I'm 51

Tears came to her eyes and I thought I'd done something wrong. Then she grinned. "I'll try my best to pretend to enjoy it when you do. What would you like as an appetizer?"

"This," I said as I slipped her robe open and latched down on a nipple. She tried to push me away but stopped and moaned as I gave them both a good and proper seeing to. She finally pushed me away.

"Stop, or we won't finish dinner. They'll be right here for you later, I promise."

We ate the simple meal and cleaned up, separately, because the shower just wasn't big enough. I put on a pair of boxers and she had on a silk robe that just barely hid her teddy. She put on a jazz CD she had gotten at the roots venue, fixed a couple of drinks and we snuggled on the amazingly comfortable sofa.

She suddenly started laughing. "He bought this thing thinking he was being clever. Now there would be no trail of motel receipts and all he had to do was take it out and meet his little bimbo at the next marina. I would never find out."

How long did that last?"

"Until the first time I saw it. It was titled in both our names and it cost very little to have it wired for video and sound. I let him go three times to get enough footage, then used it to get a more favorable settlement. I made damn sure he knew I was going to take it and gave him a Corvette worth half as much in return. The first bimbo took it when she divorced him."

"Please excuse me for asking, but why did you marry such an idiot?"

I could hear the sadness in her voice. "Hue was a good man when we got together. As we got more successful, he got more arrogant, thinking his success should justify anything. Age became a factor and honestly, I think she was the physical equivalent of a sports car during a midlife crisis. She wasn't smart, but she was very savvy and had him tied up pretty quick, asking him why he was still with a tired old woman when he could be seen around town with her on his arm? When I caught them, it played right into her hands. By then, I didn't care. She was welcome to him.

"Instead of everyone admiring him for what he did and who he did it with, most thought him foolish and many actually pitied him. I think when he realized that, it crushed what little ego he had left for a while. Then she screwed around on him and he was left with nothing to show for his bad decisions. For all practical purposes, I owned the company and he just had to deal with it."

"That pretty much mirrors what happened to us. I thought I was doing great but she had tastes for finer things and it didn't take her long to find somebody, once she decided to trade up. It killed me for a long time before I got over it, and made me really gun shy about relationships. I think I told you before, but it didn't work out quite like she had in mind. It's one thing to indulge a hot young lover, quite another to give her the keys to the vault after you marry. The prenuptial was pretty draconian, and by then she had burned her bridges, so she went along. I hear she has an allowance, and if she goes over that she's broke for the rest of the month. I look for it to end badly in the next couple of years. After all, he's proven he doesn't mind playing with people in relationships."

"Maybe yours and mine will find each other after their next divorces. That would be hilarious. Time for bed."

She slipped off the robe and twirled a time or two before getting in to bed. We had visions of great things but she was asleep as soon as we snuggled. I grinned in the dark as I felt her breath. Quality over quantity. A lifestyle I could live with.

Chapter 7

We jumped in and out of the bed and the water for the rest of the weekend, getting back to the marina just before dark Sunday night.

I asked her as we motored back if we were exclusive. Even in the waning light I could see her eyes glitter. " I've got a good notion to throw you overboard. I haven't been with another man in almost a year, and I'm pretty happy with the one I got now. Any more stupid questions?"

"No dear."

"Good. How about you?"

"Mine isn't quite as long, but I will tell you I hadn't been with anyone else since two weeks before I saw you at the club for the first time. I can assure you I like what we have just fine and have no intention of ever screwing it up. So then, we're officially a couple?"

"Shall I have a contract drawn up?"

I just hugged her tighter to me. "No. I think in matters like this verbal commitments work best, don't you?"

"Absolutely."

We stood on the dock for a few minutes before I mustered my words. "What now?"

"Now we go to our separate homes and think about this weekend and what it means to us individually. After a couple of days of deliberation, you're to pack a few changes of clothes that you can keep at my house, move them in Wednesday or Thursday and we see where it goes."

"How about Monday or Tuesday?"

"Don't push it. I need to process. I've gone a long time without being half of a couple. I need to ease into it."

That's what we did. I showed up Thursday and she practically dragged me into the house. I left Sunday night and returned Wednesday. It took almost two months before she sat me down for a talk. Her version of a talk usually meant she was the one talking and I was the one agreeing.

She asked me once why I did as much as I could for her. "Because I... like pleasing you. It gives me pleasure to give you pleasure. Over time, if I truly believe you're making a bad decision or if I plain don't like what I'm hearing, you'll know it. I believe you're smart enough to know the line between lo... affection and weakness."

She was glowing. "Well then. I've decided I like you enough to see if I can stand you on a regular basis. When can you get everything over here and move in permanently?"

"Gee, this is so sudden. I don't know how lo...tomorrow! Most of my stuff is already here. I'll put a few things in storage I want to hold on to, and maybe a few months down the road I'll get hold of a leasing agent. It does a house no good to stand empty.'

I took her hands. "Now then, to brass tacks. You own your home and I own mine, so there are no house payments to contend with. I insist we split the domestic bills down the middle. I can't stand the thought of being considered a kept man, and you know the rumors are going to fly. That goes for the household chores, as well. I'm sure we'll agree you're better with laundry but I'm pretty handy with everything else so I'll handle more than my share of that. And if you can't stand to be pampered, now would be a good time to back out."

"I know how much you like to work outside. The lawn service will be cancelled next week and we'll consider that a trade off with the laundry. Everything else is 50/50. Shall we seal it with a kiss?"

"No. Let's seal it with this." I had her over my shoulder and she was screaming and laughing, pounding my back as I carried her to the bedroom.

Word got around at her company. Angie just grinned when the ex tried to warn her about me being a gold digger and put up pictures of us together on her desk and wall. Bimbo no. 2 was making hard hints about a ring, and he had his own problems so he let it go.

After six months, we had our schedule down pat. I was more of a morning person, so I was usually the first up, getting the coffee going and maybe fixing a light breakfast. She usually did dinner. I mowed the grass and came to her with an idea, an idea I would pay for. In the end, we split the costs and I put in an outdoor kitchen and patio. Angie would get into sweats and help when she could, even when I told her she didn't have to.

"This is OUR home, and I will not be left out of any projects we do to improve it."

t took almost three months, and we were inordinately proud when we finished. The little covered enclosure held a really nice gas grill, a charcoal grill, a four-burner gas range top built into the granite countertops, along with a small refrigerator and a deep sink. We could have easily have contracted it out, but that wasn't the point. The point was we did it together and it was a labor of love.

We'd have friends over from time to time, especially after we redid the outdoor area. Angie would sometimes entertain clients. I had to talk her into that.

"It's far more effective to invite them to your home instead of some sterile restaurant. It makes a connection on a more personal level. This is your home. You live here. You're showing them parts of you they normally would never get to see, and usually that alters their perception of you, often for the better. They'll relax and be far more open to any negotiation you enter into. DO NOT allow them to talk business while they're here unless it's in the most general of terms."

Her business associates were impressed. It was pretty easy to see. They were used to dealing with her ex, and with him it was all business and sometimes included hard drinking and strip clubs. He offended one vendor so badly Angie had him come over so she could apologize and insisted he bring his wife. They were supposed to book a hotel, but she got hold of his wife and insisted they stay the night. It became a quarterly thing and he reciprocated, inviting us up every six months or so. That usually degenerated into shopping trips for the ladies and sporting events for us, but it was in good fun. We took them out on the boat once, and it impressed them so much they got their own.

Angie invariably introduced me as her life partner. At first it was gratifying, but now it was starting to grate on my nerves.

Chapter 8

Almost a year after I moved in, I got to meet her son and his family. They lived on the other coast and she rarely got to see them. When he called and asked if he could come out, she was over the moon, cleaning until I made her stop.

"Do I need to disappear so you can spend quality time?"

She slapped me. "You're part of my life now. They know about you and I've sent them pictures. So no, just... no."

He looked a great deal like his mother, but I could see traces of his father in him, especially in some of his attitudes. Still, if he wasn't really friendly, he wasn't snarling at me.

His wife and children were a whole other matter. The little boy was nine and the little girl was seven. Heather was a California blond, a true beauty, and was as warm as fresh apple pie. When she and the kids saw the garden, they were excited because it was as close to real food as they'd ever come. Before I thought, I promised them a trip to the farmer's market Saturday.

Angie had bought the house and three acres of undeveloped land at a time when there were no close neighbors. I'd wanted a garden, but the woman that ran the HOA saw me tilling and stormed across the yard, yelling for me to stop. She then proceeded to tell me how many association bylaws I'd violated and she was going to make sure we got fined.

The drawback to that plan was Angie and her property weren't in her development. It was already there and the development grew up on two sides of her. I just laughed and broke ground, making sure I was very neat. When I had the land prepped, Angie helped me put a white picket fence around it. You couldn't tell what it was from the street. She promptly took over the garden, telling me to go heavy on tomatoes, lettuces, and green beans.

She searched websites relentlessly and ordered enough to plant ten acres. I made her pick and choose based on footage available, and she immediately wanted to expand the garden.

The HOA President went on a screaming rant and threatened to tear the fence down. I just grinned and told her it might not be the best idea she ever had, so she decided to take me to court.

Angie took the day off to be with me. The President pulled out charts, graphs, the bylaws, and pressed a fairly convincing argument. Then it was our turn. Angie showed the judge her property deed and when she read it, she laughed and rapped her gavel.

"Case dismissed!"

We thought the woman was going to stroke out when the Judge explained to her since our property wasn't in her development, we were free to do whatever we wanted with it, within reasonable bounds. The Judge had to threaten her with a weekend in jail to shut her up.

Angie had a wicked gleam in her eyes when she asked me to build her a scarecrow frame the next month. While I did that, she went shopping. When the scarecrow was done, it was dressed in the same clothes the HOA President favored, down to the big straw hat she liked to wear in the summertime. Maybe Angie slightly exaggerated how big her ass was. It took two bales of hay to stuff those stretch pants. She grinned. "I read about a guy in a similar situation, and that's what he did. I couldn't think of a better way to thumb our noses at her."

Every time she drove by our house to get to hers, she saw it. The other owners had quite a laugh over it but made damn sure she didn't see them. She lost when her term was up, and the new guy is a lot more lenient with the owners. He even put it to a vote to allow small gardens in the back yard, if they were properly fenced. Suddenly we got to know our neighbors a lot better as they sought us out for advice.

I'd gone a little overboard and had purchased a huge rear-tined tiller that had pretty much sat idle after I had prepped our ground, so I volunteered to help. Angie would come along and she would sit with the wives on the patio or in the airconditioned house while the husband and I struggled in the hot sun. Pretty soon they had a Facebook group to exchange tips and show the veggies they wanted to brag about. If they had more than they needed, they offered it to the group. Very little went to waste.

Heather showed up Saturday without Jr. When I asked, she said he wanted to talk to his mother, alone. Something wasn't right.

We piled into her rental car because it already had the car seats in it. She seemed to really enjoy the market, although she didn't smile much. The kids ran themselves ragged trying to see everything. Besides offering fresh vegetables, there was a subgroup of artisans present. Potters, painters, jewelry makers, there was even a guy there who would compose a whole poem just for his customer for ten bucks and print it out on his laptop gear. I thought it foolish, but he told me he made two to three hundred a day; not bad for a starving literature major.

The kids ran into a face painter and practically begged to have it done. Heather hesitated, but I grinned and pointed at the kids. "He's a lion and she's a tiger. Full face."

I walked off and was talking to one of the artisans when Heather joined me with the kids. The elaborate face paintings made me smile.

He grinned. "Does Angie know you're gallivantin' about with this hottie?"

Heather blushed and then gave one of her rare smiles. "Mom knows, but if a girl can't trust her father -in-law, who can she trust?"

That caught me off guard and I had to blink a couple of times. The kids were wanting some crystals, and she looked embarrassed but Bob grinned. "Now you're about to learn how handy it is to have a loaded father-in-law. If he's true to type, he'll buy his grandkids anything they want."

Damn this dust. I forgot how bad it got this time of year. Before Heather could object, Lynette had picked out a pair of earrings, small fairies holding a tiny sliver of crystal. Jeremiah got a necklace with a perfectly formed crystal. It was supposed to bring good luck and protection.

Lynette had heard what Bob said, and she wrapped her little arms around my knees. "Thank you, Grandpa."

Jeremiah thought he was too old to hug, but he grinned. "Thanks, Gramps."

I had Lynette in my arms now and she seemed to be quite comfortable. Bob was showing Heather a ring, a crystal with wrought rings of gold around it to form a flower. I bought it for her without a thought, not recoiling at all when Bob told me how much I owed him.

"I can't take this!"

I grinned at her. "I know you haven't been around us much, but it's not smart to piss off Grandfathers. It looks right on you. Bob told me it had been sitting in his case for a year, just waiting for the right finger to come along. Don't fight the magic."

I still held Lynette, except now she was asleep. Heather locked on to a hand and Jeremiah took her other one as we walked. I was so proud I don't think my feet hit the ground until we got back to the car.

The kids went out before we made the highway. I let a few minutes go by before I started talking. "I'm a pretty astute man, something you might want to bear in mind for the future, and I can tell something is wrong. Why don't you tell me what's happening so Angie and I can help you out?"

She tried to protest but it died on her lips. Then she started talking. "We're broke. It took every dime we had to get us here!"

I wondered what Jr. was telling Angie as she spilled her tale of woe. Jr. had been fired under less-than-ideal circumstances, and was having a hard time finding a position. They had always lived a high-end lifestyle and the money evaporated fast. It made him sound a lot like his father, but I let it pass. They lost their house, her leased car, and they had to take the kids out of private school.

"It killed him to his soul to come here, but we have no choice. We asked his father first, but thanks to his personal choices..." she gave a snort of disgust, "he couldn't. Mom is our last hope."

"You shouldn't worry too much about Angie. She isn't going to let her grandbabies go without. Neither am I, for that matter. What's he asking for?"

"I have no idea. A short-term loan, I guess. Something to get us by until we can find work. He doesn't want me to have a job, but if I get one before he does it'll be tough tomatoes for him."

I knew Angie. She would not let her child and his family starve. I also knew she wouldn't just blindly hand Jr. money, not if he was anywhere near like his dad. He'd get something, but there would be hooks in it.

When I asked Heather how much cash they had, she blushed and wouldn't answer. I made her pull into the parking lot of a branch of the bank I did business with and pulled a thousand in cash out, giving her the envelope.

"Don't fuss, don't argue, just put it in your purse and use it as you see fit. And if you ever say the first word about paying me back, I will be deeply, deeply offended. You'll lose your favorite daughter-in-law status pretty quickly, you understand?"

I decided to drive to give her time to cry it out. She was composed by the time we got back to the house. Angie and Jr. were waiting in the living room. Lynette came charging in and jumped on her lap. "Grandma! I'm a tiger! See what Grandpa got me? Aren't they cute?"

I saw him tighten up, but Angie just grinned as she cuddled the child. "They're adorable! Grandpa has never gotten me something this nice."

That wasn't necessarily true if you counted the ring I had hidden in the garden shed. I just hadn't had the right opportunity to present it to her yet.

"It's because I'm the youngest and a girl. Grandpas are 'sposed to do stuff like that. That what Jenny says, anyway."

"Well then. Your friend Jenny seems to be very smart. Jeremiah, did you get anything?"

He grinned and pulled the necklace out from under his tee shirt. "Grandpa's friend said it was supposed to protect me from evil spirits. Mommy got something, too."

She hesitantly showed Angie the ring. She looked at me in surprise before tears leaked down her cheeks. "From now on I'm going to have to watch your grandfather pretty close or you'll be swimming in bling. Lynnie, would you and Jere like to help me make cupcakes?"

Soon they each had a hand, dragging her to the kitchen. Jr. stared at me for a minute. "You're not their grandfather!"

Heather gasped. I just looked at him calmly. "No, I'm not, not by blood. Think that makes any difference to them? Does it hurt a child to think they there are more people out there who love them? Where's your father at, Benny? Is he too busy to see his only grandchildren, his testament to immortality? Do you have any idea how precious that is? Probably not, but you better learn."