Beep, beep, beep, beep
My cell phone was making the alarm noise so I looked at the time, eleven-thirty. I stretched, scratched, and headed to the bathroom. The room had one of those miniature coffee makers, so I made a packet of coffee to drink while I did my triple S and dressed. I put my vest back on, even though I didn't think I would need it, before packing my stuff to leave if I could get out later.
I was downstairs in the lobby at five till noon, greeted by a smiling, refreshed, Hal. "Morning, Hal. It is still morning isn't it?"
He nodded and smiled, "We can eat here or how about a little place just up the street. They'll serve me breakfast anytime. You'll like it."
As soon as we walked into the little restaurant, a round, smiling, Mexican woman quickly came to hug Hal. "How's my Hal this beautiful day? You make me smile to have you with us. And who have you brought with you, a man for mi nina?"
Hal said, "She means her baby girl. That's her over by the back counter. No baby anymore."
A dark-eyed beauty with black hair came from the back counter to give Hal a hug, "Tio, you don't come see me enough. Since Tia is gone, you stay away too much." She looked at me and asked Hal, "Did you bring me a man Tio? Is he the one like you? Can I have him?"
"The man may have someone, Maria. He's here to help us with some pandillero that have caused us trouble. He comes to us from Florida."
Maria smiled at me and offered her hand. "Pleased to meet you,,,,, "
"Chuck Johnson, Ma'am."
"Pleased to meet you, Chuck Johnson. Mi Tio Hal keeps telling me he will bring me my man, but he doesn't. You're not my man, are you?"
"I could only wish, Maria. I do have a wonderful woman in Florida."
Maria's eyes flashed, "I could be your wonderful woman in California. You could visit me often and give me babies. I'm going to be old and ugly before Mi Tio brings me my man."
Hal was embarrassed for me, as I'm sure he didn't expect the two ladies would be so aggressive. He announced, "Please chica lindas we are two hungry men who worked all night and have just woken up. Bring some food for us. Do you want to feed us in the kitchen so you have tables for your lunch people?"
The older woman hugged Hal again and took him by the arm, glancing at me and nodding for me to follow. We went through the kitchen doors to a large table at one end of the kitchen. She sat us down and then kissed Hal, "You must think of me now, my Hal. Mi hermana has been gone over two years. I am the perfect woman for you and will make you happy for the rest of your life. Please Hal, do think of me. I am a young woman and still need a man."
When she left, Hal said, "Sorry about the rush from those two. I don't come in as often as I should because of it, but I do love them both dearly. Juanita is my wife's sister. My wife passed away almost two years ago and Juanita thinks she should be my wife now. The two women were very close and even look so much alike that it's scary, but I don't know whether that would be the right thing. Poor Maria really is waiting for me to find the right man for her. I guess I do need to start the interview process for her. She is a beauty, isn't she?"
We ate some excellent concoction of rice, cornmeal, eggs, some kind of meat, and lots of coffee. Juanita and Maria checked on us every couple of minutes, but were kept busy with their midday meal customers. When we were done, I was going to offer to pay, but Hal said, "They would be offended. I will take them out some evening soon. Looking at Juanita does get my juices going. I guess I should make an effort to see her more often. Are you sure you're taken? Maria is a beautiful woman and as pure as snow."
"I'm sure, Hal. Let's go to the station and check in. I'm interested in what the local intelligence may have."
On our way out, Hal let himself be surrounded by Juanita and kissed well enough they were both a little dizzy. Maria came up to me as they were kissing and said, "See, they are going to be lovers. Don't you want to join them? I'm a good chica."
I smiled and gave her a one armed hug before following the dazed Hal through the door.
At the station, several deputies were changing clothes getting ready to relieve Bureau men guarding the Federal building. They were dressing with a vest and a combat vest complete with both law enforcement tools and weapons.
I called the Bureau office to see if the Chief was in, and he was. I asked, "Did you go home for some rest?"
"I did, I live in the same condo as Hal does. It's a half a block away."
I asked the Chief, "Can you call that intelligence group to find out if they've heard anything?"
He answered, "Already did. The only thing they have is that some big shots from Cuevo cartel are now locked up and there are no other leaders available right now to do anything about it. I think we should transport every one of the players from this fiasco to Florence as quick as possible. The lawyers won't get in easily and when these men are confronted with more than twenty years, they may begin talking."
I counseled, "That call is up to you and the Deputy Station Chief. You two talk it over and decide. If you're going to transport, do it quickly and with some heavy guard. When you get it done, spread the word on the street."
I handed the phone to the Marshal's Station Chief and headed for the coffee pot. Hal pointed at some semi-stale donuts, but I passed. "After the meal I just had, I don't think an old donut would go very well."
Hal said, "The way Juanita would feed me would probably make me fat within a couple of months. If we were to get together, I would bet she would sell the restaurant. She started it when her man was killed in the drug wars of the early nineties. She raised three kids and now only has Maria left. She is a good woman."
Hal and I watched as the Chief began organizing the transport of the prisoners at the Federal building. He was pulling ten men and the Bureau was pulling ten. They were planing on two cars, one to lead and one to chase using only two prisoner transport buses with eight guards on each.
The men were staging to leave, so I walked out and told them, "Remember friends of these people have already tried twice to free them. You are directed to protect our property and to maintain custody of your prisoners at all costs. You are not bound by any restrictions on firing your weapons. Be careful and be safe."
After watching them leave, I went to a desk and called John in D.C. He said, "I've been briefed on the confrontation you had last night. The Pentagon is having a cow about us using a bunch of bloodthirsty Marines to help, but overall, I think you pulled another inter-service win out of your hat. Your Marines are off on a mobile transport training mission and your other Marines are receiving a civilian homeland protection citation for their training mission. Good job. Are you going to send the rest of the prisoners to Florence?"
"The group transporting them is staging right now over at the Federal building. This should take the danger out of the local situation quickly."
John said, "As soon as the prisoners are out of the city, go home. Considering your lack of sleep, you might want to take a day off if you want. Hopefully, there won't be another crisis that I have to send you on right away."
"Thanks, John, I'll alert my pilot so he can be ready in an hour or so. That company has really been good to us and has answered our needs very well."
John laughed, "Better than our own plane. Every time I need it, it's gone somewhere for some bullshit flight. That thing used to be for my exclusive use, but when you didn't claim it, the whole service feels as if they can use it to go to lunch. I wish we had a charter as good as yours. If we did, I'd sell the plane and just use the charter."
I advised John, "I'll call you tomorrow to see what you have working. Oh, did you get those budget numbers? They are about ten percent under your forecast, and if my estimations are correct, we should be able to lop off another eight to ten percent."
"Your numbers are perfect, Chuck. If you really think we can live with those numbers, I'll lock them in and you can use the other eight to ten percent for bonuses or incremental funds if you need them. Just don't declare excess budget funding or they'll audit you to hunt for more to cut."
I hung up and called John, the pilot. He said the plane was ready to go, so all I had to do was to tell him to meet me at the airport.
Wanda said that the day had been very quiet so far with very little correspondence or e-mails. I told her it looked like I would be home around midnight eastern time, depending on how soon I could leave.
At two o'clock, we got the word the transport had left. I called John, the pilot, and had Hal take me out to the airport.
Before I left the station, I chatted with the Station Chief about Hal. The Chief thought he was doing Hal a favor by giving him the nothing jobs. I convinced him that Hal was a real deputy and enjoyed doing his job. He was in good health and would be an asset to any duty. He promised to give Hal some of the prisoner transports and put him on some escapee teams.
We had to stop at the hotel to get my bag and check out. When I noted that I was going to be charged for the night, I asked if the room was going to be rented tonight. The smart ass desk jockey said, "Of course it will. We'll get double for it now that you're gone."
I asked for the manager, and an older gentleman came out to see me. I introduced myself and asked, "Do you get much Federal business?"
"Oh yes Sir, perhaps twenty percent of our total revenues are from the government."
"Would it hurt your hotel if you didn't get that business any longer?"
"That twenty percent is important to our profitability. Of course it would hurt."
I motioned him over to me, "I feel you are overcharging for your services and will be looking for other places to stay. Your desk person indicated that my stay inconvenienced the hotel a great deal, and now he had the chance to double book the room. Since you will be booking the room again and not having to clean it the second time, as you haven't cleaned it the first time yet. I don't think I should have to pay for tonight. Since it is within my overall budget responsibility, I'm going to recommend we find other lodging. Can you change my mind?"
The man was surprised and couldn't say anything then he half closed his eyes and fished around in his pocket, he spoke in almost a whisper, "How much do you want? How much to let this thing go and not to cause any trouble?"
"Easy," I answered aloud. "Don't charge me for tonight and negotiate a better rate for lodging."
"No, I mean how much do you want personally to just forget this?"
"Okay," again I was loud, "I do not want, nor would I accept, a kickback or bribe. You will credit my room for tonight and you will negotiate a better price for lodging. Any less, and I will make sure we change facilities. Don't offer government employees money for a bribe or kickback ever again. If I find out, I can make it happen that you will go to prison."
I turned and walked out, very pissed at how people just assumed you were holding them up for personal benefit.
John met me at the airport, already finished with the preflight inspection. After taking off my vest, I put my bags in the back, and pulled the door closed as he slid into his seat. I climbed into the right seat, took the card from John, and began the checklist. Twenty minutes later we were in the air on the way home.
The trip went by fast, with John having me mess with the navigational equipment, but never letting me change the original settings he had put in. We had a decent tailwind all the way, helping us to touch down right at eleven-fifteen. He pulled the plane up to the hangar door turning it around before shutting down.
As we were getting our bags out, John said, "Keep in mind that this place is going to be short on some aircraft later this week. We might have a turbo prop twin available, but the Lear and both G5s are committed. I can't believe we actually bought or leased anther G5 with the economy the way it is. So far so good though, as a lot of corporations are selling their airplanes. They still need to go places; it just won't be in their own equipment."
We agreed that I would call him for a schedule for my instrument training.
I was able to let myself in at the house just after midnight. The house was quiet, but as I brought my bag into the bedroom and found no one in that bed, Bobby came walking into the bedroom with a glass containing ice and liquid in it. "Brought you a Beefeater, Honey. I'll bet you could use one."
Bobby gave me the bone crunching hug I was expecting with an equally tooth shattering kiss. When she put me down, she handed me the drink and said, "Take a quick shower, Honey. Wanda and I are in her room talking. I, or we, will be in shortly."
The drink relaxed me and the shower just about finished it. I sat on the bed and lay back for a second.
I had big Bobby on one shoulder and Wanda on the other, nice. It was nice to have the two snuggled up to me, but I needed to pee. I slipped from bed to go to the bathroom, catching sight of the clock, five fifty-nine. Before using the bathroom, I pushed the off button on the alarm.
While I was peeing, another alarm in the bedroom went off. I didn't know we had, or needed, another alarm clock. When I went back into the bedroom, both ladies were sitting on the side of the bed. Bobby said, "I need another hour or two. When you're gone Wanda and I stay up too late and last night we were involved in a conversation and when we came in here, you were zoned. We moved you all over the place and you didn't even flinch."
Wanda said, "I can tell when you are really tired. You relax so well in the bed with us, as soon as we snuggle up to you, your breathing even changes."
"What's with the other alarm," I asked? "Do we need two?"
Wanda answered, "When you are gone, we end up trying to talk all night and we don't want to get up. The second alarm tells us to get going."
As I slipped on my peg leg I said, "I need to swim a couple of minutes for some exercise. Anyone coming?"
Bobby and Wanda didn't bother with clothes either and followed me out the back door to the pool. We were swimming laps at a moderate pace when Marie cannonballed in front of me, followed by Jan who stirred up the water equally. After both gave me a quick kiss, we resumed swimming until I felt worn down enough to relax outside the pool.
Bobby and Wanda carried me to the outdoor shower where we did a mutual scrubbing job. Being surrounded by Bobby and Wanda is an exciting way to start the day. Both are special looking women. It made me feel as if I was a king.
At breakfast, Marie told me that the Steve Sharp's nephew, Dennis, was taking her out to a baseball game after work. Marie was telling us confidentially, "Dennis treats me like a lady, but when I'm with him, I don't want him to. We seem to be so compatible it's scary, but I know it's silly to think that way."
Bobby told her, "That's the way I was with my first husband. We met one day and two days later I was writing my name and his last name together to see how it looked. I became close like that with Chuck, too. We were together only a couple of days and I just knew we were going to be an item. I keep telling myself, no more marriage, but Chuck is in my head constantly."
Wanda took me aside to privately tell me, "I have a contractor coming by this morning with a proposal to enlarge the garage. Last night when I found out you would be here this morning, I gave him a call. He's taken measurements and says that he has some suggestions. I'm sure you're allowed to take a few hours off this morning for a personal matter."
"Wanda, can I afford to build on to the house? The house payment isn't that big, not much more than what an apartment would be, but I'm not sure of what my total expenses are."
"Don't worry, Chuck, the rent the four of us are kicking in, easily takes care of the house expenses. With Angie here now, it will be that much more. I think all the girls will tell you that we are better off financially than we've ever been. I know I'm putting a lot into savings every check. If you want, we can have a house meeting one of these evenings to make sure everyone feels good about how we have it set up."
"That would probably be a good idea, if for nothing else, than to make me feel good about it. So is Angie moved out here now?"
"She's moved completely now, but spent last night with her mom and dad. She says she will spend a night with them every couple of weeks so they know she's still their daughter."
The only one who didn't drive this morning was Marie. Jan was driving more now since she was Assistant Station Chief and had more responsibilities and Bobby had places to go every day. Wanda drove today as I was going in later.
The contractor showed up right after the girls all left. With the garage doors open, he showed me two sets of plans. The first set showed an addition extending the three car garage to hold a total of five cars. The second set showed an addition to the garage side of the house that could contain five additional cars. The larger addition would extend the original garage deeper, giving me a larger area for the motorcycle and a large work bench and work area. That would be nice if I ever did get more time to do things for myself.
I was surprised to find that the prices were not that much different. Just about the time I was ready to give the contractor a deposit, he showed me a third set of plans that utilized the area over the garage for a second floor. The contractor suggested a floor plan for an apartment that he said I could rent out or could convert into an office or a variety of other uses. He really did surprise me with the cost, as it was more than the five car garage addition, but it would add one or two private suites to the house at very little cost. I told him that I needed to think over the total expansion a little and would call him this evening or tomorrow.
When I arrived at the office, Wanda came in my office and sat down. "What did you think of the proposals the contractor had?"
"They are nice, Wanda, but now I'm confused about the second floor addition the man proposed."
Wanda said, "That was my idea. You have room right now for four private suites for us girls, but no place for a couple more suites. You know if Marie and her young man get serious, they may want more than just her suite. I'm sure there are more people, preferably women, who would love to share our home and live in one of the suites we have."
"You converted the two bunk rooms into two offices. One you use and the other we share. There is the big room that used to be for clothes storage and is now a separate entertainment room. You really have a nice home with lots of separate areas for privacy. I was used to living by myself for years, but I just love living with you at our home. Listen to what I said Chuck, our home. I feel as if it is our home, Bobby, Jan, Marie, Angie, yours, and mine."
"I know you wouldn't want to think of it, but Bobby could decide she didn't want to live with us. She might decide to be a loner again or she could find someone else. She hasn't made up her mind since you let her out of her cage; she's still finding her way. I know you're strong enough to withstand that sort of emotional loss, but you would still have your home with the rest of us still living there."
I felt a shock when Wanda said that to me, even a little sick thinking about the possible loss of Bobby. Wanda was right; Bobby had not made up her mind yet and was still confused about her future. I know she loves me but,,,, that was the problem, the but.
"Sorry, Chuck," Wanda apologized. I didn't mean to shoot down your dreams or hopes. I just wanted you to realize Bobby wasn't as committed to your relationship as you are. She really loves you, but she may not be the marrying type right now or for a while."
"Thanks, Wanda, I guess I needed to be given a little dose of reality."
"You know, Chuck, I'm probably not a permanent solution to your desire to settle down with one woman either. It's not that I want someone else; I just may not ever want to commit to a permanent relationship again. I do love you, and I love Bobby as well, but I'm probably not the one to become your wife. I'm the one to be your personal assistant, and we can grow old together, but I don't think we'll ever be man and wife."
"Thanks for being so honest with me, Wanda. You are very special to me and I depend on you and your opinion a great deal. Help me make sure Angie, Marie, and even Jan, never feel uncomfortable at home."
"They won't, Chuck, you give all of us something we can't have anywhere else. You give us respect. You show us you care and you've loved all of us, except Angie. You can see Marie is happy and comfortable as she's found a young man and was happy to have him stay with her. That, Sir, is comfortable. You've done well to give all of us permission to be ourselves."
I looked at my watch, "This is pretty heavy. I think it's time for lunch, and then I should catch up on some work. How about I get Subways today?"
I took orders from the girls in the office then stopped in at the station. Bobby was gone, but Sarah, Marie, and Sarg, the duty man today, ordered.
My sub was enjoyable as I watched some CNN headline news while I ate. The three girls ate at my table watching the news and chatting as well. I had just finished eating when a phone call came in. I answered the call since the girls were at the table.
"U.S. Marshal's office, Deputy Johnson speaking, may I help you?"
"You really do answer the phone like that, don't you? What if I could only speak Spanish, what would you do?"
"I would answer you in my limited Spanish or get Angie or Conish to talk. Who is this anyway?"
"The Chief over at the Homeland Security station. What's the gig sheet for firing range activity for?"
"That's the summary the range officer makes up for me of each agency that's supposed to qualify on a regular basis. Since everyone in my area is law enforcement and could be called upon to defend themselves, their fellow agents, or the public, they are required to qualify on a regular basis. The people noted have not qualified for the amount of time noted. The men who have not qualified will not receive their supplemental income for armed duty. Those who do come and shoot regularly, have no problem."
"Are office personnel and supervisory staff required to qualify too?"
"If you carry a gun and receive the supplemental income you are required to qualify. If you carry a gun, there must be a reason that you are considered a part of our law enforcement and national defense force. Does that affect you?"
"It does. I usually come by and fire a couple of magazines about every six months. You have me down for monthly. That's pretty often?"
"I'd hate to depend on you in a skirmish if you were in your fifth month since shooting. All you have to do is stop by, grab some magazines, ear muffs, and shoot. Cap has a new brass recovery system so you don't even have to police your own brass. He preloads the magazines for you to make it even easier. And if you shoot above a certain score, a very low score, you get a coupon for a free Subway and soft drink."
"Okay, okay, I'll come over. It's going to be hell to get some of the guys over though."
"Make them read the memo. It should be in your S.O.P. now. When they find out they'll lose money, they'll be over."
"You're right, they will. I'll make sure it's brought up at every briefing. Some of the guys who go out on busts use the range all the time, but the rest of us don't."
"What if you are needed to be on site at one of these confrontations? Would you be able to help or would you be a hindrance?"
"I got you. I'll be over in about five minutes. Come down and shoot with me. I'll teach you how good us old guys are."
I smiled and asked Wanda if she wanted to use the range in a few minutes.
The three girls headed to the restroom to take care of after lunch needs and came back. I did the same and picked Wanda up to go down to the range with me.
I introduced the Homeland Security Station Chief to Wanda and we picked up our three magazines and muffs. Before entering I offered, "How about the three of us shoot for something, like who buys the beer at The Office after work?"
Wanda said, "I'll do that, but that just means you drink free tonight. The contest will be between the Chief here and me."
The man puffed up, "We'll see. I've been shooting for years and years. I'll bet I put over half in the paint."
Wanda said, "Let's do a 12 round magazine in the body, 12 rounds in the head, then alternate 12 rounds in the body and head. That will make a perfect score eighteen in each. If we all get eighteen in each area, then it will be by who finishes first."
Cap said he would ring the bell for us to start and time us.
The bell rang, so I fired my thirty-six rounds as fast as possible, feeling that I had hit on all of them. I was finished for only about a minute when Wanda finished. It was almost another full minute before the chief finished.
"Holy shit, you guys shot fast. I'll bet you didn't have half the hits I did."
Cap pushed the buttons and our targets rolled forward. He counted Wanda's and said sixteen of eighteen on top and all eighteen on the bottom. You're doing great, Wanda. He counted the Chief's and said, "Twelve of eighteen on top and fourteen of eighteen on the bottom. You need to come see me more often."
Cap was going back to his desk when the Chief asked, "Aren't you going to count Chuck's?"
"No need, you count 'em."
The Chief counted the head shots and the body shots and said, "The groups are so tight it's hard to tell but it looks like eighteen in each. How did you fire that fast? Do you practice every day?"
Cap answered for me. "The man's been traveling way too much lately. He barely gets down here for a weekly any more. Wanda's been coming down three days a week so she can learn. She's getting pretty damn good too. You, Sir, need a copy of our video and some extra time on the range. Come down anytime. Stop in for lunch. Do thirty-six into the target, not even all in the paint, and you get a six inch Subway. Do thirty-six in the paint and you get a foot long."
The Chief said, "Make sure you mark me down for being here. I need that extra in my pay."
"Already have it in the computer. As soon as you fired the first round, I put you in. The boss just wants everyone ready in case they are needed."
I suggested, "Make sure you get your men over here. I need them all to be ready. There's too much at stake for them to be unprepared."
Upstairs, I worked for a steady hour answering e-mails and signing off on reports. When two o'clock came, I had a phone call from the air park. John asked, "Are you coming out today for some more classroom instruction? You need a little more, then you should be ready to begin your hood time."
"Sure, I'll be out by two-thirty. I'll stay as long as you can teach."
"Don't say that or you'll still be out here tomorrow morning. We'll work till six or so. That should get you ready for some hood time. By law, I can't teach longer than eight hours at a time. Steve has you in his sights to help out. You have a lot of flying to get in before that can happen. That means we have to get your instrument rating and then work on flight hours to get your commercial license. Like I keep saying, you need a lot of hours in the air."
"What about the knowledge test that I'm supposed to take? When can I take that?"
"When I give it to you. I am an FAA examiner and can give you the test. If you want someone else to give you the test, I'll call my friend from Brooksville who gave you your flight exam. He still owes me anyway."
"Okay, John, let me get out of here and out there to work with you."
I drove out to S&S air charter service to spend an intense four hours in John's office going over more and more of the information necessary to know how to fly with instruments. When I was getting ready to leave he said, "I have to crew on one of the G-5s tomorrow so come out and either Lisa or Steve will take you up with a hood. They both know my procedures. Lisa is a new instructor, but has a good record with students."
I set up training for two in the afternoon as I was hoping to get out of the office at noon and perhaps fly my new airplane for the first time. I figured a flight of an hour or so would be enough to give me a feel for it. I was pretty excited about flying my own plane.
At home, after working out, and eating a fairly light grilled fish supper, we all gathered at the table so I could get some opinions on the addition. The contractor had left the three drawings, so I explained them as he did to me. When I was done describing the apartment over the two garages, Jan observed, "The apartment or the area up there could be just like suites in the house down here, only bigger. Could you get four of them up there with a common living room area?"
Probably, but the contractor was leaning toward an apartment that would be self-contained. Rent on something like that could be fairly high considering the size.
Jan said, "I think if it's going to be an apartment, you should make it a luxury one bedroom with a large bedroom, large walk-in closet and an office or den area. You could make the kitchen and living room area one large room so the place feels even larger. If you make the back wall entirely windows, the view out in the back would be nice. The glass could be one way so no one could really see in."
Bobby said, "Since we need the garage and you like the idea of building an apartment up there, build the structure, but don't finish the upstairs. When you decide how you want it, finish it. Nothing will change, except the plumbing will cost a little more to get done."
"If I build it now, I think I'd rather just finish it all at once. The price offered for the completed structure is really fair. This company is a division of S&S Enterprises, believe it or not. Does it seem we are becoming entangled with them more and more?"
Bobby said, "I really like them, and wouldn't mind getting a little more entangled with them, personally."
"You let that thing between your legs guide your thinking too much, Bobby," Wanda cautioned. "I thought we took care of your needs very nicely?"
"You do, you do, Wanda, but I really get hot over Sue, and I know Mercy is nuts about Chuck, and did you see the way Kathy hugged around on him when we were out there last time? I thought those two were both going to haul him off."
"No they didn't, Bobby, they were both just being nice. That whole family and entire neighborhood is as friendly a group as I've ever met."
Jan said, "I saw those two redheads eyeing you. They both have big husbands, but they were both checking you out, Chuck."
"Look, I'm trying to figure out what to do about the garage. At this moment in time, I can afford to build on. I can integrate the cost into the mortgage and only increase the payments a minor amount. The cost even includes additional air conditioning. Should it be a luxury one bedroom, two bath, or a standard two bedroom, two bath?"
They were all quiet trying to make a decision. I had an idea, "How about building the two bedrooms like the suites down here. Each suite has a bedroom, a small sitting room area, and a bathroom. There will be a kitchen and living room like I described that would be one large area. Both bathrooms could have a door to them from the living area and from inside the suite, that way they could be easily used from either area."
Bobby and Wanda looked at the sketch on the lined legal pad I was using, then Jan said, "That would be perfect. If someone wanted to rent the whole thing, or if two people wanted to have the privacy of the apartment, they would pay for the whole thing. But if just the suites were rented, the two occupants could come down here to be a part of our gatherings here. I like it."
All of the girls were nodding around the table. Angie said, "This is all pretty new to me. I had the public housing studio that was smaller than the suite I have now. I can't imagine having a separate big kitchen and living area just for me. I kind of like having us all together though."
I called the contractor and told him that I wanted the five-car addition along with the upstairs apartment, but I wanted to have two separate suites and a central kitchen and living room that were a single large area. Both bedroom suites and the living room would have the one wall that was all glass. I described how each of the bathrooms should be able to be accessed from both the common area and the bedroom. The last thing I felt should be there was a utility room for a washer and dryer, as well as a separate water heater.
"I'll put the changes into the computer tonight and bring it over in the morning. I hope I'm not rushing you, but I have men waiting to build your addition. Actually they're waiting to build any addition. As soon as we have an agreement, I'll pull the permits so we can get started."
We all had some spiced rum and diet Coke with lime. Wanda commented that the Cuba Libre was the favorite drink of Sue and the girls out at the park.
Everyone migrated toward their suites as it became time to say goodnight. That night Wanda and Bobby loved me intensely, long enough that they were both full of my liquid donations. We went to sleep with me having a head on each of my shoulders, all dreaming satisfying dreams.
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious