Spirits in the Material World Pt. 14

Maggie blinked her eyes in surprise. Her mouth opened, then closed without saying a word. Alan was nodding his approval and then chimed in with, "And there is a regular bus route from the corner of the street right to downtown Middleburg, so you would not need to drive."

When she was able to speak, she said, "Mr. Johnson, sir, I need to speak with my mother first, if I may."

"That sounds like a good idea, Jack," Alan supplied. "Shall I go fetch Rose? I assume you would prefer the application be completed today."

"Yes, Alan, if you would please be so kind as to bring Rose back to the table."

Alan soon returned with Rose in tow, and he had explained only the very basics about the employment offer.

Rose sat next to Maggie and asked her daughter if there were any questions. Rose had no worries whatsoever about Jack's and Maeve's characters, and Maggie wanted to give it a try. They listed Alan's address for her home, and Rose needed to look up Maggie's SSN, but the application was soon completed and given back to Jack.

Alan noted the time and apologized but the three needed to go as the ladies needed to be back in Centreville for morning obligations. The other ladies and men were called in to say their goodbyes and spirits were high from such a good time spent in companionable company.

They returned to Alan's house and changed into casual clothing. They quickly gathered their things including clothes for Alan for Monday. Maggie made certain to leave David's pillow on his bed for his return.

Rolling back up the road to Centreville, Maggie again zoned out, her headphones playing music from her phone. This permitted Alan and Rose to speak softly and not be overheard.

Or so they thought.

"So, what do you think led to Jack and Maeve's asking Maggie to apply for a job in their stores," Alan asked.

"I think that they needed somebody and they wanted to demonstrate how the church looks after its own. It's all part and parcel with how this group operates. Nothing illegal or unethical about it. They are not obliged to accept just anybody, especially given their business, but Maeve did use 'hoi polloi'. That indicates to me a form of elitism. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Maybe it's just a personality thing for her. What are your thoughts, Alan? You have dealt with them since you started attending that church."

"I agree. It was an example of looking out for their own first. Maggie did very well in correcting some assumptions that she needed the money. I think it would be a great way to keep her busy during the day until she goes off to State.

"I am also thinking that we may not need to build out the bedroom and bathroom in the basement."

"Oh? Why not?" Rose inquired.

"Three reasons. One, Tom and Julie getting the apartment means they won't be with us terribly long. I believe we can manage their stay for two weeks until they move in. And they won't be back for spring break, most likely, so then we'll need to plan for Julie for the summer.

Two, for the short term, allow David and Maggie to share the big bed. I know this is sensitive, but hear me out, please. Maggie having a job to go to and not having classes will ease the need for personal space quite a bit. David would still have his art studio to retreat to if needed. We aren't going to be able to keep them apart after Friday night. You know this and I know this. We've put the fear of parenthood into them, and we've given them the tools, condoms and pills, and the information to help them stay as safe as possible.

And three, we need to find our own place, not one infused with memories of Laura. We can begin to look in earnest after the holidays. I would half expect there to be some perks for you with your position at the AgCU. It would be silly not to consider or take advantage of them."

This was huge, from Rose's perspective. Alan was trying to let go of Laura. And yes, the circumstances had changed quite a bit in the last week, but Alan seemed mentally flexible and able to adapt well. From an outsider's perspective, it may seem as though he kept flip-flopping, but Rose chose to believe that was his innate adaptability. She thought, "Alan is really going to get it tonight!", and her pussy tingled with anticipation.

Maggie had silenced her music while leaving one earbud in her ear. She heard every word between Rose and Alan quite clearly. She had had some summer jobs in Centreville; an ice cream shop when she was 16, and a florist last summer. She had no problems interfacing with customers or handling money. She was not accustomed to the 'looking after their own' concept, though. Had Jack and Maeve come to think of her as one of their own, already? Or was this a way to draw Rose into their circle even further? Maggie did not know what to think of the possibility of being used that way. Meh, she would deal with the situation as it arose, she guessed. Little more was said for the remainder of the trip, each one wrapped in their thoughts.

Maggie retreated to her room to remain focused on her studies for her exams. Rose and Alan examined the cupboards and refrigerator contents trying to come up with something for supper. As they moved around the apartment's kitchen, there was inevitable bodily contact. Slight brushes soon gave way to more blatant rubbing and stroking.

Rose pressed her ass into Alan's crotch and wiggled a little, getting the reaction she had sought. A quick bump and she resumed her interrupted task, to Alan's frustration.

Alan ran his hands up her back very lightly and pushed her hair to one side, exposing her neck. He leaned in with his face near her accessible skin and exhaled forcefully. Allowing his voice box to rumble, he muttered, "MINE!" in that tone that raised goosebumps and hardened nipples. Smiling, he backed away, pleased with his results.

The remainder of the supper preparation continued along those lines; touching, rubbing, emotions circling ever higher. They just did not seem to know when to stop, not that they wished to. They were just so wrapped up in each other. Both Rose and Alan had slightly wild looks in their eyes when the soup and grilled sandwiches were ready. Rose stepped down the hall to Maggie's room to advise her daughter of supper's readiness.

Looking up at the expression on Rose's face, Maggie commented that Rose looked a little 'spun up', to which Rose admitted they had been playing a little. "It's OK, Mom. I get it. Just be sure to cut me some extra slack while David is here this weekend, OK?"

"Oh, all right," Rose acceded.

Once supper had been eaten with all sorts of furtive, longing looks between Rose and Alan, Maggie got up and gave Alan a big hug, whispering to him, "Don't worry about the noise. Set your alarm for the morning, though. And wreck her!" A quick kiss goodnight and she bolted for her room.

After tidying up the kitchen and setting the coffee to brew in the morning, Rose pulled Alan by the hand down the hall to her bedroom.

= = =

That Sunday evening, after the supper had been eaten and cleared away, Maeve walked over to Jack's place and sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Honey, do you have any qualms about our offering the clerk job to young Margaret?" she asked, looking him in her eyes, seeking the truth of his feelings despite the words.

Jack kissed Maeve, passionately, honestly, and answered, "I think this is yet another case of the resources lining up just when we need them. No, I have neither qualms nor worries about Maggie. I will be calling her two previous employers tomorrow to verify, but I do not detect the slightest bit of guile or deception on her part. We may have made a few too many presumptions, like that they needed the money for her to go to school, but in many ways, that's even better. I would much rather have someone work for me because they like the work rather than they have to have the job. She's cautious, evaluating everything."

"I agree. She knows when to be quiet, like when we ladies are plotting, but I don't want her to think there is more going on than there really is. I, too, have seen that evaluating look in her eyes, judging everything. But I believe she would be an excellent replacement for young Alice. How about we call it an early evening and celebrate the wisdom of our latest employee choice?"

Maeve stood and took Jack by the hand. Together they entered their bedroom and made sweet love to each other for the first time in several weeks. They enjoyed each other to the point where Jack groaned when his alarm sounded on Monday morning.

= = =

Rose led Alan down the hallway to her room, turning off the lights as they went. She paused to listen at Maggie's door. All she could hear was Maggie on the phone and it did not sound like she was discussing schoolwork. Rose smiled, guessing she was talking with David, and then completed the journey to her boudoir.

As they entered Rose's bedroom, she spun in place, wrapped her arms around Alan's neck, and pulled him into a kiss. At first, it was a light kiss, just the lips savoring each other, then the tongue tips came into play. Then their emotions began to escalate. Alan fumbled for the doorknob while Rose just reached around him and shut the door with a little extra force.

"You, kind and wonderful man, are MINE! And as mine, I insist you take me to my bed and have your way with me!"

"And, my lovely Rose, you are equally mine as I have declared upon previous occasions. And I intend to have my way with your willing body, but the only traces will be the chains upon your heart that you place there. Now, let us become suitable unattired!" And he picked her up and laid her on her bed, kissing her deeply.

When able to part from each other, they stripped to underpants (panties for her) and t-shirts, then handled the requisite brushing of teeth. They quickly rejoined on the bed, snuggling in each other's arms and breathing in the essence of the other. After a few minutes of this, Alan asked, "Rose, where do you think this possessiveness is coming from? Not that I am objecting in the slightest, but I am curious."

Thinking for a few moments, she responded, "When we first met on Thanksgiving Day, Julie had hyped up how well she thought you and I would get along. When I first saw you, I felt rather than heard a 'click', something almost cosmic if you will. Then we touched hands and the shock just about dropped me to my knees. You are my 'one', Alan. It may not make sense to anyone else, but our relationship is not their worry. The possessiveness probably comes from that bitch's attempt to trap you as well as the many longing looks I notice at church now. The ladies warned me that I was probably going to have to deal with others' jealousy. I suppose my claiming you as mine is equal parts staking my claim as well as a response to your claiming me."

Rose's considered response garnered pursed lips and silence from Alan as he knew what was coming next. "So, Alan, where is your possessiveness coming from?"

"Laura and I were each other's first and only lover. It wasn't 'cool' back in the '90s to be terribly possessive, not even in private. We had a bond, a commitment to each other, which we never even came close to breaking. She would occasionally get me riled up, drawing out the 'caveman' as she would call it, and it was a fun game for us both. FYI, Ron Ely has nothing on me when it comes to the Tarzan yell. But claiming each other and possessing each other was understood. With you, it's different. You've been with other men, not a lot, but a few others. You've been married. You have the girls, for which I am so grateful! So, I let the caveman out now and then and you know and feel what he's like." Rose's nipples grew hard at this statement, and she rubbed them unconsciously while licking her lips. "I'm possessive of you because you like it and you allow it."

"Well, then, Mr. Harrison, what I want most from you now is to spoon me with your hands up inside my t-shirt, cupping my full tits with their rock-hard nipples and you gently nibbling and sucking on my neck. I also would not be averse to hearing how much you want, desire, and love me. A girl can never get too much of that." Rose wiggled around to take the small spoon position, and Alan happily held her as she requested. With him whispering in her ear and occasionally nibbling on her earlobe, Rose gave a happy sigh and a wiggle of her ass to settle Alan's cock in a comfortable position, and then she turned out the lights.

= = =

Maggie was indeed talking with David when Rose had listened at her door. Maggie felt very prepared for her Physics exam in the morning and had called her boyfriend to check in with him. And maybe to tease him a little in the process.

"Davey, you should have seen it! Your dad had my mom all wide-eyed and flustered. It could be dangerous to leave those two unsupervised in the kitchen for any length of time. I'll be rather surprised if I don't hear some demanding words from her tonight through the doors. She looked like she was going to strip him down and hog-tie him to have her way!"

"Yeah, Dad would often get Mom swatting at him when he got her alone in the kitchen. I'm not sure what it was about the kitchen that inspired him so much."

"Probably the fact that he could come in behind her, wrap his arms around her, rub his cock against her ass, and cup and tease her tits. At least, that's what I'd want you to do to me."

"Oh, Magpie, you're killing me here! Are your nipples hard? Is your pussy getting wet? Don't you wish I was there rubbing my hard cock against your ass? My cock is leaking for thinking of you now."

Maggie rolled onto her back, her right hand first tweaking on her nipples then pushing inside her panties to strum her clit to David's words.

"Oh, Davey, I want your leaking cock in my mouth so badly. I want to slurp you up and down and get you all stiff and ready for my dripping pussy. I want your fingers thrusting into my juicy gash and stroking my swollen clit. I want you to slide down and press your cock against my pussy and TAKE ME!" At her last words, her orgasm crested.

"OH, YEAH, MAGGIE! Here I come!" David shouted as his cock erupted, shooting its load easily a foot high, to then fall back on his stomach and to thoroughly mess up his t-shirt.

After they had both regained their senses, David said, "Thanks, Maggie. I guess I kinda needed that. Sounded like you did, too."

"Oh, Davey, with so much going on, yes, I needed that so very much. Your dad and my mom spinning each other up has had an effect on me, not that they would notice it. I hope they don't fuck themselves into oblivion."

"Ah, they're probably just trying to make up for lost time, Mags. Cut them a little slack."

"Oh, I will on the condition that Mom cuts me a lot of slack this weekend. And I'm SO looking forward to this weekend, Davey. FYI, it's gonna be a little noisy, most likely."

"I'll be prepared," David answered. "Oops, here's Robert coming back. Gotta go. I love you, Maggie."

"And I love you too, David. Good night. Talk tomorrow night?"

"Absolutely."

= = =

Tom and Julie had retreated to their respective dorm rooms after supper together. Neither felt the need to cram for their exams, so a quiet night was in store for them both. Tom did let his roommate know that he did not intend to return to the dorm for the Spring semester. When pressed for a reason, Tom explained that he and Julie would find out that week if they would be permitted to rent a basement apartment four blocks from campus. It would only be a six-month lease, but it would be enough to get him through his B.A. degree as well as giving them a chance to try out living together.

= = =

Monday:

All four children had final exams beginning that Monday. David's was the first one up, starting at 9 am. This allowed him the opportunity to load up with a good breakfast and do a last-minute review of his notes. He felt well-prepared going into the exam, and he was most satisfied when he exited the room 2 ½ hours later. However, this was not the exam he was most concerned about. He now had a 25 ½ hour clock ticking to prepare for his mathematics exam on Tuesday. He wasn't a slouch when it came to math; he just had to work very diligently to get an acceptable grade. It simply did not come naturally for him.

Tom's first exam of the day was from 10 until noon. While he thought he was prepared, he struggled a bit and had to BS on the essay portion until he was reminded of what the instructor desired to read. He pushed right up to the noon deadline and was the last one to turn in his exam booklet. He stopped in the restroom to wipe off his face. He now had just under two hours to eat and do any last-minute reviews before his next exam. Fortunately, the class for his second exam was taught by his advisor and Tom was one of her favorites, even though she should not have had any favorites, per se. Plus, he knew the material forward and backward, so this exam was a fairly easy "A" for him.

Julie's one exam that Monday was also rather easy for her to pass with an "A", and she felt well-prepared for the rest of her exams. So much so that she was hoping Tom would have some free time for canoodling that evening.

Maggie got up when her alarm sounded, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee aided in her decision to get on with her day. Her Physics exam was that day during the regular class period, and she felt very ready to ace it. Putting on some shorts, she emerged from her room and padded softly to the kitchen. About half of the pot of coffee remained and there was no visible presence of Alan, so she assumed he was treating her mother to a pleasant wake-up. Adulterating her coffee mug with the flavored creamer, Maggie filled the mug and gave a very pleased smile. She was on the downhill run for high school, and she was so looking forward to not having to go back. Her life had taken a couple of very pleasant turns since Thanksgiving and the introduction of the Harrisons to her life. She needed to thank Julie when she had a chance. Taking a big drink, she returned to her room to get moving.

She breezed through her Physics test, thanks largely to her study and review time over the weekend. She even caught the trick question before spending more than a minute considering it. The only other test she had coming up which merited study and review time was her Calculus math course, and that test was scheduled for Tuesday.

= = =

Rose's alarm buzzed her awake at 5:50 am. God, but she slept so well! With her eyes closed, she rolled to her left onto her back and did not feel Alan. She flopped her left arm all the way out, and still no Alan. She sat up and looked around the room. No Alan. Then she noticed her door was slightly ajar and within a minute it opened under the pressure of a foot, as both of Alan's hands were full of mugs of coffee. A huge smile on his face elicited a similar one from Rose. He walked around to her side of the bed, but before he would relinquish the vessel of Elixir of Life (polluted for her tastes), he demanded the taste of her lips. Completely willing to pay that toll, she added the tip of her tongue to her payment, which Alan met with his own.

He then handed her the mug of coffee and returned to close the door. Rose drank, initially sipping then a nice, big, mouthful gulp before she set the mug on her nightstand. Turning back to Alan, her eyes locked onto his and all she could see was his adoration of her. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Ron had never looked at her that way. Never. Now the tears ran down both of her cheeks, and Alan quickly knelt at her side, worry crossing his expression.

"Rose, whatever is wrong, my love?" He began to kiss her cheeks, swallowing her tears and beginning to have tears of his own.