Ann: The Married Years Ch. 15

Greetings readers.

Yes, the Christmas posting was a first in a long while. I've updated my profile page if you care to read for an explanation. Otherwise, enjoy.

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© 2018, All rights reserved - mimaster

***** "Jailbreak", written by Phil Lynott, Performed by Thin Lizzy, 1976

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Stepping into the bright morning sunshine Neil was excited as the warmth washed over him. So was Thelma; the two of them practically skipping down the sidewalk as they exited the lobby. Work was over. They'd just finished up their last night of third shift and they were in a great mood. Thelma was actually humming Alice Cooper's Schools Out as they made their way to the parking lot.

Neil laughed at the vague correlation, but he understood. Still, he couldn't help himself. "Wouldn't Jailbreak be more appropriate?" he wondered, referencing the Thin Lizzy classic.

"Huh. Yeah, I didn't think of that one. It does just feel like we escaped, doesn't it," she giggled.

"Well we certainly got away cleaner than I thought we would when we came in last night!"

They had both been looking forward to an amazing weekend. Thelma was going away to visit her mother in Pennsylvania. Neil was going home to Ann and the untold adventures they'd undoubtedly find together.

Giving his work partner a hug, they said their goodbyes, both thankful they'd next see each other on day shift. Popping in the cassette now stuck in his head, he rolled the windows down and cranked up the stereo. Peeling out of the lot he turned onto the back road toward home, relieved to have the plant becoming smaller in his rearview mirror.

It appealed to his sense of justice that the title song of the album was the first one on the tape.

"Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak. Somewhere in this town..." he began singing along, his mood only getting better as he put more distance between himself and his job.

He could already feel his body relaxing, the warm wind rushing past as he zoomed along the undulating road. It was officially the weekend and it was off to a great start.

First off he didn't have to work on Saturday, which hadn't been a certainty when he'd arrived the night before. In fact the odds were that he would be. The department was way behind schedule with several hot jobs that had to be completed before Monday. With it being a shift change weekend, third and first shifts were staring at the prospect of having to work one more day to make that happen, and only having one day off before having to switch their hours. But there was a glimmer of hope and his and Thelma's crews were the key.

Seeing the disaster that was falling into their lap as soon as they arrived they quickly formulated a plan of action, the partners working in tandem to figure out the best way to attack the schedule. Giving out assignments, they followed up throughout the shift, marking the progress and making any necessary changes on the fly. Halfway through the night they started to feel like they had a chance. By the end of the shift the department was not only back on schedule, they'd miraculously found themselves slightly ahead, but not by much. When their boss Jeff arrived that morning he was thrilled.

"Tell your folks they have the weekend off," he smiled.

"Are you sure?" Thelma asked.

"Absolutely."

"What if Conrad and Fred screw things up again tonight," Neil said bluntly, referring to the supervisors in charge of second shift. He knew they wouldn't care about the where the schedule ended up at the end of the night. It was their last night on second shift. They'd be going to third, which meant they weren't going to work the weekend no matter what. They were guaranteed two days off.

Neil's concern was legitimate since that shift, Conrad's crews in particular, had been creating most of the production problems that put them behind to begin with.

But Jeff already was on top of that scenario. "You and Thelma have gotten us ahead, Neil. I'll make sure we stay that way today. By the end of day shift we should be good."

"So, Conrad basically gets away with fucking off again," Thelma snapped.

Jeff bristled at her comment, but he understood. The inference was, and had been that the other two shifts had to keep compensating for the one that wasn't doing their job. And she was tired of the fact that it wasn't being addressed. Or at least, she thought so.

"I've got it covered, Thelma."

"I'm leaving as soon as we're off work Jeff. I'm taillights as far as this place is concerned. You know I'm going to see Mom. I don't want a phone call telling me I have to put a crew together like we did two weeks ago to cover that ass-wipe's lack of management skills. I... won't... be... here!"

"It wouldn't be you anyway, Thel," Neil interjected. "It would be me... it's my side of the department that's in danger of working this time."

"Do you honestly think I'd leave you like that Neil? We're partners. You helped me two weeks ago when I got screwed by Fred. Remember? My point is -"

"Will you two relax?" Jeff said, trying to calm them. "I have it covered. You two saved the day again, and I'm thanking you for that by telling you you're not working tomorrow."

Thelma's eyes narrowed. "And I'm telling you I'm heading to Mom's house right now if that's true. But I don't see how it can be, since they've gotten nothing done but the bare minimum in four months."

"Look, from what I see on the schedule, barring a catastrophe on day shift we really should be good by one o-clock this afternoon. I'm just not going to tell them that."

"What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I plan on telling Fred and Conrad that we were close enough to what we needed to get done by Monday that I made a decision to cancel the weekend for the other two shifts. But I'm ALSO going to tell them exactly where they have to be on the schedule tonight before they can shut down. If they aren't, they have to stay to get there no matter how long it takes."

"Really, on their short weekend?" Neil laughed.

"Yep."

"Even though everything that needs to get done this week will already be done by the time they get here?" Thelma questioned.

"They don't know that. They haven't been paying attention to the schedule all month, as you both have pointed out to me on a daily basis."

"I know, but still... that's cruel," she snickered.

"I don't see how. They pretty much did that to you both two weeks ago, now didn't they?"

"Well, yeah, but their crew -"

"Their crew could have been utilized better. Those two guys need to manage their talent to the schedule. Maybe this will help them learn. If they would just play to the strengths of their crew like you both seem to do, this wouldn't have happened."

They got his point. The first thing that Neil and Thelma had done when they saw the schedule was rearrange the crews, breaking up traditional teams and putting operators had the right skill set on the appropriate production line. It was unconventional, but it worked. It was also something Conrad or Fred would have never considered.

"What's Andy going to say about them working unnecessary overtime?"

"Frankly, he'll be thrilled it will be them that have to deal with it. Besides, we were already thinking we were going to have two extra shifts running. Now it'll only be one. And who knows, they might even surprise me and be where they're supposed to be at the end of the shift."

"Yeah, right," Thelma and Neil both scoffed.

Neil laughed out loud driving down the road, thinking about the reality that Fred and Conrad would be staying late on a night they thought they'd get to skate early. They always did when they rotated from second shift to third.

They argued about the unfairness of having a short weekend whenever that happened, as if they were the only crew that ever happened to. All of the shifts eventually got that bad weekend rotation; four times a year, in fact. But Fred and Conrad acted like it just affected the two of them.

Because of that, they reasoned they deserved a break. With them being the last shift to leave for the weekend and the first one to return, they figured no one would know if they took a professional liberty. The result of that mindset was that they'd leave early, letting their crews to fend for themselves to button things up on their own. Any messes they made they'd clean up when they started Monday night at midnight.

Thelma discovered this when she actually had to work a Saturday three months prior. She'd gone in early like she usually did, and Fred gave her a quick update. But she found it odd that he'd grabbed his coat. When he picked up his lunchbox on his way out the office door, she asked him where he was going. It was then that she realized that Conrad was nowhere to be seen, his desk neatly put away; the computer on his desk already turned off.

Fred stated that he was leaving and that the shift would take care of itself for the last hour. After all, he was following himself, as he put it. She questioned his flawed logic, saying two more shifts would be working. Fred just shrugged and said it was only an hour and that he'd make it up to her; a funny concept since she never followed his shift so the gesture could be reciprocated. A quick follow up with a trusted comrade in another department confirmed that Conrad had been gone for over an hour and Fred would have left too but he had to wait for Thelma to give her the update. Apparently they did this every time they rotated from second shift to third.

Thelma alerted Jeff to that little trick before she left. Needless to say, he was none-to-pleased about that bit of information.

"Well then I guess they're going to have to be a lot farther along on the schedule than I originally thought," he shrugged, his ominous tone guaranteeing he was going to make it so they had to stay well past midnight to get to the imaginary point on the schedule he was going to use as his benchmark.

"How will you know?" Neil had asked. "Like Thelma said, they're going to be following themselves now."

"I'm telling them where they have to be Neil. Do you honestly think I won't make them aware that I'll be coming in on Saturday to follow up on how they did?"

It was that conversation that had Neil smiling from ear to ear. It was officially the weekend and that was the reason he was in such a good mood. Well, that was one of the reasons.

The second was that there would be a Sunday involved. After all every weekend has one. And his Sundays with Ann were almost always spectacular. She went out of her way to make them that way. But the best part, if there could be anything better than a long Sunday filled with sexual adventure with his wife, was that he was making his favorite weekend shift swing. Okay, it really wasn't as big a deal as being with a sexually motivated Ann on a Sunday. But it was still his favorite shift change; and hers as well.

He didn't care as much when he switched from first to second shift because it didn't impact his weekend. He'd get off at four in the afternoon, and he wouldn't have to go in on Monday until that same time. Of course, he didn't like the hours of that shift, but it was so much better now that Ann was working at Henrietta's House, because she would work similar hours. While second was still his least favorite shift, they could now spend so much more time together that it made it bearable.

Whenever he'd go from second to third, it was horrible. The dreaded short weekend. He always lost eight hours of time whenever he had to make that swing, and because he had to switch his sleep patterns, it meant those were hours that he would have been awake...with Ann. The only good thing was that third shift was better than second as far as playing with Ann was concerned.

Whenever he went from third shift to first it was the best of all worlds. He didn't lose any hours in the change and he was going to his favorite shift which offered a more normal life. Plus, there was something about the switch that made it feel like it was sweeter than the others. It was the same number of hours off as when he'd go from first to second but somehow it seemed like more. Maybe it was simply because he got off at eight in the morning on a Friday and he didn't have to go back until eight on Monday. Somehow that made it feel like he got a jumpstart on the weekend. Suddenly not having to work Saturday like he'd expected when he left the house had him smiling.

There was one other thing that had him excited. Ann had taken the weekend off, starting with Friday. In fact she decided to use some of her paid personal time, taking the entire next week off as well. He found it odd at first, mainly because he wasn't taking any vacation. But it was a perk she got, additional to her vacation time and with it going to be a nice week according to the weather forecast, she had decided to use the days. When he questioned what she had planned, she smiled wickedly, mentioning that it would give her some time to come up with some fun things to do with him now that he was going to be back on first shift.

He took that to mean something sexual because she always seemed to think that way. But she also found ways to make him feel loved beyond sex and that had him just as excited. He felt certain it was going to be an incredible weekend that would hopefully launch into what was going to be an awesome week.

It was already rather warm as he pulled into the driveway, the sun beating down on the blacktop. It had been an incredibly mild winter and the spring so far seemed more like summer. He'd opened the garage door, a yawn coming to him as he walked toward it. The long night and the energy he'd had to expend to get things done to have a full weekend finally caught up to him. He was almost to the garage when he heard Ann call out.

"Neil! I'm in the back!"

He changed his route, circling around the side toward the deck, climbing the steps to the gate he'd installed. Flicking open the hidden lock on the back side he stepped through, closing and locking it behind him. He walked around the corner where the house jutted out from the garage, seeing his wife in her favorite lounger.

It wasn't a surprise to see her lying out considering she had him put the partitions up a couple of weeks before. That forecast calling for some unseasonable weather had her excited and she wanted to take advantage of it. Tired of having to go to the tanning bed every couple of weeks to keep her base, she couldn't wait to get under the bright rays. When he heard her calling to him he thought she might have started right away, even though it was going to be a couple of hours before the sun crested over the roofline of the house. It wouldn't have been the first time she jumpstarted a day of sunbathing.

Neil smiled when he saw her, although it was a bit of a shock that she was dressed. Her loose white cotton top was mostly buttoned, showing a hint of bronze cleavage; her tan shorts exposing most of her long, sexy legs. She was simply sitting in her lounger, drinking a cup of coffee as she read one of her romance novels.

"Good morning, baby," she cooed as she set her mug and book on a table so she could get up. She gave him a hug, followed by a long, sensuous kiss, a lilting moan coming from throat. "How was your night?"

"Great... although I'm tired."

"I bet you are. I'd offer you a cup of coffee, but I'm sure you don't want one."

"I don't know. Maybe," he shrugged.

"Really?"

"I'm not working tomorrow," he grinned as he held her waist, her forearms resting against his wide shoulders.

The excitement in her eyes made him start to harden. She was sure he'd have to work his Saturday, which was going to wreck havoc on their weekend, even though he was switching shifts to their favorite.

"Really! Our weekend starts today?" she asked, her grin becoming naughtier by the second.

"Yeah. But I actually am tired, babe. Thelma and I had to bust our asses last night so we wouldn't have to go in tonight. I hope you're not mad."

She stood on her bare right foot, her left big toe seemingly glued to the wooden deck as she wiggled her heel back and forth playfully. "Why would I be mad?"

"I just figured..."

"...that I'd want to play?" she grinned. She loved finishing his sentences, even if she was wrong. In fact, it was almost better when she was; it excited her when she'd see his reaction over something she'd interject. Of course it was almost always something sexual when she did, and this time she'd guessed right.

"Uh huh."

Running her fingers along his jaw line from his ear to his chin, she angled his face so she could kiss him again. "It's okay baby. I already have plans for today. I really thought you'd be working tonight."

"Me too. But I'm glad I'm not. I just wish I had a little more energy."

"So, do you want that cup of coffee... there's plenty. You just missed Felicia. She actually came over here for a change."

"I don't think coffee is the answer babe. I need a nap or I'm not going to be worth anything to you later either."

"Hmm... maybe there's a way you can do both," she said, her voice dripping with sexual overtones.

"Both what? Drink coffee and take a nap?"

"No silly," she winked. "Nap... and let me play with you."

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"I thought you said you had plans," he said as she stripped his clothes off while they were standing in the guest bedroom.

"I do."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm altering them, hopefully," she giggled, being deliberately vague. She ran her hands over his bare chest, sighing as she felt his muscles underneath his smooth skin. "Besides, it's a woman's right to change her mind. Some would say it's an obligation."

"Ann... it's no big deal. Oh... God," he groaned, his thought interrupted by the way she was sucking at one of his nipples.

"Mmm, you were saying?" she laughed as she kissed across his chest to suck at his other one.

"I... I was saying, it's no big deal. You should just do whatever it was you were going to do. I can take a nap, and we can start our Sunday when I wake up."

Reaching for his belt buckle as she bit at his nipple, she shook her head. "Nah. I'm thinking our Sunday is starting right now. Do you trust me?"

It was an odd question, but since she was on her knees pulling his pants down to expose his hard shaft, it seemed more appropriate. Whatever plans she originally had she was obviously improvising because he was off until Monday. Running her palms over his bare thighs she flicked her tongue across his cock from underneath, making him flinch.

"It that a yes?" she asked as she looked at him from her position underneath his raging hard on; her eyes batting seductively as she licked at his balls.

"Of course I trust you, Ann."

"Oh... I am soooo Anna right now it's not even funny, lover. Now step out of those pants so we can get you to bed."

He did as she asked, lifting his feet carefully one at a time as she extricated him from the Dockers. She loved that he rarely wore his boxers, excited by the idea that he was thinking sexy thoughts even while they were apart. She also loved the notion that women at his work would undoubtedly be able to see the outline of his big cock; the definition of the large head plainly visible most of the time.

Turning down the bed for him, she patted the mattress. "Get in the center please," she requested, her calm voice soothing him.

Doing as she asked he rolled onto his back, laughing as she made him lift his head so she could fluff his pillow. His cock seemed to be pointing straight at the ceiling fan above him, the thick veins giving it life.

Tracing her index finger over his lips, she whispered, "Stay put, baby. I'll be right back."