BOMAW 1-3 (95 page)

... and here as well, oh would I love to be the master of this humble abode in Ireland with you... Our humble
cottage

...

Sylvia sat with her hands pressed to her cheeks, her eyes filled with tears.

"Are you just now reading your emails?" His deep voice beckoned from behind her. She turned and saw him standing there, immediately she sprang to her feet and into his arms. He stood holding her, his hands going through her hair, squeezing and holding on tight. "Shawn..." His name passed her lips as a gasp ... speechless and overwhelmed. "What?" He whispered against her brow. She shook her head against his chest, unable to speak. "Let's go to bed." He suggested softly.

They lay together silently for moments long after turning off the lights. Shawn had been in the basement for quite some time with Mundo... just talking, the two really getting to know each other. Now he lay stroking Sylvia's arm, wiping at a few of her tears. He didn't have to ask what they were for, he knew... each day that past... he knew her more and more, understood how she felt, thought and what she wanted. He felt it was his responsibility to bring it to her. While she gave him children, it was his job to assure that they all benefited from a life worth living, that was his duty... he would see it through.

"It took some doing..." He finally spoke, "... but... I've convinced Mundo to move here with us. I imagine... the tough one will be convincing Crystal to do the same. They may have gone off into the world equipped with what is needed to financially survive... but... emotionally... they're half full. Just as Angela... was half full. Mainly... Crystal... we need to get her to move here with us. She needs our help... would you agree."

Sylvia turned into his chest and began softly crying, nodding her head.

"Aaah baby... don't cry... I know. I know... I know what you're feeling... I understand how what you saw today hurts you. Sylvie... its not your fault-..."

"It is - it - it is... I-..."

"No... shhh, listen to me. You cannot be mother and father to them... just as I cannot be father... and mother to Angela. There is a reason GOD gave parenting to two. There is a reason... I get it now... when I saw her today... it clicked in my head... the mother fills one half, the father fills the other... and the child is complete. If one of them, fills the child with bad things... when time comes for their half to perform... the performance will be filled with bad things... no matter how well filled the other half, and there lies the tug of war within the child's mind and conscience. Stop your weeping my wife... and know this... the half belonging to you... is oh so beautiful... some how... we will use it to bury that other half... if they will let us."

He hugged her deep in thought, strange feelings were sweeping over him. He truly felt there was a reason they were together, a reason all of their children this day were under their roof, a reason what needed to come out did. This was his family - the one he had longed for. He took it as Gods way of helping him to make up for lost time.

Shawn passed Sylvia the roll of toilet paper. "Baby you need to buy some Kleenex... because we gonna run out of ass wipe if this keeps up."

Sylvia started laughing as she cried, and couldn't stop, blowing her nose she chuckled every time his words came back to mind. "Tomorrow." She finally promised.

"So... if by chance we do get Crystal to agree to come home... how are we going to afford to put them all up, and for how long?" Sylvia murmured.

"Let's get them through school. She's doing too much Sylvia. She's wearing herself out, and refusing to ask for help. She's trying to be a super everything... problem is, she's not. School is more important than anything right now... we must take off some of the pressure so she can get that done... accomplish that. She needs to focus on her children, herself and her education. I think she needs to go to a doctor as well... there is nothing more dangerous than a chemically embalanced woman... hormones going nuts can get a city blown to bits."

Sylvia leaned up and looked at him laughing again. "You sound scared."

"I am!" He joked, they laughed. "But I can take it. Just don't you go to getting embalanced on me."

"Who me? Surely you're not afraid of me?" Sylvia leaned up on her elbow to ask in the dark of their room.

Shawn smiled... already she was sure in what he felt... he didn't care, he wanted her to know. Stroking her brow, he cautioned her, "Careful m'lass, ye' stir the beast an' he'll bite for sure." He purred in a thick Irish brogue that made Sylvia's toes curl just hearing it. "Bite hm... is that all the beast will do... is bite?"

"Ach! Calm y'self woman... tis another week we are t'be waitin'!"

Sylvia chuckled and laid her head back to his chest, "All right, I'll have mercy on you then." She sighed, "How are we to afford this Shawn? Shanna, now my kids, plans to build the house, turning this one into a bed and breakfast... I don't want us to end up in debt." She spoke honestly.

"We'll do the best that we can. Consider this... we're starting off better than most, I won't let money worries crowd out my families needs, and right now... they have needs that must be met. First things first... and that's convincing Crystal to give up that house, she's only renting it anyway. Although, Mundo told me she was looking to buy it, she likes it there. Some how we have to convince her there's something better on the horizon and to let it go. He thinks we're going to struggle with her, she's so independent."

"I'm to blame for that, I always told them to depend on no one but themselves. That if they were to gain in life they needed to work for it, only then would they appreciate their accomplishments. Yeah... she's gonna be tough to turn over, I also get a feeling that she's going to want to go after Victor - how do I convince her to leave him be for a time, to focus on herself?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Ummm, I've been calculating in my head sweety... and ummm..." Shawn took a really deep breath and blew it out. "I think... we're going to have to end up getting a loan at some point along the way."

"No Shawn!" Sylvia leaned up to look at him.

"Sylvia... I'm building you that house, and ... I'm going to have a brand new garage built with an apartment over it for Mundo and I'm going to have to add more bedrooms for Crystal and the boys."

"Shawn we don't even know if she's going to agree and move here or not. I don't like owing the bank... right now, everything we have is paid for - I don't want us going into debt. I'll tell you what... let's just build an extension on your house and leave it at that. We'll continue on with the bed and breakfast and as we gain revenue from it, we'll add to the house instead of building a new one."

"I want to build you a new home... I promised you that."

"Shawn... you need to understand something about me. I want my home clean, I want my home conservatively nice, and I want people to respect my things and take care when using them. But for me to be happy... I don't need to be in a palace, I need to be debt free. If we're living in a big splendid home for everyone to drive by and ooou and aaah, while we're inside biting our nails trying to figure which bill gets paid and which doesn't... I'm sorry... any means of joy and satisfaction from it is gone from me. I'm not trying to impress anybody! I don't give a shit who has what... I'm not about to try and keep up with the Jones'! There's nothing in this house that is new. But its clean, its been well cared for, and it has lasted because I made sure it would last. Now across that road, we'll build an extension on it and redecorate - I'll even splurge and buy some new furniture if it will make you happy. As for that garage, we'll build an apartment on top of it."

"Baby it's old though." Shawn was smiling at her.

"I'on care... brace it up... nobody up there but Mundo... we'll tell'im don't be jumpin' around up there - if it come down, got nobody to blame but yourself!"

Shawn started laughing, "Sylvia its not that bad honey."

"It can get that bad Shawn... I'm serious now..." She sat up in the bed. "... I'm telling you now... you wanna help everybody? Fine! We will... but I handle the finances - cause you just spend like we grow it on trees in the backyard. I'm puttin' my foot down this time, if you mean what you say about doing it for me... then do it my way. Give me the money, let me budget it - we do extension... brick the bottom, alum side the top... new roof... bam! New house... good enough for me!"

Shawn shook his head laughing, "Mundo was right, you are tight!"

"Mundo can kiss my hinder! This ain't none of his business! This between you and I, if you trust in me to be your wife, then you trust in me to handle the money. I don't need no new house, I need to check our account... and feel secure... that's what I need. So what's it gonna be?" She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked down at him.

Shawn was smiling in the dark and put his hands beneath his head looking up at her dark image staring down at him.

"So... what does this all entail... you handling the money?" He asked.

"I pay the bills, I monitor the spending... I yea or nay purchases and keep us out of debt. Everyone will continue to eat, we will always have lights and fuel, insurance, maintenance on the cars, everything taken care of ... by me."

"And my credit cards?"

"They come to me."

"All of them!"

"Every single one Shawn... because you too quick with the card, you need to learn to go for the cheaper alternative - see you done got fed that nonsense you get what you pay for! In some instances... it certainly is true - but in others, the cheaper will do."

"At least let me keep one!"

"Which one has the least amount of credit on it?"

Shawn started laughing rolling in the bed shaking his head. "You gotta be kidding me!? Are you serious?!"

"Do I look like I'm serious? You doggone right I'm serious, now which one has the least amount on it? That's the one you can keep. But - I don't want you to use it, its for emergencies only! I'll give you money each week to spend."

"WHAT?!" He sat up in the bed next to her.

"Will you hush man for you wake up these kids."

"Well they better sleep through it! How much money are you talking about giving me?"

"Well what do you need money for? I'll keep gas in all the vehicles, food in the house, I'll keep you supplied with your paints. But come to think of it, most of the stuff you do, you can do in that computer... you don't really neeeeed to paint!"

"WHAT?!"

"Shhhhh! Okay okay okay... I'll keep the painting supplies coming, but still... you don't need that much money on you. You don't smoke, you don't drink - much that is... so what are you going to do with it?"

Shawn sat staring through the dark at her in disbelief, he was speechless, his brain jammed up and went completely blank.

"See... you can't even think of anything to spend it on... you have all the clothes you need, and when you need more, I'll buy them."

"I don't want no Kmart - Walmart clothes!" He complained.

"Ain't nothing wrong with Walmart - Mr. California-man! You want a big family... well here we go! Time to tighten it up baby! Now... how much money you want a week? Twenty-five or thirty dollars?"

"Twe-Thir... oh hell! I'll spend that in five minutes right here in town!" He argued.

"Not unless you wanna be broke you won't."

"Oh no no no - I protest! I don't even wanna hear about anything less than a hundred dollars!"

"A week Shawn?!"

"Yeah!"

"Four hundred dollars a month Shawn!? You spend four hundred dollars a month?!"

"No." He answered gulping.

"More or less?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Shawn, I'm telling you now... there ain't no reason in the world, for no body to be spending four hundred dollars a month! So if you have been, you can kiss -(She gave a gestured kiss to her hand)- those days goodbye! Goodnight!" And she turned over on her side of the bed.

"What do you mean, goodnight?! I'm not done yet... that's not a lot of money."

"Goodnight Shawn... we'll talk about it tomorrow."

"I wanna talk about it tonight. Okay okay... eighty a week... can I get eighty a week?"

"Thirty Shawn."

"Seventy-five?"

"Thirty-five."

"Seventy?"

"Thirty-five."

"Hey... you were suppose to move up more!"

"Thirty-five- ninety-nine."

"Sixty and you got yourself a deal."

Sylvia was quiet and thinking, then said, "Forty-five and that's it Shawn."

"What am I gonna do with forty-five dollars a week?"

"Save it... put it away, let it build up... then buy something."

He threw himself back on the bed like a spoiled little boy, pouting. Then came up with an idea, "If I can earn a little extra on the side outside of my check I get each month, that's mine to keep right?"

"Well if you can do that... you don't need the forty-five!"

"Aye! The forty-five is mine! But if I make a little extra on the side... is that mine?"

Sylvia sighed thinking about it, "Yeah Shawn... that's yours."