Ingrid Ch. 08

Max swore and refused and threatened and slammed his fists on the table and swore some more, and then reluctantly agreed to the settlement. Ingrid now had enough cash, less the lawyer and detective fees, to carry on with her life. She sold the Kelowna house for a tidy profit and retired the small mortgage. A wiser and chastened Ingrid Solberg packed up all her worldly possessions, kissed her mother and father goodbye, and headed for the coast.

That was over four years ago. She used some of the cash for a substantial down payment on a small bungalow in West Vancouver and set up her home business: Ingrid's Designs. It had been a long, hard slog to get the business established, but gradually the repeat and referral business began to happen and it started to look like she would be able to stand on her own two feet. The government contract would put her over the top and she would be established. Then, along came Steve.

Steve listened to her story and knew she would eventually tell him more of the details. For now, it told him what he needed to know. It also told him there was something more to tell. Just as he had been reluctant to tell Ingrid about his past, particularly the death of Diana and its aftermath, he sensed she too had more to share when the time was right. He could be patient, especially considering they had only known each other two weeks and were already professing their love. No wonder they were confused and bewildered by their emotions. It had been a reckless, headlong rush to ... where?

-0-

Ingrid lay back in her old recliner, her eyes closed. Steve was out on a business call and would be home before supper. Today was the anniversary of the day she had first met him. Four weeks ago today it had all begun. She could recall almost every minute of it. It had been something from a fairy tale. Not all perfect, but so much of it very, very lovely.

They had made love every day since the sailing weekend with the brief exception of her period last week and even then, they found ways to be intimate with each other. Some of it had been gentle and loving while at other times it was raucous and uninhibited. She loved the unpredictability of it. It was exciting. She was often the initiator, but it took little to get Steve to participate.

She laughed out loud the other day as she passed the entrance to the school parking lot and remembered her thoughts about everyone else getting laid except her. That status was over with, hopefully forever. She was no longer a spectator, she was once again a participant. There was still a bit of mystery about Steve, but she had dismissed any thought that it would put a barrier between them.

He was every woman's wet dream. Wealthy? It seemed so. A caring and adventurous lover. A cook ... no ... a chef for god's sake! A sailor. She hadn't realized how much she would come to love that homely boat, but she couldn't wait for their time on the 'Matron.'

She had taken his picture many times with her new camera. Each time she seemed to be taking the image of a magazine model. Not a hair out of place, no wrinkles in his shirt, no dirt smudges on his face. Just once, she'd like to catch him in a state of disrepair, just to know it exists. Mr. Neat and Tidy indeed! Well, Mr. Neat and Tidy was in love with her and she was in love with him. Of that much she was sure.

The renovation had begun to progress a little more on plan as the problem with the garage floor was resolved. They had worked out the inside and outside colors, and design. The custom window-wall in the new kitchen was under construction and should be ready on time. The gutting of the inside partition walls had been the first project and was as easy as expected since none of them were load-bearing walls. So far there had been no ugly surprises, but renovations were always a lottery in that respect.

Steve and Ingrid had spent hours on the master bedroom and ensuite, trying to give each other the perfect setting. In the end, it was going to be a compromise, but he had made sure the finished design was tilted toward Ingrid and she knew it. Steve had designed the kitchen and Ingrid was happy with that. It was his domain.

She had completed her evaluations of the two developmental computer design programs. Either one would have been more than enough for her, but she knew she would have to decide on one or the other. Finally, she chose the second one. Both were easy to use and both gave her all the necessary options. But the second concept had a particular feature she thought would be very valuable to her.

It permitted the inclusion of photographs and their manipulation to integrate them into the design. She had already developed a new file for their house, and it had given Steve a much better feel for how the finished job would look. Until that point, he was relying on Ingrid's "eye" and her sketches to relay the ideas. She was "over the moon" with her new computer program and now, her new computer.

On the recommendation of the software developer, Steve had convinced her to purchase an Apple PowerBook to give herself portability. She initially protested that she couldn't afford it, but Steve convinced her by suggesting she take out a business loan from him which he would formalize. It would permit her to write both the cost of the computer off as a business expense as well as the interest. The fact that there was no interest, nor for that matter any formal payment plan, was not discussed.

She had been using the new laptop since the second program had arrived and it was faster than her now aging Mac and with a great deal more memory. In addition, she could write to CD for a permanent backup of all the jobs, plus the ability to share the files with existing and prospective clients. In the space of a month, her entire business outlook had changed for the better. The phone call this morning was the big news of the day, and she couldn't wait to share it with Steve.

The call had come at ten-thirty that morning and it was from a Gordon Davenport, Provincial Ministry of Health.

"Ms. Solberg?"

"Yes. How can I help you?" she responded anxiously.

"Ms. Solberg, your proposal to our ministry has been accepted in principle as one of two possible successful entrants. However, there have been some changes to the concept and we would like to discuss those with you before we make our final decision," he stated.

"What kind of changes?" she asked, again cautiously.

"Well, we like what we are seeing from these proposals, particularly the fact that they are somewhat under the budget allotted for the work. We would like to expand the contract to include more work to ... ah ... meet the budget allotment.

"There's a truism in government," he continued. "If the budget isn't spent, it gets cut the following year."

"Oh, I see. Well, what would you like me to do?" she asked more hopefully.

"We'd like to schedule a meeting with you here at the Ministry offices and discuss the expansion plus a few technical questions. Would you be available for a meeting in the near future?"

"Ah, yes, of course. When do want to meet?"

"The sooner the better," he replied. "Can you be here on Friday, say about ten thirty a.m.?"

"Yes, I think so. What do I need for the meeting?" she asked, feeling herself getting excited.

"Not much. If you have your presentation notes and calculations, it would probably speed up the revisions. Otherwise, it's pretty much more of what you have already proposed."

"Yes, that's not a problem. I have everything on a portable computer so we can review things right in your office," she bubbled.

"Excellent. Sounds like you're right up to snuff on the new technology. I'll look forward to seeing you on Friday then," he said happily.

Davenport stayed on the line long enough to give Ingrid directions and let her know who else would attend the meeting.

Ingrid hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. She was conscious of letting her breath out. She had no idea how long she had been holding it.

"Yesssss!!!!" she cried aloud. She silently congratulated herself for taking the time to load her presentation on the computer in the new program format, just in case. Well, here was "just in case" right in front of her. She had scanned in the drawings, loaded the calculations, and produced some new renderings with the newest program. In a matter of a couple of hours, she would be able to add anything to her original designs and calculations with just a few keystrokes.

"Wait until Steve hears about this," she said aloud. "Yippee!" she shouted again.

Steve arrived home just after five and was promptly jumped upon by Ingrid.

"Steve, you won't believe what happened today!" she blurted, excitedly.

"You're right," he smiled. "I probably won't."

Ingrid spilled her story out in hurricane fashion. Steve had to stop her a couple of times to get the thread of the tale back on track in his mind. All the while, he had a big smile on his face as he watched Ingrid's excitement and enthusiasm as she babbled away to him.

"That's wonderful, Ingrid," he said hugging her closely and kissing her soundly. "I'm delighted for you. You've earned it."

"I haven't got the contract yet, but I'm close," she admitted. "They wouldn't invite me over there just to tell me they are giving it to someone else, would they?" she asked seriously.

"You wouldn't think so. You can believe him when he says your bid is less than the budget, they need to pump it up to the 'cap,'" he said with an air of cynicism. "That's how government departments treat taxpayer money."

"Oh, don't pour cold water on me now, babe," she pouted. "I want you to be happy for me. This is a very big deal for me."

"I know it is and I am happy for you," he said sincerely. "Don't go listening to an old sourpuss like me," he laughed.

"Let's go out and celebrate love," she pleaded.

"Let's do that," he smiled, kissing her deeply and holding her closely to him.

-0-