A May-September Wedding (16 page)

-David has some problem that he's been hiding from us for
years. I never liked the way he looked at Phyl and I know from
investing in his company that he shouldn't have to pinch pennies.
If something happens and he splits from Judy, give Judy the maximum
amount of support she'll accept. Don't give David any more money
unless he actually addresses his problems, if you can figure out
what they are.

-Tell Jeremy I'm very proud of him and tell Patty that I'm
sorry we couldn't spend more time together. Jeremy won't ask for
anything ever, so feel free to spoil his children for me and if you
can spoil him at the same time, so much the better.

-Be
good to Felicity. I hope that you are still friends with Phyl so
that she can continue to be second Mum. You'll need that help
especially as she hits her teen years.

-I
want you to give Phyl, Lydia and Tim each a hug from me. Tell Phyl
that I regret not being able to show Victoria to her. Keep an eye
on Tim because he's going to miss Harry the most.

-Give the twins a big hug from Mom. I bought them each a
birthday present that I put in the big safety deposit box. When
they turn twenty-one you can give it to them from me.

I
love you very much, John Calvin Richardson, but if you are reading
this, you are still alive and I am not. I know you, Cal. You need a
keeper and I'm not there to do it. So I'm taking you up on your
long ago foolish promise that you would do anything to make me
happy.

It
would make me happy for you to get married again. I hope that you
and Phyl are still good neighbours and good friends. If things look
like they could become serious between you, don't let the fact that
she's so much younger than you sway your decision. She's a good
woman, Cal, and deserves a good man like you.

If
there's no spark between you and Phyl, start looking for someone
else. I know you never had to make an effort to attract women so
I'm sure someone has already thrown herself at you. I trust that
you still have that wonderful good sense that you found when you
were born again and will choose someone who will both manage your
life for you and make you happy. And I know you will make the lucky
woman you choose very very happy, like I am.

So,
Cal, your mourning year is over today. Remember me fondly, but look
to the future. Some accounts say that our dear departed watch over
us, so the odds are good that I'm watching you right now. So put
that ring in a box and go find yourself a good woman.

Take
care of yourself, Cal.

All
my love,

Brenda.

Cal read the
letter with his eyes slowly filling with tears.
"
I love you, too, darling." After a brief
cry, he wiped his eyes and reread the letter. Brenda, as usual, was
right. He did need a wife. Phyl's smiling face singing softly as
they worked together in the kitchen came to him
immediately.

'If there's no
spark between you and Phyl...' Cal sat back and groaned. It wasn't
just that Phyl was twenty-one years younger, it was that she was
still able to have children. He'd seen the stark yearning on her
face when she held Elaine's newborn at David's Easter dinner. If
they had kids he could be seventy-five when the last one graduated
high school.

'If there's no
spark..." Cal couldn't count the number of times he'd had to force
himself to not kiss Phyl since the literacy fundraiser. He could
see the smouldering 'kiss me, stupid' look in her eyes and she
could probably see the same thing in his. Too many people were
asking him if they were going out, so other people could see those
looks, too.

'...no
spark...' If she was ten years older he'd be proposing today. But
he'd seen the snickers and behind the back ridicule that Jack
Littleton faced and he didn't want to be subjected to that. Phyl
would get pelted with the same garbage.

Cal put his
head in his hands and said, "I'm sorry, Brenda, I can't, not right
now."

After school,
Cal, Phyl and the kids went to the graves to say some prayers. Phyl
noticed a white band of skin on Cal's tanned left hand and felt her
heart tumble. But the sight of the two adjacent gravestones drove
out all thought except the memory of grief and their late
spouses.

After a few
minutes of silent prayer, Cal asked, "Where do you want to go for
supper?"

In the next
few minutes the car was filled with suggestions ranging from The
Works to Friday's Roast Beef House, but they eventually settled on
Mamma Theresa's downtown.

The meal was
excellent, as usual, and the somber mood from visiting the graves
had vanished. Felicity and Lydia were teasing each other about a
cute guy in the other grade eight class and Tim was rolling his
eyes.

Cal reminded
them that they were too young to marry but that it was all right to
have good friends. Phyl told them that the purpose of dating was to
find a husband, and both of them needed to finish school at the
very least before they got married.

The girls
looked at each other, rolled their eyes and fell into a giggle fit.
Cal caught Phyl's eye and smirked.

Cal sat at
Brenda's desk and began to go through her papers. He'd been
avoiding it for the past year, only retrieving the files marked for
her final instructions and last tax returns.

There were
useful files of receipts for things like the furniture and
appliances. He noted that certain of the recent warranties had
expired and other than the note on the dining room set receipt that
said, 'Don't throw this out, we may need to know the pattern name
to replace a chair or two,' everything was up to date.

The tax files
were in order back several years. There were files of each of the
children's report cards and post-secondary transcripts. There was a
file drawer labelled 'Investments'. The most recent additions to
the 'To be sorted' file were several statements addressed to him
and a large unopened envelope from Brenda's lawyer labelled
'Ownership - Transfers of Investments'.

Cal got up to
get a fresh cup of coffee and think for a bit. He looked out the
front window to see Phyl, in a beautiful light green spring dress,
unloading groceries from the station wagon. A smile of appreciation
for her beauty came to his lips unnoticed. Then he turned back to
the desk.

There was a
sticky note inside the front cover of a hardbound book labelled
'Investment Log'.

Dear
Cal:

It's
about time you opened this. I'm guessing that it's been almost six
months since I passed away. This book tracks all of the investments
by date that I've made since I got Grandma's inheritance. The red
book is the same info organized by investment.

You
will want to follow up with Joyce at PrivateMortgage.ca to see what
our returns have been. We haven't needed to touch any of that money
in a long while. If you have someone you feel deserves a special
deal on a mortgage, like the Morrison kids at church when they want
to buy their first house, put them in touch with Joyce and let her
know that we'll invest at prime or less.

All
of the investment documents related to David's company are in the
file drawer labelled Richardson Holdings Corp. That's where our
other investments in stocks and bonds are held. If you need cash
for something you can declare a dividend from the holding company.
Lawrence from church is the broker I deal with because he has the
same philosophy for investing that I do. You won't go wrong if you
continue to take his advice.

Not
having a mortgage ever, thanks to Grandma, let me build up a nice
cushion for us. I've always been grateful to you, my love, for
letting me handle the investments and the budget. I think I did an
okay job.

Take
an extravagant vacation and think of me. I'm sorry we only got the
two big trips together.

Love, Brenda.

In Brenda's
meticulous handwriting, the log book detailed all of the things she
had done to manage the money from the month before they were
married Thanksgiving weekend in 1973 to the week she went into the
hospital. Cal flipped to the end of the book. There was over
$100,000 in her investment banking account at the time of her
death.

A red
hardbound book listed all of the assets owned by Richardson
Holdings with each asset on its own page. Shares in various banks,
petroleum companies, preferred shares David's hi tech firm,
preferred shares in Brenda's favourite independent book store,
mutual funds, mortgage investments, and so on.

A printout
with instructions on how to get into her computer files for the net
worth spreadsheet was tucked into the red book. Using the
instructions, he easily found the net worth spreadsheet. At the
time of her death, Brenda's little investment hobby had been worth
over eighty million dollars. Cal let out a low whistle.

There was a file in the same directory named ReadThisCal that
set out Brenda's philosophy and techniques. The main point was that
she spent two mornings a month, usually the
15
^th
and 30
^th
to review and track the performance of each
investment in the portfolio. She gave detailed instructions about
deciding when to sell and when to buy.

He started to
open all of the statements that had been accumulating for a year to
sort them into the various piles when the doorbell rang.

He went
downstairs to see Phyl, in her lovely green dress, standing at the
front door.

"Hi,
handsome." Phyl gave him a sunny smile. "It's too nice to stay
indoors all day, so I was wondering if you'd like to wander the
Market with me. I'll even spring for lunch."

"I was finally
going through Brenda's investment records." Cal looked like he was
going to refuse.

Phyl said,
"Don't go all Brenda on me. If you really need to look at that
stuff, I'll invite Felicity over tonight and you can work on it
after sundown. It's too nice a day to be sitting inside poring over
numbers."

Cal remembered
Brenda's letter and how she said Phyl had gotten her to lighten up
over their long friendship. Feigning reluctance, he said, "Well, I
suppose. Just let me go close the window in the office so
everything stays where I left it."

Phyl came into
the entrance and watched as Cal took the steps two at a time.
Phyl's heart sped up a bit as she admired his retreating form. When
he came back down she said, "I was hoping to find some plants for
the flower beds in front of the house."

They drove
down to the Market and had a wonderful stroll though all of the
stalls. Phyl took Cal to the Irish pub for lunch and they sat in
the window watching all of the people hurrying back to work. "Are
you happy that you retired, Cal?"

Cal thought
for a bit. "Content rather than happy. I wasn't quite sure about it
but I am glad I'm out of the procurement politics. I'd gotten
senior enough that I wasn't doing what I really like, which is
crawling around ships and doing inspections. Instead I was going to
meeting after meeting listening to people trying to ask questions
that would land them the next ship or weapons system sale or making
excuses about why things were late or substandard. It wasn't fun
anymore, and then I had that run-in with Paul."

Phyl said,
"I'm still not certain about school for me. I put in my application
to Algonquin and I should hear back in a while, but I checked the
balances in the investments and even with all the house repairs and
the new car, I'm taking in more than I spend. So I don't really
need to work. I'm tempted to just stay home and volunteer where I'm
appreciated."

"I don't need
to work either, but if someone offers me a contract to do ship
inspections I would like to take them up on it. I'd have to ask you
to look after Felicity while I was away."

"That's no
problem. She and Lydia are joined at the hip. They're less trouble
when they're together."

"Okay then,
with your permission I'll let a couple of people I know that I
could be available for the right project."

Phyl said, "As
long as the project will be fun and you won't come home snarling
like you did after the last Washington trip about those used
helicopters, it's no problem at all."

They turned to
other subjects and just enjoyed the breeze from the open windows
until half past one. Phyl bought some flats of annuals for the
flower beds and a couple of indeterminate cherry tomato plants for
the planter on the deck. Cal picked up fresh ingredients for supper
from the market stalls and invited Phyl to bring the kids over
after their homework was finished.

Supper was
noisy and fun because they could barbeque on the deck after a week
of drizzly weather. Tim went to hide in the basement and watch the
hockey game while the girls went to Felicity's room to listen to
some music.

Phyl said,
"Well, I guess I promised I'd leave you alone to look at paperwork.
How about I clean up so you can get started?"

Cal realized
they were alone in the kitchen and he almost stepped forward to
take Phyl into his arms. Phyl was praying that Cal wouldn't back
off this time and she put on her most welcoming expression, but Cal
blinked and turned to the front of the house. "Thanks," he said in
an almost normal voice.

Phyl waited
until she heard his footsteps upstairs before she started muttering
to herself about stubborn misguided hidebound old men. Then she
remembered the very pleasant afternoon and began to hum as she
loaded the dishwasher and put the leftovers away before looking for
some other household chores to do.