For Want of a Snow Blower Pt. 04 - Epilogue

Here is a short epilogue which serves to tie up the story of Danny, Jackie, and Delaney, and perhaps give the reader hope for what happens from here on out. My editor for For Want of a Snow Blower, pt. 3, hated the abrupt way the story ended so I wrote this for her, and everybody else, who cares about these characters. Fair warning, there's little or no sex in this short episode. I hope I've gotten the emotion right, though.

As always, please leave a comment after you've read this story. We authors love comments.

That fall after Delaney had gone off to college was a bittersweet time for Jackie and me. We each found that we missed her terribly. It was like mourning a breakup. At first we kept in touch daily via text and email, but we were all incredibly busy and as we got into the meat of the semester our contacts dwindled. We didn't want to push ourselves on her, and by Thanksgiving we were only hearing from her once per week, if that.

If there was one thing Jackie and I learned from our time as part of a threesome, though, it was how much we meant to each other. We were determined that our old problems with communication and intimacy wouldn't be repeated, and they weren't. On the night before her classes started for the fall, the two of us sat out on the deck with some drinks and established what we called our "rules of intimacy".

The first was that, no matter how busy we were, we would set aside some time every evening to talk about how our days had gone. When we both got home, we had a few minutes to get settled and then we sat down with a drink and filled each other in on what we had done. Not that we became alcoholics or anything; usually the drinks were water or tea. But the point is we were there for each other, our phones were off, and there were no distractions. For a half hour, we just took turns listening to one another.

The second rule was that at least once per week we had massage night. We'd make sure to go up to bed together, light some aromatherapy candles, put on some soft jazz, turn the lights down low, and take turns massaging each other. Sex wasn't actually the point of massage night, though often enough it ended up that way. The real point was to take time to help each other relax and feel good.

The third rule was all about sex, though. It was simple. We wouldn't go more than a week without some sort of sex. It wasn't like we were newlyweds again, but there wasn't any pressure, and having the rule made us think about sex and also made it okay to tell one another when we were horny. We were still busy as hell - especially Jackie - but when sex was always in the back of our minds we discovered we could always find time for it.

In fact, one of the innovations we came up with was "porn night", which didn't happen every week but nevertheless became a favorite. Simply, we'd hook a laptop up to the TV. One of us would select a hot porn video and watch it while the other knelt on the floor between their partners legs and gave them long, teasing oral sex. When he or she came, then we'd switch positions. The watcher had to coherently describe what was going on in the video or the oral would stop. Hearing the hot descriptions always made the one giving the head work all the harder to both turn on their partner and prolong their orgasm.

Frankly, we were in a great place as a couple, both personally and professionally, but as I said, we were still mourning the loss of what we had with Delaney. Sometimes I'd catch Jackie just staring out the window or sitting blankly at her computer, lost in thought, a sad look on her face. At those times I'd always remember what she said that Sunday morning when all of this began: she loved me, but she knew she couldn't go the rest of her life without significant relationships with other women. So, where were we going from here?

Just after Thanksgiving, during the first weekend in December, the O'Brien's held their annual neighborhood Christmas party. This year Jackie was able to attend with me. It was actually great catching up with all of the neighbors we sort-of-knew or waved to in passing. Having been here for almost a year and a half, we weren't quite as much of a novelty as we had been last year, when I had attended alone and seemed to be the center of attention all night.

Toward the end of the evening, just as the mood around the room shifted and you could tell people were going to start heading home soon, the O'Brien's made a big announcement. Delaney would be coming home on December 23rd. In honor of her having made the Dean's List as well as being the only freshman to make the varsity women's four in crew, we were all invited to a surprise party for her that night.

They explained that she would be heading back to train with her team on January 2nd, and since the whole family was going on a cruise the week between Christmas and New Year this would be the only chance that friends and neighbors would get to see her. They apologized for the timing and said they understood that many of us would already have plans of our own, but this was the only time they could fit in such a gathering.

Some neighbors enthusiastically pledged to be there, while others apologetically begged off. Jackie and I didn't respond immediately. We were scheduled to fly to Arizona to spend Christmas with my family early on the morning of the 24th, so we were technically available. We just didn't know what it would be like to be with Delaney but have to act like we were just another pair of neighbors.

Over the next week we talked about it several times. We almost talked ourselves into not going, as we didn't want Delaney to have to react to us as just "acquaintances" on the spur of the moment and with plenty of witnesses about. Eventually we agreed that we had to be there, though. We couldn't text her to explain our absence without ruining the surprise, and we didn't want her to wonder why we weren't there celebrating her success and welcoming her home with everybody else. Besides, we badly wanted to see her again.

The 23rd was my last day of school before break, but Jackie had been off for over a week by then. We were already packed and ready to leave the next morning, our refrigerator and pantry were almost empty, the house was spic-and-span, and the mail had been stopped. When I got home, there was little left to do but have our daily half hour debriefing (in which all we talked about was how excited and nervous we were to see Delaney again), clean up, and go.

The O'Brien's house was predictably beautiful, with a large tree in the den, garland and electric candles on all the window sills, ribbons and bells on all the doorknobs, and tinsel festooning the mantel. Jackie and I were among only a dozen neighbors who showed up, everybody else being caught up in their own family's holiday plans. We got ourselves some mulled wine from the bar and spent some time circulating and making small talk.

Delaney's plane was scheduled to land at six-thirty, and her mom was picking her up at the airport. Her older siblings were already home, two of them with their own spouses and small children. Her sister played hostess, greeting guests at the door, taking coats, and making introductions. One of her brothers was stationed at the bar, not so much to get people drinks as to make sure that all the high school and college students who would be there didn't. The O'Brien's weren't the type of hosts to wink and look the other way at underaged drinking.

Delaney's dad was outside on the patio, manning the wood-fired pizza oven they had installed there. Dinner was a make-your-own pizza bar set up in the kitchen with pre-made crusts, sauce, and cheese. We were all supposed to bring our favorite toppings, make our pizzas, and then take them out to Sean to cook.

It was freezing on the patio, but the oven radiated heat and several of the neighborhood dads, coats on and beers in hand, huddled out there with Sean while the pies baked. Some of us accused him of being crazy, standing outside in the cold while the party went on inside. We had to admit that the pizza was amazing, though.

The kids began arriving in groups of three and four about six-thirty. They had shared rides, of course, and the drivers had dropped their passengers off in front of the house and parked their cars around the corner up the block to preserve the surprise. There were about twenty of them, all girls who had been on the crew team with Delaney or had otherwise known her in school. They were almost evenly divided between those still in high school and those who had gone on to college when she had.

Although they had different personalities and skin tones and hair colors and styles, all of them were tall and fit. These were unquestionably athletes. Most of them knew the O'Brien's and several had obviously been in the house before. They moved from room to room with comfortable familiarity, greeting and hugging each other and Delaney's family, eagerly making their pizzas and taking them out to be cooked, and attacking the soft drinks and snacks that were available. The entire party seemed to get a bit louder, brighter, and more exciting after they arrived.

Mrs. O'Brien called from the car when they were about five minutes away. This was our signal, and the music and most of the lights were turned out. From the outside, I'm sure, it looked like there was just a small family gathering going on in the den. When Delaney came through the door with her duffel, though, the lights were switched on and we all yelled, "Surprise!" just like in the movies.

Delaney shrieked in shock and happiness, then spent the next hour making the rounds. She hugged and talked to everybody, I'm sure telling the same stories about college over and over again. She paused and did a small double-take the first time she saw us, but Jackie took the bull by the horns, giving her a friendly hug and telling her that everybody was so proud of her. We chatted with her for a few minutes before she had to move on to the other guests.

After that, the rest of the party seemed like an anticlimax. We had seen Delaney, hugged her, and talked with her a bit. When we left we'd probably get to talk to her again, wish her a Merry Christmas, and exchange kisses on the cheek. That would be it. We could see her, but we certainly couldn't touch her, at least not in the way we wanted to do. Jackie and I looked at each other and I could tell we were thinking the same thing. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

We didn't feel that we could just abruptly leave, so we made a half-hearted attempt to circulate again. About a half hour later we found ourselves in the kitchen. Last call for pizzas had been made a while ago and Sean had since come in. The back yard was now dark and the door locked. The party had moved on to the den and other areas of the house, so the kitchen itself was deserted.

At the far end of the room bright light and holiday rock music streamed out from an open door, though. Curious, we walked over to check it out. It seemed to be the door to the basement, and all the lights were on down there. Now that we were closer we could hear the sound of laughter and talking along with the music. Wondering what was going on, we decided to take a peek.

The basement room was clearly a game room of some sort. There was a huge tv, gaming consoles, overstuffed furniture, billiards and ping pong tables, a killer sound system, and a bar that currently hosted several bowls of snacks as well as bottles of water and soft drinks.

What looked like most of the high school girls had commandeered the room for their own party, no doubt trying to get away from the "old people" upstairs. Somebody had hooked her phone into the sound system and dialed up a holiday dance playlist. Furniture had been moved to the side to create an open space, and about a dozen girls were dancing.

Jackie and I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, took everything in, and quickly realized this wasn't our scene. We knew that the last thing any of these girls would want was two "creepers" trying to crash their party, so we quickly turned to go back upstairs. To our surprise, we hadn't gone more than a step or two before somebody yelled, "Hey, join us!" above the music.

We turned around to see a brunette come bopping through the crowd towards us. Her hair was cut in a punk style. The right side was so short it was almost shaved, while the left side was cut in a ragged line just below her ear. She was a bit shorter than most of the other girls, maybe 5'9" or so, but her broad shoulders and muscular legs showed that she was definitely a rower. She was at least partly African American based on her dusky skin tone.

"C'mon," she said, hopping up a couple of steps so that she stood just below us, "don't go!"

"Uhhh, you all don't want us crashing your party!" I said, waving her off. She acted like she hadn't even heard me, though, and grabbed both of our hands.

"C'mon," she repeated, "nobody cares, and it'll be a lot of fun!" When we hesitated, she pulled on our hands and added, "I saw you two earlier and I've been waiting to dance with you all night." With that she half-dragged us down the remaining steps and onto the floor.

I can't speak for Jackie, but I really felt out of place at first. I was the only guy in the room, and ten years older than everybody else. But in truth nobody seemed to notice, or if they did they didn't seem to mind, and soon we were both dancing along with our new friend and the rest of the kids. It was fun, and it was relaxing. In a few minutes I could tell that we had both put aside any sadness we felt and gotten back into the holiday spirit.

After about a half hour we took a break and sat down in some plush chairs at the far end of the room. We were both breathing deeply, and Jackie's smile was wider than I'd seen it in some time. We couldn't shake our new friend, though, who followed us from the dance floor and offered to bring us some snacks or drinks. Before we could answer, she was back with a bowl of holiday Chex mix and two bottles of water. Then she knelt down next to Jackie's chair.

"I'm Aubrey," she said so eagerly that we both grinned, but her next words nearly froze us in place. "So, you're the cool couple that lives in the house with the really steep driveway, right? Delaney told me all about you!"

She didn't seem to notice the silence that followed, and she didn't wait for us to answer before pressing on. "Boy, that driveway must be really tough to clear. I mean, I can't imagine getting up and down that thing in the winter. But, I bet having your house up on that little hill gives you plenty of privacy, doesn't it?

Jackie and I looked at each other, and then back at Aubrey. "Yeah," I finally managed to get out, "it's pretty tough sometimes, but it's pretty nice being up on the hill." After a moment I added, "Oh, and I'm Danny, and this is my wife, Jackie."

"Oh, I know," Aubrey nodded, and then she turned to Jackie. "Hey, can I get you some more water?"

Jackie stared at her blankly for a moment before looking down and realizing that she had already drained her bottle of water. "Ummm, no," she finally replied. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Well, if you need anything," Aubrey enthused, "just let me know. I'd be really happy to help out." Turning to me, she said, "I could even help you shovel that driveway, or have it all clear for you by the time you get home from work. I mean, right now I live out in the boonies, but if I lived closer, I'd help with that driveway anytime you wanted."

Maybe realizing how quiet we had gotten, she stopped and looked back and forth between the two of us. I was looking aside, over her left shoulder, a fake grin plastered on my face while Jackie was looking down at her lap. "Really," Aubrey continued, less sure of herself now, "I'd help you with anything, especially you...ma'am."

Jackie looked back up and made eye contact with her. The silence stretched on bit, but what could we do? I think we were both wondering if we were really hearing what we thought we were. Even if we were, how could we possibly respond?

The awkwardness was palpable, and Aubrey had lost most of her bravado. She looked at us both, seemingly at a loss for words but needing to say more.

"Just what is it you're saying?" Jackie finally asked.

"Just," Aubrey started to reply before pausing and fidgeting a bit with her hands, which she had kept in her lap the entire time that she knelt there. She looked at me, all of her self-assurance gone, and then looked back at Jackie. My wife was giving her the look I imagine she normally gave misbehaving undergraduates from the lectern. Finally, she looked down at the floor and quietly blurted out, "Just that I, I would do anything. I mean, for the right couple... All either of you would have to do would be to tell me to do something, and I'd do it."

She was utterly still now, and she looked back up at us from underneath her brows. I don't for the life of me know what she expected either of us to say. When we simply looked back at her and remained quiet, she lost whatever courage she had left. "Anything!", she said once more, desperately, and then quickly got back up and crossed the floor to where the rest of her teammates were still dancing and talking.

A moment later, when Jackie and I got up to go back upstairs, Aubrey didn't turn or acknowledge us. She seemed to be talking and laughing with the other girls, and nobody gave us any side-eye, so we quickly climbed the stairs and got out of there. Back in the kitchen, I released a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding.

"What. The. Fuck. Was. That?" I asked.

Jackie, shaking her head and glancing back at the open basement door, replied, "Just what it sounded like. I mean, I think she was asking to take Delaney's place. And if I'm right, then we need to have a fucking talk with Delaney. I mean," she continued, turning back to me. "Just how much did she tell that girl about us?" I had no idea, and we stood there helplessly staring at each other for a moment.

"We've got to get out of here," I said. She nodded, and stepped up to me for a long hug. I could tell she was scared. Hell, so was I. While we technically hadn't done anything illegal - Delaney had been 18 throughout our relationship, after all - our careers and our standing in the neighborhood could certainly suffer if it got out that we'd had an affair with a high school girl. I had a morals clause in my contract that meant I could get fired over something like this. Jackie could be denied tenure. This was serious.

"Look," I finally said, "we don't really know what went on. We might be reading a lot more into that than there really was." She nodded and took my hand as we went to find the O'Brien's and say good-bye. As it happened, they were all together in the den, where a fire was now burning on the hearth. Most of the neighbors had gone home by now, leaving only the family, a few college girls, and, of course, the high school girls partying in the basement.

As we said our good-byes and thank-yous and Merry Christmases all around, Delaney jumped up and offered to show us to our coats. As it so happened, they were in her room. Hers was the closest bedroom to the front door, so her sister had simply thrown everybody's coats across Delaney's bed as people arrived.

It was completely surreal to be in Delaney's bedroom. Some of her childhood posters and artwork were still on the walls. Family photos, and some of her earliest trophies, were lined up on her dressers. We felt that we knew her so well, but this is where she had grown up, in this room. This bed was where she had slept, night after night. It was a disconcerting feeling, both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time.

Delaney herself wasted no time as soon as we were alone, grabbing each of us and kissing us in turn. For my part, despite my confusion, I enthusiastically kissed her back. While I was in her arms, our tongues entwined, I could pretend that it was still last spring and we still had weeks and months ahead of us to be together. It was obvious Jackie felt the same way. A moment later, though, she pushed the big girl away, hands out as if to keep her at arm's length. She took a deep breath and looked at her warily. "What's going on?" she asked.