Fulton Springs

"Where are we going with us?" Jenny asked the next morning, after yet another sublime round of loving.

"Well," I wasn't looking forward to the next step. "I have a minor problem. . . . "

"Don't tell me that you have to break the news to your wife that, after enjoying your time here and experiencing a future of sublime shagging with me, you're splitting with her so that you can marry me?"

"You're half-way right, I no longer have a wife but I do have a couple of amazing daughters that I will have to break the news to."

"And you're scared that they won't take kindly to your news because they're living in the hope that someday you will get back with their mother?"

"Again you're half-way right. They know that there is no chance of that happening, that particular bridge was spectacularly burnt to a crisp."

"Then I suppose that because they live with your ex and you have regular visitation rights, that they will lose contact with you when you and I get hitched?"

"It's the other way around. They live with me and my housekeeper, it's their mother that has the visitation rights."

"This housekeeper, she's young and pretty and the term housekeeper is a euphemism for you live-in shag?"

"No, she's middle-aged and not my type at all, if you must know, she's my mother-in-law."

"Let me get this straight, your wife left you for some other guy and her mother disliked what her daughter had done enough that she volunteered to help raise the kids?"

"That's pretty much it."

"What a weird setoff circumstances, tell me more, I'm curious as to how you should get into such a mess, I always took you to be smarter than that."

"I can understand why she did what she did. While my company was successful, it got that way by flying under the radar. When the girls started school she decided that she wanted to go back to work. I didn't have a problem with that so I told her it was okay."

"As you would, knowing you." Was that true, did she, back then, know me?

"She went back to the company that she worked for before we got married. The difference being that the boss' son had taken over and he had great ambitions for the company. Sharon got caught up in his bullshit to the point that she began an affair with him. It was the usual stuff, the glamourous boss promising to leave the wife that no longer understood his needs and marrying her. So she left me and moved into an apartment that he owned, that his wife didn't know about, at least that's what he thought. She told her mother her plans and mother advised her against it, telling her that it would not end well for her, she didn't listen and went ahead anyway."

"You, of course, were so devastated by this news that you lost the plot and turned to drink."

"You couldn't be further from the truth. As soon as it happened, her mother came around and offered her services as a full-time childminder slash housekeeper. She explained to the girls what was going on and that it was not my fault. While the girls couldn't, at first, get their heads around all of this, the fact that their grandmother jumped in to support me and that I told them that, while I understood what she had done, I was not going to condemn her for her decision and that I loved them and they were my first priority."

"That's pretty much what your mother told me. Sharon's mother and she had a long conversation when all of this was going down and she made a promise that she would step in and help if it was necessary."

"She didn't mention that to me."

"Did you expect her to?"

"No. What about your disaster, how was it that you stayed married for so long?"

"I couldn't have done anything about it while my father was alive. You see, my father had a violent temper and he knew where to hit where it didn't show. Mother and I were often covered in bruises from the beatings and he showed Brad how to do the same to me. If I Had complained he threatened to cut me out of his will and leave me with nothing. I hung in there because I wanted to get something in compensation for his violence. It was hard at times but I stuck it out. When he died, I told Brad that he couldn't expect my father's protection and, that if he didn't accept the fact that I wanted a divorce, I would spread the word about, not only his violence towards me but evidence that he was a philandering bastard who stole money from me to pay for abortions to get rid of the results of his having unprotected sex with girls, many of whom were minors. The police took an active interest in him and he disappeared oversees to avoid arrest."

"You've managed to divorce him then?"

"It turns out I didn't need to. After he started shagging someone else, Betsy pissed him off and told him that she would tell the world that he was an arsehole. Do you know how they say that a leopard can never change his spots? Well, he didn't and it caught up with him big time. He got a gig with some third-grade football team in England and got caught shagging another players wife. It caused a scandal, not the adultery so much but the fact that the other player beat the crap out of him and he died as a result of the skull fractures he received."

"What happened to the other player?"

"He did time, not as much as he would have done if he hadn't been such a good player who had just been scouted by one of the Premier League clubs. He was out of gaol before the start of the next season."

"We don't seem to have had a lot of joy in our lives."

"And I suppose that you're going to blame me for that?"

"Of course, if you'd seen through my low self-esteem and my stammer, you would have married me instead of Brad and we could have had a happy life."

"Mate, it was close to impossible to see through everything you had going against you to find the wonderful person that you turned out to be."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, but not now. I should be getting back home and to work."

"Can I come with you, I'd like to meet the girls."

"I think that I should do some groundwork first, both to the girls and to my mother-in-law. If you can hold off for a day or two, that would be great."

"I guess that I'm going to have to. Alright piss off, I have work to do."

If I didn't know her better, I would have been offended by her outburst. I packed my bag and we left. Trudie was on reception and Jenny told that my stay was a comp. She kissed me good-bye and I left.

"How was the funeral?"

"It was okay as far as funerals go."

"Were there many people there?"

"More than I expected. It turns out that she was a very popular person."

"What's happening with the hotel?"

"Jenny Corbet has been managing it for some time. Her father and mine were friends and were both killed in the same car accident. Mil, (I had begun calling her Mil and not mother-in-law early on in my marriage) I need to discuss something with you."

"Are you going to tell me that this Jenny Corbet is an old friend and that the two of you have decided to renew that friendship?"

"Yes."

"Don't let me come between the two of you, it couldn't be any worse than what you had with Sharon."

"Thanks, that's hurdle number one out of the way, now to tell the girls. At least I'll have a couple of hours until they get home to prepare for this."

Fliss and Jess (Felicity and Jessica) arrived home from school, dropped their backpacks and ran into my waiting arms. "Dad, you're home already, we weren't expecting you back until at least tomorrow."

"I didn't need to stay any longer, there wasn't any business that hadn't been taken care of so I didn't see the need to stay, I wanted to get back to my girls."

"We're glad that you did, we missed you. We didn't know Granny but we were sad that she died." Fliss said.

"I know Honey. I was sad that you hadn't got to know her, she was an amazing woman and she would have loved you. It's all my fault, I was too busy with my work and didn't find the time to keep in touch with her."

"It's not your fault Daddy," Jess said, "We realised that you had to pick up the pieces when Mother left and you had to work hard so that we could have a comfortable life."

"But, I've been thinking about this over the past couple of days, I didn't need to work as hard as I did. I should have spent more time with you girls and my family, especially after my father died. What I've been thinking about is, what would you say, and this includes you Mil, if I were to tell you that I'm thinking about selling my business and moving back to Fulton Springs."

"What will you do there?" Fliss asked.

"I'll take over running the hotel. That leads me to another thing I need to discuss with you."

"Yes?" They both asked.

"The lady that is currently managing the hotel, it turns out, is an old friend from school, and she and I have renewed our friendship. I like her and realised that years ago I was in love with her, and she was in love with me. Fate kept us apart and fate has brought us back together."

"Are you telling us that you're planning to marry her?" Fliss asked.

"There are things that will have to be discussed before that can happen, not the least of which is if the three of you will like each other."

"When are you planning for us to meet her?"

"As soon as possible, do you mind?" I took out my phone and called Jenny. "Hi, it's me."

"Me who?" I heard her chuckle, "You've told the girls haven't you? When do want this to happen?"

"How soon can you get here?" She didn't get a chance to answer.

"Dad," Fliss held her hand out to take my phone from me. "Hi, this is Fliss, Dad's oldest, we would love to meet you and get to know you. We would prefer it if this was a face to face meeting, and for it to happen as soon as possible, we want you not to worry about this, we love Dad and want what's best for him. How soon can you get here?"

She handed my phone back to me, "It's me again, how soon can you get here? You already have your bags packed? Four hours, that would be great."

Three and a half hours later I was pacing back and forth like a caged lion in anticipation. "Ted, will you sit down, she won't get here any quicker with you wearing out the carpet," Mil said.

"Yes Dad, sit down." Fliss said.

We heard a car pull into the driveway and a door slam. Seconds later I beat her to the door and had it open before she could push the doorbell. She pushed it anyway, before entering my embrace.

"Will you two come in and shut the door, you're letting the mozzies (mosquitos) in." I turned around, my arm still around Jenny, Fliss and Jess arrived together and we, all four of us hugged."

"Aren't you going to introduce me to this lovely lady?" Mil asked.

"Mil, this is Jenny, Jenny Corbet. Jenny this is Mil."

"Mil, what is that short for, Millicent?"

"No, it's short for mother-in-law, he couldn't bring himself to call me Mother. I'm okay with that, it's better than what most sons-in-law call their mothers-in-law."

"I'm pleased to meet you Mil, and you girls, which is which, you could be twins."

"I'm Fliss, that's short for Felicity, I'm two years older than Jessica, but I wouldn't call her that, she's Jess."

"I have coffee ready if you're interested." Mil said, followed by silence, "I'll take that as a 'no'." She said.

"No, you've already made it and I wouldn't want to see it go to waste." Jenny said. The smile that Mil bestowed on her suggested that she had said the right thing.

"So, you're off to Uni next year?" Jenny asked Fliss.

"Yes."

"What are you going to study?"

"Engineering, I know it's not the usual girly degree, but I'm interested in it."

"You're interested because you think that there'll be more boys in Engineering." Jess said.

"That's not true, I've discussed it with the Guidance Counsellor at school and taken an aptitude test that supports my decision."

"I say do what you want and don't take any notice of what anyone else tells you. I made that mistake and gave up on happiness with your father to do what my father wanted me to do."

"But, if you'd married father we wouldn't be here." Jess said.

"There is that. How about you Jess, what do you want to do?"

"Something in the science field, I haven't decided yet."

It was close to eleven, and we had been skirting around the issue of who was sleeping where for some time.

"It's time for you girls to go to bed." Mil said.

"Where is Jenny going to sleep?" Fliss asked. It had been decided that the girls should call her Jenny rather than 'Mother' because of the negative connotations that were generated because of their mother.

"I would like to sleep with your father, will that cause a problem for you?"

"We would have a problem if you didn't want to sleep with him, it won't be the first, will it?"

"No." Jenny said.

"Then we don't see it aa a problem now, do we Jess?"

"No, I say go for it, but don't make too much noise, we need our sleep."

"Jess! That wasn't nice." I told her.

"But true. Let's face it, if she's going to be our new mother, we do not want to get in the way. Goodnight Dad," she kissed me, "goodnight Jenny," she kissed Jenny.

"Goodnight Jess, and Fliss." Fliss had followed Jess.

Jenny and I were kissing and cuddling and thinking about getting out of bed when there was a tap on the door and the girls came in. "We've got to head off for school," Jess said. "we thought we'd say good-bye to you both before we left, nice tits Jenny, you don't have to hide them from us," Jenny let go of the sheet and it dropped away from her breasts. "Mil has breakfast ready for you two and I wouldn't let it go cold if you know what mean." She shut the door behind them.

"Well, I guess we'd better get out of this bed," Jenny said. "I don't want to get on the wrong side of Mil too soon."

"So you're planning to get on her wrong side are you?"

"No."

"What are your plans for today?" Mil asked as we sat at the table.

"I need to go into work and catch up on the work that has piled up over the past couple of days, and then have a chat with my lawyer and set in motion the sale of the business."

"How about you Jenny?"

"I'd love to go with Ted, but I'd probably be in the way, so you and I are going to get to know each other. I need to discuss something with you."

I wondered what that could be.

We said our good-byes, it took a while, and I left the two of them together to plot and plan my future.

"Welcome back Ted," Penny said as I walked through her office on the way to mine, "How are you, how was the funeral?"

"It was okay as far as funerals go. Is there anything that can't wait?"

"No, we managed to get it all done without you."

"That's good, I can leave with a clear conscience then."

"Leave, what is this about you leaving?"

"I have decided that I'm going to sell up, I don't want the stress of this job forever."

"How soon will I have to start looking for a new job?"

"Let's not get too carried away, we have some time to go and a lot to do before I leave."

"Let me guess, you've met a woman."

"How . . .?"

"It was obvious as soon as you walked in that something good had happened to you and that was my first thought, am I right?"

"As it happens, yes."

"Who is she and when am I going to meet her?"

"Her name is Jenny Corbet and she's the manager of the family hotel in Fulton Springs."

"And you've known her how long?"

"The best part of twenty years, we were at school together, unfortunately, her father had other ideas and I missed out. I ended up with Sharon and she ended up with Brad."

"I assume that she is no longer with this Brad?"

"She kicked him out because he was shagging himself silly with anyone that would let him. She had to wait until her father died because it was his idea for her to marry Brad in the first place and, as far as dear Daddy was concerned, Brad was important to him."

"Did she divorce him?"

"No, that became unnecessary, he shagged one woman too many and her husband beat the crap out of him and he died as a result."

"Poetic justice by the sound of things. Does this Jenny want you to sell the business?"

"She has put no pressure on the sale, it was all my idea, having said that, she's happy with my decision."

"What about the girls, have you sprung her on them yet?"

"Yes, they've met Jenny and approve."

"So what's next?"

"I'll need to discuss the ramifications of this decision with James. Can you get him for me?" James was my lawyer.

James was confident that a buyer could be found and he would draw up a sale agreement. "I know of some people who will be interested, it will be one less competitor for them to run against, how quickly do you want to move on this?"

"I don't want to move before Fliss finishes school, any time after that."

"I think we can work with that. What about the hotel, are you going to sell that as well, I can find a buyer for that while I'm at it?"

"That's not for sale. I plan to run it along with the current manager who just happens to be Jenny, my future wife."

"You don't muck around once you get started, do you?"

"No, I've been spinning my wheels for long enough."

"Are you going to introduce me to this Jenny person?"

"If you promise not to make a move on her I'll bring her in to see you tomorrow if that's all right with you."

"Yes and I promise, the trouble and strife (rhyming slang for wife) would string me up by the balls if I even thought about hitting on another woman."

I introduced Jenny to Penny who approved, and to James who had second thoughts about risking his balls. Jenny liked both, I had to drag her out of my office because she and Penny had just begun to compare notes and I couldn't have that.

We all drove to Fulton Springs on Friday evening, Jenny and Fliss in her car and Jess and Mil in mine, Jenny and I slept in her room and the girls and Mil in what was mine.

The girls had a great time, they got on well with Trudie and helped her on the front desk, not that there was much to do, and Jenny and me while we sorted out the running of the hotel.

There was a steady stream of locals dropping by to welcome me back in town and to meet the girls, by mid-afternoon there was a greater stream of young guys checking them out, the girls enjoyed the popularity.

It was not long before the number of Fultons in Fulton Springs had increased by four. I was back in town with the girls and Jenny was now Jenny Fulton. The hotel was redecorated and took on a family vibe, the girls helped out when they could, Mil took over the catering and front of house management and Jenny and I took over the administration and marketing of the business.

It was not long before Fulton House was getting a much larger share of the accommodation trade.

PS. The Fulton numbers are due to increase further, Jenny is to become a mother for the first time in four months. The girls are looking forward to being big sisters, even Mil is happy for us.