Cause it was silly vacation fun.
I’d only brought casual clothes and jammies, which narrowed it down to jeans and a sweater for dinner. When I came out of the bedroom, I found Daddy standing in the middle of the living room holding a big bunch of pink roses.
“Daddy, are those for me?”
“Yes, they’re for you, my Valentine date.”
Daddy kissed me then I sniffed the roses. “They smell so pretty. Thank you, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome. I have a vase on the table ready for them and dinner is served.” He took my arm like we were at some fancy restaurant, and he even pulled the chair out for me.
I watched as he filled our plates, steak, potatoes and salad, then brought them to the table and joined me.
“I didn’t get any wine since neither of us like it. I just want to say that Tae, this has been the most magical trip of my life.”
“Me too, Daddy. I’ll never forget our time here. Ever.”
6
CHUCK
“Welcome home, lovebirds,” Oscar greeted us with hugs as we walked into the house. “Congratulations again.” He helped us bring all our stuff inside, having brought back more than we left with for sure. Tae immediately shut himself inside his playroom after a quick wave to his brother. “Is he okay?”
“Yes, the theme for his playroom finally hit him while we were away. He’s been drawing like mad the last two days. Says he wants the room done before we get married.”
“Did you pick a date yet?”
“Nope, just a venue. Mom suggested we have it here since there will only be ten of us. As soon as Tae heard that, the wheels started turning and the vision came. I’ve officially been banned from the playroom until its done.”
Oscar threw his head back and laughed. “That sounds like him. By the way, the lawyer dropped the papers off for me to sign. Are you sure about this, Chuck?”
I sat in my desk chair across from him. “My dad started Ashwood before I was born. It was always a given it would become Ashwood and Son when I was old enough to officially join the business, and then we’d be partners. Sadly, he died before any of that took place and I had to step up, but I’ve ran it on my own for long enough and I’d like to cut back. It’s time to focus on my boy. Mom and I talked about this at length and she completely agrees. You’re the perfect business partner for me, well, for us.” Tae was in this too, though he left me to make most decisions for us.
I’d already approved the documents ahead of time and was more than aware of what the deal included. Now the ball was in Oscar’s court.
“I just,” Oscar paused and took a deep breath. I wondered if he’d changed his mind. “I’m overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity.”
“Kindness and generosity? You’ve more than earned your place at Ashwood. You worked your ass off for me and it is high time that I recognized that.” Many times, when Tae and Samian were younger, he’d have to bring them along on jobs. Never once had I balked at that. They were respectful, cleaned up after themselves, and were always quiet.
He chuckled. “Point taken. But seriously Chuck, thank you. Thank you for giving a young, single father raising his brothers a chance.”
“Never once regretted it. Now sign the damn papers.”
“Alright, alright,” he grinned and held his hands up, surrendering to my overbearing request, though I said it with a smile. “I’ll sign them.” When he finished, I fired off an email toour lawyer to let him know they were ready to pick up and file. After that, Oscar and I scanned through the dozens of photos we’d taken during our vacation.
“Hey, what do you think about buying land and building a cabin on it? Tae really enjoyed the snow and our time up there. I thought we could do the work ourselves then we’d all have a place to escape the heat from.”
“You are just full of surprises anymore, Chuck.”
True, even though I wasn’t sure what had gotten into me, it made both my boy and me very happy, so I’d continue to roll with these good feelings. Plus, I was making the best decisions while riding this high.
“Sounds expensive to me.”
“Good man, already looking after the bottom line.” I loved this playful banter with my friend and now business partner. “The way Tae came alive up there, trust me, it’ll be more than worth it. Imagine taking your plus one away for the weekend.” Oscar blushed and I wondered if there wasn’t a special someone in his life already.
“Well, we’ll see. I know you well, my friend, and you won’t jump into anything without every line balancing first. Hell, maybe we could expand the business and move more into construction. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a General Contractors license for a while now.”
“That’s a great idea. I priced a few lots online, did a bit of recon. I’ll reach out to the agents and dig into material costs and then we can see. If you’re serious about the GC license, I say go for it.” Sounds like we both had the will, now we just had to find the way.
