Spirits in the Material World Pt. 04

All persons are over the age of 18, and all characters and locations are totally fictional.

Per some valued feedback, I have some edits which I need to put in place. -- storyteller0112

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Thursday, Thanksgiving Day:

Alan's alarm clock radio flipped from 5:59 to 6:00 am, and the melodious tones of Sonny and Cher's "I Got You, Babe" filled the bedroom and invaded his sleeping head. No, this was not a version of "Groundhog Day". There was no snow on the ground, there was no gathering of people in Punxatawny to witness Phil the Groundhog's efforts and meteorological prognostication. It was Thanksgiving Day in Middleburg, and company would be arriving around noon. Alan levered himself out of bed and shambled towards the ensuite bathroom. After a shower and shave, he felt much more human and proceeded to start the first pot of coffee.

He mixed up a double batch of pancake batter, added some maple syrup to the mix, and proceeded to make pancakes for all four of them. He opted for sausage patties this morning, as he preferred to dip his sausage patties in the excess maple syrup. He also made a pitcher of orange juice. To amuse himself, he had his phone in a bowl to provide some resonance, and he directed it to play Jethro Tull's "Original Masters" album. He would dance a little to Ian Anderson's flute and occasionally do some air guitar moves as the moment struck him, much to the horror of Tom and Julie, who were watching from the doorway to the dining room.

"Now I know where you get your love of Jethro Tull from," snarked Julie to Tom.

"Yep, the acorn doesn't fall far from the old oak tree, does it?" Tom sniped back with a big smile for his girlfriend.

"Would the two of you please set the table with plates, silverware, and juice cups?" Alan requested.

"On it, Dad."

The smell of the pancakes and the sausage cooking woke David, and he soon joined the three in the kitchen area. Soon, David, Tom, and Julie were seated around the kitchen table, each with their respective mugs of coffee fixed the way they desired.

"Ok, kids, we've got quite a bit of food prep to accomplish today, so let's get you all fueled up," Alan said, cheerfully. "Let's get this food to the dining table."

The four took the food and drink to the table, assumed their now customary places, and gathered hands to ask for God's blessing. This was becoming a very comfortable custom for Julie. With the food consumed, Alan detailed the menu for the big meal.

"The turkey needs to cook for 3 ½ hours, so it needs to start cooking by 9:00. We're having real mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, stuffing, and both apple and cherry pie with optional vanilla ice cream. Once the turkey is on, the long pole in the tent is the potatoes. Julie, do you have a preference or do you know if your family has a preference for skins in the potatoes or not?"

"I'm going to have to vote for no skins in the mashed potatoes, please."

"That's good to know now. So, washing, peeling, chunking, cooking, and mashing of potatoes is in order. We have two vegetable peelers, so I'm going to designate Tom and David for that. Julie, if you would please be so kind as to prepare Tom's bedroom for overnight guests, that would be most helpful. I'll need to get out the king-size sheets for you." And with that, they stood and took the dirty breakfast dishes to the kitchen. While Tom and David loaded the dishwasher and ran it, Alan got fresh sheets for Julie to change the big bed with.

Alan got the boys to wash the potatoes while he got the 'guest of honor' ready for the oven. With experienced spud peelers on duty, the potatoes were ready for chunking very quickly, and they got the cut-up potatoes sitting in a small stockpot of cold water.

"Well done, men! You make me proud to be a Harrison!" Alan intoned, smiling all the while. "Tom, why don't you go see if your young lady needs your help?"

"Roger that, sir!" Tom snapped a quick salute and headed up to his room to assist Julie with making the space presentable for Rose and Maggie.

David asked to back the car out of the garage so that he might apply the fixative to his latest charcoal drawing, to which Alan agreed.

With the car backed out and the garage door open to promote airflow, David went upstairs to fetch the picture he had drawn of Julie. When he arrived at the doorway to Tom's room, the door was open and Tom and Julie were actively investigating each other's tonsils. He stood there for a few seconds just taking it all in, then tapped on the door a couple of times to get their attention.

"I apologize most sincerely for interrupting such 'stimulating' intercourse," David began, "but a) this is not getting the bed made and the room presentable, and b) I need the charcoal drawing of Julie so I can apply the fixative."

Laughing, Tom and Julie agreed with David's arguments, although Julie did point out that the old sheets and pillowcases had been removed, and their clothing was tidily stored in their bag

"My biggest problem was determining which end of the sheets went to the foot of the bed," Julie admitted.

"That's simple! The tag on the bottom sheet goes at the bottom right as you look from the foot to the head. It's a fairly standard practice, Mom taught me."

"I never knew that," Julie confessed, "nobody ever educated me on that. Thank you, David. I've learned something new today, so it has already been a great day!"

Carefully handling the charcoal drawing, Julie passed it to David, who thanked them and headed to the garage. He was setting the artwork down at a slight angle when it occurred to him that it might be more prudent to wait and do all three new pieces at the same time. He needed to wait to get Maggie's "blessing" before he considered the other two as completed.

Tom and Julie completed the making of the big bed, then turned their attention to the rest of the room. There were a few items to be straightened and tidied, and soon all was in readiness for Rose and Maggie. They exited and turned off the lights leaving the door ajar. Descending to the main level, there did not seem to be much else to address, so they headed to the living room, pulling out their phones.

David returned from the garage and after checking with Alan in the kitchen, went to his room to retrieve his sketch pad and a couple of pencils. He straightened his bed covers and saw the rest of the room as being presentable, so headed to the living room to join the other two. By the time he had arrived, Alan had already joined them, and the four sat in companionable silence. David sat looking at his picture of Laura, silently communing. Tom was sucked into a game and was unconsciously playing footsie with Julie. Julie was trying to do some searching for something for Tom for Christmas, but she was being extremely distracted by Tom's subconscious tormenting. She had been turned on with their kissing session and had not cooled off much, and now he was spinning her higher and higher. Putting away her phone, she went over to Alan and whispered something in his ear, to which Alan gave a huge smile and a head nod. Tom and David remained heads down in their own worlds, so Julie went over to Tom, took his phone, and pulled on his hand to get him to stand.

Before he could say anything, Julie put her finger to her lips and shushed him and led him from the room and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she turned to the right, opening Alan's door and pulling Tom in. Mostly closing the door, she turned Tom around and pushed him back onto the bed, surprising him.

"You. Have. Been. Tormenting. Me," she ground out, her hands climbing his pants legs to his belt. "There are consequences to your actions, mister." Julie undid his belt and yanked his pants and underwear past his knees to his ankles. She removed his socks and pants and underwear, then tugged her top off, her hard nipples showing through her bra, which she reached back and unfastened and allowed it to drop to the pile of clothes on the floor. Very soon the remainder of their clothing joined the floor's pile, and Julie had spun into a mutually pleasing 69 over Tom. She would not allow Tom to cum, edging him instead over and over to the point where his thighs were trembling. Julie, however, had nearly a half dozen small and enjoyable orgasms due to her enhancement of Tom's innate ability to please a woman orally. Finally, she spun around again and joyously sheathed herself on Tom's eager dagger. Due to the edging, Tom did not last long before erupting into Julie, and she was spurred into a large orgasm of her own feeling Tom's hot cum inside her. They collapsed into a happy and somewhat sweaty pile of humanity on Alan's bed and napped.

= = =

When Rose returned home from work on Wednesday, she and Maggie discussed the logistics for Thursday over supper. Maggie showed the dress and boots she planned to wear for Thursday and told Rose of going to purchase stockings rather than pantyhose. Rose thought that wearing stockings for the more formal meal was a nice touch and she agreed to do the same. The two went to Rose's closet to choose what Rose would wear.

Maggie had re-streaked her hair with all five colors: red, green, blue, purple, and yellow. She was letting her inner rebel loose, hoping that she might find a kindred spirit in David. She surely had not found it anywhere she had looked previously.

They agreed to leave by 9:30 in the morning so they could fill up with gasoline and stop for a drive-thru breakfast as well. By 11:00, both were in bed, hoping and worrying about tomorrow. Hope and Worry are two sides of the same coin: both are anticipating future events. One from a positive perspective, the other from a more negative one.

Rose's alarm woke her at 8:00 on Thursday morning. She was feeling ambivalent about today's planned activities. She and the girls had already had their Thanksgiving on Tuesday with Tom as their guest. Now she had committed to driving for nearly two hours to have meals and stay overnight with Tom's father and brother in Middleburg. One upside would be the improved shopping options in Middleburg, which was three times the size of Centreville.

She started half of a pot of coffee and headed back to her bathroom to prepare for the day. She rapped on Maggie's door as she passed, hoping her youngest would get moving, but not betting on it. Rose showered and spent a little time with her makeup and hair. She did not know exactly why she had butterflies in her tummy, but she suspected it may have had something to do with how she treated Tom and worries of her reputation preceding her. She put on some silky panties and matching bra and a short rose-colored silk slip. She sat and rolled up her glossy suntan stockings then the chosen dress and slid into her running shoes, as it was much easier to drive in them than in heels. She'd take her 4" black heels and step into them as she got to the Harrison residence.

Going out to get a cup of coffee, she rapped on Maggie's door again, getting a moan of acknowledgment from the room's occupant. Returning with the cup of coffee, she rapped on Maggie's door and opened it up.

"Sweetheart, it's 8:45 already. You need to get up, freshen up, get dressed, and pack an overnight bag, all in the next 45 minutes if we're to keep on schedule."

"Yeah, yeah, <grumble> <mumble> <growl> I hear ya," Maggie answered. "I actually packed my overnight bag last night," she stated, pointing to the floor next to her dresser. She then sat up and swung her legs out from under the bed covers. "See? I'm moving, Mom."

"Here, I think you need this cup of coffee more than I do right this minute. I'll go make myself another one." And Rose returned to the kitchen to prepare yet another cup of coffee with creamer.

Sipping the cup of coffee, Maggie did begin to feel more human. She grinned, thinking of something that had recently come up in her Facebook feed: a t-shirt stating, "Instant Human: Just Add Coffee". Entirely apropos to the current situation, she thought. But she did get moving and performed her hygiene tasks and packed up her toothpaste, toothbrush, and deodorant in her overnight bag. Then she dressed, entirely pleased with her look.

Rose got out a duffle bag and packed clothes for overnight and tomorrow's shopping outing, adding her heels. Then she packed her hygiene items as well, and it was 9:20. An idea struck her.

"Hey, Maggie? What do you think about our taking the sweet potato casserole with us?"

"Hmm. Could be a good idea, Mom. Do you still have the insulated carrier for that casserole dish?"

"Yep, right here on top of the refrigerator. Even if we don't eat it, we can leave it for the Harrisons and bring back the empty dish."

And so, at 9:35, the mother/daughter pair made their way to the car with two overnight bags and a casserole carrier to begin their trip to Middleburg. They did stop to fill the car with gasoline, and they did visit the McDonald's drive-thru, and they were still rolling at the speed limit by 10:00.

= = =

At 11:00, Alan indicated to David that his help would be needed in the kitchen within the next 15 minutes. Alan then ascended the stairs and rapped on his bedroom door, calling out, "This is your 15-minute warning. I need all hands in the kitchen, please." Smiling to himself, recalling the days of him and Laura B.K. (Before Kids) and how they could not keep their hands off each other, he returned to the kitchen. Alan then set the stockpot with the chunked and peeled potatoes on the stove to boil. The turkey was smelling very appetizing, but it still had a couple of hours left to go.

David ambled into the kitchen first, and Alan set him to clearing the serving buffet in the dining room, making room for the pies. Tom and Julie showed up, looking sheepish yet stated. Alan set them to opening up the cans of vegetables and emptying the cans into the cooking pots. Soon, the potatoes had cooked to a mashable state, so Alan set all three to mashing the potatoes and including some milk and butter for a creamier texture.

Looking up, Alan noted it was now 11:45, so he directed everybody to go get "properly" dressed for the Thanksgiving meal. He knew that Tom had shared the custom with Julie and her family, so no surprises were sprung on anyone.

By 12:05, all four had dressed in their very good clothes. Julie in her yellow dress and black stockings was still lacking her shoes, which Maggie was bringing. She did not have any jewelry with her, but she glowed with happiness. Tom had chosen classic black dress slacks, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a scarlet tie, but had eschewed a jacket. David emerged wearing a navy blue suit with a pink shirt and a blue and silver tie. Alan chose to wear his suit from Tuesday night with a cream-colored shirt and a green striped tie. The four were sitting in the living room, waiting. When the doorbell rang, Alan stood but Julie dashed to the door to greet her mother and sister.

"Hi, Mom, Mags. Come on in!" she greeted.

Immediately behind her, Alan added, "Yes, please do come in, Mrs. Lawson, Miss Lawson. Thank you for honoring us with your presence here today."

With initial hugs for Julie out of the way, Rose extended her hand to Alan. "Thank you very much, Mr. Harrison, for inviting us here today."

Alan took Rose's hand, and the internal shock nearly drove him to his knees in wonder. Stammering for a second, he replied, "Please, call me Alan. Mr. Harrison was my father."

Rose felt Alan's tremor and a near-electric current ran through her as well, further sending the butterflies in her tummy fluttering about. "Please, then call me Rose. This is my youngest, Margaret who prefers to be called Maggie," she said, presenting her youngest daughter.

"Welcome then, Rose and Maggie. Please come in here so I may introduce my sons," Alan said leading the group back into the living room. Julie took her shoes from Maggie, shut the front door, and slipped the shoes on her feet, raising her point of view a few inches.

At his words of greeting, Tom and David had stood and straightened their ties and managed to look presentable. Tom had the foresight to pocket the box of the pearl necklace and earrings, for just the right moment. Alan led the group from the door into the room, and for a moment it looked like the team captains meeting at midfield for the coin toss.

"Rose, Maggie, I believe you've already met Tom," he said with a grin, "and this is my other son, David. David this is Julie's mother, Mrs. Lawson, and Julie's sister, Maggie."

"David, please call me Rose. It's very nice to meet you, having heard a bit about you from your brother." But her words went in one ear and out the other without even stopping for a moment. David had all of his attention and focus on Maggie. Tom slipped his hand under David's elbow to keep David from falling over. Julie, following the group in, was ear to ear with her smile of joy and satisfaction at David's expression. He was entranced, enchanted, and totally speechless with the vision of Maggie Lawson right before his eyes.

"David?" Alan prompted. "David? David!"

"Wha-? Oh, yes, it's very good to meet you too, Rose," David said, apologetically. It appeared as though her words did not sail through his head without sticking a little.

"Don't worry about it, David. We all expected this," Rose said, expectantly.

For her part, Maggie was stunned herself. Tom was good looking, she thought, but David... Oh. My. God. Her panties started to wet, her heart seemed to be beating twice as fast as normal, and her face flushed. Then her brain started to function again, and she held out her hand to him, which he took in his.

"It's very nice to meet you, David," she managed to say.

"And I, you," David replied.

Alan broke things up by asking everyone to come to the dining room, and they proceeded into the rest of the house. The location of the bathroom was noted, and then Alan asked Rose to sit in the spot next to him, in Tom's customary place. Tom took Laura's place at the end opposite Alan, Julie assumed her now customary spot between Rose and Tom, and David took his customary spot leaving the one seat next to him for Maggie. Now there could be three discussions without having to talk over each other.

Tom and Julie held hands as usual, and both were watching Maggie and David with great amusement. Alan and Rose kept shifting their gazes from Tom and Julie to Maggie and David, also with amusement, and remembrance of their own youth. Maggie and David had eyes only for each other. They had dropped the hand-holding, but fingers kept reaching and waving at each other below the table. This whole scenario exceeded anybody's definition of "meet cute".

"Rose," Alan began, "these two seem pretty useless to us for now. Would you please come to the kitchen with me, and we can see what else we need to do to get this meal going?"

"Certainly, Alan. Do you mind if I make a pit stop first?"

"Please do. You remember where the bathroom is?"

"Chiseled into my memory," she smiled at her host. "Tom, Julie, can you please go fetch our bags and the sweet potato casserole from my car?" she asked, dangling her keys.

Tom, in the spirit of being Helpful, leaped to his feet and took the keys from Rose's hand, and was out the door like a shot. After being sure there was nothing to bring in from the trunk, he brought the two overnight bags and the casserole carrier into the house. Setting the bags on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, he took Rose's contribution to the feast into the kitchen and deposited it on the counter. He then returned to the bags and took them up to his room for their guests. He then went to Julie and pulled her by the hand, saying, "Come on, Jules. Let's give these two a little space." Tom led Julie back to the living room and the comfy sofa so they could be hip-to-hip and shoulder-to-shoulder with each other.