Synchronicity for Six Pt. 01

Synchronicity for Six

This tale immediately follows the events in 'Spirits in the Material World'. No effort will be made to catch the reader up with the characters or their situations. The prequel to 'Spirits', 'Every Thing She Does is Magic', provides some additional background on some of the characters but is not necessary to understand and, hopefully, enjoy 'Synchronicity for Six'.

My gracious thanks to my volunteer editors, RRC2 and viking_blue, for their efforts to polish this much brighter.

Friday, December 25 -- "Christmas Day"

The drive home from the Christmas Eve church service was quiet. Everybody was thinking they were the only one to see Laura transition to angelic status and depart the mortal world. The "surrogate grandparents", Jack and Maeve, Gil and Susan, and George and Mary had been puzzled at the tears on the faces of the Harrisons and the Lawsons. Per the congregation's custom, they had bid each other a quiet "Merry Christmas" as they all departed the worship service.

Solemnly, the six hung up their coats and proceeded to bed. It was only once they were in bed that discussions occurred. While there were no more tears, the three Harrison men were deeply impacted by what they had witnessed. In their beds, each couple faced each other and quietly discussed their recollections and reactions to the events of that evening. Alan's and Rose's discussion was probably very similar to the others' conversations.

"Alan, what did you see and hear tonight?" Rose inquired.

"When everything was candlelit for 'Silent Night', I saw Laura as a sort of ghost. A bell rang out from somewhere, perhaps another church close by. Wings unfolded from her back, and she floated upward. She said that she loved us all. That her work here was now done, and she had another path to follow. What did you see and hear?"

"When I was singing my solo, I thought I saw a ghost hovering over you five, but there wasn't a definitive shape to it. When the bell rang out, I saw the same ghostly figure you described, and I heard the same thing you heard. I'm a little freaked out by all this, Alan."

"Ever since David brought his painting of Laura when he came home for Thanksgiving, I've been feeling like she has been hanging around more than before. But now I have the sense that she has transitioned to be an angel, Rose. Not that she won't be back, but she has her own path to follow now. The bell ringing and wings sprouting reminds me of 'It's a Wonderful Life'."

A frisson ran down both their backs at his words and they clutched each other tighter. Rose tucked her head under his chin, kissed his chest, and snuggled in and soon was asleep. Alan lay there awake and comforting her. Some more small tears rolled out from his eyes at the memory of the first great love of his life. 'Will you ever come back to me, Laura?' he wondered.

= = =

Maggie woke first on Christmas morning. She lay there, wrapped in David's protective arms, breathing in his essence, warmed and feeling quite loved. She realized she had to pee, but to do so meant leaving his embrace. The biological imperative won out and she quickly scurried to the bathroom. While there, she was pleased to remember to take her birth control pill.

Returning to their room, she removed her nightie and proceeded to wake David up in the most pleasant way. She heard other voices on the landing but, having gone to the trouble of sheathing his penis in the protective prophylactic, she was going to enjoy herself a bit first.

Tom woke before Julie and he was the big spoon to her smaller one. His morning wood was snuggled so nicely against her panties and she wiggled her ass slightly, still asleep. He breathed in the scent of her hair and it filled him with contentment. Then she tugged his hand from her tummy up to cup her breast and she obliged him to squeeze it.

"God, Tom, this is so wonderful. And you're so HARD! Mmmm, gimme that, now please." Tugging down her panties to give him access, she also finagled his cock out through his underwear. Tom continued to squeeze and caress her breast as well as breathing into her ear while she slotted him into her. "That's right, that's good. God, Tommy, I love how you fill me up so well." Intelligible speech was heard as they delighted in each other and some good morning coitus. Very similar activities were occurring in Alan and Rose's room.

After a little bit, everyone gathered in the kitchen while Rose and Alan danced around each other while making a breakfast of eggs, sausage, cinnamon rolls, juice, and, of course, coffee. The food was carried to the table and everyone assumed their now-customary places. Hands were gathered and Alan asked the blessing. The six dove into the delicious food and little was said until everyone was done.

"We have not gotten gifts this year," Alan noted. "The time just got away from us. I'm very sorry, all."

"Dad, it's perfectly understandable," Tom began. "And look! Christmas came despite not having any gifts." He smiled at Julie who smirked at a clever thought.

"Yeah, and Christmas wasn't the only thing to come, either."

"Julia!" Rose exclaimed, turning a cute shade of pink, as did Maggie.

The guys were accustomed to a little ribald humor but had not expected it from Julie. Smiling at each other, they gave Tom a nod, and he added, "What? I was referring to 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. What were you thinking about?"

All three women's faces flamed with embarrassment as the men laughed knowingly.

"Let's get this out in the open, shall we? By a show of hands, who here is having sex with their partner and enjoying it?" Alan raised his hand first. Rose's was right behind him. Seeing their parents' honesty, the other four also raised theirs.

"Right. Now you four, please take the appropriate contraceptive measures. I do not wish to become a grandfather, yet. David and Tom, please keep in mind your grandfather Harrison's favorite line for people your ages: 'Be safe. And if you can't be safe, be careful. And if you can't be careful, name it after me.'" The boys formed a chorus for the 'name it after me' piece. All three Lawson ladies flushed a bit at all this.

"Sex between consenting adults is a good and joyful thing," Alan intoned. "But now, enough of the embarrassing talk. I think we should talk about what happened last night. Does anybody want to start?"

After a minute of silence with everybody looking at everybody else, Alan led off. "Okay, I believe I saw Laura's spirit hovering over the chancel. I think I saw wings extending from her back. I hope I heard her correctly stating that she loved us all, that her work was here was done, and that she had another path to follow." The boys' heads were nodding in agreement, but the women all gave him a look of disbelief. "You didn't see or hear that?" Alan asked.

"I'm not sure what I saw or heard, Alan," Rose replied. "It's probably going to take a day or two to sink in." At her words, the girls both did their bobble-head imitation with a chorus of, "Same here."

"Okay, I tried," Alan responded. "What do we wish to do today?"

Julie led off. "On our first date, Tom referenced a movie, 'The Shawshank Renewal'."

Alan snorted at her error. "I think you mean 'The Shawshank Redemption', young lady."

"Yeah, that was it. I've never seen it. Do you have a copy or should we try to stream it?"

"Jules, we have a copy," Tom answered. "I also think we should watch 'Love Actually' as it's one of our family's favorite Christmas movies."

"So, a movie marathon?" Alan asked.

"Maybe just a double feature to start."

"Do we have any popcorn, Dad?" Maggie inquired.

"I believe Tom brought home some microwave Extra Butter popcorn from school. Tom?" Alan asked.

"Sure did, Dad. David, could you please go get the home theater fired up and locate 'Shawshank' and 'Love Actually' for us? I know we just had breakfast, but it's not really movie time without popcorn."

"Come on, Magpie. You'll want to learn how to do this and where the DVDs are stored." David stood and pulled Maggie by the hand. He gathered some dishes to return to the kitchen as well. The others followed his lead and the breakfast dishes were soon relegated to the dishwasher. Tom prepared the popcorn under Julie's expert supervision. Rose took Alan by the hand and led him to the living room.

Entering the room, she spun and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers. Their kiss was sweet and lasted for a couple of minutes.

"Alan, my love, this all seems like a dream to me." She pulled her left hand off his neck to hold it in front of her face. She gazed adoringly at her engagement ring. Alan kissed her fingertips which made her sensitive bits tingle. "Is this all real?"

"Absolutely, my love."

"Do you truly believe that you saw Laura last night? And floating up as the bell rang?"

"I have no other explanation to offer, Rose. If Laura has now transitioned to the next step on her journey, then I wish her Godspeed. It does seem like she's been hanging around since right before Thanksgiving." Alan let his voice drop as a memory flashed in his mind.

"What is it, Alan? You can tell me anything," Rose prodded.

"Just something that Tom said. He claimed to have talked with Laura while he was unconscious in the hospital after his wreck. I just let him talk because he had to get stuff off his chest. He said that Laura had brought Julie into his life so that you would be brought into mine and Maggie into David's. All because I was not keeping my promise to her." They both turned to look at the portrait of Laura on the mantle above the fireplace.

"Come on. Have you ever seen 'The Shawshank Redemption'?" he queried.

"No, I never have, but it seems to make a lot of people's Top 20 list. Let's go." Taking him by the hand, she led him across the foyer to the media room where the other four awaited them.

David had shown Maggie where they kept their DVD and Blu-ray collection as well as how to start up the system's components. He turned on the Surround Sound and pointed out the best place on the sofa to sit if you were the only one watching a movie. He shut down everything and had her do it. She only needed a couple of assists and assured him that she 'got it'. Then she shut everything off and was beginning to restart everything when Tom and Julie came in bearing three bowls of popcorn and the tray with six glasses of ice cubes and a 2-liter bottle of drink.

Maggie completed the system startup correctly as Rose walked in leading Alan. Rose sat him in a chair and plunked herself on his lap. Maggie snuggled up to David while Julie and Tom occupied the other end of the sofa with Tom sitting on the floor between Julie's feet.

"Is everybody ready? It's showtime!" Alan declared. When the line 'get busy living or get busy dying' came up, Rose and Julie both stroked their man's cheek in acknowledgment.

With the popcorn and drinks on top of a very late breakfast, nobody was hungry for lunch. All three toilets saw use, however, and everyone appreciated the opportunity to have a short break. They quickly returned to the media room and resumed their places. Before they could start the next movie, Rose's phone chimed with a text from her mother.

"Merry Christmas, Rose. Can we video conference tonight at 7:00 your time?"

"Well, folks, my parents wish to video conference with us this evening. Any objections?" Rose asked.

Alan paused for a few seconds, then tried to emulate Ben Stein, saying, "Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Frye?"

Tom and David smiled broadly at Alan's reference to 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' while the ladies all stared in puzzlement.

"Just let it go, then," Alan muttered. "Rose, please tell your mother that 7:00 tonight will be fine."

The six of them settled in to watch 'Love Actually' which had become a Harrison family Christmas staple. It was beginning to get dark when the DVD finished, and everyone needed to get up and move about.

"What should we do about supper?" Rose inquired.

"Didn't we have pizza last year, Dad?" David asked.

"I can't recall, David. Shall we see what we have in-house first?"

When 7:00 PM rolled around, everyone had eaten something, and the leftovers had been consumed. Everyone trooped back into the media room and Alan got them connected to the Zoom meeting.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" came from Martha.

"Merry Christmas, Mother," Rose replied. "I believe some introductions are needed. Mother, Father, this is Tom, Alan's eldest." Tom waved the hand Julie was not clinging to. "And this is David." It was David's turn to wave in greeting. "Gentlemen, my parents, Martha and Elliot Reynolds."

The virtual meeting was very pleasant. Elliot did not appear to harbor any resentment against Alan. Much of the discussion centered on what Julie, Tom, and David were studying and how their fall semester classes went. Suddenly, Martha stopped mid-sentence, staring at her screen and pointing.

"Rosalie, what is that on your left hand? Can you please bring it closer to the camera?" Elliot straightened up and paid closer attention. Smiling, Rose approached the laptop's camera with her left hand extended.

Martha gasped a little. "Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked.

"Yes, it does, Mother. Alan proposed to me last night and I resoundingly said, 'Yes'."

"That is an absolutely gorgeous ring, dear. Don't you agree, Elliot? Elliot? Elliot!"

Alan's phone began to ring with a call from Elliot Reynolds. He stood and exited the room to take the call.

"Alan, is there something you needed to ask me?"

"Elliot, I'm truly sorry if this impacts our relationship, which did not get off to the best of starts. This has nothing to do with you or Martha. It's entirely about how I feel about Rose. Besides, I did not think the rigors of a new prospective groom applied in this case. She's your daughter, that's true, but she's not your little girl anymore. It may be like closing the barn door once the horses have gotten out, but may I have your permission to marry your daughter?"

"My wife is staring daggers into my chest, Alan. We should have a quieter discussion later. Yes, you have my permission. But we should talk fairly soon. Have a good evening."

While Alan and Elliot were having their telephone discussion, the ladies continued with their video call.

"That looks almost antique," Martha observed. "Is it an heirloom?"

"No, Mother, it's a new ring in an old design. Tom, David, do you still have the video you took? Could you please share that with your ..."

"New grandmother," David supplied, and Martha's face filled with joy at his words.

"What's the email address?" Tom asked, and then forwarded the video that had been used to 'out' the couple at church.

"Before you ask, Mother, we have not set any dates yet. I don't believe it will be too long of an engagement, though. Maybe early summer."

A 'ding' was heard as the email arrived on Martha's end.

"Rosalie, why does the metal look a little pink? Is that due to lighting?"

"No, Mother, the metal is slightly pinkish. I had asked Alan for white gold but he was shown this rose gold and he thought it was perfect. And it is."

At the words, 'rose gold', Martha's hands went to her mouth and tears began to well.

"Dear, I need to look at this video. May I call you after I've seen it?"

"Of course, Mother. Girls, Boys, say 'Merry Christmas' to your grandparents."

"Merry Christmas!" came from the four younger ones, and Martha blew them all a kiss and disconnected.

Maggie wrapped David up tightly in thanks for his volunteering to accept her grandmother as his. Julie pulled Tom to his feet and led him across the foyer into the living room for some couple-time. Rose looked around for Alan, but he had not returned. She did not know how to shut down the system yet, so she glanced at David and tried to look pitiful.

"David, would you please do the honors of shutting things down here?"

"We'll handle it, Mom," Maggie supplied. "I'd like to stay here and watch a movie with David."

Rose went looking for Alan, leaving the two youngest in the media room. Maggie stood and perused the video library. She could not find a title that inspired her. After five minutes, she turned back to him and shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

"Just come here and let me hold you, Magpie. If memory serves me, we are at the peak danger time for you, right? Let's just cuddle here for a bit."

'Sometimes David had the best ideas!' thought Maggie.

= = =

Rose finally found Alan up in their bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed, just looking at his hands. She stepped up to him and lifted his chin with her hand and lightly kissed him.

"What's on your mind, Alan? Why did you leave us?"

"It was your father calling. I seem to have neglected to ask his permission to marry you. That's on me, I guess. What else have I forgotten to do?"

Rose pursed her lips tightly as she considered her word choice.

"Do you have his permission now?"

"Yes, but he wishes to talk some more at a later time."

"Well, don't go borrowing trouble. Tomorrow has enough challenges as it is. Come, my love. Let us go to bed and cuddle and enjoy each other's company."

= = =

Saturday, December 26 -- "Boxing Day"

Maggie woke with a start and glanced over David's chest at the alarm clock. 8:15 AM. She had been dreaming that she was late for her job at Johnson's Jewelers and had no way to get there. She exhaled in relief. She still had enough time to have a shower and arrive at the store by 9:00. She rolled out of bed and "accidentally" elbowed him awake. He gave a surprised snort and she laughed. Success!

"I'll explain after I've showered, Davey. I need some coffee, though."

She strode out the bedroom door, intentionally rolling her hips to make her ass wiggle. That sight got him up in all sorts of ways. Pulling on some gym shorts, he stumbled down to the kitchen. It took him a couple of minutes to start the coffee brewing. He wisely prepared a second filter with coffee grounds. One pot was no longer enough to suffice for this household. He heard the water running in her shower, but there was nobody else moving around yet.

He prepared three mugs with the last of the creamer from the two bottles and sighed. With all three Lawson ladies in the house, they certainly drank a lot of coffee creamer. Well, that would be a decided paradigm change for the Harrisons. David wrote a note, declaring "OUT OF CREAMER", and left it on the refrigerator door. He poured two cups of coffee, one black for him and one 'polluted' for Maggie. He placed the carafe back to allow the brewing cycle to complete. He took the two mugs up to his room and set them on his desk.

Maggie appeared in his doorway. One towel covered her from breasts to thighs while another was wrapped around her auburn hair. Gratefully accepting the Libation of Coherence, she drank some and dressed for work. David sat there on his bed, sipping at his cup's contents and admiring her beautiful form. The little cartoon hearts floating out of his eyes were almost visible. She gave him a giggle at his agog expression.

"Please slip on some sweatpants and shoes, Davey. I need you to get me to work on time, please. Yes, I remembered to take my birth control pill," she preempted his anticipated question.

"Oh! Of course, Magpie. Gimme a minute, please."

They dashed out the front door at 8:45 and she looked ruefully as they passed the Fourbucks store as he drove. He noted her expression but withheld any comment. He delivered her at the door to the store at 8:58. He accepted a sweet, tempting kiss as payment for being her chauffeur. She entered the store with a wave to him. He knew what he should do next.