Page 27 of Miles. Alton & The 9:04
“Baby, I have the land, and the room to make it happen,” Thom said, smiling.
“What about the finances?Are you some car detailer?Mae, who is this man and Sir, again, your intentions with my sister!”
“My plans are to make her my wife,” Thom said, “but there are details and decisions she will need to make pretty soon to cut down on the back and forth between here and there.Plus, I need to know the four major items on her list to be content in her new life.”
“Back and forth where?”
“I live in Alton.”
“And why can't you move here?”
“I have a museum inside of an old train station with at least three hundred train sets in every model rail car ever made, taking the total to about five hundred in all,” Thom explained.“I would not be able to afford the square footage to move it here, nor would I want to since I work there.”
“And my sister works here, and her family is here.She's worked very hard to get where she is and you expect her to pack it all up to move to Alton to bear your brood?Sir, I am not understanding.Explain yourself.”
Thom made direct eye contact with him.He knew the tactic since he and Adriano had used it with his sister Kimbrae's dates.Technically, he didn't owe the man shit, but he wanted his respect and favorable report to the family.Photos on the mantle of recent images of the family denoted her parents were still alive.
“Mary, what are the four items off the top of your head that you would need for a life with me in Alton?”Thom asked.
She twirled the end of her hair as she looked at him.“I’m paying ridiculous amounts each year to store my train.Plus, each time I try to work on it, there are dudes trying to mansplain maintenance of my own train to me which is annoying, so that would be one.”
Thom inquired, “And the other three items?”
“I would need a vehicle, more than likely an SUV, for plants and decorating.By plants, I would also want a good-sized garden.The fourth, well, you already have the house, it’s not technically in the country, but it’s good.I love the house.”
Jae didn’t like it.He didn’t like the vibe of the man, being so Alpha male and his sister kowtowing to it like some housebroken Geisha.“I don’t like this.We know nothing about this man.He’s just going to build you a place to store an entire train engine with railroad tracks?Get the heck out of here!”
“I hear you, Jae.However, I will to build a home and work space for her train engine and possibly lay a good 600 feet of switching tracks for a simple crossover, with a rotunda for turn arounds to steer her in and out of the barn,” Thom replied.
“You'd do that for me, Thom?You'd build a barn for my baby?”she asked, looking at him with tears in her eyes.
“I will build you anything you need if it makes you content and brings you joy, Mary,” Thom told her.
Mae got to her feet.She moved around the table to grab her brother by his arm.“Jae, it was good seeing you.I look forward to chatting with everyone at dinner on Sunday,” she said as she pushed him towards the door.
Mae walked past Thom, her nails grazing his back.The man did not move but continued to sip his coffee.He said nothing as the brother protested being thrown out and Mae returned to the table.
“My family likes to argue at mealtimes.Everything is so contentious.I've enjoyed several meals with you, and it has been splendid,” she told him.“Last night was amazing and I'm over here floating.I'm praying I don't start long conversations with fairies or other invisible creatures.Thom, I don't know what this is, and I don't care, but I want more.”
“You've asked for what you needed to be content and make me and Alton your home, I heard you and therefore I shall provide,” he said, giving a wry smile.Thom Brown was more than pleased.He'd found his wife.Now, the hard part would begin, or maybe it was the easy part.It simply depended on what his lady would deem to be more important.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to take them long to find out.
