Zara 1996 - 2003 (2)
My relationship with Zoey kinda tailed off, during this time in my life. We still got together, once in a while,but she was a teenager and it obviously wasn't cool to hang around with old Auntie Zara. Our once day and night adventures, were now reduced to an occasional lunch or dinner and an infrequent movie. That made me sad, but I still got to see her now and then when I went to her house for a meal or a barbecue.
I was so wrapped up in work most of the time that I had to make a real effort to even see my family and my Nicki.
But I was so determined to be independent. Never to be beholding to anyone, especially after the whole Brian clusterfuck.
i know I am repeating myself here, but it was the most important thing in my life.
Zoey was a beauty. She had every guy at her school after her. Thank God she was smarter than her Mom. She concentrated on school and she was determined to get a good education and a good job. She was looking at the IT or computer industry. She wanted to develop computer programs to help the educational system or childhood development.
She had a few boyfriends, but nothing serious. And she would usually dump them before things got serious. She left a trail of broken hearts.
That was until she met Dylan. He was this quiet, sensible, handsome young man. He was a couple years older than Zoey and he worked with his father at a custom fabrication shop. They did fancy steel work. Staircases, gates, and even some unique steel sculptures. Dylan had a real flair and he was an amazing artist. Zoey was 17 when they met and that was the end of her dating.
I was happy for her, but between my busy schedule and her new relationship and schoolwork, we rarely saw each other. That made me extremely sad, but what else could I do.
I talked to Auntie She about Zoey on several occasions. I asked her if she ever planned to let Zoey know she was adopted.
She stunned me.
Zoey had been kinda joking around about being adopted. Auntie She was concerned she was going to find something out. But the adoption was private and the name on the hospital's record was not Zoey. So there would be no connection there.
But Auntie She was still determined to tell her on her 18th birthday. At one time they were going to tell her on her 16th birthday, but they decided against it. They felt she might not be ready to deal with such a thing. And they were concerned, as I was, that it might interfere with her education. And she was doing so well in school, that none of us wanted to take the chance at messing it up.
We knew that at some point they would have to tell her. I suggested they wait until she was at least 40. I was outvoted. They decided instead to tell her at some point after her 18th birthday.
Auntie She was positive that Zoey would take it well. I wasn't so sure.
At the beginning of 2003, I officially left my job and opened my home office. I had built up a good list of clients on my own and I had been slowly incorporating myself in Auntie She's business and familiarizing myself with her clients.
On January 1, 2003, I officially took over and Auntie She retired. Uncle Peter retired at the same time and the first thing the two of them did was take off on a month long Mediterranean Cruise. I was to keep an eye on Zoey, but Dylan was practically moved in, with everyone's blessings, so I only popped in once in a while.
Zoey was a very sensible girl and determined to have the life she wanted.
She had already talked to Jay Williams about working for him. Jay had just recently set up his own software company and it was doing very well. He had left his job at a very prestigious software company and had the contacts and the knowledge to succeed.
He had also stopped asking me out. The weird thing was, I kinda missed it.
I met Jeff at James' 5th birthday party. He was a friend of Will's. We talked and even though he was a little weird, at least that is what Jay said, I agreed to go out to dinner with him.
I made it very clear to him from the beginning that I was not interested in anything serious. He was ok with that.
I have to admit he was a pretty boy. He had a great body, which he made sure I was aware of every day. He worked out like 6 times a week.
He was decent in bed. Not the best, but not the worst and he was very considerate and obliging to my needs.
Unfortunately, he did not have a lick of common sense. I mean not a lick. He was a car salesman for a very successful dealership and his charm and good looks propelled him to the top of their sales ladder.
So, for once, I took advantage of my situation. He always took me to the best restaurants and amazing weekend getaways. He was kind and loving, as long as we didn't have to talk about anything other than hockey, which I still loved and ultimate fighting, which I hated.
But for the most part, he was fun.
So there I was, early on the morning of November 16, 2003.
It was a cool, Sunday morning. The sun was just coming out.
It was a beautiful day for Zoey's 18th birthday.
There was going to be a big bash at Auntie She's. Everyone was going to be there.
It should have been a beautiful day.
