Mendocino Jones in No Place for the Weak at Heart

The Hell You Say!

Early afternoon, Bobby drove from April's house to the Watson Building in Alpine, entering his father's office with a smile. He felt good. Better than he had in years. He was finally moving on, getting past the loss of John David and Tillie. April had been right. Life goes on. He was looking forward to it now.

Bobby poured his father a drink. Scotch. Neat. Pouring one for himself, he offered a toast. "I'm going to marry April."

Sitting behind his desk, Hank's face flushed. "The hell you say!"

"Who else am I going to end up with, Pops? I'm ready for kids. If something happened to me today, the Watson name dies. April's right. I need to have kids."

Hank took the drink, scowling. That little muscle twitched below the outer edge of his right eye. "Did that hussy talk you into this?"

"Come on, Pops. She's going to be my wife. Don't call her a hussy."

Hank grunted. "We've both called her a lot worse."

Bobby cocked his head. "April knows me, and I know her. Neither one of us trusts the other, which forces us both to walk the line. I'm making her sign a prenup—"

"Thank God!" Hank slammed his desk with the palm of his hand, standing up. "You know, John David didn't. He was that nuts over her. She's inherited everything he had without any responsibility."

Bobby had never thought about what April did or didn't inherit. "Guess my kids will inherit everything from both sides of the family then." He walked to the window, gazing at the afternoon sky. "I don't know. I've felt like I've been stuck in some kind of muck since Tillie left and then John David died. Life just stopped. I've got to move on. It's time."

"What about Tillie? Twenty-four hours ago, you were apoplectic over her." Hank waved his arm.

"I'm over it."

Hank choked on his drink, laughing. He coughed.

"I'm serious. Tillie would always need more of a domestic life than I'm willing to give her or April. I won't be tied to a woman's apron strings. I'm not sitting around the TV eating popcorn at night."

Hank snorted, shaking his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "You don't know what you'll do until you have kids of your own. I seem to remember eating plenty of popcorn."

"I'll give you that." Bobby raised his glass in a toast.

Hank sipped his drink. "You sure about April? She's not like Tillie. She's not going to let you string her along with an engagement ring for years. She'll want to get married right away."

"She's smart, beautiful, got class. All fire. Fun to fight with." He took a seat at the window. "You know, that was a big problem between me and Tillie. We couldn't fight. She'd cry and I'd feel like an ass. April, man, she gives as good as she gets. I like that about her. We have chemistry. She knows I'm expecting kids."

Hank raised a brow. "And?"

"She agreed. I'm putting it in the prenup."

Hank tilted his head back and hooted, walking to the liquor cabinet, and pouring himself another drink as he continued chuckling. Then his face grew dark. "I wonder how Gust will take this?"

Bobby was focused on yellow Esperanza and firecracker plants flourishing in the landscaped plaza. He never noticed all those flowers before. Hummingbirds and butterflies flitted all around the plaza. The sun was white hot. No wind. "The way Gust is going, I'm not sure he'll ever know."

"True." Hank sighed. "Well, if your mind's made up, I guess you've got my blessings. Your mother. She's another thing."

Bobby winked and grinned. "I can handle Mom."