>>>>>>

I closed the office early the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The house had been completely cleaned and Sara and I had bought everything the weekend prior. I’d have two pounds of jumbo shrimp and a variety of raw vegetables in addition to chips with onion dip and nuts as snacks before dinner. Mom had agreed to come over around ten that morning to help with the meal. I had cleaned and rinsed the twenty-pound turkey on Tuesday night, saving the heart and liver for the soup I planned to make on Friday morning.

Sara and I drove into the village for bacon and egg sandwiches at the deli early Thanksgiving morning then we set to cutting the vegetables and making the dip, setting out bowls of nuts and chips and peeling all of the potatoes we would need to boil for mashing later in the day.

Mom arrived, bringing Dad who promptly sat down in the living room to watch the Macy’s Parade on TV. I loved my father, but he was essentially useless in a situation like this—better if he could just stay out of our way. Mom had brought her sensational stuffing in addition to some traditional Gotti family treats, like the creamed onions that I loved. I stuffed the bird and covered it with strips of thick bacon to keep the meat moist before placing the heavy load into one of the two ovens in my stove. The remaining stuffing went into a ceramic bowl for baking later then Mom and Sara made a small tray of candied sweet potatoes.

Sara and Natalie arrived at two and I could see immediately that our parents would get along famously. That was only magnified when they learned that we were trying to become pregnant. I actually saw my father cry. To this day I still don’t know how the subject was breeched, but all of a sudden the room was deathly silent and a second later there was hysteria. Cara hugged me first then Natalie took a turn, followed almost immediately by my mom who would have hugged me sooner had she not been hugging Sara at the time. I broke the spell by bringing out the tray of shrimp.

We ate dinner at five sitting around the large table in the formal dining room. My house was big in almost every regard—five good-sized bedrooms , three full baths, an eat-in kitchen and a large dining room to supplement the living room that had two couches—one a sectional–and three chairs in addition to the fireplace and large flat screen TV.

We took turns before eating telling each other what we were thankful for. There were the usual—my dad’s health, new job for Natalie, potential grandchildren for both sets of parents. Not surprisingly, I went last. “I think that mostly I’m thankful that I have a secretary who loves me enough to trick me into a relationship with her sister and, of course, I’m thankful that the relationship between Sara and me has worked out so well. I had lost hope and trust and found it again almost overnight. So, now I think we should be quiet and eat.” And that’s exactly what we did. Well, we did eat, but there was plenty of lively conversation, especially about the future heirs. All we had to do now was deliver.

It was after dinner that Natalie told us about her meeting with Sheldon Mayer and how she had trapped the prime asshole who had been her supervisor. “Shelly gave me a miniature recorder to keep in my pocket. Our lunch kept me away from the office much longer than allowed so I did hear from Jonathan when I returned.

He really let me have it, but unknown to him I was recording the entire conversation. He threatened to have me fired if I didn’t come across. I asked him how many times he had tried to force me into sex with him. The fool admitted that he had been after me from the first time he had come into the office. It went on and on and it was all on tape. So, as instructed by Shelly, I told him I’d do it tomorrow, but only if he was able to get a room at the Smithtown Sheraton. He told me he’d be there and how much better I would be than his ‘fat slob of a wife.’ Those were his exact words.

“I took the rest of the afternoon off after gathering my few personal belongings. Of course, I never showed at the hotel and, following Shelly’s instructions I never returned to the job. Instead, Shelly showed up, insisting on speaking with Mr. Barnes—the agency’s owner. He told me that he was in the office for more than an hour and when he left he had a check for $100,000 to avoid a messy lawsuit and possible criminal prosecution. Jonathan was fired that same day and my friends there have told me that his wife was livid when she heard his remarks. She’s thrown him to the curb…just what he deserved. When Shelly delivered my check I asked him what his fee was. I was really surprised when he said he’d like to take me to dinner and that was all. I thought about the great time I’d had at lunch so I agreed. I’m seeing him again tomorrow night. You were right, John. Shelly is an extremely interesting man.”

I thought that was great. Shelly Mayer was a great guy who was married to his job. He was even a bigger nerd than I was, but he could be funny as hell and he was a real gentleman. I hadn’t hoped for any connection between Natalie and Shelly when I suggested that she meet with him, but maybe I had been able to get two birds with but a single stone.

The rest of the day was just as great. We set the table again around nine for turkey sandwiches and pie. Mom had really outdone herself by baking apple and pumpkin pies, and making a chocolate cream, too. That had always been my favorite so I had two pieces. We bid everyone good night around eleven and I knew that I was blushing terribly when Natalie told us, “Be sure to practice a lot. We really want that grandbaby you’re going to make.” Mom and Dad laughed like hell and after a few seconds Sara and I joined them, but my face still showed my extreme embarrassment. Once everyone had gone Sara pulled me up the stairs, stripping my clothes with every step. We followed directions very carefully—several times, in fact.

>>>>>>

I interviewed twenty candidates over the next week with the help of Simon who had been with me from the beginning. I tendered offers to eighteen, rejecting the other two despite their excellent qualifications. One was an arrogant ass, just what I didn’t need in a business where my techs would interact with customers every hour of every day. The other reject was absolutely brilliant, but had virtually no communication skills. He would be better off in a position where he interacted with computers instead of people. I’d known two like him while in graduate school.

In spite of my busy schedule, Sara and I used Wednesday morning to drive into the village of Northport to get our marriage license and, hopefully, speak to the magistrate about marrying us. Getting the license was a breeze, but we learned that the magistrate only worked part-time. However, the clerk told us the magistrate’s name and where his office was located. We were there less than ten minutes later.

I held the door for Sara and we entered the lawyer’s office hand-in-hand. Stepping up to the receptionist’s desk I asked to speak with Mr. Osborne. “Do you have an appointment,” she asked.

“No, but we’d really appreciate if we could speak with him. I doubt we’ll need more than five minutes.” She spoke on the phone for just a minute that asked us to follow her to a conference room.

A minute later a short portly man entered and greeted us. “Good morning, I’m Wiley Osborne. How can I help you?”

“I’ve read on the internet that magistrates can perform marriages in New York State. We’d like very much if you could marry us at my home on December 9th. Of course, I’d be willing to pay you for your time. Would a thousand be sufficient?”

“Let me see if I understand you correctly. You’re willing to pay me a thousand dollars for what will probably be ten to fifteen minutes work?”

“Yes, of course you’ll have travel time to the end of Bluff Road.”

“You know, I usually charge $70 for marriages performed in Village Hall.”

“Yes, but my best man is coming in from Boston the day before because he has to work. He’s an instructor at Tufts University and he has two classes Friday morning. He doesn’t have tenure so he can’t risk cancelling them. I’m having Peter Luger cater a late lunch and you and your wife are welcome to join us if you wish.”

“What time did you have in mind?”

“We were hoping for 10:30 or 11:00. I’d pay you in cash that morning.”

“It’s a deal. Would you mind telephoning my secretary the day before as a reminder? I’ll put it into my calendar, but I sometimes forget.” He gave me his card. One glance and it was burned into my memory. We thanked Mr. Osborne and walked out into a beautiful November day. I drove Sara home where we kissed before I turned around on my way to the office.

Simon and I finished the interviews the following Thursday afternoon and within the next two months I’d have thirty-five new techs assigned to my new office in Arlington, Virginia. They’d be on the job in the Pentagon once they had completed their month of training and the federal government’s vetting program. The thirty-sixth–one Calvin Wilson–would report to work here. Calvin, an Afro-American, was an interesting interview. After the initial test in which I asked each candidate to crack into my laptop, something that was absolutely impossible, I asked about his run-in with the law when he was thirteen.

“Simple; I was a know-it-all punk. I got involved with this gang and I thought it was the coolest thing. They sent me to pick up a few drugs from some ‘supplier.’ Fortunately, he turned out to be an undercover cop. Rather than take me in to the station he took me to the Boys and Girls Club and sat me down in front of a computer. I knew about computers, of course, but I had never actually used one. I grew up with my grandma and we were poor as dirt. My school had a computer lab, but I never saw anyone in it. I think they were concerned with vandalism or theft.

“Anyway, that was the first time I ever sat at a computer. Like most kids I started by playing games, but then I got curious. I wanted to know how the computer worked. Detective Cooley arranged for me to audit a course at the local community college. I loved it. Not only did I do well in that course, but I started to do really well in my regular school work, too. I ditched the gang and became a real student instead. The rest, as they say, is history. I got a full scholarship to University of Chicago. I still see Detective Cooley. He saved my life and he’s become one of my best friends.” I already knew that. I’d gotten the story straight from Cooley’s mouth. He called it his greatest triumph. I thought he was absolutely right. I offered Calvin a job on the spot. He would be able to start in less than a month once he had been able to relocate his grandmother to Long Island.

>>>>>>

In some ways Sara could be extremely progressive. Our sex life was an open book and she was both imaginative and energetic. She always wanted to try new things, new positions—some of which were potentially dangerous. Yet, in other matters she could be very old-fashioned. That’s why I never saw her wedding outfit. I had offered to buy her an expensive gown. I could afford the best, after all. But Sara turned me down cold. “What a colossal waste of money. Why don’t you donate it to some worthy charity?” I wrote a check for $10,000 to the Salvation Army.

The other thing that got me was that Sara was moving out the night before the wedding. I didn’t understand why, but she said it was bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony. I shook my head several times, but agreed when she told me how much she would look forward to our first night as husband and wife. “Just think how badly I’ll miss you tonight and how much I’ll want you tomorrow night.”

So it was that I kissed Sara good-bye of Friday afternoon when I got home from my haircut and manicure appointments. I waved as Cara drove her away, already missing the love of my life. With a sigh I climbed into my Highlander and drove to the Islip-MacArthur Airport where I met Rob and his date, Allison. She explained that she was a grad student in math at Harvard and that she and Rob had met at some social that had been organized by Pi Mu Epsilon, the national mathematics honor society. “We talked about our work for a while and somehow the subject turned to how math was involved in computer programming. Then Rob told me how he had roomed with a programming genius. Of course, I assumed he was exaggerating, but when I looked you up on Google I was amazed. Rob also told me about your ‘girlfriend,’ Daisy and her mother. Wow, what a total bitch! Anyway, Rob and I have been seeing each other for a while and when he asked me if I’d like to meet you I jumped at the chance.”

“Thanks for the compliments, but I’m just an ordinary guy who’s been extremely lucky.” I spent the next ten minutes explaining how I met Sara when I thought she was Cara and the expression on my face the following morning when I found myself between the two of them. Allison roared with laughter. That stopped when I pulled into my driveway.

“This is some house, John. Holy cow!”

“I should tell you, Allison that Rob is a dyed-in-the-wool Yankee fan and he’s always quoting either Phil Rizzuto or Yogi Berra.”

“I know,” she giggled. I’ve learned the hard way. Can you show us the house when we go in?” That’s exactly what I did, first showing them to a bedroom that was as far away from our bedroom as possible. I finished the tour by showing them the view from the back yard. They washed up and I took them out for dinner—nothing fancy, that would come tomorrow when the catering crew from Peter Luger arrived around eleven, shortly after my dream came true.

We had just begun to split a sausage pizza when Allison asked what Sara was like. I thought for a minute before responding. “Well, to start with, she’s nothing like Daisy. Daisy is controlling, Sara goes with the flow. She’s easy to get along with and she wants nothing for herself. Physically, she’s tall and slender. She played volleyball and ran track in high school and at Suffolk Community College wrapped around three years in the U.S. Army. You’ve already heard how she’s Cara’s identical twin. She works now as a medical imaging specialist, but not for much longer. We both want a family right away.”

“If I know you, John that means lots of practicing.”

“Yeah—tough work, but someone’s got to do it. I’m sure you’ll like her. We had Thanksgiving here with her mom and my parents. They’re looking forward to seeing you again, Rob. Sara’s mom is coming to work for me. I’m expanding so rapidly that I can barely believe it.”

We finished our dinner and I drove them back to the house where we watched a Friday night football game. We had been there about thirty minutes when my phone rang. I knew without looking that it was Sara. She was calling to make sure that Rob and Allison had arrived and to tell me how much she missed me. She asked to speak with Rob and then Allison and I could tell from their smiles that they were getting along well with my bride. Finally, Allison returned the phone to me. I wasn’t at all ashamed to tell Sara in a loud voice how much I loved her. We turned in around ten, knowing that we would have to get up early tomorrow morning.

I was up at six and was joined by Rob and Allison half an hour later. I drove them into the village for bacon and egg sandwiches at the deli. We sat in the park at the same bench that Sara and I had frequented in the past. It was a relatively mild day for early December. I had just taken a bite of my sandwich when I realized that I had first met Daisy exactly two years earlier. Rob laughed when I mentioned it. “I knew then that it was a big day for you, John. I just never guessed how big. I wonder what she’s doing now.”

“I haven’t a clue although her father tells me that she’s living in Bay Shore. That’s a medium-sized town about fifteen miles from here on the south shore. Sara works there at Good Samaritan Hospital. Fortunately, there are almost one point five million people in Suffolk County so the chances of running into her are slim and then there’s the restraining order I had my lawyer get after her last phone call. She screamed and claimed that I had something to do with the theft of her mother’s money.”

“That reminds me—didn’t I see on CNN that she had been arrested for some income tax scheme? I wonder how she acquired the computer skills to move all that money around.”

“Knowing her, she probably cuckolded her poor husband to convince some sap to do it for her. She’s still a good looking woman. Unfortunately, she’s also rotten to the core.” Allison laughed, but Rob knew I had spoken the truth. We finished our breakfast and were back at the house well before nine—plenty of time to shower, shave, and dress before the ceremony.

I had just finished with my tie and given my cordovan loafers a final shine with a silicone-treated cloth when I walked to my home office to open my safe. Inside were our rings, custom-made by my jeweler friend Sam. I had tried mine on for size, but Sara had refused, claiming some kind of jinx if she did. I closed the safe and walked downstairs to find Rob pacing in the hallway.

“Don’t tell me you’re nervous, Rob.”

“I have to admit I am a little, John. Allison has been making comments about how nice it would be for us to live together, you know, as a trial for marriage.”

“So…would that be so bad? She’s an extremely attractive woman and it’s pretty obvious that she’s in love with you. God; she hangs on every word out of your mouth. Let’s face it, buddy—you’re a mathematician. How interesting is that?”

“Very funny; when should people start to arrive?”

“Soon, I hope. The village magistrate and his wife should be here around ten—any minute now–my parents and godparents, too. I have a limo bringing Sara, Cara, and their mom. I’m hoping that we’ll get everything started by 10:30. I have refreshments for everyone until the caterers arrive at eleven.”

We chatted for a few minutes before we were joined by Allison. I had to admit that she was a very attractive woman—not quite as tall as Sara and Cara, but a bit heavier and curvier—especially in the chest. While Sara and Cara were B-cups I guessed that Allison was at least a C. Despite society’s fascination with breasts I knew that it was what’s inside that really counted. I had a feeling that Allison had plenty there, too.

Rob answered the doorbell when it rang, escorting Magistrate Osborne and his wife, Sally. We made small talk and I surreptitiously passed an envelope with exactly ten crisp portraits of Benjamin Franklin inside. He quickly placed it into his suit coat’s inner pocket. My parents and my aunt and uncle arrived a few minutes later. I made the introductions and Dad excused himself. Sara had asked if he would walk her into the house. We didn’t have a long aisle like you’d find in a church, but Sara was still entitled to a moment to shine.

I had just shown Magistrate Osborne to the hearth where Sara and I had agreed to take our vows when Natalie and her date—none other than Sheldon Mayer—walked in. I handled the introductions again then Rob walked to the door to tell Sara that we were ready. He returned to stand by me and we were in position when Cara walked in, a vision in a full-length deep pink gown with matching bouquet. It was only a few seconds later that Dad escorted Sara through the door. Cara’s date, a tall young man I recognized as one of the accountants from the firm across the hall, followed Dad and Sara, taking the time to close and lock the door. He stood next to Cara, but I noticed that they did not hold hands—not that I was paying them much attention.

I knew that I was prejudiced, but I thought in that instant that Sara was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. She also wore a full length gown in a shade of off-white silk. Like her twin, she carried a matching bouquet. Playing his part to the hilt, Dad kissed Sara’s cheek as he passed her hand to mine. I was ready to get started, but first Sara wanted to greet my mom and meet my godparents, as well as Rob and Allison.

Even with all the introductions and subsequent conversation we still began the ceremony almost on time.
It was short and to the point. Mr. Osborne identified himself as the Northport Village Magistrate, informing everyone that he was authorized by state law to perform marriages as part of his elective duties. He began with several passages from the bible. Sara squeezed my hand when he got to the part about a wife being submissive to her husband. I knew that would come later, once everyone had gone home. Rob and Allison would spend the night as the guests of my parents, not that their presence would stop us from expressing our love for each other as often as humanly possible.

We had written our own vows and I went first, holding her hands in mine. “Sara, I thought I knew what love was before I met you, but I was wrong. I love you unconditionally and I always will. I swear before God and our families and friends that I will always love and cherish you. I will always care for and protect you, placing your needs above my own. We have just begun our journey and I pray that it will be a long and joyous one together as partners…partners forever.”

I knew what Sara would say. She had practiced for weeks. “John, I have known you personally for only a few months, but I learned almost everything about you vicariously through my sister Cara who has worked closely with you for the past two and a half years. I knew that I could easily fall in love with you from what she told me long before we ever met. She told me how strong and moral you are as a person, how hard-working you are, and how considerate you are to everyone. Imagine my surprise to learn that she was wrong. You weren’t as good as she had said. You were even better. My heart melted with our first kiss. I regretted tricking you, but I’ve never regretted even a single second since that day. I love you more than anything or anyone I’ve ever met and I can’t imagine ever loving anyone even a fraction as much. I will love you until the end of time. John, you make me complete. I promise that I will do everything I can to be the perfect wife for you, not until the day we die, but forever. I know that I don’t have your education or your vocabulary, but I hope you know that I speak from my heart when I tell you that I love you completely with every cell of my body. Thank you for loving me just as much.”

Rob produced the rings right on schedule. Sara’s was a brushed yellow gold band with a continuous row of diamonds—almost five carats–running all the way around. There was a “V” cut into one side to make room for her Marquise-cut diamond solitaire. In fact, they fit together perfectly. My band had a single half carat diamond, but was identical to Sara’s in every other regard. We placed them on each other’s fingers and were declared husband and wife. I kissed my bride and Sara showed me how much she had missed me last night. The kiss lingered for several minutes until Cara told us we should get a room.

“We have a whole house, Cara, and I’m going to do John in every room starting with tonight.” Everyone laughed even though I knew that Sara was being completely honest. She’d told me of her plans more than a week ago—sort of a honeymoon at home. I couldn’t wait to get her on the washer and dryer. I thought the vibrations from the working machines would drive her wild.

We were greeted with hugs and handshakes and more kisses than I could count even from our small group. I was in the middle of a hug from my Aunt May when the doorbell rang. Dad went to answer and a few seconds later he led a small horde of caterers from Peter Luger’s through the living room to the kitchen. When I looked through the glass doors to the deck I saw several men placing two large Lucite tubs by the electrical outlets. Once their plugs were in the outlets, streams of bubbles floated up to the surface of the water within. I’d given everyone a choice, either prime ten ounce filet or two-plus pound lobster. They’d all chosen the lobster, thus the two large tubs.

It was only a matter of minutes before we had a bartender and, despite the early hour we all had champagne for Rob’s toast. It was great, but even better Sara had held my hand the entire time. Yes, she had held me—my hand in hers or her arm around my waist every second since the last congratulatory hug had ended. Trays of boiled shrimp and sliced lobster tail with cocktail sauce as well as hot hors d’oeuvres were carried by waitresses and they were supplemented by a tray of cold fresh vegetables with a dip of ranch dressing and another with corn chips and salsa that were placed on the coffee table for our enjoyment.

Cara turned on my Bang and Olufsen stereo and we began to dance. I went first with my new bride then most of the others joined us. I danced the next one with my mother-in-law and then with my mom and Aunt May. I danced with Cara and with Allison, but mostly I enjoyed holding my wife close to my body and she must have loved it, too because she rubbed against my all too obvious erection at every opportunity.

The party continued until two in the afternoon when the caterer announced that dinner was served. We began with crocks of French onion soup, complete with melted cheese. I had to admit that it was great. That was followed by salad—lettuce wedge with diced plum tomatoes and bacon bits with excellent bleu cheese dressing and capped with plenty of crumbles of real bleu cheese. Everyone commented on the salad, but Mrs. Osborne made her husband promise that he’d take her to Peter Luger’s in Great Neck. I wondered what she would say when we had the main course.

A lot of people think that boiling lobster is the best way to cook it, but steaming is really better. There were several propane stoves set up on the deck, each with a huge pot and a number of rounded stones to keep the lobsters out of the salt water boiling below. Each pot could hold six of the large crustaceans easily so all of the entrees were served at the same time. We also had huge Idaho potatoes baked in rock salt and fresh corn. I had wanted it on the cob, but Sara reminded me that everyone would be dressed up and that corn could be sloppy. That was when I reminded Sara that we were eating lobster and we’d all have those little bibs tied around our necks. That was one of the few “discussions” that I actually won.

The bottom line was that everyone enjoyed the meal immensely. Once the table was cleared the waiters brought bottles of cordials and liqueurs—only the best. I had paid more than a thousand dollars to ensure our guests the best wedding experience imaginable. Of course, Sara and I could enjoy them for weeks, reliving our big day. The drinks were accompanied by Italian cookies and petits fours—you know–those tiny and impossibly rich pastries that are always irresistible.

We chatted and drank for almost an hour before retiring to the living room for more dancing. We were all paired up so I almost had Sara all to myself. Dad did cut in once and I heard him say how thrilled he was to welcome her to our family. “He’s right, you know,” Mom whispered. “You took a huge leap up when you got involved with Sara. She’s so much better than Daisy ever dreamed of being.” I leaned down to kiss my mom’s cheek. I agreed with her one hundred percent. I’d dodged a bullet when I overheard Daisy and her mother on the phone.

We’d returned to the table for the final time when Aunt May asked, “What did Sara mean when she said she was sorry that she tricked you?”

Cara, Sara and I laughed, but I turned to Cara, telling her, “Go ahead. Tell everyone what you guys did and don’t leave anything out.” Cara blushed immediately, matched by Sara who with a wave of her hand gave Cara the okay to begin.

“Okay…I guess I should start at the very beginning—when I began working for John. Sara was working at the hospital and she asked me about my new job. I told her how thrilled I was working for John and how the work we were doing was so important. We spoke every night about what we each were doing, but after a month or so we were only talking about John. I realized early on, as did Sara, that we’d never said even a single negative word about him. I’ve never seen him lose his temper even though we’ve had some really big screw-ups. I think that’s because he’s so smart.

“At the time John had been living with Daisy and had eventually proposed. Based on what I saw when she came to the office I didn’t like her at all. Then suddenly John was working insane hours and I could see a change in his personality. After almost a month of that I asked him to level with me and he told me the whole sordid story about how Daisy and her mother had tried to hurt him and how he had thrown her out. Then he asked where he would be able to find a replacement. John’s not exactly into the bar and club scene. I remember telling him that I thought his solution wasn’t all that far away.

“I told Sara about our conversation that night and we came up with a plan. I love John, but I’m not ready to settle down. Sara is, so on Friday afternoon she and I exchanged clothes in the ladies’ room and at 5:30 she went into John’s office, sat in his lap, and kissed him. From what she’s shared with me it must have been some kiss. They went out to dinner and then came here where they spent the night together. Of course, John thought that he was spending it with me. He didn’t even know that Sara existed then.

“I had been sitting outside in my car since about eleven o’clock and around 1:00 or so Sara walked downstairs to let me in. She cuddled up in front of John and I snuggled up behind him and we went to sleep. Oh yeah, did I mention that we were all naked?” She had to stop then because everyone was laughing like crazy. I knew it would get worse when she told them about when I woke up. That came next.

“I had my arm draped over John’s body when he woke up. He looked over and saw Sara before realizing that someone else was in bed with them. Then he turned and saw me. I swear—his eyes became the size of saucers as he looked back and forth several times.” She had to stop again. My Aunt May was laughing so hard she was crying. Uncle David was holding his sides and Natalie was shaking her head in disbelief.

“Okay, I know it’s funny, but please let me finish. We confessed to him then and explained why we had tricked him. Basically, we knew that he would never have allowed himself to be fixed up. I remember that the last thing he said was, ‘what am I going to do with two of you?’” Everyone at the table was howling with laughter at that remark and it continued until Cara reminded everyone that their scheme had worked far beyond their wildest dream.

Mom always had a great sense of timing. She stood and said she thought it was time for them to leave. Rob and Allison went to their room for their bags. Mr. and Mrs. Osborne congratulated us and thanked us for a wonderful day. Cara, her date, Natalie, and Sheldon left together and just a few minutes later we were alone at last. I held Sara in my arms, looking into her face for several minutes and I would have continued had she not asked why we were wasting time. She had a sly look on her face as she led me upstairs to our bedroom.

>>>>>>

Sara pulled a hanger from my closet and hung up my new suit after helping me out of it. I did the best I could with her gown. I’m hardly an expert when it comes to women’s clothing. Fact is, I don’t know much about men’s either. My shirt and underwear went into the hamper, followed almost immediately by Sara’s matching bra and panties and her stockings. I would have loved to have pulled Sara straight to the bed, but I knew I needed a shower. I didn’t mind waiting. Showering with Sara was almost as much fun as making love with her and I knew that would happen soon enough.

We stood together under the hot spray kissing and touching and fondling each other. We’d been in there more than five minutes before Sara giggled and grabbed the soap. She hurriedly washed my torso and passed the soap to me while she ran her soapy hands over my cock and scrotum. Less than a minute later she declared that we were clean enough. We dried each other hurriedly and practically ran to the bed where Sara literally threw me down, climbing onto my body and speaking only when she had me pinned beneath her.

“Damn, John, but I missed you last night. I hope you don’t mind if I take the top. I phoned my gynecologist yesterday and she said it would take at least a month before I became fertile again. She told me that missionary was best and that I should keep my legs in the air for at least twenty minutes afterwards to encourage the sperm to move in the right direction. Until then I want to ride you as much as possible. Is that okay? Oh, yeah—I’m also planning to swallow you several times, at least and then there’s my special surprise.”

“Like I’d ever complain about making love with you; any position you want works for me.” I pulled her down for a long kiss. She pinned my cock between our bodies. I was totally distracted by the sensation of her sweet plump lips pressing into mine and her tongue dueling with mine so I barely noticed when she lifted her hips so I could enter her easily. Our lips were glued together as Sara began to move on me.

“I’m going to give you my special tonight, John. Actually, it’s going to be two specials. First, my muscular pussy is going to milk all your precious fluids and once you’ve had a chance to rest a bit, you’re going to get my virgin ass.” She almost laughed at the expression on my face. “Isn’t that what wedding nights are all about, Darling? Aren’t I supposed to lose my virginity tonight?”

“You would have been spot on about fifty years ago, but I’m glad we didn’t wait. You’ve brought me so much pleasure…so much joy. I love making love with you and I love being with you. Every second of every day is just wonderful.”

“Maybe, but it’s only the beginning. We have our entire lives to enjoy each other and I plan to enjoy you often—several times a day, if possible. Now, I want you to lie back and enjoy.” She sat down on my cock so I was fully immersed in her sex. Then, without seeming to move, her muscles rippled up and down my organ. The sensation was incredible as her already tight pussy squeezed me even more. Her rhythm suddenly increased in speed and strength and I was a goner. My hips drove up more than a foot as my cock erupted forcefully five times, leaving me physically exhausted when it was done.

“How? How did you?” I was so thoroughly drained that I could barely speak.

“Remember how I told you about my Kegel exercises? I’ve done them every day since I was twelve just for this moment and now that we’re married I’ll gladly do it for you often. Now I want you to rest while I tell you what I’ve been up to.

“I practiced anal with a big cucumber last night and again this morning. Also, I skipped breakfast so I could take a few enemas. I wanted to be really clean for you.”

“Where was Cara while you were doing all that?”

Sara giggled before replying. “She was helping me, silly. She lubed me up and then helped me get the cucumber in. I have to tell you—I loved the feeling. My butt was tingling like crazy and I felt so full. Of course, a cucumber can’t react to anything I do so I’m really looking forward to having the real thing—my real thing—in there fucking me wildly.”

“Have I ever told you how incredible you are? What did I ever do to deserve a woman like you?”

“You were just yourself—you were honest, and caring, and loving. I think you’re the finest person I’ve ever met.”

“No…that award goes to your sister. I don’t know many women who would give up a chance at a millionaire for her sister.”

“Maybe, but you’re definitely the best man I’ve ever met. You’re very easy to love and you’re a great lover, too.” She kissed me again and used her muscles to make me hard again as her hands found and caressed my balls. “When you’re ready can we do it missionary? I read online that it’s the best way.” I nodded my agreement then kissed her again, doubting that I’d ever tire of her soft pliable lips. We remained like that for about twenty minutes—kissing, wrestling tongues, massaging my cock with her powerful vaginal walls and tenderly fondling my balls. Not surprisingly, I was more than ready.

I gingerly lifted Sara and placed her carefully onto the bed, moving two pillows under her hips. I reached into my night table for the KY lube I hadn’t used since I’d learned of Daisy’s treachery. I was just about to lube up Sara’s butt when I had a thought. I backed off the bed and trotted to the bathroom, returning quickly with a large bath towel that I placed under Sara’s back and butt and legs. She gave me a questioning look so I explained, “It can get a bit sloppy so I like to have something to wipe my hands on and this way we won’t have to make the bed once we’re done.”

Sara smiled and I realized then that her smiles made my life worthwhile. Then she made it even better when she told me, “You’re so smart. No wonder I love you so much.”

I squeezed the tube so I had an inch of slippery gel on the fingers of my left hand. Sara sighed as I began to rub the gel into her puckered star. A minute later I pressed one finger slowly into her hole. I added some more lube and a few minutes later I pushed another finger home. Soon I had three fingers in her and I was watching her face for any signs of pain or discomfort. I was sure now that Sara had been practicing, maybe even more than she had told me. I quickly rubbed some KY into my cock and swapped cock for fingers in less than a second.

Once I had wiped my hands and fingers on the towel I leaned forward, placing Sara’s legs over my shoulders. The expression on Sara’s face when she saw both of my hands was incredible—almost as incredible as the sensations her powerful anus was giving my throbbing organ. While Sara’s pussy was tight from the entrance all the way to her cervix, her sphincter was like a small elastic washer that I forced my cock through on each and every thrust. Pushing and pulling through it seemed impossible and it would have been if not for the ultra-slippery KY.

While Sara was taking care of me it appeared that I was doing as well for her. I could tell by her constant moaning and her rapid shallow breathing that she was swiftly approaching the mother of all orgasms. Her body had begun to thrash wildly, her arms battering the pillows. Knowing that I wasn’t going to last very long despite my recent orgasm into her throat, I reached down to pinch and twist Sara’s clit. I knew she was about to explode when she reached up to pull my lips down to hers. We came together at the instant that our lips met, Sara’s body totally out of control, so powerful were the spasms that coursed the length of her body. Again, hot sperm-laden semen erupted from my dick. Our orgasms lasted maybe thirty seconds until Sara sagged back into the bed and I collapsed onto her body.

We lay there for about half an hour, recovering slowly, until Sara ran her fingers through my hair, whispering, “We are definitely doing that again. You’ve given me some fantastic orgasms, but nothing like that. My butt began tingling with your first finger and it never stopped. It got stronger and stronger and when you grabbed my clit the tingling spread through my entire body. Dear God, it went on and on and on. I hope you don’t mind if we wait until tomorrow to make love again. I don’t think I could handle anything more just now.” My response was to pull her sweet lips to mine again and suggest that we take a short nap. I rolled off her and pulled her onto the left side of my body. We fell into a deep sweet sleep almost immediately.

>>>>>>

Night comes early in New York in December so we weren’t at all surprised to find that the sun had set by the time we awoke about an hour later. We were refreshed, but were still somewhat drained when I led Sara to the shower. Her legs and butt were sticky with the dried lubricant and my abdomen wasn’t much better. My semen was trapped within her bowel until her next movement.

Our shower was more businesslike, but not all business, this time around. It was almost 7:30 by the time we were dressed so I drove us down to the village to the local sub shop. I knew the owner, thanks to Daisy. I’ve never been great in the kitchen and I’ve never had much interest in cooking just for me. As a result I’d eaten there two or three times a week between Daisy’s driving adventure and when I had been rescued by Sara and Cara.

Joe, the owner, greeted me when we strode through the door. “Hi John; haven’t seen you around much recently. Who’s the pretty lady?”

“This is my wife, Sara. We were just married this morning. Sara, meet Joe Fazio—the owner of this fine establishment. I suggest the Rebel Rouser. It’s my favorite, by far.” I pointed to the sign on the wall that listed the ingredients for all of the sandwiches. She smiled and nodded. “Make it two, Joe, and two Cokes, please.”

He came to the table a few minutes later with two jumbo Cokes. “I can’t believe you’re having your wedding dinner here in the sandwich shop.”

“Well, we did have a late lunch catered by Peter Luger—two-pound lobsters, baked potato and fresh corn…lettuce wedge with bleu cheese dressing. I think we still have some of the jumbo shrimp and lobster cocktail left over from the appetizers, but that was hours ago so we’re happy to be here now.”

“Well, I’m glad. I always enjoy seeing you. Some of my customers,” he paused to make sure that nobody was listening, “are a real pain. I’m sure you know what I mean.” Sara and I laughed while Joe returned behind the counter. The Rebel Rouser was a hot sandwich with turkey breast, Virginia ham, provolone cheese, and bacon strips placed open in an oven until the cheese had melted and the foot-long roll was toasted. Then the sandwich was folded over and sliced. Joe brought them to us about five minutes later.
Sara and I ate in relative silence, but we didn’t have to speak to make our feelings for each other known. I could see Sara’s love in her eyes and I was sure that she could see my love for her in mine. “I like the sandwich, John. It’s really good.”

“I’m glad. That means we can come back and do it again. That’ll make Joe happy, too. He’s a nice guy in a tough business and I know he has a family to support. I got to know him quite well in my PD-PS period. I continued when Sara’s face showed her confusion. “Post Daisy…Pre Sara.” She laughed at my lame attempt at humor. We left at 8:30 and were back in bed thirty minutes later, not to make love—we did that Sunday morning—but to sleep.

Dad drove Rob and Allison back to us around nine then we went out for brunch at the Yacht Club before I drove them back to the airport for their flight to Boston. There were hugs, kisses, and a hearty handshake between Rob and me before they walked into the TSA area. We waved once they were cleared before they had to turn and walk to the gate. Best of all—they agreed to return during Christmas week when their universities would be closed for intersession.

Sara and I spent the rest of the day in bed holding and touching and loving each other. We sixty-nine’d first until we were totally drained. Then I held Sara, my head still between her silken thighs and hers resting lightly on my right thigh. “I think I should do this more often, John. The view is just great!” I laughed as I leaned up to kiss each of her ass cheeks. Damn, but this woman’s body was, in my opinion, the perfect combination of smoothness and strength. Her skin was unbelievably soft and smooth, but I could easily feel the strong muscles just below the surface.

Later in the afternoon we fucked as Sara rode my cock like a woman possessed. I had no idea where her energy came from. I knew that I was all but exhausted. She rode me to two powerful orgasms before my weary cock spurted, bathing her womb in my baby-making sauce.

>>>>>>

We were up early for work the following morning as our lives adjusted to our new normal. I was in the office when Cara poked her head in the door. “So John, how was your weekend?”

I was chuckling as I answered. “I think you already know the answer to that. Yes, I did enjoy Sara’s surprises—both of them. She seemed to enjoy the second one a lot, too. Why don’t you grab some coffee and we’ll get started on the bonuses.”

Cara was back about five minutes later with coffee for both of us along with her steno pad. “I ordered a new desk and chair for Mom yesterday—Staples online. It should be delivered by Wednesday. I saw Bobby on the way in and he says he’ll hook her desktop up to our network. I plan to buy the computer over lunch if that’s okay with you.” It was completely okay so we spent the rest of the morning on the bonuses. My senior techs got $2,000,000 each, the juniors—a million, four. I gave Cara $150,000. Tom O’Neill got $3,000,000. Sergei got $2,500.000. They were doing a great job organizing Tritech-EU, the European Union division of my firm.

The next two weeks flew by as we started to move into the offices across the hall now that the accounting firm was already down on the second floor. We were all set by Christmas, more than a month ahead of schedule. Natalie was on the job and we’d hired two clerks to manage the accounting.

Christmas day was the best I could remember. Sara gave me casual clothes that I sorely needed and scheduled an appointment with a Hong Kong tailor who was on an annual visit to Manhattan so I could be measured for four custom suits and two dozen dress shirts. I bought her mostly jewelry, but also some sexy bedroom outfits, not that she needed anything to look sexy. I also bought her a large bottle of an expensive perfume after she told me she had tried it and liked it in one of the nearby malls. I liked it, too—especially on Sara.

We had a party on New Year’s Eve with Rob and Allison, Cara and her new boyfriend, Steve, who I learned was a civil engineer for a huge national firm. Mom and Dad and Natalie with Sheldon rounded out the group. This time I had Joe’s sub shop handle the catering, but only cold sandwiches in addition to several outstanding salads and barbeque baked beans. I welcomed in the New Year kissing and holding my wonderful wife.

We continued our family building exercises until one day in late February when I returned from work to find a small box on the floor just inside the door. I was curious so I picked it up–surprised to find that it was a home pregnancy test. Inside was a cylinder that said YES. I hurried forward toward the kitchen where I found another that had the same message. On the table was a third positive with a brief note that demanded that I run upstairs to the bedroom where my pregnant wife awaited.

I took the steps three at a time, almost breaking my neck when I fell forward near the top. I stopped suddenly when I opened the door to the bedroom. The room was bathed in the light from a dozen candles and there on the center of the bed was my wife wearing one of the sexiest outfits I had bought her for Christmas. It was a wine red teddy with an open crotch and ribbons that wound their way around her breasts, supporting them while leaving them completely exposed to my hungry eyes. I had thought it incredibly sexy in the store, but on Sara’s body there were no words to adequately describe it.

“Get those clothes off, John. I plan to ride you for hours tonight. Don’t worry about dinner. I got us a couple of those club subs from the sub shop for whenever we need to rest and recharge.” I couldn’t get my clothes off fast enough. Even with all the sex we’d had over the past two months I still wanted Sara with every fiber of my body. Once I was naked I fell into her embrace. She wrapped her slender, but strong arms around me as our lips met in perhaps the most passionate kiss of my life. It went on for several minutes until Sara broke it. “I love kissing you, but I have this itch and if I don’t scratch it soon….” I laughed as I rolled off her and pulled her onto me. Her legs opened as she straddled me. It was only a second later that she slid down my shaft and we became one.

“I phoned my doctor this afternoon. Oh, dear God, you feel so good inside me. I love the way you stretch my pussy. You make me tingle all over. We have an appointment next Tuesday afternoon. Is that okay? Ohhh, sweet mother of God—you feel so damned good.” She began a slow rhythm, one that I knew from sweet experience would increase in pace over the next ten minutes until we were rutting like wild beasts. That was pretty much what happened—several times that evening. We never did get to eat our hero sandwiches, but I doubted that either of us cared. I made a mental note just before falling asleep to clear my schedule Tuesday afternoon.

Five days after that we had my parents, Natalie, and Cara to dinner. Sara had resigned from her job and she’d made a turkey complete with my mother’s stuffing. We all had drinks before dinner and if anyone noticed that Sara was drinking ginger ale nothing was said. Dinner went well with everyone complimenting Sara on the job she had done. We all had white wine—Chardonnay–in crystal goblets with Sara’s ginger ale again going unnoticed.

The meal was almost over when Sara gave me an almost imperceptible nod. “Sara and I really want to thank you for coming tonight. It isn’t every day that we get to share with our families, nor have we ever enjoyed a meal like this with first-time grandparents and a first-time aunt.” Not my best effort, but the message got through. There was cheering and hugging and kissing. Dad pumped my hand for five minutes at least. Natalie hugged me then kissed my cheek and when she pulled back I could see that she was crying. Cara, Mom, and Sara had a group hug, smiling and laughing the entire time and doing that jumping thing that all women seem to do when they’re excited. Finally, after almost ten minutes everything calmed down and we moved to the living room. I listened in amazement as my mother and Natalie began to plan for the baby’s clothes and blankets. Mom said she would crochet an afghan while Natalie said she would knit a sweater and cap and booties. Amazing! Of course, I knew that being a parent was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of joy.

Now that we knew that Sara was pregnant I knew that it was time to plan our honeymoon—a trip to Europe. Tom O’Neill had done well to settle in Montenegro. They had just about the lowest corporate and individual income tax rates in the European Union. He had leased an entire building in the capital of Podgorica, less than 20 miles from his home in the coastal town of Budva. Montenegro was centrally located in Europe so it was an ideal place for my European headquarters.

Sergei had been in contact with universities and had enlisted forty-three technicians. Of that number thirty-eight had been successfully vetted by several of the EU’s biggest and best private investigations firms.
Meanwhile, Tom had been in contact with NATO Headquarters outside Brussels courtesy of our Department of Defense. He knew that once we were into NATO we’d have entrée to the European governments in a flash. I reviewed my plans with Sara and made reservations for our combination honeymoon and business trip for early May in the hope that Europe’s weather would be warm enough then.

Here in the United States we tend to think that Europe is just like us, but Paris is farther north than any city in the lower forty-eight. Rome is on the same latitude as New York City. If not for the Gulf Stream Europe would be as cold as …. Well, it would be really cold and it sometimes is when our weather is warm and pleasant.

We took an overnight flight, beginning around 8:30 and arriving around the same time at Heathrow the following morning. I had ordered a car and the driver picked us up just outside the airport’s security area. We enjoyed a leisurely ride into London all the way to the Tower Hotel, just up river from the Tower Bridge and just down the hill from the Tower of London.

We stayed in London for six days—four days of touring and enjoying the city and two days meeting with government officials while Sara enjoyed the hotel’s spa or shopping at Harrod’s or some other fine boutique recommended by our concierge. Next were six days in Paris where the itinerary was much the same. I didn’t know where she shopped, but she spent a small fortune on gifts mostly for our parents and my favorite sister-in-law. I was positive that I’d wind up paying a lot of duty when we returned home. We loved the Louvre and Notre Dame and were surprised by the Museum of the Army and the Arch de Triumph. We spent our final day at Versailles. From there we went to Amsterdam—three days having fun and one at work. We met Tom and Sergei there, first at the Prime Minister’s office for a business meeting and later for a planning dinner. The following day we toured the city before boarding a Viking river ship for our cruise down the Rhine, Main, and Danube to Budapest.

Most of the travelers were older than us, but they were friendly, especially when they learned that we were celebrating our honeymoon and Sara’s pregnancy. I much prefer cruising to a bus tour and driving on our own was out of the question. We only had to unpack once and all our meals were provided. Our suite was at the rear of the ship just below the top deck with a large veranda that wrapped around the side of the ship.
Our living room had floor to ceiling windows, making cruising even more enjoyable.

We were relaxing in the lounge one evening before dinner when one of the women we’d met the day before asked Sara how we had met. She looked at me for a second while I beat a hasty retreat to the bar. I was there just enough to hear the women roaring with laughter. Sara turned to me with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders. I heard it from one of the husbands when I returned with a pint of beer for me and a ginger ale for Sara. “Identical twins eh? Some people have all the luck.”

“Well,” I responded. “They’re not quite identical. Sara’s sister, my office manager, has a little birthmark. I won’t tell you where, but I never saw it while we were working together.” That caused more laughter and I grinned at Sara’s reddening face. We stopped our chatter then to listen to a port talk. We had one every night before dinner then we walked slowly toward the restaurant for a scrumptious meal.

I had another good laugh when a woman asked what I did for a living that enabled me to get away for an entire month. “John owns a company that has something to do with computers. He’s explained it to me several times, but I still don’t fully understand. I do know that he paid my sister who is his personal secretary as well as office manager almost a quarter of a million dollars last year and all of his senior guys made more than two million. Last year he gave about forty million to charity. He’s such a sweetheart.”

“Exactly what is it that you do, John,” asked one of the husbands at our table.

“I wrote a special firewall program as part of my doctoral thesis and had it patented when my advisor saw its potential. That’s our only product, but it’s a good one. I have virtually every department of our government as clients as well as most of the major banks and retail outlets. The head of my European branch just signed up NATO and we enrolled England, France, and the Netherlands within the last two weeks. I’m already on Version 4.0 and it’s patented, too. With all the hacking problems recently I can’t hire technicians fast enough. I call them technicians, but almost all have PhD’s and they’ve all been vetted by private investigators because they have access to a lot of secret information. It’s rare that I actually have to sell my product.”

“Could I buy this for my computer at home?”

“No, it’s not practical because it’s too expensive. I charge $2,000 per computer the first year and $1,000 every year thereafter although, that’s food for thought. My goal is to have every country other than those unfriendly to the U.S. I’ll get there, too. Right now my biggest stumbling block is getting technicians.”

“It sounds complicated.”

“It is, but everything that’s worthwhile is a bit complicated.” He nodded his agreement and the conversation turned to the trip. Everyone was looking forward to going through our first lock later this evening. We had been told that we would go through seventy-one on this trip, but the first should be interesting. After that, who could know?

The trip was idyllic—moderate sunny days exploring small towns and cities, each with a story to tell and each with friendly people eager to share their history with travelers like us. I knew we were nearing the end when we reached Vienna, a beautiful city on the supposedly blue Danube. Well, it might have been blue when Strauss wrote that waltz, but it isn’t blue now. It’s kind of greenish-brown, but Vienna was still an enchanting city. Truthfully, I could have stayed in one of the coffee shops eating strudel or some of the other delicious pastries all day, but Sara insisted on seeing the city.

We strolled hand in hand through ancient streets, stopping to window shop and even to buy. Sara was especially intrigued by some of the local crafts. She bought silver earrings and bracelets as gifts and some for herself, too. We bought several small paintings—watercolors—that were packed carefully between sheets of corrugated cardboard and taped together for the long trip home. Yes, the days were spent sightseeing, but the nights were spent making love. Okay, so were the mornings and some of the afternoons, too. We were honeymooners. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

We disembarked the ship in Budapest, an incredible city, and boarded a train that would take us to Montenegro. Sergei picked us up at the station and drove us to Budva where we stayed in a beautiful suite hotel right on the beach. The temperature was in the low seventies so it was comfortable by and in the heated pool, but not in the sea.

We met with Tom O’Neill and with Sergei at the building I had leased. They filled me in on the NATO contract and I had the chance to meet with many of my new employees. We offered to take them to dinner and that was where we met Sergei’s girlfriend and a woman Tom simply introduced as “the love of my life.” Margaret had been arrested and charged with a host of felonies for which she had no defense other than her miserable sadistic personality. She had been charged with wire fraud and income tax evasion as well as money laundering and several RICO charges for secretly removing the money from the United States. I was praying that she’d have a lousy attorney which seemed highly likely since her assets, including her house, had been frozen by the government.

I also knew that once convicted, Tom would file for divorce. Sheldon Mayer already had the paperwork in hand and was just waiting to pounce.

Sergei’s partner, Viktorija, appeared to be in her mid to late twenties and, like many European’s, spoke excellent English. She had a pleasant personality and a killer body—slender like most European women who ate more goat, lamb, and fish and much less fatty beef than we did in the States. Tom’s love, a forty-something woman named Danica came to dinner with her two daughters, both in their late twenties. She was also slender with a decent body. Her English was sketchy, but her daughters were fluent and it was clear that they all loved Tom.

Speaking slowly, Danica explained that she was a widow and that her husband had died shortly after the Serbo-Croatian War—a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had just driven to Croatia on business. He should have been safe, but his car suffered a blowout and left the road into a field where it struck a mine. I knew that there were thousands if not millions of mines in fallow fields all throughout Croatia because there simply wasn’t enough money to remove them.

We ate in a private room at a place called Konoba Portun. It was in an old building on what I’d call an alley, but was probably just a very old street. I had to admit that the food and the service were outstanding—so outstanding that we met there again about a week later on our final night before flying home. I congratulated both Tom and Sergei for the job they were doing. They laughed, telling me that they were just getting started. I returned the laughter, knowing that they were just being honest. Tom, especially, was grateful. He had made more money with me last year than he had in the past twenty as a banker.

>>>>>>

That’s exactly how it happened just ten years ago. Yes, tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of my marriage to Sara and twelve years since I met Daisy in the college library. It’s also the date that I will take my firm public, selling seventy percent—seven hundred million shares of stock at a projected introductory price of $135 per share. That means Sara and I will earn an awful lot of money, but over the past ten years I’ve cleared more than twenty billion and I’ve given almost all of it away to responsible charities large and small.

Sara and I still live in the same house with our four girls. That’s right—Sara and I have four beautiful and brilliant daughters—Brianna, nine; Celia, seven; Natalie, four; and Cara, two. Sara brags that they take after me, but I know better. They are the spitting image of their mother. I’d like to believe that they think like me, but so far none of them—thank God—have my perfect memory. Some things were made to be forgotten.

We have made some changes to our property, installing a six-foot high estate fence all around to protect our daughters. We installed it after I tripped and fell almost halfway down the bluff. I was stopped by a small bush whose roots were anchored deeply into the deep loose sand. I managed to walk the rest of the way down to the beach where Sara met me about a quarter mile away in the village parking lot. Other than my dignity, I was completely uninjured.

This experience also showed me how easily the bluff could be eroded and I hesitated to guess how much worse the erosion could be if we had a hurricane or even a common Nor’easter. Sara and I entertained our neighbors on each side of our house one evening and proposed reinforcing the bluff. They were hesitant until Sara mentioned that we’d pay the entire cost. We hired a major engineering firm to develop specifications then solicited quotations. The bottom line was almost ten million dollars, but the value of our houses skyrocketed once the project was completed.

We still drive Toyotas although we do give them to charity every year and buy new ones. I have trusts established for my daughters and, of course, for Sara should anything happen to me. And, speaking of something happening, we also have two dogs—German Shepherds–spayed sisters who are great family pets as well as trained guardians for our family. They walk our girls to the school bus stop every morning and are waiting when they return.

Cara had told me that she planned to settle down in five to ten years. She made only three years after Sara and I were wed, marrying her civil engineer—Bill Wells—who is now a vice president of his firm, the very same firm we used for our project. Cara worked for me up until two years ago when she announced that she was pregnant. Then Natalie was promoted to office manager.

Natalie dated Sheldon Mayer for several months before both agreed that there was no spark of love between them. Things worked out well for her though. She was in the office just over a year ago when George Martin, the Chief Financial Officer of one of New York’s megabanks, entered the office supposedly to review our contract. Surprisingly, he returned several times over the next few weeks even though his business could have easily been handled over the phone. We had just finished coffee and doughnuts when I told her my thoughts. “You do know that he’s coming here to see you, Natalie. You need to suggest that he take you to lunch.” She laughed, but did follow through on my suggestion the next time he visited the office. That was all the encouragement he needed.

They dated for six months before he popped the question. She’s still with me in our new building at the intersection of the Long Island Expressway and Route 110 in nearby Melville, claiming that she’d probably go stir crazy if she had to stay home every day. She’d made it abundantly clear to George long before they were married that she wasn’t into the country club scene unless she was with her husband.

You’ll no doubt be pleased to learn that Margaret O’Neill spent more than four years in federal prison after accepting a plea bargain for one count of income tax evasion. She was also fined $400,000 which put a serious dent into her assets. She hadn’t been in prison even a single week when she was served with divorce papers. She didn’t fight. There was no way that she could and six months later Tom was a single man with more than half of their combined assets as part of the settlement, making an even bigger dent in what she had considered her fortune. Such was the price of her detestable treatment of her husband.
Sheldon was at his shark-like best in court for those hearings. Tom wasn’t single very long—just long enough to get a license and walk Danica in front of the local magistrate. Sergei followed him only a few months later.

I named Tom as Chief Executive Officer of Tritech-EU and Sergei as Chief Operating Officer just a few months after our honeymoon visit. For tax reasons the EU division of Tritech has remained a separate entity from my U.S. firm as have branches in South America and Asia and they will continue that way until I decide to take them public, as well. I now had branches in many of the major cities here and virtually every federal, state, and local government agency in the United States was a long-term client as were almost every significant bank, financial institution, and retail outlet in our country. Tritech now had more than ten thousand employees, including Professor Eastman who I paid a million dollars a year for doing virtually nothing. It was my way of thanking him for his help in giving birth to my enterprise.

I had sworn to never sell to countries hostile to the United States. I hadn’t done that to date and never will. However, that didn’t stop the Russians from trying to steal the program. One of my techs had just left a client in a bank branch about ten kilos outside Gdansk, Poland and was driving back to his hotel only a few kilometers away when his car was rear-ended at a stoplight by an elderly couple. The husband—the driver—apologized until his wife pleaded for assistance in exiting the car. He felt a prick on his neck when he tried to help the old woman from the vehicle. Looking back at the husband he saw a sinister smile just before everything turned black. His briefcase with DVD’s containing the firm’s sole product was gone when he awoke two hours later in the driver’s seat of his rental.

He phoned me immediately and we had a good laugh. I had always demanded that the initial phase of the installation be done in total privacy for security reasons. There was a good reason for that. Literature given to each client clearly stated the unique password for each user, however there was also another secret codeword known only to a handful of installers located in my headquarters. Without that codeword inserted onto what appeared to be a title page, the program would begin a thirty day countdown that would not only delete all of the programs on that computer, but also on every computer on every network in contact with it.
The Russians apparently installed it onto a non-networked workstation and when it worked perfectly proceeded to add it to virtually every computer in the Kremlin and were in the process of adding it to every computer under their control in the country. Exactly thirty days later all of the hard drives were erased. Of course, that never made the news, but I and all of my techs knew what had happened. Even worse, all attempts to reload files proved fruitless and entirely new hard drives had to be purchased , formatted, and programs restored before they could be of any use. There had never been another attempt to steal my firewall again.

Telling you about Daisy will take a bit longer. I hadn’t seen or heard from her since the phone call where she accused me of stealing her mother’s money. However, Sara did run into her at a WalMart near the hospital where she had worked until she married me. She had taken Brianna who was two and Celia who was three months old to the hospital to show them to her friends there. Needing some diapers and other supplies, she stopped at a WalMart on the way home where she encountered Daisy at the checkout and without anywhere near enough money for her purchases. Sara is a kind woman. You’re about to find out how kind. She paid for Daisy’s meager purchases, telling me about it that evening as I hugged Brianna and rocked Celia in my arms.

“I ran into Daisy at the WalMart in East Islip today. She looked terrible and she didn’t have enough money to buy food that would last us even a single day.”

“Good…that’s exactly what she deserves,” was my terse reply.

“John Michael Gotti!”

Shit! She only called me that when I was in trouble which, fortunately, was a rare occurrence. “You need several new clerks and she needs money. I want you to hire her for one of the jobs.” I would have made some witty wiseass retort, but I knew that would be suicidal. I closed my eyes and nodded. Sara just kissed me, and when my eyes opened I knew that I had just been convinced to do something I thought I was going to regret. I phoned Daisy’s cell the following morning, ruing the day when as a child I had realized that I had total recall—a photographic memory.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Daisy.”

“John? I can’t believe it.”

“Yeah, well—me neither and I wouldn’t be calling if not for my wife. She ran into you at WalMart a few days ago. She’s the woman who gave you money and who has suggested that I give you a job. What happened to selling real estate?”

“I lost my license when I pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine. I’m working in a sleazy office for some cheap lawyer and I can barely pay my bills.”

“What are you making now?”

“I’ll do twenty if I let him fuck me on a regular basis.”

“You can come to work for me and I’ll pay you thirty-five plus benefits, but don’t get the wrong idea. Your immediate supervisor will be my mother-in-law and her boss is my sister-in-law. You’ll be working for me and that’s all. You can start in a week.”

Well, she did start in a week and the tension in my otherwise smoothly running office was so thick you couldn’t cut it with an axe. I thought that things would get better with time, but I was wrong. A month later Cara and Natalie walked into my office and closed the door, the expressions on their faces telling me all I needed to know. “She’s got to go, John. She’s bad-mouthing you—telling everyone how you stole from her mother and ruined their lives–every hour of every day. The clerical staff is sick of it and the techs would like to kill her. Her attitude is like a cancer that has to be stamped out.”

“Okay…Cara, you’re the office manager. Manage the office. Write a memo to payroll giving her a month’s salary and benefits as severance and a promise of a positive reference and kick her to the curb as soon as the check is drawn. Oh…one other thing—you get to inform your sister as soon as it’s done.”

Cara and Natalie grinned for the first time since entering the office. “Chicken,” they said with a laugh.

“Not chicken, but not an idiot either,” I replied. “Get it done and be sure she knows why. From what I’ve heard her work has been good so I won’t have a problem with the reference.” I shooed them out of the office and an hour later Daisy was history—driven away once again, just like when I drove her and her asshole boss through Kings Park. Hell…as I looked back on that I realized that it had been the most fun I’d had in ages. Then I’d met Sara and I’d had nothing but fun since.

I took a call from an accountant about ten days later asking about Daisy. “She was my fiancée a few years ago and when she was hired here about two months ago she had to work with my mother-in law and my wife’s identical twin. Her work was good, but there was a lot of tension between them so I had to let her go.” That was close enough to the truth that I didn’t consider it an ethical problem.

“She comes across as being kind of sexy.”

“Good choice of words—‘comes across.’ She told me herself that she fucked her previous boss regularly. I’m sure you can even have her ass whenever you want it. Could be a win-win for you. Her work really was excellent.” Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but I wasn’t overstating the sex part. Daisy always did love it up the ass. We chatted for a few minutes and then ended the call. Daisy got the job and that was the very last I’d seen or heard of her.

Like every other person on Earth I have good days and bad. There is one constant, though. I know that when I go home I’ll be greeted by two tail-wagging dogs, hugged and kissed by my four young girls and loved incredibly by my wife. Sara must have learned a lot in the Army because she has our family organized like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Our girls take responsibility for their rooms when they become four. That’s right—four! Of course, they need help, but they get an allowance that they have to earn. We may be rich, but that doesn’t mean that our children will be spoiled.

I’ve never doubted that Sara worked much harder than I ever did, even with the cleaners and the yard service in every week. However, that never stopped her from showing her love once the girls were in bed. Even after ten years we make love at least once each and every day, taking breaks only when ordered by her doctor near the end of her pregnancies. She really is a special woman. She is and has been my rock ever since we first met.

I’ll be stepping down as CEO at the first meeting of the Board of Directors, but I will stay on as Chairman of the Board, a job that should only take me thirty to forty hours a month instead of the sixty hours a week I have been working for the past ten-plus years. I plan to spend all of my time with my incredible family and my even more incredible wife. I’ve tried to show her every day how much I love her. Now I’ll be able to do it even more often. I realize just how blessed I am every time I look into Sara’s loving eyes and every time I feel her embrace. And they say nice guys always finish last. Yeah…good luck with that!

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