Chapter 4
Life went on in the Douglas-Wallace household as they prepared for the addition of the two men. Alex it was decided would move into one of the guest houses, near the cabana. Benjamin was to move into the apartment over the garage. When informed of this neither man was pleased about not being in the house, but they accepted that the ladies were private and proper. The men would have to adjust to the rules and routines of the household. They were used to working with each other of course, both being formerly employed with Ivan. So there was no friction between the two men, just between them and the two ladies. It was the strangeness that ensued after as well as the extremely hectic schedule that the two women and their brood maintained that was putting the real strain on the men.
Whenever the men first arrived at the household, they found a mini-mansion with a landscaped front yard. The side yards and all around the remainder of the property were surrounded by a twelve foot high brick wall. The drive was a combination of brick and grass inlay. The gardens were beautiful but had been carefully planted so that the view of the front yard offered no blind spots. Security lights were everywhere, and the men saw that there were security cameras installed in regular and irregular places. Motion detectors and other security devices were also scattered about the yard. The two men were impressed and imagined that was Ivan's handiwork. They also noticed that while the cameras and view weren't blocked, landscaping had been arranged around the security measures, so that they were unobtrusive.
Alex had called ahead to warn the household that they were on their way. It was the weekend so he had expected a few of the children to be out and about but not what he discovered on the wraparound front porch when he and Benjamin arrived in the moving van on the first weekend of the month. All ten of the children and the two women of the house stood there, waiting for them. As soon as they pulled up the first thing that Gabriella asked was, "Did you use the labels?"
Mouth gaping, Alex could only nod, as the other woman said to the children. "Ok, kids get to work, green to the guest house, blue labels to the garage and red dots, you take to the room but don't open." she continued as the children moved around the adults like an army of ants, "Anyone who peaks in a box or container with a red dot doesn't get dessert for a month. Got it?"
All of the children chorused, "Yes, Aunt Clara." The boys moved quickly to unlock the door and pull down the ramp, the younger women and smaller children collected boxes marked clothing, toiletries, and smaller pieces of furniture. The older girls and boys were in charge of the larger pieces of furniture, and the dreaded red labeled boxes.
Meanwhile Gabriella took the two men into the house and began showing them around. The home of course was as breathtaking inside as it had appeared from the outside; the garden room was obviously the center of the home. The kitchen with its adjoining dining and library rooms was the heart of the home.
It was obvious that the home had been designed with the entire family and all of the animals in mind as well. Benjamin was the one to ask who the architect had been. When Gabriella replied rather proudly that it was one of her older children, who had designed it and now lived in Oregon. No one was surprised that he was still designing homes, and lived on a ranch, the two men were impressed though. The house was perfectly suited to the women and their family.
Gabriella led them outside to the pool area Alex inspected the cabana, particularly the office. He found it comfortable, cool, and very well organized. Here the landscaping only went so far as a sort of play area for the children beyond the pool, and a larger terraced yard where the children could play team sports. Gabriella explained that the sports equipment was kept in the cabana when not in use. Beyond that large area of grass was a fully wooded lot that looked almost wild in comparison to the rest of the yard. Alex made a mental note to check the wooded area for possible security issues.
Alex made the mistake of mentioning their concern over their possessions, the woman merely laughed and led them first to the guest house that would be Alex's since it was closer. He had only purchased a desk, chair, bed frame, and mattresses and most of that was still in the wrapping. Gabriella's countenance darkened at this, seeing her expression the oldest girl walked over and said soothingly, "Don't worry Mom. Aunt Clara has already called her top three and she'll take these doofuses to see them on Monday."
Alex and Benjamin knew they were the doofuses, but didn't know why. "Gentlemen I thought I made it plain that if you needed anything not to hesitate to purchase it and I would reimburse you. You have, a kitchen, a bathroom, a living area and all the amenities you would need for each of those." Gabriella said with an abundance of patience as though explaining the basics of the alphabet to a small child.
"You need curtains, lamps, towels, bedding, pots; pans….I mean come on you guys didn't even have hangers. Don't worry Aunt Clara bought some, guys never think of hangers." The young woman standing beside her mother, said rapid fire and added, "Oh yeah and we're loaning you bedding for the weekend, but you're going to have to talk to Aunt Clara tomorrow about color preferences and so forth."
Seeing their blank expressions, she added in a clearly exasperated way, "Men! You are older but not ancient and you're both kind of cute, what if you want to entertain? Any respectable woman comes in here, she's not going to run screaming for the hills, cause like I said you are hotties, but she's also not going to come back, like ever." She explained shaking her head as she moved off to help one of the younger girls with hanging up Alex's clothes in the walk-in closet.
Gabriella's lips were twitching as she saw the two gaping bachelors. "Fish," she thought, before saying, "Moving right along, shall we see how things are progressing in your apartment Benjamin?" As she led them back out of the bustling activity in the guest house, back toward the main house.
She wasn't surprised to hear Benjamin say, "Was your sister by any chance in the military, an officer perhaps?" She wasn't surprised by the question but it still made her laugh until tears were leaking from her eyes.
While Alex got the distinctive air of disapproval from Gabriella; Clara and Gabriella both approved of Benjamin's unpacked belongings, which included several framed pictures of family and friends. He also had his own sheets and throws and two boxes of books. The bed was being made up by the twin girls. They had found a warm tone bedspread that went well with his bedding.
A tall, slender young man was unpacking his pots and pans and taking them to the kitchen island. Strangely enough the young man was then placing the pots and pans exactly where he would and then Benjamin looked more closely at the kitchen. It looked recently remodeled and it had been made into a kosher kitchen. It had two stoves, two refrigerators and two sets of cabinets. He stared back towards Gabriella and Clara, Gabriella only smiled back at him knowingly.
The next day Clara did discuss color schemes with them and asked them to show her some of their furniture and personal effects so that she could get an idea of a style for both men. Again Benjamin was much easier to gauge this on because he actually did have some personal effects while Alex did not. When she saw the functional yet cheap, make-it-yourself at home furniture that Alex had, especially the aluminum and plastic desk he had purchased. The liaison thought she might blow a gasket.
She turned to him and said bluntly, "Obviously you believe in functionality and that's commendable but you could at least try to be as stylish in your residence as you are in person. A good first impression is important, but good second and third impressions are equally as important." Shaking her head, she put a post-it note on the still sealed box that said "RETURN!"
The next day Clara came to collect the two men. She showed them actual boards with the color schemes and pictures of the furniture styles she had chosen to match the items they had unpacked the day before. For Benjamin she had picked warm neutrals with gold tones and deep reds. His furniture was dark woods and she wanted to get some lamps for him especially since he was a big reader.
Alex had been harder to choose for and not exactly happy when the desk he had chosen had been summarily returned before he could even take it out of the box. She had actually asked him quite seriously, "Do you actually like the contemporary look or just wanted something cheap." She had simply studied him for a moment as he glared at her and then nodded her head before turning and walking away.
The color board she gave him was of an iron gray, sky blue, and white scheme with copper accents. Instead of cheap pressed board furniture, the board showed a wrought iron bed, a dresser and side tables in dark wood. The desk that has so disturbed her was now made of brushed nickel and frosted glass, with an adjustable lamp. Then she asked questions, whether they needed a gun safe or safe, if they needed new mattresses, if the layouts of their apartments suited them, and so on. Alex had to admit he liked it. What she said last was what caught his attention though.
"Gentlemen, you are by nature a private pair with your own secrets and issues to deal with, but you have to understand. We have invited you into our family, family is everything to both my sister and I. So we take this very seriously, barring the fact you turn out to be homicidal maniacs or something, your stay with us will we hope be permanent. Therefore we want you to be comfortable, even happy here with us. So you have to tell us if you want, or need something. Before you ask there will not be a minefield placed in the front yard, but as far as security is concerned we will try to accommodate you as long as it doesn't interfere in the kids or our lives. We want to live as normal a life as possible. Got it?"
The children came over again that afternoon to help finish with the unpacking. They even brought over care packages with cleaning supplies, fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits. A list of local groceries, meat market, and specialty stores, was included in the basket. As well as the location of the best local men's shops, barber shops, and dry cleaners. A selection of herbal teas for Benjamin, and micro brewed beers for Alex, was also included in the large hampers. Which the twins delivered and explained could also be used for laundry.
Each man also received a leather folio, with their monogrammed initials in gold in the lower right corner. Inside the folios were for each of them driver's license, insurance cards both medical and vehicular. A copy of the families schedule for the next month, with a note to include their preferred days off, and any scheduled appointments they might need time off for. A credit card, with a note attached that said it was good for a limit of $15,000. A set of house and apartment keys, for each man and separate set of car keys with a little card attached with a location on where to find their personal vehicles, an extra note for Benjamin on where to find the keys for the family vehicles.
To their surprise they also found a rubber banded roll of cash that when counted amounted to $2000 a piece. The oldest child in each group explained that the money was mad cash for buying accessories for their apartments. Stern looks from Kailie and Anthony, as well as an explanation of the dire circumstances to each man if they 1.) refuse the money or 2.) use the cash for anything other than accessorizing their new homes followed. The last item in the folio was a formal invitation to join Clara at 8 a.m. the next morning for shopping, Benjamin was to drive the silver SUV and Alex was to drive the moving van they had rented.
When the kids also suggested that the two men might want to set their alarms they took them seriously, even before the children all mentioned what sticklers for punctuality their Mom and Aunt Clara were….really they did….honestly. The next day the two men and Aunt Clara went shopping for all their needs in the apartments.
Clara carried her own leather folio with smaller versions of the boards she had shown the men. As well as a graph page with their apartment layout on it. Attached to this was a long post it note that included what pieces of furniture they needed. Benjamin said he preferred to leave the hardwood floors bare, where Alex preferred area and throw rugs. The shopping trip was a long one but the organized Clara kept them on track. When the woman walked into the stores she was immediately recognized by the staff and almost instantly not only had the managers attention but had at least two or three members of the staff, running to retrieve samples to show her.
While between the stores or while waiting for the orders she put in to be filled, she was on the phone to contractors to paint, to put in new cabinets to match the new color scheme for Alex's apartment. Alex was also getting a new wine cooler, he apparently was a connoisseur of wine and beer. Benjamin was getting a new larger safe and gun safe. Apparently ex-Mossad had a tendency to collect weapons. So instead of trying to wrestle such large and heavy metal objects upstairs and through too small doors, Clara was having the safes added onto and built into the apartment.
The two men had watched as she took the measurements and then took the space from extra storage space over the garage. Interestingly, as Alex sat and admired the space for a moment. Clara was already adding his own walk in safe to the guest house. She then bizarrely had someone who could install these rooms over the next few days.
By the end of the week not only were there apartments completely furnished and equipped just perfectly for each of them, but thanks to the small army of children they were both completely unpacked. Alex had worked for Ivan for three years and had never managed to get completely unpacked in the apartment that was provided for him as part of his job. He had been to visit Ben and knew he was a little better than Alex had been, or at least better at hiding it. Even the ex-Israeli agent seemed a little flabbergasted at how organized this oversized family was though.
Then they saw the schedule that the family maintained. It was conveniently displayed in a hall that led from the kitchen to the garage and the schedule printed out on a multitude of sheets of computer paper took up an entire wall. Everything from school activities, work schedules, games, competitions, birthdays, after school activities, tutoring sessions, karate, gymnastics, swim practice, doctor and vet appointments and business meetings and Gabriella's meetings with government officials were there. What should be a jumble of undecipherable writing was organized down to the minute. Including deliveries and pick ups of groceries and goods.
The two men conferred over the schedule and had a conversation over it, which was overheard by several of the younger children who were having a snack in the kitchen. Benjamin said, "I don't think there are any armies I know of that are this active. Certainly none that are this well organized or involve the logistics and orchestration shown here."
To which Alex had replied, "If we ever decide to take over the world I suggest we involve these two ladies as part of their plan. With Gabriella's political savvy and Clara's organizational skills they'd have the world in two weeks."
Benjamin had then laughed in agreement and said, "I have a feeling that if we added the children to the plan we'll have the world in one week."
By the end of the hour the entire family had heard the story. That included Anthony and Kailie who were at work and Jason who was in one of his not talking to anyone moods. All of the children found the thought amusing and several found it intriguing, especially the younger ones, including Yodie and Irina.