All Aboard Andi's Dream

©

2024 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original. Any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

All Aboard Andi's Dream

Chapter 14

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

"We're still here!" called Paul cheerfully as he stood at the lectern to read the announcements at church. "We're a little banged up, but we're here. Welcome to December!" He looked at the congregation and grinned. "Who was here for Christmas Eve last year? Wasn't that cool?" Last year, Paul and Andi's wedding was held as part of the Christmas Eve candlelight ceremony. A hand was risen in the congregation and Paul said, "Yes Pastor Jarecki?"

"I know to which it is that you are dragging your feet in referring," said John as his wife Macy covered her face and his sister-in-law Andi joined Macy in hiding her face. Paul and John were doing their Damon Runyon thing again.

"The point to which you are trying to make dear brother," said Paul. "Will we come to it before nightfall?"

"I believe that this subject which you bring up should be conducted as church business," said John.

"A wise and salient point dear brother. Would you recommend a short congregational meeting of the impromptu variety?" asked Paul.

"That I would!" said John.

Their assault on the English language generally brought chuckles from the congregation, and after this autumn, they needed some joy in their lives. Paul saw the church secretary sitting three rows back and said, "Kathy are you ready to take notes?"

"Yes, I am. You told me I needed to." Which brought more laughter.

"Then that being said, we meet the charter requirements, and I call this meeting to order." He rapped his knuckles on the lectern and the entire congregation went "Awww!" as Sandy and Madeline raced up to Paul and wrapped their arms around his legs. As used to the twins that the congregation is, the twins still know how to pour on the cute for the crowd. He scooped up Madeline and said, "What is wrong love bug?"

"Bug-bug!" said Sandy as she still held Paul's legs.

"Aunty Lucy is lonely," pouted Madeline.

"Did you try to cheer her up?"

"She wants to marry Uncle Gus."

"Like momma and I did last year?"

Madeline nodded and Sandy called out, "She still has her dress!"

"That is the request that is brought to you, friends. Would you mind if we tailgate the marriage of Gus Didomissio and Lucy Kocis on the end of our Christmas Eve candlelight service for a few minutes and borrow you the congregation, and our pastor for a quick wedding ceremony?"

The congregation murmured a bit until John called out, "We need this in the form of a motion."

"So moved!" called out Kenny Johnson.

"Second!" called out Ernie Kraft, a local farmer and longtime trustee on the board.

Paul fell into his board chairman rhythm. "It's been moved and seconded and now open for discussion. Is there any discussion?"

"We like Gus better than you," called an anonymous voice.

"Thank you dear brother, any other discussion?"

"Will you pay the usual usage fee and pay the pastor his fee?" called out Marty Kraft, Ernie's wife and church treasurer.

"Yes, I will, I'll have the check for you after the service today," said Gus.

"Then it is fine by me," said Marty.

"Any other discussion?" called out Paul.

"I know Doctor Kocis," called Bud Chance, "Isn't she Jewish?"

"I baptized her a couple of days ago," said Macy.

"Any more questions?" asked Paul.

"Will they be able to complete the pre-marriage classes with the pastor and his wife?" asked Kathy Hansen.

"The classes are already complete," said John.

"Call the question!" called out the sound man Larry Snow, another trustee on the board.

"The question has been called," announced Paul, "All of the requirements needed to marry in the Springville Congregational Church have been met, the question is to allow August Didomissio and Evangeline Kocis to wed here at Springville Congregational Church, on December 24th, at the end of the candlelight ceremony, and use Pastor John Jarecki as officiant. All in favor please signify by saying aye."

"Aye!" called out the congregation.

"All opposed please signify so by saying aye."

Silence.

"Motion carried" there actually was a smattering of applause.

"Evangeline?" muttered Lucy. "I'm going to kill him."

After church, John and Macy greeted the members of the congregation by the exit as they left. Paul and Andi were nearby dressing the twins for the cold outside and making sure that Danny was wrapped up warm. Lucy stormed up to Paul and snarled, "Evangeline?"

"What's the problem, we had to get your real name into the church record," said Paul.

"I hate that name. You have no idea what it's like to be called 'Neon Genesis' your whole life."

"My bullies didn't have an imagination, they just called me Polack. You probably understand that too."

"You're six foot fourteen! Who was dumb enough to bully you?" said Lucy.

"Everyone. I was three grades ahead and was the smallest, youngest member of my class for my entire life until I enlisted. I got my bachelor's degree and puberty at the same time." Paul put his hands on her shoulders and said. "You will not get anything like that here. Evangeline is beautiful, even angelic, like you."

"We have to get going dear," said Andi.

"Ok," said Paul, then he turned to Lucy, "If you want to continue this, I'll have to hire you so you can come with." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Be good to my brother Gus." And they left.

"Where are they going?" Lucy asked Gus.

"Oh, Paul is off on one of his business trips. He's opening a new place in Portsmouth New Hampshire," said Gus.

"He wants to make it a supercar lot, like the Mile Strip Road location," said Macy.

"Andi and the kids are going to meet us for dinner at Giardino's," said John. "Why don't you guys join us?"

"It's been a while since I was there," said Lucy.

Forty minutes later, Paul drove the family van on to the Buffalo International Airport, but he went through the back entrance to the private Prior Aviation terminal. Min Zhong Sun was there waiting for him. Paul had decided that this was her trial by fire. If she was able to bring their new property, Linwood Ford, into the fold smoothly, she would be the new Chief Operating Officer of Jarecki Motors. Andi got out of the van and gave Min a quick hug under an overcast sky. "Can I see the babies before we go?" asked Min.

"If you can get Paul away from them," said Andi. In the Van, Paul was in the back saying his goodbyes to Sandy, Madeline, and Danny (AKA Little Josh). "You have to get going, honey!"

Paul gave each child a quick kiss, grabbed his briefcase and suitcase, and climbed out, allowing Min to climb in. "You two be good for your momma," said Min.

"Poppa already told us that."

"Then I'll just say,

Duì māmā hǎo yīdiǎn

. Ok?"

The twins looked at her in shock. What did she say? They kicked their legs in their car seats and finally said, "Ok."

Then Min turned to Danny and said "

Zuò gè hǎo háizi

," (Be a good boy) and she touched his nose which cause him to show an early attempt at a smile. Then she backed out of the van and closed the door.

A young man came up to Paul and took his briefcase and suitcase and said, "We'll be boarding in a few minutes Doctor."

"Thank you." Then with a last kiss to Andi he said, "What do you have planned for today?"

"Besides touching myself when I think of you?" she grinned. She was still recovering from childbirth and her gynecologist told her to hold off until New Years, which was not going to happen. "We are going over to Giardinos for lunch, then singing practice at Macy's house tonight. Then I have to do some knitting, I'm making you something for Christmas."

"I'm going to make you something for Christmas too," said Paul as they kissed again.

"What? What are you going to make me?"

Paul kissed her neck, then licked her earlobe, sending thrills through her body. "Rich," he whispered.

"It is time doctor," said Min softly. With one more kiss, Paul and Andi said their goodbyes, and he turned, waved to the kids in the van, then walked out on the ramp to get on the small jet, a Cessna Citation CJ4.

Andi returned to the van and adjusted the seat and when she finally got it right, she saw the small jet taxi out toward the main runway. She didn't move; she

knew

deep down in her heart that the little jet wouldn't be able to take off without her urging it into the sky with her heart. She

knew

that there wouldn't be any problems with the flight; she hasn't had any warning dreams about that. What comes after may not be fun for Paul and Min, however. She didn't know any details; she just had a

feeling

.

"Look girls, here comes Daddy's airplane!" She had moved the van in the parking area and unbuckled the twins so the girls could watch the plane take off.

"Is that poppa's plane?" squeaked Madeline.

"It's so little!" said Sandy.

"Aunt Melony used to fly faster planes," said Madeline.

"Aunt Melony?" asked Andi. Paul's first wife's name was Melony, and she was an F-15 pilot, but she died almost a decade before the twins were born. "Did poppa tell you about Aunt Melony?"

"Uh uh," said Sandy, shaking her head No. "She says he's sad to talk about her."

"Who told you that?" demanded Andi.

"Mother!" exclaimed Madeline with a huff. Then she and Sandy ran to the back of the van and crawled into their seats. Andi crawled back and latched them into their seats, but they refused to talk about Aunt Melony anymore. This wasn't the first time they did that. Often they'll come up with something off the wall like Aunt Melony, then they'll stop and refuse to talk about it, and when their prediction comes to pass, they deny ever saying anything about it. Last year, they were practically singing about Aunty Lacy's wedding, and now it's happening, but back then she had just met Gus. Lately, they've been talking about their cousin Katarina's big brother.

"He's dirty," Sandy had said.

"He talks baby-talk like Aunt Macy," insisted Madeline. To the twins, French is baby-talk.

Andi turned and checked on Danny. He saw his mommy and broke into a proto smile and kicked his little feet under his blanket. "A smile! You had a smile for mommy!" gushed Andi. She was so worried because he wasn't smiling and that could be a sign of developmental issues.

Soon they pulled into Giardino's Family Restaurant just up Genesee Street from the airport. "There she is!" cried Mama Giardino. "There's the angel that brought my Paulie's smile back!" Mama escorted Andi back to the reserved table with the energy of a woman of a quarter of her years. There were John and Macy, Gus and Lucy, and a surprise, Kenny Johnson.

"If Kenny's here, then Yi can't be far," said Andi, as she lifted Sandy into a highchair.

"She's in the kitchen trying to figure out Paul's sauce recipe," said Kenny.

"Ok, you two be good for Aunt Macy, I'm going to go change your brother," said Andi as she lifted a fussy Danny out of his carrier and headed off to the bathroom to wash and change him.

Sandy was worked up for some reason. "Aunt Macy, is Cholly here yet?"

"Who is Cholly dear?" asked Macy.

"Kitty Kat's big brother!" said Madeline. Kitty Kat was the nickname the twins had given to their cousin Katarina.

"Won't Katarina be Cholly's big sister when he gets here?" asked Lucy. As for Macy, she has decided that at her age, any more children will be a miracle.

"You're so silly," said Sandy, and that was the end of any mention of Cholly.

When Andi got back, Mama was telling everyone stories of when Paul was young. Since she didn't meet Paul until he was eleven, her stories included a young John who followed his big brother around like a puppy, or, as she put it,

cucciolo

, which caused Gus to roar with laughter. "He never knew why we called him cucciolo."

"I eventually figured it out," said John, to defend himself.

Lunch was served family style, large bowls of spaghetti, ravioli, and platters of lasagna and chicken parmesan were set out on the big table, along with baskets of bread and bowls of salad. The twins were starving and hadn't eaten at Giardino's in weeks and were ready for the spaghetti. After saying grace, both Sandy and Madeline put their hands in the air and Andi pulled their t-shirts off of them. Eating Spaghetti with tiny unskilled hands is an arduous task and messes happen.

Kenny leaned over and asked Yi what was going on. She just said, "Oh you're going to enjoy this show. It will probably affect any decisions you've made on child rearing." Yi helped Andi put the bibs on and put a plate of spaghetti and ravioli in front of the twins and the ravenous tykes dug in. No matter how much face wiping Andi and Yi applied, the twins were covered in sauce in moments.

"You know," said Gus, "If you get more of the sauce in your mouth it tastes better." Both girls looked at him like he's crazy. "What are these two going to grow up to be?" Gus wondered.

"I pity their future boyfriends," said Macy.

"They need to camp," said Madeline.

Sandy's eyes grew round when Madeline said that. "Hunting!"

"What about fishing?" asked Gus.

Sandy looked at him like he was crazy. "Fish are yucky."

"Fish are fun," insisted Madeline.

"Yucky!"

"Fun!"

"Yucky!"

"Fun!"

"Enough!" demanded Andi and Yi at the same time. Once they had the twins calmed down, the discussion turned to the wedding. Lucy wasn't excited about it at first but as the days grew slowly closer and they completed the pre-marriage classes with John and Macy, she couldn't wait.

"My favorite Man Hater is getting married," said Andi.

"I never hated men," said Lucy. "I just never had a use for one."

"What about Kevin?" asked Andi.

"He was gay," said Lucy. "We were buddies. He's now living in Utah with a lumberjack."

"There are just some things you can't unhear," said Gus to John.

"Truth," said John and they fist bumped.

"Stop," snarled Lucy. "Kevin was very helpful when I had my accident."

"I'm not making fun of Kevin," said Gus. "It's just that the part about the lumberjack sounded funny."

<><><><><>֍<><><><><>

Jarecki Motors was celebrating the opening of their 15th location, this one in beautiful Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The CEO and potential C.O.O. were heading there for the grand opening. The beautiful Cessna Citation CJ4 was a little rocket as it sailed east over New York. The Empire State was blanketed in snow and was utterly beautiful. Paul sat facing the rear. Across the little table from him was Min. They both had their laptops open, and they were working up a list of questions to ask the current manager Adrien Lannon. The cabin attendant brought them a light lunch as they worked. She bent over and said to Paul, "It would be fine with the captain if you would like to sit down in the cockpit and take a look."

"No thank you. I don't want to get any nearer to the cockpit than I already am. Now if you'll excuse me..." and he got up and headed back to the washroom.

"I've never had that reaction before," said the flight attendant.

"His wife was a pilot," said Min. "She died. He hates flying."

"Oh," said the attendant, and she couldn't formulate the rest of the sentence that came to mind.

Soon Paul returned, and he and Min got back to work. It was almost like getting ready to judge a beauty pageant. Everything depends on asking the right questions. Finally, Paul slapped his laptop closed. "If these gomers screw up the wedding..."

"I didn't know you were getting married," said Min. "I suppose with three kids it would be the right thing to do."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. No, my best friend is getting married on Christmas eve to my wife's best friend. I'm supposed to stand up for him." Paul took notice of the surrounding things to play with. He even loaded the plane's app on his phone and played with the interior lighting and looked at the map of their location. Then he looked at the aircraft's mechanical status on the app and said, "Damn! We're pressurized to sea level."

"Yes, that's why Macy, Mrs. Jarecki, and I insisted on this flight." Min looked concerned. "Mrs. Jarecki said you had lung issues."

"Yes, thank you for reminding me. I have an oxygen concentrator for flying and I forgot to pack it."

"Mrs. Jarecki hid it."

"Her name is Andi," said Paul. "Say it, Andi."

"Andi. There. Happy?"

"Ecstatic," said Paul as he turned all interior lighting red.

"You act like you've never been on a corporate jet before," said Min.

"I haven't," said Paul. "I usually fly economy. If we were married we'd take Amtrak."

Beautiful Min looked confused. "Why would you take a train if we were married?"

""Sleeper cars," he said but she looked confused. "I suppose they don't have sleeper cars in Singapore, do they?" said Paul as he watched the snow covered ground draw closer.

Min took the train everywhere she went when she lived in Asia, but the term sleeper car was new. She knew Americans called the wooden supports between the rails 'ties' and the British called them 'sleepers.' It couldn't be that easy, could it? "What is a sleeper car Doctor Jarecki?" She noticed he pretended he didn't hear her. "What is a sleeper car Paul?" Paul only requires that she address him as doctor when there's a customer or potential customer in the area.

"Oh, that, it's a railroad car divided in compartments and depending on the compartment it can have seating from two to six. At night the porter will fold down the seats and convert them into beds."

"Oh," said Min softly, then the implication of what could happen in that compartment hit. "Oh!" she said, blushing.

"It's a lot of fun," said Paul as the plane touched down gently. "Melony and I took a sleeper compartment from Denver to Glenwood Springs one year. Some tunnels were so long you could get a full quicky done." He looked out the window as the airport eased past. "This place has changed a lot."

"I thought you said you never been to Portsmouth airport," said Min.

"I haven't. I was here when it was an Air Force Base."

"It has changed a lot, Doctor Jarecki," said one of the two flight attendants.

"I wonder if they still call the north ramp the Hockey Stick," said Paul. Soon they arrived at the commuter terminal and shut down. Paul and Min climbed off the jet into the blustery weather. It was a wet day filled with sleet and snow. The visibility was barely half of a mile and Paul looked around to see if there was anything he remembered from his TDY assignment here long ago. As the captain stepped off the plane, Paul turned and shook his gloved hand. "Great landing, thank you very much."

"Glad to be of service Doctor," said the captain. "Are you here for a medical conference?"

"No, I'm opening a car dealership."

The captain chuckled, then said, "You're serious?"

"I'm afraid so. My brother and I inherited a few dealerships from our dad, and I found I was better at extracting money from your wallet if I gave you a car in return."

"Now the captain laughed heartily as they walked into the terminal. "Jarecki motors, right?" asked the first officer.

"Yes, sir," said Paul.

"My brother and I would pedal our bikes to the Mile Strip Road location just to look at the hot cars."

"That's exactly what my dad wanted," said Paul. "He wanted people to come and look, especially the youngsters, because they'll be back eventually." He handed his phone to the first officer and said, "That's the showroom window at Mile Strip Road. Miss Sun set it up."