Spirits in the Material World Pt. 13

The mercurialness of her reversal caught Alan by surprise, and tears appeared in his eyes as the truth of her words sank in.

"On one condition: you never call me 'Daddy'."

Their ordered food arrived. Alan remembered to get out the sparkling cider to celebrate moving on to new things. The meal was consumed mostly in silence due to their appetites and not because there was nothing to talk about.

Alan finished his meal first, so he went into the kitchen to open the wine and get some glasses. He also brought out the other bottle of cider. Rose and Maggie finished their meals and thanked Alan for his thoughtfulness for the drinks. Maggie then cleared the table and placed what little had to be washed into the dishwasher.

"Tom said he would contact us after his last T.A. session tonight to go over the apartment details," Alan explained, which earned him a puzzled look from Maggie. "What part of that did you fail to understand, Magpie?" he asked with a small smile.

"Well, DAD," she emphasized, also smiling, "what apartment?"

Alan looked at Rose and Rose looked back at Alan, neither able to read the other's mind or expression.

"What?" Maggie asked. "I've been heads down in that Brit Lit paper, which is now completed, by the way," she declared with pride. "Tom's gonna move into an apartment? With or without Jules?"

"Tom ..." Rose began, but Alan quickly overrode her with, "Let's just see where the discussion takes us, huh? Maggie, you may listen in on our video call if you like. I'm waiting on the link he should send us. Rose, this may be an opportune time to get your laptop and we can get it ready, please?"

"Ok, I'll just be in my room," Maggie huffed. "Would you please call me to come back when it's time?" And she scurried off to her room to go text David.

Maggie: * Davey, can you talk now? *

David called her within a minute. "What's up, Magpie?"

"Are you aware that your brother is getting an apartment near school?"

"Not that I knew. Why do you ask?"

"Because that will surely impact my sister. He's supposed to video conference with your dad and my mom once he's done being the T.A. tonight. Dad graciously offered to allow me to listen in."

"Wait a sec. 'Dad' is allowing you to listen in?" Maggie could not miss the emphasis David placed on 'Dad'. She wanted him to ask about it. She generally chose her words most carefully.

"Yeah, well, we negotiated some. He may call me 'Magpie' like mom, Julie, and you do, and I may now call him 'Dad', but never 'Daddy'. Seems like he gets weirded out by women using 'Daddy'. You aren't mad at me, are you, Davey?" she guided his thoughts while seemingly giving him a choice.

Pausing for a moment, he answered, "No, I'm not mad at you, Kitsune girl. I am gonna talk to Tom to get that URL so I can listen in on what they say, though."

"Ok, Davey. When you do get that URL, would you please share it with me so I can listen and watch from my room rather than over their shoulders?" she begged.

"Yeah, I'll share when I get it. Talk tomorrow?"

"Only if you answer when I call," she teased.

"I love you, Margaret Kathleen."

"And I love you, David Michael. Good night and goodbye."

"Bye."

= = =

Walking to Tom's dorm room with Julie, his phone rang with the call from David.

"Yeah, bro'. Whassuup?"

"A little Magpie birdie tells me you're getting an apartment. Would you mind if we just listened in and watched any video or pictures you plan to share?" David asked. "We need the URL, please."

"We're almost at my room, and I may have to ditch Bill if he's not already gone. But I'll send you the link when I send it to Dad, and you can share it with Maggie if you wish. We really don't have many secrets from each other, and this is all rather recent."

"That's cool, Tom. Thanks. I promise that we'll just be in lurker mode."

"That's fair enough, Dave. Watch for my text. It'll probably be on Zoom rather than Skype."

"Cool beans, bro'. Later."

"Well, Jules," Tom began, turning to his girlfriend by his side, "shall we go in and see if we need to bribe Bill for an hour or two?"

= = =

Tom set up the call for Zoom and sent the URL link to Alan and David, and David shared it with Maggie. Everyone would be connected and participating. At 9:30, Tom started the meeting.

"Hi, Dad and Rose," Tom began. "Hi, Mom and Alan," Julie chimed in, at Tom's side.

"Good evening, Tom and Julie. Thank you for meeting with us. For the sake of our viewers, can you please share your pictures and video while we are talking?" Alan requested.

"Yeah, Dad, that was the plan. David called me up and asked to be included just to be kept in the loop. I know we've shared the video and pictures to your phones. To start, I'd like to address the financials first as the primary justification. Dad, how much would the room and board be for me for the spring term?"

"When I looked, it was going to be $5,950. Rose, how much was Julie's going to be?"

"The bill for her room and board is going to be $5,750."

Tom, writing these figures down, added up, "$11,700 for the both of us. Ok, so here's what we know. The rent for the apartment is $575 per month, totaling $3,450 for the six months. Oh, and these numbers are for six months, not the five-plus for the school. Now, the rest of these numbers are guesswork, and we would value your inputs. Utilities we are swagging at $150 per month. We need to allow for electricity and internet. Bruce is covering the water and trash pickup as part of the rent. That would come to $900 for the six months."

Alan chimed in with, "I think you'd be safer to plan for $250 per month as you are including internet access as a utility. That becomes $1,500 for the six months."

"Ok, Dad. Good suggestion. The food we guestimated at $100 per week, so $2,400 for the six months."

It was Rose's turn to comment. "But there are 52 weeks in a year, so 26 weeks in six months. Plus, I believe one of the arguments was that you would be eating healthier while cooking for yourselves. It costs more to eat healthier. So, I would suggest you budget $150 per week for 26 weeks, so ..."

"$3,900 for food," Tom amended. "That comes to $8,850 for six months compared to $11,700."

"Even if you add in some costs for gasoline, although with it being only four blocks from school as it is quite walkable," Julie supplied, "we would still be well below the room and board fees."

Alan looked at Rose, nodding slowly. "Somehow, I don't believe that is all of your reasons behind getting a place off-campus, is it?" he asked.

"No, Dad, it's not and you knew it when you asked. Our roommates are seriously hampering our together times, and we both hate the extra-long twin beds supplied by the school. We want one much larger bed, to share," Tom fessed up.

"You have thoughtfully presented valid and compelling arguments for this, Tom, Julie. Now, would you please show us the pictures and the video you took when you toured the place?" Rose asked.

"Absolutely!" Tom exclaimed, so happy there was little resistance from Alan and Rose.

The pictures Julie had taken had been assembled into a slideshow, and the video she had taken was also shown.

Text appeared in the chat window of the meeting, from David. "Who's the black guy in the picture with Tom?"

"Tom, this is your show. Explain to your brother, please," Alan deferred.

"David, Maggie, that's Bruce Parker. He's the owner of the building. He lives above the apartment in the top two floors of the townhouse. He's an Eagle Scout, and he's giving us an 'Eagle Discount', too. He seems like a really nice guy. If you help us move in, I'm sure you'll meet him."

"Thank you, Tom, Julie, for getting this information together. If just from an economic perspective, this is a better deal than living in the dorms. Rose, I have no further concerns about their living together for Tom's last semester. What do you think?"

"I'll talk with you offline, if I may, Alan. Julie, I love you. Do well on your finals. Let me know when you'll be moving back home, please."

"Will do, Mom."

And with that, Tom ended the Zoom meeting.

= = =

They were packing up Rose's laptop and tidying up the kitchen when Alan remembered some things. On their way back to Rose's bedroom, they stopped to talk to Maggie.

Rose began, "So, Maggie, what did you think?"

"I think that Julie should thank her lucky stars each and every day for meeting Tom. She has gotten so lucky this fall, and now this, to be able to cohabitate with Tom. I know I'll have to live in campus-approved housing for the first two semesters, and that apartment does not constitute 'campus-approved'. It looks pretty small, though. But it will be a good test of their day-in/day-out compatibility."

"Yes, I think so, too. We're heading to bed now. You have your paper saved?"

"Yes, Mom. Here on the hard drive, to my cloud account, and a spare on my USB Jumpdrive."

Alan chuckled. "Very well done, young lady. Very well done. Do you feel up to church on Sunday again?"

Rose turned to Alan, eyes squinting, trying to remember something.

"Sure, Dad. I'll need to shift some study time, though, if I'm losing Sunday morning. I've got final exams this week, too."

"Let's go talk about this, Alan," Rose said, tugging on his arm. "Good night, dear."

"Good night, Mom, Dad. Get some rest." Maggie snorted at her own joke.

Alan and Rose closed the door and completed their walk to Rose's bedroom.

Once inside with the door closed, Rose began with, "We need to talk."

"Yes, I believe we should, Rose. I'll go first, if I may, please. While we were packing and cleaning up, I remembered that I've got new beds being delivered tomorrow, for my room and David's. As I doubt Tom and Julie will want to sleep on a full-sized bed, I'll have to get them a bed of their own for the basement as well. I did not get a time for delivery, so I need to be rolling tomorrow morning by 7:00. And, we have the invitation by Jack and Maeve for lunch at their place after church on Sunday."

"Oh, crap! I'd forgotten all about that. Thank you for remembering, Alan. But now that you don't have to be anywhere on Monday morning, why don't we see if Maggie would rather stay here, and I'll come down with you in the morning and we can come back here after the gathering at Jack and Maeve's?"

"That would be fine, too, Rose. But would you please go ask her, or ask her to come sit with us for a few minutes?"

Nodding, Rose went and retrieved Maggie, and they all sat on Rose's bed.

"Ok, Maggie, we have a couple of options open to us for this weekend. I need to be at my home for when the new beds get delivered tomorrow. I don't yet have a delivery time, so I need to get rolling by 7:00, which I can appreciate is early for someone in your age range. But we are also expected to be at Jack and Maeve Johnson's house on Sunday after church for a meal and some get-to-know-you time for your mother and the ladies. As I no longer have anywhere I must be on Monday morning, your mother proposed coming down with me tomorrow morning and then us coming back on Sunday afternoon."

"Yeah, so?"

Rose picked up the conversation. "So, dear one, you have a choice. We can leave you here with some money, or you can take a couple of rides with us and maybe start to network with others in Middleburg. How much studying do you need to do to prepare for your finals?"

"Honestly, not much. Pretty much just physics on Monday and calculus on Tuesday."

"So, I'm not asking for a decision right now, but if you're coming with us, and we'd like for you to come with us, then you need to be ready to roll at 7:00. You can nap on the way down. Jeans and a nice blouse would work for Sunday unless you'd rather wear a skirt or dress."

"You know, I think I'll come with you. I have a sense that I should ... it's nothing. I'll go pack my bag for yet another overnight. Dad, we need to take the 'stale' pillow back with us so Davey will have something to lay his head on when he comes home." And with that, she skipped back to her room to pack a bag.

= = =

Having assuaged their rampantly lustful needs earlier, Rose and Alan just spent the night cuddled in each other's arms. It was a different case when the dawn came on Saturday, however.

Rose was spooned inside Alan, and his left hand had (been?) migrated to her left breast. Her panties had been kicked off, as had his boxers. His morning petrified wood was directed to her quickly dampening pussy. She woke before he did, and oh, god, did he ever feel good! Even the feel of his sandpaper beard growth of a day on the back of her neck was thrilling. She started to slowly wiggle her hips, and his cock unerringly found its way to her honeypot. She raised the hem of her t-shirt and coaxed his hand onto her bare skin. Guiding it back to her tit with the nipple now quite hard, she pushed her hips back against his.

His fingers began toying with her nipple and areola, gently pinching and pulling. His cock slowly thrust into her, and he was awake and as close to heaven as he wanted to get in this lifetime. Her left hand drifted down her torso to her clit. She began to stroke and circle it, slowly, drawing out the pleasure.

Alan's lips migrated around her neck and his nose ended up in her ear. He exhaled softly, and he kissed and licked her neck below the ear, looking for that special place that would make her jiggle. Eureka! She pushed back against his hips, harder this time, and a soft moan passed through her lips.

It was a slow, comfortable, delightful morning screw, and both Alan and Rose were riding the waves of joy. Then she bucked her pussy back harder on his cock, and he pushed harder into her. He squeezed her breast a little harder, and she applied more pressure to her clit. The pleasure ascended for them both, quicker now. Rose began to lose the control she had tried to keep, and Alan pushed her over the edge by growling, "You. Are. Mine." She climaxed and sucked the cum out of Alan's thrusting cock, coating her womb. "Yes, Alan, I am yours. Now and forever. I love you!" she said softly.

They remained connected, Alan plugging Rose until his cock softened and her body involuntarily ejected his. She pushed her hand between her legs, trying to keep his ejaculate from further soiling her sheets. Finally opening her eyes, she noted the 5:45 am time on the clock. She scooted to the edge of the bed and found the hand towel on the floor. Using that to staunch the reverse flow, she made her way into her bathroom.

She ran the water in the sink until it got warm, then soaked a washcloth and wrang it out. Looking back at Alan, she called out, "Catch!" and tossed the washcloth to him. She then wet a washcloth for her and sat on the toilet for her needs. Alan caught the tossed washcloth and appreciated her warming it for him. Cold water on hot male genitals is never a comfortable feeling, no matter how old or young you are. He cleaned himself off and meandered into her bath.

Looking at her with love, he could not think of any reason not to formalize their relationship further. This was what she wanted. This was what Laura wanted for him. What was holding him back? Custom? The approval of others? He needed to talk with Tom and David, in person. A summit in the man cave. He knew they would have no problem, but he needed one last round of approvals from them.

They cleaned themselves up sufficiently and emerged to get dressed. Alan watched closely as Rose stepped into her bikini panties, just enjoying the sight. Then she chose a bra, rather transparent yet supportive. Watching Alan closely, she slipped it on and jostled her breasts to fill it comfortably. His eyes widened and a smile crossed his face at the show. She smirked at him and bounced her tits with her hands just to tease him. "Oh, she was going to get it again tonight!" she thought. Alan had to adjust his cock in his pants so he could stand without discomfort. "Oh, she was going to get it again tonight!" he thought.

While Rose was packing for the overnight, Alan wandered to the kitchen to fix the coffee. The coffee maker was sufficiently like his that he had little issue in getting it functioning as intended. He easily found the coffee tin, and fortunately, the scoop had been left inside. He quickly got a full pot brewing and set up three mugs to receive and hold the elixir of life. Then he had to accommodate the ladies and adulterate their mugs, just so it would be palatable to them.

Pouring the mugs full, he swirled a spoon in the ones for the ladies and, leaving his behind, took theirs in his hands and returned down the hall. Tapping on the first bedroom door, he heard a muffled, "Come on in. I hope you brought me coffee." The door was closed but opened at the press of his foot, and Alan stepped forward to deliver the mug to Maggie.

She struggled a little to sit up and take the coffee from Alan's hand. Unintentionally, her hair was a bit mussed, and she had slept in a football jersey top. Decidedly girl-next-door. Fortunately, she remained covered from the waist down, but Alan found himself almost wishing he was 25 years younger. Then he shook his head and realized that 25 years younger was pretty much where David was, and Alan was both happy for David and jealous as hell. To cover, he leaned down and kissed Maggie on the forehead. A quiet, "You'd better get moving," then he turned around and headed out the door, closing it behind himself. "What was it with these Lawson women?" he pondered.

Striding now with purpose, he delivered Rose's coffee in the bedroom then returned to get his left behind in the kitchen. He stood there in the kitchen, drinking his coffee, thinking about his internal reaction to Maggie. Intentionally at times, unintentionally at others, she was pressing his buttons. "Oh boy, Rose was going to get it tonight!" he thought.

The ladies got their collective acts together, and they were out the door by 6:55. Maggie remembered to bring the 'stale' pillow for David while keeping the 'fresher' one for her enjoyment. It was fortunate having the pillow so she could lie down and nap for the trip to Middleburg.

Alan asked Rose to tune the radio to an oldies station, and the Turtles came on with "Happy Together". After the truly short intro, Alan started singing along.

"Imagine me and you," and Rose chimed in with, "I do".

"I think about you day and night," "It's only right"

"To think about the Rose I love," "and hold me tight"

"So Happy Together!"

And their impromptu duet and subtle word changes perfectly described their evolved relationship.

"You two sound good together," came sleepily from the back seat. And that was the last Alan and Rose heard from Maggie until they reached Middleburg.

= = =

About 30 minutes into the trip to Middleburg, Alan broached a delicate subject.

"Rose, when you married Ron, did your father give you away?"

"No, we eloped and had a chapel service in Reno. By the time mother and daddy knew about the marriage, it was a fait accompli. That's one of the reasons for the distancing."

"Which raises another question: why do you refer to him as 'Daddy'?"

"I can't really say, Alan." She was silent for a minute. "I call her 'Mother', never 'Mommy' or 'Mom', but he's always been 'Daddy'. Does it bother you?"

"Frankly, yes, it scares the hell out of me, Rose. Forty-plus-year-old women don't keep calling their father 'Daddy' unless there's something very wrong somewhere. It has all sorts of connotations, very few of which are positive." Alan sighed. "You know we need to talk to them, right?"

"Yeah, I know we do. I just can't do it alone."

"I understand. How about we call them tonight?"

"Tonight?" she nearly yelped.

"Yes, Rose. Tonight. I cannot and will not ask you to marry me unless I get their blessing beforehand. While I would greatly prefer to do that in person, via video chat will just have to suffice this time. And I want you there, by my side, forever and always, when I do ask for their blessing."