good enough for me.
Trip and Wren headed to the slopes before Christy returned from church.
They were still a little hungover, but they wanted to get the most out of their lift tickets.
“Have fun,” I said as they left. “We’ll join you after lunch.”
I sat next to the wood-burning stove and took out my pocket sketchbook.
I designed A-frame houses for the next hour, mostly for fun. I was putting the finishing touches on one when I heard the door open. Christy danced in, apple-cheeked and sporting a sunshine smile.
“Are we the only ones here?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I told her about Trip and Wren and plans to meet them.
“How long do we have?”
“Not long. Why?”
“Then we’d better hurry.”
“Hurry? Wh—?”
She sank to her knees and reached for my fly.
“What’re you doing?” I asked, although it was obvious.
“Can’t talk now. Need to suck.” She went straight to work and finished me off in about five minutes. “Oh my gosh,” she said as she sat back to catch her breath. “I’ve been thinking about that all morning.”
“Even during Mass?”
“I know, right! I felt so guilty at first. But then I decided it was a test.”
“Um… did you pass?”
“I stayed till the end of the service. Then I rushed back and… um…
nourished my body.” She sighed and rested her head on my thigh. “Oh, Paul, I love you so much right now.”
“I love you too. Care to prove it again?”
“A blowjob doesn’t prove I love you,” she said with exaggerated patience. “It’s an expression of my love.”
“Okay. Care to express it again?”
“I’d love to.”
We ate a simple dinner that evening and finished off the wine. Afterward, we soaked in the hot tub and polished off the whiskey as well. We were all fairly drunk by then, so we didn’t even open the champagne. We decided to leave it as a thank-you gift for the cabin’s owner instead.
The next morning we cleaned up, drained the hot tub, and packed our things. Christy and I had to fly to San Diego, while Trip and Wren had a much longer trip, from Reno to Denver and then on to Nashville. They drove us to the airport in Truckee, but they couldn’t hang around to see us off. They needed to get to Reno in time to return the rental car, so we said goodbye and wished them a safe trip.
The day was windy and bitterly cold, but the skies were clear, with unlimited ceiling and visibility. Christy made a call to her parents while I stowed the luggage and preflighted the plane. Our flight to San Diego was routine, and her mother met us at the FBO there.
“Harold went to the office today,” she explained. “He was restless and wanted to get a head start on the new year.”
“No problem,” I said as we headed toward the parking lot.
Anne drove a Mercedes convertible, and I took one look at it and knew the skis weren’t going to fit in the trunk.
“Oh, dear,” she said, “I should’ve let Harold take my car.”
“It’s okay. We’ll make it work.” I tried every angle I could, but we eventually decided to put the top down and angle the skis across the back seat.
“We’re going to be chilly driving home,” Anne warned.
“Nah. It’ll be fun.”
She brightened with a sunny smile, a more mature version of Christy’s.
“Christine said you’d remind us of Laurence.”
“I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”
“Of course not, dear. He was such a happy young man, always positive.”
Christy beamed at me.
Anne slid behind the wheel, and I climbed into the passenger seat. Christy sat on my lap and pulled her warm headband into place. We drove to La Jolla with the heat on full blast and oblivious to the curious looks from other drivers.
“That was fun!” Anne said as we pulled into the garage. Her cheeks were pink and her hair frizzy where it peeked from under her scarf, but she looked exhilarated. “Who’s ready to do it again?”
“Maybe later,” I laughed. I patted Christy’s bottom and opened the car door.
“Hey, Mom,” she said as she climbed out, “do you mind if we—?”
“Make a snack? Of course. Paul, dear, will you bring the luggage?”
“My pleasure.” I smiled to myself as the bird-sized women headed inside to feed their bird-sized appetites. (Did you know that birds eat more than fifteen percent of their body weight every day? That’s astounding. An average human would need to eat twenty pounds of food to accomplish the same thing. You’d know that if you ever teased your girlfriend during a midnight snack. I digress, but I sort of had it coming.) I unloaded the ski bags and leaned them against the garage wall. Then I made two trips and hauled our suitcases and other bags inside. I took Christy’s to her bedroom and mine to the guest room. When I returned to the kitchen, Christy stood on tiptoe and gave me a kiss along with a mug of hot cocoa. I casually put my arm around her and soaked up her warmth as well.
Anne’s dark blue eyes smiled as she watched us, and I wondered how much she knew about our relationship. Probably enough, I decided. She must have read my mind, because she gave me a little smile of approval. She didn’t need to be Christy’s mother to see how happy she was.
Harold came home a couple of hours later, and Anne and Christy greeted him at the door. He kissed his wife, gave his daughter a hug, and then shook my hand.
“Glad you made it home safe,” he said.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Son, you’re going to get me in trouble if you keep that up. Just Harold.”
“Sorry,” I said. “It’s the uniform.”
“You could wear one yourself,” he said. “Birdy loves a man in uniform.”
“I love you in uniform,” she corrected. “Paul looks better in a suit.”
“There she goes again, thinking for herself,” I said.
Anne covered a smile, but Christy shot me a glare before she realized I was kidding.
Harold laughed. “She’s too much like her mother.”
“And that’s a bad thing because…?” Anne asked sweetly.
“Oh, no! It’s a good thing. Very good.”
She rolled her eyes and took his coat, which she folded and automatically passed to Christy. She stopped in surprise when she realized what she’d done.
“It’s good to have you home, Birdy,” her father said. “I knew you’d
eventually grow up and fly the nest, but I didn’t think it’d be so quick.”
“Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll always be your little girl.”
“Maybe in my heart,” he said, “but you’re a young woman now. I might even get used to the fact that you have a young man in your life.” He smiled at me, but I detected a hint of calculation. “Speaking of which,” he continued,
“would you like to join me for a drink, Paul, after I change into something more comfortable?”
Anne quirked an eyebrow and silently asked if I wanted to be rescued or not, at which point I realized that Harold was going to interrogate me about the sleeping arrangements at the cabin. Lucky for me, I was one step ahead of him—I’d rehearsed my story during the flight from Tahoe. I did my best not to smile, but he’d been reading people’s expressions longer than I’d been alive.
“You and your strange sense of humor,” he said with an amused snort.
“Sorry. I can’t help it.”
“Maybe you’re right to avoid the military. That smirk alone could get you court-martialed.”
“Oh, Dad, be nice,” Christy said. “I happen to like his smirk.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” But he gave me a nod, if not of approval, then at least of acceptance. “I’ll meet you in my office.”
“I’ll pour the whiskey.”
“Now, you see that?” he said to his wife and daughter. “That’s the way this should work.”