Can You Catch My Heart

Can You Catch My Heart

Book One

Buckets Of Blessings

By

Retta Michaels

Disclaimer:

If your laws do not allow you to read this story, then don't. All the rest of you people who read it, if you think it's true, boy, have I investment opportunities for you!

Notes From Retta:

Read and enjoy.

Chapter 5:

When we got back upstairs, both Gregg and Ty were grinning like Cheshire cats.

“What have you two been up to?”

“Oh, we went out and took a little ride. That Escalade is beautiful.” Gregg said smiling. “And, it's got way more power than Ty's little Flintstone car.”

I looked at him and said, “Did you go where I think you went?”

“Yeah, you ready to go to Aunt Joan's?” he whispered.

Heather smiled, “What are we going to Aunt Joan's for? I thought we were going to stay in tonight?”

“No, we need to go over there to see what Uncle Mark found out.”

“Well, just call and let Ty and Lance go home so we can be together.”

Gregg looked at me with a panicked look and said, “Um.....”

“Hon, let's go over there as a group. It might help for my own mind to see Mitch settled in. Then, we can go out for ice cream afterwards.”

“You're just wanting to make sure I'm not alone with Gregg” she pouted.

“Well, I'm not liking I'm not going to be alone with Ty either, but I promise you we'll have that chance tomorrow night and you will have your time alone with him later.”

“Well, ok, but I want to go to Baskin Robbins. Their very berry Boysenberry is to die for.”

Gregg looked at her and said, “You like that?”

“Yeah, have you tried it?”

“No, but I'll get you five gallons of it when we get the money.”

She smiled at him and said, “What's your favorite?”

“You'll laugh.”

“No, I promise.”

“I like bubblegum.”

“Oh, that's sweet.”

“Guys, you two are getting sickening again.” I said

Ty laughed and said, “Come on, let's go.”

“Well, let me get ready and you guys meet us downstairs” said Heather.”

“OK, you guys just don't take too long up here. Make it a quickie.”

She looked at me with a shocked look and threw the pillow at me.”Unlike what's going on in your mind Mister! I'll have you know I wasn't planning on doing any such thing. I'm getting dressed!”

“Ok, but Gregg's going to see you get undressed to get dressed, so I know how he is when you show a little flesh.”

She laughed and said, “Well, we might make it a quickie.”

Ty laughed and said, “Well, why didn't you say so in the first place!”

He had the other pillow thrown at him.

“Come on Ty, let's let them get started so they'll hurry up and be finished.”

We left and as soon as I shut the door, Ty had me against it kissing me. “Oh man, thank you!”

“What did I do?”

“I've never had a time like that with Gregg before. Usually, we're at each other's throats, but tonight, we were actually like brothers. Now, I do have a little something I need to tell you.”

“What?”

“Well, the carpet in the back of the Escalade got snagged a little. Not much, but it was a big crate. It barely fit.”

“How much did you buy?”

“We bought their biggest finale round they had. The whole sky's going to be full of fireworks”

“Where'd you put it and what did everyone out there say?”

“Well, what we did was I drove and Gregg called them. They agreed and then, we called the fireworks place and told them we wanted the biggest grand finale assortment they had. They said they'd have it ready, so when we got there, they had it on the tow motor and all I had to do was back it up and get it in the truck while Gregg went in and paid.”

“Where'd he get the money?”

“Well, if you want to know, I gave it to him. I used some of my money I have saved from work.”

“Ok, well did you guys get a receipt?”

“Yeah, but Uncle Mark said he'd pay for it as long as he got to light the fuse.”

“Your Uncle Mark's a big kid.”

“Yeah, he's always been fun. He's really excited.”

“Well, Heather's going to really be surprised.”

“Let's hope she says yes.”

“She will. I kind of asked her what she thought and she said they'd talked about it and Gregg said he wasn't going to propose for a long time even though she thought it didn't matter.”

“You didn't give it away did you?”

“No, but I've got a question.”

“What?”

“What necklace was your mom wearing?”

“Mom doesn't wear necklaces. I got her one once and she had me take it back and get her something else. She wore earrings and she wore rings, but she didn't even like a wrist watch. Why?”

“There's a mark on her neck like a necklace got ripped off her in the wreck.”

He looked at me strangely and said, “No, mom never wore them. I'll ask dad, but I'm almost sure on this. Besides, the way she wore her clothes, she wanted people to think she was taller. She said a lot of chest showing and a lot of neck made people think she was taller. That's why she wore them high heeled shoes. She was only five four, but when she was in those shoes, she looked tall.”

“Oh, I never thought about that, do you think it was the seat belt?”

“What sort of mark was it?”

“It looked like a small chain got ripped off her neck. It's not a scratch, but a long break in the skin towards the back of her neck and coming over her left shoulder.”

“Hmmm...too high for a seat belt. And it doesn't look like she scratched herself.......ummm, Lance, does it look like anyone else scratched her? Like during sex?”

“No, she didn't have sex with women did she?”

“Oh hell no. Mom wasn't a lesbian, but Gregg said he thought she was having an affair with a guy out there. He doesn't know the guy, but he did say it's been going on a while.”

“Where?”

“Where she worked. I can't tell you anything, because the last time I was out there was seven or eight years ago. She acted like she didn't even want me around the place.”

“Well, that guy has to be fired and I want someone to tell me he's here as soon as he walks through the door. If he goes up and starts something with your dad, this could be a big problem.”

“Gregg wants to fire him.”

“I understand. Having him around would be a big problem. One slip up and your dad would really be a basket case.”

“Yeah, why would she do that?”

“Hon, why do people do stupid things? Because they think it's going to be better for them and they do it. There's lots of reasons for having an affair, but not one of them are as good as being honest with the person you're with.”

He looked at me and said, “So showing your dick to Gregg was honest!”

“Hon, he thinks it's going to be a simple act of making love. He had no clue what we're facing. With him and Heather, it's as simple as sticking tab A into slot B. For us, it's going to be painful for you and mentally stressing for me because I don't want to cause you pain. He made a joke and I whipped it out. Now, he's wondering if you can take the thing.”

Ty smiled and said, “Give me that chance, but from now on, keep it in your pants. I think my brother's a little hot for your bod. I hope that scared him off.”

“Not a chance of anything happening with him. I'd have to be stupid and not with you and he'd have to not be with Heather. Neither of those are happening, so let him have that fantasy and you'll get the real thing. Not that I'm much in the first place.”

Ty laughed and said, “You are fine with a capital F and INE, so shush.”

“Well, look in the mirror model boy, because you're better than all that.”

He looked at me and said, “Lance, my feelings were hurt when he told me.”

“Well, we'll work on making love, but I'm going to have a plex about it.”

“Well, maybe until you get over it, I'll take the top role. Have you ever thought about that?”

“Oh man, I'm liking the sound of this more and more.”

“Let's get downstairs, I'm getting turned on thinking about it. I don't want them coming out and catching us in our own quickie.” He giggled.

When we got to the elevator, he looked down and then looked up, “You're not upset about the carpet in the truck, are you?”

“Hon, carpeting can be replaced. You can't. If the truck was totaled tomorrow, I'd ask if you were ok and not care about it. Now what we'll do is we'll check it to see how big of snag it is. If it's not really big, then I'll sew it so it doesn't snag more. If it does, then we'll have to order another carpet and install it. It's no biggie either way we go.”

“Ok, I was worried.”

I took his chin in my hand, “Babe, it's nothing. It's a truck and it might take a point off in a show and shine competition, but what we'll do is enter yours and then mine will come in second. So what, we'll have a first and second place finish. It's still good.”

I smiled at him and he said, “That's going to be so cool.”

“Oh man.”

“What!”

“The meeting is on Tuesday night.”

“Well....Oh, mom's visitation.”

“Yeah, well, we'll have to miss it and then catch the next one. I'll call Rodney and tell him.”

“How late do the meetings run?”

“About nine thirty, but there's no chance of that. This visitation is going to be huge. We'll be lucky if we get out at ten or ten thirty.”

“Does mom look nice?”

“She looks beautiful. I can see where you and your brother got your looks.”

“She was beautiful, wasn't she. Dad used to call her his pretty princess, then one day, he stopped. I haven't heard that phrase in a long time.”

“Hon, tomorrow morning, I've got a bit of business to do here. I've got to make some calls. What I would like for you to do is go get your dad and Uncle and then stop back by here. We'd have to stop by here to get Gregg anyway, so I'll make the calls.”

“What do you have to do?”

“Well, legally, I have to call the bank and get her accounts shut off. Any credit card companies have to be notified and any other accounts she'll have in her name. I'll use her credit report will tell me where all her accounts are such as cell phone, utilities, and so on and so forth. Each of those have to be notified.”

“Ummm, I just thought of what that mark is on her neck.”

“What?”

“Mom had a cell phone in her car and she always had the headset on her left ear. The cord would run around her neck like that.”

“I never saw the cord, I'm sorry for asking.”

“No, you had a suspicion, and I'm glad you asked. It tells me what to look for when I'll be doing my job with you. That had me worried because I knew she didn't wear necklaces.”

“Well, it says the impact in that car was rather violent for it to be pulled out of her ear that hard and to break the skin.”

“Was it bad?”

“Just think of a necklace being little and me snatching it off you.”

“Oh man. That would have hurt.”

“Hon, I'm sorry for mentioning it.”

“No, I'm glad you did. If she had lived, I'm sure when you visited her in the hospital, the damage from that would have been the least of her worries.”

“She wouldn't have let me visit. She said she didn't want to see me anymore.”

We were out in the garage and he opened the back door of the truck. He pointed at a tiny scratch in the carpet maybe a quarter of an inch long.

I hugged him and said, “Hon, that's hardly anything. It doesn't even require a repair.”

“Well, I didn't want you to think I did it on purpose.”

“Don't worry. Putting a gurney in and out would have done more damage, so don't worry.”

He smiled and said, “I was worried you'd never let me drive it again.”

“Nope, wreck it and we'll get another. You'll still get to drive the next one. It's a vehicle, it's meant to be driven and it's going to wear out. Now, you get a scratch on you from the truck, you tell me because then, I'll worry. You're priceless.”

He giggled and said, “And you're full of it.”

I snapped the door shut and said, “Let's get in the truck and be making out when then come out. They'll freak out.”

He laughed and said, “You're hilarious. Let's do it.”

We got in the truck and he said, “Come here hot stuff.”

I leaned over him and we were kissing away and soon, we were lost in our own little world. I was really getting into it when the door opened and Gregg started laughing. I came up with a start and Ty said, “Gregg!” in a whiny voice. “You ruined my fun. We didn't ruin yours.”

Heather said, “We didn't make out. Gosh guys!”

I looked at her and said, “We weren't making out.”

Ty laughed and said, “That's our story and we're sticking to it.”

She laughed and Gregg said, “Man, you two were going at it. We stood out there for at least five minutes.”

“Nah, it wasn't that long guys. We only did a few quick kisses.”

Heather smiled and said, “Oh yeah, it looked like you two were feeding baby birds with all the mouth action I was seeing!”

“Oh, it t'wern't nothin'” Ty giggled.

She said, “Why were you two in the back seat anyways?”

“My truck, I wanted to see what it was like.”

She laughed and said, “Well, you two ride back there and I'll drive.”

“Ok” said Ty smiling really big.

Heather got in and adjusted the seat and Gregg got in and said, “Go ahead, resume what you were doing.”

“No, it's not the same now that we've been interrupted.” Ty pouted.

We sat together hugging and Gregg sat with his back against the door. “Gregg, lock the door please.”

He locked it and said, “I wasn't worried.”

Then it hit me. What I didn't see with their mom's body was all the bruising I thought would be associated with the impact of the wreck. AIRBAG!”

“Heather, when we get to the house, I need to speak to you.”

“Sure hon.”

Gregg looked at me and I said, “Guys, I'd tell you but I can't tell you...if you know what I mean. Heather saw it, but I'm not able to tell you what I'm thinking. I'm sorry.”

“You meaning the headset thing?” Ty asked

“No, something else.”

“Huh?”

“Something different.”

Heather looked in the mirror and I said, “The thing on her neck was from her telephone headset. Ty said she wore one for her cell phone.

Heather nodded and then looked at me strangely.

Gregg said, “What you talking about?”

“Your mom's neck looked like it had a break in the skin where a necklace would have been. I was worried the car would still have a necklace in it if she had one on.”

“Oh, she never wore necklaces, but it would make sense about the headset. She insisted it go on her left ear. She said she wanted people to see it on her ear so it didn't look like she was talking to herself in the car. She'd forget occasionally and get out of the car with it on and it'd pop off. She'd end up cussing and saying how she needed a bluetooth. I thought about getting her one fro Christmas, but then that jerkwad out there said he thought he'd get her one. He didn't though and now, I wish I had.”

“Gregg, Ty told me about the guy and as soon as that guy is seen in the funeral home, I want to be told. The line's going to be long, so you'll have plenty of time to tell me who it is, but I want plenty of cameras going so if he says anything stupid up there, I've got it all on tape.”

Gregg nodded and said, “I'm going to fire the guy personally. He better not say anything to Dad up there because I'll be the one to throw him out myself. You can get pissed all you want, but I've not told Dad because I knew it'd hurt his feelings and Mom would see my life was hell if I did.”

“Your mom used her anger to keep you all in line quite a bit, didn't she?”

“Yeah, we learned when we were real young that if we messed up it took mom a long time to forget. She'd bring things up months after it happened.”

I shook my head and Heather said, “Guys, let's make a pact that when someone makes a mistake from now on, when the day's over, we're done with it. I know I don't like to be constantly reminded of things and I know you don't either, so from now on, let's do that.”

Gregg smiled and said, “That'll be nice to be able to know when something's over to know it's over.”

Ty nodded and said, “It'll be like living in a whole new world, won't it Gregg.”

“Yeah it will”

Heather looked into the rear view mirror and shook her head. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. Normal things in this family didn't even seem normal to them.”

When we got to Joan and Mark's, Heather told the guys, “Go on in and Lance and I'll talk out here.”

They went and I said, “The lack of bruising. Usually, there's bruising to a corpse from a car wreck. The first thing I thought was it wasn't there. Then I though of the air bag. If the car crumples like that car did, all the air bags will go off at once in a Mercedes. It's called panic mode. A Mercedes has knee bags and side curtains too. I bet that's what wedged her foot in the way it was on the accelerator. So, maybe she was unconscious and it did it. The lack of bleeding might be a fluke. She might've either been dead or unconscious. If she was dead, there'd be no bleeding. The body goes into shock.”

“Oh, What'd you tell Ty for?”

“The reason I said to everyone. I had to ask if there was a necklace and it's in the car, wouldn't you want it if it was your moms?”

“Yeah, so it's getting clearer now.”

“Yeah, I'm getting a picture of what went on in that car. Any impact that would take a head set off with that force had to be a lot. I keep forgetting about the car going off the cliff. It's amazing that thing kept going forward.”

Joan came out and said, “Everything ok?”

“Yeah, Heather and I dressed Wendy tonight and there were some irregularities we found. Now, they're cleared up.”

“Like what?”

“Well, along her neck, like here, there was a break in the skin like a necklace had been ripped off her. The boys said she never wore necklaces, but Ty said she had a telephone head set that would have done it. Then, there wasn't any bruising with the boy you'd associate with a car wreck. What I missed was it's a Mercedes and they have a panic mode in the system that if it's a hard enough impact, all the air bags deploy. So that'd be the reason for no bruising. But, what was perplexing was the wound and no bleeding. The only thing I could think was it was because it was a puncture wound and the limb was still in her, but that wouldn't have explained it when I embalmed her because the blood would have been washed from the wound. There was none. The only thing I could think was she didn't die there. But, what I never thought about was her already being dead. She might have died up here, or she might have died from the impact, but in my mind, I still remembered her foot on that accelerator. Then, I remembered a Mercedes has knee bags and that's probably what wedged her foot on the gas pedal and floored it. We were going to ask you some of the questions tonight, but then it occurred to me on the way over, so I was clearing it up with Heather.”

“Well, I'm glad you were thorough. It'd look suspicious to me too. I'm glad you guys thought enough of me to come ask me questions, but I'm also glad you figured them out for yourself. Now, come on inside as Mark's got good news and he's not telling the boys until you two are in there.”

She put her arms around us and we walked into the house together. Mitch was there smiling hugely and came over and gave us each big hugs. He whispered, “It's good news!”

Mark said, “Guys, earlier today we discovered an account your mom was putting money in. She'd opened the account with me and I thought Mitch knew about it as his signature was on it. It turns out that signature was done at a completely different time than all the paperwork, so I'd say you mom had him sign it when he wasn't aware what he was signing. I should have asked him, but to be honest, sometimes, things like that slip my mind. So, I looked into the accounts and I found a lot of money. But, that's not all we found.”

He paused and then looked up, “These here are life insurance policies that were made out for each of you boys to be beneficiary in case either of your parents died. Your mom set it up so the payments for the policies came out of her account automatically each month. What it has in it is a double indemnity clause which means if she's driving a company vehicle she's covered for twice that amount.”

I held my breath because I knew the way I'd present it if it were me.

He said, “Here's the amount of money in the account. It's twelve million six hundred and thirty eight thousand and four hundred dollars.”

I held Heather's hand and she looked at me.

“I saved the best for last. The life insurance policies are for ten million each. She bought one for herself to be protected if Mitch died and if she would die made out for each of you boys as well as Mitch if she would die and herself if he would die. Gregg stood up and said, “Ten million!”

Mark smiled and said, “Gregg, you're not hearing what I said. It's double indemnity. That means it's double that.”

Gregg sat down and the tears began rolling. Heather was already moving to his seat and I went to Ty's. Mitch patted me on the back and I turned around and hugged him. He said, “She took care of my boys.”

“She took care of you too.”

He looked down and said, “I really think she thought I'd go first.”

“Well, that's why you buy insurance. You never know.”

Ty patted my leg and said, “Babe, I'm not waiting for you to even ask me. Get over here in front of the fireplace.”

I looked at him and Joan had out the camera. Tears stang my eyes and he led me to the living room. When we got there, he said, “Lance, with all the good news in the world, it doesn't compare to the way I felt when you answered when I called. You said you wanted to go out and I was happier than now. Now, we got this good news and I know it's got us set for life. No one can take it away and no one can make me feel bad anymore. So, with that said, I'm going to get down on my knee and ask you, Will you be mine forever?”

It might sound romantic but I'll be honest with you. My knees gave out. And I went down on mine too. “If you will”

He turned and smiled and I leaned forward and kissed him

That's when the photo got taken.

“He said YES!”

Heather was crying and Gregg said, “Babe, ours is going to be that beautiful. Uncle Mark, go do the honors.”

She looked at him and Uncle Mark took out for the front of the house. Gregg led her outside and he said, “Babe, I told everyone I'd propose on the 4^th of July. Somehow it seemed romantic to me to have the fireworks as a back drop so when I got on my knee, you'd know the independence I felt and the battles were over.”

Just about then, the first volleys all started to fly and she said, “OH no!”

He smiled and got down on his knee and said, “Heather, my darling, A man knows it's time and he knows when he's done looking when he's found what he's been looking for. Tonight, I've got mine. Will you make me the happiest guy in the world and be my wife?”

Joan was back there popping camera flashes like you wouldn't believe. She said she wanted the moment when the words left Heather's mouth.

“I will” Heather sighed

From somewhere in the shadows by the bushes came Heather's parents. Heather turned and smiled and said, “Dad! Mom! I want you to meet Gregg. We're going to be married!”

I went over and hugged Heather's Dad and just about the time I wondered how I was going to approach her mom, I got spun around and hugged, “Even though it's not you, I'm happy. He called and asked us to be up here so he could ask for her hand to her dad. Then, he came over and introduced himself to me and said you approved and introduced them. I'm happy you loved her enough to see she was happy.”

“I couldn't ruin her life.”

“I know. For a long time, I thought you had, but now I know.”

Joan said, “Everyone, let's go in the house and have some cake and ice cream!”

About the time we turned, the final volley hit and Ty took my hand and said, “Babe, that part's ours. See all the hearts!”

We stood in the yard and kissed as the hearts faded out.

When we got inside, I saw Heather's Aunt Mary. I loved the woman and to be honest, she was the first person I think who told me I was gay before I even knew myself. She came over and I said, “Aunt Mary, how are you? Did you see the beautiful proposal?”

“Which one, yours or hers?”

“You saw mine?”

“Yeah, from in there in the solarium where they had us sitting. You didn't see me?”

“I was already crying.”

“I saw that. You're lucky, he's a doll.”

“So's hers. They're brothers!”

“Yeah, and who's the guy over there.”

“That's their dad, he just lost his wife.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.”

“No, you want to meet him?”

“Now's not the time.”

“Yes, it's the time. He told me when I found someone, he'd be ready. To fill you in, his wife and he were married but they weren't married if you know what I mean.”

“Oh dear. That poor man.”

“Yeah, Mitch, come here fella!”

Mitch came over and I hugged him again.

He looked at Mary and I said, “Mitch, I know it's lousy timing, but you told me when I had someone, you'd meet them. Well, I'd like for you to meet Heather's Aunt Mary. She's an absolute sweetheart and I think you two would be perfect together. So, you trade numbers and I'll go in here to be with my beau.”

Mitch smiled at me and I left.

Ty said, “Where you been?”

“Introducing your dad to someone.”

“Really!”

“Yeah, Heather's Aunt Mary.”

He looked out towards the living room and said, “Is she nice?”

“You'll love her. She's a wonderful woman.”

“She'll be nice to us?”

“She's the one that told me she understood about me being gay before I even knew.”

“Good. I hope he asks her out.”

“I think Aunt Mary won't let him. She thinks it's not the time.”

Before I knew what had happened, Ty went to the living room.

I stayed there and Gregg and Heather came over. Gregg looked concerned and said, “What's going on in there?”

“Well, I introduced your dad to Heather's Aunt Mary and he found out your Aunt Mary is planning on not accepting your dad's offer to date. So, he took off in there.”

I was speaking to an empty set of arms because Gregg was already moving.

Heather looked at me shocked and said, “Aunt Mary?”

“She's great and you know it.”

“She's a fruit loop.”

“No, she's what he needs. She's opinionated, and she's her own woman, but what love she has in her heart everyone knows where they stand. Can you think of anything Mitch needs more?”

“Aunt Mary?”

“Yeah.”

“She'll never get married. She's said that time and time again.”

“Who's talking marriage. I'm talking about them dating. I think as Aunt Mary sees Mitch for being a great guy, she'll realize she needs him just as much as he needs her.”

“Well, I wish them luck, but do you think Mitch will like all those dogs?”

“Their house will never be lonely.”

“Nor quiet. It sounds like a dog pound there!”

“Oh shush, How did it feel?”

“Overwhelming I didn't expect the fireworks.”

“Me neither. I thought I'd pick a hot air balloon ride, but this was wonderfully romantic. I'm happy.”

“I can tell.”

After about five minutes, Joan handed me two dishes of cake and ice cream and said, “Go in there and give this to Ty and see what's going on! And then come back and tell me.”

I went in and Mitch was sitting next to Mary on the sofa and on the right was Gregg and by her legs was Ty. The picture was wonderful. Gregg had out a photo album and said, “See, that's us when we were on the Matterhorn.”

“Here babe”

He took it and said, “I want her”

Mitch smiled and I winked at him, “I'll go get you guys. Would you all like coffee, milk, or whatever?”

Aunt Mary waved her hand and said, “Whatever, I'm having a good time.”

Heather came in with their dishes and Gregg took his. He patted the seat next to him and said, “Heather, meet Aunt Mary.”

“She's my aunt, I think I've met her.”

Gregg said, “Well, I like her.”

Heather rolled her eyes and said, “Well, I kinda do too. After all she was mine first.”

Gregg wasn't fooling anyone his head flipped backwards toward Mitch and Mary and I could hear him whisper loud enough. “Let's hook them up!”

Mitch giggled and I went in to the dining room to go to the kitchen.

Heather's parents were in the dining room and Heather's dad said, “Everyone in the living room?”

“Yeah, the guys have Aunt Mary corralled in there.”

“Oh boy.”

“No, she's perfect for Mitch.”

“I thought I'd never here it said Mary was perfect for anyone.”

“Well, she's what he needs.”

He smiled and said, “If you say so. Thanks by the way. He's a nice kid.”

“He is. Well, I've got to go get Aunt Mary and Mitch's cake and ice cream. You all go on in there and I'll be back in a minute.”

When I got to the kitchen, Joan smiled and said, “Ok, fill me in.”

“Well, Mary and Mitch are sitting on the sofa and Gregg's by her side showing her photo albums and Ty's sitting at her feet. Ty says he wants her and Gregg's whispering loud enough to Heather he's trying to hook them up that I could hear clear on the other side of Mitch.”

Joan smiled and said, “They a good match?”

“Joan, let me say this. Aunt Mary is an independent spirit. She's got probably thirty dogs in her house and she's like an old hippy. Everywhere you look, you see macramé and tie die art. She wears these caftans that make you wonder where she found them in Africa and when she talks with you, you really feel like she loves you clear through. If they get together, Mitch will know he's loved and you guys will find a treasure in her. There's not going to be a moment where you ever feel like he's been abused and those boys aren't loved. “

Joan nodded and said, “I've got to go meet her. Sounds like you did your magic again.”

“Nah, she happened to be at the right place at the right time.”

Mark came over and said, “Lance, Ty's told me he wants you to have the money put in for the construction of the addition of the funeral home and to give you another million for the videos. He says you and he talked about covering each other and making sure the other was taken care of. He also says you two want to know how to get into some hotels.”

“Yeah, but did he also tell you I told him it was his money?”

“No, he said you two are together and it's you as a couple's money and I'm to put everything into your name jointly.”

I nodded and said, “Mark, I love him.”

“Yeah and he loves you too. He asked me to get your bank account number so everything could be sent there.”

“Why?”

“He says as soon as he can go close out his bank account, you two are going to have a joint account. He said there's no I in our, we, and us.”

“Well, wait on that.”

“No, he's already said you'd say that and he said I'm not to listen to you and however brilliant everyone of us thinks you are, there are times when you're bullheaded and make mistakes. Until now, I thought he was wrong, but I'm glad he's already told me what to expect.”

He smiled and I said, “Mark, I love that kid.”

“That kid loves you. And, that kid is only a couple of years younger than you, so you need to stop that.”

I looked at him and he said, “I used to do the same thing to Joan. Throughout our early marriage, I looked at her as the younger one and therefore I needed to protect her. She won't tell you, but it bugged the daylights out of her and then, one day, I got the flu so bad I broke ribs coughing. My bullheadedness kept me from going to the hospital and when she finally dragged me there, they found out I had triple pneumonia in both lungs. It was so bad, they thought I was a goner. Each time I woke up, that kid had ahold of my hand and she wouldn't let go. Then, one time I woke up and she was there and I saw her for the woman I loved. Something inside me changed and from that day forward, I knew she was stronger than the two of us. She's not proven me wrong. So take some advice and love him without thinking you're superman.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, everything else is perfect about you. So, I thought I'd give you that tidbit of info. Either use it, or lose it, but whatever, know I'm going to care enough to try to help.”

“It'll be used.”

“Good, now, that ice cream is about to melt all over that plate, so we need to get you some more.”

“This is Mary and Mitch's.”

“Oh, well, let's get them some more. How's it going in there?”

“Everyone likes her.”

“Good. Joan will be back out in a second and I'll have the official verdict. I imagine she's going to be going non-stop thinking of how we need to put them two together. You might want to think about getting a different vehicle tomorrow because Joanie's probably going to be riding with us along with Mary. I can't say that, but believe me, after twenty four years of marriage, I can almost bet you that will be the second thing she says.”

“What's the first.”

“The official verdict.”

“What's the third thing?”

“Asking why you haven't gotten back in there and left her to scout for herself.” He giggled.

He said, “Don't look now, but here comes my scout.”

I turned and Joan smiled. “The boys love her. Mitch looks like a school kid with a crush, and I think she's a hoot. You couldn't do better.”

She came in and hugged Mark and turned to me and said, “Lance, can we take the limo tomorrow for you guys to get fitted, I'm thinking about going and inviting Mary. That way, she can give a woman's viewpoint in on Mitch's suit selection.”

“Ok, we'll take the old limo since the new one's being detailed. That will be good since I want Ty to get a chance to drive both. I don't take it out all the time and it will be good to blow the cobwebs out of it.”

“Yeah, like you let that happen. I saw you take that cleaning stuff to it as soon as we got out. Mark thinks I have competition for being someone who does things their own way, but I humbly bow because not even I clean my car after every trip.” She laughed.

She then said, “Lance, Mitch and Mary are sitting in there licking their chops. What kept you in here? You left me all alone to go do my spying!”

Mark started snickering and I said “Sorry, Mark had a lesson he needed to give me and I've learned. I'm going in now.”

“Well, take a bigger piece of cake than those, they've built up an appetite now!”

I started laughing and said, “Well, the ice cream melted on the first one.”

Joan scolded,. “Mark, you knew I was in there by myself, why'd you keep him in here!”

She shook her head and said, “I love him, but when it comes to spying, he's not got a clue.”

Mark chuckled and said, “That was four Lance.”

“For what?”

“For he's a jolly good fellow hon, it's guy talk”

She rolled her eyes and said, “I love him, but sometimes I have to remember I'm blessed.”

“You are.”

“Yeah, I know I am and Mitch will be too with her. She's already looking at him like she's going around the bend and all he can do is sit there and smile.”

“Good. I'm hoping. Maybe we can take them out sometime and go on a huge date together.”

“All five couples?

“Five?”

“Yeah, Heather's parents too. They're sweethearts. Her mom told me the story about you two and said she really was down on you about not going out with her, but she's forgiven you now.”

“Well, I knew I couldn't make her happy and give her what she wanted.”

“Oh Heather knows that.”

“No, Heather's mom. Heck, Heather knew that when we were in the first grade.”

Joan laughed and said, “You knew that long?”

“No, but it seems everyone else did. I was a slow learner. It took me until the second grade.”

She looked at me strangely and said, “We'll talk tomorrow. I'd like to ask some questions.”

“Ok. Now, is this personal curiosity, or is there a reason.”

“There's a reason.”

“Ok, then I'll answer in more general terms.”

“No, you answer them for me so I might know my son better.”

“But, you don't know if he's gay, or not.”

“No, little Mark, he called and said he's bringing a friend home with him and said he wants me to meet him.”

“Ok, I thought little Mark was....”

“Well, when I asked him about Jake, he said he thought it was because he thought Jake was keeping his secret for him.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, Oh. That's what I said.” she grinned.

“How do you feel about it?”

She looked at me strangely and said, “Lance, I'm not a hypocrite. If little Mark is gay, then he's gay. I love him just the same and as much as I am a mother, I've got to trust his decision in a mate. That doesn't mean I won't be giving an opinion, but I'll be wise about that.”

“No, what I meant was are you disappointed?”

“Not really. I know he'll have a harder time finding acceptance in the legal community for it, but if he goes into corporate law like he wants, then he'll have it easier. Take that in there and come back and we'll talk.”

I looked down at the cake and ice cream in my hands and thought, “Man, that's two that's melted.”

I took them into Mitch and Mary. She smiled and said, “Child, I thought you got lost!”

“No, just got to talking with people. You having a good time?”

“Sure, Mitch here is a sweetheart.”

I winked, “Be careful, that's how I started and look who got proposed to tonight!”

She laughed and said, “Oh, you never know!”

Heather could have gotten whiplash from how fast she turned her head. I do know Heather's dad was sitting across the room and started choking.”

I chuckled and left the room, Ty followed me and said, “Hon, that woman is great. She's got a huge heart and both Gregg and I already like her. She's treating up wonderfully and has slipped up a few times and has called us her boys.”

“Good, now all we got to do is get your dad signed on.”

“Oh, I don't think that's going to be a problem. He's had his hand behind her back on the sofa and he'd never do that with mom. Also, the look in his eyes says he's happy. Call it a guess, but I think Dad's infatuated with her. Did you know she's got over twenty dogs!”

“Yeah, Heather calls it the dog pound.”

“She rescues them. She says the dog pound kills theirs and charges like fifty dollars to get one. She doesn't charge a thing for hers and says people come by all the time.”

“Yeah, I put an ad in the paper yearly for her to give them away. Also, I've written more than my share of dog food companies asking for donations. She doesn't have a non-profit, so she can't ask for cash donations.”

“Well, get the lawyer on it.”

“Ok, but what if she wants to get out of the dog rescuing business? And, what if she and your dad get together and they want to do something different with their time?”

“You think she'd run the flower shop?”

“I don't know. I hadn't thought of it to be honest. That'd be cool if we could have a double store front where she'd have the flower shop on one side and the dog place on the other with a big yard in the back for the dogs to go potty.”

“Do you want to do it?”

“Hon, I'll match you dollar for dollar on the flower shop, but those dogs eat tons of dog food.”

“Oh, so, what kind do they like?”

“They like whatever's the cheapest because that's what they get.”

“Oh man, some doggy daddy you'd make.”

“No, if I had a dog at home, that'd be different, but I'm not trying to feed over twenty of them. That's insane. Do you know what the vet bills have to be like for a place like that?”

“Well, I'll ask her. I think Gregg will go in with me.”

“Hon, don't commit more than what you can afford.”

“Lance, I was given twenty six million tonight. From the interest alone, I'll be making more than I can spend. So how about I help her.”

“Ok, that's fine, but I don't have that sort of money.”

He looked at me and said, “Go stand in the corner and come out when you can think like you're in a relationship young man. All I hear is you don't have that sort of money. I believe Uncle Mark was supposed to be putting all of our money into your account so it could be made ours. So tell me how much money is in it and I'll tell you it's ours. Now trot along and I don't want no peaking until you can act right.”

I went over and said, “Hon, I'm sorry. It's an adjustment. I'll try harder, but it's strange.”

“You telling me! Heck, I'm in there wondering how much change I have in my pocket to give to her to feed a dog for a day a can of dog food. Then it hit me I can afford a lot of dog food! So, I need to ask her how much one eats and then multiply by twenty and then again by three sixty five and get her a year's worth.”

“Figure four pounds per week per dog. So that's eighty pounds per week. Then do that times fifty two and you've got a little over two ton of dog food.”

“So a hundred bags of fifty pound dog food would cover it?”

“Yeah, easily I'd say.”

“And one of those costs fifteen dollars at Wal-Mart, so that's fifteen hundred dollars.”

“Ok That's not as much as I thought.”

“Let's call Wal-Mart and order it so they'll have it in stock. I'd hate to go out and they not have it.”

“How about if we call the manager tomorrow and get them to have it brought up on the next shipment and then get enough flea and ear mite stuff for a year. That should do good. It cost me more than that for the advertisement in the paper. I didn't realize it was so cheap.”

“Ok, so you're in with me. I'm glad. I imagine the dog's are going to love us for it. Can we get a puppy?”

“We'll pick one out when we go give her the food.”

“What kind do you want?”

“A cocker spaniel or a smaller dog. I don't want a Great Dane or anything like that. Heck, if I wanted a horse, I'd get one.”

“Man, I can afford a horse now!”

“Oh man, yeah you can afford a horse, but we don't have space for a horse.”

“No, I mean a horse like they have on a Merry Go Round with a brass pole. I've always wanted one.”

“Do you realize how fast your office is going to fill up?”

“Yeah, it'll be cool.”

“I've got to go talk to your aunt. She wants to speak with me before little Mark gets home. He's bringing someone home for her to meet.”

“His boyfriend?”

“You knew?”

“Yeah, but it wasn't my place to say.”

“So, do you know what's up with Jake?”

“Yeah, Jake's not wanting to be at Dartmouth. He wanted to stay closer to home. He thinks it's going to be a disappointment if he tells them what he wants.”

“So, he's not gay?”

“No, he's a writer. He writes movies and plays and all sorts of stuff.”

“Why didn't you say something?”

“It wasn't my place. If they want to know what's going on with their kids, let them ask them!”

“Ty, she's worried about them and they've not been telling them.”

“Maybe they never asked.”

“Do you mind if I tell your aunt what is going on?”

“I don't care, but when they won't talk to you, don't be surprised. Would you if someone you'd never met went out and told all your secrets?”

“Oh man. Joan's got to know. She's worried.”

“Tell her to sit down and ask. They'll tell her.”

“Ok.”

He looked at me and said, “I know you'll tell her everything. Just tell her and then tell her not to let them know that anyone told her.”

“Ok”

I went back in and sat down at the table with Joan. She was sitting making out a menu for the next week for the kids.”

“You ready to talk and really talk?”

She looked u and said, “Ok, this sounds serious.”

“Well, it's not, but it is.”

“Ok, so what's going on?”

“Which son?”

She looked at me and said, “What do you mean?”

“Joan, I'll not cut anything with you here, Ok?”

“Ok”

“Your kids haven't told you guys what's going on because no one asked.”

“What!”

“Yeah, It seems Mark goes into Jake's room and tells Jake he's going to enjoy Dartmouth and thinks that's where he wants to go because he got a scholarship there. Jake wanted to go to school closer so he could be nearer to you.”

“I never knew.”

“From what I was told, no one asked.”

“Oh man.”

“Yeah. The secrets are known, but Ty's afraid you are going to go to them and tell them Ty told you everything.”

She had tears in her eyes and said, “So what does Jake want to do?”

“He's apparently a playwright and does a real good job of it. He also writes stories.”

“He doesn't want to go to school to be a Doctor?”

“Apparently not.”

“Ok, so I'll sit down with him and see what else I've been missing.”

“He's straight, so there's a chance of having a grandchild in your future!”

She smiled and said, “If he's happy, then I'm happy. He's been miserable, and I've been thinking I've been doing him a service by working and getting him into the college I wanted to go to but couldn't.”

“Well, we all have hopes for our kids. Heck, Ty's talking about getting a dog and I'm thinking of all the tricks I want to teach it, but what if the dog doesn't want to do tricks?”

She laughed and said, “Your dog's going to do tricks. The way you are, I know you'll be the best dog parent there is.”

“Maybe, but the secrets finally came out about Mark Jr, and that's been known for quite a while by everyone.”

“I wish someone had told me.”

“Well, they're afraid of disappointing you.”

“Well, we're going to have a talk as a family while they're home. We've got to learn how to communicate better.”

“Hon, look at me.”

She looked at me.

“Communication is listening too. As much as that hurts, I'm finding it out myself. Ty just put me in the corner for not thinking his money is my money when I've been complaining about that from him.”

She laughed and said, “Well, now I've got to do it so the boys don't feel their trust has been violated. One thing I'm not going to do is have Jake in his room lying on his bed by himself. If need be, I'll be in there laying down with him.”

“Maybe that's where he is thinking the dialog for his stories and plays. You might find the great play he's writing has his mom coming in to lay down with him.”

“That'd be creepy.”

“Well....” I waggled my eyebrows at her.

“You're so damned cute.”

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you. Now I know the problem, I've got to find a treatment.”

“Love, and treating others as you'd want to be treated. It's pretty simple. You've been doing a lot of the golden rule, but you forgot to listen to what wasn't being said. It's pretty easy to do that. I think I've been doing that with Mitch.”

“What do you mean?”

“I've been waiting for him to fall and dreading when that moment comes. I'm now thinking he's a lot stronger than I thought.”

“No, he fell years ago. He just didn't let anyone see it because he had to be strong for his kids. Where she made a huge mistake is she didn't see him fall. Everyone thinks she didn't care, I'll tell you now she did. But, I'll also tell you that woman got treated as she got treated. She thought that's what the game was, so that's how she played it. You'd be amazed at things she put up with there.”

“Well, we're going to be putting in a whole new set of rules and either they'll play by them, or they won't play on our field.”

“That's going to be the trick. For the life of me, I don't see why they just don't sell out.”

“I'll tell you.”

She looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“The same reason you're not giving up on your kids. You think there's still value left in the relationship, so you continue to try. I don't think the mules dead there myself, but I do think it's been too close to the bull.”

She laughed and said, “Some of the things you come up with”

“Yeah, now, I'm going to ask you a question and I want to know if you knew your sister in law.”

“Ok”

“What's the man's name with she was having the affair with at work so I can tell that man not to enter my funeral home?”

She gave me an alarmed look.

“She didn't!”

“Which time?”

“You mean!”

“Yeah, and doing it in front of Gregg. He's not dumb and she wasn't smart.”

“Oh my!”

“Yeah, we fired one and the other is the current one. So, I've got to keep the match away from the powder keg.”

“She never let on a thing. I knew she was hateful, but that's terrible. Mitch was holding on and hoping all this time and he could have let go.”

“Between you and me. The first time Ty ever came home and laid a hand on me would have been the last time. Relationships are bad, but when they go that far, in my opinion, they can't be saved. No one proposes and asks to be made a punching bag and no one gets proposed to and submits to it. If they do, they're a fool.”

“She hit him!”

“Yeah, and again, I'd say which time. The boys watched that stuff and he said he stayed with her because it was for the good of the boys. That's hogwash, but I also know he stayed with her because he didn't want her reputation tarnished. When the police need to be called in, that reputation is beyond polishing if you ask me.”

“They kept so many secrets.”

“Yeah, and now we're doing what we can to keep them from happening again. Everyone's got a fresh start here and I think they realize it.”

She had been looking at her hands and said, “I'm sorry you had to get into all this mess.”

“I'm not because he's worth it. Each one of them is worth it in their own ways. But, the one I don't think I could have been civil to is laying down at my funeral home. Everyone keeps saying I would have liked her, I'm sorry, but that wouldn't have happened. She would have seen me as a threat and she would have played her games and the final straw would have been when she attempted to lay a hand upon me. The police in this town say she's an untouchable, but I'll tell you myself that if they hadn't touched her, I sure would have.”

She looked up at me and said, “Lance, I pray it's all ended. I don't want you to think our family is like this.”

“Joan, you know what I think? There was a point in this that Heather and I talked and wondered if we had gotten in too far into a mess. We decided to stay because we weighed the pros and the cons and found the good outweighed the bad. Now, we've got to work to keep the bad away. A huge part of doing that is exposing the secrets and letting everyone know they're gone and won't be returning.”

She smiled and said, “The boys have a future and if that woman in there is Mitch's future, I'm happy for it. I knew they went through a lot, but I had no clue what all it had been. What was strange is Mark once asked me what all she was doing to them because he saw her doing something to Gregg. He stepped on into the room and told her if what he thought she was doing was happening, she would be asked to leave our home. I believe that's the angriest I've ever seen him. After they left, he told me our kids were never to go over there because if she touched one of ours that way, he'd not let up until we had those kids in our home. I thought about telling Mitch then to get out, but then thought I should mind my own business. Now, I wish I had stepped in.”

“Joan, the difference between someone who acts and one who doesn't act is the decision. Personally, I'll tell you now, I'll take a lot off an adult, but when an adult is doing anything to a child, I'll not hold back one inch. For the life of me, I'm looking forward to being an uncle, but if I ever see either one of them touching those kids inappropriately, I'll tell you now we'll be wishing we had another funeral. Heather won't because she knows what I went through as a child, but Gregg's been raised in a house where mom got by with it. For that, I'll be constantly on guard. I love him, but there's a line and we'll have a talk when the kids come along. BUT, I'll tell you now, he knows Heather can whip the tar out of him and I think he'll stay on the course his dad taught him. I pray.”

She smiled and said, “You know Lance, the anger is boiling in you from this one. I can feel it. I also feel you trust me enough to use me as a sounding board. If the day comes you ever have to have the conversation, you come to me and we'll have the whole family sit down and give parenting lessons. It's a shame we didn't do this sooner, but now I'm going to put my foot down and tell the family it takes a family to raise a child. My own family has secrets and I'm not happy about it. I didn't raise my boys to feel they couldn't come to me with their problems. Somewhere along the line, it happened and I can't figure it out where that happened. When we sit down for our own conversation, I'll be asking that question.”

“Joan, let me say this and I'll give you a bit of my own viewpoint. When a child's raised, the level a parent has as far as expectation is here. The child is here. It's always supposed to be a little bit above the child's skill level. When parents have an unrealistic expectation the child knows it can't obtain, the job as a parent is to take stock and go back and pick the child up. I think where you went ahead of your kids is assuming they were where you thought they were. When a child's gay, everything that child has been raised knowing as an expectation suddenly comes into question. I'm surprised Mark has done as well as he has. That's a viewpoint. However, where Jake is is here and the carrot for him is way out there. That mule just isn't going to chase it. You're at a point where you've got to reevaluate goals and set them back to his needs. What their whole generation has learned is not to tell parents things. I don't know if it's influence from Ty and Gregg, or if it's their own decisions, but what I think would be awesome is rather than you having a sit down family discussion, you treat them as adults and make it a next step where you're accepting them as adults, but guiding them as children.”

“I'm not sure what you're meaning.”

“I know I didn't make that clear, so I'll say it differently. Rather than having you, Mark, little Mark and Jake sitting around a table, have them in the living room without distractions and sit down and say, “So, how's life going? Is it giving you what you expected? If it's not, then tell us and we'll help you.”

She smiled and said, “I think adults even need those conversations sometimes.”

“