Tusker turned around at that and his face lit up, too. "It's all right, Joey. I'll take it." He wiped his hands on a rag and came over. "Damn, you made it up here after all! It's good to see you!"
"Damn straight! Good to see you, too." I shook my friend's hand enthusiastically.
"Marilyn with you?"
"And Charlie. They're in the showroom." I turned and went back through the archway and found Marilyn hugging Tessa. Charlie was starting to squirm around some. The two women saw us and a few more hugs were exchanged.
"Where's Bucky?", I asked.
Tessa answered, "He spends the day with my mom. Now that she's a granny all is forgiven. Now she's pushing for number two. I'd offer to let her keep him full time but she'd probably take us up on it! You're back!"
"We got back Friday. Long drive!", said Marilyn.
I nodded. "Between my knee and stopping for pit stops and feeding Charlie, it must have taken us twelve hours."
"Where are you staying?", she asked.
"The Holiday Inn up by Padonia Road.", I answered.
"You want to stay with us?", asked Tusker. "It'll be a little tight, but we'll survive."
I glanced at Marilyn, but I already knew the answer. Unless they had a new place, we'd be packed in like sardines. "We appreciate that, but we're going apartment hunting tomorrow. If we find something, we'll just move right in. Our stuff is in storage right now."
I think they were as happy as we were about that. Tusker just nodded. "So, how do you like it? This is the first you've been here!" My friend was very proud of his place.
I smiled and nodded. "Very nice. Very professional. That's the image you're trying to present. By the time you get to a larger place, you'll be all set."
Both he and Tessa laughed at that. "That better be soon! I had no idea how much room we'd need! We are totally crammed in on both parking, display space, and people. We can't grow any more here!"
"Well, it's better to have that problem than another type. We'll have to talk about that."
Just then a couple of bikers roared into the place and parked. They came in, but Tusker held up a hand. "Sorry guys, you know the rules." He pointed to a sign on the wall that read, 'No Colors.' "Leave 'em outside." That was one of the rules that Tusker and I had talked about. Bikers could come in, but if they were affiliated with a gang, they had to leave their colors, or riding jackets and vests, outside. This place, like the bar they had worked at, was neutral territory. The two bikers grumbled, but they took off their jackets and went outside and laid them on their seats. They were safe enough there; nobody on the planet was stupid enough to steal biker colors!
I looked over at Marilyn. "Listen, we'll let you get back to work. We'll call you tonight and figure out when we can get together." Tusker gave us a thumbs up, and Tessa kissed Charlie and handed him back, and then hugged Marilyn and me again.
After we got back to the motel, I called the real estate broker who was supposed to have apartments lined up, and we made an appointment for the next morning. Marilyn put Charlie in his crib so he could take a nap before dinner. That actually seemed like a good idea, so once he was out, I pulled Marilyn onto the bed and we took a nap, too. Eventually, anyway. Funny, but we didn't go to sleep right away!
The next morning I woke when Charlie started fussing and I nudged Marilyn awake. "What?", she asked blearily.
"You know who is awake."
"Well, take care of him. He's your son, too."
"No way am I going near him until he's got a new diaper. You need a hazmat suit around him."
Marilyn grumbled some and called the father of her son a few choice names, but she got up and took care of him while I headed towards the bathroom. Afterwards, I got out of the shower and fed him a bottle while she showered. We swapped Charlie detail back and forth while getting dressed. Eventually we got out of the room, and that was when I realized I had forgotten to shave.
"What would you say if I grew a beard?", I asked my wife.
"A beard? You?"
"Are you saying I can't grow a beard?" Back on my first trip through, I had a mustache within weeks of graduation and starting my job. By the time we got married, I had a Fu Manchu mustache and muttonchop sideburns that would have made a Victorian era general proud!
"No! Don't be silly. I just can't picture you with a mustache or a beard.", she answered with a smile. "What if it tickles me when you kiss me?"
"That would depend on where I kiss you, wouldn't it!"
Marilyn blushed at that and ordered me to take us to breakfast. I drove to a nearby diner.
"This is getting pretty old.", I told her. "This is not what we could call a healthy diet." Since we had left Fayetteville we had been surviving on fast food and restaurants.
"Let's hope the broker knows something decent.", agreed Marilyn, nodding.
"We'll need to set up a weight room when we build the house. I'm starting to get fat."
"No, you're finally back to where you were before you left home.", she countered.
I knew better and told her so. "I'm out of shape, hun. I need some serious time in a gym, and I have to find a dojo again. How the hell do I do karate or aikido with a cane? Maybe I can call Mister Miyagi again, see if he can help. I mean, I can't even run anymore!"
"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?", she commented curiously.
"I used to be the smallest kid in school and I got picked on by everybody!", I replied with a laugh.
"I just can't picture you like that!"
I laughed some more. "Oh, yeah! When I was in junior high, I was the smallest kid in the entire school, girls included! Tessa could have beat me up if she wanted to!"
Charlie made some sounds from his seat and Marilyn played with him. "Daddy's so funny, isn't he?" He smiled at that. "Daddy wants to be a he-man and grow a mustache!" More gurgles and smiles.
"Daddy's going to get strong so he can spank Mommy on the butt! Maybe Mommy needs to exercise, too, to shrink down that butt!"
Marilyn looked over at me and asked, not in a happy tone, "Are you saying my butt's big?"
DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! "No, actually it looks pretty nice. You're not out of shape or overweight..." I paused for effect, and then continued, " ... yet."
"Oh?", she answered coolly.
"Oh! Marilyn, you look great, but you don't take care of yourself. You lost most of the weight from the baby, but not all of it, right?"
"Well, you try having a baby!"
I just grinned. "I prefer my part of the bargain. Seriously, though, you've probably put on about five pounds, haven't you?" Marilyn nodded, so I went on. "What happens the next time we do this? Or is Charlie going to be it?"
"We're having more children and you know it!", she said with a grin.
"Just so long as we practice a lot. Anyway, what if you put on five pounds with each kid? What if it's more? The first five doesn't look bad on you, but after that? Besides, in a few more years you'll be adding a pound or two a year regardless, if you don't take care of yourself. So will I. For our silver anniversary they're going to have to cart both our fat asses around!"