I'm 51

I kissed Heather on the cheek and walked out.

Chapter 9

I went out to the garden shed and sharpened tools for forty minutes. My father had taught me early on that hoes, shovels, mattocks, they were all just like a knife. They were cutters, in this case, soil. If they had a sharp edge, they did their job better. After I finished, I started on the pruners and by the time I was done you could have cut hair with them.

There was a little knock and Heather asked if she could come in. I just nodded and she stood uncertainly. "Please don't hold it against him. He's facing the worst failure a man can, the inability to provide for his family."

"I understand that, honey, but that especially means you don't snap at the hand that's trying to help. His father made poor choices in life. That's not Jr.'s fault. It's his fault. His shining bright future with a woman of exceptional quality disappeared one day between the legs of a slut, and he'll never get it back. He needs to make peace with his choices and try not to repeat them a second time.

"His son also needs to make some choices. Angie has told me many times how much she misses you guys, especially her grandchildren. Heather, she will take care of her family, I know her well enough for that. But I also know she won't just blindly give him money and hope for the best. She's wanted you to live here for years, and this is her chance. I'll bet you as sure as that ring on your finger that she offers him a job. He's her heir. Not me. I've already told her I wanted no part of her company. It's not mine to direct.

"Changing the subject, where are you staying?"

"We're at the Marriot, for the night. After that I have no idea."

"I think I may, but I have to talk to your mother-in-law first. Come on, it's getting close to dinner time and I'm pretty sure Jeremiah doesn't like missing meals."

She gave me a big hug. "I wish they WERE your grandchildren. I'd sleep a lot better at night."

I looked at the kitchen, noticing the debris from letting small children try their hands at baking, and made a decision. "Tonight, we grill."

I asked Heather what their favorite foods were, and sent her in my car to the market. Junior went with her. I wondered what kind of conversation they were going to have. Angie had put the kids down for a nap after getting them cleaned up and we took advantage to spruce up the kitchen.

"Was it fun?"

Her face glowed. "I wished I had filmed it. Heather helped until she went looking for you. Junior went to see his father for a bit."

Her tears leaked down. "I wish we could keep them. Lynette is a big fan, honey. She told me Grandpa Reggie was going to cook the corn you picked up for her tonight. Do you mind them calling you Grandpa?"

"About as much as I hate it when you call me honey. Gee, how disgusting!"

She giggled. "Uh-huh. Maybe I need to call you something else. How's sweetie sound?"

"Ugh. Stick to honey."

"All right," she said, just before she wrapped herself around me. We were in the middle of a serious kiss when we heard the giggles. Lynnie had woken up. Before she could move, I snatched her up and we both showered her with kisses for a minute.

"Grandpa, are we going to cook the corn?"

"Yes, we are. Come with me."

I had put the ears of corn in ice water earlier, and they were ready. I stood Lynnie on a big chair behind the prep table, and showed her how to pull the shucks back enough to put the butter inside, then close them tightly. I tied them snugly with fire-proof ties and they were ready. By then, Jere was up and helping. Their mom came in and they rushed her, wanting to know if she had got their favorites, hot dogs and burgers. She had indeed, as well as steaks, chops, and a few chicken breasts. Jere helped me rub the chicken thoroughly and wrap it in foil. Mom rubbed the steaks and chops, letting them rest and get up to room temperature.

Angie nabbed her after that to help with the sides: coleslaw. big fat steak fries, and sliced zucchini that had been marinated, ready to hit the grill. The cupcakes sat proudly on display, our dessert for the evening. Junior had opted to stay with his father, and I think Heather was relieved about it.

I grilled enough for three big meals, knowing they would want a little bit of everything. Lynnie ate three bites of chicken, three bites of steak, a few fries, and a whole ear of corn, giggling as she removed the charred husks. Jere managed a hot dog and half a chop and steak, skipping everything else except for an ear of corn.

Then we had to have a cupcake. Lynnie brought one to me, so proud she was about to burst. The icing was about two inches tall. "I made this one for you, Grandpa."

She was beaming with pride as I kissed her cheek. "Thank you, baby. It looks great."

She watched anxiously until I ate every bite.

They actually looked happy when Heather told them they would all be spending the night and baths were drawn. After they were in their pajamas, I held Lynnie while Angie held Jere, gently rocking him until he was asleep. They roused when we put them in their beds and insisted that we take turns reading them a story. Angie had a death grip on my hand the whole time, looking like she was going to explode from simple happiness.

Heather was in the living room with a glass of wine. "Thank you. You don't know what it's like to get a chance to relax."

"I remember," Angie said. "Jr. was a hyperactive child and demanded a lot of attention. Well, as long as you're here you have built in babysitters. You may get tired of having to come over and rescue them."

"That might take a while, and I'd love to get to that point. It all depends on your son."

Angie sat beside her and gave her a cuddle. "I know, honey. I'm working on it."

That night as we lay in bed, we had a pretty intense conversation. "You know their situation?" I asked.

"Most of it. I got so angry when I found out. They should have come home then. We would have taken care of them."

"I think your son has as much misplaced pride as your ex. What did you talk about while I had Heather and the kids?"

"He has this get rich scheme he wants me to invest in. One million! I have money, I have that kind of money, but it isn't just laying around and even if it was, I wouldn't let go of it until I investigated. I told him to let me look into it before I committed and he got angry. They're broke, this is their last night in that hotel. They can come here, but he hates that idea."

"Mind if I offer you a solution?"

"I'm all ears."

"The tenants in my house moved out last week. I knew it was only going to be six months, but they checked out and the only reason they needed a house was to have some place to live while theirs got finished. Let them live there rent free. It will give them some privacy while they come to grips with their situation. Maybe we can find Heather something to do while he gets his head right."

"I love you!"

It came out with force and it made me smile. It was like pulling teeth sometimes getting her to say it. Every time I got close to talking about marriage, she would put me off, citing the age difference. It really started getting on my nerves, and one day she said it one time too many.

"But honey, I'm seven years ol..."

I snapped. Before she knew it, I had her over my lap. I took a minute to admire her well-shaped ass before my hand came down. She was writhing and raising all kind of hell.

"Ow! Damn it, that hurts. Who do you..."

Her words stopped as she shrieked and I'm kind of embarrassed that I took quite a bit of frustration out on her bottom. Still, I only paddled her exactly seven times, something I reminded her off as she slid to the floor whimpering. "That's gonna happen every time you bring that up, you hear me? And I'm gonna add a stroke every time. Get your head out of your ass and come to grips with the fact that I don't give a flying fuck how old you are. You're the one I chose. Maybe this is your way of telling me we're not going to last. if that's the case I might as well leave now."

She was still on the sofa snuffling when I went by with the suitcase. Her eyes got wide and I had a feeling she hadn't believed me. "Honey, wait. We..."

"I'll call you, but not for a while. Give me a little breathing room while I decide whether I'm wasting my time or not."

She was begging when I went out the door.

I was third owner of a construction company, and one of the field managers if there was an emergency. I decided there was an emergency and spent a week out of town, getting an office complex off the ground. The unions were giving us a hard time and some of the suppliers were bending to their 'suggestion' that our materials become a little scarce.

I was not in the mood, so I called all our company employees off the job and sent them to other projects. Two days later a realty sign went up in front of the property, shocking everyone. The unions threatened, but I was within my rights and told the papers and local television stations the truth, backing it up with facts and figures.

The unions suddenly started getting pressure from members who didn't have a job to go to, and the politicians were making noises about permits and investigations. The suppliers had a heart attack when I canceled almost two million dollars' worth of orders.

"We have a contract!"

"You do indeed. And in the fine print of that contract, it states if you're late on deliveries over three times in a month, we are free to find other suppliers. Y'all have a good day."

Everybody tried to make me out to be the bad guy, but the public wasn't fooled. A month later we were back with more favorable contracts from the suppliers, and the unions were a lot more flexible in making sure they met their new goals. Both my partners thought I was a genius, but I was just pissed and needed someone to take it out on.

Nine days after I'd left, I walked out of the trailer that housed the construction office to see Angie, sitting in her Mercedes. She looked scared to death, but determined. As I approached her, she got out and I think both our hearts were in our throats. When she got to me, she stood, trying to talk, before letting out a small scream and jumping into my arms, trying to kiss me and talk at the same time. I finally gave up and carried her into the office. I looked at the engineers and production assistants, and they all suddenly had an urge for coffee at the diner next door. I locked up behind them.

"I'm sorry I spanked you. There was a lot of frustration built up and I just kind of snapped. I'm asking you, if we stay together, that you just stop. By now I hope you know how little that number means to me."

She unconsciously rubbed her bottom. "I think I finally got it. I forgive you, as long as you never do it again."

"All I'll promise is that you get dangerously close to saying it again I'll remind you how it ended the last time."

"Fair enough. Now come home. You need to kiss this butt seven times, for every time you hurt it. Good kisses, not little pecks. You do that, and I may let you kiss other places."

I couldn't help but grin. I liked kissing her butt, as well as the rest of her body. "I'll make it a two for one, to apologize for my transgression."

We sat and talked, and kissed, until the crew got brave enough to come back. I looked at my assistant. "You're on your own for the rest of the project, Mark. You've shown promise, so consider this a test. If you do well, we can always use another project manager. And Mark, no shit from anyone, understand? They'll test you, hard. Stomp on it as hard as you can the first instance and absolutely refuse to back down, got it? Good. See you at the home office."

He came in a week ahead of schedule and 20,000 under budget. He had ten of our people involved, and I told him to give everyone a thousand as a bonus, and to make sure he was the one to hand them the money. I gave him three.

Angie and I had gradually gotten back to where we were, but I wasn't as happy as I should have been. The fact that she shied from discussing marriage really bothered me. If she wanted to wait, that was fine, as long as I could see a happy ending. I remembered my first marriage, before the bad stuff, and realized I liked being married, of having a pledge and document to prove to the world we were as one.

Now her son was there and she was really tense.

Chapter 10

Two weeks later, she gave her son the bad news. She had checked his opportunity out, and it appeared to be little more than a Ponzi scheme.

Angie insisted he go to work for her in the short term, just to generate a little money. He resisted at first, until Heather lost patience and got a job of her own. She went to work for a construction company as a general office assistant. The pay was better than average, and it wasn't because of who she was. It was because my partners and I decided early on to recruit the best and pay them accordingly. Sarah was in charge of all office functions, and one of the first things she did was to pitch a daycare for our employees, free of charge.

"You're guys, and you have no idea what a strain childcare costs can be, especially to a single mother. We do this, and we'll have employees for life." She was a single mother herself. and her part of the startup was covered by an inheritance from her grandmother. David and I had been talking about going out on our own, but it was mostly talk. She was office manager for our old firm and she basically got us off our asses and into business. We were so grateful we named the business SDR Construction, for Sarah, David, and Reggie. David was an engineer, and I was the construction end. We had very good personal reputations and some of our corporate customers weren't happy with management, so they gave us a chance. In ten years. we were a multimillion-dollar construction company known for excellent quality at a reasonable cost.

Our old company was so pissed when we left and cherry picked a few to come with us they threatened legal action. Our lawyer told us they might try something like that while he worked out all the paperwork, and to tell them to kiss our collective asses. We let Sarah tell them, because she had had to put up with a lot of shit and office politics during her years there. She said it was one of the best times she'd ever had in her life.

If I got there before Heather, she was required to bring the kids by before they went to daycare. I got hugs and kisses and really liked the idea of starting out the day that way. Heather always kissed my cheek. A month later I came in and noticed that everyone was grinning at me. On my desk was a huge mug with the pictures of Lynnie and Jeremiah on the side. The other side said, "Best Grandfather Ever!"

The one that got me hardest was the smaller one beside it, with a picture of Heather and the words "Best Father-In-Law Ever!" I put them on a shelf where they would be the first thing I saw every morning, right beside the picture of Angie and me.

Heather was called into Sarah's office and told her position had changed. She would now be running errands for the company, she had to have good transportation and she was to pick out a suitable SUV to make sure it could hold everything. After she got done crying, she made me go with her to the Ford dealership, where she picked the same model I drove, a four-door sports model with a small truck bed. Angie just grinned while she went on about it.

The closer I got to Heather and the kids, the more distant her husband became. Ben Sr. came to see me one day, apparently to threaten me. "Stay away from my grandchildren! They're not yours."

I think I made him nervous when I grinned. "Have you told them that yet? Oh yeah, to do that you would actually have to spend time with them, wouldn't you? How much time have you spent with them since they've been here? Have you taken them anywhere or hung out at home just to watch them play? According to them you haven't, and whether I stay on the scene or not, you need to change that. If you want them in your life the best way to accomplish that is to include them in your life."

The aggression went out of him like air from a balloon. "KayCee doesn't care for them much."

"Then you need to make a choice. Bimbo Barbie, or your grandchildren. That ought to be a no-brainer but I don't know your priorities. Just to be clear, I'll stay out of their lives if Angie or the children's parents say so, but I don't think that's likely. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a play set to put together. Wanna help?"

I must have made an impression because he followed me to the house. You could have knocked Angie and Heather over with a feather when he got out and the kids swarmed both of us. It was a pretty elaborate set, but I was a construction company owner and once Benny caught on, he wasn't half bad. An hour later he was pushing Jeremiah while I pushed Lynnie.

The ladies took over and we had a beer while we watched. He had tears in his eyes. "I've made so many stupid choices in my life."

"From what I hear I have to agree with you. We don't know each other that well, but today has cast you in a different light. The thing about stupid choices is that eventually we learn from them. So, wanna come to our weekly cookout Sunday?"

Heather had taken a lot of pictures and they hit her Facebook page later that evening. It showed Benny and I tightening bolts while the kids waited anxiously. Some of the last were of us each pushing a child and had a caption. "Grandpas Rule!"

Angie was all over me after everyone left. "You are gonna get some really good loving tonight! How did you do it?"

"I didn't do anything unusual. Honey, you know by now if something needs said I don't hesitate much. He deserves to be in their lives if he can. I know it would break my heart if I lost them."

Damn it, then she started crying and almost ruined the mood. Luckily, she had recovered by bedtime.

Chapter 11

A sort of truce existed between us and Benny. He'd come over about every other Sunday for grilling. Sometime he helped, but mostly he played with the kids.

Bubblegum Barbie saw him slipping away and issued an ultimatum, but he didn't respond very well. She moved out of the townhouse within two weeks. She got to take all her clothes and jewelry, but had a meltdown when he told her she couldn't have the sports car he'd leased for her. He finally told her when she wouldn't shut up about it, she could have it, and the 27 payments left on the lease.

Heather was happy and enjoying her job. They treated her like any other employee, even if their father-in-law was one of the owners. That only happened a very few times, early on, and she dealt with it. After that, everyone bitched at her just like the other worker drones, and she just smiled and shoveled it back at them.

I looked at my life and realized there were only two things that would make it perfect. One would be the day Angie and I walked down the aisle. The other would be when Junior finally settled down and accepted his life. For some reason, he decided all his troubles were directly tied to me.

Angie and I had some tense discussions about the way he tried to treat me, and when Heather tried talking to him about it things went downhill. It developed into a full-on, don't hold anything back discourse with the upshot being if he didn't like his life here, he had two options. Make it better through his own efforts, or leave, but she and the kids were staying.

He rode his dad's couch for a few nights before he got tired of it and threw him out, telling him to man up and go back to his family.

He did go home, but he was surly and snapped at his kids quite a bit. Heather was just about at the end of her rope and suddenly it got worse. Angie fired him. It almost killed her and she spent quite a few nights clinging to me while she cried herself to sleep.