Laura's Big Win (32 page)

“Planning session, kids?”

“Yes, but we’re taking a break right
now. What’s going on, Alice? You look positively radiant, and just
a little giddy I might say.” Laura had picked up quickly on the
other woman’s state of mind.

“He called. He’s on his way, be here
tomorrow. I’m so damned excited I don’t know what to do next. I
know I’m crazy at my age to act this way, I just can’t get over it
and I had to tell someone or bust.”

“Alice, that’s great. I assume you’re
talking about Vincent…..Vinny?”

“The one and only. I don’t think I was
this excited on my wedding night. I mean…..well, you know what I
mean. I just can’t wait, and Laura, he said he’s coming for me and
when he leaves, I go with him, ready or not. He even said if I can
find a preacher, he’ll marry me on the spot, but one way or
another, I go with him. What’ll I do?”

“Woman, this calls for action; can’t
let a live one get away, can we?. This wedding stuff can wait a
bit. I think Ryan was ready to escape anyway. First of all, got any
booze? We have to have a toast to start things out right. Next,
Ryan, can you take the kids while we make a high speed shopping run
into town?”

“Can do. I’ll have the guys roll out
the van, while we have that toast, assuming I’m invited, and I’ll
track down the kids and let them know what’s happening. Besides,
this will be good training for me. Why a shopping trip?”

“Girls have needs, Ryan, so Alice and I
are going to do a little shopping this afternoon. But first, Alice,
about that drink.”

“Got some good stuff at my place. I’ve
been waiting for a special occasion, and it doesn’t get any more
special that this, at least not for me. I know you have a wedding
to plan and all that, but you kids have a long lifetime ahead of
you. I need to strike quick at my age, and I know you’re going to
just love him too.”

“Are you sure about this Alice,
marrying the guy and all?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve had time to think
about it, and like I told you, one way or another, I have to get on
with my life. That’s why I made that goofy trip back to the old
high school to begin with. Anyway, I’m not likely to get many more
offers at all as good as this one, not at my age. No sense letting
him get away.”

Ryan was getting the distinct feeling
he was once again being run over by events, and he didn’t mind in
the least. It would maybe give him some time with the kids, and
helping Alice enjoy her moment was a pleasure in itself. They
adjourned to Alice’s cottage for the promised drink, and discovered
she truly knew the meaning of “the good stuff”. Her stash was right
up there with what Roger kept under lock and key in the office. A
drink later, as they were walking out toward the waiting van, Ryan
asked Alice once again about her intent to marry, and was reassured
she was so intent.

“Assuming he doesn’t get cold feet, and
it doesn’t sound like that is even a remote possibility, what kind
of a wedding did you have in mind?”

In truth, in her excitement and as out
of character as it was, Alice had not thought past even getting
married itself, let alone any of the details. Her world was upside
down and revolving in a whirl. “I don’t know, just something to
make it legal I think, so our kids and grandkids won’t fuss or
think we’re crazy. I can leave all the fancy stuff to you kids. No
sense wasting any time. Why were you asking?”

“Well, for one thing, you need a
practitioner, a place, and a time. I have a practitioner in mind;
what about the rest?”

“Can it wait until we get back? Better
yet, I’ll call him on my cell while we drive into town, make sure,
then call you on your cell. By the way, Laura, why are we going to
town?”

“Wendy’s Works. Always wanted to go
there; this is great excuse. Besides, I might want to do a little
shopping myself. You never know. Ready?”

“For this? You bet. See you Ryan. I’ll
call.” And they were off down the road, leaving Ryan watching the
disappearing van.

For his part, Ryan’s mind was having a
shouting match with itself, and both sides were losing the battle.
He had never been in Wendy’s Works, and was not likely to ever go
in, at least not of his own volition but he had walked past the
shop a time or two and the effect was not lost. It was strictly a
women’s apparel shop, with a very limited scope of merchandise, all
being pointed toward poolside and bedroom, with emphasis on the
bedroom since the entire collection of scant swimware took up so
little space. Ryan had mused, from a purely engineering standpoint
of course, how some of the garments stayed on, or up, or whatever,
with no apparent support anywhere, particularly where the
mannequins were not very well endowed. It was a whole new field of
physics he just didn’t know much about, but somewhere in the mix of
images, Laura popped up, again, and again. He needed to pick a
wedding date, for a reality check on his imagination. But in the
meantime, he put in a call to Harry Comstock, let the kids know
where their mother had gone, and told them Alice was about to
depart Windmere. He also informed Dennis and Franz about the nature
of the emergency run, and enjoyed the look of wonder on their
faces. Asking them to watch the kids for a bit, he decided taking a
couple of miles on a run was probably the best thing he could do at
the moment. During the course of the run he received a call from
Alice confirming Vinny’s arrival the next morning, and his
intentions toward her, including a marriage if things could be
managed. Harry was going to love this one.

Later in the day when things had calmed
down a bit, Alice joined the four of them for the evening meal in
Laura’s cottage. Plans were reviewed, enjoyed, and a million kids
questions were answered, mostly about whether Alice would ever come
back or not. Assured that she would not miss their mother’s
wedding, even if she had to walk, they settled down for the evening
with Amanda on Ryan’s lap watching some reasonably harmless
television while the ladies continued talking at the table. And
finally, after Amanda had been carried to bed, and Jack was settled
in for the night, Alice bade them a good evening and departed with
her own thoughts.

Ryan had noticed a time or two during
the evening when Laura seemed to be deep in thought, but in the
glow of Alice’s news, he didn’t pursue it at the time. Now, sitting
on the sofa not actually watching anything but each feeling the
presence of the other, he brought it up. “You seemed lost in
thought a couple of times. What did I do this time?” Ryan asked,
broaching the subject with a light air.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do like
Alice and Vinny and just fly off somewhere? I know this is asking a
lot from you; I may turn out to be terrible to live with after
all.”

“Two things: yes, I think we need to do
this the long way because I really believe that is the memory we
want to have, and secondly, after you left for Wendy’s Works, my
imagination got the best of me, and I want to find out if it’s
right, but at the right time. So there.”

Laura felt her face flush at the
thought, but at the same time was pleased she could have that
effect on this man she loved so much. And he was right about the
wedding plans; she intended to remember this for a long time, with
him at her side. Then her own imagination started generating images
as her mind wandered and she enjoyed the warmth of his presence,
snuggled against him. But as the images rolled through, one more
stray through popped up.

“Ryan?”

“Umm?”

“Where are we going to live after we’re
married. There’s plenty of room here for you, but the kids are
getting bigger and will need their own rooms soon. I was sort of
thinking about that.”

“Tell you what, let me handle that for
now. I’ll do the finance and property management; you do the social
things. Deal?”

“Deal. Wanna sign a contract or
…..Mufft.” Laura’s comment was cut off in mid-sentence by lips on
her own, a response she both understood clearly and enjoyed
thoroughly.

“I think I probably need to head for my
own digs for now. Half of my brain is trying to talk the other half
out of that ‘let’s wait’ commitment I made, and it’s starting to
win. Besides, I think with the Alice and Vinny deal tomorrow, we’ll
probably need all the sleep we can get. Kiss me enough to last
until morning.”

And after a lingering good night kiss,
the two parted for the evening, but looking forward to another day
closer to their own wedding.

Chapter 18 – Alice’s
Restart

The day dawned clear and crisp, a
little warmer than average for a fall day, and a perfect day for a
wedding. The Windmere family was not about to let Alice get away
without at least a semblance of a party, and efforts were underway
to get organized. Much depended on the arrival of the groom, but
Alice received assurances that if he didn’t show as promised,
Dennis would go get him, wherever he might be. As it turned out,
Vinnie called mid-morning to say he would be a little later than
the promised 11 AM, having had to stop and replace a tire enroute,
but that he was on his way to claim his woman. Alice was back on
cloud nine again, and amenable to almost anything the gang
suggested. Dennis assigned the gate intercom to his pager so there
would be no delay getting the motor home captive on Windmere
grounds, while Franz and Jack worked out a way to feed temporary
power to the unit so they could forego the generator for the time
being. Laura, with Amanda helping a bit, assisted Alice in doing
some packing of precious belongings, some for storage, some to go
with her. Vinnie’s attitude was that they would buy what they
forgot to bring along, but he understood about keepsakes, grandkid
pictures, and things like that. Doris had decided the previous day
that at least a wedding dinner was in order, and came in on her day
off to help fete her long time friend and ally. The entire place
seemed to be taken with the prospect of a lot of fun, with a deep
appreciation of this woman who had helped so much to forge the
image of Windmere and what it had become. Everyone understood that
Laura now stood where Alice had stood for a long time, and they
recognized that now was the time in Alice’s life she could truly
reap the rewards she so richly deserved. It went without saying
they would truly miss her, in spite of e-mails and things, but
there would not be the slightest moment of hesitation in giving her
what was due in recognition and happiness.

Dennis anticipated the arrival
perfectly, positioning himself at the main gate just as the motor
home rolled to a stop in front of it. Introducing himself, Dennis
gave Vinnie brief instructions to follow his quad-runner on to the
grounds, and started the triumphal entrance. Dennis was quick to
realize the huge motor home would need plenty of turning space, and
made a quick mental note on how to get the job done. He was also in
possession of a secret and wanted very much to see the faces of the
assembled group when they met Vinnie for the first time. Passing by
the group, he lead the unit past the cottages toward the golf
course to gain enough space for it to turn around with style and
grace rather than a lot of backing and filling. Dennis was a little
surprised to see no small car in tow as such motor homes usually
had for convenience, but assumed it had been left somewhere for the
time being.

Making the turn around, Dennis guided
Vinnie to the front of Alice’s cottage and brought the parade to a
stop. The sheer height of the motor home made it difficult to see
through the windshield, and the assembled crowd was anxious for
their first glimpse of this man who could work such excitement in
the staid Mrs. Hamilton. The side door opened finally, and out
stepped…..not the short, olive skinned, dark eyed Italian man
everyone had rather come to expect, but a man somewhere over six
feet tall, slender but in obviously good physical condition, blue
eyed, with silver hair rather than gray. One step and Alice was in
his arms; there was no question she knew exactly who this was and
the welcome wagon was out. Finally breaking their clinch, the two
turned to start with the introductions, Alice with a big grin on
her face at having put one over on all of them. She could see in
their collective faces they were having a difficult time
reconciling Vincent Lupinacci with the man they were
seeing.

Alice reveled in the moment: “Gotcha,
didn’t I? Please let me introduce to the lot of you Mr. Vincent
Lupinacci, Vinnie would do nicely. I should mention that he is
Italian as you may have thought, but from northern Italy close to
Germany. Now, if you please, say something, someone.”

Ryan was quick to jump in: “Okay, you
got us good; so we were stereotyping; I’ll admit it. But, please,
Mr. Lupinacci, I’m Ryan Williams, and this lovely being is my
betrothed, Laura Nessing, her children Amanda and Jackson. Welcome
to Windmere; whatever this day may bring, may it include
everlasting happiness for the two of you.”

“You are indeed a gentleman and a
scholar, sir. It is with pleasure I make your acquaintance, and
that of your betrothed. I feel welcomed, and honored. Now, you kids
ever see the inside of one of these critters? Maybe Alice will take
you for a tour; she knows what the inside looks like, don’t you my
dear?”

Alice Hamilton blushed for the first
time anyone could every remember, and it was rather clear she knew
a great deal about the inside of the motor home. “Okay kids, up for
a tour?”