NotExpected 13

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn "One last question," I grinned at Tom. "If I do agree to the adoption, do I get to play with your computer center?" He laughed before replying, "Sure, munchkin. I think that we can arrange that." "I will have it put in the agreement," I grinned. I felt a big burden lift from my shoulders.

Chapter 13

Sandra walked Tom to the door and they shared a passionate good night kiss before he left.

Sandra came back and had a seat on the couch. We looked at each other for a few moments, each waiting for the other to start the conversation.

Finally I asked her, in a friendly tone. "Tell me about your trip, girlfriend. Did you get along with your soon-to-be in-laws?"

She frowned, "They were a bit distant when we first arrived. They were polite but I got the distinct impression that they all assumed that I was a gold-digger. I think my reception was worse than when Tom first met my family. I was on the defense all evening having to prove myself. I swear that the whole parish was there for a barbecue and every one of them was there to out me. Tom's parents live in a large mansion and have a huge patio and backyard. It's where the reception will be held. It's a lovely setting.

"There is no way that I will ever be able to keep straight all the names, much less the relations. Everyone wanted to meet me to determine why I was leaving my husband to marry Tom. The prevailing assumption seemed to be that I am only after Tom's wealth and that I had left you so that I could marry Tom. Many of them were openly exploring that possibility. We didn't mention how your changes were the real cause of our dissolution, we just told them that my marriage had become unmanageable and Tom was there to pick up the pieces after you and I had realized that it was over. As a whole, the people of the area are pretty protective of him. I don't know if I was successful in demonstrating my love for him, but I did my best. Tom felt the pressure too and was constantly there to defend me. He put a few of the more pushy ones in their place. It was intense. The pressure eased off as the evening wore on. It was one of the longest evenings of my life.

"I also heard a lot of embarrassing stories about Tom. I swear that he was beet red all evening. I learned a lot about my fiancée that he had yet to share with me."

"Anything juicy?" I ask with interest.

"Just the normal stupid child and teenager stunts," She waved off the question. "It seems that he's always been a geek. Some of the girls he grew up with told me that he was so distracted as a teenager that nothing they did could get his attention. He seemed to scare easily when they came on to him. We haven't talked about it yet, but I think that he might be the oldest virgin in town.

"I felt way out of my league. You and I never hung out in circles like this. The assembled group represented more money and privilege than I have ever seen in one place. I felt like I was being tested all night. I needed to prove myself worthy of Tom to all these people. It was nerve wracking to say the least. I was never so happy to see a party end. When the last guest was finally gone I thanked his parents, gave him a kiss and fled to my room."

"Not ‘our room?’" I asked with raised eyebrows.

She blushed at that. "Just so you know, miss smarty pants, we stayed in separate rooms. His parents are pretty old fashioned and probably would not have let us share a room. Also, as I said, I suspect that he's never spent the night with a woman."

I raised my eyebrow again at that, "I would have thought you two would have given into your lust by now. You've had plenty of opportunity the last couple of months."

She looked at me a little indignantly, "What do you take me for? I have remained faithful to our marriage vows. Tom and I haven't slept together yet. I've only been single for a couple of days now, but with the wedding only a few weeks off, we can wait and do this properly."

I really raised my eyebrow at that. "I figured that when I stepped aside a couple of months ago that you both would give into the lust that you so obviously have. I just thought that you didn't want to share that part of your relationship with me. I'm mildly surprised that you haven't moved in with him already."

"Don't think that we're not tempted." she sighed. "I've been feeling so horny the last few months that I can hardly stand it. I really need some hot sex with the man I love. Tom tried to get me to go home with him tonight. He suggested that I move in with him this week."

"So what's the problem?" I asked. "I don't think that anyone waits anymore."

"Two issues." she explained. "One, if he truly loves me, a few more weeks won't hurt too bad. I didn't tell you, but he tried to get me to move in with him when we got engaged, but I told him that I wouldn't do that while I was still married to you. As I have said, I couldn't go against our marriage vows, no matter what your current form was. I'm still a little angry with him over what his grandmother did to you and feel that he has a large share of the blame. As far as waiting goes, if things hadn't changed, I'd still be happily married to you and Tom would still be alone in his bed. He can stay alone in his bed until the wedding night. He needs to continue to demonstrate that he wants me for more than my body."

"What's the other issue?" I asked.

"You." She replied with another sigh.

"Me?" I asked in astonishment.

"Yes, you." she sighed yet again. "Remember when we were engaged, we both agreed that we'd wait until our wedding night too. Your integrity and consideration really impressed me, even though I probably would have jumped in your bed in a heartbeat. I was very horny then, too. A girl's sex drive really ramps up when she's around that man she loves. You may discover that someday. Now, I want to follow your example. I think that it was the right thing to do then and that it's the right thing to do now. You are my first love and I now love you deeper than I ever have, just in a different way. I feel that I owe it to you to be a good girl until the wedding.

"Not only that, but I like spending time with you and don't want to leave you alone just yet."

I moved over to her side and gave her a tender hug. "Thanks for telling me, Sandra. I still love you deeply and I have to admit that I am a little jealous of Tom. I try not to think about how he will be taking my place in your bed. He is inheriting what was most precious to me and I can't get it back. Don't get me wrong, our new love has brought us even closer together, but it is not what I had planned."

"He won't be taking your place." She said with tears in her eyes. "He can never replace you. I cherish our years together. He will be making his own place in my bed, not taking yours."

We hug for a minute.

"So," I asked once we have ourselves back together, "something must have happened on Saturday."

"Oh, it surely did," she frowned. "When I came down for breakfast, the Judge and his wife were waiting for me at the kitchen table. After some small talk and a bite of breakfast, the three of us went for a walk down to a pond on their property. We sat together on a bench and the inquisition started. Don't get me wrong, they were polite, but they had a definite agenda."

"I got that same feeling when I talked to them," I observed. "I think I can guess the line of questioning, but tell me anyway."

Sandra then proceeded to give me the low down of the interview in great detail. In many ways it was similar to my conversation with the Broussards on the phone. She said that they were polite but standoffish at the start. They wanted to know her life history and asked pointed questions to get it. When she told of our marriage, our inability to have children, what we went through to try they just nodded and asked a few clarifying questions. They wanted to know how she had met their son and what had attracted her to him. They then asked, point blank, if she had left her husband for Tom and a better chance of having children and wealth. She had admitted that she had been very much attracted Tom when she'd first met him, but was still very much committed to her marriage. She told them that Tom had been the pursuer and she'd only relented to his advances when I was no longer able to be a husband to her. They wanted to know what she meant when she said that I could no longer be a husband to her. It became clear at that point that they did not know about our trip to Grandma Broussard, the Judge's mother, so Sandra explained how Tom had set up the meeting and most of what happened at the ceremony. She point out to them that she thought it was all hocus pocus, but then the physical changes began, mine being the most profound. She told them that when I was pronounced to be physically female that we had filed dissolution papers, which had only become final the day before. When she finished her tale, they had both looked at her with astonishment, but being the legal experts that they both were, it became obvious that they needed to hear the story from the other players.

Tom's mother had asked her when she had first slept with Tom. Mrs. Broussard is not one to pull punches. When Sandra told her that they had yet to do so, Tom's mother looked surprised but pleased. Sandra gave the explanation that, until the day before, she had still been married and that she loved her husband and honored the vows that she had made to me. She was also determined to wait until the wedding night to share a bed with Tom. Apparently her demonstration of integrity to our marriage vows greatly increase her stature in the eyes of Tom's parents.

Sandra sighed again. She was doing a lot of that tonight. "His mother asked me if I realized that we had been played by her mother-in-law, and inadvertently by her son. I told her that it did dawn on both of us after it became apparent what was happening. She then asked me why I wanted anything to do with Tom. I told them that I didn't really have a good answer for that. There was strong chemistry between us and that we seem to be perfectly matched. I told them that I was very unhappy with what Grandma did, but felt that Tom's involvement was well intentioned. She destroyed a perfectly good marriage, but on the up side, I now had the closest girlfriend that a woman could have and the promise of an adoring husband who I had come to love deeply. I told them how our love as close friends had blossomed in ways that never could have happened if we remained husband and wife. I also told them how you'd lost your job and couldn't find good replacement employment and how I was worried about your future. I told them how I did the best I could by you in the settlement, but that I feared that it wouldn't be enough. As the discussion wound down, they both hugged me and said that they were satisfied the I'd make a great addition to the family. They also apologized for having to hold the inquisition and that they were impressed with my integrity. They were, however, very unhappy with Tom and Grandma Broussard."

"When we got back to the house, Tom was up and hanging around in the kitchen reading the paper. When he saw the three of us walk in, with stern expressions on his parent's face, he knew that things were about to hit the fan. Without stopping to chat, his father told him that his presence was required in the study and the three of them disappeared for a long time. At one point I heard Tom's raised voice from the study, but it was mostly quiet. Eventually I was asked to join them. They asked me to go over the visit with Grandma again, probably for Tom's benefit. I did, finally, tell him how my nut had been mated with his bolt in the ceremony. When they were satisfied that they had the complete story from us, they asked if they could talk to you, and I gave them your number.

"Oh, and you know that house where we met with Grandma?" She asked.

I nodded in remembrance.

"That's actually the family fishing cabin," she informed me. "In real life, Grandma is very well to do. She and her husband owned the mansion that Tom's parents live in. She moved to a more "modest" estate after her husband died. I had Tom drive me by her house to see if she was there and, let me tell you, it is a substantial estate. She wasn't home either. The pictures of her in Tom's family study show a well dressed and groomed woman of prosperity, not the poverty stricken old lady we met.

"Tom's parents had been wondering why Grandma did not show up for the barbecue Friday night, but now felt that they understood the reason. Needless to say, they are very unhappy with her. Unfortunately she had made herself scarce and no one was able to find her this weekend. It would appear that this is not the first time her magic has messed up people's lives in unexpected ways. The general opinion is, however, that everything works out for the best for everyone in the end. And, yes, she is well known locally for her witchcraft but she is viewed as a benevolent witch."

She went on to tell me how the extended family had been recruited to find Grandma that weekend, without success. She then told me of driving around town to see where Tom had grown up and meeting a number of his old friends. They went to dinner that night with Tom's parents but there was no more discussion about Grandma and what she had done. When they got home, Tom's parents sequestered themselves in the study and did not surface before everyone went to bed for the night.

Early Sunday morning, she had been awoken by soft knocking on her door. It was Tom's mother who requested her company in the Study once she was able to get dressed. She quickly took care of her morning routine, dressed nicely for church, and went to the study. Tom and his parents were there. Tom did not look particularly happy. In the ensuing lecture, Tom's parents made it very clear that they felt that Tom had seriously harmed us and that restitution was necessary to the extent possible. They all seemed to know that Grandma's work was irreversible so moving forward from where we were was the best we can do. They lectured Tom on his upcoming duties as a husband and let it be known that he'd better love and cherish me for the rest of his life, that is if I would still have him, and that he was to show that love through his actions. He was to tear himself away from his geek passions and spend time with his new family. They then spent a lot of time discussing how Tom could make restitution for my losses. They realized that the harm could never truly be compensated for monetarily, but their experience with civil and family law told them that monetary compensation should be a key part of the restitution for the actions of Tom and his grandmother. Sandra told them about my salary and how I were no longer employable at my prior level. Or any level for that matter. Not even a fast food restaurant would employ me. Sandra also told them what my earning potential would have been had I stayed with my job. She also mentioned that, even with a good job, that I would have to rent or sell the condo since it had taken two incomes to make the mortgage and expenses. That's where they came up with the figures that Tom proposed to me that evening. His mother wanted more, but the Judge felt that extraordinary punitive damages were not necessary as Tom was, after being reamed by his parents, very sorry of what he had done and that he was not fully responsible for the outcome of his thoughtlessness. I don't think that Tom had truly understood the depth of the harm he and his grandmother had caused until this weekend. They floated the idea of also making Grandma pay for her part in the plan, but that might be more difficult without full on legal action. The group also discussed how I would adapt until I have grown into an adult body and that's when Tom's mother suggested including me formally in the family. They're not really sure of the legal basis for making it happen, but the concept was agreed to. Tom is the one who volunteered to pay off the mortgage on the condo. He felt that I needed a safe haven if things didn't work out at their house.

"Why the trust fund?" I asked, "I may look like a twelve-year-old, but am really thirty-two and can manage my own money."

"The idea," she explained, "is to provide you money at the rate that you would have earned it. It seemed ill advised to give a twelve-year-old control over $4.0 million."

"Well," I informed her, "I am not your typical twelve-year-old. I have more than enough experience with money to handle it myself."

"Good point," she conceded, "I am sure that condition could be modified."

"Also," I brought up another point. "Why the adoption? Why not a limited power of attorney to act on my behalf on specific issues, like schooling and youth activities?"

"Again," she explained, "What twelve-year-old do you know who is fully emancipated? By adopting you, we present as a family. You also get all the benefits of being a daughter in a very well-to-do household."

"And the restrictions of being a child." I pointed out. "I will have to seek counsel on that one. What else happened today?"

"We went to church," she continued, "and sat in the family pew. Yes, they have a family pew. I've only heard of one before but have never seen one. Afterwards Tom and I met with the priest to go over the plans for the wedding. When it was done, his parents took us to the parish airport to catch our flight home."

"So," I asked with great curiosity, "Tell me about the private jet."

She grinned. "It's the only way to fly. You'll love it when we travel as a family."

After describing the flying experience in detail, she asked me about my weekend.

I had spent Friday evening and Saturday at my parents house. I had come home late afternoon on Sunday. My parents both got home from work on Friday about dinner time and were surprised to see a meal waiting for them. They picked up on my melancholy mood and asked about the court hearings. I sat crying in my mother's embrace for a long time, reminiscing on many of the good memories from my life with Sandra. I felt much better when it was over.

Saturday, I worked with my parents to get the boat ready for launching. Something about physical activity is soothing to the soul. We talked a lot and I cried a lot. I also spent a substantial amount of time on my cell phone chatting with Tom's parents, as we already covered.

When we got home Saturday evening, my mother had pressed me more about the idea of going to middle school. I had continued to be non-committal. The fall semester was still three months away but Mom had already set the stage. She had worked out a plan with an old friend who was the current Principal at a local private school for me to start the seventh grade there in the fall. After the offer from Tom and Sandra, it looked to me like it would be a good way to learn how to be a spoiled little rich girl.

Sunday morning we launched the sailboat and went for a sail before mooring it in its slip at the marina. It had been therapeutic to get out on the water again. Sandra asked if she could join me for a sail sometime soon, just like we used to do. With the crush of wedding preparations, we didn't get out until a couple of weeks after the honeymoon.

Sandra and I spent another half an hour talking about her trip and my weekend before she gave a huge yawn and said that it was past time for her to go to bed. She had to go to work the next day.

Later, after Sandra went to bed, I kept seeing, in my mind, Tom and Sandra standing there together in my entryway. They looked like the stereotypical rich and powerful couple. What I saw was a very well matched team and their love for each other was glaringly evident. I had an epiphany. It came to me that Sandra was not the same woman that I was married to until recently. While she may be the same person in spirit, in reality the physical changes that she has experienced made it difficult for me to see a resemblance to the slightly plain dowdy figure of a woman that had been my wife for so long. While my wife had been a confident woman, the new Sandra was confident to the point of scary. She was a perfect match for Tom. Looking at them I could no longer feel jealous. Instead of an ex-wife, I was looking at a best friend in love with a man who adored her.

It occurred to me that it was as if my wife had died and left me in the care of a good friend.

I felt gratitude in my heart for Sandra's physical changes. Sandra's changes helped me separate my best girlfriend from the love of my life, much like my changes had done the same for her.

----<0>----

Sleep was slow in coming that night. I had too many things to think about.

Foremost on my mind was whether or not to give up my emancipation status. It seemed obvious that, if I wanted to live the way that the world saw me, it would be the only thing to do. Did I want to be a teen again, under the control of parents? Not really. But was it any worse than trying to live as an adult in a twelve-year-old body? Probably not. I really was tired of dealing with people who couldn't understand how a twelve-year-old could be independent. Giving up my emancipation wouldn't be bad if the parents are reasonable. What kind of parents would Tom and Sandra be? What kind of parents would my mother and father be given the circumstances? There were lots of unknowns.

That night, I had also thought about the first time that I went through my teen years. I had been labeled as an under-achiever and I had lived down to the label. While I was not a failure, I had not excelled either. I had certainly squandered the opportunity. The funny thing was that I couldn't really remember what I had done with those years other than float through. My biggest accomplishments, as I remembered, revolved around computer gaming. In hindsight, I didn't see where that was really significant. I had friends, but not close ones. Just other under-achieving misfits who banded together for self preservation. The lecture that I received from my supervisor when I was let go from my job was just a repeat of similar lectures given to me over the years by a series of teachers and my parents. I realized that if I took the opportunity to apply myself this time around, then these changes might actually turn out to be a blessing. It is not often that you get a do over of this magnitude. I realized that it was up to me grab the bull by the horns and bend circumstances to my benefit. This situation had the potential to be one of the greatest blessings of my life. I had hated to admit it, but I remember thinking that maybe Grandma Broussard's magic had inadvertently, or on purpose, given me the greater blessing. While Sandra and Tom were getting each other without going through the pain of a stressful divorce, I was getting a chance to avoid a relationship disaster and really make something of myself without really losing the one that I loved. I would get to erase all my past mistakes and try again. One of the many questions that night was: Could I do it? With the blessing of hindsight, which had not been available to me the first time around, I was pretty sure that I could. I knew that I would have to give up my emancipation to take advantage of this opportunity. It seemed a small price to pay.

The one privilege that I didn't want to give up was driving. I had a car and a valid driver's license. I intended to keep both.

I thought about teen years being where a person starts to learn who they are and their place in the world. Given my new reality, I was going to have to figure out the new me and learn my new place in the world anyway. As the family council emphasized, I needed to start accumulating the experiences that any woman would have. Six more years of middle and high school would definitely do that. Being a dependent minor would put me on the same footing as my new peers and I could discover myself along with a bunch of other teens doing the same thing. I would accumulate experiences that would turn me into an all new adult. Eventually I could become an adult woman with a cache of experiences similar to that possessed by other adult women. I would become one of them. I knew that there would be many challenges along the way, but the idea of of reliving my teen years started to look like a generally positive idea.

I thought of my strong connection to Sandra and wondered how I could maintain that connection if I chose to move in with my parents. Thinking of my few pre-marriage buddies and Sandra's many pre-marriage best friends, it occurred to me that those relationships had drifted apart when Sandra and I married and we focused on developing our own bond. It's not that we weren't still good friends, it's just that the connection was just not as strong as each of us moved on to other priorities. If I were to move in with my parents, I could see that same softening of relations happening to my new relationship with Sandra. I was pretty sure that it wouldn't be too long before we got caught up in life and it would be a challenge to stay connected. I did not want that to happen.

If I moved in with the newlyweds, it was clear that Sandra and I would be seeing each other every day and we would each be in a better position to support one another as life produced its inevitable challenges. It would not be a relationship of equality, but it could be a close knit one. The family bond would connect us for the rest of our lives in ways that no other relationship could. It seemed a fulfillment of Grandma Broussard's prophecy. What kind of parents would Tom and Sandra be? Only time would tell. I realized that I would need a way out if things did not work out at the Broussard household.

The more I thought about the decision, the more I realized that I did not want to leave Sandra. I also knew that, whether I went with my parents or with the happy couple, that I would be committed to reliving my teen years as a dependent minor for the next six years. I knew that I would have to give up some freedoms that I had come to enjoy. By the time that sleep started to creep up on me, becoming Andrea Marie Broussard was looking like an opportunity waiting to be claimed.  It was not the affluence of the Broussard family that attracted me. Wealth was not the deciding factor. It was the opportunity to stay close to Sandra and the chance to do over my teen years. The money wasn't bad, but I knew that I would have been happy with a lot less as long as I could stay connected to Sandra and could fix past mistakes.

Before I went to sleep, I drafted an agreement between Tom and I and emailed it to my lawyer for comment and revision. I left a blank where the dollar amount was to be listed. I had made a few changes to Tom’s proposal. One major change in my version of the agreement was that the endowment was to be an unencumbered lump sum, to be paid before the wedding. I still didn't think there was a valid reason to put it in a trust fund. I also asked her about the pros and cons of becoming Tom and Sandra's daughter via adoption, given my real age. In the email I told my lawyer that we need to work this out by Wednesday afternoon. I don't like to wait until the last minute.

----<0>----

Monday morning I received a call from the lawyer's office requesting that I come in to discuss the matter after lunch. It was an interesting meeting and I walked out with a rewritten agreement which I promptly emailed to Tom and Sandra. I had decided that $4.0 million was too much, and proposed ONLY $3.0 million in compensation. We also proposed that the money be outside the control of Tom and Sandra as my new adoptive parents. My lawyer favored the uncompensated adoption as a way to hold Tom and Sandra responsible for my care and "upbringing" over the next six years until I became physically of age. We added an insistence that there be an exit clause included to the adoption in case things did not work out for all the parties involved. I had asked if I needed involvement from my natural parents, but was told as an adult voluntarily giving up my emancipated rights that it wasn't necessary. My lawyer had offered to handle the adoption, but we had already decided to have Tom's mother deal with it.

Late Monday afternoon I received a call from Tom's mother.

After greetings, she started talking to me about the proposal that I had prepared with my lawyer’s help. Tom had forwarded the proposed agreement to her for comment. It was obvious to her that I'd had legal counsel assist with the agreement.

"Your counselor was wise to insist on the exit clause to the adoption." She observed.

"I thought that it would be necessary," I explained. "After all, I am really thirty-two years of age and don't need to be treated like an inexperienced teen all the time."

Mrs. Broussard agreed with me.

"Honey," she continued, "It is not common in these negotiations for the injured party to negotiate the award amount downward. I think that you should have asked for more than offered. That is what is expected in these kinds of negotiations. Tom can afford it."

"Mrs. Broussard," I replied, "I am not interested in taking him to the cleaners. In fact, I think that $3 million is still asking too much."

"Andi, You do realize that your ex-wife's fiscal situation is going to soon increase to unbelievable heights?" She asked, "It is my opinion that you are entitled to share in the bounty as the injured party. After all, you both shared everything before my family destroyed yours. By the way, Sandra agrees with me on this one. How about we up the award to $5 million?"

"Mrs. Broussard," I countered, "Sandra is not a gold digger and neither am I. Sandra is marrying Tom for love, not money. She can take or leave the money, she just wants him to love and to cherish. I just want to see my best friend happy and I would prefer not to go into poverty to see it happen, so I think that $2 million would be more than sufficient.

This was the oddest financial negotiation that either of us had ever participated in. In the end I sort of won and we agreed to set the final award at $3 million, as I had put into the agreement in the first place. After hanging up the phone, it occurred to me that Mrs. Broussard could have pressed the negotiation a little harder. Maybe, I thought, she wasn't really intent on having Tom pay as much as she said. I was soon to find out that I had arrived at an incorrect conclusion.

Tom came to our, my, condo for dinner that night. Sandra and I worked together to put together a delightful meal. After dinner, we went over the agreement again and they debated the award, but I stuck to my guns. After signing two copies, we scanned and sent digital copies to his parents and my lawyer. Tom promised to transfer the money by the end of the week if I could tell Sandra, as his money manager, where to send it.

Tom's mother started preparing the legal adoption papers the next day so that they would be ready as soon as the happy couple had tied the knot. She made sure that the adoption included an exit strategy and to put my new found wealth outside the reach of my new parents. Given the unusualness of the case, it was decided to get this legal work done in Louisiana where she and her husband could call in a few favors to get it approved quickly. I was soon to become Andrea Marie Broussard.

----<0>----

Tuesday, I visited a large investment firm that was a competitor of Sandra's. I interviewed a couple of investment counselors before selecting a middle age woman with an impressive track record to handle my investments. We set up an account with my current life savings, which wasn't much, and with a promise to add $3 million to that account by Friday. I sent the information for a wire transfer to Tom and Sandra. Friday I received a call from my new investment counselor to inform me that $6 million dollars had been transferred to my account. She wanted to meet with me to discuss investment options.

Sandra just grinned at me when I confronted her about the money while she was dressing for that evening's date with Tom.

I also noted Sandra was wearing some very sexy lingerie as she slipped into her mid-thigh length curve hugging mini dress and I helped with the back zipper. Maybe someone was getting lucky tonight. She just winked at me when I mentioned my observation.

"Not tonight," She grinned evilly, "I am just ramping up the excitement in preparation for the wedding night. It is only 22 days away and counting. This lingerie makes me feel very sexy. When I feel sexy it turns Tom on. Big time. I want him to have the biggest hard on he can produce every day until the wedding. And from what I can tell, that man has a really big penis. If I were a virgin, I'd be scared."

I was the one to blush at that comment. As a man, I had only been average in that area.

I had heard that women were more open about sex when talking amongst themselves. I had been finding that intelligence to be true as the wedding has gotten closer. Sandra had gotten a lot more descriptive about her anticipation as the wedding day drew near. I wondered, at times like this, if Sandra ever remembered that I was once someone other than her best girlfriend.

After Tom picked her up for their date, I went back to my room and stared at the crystal for a long time. It only had the slightest tinge of blue left. I started to wonder if there was a big penis in my future as well. The thought had not entirely repelled me.

Later that evening I had slipped into a rather sexy, for a twelve-year-old girl, short sleeveless cotton nightie and gone to bed. I didn't stay up to greet Sandra when she came home. I put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door so that she wouldn't wake me when she returned.

As I lay there in my short nightie waiting for sleep to claim me, I had placed my hand over my flat crotch and wondered, for the first time, what it would be like…

----<0>----

I called my parents and informed them of the settlement the day after we signed the agreement. I asked my mother to enroll me in that private school. She was happy that I had finally committed to going back to school but was disappointed that I wasn't moving in with them.

“Andi,” Mom said, “You know that we have room for you. Are you really sure that you want to watch Sandra make a life with someone else?”

I sighed, “Mom, we’ve been over this. You know that my relationship with Sandra is different now. Living with them will help me to keep our friendship alive. I don’t see her as a former wife, I see her as a best girlfriend who is marrying a wonderful guy. I am happy for her.”

“Are you really?” she asked.

I thought about it a moment.

“Yes,” I replied thoughtfully, “I am happy for her. She’s not the same Sandra that I was married to. She is now the Sandra who is my best friend. I like Tom too.

“Anyway,” I continued, “I love you guys to death, but I am physically about the age of your oldest grandchild. Do you really want to raise another teenager?”

“You are not a teenager,” Mom pointed out. “It would be different.”

“It would be awkward too,” I pointed out. “Everyone would think that you are my grandparents and wonder where my parents are. We'd have to come up with some story as to why I am living with you and not my fictional parents. Not many people would buy the truth. It will be easier to be the adoptive daughter of Tom and Sandra. You could play the role of my birth grandmother. There is no reason that I would have to give up my real family.”

“I think that whatever you do will be awkward,” she countered.

“You are right,” I admitted, then changed the subject. “You and Dad have never met Tom have you?”

“No,” she replied. “Sandra’s mother has been telling me about him. I think that she’s starting to warm up to him. She says that he is polite and totally smitten with Sandra. She also tells me that Sandra is head over heels in love with him. I am not sure that I want to meet the man who stole our daughter-in-law away from us.”

I could tell that mother still wasn’t convinced that all the changes weren’t simply a matter of Tom stealing Sandra from me. It was past time for my parents to see the three of us together.

“I think you should,” I informed her. “If they are going to be my new parents, you should get to know him. Let me see if I can set something up for a dinner on Sunday. Can you make it?”

“Do you think that is wise?” she asked.

“I think that it is necessary,” I told her.

I had talked Tom and Sandra into the idea of dinner with my parents that Sunday. Tom had suggested that we hold the dinner at his house, but I felt that his mansion would be too much for a first meeting with my parents. So Tom and my father grilled steaks on the small patio while nursing bottles of beer in the condo’s backyard while I joined the women in the kitchen preparing the rest of the meal and setting the table. Over dinner, my parents and Tom spent the evening getting to know each other and seeing our new little family in context.

It was glaringly obvious that my parents did not want to be there when they first arrived for Sunday dinner, but by the time the evening was over they were much more relaxed. Dad seemed to warm to Tom faster than my mother did. At Sandra’s insistence, they agreed to attend the Wisconsin reception where they ended up getting to meet and visit with Tom’s parents. At the reception, the Judge and his wife apologized to my parents for Tom taking away their daughter-in-law. It took a while, but Mom eventually warmed up to Tom and admitted that my living with Tom and Sandra was probably the better option. She still wanted to keep in touch with me, a contact that I also wanted to, and did, continue.