The Engagement Meeting

***Author's note - this is not a normal loving wives' story in that it doesn't revolve around cheating, or almost cheating, but the impact of a 'loving' wife's attitude and impact on the lives of others. If you need a sex related story, this isn't it.

Also, none of these characters are real. This is purely fiction and any semblance to someone in real life is purely accidental.***

*****

The wedding was beautiful by all accounts, and the reception was in full swing. Tim couldn't believe he was sitting there enjoying the evening. He didn't even have to pay for any of it, which are the best kinds of weddings to attend. He was helping with the honeymoon though. The groom tried to dissuade him of that gift, but Tim was happy to do it.

He smiled as his daughter danced with the groom, laughing and enjoying herself. He squeezed his wife's hand while she watched their children engaging with others. All the parents were happy and so were the guests. Tim and his family had been allowed to sit behind the parents, which was also a pleasant surprise. After how the engagement meeting with the groom's parents unfolded, an invitation to their son's wedding was unexpected, though appreciated.

_____________

Two years earlier...

He had been invited to meet them at their house many months before the proposed wedding date. Invitations hadn't even been printed, since the engagement was only a few weeks old. He had known the parents peripherally and the groom quite well from when he lived in Pittsburgh all those years ago. When he first heard of the meeting and invitation he was stunned at the news of the engagement.

TJ, the groom, also known as Theodore Johnson Fritz, came from old Pittsburgh money; the kind forged in one of the various mills that used to line the rivers near the town. In the seventies, before the mills closed, TJ's grandfather, Oliver Fritz, shifted all the production he could away from raw steel manufacturing to other end users; focusing on bridges, industrial machines and more recently, in line with Pittsburgh's new medical economy, specialized medical devices. This nimble thinking saved most of the family fortune.

TJ's parents, Donald and Joyce, who were relatively down to earth considering their wealth, lived in the historical family mansion, built in the 1920's, in Fox Chapel near Pittsburgh. Tim had never actually been to the Fritz mansion before. Having lived in the Pittsburgh area for nearly twenty years, he knew all about it, but there was a big difference between bumping into the Fritzs at school events and being invited to the mansion for late afternoon hors d'oeuvres, as he had been for this engagement meeting. It had been a long time since he had seen TJ or his parents at the various events all those years ago and wasn't certain what to expect.

The entire place looked so regal that when he knocked on the huge front double doors of the mansion, he expected a servant to answer. He didn't expect his daughter, Audrey, the bride-to-be, to be the one greeting him.

"Daddy!" She didn't even wait for him to enter; she crossed the threshold and hugged to her the father that she hadn't seen in so long. At 59, he still looked good. He was still slim and was less than fifty percent grey with all his hair. He still had those dreamy eyes; eyes she inherited from him. She could see why her mother had once thought him attractive.

It almost brought tears to his eyes to have her wrap her arms around him that way. He was reminded of better times some thirteen years ago, when they still lived together as a family. He stepped back and looked at her and it was like looking back in time. His little girl looked just like her mother did, thirty years ago; beautiful, striking, medium-length dark hair, puffy and inviting lips, slender figure with just the right amount of curves. Of all people, he could understand TJ's attraction.

"Hey, Sweet Pea," he replied, gently returning the hug.

Behind her was TJ, no longer the lanky boy he remembered, but a grown man that was the perfect melding of his mom and dad.

Shaking Tim's hand vigorously, he said, "Hello, Mr. C. I cannot believe it's actually you. It's so good to see you. Come in, come in. My parents are inside and looking forward to seeing you again. It's been too long."

Tim was pleased with the greeting and entered the home, being led through the grand foyer past the enormous kitchen and back to the formal drawing room, which looked to have been refurnished recently from the old-school formal European style to something more inviting. The room appeared large enough to hold thirty to forty people, comfortably. Outside was a formal garden which overlooked the Allegheny river from its perch, high above.

Donald and Joyce were waiting for him. Pleasant greetings were exchanged. Joyce offered, "I'm so sorry that your wife wasn't able to join you for this visit. We do look forward to getting to meet her."

"Mariana wanted to come, but Loren and Philip both had events tonight or tomorrow and couldn't get away. We'll make sure that you get to meet them soon."

Donald shook Tim's hand and replied, "I hope so. I'd like to meet them."

Audrey was confused. She knew about Mariana, his wife, and Loren, Mariana's daughter, but who was Philip?

Joyce asked, how old are your children?

Tim replied "Loren, is almost seventeen and Philip is ten."

Joyce continued, "I'll bet they cannot wait to meet Audrey at the wedding."

"I know they would love to meet Audrey."

Audrey was still stunned. She had a half-brother? When did this happen? Well, obviously ten years ago, but still. She never knew. In all the birthday and Christmas cards her father sent her, he never mentioned having another child.

At that moment, TJ's sister, Kristin entered the room, with another young woman, who looked troubled. "Hey, Mr. C. They said you were coming today. I just wanted to say, 'hi and that it is good to see you.' Mom, Dad, Beth and I are going downtown to have dinner at Eleven. We won't be late." Eleven was one of the finer restaurants in Pittsburgh.

Tim stood to greet Kristin and said, "Look at you Kristin. Wow, you turned into quite the beautiful woman. The apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"Thank you, Mr. C. Come back and see us some time. I'd like to hear how you've been."

"Sure. That sounds nice."

Donald told them to be careful and have a good time.

After they left, Donald said, "Beth is recently divorced. She caught her husband cheating and moved back home. You may remember that Kristin is her best friend, and she has been trying to comfort her."

Audrey piped up, "Well, I wish she would keep her eyes off of TJ. I hope she knows that he's off the market."

This remark surprised everyone. TJ said, "You know there isn't anyone but you, Audrey. When I was the only one old enough to drive and had a car, Beth, Kristin and I used to run around together. Our first bit of freedom was shared together."

Tim said, "Audrey, when you are hurting, as I imagine she is, good friends are about the only life preservers you have. I know something about needing a life preserver. Cut her a little slack."

Audrey knew better than to say anything else, otherwise she would appear petty. To change the subject, Audrey asked, "Daddy, speaking of traveling, do you still travel as much with your job. The consulting lifestyle must be getting old by now."

"Well, uh, no. I have my own consulting company now, so I can set my own travel schedule, but I spend most of my time doing photography."

Even though no one missed Audrey's comment and lack of knowledge, the comment regarding photography piqued Joyce's interest. "Really, you are able to make a living from photography in this day and age?"

"I try to have several income streams coming in. I don't need much, so I don't put as much pressure on myself as I used to."

Joyce asked, "Have you shot anyone or anything we would recognize?"

"I guess you could say that I have some. I don't like to show off."

"Oh, come. It is your work. You should be proud. Do you have anything you could show us?"

Tim paused a moment before responding.

"Actually, the picture behind you is one of mine."

Even though the picture had been hanging there for the five years since they refinished the room, everyone turned to look at the picture and then back at Tim. The photograph was actually three framed scenes mounted separately but placed next to each other to form one wide view, which was from near downtown Pittsburgh during a lightning storm. Lightning was striking the top of one of the Three Sisters Bridges with the downtown skyline in the background. The strike was so powerful, that the metal glowed where the lightning struck, and a shower of sparks were flying from the bridge. It appeared as if it was a final forging of the bridge. Joyce had purchased it for Donald, because being in the steel industry, she thought it was a nice piece for him.

"You took that!? You are Forged Steel Photography? You were a mystery for several years here in Pittsburgh. Several iconic shots began to circulate and then you just disappeared." Said Joyce.

Tim replied, "It was after the divorce but before I went back into consulting. I was really down on myself after the divorce, and thanks to the family courts, I had alimony coming out the wazoo, so to make ends meet, I was driving for a limo service on the weekends. One night, late, after I dropped my last client, I had my new camera and my mood matched that of the storm. So, I put my rain gear on me and the camera, and started taking the pictures. Honestly, I think I was trying to punish myself, because even though I thought I made the right decision at the time, I missed Audrey and wasn't feeling very good about myself. I happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture the lightning in that picture. Forged Steel Photography was born that night.

"That was my first commercial picture. It was well received, so I started hanging out at night in the rain downtown to take more pictures. I felt like Batman for a while, because I was always out at night. Once I left Pittsburgh, I kept photographing. I thought Forged Steel was good for Pittsburgh, but when I landed in another city, I created a new studio.

"Daddy, why didn't you ever tell me you were doing photography. You and I used to love doing it together when you lived with us."

"I didn't want it to get back to your mother. I didn't want her to know. Had you gone with me on the graduation trip that I had planned for us, we would have done a lot of photography together. I bought you your own camera and lenses for you to use during our trip to Spain."

"I'm sorry about that trip. I didn't know about the camera."

TJ asked, "You couldn't go with your dad on a graduation trip?"

Tim stepped in to answer, "When Yasmine, my ex, found out I planned to take Audrey to Spain, she conveniently planned a trip to Italy with her new boyfriend and Audrey for the same time. This is the same boyfriend who helped to ensure Audrey's mother received alimony and full custody. What was his firm's motto? 'Separating fathers from their children one client at a time.' Sorry. I'm really not as bitter as I sound; just sad.

"When I arrived to pick up Audrey, no one was home. I waited two days before I finally went by myself. I never heard from Audrey or Yasmine."

This was not a good look for Audrey, even if she was only eighteen at the time. "Daddy, you know mom and I were still having a hard time with the divorce. It was only a year old. I didn't want to leave her to go vacationing by herself."

It didn't need to be spoken that her mom wouldn't have been alone, since the boyfriend, now husband, was going.

"That's okay. It's over and done. Besides, that's how I met Mariana. I went on the trip anyway. I had been in Barcelona a couple of days, when I decided to go visit a little town about thirty minutes northeast of there. There is a breath-taking 16th century monastery that was converted into a state-run hotel. Mariana's mother, Ana, manages the hotel.

Marian and her sister, Sofia, who is even prettier than she is, were trying to get some pictures of themselves in their beautiful flamenco dresses with that amazing hotel and view as a backdrop. However, Loren, her daughter, who was only seven at the time, wasn't cooperating. I offered to take pictures of all three. Like you, Audrey, Loren liked my camera, so I secured the strap on her and let her use yours. She was gleeful as she and I, together, took a ton of pictures of Mariana and Sofia.

"Later, when Ana could take a break, she came outside hoping to take a few pictures for herself. I showed her what I had and told her that I would give them all to her. Then I encouraged her to join her daughters and granddaughter for some pictures of the whole family.

"When I showed them the pictures later, Ana was so pleased that she offered me a pitcher of Sangria out on their beautiful patio. I accepted and she joined me. Later her daughters and Loren joined me, and we had a good evening together; Loren thanked me for letting her use the camera and really warmed up to me, which caught everyone's attention.

"The next morning, I woke up early and started taking pictures and video of that amazing hotel. I even rented a drone and flew a few early morning flights getting video of the property as the sun was rising over the Mediterranean with the hotel in the foreground. I took my laptop and created a nice Youtube video and very basic website for the hotel. They already had a website, but I wanted to show them what I thought were better pictures for their amazing property."

"She liked it so much that she said if I called ahead, my next stay was free. I had to leave to get back to work. Because of what happened with that graduation trip, I started to look to get back into consulting, which was what I did before I married Yasmine. I helped TJ with his Eagle Scout Project the rest of that summer, and after that I hit the road and started work for a large consulting company.

"The reason I left consulting previously was to come to Pittsburgh to marry Yasmine and start a family. After Audrey graduated, there really wasn't a need for me to be here any longer, so I went back on the road and left."

Audrey was quiet after that.

TJ broke the pregnant pause and said, "I'd like to thank you again for your support with my Eagle Project. I'm pretty sure it was the cherry on top that got me into Carnegie Melon."

"TJ, that was all you. I just helped with the cement."

"Ha, well, since the entire project revolved around cement, I'd say you were rather integral to the project"

Audrey asked, "what did you do?"

TJ replied, "We had originally planned to create covered bus stops in some of the lower income neighborhood areas of Pittsburgh, so adults and school children didn't have to stand in the rain, but we needed to get a permit from the city. Whoever was in charge then wanted us to get an EPA approval to dig the holes needed to set the supports for the structure. It was a ridiculous request. The holes wouldn't be more than three feet deep, nor even a foot wide.

"Your dad convinced me to come up with alternatives that didn't require digging to get around the stupid EPA requirement, which was expected to take nine months for approval. I wanted to finish the project that summer. I came up with the idea to use enough concrete, or cement, around the base of the structure so that it wouldn't be impacted by the wind. Rather than use cinder blocks or pour tons of cement, I did some research and created my own ornamental molds, which were very heavy and solid at the bottom levels, but the various molds that I developed became much thinner and lighter at the higher levels. The final design looked really cool and artsy.

"The city even gave me a commendation. We had planned to put in twenty-five with the original design, but the new design took a lot more work to create the molds, pour the cement into those ornamental blocks, cure them, transport them and then set them. We only finished fifteen. It was a ton of work. I never would have finished it without your dad's help."

"When I applied and interviewed at Carnegie Melon, I showed them the project, and they loved it, especially in their hometown. I've been working with cement and concrete ever since I started college."

Tim said, "CMU called me after your interview. Of course, I told them you hung the moon, but I could tell on the call they were already impressed with your work."

"I never knew they called you."

"You didn't need to know."

Joyce and Donald were beaming with pride at their son, and tremendously thankful for Tim's help.

Donald asked, "Do you have any pictures of your family? I'd like to see them."

"Sure. Give me a sec." Tim pulled out his phone, and TJ said, "Mr. C., mirror your phone on our TV so it's easier for all of us to see."

Tim did and within seconds they could see him flipping through photos on his phone.

Audrey cried out, "Wait! Go back. Stop. Is that Bobby Chestnut, the singer?"

On the screen was a picture of Tim and Bobby leaning against the rail on a back patio. Little Bobby was on his hip and the two men were both drinking a beer. Both Bobbys were wearing cowboy hats.

"Oh, him? Yeah. He's my neighbor, and we get together from time to time, when he's not on the road, touring."

They were all surprised, but Audrey was stunned. "I cannot believe you live next to Bobby Chestnut. Does he have a big house?"

"For a country music star? Not really. It's only a little bigger than our old house, Sweet Pea. We both have some property, so our houses are out of sight, but he's a very neighborly, down-home guy. He just happens to be famous. Here we are that same evening. Bobby's wife took the picture for us."

It was a good picture of Tim, Mariana, Loren and Philip. Audrey just stared. She couldn't believe that her father's new wife was so attractive and that he now had two kids, one adopted. She could see that Philip inherited her dad's eyes, just like she did.

Joyce asked, "So when did you quit your consulting job and go out on your own."

"I worked and schemed until I found a consulting project with my company that needed me in Barcelona. As you can imagine, I found my way back to that hotel every weekend. One weekend, when I was there, Mariana and Sofia were watching a flamenco fashion show called SIMOF. When I told them that they should send in some shots to see if they could be models, they thought I was kidding.

"So, I secretly did it for them. I took some of the shots from the last time I was there and sent them in. They were both called; Sofia as a single model and Mariana with Loren, as a mom and daughter. Mariana thought it was fun the one time but didn't want to do it again. You've probably seen Sofia. She's gone on to model professionally.

Audrey asked, "Sofia, the model? Like Sofia Nieves? Your sister-in-law is Sofia Nieves and you were the one that found her?"

"Yeah. I guess so. She doesn't do it as much as she did. She likes our place near Nashville and wants to buy some property near ours. I guess I started my own company eight years ago but have been selling pictures since before I left Pittsburgh. The pictures and video I took of the hotel were so well received that the company asked me to take more of their other hotels, of which I do several each year. Sofia doesn't always work with me, but she tries to have me be the photographer when she's given a choice.

Audrey was stunned. When Tim left, Yasmine had convinced her that he was off licking his wounds.

"But enough about me. How about you two? How are the jobs?"

Audrey said, "One of my managers sits on the board of a construction company near DC and helped TJ get an interview. It went well, and he should start his new job at the beginning of next month."