TJ's Journey to Marriage - 1. Chapter 1

I woke up the next morning thinking it was all a dream until I looked at my hand and saw the ring and it made me smile. JC was asleep next to me with a smile on his face and a matching ring on his finger; we are officially engaged. I watched JC sleep and it made me think of all the things we have been through the past couple of years and I was ready to move on and have a wonderful married life. Jack told me I need to come over to the law firm this morning as we needed to address CC’s final wishes. I slipped out of bed and got in the shower; I was standing under the spray with my eyes closed when I felt a pair of arms around me:

“Good morning babe” JC said

“Good morning fiancé” I replied

“I love the sound of that”

“Me too, help me with my back?” he proceeded to wash me but it turned into a full on love making session in the shower. You’d have thought after last night’s fun we’d have gotten it out of our system. Thankfully Jack had installed on-demand water heaters so the water never got cold.

“We need to hurry babe, I need to get to my meeting” I said. We washed quickly and got dressed.

“Come with me to the meeting; you are going to be my husband, so I want you there.” I said

“Ok, if you think it will be ok” JC replied

“I really want you there.” We got dressed and headed out and arrived five minutes late. We got dirty looks from my brothers and mother.

“Ok thank you all for coming. This is the reading of Caroline Carmine’s last will and testament.” Jack said

“Now before we read the document, I would like everyone to hold any objections or comments until the end” Liz said

“Who would object?” Beau asked

“You’d be surprised at what happens at these reading” Liz said

“I Caroline Carmine do here by bequeath the following items to said individuals; To my nephew Tristan James Michaels Jr, I leave him my ownership of BHO, my home in the Hamptons and any remaining money of my estate after the following: to my Nephew Beau Hayden Michaels, I leave him my penthouse apartment and $25 million dollars; To my nephew Grayson Joseph Michaels, I leave him my property in White Plains, New York and $25 million dollars. For my sister in law Emily Marie Frazier-Michaels I leave her the proceeds for the sale of my medical practice and $10 million dollars.” Jack said

“Damn, CC was that rich” Grayson said

“Yes she was but she never showed it. She inherited a lot of money and some of the properties when her Aunt Louise died. The home in White Plains belonged to your grandparents; It also was the house that was blown up. Now Grayson, you have the opportunity to have the house rebuilt like it was or one that you and Trace design. The insurance company will be picking up most of the tab.” Jack said

“Could we take a look at the floor plan before we decide? Grayson asked and Trace nodded in agreement

“Yes, the contractor that made the improvements has dropped off the blueprints.” Jack replied

“So you now own 75% of BHO?” Beau asked

“Yes, but I won’t maintain it all; before I say what I would like to do, I want to confirm with Jack, Liz and JC.” I said

“Emily, we will help you sell the practice as the CIA wants to continue its use so they are chomping at the bit to purchase it; they even sent over an offer which we can go over with you.” Liz said

“Now we would like to talk with TJ and JC privately and then we can go over the blueprints and practice offer.” Jack said

“Not a problem Pop, I will take them to my office and you can come find us.” Trace said and the others followed them out.

“So before we talk about the bulk of the money left, TJ what was your idea.” Jack said

“I don’t want to have 75% ownership; that’s too much in my opinion. I want to give Kellan and Jordan each 5%, increase my brothers’ ownership by 5% and lastly give my mother 5% of the ownership” I said

“Well that is rather generous of you. We should have Kellan, Jordan and your mother’s stake set that you get the chance to purchase the ownership later if they want to sell their stake.” Jack said

“That sounds like a good idea. What do you think JC?”

“It’s your company, do what you want.” JC replied

“No it’s our company” I said

“Well before we talk money, I want you to consider a prenuptial agreement” JC said and I cut him off

“I’m in this for the long haul and you will die before we get divorced.” I said

“TJ, you need to watch how you word things as that sounded like a threat.” Jack said

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just believe in us is all I am saying and it sounds like you don’t.” I said

“TJ, not at all, it’s just I want you to be protected.” JC said

“Ok boys, you need to work this out. Let’s talk about the left over money” Liz said

“So TJ, CC had amassed a really large fortune and she really wanted to atone for what Dylan did to you, which is why she said she left the remaining value. After taxes, fees and such the remaining amount of the estate is estimated at $500 million.” Jack said

“500 what?” I asked

“500 million, she invested very well and lived a modest life.” Liz said

“WOW, still no to the prenuptial agreement; what’s mine is yours” I said

“TJ, we will talk about this privately; I will be your legal advisor if needed as Jack has a conflict of interest.” Liz said

“OK, we can talk about it later.” I said we left the office and JC was quiet.

“Babe why does it bother you that I don’t want to do a prenup?” I asked

“It’s just that it’s a whole lot of money.” He replied

“I assume you have money from your singing career?”

“Yeah I do”

“If you think we should then I guess I will but I would rather not.”

“You have such a trusting heart, I want this to last forever but I’m worried”

“I know, marriage is a commitment and obvisouly you were ready or you wouldn’t have proposed.”

“My parents put the idea in my head.” JC said looking worried

“Well it is our lives and we will do what we want. We are going to own property together so what really is the difference?”

“Very true, I knew you were a smart man” he said and smiled

“Yes I can be. Would you come to DC with me, I want to visit my dad and introduce you.”

“I’d be honored” he said as we got in the elevator and headed up to the apartment.

“Does your dad want us to move out the apartment for him to sell? I asked

“No, this apartment belongs to Grandpa Paul James, Liz’s father. He gave it to them as a gift for providing him grandchildren.”

“Man, should we give him great-grand children and ask for our own building?” I said laughing

“He does own lots of real estate since his family has been here for decades and bought a good chunk of the buildings when they were sold. His favorite story to tell is when he bailed out Billionaire Donald Trump and bought the former Trump Tower. He changed the name to Manhattan Tower because he wanted it to have a new name; the city was ecstatic when the name changed.”

“Are you close with any of your brothers?”

“Michael, Jeff, Trace and I were pretty close until college; we sort of drifted apart. I guess the main reason is I had a hard time when you left and they wanted me to move on. Trace was defending my feelings so we had a bit of a falling out. It was so extreme we didn’t go to their weddings; dad and pop went. Gavin and Jamie are a bit aloof and have never really hung out with Trace or I. Mike and Jeff kept them at an arm’s length and I am starting to think they are like Kellan and Jordan as they live together and don’t date.”

“What about cousins?”

“Well Aunt Stephanie she has five kids and lives Minneapolis, Minnesota. She runs a farm out there. She has four boys: Hayden, Jayden, Dominic and Damian and 1 daughter Meghan. Her husband died in a farming accident so her best friend from college Darren who is like an uncle to me and his partner moved out there to help. They have two boys Pedro and Paulo. His partner is one fine looking Spanish man. My Aunt Karen is married with four kids all girls, Margaret, Melody, Kristen and Lucy. My Amelia is married and has 6 kids, and yeah that’s a lot of kids, and they are all boys. There is Elijah, Xander, Nick, Wesley, Zack and James. She and her crew live in Clear Lake, Iowa.”

“Wow you got a whole lot of cousins. I don’t have any since dad and mom were only children. Our adopted family of Aunt Kelly has 3 girls Macy, Lacy and Casey. Where Uncle Murray has Tyler Jr, Marcus, Jeff and Jack.”

“Just wait until we all get together it can be pandemonium. My grandparents love having everyone at their place in Cincinnati. Which reminds me… they want to throw an engagement party.” JC said

“That would be cool, I’d get to meet your cousins.”

“So you are willing to go to Ohio?”

“Yeah since you are coming with me to DC.”

“See we work well together.” He said smiling

“That’s not all we do well together, race you upstairs” I said with a smirk and took off running.

“Not fair, you always get a head start then say I’ll race ya” he said trailing behind me. We got in the room and he pounced on me knocking me onto the bed.

“I guess it’s time to play hide the sausage” I said and he laughed

“Well for you it’s more like hide the mini weenie ” he said laughing

“I’ll show you mini weenie” I tried to say with a straight face

“Oh I’ll got get the magnifier” he said. We both were laughing pretty hard when he kissed me. Our make out sessions were my favorite thing and eventually it turned into more. We made love and fell asleep waking up the next morning starving since we didn’t eat.

“Why don’t we get breakfast and head down to DC?” JC asked

“I guess we could go today” I replied

“I know its sudden but it could be an adventure and you could show me where you guys lived.”

“Ok we can go” I said and we packed an overnight bag. We went and got some bagels and coffee and headed out in the truck. Yeah I still have Dad’s truck; my brothers took care of it when I went missing. We eventually got on I95 and it would be a straight shot down there to the Capital Beltway. I decided we would drive through Potomac, Maryland first and stay in Arlington, Virginia overnight. The trip was about four hours and traffic was light. I drove through the old neighborhood and since it had been awhile a lot had changed. I stopped at the old house

“Well here it is”

“This place is huge” JC said

“Yeah, dad and mom wanted extra room so the grandparents, Kelly, Murray and their families could visit. We had a heated pool, spa, and a basketball court. Dad tried to play with us but all four of us sucked at playing.” I said reliving that fond memory. I pulled down the street three doors

“This is where Aunt Kat lived; she and the boys were always close to us. I should have known then Brayden was competing as this house is much bigger than ours.” I said

“Well size doesn’t matter.” JC said

We left and continued our trek to Arlington National Cemetery. We arrived and I showed the guard my family pass and ID and parked the truck. We walked to the back where dad was laid to rest. This time I didn’t fall sobbing and I had a different mindset; when we got close I heard dad talking to me

“Welcome back Mini, I’m so glad you are here”

“Hi Dad, I wanted to apologize for my behavior the last time I was here. I told you I didn’t love you and that you were a terrible parent. I’ve come to realize you were just trying to protect me.” I said aloud

“Mini, I forgive you. I know that you had a real rough time and I am sorry I didn’t realize you weren’t drunk but higher than a kite. As a parent I should have listened and instead I assumed.” Dad said but JC couldn’t hear him

“I’d like you to meet someone dad; you’ve met him before but things have changed. Meet my fiancé Jackson Paul Craft-Woolery or JC or J as I like to call him.”

“Hello Mr. Michaels, a pleasure to meet you again.” J said

“Jackson, the pleasure is mine.” Dad said

“I promise you I will take care of TJ and make him the happiest man on earth” J said and grasped my hand

“Mini, you have yourself a true and honorable man. You will grow old together and have many years ahead of you. I love you son” Dad said and I started to cry

“Babe you ok?” J asked

“You know how I can hear Tristan, Jake and Josh? Well dad has been responding and he said we will grow old together and have many years ahead of us”

“Your father is a romantic man and we will have a wonderful life”

We stood there for a while and took in the quiet. We walked through the cemetery and saw a lot of people visiting famous hero’s buried there. We walked hand in hand back to the truck. I asked JC to drive us to the local Marriott so we could rest. Visiting dad made me mentally tired. We arrived and checked into the hotel and were resting in the room when I heard Tristan

“Brudder I love you.”

“I love you too Tristan”

I fell asleep on J’s chest listening to his heart beat.