Thanksgiving Feast

She pushed the door open and there on the bed laid a large gift box with a huge red ribbon. "Go ahead, open it dear," she said as Gloria stepped cautiously into the large room.

Gloria hesitated a moment before opening the box. She slid the tissue paper aside and tears came to her eyes as she reached in and pulled out a dress. This wasn't just any dress it was a dark blue velvet gown with white satin trim along the plunging neckline and around the back that ended in a delicate bow. Gloria was speechless.

"Wait, there's more, you just have to dig deeper."

Gloria did as told and below more tissue paper she felt more packages. When she removed them all and opened each she ended up with an entire holiday outfit; a dress with sassy satin pumps, stockings and jewelry. Gloria just stood and stared at the items on the bed with tears in her eyes.

"Merry Christmas dear; now go change. Just come down when you are ready. If you need help with anything don't hesitate to call on me. I want today to be special for you," she said and then left Gloria to change her clothes.

Once dressed, she rushed into the bathroom and fixed her hair as best she could, brushing it out as she bent forward. When she stood, her hair was full and bouncy. She looked beautiful. When she felt she was ready to meet the family she headed down the stairs.

"""""

"Oh my God! Mother? Mother, come here!" A male voice called out as Gloria appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Yes dear, you called," Victoria answered, knowing full well what her son was calling her for.

Victoria and her son stood at the foot of the stairs as Gloria proceeded to descend. Taking her time so she wouldn't trip on the flowing gown she held the railing. Her gown flowed in the breeze behind her with each step.

"How did you find her, mother?" the man asked as he gazed into Gloria's bright eyes and smiled nervously. "Do you think she'll remember me?" he asked, his hands trembling more with each step she made.

When Gloria was about three quarters of the way down the stairs, she stopped suddenly. Staring right at the man that nervously stood beside Victoria, a smile lit her face and it was then he knew she recognized him. Gloria grabbed her gown and pulled it up so she could walk more quickly down the stairs.

"Oh God! It can't be. Is it really you? Jonathan?" Gloria cried as she walked toward him, her heart beating furiously.

"Yes Gloria, it's me, Jonathan," he said with a tear in his eye as he rushed to her and pulled her close. His embrace only ended because his mother nudged him and brought them back to reality.

"Come dear. I want to introduce you to the rest of my family," Victoria said to Gloria as she held one hand and Jonathan grasped her other tightly. He wasn't about to let her get away again, not even in his mother's house.

After the festivities of the evening began to wind down and the guests were gone, Victoria once again wished her son and Gloria a Merry Christmas then headed to her bedroom to retire for the night.

Jonathan led Gloria into the family room. He sat her down on the large sofa across from the fireplace, walked over to the fire and shifted the logs a bit to get it going again before joining her on the couch. Gloria couldn't take her eyes off him.

She took his hand as soon as he took his place beside her. "It's so good to see you again," she said quietly. "I didn't think you'd remember me."

Jonathan glanced down at their joined hands and laced his fingers with hers. "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind, Gloria." He looked into her eyes and saw the uncertainty there.

"I wasn't exactly at my best," she replied quietly, a heated blush suffusing her cheeks.

"No, you weren't," he started then gripped her hand tighter when she tried to pull away. "But I saw something your eyes, something behind that cold wall you put up to keep the memories away. I saw a woman, a beautiful woman. From that moment on, I knew I had to find you again."

"I - I haven't been able to stop thinking about you either, Jonathan," she blushed, recalling the dream she had about him the night they met.

"Tell me what happened," he said, settling back on the couch.

"I don't know where to start," she replied quietly, tearing her gaze away from his. Would he reject her if he knew how weak she was?

"Just start at the beginning. I could tell the day I met you that you weren't always living on the streets."

Gloria proceeded to tell Jonathan her life story over the last four years. He listened intently, allowing her time to gather her thoughts when it was too difficult for her to speak. When she finished, she glanced up at him to gage his reaction.

Jonathan rose to his feet and walked to the fireplace. He placed his hand on the mantle. He gazed down into the fire and sighed heavily. Gloria slowly got to her feet and began walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"It's late and I have to get an early start tomorrow, Jonathan," she replied.

"Please don't go," he said, turning toward her and stopping her from leaving. "Sit with me and let's talk some more."

"You want me to stay after what I've just told you?"

"Yes. I wanted to know what happened in your past, Gloria. I wanted to know what made you the shell of the woman I met on Thanksgiving," he said, taking her hand and leading her back to the sofa.

"You deserve someone better than me, Jonathan. I'm simply your mother's housekeeper -- "

"Let me decide what I deserve," he replied taking his seat on the sofa and pulling her down next to him.

"You're not disappointed with me?"

"No. What happened to you is in the past. I want to be your future."

Gloria looked into his eyes and saw the truth in his words. Despite the feeling of loss she still felt for her husband and children, the years have lessened that pain. The emptiness she's felt has been with her since the accident, but right now, at this moment, that emptiness was gone. It was time for her to open a new chapter in her life.

"I'd like to be your future, too, Jonathan."

They talked for another hour before Gloria excused herself for the evening. Jonathan walked her to her room and when she placed her hand on the doorknob, he turned her to face him.

"Goodnight, Gloria," he said, cradling her face in his hands and bringing his lips down to hers for a tender kiss.

Neither of them was able to keep the kiss light. Gloria ran her hands up Jonathan's chest and around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him in for a deeper kiss. Reluctantly, he broke the kiss. Looking into her eyes, he smiled before he released her.

"I was planning on leaving tomorrow, but I think now I'll be staying awhile."

Gloria was unable to form a coherent sentence, her head was spinning and her whole body was on fire from his kiss. She simply nodded in response then turned to enter her room.

"Goodnight Jonathan," she finally managed to utter before she closed the door behind her.

"""""

In the days that passed, Jonathan and Gloria were inseparable. They spent a lot of time working at the shelter where they'd first met and Jonathan revealed his plans to open a shelter where homeless could reside for up to six months while they searched for a job and a place to live. He told her he planned to open sometime in the first half of the new year.

As was the tradition, there was a huge New Year's Eve party hosted at the Cleveland Estate. Gloria was surprisingly comfortable in her new life and even met a few people who knew her from when she worked at the advertising agency. One man in particular was impressed with the work she'd done for him and offered her a job.

Much to her own surprise, she turned him down. Even in the few days she'd been with Jonathan, she knew that she wanted to work with him at his new shelter. It wouldn't allow time for her to have a full-time job.

After the all the party guests had gone home and Victoria said goodnight, Jonathan led Gloria into the family room.

"Come here beautiful," he whispered in that deep, sexy voice she recalled from her dream. As she neared he reached for her hand and pulled her gently to the black bear rug and laid her back slowly. He cupped her face in his palms and lowered his lips to hers. "Happy New Year, love," he whispered as he kissed her passionately.

She returned his kiss with as much passion then pulled away, a troubled look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I -- Well -- I need to tell you something, Jonathan."

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"The day we met, I -- um -- I had a dream about you," she said quietly, feeling the embarrassment rise in her cheeks.

"Really? What kind of dream?"

"Well, you had come to see me at the shelter after Thanksgiving dinner," she started, "You said since there was no desert, you were offering yourself up," she finished, gazing into the fire instead of at him.

"I did, huh?" he asked with a smile.

Gloria glanced up and saw him smiling. She didn't know how to react so she remained silent.

"I have a confession to make," he said.

"Okay," she replied.

"I had a dream about you too."

"Don't joke around, Jonathan. I'm trying to be serious here -- "

"I am serious. I had a dream about you, about this night, this moment," he said as he slid his body beside then over hers.

Before Gloria could respond, his lips were on hers in another fiery kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him even closer. She closed her eyes and lost herself in his scent and his taste as their tongues continued their erotic dance.

Jonathan removed Gloria's gown and draped it over the chair in the corner of the room then removed his own clothing. He came back to the bear rug and positioned himself over Gloria again; his hips nestled between her legs. Gloria playfully scolded him for not letting her help remove his clothing but she was quickly silenced by yet another heated kiss.

His lips left hers to find her jaw line then her neck. He worked his way up to her ear, nibbling softly on her lobe before making his way to her luscious breasts. He teased one of the beaded nipples with his tongue, watching it pucker even more before he captured it between his lips and nibbled gently.

She whimpered his name softly as he left a trail of fire across her skin with his lips, finding the other nipple and giving it the same loving treatment as the first.

"You taste sweet as honey, Gloria," Jonathan breathed against her skin, causing cold shivers to run through her.

He planted feather light kisses down her abdomen to her stomach then began kissing the inside of her thighs. Her legs opened wider to invite him in and he breathed in the scent of her arousal, causing his cock to twitch in anticipation.

Jonathan blew a gentle breath across the hardened nub of her clit and watched as her hips rose to meet his mouth. He lapped his tongue gently at the hard button then his lips closed around it, nibbling and sucking softly. She drew in a harsh breath and exhaled quickly, his name ripped from her lips once more.

He slowly pushed two fingers inside her slick opening as her hips began to move in unison with his tongue. He wiggled his fingers and felt her muscles clench around him, her legs clamping on his head as her orgasm exploded through her.

Her body fell limp as she floated down from the high of her release. Jonathan planted more kisses up her body until he found her waiting lips. Their tongues mingled and danced together and she could taste herself on him, causing her desire for him to flood her body once more. He positioned himself between her legs, the tip of his cock gently grazing her slick opening.

Gloria's body still hummed from the powerful orgasm he'd just given her. She reached down between them and guided his throbbing member into her slick channel, stroking him softly before releasing him and allowing him to push his shaft completely inside her.

He held himself still; an act that he was finding quite difficult at the time. The feel of her soft, warm wet pussy wrapped around his cock was nearly his undoing and he tried desperately not to pound himself into her hard and fast.

As he looked into her eyes, he saw all the love and desire reflected back from his own. She raised her hips to meet his forcing him to move with her.

Jonathan pulled his cock out of her wet pussy until only the head was inside her, then plunged slowly back in, hearing her let out a moan at the sensations he was creating.

"Please, Jonathan," she breathed.

"Please what?" he asked, his control slowly slipping away.

She didn't answer him verbally, instead, she wrapped her legs around him and dug her heels into his back, pulling him deeper into her.

"You feel so good, Gloria," he replied, his breathing staggered.

As he felt her hips move with his, he increased the pace, pushing deeper with each movement, hearing her whimpers of pleasure as they both lingered close to the edge of their release.

He leaned in and planted a passionate kiss on her lips before his body tensed and his climax rocked through him. He spewed his hot seed deep inside her as he felt her climax convulsing around him, milking his cock dry.

His body fell limp and he forced himself to roll to the side, pulling her close and feeling their sweat covered bodies mold together on the soft fur of the bear rug beneath them.

She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of their spendings trickle down her thigh and onto the rug. Gloria draped her arm across his chest while his arm was around her, caressing her back softly. He turned his head and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then closed his eyes and relished in the feeling of her stretched out beside him, their ragged breathing slowly returning to normal.

"That was amazing," she whispered.

"You're amazing," he replied. "I love you Gloria. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Jonathan. I love you too."

""""""

Epilogue

Spring arrived quickly and with that a wedding and a bright future for Gloria and Jonathan.

“Jonathan, do you take Gloria to be your wife…?” Pastor George asked.

“I do!” Jonathan replied with tears in his eyes.

“Gloria do you take Jonathan to be your husband?”

“Forever! Oh, I do!” she replied with a slight nervous giggle.

“By the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!”

The elegant wedding and reception were both held at the Cleveland Estate.
The happy couple opted to forgo the honeymoon and use the money to purchase one of the buildings in the inner city and turn it into a resource center for the homeless as well as a shelter. They called it the Cleveland Center for the Homeless.

Gloria quit her job and convinced Victoria to hire Belle as her replacement. Gloria and Jonathan worked at the Cleveland Center full time and hired professionals that would help those in need with the services offered.

Victoria passed that summer and left her entire estate to Jonathan. In her will she stated that since her other children were so well off already that she saw it fitting to give to those who gave most of themselves. She also stated that Belle be kept on as the housekeeper. The family agreed.

A month after Victoria’s death Gloria discovered she was expecting. When it was time, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. They named him Albert Rudolph Cleveland after both their fathers. A year later she gave birth to a daughter, naming her Victoria Belle Cleveland after Jonathan's mother and the woman who befriended her on the streets.

As the children grew she often paused to wonder what her first children would be like if they hadn’t been taken so young.

“Who are they?” her son asked when he saw her wipe a tear from her cheek as she gazed at the old, worn photo she still possessed.

“Well these are my – um – were my children from my first marriage,” she told Albert.

“Where are they now?”

“Oh sweetheart it’s a long story.” Gloria said, thinking that her son wouldn’t want to hear the entire story, but he didn’t budge.

She called Jonathan and Victoria into the room and told her children about her other family and what happened to them. The next time she went to visit their graves she took the children and Jonathan with her.

From that time on, her new family accompanied her to each visit and the children placed flowers at the headstones of their half-brother and sister. When Victoria was older she bent down and whispered, “don’t worry about your mom, we are taking good care of her.”

The End