I Thought She Made You Up Ch. 05

At the lawyer's office, both Amy and I had to show our ID, which they made copies of. I was surprised to see her ex-husband there. Barb was there as executor. The house went to a cancer foundation. The furniture and household contents were also donated to charity, after certain items were removed.

Her ex got a certificate good for a lifetime supply of condoms, not to exceed twelve a week, from the local pharmacy. Seems the client he slept with came up pregnant, and her husband had gotten a vasectomy years before. He left the office screaming curses at anyone who would listen. Joannes' last laugh.

Amy and I received large manila envelopes we had to sign for, with instructions not to open them until we got home and in the presence of Barb. Barb also got an envelope.

Barb opened hers first.

She was to receive all of Joannes jewelry with the exception of a single strand of pearls that Amy often admired. The pearls were in Amys' envelope. She also got the standard executors' fee, which she donated to the cancer foundation.

Amy collapsed when she opened hers. Inside was a check for staying with Joanne, roughly twice the rate the nurse would have gotten. There were also two letters. One for her eyes only, one she wanted read aloud. She got the first sentence out before she started crying.

I picked up and read:

"Amy, my child.

This is how I've come to think of you. You have made me realize the single biggest regret of my life was not experiencing motherhood. You've given me a glimpse of what I missed, and while I should hate you for it, it makes me love you the more. If I had a daughter, I would wish her to be like you.

I know we are the same size, and I've seen you fondle my fox fur coat. It belonged to my grandmother, and she wanted me to pass it on to my daughter when it was time. I want you to have it, the winters are cold at your school. In fact, I want you to go through my closets and take whatever you want. Wear the clothes proudly, it is a gift of love.

Lastly, I want you to have my car. College girls need a good set of wheels. It's a little old, but I rarely drove it. It is in good condition, and should serve you well for years. Barb has something for you, cars can be expensive to maintain.

One more note. Jimmy. Take care of him, I think he's going to need you soon. And be a little more assertive, he takes you for granted.

I wish you happiness and a good life.

Your mother that never was,

Joanne."

She cried for an hour, then told Barb she didn't deserve it.

"Nonsense, girl, I've never seen anyone who deserved it more. Take it with the love it was given. What I have for you is the paperwork for your car, along with the insurance forms. It's already been paid, all you have to is sign the papers and pick up the tag. She also gave me this for you. It's 2,000, cash, for gas, tires, and incidental repairs."

She turned to me.

"And Joanne is right, you do take her for granted. Wise up, Jimmy. Now, open yours."

I read the letter first.

"Jimmy my love, the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life was not snatching you up when you turned eighteen and never letting go. You were a good boy, and you're turning into a better man. I've had this for years, have changed the name several times. I can't think of anyone else who deserves it more.

Follow your dream, shape the minds and hearts of those who follow. And if you ever have a little girl, Joanne is a nice name.

And Jimmy, you really should pay more attention, you won't do better than Amy. Good luck in your life. Oh, cut your hair and shave, you're in college for goodness sake.

Love always,

Joanne."

It was an insurance policy, listing me as beneficiary. $40,000.

Barb handed me the check.

"Here you go Jimmy, go back to school, get your degree. Come back to us and turn out more good men. The world could always use them."

I slid to the floor, it seems my legs quit working, Amy knelt beside me, giving much needed comfort.

Barb went on to tell me that Joanne wanted us to have any furniture we needed, it would be handy for our new apartment. There was no hurry, just pick out the pieces and mark them.

Barb had some parting words.

"Good luck, my young friends. This experience has made me regret not having children also. I think I'm going to adopt you. Come home and see me from time to time. Now I'll leave you alone, I'm sure you have some thinking to do."

She kissed us both and left. We sat on the couch holding each other, crying occasionally from grief, joy, and shock.

We wandered through the house for the next few days, tagging furniture and packing. After some hesitation Amy went through the clothes, picking jeans, a few tops, and some nice dresses. She took almost all the shoes and Joanne had a lot. She said she had never owned more than four pairs of shoes at one time in her whole life. She also took four or five evening gowns, and one little black dress that looked so good on her it immediately came off.

We tried to get CeCe involved but she wouldn't enter the house, said it gave her the creeps. We were still boosting motel stock points as often as possible.

While we were with Joanne, CeCe was interning at one of her fathers plants. He was very happy, controlling almost all her time. And I very rarely visited her at home, which made it even sweeter to him.

When it rains it pours, in good as well as bad. When I put my notice in at Glib, I was told to see HR before I made it formal.

Beverly, Joannes' former sister in law, was still HR director. She and Barb had flown Joannes' ashes back home and helped her mother pour them into the ocean. She often said it was her favorite memory of California.

"Jimmy, we hate to see you go. You've been a model employee, and several times you've been considered for advancement. But you've made no secret of your desire to finish your education, so we left you alone. If you remember, when we first hired you I mentioned scholarship opportunities. It is a great pleasure that I can give you this."

She handed me a formal notification that I had been approved for a full scholarship to any state university I wished to attend. If I kept a 3.0 grade average it would automatically be renewed for another year.

"You deserve this. Several members of senior management were hesitant because of your appearance, but your community college professors were quite impressed with you and gave glowing reports. You have a stellar work record and every one of your coworkers attested to your good character. I think it was a point of pride that one of their own was being considered. Oddly enough it was the way you stood by Joanne, almost a stranger to you by then, that tipped the balance."

She noticed my look.

"Oh yes, remember this is a small town, people talk."

So there I was. Thanks to Joanne and my thrifty ways I had $53,000 in the bank, and except for living expenses, I didn't have to spend any of it to continue my education. I had two full time girlfriends who loved me and each other, life couldn't get any better could it? Yes it could.

Barb called me one day to invite me to lunch because she had something important to tell me.

"Jimmy, drive your car. I'm the president of a successful business, don't be roaring up on your bike, appearances, you know."

My car was clean and well maintained, but it was fifteen years old and looked it. If it had been me, I would have preferred the bike. But I followed her orders and showed up precisely at noon.

She probably shocked the staff when she gave me a big hug and pulled me into her car and took off. We had a nice lunch, where she refused to tell me anything, saying she had something to show me in her office when we got back. We talked about school, Amy, the furniture we were going to move into the new apartment we had at school. No more dorms for Amy and CeCe.

She talked about her life, the hard but rewarding experience it was running a business after being a trophy wife for years. She had a new man in her life. He was four years younger, but she grinned and said there were precedents. She was holding my hand as we went into her office.

She sat behind her desk and went into professional mode. I was impressed.

"Jimmy , how are you going to get the furniture up to college?"

"Well, I thought I would rent a truck, one of those big ones, and take it in one trip. I've got some friends up there who can help me unload it."

"No. I have several used cargo trucks on the lot, we'll put a dealer tag on one and you can keep it until you're done. That problem is now solved. What are you going to drive while you're in school?"

This was a sticking point. I had promised my sisters they could have my car. Two of them had drivers licenses now, and dad needed an extra car.

"I can ride my bike most of the time. When it gets really cold, I'm sure CeCe or Amy will give me a ride."

I wouldn't dare try to borrow one. CeCe had one of those little Mercedes,and she was really picky about it. And Amy? Joannes 'old' car was a three year old Thunderbird convertible with less than 10,000 miles on it. She wouldn't let me into it unless I showered first and wiped my feet three times. It was the first car she had ever owned. It took her three tries to get out of the driveway because she started crying every time she got in it.

"I was thinking about looking around for something. Got any good deals?"

She smiled.

"As a matter of fact, why don't we go look and see if there's anything that would be suitable? I'm sure we can find you something."

I figured she would turn me over to a salesman but she strode right by them.

She took me to a truck, a four wheel drive full size Ford that looked brand new.

"What do you think of this one?"

It looked beautiful but expensive.

"I love it, but no way I could afford it. I've got a little money now but I still want to be cautious with it. You never know, right."

"Oh, I think I could make you a deal. How does eighty six dollars sound?"

"What?"

"Eighty six dollars. That's tag fee, tax, and title work. The truck is yours. Come into the office and I'll give you the story. And hon, close your mouth."

She closed the office door.

"Part of my letter from Joanne was a plea to keep an eye on you. I told you years ago if I could ever help you I would. The truck is five years old, a trade in from one of our regular customers. It has 40,000 on it, and all he ever did with it was take his boat to the lake. I had it checked out, tuned, and put new tires on it. It's a gift. Please don't insult me by trying to refuse. I'm rich now, it won't hurt me. Say something!"

"I don't have the words. You know I would still love you if you were broke... Thank you."

I came around the desk and gave her a hug.

"You know, you and Joanne have given me some unrealistic expectations when it comes to women. I don't know if I'll ever find anyone who will measure up."

She looked at me for the first time like she was seeing an idiot.

"Bullshit! Haven't you noticed the little Joanne clone that keeps buzzing around you? Wake up Jimmy. Now let's sign some papers, I already had the mechanic put your tags on the truck."

I had a good vehicle, Amy had an almost new car, and while we weren't loaded, we were both better off than we had ever been. We had found a good apartment not too far off campus and had some really nice furniture to go in it. Life was looking up.

Just before we left, I stopped by Joannes house.

I went alone, at night. We had long since turned the keys over, so I stood outside by her favorite flower bed. I had taken a small amount of her ashes from the urn and placed them there. I just couldn't stand the thought of her being completely gone. Honoring her last request, I had cut my hair and trimmed my beard extremely short. Scattering my hair around the bed I said my goodbyes.

"Thank you Joanne. I love you. Goodbye."

Silly. Stupid. Sentimental. But it made me feel better as I drove away.

.................................................

Part Three: Not All Triangles Have Equal Sides

Well, here I was, Joe College.

It was hard acclimating at first, but after a week or two I found my groove. It was actually easier, because I didn't have to balance my time between school and work. I wasn't going to work for the first year to make sure I got the second year of my scholarship.

Also helping was the fact that Amy and I had the same major and shared many of the courses, so we could study together and help each other through the rough spots.

CeCe was taking industrial human relations, and hardly studied at all. She still managed to pass. When she got stuck Amy and I would joke privately another building was about to get her dad's corporate logo on it. Warren was quite the alumnus.

CeCe approved of the dining room set, the living room furniture , and the spare bedroom suite we had brought with us, but insisted on getting furniture for the master bedroom. It was the largest bed I had ever seen, nowadays it would be called a California King. It came in handy.

We tried for awhile, but three sleeping together, no how big the bed is, doesn't work all the time. We were both a lot bigger than Amy so she got stuck in the middle. Lying between us she would get hot and start wiggling and we would all soon be awake. Amy was really good at solving logistical problems, and this was no exception.

Remember those huge, goofy looking purple turtles CeCe made me get the first weekend we were together? To tell them apart, Amy tied a bow of yellow ribbon around hers. CeCe decided hers looked naked, so she put a white bow around it.

If I came home and the turtle with the yellow ribbon was on the bed in the master bedroom, it would be just me and Amy that night. If it was the white, then it was me and CeCe. If neither were there it meant we were all sleeping together. And if both turtles were on the bed, I slept alone in the second bed room. There was no set schedule, but for the most part it worked. Sometimes three really is a crowd.

CeCe was short and snappish with us for the first few weeks. We put it down to the new living arrangements. It's one thing to see someone every couple of weeks, another to live with them. Amy and I had few problems, the weeks of living together while we took care of Joanne gave us the opportunity to understand each others personality quirks.

I was almost always the first one up. Most of our classes didn't start until nine, so I had time to shower and make breakfast before I woke the girls. Any could cook, but her menu was limited. CeCe didn't cook and had no interest in learning. My years of being a short order cook came in handy, and I loved to try new things. Most college kids don't have the facilities or means to cook, so when word got out[thanks to the girls bragging about it]I had to start making extra because two or three days a week someone was always dropping by in the evenings. If they didn't we had leftovers.

I almost never had to get Amy up, as soon as the coffee started she would appear. Over the years I've often thought that if I could invent an alarm clock that emitted the smell of coffee instead of beeping I could make a fortune on college campuses. She would have her first cup, and then we would go drag CeCe out of bed. She was not a morning person. We usually rode together, but after she made us late twice we put her on a deadline, leave with us or drive alone. Most times she was ready after that.

The Big Event, as Amy called it later, came on a Friday night right before Thanksgiving. Amy and I were alone in bed, going at it hard, when CeCe walked in. We paused, but she asked us to continue. She watched as I brought Amy to three roaring orgasms, then turned and went back into the other bedroom. The next morning at breakfast she told me to take a nap when I got home.

"Why would I need a nap?"

"Because tonight is the night I stop being a virgin. I want you well rested so I get a good experience."

Amy stopped eating, and with a forkful of omelet halfway to her mouth said "Huh?"

"You heard me. I'm tired of being the odd man out. I've already decided to marry Jimmy, so it won't be like I'm giving away something my husband won't get."

I had never said a word about marriage. We had our whole life ahead of us, and while I loved Ce, I didn't know if marriage was in my future.

"Um, Ce, I haven't ask you to marry me. I'm not making any decisions until I graduate, and that's still almost two years away."

"You haven't yet, but I've got time to work on you. I'm sure you'll see it my way eventually, especially after tonight."

Amy went silent. I didn't think about it at the time, but CeCe had just told her she had a limited shelf life. And I forgot how competitive they could be sometimes.

CeCe was just being herself. Arrogant, self assured, always getting what she wanted. That someone would oppose her after she decided something was unacceptable, and needed to be corrected as soon as possible. Refusal simply did not exist in her world.

We went to school in separate cars because CeCe had a late class. We usually all rode together in my truck. For some reason CeCe was jealous of Amy's car. Before we always took the Mercedes, and Amy rode in the back.

It was the first time I had seen Amy actually stand up to her. They had decided to take turns driving, and when it came Amys' turn, Ce refused to ride in the back.

"We're both too big for the backseat, why don't you let Jimmy drive?"

"BULLSHIT! This is my fucking car and nobody drives it but me. If you don't want to ride in it drive yourself."

CeCe was shocked, and I had to turn away so she wouldn't see the smile. The compromise was that I rode in the backseat. When Ce drove Amy shocked her farther by refusing to ride in the back.

"If you're too good to ride in the back of my car, I'm too good to ride in the back of yours."

This led to me being always in the back, and a frosty atmosphere during the drive. I solved that one after about three weeks.

By then it was cold, so I would go out and warm up whatever we were driving that day. That Monday I warmed up my truck. Just before we went out I gave them my speech.

"I'm sick to death of squabbling over vehicles. From now on we take my truck. That way neither of you drives and everybody sits in the front. One sits in the middle one day, the other the next. If this isn't acceptable tell me now, and I'll drive myself from now on."

They were both kind of shocked. Amy was pretty easy to get along with, and Ce was just beginning to understand I had limits I wouldn't go past.

Amy smiled and said "Thank you honey. Dibs on the middle." and went out the door.

Ce looked at me for a second before smiling.

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are. Thank you honey."

So I racked up miles on my truck while two luxury vehicles sat in my driveway idle. But it kept the peace.

From the time we moved in together I made a serious effort to make sure the girls were treated equally. I read a treatise from an old Muslim text in one of my classes about the perfect number of wives. Four. One would be too boring, two would constantly be at odds with each other, If you had three two would always be ganging up on one, but if you had four, alliances would shift from time to time, and that much competition would assure harmony.

Four. No wonder they were always involved in holy wars. It was to get away from their wives.

I looked over at Amy. "How do you feel about this?"

If nothing else she was honest.

"I don't know. It's about time, I guess. But I kind of like the fact that it was something we shared alone. I guess I'll be surpassed by her again. As usual."

That surprised me.

"Haven't I always treated you equally? The only thing she has that you don't is money, and I haven't seen any hundred dollars bills spread across the bed when we're in it. Besides, she may not be any good. And once she gets used to it you can introduce her to your toys."