The Architect

"I am very happy to meet you too, Dolly. May I pick you up and introduce you to your Grandmother."

Dolly looked at me, I nodded and she said that was fine. He picked her up and said, "Sis, I have someone here you want to meet, your Granddaughter, her name is a familiar one, she is named after our mother."

The older woman spun around and stared wide eyed at the child. Her hands flew to her face, "Oh my God, she is so adorable."

She held her arms out and Dolly twisted around and reached for me. Dolly screamed, "No! I want my Daddy." I hurried to take her and cuddle and comfort her.

Debbie and her mother looked shocked. I held Dolly and whispered a Question to her. She whispered the answer in my ear. I walked off a little ways and quietly talked to Dolly. I told her how I felt about the situation. She nodded her head, "Yes, Daddy, I will do it."

I carried her back to the others, I looked at them. "Dolly is a bit afraid of Debbie's mother. It seems that every time Debbie Deb talked about her Mother she would break down and cry. Dolly doesn't know why, but she is afraid of Debbie's mother, Debbie are you afraid of your mother?" Deb shook her head and said, "No. I love Momma."

I held Dolly tightly to my chest, "Dolly, I love you and would never let anyone hurt you. Your Mommy cried because she loves her Mommy and missed her very much. There was a mistake and she couldn't go home. The mistake has been fixed now, you can hug your Mommy's own Mommy now. Won't that be fun. She seems very nice, your Mommy is very happy to see her isn't she?"

Dolly looked at me, "Will you be here next to me?"

"Yes, I will be right here beside you, O.K."

I smiled at Deb's mother and took Dolly over to her. Mrs. Sommers gently placed a hand on either side of Dolly's face. "I love you Dolly, Dolly was my mommy's name too."

Dolly looked at Debbie, "Did you know her mommy's name was Dolly too?"

"Yes, dear, I loved my Mommy's Mommy very much and I wanted my baby to have her name."

Dolly looked at her mother's Mother, are you going to hurt my Mommy anymore?"

Mrs. Sommers shook her head, "No, Sweetie, never again."

Dolly looked back at me, I nodded. She turned back to Mrs. Sommers, "You can kiss me now." I stepped slightly away while the mother, Grandmother and daughter group became friends. We all moved into the house. Dolly sat on her grandmother's lap and seemed happy. Debbie smiled at me with love and I smiled back. Uncle Bill smiled and said, "Mr. Nelson, I recognize you now, we have met briefly before. You gave us a proposal for a new Club house for our Country Club several months ago. All you and I did was shake hands."

I told him I still didn't recall him, I remembered the occasion clearly, but I didn't remember him. He remarked that the club still had three more proposals to hear before they made a decision. He said that so far my presentation was head and shoulders above the rest. We had a nice lunch and Dolly and Mrs. Sommers were best of friends now. I was calling 'Uncle Bill' just plain Bill by then. I like him very much. He confessed that insisting Debbie have an abortion was the biggest mistake of his whole life.

I grinned, "Bill, I hope I never get in an adversarial confrontation with my wife. I have never seen a more determined opponent. She is very intelligent, very focused and is like a little Pit Bull, she will instantly go for the jugular. She came to work for my company about six months ago. The first day she was there, she, on her own, researched, planed and promoted a Day Care facility for the building. It was approved two days later and up and running in two more days. She now runs my whole company. She is my Personal Assistant, and she is a tiny Dynamo.

"She has reorganized most of the departments in my company, she has changed the way people do things and production is way up. She took over for two of the department heads I got rid of. She solves all office problems before they get to me. I have never seen her equal at organizing things. My profits are up 15% since she took over, totally due to increased efficiency. And best of all she is so damned sweet that her smile makes everyone happy, especially me. She is rarely without a smile on her face.

"I don't suppose I need to tell you I am very much in love with your niece."

"No, I can see that it is mutual too. I am very happy for her. We always got along fine until she got pregnant. She said she would not kill her unborn baby no matter what I said, I told her I would pay for the operation. The next morning she was gone, she walked away with what she had on her back. We hunted for her for months. There was no sign of her. If she stayed in this area she must not have had a regular job, stayed in a hotel or motel or done anything that left her name on paper. We gave up after almost a year. Her sister was a piece of crap, but Debbie was a jewel."

It was a pleasant afternoon. Granny wanted Dolly to spend a day or two with her but Deb and I thought she was a bit too young. I didn't mention that I wasn't ready for that yet. Dolly only spent about half of her days in the new day care. The other part was spent in Deb's office or with me. She was soon welcome in any office on our floor. Debbie was a hands on manager, she was in every office every day. She asked many, many, questions and our people soon learned that 'I don't know' was not an acceptable answer. If you wanted a happy manager the proper answer was 'I'll find out.', then you received an encouraging smile or a pat on the back.

If she was pleased she would happily praise you and thank you for a job well done. Everyone craved her smile, a frown was devastating.

Debbie saw the new secretary sitting at Deb's old desk. She was frowning when she entered my office, closing the door behind her. She walked to me and asked how the new girl was working out. I said, "Fine, but she doesn't kiss near as good as you do."She stared at me with a tear trickling down her cheek. I jumped up and took her in my arms, "I am only teasing, I will never know if any girl kisses better than you do. You and Dolly have all my kisses for as long as I live.

Deb looked up in my eyes and a smile grew. "Really? Do you mean that?"

"Of course, you own all of my kisses, hugs too, of course that may change."

"WHAT?"

"Well, you may have to share sometime in the future."

"No way, no sharing! NEVER!"

"You mean that I can't kiss our new babies?"

"Hummmm! Well, maybe in that case! But", she smiled, "the little chick outside doesn't qualify as a new baby."

Both of us were working hard to get ahead on our projects so we could take a week off for our honeymoon. I walked past Deb's office and glanced in and saw she and Jeff standing by her desk looking at some papers. He was sanding a bit behind her and he leaned back and checked out her lovely ass in her snug pant suit while she leaned forward over the desk. I saw him quickly lean forward and look where she was pointing. I continued on to my office. Later the same day I was coming back from a fast visit to the daycare to see Dolly and I felt the need to use the men's room. I sat in a stall when several men entered chatting. One guy said, "yeah and she has the cutest little ass in the world. She is warming up to me more and more each day. I'll be in her panties in a few more days; I know the old fart can't keep that little 'hottie' happy."

The other guy spoke, "Lots of luck, I'd be careful though, messing with the boss's wife could be hazardous to your job."

"Bullshit, she runs everything around here, including him. When she says jump, he says 'How high, Dear.'."

"Just watch yourself, if you had a wife like that you would damned well keep an eye on her."

"Yeah, but she told me that we would be going out in the field to some job sites in the next day or two, that will be my chance to really hit on her, then she'll be mine, I have never missed yet!" I heard their urinals flush and the door open and close.

I returned to my office and noticed Debbie and Jeff laughing together as I passed. I sat at my desk for a moment then pressed the button on the intercom. "Debbie, if you are not busy, please come in here for a moment."

Five minutes later she walked in my door, Jeff was right behind her. She smiled, "Hi Honey, what do you need?"

I smiled at her, then looked at Jeff, "Jeff, please shut the door behind you, wait in Mrs. Nelson's office, she will be with you shortly." I stood and took her in my arms and kissed her passionately. I glanced up to see him watching as he slowly closed the door.

She giggled, "I love it if that was all you wanted."

"No, I want you to fire Jeff."

"What? He is doing fine, he has only been here a couple of weeks."

"He is still in his probation period, you don't have to give a reason."

She was puzzled, "Why?"

"Isn't it enough that I asked you to do it?"

"That doesn't answer my question, why?"

"Debbie you have the responsibility of running my business for me. I have given you a completely free hand in running it, I have never questioned any decision you have made. I have made a request, you make the decision." Debbie watched me for a minute and then she turned and walked out the door. I smiled to myself, I knew she would make the right decision.

Several hours later, at closing time I heard her heels on the floor and looked up to see her smiling face, she said, "Hi! Honey, are you ready to go home."

"I sure am, let's go." She took my arm and held it tightly as we walked to the elevator to the ground floor. In the crowded elevator she pressed against me and I looked down at her. She smiled and mouthed, 'I love you.'

I said in a normal voice, "I love you too Sweetheart." Debbie giggled, "Me too!"

One of our tenants, the senior partner in a Law Firm, said, "John, why don't you guys get a bed?"

"Hey, Irving, that is where we are headed right now."

"John, if my wife was that beautiful I wouldn't let her get this far from one."

"No, Irv, if I were as smart as you Law guys I would have a hide-a-bed in my office like you guys do."

"Hey, we were all Boy Scouts, 'Be prepared' I know that if my wife looked like Debbie and worked with me all day it would sure get used a bunch."

I laughed, "Hey, now there is a thought, it never occurred to me."

Debbie giggled, "Bull, that is not what you tell me every day. You say, 'Wait until we get home.' Ha! Then you just play with Dolly. But my love, you are well worth waiting for." The door to the elevator opened and we hurried to get Dolly from day care.

In the car Deb said, "Aren't you going to ask me if I fired Jeff?"

"Why wouldn't you fire him?"

"I hadn't thought of it that way, but you are right. Will you tell me why he had to go?"

"If I think you need to know, I will."

"I think I know anyway. One of our workers asked to see me in his office. He told me Jeff was telling everyone he and I were going to get together sexually in the next few days. He thought it was inappropriate for Jeff to talk that way no matter what the true story was. He said he thought I ought to know about it. I thanked him and asked if he believed the story. He said 'Hell no.' and that he just thought I should know about it."

"Good man! Promote him at the first chance we have."

"You knew something, didn't you?"

"Did you fire him before or after you got the information?"

"About 30 minutes before, why? Oh, I see, it was a test, to see if I would resist firing him. Right?"

"Sort of."

"Well, I thought about it and knew you would never do that without a damned good reason and that there was a reason for not telling me why. I AM a bit disappointed that you didn't trust me completely."

"If the shoe was on the other foot would you test me?"

Debbie laughed, "Probably. We are both learning to trust each other. You have to learn how to trust after your trust was destroyed."

"You are learning too!" I said.

"Well, Honey, I have to confess that firing Jeff bothered me for some reason, I have always felt I knew him from somewhere. The feeling was not enough to keep me from doing what you asked of me, I feel absolutely no remorse. What would you like for dinner tonight?"

I grinned, "You!"

"Wonderful, I can fix that little dish for you. How do you want me? Hot or cold, dressed or undressed, frisky or passionate?"

"Everything but the 'cold and dressed' would be fine."

"Good choice Mister. I'll serve up after our baby girl is asleep, OK?"

"I guess I'll have to wait."

"Sir, I believe the wait will be well worth it. I haven't had a single complaint."

"While we wait should I order from the local pizza place. How about the hot meatball sandwiches we liked so much last time?"

"How about one of those and one small Supreme pizza, we can split them and share."

"Good idea, I'll call while you start Dolly's bath."

About thirty minutes later the door bell rang and I hurried to open it. As the door opened a large revolver was pointed between my eyes. I stepped back and the guy holding the gun said, "Freeze! Don't move or I'll blow your brains out."

I froze, I recognized the man behind the gun, it was Jeff Petrino. I composed myself, "Good Evening Mr. Petrino, how can I help you?"

I heard Deb say, "Jeff, please put the gun down, and we can talk this out before it goes too far."

"Get out where I can see you, where is my daughter?"

"YYYour dddaughter?"

"Yes, Dolly is our daughter, yours and mine, Debbie, yours and mine. She should be raised by you and I, her mother and father, not some stranger."

"You are wrong Jeff, John here, is Dolly's father, We have been going together for four years. We couldn't get married until he could get a divorce. Where you think you know me from?"

"You worked at the downtown Carter Brother's Department Store in Ocala. I worked there too. You were the Manager of the Ladies Shoe department."

"Sorry Jeff, I never worked in Ocala in my life. Before I went to work for John I worked for an Auto Dealer in Gainesville as a secretary. Sorry, but you have the wrong girl. How well did you know this girl, did you date for a long time?"

"Ahmm! Well I didn't know her that well, I saw her around a lot but we didn't get together until we met at a company Christmas party."

I was watching the gun as it drooped lower as he talked to Debbie. He was totally focused on Debbie now as I hit him as hard as I could on the side of his head. He dropped like a rock. I snatched the pistol up just after it hit the floor.

Deb was on him in a flash and kicked him as hard as she could right in the balls. "You no good son-of-a-bitch, rape ME will you." She kicked him in the head and face several times Screaming and yelling when a Deputy Sheriff grabbed her and held her. Then suddenly there were half a dozen Deputies in my apartment.

When everything calmed down and Jeff was in hand cuffs we learned that the pizza delivery man saw Jeff pointing a gun at us and slipped out and called the police on his cell phone. We checked on Dolly and found her sound asleep in her bed. I paid for the pizza and gave him a $50 tip. We were required to sit down and make statements about what had occurred. The Deputy brought his laptop computer in and pulled up the information on Debbie's rape case. He said Jeff would be charged with that case and with assault with a deadly weapon, home invasion, and possibly other crimes. After the deputies left we heated up the food and quietly ate a little dinner.

Neither of us had much of an appetite and we mostly just sat and cuddled. She looked up at me, "I don't even remember seeing him before he came to work for us."

"I think that subconsciously you may have recalled him but your mind shut it out to protect you from going through the trauma of the rape. It was possibly because you were drugged when it happened and it was more like a bad dream than reality or it is easily possible that you never got a good look at his face if it was dark or he had something over your eyes."

Deb glanced up at me, "I sure hope they lock him up for a long time. Wow! You really decked him. How is your hand?"

I said, "It hurts some, it'll be OK in the morning."

Deb said, "Let me see it. Oh! Look, it's all swollen up, we need to get some ice on it."

When she got back with a bowl and some ice I said, "Honey, you were pretty slick with confusing him as to who you are. He didn't know what to believe."

"Well, I thought I would distract him enough so you could overpower him or convince him he had the wrong girl."

"You had that right, he did have the wrong girl. I am glad you had those ballet slippers on and not the stilettos you wore to work. You would have killed him."

"Hey, nobody threatens my baby or my man and walks away without something to remember me by." She lifted my hand and looked at it again, she gently dried it then softly kissed it. She shivered, "Damn, I almost lost you, didn't I. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she shook violently. I pulled her to me and held her until she calmed down. I had her go get ready for bed while I locked up.

We cuddled and talked for a while. I told her to research both of us getting concealed weapon permits. I also asked her to call a local Martial Arms place and see if there were anything they could recommend that we could carry until we got our permits. I was especially worried about something she could use, she was so beautiful, dainty, and small she appeared to be an easy target. She said she knew of a place near Melrose, where she grew up.

We went to bed and cuddled and caressed each other until we fell asleep. My hand bothered me until I got up and wrapped it with an Ace bandage. I was just starting when a little pair of hands took the bandage from my hands, "Honey, you can't do that right by yourself, here let me do it for you." She wrapped it lightly, but firmly and it made big difference when I tied to sleep. When I bumped something with my hand it didn't wake me up.

I the morning I thanked her profusely for helping me. She grinned, "John, my Dearest Husband, you must learn to let me help you more. Every time you bumped your hand you groaned and woke me up, and I wake up anytime you get out of bed. I just adore doing things for you, so please let me help. OK?"

I was a bit hampered by my hand but because most of my CAD inputs are touch screen I was not slowed down much. My sweet wife checked on me every half hour and rewrapped my hand every so often. She said she had both of us scheduled for a Concealed Weapons Course at a local gun shop at 4:00 PM for the next five days.

I asked if she had ever fired a gun. "Yes, Uncle Bill taught me to shoot a revolver and an automatic pistol. I have shot rifles and shot guns too, but mostly pistols. I have shot .22s, .38s, 9mms, and .45s. I have shot a .44 Magnum too but I am not good with it, it's too heavy for me to hold up for very long and I hurry my shots. I do like the power it has though."

"I guess I'll have to get some pointers from you."

"Bull, John, I saw that picture of you when you were a Marine, You were so cute and had a chest full of medals including marksmanship medals for both rifle and pistol. I wasn't snooping around, I was looking for an envelope and saw it in the middle drawer of your desk in the den."

"There is nothing in OUR house you can't see. It is OUR home and I have no secrets from you. At least none that you will ever find, I hope."

"Damn, now I will have to search every nook and cranny."

"Search all you want, I only have one sex toy, and it is not hidden."

She looked at me for a minute, then smiled, "Is it about five foot two with eyes of blue?"

"Damn, someone told you."

"No, Baby, I know you. You are a terrible liar, you just can't look me in the eye if you are fibbing, even when you are joking or teasing. I love that and I love you with all my heart.