Chapter 23

Fall turned to winter and winter to spring. Summer arrived again, and the cycle continued. As December of 1969 approached, another decade was coming to a close. Fighting continued in Vietnam, and Garret Coulson, who had returned to his hometown, was waiting for the results of the draft lottery to see where his future lie—in the military or Coulson Enterprises. When the numbers were drawn on December 1, 1969, it was safe to say his future was with Coulson Enterprises; his number was 342.

“You could always move back home,” Vera told Garret. Christmas was three weeks away and the Coulson family was holding a celebratory dinner at one of the new seafood restaurants in town. The special occasion was Garret’s high lottery number. Sonny was the only family member not in attendance, as he was currently living in Chicago.

“Really, Mother? That’s a generous offer, thank you—but no. I’ve found an apartment.”

“Well, it’s going to be lonely there, with Russell leaving in the fall for college.” Vera looked over to her youngest son.

Harrison was right when he had told Vera, “We’ll go back to how we were before. Before Anthony Marino came into our lives.” They continued to occupy separate bedrooms, and Vera didn’t doubt he kept a mistress. She didn’t invite Harrison to share her bed, nor did he ask. In public, no one doubted they were a couple, albeit not an affectionate one. No one considered that particularly odd.

Vera tried, in her own awkward way, to improve her relationship with her sons, but in many ways, they were strangers to her, so she wasn’t sure how to progress. Of the three, Garret was the most distant and impossible to reach. At times, she suspected he hated her.

“I’d like to make a toast,” Randall said as he raised his glass. “To the newest member of Coulson Enterprises… sorry Uncle Sam, I’m keeping him!”

The next day Garret was alone on Main Street, doing a little shopping. His first stop was the diner for breakfast. When he finished eating, he planned to walk down the street to the furniture store and look at sofas.

A few moments after leaving the diner, a woman’s voice called out, “Garret? Garret Coulson?”

Garret stopped walking and turned in the direction of the voice.

“Sheryl?” Garret said in surprise when he spied the young woman walking toward him. He hadn’t seen her since he had graduated from high school. She didn’t look much different than he remembered, just a little older and her hair was cut into an attractive style that did much more for her looks than how she had worn it in school.

“I thought that was you!” Sheryl gave him a welcoming hug, which he accepted and returned.

“You look great,” Garret told her when their hug ended.

“I was about to say the same thing about you. God, it’s been years!”

“You still live in Coulson?” Garret asked.

“Oh, hell no!” Sheryl laughed at the idea. “I left right after high school. I’m just visiting my mom for Christmas. Thought I’d do a little Christmas shopping. You?”

“I just moved back,” Garret explained. “What are you up to these days?”

Sheryl flashed her left hand, showing her wedding band. “I married a very nice man I met in Colorado. We have a little girl.”

“You look happy. Are you happy, Sheryl?”

She smiled up at him. “Yes, Garret, I am. Of course, I spent a shitload of money on a shrink after I left Coulson. But I finally got my head on straight. I’m at a good place now.”

Garret smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. You really do look radiant.”

“Probably because I’m expecting!” Sheryl laughed. Garret smiled again and gave her a quick hug.

“Garret,” Sheryl began, her tone now serious. “I’m glad I ran into you today. I’ve always wanted to thank you for being so sweet to me back then.”

“Hell Sheryl, I’m older now and hopefully a little wiser. I realize now, I would have been a hell of a lot better friend if I had kept our friendship… platonic.”

“Don’t be silly,” Sheryl told him. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “Sweetie, you were as fucked up as I was.”

A familiar face on the morning’s newspaper caught Monica’s eye as she was about to walk into the liquor store. She paused at the newsstand. It was already noon, and there was only one paper left in the rack. Digging in her purse, she found the necessary coins to make her purchase. After buying the newspaper, she opened it and walked into the liquor store, paying more attention to what was in the paper than her surroundings.

It was an excellent picture of Harrison. He was standing with his grandfather in front of the construction site by Coulson Enterprises’ home office. When she got back to her apartment, she would have to cut it out and put it in her scrapbook. She didn’t have a real photograph of him, just pictures taken from the local newspaper. He was funny about that. Once, she tried to snap his picture with her Instamatic camera and he about had a fit.

Walking over to the wine section, she picked up a bottle of Harrison’s favorite wine. She hadn’t seen him the night before. His excuse was some family gathering. Apparently, they were celebrating his middle son’s lottery numbers. They—meaning his wife, father, and two youngest sons. She had never met Harrison’s father before, yet she had heard enough about the man to know it wasn’t an introduction she eagerly anticipated. Someday, Randall Coulson would be her father-in-law, so she couldn’t avoid the man forever.

She had never seen the two older sons. It was a little strange to think one day she would have two stepsons older than herself. Although, she didn’t think Garret was that much older. She had seen the youngest boy at a high school football game. Like the father, young Russell was a handsome man.

Monica had seen Vera Coulson around town. Harrison rarely mentioned his wife and never spoke ill of her, which irritated the shit out of Monica. Whenever Monica brought up the subject of Vera Coulson, Harrison told her his wife had nothing to do with their relationship and changed the subject.

“Did you read the article?” The cashier pointed to the one with Harrison, then rang up the wine.

“No, I just bought it.” Monica didn’t really care about the article. She just wanted the picture of Harrison.

“It’s about the Garden Pavilion. That’s what they’re calling it,” the teller explained. “They’re remodeling the corporate offices and added some modern looking lobby. Making a big deal about it. I guess some hotshot architect from back east designed it. Looks like a tall glass box to me. Supposed to have it done by Christmas.”

Monica didn’t respond. She didn’t tell the teller she had been to the inner offices of Coulson Enterprises and that she knew all about the Garden Pavilion. Instead, she quietly paid for her bottle of wine and left.

December 20, 1969 marked the grand opening of Coulson Enterprise’s Garden Pavilion. The immense lobby, a combination of walnut panels and glass panes, cut into the sky above Coulson Enterprise’s main offices. Early Saturday morning, the decorators arrived to put the final festive touches on the impressive lobby, in time for the annual Christmas party.

While decorators laced ribbon and holly along the perimeter of the lobby and adorned the fragrant blue spruce in its center, with shiny glass balls, for the evening’s bash, caterers set up tables and a bar.

At Coulson House, Randall refreshed himself for the evening’s celebration with a nap. His driver took Vera to her beauty shop for an afternoon of pampering before the big event. Russell and Ryan managed to get in nine holes of golf. When they were done, Ryan dashed off to his restaurant job, while Russell went home to shower before picking up his date and going to the Christmas party. Garret, who had moved into his apartment weeks before, waited for the delivery of his new couch.

Meanwhile, Harrison Coulson was at his private office, located in the original complex now attached to the Garden Pavilion. He was not alone.

Monica insisted she loved him. But Harrison was not a fool; he was twice her age. Twenty-five year old girls typically did not seek out much older men from lust or love. It was money and power that stoked their passion.

In the early days of his affairs, beginning after Russell’s birth, Harrison gravitated toward women closer to his own age. Monica was his first much younger woman.

He had severed the relationship with his last mistress six months earlier. It was Monica who sought his attention—in much the same way Vera had thirty years earlier. He found her seduction hard to resist.

“I wish I could come with you tonight,” Monica told him, as she stood in the center of his office, unbuttoning her white silk blouse. Harrison lounged lazily against his desk, watching her undress.

“You know that’s impossible.” His gaze swept over her body.

“I understand, I was just saying...” She slipped off her blouse and laid it over his office chair.

“I could get you a job tonight—with our caterer.”

“Caterer?” She unhooked her bra, freeing her plump breasts. Harrison stared at the rosy nipples, admiring the ample spheres, so soft and yet so firm. He liked that they didn’t sag. You can’t beat youth, Harrison told himself.

“Yes, you could wear one of those cute little serving outfits. Very short skirts, frilly panties. It might be exciting; we could slip away when the party is in full swing, for a quick fuck.”

“I hate it when you’re crude,” Monica said, wiggling out of her skirt.

“That’s what we do Monica, we fuck.” Harrison reached over on his desk and picked up his cigar.

“Do you have to smoke that?” Monica asked, now standing before him wearing just her panties.

“As a matter of fact I do.” Harrison bit off the tip of the cigar and spit it in the trashcan.

“Why are you being so mean to me?”

He wasn’t sure why he was such a prick, but she pissed him off. “You think I am being mean?”

“Sort of,” Monica said in a quiet voice.

“Do you want to leave?”

“Do you want me to?” Tears filled her eyes.

“I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do.” He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit his cigar. Smoke curled around his face.

“Harrison, I just want to do what makes you happy. I love you.”

“I’m sorry, Monica. I don’t mean to be a bastard. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.”

“I understand, Harrison. It’s okay.”

Harrison set his cigar in the ashtray on the desk. Unzipping his pants, he took his penis in his hand while sitting back in the large leather chair.

“Then take off those panties and show me how you want to make me happy.”

The furniture company delivered Garret’s couch earlier than expected which freed up his Saturday afternoon. He decided to use the time to set up his new office at Coulson Enterprises. He would have plenty of time to return to his apartment to get ready for the Christmas party.

Along with the construction of the Garden Pavilion, the existing offices had been remodeled. Garret hadn’t had a chance to orient himself to the complex’s layout, which explained why he wasn’t sure if he turned down the correct hallway to get to his office. The doors all looked the same to him.

He had misplaced the key to his new office, so the day before he had asked his grandfather where he might get a spare. Randall had tossed him a keyring and said, “One of these is for your office. I’m not sure which one.”

Garret was fairly certain he had turned down the right corridor and was standing at the door to his office. He wasn’t sure which key would fit the door, so he decided to just start trying every key until he found the one that worked. To his surprise, the first key slipped in and unlocked the door. Smiling, he pushed it open.

The sight that awaited him was not what he expected. It wasn’t his office he had just entered—but his father’s. It wasn’t empty, and his father was not alone.

Harrison Coulson, his pants off, sat on a leather chair with his knees spread apart, as a buxom young blonde bounced energetically up and down on his penis. Her back was to her lover as her enormous breast jiggled and bobbed, reminding Garret of some grotesque dirty cartoon.

The pair was unaware of the audience and vocal in their pleasure. Harrison grabbed hold of the bouncing orbs, squeezing roughly, as he pulled her closer.

Holding his breath, Garret eased from the room, closing the door behind him. Instead of looking for his office, he went back to his apartment. Garret never imagined his father was faithful to his mother. His parents never shared a bedroom, and while he remembered some affection between the two when he was a small child, that seemed to stop after Russell’s birth.

Witnessing Harrison cheating on his mother angered Garret more than he would have expected, had someone told him what he was about to see. His father’s lover was a beautiful woman. But she was far too young, and he found something perverse in such a wide age gap. The thought of a man Harrison’s age and wealth seducing a girl that looked to be around Garret’s own age was offensive to him.

He wasn’t sure how he would react when he saw his father at the Christmas party. He also wondered… who is she?

Garret strolled through the crowd of party guests, a scotch in hand, as he chatted amicably with one person and then another. Because of his height and broad shoulders, it was impossible to find a properly fitting tux off the rack. He wore one that had been tailor made for the party. By the reaction of the women in attendance, it was money well spent. To the delight of the single ladies—and a few married ones, he hadn’t brought a date.

He was wondering which one of the lovely ladies he would take home with him when he spied her—the woman his father had been vigorously screwing several hours earlier. She carried a tray with champagne glasses, and like the other servers who worked for the caterer, wore a sexy little French maid outfit.

Dad is fucking the help? Garret thought. He watched as she moved toward Harrison and Vera. Boldly, the woman offered his mother a glass of champagne. Vera paid little attention to the server and continued to talk to one of her friends as she took a glass from the tray. He watched his father, whose hand slipped under the woman’s short skirt for a brief second to cop a feel.

Incensed at the display, Garret decided to teach Harrison a lesson. Forcing a smile, he walked directly to his father.

“Congratulations, Dad, the new lobby looks amazing,” Garret told Harrison as his eyes followed his father’s mistress.

“Thanks, Garret, your grandfather and I are very pleased with how it turned out.”

“And I must say,” Garret whispered under his breath. “The caterer you hired has some tasty little pieces.” He nodded toward Monica.

“Yes, she is an attractive girl,” Harrison said as he took a sip of his drink.

“Well, at least I know who I’m taking home tonight,” Garret whispered to Harrison.

“What are you talking about?”

“Her.” Garret nodded toward Monica again.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the one always saying employees should be off limit as sexual conquests.”

“The company may have hired the caterer, but technically speaking she really doesn’t work for Coulson. I’d make an exception for her.”

“Leave her alone, she’s working,” Harrison snapped.

“Later, Dad. I need to go line up my midnight snack.” Garret walked away, leaving his father fuming.