Steve
As I opened my eyes, I realized it was Wednesday and we would be sailing in a week. That almost scared me, thinking there were suddenly too many loose ends for me to be taking off like that. As I thought about it a little more, I realized that it will always be that way, and that's why we have good people working for us.
I sat up and made a decision, the guys needed to get on their horses, or airplane in this case, and get over to Hawaii as they needed to be back at home while I'm gone. A couple of them could be gone, but not all of them.
Sue kissed me and said, "What are you worried about, Hun? Did you have a bad time up in Alaska?"
I kissed Sue back and said, "It was a bad time, but most of all, I just made up my mind about something else. I need to get up and get ready to have some people act now instead of putting something off."
Sue pushed me toward the side of the bed, "Well then, let's get going."
Mercy raised her head and smiled at me. She said, "Oh Master, you're home. You men were busy up in Alaska, but I knew you were safe with Chuck and Lisa. She's already told me all about it." Mercy looked at me hard and added, "Good decision. Get those guys on the road to Hawaii and back so they can take care of business here while you're gone."
That lady will never cease to amaze me. She listens to me more than I listen to myself. I thought to myself, "I sure do love that critter." My mind was immediately flooded by Mercy telling me, "I love you too, Steve."
Even though it wasn't six yet, all six of us were up and on the patio, having coffee before the light came on. As soon as I turned the light on, we heard Glenda's screen door slam, then Tiny's and Ruth's door bang. As soon as Tiny walked in the back door of the patio, he came to me and said, "I think we should head to Hawaii today and get our business taken care of before you sail. I'll bet Abe's thought about it and feels the same."
Mercy smiled at me as I said to Tiny, "That's good news, Tiny. You guys can use Chuck's Citation or the 737, whichever you would prefer."
Tiny said, "That 737 sure is a nice ride. It's probably almost as fast as Chuck's Citation and it would help if we are all rested by the time we get there."
"The 737 it is, then. I'll get you two crews so you'll have fresh people the whole route. I'm sure they will enjoy the trip as much as you guys."
Ruth said, "I figured on something like this and have already packed. We can be ready in less than an hour, but I doubt everyone else can."
While all the rest of the folks began coming for morning coffee and breakfast, Abe came in and was talking to Tiny. They were smiling when they came to me and Abe said, "It's working out. I was going to tell Tiny we needed to go now and be back before you guys sail. He says he's already talked to you. There's Jimmy, let me talk to him."
Jimmy and Abe came over and he said, "I was just about to back out of going, even though I really would enjoy seeing my folks. Next week, Wes has some test flights he'll need done Thursday and Friday. This will be great. I'll go tell Angie, so she can tell Wanda."
Tiny said, "I'll round everyone up and they can meet us out at the airpark as soon as they can get there. I'll call Crystal and Bear to tell them we're on our way."
The folks were already saying goodbye to the others, and telling whoever their working partners were that they were going. At least, that is happening for the best. Now, I have to make up my mind on the move to open up in Alaska. The building was a great deal, but if we have to put up with continued bullshit from the locals, it may not be such a good deal. What I need up there is a local who can cut through all that bull and get something done. I'll call Dewey and ask about his brother. That guy has to know someone who can ramrod our deal for us.
Chuck and all of his family came into the patio for breakfast. Everyone was smiling and looked as if they were ready for work. That's when I noticed the bandage was gone from Chuck's head and only a scar remained, along with a spot where the hair was cut off to do the stitching. I noticed that Chuck's whitewalls had just about disappeared. Perhaps he was going to grow longer hair to cover the scar. That will be interesting, as Chuck has such a military bearing. I wonder if this will relax his manner a little. My head was filled by Missy telling me, "Now don't go pushing Chuck into being someone he isn't."
I looked around, trying to find Missy, before realizing that she and her daughter just stayed tuned to me twenty-four seven so they can mess with me when they can. Mercy came over to me and kissed me on the cheek. "I don't listen in to you unless you're concerned about something. You have some kind of strange signal that goes out when you're troubled or something is happening. That's why it seems mom and I are always in your head.
Chuck came to get coffee and sat in a chair at a little round table near where I was. Chuck said, "So Lisa tells me Tiny, Abe, and the others are heading to Hawaii early. She says that DeDe sent out a request to all the pilots to ask for volunteers. She says you need two sets of crew for the 737 too. I'm glad that leaves me out. I'm sure those new retired Air Force guys and the regular crew should be enough, don't you think?"
I agreed, "They should be. I wonder if DeDe did that just to make sure no one felt they were being bypassed for the trip."
Chuck smiled, "She is pretty smart that way. She does great coordinating Betty's charters with her own. She has learned to pick up some extra bucks by adding the helicopter taxi service when a charter comes in. The limo guy probably doesn't like it, but I'm sure he gets his share."
"So you've been paying attention to what goes on out there. How are you doing that with all of the travel you've been doing?" When I asked this, I had just reached for a breakfast sandwich.
"You taught me to rely on the people," Chuck said, pointing at me. "I spend a few minutes with everyone out there and let them tell me everything that's going on. DeDe gives me a general report that's easier to read than Tiny's accounting breakdown, and son-of-a-gun, I know what's going on."
With a big smile, I told Chuck, "You're learning, my friend. That's the way to make your life easier."
Chuck's ladies who work at the employment office came to him and gave him kisses and hugs, saying they would see him this evening. They all warned him to stay out of trouble and to continue to rest. They told Lisa the same thing, but I could see Lisa had other thoughts.
When the patio had pretty much cleared, Chuck got up and asked Lisa, "Want to go down to the warehouse and help me get a tux? I don't think I need anything, but if you need some clothes, it's a great place to get some."
Lisa said, "Yes, I want to go with you. I want some suits and dressier clothes, because when I get back, I may want to see if Sarah will help me become a deputy. If you and Nightfox are deputies, I want to be one too. I know how to study and will do all those tests that Nightfox has been doing, I can back you up better if I'm a deputy too."
Wanda was still sitting with us, when she said, "That's a good idea, Lisa. I should have already thought of that. When you get done down at the warehouse, come to the office and I'll have already talked to Sarah about you. Your Secret Service clearance will be good for us too, so you won't have to wait for an investigation. You'll be just like Nightfox."
Chuck looked at Lisa and said, "You know I was even thinking I might be through with this shit, and you want to join me instead of me getting out?"
Lisa said, "I've thought about it a lot. I'm not pregnant, and I can still contribute in both of these jobs. The way we've worked together has been special, so I think we should continue, at least for a while. This vacation coming up will give us time to recharge, get our act together again, and be ready to handle just about anything that needs handling. What do you think, Chuck, want to have me as your deputy in training?"
Chuck looked at me and said, "I'll bet that's how you and Sue got together, isn't it?"
I nodded and said, "Something like that. Maybe you can hear all the stories while we're sailing. They are some good ones."
Looking at Lisa, I said, "I hope we don't lose our most frequently used pilot out at the charter service. You will be hard to replace."
Lisa thought a second, then said to me, "Steve, flying is, or was, my first love. This crazy guy here is now my first love, but flying is still important to me. I won't be going with Chuck everywhere he goes, just to some of the intricate happenings he may be chosen for. Don't worry; I'll be flying a lot of your charters for a long time."
Chuck and Lisa got up to leave, along with their three house girls. The two little Chinese girls and Maria were like hip attachments to that whole family over there.
I stretched and decided to head to the shop to see what was happening. Debbie wasn't there when I stopped in to see her, but I could hear her and Gerry giving someone a lot of their mind. I walked that way and saw Jeff sitting in Gerry's cubicle chair, with his legs stretched out and his arms folded.
Debbie was saying, "You can't just decide to begin making stuff that isn't ordered or spec'd out. How can you make anything without the engineering plans? At least, wait until we give you some size specifications."
Gerry was red in the face, waving some papers at Jeff, "These aren't specs for the thing you're building; these are specs for the air-cooled engine Abe created for the LSAs. You can't make a composite re-creation of a cast engine. You just can't do that."
Jeff saw me approaching and sat up straight, then stood. Defensively, he said, "We talked about building an engine out of composite, then replacing failed parts with metal or other types of lightweight parts. Now you have three composite engines to begin testing. All I did was use those specs to have something to go by. My people created the engine, all you have to do is to give it to the motor shop, let them make it into a running engine, then we'll begin testing. We'll replace or remake everything that doesn't work with a different type of material. Sure, it's trial and error, but that's how a lot of great ideas come to fruition."
Gerry had her hands on her hips, still unaware that I was listening. "How much did it cost to make those engine blocks? I'll bet it was thousands. How about the materials? That in itself is a lot of cost."
Debbie said, "No, it was cheap. He ground up the composites he created before and used a lot of that material for some of the components. Since he has that new grinder, he's reusing all of his mistakes."
Gerry said, "That's even worse, now you won't have a controlled content on the composite. You won't know what's really in it."
"Come on, Gerry, you know better than that. I don't have to add anything to ground up material except bonding material, and that won't make any difference. We'll know exactly what the content is." Jeff nodded his head for Gerry to turn and look at me.
When Gerry turned, she said, "Whoops! I'm sorry Mr. Sharp; I didn't mean to be yelling. I'm just too much of a perfectionist sometimes, and I don't think we are being as exact as we can be on this project."
I said, "You're both right. Jeff is correct that a lot of great ideas and inventions have come from junk. You're right, because engineering an engine has to be an exact science. Let's get the motor shop working on one of these engines so we can begin to see what the results are. Then you two can go back to your engineering plans and make any necessary modifications."
Gerry and Jeff looked at each other and grinned. Gerry stuck her hand out and Jeff shook it. Jeff asked, "Deal?" Gerry emphatically said, "Deal."
Debbie moved me back toward her office and said, "Those two are both so bullheaded about their work, you would think they were competing instead of working together. Oh well, but, Boss, there is something else we need to talk about."
Debbie rifled through some papers on her desk and found what she was looking for, "This is nuts, but I have six orders here, from six different locations, for our signature truck. All have buckets and all have already been through finance. Do you think the utility body shop can get these done? They are pretty shorthanded over there since we've been sending their people to other jobs."
I made the suggestion, "Split off a couple of welders and a couple of sheet metal guys to help. If you need more, then try to borrow one of the mechanics on the rebuild line. That should give you the manpower to complete the order. Hell, for damn near a million dollar order, we can afford some overtime on the project too."
Debbie was nodding and taking notes, "I'll do that and get it started right away. I'll let the guys down the street know about the order and see how they will schedule the project. Thanks, Steve, you always know what to do."
I smiled, as what I suggested wasn't that intelligent, but the only way to handle the problem other than hiring people, and I didn't want to do that if I didn't have a permanent job for them.
Out in the shop, life was the usual in the frame area. There weren't a bunch of people working, but there were three different types of frames being worked on at the same time. At least, there is diversity for the guys. The sheet metal guys were busy, and the motor shop was full. None of the teams were working for any racing crews this week, so all of them were busy building or rebuilding an engine. Shawna was fitting the front disk brake calipers on one of her custom creations, while her mute assistant was sitting cross-legged, fitting the pieces together for the stator. They looked up and smiled, but kept right on working.
I walked over to the rebuilding area, noting that every work area was still full. I suppose we were doing better than I thought to have that group still intact. Outside the shop was a line of equipment waiting to be rebuilt, so they were not going to run out of work real fast.
Over at the big lift rebuild shop, all of the work stations were also full and there were several big lifts waiting in the yard. There was even a flat bed trailer with two lifts at the drive down dock.
Jeff's group was busy forming contract pieces of fiberglass. Phil's men are doing a great job getting orders from other manufacturers. Jeff's people were not only busy; he was constantly training more people. He was going to need more space for some of his creations, maybe a special shop where he and Gerry could work together. That should produce some unusual products, if not enough sparks to light some fires.
Back up in my office, I returned calls and answered messages before Henry knocked on my door. I waved him in, saying, "You never have to knock, big brother. Come on in, what's on your mind?"
Henry said, "Since Tiny took off for Hawaii, he asked me to check on his men. I was doing that and noticed you in your office. I have an idea that I wanted to run by you."
"What is it? I'm always open for ideas."
Henry said, "Come down to the lunch room and get a cup of coffee. We can talk in there."
We walk across the open balcony to the original little lunch room and poured some coffee. When we were seated at the big table in the room, Henry said, "You have been active in helping injured vets get back on their feet. You've even been building special housing for them on the land behind the villages. You're trying to find various jobs for the guys and creating training programs for them. How about we begin testing the guys as they get settled, and see if we can find some that may be able to learn to become accountants? The job is all head and no brawn. Even if they have lost their hands, the computer systems available today would enable them to do the job. We could use the guys and women who are paraplegics to do audits and do a lot of the grunt work that's done in accounting. It might be expensive as a startup, but the results would be a group of men and women loyal to who helped them get back into the mainstream of life."
"Wow, Henry, you've thought a lot about this. I can see how using these folks for that kind of work would be good for both of us. What will we do with all of these accountants though? Start our own accounting firm?"
Henry smiled, "That is going to be easier than you think. I've talked to our accounting firm about the idea and they are interested, for many reasons. The partners have agreed to join with S&S as a marketing partner with their firm. We would work with them to expand their company to even more locations than they are now. We could just about expand to every location we have company dealerships and they don't have offices now. Each office would have some of the special accountants to do some of the grunt work in the beginning, but you and I know these men will grow to become really good accountants and be a part of the company. I think we could do this without a huge investment into the accounting firm, but it will be expensive to get men through school and to pass their CPA exams in the beginning. What do you think?"
I was nodding my head in agreement and asked, "What does Tiny think of this?"
"Tiny is the one who negotiated what our part of the business would be with the accounting firm. He has put together a partnership agreement that lets both companies share costs, and most of all, share profits. The accounting firm is profitable now and should remain that way for a long time. I think the idea is doable and the local VA advisors are enthusiastic about it. They will help with the financial part of schooling, and you already are getting some help for the housing. This is the next step."
"When can you start getting men into the program, Henry?"
"I can be ready to start some in the summer semester, and have a bigger group begin this fall. USF has some federal grant money that will help, University of Tampa has some grant money, and a couple of the independent universities are interested in the program. If we do this right, we can train CPAs for most of the accounting firms in the area. The men don't all have to be handicapped, just vets who may have been wounded and are recovering. I think we can begin testing immediately, using VA facilities, if we are going to do it."
"Well, Henry, I'm all for it. Since I'm sure Sue will go for it, call whoever you have to call and get started. Have some of the other accounting men take some of your responsibilities and make this happen."
"Thanks, Steve; I knew you would go for the idea. It's a great way to do some more for the vets. Now I need to work on Ben to get him to sponsor some vets through law school. That will be fun, so I'll call for some help as I get the details worked out."
I was smiling as Henry went off to work on the project. That was pretty smart. The project would have a direct cost to us, but if done right, the expansion of the accounting firm should realize us a return in the future for our philanthropy. Henry thought this one through.
Sue was in my office when I got back. She asked, "How about taking me to our favorite Greek restaurant for lunch. I haven't been there for a while, and miss the owner checking out my cleavage."
I laughed as I called Debbie to let her know I was leaving. Sue and I had a good lunch with the restaurant owner hovering over Sue the entire meal. The man was such a letch, but I couldn't blame him. Sue does show a lot of valley between those big globes.
Back at the shop, Sue said, "I have appointments all afternoon, so I can't work out. You've skipped a few days, so you need to go." She kissed me and headed into her office.
At home, I changed clothes and went to the gym that was now next door, in the little shopping center, to work out with Kathy, Mercy, Juanita, and a now becoming slim, Peaches. When we finished, we talked about heading up to the pool for some sun, but some dark clouds that began spilling moisture on us convinced us that we wouldn't get any sun today.
Since this was a good time to check out the airpark, I went over to see what all Wes was up to. I always had the feeling he would be doing something even more far out than the last time. I actually expected him to be building an F-86 replica any day. I had best not mention it or he would be.
Actually, each of the shops were building LSAs. One of the groups was preparing kits. They had a biplane kit just about complete and a high wing kit started. The other kit they were working on was another camper. Each part was checked for quality and fitted to the structure to make sure everything was made perfect. They actually put the aircraft together then took it back apart with each nut and bolt labeled and numbered. The new owner would do the rest of the building and then we would inspect the aircraft for them before a test flight. The final inspection by one of our mechanics was part of the purchase price. It was also a way to keep our insurance liability down.
Wes was working on his twin, with it appearing to be almost complete. He waved at me and said, "I've had to work on weight balancing on this one more than the others. I hope this works out, but I may have the center of the wings too far to the front. I need to shift everything about an inch and I haven't figured out how to do it yet. I'm thinking we need to go back to the original engines and not use these heavier units even if they would be more powerful. If Gerry and Jeff had those new engines working, that would take care of the problem but probably be too light. I'm going to work on this a little more, then I may just go back to the original engines and be done with it. We already have a buyer for the aircraft and it really isn't for sale commercially yet. We'll work on it."
As I was looking at the other activity where Wes was, he walked over to me and said, "Do you have a few minutes? How about us going to the charter office for some coffee? I want to talk to you about something."
Oh boy, another idea for Mr. Make Anything.
After we poured some fresh coffee in the pilots' ready room, Wes said, "Since we've put out the four types of LSAs, the big air coupe, and the twin has gotten a lot of exposure, I've been approached by several people to make various replicas."
Here it comes, the F-86 is coming; I just know it.
Wes said, "Several want a P-51, a couple of men who have seen the twin want a B-25. There are more, a lot more, but they all want scaled down replicas. They want the look, not necessarily a full scale flying machine. One guy says he wants a three quarter replica of the P-51 to put in his restaurant lobby. Not even a working aircraft. These guys know it wouldn't be cheap, and from what I know of them, they can afford it. What I'm saying is that, if the LSA business falls off or we don't pursue the regular size aircraft, how about building some of these replicas on a cost plus basis? We can use either commercially available engines or engines we design. I can use some of the original designs and scale them down. I would still have to balance the aircraft and make sure of design integrity, but we could do this and make money at it."
I asked, "What would be the startup costs on a project like that?"
Wes said, "I really haven't thought it through completely, but we would need the space required for a project like that, and two to four men depending on the type of reproduction we were doing. A lot of parts could be purchased off the market and some might even be remanufactured used parts such as gear and some hydraulics. The biggest cost would be manpower, then the cost of the composite aircraft. Jeff and Gerry would have a blast designing a B-25, and I would get a kick out of flying one. I don't know how detailed we would have to make the interior, but that would depend on the buyers pocketbook. We could make it exact, but that would be expensive. But then we both know, some people with money will spend it on anything."
I thought to myself, thank goodness, no F-86.
Wes said, "The next thing you know, we'll be building jet replicas."
I groaned.
"Wes, when Tiny has some time, work with him to see if you can come up with some guidelines for building custom aircraft. Then see if you can come to an agreement with one of these potential replica buyers. We'll have to figure out what our insurance costs will be, along with all the other costs. Tiny can do that."
Wes said, "I'll do that, but I'm going to make sure we are putting out the LSAs ordered along with the kit planes. We just got another order for a biplane and another high wing. Our year is looking good."
Wes went back to his hangar and I walked over to the maintenance hangar. Tank saw me coming and walked out to meet me. He said, "Ah, Steve, just the man I need. Right now, we are about the only Citation repair center in operation around here. Jimmy and I have a guy off to an Embraer school, one off to a Bombardier school, another for the 737, and of course, another man in Texas at the Bell school. We hired one mechanic from an airline, but he's got a ways to go to come up to our standards. We all have to double and triple check his work. He's a little sloppy. He'll come around or I'll let him go and find someone else. With Jimmy gone for a couple of days, it's like two men are gone, but we'll take care of things until he gets back. What I'm asking is, can we hire at least one more mechanic, a good one. I know a guy that's retiring from the Air Force and is a very good tech. He's got both jet and conventional aircraft experience and has a great work ethic. He's contracted out here with us when we've been busy, and I want to get him before someone else snatches him up."
"Sure, call him up and tell him he's got a job. How are you doing with rotary wing techs?"
Tank smiled, "With the last two we hired, I think we're perfect right now. We're covering our own plus all the county's equipment. We've just signed another TV station, so we're going to have all of the TV stations and the county. Phil's guys are working on Polk County, and I'm told they may have a deal for the local FDLE choppers. We're making money and that's the name of the game."
I said, "Make sure you tell Chuck this. He sometimes forgets to ask."
Tank said, "I know, the man needs to fly more too. He spent all that time learning rotary wing and is hardly ever around to run charters. He needs the time, so bug him for me."
"I'll do that, Tank. Go call your man so he feels good about retiring."
Tank waved and walked toward the hangar office. It looked like he had men working in both the main maintenance and helicopter hangars. The place was busy.
When I stopped at the charter desk, DeDe said, "Don't stand in one spot very long or you'll have a charter. I do have a couple of parts runs. One is with a tail rotor blade needed over in Melbourne, and the other for a blower that's needed up in Jacksonville. Want to get a couple of hours?"
"Sure, what am I flying? The rotor blade probably needs at least the 206."
"How about a King Air today? I was going to do the run and needed to get it done quickly. The equipment is already on board. Here, have each of the people sign for the equipment. The frequencies for each of the shops are on the paperwork. Call them before you land, and they'll meet you so you don't even have to shut down. You'll have plenty of fuel to make the trip, and you'll be back in an hour and a half to two hours, maybe faster."
I was happy to do something besides ride a desk. Grabbing the paperwork and the logbooks I went to the aircraft and began the preflight. I did check the fuel by sticking my finger into the tank to see if it got wet, because on this aircraft you have to spool up before the gauges work and then if you're low on fuel, you have to completely shutdown to fuel up.
In a few minutes, I was on my way across the state to Melbourne. There wasn't much traffic and I didn't get over ten thousand feet. I was able to get a straight in approach there and had the shop needing the rotor blade meet me on the tarmac. They signed and I was immediately in line for take off.
On the way to Jacksonville, I saw a lot of small aircraft traffic at lower levels. I guess this must be lesson day for a lot of people. Jacksonville is not that busy, but for some reason it's always stacked up getting in or out. It took twenty minutes in the pattern before I could begin a long final. I could just about have begun a final taking off from Melbourne. That's an exaggeration, but it seemed that way.
My time unloading was very short. The guy signed for the equipment and was gone so fast, there was just a cloud of dust. Now to get out of here. I called for taxiing instructions and was told to hold my position. Fifteen minutes later, I called again and was told to hold again.
I could see people moving toward the runway from various hangar areas so what was my problem. Finally a harried voice told me to use taxiway 25 Alpha and go to the rear of the takeoff line.
Damn, there were six aircraft, all of decent size, waiting to take off. Between each takeoff there were at least two light aircraft landing. It took me forty minutes in the run-up area to get on the runway to takeoff.
I was calling for clearance to land almost as soon as I was in the air. I was directed to the pattern and told to make one lap in the holding pattern and proceed to the long final approach. Oh yeah, lots of lessons today and they are all doing long approaches. I slowed to my slowest approach speed and kept a lookout for any aircraft in front of me. I could see six other aircraft in the pattern waiting to land, so I didn't feel too bad.
After refueling and parking the King Air, I turned my paperwork in and told DeDe, "I know why you didn't want to do that run."
She looked up at me and asked, "Was Jacksonville a pain in the butt? We're heavy on lessons today too. Those Jacksonville people must have a dozen companies giving lessons over there, and all use the main airport. It can be tiresome to wait for so long."
As I left the office, Gene and Sandy were coming from the small aircraft hangar. Both had people with them with new looking log books. Sandy smiled and said, "Isn't it great, both of us have lessons today, all day. Gene has a charter tomorrow and I have more lessons. I can't wait to begin rotary wing training."
Their enthusiasm had me smiling and I was glad they were enjoying themselves. I guess Wes didn't need him very much yet. I'm sure they will get together soon.
I had just entered the patio when Chuck and Lisa came riding up in a cart. Chuck waved at me as they got out and came into the huge screened area. The air conditioning felt good today, and I headed toward the beer tap to get a mug.
Lisa came up next to me and said, "I guess it's almost beer time. After having gone shopping, both of us could use some refreshment."
While we were sitting at the bar, Missy came out of the house and sat with us. I could see her thinking really hard, when Lisa said, "Just talk to me. You don't have to think stuff at me."
Missy said, "I was trying to get Chuck to talk to me. He keeps himself so closed to everyone that I can hardly ever reach him. When I do, he feels me and kicks me out immediately. I want you two to cultivate your abilities so you use them without thinking. The two of you working together without words would be awesome."
Lisa said, "We'll work on it but it's going to have to be us doing it. Both of us are still a little shy about using that ability so freely. I'm getting better about it and communicate with Mercy, all the time. Like right now, she's telling me to listen to you." Lisa grinned and continued, "The two of us have been able to enjoy each other. Chuck will do that, but he has things he doesn't want to, or can't, share."
Missy looked at me, "Why can't Chuck be like you, Steve. You're wide open and that's how I knew you were perfect for my Mercy way back when you first met. Sue was the one who really went after Mercy and whose mind Mercy fell in love with first, but she was your woman from the beginning."
Missy looked at Chuck and blushed, "I guess I'm divulging family secrets. I shouldn't be doing that."
Lisa commented, "He's used to women being predators. He lives with a whole house full. I don't think there is a woman he lives with that wanted a man before they wanted a woman. That's why he's so well taken care of. All of us, including those two cute little Chinese girls want him to love us. But we usually want him after having each other. Chuck is patient and waits his turn, but there is always one or two of us that want him at the same time. I don't think the man is neglected."
Chuck and I were both rolling our eyes and motioning as if to get away from the women talk. Mercy came out of the house and beckoned to her
mom and Lisa, leaving Chuck and me alone. Chuck said, "Whew! Glad that's over. Those women can embarrass you to death with their constant talking about personal stuff. And just for your own information, I do not sleep with those Chinese girls and Maria. I was sort of tricked into it once, but haven't since. I have more than enough to keep up with the ones I have."
I just nodded, thinking that I was lucky to only have half the trouble or half the women Chuck had. I used to think that Brandy was the leader, like Sue, but now it's becoming more evident that Lisa is the leader and that Brandy and the other four in that group were more interested in each other, and in Lisa and the other women, than in Chuck.
Five o'clock came and people began filling the patio. We had withstood the stampede of kids as they came from classes at the rec center to grab baseball equipment and head for the fields. This was a nice evening; I was able to sit with my good friend, Chuck, and visit for a change and watch all the others. I did miss Tiny, Ruth, Phil, Judy, Abe, and Alice, but there were a lot of others to take up the slack. The evening was nearly perfect as later, Bonita, Lisa, and Chuck played and sang a couple of tunes. Because of what they played and sang, it became a sing-a-long. They did an old Tennessee Ernie Ford song, "Sixteen Tons" that had everyone singing.
When it was time for bed, my ladies were all waiting for me and seemingly attacked me, wanting some intimate contact. Sue said, "Chuck's women got us so worked up tonight, talking about some nonstop girl loving on our trip, that we need some nonstop guy loving to get us over the hump. Come on, Stud, do us."
I did them. I did them all but I didn't make a deposit in each of them. Mickey was funny, as when I pounding away at her urging, she kept saying, "Put another one in there. I'll bet there's another egg you can get. Make another one."
We fell asleep exhausted, as the girls were very good at taking care of each other while I was attending to them one at a time. I didn't need to be rocked to sleep.
(Author's note: Please note that Mercy's mom's name is Missy short for "Mission" and is often mistakenly called Misty. She lets it pass as she is a very understanding person.)
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious
Helicopter and Legal Knowledge by Rotorhead
Last one through - Deenara2000