Immy and Dun

1. All characters having sex are 18+

2. No characters resemble real people

3. Enjoy the fiction

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CHAPTER 3

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For years, I've been told it was a small world. I shouldn't have been surprised when I walked into the law office with Elaine and came face to face with Eva. "Hi, Wes," she said, recognizing me right away.

"You two know each other?" asked Elaine. "How do you know my sister?"

"We went out once, a few weeks back," I explained. "Eva, how are you?"

"I'm good. Elaine said you wanted to look into a potential insurance payment."

I nodded. "Yes. It's been a few years, but anything would help me out with Immy. I pointed over my shoulder to the couches in the lobby, visible through the glass wall. Immy and Emily were sitting there, playing on Emily's tablet.

"Well, it's not my area of expertise, I normally do family law, but I'll look into it," she told us. "I've also got a colleague on a different floor, Mark Turner, who knows more than I do about insurance payouts." I told her as much of the details as I could remember, and gave her whatever documents I had that would be helpful. "This all seems to be in order, Wes. I'll let you know if I need anything else."

As we walked out, Elaine said to me under her breath, "You dated my sister?"

"One date. She's nice, but we don't have much in common."

"For example?"

"How is it she doesn't like red meat?"

"Is that a dealbreaker?"

I laughed, "It is on burger night." We collected the girls and headed for home.

----

Two weeks after the first shared burger night, we had Elaine and Emily over again. Elaine was wearing jeans and a hoodie, which I thought was funny, as my outfit was the same. This time, Elaine brought a couple beers in glass bottles. "What's that for?" I asked.

"We're celebrating," she told me. "I know you don't usually drink, but maybe you can make an exception."

"What are we celebrating?" asked Immy.

"Eva found the trucking company at fault, and sent her co-worker after them. It looks like you might be getting some kind of insurance payment after all," Elaine said with a grin. Emily smiled too. Elaine opened the beers and handed one to me.

I sniffed it, then sipped it. My first beer in over four years. It was bitter, but not as bitter as I remembered. "That is something to celebrate," I replied with a smile. I didn't expect much, especially after so long. But a little bit would help me pay off credit cards and put some savings into a college fund for Immy. "Did Eva say how much?"

"No, they're still working on it. It'll be a while yet before that happens."

I raised my beer. "Here's to delayed blessings."

After dinner, I convinced Immy and Emily to do the dishes together, which they did with little argument. "How'd you do that?" Elaine whispered to me.

"Well Immy does the dishes a lot anyway," I told her. "She's used to it. I just figured it would make it more fun if they did them together." We listened to the soft chatter of the girls in the next room.

"You're like a pre-teen whisperer," Elaine told me. "You'll have to teach me more later."

"When's later?"

"Let's go to dinner sometime. Just you and me."

"Like a date?"

She laughed. "Yes, like a date. You're a nice guy. Eva said you're a good date, too."

I smiled. "Well I'm glad I did well enough to earn high praise from her. Yes, I'd like to go on a date with you."

We made plans to go out on Saturday night. I'd have to call my parents, but I was sure they could watch Immy. Elaine said she'd have Eva come babysit Emily.

"You've got a lot of 'E' names in your family," I pointed out.

"Yes we do," Elaine agreed. "You should meet my parents, Ernie and Emmeline. They started it. I just continued the trend," she said, pointing at Emily, who was drying a plate.

"Was that an invitation to meet your parents?" I kidded. "We haven't even gone on a date yet."

She laughed at my joke. "Not yet. We'll see how Saturday goes, okay? One date at a time."

"Sounds like a plan. One date at a time."

----

That night, I tucked Immy in. "I wanted to let you know I'm going out with Emily's mom on Saturday."

"Out? Like a date?"

"Yes. But don't freak out about it. It's just one date, okay? We're not getting married or anything."

"Right, I know." Then she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

She paused her laughing long enough to tell me, "Remember my birthday, Dunk? Emily said you and her mom should go out. And now you are!" She cracked up.

I guess that's hilarious to a twelve-year-old. I just found it kind of foretelling.

----

Unlike the last two first dates, this one didn't feel like one. Elaine and I already knew each other as friends, so we already knew we got along fine. The main differences were that the girls weren't around, and we were dressed less casually. I wore a nice shirt and black pants. Elaine had on a nice flowered blouse, capri pants, and a little jewelry. I thought it was interesting, as her previous casual wear didn't show off her figure as much as her current outfit. She was slim-waisted, but had a nice-sized chest.

Since the girls weren't around, we were able to talk more freely as adults. We also able to commiserate a little about our deceased partners: I talked about Laura, and she talked about Dan.

"Thinking back now, we really rushed into marriage," Elaine told me about her late husband. "Married at 18, baby at 19, I wonder if we would have started fighting and gotten divorced after a few years."

"Hopefully not," I said, "but you did get Emily."

She smiled. "She's the best thing to come from my marriage. I love her so much. I had told Dan I wanted a couple of kids, but he wasn't around long enough for us to have a second one."

I told her, "I always wanted kids too. I know Laura's not Immy's mom, but they looked so much alike, she got mistaken for her mom all the time. I always thought that if we had had a daughter, she'd look like Immy."

There was a slight pause as we remembered our families. Then, Elaine asked, "So how long has it been?"

"How long?"

"Since you've been with a woman."

I chuckled. "Depends on how you count it. About five weeks, I guess. I had a one-time thing. Before that, four years. You?"

"Four years too." I recalled that Dan had passed away nine years ago, and Elaine saw me working the math in my head, so she added, "I had my own little one-night stand too, just to get my head cleared."

"Ah. Got it."

"I felt a little guilty about it after. Like it wasn't something a mom should do. But at the same time, I was still glad I did it."

"Same, exactly," I said. "It was good to know things still work, you know?"

She laughed. "Right."

There was a pause. I asked, "Any reason you brought it up?"

"Just... curious." She blushed. "I'm not a hit-and-quit, Wes. But I like you. If we continue dating, then maybe we'll get there."

I appreciated the honest and reasonable answer. "Sounds good to me. Someday. One date at a time."

----

Immy was bubbling with questions when I picked her up. "What did you talk about?"

"Adult stuff."

"That means sex, right?"

"What? No. I mean, we did talk about it a little."

"I knew it. Are you and Mrs. Wells going to do it?"

"That's none of your business, young lady."

"It is if it's my best friend's mom, Dunk."

I sighed. "We're not at that point. Not even close. It was just one date."

"Are you going out again?"

"Yes, next Saturday."

"Good. Don't screw this one up, Dunk. Third time's the charm."

"I will try not to."

----

We had a second date at a pizza place, then the next night we had burger night again. Elaine brought more beer, a different brand. This one I liked better than the first. She told me that sometime she'd take me to a bar and we'd try a few more. I told her I'd enjoy it as long as it meant spending more time with her.

I kept in touch with Eva as well. Her co-worker was still working on the insurance settlement. I guess the trucking company was arguing about the long 4-year delay. Eva's firm was arguing that the delay shouldn't matter, because lives were lost due to their negligence. It was going to be a while before we heard more conclusive news.

Eva wanted us to appear in court in person, if possible. It just so happened that Immy's spring break was coming up, so she'd be off from school. "Would you be okay with going there?" I asked her. "They're going to dredge up a lot of painful memories. They will probably show pictures of the wrecked van, after the accident."

Immy sniffed back tears, putting on a brave face. "I want to go. I think... I think it's been long enough since then. I want to see the place."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah." Another sniff. "But let's also go to the beach."

I grinned. "Of course. Pack your swimsuit."

----

We drove to Georgia on that Saturday, after Immy's last school day before break. I had gotten a hotel room a little ways away from the beach, which was cheaper than one close to the beach. It was also close to the place where the case was in court.

It was Sunday afternoon, almost evening, when we stopped at the place on the freeway where the accident happened. It had been four years, so of course there was no indication that anything had happened at all. We pulled off to the side and sat quietly. I held her hand as we just took a moment and looked at the site.

Monday morning, we went to the court. I dressed up a bit, and I made Immy wear a dress. She also surprised me by putting on her necklace with the engagement ring on it. For the most part, we sat in the room and listened. Most of it didn't make sense to me, and I'm sure Immy understood even less. But Eva was there, sitting up front with another attorney, who I assumed was her co-worker Mark. He was a little heavy-set, but had a kind face. Eva made sure to turn around and give us a smile or a thumbs up when something good happened for our case.

I didn't expect to speak, or I'd have prepared something. But when I was asked to speak in front of the court, all I was able to say was, "Four years ago, this tragedy led to the destruction of what was supposed to be my family. You should know I was planning to propose on that trip, and I had the ring on me at the time of the accident. I did end up getting a family, though much less traditionally. My girlfriend's niece, who had no one else in the world, is now my daughter, and I love her so much, and she loves me. And as a sign of that love, she's wearing that engagement ring on her necklace. She's what's left of my family, but we should have had so much more. Not for me, but for her, because she deserves it."

I looked at Immy. She was crying. I went back to sit with her and cry with her. I looked around the room, and saw a couple of wet eyes on a few people, including Eva and Mark. I hoped my impromptu speech helped the case.

----

We spent the next few days either on the beach or seeing the sights. I had impressed in Immy the importance of seeing some historical things, and Georgia is full of them. We walked through a really old house in Savannah, and Immy pestered the tour guide with thoughtful questions.

We returned on Thursday night, and Elaine dropped Emily off with us on Friday morning, so she could get some errands run while the girls caught up. I stayed in the living room for most of the day, while the girls chatted in Immy's room.

When they came out, they both looked at me with an interrogative look. I knew I was in trouble. "What?" I asked.

"Do you like my mom?" asked Emily.

"Of course I do."

"Do you like-like her?"

I laughed. "Yeah, sure, I like-like her."

"Do you love her?"

I flinched a little. "I don't know yet."

"What does that mean?" asked Immy.

"That word, Love, it's not a word I like to throw around without meaning," I told them both. "Emily, I do really like your mom, a lot, but if I tell her I love her, I'll mean it. Understand?"

"How do you know you love someone?" Immy asked.

"I don't know, you just do. You just feel it. Sometimes it happens fast, sometimes it's slow."

"But you love me," Immy pointed out.

"That's different," I said, pulling her in for a hug. "A different kind of love. You're my daughter, and I'll always love you, no matter what." I looked over at Emily, who looked a little left out. I pulled her in for a three-person hug. "You, Miss Emily, I like, because you're a good person and you're Immy's friend. And if things between me and your mom get serious, know that I want to include you too. Fair?"

"Okay, fair. Thanks, Mr. Carson."

I gave her another good long look. "You never really knew your dad, did you?"

She shook her head. "No, I was too little when he died."

"How about you call me Dunk, not Mr. Carson. That's what Immy calls me."

Her face lit up. "Thanks, Dunk."

When Elaine picked up Emily later, she was amused when Emily said, "Bye Immy! Bye Dunk!"

"Dunk?" Elaine asked.

"Short for Dad-Uncle. That's what Immy calls me, so I told Emily she could call me that too."

"Aha. Want to have another burger night?"

"Definitely," I answered. "This Sunday. We'll show you pictures from the trip."

"Great. What about a date night?"

I thought for a moment. "The following Saturday? I'll get my parents to watch Immy." My folks had no problems watching their grand-daughter, and they'd been happy to see me start dating again.

"Sounds good. I've got to run, but we'll see you Sunday."

----

That Saturday date with Elaine was our third official date, though we were starting to feel like we'd known each other for longer. I'd been thinking for about a week at this point about Emily's questions regarding my relationship with her mother. "The other day," I told her, "Emily asked if I loved you."

Elaine put her hand on her face, but she was smiling underneath. "Oh, that girl. What did you tell her?"

"I said I didn't say that word unless I meant it."

"Oh. Okay." She tried to keep a straight face.

"Elaine?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I might."

"Might?"

I swallowed. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

Elaine smiled. "I think I feel the same way. You're a great guy, and you're so good with the girls."

I relaxed a little. "Thanks. You're a good parent too. I told Emily that if we got serious, I wanted her to be involved too."

Elaine was blushing. "You don't know how many guys I met who weren't interested because of her."

I laughed a little, "I feel the same way, because of Immy. But I could never be with a woman who didn't like her."

"What's not to like?" Elaine smiled. "You're doing a good job, Wes."

"Thanks. Sometimes it's nice to hear it."

We finished dinner and Elaine took my arm. "There's a bar around the corner. My little sister works there. Let's get some drinks."

"Okay. Lead the way," I told her.

It was a pleasant night. The spring was in the air, and things were getting generally warmer, though the nights were still a bit chilly. Elaine wore a light jacket over her dress. I was fine in my sweater.

We entered a little bar called Restless Spirit Tavern that was tucked into the building. It was one of those places you wouldn't see unless you were looking for it. I liked those kinds of places. We sat at the bar, and I looked around the place. Wood bar top and nice stools. It looked comfortable, though it wasn't quiet inside. The crowd was loud but not rowdy.

I was still looking around when Elaine flagged down her sister. When I turned around, I saw eyes I'd seen before. Elaine started, "Wes, this is my little sister..."

"Erica?" I sputtered out.

"Wes? Hi!"

Elaine asked, "You've met?"

I was going to just say that we had gone on one date, which was true, but Erica spoke first. "Yeah, remember last month, I told you I had a date, and a little quickie after?"

Elaine and I both turned red, for different reasons. Mine was embarrassment. Hers was anger. "You fucked my baby sister?"