The Ring of Fire Pt. 02

I enjoyed the drive back towards my home more because I was more at peace with my life. I had done what I had needed to do and had reconnected with those I still felt were important to me. The insights I had learned from going back home had changed my view on a few things while removing some of the doubts we all seem to have. I guess I felt the choices I had made for myself had been validated. For now, it was time for me to get back to the daily routine of my life until I was ready to make the beginning steps of the next big move in my walk of life. Tammy and I talked for hours as I drove the interstate back to my home in Bellingham. I think we learned more about each other than we thought we had known. It allowed us to discuss some personal things that brought understanding about the others perspective. The little things we learned helped to tighten the relationship we were starting to put together. The honest conservations that we shared that weekend seemed to draw us closer. By the time we were done we had decided that one way or the other we would find the way to be together every time there was a long weekend.

As I entered Bellingham it made me realize how much my vacation had changed me. For the first time in my young adult life, I had to consider the needs of another when deciding on things because I finally had what I considered a real girlfriend who I knew I could trust. The other positive thing was that I knew that I had a new purpose and a direction towards my life that I was looking forward to. My MBA when I got it would be an unexpected bonus for me because most of it would be an asset with the things, I now would be involved in thanks to a father who had set me up for a blessed life. With what my father had left me I had dreams and opportunities bursting force with excitement within me.

The first thing I did once arriving back in Bellingham was to stop at the local Walmart photo department. I picked out the six favorite images from the collection in my phone's gallery and had them printed out as eight by tens before picking suitable frames to put them in. One if my favorites was Tammy's image from the welcome home party taken just after she had taken a dive into the pond to cool off. The way the wet clothes hugged her body gave everyone looking at it a sweet view of her body's natural curves. Using a photo shop type of program, they had magnified her image which brought out some of the features that the normal shot had hidden.

That Sunday evening, I had a few of the group I hung out with stop by to welcome me home. After a few beers while sharing some pizza, we had ordered in most had left leaving Brylee and I by ourselves. Brylee Soon is a second generation Korean American whose grandparents had immigrated during the Korean war. She was attending university full time while working towards getting her degree in the science field. She was an intellectual with a brilliant mind but had the intellect that allowed her to converse with others who didn't have her level of intelligence.

I had told her that I believed that she would go far in research and development but advised her that she needed to remember that most who would be financing her field of research would need to be talked to in the simplest words otherwise she would quickly lose their support. I went on to explain that too often we talked to others as if they had knowledge when they had none. It had been her that had noticed my approach to females.

"Branden," Bry started, "something happened while you were gone that has affected you. You've changed, more than you realize. Proof of that is the fact that we are sitting all alone in your apartment which we both know is a first. You seem to be more at peace with yourself. Care to share what happened while you were gone? There's a softness to you that I have never seen before. What caused you to let go of the self-protective shell you all seem to project when others were around."

Without saying a word, I got up and walked upstairs to my bedroom. I brought down some of the pictures I had printed earlier. Handing them to her I said, "I knew her before I moved west."

Bry took her time going through the pictures, taking her time as she studied each image. She started with the picture of Tammy and I sitting together at the Dairy Queen restaurant first than browsed through the rest before commenting "She's a nice-looking woman, you seem to be completely comfortable with each other so what's the story?"

"We basically grew up around each other and we reconnected while I was back home," I said. "She was a close friend of my two sisters until they started working with our mother to destroy our lives as we knew it."

"So, what's her name or are you going to be your usual self and be closed lipped about everything," she said with a giggle.

"She's twenty-four, her name is Tammy Press and for years as I was growing up, I had a major teenage crush on her," I explained. "A lot of the time she was the bumper that kept things civil between my sisters and myself. She was the calm in the storm my two sisters and I seemed to be always creating. To be frank she is the complete opposite of my mother and sisters. I really did not understand why she was friends with my sisters since she is everything they are not. My grandmother says she has a gentle soul. What I did not know at that time was that she had felt the same way towards me."

Bry got a look on her face as if she was seeing me for the first time, but it became clear that something was being worked out in her mind. Finally, she said "I got it, you're experiencing the excitement, the thrill of falling in love for the first time because you already trusted her and were not afraid of starting to build a new relationship. Its opened you up and allowed you to let go of some of the seriousness you have always carried."

I sat there looking at Bry because I was surprised that she was able to put what happened together in a way that made perfect sense.

It led to a long discussion with me disclosing the major highlights of my trip back home before Bry said, "your family situation is a quagmire for sure. I'm sure you will find a way to walk through it. Do not let the lawsuit consume you. Doing so could cost you more than you could ever realize. Don't allow your family situation to interfere with the new relationships you are building. I see it partly as an emotional thing that you feel you must settle. If that is true than no matter what the outcome is it may not give you the satisfaction, you seek."

Her honest thoughts brought about another discussion about how I viewed people in general, so it was well after midnight before she had left. Just before she left, she said "In your relationship with Tammy keep in mind that it was your openness with her that got you this far so don't let yourself because of family lose it. Tonight, for the first time you left me with the feeling that you've been open and honest in your thoughts. It just makes our friendship stronger."

Brylee's final thought caused me to end up laying on the bed unable to fall asleep because her words had me rehashing a lot of things. In a lot of ways, she was right because for the most part I tended to keep my thoughts to myself. I came to the conclusion that because of what I had gone through I had lost the ability to blindly trust.

Upon arriving at the store, the next morning, the first thing I did was let the shipping and receiving department know that I was expecting a couple of shipments of documents that would be delivered to them for me. They asked if the parcels would have my name on them. I said yes with care of this address. Then I started to review what had been done while I was away to prepare myself for the start of the work week. I was upset that the signage for the latest promotion had not been set up and had to work on getting it done.

It was my routine to start the work week with an informal meeting with the four mechanics, two apprentices, and the sales floor staff who worked the day shift to highlight the things that were in front of us. It was noted there seemed to be a change of attitude coming from me as there was a more relaxed approach from me that they had not seen before.

As soon as the doors were opened the phones were ringing which meant that it was going to be a super busy day. The latest flyer in the weekend newspaper had created an interest in the tires we had on sale which meant that with each set of tires we would check to see if there was a need for a wheel alinement. Another thing that would be reported on was their braking system. By trying to upsell we have increased our productivity and perhaps saved our customers from major expenses later. It resulted in our department being way above what we were budgeted sales wise for the quarter.

We were one of the few stores in Bellingham that still had a full-service bay after six pm. By the time I decided to take my lunch break we were already fully booked for the rest of the week. It would allow me the time to make sure that the basic needs were on hand so that there were no slowdowns because of lack of product. Since prices were charged based on the amount of time the book said it required a lot of the shop workers could squeeze in a few small jobs to max out the amount earned for the day. All worked with the knowledge that if they cut corners to save time and it came back to haunt them, they would be terminated.

It was about ten thirty when my notification ring went off, catching me by surprise. Looking at it I discovered it was a text from Tammy. It read; It looks like we were seen out together. David's wife phoned inquiring about what I was doing with you when I should have been with Gary. I texted back; Not surprised, busy at work, will call once I get home.

It was about three that afternoon when I finally got the chance to take a break, so I had gone into the restaurant to have one of their hot dogs and to get a coffee. I had just grabbed a seat after getting my order when the Store Manager saw me. After going through he joined me.

"I see it didn't take you too long to get things in your department back in order," he said as he sat down across from me. "Did your trip back home go better than you figured?"

"Yes and no," I replied. "It's complicated because of the legal complications my father's death has created and the time that will be required as it works its way through the court system. Other than that, things went better than I expected."

"So, any chance things got worked out on the family end of things," he asked?

"Let me put it this way," I replied, "everyone now knows where I stand. They may not like it but at least the air is cleared."

"Then how come I see a smile that's not usually there," he said with a chuckle that implied he was seeing something within me. "Something positive must have happened to put you in such a good mood."

"That could be because I reconnected with a few of the friends I used to have," I said, "and they helped to make my time back home quite enjoyable. An added plus is that when the estate is settled, I will have inherited the family farm."

"I don't know much about what's involved in farming, but I believe there's the possibility of making a good living if that's what one wants to do," he responded.

"I know the basics," I replied not wanting to reveal anything. "It was usual for me to help out as I was growing up to spend most of my summers at my grandfather's farm until I was old enough to work in my father's tractor dealership. I just didn't know that my dad had bought it when my grandfather decided it was time for him to retire."

"So, what's your intentions going forward," he asked?

"In my spare time I will be working at putting all the background material in a timeline for my father's lawyer before we go to court," I said. "Until that civil suit has been finished the estate can't be settled. I do have something I need to discuss with you. I met someone while I was back home, and we would like to be able to get together on the long weekends when possible."

"If any other department head asked for that it would be an automatic no," he replied. "With you being gone for two weeks it was nice to see how effective your staff was because of your training. There was no noticeable drop in sales during your absence, which speaks volumes. So, we will review your staffing for those time periods and if the coverage is adequate, I don't see it being a problem. So, tell me about her."

Needless to say, my half hour lunch break went over time. I had to open my gallery file to allow him to view the images I had captured. It seems that Arley Richards was a bit of a romantic and wanted to know everything about my new love interest. By the time we separated I knew that before the evening was over his wife Kirstin would know all about it. He made me promise that when Tammy came out that I would bring over for a dinner so that they could satisfy their curiosity.

It was about eight my time ten in the show me state when I was finally able to call Tammy. It seemed that my uncle David's wife, my aunt Sheila, was a bit of a busy body who had to make a mole hill out of everything. It didn't help that she believed that Tammy was sneaking out behind her son's back to spend time with me. Sheila told Tammy that it was time for her and her son to settle down and stop playing the field because she was tired of waiting for them to get their shit together and start getting serious about life. Her biggest problem was that she was ready for grandchildren yesterday. Tammy told me she had to bite her tongue because she wanted to tell the friggen bitch that her eldest son was a gay blade. I reminded her that if she did tell her the truth about her son, she would not believe it anyway because she could explain her son's conduct in a different way.

I told her about how my first day back went and that I had attentively got approval on taking the long weekends off. That's when we decided to have her fly out to Seattle for the long weekend when the next one came up.

********

It had been three weeks since I had arrived back home when a few of my friends felt that they needed to check up on me because I'd hadn't been seen in a while. Between school courses and the legal suit I was swamped so had little time to socialize. I answered the door while talking to Tammy and waved them in. When they showed up, they discovered my computer desk covered in a pile of documents and legal files. After explaining to Tammy that they had just dropped over she told me to be sure to tell them that she was looking forward to meeting them in a few weeks.

It led to a bunch of questions about what I was involved in. I explained that I was in a slow tedious progress of putting a legal case together because everything had to be doubled checked and backed up with original documentation which had to be identified with a coding system to make it easy for those to locate when the case was being presented to them. At times it forces what could be seen as a lot of duplication because of discovery of information that I did not know before that could be used to strengthen what I already put together.

Brylee said with humor, "That's the excuse Branden's being using but if we checked his cellphone call history, I bet we would find that he's been on the phone a lot talking to a certain person."

I laughed and responded, "With the time zone difference and with the everyday routines of life the actual time spent in conversations are limited at best."

Brylee smiled and said right back without missing a beat "When one is feeling the way you are its funny because you all of a sudden you have all the time in the world for that special person. I'm surprised that the rest of you haven't noticed the new pictures Brandon has on display."

Most of those in attendance immediately gravitated to the framed pictures I now had placed around my two-bedroom unit.

"Who is she," Timmy asked? "Where did you meet her?

"Her name is Tammy Press" I explained. "I've known her for years. I was talking to her when I answered the door and you'll all be able to meet her when she flies out for the Labor Day weekend."

"Omg God," Charlene, Timmy's girlfriend said, "Branden's finally got himself a girl that's seriously got him interested. So, Branden give us the skinny and tell us the story after getting us all something to drink."

As I started making us a bunch of whiskey sours Charlene stated, "She's a nice looking girl Bran and it appears that she's just as interested in you as the pictures show you are."

It was well after midnight before we all called it a night after agreeing that we all would go whale watching on the Sunday during her visit because Tim's father had agreed to allow us to use one of his boats providing, we covered the cost of the gas. I think I answered every question they asked but the whole evening was summed up as Charlene and Tim were leaving because she said, "Bran will never admit it, but the love bug has hit him hard."

********

The Sun was starting to begin its nightly descent when I arrived at the SeaTac airport in Seattle to pick up Tammy. I was rushed for time because I had worked late to make up for the three-day weekend I was taking off. It came at a cost because I had to promise to bring Tammy with me when I attended my boss's Labor Day barbeque. After parking my car and heading in to meet her I realized I had forgotten the dozen long stemmed yellow roses I had picked up for her. My anticipation of seeing her had caused me to lose sight of the things right in front of me. By the time I went back to the vehicle to get them I was afraid that I would be too late to meet her. I thought that it was a lousy start to our first weekend together. Thankfully the plane was a few minutes late due to the direction of the high winds during the flight.

Tammy walked through the gate wearing a blue jean outfit and was full of smiles as she greeted me with a few passionate kisses. After receiving the flowers from me we waited for the luggage to start coming down the chute. We talked about her flight from St Louis and how time had seemed to drag on until she boarded the plane. I asked her if she had supper only to learn that out of excitement, she had forgotten to eat.

As soon as we got her luggage, I called the space needle to see if their restaurant had any space available and was able to get us a reservation since it was open until one. During the meal I learned that Tammy had a fear of heights. The way it was designed you could look down to the side and see the lights from the city below. Tammy was fine as long as she did not do that but loved the view of the lights of the city it looked over in the distance. Tammy had to take a few semiprofessional photos as she explained to me that it was a hobby of hers that she hoped one day she would be able to market.

On the way back to my apartment we caught up with what was going on back home. It seems word had got out that I was moving back to take over the running of my grandfather's farm. My mother and sisters were suspicious because they believed that I had to be up to something because of the way we had left things. My aunt Sheila was now demanding that Tammy and her son Gary reveal to all what their attentions were. Tammy wasn't sure but Gary was talking about going to visit his great uncle in California because he knew he would be accepted without question once he got there. I revealed to Tammy that my grandmother knew about both her brother's and Gary's sexuality.

I had to smile when Tammy said, "She knew all along that's why she was directing my eyes on you when you came home. She was encouraging our possible relationship because she praised you as much as I did."

"It looks like my grandmother is doing what she's always done by playing matchmaker" I replied. "The only child of hers that she did not match up was my father. I guess her insights were proved right because she was not in favor of their relationship."