Shack Man: The Family Opposition To Me & The Decision

Catch up here – Shack Man

Chapter 32 – The Family Opposition To Me & Shack’s Decision

“I’ve thought it through and concluded that you’re right. They don’t want him to marry you. Now what’s their reason?” my sister asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Guess.”

“Money or race.”

“Money or race. I hate these fuckers. Since you said, money, first, let’s go with that. What is the money problem, they’re having.”

“They are not having a problem with money and either are we.”

“You are going to have to say more than that.”

“They have their money. I don’t know how much money they have, it’s irrelevant to us. To me, to Shack and also to his brother. The brothers renounced all inheritance, when they moved, west. This was over a decade ago. They meant it then and they still do. They both wanted to make their own money and they’ve done so.”

“As have you. So they wanted to get away bad enough, they told both parents to keep their money – they got the fuck out of Dodge.”

“Yes. Also, they both say they would never get any money anyway. The sister will get it, one way or the other. They say, she can have it and they mean it. I didn’t get into how they know the sister will manage this. I take their word for it.”

“You take their word. You always take people’s word. I don’t know if that is smart or not. I’ve tried to figure it out, but I’ve not been able to. It requires thinking, and you know how I feel about, thought. Okay, so no family money and nobody cares. This is a pre-existing condition. What else involved here?”

“Well, I don’t know. I don’t know what they’re thinking. I don’t know why they are worried about our money.”

“You said, our money. That’s how you see this? It’s our money?”

“Yes. We’re getting married and we bought this house with our money. Smartly, in my opinion, seeing as we’re both thrilled with the deal.”

“What’s the deal?” She smokes. “XXXXX! I have to prompt, Elsa. She used to just talk. Nonstop, I might add. Now I have to put a nickel in, if I want to get anything out.”

“Well, I have money and no income. He has income and no money, because he buys clothing off the covers of magazines, before they hit. Like you. And he has all the stereo stuff, toys and stuff, equipment and music.”

“Does that bother you?”

“No. It’s his money. So we wanted this house. I had cash, he had income. Neither of us wanted any money stress. We did some math and decided to put down a large down payment on the house, so we would have a low payment.”

“Your cash?”

“Yes, mostly. He put some down too.  He threw in what he had, but it was mostly me. Ninety percent. This got our payment way down. The idea was, he would make the house payment and pay for the utilities. I would have no bills, which would take stress off me, as far as generating income.”

“That’s smart, if you trust him.”

“I do trust him.”

“So what’s the problem for the parents with money? Their money is not involved and it’s your money, rather than his, that bought the house.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know that they have a problem. Look, Shack doesn’t care about money, as far as me, working. Both he and his brother both feel it’s their job to support the family.”

“Well, he must be quite happy, his wife-to-be can come in and plunk down the money for half a beautiful home in the mountains, right where he wants to be.”

I laughed. “Sure. But that’s not the point here.”

“Let me see if I can guess the point. XXXXX! I’m guessing one of Elsa’s points. Her Mars Mercury points. She has another point to make; I am going to try to make it for her. Give me a minute,” she says, taking a drag on her cig.

“You’re already stalling.”

“No shit, and you have to call me on it. But I think I have this. The whole scene. Here goes! Shack sees the woman he wants to marry. He immediately starts doing things for her. He makes all kinds of plans, how he is going to take care of her, now and in the future.”

“Yes.”

“She gets on board and they go have some fun. He sees the future, with his Sadge. He sees they need a home for their family. He intends to provide it and he’s figuring out how to do it. Then lo and behold, he finds out, said, woman is sitting on bags of cash, because she’s been working since she was twelve. How am I doing?”

“Doing well.”

“I know. I can see things the same way he does. This is his perspective. This is his thinking, I’m giving you. This is great, he says!” changing her voice, to male. “This is going to make this a lot easier. He tells his brother, who is probably the one doing the math. Brother, happy. They’re both happy. I can see them. They’re damned near dancing around they’re so happy. He has lucked out. Beautiful woman, fun, loves him and she can buy a dream house. Fuckin’ A! You found the house, too, right? And got a great deal, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“See, you did that for him, too. He could not have done this without you, in more ways than one. You can find a house he loves and get it on deal. He can’t do that. The last time he tried to find a house, he wound up with a shack!”

We both roared.

“I would not send him house shopping, ever! Further, you didn’t even mention what you did to me. Oh, I just found a house, negotiated the price down and then paid for it with the spare change I had, from back when I doing my child labor.”

We both snorted and laughed and laughed.

“Yeah. That’s not even worth mentioning in your world. Elsa, I see the whole thing, but here’s the bottom line. He’s doing what his father did. His mother was a “fabric artist” when she met the father. It’s the same as being an “astrologer”. These are vanity things. They are cute, amusing things the women do, but the man intends to take care of everything, regardless.”

“Yes, that’s how he sees it.”

“Well now I see why you don’t care if he believes in you. It’s irrelevant to him. But in this case it turns out the women are talented. His mother made it in her vanity career and so will you. I feel pretty good about figuring this out by the way… even though, fucking little brother, figured it out, long ago. I hate Virgos. I hate being beaten by one, even more. It’s like the worst thing that can happen to me, and it’s because of you, of course,” she said, before she took a long drag on her cig. I was laughing.

“See, I figured out the mother did in fact, make it. Leave it to my sister to be in a room with a million dollars’ worth of clothing and not know it. I tell my boutique friends about you; they find it hard to fathom.”

“You’re right about the brother and the math,” I said. “I told, Shack, I had the down payment covered. He came back later with this proposal.  I match what he has, gets us this payment. Or if you have this… this payment.  If you can do this, it will be this payment…”

“So you just threw in the cash needed to get a payment you were both comfortable with?”

“Yes. But, very comfortable. Also, my situation improved with this. Better house and no bills. If I can make astrology work, we can just pay the house off.”

“You have more cash, don’t you? Does he know that?”

“Yes, I do, and no, he doesn’t. He never asked.”

“You’re sandbagging. You always do this. First, you’re sandbagging on your brain and now you’re doing this with money too.”

“No. He just hasn’t asked. What am I supposed to do. Say, hi, I’m Elsa and I have this much money?”

“Well he’s in for a shock, on your brain alone. Jeez, this bastard really did hit the jackpot. And I see no reason for mommy and daddy to worry. You have this handled and it’s none of their business, anyway. You’re definitely not after his money. If anything, he’s after yours.”

“He’s not.”

“I know he’s not. I just point it out, because to think you’re after something or doing something tawdry to him, is ludicrous. Both of you have set yourselves up, without the help of anyone. Put you together… well you complement each other, very well.”

“I agree.”

“Well, Elsa, we don’t have to talk about race. Fuck ‘em, runnin’ on that. He’s going to decide tonight, but you don’t know what is being decided?”  She laughs. “Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll be okay with it. He does understand you, you’re just way better than he realizes, because you’re marooned by Neptune. Hearing this, my Sagittarius says, it only goes up from here!”

Shack comes home with his decision.

“What are we doing?” I ask.

“Well, that’ll be up to you. I’ll tell you the decision I’ve made and the options we have, then you can make your decision, taking as much time as you like. You have been patient with me. I will return the favor.”

Shack says his mother will not give him his ring at this time. He either has to accept her decision or he can go kill her and get it. He decided against the murder option. He and his mother are going to revisit this in six months.

“She may give me the ring, to give to you, in six months. She wants something proven to her, I guess. I don’t want to get in to it. I’m sorry, but I have had so many conversations about this, I just want to lay it out and then put it in your hands. I’m not leaving out anything important. You can trust me. Okay?“

“Yes!”

“I guess she wants it proven to her we can be a couple so she wants to wait. But I don’t want to wait. I want to get married to you, now. I wish we were already married. I wish I’d have stolen the ring, while I had the chance!” he said, laughing. “But I decided to show respect for my mother, so now we’re all going through this, and it’s for her, though she doesn’t seem to realize it.”

“Bottom line, Elsa, if we want that ring, we need to wait six months. I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to wait for a ring or any other reason. Do you want to wait?”

“I don’t.”

“I didn’t think so. So now we have two options. I can get to work on my own ring, rather than my other, heirloom ring. I will have to think about it. I will have to design it and find the stone and also someone who can make my design. I will do this as fast as possible, but it is still going to take some time. I have to take the time, or it won’t come out how I like, which will be how you like.”

“I’m thinking if it goes well; I might be able to have this done in a few months. I don’t know though. It’s dependent on outside factors. I have to find the right stone, for example. But that is one option. If we take it, we can be married within six months.”

“It’s the same amount of time as if we wait for the ruby, though it we do that, there is no guarantee she will give it to me, then, either. I still won’t be willing to kill her to get it. The point is she’s unreliable. I would prefer not to take a chance on her as she lets me down in my life, ninety percent of the time. She has come through a few times, though. That leaves me with our last option…”

“Which is?”

“Our third option is to get married now. Well, in a few days. My brother is standing by, in case you want to go with this option. Personally, I like this option, which may be greedy.”

“Greedy, how?”

“Because it suits me. It suits me, first, because I WANT TO BE MARRIED! It also suits my brother, because he’s sick of the hell I’ve put him through. It will also benefit me, in that a lot of these conversations I’ve been suffering through are about me getting married. If we get married, I’ll be able to say, no sense discussing it. I’m Married!”

“There are obvious downsides to this, namely there will be no time to plan. I will make it as romantic as I can for you… I’m good at that, as you know. But I will need to work between now and our wedding. A lot of the stuff, you will have to do, which is not fair.”

“Like what?”

“Well, you’ll need a dress. I was going to have my mother make one for you. She can make a wedding dress, but if she is keeping my ring, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want her involved in our wedding, the way she’s acting. She either gets on board, or she doesn’t, but that is my ring, which brings me to the other thing you’d have to do. Find a ring! I’m sorry, but if we get married this weekend, I won’t have time to do it.”

“This weekend?!”

“Yes. If you want, we can. It’s an option. I will pay for everything. Your ring and your dress. But if I don’t get some fucking work done, I am going to be fired. I mean it. These calls have been unreal. I’d have fired me already! I have got to get back to work. This is the only reason an option like this is on the table. You know how I am. I want to have everything right for you, but my family is making it impossible to get married, when we want to get married. So instead, we have the option to elope! Elope fast. This weekend. Or elope slower, where I create your ring. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes. If we elope fast, where is the wedding?”

“Vegas? If we want to get married this weekend, it’s the easiest way and probably the most fun, because we get to travel. My brother is standing by. If you have another idea or want to do something else, we will.”

“Let’s do it!”

“Really? Really, Elsa?! You want to married In Vegas, this weekend? That’s the option you want?”

“Yes.”

“Hooooooray!! That’s the option I like best, too. I can’t wait to be married to you! And my brother will be thrilled. He’s been suggesting this for some time. He thinks it the only way to get around our family of assholes. Can you find a dress?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, good. When you do, give me the bill. Get anything you want. I am not worried about cost. Now on the ring, you can also have anything you want, but when you find it, call me. I do not want you paying for your ring! Call me and I will come to wherever it is, and I will buy your ring, whatever you choose. I don’t care if your dress is reimbursed, but I have to buy your ring, in person.”

“Also, there’s another thing to run by you. My mother is not averse to giving me my ring, to give to you. She just won’t do it now. There’s a chance, she will give to me, once we’re married, I don’t know. So I’m not sure how you feel about this. If I buy you a ring and then she offers my ring, which would you want?”

“Good question.”

“I think she might do this. She’s so stupid. She’s stupidly thinking she can stop me from getting married when I want to get married, and to whom I want to be married to. She’s going to give me my ring, eventually. I know she is, because it’s mine.”

“I want you to have that ring. Elsa, that is one big honkin’ ruby. I know a lot about stones and it is something else. It is as beautiful and unusual as you are. But you may not want it after the way she’s behaved. Or you may just really like the ring I buy you now, or you may want to keep the ring you got married with, for sentimental reasons.”

I had no response. Libra and decisions don’t mix.

“I can understand why you don’t know what to choose. You haven’t seen the ring you’ll get married with! That’s fine. The thing to consider, is if you do want the ruby, then we may not want to spend a lot on the ring you will get married with, because… two rings – you see what I mean. If you find a ring you like and just want to stick with it, I will still get the ruby. Then we can give it to our son, for his wife. But really, I want you to have it. This is why I’ve taken all this time trying to get it from her, but she just won’t relent.”

I was quiet. I just didn’t know. The wedding and marriage was what I wanted.

“You’re quiet. I understand. This is a lot to hit you with. You still want to marry me, though?”

“I do.”

“Good. I know this ring has caused us a lot of grief, but when I do get it, I will transform it, and all the bad energy will be purged. It kills me to have that beautiful stone in that ugly setting. I want to get my hands on it and fix it for you, so bad. You don’t have to decide now. Think about it. Call your sister. Call, Kay. Call, Sonia. Call, Dee…”

“Okay, okay.”

“So we’re getting married this weekend, in Vegas?”

“Yes!”

“Oh wait! I have to ask you! I have to propose!”

I laughed.

“Should I do that now?” he asked himself. “No! I will buy your ring and then I will propose. I can’t ask you to marry me until I have your ring in hand.”

I called my sister.

“I need a wedding dress, immediately.”

“What?”

“We’re eloping this weekend!”

“This is his decision?”

“No, this is my decision.”