Demon

February 2002

Brenda

I can’t believe how busy we’ve been the last couple of months. Between getting the condo ready to rent out, and making arrangements for our wedding, it’s like there hasn’t been a moment to sit down and catch our breath.

Ron acts like he’s having the time of his life, though. He is so in on everything. When we packed up all our stuff to bring it to his house, he was gung ho about lifting all the boxes and helping with everything. He’s the one who had the idea to leave most of the furniture in the condo and rent it out furnished. I think most rentals are unfurnished, and I wasn’t sure if it’d work, but we got plenty of people interested in renting it with the furniture already in.

We’ve ended up having to do a lot of repairs and painting and stuff, trying to get it in good condition before the guys move in. It’s going to be a couple of young guys, roommates, who had decent credit and steady jobs and seem like a good risk for renters. I had envisioned a family moving in, but these guys were some of the first to respond to our ad so we decided to just go for it. They both work in construction, so maybe if anything breaks while they are there, they can take care of it. But we’ll see if anything like that comes up.

Today is the fifteenth of the month, and it’s move-in day. I’m resisting the urge to go over there and stare when they get there. I suppose they won’t have too much stuff, since they aren’t bringing furniture. Laura told me that she’ll keep an eye out and let me know if anything interesting happens.

And now, with the last of the condo rental situation resolved for now, I can really focus on the wedding. Mom has made arrangements with her pastor to have it at the church she has attended for decades in Albuquerque. We really aren’t inviting anyone though. My parents will be there of course, and maybe my sister will fly into town. I suppose Mom will invite some of her friends. But we’re not sending out many invitations or anything that formal. It’s a re-wedding. Nobody really needs to come and watch us admit that we were idiots for divorcing. We’re just correcting a mistake, that’s all.

I am doing a few things. I’ve gotten a nice dress, elegant and simple. No frills for this wedding. The kids will have nice outfits. Natalie, of course, is involved in the planning, very excited to pick out a dress. She wants there to be flowers, so we’ll include some of that in our planning too. She insists that Ron wear a tuxedo, and he is happy to indulge her in this, and is taking care of ordering it.

After the ceremony we plan to just go out to lunch at a restaurant in Albuquerque. We’ve decided to fit the whole trip into the kids’ spring break the last week of March. So we’ll do some sightseeing and stuff while we’re back there. We’re all looking forward to the trip next month.

Brad

Boy, this last month has been really something. I practically feel like a single dad, Stefanie is so busy all the time. Between her last semester of college, and her internship, I hardly ever see her. Good thing the grocery store is being understanding and letting me keep my schedule flexible, so that I can be available to take care of Jonathan.

I am waiting for him in the car when he finishes school for the week. I went into work at the crack of dawn, like I’ve been doing lately, so that I can be there to pick him up. Stef has been taking him to school. I know that pretty soon, we’ll have to figure out how to juggle two kids.

Jonathan opens the door and climbs in. “Hey Dad.”

“Hello, buddy. How was school?”

“Good.”

“Anything exciting?”

“Dad, it’s school. There is not usually anything exciting.”

I laugh. “I suppose not.” Today’s Friday, and Stef only has her internship, not classes. So hopefully she’ll be home for dinner. “Let’s go by the store and pick up something to make for dinner tonight, okay? Have any suggestions?”

“Hamburgers?” he suggests, hopefully.

“Sure. Sounds good.”

That accident back in December seems a million years ago, like it never even happened. Jonathan spent a few weeks recovering, but he seems pretty much back to normal now. Thank goodness. I’m not sure he even remembers it. He never mentions it. Probably just as well.

“Do you know when Gabe and Natalie will get home?” he asks.

“Well, probably same as usual, just before dinner time.”

“Okay,” he says, watching out the window as we drive to the store. I know that he’s already planning to see them tonight at some point. It’s been nice since they moved to Ron’s house full time. He wants to play with them all the time, even more than he used to. So I’m glad they’re always in our neighborhood now.

“Hamburgers, and….?” I ask him.

“Duh, Dad. French fries.”

He makes me laugh. Like usual. He’s always been so entertaining.