Chapter 8

New Year's Eve was approaching. Our party was getting close. Laura and I were preparing for it with the girls helping. Tom and Mark were helping, too. Laura put them to work and they both chipped in willingly. They and their parents were among the invited guests.

Our guest list included our Sunday school class, our Pastor, friends from my office, and teachers from Laura's office. We had non-alcoholic sparkling juice for all. Laura and I debated having regular Champagne but decided that we would forego that. Many of our daughters' classmates would be present since their parents were our friends. We decided to avoid tempting anyone.

Mostly, this would be food and conversation until the countdown when we would turn on the television and watch the peach drop. Hey, it's Georgia, the Peach State! All three of my ladies were in their dresses with their pendants, rings, bracelet, and pin being worn as appropriate. Mother Munroe was coming and bringing Mickey both as her date and for us to meet. At Christmas, he had been with his children out of state. They would return to their homes in the wee hours. My parents were in their home and one of my brothers would be there with his family.

All was ready and guests were starting to arrive. My three beautiful ladies and I accompanied by Tom and Mark made up the receiving line or greeters. Early on Mother Munroe came in looking very good with Mickey in tow. He was about her age and looked and sounded to be a good guy. We all enjoyed meeting him. He stopped at Laura and said, "Now, I see where Irene gets her looks!"

Laura smiled. "I'm not her daughter by blood but by a loving, mutual adoption. April and May are truly her grandchildren."

Mickey said, "I would think the tall one, April, would be truly yours though you look too young."

"Thank you again. I married well." She chuckled.

Mickey smiled and moved to April. I heard him say, "You look very much like your mother."

She smiled. "I like to think I have learned some of her secrets since I have her height." He passed on to May complimenting her, too. It was a fun time and many people invited found connections with others they didn't know they had. On top of that, we had teens everywhere talking and laughing.

It was eleven fifty-seven when we attracted everyone's attention. I prayed for everyone's New Year asking God's blessing for us all. Laura turned on the television and we all watched the peach drop. As usual, it was cheesy but fun. At midnight, I kissed my wife and all was well. It was after one before everyone left. The last two leaving were Tom and Mark's parents with their sons. When they left, it was just the four of us.

Laura looked around at the rooms and said, "We will address this in the morning. Let's go to bed. April, May, Paul, this has been my best Christmas and New Year ever. I love you all. My arm was around her and she had her head on my shoulder. I could feel her smile. The girls jumped in and we had a group hug. Everyone went to bed.

We rose late. We cleaned the house and started cooking a late lunch or early dinner. It was a typical New Year's Day meal. Black-eyed peas and corn bread were the basics with collard greens cooked with pork. We also had a ham. After starting the food and cleaning the house, we began watching television for the bowl games.

Tom and Mark came over and joined me in watching football. Our three ladies moved between watching the food and sitting with us. Laura was in a playful mood. She was wearing short shorts with a light-weight sweater of mine with the sleeves rolled up. It almost looked like she had nothing under the sweater but body. I had watched her dress and knew what she was wearing. When she would come into the living room, I tried not to look but failed. She was just too enticing! My daughters also looked quite good though not as sexily dressed. April and May admitted that Laura would occasionally censor their clothing choices. They admitted that she had saved their reputations a few times.

April was a great fan of tight shorts, the shorter the better. She was starting to play volleyball and had the body for it. She lacked one inch of being six feet tall and she had even told me that she thought her legs were her best feature. I had to admit that she was almost as hot as Laura in a pair of short, tight shorts. Over the last few months, I always made sure I knew whose backend was facing me before I touched it. Tom was tall and they made a great couple.

May liked her chest best and rarely wore a top that was loose. Even at eleven, she had more up top than April and liked for people to know that. She was five feet, five inches, in height and probably wouldn't grow much taller. Mark wasn't tall either and liked her just the way she was. She was negotiating with us and with the school to skip the seventh grade and go directly into the eighth grade. She admitted that she wanted the slight challenge and it would also put her in the same grade as Mark though she admitted that wasn't an issue for us or the school system to consider. She said that he needed some competition for high grades. Mark was looking forward to besting her in grades next year. They both acted as if the skipping of a grade by May was a done deal.

We enjoyed our New Year's meal and the company of the two young men.

School started again and both girls were working on their lessons as were Tom and Mark. All four of them put more time and effort than most people their age but their results were well above others also. They still had time to socialize with each other and with others.

May's efforts to skip the seventh grade met with success in the school system. She had a study hall and was able to move to a seventh grade math class in advanced placement. She had to work and, with Mark's help, kept an "A" in the course though she did miss one question on a test. She was not happy about it even though the test was only two days after she started the class. Her expectations were high! I finally sat down with her and told her to lighten up or I would refuse to sign off on her skip request.