The Maturation Of Vinnie Pt 04

Chapter 13:

When I awoke the next morning, Dana was not in bed. I listened, but I couldn't hear the shower or any other sounds of her in the apartment. I jumped out of bed and went looking for her. I found her on the living room sofa, curled up in a ball, a small blanket covering her shoulders, her eyes closed in sleep. I had no idea when she had left the bed, but I knew this was a sign of her being upset. I needed to do something. In my restless sleep, an idea had come to me and I latched onto it. We would go to Hawaii now ... get away from here now ... let the pros Tom had hired look after her father. I needed to get her out of harm's way. I didn't think her father had the resources to get to Hawaii. She would be safe there.

I must have stood gazing at my beautiful Dana for some minutes before I moved. I didn't want to wake her. She needed sleep and she needed safety. I went to the fridge and pulled out the apple juice carton and poured myself a glass. I found the coffee and set about making a fresh pot. I checked on Dana again and she was still asleep. I was hungry and downed a banana while I scrounged around looking for some cereal. I was halfway through my cereal when Dana appeared in the doorway. She looked like she had suffered a bad night. I stood and went to her.

I held her for a few moments, not saying anything. She had her head on my shoulder and was quiet as well. I didn't detect any tears or sobs, so I guessed that she was just waking up. I felt her move and stepped back to look at her.

"You OK?" I asked quietly.

She nodded with the slightest of smiles. "I just needed some time to think. I'm OK now."

"Good. Let me get you some breakfast."

"Thanks, I didn't sleep very well. I haven't got a lot of go-power this morning."

"The usual?"

She nodded again and sat at the kitchen table.

I poured her an apple juice, put two slices of whole wheat in the toaster, and took the margarine and preserves out of the fridge.

"Coffee?" I asked.

"Please ... black."

I poured the coffee and sat down at the table with her. "I was thinking, Dana. I want to give you your Christmas gift early. I was planning to take you to Hawaii for ten days. I think we should go early. Your dad can't bother us there," I explained.

She looked up in surprise. "Hawaii? You're serious? You were going to take me to Hawaii?" I saw a lovely big smile cross her face and knew that Jenny's suggestion had hit the target.

"Yep. Just you and I and sun, sand, surf, and sex."

"Oh, Vin. That sounds wonderful. "When?"

"How about next week?"

"But ... next week is Christmas. We can't go then. Your parents ... your family." She was obviously upset. She was putting my family ahead of her own safety.

"Dana, your safety is more important to me than anything. It's a small thing to sacrifice a Christmas for that."

"No Vinnie ... No! It's not a small thing. Not when it's family. That's more important. Don't you see?" she pleaded.

I looked at her carefully and she didn't appear to be giving an inch. If it was that important to her, then I'd have to make sure she was safe until we could leave. I would have to talk to Tom and see what we could do to protect her.

"OK, Dana, you're right. I owe my family a lot. Besides, I haven't told Mom and Dad about us and I think that's the next thing we should do."

"Yes, and then ... after that ... well?"

I knew I was supposed to be getting a message here, but it wasn't coming through loud and clear. Then, the light went on.

"Oh ... yah ... a ring," I said sheepishly.

"Yah ... right ... a ring."

"So ... what do you say we play hooky for a couple hours and go see my parents and then go look for a ring?"

She smiled. "I think you're finally catching on."

I was both excited and nervous as we drove to my parents' home. They weren't expecting us, but I knew they would be home. I wasn't nervous about Dana simply because my family had made it plain they approved of her. I was uncertain because I didn't know quite what to say. At the same time, I had no intention of telling them about the danger to Dana from her father. Tom and I could handle that, but I'm not sure Mom or Dad could. I wasn't about to find out.

I rang the door chime, and I could hear Mom coming across the slate floor at the entrance. She could see out the glass panel beside the door and probably recognized Dana and me before she opened the door.

"Good morning, Dana ... Vincent. This is an odd time for you to visit." Mom gave me a quizzical look. "Come in, please."

I saw Dad standing in the living room with a funny look on his face and I wondered what that was about. We walked to the kitchen and Mom offered us coffee. We both accepted -- anything to give me more time to think of what to say. Finally, I couldn't stall any longer.

"Uhhhmmm ... Mom ... Dad ... I uh ... I wanted you to know ... I uh ... asked Dana to marry me and she said yes," I finally blurted out.

The look on my mother's face was priceless. It was shock and joy and tears -- and surprisingly, wordless. She just walked to Dana and hugged her and whispered something to her and then came to me and hugged me and whispered congratulations. The look on my father's face was inscrutable. It was like he knew and it was old news. Had Tom told him? There are times when my Dad might not be the most aware guy, but in this case, I had my suspicions. Anyway, it was a time for happiness and I could see that Dana was relieved that she had been so completely accepted. I think she wanted this family to be hers as soon as possible. It was something she had done without for a very long time, and something she wanted very badly.

We sat and talked about when the wedding might be. At that point, I knew Mom would take over, and she and Dana, and probably Jenny would start to plan everything. I assumed that I would just have to show up. We had just gotten to that stage when the door chimes rang again. It was Jenny, making her usual twice weekly visit. It took about ten seconds for Mom to spill the beans, followed by cries from Jenny of "What!" and "Really?" as she hurried into the kitchen.

"Oh congratulations, you guys. This is great news. I'm so happy for you both," she gushed, wrapping her arms around Dana and then me.

Pretty quickly, the conversation deteriorated into 'girl talk' and I headed for the living room with Dad. I was curious just what he knew and when.

"So, Dad ... you don't seem surprised," I said.

"I know youuu, Vih...nnee," he began laboriously. "Whannn youuu reeely wan sum...thing ... youuu doann quit." He said it with a smile. He had been watching my pursuit of Dana, and when we came to the door together today, in the middle of a work day, he figured it out right away. His stroke hadn't dulled his mind at all.

"Immm veh...ree happ...eee for youuu boa...th," he said with his lopsided smile.

I walked to him and embraced him. As much as I knew I had to please Mom, I was even happier that Dad thought I was doing the right thing. I didn't have to worry about Tom or Jenny because I already knew they approved. Now it was just a matter of finding out when I was getting married. I was sure either Dana or Mom would tell me.

Mom wasn't in any rush to have us go, but when I explained that we had to go shopping for a ring, and that we were stealing time from our company, she reluctantly agreed after extracting a promise that we would come for dinner that night. It would be a family gathering with Tom and Jenny and the kids, and we would all celebrate welcoming Dana into the Blanton family. Dana had a smile as big as all outdoors, and it hadn't left her face the whole time we were in the house.

I was informed that it was going to be a proper church wedding, and the reception would be at Mom and Dad's house. The ceremony would be in May, and I gathered that it would be in the same church where Tom and Jenny got married.

Dana was just bubbling after we left my folks' place. She was on a high from my family's easy acceptance of her, and we were off to find a ring to make it all official. In the back of my mind, I wanted to talk to Tom about her father and what we might do to protect her from him. I would have to find some time to talk to him tonight, without arousing suspicion of either Dana, Jenny, or my folks.

We found a ring we both liked very easily at the jewelry store. It was very elegant and simple and the matching wedding bands were nicely similar as well. I'm no expert on diamonds or jewelry, but I knew the store and I knew that they would make sure we were properly looked after. Dad had renovated the owner's house and the jeweler was still bragging about it over five years later. It's one of those nice little extras that comes with a job well done.

Dana and I split up when we got back to her apartment. I took off in my truck to check the jobsites while Dana had some work to do on next week's plan, as well as on some updates for Tom. I left her with a big kiss and hug and told her I would be by to pick her up for dinner at my folks. After I drove away, I realized she was going to be alone in her apartment all afternoon. A sudden wave of fear went through me and I pulled over and thumbed in Tom's cell number. He answered on the third ring.

"Tom, it's me, Vin. I just left Dana at her apartment and she's alone for the afternoon. I'm just afraid her old man might show up again. Did you get anything back from your contacts?"

"Yah ... lots in fact. Hey ... congratulations. Jenny said you told Mom and Dad, and it's now official." I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice.

"Yah. We even ordered the ring today," I said with some pride.

"Well, don't worry about Dana," Tom sounded confident. "I've arranged for someone to watch her place periodically. We have a description and a recent picture of her father and we'll be keeping an eye out for him. We will also put a bug on her phone, so if he calls, try and get her to keep him on the line long enough that we can get a fix on him. I'll fill you in on the rest tonight, if we get a chance."

I had a good feeling about this now. Tom had taken charge, and with his connections, I felt Dana was going to be all right.

I picked Dana up just before six, after having gone home, showered, and changed. I was looking forward to tonight. It would be a very festive occasion and I wanted Dana to get every bit of joy from it that she could. Her insistence at being here for Christmas had made me understand just how important family was to her. She was going to become a Blanton and she looked forward to that with great anticipation. It would be a new family for someone who had none, or at least none that she wanted anything to do with.

It wasn't really a party, it was a festival. My mother -- and I'm sure, my father -- had decided this was a cause for celebration and pulled out all the stops. I got the feeling that they thought I would never marry, and on top of that, wouldn't be producing legitimate children. Dana put an end to that thought. She wanted two children and I was expected to do my duty "for love and family." I really didn't have any reason to complain. I was going to marry the most beautiful woman in the world and I was totally and completely in love with her.

Tom and I headed off to the basement after dinner to talk about what was going on with Dana's father. As I suspected, Tom had called in a couple of favors and an expert opinion, to get control of things.

"Vin ... Donald McNabb is an alcoholic with a long track record with the police. He has been picked up more than a couple of times for driving while intoxicated, driving with a suspended license -- the usual stuff. Unfortunately, our beloved court system has decided he's no danger and keeps letting him go with little more than a slap on the wrist. He somehow comes up with the money to pay his fines, but even then, he drives around without a valid driver's license and no one picks him up on it."

I nodded my head. It was an old familiar story.

"As far as the restraining order goes, it lapsed quite a few years ago. There had been no activity that linked him to Dana for more than five years, so it was assumed he wasn't a risk. Therefore, it lapsed. In our expert's opinion, we could get a renewed order, but it would take some evidence of his actions and even then, it's a long, involved process without some proof of overt danger. What my contact suggested is to get him on anti-stalking legislation. It's a relatively new statute, and if convicted, he could get up to five years. We'll need some proof, but if he's as aggressive as you say, we should be able to catch him out."

"What do we have to do?"

"Nothing, really. Pete Dennison will set up the recording device on the apartment phone. McNabb doesn't have Dana's cell phone number and she should keep it secret. Pete is also keeping an eye on her apartment to see if he shows up in the next week. You may have scared him off the other night when you threatened him. On the other hand, if he does call, you stay off the line and have Dana stall him for as long as possible so that we can try and get a trace on him. If she can get him to talk and tell her what he wants, so much the better."

I made a mental note to make sure no one gave out Dana's cell number to a stranger.

"She went crazy when he called last time, Tom. I don't know if she can handle talking to him," I said.

"Talk to her. Tell her what we are doing to try and stop him. She needs to know there is help for her. Just don't let her tell her father anything about it."

"OK, I'll talk to her tomorrow morning. I don't want to spoil the mood tonight."

"Good. Tomorrow is fine. There's one other thing we're thinking about," Tom said, turning toward the stairs and then stopping.

"What's that?"

"If we locate him, our lawyer suggested we write him a formal letter on legal stationery with a statement something along the lines that if he keeps bothering Dana, he'll be charged with stalking under section so and so and could be liable to five years in federal prison."

"You said you were just thinking about that," I said with a questioning look.

"Yah ... it would tip him off that we are watching him. The good news is that it might put a stop to his harassment and the bad news is that he might just be more careful about not getting caught. We still don't really know what he wants. We're guessing money, but we really don't know," Tom concluded.

"OK. Well, I gotta thank you, Tom. You keep comin' through for me in the clutch. I would die if anything happened to Dana."

"Yah ... I know how you feel. I felt the same when Jenny was in danger. I just couldn't let it happen," he said. "Come on ... we'd better get back upstairs before we're missed."

We were met at the top of the stairs by Jenny. "Where have you two been?" she asked pointedly.

"Aw ... just some guy talk," Tom said offhandedly. That seemed to put a lid on her curiosity, and we moved back into the living room to join the rest of the family.

I took it pretty easy at the party and I was OK to drive Dana to her apartment. She was still buzzing from all the fun and the warm welcome she received from the family. She was holding my hand the whole way home and talking about how much she liked everyone. I just shut up and enjoyed the pleasure she was getting from all this. For a woman who had seemed to have no happiness at all, she sure turned out to be different from what I would ever have guessed. I was one lucky guy.

When we made love that night, it was the best I had ever known. It was so intense and yet it was tender and happy and just more of the celebration we were sharing about our future. It's one thing to make love to a beautiful woman and it's another to make love to a woman that you know for certain that you would do anything for. I was certain I would never allow her to be hurt in any way, either physically or emotionally. I was going to be the best husband and lover any woman could ever want. It was a promise to Dana, and a promise to myself. I'd been given a gift and I was going to protect it at all costs.

Chapter 14:

I bought the tickets for Hawaii after I found a place to stay in Napili Bay, on the Island of Maui. Years ago, they used to call this the "Canadian Island" because of all the people from our part of the world that would go there during the winter months. Many owned condos year around in Kihei and Kaanapali. I knew about Napili because my folks had been there with some friends several times and it was a little off the beaten track in those days. It probably wasn't any more, but I didn't care. It was a place for the two of us to escape and enjoy each other for a few days.

We were scheduled to leave on January third, and that gave us a few days to figure out how to schedule our crews to make sure things got done while we were away. The most important thing for us to decide was who would be the "boss" while we were away. We must have talked about it for hours before we came up with a compromise. We had two crews and we had two crew chiefs. If there was any dispute or problem they couldn't resolve, Tom would be the arbitrator. Dana and I agreed that whatever Tom decided, we would support. It would take the pressure off him, we hoped. All we had to do now was to get Tom to agree to the extra work.

Once again, he stepped up to the plate. He wasn't as enthusiastic about it because he knew the kinds of things that could go wrong, but nevertheless, he agreed. He did extract a promise from us that we would do the same for him when he took Jenny and the kids to Hawaii. We could hardly refuse. Besides, he had Robbie Delgado and we both knew he could handle anything that came up. I did get a lecture from Tom on finding one of my guys who could be a leader and get him prepared to fill in for me. It was something Dana and I had been thinking about, and as usual, Tom was right. The time had come for some additional support in running our operation.

The workload between Christmas and New Years was very light by design. Unless we had an urgent deadline, very few of our customers were anxious to have us pounding nails at this time of the year. Dana's skillful planning had thinned out the crews so that everyone had at least five working days off between Christmas Eve and New Years Day. The period that we would be away was a low volume time as well, so we were confident that things would be fine for the nearly two weeks we were gone. I thought about taking my cell phone with me, but Dana put a stop to that idea right away. I was getting the feeling that she was in charge of me. It was a good feeling.

Dana suggested we have a small Christmas party for our crews, and I immediately agreed. We had a completely sheathed job that would give us cover if it rained, and a couple of space heaters to keep the place warm. We decided to hold the party at two o'clock on the 23rd, since we weren't at full crew on Christmas Eve day. I had arranged a mini-bus to take home any of the guys who had a couple too many beers, and we told the crews that if the wives or girlfriends wanted to come, they were welcome. The party turned out to be a great idea.

I can't tell you how many times the various guys came up to Dana or me and told us how much they liked working for us. It was a great Christmas present all by itself. Everyone was congratulating us on our engagement too. The guys were all envious, and more than one or two of the girlfriends were relieved that Dana was out of the picture, I think. We had great fun. I had pizza, beer, pop, sandwiches and all kinds of snacks catered from one of the mobile kitchens that serviced the jobsites. They were happy to have the business, and I was happy to get prompt delivery. It didn't cost us a lot of money, but I think it earned us a lot of 'brownie points' from the guys and their gals. We promised ourselves to do it again next year.