Published: 18 Jun 2026
Chapter 34 – Spring Break
When we eventually went down to have lunch with my parents, and while we were eating, Mom made a comment. “As soon as you finish your meal, we want you boys to get ready to go shopping with us.”
“Why do we have to go grocery shopping with you?”
“We’re not taking you grocery shopping. We thought it would be a good idea to take you boys to purchase suits, dress shirts, ties, and pocket squares. We feel those things will make you look stylish when you get all of those awards before you graduate, as well as appearing more professional when you go for job interviews. We’ll also have the tailor take your measurements so he can make the appropriate alterations to the suits that will ensure they fit you perfectly, so you’ll look your best.”
“You don’t have to buy those things for me. My parents can take care of it instead,” Devin responded.
“I’m sure they can, but this will be our graduation present to each of you. And since I doubt the tailor will be able to make the alterations before you return to college, we’ll bring the suits with us when we go there for graduation weekend. If you wear the suits when you have a job interview, you’ll look your best as you’re sitting across from the person interviewing you. And you can also wear them when you get married, unless you want to rent something more formal.”
“Ok, if this is your graduation present to me, then I guess it will be ok.”
“And since you just mentioned about us getting married, I have some news for you that I think you’ll like. We’ve decided to have the wedding before we start looking for jobs, so if you agree, we’d like you to start arranging everything for us. You can select the church and the minister, as well as choosing where we’ll have the reception. We feel the second or third Saturday in June will be fine with us, and that way you’ll have an option if there’s a conflict with securing any of those things when you’re making the arrangements. We’ve made a quick list of who we plan to invite and figure there will be twenty to thirty-two people in total, so you can share that information with any potential caterer. We’ll give you the exact count later, after we find out who can come and if the single guests plan to bring a date.”
“That’s wonderful news and I’m so glad you decided to have the wedding here. I’m also thrilled that you’re letting me plan this for you, but have you decided what you’re going to do about your last names yet?”
“Yes, we have. Devin has agreed to change his last name to MacPherson and his family supports his choice.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! And Devin it’s so sweet of you to do that!”
“Like Mac said, I’ve already talked it over with my family, and they’ve agreed that it’s probably best if I do this. The main reason is due to our unique inherited trait and we agreed it would be best if there wasn’t a long line of people with the surname McCaskill that had this ability. That way if one of us makes a mistake and exposes our ability to others, they won’t be able to track all of us down by just rounding everyone up with our last name. My dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa are going to all start taking the surname of their new spouse, once they’ve outlived their current wife.”
“That’s something you boys don’t have to worry about.”
“No, it isn’t, but it will be a problem for our sons, so when they’ve outlived their first spouse, they’ll do the same thing, and if they’re gay like us, they’ll do it when they get married the first time.”
“I can tell you two have put a lot of thought into this,” Dad responded.
“Yes, we have.”
“Then this should work out well for all of you.”
“Do you think Grandma and Grandpa Harris will be able to come?”
“I really doubt they’ll be able to travel here, but I’ll ask. I’m sure they’ll send you a lovely wedding gift, though, and it will probably be in the form of a check.”
“That works for us, but I’m sad that they probably won’t be here when we exchange vows. We’re also going to invite Grandma and Grandpa MacPherson, Aunt Linda, Uncle Ted, Ben, and Katy, and we want to invite all of the Fitzpatricks as well. There may be a few of our friends from CSU, and one professor who I’m almost positive will want to attend.”
“That’s wonderful and I’m so happy that you’ve decided to do this. I’ll be sure to call my parents, and I’ll try to do it tomorrow. I’ll tell them about the wedding and ask if they think they’d be able to attend.”
“I really hope they can come. Maybe they might know someone who could help them get to the airport, and then one of us can pick them up when they land in Denver and we could arrange for them to have a first-floor room at the hotel, and then they could ride with you guys to the church and reception.”
“I’ll be sure to mention that to them.”
As soon as we finished eating lunch, we changed into something a little more appropriate, and then Dad drove us to Colorado Springs. There was an upscale men’s clothing store there that was named Rutledge’s, and before we entered, Dad made a comment.
“I’d suggest that you choose either a navy blue or a charcoal gray suit, because those will look the most professional when you’re job hunting.”
“They’ll also look nice on you when you get married,” Mom added, which let us know that was probably the real reason she was so eager to do this for us.
Once we entered the store, it was apparent that it contained a huge selection of very expensive looking suits, along with a wide variety of equally expensive looking accessories. There was also a large quantity of stylish dress shirts, including some with French cuffs, and numerous silk ties and pocket squares. They also carried top-of-the-line sports coats and cashmere sweaters, along with a few other items – everything a professional with a large bank account would ever need. As we walked toward the racks where the suits were displayed, an eager salesman rushed over to greet us.
“Welcome to Rutledge’s Downtown. May I help you find something.”
“Yes, the boys want to purchase suits,” Dad replied.
At the same time, Devin whispered to me. “I can tell he wanted to beat the other salespeople to us so he can rack up a huge commission.” I merely nodded and he continued. “I already have a blue suit, so what do you think about getting a gray one.”
“Yes, that’s fine with me, seeing I also have a blue suit at home.”
We both ended up selecting a charcoal gray pinstripe suit, and after we were measured for alterations, we selected the other items my parents had mentioned earlier. They had each of us select two new dress shirts, three silk ties (two for the new suits and one for our blue suit), and two pairs of socks. They also had us select two different pocket squares, one white that we could use with either suit and the other one a rich purple that would look perfect the new suit. Once we had everything we needed and Dad had paid for them, we took all of the items, except for the suits, to the SUV. Devin and I thought we were going to return home now, but my parents had a different idea.
“You’ll also need new dress shoes that will match the suits that we just purchased for you,” Mom added, and then they took us to a Jos. A. Bank shoe store next.
“We could have purchased shoes at the store we just left!” I pointed out.
“Yes, we could have, but I’m more familiar with this company and trust that we’ll get the quality we’re looking for here.”
After we’d each selected a nice-looking pair of dress shoes, we finally headed back to Jamesville and dropped everything off, and then my mom and dad took us out to eat. After we ordered, we began to chat.
“Man, I really appreciate everything you bought for me,” Devin began, “but don’t you think you spent too much money?”
“Not at all,” my mom replied, “because we want you boys to look your best at your graduation, when you go for your job interviews, and at your wedding.”
“I know, but I was planning on doing that with my parents, so I’m feeling guilty that you spent so much money on me.”
“You shouldn’t, because you’re part of our family too,” Dad chimed in. “That means we’re planning on doing the same things for you that we do for Michael.”
“I guess that’s ok, as long as you don’t start to feel like I’m becoming a burden.”
“That thought never crossed our minds and never will, so you don’t have to worry about anything like that happening.”
After we finished a wonderful meal together, we headed back to the house, but along the way Dad stopped to fill the gas tank. “By the way, you boys still have to pick the numbers for the lottery tickets, like you promise the last time you were here, so why don’t you go inside and do that while I’m pumping gas. I’ll come inside to pay for everything when I’ve finished up here.”
“Ok, we don’t have a problem with that, but what games do you want us to play?”
“Be sure to get an Orange Cash scratch off ticket. They chose that name in honor of the Denver Broncos. And you can pick the numbers for a Powerball and Lucky for Life ticket and give those to me when I come inside.”
“Ok,” I replied, and we headed for the building. “Devin, you can pick the Powerball numbers and I’ll choose the Lucky for Life numbers. Dad can get the Orange Cash scratch off ticket when he pays for everything.”
“Ok, that’s fine with me,” Devin confirmed.
Once Dad had all three items, he drove us home, and then we went into the living room to watch TV with my mom and dad. During a commercial, Devin thanked Mom and Dad again for everything they’d bought for him, including the excellent meal, and then he asked a question. “Pa, when are you going to check the scratch off ticket?”
“I forgot all about that, so I’ll get it during the next commercial and scratch off the various areas to see if I won anything.”
As soon as the next commercial started, we urged Dad to go get the Orange Cash ticket and watched as he scratched off all of the various areas.
“How much do you win?” Devin demanded as soon as Dad was done.
“I don’t believe it, but I’ve got a match?”
“Is it for the $100,000?” Devin pressed.
“No, and it’s not the $10,000 prize either, but I just won $3,000. It means Aaron was right and you boys are good luck!”
“But we didn’t have anything to do with that ticket. It was you who bought it after we gave you the play slips for the other games and you gave them to the clerk so he could run them through his machine,” I stated.
“Then I guess the lucky part was that you boys were with me when I bought the ticket, because I’ve never won anything on the tickets I’ve bought in the past.”
“Now we just have to see if you win anything on the Powerball and Lucky for Life drawings,” Devin followed.
“Yes, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Once we finished our discussion, we went back to watch the end of the show, and when the next commercial came on, Mom looked over at us and spoke.
“We’re really glad that you boys liked everything we bought for you today, and now you’ll both look very sharp at your graduation and very professional when you go to a job interview. You’ll also look very handsome when you’re standing at the alter to get married.”
“I also heard both of you talking about having a blue suit as well,” Dad added, “so you can wear those suits when you go to a second or call-back interview with the same company.”
“Thanks for telling us about that,” Devin responded, “because I didn’t realize that we might have more than one interview at the same company.”
“Yes, the first interview is designed to narrow a large field of applicants down to the top two or three candidates, and then the second interview is to select the finalist from the top contenders.”
When the show we were watching came to an end, we all headed upstairs to go get some sleep, since it had been a very long, exciting, and tiring day.
It was only 46 degrees (7.8 C) outside on Sunday, so my parents gave us a choice between going bowling or seeing a movie, and we chose going to the cinema complex.
“Is there something special you’d like to see?” Dad asked.
“Not really, but Devin and I will go online to find out what’s playing.”
After grabbing my laptop, Devin and I read the summaries about each of the movies playing locally and selected one from the group. Then we went back to tell my parents what we decided on.
“We picked a movie that’s titled ”The 6th”.”
“It’s not about January Sixth, is it?” Dad asked.
“No, it isn’t. According to the blurb we read and after watching the trailer, we discovered it’s about a high-profile defense attorney who’s an avid proponent of the Sixth Amendment, which is the right to a fair trial. One of his friends, whom the lawyer had just defended on a different case and won, convinced the lawyer to take the case of a police officer who’s been falsely accused of stealing evidence. As the lawyer began to aggressively investigate the situation, he stumbles upon an organized group of corrupt and very dangerous cops that are involved with both gun and drug smuggling.”
“That sounds interesting,” Mom responded.
“And it sounds like it should have plenty of action too,” Dad followed.
“Yes, the description said it was a crime-oriented action-thriller.”
“Great, then check the starting times, and then we’ll go after we eat.”
“I already did that and there are shows starting at 1:45, 4:10, and 7:30.”
“Then let’s plan on going to the 1:45 show.”
We all agreed it sounded like a good idea, so after we finished our lunch, we all hopped into the SUV and Dad drove us to the cinema complex. The movie was interesting, although not great, but it did have a lot of action.
“Did you enjoy it?” I asked my parents when the movie ended.
“Yes, it reminded me of some of those old TV shows I used to watch, Like ”Miami Vice ”and ”Law and Order”,” Dad replied.
“It reminded me of ”Hill Street Blues”,” Mom followed. “I was in high school when it was on TV and I loved that show.”
“I’m glad you both enjoyed it and there’s something else we’d like to talk to you about. Since you guys will be working during the day all week, we thought we’d spend Tuesday and Wednesday at the cabin with Ma and Pa.”
“Won’t Aaron be busy with taxes?”
“Yes, so we probably won’t see much of him,” Devin answered, “but he brings work home with him at night so he can eat supper with Mom, and with me too, whenever I’m there.”
“Ok, that sounds fair,” Dad concurred, “and you should spend some time with them as well.”
“But I’ll miss coming home to those wonderful meals you boys always prepare when you’re home.”
“We’ll still do that on the days we’re here,” I replied.
“Just not on Friday, because I’ll take you all out to eat that night.”
“Ok, but we can fix supper tomorrow night and on Thursday.”
“Sounds good,” Mom agreed.
On Monday, not only did we make supper for my parents, but during the day we did some research on auction houses that would be best for selling valuable baseball cards. We discovered the best choices were ”Golden Auctions”, ”Robert Edward Auctions”, ”Heritage Auctions”, ”Lelands Auctions”, and ”MHCC ”(Mile High Card Company).
We discussed the pros and cons of each one in great detail, seeing whichever auction house we chose would be responsible for the majority of the money we would make on the baseball cards. After about six hours, three after breakfast and three more after lunch, we settled on one of the five for three specific reasons.
“I think MHCC would be our best choice, since it’s located in Denver,” Devin suggested. “It’s the closest, so it would be more convenient and would require less travel time.”
“That’s true, but I think we’d be better off using ”Heritage Auctions”,” I countered. “From what I’ve read, they’re a major player in high-end sports collectibles and they would give us global exposure as well. That might be important, since Japan and South Korea also have big time baseball card collectors that would probably be willing to spend big bucks on something they want. It’s also the closest facility to where we’re hoping to get jobs, since it’s in Dallas, which is closer to Houston than the other places. Three of those houses are in New Jersey, along with the one in Denver. We also need to space out the times we choose to auction a batch of the most valuable cards.”
“Why do we want to space out the times we put the other cards up for auction?”
“The articles I’ve read all said that collectors should only sell 5 to 10 cards at one time, otherwise the bidders tend to spend less on each card so they can purchase many of the cards up for sale. We’ll make more money is we sell them in smaller batches and space the sales out at different intervals, so the bidders can’t figure out when we plan to make our next offering.”
“Ok, then I’ll go along with your choice, since it has the most factors in our favor.”
Now that we’d agreed on the auction house that we’re going to use, we started writing down the financial factors that we want to be sure to discuss with Pa when we’re at the cabin. That basically took up the rest of the night, and then we got ready for bed, so we could get plenty of sleep.
Before we left for the cabin on Tuesday morning, I packed all 80 of the cards we felt would attract the highest bids in the Tupperware container that we’d originally found the cards in. They were in the semi-rigid card holders, or slabs, that SGC (Sportscard Guaranty Company) had placed them in after they graded them, and I used old pairs of underwear that I’d already placed around them. It was to keep them from moving around too much and scratching the slabs, and now we’d have to plan which batches we were going to place the cards in for the various auctions.
When we arrived at the cabin, Ma and Pa were both at work, so the first thing we did was to go for a run out on one of the trails. After we returned to the cabin, we set up an area where we could take high-quality photos of each of the 80 baseball cards. Devin had called his dad the night before and told him what we were planning to do, so Pa agreed to let us use his expensive, professional quality digital camera. It will allow us to take photos that are far better quality than what we’d be able to get if we used our cell phones to take the photos.
We also agreed that we’d take three photos of both the front and back of each card, and then we’d be able to select the best photo of the front and back to use. I’d then upload those, along with the other information, to the website I’m going to create, but I won’t be able to do that until we get back to my house on Thursday.
“Ok, here’s what we have to do next,” Devin began. “We have to take the lamp off the end table so we can move it to the center of the room, and then we’ll set a portable desk with a slanted top that my dad uses on the end table. After that, I’ll bring out a light blue tablecloth that my dad uses when taking photos of different things for appraisal purposes for his clients, because he says it gives a softer and more professional looking background.”
After we finish doing each of those things, Devin explained what we had to do next. “I’m going to get out the portable projection screen that my dad uses and set it up next, and then we’ll set two lamps on either side of it and about three feet away from the portable desk. The screen will reflect the light from the lamps so we won’t get a reflection of the light bulbs when we take the photos of the slabs.
It took us most of the afternoon to do all of those things, and when we finished, Devin asked a question. “Ok, now it’s your turn. What do we do next?”
“Do you remember the list I made with the descriptions of each of the baseball cards?”
“Yeah, you did it for all of the cards when we first started cataloging them.”
“Yes, so I’ll take the description for each of the top 80 cards and place it either beside or above the best front and back photo for that card. It will depend on which way looks the best, and then I’ll start uploading them to the website that I’m going to create when we get back to my house.”
“Ok, are you going to include any more information than what you first listed for each card?”
“The descriptions that I first wrote lists the year the card was printed, the player’s name, and the position he played, along with which arm he throws with and if he bats right, left, or is a switch-hitter. I’ll add any other relevant information that makes the card special, such as if it’s his rookie card or last year played, as well as if this was the year after he’d set a record or received a special honor.”
“Which records are you going to include?”
“That would be things like the number of home runs he hit in one season, or when he reached a lifetime total of home runs, such as 500, 600, or 700. It might be the year a pitcher had an outstanding won/loss record or a very low ERA (Earned Run Average). For a pitcher that means the average number of earned runs scored against him for every nine innings he pitched.”
“Then what special honors will you consider?”
“That would include such things as being the league’s MVP or named a Gold Glove recipient for being the best fielder at his position for the previous season. It will also include things like winning the Triple Crown, and for a hitter that would mean leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. For a pitcher it would mean being the one who led the league with the most wins, the best ERA, and the most strikeouts.”
“Won’t the people interested in buying the card already know all of that information?”
“Probably, but this will serve as a reminder as to why this particular card is so special and valuable.”
“Won’t it be too much information?”
“Not if we want to give the collector a reason to purchase the card, no matter how much it costs. Besides, it’s those individual achievements and special honors that are what makes the card worth so much more than the cards of that player from the other years he played.”
“Ok, I’m interested in getting as much money as possible when we put these cards up for auction, but it looks like you have a much better understanding about the marketing factors than I do.”
When Pa came home that evening, and after we’d eaten supper together, Devin and I sat down with him so we could ask the questions we’d written down previously.”
“How do you think we should handle the sale of the cards and the coins when it comes to paying taxes?”
“First of all, I think one of you should claim the proceeds from the sale of the baseball cards and the other one claim the proceeds from the sale of the coins. And for income tax purposes, you’ll claim anything you make from their sale as long term capital gains, which will give you the lowest combined Federal and State tax rates.”
“But would we even qualify for long term capital gains, since we haven’t had the baseball cards or coins in our possession for very long?”
“The government won’t know that, since the baseball cards are all from before 1970 and the coins are all from before 1865. You can claim that they were passed down to you and you’ve had them since you were young teenagers, so anything you earn on them would be a long-term capital gain.”
“That’s why we’re depend on you to tell us what to do.”
“And I’ll also take care of doing your tax returns.”
“But what about the other items we found in the cave?” Devin asked.
“We’ll have the person dealing with the coins claim those items. It doesn’t really matter, though, because you’ll be combining the profits so I can invest the money for you, so it will grow into even more.”
“But isn’t there a chance the investments might lose money as well.”
“Yes, but I’ll be diversifying your investments so not all of your eggs will be in one basket. That way any losses that occur will be offset by your other earnings. I won’t place your money into the riskiest types of investment and I’ll also go over everything I do with both of you, so you’ll have a chance to approve or reject everything I do.”
“Thanks, I’m sure glad you majored in finance, Pa.”
“Me too, because it’s also paid off for my dad and granddad. I’ve been handling their investments since shortly after I graduated from college.”
After we finished asking Pa our questions, he started doing his other work, so Devin and I sat down to play a game with Ma before we turned in.
The next morning, Devin and I went out for another run, and then we got ready to finish up the things we’d been doing the day before, and we finished before Ma and Pa arrived at the cabin. While we were eating supper, we told them about the things that we’d done while we were with my parents over the weekend.
After we finished eating, Pa when off to work on the tax returns he’d brought home with him, and while he was doing that, Devin and I washed the dishes that we’d used. After we finished doing that, we sat down to play another game with Ma, and then the three of us turned in, but Pa worked a little longer.
After we had breakfast with Ma and Pa on Thursday morning, Devin and I returned to Jamesville, and the first thing I did was to create the website that I called ”D & M Baseball Cards”. I made sure it all looked very professional and I gave Devin top billing, since I thought D & M sounded better than M & D. I thought that sounded like it would be a medical supply organization, rather than a baseball card collection, but I didn’t tell Devin that. Instead, I allowed him to believe whatever reasons he came up with to explain why I did that.
Devin had been fixing our lunch while I’d been doing that, so I sat down with him to eat. “Do you have a lot more to do?” Devin asked.
“Yes, I’ve got to upload everything to the website I created and I’ve got to do that for all 80 cards.”
“Ok, then while you’re doing that, I’ll run to the grocery store and buy a few things that I’ll need so I can fix supper for everyone.”
“Ok, but are you sure you can do that with out my help?”
“Yes, I’ve learned a lot watching you fix meals over the past couple of years, so I think I can do it all right. If I run into any difficulties, I’ll come in and seek your advice.”
After we finished eating lunch, I moved on to the next step and began uploading the various pages that I’d created on my laptop to the website I’d created earlier.
I worked on that until late in the afternoon, and while I was doing that, Devin was busy getting things ready in the kitchen. Everything was ready by the time my parents arrived home from work, but they still had enough time to freshen up before I helped Devin carry it out to the table, and then we all sat down to eat.
“Did you boys have a good time at the cabin?” Mom asked.
“Yes, it’s always nice to go out there and spend time wandering around the forest and spending time with nature. It was great spending time with Ma and Pa again too.”
“When are you boys planning on heading back to campus?” Dad followed.
“We thought we’d leave on Saturday, right after breakfast.”
“That’s too bad, because Liam invited us over to his house on Saturday for a barbeque.”
“In March? Isn’t it too cold out for a cookout?”
“Liam set his grill up outside, but they eat in the house, because you’re right, it is too cold to sit outside to eat. It’s just that Liam doesn’t mind cooking on the grill in the cold, because he says the food tastes better when he cooks it on the grill.”
“I see. So did he invite us out there for some special occasion?”
“Not really, but he said we haven’t gotten together for a while and he and his wife thought it would be nice to spend some time with us. And when I told him you might be home this weekend, he said to bring you along.”
“That’s too bad because we’ll be gone by then.”
“Then I’m glad I planned on taking you out to supper tomorrow night.”
After we finished eating, Devin and I carried the dishes out to the kitchen and washed them, along with the things Devin had used when preparing the meal. When we finished doing that, we watched a movie on Netflix with my parents, and when it ended, we all went upstairs and got ready for bed.
After we woke up, I immediately continued working on what I’d been doing the day before, while Devin made our breakfast. I stopped what I was doing when he called me to eat, and after we finished, I went back to working on the baseball cards as Devin washed the dishes. When he finished up in the kitchen, he sat next to me and watched what I was doing until he went out to fix us some lunch. I’d just about completed my task when he said it was ready.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m just about done.”
“Great, because there’s something else I want us to do after you finish with that.”
After we finished eating, I went back to enter the last of the cards while Devin was doing the dishes, and then he came in to wait for me, because he finished up first. Once I’d uploaded that last of the information, I turned and gave him a kiss.
“All done, so what do you have planned for us next.”
“We’re going to head up to the bedroom and make love until we have to get ready for your dad to take us out to eat.”
It turned out to be a rather lengthy session, seeing we hadn’t done it in a while, and when we finished, I checked my phone to see how much time we had until my parents would arrive.
“Fuck, we have to hurry, because my parents are going to get here pretty soon. We took more time making love than we should have.”
We took the fastest shower we’d ever taken, because as each of us washed the front of our bodies, the other one was washing his back. When we finished, we followed the same tactic when drying off, and then we got dressed in record time and flew down the stairs just as the SUV was pulling into the driveway.
When my parents came inside, they freshened up quickly, and then we all went outside and got in the SUV. After we arrived at the restaurant and were taken to a table, Dad turned to us and spoke.
“Liam said he was looking forward to tomorrow night, and when I told him that you boys said you wouldn’t be able to make it, he seemed very disappointed.”
“Why? What did he say?”
“He just muttered something about having to find a way to get you two to change your minds.”
“That’s strange. How did he think he’d be able to do that?”
“I have no idea, because after he said it, he turned around and walked away.”
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