After the Reunion Ch. 31

"Thank you," was all she said.

We sat several more minutes before she pushed her panties down. They were soaked with the combination of my cum and her juices. She looked at me and asked if I'd please get her a cloth.

By then I'd recovered enough to walk. I retrieved a kitchen towel and handed it to her, watching as she wiped the goo from between her legs. She smiled as she worked, "That was fun... almost as good as Nick."

But from her tone and her twinkling face, I knew she was teasing once again. If there was such a thing as 'reclaiming', I was more than happy at what we'd just done. And maybe it had worked both ways - she'd reclaimed her husband as well.

After we climbed in bed and were snuggled together like we used to before any of this started, Addie asked me, "Tell me about Ginger... did she like my present?"

It took me a minute to realize what present she was talking about, then it hit me - the vibrator.

I laughed, thinking about Ginger's first foray with a remote-controlled vibrator. "We went to Fujiyama's the first Saturday night. I gave it to her right before we left." I couldn't help but laugh, thinking of Ginger when I turned it on the first time in the restaurant, "There were three other couples sitting with us. The time we went to Kyoto's here in Boise, how they did the onions then made a little surprise volcano? That's the instant I turned it on the first time. Her shriek was hilarious. She'd completely forgotten it was inside her.

"Then through dinner, when I kept it on; turning it up and down, she wasn't good at all at hiding her feelings. I think there was a time or two when she moaned, the chef thought he maybe should call 911... she put on quite a good show during dinner.

"Then when we got back to her house, we used the back of her couch in a manner that she said she hadn't ever expected." And I hoped she'd never forget.

"That's all the further we could get into the house, before..." I told her.

Addie giggled; god, I love that giggle! "The back of the couch... you mentioned that the other day. Then we got a little, umm, busy and I forgot to ask you about it. Any other momentous times?" she asked.

"Well, they were pretty much all momentous, almost every night." And I told her about our road trip on Sunday, how I talked Ginger into taking her top and bra off, then meeting a young couple at Dry Falls.

"At what?" she asked. "This something I would know about?"

I'd forgotten that we'd never been there before. "We need to go, take the kids on a trip. I'll tell you about it later, but... " And I proceeded to tell her about the couple we met, the girl taking her top off, too, then starting to make out with Ginger. "... and then Monday morning when Susan was hiring, guess who one of her new employees was."

She sat up in bed. "No! You mean Tammy?"

I nodded. "I couldn't believe it when Susan introduced her to me."

"I liked her, she's a good worker, good with people, will be great in the store," Addie added.

"Yeah... and she has nice tits, too," I told her, getting a giggle.

Our conversation went on like that for the next few minutes, talking about Tammy, complimenting what a fun person Cathy is, until Addie asked me, "What about you and Ginger, you in love yet? She's pretty spectacular."

Ginger, what to think about Ginger? I'd fallen for her, pretty hard, "Yeah, she is, it'd be easy to fall in love with her..."

"But? I hear a big but in that," she asked.

I took a breath, I knew if I'd been single... or even if my wife and kids weren't so spectacular, I likely wouldn't be here now, because I had fallen in love with her. "She's lonely, she wants more. Said there's a guy, one of her clients that's been asking her out... said she's going to accept next time."

Addie was sitting up on her elbow, watching me, "So...?"

I almost felt in tears. "She wants a man to love... full time. She's been afraid to even date again, but now... it's changed. She has a friend, been asking her out. She's going to accept. We're not seeing each other again... but I have you, pretty good consolation prize, don't you think?" She threw her pillow at me, I guess for calling her a 'consolation prize'.

Then she hugged me. "So you opened her up so she can date again, you can feel good about that."

Yeah, I knew she was right. It was still hard, though, seeing that beautiful face in my thoughts.

"Fell in love with her... if you and the kids weren't so wonderful..." I left that statement hanging, I didn't know what to say next. Addie just hugged me tightly.

The next day we reviewed the new store's weekend sales, updated to closing Monday. We were thrilled. Sales had profited, not gross sales, but after costs and an allowance for salaries and expenses, almost eight-thousand dollars. In one weekend!

Of course, that was the grand opening, but if the other stores' history was any indication, it boded well for repeat customers, too.

Christmas was quickly approaching. Presents were wrapped and under the tree. Addie loves opals; I bought her a beautiful set of earrings, necklace, and bracelet, probably the prettiest set of jewelry I'd ever seen.

Kevin loves Daddy's Jeep, so he's getting a ride-on electric Jeep and Katie a pink convertible. We'd bought cards and written a Christmas bonus check for every one of our employees, even the temps that are working during the Christmas rush. I think they'll be pleased.

Every day that went by and I hadn't heard anything from Ginger was painful, though. I couldn't stop wondering if her 'client' friend had asked her out. I hoped so. She had planned to spend Christmas with her parents so at least she wouldn't be alone. I wanted to call her, hear her voice. But that was up to her. If it hadn't been for that final 'goodbye', I'd probably have been calling her every day.

The other thing that was getting closer was Nicki's wedding. Friday, when Addie went to Mt Home, she came home in the evening just bubbling about Nicki's excitement. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy," she told me, "even Livvy... and wait till you see the dresses Livvy and Lily are wearing. They're going to be so cute. They're going to be the ring bearer and flower girls.

"Speaking of which," Addie asked, "is Ginger getting the trip to Disney World lined up?"

"Last she said, was that she'd have it to us before the wedding," I told her. "She said she could get better rates if she waited until right after Christmas to book it; she said she'd let us know the cost, probably by Wednesday."

Oh, one more little thing - Mom and Dad's dinner with Laura and Travis Saturday night. I hadn't talked to my dad since then, but when Addie came home Tuesday, she told me she'd talked to her mom. Mom and Laura had gone on another clothes shopping trip last week and the dinner had been very, umm, 'interesting' as Addie put it, the 'after-dinner' even more so. Even to the point that Laura went home with Dad and Mom spent the night with Travis.

She didn't elaborate, didn't need to.

Saturday morning, it started snowing. Hard. By the middle of the afternoon, we had five inches on the ground. Kevin and Katie were ecstatic, "White Christmas, Mommy!" they were shouting in their excitement, gazing out the living room window. I didn't blame them, it was so pretty. We'd had a couple of little snows by then, but not like this. And it was still snowing. Sunday morning, when it had quit and it was fourteen degrees outside (Fahrenheit, not Celsius, for you non-Americans out there), there was eight-and-a-half inches.

Nobody cared that it was a little chilly. All four of us were out making a snowman. The snow was a little too dry, but we worked at it, anyway. Maybe 'worked' isn't quite the right word. It was about as cheerful and fun a Christmas Eve day that I can remember having. We had the obligatory snowball fight, made snow angels and managed to finish the snowman, complete with button eyes, carrot nose, stick arms, corncob pipe (just happened to have one from a long-ago Halloween), and all. All seemed right with the world. Even the political battle in Washington had seemed to take a short break. Kevin even helped Daddy shoveling off the sidewalk and driveway.

Both our sets of parents were coming for present-opening that evening, and, because of the snowstorm, were staying in the Best Western that night to be here Christmas Day, too. I found it amusing that they'd opted for a single room with two queen beds. Could be quite the Christmas Eve for them!

Since it was Sunday, our stores were all closed, despite the likelihood of last-minute, Christmas Eve shopping. The snow wasn't a factor as that much snow wasn't uncommon, except right at Christmas. That it was the first significant snowfall of the winter and over Christmas had made it special. If anything, it would bring out more shoppers in the Christmas spirit.

That evening, the scene, with the bright moon and street lights lighting the snow, was a scene straight from a Thomas Kinkade winter scene. It was beautiful out. I don't remember a prettier Christmas Eve. It made me laugh just a little - give it a couple months. If it's still this snowy, it won't be nearly so pretty by February.

But it wasn't February yet and it was pretty. "The freeway is horrid!" Dad said, "prob'ly should have closed it, must have been ten accidents." Guess not everything is pretty from the snow. Both sets of parents came together in Mom and Dad's AWD Subaru. He always has good snow tires every winter, too.

We had dinner and were ready to open presents. The kids had been anxious all day, in spite of having fun in the snow. Their presents from us were big packages and they couldn't even imagine what might be inside them. And they were excited, too, for Mom and Dad to open ours from them. Addie and I had gone shopping with them separately to buy presents for us, for each other, and their grandparents and they were anxious.

My dad wore his Santa Claus suit like he always had on Christmas Eve, but by then, Katie and Kevin knew it was him and not the real Santa Claus. "He's just Santa's helper," Katie explained to Kevin, with all the seriousness that a seven-year-old can muster for her five-year-old brother.

Addie's rounded tummy was a reminder that next year there will be one more in the family for Grandpa to convince that he's the real Santa Claus.

I briefly wondered about Ginger, hoping that she was enjoying Christmas Eve with her family. I still hadn't heard anything from her since I left a week before, not that I expected to... maybe just hoped a little.

Dad dressed up in our bedroom, then out our patio door, around the house and came in the front door with his big, hearty, "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas."

A few minutes later, Katie and Kevin were racing around the house in their new cars, thrilled to death. Both cars have two seats so when Livvy and Lily visit, they'll have a 'ride' when they need one. Never can tell when a kid might need a ride from one bedroom to the other or even all the way into the living room.

Addie loved her opal jewelry and I was the proud owner of a brand-new Fuji mirrorless XT-7 camera and three fabulous lenses; a 100-400mm, 10-24mm and a 56mm F1.2. She'd apparently noticed my drooling when Robert was taking the pictures of Tanya to send to Playboy and misinterpreted it as drooling over his camera. Not that I'm complaining, I've been wanting a new camera for a long time. And this is about as close to perfect as I could imagine.

It was a little after ten before our parents bid farewell for the night. "No need to be early tomorrow, dinner's going to be about three," Addie told them, knowing full well why they wouldn't want to be up early. Mom and Dad had resolved Dad's little infatuation issue with Laura. I bet their Christmas Eve night is going to be different than last year!

Between their ride-on cars and the RC car and tractor from our parents, not to mention the books, clothes and other little things from Santa, the kids were way too excited to go to bed. It was after eleven before they finally went to sleep. Addie and me? Without going into a lot of detail, I'll just say that we had a very pleasant rest of the night. Not the first time since last Monday but definitely the best.

Fortunately, anticipating the cold, I'd bought a thermal blanket for the pellet grill so I could cook the prime rib for Christmas dinner in it despite the seven-degree outside temperature. It had gotten down to three during the night and was forecast to be three below zero Christmas night, the coldest it's been for the last couple years. Later in the week, the forecast was for minus twelve by Wednesday night (brrr!), then starting to warm up a little. Not exactly conducive to the kids riding their cars up and down the sidewalk. Don't think they would go so well in the snow, anyway.

Our parents didn't get there until eleven-thirty. Boy, they seemed to be in a good mood. Wonder what could have caused that? Mom and Laura's complexion and demeanor seemed to be just sort of glowing, much like Addie's is after we... you know. Dad and Travis were just as happy, both showing lots of extra affection to their wives.

Luckily, Addie had thought to charge the kids' cars during the night. Unfortunately, they only run a little over two hours, so by the time grandparents arrived, they were parked and charging all over again. Not hard to see that we're going to need an extra battery for each. Wish we'd have thought of that when we bought the cars. Ah well, they did have the RC cars, too. Those were zipping around the house when grandparents arrived. That didn't hurt grandparents' moods any, either, to see the kids having so much fun with their presents.

The prime rib was... how do I say it without bragging a little... damned good! There are some things that God must have intended to be cooked in a pellet grill, and prime rib is one of them. Other than the prime rib, dinner was relatively simple; baked potato, steamed corn, my homemade sourdough rolls, and a shrimp salad.

Mom, Dad, Travis, and Laura left for home shortly after dinner. The freeway was still slick, it doesn't thaw much at seven degrees; but at least it had been graveled, unlike the day before. But they still didn't want to be too late getting home.

The day after Christmas was going to be a workday for both of us. It's almost always the busiest day of the year. Besides merchandise, we sell a LOT of gift cards and they're typically redeemed on the twenty-sixth. Plus, a lot of returns. Joanie came over to watch the kids during the day, and Addie went to Mt Home and me to Nyssa to help out. Those stores are the smaller ones and consequently, have the least employees to help out in a rush.

It was a good thing that I went to Nyssa, too. Carol was bombarded with customers. She had another girl working with her, Becky, but they were deep over their heads and another person was a lifesaver. If there's anything we don't want, it's customers unhappy with our service.

It slowed down late that afternoon. I'd heard my phone ping earlier with a text and hadn't had a chance to look at it until then. It was a text from Ginger, the first I'd heard from her since I heard that tearful 'I love you' when I left her house that Sunday. I was excited to see it from her, 'Had a wonderful Christmas, hope you did, too. Went on that date Friday with the client I told you about. Will go out with him again. He's nice. Not sure about you-know-what in front of the window with him just yet, but will see.'

I read that, happy for her, remembering that little window episode with a smile on my face, then scrolled to the next, 'Disney World package, 7 nights, 4-day DW tickets, $3,948 incl airfare. Log on to my website, gingerstravel.com security code 48393.'

I typed out a reply, 'Thank you so much! And hope things work out in front of the window. Was exciting. Will be on your site when I get home.' It seemed like I should be saying more, but I didn't know what.

The next three hours till closing at seven went quickly as our short respite from the rush of customers was short-lived. Susan locked the doors at seven and the last customer left fifteen minutes later. We don't announce closing time like a lot of stores, let whoever is in the store after closing browse unrushed to their heart's content. It sometimes costs us a little overtime, but even a single customer is important to Adriana, even if they don't buy a thing. That attitude is the biggest reason the business has thrived.

It was almost eight when I got home, tired from a long day's work. The kids were in their jammies. "Busy day?" Addie asked me as soon as I took off my coat.

"Uhuh, guess you could say that," I told her, plopping myself down at the dining table.

"We had hamburgers tonight," she said, plopping one on the grill side of the Jenn Air

After I ate my hamburger, I showed Addie the text from Ginger regarding Nicki and Samuel's wedding gift. She apparently read a little more of the texts than just about the trip, "What's this about the 'you-know-what in front of the window'?"

My face must have turned a bit red before I answered her, "Tell you about that later," I told her.

Addie nodded, opening her laptop and Ginger's website, then entered the security code in the little box. The information for the trip opened, everything except dates; they'd fly out of Boise to Orlando, four days of four tickets to DW, another two days of free time, then home on the eighth day, seven nights in the Disney Coronado Springs Resort. She entered her credit card and instantly received a link to a printable gift certificate. Just like that, the trip was confirmed; Nicki and Samuel only had to reserve the dates.

"I have something interesting to tell you, too, after the kids go to bed," she told me, "and you can tell me about the window."

Katie got a new series of books from Addie's parents, 'The Boxcar Children' for Christmas. I was thrilled when she opened that present because I remember reading them when I was little and loved them, especially the little boy, Benny. "I read these when I was a little girl," Addie told us, surprising me. Wow, we had something in common even then. Anyway, Kevin sat on Katie's bed with her and we read; Addie the first chapter, me the next. We alternated, four chapters before the kids would let us stop. By then, the 'children' had found their old boxcar in the woods, moved in and made it their home. It brought back the most pleasant memories of my parents reading to me when I was a little boy. Then by the later books, I was reading them myself, the same as I expected Katie to do, probably reading them to Kevin.

After we tucked them in and then ourselves, I asked Addie about her news that she'd mentioned earlier. The way she mentioned it, her tone, kind of gave away that it was something pretty significant and I was dying to know.

Like I said before, it was cold outside. When we went to bed, the outside thermometer said negative six degrees. Brrr! That has nothing to do with Addie's news, except it explains why Addie was wearing a heavy flannel nightie to bed. Not exactly my favorite. I'll admit, though, that she looks good in anything.

"Okay, sweet, what's your news?" I eagerly asked her after we were snuggled in the warm bed.

"I'll tell you, but first, I want to know details about the 'in front of the window'," she lay on the bed on one elbow glaring at me, just waiting for the story.

I'd have rather heard her news, but anyway, "Saturday night, after dinner, Ginger opened her blinds to show me the view, told me that she and Eric used to enjoy it so much. It's a big picture window, almost floor to ceiling; there's a pretty park right across the street, always people out walking... Ginger was in front of the window, her living room light on so people could see in... and dropped her robe. Just had on a thin babydoll under it.