Feb. Sucks - In Milwaukee Pt. 02

As he talked with Annalise, Jim came to an interesting conclusion: when he first met Linda, it was "like at first sight." They hit it off, but it took some time to see it build into love. When they were dating he often worried that he was more in love with her than she was in love with him. He always wondered if she felt that she just settled for him. After she ran off with Asshole, all of those nagging questions about their relationship were answered, loud and clear.

With Annalise it was very different. Jim could just tell from the way she looked at him when he spoke, the way she leaned in to him and the vibe he was feeling from her. He hoped he was reading the signals correctly because he sure was falling for her. He took the leap and asked her out for dinner the following night and she answered, "I would love to."

Jim asked where she would like to go. "Do you like Mader's? she asked.

Mader's is an old school German restaurant downtown and they both loved the Teutonic atmosphere. Annalise had a glass of Riesling, and even though Jim was partial to IPA's, he ordered a Schlitz in honor of his dad's years at the brewery.

That first date turned into a second, then a third. Each date ended with a kiss that got progressively hotter with each date. On the fourth date, as Jim was walking Heidi to her door, she said, "Can you come in for coffee? I have something I wanted to show you."

Jim made himself comfortable on the living room couch while he waited for Annalise to return. She came in wearing the same coat she wore this evening, but quickly dropped the coat to show she was only wearing black thigh high stockings, 4" heels and a freshly waxed pussy. "This is what I wanted to show you!" For one of the rare times in his life, Jim was speechless, but he quickly scooped her up and asked her just one question, "Which door is your bedroom?"

Jim's all-time "Night of Golden Memories" had finally arrived.

It was the summer after the settlements went through--15 months after the events at Morrison's. Jim's newscast was number one in his time slot and he had just won a local Emmy for a multi-part investigative series on the practice of sports teams -- both pro and college -- to look the other way when it came to misbehaving athletes. With the settlements, Jim didn't need to work, but he loved broadcasting so he kept on working, But just like the kids, he was ready to move on.

His career, the kids, and now, Annalise, were keeping him busy and keeping his mind from drifting into thoughts of Linda. He used to love coming home to his house every evening, but every room had memories of Linda. Mostly good memories: carrying Linda in over the threshold, renovating a small bedroom into a nursery, buying seeds from a catalog together, and then planting their garden, Fourth of July cookouts, decorating the Christmas tree -- the one time a year that Linda allowed Jim to play his Manheim Steamroller CD's. But even good memories can make you sad, and Jim was tired of the sadness.

Jim and Annalise talked about moving in together, but Jim had an even bigger idea. A few weeks before school let out for the summer he told Emma and Tim that they had an important job that he needed them to do. They both groaned, tried to make excuses and complained.

"This will be fun! All three of us have talked about moving out of this house. It's got good memories, but a lot of sad ones too, so maybe it is time for a change. Your job is to come up with a list -- at least 5 from each of you, but as many as you want -- of places where you might like to live. And give me the reasons for each one. It could be the location, like the beach or the mountains; things to do -- but remember, if we pick Orlando, we can't go to Disney World every week! It could be a city, or the country -- anywhere. I don't have to work any longer, unless I want to, so employment is not a big factor, unless you are looking at what you might do after college. Any reason is OK. Just one rule -- it has to be at least 250 miles from here. You have two weeks, then we will sit down and compare our lists and plan a road trip!"

Two weeks later, they all sat down and went over their lists. Everyone had places in both Florida and California listed. Tim wanted to see Nashville -- he likes country music. Emma had NYC -- not to live there, but a few days just for fun. Jim had some oddball picks like Taos, New Mexico, Sandpoint, Idaho and Mendocino, California on his list. Between the three of them they came up with a list everyone could agree on. The kids didn't know that Heidi and Annalise had some input too. Jim got busy planning flights, hotels, rental cars and Amtrak tickets. Emma and Tim had never been on a long distance overnight train before, so Jim was planning on the train for some of the more scenic legs of the trip.

First they flew to Los Angeles. Jim had no interest in moving back to the area he grew up in, but he did want to show the kids his hometown. They did all the attractions except for Universal Studios. Instead, Jim had arranged with a friend he knew for a private tour of the Paramount lot. They visited USC, took in a Dodger game, drove by the house where Jim grew up in the San Fernando Valley, and frequented In-and-Out Burger at least every other day. Jim took them to some of his favorite haunts like Phillipe's near Union Station, Tommy's on Rampart and an original 50's Bob's Big Boy in Toluca Lake. The kids got a little tan and some exercise at Newport Beach, and they made a one-day trip down to San Diego.

When they had wrung everything possible out of LA, they boarded Amtrak's Coast Starlight for the trip up the California coast, including some areas you can only see from the train. They got off the train in Salinas, rented a car and spent a couple days in Monterey, then drove up to San Francisco. On the first day they were planning to check out Chinatown, but Jim said, "First, we need to make a quick trip down to SFO to pick up an express package."

An hour later: "Why are we just waiting at Delta Airlines, Dad?" Emma asked.

"You'll see in a few more minutes."

Just then they all caught sight of Heidi and Annalise coming into the baggage claim area, and Tommy and Emma screamed.

Annalise said, "We thought we should tag along to see you guys didn't get into any trouble!"

Cable cars, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf, and a boat ride around the bay were fun, but there was more of California that Jim wanted to show his new "family," so they headed north.

Jim's grandfather had worked on a little short line railroad that was still in business as a tourist attraction. The kids had never seen a steam locomotive in operation and they got to ride behind one through the redwoods. The next few days, as they drove up the coast, they checked out the redwood tree you can drive through, Trees of Mystery, Sea Lion Caves, and every redwood burl gift shop on U.S.101.

For the rest of the trip, the five of them bonded and started to become a real family. Seattle was always one of Jim's favorite places. He and Linda had visited there a few times, but like San Francisco, the atmosphere wasn't as nice as it used to be. They went up the Space Needle and checked out the museums nearby, ate lots of salmon and Jim had his fill of Rainier Beer.

They zigzagged across the west, checking out Idaho, then down to Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson, Albuquerque, San Antonio and over to Ft. Worth and Dallas. A flight to Nashville was next and they took a side trip to Lexington, Kentucky as well. Then down to Florida. Orlando was a must stop and once again they did all the Disney parks with a side trip to Cape Canaveral, then to the west coast of Florida. Jim always thought Naples might be a nice place.

At dinner, watching the sunset at the Marco Island Resort, Jim told everyone, "I hope you all know by now that Heidi and Annalise are going to have a vote on where we wind up. And to guarantee that they ALWAYS have an equal vote..."

Jim reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box and then got down on one knee right before Annalise. "Mine schatze, will you give me the honor of being my wife?"

"Yes, yes...a thousand times yes. Ich libe do, my darling."

It was hugs and kisses all around. For the first time in over two years, Jim felt unconditional happiness and he was looking forward to a new life in more ways than one.

They flew up to Washington D.C. to visit all of the sites. Jim ducked out on his own one morning to have breakfast and talk shop with an old friend who now worked at Fox. His friend arranged a special tour of the White House for all of them. Amtrak got them up to Philly. The kids were surprised about all the things to see there. Everybody else ran, but Annalise and Jim leisurely walked up the "Rocky" steps at the art museum.

Jim remarked to Annalise, "I've been thinking, even though we have friends in Milwaukee -- at least you have friends -- if this sounds good to you, I would like to get married in the place we settle. It just seems like a good way to have a new start!" She grabbed him and kissed him and practically had her tongue down his throat.

"Does that answer your question?"

On the way down the steps, Jim was walking hand-in-hand with Emma. She looked up at him and said, "This has been a fantastic vacation, Dad. I don't know which place to pick as my favorite. Tommy and I decided anywhere you want to live would be fine with us. But I can't help thinking to myself when we have seen or done something really neat, 'I can't wait to tell Mom all about this!' "

Jim couldn't help thinking to himself, "I've thought that too -- especially when we have gone someplace that your mother and I visited before. Guess she will still be here with us for a longtime to come."

But Emma spoke up and brought Jim out of his melancholy. "I'm so glad Annalise will be living with us. Do you think it will be OK to call her Mom?"

That was the most wonderful question that Jim had heard in a long time -- there would never be any wicked stepmother stories in this family. "You should ask her, but I think she will be thrilled."

After a few days seeing everything in New York, it was time to fly the last leg back to Milwaukee. They had a family meeting and cut down the list of cities by quite a bit. Jim didn't really need to work, and wanted to spend the maximum amount of time with his family, and especially his soon-to-be new bride. But, broadcasting was in his blood, so he hoped to find something just to stay in the game.

In less than a week he got a call from his friend at Fox and an offer that looked perfect -- a part time gig as the political editor for the Fox affiliate in Phoenix. He would host a one-hour interview and roundtable show on Sundays. As part of the deal, he would get a try-out as an "expert" on the Fox News channel and if everything worked out, would be added to their stable of "contributors." Besides the national exposure, Jim would be moving from the number 37 local TV market to number 8.

Jim flew down to Phoenix and then to D.C. to finalize the details for both of the Fox gigs. A few weeks later, Annalise and Jim flew back to Phoenix to do some house hunting. They settled on a 3500 square foot pueblo style place with lots of land on the outskirts of Scottsdale. It was built on spec and was ready to move in. Since he had the cash, it was only a 10-day closing that meant they could get moved in before the school year started. Heidi came along on the trip and found both a job in her field and a cozy apartment not too far from the new house.

On this last plane trip back to Milwaukee, Jim thought about sorting15 years of memories and deciding what to take and what they could do without. Getting back, they started the process of packing up, giving away and throwing away. Jim gave Linda's folks a ton of photos of her along with many of the little things that were special to her. Emma and Tom kept another nice collection of items that reminded them of their mom and Jim had a box of photos and just a few small keepsakes. Except for a couple of antique pieces he liked, Jim gave away the furniture and household items in order to start new in a new place. That's what 15 years boiled down to.

The house had been a very sad place for quite some time -- Jim was looking forward now to a new life in Arizona with Annalise. He couldn't help but think back on the last time he saw the house empty like this. It was the day he and Linda moved in. Now it was time to move out and move on. They all watched as the movers loaded their van. Many of the neighbors stopped in to say goodbye and wish them well. None of their "friends" from February 29th showed up. The realtor came by and added a "SOLD" plaque on the For Sale sign, and Jim handed him his last set of keys and the garage remotes. As the sun went down, the whole family gathered around Linda's flower garden and the resting place of her ashes to say goodbye one last time.

By the time the movers left it was too late to hit the road, so Jim had planned to stay overnight in a nearby Best Western and then head out early. Their last dinner in town was at Five Guys. Jim wasn't sure if he would ever want to go to a Wendy's again. The next morning it was time and they all jumped into Jim's SUV and as they headed west and passed the city limits, they all yelled out in unison...

"MILWAUKEE SUCKS!!!!"

--30--

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