Egalitarian

Chapter 3

"Third, you are an only child in your family. Keeping your name is a way of respecting the needs or desires of your family to continue their family name. Your family has made me feel so welcome, I feel as though I have become the son they never had. Honestly, if our last names didn't sound like shit hyphenated (Grossweiner-Valentine is a mouthful), we might have considered that. It's just not in the cards for us. Your family name is more important to you than my name is to me. In fact, my mother never put any of those patriarchal ideas in my head growing up about women being expected to take their husbands' names. It's a no-brainer, as long as my DNA is in my children's blood, my surname doesn't matter."

"My only concern is that you and I will have different last names. As for me, I have no problem with that. It doesn't faze me in the least. But our children whom we've both heartily agreed that we want, when they come along, proudly wearing the name Valentine, I've pondered over the fact that my last name being different from theirs might become a problem for them over time, perhaps some bullying in school. Lord knows I'm aware of those possibilities. For that reason, and hopefully, with your agreement, I've decided to legally change my surname to Valentine when we marry so that we can both carry your name and pass it on to the next generation."

Rebecca was stunned. "Are you sure you want to do this, Royce? Give up your surname in favor of mine? I'm thrilled beyond reason that you're offering to do this. At the same time, I want to be sure you won't develop any regrets later, especially after our children are born. You've carried that name all of your life despite the stigma you just revealed."

"I would have never mentioned it to you if I was not one hundred percent certain. I have no doubts or reservations. I want to do this for you, for us, for your family, and for our future children." She looked at me with the softest eyes as she teared up.

"Honey, I hope you don't have any plans for tonight because I plan to drain your body of every sperm it is capable of producing all night long. Come with me, my beloved. I have some serious passion to unleash upon your body." I happily discovered that she was true to her word.

The next day I received a call from Derrick, my former college roommate asking me to meet him at his current residence with his parents. After we hugged and fisted each other's backs, Derrick got right to the point.

"Hey, man, Derrick began, "You don't know how good it is to see you." A two-tone brown puppy came to us happily wagging its tail.

"Same here, bro. Who's this cute little wiggle worm you have here?" I asked, patting the dog's head.

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about, Royce. My brother's dog had a litter of puppies about four months ago. He gave me this one as a belated graduation present. She's cute as a button, don't you agree? Her name's Rosie."

"Hi, Rosie," I greeted as I knelt down. She nuzzled me, then profusely licked my neck.

"How about that?" Derrick effused. She seems to be taking a shine to you. That tickles me to no end."

"What do you mean, Derrick?"

"You've heard me gush about my girlfriend, Brenda, for quite a while now. Well, I finally popped the question. Actually, I sort of had to as she's carrying my child. But I love her to death, so this will be no shotgun wedding. Next week, we plan to have a small closed ceremony with only immediate family in attendance. Brenda and I will be moving in together into an apartment that fits our current limited budget. We found the perfect place for us, but the downside is that they have a 'no pets' policy and are sticklers about that. I love Rosie, here, to death. My parents refuse to keep her. You're my last hope, Royce. If you don't take her, she'll go the pound and eventually be put down. I'm between a rock and a hard place."

I winced at the prospect of taking on someone else's mutt. "I don't know, Derrick. It's not that I don't like dogs. I simply hadn't given it any thought because my wedding is also in the works."

Endeavoring to assuage my ambivalence, Derrick moved in for the kill. "I hate to pull the 'friend' card but I'm desperate, Royce. Remember that time a few years back when you were drunk and hitting on that girl in the bar on the seedy side of town when her boyfriend suddenly showed up? He meant business and pulled a knife on you. He was about to turn you into chopped liver when I pulled out my snub-nose .38. We barely made it out of there alive. His friends were debating about rushing us. I saved your life that night, man. You owe me. Besides, Rosie loves you. She's been giving you her kisses since the moment you arrived. Come on, have a heart."

Though I'd been in a drunken stupor at the time, I did recall the sobering event. He knew he had me. "You're gonna play that card, huh?"

"I've got to, man. She's a great friend, loving and playful. You couldn't ask for a more loyal companion. She's had all her shots and I'll throw in all her stuff."

"Isn't she a..."

"Yeah, man," he interrupted. "She's a Pit Bull. I know what they say about the breed but she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She's the friendliest pet you'll ever have, wouldn't hurt a flea," he assured. "She rarely barks and, like I said, she's as loyal as the day is long.

I reluctantly left my friend's home with a rambunctious dog, stainless steel food and water dishes, three collars, two leashes, a large dog bed, half a dozen dog toys, dog shampoo, and seventy-five pounds of dog food. Though I didn't tell Derrick at the time, I figured that if Rosie and I didn't mesh, I could always take her to the pound.

I soon discovered that, when left alone, Rosie would chew on things that weren't her toys. To ameliorate the situation, I put her bed and toys in the laundry room where she could do the least harm when I wasn't home. But when I was home, I'd let her into the rest of the house. As long as I was there, she stayed right by my side and never acted out. The back door of the house led into the laundry room. The doggie door I installed allowed her the option to come and go outside as she pleased to do her business and play in the fenced backyard. Rebecca immediately fell in love with her. Rosie would often squeeze in between us when we were watching TV on the couch. She loved to both give and receive attention. She soon became an entrenched member of the family. Whenever I went jogging through the neighborhood, Rosie was always by my side. She ignored all other dogs unless I stopped to chat with another dog owner along my path. Then, of course, the requisite butt-sniffing would take place.

The Paulson family lived next door to me, Greg, and Debra, with two kids, Tabitha 3, and Anthony, 5. Every time I went for a walk through the neighborhood, they'd come running out to meet and play with Rosie and she loved their attention. Greg and Debra were astonished at how taken Tabitha was with Rosie given her shy and introverted nature. The kids pleaded for their own dog but Greg was defiant. It wasn't in the cards for now. Since there was a preexisting common gate between our fenced yards Debra asked if I minded them allowing Rosie over to their yard and house during the day while I was at work so the kids could play with her. I didn't need much convincing. It was a win-win for Rosie who obviously loved both children. She'd have playtime buddies during the weekdays to keep her occupied and she'd have me nights and weekends. Though Rosie loved those kids to death, she knew that she belonged with me and made her loyalty known to me.

Rebecca and I almost exclusively double-dated with McKenna and Oliver. He acted almost condescending to me as if treating me as an equal was beneath him. However, he made certain to praise and treat Rebecca with the respect and admiration his wife's BFF deserved. Every time I tried to make plans for just the two of us, my fiancée always usurped me by inviting them along at every turn. They were inescapable.

At dinner one evening at a restaurant, Oliver openly asked me, Royce, exactly what is it that you do for a living?"

"Well, right after graduating, I managed to snag an office position at Boehning Professional Services, Inc. I was..."

He immediately interrupted me. "Ah, yes, BPS, I'm very familiar with them. They're a big outfit. I guess you gotta start somewhere in order to work yourself up the ladder one rung at a time."

"Well, I..."

He interrupted me once again, "No need to apologize, Royce. There's no shame in being a desk jockey. Maybe one day you'll get a chance to put your bachelor's degree skills to work once you've established yourself in several years. That's a solid outfit you work for."

Not wanting to publicly upend his misunderstanding of my occupation, I looked over at Rebecca. She knew me not to be an egoist. I had nothing to prove to them and figured that he was merely trying to elevate his status at my expense. I decided to take the high road and allow him his misconstrued assessment.

"I'm happy enough to be one of the cogs that turn the keel to help keep the ship sailing in the right direction."

Oliver laughed at my metaphor. "Sounds like someone has a high opinion of himself, doesn't it?" He chuckled.

Rebecca could remain silent no longer. "What he does is very important to the company," she advised. He's part of a large team that helps guide the direction of the company, just like he says," she defended.

Oliver quickly sobered his tenor so as not to offend McKenna's best friend. "No doubt, Rebecca. I'm sure you're right. With my master's degree, I'll be directing my family's entire company. So I guess you could say that Royce and I both do the same kind of work. Good for you, Royce."

Though he was giving me kudos, his condescension was palpable. I could tell that Rebecca fell for his bullshit. If I were to denigrate him either publicly or privately to Rebecca, she'd only take it as my insecurity and think me jealous of Oliver's superiority. So I let sleeping dogs lie.

A couple of weeks later, as our wedding date neared, a nervous Rebecca came to me for encouragement.

"Royce, honey. I know you've never said anything about my weight, but I'm worried that I'm going to look like a bloated pig in my wedding dress. I had hoped to shed more weight than I have before the wedding but it simply refuses to go away. My face is horrid enough on its own, but when you add my layers of fat on top of that, it gives me a toxic mindset."

"Sweetheart, your weight has never bothered me, not for a moment. And am I not, the only one you should be trying to impress? It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks so why should YOU care? How you and I love each other the way we do is what's most important. I love every ounce of your body. Another ounce or another pound is just more of you to love. I look at it as a win-win. My overwhelming love for you will see us through nearly anything life can throw at us. Your love for me simply seals the deal. As long as we put each other first, nothing will ever be able to separate us. I'm not a shallow man, Rebecca, who only looks skin deep. You're the most beautiful woman in the world to me in every way. I mean that. I believe that what we have is forever love. Don't you see it the same way?"

Rebecca sniffed as tears fell from her eyes. "Oh, Royce. You always know the perfect words to say to me. I love you forever and a day. I can hardly wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the one and only perfect man for me. I will never want any other. You are my everything." Needless to say, we heartily soiled some bedsheets that night too.

I couldn't have been prouder of Rebecca at her graduation. She received her degree with honors. Because Natalie had also graduated with her degree from M.I.T. at the same time, the close-knit families decided to hold a combined graduation party, honoring Rebecca and Natalie both. The former besties played nice that evening and everyone had a good time, including McKenna and Oliver who had been invited by Rebecca. She introduced McKenna to everyone as her maid of honor and was looking forward to our imminent nuptials. Natalie held back and decided not to rain on Rebecca's parade. But I did catch her eyeing me a few times. It made me very uncomfortable. I'm not sure what that meant but no claws came out on either side. I made certain that I never crossed paths with her at the party, however. Apparently, some kind of a truce was in effect with the girls, or perhaps her beef now was solely with me.

I was told that Natalie had become the computer networking guru and IT Director for Valentine's Accessories, LTD. She also commenced the project of redesigning their website presence. She was a wizard. Her web-page creation fluency added sparkle and pizzazz to their online presence which nearly doubled the volume of clicks and resultant sales. I was amazed at what I learned from others that she could do. Bad blood or not, I had to admit that the girl knew her stuff and was contributing fresh ideas and new efficiency in streamlining their online operations while vastly improving cyber security.

Our wedding and honeymoon went off without a hitch. Although McKenna was a drop-dead gorgeous maid of honor, in my eyes, nothing topped the sight of my elegantly adorned Rebecca walking down the aisle with her father. It literally took my breath away. I only had eyes for her. I filled out and signed all the necessary paperwork for my name change. It was a mere formality. After our return from our honeymoon, I had my driver's license changed and all other pertinent accounts modified to align with my new surname. I was now officially Royce Valentine and I couldn't have been happier. Rebecca's parents practically worshipped the ground I walked on, profusely thanking me for honoring their daughter and extended family with such a noble gesture. They said that, in their eyes, I was the son they never had. Tears flowed all around.

Rebecca assumed her role in the family business as planned, immediately putting her business degree to work full-time. She had many ideas she wanted to implement concerning how things were organized and managed. She was given carte blanche to enact any changes she felt prudent. One of her first administrative decisions was to hire McKenna as the manager of online operations. Armed with her new degree as well, McKenna was loaded with ideas on how to improve the bottom line and she was anxious to prove her value to the company. It became necessary for her to interface with Natalie quite often given Natalie's special computer skillset. Though Rebecca had filled McKenna in about Natalie, she was pleasantly surprised that there was never any friction between them. Natalie was the consummate professional and performed her job commendably.

Natalie's IT Director's office was located in the distribution warehouse facility since she was prominently involved in the company's online operations, but her overarching responsibilities also encompassed all computer, phone, and web operations of not only the online distribution center but the main store and administrative offices as well. Since she rarely crossed paths with Rebecca, there was never any tension at the workplace. Everyone, including me, was thankful for that.

After McKenna and Oliver's huge wedding, things seemed to calm down. Of course, Rebecca was her maid of honor. Oliver asked me if I would mind helping out with setting up and taking down tables before and after the reception. I was glad I wasn't asked to be one of his groomsmen. Several of his college buddies filled that bill. I relaxed my guard concerning Natalie's threat. I couldn't imagine what reprisal she might try to carry out on me at this point. Again, my thoughts were to let sleeping dogs lie.

Rebecca and I embarked on what I believed was our lifelong relationship, it was unreal, but then it got real. We had an amazing marriage. I always put Rebecca's needs ahead of my own, largely owing to my egalitarian upbringing, but also because I loved her more than I loved myself. There was very little that I would deny her. She is my sweet Valentine and I am hers, forever.

Though her parents hinted now and then about grandchildren, we decided to wait for a few years to establish ourselves in our respective careers. There was no urgent rush. My mother reminded me that the wife's perspective was most important. After all, my role was simply to provide a virile DNA sample to the right spot. My wife would bear the brunt of birthing in all of its exhausting glory. As I said, we were in no rush, so I never pressed the issue with her.

The next two years were frustrating for me. It seemed as though Rebecca wanted us to spend as much of our spare time as possible with McKenna and Oliver. Oliver and I had nothing in common. He flaunted their prosperity in our faces which I didn't appreciate, however, that didn't deter Rebecca in the slightest. I was paid well enough by my employer but Oliver was an ostentatious braggart. McKenna was much easier on the eyes of any males around, but Rebecca acted completely unfazed by her comparative stunning beauty around me. Although comity prevailed when the four of us were together, I preferred to be alone with my darling bride. I concluded that Oliver must be god-like to my wife. She loved it when we went swimming together. I caught her ogling his Zeus-like body numerous times though he wouldn't give her the time of day. He rarely glanced her way. He consistently wore an undersized speedo which concealed almost nothing. The look of the python he carried in his Speedo guarding the nest of extra-large eggs disgusted me. Rebecca maintained wearing her industrial-strength one-piece bathing suit with extra-long sewn-in skirt because she remained very self-conscious about her weight and her unimpressive A-cup breasts. I surmised that Oliver merely tolerated us and that the only reason he acquiesced to our frequent soirees was due to the girls' close connection. For whatever reason, the girls had bonded in a strong friendship.

I was in heaven whenever it was just the two of us going out. Our intimacy varied but averaged three to four times per week. I wanted more but she was often tired from working extra hours building the Valentine family business. Since she would one day inherit it, I couldn't very well dissuade her from putting in her time. I let her have her way. The only time I ever saw Natalie was at family get-togethers or company parties and events. I never forgot her threat so I always kept one eye out for her as a protective measure. Rebecca rarely mentioned Natalie around me. Their friendship status remained fractured.

One Saturday night, Rebecca set out one of my nicer suits to change into.

Chapter 4

"What's going on?"

"The Steeds will be picking us up this evening and treating us to a night of dining and dancing. I'm looking forward to it very much."

"It would have been nice to have some advance notice. I guess this will be another bragging opportunity for Oliver."

"I wish you'd stop thinking badly about him. It's not bragging. He just openly shares due to our close friendship. So yes, we know how much money they both make, just as they know our situation."

"You told them how much I make? Why on earth would you do that? It's none of their business what I earn. Are you trying to make me resent them?"

"Don't be silly. You know McKenna and I have no secrets from one another."

"That notwithstanding, I wish you did."

"Come on, get dressed. They'll be here in thirty minutes to pick us up."

The Steeds were exceptionally congenial that night. Oliver danced with Rebecca almost exclusively and practically pushed McKenna into my arms. Rebecca was gushing at Oliver's attention. When the night was half gone, I finally discovered the reason for his newfound interest.