Throwing Snowballs at the Moon

Ah, you're wondering, "Why a hotel; why not go back to Ellie's place?" Well you see, to be honest with you, we... or rather maybe I should say I... we had to purchase a couple of new beds before anything like that could happen.

I couldn't very-well bed Ellie in the same marriage bed I'd shared with Gloria, it just wouldn't have felt right. And we had the same problem over at Ellie's house concerning Ronald. Consequently a great big hotel bridal suite bed was called for, for our first encounter together again.

Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself, I think?

I can't explain what it felt like to take Ellie out to dinner. Or the difficulty I had getting her out of the car at the restaurant. Damned the woman insisted in trying to find my tonsils in the car park and then it took her ten minutes to repair her make-up. Later we went through the same rigmarole in the hotel car park later.

Then it got really humorous, because Ellie had insisted that we booked into the hotel under the names Mr and Mrs Smith. What was humorous about that you ask? Well the flunky at the desk welcomed Ellie with the words "Good evening Miss Goldberg." As she signed the register, "Mrs G Smith."

I wanted to take a drink in the bar, but Ellie was in rather a hurry to get to our room, or the bridal suite. Honestly she almost had my strides off in the damned lift, when an older couple stepped in and glowered at us before retreating out of the lift again.

We giggled like a couple of school children all the way along the corridor to our room, where Ellie insisted that I carry her over the threshold. By that time I was humouring the woman.

I'm not going to describe what went on in that room that night, a gentleman doesn't discuss that kind of thing. Well, not in public anyway!

Suffice to say that Ellie well out-lasted me and suggested that I needed to spend less time sitting behind my desk, and more time working-out.

"What with work and the children, I can't find time for the gym as well." I complained.

"Who the hell said anything about a bloody gym? I'm prepared to give you a good workout every night of the week, and for free!" She grinned back at me.

----------TWT----------

"Oh my, you little devil, you did it, didn't you?" Was Vernia's greeting, the instant I stepped into our office on the Monday morning.

"Christ, what did I do, grow horns over the weekend?"

"No, you no longer have the air of jilted man about you." She grinned back at me. "Mind you, I might not have noticed if Tony and I hadn't called around the house on Saturday evening and found that the girls were putting all four of the children to bed. It was funny, when we asked when you were due home, Simone told us that mummy and daddy needed some time alone together; so they probably wouldn't be back until Sunday lunch time at the earliest."

"Christ, she's only five years old!"

"Oh come on, she'll have no idea what you two were actually doing. What says a whole lot more, is that she called you daddy!"

"Oh, both of Ellie's do that, they've picked it up from Pamela and Debra, they've taken to calling Ellie mummy for weeks as well!"

"Well are you going to be, their legal stepfather I mean?"

"Here, don't go jumping the gun, Vernia; I'm not sure what the future holds. There's all kinds of things to take into account. Like Ingrid and Agda for instance, the children have grown quite attached to those two."

"As they have the children, and your prospective stepchildren as well. All you got to do is look at the big picture."

"What big picture is that?"

"Canella trying to get four little tykes up and ready for school every morning. Now if that don't call for having one or maybe two nannies in the house, I don't know what does? And Christ there's plenty of spare rooms in bloody great mansion of Canella's."

"You got it all planned out for us haven't you, Vernia?"

"Not really, but it seems like a logical progression to me. You two meet your first loves again after good knows how many years. You're both been left in remarkably similar situations playing single parents, and what's more you're crazy about each other. Besides being extremely compatible in bed!"

"What makes you say that? It could have been a disaster on Saturday night for all you know."

"Graham you were expected home on Sunday morning. You and Canella didn't actually turn up at the house until gone four in the afternoon."

"Who told you that?"

"Ingrid, she was getting worried and she does not have quite the same faith in your seductive... powers of persuasion, as I do. The poor girl's been on tender hooks for weeks now. Anyway, I know that Saturday night definitely wasn't a wash-out. I very much suspect that it will become a regular thing, until you two stop pissing around, move in together or get married. You're perfect for one another."

I believe, that I might have asked Vernia to stay out of my personal business, and if I did, I knew before I said it, it would be a futile gesture.

----------TWT----------

"We have the children over at Canella's house, will you be able to pick us up today?" Ingrid asked when she called me right after lunch.

"Sure, are the children having fun? Hey, just a minute, shouldn't Pamela be at nursery school today?"

"She has been, but not her usual school, Graham. We thought it would be a good idea to see what her reaction would be to moving to the school over here. She's fine because Simone is here with her."

"Aren't we jumping the gun a little, Ingrid?"

"You think so, I do not. Graham there just aren't enough bedrooms in your house. We thought it prudent to discover how Pamela and Debra would react to changing schools. Debra likes the kindergarten over here as well."

----------TWT----------

Well you could say that's it, really. Game set and bleeding match!

My extended household moved in with Canella's household within days. And yes we did have to buy the replacement king-size bed remarkably quickly.

Exactly where Canella hired the vintage Vauxhall Viva from I have no idea, but we did take a run out to the lake in the bugger one night, just for old time's sake. It proved to be an interesting evening, but I felt the fallout from it for several days afterwards. The second time we tried that game we played in the back of Jack Goldberg's limo; much more room and a very much more memorable experience for both of us. I still wonder if the old boy ever realised why Canella had borrowed his pride and joy that night and what we used it for.

A year or so later I became the company's financial director and then a few years after that, Jack Goldberg retired and I leapfrogged right into the chairman's seat.

Ingrid and Agda? Well, Ingrid is still living with us as a sort-of... that's good question. Surrogate sister/house guest I suppose you might say. Agda, married a nice young fellow from our office. In fact you could say she kidnapped the poor little bugger; he never stood a chance once Agda set her sights on him. They seem happy enough, and apparently he can speak Swedish like a native now.

Vernia and Tony did marry and she claims she really still enjoys her lofty post as financial director. Ably assisted - on a part-time basis - I might add, by one Canella Sparks, but I'm not completely convinced the time those two spend together has anything to do with company business. Tony and I both believe the two important women in our lives spend most of their time shopping in expensive boutiques and going to fashion shows.

I spend most of my time sitting on my nether regions in an office upstairs and Lord-it over the minions. I fact I'm having great fun in my old age.

Life Goes On