Chapter 2

Remember I said earlier that I was lucky. Remember too that luck can be good and bad. Paul just opened my door and yelled: “Hey Mike call Blake and let’s go get brunch at ... Oh Hi Blake, your here already. Who’s your twin?

I said: “Paul, this is Virginia Daniels, she is...”

“Wow, her sister, are you married already Virginia? Who is older?”

“No Paul, nice to meet you but I am Blake’s...”

“Man if your as nice as Blake and can cook too. I am In Love!”

There was silence as the two of them stared at each other. I looked at Blake, she looked at me as both of us just shrugged our shoulders. Who knew!

I said: “Paul, you two go ahead and get a table. Blake has to get dressed, she’s had a rough night and came here last night. Give us a few. Order coffee and juice for us, treat Virginia right or else.”

“Mike ... Mike ... Virginia ... Man. The deli near Luigi’s. Don’t hurry on our account you two! Let’s get that table Virginia, what do you say?”

Her Mom was like Blake. Tell her, don’t ask!

“What just happened?” asked Blake.

“It would not surprise me if your Mom will be wearing number 19’s jersey next game! Let’s be fashionably late to Brunch so don’t hurry getting dressed.”

It was a nice day so we walked to Leonard’s. Her Mom had Blake when she was 14; the same age Blake was now. That, no doubt was the reason she blew up. Her imagination made things a lot worse than reality. She was 28, Paul 30, divorced at 25 and earned like $5.5 million a year and from the way it looked was a lost man.

We walked in. Both sat across a table staring at each other. That was the same way they were in my place. Virginia got up and pulled Blake into the restroom. Paul started talking as soon as I sat down.

“I really like her! Do you think she likes me? Did Blake say anything when we left? How old is she? Am I too old for her? Is she older or younger than Blake? What do you think of a double wed...”

“Paul. Paul, Paul. Forget it. You’re too ugly for her!”

The look on his face, you should have seen it.

Just kidding. She’s single, 28 and older than ‘my’ Blake. She lives a few blocks away with Blake and from what I know of her is a very nice person, usually.”

Blake and Virginia came back out together. As Blake pushed Virginia down she pulled me up and dragged me into the hallway.

“It’s like I’m back in school. She’s like a girl with her first crush. Paul this, Paul that. Paul, Paul, Paul. What are we going to do?”

“Well, Paul wants a double wedding so in a couple of years your Mom can sign for you.”

“Ha, Ha, Ha! I’m serious, she’s never been like this before. What are we going to do?”

“I think get them a toaster or maybe...”

Blake closed her eyes, clenched her fists and started counting. No sound came out but you could see her counting down. She had tears in her eyes.

“She’s my Mother, what if ... if...”

“Shades of last night Blake. What she was afraid of about you maybe. Daughter like Mother maybe? Paul has it worse than your Mom does!”

She was still crying.

“Oh com’on, if you don’t want to get them a toaster we can get them a gift card instead.”

Now there was tearing like floodgates had opened. I put my arms around her and said: “It’s life Blake. Your Mom did a fairly good job raising you, alone I guess. (She nodded) You said so yourself, she has never been like this before. Give her a break. In worse case I have a 5 year lease on the apartment, you have a bedroom in it now and I’ll let you keep the place if I get traded. Don’t you think she deserves a chance for some happiness.”

She took a deep breath, looked up at me and said: “I’m hungry now, let’s go back and order.”

“Your wish is my command Princess!”

When we returned they still had not ordered. We did for all of us. Getting Virginia home, my home, was not done without Paul along. Blake cooked dinner, Paul and Virginia just sat together on the sofa until near our curfew. We put Virginia in the middle bedroom which was larger still than Blake’s room. After getting her settled with night clothes pirated from her room, Blake came and sat with me.

“What are we going to do and don’t you dare say, ‘get a toaster’ or I’ll beat you silly. This is serious.”

I just looked at her and said nothing.

“Well?”

“If the roles were reversed what would your Mom do or say to you?”

You could see her thinking. Another deep breath then she went to bed. I didn’t know what to say to her. I wondered who was 14 and who was the Mom.

Sleep did not come to Blake or myself that night. At 2 am I was making hot cocoa when she took the pot from my hand, poured the water out, put the pan away, opened the fridge, poured milk into a cup. microwaved it then put the mix in, stirred and started to drink it herself. “Nothing!” she said as she sat down in a chair.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

Neither of us were old enough to have kids of our own but now we both had an inkling what parents went through when the kids got older.

“Move in, both of you. Keep an eye on her, I’ll watch Paul. Unless you want a sibling make certain she takes a pill. She said you rent so save that money, we won’t have any added expenses with her here.” Blake had been over so often it was like she lived with me already; so I made an assumption about her. In many ways, she WAS my family; I really cared about her.

“Yeah, she was going through the clothes you bought me, except for bras we wear the same size. I don’t know if I want my Mom living with ‘US’ ... Kidding Dear!”

The smile on her face, no her tongue sticking out, gave her away.

“Some little girl may be getting a spanking?”

She wiggled her butt and mouthed ‘Promises, promises.’ She was 14 going on 30 by the way she was acting.

Paul was now impossible going to practice. Jack just shook his head. When I told Bonnie about Virginia I thought she was dying the way she was laughing. I did not see the humor in it and told her so.

“I think she’s cute!” She said.

She pulled out a home and away No .19 jersey from a pile on the sofa. “You might as well give Virginia these. If they don’t fit Paul left a stack of other sizes. She’ll need them for Saturday’s game. He will just ‘love’ that she is moving into our building. Does she even know yet?”

I used to like Bonnie until she got so ‘Uppity’. I liked her even less when I went to Paul’s Penthouse on the top floor of the building to drop off something from Coach. I saw her standing by his door then slip inside when the door was opened; innocent enough but for what she had or in her case was not wearing. I shook my head. This was Bonnie. Jack’s Bonnie err, maybe Paul’s Bonnie too.

I first went back to my place for Blake and Virginia. “Follow Please” Remember don’t ask them, just tell them what to do. Next stop was Jack’s place.

When Jack opened the door ‘we’ bombarded him with questions. “You saw her, Ehh. She’s getting a bit sloppy in her old age!” Bonnie was not old unless 24 was called old.

“She is what one could call a ‘Wild child’! Paul likes a child and uses his cash to feed his quirk.”

I looked at the girls. They looked stunned.

“Paul and Jack make and have been making multi-millions each year. They live, shall we say, a ‘different’ lifestyle than most do.”

I told him what seemed to be happening with Virginia and Paul. His comment: “That would last a few weeks then he would hand her off to his friends. He gets bored with young girls real fast. Bonnie lasts because she gets him girls and shares that quirk. I’d rather she spends his money than mine. She costs him nearly $ half a million a year. A word of advice, he’s not dangerous but keep Blake away from him too. I’ll tell them his act did not work on them and to leave her alone.”

Virginia was devastated, Blake ecstatic. “Hey, keep the move going. You’ll save some money, I get two beautiful creatures to look at and it will be easier to line you up with a couple nice guys, not the Paul’s of this world. You two are so nice, easy to be with and brighten up a room as soon as you walk in. You deserve someone more like you are.” Saying that might have been a small mistake on my part. I glanced at Blake, it was not a look that should not have been on a 14 year-old’s face.

It took some time, with a few kind words and a lot of patience and understanding, thrown in, but for the next two weeks their move became their focus.

We became somewhat infamous at the game. Two look-alike blonds were wearing a No. 88 Jersey, my 88, so they must be my girls people figured. By my thinking that should attract guys to them like flies to shit.

Instead, 27 girls, aged 14 to 22 tried to replace them. Let me tell you I could have my very own cheer-leading team if I played it right. Have you ever seen cats fight? Well a couple of times it came close to happening and the competition was not ‘chopped liver’. On to plan B. I really did not have my heart set for finding them beaus though.

Virginia bounced back first. Her job changed for the better. Someone at Fox Sports saw her at a game and put her on the air. Blake on the other hand was experiencing some major push-back in school. She was a Freshman in a new school which was hard enough, add to that some rumors about her and it became ‘a tough road to hoe’.