Laura's Big Win

by Michelle Tschantre'

  “Exactly why, honestly, I’m not sure, but I love you, and I am so thankful I had Dennis and Alice come retrieve you and the kids from the shelter that first night, even if it was sort of accidental. I saw you on the local news station and the need to keep you safe simply overcame any other thought I might have had. Truthfully, I didn’t know what to do next, once you and the kids were at Windmere; Alice saved the day for me there.”

  “And all this time I thought Roger was just doing a good deed, but since we’re telling the truth, I’ll admit the first time I saw you and you were a little standoffish, I decided you were the man for me, no matter what it took. The crazy thing is, we were still pretty bad off at that moment, but I didn’t think of you as a safe haven; I just sensed you were the man for me, in spite of all that had happened. I should have been a man hater about that point, after all Richard did to us. Anyway, I think I started loving you right there and then, and I too am so very grateful you came to our rescue, even if I didn’t know it at the time. I love you so much for all that, and so much more.”

  “As I love you for being who you are, and so much more, and speaking of that, I think maybe my strength is returning, along with some other attributes that seem to fascinate you. Still interested in making tricycle motors?”

  “So that’s what you said. I didn’t understand before, but I’m ready for another test run, Big Guy. By the way, I decided to do some body part counting myself…..I only got to one, and I’m thinking of starting over.”

  And that was pretty much the end of the money conversation. Thinking about it later, Ryan found himself very pleased that Laura cared much more about pleasing him, and maybe herself in the mix, than sitting around being impressed with how much money they had. In the span of their life together, it was always that way; each being first in the other’s eyes. When she did, in an idle moment, ask about the reasoning behind the original “hiring bonus”, Ryan admitted he had come up with the idea solely because he has an unexplainable urge to protect and provide for her and her family.

  Lunch was served at 3:30 PM, after which they went outside for the first time since arriving. The kids would show up two days later, and while that did alter some things a bit for Laura and Ryan, it was the start of a long, delightful, and respectful relationship between Ryan Williams, Laura Williams, Jackson Williams and Amanda Williams.

  Chapter 23 – Everafter

  To be sure, it was a shorter combination honeymoon/vacation than they would have wished, but the holidays were ending, the kids had to be back to school, and there was that business back at Windmere that had to be managed. Ryan had reserved the corporate plane for the trip home, and Laura understood now that using it was well within their means, even if she didn’t always approved of such expenditures. The flight back with two rested and excited kids was enjoyable, with Ryan and Jack talking about the cart Ryan had given Jack for Christmas while Laura and Amanda magazine shopped for furniture they would need for their “new house”, whatever that might turn out to be.

  The plane landed to the side of the terminal as usual, and stopped near a passenger van parked nearby. Ryan was first off, and helped Laura and the kids deplane as the crew opened the luggage compartment and started unloading what was a much more significant heap of luggage than when Ryan and Laura had set out six days earlier. Laura had maintained limits on what the kids could spend at the islands open air market when they visited, requiring them to make decisions on their purchases, a lesson that might have seemed a little onerous to them at the time, but which would enable them to make good decisions later in life. Ryan was impressed with her parenting skills, and paid close attention, learning how to be a father as he went along; he readily understood that saying “yes” all the time was of little use in raising responsible children, even if it seemed momentarily easier.

  Luggage off the plane and ready to be reloaded for the trip to Windmere, Ryan handed Laura a small remote control unit with a couple of keys on the ring. “Your transport, Madam. You may want to move it a little closer to the luggage pile, or I can simple drag all of it over there; your preference.”

  “Is this for the van over there?”

  “It is. Standard remote control. Only thing is, I think you should drive, since it’s yours; I wouldn’t want to scratch it or anything like that. Okay?”

  “Mine? Really? You’re kidding, right? Did you buy this for us? Oh, wow! Kids, see our van!”

  As excited as Laura was, the kids were equally elated at having a ride of their own, something they could leave books in and video’s and toys, all the things that kids need to feel comfortable. Laura quickly moved it closer to the luggage heap, which Ryan dutifully loaded into the back of the van, then took his place in the passenger’s seat while she familiarized herself with the myriad of controls. Everything in go condition, the guard opened the gate for them and off they went, Laura fiddling with the seat controls on the door as they went, and asking a ton of questions in the process.

  “How did you know I liked this series? They’re great for kids, and look at all this extra stuff. My old van didn’t have all this. And, I love the color; how did you know I liked this shade of blue? You are just such a smarty, you are.”

  “I cheated. Fred Dawson did a little research for me through some people he knew, so I could get something you were familiar with. I have to tell you, I ordered it out before you agreed to marry me, because you deserved it, but since special orders take a little longer to produce, it only came in a couple of weeks ago. I thought this might be a nice surprise. I sent in a color picture of you, a copy of the one taken for your Windmere ID card; the final paint coat was mixed to match the color of your eyes. So, I gather you like it?”

  “No, I love it, and if I weren’t driving…..well, never you mind. Too many people present, even if they are distracted at the moment. Tonight, you get repaid for this. Vitamins for supper?”

  “Deal. So, what would have happened tonight if I didn’t get you the van?”

  “Same thing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the van anyway.”

  In a few minutes, the big front gate of Windmere came into sight. Ryan indicated which console button remote operated the gate, and they rolled closer to home. Normally, they would have stayed slightly to the left, rounding the big house on the east side to drive past to the cottage area, but Ryan would alter their course at just the right moment.

  “Nope, not left. Bear right here…..little farther…..now turn right, slow down, hit the center button on the console, try to not go through the back wall…..and…..stop. Welcome home, Mrs. Williams.”

  “Ryan, this is the White House; we just went into the garage. What’s going on?”

  “Like I said, ‘Welcome home, Mrs. Williams’. We live here now, mostly in the upstairs. I had everything moved from your cottage and my room in the big house while we were gone. The luggage will wait a minute or two. I know you saw the great room for the reception; I want to take you for a personally guided tour of the upstairs. Ready?”

  “Yes, you crazy man. You knew this all the time, didn’t you, and you just kept telling me you ‘were working on a house’ for us. Come on kids; we need to see what your dad has done this time.”

  Ryan nearly stumbled getting out of the van; for the first time, Laura had just casually referred to him as “your dad”, and the very thought made his knees weak. The kids had made their own choices for addressing him, Amanda switching to daddy as the easiest thing to do for her, Jack still using “Sir” a lot, but reverting on occasion to the less formal “dad”. Even more importantly, for Laura to recognize his role as a matter of fact, that was the capstone, the crown he so wanted. At the moment, however, there was a house to tour.

  “First things first. We’re going in through the door here in the garage to the mud room. In case the door is locked, here’s how it works. Amanda can do this first, then Jack. Okay, Mandy, push the button, and when the little light turns green, say ‘Amanda says open’. Okay? Push the button
, Mandy.”

  And push she did, as directed. No sooner had she pushed, than the little light turned green, and right on cue, “Amanda says ‘open’.” The sound was almost inaudible, just a slight ‘snick’ somewhere in the vicinity of the door, but the light turned red before extinguishing again. Ryan reached for the knob, turned it and easily opened the door. Again pushing the button, he said “Ryan says ‘lock’”, and as the light turned green again, the same slight sound was made. Ryan indicated to Jack to try the door, which was indeed locked, then had Jack order it open again. The kids were fascinated by the system, but Ryan explained that while it was fun, it was somewhat expensive for a play toy; the real reason it was there was for security, and so they didn’t have keys to carry around on their person.

  “All the outside doors on the house work the same way, voice recognition locks. But, let’s continue the tour. The other door goes more directly into the great room, and we only use it for meetings and things. Anyway, there are two ways to get to the upstairs, the front staircase you saw last week, and this back one that comes from this hallway. That way, if we have to use the great room for business or something a little more formal, you kids can still sneak down here for ice cream bars when you’re supposed to be in bed, if you mom doesn’t catch you.”

  “Some kind of example you set; what kind of parent are you anyway?” Laura asked in laughing tones, knowing he was putting them at their ease in a place that was new and possibly strange to them.

  Un-phased, Ryan continued the tour, heading up the back steps toward the sleeping quarters. The kids were right on his heels, excited at the new adventure.

  “Okay, you kids see if you can decide who goes with which room? Ready? Go. And you, Mrs. Williams, can come with me please.”

  A few steps down the hall, Ryan and Laura came to a set of double doors, and opening one leaf, entered into what clearly was their bedroom, complete with king sized bed, an assortment of chests and dressers, night stands, dressing table, and several easy chairs as well as a desk and settee. The décor was obviously well thought out, elegant but understated, with everything the lady of the house could need; adjacent doors opened into his and hers bathrooms, while a third door opened onto the veranda over the porta cochere, yielding access to the hot tub and a screened outdoor sitting area. Laura stood in the middle of the room and took it all in, unable for the moment to speak.

  Ryan broke the silence, to tell her something she needed to know before she had to ask: “Just so you know, this is all leased furniture, rentals. None of the original furniture is here. This is our room now, yours to decorate as you like. I hired this done solely because I find making love on the floor is hard on us older folks, and I didn’t want to bring you home to an empty room. Okay?”

  Laura appreciated his answering the one question she had about all this: where did Mary fit in, and it was obvious that while Mary and Ryan had designed and built the house, he intended for it to be his home with Laura. Mary was gone, a wonderful memory, but a memory nonetheless. Putting both arms around him and holding him close, she could only quietly say “Thank you. I love you so much for taking care of me.”

  Their reverie was short lived, however, as two wild eyed kids bolted into the room, excited to the point they could hardly talk at all. Both wanted Laura and Ryan to come see the other rooms, the rooms they believed, with accuracy, were theirs. Jack’s was the closest, and he pointed with pride at the NASCAR designed bed, masculine details in the furniture, and all his things neatly arranged on shelves where he could see them, plus a computer desk, with all the necessary equipment. Amanda was next, anxiously showing off her French provincial furniture, with a canopy bed, her dolls all in a row in a display case, and the doll house on its own stand; her room also had a fully equipped computer system, and very feminine décor. And best of all, each child’s room had its own bathroom, which would become their responsibility to keep clean. Something struck Laura suddenly, and she looked closer at the doll house; it was true, what she had perceived. The rooms in the doll house matched the rooms in the real house, including the décor to some extent. Such a love Mary must have had for this place, and Laura resolved in her own heart that she would always honor that memory by also loving this home, and the man that came with it.

  But the tour wasn’t quite over. There were three more rooms in the upstairs they had not yet seen. The first was a sitting room, mostly for the family to gather at times, maybe work on home work or to play a game or two, watch television together. The other two rooms were bedrooms, but just like the dollhouse, they were unfinished beyond the primer painted walls. Laura looked at Ryan, understanding the implied intent of these rooms. “Tricycle motors. But please, I don’t know how well things are working; I don’t mean there’s anything wrong; it’s just that, well, women don’t really have much say on when things happen or they don’t. I mean, we can sort of help things along, but if nothing happens for a while, please understand. I want this for you, and for me; there is nothing I want more than to carry your child, nothing, but I don’t know if or when it will happen. Please understand.”

  “I do understand, and I know sometimes things just don’t work the way we would like them to. Believe me, I know all about that.”

  “Oh, Ryan, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up hurts; I just want you to know how much I want this for us.”

  “That’s okay; I understand. That’s in the past. Today we start the rest of our lives, which, by the way, could include some food, if you care to visit the kitchen and browse around a bit. Or we can go to the big house; your choice.”

  “I choose home; that would be here, with you. Come on kids; let’s go find food.”

  With that, the rest of their life started. Monday morning the routine set in again for the most part, kids off to school, Ryan and Laura into their respective offices to oversee their growing business empire. In some respects, things were a little simpler, now that the soap opera issue of “would Ryan marry Laura” was settled, and while everyone knew Laura was half of the duo of majority stockholders, she would never, in the years she had yet to work, ever mention the fact. That was for Ryan to deal with. It was not a matter of disinterest; that would truly be abnormal for a human being, but in fact she married the man; his wealth just came along with him. The good things it could bring she appreciated, but she appreciated even more that no amount of money could have found her a man she cared about so dearly.

  In mid-February, with a chill still in the air, Laura felt a little under the weather one early afternoon. Ryan was in Conyerville meeting with the senior accountants and would be gone most of the afternoon; the traffic through the office had slowed down a little with the usual February national holidays, and Laura had a few moments in the afternoon in which nothing was very pressing. She told Marcia she was not feeling well and was going over to the White House to lie down for a bit; maybe this would pass quickly. Laura disliked not being up to speed, whether it was for business, her kids, or making love with her husband. A nap should help.

  Laura walked slowly to her beautiful home, which she had come to love so much, and up the front staircase. It would be several hours before the kids came bounding in from school, just enough time for a recuperative nap. Entering the master bedroom, she paused to look in the mirror for any sign of illness, and was for some reason not surprised to see a reflection of someone standing in the doorway. Turning, she looked directly at the person, a question on her lips that was answered before she asked.

  “Hello, Laura; I’m Mary. Please, don’t be frightened of me. I am just who I seem to be, and I mean you no harm. I need to tell you some things, and then I’ll go and you won’t see me again.”

  “Hello, Mary; I feel as though I know you. Welcome to my home.”

  “Yes, it is your home now, not mine. I had my time, and although I don’t know why it was cut so short, that’s how things are. I came to tell you three things, and I have to hurry. I am not allowed much time for this. First, you aren’t
coming down with anything; you are with child, children really, fraternal twins, about six weeks along. Secondly, I hid the remote for the flat screen in the Ficus plant so Ryan couldn’t change it; I needed him to see the local channel when he came home. It was the only way I could get him to see you, and I wanted so very much for him to see you and your children. He deserves so very much that which I could not give him, and which you are now in the process of doing, whether you know it or not. And finally, please tell him there is a letter for him in the secret place.”

  “Please, can I ask something of you?”

  “I have only a brief moment left.”

  “How many children? Can you tell me?”

  “We are not allowed to see the future directly; too much temptation I think; it’s a little hard to explain how things are on this side. When I learned of your pregnancy, I saw a table with eight chairs; I don’t know if that means anything or not, but I believe this will not be your last pregnancy. I have to go now.”

  Suddenly it came to her to ask the unanswered question: “The car; were you at the car?”

  “Yes, I was. I got in a lot of trouble for that; we’re not supposed to interfere, but I didn’t know then what I know now, and I wanted so much to protect Jack and Amanda for Ryan, and for you. I have to go now. You won’t see me again for a long time, when I come for you. Be happy. Goodbye”

  “Goodbye Mary; and Mary, we love you.”

  Laura stood in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around herself, unsure of what was real and what was not, unsure if this had happened or not, not knowing if she was having a fever or had just spoken with someone not of her world.