Tank's Farewell

"And, what's for breakfast?" I smiled at her as I asked.

She smiled and answered, "Eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon and anything else you'd like."

"What time should I come for dinner?"

"I'll need two hours from when I get home to cook the roast. Come any time after two hours after I get home. I have a washer and drier. Bring your laundry and it can be done while we have dinner."

I helped carry the five bags from our shopping trip into her house. Rose was sitting at the dining room table doing school work when we walked in. She helped carry bags to her mother's room and thanked me for taking Helen shopping. I got a kiss on the cheek from Rose and a kiss on the mouth from Helen as I left. The kiss from Helen spoke volumes of promises.

When I walked into the apartment Teri was holding the phone to her ear and was facing away from the front door. When she heard me she said, "I've gotta go. Daddy's home." She hung up.

One look at her face and I could tell she had been crying.

"How's Crystal?" I asked.

"Miserable. She said for me to tell you six hundred and fifty dollars."

I wrote a check and asked, "You want to deliver it or should I mail it to her?"

"I can't believe you'd give her the money. She'll go to Utah and visit him... in prison!"

"Or, she'll stay right here and drink it. Her choice." I wrote a note to go with the check. The note said, "This is it. If you go to Utah there will not be any more money from me to you. I will pay your utilities directly, but no more money directly to you. If you use drugs bought with the money, that ends the money from me, too. By the way, the girls leave for college in a week." I put the check and the note in an envelope.

"I'll take it to her." Teri held out her hand. I gave her the envelope.

She put it in her purse. "What would you like for dinner?"

"I won't be here for dinner. I've been invited to dinner at Helen's."

"So, you'll be out late?"

"No. I'll be home tomorrow. I was invited for breakfast too."

"You dog!" She smiled. "I wish it was Momma who invited you, but Helen is obviously smarter than Momma."

"Maybe, maybe not. Crystal has some issues to work through. We both hope she works through them."

"So, you do have feelings for Momma?"

"Of course. I still love my ex-wife. I'm happier not living with her, but I do still love her. I feel for your Momma, but I'm not willing to follow her into the cesspool she seems to want to get into."

"Yeah. Maybe I should study psychology, just so I can understand Momma."

"Better plan on at least the Masters degree then."

We laughed and she went her way. I went to my bedroom to get ready for my sleepover date. I arrived at Helen's two hours and ten minutes after I had left. I carried a small suitcase with clean clothes and a duffel full of dirty clothes, in case she was serious about the laundry.

She was serious. When the laundry started she served a great roast dinner, with candles. It was romantic. Rose was no where to be seen all evening.

After dinner we did the dishes together, then she put some music on and we stood in the kitchen holding each other swaying to the music. Between songs I asked, "Where is Rose?"

"She was invited to spend the evening at her Aunt's house. They get together like this three or four times a year. By morning she'll know all about Rose going to college and all about you."

"I don't think anyone knows all about me."

"I'm sure that's true. She doesn't know some of the things I know. She doesn't know that you dance my favorite way, just swaying to the music. She doesn't know how soft your lips are when you kiss."

I took that as a hint. We kissed. We explored and became intimate friends standing together in the kitchen. When we stopped kissing momentarily Helen asked me if I would help her with something in the bedroom.

The something was the new bra, panties and stockings she was wearing. She took off the dress without any assist from me, but wanted my hands-on assistance in getting the new items off. I was happy to oblige. The bra and panties were teal lace and she discovered that teal was one of my very favorite colors. Of course, if she had been wearing some other color bra and panties teal would have been my second favorite color.

Helen wanted the lights dimmed. She said dim lights made her look better. I reminded her that ojos viejos did that job already. Ojos viejos means old eyes. I wasn't expecting her to look like she was seventeen when we got undressed and I prayed she wasn't expecting me to look like I did when I was eighteen.

Gravity had softened her curves and possibly added a few from when she was seventeen. When she slid up close and our arms went around each other I certainly wasn't disappointed. She was warm, soft in the right places and fit well against my soft in some places. We danced some more, kissed some more and explored each other with slow deliberation.

By late that evening we were in bed, covered and softly holding each other. With gentle touch and rubbing I helped her quiver and cum. She kissed me and stroked me then invaginated me until we both had reached satisfaction. I hope someday Mick Jagger writes a song about Helen called, "I got my sat-is-faction!". I'll help him sing it.

We went to sleep holding each other.

When I woke up I was in a strange, Spartan bedroom and I was alone. I heard whistling in the house and kitchen noises. When I rolled over to get up the bedroom door opened and Helen came in. She had on the bra and panties I had removed the night before. No robe, t-shirt or shirt of any kind.

"Good morning, Pete." She jumped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around me. I got a kiss that verified that my tonsils and larynx were in place. I gave it right back. After the kiss she said, "Whoa! Breakfast is on the stove! Get up and semi-dressed so we can eat. Then, if you want, you can drag me back in here for dessert!"

I pulled on boxers and pants. We had breakfast and she dragged me back in for dessert. I got plenty of nibbles in during dessert time as well.

When I walked into the apartment the phone was ringing. I answered and it was Helen.

"You forgot your laundry. There's chicken for dinner if you're interested."

"Is there dessert, if I'm a good boy?"

"There's even more dessert if you promise to be naughty." We both laughed and agreed on six o'clock. Six o'clock lasted until nine the next morning. I got to know Helen and Rose better and better. When I asked about my laundry Helen took me to a closet and showed me my clothes, hanging in the closet.

She said, "You can take them with you, if you want. Or, you can leave them right there and bring more and more of your things over until you quit paying rent on an apartment you don't sleep in."

"Rose lives here with you, not me. I don't think I should move in like that. Maybe when she goes away to school." She smiled, shrugged and left me standing in front of the closet. The clothes I had worn to dinner the night before were in the wash. I put on clean duds from the closet and took some of the rest home with me.

I found a note on my bed.

"Daddy, Please invite Helen and Rose for dinner here tonight. Remind them that dinner includes breakfast. We want to get to know them both." It was signed by both girls. I called Helen and invited them.

At four both girls came in with armloads of groceries and set to work in the kitchen. They talked and giggled as they worked and they sang along with strange music too.

At six the doorbell rang. I answered. Helen and Rose were both in new clothes. They looked fantastic. I kissed them both in welcome and got a "You're very welcome" kiss in return. When my kiss from Helen ended she said, "Plum."

"Plum?" I asked.

"Your favorite color." I smiled and lost interest in dinner, polite conversation and chit-chat. I love plum. I wasn't even sure what color plum was at that moment. I was sure it was my favorite color.

My girls came out of the kitchen and there were hugs, kisses and greetings for a few minutes. Helen and Rose got the five cent tour and then we sat to have dinner. The girls had made stacked enchiladas. They were incredible! I ate and they nibbled and talked and talked and talked.

By the time the talking had slowed enough to have us clear the table it was after nine. We sat in the living room and talked some more. Rose asked the girls about moving to Spearfish and starting college. They bubbled all over and talked about clothes, classes they had signed up for and their schedule. Helen and I were polite. I have no idea what Helen was paying attention to but my mind was on the look and feel of plum.

Finally Rose said, "On the tour I saw the bed where Pete and my Mom will sleep. I saw the bed you two share. Am I staying on the couch?"

Ayla answered, "You get to choose. I could sleep on the couch and leave the bed to you and Teri."

Teri continued, "Or I could take the couch and you can sleep with Ayla."

Rose finished, "Or we could all sleep in the bed together! I get to choose? I choose all three of us in the same bed!"

Ayla held out her hand to her sister. "Pay up! We had a bet about which choice you would make. I won."

"What did you think I'd choose?" Rose asked.

Teri answered, "Either of the first two choices."

"That would have said that I already have a favorite. I don't. According to the plan, I'm going to be living with both of you soon. I want us to be like sisters who like each other. I choose both."

Ayla said, "Good! Let's go." As they left the room Ayla turned to us and said, "Try to keep the noise down, Ok?" Before we could respond they were gone.

Two days later Ayla and Teri were driving to school. Rose was riding with them. Helen and I drove the truck and the back was loaded with their stuff. While they moved in I met with three students who wanted to rent the other apartments. I also met with the owner of an agency that managed apartments for absentee owners. They would handle the leases, rent, repairs and details. Ayla and Teri shared number four. The three girls who wanted to rent shared number three, which happened to be a three bedroom. The agency lady promised me the other two apartments would be rented within forty-eight hours.

The four of us had dinner together and then Helen, Rose and I retired to a motel. I didn't want to make the two hour drive home in the dark. It's a much prettier drive in the light. I rented two rooms, each with a king sized bed. I faced both women and said, "There are two rooms. I'm going to be in 218. You get to choose to join me in 218 or be in 222." I held up the keys to both rooms. Rose smiled and didn't move. Helen looked at Rose as if this was a formal announcement that the two of us were sleeping together, if she took the key to 218.

"Momma, if you don't take 218, I'm going to."

Helen took 218. She blushed as she took it, but she took it. I smiled the whole time. Rose's statement surprised me and my head made it mean she was prodding her Mom to stay with me, not saying she'd like to.

I guessed the girls would be up late getting settled into their first home of their own. No Momma, no parents at all, just the two of them. The anxiety level for me was high. The examples they had grown up with were not very good for learning impulse control.

When the door to 218 closed, with Helen and me inside, she found a way to distract me from thinking about the dangers Ayla and Teri were facing. She was wearing a bra and panty set that were the same color as her skin with something woven in to make the fabric sparkle, and be mostly transparent.

She helped me undress and when my shorts came off she tossed them into the trashcan. "I bought you some nice, new underwear for tomorrow. You don't ever need to wear those again."

"As you wish." We showered together and went to bed. The drapes were open so the lights from the city illuminated our room gently. None of the lights in the room were on. I didn't need lights to find Helen and she seemed to have no problem finding the parts of me she was interested in finding.

When both of us had reached satisfaction and exhaustion we kissed again and held each other as we fell asleep.

Both 218 and 222 had windows that faced west. The sun came up and brightened the rooms but not directly. At a little after eight the phone beside our bed rang. I guessed it would be Rose. I also guessed she was hungry. I was wrong.

"Daddy, can we join you for breakfast, or would you like to come here for breakfast?" Teri asked.

"You've been up all night and want to show off your apartment to us?"

"Not quite all night. We went to sleep at four and just got up. Will you come?"

"What's for breakfast?"

"Cheerios!" She laughed and added, "French toast, eggs and coffee."

"Let me check with Helen and Rose and I'll get right back to you."

I asked Helen and she answered by getting out of bed and heading for the shower. I called 222 and Rose answered. I outlined the plan and she said, "They called me first. I'm already dressed."

"Then you call them back and tell them we'll be there by nine." I hung up and went to the shower. Helen was finished and doing her hair when I got in the shower. When I got out she helped me dry and handed me the first colored underwear I'd worn since I got discharged from the Army. These were not camouflage. They were dark blue. Helen smiled and patted the front of them when I had them on.

"I like them," she said. I liked them too.

We were at the apartment by nine. They had made the sterile apartment feminine and cute in less than twenty-four hours. Helen and Rose gushed over what they had done. I gushed over breakfast.

By one in the afternoon we were home. Helen sat me on her couch and she and Rose ganged up on me. Helen started.

"Now that Teri and Ayla are at college, why are you living in a two bedroom apartment all alone?"

"I need a place for my stuff. I like sleeping in a bed. Occasionally I like having a bathroom."

"There is room here for your stuff." Helen said.

Rose added, "We already know you sleep well in Mom's bed."

"And, my shower is big enough for both of us."

"Speak plainly."

"Move in here. Sleep with me every night, have breakfast with us every morning, share our lives, our home, your home."

"You're sure?"

"We've been waiting until Teri and Ayla had moved to push. We're sure."

We spent the next two days moving me. I gave the apartment back and got two beautiful roommates and a bigger house.

Once a week I spoke to Teri and Ayla. They loved college life and were excited each week to tell us about their adventures. Rose worked hard and by the end of the year she had enough credits to graduate. A little work and she was admitted beginning in January. She got a girl from Iowa as a roommate and Helen and I visited more than they came home. We liked visiting. We met a lot of their friends, we saw how they cared for the apartments and we didn't have to clean up after the visits.

On the first anniversary of Tank's death we all met in Hot Springs for the weekend. We visited the cemetery, made sure his grave had flowers and was clean, and we shared Tank stories into the night. I drove by Tank's house once a week. The bills came and were paid. They were so small I knew Crystal had gone to Utah or somewhere and didn't come back. That was two thousand three.

It is now 2009. Crystal surfaced in 2007, briefly. She called me and opened the call by saying, "Eighty thousand."

"Eighty thousand what?"

"You asked me how much I wanted for the house. Eighty thousand."

"Done. Where do I send the money?"

She gave me an address in Utah. I asked about her, her life and Johnny. She told me Johnny had been killed inside the prison. She never asked about her daughters. Keys sent the check and three days later she told me it had been cashed. I put the house in Teri and Ayla's name.

Teri graduated and went on to get her teaching credential. Ayla graduated and got a job working for the college admissions office. Rose graduated and went on to get a Masters in some kind of administration. She came home one weekend, bringing Ayla and Teri with her. I could tell I was being ganged up on and knew I was probably going to lose or win depending on my point of view. They were going to get their way.

They cooked and during dinner Ayla began the presentation.

"Working in the admissions office I see a lot of kids struggling to get their education. It's not the studies or living away from home as much as it's the money. They get grants and most pile up huge debts so when they do graduate they are paying back big loans forever. It's sad."

"And?" I asked.

"You helped us through. Not one of us has a student loan to pay back. We want to say thanks." Teri said.

"So, say thanks and serve dessert."

"No!" Rose said, entering the conversation. "I have a business proposition for you. I want to start a Foundation. The Foundation will sponsor scholarships for worthy students. Rent, books, tuition and an allowance all the way to the Bachelors degree."

"You run it, we pay for it. How do we keep from giving them the money and they don't get the education?"

"Same way you did it with the three of us. Report cards come to the Foundation. Drop below the contracted GPA, take fewer classes, or classes that won't get you towards graduation and the money stops. They sign a contract that if they stop going to school or break their agreement in any way we can attach a percentage of their earnings until every dime they got is repaid."

"And if they graduate?"

"The Foundation gets ten percent of whatever they earn for the first five years."

Helen asked, "Can all that be legal?"

"Yes! One of my professors is married to a lawyer and he says he can draw up the contracts so they are as airtight as a submarine."

I sat quietly. Teri started to speak and stopped when I held up a hand. A minute later Ayla raised her hand. I waved at her and she said, "I want to pressure you for an answer, but I'm pretty sure that won't get me the answer I really want. So, when can we expect an answer?"

"I want to think about it for a while. I want time to talk with Helen about it and to ask questions. How much will it cost to have your lawyer friend draw up the papers to start the Foundation? How much money do we need to put in to start this thing? Will you be the employee or will we need more?"

Rose pulled out a three-ring notebook from her big purse. She handed it to me.

"Daddy, my senior project was to do everything to start the Foundation, except the funding. Everything is in there. Any questions that aren't answered I'll get answers for."

I turned the binder over and saw the title: "The Tank Rogers Foundation." I knew we were doing this. I sat and read. They checked on me occasionally and Helen asked good questions. By late that night I understood why Rose had done so well in school. The notebook answered every question I had except the one I needed to call Keys to answer: How much money can I safely put into this?

Helen and I went to bed. We held each other and she said, "You're going to do this aren't you?"

"This isn't just me. This is a family decision. That means I want you as a full participant yes or no. We decide, not me and not you, we."

"I need to know about the numbers. I like the idea, but I don't want you to go broke."

"You don't get it do you? There is no me. We are an us. You are my partner. That credit card with your name on it has thousands and thousands of dollars behind it. You want a new car, buy it! You need not ask permission. And, another thing, vacation. Pretty soon our girls will be out there having their lives, getting married, making grandbabies, and before that happens I'd like a family vacation. I'm thinking of a cruise."

We were quiet long enough that suddenly it was morning.