Cancel All Our Vows Ch. 02

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

There may or may not be discussion of political issues in my stories. If you are a Snowflake that feels you need to be protected from any mention of politics, then click the Back button now, and never attempt to read any of my stories ever again. You've been warned.

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Part 5 - 'Come To Jesus' Meeting

9:00am, Wednesday, May 4th. Star Wars Day: 'May the Fourth Be With You'. It was also the day that I performed 'The Most Dangerous Assignment In The TCPD': I put the brackets for the Police Boxing Matches on the glass-covered bulletin board in the Gymnasium, locked it, and hustled to the back side of the room.

Teresa and Cindy pushed open the gym doors and swiftly moved to the sides and against the wall. They need not have worried: no Police Officer on the Force wanted to come up against the Green Crowbar or the Iron Wolf, and run either of them over.

I observed that, unlike previous years, the enthusiasm for the Matches wasn't as high this year. And while we had 40 entrants for the actual traditional boxing, we only had 50 entrants for the Freestyle Division. One of them was Detective Joan Laurer, the 2x and defending Champion; she was seeded No 1.

"I hate to say it." said Teresa, but she still said it anyway: "But not being able to use crowbars is just killing the Freestyle Division. Can't you convince the Chief to let us use 'em again?"

"Nope." I replied. "He's adamant about it. He fears the US DOJ will try to use it against us when they come in and try to force us into a Consent Decree. He thinks the US DOJ will say we're teaching aggression and offensive tactics, not defensive ones."

"Geez." Teresa said. "What the fuck does he expect? We have to train. And what, are we just supposed to sit back and let criminals march, loot, and burn?"

"That's what the Derrick B. Harland and his US DOJ want." I said.

Teresa said "If that's the case, I'm surprised the Chief still lets you carry your crowbar." When I turned to look at her, she said in a shocked voice "Did... did he try to tell you to stop carrying it?"

I said: "Not directly. But I know he brought it up with the Sheriff, who reminded the Chief that I have the right to retire with my pension at any time, twice over. And when the Chief said that might cause the US DOJ to back off, the Sheriff said that they were going to come in on us no matter what... and that our only chance to win and not be torn apart is if I'm still on the Force."

"That may well be true." Teresa said. "And if you go, I'll be walking out right behind you."

I said "The Sheriff might have mentioned that, as well, and that if I go, there won't be a Police Force to be Chief of. The Sheriff also may have mentioned that it would be a most very bad idea for him, the Sheriff, to be forced to choose between me and anyone else, be it on this Police Force or in this world."

Teresa said no more as Detective Joan Laurer came up to us, after seeing she was in the No. 1 slot. "This is going to suck, sir." Joan said.

"Defend your title, become 3x champion, and you can rest on your laurels." Teresa said.

I added "And the way things are going, you might be the 3x and last Freestyle Division Champion..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

6:30pm, Wednesday, May 4th. I called Laura, who said she was still in her office at the Hospital, doing necessary paperwork. I told her that I'd take Carole and Jim to The Cabin, then make some dinner for her and myself at the Mountain Nest. She knew what that meant: we were finally going to have 'the talk'. She said she would be home by 9:00.

Nine o'clock turned into nearly eleven o'clock when she texted she was on the way home. I began making the pork fried rice, and finished it just as her car pulled into the driveway. When she came in, she found the sweet and sour pork strips, the fried rice, and cha (green tea) and saké (Japanese rice wine) waiting on the table.

"Oh, this is nice." Laura said as I held out her chair at the end of the table for her to be seated. "Simple, but nice. And hot, too."

"Yes." I said as I sat down to her left, in the chair one of the boys would usually sit in. "I'm the Iron Crowbar, not an Iron Chef, but I can handle simple stuff."

"It's good." Laura said as we began eating. And either it really was that good, or Laura was famished. She ate three helpings of the fried rice and twice the number of pork strips as I ate. No biggie, I'd done a lot of 'tasting' as I cooked the food.

Afterwards, we sat on the sofa against the wall as we sipped saké. Laura started the conversation: "Okay, I admit that should have reprimanded Jim as well as Carole. And in the future I will be careful to treat them equally." I nodded in agreement.

"Having said that," Laura continued, "Carole has simply got to learn better manners. I know that we agreed you would handle her punishments after the incident at the Griswold's home. But what she did in Teresa's hometown was the same thing, especially what she said to that old Green Beret and his grandson. It was inappropriate, it was wrong." (Author's note: 'Vox Populi Vox Dei', Ch. 03; 'The Wolf and The Moon', Ch. 02.)

I said "And you believe she's not learning and she's repeating the same mistakes because -I- won't discipline her nor let you discipline her?" Laura nodded vigorously.

I said "And that's because I didn't and don't see what she said and did was wrong. Sheriff Griswold wasn't offended, and he's told me more than once that her words were helpful to him in his time of grief. And that Green Beret seemed to be helped by her words, too, when she wouldn't let him berate himself... kinda like what Tanya does to me when I start blaming myself for something."

Laura said "So you just don't see the inappropriateness of it?"

"No, I don't. I genuinely don't." I replied. "And in the two situations you have a problem with, I see it as her just trying to help others feel better. Also, I'm really worried that you coming down on her, like you did in Teresa's hometown over asking the question at the computer center, is going to make her withdraw and clam up instead of asking good questions or warning us about imminent danger."

Laura said "And that is what I want. I want her to keep her mouth shut and exercise better manners. So... where does this leave us?"

"First of all, I'm still holding you to our agreement that her disciplines are to be left to me." I said. "If you think she's done something wrong, come to me and I'll speak to her about it."

And then a sudden insight hit me. I asked "When was the last time you and Carole had a good talk, just the two of you? When was the last time just the two of you went and did something together, or had lunch, just the two of you, like you and I did tonight?"

"Well---" Laura said, then cut herself off as the thought about it. "You have a point. When I pick her up from school, she's almost always with Marie or Jim or Tasha. And since I took on the new job, I haven't even been doing that very much."

I said "I know you're busy as hell. But maybe a good mother-daughter day, just the two of you, would be the right thing. And let her talk, and make her predictions, and tell you what her dreams of the future are."

"Oh, she's made that clear." Laura said. "She needs no prodding to tell anyone who will listen that she's going to be the next Iron Crowbar."

"No doubt about that." I said. "What else does she love?"

"Bowser." Laura said, meaning it humorously.

"Touché," I said with a grin. "What does she love to do?"

Laura paused, then said "Point taken. Okay, I'll try to make some time for just me and her."

I said "I'll tell her to be receptive to it, and to meet you halfway." Then I began stroking my wife's thigh, and said "And speaking of meeting halfway... let's go to bed."

"Now -that- is a good idea." Laura we said. And if you think Laura had been hungry for food earlier, it was nothing compared to the sexual hunger she displayed for the next hour, exhausting me in the most pleasing of ways...

Part 6 - House On The Hill, Redux

(Author's note: at this point this story overlaps 'Mystery At Mystery Lake', which was entered for the Crime and Punishment 2023 Challenge, and had to be submitted at a certain time.)

1:00pm, Sunday, May 8th. We arrived at the new home of Edward and Stephanie Steele. It was next door to Cindy's house, but there was a good bit of space between the houses. They also didn't face exactly the same direction: Cindy's backyard faced south-southeast, looking over the western part of Reservoir Lake in the valley below; while the Steele home faced much more southeast, over the eastern part of the Lake and into Nextdoor County.

The garage was on the far (left) side of the home, and the garage doors were on the side, so cars that were parked inside faced the house. While Cindy's home was more 'boxy', less wide, and two stories tall, the Steele house was only one story, a ranch-style, and longer side-to-side. The Steele home's façade was stone and mortar with a dark brown roof to match.

I had Carole and Tasha with me, and Molly brought the boys. Seeing us drive up, Cindy walked over with Betsy and Benjamin. Teresa, Todd, and their boys came out of Cindy's house, and they were carrying boxes of pizzas for our lunch.

When Carole rang the doorbell, Marie opened the front door. With a sweep of her hand, she dramatically said "Welcome to our new a-bode!"

"Come on in, guys." Stephanie said as we stepped into the foyer. "Come bring those pizzas to the kitchen." The Burke clan followed her through the living room and dining room to the kitchen. A moment later they were back. Stephanie asked "Where's Laura?"

"She was doing some work this morning for the State Medical College." I said.

Cindy added: "Callie is with her, and she's going to bring Laura up here, even if she has to drag her away from her desk. I think Paulina is going to help with that, too."

"Oh, Laura is working so hard on getting the School going." Stephanie said. "She's wearing herself to the bone."

"Tell me about it." I muttered. Then I said more loudly "Marie, will you show us your new house?" With her mother's approval, Marie happily became out hostess and showed us around.

As just mentioned, to our left as we came in the front door was the formal living room. At the far end, two walls on each side framed the large space in the wall that opened onto the formal dining room, which was fairly narrow. To the right of the foyer was a wall. We walked through the narrow foyer to see a hallway extend to the right. Photos of Edward and Stephanie, Selena, and Marie adorned the walls. Marie led us down the hall.

"This is Daddy's office." Marie said as we stopped at the first door on the left. "I can't go in there unless Daddy is in there or there's an e-mer-gen-ceee." The office space was narrow, with a window at the far end overlooking the backyard and the further view. It reminded me of Laura's 'Puter Room in the Mountain Nest. Edward's desk was against the left wall. In the corner past the desk was a secretary with a tall bookcase on it; it was where Stephanie could sit and do things like write letters and keep her calendar.

"This is the guest bedroom." Marie said at the first door to the right, facing the front of the house. "Selena stays in here if she stays here overnight." The bedroom was simply but very comfortably furnished. Near the end of the hall Marie pointed into the room on the right side, facing the front of the house, and said proudly "This is my room."

Marie's room looked like what one would expect for a now-nine-year-old girl: white walls with kitten and butterfly patterns, two double beds with stuffed toys on them, and a small desk for doing homework. There was a bathroom with a shower between the bedrooms, but no direct entrance to the hallway.

Marie said "Carole can sleep in the other bed when she spends the night."

"Yeah!" Carole said approvingly.

"We got a really great two-for-one price on those beds, or that would not have happened." Stephanie said. "But yes, it will be great when Carole stays overnight."

On the left side of the hallway, between the office room and the master bedroom, was a room that was barely larger than a closet. It was a half-bath with a small vanity on the left and a toilet on the right, with handicap rails on the walls on either side of it.

"And this is Mommy and Daddy's room." Marie said, indicating the door on the other side of the hall, and the large bedroom with a king-size bed. Drapes hung on the back wall, and they were pulled open to reveal the sliding glass door leading to a small balcony on back.

The balcony/deck was elevated about three feet off the ground and had a rail around it, but I noticed the entire rail on the left side (towards the house) was actually a gate that could be swung open, and steps that were pretty much a ladder allowed users to reach the ground below. It was basically a fire escape, and otherwise was not really meant to be used as a means of egress.

"Carole told Marie that idea." Edward said quietly to me when I asked him about it. "It's a good idea. I just hope we never have to use it." I nodded vigorously in agreement.

The master bedroom was in the corner of the house, and a full bathroom suite was next to it. I figured out that the tiny half-bath was between the master bath and the hall. I wondered why they just didn't have the big bathroom go to the hallway, and they'd have even more space. Not my house, I ultimately decided.

We retraced our steps down the hall, and went into the greatroom/den, which faced the backyard. Another sliding glass door led to the back deck. The view over the hill was as spectacular as from Cindy's backyard, though at a slightly different angle.

It was then I noticed that there was an extension from the garage towards the back of the house. I asked Edward what that was, and he said we'd be seeing it in a minute.

Going back inside, we went to the breakfast room. An island separated it from the kitchen, and it had a relatively large table. This was where most of the family's meals would be served and eaten. It wasn't a real 'open floor' plan, as a wall separated the breakfast room from the greatroom, but it was serviceable.

Selena Steele was in the kitchen, prepping for lunch. The stack of boxes of pizzas were on the island counter. Selena and Stephanie pointed out the features of the kitchen, then we continued the tour.

"And now for the best-est part of the house!" Marie said excitedly. She led us through the door from the kitchen that most of us expected to be the garage. Instead, it was a long narrow hallway between the garage and the kitchen. Near the doors were hooks to hang coats and put boots and shoes in typical 'mud room' fashion. Down the hallway were shelves for food, and at the end of the hallway was a door with a red ribbon and bow across it.

Stephanie said "That's the Music Room, and we'll have Marie open her birthday presents in there... after lunch. Let's go back into the kitchen and dig in to the pizza and salads."

Marie was disappointed, but I heard Carole whisper to you "They have a sur-prizze for you in there. Let's go eat pizza, and then we can see what it is..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Laura, Callie, and Paulina arrived as we were getting in line to get pizza. "Sorry we're late." my wife said. "I just could not get off the phone with our lawyers and get away from the office."

"They do charge by the hour." Edward said. "But I'm glad you're here. We'll show you around after lunch."

The pizza was delicious, and fortunately there was plenty of it. Jim, and Ross ate four slices (half a large pizza) each. Ian would have, but his mother intervened and held him to two slices of pizza and some salad. Jack Burke had three slices, while Doug and Mike consumed two slices each and some salad and bread.

"Hollow legs, these kids have." I remarked to Edward, who laughed and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Carole and Marie also consumed two slices each. Tasha only had one slice and a good helping of salad, the same as her mother. Betsy shared a slice with Callie. I followed my Angels's example and stopped after two slices. Laura did have any pizza, just some salad and bread.

"You okay?" I asked as we finished up.

"Yes." Laura said. "I'm just not hungry right now." But before I could ask anything else, Stephanie came over and rounded up the latecomers for another tour of the house.

Meanwhile, as Edward, Todd, and I sat in the greatroom talking, Carole and Marie came up. Carole asked "Daddy, what would you do different if you were designing the house?"

"I'd do nothing different." I said. "It's not my house. Isn't that right, Fussbudget?"

"Yes sir." Carole said, realizing her mistake. She'd realized what I'd been thinking in my head, and had asked out loud about it. It could have been a faux pas, but I saved my daughter from embarrassment. Thank goodness Laura had not heard that, I thought to myself.

"So you wouldn't do anything different?" Edward Steele said with a grin.

"We-ellll," I admitted, "I might have put in a fire pot on the back deck."

"We thought about doing that." Edward said. "We did run gas to the fireplace in case the electricity goes out and we don't have heat. But we decided that if we ever do want a fire pot, we can just burn firewood, like the Sheriff does in his backyard. And truth be told, the view is great, but Stephanie would rather be looking though a telescope if we're outside, and I've never been able to just sit and watch the landscape. I'll probably spend more time on the bedroom balcony than out here."

Todd said "I understand. Teresa likes sitting on the deck at our house, but I'm not as into it as she is. Uncle Don solves crimes while he's sitting on his deck."

"Or I talk to the kids." I said. Carole nodded vigorously in agreement.

Edward said "One other thing Stephanie and I decided was to have a one-story home. The Frank Freeman Funeral Home will probably come and get us from this house, and we don't want stairs in our old age."

"Makes sense." I said. "I'm already wondering how I'm going to get up and down the stairs of The Cabin in my old age. And Laura will get there faster; she's 14 years older than me."

Yes, Edward had answered my unspoken thoughts about the style of the home, which Carole had already picked up on. Hmm, was he becoming psychic like Carole is? I wondered to myself...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Okay, let's go see the Music Room." Selena said. We all filed into the mud room and down the hall to the door. Marie was instructed to remove the ribbon and open the door. She did so, and as the door opened, she squealed.

The room was painted purple with white trim, and light came through a large lattice window on the right side wall. On the right side were two easels with paintings Marie was working on, as well as other painting equipment. On the left side were her small piano and a violin on a stand. But it was what was in the back left corner that got the reaction out of her: a black baby grand piano!