Introduction

Arthur and Andrea Poore were on their way to becoming one of the power couples of the late eighties. They owned ‘Octie’s Ink’ on the side street of Casper in Gloucester City, NJ. Technology was beginning to move at a faster pace and the demand for ink was becoming a market for them to have the corner on. Living in a small city across the Delaware River from Philadelphia gave them a huge positional advantage. Andrea’s father, David Flowers III, had been a shipping tycoon who inherited his business from his father, David Flowers II. A man who was presumed to have lost his mind when he nearly burned his entire empire to the ground in the sixties. It was a catastrophic blow, causing quite a stir in business communities while putting the stability of the family into question.

A very young Andrea was always curious about the truth behind this story, as she grew older she researched what happened. Her unquenchable curiosity always found her nosing for answers, whether she was ready to handle the truth, or not. Being ‘Octie’s’ owner in training, she had to answer the occasional questions about her grandfather’s mentality. Most times, she had to quell the questions with a shrug of the shoulder and a simple, “my grandfather was mentally unstable in his later years, but a good man for his entire life”. She grew up business savvy under the wing of her father. Yet, she never felt like a normal person, not unless she was fantasizing about how to push the numbers across the board in defense of some opposition that may be trying to move in on the territory of her family. The woman proved to be tenacious and viewed life for what it was, learning to take the good along with the bad.

David Flowers III was more into the idea of being a shipping tycoon much like his father had been. When Andrea finished college and saw an opportunity to start her own business in textiles (ink mostly), he was behind her one-hundred percent. He also saw it as a huge opportunity to expand on his own business. By being the first company to supply the mid-west with east coast style ink. His flagship was named ‘The Bruin’ and he loved going west and making his prescence known.

What sunk the start-up of Octie’s Ink in the west was when ‘The Bruin’ sunk during a storm on Lake Michigan. David had been on board at the time. Andrea received the call late one night, after hearing the news she was left devastated. But, being the business woman that her father had taught her to be, she was able to maintain her composure when needed. Ceremonies were held, and naturally the upper-middle class all wanted to show their appreciation. Only to clutch what may be left of the late David Flowers greatest achievements.

Andrea however, knew very little about shipping. What she did know, was from overhearing her father talking about it. It pumped through her veins to be a natural leader, but she was more focused on getting Octie’s textile division up and running. She took two weeks off after her father’s death, to mourn. She allowed Arthur to be in charge of the factory for the time she was gone. Everything ran smoothly in her absence and this was even a bigger draw for her towards Arthur. They shared the connection and were both able to feel one another on a much deeper level. It was also something that each of them had been hoping to find in a significant other.

After her father died, Andrea was alone, save for Arthur. She was strong and aggressive, most people learned to fear her, Arthur hadn’t been intimidated by her lonliness. After she had found out about her father, Arthur seemed to instinctively know how she was feeling deep inside, and was there to console her. After she broke the news to him, he offered his services so she could take the time she needed to mourn. From that point on, she began to view him from more that just her office window. As a matter of fact, she took advantage of him being there and finally decided to open up to him. From then on, their relationship blossomed. They worked together so long that the fleeting glances turned into something more, something that they had both been searching for. They eventually married and together ran Octie’s into the powerhouse ink industry, supplying much of the ink needed for commercial industries.

Spanning from New York City to Charleston. It was the two of them running a small little factory that would pump out the ink needed. It was big money, and they were both very caring employers. The workers were happy and well taken care of. That made the workers happy and willing to do anything needed, to get the job done.

One of the most important things Arthur and Andrea shared was that there was no family left between the two of them. Arthur had lost his tragically when he was a child. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father was a bridge worker that fell into a freshly poured pillar of cement on the site of one of the bridges built in Ocean City, NJ. That would forever remain the final resting place of Arthur Poore’s father.

After marriage, life carried on and they worked for some time building Octie’s. Technology thundered forward and the demand for more Octies’s Ink brought the factory to it’s highest level of production. Granting the two of them the freedom that they so deserved. They weren’t the richest of business owners in the world, and most of what they didn’t need had been donated anonymously to build shelters for the homeless. Life had been treating them very well, they both decided that this was the most ideal time to begin raising a family.

In November of 1981 Andrea Poore gave birth to twins, a little boy and a little girl. They named the boy Seigh and the girl, Darling. Both had dark hair, green eyes, and they reminded Andrea of her father. As they grew, she noticed how unusually strong of a bond they shared. Andrea knew twins were supposed to be close, but this had approached the point of a psychic link. At times, it troubled her when they would laugh while not saying a word. They would just look at each other and it would be as though she had been able to feel the connection they made. Arthur noticed it as well, and would assure her that there was nothing wrong with what it was they were doing. She would accept his reassurances and go with it for some time, until the days she would swear up and down to him that toys moved across the carpet on their own. Or, she would see books falling unnaturally slow on their way off the shelves and down onto the floor. The kids were very young at the time, prompting Arthur to suggest family vacations to spend some time away from Octie’s and the usual routine of running a home and business. Andrea thought maybe, the smell of ink was starting to get to her head.

They took several two-week vacations every summer to a lake house they purchased. It was nestled halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The house they bought was quaint and the area proved to be a quiet retreat. It was like camping and the house wasn’t too far away from the conveniences of small town USA. It had the niceties of a stove and a refrigerator. Within walking distance were two nice little beaches in either direction. The Poore’s frequented the beaches and the kids would play together. There would be other kids there but Seigh and Darling always felt more comfortable playing on their own. Andrea took notice to this too, and the thought quickly turned to mild paranoia about their social skills.

Arthur would once again reassure her by telling her that he had behaved the same way as a child; that perhaps it was something in the genes. But, Arthur had also had a very different upbringing, moving in and out of foster care. The thought of mentioning this to Arthur always made her feel uncomfortable, for fear of hurting his feelings. The fact that it would be nearly impossible for him to relate to the care that they had been giving their children. And that the parenting skills that he had were indeed above and beyond, but the feeling of attachment that a mother expressed could not be given by foster parents, and it was something that he was just now learning by being a parent, than simply observing one. Rather than drawing comparisions from her experiences, Andrea found the only way she could connect with this was by reflecting back and searching her past for the same feelings. This helped her to keep her composure on handling the most difficult situations. It was an instinct that all mothers have in order to have a deeper compassion for life. This would put her at ease for short bursts of time, to better understand her children through him. Most times though, she believed she was witnessing some metaphysical happening, that maybe, only she was aware of.

She had grown up spending more time with adults than with other children. So, she learned quickly the skills of a man’s world. Had her mother been around things may have been different for her. But, as it stood now, she was who she was. Thankfully, she had met Arthur. He was enough to give her the kind, inner feelings, that she sought throughout her life. That was his biggest draw for her, his inner strength that she didn’t seen to understand for herself. That there was nothing in the world he couldn’t do. One horrible day for their son though, there was something that his father couldn’t do.

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