Andi's Dream - Joy To The World

As she flipped through the book Andi bookmarked several pages with scraps of wrapping paper for later review. She shifted her sore posterior in the seat next to Paul, ignoring his explanation of how the charter income will pay for the expenditures and how he's contracted a crew that can yadda yadda yadda. All she knew is that her man is securing the future for her and her babies. She went through the portfolio again, looking at the different accounts, stock acquisitions, and income as CEO of Jarecki Motors INC. That's not even including his income as consultant to Springville and South Boston hospitals.

There was a list of debits, there was still some outstanding debt on the farm on Trevet road but it's almost paid off. "My student loans will mess this whole thing up," she muttered grimly.

"Hmm? No." he flipped back a page and showed her a chart that showed where her loans were scheduled for payoff, December 27th. "I have your Toyota listed as a debit, but I know a couple of salesmen, we can deal with that."

"Wait... my debt is gone?"

"Not yet, day after tomorrow."

Andi gasped, "My debit is gone? MY DEBIT IS GONE!!!" she shrieked and she threw her arms around Paul's neck and peppered his face with kisses.

"Well, yeah we absorbed it and your bills are paid off... except for your car."

What impressed her the very most was the sizeable annuity he set up for the twins, and the will which left everything to her. She stared at that stunned. It was worth more money than she could imagine. "When I sell my condo that money won't even make a ripple when it hits this pond," she said in shock.

"No, what we can do is set up an..." Paul almost started into a financial tangent when Andi covered his lips with hers.

"Stop," she whispered, "it's Christmas, can this wait until after the honeymoon? Where are we going anyway?"

Paul looked stunned, "Our boat of course, unless you'd rather not, but it's in the portfolio. I was figuring we could spend a couple of weeks on our yacht..."

"We have a yacht?"

"Well, yeah. It's kind of a Christmas present for the four of us. Didn't you notice?" He opened the portfolio book again and flipped to a bookmarked page.

Andi saw a sheet full of numbers and slowly it swam into meaning, this was describing a pretty nice boat. Is seventy-two feet a big boat? Then she turned the page and she saw a photo of a large motor yacht, "That's the same as Frank's boat..." she thought, then she saw the name "Regal Dream," yeah - it was Franks boat. But the next page showed a series of pictures of the boatyard men repainting the stern to read "Andi's Dream" and the realization caused her to squeal and scream. She hopped up and threw her arms around Paul's neck laughing and crying at the same time as she kissed his face. The dragon of her nightmares was now leashed, and the leash was handed to her!

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! I have a boat! WE HAVE A BOAT!" she grabbed the portfolio and ran about the parlor showing the pictures and inviting everyone on the maiden voyage.

"Andi dear, you can't invite everyone, it only has four cabins..."

"It has cabins? Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! My boat has cabins!"

Paul stopped trying to calm down his wife and leaned back to enjoy the show. The bedlam only got worse when Macy opened a box and found inside a folder with all the paperwork needed to build...

"CABINS! I got CABINS!" Macy went ecstatic when she saw that John and Paul were going to build her a pair of cabins identical to Paul's cabins on his farm on Trevette road.

John tried to explain "Paul and I figured that since he now has a family his cabins will be full so..." Macy stopped his explanation with a lingering kiss.

"Merci beaucoup mon amour."

Andi finally calmed down and eased her sore posterior into the love seat next to Paul. "Cabins! We both got cabins," she sighed and leaned in for a kiss. They kissed again sweet and long, and when they broke the kiss, they looked and there were the twins staring at them. The twins had exhausted themselves in the Library racetrack, parked their tricycles haphazardly, then returned to the "Pretty Room" when they heard their mom scream.

The twins were used to some pretty lean Christmases and the Hotwheels bikes and a big room to race in, not to mention the huge stockings and stuffies they saw under the tree were more than they could have ever hoped for, until they heard their mom say, "Aren't you going to open your presents?"

They started at each other eyes and mouths opened wide in surprise and joy and were ready to dive into the mountain of gifts when Poppa Paul said, "We have some rules here," and immediately their shoulders slumped, and their faces changed to comical frowns as they awaited the words they dreaded. "Since you guys can run the fastest," Paul continued, "you get to help deliver presents and..." he produced a box of garbage bags, "you collect wrapping paper."

"Ok!" That wasn't too bad an exchange for unknown heaps of Christmas loot.

Aunt Macy was sitting on the floor sorting out presents and the twins really got into delivering the gifts to the adults in the room, getting it right the first time quite often. Exchanges like "No, I said that goes to Grandpa Harold" or "Here, this one is for you, the twins gave it to me," were heard quite often, but that never slaked the joy the twins felt as they carried and sometimes pushed packages around the room to the adults. Before long Andi had quite a stack in front of her as did Macy and Lucy. Even Wonka who didn't let the excitement ruin his chances for a nap in front of the fireplace spoil his fun, had a small stack of gifts to open.

"Aren't there any for us?" Madeline finally asked.

With a huge grin Macy gestured to a huge pile of gifts behind her. "These are all for you two, but only if you can read your names!"

Well, of course they could, if their names were written in large block script in clear bold letters, which their parents made sure was the case with each package. The overjoyed twins began tearing open packages chattering excitedly in Twinbabble® until their mom had to remind them "Use your words!" but they would occasionally slip back into Twinbabble® due to their excitement.

When they opened a package, they were always asked "Who was that from?" and they learned to recognize "Mom and Dad" and "Santa," but they needed help with new words like "Uncle John and Aunt Macy" and "Uncle Gus" and "Aunty Lucy." Dolls, dresses, brightly colored activity toys, books that talk, Unicorn pajamas, Princess castles, and stuffed toys of all shape and color. Finally, they came to a box that contained a flat piece of wood and they brought it to mom to find out what it was.

"Bthm bthm nn foo" (that's what TwinBabble® sounds like).

"Use your words."

Sandy screwed up her face in annoyance. "Santa brought us this, what is it?"

Andi took the wood plaque which simply said "Official Proclamation" in ornate gold leaf letters. Andi inspected it further and found that it was hinged like a book. She opened it and found that it contained two identical documents one with Sandy's name, one with Madeline's name. Both said that the application of adoption by Paul Jarecki has been approved and congratulations from the Erie County Commissioner. It was dated at the time and moment of their marriage December 24 at 6:45 PM signed by County Commissioner Michael V. Giardini IV.

Paul had started the adoption process as soon as the streets were clear of snow less than one hundred hours after their mutual proposal of marriage in the snow, and since this was a purely legal matter since there was no father listed on their birth certificates, there were far fewer hoops to jump through than when adopting a child from an agency. It also helped that County Commissioner Giardini was a guest at the wedding and sat next to his brother and sister-in-law whom the twins called "Grandma G."

Andi started to softly cry in delight.

"What is it mommy? What is it?" the twins were frantic in their desire to find out what it meant.

"Babies, this is the best present a little girl could ever want for Christmas!" Andi said as she laughed and cried at the same time.

"What is it?" they demanded even more desperately. The entire room was entranced by the Christmas drama being played out.

"It means that you are going to have an official, real live and for true Daddy!" The twins received the news with stunned silence, their faces saddened, and Madeline started to cry. "What's the matter?" asked Andi, "Aren't you happy? Girls?" and with that Madeline started to cry even harder.

Now Sandy's eyes started to well up with tears and she suddenly cried out "But we want Poppa Paul!" Both girls wailed at the top of their lungs, holding each other tight as the tears flowed. All of the adults in the room realized why they were crying, and they too were moved to tears at their heartbreak.

Paul tried to say something, anything to comfort them, but Andi patted his knee and said something to him, but it was impossible to be heard over the sound of the heartbroken girls. Finally, the twins began to run out of steam and their wailing subsided somewhat. Andi held the plaque open to show the girls the documents inside and said "Look, see what this says?"

Shuddering and sniffling the twins turned and studied the documents as if they could actually read, they scanned the entire page but all they were able to pick out was their names at the top of the page. "It says," Andi continued, "that if you want Poppa Paul to be your real daddy, you can have him forever and ever, and no one can take him away from you."

It took a few seconds for that to sink in, the girls still clutching each other carefully considered those words, then suddenly shrieked with joy and catapulted themselves on to Paul's lap, kissing and hugging their new forever father chanting "Poppa" between each kiss. Paul found himself covered in snot, slobber, and tears of joy as he hugged his daughters close. This is what he waited his entire life for. Between each noisy kiss Paul heard Gus ask, "So are you glad to have a daddy?" Paul looked up to see Gus recording the scene with his phone, as were John, Macy, Lucy, and Harold.

"He's not our daddy," said Sandy in a scolding voice.

"He's our poppa!" explained Madeline. "only momma can call him daddy." And the girls went back to kissing Paul.

"You care to explain that brother?" asked John.

"Not on camera," smiled Paul. He turned to Andi and said, "They changed directions pretty quick."

Andi nodded, "They get that from their momma... or didn't I mention that."

"Thanks for the heads up." Paul finally realized the rest of his life was going to be filled with emotional U-turns from three different directions. He started to wrestle the girls up off his lap. "Ok babies, time to collect paper."

"Yes poppa!" they shouted, and each twin grabbed a plastic trash bag and frantically ran around the room picking up wrapping paper.

Paul and Andi eased back in the love seat with a sigh. "Don't expect them to follow your directions that quickly in the future," smiled Andi.

"Yes, momma bear."

"Or ever again, for that matter."

"I fully expect that to be the case." They looked around the room and Macy brought them each a cup of coffee fortified with hot coco and a dash of peppermint schnapps. "Have a good Christmas darling?" Paul asked.

Andi snuggled up close and covered them both with a new comforter she recently unwrapped. "After our ceremony, and our night in the cabin, then all of this... There's only one thing that would make this morning better," she whispered to Paul, "more dick."

"You know, we can slip out of here without anyone noticing and start christening this house."

"I need time to heal, can you give me till lunch?" The married lovers chuckled and kissed.

Paul went into the dining room to grab a pastry for Andi and himself, and when he returned, he found Andi curled up asleep there in the loveseat. So, when John got up from the couch Paul carried Andi over to the couch and laid her down to nap, covering her with her new comforter. He motioned to John and Gus and they came over. "Shall we?"

"It's that time," said John.

"I'm in," said Gus.

"Come join us Harold," said Paul inviting his father-in-law to their cherished tradition.

"Think I will," said Harold, and the four headed for the back door. It was the boys traditional Christmas morning cigar. Normally Macy would join them but there was something she wanted to do first. She crept over to the couch where Andi lay. Seeing that something was up Lucy joined her and sat on the floor in front of the couch.

Andi opened one eye and saw Macy and Lucy peering at her, both with huge grins. "What?" she asked.

"Well, how was it?"

Andi wracked her brain for a wise ass answer and couldn't come up with one. All she could say was "I hurt... I may never sit normally again."

"And?" asked Lucy.

"And I want more." Wincing, Andi pushed herself up to a seated position.

"Come on mon ami, tell us," Macy whispered. "What is the score?"

"It was 6 to 6 yesterday morning, today I think it it's 2 to negative 7," Andi said referring to their sexy football bet. "Oh God can that man make me come."

"Come on, dish," pestered Lucy

"Let's just say that I've been all the way around the world."

"Ooooo belle-soeur!"(Sister in law) gasped Macy, anal sex was something that terrified her. "How bad did it hurt?"

"Thanks to your emergency supplies..." she looked around to see if anyone was paying attention "... not much at all. In fact, I came my brains out." To emphasize her point she stuck her tongue out and crossed her eyes.

"How was Paul?" asked Lucy, "He seems quiet and introverted."

"Not last night," Andi thought back to the details of her wedding night, "He was everything I needed exactly when I needed it. If I needed a man who would hold and comfort me, he was a big cuddly teddy bear, If I needed a man to fuck me raw... well... heh, he did... and he did me soooo good." She crossed her eyes and hung her tongue out making a classic ahegao face to the amusement of Lucy and Macy.

"When he... you know... when you let him..." Macy struggled with the words.

Andi looked sad. "When we started, he was... I ummm..." She took a deep breath and finally got the words out, "I was on my hands and knees and he was being so gentle and getting me so hot! I was ready for anything that would come to his mind, and I mean anything, then I realized that I couldn't see him, I started to think about what Frank did to me... and I freaked out." She was actually beginning to feel the emotions she felt last night. "I froze... I just curled up into a ball and started to cry."

Lucy looked like she was in shock, and she was feeling guilty, she had never told Lucy about the horrible things that Frank had done to her. Lucy was thinking that if she could have gotten Andi to talk, maybe she could have gotten her some help...

"Belle-soeur!" gasped Macy, "what did you do? What did He do?"

"I just lay there in a ball wishing a hole would open up and suck me in," said Andi sadly. "I was sure I ruined everything, and he was going to divorce me right then." She sighed and took a deep shuddering breath. "But he didn't. He covered me with a blanket and cuddled and hugged me and told me that I was emotionally safe with him, and that we were financially safe for a long time. Then we got out of bed and lit some candles on the tree and he called me his gift from God."

"We did the same thing," said Lucy with a smile.

"I was worried Paul would forget," added Macy, "It is important to us Jareckis that the traditions continue, like canned chow-mein on Halloween."

Andi felt another thrill run through her when she thought on Macy's words "us Jareckis" - she and Macy, her wonderful new friend, were bound together in a family now, so many thoughts of her new family slipped into her head, like how she refused to take Frank's last name, but leapt at the opportunity to take Paul's last name, will the twins want to take it too? Which somehow lead back to last night... "We got back into bed and that's when Paul told me he was planning to adopt the girls." She smiled and leaned back, "When I knew that we could depend on him, I felt myself relax and enjoy my wedding night."

Lucy and Macy grinned and were ready to pump Andi for more sex talk when Heather appeared out of nowhere and sat down next to Andi. "Your father was like that, my Danny." She sniffed. "I love Harold, but my Danny..." she held a tissue to her nose and closed her eyes. "I can still smell him; he was my everything..." she wept bitterly into her tissue while the three younger women remained silent. "I sometimes call his name out at the most inopportune time... Harold says he understands but I know it hurts him."

Andi was utterly shocked, she has never seen her mother like this, so open. In fact, she never thought her mother cared about her father, Andi never heard her mother talk about him until now. Heather continued "I still love your father; he's the reason why I pushed Frank on you."

Andi was in total shock now, "What the fuck mom? Frank whored me out! He whipped me, he beat me, he took my money and ran off and left me pregnant, penniless, and up to my ass in debt."

Heather looked miserable. "I didn't know, no one could have predicted that, he was a harmless schlub that I was sure would treat you decent like Harold treats me."

"But why?"

"Because of that Kauffman guy you were seeing, Craig or Harris or something."

"Nathan, so what?"

"He was a fighter pilot; I didn't want to see you fall for him then watch him go over there and get killed like your dad. I didn't want your heart splattered all over some desert shithole like mine was." With that Heather broke into heart rending sobs.

"Mine was too when we lost dad," Andi tried to hug and console her mother, but this was the first time she had ever heard her mother talk so plainly about her father's death and soon both women were crying.

At the sound of their mother and grandmother weeping the twins responded instantly. They wheeled their Big Wheels to the Pretty Room as fast as they could and found their mom and grandma crying. Sandra climbed on Grandma Heathers lap while Madeline crawled up on mom's lap and asked repeatedly what was wrong. Finally, Andi wiped her eyes and said, "We're telling sad stories."

Sandy said with an authoritative finger wave "Don't do that." The problem was solved as far as Sandy was concerned, but Madeline wasn't so sure. She leaned against her mother and patted her back.

"Wanna hear something funny?" said Andi in a tone of voice that wasn't telling any jokes. "I met Paul for the first time on the night Frank left me. I wish I could remember how I felt about Paul at the time, but I was carrying the girls, and the complications were starting to set in about that time."

"Are you his first wife?"

"No, but I get the feeling I'm the first one to give a damn. His first wife was a fighter pilot, she died of a heart attack right there in the cockpit of her F-15 while she was waiting to take off. The cause was an allergic reaction to the morning after pill."

Heather was confused. "Paul loves these babies! I can't see why Paul would ask her to take a morning after pill if he loves children so much."

"He didn't, she was on a 90-day temporary duty assignment to Korea, they hadn't seen each other in 3 months. It destroyed him when he found out that she slept with her commander. He retired from the Air Force and went and hid in a cabin for several years." Andi felt sick to her stomach when she thought of her Paul being so lonely. They were quiet for a long time; the house was filled with the sounds of Christmas music and occasionally the sound of the girls laughing as they returned to their racetrack.