Year 3 with Jane and Tony Pt. 02

We thanked Ernesto for his service and told him we would see him again around spring break. Jane hugged him and I shook his hand. Jane said she was emotionally exhausted and asked Barb if she would take a nap with her. As they went upstairs I went into the kitchen with Astrid, Axel, Evan and Judy. We made tea and talked about the afternoon. I then told them that we had hired an accountant to work with us and that we were going to need to make some changes.

"Evan," I said, "We are going to need your room for our new person. Would you mind living at Barb's?"

Evan said that he understood and had no problem with moving. He said it would be good because he had a math class this term, so it would be easier for Sofia to tutor him. I told Evan I wasn't sure how soon he would have to move, but would let him know when I knew. I then asked him, "We need to set up a high speed secure network for Judy and our accountant. Do you know anybody who would be up for the job?"

Evan smiled and said, "Yeah, well, sort of. Sofia knows her better. Let me call Sofia and ask her to come over." Evan whipped out his cell phone and called Sofia and told her to get over here quickly.

Sofia came stomping into the kitchen and began yelling at Evan asking why he couldn't have called three minutes earlier before she had stripped her clothes off, only to have to put the fucking things on again! I grabbed Sofia, gave her a hug and said it was my fault. She smiled sheepishly and then apologized to Evan. Evan then said, "Tony says Judy and the new accountant need a fast and secure computer setup and I told him you introduced me to that girl who was a computer whiz. Can you get a hold of her?"

Sofia said, "Sure! I can ask if she can come over now, if you would like?"

Judy said that that would be great! Sofia whipped out her phone and called her friend. They spoke for a few moments then hung up. Sofia told us she would be here in 10 or so minutes. Shortly, there was a knock on the door and Sofia went to greet her friend. I forgot we were all naked just as Sofia brought her friend into the kitchen. Sofia introduced us to Karen who laughed and asked why were we all sitting around naked. I apologized and said we could put some clothes on but Karen said, "Don't worry about it. I thought maybe your washing machine broke." Sofia told her that we always sat around naked, that it was a very enlightening experience. Karen uttered an 'ah!' and then asked what she could do for us.

I let Judy explain what was needed. She rattled off a bunch of acronyms and phrases that made very little sense to me. Judy then took Karen upstairs, so Sofia and I tagged along. Karen looked around and said, "Yeah, I can help you. I can work you up a kick ass system that nobody will be able to touch. It will be pretty pricey, though.

I said, "Money is not an issue. However, we will need to move from here into another location next door in the next 6 months or so. Does that pose a problem?"

Karen thought for a moment and said, "Do you use computers in this house separate from the application you are asking for?" We nodded, so Karen continued, "If money isn't a problem, I can set up a nice system here that we can change to a more normal setup for the people in the house. Then, I can set up an even better system at the new place with high quality servers, sophisticated wiring, incredibly fast speeds and untouchable security. Sound good?

Judy smiled, so I smiled and then Sofia smiled. Karen asked when do you need the first system? Judy said as soon as possible. So, Karen said, "I can come after classes this week and have everything done by Thursday or Friday. I'm going to need cash to buy the hardware for this system and transport to haul it here."

I told her I would drive her and I could pay for everything on the spot. I then wrote her a check for $2000 as a retainer fee. Karen's eyes lit up like she just hit the lottery. I picked her up on Monday after our last classes at 1pm. We went to 3 different places to buy about $10,000 worth of gear plus another Apple desk top. She and I lugged it all upstairs and by Thursday Karen had our system up and running. Everything just screamed with speed. Karen made a comment that it was too bad none of you are faculty at the college because I could then tie you into the Universities servers and system. You'd see real speed then! I asked if TA's counted and she said, yeah. I told her one of the guys here is a TA. Karen wrote a note on a piece of paper and said, "Have the TA take this to Tech and give it to Harry Jones. In a week, your system will be supersonic!"

Amidst all of the computer system stuff, school had started once again. I had checked in with Lane and he was surprised I was attending classes. I told him that we had done all we could and that school was a good way to forget our sorrow a little bit.

Jane and I had talked about the need to continue our education, considering we had more money than we would ever need. Jane asked, "Could you consider not working? I would think you would get bored. I think you would make an excellent college professor. For me, I'm just hitting the really good classes for my major. I had thought of going to grad school, but now, I think we should have a baby after I graduate. What do you think?"

I smiled and said, "I think you would be the best Mom of all time. I like your plan! I was thinking I would like to teach as well."

Sue's Mom, Emily, called us and said that her employers agreed to reduce her notice time to one week. She said that since we offered her a car she would fly out and make a clean start by selling all of her furniture, her car and her house. She said she would take us up on our offer of a plane ticket and that she would like to leave next Monday on the earliest flight to ORD. I gave the information to Judy so she could arrange for the plane ticket. I told Evan that he would have to move into Barb's place by Friday so that we could give his room a good cleaning and get it ready.

On the Monday of Emily's arrival, I had a couple of psych classes on the day of her arrival. Luckily, Sue was in those classes. I told her I had an important engagement and asked her to share her notes with me. When I met Emily at the airport she gave me a bear hug and kissed my cheek. "I can't thank you enough for hiring me so I could be with Sue. I, kind of, expected her to be with you."

I laughed and said, "She has no clue you're coming here to live. We share a couple classes today, so she's covering for me. We are going to have our whole group together for dinner tonight and were going to surprise her then." When we got to the claim area, she had only one large suitcase. "Only 1 bag," I asked?

"Yeah, I shipped several large boxes via FedEx figuring I would let them carry them to the house!"

I laughed and told her, "Good thinking!" I told her about her temporary room, the temporary office and then about our plans for the future. We had an enjoyable time as we drove home. When we arrived, I carried her bag down to her room. I asked if it would be okay and she said it was fine. I gave her a tour of the house and ended up in the temporary office. Judy stood as we walked in and gave Emily a hug and told her that she was looking forward to working together. The three of us sat down and talked for quite a while.

When Jane got home she cried out asking where we were, so I yelled back that we were upstairs. She came dashing up the stairs and gave Emily a big hug and apologized for not being here when she arrived. Emily assured Jane that it was not a problem and that she was happy to be here. We all chatted for a bit longer until Judy reminded us that we needed to close on Mrs. Gallagher's house.

Emily didn't want to sit around by herself, so she joined Jane, Judy and I at the closing. Since there was no mortgage, the closing was pretty quick with only a few things to sign. We were handed the keys and returned home. The four of us went to the new house to look around and get an idea of how we would work things. My first impression was that Mrs. Gallagher was a fastidious housekeeper! The place was spotless and if we weren't going to be tearing it all apart, would have been ready to move into. I called Jake and told him we were in the new house if he would like to join us and he said he would be there in 5 minutes.

We toured the upstairs, the basement, the downstairs and kitchen. Jake said that he could make 4 nicely sized rooms upstairs and that the bathroom would need to be modernized. The kitchen was as antiquated as Pearls was. Jane pointed out that the kitchen only needed to accommodate Judy and Emily, since any guests would be dining at our place or Barb's. She, also, told Judy and Emily that she hoped that they would dine with us most of the time.

We told Jake that the downstairs would need two nice sized bedrooms with individual bathrooms, a good-sized office and a small dining/living area. Jake said that that would work. The basement posed a big problem for our original idea. Jane then said, "Why don't we just build an out building with the workout space Sofia wanted?"

Jake said, "You could probably do that. You would have to get approval of the building commission. The easiest way might be to rebuild the garage and add on the gym. Oh, and I have news about the house connector. I spoke with an engineer friend and he said it would be a piece of cake if we went underground along the backs of the houses. Basically, a big trench would be dug, the connector built and then it would be all buried. He said the best way would to use big pipes and run stairs up to each house. He says it's done all of the time in places like Finland, Norway and Sweden. I'll go to the architect in the morning and bring him here and tell him what you want."

Jane said, "That's great. Thanks, Jake. There are 2 small details we need to work out right now...ladies do you want just a shower or a shower tub combination?"

Judy and Emily laughed and then Emily said, "It all depends, are you going to have a hot tub in the gym?"

Jane replied, "Ooh! That's a great idea!"

Emily then said, "Just a shower then!"

Judy laughed and said, "Ditto!"

Because we were going to have both houses over for dinner, we decided to have it catered using a local bar-b-que place. We saw their truck pull up so Jane and Judy dashed over to help. Jake, Emily and I locked up the house and went to look in the garage and then wandered home. I told Emily that she should hide out in her room until dinner time. The smell of the bar-b-que was wonderful and filled the house. Jane and Judy placed all of the containers in the middle of the table. After a while, everyone from next door drifted over and I told them all to have a seat because I had some announcements.

"We closed on Mrs. Gallagher's house today. Jake, Jane, Judy and I did a walk through. Jake was optimistic about most of our plans. The only plan that wouldn't work was making a workout area in the basement." Sofia, Jenny and Cindy all said, 'Ahhh' at the same time. "However, Jane suggested we just build one in the back our house!" Sofia, Jenny and Cindy cheered. "I failed to mention that our new accountant has joined us today and inspected the new house with us. I would like to introduce her to you all now. Please welcome Emily Gilroy to our family!"

Sue's reaction was amusing. She didn't register the name until she saw her Mom walk in the room. She then cried out, "Oh my god! Mom!" and dashed to her mother and pulled her into a big hug and kissed her. Both women were crying tears of joy as they hugged for a good long time. When they pulled apart, Sue realized she was naked and began apologizing. Emily assured her that it was okay and that before long, probably, she would be naked along with everyone else. Sofia made her chair available for Emily so that she could sit with Sue and then came and sat next to me.

Sofia said, "I don't know, if you and Jane aren't the two most wonderful people in the world, I don't know who could be!" She kissed me and then got up and kissed Jane.

After a few days, Emily asked if she could move in with Sue at Barb's place. We told her she was welcome to do anything she wanted. Judy then said that she wouldn't mind taking the basement room in order to give Jane and I some alone time. We told her it wasn't necessary. Judy said she thought it would be for the best and that it would give some of the other's more access to us as she thought Sofia and Jenny were pining a bit.

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After the chaos of January, our lives settled down immensely. Judy and Emily turned out to be a formidable team. As the probate issue was solved, they went through all of our holdings with a fine-toothed comb. They set up accounts for us attached to credit cards for our daily expenses and needs. They established a petty cash fund so that there was always cash on hand. Judy always made a point of carrying several hundred dollars with her just in case. Jake had begun work on the new house. He had also submitted our proposal for an extended garage to include a workout Gym, and a proposal for our subterranean walkway.

Our classes were great! The subject matter now was so much more interesting. Lane pointed out that I would graduate at the end of next fall's term and that at this time next year I would be in graduate school! Sue and I walked to classes together quite often and she was as happy as I had ever seen her. She and her mother had a terrific bond and it was visible in their faces.

Spring break was quickly approaching so we decided to see who wanted to go to Kauai with us. We told them all of the costs were on us. We, pretty much told Judy she had to go, to which she smiled! Emily said that the timing was bad for her since it was so close to tax time and she would have a lot to do. Sue decided to stay as well and be with her Mom. Barb said she would pass since Jake was so busy and Emily would be out of school. Sofia, Cindy, Evan, Jenny and Amy all wanted to come along. Axel and Astrid, also, said they would like to go. Jane asked Judy to make 10 first class reservations from the first day school was out and to return a week and a half later. Judy said she would reach out to Kaholo to make sure the place was ready to house 10 people and to have transport available.

In the meanwhile, Jane talked Judy and Amy into getting piercings. She took them to Rufus where both women got their nipples done and both got 'triangle' piercings. When Jenny saw Amy, she decided that she wanted to get pierced as well. Jenny even began shaving her sparse pubic hair. Jane had jewelry from Nils that she gave to each of the women for their piercings.

The week before we were going to leave was finals week again, so everybody was studying hard and writing papers. When the last day arrived, we all went out to pizza. Sofia had warned her friend Shelly that we were coming so she was able to put tables together to accommodate us. This time we were able to enjoy ourselves without any racial slurs thrown at us. I noticed that Sofia and Shelly were speaking at length and looked our way periodically. After a while they walked up to Barb where Sofia asked, "Shelly needs a place to stay next term. Her roommate bailed out on her and she can't afford the rent on her own. She's a chemistry major. What do you think?"

Barb took the woman aside and sat with her at an empty table where it was quiet. Luckily, we were the only customers in the place. After ten minutes the two women stood and hugged. Barb sat back down and said, Shelly will be moving in during spring break. She's okay with our 'dress code'. She's a real nice gal and will fit in well.

The next day saw us at the airport very early in the morning. We called upon Ernesto and his bus to deliver us. Our flight from Chicago was to San Francisco and then we got a connection to Lihue. Our group took up most of first class on both legs. It was Jenny's first time flying, so she was very excited. When we arrived in Lihue, Kaholo was waiting for us in the claim area. Jane hugged him and introduced him to all of the new faces. When the introductions were done, Judy then hugged him as well. We all had carry-on bags so he led us to his chariot. He had a small bus for us. We all piled in and headed for the house. I noticed, someone had put up a nice memorial at the place where Jane's parents had died. Jane kept her eyes closed as we passed the place.

When we entered the house, we were greeted by Julie and Alika. Sofia and Cindy both rushed forward to hug the pair followed by Jane, Judy and myself. We then introduced them to Jenny, Amy, Evan, Astrid and Axel. Julie invited us all to their house for dinner tomorrow and then she and Alika left to let us get settled. Jane and I decided that we would take the main bedroom, while Astrid and Axel got one guest room and Judy another. Kaholo had brought 4 rollaway beds for the others to work out. Jane and I figured we would be sharing our bed with someone each night. We decided to let that happen as it may. We then gave a tour of the house with all of the newbies then took them out to the pool and lanai.

It was about 5pm when Evan was the first person to hit the pool. Sofia, Cindy, Jenny and Amy weren't far behind as they all laughed and splashed one another. Astrid asked Jane, "Are you okay, you look a little upset."

Jane smiled and said, "I'm just a bit melancholy knowing that my parents died nearby. It will pass, don't let me sour your fun."

Jane and I went into the kitchen and then Kaholo joined us. He said, "I stocked the pantry and the fridge with the same items the Mrs. Kelani used to, but added more since there are ten of you. Also, if you need anything at all please call. It is very nice to see you both again."

Jane hugged him and said, "It's wonderful to see you as well. Perhaps, if you aren't too busy, you can spend some fun time with us and hang out at the pool and dine with us."

Kaholo smiled and said, "I would love to. Thank you. I have to get back to town right now, but I will see you tomorrow."

I walked Kaholo out to his minibus and asked him who put together the memorial at the crash site. He said it was mostly Julie with help from Alika and himself. I told him it was lovely and thanked him. I said, Jane hasn't seen it because she closed her eyes when we passed the place, but told him she would in time. He told me he understood, perfectly.

When Kaholo was gone, Amy came into the kitchen and began asking questions about Kaholo. We answered her questions the best we could until Jane said, "If you are attracted to him, you have picked one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. He is sweet, considerate and caring. You couldn't do any better with any other man!"

Amy smiled and said, "He seems very nice." Amy then drifted back outside.

Jane looked at me, smiled and said, "I will bet you that within a year those two will be married!"

I smiled back and said, "No bet! I'll bet that she doesn't come home with us!"

Jane thought for a few seconds and said, "Nope! You're right! They will make a lovely couple!"

Judy walked in and asked, "Who will make a lovely couple?"

Jane said, "Amy and Kaholo! After 15 minutes Amy is in love!"

Judy smiled and said, "She has good taste! He is probably the nicest man I have ever met! So, are you guys going to go outside or what. Everyone is worried about you Jane."

Jane smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I just had a few moments of melancholia. Amy just fixed that!" Jane then pulled Judy into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Thanks for loving me the way you do!"

Judy replied, "What's not to love?"

I interjected and said, "That's what I always say!"

We spent an hour or so out by the pool having a great time until dinner time rolled around. Astrid, Sofia and I made supper for us all, while Jane, Evan and Cindy did the dishes. By 7pm, everyone was yawning due to the time change. We all swallowed our pride and went to bed by 8pm. Surprisingly, nobody shared our bed.