The Greatest of These is Love Pt. 03

"Let's go out for a drive, shall we?" Dawn cajoled John. "I want to show you some places of significance from my past."

A sorrowful‑looking Gypsy Rose Lee lay on the front porch, her head on her paws as she watched Dawn's car depart.

They drove around the Phelps Bluff area with Dawn showing John the elementary and middle school buildings, the roller rink, the now-defunct drive‑in theater ('a great place to have a date on the back row'), and the Tastee-Freeze that was the gathering place for the high school crowd. Hunger and their growling bellies forced them to negotiate about lunch. John didn't want Taco Bell while Dawn was adamantly against KFC. That left them with either Subway or Hardee's near where they were. Mickey D's and BK were out by Walmart on the bypass. Hardee's won the coin toss and elected to receive.

They got seats inside now that the lunch 'rush' had abated, and they sat in their booth, looking at each other, holding hands on top of the table, and generally just enjoying the other's company.

"John, do you suppose you could contact your brother and arrange a call tonight with your parents?" Dawn asked, a little hesitantly.

"I suppose so. He should be out of school this week." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What's driving this, Dawn?"

"I'm worried for your mental health. I don't like how you seem to be leaving this situation as is. If you don't address it with your parents, it will fester, hurting everyone involved. I know that you refuse to answer calls from them right now, but that solves nothing. They probably don't like your decision to stay with us this week. They need to understand that this was your choice and is part of the college experience they said was your responsibility. The only way to get them to understand and accept this decision is to talk with them."

John was silent for a minute, then pursed his lips and bobbed his head as he pulled out his phone. He texted Owen.

"Hey, bro. Can you get Mom and Dad together after supper so we can talk this out? I'll call your phone at 7:30."

Owen was only a couple minutes in replying, "Sure thing, J. Shall I tell them why you'll be calling in advance?"

"No, just get them at the table and put your phone in speaker mode."

"Will do. Don't have too much fun!"

John put his phone in his pocket and looked at Dawn. "Happy now?" There was a tinge of snark in his voice, but she chose to ignore it.

"Yes, thank you very much. Now, let's blow this Popsicle stand and see what else there is to see." She stood and pulled him to his feet. He scrambled to put their wrappers on the tray and dispose of the waste properly.

"Come, come! I have a very special place to show you now," she teased him with a promise.

She drove them out to the tiny airport and parked just off the end of the runway. John was puzzled.

"What's so special about this place?" he asked.

"This is where the submarine races happen."

John was ten kinds of clueless as to what she was referring, so to demonstrate, she pulled him into a scorching kiss, teasing his tongue with hers. Then hands got involved and there was touching and groping and teasing.

After a while, she pulled away and gave a very satisfied smile. "That's what submarine race watching is all about. In your case, that's the 'carrot'. There'll be another 'carrot' after your call with your parents. Call it a 'reward for good behavior'. Believe me, John, you don't want to find out about the 'stick'." John silently shook his head from side to side, slowly.

When they returned to the Taggart residence, Josh and the boys had returned in very good spirits.

"Did you get anything this morning?" Dawn inquired. She could see no evidence either way, apart from some smiles.

"Yeah, Dawnie, we had a great morning!" Junior answered. "This was the first year that we each got a buck. Dad got a 12‑pointer while mine and Danny's were both eight-pointers."

"So, where are they?"

"Well, Dad's having the head of his kill stuffed so it can go up on the wall in the family room. The meat from all three is at the butcher. That's way more meat than we can use, so we're gonna have to give some of it away."

Dawn flung her arms around her eldest brother and hugged him close. John stood back and watched as Junior's face began slowly to flush. He saw Junior turn his hips away from Dawn's embrace and figured that Junior's body was liking her hug entirely too much. Smiling, John turned away.

Some fantastic scents were emanating from the kitchen, so John strolled in from the family room. Emily, Jenny, and Ginny were moving around each other in a strangely choreographed dance. Nobody collided and nothing was spilled. John just watched with amazement. That sort of domestic ballet comes only through extensive practice.

At last, everyone was called to supper. With everyone assuming their standard places, the eight dug into the food. The meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, beans, corn, and biscuits assuaged everyone's appetite with the usual minimal amount of conversation. When his mouth had emptied, John inquired of Josh about their successful hunt.

All three, Josh, Danny, and Junior, looked quite pleased with themselves at their success. Josh's trophy head was being processed by the best taxidermist in Phelps Bluff, one of Josh's good friends.

"So, when do you expect to get it back?" John inquired.

"Because Jack is doing this right, I hope to get it back around the first of March. Doing things right the first time takes time and costs money, but then they only should have to be done once. I can wait patiently for the head to be done right. I still need to decide where I want to put it in the family room," Josh answered.

"How much will it cost, Daddy?" Jenny asked.

"It costs a lot of money, sweetheart, but I think it's worth it. I'd rather not get into specifics right now. Don't worry; there will still be food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads." Somewhat mollified, Jenny slumped back into her chair to finish her meal. Ginny gave a little smirk until Emily gave Ginny a swat on the arm and a stern look. John just wallowed in these family dynamics that were absent from his parents' home.

"We'll finish off the ice cream tonight in celebration of the victorious hunters," Emily declared. "But first, I'm given to believe that John has a phone call to make shortly. Perhaps he'd rather not have an audience. John, would you prefer to do that here at the dining table, or somewhere else?"

John felt a little trapped but managed to squeak out his preference for remaining at the table. He pulled out his phone and was surprised to see how late it had become. Fortunately, he could still call his brother at the planned time. The menfolk disappeared in various directions, leaving the cleanup to the womenfolk. John started to get to his feet, but Emily placed her hand on his shoulder and told him to sit.

"This is just how we do things here. In your own household, you can determine how things will be."

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Suspecting his brother might be a minute or two early, Owen cajoled his parents to join him at the dining table at 7:25.

"What's this about, son?" his father, Henry, asked.

"I wanted to talk to you both about college in the fall," Owen led off. "Just like you did with John, you've said all along that college was my responsibility. I've accepted that and would like to start at State in the fall, studying Mechanical Engineering. I would like your 'blessing' to follow this path." Before Henry or Susan could respond, Owen's phone rang.

"Hey, bro, right on time. Mom and Dad are here. Do you want me to stick around?"

"Yes, please do, O," John's voice was heard as Owen activated the speaker mode. Owen sat back and looked at his parents. Susan was initially excited to hear John's voice, but then she remembered she was angry with him. Henry sat forward in his chair to hear clearly.

"Thank you for taking some time to speak with me tonight," John began. "If this were completely up to me, I'd leave things as they are. But Dawn, my girlfriend and hostess for the week, is rather insistent that I try to clear the air between us."

"Well, maybe she's good for something other than sex," Susan snarked.

John was grateful he had not engaged speaker mode on his end. He was fairly certain this would not be a pleasant call, and it was already off to a rocky start. Dawn wanted him to get through this, so he ignored his mother's disparaging remark. He caught a glimpse of Dawn hanging out in the kitchen near the doorway to the dining room. He didn't mind if Dawn heard his part of the conversation, but he did not want her reactions to be heard on the other end of the call.

"Dad, can you please do something to keep Mom from ending this call prematurely?" John pled.

"Susan! Enough! Can't you see he's reaching out? Do you want to drive him away permanently?" Henry's volume began to rise with every word. "Because that is what will happen if you open your mouth one more time like you just did. How dare you say something so nasty and uncalled‑for about someone you've never met and know nothing about!" Susan's eyes widened at Henry's tone and volume, then they flashed with anger, but she held her tongue for the time being.

"Okay, John, she'll be quiet. What's on your mind, son?" Henry said with a gentler tone.

"I wanted to explain my rationale for not coming home this week." John paused for a few seconds to see if his mother would interject something, but she did not. "Okay, first things first. I have been seeing this girl at school since about the first of October. Her name is Dawn Taggart, she's a junior like me, studying to be a Foreign Languages teacher, and from Phelps Bluff. Some mutual friends introduced us, and we seemed very quickly to click together like magnets. We are very good for each other and our strengths shore up the other's weak points. She brought me to meet her family over the Halloween weekend. At the end of our time here, the Taggarts warmly invited me to come back for this week of Thanksgiving so we could all get to know each other better. These are very nice people, Mom, Dad, and they've been very welcoming.

"Dad, you and Mom have made it crystal clear to me, ever since I started high school, that my college education was my responsibility, right?"

Still almost glaring at his wife to remain silent, Henry agreed with John's statement. "We've been so proud of you to earn and keep your scholarships, not to mention your Work/Study job."

"Thank you for acknowledging they are my scholarships, Dad. I work very hard to keep them every year. But aren't the people I meet and associate with while in college a large part of my education?"

The pause before answering their son was quite pregnant. Susan and Henry could easily see where John was going with this point. They also had very little space to defend, and they conveyed a grudging admission that the people he met and associated with fell under the umbrella of his college education.

"Right. So, can you appreciate my perspective that where and with whom I choose to spend my time, including this week, flows from that?"

Again, grudging admission of John's point was shared. At this point, Susan could not contain herself any longer.

"John, may I say something now?" She mentally ground her teeth at having to ask her son's permission to speak.

"Certainly, if you can maintain a civil tone and volume." John's words stung his mother a bit.

"Thanksgiving has always been a family holiday with us. Both sets of grandparents will be joining us this year. For the last two years, you came home for this break week. We were counting on this holding true this year."

"I can understand your point, Mom. However, my circumstances have changed from those of previous years. You don't expect me to remain your little boy the rest of my life, do you?"

"Well, yes, I do. Maybe not my 'little' boy, but you will always be my son."

"And you'll always be my mother, Mom. But you and Dad have been consistent in figuratively pushing me out of the nest since I graduated high school. And now that I'm flying a bit on my own, acting as a responsible adult, now you're upset?"

Susan pursed her lips, biting back a sharp comeback that she knew would strain their relationship further. Henry leaned in to say something.

"John, can you make it a point to call on Thanksgiving Day when your grandparents are here?" he requested.

"Sure, I'd be happy to do that, Dad. I was already intending to do so. When you have a good time, let me know. I don't know what the schedule is around here, but we'll work something out. And Mom, I will be home for the Christmas break. Maybe we could make trips to see the Grands then as well?"

"We'll mention the idea to them when they're here on Thursday," Henry replied. He could tell that Susan was misting up and she would soon need some couple‑time to talk, just the two of them.

"That's great, Dad. Thanks for getting them to sit down for this, Owen. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad."

"Goodbye, son. We'll talk on Thursday." The line remained open for a few more seconds, long enough for John to hear his mother suck in a breath around her tears. Then John disconnected the call.

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As soon as John had ended his call and set his phone down, Dawn was next to him, gesturing for him to make room on his lap for her. He scooted back from the table and opened his arms. She flowed into his embrace and quickly fastened her lips to his. After a solid five minutes of Dawn expressing her feelings for John, she pulled back enough to talk while remaining close enough to rub noses.

"Big John," she whispered while wiggling her very interested bottom on his equally interested groin, "where did that all come from? You've never shown this side to me."

"You inspired me, Dawn. It came from you. I saw you hovering by the doorway from the kitchen, and I knew you could hear my end of the conversation. It started as rough as I had feared it might. That was why I did not have the phone in speaker mode. I won't repeat my mother's unkind comments about us. Let's just say that she has a pretty good idea of what originally brought us together." He flexed his stiff cock against her humid bottom so she understood without mistake. He had no idea if there were other, younger ears listening in. Dawn's eyes widened in delight at his implicit promise. "We both know it's only a part of why we are so right for each other. A fun part," he said with a grin, "but only a portion. We are so good for each other.

"I do need to call them on Thursday once all my grandparents have arrived. That may take a little coordination. I think I've drawn my lines in the hard dirt, as far as my mother goes. My father, however, seems to agree with my perspective. Not wanting to borrow trouble from 'tomorrow', but the Christmas holiday break is likely to be full of challenges between me and my mother. That's not our worry for now, though."

"I think it's time for us to have some more couple time. You look exhausted." Dawn winked her eye in mischief. "Let's tell my family 'Good Night' and retire to our room."

Hand in hand, they walked to the entryway to the family room. The rest of the family was eating ice cream while enjoying a fire in the fireplace. Even Gypsy was laying in front of the hearth, soaking in the warmth of both family and flame.

"John's a little worn out from his call with his folks, so we're calling it a night. We'll see y'all in the morning," Dawn announced. Junior and Danny just shrugged their indifference. Ginny and Jenny gave small, almost secret smiles and focused their attention on their bowls. Josh just nodded his understanding. Emily smiled broadly and gave her eldest a wink and a nod of acknowledgment, then added, "Be safe, you two." Dawn just smiled and spun to lead John down the stairs before anyone saw his face beginning to flush.

Predictably, once the bedroom door was shut, clothing quickly came off and they spent the rest of the evening delighting in the pleasure of being with each other in a most loving way.

Tuesday and Wednesday of that week were uneventful for everyone at the Taggart household. John divided his time between playing games with the girls, taking walks outside with Dawn and Gypsy, and trying to develop a friendlier relationship with Junior and Danny. Junior had his shifts to work and Danny would spend daylight hours at the Patterson farm. He wasn't working, per se, as he was underage, but he was helping with the farm chores. It was an open secret among the Taggarts that he was sweet on Aileen Patterson, the farmer's daughter he assisted most often, and she returned his sentiments. Consequently, Junior and Danny were absent more than they were around for those days.

Thursday, November 26, 2020, Thanksgiving

The custom at the Taggarts' was to have a big meal early in the afternoon and then graze on the leftovers while watching the Detroit Lions or the Dallas Cowboys football games.

Dawn was up and out of bed by 7:00 that morning. She needed to help her mother and sisters with the food as expected for this family feast. She quietly and cautiously slipped out of John's spooning grasp, trying not to wake him. They had multiple coitus sessions the night before, and she wobbled a little as she gathered her clothes and slipped out the door.

Dawn entered the kitchen to find her mother dressed and hard at it already. Her sisters weren't far behind her, and soon all four were diligently focused on their tasks to bring this larger‑than‑normal family meal together in time. They had baked some pies the day before, but the table would soon be groaning with the weight of the feast being prepared.

John woke with his hand flopping in the space where Dawn had been laying. The sheets were cool to the touch, and he realized she'd been gone a while. This gave him some time to think. His parents had long maintained that both of their sons' post‑secondary educations were their sons' responsibility. He had suspected that his parents weren't the best managers of their own finances and that was what led to their attitude and decisions.

He reflected on Monday evening's conversation, wherein he drew the direct relationship between his educational decisions and his interpersonal relationship choices. His mother had NOT liked that one bit, but she didn't have a leg to stand on. John smiled at that memory. She just couldn't have it both ways. He felt empowered in deciding to be with Dawn and her family for the whole break, and especially for sticking to his guns about that.

He did want to speak with his grandparents, though. It was fortunate that all four would be together at his parents' home this year. John had a good relationship with both sets of grandparents, even though he did not get to see them as often as he would have liked. Not being with them was his only regret about not being home for Thanksgiving. John and his father had agreed upon a 4:00 pm call from John to Owen's phone as they had done on Monday. John was very grateful to his father for the support lent on Monday, and John told him so.

The door to the bedroom opened slightly, and Gypsy nosed her way in. John hastily threw the covers over the bed and patted his invitation. The dog first put her front paws on the bed, then jumped up. She quickly hunkered down to accept the affection John was ready to give. All was right in her world.

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End of "The Greatest of These is Love, Part 3"