Who's Taming Who? Page 17

  Frank came downstairs as soon as Tina and Cassie were gone. “I’m sorry, Lanie, I should have been up and gone before they got home.”

  “Nonsense,” she kissed him quickly, “but it would have been nice if you had been up and dressed. If we both had been up and dressed.”

  “Did they know?” Frank asked, following her as she walked into the kitchen to make coffee.

  “Tina did,” Lanie started the coffee maker, “I doubt if Cassie realized anything.” She turned to face him. “Are we going to tell them about us, that we’re engaged?”

  “I want to.” Frank’s answer was instant, his smile genuine. “I want to shout it from the rooftop. What about you?”

  “Me too,” she said, meeting his eyes, “but there is one thing, no two things we have to consider.”

  “Which are?” he asked gently.

  “I told Cassie, in fact, we both told Cassie that it would be partly her decision if we got married,” Lanie pointed out.

  “So? We have to let her give her opinion and try to get her approval.” Frank remembered promising the little girl that she would indeed factor into the decision. “What’s the other thing?”

  “My mother,” Lanie said quickly. “She doesn’t know a thing about you, and I think she should meet you and get to know you before we announce our wedding.”

  “She knows about me,” Frank said calmly.

  “What?” Lanie was puzzled. “How do you know that she knows?”

  “She and Cassie were one of the secret admirers.” Frank beamed at her. “They sent the tickets to the Mystery Train.”

  “How do you know?” Lanie was surprised.

  “Cassie let it slip when we were building the sand castle yesterday.” Frank remembered, “She said that her grandma said you and I would like the trip on the Mystery Train.”

  “So that’s who the seventh secret admirer was.” The last piece of the puzzle fell into place just as she heard Tina drive up. “So, what do we do?”

  “How about if we ask Cassie and tell Tina,” Frank suggested, “and ask them both to keep it a secret until we can tell your mother. Where does your mother live anyway?”

  “My mother lives in Pasadena, not far from Santa Anita Racetrack,” Lanie told him.

  “She’s not very old is she?” Frank said, “I couldn’t have The Little Old Lady From Pasadena for a mother-in-law, it would be too weird.”

  “She’s only twenty years older than I am, and she likes horse racing, not drag racing. But back to the matter at hand, a secret? Those two?” Lanie’s voice reflected her disbelief. “Surely you jest.”

  “Yes, a secret,” Frank deadpanned, “and don’t call me Shirley. Why don’t we call your mother and take her out to dinner tonight? Even those two can keep a secret that long.”

  “That sounds good.” She moved into his arms and brought her mouth up for a kiss.

  “Hi Frank,” Cassie’s voice brought them both back to reality, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Hi Cassie. Hi Tina.” Frank hugged the girl gently and asked, “What have you got there? It smells like donuts.”

  “It should. It is donuts.” Tina greeted Frank.

  Lanie poured some milk for Cassie and coffee for everyone else and they all sat at the kitchen table. She carefully selected her donut before she spoke. “Frank and I have something to discuss with both of you.”

  “Please say you’re getting married. Please,” Cassie said, looking at both of them in turn.

  Frank met Lanie’s eyes across the table. Her eyes were definitely moist with unshed tears and he realized his own were the same. “Yes Cassie, we are, if it’s okay with you.”

  “Boy! Is it okay with me!” Cassie jumped out of her chair.

  The room erupted with squeals and excited hugs of congratulations.

  Chapter Sixteen

  That evening the four of them, Frank, Lanie, Cassie, and Tina, drove up to Pasadena and took Lanie’s mother, Jean, out to dinner to tell her the news. She intrigued Frank because she gave him a good idea about how Lanie would look in twenty years. She was a miniature version of Lanie but with some streaks of gray in her hair. She also had one feature in common with Tina, her freckles.

  Jean was thrilled to meet Frank. She had heard great things about him from Cassie and also from Tina, so she was already prepared to like him. She was surprised, however, at just how much she liked him. It was not just his looks but she liked him, the man inside the face and the body. She was in heaven.

  She had long since given up on either of her daughters finding a great husband. She didn’t want them to settle for anyone even slightly less than the perfect catch, but lately, as long as the man was steady, reliable, and would treat her daughters right, she would have tried to accept anyone. With Frank, she didn’t have to pretend to accept someone less than she thought Lanie deserved. Frank was far ahead of her wildest expectations. She decided he was almost too good to be true: handsome, well-spoken, good job, genuinely caring and full of kindness with Cassie, topped with a great sense of humor.

  Jean had her own surprise for the four of them. She had accepted a new job and was moving to Arizona. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take the job and move so far away from you but it’s an excellent opportunity.”

  She taught botany at Pasadena City College; her new offer was for a teaching position at Arizona State. In fact, she had already resigned from the City College and was starting at ASU for the fall semester.

  “Mom, I’m so proud of you.” Lanie hugged her mother. “Your love of botany gave me my love of landscaping.”

  “Well, before I go I do have one thing to do,” she glanced over at Tina, “I have to talk to Kate and Laura about Tina.”

  “Gee, thanks Mom,” Tina drawled, “don’t go to any trouble on my account.”

  “Well, I would like to see you settled down before I move to Arizona, which will be in about a month,” Jean told her.

  “Mom, why haven’t you told us about this move before?” Lanie asked.

  To her surprise, her mother blushed before she answered, “When I heard the job was open, I applied for it. I didn’t expect to be offered the job but I thought it might be a good bargaining tool when my raise and promotion came up. During the interview with the ASU department head something weird happened, it felt as if we’d known each other forever. I felt so comfortable with him. When the job was offered to me, I took it.”

  “You have a thing for your new department head?” Lanie yelped. “Is that wise?”

  “Probably not,” Jean admitted blushing, “but there it is.”

  “Did Kate or Laura have anything to do with you finding out about this opening?” Frank asked suspiciously.

  “I don’t know them except from what Cassie and Tina have told me,” Jean said. “Why would they set me up?”

  “Stranger things have happened,” Lanie said dryly. “Why are you moving so soon? The next semester doesn’t start for a couple of months. Heck, school’s not even out yet.”

  “I need to settle in and get to know my way around the campus and the town,” Jean told her, “and plan my courses.”

  “Well, we can celebrate your job and Lanie’s engagement at the same time, let’s have some champagne.” Tina looked around for the waiter.

  Sunday, Frank called his parents. He and Lanie both spoke to them. They were surprised but very happy to hear about the engagement. It was decided that they would fly down the end of the following week and spend the weekend getting to know both Lanie and Cassie.

  Frank and Lanie set up a family dinner for the following Saturday night. Aside from his parents, they invited Lanie’s mother, Tina, Frank’s brother and sister, and his sister’s family. They also invited Kate and Bob, Jack and Laura and their kids.

  They worked like demons to get Frank’s new house ready for the dinner party. Only the kitchen, downstairs bath and dining area would be finished inside the house but the playground outside was ready for the kids.

&nb
sp; The dinner proved to be fun and frantic. Frank’s mother, Grace, was a small woman with a ready smile and good looks that defied anyone who tried to guess her age. She could have been Frank’s sister. Frank’s father, Ron, was tall and easy-going; a preview of what Frank would look like as he grew older. He was quieter though. Lanie soon decided that Frank had gotten his ready sense of humor from his mother.

  Frank’s brother summed up his feelings about Lanie with the remark, “It’s too bad he saw you first. Do you have a sister?”

  “Yes. I do.” Lanie smiled and introduced him to Tina, who was only too happy to spend some time with him.

  For the actual meal, they went the easy route: pizza and fried chicken, salads, beer and soft drinks. Cooking for a dozen odd adults and assorted kids in a half-finished house didn’t sound like a relaxed family get together, it sounded like madness. The weekend was a success; everyone fit together as if they’d been a family for a long time. The date for the wedding was set for approximately three months away, at the end of August.

  The next few weeks passed in a frenetic blur as Lanie and Frank made wedding plans and tried to get the remodeling on his new house finished. They both worked hard on each of those projects. When they had a chance to relax, they sat quietly and talked about their future together.

  Lanie worked extra hard, first because she was finishing the landscaping on Frank’s new house, their new house, and also because she was helping Frank on the interiors now, making it a warm, loving home for herself, Frank, Cassie and any future children she and Frank might have.

  When she thought about having children with Frank, she smiled to herself and her legs went weak. How would it feel, she wondered, to have a baby with a man who wanted the child and who looked forward to the joy of raising it with her? How would it feel to have a husband who would stay by her side and support her? The idea seemed almost too good to be true, especially if that husband was Frank.

  Together, they decided to go ahead with almost all of Frank’s extensive plans for renovating the old house right away instead of doing it piecemeal as he had originally planned. Somehow it suddenly seemed important to get it ready to be a real home. Frank had to get some extra funding to do the more extensive renovations so quickly but it seemed well worth it, especially when Lanie suggested that they hold the wedding outside their new home as soon as the landscaping was ready. They both stretched their resources pretty slim to get everything done on time but when they worked out a budget, it fit. The saving grace was that as soon as Frank moved into the new house he would stop paying rent on his apartment, and as soon as Lanie moved in Tina would take over her house payments and move into Lanie’s old house. Those savings would be enough to get their budget back on track.

  After about a month of working on his house and some serious lovemaking in any spot where they could find a comfortable surface and a bit of privacy, things were finally starting to take shape. The newly planted lawn had sprouted. It looked green, plush, and healthy. Some of the plants were starting to grow. Lanie planted the flower beds with colorful plants, already starting to blossom. There were now a wide variety of blossoms in almost every conceivable color. The trees were still saplings, of course, but they looked good. The dwarf fruit trees she’d planted were already full of lemons, limes and oranges.

  The area where the pool was going to be was temporarily planted with grass. It would be covered with folding chairs and tables, and the wedding would be held in a white gazebo at the edge of that area. Putting in the pool would be next year’s project. Cassie’s play area was already complete. There was a sturdy swing set, a slide, places to climb and a large redwood playhouse.

  The house had been transformed. The outside was sanded and painted. It now had forest green trim and crisp white paint. The porch had been rebuilt, and a redwood deck led to the future pool area. The roof was also retiled. Inside the house the downstairs rooms: the kitchen, dining room and bathroom, were finished being rebuilt and now fully decorated.

  The living areas were opened up into one large airy room. The kitchen had an island between it and the dining room. The dining room opened into the living area which had furniture groupings for conversation, watching TV, reading, an office setting, and a fireplace. Upstairs, most of the major construction was done. The master bedroom was perfect with large walk-in closets, a roomy bathroom, and a sitting area.

  Even Cassie’s bedroom was finished, along with the second upstairs bath and the other bedroom, which was also decorated as an office, temporarily. There was plenty of room to expand the house if more bedrooms were needed in the future. The sitting room in the master bedroom could also be converted into a nursery. The walls were painted a soft off-white throughout the house, and new fixtures had been installed in the bathrooms. There were also new appliances in the kitchen.

  In an amazingly short period of time, and at considerable extra cost, the major work was done. Soon, there was only the decorating left to do. Lanie and Frank discussed, argued and eventually agreed over furniture, wallpaper, carpets and even knickknacks. Frank left most of the details to Lanie but as usual he enjoyed giving her a hard time.

  There was the famous incident when he decided to tell Lanie that he would like to have a moose head on the wall of the family room over the fireplace. He was firmly told that his own head would be mounted there first. Then Lanie casually started getting undressed for bed. Just about the time her bra hit the ground, Frank looked Lanie in the eyes and noticed a glint of anger. He quickly admitted that he didn’t like having dead animals mounted on his walls either.

  All in all, it was a monumental project to get completed before the wedding. At some points along the way tempers wore thin and arguments over tiny, silly details flared up. They had a doozie over the color of pillowcases, which ended with feathers all over the bedroom and lovemaking on the bedroom floor, not even bothering to get on the bed. It was wonderful.

  Lanie almost shoved a cream pie in Frank’s face when he told her flatly one day that he wouldn’t allow her to put pink towels in the master bath.

  “They’re not pink, you idiot!” She had the pie in her hands, and for a minute he could see her fighting the temptation. “They’re peach, and they look wonderful with the wallpaper and the new ceramic tiles.

  “Peach, pink.” Frank shrugged and then played with fire by asking, “What’s the difference?”

  “The difference is that they’re a different color.” Lanie picked up a knife and cut the pie with a suspiciously vicious slicing motion before asking, “What’s wrong with peach?”

  “It’s too feminine,” Frank stated firmly.

  Lanie responded to that with a one-word reference to the manure she used for fertilizer.

  She calmed herself down and told him gently, “It’s a cool, refreshing color.” Gradually things were taking shape.

  Lanie arrived home one day from working on the new house and saw a man on her doorstep. He looked familiar. She drove closer and felt a shiver run down her spine. It couldn’t be but it was. It was Cal!

  She slowly got out of the car and reluctantly greeted him. “Hello, Cal, what are you doing here?”

  Cal looked at her with a wide smile. He looked almost the same as he had ten years ago. He was still slightly over six-feet tall, his eyes were still a brilliant green, his golden blond hair was still too long, and his body was still fairly firm and well muscled.

  The only noticeable changes were some traces of lines around the corners of his eyes, the faint trace of red veins on his nose, and the merest hint of the beginning of a spare tire around his waist. They weren’t merely the first signs of aging; they were also the early warning signs of a lifetime of too many women, too much drinking, and too many late nights.

  “My parents tell me that you have a daughter, my daughter,” he told her after some preliminaries. “I want to see her, Lanie. Please.”

  Lanie had always believed that if Cal ever grew up emotionally, he would want to get to know his daughter
. So for the next two weeks, she let him visit with Cassie and even take her to the zoo and park a few times. Sometimes she even felt a trace of her old attraction for Cal, but it was only a trace, like a vague memory of something long gone. She had a long discussion, more like a fight, about Cal with Frank.

  “Of course I have to let him spend some time with Cassie, he’s her birth father!” she insisted. “You sound jealous.”

  “Face it, he was nothing more than a sperm donor,” Frank said shortly. “Cassie needs a real father. She needs someone to love her and to be there for her. Cal will only hurt her. I’m telling you now: He’s here because he wants something, maybe you, maybe Cassie, but probably money, and if he gets it he’ll suddenly drop out of Cassie’s life again. How could I be jealous of a creep like that?”

  “Cal doesn’t want me.” Lanie was shocked. “I know he doesn’t. He couldn’t.”

  “Why not?” Frank yelled. “You’re beautiful, passionate, and intelligent. He’d have to be an idiot not to want you.”

  The rising anger drained right out of Lanie. She smiled gently and said, “I’m glad you think so, my love, but Cal isn’t you. He is an idiot. You’re right, I think he has an ulterior motive for all the attention he’s paying to Cassie and I’m forewarned. I won’t let her be hurt by him or anyone else. I just want to find out what he’s after. And Frank, Cassie’s not stupid. She doesn’t believe he’s here to stay either, she told me she thinks he’s a big phony.”

  Cal had a real easy way with Cassie and outwardly she seemed to like him well enough, although she never seemed to get truly close to him like she was to Frank.

  After Cal had seen Cassie a few times he finally spoke to Lanie about her. “I didn’t just come back here to get to know the brat. I want her.”

  It had happened, he had just exposed his true colors. Any trace of the old attraction Lanie felt vanished completely, and she was gloriously mad.

  “You can’t have her, you idiot.” Lanie’s eyes flashed. “And why do you say you want her? You barely even know her name. It’s not brat, it’s Cassie. Hell, even your parents have refused to see her.”