Thrice Rescued

Carol and I ended up talking for almost two hours. Once the children were fed, we did the dishes together, then sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine and learned more about each other.

Carol was a librarian and had moved here to be closer to her family, allowing Teddy to have a better relationship with his grandparents, who also were available to provide additional childcare support. I told Carol that I'd grown up in foster care and had moved back to the area after my Marine Corps experience and college because my wife had been offered a great job with a big four accounting firm. I'd followed her because I could get a teaching job locally easier than she could find a comparable offer elsewhere. Besides, my last set of foster parents, whom I considered my parents, lived nearby.

The kids were clearly getting tired, so we decided to call it a day. Before she left, I told Carol about Maria and added that I'd be glad to watch Teddy anytime if she needed someone on short notice. My teaching job left me free all summer and I was usually home by 4:00 PM most days during the school year. Maria was generally here from 7:00 AM until I got home during the week. Carol seemed delighted with the offer, as her schedule included working one evening a week until 8:00 PM. With that settled, Carol and Teddy left for their house, and I began the process of bath and story time before kissing Violet and Samuel goodnight.

I had sensed a bit of a spark between Carol and me, but I was still adjusting to my loss of Vera. I wasn't ready to jump into another relationship, particularly given how my marriage to Vera had ended. But it had been five years since I'd been with a woman and my little head had begun to show signs of interest as my conversation with Carol had continued. She'd given no signs of similar interest, but then her loss of a husband was far more recent than Vera's disappearance. I would wait and see what developed.

Over the next few months, Carol's family and mine slowly began to merge. Teddy became a fixture in our back yard as well as Violet's best friend in her kindergarten class. I popped over on several occasions to take care of small household repairs that Carol couldn't handle. We had dinner together with the children at least once a week. And we frequently spent a few hours together on the weekends, a glass of wine in our hands while watching the children play in my back yard.

It was almost Christmas when I finally worked up the courage to ask her out. I hoped I wasn't misreading the signals I thought she was sending. We'd been spending more time together, carpooling to children's school events and just hanging out. I had qualms about trying to move whatever it was we had from the friend category to the girlfriend category, but I also realized that if I didn't ask, she'd never have the opportunity to say yes. And I was beginning to worry that if I didn't take some action, someone else might swoop in and capture her affections. So one day, as I walked Teddy back to his house after Carol got home, I screwed up my courage and rang her bell.

Carol had just gotten home from the library and was still dressed in her business casual attire. She had that sexy librarian look - professional clothing with a blouse unbuttoned down a couple of buttons, some cleavage showing, hair up in a tight bun, reading glasses hung on a chain around her neck. Little Davie popped to attention immediately, but fortunately the jeans I was wearing were stiff enough to conceal my arousal.

"Hi, what's up? Was Teddy a good boy."

"He was great as usual. He and Violet finished their homework and then all three kids spent the rest of the time out in the yard. I'm here because I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay..."

"If I can get a babysitter or arrange to have Maria take care of the kids on Saturday night, would you like to go out for dinner and a movie? I mean an 'adults only' evening, just the two of us?"

Carol laughed. "Well," she said, "It's about time. I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to ask me out. I was going to give you until Christmas break and if you hadn't stepped up, I was going to ask you. Of course, I'd love to go out with you. We've been dancing around this for months. What time Saturday shall I be ready?"

"Let me line up the babysitter and I'll get back to you."

And with that, I bid her goodnight and almost floated across the lawn to my own house.

Maria was delighted to work a little overtime, particularly because she'd been after me for some time to step back into the dating pool. She'd met Carol and liked her. And she had embraced Teddy as another grandchild. With childcare arranged, I told Carol I'd pick her up at 6:00 PM. We'd go casual to a local Italian restaurant that I had enjoyed several times in the past, then see whatever new movie was showing at the local AMC Theater.

By the time I knocked on her door, I was as nervous as a high school kid on his first date. Carol opened the door and I stood there, stunned. She was wearing a sheer white blouse that was almost see-through and gave glimpses of a lacy bra supporting her quite lovely breasts. She also had on a pair of slacks that emphasized her generous hips and, when she turned around, highlighted her very shapely ass. "Wow!" was all I could say.

She slipped her hand into mine and followed me to my car. I opened her door and watched her sit, then closed the door and walked around to the driver's side. I finally recovered my composure and then said, "My goodness, if I'd known you cleaned up that nicely I wouldn't have waited so long. You are absolutely stunning in that outfit."

Carol found that quite amusing. "You've been looking at my rear end for months. Don't think I haven't noticed you doing it. And you certainly look studly yourself. That running and martial arts training seems to be working."

The evening flew by. When we got seated in the theater, Carol reached over and took my hand, then leaned her head on my shoulder. I looked down at her, then tilted her head up and kissed her. She responded with enthusiasm. Fortunately, we were seated well to the back, so we weren't making a spectacle of ourselves to the whole crowd. After the movie was over, we drove over to a local bar with a small jazz ensemble and spent an hour listening to the music and talking. When we finally left for home, we walked to the car with our arms around each other's waists. The evening had been a rousing (and arousing) success from my viewpoint. I was pretty certain Carol felt the same way, since she asked me when we could do this again. I said as soon as we could schedule another evening. And so began the third rescue of my life, the one that finally gave me the lasting, unconditional love that Vera had never been able to provide.

We were careful to behave around the kids, but when they were outside playing or asleep, we behaved like two high schoolers. We didn't actually sleep together, but we'd definitely spent a fair amount of time rounding third without quite getting to home plate. Finally, after two months of this, I asked Maria if she could watch all three children for a weekend so Carol and I could go away together. We picked a romantic looking bed and breakfast in Lancaster County and left immediately after school on Friday night. Dinner was at a lovely French restaurant in the heart of Lancaster, after which we drove to the B&B and checked in. When we reached the room, Carol excused herself with a small travel bag and went into the bathroom. When she emerged, I stood there, dumbstruck. She had on a garter belt with stockings, a lace teddy that barely contained her breasts and stopped well short of her lower lips, and a pair of high heels. Little Davie damn near popped the zipper on the pants I was wearing.

We spent most of the night making love. Despite my long layoff and her somewhat shorter layoff, neither of us appeared to have forgotten how to please a partner. My recollection of that evening is one of continuous passion and pleasure. Either the B&B's walls had the best soundproofing I've ever experienced or the rooms next to us were empty, because Carol was a most vocal lover, and any neighbors would have gotten very little sleep. At one point, I thought for sure someone would call the cops because of the noise she was making. We fell asleep in each other's arms in the wee hours of the morning and slept until the maid woke us up to clean the room. We made sure the next evening to hang the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, providing us with an opportunity for wakeup sex the following morning before we checked out.

From then on, we were a couple. I took Carol and Teddy to meet the Hopkins, who gave me two thumbs up. Carol's parents were equally approving. We spent every possible waking minute together and after talking with all three of the kids about our relationship, began spending the nights together as well. By Memorial Day, I was convinced that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Carol. After talking to Carol's dad and obtaining his blessing, I got down on one knee and proposed at the restaurant where we'd had our first date. Her "Yes!" was loud enough to turn every head in the room.

We'd both been married before, so neither of us saw the need for a big wedding. We decided to hold an outdoor ceremony in a local park, renting the pavilion for a catered reception. The guests were Carol's family, the Hopkins family, our children, Maria, and a few good friends. Maria agreed to stay with the children for a week while we honeymooned at a resort in the Caribbean.

Before our wedding, I'd sat Carol down and told her the whole Vera story. I included the generous bequest and the condition that I raise Violet and Samuel. I told her about the trust for Violet and Samuel. I even explained the importance of the necklace I'd given Vera that first Christmas. We discussed what to do about each other's children and decided that each of us would adopt the other's. We also talked about having one or more children of our own and agreed that we wanted at least one more. Shortly after the honeymoon, Carol discovered that she was pregnant. Apparently one of the medications she'd taken in preparation for our Caribbean trip had had the effect of cancelling her birth control pill. She was concerned that I'd be upset to have a new baby added to the mix while we were still adjusting to our lives together, but I was over the moon. Little George David was born nine months after the wedding. He was followed two years later by Margaret Anne. At that point we called it a day. Carol took a sabbatical to raise the children and I continued teaching. With the two latest additions to our family, we realized that neither house was large enough to serve as a place to raise five children. We purchased a large Victorian era house with a generous yard slightly further out of the center of town and renovated it, selling both our houses to fund the project. We moved in shortly after discovering we were expecting Margaret.

Shortly after we were married, I discovered that Vera had left me one final gift. It was a big one. I'd engaged an attorney to prepare the adoption petitions and the usual wills and powers of attorney for Carol and me. In planning the estate distribution, I'd told him I wanted Teddy to receive virtually all of Carol's and my assets, as Violet and Samuel were generously provided for under the terms of Vera's trust. He asked me for a copy of the trust document so he could reference it correctly in our wills when explaining why our assets were not being distributed equally among the three children. He'd had the papers a few days when he called me.

"Davie, have you actually read the trust document?"

"No, I haven't. The bank handles everything. With the money Vera left to me, I haven't had to touch any of the trust funds for Violet or Samuel. I don't think I'll need any of those funds until the kids go to college. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was going through the document and I found a provision that might interest you. It is probably going to cause Carol and you to change your estate distribution plan."

"What's it say?"

"I won't read the whole thing to you, but the gist of it is that Vera added an additional beneficiaries clause to her trust. If you ended up raising Violet and Samuel, she provided that any children born to you, adopted by you, or stepchildren who are minors at the time of your marriage to their mother are to be added as beneficiaries. Teddy qualifies as your stepchild and will continue to qualify once the adoption is final. Any children Carol and you have will also benefit. That woman must have thought a lot of you to provide for your kids that way."

I was dumbstruck. The woman who told me she could never love me the way I deserved and had encouraged me to go on with my life had provided for the children she'd hoped I'd have in a most generous way. She'd guaranteed that those children would never experience the lack of financial or physical security that she'd undergone as a child in foster care. I was overwhelmed at the evidence of her concern for my well-being and that of my children, even from beyond the grave. Carol and I made the necessary adjustments to our estate plans. Our five children will never want for anything, thanks to Vera's generosity.

EPILOGUE

I'm sitting on our back porch, watching our four older children play in our back yard. Carol is curled up in my lap, head on my shoulder, arms wrapped around me. Margaret is in her carrier, fast asleep. I'm contemplating how rich my life is and how fortunate I've been. I'm grateful to the Hopkins for rescuing me twice from a self-destructive spiral. I'm even more grateful to my sexy, beautiful wife for rescuing me from my life as a single parent. And I'm grateful to Vera for her generous provision for our five children. I still can't quite bring myself to forgive her completely, but I do understand her motivations. She was a product of a flawed system, but in the end, she managed to take one final action that demonstrated, if not love, at least a recognition of my love to her. God bless and keep her.