Renaissance Faire Ch. 07

Once freed, several universities and companies kept pieces to study, wanting to understand how it was created. They were already familiar with many of the superalloys in the marketplace but had never seen anything quite like this. They all would be surprised if some university other than Rose had created the metal.

Finally, with Richard and Aaron freed, the fairgrounds could be cleared. The fair was a complete failure. Aaron and Richard were fired and destroyed. Summer school was a week away, and there was much to be done to try to repair the university's standing in the community.

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While the chaos was happening at Rose University, the McVicar's, along with Rob, did take that trip to Scotland. After settling in on their first day there, and once people were awake in Texas, they returned the sheriff's call denying any involvement with the new pillories. After speaking with the Sheriff, Harold called the friend at the company in Texas to cut through the pillory, albeit at a very, very slow pace. If someone discovered a faster way to cut through the pillory, then fine, but that was unlikely, given that the two machines, purposely built for cutting extremely dense and hard metals, had been sent to Scotland and Korea, respectively, for testing about three weeks before the fair.

They were very careful in covering their tracks when building and machining the metal that went into the pillories. They cross referenced all the additional metals and electricity needed to make it with other work that would be consistent with that level of usage and documented accordingly. Finally, the metals that they supposedly made, had been shipped to a corporate partner that was friendly with the university, who received the materials 'in good order.' In reality, they received some scrap metal that was of similar weight to the pillory, so that if an investigation were held, which they expected, the engineering college could document all of the material that came in and material that went out.

While in Scotland, Ann kept them updated with what was going on with the university and the town. The team of coconspirators enjoyed seeing her videos and pictures, but the real goal wasn't to only embarrass them, but to have them removed from campus. Harold was pleased to see Aaron get the boot and suggested to the acting president that he be included in the search committee, since they would have to work together.

The purpose of the trip to Scotland was to celebrate Kate's completion of her master's degree, and for her parents to finally get to meet Rob. It was a good first meeting, and Rob was welcomed to the family. The McVicar's had a family lodge up near Glencoe, Scotland, which was where they stayed. It was a good thing that Rob and Kate had each other to keep warm at night because, in mid-May, the evenings can be quite cool in the Scottish Highlands. They had no trouble keeping each other warm in their shared bed.

The family lodge was located next to Bidean Nam Bian, which afforded them some awesome hiking during the daytime, and they would enjoy the great pubs in Glencoe for recovering in the evening where they sipped award winning scotch and robust beers. It was Rob's first trip to Europe, and he enjoyed it immensely. Kate and Rob were attached at the hip the entire time. In both of their minds, there wasn't any question as to whether they would get married; only when.

One night, while at one of the pubs, Harold asked, "Rob, I have to ask. Why did you let Debbie get out of the pillory so easily? After everything she did, I would have thought you would have wanted to extract more revenge."

Rob took a sip from his large mug of beer, enjoying its dark appearance and strong taste. It gave him a moment to think. He said, "Mainly? Because she did me a favor. I probably would have felt very differently if not for Kate, but to say I traded up would be a huge understatement. I always thought Debbie was a beautiful woman, but Kate? How could I be so lucky to be with the most beautiful and sexiest woman on the planet." Another snort could be heard from Kate after he said that, but she gave him a big smile. The rest of the family was also pleased that he was so attracted to Kate, because he saw more beauty in her than everyone else. He continued, "More importantly, I'm with the person with whom I should have been with all along; someone that is as natural a partner for me, and I for her, as possible.

"Debbie's life has already been drastically altered, and not for the better. I didn't need to heap more retribution on her, when she has already done it to herself. Also, I like her dad, and humiliating his daughter could have put him in a situation where he would use his wealth to try and connect us to what happened. None of us wanted that. We got Richard and Finebaum really good, so I'm satisfied; no, more than that. I'm happy. Besides, spending time thinking about Debbie is time that I wouldn't spend thinking about Kate, and I'm much, much happier thinking about Kate."

A collective "awwwww" was heard at the table after that.

This earned him a very sweet kiss, and she whispered in his ear, "You are getting sooo laid tonight. I am going to screw you until you can't get it up anymore. You have no idea."

Life was good for Rob and Kate.

After several weeks in Scotland, they all returned to a very different university.

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In addition to being fired, Aaron had been kicked from his and Jane's house and his belongings moved to storage. Curiously, the house wasn't listed for sale. He moved back to where he lived prior to Rose University. He does academic consulting work now, but with the divorce, he probably will not be able to retire for a long time.

Richard had tried to contact several of his associates in Italy to try to reschedule the research trip, but they didn't accept nor return his calls. The professors from the other universities that were supposed to attend the study didn't return his calls either. Why? They were conducting the trip without Richard.

Richard eventually found a job teaching western civilization at a small community college near Poughkeepsie, NY. He keeps hoping to land back at a good university, but has a hard time explaining the hole in his resume that was Rose University. Another good thing that came from his leaving was that Barbara and several others returned to the renaissance history department.

Unhappy with the Sheriff's lack of interest in their confinement, Richard and Finebaum did press the state attorney general's office to get involved. A brief investigation revealed that all the records at the engineering school proved they were probably not behind the construction of the pillory, or at least the existing documents proved they were not. Also, there were enough alumni and trustees from Rose university that were so displeased with Finebaum, that the attorney general's office decided it wasn't worth pursuing and closed the case.

Debbie did end up going on the research trip to Italy, except it was her parents who coordinated everything and helped fund a large portion of it. It was a good introduction for their daughter to many people that were in her field of study, and her parents knew she would need the emotional and monetary support, at least initially. She didn't seek a position at Rose University but decided to pursue research of Italian Renaissance artwork.

She became an authority in her field, often consulting for several museums and auction houses. She even pulled together another renaissance art exhibit for Rose University many years later. It was a good homecoming for her, and the renaissance history department rolled out the red carpet for her. Her parents were beaming with pride the opening night of the exhibit. There was one person, or couple, for which she was watching but didn't see that night. A couple of nights after the opening, Rob and Kate attended with their children as a learning opportunity.

When Debbie saw Rob and Kate approaching, she said, "Thank you both for coming to the exhibit. It means a lot to me."

Rob and Kate introduced their brood and Debbie gave them the personal tour of the exhibit, even carrying the youngest on her hip during the tour. Later, when Rob and Kate asked if she would like to join them at a nearby restaurant for dessert, as a treat to the children behaving well, she politely declined. They said the usual things upon departing and went their separate ways.

Later that evening in her hotel room, she thought back to her choices all those years ago. She was supposed to be the one working at Rose University and living locally. Those were supposed to be her children. She was supposed to be living near her family.

She looked at her successful career, with which most single women would be thrilled, but at that moment, she would have traded it all to be Kate. She allowed herself to mourn that night for what she lost and cried herself to sleep. She never saw Rob again.

Ann became very close to Rob and Kate. Their children call her Auntie Ann, though she is treated more like a grandmother than aunt, and she is just fine with that because she is around them frequently. Ann was actually hired by the new president of Rose University to take over the position that Rob's mother used to hold - the liaison between the university and all the major charities in town. A good person, and friend, replaced her leading the ladies' auxiliary in town and they were even better prepared for the next fair and university sponsored charity events.

Who was the new president? Well, that would be Jane. Ann found her to be a thoughtful and deliberate person during their spring subterfuge with Aaron. As she learned more about her, she thought that she should have been the choice of the selection committee instead of Aaron. Her Texas roots endeared her with many of the alumni and several members of the board of trustees. She also had a big supporter in Dean McVicar, and that endorsement also went a long way.

After her hiring, Jane led the university for several years, strengthening their relationship with Uniontown, and even the big city. She was able to build and develop the business school that Aaron wanted, which galled Aaron to the end of his days. When she retired, the business school bore her name. After she retired, she lived in Uniontown so she could be near her friends who had welcomed her into their circle, their family.

Harold McVicar was the key person in making the business school happen. Jane gave him the money to fix the ChemE building, and in return he reached out to several university corporate partners who liked the idea of having some of their employees attend executive business courses or earn their MBA program through the university's online MBA program. Those courses couldn't be developed or taught without a business school, so ipso facto a business school was created to accommodate that need. Harold worked the companies hard promising more research and intellectual property if they would contribute. It was a win-win for everyone.

Isobel McVicar was thrilled to help look after what she considered her grandchildren. Kate's parents didn't live nearby, and with Rob's parents gone, she retired and stepped into the role gladly.

Obviously, Rob and Kate did get married. Kate took on a job at the university that supported more research at the college of engineering, specializing in ChemE. She earned several patents over the years, and she welcomed the support of Isobel and Ann in raising the rambunctious, if occasionally clumsy cherubs. With four little Johnsons running around, they all stayed very busy and very merry. Their first child, a girl, was named Ellen, after Rob's mom. They were blessed that she looked very much like Kate, with gorgeous red hair. It was a joyful household with a lot of love and fellowship with friends.

As for Rob, as the saying goes - "happy wife, happy life." Kate was wonderfully happy with the man she always wanted, which in turn kept Rob and the family happy. He did finish his degree in material science engineering and did earn two more patents. Many years later, he eventually climbed the last couple of rungs on the ladder to be in charge of maintenance for the entire engineering college. From time to time he thinks about sending Richard a thank you card but doesn't want to waste the effort, because he's much happier spending time thinking about Kate and his family.

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***If you made it this far, thank you. I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback and comments are welcome.

Thank you, again, to my editor for the review and suggestions.

The idea for this story actually started with my trying to figure out a way for the LW and villain to be stuck in a pillory and shamed together. Obviously, it didn't work out that way ...because of Kate. Sure it could have, but like I mentioned in the story, if I were a lawyer like Carl, and my daughter were humiliated like that, I would want whoever was behind it to pay. Rob didn't need that, and besides, he was already the 'winner' with Kate. Oh, in case I didn't spell it out clearly enough in the story, Kate wasn't a raving beauty. Pretty? Yes. Curvy? Oh, yes. A little heavy at times? Yep. But in Rob's eyes, she was a beauty; inside and out.***

Looking for something excellent to read? Check out Bebop3's - The Peasants are Revolting. I think it is one of the best stories of this year.