My story starts after college. Up until then I had a fairly unremarkable life. In fact I married my college sweetheart after graduating, and I thought we were happy, after all we had good jobs, a nice house in Atlanta, went on nice vacations and even had a few bucks in the bank.
Joann and I had been married about 6 years when the baby talks began, first more as a question of when, then she began to see her biological clock ticking as she reached the big "30".
After a long talk one night it was decided, Jo would go off the pill, and so she did, but after two years of trying and no luck. Jo brought up the subject of doctors and tests, something I was not too keen on, but I loved her, so off we went. After a year of tests and injections, we found out Jo was not able to have children. A blow to her, but, I was settled and happy with things as they were.
We talked about adoption, and even a surrogate. However since Jo could not contribute to a surrogate, and adoption would take years, our thoughts of kids was pretty much put out of our minds, "or so I thought"
As luck would have it one Friday my boss told me the company was opening a new factory in Florida and I had been chosen to oversee the site selection and start up. It would be a year long assignment.
At home that night I broke the news to Jo, who was less then thrilled. She loved her job and was doing well, and did not want to leave it for a year. Since I was to get 1 week off every 8 weeks it was decided I would go on alone. The company would be giving me a huge raise as well, as per diem. So money would not be an issue.
The next 2 weeks I was busy getting ready and planning just what I would need to get the project off the ground while the higher up's were picking the site, for the new plant.
Just as I was finishing my plans the President of our company announced it would be Tampa, an area well known to me as Jo's mother Jan, lived in Clearwater only a 30 minute drive from the new site, and we had visited her often over the years living as close as we did only an 8 hour drive away.
At home I broke the news to Jo, who seemed a little too happy that Tampa was where I would be going, after calling her mother it was decided I would stay at her place and we could bank all that extra money.
Now all this seemed pretty innocent to me, I liked Jo's mother who was only 50 and hardly the retiring type. In fact she had been married to Jo's dad 30 years, who was 20 years older, but had died as he lived on the golf coarse, 2 years earlier, and left Jan pretty well off financially, and with a large beachfront condo.
So, on the following Monday I packed my bags, and headed off to my new assignment. I arrived just about 7 that evening, and was greeted with a warm hug and kiss by my mother-in-law.
Jan, was ready for my arrival, and had made me a great dinner, after which we when out to the deck with a drink and I began to tell Jan about my new job, and how excited I was since this would allow me to jump several levels in the company, and that I had already been named the youngest VP in the company, in order to have the authority I needed for the job.