The next morning I am smiling to myself. It was for selfish reasons asking Ezzie to have the adults have sex and not bother us, but they all seem happy this morning.
I get up and hug Jim from behind as he sits at the table. "Can I get you more coffee?" I ask.
He holds my hands in his. "No. I am good." He says. I lean down and kiss his cheek and walk inside.
Auntie is standing inside the slider watching me. She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight, as I walk in. "Both my girls have grown up, and fallen in love." She says, as she steps back smiling at me. "So when were you going to tell me?" She asks me.
"Tell you what?" I ask.
She holds up her left hand and wiggles her fingers showing me her wedding ring. "Auntie!" I say.
"What? You think I don't see it? The way you act when you are together with Jim. The gentle touches and caresses. The soft hugs and hand holding. I know when a woman is in love, and I know when it's real love." Says Auntie.
I am a little surprised and embarrassed. "Jim promised his Dad he wouldn't propose until after he graduates so he wouldn't be distracted." I say quietly.
Auntie is grinning from ear to ear. She twists an imaginary key in front of her lips. "I won't tell a soul." She says.
"Oh my God wait, does Uncle know?" I ask.
Auntie laughs. "Oh Mary, he doesn't see it. He knows you love Jim, but he doesn't see the subtle stuff." She steps up to me and wraps me up in a loving Mom hug. I just stand there hugging her back and enjoying the moment.
I look at the table and there is a notebook open on it. There are all different versions of the Goldstar logo drawn on it. I recognize Amy's drawing and handwriting. There is one I really like. It's modern and fresh. I am suddenly imagining it on the top of the building that Tom's talent agency is in. It would look great!
I step over to the slider and say loudly outside. "Amy, when did you do this?" I ask.
She sees me with her notebook. "Sorry." She says, like she thinks I am mad.
"Sorry? For what? I love it!" I say walking over to the table, as everyone is watching. I point to the one I like. "Could you clean this one up, and do some fake cards and advertising so I can see what it would look like?" I ask.
"You mean a mock up? Really?" She asks.
"Yes really. I think the Goldstar logo needs some updating." I say.
Amy is all smiles. "I would love to."
The rest of the morning is spent waking up and packing up. We all hug and say goodbye to everyone. I promise to do it all again next summer.
We have to drive Andy & Jim to the airport so they can fly home. Jim has to go back to school, and Andy is flying out to pack up her apartment and come back and move in with Amy.
The Chicago area has a lot of opportunities for Andy, that's why she moved there. Amy & Andy had been thinking Amy would move out there after school. I got her at Goldstar, and my parents townhouse for helping out with the charity appearances so Andy is moving back this way. She will look for a new job here.
Andy works currently for the Department of Employment in Chicago. She wanted to do something with Social Work to give back, but this is what she has found for work.
Amy and I are meeting with Julie tomorrow to go over the details for the baseball game in Chicago. I shiver when I think of Dean, the owner of the team. I asked Ezzie to have him give everyone at the organization a 25% raise, and ban him from any sexual satisfaction of any kind until he has fallen in love. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?
The next day we go to meet Julie, and she has a Huge Smile. "What are you so happy about?" I ask her as Amy and I sit down in front of her desk.
"I have a Huge offer from National Bank. They are the sponsor of the Chicago ballpark and have made us an offer." Julie says.
I can't help smiling. She is so excited it's contagious. "If you are this excited it must be great." I say.
"I can't believe we never thought of it before." Says Julie.
"Thought of what? Tell me." I say.
"They have offered a Very Large Donation to help start up a job placement program for our graduates. They just want naming rights to it." Says Julie.
Amy beats me to it. "Like Ben & Karen's Kids Job Placement program sponsored by National Bank?" She asks.
"Well we could figure out the exact wording later." Says Julie. "But yes."
"But some other banks or financial institutions may not want to take part in a charity or program named after another bank." Says Amy.
"I was thinking the same thing." I say.
Julie gets a serious look on her face. "They are willing to guarantee $2,000,000 a year for ten years, Mary. That is a lot of money for a job placement program." She says.
I will admit I am surprised by the amount of money. "So you think the money for the program is worth alienating other banks?" I ask.
"I do, Mary. We haven't had any other financial institutions step up, and it will fund a really nice job placement program." Says Julie.
"OK. I trust you, Julie." I say.
Julie is still all smiles. "Thank You, Mary. Now I have another surprise for you. California State University reached out to us. They are planning on rebuilding their student housing in Anaheim. They have more foster kids on that one campus than all our other schools combined. They would like our help." Says Julie.
"That's a huge dorm." I am shocked at the comparison.
"It's a huge school." Says Julie.
"Can we do it?" I ask, feeling a little nervous.
"We sure can, Mary. In fact we should do it. it will give us a big presence on the West Coast. Where you just happen to be living part time while you are doing your Hollywood thing. I have told you the charity is well funded, even if our donations stopped right now we could do 5-10 years." Says Julie.
"I will need to hire someone to help with the job placement program, and the extra students, but I should be able to find someone." Julie says.
Now it's my time to smile. "I know the Perfect candidate." I say as I turn and smile at Amy.