My Retirement Ch. 08

It's been a couple of months or so since Ginnie left to college in Austin at UT. Beth is going to Texas A&M which is local. They are both making very good grades. They call sometimes on conference call so we can all three talk. Neither has bad feelings towards me and I'm really thankful for that. Beth sometimes wants to talk to me and her mom at the same time so it's a conference call for that too unless Sally is here, which is a lot. If she is, we just use speaker phone. Sometimes Beth calls just to talk to me and sometimes she drops by just to talk. Ginnie comes by to talk at least once every time she's in town. She calls a lot too. They tell me about their classes and social life and neither has a steady boyfriend that we know of. We don't ask.

Sally stays at my place a lot so she has moved some clothes and other stuff over so she can leave for the office from here. It's really weird seeing women's stuff in the bathroom and I've rearranged the closet for her stuff but I'm getting used to it. I don't have that many clothes that requires hangers so a lot of closet space was being wasted anyway.

I stopped driving the school bus. It just wasn't the same without Beth to talk to, I guess. Also, I got tired of the little assholes trying my patience along with it. Figured I'd wind up hurting one of the little assholes.

Sarah Prichard moved into Jim's place when he died a month ago. She came by again today trying to flirt but she really doesn't know how, and I'm not interested anyway. She's Jim's grand daughter and mid to late 40's I guess. I met her at the funeral. Very pretty and just a tad overweight and she's got some massive tits. I mean some real honkers, and don't mind showing them off. She is showing about 3 feet of cleavage every time I see her. They're what I call Kuerig tits, you know, K-cups. They look so mushy that they probably hang to her waist when she takes them out of the double basket sling holding them up. I shudder at the thought. I sometimes see her at the local grocery store or gas station. I wonder if she's she's stalking me. I'm waiting for the time when she shows up while Sally is here. Sally said that should be fun. Sarah doesn't know about Sally yet.

It's Friday again and Sally will be over tonight. I haven't seen her since Wednesday morning and I'm really looking forward to seeing her. I've built an enclosure for the pool and it's heated and air conditioned with tempered glass panels for walls and roof. I even had a pool house built into it, complete with a shower and toilet. Now we can go swimming year round without being uncomfortable except between the pool and the house. We swim a lot.

--

I look at my watch and see it's almost six. "Sally will be here soon," I think to myself and I hear the car on the gravel drive. I get up to greet her. She steps out and gives me a monster hug and kiss. A heck of a lot more than usual. "What's up with this?"

"I missed you and I love you and I hate it when I'm too busy at work to come over."

"I love you," I returned. "I've been thinking a lot about us today."

"Uh, oh. What did I do now?" questioned Sally with a grin.

"Oh, stop it. Why don't you just move in here and let Beth have her own place?"

"Wh..wh...what?!?!" Sally was beaming.

"You heard me. Or do you not have your hearing aide turned on?" I asked.

"Are you really serious?" She said with glowing eyes.

"If you're not ready I'll understand."

"Don't you dare try to back out on me now, Mr. Mathison. I've never been more ready. I love you, James Mathison." She started crying. "I was going to ask you about that very thing this weekend. As soon as I got the nerve anyway."

"The nerve? Why would you be afraid to talk to me about anything?" I queried.

"Just wasn't sure you were ready and didn't want to scare you away."

"Not much chance of that. Beth can stay at your house and maybe have a couple roommates, girl roommates, stay there to keep her company. I'll pay the mortgage and give Beth an allowance so she doesn't have to work and can concentrate on her books."

"YES, YES, YES AND YES AGAIN!!" She was crying again. "You don't need to do that. I can handle it just fine."

"Why do women cry so much?" I wondered. "Even one as tough skinned as Sally."

"Ok. You pay the mortgage and I'll give her an allowance. Deal?" I didn't give her time to answer, "Ok. It's a deal. We'll go over and pack your stuff in the morning and have a talk with Beth. Whatchasay?"

"I'll call her and tell her to be sure to be there. About ten ok?"

"Sure," I replied. "We'll need to take your SUV so we won't get your clothes dirty or lose them in the wind or something out of the back of my truck."

When she hung up with Beth, she turned to me and said, "Let's dance, I feel like dancing."

"You know? So do I."

Sally put on some Barry White and Sam Cooke and we danced for the better part of an hour. I carried her to the bedroom and we made love for another hour. As we lay there afterwards I said, "I've never felt so alive."

"Oh, James, I feel the same way."

--

I woke the next morning to the smell of coffee and bacon and the sound of music. I walked into the living room and watched Sally for a couple of songs dancing while she was cooking breakfast This is the happiest I've ever seen her and she's never looked more beautiful. The most beautiful sight in the world.

She finally noticed me and rushed over to hug me and give me a kiss. That was the first I'd noticed she had nothing on except an apron and house shoes. I thought, "The Greek goddess of breakfast. Nah, that's too corny. I'm not telling her that." But she is a beauty to be sure.

We ate, then headed for Sally's house. It was just outside College Station about 4 miles and sat on an acre and a half. We pulled up about 9:45 and Beth was in the shower. Sally went in to tell her we were here and was surprised to find a man in the shower with her. She came back out all flustered and had a hard time telling me.

I said, "Well, Sally, you should have known it was going to happen."

"I did, but I don't think I needed to find out like this."

"Probably not. Did she know you were there?"

"I don't think so, but I'm not sure."

"Let's wait to see what she does."

"Ok. I can do that," she agreed.

A few minutes later Beth walks out into the living room naked drying her hair with a towel and is startled upon seeing us.

"Damn it," she screamed, but not too loud. "Oh, shit, Mom. I'm sorry, I forgot you two were coming."

"Obviously," I said, "Now go put some clothes on." She was as stunning as ever.

Beth returned to her room and we could hear whispering. She finally returns alone and Sally told her that we needed to talk to her.

She said, "Ok, shoot."

I said, "Alone."

She hung her head. She knew she was busted. She went back to the bedroom and we could hear whispering but loud enough that we heard what Beth had said.

He whispered to Beth, "I knew it was a bad idea to not come out with you. It looks like we were trying to hide something." They came back in, "Hello, sir, ma'am, I'm Andrew, Andrew Stevens. Most call me Andy." We introduced ourselves by name only. He was a very good looking guy, tall, slender, mid twenties, with very dark hair and dark eyes and very tanned skin. He was dressed in black dress pants and a cream colored short sleeved dress shirt with no tie. They both appeared a little embarrassed.

He extended his right hand. He had a very hefty grip with me but I could tell he was much more gentle when he shook Sally's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And you're Beth's sister?"

"You know damn well I'm her mother. I heard her tell you before you two came back out, but thanks for the compliment and don't ever try to bullshit me. I graduated law school at a very young age and worked for the FBI for over 20 years. The last 16 as an agent handling classified materials, so you can only imagine the contacts I have."

"Yes, ma'am, I mean no ma'am, no more...uh...bullshit, ma'am," he stuttered.

"How did you two meet?" Asked Sally.

"I was in town a couple days to visit my mother and Evie, my sister attends A&M and she coaxed me into taking her to a party her sorority was having, kind of a welcome back to school thing and well, Beth was there."

"From out of town? So where do you live?"

"I'm stationed in San Diego, ma'am." he replied.

"You're in the military?" I asked.

"Yes, sir. The navy."

"What rank?"

"Lieutenant, Junior Grade, sir. I'm hoping to make full lieutenant next month. My commander says it shouldn't be a problem. I'm sorry, but I've got a flight back to San Diego I can't miss. I'm back on duty Monday morning and there's not another flight to hitch a ride on until Tuesday. They cancelled the one for tomorrow." He explained.

I asked, "If I get you on a commercial flight, can you stay until tomorrow?" I knew there was more to know and I could tell Sally was gnawing at the bit to know.

"Sure, except I can't afford a commercial flight. Most of my pay goes towards Mama's medical bills."

"I'm sorry to hear that your mother is ill but don't worry about the money. It's my pleasure."

"No, sir. I really can't impose like that. It wouldn't be right."

"Tell you what. Sally, why don't you talk to Beth and I can run Andy to...where are you going, Andy. There's no naval base near here."

"The bus station. I catch a bus to Corpus Christi and fly out of the naval air station there."

"Well, let's get going," I said.

After stopping by his mom's to pick up his things and were headed to the bus station I said, "Let me get this straight." Then asked, "You fly a cargo plane or something that if I remember correctly is terribly uncomfortable from San Diego to Corpus, then ride a bus to College Station to see Beth?"

"Yes, sir. That's right. I get to see Mama and Evie, too."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"About four months I guess."

"How many of these trips have you made?"

"Nine or ten ,I think, sir"

"In just 4 months you've made ten trips like this? Do you see Beth every trip?"

"Yes, sir, since we met anyways, and Mama. She's been at home in hospice the last few months so I get to visit her here instead of having to go to Houston. I usually only get to see Beth a couple of hours or so, but this time I had a 3 day pass and my flight got cancelled so I had to head back early. I sure wanted to stay till tomorrow. I want you to know that last night was the first time that we...uh...we stayed together."

"Beth's an intelligent girl and I trust her judgement so don't worry about that. Beth has my number so get it from her. Her moms too. The next time you get a pass, call me, I want to have you fly commercial so you can stay longer. I insist. Deal?"

"I really shouldn't, but dang I like getting to see Mama and spending time with Beth. It's a deal, sir."

"Oh, and cut the sir crap. I left the Corps a long time ago and you would be my superior anyway. My name is James. Another deal?"

"Yes, sir...I mean, James." I really like this guy.

"What ship are you assigned to?"

"I'm not assigned a ship, sir. I'm a seal."

"You're a Navy seal?"

"Yes, sir."

"It's James, please. You know that's easy to check, don't you."

"Yes, I do. I know the guys that run that website. Really nice until somebody tries to falsely claim to be a seal when they're not. It irks me pretty good too. You're welcome to check me out if you like. I don't mind and I really wouldn't blame you with all the stories these days about stolen valor. It's really a shame when somebody has to stoop that low."

"Have you told Beth you're a Navy seal?"

"No, sir...James, I mean. I'm sure she'll ask what I do soon enough and I won't lie to her. I don't tell anyone unless they ask."

--

When I return, Beth runs out to meet me and gives me one of the biggest hugs and says that she is so happy for me and her mom. "I knew she'd find somebody one day, and I'm so glad it's you."

"How does Andy treat you, Beth? I mean what do you two do when he comes into town?"

"We go to a park and we talk about life things, like what he wants and what I want, but he talks about his mom a lot. He really loves her and he gets really upset when he talks about how sick she is. She doesn't have long according to the doctors, weeks maybe. She's got cancer that keeps coming back after they cut it out and chemo and radiation does nothing for her." Beth had tears on her cheeks. "She's not even 50, James. It's not fair."

"No, Beth, it's not. But nobody ever said life is fair. You just have to play the cards you're dealt the best you can."

"You know...he never even tried to have sex with me. It was my idea for him to spend the night. He was afraid mom was going to come home last night and catch us. Which she did basically. Just not until this morning," she chuckled.

"I think Jim is a pretty nice guy." I continued, "I mean the way he takes care of his mom's medical bills and all. A lieutenant doesn't make a heck of a lot of money so he's probably spending a lot of time on base alone instead of running around to bars and such. That's a pretty honorable thing to do."

Beth said, "He emptied his savings to pay some medical bills so they wouldn't kick her out of the hospital and the doctors would keep treating her. I think he'd do it all again if he thought it would save her but it was no use really. She'll die soon I guess and I suppose he'll be hitting the bars."

"Oh, I don't think he will. Only time will tell. It's time for lunch. You hungry? How about we load those boxes and we'll follow you to eat somewhere. Your choice."

--

Sally was pretty quiet on the way 'home' after we ate. I suppose it has a new meaning now. After we got home, she asked what Beth and I talked about. I told her and she said she really liked Andy a lot but was still going to check him out.

"Sally, please don't do that. I know you want to protect her but let Beth make her own decisions and her own mistakes. It's the only way she's going to learn life. She's already made a big one getting involved with me and she seems to be ok for it."

"Oh, I don't know that that was such a mistake. Better than her winding up with some old retired biker dude." We both laughed.

"Do you regret she and I being involved like we were?"

"No. She told me the details and I'm glad it was someone like you that was gentle with her rather than some teenaged hormone driven boy that would wind up hurting her, inside and out."

"She told you details?"

"Yes. She told me you gave her all day to change her mind and that made her want you more. I'm just glad it didn't get emotional. That would have hurt more than anything because it would never work, and you know it."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I decided to let her and Ginnie go. I didn't want it to come to that and it was time for them to explore some. Make their mistakes."

Sally agreed not to have Andy checked out and let the cards fall where they may. Then, "I love you, James Mathison" was all she said. Damn I love hearing that.

"I love you, Sally Anderson."

An hour later Ginnie called all excited and Sally said she couldn't understand a word and had no idea why she was so excited and handed me the phone. I put her on speaker and finally got her to settle down enough and found out she was excited about Sally moving in with me.

"I told Beth it was going to happen and she didn't believe me," Ginnie said.

-

A month or so later on a Tuesday morning, Andy called. His mother had passed and asked if I could get him a flight in and he would pay me back. I told him the only payment I wanted was for him to treat Beth right. He said he would do his best. I asked when he had to be back and arranged a round trip ticket. He had been in town a couple times since we met and I knew from Beth that once was a four day pass. I told her next time to let me know before he leaves San Diego.

I called Beth at work and asked if she could find out what medical bills was owed for his mom's medical care and to who. She called me an hour later with the information. The next day I went to every office and paid them. I told them that Andy was not to find out who paid it. It was an all day affair. I got to the College Station airport with about 15 minutes to spare.

He said he would pay me back for the airfare as soon as he could. I reminded him of what my payment was to be. What a sight. A Navy seal with tears running down his cheeks and he was not embarrassed in the least. "What a man, a real man," I thought. It brought back memories of a tough as nails Marine Corps sergeant when his own mother had died.

He was here for ten days and I knew it would be better for him to have his own transportation so I rented a car for him. He was speechless. It didn't really require him to say anything.

I invited him and Beth out to the house for the upcoming weekend since the funeral was not until Monday. He said they would be there. I also told him he could come out during the day if he had nothing else to do since Beth was in class and Sally would be working. He said he would if he could.

-

He had been staying with his sister Evie. Friday rolled around and he came by about noon. He had found out that all the medical bills were paid and he was trying to figure out how. The people had stayed true to their word, I was glad. We cracked the top on a couple Coronas about 2:00.

Shortly afterwards Sarah Prichard shows up proudly displaying her cleavage. She walks back to the deck and stops when she sees Andy. "Hi, James. So who is this handsome young man?"

She had been by a few times in the last weeks but always during the day when Sally was at work. I'm waiting on that one. Sally and Beth know all about Sarah, though neither have met her. I decide to fuck with her pretty hard so maybe she'll stay away and hoping Andy will play along. "Hello, Sarah. I'd like you to meet my son Andy."

"Well, hello, Andy. Nice to meet you" she said with a very strained expression. "I thought you were never married, James."

"Nope, never. Andy is one of those things that happen to single guys sometimes. She was married and her husband thought the vasectomy failed. Lucky me, huh? He just found out who his paternal father is and wanted to meet me, and here he is."

"Well, yes, I see now. He has your eyes and oh, your chin, too. What a good looking young man."

"Where's your manners, Andy. Say hello to Sarah Prichard."

"Hello Ms. Prichard. Nice to meet you." Andy said while standing and trying not to laugh.

"Won't you have a seat, Sarah?" I asked.

"No, I just dropped by to see how you are doing. I'll leave you two to get acquainted. Bye now." and she was off.

I heard her car on the gravel drive and we both busted out laughing.

"What in hell was that all about?" Andy asked.

I told him the story about Sarah and said I called her my Kuerig lady. He looked a bit perplexed. Then I said, "Her K-cups."

"Oh I get it now."

"Before the sun goes down everyone within a 50 mile radius will know about you. As my son of course. I mean, you do have my eyes and chin." We both almost rolled out of the chairs laughing. We had an exceptional time talking.

Beth called Andy to find out where he was and I told him to tell her to come here. I knew it was six o'clock when I heard Sally coming down the drive a few minutes later. A few after that, Beth showed up.

I said, "We were having such a good time talking, I forgot about dinner. Where do you guys want to go?"

Sally and Beth at the same time said, "Whataburger."

"Man, I haven't had a Whataburger in years it seems like," Andy quipped.

Sally wanted to change and then Ginnie showed up as we were piling into Sally's SUV. We told her to get in we're going to Whatabuger. She got in and sat beside Beth.