Three Sisters of Delta Gamma Ch. 04

"I will."

****

Eric was scheduled to work the day shifts on Saturday and Sunday. He arrived at the house in time for dinner Friday evening and Layla was anxiously waiting. It had been several days since they last spent quality time together... tonight was for catch-up. They grilled hamburgers and talked about the weekend.

"I was with Amy all day and she's very excited about your time together this weekend."

"I was thinking about taking her to Lancaster County and visit the Amish communities. Has she been there?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"I think she'll enjoy seeing the horse-drawn carriages and the people. I have a few favorite places for food and sightseeing. They're probably still harvesting some of the crops or preparing the fields so we might see some draft horse teams."

"I'd enjoy that and I believe Amy would. But just spending time with you is what she really wants. Mom says she often talks about you."

"Tomorrow evening, Cliff and maybe another guy will be spending the night. They know Amy will be here and have promised to behave. Is that okay with you?"

"Amy enjoys being around lots of adults. I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Cliff is bringing someone named Charles to meet Susanna. Cliff vouches for him so I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah, Cliff is a good guy. I really like him. Did he tell you we had a call-out to his fraternity house yesterday?"

"No! I haven't seen him in a couple of days. What happened?"

"A girlfriend of one of the brothers scratched the crap out of another brother. She did a number on him with her fingernails and teeth, but we patched him up. Neither wanted to press charges."

"Let me guess, was her name Ashley?"

He frowned and thought for a few seconds. "I think so."

"That figures. She was dumped by one of the brothers named Jason but she's now dating Ben in the same fraternity."

"I do remember the victim's name was Jason."

"Our first contracted video is for Ben and Ashley on Monday night."

He laughed. "All I can advise is don't make her mad. That girl is tough and fights like a bobcat."

"Speaking of tough girls, when am I going to meet your roommate?"

"Any time. Let me see if she's home."

Eric called.

"Hey Michelle.

"I'm over at Layla's. She wants to meet you. Are you going to be home in about an hour?

"Good.

"Don't worry about that.

"We'll bring the beer.

"Great, see you then." He ended the call.

"Michelle is home and expecting us after dinner."

"I know you think I'm weird but we girls don't like our men living with other women."

"You think it's impossible for a man to live with a woman without having sex with her?"

"You've lived with her for two years. And you expect me to believe you never made love to her?"

"That's what I'm saying. When we decided to rent a place together, we agreed that it would be just to save money. There is not and has never been any physical connection between her and me. We are very good friends and help each other with classes but that's it." Eric decided to let Michelle tell Layla the rest of the story.

"Well, okay. I look forward to meeting her." Layla still had her doubts.

****

Eric took Layla to the condo in Hockessin, Delaware, about five miles from the campus. These were very nice, modern units built about five years earlier. Michelle answered the door.

"Layla, it's a real pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Michelle, and you're not the soldier type I expected." Michelle was a beautiful black woman with a wonderful smile. She stood at least 5'9" and appeared to be very firm and fit.

Michelle laughed and asked, "What did you expect?"

"Certainly not a drop-dead gorgeous woman like you."

"Awww, you're sweet. Look at yourself, my goodness. Please come in."

Eric carried a six-pack of Blue Moon ale, Michelle's favorite beer and they walked to the kitchen.

"This condo is fantastic. Did you two decorate it?"

"Yeah, we did. Some of the furniture was used when we bought it but it was clean and functional."

Eric added, "Michelle has a good sense of style and a taste for decorating so she did all of that."

"Please have a seat. I quickly made some cookies when Eric told me you were coming. They're just about ready."

"I thought I smelled fresh baked cookies. This is unbelievable."

Eric replied, "She often makes them. Michelle is also a wonderful bread maker. I wish I could bake like her."

Over the next ten minutes, they talked about their university studies, munched on warm chocolate chip cookies and drank beer. It was very relaxing and Layla finally built enough courage to ask her the big question.

"Michelle, I am so impressed by you. I can't believe that Eric has been able to resist your obvious charms. But he swears you two are just best friends. Is he lying to me?"

Michelle and Eric laughed.

"Eric is one of my dearest friends and I think you will become another one. But we have a major difference. I'm a lesbian and have a girlfriend who I love very much. We both love Eric like he was our brother, and in many ways he is. Eric helped both of us whip a prescription drug habit, as only a brother would do. He loved us into breaking the habit."

Eric explained, "Michelle was badly wounded while serving in Afghanistan and was on pain killers much longer than she should have been. She was hooked when she came home and was really bad off when I first met her. Her partner, Gabby, was injured in a car accident and ended up being hooked on Vicodin and OxyContin."

Michelle added, "I met Gabby in a drug treatment center and we hit it off. But, it was only after Eric took me under his wing, that we made real progress toward recovery. We had some very rough days and nights and Eric was here for us every minute. He held me for hours as I shook with chills, cramps, and pain; I wanted to just die but he willed me to live."

"She was a wreck but she whipped it. We didn't leave this condo until all the withdrawal symptoms were gone. It took eight days."

Michelle reached across the table and took Eric's hand. "Layla, he will forever be my hero. Gabby had almost as bad a time of it as I did and Eric saved her life like he did mine. We love him dearly. You have a precious man who obviously loves you."

Tears ran down both Layla's and Michelle's cheeks. They stood and hugged each other for several moments.

****

Eric and Layla went to bed early since he had to be at work by 6:00am. Their lovemaking was very tender but passionate. They totally yielded themselves to each other. She felt an amazing fullness and warmth as he entered her, much more than she remembered. Her heartbeat raced as his strokes eased in and out. When the pace quickened and his spurts followed, she gazed into his eyes and would have followed him to the ends of the earth. She was totally his, in every way. When the orgasmic lightning flashed through her loins Layla was sated and quickly fell asleep.

She awakened to the sound of Eric flushing the toilet. Layla slipped on her robe and walked to the bathroom as he was stepping into the shower. They smiled and briefly kissed before she peed and brushed her teeth. By the time he was dressed, the coffee was hot and a BLT sandwich was ready for his breakfast.

Eric came to the kitchen and kissed her again. They held each other for a moment before he said, "I love you" for the very first time.

Layla was elated. She pulled back, smiled and said "I love you, Eric, with all my heart." They kissed again.

Eric said, "After I get off, I need to run some errands and go by the condo so it will probably be time to go to dinner when I get here."

"I'm going up early to get Amy. Call if anything changes and we'll plan to be here when you come."

"How about dinner at the Union City Grille?" Eric asked.

"That'd be great. I've not been there in over a year."

"The owner came by the station last week and gave us a stack of gift certificates. One of our units treated his son who had been hit by a car in a parking lot. He was very grateful and said that the son is going to make a full recovery."

"Do things like that happen often?"

"Kids being hit by cars?"

"No, silly. People giving gifts to the paramedics and firefighters."

"It does happen. People are very appreciative of our efforts. Many times it's cookies, cakes or pies."

"I'll have to bake my mom's lasagna for your guys. I appreciate your efforts also." They both grinned.

"I love tasty Italian dishes, especially when they're yours."

Layla giggled at the obvious double entendre. "Be safe and go save lives."

****

Layla arrived at the Belton's house later that morning.

Kathy greeted her at the door. "Great to see you again, Layla. Amy is so excited about you coming."

"I'm excited to spend some time with her."

Amy came running into the foyer and hugged Layla around her hips. Layla dropped to her knees and gave her a tender hug and kiss.

"Mommy, I'm ready."

"Is Miss Annie coming?"

"No, she wants to rest this weekend."

Layla grinned. "I know how she must feel. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with you."

Kathy laughed and nodded.

"You have a bag for overnight?"

"Yes, I'll get it." She ran away and up the stairs as fast as she could.

Kathy asked, "Do you see what I mean? She is over the top with excitement."

In just a moment, Layla heard the bag bouncing off each step as Amy pulled it behind her down the stairs. When she returned dragging it into the foyer, it was obvious that Amy was planning to stay a while. The bag was as big as Amy and it was heavy.

"She insisted on packing it herself so I don't know what she's taking," Kathy said.

"Amy, do you have clothes or toys in the bag?" Layla asked.

"Both."

"What about your toothbrush and pajamas?"

"Of course I have those. I'm staying overnight."

Layla smiled at Kathy. "Well, then let's go."

Amy quickly hugged and kissed her grandma and started dragging her bag to the door.

"Here, let me get that bag for you."

"No mommy, I can do it." Layla opened the door and watched Amy drag it all the way to the car.

Layla hugged Kathy and said, "I can't wait to see what's in that bag."

"Me too. Have a great weekend."

Layla loaded the bag, which must have weighed 20 pounds, into the car and strapped Amy into her child seat. As they drove away, Layla asked, "Is there anything special you want to do today?"

"I just want to be with you, mommy."

Tears came momentarily to Layla's eyes. "I was thinking about driving over to Lancaster and showing you some horses and very special people who take care of them. Would you like that?"

"Yes, I like horses."

"There's also a very nice place to have lunch and then we can go taste all kinds of jams and jellies at a very interesting store. Do you like jam and jelly?"

"Yes, especially with peanut butter."

"We'll pick out some you like."

"Mommy, is daddy coming to see the horses?"

"No, he's working today sweetheart. We'll see him late this afternoon and have dinner together."

"Okay."

The drive over to Lancaster County was beautiful. They passed many farms and dozens of horse-drawn buggies, carriages and wagons. The Amish came to this area in the early 1800's from Switzerland and Southern Germany and still live, in some ways, like they did then. They tried to remain separate from the world but modern culture infiltrated their lives in many ways. Still, they use horses to pull buggies on the road and draft horses or mules rather than tractors in the fields. They don't drive cars after they join the church around the age of 18 but they do hire drivers with vans for longer trips. They are friendly people and tolerate the tourists because the tourists bring money and create jobs. To the casual observer, the Amish may appear backward and ignorant but the opposite is true. They are very astute business people, well read and work very hard. Still, they live the way they want as they follow their religious teachings.

Layla saw a beautiful team of six Belgian draft horses near the road ahead. She stopped the car and parked it to the side of the road so that she and Amy could get a good look as they came by. They stood outside the car as these massive but beautiful animals came toward them pulling a very large implement of some type.

To Layla's surprise, the young Amish man halted the team next to the fence and smiled at Amy and Layla.

"Hello," he said. "Do you like horses?"

"They are very big," Amy replied.

"Yes they are. They are also very strong and very friendly. Would you like to meet them? They won't mind."

"May I?"

Layla smiled and lifted Amy across the fence and into the arms of the drover. "My name is Amy. What's yours?"

"I'm Josh."

"And I'm Layla. It's very nice of you to stop and talk."

"The horses needed a rest. We've been working since daybreak."

Josh carried Amy to the front center of the team. The Belgians stood six abreast and each fidgeted, snorted and blinked as they stared at Amy.

Josh said, "This one is Terry. He's the boss and the others follow him. He's ten years old. You can rub his nose if you want."

Amy reached over and rubbed up and down the massive nose of this 2000-pound horse as he passively stared at her, occasionally blinking.

Layla asked, "May I take a photo of her touching his nose?"

"Yes, but please don't photograph me. It's against our beliefs."

Layla climbed over the fence and walked in close to get only Amy and Terry in the iPhone picture. She then showed it to Josh so he could see that his beliefs were respected. Amy and Layla thanked him and returned to the car as he waved and drove the team on.

As soon as the car was underway, a distinct smell permeated the air.

"Amy, your hands smell like horse. When we stop, let's wash them."

"Yes mommy. I think they smell good. I like Terry."

"He's a nice horse. It was very kind of Josh to let you pet him."

"I know."

The next stop was the Kitchen Kettle Village, a collection of shops and cafes that are very popular with the tourists. The primary store is actually a large kitchen where dozens of different jams, jellies, and relishes are made daily. They also bake pies, cookies, and specialties like "whoopee pies," a round chocolate devil's food pie about three inches in diameter, stuffed with a sweet creamy white filling. They reminded Layla of huge Oreo cookies but with a soft, moist cake rather than the hard chocolate cookie.

The kitchen store had stands holding open jars of all the items they sold. After washing Amy's hands in the ladies room, Layla used a plastic knife to give her samples on tiny crackers. They had a grand time and must have tasted two dozen or more jams and jellies. Amy picked out six she liked, and Layla added small jars of them to her basket. At the bakery, they decided on three whoopee pies and six snickerdoodle cookies that are a little like soft sugar cookies with a crystal sugar and cinnamon topping.

For lunch, Layla drove to the Bird-in-Hand Restaurant that served lots of traditional foods favored by the local German descendants. Amy was excited to see a children's buffet in the shape of Noah's Ark and she helped herself to vegetable soup, fish sticks, chicken fingers and French fries. She topped that off with a dish of soft ice cream and rainbow sprinkles.

The next stop was Abe's Buggy Rides. Layla and Amy climbed into a traditional horse-drawn Amish buggy and took a very pleasant 30-minute ride through the countryside with a nice man driving a beautiful horse.

It was time to head home and it was a quiet trip. Amy fell asleep after just a few minutes and woke only when Layla pulled into the garage an hour later.

"Amy, let's take everything inside. This time, let me take your overnight bag and you carry our purchases."

"Okay."

"Do you want to sleep in mommy and daddy's bedroom tonight or do you want the guest bedroom?"

"I want to sleep with you, mommy."

"Then let's put your bag in our room. We need to take our showers before daddy gets home so we'll be ready for dinner."

"Okay."

Layla carried Amy's heavy bag up the stairs and into the bedroom with Amy following closely.

"What do you have in this bag, young lady?"

Amy opened it. "These are my clothes. Here's my Jenga game for us to play. I brought shoes and my soap and shampoo."

"What are those cans?"

"I like SpaghettiOs so I brought two cans for us. It's easier to eat than spaghetti like we had last time." It was very hard for Layla not to laugh. There must be enough clothes for a week and four pairs of shoes. The shampoo bottle was huge. In the bottom were five of her favorite books. No wonder the bag was so heavy.

"Do you want my help with the shower or can you do it yourself?"

"If you can make the water okay, I can wash myself."

Layla turned on the water and adjusted it while Amy undressed. She stepped into the shower and soaped herself like she'd done it many times before.

"Do you normally take a shower at home or a bath in the tub?"

"Grandma lets me decide. I do both. If granddaddy is helping me, I take a shower. He doesn't like cleaning the tub."

"Yeah, I don't blame him. Can you dry yourself or should I help?"

"I can do it."

Layla undressed and removed her makeup while Amy washed her small body under the flowing shower. Layla was surprised at how thorough she seemed to be, even when shampooing her hair. Her grandparents had done a superb job teaching her.

"Here's a towel, Amy. Let me jump in while the water is warm."

Five minutes later, Layla emerged refreshed and squeaky clean. Amy was waiting for her.

"Mommy, when I get big, will I look like you?"

"No, you will be much prettier than me."

"I want to look like you."

"Sweetheart, you will always have fair skin and light hair. I will always have darker skin and black hair."

"Why?"

"We are from different parts of the world. My family is from Italy and I think yours are probably from Northern Europe. We can ask your daddy to be sure. Our hair and skin color depends on where our ancestors lived."

"What does ancestor mean?"

"Our ancestors are our parents and their parents and on back for many years."

"Did you know my first mommy?"

"I'm sorry but I didn't know her."

"Grandma said she was very nice and that Jesus took her to live with Him in heaven."

"I'm sure your grandma is right."

"Why did Jesus take her away from me? Did I do something bad?"

Layla pulled Amy into a hug as tears flooded her eyes.

"No Amy. You didn't do anything bad. None of us know why Jesus took her. He wanted her in heaven for some reason that we don't know."

"Can I go to heaven and see her?"

"Someday, you will. But you have a lot to do here before that happens."

"Why?"

"Amy, I don't know why. None of us know when the day will come for us to leave here and go to heaven. So all of us must work and enjoy life here until that day. Sweetheart, your daddy and I would really miss you if you went now. We have a lot of great things to do together before that happens."

"I saw a picture of her one time at mom-mom and pop-pop's house."

"Who are they?"

"My first mommy's mom and dad. Daddy lets me visit them sometimes."

"Oh. That's good."

"Daddy doesn't have pictures of her."

"Amy, we need to get dressed. Daddy will be here soon. Ladies like us should always be dressed and look beautiful when the gentleman comes home."

"Okay. Can I put make-up on like you do?"

"No Amy. You are so pretty that you don't need make-up. I'll let you put a drop of fragrance on your neck, if you want."

"Okay."

Thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang and Amy ran to let her daddy in.

"Hi daddy. Mommy and I had a great time today."

"I'm glad to hear that, sweetheart." He picked her up into a hug and kiss.