I looked on with pride as I watched my daughter Haley take her place in front of the stage. She was graduating from high school and getting ready to go off to the University of Michigan to join the engineering program.
She had hoped to make valedictorian, ending up third in her class, but she wasn't disappointed in the least, choosing instead to celebrate what she did accomplish rather than dwelling on what she didn't. This was something I had tried to instill in her and was delighted that I had succeeded.
I suppose if my pride was matched by anyone it was by the woman sitting to my left, Haley's mom and my wife, Trina. She had tears rolling down her face, and I doubt either of us expected things to be exactly as they were today when we met just over 5 years ago.
Okay, I tried to slide that in on you, but even the slowest of you no doubt picked up the fact that Trina and I had been together for 5 years and yet our daughter was graduating high school. So either Haley is a certified genius or child prodigy, or Trina is not Haley's biological mother.
Well, Haley is certainly brilliant, but she is graduating from high school at the traditional age of 18, so obviously that means Trina is not Haley's biological mother. But she has been Haley's mom for the past 5 years in every way possible, and Haley calls her mom as well, so it would be an insult to their relationship to categorize it as a 'step'.
Perhaps you are wondering about Haley's biological mom and how we came to be where we are today. I don't mind telling you; in fact, I always enjoy telling the story, and I hope you find it entertaining.
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It was a Saturday morning and I was headed over to the lake so I could check on some cabins I owned up there. During the spring and summer the cabins were active rentals and they did good business. I didn't operate them personally, though I was a frequent visitor to check on things.
The day-to-day operation was actually handled by a retired couple that lived in Florida during the fall and winter then returned to town in the spring. I had known them for several years and trusted them implicitly.
I made this trip a couple of times a month in the off-season and there was rarely anything out of sorts, but as I pulled up to the cabins from the dirt road that led into the clearing it looked like there was some activity around cabin 2.
It had been a warm weekend and the lake often got some visitors this time of year and this year was no different. Every once in a while I'd find some trash littered about but for the most part the cabins were left unmolested, set back from the lake a bit as they were.
However, some heavy rain had come through this morning and when it comes down like that it can be tough to deal with if you're not prepared, though it had let up by the time I had arrived and was just a light drizzle.
As I sat and watched the cabin I saw a young couple come walking up from the direction of the beach and walk in through the front door. They were carrying a couple of plastic shopping bags full of something and the guy was also pulling a rolling cooler behind him. That confirmed my suspicions so I pulled my truck around behind the office cabin and parked.
I didn't know how many people were in there, and while I suspected their intentions were only to get out of the weather and hang out, I couldn't ignore the possibility of malice (theft, vandalism, etc.) so I would have to be prepared. And that meant being armed.
I kept a small handgun for this very thing, and while I've had cause to wield it in the past I had only ever shot it at the targets in the gun club I visited occasionally. So I was nervous but I was ready.
I came up behind the cabin and peeked into the bedroom window but it was empty. Cabin two had just the one bedroom so that meant everyone would be in the big room at the front. I walked quietly around toward the other side, taking another peek in the side window that looked into the main room. I saw what appeared to be 4 couples just hanging out and having a good time. I estimated them to all be in their late teens or early 20's and it looked like they had simply wanted to get out of the rain, as I suspected. I'd need to look into better locks for the front doors.
I kept the safety set on the gun and had snapped into the shoulder holster I preferred to carry it in. I walked around to the front and simply walked in the front door.
The guys decided to be tough guys and jumped up from their sitting positions around the room.
"Hey asshole, what do you think you're doing? This is private property."
To their credit, they placed themselves between me and the ladies. I guess chivalry wasn't entirely dead. I smirked at their display of bravado and turned a bit, allowing the holster to come into view.
"You're quite right, young man. This is private property, which leads me to wonder why you're on it, since it belongs to me."
The guys shrunk back a little bit, probably mostly from having seen the gun against my rib cage but also because I wasn't immediately intimidated.
"Hey mister, we don't want any trouble."
This came from the same tall, blonde guy that had spoken the first time. I would later find out his name was Steve.
"Then maybe breaking and entering and trespassing weren't the best course of action to take; I assume you saw the No Trespassing' and 'Private Property' signs posted around the perimeter."
"We just...we were going to camp on the beach but didn't expect the rain. We didn't bring tents or anything for cover; just some blankets and sleeping bags. We just wanted to get out of the rain."
"You went camping for the weekend without tents this time of year? Have you ever been camping before?"
"Yeah...well, I mean kind of. I mean, we crashed on the beach over the summer and thought this would be just like that. The weather report said it should be clear all weekend."
"Yeah, well, summer's over and at your age you should know not to trust a weather report. Mother Nature tends to have her own ideas."
I looked the 8 of them over and none of them seemed particularly hostile at this point. They were just some people looking to have some fun and had been woefully unprepared for the weather they encountered. They actually reminded me of me and my friends when I was younger, and the funny thing was that I was aware of what they thought of me, because I know what I thought of Mr. Jameson back in the day when he ran us out of the local schoolyard where we had been hanging out with some girls. What a boring old man I thought he was for not wanting us to have any fun, though we weren't on his property like these guys were on mine.
"Look mister, we'll just gather our things and head back out on the beach or home. We're sorry about any trouble we may have caused."
I scanned over the faces of the guys and the girls. (Is it just me or are girls prettier these days than they ever were before?) I could see the disappointment on the faces of all of them but it was the ladies in particular that got to me. I've always been a sucker for a woman with a sad face. Crap.
"Wait a minute. You guys have ID with you?"
"Sure."
"Okay, here's the deal. You all seem nice enough so I'm gonna let you stay as long as you promise not to trash the joint and clean up when you leave."
"No shit?"
This contribution came from one of the other mental giants that had been standing behind Steven. I just smiled and nodded at him.
"Guys, I need each of you to bring me your driver's licenses. You boys are going to be held responsible for making sure everything is just as you found it when you leave. If you guys don't think it's fair that only the men are on the hook then I encourage you to accept it now. The men will always be held responsible for everything, whether it's your fault or not; especially when you get married."
As the guys retrieved their identification I scanned over the ladies they were with. They were all wearing shorts and bikini tops. Sitting on the right end of the couch was a pretty brunette with a blue top. She had really short hair (I think they call it a pixie cut) and a slim build, with very little holding up that bikini top. On the other end of the couch was a blonde that wore a black top and was a little on the plump side, though she was quite pretty and was the largest up top.
On the first chair was another blonde. She had far too much of a tan and I'm pretty sure her boobs were fake. Her hair was really long and had a bit of a wave to it. In the other chair was a very pretty woman with straight black hair that went below her shoulders. Her pink bikini top held moderate-sized breasts but she had a smile that I loved. I had to tear myself away from her to bring my attention back to the guys.
They handed me their ID's and I took a picture of each one. This way I could track them down if needed. I asked if these were their current addresses and they all said yes, and I took them at their word.
"All right, guys, have a good time. My name is Henry and I'll be just over there in cabin 3 until Sunday evening so if you have any problems just let me know."
