All That Blooms in Spring Ch. 01

All That Blooms in Spring - Part I

Love blossoms in an unexpected situation

Wow! I was humbled to receive over fifty private messages looking for the missing chapter. As I answered back to many, the plan was to pull it from LIT for a time, post it on my pay sites, and then re-introduce it here in the proper order. However, both of the sites I'm using are back under construction, and you have to look at my bio on this site, if you have interest, because we're not allowed to mention them within a story. Regardless, the response to the missing chapter overwhelmed me, so I decided 'why be a party pooper? Give the people what they want!' LOL! This time, I've submitted ALL chapters on the same day and time.

Excuse the artistic license regarding the medical profession. I'm aware exactly where I made things up, and even how they work in the real world.

Thanks to Neuroparenthetical and Legio_Patria_Nostra, for their contributions and ideas, along with three other valued beta readers. This was definitely a team effort!

Relax; it's only a story, people.

I should have been more on guard. I should have asked more questions, and at the very least been suspicious. When Jackie, my wife of seven years, told me about a quickly-thrown-together camping trip with our friends, something seemed off. Mostly, she seemed way too excited about doing something she really didn't care for all that much - not to mention it was February as this impromptu trip was being planned. In the California Sequoias, even at lower elevations, it would be cold. Instead, I, Peter Townsend, just went along with it. The thing was, I'd never had any cause to mistrust or be 'on guard.'

Jackie and I had met in college. Both of us had been focusing our studies in the software industry, and had often found ourselves sitting right next to each other in calculus. I'd been centered on a career as a software architect, and she, robotics. We'd barely spoken to each other in class, despite our proximity. It had been when I'd placed an ad on the student math blog for a tutor that things had gotten interesting.

I'd set a date and time to meet in the cafeteria, and who had walked up but Jackie? We'd laughed and giggled and had a few coffees, and I'd explained some of the problems I'd been encountering. The equations hadn't been my hang-up, but rather the analysis. In reality, Jackie would end up using the complex calculation more in her field, but I'd still wanted to understand what was being taught.

Jackie and I had quickly become friends. As a couple of nerds, we'd also started going out together as friends. I wouldn't have said we fell in love that first year. The following term, I'd been back to school for only three weeks when both of my parents had died in a car crash. As an only child, I'd taken it about as badly as a person could. Jackie had been there with me, and had helped me get through my depression. In fact, she'd spent so much time with me that her studies had started to suffer. In the months leading up to Christmas, that year, I'd fallen hard for that wonderful woman. She'd been a great listener, and had continued to be our entire time together, but in those early days it had been the thing I'd needed most - along with her patience.

The hopeless days, though, had been the ones that brought us together physically. Jackie had held me sometimes, and we'd gently rocked or swayed for minutes or sometimes as long as an hour. I'd begun to feel not just safe, but familiar in her arms. One night, around the beginning of December, as we'd begun to pull away from each other, we'd looked into each other's eyes, and that had led to the kiss, as we'd come to call it. Two days after, we'd spent the night making passionate, desperate love.

The rest of our time in college, had probably been similar to that of millions of others who'd had a whirlwind romance that had led to engagement that had led to marriage. Jackie had always made me feel safe, loved, and as if I was the most important person in her world. I'd done everything I could think of to make her feel the same way about and around me.

The following year had been our final year at school. My new roommate, Todd, had been a decent guy and easy to get along with. His major had been analytical data engineer, so we hadn't had any classes in common. He'd taken to Jackie too, but in a good way. I'd never seen anything untoward or cringe worthy between them. Todd had, though, interjected himself not once, but twice when some guys had been bothering Jackie - right place, right time. That had made Jackie his friend as well. After graduation, Todd had moved to San Diego for a strong job offering.

Jackie and I had then moved to San Jose, and had begun our careers in Silicon Valley, both at different, well-known companies. We'd kept in touch with Todd via email, and less than a year later, we'd been happy to hear that he'd found a woman named Alise that he'd fallen in love with. I couldn't get the time off for the wedding, and Jackie had been quite bummed about it.

Two years later, Jackie and I had been doing very well in our careers, and, thanks to a careful lifestyle, we'd saved enough to start seriously hunting for a real home. We'd found one on the southern end of Mountain View with plenty of room to begin starting a family. We'd made good friends with Jeff and Amber, who lived five houses down our street. In those first six months, we'd gotten close enough to spend at least some part of most weekends together. Jackie had really taken to Amber, and often Jeff and I had just sat with our microbrews and studied the pair, laughing and carrying on.

Eight months after we'd moved, we'd heard from Todd. He'd told us that he and Alise were moving to the bay area. Jackie had been beside herself. We'd hooked them up with our realtor, and she had found them a great home just ten minutes away in Cupertino. Our new friends and old friends had quickly coalesced around us into a genuine sextuple. Either Saturday or Sunday each week, we'd be at one house or the other, barbecuing and having a blast. Other times, we'd enjoy shared interests. Hiking, boating, and even bowling - which isn't very popular on the west coast - had all been on the activities menu.

In general, life hadn't been good; it had been great! Todd, Jeff and I had gotten along splendidly. The girls, even with the dreaded odd number three, had been surprisingly awesome together, with very little drama. If there'd been any sort of chink in the friendship armor, I'd have to say it had been the familiarity that blossomed between everyone in our group. I'm probably in a small percentage of men, but I'd always gotten uncomfortable whenever Amber or Alise flirted with me.

Jeff had a thirty-five foot catamaran that he'd purchased with his father. When his 'pops' had started using it less, we'd picked up the slack. I used to call it the 'yacht' because it had been - and still was - the biggest boat I'd ever been on. All of the ladies had worn very revealing swimwear whenever we'd been out the water for a day. A few times all three had popped their tops before diving off the deck when we'd been anchored in a semi-private alcove. All of those things I'd disregarded or at least swept aside, in part because everything else in my life had been so perfect. The guys had never gotten 'handsy' with anyone except their own respective wives. Of course, they'd looked and made lewd comments. I'd allowed myself to get in on that action too, over time. The wives had always taken them in stride, and had even reciprocated, leaving us all laughing our guts out. Still, I'd have to say that I was the most conservative person in our group. I'd had all I'd ever wanted in Jackie.

We'd been camping three times prior to that strange early-March trip. Once, we'd been off Highway 1, just south of the Monterey Peninsula. The other two times, we'd gone to the base of the sequoias. Both Jackie and Amber had breathing issues at higher altitudes, but we'd still traveled on one of the camping days up to see the big trees. We'd become quite organized. Jackie and I always brought the cooking supplies and a four-burner propane stove. Jeff and Amber had the extra backpacks for hiking. Todd and Alise owned three double air mattresses and extra tarps. Like most things we'd done together, our times in the wilderness had been fun and easy.

Two days after I'd been told about our impromptu trip, I came home from work to find Alise and Todd, along with Amber, sitting in our living room, drinking wine and chatting. That was nothing new; in fact, it was absolutely normal. The fact that they all went silent upon my entrance was not normal.

The looks on their faces also told a story. Whatever they'd been discussing, they didn't want me knowing. Not only did I pick up on their discomfort immediately, I also called them out.

"Hey, guys," I said sheepishly. "You want me to take off and come back in?"

My wife's face turned red, and no matter how she tried to hide it, the expression she wore told me she wished for that very thing or at least that I hadn't shown up half an hour early. In my head, I quickly did the math on my birthday and our anniversary. No, that wasn't it. One had just occurred and the other was months away.

"No. NO!" Jackie replied after a pause. "Of course not. We were just talking about our camping trip." Jackie wears a lie on her mug like an orange construction vest, so that much, at least, I knew was the truth.

"What's up?" I answered lightheartedly. "You guys planning to get rid of me and dump my body for the mountain lions?" I was getting nervous. The pause that followed made me wonder if I'd guessed right on the first attempt.

Todd broke the awkward silence. "It's all good brah," he said with a smile. "You just surprised us is all. We're trying to decide if we should camp in the same place as last time, or try this new spot three miles further up the mountain. Here, take a look at the brochure I printed off."

I took the pamphlet from him, but I only sort of scanned it. Something was off. I studied each face, and decided that Amber looked the guiltiest. I just had no idea about what, and why she'd feel the worst. I handed the brochure back to Todd and nonchalantly replied, "I don't care which one." Then I left the room to go change.

When I returned a few minutes later, our company had gone - fled, was more like it. I looked at Jackie, with a raised eyebrow. For the first time in our relationship, I found myself mistrusting her, and the feeling wrenched my gut.

"What was that all about?" I asked in a more accusatory tone than I'd intended.

She blushed. "Nothing, it..." Jackie stopped mid-sentence, seeing the misery in my gaze. "Okay! Okay, we were discussing accommodations, really. But without spoiling anything, there might be a bit of a surprise involved. I don't want to ruin it. Please."

I didn't see any orange vests when she made that statement, so I thought for a moment and then decided to let it go. I trusted Jackie. I trusted our friends too. I hated thinking it at all, but I also trusted my ability to know when Jackie was lying.

The day of departure came, and I was up early, showered, dressed and had coffee brewing before Jackie got up. Forty minutes later, she opened the garage door and looked out at me. When I turned towards her, she wore a look of perplexity.

"What are you doing, honey?" she asked sweetly.

"Just getting our cooking supplies down and packed," I replied in kind.

Her perplexed look disappeared, and was replaced by shock. I just studied her as she stood in the door frame, dumbfounded.

"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed. "You didn't even look at that brochure Todd handed you, did you?"

I simply shrugged and told her no. Jackie came out and stood next to me, touching my arm. "Honey, we don't need the equipment. Come inside and have a cup of coffee with me."

Now I was dumbfounded, so I went with her. Sitting at the kitchen table, Jackie returned with the pamphlet.

"This is where we're going," she told me. "I'm sorry; I thought you were paying attention."

I had that bad feeling again. I looked over the three-fold color brochure. I just stared at my wife, a look that should have told her that I was yearning - begging, even - for her to come clean. It took her a while.

"It was part of a surprise, okay?" Jackie snarled, seemingly upset with me now. "Todd got a bonus and he came across this place online. When he realized it was only three miles up the road from where we usually camp, he sort of became obsessed with staying there. He paid the deposit, and then he ended up paying for two of the three nights. Jeff doesn't know about it either. Obviously, Amber does. Jeff won't know until they get to our old spot, then she'll tell him. I know how much you hate surprises, or I would be doing the same. It was that or let you get mad about packing the cooking stuff for nothing. Plus, you might've seen my lingerie or bikini."

Jackie looked sincere, but there was still something that made me leery. I'd never mistrusted her before. I could see Todd and Alise getting the women involved with the surprise. I, and certainly Jeff, wouldn't be cool with Todd footing most of the bill, bonus or no bonus. Then it suddenly hit me.

"What's the rest of the surprise?" I coolly asked.

She stammered a bit. She wasn't very good at the cloak-and-dagger stuff. "Noth...nothing," came out of her mouth, first, followed by, "Alright," in an exaggerated sigh. "There are a few others. I've given you all the big ones already, including that the place has a huge hot tub. That wouldn't have been a surprise, though, if you'd at least looked at the brochure the other day, when we handed it to you. Jeez, Pete, stop being so suspicious all the time. Can't you believe that a surprise from your wife and your friends is actually a good thing? Haven't we earned that?"

Jackie came over and sat on my knee, and then wrapped me in a big hug. I hugged her back. That was our way. She smiled a wry, sexy smile and then kissed me. I returned the kiss. I gave in - a lot - so sue me. She'd saved me. I loved her. She'd never hurt me, not even once. Satisfied, she took my hand and we went upstairs to finish packing. In a perfect world, we'd have gotten a quick one in, but we were already running behind.

The drive east was relaxing once we got out of the city. The best part about nature for me was the tranquility. I knew what I'd signed on for when I'd chosen my field of study and career. That didn't make it any easier dealing with the hustle and bustle of the greater bay area. If I could have worked remotely from a cabin just like the one we were headed to, it would have been a dream come true. I'd always kept those thoughts to myself, as I didn't want my wife to think I was unhappy where we lived.

Jackie and I did what we always do on a long drive: sing at the top of our lungs. We had several playlists that we'd built together. We'd turn that volume up to three-quarters and blurt it out together. As we got closer, we could still see some snow at the lower elevations. The cabin suddenly seemed like a decent idea; I'd almost forgotten that the timing was wonky.

The one cabin turned out to be three. That was also on the front of the brochure. One seemed regular-sized, if there was such a thing. The other two were smaller - like those tiny homes. Both of the other couples were already there. Jackie and I were greeted warmly, and all thoughts of a sinister conspiracy were gone from my mind.

Since it was the beginning of March, daylight wasn't on our side. We decided as a group to just get set up, eat a nice dinner together and relax around the fire. Jackie and I took one of the small cabins while Amber and Jeff took the other. Since Todd had paid, of course, he and his wife Alise took the lodge. Really it was a two bedroom cottage, with a fairly large kitchen and living area, but compared to the others, it seemed lodge-like. After settling in, Jackie and I went back to the cottage and we all got busy fixing a dinner of chicken Alfredo with fettuccini noodles.

After dinner and clean-up, we retired to the living room. We all cracked up seeing the ancient laser disk player and the gigantic movie disks that looked like an old thirty-three music album. The selection was even funnier. We settled on the original Indiana Jones, and then Indecent Proposal. Jeff had brought a bag of weed, and rolled one joint, saying we should save the rest for the next evening, Saturday. That was fine by me. Pot always gave me anxiety and made me especially paranoid. Jackie knew that, and because she didn't want to start a fight, she was particularly sensitive to a deal we'd made back in college. She'd give me a look before partaking, and if I was alright with it just then, I'd give a nod.

Jeff was seated to her immediate right, so when he handed it over to her, Jackie gave me the look, and in return I gave a slight imperceptible nod. Only I guess I wasn't so subtle.

"For Christ's sake," Todd said as he chuckled. "You don't need his permission every time. If he doesn't want any, that's up to him. We're all adults." He was looking directly at my wife.

Jackie looked aghast. She looked back at me with what looked like fear in her eyes. That threw me. She recovered quickly though, smiling a sweet, but somewhat forced smile at me.

"It's not like that, Todd," she responded. "We have a deal. It's a thing between husband and wife." Her tone with him was condescending but with a hint of... I don't even know. Like an inside joke. Alise jabbed her husband in the ribs and gave him the evil eye. Nothing was happening, that didn't happen between the six of us all the time, it just felt different. Something was out of place. It certainly wasn't the weed. I hadn't and wasn't going to take a hit.

Only Jeff, Alise, Amber and my wife smoked the joint. It was no big deal, but coupled with the alcohol, Amber and Alise were pretty toasted. All of us men had consumed a fair amount too, and we started joking and laughing. Todd and Jeff made a big deal about that perfect little smile on Demi Moore, and the ladies teased us mercilessly. Amber had the smallest mouth, it was determined, so she got up in front of the group trying to emulate Demi's half-pout-half-smile. We all egged her on. The girls paid us back of course, making us stand at attention in the middle of the room and give our best Robert Redford stance. Todd won hands down, as he was the only one in our young group who had a touch of grey starting in his sideburns.

He was also the tallest and best-built between us. Our wives were all within an inch of the same height, and all about the same weight. That's where the similarities ended though. Alise was a true California blonde, and the most full-bodied of the three - if you can call one-hundred fifteen pounds full-bodied in any way, shape or form. She certainly had the largest chest. Amber was a strawberry blonde with the deepest, most delectable blue eyes I've ever seen on a woman. Of the three, Amber was probably the one with the most model-worthy facial features. Jackie was a brunette. Actually, her hair was almost black. I guess that had to do with her one-fifth Cherokee heritage. Her olive complexion made her stunning and she always stood out when the six of us were in public.

After more laughter and banter, Todd's wife, Alise, went and sat seductively in Jeff's lap, wiggling her bottom against his crotch. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and demurely said, "Don't worry, Jeff. Nothing's going to happen that you don't want to happen," mocking the famous line from the movie.

There was more laughter, like every other time we all got slightly ripped and inhibitions were way down. Then I noticed Jackie, who, instead of cracking up, looked worried. To be honest, with all the booze I'd had, I was having trouble reading her. The expression certainly didn't fit the circumstance, though. I had no idea what to make of it, but I left it alone with everyone else having fun. That was one of my issues, and I knew it. The rest of the group got along well with me, but it was an unspoken thing that they viewed me as the conservative one. They weren't even wrong.