Justin Thyme - The House

"I can't help it. Call it a phobia, if you will, but I still don't want to swim. I know I have to care for the pool, and that's OK. I'm not anti-swimming. I just won't go in."

"Party pooper."

* * *

Martha Thompson pushed back from the table. "Excellent sauce, as usual, Charlotte. Your spaghetti is always good. You didn't learn that from me."

"Thanks, Mom. That's my only claim to fame in the kitchen."

Pete wagged a finger at his wife. "Fishing for compliments is never a good thing. It's unbecoming."

She stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her mother. "I'm glad you and Daddy could come over tonight. I'm not ready to deal with an empty house, yet."

"Why did those kids think they needed to go up to Scottsdale tonight, anyway? One would think they'd have had their fill of that place by now."

"I don't know, Daddy. There's just something about that old house that draws them. Stephanie is almost as bad. I think she probably would have gone with them if it wasn't for her mom and Tom coming home. She's going up tomorrow. The rest of the girls start moving in Monday. That's when Michael and Susie get back from their honeymoon, too."

"You know, that's one kid who's got his head on straight. I'm glad he's gonna be living there. I believe he'll be a stabilizing influence on Justin. Michael knows the value of living simply, yet enjoying what he has without greed for more. He certainly walked away from a bundle when Justin found those stocks and bonds. That Susie is a real gem, too. I was kind of worried about her, the way she was chasing after Justin before the accident."

"I know, Daddy. I was kind of worried about Susie and Justin, the way she chased after him before the wreck. I'm really happy he's with Stephanie instead. They make a good pair."

Ben Thompson snorted. "Steph may think she's got him, but with him running that harem up there . . . ." He ducked the swat his wife threw at him and snickered. "Well, that's what it looks like from here. Help me out a bit, Pete."

"Sorry. You're on your own, there, Dad."

* * *

"Mikey, thank you." Susie put a hand over his mouth. "Shh. Let me talk. Thank you for being you and for loving me. I'll never forget you being there for me at the hospital. You didn't have to do that, but that's just you, and I'm lucky enough to have you for the rest of my life."

Again she lifted her hand to stop him. "I know Mommy was ready to kill you when they got home, and Daddy was nearly as mad, but you showed them who you really are. I was afraid you were going to leave me then, and I cried myself to sleep that first night, but the next day, there you were. You put up with me when I was so insecure I tried to tempt and tease you, but that isn't what you wanted. You made me grow up. I knew I was in love with you even before Mommy and Daddy got back, but it was a childish love until that day up on Mt. Lemon. You showed me what love really is all about, and you showed me who you really are."

Susie sat up in the bed, revelling in the way Michael's eyes followed her breasts.

"I'm yours. All yours, and everything I have and am is yours. I want you to know you are safe with me. When you make love to me, it means something, besides being really fun. I can't wait to have your babies."

Michael reached an arm around her and pulled her down on top of himself.

"When you have my babies, and you are nursing them, do I get some, too?"

"Ohh. I like how you think. Maybe you want to practice a little bit now?"

* * *

"Dad, can I pick your brain for a few minutes? I hate to take your time from Mom right now, but I'll be gone tomorrow."

"Certainly, Steph. I'll always make time for you. I'm still getting used to you calling me Dad." He pulled her down to sit on the couch next to himself. "I'm honored. Your father would be so proud of you."

"Thanks. Supper will be ready in about five minutes.

"I've been thinking about school, what I'm going to major in. I'm thinking about changing to pre-med instead of nursing, but I'm kind of scared."

"Honey, is it OK if I call you honey?"

Steph wrapped her arms around his arm and hugged it to herself and nodded.

"What you need to do is understand why. Medicine is a great field, but it is also difficult―both in training, and then afterward. It has its challenges. If you don't have a good 'why', you won't make it."

"I know. That's kind of why I'm scared, but I started thinking about it the night you were here for supper after that bus accident. I've been thinking about becoming an ER doctor like you. I want to make a difference."

"Are you and Justin getting serious? Do you think you have a future with him? Before you decide on such a thing you need to talk it over with him. You would have years of school, internship, and residency. Is he willing to wait for you?"

"That's another thing that has me scared, but I want to make a difference with my life. I don't want to just fill a slot, to just exist."

Mary looked around her new husband at her daughter.

"When did you grow up so much? Don't get in too big of a hurry. Keep your options open. It's not something you have to decide right away."

"Your mom's right. Biology would be a good area to start. You could go into med school or nursing with that. There is nothing wrong with nursing. Your mom makes a big difference. She surely did that day. I couldn't have done what I did without her."

The timer dinged in the kitchen and Steph jumped up. "Thanks Dad." She started for the kitchen, then turned and leaned over him and gave him a big hug. "I'm so glad to have a dad who will listen and who will love my mom. You don't know how long I've looked for you."

* * *

"I can't believe you are such a wimp. Most of the pool isn't even deep."

"It is what it is. I'm not going in the pool. You go ahead, if you want. I've plenty to do." I turned my back to Rosemary and started up the stairs to my room. I did indeed have plenty I needed to do. Hardly anything in the lower office had been gone through. Grandpa wanted me to check out those ledgers, for instance, but renovating the house took all of our time over the summer.

I hated it that what was supposed to be our evening was spoiled after it had started off so well. This was the first real disagreement Rosemary and I had since I gave her the koala and we reconnected. The more I thought about it, the more it peeved me.

I didn't bother dressing, but when I reached my room I did put on a pair of shoes. No way did I want to go down that ladder barefoot.

Old Sam Johnson had to have been in pretty good shape for his age, I thought, as I went down the ladder. Of course, much of the time he probably went down to the cellar from the library, but I knew he frequently went from his room. Down and up a totally vertical ladder from the third floor to the cellar was a pretty good climb. If nothing else, I had found a pretty good way to keep myself in shape without having to go to a gym. Maybe it wasn't quite as good cardio as swimming. The thought reignited the ire I had toward my sister at the moment. She knew how I felt about swimming.

It's just like swimming in Havasu, and you like that. It wasn't, and she isn't the one who fell in the pool and nearly drowned when she was three.

I turned the antique button light switch at the base of the steps and light flooded the cellar. Amazingly, the original wiring in the cellar had proven to be still good after over a hundred years. All I had had to do was replace the bulbs. How long they had burned after Johnson was killed I had no clue, but when I screwed in the first new, modern, bulb, it lit up instantly since the switches were still on.

All that transpired since Michael and I found Johnson's skeleton here at the desk had not fully settled in my mind. I snatched the keys from the drawer and strode down the passageway. If Rosemary didn't want to spend our last opportunity to be alone together, screw her. I'd find out what was in all of those journals.

* * *

Michael tugged his Speedo up his legs and tried to tuck himself in. "I don't know why you insisted on me wearing these things. I could have just worn my board shorts. I about might as well not have anything on at all."

"That would be OK with me, honey." Susie stepped from the bathroom with her towel knotted around herself, drawing Michael's eye. "Girls like to look, too, you know." She flipped open the corner of the towel exposing her hip and leg. "I like what I see. You like, too?"

Michael's eyes widened, as they did whenever Susie teased him. He was so predictable, and Susie loved it.

"If you don't quit that, I'll never fit into this thing and we'll never get back to the beach. It's indecent, I tell you."

"Why do you think I like it?" Susie slipped into Michael's arms and let her towel drop. "Thank you for loving me. I'm so lucky. Oh, by the way, if a little bit sticks out, that's fine with me. Want me to put some sunblock on it for you?" Susie gave him a quick stroke then stepped into the walk-in closet.

"Marrying you is the smartest thing I ever did, Little One. Love you, even if you are a big . . . tease." Michael's voice caught in his throat as Susie stepped out of the closet wearing one of his shirts.

"So, you like this? I shouldn't tell you, but I don't have anything on under it this time. Maybe you want to check the pocket and see if you can find something?"

* * *

Water coursed down Rosemary's skin and dripped to the pool apron. Absently she swept droplets from her breasts before dropping into a chaise longue to catch a few rays. Why couldn't Justin get over that silly phobia about swimming pools? Lying out and swimming were not fun to do alone. She missed him.

Sure, it had been only twenty minutes, but their tiff nagged at her mind. Her twin, her lover, the one who had completed her life for the last few months wasn't with her, all because she acted like a spoiled diva when he had tried so hard to make this day they had together special.

Yes, it would have been fun to fool around in the pool together. The rush of being naked and fooling around outside was what she really craved. What good would it have been, though it it wasn't something Justin would have enjoyed, too? His attentiveness to her pleasure when they made love under "their" rose in the foyer, the way he cuddled and stroked her skin so lovingly afterward when she had gone to sleep on his shoulder. That was Justin. So what if he didn't want to fool around in the pool. How did that stack up against the way he loved her, the way he made her feel when he held her in his arms, the way he looked at her, drinking in her beauty, even when, especially when, she was sweaty and disheveled after making love?

Rosemary jumped to her feet and ran to the house. That green peignoir she had planned to wear for him tonight. It wasn't too late.

* * *

"Stephanie, you did a wonderful job on dinner. Thank you."

"Thanks, Dad. I wanted tonight to be special. Now, you and Mom just relax for a few minutes and I'll bring out desert."

"Steph, I'm full. I ate too much, already."

"I did a banana pudding, Mom. I just need to whip the cream and it'll be ready. You can handle a little bit."

Mary groaned and held her stomach. She waited until Steph was out of earshot in the kitchen before leaning forward and half-whispering. "I've never see her act like this. You've really made an impression on the girl. I know she's happy to have you in our lives."

"Not nearly so happy as I am, honey. I never thought I'd ever find anyone who could put up with me, that I could be truly happy with, but now . . . ."

"You know, I think it is the kids who pay the biggest price for war. I know she has desperately wanted a father figure in her life. Then that day you brought my purse to me―she told me then you would be good for me. Don't be surprised if there is a bit of hero worship on her part."

"Yeah. I've kind of noticed that, but she's genuine and affectionate. It's not just hero worship. I'm really sorry she's leaving already tomorrow. I feel like I've hardly gotten to know her, yet there's a good feeling to our relationship. When she called me 'Dad' the first time, I nearly lost it. I never thought I'd ever hear that directed to me."

Steph walked back into the dining room with two coffee cups heaped with whipped cream. "Coffee for you. I used decaf for you, Mom. It has a little Bailey's."

"Oh my! Wine before and during dinner and now Bailey's in the coffee? Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Come on, Mom. It's not that much, and besides, you don't have to go anywhere tonight and you don't have to work tomorrow. I just wanted tonight to be special for you."

"Oh, it is. I'm not complaining. I think it's really sweet of you to do all of this."

"It's not every day a girl gets a dad, and not every girl gets to help pick him." Steph gave Tom a wink and skipped back to the kitchen.

Moments later she came back into the dining room with three parfait glasses of banana pudding on a small tray.

"Mom, you've got some whipped cream on your nose and upper lip. Now that you have a good husband, I think you should have him help you clean it off."

"Stephanie!"

"Well, there is a little extra whipped cream in the kitchen if he can think of any other uses for it."

* * *

"Little One, I should never have told you how good my shirt looks on you." Michael's chest was still heaving. Susie was nestled under his shoulder, her short hair just long enough to tickle his nose when he turned face toward her. His right hand stroked lanquidly across her breast, teasing her nipple. "You are about to drain me of everything."

"Good. I want it all. We only have one more day before we have to go back." Susie pulled herself up onto his chest to give Michael a kiss. "I'm so glad I'm going back with you, though. I was so dreading going to school and leaving you in Tucson."

She snuggled a little higher and pressed her face into Michael's neck, muffling her voice just a bit. "When we were at prom and you were hurting so badly, but you wouldn't leave because you didn't want to spoil my senior prom and then you spoke to all the kids and then proposed . . . ." She stopped to wrap both arms about his shoulders and hugged him to her. "You have no idea what that meant to me. I had thought I would never be pretty again, but your mom . . ." Tears trickled down Michal's neck. "Your mom got me that wonderful gown, and, Jacqui fixed my hair so I didn't have to have those ugly scars showing, but then you asked me to marry you. You have no idea how badly I wanted you to, but I thought we'd have to wait until after school, and I wanted you so badly then. No one can ever love another the way I'm going to love you."

"Do you know when I knew you were the one?"

"When?"

"It was when we were in the hospital and you fussed at me for getting you roses the second time and I passed them around. Every other girl I had ever been with wanted what I could give them or my family name could get. You didn't care about all of that."

"I've never really cared about having a lot of things. I don't like to waste."

"I know. And, that makes me want to give you more. Others who wanted what they could get from me, they just left me cold. Everything that I have is yours, honey."

"Umm. I'm the lucky one." Susie traced a finger around Michael's nipple and watched it tighten and get hard. "All I want is you. Those two guys at that frat party sure caused a lot of pain, but I ought to send them a thank you card. I never would have met you without them."

"I can't forgive them for what they caused me to put you through, though. I still struggle with what you lost." His hand slid down from her breast and a finger stroked the scar where Susie's spleen was removed. "I'm to blame for your beauty being marred."

Susie raised up on her elbows to look Michael in the eyes and her fingers rested over his lips. "We have been over this before. You did nothing wrong, and as long as you are happy with what this body looks like, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I just don't want you to get tired of the way I look or to feel obligated because you were involved. It wasn't your fault."

"Never. I just feel so badly that you won't want to wear a bikini any more because of your scars."

"I'd rather just wear what we're wearing now." Susie pinched the nipple she had been stroking. "This outfit looks pretty good on you!"

* * *

Whispers of silk over satin and lace, softer even than the gentle footpads of bare feet on hardwood floors were the only sounds as Rosemary walked throughout the house looking for Justin. Steps that started out fairly slow and measured increased in pace as she didn't find him where she looked. His room, the library, kitchen, and parlor were empty.

A quick look around, though she knew no one would be about to see her crossing the yard in her lingerie, and she hiked the skirt to keep it out of the dirt and dashed across to the carriage house. Maybe Justin was checking out the apartments, but they were dark and empty.

By now, tears streaked her cheeks. Again, holding the skirts up to keep them from getting soiled she wandered back to the house, no longer concerned about someone seeing her in the open, dressed as she was. The car was still there, so he had to be somewhere around. The cellar! He must have gone down to the cellar.

Openly crying, Rosemary gathered her skirts even higher and ran for the house. Bursting through the door, into the library, and then the closet. She grabbed the clothes rod and twisted forward, but nothing happened.

Again and again, Rosemary tried, but the door would not release. Had Justin locked the door from the other side somehow to keep her out? Nearly hysterical in her crying, now, Rosemary slumped to the floor. Her grip on the rod loosened and pulled it toward herself as she slumped. The soft click was nearly missed in her sobs, but she roused herself and pulled the door open. Light! He was there!

* * *

"Now you two go and make yourselves comfortable. I'll clean up."

"Unh uh. Not going to happen. You did a wonderful job with dinner. You're not doing the cleanup, too." Tom gathered his and his new wife's desert dishes and stepped toward the kitchen. "This is your last night at home for a while. You and your mom go enjoy some time together. I've got this."

"But I wanted to make the evening special for you. I don't mind, at all."

"Steph, honey, you already did." Mary stood and gathered her daughter in her arms. "I have a wonderful daughter, and I'm going to miss you so much even though you'll only be two hours away. We'll all clean up together."

"Dad, can you tell me more about Daddy?"

Tom stiffened momentarily and withdrew into himself, pain clouding his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I don't want you to think I don't want you, Dad. I love you and I'm so glad you and Mom are together. I just have a huge hole in my life."

"May I sit?" Tom's legs felt so weak all of a sudden. "Steph, honey, come here."

Tom pulled her to sit on his knee, arm about her waist, and tipped her face to look at him with his other hand. "It's not that I don't want to talk about Winters. It just hurts. Can you understand?"

Steph wrapped both arms about his neck and kissed the top of Tom's head. "I understand. You are just the last link to my daddy. I'm sorry I'm being selfish."

"Not at all." Tom squeezed her waist and drew a deep breath. "Whenever I walk in the door of this house, I feel your father's presence. I see his picture on the wall and nod and say 'thank you'. I know most of a person's personality comes from his environment, from experience, but I believe a lot comes from genes, and trust me, you inherited some really good ones. I see so much of Winters in you. I see your mother in you, too, to be sure, but there is so much of your temperament that just says 'Winters' in the way you go about things―the way you interact with others.