Fantasy Friday - Second Chance

* I've had some problems with Fantasy Friday today - some people, both here in the US and in Europe could see the post and then other in those places say it simply never showed up.  I'm reposting now. You could help me know if it's showing up by voting in the  survey.  It doesn't matter if you know who wrote this story or not - just help me know if the survey is working well.  Thanks.

Friday again and this one almost snuck up on me.  The week at school has been crazy, which is usual for a short week.  We are going on a field trip Monday and although Megan and I are ready and know what we're doing, but Mr. K and Miss T are dragging their feet and not getting thing done and it's driving me nuts!

I'm giving some of you guys a blast from the past.  It's been a long time since we've had a contest to see if you can guess who wrote a Fantasy Friday, but we have one today.  This story is by someone who has written for Fantasy Friday before and is a pretty good writer - but you'll see that.  I hope you'll leave a comment (but don't give away your guess).

Please enjoy...

Second Chance 

Billy and Cathy grew up in the small community of Silverton on the California/Oregon border. They went all through school together and had dated a couple of times in high school.  When they graduated in 1972, Cathy went off to UC Berkeley and Billy went to the local community college and then went on to UC Davis to complete his education.

Cathy married shortly after graduating from UCB and moved to the Los Angeles area.  She began her career as a Human Resource Manager and it wasn’t long before she realized she didn’t like the corporate world and started her own temp agency.  Working Moms was a great success as the women’s movement was coming into full swing and stay at home mom’s were trying to get back into the workplace.  She considered herself a thoroughly modern woman so when she became pregnant with their first child it never occurred to her that she would be a stay home mom.  Prior to Carly’s birth, Cathy started the search for a Nanny.  With her agency, she was fortunate to have access to whom and what was available.  When she narrowed the field to five possible applicants, she had her husband Jack sit it on the interviews.  Together they decided to hire Denise Dennison.  Denise had been a nanny for several years and her last position ended when her employers moved to a different state.  She was given a great reference and Cathy and Jack felt secure in their choice. 

Carly was two years old when Cathy gave birth to a boy they named Michael.  Once again, she went right back to work because Denise was in charge at home.  Her business was booming and she was spending more and more time in the office.  The more time she spent in the office, the more she and Jack argued.  There were many times he was sorely tempted to take her over his knee and keep her there until he could make her see what she was doing to their marriage. But they were a modern couple and that didn’t happen anymore.  He begged her to spend more time with him and the children.  She had many employees and he felt she could delegate some of the many projects she took on.  At home, in addition to Denise, they also had a housekeeper that came in three days a week, and Jack often told her he saw more of Denise and the housekeeper than he did her.  She felt he was being melodramatic and ignored all of the warning signs that her marriage was falling apart.

Six months later, Cathy came home one day and Jack was waiting for her in the living room.  He told her he wanted a divorce.  He had tried to make it work but he felt she cared more about her business than him.  He told her he had fallen in love with someone else.  He said he was very sorry but he had a lot of alone time and this new person was around to fill up the empty spaces.

Cathy was shocked.  She felt Jack would always be there for her and she couldn’t believe he would betray her by falling in love with another woman.  She took no responsibility for the end of their marriage. 

Unfortunately, she was more devastated when she learned  Denise Dennison was also leaving.  

When the divorce was final, Cathy made her long time manager a partner and told her she was in charge.   She decided to temporarily leave Los Angeles and move back to Silverton with her children.

∞∞∞∞

After Billy received his degree in Veterinary Medicine he opened a practice near the town in which he grew up.  He loved the feel of a small community and veterinary services were always needed in this community far from the maddening crowd.  He married a local girl.  Beth helped out in the practice and was also very involved in the community which helped Billy’s business to flourish.  They had been trying to have children for several years and when Beth found herself pregnant they were both thrilled.  The pregnancy had not been an easy one and Beth had been confined to bed rest the last four months of her term.  When the baby came, Beth was delivered of a healthy baby boy. All seemed well until she started to hemorrhage. In spite of all that was being done they could not stem the bleeding.  The doctors told Billy to pray for a miracle.  Unfortunately, the miracle of the birth of their son was the only miracle they received that day.  Beth passed away and Billy was devastated.  How was he going to cope with the loss of Beth, his practice and care for his new born son?

Family and friends stepped in after Beth’s death and helped Billy through his grief.  Work was his relief valve and he spent most of his time on his practice.  He could not seem to bond with his beautiful son.  It was too much of a painful reminder of what his birth had caused him to lose.  His mother and sister tried unsuccessfully to make him see what he was doing to Brent but Billy was too stubborn to recognize his behavior.  When his father became ill, his mother could no longer care for Brent so Billy was forced to step up and in and become Brent’s parent.

∞∞∞∞

When Cathy and her children arrived in Silverton she rented a cottage on the outskirts of town. Spending time with her children was not coming easy for Cathy.  After all, they had spent most of their life in the care of Denise.  Carly, especially, would let her know that Denise did this or Denise did that and Denise wouldn’t do it that way.  Cathy was at her wit’s end and thought maybe a puppy would help.  They hadn’t been able to have a pet before because Jack was so allergic.

The kids were excited and when they found a cute puppy at the local shelter they took it to the local veterinary hospital to have it examined and vaccinated.  She walked in and saw Billy wearing his white lab coat and was surprised.  She didn’t know he had come back to Silverton after graduation. 

They exchanged pleasantries and Cathy introduced him to her children.  He said he had a little boy about Michael’s age.  She asked about his wife and he said he was a widower.  Once the examination was over and they were about to leave, a bundle of energy burst through the door. Billy did not look pleased.  He admonished Brent and told him to apologize to Mrs. Sims and to wait for him in his office.

Cathy remarked how cute he was and so full of energy.  Billy admitted that sometimes he was too hard to handle. He explained how he had not spent a lot of time with him when he was younger and he was just now getting the handle on being a parent.  Cathy told him she knew just what he meant.  She suggested maybe they could get together sometime and compare notes and strategies.

∞∞∞

At the sign-up for the summer T-ball season Cathy and Michael ran into Billy and Brent.  They ran into each other at several of the practices and once the boys were at play, Cathy and Michael got reacquainted. 

When Billy asked what had happened to her marriage, she explained that she had spent too much time devoting to her business and not enough to her family.  It had taken quite a while for her to realize her mistakes.  She didn’t blame Jack.  She told him that was why she was having a hard time being a parent now because Denise had really raised them.  She was like a guest in her own family.

Billy told her about Beth and how devastated he was at her death.  He said for the longest time he actually blamed Brent and it was only after his mother could not watch Brent anymore that he had started to realize how ridiculous it was and that he loved his son. He had been trying harder the last couple of months but it was going to take time to repair the damage.

They had always been friends growing up and now that they were back in the same town they saw each other a lot.  They were always running into each other at some event or another and most of the time the kids were involved.

 Months went by and Cathy kept extending her stay in Silverton. She and her children enjoyed living in the small town and they were getting along much better.  She hated the thought of going back to the rat race in LA.

She told Billy how she felt. He asked if she ever thought remarrying.  She said she had but this time she was going to pay closer attention.  He asked if she ever thought of him as something more than a friend.  She admitted that lately she had begun to think of him as more but she didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship with each other and their kids.  The kids had begun to think of Billy and Brent as part of their family.

Billy said he was beginning to feel the same way.  He told her he wanted a relationship where the wife would be there when he came home at night; someone who would have dinner ready, the laundry done and the house in order.  He said if she could handle that he would like for them to become a family.       

One Year Later

Dr. and Mrs. Bill Morrison and their children, Carly, Michael and Brent were in Los Angeles. Billy was attending a convention and Carly and Michael would be spending time with their dad and his new wife, Mandy. Cathy and Brent would pack up her old house and put it on the market. 

When Jack dropped off the children, Billy invited him and his new wife to join them for dinner.  Cathy didn’t mind at all.  She was happy Jack had found someone to make him happy.  During dinner, Cathy told Mandy Jack was a fine man but he hadn’t demanded his expectations be met. Billy, on the other hand, laid it all out ahead of time. She told her they had a prenuptial contract about their expectations and failure resulted in consequences.

Billy gave her a look that made Jack remark that maybe she had just earned a consequence.  He laughed and said he often thought he should have given Cathy a good spanking to make her see the error of her ways. Cathy blanched, Billy just smiled and asked if Jack had seen the contract? 

~o0o~

I told you it was good!  And my thanks to the writer, who ever she is.  Here are your choices - it could be Minelle, she has written for us several times and I know she is still writing.  It could be Sunnygirl, she has written many Fantasy Fridays for me.  Now she is posting stories on her site, but you never know.  It could be me, I've written for FF myself in the past so you never know.  Or it might be Faerie. It's true she has been working a lot lately, but maybe she's been working on a story.  I'll post the answer back here Sunday.  I'm hoping that these ladies will comment too - just to throw people off the track.

Now don't forget - I NEED stories!  Please help us out. Send any story you are willing to share to elisspeaks@yahoo.com

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