?  It’s quite a drive.”

“No, we could stay with our uncle.  He works in Montana Lil’s Casino. It is in East Helena.”

“You know, I believe I would like to interview both of you for the jobs I have to fill. We’ll talk to your brother about it. You did say you were looking for work.”

“Yes, we certainly are.” I pulled onto a narrow street that hadn’t been paved. Sometime in the past, there was a thaw and the street had turned to mud and then frozen.  About midway to the end of the street, Sherry indicated this was their home. It was a sizable double wide, but old. The two women opened the door and walked in. They removed their coats.

I glanced at them. Both girls were about 5 feet, 3 inches tall, eyes of dark brown and their hair was short of being dark black. Their bodies were solid, round with somewhat stubby legs. You could define their breasts enough so you could tell they were women. Their faces were round and not unattractive. Their skin color wasn’t white but with a brownish tint.

“Steve, we ran out of gas about three miles back. This man gave us a ride. He wants to talk to you because he may have a job for us.”

“You girls know you aren’t supposed to get into a stranger’s car.”

“I know, but no one went by for over an hour. We were terribly cold. Besides Sheila was in the back seat behind him and I was beside him. We would have been able to go on the warpath if he didn’t behave.” Sherry smiled when she said this and looked at me as she did so.

This made me laugh and then Steve chuckled. “He’s alright then?”

“We think so.”

“You’re looking for workers?  Why would you consider an Indian, or for that matter women?”

“Why not? I’ll hire anyone who can do the work I need done. I haven’t owned my factory very long, but I do have a lot of work that has to be completed by May. My wife will be in and out of the factory for awhile because she is pregnant and expecting in early March. I would like to interview Sheila and Sherry. They sound like they could handle the work I have. It isn’t heavy, but they may find it boring. I have four college men who will be working close to them. I have two more men who do the coding of the work.”

“Please explain what you do.”

I did, they would be operating machines and told them that new hires would be earning just a little above minimum wage.  “However, as soon as I can, I will increase your wages. There is also one new hire I hired yesterday that will be learning along with you. I also need one more person if you know of someone for me to interview. That person does have to be computer literate, though.

“What do you do, Steve?”

“Now?  I keep the family together. I help around the village here fixing up other peoples cars. No one seems to have a good one. I do a little plumbing. The only one who could do that before this, left here a couple of years ago. I helped him and the job has fallen to me. I do a little of everything. I guess you could say I am a little mechanically inclined.

“I’m sure we might be able to find someone. Sheila and Sherry have a bit more education than most of us who live here, but they all keep in touch with those they went to school with. The girls can tell you if there is anyone who would make you another person you could hire after they get trained.”

“That’s good. For yourselves, I will show you around when you come in to be interviewed. I hope you can make it soon.”

Sheila turned to her brother, “Steve, phone Uncle Rufus to see if we can stay over tonight. We could ride in with Mr. Prentice because he doesn’t live very far from Uncle Rufus.”

“You could take the pickup if we got gas into it.”

I spoke, “Steve, why don’t you get a can for gas? I’ll wait for you and we’ll get it running. Let your sisters ride home with me. They can ride in with my wife tomorrow to see whether the job is anything they are interested in. If it isn’t, my wife can drive them back here.”

Steve asked Sherry if she had any money left from getting groceries.  She had three dollars and some change. Gas was cheaper on the reservation, but three dollars wouldn’t buy much gas.

“I’ll fill your can. Let’s go get it.” Steve found the can and we drove over one street to the pump. “Here use this, and you can keep the remainder and you can pay me back when you can.”

“That’s not right. The girls will have to almost have to work for you. I don’t want them beholding to you.”

“Don’t tell them. They aren’t obligated at all. You have to get your pickup, anyway.”

“Thanks, Mr. Prentice. I will pay you; that’s a promise.”

“I believe you.”

After a phone call, Jim Rufus, the uncle, said he would welcome his nieces and they could stay with him. I met the younger sister and the two younger brothers. They didn’t say much. Sandy, the girl, told the two sisters that were going with me to be careful. Sandy looked concerned. The two boys didn’t say anything, but looked worried that their sisters were going off with a stranger. I could understand. The girls had loaded back packs and the four of us were soon pulling up to the stranded pickup.

“Steve, we’ll call when we get to Uncle’s. This may be our one chance to make some money. We sure need it.” Steve shook my hand and hugged his sisters. The girls were quiet and didn’t say very much on the trip into town. I didn’t ask many questions, for it might seem as if I was prying.

I asked, “Would you like to meet my wife? That’s our home up ahead. She was at the factory when I left this morning.”

“We could, but we shouldn’t stay but just a few minutes. Uncle Rufus will be expecting us to be there soon.”

“Ten minutes, tops.”

Kitten heard me drive up. She shouted from the kitchen. “Howard, feed the horses before you take off your coat. Did you find any new workers?”

“Kitten, two possible for interviews tomorrow. I have them with me. Come meet them.” Kitten came through the door. “This is Sherry and Sheila Wolf. Their Uncle lives near here and they will be staying with him. I’m dropping them off.”

“Oh, hi, I’m Kittery, do you live far?”

“We live on the reservation about fifty miles from here. Mr. Prentice gave us a ride. We need jobs badly so he brought us in. We can’t stay because my brother is waiting on our call as soon as we get to Uncle’s apartment. Our brother worries about us.”

“It sounds like your brother is nice.”

“He is.”

“Okay, maybe you can stay awhile some other time.”

“Kitten, why don’t you drive them into the factory tomorrow? You will be coming in, won’t you?

“I’m planning on it. It will be about nine. Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No, Uncle will bring us over. It is only a half mile from here.”

“Great, I’ll have coffee ready when you get here.” The two women smiled and said they were pleased to meet Kitten. We loaded up and I took the two to a large apartment house a half mile east.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at the factory. I hope you think this is something you would like to work at. I do really need more workers. It is a clean and not too heavy work. It is a job to keep you on your toes and you’ll find that beneficial because otherwise it would be boring. Say hi to Steve and the rest of the family when you call. Good night.”

“Good night Mr. Prentice. I drove home to face Kitten. “Okay Howard, where did you find those two Indians? You said you would hire women, but how come squaws?

I explained how come. “I went out to the reservation. They both have a general associate’s degree and the family needs desperately someone to work in the family. We’ll see if they can do the work. I believe they will try very hard to learn the job. I may have you drive them home and you can meet the others of the family.”

“What will the crew you have now, say?  They may not like you hiring Indians.”

“Kitten, they can’t say much if the two do the job satisfactorily. You watch; I’ll bet the guys will take them under their wing and give them extra help to learn the machine’s operation.”

“I hope so, you don’t need trouble. Things have been coming together so well. How many more workers do you need now?”

“One more will make ten all together and eight of those I need as machine operators. I will see how the orders increase by the time we finish the Graziola contract. I will see at that time if it will be enough.

“Howard, did you get a sense of how the one you hired Monday is doing?”

“Kind of slow, but he is trying. He is quiet, but not afraid to ask questions. Gary thinks he will make it and that’s good. Whew, I’m hungry. It smells like spaghetti?”

“Nope, it’s Chop Suey and a lot of it. I made it and have some garlic bread. Sit, everything is ready.”

I went into work the next morning. As the men came in, I informed them that I had two women coming in to interview for the job as machine operators. “They are from the Indian reservation. I couldn’t find anyone at the unemployment office.”

“Are they Indian?”

“Yes, both girls in their early twenties. They have some education, but I have no idea how they will do. Now, I don’t want them harassed in any way. That includes swearing and dirty language. Understand, also that they are from a different culture and may not fully understand ours. They need the work, so I would like for everyone to help them all you can. That is if I should hire them.”

“Howard, will their pay be the same to start as the new man, Murphy?”

“Exactly the same with the same trial period and scheduled pay increases. Also, I do need one more operator, so if you guys run into anyone who you think will do, have them come in for an interview. That’s either man or woman.”

The men came in and went right to work. Murphy, the new operator, stood for a minute, He had only been here three days. I hadn’t had the chance to work with him yet. I told him, “Go ahead and set up the first machine. I’ll be with you in a minute. I’ll be teaching you today.”

Murphy, in his thirties was immediately nervous.  “Relax, it’s just a job. The guys said you were doing fine. You have a whole month to learn this. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

I walked up and down the line.  Most of the men had two machines loaded and at least one was making product already. Soon each had all three of their machines  started. I walked back to Murphy. He had just started his first machine, which was what I expected. “Okay, keep your mind on that one and we’ll see about loading the next one. By the end of the day I think you will be comfortable with running two machines full time. Plan on finishing out the week with the two. Next week sometime we’ll see if you are ready for the third one. If not, that’s okay until the following week

“Just understand that the first machine is what sets the cycle for all three and you will be fine.” His timing was a little off and he had to leave the second machine down occasionally to get the timing right so both could run, complete, unload, and ready to set up to begin again. By noon, he had three complete runs in a row without a hitch. I hadn’t stayed with him all the time. I couldn’t because Kitten came in with the two Indian women for their interview.

Both women were wearing jeans and sweat shirts with shawls tightly wound around their heads covering their braids. Sherry said, “Braids are a bother. Sheila and I may just cut them off.  Mrs. Prentice filled us in that we couldn’t wear loose clothing so she gave us some shawls and sweat shirts and helped us tie our hair out of the way.”

“I should have told you. That’s a mistake I won’t make again. I’m not used to having ladies in around the machines.” Both giggled when I called them ladies.

The men of my crew put themselves out explaining the operations to the two women after I had made out the paperwork to hire them. I put each one with an operator and told him to explain his moves while he kept working at his normal pace. At lunch time, I told them to use the office phone to call their family while eating their lunch.

They didn’t talk long and went out to ask different questions of the crew about the background of the factory. Both were surprised at how little time I had owned the factory. Becker had gotten hauled over the coals by my men even though he was their friend.

I left it to Gary to fill in more about the company “Hi I’m Gary. Howard just knows so much more how to run a factory than Becker did. But Becker will know much more when we see him again.  Howard got him an intern’s job back east with his former, boss. Howard is a good guy we think because within a year he will hire Becker for a salesman for our company. We are making more money in a week now than we did before. It is like being paid an extra week every month.

“You girls will be getting increases as soon you can handle the work. When Howard bought the business there was only work until the first of February. A man came to the door with enough work to take ten employees into May. Howard took a couple of samples and we did them up and got the job. Becker would have had to turn it down, because he would have had no idea how to get it done on time. Becker was going to shut the place down anyway because he was within days of declaring bankruptcy.”

“Do you really think we can do the job? If we can it will be the best thing that ever happened to us. Where we live there is no work at all for any of us.”

“Hey, don’t worry about the job. Us guys that were here before Howard bought the business have learned some new ways and will help you if you are slow catching on. Remember you have a month to succeed,”

“Sherry and I will be eternally grateful and I thank you, Gary.”

“You know I have never have met any Native Americans before. You don’t act any different than the people I knew who were our neighbors when I was growing up.”

“Don’t kid yourself because we are different. Sherry and I have a little education given us by your country. We were hoping all our lives that we could be treated like you seem to be treating me. A bit of history for you, especially in this area. Trust me when I say we are Indians and have own culture. But there were many thousands of us a century and a half ago. Now we are only a few thousands and you and your people own most of the good land and we are left locked up on poor reservation land.”

“I’d like to learn more about this when you have time. Now though, I think we had better get back to what we are here for. Can we sit down during another lunch and discuss this more?”

“I’d like that.” Sheila turned and started to walk away. She spoke once more, “Remember Gary, we are a nation of Indians and we live within the United States. I’ll be a friendly ambassador for my nation and you can be a friendly ambassador for your country.”

The first of February came and I had all of the orders that Becker had in the queue done and ready to go into full time production with the Graziola job. I definitely needed one more operator. I had Becker’s four operators that were producing without a hitch. Sheila and Sherry were great and they were now almost as good. Murphy was doing great with two machines, but still had a few more rejects than the others. This was making him nervous and afraid I was going to fire him.

“Murphy, you are too tense. Relax a little more. Tell you what I’m going to do, you come in tomorrow morning and start your machine the same way as you have been taught. I have observed that when the first machine finishes its cycle, take five minutes and before you start another cycle and double check it is set to go the way it should be.  That will give you five minutes to check the last two machines while walking back to start the next cycle again.

“You are doing okay and maybe I’ve been pushing you too hard. I really need someone on this machine. I thought help would be easier to find, but people don’t seem to want to work. I know that isn’t your problem. I see how hard this is for you and I want you to make it. When you relax and realize it isn’t too terrible difficult, then we have both won. I’ll tell you a secret, I’m making a profit from what you are producing now so I’m not letting you quit.”

“I wasn’t thinking of quitting. I just don’t seem to catch on as quickly as those Indian women do.”

“Yeah, they are exceptional. Just remember they haven’t been long out of school. They were as desperate for a job, just like you are. I have a lot of faith that you’ll make it.”

“I will make it for sure now that we have had this talk.”

“Great!”

Chapter Eight

The business had a good start and everyone was producing almost at peak. I began to see that I was going to have to take one of my operators and teach him to code the work. I would use one of the men who Becker had trained. None were as good as the two I had working at this now. I had been paying these two a premium. I could use that as an incentive if it did take an incentive.

I was going to speak two days from now which was the end of the week about making the change.  Just before quitting time I looked up and there were two young men who stood in the doorway to be noticed.

“Hi, can I help you?”

“We are looking for work. We graduated from high school last June, but haven’t found anything yet. We had a little band we played in, but the gigs are few and far between so all of us decided to disband and go to work.”  He gave me a lopsided grin.  “You know we studied a little about this in school. We at least know how to turn a switch on and how to keep the machine from running out of material.”

“How did you find out about this place? First though, what are your names?”

One spoke, “My Aunt Jordan works in a law office, She told us about you. She said you just bought the business and might need someone. My name is Jake Reynolds and his is Mike Moses.

“I do and I need an operator right now. Come into the office and I’ll interview you. Have either of you done any coding for product or prototypes?”

“Not much. We are good with computers though, do you need a lot of work on them?”

“Some of the jobs do, I’m thinking I’m going to need a backup by summer time. I have four operators who used to do a little code writing before I bought the business. I’d teach one of you to be a back up. First though you would be operating three machines at a time. The work week is five eight hour days and five hours on Saturday. That doesn’t leave much time for partying.

“I have a large project I’m working on that has to be finished by May. I have to buy more machines before then. I haven’t dropped the prototype line yet and I never know what will come through the door and I’m looking for more work all the time.

“When I purchase machines, I buy a dozen at a time. That’s because the operation needs three machines per operator. I may be dreaming but the dozen I’m buying will fill half of that long empty bench beside the full bench that is running at present. You can see that I will need one more operator.”

“Can you explain that?”

“Sure. I have two men writing code. I need one machine for them in case they need to run a prototype off, Two machines would be better. I have four experienced operators  that can easily handle three machines each. I have two young women who are almost there so that’s six more machines. I have one more operator who is at seventy-five percent and that is three more.  I need one more to make eight operators running twenty four machines.

“That doesn’t leave any machines for the two writing code. I also have work from my father-in-law making boxes for putting small tools in that he makes in his factory. So you see I need at least one operator and three machines for that job. That will be done as soon as I get the next dozen machines in here next week.

“I need every machine running until the first of May. Having spare machines gives me the ability to keep running if a machine breaks down.  That will happen, I promise you. You understand I’m just getting started”

“How did you get smart enough to plan all of this?”

“I started working five years ago in my father-in-laws factory right out of college. I married his daughter and he pushed me harder than anyone else just because of that. He’s a great guy and was my friend after the day’s work was finished. We had a little personal trouble and he sent me to find a small factory for both of us to down size into. I found this and he decided he would stay where he was. He was good enough to keep me on the payroll. He did that until this big job came in and I could pay myself.”

“Lucky you,”

“I have had some luck. If you are interested, why don’t you two come back tomorrow morning and watch what this is all about.”

“We’ll be here.”

Kitten was excited for me (us) when I reached home to tell her about my two new prospective operators. It was only a couple of weeks until our baby was to arrive.  Everything seemed to be on track to welcome him. I’d miss Kitten doing some of the installing of decals. Jenny was only barely keeping up. Some days she was stopping at the house and decided to keep Kitten company. The work was so nearly automatic that she could work and hold a conversation a the same me time.

—————————————

Mary was moving in for a week from now and Mable was coming from the east three days before the baby came. For myself I was as ready as I could be. I had the twelve new machines installed and had seven operators fully trained with two that had two weeks training. Kitten was a good mother and we would be glad when the family left and Kitten and I could be a close family unit alone.

At work, I was training both the two new young men to operate. They would be ready soon when I had to take one of the operators to help write code if someone was sick or out. That person would only work part time on the code writing and the rest of the week working on the three spare machines. 

Henry had taught me in my career as an engineer after I had the basics in college. Not only that we had been through the fire together with our marriages. Henry felt the same.“Son, thanks for giving my grandson the name of Henry. The name Henry has shown up in my family every so often and I appreciate it.

“You know, I learned a few things about people when you showed me how wrong I was with Mable. We have never been this close before as we are right now. Happier too.”

“I could count a dozen things you have done for me too. Kitten suggested it so we went with it.”

William Henry Prentice arrived right on time. Kitten had an easy time with the birth. It took some time for Kitten and I to figure out what to name our child. Mable suggested the middle name of Comstock after her mother, but Henry shot that down. He hated the old lady and and still faulted her for teaching Mable and Lorna some wrong-headed thinking. She left Mary and Kittery out in the cold. "I think Mable was joking when she made the suggestion and she went into a laughing  jag when I said no to Comstock. That shows where I’m with Mable now.”

——————————

I looked for more efficient ways in my operation. Immediately I ordered two 3D printers that would load multiples and thus able to cut the items that I did for Henry by a hefty percentage. This guaranteed I would get all of Henry’s work on this particular item. With so many machines running, I hired one person to bring the plastic pellets from the store room to the machine operators, thus saving the operator having to leave their station. In this persons spare time he/she would work packaging finished product for shipping.

One thing I kept to was the hours I was in the factory and not staying over more than a half hour. This assured I would be home most all evening. I had made this promise to Kitten. I would be a father for the baby and a wife to Kitten, and both could count on affection most every day.

At work, it was a rare day when I didn’t get around to speak to everyone working for me. I’d just stop and ask about their work or family or something about what had done on their hobby or what they did for recreation.  It paid off because they knew I was interested in their lives which the appreciated.

———————————————

Becker took a few days off in March and drove my car out. I had promised to pay for his flight back east. He just dropped in one day and he couldn’t believe how much the place had changed since he left after selling the place to me. At this time I had just installed another 12 machines, seven of which were running. He walked into the room filled with machines, thirty-nine which were turning out product. Three code writers were using three of the machines,

I spotted him about the same time as one of the operators who originally worked for him. The operator motioned to me to meet him. “Jesus Christ Howard, I can’t believe what I’m seeing!  You must be rich with all this going on. The guys have kept in touch calling me occasionally and bragging about how much you are paying them.”

“I am making a good wage too, but I want to build another building back of this one by next year. I’ll do some figuring after the first of May when I get this big job done. The job most of the workers are doing walked in the door the day after you left. This was around Christmas. I made an estimate for him and the guys came in and built two prototypes. I had something to show him right after the New Year and he gave me the job. Not only that, he provided the crew to build the benches, made a shipping room, a break room, and an office. I only had to pay for the material.

“He also gave me and advance on the projected cost. That was when I started buying machines and hiring help. The job was big … almost as big as you had in here for work for all of last year. I finished all the work in queue before the 1st of  February and that was our main job until May. I guaranteed I would finish it by May first and I’ll have it completed two weeks early.”

“Wow, that’s great for you. Do you have anything lined up for after you finish this?”

“I have. My queue is full until the first of July and I have a few small  projects lined up further out. I’m still doing Henry’s tool boxes and I’ll continue making those for him. Those two machines you see that are running in that last bank of machines are where I run his. Those do multiples six at a time, so every cycle instead of one box I get six. I can do that many cheaper and Henry is pretty damned pleased.”

“I’d say so. Where did you get all your help? I wonder because I thought this place would take off and if it had I would’ve been out looking.”

“I hire workers wherever I find them. See those two Indian girls halfway down the first line, I went by them last winter and their pickup was out of gas. I gave them a ride and they started work the first of the next week. They are fully as good operating a machine as the men who worked for you.

“If I get a slow down, I’ll start another person in learning to write code. I’m sending their brother Steve, when school lets out for the younger family members, to the company who I buy machines from. I’ll want him to learn to service the machines to get the most out of the ones I have so I don’t have breakdowns. I have a farmer who was slow to start, but it has been at least two weeks since he has had a reject. I hired two boys that had a band, went broke, and hadn’t done anything except the band since graduating high school last year. One will be up to doing part-time coding during vacations this summer. Just looking ahead a little.

“Hey, let me call Kitten and have you in for supper after work.”

“I hate to turn you down, but I was planning on having a reunion with the guys. First show me what has been making so much money for you.”

“John, follow me into shipping. You know Jenny, wife of one of your men. She tends to all the decals that got me this project. Putting decals on was my idea and is what sold Graziola on the idea to go with me.” I had a green rug of outdoor carpet set up and one of the costly set of building compounds displayed.

“No wonder you got the job, that’s beautiful.  How many of these have you built?”

“The order was for 267 plots to have a different house set up on a display so prospective buyers can see what and where they will be living. The cheapest one  is selling for a million dollars in a rich neighbor hood.  I’ve run off a few others as samples.

“Next week, Joe Graziola, the person who gave me the order, is taking me to the architectural gathering to view this project now that it is almost finished. He thinks they will point me to other design companies who could use something like this one. I’m positive I can get more orders like this. If I can, that would give me enough capitalization for another building such as this one when I expand.”

“Say, how are you and Henry getting along?”

“Okay. Sometimes I wish I was on hourly pay instead of being on salary. I can see how you have done so well after working for him for five years. I thought when I started my business I knew how to run it. You pointed out the faults I was making and Henry is teaching me the finer points.  I’m hanging in there for awhile yet.” I laughed for I knew what it was like working for Henry.

———————————

I asked Sheila or Sherry to drive my returned vehicle home when on the their way by my house. “Can we stop and see your baby?”

“Sure, we love to show him off. When is your sister and brothers getting out of school this year?”

“June some time, why?”

“I’d like to talk to Steve about working for me eventually.”

“He would like that. Sherry and I hate living with our Uncle, so maybe we could find a place to rent and all live together again. With three paychecks we could swing it.”

“It’s something to think about. I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks, Sheila.” 

———————————

It was a good thing that I didn’t have Becker at the house. Mary had come to visit. “Hi guys, I’m here to decide what I’m going to do about my two horses this year. The people who kept theirs here last year want me to do the same as always. I guess I’ll take my two up to the ranch. That will take them off your hands. Then Howard won’t have to take care of them.”

“I can do chores okay. I don’t really want Kitten doing them. I want her here with the baby rather than out in the barn.”

“If I take my two out of here, I can rent out the business to one of my friends who has always kept her horse here to ride. Would you two be okay with that

Kitten with tears in her eyes, “Oh, I’m going to miss the two old pets. I was so looking forward for them staying. I can chat with the people who rode the other horses. But this is your business Aunt Mary. Of course this year I am married. Last year I was knocked up, and hopelessly lonely.”

“Kittery, I’ll think about this some more. It may be as long as six weeks before I decide. Now let me hold little William. Ron and I are talking about having a baby soon. It is all about if he wants to go into old age with a teenager.”

“Everyone says that it keeps a person young. I’m tickled that I have a child. Lorna didn’t want kids but she is happy when she suddenly has two of them.”

“Howard, I know, Lorna calls me about them. I’ve had more calls from her in the last few months than I’ve had in my whole life.” Kitten had handed the baby to Mary and she asked while looking at me  “Is his nickname going to be Billy?”

“Yeah, anything that isn’t Howard I can live with. Especially not Howie or Peter.”

“Aunt  Mary, we wanted William’s name to be common, simple, and not cute. We are the last ones to put on airs.”

“Billy is about as common as can be.” She paused, and then went on to a different subject. “I guess I can tell you that I’m pregnant. Ron will like it when it comes, I know he will. Another thing, Lorna may be as well. She wants me to be her matron of honor when she gets married. I couldn’t get her to admit it. Kittery, I’m here to ask you if you mind at all that it isn’t you who she asked to be her matron?”

“No Mary, of course I don’t mind. I would like to be invited to the wedding, but Howard isn’t too enthused.  I think it will be okay for Billy to fly. I’ll check with the doctor. It’s going to be Memorial Day week end isn’t it?”

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Lorna said something to me one time, hoping that Howard wouldn’t mind her marrying Rod Peters.”

“Mary, I’m glad he is marrying her, with Peters losing his wife the way he did and him feeling guilty about  jumping the fence the night Lorna and I married. Maybe they can go on and have a happy life together. Actually I feel more for the kids than I do for either one of them. Anyway, I’m getting along with her and I want to continue to do so.”

“So Howard, you are okay with the way you and Lorna finished up?”

“Yeah, I am. It couldn’t be better where everyone is ending with the one they love. Henry and Mable have their life sorted out and I guess they are happy. Kitten and I are certainly happy and we are who we were meant to be with. This has all happened in the last ten months. Your life has turned out well and you are happy with someone to love. Not only that, I struck it lucky finding a business that came together and is making money.

“I’m making enough so Kitten can stay home and care for Billy and we are putting some money aside to expand the business as early as next year. I’m thinking I want to double the size of what I have now and I hope to breaking ground next April. I may have to borrow to put up the building, which over all, may not be too expensive. I should have cash enough to stock it with machines and equipment and pay for it by a year from this June.”

“Why June of next year?”

Kitten didn’t give me a chance to answer, “That’s an anniversary of when the Consummation Baby was conceived last year. Believe it or not, that was a big deal that neither of us expected. Howard didn’t know it and I felt so badly for him being cheated on his wedding night?” 

“It has been quite a year, hasn’t it, sweetheart?”

“It has, almost. Aunt Mary, we ought finalize something about us living here, in your house and on your land.”

“Why, I’m not using it and you are keeping the house up.

“You won’t be coming back?”

“No, I’m making my life on Ron’s dude ranch. I don’t really know what I am going to do with the land here. You do know, Howard, there is another house that goes with the land don’t you?”

“I didn’t, where is it located?”

“I should have told you about it before this, it sets back from the road just before you reach here. The entrance is brushed in so you don’t notice the driveway, and it can’t be seen from either the road or this house. Kittery says it is spooky sitting in the woods on the back side of my twenty acres. Two and half years ago I had three people living in it who helped out with the horses and riders. When winter cold weather arrived, they didn’t want to keep the road open during the winter and never came back last year. But then I had Kittery to help me with the business when she arrived.”

“Just what does your business entail.”

“You know the paddock for ten horses and with the two I kept for my old friends who you cared for this winter? I rented out the ten stalls and they were full for people who boarded their animals here. Mostly they exercised on the track. They brought and kept their own tack in that other building next to the hay barn. If you go straight towards the woods there is a trail they can ride on for several miles after a rider leaves my property. Owners would often come at day break with a food basket and be gone until late afternoon.”

“You didn’t tell me anything about this Kitten?”

“No, I guess I didn’t. Mostly because I was wrapped up being pregnant and after Mary hooked up with Ron, we were kind of wrapped up in ourselves or your new business. I didn’t think she would have horses here this year.”

“Kittery, I just am not sure what I am going to do. One of the horse riders would lease the property, but she is awful pushy and I don’t know as I want to get that much involved with her. Also I’m not sure she would get along with the other women.”

I observed that it would be better to steer clear of her. “What are the chores that need doing when the horses are here?”

“Feed and water the horses and muck them out. You have to take them out to water or bring it to them. Good weather they can be out in the paddock.  I only have gentle riding horses, and I won’t have any that buck, kick, or bite. There is the Gymkhana field and there are going to be two horses training with riders this year. Kittery knows what this is all about when she got familiar with the horses. The same women have contacted me already. Howard, why don’t you walk around the place tomorrow morning with me?  I’ll show you what I have.”

“I’d like to. Kitten, can you and Billy go with us?”

“If it is warm enough he can. You have to carry him.”

“I can do that.”

Chapter Nine

The day did warm and walking through the woods to the house was great. The path was a little brushed in, but that was just from some overhanging branches which could easily be pruned back. We hadn’t gotten far when Ron called Mary on her cell. We continued walking while Mary stopped. It was a lengthy conversation and the house we were looking for was in view.

Mary did catch up to us, “Kittery, Ron is coming down to visit this afternoon. He has a niece that will be with him. She knows horses and he thinks this may be an answer to my problem of what to do about having horses here this year. He knows about the house and wonders if she can live in it, I told him I didn’t think it was livable.”

“Mary, she can stay in the house with us. It’s your house,”

“I don’t want to crowd you with Billy and all. Any way he can look at the situation when he gets here.”

We walked up through the brush to the house and Mary opened the door. The house was empty and certainly smelled it. It would take a lot to air out. It was nice inside. The floors and wall were in good shape. The appliances in the Kitchen were dated from a time twenty years ago. There was an artesian well that supplied the water. There was no way to tell if the pump worked because of no electricity. “It should be okay, it’s not that old.”

We walked around the grounds and up the driveway to the main road. For a property that had no attention for a couple of years It was surprisingly still together. It did need to be painted, Mary walked me up to the western boundary. There was a garden spot that had a lot of dead weeds in it. They hadn’t totally taken over so there was little sod and it could be roto-tilled without a problem. There wasn’t any view, because of surrounded by trees.

I heard voices coming up the track from Mary’s house. Two boys burst into sight. They stopped and then came on slowly. “Hi, Mr. Prentice. We drove into your yard just as you went out of sight, We didn’t know whether to leave or follow you. Sherry and Sheila said to tell you they were here to see Billy. You know, unless it was not ok or you’re not too busy.”

“Great we are about finished here. Are they behind you?”

“They are coming now.” The two boys were looking around. Scott said. “Boy, that sure is a big house.” I had left the door open and the boys, now looked like they wanted go inside.

Mary said, “All of you go inside if you want to. There is the garage and the empty barn that is used for storage you can go into and look around.”

Sherry, Sheila, Sandy, and Steven came into sight, and stopped, seeing the two boys going into the house. They hurried up to us. Steven looked mad that the boys were in the house. “Howard, I’ll get them out. They had no right to go into the house.”

Mary answered, “Yes, they did have a right, I told them to go explore. It’s an empty building. They have my permission. They can look into the garage and the barn, too. I know how young boys are. How old are they?”

“Scott is thirteen, and Sheldon is almost fifteen. His birthday is in June, we call him Shell.” Sherry now asked if she could go into the house. We had seen the two boys peering out the upstairs window.

“Sure all of you go ahead. I like to go through houses too. I live on a dude ranch and the house there is twice the size of this one. Thank God I don’t have to clean the guest rooms. My husband hires cleaning women do that. I’m out with the horses most of the time, anyway.”

Sheila offered, “This is the size house we need…maybe someday we can have one like it to live in.” She didn’t tell Mary what their house , an oversized double wide, was like.

We spent an hour at the house, I guess it was a day for company. Ron drove in with a woman in the passenger seat. Ron looked mad at something when he stepped down from the cab of his pickup.

Mary said, when she saw the two and the expressions on their faces. “Oh, oh, Ron and his niece, Glenda, are fighting about something. I’ve been able to stay out of their squabbles so far. Kittery tend to your friends. Why don’t you go into the house and make coffee while I find out what is going on.”

“Come inside Steven, and I’ll make coffee and we can visit.”

“No, you have family here and we’ll be in the way.”

Mary said, “Ron, and I will be leaving soon. He is here to pick me up and I’m all packed.” Nothing was said until we went inside. I could see out the window where there was a heated argument going on between Ron and the woman.

Kitten said, “I’ve never met Ron’s niece. I think she is the black sheep of Ron’s family.” Kitten led the women into the baby’s room and changed Billy’s diaper. I started a conversation with Steven,

“So, Steven are you going to take me up on my suggestion about going to the factory and learn about setting up the machines and how to repair them? Now that your brothers and sister are going to be out of school for the summer, it would be a good time to get away. I’m paying all the costs for you to go and I’m paying you the starting wage just as soon as you leave for the factory. Eight of my machines are getting old, and will be needing repairs shortly. Learning how to fix them is a good way to learn a trade.”

“When will this happen? Sandy is graduating and I want to be here when she does. I think that is the second week of June.”

“The following week is good. This is an ongoing course. It will be mostly hands on. You would be expected to read the instructions and follow along as they tear down and do repairs and setups. This is one on one, with your teacher working right in their shop. Users get a small credit on an old machine when they buy a new machine if they turn one in. These machines are usually donated after being restored, and never sold as new. Most are only used for teaching anyway.”

The three girls and Kitten came in and saw that I had made coffee and set out soda for those who wanted something to drink. I sat the cake that Mary had made on the table and Kitten began cutting it. “Howard, go see what is going on outside with Mary and Ron. Tell them you have coffee.”

I stepped out and Glenda got into the pickup and Ron kissed Mary, he getting in and started the motor.

Mary turned to me with an exasperated look on her face. “Ron is going into Helena and find Glenda a room. When she found out we expected her to stay here and take care of the horses, and all that goes with it, she objected. She thought she would live here and go into town or get a job there. Glenda is divorced and has plenty of money and won’t work for Ron. She could have told him earlier before coming with him which was the original plan. I’m not sticking my foot into it at all. Ron will be back and get me and then we will go home. I need coffee and something sweet.”

“Coffee is made and there may be some cake left. Those two girls work for me and I’m trying to hire the older brother to be my mechanic.  The pretty girl, named Sandy, graduates in June. The two girls who work for me have been living with an Uncle during the week. That’s up the road a half mile from here. The rest of them live on the reservation fifty miles away. They were hoping to stay all together, but not much chance of it. Most of their income is from what I pay the two girls. They own a house, but I suspect Steven only has the chance to work for gas money from the Indians in his village.”

“Have you had any trouble with them?”

“None at all. They work hard and they are the most loving family, watching out for each other all the time. I lent him some money one time for gas and he had me take it out of one of the girl’s paycheck, so I would say they are honest to a fault. Why do you want to know so much about them?”

“Howard, do you think those boys would tend to the horses this summer? I’d let them all stay in the house up in the woods if they could handle it.”

“I would think they would jump at the chance if they could afford it.”

“The buildings need painting, They could plant a garden for some of their food. I’d pay the two boys a little to clean the stables and walk the horses if one of the riders didn’t show up every week. Is it okay if I ask them? You might not want them living that close to you if they are working at your business.”

“I’d love having them around. I’m sure that Kitten would love having them near. Too, she was missing the horses not coming this year. Ask them about it.”

“Okay, give me a chance to ask Kittery first, before I say anything to the Wolf’s.”

I went back inside and told Kitten that Aunt Mary needed to speak to her for just a few minutes. The Wolfs rose to leave.

“Please stay until Aunt Mary and Kitten come in. We have been terrible hosts and Kitten will apologize. What do you guys think of my son, Billy? He’s a sweetie, isn’t he?”

“Howard, he is adorable, but with parents like you and Mrs. Prentice, he has to be.”

“Thank you. Sandy what are you doing this summer after you graduate?”

“Not much, only watching my brothers so they don’t get into trouble. It is terribly lonely out in the village. I’d like a job, but with everyone but the boys gone, there isn’t anything.”

“Do you know anything about computers?”

“No, and there isn’t one to learn on. I envy Sherry and Sheila, being able to work and earn money.”

Aunt Mary and Kitten came in, apologizing about being a poor host.

"My Aunt quesstioned the boys what they were doing this summer.  Both shrugged their shoulders and said, “Nothing.”

She then addressed Steven, “Steven, I take it you are on charge of the family and what they do. Do the two boys know anything about horses?”

“Not much, although there are a few in the village that they get a chance to ride occasionally. Why?”

“You probably weren’t aware but I am a horse person and work on a Dude Ranch, I have a stable here where I keep horses for women who ride and I stable them through the summer season. There are ten women and most of the horses last year were cared for by me and Kittery who helped me doing chores. This year she wants to take care of Billy. She would show the boys what needs doing and how to do it. There is a Gymkhana course set up in one field and there are two of the women who want to practice their skills and train their own horses.”

Steven stated, “There is no place to stay or way to get home. It would cost too much to travel that far. The boys would have to be right there to set up poles and things to go around that type of course. It could be dangerous. No, I don’t want them involved.”

“Steven, there is no pole jumping on this course, it is all weaving in and out, reversing, and making sharp turns. The owners are just keeping their, and the horses skills, sharp. They might want one of the boys to time the horse on the course. A lot of what is needed is mucking out the stables and sometimes cooling the horse down. They would be watering the horses and maybe feeding them. It shouldn’t be difficult for them as strong as they look. Kittery will be here to guide the boys on what is needed.

“As far as where to stay, there is the house you explored this morning. Do you think you could all stay in that if I offered it to you to live in? I’d let you all stay there if in your spare time, you would spread paint on the buildings, as well as care for the horses? For this summer, I wouldn’t charge you anything. The brush needs cutting and there is that garden spot you can use. Kittery was telling me that you are training how to service Howard’s machines, and you will be back by August first.”

“Yes, Howard has taken a likening to my family. The two girls that work for him, adore him. The other workers don’t look down on them at all. Being looked down on happens to us Indians all the time. I’ve worked out where that happened to me and a person can take just so much of it and I’ve left a job just for that reason. I’m so looking forward to working in a place where there is an absense of drama that upsets a person.”

“Sandy, are you going to be working there with Howard?”

“I hope to some day, but I don’t have any education for that type of work.”

“Get your sisters to train you in the basics. I’m sure Howard would give you a chance at it. He has said that he will be building another place next year to expand. That would be the time to ask for a job.”

“I will, and Steven will see that they will start me out learning how the machines operate. Thank you, Mrs. Blackburn for thinking of us. You did offer us a place to live where we can be together. Do you really mean it?”

“I do, and your brothers can pick up a few dollars when I see how many horses I have here this year. You can move in any time and I’ll have the electricity turned on this week. Maybe you shouldn’t bring any furniture until we see if there is any major problems with the property. Three of you still have school to complete so you have time.” Mary handed the keys to the house to Steven. The family left their vehicle here and walked back to look at the house again.

—————————

Ron was late getting back to pick up Mary. He had found Glenda a furnished room to live in. She had turned two rooms down before she would take the one she said was okay. Kitten and I asked them to stay, but Ron said he had business to tend to,  and they left, not happy campers. It wasn’t very long after they left when the Wolf family came and said they were dropping Sherry and Sheila at Uncle Rufus’s for work tomorrow. 

“Howard, we’ll be back next Saturday, and plan about moving in. Maybe Kittery will show the boys what has to be done with the horses when they arrive. They are damned excited to have something to do for the summer. We also will try not to bother you very much,”

“Don’t worry about that, we are always home with the baby. You know I didn’t know there was another house on the property until today. I was really surprised to see it. You came at the right time and I’m happy that Aunt Mary offered you a place to stay so you could be together.”

“Really, it does mean a lot to us. I’ll see you next weekend, if not before, I can get away when the other three are in school, but not for long.” Steven and the boys shook my hand and the three women went and did the same to Kitten.

Kitten said when everyone had left for the day, “You never know how our day is going to begin, do we Howard? I thought Ron was coming and just pick up Mary. We’d have a nice relaxing lunch and maybe lie down this afternoon. You ended up learning that there was another house on Mary’s property and she ended up letting your Indians live in for just little or no cost. It looks like I’m going to be watching two Indian boys and advising them how to become grooms for Mary’s horses. I didn’t expect that at all.

“I don’t think it will be too much of a problem and they will be company. How much is the pretty eighteen-year old, Sandy going to be around here this summer, do you think?”

“I have no idea, Kitten. Maybe I should hire her to be a trainee at the factory.”

“I don’t know as I would like that, either, she is certainly a beautiful creature, so different than her older sisters.”

“Don’t you be getting jealous. Kitten, my love. Her body shape is the same as Steven and Scott have. Shell has the same as Sherry and Sheila. Steven said one time that he took after his father in build. That was before I noticed anything different in how they looked. Just think it possible, I will have all six of the Indians working for me someday when the boys get old enough. I’ll bet they will be all good workers I can depend on. What are we going to have for supper, I’m hungry?”

“I’ll toast some bread if you will brown some hamburger for SOS.”

“Good enough.”

Kitten fed Billy and put him down in his bed which was in our room. We got into bed and Kitten went off to sleep. I did too for about a half hour and then I was wide awake, thinking about the day. I couldn’t go back to sleep, and squirmed around until Kitten was awake.

“What’s the matter?”

“Just thinking of Aunt Mary and Ron. Ron was so pissed at his niece, he hardly spoke to us. What did Aunt Mary say about her, if anything?”

“Not much, except Mary was planning on Glenda living here and tending the horses, and interacting with the riders. Ron had told her and she didn’t object about it until she got here. She does know horses working for his brother who also has a ranch. Her father objected about her living at home and he kicked her out. She worked all right for Ron, but said she wanted to come see where Aunt Mary lived. He told her all bout Mary having a small business and she could have it.

“She didn’t want it and that is when Ron drove her into Helena, finding her a place to live. Glenda is thirty and divorced, has money from her divorce, and abruptly decided to go out on her own. I’d say good riddance, and I hope it doesn’t spoil Ron and Mary’s life together.”

“Not our problem. What do you think of the Indians getting to live in Mary’s house  in the woods?”

“It’s nice, and it is funny that Aunt Mary never mentioned it that often. I’m going to ask her why she never did. I’ve lived here almost a year. I can understand it after you got me with child, My mind was all mixed up and then you found out and treated me so wonderful.”

“You were in the wrong place when I was having sex with my wife.”

“No, I was in the right place. Put your arm around me and let’s get some sleep.”

“Good night, Kitten.”

——————————————

Sherry and Sheila were waiting at my car when I went out to go to work in the morning. “You should have knocked on the door,  I would have let you in.”

“Oh, we bothered you so much yesterday. Instead of taking our regular ride, we thought we would find out if you had any regrets about your aunt letting us live in the other house. The boys are really excited about having something to do this summer, as well.”

“No regrets, this means that Kitten will some company this summer. She did this all last summer and some of it is handier for two people to do. Often, she found that the women would come all at once and wanted their horses immediately. That’s when she helped Aunt Mary the most. Rich people don’t always consider the people that do the menial work for them.”

“Do you think our brothers will be good at this?”

“Sure, they will. I will bet they will come to love the horses, more than the people. If they remember that they will be fine.”

The month of May wound down, June was here, and it was time for Sandy Wolf to Graduate. We were invited to the graduation. It was held out doors with the three Indian villages who attended the one school. There were twelve students graduating. It was pointed out that this was a huge class of graduates and there were only forty-seven students in the total school for the upper six classes. Some of the few teachers, taught more than one year’s class. I gathered that there were very few of the students who possibly would be able to go on to a higher education.

This was the typical program of any small school. Such a waste of possible talent, hidden though it might be in the Indians, who never would be able to find work, or earn money enough to improve their station. They living on the edge between the  two different cultures.

Well, I would see what I could do with Steven, who I had hired  to be the mechanic of  the machines that were making me and my family such a good living. Steven now was on my payroll, and I had the faith that he would turn out to be one of my greatest assets.

I had become familiar with the outfit that made the machines because off the number of them I was purchasing. Also, until now, I had to have the factory representative come to service them when they broke down. I flew with Steven Wolf the day he was to start training there. The person who was going to train him, offered a room to live in for the six weeks he was training. I felt Steve was in good hands.

“Thanks Howard, I’m glad you came with me. I’ve never traveled before and anxious about it. I do think when I finish here I can make my own way home.”

“Steve, if you have any trouble with anything at all, Call me and I’ll straighten it out. I’ll watch after your family while you are gone too. I’m sure you will do fine, so don’t worry. I’ll see you at the end of July. You’ll have a few days off before going into the factory and I turn the machines over to you.”

“Howard, you said one time after I returned, you would get some training for Sandy with some kind of work. I’ll be home and take over so she can leave if she has to.”

“I did promise, I just haven’t figured out what, yet. I’ll have something planned when you do get back.”

“Thank you. Our whole family thanks you for what you are doing to give us a good life.” We shook hands and I headed back to the airport and home.

Chapter Ten

I made it home early and Kitten was tickled to see me when she picked me up at the airport. I asked what was new if, anything.“Howard, we do have a guest for tonight and Aunt Mary is coming here tomorrow when the horses get here. She’ll introduce you to the women who ride the horses. It shouldn’t take long, and you can go into work a little late. By noon, anyway.”

 Who is the new guest, for tonight, Lorna?”

Kitten giggled. “Nope, not even close. It is a woman, though, I’ll surprise you. Did you get Steven settled into his room?”

“Yes, with an older person and the one who will be teaching him. I couldn’t talk but a few minutes for the cab had his meter running. I’ll call Steve in a couple of days. Did any of the Indians come down to visit?”

“All of them I went through what the boys duties are going to be and how they are to address the women when they meet. I’ll be out there at the same time with Aunt Mary.”

“What’s for supper?”

“A roast of pork. You should remember, you picked it out.”

“Yeah, I guess I did. How come Billy isn’t in the car with us?”

“Sandy Wolf is still there at home with our guest. Sandy will be leaving for her house and lunch as soon as we arrive.” Kitten said this as we pulled into our yard.

Sandy held the door open as we entered. “Hi, Mr. Prentice, Is Steve okay?”

“He is fine and all set for his first lesson tomorrow. Tell the others he is pleased for this chance to learn about the machines. You forgot that my name is Howard.”

“I did didn’t I? I’ll remember next time, Bye.”

The roast was coming out of the oven as we went in. A women was bending over and stood up, carrying the roast to the table. “Hi Mr. Prentice, I’m Glenda, Uncle Ron’s niece. Kittery invited me to stay the night  and talk with Aunt Mary tomorrow. She will be here early before the four horse trailers arrive.”

“Oh, pleased to meet you. Are you going to help with the horses. The last I knew you had a room in the City.”

“I may, that’s why I’m talking to Aunt Mary. My Dad and Uncle Ron are very unhappy with me. I convinced Aunt Mary to at least talk to me about how I felt Dad was treating me and Kittery said to apologize if I had to, to both Dad and Uncle Ron, so that’s the plan.”

“It might work. Let me attack that roast with a knife, I’m starved.”

That night in bed, I asked, “Tell me about it and how we became involved?”

“Aunt Mary called right after I dropped you off this morning, and she said that  Glenda was giving up her room and rethinking about what went on with her father and uncle and what she had said to them. Glenda wanted to know if the work with my horses with the women was still open? I said not really but I had two boys were in training for it.

“Aunt Mary is coming anyway and she could figure out what she should do. First, Aunt Mary, had no one but herself to care for the horses and now she has too many. I did find out from Glenda something that you might use in our business. Glenda knows a lot about computers and has equipment, enough to teach lessons to them. You were thinking of hiring Sandy if she was computer literate. Howard, I only want to take care of Billy, I don’t want to be out there with the horses. Billy is so young and only three months old.”

“That’s what I want for you, sweetheart. We’ll talk it over with Mary when she gets here, I missed being so far away from you today, you know.”

“I know, I felt the same way.”

Mary drove her truck right over to the stables and went inside to the tack room. She had boxes of salve, liniment, bandages and tape, in case a horse got injured or there was swelling in the legs and ankles. The Medicine Cabinet was stocked for any eventuality. Glenda was up and dressed and went right across the lot to the stable, to meet Mary. “Aunt Mary, Howard said breakfast is ready and we can talk afterward.”

“Good, I need coffee. I finished mine fifteen miles back. Are you over your huff with Ron, yet? He was awfully disappointed the way you acted the last time you were together,”

“I know, and I want to make it right. I’ve got all my friends mad at me too, I’m calling them and apologizing. I’m still mad at my ex-husband and I’m not apologizing to him. He should be apologizing to me.”

“Glenda, please leave it until I get some coffee in me. Now, I have to pee and that coffee is just so much further away.”

“I’m sorry Aunt Mary.”

“So, Glenda, what are you doing here?”

“I’m hoping you will give me the job of working with your horses, you know like you and Uncle Ron and for what he wanted me to do. I’ve made an awful mistake by turning it down. I’ve just turned thirty, divorced and went home to my parents. They didn’t want me there and Uncle Ron didn’t want me at his ranch either. It was his plan for me to work here without clewing me in, and it just pissed me off. I hated living in Helena in a single room. I guess I’m down to begging you to let me get back the job I was offered before,”

“I have made other arrangements but they aren’t perfect. I was planning to have Kittery help, but Howard wants her to take care of Billy and not have the responsibility of watching the two boys, the horses and the women. There is always the paying attention to the women who will be riding the horses as well. That isn’t always that smooth either.”

“So where does that leave me?”

“It would be for you living here with the Howard and Kittery in one of the rooms, or living in the other house with the Indians. There is more room there than here.”

“What are the Indians, I mean is it just the two boys you are talking about that were going to have this job, with the horses?" 

"No, there is their sister who has just graduated high school who will be there with them. That’s just during the day. Howard employs the two older sisters and the oldest of the family is a twenty-eight-year old man who doesn’t talk much. Howard has sent him off for six weeks training to learn how to service the machines Howard has in his factory. I understand when he returns he will be sending the high school girl for computer training so he can employ her as well.”

“I’ll bet I could train her. I graduated in computer science seven years ago, that was my last job overseeing a large computer complex. My big mistake was marrying the boss. I was happy until he started running around on me. The settlement from that lets me live independently, but I haven’t found a job or a place to live I like that much. I do have some up-to-date computer equipment that was mine from the settlement.”

We sat there looking from one to the other. Mary spoke first. “Let’s walk up to the other house and talk to the three Indians that are there today, The two older sisters will be home about the same time Howard comes home this evening.”

I had listened to this exchange, “I have to go into work in a few minutes. Kitten, why don’t you and Billy go with Mary and Glenda and I’ll call you at noon and see if any decisions have been made. Walk me out to the car. Glenda and Aunt Mary, I’ll see you this evening.”

We went out to my car. “Kitten, that may be how we can get Sandy trained without sending her off somewhere. The business can pay for Sandy to learn enough to operate my machines. I can even bring a machine home for her to train on.”

“Okay, but it is Aunt Mary’s business and I won’t say very much. I’ll listen to Aunt Mary and Glenda’s conversation and fill you in when I call.”

—–––––––––––––––––––

“Hi Howard, I told you I would call. Aunt Mary has gone into Helena to get Glenda’s things, and Glenda is moving into one of the rooms in the other house with the Wolf family. Glenda has promised to help a lot to the three Wolf’s that are here so she can room with them. Steven doesn’t know about it yet and neither does Sheila and Sherry. They will find out about it tonight.

“When Sandy found out how Glenda could teach her about operating a computer, she asked Aunt Mary if Glenda couldn’t move in with them. Aunt Mary agreed she could. I don’t know what Steven will have to say about it. I guess Steven wants all his brothers and sisters to be computer literate. It was a shoo-in when Glenda offered to teach Shell and Scott on her computer as well, and they said they could convince Steven to let Glenda stay with them.

“Oh, I found out more about the women and the horses. The  horses will be here about two this afternoon. Only eight belong to Aunt Mary and the other two are owned by the owners who are training them for Gymkhana. Here again Glenda is involved in teaching Shell and Scott how to be grooms for such people like the women that are riding the horses. It looks like there is going to be a lot going on this summer.”

“We still have the two horses that are pets.”

“No we don’t. Aunt Mary is taking them home with her. She is replacing them with two horses that Shell and Scott can ride. That way they can go riding with the women when they are riding up the trail. Glenda knows a lot about Gymkhana and will be here to handle that with the trainees.”

I didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Howard, are still there?”

“Yeah, I am. I’ll have to worry about Glenda and Steven getting together and hooking up. That can destroy what I was planning on a long time future for, and with the Wolf’s. I’ll bet it all goes to crap.”

“Yes Howard, and I’ll have to worry about Glenda and you getting together. She is damned hot, you’ll have to admit? Howard, you will never lose Sherry and Sheila, they adore you too much and were hired when your business was just beginning. You brought those two out of the dark ages, so to speak. And they will hang in there with you, so you won’t be worse off than you are right now.”

“Okay, Sweetheart, it is out of my hands. We are practically living free in Aunt Mary’s house. I feel sometimes as if I owe her for how she looked after you when you came here. I’ve got to like horses, as well, and I don’t want to move from here. What we should do is buy the property from Aunt Mary. I’d feel better if we did. You might talk to her about that if it comes the right time. I’m damned sure we can afford it. I’m making four times what I was making when working for your father. I am watching my pennies, though, because I want to expand next year.”

“Howard, stop worrying, you have trained good workers in only one month. Service reps from the factory are here overnight when you need to call them, but Steven is being trained for that. Every one of your workers are satisfied with your pay scale. You treat your new help just like you treat your more experienced that came with the business. You have only owned the business seven months. Your work queue is full almost two months out. So what have you got to worry about?”

“Okay, Kitten, you are right of course. It was much simpler when I moved here. In the back of my mind it seems very complicated with Aunt Mary not being here to tend to her business and leaving it up to so much untrained help. Sometimes, I have no idea what it is all about.”

“Hey, I’m here. I know most of the women that will be riding the horses. The two Gymkhana women only have to have a little help and Scott can take care of that even as young as he is.”

“Hey, I’m back to work and at least I know what I’m doing there. See you this evening.” The yard seemed at first glance to be crowded with people when I drove in after work. Sherry and Sheila were talking to Kitten, and Sandy was talking to Glenda. I could see Scott and Shell near the horse stable petting the horses out in the paddock. I counted eight head. Must be the horses in training for the Gymkhana were not here yet. I received a huge smile from Billy when I picked him out of his stroller.

“Hi Kitten, how did things go today? Has Aunt Mary left for home yet?”

“She did just a few minutes ago. I suppose you are hungry. Supper is not ready yet because I was outside watching the horses arrive. I swear some of them remembered me.”

Hearing, this, Sherry and Sheila headed for the rest of the bunch and said they were  leaving. “Howard, I did make chicken stew this morning. I have to heat it up and I’m putting dumplings on it. Play with the baby.”

“Is this going to work for us?”

“Howard, I think so. Most of the women will be here and the other two will come, bringing their horses tomorrow. A couple of the women that were here last year decided not to come, but there are two friends that have never ridden before.” After supper we walked to the paddock so I could see the horses.

“Kitten, I wonder if I would like to ride?”

“You will find out soon. Aunt Mary is bringing two horses for the boys to ride. They will be here stabled where the two pets were. Maybe they will stay the winter after the others leave.”

———————————————

It took a few days for our life to settle down, more for Kitten than for me. My day at work didn’t change much. A lot of my time was spent looking for orders. Much of the items we were creating now were toys, for I had hooked up with a  major toy company. They claimed that I could create parts for some of their toys, and now was the time when they needed to be produced for the Xmas market. Some of the toys would hit the Market in late October when the Christmas advertisements  began running  They had to be a large inventory for the Friday after Thanksgiving.

We often did a prototype of a toy item, and send it back to a factory where they would have these pieces molded out of the same plastic that I used. The factory would make a mold of my prototype  that would produce a dozen or more at a time. It came time when I wished I had concentrated on building another building that would contain more machines.

Glenda was teaching Sandy how to operate two spare machines that I installed in the barn where the Wolfs and Glenda lived. I say I did, but it was Steven Wolf who did things like this as part of his job. Steven didn’t have any advanced education but found himself as being capable with the various 3D printers that I was using. The person who trained him wrote a note to me saying that Steven was eminently qualified for working on these machines. I found him so when he finished his training and it was money well spend to send him to the manufacturer.

It was a great summer for Kitten. There were a lot of people around during the day to talk to. The boys, Scott and Shell took care of the horses before and after the riders came and went for the day. Aunt Mary brought horses for them to ride. Also, they were often invited to ride with these women when they went up the trail. These women didn’t come every day, so the boys had time on their own to ride.

The two boys did derive some income working with the horses and they were at the beck and call of the women who came to ride. It was standard for them to receive a $5 tip if they were the one who saddled the woman’s horse and put the horse away at the end of the day. Aunt Mary was paying them as well, and burying this cost in the amount she billed each woman. It averaged out to eighty dollars a week for each of the two boys. This was the first money either one had earned in their lifetime. They put half of what they made into the family account and proud of it.

Sandy was a slow learner at first and struggled to catch on to the concept of the job. Glenda taught her about the computers and was happy doing it. Sherry and Sheila were there in the evenings to help her. After I brought two machines home and installed them in the barn, she gained fast. I had at least one or two operators out on a week’s vacation through the summer. By September, Sandy was working full time beside her sisters in the factory.

Glenda was a bit at loose ends when this happened and began looking for work for herself in Helena. It had to be in her line of work working with computers, She thought that the closest place would be the casino and applied there, after striking out in the city.  

Glenda stopped in after her interview to talk to Kitten. “I have a job at the casino. I start on Monday in the financial department. I guess there have been mistakes made and the concern has lost a considerable amount of money. It will be my job to keep track of every transaction made. I’m excited about this. It gets me back into what I’m good at.”

“So are you still living with the Indians?”

“Yes and I’m talking to Aunt Mary about purchasing this property. I’m going to have that small barn made into a separate apartment for myself away from the Wolfs. Aunt Mary will be coming to visit this weekend. The dude ranch is closing until Hunting Season opens later this fall. If she does sell it to me, then she will not have horses here next year. There has been little profit and she isn’t right here to tend to things. The two boys did real well but any complaints from the riders the boys have to call her to deal with it. Just too much bother for the return.”

“I watched the boys, but they were told not to bother me. I hope she will leave the two horses in the small stable. Howard loves to go out there and he talks to them and doesn’t mind cleaning out from under them. We did have several chances to go for long rides. Billy is either in a sling or in the board on my back and is happy all the while we are gone.”

“The boys will be going to school near the casino and won’t be getting home until after dark this winter. So you probably will have the care of the two horses until spring at least.”

“That’s fine. Maybe Aunt Mary will sell Howard and me the house here. We have been living free for months now and Howard’s factory is doing great. He knows it is doing so well he can get a construction loan in the spring to expand. So we are right on track for the plans we have made.”

“Kittery, has Aunt Mary said anything about her baby? I’m not sure but she mentioned that she was spotting and going to see the doctor. It has been months and I’m afraid to ask about it. She never mentioned anything about it again and I didn’t want to ask her in case the trouble was serious.”

“Glenda, it is odd she has never mentioned the baby to me, either. She hasn’t been here that much and I’m tied up with Billy. If anything bad happened, it will crush her. I don’t think Ron will mind because he was afraid she was too old. As long as she is well, Ron will be okay and he will love her a little more. Oh, my God, my face is red! I haven’t seen her at all this summer. Let’s see, she would be five months along.

“Kitten, we’ll get together and find out everything this weekend.”

“Good. I hope you get to buy this house from Aunt Mary. Glenda, when are you going to start dating again?”

“Soon, I’m getting horny. I’m never getting married again though, once was enough. I’ll find someone I like and we’ll be friends with benefits. That’s why I want my own place to live. I think the world of the Wolf’s but there are so many of them in one house. They treat me like a favored person. I kind of mother Sandy and the other two girls are as nice as can be. Steven is quiet and serious around me and I don’t know what to make of him. He hardly ever even looks at me. The two boys laugh and joke with me the same way as they do their sisters.

“I’ll start dating soon, I do have a little going for me. I’ve got money in the bank and this new job is just what I like. I’ll see you this weekend.”

———————————————

How did I feel about Aunt Mary thinking of selling the other property to Glenda?

I really didn’t think of it all, it was nothing I was interested in. Glenda liked the property and from what little she said, I took it she wasn’t asking the Indians to move out. I was going to ask Aunt Mary if Kitten and I could buy this house we were living in.

Aunt Mary and Ron did come Saturday. Ron had been putting his business away for the winter. His horses hadn’t gone south for their winter quarters yet. Mary’s horses had left this place and were up at Ron’s ranch. A few might be used during hunting season that was opening next month. He had a good season and his ranch was packed full all summer. He was happy with the business this season.

He has guides to guide the hunters. This was a rich man’s sport and just shooting a bear or elk would cost several hundreds of dollars. With a guide the client was almost sure to kill what he paid so much money for. Some of the same hunters in the clubs arrived and didn’t hunt or go out hunting.  A lot of poker was played and much liquor was consumed.

Ron told me all about this sport, needless to say it didn’t interest me at all. Ron could see the way I felt about it. He laughed and said. “Hey, I have to earn a living. Howard, how are getting along with my niece?”

“Great. She has helped train the youngest Indian girl who is turning into a real asset for me. I have four of the family working full time for me now. I enjoyed having the two young boys around here all summer. They are good kids. She has computers set up here and are teaching the two boys like he did Sandy, their sister.

“Good enough to come live on the ranch and work for me next year?”

“Pay them and they might. Their main income this year was from tips and I think they did really well. It made them happy, anyway. Is Aunt Mary going to sell Glenda the place up there?”

“Howard, I think so, that’s what we came down for.”

“Well, I want to talk to her about us buying this house and the buildings.”

“Her business and she hasn’t said anything about it to me. I know I kept her so busy this summer season, and I had a full slate of guests so we didn’t see much of you two. I mean three, counting Billy.”

“Well Ron, I was just as busy. I still have orders going out two months. I hope it slows a little. I took on making plastic parts for a toy company and Christmas advertisements are already showing up on television to get the kids teasing by telling the parents they will die if Santa Claus doesn’t bring a particular item.

“I’m planning an addition for next April and I want it to go on line in June. That means I’ll be looking for more help. I have been fortunate to have the crew I have so far. The new building will be the same size building as the one I have now. That will be my last expansion. I’m not going to get big like my Father-in-law. I want to take Kitten and Billy places on vacations and I don’t have a person who can manage the business on their own while we are absent. Well not yet, anyway.”

Aunt Mary did sell the house in the woods to Glenda. The Wolf’s would pay some rent so there would be some return on the money Glenda spent to purchase the property.

“Aunt Mary, are you ever coming back here to live?”

“Howard, I don’t believe so. I take it this is the way of you asking if I will sell this house to you and Kittery?”

“It is. The business is doing well and I can afford it. I don’t need all of the land, but I would like to buy the house and the buildings. I might bring a couple of machines home and experiment developing different prototypes. I have an idea that I could make a toy like those miniature houses that I built for Glaziola. There are miniatures out there for villages set up for Christmas. I could see what I can do and manufacture them in my business.”

“Always thinking ahead aren’t you?”

“Yes, the business can never stand still. Your father taught me innovations are what keep businesses in productions, and making money.”

“Howard, I will sell the house and lot to you and Kittery. I thought some of returning here when Ron retires, but he has other plans. I never mentioned it but I found out this summer I can’t have children, and I am okay with that. Ron is thinking about going south to live down where he keeps his horses in the winter. It will be further away from you guys, but then we didn’t see much of you this year and we are still family and happy with each other.”

“I’m sorry you can’t have a child.”

“That’s okay and thank you for saying so. I’ll tell Kittery all about it. You had better get started on another kid yourself. I’m going to be a favorite aunt to both you and Lorna’s family.”

“Kitten and I will miss you terribly if you move farther away. You really were Kitten’s mother better than her own for years and she loves you as if you were.”

“Shut up Howard, you’ll be making me cry. I’ve made Glenda happy buy selling her that property where she is living now. I thought for a long time she was a piece of work, but I don’t so much now. Glenda told me what she plans for her place. She has an architect in for the barn and I saw the plans for the remodeling the barn into living quarters. In fact the construction is starting next week and is promised to be finished a week before Christmas.”

“Any other plans that she has that I don’t know about?”

“Not that I am sure enough of to mention. She is thinking of those Indians as if they were family, Who knows, they may end up just that.”

“I was a little afraid that they might.”

“Howard, don’t worry about that at all. Those Indians think of you first above anyone else. You have stuck right with them since you hired the first two women, and continued helping them all as they showed you what they were capable of. They won’t be close enough family wise to you even through Glenda, but the Indians love Glenda, and they love you and Kittery. I see them all sticking right with you close enough to become family.”

“Can I hope that neither side will cause any trouble for Kitten and I?”

“I can say I don’t see where there will be any. Steven is so quiet, but he is head of the tribe in their culture. You must have seen that before now? He is just gathering one more member to be in his family. Glenda has never been a happy person. She is now.”

“Kitten and I have seen how happy she seems and if you say she is, I believe you.”

“You should, Howard. Glenda was looking for her equal and she has found it in Steven.”

“Good enough.”

—————————————

I did build another factory building the same size as the one I purchased. This was adjacent to the first one. With the shipping area and new offices across the end enclosing that area. I put Rick Hammarlund in to manage the new expansion. I did give him half of the original crew to help integrate the new and old workers into our way of working. He was the most intelligent of all of the six persons of my original college workforce who came with the factory when I bought out John Becker.

John Becker never came back to work for me. He left Henry Harris, my father-in-law, and bought a sports bar. I was visiting Henry and Mable  after I enlarged my business and stopped in there one evening. I found out during the short visit that he was running this business much like he ran the one I purchased from him. I couldn’t fault him for it was his father’s money and his father had talked him into buying the place. So it was like father like son. Too bad, really!

I thought to myself, God, where would those six college kids be if Becker hadn’t sold out to me? Yes, and their wives as well, they all are married now, and so what if I hadn’t bought Becker out? And the Indians whom worked for me and were my closest friends? I had served them well, too.

There was Sandy Wolf, the youngest sister of the Indians. I saw that she was trained well enough to work beside her older sisters. She is just married now, married to Jake Reynolds. He was the young man who with another young man, Mike Moses, was sent to see me for work by Jake’s Aunt Jordan. Aunt Jordan headed up the Law Office where my Attorney is employed. She and Kitten were friends before I came west.

There was Glenda Blackburn, divorced with the option working for either her father and uncle. Feeling she wouldn’t be happy taking that road, she found friends in my business that advanced my need to have new workers trained to operate the machines in my factory. Her life is coming together with a full measure of happiness.

One more anniversary coming up. That is the day two years ago when I made the decision to go visit my sister-in-law, Kitten and her Aunt Mary. My world changed that day and I learned that Kitten loved me, although I was married to Lorna, her sister who didn’t deserve me.

On that day I saw Kitten pregnant and began making changes in our lives by putting them together to find happiness.  Today that Consummation Baby is toddling around hoping someone will visit. He greets all with arms raised to be picked up, kissed, and hugged.  Squirming around, he wants down so he go on to greet another the same way.

I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams and now am alright with the world.

The End

 

  

 

 

12/02/ 2023

 

80,256 Words

 

Cheating, Romance, Indians

Score: 6,83