Stormwatch - A Serene Summer Day

For the girls, their mom, and Terri the only thing worth talking about (besides the male half of society) was The Wedding. So far, the only thing that Veronica knew about her wedding was that she wanted it to be small, she had a huge church wedding planned ten years ago and it exploded in her face when her sister ran off with the groom.

Macy Jarecki strolled over from their cabin to aid in the planning from a Pastor's point of view adding a new sense of excitement to Linda and Billie's evening when Veronica introduced the ebony beauty as another fashion model! "You were a fashion model and now you're a pastor?" gushed Linda.

"Not so much pastor at the moment," said Macy as she started to work on Marjorie's nails. "I am starting to practice as a psychologist now."

"And a psychologist?" squeaked Billie.

"And a mother, most important job of all. My idol was Doctor Ruth Westheimer, she was a renowned psychologist," she said as she and Marjorie chose a nail color from Veronica's well stocked collection. "Before that she was a sniper in the Israeli army."

"That's so cool," said twelve-year-old Linda. "I want to be a sniper."

"Don't let your dad or Mr. Josh hear you say that" warned Marjorie. "Your dad will ground you and Josh will train you." After the laughter settled down, she asked Macy, "can you do Ronnie's wedding at your church?"

"Non, we are a conservative Christian congregation," said Macy as she trimmed Marjorie's toenails. "Veronica and Josh are living together; we cannot consecrate such a union in our church. We could if they lived separately for months."

"Aww, what a rip," moaned Linda.

"Yeah, you should be more open to other people's beliefs," said Billie, like her parents she's a devout in their religion.

"Oui, I will consider that over my breakfast tomorrow," said Macy as she winked at Marjorie. "You are welcome to join us, we are having bacon and eggs."

As the young Jewish teens sputtered, their mother laughed, "Touché Pastor. Girls, being open to other people's beliefs does not mean you have to give up your own, am I right Macy?"

"Oui, John cannot perform the ceremony, however I may because I am not actually a Pastor at the church. I checked with the head of the church board just in case someone asks me to perform such a ceremony," said Macy with a sideways glance at Veronica.

Veronica's eyes shot open, she never thought of Macy! "Would you?" She came up behind her friend and threw her arms around Macy. "Would you please?"

"Oui, I would be happy to," laughed Macy. "Let go! I will get polish on us!"

"Wait a minute!" cried Terri. She pointed at Veronica and said, "You said that pavilion is where you're going to have your real wedding, you had a pretend wedding?"

"Well, not a pretend wedding..." Veronica paused and looked slyly from girl to girl, "it was legal."

"WAAA?" Terry grabbed Veronica's hand and sure enough, she was wearing a wedding band along with a small engagement ring, her "Camping Ring" she wears so she doesn't damage her good ring with the 2.5 carat rock.

All the girls except Marj cried out in shock, "You're married?"

From across the dark pond, they could hear Audrey call using a rolled-up sheet of plastic as a bullhorn "I knew you couldn't keep a secret!" Turning, the girls could see Audrey sitting on the porch next to Mike across the pond waving at them in the light of their bug light.

"I take it Audrey was there?" asked Macy over the excited pre-teen gibbering.

"Yes, yes, hush!" said Veronica trying to settle Linda and Billie down so she could do Billie's toenails. "Yes, Josh and I went down to Georgia..."

"They was lookin' for a soul to steal..." grinned Terri. Then when she realized everyone was staring at her cried, "What? It's a country song!"

"We met up with a member of Josh's old flight crew... they were both injured on his last combat mission..." she tightened up, sniffed and wiped a tear away with her arm. "We realized that life is... temporary, and when you find love, you hold on tight. So, after we found Audrey down there we went to a justice of the peace and got legally married. She was our witness."

"Awww, that's so sweet," said Terri as Billie and Linda nearly swooned with romantic overload.

"That's why I'm happy for dad and Audrey," Veronica said very softly. Then collecting herself, "now we're going to have a REAL wedding, consecrated by our friends and family right here in our woods. A nice autumn gathering with a roast calf, hot apple cider, powdered donuts and camping in the cold."

"Looks like I'll have to find a different cabin," said Terri as she patted the timbers of cabin number 1. "I think mine is going to be the honeymoon suite."

"We have a spare room over here!" came a call from across the pond.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

Back in the woods Josh was sitting at a campfire with Anthony in front of cabin number eight. The younger kids were inside the cabin, they had been playing a board game and listening to a Buffalo Bisons Triple A baseball game on the radio until Morgan, the youngest, fell asleep. That's when Anthony, with the help of Josh packed them all off to bed, then retired to the campfire for cigars and some adult beverages. The sun, the swimming, and the food insured that all of the young Friedmans fell asleep after a few minutes of teasing and telling jokes. There was a small fire in the huge fireplace as a nightlight for them, and as they began to nod off, they watched that fire like it was the best TV entertainment they had ever seen.

"You're loving spending this time with the kids, why don't you stay an extra day, Ant?" asked Josh. "We have high speed internet in my cabin, you can work from there on Monday if you have to."

"I don't know..." Anthony looked up at the stars peeking down between the treetops and considered the offer. After a few moments he saw a shooting star which made up his mind for him. He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and called his VP of Finance Stanislaus Dombrowski. "Hey Stash, do we have anything on the books for Monday? Really? That settles it... no, I'm taking a personal day on Monday..." He paused as he listened to Stan then broke up laughing, "Same to you buddy, see you Tuesday."

After taking a puff of his cigar and a sip of whiskey Anthony turned to Josh and said, "Stan says hi."

"I'm sure he didn't put it quite like that," said Josh as he sipped his beer. Stan's dislike of Veronica was legendary. He found out that Veronica was a fan of the Cleveland Browns and labeled her a traitor to everything Buffalo. Both Buffalo and Cleveland had labeled themselves as 'the Queen City of Lake Erie' and in reality, both were vying for the title of 'the Mistake on the Lake.' "Ronnie's coming around," said Josh. "We'll be going to the pre-season opener for the Bills next month. I took her to a Friday night Bison's game, and she loved it so much we haven't missed one since. She almost caught a flying fish last week."

Friday night baseball games are legendary in Buffalo. The city loves their triple A baseball team, the Bisons, and they love their parties. Combine the two and you have Friday nights at the ballpark. And the ballpark was named after the city's favorite brand of hot dogs, you can't get any more Buffalo than that. Cheer leaders shooting t-shirts into the stands, fireworks after the games and beer so cold you could get frostbite carrying it back to your seat. The flying fish are a classic promotion, small plushie fish are fitted with parachutes and tossed from the upper deck. If you catch a fish the fish entitles you to a free fish fry at participating restaurants, and Friday fish fry is also a Buffalo favorite. Restaurants across western New York vie for customers with a fish fry big enough to feed the crew of a whaling ship.

"Speaking of fish, have you two been back to the Ellicott Manor again?" Anthony grinned. On their first date Veronica and Josh went tobogganing at Chestnut Ridge Park then had a fish fry at the Ellicott Manor for their first date. While at the Ellicott Manor Josh serenaded Veronica while the entire restaurant watched, then they headed straight for the cabin where they ended up in front of his fireplace, "christening" it.

Josh sighed, "No, not yet..." he pulled his phone out and made a quick check. "The Bisons are on the road next week, we'll do it then. Why don't you bring your brood to fish fry with us?" Josh was sure he heard at least two muffled cries of "Yes!" from Anthony's cabin.

"We don't do fish fry," said Anthony. "We're not Catholic." The fish fry came from the Catholic tradition of eating fish on Fridays. Like everything that was meant to be a penance, Buffalo celebrated it, like their NHL and NFL teams that always miss the big win, Buffalo loves the underdog.

"Oh, come on," said Josh. "You got seven kids, no one will ever figure out that you're not catholic."

"What about my yarmulka?"

"Catholic bishops wear yarmulka looking things."

"Marj will love the idea of a Catholic bishop with seven kids," Anthony smiled. "Ok, I'll ask Marge when they get back."

"They're right there," said Josh pointing to the pitch-black forest.

"What do you mean?"

Josh picked up his flashlight and pointed it to the area he had indicated. Sitting there, just off the tractor path was the golf cart with Veronica, Marjorie, Terri, and the two girls Billie and Linda, who all started giggling when they were spotted. They had driven over to Macy's cabin and dropped her off, then after a quick tour of the Jarecki cabins, they headed back to Josh's scout camp. The golf cart is electric and silent, so they took a slow drive through the woods using a flashlight to illuminate the path. They took the long way around the loop and came up to Cabin #8 as quietly as possible and sat in the dark listening to the men talk.

"How did you know we were there?" asked Veronica as she sat in a folding chair next to Josh and snuggled up next to him.

"I heard you guys whispering all the way around the loop," he said as he put his arm around his woman.

"I want to be a sniper," announced Linda. "Just like Doctor Ruth."

"I'll teach you a few of the basics," said Josh.

"You're grounded," said her father as he puffed his cigar while Veronica looked at Marjorie with newfound amazement. The girls joined Josh and Anthony at the campfire and the adults talked softly as the fire burned down, enjoying the warm summer evening.

"When do the fireflies come out Mr. Josh?" asked Billie.

"They should be starting to come out if they're not out already," he answered. Then noticing Veronica's questioning look he said, "We have a lot of fireflies, it's really pretty."

Fireflies! Veronica remembered catching fireflies in jars with her sister in the field down by the railroad tracks when they were kids. Now she was starting to miss her sister. It was years ago when she ran off with Veronica's fiancé and the last time Veronica heard from her was both the best day and the worst day of her life. Josh's words finally came to her cutting through the fog when he said to Ant and Marjorie "Ok, it's settled. Fish fry next Friday, and full week in Casa Del Ocho this summer" He turned to an excited pair, Linda and Billie, "... depending on parental permission."

"That's right," added Marjorie. "Fireflies don't have chores, but you two do and you have to show us your willingness to help out around the house if you want to spend a week here."

"Yes mom," the girls droned in unison.

"I think I've had enough fun," said Josh, "it's been a long day and it'll be a longer day tomorrow. Are you two with me?" And after saying their goodbyes, Josh, Veronica, and their "daughter" Terri hopped on the golf cart and silently trundled off into the night using flashlights for their headlights.

They did one slow lap around the path again, so Josh could get a quick look at the chapel and the ball diamond, then they came to the Y in the road and instead of turning left which would complete the loop, they turned right which took them behind the pond. "I've never been back here," said Veronica softly in awe of the beauty the moon was starting to show as it rose in the east behind them.

"Shh, and flashlights off," said Josh as they eased forward through the thickening woods navigating by moonlight. Finally, they got to an area where the road dipped and crossed a culvert that allowed a stream to gurgle under them. Railings made from cut saplings gave this the appeance of a bridgeHe stopped the cart on the bridge and said, "This is the outflow of the pond, there's a waterfall downstream as this creek heads into Cattaraugus creek down in Zoar Valley," he whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" whispered Terri, then she saw it, one by one the fireflies began to blink on, that pretty bio-luminescent green, flashing and flying, swooping and gliding the little lights called out to each other. "That's so cool!" The fire flies were everywhere, in the bushes, on the trees, on the bridge railings and flying slowly about. They watched the fireflies for a long time, the spectacle was amazing, then then headed back to the cabin.

"Thank you for sharing that," sighed Veronica as she hugged Josh's arm.

"This was just the start of the show," grinned Josh. "There should be more in the coming weeks."

When they got back to the cabin they settled in, and Terri sat down on the couch. "This couch looks familiar." Other than dashing into the cabin to use the bathroom, it was her first real chance to look around in the cabin.

"It's a donation from Anthony," said Veronica as she helped Terri unfold the couch and put on the sheets and blankets. "It was in his office."

"Really? He just gave it to you?"

"He says we wore it out," said Josh as he got a nice fire going in the fireplace. It was supposed to be chilly later tonight.

Terri was aghast, she had heard the rumors, but she didn't believe them. "Did you guys really...?"

"How could we?" asked Josh, "I was stuck at work and Ronnie was way over in..."

Veronica came up behind Josh and put her hand on his mouth. "Enough, our little girl is old enough to know about the facts of life."

Terri slowly sank to the couch. "You guys did?"

Veronica sat next to Terri and took Terri's hand to comfort her. "Yes. I kind of... When the storm hit, I locked my keys in my office and almost froze to death. Josh rescued me and we..."

"This is where the birds and bees come in," said Terri.

"Yes," said Josh sitting on the other side of Terri. "You see, when mommy bird and daddy bird love each other very much..." He was silenced by a barrage of hits from Terri and Veronica.

"So you guys got it on all week long until you were able to drive home, and then you went out partying!" Terri sounded like she was going to cry.

"We actually put in some serious hours," said Josh. "You guys worked remotely, but someone had to do a lot of hands-on work. We did not mess around during office hours."

"We didn't even see each other most of the time," said Veronica, it was not hard to tell that she was sad about that.

For her part Terri looked totally shocked, Veronica and Josh trapped in the Andalon building for a whole week? That's so... a thousand ideas and emotions streaked through her mind until she finally asked brightly, "Did you guys get it on in the server room?"

"Ok, bedtime you," said Josh sternly. "I'm sure that most of the scenarios you dream up will be more interesting than what really happened."

"Night mom, night dad," said Terri as she lay back and looked up to the beams holding the cabin together, the firelight causing their shadows to dance against the interior of the roof. She notice on one of the horizontal beams a pair of eyes peering down at her. "You guys have a racoon in here!" she called.

"He won't eat much," came the response from the closed bedroom door.

Terri lay on the surprisingly comfortable couch in a cabin in the woods on a Friday night, totally sober. As she gazed up at the stuffed raccoon who was staring down at her she said a prayer of thanks to a God she was sure didn't listen for a pair of "parents" like Josh and Veronica. Finally, hearing no moans, sighs, laughs, or bedsprings from the bedroom, Terri drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

The fire in their fire pit crackled and the flames danced. When Audrey saw the lights go off in Josh and Veronica's cabin across the pond, Audrey threw a few more sticks on their fire then crawled in Mike's lap. "What are we going to do poppa?" said Audrey as she curled up.

"This is nice, I like this," said Mike. It was a little hard to breathe, but it's been ages since there's been human contact in his life like this, not since before Veronica was born. He kissed her forehead and held her close.

"No, I mean you an' me. Us. What are we going to do?"

"Tonight? I was thinking of a quick shower then off to bed. Tomorrow? I don't know, I gave up thinking about tomorrow a long time ago." Audrey looked in his eyes and saw the sadness that decades of being beaten down can do to a man. For his part, Mike saw what his sorrow was doing to her. "Tomorrow, after lunch, I'm going to talk to Veronica about us."

"She's going to hate me," said Audrey.

"Then she's going to hate me too."

They cuddled silently until the fire went out then they rose and went inside. "It's supposed to be chilly tonight," said Audrey.

"Tell you what, you go take your shower and I'll get the bed made up, ok?" When Audrey smiled and nodded, Mike gave her a swat on the delectable butt and said, "Scoot!"

As she showered, Mike started a fire in the fireplace and folded the open, Josh moved the couch from his cabin into this cabin when Josh got that nice couch from Anthony. When Audrey came out of the shower the bed was made up with quilts and pillows and the fire was warm and cheery. "Go wash up poppa," she said as she got under the quilt. He bent and gave her a little kiss then she pushed him away, "Go! You smell like smoke, fish, and a really good sub sandwich," and off he went to the shower. When Audrey heard the shower running, she slipped out of bed and took off Mike's T-shirt that she was wearing as a nightgown, pulled on her robe, and slipped into the bathroom. She tapped on the shower stall and said, "Let me wash your back poppa."

"Ok," said Mike sounding a bit unsure.

She soaped up her hands and opened the curtain and Mike shyly turned his back to her and she began running her hands over his back. Mike isn't built too bad for his age, he's slim, 5'8" with a full head of salt and pepper hair and Audrey soaped up his back. His muscles were so tight! He must be really nervous about something. As she scrubbed his back with a washcloth, she noticed something, so she peeked and sure enough, he was erect.

Audrey continued to wash his back and pondered her next move. She didn't want to take advantage of him, but he was in need... she was in need... Steeling her courage she soaped up her hands again then reached for his cock. Mike felt her hand wrap around his cock, and he jumped at her touch, but she pulled him back with her other hand which was on his chest. "Let me take care of you darling," she whispered.

"Baby please..." he gurgled, but the word 'stop' just wouldn't come out. The word darling was ringing in his head and his heart. She pulled him back to lean against her with her left hand as her right hand slid up and down the length of his cock, the first time a woman has touched him in a sexual way in years. There was Gloria Hadwell at the nursing home, they were warming up to each other, but she disappeared when she found out he was being evicted, and she found that out before he did.

The feeling of Audrey's large, firm breasts pressing against his back, her soapy left hand sought out his nipple and when she found it her finger circled it sending thrills through his body, and her right hand slipping up and down the length of his cock, slowly, then faster and faster. Then her left hand joined her right on his cock, they twisted and turned as they slid up and down, wet, unrelenting friction, his mind was melting, he was helpless to her ministrations as he tightened up... his orgasm just a few strokes away.