It's funny sometimes - you just don't know what life is going to throw your way next.
My name is Lucas - Lucas Terrell. I have to admit, I led a pretty good life. Born to upper middle class parents, I was the youngest of two children. Needless to say, my parents doted on me, which didn't win me favors with my older brother, Harold.
Nevertheless, I was that stereotypical golden child. I was a straight A student, and in high school I played for the varsity football team (not quarterback, though. My life wasn't THAT exceptional haha). My sophomore year I began dating a stunning young woman named Janice Brown. We become instant sweethearts. I kid you not, we were even crowned prom king and queen - and Janice graduated Valedictorian!
After graduation, we began looking at colleges - naturally, we wanted to stay together. But that summer, tragedy struck - my father suffered a massive stroke. He survived, thankfully, but his working days were over.
I knew what I had to do. I gave up my college aspirations, and instead took over the family business - a hardware and paint supply store. I told Janice that if she wanted to go on, I understood and bore her no ill will.
Would you believe that she stayed with me? She likewise surrendered her college plans and stayed in this small West Texas town with me. I hired her on and made her Store Manager.
What a wise decision that proved to be. Under her stewardship, the business grew steadily. My father beamed with pride at what his little boy was able to accomplish! Soon the business was so profitable that it necessitated opening a second location!
I knew that I had a keeper. I was determined not to let Janice go. We married in 1973 when we were both 20. Surprisingly, we were both virgins until we consumated our union - it was a beautiful thing to give ourselves wholly to one another.
Our sex lives, though vanilla by most standards, was healthy. Janice was a very conservative woman and didn't go for things like oral sex or any positions aside from missionary. But, she was the only woman that I had ever been with, so I didn't know what I was missing out on.
The only road bump we encountered was when we found out that Janice wouldn't be able to conceive a child. Naturally, I was disappointed, but Janice was heartbroken. It took a while, but she eventually got out of the funk and our marriage was stronger than ever. We threw ourselves into the business, determined to make it more and more of a success.
As much of a cliché as it is, we decided that, when we retired, we would buy an RV and see the country. It gave us a goal to work towards. We began putting money aside for it in our late 30s.
By the time we turned 60, we had been successful enough to retire. We sold the business, and decided to enjoy the rest of our lives. Janice had been feeling sick off and on the last couple of years, so before we commenced the RV plan, I talked her into seeing a doctor.
Stomach cancer.
Being self employed, we didn't have much in the way of insurance. I used the profits from the business sale, then the RV fund, and our savings to pay for her treatments. I didn't care - they were things. Things come and go, and can be replaced. Janice couldn't.
The cancer had a serious foothold. I sold our car, and eventually our home, but it was not enough. Cancer took my beloved Janice from me, and at 65 years old, I was widowed, broke, and homeless. I had no further to fall.
My brother and I were still somewhat estranged, but he heard about my plight and his heart went out to me. He had become very successful in real estate, and had made a lot of good contacts through it. He got me an interview with a Korean construction magnate who operated out of the coast, around Brownsville and San Padre. His name was Hwan Choi, and he owned a very successful business called Choi Construction.
Howard secured me an interview with Hwan. Hwan was a slight, very intense, all business Korean man in his thirties. He knew that, at 65, I was a potential liability, but his heart went out to me after hearing my story, so he hired me.
Naturally, I was too old for the physical aspect of the job, so he instead made me his On Site Supervisor - basically, I was his eyes and ears on the job sites. He gave me a single wide trailer to live in, and even gifted me an old shop truck.
I was often invited over to his very palatial home for dinners and events. They became something of a new family to me - his beautiful wife Mina, their youngest son Alexander and their teenage daughter Adrienne. Mina took to me right away - maybe it was her maternal instinct, though of course I would prefer to think that it was something more. Like Hwan, she was in her 30s, and would always dote on me, making sure I was eating, always smiling at me, hugging me, touching my arm, things like that. It made me feel alive.
Now, here we are, a few years later. I am now 70 years old, and still happily working for Choi Construction. They have really spoiled me - I stand at a good 6'3", but the constant feeding has bloated me up to over 300 pounds, so my stomach is big and round. I unfortunately inherited my father's hairline, so my dome is bereft of hair, and I instead wear a crown of thinning grey and white that goes from ear to ear. Objectively, I know that I am a fat, bald old man. I am NOT attractive. But Mina's constant eye contact, smiles, attention and little touches make me sometimes forget.
But that's not all.
Tonight, we're all together celebrating Adrienne's 18th birthday. We went out to eat at a Korean place (naturally), and Adrienne sat next to me. She's grown up into a little knockout - she's short, like her mother. Probably 5'1" if that. But while I wasn't looking, she went and grew one hell of a body!
