MICHELE'S NEW LIFE - CHAPTER 19A free porn video

CHAPTER 19A: STARTING A NEW LIFE—AGAIN!

As suggested by the attorney, Mom gave her response for the divorce settlement terms. We, Tim and I, discussed the options available to her over the next day. It really wasn’t that hard for her to come to terms with what she wanted to come back with. She really just had to come to grips with the reality that she was being abandoned by her husband while in her fifties and based on that determine what she would need. She had no real work skills that she could fall back on for making a living. In a normal, amicable divorce the assets of the marriage could be expected to be divided equally. In this case, she had leverage and could apply it to whatever extent she was comfortable. She continued to feel a little guilty but the more it sunk into her exactly what he had tried to do to her, and us by extension, she got a little more aggressive. Even though her life had quickly changed in terms of stability and security with the entry of our mutual commitment and family relationship, she had to at least consider the future and the future could require financial assets apart from ours, especially in the she might find a reason for changing (like her own man and relationship).

But she was completely comfortable by the time she and I met with the attorney Friday morning. She decided she would take the land, an alimony payment of $10k per month, 50% of the remainder of financial assets, she would keep her car and what she wanted from the house, but she would leave the house to him. Additionally, the attorney added all court, legal and investigator expenses.

The attorney just looked at her. She could certainly get more, and it was his job to get the best settlement possible for his client. But he also admired her for her fairness in the face of what her soon-to-be ex-husband had intended to leave her. And we were very proud of her. This was the woman we all knew. She was leaving him enough to move forward while taking enough beyond and equal division to hurt him. At the same time she would be getting enough to maintain independence if she ever needed it.

He said he would get a meeting with the other attorney that afternoon. He was convinced they would jump on this deal, especially since he intended to continue playing hardball with them and indicate that he was still trying to get her to go for more and not let ‘old emotions’ get in the way. We all smiled. But Mom was firm. He congratulated her on being such a noble woman in this ignoble world. He said that in two weeks she would be a divorced woman and while that was nothing to celebrate normally, perhaps this one should be.

Mom had tried to tell us that this settlement would make us, our new family structure, secure for the future. Tim and I were very insistent with her that this was her security, not ours. Tim emphasized that this was not a macho thing for him. Yes, he wanted to be able to take care of his family but this was about her future. He, and I, truly hoped that our new commitment to each other would last and be our new experience. But, we had to be realistic that what we were trying to do was highly unorthodox and ripe with complication and outside interference. And that is why he wanted her to keep that separate. He would help her manage it if she wanted, but to keep it separate and managed for security for the future … just in case. Mom confided in me that she understood Tim’s argument and respected it, even loved him more for it, but that couldn’t keep her from using some of it for us if she wanted to. I laughed, “No, that’s right, Mom. It being yours means it is up to you how you use it and when you use it. You know he is being this way only because he loves you and is worried about you.”

“I know, dear. And that is why this family structure we have is going to work. Our mutual love and respect is too deep for it not to work.”

We were at the car now and I stopped her as we stood in front of it. I held my arms out to her, “I love you Mom! As your daughter and not as your daughter. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yes, dear, I do. This is very complicated. There are times I look at you and Tim and I am so very proud of the life you two have created, your happiness and devotion. I feel in those times as a proud mother. But at the same time I know you are both also mine in the relationship and we share this now and that is not as a mother, but as a mutual lover. Is that what you mean?”

“Yes, it is. And it doesn’t bother me. You are my Mother and I like that. You are also now my lover and Tim’s lover and I like that. I don’t want to lose you as my Mother. I am proud of you as my Mother.”

“Well, that’s settled then, too. We just won’t let mother and daughter get in the way of being lovers.” We laughed. “Okay, let’s stop for lunch and then stop at Sharon’s. She said there were negligees she wanted us to have for helping her at the fashion show the other night. Then we can get home, plan dinner and decide how we intend to use Tim tonight now that the weekend will be here.”

I chuckled, “I thought I was supposed to be the sexually adventurous one here.”

“You definitely are, dear. But within the family I feel safe to let go and be aggressive. After all, if I didn’t feel that way, I certainly couldn’t have offered myself the way I did.”

Over the weekend we devoted ourselves, all three of us, to create a little normalcy and calm to our increasingly turbulent lives. First it was Mom’s seemingly messy divorce, then our new family structure, then an option to move our new family life to a unique property, the turmoil that caused for Tim’s job situation, and now the change in Mom’s divorce situation making that less threatening but increasingly real and certain. So we stayed close to home for the weekend and kept each other close … very close.

But there was still something we wanted to do before too much time went by. We wanted another dog and we wanted him to be similar to Cody in size and temperament. So early the next week I called Nikki. The intention was the dog but we also wanted to at least briefly touch base on the happenings surrounding the option they had presented to us. Nikki still had no idea how our lives were fully changing and only knew that Mom was living with us. But she knew that Mom was also now very much into Cody and the reason for the new dog was because of Mom. And she also knew my lifestyle of being kept nude and wanting it. And while our property worked fine for that, she knew hers was even better. Having forty-five acres of relative privacy and then surrounded by a large ranch made it ideal for the naked lifestyle and assured privacy for the K-9 lifestyle while being outside. Our mutual interest in all these things made it obvious to her to check with us when she and Joe found themselves prepared to leave the state for a change in his job. So, we compared how the discussions, finances, and legal issues were proceeding. I told her that things are moving very quickly on this side. We weren’t expecting and were not encountering any bumps in the path. We were confident now that we could work the financials to cover the property even if Tim had to change jobs or start his own sales agency. The real estate lawyers were satisfied, even with the new clause added in the event of a future sale of the property. For our relationship with Nikki and Joe we were only too happy to make that concession for their friends, Juli and Harry, to have first rights on the property if we ever wanted to sell it. Nikki indicated that the same was true on their side. Everything was coming together beautifully.

I told her that Tim still needed his meeting with Mr. R and that would determine his course of action. But that didn’t directly affect our decision, we were definitely moving forward. Tim’s discussion with Mr. R would help to defined what his job would be, working for Mr. R or not and which other option he would have to exercise. And he had other options without getting into conflict with Mr. R. Worse come to worse, he hoped to form a regional sales agency to continue working with Mr. R’s companies but on the outside. That meeting would be coming up soon. Nikki expressed her pleasure in the progress for both of us and confidence in Tim’s job prospects.

Finally getting back to the topic of finding another good dog for us that would be compatible for adding to our K-9 activities, Nikki directed us to Bob who has handled the K-9 activity in the area and directed clients to Nikki. She gave us the address and said she would call ahead for us, let him know what we were looking for and make a recommendation for us and open the way for us. Having already asked Nikki tons of questions about the K-9 community that she was instrumental in establishing and supporting with training and demonstrations, she even suggested we pursue another line of discussion with Bob about the future once we are settled in. Then she ended saying she also wanted us to come out in a couple weeks for dinner and have a chance to meet their neighbors, Juli and Harry. She just knew we were going to get along wonderfully. There was a sense of mischievousness in that comment.

Mom and I did meet with Bob several times over the next week and we left with commitments to talk more in the near future about some ideas we had and he already liked. Ideas about kenneling dogs, continuing training for women and dogs, and some others. He didn’t just like the ideas but seemed excited. But more importantly for us right now was that we came away with Jackson, a two year old, mix breed lab the same size as Cody. Cody was on the large size but Mom was used to him so we wanted a similar sized dog. Tim has always had a thing for Wyoming, loving the less crowded backpacking opportunities there, so I thought it would be fun to name this one after the town of Jackson, WY, just like Cody was named after Cody, WY.

Mom gets first shot at Jackson when we get home – and the training of him begins. He appears to be a very bright dog which was one of our requests. With Cody as a guide, he proves to be a very quick study. He is already well trained in all the conventional things and we can trust him to be loose in the yard with Cody. After the initial few times of fucking either Mom or me, we also begin the training that establishes the trigger, as Nikki always referred it, for acceptance to approach a human female. Or maybe it is more appropriately distinguished of when to leave a human female alone. Of course, we used nudity as the same key that Cody was used to. And with Cody as a guide, Jackson very quickly picked this up. We were very pleased, especially going to a new home and neighbors we didn’t know. Of course, after getting to know Juli and Harry better we would learn that we didn’t have much to worry about on that issue. But it is still good to have the dogs trained not to aggressively sniff and poke at women once they had a taste, so to speak.

So that first afternoon home with Jackson I almost had to hold Mom back, she was so anxious to have him fuck her. I reminded her that we didn’t want to scare the poor thing. So once we were home we got Cody out of the kennel and introduced them to each other. They sniffed each other but it was clear that Jackson’s behavior and reactions put Cody as the dominant male among them. That helped the introduction of Jackson as he would now take his cues from Cody. We still had Jackson on a long leash with Cody free and took a long walk around the property. Back at the kennel we introduced him to the run he would share with Cody. We put them inside and they romped around the outside run playing. We were very pleased at the initial interactions between them. Then we brought both dogs back outside with Jackson on the leash, I had Cody lay down on the grass. I nuzzled his head and neck and stroked down his body. I looked over to Mom and Jackson and saw him watching intently as Mom stroked him as he sat. I then moved down to Cody’s stomach and raised his hind leg and touch his sheath. After a few strokes, the red tip of his cock showed and I put my mouth and tongue to it. Soon I had several inches of cock sticking out.

I look over at Jackson again and he was still watching. Mom was still stroking him from his head and ears, down his back and sides and every now and then underneath onto his stomach but still well away from his sheath. He was doing fine with the attention and I nodded to Mom. We had worked out this process to get him comfortable with touch and moving into more intimate touching before really getting intimate. With my nod, Mom let her hand bump into his sheath every now and then. Jackson was still accepting the attention very calmly. This was going very well.

We got both dogs up, again, and went for a shorter walk, ending back at the kennel and letting Jackson off the leash and play with Cody a little more in the run. Then we took them both outside with Jackson on the leash and went through the sequence, again. This time Mom touched his sheath a lot sooner and more deliberately than last time. Then, with him still in the sitting position, she took hold of his sheath and stroked its length several times before letting her hands work back up his stomach to his neck and she nuzzled him, putting her face into his neck and moving to the side of this head and giving him a kiss. Then she moved his face to hers and she kisses his nose and then his snout. Then I did the same thing to Cody and we traded tongues. Mom tried it again, stroking his head as she did, and this time his tongue tentatively came out. They touched tongues and then he licked her enthusiastically on the face.

And that was how we spent the rest of the day. Nikki was adamant that dogs needed to be approached slowly and comfortably for them to be fully at ease and trusting. And Mom was great with him despite her anxiousness. She wanted Jackson to be as comfortable with human women as Cody was and that started by being loved. That first night Mom introduced Tim to Jackson and Tim had him go through several training moves to establish his dominance and then took him on the leash for a good walk around the property several times.

Now on the third day of having Jackson with us we started the day as always by seeing Tim off for work, us standing in the driveway naked as he drove off. It had become our routine and made a lot of strategic sense if you thought about it. What better way to make sure your man returns home as soon as possible than to leave him with his final sight of you being naked and waiting?

But once Tim was gone, we went back inside and each slipped on shorts and tee shirts. We had been dressed now starting on the third day with Jackson and we were looking forward to that ending. Retrieving the dogs from the kennel we went for a good walk and this time when we were nearly half way around the property, Mom bent down and gave him a good loving and stroking along his sides and then shared some kisses with him while sitting. She then removed the leash and he remained sitting until she released him. Then I told Cody to go and they went running off across the property. Soon they found a rabbit or something and they were running erratically as they tried to catch it. Mom and I continued our walk and when we got back close to the house I turned and looked at Mom, “This is the test for how much we can trust him.” She yelled out for Jackson to come. Both dogs came running to us excited and out of breath. I smiled at Mom, “I think we can trust him loose with Cody.”

We let them have some water and rest for a while and Mom and I worked one of the flower beds. After an hour we moved to the grass, took our gloves off and called the dogs to us. Mom told Jackson, “Down.” And he lay down. I had Cody do the same so they could see each other. Then, as I moved to Cody’s stomach and raised his leg, Mom was doing the same to Jackson. I bent over to lick at Cody’s cock tip peeking out (Cody was well aware of what would likely happen when we went through those moves) and I soon had several inches exposed. I sat up and looked at how Mom was doing. Jackson was calmly on his side, Mom holding his hind leg up and she was licking and sucking on his cock. I smiled. It was time.

Mom sensed I wasn’t moving and looked up. I said, “It is time. Your first time with him.”

Mom sat down on the grass and pulled her tee shirt up and over her head and threw it to the side. She then lay back, raised her hips off the ground and pushed her shorts down her legs and off. I just waited. I want to assist her if need be. If not, Cody and I would be joining them. Now naked, Mom went back to Jackson and got more of his cock out of his sheath and was soon stroking the cock in and out of her mouth and his cock was well out and very rigid. She then shifted to her hands and knees and wiggled her ass to him, patting her ass at the same time. I held Cody back when he moved to go to her. But at the same time Jackson stood up and went to her rear. He sniffed and sniffed some more. He tentatively licked and then waited for a reaction. When Mom just wiggled her ass, again, he licked her more. Then Mom said, “Come, Jackson.” And he did. He jumped up onto her and his hips started humping, his cock butting into her ass cheeks. Mom reached under and found his cock and guided it into her. She then pushed herself back and he grabbed more firmly around her waist and he pumped into her. Mom kept her hand there to make sure he stayed inside and when she felt him growing inside her, longer and fuller, she pulled her hand away and braced herself.

Seeing her success I stripped out of my shorts and tee shirt and Cody was inside me quickly. But I kept myself aligned so I could watch Mom with Jackson for their first time. And as Cody pumped hard and fast into me, I could see that Jackson was doing the exact same to Mom, her breasts hanging down and sway to the pumping into her pussy. When I felt Cody’s knot at the entrance to my pussy, I looked up to gage Mom’s stage. Her back was arched and she was pressing back into the dog. She was intent on getting his knot into her and she was showing no other purposeful action besides that. When I felt Cody’s knot stretching my lips to allow him inside, I heard a sharp gasp and cry. I looked up and Mom’s mouth was hanging open and she was pumping back into the dog that was now also intent on pumping into her. And with that I saw her again arch her back, but this time much more pronounced and her groan and gasps were loud and long and I saw the dog tense and use short, erratic thrusts until he stopped deep inside her. And I knew he was sending his dog sperm into her waiting and greedy pussy.

As Cody was now doing the same to me, his cock spasming and jerking inside me as he sent spurt after spurt of his sperm into my pussy. So much so that it leaked out and was slowly running down the inside of my thighs. With my own orgasm ebbing, I looked at Mom and in particular her ass and see the same true for her, the dog’s cum mixed with her own juices in fine rivulets down her thighs.

Successful with the introduction of Jackson to K-9 sex, the next day would begin his training to not approach women unless they were naked. And he caught onto that very quickly. I suspect behavior is greatly influenced by the reward and that positive results reinforcement produces exceedingly quick results. Within two days we had him through a battery of naked/dressed situations and quick changes with both Mom and me coming to him for his reaction. Even after getting him fully out of his sheath and me naked and licking me, when I pushed him away and exited the room and Mom came right back in with only a large towel wrapped around her, he just sat and waited. She even crouched down, her wet and ready pussy sending out scent for sure, he, like Cody, just sat and waited. When Mom left and I came back in naked, he was right there between my legs, sniffing and licking.

Success. There would still be much that experience and opportunity would provide for him, but he had learned the basics within a week. From being new to human/K-9 sex to being trained and comfortable. We were happy with the process and it felt like we could duplicated the process with other dogs and women. Just as Nikki had prescribed.

The formalization of the divorce is almost anti-climactic. After everything that we, Mom more, went through with investigators, attorneys, and anguished long talks into the night, it was over. Mom was divorced and single. Single that is from a legal perspective. But now it felt like we were even more of a unit of three than ever before. Now there was truly a new beginning for Mom with us and all of us would realize that new beginning with the changes in our lives that were quickly coming together. Mom and I showed up at the court with the attorney. Mom sat with the attorney while my dad sat with his. As the judge reviewed the files, asked a few questions of clarification including that both parties consented to the distribution of property and assets, he declared the divorce granted. I know dad tried to get my attention as he left but I wanted none of it, he caused this and he was willing to have Mom suffer for his own private advantage. I didn’t want anything further to do with him. Isn’t that sad?

Tim got a financial advisor for Mom and the attorney would be working with one of their firm’s real estate/land attorneys to assist in the transferring of the property and other assets into an account for management by the advisor. And just like that it was done.

Almost anti-climactic, but when that worry and stress in the back our minds disappeared, another came rushing forward. Tim’s job status. It appeared that Mr. R was delaying any discussion with Tim about it. Tim had proposed to Mr. R the idea of breaking away to act as a Sales Agent for the western companies in Mr. R’s American holdings. Tim learned that Mr. R was in the USA and was in fact touring the western companies. Finally though, he contacted Tim and asked for a meeting and said he didn’t want to meet at the office. Instead, he wanted the meeting to include Mom and me and that it to be over dinner. Tim said Mr. R was specific about including Mom. Tim told us that the way Mr. R has put him off for so many days, he was getting the feeling he is not the only one positioning the job and that Mr. R was perhaps aware of more than we thought about the current situation with Mom. Why we would be surprised is beyond me.

Tonight is our dinner meeting with Mr. R. I have briefed Mom a little about him. She of course met him only once but that time was when she and I were naked in the back property shortly after fucking Cody and his dogs who were staying with us for a time. That reminder caused Mom to blush profusely and she wondered aloud if he would likely remember that one encounter. I told her he was very good at remembering things about people. She blushed even more and I wasn’t sure that would have been possible.

Tim arrives home and he gives Mom the choice about dressing for the evening since we still have not established her limits, but she elects to follow the same requirements as for me. Tim has decided that for tonight it will be an elegant long dress with spaghetti straps, very low cut in back and ending near the floor with a long slit up the right leg, including stockings and high heels but no underwear, bra or panties. This has become normal for me but is a very exciting proposition for Mom. She knows that the dresses Tim has selected for us have minimal support for our breasts and we will be jiggling as we walk, especially in the heels. But I know both Tim and Mr. R enjoy good exhibitionism in public but within the bounds of the locale. In Amsterdam it was quite extreme. Here it will be more reserved. But, at some point, I am sure he will have me exposed. And I can feel myself getting wet just thinking about the potential.

But Mom breaks my reverie, “Dear, I notice you always refer to him as Mr. R and Tim calls him Carlos. What should I use?”

“Carlos. Definitely. I call him Mr. R only because I am also submissive to him. He is Mr. R or Sir. We get comfortable here at home, but I frequently use Sir when addressing Tim. As you will and have, but you are not submissive to Mr. R. Did I confuse that?”

“No, I understand. This is a serious meeting, though, isn’t it? Are we being used as pawns for emotion to be played against Tim somehow?”

“No, I don’t believe Mr. R would do that to us. We are closer to each other than that. He may be married to his business, but he wouldn’t play games involving me or us. So, I think he has something in mind that will make the evening easier, more relaxed and enjoyable. I have learned it is hard to predict or anticipate what he might be up to. Undoubtedly, that is why he is so successful in business.”

We arrive at the restaurant and are shown to a table in a far corner where Mr. R is sitting. As we approach, Tim has each of us by the arm. Mr. R comes from behind the table, “What a lovely sight. Tim, every man in this room was envious of you for having two such lovely women on your arms.”

Tim smiled at each of us and replied, “Well, Carlos, they are all out of luck. These two are mine. And how are you doing, Carlos?”

As they shook hands, “I am wonderful, Tim. Just wonderful. Thank you for meeting me like this. We have some interesting things to discuss.” He then moved to me, took me into his arms and kissed each of my cheeks before kissing me on the mouth, the whole time his hand was stroking my bare back. “My Michele! Too long, dear. Anthony and Marie are pining for your next visit. How are you, my lovely Michele?”

“Thank you, Sir. I miss all of you … and your boys.” He chuckled at the reference to his dogs and kissed me, again. “Sir, do you remember my mother, Barb?”

“Remember her? How could I not?” He took her into his arms also and kissed her on each cheek. But not on the mouth. Apparently, he didn’t feel he knew her well enough to be so assuming but he did stroke her bare back, as well. Mom shivered from the intimate contact. “As I remember it that last time, unfortunately the only time, when I saw you I saw quite a lot of you. And as I recall, my boys had just enjoyed the experience of meeting you, also.”

“My god, I’d hoped you had forgotten that.” She was blushing deeply red.

“Nonsense, Barb. Such a beautiful woman. It would be some kind of sin against humanity, I think, to forget such a wonderful sight.”

Tim put his arm around her and pulled her into him and also stroked her bare back, he leaned over and whispered, “This is Carlos as we know him. Does it excite you?”

She put her lips to his ear, “Oh, yes! He is so open. I can see why your experiences are so interesting with him.”

But Mr. R herds us into the booth. Mom and I are inside with the men on the outside. Almost immediately, the waiter arrives and takes our drink order. Mr. R has apparently pre-ordered appetizers because they arrive shortly after. He informs the waiter that he was hoping for a quiet but long evening while leisurely enjoying drinks and dinner and asked if that will be a problem. We were assured it would not. Mr. R leaned forward almost conspiratorially, “I had already cleared with the restaurant management but I wanted to make sure that the word had passed to him. That is why several tables seem to be missing so we have more separation and privacy. They may miss a few other diners but it will be worth it to them. So, we can relax and enjoy ourselves.”

I look at Tim with some concern and Mom leans to me and whispers, “Michele, I thought this was going to be the opportunity to discuss Tim’s employment proposal, not socializing.”

I patted Mom’s thigh and started leaning to Tim but he just patted my thigh and I stopped almost before I got started. He addresses Mr. R, “Carlos, I appreciate that you invited Michele and Barb to join us and that does make the dinner more casual, less business, but we really do need to address my proposal to you.”

“We do, Tim. I didn’t intend to suggest that we weren’t. Only that we enjoy ourselves. So, let’s do that. I have reviewed you proposal, Tim. It was very well laid out, covering nearly all the critical points. But I just can’t accept it. I don’t have any intention of losing you from my organization.”

Tim looked at Mom and me and said, “Don’t worry. We are moving forward as planned.” To Mr. R, “Carlos, perhaps I just didn’t make our situation clear. We are moving. The commute will be too far to manage each day and I don’t think my responsibilities are well suited to a tele-commute arrangement. I am not a big fan of those, anyway.”

“Okay, let’s all take a deep breath and step back a little.” And I see he is looking at all three of us and intently looking at our left hands. “I feel like we got a little sideways here. But, can I ask a question, first?”

Tim said, “If it gets us through this discussion.”

“There is more going on here with the three of you. I invited Barb to join us because she was currently staying with you. A result of the divorce I assumed. Barb, I am truly sorry you had to go through that experience. But now I sense there is something more. Like all three of you wearing the same gold band. Am I being too nosey?”

“Carlos, we will be excited to share more about Barb, us, and the rings. And, yes, it does have a bearing and is the primary driver for us moving to this new property. But I really want to discuss my proposal.”

“Of course, you do. Tim, I appreciate your situation, I think. At any rate I appreciate your continued concern for my organization and your interest in maintaining a role in it. But, I can’t accept a reduced role. Now, I also agree with your evaluation of your current position with the move. I am also not a fan of commuter management. After looking at your proposal, I was struck that there is a better option but I needed to pursue it further and that is why I put you off for so long. Tim, what do you think is the status of improvement in the local company here? From what it was to how it is functioning now? From the financial projections before to the current financial projections?”

“It’s a totally different company. The performance did a miraculous shift in that timeframe. That’s why I felt comfortable in proposing the change.”

“Precisely. But not miraculous, Tim. It was you. Ladies, this man of yours was the miracle. And that feeling is shared by the current management at the company.”

“Carlos, I thought we were in agreement that I couldn’t continue in the same position from a different city? It sounds like you are trying to soften me up to stay.”

“We are in agreement. And, no, I am not. What I want you to recognize is the job you did. You didn’t manage the company; you encouraged and mentored the management team. And look at what happened.”

“Thank you, Carlos. Is this my premature annual performance review?”

Carlos laughs, “I guess it just as well could be. Normally that would be in a conference room with lots of coffee and reams of financial and performance reports. No, what it is, though, is a lead up to what I have been doing the past several weeks. I have visited each of the six western US companies. The same ones you proposed being a sales agent for. The four on the west coast are doing okay. The one in Denver is okay but not as good. The local one is now doing as well as the coastal ones. They all can use help to be better. And better they need to be but they have all struggled to make the turn to the improvement I want.” He stopped and looked intently at Tim and then smiled at Mom and me. “Tim, I can’t accept your proposal because I literally can’t afford to lose you in the role you have doing for me. But, I understand that your private life is changing and that means a change is needed. Tim, what I want you to do for me is to oversee all six of the companies in the western region.”

Tim is stunned, as are we. “What? Are you serious?”

“Tim, you know me and business. I am always serious about my business.” He looks directly at me and glances at Mom, but back to me and holds my gaze, “Michele has been the stark divergence from that attitude. Thank you, dear.” I blush and Mom notices, leans over and kisses my cheek.

“I don’t know what to say, Carlos.”

“First off, you can say, yes. I want you to set up an office somewhere near your new home with a couple accountants/analysts and an office manager. There will be a lot of data flowing through. Tim, this is a promotion, too. Obviously, with six facilities there will be a little more travel but not nearly what you would have had as a sales agent. What do you think? Say, yes.”

Tim looks at me and I nod. He then looks to Mom and she nods. Carlos has noticed his seeking approval from both of us. But he simply answers, “Yes. Thank you, Carlos.”

Carlos raises his hand to the waiter and a bottle of champagne and four new glasses are brought to us. He was that sure of his counter proposal to have this ready. And I realize that selfishly I sense some relief within me because this also solidifies a continuing relationship with Mr. R.

After a toast to Tim, he again delicately pursues the relationship with Mom. He indicates that both the investigator and attorney indicated something different and Tim’s reaction to us tonight and the rings has him curious. We confide with him about our new relationship. Although not legal, we are committed to it. Mr. R is thoughtful for a moment and then, “Congratulations!” He leans over and kisses Mom on the cheek. “Tim, Michele, Barb, I am so happy for you. You three. Wow, that sure comes different, doesn’t it? You three. I love it. Barb, I don’t you that well … yet. But I do know these two and I know how committed they are to each other in their love and devotion. And if they are willing to give the same to you … then you are a lucky woman. Very lucky.” He stopped and toasted us again. “Okay, I know we have an agreement about the use of the property you currently are living on. But, I want you to use that property for financing your new purchase. Honestly, I have no use of it and it has served you well and will serve you even better as collateral for your new property.”

We are all shocked. There was no way of anticipating that offer. In one swift move he has just taken away the financial burden on us for the new purchase and it allows us to accomplish it without having to consider if we tap into Mom’s divorce settlement. And Mr. R was right. Now we can enjoy a relaxed, leisurely dinner and thoroughly enjoy each other’s company.

* * * CHAPTER 19B: STARTING A NEW LIFE AGAIN, PART 2 will follow * * * Thanks for reading.