Taking a Chance

When we arrived in Seattle Amanda was behind the wheel and drove directly to their home. When we were within a few minutes of arrival, I called Alison and let her know we were there. I promised to call her right after I finished with the feds.

She wanted a promise about when I would be back at the lodge. I told her I'd give her that promise after I met with the feds.

The house was clean. Scott wasn't there. His note said he was at Beth's apartment and gave us the number. He promised to be home by ten a.m. Monday. His note was addressed to "Mom and Dad". My head said it was too soon for him to be calling me Dad. I didn't know anything about being a Dad. Amanda saw the look on my face and said, "Dad may be new to you, but you've been Dad to him since he was a toddler. Trust me, the name will grow on you."

"It won't cause you to feel a little strange if I start using the word "wife" to refer to you?"

"I've wanted it for just as long as he's wanted Dad. When you use it, I may cry."

Amanda led us to her bedroom. I got a little look at some of her home. My hermitage was a fortress. Her home sat on a hill overlooking Seattle and the sound. One side of the house was almost entirely glass. The art work was whales, dolphins, paintings of surf crashing on rocks, a wheel from an old sailing ship and a brass diver's helmet on a pier piling at the edge of the living room.

Inside her bedroom I saw another huge painting of a humpback whale breeching. The room was in various shades of blue. It surprised me. I said, "Your house seems more masculine than I would have thought it would be."

"Scott influenced that. Every time I looked at frilly things, pink things, for the house he would ask, "Is Nick gonna like it?"

"Well, you both did very well. I love the ocean and whales are very special to me."

She nodded. We unpacked and then we went to dinner. While we ate the storm ended. Back at the house I called Alison and on speakerphone the three of us talked about being a family. Three times during the call Alison said she had never thought I would love her, too. She had always wanted me for Amanda and figured she would always be alone.

When we got off the phone Amanda told me how she was overwhelmed by all of us being a family. I didn't know how we could make it all work, but I knew we could.

We have. Scott is now a senior at Stanford. The family home is in Seattle. We spend at least a few days a month at the lodge with Alison and she spends some weekends and other days with us. She has met us in Hawaii, Cancun, Banff, Orlando and New York for vacations. Amanda is training six women to expand her business and free up more time for fun. The feds actually helped me get back nine point eight million from Ayla and her brother. Amanda and I were sitting in court when they were sentenced to fifteen to twenty-five years for the various counts against them.

Two years ago I had a heart attack. Both Alison and Amanda were there and are still there for me. I love them both and love being loved by them.