Anna, Svetlana, Mikhail, Joe Pt. 04

I invited Chuck's parents and his brother, sister, and her husband. I wanted everyone to meet everyone.

I went to my parent's house and had dinner with them. My dad was up to something, but he wouldn't tell me what.

The next day I got a call from Fred that everything was ready. I contacted Debra Guest's office and swung by to get the prenups. I prepared to go back to Alaska.

I called Chuck and told him I would be back in two days and could he pick me up at the airport. I gave him the flight information, and he said he'd be there.

Back in Alaska- Chuck speaking

We lazed around the rest of the week, and Saturday finally rolled around. I drove to Anchorage along with three antsy passengers. We picked up Angie at arrivals, and Svetlana performed oral surgery on my friend while she wrapped herself around him. We collected his bags and adjourned to the truck.

We drove home and went into the house. Svetlana handed off Mikhail to Anna, saying, "Here, watch your nephew." Then she grabbed Angie's hand and pulled him down to her bedroom. I heard the door close, and then it locked. About five minutes later, we heard, "YES, YES, NOW, DAMMIT!! OHH, GOD, THAT'S IT!!! FUCK ME, PLEASE!!!

"What are they doing, Mommy? Are they fighting??"

Anna looked at me like I shouldn't quit my day job.

"Pay attention, Cowboy. We don't have to be quiet any more."

I chuckled and went over and picked up Little Mikey (Hey, she isn't here. She is busy at the moment.)

About two noisy hours later, while we were eating lunch, they emerged from their bedroom, with embarrassed blushes on their faces and hickies on their necks and visible shoulder areas.

Anna shook her head, and I was chuckling uncontrollably.

They came and sat at the table and stared down at their plates while holding hands.

Svetlana looked up and, with a grin, said, "Angelo proposed to me!!" She giggled and looked at Angelo.

"Proposed what?" I asked innocently. The looks bestowed on me made my Dummy of the Year award a lock.

I broke into a grin and congratulated them. We finished up lunch and cleaned up the dishes.

Angelo looked a little nervous and asked Anna if they could speak privately. So Svetlana and I gathered up Mikhail and adjourned to the living room.

Angelo sat at the table catty-cornered from Anna and took a deep breath.

"Anna, I think you and Chuck are very much in love. You know about his former marriage and what she did to him. I am his friend, and I am your friend too. I don't want either of you to get hurt. Aside from the fact that you are special to me, Svetlana would kill me if I hurt your feelings."

Anna smiled and said, "What is on your mind, Angelo?

"As my future brother-in-law, you must be honest with me, or Svetlana will not be the only Doneshiona sister after your hide."

I grinned at her then I sobered up. "Do you know what Charles is worth?"

She looked at me. "I have asked several times, but he refuses to tell me. I assume it's a very........."

"More than 12,000,000 dollars, I said.

Her eyes widened, and she caught her breath. "Oh my God!! Why didn't he say anything?"

"I can only assume he didn't want to think you were only after him for his money. Charles is not that kind of guy. He loves you for yourself. He wanted you to love him for himself. Your former occupation didn't mean anything to him. He loves you, and if he thinks I'm doing anything to wreck it, he might kill me. But I have an idea.

"I had his lawyer draw up a prenuptial agreement for you to sign, with your original signature and your new one. It doesn't mean anything unless he gets it notarizied and witnessed, but I'm counting on him to take the high road and refuse it.

"He might take it out on me, but that's a chance I'm willing to take."

Anna looked at me, and for a moment, I thought she might kill me or break down and cry. But this girl was made of sterner stuff. She looked down at her hands and then back up to my face.

"If you think this will help him love me more, although I don't think that is possible, I will sign anything for him." She looked me straight in the eye, and without wavering, said, "And I will make sure you stay alive." She stared into my eyes with a look I hope never to see again.

"Unless this does not work. In that case, Svetlana will be a widow before she is a bride."

I swallowed hard and told her I appreciated her feelings. I pulled out the form and passed it to her. She read it and her eyes got big again.

"He is really worth that much?"

"Yes, but when you meet his family, you will see he's worth a lot more."

She sighed and signed both forms, one as Anna Doneshiona and one as Ann Donesh, the name on all her new paperwork.

I gathered up all the paperwork, and we went into the living room.

Svetlana and Chuck were playing with Mikhail. Svetlana was sitting on the couch, and Chuck was sitting on the floor in front of them.

I went and sat next to Svetlana. Charlie got up and went to sit in his recliner. Anna went and sat next to him on the fireplace hearth. Usually, Anna would plop on his lap and distract him no end.

This time she was a little stand-offish. 'Crunch time,' I thought.

I started. "I have all your paperwork, and we're ready to go. Being as how we're flying out on a charter, there should be no problem with leaving. There is one other thing to handle."

I turned to Charlie and handed him the prenup.

"I paid a visit to Mrs. Guest's office and had this drawn up. You never told the girls how much you were worth, did you?"

He looked at the document in my hand. "No, it wasn't important to me." He raised my eyes to Anna. She looked back at him

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said. "I should have told you. But I didn't care. I love you, now and forever."

Anna burst into tears and threw herself at me.

"I thought I had found my true love, someone who would love me and protect me. I'm scared," she said.

He looked at Anna and then at Angelo. Then he looked across at Svetlana. The look on her face was devastating. He turned back to Anna and looked deep into her eyes. He held the prenup in his hands, and he knew. He knew what he had to do. He took the papers and tore them in half, then in half again. He took the pieces and threw them into the fireplace, where they smoked and then burst into flames. He turned to his reason for being and looked deep into her eyes again.

"Now we're both rich. And if that money is a stumbling block, I know a couple of charities that will gladly use it."

She did her fish out of water impersonation and gasped, then launched herself into his lap. And with that, all was right with the world.

As she attacked his lips with hers, that sly grin returned.

"This means we can buy lots of cars and expensive jewelry, beautiful dresses, a big house, go clubbing and travel, and spend it as if we were famous and rich!!"

He got a sick feeling in his stomach and broke their embrace. Then he saw Anna's smirk as her lips twisted in a sideways grin. She looked off into the distance.

"Or we could built a house with four or five bedrooms, fill it up with our babies, and I could stay home and take care of them and my Cowboy." She dropped her eyes to that smoky lidded gaze that he had come to love so much.

"What do you think,......COWBOY??"

He so loved this woman, even if she did jerk his chain occasionally. He looked at her and smiled.

"Will you marry me, baby??" he asked.

She started to cry, Svetlana started to cry, even Angie teared up a bit. He knew he had made the right decision.

"This calls for a celebration." He got up and went to the pantry pulling out two bottles of champagne. We emptied the two bottles of French sparkling wine and started on a third. Mikhail became a bottle baby because mommy was drinking. It turns out Svetlana had a very low tolerance for alcohol. Champagne only, actually. Three glasses, she was slurring her speech and getting rather drunk. Anna, on the other hand, was feeling very little pain but getting rather amorous.

"Take me to bed, Jagadka. I want to celebrate."

We decided to call it a night (or early afternoon as it was), and he locked everything up and checked the electrical panel. He patted Joe on the head and hurried to our bedroom. He closed the door and looked for his paramour. The bathroom door was closed, and I could hear singing. Then the toilet flushed, and the door opened.

She was breathtaking. Naked, vulnerable, and looking like Botticelli's "Venus Rising." I was speechless. She came to me and put her arms around me.

"Come and make love to me, Jagadka. I am yours forever. But please, take your time and be gentle. I am your woman now, and I am no longer a whore. I will love you forever. And never mention the money. If we lose it all tomorrow, it does not matter.

"If we struggle all our lives, it does not matter.

"If you love me, that is all that matters."

H e hugged her back and scooped her into his arms. He carried her to the bed, and almost like magic, his clothes disappeared. He was beside her on the bed and then against her and almost immediately inside her. She gasped, pushed back against him.

They didn't wake till eight in the morning.

Sweat and love were all over their bodies, and they were both sore and wrung out. Their legs entwined in passion, and she was gnawing on his chest. He grasped her beautiful ass and squeezed.

She moaned and stopped chewing, raising her mouth to his. The kiss would raise the dead.

She released his mouth and tongue and nuzzled his chest hairs.

"I suppose we should get up and shower and get breakfast ready for the young ones, my darling," she purred.

"Well, I guess if we must, we must."

We procrastinated and eventually got out of bed, went in, took a shower together (you must conserve water), and toweled off and dressed. It took a while (we kept getting sidetracked), but we finally succeeded in making it to the kitchen. There we found Angelo and Svetlana making breakfast. Little Mikhail was sucking on a bottle of formula because his mother was still being careful. ( And from the looks of things, she was still hungover.)

"GOOD MORNING, LITTLE ONES!!!" said Anna, a touch too loud for circumstances.

"OHHH, my head," said Svetlana.

Angie laughed and said, "We didn't party much once we got to bed last night. And she snores when she's drunk."

"I do not," sulked Svetlana. She was holding her head and nursing a cup of coffee. She looked at us with hooded eyes and managed a smile.

"I could never handle champagne; anything else I can, but two glasses of champagne are my limit. I think I had three and a little bit." She grinned and then blushed. Angie snickered a little as he laid out the scrambled eggs and sausage.

Anna and I both laughed at her discomfort.

"We will have to drink ginger ale at our wedding. At least I will," said Svetlana.

We had breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, and retired with coffee to the living room. I called Northern Air Charters in Anchorage to schedule the flight to Seattle. The lady there asked me if we could go in a week instead of two. It seems like they had a return charter from Seattle-Tacoma in a week, and this would be a better deal rather than dead-heading down. I agreed with this and then called Charlotte and David Damos. I informed them of our plans and told them the Excursion would be in the parking lot of Northern Air Charters next Tuesday, and the house would be theirs. They were overjoyed and thanked me, saying they would treasure the house and make it a home.

We spent the rest of the time getting everything ready and packing up clothes

I called Seattle and talked to the gentleman at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I got a Lincoln navigator reserved for our arrival.

We spent the rest of the week enjoying ourselves and getting ready to leave. I made a sort of instruction manual of all the things to know about keeping the house running. We talked about what our families would think when we arrived home. The girls were a little nervous about meeting our families. After all, their former careers were not exactly Franciscan Nuns. I told Anna my Mom and Dad would love her because I did, and she was head and shoulders better than Selena. Angelo told Svetlana that she was a slam dunk. After all, she was providing his parents with a ready-made grandson.

Saturday rolled around, and we awoke and made breakfast. We loaded the dishwasher, started it up, and straightened up the house. We dressed and finished packing our personal stuff. We loaded up the Excursion and left for the airport.

Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at Northern Air Charters terminal building and checked in. The attendant greeted us and gave me a pill for Joe.

"It's standard for larger dogs on long flights, especially if they haven't flown before. It just calms them down." Joe eats just about everything, so the pill was not a problem.

The co-pilot came and escorted us out to the Falcon-20F aircraft, waiting with the APU running. We boarded the airplane with Joe docilely acting like a seasoned traveler. We strapped in and taxied out to takeoff.

The aircraft rolled out and took off, climbing to altitude, and turned southeast towards Washington State.

Three hours and a bit later, we landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We taxied up to Garrett-Aireasearch Terminal and deplaned to Washington Terra Firma. A young lady stood in the terminal lounge, waiting with keys and forms for us. I signed everything, and we walked out to the Lincoln.

We gave Angelo, Svetlana, and Mikhail a lift to long-term parking. They got out and thanked us for everything.

"Don't forget, private party at O'Malley's tomorrow afternoon,3:00 p.m. Don't be late."

"We'll be there. Don't worry."

We left for my parent's home. As we drove, Anna got more and more nervous. Finally, she started to cry and put her head in her hands. I looked across at her and slowed and pulled off the road.

"Alright, take a deep breath and let it out.......Now, what's wrong? "

"I'm scared, darling. I am meeting your parents for the first time, and they will know what I used to do. They will not understand, and they will hate me."

I looked at her.

"They will not hate you. You are the love of my life. You are nothing like my ex-wife. That alone puts you ahead of her. You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life married to, darling. You will have our children. My family will love you- I guarantee it."

She looked at me with puffy eyes, and I saw her searching my face for confirmation.

"I want to believe you, but I am afraid."

"Did you think I was going to let you go in alone?? We are a team. We face this together. Just have faith in me-we will prevail, my love."

She smiled and looked into my eyes. "I do have faith in you, Jagadka. You have given me so much already. I trust you." She reached for me and kissed me with tenderness and love.

I brushed her cheek, shifted back into drive, and pulled back into traffic.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into my parent's circular drive. Anna stared at the house, and the color drained from her face again.

"Courage, sweetie. We will do fine."

We got out of the car, got Joe's leash, and put it on him.

We walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell and took a deep breath.

My mother opened the door, and her eyes widened in amazement.

"Your father was right," she said, taking in Anna's presence and then taking note of Joe. The love of my life swallowed hard and smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Carson. It is nice to meet you finally. I have heard many good things about you," as she extended her hand.

"Well," said my mother, "She certainly is a charmer." She appraised her.

With that, my dad walked up and took in the scene.

"I told you he had a dog," he said to my mom. She turned and looked at him like he had two heads. Dad extended his hand.

"Hello, my dear, I'm Charles Carson. Senior. It would appear you know my son."

Anna blushed and shook his hand.

"Dad, Mom, I would like you to meet Ann Donesh. Ann, allow me to introduce Dr. Charles Carson and Professor Samantha Williams Carson, PhD., my father and mother."

The tension hung like a veil over all of us. Finally-

"Well," my dad said, "I don't think she's slutty."

Mom turned and gave him the LOOK. Then she turned back and took Ann's hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, my dear." Then she turned and looked at me. "She's a wonderful girl, son. And I don't get any bad vibes from her." Mom grinned.

Ann turned and looked at me with a quizzical look on her face.

"Long story. I'll tell you later. May we come in??"

"Of course, son," said my dad. "Good-looking dog." He knelt and ruffled Joe's head and back. "I've got a girl for you, buddy," throwing a sideways look at my mom. Again, he got the look.

He chuckled and stood up. We adjourned to the parlor, and dad asked if we would like something to drink. I opted for a coke. My mom wanted white wine ( it looked like she might need it ). Ann asked for water. She looked like she would be ill.

"So, what brings you home, son??" He returned from the bar with our drinks. My mother was sitting in her favorite chair, and dad sat next to her in his recliner. Ann and I were sitting on the settee across from them.

"Mom, Dad, I'm...err, We are moving back to Seattle. We are going to be married.

"We would like your blessing."

Poor Anna couldn't take it anymore.

"I was a prostitute.

"Your son rescued me.

"He saved my life. I love him with all my heart and soul.

"But I will not destroy his life, or his family. If you do not approve, I will return to Alaska."

Her eyes were leaking.

She was losing it. I knelt to comfort her.

My mother and father exchanged looks in that way that only people who have been married for a while have. They were completing each other's thoughts.

"There is a story in our family. Chuck has never heard it," said my dad. "It's about his maternal grandmother."

My mother chuckled. "It's about time he heard about this," she said.

"Anyway," my father continued,"Chuck's grandfather met and fell in love with an 'exotic dancer'. His parents were old school. They did not approve. He married her any way. Now she sunbathes topless on his sailboat, in Florida.

' What the Fuck??' I thought.

"They are very happy."

My mother rose and came to Anna. She knelt in front of her.

"Dear, you are already head and shoulders above his former wife. There does not appear to be an evil bone in your body.

"And if there is any truth in his actions, his demeanor, his words, and his emotions- then we would be fools to stand in your way."

My mother wrapped her in her arms. "Besides," she said with a chuckle, "A working girl would be good for him." My dad lost it and joined his wife in hugging their future daughter-in-law. I breathed a little easier. Joe came over and nuzzled Anna's hand and proceeded to lick her cheek.

So I told them our story, what had transpired to bring us here. I left out some details ( I figured they didn't need to hear about their son's going all John Wayne on the two guys with Svetlana) and brought them up to date. Them I told them about the 'private party' tomorrow at O'Malley's restaurant.

"I got a phone call yesterday from Angelo's dad about a 'family get-together'. Now I understand a little better," said my dad, with an all knowing grin.

We discussed sleeping arrangements, and I volunteered that Ann could take my sister's old bedroom. My dad looked at me and shook his head.

"I'm not so ancient that I haven't figured out you two are sleeping together. Just don't make too much noise." My mom rolled her eyes, and he got the look a third time. He chuckled and had a satisfied look on his face.

The Cardona Household

Angelo and his future family pulled up in the driveway of his parent's house. He had no sooner shut off the engine and opened his door than the front door to the house burst opened and the diminutive matriarch of the Cardona family burst out and down the walkway. She made it to the passenger door just as Svetlana stood up and straightened her skirt. Bridget slammed into her and crushed her in a hug.