Beautiful Niece Kaylee Ch.12

Beautiful Niece Kaylee Ch. 12



I walked into the office with a spring in my step, humming an old Motown tune. My receptionist looked up surprised. I took a few awkward dance steps, then a really horrible spin. I ended up facing her with both fingers pointing out. “OH! Sugar pie honey bunch! You know that I love you!” I sang loudly and badly off key.

“Does this count as sexual harassment?” Amy asked me laughing.

“Oh you wish! You had your chance! You chose door number two remember?” A lifetime ago we had been a couple, now she was married to my best friend.

“What can I say… He’s a better dancer than you!” We looked at each other seriously for a moment, then both burst out laughing. The thought of Brian on the dance floor made me seem like Fred Astaire!

“So what has you so happy today?” She asked when we finally settled down.

“Why shouldn’t I be happy? It’s a beautiful day, all our jobs are running smoothly and the bills are getting paid.” I left out that in a couple of hours I would be seeing my niece Kaylee. Fridays were always the best day of the week for me, and I was counting down the minutes.

“Well it’s always nice to see you happy! Speaking of bills… The paychecks are on your desk, ready to be signed. There are three or four bills with checks made out, just sign them and seal the envelopes and they are ready to mail.” She went on with a few more things that I needed to take care of. Without her, I would be lost. “And the bank deposit is all ready to go, If you want, I can take it at lunch.”

“Tell you what. I’ll go sign the checks, and head to the job site and give them to the guys. As of yesterday we were well ahead of schedule, so I’m going to tell Brian to cut the guys loose early. You lock up at lunch, and drop off the deposit, then take the rest of the afternoon off. Sound like a plan?”

“You won’t find an argument here Boss!” Amy looked thrilled with the idea of a half day. “So do you have any plans this weekend?”

I thought of spending time with my girlfriend after a long hard week and smiled. “Nope! Just a relaxing, do nothing type of weekend.”

Amy gave a big grin. “Good! So you have no excuse not to come over and have dinner with us tomorrow.”

I thought it sounded like a great idea. “Sure! But, you know I have Kaylee for the weekend.”

“OH she’s always welcome! It will be great to see her.”

“Then it’s a date! I’ll bring the booze and a side dish.” I turned to head into my office when Amy stopped me.

“Hey Ben?” When I turned back around, Amy had a look on her face that I couldn’t quite read. “If there is ANYONE else you’d like to bring, please feel free.”

“OK.” I replied, a little puzzled. I walked into my office. Now what did she mean by that?

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Driving down the last mile to Brian and Amy’s, I looked over at my Beautiful Niece Kaylee. She was wearing a yellow, flower print sun dress, and her hair was down, blowing back in the wind from her open topped Jeep. She caught me looking, and blew me a kiss. “Keep your eyes on the road Baby! If you crash my Jeep, I’ll castrate you!”

“You are such a romantic sweetheart!” I laughed.

“I love you with all my heart! But I worked HARD for this car!”

Brian and Amy walked out onto the porch after we pulled into the driveway. They were a very mismatched couple.

Although I have no proof, I’m pretty sure that Brian is half bear. He just looks like something you would find in the woods. Huge shoulders and arms, attached to a barrel chest, were covered in dark red hair. A long, bushy beard obscured the lower half of his face, except where his big white grin showed through. Then his head, where one would expect to see hair, was shaved clean. When smiling, he was everyone’s favorite guy, but when he scowled, even the bravest of men stepped back.

Amy on the other hand, would fit in to any sophisticated setting. Even in cargo shorts and a black tank top, she looked ready to attend an art exhibit, or movie premier. She had short dark hair, very pretty face, and a killer figure. At 42, the same age as Brian and I, she looked closer in age to Kaylee. She complained about still being asked for I.D. when she bought a bottle of wine, and really didn’t believe she looked any better than the rest of us.

Despite their differences, they were one of the most happy couples I had ever met. Throughout the years I have often found myself envious of their relationship.

We walked up the path. Me carrying an expensive bottle of Irish whiskey, Kaylee with a dish of potato salad that she had insisted on making herself. Brian threw his arms around me, and clapped me on the back, almost hard enough to knock the wind out of me. Amy gave Kaylee a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m so glad you guys could come! We’ve been trying to do this for ages.” Amy replied gracefully. We switched positions. Amy gave me a small hug and a kiss, as Brian proceeded to torment Kaylee.

“BUG!” It was a name he had called her since she started to crawl. “How’s my favorite rug rat?” One huge hand came down atop her head and tussled her hair.

Kaylee handed her dish off to Amy and threw her arms around the big man. She looked absolutely tiny wrapped in his huge embrace. Giggling she said. “I’d be better if you would stop messing up my hair every time you see me.”

Brian looked confused, and ran his hand over his bare head. “Doesn’t seem to bother me???”

We all laughed. Then he grabbed the bottle from my hand, examining it. “Woman!” He barked. “Hide this away on the top shelf! We’ll serve him the cheap stuff and save this for our important guests!”

He put his arm around his wife and we all walked into the house.

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We sat and visited around the picnic table, as Brian put the finishing touches on his BBQ ribs. Good conversation, good beer, and the relaxed, good times that come from years of friendship. Each of us was telling stories about friends, or work, or school, with many smiles, and laughs.

When dinner was ready, Brian and I dug in like a couple of animals. While the women, much more sophisticated creatures, used things like manners, napkins, and utensils. Us guys managed a few grunts as the girls talked.

“Kaylee! This is the best potato salad I have ever had!”

“Thank you! I have been getting cooking lessons from my mom.”

“I have got to get this recipe from you! Honey isn’t this good?” Amy asked.

*Errrggghhh! slobber, belch, incoherent grunts, disgusting noises.*. Like I said… ANIMALS!

When we had finally quenched our primal appetites, the conversation resumed. Kaylee got up to get herself some more tea.

Brian looked up. “Hey Bug, grab me another beer!”

“No problem!” Kaylee looked over at me “How about you BABE? Want another beer?”

My heart stopped dead in my chest. I knew from the look on her face that she didn’t even realize what she had just said. I looked over at Brian, using his dinner roll to sop up the remnants off his plate, and knew it had gone right over his head.

However… Amy was looking at me like she was examining me through a microscope. Trying hard not to react strangely, I just responded, “Sure, thanks”.

Brian leaned back and groaned. “OH Man! That was good.”

“Yes it was. Those ribs were perfect!” I glanced over at Amy, who was still staring at me intently. “Was that a homemade rub?”

Brian started to brag about his recipe, Kaylee came out and handed us our beers, and through it all Amy’s eyes never left my face.