Arguing with Adults

A few months after Dee passed, we all gathered together to read Dee's will. Dee willed everything she had to both Monica and I. We could do whatever we wanted to do with it as per her instructions. Her belongings, such as the furniture and things, including her condo, were auctioned off. She apparently had acquired some real nice things. All added up it came to another half a million dollars. Monica insisted we split the money amongst the kids, we did not need it. Could she love the kids anymore than that? I honestly believed she loved them more than I did. I think they loved her more than they loved me.

When each of our kids had started college, they would have enough for a complete four year education, and then some, in whatever they wanted to do. They were even able to buy themselves a new car at the beginning of their freshman year at college. Some of the money they inherited was put into college funds for our grandchildren.

Now all the kids are married. They all have children of their own. Monica and I are very happy grandparents. We are looking forward to being great-grandparents if we live long enough. We both remember what Dee had taught us.

Number one is to put our partner first and number two is to never argue with adults.

Chapter Eleven

John's Daughter Speaks

Hi everyone, I'm Sherry, Monica and dad's daughter. And yes, I call Monica my mom. She was everything I could ask for in a mother, or at least a step-mom. She always treated the four of us as if they were her own children. I am sorry to say mom and dad died.

Monica had known all four of us from the time we were born. Since she was a family friend of my dad's family it was only natural we liked her. She was always around. She was a wonderful woman. I really felt close to her after my mother passed away. Even my brothers liked her. When she became our step-mom, we actually held absolutely no animosity towards her. We all loved her very much. She and dad explained early in their relationship that she was not there to replace our mother, but instead, was there to help dad raise us kids with a motherly figure at the helm and also to complete dad. We could all see they loved each other at their wedding. Believe it or not, at the age of twelve, I was one of the bride's maids. I loved it. A person could see their love in their eyes when they saw each other enter a room. Their eyes would sparkle.

All of my brothers were groomsmen at the wedding. It really did feel like we were one big happy family. We did everything together like families should. Vacations, sports, weekend trips, you name it, we did it. It was only after they had been married a year or so that my brothers and I had a meeting without dad or Monica knowing about it. We had decided to start calling her mom instead of Monica. It was sort of funny, looking back, because the first time any of us called her mom, she cried. So did we. We were all so happy. Of course we all saw the emotional tears dad starting shedding. We were already calling Dee, Grandma Dee. We really were a family. We actually looked forward to being the "Cleaver" family resembling the old "Leave it to Beaver" TV sitcom.

Yes, we did argue about some things which, looking back, were petty. Dad would always but in and tell us that we should not argue with adults. We all took it in stride and appreciated everything both dad and Monica, now mom, had done for us. We were raised in a very loving family way of life.

What I did not know was that when one of my brothers would get married dad would talk to them about what it would take to please their upcoming wife. I am sure it sort of embarrassed each one of them. I later found out mom talked to the new soon to be wife just a few days before the wedding on their night out. She explained why she and dad had such a loving relationship. The only reason I found this out was because Monica took me out before I got married and she also told me about their love life. I know I was completely red with embarrassment while she was talking. No one wants to admit their parents have sex. She also told me she had talked to each wife. I was wondering how embarrassed I looked and mom just giggled. I also wondered if dad talked to Steve, my soon to be husband. My bet is that he did. Steve became a very loving husband and a great dad.

I did ask how she and dad had learned such things. She told me her mom, Dee, taught us very well but did not go into details. Grandma Dee was really a wonderful grandmother. My brothers and I had three of the best grandmothers one could really ask for and a really cool grandfather (dad's father) that anyone could ever ask for. Monica was just a wonderful person. I was sad when my mother died, but I am glad Monica and dad married.

My mom and dad lived well into their seventies. Dad died first at the age of seventy-four, it seems his body just gave out on him. Mom died less than a month later. I believe she died of a broken heart. Neither one had any type of terminal disease, other than life itself. Dad always told us that no matter what happened, no matter how sick you got or how healthy you were, you would not get out of this life alive. He had a way of putting things into perspective for all of us. They never had any children of their own. I think I would have loved to have had a younger sister or even a younger brother.

When we would see them together we would see them act like two teenagers in love. It was funny, because they always told us to never argue with adults. We, my brothers and I, tried our best to educate our children, verbally of course, about pleasing their spouses, but only after they got engaged with their perspective spouses and that would always be a week before any wedding.

Had mom and dad lived another five years they would have had a total of four children, twenty-two grand children and fifteen great grand children and one great-great grandson. To this day, none of us were ever divorced. Everyone was very happy campers as dad put it. Me, well I could not have asked for a better person to take my mother's place. I honestly believe my brothers felt the same way. I did miss mom, but Monica was a very loving woman. Monica had known all four of us since we were born. She was, after all, a friend of the family. You could look at either dad or Monica and see their love for each other. Their eyes would twinkle when they looked at each other. I do miss them both very much.

*****

I hope you enjoyed this story and please vote and leave comments. It lets me know whether you enjoyed it or not. Have a good life and remember...Don't Argue with Adults.

B_Bailey