Chapter 60: A Trip to the Cold

Two days later Erica came over for what was officially an extended visit to see if she could integrate with the household. Morgan even had me declared her official guardian. That brought lots of giggles from my younger sister and more than a few friendly taunts from my two ladies.

Walter was avoiding the courtyard again. It seemed he had not liked losing a rhetorical battle with me. Jason reported that he failed to show up at lunch while Ashley and I were at the testing center, and we did not see him there for the rest of the week. Sadly, Kelsey was missing from school entirely and what rumors we heard suggested that she was hanging out with The AstroGoths, a gang of poseurs who hung out just north of the Town Center Mall.

Saturday morning, Lenore, Ashley and I took Angelique and Erica down to the treehouse. I ended up carrying Angelique up the rope ladder, but both girls were thrilled once they were inside and Ashley pulled out a deck of cards.

We actually got a game in before a man shouted up from below the treehouse. I looked down and found a man wearing a tight fitting bodysuit looked up. "We thought it best to set the teleport down here," he said. "Is the girl ready?"

I looked over at Erica. She had a puzzled look on her face.

"Go with him," I said. "He'll bring you back, I promise."

Erica was not happy, but she climbed down the ladder and took the man's hand. Two hours later she returned alone. She had a huge smile on her face as she scrambled up into the treehouse. Once inside she pulled her t-shirt up to show her belly. The angry red scars had all vanished. "It doesn't hurt!" she sang out.

We cautioned her to tell no one about it and then got her to sit through two games of Old Maid before returning to the house. Becky and Beatrice were thrilled to see the smile on Erica's face as she ran into the house looking for a snack.

Morgan stood next to me as everyone else disappeared into the kitchen. "That was a fine thing you did," he told me.

I nodded, but worried a bit about the future. We had plans to go skiing for a couple of weekends and then the trip to Japan to view the cherry blossoms.

"I just hope it doesn't get me in trouble," I said. "We have a lot planned."

Morgan nodded. "And I found out the blossom forecast for Tokyo. They expect the flowers to open around the last week of March. Beatrice has arranged a flight out the last Saturday in the month. We have reservations for a week in Tokyo and then plans to travel the country for another week. There is a lot to see."

"Jason will want to visit the shopping districts," I said. "I'll have to ask Jessica. I bet she'll have Kathy in goth outfits every day though."

"Humm," Morgan said. "Perhaps I should do something for Becky. She's a bit old for any of those outfits though."

"I know," I said with a nod. "I could probably get my ladies to dress up, but I thought I'd save it for a convention or something."

"Well, skiing is up next weekend. Ready for a trip up to Tahoe?" Morgan asked.

"I've never skied before," I admitted.

Morgan laughed. "Unless Jessica and her girls have, not one person in our group has skied before. We'll drive up on a Thursday night so we can pay for a group lesson on Friday."

"More missed school," I said with a smirk. "Should I invite Liz?"

"Think she'll want to join?" Morgan asked.

"We'll see," I said as we walked toward the kitchen.

The rest of that weekend was spent entertaining a very energetic and happy Erica. The healing had removed her pain. She also felt pretty. One thing she demanded was that we take her to the mall so she could purchase some tops that revealed her midriff. Morgan and I both said she was too young, but the smile on the young girl's face made it hard to press the issue.

Liz did agree to join us for the ski trip and Cassidy enthusiastically accepted an invitation. Cassidy had experience with cross country skiing, but no one else had skied before. We did have to make a mass trip to a sporting goods store that rented equipment. The store manager was shocked by the amount of equipment we rented, but merrily suggested some accessories we might want.

Thursday, Jason, Jessica, Liz, me and our friends made sure that we turned in all our homework for the next week. Several teachers glared at us as we left our classes that day, but none had tests planned for Friday.

We gathered in the parking lot after our last classes. Jason looked around as he counted how many people were with us. "Mark? We have eighteen people now don't we? How will we all fit?"

I was trying to count heads when two large vans drove up. The first stopped right next to us with the sliding door right in front of us. I looked at the front seat and could see Lenore sitting there.

"Ask and you get an answer," I said. "If I'm right these can carry fifteen people each. One probably has all the ski equipment."

The door opened. Erica was standing there with a huge smile on her face. "We're going to see snow!" she said.

"After an eleven hour drive," Lenore observed. "Everyone needs to board quickly. We need to get going now."

"What about food?" Jason asked.

"Already taken care of," Lenore said. "We stopped at KFC for food. Morgan has more in the other van."

"Let me guess that one has the equipment," I said. "I should probably ride with him."

"Do and die," Lenore said. "He's got Beatrice with him and Becky will switch out later. I'd say have Jason ride with them for now with his ladies. You ride with me. Angelique's seat is in the back row already."

"Oh, I can play with her," Ashley said. "I have that new game on my phone."

Ashley dashed ahead. She gave Erica a pat on the head and scurried into the van. I shrugged and followed, taking a seat in the first row of seats.

Everyone seemed to take that as a signal and minutes later Becky was driving the van to the freeway. I could see that she had her phone giving her driving directions as she drove us from the city and headed north.

It was a long drive. We really only had five drivers, but Ashley and Leticia both took turns driving to help keep us moving along. Still it was about three in the morning when we finally pulled into the hotel parking lot. Lenore was driving the main van with me watching the navigation since everyone else was sleeping. Jana was at the wheel of the other van as we came to a stop.

"I need about seven hours of sleep," Lenore said. "And then I need seven hours with your cock in my pussy."

I glanced back, but Erica and Angelique were fast asleep. "We'll see," I said. "For now I'll check with Morgan and see if we can still get rooms."

It turned out that Beatrice had not only called the reservations in, but she had been using her cell phone to keep the front desk informed of our progress and the fact that we would arrive very tired. Two bellhops and a valet showed up as I was opening the door to step out. The manager followed a moment later and quickly got us checked into rooms near the lobby. I had to carry Erica and Angelique into the room and lay them on a bed, but everyone was in a bed before three-thirty.

Five hours later, Angelique woke me up by jumping on the bed. "Snow!" she cried out.

I used the pillow to smother a laugh. Lenore just waved her hand as if she was trying to swat a fly. Her daughter just leaned away from the hand and then dropped her knees into my back. "Get up! We go to the snow!" she demanded.

I rolled over. Angelique squealed with delight as she was dumped onto the mattress. The noise woke Ashley. My blond love opened one eye and looked at me. "Wake me when its Sunday," she complained faintly.

Angelique gave a cry of outrage and tried to climb over me. I grabbed her around the waist and half-heartedly tickled her as I sat up. "I don't think Angel will let us," I said. "She wants to see the snow."

"It's white and cold," Ashley complained. "I'd rather cuddle with my warm and loving husband."

"When I find him, I'll send him in. I'm going to dress and take Angelique to breakfast," I said.

"Daddy!" Angelique squealed in delight as I crawled out from under the covers. Ashley and Lenore both clutched the blankets tightly forcing me to squirm a bit before I had freed my legs.

Once I had my feet on the floor I realized that the room was a bit cold. I looked at Angelique and realized that someone must have set out clothing for her. She was wearing a brand new ski outfit that Lenore must have picked up from the sporting goods store. It was even zipped up properly.

"Angel?" I asked as I confirmed that the zipper on the jacket was secure.

"I got her dressed," Erica said. "I figured you needed a bit more sleep, but she wanted to get going."

"And you are probably hungry too," I said as I looked over at the nine year old girl. The week she had spent with us had included a lot of time studying with Becky and Lenore. The two high school dropouts had insisted on making sure that Erica had the best education possible. From their reports Erica was a remarkably intelligent young lady who needed affirmation that she was loved.

Erica just smiled as I walked over to my suitcase. I looked over at Angelique and Erica as I pulled some jeans from the case.

"I'll get dressed in the bathroom and then we can head to breakfast," I promised. "Give me five minutes."

Angelique jumped up and down. The smile on her face was huge as I collected the rest of my outfit for the day and headed to the restroom to change.

When I emerged Ashley and Lenore were still sleeping. Erica had managed to keep Angelique quiet by turning on the television and turning the sound down. She grabbed the remote as Angelique dashed over to me.

"Snow!" Angelique insisted.

"Food first, and then I'll see if Morgan is ready to drive," I said. "I guess we can go first and get started."

I walked over to the door. Angelique ran up to follow. She was so fast I nearly smacked her with the door as it opened. Erica grabbed for the three year old as she exited the hotel room and started running down the hallway towards the elevators.

"Angel!" Erica shouted as she took off in pursuit.

There was some grumbling from Ashley and Lenore as I closed the door. I could see the elevator doors from where I stood in the hallway. Angelique was jumping up to press the call button as Erica stood behind her.

A door opened as I started to march down the hallway. Jana Kirke stepped out as I passed. She was dressed in an amazingly tight green fleece jacket over some black ski pants. I noticed she was wearing a fleece headband as well. She smiled as we walked down the hallway together.

"Jason decided to sleep in a bit," Jana said. "I wanted to get out and ski."

"You have practice don't you?" I asked.

"My family was too poor," Jana said. "But I figure early practice will be good. Letty and I have a bet."

Jana was leering slightly as we arrived in the waiting area for the elevators. I looked over at the two young girls who were watching the doors. "I won't ask," I said.

Jana laughed. "Good. So are you ready?"

"Boots, skis, goggles and poles are in the van," I said. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. How warm is it outside though?"

"It should be pleasant," Jana said. "The forecast was for it to be cold, but not too cold. There should be no clouds, and not a lot of wind."

"So a good day for skiing," I said. "I just hope that Angelique can handle the cold."

"What about Erica?" Jana asked as the elevator doors opened.

"She's without pain for the first time in ages. I expect she'll want to try some hard runs once she gains some confidence," I said.

I put a hand on Erica's head as we entered the elevator. "But Erica is a smart girl. She won't try anything harder than a blue square today."

"What's a blue square?" Angelique asked.

"It indicates a slope that's a bit difficult, but not very. We'll start on green circles first. Blue squares are the second level," I said.

"You know this?" Jana asked.

"I looked at a trail map for the resort we are going to," I said. "I wanted an idea of what to expect."

Jana smiled. "You keep busy," she said. "What do we do about breakfast?"

The elevator doors opened. I pointed over to an alcove just to the left of the check-in desk. "There is supposed to be a buffet in there," I said. "It's part of the service here. I remember Becky mentioning it before she switched vans last night."

Angelique had been standing just in front of the elevator as I spoke. She looked up at my hand and then took off running towards the alcove I had pointed at.

"Hey! No running in the lobby," I called out.

Angelique slowed down a little, but continued heading to the alcove. Jana laughed as I took off after her.

Breakfast was a surprisingly fun affair. Morgan and Becky wandered down while I was helping Angelique select a couple of pastries. Maurice and Matti stumbled in a few minutes later.

Maurice looked at me as I stood and waited for a server to cook an omelet for me. "I'm not sure I can survive four," he said mournfully as he grabbed a plate and walked over to join me. "But if you ever tell anyone at school."

I laughed. "I know the fear. That's why I only have two so far."

Maurice nodded. "Where are they?" he asked.

"Sleeping," I said. "I'm guessing your three are as well."

"Not mine," Maurice said. "Jessica has made that perfectly clear. I just get to be their plaything."

He smiled sheepishly and then gave me a conspiratorial wink. "Don't tell them, but I like being a plaything."

Jana giggled as she came over and joined us. "I do too, but don't tell Jason that please. I want him to lust for me all the time."