The wedding was on Thursday, and Inez and I weren't ready to be out in public till Saturday. Inez asked her mother to bring Jessica up to our suite and have lunch with us.
Once we were seated Inez turned to me and asked, "Okay Alex dear, we are married, so what is next? You told the girls at the club that we would be in Texas by Monday. Where in Texas and what are we going to do there?"
"How much have you told your mother, Dear?"
"She knows as much as I do, Alex. I've never had a reason to keep anything from her."
"Well ladies, I guess I should have talked a little more about this before. I bought a small town in east Texas last year and by now our residence should be ready. I haven't seen it since before I came here, but the contractor tells me that it looks fantastic."
"We're moving into a house you haven't even seen? And what do you mean you bought a town?"
"Let me start a little bit before that. I worked at the investment plan I told you about for four and a half years, and I had amassed about 15 million and I had to look for some different kinds of investments. Nothing I was doing was illegal, but I was trading so many stocks that the SEC was looking at me constantly, and my returns were diminishing. I was discussing this with my broker and he said that he might have something for me. What it turned out to be was his nephew. He had been financing the kid for a couple of years but now he wanted to move on, and needed more financing than his uncle could provide. The kid was incredible smart, and had come up with a new way to make generators that would be many times more effective than what is the current standard. He could sell out to one of the power companies or GE or something, but his uncle and he both thought that if he did that they would just bury his discovery and he would never get the fame he deserved. What he wanted to do was to start his own company and build the generators himself. He needed some help with it and I was made an offer."
I stopped for a moment and took a drink of my coffee. "Before I came here to hire a wife, I found a town in eastern Texas where the main employer was a company doing alternator rebuilds for a couple of auto parts chains. They were going out of business because China and India could beat their prices. The owners were looking to get out without losing everything. I bought them out and got things set up so that we could quickly go into production. After I went there I also bought a small machine shop and a transportation company. My last purchase was this." I pulled out a picture of the old brick structured furniture factory I had bought. The building showed its age and most of the windows were either boarded up or broken. The slate roof was missing whole sections and one of the chimneys had collapsed.
"This will be our residence, Inez. It looks horrible but the walls and foundation are sound. I had an architect design us a whole living environment inside of it. Much of the roof has been opened to skylights and the interior has walking paths among the profusion of plant life transported within. There is an indoor swimming pool and a hot tub as well as a miniature golf course. There is a large garage in the basement with our own chauffeur and mechanic. The area around the building has been cleared of all of the paving and landscaped with walking trails and waterfalls and koi ponds. At the entrance to the property there is a medical clinic. Care is provided free to all citizens of the town, but it is mainly there so that you and our children will have the best care possible in a rural situation. At the far end of the property I have had a school built. It is incorporated as a private school, but all of the kids of the town will go for free. As it is right now, the town is over half an hour away from the county school and the kids spend a lot of time on the bus. This is what I meant by buying a town. Right now we are the biggest employer and the prime benefactor for the whole town. Before I got there the town was dying and people were moving out without even being able to sell their houses."
I looked over at Inez and her mother and they were looking at me as if I had horns.
"What's wrong, Honey, did I do something bad?"
Mrs. Blumfeld spoke up, "When were you going to let us in on your grand plan, Son?"
"I, I don't know, I never really thought about it I guess. I wasn't really hiding anything; I just never got around to talking about it."
"You say that the building has been gutted and a whole living and play area built inside?"
"Yes, that is what I did. There is an apartment for you and Jessica. You only need to sleep with me when you are fertile, the rest of the time you can be in the apartment."
"What? What do you mean that I have an apartment? Don't you want me to sleep with you?"
"Of course I do; I just don't expect you to want to actually live with me. I set up the apartment so that you can have your own place and only have to interact with me when necessary. It can be as much or as little as you wish."
"Well you aren't getting rid of me that easy, Buddy, I will live in the master suite with you. You are my husband and I will be where you are. I won't need an apartment, but can momma use that apartment then? Can she live with us?"
This startled me; it had never occurred to me. I thought about it for a bit and realized that it might be fun for grandma to be able to interact with all of our kids. I had never had family, and now I was being given the chance to have three generations under one roof, oh hell yeah.
"Would you want to do that Mrs. Blumfeld? I would welcome you and I am sure that Jessica would like to have her grandma there as well. Please come and live with us, Mrs. Blumfeld."
"Only if you call me mother, Alex, I already think the world of you for rescuing my daughter from these hooligans, but if you keep calling me Mrs. Blumfeld, I'll scream."
"Okay mother, you win. I never knew my mother so I have never called anyone that before. It may take some getting used to."
I didn't get to say any more because just then both Inez and her mother were running around the table and hugging me. A minute later little Jessica came over and climbed into my lap to join the group hug.
Who knew that hugs could feel so good?
Sunday I a talk with the contractor in Johnson Creek, Texas. The community was not much; there had been the two factories, and a couple dozen houses to support them. The larger town of Lassater was only a couple of miles away and provided most of the services required. The only reason that the factories had been located there was the cheap power provided by the dam at Johnson Creek Reservoir and their proximity to it. By restoring the alternator plant I had kept some of the residents from leaving and brought in some more people to run the place. My genius would not be able to run the factory, nor would I, so specialists were required. An employment agency in Houston had found me a retired army sergeant, Grier Barringer, to be the plant manager. He was already in place and had brought along his family. Ingmar Cromberg, my genius, had modified the machines in the plant to produce his generator, and the test units were already working. He hoped to replace the generators at the dam and produce enough electricity from that one small dam to power all of the surrounding counties. Right now there was enough for the factory and not much more. The dam had originally been owned by the furniture factory, but had gone to the state upon the closing of the plant. My lawyers had persuaded the county to deed the dam to me when I purchased the old factory.
My new family and I arrived at Johnson Creek on Tuesday after the wedding. The departure from the club had been hectic because the ladies had more business than they had expected, and as my limo drove us to our new home from Shreveport, I was explaining the town's history and future to Inez, Jessica, and Norma. I told them that the major power companies had no idea what we were about just yet, but that when they found out it could be very exciting for a while. I didn't think that there would be much danger, because when we did go public, we would do it in grand style. I already had an advertisement agency preparing a massive media blitz, without revealing to them the actual products. I didn't want that known until the factory had gone into full production and the warehouse was full of samples. I knew that the government would be sticking their nose into the works soon, but I had legal teams ready for that as well. I was spending money at a very alarming rate, but I knew that the returns would far exceed anything else I could do and would provide for my family for generations to come.
The girls were full of questions about their new home. I told them of my original concept that I had after seeing the old factory. I said that it was 3 stories tall with a large basement and covered almost an acre. I said that when I had looked inside the building that the shadows and the pattern of sunlight through the holes in the roof had seemed like a fairy land. One section of the building had been open through all three floors and had cranes for use in loading in it. I had worked with an architect, and together we had opened the whole building, removing all non-structural walls and had put in the pool and a lot of greenery. By the time we finally got to the front gate I had described everything I could and had gone over the pictures with them again. I was very glad that now they could see for themselves and quit bugging me about it.
We passed the med clinic and entered the compound. There was a parking lot by the clinic and a winding gravel pathway leading to the residence building. I had wanted there to be no paved areas near the house. I had the architect keep the outside of the building looking like an old factory and had only done work where needed for strength and access. That included the skylights and windows. From the front the building still looked like an abandoned factory. The driver let us off at the front entry. It was designed to look like a pump house attached to the building, but once inside the very solid door there was a hint of the luxury to be found further in. The room was paneled in light maple with large coat closets and a mudroom area with hoses to wash off boots. There was another room just like this at the rear of the building, I told the girls. I opened the interior door and we stepped into our new home. The collective gasp was enough to fill me with joy.
Once through the door we emerged into a nature preserve. This half of the building was open through all three stories. This was made possible by some very large steel beams and girders designed by the architect to provide structural integrity without being too obvious. Large skylights and windows high up on the walls gave the illusion of even more space than there actually was while the numerous armored one-way windows let in lots of light without allowing anyone outside to see in. The only break in the panorama was a suspended running track hugging the wall about half way up. The swimming pool was down a gentle hill to the left and a miniature golf course was to the right. The center of the space was a picnic area with a badminton court and horseshoes and a barbecue grill built into the wall and vented to the outside. Facing us was the living area with balconies and railed walkways similar to a motel on the second and third floors. The bottom floor was all open and contained the kitchen and dining areas and the family room with all kinds of electronic goodies and lots of seating and alcoves. In the middle was a large spiral staircase leading to the master suite on the third floor. Unknown to the women, just behind the staircase was an elevator with access to all three floors and the garage in the basement. Normally we would enter the house from the garage, but this time I had wanted to impress them.
"Oh my God, Alex, this is so much more than I could ever have imagined. What made you think of doing this?"
"I saw how people would create their own private worlds in their yards and then have to leave them alone when the weather was bad, so I decided to do it this way and ignore the weather. I have had this place beefed up and the architect assures me that the skylights and windows can survive a category four hurricane, and maybe even a category five. There is also a large storm shelter accessible through the garage. Come on and let me show you around."
There were many comments as we toured the main floor and met the household staff. The cook, Marcela, and her helpers were all Spanish, and we would get a lot of the Texmex meals I loved. Marcela's husband, Alvaro Ortiz, was an LPN and worked at the clinic. The housekeeper, Hanna Higgins, and her daughter/helper, Camille, were from Jamaica. Hanna's husband, George, was the groundskeeper. He was responsible for the large open area in the house as well as the 20 acres outside. He had three helpers who lived in the employee housing apartments next to the medical clinic, as did the chauffeur, Paul Hunt, and his life partner Bill Swenson, who was the mechanic. I had had the agency take a lot of time and hire families to provide as stable a background for my own fledgling family as possible. In some cases I had to provide additional incentives to get the whole family here. Alvaro was a case in point. He had been working as an orderly in a hospital in Houston, and I provided schooling for him to become a Licensed Practical Nurse, and would continue his education till he became a Registered Nurse.
The second floor was divided up into children's rooms, playrooms, nurseries, guest suites, and the nannies' quarters. The apartment I had made for Inez, but which Norma would use, was also on this floor. Norma said that this was too much for her and she would be okay with one of the children's rooms. I asked her who she thought would live there if she didn't, so to take the apartment and be comfortable. Much of the third floor was taken up with the master suite, as large as many normal houses and sybaritic in its excesses. I was embarrassed to see what I had envisioned come to life as a playboy's playground. Inez asked who I had intended to seduce in this lothario's retreat. I just told her that she could redecorate however she wanted, and hoped that it would be enough. The rest of the third floor was given over to a very large entertainment area that would also function as a ballroom, and the walls of windows led out onto a very large balcony looking out over the rest of the estate. This side of the building resembled a Swiss chalet when viewed from the property. From here we could see the pond, the wooded area, and the nature trails. The view was spectacular. The master suite had its own balcony but it was hidden around the corner from the main one and looked out on Johnson Creek Reservoir and the dam.
As we looked out on the countryside a bell tone announced that dinner was ready and we all trooped down to clean up and have our first meal in our new home.
Marcela was trying to impress her new mistress, and we ate very well indeed. Steak fajitas made with aged beef and homemade tortillas. Fresh vegetables and salad, and the crowning glory were freshly made sopapillas with honey.
By the time dinner was done poor Jessica was falling asleep in her chair. Norma said that she was tired as well and bid us all goodnight as she took her granddaughter up to the apartment to put her to bed. George and Paul had taken our luggage up to the rooms so she was all set.
"Well, Inez, what would you like to do now? We can watch TV or swim or play golf or anything else you want to do."
"Why don't you show me the inner workings of that immense master bath husband? I think that we could amuse ourselves quite well in that playground."
The master bath was incredible. I thought that the one at the Venetian was wild, but this one had it beat. Water at whatever temperature was desired came out of multiple nozzles on the walls as well as a rain type nozzle in the ceiling. The distribution was all programmed in on the control panel just inside the bathroom door. It was going to take a while to discover what we liked best, but the learning would be fun. There was more than enough room for both of us in the shower; hell we could have had a party in there, and this was where I found out how much fun sex in the shower could be.
We weren't really ready for bed yet, but I found the control panel for the hot tub and we sat in there, soaking and watching TV on the very large screen in the entertainment room.
"Alex, why is the hot tub in this area instead of in our suite?"
"I figured that maybe we would like to have company in here, but not necessarily in our bedroom. If you would like, we can put one in there as well. The floors here were designed to accommodate large machinery so another hot tub wouldn't pose a hazard. My problem is that I have never been able to make friends very well. Who would we invite to party with us?"
"We could always get the girls from Vegas down here. I know that Brenda and Diane would love to see this place. We may not be able to get them to leave if they do come, though."
"That actually sounds like a good idea, Inez. Let's wait for a while till we get settled in though, maybe when our first child is on the way."
"I like the sound of that, Alex dear. Hell, I haven't even seen the whole house yet. What did you say was downstairs?"
"That is the garage and workshop. We have 6 cars besides the limo and that is where all the carts and vehicles for the estate are worked on. Most of the tractors and such are kept in a barn near the pond, but the work is all done here. We can go down there tomorrow and take a golf cart out to the pond and wooded area. If we have time, we can go into town and I'll introduce you to my captive genius."
"You keep referring to this man as your genius, but you have never told me his name."
"I'm sorry, Dear, his name is Ingmar Cromberg, but he prefers to be called Crom. I think he might have watched the Conan movies a little too often. He really is a genius though. He was going for his PHD in electrical engineering and was working on electricity generation, and the way he explained it to me was that there was a large loss of energy between what the steam or diesel engine was producing and what was coming out of the generator. He decided that the design for the generators had reached its limit and something new was called for. He came up with a small improvement in the old design and included that in his paper, but worked on his own on a whole different concept. His caution was confirmed when the professor sold the improvement as his own. His uncle, my broker, had been bankrolling Crom while he did the design work on his new concept, but when it came time to produce a product they needed someone like me to provide the money. I actually have only put about 10 million into it so far, I was able to finance the rest of it using the 10 mil as collateral. I could actually pay off the debt right now, but there wouldn't be much left. I expect to get back everything within the first few months of shipping and start making a profit after that. If we do it properly we could make billions off of this thing."
"Did I hear you correctly, billions?"
"Yes, easily. One of the first applications we have, and the one we will market first, is a home wind generator. This unit costs a quarter of the ones on the market now, and with just a moderate wind the home owner will be selling electricity to the power companies. It will pay for itself within the first year. The design is not nearly as unattractive as the older models either, and it requires less setup as well. The profit on this product alone is pretty much limitless. They can be used in remote areas of the world to provide power without having to have a big noisy engine or have to bring in power lines. One of these in an African village will provide TV and education to the whole village. It can also power wells and filtration systems to give them all clean water. The biggest problem we face is that the power companies will buy enough government interference to try to limit our sales."
"Well what are you going to do about that? You can't fight the government, can you?"
"The only way to fight government is with public opinion. We have to keep this secret until we are ready to sell it. Before we put it on the market we have to send in the patent and launch a media blitz. If we sell it as green technology, which it actually is, the government won't be able to put a halt to it unless they can come up with some kind of safety concern. Our next big concern is patent infringement in the rest of the world. I have Crom working on all possible methods of getting our results so we can send in all the patents at once. I expect us to be ready to go to market within the next couple of weeks."
"Enough Husband, I think I am ready for bed now. Do you think you can give me a little more loving tonight?"
I had been idly caressing her while I talked and by now I was ready to go again. I had trouble believing that Inez enjoyed sex as much as she seemed to. I had always heard that women did not want sex as much as men did. Inez seemed to be the exception to that, not that I was complaining.
The internet had given me a bit of an education in sex; at least I thought that it had. Inez taught me everything she knew that she liked, and told me to use my imagination to see if there was anything else that I liked as well. She encouraged me to experiment. A couple of the things I tried were not well received, but there were no recriminations, just a resolve not to do that again.