Spirits in the Material World Pt. 02

"Because you did not make a big deal of it, I've not said anything about your family raising you in the church, nor anything about your being an Eagle Scout. She has no frame of reference for either of those things, so could have no understanding how they make you who you are. I said you were tall, good looking, patient and kind, strong and gentle. I'm sorry I did not hold your hand and join in the blessing. That's never been part of our paradigm. But I promise you, here and now and forever, it will be part of who we, you and I, are. Please, please... I love you, Tom. Just let this be a bump in the road, please!" Tears were beginning to flow continuously down Julie's cheeks.

Tom took the hand towel and dried, or tried to dry, Julie's tears. He dropped his lips to hers, and she clutched him even tighter. This was a comforting kiss, meant to soothe and reassure. He pulled his mouth from hers.

"I've been saving this, but it can't wait any longer. I love you, Julia Anne Lawson. And I wasn't waiting for you to say it first; it just hasn't been the right time yet. It still may not be the right time, but there it is. I. Love. You. Now, let's get your face cleaned up and go out there and be strong, together."

Julie splashed water on her face and dried it off. They departed the bathroom, Julie leading but holding Tom's hand as he reached back to turn off the exhaust fan. Together they returned to the dining table.

The instant Julie was in the bathroom and out of earshot, Maggie glared at her mother, daggers virtually shooting from Maggie's eyes.

"How could you, Mother?! What on earth possessed you to be such a heinous witch?" Maggie demanded. Rose paused, thinking for a few moments.

"I will make my apologies to him, but I needed to be sure he was for real. Your sister can be a blind romantic at times, and I needed to see what kind of man Tom is. I have my answer, as well as my reasons for testing him. Rest assured, Margaret Kathleen, anybody you bring home will likely face a similar test to assure their worthiness of you."

"What are you talking about, Mother?"

"Julie described Tom as being patient and kind, strong yet gentle. I had to be sure he was not a wimp who would roll over at the least sign of adversity. If your father had had to endure such a test, he and I would never have married much less gone out on more than five dates. You and Julie will NOT make the same mistakes I did!"

"Mom, if you had not married Dad, Julie and I would not even be here."

The bathroom door opening stopped the conversation, as Rose and Maggie awaited the return of Julie and Tom.

Julie led Tom, and he got her seated before pulling his chair to sit in. Rose stood and went over between Julie and Tom, and kneeled at Tom's feet, totally surprising him and Julie (and Maggie as well). She placed her hands on his knees.

"Mr. Harrison, I am truly and sincerely sorry for any upset my words and actions have engendered. You are the first boyfriend either girl has brought home, and I felt I owed it to her to test your worthiness of Julie. I apologize for any hurt I have incurred. Your mettle in responding coolly and firmly authenticate Julie's opinion of you. I meant to push your buttons a little, mostly in part because nobody had ever pushed my ex-husband's buttons. If they had, the man he was would have shone through and I never would have married him. I wished to prevent Julie from making a similar mistake. Again, I am truly sorry." Rose bowed her head, not to the floor, but with respect for Tom. Julie and Maggie could only stare, flabbergasted at the recent turn of events.

Thinking for a few moments, Tom took Rose's hands in his and standing, raised her to her feet. Gingerly, gently, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. A couple of squeezes later, he pushed back, saying, "Mr. Harrison is my father, who will probably ask you to call him Alan. I'm Tom or Thomas. I think I understand why you said what you did, and I forgive you for any hurt you have caused. But I will never forget it."

Tom's last words sent a shiver down Julie's back. She was a little surprised at the steel in those words, and a bit more respect for him was embedded in her love for him.

Rose responded, "I don't believe you would forget it." Breaking from the hug and turning to Julie, Rose held out her hands to her daughter. "Julie, please forgive me for my methods. I did it only to be sure he was worthy of you."

Taking her mother's hands, Julie answered, "I forgive you, mother, but you and I will have to talk about this later tonight." And Tom had a frisson run down his spine at the tone he heard from his love.

Rose returned to her seat, and supper continued, albeit a little emotionally strained.

In between mouthfuls of food, Rose re-started the boyfriend interrogation, without agenda.

"So, Tom, would you please tell us about yourself?"

"This is what I expected, although much earlier in the meal. Ok. My name is Thomas Richard Harrison, and I'll be 23 years old on January 3^rd. I'm a senior at State with a Business Finance major, and I'm one of the Accounting lab teaching assistants, which is how I met Julie. I have a 3.9 GPA, and I have a couple of pending job offers once I graduate in May. I'm an Eagle Scout with six palms. My parents allowed our church to help raise me and my brother, David, and that village is very important to me. Humorously, if you take my name and contract it, I become Tom, Dick, and Harry. Huge laugh on my parents' part." A snort from Maggie surprised everyone.

"Family-wise, my father, Alan, is a project manager for a software developer in Middleburg. My brother, David, is a freshman at the Art Institute, but recent conversations lead me to think he may change schools next fall. My mother, Laura, passed away 16 months ago from pancreatic cancer. She had been a stay-at-home mother for us as well as an active parent in scouts, the church, and at school. My dad is an only child, and all four grandparents passed away before I completed high school. So, no close aunts, uncles, or cousins."

"So, what does it mean 'I'm an Eagle Scout with six palms'?" Rose inquired.

"Eagle Scout is the highest rank anyone can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America. To do this the scout must complete 21 merit badges, 13 of which are required, have several positions of leadership within the troop, complete a huge number of service project hours, and design, lead and implement a service project of their own. Each palm earned after the Eagle rank is completed requires an additional five merit badges and leadership positions and even more service hours. And all of this must be completed before the scout turns 18 years of age. So, I completed 51 merit badges (actually, I completed 54) and all the other requirements before I turned 18. It is a premier indication of someone who exemplifies the Scout Oath and Law, which I try to do every day. It also is a sign of someone who is responsible and accountable. Most of the people who have walked on the moon are or were Eagle Scouts. One president, Gerald R. Ford, was an Eagle Scout. Many of the leaders of companies are Eagle Scouts. If you cite Eagle Scout on your resume, many times your resume 'floats to the top'. I'm a much better person for being an Eagle Scout."

"Are you aware, Tom, that your father has invited Maggie and me to Thanksgiving at your home?" Rose asked.

"I was not present when the invitation was made; I believe Julie was grocery shopping with Dad when that occurred. But yes, I was aware." A smirk crossed his face.

"What was that smirk for?" Maggie asked.

"My brother, David, is totally gobsmacked by your pictures. If he had ever met you in person, I'd say he was totally in love with you. I do know he's making a surprise for you, though. Jules, do you have those pictures you took of the three of us on Sunday at church?"

Julie whipped out her phone and pulled up the album of the Harrisons.

"Here's the three of them this past Sunday. Alan is in the middle and David is on his left." She showed the photo to Rose and Maggie.

"Good looking men," Rose commented, looking up at Tom. She looked back down at the picture for a moment before passing it to Maggie. "Very good looking men," she thought.

"Yeah, he's kinda cute," Maggie commented. "Tom, is David an Eagle Scout too?"

"Oh, yeah. He's a bit competitive at times, and scouting was one of those times. He was actually two months younger than I was when he earned his Eagle, or as we call it the 'Pewter Chicken'. He 'only' completed 41 merit badges, so he earned four palms. Still, it's the Eagle Scout rank that's important."

Maggie scoped out the picture of the three men, zooming in on David's face for a minute. Then she handed the phone back to Julie.

"What kind of surprise is David making?" Maggie wanted to know.

"Ah, but if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it? The anticipation won't kill you," Julie interrupted.

The conversation then petered out as they focused on finishing their supper. When they were done, Tom offered to help with the cleanup but was told there was not enough room in the kitchen so he should just go sit back on the sofa, which he did. He was still a little torqued by Rose's testing questions, but he kept that to himself. Forgiven but not forgotten.

"Would anyone like some coffee or hot chocolate?" sang out from the kitchen.

"Not for me, thank you," Tom replied. "I try to keep my coffee intake to the antemeridian hours."

The four reconvened in the living room space, Julie almost in Tom's lap, Maggie on the love seat, Rose in the easy chair.

"You two are cute together," observed Maggie. Rose nodded in agreement. "Ok, Jules, you promised more information about how much Tom is into you. Share."

"Well, Tom and I really clicked well when we first met in the Accounting lab. He mentioned that I looked 'sort of' like his mother and that was part of the attraction. Well, Tom, I call bullshit on that!" Julie gave a huge, ear-to-ear smile at her words. "I could be her twin!" And she pulled up the picture of the painting David did of Laura to show. Rose had first dibs, and her face went nearly ashen as the blood drained out.

"Oh. My. God!" Rose exclaimed, causing Maggie to grasp for the phone. She, too, dropped her jaw in shock at the resemblance between Julie and the painting.

"Yeah, now you see why Tom's so into me?" Julie teased.

"Yeah, right, like it has nothing to do with your laugh, your personality, your kindness to others, your willingness to give of yourself," Tom riposted.

"So, who did this painting of your Mom, Tom?" Maggie asked.

"My brother, David."

Maggie's mouth was about to take up permanent residence on the floor.

"Daaaaaaammmmn! This seems near photo-quality."

"Yeah, he's really proud of that. The school wanted to keep it on display for the rest of the school year, but he insisted it needed to come home."

Maggie returned Julie's phone, and the remainder of the conversation was fairly banal.

At 9:00, Rose declared it to be her bedtime, that she needed her 'beauty sleep' (a statement Tom did not agree with internally) and that she'd see them in the morning. Before heading to her room, she set up the coffee maker with grounds and water to be started by whoever got up first. Then she disappeared into her sanctum.

Maggie probed once more for information. "So, Tom or Julie, what was it about me that seems to fascinate David so much?"

Looking at each other, Tom indicated that Julie should go first as she had spoken with David more about this than Tom had.

"He was really fascinated by the hair dye of red, green, and purple from the picture in August. Said it struck something in him. I think he likes the rebel in you. And I did tell him that you were smarter than I was." Maggie's eyes started to shine a bit with gratitude for the compliment.

Tom joined in, "And I know from his history that he has called hair of your color to be his Kryptonite. He had a girlfriend for a minute back in 9^th grade before she moved away, and she had auburn, red hair too. Personally, I think it's the whole visual package. That's a really nice picture Julie has of you." Now Maggie's eyes were more than shining, starting to really tear up.

Armed with that information, Maggie called it a night and went to her room, to make plans.

Nothing has been said about Tom sleeping apart from Julie, now that the fact they'd had coitus going back to Halloween, so they turned out the lights and headed for her bedroom. They did their teeth brushing and mouth washing in the hall bath then stripped and enjoyed each other's corporeal forms, albeit very quietly. It was a slow, comfortable intercourse, full of stroking and sucking and kissing, and it was perhaps the best they each had ever had.

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