John Warden knew, by the early afternoon, that he was going to be late again. He cursed himself and made a promise, a promise that he intended to keep, that he'd get his schedule under control and not let this happen again.

After all, he had reasoned with himself, having a freer time for Lullabelle, his lovely, lovely granddaughter, was the main reason why he set up his businesses the way that he had, with superior management, so that they could run seamlessly. With things running so well, John Warden had more time to take care of Lullabelle, the light of his life.

Tragedy had come stalking John Warden at important points in his life. There was the early death of his dear Emaline by cancer, shortly after their Lucy had been born. He turned his hand to being a single Dad, and didn't think that he'd done a great job of it. Lucy grew up a free spirit but she had a kind of streak in her. John had always written that part of Lucy down to the background that her mother had provided. There were some creepy people on that side of the family, he always thought.

For most of her life, Lucy's free strangeness had been innocuous but then with high school, and her brief time at the university, it had become different. Lucy had turned into a party girl, and John didn't know any of this until Lucy came home pregnant.

He had been hoping that the pregnancy, which she intended to see through -- her one really adult decision in her life -- would bring her around. It didn't. It introduced Lullabelle into his life and didn't seem to faze Lucy at all.

After her recovery from the birth of Lullabelle, she seemed to take up with the same people as before. There was never a thought or question about who the father might have been. John and Lucy had had 'the talk' about that and she was blatant in her telling him that she just wasn't sure of the father's name. She didn't hide that fact that within her close knit group of about eight, including three girls, sex was free and frequent. It pained him to hear it but she was at least being honest.

There had been some kind of party after that; it was a party for 'the group', as Lucy called them. In a spectacular accident, involving two cars racing, six of 'the group' had been killed, including all the guys and Lucy.

It left John with regrets and Lullabelle. She became, at that point in his life, his focus and his main intention in life.

John Warden, at forty was a sad but gorgeous man. He had a reserve within him of the kind of qualities that helped him take business ideas and simply make them successful. He'd been fortunate in a few close friends, who shared his ideas and had the money to make some of them a reality. After initial successes, John had his own capital but never lost touch with those friends.

He was, to be sure, a good looking man. He was tall 6'3" and carried his 205 lbs very well. He worked out, mainly at the workout facility at his office, to keep himself in shape. One of the things that he did to celebrate his early success in business was to have a huge house built on ten acres of land, with a surrounding forest, at least on three sides. It had been, at the time, a treat, gift for his Emaline, and had, unfortunately, been where she came home to die. Now it was him and Lullabelle in the big house on Forest Road.

And, right then, right at that time on that day, he realized that he was going to be late to pick Lullabelle up from school. He wanted to kick himself. He knew it was getting close to the very end of the school day and decided to try a phone call.

"Hello," a soft voice said.

"Serena," he said.

"Yes, John?" she asked. She changed that quickly to "Sorry, Mr Warden!"

"You know it's John!" he said, and got a soft laugh from her, almost like a giggle.

"I'm really sorry, Serena," he said, "I'm going to be a bit late."

Serena laughed and said: "Okay, I'll tie her to a chair and keep her here for you!"

"Serena, you're the best of the best!" he said, "And I promise on my late Momma's grave to not be late any more!"

"Don't you go making rash promises on your Momma!" Serena said with a laugh.

"I owe you," he said.

She laughed then and said: "Watch out, I might collect!"

John and Serena Markus had become, over the months, good friends. Their association had started early in the school year with a parent-teacher conference. When John had come into the room, remarking to himself how absolutely lovely this young African-American woman was, he'd quipped to her that this would need to be a 'Grandparent-Teacher' conference. She laughed had gave him her hand.

She did say, after that, that she'd really like to meet Lullabelle's mother sometime in the future. It was then that John Warden had told Serena about Lucy's death from that accident.

He found himself then wandering into much of the story of Lucy, and his apparent failure as a parent. He discovered in that conversation, that Serena was level headed and her point of view was one to consider. She'd simply advocated that because of the way Lucy was and who her friends were, his main choice was to love her, support her and wait for her to work her way out of the situation. She thought that Lucy might have done that, had it not been for the accident.

Serena also expressed her admiration for John and the way that he was being a parent to Lullabelle.

"Oh," he'd answered, "It's like having been given a second chance. I intend to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Serena Markus had liked his attitude. She told him that if there were occasions, when he needed her to keep Lullabelle a little, after school, she'd be happy to do that. She even gave him her cell phone number.

So, today John was taking advantage of the offer and called to tell Serena that he'd be a bit late.

He was apologetic from wall to wall, when he arrived at the school. He parked his car in the side lot and hurried into the school, where Serena was doing some plans and Lullabelle was busy with some drawing that she was doing.

(Lullabelle wanted to be, at that point in her life, an artist. She had a good hand for drawing.)

When she saw him at the door, Lullabelle fairly flew from her chair and ran to him for a hug. He gathered her into his arms and kissed the top of her head, right on the part where her pig tails parted her hair. As he kissed Lullabelle's head, he grinned at Serena, who was grinning back at him.

"Grandpa Johnnie!" Lullabelle said into his chest.

"Sorry, love," he said, "Late at the office!"

"That will cost you an ice cream treat on the way home!" Lullabelle said with great affection.

"For my best girl," he answered, "I'm up to the challenge."

He went to Serena then and held out his hand, thanking her for seeing to Lullabelle for that short time.

"I really appreciate it, Serena," he said, and he gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

(It should or could probably be mentioned, at this point, that Serena Markus was 26 and gorgeous! She had a lovely figure and one of the significant factors of her life was that, since that initial Grandparent-Teacher conference, she had a soft spot for John Warden. It was a kind of life complication that she tried to keep under wraps, and it wasn't aided at all by how lovely, in attitude and also demeanor, plus physical appearance Lullabelle Warden was. In this instance, the hug and kiss only served to kind of stoke her fires. But she pushed those kinds of thoughts away and promised herself that she'd think about them only later at home, in her apartment.)

"Okay, Ms Demands," John said, winking at Serena, "We're off for ice cream! We'll have dinner later tonight."

"You're so cool, Grandpa Johnnie!" Lullabelle said, and turning to Ms Markus she reiterated: "He's so cool!"

"Definitely cool!" Serena said with a grin.

"Where did you learn that language?" John asked.

Lullabelle giggled and just waved at Serena, as they went out the door.

Serena shook her head and sighed, again pushing her thoughts down inside of herself until she had time to visit them at home in private. She worked for a while on her plans and was startled a bit later, when there was a knock on the door. She thought that it was probably the janitor and that it was her cue to get going for the day. The door opened and it was John Warden and Lullabelle again. Only this time, Lullabelle was carrying a dish of chocolate ice cream, soft serve, for Serena.

"What a treat!" Serena said. "You get a hug for that!" she said to Lullabelle, gathering the pretty girl into her arms.

"And you too!" she said to John, going to him, after setting her ice cream down on her desk. She hugged him, molding herself against him in the process.

Thoughts raced across John Warden's mind, during the hug, and he, like Serena, simply tried to push them away.

"I'm going to learn how to cook beginning tonight!" Lullabelle said to a smiling Serena. "Grandpa Johnnie said that I can cook the steaks for dinner."

Lullabelle got a huge smile on her face and said: "Why don't you come to dinner, Ms Serena and I'll cook for you too?"

Serena was obviously embarrassed right away but John Warden only chuckled and said: "Serena, why don't you. I really owe you for being so nice to her nibs here."

Serena stammered, realizing that she was now caught in exactly the kind of situation that she'd often enough pictured for herself.

"I uh, ... I, uh, ... Sure! What time? Only have to go home and clean up!" she stammered.

"Look pretty special to me; don't you think, Lullabelle?" John said.

Lullabelle giggled and said: "Ms Markus always looks special."

All three of them laughed at that point.

"Dinner it is!" John said. "Can you come by at about 6 PM?"

"Yes, fine, very nice!" Serena said. "This is so nice of you!"

"Goodie!" Lullabelle said, fairly jumping for joy. "Dinner with favorites!"

Conversations, Dinner And Progress:

Serena got a hug from her Momma, Shauna, when she got home.

"Hey, my sweet girl," Shauna said, "You look all aglow; what is it? Is it that man?"

Serena giggled. "Yes, Momma," she said. "It's that man."

Serena went into a description then of the events of the afternoon. The hugs from both Lullabelle and John and then the ice cream and the subsequent invitation to dinner.

"Good for you, love," Shauna said, "I only ask you what I've asked in the past; know your own mind and heart. Give that man some room. If he's interested, he'll let you know. If he's not, you'll know that too. But you want to make sure that he knows that you're interested too. You think about that."

"Oh, Momma, you're the best friend a girl ever had!" Serena said, giving her Momma a hug.

"You say that, the way you take care of me and all my problems!" Shauna said. "You're an angel!"

(Shauna Markus had rheumatoid arthritis. It had her using, at this early point in her life, a walker at times. Her physical problems were a constant drain on Serena's teacher's salary. But they were frugal and managed very well. They were close and more like girlfriends than a Mother-Daughter combination. Shauna Markus had been the recipient, for a time now, of Serena's thoughts about both Lullabelle and John Warden, especially John Warden, and at this point, Shauna simply shared Serena's joy about the invitation to dinner.)

"Oh, what'll I wear, Momma?" Serena asked.

"Well, let's go with casual!" Shauna said. "It's too early to assume that totally casual will fit the situation. So, no jeans, not this time. Maybe a nice pair of slacks."

She got a grin on her face and said: "But make it a pair of your butt hugging slacks."

Serena giggled, and said: "Momma!"

"Show the stuff, honey! Just show the stuff!" Shauna said, as Serena grabbed her mother for a hug!

"I'll do that!" Serena said.

She did, in fact, wear a pair of 'butt hugging' slacks. They were beige and showed her lovely, rounded butt to great advantage. This was topped with a blouse that went down past her belt but still let the bottom edge of her butt cheeks, and the impression of her panties show. It made her put her hand over her mouth and giggle, as her Momma clapped and declared that she looked like a combination of an angel and a siren.

Serena was an instant hit, when she arrived at John and Lullabelle's house. Her first impression of the house was that it was large and dazzling. She was met by a very happy Lullabelle, who ran out to give her a 'greeting' hug, about as soon as she parked her car in the long driveway.

"Ms Serena," Lullabelle said with unfeigned energy and joy. "It's so nice of you to come for dinner!"

Serena answered to herself: "No, it's so nice of you to invite me so that I can get closer to your handsome Dad." To Lullabelle she modified the statement and made it a 'thank you' for the dinner invitation.

"See that the welcoming committee has already raised the flags for you," John said, as he moved in for a hug from Serena too.

The hug was fleeting but made a huge impression on both John and Serena, and for the same reason for both of them.

John stood back and said: "I don't mean to embarrass you, Serena, but you look fabulous! Absolutely!"

She grinned up at him, as he was still holding her and he said, over his shoulder to Lullabelle: "Doesn't she look fabulous?"

"She's so pretty!" Lullabelle said.

"Okay, you too," Serena said, "You're going to be turning my head now!" She hesitated only a few seconds and then changed the subject: "What a lovely, lovely house!" she said.

"It's the Casa Lullabelle!" John said, sweeping his arm out in a gesture to show the place.

Lullabelle giggled and Serena joined in a laugh.

"We rattle around in here very nicely," John said, leading both Lullabelle and Serena into the house.

Once they were inside, and Serena had a chance to look around, she was even more impressed with the house.

"Beautiful!" she said.

"Had it built for my Emaline," he said.

"Yes," Serena said, touching his arm, "Sad times; I'm so sorry."

"But here we are!" John said. "And you're going to have to take a chance on a rookie cook tonight."

"Poppa said that I can cook the steaks!" Lullabelle said with obvious pride.

"With supervision!" John added.

"Yes, Poppa," Lullabelle said then, "With supervision!"

They shared a laugh about that.

"Well, at least let me set the table!" Serena said, "Give me instructions too!"

"Oh, I'm good at that!" John said. "Our house lady, who took care of everything, went to move closer to her daughter. We haven't gotten around to replacing her but I'm thinking of it!"

"Ohh," Serena said, "That's what my Mom did for a living!"

"She is?" John asked softly.

"She lives with me," Serena said, "Has rheumatoid arthritis now and has slowed down so much that she had to leave her job. Too slow!"

"Gee," John said, giving Serena an earnest look, "Slow is just fine. We need an organizer here; is what we need. Slow wouldn't matter!"

He grinned at Serena and said: "You'd better introduce me to your Mom!"

They shared a laugh about that but John realized that he was serious.

"Okay, Miss Chef, ready?" he said and Lullabelle was all enthusiasm

Once she got the steaks started, John and Serena worked on the salad and the potatoes. They each had a glass of red wine.

"I don't normally drink wine, or drink," Serena said. "I get funny."

He grinned at her.

"Don't you go deciding to take advantage of me, when I'm funny!" she said softly to John.

"Okay, we'll agree," he answered. "You just tell me, when your funny and I'll take advantage of you all the rest of the time."

Serena put her hand up to her mouth and giggled.

"I'll tell Lullabelle!" she warned.

"She wants me to do it; is encouraging my efforts!" he said.

She giggled again, and they looked at each other. They were in the dining room and almost came together for a kiss.

"Oh dear!" she said.

"Yes, oh dear!" he agreed.

They went into the kitchen then to oversee Lullabelle's cooking.

Dinner was a great treat for all three of them. After dinner, John told Lullabelle that since she'd done the cooking, he'd do the wash up. Serena volunteered to help with the wash us too.

They were side by side at the sink, washing and drying dishes. The feeling in the air was companionable and Serena talked to John about the ups and downs of her life, the most recent being her Momma's rheumatoid arthritis, that had her out of her job and sidelined.

"Probably mega medical bills," he said.

"Yes," she said, "But we do well enough with our small apartment."

Then it was John's turn. He talked about being the pride of his Momma and Poppa and of his Poppa taking him into the business, which had prospered since then. Then it was about the tragedies with his Emaline and then Lucy also.

"It was such a wakeup call for me," he said, "I'm determined to be the best father/grandfather that Lullabelle can possibly have."

She put her hand on his arm and said: "From every indication, it seems that you're doing a great job with that lovely, little girl."

That was the final impetus for John Warden. He turned to her, while her hand was still on his arm. In one fluid movement, that was answered by her with a mere noise in her throat, John had her in his arms and they were kissing.

He was impressed with the softness of her lips and the absolutely physical presence of her, as she was pressed against him.

He was instantly embarrassed by the way his growing erection poked against her.

"Sorry," he said, moving back a step. "Haven't had that kind of reaction for years!"

She giggled, and he said: "But haven't had that kind of kiss for years!"

She gazed up at him and said: "No 'sorries' needed here. I'll take that as a salute and then I'll raise you one more kiss!"

She was pressed against him then and they were kissing. The first kiss was the soft one, all lips and loveliness. This kiss was the passionate one, with promises, and open lips and her tongue fluttering against his lips and teeth.

"Ohhhh," he groaned, "That was so fine!"

"Yes, it was!" she said softly.

"Dishes getting done?" a small voice said from the doorway. Lullabelle was looking at the two of them and grinning for all that she was worth.

The two of them then, traded looks with each other and laughed. It was John who answered:

"Not just now, Miss Nosey!" he said, and Lullabelle giggled and joined the hug with her Grandpa John and her teacher Ms Markus.

She had her head leaned against both her Grandpa John's and Ms Markus' sides. Each in turn, bent to plant a kiss on her head.

"Oh, I like this!" Lullabelle said.

Serena just looked at John with a smile and leaned in for another kiss.

"Do you mean that?" John asked Lullabelle then.

"Yes, Grandpa Johnnie," Lullabelle answered. "That's what I mean. I mean the three of us together! That's what I like!"

A Proposal To Take Over:

They finished the cleanup and John asked Serena if she'd like to stay for some TV watching. Lullabelle was in her room at that point.

"Oh, John," Serena said, "After those kisses, I'd love to and not only for TV but I need to get home to Momma."

"Yes, I understand," he said. "It was lovely of you to come to dinner."

At that point, Serena took the opportunity to go give Lullabelle a hug and a kiss.

"I'm going to stay here," Lullabelle said. "You two are probably going to be kissing again."

"What a great idea," John said, "Didn't think of it myself!"

They all three were laughing then, as John walked Serena out toward the door that led to the driveway. As they walked along, her Momma's words echoed in Serena's mind, about letting him know that she's interested.

When they got to the door to the driveway, she turned to him.

"Another kiss now!" she said.

"Yes, at least," he answered and pulled her to him.

She took that moment to unbutton the waistband of her slacks and, by the time, they were hugging, she had her slacks down to her thighs. She guided his hands down to her panty covered butt cheeks.

He looked down at her with a grin on his face.

"Welcome to perfection!" he said.

They kissed.

"Grandpa Johnnie likes the teacher's butt?" she whispered to him.

"Love the teacher's but! Feels so satiny and smooth. Lovely feeling the panties and being able to get my hands on those cheeks!" he said into her ear.

"What if I do this?" she asked, now pushing her panties down on top of her slacks.

"Oh, damn!" he said, "Woman, you'll make me explode in my pants."

"Got you where I want you, Grandpa Johnnie!" she said.

She kissed him then, while his hands were on her butt cheeks and then rummaging around the front of her and were on her belly and feeling her pubic hair and pussy.

"Hmmmm," she moaned into his ear.

They parted then and she pulled her panties and slacks up, while he cast appreciative glances at her.

She gave him an earnest stare then and said: "John, I need to tell you that I don't only want to be a play thing! That certainly! Your play thing but I don't want only that."

"I understand," he said, "The doors that are opening are opening to the entire future. That's what I think."

"Oh," she said, as she put her head against his shoulder. She looked up at him and grinned saying: "Pants all done up again; that is, until the next time!"

"Oh, good," he answered, "I was wondering about a next time!"

A Consultation:

John had made up his mind about what he wanted to do and put it into operation the very next week.

He went to Serena and her Mom's apartment and rang the bell.

"Yes, who is it," the voice over the intercom asked.

"It's John Warden," he said.

"You mean Serena's John Warden?" the voice said.

"Yes, Ma'am," John said, "I'd like to talk to you, if I may."

"Well, please come in," she said, buzzing him in.

She greeted him at the door, extending a hand to him, as he entered the apartment.

"I can see where Serena gets her beauty from!" he said, and Shauna Markus smiled at him.

"Please come in and sit down," she said to him. "Would you like coffee?"

"No, thank you, Ma'am," he said, "I don't want to put you to any trouble."

She smiled at him, and said: "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Well," he said, "I thought that we'd conspire a bit."

"Conspire?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, "Serena told me that you have experience managing households."

"Yes, it's what I did," Shauna answered, "Until I became inflicted with this rheumatoid arthritis. Then I became, um, too 'slow' for the job."

"I see," he said. "Well, what I want to say is that I'm looking for someone to manage my household and 'slow' fits the lifestyle there very well."

"Did my daughter put you up to this?" Shauna asked kindly.

"No," he said, "She didn't; as a matter of fact, I thought of asking her first if I might have her permission to ask you this but I'm being bold here."

"Bold, yes," she said, "It sounds like a wonderful opportunity."

"Could we, perhaps, go look at the house together?" he asked.

"That might be the best thing," she said. "It's an interesting opportunity. I loved that life style."

They went to his car. She moved slowly but made it okay. When they got to the house, he showed her around, to let her see the kitchen facilities and all.

"I use a cleaning company," he said, "I would ask you to simply coordinate with them and see that the cleaning is done."

"Good!" she said.

"And I cook but would share that chore with you, if it's what you'd like," he went on.

"You're being very nice, Mr Warden," he said. "Are you doing this because you're sweet on my Serena?"

He laughed: "I am definitely 'sweet' on your Serena, as is my beautiful Lullabelle but I've wanted to look for another housekeeper for a bit and have only now gotten around to it."

"Fine," she said, "Shall we talk about specifics then, Mr Warden?"

"Coffee?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, "Show me where the things are and I'll make it."

"Wonderful," he said.

She made the coffee, after he showed her around the kitchen, and they sat and drank their coffee and talked about the job.

Finally, he took a paper out of his pocket and pushed it toward her.

"This is what I have in mind," he said.

She glanced at the paper and then her eyes went up to his: "Are you serious?" she asked. "It's a huge amount of money."

"It's what I paid the former housekeeper. I'll give you her name, if you wish to contact her."

"My, my, Mr Warden!" she said.

"There are, of course, rooms on the other side of the house for you; you'll have all the privacy that you wish," he went on. "And your own office is right here off of the kitchen."

Then she asked: "And my daughter?"

"Serena and I are only beginning," he said. "I know that. My aim for her is to take care of her in the manner that her beauty demands of me."

"You fill a Momma's heart talking like that, Mr Warden!" she said.

"But I don't want to rush her," he said.

"No, I guess not," Shauna said, "But Serena knows her heart and I have to say that you've been part of that for a time now."

"Good!" he said. "Now shall we celebrate our new arrangement by me taking you to lunch?"

"Lovely idea," she said. "I'm supposed to meet Serena for dinner. She works a bit late tonight. Will you join us and we can tell her this?"

"Love to, but I need to bring my sidekick!" he said.

"Yes, by all means!" was her answer.

Serena and her Momma were settled down at a favorite seafood restaurant. They had only settled down, when suddenly Lullabelle appeared at the table.

"Lullabelle!" Serena said surprised. Then she saw John standing there and she smiled a broad smile. She noticed right away that her Momma was smiling also. She knew immediately that her Momma knew about this.

"Momma!" she said, and giggled. By then, Serena was standing and she hugged Lullabelle and went to John for a hug and a kiss.

"Hi, Grandpa Johnnie!" she said, once the kiss was finished.

"Do you lovely ladies mind if we join you?" John asked.

"Please do!" Serena said, and, when John glanced at Shauna, she nodded her head in assent.

"So nice to see you," Serena said.

"Well, I have to admit," John said, "That this is a conspiracy."

"Conspiracy? Momma?" Serena said.

"Just listen to the man," Shauna said to Serena.

"Yes," John went on, "Your Momma is letting her employer do the talking."

"Employer?" Serena said, "I don't understand."

"Okay," John said, "Enough teasing. Let me tell you. He went on to explain his newly made arrangement with her Momma to be his housekeeper."

"She's going to be paid to keep Miss Lullabelle in line!" he said, and got giggles from Lullabelle and laughter from the others.

"This is so sudden," Serena said, "And wonderful too!"

She turned then and hugged her Momma and said a tearful: "Oh, Momma! How nice for you!"

"Nice for all of us!" Shauna said.

They settled in for the meal then, with John declaring that he was paying, and they talked about details. They made arrangements, among themselves, for when Shauna would be moved into her rooms at John's house.

"I think that I'll have you on the payroll as of tomorrow," he said.

"Thank you, Mr Warden," she said.

"No," he said, holding up his hands. "That will never do! It's John. Or, to some people Grandpa Johnnie." Both Serena and Lullabelle grinned, when he said that.

"Momma, I'm so pleased!" Serena said. "This is wonderful!"

"Have the apartment all to yourself again," Shauna said.

"Yes, but I'll hate to see you go," Serena answered.

"Then make sure that you come and visit often," John put in.

They split up then, after the dinner. John took Lullabelle home and oversaw a bit of homework and then, after her bath, he tucked her into bed.

"It'll be so nice to have Mrs Markus here, Grandpa," Lullabelle said.

A Phone Call And A Visit:

Serena's cell phone rang at 11 PM.

"Hello!" she said.

"Want to come over and get funny with a glass of wine?" John asked her.

"Oh, best offer that I've had today!" she said.

"Good," he answered.

"Only offer I've had today!" she said next.

"Don't know why," he answered, "You are blindingly beautiful!"

"Ohh, you talk so nice!" she said.

"Shall I pick you up?" he asked.

"No," she said, "I'll be right there."

She went to her Momma's room and, seeing a light, knocked on the door.

"Yes, sweetie?" Shauna said.

"Momma, John called and invited me over for a glass of wine," Serena said, all grins.