Juvenile Escapades

"Okay, I'll do it, but only for two weeks."

Woody gave her a hug. I am not sure why, but I guess he was proud of the decision that she made. We all got up and started back into the lodge.

"Dad. How come I can't go to Princeton?"

Woody just groaned and smacked her on the backside.

Later that night, Amanda and I had coffee in front of the fireplace. She seemed happy with the way things were going and decided to extend her stay at the lodge so that she could be here at the same time her son was. She seemed a little upset while I voiced disapproval of her idea. We did reach a compromised, however. I promised to keep her entertained if she promised to leave Caitlyn and Jason alone. She thought the idea was humorous and wanted to know exactly what I had in mind.

I still hadn't got to talk to Terry or Sara about why she was at the lodge. It could wait until they were ready. After I went to bed I couldn't get to sleep. I had one thing that kept playing over and over in my mind. Why didn't Loretta try and get any of the money that was in the bank. Why was she so quick to settle. What was it, that I didn't know?

Amanda was already on the water when I came down for breakfast. Woody and I had some blueberry pancakes, but didn't waste any time on frivolous conversation. He had two outboards to overhaul and I had bills to pay. I waited until later in the morning to call Seymour. I had that damn itch that needed to be scratched.

"John, I had the same concern as you did, but I didn't want to muddy the waters. I figured that getting Loretta to sign the papers was the most important thing. I did however, put one of my girls on the problem."

"Was it a problem, or something else?"

"Do you remember when Loretta's father died?"

"Yeah. It was about six years ago. It was pretty sad because she lost both of her parents within two years."

"Loretta's father had a one hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy. Did you know that?"

"She never mentioned a damn thing about that."

"Loretta deposited the insurance into a money market account at the Berkshire Credit Union under her maiden name."

"You're kidding, right? Why the hell would she do that?"

"John, we will probably never know, unless she decided to tell you. I figured that she didn't want to try and get any part of your joint assets because she didn't want to risk losing her insurance money."

"Ray Upright did not even come to town until last year, so he had nothing to do with it."

"No, but that brings up another interesting point. Mister Upright has a wife and two children in Colorado Springs. As far as we could determine, Loretta was not aware of it."

I couldn't help myself. I started to laugh over the phone. "I am sorry Seymour, but that is funny as hell. She threw everything away for a man who was married and she didn't even know it?"

"It looks that way, and it gets worse."

"How is that possible?"

"She cashed in the Money Market Account yesterday, and left with a cashier's check for one hundred and twenty four thousand dollars."

"It sounds like she is getting ready to leave town."

"All we can do is wait and see. At least you are out of the woods."

I hung up the phone and I was sitting quietly laughing to myself when Dora walked in.

"John, I just wanted to thank you for talking to Terry. I really appreciate it." She was looking at her feet as she talked.

"Is everything all right?"

"Pretty much so. It is not like it was, but it is a lot better than it might have been."

"Dora, I think he really loves you. I am glad things are back to normal."

There was a short pause and then she looked up. "Things are good, John, but not back to normal. Maybe in a little while, but not yet. I can wait."

"What does that mean?"

Her eyes were starting to water up a little. It was not my intention to cause her any grief, so I decided to drop the subject. She started to turn and leave, but stopped.

"He won't kiss me, John. My husband refuses to kiss me. We do everything else, but he cannot bring himself to touch my lips with his. I feel like a whore. It hurts, but I guess I deserve it." She was quietly sobbing as she left the office. I didn't know what to say.

Jason Freese arrived shortly after lunch. He was good looking and carried himself well. You would be hard pressed to believe that he was as socially inept as his mother indicated. Caitlyn noticed him as soon as he entered the lodge and she immediately got a big grin on her face. I don't think he was what she had expected. The next two weeks were going to be interesting.

Amanda coerced me into going out fishing with her several times. I didn't mind going out for perch or walleye, but I found pike fishing to be boring. I think part of that was because I could not tell the difference between a strike and a weed hang-up. Luc found the whole thing to be hilarious, although he made every attempt to control himself. She finally stopped forcing me to go out with her, if I agreed to some nature walks in the afternoon.

Terry and Woody were happy with the way things were going. The three of us got together often to discuss the business. Terry never talked about his relationship with Dora. Woody and I, tactfully, did not bring it up.

Of course, all of us were watching Caitlyn and Jason. It started out slow, but picked up after the second day. Woody and I finally cornered her and forced her to tell us what was going on.

"I don't think the problem is as bad as Mrs. Freese makes it out to be."

"Why is that?"

"He is just super shy, and it is mainly because of his stutter. He can't speak normally at all, and because of that he avoids other people at all costs, especially girls. I thinks he must have gotten teased a lot when he was younger."

"He seems comfortable with you."

"Not at first, dad. It is getting better now, but I think it might take longer than two weeks."

Woody started to laugh. "You mean you want it to take longer than two weeks."

"I didn't say that. Don't make stuff up."

"John, I think my daughter has got herself a boy friend. What do you think I should do about that?"

"We should consider a chaperone."

It was a weak attempt at teasing her, but she did react.

"You guys, quit it now. He is just going to be here a few weeks and then I will never see him again. He is a nice guy and I don't understand what the fuss is all about."

"Does he have a girl friend?"

"Uncle John, that is not important, but the answer is 'no'. I don't think he has ever been out on a date. Between his father beating him down mentally and his mother over protecting him, he hasn't had a chance."

"Did you kiss him yet?"

"No dad, I did not kiss him, and I have no intention of doing so. Will you guys let it go? We are doing fine. Stop trying to screw things up." With that short lecture, she stomped out of the room.

Woody and I looked at each other and smiled.

Amanda and I had supper together that evening. She seemed pleased with the way that Caitlyn and Jason were getting along. I think she realized that part of his problem had been that she was playing the role of mother hen. It was good to see that she was getting ready to let him go out on his own. She also teased me about not holding up my end of our agreement. I had promised to keep her occupied, and she felt that I was not doing enough to fulfill that promise.

Things at the lodge were running smoothly. The guests were happy and we were actually making a profit; it was small, but it was a profit. We made contact with several of the ice hut operators in the area. They were more than eager to place as many units on the lake by the lodge as we could handle. We would only be able to operate it for about ten weeks, but it would fill in an other wise dead period.

There were several birding organizations in the area. This gave us another opportunity to fill in some slow months in the spring. We had enough of our own property and adjacent public land to create several birding trails. We were hesitant about having guests wandering around the woods during the fall hunting season, so we decided that autumn would be the best time for maintenance and upkeep of the entire facility.

I was spending every evening with Amanda. It was becoming natural and comfortable for both of us. It was almost ten days after Jason's arrival when Woody and I got a little shock.

Caitlyn got together with Amanda to brief her on the progress that she was making with Jason. According to Amanda, things were going far better than she had ever expected. The two of them talked for about an hour and then Woody's little girl calmly asked Amanda if she could get her some birth control pills. It was something that Mrs. Freese had not anticipated. Without thinking, she agreed to do it. After Caitlyn left, smiling, Amanda had second thoughts. That was where Woody and I came in.

Amanda had no problem with doing what Caitlyn asked, but would not consider it without Woody's approval. This is something a father should not have to endure. Mothers were put on this earth to take care of situations like this. Amanda and I tried our best to alleviate Woody's anxiety about the request. Reluctantly, he finally agreed that it was for the best. It appeared that Caitlyn had done a better job with Jason than any of us had expected.

The next morning I got an unexpected call from Loretta.

"John, I need a little help. When I signed the papers for the divorce, I didn't ask for anything, you know, money wise."

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, I am in a small bind right now, and I was wondering if you could spare a few thousnd dollars to tide me over."

It was evident that something had happened in the past few days; something bad for my soon to be ex-wife.

"I don't understand. I thought that you had plenty of money."

"What do you mean, John? I didn't take any from you or from the accounts."

"No, I meant from your fathers insurance. There should have been plenty there to last you for a long time."

There was a pause at the other end. "John, did you know about the insurance?"

"Of course. I am not that dense. What happened to all that cash from the Money Market Account?"

"Oh God, John. I am so embarrassed. I did a stupid, stupid thing."

"How stupid, Loretta?"

"Raymond and I opened a joint bank account with the cashiers check that I got from the credit union."

"Let me guess. Raymond skipped town and the bank account is empty."

"Yes. Yes, and I don't know what to do. John, I need your help."

"Are you going to go and get it back?"

"What do you mean? Go where? I have no idea where he is, or might go."

"My guess is that he is on his way to Colorado Springs, to his wife and kids."

There was a long silence. "He is married?"

"Yes, and he has two kids."

"Why didn't you tell me? If you knew this you should have told me, damn it, John."

"I am sorry darling. I got the distinct impression that you wanted me to butt out of your life."

I could tell now that she was crying. It was time to end the torture. "Loretta, stop by and see Seymour tomorrow. I will call him and tell him to give you five thousand dollars. That should be enough for a while, at least until you can get to Colorado and get an Attorney there to help you."

"John?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

That was the last time I ever had contact with Loretta. I guess a lot of guys would say that I shouldn't have given her anything. That was my first inclination. She screwed up so bad that I just couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her.

Jason's visit to the lodge had been over a month now. It was soon going to be time for him to leave. Caitlyn had been spending all her time with him and had been avoiding Woody and I. We started to joke about it. It was as if she was grooming him for his debut into our lodge group. We all had a brief introduction, but none of us, other than Caitlyn, had spent any time with him at all.

There was a small library or reading room at one end of the main hall. One afternoon, Woody and I noticed that Caitlyn and Jason were there with Amanda Freese. It wasn't a casual gathering; it actually looked like a formal meeting. Caitlyn and Jason were both dressed up, compared to their normal attire. Amanda noticed that Woody and I were watching and gave us a small smile. After about an hour, the kids got up and walked towards us. They both had big grins on their faces.

"Your turn now, daddy. Mrs. Freese wants to talk to you and Uncle John."

Woody and I entered like two kids who had been sent to see the principal.

It appeared that Amanda Freese had more money than Woody and I had imagined. We knew that she was loaded, but never imagined that she was filthy rich. Amanda's father had endowed a great deal of money to his old alumnus, Princeton,; so much, that Amanda could pretty well get anything that she wanted from them. The only thing that was left to do now, was to get the approval from Elwood F. Perry to allow his daughter to attend Princeton starting in less than two weeks. As far as Woody was concerned it was a no-brainer.

Terry joined the two of us on the front porch later. It was too chilly for beer, but we drank it anyhow. We were trying to figure out if Caitlyn really liked Jason or if she was just putting on an act in order to get a free ride at college. We didn't spend too much time dwelling on it. Terry still hadn't opened up about Dora. Woody and I had known that this was a topic that would never, ever be discussed.

Later that evening, Amanda joined me in front of the fireplace with the antique pop corn popper. The popcorn got better in the microwave, but it was more fun making it in the fireplace. I sort of liked the burnt, crunchy kernels. I never really considered wine appropriate to drink with popcorn, but tonight seemed special. It was the first night in a long time that I did not sleep alone. We thought that we had been discrete, but forgot that Caitlyn was the one that made the beds in the morning. Amanda's unslept bed did not go unnoticed.

Amanda and I endured the ribbing from Caitlyn at breakfast. Later that morning, Amanda moved her things into my room. Jason, who was usually very quiet and reserved, gave me a wink at lunch time. I assumed that I had his approval.

Weathergard Recovery Enterprises agreed to fix up the trashed house for fourteen thousand dollars plus 5% of the reasale profit. They specialized in repairing storm and fire damaged structures. The entire agreement was taken care of on the internet. I never saw the old house again, and ended up with over sixty thousand dollars profit at the end.

Sarah called to let me know that her mother had succesfully recovered almost all of the money that Raymond took from her. Loretta had left Colorado for Los Angeles. She was planning on staying with a cousin she had out there.

Amanda went with Jason and Caitlyn to help them get settled at school. They had spent the last two weeks at the lodge sharing a cabin, so Woody had no problem agreeing to let them share a condo while they attended school. He realized that if he tried to do anything else, he would just frustrate himself.

Before Amanda returned, she stopped by her home in Burlington to gather up clothing and personal belongings that she would need at the lodge. Her decision to stay full time was welcomed by all of us, especially by Dora who was dying for a little female companionship. Amanda was going to be taking care of all the advertising and correspondence, two tasks that I had done, but never enjoyed. To Luc's dismay, Amanda stopped pike fishing. Her obsession seemed to be over.

Things slowed down during the late fall, since we were one of the few places in the area that did not cater to hunters. It gave us time to catch up and clean up. Money was not a problem.

We had a small Christmas party that included a tree and some gifts. Amanda had hung up some mistletoe and Dora was elated when she got her first kiss from her husband. Things seemed to normalized between them after that.

Poor Woody was the only one who spent the holidays alone, but he didn't seem to mind too much. He never heard from Colleen again. Although my divorce had been finalized, Amanda and I never discussed marriage. Things were fine the way that they were, and neither of us wanted to screw it up.

Jason and Caitlyn did not finish their first year at Princeton. After a quickie marriage in Maryland, Jason transferred to the University of Vermont and the two love birds moved into the Burlington family home. Amanda's was excited about her first grand child. I guess the birth control pills didn't work.

Yes it was juvenile, but it was a hell of a ride and a lot of fun. I would do it again.