Unexpected Guest, Chapter 13
The guys breathed a sigh of relief on being told that Mary would be locked up again – probably until after the Christmas holiday at the very least. They had filed for a no-contact order some time ago, but assumed that she would likely ignore it if the mood struck her. Actually, by vandalizing their house, she had already violated it. Dalton considered that she might well be going off the deep end mentally. Her recent actions had been rather bizarre, even for her.
After the county prosecutor filed a complaint over the fact that Mary had been allow to bond out in the first place, a district judge weighed in. According to him, displaying a loaded weapon in a school and threatening to kill a teacher should have been enough reason to deny bail. In addition, Mary possessed a valid Canadian passport, making her a possible flight risk.
To top it off, the county judge's wife was one of Mary's friends on Facebook. That constituted a conflict of interest, leading to his removal from the case.
Anyway, at this point in time, it looked like the guys could be free of Dalton's mother for a very long while, barring some other legal snafu.
On Wednesday afternoon, an adjuster from State Farm Insurance came to look at the damage to the garage door. He was delighted to see that the bulk of the paint had been removed before it had time to set. He promised to have a company come out to finish the cleaning and to repaint it when they got clearance from the police. He said once that was given, the job could be done quickly because it would only need to be spot primed to cover the red that remained.
Shelby thanked him for the quick response, and felt like he would feel less stressed for the rest of the week now that the paperwork was done.
In the afternoon, Dalton made a chocolate cream pie to take to Wally's on Thursday. Shel made an apple crisp. In fact, he made two of them – a medium sized one for Thanksgiving, and a small one for eating after dinner that night. He knew that Dalton and he wouldn't be able to avoid sampling it with the aroma of apples and cinnamon filling the air.
Thursday morning found the pair in the church kitchen peeling potatoes and helping make salads. The coordinator of the meal for the city's poor had come in earlier to start several roasters with the turkeys in them. The aroma was enough to make their mouths water.
The disadvantaged people who came to partake of the holiday meal were impressed with the quality. It was like having a homemade dinner – the kind they remembered from childhood. Nearly all of them thanked the line servers, and some poked their heads into the kitchen to express appreciation to those not on the line.
As soon as the last person had been served, the lady in charge excused all of the volunteers who had been involved in the prep work because the extra servers who had come just before noon were taking care of the cleanup and dishwashing.
Shel and Dalton had time to go home to take a quick shower and change before going to Wally's house. Since they didn't mess around in the shower, they arrived earlier than they had originally thought possible.
"I'm thrilled that you're here already," Wally greeted them. "We'll have time of a glass for wine before we eat, but it will be done sooner than I'd anticipated anyway. The directions for roasting the capon called for more time than necessary. I'll take it out to rest for a few minutes before we carve it."
The holiday décor was as splendid and tasteful as the food. Wally credited Lew with decorating the dining room. Tiny pumpkin-like gourds along with real autumn leaves graced the buffet and the table. Near the door was an arrangement of cornstalks and three large pumpkins. It looked like something out of a home interiors magazine.
The food was excellent, of course. Wally was a good cook.
Everyone had just a sliver of dessert after dinner, saving the rest of it for when they would eat chicken soup and leftovers around 7:00.
After dinner, Dalton and Shel helped scrape the dishes and fill the dishwasher while Wally and Lew dealt with putting away the food.
Football games were the afternoon's entertainment, but all four of the men dozed a little at one time or other during dull moments and half-time. None of them had any bets on the outcomes of the games.
Around 8:30, after a supper of leftovers, Shelby and Dalton thanked their hosts and made their departure.
"I've never had such a wonderful Thanksgiving," Dalton said, as they lay cuddled in their bed that night.
"It was a memorable meal, and good company," Shel agreed.
"No, it's more than that. I've never been as thankful on this holiday as I am this year. Observing some of those homeless people today, especially the teenagers, made me realize how easily I could have been in their shoes. I wonder how many of them have been kicked out of their families for one reason or other. I wonder if some of them are gay. I could have been on the street or in a shelter, not having a decent meal from one day to the next. I'm really thankful for what you've done for me and I'm also glad I had a hand in making the day special for someone else."
"And I'm thankful that I have you, Dalton. My life is much fuller than it was a year ago. It's like I was going through the motions, and now I'm alive!"
In one of Shelby's erotic stories, that conversation might have been a prelude to wild, uninhibited sex, but in his life, it turned into a time of closeness that was more fulfilling than simply sharing an orgasm (not that there's anything wrong with that).
It wouldn't be long before they consciously realized that they had become one – in body, mind, and spirit - the kind of unity that is the fabric of a true marriage.
The time between the US observance of Thanksgiving and the celebration of Christmas is about a month. However, when two guys who were working and taking classes were also going to entertain relatives for Christmas, it seemed much shorter.
Knowing that they had a lot to do, Shel and Dalton began to plan and prepare well in advance. They found recipes for salads, cookies, and other goodies which could be kept in the freezer until they were needed. They did some of the deep housecleaning and decorating ahead, leaving the dusting and vacuuming until just before Grandma and the uncles would arrive.
Between them, they planned the menu and a grocery list so that everything would be on hand. Nothing was left to chance.
By being so organized and self-disciplined, they fulfilled all of their obligations for their coursework and managed to have the house ship-shape without a lot of stress well before they made the trip to the airport to meet their guests.
"Is so beautiful!" Marie exclaimed on entering their home.
"Good English, Grandma."
"I try more since I have you."
"Your kitchen smells like a pastry shop," Steve exclaimed.
"I hope you'll like the reason for the aroma," Dalton smiled. "I made an apple strudel to have for dessert and I'm keeping it warm. I cheated by buying the puff pastry, because I didn't want to screw it up. I'm not as accomplished as you guys."
"Pastry can be tricky, and we usually buy the prepared kind for that kind of dessert too," Pete admitted.
Knowing how difficult it is to get anything edible on a plane these days, the guys had planned a light supper of salads, fruit, and bread. They served a white wine along with it to help their family relax from the flight. Their guests truly appreciated their thoughtfulness.
At the end, Dalton brought out his fresh strudel and put a slice on each plate. Shelby placed a scoop of French vanilla ice cream beside it. Then they all dug in.
Dalton blushed at the effusive praise his family heaped upon him for his cooking. Steve and Pete said that they had never eaten better, and Marie pronounced it awesome!
Marie wanted an update on Mary's situation. She knew a lot of it from what Steve had told her, translating from Dalton's emails, but she wanted to be able to ask questions. It hurt her to know that her own daughter was capable of threatening the life of Dalton's boyfriend.
With Steve as the go-between, she told them about a time long ago when Mary had had mental problems. This was the first that Dalton had heard of it, and it confirmed what he was already thinking. His mother evidently had a screw loose somewhere. He hoped and prayed that he wouldn't inherit whatever it was!
Marie felt that it was her duty as a mother to pay Mary a visit in jail while she was in town. Dalton said that neither Shel nor he could take her without breaking the rules of the no-contact order. Steve said that he would drive her there if someone lent him a car, but that she should wait until Boxing Day so as not to spoil Christmas. She agreed to his plan, and Dalton offered his car for their transportation.
The mention of Boxing Day led to a discussion about its origin and purpose. Dalton had heard of it, but was interested in learning about a tradition he'd never participated in.
The whole family went to the late Christmas Eve service at First Presbyterian. Marie was used to going to Mass, but said she liked the use of lessons and carols even though she didn't understand some of the words. She was delighted when they sang one of the verses of "Un Flambeau" in French. Dalton was equally pleased to hear her join in.
There was a short fellowship time in the large parlor after the service with cookies, red punch, and tea.
Herman and Ethan were there with Ethan's parents. Ms. Blanc was pleased to meet Dalton's grandmother and enjoyed speaking French with her. The two boys were excited to be able to communicate in the language too, and did quite well. Marie was thrilled that they made the effort to welcome her.
On Christmas morning, the family had a leisurely breakfast and then exchanged gifts. They had drawn names in order to keep it simple, so there weren't a lot of packages to open. Everyone felt it was the spirit of the day that mattered rather than the acquisition of more earthly goods.
Around 1:00 p.m., Shel and Dalton served an elegant dinner build around a prime rib roast. It had been cooking slowly since dawn and was perfect. Served with baked potatoes, squash, frozen cranberry salad, and a few other sides, it was as fine as the offering of any quality restaurant.
Needless to say, everyone was pleasantly stuffed and deferred dessert until later in the afternoon.
Good food and good wine led to good naps!
Shel used the Internet to check on the jail's visiting hours before Marie and Steve left on their mission. Pete had offered to go along, but was told that he didn't have to go. There was no reason for too many people to deal with it.
When they had been screened for weapons and contraband items and were at last in the visiting area, Steve and his mother had a little waiting time. Looking around, they saw that it was a medium sized room set up with counters and a long table dividing the space into two sections.
Marie and Steve sat in anxious anticipation in the visitor's side. Mary entered through a door on the opposite side in the company of a guard who stayed close.
She was barely into the room before she began berating her mother and brother, calling them names in both English and French. Her swearing and screaming surprised even the guard.
Marie just put her hands over her ears and shook her head. Then she turned her back and left the room. Steve followed closely behind.
Mary continued to shriek until they had closed the door behind them.
Marie wept in Steve's arms as he tried to comfort her. She looked as if she might fall over without his support. In her native tongue, she wondered aloud if Mary had gone completely insane or if it was some kind of act to get her placed in a hospital instead of prison. She was certainly not the woman she had been the last time they had seen each other. Of course, she had been distant on the phone even before Marie had cut her out of the will.
Marie told her son that she was sorry she'd made the visit to the jail and that she would likely not contact Mary again – ever!
In response to Steve's text message, Dalton and Shel had glasses of wine and a few things for nibbling on when they returned to the house. As they sat around the kitchen table, Steve gave a few details.
"I think Grandma's right," Dalton declared. "I think she's gone over the edge, or is trying to lessen her sentence. I don't know if I helped it along by being gay or not, but I really don't think she's in her right mind."
"You can't blame it on your orientation!" Steve insisted. "She was always moody and a bit peculiar as a child."
When he translated for Marie, she nodded in agreement, saying that she would have gotten counseling for her back when she was a teen had she been able to see into the future.
Over the next couple of days, the men did their best to distract Marie's mind by keeping her busy. One of those days, they took her to Des Moines to see the botanical garden and stopped at the Amana Colonies for dinner on the way home to enjoy their German cooking. It was about the best that they could do in the wintertime for entertainment.
The other thing they did was ask Marie to teach Dalton to cook the coq au vin that she was famous for. Dalton loved working side by side with her in the kitchen, and both of them received high praise for their culinary efforts.
When Shelby and Dalton drove their guests to the airport the following day, it was a time of somber goodbyes. It had been a great time together, other than the jail visit, and one that reminded both grandson and grandmother of what they had missed over the years.
All promised to get together more frequently in the future.
They hadn't had any sexual release while their company was in the house, so it was logical that Dalton and Shel might want to get naked the minute they got home from the airport. However, both had been so "on" while entertaining that they felt a kind of physical letdown when they were at last alone in their own home.
As a result, they stripped down to their underwear and cuddled in their bed. It didn't take them 10 minutes to fall asleep, and they napped for nearly an hour.
"Am I getting old or what?" Dalton exclaimed when he awoke.
"Why do you say that?"
"I'm so damn tired from only having family around for a few days that my first thought was to have sleep instead of sex! I must be over the hill already."
"Au contraire! When was the last time you really got the chance to chill out? When have you drawn a breath since the fall term started? Many college kids party on the weekends, you work most of them, on top of working during the week. On Thanksgiving break, you helped with meals for the disadvantaged besides making pie and working at the store.
Then, there were finals and projects to do. When those were out of the way, we went right into preparing for Christmas. You need a time to kick back!"
"I guess you're right. I'm glad I took most of this week off. I only have to work until 5:00 tomorrow."
"But, then we go to Wally and Lew's for New Year's Eve."
"Um, yeah, but I'll bet they'd understand if we leave a little early. I'm sure they'd like to see the New Year in naked in bed like we would."
"That's perceptive of you."
"No, that's just my hormones talking."
"Which proves you're not getting old! By the way, would you like to take a quick shower with me and have some good clean fun?"
"Oh yeah! I'm up for that."
"I'm convinced," Shel grinned, as he gently ran his hand over Dalton's bulge.
They took their time in the shower, making sure they were clean. Every nook and cranny was explored in the process. By the time they headed for their bed, they were oozing a lot of clear, tangy nectar which they wasted no time in tasting.
Despite their strong desire to shoot their loads, they didn't shortcut the process. As the old Sinatra hit, Nice "N" Easy, advises, they made all the stops along the way. By this time, they knew each other's body well enough to tease until almost the point of no return without going over the edge before they were ready.
"Make me cum!" Dalton begged when he felt he couldn't wait another minute.
"Make me cum with you," Shelby urged, with lust in his voice.
With gasps and cries of pleasure, the young men reached their climaxes at nearly the same second. Both received copious loads of tangy jizz which they shared in a session of deep kissing.
"Will you marry me on my next birthday?" Dalton asked.
"Is that a proposal?"
"Yup, and you'd better say yes!"
"Yes, I'm ready. Are you sure you are?"
"I'm sure! Thanks to my family, I have the means to pay for college, and I have no reason to wait. We know we're compatible and I feel like we already share one soul."
"I agree! I couldn't have phrased it better. Are you sure you don't want to be an English teacher instead of a psychologist?"
"Yup, we can't afford to have two of them in our family," Dalton teased. "There's not a lot of call for them these days."
"You sound like my father," Shelby said. "He claimed that an English major is great as long as you can ask if a customer wants fries with his order."
"Damn! I didn't mean to bring up anything from your past that would spoil the mood. Remember the positive effects; if you hadn't majored in English, we wouldn't be sharing this moment!"
"You are so right! My father's words can't get to me anymore. I honestly don't feel anything at all at the mention of my parents."
"I don't either, except that mine won't disappear into the sunset!"
"Ah, but this too shall pass. We'll be making our own family memories very soon."
On New Year's Eve Day, Wally called to ask Shel if Dalton and he would like to bring clothes to wear the day after the party and stay overnight. Dalton was too young to drink legally, and should probably not be on the road in case an over-zealous cop pulled him over for a breath test. He said they were welcome to sleep his guest room and do whatever they wanted in addition to resting. They could pack light because he figured they wouldn't be needing any sleepwear.
Shelby laughed at the explicitness of the invitation and said he'd give a tentative "yes" which would ultimately depend on Dalton's response to his text.
Dalton texted his approval quickly, so Shelby was able to give Wally a definite answer.
The party was a very small affair with only 10 people present. All were male and at least some were couples. Dalton was thrilled to be in the company of that many gay adults. He suspected that he might be the youngest man present, but at least three of them could pass for being less than 20 years of age. Everyone looked pretty hot, and a couple of them flirted with him. The minute he felt like they might be ready to cross the line, he said something about his upcoming wedding in the spring. To their credit, those men immediately backed off of the unwanted attention.
As the evening progressed, only one of the apparently unattached guys got a bit drunk. One of the other singles offered to take him home and put him to bed. They left around 11:00 p.m. Both walked without staggering as they headed to the car. Dalton suspected that the "intoxicated" one had been acting like he was in worse shape than he actually was. He grinned as he pictured them in bed.
The rest of the guests left shortly after drinking a toast at midnight. There was lots of kissing between couples as the New Year was rung in, Dalton and Shelby included.
The two of them helped Wally and Lew pick up empty glasses and put away food before they bade them a goodnight and went to the guest room. After a quick shower, they continued their own little celebration in private.
Author's notes: Thanks to all who emailed since last posting: Paul F, Jim L, Bill K, Wayne, Ott H, Peter M, Don S, Dick M, Walt S, Richie W. Tony W, Jim W, Noel N, Geoff, Tony F, Mendy D, Roger B, Michael B, Zero, and Bill W.
Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year.
David