"Okay, don't forget to call Janice when you get home and she'll come by to pick up the papers from you," Ali was telling Sami before she boarded her flight.
"Ali, this is the fourth time you've told me, honey; I've got it, I know what I need to do, okay?" Sami responded with a bit more patience than I would have had by the fourth time.
One last hug and kiss to both of us, and the new COO (Chief Operations Officer) of Lynn's Alley, Inc. boarded her flight back to the mainland and, eventually, back to N'awlins.
Once Sami had recovered from the news that we dropped on her like a bombshell the other morning, the three of us spent the next two hours tossing ideas around, etc., about the business.
Sami wanted us to set up a website and asked if I could design us a website.
"I could, baby, but there are those who could do it better; I agree with the website idea, I'm just saying that we get a top-notch designer to do it, and do it right the first time."
That was the first decision made by the officers of Lynn's Alley, Inc. Then, like other corporate officers, they went to play golf.
On Sami's last night on the island, the three of us went out for our red meat fix to the Steakhouse, and then we went home and made love.
The three of us, in bed, are so 'in sync' that it's scary at times, but it's always enjoyable, pleasurable, and measurable in terms of the love the three of us had for each other.
No, of course it's not usual, not even close, but whatever we have, for whatever reasons that we have it, works for us; for now, it was more than enough.
~
We played our match with Anita after we put Sami on the plane, showing up about thirty minutes early. Introductions were made, and I left Anita and Ali to talk while I hit the putting green. They joined me in about twenty minutes and off we went to assault the links.
Ali and Anita played an unspoken duel that afternoon, the competitive nature of them showing itself as they tried to best the other with their shot-making abilities. Me? Hell, I was happy to be playing at a few strokes above par. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy with golf; a good drive, a well-placed chip, a well-read putt, it's all good for me.
The game finished with them tied at two-under; I was at five-over, a very good day for me as far as I was concerned.
However, the competition between Ali and Anita, on the links, pretty much negated any thoughts of a threesome between us. There was simply too much A-type personality conflict between them; the need to 'compete' against the other, in my view, put their interaction into a whole other arena.
Simply said, there would be no threesome with Anita, and both Ali and I were good with that. Anita never mentioned or asked about 'getting together'; she knew, and I believe she definitely felt the same vibes that I did.
~
Ali and I toured the islands most days, finding time for golf on a few days when we returned from our sight-seeing, even when we used 'Island Hoppers' to fly to a couple of the other islands in the chain.
Ali had absolutely fallen in love with Maui, and after our trips to some of the other islands, with Hawaii itself. I was sure that her face would freeze in a permanent smile from her expression of joy at being here.
A couple of days before we were to return to N'awlins, I dropped a bombshell of my own on Ali.
"Talked with Teri yesterday afternoon while you were napping," I said to her, concentrating on the narrow road that led up into the highlands, to Pete's place. I wanted her to meet Pete and Mattie, and I had been hankering for one of his delicious pork sandwiches.
"What's up?" She asked as she took in the incredible view to the sea as we climbed ever higher.
"Remember that firm that's been making inquiries into the possibility of buying my firm?" I said, "Well, they presented Teri with a bona-fide written offer, offering a goodly chunk of change for the business, and offering Teri a position with executive-type benefits."
"Oh yeah, so what are you going to do?" Her interest in the conversation perking up a bit, now.
"Teri's opinion is that I, we, should take the offer but she also said that whatever I decided to do, she'd be behind me in either event," I said to her, looking quickly to her, my heart fluttering at the sight of her hair framed in the sunlight, casting a sort of golden hue around her.
"I started with a loan from my dad, and dear Betts handling the bulk of our contacts, never really knowing if I'd be able to pay her, from day to day, Ali; I'll come out of this with a nice chunk of loot, and with Teri's percentage, she'll be in great shape as well," letting my voice trail off.
"You're going to take the deal, aren't you," She said in a very serious voice, now.
"Yep, I believe I am; I'm torn about it but the smart move is to take the money and run. The biggest plus of all of this, for me, is that I'll be able to fully concentrate on our business now, and on my photography, no distractions for me."
"Baby," she said as she reached over to run her fingers along the side of my face, "whatever you decide, it's your decision and you have my unwavering support, either way," leaning over to place a sweet, gentle kiss to my cheek.
"The other driving thought, for me, is that I'll have enough money to make a few serious investments with, to cushion the nest egg I've been building; no matter how long we are together, Ali, no matter our personal commitment to each other, if either of us was to die, the surviving partner has no legal status in terms of community property and crap."
"That sucks," she simply said, almost spitting out the words.
