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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 5
Rosy became PJ and Lenny's temporary and then official foster child within 1 week of Woody's rescue mission.
She'd been discharged from the hospital after 4 days and gone home with them to their apartment, escorted by Woody who had been her constant companion, sleeping in an armchair by her bed whilst she'd been confined to the hospital
Arriving at the apartment she'd been timid and completely overawed, she'd never experienced that level of what she described as luxury.
Woody expected it, a lot of his friends were the same coming from working class families, but just as he did with them, he quickly put her at ease, showing her this was a family home where, as long as manners, courtesy and honesty were displayed, everyone had a say, everyone's opinion mattered.
They had been genuinely surprised to learn that Woody and Rosy had birthdays only 1 day apart and Woody was even more surprised that what he'd originally thought was a boy of 12 turned out to be a girl of 14 almost 15 only I day younger than himself.
No one had been surprised by Woody's behaviour, he was attentive, kind, loving, in a nutshell, devoted.
He'd found her that first evening sitting huddled on her bed, knees under her chin, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He'd immediately wrapped her in a hug asking what was wrong, her reply had almost brought him to tears.
"Why show me all this, it's just going to be harder to take when I get moved again, it's not fair, I wish I'd died with mommy and daddy at least I'd have been with the only ones who've ever loved me".
Woody had been fighting back tears himself when he'd replied.
"Get something straight Rosy, you're not leaving here unless you ask for it, this is your home for as long as you want it to be, and I'm here by your side for as long as you want me, do you understand what I've said?".
She'd looked into his eyes.
"Yes Woody I understand, I just can't believe it, your parents are so kind, just like I remember my parents were, but it's been so long since anyone was kind to me, even at school, I don't have friends, I hear what they call me, Sad Rosy the reject, why are you so nice Woody?, until I came to the Gym you didn't even know I existed, but you helped me, rescued me, you saved me, when you're nearby I feel safe, I don't understand".
Woody smiled, "It's true I didn't know you before you came to the Gym, but by the time you left I knew I had to find you, I needed to keep you safe, I'm always going to be nearby so you better get used to it".
Woody hadn't said he was in love with her, he'd thought it better to let her work that out in her own time and he'd been sure she would".
Lenny had spoken with him about inappropriate behaviour knowing how smitten he was, and had been in almost hysterics describing Woody's retort to PJ, when she'd delicately suggested he should not press himself on Rosa.
Woody had been indignant, adamant, almost incensed, "Momma, I found the person I want to spend my life with, do you honestly think I'm going to force her to do anything she doesn't want to do, she'll dictate the pace and I'll follow".
At Woodruff when the board discussions turned to dropping the Fielding name and integrating the Fielding properties into Woodruff's portfolio Woody had asked for a show of hands who thought integration was the way to go, there was an almost unanimous agreement.
PJ had looked at Woody and almost giggled, it was like a trip down memory lane, going back to his own childhood, he just knew the boy was leading them into an interesting and lively meeting yet again.
"I'd like to say I'm sorry to disagree, but I'm not sorry, you're all wrong, however I'm prepared to be convinced, so who will explain to me why it would be a sensible move to take an established, well accepted product, one which sits in a niche market, caters to a particular clientele and commands above the norm on rack rate (average daily room rate) then merge it with an established product that commands a much lesser rack rate and attracts a totally different clientele?"
There was a lot of searching glances around the table but no one offered Woody an answer.
Woody detected two smiling or rather smirking faces, Ramon and his father, they had been the only two who hadn't voted for integration.
"Okay, look, I'm not trying to trick you, you all know I won't laugh at any answer, none of us is infallible, I want to hear every opinion, whatever it may be, just in case there's something I haven't thought of, so come on guys, don't hold back".
Rosa was the first to speak.
"Wouldn't it be cheaper to merge, I mean, wouldn't it give more leverage on purchasing of supplies, which would mean cost savings?".
Woody was impressed, his Aunt Rosa was usually fairly quiet but he knew she trusted him not to ridicule her opinion.
"Thanks Aunty Rosa, that's a very valid point and in that respect you're right, I think whatever we decide, there needs to be a dedicated team appointed to implement a 'wake up and shake up' call, to all of our suppliers, we need to ensure they realise what sort of volume our purchases will increase by and more importantly how that's going to improve the discount percentage they offer to us, but, we don't necessarily need to change the name of Fielding to get that benefit, we could get that benefit anyway, but what we would be doing would be to reduce the potential revenue by bringing The Fielding properties down into the Woodruff bracket".
Woody knew exactly what he was doing, he'd just told them, Fielding was better than Woodruff, he'd actually said, in not so many words, that Woodruff, their precious Woodruff, was the poor relation and he could see them bristling, but he had set this part up perfectly, making the statement whilst looking directly at Ramon.
Ramon picked up Woody's drift immediately, knowing Woody expected him to respond.
"Are you saying Woodruff is some sort of poor relation, that Fielding is the Prince and Woodruff the pauper?".
Excellent thought Woody.
"Not at all, they operate in the same general market but in totally different spheres with markedly differing clientele".
Woody pulled two chocolate bars from his school bag and heard someone comment 'Oh, oh, here come the chocolate bars' to general laughter around the table.
He pulled out a peanut covered chocolate bar and a plain chocolate bar, knowing exactly who was going to make his point for him.
"Two chocolate bars, Momma, Mr Farley, would you each pick one and tell us why you picked it please".
Lenny picked the peanut covered chocolate bar and explained she didn't care for just plain chocolate, Peter Farley picked the plain chocolate bar, he explained that he was slightly allergic to nuts and so avoided them wherever possible.
"Thank you both, so we have two standard mass production products, and yet they don't appeal to everyone for reasons that are personal to the individual, just as Woodruff and Fielding appeal to two totally separate sectors of the market".
Woody gave them a moment to think about his statement.
"If you could all now imagine that we've merged these chocolate bars into one bar and ask again, Momma, Mr Farley, would you still choose to take the bar, after all even with the changes it still has what you chose originally in there?".
Lenny indicated yes she would, but Peter Farley indicated no, he would decline.
Woody could now make his strongest point.
"So in effect, by merging the two we have offended, and cut off, half of our market".
He again gave them a moment to absorb that fact.
"What I don't want you to think is that Woodruff is a poor relation, it is not, Woodruff is a slick, well oiled machine which operates extremely well and earns a very healthy profit in the market in which it operates, just as Fielding does in its market, but we need to understand they are not compatible, just like these two chocolate bars they each have something that appeals to a certain sector of the market, but neither one appeals to the whole market".
For the last few minutes the whole room had been engrossed in listening to Woody and now he looked straight at his father.
PJ took his cue.
"Extremely well presented Woody, I would like to thank you for your explanation, I'm now, more than ever, convinced that we should keep the two elements separate and I move to do just that".
Ramon seconded the motion and the vote carried it fully.
For two years now Woody had been a formidable presence at board meetings as well as traveling, as his school schedule allowed, with his father, Josh, Ramon Perez and Bryan Fielding when they spot visited around Europe and America.
Woody was recognised and welcomed wherever he went.
It may have seemed strange to some when they encountered a Hotel Director, an architect, or a suppliers representative sitting with a 14 year old boy deep in technical conversation, the head of every department was on speed dial in his phone, and were used to receiving calls for information, each remarking how courteous and full of thanks he would be for their help, so much so it almost became a bragging right that Woody had called and spoken personally to them.
Asked by PJ why they enjoyed talking to him, They'd given an almost identical answer each time, 'He didn't pretend, didn't feign knowledge he didn't possess, he had no fear of admitting ignorance, and he asked with courtesy for the information he needed, he was one of them, he spoke on their level'.
It hadn't taken long for word to spread that you could discuss anything with Woody and he'd listen intently before giving his take on the subject, what won people over was his knowledge of Woodruff as a whole, there was little he didn't know, if a subject did arise which stumped him he made it his mission to search out the answer.
His email address 'askWoody@woodruff.com' received around 100 messages each week, all answered, none ever ignored, as he put it, 'If someone takes the time, and feels a need to ask a question or point something out, then they deserve an answer'.
He had a keen eye for figures and could scan financial reports, zeroing in on problem areas with ease.
During a week long visit to North America traveling with Josh and Bryan he'd been asked by a restaurant manager in Miami for his view on tweaking the staff attendance bonus he'd implemented after his first board meeting.
Woody had been immediately intrigued and asked what the manager had in mind, they'd sat for half an hour discussing the managers concerns.
For the next hour he had sat and poured over spreadsheets zeroing in on the number of staff who'd had time off for sickness, studying what happened to their attendance record for the remainder of the quarter in which they'd had their sick period, and there it was, the manager had been right.
He'd explained to Woody it was an excellent incentive whilst they were building their attendance record, but once they'd blown it, and it only took one day off to cancel out their chance of qualifying for the bonus, they had no incentive and nothing to lose however much time they lost up to the end of the quarter.
He'd suggested a small tweak which would cancel the qualifying period at the end of the month in which they'd fallen, restarting the period on the 1st of the following month, reinstating the incentive prospect should further improve attendance, Woody was in agreement, it was a no brainier and would be implemented following agreement at the next board meeting.
That simple question about the bonus had inadvertently led Woody to something on the property budget sheet which niggled him, there was something wrong, but for once he couldn't pinpoint what it was, he didn't even know what had caused him to feel something was wrong, but he trusted his instinct and kept looking without result.
It was 3 days later on the flight home, in general conversation about a totally unrelated subject Josh used the expression 'it would only need a small adjustment at Head Office', the light came on with a brilliant flash for Woody, he knew what he was looking for, but he didn't know why.
He'd seen an item on the individual property monthly budget for Miami Woodruff titled 'H.O Adjustment' and he couldn't remember what it related to, in fact he couldn't recollect seeing any mention of that on the group budget reports.
He'd asked Bryan to pull up the monthly property budget for Miami Woodruff and scanning the figures he asked what 'H.O. Adjustment' related to, it was only a minuscule amount 99 dollars 99 cents, not something any property management would query it was so small.
Bryan was at a loss, but on Woody's insistence they examined a dozen other North American property budgets, every one of them had the same item a budget negative, in other words an amount paid back to Head Office, directed to a particular account.
Josh pulled up the HO Group budget and there was no mention of the item, so it was baffling, approximately 100 dollars each month from 110 properties was going somewhere, and that's when Woody had realised the scale of the problem.
He asked Josh to search the individual European property budgets and there it was again the equivalent of 100 dollars in Euros every month.
By now Europe had 96 properties, with North America they had a total of 206 properties, 206 x 100 dollars x 12 months, around a quarter of a million dollars every year going somewhere, but where?.
This was something that needed PJ to be involved, Josh called PJ from the plane and explained Woody had stumbled onto something which was a serious concern and then he handed the phone to Woody.
PJ wasn't surprised, he listened to Woody and as they finished their conversation he told his son how proud he was of him, but he wanted him to leave the matter completely alone now, PJ would have it investigated.
Woody had agreed in the confidant knowledge his father had dealt with this sort of thing before, but he gained an agreement his father would give him a complete report on every aspect of the matter once it was resolved, something PJ agreed was reasonable.
PJ had called his personal IT and Finance guys into a closed meeting, these were not people who dealt with everyday issues within Woodruff, these were guys who had been loyal to PJ for years, they were all on retainers and had investigated a fair number of cases for him, but what they found this time shocked him.
The culprit, the one who had engineered this scam was his long dead father, it was a repetitive scam his father had instigated over 10 years earlier and it was so simple and so minuscule in relation to the individual amount involved, no one for over 10 years had taken the trouble to question it, the equation which triggered the scam was built into the annual budget criteria, loaded into the calculations prior to the input of individual property information.
The funds, with FBI help, were traced to an account in the Cayman Islands which had been steadily building for over 10 years and held just short of 6 million dollars with earned interest, eventually the funds were returned to Woodruff.
At the first board meeting after the funds were returned PJ asked for everyone's indulgence, he outlined what Woody had found, how his knowledge and investigative diligence had resulted in a leak amounting to over 6 million dollars being returned to Woodruffs coffers, then he announced something which shocked Woody completely.
PJ and Lenny gave 15 percent of shares in Woodruff from their private holdings to Woody with full voting rights, he was so overcome he actually cried in the boardroom as the other assembled members of the board stood and applauded him.
When he talked with his parents later, telling them he didn't think it right he should have the shares as his older brothers and sister didn't have shares, he had been surprised to learn that his brothers and sister had been the ones to suggest the move.
Beth had taken up residence at 'Pacifico' in mid March as she said she would, predictably, Dave was there to help her get settled in.
They'd been on Skype every day, multiple times some days, ever since that first day just over a month earlier.
Rob and Dianne joked that he appeared to be smitten.
Lenny had asked them once in general conversation if they didn't have reservations about their son being involved with an obviously pregnant girl when he wasn't the father.
They'd answered, or rather Rob had answered with Dianne nodding to confirm it was their shared belief, that things happen for a reason, their only concern in life was to ensure they guided their son along the path of good and right, over and above that he made his own choices, they wouldn't interfere, but if he took a fall they'd be there to help him up if he wanted them too.
Lenny had ventured further, asking what were their feelings towards Beth, this time Dianne had answered, with Rob taking the opposite role, nodding his head in agreement to his wife's words, she said they both liked Beth, they thought Beth had taken a chance, but it seemed to have backfired, some would be quick to judge, they wouldn't, it wasn't their way, right then Beth probably thought she was paying the price of her foolishness, but in a short while the joy her babies bring her would wipe out any feelings of guilt, and if her feelings for their boy were even half of his obvious feelings for her, then they knew it would be a happy relationship.
Early April saw the whole family at Pacifico, the first group to arrive was the family from Torremolinas along with Reece and Pauly from Marbella, they had detoured to London and collected the Albright's before heading across the Atlantic, stopping for 2 days in New York, then heading on to California.
This was Rosy's first time abroad, her first trip in an airplane and she'd clung to Woody until they were airborne and at cruising altitude.
Rosy had understood the family were well off, but she was still overwhelmed by the private planes, the homes all over the world and their personal wealth.
She'd been shocked to find out following a conversation at dinner one evening the extent of Woody's personal worth.
It had been a comment from PJ about closing most of the trusts in the next 3 years when Woody inherited his, the last portion of the trusts.
When Rosy had asked Woody later what that had meant, he'd explained, he had three personal trusts which currently amounted to around 130 million dollars, from which he took his living expenses, seeing her confusion he explained further about his grandparents and parents setting up trust funds when each of the children were younger, all of which came to fruition when he reached 18, then he would have access to the capital and manage it himself.
What impressed Rosy most was the way Woody talked about his wealth, not boasting, he discussed it in a matter of fact way, stressing it was something hard earned by others and left to him in the understanding that he would use it wisely.
Dave was a little overwhelmed when the American group arrived in Palo Alto.
The second plane had collected Billy, Jay and Jolly from Chicago before stopping off in New York to collect Josh and Bryan along with Billy and Julia Fielding and their son Will.
When Billy had introduced Jay and Jolly he had been a little apprehensive, but Dave put him immediately at ease, "Woody gave me a crash course on the family dynamics, in fact he told me I was a bit vanilla based on the norm", they all burst out laughing.
Directing his gaze at Pauly and Pete and smiling he'd said, "He also told me if buses were ever involved to avoid the pink one or I might never sit down comfortably again".
Pauly laughing replied, "The little shit, wait till I see him".
There was a point where Pauly, Pete, Billy and Woody cornered Dave for a chat, which was really a grilling to find out his intentions towards Beth, Dave had been about to answer when they were discovered by Beth who put the fear of God into them all for even thinking they could poke their noses into her business, she'd dragged Dave away telling him not to put up with their antics and that was the point where he'd shocked the shit out of her.
"If you hadn't appeared I would have told them my intentions, I wouldn't have minded them knowing except I'd prefer you knew first".
Beth thought Dave was probably working towards declaring his friendship but no more, in her mind she didn't deserve more than that from such a wonderful man, there were plenty of girls out there who deserved to receive his affection.
Dave could see the sad look in her eyes.
"I don't know why you do this Beth, this self deprecation, I always knew there would be one girl out there somewhere for me, well I found her, I knew that day we met, in that first moment I was sure, I'm in love with you Elizabeth Thorn and I always will be, you have to know I'm going to ask you to marry me sometime soon, not now because I think you need to get those little tykes into the world and settled, then we'll become a family, the four of us, maybe more, but you need to understand and accept, we will marry and live a long and happy life".
Beth was looking shocked, mouth open, unable to speak.
"Okay, I know that might have been a bit of a shock but just nod you understand and if you agree, all I need to know is that you want me as much as I want you, because I do Beth, more than anything else in this world, I want you by my side.
Beth nodded her head and he wrapped her into a hug.
PJ had insisted Billy and Julia Fielding had joined them for the Easter Break since talking to Julia a week or so previously, she'd told him Billy was floundering, unable to find a direction since disposing of Fielding International.
PJ had the perfect plan but he needed Billy to think he was the one to suggest it.
Lenny and Julia were in on it along with Woody and Pauly, Woody was cast to play the critical role.
PJ sat with Billy after dinner on the evening they arrived and deliberately seemed distracted, far away, Billy had asked several times if something was troubling PJ but as rehearsed PJ just answered in the negative.
Billy had asked Lenny what was wrong, he'd said he could tell there was something but PJ wouldn't open up to him, Lenny had played the primer by telling him PJ had gotten himself into a fix, he'd instigated something big and he couldn't find a way to make it work, the first time ever she'd seen him stumped, but hey there had to be a first time for everything.
He'd asked Lenny what was so big it was giving him trouble, but all she'd told him was, PJ was trying to diversify into a potential billion dollar sector, but she knew PJ wouldn't want Lenny to say any more.
Now it was down to Woody.
Easter lunch was a grand affair, Anna the traveling chef to PJ and Lenny had taken over the kitchen and with the help of Dianne and the resident staff had produced a feast fit for a king.
In the afternoon no one wanted to do anything except lounge on the patio, preferably in the shade.
Woody, Pauly and PJ were sitting talking on a sofa with their backs to the house, seemingly deep in conversation except Woody had his phone angled so that he could see in it's reflection who was heading towards them.
There came a point when Woody saw Billy Fielding heading towards them and warned his father and Pauly they were game on.
Billy watched PJ, Pauly and Woody as he approached them, he could tell PJ was trying to enforce a point, but Woody was having none of it, as he approached he heard PJ say, 'I'm grateful son but the answer is no, you can't quit school to help me', and he heard Woody's reply, 'No Poppa, you need to understand, we're in this together, I agreed, I helped push this through, it's our problem not yours, this is big, really big, we can't back out now, if we can't find someone to take it on them I'm quitting school, and that's it, I can finish school once the new division is up and running, I admit it would be better to have someone who is used to dealing with that level of business, but I'll just have to learn fast', he heard Pauly say, 'I understand what you're saying Poppa but this time I agree with Woody it has to be someone who can cut through bullshit, dropping school didn't harm me, like Woody says, if we can't find the right person with the balls to take it on, then Woody's my choice'.
Billy stood in front of them, "Okay, now which one of you do I need to batter in order to get a straight answer".
Woody couldn't resist, laughing he said, "Well that let's you out Pauly, he wants a straight answer".
Dodging Pauly's raised hand Woody stood up and turning to his father with a serious look said, "All joking aside, I'm going to disobey you Poppa, I'm going to tell him, come with me uncle Billy".
PJ jumped up, "Woody I forbid you".
But Woody ignored his father, just as they'd planned, leading Billy over to another sofa and chairs.
"He's in the shit and it's mostly because of me, he and I cajoled the board into agreeing to start our own cruise line, but we don't have anyone to take it on, everyone we've approached wants to run an established division, nobody wants to take on the role of starting from scratch, building it, ordering the ships, establishing the routes, building a company in effect".
Woody paused for effect.
It's a massive undertaking, I wanted to approach you, but Poppa said no, he said he didn't want you to feel obligated, he said if you knew he was in a fix you'd do it just to save his ass, I said you'd enjoy the challenge of building a brand new company, well okay it's Woodruff, but it's a totally new venture, a complete new division".
He paused again.
"So now you know, I've told him I'm going to do it, I'll ditch school and somehow I'll make it work".
Billy hadn't said anything until now, "No you won't, once I've smacked your fathers head, I'll do it, it's exactly what I need, a complete change, a challenge, now if you'd care to watch".
At that Billy got up, walked over to PJ and slapped the back of his head.
Trying to resist the temptation to shout hallelujah, PJ feigned mock indignation, "Ouch, what was that for?".
"That was for not sharing, we're supposed to be Bro's, you have a problem it's mine as well, more to the point, your so called problem is exactly what I need, that is, if you think I could handle it, so when do I start?".
PJ was bouncing, "Really, you'd want to do it?, if you're serious you got it, there's a board meeting two days after we get home from here, seriously Bro, I'm so grateful, I've been bricking it".
Thankfully Billy hadn't caught Lenny and Julia giving each other a high five on the other side of the patio which would have told him he'd been set up.
Later in the evening Billy sat with PJ and asked him to describe what his vision was, but to his complete surprise, PJ told him he didn't have one other than his belief that in order to survive, Woodruff needed to be ever growing, evolving as Woody kept saying, and this made sense.
PJ told Billy, he wouldn't be hampered by senior management, the board had already approved the set up of a completely separate division, Billy would be named President of the new company, he would be answerable to the Woodruff board but that would be his only master.
An initial finance package of 10 Billion Dollars would be at the disposal of the new company, because of Woodruffs cash rich position one third of this would be from Woodruffs coffers, the balance was a guaranteed line of credit.
PJ wanted a carefully crafted PR campaign to raise awareness of the new company and its ships, he wanted the first ship to set sail on its maiden voyage within 2 years, its sister ships to be brought into service on a minimum of 6 month intervals after the first ship until they had 6 ships in service, then they could reflect and relax a little.
What PJ wouldn't reveal to Billy was the name of the new company, all he would say was it would be revealed if Billy attended the board meeting.
The holiday in San Palo was good for all of them, it was the first in a long time with no argument or antagonism.
For Pauly it was the first time in a long time that he and Reece had no ongoing agenda, all of the Spa complexes were up and running, the membership had rocketed, in several key sites they'd been tempted to increase floor space to accommodate more members but Reece had blocked that plan after a discussion with Ramon on the creation of a perceived need.
They'd stuck with their intended plan and now had full membership plus a prioritised waiting list in most venues.
Thankfully they no longer had issues with their joint worth because they worked every project together, and whilst they now had the Gym and Spa in every Fielding Hotel on franchise, they had also expanded the Gym company Reece had worked so hard to set up with a thriving Gym in almost every major city in Spain.
In nett worth they had now almost doubled what Pauly had originally brought to the table.
Reece saw this holiday break as a second honeymoon and as soon as they were alone in their suite he'd proceeded to strip seductively in front of a mesmerised Pauly who, coming out of his trance, stripped off in record time time to join him, by then Reece was on their bed, lying back, legs in the air, waiting for his true love to penetrate him and Pauly didn't disappoint, sinking deep into his husband while gazing down into his eyes, he took them on a glorious ride to orgasm using his hand to bring Reece to climax exactly as he emptied his seed deep into Reece.
By the end of April Beth had been virtually housebound, relying heavily on help from any source to get around.
When she'd complained to her doctors that her mother had not suffered like this even though she'd had three babies they explained that she was smaller framed than her mother and her babies were larger, the two factors combined to put a strain on her body beyond that which her mother would have felt.
In the first week of May the doctors became concerned that the strain was proving too much for Beth, they'd recommended she undergo a cesarean or C section, at the earliest opportunity to reduce the stress on both Beth and her unborn babies, but being insensitive fools they had told Beth all of this on a visit to Pacifico when Beth was alone.
Beth became nervous and upset, unable to decide if the doctors were just panicking or serious.
Walking in from running errands a little after her doctors had left, Dave found Beth in tears, sobbing, convinced she was going to loose her precious babies.
After holding her and soothing her he'd called his mother in.
Dianne had immediately called Lenny and explained what the doctors had said, not surprisingly Lenny called Pauly who agreed to meet her at Malaga Airport, they were airborne within the hour issuing instructions as soon as the flight levelled out at cruising altitude.
Lenny's first call had been to Beth's doctors, initially they hadn't wanted to discuss the matter with her, until she warned them she would drag each and every one of them through the courts, destroying them if anything bad happened to her daughter or unborn grandchildren.
In learning of the advice they'd given her daughter she was incensed telling them, "Are you all bloody mad?, you gave frightening news like that, to a girl no less, who is on her own, not thinking it would do more to exacerbate her condition that relieve it, god help you if you've harmed her, now get back to Pacifico and monitor her condition".
PJ was in New York with Billy Fielding overseeing the setup of the New Division which would be the cruise company when he received a call from Lenny with instructions, leave immediately for Palo Alto to be with Beth.
Lenny called Beth next but she had been too distressed to talk, Dave had taken charge.
Through Dave, Lenny had learned that Beth was not doing well, he'd called for an ambulance to take her to the maternity unit.
Lenny told Dave she was relying on him to convince Beth to agree with the doctors recommendation, allowing them to perform the C section, it would bring the babies into the world two weeks early, but it would relieve the strain on both them and Beth, to Lenny's relief Dave confirmed he'd already got Beth to agree, which was why he'd called the ambulance, he'd also made sure the maternity unit was on alert waiting to receive her.
When PJ arrived at the hospital he found Dave pacing the waiting room, Beth had been in surgery for nearly 2 hours.
It was another hour before a doctor approached them and announced the birth of a boy and a girl, both were doing well.
Dave immediately asked after Beth and the doctors expression changed, "She's not doing so well, the strain was down to the fact that she'd started labor but her body wasn't responding properly, she's completely drained, we need to keep her sedated for a while to let her rest and recover, you can visit but she'll be very drowsy, she may drift in and out of sleep for quite a while".
PJ and Dave went into the private room where Beth was resting to find her sleeping peacefully.
Dave had immediately took up position next to her bed holding her hand and PJ seeing the concern on his face couldn't help but be reassured this boy was going to look after his daughter.
They'd been sitting quietly talking for an hour or so when Lenny and Pauly came into the room.
Beth chose just that moment to open her eyes seeing her parents and brother staring down at her, she smiled weakly asking about the babies.
From her other side she heard Dave answer, "You've a beautiful son and daughter my love, both healthy and waiting to meet their Mommy".
Turning her head she managed weakly to say, "We have, not me my love, it's still yes if you really want us, tell them for me, I can't stay awake".
At that she lapsed back into sleep with PJ, Lenny and Pauly staring intently at Dave.
Pauly was the first to speak, "What did she mean?".
Not letting go of Beth's hand, Dave reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box which he opened to show a ring with a beautiful blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds set in white gold.
"This was my grandmothers engagement ring, I asked Beth to marry me, she said yes but I should wait and see if I still felt the same after the babies were born, that's what she meant by 'it's still yes if you really want us', and I do, oh boy I do, but there's a little more than that, I asked Beth to name me as the children's father on the birth certificates and she agreed, but she wanted to talk to you guys about it first".
Dave guessed from the beaming faces of her family that they were happy but he had to say the last bit.
"I told Beth we needed legal guidance, there is always the chance that the children's biological father could try to claim paternity rights, if that happened it could put their inheritance at risk of being stolen, there's also the chance however remote, that Beth and I might split up, in which case again their inheritance could be at risk, so we need to draft something which protects them and their inheritance, it could be hidden away, but it will be their insurance policy".
Lenny spoke first, "Do you ever foresee telling the twins the truth about their father?".
David gave her an immediate reply.
"Yes, we discussed this, it would be dishonest to pass me off as their father forever, it could be harmful to them, even leave them feeing cheated, we decided that as they grew they should be told gently that although I'm not their biological father I love them as my own".
Lenny again responded, "I can work with that when we need to".
Dave hadn't quite finished, "You haven't said how you feel about my marriage proposal, I don't have any prospects right now, when I qualify, if I qualify, I'll be a doctor, until then I'm going to be struggling to keep us all, I suggested that I could take a year out while Beth starts her courses, if I can earn enough I'd be able to resume my studies the following year".
PJ spoke up now, "Enough talk of dropping out of education, you'll both be taking up your courses as previously expected at the end of August, I'm hoping we don't have the usual infighting between you and Beth about money, Beth has enough to support a small third world country, however I'm not stupid I understand how it can become a problem, so here's what I propose, I'll make you an allowance, substantial enough to allow you to live well, once you are earning and able you will pay me back, think of it as utilising your future earnings a little early".
"Dave was grinning, "Deal, and thank you Poppa, I really do appreciate it, I want us to be a family as soon as possible".
Beth had made steady progress and was ready to be discharged one week after giving birth to the twins, she enjoyed a few days of rest at Pacifico before the onslaught that was the family descended.
All three planes brought family from far and wide to meet the newest members of the family.
Dianne and Rob along with Anna their traveling Cook had put on a fantastic barbecue on the patio and lawns surrounding the pool area.
The babies fast asleep in their bassinets, shaded by large umbrellas.
Mid afternoon after speaking briefly with PJ and Lenny then holding Beth's hand, Dave called for everyone's attention.
PJ thanked everyone for making the trip out to welcome the newest family members, telling them there was someone who had something to say, so begging their attention for a little while longer he handed over to Dave.
Dave nervously addressed them, "I apologise for taking up your time but there's something I need to do, as you all will witness the outcome anyway it's only fitting that you witness this next part".
Turning to Beth he dropped down on one knee pulling the ring box from his pocket as Beth gasped.
"I asked you once before and you said to ask you again when the babies were here, I know what you were doing, you were giving me the chance to change my mind, you were thinking of me, well I let you have your way and all it has achieved is to make me even more determined, Beth, I love you, I've known it since that first day you walked out onto this very patio, I can't think of a life without you, will you marry me, be my wife, share the rest of our lives together?".
You could have heard a pin drop, more noise was coming from the odd fly than could be heard from the throng of people on the patio, it was as if everyone held their breath, waiting, but not for long as Beth grinned.
"Yes I will, I love you too Dave, more than I ever thought possible".
The noise which greeted Beth's words was deafening as Dianne and Rob brought out several bottles of champagne to toast the happy couple.
The twins birth was registered with their father named as David Nathaniel Morton and so Dave became father to Robert Paul Morton and Elly Dianne Morton.
The wedding was set to be in the grounds of Pacifico on what was a beautiful day in mid August, friends and family from around the world gathered for the service just two weeks before the new school term started, to witness Beth become Mrs Elizabeth Morton.
Beth's wedding night restored her faith in the beauty of being intimate with someone she loved.
Shedding her wedding gown she'd been standing in just bra and panties when Dave from behind pulled her into a warm embrace, nipping lightly on her neck and ears his hands found the front fastener of her lacy white bra, easing it open his hands began caressing her soft breasts, pulling and teasing the sensitive nipples, causing her to moan before one hand traced its was down into her lacy panties to rub her moist pussy, pushing open the lips and sinking deep inside her.
Beth felt complete and utter love as Dave carried her to their bed, laying her in perfect position to watch as he stripped before her, pushing down his boxers to reveal around 9 inches of throbbing man meat.
That first night they made love 3 times, each time as wonderful as the last, finally surrendering to sleep, only to wake next morning to start over, Beth had never believed it could be anything like as wonderful as it was.
After all the festivities were over, Dave moved into the house with Beth in their suite on the second floor at the opposite end of the corridor from Pete and Chris, the twins had their own nursery suite with their nannies on the third floor.
Two weeks later term started and the four students began their university life, fully expecting four years of hard work and challenges, but they hadn't factored in life's illusions, nothing could have prepared them for the challenges they would actually face.
TBC
ARB Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.