The Village

Seth’s Perspective

BroMax and The Village both basically shut down Tuesday morning. The City Council meeting wasn’t at night like we thought, but at 9AM and we were all there to support BroMax and speak on its behalf. Unfortunately, a group of people were challenging the zoning and permit requests for the BroMax Candle, Co. takeover of the old church building down the block from The Village. The City Council was voting on it that morning and there was no doubt that those people would be there and be vocal, we intended to do the same. When the agenda item came up, citizens would have the opportunity to speak out for or against the zoning and permit approvals, then the City Council would vote to approve or deny the request. If everything went through, Max and Brody would close on the building at the end of the week and start renovations… the final sale was pending approval.

I looked around the room, it was packed with folks. On our side… of course were all of us (dressed in suits), several local businesspeople, the Executive Director of the local Chamber of Commerce, etc. On the other side of the aisle were a handful of people opposing the proposal. Zach recognized a woman he met while we were canvassing sitting with the opposers, she had made her opposition to the takeover of the old church clear to Zach when they met. I recognized one of the people with her, it took a second for it to click but then I realized it was Gerald, the father of Benji and Joel, the two brothers we had helped get away from the church last year. I quickly pointed him out to Zach, Brody, and Max

“I knew that fuckin’ church was behind this” Brody whispered. We didn’t know for sure who was opposing the zoning, but we speculated it might be the church… apparently, we were right. Gerald’s steely, cold eyes met mine and locked, he gave me a smug, almost evil smirk. He saw me (and our group) as instrumental in taking his kids away from him and I’m sure he blamed us for the downfall of the church (a blame we proudly accepted), he undoubtedly loathed us for it… this was about revenge.

The meeting commenced with the City Council members sitting at a long table at the front of the room facing the audience of “concerned citizens.” There was a podium with a mic facing the council. Citizens would be allowed to voice their concerns and opinions on the agenda issues as they came up. The council called the meeting to order, went through the minutes of the last meeting and other procedural agenda items, it was a good half hour before the vote on BroMax came up. One of the council members announced that the council had read the requests for zoning and permit approvals and asked, “Before we vote on the requests of BroMax Candle, Company, would anyone like to speak on the subject?” A line formed at the mic… the group with Gerald all moved into place. It was then that I noticed Ricky, followed by Timmy, Mason, Colton, Taylor, and a group of villagers were in the back of the room (all dressed in suits, (or as close to it as they owned) I might add) … they all got in line behind the church group.

The woman Zach and Brody had met while canvassing was the first to speak. She struggled as she read a prepared statement in a monotone, almost robotic voice. She started with “My name is Martha Wills and I have lived in The Waterfront District for almost four decades. I am a widow and I am afraid of the element that will work at a factory like this…” she went on for a couple of minutes regurgitating the misinformation from the flyers that had been posted around downtown and used words and phrases like “bad element” “delinquents” “miscreants” “plague on our beautiful neighborhood” and even “reprobates.” Her robotic statement was intended to instill fear of living among such people (hundreds of factory employee’s according to her words). Then she started talking about factories and the effects of pollution causing lung cancer and quoting national statistics that had zero to do with anything… I mean to listen to her speak you would think BroMax was proposing to build a chemical factory powered by nuclear waste in that old church. Her statement was so over the top that it got a few chuckles from people along the way… she ended with “a factory like this has no place in our neighborhood and would destroy it. I urge you all to vote no.” Next, several others from their group spoke and said more of the same (albeit not as dramatic or over the top). While they were speaking, Zach left the room. When he returned, he moved his way past the line to Gerald who was in line to speak next. Zach whispered in his ear, then held up his phone for him to view. He pointed to the back of the room as they spoke, then suddenly and unexpectedly, Gerald stormed out of the meeting. Zach came back over to our group and sat silently next to me as the others spoke their piece using the many of the same words as Martha had. I asked him what happened, he just shushed me.

Finally, the opposition was done speaking and it was our turn. Ricky was the first to speak in favor of BroMax. He held up the flyer he found on his windshield and quoted the ‘hires delinquents…’ line and said, “If that’s true, I guess I’m the biggest delinquent BroMax has ever hired. I met Maxwell Harrington, the CEO of BroMax when me and a couple of my friends, including Timothy here, vandalized the BroMax candle barn and spraypainted ‘F you fags’ on the front of it in huge red letters… and yes, we wrote out the entire F word.” Ricky was eloquent and got a nervous chuckle from the crowd. “Thanks to my dad intervening and Brody and Maxwell being the decent guys they are, I wasn’t arrested or branded with a police record at seventeen, instead I was given a chance. My dad forced us to repaint the barn and that’s when I discovered the small business that Mr. Harrington was trying to start inside of that barn. I was intrigued by his candle making, and instead of treating me like a delinquent (he used air quotes around the word), Max showed me how to make candles. He saw my potential and I became the very first BroMax employee. The company paid for me to become a certified Project Manager and now I run production at BroMax Candle Company. Max saw me as a person not a delinquent and let me in on the ground floor of a now booming company. Since then, BroMax has given numerous people their first job and a strong start at life when no one else would, and now that they’re expanding there will be even more opportunity. We need MORE companies like them, not less. We need to SUPPORT them not fight them” Ricky said making eye contact with each City Council representative. He finished his statement with “I am a productive resident of The Waterfront District, intimately familiar with BroMax Candle Company, and I strongly urge the approval of their zoning request and permits.”

What happened next made us all well up with pride. The guys were all in line behind Ricky and came up to the mic one by one and repeated the word “Ditto.” The current villagers were taking a bold step by coming out publicly like that, had I known what they were doing I would’ve talked them out of it (which I’m sure is why no one told me). Taylor and Maverick identified themselves as “former residents and strong supporters of both BroMax and The Waterfront District” Before repeating the word “ditto.” Max didn’t organize this. I didn’t organize this. These guys did this all by themselves; I was so frigging proud of them all. After the villagers spoke it was time for the local business community, there were about a half dozen of them there to speak in support of BroMax. The Council let Max speak last, he did his best to counter the negative claims with facts. He explained the candle making process and killed the myth of pollution, he gave a true number of employees and projected future growth, and even talked about how he hired many of his employees from The Village, “a great organization that has been part of the beautiful Waterfront district for over a year.” He, like the others who spoke on his behalf, was eloquent, on-point, and answered the council members questions.

When everyone who wanted to speak had, the council discussed the issue briefly, then voted unanimously to approve. There was a groan and some booing from the small church group, and cheers from the rest of the room. It was official, BroMax Candle Company was moving to The Waterfront District.

When the meeting ended, I turned to Zach and asked, “What the hell did you say to Gerald?”

He grinned and said, “I called my office and had a paralegal pull the restraining order we had filed against him and send it to me, then I walked up to him and showed him. I reminded him it was still enforceable and told him that there were Several members of The Village much closer than fifty feet away and that the officer in the back of the room was aware of the order and prepared to take him into custody unless he vacated the premises immediately.” Then Zach added, “Gerald the church man quietly called me a fucking asshole and stormed out.”

“Well, that sounds like what Jesus would have done” I said with a laugh, adding, “That was good thinking.” I couldn’t help but laugh and hug my husband. “I can’t believe these people! Downtown needs businesses like BroMax, they should be begging them to move in but these bigots can’t see beyond their own prejudice.” It was truly amazing to me that some people were full of so much hatred that they would do anything to keep from having to treat people who are different from them with kindness and respect.

“Did you see our boys up there?” Max asked interrupting our moment with a proud smile on his face. “They did that all on their own... I almost freaking cried” he said. “You know that I had forgotten all about how we met Ricky. Damn that kid has come a long way.”

“Because you gave him a shot” Zach said. “You gave all those guys a shot when no one else would.”

“Hell, you gave me a shot” I said. Brody came up and joined the conversation while the rest of the guys headed out to the parking lot.

“And every damn chance I took paid off… check us out fuckers!” Max said with a laugh. “We’re about to buy the church from hell and move our little candle company into it and take all our little “homeless delinquents” with us.”

“Hail yeah we are” Brody added. It was a big moment, Those two had worked their asses off ever since I could remember and now their dreams were coming true… the most amazing thing about all of it was is that they took their friends and a bunch of kids who no one else gave a shit about with them. I was surrounded by genuinely great people.

It was just before noon when we all went our separate ways for the day. Zach went back to his office, I went back to mine, the BroMax boys went back to the candle barn, and the villagers all went to their respective jobs (at the candle barn and otherwise). Life went back to normal for the time being. The rest of my day was typical, then it was off to pick up Izzy from daycare, Freddy and Teddy from School, then back to BroMax farm to drop Teddy off home. When we got there the candle barn was in full force! The guys were working their asses off making up for taking the morning off, plus now that they knew the move was happening, they had to up their production to make sure they had enough inventory on-hand to meet the demand while they were shut down during the move. As busy as they were, the mood was celebratory and high energy. The guys were working, singing, and laughing… I remember being impressed by the energy and camaraderie of the candle barn the very first time I visited. Izzy and the boys of course joined right in the celebration. When he saw the kids, Ricky blasted The Romantics over the speaker system… he LOVED to see the kids sing and dance to it, all the guys thought it was hilarious. It was interesting to me how the guys had so seamlessly become part of our kid’s lives. We all just naturally blended. When someone new showed up in our world, they just kind of became part of it; there was no fan fair, no big whoop… they just became family. There was no doubt in my mind that there were disagreements, squabbles, jealousies, and probably some dislike among the guys on a regular basis, but that stuff was secondary to their support and acceptance of each other.

After letting the kids revel in the excitement of the BroMax victory for a little while, we went home and I made cheeseburger cups for dinner. It was basically biscuit batter, browned ground beef, cheese and some other stuff poured into a cupcake tin… the kids (and Zach) freaking loved it. Since the kids moved in, I had become the king of quick, simple meals. After dinner the four of us hung out. I worked with Freddy on his homework (mostly phonics and flashcards), while Zach helped Izzy give Maxine a bath. After that we put the kids down for the night and got into our big warm, bed.

“I can’t believe Gerald showed up at the City Council meeting” Zach said as we lie face having a little pillow talk.

“I can’t believe you made him storm out of there like that” I said with a laugh. “The whole thing is just so weird to me… he has such a deep hatred for a bunch of people he doesn’t even know.” Honestly, that whole mentality made zero sense to me. God, his life must just be miserable. Mine on the other hand was great… I was surrounded by people I loved, including (and especially) the one I was lying face-to-face with, so I kissed him tenderly. He returned the kiss and we just enjoyed holding and kissing each other in our big bed… no interruptions, just us.

We stopped kissing and just held each other, god I loved that guy. As we lie there just appreciating each other, we stripped out of our boxers and were naked under the covers. We stoked each other in the dark and quiet of our room; soon we were kissing again. It was a slow, tender, Tuesday night at home kind of kiss. No hurry, just two lovers kissing, fondling, and enjoying unscheduled, unplanned, midweek intimacy. I tenderly kissed my way down Zach’s still perfect body, his lips, his neck, his left nipple, his right nipple, down his torso, over his abs. I felt the blond hairs of his treasure trail on my tongue and followed them downward to his soft, but stiffening manhood. I licked up and down his hardening shaft, it felt so hot and heavy as it grow bigger and harder. I finally took him in my mouth and deepthroated him until the tip of his cock was entering my throat, gagging me. I loved the feeling, apparently so did Zach because his hands pushed my head down and held it there, his hips bucked up pushing him deeper down my throat and his quiet moans of pleasure filled our bedroom. I sputtered around his cock and tears flowed from my eyes as I enjoyed the slow, steady, strong face fucking my husband was giving me.

I let him face fuck me like that for a while before I pulled my mouth off his cock and straddled him. I got on top of him, face to face looking down on upon him as I slowly lowered my tight hole onto his stiff, spit-slickened member. I wasn’t in a hurry as I moved up and down on his pole. With a knee planted on either side of his strong body, I leaned back and grabbed hold of his soft feet for leverage. I closed my eyes and threw my head back as I continued to move up and down on him and did my damnedest to keep my moans of pleasure quiet, Zach was doing the same (something we were both working on… the last thing we wanted was to wake the Frizzy-contingent and end our lovemaking). I moved myself back and forth, up, and down, and even in circles trying to enjoy every bit Zach had to offer. I was doing most of the work but Zach started to pitch in by thrusting up into me, it felt frigging amazing! Stifling my pleasureful moans became more and more difficult as the passion and lust pulsed through me. I leaned forward, snuck my arms behind his back then kissed him. His hips moved faster as he got closer to climax. I reached between us and started stroking myself in rhythm with him, I was already on the brink so it only took a few strokes before I shot my load. Zach lifted his head and looked up at just the perfect moment for my first spurt hit him in the face… I don’t know if it was that, my sphincter clamping onto his cock, or just the excitement of our lovemaking but Zach shot his load into me. Our lips were locked in passion as we climax together in silence… It was fucking amazing!

I stayed on top of him with his softening manhood still inside me, eventually I pushed him out of me, rolled off, gave him a goodnight kiss, and rolled onto my side. Zach wrapped his arms around me and made me his little spoon… I slept like a baby.

By 5:30AM I was up and, in the shower mapping out my day as the warm water flowed over me bringing me to life. Feed the kids, pick up Teddy, drop the kids off, work until 4:30, take the kids to see their mom, then dinner at the Hall’s new villa… busy day ahead. The Halls were staying a couple of more days then heading back to Wisconsin until Thanksgiving, the kids loved having them around and they loved being around, but they still had a life in Wisconsin that needed their attention. I got out of the shower, dried myself off, got dressed, and went down to the kitchen where Zach was rummaging through the cabinets to find breakfast for the kids.

“Good morning” I said as I came up behind him and gave him a kiss. I could hear Izzy in the living room talking to Maxine. “Where’s Freddy?” I asked.

“Outside feeding Petunia” Zach answered.

“You go get ready; I got breakfast” I said taking over. I started to scramble some eggs and put some bacon in the microwave (yeah… microwavable bacon. I cheated during the week and made whatever was quick). Freddy came through the back door and got into his seat, “Good morning, Buddy. Daddy Sach said you were feeding Petunia… did everything go okay?”

“Yeah. Can I feed her every day?” He responded with a smile.

“That’s a good idea, I’ll add it to your chore list” I said.

“Can I get a sticker for it?” He asked with excitement.

“Yup. It’s a chore.” We had a list of chores for Freddy, just simple stuff like dress yourself, put your dishes in the sink, put your laundry away… stuff like that. Max and Brody had Teddy on the same system. They earned stickers, and when they both earned ten stickers, they got to choose something special like a sleepover, or playing mini golf, that kind of stuff. Sammy’s moms loved the idea and put Sammy on the same system. The three of them had gotten together and decided they wanted to carve pumpkins together and have a sleepover when they all earned their next ten stickers… all three of them were about halfway to their reward. It was fun to watch them get into it and work hard. Yeah, Izzy had a system too, but she just kind of did it to do it, she didn’t get the whole working for reward concept yet. About all her almost three year old attention span could handle was putting her clothes in the hamper and her stuffed animals on the bed. But we were doing our best to instill a work ethic in our kids. After all I had seen with the guys from The Village, I was hell bent on making sure my kids were ready to face the world when the time came. “IZZY! BREAKFAST!” I yelled and the little squirt came running from the living room with Maxine in hand. She stood by her highchair and held up her arms for me to lift her in. I served up breakfast and Zach came down all suited up, and joined the three of us at the breakfast table. Zach and I did our best to sit at the table for as many meals as possible and talk to the kids while we ate. It was our goal to make sure that our kids had the most stable, normal life as possible. After breakfast we started our day.

On the way out to the car, Izzy decided to take a detour over to the apple tree. She and Zach had spent Sunday morning picking apples while Freddy helped me in the garden getting everything together for pickling day. She was on a mission to pick the perfect apple to take to her momma. “Wift me Sach” Izzy said, (Izzy to English translation: Please lift me up, Zach. I wish to pick and apple). Zach understood and lifted her. “Hio” (higher), she repeated over and over until Zach lifted her as high as he possibly could and she picked the apple of her eye. Zach lowered her. “I make dis for Momma” she said with the proudest little smile on her adorable face as she ran towards the Atlas. Zach buckled her in and we were off to start our day.

The day went by with its usual chaos and we made it to the detention center just in time for our visitation. Izzy charmed the guards into letting her bring Karen the apple, as soon as Karen entered the room Izzy yelled, “Momma, I make dis for you.”

“You made that?” Karen asked with a chuckle and a confused laugh.

“She picked it from our tree at home” Freddy responded with a tiny scoff as he tried to explain for his sister. On the surface that tiny little exchange seemed like nothing, but I heard so much more! I heard a little girl who loved her momma so much that she wanted to do something special for her, and a little boy who had a home. He called our house his home. The rest of the visit was the usual with the kids showing Karen pics and updating her on their lives. Karen and I spoke quietly for a few seconds about her thoughts of stopping her visits, she had thought a lot about it and had changed her mind. She also updated my on her legal issues. She had sentencing coming up soon and things weren’t looking good. After her last two court appearances, she had resolved to the fact that she’d probably be spending the next several years behind bars. It was a sad story, but she had done some stupid shit and now she and her kids were paying the price.

When it came time for us to leave, Izzy grabbed onto Karen tightly and said, “No! I stay wif Momma.”

“Honey you can’t stay with me. You need to go home” Karen said. The almost three year old got belligerent like I had never seen before. Crying, whining, throwing a small temper tantrum, the session ended with me dragging her out of the room and Karen going back to her cell with a broken heart. It was a rough ending.

The car ride to the Hall’s villa for dinner was awful. Izzy was a crying mess and pining for her momma while Freddy and I tried to console her. I failed miserably, but Freddy was breaking through. He was telling his little sister that he missed his momma too, but she “did bad things and they couldn’t stay with her,” then he added, “But Daddy Zef and Daddy Sach love us and we get to go home with them all the time.” That sweet little shit made me cry as I eavesdropped on the conversation. “They love you” he repeated… that helped.

Izzy went into a tearful rant as she responded quietly, “and Momma wuv me, and Fweddy wuv me, and Gwamma and Gwampa wuv me, and…” she spoke softly and sniffled in between words, the tears flowed like a tiny river down her beet red face. By the time we got to the Hall’s to meet Zach and the family for dinner she was almost smiling. We all piled out of the car and went into grandma and grandpa’s new house for the first time.

Zach instantly saw that Izzy had been crying and picked her up. “You okay, baby?” he asked. She just nodded and buried her face in his shoulder. He looked at me with confusion and I mouthed ‘I’ll update you later.’ Kelly and Nathan gave us a tour of the Villa, it was cute and very… um… well… beachy, I guess. Kelly had decorated it with an ocean getaway kind of theme to it, it was a vacation home after all. After the tour, Eli and Riley walked over and eight of us sat down to dinner. It was a nice night with the family.

That night at home I spent a little extra time tucking Izzy in, she seemed to be doing better. I kissed her forehead and then went across the hall to tuck in her brother. Freddy had just put on his PJ’s and was getting into the upper bunk. I stepped up on one of the rungs of the ladder so I could kiss him goodnight. After I planted a kiss on his forehead I spoke softly to him, “You really helped Izzy in the car today. You’re a great big brother.”

“She’s a great baby sister” He said with a smirk making me chuckle a bit. God, what a good kid he was.

“Yeah” I agreed. “We got a pretty darn good family” I said.

“Yup. The best” Freddy agreed. Then we said our I love yous and I gave him a final kiss on the forehead.

 

To be continued…