© 2026 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.

This is an all-new addition to the Stormwatch series. If you haven't read Stormwatch Chapter 1, through Stormwatch Chapter 16, please take this chance first. All chapters are listed in the correct reading order in the Stormwatch Series List. The Storm subseries of Chapters 13 thru 16 are 100% all new material.

For comments, questions, or merchandise, please contact the author.

Stormwatch Chapter 17

Nisi Arcadia

Chapter 01 - You Need a Vacation

Since seeing the Levesque family off at the airport, Josh had been in a deep blue funk. He couldn't get over the feeling that he completely failed. Then, on a cloudy, rainy day, Andi Jarecki, the mayor of Springville, sent him a text calling him into her office for a "Come to Mama" meeting. That's not how she worded it, but that's how Josh took it to read. "Please come to my office to discuss your current situation." The only situation he was aware of was the gut-wrenching loss of a friend he had never met.

"Okay, I'm heading out," said Josh as he pulled his coat on.

"You're leaving on time?" asked Terri. "Are you okay? Should I alert the media?"

"Just the press. We don't need camera crews here." Josh tugged up the zipper on his "Springville Gore-Tex" and left his work center in Andalon Data Systems and headed out the door that took him through the programmer's bullpen, past the salesmen who were either on the phone or bragging up their most recent sale to their co-workers, and over to the land of the Vice Presidents.

There, between the doors to the CEO's office and the door to the VP of Sales and Marketing's office, was Veronica's office. It looked like Anthony was playing with the automatic signs; the electronic sign next to her door listed her title as "Executive Assistant to the CEO of Adoption Advocates." He tapped on the open door and leaned against it. Veronica looked up from her work and when she noticed it was her husband who tapped on the door, she smiled. "Hey, you."

"Hey, you. Don't you work for Andalon anymore?"

"Huh? Oh, the sign. It changes back and forth now."

Josh looked again and the sign now listed her as "Executive Assistant to the CEO of Andalon Data Systems." He nodded and frowned. "When a particular VP sees that, he's going to want a flashy sign for himself."

"If he says something, I'll be sure to let you program it."

"Will do." There was a VP at Andalon who Josh would love to advertise as "VP of Miscalculation and Thumb Sucking." That was for Fabian Bernsdorf, who might have been overstating his qualifications.

"Do you have to dress like a hoodlum?" asked Veronica. She got up and tried to adjust Josh's jacket to look less "slummy." A Springville Gore-Tex is a zip-up hoodie with a western-style denim jacket worn over the hoodie. The two layers are usually warm enough for a Western New York winter and are perfect for tramping in the woods, but they are not something a manager in a multi-million-dollar business would wear. Then again, Josh isn't a manager. He's a sergeant.

"I'm heading out, can you get out of here?"

"I have calls to make," said Veronica. "I'll just get a ride from Paul when he heads home. He usually heads home at a reasonable time now."

"Mama Mayor wants to have a chat with me, so I'm going to see what she wants."

Veronica clutched his collar and pulled Josh in for a kiss. It was a sweet and decidedly hot kiss, much hotter than she normally would have kissed him while at work. In fact, she never would have done anything like this in front of an open doorway at work before they were married. He growled in his throat and clutched her shapely ass, dreaming of what they were going to be doing in just a few days. He had a quartet practice coming up and then it's off to the Bahamas for a honeymoon cruise on a private yacht!

"Ok, go see what Mama Mayor wants."

"Yes, dear," and with another kiss that was far too passionate for the workplace, Josh trudged out to the executive parking area. It was cold and sloppy weather, the kind of weather that caused Western New Yorkers to travel in droves to Florida, Arizona, and Las Vegas. He got into his Jeep Gladiator, fired it up, and put on the local classic rock station and headed south to Springville.

As he wheeled out of the parking lot, Anthony called Veronica into his office. Anthony was a short, slim, balding fellow with an incredible sense of humor, and a passionate love for Science Fiction. Autographed copies of sci-fi classics lined his bookshelves, and one shelf was enclosed in glass; and that's where his masterpieces were stored. The shelf held autographed first editions by Robert Heinlein, Poul Anderson, James Blish, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Theodor Sturgeon, and Fritz Leiber. Ant's masterpiece was framed on the wall, an autographed script from the sci-fi radio drama X Minus 1. It was his favorite Isaac Asimov story, Nightfall, and he was able to find a copy of the script autographed by the good doctor himself.

When Veronica entered the office, she found Ant on a stepstool with a Swiffer, dusting off his collection of starships that were hanging from the ceiling by fine wires. A small projector on his desk created a star field on the ceiling for the starships to navigate through. "Brushing off the stardust?" asked Veronica.

"You're in a good mood, I would have expected that from Josh," said Anthony as he reentered the atmosphere and touched down in his office and folded up the ladder. "Is he still in the building?"

"No, he has a meeting in Springville." Veronica looked through the office and said, "Why do you have a picture of Mister Chekov on the dart board and here you have a picture of you getting all huggy with Chekov at a convention."

"First of all, that's Chekov on the dartboard, at the convention that's Bester."

"Huh? It's the same guy."

Ant sighed and rolled his eyes. The nonbelievers would never understand, but he tried to explain. "The man behind the mask is Walter Koenig, but when in costume, he is the character. Chekov was the Star Trek equivalent of Davy Jones from The Monkees. On Babylon 5, Bester was a cruel bastard, but he was working for his people, and Koenig played him perfectly."

"Oh," said Veronica, understanding completely, but not understanding all the hullabaloo. "Do you need anything? I've got a briefing to write for tomorrow."

"Bellflower Medical Center. I want you to be the Program Manager." He handed Veronica a thick folder.

"Me? Why me?" She opened the folder and said, "Oh. Really? I get it, but why me?"

"You've been hounding me for a chance to manage an install ever since you took a class on program management. Now that you've married my top installer you lose your passion?" asked Anthony.

"No, it's just... this is awfully sudden. I understand that you want us to do this installation because we're going to be in Florida but it's a lot of work for a team of two."

"I will send a technician to assist. Get your hotel and vehicle reservations in now, before every yankee from New Jersey grabs everything."

"Yes sir." Veronica went back to her office and reviewed the information in the folder. Bellflower Medical Center was a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida with ties to North Forest Health Center, a hospital in Amherst, NY that absolutely loves Andalon's service. Anthony wants Josh to install a data system connection and set up their system to back up their data to Andalon's server farm where it will be securely stored in a former Nike missile site. If he's doing this to save money, he's not going to be successful. "This is my honeymoon," muttered Veronica under her breath. She's going to get a very nice hotel, and a very comfortable vehicle. She started making reservations when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Okay! The fast pack is on its way!" called Terri McCarthy as she plopped down in a chair.

Her boisterous announcement startled Veronica. "Pardon?"

"The fast pack. Switches, server, router, everything we need for Belview."

"Bellflower. Belview is a mental hospital."

"Oh, I was hoping this would be fun. I'll have to find other entertainment."

Veronica's jaw dropped. "Don't tell me..."

"Yep! I'm going to be your technician." Terri put her feet up in another chair. "I want a single with a king-size bed, poolside please. And I expect a proper breakfast, not cold scrambled eggs. For a car I want..."

"I'm getting a large suite where you and Josh can work on the server and cook meals. And there's going to be one vehicle."

"So I have to spend a week listening to you and Josh boning in the next room?"

"I'll try to get poolside."

"Well then, I want at least business class when I fly down..."

"Steerage."

"You're cold. You and Josh make a perfect couple."

"Who chose you to be the technician on this trip?"

"Oh... what's-his-fuck. Josh's buddy... Bernsdork."

"Bernsdorf," said Veronica. Fabian Bernsdorf was a vice-president, so he should get some measure of respect, even though he doesn't earn it.

"Yeah, him. He's so stupid. He thinks Josh and I hate each other because we're always clowning on each other. I'm thinking he's sending me instead of a field tech because he thinks Josh and I are going to be fighting and ruin the install."

"You and Josh will not fight with me running this install," said Veronica without looking up from her laptop. There was iron in her voice.

"Damn skippy!" said Terri cheerfully as she inspected several ornate containers on Veronica's desk looking for candy. "Josh and I always work well together. Bernsdork thought he was tanking this install. Instead he sent his A-Team and didn't know it."

"I'll get you down there a day or two early so you can get acclimated and ensure the fast pack made it. You will pick us up here." She handed Terri a slip of paper with the address on it.

"That's Jupiter, Florida! We're working in Jacksonville; it's like a thousand miles away. Just fly me to West Palm Beach and I'll pick you up from Jupiter on my way to Jax."

"Good idea. Bring a bathing suit. The twins will want to show you their pool."

"The twins?" Terri groaned, "Oh no," inwardly. The twins love her, but they're so active. They wear her out.

<><><><><>

Josh pulled into a parking spot behind the village hall where Mayor Andi had her office. She was more of a work-from-home kind of mayor, but the previous mayor was only in office for nine months and destroyed the budget, ruined village services, ignored the village constitution, hired a slew of people that were not included in the village budget, and created an illegal police force. That's not to mention two counts of murder that he (allegedly) committed.

He entered the village hall from the rear entrance and headed for Andi's office. The Springville Village Hall was an old Greek Revival-style edifice built in 1900 of solid Western New York red clay brick with tall windows and columns on the front façade. The interior reminded Josh of a scary gothic nun's convent he once visited. Dark Gothic wood paneling, with just enough light to keep you from slamming into the walls. The ceilings were high and above each tall door was a transom window. There was a lot of frosted glass transferring light from the offices to the hallway. If the building was designed to inspire a feeling of terrified awe in visitors, the goal was reached admirably.

Josh entered the Mayor's outer office and was met by Kathy Hansen, the secretary of the church board. Kathy was a woman in her early sixties but still had natural jet-black hair that she keeps straight and long. Her husband was a farmer on the edge of town and she and her husband have served Springville Congregational Church and the village as a whole for decades. She was a forensic accountant by trade and was hired by Paul Jarecki to dig into the problems the previous mayor created. The moment she found wrong-doing, she started working for the town attorney for the Town of Concord. She acted as the mayor's secretary even though Andi doesn't need a secretary, but the position gave Kathy access to everything without needing a warrant. "Hey Kath," said Josh. "Is the boss in?"

"She's waiting for you in the briefing room," and Kathy got up and led Josh into the briefing room adjacent to the mayor's office. She tapped on the door and opened it a crack. "Madam Mayor, Mister Gravely-von Köster is here."

"Yes, please, send him in."

Josh entered the briefing room where Andi was seated at the head of a long briefing table. She was typing on a laptop while referring to papers stacked up on her right. She gestured to the seat at her left and said, "Sorry, I need to finish this. I'll be right with you." Andi was normally a cheery-looking woman no matter the trials she faced, and being a single mother with twin girls was a huge trial for her. Now financially secure, with all the help she'd ever need at home, she allowed her mind to dig into the serious problems that the village was left with.

Josh looked around the room. The lighting was dim, but each seated position had a small reading lamp for the seat's occupant. The walls were covered with huge framed maps of Erie County, the Town of Concord, and the village of Springville. There were several maps of Springville, one traced the water system, sewage system, and the storm drains. Another showed needed maintenance on roads, another was a zoning map that had various hand-drawn corrections. It was clear that map was drawn up by Mayor Windecker without the authorization of the village zoning board. Another map showed police districts for the Springville Park Police, an illegal police department that Mayor Windecker created. It was clear that Mayor Andi had a huge mess to clean up.

"Be right with you," she said again and she reached out and tapped her conference phone. The phone dialed, and a familiar voice answered, saying, "Breski, Smith, and Lenox."

"Oh no," groaned Josh.

"Doctor Lenox, please," said Andi as she folded up her laptop and stacked her papers on top of it.

"Doctor Lenox."

"Oh no," groaned Josh again.

"Helen, it's Andi Jarecki. I tracked him down and he's right here and he's not going to run off this time."

"Thank you, Andi," said Helen. Doctor Lenox was a psychologist that specializes in combat-onset PTSD. She's been dealing with Josh since his PTSD overwhelmed him in the recent past and he was lost in a tangle of emotions that he couldn't fight his way out of.

Andi rose, collected her papers and laptop, and then gave Josh a kiss on the cheek and said, "I'll be right next door if you need to talk." She went through the connecting door to her office leaving Josh alone with Helen on the speakerphone.

"Josh, you know we need to talk. Don't hold it against Veronica or Andi, they love you and worry about you."

"I know, I know..."

"Let's start with the six-hundred-pound gorilla in the room. How do you know Air Force Captain Dennis Howe?"

Suddenly Josh found himself falling backward through his memories. Dennis had been the primary object of his thoughts for weeks ever since he found that arm sticking up through a snow drift... what caused him to go down that road? He almost never goes that way home, especially not on snow-covered roads. Slowly the facts about Dennis came to light and Josh discovered Dennis's past, his history as an "Eagle Driver," wing-man to the deceased wife of his friend and neighbor, and father of Cholly, the cute, terrified little boy. "He's..." Josh felt tears burning his eyes as he pictured Samael Windecker executing Dennis for the fun of it. "He's my brother," said Josh out loud for the first time.

Suddenly the true horror of what happened washed over Josh. Another veteran he couldn't save, another life destroyed because he couldn't get to Dennis in time. "I should have been there. I could have stopped it."

How do you tell someone who feels so deeply about someone that their thoughts are completely irrational? Josh didn't know anything about Dennis, they never met, and Paul never spoke of him. However, hoping to find a notebook that Josh found first, a corrupt FBI agent planted Dennis and his little family in the den of a lion. Josh is often on fragile territory due to his career in the Air Force, which he once described as "Standing still in an empty sky, daring anyone to shoot me down." Someone finally took him up on that challenge and the world he spent years ignoring started tumbling in on him.

"Josh, your feelings toward Dennis are admirable. The bad people of this world acted before you could. The only thing we can do now is try to prevent this from happening again."

"Cholly..." gasped Josh through his tears.

"What about Cholly, Josh?" asked Helen.

"Sometimes... sometimes he looks at me... so lost and confused... it's my fault and it tears me apart. I don't know how John and Macy deal with it..."

"That's obviously their burden to carry. Josh, you've done everything you could do as an absentee brother to Dennis. You care for his child; you have seen to it that he is memorialized; you helped his in-laws, and you tracked down his murderer. You did everything a brother could do. It's time to take care of yourself."

"I don't know what to do."

"You need a vacation. When's the last time it was just you and Veronica? Why don't you take her into town tonight for a nice dinner, then go to the Sea and Ski shop and find her a nice bathing suit for your trip."

"We've been wanting to try the Eagle House in Williamsville..."

"Try the Old Orchard Inn, it's on your way in East Aurora. Their pot pie is to die for."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 02 - Preparing to Launch

The last practice before Veronica and Josh's honeymoon was being held in a church in North East, Pennsylvania. North East Pennsylvania is a tiny village in the extreme northwest corner of Pennsylvania, a mile from the New York state line. The trip there was just over an hour for Josh and Veronica, through the beautiful farmland of Western New York. They rode into North East with Julisa Tanaka, and Paul and Andi Jarecki. Billy Dubois and his wife Stéphanie were headed in from Williamsville also. Billy was interested in barbershop and wanted to learn more about it.

It was still late in the winter, and snow covered the villages of Collins, Fredonia, and Westfield, and Veronica wondered what the villages looked like during the height of the Christmas season. They had fallen in love with driving through the small villages to look at the Christmas light displays.

The church was warm, and the room they were practicing in was large and had good acoustics. Several people from the church were there to listen and as long as they didn't interfere, there was no problem. However, this week, Billy Dubois, the band leader of the Bill Dubois Project, was there to listen and learn about Barbershop Harmony and everyone wanted to meet and talk with him.

Josh and Julissa got the quartet separated from the crowd and went through their pre-practice greetings. "I hate to say it, guys, but it will be another week before we return from Florida," said Josh.

"Oh? You intend to take a short three hour tour?" asked Alex Rodriguez. He was implying a shipwreck like the one on Gilligan's Island.

"No, I will actually be working. Andalon is adding a Jacksonville hospital to their network. As soon as we get back to Florida from our honeymoon, Veronica becomes the project manager, and I get to show her my mad skills with a screwdriver."

"She's going to be on top, eh?" snickered Dan Griffith.

"He likes it when I'm on top!" called Veronica from the table where the Country Girls were sitting. Her remark caused the Country Girls to laugh and turn to their guests and say, "She's not always like that."

"I like this group," whispered Andi Jarecki to her husband Paul. "You should sing so I can hang out here with them."

"You don't want me to sing," replied Paul. "You really, really don't."

"She's just excited to get on with her honeymoon," said their other guest, Stéphanie Dubois. "I know I was."

"Where did you go?" asked Judy Griffith, wife of the quartet's baritone, Dan.

"Anywhere the band didn't go," said Stéphanie with a sigh. "Actually, we went to Rome and got to speak with the pope. I know what you girls go through, but our band can be up to thirty musicians when we're at full size, so I wanted to go far away!"

"Ugh, I couldn't handle something like that," said Judy, who was notoriously shy.

"I'd love that!" said Mary Beth Kraus. She was married to the bass, Gene, and was a barbershop singer herself. She was a happy, boisterous girl who loved parties and get-togethers.

After the opening chit-chat, Julissa ran the guys through their warm-ups which were several old songs that the guys had been singing since day one as barbershoppers. Songs like I Want A Girl and Goodbye my Coney Island Baby and Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

"Are you ready to do Wednesday, guys?" asked Julissa after warm-ups were complete.

"I think we are," said Josh. As the lead, he had his ear on the guys' singing and their mood.

"What's Wednesday?" asked the other guest, Billy Dubois, who had been silent until that point.

"Wednesday is the first night of the competition. The top twenty move on to semifinals on Thursday, and the top ten move on to finals Saturday afternoon. Everyone sings two songs for each competition so each quartet must have six contest-ready songs."

There were a dozen or so chairs set up for an audience, and the Country Girls moved to the front rows of chairs and sat down in a specific order. They were joined by Andi, Paul, Billy, and Stéphanie. The quartet was off to the side whispering encouragement to each other. This was the first time they had ever sung these songs in front of an audience and they were worked up. They were both nervous and excited, and they were leaning on each other for support. Julissa joined them and was glad to see them leaning on each other. It was a sign that they were becoming a tight-knit team. She gave them some last moment advice that was clearly obscene. It got them laughing and settled their nerves. Then she called for quiet and blew a single note on her pitch pipe and waited for all the guys to nod. They had their note.

It was show time.

Alex Rodrigues led the quartet out of their huddle like they were walking onto a stage and they lined up in front of the dozen viewers and Dan Griffith stepped forward. Dan had an amazing speaking voice and he was the quartet's spokesman. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your warm welcome. We are the Country Roads... We're a bit hilly, a bit rough, but you can take us home..." Gene and Alex pulled folded pages from under their jackets and started swatting Dan while Josh stood unaffected by the mayhem. His continued smiling caused more laughter than the guys swatting Dan. Finally, they lined up and they began to sing:

Dance with me, I want to be your partner, can't you see? The music gets me starting...

They sang their version of the Orleans hit Dance With Me. At first they were soft and pensive until they neared the end of the song, and picked up the tempo and had a broad, cheery delivery. The final tag rang through the church, the harmonics of the chord creating that famous Barbershop Fifth Singer. They had their small audience clapping happily at the end. Even Bill Dubois, who was famously stoic when listening to an act for the first time, nodded in approval and clapped.

When the audience was settled, Josh pulled a few pages of notebook paper out of his jacket and swatted Dan, then went back to his pleasant smile. Dan returned to his job introducing the songs but he was keeping an eye on Josh, acting scared that Josh might swat him again. "We couldn't be here if it wasn't for our wives, the Country Girls. Hope, Judy, Veronica, and Mary Beth, thank you so much for this chance to praise you in public."

Andi and Stéphanie realized why the Country Girls lined up like they did. When the quartet sang, they were looking straight into the eyes of their number one fans, their wifes. Then Josh led them into their second song for Wednesday:

You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest... Like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain...

It was John Denver's love letter to his wife Annie, Annie's Song. It started so simply, tight harmonies, everyone on key. Then as they sang it swelled, their chords were broader, bolder. It sounded like the tenor, Alex, and the baritone, Dan, were swirling around Josh's simple, clean melody, and Gene, the bass, kept a gentle bass rhythm that tied the entire piece together. Several lines were added. That happens--quartets will flesh out songs so they would last longer on stage. But then the guys reached out to their wives as they sang.

Your love is my keystone, my reason for singing... My Country Girl's blessing - is all that I ask...

They were all in tears after that, even Andi was tearing up. "You really need to sing," she whispered to Paul.

"I bought their tuxedos, isn't that enough?"

<><><><><>

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Let's go camping."

Audrey looked at Mike like he was crazy. "It's February! It's winter. You don't know what a Buffalo winter is like."

"Josh asked us to keep an eye on the cabins and chickens when everyone is roasting in Florida, so we might as well feed Tigger and spend a night or two in a cabin."

"What would we do there?"

Mike looked at Audrey, then back at the television. "We could do this."

Audrey looked at Mike, then back at the television. "This is nice." They were snuggling together under a warm quilt watching a western on the television. "There's no electricity at your cabin."

"Don't want any. A transistor radio is fine."

"A what?"

Mike looked at Audrey in surprise. "It's what we used to call a portable radio."

"Oh."

Mike settled back and dreamed of a summer weekend in the cabin. He would fill his time with fishing and hiking. The idea of seeing Audrey in a bikini was also foremost in his mind. He didn't realize that Audrey's plans were similar but also included sunbathing in the nude. They were watching Stagecoach but their thoughts were in a peaceful green forest just a couple of miles away. Then Audrey said, "Why?"

"Well, John Wayne is the Ringo Kid, but he's trying to find the men who murdered his family..."

"No. Why did you call them transistor radios and portable radios?"

"To distinguish them from tube radios."

"Oh." She was silent for a long time, then came the inevitable question. "What's a tube radio?"

"The early radios had vacuum tubes that would amplify a weak radio signal and make it stronger. They looked like tube-shaped light bulbs and were big. When you turned on the radio, you had to wait for the tubes to warm up before you could hear something. Very tiny transistors replaced tubes, so radios could be made tiny. Before that, radios were big. They were a piece of furniture in the house."

"It's just radio," said Audrey. "What's the big deal?"

Mike took out his phone and opened an app. "Our movie is over, what would you like to experience? Sci-Fi? Game Show? Comedy? Mystery? Drama? Soap Opera?"

"Comedy."

"Variety or sitcom?"

"Variety."

Mike turned off the TV, then paired his phone to the sound bar and hit play. "It's the Jell-O Program starring Jack Benny!" Then a trio sang the Jell-O jingle. "Jay-Ee-El-El-OHHHH!" Audrey wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but when Rochester started the car and drove Jack and Mary Livingstone to Gary Cooper's house, she was hooked.

"Here's one to listen to around the campfire." Mike switched to another program then turned out the lights. In the dark room, Orson Wells played Lamont Cranston in The Death House Rescue, the official first episode of The Shadow. From those chilling words--"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"--Audrey was addicted. Paul Gordon was wrongfully accused of murder and The Shadow used his mysterious power to cloud the minds of men to prove Paul's innocence. Would he be successful? Would the governor be convinced in time to halt Paul's execution?

"Wow!" said Audrey as the episode came to an end. "I thought it was going to be corny, but it was incredible!"

"A lot of radio shows were corny, some were very silly; but others were amazing."

"I could see the whole story!" said Audrey.

Mike nodded in agreement. "When you watch TV, you can do other things, but with radio you have to concentrate on the program. We lost a lot when TV took over."

Audrey smiled and imagined what it would be like in the cabin, with a fire in the fireplace, and a scary story on the radio while she cuddled with Mike. "We should go camping."

Mike patted Audrey's thigh under the warm quilt and thought, She likes camping, and she likes old-time radio. I must have done something right.

<><><><><>

"Who is going to watch Jolie?" whined Madeline.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Mike and Audrey," said Yi for what seemed like the fifteenth time.

"Grandma?" demanded Sandy. "Do they know how to feed dogs?"

"They said they will watch Jolie, Chiot, and Wonka, so I hope they do," said Yi as she packed the twins' suitcase. "Can you give me that stack of underwear over there, honey?" and she pointed to a stack of tiny panties on the edge of the bed. Kenny handed her the stack, then returned to folding tiny t-shirts.

"This is a lot of clothes."

"These two can go through all of this in one day."

"I'm just gonna wear my 'kinni!" said Sandi proudly. Her mother let her pick out her favorite bathing suit all by herself.

"That reminds me. Off with the flip-flops. We have to pack them too."

"Aw!" The twins sat on the floor and rolled onto their backs then held their feet up in the air. Yi plucked the brightly colored sandals off their feet and packed them in the suitcase. "Do not lose these," scolded Yi. "The cement around the pool will get super-hot and burn your feet."

"I'll just jump in the pool!" said Sandy.

"Me too," agreed Madeline.

"Not unless Uncle John or Aunt Macy is right there with you."

"Mommy said that the pool is only toe deep in the shallow end."

"I know you two," scolded Yi. "If you stick a toe in the water, you'll be in over your head in minutes."

"Unka John says he's going to teach us to dive offa the rocks!" said Madeline. They were going to stay at the Jupiter House, a property their grandfather, Cecil Jarecki, bought before he died. Paul and John have been using it for a vacation home and a short-term rental. Recently Paul installed a fancy swimming pool with rock walls, grottos, and a lazy river.

"Those rocks are over ten feet above the pool," warned Kenny as he handed another stack of laundry to Yi to pack.

"Feet aren't big," said Sandy, holding a bare foot up.

Kenny scooped her up and held her by the waist high above his head. Her head was just inches below the ceiling fan. "That's about ten feet from the floor."

Sandy giggled and said, "I can see Danny from up here!" She pointed down to his cradle where he slept.

"I told you, it doesn't work on them," groaned Yi.

"ME! ME NEXT!" cried Madeline as she hopped up and down next to Kenny.

"I tried to warn you."

"Yes, you did," said Kenny as he set Sandy down then hoisted Madeline over his head.

"I can fly!"

"You guys should make sure that Jolie isn't sad," said Yi. "If you play with her a lot she won't be lonely when you're gone."

"I think I can hear her crying," added Kenny.

"JOLIE!" cried the twins as they raced down the stairs to the library where Jolie's crate was located.

"And this is for you," said Yi when the twins had left. She handed Kenny a white polo shirt with blue trim and on the upper left breast an embroidered drawing of the boat and under it, in script, it said, "Andi's Dream Crew."

"I'm part of the dream crew?"

"Absolutely." Yi wrapped her arms around Kenny and pulled him close. "You are my dream team." He was taller than she was and she had to crane her neck for the kiss she had been waiting for all evening. When their lips parted, Kenny began nibbling at Yi's neck. If he kept that up, she was going to have to lock the bedroom door so the twins didn't walk in and get an early education.

"Besides serving food, what are my duties?"

"Everything." She cursed under her breath. He knew all her trigger spots and he could have her on her knees, yanking his trousers down with little effort. She eventually had to push him away before she began pulling her own trousers off. "You'll be dishwasher, bartender, maid, laundry, deckhand, longshoreman, and helmsman. You'll also be assisting me in the engine room and standing fire guard when we take on fuel. At least we get a nice room this time."

"Where do you usually stay?"

"Down by the engines. There's a room down there that holds the fishing gear." She turned to her desk and there was a thick, loose leaf folder. "See, down here. But now we get this room." She flipped to another page that showed the layout below deck. "This is the master suite, Andi's friends from Minnesota will stay there. The suite in the bow, that's for Josh and Veronica. This tiny room here with Pullman bunks are for the kids if they're aboard, and we're going to be in this room."

"Twin beds?" groaned a disappointed Kenny.

"Silly, the beds push together." She closed up the book and put it on top of her suitcase. "Sounds like they're here." They went downstairs and sure enough, Andi's parents Harold and Heather Driscoll, were at the door being greeted by the twins and the big furball Jolie, and behind them were Mike von Köster and Audrey Mitchell. The two couples were being briefed by the twins on how they demanded their puppy be cared for.

"Thank you all for coming, our ride will be here soon, and we have to be in Orlando by sunup to get the boat ready," said Yi. "Grandma, grandpa, this is Mike von Köster. He's Veronica's dad. And Audrey is his nurse." As the two couples shook hands, Yi said, "Grandpa, watch out for them. Veronica tells me they're sharks at pinochle."

"Oh? We might have to see about that," chuckled Harold. "Do you play single deck? Double deck?"

"Either, and she's a demon at rook," said Mike.

"I haven't played rook in ages!" gushed Heather. "We must play!"

"The Jareckis will be home by midnight," said Yi. "Danny is snoozing in my room. The twins' suitcase is packed and I stacked it with Paul and Andi's bags. They still need a toy bag for the flight."

There was the sound of a car horn from outside and Kenny peered out the window. "That's our ride, honey." He got Yi's jacket off the hook in the mudroom and held it open for her to put on.

"Is there anything you need?" asked Yi. "There's enough dog food to feed an entire pack of wolves." Just then, the chocolate Lab Wonka and the black puffball Jolie trotted into the kitchen.

"When does Andi's flight leave?"

"Anytime they want. Paul hired a private jet." Yi hugged the Driscolls and Mike goodbye. When she hugged Audrey, she whispered into the nurse's ear, "Good luck with Mike."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 03 - Trip to Jupiter

Yi and Kenny were airborne and on their way to Orlando. Yi was sleeping, but Kenny was studying the book about Andi's boat. The seventy-two-foot Riviera Sports Motor Yacht advertised four cabins, but when you added the crew quarters and the flying bridge, it was six. He studied the motor start checklist because he knew Yi had a degree in mechanics and was a rated marine mechanic. Paul once mentioned that Yi's dad called her "Scottie" like the chief engineer on Star Trek because she was that good.

Kenny once asked her how she could do it all: a chef trained at the culinary institute, a master marine mechanic, executive chef and governess to three kids. She said, "I was killing time until you finally appeared." He studied hard because he didn't want to disappoint Yi.

When they landed in Orlando it was still dark. The airport was beyond belief for Kenny. He thought he was in a huge airport, but when they got on a train he realized they were just in a terminal that was a small part of the overall airport. In the main terminal building there were shops, restaurants, and services, five floors of hotel rooms towering above them, and all the Disney items you could want. Kenny was getting hungry, but unfortunately the only thing open was Chick-fil-A and McDonald's. The line for Chick-fil-A was huge, while there was no waiting at McDonald's. They had to get going so they stepped up to McDonalds. "Chick-fil-A must be real popular, down here," said Kenny.

"What-do-ya-want?" demanded the clerk at the McDonald's counter.

"That's exactly why," said Yi. They got their food and headed for baggage pickup. "Chick-fil-A discovered that saying "yes ma'am," and "yes sir," and "thank you," and "have a good day" really drives sales."

They picked up their luggage and Yi led Kenny outside to await their ride. There were palm trees and palmetto bushes outside and Kenny thought he was in a tropical paradise. "Wait until you see Hawaii," said Yi.

"Hawaii? Wha...?" Kenny was confused. None of their conversations ever mentioned Hawaii.

"Our honeymoon! Where would you rather go? Hawaii or New Caledonia? Andi is giving us air fare as a thank you present."

"New Caledonia? Where did this come from?"

"Cholly's grandfather, Pierre, invited us to stay at his guest cabin in New Caledonia. Personally I'd rather go there." She showed him the pictures Pierre had sent of his backyard. It was a traditional Japanese garden with streams and koi ponds, and all forms of blossoming flowers. "See? A traditional Japanese kotēji, a little cottage."

Kenny looked at the simple cottage with sliding panels on the walls, a wooden porch all around, a path made of flagstone that led to the door. The whole cottage was surrounded by a pond with lily pads and koi fish. "A cottage with paper walls? The way you scream?"

"The way YOU make me scream."

"I like New Caledonia."

"Get your passport and arrange a date with Pastor John. I told Pierre we'd be there in December."

"Am I getting married or shanghaied?" asked a stunned Kenny.

"Hey! I warned you about using racist language like that!"

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"No, you didn't."

"I was going to... here's Mom."

A white van marked "Cocoa Beach Marina" pulled up and a short, middle-aged Korean woman hopped out of the driver's seat and ran up to the couple.

"Kennnyyyy!" she cried, hugging Kenny and ignoring Yi. It was Yi's mom, Sung-mi Carlsen. She had met Kenny before, but she hadn't seen him since he proposed to Yi. "Je ttal-eul jeongsig-eulo anaelo maj-ajusyeoseo jeongmal gippeubnida!" she cried in rapid fire Korean while she hugged Kenny.

Kenny looked at Yi and asked, "What did she say?"

"She uh... she said she's happy to see you."

"Is that true, ma'am?"

"Not even close. I'm so happy for you two. And you look like you're ready to captain a charter yacht!"

"Something else I haven't been consulted on?"

"Yep!" said Yi proudly as she hoisted the baggage onto the van. She hugged Kenny and said, "Just pipe dreams. Your mom mentioned that your dad was thinking of selling the feed store. If that happened, and if you had a Coast Guard charter license, Paul would hire us to run Andi's dream on charter voyages."

Kenny's heart sank; he knew that his dad wanted to sell the feed store, but he grew up in that store. He busted his ass to help his father pay off the mortgage, he gave up a military career for that store, he added a sporting goods section and it was doing well. True, only during hunting season was it doing well. Talk of selling the store still broke his heart but it was his dad's store, not his.

They got in the van, and Kenny was sitting in the front next to Sung-mi so they could talk. "What did you say to Yi when you picked us up?"

"She said 'thank you for making an honest woman of my daughter,'" said Yi from the back seat. Then she said, "Did you see the look on that woman's face when I warned you about using racist language?"

"I thought she was going to hit me," said Kenny. "She was looking at me like, You're so evil!"

Yi giggled, so did Kenny, but her mother, Sung, who was known as Sunny to Paul and Andi, said in her clipped Korean accent, "You need to watch that. You can do it in small town and everyone knows you are having fun. There lot of people here that do not understand fun. She could call police and charge Kenny with assault."

"Even in Orlando?" asked Yi in surprise.

"Many out of towners." Sung pulled a thermos from under her seat and handed it back to Yi. "Here. Good coffee." She passed back to Yi a small yellow box with a cup of coffee on the cover and what Kenny recognized as Korean letters.

"Oh thank you eomma!" The box was full of tube-shaped packets of Korean instant coffee and the thermos was filled with hot water. Yi had finished her fast-food coffee and made a cup of Maxim Mocha Gold. "Please Kenny, don't tell anyone about this."

"About what?"

"A coffee snob like me drinking instant coffee."

Kenny had finished his coffee, so he poured two packets into his empty cup like Yi did, then poured in the hot water, stirred it up, then sipped. "It has cream and sugar in it?"

"Yeah," sighed Yi as she sipped the flavor of home.

Kenny followed Yi's lead and stirred hot water into two packets of instant coffee and found that the coffee had cream and sugar already included. "This is nice," said Kenny. "Sometimes I like cream and sugar but I don't go through getting the cream out and mixing it up so I settle for black."

"Black coffee uncultured, lazy," said Sunny.

<><><><><>

The sun was coming up when they wheeled into the Cocoa Beach Marina. Sunny returned the van to the Marina office and they carried their luggage to the fuel dock where Andi's Dream sat, taking on her full load of 2,650 gallons of diesel. "It's beautiful!" gasped Kenny as he gazed at the lines of the yacht.

"SHE'S beautiful!" insisted Yi. "A boat like Andi's Dream is a lady, never misgender her."

"She is gorgeous," gasped Kenny.

"Kenny! How ya doing?" said Yi's father. He had just completed the fuel-up and was inspecting the area for any fuel leaks.

"Overwhelmed. She's incredible."

"I've been skipper on this sweet girl for a year and I've loved every mile." He slapped Kenny on the back and said, "Training starts now. Yi, hop to the engines, let's get this girl running. Kenny, step ashore and when I call to cast off, you cast off lines fore and aft, then hop aboard, stow the fenders and lines then get up to the bridge."

"Aye, aye, sir."

Stan nodded with a smile. "Step to. Sunny will show you how it's done."

Kenny looked around for Yi but she had already disappeared down into the engine space. Kenny stepped back onto the marina pier and stood, feeling useless, when suddenly Andi's Dream came to life. That throaty, powerful sound of a MAN diesel purring at idle filled the air; then it was joined by a second MAN diesel engine. Stan was up in the flybridge, three stories up, talking on the radio. Finally he leaned out the window and said, "Cast off marina power."

Sunny showed Kenny where the power control box was at the stern of Andi's Dream. He had to shut off a large pair of circuit breakers, then disconnect a power line that went from the dock to the boat,supplying Andi's Dream with "hotel power" while at the pier. "Power cord disconnected and stowed!" called Kenny.

"Cast off all lines fore and aft."

"Fore lines first," said Sunny, so Kenny ran the seventy feet to the bow, cast off the lines and tossed them to Sunny, then ran seventy feet back to the stern. After casting off the stern lines he stepped aboard the boat that was already starting to move, and closed the gunwale transom. He joined Sunny in stowing the fenders, the cushions that hung on ropes and protected Andi's Dream from being hit by the pier.

"How do I get to the bridge?"

"Dressed first," insisted Sunny and she led Kenny down to their compartment where Yi was pulling on her Andi's Dream polo shirt. She had a white bikini on under the shirt. "Here, best shorts to wear." She handed Kenny a pair of white swimming trunks to wear with the white polo shirt.

"Mom, no free shows!" said Yi and she closed the cabin door. Then she turned to kiss Kenny. "Overwhelmed?"

"Yeah, kinda, but it's cool."

"Ok, get up to the bridge, I have to inventory the kitchen. We may have to go shopping when we hit Jupiter."

"How do I get up there?" asked Kenny as he pulled on the white swim trunks with blue piping.

"Just come up to the galley when you're dressed."

"I will," said Kenny. He hurried to get dressed, but there was so much to see. The VIP suite at the very bow, the master suite behind their cabin, the twins' nest with the bunk beds. He followed a narrow corridor aft and found the crew quarters, an incredibly tight cabin with fold-down bunks. Currently there were several fishing rods and other equipment stored in there. Next to that was a small toilet, and an apartment-size washer and dryer. He climbed a staircase and found himself on the aft deck where he first got on the boat. They were moving slowly and silently through the marina. He climbed another staircase to a dining area next to the galley.

"You took the grand tour," said Yi, from behind a stack of food items she had piled up on the galley counter. "Come around the galley. There's a staircase behind me." She pointed to a corner behind the galley and Kenny found a huge grand staircase leading upstairs. Up there was a large comfortable apartment with the helm controls in the center.

"Welcome aboard," said Stan. He was using a joystick control to move the large boat through the maze that was the marina.

"This is amazing," said Kenny as he looked around in wonder.

"You're going to know what everything here is and does," said Stan. "Mister Jarecki has a Coast Guard rating to operating this boat, but he may need help, so you will be the help."

"I? Me? I don't..."

"First you need to get to the aft helm and keep an eye on the stern. If we get close on the port side call out "Port!" If the starboard side gets close, call out "Starboard!""

"How close is close?"

"Close enough to be expensive. Now go."

Kenny found himself on an open-air patio with dining table on the starboard side, and a stand-up helm on the port side. The helm had throttle controls, a wheel, a large digital screen showing digital gauges which all seemed like Greek to Kenny. He stood and watched the stern of the boat as they threaded through the marina and only once did he have to call out starboard. "Watch the stern, I'm extending the swimming ramp," called Stan. Kenny watched and a teak wooden ramp extended from the stern almost six feet.

"It's out," called Kenny. Then he watched it lower into the water about three feet, then rise up about a foot out of the water.

"Come on up front," called Stan and Kenny returned to the helm and sat down in a big, comfortable chair to the left of Stan's seat. "Normally when we get to a port before we dock we take the zodiac off the foredeck and lash it down to the swimming deck."

"What if you want to go swimming?"

Stan looked at him with a good-natured grin. "If you're in port, you use the zodiac to go to a proper beach. Now, Army boy, let's see if you can navigate on the water."

"Shouldn't be too hard, they let the Air Force do it."

Stan laughed and gave Kenny an elbow in the ribs, then handed him a huge, thick manual. "Here is your bible. You have six hours to learn this boat from stem to stern." For the next thirty minutes, Stan grilled Kenny on boating in congested water. Even though the sun had just came up and there were no other boats on the water, Stan had Kenny learn the rules of the water. Yielding the right of way, following marker buoys, no wake zones. He had a couple little toy boats and set them on a tray and asked Kenny which boat would have the right of way, and in most cases the rule was yield to the vessel on the right. That wasn't always the case. Differing vessels--power boat, sailboat--all had different rules.

<><><><><>

"How are you guys doing?" asked Yi as she brought sandwiches up to the helm.

"Quite well, actually," came a voice behind her. She turned around and her dad was relaxing on the flying bridge outdoor café table reading a magazine and sipping an iced drink.

"What are you doing lounging outside while Kenny is operating the boat without a license?"

"Training him." Stan turned a page and took another sip from his drink. Angrily Yi put the sandwich in front of her father then put a paper umbrella in his drink. She knows how much he hated paper umbrellas. Stan ignored that and checked his iPad again and called out, "We're good!"

"What's good?"

He pointed to the iPad; it showed their location on a map. "We're outside the exclusion area. We're going to pause here for a bit before heading south." He put his cell phone on the table and opened YouTube to one of several space flight live feeds he watches.

"We're stopping to watch a rocket?"

"It's training on setting up station keeping. Besides, it's not just a rocket; it's a Starship Heavy."

"How's that?" shouted Kenny from the helm.

"Perfect, take a break and take my daughter swimming. You have two minutes," shouted Stan.

Kenny hopped out of the captain's chair and peeled off his polo shirt. "Come on!"

"Your lunch!" protested Yi.

"Later. I've never seen a launch." They hurried down the stairs to the main deck, and dashed through the galley area down more stairs and out onto the cockpit, the deck where the fishing would happen. Yi peeled off her polo shirt and shorts to reveal her Andi's Dream white and blue bikini, then she led Kenny out onto the swimming platform off the stern. They sat with their feet dangling in the warm water, rubbing suntan lotion on each other. There were over a dozen other boats of all sizes holding in the same area, a Coast Guard cutter stood watch to insure no boat entered the exclusion zone.

"There!" shouted Yi and she pointed to a point of land in the northwest. There on the horizon grew a huge plume of white steam. A triple tongue of flame crept into the sky; the flame was so bright it was hard to watch. A Starship Super Heavy! The world's largest rocket crept into the sky, with two full size Falcon 9 boosters helping lift the load. It was lifting a load of fuel to high orbit for the upcoming Mars missions. It sailed high into the impossibly blue sky, arching to the southeast.

"Watch, watch now," said Yi. She scolded her father for stopping to watch a rocket launch but she was standing on the swim deck watching the massive triple rocket climb on a plume of fire and smoke. As it arched across the sky a terrifying roar filled the air.

"Holy crap is that the rocket?" shouted Kenny over the noise.

"Yeah! Cool, isn't it?" laughed Yi, "Now watch."

Far above them, the two spent Falcon 9 boosters fell away, then started their boost-back burn, shortly after that, the Superheavy booster started its own boost-back burn and suddenly there were tons of metal falling from the sky. "I see it! I see something coming down!" called Kenny. "There! I see all three boosters."

They watched in awe as the two Falcon Nine boosters dove for their landing spots while the Super Heavy dove straight back to the plume of smoke from the launch to where it would be caught by the chopsticks. Suddenly the sound of artillery filled the air as the sonic booms of the three boosters reached their ears. Not noticing the Coast Guard fast boat that was bearing down on them, Kenny scooped up Yi in his arms and jumped into the warm Atlantic Ocean.

As they splashed and played off the stern, the boat pulled up and called, "Prepare to be boarded for a safety inspection." They pulled up to the side transom and Sunny hurried down from the mezzanine to open the transom.

"DAVID! You have to stop doing that! You'll chase away customers!" scolded Sunny as her son Lieutenant David Carlson stepped aboard.

"Mom! You don't have any customers; I spoke with dad earlier."

"I know what you're here for," said Sunny and she handed Dave a plastic bag full of Korean walnut cookies. "Be sure to share them!"

"I will. Who's splashing with Yi?"

"That's your future brother-in-law, go introduce yourself and be nice!"

"You know me mom," said David. With the equipment he was wearing, he looked like a SWAT officer. He stepped onto the swimming deck and shouted, "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER?"

"That's my brother David," whispered Yi. "He's in his badass mood."

"We're swimming," said Kenny. "Care to join us?"

"Do you think you can make me join you?" growled David.

In answer, Kenny pulled himself out of the water. Ten years in the Army with three tours of the DMZ in Korea ensured that Kenny wasn't afraid of uniforms or officers. He stood, rearing up to his full height, and glared down at David. "Yes, I do."

David was shocked, Yi had told him that Kenny was big, but she never mentioned the muscles. A lifetime of hoisting fifty-pound bags of feed left Kenny with a broad, chiseled chest. "I'm sure you could," the lieutenant gulped. "Hi, I'm David Carlson."

"I'm Kenny Johnson. Us Norski's have to stick together, eh?"

"Ya, sure!" said the Asian lieutenant.

Just then Yi slipped out of the water and wrapped herself around Kenny. "Make a muscle, show him what a man looks like."

"Yi, stop. I'm trying to talk to your brother."

"Beat him up, show him he can't mess with us."

"Yi," groaned Kenny. He scooped up the beautiful, slim Asian girl and tossed her in the ocean.

"KENNY!" she shrieked.

"She's going to get you back for that," said David.

"Sometimes it's worth it."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 04 - Landing on Jupiter

Mayor Adrianna Jarecki had a huge stack of work that needed to get done before she left for her well-earned vacation. She and the president of the village board, Dale Miller, were fussing with Zane Davidson, the head of the Village Planning Board, and Eugene Speckmann, the head of the Village Zoning Board. "How did these parking lots get built? Who owns that land?" demanded Andi.

"The village owned that land. It was sold to Davidson's Home Warehouse and Roebucks Wholesale," said Dale. Those were both big box stores that the tiny village did not want, except out on the frontage road. Springville wanted locally owned businesses inside the village limits.

"Who voted for that sale?" demanded Andi, but Dale sadly shook his head.

"There was no vote. Mayor Windecker, acting as a trusted agent for the village, sold the land under false pretenses."

"I suggest letting the Davidson's Home Warehouse build," said the village attorney, Chauncey Graydon.

"Don't you realize that the land was sold illegally?"

"True, but a legal battle could tie up this entire thing in court for years and cost us a fortune. Windecker probably salted that money away," said Chauncey. "However, if someone went to Eric Davidson and explained that he had been conned out of several million dollars, and the only way to get his money back would be to expose himself and his business dealings in court. However, if they would instead become stewards of village land, they could recoup their losses by building a recreation area. Maybe a driving range or a campground."

"How about a par three golf course?" said Gene Speckmann.

"That land slopes down toward upper Cattaraugus Creek. They could build a toboggan run through the woods. That would be more fun than Chestnut Ridge," gushed Zane Davison.

"Let's not get too worked up about spending other people's money," said Andi. She was about to say something else when the phone rang. It was the village clerk who acted as her secretary when she was in the office. "Yes, Anna?" The color drained out of Andi's face. "I'm on my way." She hung up and said, "I have a domestic emergency to take care of. Chauncey, can you go talk to Eric Davidson, give him the option to build something that makes him money but is not a big box store, or we'll eminent domain it out from under him, and he can sue Windecker all he wants." She folded up her laptop, shoved it in her briefcase, and left.

"Eminent domain?" said Dale Miller. "I like her."

Andi drove to the north end of Springville, all the while saying to herself, "Please let it be kindergarten, please let it be kindergarten." Zoar Academy advances students as they are capable. The twins were in third grade math, second grade English, science and social studies, and they spent the rest of the day in kindergarten socializing. Even though they were capable of third grade math, they're still six years old and small for their age. They looked tiny in Kindergarten and get called 'babies' by the other students. Yeah, that was it. They got into an argument in Kindergarten about their size again.

She parked in the front lot of Zoar Valley Academy and walked as quickly as she could up to the front door. As she approached the school, a large man was leading a very large boy out of the school. He was bigger than Andi, and his face was pretty bruised up. Andi pressed the doorbell.

"Yes?" came a voice on the intercom.

"I'm Doctor Jarecki, my office was called, something about my daughters being involved in a fight?"

"Yes, please come in." The door buzzed and the lock clicked, and the tiny, nervous doctor entered. "They are waiting for you in Doctor Seelman's office."

"Who?"

The receptionist looked apologetically at Andi. "After the kidnappings and attacks that happened in early January, Missus Kindl retired."

"She was only thirty-five."

"Yes. The new principal, Doctor Seelman is a bit more, um... combat ready. You know the way, right?"

"Only too well," said Andi. She walked down the hall to the principal's office, knocked on the door and was bidden to enter. Doctor Deloris Seelman was a six-foot-tall black woman who had pictures of herself in various Marine uniforms on the office walls. She was dressed in a typical business dress and had a very angry look on her face. Sandy and Madeline were sitting on chairs too big for them and the twins looked terrified. Andi sighed in relief. A fight in third grade could have killed her girls. Those kids were twice their size.

"It appears that we have an issue," said the Principal.

"It was Silvio!" shouted Sandy.

"He said we couldn't go to Jupiter!" whimpered Madeline.

"Shush, girls, I want to hear what Doctor Seelman has to say."

"She wasn't there; Mister Luke was!" said Sandy with an angry pout. That sent a chill down Andi's spine. Luke Lawson was their new math teacher in the third grade.

"Girls!" said Andi sternly. The twins sat down immediately.

Doctor Seelman said, "Missus Jarecki, it appears that we have an issue between Silvio Bradford and the twins, and they beat him severely."

"Where did this happen, Missus Seelman?"

The principal's brow lowered in anger. "It's Doctor Seelman, I earned my degree."

"As did I, in advanced pulmonology. A little professional courtesy would have started this conversation a little more easily."

"Mommy is a REAL doctor!" said Sandy.

"She's got the white coat and ear things!" added Madeline. Andi glared at Madeline, who misread her mother's anger. "I mean steffoscope. Sorry."

"Sit! Hush!" Then Andi turned back to Principal Seelman. "What happened, doctor?"

The Principal picked up a typewritten page from her desk and read. "It starts with Mister Lawson's accepting responsibility..." Andi gasped, Luke Lawson was their third grade teacher, those kids are twice their size. The principal continued. "He writes, 'As I assisted a student with a problem, a disagreement arose between Silvio Bradford and Madeline Jarecki. I looked up to see what was happening and saw Silvio slap Madeline hard enough to knock off her glasses. As I rose to discipline Silvio, Sandy Jarecki climbed up on her desk and dove off of the desk onto Silvio, knocking him back. Then both girls began a coordinated martial arts attack on Silvio, driving him to the front whiteboard. They stopped and apologized when I told them to, then I brought all three to the principal after taking Silvio and Madeline to the school nurse for bandages to his injuries and repairs to her glasses.'" Doctor Seelman paused and said, "Mister Lawson went on to describe the action as a scene from a Jackie Chan movie."

"Their governess loves Jackie Chan," said Andi.

"Does their governess teach martial arts?"

"Girls, wait out in the hallway. I need to talk to the principal about your behavior."

"Okay," groaned the twins, and they stepped outside.

Andi turned back to the principal and said, "Yes. Yi-jin teaches them martial arts. After moving to Western New York and joining a new family, it was a method of coping with all the changes. And when I was run over, then their father being kidnapped and people breaking into this school to do God knows what to them, Yi-jin's training has gotten more intense." Then something clicked. "Was Silvio that huge kid, bigger than me that just left?"

Principal Seelman nodded. It was clear that she was hiding a grin. "Yes."

"He looked like he got the tar kicked out of him!"

"He did."

"Do you have any idea what their father is going to say when I tell him?"

"I do!" And Deloris began to laugh. "I wish I had seen it myself!"

"Luke and his fiancée are friends of the family. He's probably so embarrassed."

"Oh, the poor boy is, but he handled it well. He's probably out in the hallway with the girls, waiting to be fired or something."

That's when Andi noticed a book on Principal Seelman's bookshelf. "That book, Basic Basics for Educational Excellence by Doctor Donovan Campbell... what do you think of it?"

"It's quite good. He troubleshoots poorly performing schools and gives advice for advanced schools, but it's all the same, stay close to the basics and don't get lost in fuzzy thinking."

"I will be meeting with the author tomorrow; would you like him to sign it for you?"

"Yes! By all means!" She took the book off the shelf and handed it to Andi. "Will he be here in Western New York?"

"No, we will be meeting in Jupiter. Florida."

<><><><><>

"She's not killing you, I don't understand it," said David Carlson as his team enjoyed sandwiches and Coke with their lieutenant's folks and his sister.

"Give it time. It will happen," hissed Yi.

"You've mellowed her!" chuckled Dave.

"She is quite excitable," said Kenny. "She told me that martial arts calmed her down."

"She tells everyone that." They talked as David and a petty officer inspected engine spaces of Andi's Dream. "When is the wedding going to be?"

"We haven't set a date yet, and if he keeps throwing me around, we won't," snarled Yi.

"It sounds like she's mellowed a bit," said David. "She hasn't threatened decapitation yet, has she?"

"Not recently," said Kenny.

"When she does, run." Then David turned to his father. "Captain, everything looks good, have a safe voyage." He led his team back onto their Zodiac that was tied alongside. As the Coast Guard team returned to their cutter, the CGC Alert, Sunny glared at Kenny and Yi.

"Enough fun! We have work. Kenny! Strip all beds and wash linen. Vacuum rooms, wash all surfaces, and re-make beds. Yi! Inventory fishing equipment, put up neatly, make beds in crew cabin and fold up. Then wash down fighting cockpit then vacuum and wash salon!"

"Why does she get to do the fishing gear?" asked Kenny.

"How many sailfish have you caught?"

Kenny turned to Yi who had a smug look on her face. He sighed and said, "I'll be below decks forward if you need me." He took the vacuum cleaner and headed below deck to prepare the main cabin for Don and Lanh.

<><><><><>

"Josh! We do not want them fighting!" snapped Veronica as they waited to board the airplane.

"Seriously? Teeny and Tiny both beat up a big bad boss? It's a classic!" Josh was swinging around a sleepy Sandy who giggled sleepily. "This is my badass superhero! She came to her baby sister's defense when the blob attacked."

"Josh, please?" groaned Andi. She wanted to calm him down, but he was much more sedate than Paul, who took the girls out for ice cream before dinner, a major sin in Andi's book, then he invited Luke and his fiancée Kiko Yamanaka for a barbeque and pool party (hot tub) so he could hear the whole story from the horse's mouth.

"I'm just concerned about Yi," said Paul. "She's going to want the whole story."

They had grilled chicken that was marinated and basted in Chiavettas, corn from their garden, and roast potatoes. "This is delicious chicken, I've never had it," said Kiko, a short, slim Japanese girl. "What kind is it?"

"It's Miss Picky and Lady Clucks," said Sandy as she waved a drumstick like a Power Girl's magic wand.

"Miss Picky and Lady Clucks? I don't understand."

"Miss Picky and Lady Clucks were from our farm, they had stopped laying and were getting nasty with the other hens," said Paul. "The marinade is Chiavettas; it's as Buffalo as hot wings."

Madeline made muffled sounds from around the drumstick in her mouth and Sandy translated. "She says you have to come to Josh's picnic, it's better there."

Later in the hot tub, Andi nearly fell asleep in the tub. Now that Danny was born she could get into the tub again, and she had a long hot soak every night. "It was all my fault," said Luke. "A student was having problems with an equation and I was explaining it to her, when Madeline told Silvio you all were going to Jupiter. He asked what rocket you were going to take and Madeline said, 'An airplane and a boat.' He got mad and slapped her. Sandy must have been waiting for that because I looked up and saw her flying through the air at him and Bam! It was on! It was like an early Jackie Chan movie! I had to break it up, but Silvio was a bully, I was tempted to let it go on longer."

Later at the Springville Airport, a small business airport, they waited for the Gulfstream 550 to finish fueling. Andi's folks, Grandma and Grandpa Driscoll would stay at the house and keep an eye on Wonka, Chiot and Jolie, while Veronica's dad Mike and his nurse, Audrey, would keep an eye on the chickens. John and Macy were taking time to relax in the Jupiter house and they would watch the twins. The twins were jealous that Danny was going on the trip with Mom and Dad, but Andi was not going to give up time with Danny for anything.

Finally they trooped out of the business terminal and through a gate in a white picket fence and across the ramp to the Gulfstream 550. "It's a rocket!" gasped Cholly who was wide-awake now. The Gulfstream was sleek with swept wings and two huge Rolls Royce engines. The little guy almost got away but John was quick and snagged him by the hood of his parka. "I wanna ride!"

"You will, you will," said John as he swung Cholly up into his arms.

Cholly put his little arm around John's neck and pointed to the Gulfstream and said "Pane! Pane, Poppa!"

That hit John like a ton of bricks. That one word, the word he'd been waiting a lifetime to hear, "Poppa." But Cholly's dad was gone, Dennis was interred in Ellicottville and Nouméa, New Caledonia. John's eyes filled with tears as an emotional battle ripped his heart apart. He choked back the gasps when Paul wrapped a brotherly arm around John and said, "It hits like a ton of bricks, doesn't it?"

"What hits?" asked John, pretending he didn't catch Paul's inference.

"The first time they call you poppa."

Paul saw the anguish in John's eyes as he said, "But I'm not his poppa."

Paul pulled John closer and showed him the sleepy six-year-old in his arms, "Yeah, you are. It's not a biological definition; it's a title of love."

John tried not to laugh but Cholly was grabbing his nose. "I'm the pastor, I'm the one who is supposed to be giving that kind of advice to people."

"We have to cover for each other at Springville Congregational."

The Gulfstream had two flight attendants who cooed over the children, Sandy, Madeline, Cholly, Katarina, and Danny. "You ready to fly, cutie?"

"We're going to Jupiter," mumbled Sandy as she fought to stay awake.

<><><><><>

When Kenny finished cleaning the cabins to Sunny's exacting standards, Stan turned the helm over to Kenny, and he did quite well. The twenty-four-inch multi-functional displays showed what seemed like a thousand digital gauges and dials, and when he learned to read them, using the helm became a lot of fun. Stan showed Kenny autopilot, sea lanes, and how to read the sea. They worked hard on the radar and radio, reaching out to distant ships that were on the edge of their horizon, and how to identify and find ships. Stan referred to his notebook then said, "Find this one, call sign WDH7557."

It didn't take Kenny long. "That's a laker, the John G. Munson, a seven-hundred-seventy-foot-long self-discharging bulk carrier currently at 47-22.654 North Latitude, 89-05.840 West Longitude, which is in the middle of Lake Superior. She's inbound to Duluth, so I don't think there's much chance of hitting her."

"Anything else?" asked Stan.

"She's red."

"That'll do," said Stan with a laugh.

Most exciting was the fish finder, which he kept on hoping to find a whale. He did find something big and Stan said, "Probably a great white shark. They move north along the coast."

When they reached Port St. Lucie, they left the open ocean and turned toward shore at the Port St. Lucie inlet. The inlet let them access the Intracoastal Waterway and they continued south on the Indian River until they hit Peck Lake. There, at what was a wide spot in the Indian River, they moved out of the traffic channels and Stan showed Kenny how to set the station keeping mode. It would keep the boat in one spot until strong wind or current proved too much, and then it will set off an alarm. That allowed the four to gather for dinner.

As they sat on the flying bridge outdoor patio eating dinner, Stan continued to show Kenny procedures for navigating the Intracoastal Waterway. "Most of the bridges have plenty of clearance, your mainmast is twenty-five feet in the air. Keep that in mind because there are a few low bridges."

Navigating in a crowded river was completely different than the open ocean. The river was crowded with pleasure vessels of all sizes. "You have the right of way over almost every one of these boats," said Stan. "Do not convince yourself that they know that. Most are good folk who don't fully understand Coast Guard rules of the way, but others are liquored-up jerks who are a danger to the entire boating community."

All kinds of boats filled the river, mostly cruisers and sport boats. There were plenty of fishing boats but they hung outside the boating channels, and a few jet-skis zipped past. The Indian River has a 15 mph speed limit, unless differently posted, so it was a quiet, relaxing ride.

Finally, as the sun began to set, they came to the Jupiter Inlet, an opening to the open ocean where the Indian River meets the Loxahatchee River. They turned onto the Loxahatchee heading inland with the tall red brick Jupiter Lighthouse on their right. They passed under the US 1 bridge and turned south on Lake Worth Creek and purred along, moving quietly past the beautiful houses and mansions. Every house they passed had a dock extending out from its lawns, but few people had a boat tied up.

They circled around a slim barrier island and crept along a slim waterway until the GPS told Kenny he had arrived. Off to the port side was a huge house with a large stone garden that stood ten feet tall. Kenny moved to the aft helm out on the upper deck and used the joystick. He nudged the stick to the left and the thrusters moved the boat sideways to the T-shaped dock that was occupied by two boats on the underside of the T, a sailboat and a small cruiser.

Yi and Sunny had the fenders set, so Andi's Dream contacted the dock smoothly. They tied off the boat and Stan connected the power cable to the dock outlet and closed the circuit breaker. "You're on shore power."

Kenny nodded and went through the shut-down checklist. Soon the big diesel engines shut down and the thrum that had been their constant companion ceased and the sounds of the Florida coast took over. The chirping of crickets and frogs filled the air. Music and laughter from a nearby gathering floated across the river. Many houses had tiki torches for light, which gave the area a soft golden glow. They walked across the lawn to the house when Stan put his arm around Yi and said, "You're home, honey."

She put an arm around her father and said, "No, my home is with Kenny."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 05 - Let The Vacation Begin!

Josh and Veronica took their seats in the "Kids Room." The rear section of the plane had a couch along the right wall and two comfortable seats on the left wall. The couch was folded down to make a bed, and the twins and Cholly snuggled on the bed, but all were so keyed up they couldn't fall asleep. Soon Katarina and Danny joined them. As Macy propped a pillow next to Katarina to keep her from rolling off the bed, she turned to Veronica and said, "Come get me if she wakes up."

"Just leave a bag for her and if I need help, I'll get you."

"Merci ma chère." Macy moved to the front to sit with John, Andi, and Paul.

Veronica was reading a magazine while the Gulfstream taxied to the runway. She looked up and Josh had a nervous look. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Flying."

"Just lean your chair back and relax. We're only going to be in the air two hours."

"Okay," moaned Josh and he leaned his chair back and closed his eyes. It was a busy day and he was exhausted. The last thing he remembered hearing was the captain's voice on the intercom saying, "Cabin stewards, please ready your stations for departure."

It was an incredibly comfortable flight. There was that gentle rocking that always used to lull Josh to sleep, and he nearly was asleep, then the captain called, "Ready on the One-Oh-Five." Wait... what?

"Bushmaster coming up," called Hal Rainey, the Fire Control Officer.

"Someone is jerking me around," muttered Josh and his eyes opened slightly. There was Veronica in front of him. He was facing aft, she was facing forward, reading a magazine, and behind her was the toilet. Next to him on his left was a bed full of children, all snoozing softly. Little cousins, all happy to be together.

He closed his eyes and heard, "Target acquired." He squeezed his eyes tighter. "Give them two rounds of H.E." A moment later Ziggy called "Round up!" Then came that unmistakable BANG! CLANG! of the M102 Howitzer followed by the THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! of the Bushmaster.

"Round Up!" BANG! CLANG! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"Give me another round!"

"Round Up!" BANG! CLANG! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

"SAM INBOUND!" cried the Electronic Warfare Officer, Booker Rafferty.

Josh willed himself not to worry; this was all normal; this was like a half hundred other combat missions. The flares always distracted the missiles. He heard his buddy Craig Zigler shout "Round up!" BOOM!

It wasn't the M102 Howitzer, it was an engine exploding. The plane jerked, then came a screaming, whooshing sound. He sat up and saw the back end of the Gulfstream G550 ripped open and the babies... He watched in shock and horror as the babies got sucked out one by one. Katarina, Danny, Cholly, Madeline, Sandy, one by one they were ripped out of the crippled plane shrieking in terror, screaming for help, grasping at anything, but inexorably they were thrown out into the frigid night, shouting "JOSH!"

Veronica was grasping on to her seat looking at Josh, weeping, "Help me!" but the roaring wind sucked her out of the seat and to her death. "NICA!" screamed Josh and he jumped up and dove after her... and his face slammed into the toilet door. What? The plane was fine, there was no SAM, no plunge to frozen death.

He turned around and saw everyone looking at him, looking at the idiot... the moron. The fool who just tried to headbutt the bathroom door. They all had that shocked expression on their faces that said, "how did I get stuck on an airplane with that retard?" He whimpered in agony as he tried to open the toilet door... his fingers unable to grasp the handle... then finally he felt the handle between his fingers. He turned the handle and the door opened and he dove in, then shoved the door closed and locked it.

"What happened?" asked Paul.

"I don't know," whimpered a shocked Veronica. "The landing gear came up and he screamed and ran at the bathroom door and slammed into it like he didn't see it."

"Let me try to talk to him."

"I'm his wife!" hissed Veronica.

"A common core of experience is often needed, sometimes it takes a veteran to talk to a veteran." Paul sat down and leaned against the bathroom door. He tapped on the door a couple times then said, "Yashua, it's Paul. Open the door just a bit. I have a prescription for you."

The door opened a little, and Paul pushed a can inside. "A beer?"

"Yeah, it's biblical. Proverb 31 verse seven says Let him drink and remember his trouble no more. What can I say? It works for me." Paul heard through the door that Josh opened the can, something he rarely does. They both drank about half their beer and Paul said, "When you are done in Jacksonville, you need to reach out to Doctor Lennox, tell her about your issue flying, because I'm guessing this isn't the first time. Ask her for something to help you fly home. You'll need something for Denver also."

"Fuck! I forgot Denver."

"That's ok. You're not alone. I know a shit-load of people that are worse off, and they have no reason! The plane is noisy, or they didn't get the seat they wanted. Civilians..." Paul hoisted his beer and finished it. "They may be the smart ones. Forty-five-thousand-feet is not man's natural environment. You done with your beer?"

"Yeah."

"Open the door a little." When Josh opened the door, Paul pushed another beer through the opening.

"I don't drink."

"Trust me. I'm a doctor." Paul opened his second beer and took a sip. "This is the one beer to have when you're having more than one, and that's my prescription. More than one." He took a long drink from his beer then said, "I'm guessing that you saw something that no man should ever see."

"You got that shit right."

"I'm not a shrink, and Macy said she's too close to you to treat you properly, but if you want to talk..."

"The kids!" Josh almost shouted. "I saw the kids sucked out of the airplane; I heard them crying. What kind of animal dreams something like that?"

"Someone who has actually been sucked out of an airplane."

All the while that Paul was talking with Josh, Veronica was on the phone talking to Doctor Lennox. She had spoken to Josh that afternoon and they had a productive talk. Veronica was quite upset and Macy was trying to calm her down. When Helen asked to speak to Josh, Macy handed the phone to Paul. "Hey guy, one more thing for you, open the door a little bit. When the door opened, Paul passed Veronica's phone to him. "Take your time, we're all rooting for you."

"How is he doing?" asked Macy when Paul came up to her and Veronica.

Paul knelt down and spoke softly so as to not wake the kids right next to them. "I'm only guessing, but I believe Josh experienced a hypnagogic dream. It's a very short, very intense dream that happens as you are falling asleep. He said he had a talk with Helen today and spoke about his past, now he's on an airplane that he's never flown in before. This could be a normal response for someone in Josh's condition."

"But why doesn't he talk to ME?" demanded Veronica. "I'm his wife."

Macy sighed. She didn't have many patients, but most of them said this. Before she could say something, Paul stepped in. "He doesn't want to expose his faults to you, because he cares about what you think about him. He wants to be your knight in shining armor, your superhero. He doesn't give a damn what I think about him and he cares even less about what Helen thinks. That's why he exposes his dark side to us."

"That's exactly it," said Macy. "When he doesn't talk, he's protecting his ego and your feelings toward him." She hugged Veronica and said, "Just let him know you're there for him. That's all you can do." Then she whispered in Veronica's ear, "Be careful, if he trusts you with the darkness that is tearing at him, and you break his trust, you can destroy all the progress he has made."

Paul and Macy went back to their seats and Veronica sat on the floor next to the toilet door, listening to Josh. He wasn't worried about his mental health; he had already given himself up as a ruined wreck. He spoke to Helen about how his mental calamity was affecting Veronica. "I never should have married her; I should have left and saved her from years of watching me collapse."

Eventually he came out of the toilet, moving as quietly as possible so he wouldn't be noticed, then he slid into his seat. Veronica was sitting in her seat, reading a magazine. As he sat down, Veronica crouched next to him and spoke softly in his ear. "I do not think of you as an idiot or a retard. You're not a wreck; you're a smart, brave man that was injured, and now you are healing." She kissed his cheek and said, "If you insist on being my knight in shining armor, you have to let me be your squire."

He replied in his sexy southern accent, "Ah could never demote you lahk that."

"You poop. You know what I mean. Trust me. Let me help." As their lips met, Josh felt a small creature climb up into his lap. It was Cholly.

"What's up little guy?" asked Josh.

"Sometimes I get sad," said Cholly as he snuggled with his 'Unka Dosh.'

Josh smiled ruefully and said to Veronica, "I was saving that seat for you."

<><><><><>

It was hot outside when they got off the plane. An SUV and a van was waiting for them, and they piled in, moms holding their babies, John with Cholly, and Paul and Veronica with the twins, leaving Sunny, Stan, and Josh to unload the luggage and stow it in the back of the van. As Josh shook hands with Stan, the old sailor said, "Paul tells me that you're Air Force."

"Yes sir, Two Whiskey One, aircraft weapons."

"Good to have ya, too many Navy types down here. I'm a Nine Sierra One, seismologist."

"Tell me about it. I'm from Saint Mary's, there's a submarine base nearby. You know what they say, a hundred an' sixty men go out, eighty couples come back."

"Ain't dat the truth. Paul says you were at Minot?"

"Freezin's the reason. I was just up there for a conference a couple of months ago... what does the Air Force need a seismologist for?"

Stan gave Josh that "If I Told You I'd Have To Kill You" grin and said, "A vast number of things go bump in the night. I had to determine if they were something to worry about. Most of the time it was the Navy fuckin' around."

"So what's this pool that Paul spent a million dollars on like?"

"Don't let nobody fool you, Mister Jarecki didn't spend a million dollars. It did cost a bit, but the builder owed Paul some favors, so he got a discount on the pool and landscaping."

"I can't wait to see it," said Josh as they cruised through night-time in Jupiter, Florida.

"It depends on the angle you're looking from. If you're on a boat it looks like a rock garden."

"Boat?"

"Paul didn't tell you?" Stan chuckled and said, "When Old Man Jarecki bought the house it was one of two on an island. He bought half the island and leased lots out one by one making sure he had the biggest lot on the seaward side of the island.

"When did he buy the island?"

"Oh, I guess back when Paul was in community college, he was what... Fourteen?"

"Thirteen," said Andi from the rear seat.

"His dad bought the house and talked about moving the family there, but he never left Western New York. He held onto that land like it was gold, and he and the other owner decided they'd only sell to celebrities."

"Lease," said Paul from the back seat.

"Wait... you don't sell the lots?"

"Nope, we lease them, You can build any kind of house you want on Tranquila, as long as it can't be seen from the road," said Paul. "We're a nasty HOA, but we're HAM friendly."

"The rich just get richer," said Josh.

"That's the American Dream," said Stan. "He takes money from rich people and gives it to me. All I do for his money is captain his boat and help some rich guy's son catch a fish."

"So who lives on your island now?"

"Can't say who is currently there," said Paul. "And if you meet one, please don't get all gushy and beg for an autograph. We had Dan Rowen at one time. Michael Landon, Anthony Perkins, Donald Pleasence, Dean Martin..."

"Deano was here?" gasped Josh. "The King of Cool? You have to show me his house!" Dean Martin was one of Josh's idols. His rich, baritone voice was what Josh strived to mimic. Now that he's singing lead it's a strain to hit the higher notes, so they've keyed down their songs, which works for everyone in the quartet.

"From the river side of the property," said Paul. "Most of the houses are Florida getaways, part-time residences for people who spend most of their time somewhere else. I think the only permanent resident is the co-owner of Tranquila Island."

"Is the co-owner a celebrity also?"

"She was. She inherited it from her dad, and she's been a friend since she retired from acting. She may come by to say hello when she finds out I'm here. She probably saw Andi's Dream pull up."

"Andi's Dream pulled up..." muttered Josh. "Oh! It's one of THOSE houses."

"There's a lot of those houses down here," said Stan as he drove over a bridge and came up to a security gate. The gate silently swung open and he pulled forward. "Welcome to Tranquila."

"Tranquila Island?"

"Tortuga was taken," said Paul. "The primary thing here is peace. You can have fun, but there's a decibel limit."

The neighborhood was filled with driveway entrances; it was hard to see the fronts of the houses. All had lights glinting through the luxurious foliage, but some had gas tiki torches giving a golden flickering light. "The torches mean that the resident is home," said Stan as they pulled in a driveway that led up to a beautiful Spanish Revival-style home. "I think I'm going to have to make sure the help has their swimming suits back on before we let the children go in. Ever since they saw the pool they haven't climbed out."

"That's what it's for," said Paul as they began to get the sleepy children out of the back seat.

Just then Kenny and Yi appeared from around the corner of the house, both wearing swimming suits. "We heard you crossing the bridge and got our suits back on," said Kenny, which earned him a swat from Yi. They carried the baggage into the house and let Macy and Andi set up the rooms.

Andi pointed to a travel bag and a large sack of diapers and said, "Could you take those to the boat? The clothing goes upstairs; the bag of diapers and formula powder goes in the storage compartment."

"Crew compartment," whispered Yi. Kenny nodded and headed off to Andi's Dream with the bags.

Kenny climbed aboard the big yacht and as he did, a sailboat under power slowly made its way up the channel between Tranquila Island and a barrier island called Wax Moon Isle. "Ahoy!" called the woman who was at the helm of the little sailboat. The moon was nearly full so he could see her quite clearly, and she looked familiar.

"Ahoy back at ya," said Kenny.

"Is the owner of that beautiful boat here?"

"Mister Jarecki? They just arrived. We're setting out tomorrow."

"I may be by to say hello this evening if that's ok."

"If you hurry I'm sure they'll be up, we just ordered pizza for the kids. Who should I tell him is stopping by?"

"Just tell him Jenny. We're old acquaintances."

"Roger dat." He took the diapers below deck and parked them in the cabin where all the fishing gear was stored, then he took the large military A3 bag up to the flybridge. His exploration led him to realize that the entire flybridge could be closed off to make an entire suite, but there wasn't a head up there so they'd have to journey all the way below deck to use the head.

He returned to the house and the kids were awake now and they were splashing around in the pool. Even the babies were splashing. The pool was L-shaped like Paul's pool in Buffalo with the short leg of the L being the kids' part. The short L sloped from one inch deep to three feet deep. Andi and Macy were kneeling in the shallow end minding Katarina and Danny who were sitting in water that was waist deep for them and splashing their hands which caused Sandy and Madeline to laugh. John was sitting nearby with Cholly on his lap. Cholly looked nervous, but secure in Poppa's lap. Paul was walking around the group taking photos.

The long leg of the L was parallel to the river at the end of the lawn. The view of the river was blocked by a huge coral "mountain" that on the river side of the hill was covered with beautiful flowers and vines. On the pool side of the hill were some vines, two waterfalls, and two diving platforms. The waterfalls hid a lazy river that gently wove from one waterfall to the next, with a romantic grotto halfway down the lazy river. There were lights hidden in the rocks and a small gas fireplace lighting the patio.

Kenny stepped up to Paul and said, "Someone named Jenny said she'd stop by, possibly this evening."

"Oh good. I'm sure the twins will be happy to meet her." Paul turned to Stan and Sunny and said, "Can you keep an eye on the front door, and if Jenny shows up could you light the path back here."

"Will do, same as the pizza guy."

Kenny heard Yi call "Honey?" He turned in time to see her dive off the top of the rock formation, then pop up at the edge of the pool near him. "Can you show Josh and Veronica to their cabin on the boat? Everyone riding on the boat is going to spend tonight out there."

"Will do. Josh? Ronnie? Got your bags?"

Josh was sitting on a lounge chair with Veronica on his lap. "Sure."

"Follow me." He led them on the illuminated path behind the coral wall and down to the boat. There were two more boats tied up at the t-shaped dock, a small sailboat and a small cruiser. "Yi says that the sailboat is Andi's favorite, and the cruiser is to run over to the Marina and grab groceries or dinner if they're too lazy to cook."

"Sunny told us about this place," said Veronica. It's overwhelming."

"Yi showed me pictures of their swimming pool before he built the rock mountain; it was just a bland rectangle." Kenny led them to the boat and hit a switch that turned on the courtesy lights and he opened the transom in the gunwale. "This first section is called the cockpit. There's a swimming platform off the stern, there's a fighting chair we can put up if you want to go fishing, and this is where the girls sunbathe when we're under way."

"Why do the girls sunbathe here?" asked Josh. He was thinking of the foredeck which was currently filled with a Zodiac dinghy.

Kenny pointed to the platform up on the flying bridge. "So we can watch from up there."

"You're horrible!" squeaked Veronica and she smacked Josh and said, "Hit him for me."

"Relax, I'm just kidding," said Kenny as he led them up to the mezzanine. "We'd be watching from here."

<><><><><>

"Is Mister Jarecki here?" said a middle-aged woman with dark hair streaked with gray.

"Just follow the path, ma'am." A path to her left was suddenly flooded with tiny blue lights leading through the tropical garden. She followed the illuminated path through Paul's jungle to the back where the kids were playing.

"Hi Jenny, come on back. The pizza will be here in a couple of minutes."

Sandy and Madeline were on their hands and knees next to their baby brother, trying to get him to splash again when they looked up. "Gigi?" they looked at each other then shouted "GIGI!" and raced up to Jenny.

"Oh goodness gracious! You know that old thing?" laughed Jenny, and suddenly she was inundated with questions about Boomer. "Is Boomer here? Is Boomer a boy or really a girl?"

"Girls, back off," scolded Andi. She stepped up to Jenny with Danny in her arms, and said "I'm sorry, when they get screen time, the girls always want to watch Gigi and Boomer." Gigi and Boomer was a children's TV show targeted at girls. It was the story of a teenage girl and her pet mastiff, it was filmed years ago, but it has been in permanent re-run since Gigi and Boomer packed up to go to college.

"Can we see Boomer?" pleaded Madeline in a tiny voice.

This was the hardest question former child actress Jenny MacArthur ever had to deal with, but decades had taught her to polish her answer. "Oh honey, we filmed that so long ago, and Boomer was as old as me when we filmed it, which is really old for a dog. He's in heaven with his buddies Pike and Whiskers, watching over us."

"Oh," said Sandy. "We have a Newfie, her name is Jolie. We had to leave her with grandma and grandpa." Jenny chuckled and hugged the twins. It never ceased to amaze her how young children can shift gears so suddenly.

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 06 - Bonding at Sea

"Three lost-looking Minnesotan farmers stepped off an airplane in Florida... it sounds like a bad joke," said Kim-ly as she, Lanh, and Donovan Campbell walked up the jetway. It was their first-ever visit to Florida even though they had been to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East over the years. However, they were not prepared for Florida. They were plucked out of the subzero weather of Grant Valley, Minnesota and cast into a broiling steam bath - and they were still on the jetway.

The weather was insufferably hot and humid inside the jetway and Don was having a hard time breathing. "Are you all right? Do you need oxygen?" asked a concerned Kim-ly.

"No, my sinuses are getting congested. That makes it hard to breathe... it's got to be the humidity," said Don as they stepped from the end of the jetway into the cool airport terminal. They had been traveling for almost 24 hours. Their journey started with a half-hour drive to Bemidji. From there they flew to Minneapolis, then to Atlanta, then to West Palm Beach. There, in the industrial-strength air conditioning of the terminal, they felt lost. They had no idea where they were going.

"Baggage is over this way," said Kim-ly and she led her younger sister and brother-in-law toward the baggage carousel following the overhead signs. Don was a short but able young man of Irish and Norwegian descent. He was a disabled veteran who earned a doctorate in Education while on active duty. His wife, Lanh, was tiny, about four foot eight inches. She was a beautiful Asian of Vietnamese descent. She too earned a doctorate while Don was enlisted, and became a Doctor of Speech Pathology. Her sister, Kim-ly, was almost a foot taller than Lanh, and just as beautiful. Kim-ly was an accountant and had an accounting firm along with her twin brother, Bao Nguyen.

On their way to the baggage carousel they had to pass through a gate. On the other side of the gate was a fellow who was holding a neatly printed sign which said, 'Dr. & Dr. Campbell.' Lanh was feeling assertive so she walked up to the man holding the sign and said, "I'm Doctor Lanh Huong Campbell."

"Yes, doctor, and these are the rest of your party, Donovan and Kim-ly Nguyen?"

"Yes, that's us."

The chauffeur nodded and said, "Very good. I have a car waiting for you. If you allow me, I'll pick up your luggage."

They looked at each other; they'd never had a driver who offered to pick up their luggage. At best he'd hit a button to open the trunk without getting out of the car. "I'll give him a hand," Kim-ly finally said. "Come on Jeeves, I'll point out the bags to you. See? I'm Asian. All you have to look for is the Hello Kitty name tags..."

Don and Lanh groaned, and Lanh rolled her eyes. "Kim-ly is on a roll again. She's going to kill this guy."

"Or fuck him," added Don. Lanh nodded in agreement. They had been a 'thrupple' for several years and growing closer with each other every day. Lanh was diagnosed infertile and after years of sorrow, Kim-ly had a baby for Lanh and Don via in vitro fertilization. Their son, Danh, was home with all four grandparents who were spoiling him rotten.

Kim-ly was a walking hurricane. She was a true party girl but she calmed down when Lanh got married. She and her brother opened their office in Don's basement and to "save on gas" Kim-ly moved into the huge farmhouse. Nobody realized that she was lonely. Under all the jokes about Asian stereotypes, she was in love with Don and aching whenever she was alone. Don and Lanh hoped they could come to some kind of mutually agreeable solution to their problem on this vacation.

Finally, the luggage (with Hello Kitty name tags) was gathered and they climbed into an SUV which whisked them into early morning West Palm Beach traffic. The traffic was heavier than the trio was used to and it wasn't what they thought of when they thought of Florida. "How far is Disney World from here?" asked Don. He had to bring Danh to Disney World one of these days.

"That's about two hundred miles," said the driver.

"I didn't realize how big Florida was," gasped Don. He pulled out his phone to look up Florida information and his phone rang, which startled him. "Hello?"

"Doctor Campbell? This is Mayor Jarecki, how are you doing?"

"You won? Congratulations!" Don turned in his seat and said, "Doctor Andi won the election!"

"Give me that phone. You're missing the important part," said Lanh and she reached over the seat and snatched the phone from Don's hand. She turned on speaker and began demanding baby pictures. Soon Lanh and Kim-ly were cooing over pictures of Danny Jarecki, and Lanh was sending Andi pictures of Danh Campbell taking his first steps over the Christmas holidays. Finally Lanh said, "Okay, see you soon, sweetie."

"How is it that you're chummy with MY doctor?" asked Don.

"You're a guy, you wouldn't understand," said Kim-ly as she handed the phone back to Don. "I guess she's going to pick us up at El Tiburón. Whatever that is."

The driver smiled and said, "El Tiburón is the restaurant at the marina where we're headed. I'm sure you'll like it."

Even though it was morning, the weather was oppressive. Hot and humid, but the driver insisted that it would be better at the marina, and he was right; a cool breeze coming in from the ocean made the temperature more comfortable when they got out of the SUV. Don reached for his wallet but the driver said, "No sir. Thank you, but the gratuity is included. Doctor Jarecki already covered that."

"Doctor Andi already tipped you?"

The driver looked confused and shook his head. "Doctor Paul covered this."

"Come on dear," groaned Lanh as she clutched Don's arm. "We're not the only two-doctor household."

"I thought Andi married a car dealer."

"A car dealer who is a cardiologist with a law degree. Come on."

They decided to eat out on the pier, which was a great choice. The morning was beautiful and the air next to the sea was the perfect temperature to feel like they were on vacation. "This is the life," said Don as he sipped his Bloody Mary. Kim-ly had a tequila sunrise and was sipping that as she dug out her handheld ham radio. With her sultry voice, she had every amateur radio operator in Palm Beach trying to QSO with her before her breakfast order came.

A speaker mounted on the side of the building was tuned to Marine 10, the VHF channel that the marina harbormaster was using to control marina traffic. They heard the harbormaster calling for Andi's Dream, and Don wondered what that was. He had his ham radio out but was listening to the Marine channels.

The food was incredible. Lanh and Kim-ly both started with shrimp and avocado toast, which was grilled shrimp over smashed avocado, cherry tomatoes and microgreens on sourdough. Don started with crab cake Benedict: lump crab cake topped with a poached egg and lemon hollandaise on an English muffin.

"Pack up the cows, we're moving to Florida," said Don as he tasted his crab cake.

"That's just the starter," said Kim-ly.

As they finished their starters, a pair of men stepped up to the table. Each was carrying a large cardboard box. "Doctor Campbell? These are for Doctor Roberts."

"We'll see that she gets them," said Don as he signed the man's tablet. He was happy to hear Andi's maiden name; it was the name he knew her as while he was her patient. The men stacked the boxes next to their luggage as their main course came. Don had the Lobster Scramble: soft scrambled eggs with butter poached lobster, chives, and a side of garlic toast. Kim-ly had the Blueberry & Ricotta Pancakes served with a side of maple-glazed smoked salmon. Lanh had the coconut prawn waffles, crispy coconut shrimp with fluffy waffles and spicy mango syrup. It was all so delicious and unique to them. They shared bites and laughed as other couples stepped out on the deck.

The new couples pegged Don, Lanh, and Kim-ly as tourists immediately. The locals were all in shorts, polo shirts, and deck shoes, with soft, white hats to keep the sun off. The trio from Minnesota were dressed in heavy fabrics. Don was wearing blue jeans, a flannel shirt, hiking boots and a John Deere hat. Lanh and Kim-ly were dressed in long skirts and flannel shirts, all dark colors, and neither wore a hat.

A fellow in his seventies leaned over and tapped Don on the arm. "You may want to get the girls a hat to wear, the sun here can be brutal."

Don was feeling it through his John Deere hat and thanked the fellow. "Going to the potty," said Don to the girls and walked into the restaurant. He emerged with a captains hat and a pair of straw hats for Lanh and Kim-ly.

"You couldn't find a non-la?" asked Lanh. The non-la is the traditional conical hat of Vietnam. Lanh and her sisters Kim-ly and Tam, and their mother Mai all wear them while working outside. These hats were more like cowboy hats.

"No non-la, but I'm sure Kim-ly will modify her hat before lunch."

"No, I like this one," said Kim-ly. "It makes me look badass. Thank you."

As they had a cup of coffee, they heard the harbor master call out to a boat, "Cleared to El Tiburón pier."

"Sounds like someone's coming here," said Lanh. They looked toward the marina inlet and a large yacht was slowly entering. It was big, three stories tall, almost eighty feet long, with long outriggers that Don thought would make awesome radio antennas. As the boat approached them, it began to rotate on a central axis until it was drifting toward them backwards. A large fellow and a slim Asian girl were on the port side, hanging cylindrical fenders and on the stern in tall script letters the name read "Andi's Dream."

The boat drew up alongside the tables where Don and the girls were sitting at. The motor rumbled and the boat came to a stop, then began to drift sideways straight to the pier. As soon as it touched, the fellow and the Asian girl hopped out and they clearly heard Andi cry "WHOO HOO!" As the couple tied off the boat to the dock, Andi raced down the stairs, through the open transom, onto the dock and threw her arms around Don. She gave the startled farmer a kiss on the cheek and said, "Thank you for coming!" She then hugged and kissed Kim-ly and Lanh in turn, thanking them for coming.

The couple that tied off the boat picked up the luggage and boxes and carried them onto the boat. "This is your little boat?" asked Don as he stepped aboard. "Wait, I didn't settle up." And he started to get off the boat.

"I already took care of it, sir," said Kenny as he closed up the transom and stood ready to cast off lines.

"Come on!" said Andi. She was as giddy as a schoolgirl at a concert.

"She likes boating," whispered Yi to Kim-ly as Andi led them up the stairs.

"I can see that," said a startled Kim-ly.

Andi led them up to the top floor and said, "This is the flybridge, it's our home away from home. This is my husband Paul, and the little guy is Danny."

Paul was sitting on the couch holding the three-month-old baby and he rose to shake hands. Kim-ly took Danny from Paul and moaned, "I miss them when they're this small."

While they shook hands, Andi was at the helm position. She grabbed the radio microphone and called, "West Palm Harbor Master, Andi's Dream is ready to depart." When she got clearance, she leaned out the side window and called, "Cast off all lines."

"Aye, aye!" and Yi and Kenny cast off the lines and hopped aboard. Andi sat in the captain's seat and grabbed the joystick and nudged it to the right slightly and Andi's Dream gently moved away from the pier. She settled into the seat, grabbed the dual throttles and nudged them forward. As soon as the boat started moving she pulled back on the throttles.

Paul stood behind her and watched, saying, "Very good, slight turn to port coming up, you may want to use the thruster... fine. Well done! What are our obstacles now?"

"Smaller craft coming up on the starboard side, and a really narrow channel."

"Absolutely! Very good!"

"Is this training?" asked Don.

"It sure is," said Paul without taking his eyes off Andi. "We have a captain and first mate who run this boat through the tourist season, but we had decided to run small excursions ourselves when Judge Atherton invites us to her island."

"You know someone with an island?"

Paul just grinned at Don and said, "It's good to be the king." Just then Kenny and Yi came upstairs. Paul nodded to them and said, "This is Yi and Kenny, our crew. If you have any questions about this boat, just ask Yi, she was here when I bought it. Yi, this is Don, Lanh, and Kim-ly. They are in the master suite. Could you show them around, and when we get out to sea Andi will be down."

"Aye, aye, if you would follow me," said Yi.

"Bạn có phải là người Việt Nam không?" (Are you Vietnamese?) asked Kim-ly.

Yi wasn't quite sure what Kim-ly said but she replied, "Jeoneun hanguggye migug-in-ibnida." (I am Korean-American)

Lanh smiled and said, "I haven't spoken Korean in ages! Yeonseub-i pil-yohaeyo." (I need practice)

Yi started laughing and said, "You'll have to talk to my mom. I exhausted my Korean vocabulary. Okay, this is the galley, and beyond that is the mezzanine where everyone eats, this open area is the salon, we generally have our parties in here." She led them below deck to the forward cabin area. "Shhh. Josh and Veronica are still asleep. They were up late with the kids last night." She pointed to a closed cabin door.

"Josh has kids?" whispered Lanh.

Yi shook her head and whispered, "Paul and Andi's twins. They kept the kids going all night so we could slide out without drama in the morning." Yi opened a door behind them. "This is your suite."

It was both cramped and huge at the same time. Compared to a hotel room, it was cramped, but for a boat it was huge. A big queen-size bed took up most of the cabin but there was plenty of storage, a shower and a toilet, and a huge TV. Kim-ly threw herself on the bed and planted her feet then raised her hips and swiveled them around. "I'm ready for that big hunk of sweetness that carried our bags down here!"

Yi glared at her. "You mean my fiancé?"

"Ooops!"

<><><><><>

"Good morning muffin," said Josh as he kissed Veronica.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as their lips parted. She tapped his temple so he would understand what she meant by feeling.

"You know, that was the longest talk I ever had with Helen but that just felt like a temporary solution. It was playing with the twins in the pool until three a.m. that really helped."

"How did it help?"

"It showed me that... I don't know... my issues are behind me, I need to look forward."

Veronica kissed her man and said, "So if you have another issue I just have to start tossing kids at you?"

"Anyone but Cholly."

"What's wrong with Cholly?"

"I love Cholly, it's just..." Josh sighed and said, "I just feel like I failed. I should have killed that slimy bastard Sammy Windecker when I first met him. I knew he was a spawn out of hell the first time he gave me that fucking spooge-sucking grin..."

"I get it. Stop. Stop it. You're working yourself into another waking nightmare." Veronica wanted to say 'How do you not know that Dennis and Séraphine's purpose was to help put those people in jail, clean up Springville, and put that lovely little boy in John and Macy's family?' but that was depressing even to her. "Let's go upstairs and see if you can get your practice in."

Josh peered out the window and chuckled. "We're out at sea. We missed picking up Squeaky and Don." Veronica leaned over his shoulder, her firm breasts brushing against his back. "It's noon."

"Holy crap."

"Let's go practice."

"Okay. Coffee first." They dressed Florida style, Josh in shorts and deck shoes, Veronica in a bikini bottom and sarong. She chickened out at the last minute and put her bikini top on and they headed above deck. Kenny was in the galley getting something ready for later, and Lanh Campbell was sitting in the salon with a baby, feeding him from a small bottle. "Squeaky!" Josh cried. He dashed to her side and hugged his tiny friend from so long ago.

"Yashua! We missed you and worried about you so much over the years. When we talked over Christmas, we both broke down and cried."

"How about you and Don. When I heard about his... you know. I kind of freaked out. I wanted to come to his ceremony but I was dead broke and looking for work."

"Oh don't say that! Anytime you need help, we can offer work, maybe a roof over your head. No booze, no drugs, just honest work."

"I'm doing okay, I'm the lead engineer of an up-and-coming data storage company. We're going to go public soon and we're all going to be rich."

"Who is this?" said Lanh as she gestured with her beautiful almond-shaped-eyes toward Veronica.

"Lanh, this is the love of my life, Veronica von Köster."

"Veronica Gravely-von Köster," corrected Veronica. "We were married on New Year's Eve."

"You poo!" squealed Squeaky and she jumped up and hugged Veronica who towered over her. "How long have you known each other?"

Veronica laughed and said, "we worked together for a year, trying to avoid each other, then last winter my car wouldn't start. He came outside carried me back inside, and I haven't let him put me down since."

"The last time we saw Josh we thought he was going to die... he looked so..." Josh looked like a man that was waiting to die, a look that haunted Lanh for years. Worse of all was when Don sent her a photograph he took of Josh on his last day at the AMU in Korea... it haunted Lanh for years. She had to show it to Veronica later.

"Where are your husband and sister?" asked Josh as he took Danny from Lanh.

"Uhhhh... my sister Kim-ly said something..."

"So?"

"She called Kenny a big hunk of sweetness and inferred she was planning to..."

"What did Yi do?"

"She found out they're both black belts and they're um..." Lanh shook her head and said, "You'll have to see for yourself."

<><><><><>

"Outstanding job, darling!" cried Paul. They got through a very complex series of turns to reach the open water.

"Where's my baby?"

Paul looked around. Danny wasn't around. "Oh hell," he muttered.

"You lost your son?"

"Well... one of the girls was holding him..."

"Which girl?"

"I think it was Kim-ly."

"You watch the bridge; I'll go find our son." Andi stormed off the bridge, zipped down the main stairs and found Josh at the galley holding a sleepy Danny and talking to Kenny. "Where's Yi?"

"She's entertaining the guests," said Kenny, blushing fiercely.

"Where?"

"In the cockpit."

Andi gestured to Josh and said, "Come on."

"No, not me. I'm staying right here."

"Wise choice," said Kenny and he and Josh tapped their cans of Pepsi together in a salute.

"Men!" huffed Andi and she headed to the mezzanine where Don, Veronica and Lanh watched Yi and Kim-ly sparring in the cockpit. Both were masters of martial arts, and their moves were lightning fast and both were soaked in sweat and only wearing their bikini bottoms. "What are they doing?" demanded Andi.

Don patted his doctor on the shoulder and said, "Bonding."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 07 - Mike and Audrey

"It's so quiet here. It's like the whole town moved away with Josh, John, and Paul gone," said Audrey as she watched Mike operate on her headphones. The left ear disappeared last year; now the sound in the right ear is all crackly. Mike broke out a set of jeweler's screwdrivers and a multi-meter and opened up the headphones and began tracing wires with the meter. When he was satisfied he broke out Josh's soldering iron and a spool of solder and began touching up connections in the headsets and the jack. Then he took a tiny file and cleaned up each solder joint that looked too 'blobby.'

"Yep, it is quiet around here," said Mike as he used a magnifying glass to inspect his work, then, when he was satisfied, he closed up the headphones and gave them to Audrey. "Give them a try."

She plugged her headphones into her laptop. The headphones were cute pink headsets with kitty ears that made her look more adorable than she usually did. She broke into a huge grin as she enjoyed the music. "They work! How did you do that?"

"No trick. The solder joints weren't very good, so I resoldered them. It should sound as good as new."

"Better! They're loud!"

"All I ask is that you wear them when you listen to your Viking music."

Audrey blushed and said, "Sorry." She took off the headsets and asked, "How did you know what to do?"

"With something like headsets the problem is with a wire connection somewhere. When you told me that the sound changed when you turned your head, I knew there was a bad connection somewhere, so I tested each wire with the meter and re-connected most of them."

"That's really smart," she said with a mooning sigh.

"Nah, it's just basic electrical appliance maintenance. It's nothing compared to what you're doing as a nurse." Mike picked up the tools he used and put them back in the storage cabinet in the basement, back in the untouched room with the furnace and water heater. Audrey followed him downstairs and came up behind him in the furnace room. Her heart was beating so strongly she was afraid it would burst out of her chest. It did that when she and Mike had these quiet times together. Not when she was performing her duties as his nurse, never then! But in the quiet, when they watched John Wayne movies together, or walking through the village, or collecting eggs. Or putting tools away... that was when she's overwhelmed with feelings for Mike.

Most women her age would say her feelings were silly, inappropriate, and wrong. But how could that be wrong? Younger men pawed and leered at her. Men Josh's age either treated her like a child or like a prostitute. Josh was sweet but he still treated her like a kid. Men Mike's age showed her respect. They didn't leer at her boobs. They treat her like a woman. She was told that she was groomed by her parents to be a play toy for their business partners, which is true. But when Audrey met those business partners, she left. She wanted nothing to do with organized crime.

She leaned in closer to Mike and breathed deep. He had that smell of a man who had worked hard all his life. He cared for his daughters when his wife left them, he built the locomotives that the nation depends on. He...

Suddenly Mike turned around and Audrey was inches away, lost in thought. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah. I was just thinking... maybe we could spend a night at the cabin. You know, take a picnic dinner, have fresh eggs and bacon in the morning?"

"Now why would you want to do that? It's going to be cold tonight and maybe snow more."

"It might be the last snowfall of winter. We could... you know... pretend it's a blizzard and we're trapped, cut off from the world with only some old-time radio shows on the radio..."

"Kind of a romantic getaway?" Mike actually smiled when he said that!

Audrey's heart lurched. "I uh... I've never..." She was flustered and blushing fiercely. "Maybe we shouldn't..."

"That sounds like fun," said Mike. "When you get to be my age, fun doesn't come along too often. Let's do it. Whose cabin do you want to stay in? Paul's or Josh's cabin? Maybe mine?"

"J-J-Josh's cabin feels more remote... We couldn't get to your cabin; the snow is too deep."

"Perfect! Tomorrow, after we get the eggs, we'll move into Josh's cabin."

Audrey nodded, "Okay." It was her plan, but was it wrong?

<><><><><>

Four couples met at Paul and Andi's house. The Jarecki's probably wouldn't be in the air yet, but Harold and Heather invited Mike and Audrey over for pinochle. "If you know another couple who plays, we can set up two games at once," said Andi's mother Heather.

"That isn't a problem," said Mike, and they brought Amelia Hernandez and Dexter Humboldt. Mike and Audrey had played pinochle against Amelia and Dexter previously, and it helped a lot with Mike's loneliness. They were joined by another couple that looked similar to Mike and Audrey. The fellow was easily the same age as Mike, and a hard worker from what Audrey could see. The woman was a plain-looking woman whose hair was short but growing out. The tall man and Dexter seemed to be close and they chuckled about something Paul had said before leaving.

As they set up the two play tables and the refreshment table in the parlor, Heather called out, "Let me make some introductions, Audrey, Mike, this is Paul's best friend August, and Andi's best friend Lucy. Gus, Lucy, this is Veronica's father Mike, and his nurse Audrey. I believe everyone else knows each other."

"Even if we were avoiding it," groused Amelia. Six months ago Amelia was alone and tolerating it. Her only visitor was Josh and the occasional short-term tenants that the local FBI plopped in her back room. Now she had a live-in lover and she's playing pinochle with other people. She was even going to church, which delighted John Jarecki.

"Relax," said Dexter, and he swatted Amelia on the butt.

"Okay, Gus has a partner who is new to this game and so does Mike. Gus, why don't you and Lucy play against Amelia and Dexter, and Mike, why don't you and Audrey play against Harold and me? That should even out the experience and help the new learners pick up the game."

"What are the rules?" asked Gus.

"Game to five hundred, best two out of three. The two winning couples will play for gold and silver, the two other couples will play for bronze, and no table talk!"

"What's table talk?" asked Audrey. Lucy looked at her and shrugged.

"Trust me," said Gus. "If it happens, you'll be told."

The games went on and, of course, Mike and Audrey lost to Heather and Harold. Audrey was surprised she liked it as much as she did. The older folks of Springville were having a good time and Mike was clearly happy. He was making friends and doing something he really enjoyed. He also communicated with Audrey silently. When he shrugged his shoulders, he would then lean his head forward to indicate he was full of spades. If he leaned his head to his right, hearts, back meant clubs, and to his left meant diamonds. She would reply with her strong suit. It wasn't obvious, it was usually done while Mike was talking about something. And Howard picked up on it in their third hand. Howard and Heather Driscoll met while playing pinochle. Heather was still mourning the loss of her husband Danny, and Harold was mourning the loss of his wife Rose who died of cancer.

Audrey learned so much about Andi and the twins listening to Heather talk that it made her feel honored to be living just two blocks away from a woman with such strength. However, they lost and ended up playing against Gus and Lucy. The first thing that Audrey learned was that Lucy was Andi's best friend and Gus was Paul's best friend and both were incredible couples. "Don't let age get you down," said Lucy. "The age gap between Gus and me is about the same as the one between you and Mike."

"What are you saying?" asked Audrey.

"What I'm saying is that when Madam Mayor gets back, we are going to open up a practice right here, over in the library. If you have any questions, come by and ask. And if you have any free hours during the day and would like to make a little money, please come by. We could use a trained medical assistant."

"What kind of practice?"

"I think the name we picked out was Springville Respiratory and Sleep Medicine. We'll do a little advertising, then let word of mouth carry us."

Audrey looked at Mike, who smiled and nodded. He was either giving his approval or letting her know he was tight with spades. "Yes! I'd love to! Respiratory is my strongest subject!"

<><><><><>

What was Mike doing in there? He had been in Paul Jarecki's barn for what seemed like ages, then she heard a machine making noise... what was it? Audrey was sitting on the picnic table under the awning in front of Paul and John's cabins. Then the scraping, machine-like sound became the purr of a motor and Mike emerged from the barn driving Paul's antique Ford tractor. He stopped and reached under the seat for a lever and the snowplow dropped. But the plow was behind the tractor, not in front like a snowplow should be.

He pulled forward and the drag plow did a nice job of plowing the snow aside. He stopped next to her and said, "You get the eggs, I'll plow the driveway." Then he eased out the clutch and headed down the long driveway scraping the snow clear, adding to the piles on the side of the road.

She grabbed her velvet-lined basket and headed to the barn, wondering the entire time if she was ready for this. She's been aching to climb into Mike's bed since he moved in, but something pushes her back. She's been sleeping in Mike's reading room on the futon, folding it up every day when she wakes. The worst was class days when she was in school for lectures and reviews of her progress with Mike. Her school grades had shot up to straight A-plus, but she longed to be with Mike the entire time she was in school. When she got home she felt like everything was fine when she was secure in Mike's arms.

The thought of his arms flustered her, and the thought of having his arms wrapped around her distracted her, which allowed Pecky, the broody hen, to solidly peck her hand. "Bad chicken!" But Pecky showed no remorse. Audrey finished collecting the eggs, then she put the dirtiest straw in the burn bucket and replaced it with fresh straw. She filled the feeder and water bottle and she was done. She had collected over a dozen eggs and climbed downstairs to see Mike putting the tractor away.

He backed into the barn and dropped the plow with a clang! then he shut off the engine. "Sweet old girl," he said and he patted the engine cover as he stepped off.

"How did you learn to drive a tractor?" she asked as Mike ushered Audrey out and closed up the barn.

"I grew up on a farm," he said. "Just outside of Bradford, Pennsylvania, south of Springville on the 219."

"What did you grow?"

"Corn, beans, 'taters. The usual stuff." Mike locked up the barn door, then checked the rest of the doors on the barn to make sure they were locked.

"That's what Paul and John plant. I'll bet if you and Kenny help them, they'll have an incredible garden."

"I suppose we could."

They finished checking the three cabins and walked toward Trevett Road on the driveway. As they walked, the late winter snow began to fall. It was a light, fluffy snow that swirled down from the sky, and gave Audrey a peaceful, loved feeling. With the crunch of their footsteps in the snow and gravel, the sound of a tractor in the background, Audrey fell in love with the life she was living, and with the man whose hand she held.

They walked across the street and she found that he dragged out the snow from Josh's driveway also. They hiked to the front of Josh's cabin and Mike pulled out the keyring that Josh left them and unlocked the doors and exterior shutters. Inside the cabin, Audrey looked around in shock and curiosity. Miss Veronica's house was so neat and beautifully decorated, what she could see in the cabin was Josh. The cabinets were simple, probably from a house built 80 years ago.

Mike found the light switches and the lights came on one by one. An ancient shrouded hanging light bulb over the kitchen table came on, then the under cabinet LEDs came on. The lights next to the kitchen area came on shining up to the wooden roof above the log rafters, and hidden lights shining downward illuminated the living room area.

The living room area was ultra-masculine. There were things on the walls, leg-hold traps, fishing poles, a mounted rabbit's head with antlers, a bat, a pair of motionless parakeets sitting on a branch, a huge stone fireplace, a stack of wood ready for the fire. There was a huge grandfather clock in a corner and the time was off. She went up to the clock and opened the front panel and found that it wasn't a grandfather clock, it was a gun locker. There were two shotguns and a rifle in there.

She turned around and looked up then screamed. Mike came running to her. "What is it? What scared you?"

"Up there! Raccoon!"

Mike looked up and saw the raccoon. It wasn't interested in them, it was clinging to the log rafter and looking off toward the kitchen. Mike took an ancient single-barrel single-shot shotgun out of the clock and used it as a stick and nudged the raccoon. Audrey squeaked with fear but the raccoon didn't move. "That must be Toby."

"What?"

"Toby, Josh's stuffed raccoon."

"He named a dead animal?"

Mike nodded and pointed to the jackalope. "That's Alfonso, the parakeets are Frick and Frack, and the bat is Robin."

"He named a bat Robin?"

"You know, like Batman and..."

"I get it." Audrey watched as Mike put the shotgun away. "Would you have shot it if it was real?"

"Not with that gun. I didn't have any ammo, and that gun was ancient and rusty. I don't know if it would fire. I think that was a honeytrap."

"What is that?" said Audrey as she began to inspect the fireplace.

"The three guns in here are all cheap junk. I'll bet you a doughnut that Josh has their serial numbers registered with the Concord Police. The idea is that a thief comes in, finds the guns, figures that's good enough, and leaves with the guns. He finds out they don't shoot so he tries to sell them and when they do a background check, the gun is reported stolen. Enter the ATF. Very crafty."

Mike joined Audrey at the fireplace and he reached up and opened the flue, then built a small teepee fire on the andirons. He soon was able to add larger sticks of wood and the fire began to snap and crack. "How does breakfast for supper sound? I have eggs, bacon, and potatoes."

"Are you cooking? That's my job."

Mike shook his head. "Sorry dear, the first rule of manhood clearly states that if there's an open fire in the vicinity, it's a man's job to cook."

"Ok, bring it on, let's see what you can do with three ingredients."

Mike got up and found a cast-iron frying pan then put it on the stove to warm up. When he got it to the temperature he wanted, he fried the entire pound of bacon while he looked for a cutting board. He found something better, a mandolin with a shredding blade. He shredded the potatoes as the bacon cooked. Once the bacon was done, Mike poured off most of the grease and tossed in the potatoes and made bacon-flavored hash browns. Once he had the hash browns ready, he returned the bacon fat to the frying pan and once it was up to temperature, he added eggs to the pan and basted them with the bacon fat until they were cooked, and then placed them on the mound of hash browns, added three strips of bacon and placed it in front of Audrey.

"It looks good," she said nervously. She'd never had a basted egg so she didn't know what to think of them.

"My mother was from Texas, and this is how she made eggs," said Mike as he sat down at the little table across from Audrey. "She called this a haystack."

Audrey took a bite of the egg along with the hash browns and her eyes lit up. "This is delicious! What did you season it with?"

Mike shrugged and said, "A bit of salt, a little pepper, and a whole lot of bacon. I don't think it needs anything more than that."

"No sir! This is good! What are we going to do tonight?"

"Make some popcorn, drink up Josh's Pepsi, snuggle by the fire, listen to The Whistler."

"The Whistler? I like that one. Nice and spooky."

They listened to a sports/talk radio station as they ate. The Buffalo Sabres were on the warpath and they looked like a real contender that year. Then they washed dishes, and Mike saved the leftover bacon for breakfast, and the bacon grease for future projects. Mike built up the fire, linked his phone to the Bluetooth speaker, and he turned off the lights. The first episode was Death Has a Thirst, the story of a woman who takes her husband on a cruise on a yacht to try and cure his alcoholism. In the story the yacht strikes a reef, boilers explode, and four survivors wash ashore on a barren island. Paranoia, jealousy, insanity, and eventually murder, all narrated by the mysterious Whistler had Audrey clinging to Mike. She shuddered in terror as the story played out in her mind. Why is murder on a radio show more gruesome than seeing it in a movie?

When The Whistler ended and Audrey could return to the present, she found herself snuggling close to Mike on the couch, his arms protectively around her. What did he see her as? Friend? Nurse? Daughter figure? She trembled, but this time she trembled in anticipation.

The fire was small and romantic, keeping them warm in front of the fireplace. Stepping out of the circle of warmth meant that Audrey was in for a chill. She stood and wrapped a spare blanket around her and said, "I have to go potty."

"I'll have the popcorn ready when you get back," said Mike with a smile. In the bathroom, which was a storage closet with a water heater, shower, and toilet, Audrey could hear Mike making the popcorn in the microwave. She waited for him to finish up before she emerged from the water closet. She poured a glass of Pepsi and joined Mike in front of the fire. He had moved the futon couch closer to the fire, not knowing that was what Josh did when he and Veronica were feeling frisky.

Audrey, still wrapped in the blanket climbed under Mike's blanket and clung to him under the covers. The next episode Mike selected was Death Comes at Midnight. First broadcast in October of 1942, Death Comes at Midnight was the story of John Prentice, a successful manufacturer who had a nightmare of a man standing over him, prophesying his death within 48 hours. Audrey clung to Mike under the blanket and would say, "Feed me," and open her mouth wide. All through the episode, there were plot twists and turns, terrifying and delighting Audrey. "Wow, he did all that for only a one hundred thousand dollar insurance policy?"

"This was recorded in Nineteen Forty Two, that insurance policy was equivalent to over two million dollars adjusted for inflation."

When the final scene was played Audrey clung to Mike and his arm slipped under the blanket to coil around the cute nursing student. Mike suddenly froze. His hand was filled with the firmest, warmest, largest breast he had ever felt. Her tit was the large boob he had ever clutched, not that he's clutched a lot of tits. He looked at Audrey and she looked terrified. "I can get dressed if you'd prefer," she said softly.

"No... it's just..." He stopped talking and looked into her eyes.

"Just what?"

"When a dream comes true, it's often a shock."

"Dream? You dreamed of me?" Audrey couldn't believe her ears. She took her clothes off as a prank, but it felt so good to be sitting naked next to the man that made her heart jump. It was so comfortable, so right.

"You've been sitting next to me naked all this time," whispered Mike. He leaned closer and said, "A girl could get in trouble that way."

She leaned toward Mike and whispered, "No, not with you. You have honor."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know." Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and she pulled back. "I'm sorry, this was wrong. I'll get dressed..." She tried to leave but she was tangled in blankets and Mike wouldn't let go.

"Stay with me, please." He pulled her close, then let her lay back with her head on his lap. Her sexy legs and tiny feet peeked out of the blanket and Mike's hand was under the blanket resting on her flat tummy. He knew that she was in good physical shape, he held her ankles while she did sit-ups every morning. However he didn't realize how spectacular her breasts were. "Honey, I want you to be comfortable and if that means putting on a parka, then by all means, do it."

"Mike, you probably don't want me anywhere near you. I am a highly sexed individual. I can keep in under control but at some point I'm going to reveal myself..." When she said 'reveal myself' Mike's hand crept close to her breast.

"Darling, with one exception I've been celibate for thirty years. My life was dedicated to Veronica, Magda, and our home. Suddenly I have a nurse who I'm falling in love with and all the free time I want. If this is as close to a naked woman as I can get, I'll take it."

She reached up and caressed his cheek. The fire in the fireplace was burning low and they were looking at each other in the dim flickering light. "Don't fall in love with me. My father was a sick man and he groomed me to be a honey trap. He would have me seduce a potential buyer. There was a camera hidden in my purse and I'd set it to get photos of us in bed. My dad would use that as blackmail."

"I don't care."

"How can you not care?"

Mike's hand slid down her tummy to her neatly shaved pussy and found her seeping fluid. Was that for me? Did I get her that excited? He eased a finger into her sodden snatch, causing waves of pleasure to course through her young body. She gasped and arched her back while her hands grasped Mike's wrist and guided his hand, fucking herself with his fingers. "Why should I care about your past? I care about your present and your future." His thick strong fingers sliding in and out of her quim had her squirming. "I want you. I want to have you any way you want, just as long as I'm in your life."

Mike scooped up the little nurse and carried her to the fireplace and laid her down on a rug then unwrapped the blanket. He looked down at his woman-child. She was over 10 years younger than either of his daughters, and more curvaceous than his wife. Ellen was slim and athletic, very athletic--she ran off with another man moments after their son Tobias died.

Driving those memories out of his head, Mike lowered his lips to hers and they kissed. She was a wonderful kisser, her lips and tongue were warm and inviting. Her hands clutched Mike and held him close and she whimpered passionately as they kissed. Finally their lips parted and he whispered, "Dear God can you kiss!"

"You inspire me," then she gasped as he lowered his head to her breast and suckled on it. She enjoyed the blissful sensations until she decided that he needed to be nude also. She tangled his arms in hers and easily rolled him over until he was on his back and she was on top. She smiled and looked down on the stunned man. "It's a nurse thing," she giggled as she unbuttoned his shirt. She soon had his shirt and trousers off. She hooked her fingers under the waist band of his shorts and said, "Lift." He raised his hips and she pulled his shorts down and his cock sprung free.

She was transfixed at the sight of his cock. It was long and tick and as rigid as a teenager's cock. "For me?" she whispered. She realized why Ellen left him; she needed a rest. That pole was going to pound her to death. She realized that she had to teach him restraint. He tried to sit up and he reached for her but she pushed him back down on the rug. "Relax, let Nurse Audrey show you what she's learned."

Mike smiled and laid back as Audrey climbed on him in the 69 position. They began to explore each other with lips and tongues, trying to learn their partners sensitive spots while trying to ignore the delightful torture each other was giving. Mike discovered that while flicking her clit with his tongue, Audrey loved two fingers sliding into her pussy while another finger slid into her ass. While he was driving her out of her mind, she discovered that he loved having her suck his balls into her mouth.

He drove her out of her mind, his tongue and fingers on her pussy his other hand pulling and twisting her nipple, the sensations driving her crazy. She was trying to give him the best blowjob he ever had but something happened. All she could do was lay on him and pant as he drove her out of her mind with pleasure. Something snapped and an explosion went off in her head as wave after wave of pure ecstasy washed through her. She heard someone screaming and she realized it was her. The pleasure was so intense and it snuck up on her so quickly. She opened her eyes and saw Mike smiling down on her. She was on top of him feasting on his cock, but now she's on the floor looking up into his concerned eyes.

"What was that?"

"You came."

She opened and closed her mouth... all those climaxes in the past were nothing like this! "I've never..." She couldn't finish because Mike put a finger on her mouth to stop her.

"I think this is a new beginning for both of us," he said as he moved between her legs. Her small hand wrapped around his cock and pulled him toward her and into her. Soon his love muscle was pushing into her. So warm, so tight. It had been so long since he's been inside a woman and she was looking up at him with love in her eyes. "I'm not going to last long," he said as he eased in and out of her moist grip.

"Slow," purred Audrey. "Nice and slow." She drew out her words and Mikes cock eased in and out of her damp flower slowly and gently. He had never moved so slow inside a woman's pussy and the sensation was intense. Inch by inch he eased in and out of her delicate pussy which began squeezing his cock. "I can't hold back," he said in a shuddering voice.

"Let it go," she whispered. Mike felt like he was going to start fucking savagely, but she grasped his ass and suddenly with a strangled roar he came, emptying years of loneliness into her welcoming vagina. Spurt after spurt of his seed poured into her, and he shuddered and collapsed.

"I've never cum so hard," he gasped.

"Same here," she said as they kissed. "We have forever to share our love."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 08 - Old Friends

Paul brought Andi's Dream to a gentle stop and moved to the aft helm where he could watch the show down below. Both Yi and Kim-ly were about the same height, and maybe the same age. From what he heard, Kim-ly had a few years on Yi. Both were slim but muscular, and both had small, firm breasts but Kim-ly's nipples were dark, while Yi's nipples were coral pink. Their hands moved with lightning speed and it appeared that the object was to slap the ass of the opponent.

They would stand in a semi-crouch, hands at the ready, eyeing each other for a sign that she was going to make a move. Then suddenly their hands were flying, reaching out for their target or blocking her attempt. Then, to make matters even more tense, Yi slapped Kim-ly's tit. Now the battle raged non-stop, each girl trying to get the advantage. High-pitch cries filled the air as they sparred when suddenly Yi's hand reached the actual goal and unlaced Kim-ly's bikini bottom. Her bikini bottom dropped to the ground exposing her neatly groomed jet-black pubic hair. The two Asian women stood panting then fell into each other's arms. "Let's go cool off," said Yi.

"Good idea," said Kim-ly. She intended to head for the galley where a beer tap was mounted on the mezzanine, but Yi suddenly hoisted Kim-ly over her shoulder and walked to the very stern. With Kim-ly struggling, Yi opened the stern transom door and stepped out onto the swimming deck and stepped off into the refreshing Atlantic ocean.

"You bitch!"

"Why didn't you tell me you can't swim?"

"I can swim! I just don't like sharks!" Kim-ly was treading water furiously and trying to get back to Andi's Dream but it seemed to keep moving out of her way.

"Calm down!" Yi ordered.

"Calm down? I'm going to get my legs bit off!"

Yi shouted up to Paul who was watching with amusement. "Hey captain? Are there any sharks in the area?"

Paul switched his multifunctional display to Fish Finder and looked at a sonar generated image of the ocean beneath them. "No sharks, but there is a whale about two hundred feet down, passing south to north."

"How deep is the water here?" asked Kim-ly.

There was a pause, then Paul yelled, "Five hundred thirty-five feet."

"Damn!" Kim-ly was floating on her back, her firm little breasts poking up out of the water. She was watching the small rainstorms develop in the blue sky as they floated easily in the Atlantic and the idea that there was over five hundred feet between her and the floor of the ocean was dizzying.

"Come sit here with me," said Yi.

Kim-ly glanced over to the stern where the swimming deck was lowered into the water and Yi was sitting on the deck, leaning back against the stern. Kim-ly sat next to Yi, and they looked for all the world like a pair of sisters. "Minnesota?"

"Yep. We occasionally go to the cities, but most of the time we live in Grant Valley. It's southwest of Bemidji."

"Oh," said Yi. "Where's Bemidji?"

"It's in the north quarter of the state. College town. You're from New York?"

Yi shook her head. "Nope, here in Florida. I always wanted to be a sailor; I went to marine maintenance school when I was fourteen because I kept running away from Public Schools. When I got a certificate I turned around and enrolled in the Culinary Institute, so I could hire out as a chef that could fix breakfast and your motor."

Kim-ly laughed. "My brother and I hate each other, but we work together well. We have an accounting firm in Don's basement."

"Why are you in Don's basement?"

"Because his attic is too cold."

Yi looked at Kim-ly, then they both started laughing. Finally Yi said, "I couldn't see myself hating either of my brothers, Dave or Brian, and everyone loves our little sister, Bit-na. I guess we get along so well because we never see each other. "

"I have three brothers, Huy, Trung, and Bao, and two brothers-in-law, Jake and Don, and I love them all, except Bao... I guess twins are like that."

"Bao is your twin brother?" When Kim-ly nodded, Yi continued. "He did you dirty, didn't he?"

"No, he never did anything to me that I didn't want."

Yi's eyes opened wide in shock. "He didn't do you dirty! That was it, wasn't it?"

Kim-ly glared at Yi, how did she figure it out? Then softened. "Come on, let's race. Loser has to admit their greatest regret."

"How?"

"We'll swim out a ways then we both say three, two, one, go, and go."

"You're on." Then Yi stood and called out to Veronica who was sitting on the mezzanine with Josh, Don, and Lanh, and said, "We're going to race. You record it."

"Ok."

"How far out?" asked Yi as she and Kim-ly swam away from the boat.

"You call it," said Kim-ly who was struggling with an odd breaststroke/dog paddle combination.

They swam out about fifty yards and Yi said, "This is good."

"Ok," said Kim-ly, who was panting heavily.

"Ready? Three, two, one, GO!" Yi charged back to the boat as hard as her decades of swimming experience trained her, but Kim-ly flew past her like a rifle shot. She didn't even notice being passed until, still ten yards out, she looked up and saw Kim-ly standing on the swimming deck toweling off. "How the hell did you do that?"

"My sister is a swimming coach and my brother-in-law still holds a state record in swimming."

"You sandbagged me!"

"What do you mean?"

"You were out there panting like you were dying."

Kim-ly gave an innocent smile. "I was building up the oxygen saturation in my blood."

Yi looked at her stunned. She did that when scuba diving, but never considered doing it before swimming on the surface. "I did not expect that." She hauled herself up on the swimming deck and sat with a thump. "You should go diving with us."

"Diving?"

"In a few minutes we're going to head for a reef and try to catch some dinner. Spiny lobster and grouper."

"So what's your biggest regret?" asked Kim-ly.

Yi stared at the ocean for a long time then finally said, "On New Year's Eve, I tried to seduce Paul. It was his honeymoon cruise."

"No shit?" gasped Kim-ly.

"Yeah, I was drunker than hell and I didn't realize that my last chance was long gone. The next morning he forgave me, and Andi hired me as governess. What was yours?"

Kim-ly frowned and said, "I tried to keep Don and Lanh apart. I knew from the moment they met they were made for each other, but I was jealous. If nerds like them could find love, why not me? It took me years to work up the courage to apologize, and what do they do? They draw me in, give me an apartment of my own and all the milk and eggs I could ever want."

Yi chuckled then said, "Come on, let's get ready to go hunting for dinner."

<><><><><>

While Yi and Kim-ly were playing around in the water, Josh was reuniting with two folks who meant so much to him in Korea. "How did you get hooked up with folks that own a boat this big?" asked Lanh in complete shock. They were sitting at a table on the mezzanine enjoying the sun, the ocean breezes, and the cold beer.

"Don't know. I bought an abandoned scout camp across the street from some fellow who bought an old bankrupt farm. We did it for the same reason, to give us something to piddle with on weekends. Ronnie and I stopped playing hide-and-seek, and she had a house two blocks from Paul. Meanwhile, Don is seeing Doctor Andi who travels to Buffalo and stays when she meets Paul. A year later I hear your voice on Andi's speaker phone. Happens all the time. So did you get your degree, Squeaky?"

"I have a doctorate in speech pathology and Don was able to get his degree while on active duty." The tiny Asian woman hugged Don's arm. "I'm so proud of him."

"I'd give it all up just to get my hands on the throat of that pilot," growled Don and then he finished his beer. He was hit with the jet blast of a very powerful jet fighter and was almost killed on the day he was informed that his Doctoral Dissertation was approved and he was awarded an EdD, Doctor of Education. However, since the pilot was a civilian he and many others were able to sue. Their suits disappeared when hush money appeared.

"Come on, let's go meet the hosts of this party," said Veronica and they headed up the staircase to the flybridge to chat with Andi and Paul. "Knock, knock! Madam Mayor! Are you decent?"

"I've only got one boob out," came the reply. They stepped up in the flying bridge and found Paul and Andi Jarecki sitting in the outside dining area; Paul was at the aft helm keeping an eye on Yi and Kim-ly as they splashed around in the water and Andi was breastfeeding Danny.

Josh did the introductions as only Josh could. "Doctor Jarecki, Doctor Jarecki, this is Doctor Campbell and Doctor Campbell."

"Another set of double doctors," said Paul.

Don chuckled as he shook hands with Paul. "You guys are real doctors, we're just academic marvels. I've never met a term paper I couldn't bluff my way through."

"You did it on active duty, in an aircraft maintenance unit. I don't know where you got the time," said Paul. "All we have up here is Diet Pepsi and Genny Cream, can I get you either one?"

"Diet for me," said Josh. "I have a practice session coming up and you know how Julissa gets."

"What's Genny Cream?" asked Lanh, hoping it was something to do with Bailey's Irish Cream.

"It's a beer he had flown down from New York on a private airplane," said Veronica.

"When you put it that way it sounds pretty cool," said Paul with a huge grin. "She didn't mention that in the compartment just ahead of the beer was twelve people, including her."

"That's my job," said Veronica as she poured Lanh a small beer from a pitcher and handed it to the tiny Asian. "I use the words that work."

"You're a writer?" asked Lanh whose eyes were still locked on the baby. Andi was now burping Danny.

"No, I'm an executive assistant to the CEO of Andalon Data Systems and his wife who's the CEO of Adoption Advocates."

"She was also my campaign manager and got me elected against a big-money hit-man," said Andi. Without asking, Andi handed Danny to Lanh, whose eyes grew wide as she held the infant. Andi knew how much Lanh wanted a baby.

"Hit man?" asked Don. "I didn't realize the mafia was so active in New York."

Paul filled in the details so Josh didn't have to say them aloud. "The fellow that was running against Andi killed Dennis Howe and his wife Séraphine. Dennis's father Gillford Howe was senior aide to Senator Alvin Kroc. They believed that Dennis took something that was very damning to the senator and someone higher up in the food chain ordered a hit on my friend Dennis and his wife."

"What could he have taken that got them so riled up?"

"You know that notebook you used to carry in your left shirt pocket?" asked Josh. Don nodded, most aircraft maintainers carried a small notebook full of information they needed to get their job done. Torque values, electrical resistance readings, 24-pin connector pin diagrams. "His book was ugly. Paul stumbled into one of his operations and got kidnapped for it."

"You got kidnapped?" gushed Lanh.

"Yep, I was rescued by a couple of fellows out in the swamp looking for catfish."

"One of them was Wedge Donovan," said Josh.

"WHAT?" gushed Don and Lanh at the same time. Lanh's cry caused Danny to cry out too.

"They know Wedge and Phil?" asked Paul.

"Don worked for Roxie, and Wedge worked for me," said Josh. "Most of it was a fun assignment."

"The Air Force is a small, small world," said Lanh. "I constantly meet people who know someone I knew."

"How are Wedge and Roxie doing?" asked Don.

"Married, three kids. Wedge retired as a Senior Master Sergeant; Roxie is Chief Enlisted Advisor at Buckley Rocket Bottle Shop or whatever they call it, and she's getting ready to retire very soon."

"And they're moving to Saint Felix," said Andi.

Just then a sharp whistle came from down below. Paul looked down at the cockpit and Yi shouted, "Everyone's aboard!"

"Let's get going." Paul opened the throttles and the multifunctional display showed him the route he was going to take. "Ever go snorkeling?"

<><><><><>

"This area is a hazard to navigation so we shouldn't have many boats in our way except for fishermen," said Yi as she showed Kim-ly how to adjust her facemask. "Andi's Dream is the biggest boat you'll find here."

"Why?" asked Lanh.

"Trust me, you'll see when you look down there."

Yi, Kenny, and Kim-ly were seated at the edge of the swimming deck on the stern of Andi's Dream and were getting ready to dive. Yi and Kim-ly had tridents to stab shellfish, Kenny had a spear gun because he wanted a grouper. The girls were wearing bikinis and all three had masks, snorkels, and fins. Don and Lanh Campbell were there also; they had masks, snorkels, and fins but they were there to stay up top and keep an eye on the divers.

The water was only about twelve feet deep. That gave five feet of clearance between the reef and the keel of Andi's Dream. Kenny and Yi dove down with Kim-ly and began to hunt. Lanh marveled at the colors that she was able to see underwater. When diving in a Minnesota lake, everything is greenish, but here in the ocean the colors are vibrant. The most shocking thing was when Yi told her that this was nothing compared to the colors of the Great Barrier Reef.

As Lanh watched, Yi and Kim-ly started shoving crabs in the net bag she was carrying. Don was keeping an eye on Kenny who was exploring the reef, looking for a fish that was probably hiding. The trio of divers was bobbing up and down between the reef and the surface for air. When they came up for air, Lanh began to study the area around the reef. There were numerous sunken boats and ships, extending the coral reef. It was so tempting to explore and she needed to know more about this ship-killing reef.

When Kenny came up he tapped Don on the shoulder. "What's up?" asked Don.

"I think I found one, but he's dug in. I'm going to take a shot. As soon as I shoot, come down with a trident and spear him so we can get him out of his hole."

"Sure!" said Don and he swam over to Andi's Dream where a trident spear was lying on the swimming deck. "Got it."

"Ok. Just don't hit him in the face. You'll just make him mad."

"Wait... what?" but Kenny was already heading back down. Don watched as Kenny pointed at the fish then got in position. Kenny raised his spear gun and fired. Don swam down as hard as he could. The fish was huge and Don was fighting it, trying to pull it out of its hole. Then Don struck. The triple points of his spear embedded deep into the fish right behind the gills and suddenly Don felt like he had poked a young bull. That fish fought with every ounce of energy it had, but Kenny and Don were able to get it out of its cave and Kenny shoved his sheath knife into the grouper's spine, ending the fight.

Yi arrived and relieved Don who shot up to the surface and gasped for air. He was still gasping as Yi and Kenny surfaced, hauling the fish up with them. Lanh and Kim-ly were both scolding Don with every fiber of their being. They were chewing him out in English and Vietnamese knowing that he understood Vietnamese. "What's wrong?"

"He shouldn't have gone down," said Kim-ly who looked like she was going to cry.

"He has pulmonary hypertension, that's how we first met Doctor Andi. She was treating him for it," said Lanh. Both Lanh and Kim-Ly were now comforting Don, who was apologizing for risking his life. Pulmonary hypertension steals the lungs' capability to transfer oxygen from the air into the blood, then remove the carbon dioxide from the blood. As Yi and Kenny watched, Lanh and Kim-ly both hugged Don and gave him little kisses as they spoke softly to him in Vietnamese.

Finally everyone was aboard and Andi's Dream began to move. Josh and Veronica came down from the flying bridge to assist Yi and Kenny with dinner. The galley was only big enough for one person at a time, but Yi parceled out the work and started preparing the fish and crabs. There were two devices that looked like large chest freezers at the forward end of the cockpit, but Yi lifted the lid of one, showing a fish cleaning station. Josh lifted the grouper onto the fish cleaning station while Yi sharpened her filleting knife. Kenny lifted the lid on the other device revealing an electric grill. He turned that on to get it heated up.

She cleaned and filleted the grouper while Don watched in amazement. Don had cleaned and filleted hundreds of bass, perch, trout, and even sunfish and bluegill, but he'd never seen that kind of skill before. Yi was an artist with her knives. As she cut away the fillets, Josh and Veronica carried them up to the galley and placed them on a sheet pan. Once Yi cut away the huge fillets, she very carefully cut away the cheeks. "This is Kenny's favorite part."

"Is that why he told me not to spear the fish in the head?" asked Don.

"Exactly."

Meanwhile Kenny separated the crabs and tossed the females back in the ocean. That left him with three good-size Dungeness crabs. He opened the gunwale transom and leaned out with a bucket and collected some seawater, then placed the bucket on the griddle. As soon as the water was boiling, he put the crabs in a wire cage and lowered them into the bucket to steam the crabs. Once they were steamed, Josh and Veronica took the crabs to the fish cleaning station and broke them apart and picked the meat out.

Meanwhile, Yi was in the galley teaching Kim-ly how to prepare grouper fillets and make mango salsa. There were several large grouper fillets that Yi couldn't use so she wrapped them in butcher's paper and handed them to Josh. "Please put these in the chest freezer."

"Where is that?"

"Under the fish cleaning station." Josh went down to the fish cleaning station and found that when he lifted the work surface, he found a sizeable chest freezer. "Oh, and check our visitors, make sure they have ice."

"No problem," called Josh. He lifted a floor panel, revealing a tub that contained a dozen Maine lobsters. They were what had been in the boxes that were placed by Don and Lanh at the marina restaurant. Josh added a bucket of ice and returned to the galley to help set the table.

<><><><><>

"If I haven't said it before, welcome to Andi's Dream," said Paul as he raised a glass of wine in a toast. They were sitting at a long combined table on the mezzanine. "To old friends and new friends alike, welcome. Our number one rule here is to relax. All we ask is that you dress for meals. The rest of the time it's up to you what to wear and what not to wear."

That caused Lanh to quietly giggle. Her dream was to spend a vacation in a tropical paradise, sunbathing naked while Don and Kim-ly waited on her hand and foot. She finally settled down as Kenny and Yi set out the plates. "The gentlemen are getting garlic-herb crab-crusted grouper fillets with roasted asparagus with hollandaise sauce. The ladies are getting spicy crab-crusted grouper with mango salsa on a bed of coconut rice. The idea is to share bites with your partner any way that you want. "

Dinner was marvelous and Josh couldn't get over the joy he felt at being with Squeaky and Don again after all those years and all the heartbreak they had to go through. Veronica could feel the happiness that Josh was practically radiating and all her own personal issues seemed to fall away. She kissed him, then whispered in his ear, "I'm so happy for us."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 09 - Here Comes the Judge

Don, Lanh, and Kim-ly woke up, tangled in each other's arms. "How did this happen?" thought Don. "Why don't I feel guilty?" He slipped out of bed, leaving the two sisters, so beautiful, sleeping peacefully together. He thought twice about using the toilet, but he didn't want to wake them by using the private head in their suite. He pulled on shorts and a t-shirt then slipped out of the master suite. He made his way aft to where the swimming equipment was stored, and used the day head. Then he climbed the stairs to the mezzanine and was surprised to find Yi there, getting breakfast ready. Josh was sitting at a stool sipping coffee.

The sky was growing brighter as the sun rose over a tranquil ocean, and Don sat at the empty stool next to Josh. "You ok buddy?" asked Josh. He had that peaceful happiness of a well-laid man.

"I..." Don stopped. How could he do that? Lanh was the woman of his dreams. He had never had another woman, and he had never wanted another woman. He had been with Lanh since their sophomore year in high school, through ten years in the military, four years in Colorado, and their return to Minnesota, battered and bruised but alive and eventually successful. He shook his head and refused to answer Josh's question.

Yi placed a cup of coffee in front of Don and he mumbled, "Thank you." Then he stared into his cup, hoping some wonderful truth from a greater power would reveal itself.

Yi leaned across the counter to Josh and said in a stage whisper, "Don gave Kim-ly some of that world-famous Minnesota lumber last night."

Josh looked at Don, who didn't look up from his coffee. "No shit?"

"Josh, don't."

"Look, buddy, I'm here for you." Josh put his hand on Don's shoulder and suddenly Don was transformed into the Don that Josh met years ago, a young airman with just a few years under his belt, terrified and alone in Korea. Josh wished he was their mutual friend Wedge. Wedge was huge, but he was soft-spoken and really took care of his troops. "Keeping it bottled up only makes it worse."

"You're not the one I need to talk to," said Don. He sounded like he was getting angry.

Yi didn't look up from her work when she said, "Gee, usually when you guys get laid that thoroughly, you're a lot nicer. You know, with everything trained and..."

"How do you know?" demanded Don.

"Relax, I'm just giving you some shit," said Yi, patting his hand. "I was boning Kenny down in the cockpit last night and Lanh and Kim-ly came to... ya know... cool things off after being ridden like that all night. Lanh told me what happened and how happy she was that you made Kim-ly happy. Then you made Lanh happy, then Kim-ly showed Lanh how to make any man very, very happy."

"Does everyone on the boat know?" groaned Don.

Yi knew exactly what happened: he made love to Kim-ly, with Lanh sitting right next to them, kissing him the whole time. Then he made love to his wife with Kim-ly urging him on. Then when he was sure he was completely drained, Kim-ly gave him a blowjob like he never had before. Yi came out of the galley and put her arms around Don and softly said, "You made my friend Kim-ly very happy. She feels like her years of loneliness are over. Thank you." She kissed Don's cheek and went back into the galley.

"Thank you, but stop," moaned Don.

"Once upon a time I had friends and co-workers and someone to love," said Josh. "Then I got sick and suddenly they disappeared. It was like they decided that cancer was contagious. I sat in a big empty room all alone, day after day. Not eating, not sleeping, just staring at an empty chair where my friends used to sit. They put me on an empty bus with a driver that didn't speak English and sent me away. I sat in a hospital begging my doctors to kill me. Not because cancer is painful, but because the loneliness is painful. It was torture."

"I didn't know," said Don.

"Nobody did. The VA didn't care. That's one less body to bother them while they were busy throwing sex parties and putting up new buildings. My friends Rod and Deanna Daniels would visit but I was so far away, in Gainesville of all places."

"Why didn't you say something?"

"What, call you up and say, 'I'm lonely, come hug me?' That's not how it works. We suffer and pray for something to change, even death."

Yi said, "Why do you think Kim-ly had your baby? She did it so she wouldn't be alone."

"I'm such an idiot," groaned Don. Kim-ly had a beautiful little boy via in-vitro fertilization. Danh turned one year old not long ago.

"Yes you are," said Yi and she slammed a tray down on the counter in front of Don. It contained a carafe of coffee, three cups and three plates with traditional bagels and lox. The everything bagels were lightly toasted on the inside, then spread with a layer of cream cheese and a couple of paper-thin layers of Nova Lox which is cold-smoked lox. Atop that were capers, red onion, cucumber, and tomato, all sliced paper-thin. Yi then sprinkled chopped fresh dill over the bagels. "Go feed your wives."

"Oy," gasped Josh, as he looked at the bagels with hungry intent.

"Wives?" asked Don.

"Get used to it," said Josh. "In for a penny, in for a pound."

"Tam is going to kill me," he muttered as he picked up the tray.

"Who?"

"Never mind," groaned Don and he headed down to the main cabin with his tray.

"This one is for you," said Yi and she put a tray in front of Josh that was set up with two settings instead of three.

"Oh, thank you. These look great."

"They're not for you; they're for the mayor. Take that tray upstairs then go wake Veronica and Kenny and invite them to a clothing optional breakfast on the mezzanine."

"Aye, aye, ma'am." If Josh learned anything in the Air Force, it was to never piss off the cook.

<><><><><>

That afternoon, Andi's Dream slowly approached the long dock on the western shore of Nisi Arcadia, the private island retreat owned by Judge Nicholetta Atherton and her husband Donald. The island was shaped like a huge upside-down raindrop, with beaches and remote coves around the shoreline.

As they crept slowly to the pier, Josh helped Kenny hoist the small Zodiac boat off the forward deck then tie it down on the swimming deck. When Andi signaled that the Zodiac was secured to the swimming ramp, Paul brought the throttles to a stop and allowed the big boat to drift towards the pier.

Yi and Kenny set fenders out on the port side of Andi's Dream and Josh headed out to the foredeck where he, Don and Kim-ly put up the overhead tarp and set up the benches and table. In the galley, Lanh and Veronica carried the snack trays that Yi made last night up to the foredeck as the yacht eased up to the dock. Once Andi's Dream was secured to the dock, Kenny connected a heavy electric line to the yacht and threw a switch providing power to the big boat. Paul killed the engines, then shut down the generator, and for the first time in two days the boat was silent.

"Do we have to get dressed?" asked Kim-ly. They were told that a VIP was coming aboard and she was worried about having to dress. Veronica agreed with the sentiment, now that she had summoned up the courage to move about the boat topless, she didn't want to offend Andi's friend and political benefactor. Just then Andi stepped onto the bow followed by a woman clearly in her later years. She had long silver hair combed out straight like Lanh's ebony locks and like Andi she was wearing only a sarong. Her firm breasts were either superbly modified or timeless in their shape and size; they appeared to be as firm as a woman in her twenties.

"Folks, this is our hostess, Judge Nicoletta Atherton, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. She and her husband Donald own this island and are happy to have us come visit."

"Judge Atherton, it's so good to finally meet you," said Veronica.

"Yes dear, we didn't have nearly enough time to meet at Andi's inauguration shindig." Instead of shaking hands, Judge Atherton gave Veronica a tight hug. "Thank you so much for helping my dear friend, Andi. Now that she has the office, you must help her use it wisely."

"I will, your honor."

"Please! It's Nicholetta, or just plain Nikki."

"Yes ma'am."

Nicholetta laughed and said, "I'll get you to say it before you leave." One by one Judge Atherton walked around the bow patio shaking hands and welcoming her guests, and when she got to Kim-ly, the Asian hottie introduced herself as Kim-ly Campbell. "Interesting! I cannot wait to hear your story."

She seated herself at the apex of the triangular lounge and said "Okay, I love to do some icebreakers and get to know you then we'll go ashore where my husband is preparing dinner." She sighed and said, "What a group, all you guys are veterans, and all you women are beautiful. I was told we have newlyweds, who is that?" Josh and Veronica raised their hands and Nikki gushed, "Ronnie and Josh, you're our newlyweds? You get to start, tell us how you met."

"I got a new job at a tech company in Orchard Park," started Josh, "and this beauty queen gave me the HR briefing as I in-processed."

"We kind of hit it off right there but we played by the rules for a couple of years," said Ronnie.

Nicholetta nodded and smiled. "Very wise, however Anthony tells me that there's a little bit more to your story... something called StormWatch?"

Veronica sighed, she had forgotten that Anthony and Marj were friends with Judge Atherton, and she wouldn't be surprised if Nikki knew the whole story anyhow. "Our business requires the servers stay on and connected to the network 24/7. During one storm we had a power glitch that knocked everything offline until someone came in to fix it. Josh suggested having a qualified person remain in the building during storms to stand fire watch and keep an eye on the servers. That's StormWatch. Josh and I got snowed in one weekend and we finally admitted our feelings and took our relationship to another level."

"Another level?" asked Nicholetta with a sly grin.

"We moved in together as soon as the snowplows freed us."

"Outstanding!" said Nicholetta with a laugh. "Yi, welcome back, and Kenny it's good to meet you. Andi tells me you two snuck off and got engaged. Why don't you tell everyone how you met?"

Yi started with, "I was sitting at the bar mourning the fact that fifty percent of my friends in Springville were under seven years old. Then this guy came up to me and said, 'Hi, I'm Kenny, I have yellow fever and I'll be your stalker for the evening.'"

"A guy after my own heart!" cried Kim-ly, and she gave Kenny a fist bump. "Did you really say that?"

Kenny looked like he was going to blush. Then he said, "I did say all of those things at one time or another, but we met in the sporting goods section of my store and Andi and Macy kind of shoved us together. I told her that I was interested in her, and we talked about our visits to Korea, mine in the army, hers to visit her grandmother."

"And you hit it off right there," sighed Lanh.

"Oh, hell no!" said Kenny, Yi, Andi, Paul, Veronica, and Josh in unison.

"They were on-again, off-again for months!" said Andi, "then on Halloween they clicked."

"We actually had a scoreboard at Worzel's Bar and were betting on whether they would enter angry with each other or all lovey-dovey," said Josh.

"You people are brutal! I've got to come to Springville more often," said Nikki laughing. "Okay, who's next?"

"That's us," said Andi, "you know our story."

"I might," said Nikki with a wicked smile, the kind of smile she used when daring a felon to lie his way out of her courtroom. "I don't think everybody here has heard it; I want to hear Paul's version."

Paul sighed, took a swig of his beer then said, "I was in my cabin. I had been chatting with Josh and the weather started to set in. I decided to ride out the storm and Josh got in his truck and went home. About an hour later I got a call from the Town of Concord police dispatch asking me if I could find a stranded traveler with children somewhere near Hirsh's farm. I hopped on the tractor and went looking for them. I had chains on the tractor, and half a load of hay on the trailer, and I went up the road looking for them; and I found them in a ditch. I loaded Andi and the twins into my hay wagon and gave them a hayride back to my cabin."

"Was she happy to see you?" asked Nikki knowing what the answer was going to be.

"Hell no. First she refused to get in the wagon until the Town of Concord verified my ID. Then when we got to the cabin, she told me to go sleep in the barn and locked me out of my cabin."

"You what?" shrieked Veronica and Kim-ly.

"You never told me this part," said Yi with a grin.

Andi buried her face in her hands and, blushing furiously said, "I was scared for my twins! And I didn't know him from Adam."

Paul finished the story with, "She let me back in the cabin and we talked it out. While we were snowed in we figured things out and came out engaged."

"Fast movers," said Kim-ly with a grin. "I love it."

"That brings us to the Campbells. By the way, Dr. Campbell, I love your book, it was sweet and very moving."

Don looked shocked. "There's really nothing sweet or moving about emphasizing basic skills in elementary school..."

"No, the new one, I believe the working title is 'Sue Lynn,' if I'm not mistaken," said Judge Atherton.

Don frowned, that was a work in progress; a story of the heartbreak they went through when they tried to adopt a child. "That is an outline of the first three quarters of the book, and Lanh is the author."

"We have the same publisher; I am an advocate for streamlining the adoption process and my publisher shares manuscripts with me. I want to pick your brain a bit for that but first, how long have you been married?"

"It will be fifteen years this June. We'll be renewing our vows on our farm and anyone here who wants to come up is invited," said Don.

"And how did you meet?"

"It was at a high school dance," said Lanh.

"That's it?"

"Yeah," said Don. "Sophomore year."

"Nothing else?" Nikki was starting to smell a rat.

"They were the class nerds, picked on by everybody," huffed Kim-ly. "They were set up to dance to this romantic song and they were expected to freak out so everyone could laugh at them but they danced and they didn't freak out. Then they danced together for a couple more songs, and everyone was disappointed."

"I think that was the general idea," said Don as Lanh nodded in agreement.

Then Nikki asked Kim-ly, "You're part of this group, how did you meet Don?"

"I'm the one that took Lanh to the dance and was ready to snap his neck if he did anything to make her cry. But I didn't get to meet him until Monday when she dragged him into our restaurant. Those bastards... they beat the crap out of him after Lanh and I left. He couldn't eat solid food for a week."

"Why would they do something like that?" gasped Veronica.

"Some cheerleaders wanted to pick on Lanh as they were leaving and I got between her and them and they didn't like it so their boyfriends hit me. A lot." Lanh, Kim-ly and Don snuggled close at the memories, and it was clear that they were not going to speak about it again.

"Okay, newlyweds, when did you know that your current partner was the one?" Nikki leaned back waiting for this.

"Day one!" said Veronica. "Don't look so surprised!" and she started laughing at Josh's look of shock. "My, I mean, our boss came to me and asked me to do the initial HR briefing on a new hire. I agreed and in walked Josh. He was the perfect southern gentleman, everything was yes ma'am and no ma'am, and he really meant it, he wasn't being sarcastic, it was natural for him. Every time I looked up from the outline his eyes were right there on my eyes. Our thirty-minute HR briefing took several hours and extended through lunch."

"It was a fix-up," said Josh softly.

"Interesting, why do you think that?" asked Nikki.

"Because right after our boss introduced me to Miss von Köster he took the regular HR girl, Sophia, out to lunch."

"Don't laugh!" said Veronica to the laughing couples. "Our boss always brags that his superpower is hiring the right person for the right job. He told me he hired Josh as a project for me."

"Josh, when did you know Veronica was the one?" asked their hostess.

"I knew two days before day one. I started on Monday, but the previous Saturday was the winter holiday party and Anthony invited me to the party, so I showed up, and I saw this blonde vision in a white formal gown with sequins dancing with an Army officer and everyone was watching, and really, she took my breath away. When the song ended, they stepped apart and as everybody got up to dance, she walked right up to me and she said, 'Hi! Are you Ephraim?' and she pronounced it right! Most Americans pronounce it Efrum; it's e'Frame. I knew, I knew right at that minute."

"Wow! Love at first sight," Nicoletta gushed. "Yi? When did you know Kenny was the one?"

"Pretty early on," said the Korean beauty. "I gave him so much crap, but he put up with it."

"Same for me," said Kenny, "it was just a matter of finding that peaceful middle ground I guess."

"You're lying only by omission. I want to hear the whole story but I don't think you're ready to tell us," said Nicoletta, "we'll let it go for now. Andi, when did you realize that Paul was the one for you?"

"I don't remember if it was day two or day three but when I saw how wonderful he was to my girls, and the way he kissed! I just knew he was the one."

"I suppose that this yacht didn't hurt," kidded Kim-ly.

"I didn't know! I didn't know any of it!" gushed Andi. "He didn't have the yacht. All I knew was that he was a doctor and had a house in town and a cabin that we were trapped in. Oh, and a cool tractor. He had a cool tractor that he taught me to drive.

"The Kubota? He let you drive the Kubota? Dude, that's love!" said Josh who was obviously shocked. The Kubota was Paul's prized possession and he had never let anyone except Andi touch it.

"Wish I knew a farmer that would buy me a Kubota," pouted Lanh as she nudged Don.

"Paul? What about you?"

"The minute I dug her out of a snowbank, there was not a doubt in my mind then, now, or tomorrow."

"Another love at first sight? Really?" asked Nikki.

"It wasn't first sight; we had met years ago before the twins were born."

"Interesting. Lanh when did you know Don was your man?"

"When we were sophomores and I was tutoring him, and I realized that this was what I wanted to do forever, not tutor Don, but work with him toward a common goal," said Lanh as she held his arm tightly.

"Don? What about you, when did you know?"

"The next autumn," Don started, "I was in computer class waiting for the bell to ring so I could see Lanh and I heard her scream, so I ran out into the hall and there was some guy attacking Lanh, and I thought, 'She's MINE! No one else's,' and I charged at the guy."

"And?" asked Nikki.

"And he beat the living crap out of me, but she was safe. She got away, and that's all that has mattered to me since that day."

Nikki then asked Kim-ly, "And you?"

"When? I don't know, I really don't. What I do know is that they let me in and I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, let's head over to the chateau," said Judge Atherton. She turned to Andi and Paul and said, "One more thing, after the first time you came down here, you reached out to Marj Friedman at Adoption Advocates."

"Oh yeah. So much was going on, I forgot all about that." Andi buried her face in Paul's chest.

"Marj didn't. She told me to tell you that the application is complete and you've been approved. Little Tony Jarecki will be ready to take home when you get back to New York."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Chapter 10 - The Honeymooners

"Welcome to Nisi Arcadia, our little getaway from the entire world," said Nicoletta as they gathered at the main house. The main house was a massive, rambling building with wide-open rooms that gave much of the house a feeling of having no walls. One of the young men Justice Atherton mentioned came up to Josh and Veronica and said, "Welcome, I was told you are on your honeymoon?"

"Yes, that is us," said Josh.

"Perfect, follow me, I'll take your bag." The fellow led them down a path through the jungle until they came to a thatched-roof hut built out over the ocean that they accessed via a bridge. "This is the honeymoon suite, there's a refrigerator filled with soda and snacks, a wine cooler over there, TV is closed circuit with a specialized playlist or you can use the Roku. The shower is freshwater, of course. These cords lower the storm shutters but otherwise the cabin is open to the jungle and the ocean."

The only solid wall was the front wall with a Dutch door and a sash window with a window box full of flowers which made the hut look like a sweet little country cottage from the outside. Inside the hut, both the left and right walls were half walls with Venetian-blind-style storm shutters that were opened, and the far wall opened to a deck that was covered by a thatch roof. Four steps down was another deck that was inches above the surface of the water of the perfectly transparent private bay. The hut was furnished simply, with a king-size bed and a small table and two chairs to the side. Outside, the upper deck had several deck chairs and small tables.

"This is beautiful!" gushed Veronica.

"Thank you very much," said Josh as he reached for his wallet.

"No tips!" The young man was adamant. "If I took a tip and grandma found out, I'd be back in Albany before the next snowflake hit the ground. I work here, and in return she helps me with my law classes. You can dine with us at the main house, or dial 0 on the phone, and we'll bring your meals." With that, the fellow was gone and Josh realized he never got the kid's name.

Turning back to Veronica he discovered that she was gone. Her bikini top was on the bed; her sarong and bikini bottom were on the table on the deck, and Veronica was lying on a beach towel on the lower deck which floated on the surface of the warm Atlantic, her beautiful body glistening in the sunlight. It was all a beautiful dream: the perfect love nest with the perfect lover who wanted to have his baby...

He stripped and lay down next to Veronica. He jumped when she ran her finger up and down his cock and whispered, "it has come to my attention that I haven't been paying enough attention to you."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Sush! I wasn't talking to you," said Veronica as she started to kiss her way down Josh's upper body. "You are a handsome, hardworking technical genius who is the center of my universe," she said as she covered his chest with kisses, "But I've missed a spot."

Her kisses trailed lower and lower intermingled with playful nips of her pearly white teeth, and all the while her hand tenderly caressed his balls. "Oh Nica," crooned Josh as Veronica's tongue traced a line from his balls to the crown of his throbbing cock. She took the head of his cock in her mouth and began to suckle on it, her tongue tracing circles around and around, all the while her expressive hazel eyes locked on his. He gasped at the overwhelming sensations she was creating in him.

Now her left had begun to gently stroke his cock while her right hand continued to caress his balls. The sensations were overwhelming, and he could barely gasp, "I'm not going to last very long."

She smiled and popped the head of his cock out of her mouth and said, "You're going to last exactly as long as I want you to." Then she slowly swallowed half of his cock, her tongue slithering on the sensitive underside stirring up sensations that had him groaning. Now her mouth moved up and down, her tongue never letting up, sometimes sucking, other times not. Josh was reduced to a shuddering wreck and Veronica took pity on him. With her tongue flickering on the sensitive underside of his cock he came in her mouth with a strangled cry.

He collapsed on the dock; waves of passion aftershocks coursed through his body as Veronica drew up next to him. "Dear god that was incredible," he gasped.

"We've been too busy, we need more downtime," sighed Veronica as she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

<><><><><>

The luau was in full swing when Veronica and Josh arrived, and by now only Lanh and Veronica were wearing their bikini tops. Kim-ly was telling the story of The Romance of Don and Lanh, the Early Years to the laughter of everyone except Lanh and Don.

"Glad you two could join us," said a man in his early 70's.

"Donald, this is Josh and Veronica Gravely, our honeymooners," said Nicoletta. "Josh, Veronica, this is my husband, Donald. Are you hungry?"

"I just ate, but I'm still a bit peckish," said Veronica with an innocent look on her face while Josh bit the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out laughing. They were given a luau plate with roast pork, huli-huli chicken, tuna poke (sashimi grade yellow fin tuna marinated in lime juice), sticky white rice, and coleslaw with pineapple and mango. They sat at the long table eating their poke plates and drinking mai tais while listening to Kim-ly's hilarious rendition of the Life of Don and Lanh. Soon tiki torches lit the party as the couples laughed and applauded Kim-ly.

"Are you a performer or comedian or anything like that?" Andi asked Kim-ly. "You're really good at your delivery."

"Uh, yes, you should hear me in an IRS audit."

"Really?"

"Really," said Don. "She and her twin brother Bao are CPAs. Their office is in our basement."

"You and your cows keep me in business," Kim-ly said as she sat next to Veronica.

"I would like to propose a toast to our host and hostess," called out Paul. "Nikki, Donald, thank you SO much for rescuing us from winter and putting the joy of summer back in our hearts."

"Hear, hear!" called Don, as all raised their glasses to the Athertons.

"We know how much it means to you," said Nicoletta. "I'm from Plattsburgh, NY and it gets cold up by Montreal. Donald is from Burlington, Vermont... Josh, just be glad you didn't have to grow up with the cold."

"Y' ain't wrong about that. Ah was stationed in North Dakota, Ah thought ah could handle anything! Then ah thought that Buffalo couldn't be all that bad. Ah ain't never been so wrong about sometin' in my entire life!"

"You can come up to Minnesota if you want to appreciate summer," said Don. "Grant Valley, Minnesota is North Dakota cold mixed with Buffalo snow."

"Noooo thank you!" said Paul with a shudder. "Andi and I took the twins up to Bismarck to visit their great grandma... I thought my eyeballs were going to freeze closed."

After dinner Josh went into the bar with the guys while the women sat by the fire and talked softly, long into the darkening evening. It was a rollicking conversation that went in a multitude of directions - business, school, other women, other men, sex.

Veronica said to Kim-ly, "I hope you don't think I'm being nosy... it's just... I know pain. Everyone here knows pain; Josh and I are very intimate with it, and I can tell you truly are also. There are two things you need to know. One is that I am always available for you, if you want to call and vent, or if you just want to brag about your cows, I am here for you."

"Why?" asked Kim-ly. "Why do you care?"

"Because I don't want you to think that you're all alone, that there's no one else out there to talk to. I know what it is to be so lonely that you want to die while standing in a room full of people. Family is great but you can't always talk to family. Sometimes having someone uninvolved to talk to helps. Josh did that for me when my world was falling apart... My sister, my maid of honor, ran off with my fiancé the day before our wedding. She loves to call and tell me how great their kids are doing. How sick is that? If it wasn't for Josh, I'd be dead right now. I really like you, Kim-ly, and I don't ever want you to reach the depths I've been in... and sometimes it's fun to have a girlfriend to talk to about girly things."

Kim-ly began to smile, really smile. This wasn't Kim-ly putting on a happy face; it was Kim-ly actually being happy. "It would be nice to have a friend I can talk with... but I can get pretty whiny, what do you get out of it?"

Veronica looked around to see if they were being listened to, then said softly, "Josh and I are thinking about having a baby...shhhhh! We're still thinking."

"I can't help you there," said Kim-ly with a shrug.

"I know, but if we do have a baby, I will need someone to talk to. My mom's a cunt, but my dad is sweet. He moved in, but I think he's..." she wanted to say 'fucking his nurse' but she wasn't sure. It might do him some good to have a lover.

Kim-ly hugged Veronica and said, "For you, I'll do it. And a premature welcome to the Moms' Club. You said that there were two things I needed to know."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it's about last night, on the boat. I saw you watching and I want you to know that I don't mind." As Josh and Veronica made love, their room door was open and Kim-ly had a front row seat.

"I... oh God, I'm so embarrassed. I was going back to my room and you guys were..."

"No, it's ok, I have an exhibitionist streak. For some reason, I'm at my hottest if there's a door open, or a window blind up. All those years as a model and I never showed a boob, never! But now that I have a man that can fuck my eye teeth loose, it kind of turns me on knowing that someone can see me. I don't know if it's from years of modeling and being the front woman for any company I worked for, but there it is."

"That's sick!" said Kim-ly, feigning shock. "I love it!" Then, with a sly grin, she added, "You guys should sell tickets. You put on a good show."

The men were gathered in the bar room of the Atherton's house. The girls had their beach; the guys had a cigar bar. Even though the bar room was wide open front and back, it still had the proper gloom of a bar where whiskey was sipped, cigars were smoked, and deals were made. This night there were no deals to be made. When military men gathered, the talk always turned to their stories of days gone by. The Navy calls them Sea Stories, the Army calls them War Stories, and the Air Force calls them Bullshit, but if a veteran has nothing else, he has his stories.

The men talked about the military bases where they had been stationed at in the past, the things they did, and the stupid shit that went on all around them. Don and Josh both worked on airplanes, but Don could only work on fighters while Josh could work on any airplane that carried and delivered weapons. Kenny was Army intelligence and couldn't talk about most of the things he did and saw.

"I had this new kid with three private pilot lessons under his belt, and he thought he was going to step into the Air Force and they were going to recognize his glory and ask if he would like to be a test pilot. Imagine his shock when he ended up loading bombs," Josh shook his head at the memory of that guy. "We were loading live 500-pound bombs for one damn thing or another, fifty-one bombs per airplane, and this kid was fin walking. Not exactly Stephen Hawking stuff, all he had to do was hold the bomb tail fins and walk next to the bomb lift truck from the trailer to the plane and hopefully he wouldn't let a bomb drop."

"He dropped a bomb," said Don taking a sip of his beer.

"Big time. The bomb lift truck was backing up and the kid stopped for some reason, but he held onto the bomb fins as the truck backed away from him and the bomb slid right off the lift truck and hit the ramp. Damn thing bounced back up about two feet..."

"What did you do?"

Veronica came up behind him and said in a bad southern accent, "Ah done took my happy ass up to the personnel office an' said 'Put me onna gunship where ah will be safe from that kid!'" She slid into Josh's lap and commandeered his beer.

"Yeah, just like that," chuckled Josh as he kissed Veronica.

"We need to go. We have sailing lessons in the morning. The Campbells challenged us to a race around the island."

"I did...?" asked Don innocently as Lanh and Kim-ly appeared at Don's shoulders and whined in his ears in unison.

"Haw-neee? I want to learn to sail."

"I guess there's a race in my future," sighed Don.

<><><><><>

The honeymooners walked back to their beach hut hand in hand until, halfway to the hut, Veronica stopped and took off her bikini top. "Now you take it off?" chuckled Josh.

"I'm like Lanh, I'm uncomfortable with taking my top off in front of other people."

"But you don't mind if people watch us make love." It was something that Veronica had recently confessed.

"Not all the time, but yes. I'm not showing off, they're sneaking a peek and to me there's a difference. I know it's weird, but it's me."

Josh took Veronica in his arms and held her close, reveling in the feel of her breasts against his bare chest. "It's another part of you that I love."

Arriving at the hut, Veronica dug something out of her purse and patted the mattress for Josh to sit down next to her. It was a hot evening, and a gentle cooling breeze was wafting in from the ocean, a perfect one-sheet night for sleeping. Why couldn't summer nights be like this in Buffalo? A summer night in Buffalo was always hot and humid, so muggy that fog would set in. And it was stifling; the air would never move. It was like a particularly foul fart at a party; it just hung there daring you to breathe.

On Nisi Arcadia, the night was the perfect summer night, the hurricane chimney covered candles flickered gently in their honeymoon hut, the new moon was setting over the ocean and they would be conquering it in sail boats tomorrow. Between them on the bed lay Veronica's birth control pill dispenser. "I've been taking them for twenty years," she said softly.

"We don't have to do this, if you feel safe with those pills, then just keep taking them. Marj will hook us up with a baby."

"I do feel safe taking them, but I feel safer in your arms... this is going to change everything..." She realized that it would take a month or more for her body to throw off the hormones and allow her to conceive. But what if they were too old? "We can do this, right?"

"I believe that we can do anything if we do it together."

She nodded and tossed the pill dispenser in the trash can. "You're right, we can." In that instant everything changed, it felt like she was truly naked for the first time in twenty years, naked and vulnerable and even more in love with Josh than she thought possible.

Josh stood and offered his hand to Veronica as if he were asking her to dance. She demurely rose and he led her out to the dock and as he did, he turned on a Bluetooth speaker and commanded his phone to "Play Etta James, 'At Last.'"

The air filled with the silky sound of a dozen violins playing a sweet intro, and then Etta began to sing, "At last, my love has come along... My lonely days are over... And life is like a song..."

Veronica melted into Josh's arms, and they slowly danced naked on the dock in the starlight savoring the feel of each other's bodies. "I don't think I've ever felt this much in love with anyone," whispered Josh. "Thank you for waking this feeling inside me."

You smiled and then the spell was cast... And here we are in heaven... For you are mine... At last...

Veronica was speechless, she was overwhelmed by love and the thrill that she may be carrying this man's baby in the very near future. Finally, with tears of joy, she whispered, "This is real, Effi. This night, the stars, our love. Remember this moment when the gremlins attack."

"Nica, there has never been much love in my life. Then you came along and taught me everything that I've been missing." They kissed sweetly as the song ended. He gently led her back inside where the antique oscillating fan purred and an ice bucket with champagne waited.

"Did you bring this?" asked Veronica.

"No..." Josh picked up the ice bucket and bottle and said, "There's a note. It says, 'You should learn to lock your door' and it was signed by Aunt Kim-ly. Is there something I should know?"

"She's my stalker, I asked her if I could call her and talk about babies when I'm pregnant," Veronica chuckled at the thought of Kim-ly bringing them champagne. Josh took the foil and the wire cage off the bottle of champagne.

"Should I do it safely or let it fly?"

She had seen him ease the cork off and hand it to her. It was safe but boring. "Let it fly, Effi!"

He aimed the bottle out to sea and pried the cork with his thumbs, and soon the cork took off with a satisfying pop and flew out into the night. "What should we toast to?"

"Just to us," said Veronica, "and to whoever may join our family in the future."

"To us and our baby." Their glasses touched gently.

"Babies?" asked Ronnie.

"I'll drink to that," said Josh as he sipped his champagne and leaned over to kiss Ronnie. "It's not too late to get your pills back," he whispered as their lips parted.

"What do you think of Neils for a boy's name? Or maybe Annelien if it's a girl."

"Good answer," he said as he took the glass out of her hand and placed it on the nightstand. They lay together and kissed, the importance of their decision overwhelming them. Nica and Effi, two friendly co-workers who allowed a snowstorm to expose their feelings for each other, were testing the boundaries of their love.

His fingertips danced down her side to her hip as they lay side by side gazing into each other's eyes. Quite often their lovemaking was playful, joyful, filled with laughter and teasing, but tonight everything was different, their hearts were laid wide open to each other. "Are you scared?" she whispered.

"Terrified, but..." he smiled wistfully. "Thanks to my folks, I know what not to do."

She realized he really was scared; that was no way to start a family. "Come here, you silly..." she pulled Josh close, then rolled onto her back, bringing him on top of her. She was ready; she felt her moisture welling between her thighs. Josh, on the other hand, was half hard and trembling slightly. He began kissing her shoulders gently, his fingertips traced slowly down her arms. Finally, she sighed, "Wake me when you're ready to get started."

"What?"

"Look, Effie, I love you and I get it, this is a big decision, but that doesn't mean that we have to act like we're defusing a nuclear bomb."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not made of porcelain." He still looked confused. "Okay, let me put it this way," and a sly grin spread across her face, "fuck me like you just caught me!" and she wriggled out from under him and darted away.

"Game on!" He dashed after her. Veronica was lithe and has some great moves, several times he thought he had her, but she wriggled out from his grasp. She darted out to the dock with Josh hot on her heels but she was able to evade his grasp and dove perfectly into the warm, inviting water. When she surfaced, she looked and saw Josh sailing through the air, hitting the surface of the water in a perfect cannonball and sending a small tsunami of water over her.

When Josh surfaced, Veronica was moving to the dock, rubbing her eyes, whimpering, "That was so mean! Got water in my nose and eyes and it was scary!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Veronica's demeanor changed the moment her hand touched the ladder on the dock. "Psych!" she cried gleefully and darted up the ladder. She was quick, but Josh was quicker. With one mighty stroke he propelled himself to the ladder and just as Veronica scrambled onto the dock Josh grasped her thighs. Veronica's eyes shot open wide in shock and delight as she felt Josh's tongue slide into her anus.

He growled and snarled lustfully as he feasted on her ass, sending thrills through Veronica. As for her, the race was over the moment she felt two of his fingers speared into her pussy and begin to slide in and out, stirring up an already overheated pot. "Try to escape from me?" snarled Josh as he kissed those luscious ass cheeks.

"No master! Never again!" She whimpered trying not to laugh, but the word master did exactly what she hoped it would.

"Yer damn right, and here's a reminder for ya!" Getting into the game Josh hoisted her hips up into the air. She was face down, ass up on the deck as Josh knelt behind her and drove his iron hard cock into her sodden pussy. She cried out in shock, and they both gasped at the exquisite pleasure of their connection. After a long, heavenly pause she pushed back as a reminder that the game wasn't over. Josh began to fuck, long slow withdrawal followed by a bone jarring slam back in.

"Oh, you fucker," Veronica crooned as the force of his strokes became harder and faster. "You're making me cummmmm...." She groaned.

"I'm right with you Nica."

"Your eyes!" she gasped, "I need to see your eyes!" For some reason she couldn't let herself cum without seeing his eyes, but she needn't worry, she rolled over and he was between her legs and deep inside her pussy in a matter of moments. Once again her warm brown eyes met his ice blue eyes and she fell in love with him all over again.

"Oh Effiiiii," and her orgasm hit her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles, meanwhile her arms wrapped around his shoulders drew him tight, fingernails traced down his back and they were both cumming. Their minds were blown as wave after wave of delicious relief washed over them, and soon her cunt was overflowing with his sperm.

Gasping, laughing, kissing the couple regained their breath. "How was it Mrs. Gravely?"

"Not bad for a newlywed," she teased.

"Let's rinse off," he said and urged his wife to a sitting position in his lap. They kissed, then holding her tight, he rolled backwards into the ocean. The splash cut off her shriek of surprise.

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