Once Upon a Fantasy Ch. 09-10

Chapter 9 Reality is Much Better

The girls beat us to the restaurant and had chosen a booth with a high padded back. My first thought was that this would keep our conversation from being broadcast around the local area. Maybe that was optimistic based on the reception we got.

"Woo hoo, they're here," Candy loudly proclaimed as she spotted us.

I took a quick look at Kim and saw that she didn't seem as embarrassed as I felt. That was a relief of sorts.

"Feeling pretty smart this morning, huh?"

"Dad, you two were meant for each other. We were just helping you along."

"I don't know what we'd have done without your assistance." Yeah, I was being a smart aleck."

I glanced at Kim and she had a funny smile on her face and looked like she was trying to suppress a laugh.

"You too?"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the booth.

"Scoot over girls and make room for my man."

That produced more hoots and another remark from our daughters.

"We should be in the matchmaking business," Deb said.

"Did you hear that? 'My man,' she said," Candy exclaimed. "It's all over but the ceremony, Deb."

I was shaking my head, partly in denial and partly in amazement at the two teenage girls who had our life all planned out for us. I wish I felt that confident about the future.

"Calm down you two," I admonished quietly. "Mrs. Penny and I are just getting to know each other. It's far too soon to be planning the rest of our lives."

"Mrs. Penny? Come on Dad. Even I'm allowed to call her Kim."

"No respect for your elders," I mumbled, shaking my head once more.

That provoked another round of giggles from the girls and a smile with a hand squeeze from Kim. Oh well, if she thought this was all in fun, who was I to throw cold water on it?

I really wanted to get Kim alone for a while so we could talk. I had no expectation that our first date would end up with my spending the night in her bed. Maybe I was out of step with the times or maybe I'd misjudged Kim, but it all seemed to be happening too fast. What happened to the old courtship rules and getting to know one another? It's not like I didn't enjoy it. Far from it. The sex was amazing, but I wanted to have some sense of control and not be propelled along recklessly without any ability to set a course.

We ordered and ate our late breakfasts in relative silence. A bit of non-consequential chit chat was a relief from the not-so-subtle teasing of the girls. Deborah and Candice might as well have been sisters the way they acted. I had the feeling their friendship was likely to last a lifetime whether or not Kim and I were involved. They'd first met each other when they entered high school but you'd think they had known each other since they were five.

I wish I'd had a friend like that but circumstances prevented it. My father was a troubleshooter for his company and every year or two we moved from city to city as he put out fires or rescued one branch or another. He finally got a desk job when I was sixteen and we settled in the area where I lived now. My mother must have been relieved when that happened because you couldn't get her out of their home now with a stick of dynamite.

I have an older sister, Danielle, who is married and now living on the other side of the country. I see her once a year when she comes out to visit the folks. She's taking my divorce hard since she and Andrea had become good friends. I get the impression that she thinks it was my fault which leads me to believe that Andrea hasn't told her the whole story. I know I didn't reveal the real reason. My parents know because they figured it out when Andrea and Kurt got married the day after the divorce was final.

The past six months are pretty fresh in my mind. I can't quite come to grips with why she felt the need to find someone else. I'm still left to wonder why she didn't make a better effort to stay close to Brandon and Candice. It's true they're almost adults now, but just the same ... they are her children. I may never know the real reason, but it's left me with a bad taste about my marriage and I wonder if the spill-over effect from that is my concern about my relationship with Kim moving too fast. The ink was barely dry on the final decree when she appeared on the scene.

We drove back to the Penny house after our breakfast and I wondered if this was the time to talk to Kim. Perhaps not. I didn't want to put a premature end to what might be a wonderful relationship by putting the brakes on. By the time we'd reached her home I'd chickened out about having the talk. There were a number ways it might go and too many of them would be bad if I tried to just wing it.

"This is all going too fast for you, isn't it," she said as we walking into the house. "It's written all over your face, Norm. Don't worry. I understand. The divorce is still new and right away you get ambushed by the girls and me. I think we should take this at a pace you can be comfortable with."

"Am I that obvious? Last night was something special. I meant what I said then. You are a fantasy come true. I don't want to discourage you, so I'm uncertain how we should go from here."

"Last night was the perfect storm. You happened to catch me in just the right mood at just the right time. Everything you did made me feel welcome in your arms. I couldn't help myself. I hope you don't have any regrets."

"No ... none at all. I guess I was surprised at how quickly it happened. I didn't expect it and I wasn't prepared. But regrets? Not a one," I smiled.

"Good. Then we can have a second date and decide how we want to proceed?"

"I'd like that. I'd like a lot more than just one more date, to tell the truth."

"One at a time, Norm. One at a time," she said gently.

And that's how we left it, other than to confirm I would be at the exercise center at six on Monday morning. I was wondering what my exercise buddies would make of her when she showed up in Spandex and destroyed their concentration.

She arrived five minutes after I did but she wasn't wearing Spandex. In fact she had a loose t-shirt, some baggy shorts and tennis shoes. No matter. The minute she walked into the room every eye was on her, including the three women in our group of regulars.

I'll give Kim credit for chutzpah. She walked over to me, kissed me good morning on the cheek and went to the Nautilus and began her workout. Her Cheshire Cat smile didn't leave for the rest of the hour. She had suddenly propelled me to superstar status in a single moment. I finished my twenty minutes on the recumbent bike and moved to the Nautilus for my weight work.

Kim had done three different exercises before heading to the incline treadmill. As she strode at a quick pace I could see in spite of the baggy shorts that she was very toned through her hips, thighs and calf muscles. Yet they were subtle enough that they didn't detract from her feminine appeal. As my mind took me back to Saturday night, I tried to visualize every inch of her body. I was one of the very few people on this planet who had seen Kim in all of her glory.

We finished our exercises and I headed for the change room and a shower before going home. It was my day off but I would be going to the office to conduct the last two interviews. I'd hardly got wet when I heard one of my workout group call me out.

"Alright, Tyler. What the hell was that and who is she?"

The voice belonged to Garnet Grant, a volunteer fireman and insurance underwriter.

"Garnet, I don't dare tell an old hound dog like you. I wouldn't stand a chance," I chuckled.

"Don't give me that, Norm. I saw that kiss and it wasn't just for your sake. She was staking her claim. How the hell did you ever find a woman as foxy as her?"

The "boys" were all aware of my divorce and a couple of them had tried to fix me up with a sister or friend of the wife's or whatever.

"Hey, wait a minute," Garnet said with a look that suggested he had suddenly realized something. "That was a set-up, wasn't it? You had that woman give you that kiss just to stick it to us for trying to fix you up with our single women. I should have figured that out sooner."

"Nope. Kim is a close personal friend and it wasn't a set-up."

"Kim? Wow, sexy name too. How come she wasn't wearing something tight and revealing?"

"Doesn't need to. Are you complaining?" I chuckled.

"Hell no. Is she coming back tomorrow?"

"Yep. She'll be here. Same time, same stations."

"And she's single?"

"That she is."

"Man, you really struck gold, didn't you."

"Yeah ... I'm kind of looking at it that way."

I wasn't going to waste a lot of effort on the interviews this morning. The two I conducted on Friday were a waste of time. At best I might have been able to choose one of them as a barely adequate candidate, but neither of them was a "keeper" in my opinion. I was very careful not to compare them to Kim but that proved impossible. She was head and shoulders above both of them ... in more ways than one.

The Monday morning interview turned out to be much more interesting. Jim Styles was a man in his mid-fifties who had just learned his company was closing its doors. He had been a marketing director in the specialty lumber business, calling on a variety of wood users in the furniture, flooring, molding and door business. He had a college degree in forestry, was married with three children, two of whom were grown and out of the house.

He was interesting because he admitted that he would be happy with part-time work. He had accumulated quite a nice nest egg during his career and wanted to enjoy a less stressful life than his previous corporate existence. He had a good understanding of retail sales and had a likeable personality. He also had the ability to learn.

If Kim was going to specialize in outside sales, then Jim would be a good companion inside the store when we really needed extra help. That was Friday through Sunday, holiday openings and vacation time during the summer. When I suggested that fit he was nodding agreement. He and his wife took a month off in February-March to travel to Arizona, staying in a time-share they owned.

I sent him to Len for his opinion and he came back with a positive response. I decided that, unless something really special came along that afternoon for my final interview, I would hire Jim. He would be a good addition to our operation. That afternoon I met with the final candidate and knew within five minutes that she wasn't suitable for our job. She was a nice middle-aged lady with a working husband and two late-teen sons. She was just hoping for a way to get out of the house for a few hours each day. I needed more than that.

I left it to Len to look after the paperwork for Kim and Jim. Since Barry had left I no longer had an assistant manager and wondered whether I should add another staff person to handle all these details. Len had an assistant who was a qualified accountant so I wasn't worried about financial issues. Really, Len was my assistant manager, not just the comptroller.

I looked over the floor of the store from my elevated office. Was this business getting bigger than I could handle myself? Was it getting bigger than I wanted it to be? I had no dreams of grandeur. We wouldn't be competing with the big box stores. And yet, we had been successful before they came along and we were still successful. We focused on quality and service and convenience combined with near-competitive prices. That old formula I had inherited from Walter Cromwell had proven itself time and time again. There was no need to change.

I would be forty-five years old soon. My plan for my family was being realized ten years sooner than I expected, except I no longer had all of my family. Did I forget something along the way? Did this business or the time I devoted to it cause Andrea to wander? Could it happen again?

Candy would be leaving home for college in another year. She had her heart set on going to the same school as her brother and had even talked Deb and possibly Vanessa into trying to join her there. No nursing or education faculty for my daughter. No sir, she was going to be an engineer, specializing in mechanical design. Neither her mother nor I could figure out what drove her in that direction, but she was adamant.

And now Kim had appeared. She claims we met three years ago when Deb and Candy first started high school. I doubted her when I thought about her physical appearance. I admit I wasn't a "girl watcher" but I certainly would have noticed her and remembered. That didn't matter anyway. I definitely noticed her this time. I wondered if I would have hired her if she didn't look the way she did. Not much point in dwelling on that now since I'd already done the deed.

I called her that evening just to say hello. We'd see each other the next morning at the exercise center but I wanted to hear her voice.

"Hi. How are you?" I asked without introduction when she answered the phone.

"Just a minute," she said quickly. "I'll put you on hold and pick up a different phone."

She was less than a half minute picking up again.

"I was in the living room and Deb was there as well. I'm in my bedroom now with the door closed."

"She'll take about two seconds to figure out it's me calling," I chuckled.

"I know but I'm entitled to some privacy."

"Yeah. I know how you feel. I'm downstairs in my study with the door closed. Candy is up in her room. I think we're insulated from our nosy daughters."

"I think it's kind of cute. Those two are trying like crazy to put us together."

"Too late. We're already there."

"Do you think so?" she asked, sounding uncertain. "I wasn't so sure yesterday."

"Yeah ... I think so. It's true, I am kind of dizzy from how fast this is happening but I can't find a single thing that makes me want to stop it. Maybe slow it down a little, but definitely not stop it."

"I'm glad. I was worried that maybe I'd scared you with my aggressiveness. I wasn't exactly in control on Saturday night."

"Not scared, just surprised. I like surprises when they turn out like this one did. You can surprise me any time you want."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Norm. We have a lot to talk about too. I think you need to know more about me than I need to know about you. I don't want any of those kinds of surprises to come between us."

"Saturday night. I'd like to take you out dancing again. Nothing fancy this time. Very casual. Jeans and a blouse are the most common wear for women. Can I tempt you?"

"Yes. You can tempt me all you want. What time?"

"If I pick you up at seven we'll have time for dinner at a nice little bistro I know about."

"Should we be getting the girls out of the way again," she asked in a sultry voice.

"We won't be doing anything they don't expect," I suggested. "Whose home this time?"

"Why don't we try yours? Candy will be happy to stay at our place I'm sure."

"I'll make breakfast this time," I volunteered. "I make a great omelet."

"Sold! Sounds wonderful. "What's the plan for me tomorrow?" she asked.

"First day, product orientation. I'll go through the appliances with you. Myra Williams will take you through vacuums and sewing machines the next day. Steve Hitchens will give you an overview of TVs and sound systems on Thursday. Friday and Saturday are generally busy with customers, so you'll get your baptism of fire then," I chuckled.

"Your outside sales will likely be in two areas," I continued. Appliances and Home Theatre. There you're going to need pretty good product knowledge. If you run into trouble I'm here to back you up and Steve will help you with developing home theatre systems until you get more familiar with them.

"I don't expect you to know how to pull things apart and put them back together again blindfolded," I joked. "The things that will be important are to get good measurements to make sure what we are suggesting will fit in the spaces available. Also, budget figures from the customers. You'll soon get to recognize whether they are realistic or not. Don't oversell. You're not doing the customer or us any favor."

"You sure do talk sexy when you call at night," she chided.

"Sorry. I'm not used to this dating thing. What should I be talking about?"

"Oh, don't get me started," she laughed. "Did you know I have a pair of cowboy boots? Should I wear them Saturday night?"

"Definitely. You'll fit right in. Make sure the jeans are good and tight and the blouse has a couple of buttons undone ... for ventilation you know."

That got another laugh from her.

"Maybe I should go without a bra," she taunted.

"Don't you dare," I came back immediately. "You'll cripple me and half the men in the room."

Another big laugh from Kim.

"Okay, I promise," she said. "At least, I promise until later."

"I'm already imagining it. Maybe this time I'll get to indulge in a little foreplay. We never did get that far on Saturday."

"If you get me wound up the way you did last time you'll miss out again."

"You mean you'll miss out again," I warned. "It's supposed to be for you, not me."

"I can assure you I didn't miss a thing last time. I got everything I needed and then some."

"Glad to hear it. I hope I can do that for you again."

"We could always have a quickie at lunch time," she taunted.

"There's no way I'm going to indulge in a quickie with you. I want to take my time and enjoy every second. The last thing I want to do is to rush you."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Norm. But if we're only going to get together on the weekends the pressure could build up during the week. Just having this conversation is turning up the heat. Maybe we should find a way to get together during the week?"

I could tell she was teasing ... at least to some extent. This didn't really qualify as phone sex but the result was the same. I had a nice firm erection as I lay back in my swivel chair. My eyes were closed and I was remembering Kim from last Saturday when she was naked and in my arms. Maybe there was a way we could get together during the week.

"Let me think about it," I said. "I really don't want to put the girls out on a school night. If you have an idea, let me know."

We talked for a little while longer about inconsequential things, avoiding the subject of sex. When I hung up I had a good feeling about where our relationship was heading. I hoped she felt the same way.

Tuesday morning at the exercise center was a repeat of Monday. The few men who didn't see her on Monday were slack-jawed when she arrived with me. I got another kiss that morning and it wasn't long before the word got around that Kim was with me. I'm sure I had a smile on my face for the whole hour no matter how hard I worked ... and I worked hard. I put more effort into my workouts with Kim there. Was she watching me? Off and on, yes. I guess I responded to the attention and the idea that I had something that made every guy in that room envious.

It wasn't quite the same reaction at the store when Kim and I arrived together. Several of the staff had probably seen her when she came in for her interview the previous week. I had posted a notice yesterday evening on the two new hires promising to introduce them during this week. I sent Kim up to Len's department to get her on the payroll starting immediately and then went to my office to check the mail, both snail and e-mail.

Kim was back before I could finish my morning coffee and I escorted her down to the appliances department to begin our tour. By noon I knew she was going to be fine as far as product knowledge on appliances was concerned. She understood most of the features on all the products even if she didn't use them herself. I showed her how to look up our inventory on the computer and then our supplier warehouse to determine delivery times. After lunch, I went over our credit and billing procedures. There were only two types of accounts: cash/credit card and approved charge.