Arguing with Adults

I asked her if she knew about the relationship between her mother and I. She told me she and her mom had no secrets between each other and of course she knew I had been intimate with her mom.

I had to ask her "Just what exactly do you really know?"

"Mom had informed me what happened and when it all started. She even told me you were only eighteen when it began."

I was somewhat at a loss. Did Dee really tell her only daughter that she had started an affair with a eighteen year old boy when she was thirty-six years old? Did Dee tell her she taught me about what women want in a lover? I had a lot to think about. I knew Monica did not have any children. At least there would not be any baggage for her to drag with her. I also knew Monica came out of both of her two marriages without monetary problems. I just did not how well she did. Monica and I discussed lots of things and she finally told me that she needed to get home so this gave me an out for the day. I went to pick up my children from moms and talked to mom a little, just to get her opinion.

"Mom" I asked, "Why did you, Dee and Monica talk about me and what exactly did y'all say?"

"Well, Son, I've known that Monica has liked you for a long time. Every time she and Dee would come to visit, Monica would always ask about you and how your family was doing. I could see the longing in her eyes when she mentioned you but she would never do anything to hurt you or your wife. She loved your wife like a sister, but I think she loved you even more"

"But I am two years older than she is, but I guess today that would not matter much" I said. "I never gave her any reason to think I was in love with her. While I do like her I just never thought about her in that way. She has always been a good friend. She and I could talk about pretty much anything and not get upset with each other."

Of course I was right because at one time she was just a cute but scrawny little kid to me. Monica had grown up in so many ways. Many times when Dee would visit my parents she would be there with her.

Mom went on to explain "I could always see Monica was disappointed when you would not be there but never said anything."

Dee and mom talked after the death of my wife and both agreed that Monica and I would probably hit it off with each other. I was somewhat skeptical about this but decided I would need to think on it some more.

Besides, who was I to argue with an adult, or in this case, two adults?

Chapter Nine

Monica Enters my Life

I decided to call Monica and asked her out on a date. Since my oldest son was eighteen years old now I figured he could watch the other three kids. He was eighteen, the next was fourteen, the next was thirteen and the youngest was ten. The ten year old was my daughter and was somewhat of a surprise baby so she was probably spoiled rotten. No I know she was spoiled rotten! I also knew she would need a woman in her life to help guide her and her older brothers. I knew the brothers would definitely look after her safety at school and of course I also knew they loved her very much. Of course she did have my mom, Charlene's mom, Dee and even my sister and Monica if she ever needed to talk to a woman about girly problems. All the kids fought amongst themselves but do not let an outsider try anything because they would all be on them like stink on shit!

Monica and I did go out and we had a very nice time. We went to dinner, went to see a movie (some chick flick) and finally went to a lounge for drinks and dancing. Since I did like to dance, I found out Monica was a pretty accomplished ballroom dancer also. Ballroom dancing was what I like the best. Later I dropped her off at her house at two in the morning and we did kiss good night. That kiss was very nice. That kiss was also somewhat of what I needed just to feel normal again. She did invite me in. While that was a very enticing offer I decline. I wanted to take it slow just to find out how we would get along.

When I got home at two-thirty in the morning, believe it or not, my ten year old daughter was waiting up for me and gave me the third degree. I was thinking, wait a minute, I was the daddy here and she was the daughter and should have been asleep hours ago but here she was, standing on the stairs, staring me down. This kid was wiser than her age. She must have gotten that from her mom.

All my kids knew Monica and liked her, but they did not know it was her I was dating. I did not feel it was important enough at this time to tell them anything. My wife had been dead for well over a year now and all four of them would tell me to go out on a date and start a new life. Apparently I was not all that good at suppressing my feelings of loneliness around them as I thought.

I wanted to wait to introduce my "new lady friend" to my kids in case this would not work out. We, Monica and I, dated for two months before she asked me if my kids knew about us yet. I told her no, not yet, but I wanted to remedy that this coming weekend. Monica and I had not been intimate yet. We both decided to hold off until we were sure of each other's feelings. I think we were getting pretty serious about our relationship at this point.

"Monica if you are up to it I want to tell the children we are an item and I want to see where it would go."

Monica jumped up and just hugged me. Then she called Dee the next morning and told her that we were going to let the kids know we were seeing each other. Even though my kids knew Dee and Monica it would be sort of nerve wrecking on me because I did not know how the kids would react. I should not have been all that worried. Dee and Monica showed up at my house just after lunch on Saturday. They all knew something was up because Dee was there also. We decided it was time to tell the kids. Shortly after the announcement my daughter, the darling ten year old going on thirty, just looked at me and said,

"Well it's about time!"

It was a few weeks later when Monica and I finally decided it was time to get to know each other's body we went to a motel the first time. I really cannot describe it. We had been seeing each other for four months and now we were making love. One thing for sure, Monica and I never just had sex, we always made love. Even the first time we were intimate we made love. Even when we had quickies, it was love. Now every time the kids were at my parent's house or my old in-law's house, Monica would sleep over with me. We almost got caught by my mom when she came over unannounced one afternoon. Mom just smiled and acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

On our first weekend together, we got to know every inch of each other's body. Our very first act was in the tub of course. We washed each other's body and it seemed like we kissed every inch of each other's body. I did find out the bottom of her feet was an erroneous zone she did not even know she had. No one had ever taken the time to find out. (Let this be of note to anyone in a romantic relationship. Take time to find out what your partner likes.) Once we got out of the tub, we did head to the bedroom to continue our explorations of each other.

I put into practice what Dee had told me so often, "Always make sure you put your partner first".

Who was I to argue with an adult, who was I to argue with success?

As I was putting Monica first I realized she was trying to put me first also. WOW, what a match we were! Here I was trying my best to be my best and she was trying her best to be her best. All I really know is that I won! After that we were both exhausted and we just fell asleep.

Four hours later I awoke to her giving me a blow job, oral loving, is what I would call it. Only the thing is she was making love to my little buddy down south. She was good, real good. I had to wonder how she knew so much, but also I remembered she had been married twice before and probably had quite a few boyfriends too. But that was her past and I was not completely chaste when I married Charlene either. I knew right then that both of our pasts were to remain in the past and nothing else mattered but our futures, together. Besides she probably knew more about my past than I knew of hers.

At this time I still lived in the same house where my children were growing up in. It had a large back yard, above ground pool, hot tub and all the yard toys that go with teenagers growing up scattered around the place. The first thing I planted when we moved into the house almost twenty years ago was a privacy hedge plant system. I knew that at some time in the future Charlene and I would want some privacy of our own when the kids were grown and out of the house. I was glad I planned ahead. I also knew no one could see through the hedge bushes from any angle. The hedges were four foot thick and very dense. That coupled with a wooden fence made it virtually and completely voyeur proof. There were no two-story houses in my neighborhood either. I remembered Dee and I sat on the patio at the house I grew up at so I decided Monica and I would go outside, nude. It was a rush for both of us.

Once outside, I picked her up and threw her into the pool and jumped in after her. We made love again until our skin started to wrinkle from being in the water for so long and we finally got out and headed back inside. It was still early afternoon and I decided we needed to go out for something to eat.

Monica said, "I just called for pizza delivery, they should be here in fifteen or twenty minutes. Are you hungry?'

"Monica, you seem to be able to outguess me in so many areas. I was just about to suggest we go out to eat but that is an even better idea. So what am I thinking right now?"

She told me, "I think you want to make love again."

"Wrong!" I lied, but I was not going to admit I was thinking about doing it again. "I want to eat the pizza in the hot tub after it gets here. Then we can make love"

After we paid for the pizza and the delivery guy left, I escorted Monica out to the hot tub and we got in, sans clothing of course. We did feed each other pizza and even let each other drink from one another's cola. Neither one of us were really into drinking alcohol so there was another thing we had in common.

"Monica, where do you think this is going with us? I mean do we have a future with each other?" I asked.

"John I know down deep in my heart that I love you. I also know that down deep in my heart, you love me. Why don't we just live it day by day, week by week and see where it leads. I know where I want it to lead, I just want to make sure you feel the same about me."

She just reminded me what I really did love about her. Smart, very pretty, always put me before her, she loved my kids, she actually loved Charlene like a sister, and there was just nothing about her that I could not love. I knew a lot about her past. She had been married twice, no children, had a really good job as an executive secretary working for some big name company, easy going but extremely confident. Was there something I did not know that may prevent us from being together? I would have to know before I really felt comfortable about our future together. So I decided to just ask her.

"Monica, I just need to know something. Is there anything about your past life that I don't already know and need to know? I want to move forward with our relationship but I need to know if there are any skeletons in your closet. You already know there are not any in mine."

She replied, "There is absolutely nothing in my closet. You've known me since I was pretty young. I have never hidden anything from your parents or my mom. Those two women have known me all my life. Charlene and I discussed everything in our lives and she and I were like sisters. She knew in her heart how I felt about you. She also knew I would never come between the two of you. I loved her and I loved you that much. I never lied to her nor will I ever lie to you. I just don't have that in me to just out and out lie. The only thing you probably do not know about me is how I have always felt about you."

Well just about summed up what I wanted or maybe needed to know. I let that conversation alone and we went on to making love in the hot tub. Thank God for great filtering systems on those things.

Now the word was out. Monica and I dated openly now. She and her mom were living together and I really did not feel comfortable staying over because of the relationship Dee and I once had. After dating Monica for seven months, we felt very comfortable with each other and we discussed the possibility of making our arrangement permanent.

I wanted to make sure my children would have money for their college education. I told her I had put two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars into a college funds for each one. The money was from the insurance settlement from the accident which killed their mother. I would never touch any of that and I wanted Monica to understand that money belonged to the kids. I still had over seven hundred thousand in my 401K and Keogh accounts and I wanted it to stay there. I had worked for the same company since I was twenty-four.

"Why don't we sign a prenuptial agreement?" she simply said.

That went well. She then told me that she did not want or care about the money, she had plenty. It seems she had signed a prenuptial agreement with both of her previous husbands and it was they that were caught cheating, not her. According to the prenup, whoever cheated would get nothing and the other would get it all. Even though it was the husbands which had insisted on the prenup, it was them which were caught cheating and she made out pretty well. Her total net worth was over two million dollars. She did have a good paying job and the money she saved while living with Dee had been put into a Keogh account of her own. Coupled with what was going into her 401K she was doing very well.

Well that information made me feel better and we both decided that when the time came, we would make sure one is signed. I think the time would come real soon. It did. Two months later I asked her to marry me and she accepted. Oh, by the way, we did sign a prenup agreement. She adamantly insisted upon it. I think she was trying to tell me how much she wanted me, not any money that I had.

We were out dining with my kids and when it was time for dessert, I had already pre-ordered a hot chocolate cake ala mode and had the ring inside the ice cream. When I waved the waitress over and asked her to bring our dessert she already knew which one it was and brought all the desserts over on a tray and set them down in front of everyone. Monica and I both started eating her cake and ice cream. I ate only from the cake, I wanted her to find the ring. She finally found the ring with her spoon as she was carving into the ice cream for another bite. She dug it out and looked at me like, what the heck is this.

I took it, cleaned it up with some water and the napkins we had. I got on one knee in the restaurant,

"Monica you complete me. I am expressing my love for you in front of my children and all these people here at the restaurant. Would you do me the honor of marrying me and become my wife and new mother to my children. They love you almost as much or probably more than they love me."

"Yes!" she squealed with tears in her eyes.

I knew Dee was around the corner because I had already talked to her and made sure she would be there. My now eleven year old daughter looked at me and said over the din of the commotions going on at the table and the other people in the restaurant,

"Well it's about time".

That kid was smart. Everyone was happy for all of us. Many of the people in the restaurant cheered for us too.

My Charlene had been gone now for over twenty-two months and I was finally going to be happy again. Monica had agreed to be my wife, my kids loved her and they also loved Dee. Dee said she was finally going to become a grandmother. A readymade family, no waiting. We set our wedding date for three months down the road. I would be almost forty-six years old and Monica would be forty-four years old. Our wedding date was set for August the second, it was on a Friday.

We wanted a small wedding and decided to invite a preacher we knew to do the nuptials for us. We rented a local Red Carpet Inn banquet room and held the wedding there. There were over fifty people there for the wedding and it was an emotional event for all of us. During the reception where there were a few more gifts there, I did have one special gift for her. It was our prenup agreement. After opening the other gifts it was now my turn.

I explained to everyone there what I had in my hand and tore it in half. Monica elbowed me in the ribs but kissed me just the same. There were tears of joy all over the place. Even the reverend showed a few tears in his eyes. After the wedding we consummated our love, again. This time as husband and wife. We did go to Colorado for our honeymoon. Being as how it was the first of August, there was not a lot of snow but we did not intend to ski anyway. Colorado is just a nice place to see.

We were compatible in our daily life as well as our intimate life. Of course Monica knew where I had learned my love making skills. I found out later that Dee had told Monica about pleasing her man after her second marriage failed. I only hoped it was a tutorial instead of a one on one education I had gotten. We did find a secluded area on a mountain top and we did make love out there. Talk about cold, there was snow on the ground and it melted from our body heat. We had a great time. I was thinking,

"Who were we to argue with adults?"

Chapter Ten

Our Golden Years

Our golden years found us together for a wonderfully blissful married life together. I was now fifty-six years old. All three of my boys and my daughter also loved their new stepmom but still held their birth mom in high regards. Both Monica and I explained early in our relationship that she was not there to replace their mom but only to complete our family and she did just that. She completed me in oh so many ways. Since money was not an issue with us, we decided I would retire at the ripe old age of fifty-seven and one half. That was legal age of retirement so the funds in my 401K account could be accessed without any penalties. Monica would have to work another two years before accessing any funds in her 401K. We did however combine our Keogh accounts into one. That helped us to get more bang for the buck sort of speaking and it accrued an even better rate of return.

After her retirement, Monica and I took a six month cruise to destinations unknown to us. We acted like honeymooners and really enjoyed our selves. We did make love on the Lido Deck of the cruise ship we were on while doing the Alaskan cruise. It was about three o'clock in the morning. Yes we almost got caught by one of the ship's crew. We did not make it to the breakfast being served the next morning. Many of the people on the cruise ship told us we acted like two love struck teenagers. We did practice what we learned, many times. My four kids became our four kids.

My mom and dad passed away while we were on our second cruise. We flew home two days later for the funerals. It was the first port of call we came to. The ship's crew packed our belongings and shipped them to our next cruise ship destination. They lost their lives because a drunk driver blindsided them on their way to a dinner they had planned.

Dee passed away six months later. Her dad had never been part of Monica's life so we did not know much about him or his existence. Sure we missed all of our parents but that is life. When we finally returned from finishing up our final cruise we got my family together to split up my mom and dad's stuff. It was a simple split up amongst the five siblings and their home was also sold. None of us wanted the house anyway. Those funds were also split and we were moving on with our lives.