| Subject: Past Sins and Compassion, the Return (Part 10) |
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Maximus
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Date Posted: 15:06:34 11/09/08 Sun
In reply to:
Maximus
's message, "Past Sins and Compassion, the Return" on 16:06:33 07/31/08 Thu
Title: Past Sins and Compassion, the Return. (Part 10)
Author: Maximus
(From part 9)
They actually got a couple hours sleep before they had to vacate the room so Harm could go to work. Harm had redressed in his blues and followed Sarah back home. He went in to tell the girls he had a special surprise for them when he got back home. He thanked Elga for taking over last night and confirmed that Sarah had said yes to his proposal. He spent a few minutes with Drew as Sarah was already feeding him.
(H) Sarah, I am going on to the office and could you have the kids ready so we can take them to eat somewhere that you pick? I want it to be kind of special when we tell them that you are going to be their new mommy for real.
Part 10
(S) When exactly are we going to formalize this “mommy for real” thing?
(H) I am still working on that but September/October sounds about right. It seems that most people think 8 to 10 months is a reasonable time to show proper respect and we need time to find the right wedding rings.
(S) Could we have the wedding ring you gave Harriet and the wedding ring she gave you sized and refreshed so that we can use them as a tribute to her? Without her bravery, our love would have not been possible. We owe her so much.
(H) You constantly remind me of why I love you so much. I love your idea if it is OK with you.
(S) I promised her that I would take care of you and your family and I believe this is a step in the right direction.
After final kisses, Harm was off to work and Sarah took control of home.
(Jen) Admiral, have you read the morning paper?
(H) No. Do you have it on your desk?
(Jen) I’ll bring it in. You guys made the paper again.
Harm read the article and it was almost like he had told Sarah. The by-line was “Their Baaaaack”. He called Sarah and she answered the phone laughing.
(S) They quoted my entire introduction of you. Everyone in DC knows now that we are engaged for real.
(H) Good. I wanted to shout it out last night to anyone that would listen.
(S) I felt the same way but we did our share of “shouting each others names” last night the way it was. Sailor, you make me so happy.
(H) I know, I now consider it my priority to excel at keeping you happy for the rest of our lives. I think it has a lot to do with dopamine and prolactin.
(S) Whatever it is, I want you to keep doing it.
(H) You can count on it. I love you, babe.
(S) Me too, now get back to work so you can come home and take us all to the Dairy Queen.
(H) Dairy Queen? I thought we were taking them some place special.
(S) I asked and it was unanimous. What can I say, you wanted it to be special for them and I get to eat a dead cow sandwich, but………I will share my fries with you if you are good.
(H) You told me I was good last night so I might just have some dead cow just to keep up my strength, just for you.
Everyone was waiting when Harm arrived home and made their way to their favorite ice cream store. Sarah helped the children choose a sandwich before they could order the ice cream. Harm and Sarah had the “marriage and mommy talk” with the children to their overwhelming approval and Sarah was elated. When it came time for the ice cream, AJ was allowed to order an adult portion now that he was 9 years old. Everyone had fun and both Harm and Sarah made sure that Drew received a little ice cream for the first time. Sarah had been watching AJ carefully:
(S) AJ, in just a few weeks I will marry your dad and will change my name to Sarah Rabb as I take his name and I have wondered if you had ever wanted your last name to be Rabb. Right now, you have the very honorable name of Roberts of which you should be very proud. Your parents were both great people and your dad and I will understand if you want it to stay that way.
(H) But……….if by chance, you have other thoughts about it, we will see what we can do to help you to get it changed.
(AJ) Do you mean I could change my whole name?
(H) Yes, if you wanted to.
(AJ) I want my last name to be Rabb just like everyone else in my family.
(S) Your mother and father named you after A J Chegwidden but found that his initials A J stood for Albert Jethro which they didn’t like so they just named you AJ. If you decide to change your first name, we think you need to talk with big AJ to make sure it doesn’t upset him.
(AJ) I like “AJ” and want to keep it since my parents gave it to me but I want to be AJ Rabb now.
(S) How long has it been since you have seen your grand father “Big Bud” Roberts and your grand parents, Mr. and Mrs. Simms?
(AJ) I saw Pa Pa Roberts last Christmas and I call him every once in a while. Grandpa and Grandma Simms came to visit last Christmas and always send me birthday presents. They call some times.
(S) We will need to tell them both before we file papers since you are important to them. You and I could write them a letter and then you can call them.
(AJ) Will I still be able to see them when they come here and can I call them when I want too?
(H) Of course. That will never change. We are not going to take them away from you because we know they love you very much.
Just tell your mom when you are ready and we will get the papers to start the process to change your last name. We will be honored to have you share the Rabb name with us. Thank you, son.
July 2
Sarah attended the 09:00 meeting with the director of the council and 7 local CPA’s and listened as the problem areas and possible solutions were discussed. After listening for a time, she determined 2 of the CPA’s were on the higher level of knowledge needed to solve such a problem with or without her assistance.
When her time came, she explained the letter and intent of the statutes and outlined the solution in general terms. Both of the strongest CPA’s offered to complete the problem and Sarah offered to review their final draft. After the meeting ended, all of the CPA’s migrated to where she was sitting and wanted to talk. She discussed her fee structure and stated that she could do all of the work if need be or just do the legal work and issue the final legal opinion on cases they received. She left them with the feeling that it didn’t make sense for most clients to pay her high hourly rate for doing grunt work and encouraged them to gather most of the information before getting her involved. She handed out her new card and invited them to call if they needed her services.
She called Harm from the van as she pulled away to pass on her excitement. He asked the right questions and helped to make her day. Before even getting home, she received a call from one of the stronger CPA’s asking her to review one of his latest 706 estate tax forms before it was finalized and mailed. She gave him her business address so his messenger could drop off the package.
After returning home, she made lunch for the girls, Elga, and herself while keeping an eye on Drew who was spending some alone time on a blanket she had spread on the dining room floor. He was over 6 months old now and was getting the hang of moving about and starting to crawl. The girls kept an eye on him as well. She received a call at 15:15 telling her that the package had been delivered to her new office.
She and Elga gathered the kids and made sure they were belted in before making the trip to gather the package. Elga came prepared so they stopped by the local Dairy Queen and bought cups of ice cream and parked to enjoy them.
Sarah slowly fed Drew some and watched as Katie was working on hers. Elga watched and helped Nicki as needed to keep the ice cream off the seats. AJ had waited patiently as Sarah filled his cup a little higher than the others by taking some from her own cup. He was well aware of what she was doing. She had grown to love every one of the children but…..AJ would always be special because he never demanded much of her time but was always willing to help everyone. She compensated by making sure he received extra expressions of love from her. Truth be told, she yielded to customs of her family linage making sure the men in her life received extra love and care.
After getting home and taking care of everyone, Sarah sat with AJ and they wrote a nice letter. It was sent to Pa Pa Roberts and Mr. and Mrs. Simms explaining that he loved his family very much as well as them and now wanted to change his last name to Rabb by legal means or by formal adoption. He assured each grand parent that nothing would change other than his last name because he would still love them as his grand parents. He asked each of them to call Harm or Sarah to discuss how they felt about the change. He promised to call them soon. Sarah let him address the envelopes and sign the letter before taking it out for the mail carrier. AJ was glad that the process was starting.
After AJ went out to play, Sarah called the court and requested the forms for both the name change and the adoption be sent to Harm. She knew it would make everything much easier if a legal adoption could take place so Harm and she could legally act in all things for AJ.
When it became quiet Sarah went to the 4th bedroom upstairs and opened the CPA package. After reading the data sheets and summation, she used a calculator to run the numbers on the form. She expected everything to initially check out fine since the estate was worth over $14 million and she assumed it had received great care. Within 45 minutes she found $780,000 unaccounted for. She logged in one hour of time before calling the CPA, James Reese.
(S) After spending one hour and $400 of your client’s money, I found your basic numbers don’t even check out. I haven’t even read the form for issues yet. What course of action do you want to pursue? Frankly, I am alarmed at the poor quality of your work.
(Reese) You must have received a prelim copy. I will have the latest form couriered to you by 10 AM tomorrow.
(S) OK. Mr. Reese, I am going to send the $400 bill back with your courier and it will be charged to your company. You need to remember that while I welcome your business, I will not be a party to shoddy work and cheating a client. I am assuming for the time being that that is the way you do business also.
(Reese) I agree. The new form will be there in the morning.
(S) Thank you.
Sarah was some kind of pissed off when Harm arrived home. She explained and showed him how the form was prepared and he agreed with her. He also suggested that she stay open to the possibility that it was all a test of her skills. That took her back a minute as he reminded her that it sometimes came with being the new kid on the block. She agreed that with large money involved, other people might need to find if she was capable. She still took a few minutes to fill out the $400 bill, charging it to the CPA firm.
(H) I had a meeting with SECNAV today and he wants you to prepare a complete estate plan for him and his wife.
(S) No way! A full plan would take me a couple of long weeks and many meetings with him and his wife. If I only charged him 50 billable hours, the bill would be over $20,000 and he expects to get it free by leaning on you. Tell him to ask Commander Douglas in the Norfolk JAG office to do it. I’m not under his command anymore.
(H) I agree with you, but knowing him as we do, this will really piss him off.
(S) Harm, I told you how I feel but I will do it for him if it will keep you out of trouble ..…………. if that is what you want me to do.
(H) No. I agree with you completely. I will refer him to Douglas in Norfolk. You no longer owe anyone in the navy anything. I am not on his “good list” anymore but I can take anything he dishes out.
(S) I know you can, but I still owe my own sailor “big-time” and plan to make it up to him for the rest of my life. I love you sailor.
She was at her office the next morning to receive the package and give the courier the bill to be carried back.
The new form checked out to the penny and she switched over searching for issues that had not been addressed properly. The form seemed to be properly filled out for a normal family but the way some things were entered still made her feel something was missing. Since it was not evident, she called Reese and explained that she felt something was not right. She asked for a meeting to review their work papers, meet with his research staff, and the clients on Monday since Friday was July 4th. She explained that if she was wrong, the client would not be charged for her time but would be charged if she found major problems as she sensed.
She went on with her life over the holiday but read the form 706 every day at least once. The hair still stood up on the back of her neck and she didn’t know why.
The picnic on the forth was a total success as they took everyone to the beach for the day. Sarah spent time acting like she was reading a paperback so she could watch Harm be a kid again for a little while. He joined in sand castle building and filling buckets with sand. He spent time helping AJ to get his kite to fly. Sarah spent time letting Drew lay on a large towel and move about. She fed him when he was hungry but no one noticed as she used a beach towel to cover her and him.
Harm had spent time also watching as her comfortable magical ways seemed to flow into everything she did. He already understood he was the luckiest man on earth to have her for life because she completed him in ways he didn’t even understand. The day ended too soon but the children ran out of gas a little early. Harm even had to carry AJ up to bed because he had run until he couldn’t run anymore.
Elga was waiting when they arrived and took charge of taking the load off Sarah and Harm. After the kids were taken care of, they had tea with her as she told that big AJ had made her day by sunning with her in the enclosed area in the back yard. She also suggested to them that they sleep-in in the morning and let her take care of things.
Harm and Sarah made the most of the remaining evening and it was 10:05 on Saturday before she heard a word from either of them. Elga was pleased that all of the Colonel’s needs were being very well taken care of……...all the time.
On Monday the 7th, Sarah met with the CPA, James Reese, and reviewed the work papers for the estate. He called his staff together at 11:05, she asked questions and listened as the estate was discussed and found no new answers from them.
At 12:25 she was introduced to the clients (beneficiaries) who were the wife and 3 grown children all having Middle Eastern features. She explained she was an attorney and had been retained by Mr. Reese to review and issue a legal opinion on the rather large estate. Her Farsi came in handy while discussing matters with the wife and found that she was a resident alien (green card). Sarah asked and found the wife had never tried to become a US citizen even though her husband and 3 children had been born here. All the bells went off as her intuition was paying off. She inquired about the will and found that James Reese had a copy she could review. She thanked everyone for coming and told them Mr. Reese would get back to them when he had more information.
After speaking to Mr. Reese privately, he called the staff together for her remarks. She explained that many governmental restrictions were placed on what and how much a resident alien could inherit from a U.S. estate and it was definitely less than an American wife could receive. Since many of the marital asset rules did not apply, she explained that the will, as written, could not be implemented and would be a legal nightmare. She asked if anyone had the background to work with the rules and no one answered.
Mr. Reese thanked her for her work and told her he would call after he met with the other 2 senior partners and discussed how to deal with the problem area. He asked for a rough estimate of how much it would cost to have her straightens out the 706 estate form and to review the deficient will and write a legal opinion on its implementation. She gave him a price of $18,000 for the 706 and $20,000 for the will since she would need to do the grunt work also. She drove away knowing that it would be a lot of work but evidently they didn’t have a clue what needed to be done.
She received a phone call Tuesday morning authorizing her work. After their work papers were received, she started the clean-up task.
Harm received calls on Thursday the 10th from “Big Bud” Roberts and the Simms with no objection to what AJ wanted to do. The Simms asked Harm if AJ could visit and they promised a ticket at the airport the next day. Harm agreed and called Sarah who told AJ and the packing started immediately. Harm had AJ at the proper gate the next morning early so the stewards could take responsibility for him and get him seated on the plane. Harm found the parting difficult because someone else was going to be taking care of his boy for a while but a big hug helped.
The last 3 weeks of July flew by as the kids kept Sarah busy since school was out and she was making sure they always had activities planned ahead. She worked on the estate during quiet times and Harm was learning as she took the time to explain the rules to him. She finished the 706 on Wednesday of the fourth week and sent it along with her bill so it could be filed within the allotted time. She took great pride in depositing her first check in their joint account. Even thought $18,000 wasn’t a lot of money, it was several months pay in the Marine Corps.
She started on the will by filing the required forms with the court explaining what needed to be cured since the will did not take the resident alien status into consideration. She knew the court would take their time with it so she sorted and filed her work papers waiting for their reply.
Since she started having pressure and pains in the fourth week, she talked to Harm before making an appointment with the doctor.
(S) Harm, we have been hitting it pretty hard for the past 5 weeks since our first time on June 25 and now something doesn’t feel right. I have been chalking it up to me getting used to your large size but I think I should be over that by now. I think I need to make an appointment with Dr. Truman and let her look things over just in case something is wrong.
(H) Do you hurt somewhere?
(S) No. That area up in there has very few nerve endings to sense pain, but I feel pressure and have been running a slight low grade fever.
(H) Do you want me to arrange it or you can do it thru your VA status?
(S) I’ll call her because she told me before that her staff can take care of the retiree insurance thing. I will let you know.
Sarah called and Dr. Truman asked her to come in the next day for tests. There was more to it than Sarah has assumed and many tests were conducted. When Harm got home she explained the tests the doctor had performed and the doctor’s restriction on oral sex for the time being until more was known.
The doctor called on Thursday telling her her Pap smear was suspicious and requested her to see a surgeon, Dr. Sally West, on Monday morning. Dr. West was in Bethesda and Sarah was told her appointment had already been made for her for 10:00. Her first call was to Harm and her second to Trish who was in DC and she was at the house almost before Sarah hung up. They spent the afternoon together thinking of everything bad that might happen and bonding.
Harm accompanied her to Dr. West’s office on Monday and waited for her to be seen. After being called in, it seemed like hours before Harm was called back to hear what was wrong.
(West) Admiral, as I have told your wife, we need to do a partial hysterectomy right away to make sure nothing comes of the pre-cancer cells that we found. She should heal nicely and will still be able to enjoy a normal sex life but will not be able to have more children.
The good news is no more periods or need for condoms. The bad news is accelerated menopause, the need for hormones, and broadening out some. You may act a little crazy until we get the hormone thing in balance.
(S) I told her we had not yet decided if we wanted to have another child right away. After our conversation of weeks ago, I have decided that it could be really important for our marriage if we did.
(H) I agree. I have started to want another like Katie…….with you.
Doctor, do we have any other alternatives which would allow us to have another baby and then do something about the cells?
(West) Yes……….but we are really taking a chance. If you wanted to chance it, we could do a D&C to clean and explore. Since most cases like this show cancer cells in and around the cervix, I may also need to do a cone biopsy that I call a coneization. The procedure will leave your wife in pain and weak for a couple weeks since it is best to leave the end of the cervix to heal naturally without stitches or bandages. She should heal normally in 3 weeks to a month.
The rest of the deal is that you would need to allow me to do the partial hysterectomy after you deliver because I have never seen a case where the cells did not reappear sooner or later.
(S) Please explain more about the D&C and coneization to us.
(West) D&C stands for “dilatation and curettage” and is a cleaning procedure which is normally used for voluntary abortions. We scrap and clean the inside of the uterus and test what we take off. The coneization is taking off the very end of the cervix because that is normally where these pre-cancer cells are first found. You should expect erratic bleeding as both heal for the first couple of weeks. Normal activities can be resumed in a couple weeks but sexual intercourse and the use of tampons should be avoided for several weeks and I will tell you when.
(S) How soon could you do the D&C if we decide to go that route?
(West) I have a cancellation for this coming Monday at 07:30 but you would need to be here at 06:00 so we can prepare. I will only keep you a couple days.
(S) Thank you doctor. We will call you this afternoon if it is OK because Harm and I need to talk……more about what is most important to us.
And talk they did. They reviewed their previous conversation and agreed that each needed to know and go thru pregnancy together to cement the final link between them. Sarah called the doctor’s office back and was put on the OR schedule for Monday morning.
They used Tuesday to look thru records of possible nannies and Sarah interviewed several on Wednesday. Harm took extra time for lunch on Thursday and met with Sarah and Mrs. Nancy Gardner for lunch. Nancy was a widowed third grade teacher that had retired at the end of the school year and wanted to become a nanny, at least part time. Harm and Sarah explained how the family was made up and the requirements of her job. They explained about Drew and Sarah’s upcoming operation which would require some extra flexibility on her part. They explained Elga’s function and her control of the home.
Harm gave Sarah a sign of acceptance and she invited Nancy to return to the house with her so she could meet the children and see how they lived. Harm went to pick up AJ at the airport and was satisfied that they had found someone they could trust.
Friday night found Harm reviewing the forms Sarah had created making him her Health Care Surrogate, her Living Will, a complete re-write of her last Will and Testament, and her Durable Power of Attorney. They discussed it in detail and made minor changes before printing two copies and having Elga and the lady next door sign witnessing her signature on each.
Nancy started her job as the nanny after lunch on Sunday. The kids got to interact with her for the afternoon and Harm and Sarah had time to set with them and explain about what Sarah would be going thru on Monday. They asked many questions and Sarah tried to put them at ease saying that the doctors were going to take good care of her for a couple days but she would be back on Wednesday. She told them she had a boo-boo that would make her real sore and she would sleep a lot when she got back home. Harm was pleased because the kids seemed to understand and didn’t seem scared for her.
Even though Harm was reluctant at first, Sarah made sure they enjoyed normal sex all three nights, as many times as they wanted too. Even though condoms were not high on Harm’s list, he had protected her every time since they totally committed to each other and these days were no different.
Monday morning was early but Nancy arrived at 5:15 prepared to take charge of the children when they woke so they could make their way to the hospital. Of all of the privileges of his rank, the attention Sarah received was the greatest. It was as if the naval staff could not have been more efficient and attentive. Sarah was taken into prep and Harm was called in a few minutes later. She was in one of those gowns that tied in the back and lets all the drafts in. He sat in the plastic chair beside the gurney she was on and kept her company as 4 different people attended to her, each asking her name and what she was in for. Every one of them had looked at the same chart but it was like they almost didn’t believe it was really her. In a quiet moment, Harm suddenly found his hand under the thin blanket and her gown which gave her a reason to give him her full attention.
(H) Are you concerned for your safety now that we are here?
(S) No. You are going to be here, aren’t you?
(H) Right here waiting for you to come back to recovery. Was there something else you wanted me to do for you?
(S) No. I just want to know you are here. I love you, squid.
(H) You haven’t called me that since you returned, and for that matter you haven’t fought or busted my chops either. Why now?
(S) I was unsure and I didn’t think I had the right too, but ……..your mine now…… and I like the way you do things. I love you, babe.
(H) Yes……….I am yours and you are mine. The children are ……………….…..yours now also.
Three people dressed in yellow mask and gowns came in and asked Harm to move as they unlocked the gurney and prepared to move her. They backed away for a moment so Harm could give her a final kiss before her being wheeled away.
The procedure took almost an hour and she spent another 3 hours in recovery. She seemed to be sleeping soundly as if she had been exhausted. Different nurses checked on her and watched her numbers and everything was normal. When she finally woke she was in pain and they took care of that quickly. She kept pushing at her lower stomach and the nurse explained they had packed the area that had been worked on. They eventually moved her into a private room with a view of the grounds. Harm took up the vigil as she slept. After Trish arrived, the head nurse explained that she was going to be out of it most of the day and suggested he go home to tend to the kids and return in the evening when she might be awake again. After being told that they would be checking on her every few minutes, he took their advice and left Trish in charge as he went home to report to every one, especially to Katie. Little AJ seemed to be the one needing the assurance that everything was OK, more than anyone else.
Harm returned at 19:00 and sat waiting until she woke at 20:14. She was slurring her words a little but other than that he fed her ice and talked with her. She whispered to him and he went to the nurse’s station and requested a breast pump so she could relieve the pressure. He helped by shutting the door and blinds and took up a stance shielding her. As she pumped, he discarded the milk in the bathroom since she had received unknown drugs which they felt might pass to Drew. They talked about what had happened and what the doctor had said. He discussed what the nurse told him about them wanting her to sleep as much as possible and she was OK with him coming in at 08:30 tomorrow so Nancy wouldn’t need to arrive so early. After a few kisses, she was off to dreamland and he left at 23:00.
Nancy was asleep on the couch when he arrived and he explained he wouldn’t leave until 08:00 the next morning so she left for the night to get some rest.
Harm and Elga worked together to get everyone up and ready to start the day on Tuesday. Harm explained how Sarah was feeling last night and assured everyone that their “mom” was going to be OK. Nancy arrived a few minutes early and sat for breakfast with Harm and Elga. Harm covered the important things with her before preparing to leave.
Harm was at the hospital on time and found her awake but exhausted and in pain when she moved. She was irritable because she felt like someone had inserted a football where it did not belong. Harm was shooed out of the room at 09:15 so her packing could be changed. She was not a happy camper when he returned because of the changes that had been made. The nurse explained that everything was progressing normally to make them feel somewhat better.
Harm stayed with her until her lunch arrived and was ready to go to the cafeteria before an extra lunch materialized out of nowhere. Yes, it was great being an Admiral when everyone watched out for your welfare. After lunch, Trish came in to spend time with her favorite daughter-in-law to-be to give Harm a break. After finding that Trish had planned on spending the afternoon, Sarah asked Harm to check on his office, take care of the children, and asked that he come back in the evening. He quickly agreed and kissed both of his ladies goodbye before leaving.
The day-time nurse removed her packing at 15:00 and applied a spray antiseptic inside. She explained the stinging, burning, and discharge that Sarah would now experience due to the absence of the packing. She was really ready for the packing to go. Trish talked of many things and was there to take the watch for her when sleep became important. This was what Harm stood and watched at 19:00 when he returned. His mother keeping a loving watch over his bride-to-be brought a tear to his eye.
The conversation between Harm and Trish as he arrived woke Sarah and she sat up on pillows to join the conversation. After a bit, Trish said goodnight and left for the evening. Sarah explained about the packing and the hollow feeling she now had. She told him that she would be discharged after lunch tomorrow if everything went well and asked him to be there. They both ended up side by side on her bed as they talked and cuddled. They stayed that way until she was asleep and visiting hours were over as he slipped out unnoticed by her and made his way home to their family.
He found everyone but Elga and AJ already in bed for the night and made his rounds to check on them. He sat with AJ at the kitchen table and enjoyed Oreo cookies and milk and let AJ ask the questions that he needed answers too. Harm explained that they had decided to have one more baby before Sarah had to have a serious operation that would keep her from having any more children. AJ seemed to like the idea of being a big brother to another child. They had a nice time before going to bed and Harm was proud of AJ’s concern for Sarah.
Harm brought Sarah home on Wednesday 6 August and tucked her in bed. She spent time feeding Drew and having all the children around her. She slept when she wanted to and the first day home seemed to go well. Elga told Harm of her plans to watch over Sarah and everyone with Nancy’s help so he could return to his office and duties and he agreed.
August was busy for everyone as Sarah recuperated and Katie and AJ were mentally preparing to start school. Katie was very excited since she would be going to kindergarten starting in September. Harm followed Sarah’s instructions early and bought some of the supplies both would need and they started getting into the mood.
Sarah had spent some time during recuperation on the estate problems with the will after receiving a ruling from the court giving direction as to disposition of the assets. The three adult children were now to receive most of the assets leaving the maximum allowable, but still a very minor part, to the mother. She prepared the legal forms needed and asked for a meeting with the clients and the 3 senior partners of the CPA firm for August 27th.
Everyone’s plans got changed abruptly on August 24th after Harm received a call that his grand mother “Grams” had passed away in her sleep that day. Pandemonium reined for the day as plans were made, packing completed, grief dealt with, and children tended to. Sarah asked Elga to accompany them and everyone was ready the next morning for the 4 ˝ hour drive to Belleville Pa. Frank and Trish arrived at 08:00 and took charge of the girls and got them situated in their own van. The trip was quiet but comfortable as they traveled.
Upon arrival, they moved into the old farm house where Grams had lived most of her life and were full of memories for Harm. They decided on sleeping arrangements and Harm, AJ, and Frank went into town with both vans and brought back two rental beds so everyone would be comfortable. Harm called Gram’s minister and found which funeral home most of the congregation used and made an appointment for 16:00. Elga took charge of the children so Harm, Sarah, Frank, and Trish could meet at the funeral home with the minister to tend to the arrangements.
Since Grams already owned the internment lots where her husband, an empty grave with head stone for Harm Sr., and one for her was, most of the details had already been taken care of. Harm chose the casket and asked the minister to conduct the service at the church on the 27th. After everything was taken care of, the minister suggested to Harm that he stop at Gram’s attorneys office of James and Smith. Frank and Trish decided to go grocery shopping while Harm and Sarah did the legal things.
Harm and Sarah were warmly received because both lawyers knew of the legal reputation of both Harm and Sarah, as if Grams would let anyone forget. They gave Harm copies of all the legal documents from their safe that pertained to Grams.
It was very cut and dried. Harm, as the only surviving Rabb, was to receive everything Grams owned. They gave him a list of assets that she had given them after the first of the year with account numbers and every thing written out. The job just got so much easier. Harm retained them to inventory assets and take care of the filing of all necessary forms with the stipulation that all form and filings needed to be reviewed and authorized by Sarah before filed.
After everything was agreed upon and signed, the attorneys invited Harm and Sarah to have dinner with them and their wives at the country club in 45 minutes so they could get to know more about them. They enjoyed meeting with everyone and it soon became obvious that James and Smith were recruiting them to join their firm. They listened as James explained the type of clientele and business they had and where they wanted to take their firm. They knew they needed a big city estate attorney to move their practice into the 21st century and attract the big whale clientele. They saw both as prime candidates to join them. Even though both were flattered, they explained that after Harm’s retirement, their family was going to be their first priority and travel for work would be a problem. They parted with an open invitation to join the firm anyway they wanted to in the future.
The viewing and funeral went well as many in the town paid their final respects. Elga was a God-send making sure the children understood what was going on and how to remember their Great Grand Mother. After the final burial, everyone walked thru the cemetery for a bit so the children would see it as a beautiful place instead of just where Grams was put in the ground. The evening was rather somber but Sarah tried to make everything better when she brought Drew out to let him try to crawl all over the place. Everyone cheered him on when he tried to move on his own.
Harm took time to talk to Frank and Trish telling them of the will and the fact that he needed to take some alone time with Sarah on the farm. Frank and Trish agreed to take Elga and the children back home the next day and watch after them. Harm thanked them and they agreed on a time after lunch to leave.
They spent the morning returning the rental beds and making plans for the future. After lunch it was difficult to watch everyone leave but Harm knew they needed time. They started walking and made a tour around the parameter of the farm seeing how it was laid out.
(S) Harm, could you be happy living in the country on this farm?
(H) Yes, I could. I know we have always been in the big city with every thing but this is where we could teach the country values to our children. They really don’t need all the city lights and crap. They have good schools here and people care about each other. Could you be happy here?
(S) Anywhere you are is OK with me. After you retire, we could live here and do what we want to do. With electronics, we could work on cases for many law firms and CPA firms all over the country. I did it by fax, phone and computer for 5 years in Alaska. We don’t even need to see anyone’s face until the court appearances, and not even then if they have a litigator to do the court work. I think having the summers off to travel the U.S. with the kids in a RV would be a real kick.
(H) If we would move here, we could have our dream house built up on that hill over by the pond. We will need more rooms now that we are going to have a nanny and 5 kids in our tribe.
(S) Why don’t we talk more about this when you get ready to hang it up? I think it would be just what we need.
They walked the woods and stopped by the pond, over by the little falls. They marked off what the house would be like and talked over how it would set. They walked and talked about Grams as Harm told of how important she had been to him in his formative years. Sarah was his listening post and let him talk all he wanted. She knew he needed to come to terms with Grams leaving so unexpectedly. Her love being there for him helped bridge the gap to a future without his grandmother. They ended the day in each other’s arms for the night.
They stayed Friday and drove the area absorbing everything they could of Belleville. Later in the afternoon Sarah made a call to the CPA firm setting the client meeting for 10:00 on Tuesday September 2nd. They spent the evening cuddling and watching TV. They found a release for each other and could hardly wait until the doctor let them be together the way they needed to be.
They left early on Saturday morning mainly because the need for the children was compelling. They were more than happy to admit that they were like “married people with children.” They made the remainder of the weekend fun for everyone and went to Frank and Trish’s place for a bar-b-que and swimming on Labor Day.
TBC
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