© 2024 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

Author's note: These stories are written in Literary Past Tense. Literary Past Tense describes how most of us use past tense in our stories. Literary past tense stories are written as though the events of the story are happening now. Even though we're using the past tense forms of verbs, within the story itself, events are happening in the present, which explains the occasional present tense verbs in some descriptions.

All Aboard Andi's Dream

Chapter 9

Springtime in Springville

Both of the Jarecki brothers were overwhelmed. Both men carried a home pregnancy tester that was handed to them by their wives. Both tests showed positive. As the group walked through the gentle icy rain to Worzil's, they chatted excitedly about the miracle that has happened to them. To Paul and John Jarecki, the news that their wives were pregnant was wondrous and they could barely contain their joy. They wanted to sing! They wanted to cheer! John and Paul lifted their wives over the puddles as they walked the few blocks to Worzil's. Andi was excited, too. She was hoping this time she could experience natural childbirth. Macy was terrified. She was over 40 and has lost several children; she did not know what was going to happen.

Worzil's was a tavern that's been standing in Springville since before 1920. Owners have changed and the name occasionally changes (slightly) but Worzil's remains. It fits the bill of a British pub, with air hockey in the back room. It's a meeting place for the people of Springville, and when you can't think of what to make for supper, there's always Worzil's.

"Welcome home!" called the bartender Ayato. "When's the happy occasion?"

Paul had stopped being amazed at Ayato's feats of auditory achievements. Folks say if a bird poops on a customer's car in the side parking lot, Ayato can determine what type of bird it was from the sound of the poop splatting on the car. He probably heard them talking all the way up the street. "November," said Andi. "We need a doctor's estimate, we're going to see Doctor Shifferle on Tuesday."

"Congratulations!" said Ayato's wife Julissa as she hugged Andi.

"Don't forget Macy," said Andi.

"Her too? Were you all at the same party?" asked Julissa.

"Same day, same party, different locations," said Macy. Actually, neither wife was sure if it was Valentine's day that their ovum was penetrated, but their periods were similar and they both missed the last one in February.

When their wives told them, both brothers were shocked speechless. John and Macy had to work together to overcome her past and develop a satisfying sex life. Then came the false pregnancies that drove the hope of a child away. But now, proof that prayers were answered was the tester in John's hands.

For Paul, he and his first wife, Melony, were planning on having a baby. She was a fighter pilot and finally had enough flying and was ready to raise a family, but she died while on temporary duty in Korea, and Paul's hopes for a family were shattered. Years of emptiness crushed his soul. But when he met Andi, things changed, and he didn't realize how much everything had changed until she handed him that pregnancy test.

"I love you," said Paul as they kissed.

"I know," said Andi with a smile. She patted her tummy and said, "I have proof!"

The twins were hard to control, they wouldn't sit in their chairs, they were hopping and cheering, excited that they were going to have a baby brother to play with. "Can we take him swimming when we're on Mom's boat?" asked an excited Sandy.

"When he gets as big as you are," said Paul.

The only thing that stopped the twin's excitement was the unmistakable Pink! Pink! Pink! of the air hockey table and they dashed off to watch the action.

"How long have you two been planning that presentation?" asked Andi's best friend, Lucy. Macy and Andi told their husbands at the same time just a few minutes ago.

"Since Denver," said Andi. They just completed a road trip from Denver to Springville and they held that news in the entire way? That was a feat of immense proportions for Andi.

"We both suspected but we didn't know," said Macy. "We got the test kits in Denver and the moment we got to Andi's home, we ran upstairs and checked." Macy was impressed by how easily those words came out. For years the big Victorian that was constantly under construction was 'Paul's House' but now it's universally known as Andi's home.

"Then we had to wait for John to show up," said Andi. "Those guys have been through a lot, they need this joy. We knew we had to let them know at the same time."

"How did you keep it secret all the way back here from Denver?" asked Gus.

"It was super easy," said Andi.

"Barely an inconvenience," added Macy.

"We put Paul and Kenny in the rental truck and it was all girls in the van."

"Girl power!" cried the twins from the air hockey table.

"We need to call your mom and Nana," said Paul.

"We have a plan for that too," said Andi. And as they waited for their dinner to arrive, she pulled out her phone. Macy stood up next to her as Andi made a FaceTime call to her mom. Soon Heather came on the line and said, "You made it! How was the drive?"

"It was good, we probably couldn't have made it if Yi wasn't with us. Is Dad there? I have some news for you." Andi and Macy got close together and as soon as Harold joined Heather, Andi said, "Macy is going to have a baby!"

Heather looked overjoyed for her, but also a little disappointed. "Congratulations dear. When are you due?"

"We think about the same time as Andi," said Macy with her million megawatt smile.

"WHAT?" shrieked Heather.

"Andi is going to have a baby too," said Macy.

"Oh you two! You're WORSE than sisters!" cried Heather joyfully.

"We're so happy for you!" said Harold.

"I can be there in a couple of days," said Heather.

"Mom, we don't need..." but Paul whispered in her ear, "Let her grandmother." Andi paused, then smiled. He was right. Andi and her mother's relationship have never been stronger. "We have a room ready for you and dad, you can come any time you want."

While they chattered about babies, Kenny Johnston and the twin's governess, Yi-jin Carlson, watched the antics from the far end of the table. 'When we have a baby we're not going to make such a production,' thought Kenny. Then he reminded himself that they hadn't even been out on a proper date yet and stifled that thought. He didn't realize that Yi was thinking the same thing.

Andi then called her grandmother. "Hi grandma, do you remember Macy from our wedding?"

"Yes, yes I do. Hi Macy."

"Hi," said Macy.

"Guess what!" said Andi. "Macy is going to have a baby!"

"That's wonderful," said Nana.

"Andi is going to have a baby too!" said Macy.

"Oh my! That's wonderful! Another great-grandchild!"

From the other side of the room, Grandpa Knute said, "Make this one a boy!"

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The dinner was awesome as usual. They got a big slab of haddock on a nest of French fries with potato salad, macaroni salad, and coleslaw, a typical Western New York Friday fish fry. Andi normally picked at hers, fed the French fries to the twins and took the rest home to lunch on for the rest of the week. But that night it all looked so good she ate the entire fish fry. Macy got her usual salad and picked at Andi and John's side salads before changing her mind and getting a fish fry of her own.

With sacks of leftovers in their hands, the family and friends made their way back to the big Victorian house on Howard Ave. "I need to go home pretty soon. There's probably a ton of work for me," said Kenny, who was on the road for nearly a week and he was the only one at the feed shop that could lift the 50 pound sacks of feed.

But Yi didn't want the evening to end. She had Kenny all to herself for several days, and she wasn't willing to end that. "My back is hurting from that drive, how is yours?" she asked him.

"It's killing me," groaned Kenny. That was mostly from tension. Hauling Andi's antique Porsche 911 cross country, knowing how much it meant emotionally to Andi and her mom was terrifying to him. Every time the truck they were driving got hit with a cross breeze, the trailer began weaving behind them, making Kenny's heart jump.

"I can't send you back to work like that," Yi said as they stepped out of Worzils into the cold night. "Can I use the hot tub?" asked Yi. "My back and neck are aching from that drive." She drove most of the way while Andi and Macy sat behind her, hogging the snacks and whispering their plans.

"Sure," said Paul. "You don't have to ask. Kenny, you can use one of my suits."

"I don't..." Kenny started.

"Have you ever been in bossman's hot tub?" asked Yi. "You don't know what you're missing."

Twenty minutes later, Kenny eased into a tub of 103° (39.5°C) water. "Sit in this corner," said Yi as she adjusted the underwater lights. It felt so good. The tub was big and deep and he could probably do an acceptable cannon ball from the deck and not hit bottom. Yi got the jets running and the jets behind Kenny massaged his back and shoulders. "This corner over here works on the lower back," Yi said as she eased into the corner she described.

"This is fabulous," groaned Kenny. "I'm afraid to get out, it's freezing out there."

"You won't feel it," said Yi. "Your core body temperature is going up. Wait until we use Paul's sauna."

"Sauna?"

"He's got a sauna steam room in the cabin, and in the basement he's got a steam shower. That thing is AWESOME!"

"What's a steam shower?"

"Yeah, it's a little shower room with glass walls on one side and a glass door. Inside there are super fancy showers and benches to sit on. When you hit the button it eventually fills the room up with steam. I could be sitting this close to you naked and you'd never see me through the steam."

"I don't believe you. I'd have to see that for myself."

"Put it on your calendar, big guy."

They sat in the hot tub, enjoying the warmth and the stars above. "I haven't had a road trip like that in years," said Kenny.

"It was interesting," said Yi. "I didn't realize how amazing the Black Hills were."

"I was impressed by Guanella Pass and Georgetown," said Kenny. Their conversation was stilted. They both had something on their mind and both were afraid to say what they wanted to say. Eventually, the hot tubs timer shut down the jets, and they sat in the hot water with two gentle waterfalls gurgling softly.

"What are you doing April third?" asked Kenny nervously. 'She's going to say no,' he thought.

"What day is that, Thursday? I'm working until dinner, but I can get off early. Why?"

"Well... it's opening day and I have tickets..."

Opening day! Opening day was a holiday as far as Yi and her dad believed. Normally, on opening day, they were in Daytona, watching their beloved Tortugas play exquisite baseball. "What do you have in mind?"

"They're not great seats but I have tickets for opening day at Sahlen Field. The Buffalo Bisons open against the Toledo Mud Hens."

Buffalo vs Toledo? These were teams that had history. Yi was raised on triple A baseball. Triple A ball was the greatest baseball played. Young athletes trying to get in "the game" desperately. Older players working off an injury or trying to regain their glory days. In Triple A, the players play to win, in "The Game" they play to not lose. As far as Yi was concerned, Triple A was the best baseball ever played.

Yi eased her nearly naked body into a delighted Kenny's lap. "I can get the whole day off," she said before checking with Paul.

"I can't wait," said Kenny softly as their lips met.

"It will be the perfect first date," said Yi as she considered unfastening her bikini top.

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Staff Sergeant Andi Roberts stood on the arm up pad at the end of the runway, and she was getting angry. Her team was a couple of inexperienced goofball children who barely knew their jobs on the F-16, and here come six F-15s. Fortunately, she had an intimate knowledge of the plane. She dug around in the Technical Order shelves and found TO-F15A-1-2CL-18 End of Runway Procedures. She flipped through the checklist and read the steps to her team. Most of it was very simple, and many of the steps they had to perform were very similar to the F-16, just higher off the ground.

"Soon as the crew dogs are done it's our turn, this is the last chance to make sure the plane is right. If you see something you don't think is cool, if you see it leaking something, if you see a missing nut or bolt, you tell ME. I don't care what you do, just get my attention."

"Can I drop my pants and wave Old Faithful around?" said Dale Lusting, a silly Airman First Class.

"I got pretty good eyesight, I should be able to see something that small," groaned Andi.

"HA! Burn!" said Brad Clifton as he elbowed Dale.

"You!" Andi snarled at Brad. "Keep an eye on where the crew dogs connect the interphone cable, I don't want to tell these eagle drivers what to do with ASL."

"What's ASL?" asked Brad.

"Sign Language," said Dale.

The big twin tailed "Asshole Smashers" taxied onto the arm up pad, the first plane being directed by hand signals from the lead crew chief on the pad. As he got plane number one spotted, two, three, four, five, and six fell in line next to the plane and waited their turn for final inspection and arm up. All six canopies opened simultaneously and the pilots all reached up and grabbed the sill of their forward wind screen. Nobody touches an airplane if they can't see both of the pilot's hands.

Brad watched the crew chiefs connect to the first F-15. "See where they connect the cable? You do the same thing," said Andi, shouting over the whistle of the idling engines. Then she turned to Dale and put her mouth next to his sound protective headset. "I need you to be smarter than a set of chocks today. When you are not doing anything I need you right next to those chocks, waiting for my signal to pull them."

"I got it," said Dale.

"Ok, let's go," said Andi and the first plane was released to them. Dale carried a pair of wooden chocks, chunks of four-inch by four-inch lumber held together with a piece of rope, and placed the wood in front and behind the left main landing gear tire on the F-15. It looked silly, a jet with 60,000 pounds of thrust being secured by a chunk of wood, but it works. Unless the pilot opens the throttle all the way, that plane is not going to 'jump the chocks' and roll off.

As soon as the interphone was plugged in, Andi heard the connection made and said, "Good morning sir,"

"I prefer ma'am," said Captain Melony Ruskin.

"Sorry... ma'am. Master Arm switch off, all weapons switches off safe or normal."

"Off... and safe," said the pilot.

As Dale and Brad gave the plane a final once over, Andi said, "Going home today ma'am?" There are no F-15's stationed in Korea. This plane had a big ZZ on the tail proclaiming it was from Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.

The pilot looked down at Andi and said, "No, I'm never going home. I need you to take care of my Paul."

Andi's blood ran cold when she heard those words. "Pardon ma'am?"

" I'm heading to Osan." But her voice sounded pained. "Paul will be waiting for you."

"Are you OK ma'am?" asked Andi.

"No. Promise me you'll love Paul for me?"

"Yes," said Andi automatically.

"Thank you," whispered Melony sadly. "Let's go."

"Ma'am, is there anything..."

"No. Just love Paul."

"I will."

Andi looked at Brad and Dale, they were done with their checks and the "Cap 9" (captive AIM-9 Sidewinder missile) was ready. She gave Dale the signal to pull the chocks from around the wheel and signaled Brad to disconnect the interphone cable. She normally gave the pilot a thumbs up, but instead, with this pilot, she snapped to attention and gave her a salute. The pilot looked down at Andi sadly and returned the salute.

Ten minutes later, they had number six complete, and the planes moved on to the runway. Andi moved their dispatch truck to where they could see the F-15's up close. She wanted to hear them really fire up those huge Pratt & Whitney F-100-PW-100 engines. They waited and waited and nothing happened. To Andi, it sounded like the lead aircraft shut down. Da fuck? She pulled the stepladder from the back of the step-van just as the radio announced, "Ground Emergency."

Andi dashed out onto the active runway, carrying a stepladder. "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" she told herself as she sprinted out onto the wide concrete strip. She slammed the ladder against the fuselage of the lead aircraft and as she dashed up the ladder, she hit the canopy open button with the handle end of her screwdriver. The massive canopy raised up to the open position. She found the pilot slumped forward in her straps. Andi pushed her back and touched her neck. No pulse, no breathing. "GET A CRASH CART! PATIENT IS NON RESPONSIVE! CODE BLUE!" Andi shouted.

Andi got the pilot released from the straps and with a Herculean effort, she lifted the pilot clear of the cockpit and a dozen helpers reached up and helped lower the pilot from the airplane. "LAY HER ON THE GURNEY." Andi immediately climbed on the gurney and placed her knees on either side of the patient and started doing chest compressions.

The head of the Emergency Department said, "Doctor Roberts, she's gone."

Andi looked over her shoulder at the head doctor. She was no longer on a cold Korean runway; she was in a hospital with a team of doctors and nurses around her. "I'm going to shock her, give me the paddles! Set the defibrillator to three hundred." Andi ripped open the pilot's flight suit and readied her for the defib.

"Doctor Roberts, no. She's gone," said the chief of the ER. The chief lifted Andi's hands from the patient's body. "You did everything you could."

Slowly, Doctor Adrianna Roberts pulled off her gloves and threw them in the trash. One by one, the members of the ER team sadly left, angry with the knowledge they couldn't do anything for this poor woman. Andi looked at the body of the pilot for a long time, not comprehending how she could have suddenly died. "It doesn't matter how I went," said Melony. "What matters is that you need to take care of my Paul. He's a good man."

"I will," muttered Doctor Roberts.

Suddenly Andi woke up. She was in bed with Paul, and he was twitching and muttering in his sleep. Was that Melony? Was she the last person to talk to her? Luckily, they had planned to take the twins, Yi, Macy and John, to the cabin early. She looked at the clock and it said it was a quarter past twelve. Andi had only been in bed for two hours. Slowly Andi lay back down, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Instead, she rolled over and cuddled Paul. Paul refused to talk about Melony's death since he mentioned it back in December, so she cuddled with him and it settled his restlessness.

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John had taken good care of the chickens while they were gone and when they got to the cabin, they found four dozen eggs in the refrigerator, awaiting their new home, or frying pan, as the case may be. While they were gone, John had added a rooster to the flock. There's going to be chicks this spring.

While Andi and Macy stayed in the cabin and discussed ideas for Macy and John's new cabin, Paul hooked up a small four-wheel trailer to the Ford tractor and he loaded several large plastic buckets on the trailer along with the twins and Yi, then they headed back to the woods. Meanwhile, John started a fire in a large burner made from a couple steel drums that was in a shed in the woods behind the cabin.

Back in the woods, the twins were telling Yi how cool it was to come back here on the snowmobile and buy Christmas Trees. "Who do you buy them from?" asked Yi.

The twins pointed at Paul and said, "Him."

"You buy trees from your father?"

"Wellll... he wasn't our father yet," said Sandy. When Paul stopped the tractor, Sandy said, "Is this where we buy Christmas trees?"

"Nope, that's way over there," said Paul, gesturing to the west side of the property. He hopped off the tractor and walked up to a maple tree with several pieces of plastic tubing wrapped around it... "It's been kind of crazy here this year, so we didn't get much sap. We usually get fifty to a hundred gallons." The tubes led from several taps in the tree through Y connectors to a plastic gallon jug. Paul opened the lid to the five-gallon bucket and had a filter made from a hand strainer and cheese cloth and poured the sap through the filter into the bucket.

"Are we going to make syrup?" asked Yi. This was exciting. She was a firm believer in keeping the distance between the garden and the plate to a minimum. The eggs and most of the meat she cooks were harvested right here, all within a three-mile area.

"Yes we are, John is firing up the sugar shack right now."

"I have always dreamed of this!" gushed Yi. This was such a huge part of early American history. The sugar plantation owners with their legions of slaves sickened the hard men and women of the Northeastern colonies. The prices the plantation owners charged for their sugar were outrageous. In retaliation the Yankees went out and collected sap from almost every tree on their land, maples of all varieties, box-elder, birch, black walnut, butternut, English walnut, even Elm trees, although they're getting rare due to Dutch elm disease. This was how the self-sufficient Yankees got their sugar, and they used roots like carrot for sweetening. (That's where carrot cake came from.)

"There's acres of maples back in this corner. I've been weeding out the crowded saplings and getting the stronger saplings some room to grow," said Paul as he replaced the gallon jug and collected a jug from another tree. "This weather is perfect for collecting sap," he said as they carefully strained the sap.

"Why?" said his little scientist Madeline.

"The temperature is above freezing in the day, and below freezing at night. At night the tree stores its sap in its roots underground so it won't freeze. In the day when the temperature warms up, the sap comes up through the tree just like a thermometer. When that happens, we collect a little tiny bit of sap." Having only seen digital thermometers, the twins had to take his word for it.

"Can I taste?" asked Yi. To her sap was thick and sticky but this was as thin as water.

"It's just sugar water, sure." Paul handed Yi a ladle, and she dipped some of the clear liquid from the bucket and tasted it.

"You're right. Sugar water with a slight maple flavor."

"Me! Me! Me too!" demanded both twins, so Yi gave them each a sip and they wrinkled their nose at it. "I like Kool-Aid better," said Sandy.

"Goofy Grape," agreed Madeline, and Paul wondered how she knew the name of a product that stopped being sold twenty-five years before her birth.

In the end, they collected over 7 gallons and headed back to the cabin, but they followed John and Paul's tractor path through the woods. The path circled through the middle of the woods from the eastern side next to Brad Clemmon's hog farm to the west side by Tom and Jeff Steinbach's small tree farm, then the path curled back toward the pond climbing a hill. At one point, Paul stopped and set the brake and said, "Come see this." They lifted the twins down from the trailer and walked back through the bare branches of brush and birch trees. The sound of a waterfall reached their ears and Paul said, "This is one of John and Macy's favorite places. If they disappear into the woods they'll probably end up here. Please give them privacy."

Before them, a thirty foot tall waterfall splashed over a sheer drop on a slate hillside. There was a lot of ice from the spray freezing on every branch and plant and the rush from the melting snow swelled the stream. It wasn't the sweet waterfall that first enchanted John and Macy; it was swollen and angry and thundered over the 30 foot drop, but it will settle down in a couple of months.

Back on the tractor, they climbed the hill, then turned up a secondary path to an opening in the woods. When they saw the outhouses at the edge of the clearing, the twins started looking around. "The king's house!" gasped Sandy.

"We saw the forest king here!" Madeline told Yi.

"We saw a nice twelve point buck back here in December. This is where friends from church go camping on Independence Day weekend."

"It's nice," said Yi as she looked around the small meadow. She preferred camping on soft sandy soil like in Florida, but this forest has potential.

Paul circled around and headed back to the cabin, then pulled the tractor between the cabin and the barn and then turned behind the cabin. There were thick woods there and back in the woods about ten meters into the forest was a pavilion with three quarter height walls, and a smokey chimney. "John and I guessed that there was a still operating here back in the day. We converted it to a sugar shack."

They had an oven made of a large metal drum laying horizontally. On the top was a large metal tray divided into three sections and in those sections was maple sap being boiled. The first section was clear, the second was a pale golden brown, and the third was dark, almost boiled down to maple syrup. In the back of the shack, next to the chimney, was a Coleman field stove hooked up to a propane tank. On a shelf above the field stove, was a collection of glass jars. "This is where we make the magic," said John as he helped Paul carry the five-gallon buckets of sap in.

"We should get a quart of syrup from this," said Paul as he and John poured a couple of gallons into a pre-heating pan above the boiling pans. Once they got the sap boiling nicely, Paul and John sat down and John picked up his guitar and started strumming.

"Are ya going to help me?" asked John.

"Ok," groaned Paul and he opened his guitar case, pulled out his guitarrone and strummed it. Paul plays it like a guitar, but he also plays it like a base, especially in folk music, which often called for a base. "Here's your Aunt Macy's favorite song," Paul said as the twins watched him play, fascinated by the big instrument.

"It is not," said John, as they strummed and plucked through the introduction.

"Every Canadian loves this song," said Paul and they launched into the happy little song. It was upbeat and had a beat they could try to dance to, so the twins loved it and tried to sing along with the chorus:

For he goes birling down and down white water

That's where the log driver learns to step lightly

Yes, birling down and down white water

The log driver's waltz pleases girls completely

"What's birling?" asked Sandy after they played the song a fourth time.

"It's logrolling," said John, as he drained boiled down sap from the boiling tray to a pot and carried it over to the small Coleman stove.

"I can get that," said Yi, as she set it on the stove, turned the fire up and put the candy thermometer in it. "Just going to two nineteen?" that's the temperature needed to make syrup.

"Yes ma'am." John handed her a syrup hydrometer. "After you get it up to 219° (104°C) shut the fire off and check with the hydrometer. We're looking for 66.9 Brix and it will be perfect."

And so, the day passed. They played songs and told Yi about days gone by here on John's Chicken Ranch, and occasionally Andi and Macy would come out and check on them. Back inside the cabin, Andi and Macy talked excitedly about their babies. For Macy, this was the first, and she had a good feeling this one would go to term. For Andi, it was her first single baby. With the twins, she always knew she was carrying twins. She always felt 'crowded,' but now she felt more comfortable.

"When I hit eight months I looked like I was smuggling typewriters."

That reminded Macy of something. She got up and started looking at pictures back in the corner by Paul's desk. There was one on the wall that struck a familiar cord when Andi mentioned how big she felt. Macy took a picture down off the wall and said, "You must have felt like this poor girl," and she handed the picture to Andi.

Andi looked at the picture and smiled. It was a photo of the group that had gathered in St. Paul for a conference. In the back row, Paul towered over everyone, and directly in front of him was a tiny blond girl who was very pregnant. "I felt exactly like that poor girl," said Andi, as she looked at the photo and smiled. "It was me."

"No... that picture has been in here forever. How could Paul get your picture? See? This was back when he was dying his beard."

"That's me, right there, I was mad at my husband and cut my hair short." Andi grabbed her blond tresses and held them behind her head. "See?"

Macy looked at the picture, then at Andi, then back at the picture. "Je suis choqué! (I am shocked) I never noticed that! You and Paul met over five years ago?"

"Yes, somehow Paul ended up speaking at a conference for Pulmonologists. It was just a week or two before the twins were born. They were restless that day and before I went back to my room he asked if he could feel the twins and mentioned that his wife had died before they were able to have kids." Andi sighed as she looked back at that day with mixed emotions. "He put his hand right here where Madeline was kicking me." Because Madeline always stands, sits, and sleeps on Sandi's left, when Andi looks back at when she carried her girls, she decided Madeline was on her left. "When he did that the girls settled down."

"Tu es sérieux, ou quoi? Are you serious or what?" grinned Macy.

"It really happened," said Andi. "I called him the Baby Whisperer." She smiled as she studied the photograph. "At this very moment, my husband Frank finished banging the teenage cleaning lady and was leaving me a note that he had enough of a fat frigid wife."

"You were frigid too?" gasped Macy. Early in their marriage, sex was a nightmare for her and John, but they finally worked their way to a place where sex was magnifique.

"Only with Frank," sighed Andi. Then, after a long pause, she asked, "What was Melony like?"

Macy frowned and said, "We never met. She died a week after John and I married. You need to speak to Paul."

"He won't talk about her."

"Then talk to John, they met a few times, John was at their wedding but..." Macy shook her head and didn't go on.

"What's the matter?" asked Andi. "Did something happen?" Something embarrassing almost always happens. At her wedding to Paul, people gave Wonka so many cookies, he puked. Currently, he was lying in front of the wood stove waiting for his call to action.

Macy continued. "John said the wedding was nice. We may have a few pictures. Paul and Melony wore their formal dress uniforms. It was after that there were problems. Melony's sister Monica was a spoiled rich kid. She gave John a glass of orange juice that was laced with LSD and Melony's father defended her actions."

"What?" gasped Andi.

"Monica thought John was not fun so she gave him acid. Please do not tell anyone in the congregation! They could vote us out!" Macy looked like she was going to cry. "John and I were both empoisonné with acide and we both had the same illusions. I was given acid when I was a model for the same reason as John, someone wanted to make me more entertaining."

Andi pulled her tall sister over and rested Macy's head on her shoulder. "Shush your tears," said Andi. "I've gotten the acid treatment too." She held Macy's hand and said, "I was quite a party girl in college. I was the slut that Frank would have adored. At one party we were drinking jungle juice and somebody dropped a little piece of blotter paper into my drink. I asked him what that was and he said it was my magic carpet."

"Anything scary happen?" asked Macy.

"This is just between you and me, right?"

"Oui."

"Ok, I was having sex with one guy, I think it was just one guy... anyhow I'm sure everyone at the party was standing around us watching. But I swear his dick broke off and was crawling around inside of me."

"That must have been terrifying!" gasped Macy.

"Nah, it wasn't very big." Macy was quiet for a while, then she snorted and started laughing so Andi continued, "If it was Paul, that would have been scary. I'd have bruises everywhere inside."

"Stop!" cried Macy, and she sat up and wiped the tears of laughter out of her eyes. "Paul said that Monica was un connard. Her actions got all the fliers at their wedding grounded until they could pass a drug test. He and Melony were furious, but Melony's family, her mother, father, and sister Monica, didn't care. Months later they got orders to Japan. Paul and Melony went to visit her family and Melony's family still did not realize or did not care how egregious her actions were."

Andi nodded in agreement. "Un connard." (Un connard has many translations, the kindest of which is "asshole")

Outside, John didn't look happy about something, but they continued with their slow, careful production of maple syrup. Finally, the twins went inside for lunch and John sat down next to Paul, who was strumming "Stair Way to Heaven" on his guitarrone. John took out a copy of the Air Force Times, a newspaper that someone in the church handed him. He opened it and showed Paul an article.

"That part of my life is over," said Paul, without looking at what John was trying to show him. "As long as they send me my retirement check I am happy. That's all that I want from those chowderheads."

John drew his attention to a particular article. "I'm here for you as your pastor and your brother," John whispered.

When John said that he was there as Paul's pastor and brother, Paul knew something was up. Whenever John said that, it was never good. He glanced at the headline and said, "Buzz Blecher? Hasn't he died in prison yet?" said Paul as he turned away from the paper.

"Read it," said John. "You need to read this."

Paul rolled his eyes and read as he played "Merry Go Round Broke Down" an old goofy song once used to introduce cartoons. "Disgraced General Abernathy Blecher charged with assault and rape of Captain Melony Ruskin. Blecher is currently serving..." Paul stared at the paper, his eyes wide as he read about the charges against former General Blecher. "Oh God..." he whispered.

"It's ok, you didn't know."

"No! No it's not! I should have trusted her... oh my God... all those years I hated her; I believed his lies... Oh God." His stomach felt like he swallowed a rock and got up to run, but John held him back.

"Stay with me, give me your pain, you know I can take it."

Yi dashed into the cabin through the back door and saw Andi making sandwiches for the twins. "Paul needs you," she said.

"What? Why?"

"John showed him an article about some General raping a Captain named Russian or something like that and he's having a meltdown."

Andi knew exactly what she was talking about. Paul told her several times about Melony and Buzz Blecher, the general he helped put in prison for her death. Paul was absolutely positive that Melony and Buzz had a grand time in Korea, having sex every night in the VOQ. It's the story that the general told everyone. Then when she said she was pregnant, she took the Plan B tablet he gave her to cover everything up.

"This is big. Can you feed the girls?" asked Andi, as she grabbed her coat and dashed out to find Paul shaking and weeping. John was holding Paul, who was in emotional agony.

"Every night for years," he said through his tears, "I'd drink myself unconscious damning myself for marrying her... hating her and everything to do with her." He found John wasn't holding him anymore. It was Andi.

"It's ok darling, I'm here for you." Then Andi said something that shocked Paul to his core. "It's ok to love her again. I'm proud to be taking over for her." He threw his arms around Andi and let the hate and anger drain.

"Thank you for being here," said Paul as Andi wondered if she should tell him about her dream. This was the second time she's dreamed about something in his past that she was unfamiliar with. However, each dream, no matter how different it was from what happened, accurately represented an event in their past.

Paul still had the number for the office number of the Staff Judge Advocate that prosecuted Buzz the first time. Paul wanted to be there to finish the job.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

The first hymns were over, and the congregation was greeting each other. It was time to reign in the joy and read the announcements. Paul stood up and stepped up to the lectern and looked around the congregation. As usual, the late arrivals were just sitting down, and that included John and Macy. They always stood at the front door of the church, welcoming everyone that they could. Today, the late arrivals made him smile. It was Kenny and Yi, and she was in a dress. Paul didn't realize that she owned a dress. Kenny and Yi entered with Kenny's parents Dave and Angi Johnson and sat in the pew behind John and Macy, who sat with Andi and the twins. It was time for Paul to start.

"Good morning," said Paul in a loud voice. "How is everyone this nice spring morning? Everyone sad to see that winter is over?" he was met with boos and groans. "It's good to be back, for those of you who are new here, my name is Paul Jarecki." That brought a few chuckles. Paul has been busy since the first of December, with marriage, honeymoon in the Bahamas and road trip to the mountain west.

"I'd like to thank you for loaning me your pastor while we were verifying the ice age was indeed over in the Bahamas and Andi is finally moved in, she's no longer a Denverite. We have a few announcements this morning..." and he read out the list of activities that the church had planned. As always, he ended up with, "Does anyone have any announcements?"

Gus raised his hand, and Paul called on him. "Tuesday evening, we are going to have a prayer gathering and dedication for Pastor John's house, the work is finally finished!"

Through the applause, Paul said, "For those of you that haven't seen Pastor John and Macy's house, it is amazing. They gutted it and rebuilt the interior, and they did most of the work themselves. It is beautiful. I want to thank Gus for teaching my brother the skills he needed to finish the job. Me? I'm still trying to figure out how to sharpen my hammer. Anyone else?"

Dante Reese, the worship leader, announced he was going to need a few extra voices for the Easter service, and Mary Kraft asked for extra prayers for Nancy Sagget, who was in the hospital. "Ok, last call, anyone else?" said Paul and Tammy Schatz, president of the women's ministry, raised her hand. "Tammy? What do you have?"

"It came to my attention that we have an expectant mother or two in our midst."

Paul suddenly went cold. They were going to see the doctor before making any announcements. Andi and Macy glared at him with daggers in their eyes. "Is that right?" he said, his throat going dry.

"Yes," said Tammy. "You know who you are, come on... stand up..."

Andi glared at Paul and wordlessly said, "No!" Macy wordlessly said something in French that Paul thought wasn't complimentary. But then a young woman stood. Cindy and her husband Andy Windecker stood up. Cindy was Tammy Schatz's youngest daughter, and this was their third child.

When the applause ended and Cindy and Andi sat down, but Tammy continued, "There's more! Come on!" and again there was tension between Paul and Andi, but eventually Harlee Babcock, another young woman, stood with her husband Dave. Paul breathed a sigh of relief, and Andi and Macy stopped scowling at him.

When the applause ended, Paul tried to wrap it up and get on with the service. "If there are any more announcements..."

"We're not done," said Tammy. "Come on..." and at that moment Andi stood up. Paul grinned as Andi blew him a kiss and the congregation applauded. Paul said, "Anyone else?" and to the gasps of the congregation, John and Macy stood.

<><><><><>

It was joyful bedlam after the service as everyone tried to congratulate Macy and John. Their attempts to have a child were the worst kept secret in Erie County, but this time, it looked like they would be blessed. "You got your house finished just in time!" was the common expression and indeed, the nursery would soon be filled with furniture from Uncle Paul and Aunt Andi.

"I didn't say anything!" said Paul to John's glare. Paul may be the older brother by seven years, but here in Springville Congregational Church, John had rank.

"Tammy figured it out," said Macy. "She overheard us talking about it earlier."

"She talked us into doing it," said Andi.

"So you let me stand up there and suffer, thinking you suspected me of spilling the beans?"

"Uh huh."

"Oui."

"You two are cold," groaned Paul. "Cold, mean, and callous."

"And we need pancakes."

"Oui."

"Let's go," said Paul. It's been a while since he made a pancake breakfast.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

"I love it," said Lucy. "I really, really love it," she gasped, her voice overwhelmed with passion. "I love the way it feels. You? What do you think? Be honest, you can't hurt my feelings."

"It's been a long time since I have done something like this," said Gus. His hands were actually shaking.

"I really need to know what you think... I need to know how you feel about it, I want to know what's in your heart," said Lucy as their eyes met.

"Ok, give me a moment, it's been so long..."

"Let's just do it!"

"OK," he said nervously.

Gus pushed in on the clutch, eased the Hurst Competition Plus four speed shifter into first and turned the key. The 396 Chevy engine roared to life and as he goosed the throttle, the car jumped. The Chevy 396 rumbled impatiently. It wanted to eat the road. The torque of the engine twisted the whole car when he goosed the throttle, then Gus eased up on the clutch. With a throaty purr, the black and chrome 1969 Chevy Nova eased out onto the road and rumbled as it headed up Mill Street in Williamsville. It handled like a Formula One car, glued to the road as it ran through the double S curve on Mill Street and climbed up the steep hill to Main Street without breaking a sweat.

Gus turned left on to Main Street, and they purred through Williamsville on the warm spring afternoon. Soon Main Street became a two-lane street heading east to Clarence, and Gus put his foot into it. Neck Snapping acceleration! "Was I right?" shouted a grinning Lucy over the roar of the 396.

"This is perfection!" cried Gus.

"I want it," said Lucy. "I want this for a street cruiser."

"I thought you wanted to drive my Ranchero."

"I think this will look better next to your 1970 442."

"Let's see what Westly thinks." They returned to Mill Street and pulled in to Mill Street Auto and the owner Westly stepped out with a grin.

"Gus! What did you bring me to play with now?" Wes said with a jovial grin.

"A nineteen sixty nine Chevy Nova, with Holley 3310 four barrel, four speed with..."

"Oh, you brought a car too? I thought you were talking about this Sweet Adeline here," said Westly with a grin.

"How did you know?" asked Lucy.

"Pop the hood." As Gus lifted the hood, Westly went back into his shop and came out with a fender cover, a rag or two, a flashlight and a three foot long screwdriver. "I know all and I see all good doctor," said Westly as he took off the air cleaner and peered down into the barrels of the carb.

"Ok, where do you know me from," said Lucy.

"The Queen City Chordsmen," said Westley as he slid under the engine and inspected it and the front suspension.

"I don't sing with the Chordsmen," said Lucy, with her hands on her hips.

"No. But I do," grinned Westley as he slid out from under the car.

"Westley... Wes? Wes Barker?" With a cry, she went to hug him and he tried to return the hug without getting grease on her.

"What am I missing?" asked Gus.

"Wes and I sing Barbershop Harmony. I'm with the gateway chapter of the Sweet Adelines, and Wes sings with a men's chorus in Lancaster." She turned to Wes and said, "Were you in on that prank one of your guys pulled on Veronica von Köster?"

Wes grinned underneath his thick handlebar mustache. "It wasn't a prank, we did a comedic serenade out at the Ellicott Manor for the new guy, southern boy, and his date. Josh Gravely. It was their first date."

"She loved that! She talks about it all the time," said Gus.

"If she loved it that much, it had to be me singing tenor," said Wes as he waggled his eyebrow. "Fire it up and let it idle." He placed the tip of the screwdriver at one of the bolts on the valve cover and placed his ear on the handle and listened to the valve rockers. After inspecting them, he leaned over and inspected the carb with a flashlight as he gunned the engine a few times with the throttle assembly, then said, "Kill it!"

As Westly put the air cleaner together, he winked at Gus. "Nice! Chrome air cleaner cover probably gives you four extra horsepower."

"It's a street cruiser, Wes," said Gus with a grin that wouldn't fade. "Lucy is thinking of buying it."

"How much does the owner want?"

"Twenty five."

Wes looked at Lucy and said, "Offer him twenty two. But do not let this one get away."

"That's just what I thought!" she nearly squealed with delight.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

The afternoon was warm, and the snow was melting fast. Five-year-old Sandy Roberts and her twin sister Madeline were full of energy and couldn't contain themselves on this sunny Sunday afternoon. The twins were happy because they became instant celebrities at Sunday School. Pastor John Jarecki and his wife Macy were considered extremely cool by the kindergarten through third grade Sunday School class and the twins were bubbling with excitement that they were going to be cousins. "You're related to Pastor John?" asked Wendy, a dark-haired girl who is in the first grade. Wendy is naturally suspicious of almost everything.

"He's my uncle!" said Sandy.

"Unka John," added Madeline.

"You just moved to town! How can he be your uncle?"

"Because his brother is their father," said Paul as he entered the room. It was his turn to teach Sunday School to the kids. Paul's only claim to fame among the kids is the guitar that he plays.

Wendy looked at Paul, their father, then back at the twins, and the connection was made. "How come you're excited about becoming a cousin and not about becoming a sister?" Wendy asked.

In unison, the twins replied, "I already am a sister."

Paul had a hard time completing the lesson plan without laughing. He couldn't wait to tell Andi.

After church, it was time for chores before John and Macy came for Sunday dinner. While Andi and Paul were clearing the sidewalk of ice, the twins were making boats of sticks and leaves and sailing them down the thundering Howard Avenue River.

"Ahhh! NO! HELP!" cried the miniature imaginary sailors on Sandy's leaf yacht as it hit the rapids and neared the giant beast.

"All ashore that's going ashore!" Madeline cried.

"They will get drownded!" cried Sandy.

"It's too late!" shouted Madeline. "The monster has them!"

"YAAAAAAaaaaaa...." cried the twins as the leaf got sucked down the storm drain on the curb.

"Hey guys," said their neighbor Veronica as she approached on the sidewalk. "Sailing boats in the street?"

"Yeah, we lost another one," pouted Madeline.

"A monster ate it," said Sandy.

"I used to do that when I was your age. It's a lot of fun but you need to watch out for cars," said the vivacious blond.

"Thank you," said Andi. "I didn't realize they got into the street again." Then she called to the twins, "That's enough playing in the street, get back in the driveway." Andi and Paul were clearing the sidewalk of ice. Andi used a sidewalk ice chopper to chop up the ice that was made by passing feet, crushing the snow into ice. Behind her was Paul with a flat shovel scooping the chopped ice off the sidewalk.

"We're almost out of snow!" complained Sandy. At one point, there was well over six feet of snow on their front lawn, but with warming and cooling trends, the snowpack melted down and the only snow left was the piles of snow left behind by the snow blower and the road plow.

"Play with Wonka!" called Andi.

As their parents chatted with their neighbor, Sandy and Madeline amused themselves by throwing ice chunks in the air for Wonka, their dad's chocolate lab, to catch. Eventually, the twins were soaked, their boots were full of water, the driveway was covered with the ice chunks that they threw, but the sidewalk was clear. "Come on you guys, let's go dry off, Uncle John and Aunt Macy are coming over for dinner."

John and Macy were frequent dinner guests. As the pastor of a small rural church, John doesn't make a lot of money preaching, and he supplements his income as an assistant carpenter and he built all the cabinets in their house. Secretly, Paul purchased the lumber that John used for his cabinets and John's trainer, Gus, would say, "I have some more left over maple if you'd like to use it." John and Paul are heir to a large pool of money and Paul continues to add to that pool with his successful management of their father's business. Since John is a pastor, he thought he should only use that money in emergencies, like when his ancient Reliant K's motor died. Paul had to convince him to get a decent used Ford Fusion.

Macy had a sweet little Alpha Romeo Spider that she bought before she met John. That car was constantly in Paul's shop. It was incredibly impractical and should never be driven in the winter, but when it was running, it was incredibly fun.

"Come on, get inside!" scolded Andi, and she chased the girls inside, promising a hot bath before dinner. Paul put the tools away in the ornate tool shed behind the garage, then rolled out his charcoal grill. He was cooking steaks for the folks tonight, and only charcoal provides the essential heat to cook a steak properly. Paul wadded up a full page of the Buffalo Evening News and shoved it in the bottom of his charcoal starter (A large can with the bottom cut off) and set it on the grate, then filled the can with charcoal. He held a lighter under the can and soon the newspaper caught and the chimney action of the can fanned the flames and soon the charcoal was catching.

"Lump charcoal?" asked John, which startled Paul.

"I didn't hear you guys pull in!"

"We walk, it's only a mile between our houses," said John's wife Macy. "Doctor Shifferle wants us to walk every day." Doctor Shifferle was Andi and Macy's OB/GYN.

"What's on the menu?" asked John as Paul handed him a ginger ale, then opened a beer for himself.

"Steaks, salad, baked taters, and last year's corn."

"Oh, that was good corn!" sighed Macy. It came from the Jarecki family garden and was the sweetest corn they ever tasted. Paul quickly froze corn cobs and shelled corn. The frozen corn cobs didn't last the winter, Macy saw to that. The corn was delicious, and she ate more than her share of the frozen corn cobs. Sweet corn on the cob and popcorn are her #1 guilty pleasures, but there was plenty of frozen kernels from the corn that Paul shelled and froze.

"I hope Kenny has the same corn seed this year," said Paul.

"Once again you're preparing a feast for us!" said John as he patted Paul's arm.

"We love to cook and we love you," said Paul.

Macy entered the house, and John stayed outside with Paul. "Have you heard from the Staff Judge Advocate?" asked John.

"Yes, I'm heading back to Cincinnati on Tuesday. Can you come with me? I'm going to need support."

"What about Andi? You should go to Cincinnati with Andi and we'll watch the girls."

Paul frowned. "You know the entire story of Melony and what I went through."

"That's right," said John. "And your wife, the person who you have based your life around knows almost nothing about it. Don't you owe her the truth of your past?"

Paul stared at the fire, then took a pair of pliers and lifted the can and blazing hot charcoal spilled out the bottom. He spread the coals around and added some more charcoal. He looked at John for several long moments, then said, "I hate it when you're smart."

"Is the fire ready?" called Andi.

"Pretty close," called Paul as Yi's truck pulled into the driveway and she and Kenny hopped out.

"I invited Kenny to dinner," said Andi from the depths of the house. "He's going to bring a guest."

"Miss Carlson, it's good to see you," said Paul as Yi and Kenny stepped up to the fire. Yi was still wearing her dress from church. They spent the afternoon with Kenny's family. "Can I get either of you something to drink?"

"What do you have?" asked Kenny.

"Ginger Ale or Cream Ale."

"Genny," said Yi, letting Paul know she wanted a beer. Yi used to be a heavy drinker but since being around Paul and Andi she cut way back. It has saved her a lot of money.

"We were just talking about the corn from our garden last year," said Paul.

"Oui, with our family growing, we're going to have to make a bigger garden," said Macy.

"Macy is the chief gardener, she designs and plans the garden," said John. "We make it happen."

"I think we have sod busting to do," said Paul, and John nodded in agreement. Sod busting meant that they were going to have to till ground that has been grown over with hay and hasn't been plowed in years.

"What did you grow last year?" asked Yi.

Macy thought for a moment. "Corn, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, radishes and onions."

"Any suggestions chef Yi?" asked Paul.

"Off the top of my head... beets, garlic, collard greens, mustard greens, lettuce, cucumbers, green and jalapeno peppers. Acorn squash for me, pumpkins for the kids."

"Sounds good!" said Andi, as she came out of the house with a platter of steaks. "How big is this garden?"

John, Macy and Paul looked at each other and shrugged. "I think we may go up to a full acre this year," said Paul. "Maybe bigger."

"That's a good size, with your mechanization you can go bigger, leave room for irrigation," said Kenny.

"How big is that? asked Andi.

"An acre is fifty by one hundred yards, we can plow up twice that easy if we wanted to.

Andi was shocked. The biggest garden she's ever seen was less than ten square feet. "That's a huge garden."

"We got the equipment. We have two tractors, a three bottom plow, a disc cultivator, a harrow, and we have a couple of hand tillers, and seeders. All we need is a proper layout for the garden and I can get tilling soon as I get back from Cincinnati," said Paul as he put the steaks on the grill. Each steak took about eight minutes as Paul flipped the steak over every two minutes, branding the steaks with a criss-cross pattern and charring the edges.

"This is really the first chance we've had to set the table for our friends like we do in the summer," said John as Andi and Macy set out salad and potatoes and bowls of corn. "Normally Gus will join us but he said that Lucy asked him to join her for some fun and possibly romantic activity."

"I'd hate to speculate what Gus and Lucy are up to," said Kenny.

"Why is that?" asked Yi as they sat down at the table.

"Gus has two daughters that married and moved away, one is in Rochester and the other is in Ohio," said Paul. "Not long after they moved his wife died and he's been alone ever since. Lucy is the first woman that Gus has gone out with in years."

"Really?" said Andi. "I think Gus is the first man that Lucy has ever been serious about."

Looking around the table at the smiles for their friends, John said, "Let's not worry about what they're up to, we'll find out soon enough. Paul, would you like to say grace?"

"Let's join hands," said Paul and as they all joined hands, outside, a muscle car roared and snorted as it rolled by the Jarecki house. "Thank you lord for the meal you have blessed us, the friends you have given us, and the love you showed with the sound of a big block chevy."

Macy turned to Andi and said, "You get used to it with these two."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Lucy's new 1969 Nova SS rumbled through Springville, the big Three Ninety Six challenging anyone who thought they were worthy to come out and 'play.' Gus followed her in Lucy's Toyota Camary, her work car. She took the long way up Howard Avenue so she could roll past Paul and Andi's house, but no one peeked out a window when she goosed the throttle and let her Nova roar.

She went out the east end of the village to the little farm that was the home of Didomissio Construction. Behind a classic frame farmhouse, a huge wooden barn provided storage for all forms of wood, electrical parts, and what looked like miles of PVC and copper pipe for plumbing jobs. Behind that were two old Quonset huts. One hut was Gus's office and carpentry shop, where John learned to build cabinets and chairs. The other hut was his "toy box." Lucy followed the two-wheel path behind the Quonset huts and the garage door on the back of the "Toy Box" opened. Inside were Gus's work trucks, cars, snowmobiles, and ATVs.

A car under a sheet displayed huge drag racing tires in the rear and something that stuck out of the hood, a supercharger probably, that had to be his 67 Camaro SS. Next to that was a candy apple red Econoline pickup in beautiful condition. Next to that was a 62 Ford Ranchero in parts, then came his bright red with black highlights 1970 Oldsmobile 442. It was a beautiful car, and she backed her Nova in next to it. It will be a few days until the work with the DMV is complete, so this is a safe place to park it.

"This is beautiful!" gasped Lucy as she got out to look at the 442. To an untrained eye, it looks like a dressed up suburban cruiser. To those in the know, it's a monster. Dual ram air scoops shoved air into a four-barrel carb that fed a 400 cubic inch engine whose main purpose was to burn rubber off the tires. "They look so happy together," said Lucy as she gazed at the muscle cars from over 50 years ago parked side by side.

Gus had parked her Toyota and came up next to her. "They're not happy in here, they want to get out and run!"

"You know what Four Four Two means, don't you?" asked Lucy with a sly grin.

"Tell me."

"Four tires, Four Headlights, Two doors."

Gus laughed. Actually, 442 doesn't have a meaning, it's a sales gimmick. Some once said it stood for Four hundred cubic inch engine, Four speed transmission, dual carburetors, but the average 442 had a 350 engine, automatic transmission and a single two-barrel carburetor.

"So what is this cruising that you and Paul talk about?"

"An old fashioned cruise. We go up and down Main Street for a while, music blasting, a few others join us, then we head out to the 279 Café for a malted and a burger."

"God I haven't had a malted milk in ages," sighed Lucy.

"That's what you get for living in big, fancy cities like Denver... Buffalo..."

"The next thing you know I'll be running off to the big city lights in Toledo," said Lucy as Gus pulled her tight.

"Speaking of Toledo, I have two tickets to opening day at Salen Field. Buffalo Bisons versus the Toledo Mudhens."

"Hell yeah!" cried Lucy. Lucy loves any form of sport, even curling, but Buffalo Bisons baseball was an event! Friday night games in the cheap seats was the best fun you could have with your clothes on.

"It's going to be a group outing, even Yi and Kenny are coming."

"I can't wait! I need to get my Detroit Tigers hat signed by Tom Selleck for the game."

"You have a baseball hat signed by Tom Selleck?" asked an impressed Gus.

"No, try to keep up with me. I said I need to get my Detroit Tigers hat... signed by Tom Selleck."

"Good one," Gus chuckled, and he led her through the Quonset with his office space and wood shop. She saw the makings of rocking chairs.

"These are beautiful!" gasped Lucy. "Are you restoring antiques?"

"No, John is making copies of an antique rocker that used to be in his family. He's building it from pictures that he had from when he was a kid, and he's doing an amazing job. They're a surprise for Paul, Andi and Macy, so don't say anything." Gus was having a hard time himself. John was doing incredible work, and was having so much fun with the woodwork that he even started on two more chairs, one for Paul and one for himself. Even daddies need a rocker to comfort babies.

Gus led Lucy to the house, and she said, "this place is incredible! Your orchard is all in bloom, what kind of trees do you have?"

"Four peach, four apple, four pear and four cherry. I have an annual pie baking competition with Macy because they have peach, apple, cherry, and pear trees on their farm too," said Gus. "We're adding pumpkin this year. With the twins, Macy says we have to plant pumpkins." He pointed off past the orchard, "I'm letting the pastures and fields grow wild, there's some paths I cut with the ATV which you may like walking and jogging on."

"I could bring my mountain bikes out," said Lucy as she gazed off into the fields. It's been a long winter, and she's spent too much time on exercise bikes. She needs to get out into the fresh air and put some miles behind her.

Gus led her to the house, a beautiful old two-story farmhouse with an attic with gabled windows. He led Lucy into the kitchen, and she found what looked like an old-fashioned farmhouse kitchen but was in reality an ultra-modern kitchen with appliances that had faux wood veneer. One of the knotty pine cabinets turned out to be the dishwasher. The French door refrigerator looked like an antique icebox next to a wood cabinet. The stove looked like a very early model gas stove and the kitchen sink had a faux pump-handle faucet.

"I didn't have anything planned for dinner, but there's a giant steak in the fridge we can share and I have frozen veggies coming out the ears from last year's garden."

"You have a garden? Gus! You are a man of many talents!" said Lucy as she drew closer.

"I help with Paul and John's garden. And Andi and Macy do my grocery shopping for me. They're trying to make me healthy for some reason."

"For good reason," said Lucy, as she smiled at the burly contractor and hugged his arm. Lucy grew up knowing she was the ugly duckling and never in her life had she met a man who not only disagreed with that, but saw her as the sweet, loving, highly intelligent woman that she was. "I want to keep you around for a long time."

"How long?"

"Forever."

"What a couple we make," said Gus. "What kind of future do we have? I don't understand a word of what you and Andi say, how can we communicate?"

"And I don't understand a word of what you say with John at work or in church." Being Jewish, she was lost when it came to what John and Gus were discussing with church, and when it comes to working with wood, carpentry, electricity, or plumbing, they had her completely lost.

"Are you assuming that both of us are incapable of learning? I think we have some incredible starting points, cars, hiking, camping... and one of us loves you very much, we just have to teach you how to do that too."

Lucy curled an arm around Gus's neck, and they kissed long and sweet. "That's the right answer, Mister Didomissio." She slowly sank to her knees and unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and pulled down his pants. As his cock sprung free, it tapped her on the chin as it popped up. "Is that anyway to say hello?" she asked his cock and licked a drop of pre-cum off the head. "That's better," and she gave his cock a long lick from balls to the bulging head. As one hand gently cupped his balls, she ran her lips and tongue up and down the sensitive underside of the shaft.

Gus groaned and ran his fingers through Lucy's hair. He knew there was no sense in trying to stop her. When Lucy set her mind to doing something, she did it. And she did it very well. She stroked his cock while she nuzzled and gently sucked his balls, then she ran the tip of her tongue up the length of his shaft and took the head of it in her mouth. She looked up at Gus and winked at him, then slowly swallowed his cock, inch by inch, until the spongy head of his cock pressed against the back of his throat and she gagged.

Andi told her that the gag will go away with practice, but until then don't force it. If the guy cares for you, he'll want to stop, and that messes everything up. Take it easy. Lots of wet friction. Turn your mouth and your hand into a pussy.

Gus's cock was big enough that Lucy was able to use both hands. She'd take his cock as deep as possible, then pull back and stroke with her hands while tonguing the head of his cock, then another deep plunge to the back of her throat. Over and over she sucked and swallowed, and Gus rewarded her with groans and gasps. She didn't realize how rewarding that sound was until she met someone she cared for as much as Gus.

"Lucy," he gasped. He sounded desperate. "Baby, I'm going to cum!"

In answer, she nodded her head and sped up her actions, her tongue slithering over the sensitive underside with new fervor. As she bathed his cock with her tongue, she reached down and slipped her hand inside her slacks and touched her tingling clit and suddenly she was cumming. At the same time, with a strangled cry, Gus came, spurting into her mouth over and over, and to both of their surprises, Lucy continued to cum as she swallowed every drop. The flavor was not pleasant at all, but having a man that she cared for so much cum in her mouth was a unique thrill that she wanted to do again and again. And she knew Gus would reciprocate until she screamed herself hoarse.

"My god that was incredible," gasped Gus as, with pants around his ankles, he kissed her deeply. "You didn't have to..."

"Hush. I wanted to, and it's something I learned to enjoy on New Years Eve." They kissed again, and she said, "That was quite an appetizer, but I'm still hungry."

"I'll get the steak, you get the veggies and let's do it.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Paul and Andi walked slowly through the National Museum of the United States Air Force. "This is amazing," gasped Andi. She never realized that there were that many airplanes that flew. Several enormous hangars were filled with aircraft, the propeller driven Air Force One that carried JFK to Washington DC from Dallas, the F-117 stealth "fighter" (it was a small bomber, never a fighter), there was a parasite fighter that was dropped and recovered in the bomb bay of the B-36, an Apollo capsule, bombers, fighters, transports, the collection was amazing.

Paul stopped in front of the F-15 and glared at it. The immense collection of metal, plastic and rubber was Paul's number one rival for Melony's love. He hated that damn thing. For a moment, Paul thought he had won. Melony said she was going to turn her back on it. She was going to give up the Eagle, but in the end, the F-15 got to hold her for the last time and cradle her as she took her last breaths.

The thought brought Paul tears of rage and sorrow. He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes closed.

Andi didn't know what was going on inside Paul's head, but the occasional tear let her know that the turmoil in his heart was still painful. She took his hand in hers and gently led him away from the Eagle to a place they can talk. "What is going on?" She gave him a kiss, and she felt him loosen up.

"It's stupid," said Paul. "You hear women complain about it all the time but you never hear men say it because many of the few women that fly the eagle are married to pilots. The few that are married to average schlubs leave us with the same issues that wives of pilots have."

"I don't understand," said Andi.

"I hope you never do." Paul sighed and sadly said, "that damn thing was my rival for Melony's heart." He looked around especially pained, fighting to hold back the emotions. "She loved it, she lived to fly, our best times together were nothing compared to her worst days in the F-15." Paul looked down at his hands clenching and unclenching. "It got to hold her as she died... that was..." that was his job but he couldn't say it. Andi suddenly realized that there was still a lot of love for Melony after a decade. After a deep breath Paul said, "I was told she was cheating on me, and I hated her... and I hate me for hating her. I should have known she would never have an affair... that would be cheating on me and the Eagle. She couldn't do that. Not to the both of us."

"It's ok," said Andi as she hugged Paul, but deep in her heart she wondered if Paul was really over Melony.

A museum employee saw the drama play out, but he's seen it a dozen times already today. Normally, the National Museum is filled with awe and wonder. Often the employee saw someone mentally kick themselves for being so crazy to go up in a machine like that. But far too often, a sorrowful memory arises. The memory of a mission gone horribly wrong, a buddy lost, a terror filled flight in an aircraft that was falling apart, a final ride down in a parachute into enemy territory. There's nothing you can do for those men and women except thank whatever power you believe in that there are men and women like that, strong enough and brave enough to get into the cockpit when we need them most.

They found an AAFES food court and sat down for a cup of coffee. "Do you want to talk about it?" Andi asked.

"Well, that's actually why I'm down here," said Paul. After a moment he said, "If you're wondering if I'm over Melony then you have nothing to worry about. I was so full of anger and hate that I drove her memory away... It was really hell, even though I thought she was cheating on me, the pain of her going was ungodly, and the military never cared. It's probably why your mom and I get along so well, we both understand what each other went through."

"That and you nearly gave her a spanking in our driveway on Christmas morning."

"I did not..."

"You did," insisted Andi, "and she respects you for that." Andi took Paul's hand in hers and said, "don't worry about me, I'm not insecure about your feelings for me. I watch you with the girls and I realize that the five of us are in it for the long haul. If we need to get you help with Melony's memory, Macy can find us someone who can help. She found someone for your buddy Josh."

"Josh isn't seeing anyone."

"He still needs to make the first step, and Macy has told her friend Doctor Lennox about him."

"Do you think I need to talk to Macy about this?" asked Paul.

"The question that should be asked is do you think you need to talk to Macy about this?" asked Andi.

Paul was silent for a very long time, then he quietly said, "Yes." He sipped his coffee and said, "It's like I'm cheating you out of a normal relationship. I have to get her out of my head."

Andi squeezed his hands and smiled softly. "You're a good man Paul Jarecki. Just waking up next to you honors my life."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

The sentencing phase of the court martial allows the prosecution to bring witnesses to testify to the damage that the guilty caused, then the rules allow the defense to bring forth witnesses to testify to the good character of the convicted. Needless to say, Paul agreed to testify for the prosecution. He spoke to the prosecutor several times before flying down to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and by the time the prosecutor called him, he and Andi were ready.

Paul wore his uniform and shaved off his beard this time. That was something he "forgot" to do before Jacqui's promotion ceremony. "The prosecution calls..." The prosecutor paused, but it was clear someone entered the courtroom. The sound of someone walking up the aisle could be heard. Paul heard the toc-toc-toc of women's shoes getting closer. "The prosecution would like to call, lieutenant colonel Paul Jarecki to the stand."

Paul stood and turned, and there was Colonel Jacquette Davis. "I couldn't miss this for the world," said the tall wing commander.

"God I miss you. It's been what a month? Two?" whispered Paul.

"Shut the fuck up," she whispered, chuckling. "Tear him up."

Paul walked up to the witness stand and Jacqui sat down next to Andi. As Paul was sworn in, Jacqui said, "How much of this do you know?"

"He doesn't talk about it," she said.

Jacqui took Andi's hand and said, "hold on as tight as you need to."

"Colonel Jarecki, when was the last time you spoke face to face with your wife Captain Melony Ruskin?"

"About thirty minutes before she left for Korea," said Paul. "I escorted her out to her airplane and we talked before she did her preflight. I kissed her goodbye and then watched her inspect her airplane."

"You didn't talk while she did her preflight inspection?"

"No sir, she was too conscientious of a pilot to allow herself from being distracted from her pre-flight procedures."

"When you said your goodbyes, what did you talk about?" asked the Prosecutor.

"We talked about having a child. We talked about informing her commander that we were going to have a baby... and I..." Paul closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I was so excited that I kind of mentioned our plans to him while she was in Korea."

"And what did Lieutenant Colonel Burrell say when you mentioned that?"

"He said that he thought the idea was great and that our baby was going have a squadron of loving uncles... and now it's gone. Our dreams were shattered."

Paul closed his eyes and tried to pull himself together as the memory tore at his heart. In the audience Andi gasped, "oh god" in a tiny voice. She never realized how horrible it was for him.

"What were your plans for the future with your wife?" asked the prosecutor.

"We had vacationed in Ellicottville NY and fell in love with the area and we decided to live there. She found a farmhouse and we were negotiating with the seller, we were going to close on the house when we returned from Japan. I'd be a country doctor working in a small hospital, we'd raise chickens... a sheep or maybe a goat for our son or daughter... she was going to paint... she did wonderful still lives..." Paul looked up and saw his giantess holding his wife. Andi was losing the struggle to hold back her tears.

"After she died, what did Lieutenant Colonel Blecher say to you?" asked the prosecuting attorney.

"He said, 'shit happens when you're TDY.'"

There were some quiet gasps in the courtroom and the judge tapped his gavel and said, "I will remind the court that there will be no outbursts." He paused for a moment, then said, "Carry on."

The prosecutor looked at his notes and said, "What did you take that to mean, Colonel Jarecki?"

"I took that to mean that he and Melony had an affair in Korea."

"How could that one statement lead you to believe that he was having an affair with your wife?"

"Because before every Temporary Duty Assignment when I was his flight surgeon he would ask me for Plan B abortion pills. He would say, 'that way what happens when I'm TDY, stays TDY.' I'm sure if you ask Doctor Weaver, his flight surgeon in the 44th you would hear the same story." Paul had spoken to Lance Weaver when Buzz Blecher transferred to the 44th and warned him that Buzz would ask for Plan B. Lance came back later and said that Buzz Blecher did that at his first meeting. Paul cleared his throat and said, "Buzz... Colonel Blecher was famous at the Kadina Officers Club for bragging about the women he slept with while on TDY or while their husbands were on TDY."

"Tell us what happened to you after Melony died," said the prosecutor.

"I was devastated. My future was gone. I tried to mourn her passing, but it was like every time I got into a place where I was able to mourn her passing, someone would come up to me and ask me how long she was having an affair with Colonel Blecher. I would reply, 'she wasn't.' And they would respond by saying, 'he said they were and it was cool with you.' I was shattered, I couldn't concentrate, I was kicked out of housing without warning and I had to resign as flight surgeon. My career was destroyed. I hated him, but worse, I hated her. I spent years hating my wife because of him, because he couldn't keep it in his pants."

"Is that it?"

"No. I turned to drink. My career as a doctor was almost over. I didn't care, I hated the world and the world hated me. Then I met Lieutenant Jacquette Davis. She was in a dark place like me and we decided to play racket ball instead of me spending what remained from our paychecks at the bar. I was still filled with hate, even sober but Lieutenant, now Colonel Davis, helped me so much. I was able to get a position as lecturing surgeon which carried me to retirement, but there was no chance for advancement because of what was in my records."

"So your self-loathing ended Colonel Jarecki?"

"Far from it, I was suicidal, I planned to kill myself after his trial for manslaughter regardless of the verdict."

"What stopped it Colonel Jarecki."

"I beat up my brother, I was so filled with hate and self-loathing that I beat up the only man who never did me any harm." Paul groaned, "My little brother is a pastor... He'd never swat a fly... He only goes fishing because the apostles did and I beat him... I beat up a pastor... he said... he..." Paul was struggling with his emotions "His wife locked us in an empty building and he begged me... he said, 'I can't take your hate anymore, please hit me until your hate is gone or I am gone.' and I beat my hate out of myself by using my brother as a punching bag." He was glaring at Buzz Blecher.

"If you could speak privately with Colonel Blecher, what would you say?"

Paul looked at the prosecution and said, "There is nothing I could say to him that would make any difference. He raped my wife, then he killed her, then he spread rumors about her so I would hate her and it destroyed my life for years. I don't even know where she is buried because he filled me with so much hate for her I didn't want to know. He has a narcissistic personality, and he doesn't realize he did something wrong. Right now, he's sitting there wondering what I am complaining about. He does not realize the damage he does to other people with his selfishness, and I know I'm not alone. Men were afraid to go TDY with him prowling around housing."

"Objection! The witness is accusing my client of further criminal acts!" cried the defense attorney.

The prosecutor looked at Paul and said, "Your honor, Colonel Jarecki is merely stating the feelings of other husbands at Kadina Air Base. Be advised your honor, there are more suits coming against former general Blecher." He then turned to Paul and said, "do you have anything at all to say to former General Blecher?"

"Nothing."

"Thank you Colonel. The prosecution calls Colonel Jacquette Davis."

Jacqui handed the weeping Andi a piece of paper and said, "Look this up when you get home." Andi nodded and sniffed, then put the piece of paper into her purse. She didn't notice how it happened, but she realized Jacqui was gone and Paul was sitting next to her. Paul held her tight, and she tried to remain silent as they swore Jacqui in.

"Colonel, congratulations on your new command," said the Prosecutor.

"Thank you."

"Colonel, how did you meet Colonel Jarecki?"

Jacqui looked at Paul and smiled. "We found each other, a kind of a broken hearts club," said Jacqui. "I got assigned to Grand Forks Air Force Base and my husband took one look around and left. He didn't even wait for the first wintry day. So I moved out of housing into the BOQ and a fellow helped me carry my stuff into my room. It was Colonel Jarecki. He never said a word, he just did it. Later I went looking for him to thank him and found he lived just up the hall from me. He invited me to dinner at the O club and he said it was the first meeting of the Grand Forks Officers' Lonely Hearts Club."

"What was he like at that point in time?"

"He never wanted me to call him colonel, he insisted that I called him Doctor Jarecki instead of Colonel. When I asked why he said that he liked being a Doctor better than a Colonel even though he didn't have much time left as either. He was sure that he was going to be thrown out of the Air Force and he was going to lose his license to practice medicine."

"Did he say why?"

"Because he was an emotional wreck. He accused Colonel Blecher of having an affair with his wife and he accused him of killing her, and he believed that the Air Force condoned it. He was lost, without something to guide him. Doctor Jarecki wasn't dangerous, if he didn't have a procedure or operation within the next 48 hours he was lost. He would sit in his room playing his guitar or at the Officer Club drinking. We began to watch out for each other. If I had to fly he would cut me off twelve hours before my flight. If he had an operation or was on call I would do the same for him, but he was a broken man. I was terrified that he was going to kill himself."

"Do you know if he had any other issues?"

"I think hating himself was enough. I tried to get him to seek psychiatric help and he eventually made an appointment."

"What happened?"

"Doctor Jarecki told me that the psychologist said his emotional emptiness and suicidal desires were all normal parts of the mourning process. He said that he asked the psychologist if he had any patients that survived and left. The only time either of us felt normal was when we were playing racquet ball. He got me hooked on the game and it cleared my head, I could concentrate on my career and I'm sure it did the same for him. Every now and then I won a tournament and took a trophy home and he always congratulated me no matter where we were in the world. He always found out and reached out to me."

"What part of Colonel Jarecki's emotional breakdown would you say was caused by the actions of Colonel Blecher?"

"I can't say all of it, the mishandling of the entire case by the Air Force caused severe trauma, but the majority of what happened to Doctor Jarecki's life was caused by the actions of Colonel Blecher. He didn't just kill Doctor Jarecki's wife, he tore out Doctor Jarecki's heart and stomped on it. He needs years of therapy all due to former General Blecher."

"Objection! Your honor, the witness has made statements that could only be made by a trained psychologist. I request that her testimony be stricken from the record and the jury instructed to disregard everything she has just said."

"The defense could be right," said the judge. "Colonel Davis, what is your primary field of study?"

"I have received a doctorate degree in psychology through the University of North Dakota," said Jacqui.

"Colonel Davis' testimony will stand," said the judge.

"That's my girl," whispered Paul, as the defense gave up completely. He was tasked with defending an utter bastard.

They left before the defense could begin their attempt to steer the jury into a more lenient sentence. "Thank you for coming out sweetheart," said Paul to Jacqui as he tried to settle Andi's tears. "I guess I didn't prepare Andi for this very well."

"Dude!" cried Jacqui. "When you sit down in a crowded courtroom and find out that your husband's first wife was murdered and his life was destroyed, it's a little tough on a girl. Did you at least tell her about beating up your brother?"

"I didn't, no. I think John's wife did though."

"All I heard was that she locked them in a house together," said Andi, looking around, confused.

"I'm sorry baby," said Paul and he took Andi in his arms and held her close. "I should have told you the whole story but I didn't want to think about it. You rescued me from so much misery and all I wanted to see was you."

"You white boys make me crazy," groaned Jacqui.

"Then why did you marry one?" demanded Paul.

"Leave me out of this," said Jacqui's husband Trent. Trent Peters was her racket ball coach who coached her to a USAF championship. Unfortunately, things were so busy they never got to meet him at Jacqui's change of command ceremony in Minot.

She steered them to the Wright-Pat Officer's club for dinner, where they sat down and tried to relax. Jacqui ordered smoked salmon dip with Old Bay season fresh chips for starters. They enjoyed the salmon dip while they studied the menu. Finally, Jacqui ordered the ahi tuna club, Andi ordered the goat cheese chili relleno, Trent had the short rib stroganoff, and Paul had the grilled lamb chops. He wasn't hungry, but as he watched, Andi tore through her chili relleno and came after his plate.

"Damn girl!" cried Jacqui. "You're packing it away like you're..." She looked at the shocked expression on Andi's face and stopped, then broke into a grin. "You got a bun in the oven don't you?"

Andi looked at Paul, who said, "I haven't had the chance to tell her yet."

Andi swallowed the sizeable bite of greens from Paul's salad and said, "We're expecting some time around Thanksgiving."

"Oh little sister!" gasped Jacqui, and she gave Andi a huge hug. Then she took Paul's kale salad and parked it in front of Andi. "You're eating for two, you fill up."

"What about me?" said Paul.

"You hush, you don't have any gestating to do." She gave Andi another hug. Then she glared at Paul and said, "This woman is 3D printing a human being. She gets what she wants." Then she turned to Andi and said, "you stick with me girl. We got to make you healthy."

"Hell no!" cried Andi. "I'm not going back to North Dakota until I have to. You should come down to our house in Springville."

"Have you picked names?" asked Trent, trying to change the subject.

"If it's a boy it will be Daniel," said Paul. "We haven't really decided on a girl's name yet."

"After today I have a suggestion," said Jacquie.

Andi nodded. "I think Melony will be a good name for our girl."

"Therapeutic," said Jacqui. But Paul remained strangely quiet. It didn't seem right to him.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Andi returned to the office and was impressed at how far the pulmonary therapy lab had advanced. The technicians had got a wireless pulse/oxygen saturation meter and a distance measuring wheel to measure the patient's blood oxygen levels while walking in the six-minute walk test. "It still sucks to write down the numbers as they do the test," said Estelle Gibbons.

Andi dug around in her messenger bag and pulled out a small voice recorder. "Here, use this. Read off the distance and the blood oxygen level every minute then transfer that to your document at the end of the test. Get a recorder for the clinic on order because I want that one back. Any other problems? Are people getting out of your way when you run the test?"

"No, we still have to tell them to move."

Andi grinned and placed a deck of cards and a bulldog clip on the desk by the voice recorder. "That should work."

Estelle gathered up the items that Andi gave her. "Thank you ma'am. Previous bosses would just demand that it get done, they didn't care how the test was run."

"Accurate results and comfort for the troops, that's our job Estelle, and it's not Ma'am, it's Andi."

After Estelle left, Andi dug into the mound of paperwork that her cross-country jaunt left for her. Soon Andi heard the "clickety clickety clickety" of a playing card clicking against the spokes of a wheel. "She figured it out," said Andi, as she looked at another report she hoped was important. Hopefully, people will soon recognize that clicking noise and get out of the way.

"Ahem," said Lucy from Andi's office door.

Andi looked up and smiled when she saw the broad grin on her friend's face. "I need a change of address form," said Lucy, and Andi dug one out of her filing cabinet.

"Get a new place?" asked Andi, as Lucy started filling out the form. Lucy had been complaining that her apartment in Allentown was too far away from the clinic and the main hospital and she needed to find a new place.

"Give me a second, I don't want to mess this up." She finished the form and handed it to Andi.

"It was such a rough week in Ohio," started Andi. Then she glanced at the form Lucy handed her and saw the address: 289 east 21st Street, Springville, NY... "That's Gus's house," gasped Andi. "You moved in with Gus?"

Lucy's grin was even brighter than before.

"Moved in, moved in? Or just moved in?" gasped Andi.

"Oh, I'm moved in, moved in," said Lucy with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Lucy!" squealed Andi as she ran around the desk to hug her friend. "My god! How did this happen?"

Lucy shrugged then said, "After I gave him a BJ it just came up in conversation?"

"YOU?" gasped Andy. "You joined the Dick Swallowing Sisterhood? I hope he reciprocated."

"He'd qualify as an honorary lesbian," Lucy said as they hugged. She never told Andi about what went on between Gus and her below decks on the New Year's Eve cruise. This wasn't the first blowjob she ever took to completion, but it's the one she enjoyed the most. After that, the week became a cornucopia of sexual exploration with Gus.

"Have you... sealed the deal?" asked Andi.

"Gone all the way? No. Close, but I asked him to hold off until I'm ready, and he's good with that.

"I'm so happy for you! He's so crazy for you!"

"I know," said Lucy.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Life settled into a regular pattern. Paul either worked from his attic office or his office at the dealership on Mile Strip Road where he could watch Andi's "Volkswagen" get lovingly cared for, and Macy's spider get the attention Alphas constantly demand. Andi buried herself in work at her VA clinic and loved every moment of working with the veterans and with Lucy. Yi found that watching the twins was more of a challenge than she dared imagine, but it was all fun, and they were learning fast the proper way to cook. When John wasn't working on his sermon for Sunday, he was at Gus's shop working on gifts for Macy, Andi, and Paul, and Macy spent a lot of time visiting homebound members of the church.

"Frowers! We found frowers!" shouted the Twins as they dashed into the kitchen, bouncing like popcorn. Paul had just come down from his attic office and heard the girl's cries.

"What did you find?" asked Paul.

"Baby purple frowers!" cried both girls.

"Let's go see the frowers," said Paul. "Come on Yi."

"I always wondered what a frower was," she muttered, and she pulled on a pair of sketchers and stepped outside. In the front yard, around the base of the shade trees, were circular gardens and, edging the gardens, were beautiful purple flowers. They looked like they were so eager to bloom they barely were able to make it above ground before their blossoms opened. Just inches above the soil, the colorful blossoms looked spectacular. "They're cute!" said the Asian beauty.

"Can we pick them?" asked Sandy.

"Not these, they're too short, the flowers will fall apart," said Paul. "These are called crocus and we just let them stay here so everyone can see them, because they're the very first flower of spring."

"Wow," gasped Madeline softly as she crouched down and gently poked the flower. "What's the next flower?"

"Ok, come on..." and Paul led them back to the house where, edging the wide sweeping porch, were flower beds. "See those green leaves coming up?"

"Uh huh!" said a far too eager Sandy.

"Those are tulips. They have big pretty flowers that we will pick and give to mommy," said Paul. "There are also daffodils and hibiscus in those plants and they'll bloom soon too."

"What's next?" cried Madeline, catching spring fever from her sister.

"Come on," and Paul led them to the backyard to the grape arbor. "See these sticks? They will start sprouting leaves and they will make grapes."

"No frowers?"

"Nope, over here are the super frowers," and Paul led them behind the garage where lots of thin sticks were poking up through the soil. "These are lilacs. They grow big bunches of teeny, tiny flowers that smell so good. Smell the leaves."

The twins stuck their nose into the sprouting leaves and Paul plucked a leaf and handed it to Andi, who gave it a sniff. "Peaches? It smells like peaches."

"They were my mom's favorite," said Paul. "This is a cutting from the lilac bush from her house in Williamsville. John has a cutting growing in his yard too." Paul walked to the back corner of the yard where the rose garden waited for the warmer temperatures. "There's all kinds of roses in here, but this bush is a yellow rose that only blooms in the first week of June. My mom's birthday was June fourth so John and I would bring her yellow roses. We take them to her still."

"Grandma Jarecki?" asked Sandy.

"Where is Grandma Jarecki?" asked Madeline.

"She's in heaven with Grandpa Jarecki," said Paul as he crouched down to talk face to face with the girls.

"Why?"

"They were quite old little one. They tried to wait for you, I know they wanted to meet you, but you were still in mommy's tummy when Grandma died. But the living room, where you watch TV, that was her favorite room, she and grandpa bought all that furniture when I was your age and I keep it so we can all remember her."

"Do they bury you before or after you die?" asked Sandy. Yi snorted in stifled laughter, but Paul handled it in stride. He was getting used to questions like that.

"Long after you die," said Paul. "Grandma and Grandpa Jarecki are buried over at Uncle John's church." The moment he said that, he realized he made a mistake.

"Can I see? Can I see? Can I see?"

"I have work to do," said Paul. "When I get back, if you eat all your lunch we will go see Grandma and Grandpa."

"OK!"

<><><><><>

Two hours later, Paul hopped out of his truck in front of Andi's clinic, and Wonka followed him. Wonka was wearing his Service Animal vest and stayed right next to Paul. Paul dropped the tailgate of his big F250 "White Whale" and set up a pair of ramps, then he rolled a big ugly reclining chair down the ramps. It was a hospital style recliner, something that has gone out of fashion, but was incredibly comfortable and very durable. It had large wheels so it can be moved easily around and it came down the ramps easily.

Paul put the ramps back in his truck, then wheeled the recliner into the clinic. At the front desk he said, "Buzz me in, can you Nadine?"

"What is this doctor?"

"It's a gift for Doctor Roberts, I want her off of her feet."

"So the rumors are true, Doctor Jarecki?"

"That I'm a furniture thief? Very true."

"No, that's she's..." and the receptionist put her hand on her tummy.

"You would have to speak with her about that, I just run errands," and Paul pushed the chair through the door and held it open for Wonka to follow.

He got to the end of the hall and peeked into Andi's office. "I heard you coming all the way up the hall," she said without looking up from her laptop.

"I didn't make a sound."

"No, I heard my staff saying, "Hi Wonka, Hi Wonka, Hi Wonka."

Paul pushed the recliner into her office and said, "Can I help it if my dog is more popular than either of us?"

"What is that?" demanded Andi, when she looked up and saw Paul reclining in her office. "This office is small enough as it is." She tried to hold back the laughter. At least it's a used recliner and not a new one.

"You need to put your feet up every two hours." Paul patted his leg and Wonka jumped up on his lap. "Dog not included."

"Where did you get that?"

"Macy found him for me. A place called Pups4Patriots..."

"Not Wonka, the chair."

"The main VA hospital, we use them instead of beds, they take up less room."

"We do not!" insisted Andi. "Do we?" At this point, she could believe anything about the VA.

"These are for visitors. Visitors who stay overnight sleep in these. They're putting couches in some rooms but those suck compared to these. I can't sleep in hospitals so this is where I spend most of my time if I'm stuck in the hospital."

"Are the girls driving you crazy? Is that why you're here?"

"No, the girls are wonderful and they're doing what they're supposed to be doing and Yi found a lesson on gardens for them. They found some flowers in the yard so after I located this chair for you I gave them a botany lesson."

"Botany?" asked Andi, as she joined Wonka in Paul's lap. "How did that work out?"

"The crocus flowers are blooming and they wanted to pick them so I showed them were the pretty tulips and daffodils would be blooming, and they liked that." Then Paul got silent. "Somehow we got talking about my folks and they want to go visit them in the graveyard."

"Can you handle it? Because I'm not going to be home until after dark and you know they're going to beg until you give in."

"Yeah," sighed Paul. "Maybe Macy is handy and she can help me with some of the questions."

Andi gave Paul a gentle kiss. He wasn't good with death. He was the one that discovered his mother dead in the living room Paul made for her. When she died, she was knitting toddler size mittens and went peacefully during The Price is Right. "Take Wonka with you," said Andi. "He's better at all of this than I am."

"I better get it over with," said Paul as he lowered the footrest.

"Don't forget to take a rock for each of the girls," said Lucy, who was leaning on the door frame.

"A rock?" asked Andi.

"It's a Jewish tradition... or maybe a Jewish custom," said Paul.

"What's the difference between a custom and tradition?" asked Andi.

"Spelling," said Paul as he got up and tugged Andi until she was centered in the chair and gave her a kiss.

"No," scolded Lucy. "Customs are practices or behaviors that are common in a society or group. Traditions are..." She rolled her eyes up and thought, then finally settled on "old customs."

"That works for me." Then, as he left, he whispered in Lucy's ear, "Thank you for loving my pal Gus."

"I never said it... Never! I never said..." She clenched her jaw and sat down next to Andi. "Really, I never said it."

"Not even when..." and Andi waggled her eyebrows.

"Well... who wouldn't?"

Andi thought of something, then sat down at her desk while Lucy tried the recliner. She dug a piece of paper out of her purse; it was a note that Jacqui gave her at the trial. She dialed a number, and when the fellow answered she said, "Hello... I was told that maybe a Melony Ruskin is there?"

"Let me check," said the fellow that answered the phone. He was clearly typing on a computer, then came back and said, "No, there's no Melony Ruskin. How long ago did she pass away?"

"Hang on... it was..." and she looked through her phone and finally came up with Melony's date of death that Paul told her. She saved it to make sure the girls are quiet that day and he can rest. He said it was his very worst day ever. Andi has several days like that every year.

"No, there's no Melony Ruskin for that time frame. The only Melony here is a Melony Jarecki."

Andi went white as a ghost. "Are you sure?"

"Melony Jarecki, it says she was a Captain in the Air Force. Is that the one?"

"Yes. Thank you," said Andi, and she hung up her phone and got violently sick in her wastebasket.

Lucy ducked out of the office and returned with a damp cloth. "It's been a while since I did this," said Lucy as she wiped Andi's sweaty brow. "Who were you talking to?"

"The village graveyard in Ellicottville."

<><><><><>

Macy met Paul, Yi, and the twins at the graveyard next to the old church and she opened the unlocked iron gate and let them in. They were soon joined by John, who was working at Gus's shop, when Macy called him and said that the twins want to meet their grandparents. It was warm, and the skies were cloudy, but it wasn't raining. They led Sandy and Madeline to the large gravestone that said Jarecki in large letters at the top. "They have the same name as you," said Sandy.

"Yeah, we like the name," said John.

"Why is there a fence?" asked Sandy, who was running her hands along the iron pickets of the ornate fence.

"Because people are dying to get in here," said John. Macy glared at him for telling her such a terrible pun, but Paul, who was oddly somber, was struggling to hold back his laughter.

"There's already stones here," said Madeline with a pout.

"That means that some of their friends were here to visit," said Macy. In her final years, after Cecil died, Katarina became a member of John's church and like her boys, she fell in love with Springville. She became active in the "old girls network" as John called it, and he would drive her out to the 279 Café to meet with them and have coffee. Occasionally she would sit and knit near him as he worked on his sermons in the library in Paul's house and people said that those were some of his best sermons.

"Can I take the stones off?" asked Sandy. She had a round flat stone with a big S written on it in crayon that she was going to put on their gravestone.

"No, dear. Those are grandma and grandpa's stones," said Aunt Macy, who led Sandy and Madeline closer to the gravestone. Soon, a stone with an S and a stone with an M were added to Cecil and Katarina's collection.

"Now what?" asked Madeline.

"That depends on what you want to do," said John. "You can pretend they're listening up in heaven and talk with them. You can talk with God about them, or if there's other people here who know them you can ask about them."

Madeline pointed to the other gravestones in the graveyard. "What about them?"

"They won't mind," said Paul.

Madeline crouched down and whispered to her grandparent's gravestone while Sandy patted the stone gently. Then Madeline stood up and said, "Ok, we can go now."

"What did you say mon amis?" asked Macy and Madeline led her by the hand to the gate.

"I said thank you for giving me poppa."

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

John and Paul had cans of spray paint on long handles and were marking off a square in the field near the cabin. The square was three hundred feet by three hundred feet, and it looked a lot smaller on paper. Once they got the line painted on the ground, they spooled up the string they used as guidelines. It looked like an excellent garden spot. There was a slight rise in the middle to give it drainage and half of it was plowed last year and manure was tilled in along with plant waste to make a rich soil. The other half of the garden will be the first year. Commercial fertilizer will be used on it and it will get the organic fertilizer this autumn.

"Ready?" asked Paul.

"Let's do it," said Andi, and they fist bumped and hopped on their tractors. Paul was driving the Ford 8n with a three bottom plow and Andi was driving the Kubota also with a three bottom plow they borrowed from their neighbor Gerry Hirsch after tilling up his garden for him.

Andi moved the Kubota to the portion of the garden closest to the cabin, and Paul moved to the far side of the garden where he could till unturned soil and move the garden border away from the cabin. Just as he was going to drop the plow, Andi hopped off the Kubota tractor and John hopped on Paul's precious Kubota.

Paul bought the fancy orange Kubota tractor, mostly for its advanced hydraulics. He has the backhoe attachment, the front bucket scoop attachment, and several others. He's been thinking of adding the snow blower attachment because a snow blower is much more efficient than plowing. It's just not as much fun. But for some reason, the Kubota was precious to him. He bought it cash after putting his retirement checks directly into savings, and it was kind of fun teasing Macy and John that they had to drive the old tractor or use the hand tools.

John looked over at Paul, a little guilty that he was "stealing" Paul's Kubota, but Paul winked at him and gave him a thumbs up as Andi showed John how to operate the little orange powerhouse. Soon Paul was breaking the soil on the east side of the garden and John was plowing the west side of the garden. Pass by pass they traveled further west, the three blades of their plows cutting into the soil and turning it over. Meanwhile, as they worked the soil in the spring sun, Macy and Andi sat in comfort on the cabin patio sipping lemonade and the twins followed the chickens around, making sure there were no foxes that were going to eat them.

Thanks to Macy's addition of a rooster, there was a small cloud of chicks that followed Pecky around (or was it Chook-Chook? The chicken's names were fluid with the twins.) The chicks were tiny puffballs even smaller than the Easter Peeps and they never roamed far from Chook-Chook. (Or was it McNugget? McNugget got that name after a severely angry peck at Sandy's hand.) The twins were always within arm's reach of McNugget (or Pamela) in case a fox appeared, or a coyote was nearby with an anvil to drop. Paul made the mistake of mentioning to Andi within earshot of the twins that there were indeed coyotes in Western New York and the twins' view of coyotes was skewed by cartoons.

When Paul reached the white line that marked the end of the garden, he finished the last pass, then lifted the plow and headed over to the barn. There, he dropped the plow and picked up the disc cultivator. The disc cultivator is a series of vertically oriented discs pulled by the tractor that break up the big clumps of dirt left by the plow. When John finished his plowing, he dropped the plow close to the garden, then drove over to the barn and picked up a harrow. A harrow is a device that rakes the soil that Paul ran over with the disc. The harrow's tines are made from spring steel and will break up clumps and pull clusters of weeds out of a weedy plot of ground.

When the brothers were done, the garden looked ready to plant, and it was close. It needed one more thing. Paul came out of the barn with the big power tiller. It chewed up the soil into a fine powder. "Go get lunch with the girls," said Paul. "When you're done you can take over and I'll have lunch."

"Sounds good," and with a fist bump, John walked over to the cabin while Paul started tilling with the big tiller. The rear tines on the tiller chopped up the soil until it was as fine as potting soil. The operator walked next to the handles instead of behind them to keep from stepping on the freshly tilled earth. Occasionally Macy or Andi would step ahead of the tiller and scatter fertilizer for the tiller to mix into the soil. John and Paul swapped out twice each and a couple of hours later, the soil was tilled up and Andi, Macy, and Yi were planting. With stakes and strings, they separated the garden into areas and were planting vegetables. They had wheeled devices that had a hopper that you filled with seeds. You set the orifice under the hopper for the type of seeds you had, then filled the hopper. Once filled, you set the spacing dial, and push it along to plant your row crops.

Paul and John were relaxing with cold drinks as the sun lowered in the spring sky when Gus pulled into the driveway in his pickup, hauling a trailer full of lumber. Paul turned to John and said, "It's your turn to shine." And as John was wondering what to do, Paul hopped on the Kubota and drove into the barn, then came back with the front-end loader attachment. "Here you go, Gus, be easy on him."

"Not me!" said Gus cheerfully, and he grabbed a 2"X 6" board and a level and started checking the ground. John hopped on the Kubota and with Gus's direction he used the front scoop of the Kubota to level out the ground next to the kitchen cabin. When the ground was level John scooped gravel from a pile and spread it on the land they just leveled. "Ok, hop off and get your hammer!" called Gus, and they started building the floor for the new cabin. As John and his 'boss' Gus figured out how the floor was going to set, Paul started scooping gravel and spread it evenly in front of the cabins, then set up a gas powered air compressor for Gus.

When Andi, Macy, and Yi paused for a break, they saw walls going up. Soon the walls for the first floor were done. "That's the easy part," said Gus. "It's going to take a week to finish it if everything we need comes in."

"It's going to take a few more days with this garden," said Macy.

"I'm not going in to work Monday, I can work on it," said Paul.

"Monday you me, Macy and John are going on a picnic," said Andi.

"No problem, but this garden needs to get in."

"This picnic is more important," insisted Andi.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Monday they loaded up in the Transport van that Paul purchased from the rental company and they headed south. With Andi, Paul, John, Macy, Yi, and the twins, they filled every seat in the van and Wonka in his service dog vest curled up on the floor between Paul and Macy. "We could get an extra body in here if we put a bench seat in place of the captain's chairs," said Paul as they headed south out of Springville on US219.

"Keep the chairs," sighed Macy as she reclined in the luxurious captain's chair.

Andi was driving. She was the one who set the destination. Macy and John knew what the destination was, and that's why they were along for the ride. They passed through the little hamlet of Ashford Hollow and kept heading south. "Looks like ski country," said John as they looked out the window. Paul had been down here in the past, but his family hadn't been south of Springville and this was all new to them.

The spring countryside was beautiful. Farmers hurried to get their crops in and dairy cows soaked up the sun and the emerald green grass. "Don would love this," said Andi.

"Who?"

"Don and Lanh Campbell, he was a farmer and a patient of mine."

"Yaaaannn!" cried the twins. They knew Lanh from last year, when Lanh Campbell was a fixture in their lives.

"She helped me with these guys when Lucy moved," sniffed Andi. "I really miss them."

"Let's invite them out to spend the summer, or maybe go on a cruise with us," said Paul, who was sitting behind Andi but facing backward.

"Yeah, they're stuck in Greeley and they hate it there. Maybe this winter, we could teach them what a honeymoon is all about.

"We should be working on the garden," muttered Paul. This whole thing felt wrong. He was getting a weird vibe about it.

"We're in Ellicottville," said Yi as the sign went by.

"Oh no," said Paul in a tiny voice.

"What's wrong honey?" asked Andi.

"Ellicottville," and Paul took a deep breath. "This is the place. Melony and I thought this was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We had planned to get out of the military and live here."

'That must be why she's here,' Andi thought to herself. Now she doubted this entire idea, but she continued on with it and soon she parked inside a large, shady graveyard. A tall iron fence surrounded the yard and large granite stones announced the dead to anyone that passed by. Gigantic oak and elm trees shaded the central area of the graveyard where the older graves were, but Andi led them to the newer section, where no trees were planted.

Paul felt drawn to this place, and it was both comforting and wrong. And then he saw it... "Melony Jarecki?" He froze. The simple granite stone announced to the world that Melony Ann Jarecki, Captain, USAF, now rests here. Everything went still, the breeze stopped, and the birds stopped chirping. The twins were inspecting a small gravestone, but they weren't moving. Even Wonka's tail stopped moving as he stood next to Paul, worried about 'his person.'

"My God," whispered Paul hoarsely. It soon came crashing down on him, all the hate and all the anger that ruled his life. He had let so much go to waste in a morass of self-pity and self-hatred. Most of all, he couldn't believe how much he had hated Melony because of the rumors spread by Abernathy "Buzz" Blecher, the man who raped and killed her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry Melony!" he shouted. He dropped to his knees and howled his anguish.

"Holy shit, shut the fuck up," came a voice from behind him. "Everyone will think you're crazy." He turned around, and there was Melony. She was kneeling on the ground behind him like he was. She was wearing a flight suit, but her hair was down and full, the same way that Andi wears it. Not trimmed short to comply with regulations. Paul covered his face with his hands and wept. "I hated you so much, I hated Buzz with a passion that nearly killed me, I hated me for hating you so much, and I hated your damn airplane. Why didn't I die too?" He started hyperventilating and decided he was still alive because he was too much of a coward to kill himself.

"You hated my airplane? Was it the one with my name or was it all F-15s?"

"Any F-15 you flew. Oh god I hated that more than I hated me. It got to hold you as you died while I sat on Okinawa and handed out Tylenol to frat boys."

"SHHH!" demanded Melony. "It's ok to hate me for dying, but I didn't mean to. I had a heart attack. Shit happens."

"No, you were murdered. Buzz gave you a Plan B tablet."

"What?" gasped Melony.

"The night before at karaoke, he got you drunk on soju then raped you. The next morning, he gave you a megadose of levonorgestrel. When he got back to Okinawa he told everyone you two had an affair."

"That fucker," snarled Melony.

"I didn't know the truth, I was hearing it from all sides, I hated you, and I hated me for hating you... I'm so, so, sorry," he wept. "I tried to drink myself to death but they wouldn't let me."

"Did you tell the bar tender to cut you off after you started talking about dumpster diving?"

"Yeah," moaned Paul. Telling the bartender to cut him off if he tells anyone about dumpster diving for spaghetti to eat was a habit he learned early. Paul knows that when he talks about the dumpster behind Giardino's, he's had too much.

"That's your mistake there." Melony reached out to brush Paul's hair from his eyes like she used to. Her fingers never touched him, but the familiar gesture comforted Paul in a way that he loved. He didn't understand it, but he loved it.

"We got him Mel, we put him away. I finally got the OSI to look into your death. The Office of Special Investigations found enough to put Buzz on trial for manslaughter. I testified that he knew you were allergic to levonorgestrel and he knowingly gave you a megadose. The staff Judge advocate found enough evidence to convict him of murder."

"See? It all works out in the end," said Melony with the million-dollar smile Paul fell in love with.

"No... when you died I turned to John and he wasn't there, and I blamed him for years after that. He was on his honeymoon! I should have been happy for him but I wasn't... I hated him and I hated me for hating him too. Eventually his wife locked us in a house together and he begged me to hit him... and I did." Paul was weeping again. "I hate myself so much... I hit my little brother! My pastor!"

"Oh Paulie..." she whispered. "John got married?"

"That's his wife over there, Macy."

"She's pretty," said Melony. Then she looked into Paul's eyes. "There's something else, what is it?"

"I was so lonely... It's been so long..." Paul took a deep breath and said, "I married again."

"Good! I'm happy for you!" said Melony with a surprising cheerfulness. "Is that her? The worried looking one?"

"Yes and those are her girls, I adopted them... and Mel?"

"Yes Paulie?"

"We're expecting. It will be born in November. John and Macy are expecting too."

"That's great Paulie, you should be so happy. You've shed enough tears... it's time to smile."

Paul felt more lost than ever before. "Don't go Mel... I miss you so much, you're my best friend..."

"No, I was your best friend, Paulie. That pretty little blond over there, she's your best friend now, and she's waiting for you to start treating her like that.

"I love her," said Paul. "She's wonderful, the mother of my children."

"She's also your buddy," scolded Melony. "When's the last time you farted in front of her then made a joke about it?"

Paul looked back wistfully at the pranks they used to play on each other. What's holding him back from doing that with Andi? She's got a wonderful and slightly raunchy sense of humor. "I think you're right Mel."

"Paulie? I have to go. Thank you. Thank you for everything... I loved us..." The image of his first wife faded and everything was moving again. Madeline plopped herself down on Paul's lap. "Are you ok Poppa? Momma said you were going to be sad."

"A little sad," said Paul, and he gathered Sandy to him as well. "This lady was my friend. We were married long ago before you were born."

"Why did she die?" asked Sandy.

"A very, very bad man gave her a pill that killed her. That's why I get upset when you snoop around in your momma's medicine. The wrong pill could kill you!"

Andi and Macy watched from a distance as Paul explained Melony to Sandy and Madeline. They were touched as he explained how Melony prepared him to love Andi, Sandy, Madeline, and the baby, and were soon in tears.

"I brought a stone for her," said Madeline, and she held up her round flat rock with a dark blue crayon M on it.

"I brough one too," said Sandy and hers featured a red S.

"That's a pretty good S, Sandy. And Madeline, your M's are incredible!" he got up and led them to Melony's gravestone and said, "Mel, these are my little love bugs, Sandy,"

"Bug bug."

"And Madeline."

"Bug bug."

"They want to say hi."

Slowly, they approached the stone and placed their rocks on the top of Melony's grave marker with a barely audible "hi."

"I think she liked that."

They got back into the van, with Andi, John, and Macy surprised how well Paul took finding Melony's grave. Soon they were cruising along country roads, just enjoying the scenery. They found a pleasant picnic spot next to East Otto Creek and spread out a plastic tablecloth on the picnic table as John and Paul told Andi and Macy about Melony. The twins were standing by the slow-moving slate bottom creek, throwing sticks and rocks in it.

"There I was so distraught," said John. "I was dropping out of seminary and was lost, and I was in a room full of fighter pilots. And this beautiful red head came up to Paul, and they were making..." John looked around to see if anyone could hear him. "They were making BJ jokes."

"It was a great joke we used for newcomers," said Paul.

"Tell me, said Andi and Yi at the same time.

"Keep in mind that everything in the fighter pilot world is for proficiency. Most of the sorties they fly were for proficiency," said Paul. "At the club Melony would complain about something, anything and ask me to fix it, and I would say, 'I'm not in your squadron.' She'd say, 'What about all those blow jobs I gave you, what were they for?' and I would answer, 'proficiency.'"

Andi snorted in laughter, Macy pretended to be offended, and Yi, who knew all about 'proficiency' from her dad's coast guard training, howled in laughter. "I wish I knew about the proficiency thing first," said John.

"Pauvre Jean," said Macy as she kissed John. She knew how offended he was by dirty jokes and also how upset he was that he never understood them. "You should stay with Andi and Lucy to learn such things."

"I learned to like Melony pretty well, it's a shame she couldn't sing," said John, thinking back to playing the guitar on their parents' porch.

"Yeah, she was awful, but she loved to try."

When the twins returned from the creek, they scrambled up to the table and Andi sat down next to Paul as everyone else sat. Lunch was hotdogs and baked beans cooked on the portable gas grill they brought, plus potato salad and potato chips (crisps). After making sure the twins and Andi were fed, Paul sat down next to Andi and let a fart rip. She looked at him and was about to say something, but he said, "Pardon, just warming up for these baked beans."

As Andi laughed, the twins sang, "Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot..." It was a beautiful day.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Dr. Paul Jarecki stepped into Andi's VA Clinic and the receptionist recognized him right off. "Good morning Doctor Jarecki!"

"Good morning Nadine, what does Doctor Roberts' schedule look like for today?"

"She's got a light one, she was training a new physician's assistant but she called in sick."

"And Doctor Kocis' schedule?"

"Same as Doctor Andi, it's a quiet day today."

"Can you page them please? I need both of them right away. We have a proficiency meeting."

When Andi and Lucy stepped into the waiting room, Paul said. "Grab your things, we have a proficiency meeting downtown."

"Downtown?" Andi groaned. She hated going downtown. It's crowded, dark, and parking was so expensive and hard to find. Buffalo would be one of the great cities in the US, but only if someone found a place to park. She and Lucy grabbed their purses and hopped into the truck. Paul had the Ranger today, and he drove quickly into Williamsville then turned west on Main Street. "Where are we going?" Andi asked.

"My Alma Matter," said Paul and he soon arrived at the University of Buffalo, Main Street Campus. It was sunny and warm, perfect weather for playing hooky. "This is where I went to med school. I lived in mom and dad's house on North Long street in Williamsville and drove here to school every morning until I graduated and enlisted."

"We have a meeting here at UB?" asked Lucy.

"No, we're just parking here." Paul found a parking spot, then they got out, and he led them to a building that featured a long steep escalator that took them deep underground.

"Subway? Buffalo has a subway?" marveled Lucy.

"Kind of," said Paul and they got on the next train that arrived and headed downtown. Most of the way was underground, and as they rode along, Paul took off his business shirt and pulled out a baseball jersey from his backpack and put it on. By the time he got the matching ball cap on his head, the train emerged from the subway and became a streetcar.

"Where are we?" asked Andi.

"Theater district," said Paul. "Melony, and I saw Dirty Rotten Scoundrels right there at Sheas Performing Arts Center. We brought John and his date."

"John had a date?" asked Andi.

"Yeah, the girls in Bishop Newman High School were all sure he was going to be a Jesuit priest so they were all over him. When he went protestant they still were hot for him, and he never noticed. Not a single one."

"I saw 'Blast' there a couple of years ago," said Lucy. "It was totally intense." Blast was a 100 piece drum corps performing indoors.

"What is going on?" demanded Andi, as Paul led them off the car.

Paul gestured to the edifice across the street, Sahlen's Field. "It's opening day! It's an American Icon!" he pulled three tickets out of his pocket and handed one each to Lucy and Andi. "We're playing hooky to watch the Buffalo Bisons play the Toledo Mudhens!"

"Toledo what?"

"The mudhens!" said Lucy with a huge smile. "They were Klinger's favorite team on M*A*S*H!"

"I need to get back to work," muttered Andi, as Paul pulled her to the entry gate.

"Come on, this is AMERICA!"

"AMERICA!" a few people in the crowd shouted.

"You people are crazy," said Andi.

"Of course!" said a happy-looking guy in line with them. "It's opening day!"

Soon they were in their seats. Andi had a big, ice cold NA beer and a giant Sahlen's hot dog and Lucy and Paul had the same, but with real ice cold Labatt's Blue beer. Soon, the teams stepped out onto the field and started to warm up. "Am I late?" asked Gus as he sat down next to Lucy.

"Right on time," she said, as she greeted Gus with a kiss.

"Pauvre Jean drives too slow," complained Macy as she and John sat down next to Paul. Soon it was time for the national anthem, and Andi was shocked to hear how loud the fans sang. All had their hands over their hearts except for the scattering of veterans like Paul and Gus, who gave a proper military salute. Being Opening Day, a flight of four C-130 cargo aircraft from the Air National Guard in Niagara Falls flew over the field in formation. The roar of their propellers shook the stadium. As they passed over the ball diamond, the #3 plane pulled up in a steep climb, and the announcer announced that the "the missing man formation" was for all those that died in service to their country. The cheer from the crowd was ear splitting.

During the anthem, Andi heard a sniff and turned, and behind them were Veronica von Köster and Josh Gravely. Next to them were Ayato and Julissa Tanaka. Josh, Ayato, and Julissa proudly saluting until the last note was finished.

"Hey kid," said Veronica as they sat down.

"You're in on this too?" asked Andi.

"It's Opening Day!" said Veronica. "And I never miss a Friday night game."

"Base Ball! Base Ball! Base Ball!" chanted the twins as Yi and Kenny took their seats in front of Paul and Andi. "Hi mommy!" said Madeline, and they sat down.

"I... I don't believe this," said Andi.

"It's Triple A Baseball, I couldn't say no to Yi," whispered Paul.

Andi watched in amazement as the game started. Minor League baseball in an NFL and NHL town, and the fans were crazy about it. Before she realized it, Andi was tracking the game along with Paul and Lucy and they taught her how to fill out a score card with their cryptic symbols. Sandy and Madeline occasionally climbed in her lap for a sip of NA beer (they love the stuff) and Andi felt the magic of the game wash over her. She cheered every hit and boo'd every bad call and all too soon she was singing her heart out.

Take me out to the ball game

Take me out to the crowd

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjack

I don't care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the home team

If they don't win, it's a shame

For it's one, two, three strikes

You're out at the old ballgame

Playing hooky from work to watch a baseball game! Andi was sure her trainee was in the crowd, too. For Andi, it was a perfect day, a perfect game and a perfect way to spend some time with her man, her lover, the father of her children, and her very best friend.