Sophia Pt. 04

I stayed glued to Don for the entire weekend, especially at the pool. He looked mighty fine in his swimsuit. In fact, he was the best looking guy there all weekend long! Many of the other female tenants were staring at him, almost literally drooling with their tongues hanging out; I had to make sure to guard my territory! Turn my back for a minute, and one of them might slip him their phone number or even take his hand and lead him to one of the fake cabanas they've got set up!

I cheated, though, when it came to meals, and I only made breakfast that weekend. For dinner on Friday, and for all the lunches, we ate by the pool. I took them out to dinner both Saturday and Sunday to two of my favorite restaurants. I had told them all to bring their best dress clothes. Megan and Robin had such a great time dressing up in the clothes that I had helped pick out and bought for them that I couldn't help but laugh; they looked so pretty, like a couple of sparkling princesses. They were really excited to be going out to such extravagant places, and I even got to see Don in the suits that I had picked out for him. He looked scrumptious! I'm going to have to get him a tux, too, really soon.

I didn't want to drive, and I thought it would give Megan and Robin a thrill, so I arranged for limousines to take us both nights. I was right, Megan and Robin were awestruck.Just stick with me kids and I'm going to show you the world!

The hosts, hostesses and managers at both restaurants came to our table to ask why I hadn't been by lately. I pointed at Don and said it was his fault; he's such a great cook that I don't need to go out to eat as often.

Marilyn, a young attractive hostess at one of the restaurants, looked at Don, licked her lips and quietly said to me, "And he cooks, too?"I won't be able to go back to that restaurant with Don safely until I have his ring on my finger. He's a complete hunk now; maybe getting him chiseled wasn't such a good idea after all!

Then I had a really frightening thought.What about all the other women he meets when I'm not around?

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We all had a great time at Maria's condo, even with the ever present gray skies; a vacation to a fake tropical paradise was awfully nice. I swear that Maria practically waited on me hand and foot for the entire weekend. I think she was trying to make up for her earlier strange behavior. I talked briefly with Maria about Robin's upcoming birthday on the eighteenth because I wanted to celebrate it on the Saturday and Sunday before, and Maria begged me to let her handle it; she also wanted me to bring some special game equipment to her home when we came.

On Tuesday night at Vanessa's gym, one of her customers, Gwen, approached me.

"Hey, Don, did you bring any cookies tonight?"

"You'll have to ask Vanessa if there are any left. I don't leave them at the receptionist counter anymore; I leave them in her office instead. She says that is the only way she can make sure there is only one to a customer."

"Damn, I only took three that one time and now she starts rationing them. How's your workout going?"

"Just fine, I'm running at eight miles an hour now. I was happy at seven and a half, but Vanessa keeps pushing me."

"Yeah, Vanessa can be a real slave driver, but she does get results and that's why she gets so many customers. Don, are you doing anything this weekend?"

"I'm not sure yet. How about you, do you have any plans?"

"No, I've got nothing going on either Friday or Saturday night."Hmmm, was she hinting that she wanted me to ask her out?

I hesitantly said, "Friday night.."

"Why, Don, I would be happy to go out with you Friday night. Here's my address and my cell phone, pick me up about seven okay?"

Bemusedly and just a little stunned, I said, "Okay." I wasn't certain if I had asked her out, or had she asked me?

Vanessa returned from her trip to the ladies room just as Gwen walked away.

"What was Gwen talking to you about?"

"Just the normal chit-chat, but I think I asked her out, or she asked me out, for Friday night. Maybe this will turn out better than my last date?"

Vanessa seemed a little nonplused when I mentioned my date with Gwen, and took a long time replying.

"Oh, well I hope things go well for you, too. What time are you meeting her?"

"Seven PM at her home. I'll have to give her a call to see what she wants to do."

For some reason Vanessa completely changed my workout for the rest of the night. It was brutal, almost like she was punishing me.

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"Don, it's Maria."

"Hi, Maria how are you today?"

"Just fine, thanks. Don, this is going to be a terrible weekend for horseback riding in the mountains. We had such a good time at my condo that I thought we could have another weekend here, and have Robin's party here, too?"

"That's a wonderful idea, Maria, thanks. I know Megan and Robin will be excited."

"Tell them to bring their best clothes again, and you bring your good suits."

"Okay, but I've got a slight problem."

"Oh? What's that, Don?"

"I hate to ask you to be a baby sitter, but can I drop the girls off early Friday evening? I've got a date that night at seven. .................... "Maria, Maria - are you still there?"

"Why, of course I am, Don. I'm sorry; I had another call break in for a second. I would be happy to babysit, and after your DATE, you can come back here and tell me all about it."

"Thanks, Maria, I really appreciate it. I'm not really certain how this date happened, but she seems like a nice girl."

"Okay, then, I guess I'll see you tonight for the girls' therapy session."

"Thanks a lot, Maria, see you tonight."

"Vanessa, it's Maria. Don's got another date! What am I going to do?" Maria wailed.

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MI-5 Satellite Office, Seattle, Washington

Wednesday Evening

The sounds of Big Ben could be clearly heard in the office.

"Moneypenny, do you have something to report?"

"Yes, M, Gwen has successfully tricked Don into asking her out. They have a date planned for this Friday night at seven."

"Gwen is a very dangerous problem. I know you like her, Moneypenny, but she is under the influence of the Evil Twins, and they've been out to get Maria ever since the three of them met. Those two have always been jealous of Maria's success, and they're the ones that sabotaged her career. Those two bitches thought they were at least as beautiful as Maria, which may well be true, but they could never figure out why she was always picked over them for jobs and given the limelight. They never understood that part of the job was poise and attitude, and they had all the poise of a one-legged dog coupled with the attitude of a couple of piranha. With the personalities that those two have, it always amazed me that Joanne and Anna could even be friends with each other."

Bond interjected, "That's because Anna has acknowledged Joanne's superiority and accepted her as the boss. They're both similar in looks and viciousness, but Joanne is absolutely brilliant, and Anna knows it. Look at how she turned Gwen into their unwitting stooge. A lot of people have been trying to show Gwen the truth about them, but she is completely in their thrall. I have never understood people who could be so arrogant that they would look at every little setback as a personal attack on themselves, and that is what Joanne and Anna do. If everything doesn't go their way they find someone to blame, and, when it comes to their failed modeling careers, they blame Maria and are still out for revenge!

"That's why I've never let those two join my club. They've never been personally nasty to me, but what Joanne and Anna did to Maria has made them my enemies, too. Gwen, on the other hand, doesn't have a mean bone in her body, and she has a tendency to see only the good in people. She's really a wonderful person and I would have no problems with her if only she didn't associate with those two bitches. What's worse is that anything she knows, they immediately know. They've always had a tremendous amount of influence over her. It is possible and probably likely that, if they know about Don and Maria, they encouraged her to ask him out."

"Well, it sounds like we definitely need to take care of her. Q, do you have any ideas?"

"Sure. Moneypenny, do you ever go to lunch with Gwen."

"Yes, at least one per week."

"Perfect, I have just the device here. Bond, Moneypenny, if I can please have your attention?"

Q brought out something from her large briefcase that looked like a stainless steel PEZ dispenser. "This device dispenses a special herbal pellet that I have devised. The dispenser is vacuum sealed because the pellets immediately start breaking up as soon as they contact the air. Warm foods speed up the process even more, so if you shoot a pellet or two into Gwen's food and then give the food a quick stir, she will never notice the added ingredients. The pellet and dispenser system is extremely rapid compared to sprinkling the herbs into her food. Let me demonstrate."

Q quickly shot two pellets into her hand, demonstrating the speed and accuracy of her device. "You may practice with it, but be warned there are only ten more pellets in the dispenser and, being vacuum packed, it is quite difficult for me to load."

Moneypenny spoke up at that point, "What do the pellets do? I'm not going to poison her!"

"Oh, I did forget to mention that. Flatulence, it causes intense, foul, prolonged flatulence, especially if she eats meat that day. Two to four hours after ingesting the pellet she will come down with extreme flatulence. It will only last for another four hours, but it will be so foul that she won't want to be in her own presence, let alone go on a date with someone. It will not do her any lasting harm and actually, in the long term, will be quite good for her digestive system. I myself use it occasionally in a far weaker dosage. Be warned, the maximum dosage is two pellets; three pellets can cause an intense and very painful stomach upset."

M took over again, "Moneypenny, sometime between two and three on Friday afternoon, you will take Gwen out for a late lunch. You might use the excuse that you know a lot about Don and you want to give her some helpful information. Bond, I don't know if you're available, but if you are, you might accompany Moneypenny; that way one of you can act as a distraction, while the other spices up her food, so to speak."

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"You're right, Vanessa, this little place does serve the best authentic Mexican food I've had in a long time. Thanks for inviting me, and it's nice seeing you, too, Kathy, it has been a long time."

"Nice to see you, too, Gwen. I'm just sorry I arrived so late and we couldn't get here until three."

"No problem, Kathy."

"Excuse me, please, I have to step into the ladies, but I'll be right back so don't eat any of my food, you two!" Gwen laughed at her own little joke and walked off.

Vanessa and Kathy exchanged looks.This is too easy, it's almost as bad as drowning a bag full of kittens!

The flatulence pellets struck Gwen at six thirty while Don was on the way to pick her up.

Oh my god, oh my god, why won't it stop?Phap-Phap-Phaaaaart, Phap-phaaaart!The smell is going to make me throw up!

"Hello, Don, it's Gwen. 'Phap-Phap-Phaaaaart' Don, I'm sick and I don't feel good! I need to cancel our date. 'Phap-Phaaaaart' I'll talk to you later, okay? Goodbye."

Don was close to Gwen's house by that time, so he decided to drive by and see it, just for future reference.

Gwen reached the conclusion that she couldn't stand the smell in the confined environs of her own home, so she decided to go for a run in the nearby park, hoping she could at least stay ahead of the odor. She left her house; little realizing that she was just starting the longest run of her entire life!

Not knowing what Don's car looked like, she ran right by it without noticing. Don, on the other hand, clearly recognized Gwen as she ran down the street in the direction of the park he had just passed. He could see that sheobviouslyseemed to beterriblyill, only atruly sickperson could run as fast as she was going! He failed to notice how dogs and other animals seemed to shy away from her, and people seemed to stagger as if they had been struck when she ran past them.

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"Don, what are you doing back so soon?" I couldn't believe it; he had been gone less than an hour after dropping of Megan and Robin!

"I guess I'm no good at this dating thing. I was sure that Gwen wanted to go out with me. But she called at the last minute and said she was sick. I was so close to her house that I drove by it and saw her out running. I don't know of anyone that goes out running when they are sick."

"I'm so sorry, Don, that you are having such bad luck with dates. I'm sure that you're going to find the right woman soon."And I'm it, you big dummy!When I had cried to Vanessa on Wednesday, she told me not to worry because she, Freddie and Kathy would take care of things.Are they doing something to sabotage Don's dates? Hmmmm.

"Maria, you've probably already eaten, haven't you? I'll just run out and get something and come right back."

"No you don't, there is a fantastic pizza place that delivers and is close by. I've also got some of Carl's beer, too. You sit down and relax after your disappointing evening and we'll watch some television. I think I noticed some shows on either the History channel or TCM that you might like."

"Thanks, Maria, I really wasn't too sure about this date anyways, but the way she blew me off is kind of insulting."

My poor baby's date was a bust. Heh, heh, heh, isn't that such a shame!

That Saturday night we all went to the most elegant restaurant that I know, and again we were chauffeured. At the end of meal, when the cake was brought out, we were joined by some of the staff with the best voices in singing happy birthday to Robin. When Robin blew out the candles, we and the patrons at the surrounding tables all applauded. Robin appeared to have a glorious time and I wanted to show off my family to the world. However, I was getting nervous; there was probably someone in this restaurant right now that knew my reputation!What if they came over, or merely just started speaking loudly? What would I do?

After the cake we went back to my condo and Robin opened her presents. She got the usual things - clothes, video games, CDs and DVDs. I got her two extra presents though, one big and the other small. I gave her the small one first. She opened it up and cried when she read the inscription in the beautiful platinum locket that I had Kevin order for me and inscribe himself. Inside was picture of Robin, Megan and me blowing out the candles of my birthday cake, and the inscription read, "Thank you Robin for letting me be a part of your life. All my love, Maria. 5/18/09"

After giving me a big hug and a kiss, she opened up the second box. Inside was a specially crafted Nerf gun constructed by Freddie's mad scientist sister, Helga. It had an ammo drum on it that could be quickly changed, and the drum held one hundred rounds of ammo. Don and Megan were getting their guns out of their hiding places as I quickly pulled out my guns, one of which was a duplicate of Robin's. I looked at her and said,

"Do ya feel lucky, punk?"

After two hours of screaming and yelling, my neighbors called security on us, those spoilsports! I secretly had Helga working on a special gun for Megan for her birthday, too; of course I made sure that I would get my own copy, heh heh heh.

On Sunday we had another party, but this time I cookedeverything. I made lasagna, Italian sausage (from Don), mushrooms and garlic bread. For dessert I served THE CHEESECAKE to the muted sounds of cows lowing gently in the distance.

Then, on Monday morning I got up extra early to make breakfast, since we had a long drive to school, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Robin. Don went straight to work from my condo while I drove my girls to school. Robin was proudly wearing her locket; I knew that she would probably take it off so Barbara didn't see it tonight, but that was okay, too.

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"Hello, is this Don Hendricks?"

"Yes it is, can I help you?"

"Mister Hendricks, my name is Anna Wainwright, I'm an interior designer. We have some mutual friends and contacts that gave me your name. I used to work with Freddie and Vanessa, back in my modeling days. I was told that you do some website designing, and I've looked at the sites that you've created. I've been very impressed, especially with the one you made for Freddie, and I would like you to design a website for me."

"I don't work at that professionally Ms. Wainwright; I was just doing that as a favor for some friends."

"Please, call me Anna. May I call you Don?"

"That's fine with me, Anna."

"Don, I was actually hoping that we could work out a trade for services. I heard that you are going to be constructing a new apartment building. I could advise you on the internal design of the apartments, suggesting colors, flooring and such that would make them more attractive to potential renters thus getting you full occupancy more quickly. That way I could save money and you could make money faster."

"Anna, you've hit me in my soft spot; a trade for services sounds very good to me."

"I'm glad you like my idea, Don. Could we meet this week to discuss it?"

"I'm normally pretty busy and the only time that I really have available is Monday evening after eight. I have an hour long meeting that starts every Monday evening at six thirty, but I am free after it is over, so we could get together then next week, if that is okay with you?"

"Don, today is Monday, can't we meet this evening?"

"Well, I am free tonight, but I didn't want to rush you."

"Great, I'll send you a text message with my address and we can meet at my condo at eight tonight, will that be alright?"

"That sounds good to me, Anna; I'll see you at eight."

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Joanne was right,Anna thought.If I had tried to buy his services he would have refused, but a trade of services, he went for that.

That bitch Maria has always stolen the best jobs, best boyfriends and been the star of whatever shows we did work together, but when her parents died, she went a little crazy and we made sure to spread the word spoiling her reputation and image, after our spies reported to us what she was doing! That sure took care of her little party.

Then she finds and marries Richard, who turns her piddling inheritance and savings into a fortune. When she divorced Richard, the stupid bitch did the same thing, so we got her good again and told everyone about the Double Mint Girl. All her friends and contacts in this whole damn city know about her now!

Gwen mentioned to us a couple of weeks ago that she had seen Maria in the gym with a good looking guy, so Joanne hired the same private eye to follow Maria around again. It turns out that Maria has been spending a lot of time with this Mister Hendricks and his daughters.Well, I'm going to REALLY stick it to her this time by stealing Donny boy away from her. In his pictures he looks pretty damn fine, too, so I just might keep him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Anna, I'm Don Hendricks. Is this still a good time to meet?"

"Certainly, Don, thank you for coming over on such short notice. Please come in. Would you like anything to drink?"