Synchronicity for Six Pt. 11

"Would you please drive us home now, Kat?"

"Sure, but I've got a better idea. Let's drive out to the new house, just to measure the distance from the jewelry store, and from there back to home, you know."

"I do love where your mind is at, sister dear."

= = =

The meeting that evening in Pastor John's office was, ultimately, anti‑climactic. It was only the three couples in attendance: Brendan and Michelle, Alan and Rose, and Pastor John and Ruth. Polite and calm tones were present throughout the meeting, and everyone emerged with satisfied expressions on their faces, and they parted with handshakes and hugs.

Michelle brought a folder containing Katie's birth certificate, Social Security card, guardianship papers, and medical records. She also included an old photo of a very young Katie standing with Michelle, and Brendan on the porch of their house. Michelle asked Rose to ensure that Katie received the photo. Rose promised to do all in her power to persuade Katie to keep in contact with the O'Shea clan.

Brendan's attitude improved remarkably once Alan offered to cover the additional costs for them to keep Katie on the O'Sheas' insurance until she turned 19 in the fall. When Brendan raised the question about Katie's college costs, he was emphatically assured that it would not be his problem.

When Alan and Rose returned to the house, Katie and Maggie had just wrapped up the Monday evening tutoring session. They informed the girls that the meeting went very well. Asking Maggie to give them some time and space, Rose led Katie upstairs to her room and sat on the bed, holding Katie in her arms. Stroking the girl's hair and kissing her on the temples, Rose was the best example of parental love, at least from Katie's perspective.

"You know something, Momma, mom never did this with me," Katie shared, falling back into the habit of referring to Michelle as 'mom'. Rose did not correct her.

"Honey child, we need to talk about some sensitive things. For now, please just listen and let me get all this out." Getting a nod from Katie, Rose continued.

"Your Aunt Michelle is very upset how this has all come about. She said she didn't want to upset you, but she couldn't fight your uncle."

"Yeah, Uncle Brendan does tend to dominate things quite often."

"Anyway, she asked me to give you this photo of the three of you. You may not want to have it on display, or even look at it. That's your choice, sweetheart. But please keep it safe, in case you change your mind later. She also asked me to encourage you to keep in contact with her, Larry, Sharon, and your grandparents."

When Katie started to shake her head negatively, Rose just pulled her close and resumed kissing the girl's head and making soothing noises.

"I'm not saying to do anything more than be civil toward them. Just consider it, please. They are your family by blood. You never deserved how they treated you; nobody does. Like the photo, tuck the relationships into a safe place for now. Maybe you might give your aunt a hug when you see her at church. She probably won't be able to initiate one on her own. But I know she would treasure it."

Rose's request garnered a reluctant nod from her 'daughter'.

"I love you so much, Momma," Katie mumbled through her tears.

"We all love you so much, Kathleen Margaret O'Shea. Friends are the family you choose to have. And Pikachu, we choose you."

Katie leaned back from Rose; her eyes were full of tears but oh so wide. "What did you say, Momma?"

Rose smiled broadly and repeated, "Pikachu, we choose you."

"That's positively ancient, Momma! That's older than I am!"

Rose just laughed and rubbed noses with Katie. "Please, consider what I've suggested. After all, it's far better to be deliberate and uncommitted than to be rash and inflexible." Rose kissed Katie on the lips, a first for them, then left to join Alan in their bedroom. Katie sat there with her fingertips on her lips where Rose had kissed her.

Once Rose had closed the door to their bedroom, Alan pounced from where he was lurking behind the door. He wrapped her up in his arms. He was pulling out all the stops on her that evening. Kissing her neck up to her ears, cupping her breasts in his hands, and grinding his erection into her behind. He left no doubt in her mind what his objective was. And she was totally perfect with that.

His kisses and nibbles were causing shivers to run up and down her spine. His hands were causing her nipples to harden swiftly and rub a little painfully in her bra. Her pussy wet almost instantly as she shimmied her ass against his cock.

"Al- Alan, I... I... oh shit! We have on far too many clothes," she managed to gasp out. Her hands were fumbling with the buttons on her blouse.

"Here, let me help you." Alan pulled her over to their bed and sat facing her belly. He carefully unbuttoned her blouse, starting at the bottom. Once he had exposed her skin, he started kissing her skin while slowly continuing to undress her. She wrapped her hands in his short hair and pulled his head into her. He maneuvered his lips up to her bra and grinned when he realized it was a front clasping one. With her open blouse still on her arms and shoulders, he freed her breasts from their irritating confines and feasted on her.

"Oh, God, yes Alan! Yes! Oh, you do that so well!" She began to lightly hyperventilate. She had missed their "top 'o the morn coitus" and was so ready to give herself over to their desperate carnal pleasure.

= = =

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Despite their rumpus of the prior evening, Rose and Alan resumed their morning coitus routine. Her riding atop of him had become their preferred position as it gave all sorts of possibilities for day‑starting pleasure for both of them. Fortunately, the girls were at best reluctant early morning risers, so Rose did not feel the need for total muffling of her enjoyment.

"Good morning, momma, poppa. It is a GOOD morning, isn't it Momma?" Maggie asked as she entered the kitchen, finding Alan and Rose seated at the kitchen table. There was a glint in her eye as she tried to tease her mother a bit. The parents were each holding a mug in one hand and clasping their free hand with their partner's.

"Oh, yes, it's a WONDERFUL morning, Magpie!" Rose gushed. She refused to be embarrassed by her prurient delight in Alan and their loving relationship.

"Yeah, I heard you when I got up earlier to use the bathroom."

"Well, then, you should have heard us last night as well. Who knows? You might actually learn something about loving partners pleasing each other."

Maggie's face began to blush as she prepared her coffee and then turned to get dressed for the workday. While she was ready to tease her mother, she wasn't ready to have THAT discussion this early in the morning.

"Oh, would you please be sure Katie is up?" Rose called out, standing up.

"Sure, Mom!" Maggie answered from down the hall.

"I've got to go meet the ladies for breakfast my love," Rose said to Alan. "Thank you for coffee‑sharing time and the handholding."

"Please remember to ask Susan about possibly renting the house for a month before we close," he reminded her.

"I will, my betrothed." She kissed his cheek and left a faint trace of her lipstick but didn't say anything. She wanted to mark her man.

Meanwhile, Maggie quickly climbed the stairs and crossed the landing to listen at Katie's door before knocking softly.

"Yeah, I know what time it is, Momma," came through the door, and Maggie pushed it open.

"It's me, Kat, not Momma. She asked me to be sure you were up."

"Oh, hiya, Mags. Yeah, I'm running a little behind this morning, but I'll be out the door soon."

"You get your quiz back today, right?"

"Yeah," Katie answered, slowly spreading the word across multiple syllables.

"Please bring it home so I can look at it. I have a session with Joy tonight, and I may wish to use some of the questions with her."

Katie laughed at Maggie's evident ingenuity. Why go to the trouble of crafting a problem and determining the answer when you can have a ready‑made pair?

"Yeah, sure Mags. I'll be sure to bring it home for you to use." With a quick hug and kiss on Maggie's cheek, Katie was out the bedroom door and hurrying down the stairs so she would not be late for school.

= = =

Susan Larsen had never heard a suggestion quite like the one Rose presented over coffee and cake. Susan had been a part‑time realtor for the last eleven years and as such, had been somewhat limited in her exposure to realty negotiations. But she was curiously intrigued by the possibility. She promised to check with her more experienced manager and then convey the idea to Helen and Steve. She would get back to Rose and Alan as soon as they gave their answer. The remainder of the day's discussion centered around the new house Rose and Alan were seeking to purchase. Mary and Maeve were excited and pleased for Rose about a new house. Susan was looking forward to getting two commissions possibly, which would fund their summertime trip out to California to see her daughter Sophia, Sophia's husband, Mark, and their two girls.

= = =

Katie was crestfallen.

In her Trigonometry class, the quizzes from Monday were returned. Many kids in the class moaned and groaned, bitched and complained about it being unfair. Mr. Matthews had a long‑standing response to people who said something was unfair.

"The fair is held up the road in Sedalia every August. There is no place for fair in this classroom."

Katie had gotten every problem correct, showing her work, and still she got a 95. She could not figure it out. Why only a 95 when every problem was correct? Her focus was not on the lesson that day. She remained in her seat when the bell rang dismissing the students.

"I'm guessing you would like to talk to me about why you got a 95," Mr. Matthews intoned once it was just the two of them.

"Yes, please," Katie said politely, tears beginning to build.

"Miss O'Shea, Of the over one hundred students in four classes, you were the only one to get every problem correct and to properly show your work. That was very well done. I was obliged, however, to use my fantastic powers of elimination, sorting through over one hundred quizzes, just to determine that this quiz was yours."

"But why, sir, if I got every question correct and showed my work?" Tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Simply put, didn't follow the classroom rules we all agreed to at the beginning of the semester. Specifically, you failed to put your name on your quiz."

Mr. Matthews walked over to her and handed her a tissue.

"Dry your eyes, please, Miss O'Shea. Would you like to earn six points of extra credit?"

Katie nodded vigorously.

He handed her a single piece of paper entitled 'Following Directions'.

"Return this to me tomorrow, having read and followed all the directions, and I'll give you the five points I deducted from your quiz plus one extra. Again, you did very well. Your grades have improved remarkably since the first few weeks of this semester. Now you'll have to scoot to make your next class on time. No running in the halls, Miss O'Shea!"

He didn't have a class for the next hour, so there was not an influx of students for Katie to have to battle through to reach the hallway. Once she left, he chuckled and wondered if she would get the extra credit or not. Time would tell.

= = =

"So, Rose, how was this morning's kaffeeklatsch?" Alan inquired once the supper was over.

"It was very pleasant, Alan. Thank you for asking. I did pass along the request to Susan to inquire about the possibility of our renting the house prior to the actual closing."

At Rose's words, both girls looked up with looks of glee on their faces.

"How did Susan respond?"

"She has never encountered this before, so she was going to bounce it past the experienced agent in her office, then forward the request on to Helen and Steve. She will let us know when she gets a response."

"Thank you for asking her to pass that along, dear." Turning to his 'daughters', Alan asked, "So, girls, what is on your agendas for this evening?"

"I've got a tutoring session with Joy in... ten minutes," Maggie responded. "Katie, did you get your quiz back and, if so, may I please borrow it to use to help Joy? How did you do on it?"

Katie stood and retrieved her backpack with the desired quiz. She pulled it out and looked at it again before handing it to Maggie. Katie made a noise of disgust as she then remembered the bullshit 'Following Directions' extra credit 'quiz' from Mr. Matthews.

Maggie looked puzzled at the circled 95 at the top but no other marks indicating Katie's error.

"Why the 95?" Maggie asked.

"Because I didn't put my name on the quiz, per the classroom rules. He said he had to sort through over a hundred quizzes to determine this one was mine."

"But your answers were correct and you showed your work, right?"

"Yep. He also remarked that I was the only one in all four of his Trig classes to get every problem correct and to properly show the work."

"Katie, that's wonderful! You said this was a pop quiz on Monday, so you weren't prepped beyond your understanding of the material. You have come such a long way in a very short period of time!" Maggie jumped to her feet and ran around to give Katie a big hug of congratulations.

"And now I have this horseshit 'Following Directions' quiz for the extra credit to make up for my bonehead mistake of leaving my name off."

"Help me clear the table, girls, and you can get on with your plans," Rose asked.

Maggie disappeared into the media room to call Joy. Alan tried to help Rose, but was distracted by Katie's groan of "Arrrgh!" as she looked at the extra credit 'quiz'. He sauntered out of the kitchen and stood quietly behind Katie, looking over her shoulder. He laughed to himself because he had seen this sort of thing before. The quiz read:

= = = F O L L O W I N G D I R E C T I O N S = = =

Carefully read every step and question before writing your answers

1 - Write your answers in blue or black ink

2 - Write today's date in the upper left‑hand corner

3 - Write your name in the upper right‑hand corner

4 - To four decimal places, what is the value of pi? _______________

5 - What geometric figure is expressed by the formula y = mx + b? _____________________

6 - What is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides having lengths of 3 and 4? ___________

7 - How many spots are on a pair of standard (6-sided) dice? __________________

8 - Double underline your name in the upper right‑hand corner

9 - Circle the date in the upper left‑hand corner

10 - Write "I am a doofus who cannot follow directions" _______________________________

11 - Using a pencil, only complete steps 2 and 3

Katie took a quick look at the first step, and bent over to rummage through her backpack for a pen. She clicked the tip out and was about to write on the paper before Alan stopped her.

"Katie, do us both a small favor and set your pen down. Then, aloud, please read every line on the page, skipping over the questions."

She lay the pen on the table, picked up the paper, and started reading aloud.

"Carefully read every step and question before writing your answers. One, write your answers in blue or black ink. Two, write today's date in the upper left‑hand corner." She reached for her pen to do just that, and Alan stopped her once more.

"Katie, what does the first direction say?"

"Write your answers in blue or black ink."

Alan chuckled and pulled his chair around next to hers.

"Nope. The first direction is 'carefully read every step and question before writing your answers.' " He emphasized the word 'before'. "Please continue reading only the directions."

"Three, write your name in the upper right‑hand corner." She continued to read every direction aloud while he kept a gentle restraint on her writing hand. Then she came to number eleven. "Eleven, using a pencil, only complete steps 2 and 3." She paused, allowing those words to rattle around her mind. Then her eyes widened and she realized she had been tricked. Alan had just saved her and the extra credit.

Rose was starting to exit the kitchen when she saw Katie turn in her chair and wrap Alan in a monstrous hug and kiss his cheek. Rose stopped and her hand came up to her mouth.

"You've saved me again, Poppa!"

"I've seen this sort of thing before, back in the day. Dean Martin is quoted as having said, 'Good judgment comes from experience. And experience? Well, that comes from poor judgment.' You have just benefitted from my poor judgment and consequent experience."

Katie quickly pulled out her pencil, wrote the date in the upper left corner and her name in the upper right. Then she put her pen, pencil, and extra credit 'quiz' into her backpack.

"Thank you again, so much, Poppa!" And she kissed him on his lips, chastely. Flushing a little red, she grabbed her backpack and dashed for her room.

"Now you've done it," Rose commented as she approached him. She sat crosswise on his lap and also kissed him on the lips. Her kiss was significantly moister than Katie's, much more passionate, and lasted a lot longer. Then her tongue came out to play. In response, his hands came into play on her breasts.

"Come with me, Alan. I've got something that needs your good judgment and causal experience."

= = =

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Rose was eating her lunch at her desk when her phone rang. The Caller ID showed it was her mother. Rose quickly swallowed what was in her mouth before answering.

"Hello, Mother."

"Hello, Rosalie. Did you misplace your phone? It seemed to ring more than I had expected it to."

"Mother, it's lunchtime so I'm eating my lunch at my desk. You taught me not to talk with food in my mouth. I had to swallow what I had just put in first. Is there something so urgent that you have to call me during my work hours rather than wait until this evening?" Rose did not much care for having to explain herself to her mother.

"Good, at least that lesson was well and truly learned." Rose was nearly audibly rolling her eyes.

"How may I be of assistance to you today, Mother?" Rose inquired through clenched teeth.

Martha Reynolds dropped her first bombshell. "Well, for starters, you could provide food and lodging for me for a couple of weeks starting this weekend."

"I would love some time together with you. I take it you are coming to visit now. What's Daddy going to do without you?" Rose refrained from rising to her mother's bait.

At that point, Martha delivered her second bombshell. "Oh, I suppose he'll be eating carry out or in restaurants until he joins me in Middleburg."

"Joins you in Middleburg..." Rose repeated. "And when, pray tell, will he be joining you here, mother?"

"Well, I'm flying in Friday afternoon, and he'll be coming a week later, so February 26^th for your father."

"I see. Well, thank you for the couple days' notice of your arrival. My lunch time is almost over and I have some important meetings this afternoon. Can we have a video call tonight, say 8:30 or so? I think Alan should be included in this discussion. There are a number of things we all need to discuss about your visit. May I finish my lunch so I can get back to running the credit union, mother?"

"Of course, dear. Try to enjoy your meetings, and we'll talk tonight. Bye!" Martha disconnected the call and Rose allowed her chin to drop to her sternum.

= = =

Rose was there to greet Alan with a very loving kiss as he entered from the garage. He returned the sentiment with great exuberance. His hands traveled over her body as he pulled her close. He could not discern any clothing on her other than what he could see. Something clicked over in his mind.