Finding Home Pt. 22

"So, there's nothing I need to do - or stop doing?"

Sara shook her head. "Just keep being you. I love you. I love that you make the men around you better. Secretly, I do kinda love that all these other ladies have the hots for my man. But there are days when it's a bit much."

Andy nodded. "I'm sorry," he said meekly.

"I know you are, baby. That's yet another reason I love you. You look out for us," she leaned her head into his shoulder.

The last two stops were made, and Andy was more than a little surprised when the final stop was at the music store Randy Young - the guitar player Tommy dug up - worked at. Alex ran in, and came out with a guitar case and a homemade set up of guitar effects. He threw them in the back without comment, and the trio headed back to the cabin. 40 minutes later, they unloaded the gear, and Andy noticed that Ellen was already practicing with the piano player, CeCe, and Mary Frances. Andy headed to the kitchen to find Tommy. He was stunned when he saw Jake, Andre, Rilian, and Alex all wearing aprons and busy at whatever task an unknown chef was directing them to accomplish.

"I knew I couldn't practice and cook. I spoke with Dr. Adams. She's bringing all the VIPs from last night, and so I spoke to Jordan - she's the chef at Colton, by the way. She sent over her sous chef, and we recruited some help. There's a couple of guys coming from the hockey team, and the cheerleaders are coming later to help serve. Thanks for stopping by the butcher. We were going to run short of steaks, brats, and burgers," Tommy said all this as calmly as if he were conversing with a stranger on the subway.

"Wow. OK," said a dumbstruck Andy.

"Not my first rodeo. Good chefs learn to delegate - trust the people they work with. The Colton bigwigs want this to go well, so they stepped up," he grinned. "It's the same with being a bandleader. Find good people and let them do what they do. Now, come with me, I need to introduce you to this Les Paul you're playing tonight."

At 4:30, Andy headed to the boathouse to shower and change for tonight. As he was tying his boots, Gina, Christopher, his grandmother, and Aunt Jane came up. All four were grinning like crazy.

"Alright, which one of you is going to wipe the shit-eating grin off your face and tell me what you've been up to?" asked a smiling Andy.

"That is impertinent, and a bit hurtful - but probably true," said Jane. "We've just finished at your new house. Here are the keys. You should probably have Christopher and Ellen walk you through the finished product. It's absolutely wonderful!"

His grandmother added excitedly, "Andrew, your sister and Christopher have absolutely outdone themselves. Gina added so many thoughtful things," she paused and began to tear up. "It's just marvelous."

Gina came to Andy and hugged him. "Thank you, Andy. You have no idea how wonderful it's been for me to work on this. Working with this crew has been a life-altering experience, I must admit. I can't wait for the two of you to see it."

"I'd say we could go now, but we've got folks showing up shortly," he mused. "How about right after? Aunt Jane, are you going home tonight?"

She shook her head. "No; in fact, your uncle should be arriving shortly. I'm sorry about all the Secret Service to-do that brings, but we've got some work to do tonight. Money does not raise itself," she grinned. "There are some additional alumni that will be here tonight. Donna Karan is coming, as well. This is all quite the to-do."

"Well then, we'll go as soon as you're done extorting - I mean raising - money," he grinned. "Brother," he turned to Christopher, "thanks for all you've done."

"Andy, it was our pleasure. Between these three and Ellen, I must admit I'm a bit jealous. I'd live in that house in a heartbeat."

Gina hugged Christopher, which shocked the younger man.

"Find your house in Boston and you'll get the same treatment. This project has created a three-headed monster, I'm afraid," she grinned. "It was just so much fun."

"If you will excuse us, Jane and I need to speak to our VP of talent acquisition," said Helen. She said it kindly, and yet in a tone that would brook no rebuttal.

Once Christopher and Gina had gone, Jane appraised him with a cold stare.

"Andrew, we need you to come clean with us: how is your relationship with Heather Benson?"

Andy was stunned by her question. "I'm pretty certain that's none of your business; but it's good, as far as I know."

"You're certain?"

"As much as that sort of thing is up to me, I am," he said honestly.

"Good. Tom and Julie Benson will be here tonight. We want to hire him to run the company until you're ready to do so."

Andy looked at his grandmother, stunned.

"O come, dear boy. You're not an idiot. Tom runs one of the largest brokerage houses on the east coast. He'd be a wonderful mentor to you. He loves you like a son, and I happen to know how upset Julie was when Heather threw you overboard. Her father took her car away for a month, and cancelled the trip to Europe she was to take as a graduation gift. Your sister punching her was a bit of a shock, but Julie thought it did Heather a world of good. We just needed to be certain all that unpleasantness was behind us."

A stunned Andy could only nod.

"There will be two events going on tonight. The tents outside are for your teammates, and the college students who have been invited. Inside, we're trying to raise a significant sum of money for Colton College, and hire Tom Benson. Your presence, and Sara's, will be required in the house for a brief time - as will Grace and Brian's. We've already spoken to the three of them. Sara looks delightful tonight, by the way," she smiled at him. "I still can't get over how amazing that young woman is. You did very well for yourself, Andrew David. You and Brian both have done very well for yourselves."

Andy smiled. "Thank you. And OK," he exhaled. "Do I need to change?"

"No. Your rock-and-roll persona will have to suffice," Jane smiled. "Besides, your sister and Sara went to a lot of work to get you looking so fetching. I like the hair. Please keep letting it grow out, and the beard is a nice touch as well." Andy had gone 3 days without shaving, and the reddish stubble was coming in nicely.

She turned to her sister, and she nodded. "Now, have fun dear boy. John Moses tells us this is a very talented team that has been assembled. We're proud of you for hosting this event. We hear the same thing about the women's crew and volleyball teams. And," she paused, "we both appreciate the deft way you handled that incident yesterday morning," she smiled. "It will serve you, and your adopted sister well in the future."

"I'm sorry?"

"John Moses told us about your encounter. That was very well done. And Andrew, in the future, Mary Frances Sumner-White will run for elected office. We're thinking she'd make an excellent mayor. Every mayor needs a fixer. Someone who can broker certain deals and get things done, but outside of official channels. You would do quite well in that regard, I think," his grandmother smiled at him.

"Damn, and here I thought the Judge and Dr. Adams were good at this 'trying to take over the world' bit," he muttered. "How am I going to do my day job?"

Both women giggled. "Amateurs," Aunt Jane offered. "But they do it quite well."

"The answer to your question is Grace Federspiel-Jacobs. She'll be more than up to running the day-to-day operations of Sumner-White. That's the other reason we want Tom Benson. Tom has been known to step into civic affairs from time to time to help get the train back on the proverbial tracks," said his grandmother with an amused look on her face. "Plus, the Ralph Ivanovich School for Gifted Youngsters will give you more civic cache than you realize. Your wife and your brother-in-law will have more students than they will know what to do with. I'm quite glad the Federspiel's and Juliette Broquard are on board."

Andy laughed. This was not a polite laugh, but a deep, belly laugh.

"You think this is funny?" asked his grandmother with a playful sternness in her voice.

"The fact that the two of you are playing chess while the rest of us play checkers is damn funny, you have to admit," said Andy.

"We're doing nothing of the sort. The school was Sara's idea. The fact that Tom Benson loves you like a son is your doing. We simply understand how all these things will play out in the long run. Sometimes, it's good to be," she paused, "of a certain vintage."

"OK. The four of us will make an appearance. I'll trust the two of you to coordinate what happens when we get there."

They nodded, kissed him on the cheek, and left.

_______________________________________________________________

"Damn lady, you look stunning," said Andy when he saw Sara. She was wearing a sundress with a sweater over the top. She had straightened her hair into a ponytail, and her long, muscular, mocha-colored legs tantalized him. She giggled and kissed him.

"Remind me to thank Ellen for dressing you," she said. "You look so good I think I'd like to leave this party early."

He hugged her. "No can do, I'm afraid. I know the Wonder Twins prepped you for what's up tonight. And then, we get to go look at our house."

"Momma is so excited she's about to bust," she paused, and he saw the look on her face. "I know we probably need to ask our friends and family to come with us, but I do wish it could be just you and I."

He kissed her nose. "I do too. I'll tell you what; when all this is over, let's ask the folks coming to give us a 15-minute head-start. That way we can see it with just the two of us, but still give them the chance to show us what they want to show us. How does that sound?"

She smiled at him. "That sounds amazing. Thank you, baby."

Andy felt himself getting hard as she pressed her body against him. She giggled when she felt it and batted her eyes at him.

"Bellissima, you're killing me here," he whispered.

"Well, it would help me if you didn't look so damn hot. Plus, I know my man is going to kick ass tonight. I'm afraid everyone will smell that I'm totally in heat for you."

He grinned at her.

"That does not help me; one bit," she protested.

"Who said I'm trying to help?" Pausing, he asked her, "Any guesses as to what your song might be?"

"No. There were too many to choose from. Apparently, you couldn't have a romantic comedy in the '90's without some sort of love song to go along with it," she frowned.

"Good. As much as I'm trying not to, I do like surprising you."

"Mmm." Sara lowered her voice, "I don't care if those little heifers are in our room tonight or not. I need my man. I need to fall asleep in his arms. Colton College can kiss my ass if they think I'm taking one for the team tonight."

Andy smiled. "Aren't you forgetting something else we'll get to do tonight?"

She shook her head. "I've got company," she grinned. "You can blame Kail for that, Grace and I are synced up with her. It came this afternoon."

He nodded. "Got it. So, we're making another ice cream run?" he grinned. "OK, our teammates are arriving. We should probably go welcome them."

He kissed her softly, and they went to go do just that.

__________________________________________________________________

"Drew! It is so good to see you! Please come here and let me look at you," Julie Benson greeted her daughter's old boyfriend warmly. Andy went to her and stood before her like a schoolboy in front of his mother. Julie turned his head to one side to better see the scars on his neck. She examined his left arm, pushing the sleeve of his shirt up to see the extent of the shrapnel damage. Andy felt her hand gently pass over the scar tissue. She paused, and then with tears in her eyes, spoke softly.

"I was terribly worried about you. You were - and are - very special to Tom and I."

Wiping a tear away, she turned her attention to Sara.

"Young lady, you come with rave reviews. I'm Julie Benson; my husband will be here shortly. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you."

Tom Benson joined the group, and handed his wife her white wine. He himself had opted for a scotch - neat.

"Drew! Damn it's good to see you!" he bellowed. Turning to Sara, he held his hand out, "Tom Benson. It's an honor to meet you, Sara. We've heard nothing but glowing things about you - and from some unlikely sources, I might add."

His wife shot him a look, and Tom shrugged it off.

"Tom and Julie, this is my fiancé: Sara Jones-Easley," said Andy proudly.

"Sara, we miss this guy. Our family dinners have not been the same since Drew stopped coming. Any young man that can pass muster with older brothers is a keeper. Bravo to you both," Tom grinned.

Sara smiled. "That seems to be a common theme with him," she smiled. "The Glass family has told me the same thing."

Julie smiled and laughed. "Oh yes. Having your fiancé in one's home when he was in high school was a rather exclusive club. There were some Groton mothers who would not talk to me when Heather and Drew started dating exclusively. I'm afraid you may feel a bit of a chill in the air from some Groton alums of a particular vintage. You've broken more than a few hearts, I'm afraid."

Sara saw Andy's face turn three shades of red, and she giggled softly. He turned to her, and she felt his hand go to the small of her back. She smiled at him lovingly, and was rewarded by a genuine grin from her man.

"Sara - Juliana and I have been talking. We know the wedding is coming up shortly, and she and I would love to host a bridal shower for you. I know you both have a couple of years of school left, then Helen tells me you're going to settle in Boston. We'd love to have the opportunity to introduce you. You're walking into quite the social network, I'm afraid. Helen and Drew's sisters sit near the center of that network, to be honest. While you don't really need our help to navigate the scene, we'd love to help if we can," said Julie earnestly.

"Thank you. That would be wonderful. There are some sizeable chunks of Andy's life I don't know much about. I'm afraid I'll need all the help I can get," replied Sara.

"Just do as Helen does, young lady," offered Tom Benson. "She's a whale of a role model."

Sara giggled, and nodded. "I've already learned so much by just watching her. She's so gracious and poised. It's amazing to see her in a setting like tonight."

"Well, if it isn't Jake the Jet!" Tom's greeting was a relief to Andy. He liked Heather's parents, but having Sara in this kind of setting was not something he relished. He knew his fears were totally unfounded; Sara was more than equal to the challenge, but still.

"I hear congratulations are due to you, as well."

Andy and Sara watched as Brian and Grace effortlessly navigated this encounter. The small talk lasted for several minutes before Andy moved the conversation in a different direction. He and Grace landed at a table with Tom Benson, while Brian and Sara continued to keep Julie Benson company.

"Tom, thanks for sitting down with us. You're doing us a huge favor. We both realize you don't have to take a meeting like this with two college kids," Andy began.

Tom smiled. "Drew, it's my pleasure. I've talked with your grandmother and her sister," he added knowingly with a raised eyebrow, "and I'm glad to get a chance to talk with the two of you."

Andy and Grace nodded, and Grace took up the conversation. "Mr. Benson, to be honest, Andy and I don't know what we don't know. I'm an outstanding mathematician, and Andy is - well - he's Andy. We need someone like you to mentor us. The generation gap between Andy's grandmother and Aunt Helen is probably too great to navigate in that regard, and we very much want to move Sumner-White forward. We need you to do that."

Tom Benson nodded and smiled to her. "Thank you. That's high praise," he paused. "Where do the two of you want to be in 10 years?"

Andy nodded to Grace, and she spoke first. "Married to Brian. Living in Boston. Kids - we'll see how many," she grinned. "And running the day-to-day operations of Sumner-White. We've seen and felt the kind of impact a company like this one can have. I want to ensure that continues."

Andy smiled at Grace, and turned to Tom. "Mary Frances O'Leary - soon to be Sumner-White - will be running for elected office in Boston. My grandmother and aunt have suggested there will be a need for a 'fixer' and not so subtly noticed that I possess the necessary skillset for that role. Tom, we don't just want to make a shit-ton of money. We really do want to make Boston a better place to live - and we know you need money to do that. Money and the right relationships. That's where we want to be in 10 years, bringing our kids into a city that we're helping to make a better place."

Tom nodded and smiled at them both. "This is a dirty damned business. I need the two of you to know that right off the top. People do all kinds of shitty things to one another to make a dollar. The Sumner-White group has been able to stay above that - for the most part. I loathe that part of this industry, and want no part of it. The two ladies who began this company have shown it can be done the right way. Drew, you're damn good with people; and you'll need to be. Grace, thanks to Brian you have an entry point into this world as well. That will serve both of you well. People want to know that ridiculously smart, driven, and honest people are taking care of their money."

"All that being said, I'm in. I know we have a couple of years of runway, and that's a good thing. My son Pete and his wife Melody just had their first kid, and grandma is dying to get a chance to see more of her granddaughter. I need to catch my breath for about 12-14 months. By that time, Grace should be at MIT, and Andy should be in the homestretch of his degree here. 18 months from now, we start kicking ass and taking names. Grace, please tell your bosses you sealed the deal. I'll be in touch with them Monday morning."

The older man raised his glass and toasted his new protégé's. "Now, Miss Federspiel, if you will excuse us - I need to have a word with Drew."

Grace nodded and excused herself. Tom looked at Andy for a moment before speaking.

"Drew, I want to do this - but not if it's going to be awkward for either of us. Thank you for talking with Heather. I know that meant a lot to her. She and Austin are happy, and we're pleased with the match. He's a good young man, and he treats her very well. She needed to talk with you for that relationship to move forward, so thank you."

"Tom, I'm realizing something," said Andy. "I cared for Heather, and we were very important to one another during a weird season in everyone's life. But I've figured out how much I loved being with your family. Family dinners at the Benson house were a highlight for me. For Heather's brothers to accept me, and the way you talked with one another - and just were - it was huge for me. Part of what I think a family is supposed to look like was shaped in your kitchen on Sunday evenings. I've missed that, and I'm thankful for that experience. I also realize that I needed the closure as much as Heather did. I get that now. Please know I'm really excited at the prospect of being around you again. This isn't awkward on my end at all," he grinned.

The older man grinned at him. "Good. I was hoping that's where we were. Drew, our whole family is excited as hell to see you again. The boys bought tickets to all three games of the Colton/Boston U series. If it wouldn't be too awkward, we'd love to have you and Sara come that Sunday evening for family dinner. You'll be married by then, and I know we'd love some time with Mrs. DeGroat."

"That sounds amazing. Thank you," said Andy. "I'll need to prep Sara for some of the needling Pete, Matty, and Kevin will throw my way, but we'd be honored."