Mandy and Me Ch. 06

"Thank you so very much, Grandma Davidson. All your hard work paid off today, and I'm so happy to be the newest Mrs. Davidson in the family."

Grandma hugged her back.

"Amanda, I am so proud to welcome you to the family. I now have another wonderful granddaughter to love."

After releasing Mandy, Grandma reached for me.

"Mike, you're my favorite grandson. You've made me so proud today by taking this beautiful young lady as your wife. You now have to love, honor, and cherish her for the rest of your life."

"You read my mind, Grandma," I said, as I hugged her back. "What you said is exactly what I plan to do. I now have something priceless to care for."

"I know you do. Now, you need to take her to y'all's bedroom and take good care of her. She deserves the absolute best you can give her."

Bidding everyone a good night, Mandy and I started down the hall to our bedroom, and saw Mom slipping out of the door. Coming to us she hugged and kissed us both.

"I left y'all a surprise. Now, go have a GOOD night and I'll see you in the morning."

When we entered the room, we found the bed had been turned down and there was a cheese and fruit tray on the table between the two chairs, along with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"Look what Mom left us, Sugar."

"That'll do for a start, Honey. Why don't you get ready for bed and open that champagne, while I change in the bathroom?" she asked, with a seductive wink and smile, as she went through the door, closing it behind her.

Taking the hint, I undressed and hung my clothes back in the closet. I stripped completely down and got a pair of loose fitting cotton knit elastic waist athletic shorts from a drawer and slipped them on.

Going to the table, I had the bottle opened and the two glasses filled by the time I heard the door open, when Mandy came out of the bathroom. When I turned and saw her, my breath caught in my throat. She was as a perfect a vision of loveliness I'd even seen, clad in a white sheer gown and robe. She swayed across the floor to where I was standing, saying, "Close you mouth, Honey, you're gonna catch flies, standin' there like that."

"Mandy, my darling, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I love you more than life itself," I told her, as I led her to one of the chairs, where I sat and pulled her into my lap. We kissed again before I handed her a glass. I then took mine.

Touching glasses, I said, "To us and our future together."

The remainder of our wedding night is ours and ours alone. You'll have to imagine what happened.

26 Nov

Awakening the next morning with my lovely Mandy in my arms was a truly wonderful experience. Brushing the hair from her face with my fingertips, I gently kissed her. It took the third kiss before she began to awaken.

When she finally opened her eyes, she immediately smiled.

"Good morning, Mr. Davidson," she said softly, following her greeting with a gentle, yet passionate kiss.

"Good morning to you, too, Mrs. Davidson. You look lovely, this fine mornin'," I replied, once my lips were free to speak. Of course, her kiss had felt and tasted so good that I just had to kiss her again. She smiled at me again, as I pulled my lips away, and I knew that it was a good day to be alive.

"Do you feel 'official' this mornin'?" I asked.

"I sure do, Honey. You outdid yourself, last night, and I couldn't feel any more official. Last night was even better'n our first time, and every time since. I could stay here all day with you, like this, and do it again and again," she told me softly, "but I need to pee."

"Yeah, I guess we'd better get up and hit the shower," I nodded.

Sitting up and stretching the kinks out of our bodies, we slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Mandy used the toilet while I adjusted the water in the shower. Our joint shower was the same delightful experience we'd come to enjoy. I washed her body, and she washed mine, and we both spent some extra time paying special attention to certain body parts on the other, but we really didn't have the time to carry out our desires.

"Much as I'd love to hang out here awhile and pleasure you," I told my new bride, "we've got a busy day ahead of us – and I reckon if we take much longer showin' up in the kitchen, folks'll be knockin' on the door to roust us out."

Mandy was rinsing me off, at the moment, paying a little more attention to my dick than was necessary to get the soap off it. She smiled and then slid her body down along mine until she was about eye-level with it. Opening her mouth, she took it inside, gave it one long slurp, and then pulled herself to her feet again.

"Promissory note, husband!" she chuckled. "To be paid in full sometime after sundown."

I leaned forward and took one of her nipples between my lips, sucking on it gently, while slipping a finger up inside her and twirling it around.

"What was that, husband?" she asked me, as I stood straight again.

"Well, you didn't say whether that promissory note was supposed to be from you or me, so I guess that'd be my agreement to either collect in full, or pay in full, whichever the case may be, Mrs. Davidson!" I laughed. "Now, we best get movin', 'fore the coffee gets cold!"

We finished rinsing and then gently toweled each other dry, and I combed and dried Mandy's hair before we dressed. She chose a long-sleeved blouse and a wrap-around denim skirt, while I slipped into my normal jeans and long sleeved shirt. I was ready to head for the porch, for a smoke, and wasn't in the mood to go digging a coat out in order to deal with the morning's chill.

Mandy was still finishing dressing and fussing with her hair when I headed for the kitchen. As I walked into the room, I found Grandma and Mom both seated at the table. I grabbed a pair of mugs from the cabinet and poured coffee for both Mandy and me, and took a seat at the table just as she showed up. She smiled, blushing somewhat, at Mom and Grandma, and took her usual place in my lap, arm draped across my shoulders. We looked across the table as Mom and Grandma both gave us the once-over.

"Well, Patsy, it looks like they survived the night," Grandma chuckled.

"Yep; I reckon they did," Mom nodded, smiling. "And they don't either of 'em look any the worse for wear."

Mandy and I exchanged amused glances. She rolled her eyes, giving me a quick squeeze on my shoulder. I caught on and rolled my eyes, as well.

"Well, Honey," she sighed theatrically, "Looks like we'll be hearin' that line all day, don't it?"

"I guess you're right," I answered.

"What do you youngsters want for breakfast? Patsy and I were just talkin' about that before y'all came in. The way them mattress springs was squeakin', last night, y'all must've burned up a lot of energy. I bet you're both starved!"

I debated responding to Grandma's gentle barb, for a moment, and decided to let it pass – at least this once.

"Mandy and I bought groceries the other day," I replied. "I know we bought some green pepper, cheese, onion, and ham..."

"I know just what you're thinkin'," Mom interrupted. "Let me get the griddle out."

"Sugar," I addressed my bride, "would you mind makin' up a double batch of your biscuits?"

"Sure," she said, as she slid off of my lap.

I got busy chopping vegetables while Mom got the griddle out and started grating cheese. Grandma poured the coffee into another pot to keep hot on the stove and started another pot brewing. That was a smart thing, since it was only a few minutes later that we heard Junior, Kathy, and the girls coming onto the back porch. Junior and Kathy would want coffee, definitely, but I didn't know if the girls had started drinking it, yet. As they came in through the kitchen, Grandma had coffee poured for Junior and Kathy.

I saw my uncle look at Mandy and me, and then at his wife, and I figured I'd head both of 'em off at the pass.

"Yep, we survived the night," I informed them.

"How did you know what we were going to say?" Junior asked, laughing.

"We've already heard it," I chuckled.

He laughed again, then asked, "What can we do to help with breakfast?"

"Well, Amanda's makin' biscuits and Mom and I are gettin' ready to cook omelets to order, plus sausage and bacon. We could use some eggs cracked, though."

Junior got a large bowl out of a cabinet and cracked a couple dozen eggs into it, then scrambled them up with a whisk. I was finished with my part of the prep, as was Mom, and Mandy had just put the biscuits into the oven.

"The biscuits'll be out in about fifteen minutes," she told us, glancing at her watch. "I figure we ought to start the rest of the food when they're halfway done."

"That's about enough time to go grab a smoke," I said, grabbing my mug and heading for the porch.

"Not without me, husband!" Mandy called after me, shucking out of her apron and grabbing her own coffee.

I waited long enough to hold the door, for her, and then proceeded to set my mug on the porch-rail while I lit a cigarette for each of us. Mom came out right behind Mandy, already pulling a cigarette out of her pack. Junior followed Mom, with Kathy on his heels, though that was no surprise. What did surprise me, though, was the fact that sixteen-year-old Laura trailed along in her mother's wake. I watched, out of the corner of my eye, as Kathy shook two cigarettes from her pack, handed one to her daughter, and then extended a light.

"I didn't know you smoked, Laura," I commented.

"Well, not all that much, Mike," she blushed prettily. "Mama's pretty strict about the number I can have, per day."

"Laura came to me, a few days before she turned sixteen, and asked me if she could try a cigarette," Kathy explained, blushing and looking just a trifle uncomfortable, herself. "She told me that a couple of her girlfriends had started, and were after her to try one with them. I talked it over with Junior, and we finally decided that, if she wanted to smoke, she'd try it one way or another, and we'd just as soon not have her sneakin' around – or, worse, maybe getting' in with the wrong crowd. We figured that, if she could just as easily smoke at home, we could at least know she wasn't getting' into any trouble."

"Right now, we let her have one in the morning, one after she gets home from school, and one or two more in the evening," Junior added. "That way, hopefully, she won't be gettin' so she's wantin' one while she's at school."

"Will we get to see your new cabinet shop today, Mike?" Laura asked, and I figured it was meant to try and move the conversation away from having her at the center.

"Sure thing, Laura," I told her. "We've already planned a tour for a little later in the mornin', after we get cleaned up from breakfast."

"You've gone through a lot of changes in the last couple months, Mike," Kathy commented. "Openin' your own business, takin' over the farm, and getting' married. Has your head stopped spinnin', yet?"

"Just about," I laughed. "Of course, every time it looks like it's about to hit a dead stop, this little lady here - " I draped my arm over my wife's shoulders – "gives me a kiss and sends it spinnin' like a top, again."

Mandy blushed, looking up at me, and then tried to cover her silly grin by taking another drag from her cigarette. I guess the brief moment gave her time to think of something to say, because she glanced at me again, and then looked at the others.

"I have to keep his head spinnin'," she chuckled. "If I let it stop, he just might figure out what I'm up to, and turn the tables on me."

"I'd ask what it is that you're up to," Mom laughed, "but I imagine we're all safer not knowin'."

"That, you are, Mama Davidson," Mandy nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

She took the last puff from her cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray that we kept on the porch, and glanced at her watch.

"Perfect timing," she smiled. "The biscuits will be done in about seven minutes, so we ought to get the rest of breakfast on the stove. That way, we'll have fresh, piping hot biscuits to eat, along with the omelets."

We all trooped back into the house, and those of us with cooking tasks grabbed our aprons and set to work.

"There's a stack of small bowls on the counter," I informed everyone. "Take a bowl, fill it with the ingredients you want, and hang onto it. I'll be cooking omelets to order. For those that want it, there's a big jar of homemade hot sauce in the fridge."

Mom cooked the bacon and the sausage in two skillets, while I took over two burners with the griddle that was so perfect for omelets. The way I cooked an omelet was to spread the eggs into a square on the griddle, placing the filling ingredients in a row down the center. As the eggs set, I'd fold them over the center allowing it to cook and then turning once to cook the other side before putting it on the plate. The secret is having a restaurant type griddle spatula, and with it, and the griddle, I could cook two at the same time.

At first, I thought that Mom was cooking an awfully large batch of sausage, but then I noticed that she had some other ingredients sitting on the counter, ready to make some sausage gravy to go with the biscuits, if we wanted.

With lots of hands helping the task along, it took a relatively few minutes to provide everyone with a plate full of delicious food, and we gathered at the table to eat. During the meal, talk naturally turned to the coming Christmas holiday.

"Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, this year, so the 'observed' Christmas holiday would be a Monday," Mandy noted. "Mike and I'll have the shop closed, though he might go putter around down there for a while, and all our guys'll get their first paid holiday."

"So, where do we want to get together, this year?" Kathy asked. "Do y'all want to host, or do you want to come down to our place?"

"Actually, I'm thinking that we really ought to host, this year," Mom offered, "even though we hosted last Christmas. I don't think we should put Grandma through the hassle of the drive and all."

"I'm glad you offered, Patsy," Junior said. "I was thinkin' along the same lines, but I didn't want to 'volunteer' y'all to go to all the trouble."

"Are you folks okay, with the current sleeping arrangements?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah," Junior nodded, blatantly ignoring his wife's barely-hidden scowl. "We'll be just fine sleepin' out in the shop again. In fact, I was as comfortable, down there, as I am at home. After all, it's only for Christmas Eve and Christmas night."

"Then Amanda and I will wait 'til after Christmas to start getting' the office area ready to actually be a workin' office," I told him. "We can take a couple o' days during the week after Christmas to move things around, and it'll be ready for us to use first of the New Year."

"We're all so busy makin' plans for the holiday, that we're forgettin' the newest member of the family," Mom said, chasing a bit of sausage onto her fork with a piece of biscuit. "Amanda, honey, when does your family do their openin' gifts and such?"

"We usually have a little bit more 'special' dinner, on Christmas Eve, and then exchange our gifts, Mama Davidson. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I figured that scatter-brained husband of yours hadn't asked, yet, so I ought to at least help him find out what his schedule is gonna be. Mike, looks like you're gonna be dividin' your Christmas Eve between two houses, this year."

"I reckon so, Mom," I grinned. "I don't want to disappoint the new in-laws by keepin' their daughter away from their family get-together."

"Maybe you hadn't considered it, yet, son, but that family is just as much yours, now, as our family is Amanda's," Mom reminded me.

"Which means we have some Christmas shoppin' to do, in the next couple o' weeks, husband," Mandy added, with a big grin.

"Speakin' of Christmas shoppin', Amanda," Junior said, pushing his chair back from the table, "I guess we ought to find out some things about you, to give us some ideas for presents."

Well, I'm not even going to try and recount the chatter that ensued at the table for the next few minutes, as everyone but me bombarded my wife with questions on the kinds of books and music she liked, the styles of clothing she preferred – both dress-up and casual – her favorite colors to wear, and her sizes for everything from boots clean down to unmentionables. Just take it from me, I was glad I'd already snooped at clothing sizes in our closet, and I had a pretty fair idea of the colors she preferred in clothing, and already had my eye on a couple items at one of the shops in town. I'd never have gotten a word in, edgewise!

I will say this, though, it did my heart good to see my new bride burstin' with happiness to be so quickly included as a member of the family.

After breakfast was finished and cleaned up, Mandy and I went to open the shop. We wanted to do a quick walk-through, to check everything, before our guests arrived. I checked and locked the doors that led into the office and the room where Mom's furniture was stored. About the time we finished, Mandy's family arrived. Meeting the group outside, I explained that we had work in progress in the shop, and after cautioning them about safety, Mandy and I escorted them in.

Starting at the rear, in the materials storage area, I described the various lumbers and plywoods used in our cabinets. Mandy and I led the group through the shop following the material progression from machine to machine. Questions were asked about how the machines and tools were used. Mandy was able to answer some, and I answered the rest.

When we gathered around the assembly table, I said, "You can see that we're using fast production methods to build cabinets. All our work is custom built to fit the customer's situation, though. We measure the site carefully and build to fit."

Maggie interrupted to say, "You were supposed to measure my kitchen."

Mandy, Charles, and I began to laugh. Maggie was becoming slightly upset, thinking we were laughing at her.

I took her hand and pulled her beside me, saying, "My dear, sweet, new, mother-in-law, most of the parts and pieces you've been lookin' at ARE your new cabinets. We'll assemble 'em this comin' week and install 'em the week after."

Maggie's eyes went fried-egg round, and her mouth gaped wide open, and I smiled.

"Mike, less than a day in the family and you've already accomplished the impossible," Charles laughed. "You've shut Maggie up."

Everyone erupted in laughter at that, and Maggie was quick to wrap me in a hug and kiss both my cheeks.

"I can't believe it. I'm lookin' at my new cabinets. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. How much do I owe you?"

"Mama Reynolds," I told her, as Mandy and I surrounded her in a three-person hug, "your cabinets are already paid for. They were paid for yesterday, the moment Amanda became my wife. Charles has your new countertops on order, down at the lumberyard. I even think you're getting a new sink and a dishwasher all at the same time."

Maggie hugged and kissed Mandy and me both, before running to Charles and smothering him with kisses.

"Charles," I asked my new father-in-law, "what do you think about a woman that would exchange her only child for a new kitchen?"

The laughter started again. Maggie blushed heavily before turning and starting toward me, but Mandy put herself in between us.

"Mama, who can't take a joke? You've been had. Mike and Dad have been plannin' this for the past couple of months."

Maggie stopped a couple steps short of her daughter, took a deep breath, and seemed to calm down. I guess I don't have to tell you, I was mighty glad, of that!

"I guess y'all got me," she said at last, and then began to laugh along with the rest of us.

"Maggie, I fully intended for your cabinets to be the first ones built in my shop, but it didn't work out," I told her. "I had a couple of other jobs already scheduled, and couldn't change 'em. You'll have a new kitchen before Christmas."