The Condos

Annie smiled, "Great, I'll baby sit any time. They make good money these days."

"Hey, your monthly allowance is more than I made in a year when I was your age."

"Yes it is and most of it goes into my savings account too."

I said, "Come on ladies I need my coffee. How about omelets for breakfast? I can do almost any kind you want, I like the Western omelet myself with peppers, onions, cheese, ham, and salsa."

Sue said they both loved a Western omelet so I got to work. I set Sue to chopping the veggies and gave Annie the eggs to break and beat. I got the pans ready and melted some butter in the microwave. When Sue was through I zapped the vegetables in the microwave to soften them a bit. I added a touch of cream to the eggs as Annie was beating them with a whisk.

I poured a bit of butter in each pan, let them heat up, then poured a third of the egg mix in each of the two pans. The veggies, the cheese, and the ham went on next. I took a fork, tilted the pans, I lifted the edges with the fork and let the liquid egg mix flow under the omelets. I did that all the way around the pans. When they were ready I stuck the pans under the broiler and watched as they bubbled up and then browned here and there. I took them out and slipped each omelet on a plate and placed them in front of the girls. I told them to go ahead and eat while I fixed mine. I hurried and put the jar of salsa and a bottle of hot sauce on the table. When my omelet was ready I put some salsa on it with a couple good shots of Hot Stuff, then folded it over and dug in.

I looked at the girls, their plates were empty. "Did you like it?" I asked.

They both grinned and said I was now appointed the chief cook for the family. Annie smiled, "Now I know why Momma wants to marry you so fast."

Sue giggled, "No you don't. He has other wonderful talents you are just going to have to wonder about."

We cleaned up the kitchen and we took the golf cart and showed Annie around the whole compound. Actually there are two compounds, one within the other. The inner compound is walled and contains the condos and the tennis courts. The outer compound is fenced with eight foot tall barbed wire fences. Is much larger and holds the boating facilities, the distillery, winery and vineyard, stables and pastures as well as many acres of native oak forest.

Annie was excited about the stables. I explained that many of the residents had their own horses stabled there. We also had horses for rent. It was the same with the boats. We had rental boats but a number of residents had their own boats at the docks.

Annie hugged me and said, "This is totally awesome, I am going to love it here. Can I have some kids from school visit?"

I smiled, "Sure you can, if you get your grades up some."

Annie shook her head, "Boy, I can see it is going to be two against one."

"That is not how I see it girl, both of us are for you. For you making good grades so you can learn how to succeed in life, which is the most important thing you need to learn in college."

Both of the girls looked at me. Then they looked at each other. Sue smiled. Annie frowned, "What do you mean by that."

"Well, I know you are smart enough to get good grades if you apply yourself. All we can do is offer you the chance to succeed, you have to take that chance and do something with it. Your mother had a very slim chance at your age and she had to work and care for you while she worked and while she studied. She had no help, NONE. The first date she had in her whole life was last night. Yeah! Your Momma grabbed that slim chance with both hands, she did it so you could have this chance. Are you woman enough to take your chance and run with it?"

Both of them had tears running down their cheeks.

Sue put her arms around my neck and kissed me. Annie looked at her mother, "Momma, I am sorry, I promise I won't let you down."

Sue softly said, "No Honey, don't let YOURSELF down. I don't want you to have to struggle like I did, I want you to enjoy life too, just remember that your education has to come first. Everything else can wait until YOU are happy with your grades and you know in your heart you have done the very best you can do."

Annie smiled, "Momma I want to live here with you and Chuck. I promise I won't be underfoot all the time. I just miss you so damn much Momma that I can't concentrate on my studies. To be honest there are other distractions too, like parties every night next door or up stairs, lots of parties. Everyone wants me to go. It's only forty-five minutes to school from here."

Suzy answered, "I want you here too, that is why I was buying the condo next door. I guess you need to ask Chuck, it is his place."

I looked at each of the ladies. "Do you think having a sweet baby daughter living here would be a problem for me. I don't thinks so, she can fix me drinks, bring me the paper and my slippers every evening. We can cancel the maid service. Hey! That sounds real good to me!"

Annie didn't see Sue wink at me before she said, "It never hurt anyone to work their way through college."

Annie slowly thought about it, "I will probably only be able to do the serious cleaning on the weekends. I can do the dishes and stuff every day."

I grinned at Annie, "Baby girl, all I require from you is that you keep your own spaces clean, other than that the rule is 'If you mess it up, clean it up'."

Annie jumped up and ran to me. She jumped in my lap and kissed me on my lips, she giggled, "Thank you 'Daddy', Momma and I have always had that rule." She turned serious and looked in my eyes, "Can I call you 'Daddy', I have never had a Daddy before."

"I have never been a Daddy before. If your mother approves, I would be very honored if you wanted to call me Daddy."

Sue said, "Let's get one thing straight, get off his lap right now, using feminine charms and wiles to get your way is strictly reserved for my use. OK?"

"Aw Momma, can't I use them a little, that is what Daddies are for."

"OK, Sweetie, but in the case of daughters it is not a contact sport. Got it?"

Annie didn't move a muscle, she looked at me, "You know you are marrying a cold hearted bitch, don't you."

I grabbed Annie's shoulders and pushed her away a little, "You know that it is a daddy's duty to correct the manners of daughters who are disrespectful of their Mommas. I believe that is customarily done by a forceful spanking on the rear end. Is that the proper remedy my love?"

Suzy, giggled, "That sounds appropriate to me Dear, we must maintain discipline at all costs." I was still holding Annie and lifted and turned her across my knees.

Annie squirmed and I was having a tough time not laughing out loud I thought about pulling her jeans and panties down but I was not sure how that would be recieved. I swatted her gently one time and sternly said, "There that ought to teach her." I released her and she jumped up and cried, "Child abuse, child abuse!"

I laughed, "Hey babe! You are nineteen, you ain't a child, you are a sweet little bitch, just like your Momma."

Annie looked at her mother, "Momma, he is so damned sweet you need to drag him to the nearest preacher, JP, or Notary as fast as you can."

Sue smiled at me, "Honey, I have known that ever since I first met him. Can you miss school Monday, we can do it then."

"Do what?"

"Drag you to a JP."

"Hey, girl, you don't have to drag me, I'll go willingly. But of more immediate concern is would my two girls like to go to the club for dinner and dancing tonight, they feature 'surf and turf' with Lobster tails and filet Mignon. They do a really good job on it too." Both girls raised their hands and yelled 'Yes'.

Sue looked at me. "I am going to call your bluff, Annie and I are going over to our place and get a load of clothes and bring them over here so I have something to wear. I'll call a mover Monday and have them move everything else. Do you have much room in your storage room?"

"Sure, it's virtually empty, plenty of room."

"Wonderful Dad, I only have a few things I want out of our old place and my place in Gainesville is rented furnished. I can bring everything from up there on my next trip."

Sue smiled at me, "You know Annie wants to get me alone so she can find out everything we did together."

"Will you tell her everything?"

"Not everything, most of it though, she tells me everything, I think she does anyway."

Annie giggled, "Of course I tell you everything, well, almost everything."

I shook my head, "Guys don't do that, my dad never asked about my sex life and I never told him anything about it. I don't remember ever talking to another guy about sex at all. It never occurred to me to do that."

Annie said, Momma, should we talk in front of him? Let him learn what we girls talk about?"

"No Dear, we would scare the hell out of him, he would be completely disillusioned about women. He would never look at another woman the same way again. He might decide we are too nasty to keep around." Sue got up and said she was going to put on what she had worn on our 'date'.

When she was gone Annie said, "Chuck, please don't get upset over our shenanigans, we are not used to having a male around. I have never seen my mother so happy, I have never seen her joke around with anyone the way she does with you. She is head over heel in love with you, you two are perfect together. Are sure you want me around underfoot all the time?'

"Well I think I am going to have to draw the line on you going on our honeymoon with us. Other than that I do not think it will bother us. I know your mother would not be happy being away from you for very long, she adores you. I have known from the start that you guys are a matched set. If I aim to have a happy wife I have to have a happy step-daughter too! Keeping you guys happy is now my number one job."

I heard a soft moan from behind me and turned to see Sue standing there. She shook her head, "Chuck is the sweetest man I have ever known, I just want to drag him back to bed every time I see him. Let's go girl, Let's take your car, I gave Ray the weekend off."

"Wait," I said, "Take my Escalade, it will carry more. I'll alert the gate and they will let you back in. I need to get you both over to the Security Office for your card and thumb prints when you get back. Are you sure you don't want me to go with you to carry heavy stuff,"

"Would you do that?"

"Sure, I want to stop by 'Miller's', that large jewelry store in the Paddock Mall in Ocala. I need to get a ring on Sue's finger."

They looked at each other and giggled, they each took an arm and headed for the door. Then Annie stopped, "Have you got your bank card or your check book?"

"No, I'm ok. I have eleven dollars and forty seven cents. That ought to do it."

Annie said, "Get real Chuck, you need lots of money."

Sue squeezed my arm, "No, that is fine with me. Plastic or a cigar band will do it for me as long as it is legal." I turned and kissed her cheek. We were on our way very soon. I parked as near to the Jewelry Store as I could.

We entered the store and a sales person rushed over and said, "Good afternoon Mr. Murphy. Would you like to see Mr. Miller?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

He went to a desk behind the counter and spoke on a phone.

A door in the back opened and a huge man hurried out. "Chuck, how are you, to what due I owe the pleasure of your company?" He was looking at my ladies as he approached us.

"Irving, my friend, meet Suzy and Annie Carter. We want to see your best engagement and wedding ring sets."

He smiled and brought out a ring sizing kit. "Which sister is it for?" Sue smiled and held out her left hand. He measured her finger and said, "Six and a half." He turned and walked to the salesman and talked quietly to him for a minute, then he looked at us, "Would you care to set in my office while you pick something out. It is much more private and comfortable than here in the store." We sat around a small table when the salesman brought a case from the safe and handed it to Irving. He glanced at me and I nodded, he pushed the open case in front of Suzy and said, "Miss Susan, please pick out the ring you like the best."

Suzy picked up a ring and examined it, she replaced it in the case. She did the same thing with half a dozen rings. Then she picked up one of the rings she had looked at before, she held it up to the light looking at it very carefully. She put it on her finger and held her hand at arm's length, she hesitated, then replaced the ring. She looked at me and smiled. She reached out and picked up the first ring she had examined. She smiled at me again and handed the ring to Irving and said, "I like this ring the best, but I will love any ring Chuck puts on my finger."

I looked at Irving, "We will take that set. It looks good on her."

"Right Chuck, now tell me how she did that."

Irving looked at Sue, "Are you a gemologist? You picked out the best ring in the case."

"Oh! No! I'll pick out another one."

Irving chuckled, "NO, girl, Chuck and I had a bet, he said you have a super talent for picking out the best in any group of items. We bet you would pick out the most expensive ring in the case. He bet me double or nothing that you would pick out the best ring. I lost. There will be no charge for the ring, incidentally, that is an eight carat center diamond, with four carats of baguettes on the sides. A really lovely set. Congratulations Miss Carter."

I said, "Irving, I can't hold you to that bet, it is too much."

"The hell you won't, I would have gleefully taken double the money for the ring, you won fair and square. Besides I paid wholesale for the ring, I would have charged you double retail."

I laughed, "Irving you are a real sport, I will remember to specify all the details when we bet again." I turned to Sue and slipped the ring on her the tip of her finger, "Dear Lady, I love you, will you marry me?"

"Yes, my love, I will marry you."

I slipped the ring all the way on her finger.

Annie hugged her mother and kissed her. "Ok Momma, You have him hooked. Now let's go get our stuff and move in on him so he can't change his mind."

Irving said, "Before you go Miss Sue, are you really this girl's mother, You are not more than a couple of years older than she is."

Sue walked to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, she is my daughter. You can get married at six years of age in China."

We all laughed as we got in my SUV and headed for their apartment.

We were home and they had all their clothing put away in short order. We sat and talked for a bit and all admired her engagement ring. Sue looked at me, "Damn, I can't believe you got this ring for nothing. I would guess it would retail for a quarter of a million dollars. It is exquisite, I truly love it."

"I am the lucky one, I was planning to spend twice that much."

Anna said, "Hey, since you saved all that money you can afford to take Momma and I shopping at some of the trendy shops in Ocala. Right?"

"I think I could do that. But how are you going to find the time between your studies and doing a major house cleaning tomorrow?"

Annie looked so disappointed , I said, "I'll tell you what Annie, you can wait to start the cleaning because the regular cleaning service will be here anyway." I looked over at Sue, I saw her admiring the new ring on her finger. She had been doing that all afternoon. I nodded to Annie and she saw what Suzy was doing and grinned at me.

Annie said, "Chuck, I don't think Momma likes her ring, she keeps looking at it so it must not please her."

"WHAT! I LOVE my ring, I can't help looking at it. It means more to me than anything I have ever had. It is a symbol that Chuck and I belong to each other, now and forever. I'll never take it off."
"Do the two of you really need to go shopping today? If you do we need to go soon so we get back in time for dinner at the club."

The ladies looked at each other, Suzy said, "Thank you dear but we are both fine with clothes. Now if there were a big sale on somewhere we would ABSOLUTLY have to go. We both love to shop, tonight I just want to be with you, dinner and dancing will satisfy part of that need."

Annie asked, "Are there any guys at the club who are my age?"

"Well Sweetie, there are fifty or sixty young adults who either live here full time or who are just here on weekends. How many will be there tonight, I can only guess, but I think about half of them will be there. I know of five or six who commute to UF every day, maybe you can car pool with some of them if you want."

Dinner was excellent and we stayed for a little dancing. Both girls were approached by a large number of handsome young men who wanted to dance. Annie danced almost every dance and seemed to have a wonderful time. Sue turned down every man who asked except me. We danced all the dreamy slow numbers. Sue didn't know how to do the fast numbers very well, at least that is what she told me. Annie later told me she knew all the fast numbers, she just wanted to cuddle with me.

Annie danced with one guy about six times. Sue and I were about ready to go home, Annie said she wanted to dance some more, I told her not to be too late and to ring the doorbell when she wanted to come in. I laughed and told her that if she rang the bell when Sue and I were busy, she might have to wait an hour or so before we were through.

Annie snickered, "A hour or more? He is exaggerating a whole bunch, isn't he momma?"

Sue looked at her, "No, I think that is about how long we make love each time. I really don't know if that is a long time or not, I just think it is perfect for me. That doesn't include foreplay of course."

"Momma! That is super long, Wow!"

"How do you know that, Annie?" asked Suzy.

"Ah, er, ungh, that's what I hear, from the other girls."

I had to laugh, "Sue, I think there may be a few things she hasn't mentioned to you."

Sue looked at her daughter, "Is that true honey? Have you lost your virginity?"

Annie hung her head then looked at her Mother, "Yes Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you. I had too much to drink one time and after that it didn't seem to be that important anymore."

Sue got up and walked to look out the front window, a group of old oak trees were illuminated from below, the light grey Spanish moss standing out against the darker canopies of leaves above. It made for a surreal vista. I followed Sue and gently hugged her, "Honey, I think you already suspected she was no longer a virgin didn't you?"

She looked up into my eyes, "Yes, I think I knew, I just never thought she would hide something like that from me. I trusted her completely. I feel disappointed and a little hurt that she didn't tell me." She searched my face for an answer.

I smiled at her gently, "Honey, I have a thought or two if you would like to hear them."

"Yes, I want to know how you feel about this."

"Sue, Honey, I don't know you guys too well, but I would stake my life on this, Annie would not hesitate one second to give her life to save yours. She loves her Momma dearly. You have to know that. I get the feeling that Annie was not impressed with her sexual adventures. I think she was hurt and did not enjoy it at all. I believe Annie was disappointed and unimpressed by her first tries at heterosexual sex. I think she hesitated to tell you because she wanted so much to love it and was heart broken that she didn't like it. I think it is important for you to explain what went wrong, why she didn't enjoy it."

Sue looked at Annie, "Is he right?"

Annie bowed her head, "Yes, he is exactly right. They hurt me and I didn't like it at all."

I motioned for Annie to come over to where we stood. I pulled her into a hug with her mother and I. I held both of them tight and kissed both of their foreheads, then I said, "Annie your mother loves you more than anything in this world, I don't think she is upset as much by the fact that you didn't tell her as she is by the fact that you hated one of the great joys of a woman's life. We need to find out what went wrong. I take it that these were all young men between 19 and 22 years old." Annie nodded her head. I continued, "I think it is safe to assume they were all very inexperienced at sex too, right?"