Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

It was Christmas Eve morning and I had a busy day ahead of me. My family was arriving at the airport around noon. I was making Christmas day dinner for both our families and had already done my shopping and picked up the turkey, but mom and Grandma wanted to make the traditional Harrington Christmas Eve Feast, steak and lobster. Mom had ordered lobsters and a bunch of other seafood from this little fish market in Surf City that Brody recommended. So, the plan was for us to pick them up at the airport in two vehicles. Brody would take the men home in Old Blue, and I’d take the ladies shopping in the Gladiator (the Camaro was getting a break because it was too small to haul my family around in).

We drove to the airport, parked both vehicles, and went inside to find my family. It’s a small airport and they were easy to find, we didn’t even need to text them, we just walked in and BAM there they were. I surprised myself by running to them. I had seen them all over the summer when I visited Minneapolis before Seth and Zach’s wedding, but they had only been to North Carolina to visit us once, and that was for our wedding. So much had changed since then and I was excited they came. Our echoes of joy filled the terminal as we all greeted each other, damn it was nice to see them all. We got their luggage off the carousel, went out to the trucks and loaded their hefty luggage into Old Blue. Brody led the way to a great little place for lunch and I followed in the Gladiator. My family did all the talking during lunch and I just listened with a huge smile on my face, just talking it all in. My grandfather was a self-made millionaire and was truly interested in our new business. He asked me question after question and wanted to see the factory, my business plan, even our books. I laughed at his excitement, but there was nothing my grandfather loved more than watching a couple of entrepreneurs build a business from nothing… that was his thing. Add to that the fact that he loved me and just freaking adored my husband, his excitement was contagious. I made Brody vow to keep him and my father out of the barn until I got home from shopping. I wanted to give him the tour and see the look on his face when he saw a booming business where that old barn used to be.

After lunch we parted ways, Brody took the guys home promising not to give any tours until I got home, and I took Mom and Grandma to the fish market. They had ordered a bunch of stuff online, but once they got in there, they started to buy the place out! Live lobsters, shrimp, oysters, clams, scallops… whatever they could get their hands on. “We’ll never eat all this you guys!” I said laughing as they kept ordering more.

“Fish Freezes, Maxwell. You boys will be set for months” My grandma said, I realized they were doing what they did to me in college… filling the freezer and the fridge when they visited. It was cute. We spent like an hour at the fish market. They sent us home with Styrofoam containers loaded with more seafood than we could possibly eat… including six live lobsters. I could hear them clunking around in the coolers in the covered bed of the truck as we drove home. “You know your grandfather is serious about seeing your business plan and your books” Grandma said as we drove.

“Why the hell does he want to see all that? It’s just a small business” I said laughing.

“No, it’s not just A small business, It’s YOUR small business. He’s so proud of YOU and fascinated by what you’re doing.” She responded.

“Yeah, but Collin has a multi-million dollar company… now THAT’S fascinating, I figured he’d be more interested in that” I said. Collin was my only cousin. He was about five years older than me and married money. I mean big money. He met his wife at an Ivy league university, Holly was a Vander-something-or-other before she became a Harrington and her family was dripping with cash. Now, Collin worked for her father’s company and lived in a Bostonian suburb in a huge McMansion with no yard that butted up to another huge McMansion just like it.

“He doesn’t have a company. He has a son-in-law job.” Grandma said with a scoff. It was not like her at all. “Oh, it gets tiresome hearing your uncle Jack brag about Collin and Holly’s beautiful house, and his great job, and his new Mercedes. Your grandfather gets so annoyed with them always putting on airs, that boy hasn’t achieved a damn thing on his own, everything’s been handed to him on a silver platter.” I was laughing inside as I listened to my grandmother dis my cousin. My whole life all I had been compared to Collin, all I ever heard was how perfect Collin was, my uncle Jack (his father) used to brag on him and make me feel like a useless piece of shit. Collin was always doing something amazing, ‘Collin made the homecoming court’ or ‘Collin was voted most popular in his class’’ blah, blah, blah, Colin was always the popular one and I was always the nerdy, redheaded loser. It’s not that it bothered me all that much, but I always felt like there was this… I don’t know, this cloud over me whenever Collin was around, like the sun was shining on him and I was in the shadows. My parents and grandparents never made me feel like that, but my uncle and aunt did… always rubbing Collin’s popularity in my face. Grandma continued, “but you… you’re truly building a wonderful life for yourself. You have a wonderful, down to earth husband whom your grandfather just adores, you have a beautiful home, a good job that you love, and you’re building this business from nothing. Your grandfather is always bragging on you.”

“So is your father” My mom chimed in. I was so touched, I mean, I always knew they all supported me, but here I was being showered with praise… and dammit, it felt good. I was proud of us too, and the nerdy redhead in me was long gone, and Brody had come so far from the quiet hermit he was when we first met, and together we had built this… this ‘world’ that we loved. But we had been so busy building it, that we didn’t really take the time to step back and be proud of it, until now. I just listened to them go on with a proud smile on my face.  “They were both so excited to come out here and see you.” I don’t know, I was in my mid-twenties, and pretty comfortable in my own skin and didn’t really need much praise, but damn I was loving all this attention. The subject finally turned from me to other stuff as we drove. Grandma had been sick on and off for the past year, she told me how much better she was feeling, and it was great seeing her 100% again. The time flew as we made the drive through the Carolina countryside, both my mother and grandmother squealed with Christmas joy as we pulled in the driveway. Brody had turned on all the Christmas lights and the place was glowing. “Oh Maxwell, this is beautiful” my mother said. “Oh, and look at that mother” she said pointing out the life-sized cut out of me, Brody and our little menagerie standing proudly near the door lit with spotlights.

Grandma laughed, “Did Brody do that? I love it.” I parked the car and we got out. I unloaded our bounty of seafood as the two women toured the brightly lit property in awe.

Brody looked out the window when he heard the car come up the gravel drive and saw me struggling with the packages. He came out to help me unload. ”Jesus H. Christ, Maxwell. Didja’ leave anything in the damn ocean?” he said laughing.

“They went nuts” I said with a snicker. “I think they’re stocking our freezer like they did when I was in college.” Brody laughed at that.

“I’m glad you’re back. Your grandpa is itchin’ to see the barn. I can’t hold him back much longer” Brody said. I just smiled as I thought about all the nice things my mother and grandmother had said on the drive home. I told Brody about it and he kissed me on the cheek. “Well, yer pretty fuckin’ amazing.”

I kissed him back and said, “I married well.” We carried everything into the house. After we put the ocean’s worth of seafood away, I went into the living room where dad and Grandfather were relaxing. Zoey had his head on my dad’s lap and was getting scratched behind the ears. “Hey, you guys ready to see the barn?” I asked my father and grandfather.

“Hell yes, I am” Grandpa bellowed with fervor as he popped off the chair and led the way making me laugh. He was usually much more reserved. We took the guys out to the barn, mom and grandma saw us go in and joined us. I flipped on all the lights and the place just gleamed. “Boys, this place is amazing.”

“We built it as a guest house, all ya’ hafta’ do is pull out the equipment and the pouring stations.” Brody said.

“Smart way to increase the property value” Grandpa said as he looked around. “Walk us through the process” Grandpa requested as he inspected the equipment. I showed him everything from the area where I mixed the scents, to the commercial wax melters, to the four huge pouring and cooling stations, then the stockpile of candles in the storage area. “This is an impressive set-up, Maxwell. How many employees do you have?” he asked. I told him about Ricky and his team, and our plans to go fulltime after the school year. He had a million questions and begged to see the business plan. Brody took him up to his office and gave him his copies of everything from our corporate meeting. Grandpa held onto them for later, then looked around Brody’s office. He opened the French doors that looked down over our tiny factory, “This is genuinely impressive. Are you boys renting the building to the corporation?”

“Yes sir, and the corporation is paying for the renovations as part of the upfit” I replied without hesitation.

“Smart” my grandfather said as he listened to us. I told him about our board and how I had given each of the guys a couple of shares. He seemed a little skeptical so we explained what each one brought to the table.

My dad chimed in, “So, you’re surrounding yourselves with experts you trust and giving them a vested interest. Okay, I get that.” Grandpa seemed to warm up to the idea when my dad put it that way. He asked more about the corporate structure, the board, our employees, sales, distribution, then he asked the million dollar question; “so when are you going to quit teaching.”

I let out a heavy sigh, “I love teaching, and I’m struggling with that question.”

“Listen, Maxwell” Grandpa said looking me in the eyes, “you have something here. The structure, the product, all of it. You have orders coming in left and right, but it sounds like you’re just starting to tap the potential. If you focus on this it could be a goldmine.” Then, one of the men I admired most in the world put his hands on my shoulders and looked me square in the eye and said, “Maxwell, if you don’t give this your all you’ll kick yourself later.”

Shit, shit, shit! Right when I had made up my mind not to quit, Grandpa planted the seed of doubt. We talked as we looked around some more, then Brody, Dad, Zoey, and Jimmy headed out to tour the new barn, while Grandpa and I headed back to the house. Mom and Grandma already had the kitchen buzzing with activity as they prepared the traditional Harrington Christmas Eve Seafood Feast. Grandpa went into the living room and sat down in one of the comfortable, overstuffed chairs to read my business plan. I felt like a little kid again, like I was waiting for the teacher to grade my work (although that’s not at all what he was doing).

In the kitchen, Mom and Grandma had me working on the appetizers; bacon wrapped scallops and shrimp cocktails. As we cooked, we talked, and every few minutes Grandpa would yell out a question about my plan. He was obsessed with it, so much so that he talked everyone in to extending their visit a few days so he could watch us in action on the 27th.

Christmas Eve was amazing; It had been a while since I had spent a Holiday with my family and I loved it. We gorged ourselves with amazing seafood and thick steaks as my family update us on everything back home and reminisced. My mom or grandma would stop the conversation every now and then to fill Brody in on the background of whatever relative we were discussing. He just listened, smiled, and nodded. After dinner we exchanged gifts and drank Brandy slush (an old family recipe).

Christmas morning, I woke up early and attacked Christmas dinner, I had to start early since I hadn’t done any prep the night before like I usually did. By 8AM the house was buzzing with my family, and by 10AM Brody’s family showed up. Daddy, BA, Dylan, Gina, and her mom, Peggy, not to mention the three dogs out in the pasture terrorizing Jimmy. Gina was starting to show and was the center of everyone’s attention. I had known Gina for over five years and frankly had never seen her happier, she was glowing. We exchanged gifts, talked, and laughed as the three families blended into one family. Our family.

That night after Brody’s side of the family had left and my side was fast asleep, I got into bed with Brody who was already under the covers. We had both been wearing our PJ’s while my family was staying with us, but not tonight. Brody lifted the covers and said in a sultry, yet goofy voice “I’m nekkid, Maxwell.” I giggled quietly. “Take them jammies off” he commanded as he wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Jammies’ I laughed at Brody using that word but did as I was told and got under the covers buck naked.  We both lay on our sides and kissed tenderly and quietly. Our friends laughed at our loud lovemaking when they stayed at our place over Thanksgiving, but I doubt my relatives would have the same response. “This was a nice holiday, Maxwell.” Brody whispered between kisses. The room was dark save for a sliver of moonlight coming through the tiny gap between the blind and the window frame, it hit my husband perfectly. Goddamn he was adorable and I couldn’t help but stare at him and smile. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing” I said with an appreciative smile as I stroked his cheek. “I just love or life, and I love being here with you.” I kissed him, he kissed me back, then our kisses melded into one, tender, lover’s kiss. He put a hand on the back of my head and pulled my face into his as we kissed and our tongues mingled. As we kissed, I pushed my cold body into his, he was so warm and I couldn’t get close enough to his tight little form. Our flaccid cocks wee grinding into each other, growing as they did. It was such a strange, hot feeling knowing that the feel of my cock against his was exciting him. We grew hard together, and once he was at full mast, I reached out and grabbed his engorged piece. It felt so damn good in my hand, so hard, so hot, so hefty. I gave it a squeeze and he moaned quietly into my mouth… his moans fueled me and I started to stroke him. He reached between us and started to stroke me too, his body was warm, but his hand was cold… frigid even and I jumped at his touch. My cock warmed his hand and I got used to its temperature, soon I was loving every movement. Our kiss became harder and lustier.

We just lie there for a few minutes stroking each other until Brody shifted us and I ended up on my back. He got between my legs then moved forward until he was on top of me and holding himself up with his arms, it was like he was doing push-ups on top of me. He pushed slightly forward until his swollen, purple head was against my tight, dry pucker. I spit in my hand and slickened his shaft with my saliva. Brody licked his fingers and used them to open my hole. With just our spit as lube he pushed forward and entered me with a pop and a jolt of pain. I winced quietly and sucked my teeth to soothe the pain. Brody stopped “you okay, Maxwell?”

“Yeah, yeah, just wait a minute” I whispered back through my wince. He kissed my lips trying to ease my pain… it worked. His lips touching mine was outranked any pain. Once he was in, my ass ring adjusted to his girth and he slowly pushed forward giving me every inch. Goddammit it felt incredible to have him in me. It didn’t take long before he bottomed out and his pubes were tickling my ass crack.  I never grew tired of the feeling of him inside of me, there was something about it that completed me and made me feel complete. He just held himself inside me for a while as I basked in the fullness. I squeezed my sphincter around him making him moan with desire. He pulled out slowly, I felt emptier with each exiting inch. My sphincter expanded to accommodate his exiting cockhead, before I could grab his ass and pull him back in, he started moving forward again until he bottomed out, then he pulled out again. In and out he journeyed sending jolts of ecstasy through me. Brody knew my body better than anyone, including me… he kept hitting the perfect spot over and over and his eyes never left mine. He picked up the pace as I struggled to keep silent and not wake the entire house like I did at Thanksgiving. Brody’s slow movements got faster as he pummeled my prostrate. I whispered desperately into his ear, “I’m gonna cum.”

He whispered back “Do it, Maxwell. Cum for me.” Then he bit my earlobe and shoved his tongue in my ear driving me mad. I wiggled my legs out from under him and wrapped them around him until my heels rested on his soft bubble butt and I shot my load hands free… just like I had a few weeks prior. Oh my god, he was becoming an expert on working my body. Brody kept pumping until he shot his load then moaned into my neck. His thrusts slowed down and eventually stopped leaving his cock to deflate inside me. When he was finally soft, he withdrew from me with a kiss. We rolled onto our sides and I spooned him until we fell into a sex-induce sleep.

The next morning, I woke up glued to my husband’s back with the smell of bacon wafting through our old home. We unstuck ourselves and took an extremely quick shower together to make ourselves presentable enough for breakfast. Just as I was pulling on my jeans Grandma yelled up the steps “Breakfast is ready!” Brody and I bounded down the steps like two little kids and sat at the kitchen table with the rest of my family. Mom and Grandma had made an amazing breakfast.

“We’re heading into town to look around and hit the after Christmas sales with Betty Ann. She’s picking us up in a little bit” Mom informed us. “Do you boys want to come along?

“I’ve got a team meeting this morning” Brody said.

“And I want to do some candle making before we start things up again tomorrow.” I said.

My grandfather perked up “would you like some company, Maxwell?” he asked with excitement in voice.

“Really?”

“Yes. I would love to see you in action and learn a thing or two” He replied. I jumped at the opportunity to spend some alone time with Grandpa. We invited Dad, but he declined and joined the ladies and Betty Ann on their shopping tour. Once BA’s Chrysler crackled down the driveway, taking Mom, Grandma, and Dad off to explore the little town, Brody went up to his office, and Grandpa and I went into the candle barn. I loved that my grandpa took a big interest in me and my candle making, but he was driving me FREAKING NUTS! He asked a million questions at every single step. I loved his enthusiasm, but I was really looking forward to a day of free-pouring as I called it. Pouring any scent I wanted, just for fun… not fulfilling any orders. After the initial annoyance I really began to enjoy our time together and felt honored that he chose to stay hand with me. We had been working for a couple of hours and grandpa was getting the hang of it… I hadn’t heard him laugh like that in years. He was truly enjoying himself and I loved hanging out with him.

“How ya’ll doin’ down there” Brody yelled from his loft above.

Grandpa looked up with a smile the stretched from ear to ear and yelled back “Having the time of my life.”

The others returned a few hours later and had to basically drag Grandpa away from the candle barn for dinner. The next morning, he was up bright an early and ready to go to work with me and the boys. He went out to the candle barn while I was taking care of Jimmy. By the time I joined him, Ricky, Timmy, and Trey were all there. Grandpa introduced himself and had already been accepted as part of the inner circle. He helped me mix the wax and get the melters going, then Ricky walked him through the steps of fulfilling the orders for Stella and online. Grandpa hung on every word. After that, he made himself comfortable at one of the pouring stations. All day long he was in the thick of it helping the guys with every single step, he bonded with the three of them. I hear Ricky teaching him the words to some dumbass song that was on Pandora, hell, I even heard him call Timmy T-dog (ugh).

The guys put in a full eight hour day and we poured a shitload of candles. At the end of the shift my Grandpa said, “That’s a good team and that Ricky is a superstar… a true leader.”

“Yup” I said. “He wants to get certified as a Project Manager and work for me fulltime.”

“Snap him up” Grandpa said. “Hell, a kid like that, smart, motivated, hardworking… he’s a unicorn. Have you considered paying for his certification and offering him a share of the company?” He asked. I just looked at him.

“We’re going to meet to discuss his future, and I had thought about offering him shares after a while, but honestly I hadn’t thought about paying for his certification.” I said.

“A guy like that needs motivation and reward. Tell him you’ll reimburse him for his certification once he passes. Then offer him a share of the company for each year he puts in up to five years. You can structure it so that he’s vested after so many years, maybe ten and if he leaves before then the shares revert back to you.” Grandpa went on to flesh out the plan for Ricky’s future. He gave me some great insight on how to look at the entire situation… Ricky’s involvement, my involvement, and the future of BroMax Farm Candle Company.

Grandpa dove deep into my business over his visit and liked what he learned. He liked our factory, our product, our corporate structure, our employee’s, Ricky, and especially our future prospects.

I drove my family to the airport on the 28th and walked them to Security and we said our goodbyes. Grandpa gave me a hug and said, “You’ve built an amazing life here, I’m proud of you.” I had always had my family’s unconditional support, but now I had earned my grandfather’s respect. It felt good. Damn good.

 

To be continued…