This story, or any portion of it, may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright owner, except for the brief quotations used in a review. All rights are reserved. This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, business establishment, event, or locale is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2015 Red Tempest
Chapter One
Hi, my name is Austin James Smith, but everyone calls me AJ.
I was a good student in high school, carrying a 3.33 grade point average. I probably would have gotten some scholarships, but not enough to pay my way through college. My dad died during my freshman year in a work accident. Mom got a nice payout, enough for us to live on, but not enough money for college. She still had Scooter (my sister Sally) to take care of. Mom and I talked with my guidance counselor. He laid out a number of options, and the best one was joining the armed forces. They had the GI bill, which would help pay for college. So right after graduation, I enlisted in the army. I spent eight years in the army, including three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan
When I got back home, I applied to the University of Michigan. They accepted me and I started engineering classes in the fall. I had taken a lot of basic courses while I was in the army, and those credits were accepted by U of M. But, I still needed two and half years to get my degree.
The school held a job fair before classes started. I met some people from Ford there. A few days later, I got a letter inviting me to come to the Ford Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, to meet a Mr. James in the design division.
Mr. James said, "I want to tell you how impressed Ford is of your credentials. We want to make sure you finish your Engineering degree. We intend to offer you a fulltime position when you graduate. In the meantime, we have a part-time opening with flexible hours that shouldn't interfere with your class work. You can work as many hours as your schedule will allow, but make sure that school comes before work."
I was able to arrange my class schedule so I could work part-time for Ford without work interfering with classes. During the spring and summer semesters, I took a couple of classes in each semester to make sure that I could graduate at the completion of the winter semester.
Chapter Two
I had finished the summer semester just before Labor Day, and took a week off from work to take a break, and recharge my batteries. I had been going strong for a full year with school and work.
Bob, a friend from work, invited me to a Labor Day cookout. We went to the same high school, but he was a grade ahead of me.
"AJ just show up, there'll be plenty to eat and drink. Be there around noon," he said.
I was running about twenty minutes late, when I pulled into his driveway. I knew some of the people who were there from either school or work. Bob has a large backyard, with an above ground pool. I noticed there were some kids playing in the pool. Two big grills were cooking different foods. Bob has a large three and a half car unattached garage.
Inside the garage, were tables loaded down with food. On the other side of the garage were coolers filled with different types of beverages.
I grabbed a beer and stopped to chat with a few classmates. While I talked with them, I kept staring at a blonde girl by the pool.
She sure in the hell looked familiar, but I couldn't place just where we might have crossed paths before. I started to walk toward her when Bob grabbed me by the arm.
"Sandy this is my friend from work, AJ. AJ this is my wife, Sandy," he said.
We exchange greetings, and I thanked her for inviting me to the party.
"Come on, I want you to meet someone," he said.
We walked toward to the pool, in the direction of the blonde gal.
"Hi, Ivy," Bob said.
"Hi, Bob," Ivy replied.
I remembered, Beatrice Ivory Smith, she was two years behind me in high school. If I remembered right, she had dated a guy name Kevin Smith, a year behind me.
I also remembered that she hated to be called Beatrice or Bea, always goes by Ivy. She was named after her two grandmothers. Ivy was a beautiful blonde, about five-five, maybe 120 pounds, with a really nice figure.
"Hey, Ivy, do you remember AJ? He graduated a couple years before you," Bob said.
"Ya, I do. Hi, AJ," Ivy said.
"Hi, Ivy, good to see you again," I replied.
"Hey I have to go check on the grilling. Catch you guys later," Bob said as he left heading toward the grills.
Ivy and I chatted for a few minutes.
Then she called to a little blonde girl. "Denise honey, lunch is being served. It's time for you to get out of the pool," Ivy said.
I could see the little girl in the pool, "Mom do I have to get out to eat, we are having fun in the pool," she responded.
"Come on honey, you can go back in after you have some lunch."
"Ok mom."
"Would you like to join us, AJ?"
"I'd love to."
Denise was a little chatterbox asking hundreds of questions.
"Are you going to be my new daddy?" Denise asked.
I choked a little bit on my food, and glanced over at Ivy, who was turning bright red.
"Denise honey, AJ is just an old friend from mom's high school," Ivy told her.
"I guess I had better fill you in on what has happen to us," Ivy said to me.
"Please do," I replied.
"Kevin and I got married right out of high school. A couple years later, we had Denise. We were talking about having another child, when Kevin was killed over a year ago in an accident at work. I got a nice settlement, but it's not the same without him. Kevin and I were soulmates. We just got a new house, and thankfully he had insurance that paid it off in case of his death."
I filled her in on my life since I graduated from high school. I told her of my time in the army, and the places I'd been.
We finished our lunch, and exchange phone numbers. She took her daughter back to the pool, and I went over to a few friends that I had not talked with. I had a good time at the party, and thanked my host Bob.
