Epilogue – What Happened

I was awakened by the curtains in my bedroom being drawn open, sunshine washing across my face. The pain of the sudden light banged across my retinas, even behind closed eyelids. Then came the voice:

“Rise and Shine!” she yelled. “Time to get up and face the music!” It was Jenny, my next-door neighbor’s thirteen-year-old child with the intemperate volume and enthusiasm. She bounced on the bed and yelled, “Lou says, and I quote, ‘Get your lazy butt out of bed!’”

I squinted one eye at the bouncing bundle of energy beside me. I certainly wasn’t ready to get out of bed with this imp in the room with me. Afterall, I was still naked under the covers!

I lifted my bleary head and looked around. Gone were both Lou and Gina. At least, they had given me some sleep time. I turned my head to the headboard to see the time: 11:30 AM! Wow! I’d slept about six hours. My head, however, was saying I needed more sleep. I fell back, groaning.

But Jenny wasn’t having any of it. She grabbed the edge of the covers and started pulling. “Come on, Jonny! Lou’s got breakfast and the girls want to eat before they go home!”

“I don’t have anything on!” I shouted.

“So?” she asked, just as loudly.

“Get out of here and I’ll get up and dressed, you mean brat, you!”

She jumped off the bed. “I quote Lou, again: ‘Get your butt out of bed!’ and she reached over and swatted me on the butt.

“Oh, I’m so going to get you!” I yelled as she scooted out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

“Promises, promises,” was all I heard as she skipped down the hall.

I groaned again, throwing the covers off of me and sitting up. I rubbed my face, stood up and stumbled into the ensuite. I took a quick shower after I took a razor to my face. I was amazed how much that revived me. I was also amazed by the fact that my eyes were not all red and bloodshot. As tired as my mind felt, my face and body didn’t seem to be any worse for the wear and tear I’d put on them last night.

I pulled on socks, jeans, and a pullover and made my way down the hall to the kitchen, where I could hear voices murmuring.

I stepped into the kitchen and saw Jake doing some sort of trick for Naomi, who was seated at the breakfast table. Lou was working eggs in a fry pan next to Gina who had an electric skillet cooking some bacon. Ruth was over by the door opposite mine, leaning on the door jamb, just watching the scene, while Jenny was on the floor watching Naomi and Jake. It was all very domestic, like something out of a modern version of “Little Women.” I cleared my throat.

That brought everything to a standstill. Lou gestured to Ruth, who came over and took over the eggs. Lou sashayed around Gina and came over to me, put her arms around my neck and gave me a nice kiss. “Good morning, sleepy head,” she said. She said it actually very gently and pulled me over to the kitchen table. “Breakfast will be ready in just a few minutes.” Just then, the toaster popped and she hurried over to it to pull the bread out and started spreading margarine on the toast.

“Bacon’s done,” announced Gina.

“So are the eggs,” said Ruth.

Naomi got up and went to the microwave and turned it on. About thirty seconds later, it dinged and she pulled out a platter piled high with pancakes and set it on the table. That was soon followed by the bacon and the eggs, and the ladies, including Jenny, all pulled out chairs and sat down.

Lou held out her hand to me and I took it and I saw that the others had put out their hands and each was grasped in turn. Jenny sat on my other side and I took her hand. Lou looked at me and said, “Care to ask grace for these hoydens?”

I nodded and began. “Lord, we come to you this beautiful morning with glad and easy hearts. We thank you for the new life you have brought into our lives and for the friendships that were forged over the last twenty-four hours. Bless the food before us, that it might nourish us. Bless the hands that prepared it, so that they will have rich, full lives. And bless the hands that helped create the food, that they might continue to feed themselves, us and the world. And, Lord, bless the men and women who keep us safe that we may eat in peace. We ask that in your name, Amen.”

There was a chorus of ‘amens’ around the table but I could feel the energy nearly bursting out of the child sitting next to me. “Lou,” said Jenny, “what’s a hoyden?”

“That’s an old Gaelic term for loud and boisterous women,” said Lou.

“It’s also used to describe a tomboy,” said Gina. “I’m told you are both!”

Jenny had the good grace to blush as she was dishing some scrambled eggs onto her plate. It was already loaded with a couple of pancakes and several pieces of bacon. She looked at me. “Is that what I am, Jonny? Am I a hoyden?”

“I think,” I said, “that Lou was meaning all of you girls, herself included. Believe me, you all get loud sometimes, and I think that any woman worth her salt has some tomboy in her!”

Jenny sat up a little straighter. I noticed that her chest pushed out a little more than I had noticed in the past. Was she growing up? I know I wasn’t ready for that, and certainly her parents weren’t. Was I biting off more than I could chew agreeing to her staying with me for a month or so? I guess I’d find out then.

“Well,” she declared, “if all of us women are hoydens, then maybe we should form a club!” The other ladies around the table all laughed, but Jenny wasn’t dismayed because she laughed right along with them.

Soon, all you could hear was the scrape of forks on plates and gurgle of juice going down throats. It was a fine breakfast, and I was glad that I had enough for everyone to fill up on. There was even some fruit, including sliced bananas, strawberries, and blueberries, making the rounds.

As we were finishing, Ruth said, “I’ll help with dishes, but then I need to get going. I have class tomorrow morning.”

“Class?” said Jenny. “Are you still going to school?”

“Yes, Jenny,” she replied. “I’m a senior at university. Next year, I’ll be taking classes in law school. I want to be a judge, like my father.”

“A judge?” Jenny’s voice rose in pitch. “You mean women can be real judges, not just like Judge Judy?”

Naomi, who had picked up several of the dishes and was coming back for more, leaned in and hugged Jenny. “Yep,” she said. “You know you can be anything you want to be, right?”

“I guess,” said Jenny, “but I guess I never really thought about it before.”

Gina spoke up then: “What do you want to be, Jenny?” There was a general bustle with the women getting the dishes to the sink and then starting to wash them. Jenny picked up her plate and utensils while Gina gathered hers and mine and together they walked over to the sink.

“Well,” said Jenny, hesitating a little. “I don’t really know, yet. I love animals, so I’ve thought of being a veterinarian. But I also love books, so I might be a librarian. I like science, too, so maybe I’ll be a scientist. What do you think I should be?”

It was interesting to watch and listen to the women conversing with Jenny. They didn’t treat her like an annoying child, but spoke with her like I tried to speak with her, as an adult who was looking for advice. Despite my having been a bachelor for so many years, it was actually a wonderfully warm and loving experience: no jealousy, no recriminations, no egos. Just wonderful.

Eventually, the conversation turned to Faith and what had happened the night before. Jenny was flabbergasted. She turned on me. “You almost delivered a BABY!!” she yelled.

I got up, my hands in front of me in a placating gesture. “No, I did not,” I said. “Her water broke while she was here. We got her to the hospital in plenty of time. A doctor did the delivering. I just held her hand, that’s all.”

“But you got to see a baby being born!” exclaimed Jenny. “I want to see the baby!”

“Ruth and I are going over to the hospital before we go home, Jonny,” said Naomi. We can take Jenny over if you’ll pick her up later.”

“Please, Jonny,” pleaded Jenny. “Please, please, please!”

“Not up to me, Jenny,” I said. “You need to ask your mother. If she says ‘yes,’ then I’ll be happy to pick you up from the hospital.”

Jenny was gone like a shot, the screen door slamming after her. Jake looked up at me as if saying, “What did you say to her?” The ladies in the kitchen were all laughing.

“I want to go see the baby, too,” said Gina, “before I have to head for home. I’ll drive myself and leave from there.”

Lou looked at me. “I’d like to see him, too,” she said quietly.

So, it was decided that Naomi and Ruth would take Jenny if her mom said it would be OK, and Gina and Lou would go together in Gina’s car. I’d bring up the rear a bit later. No sense in wearing Faith and little Adam out entirely in one day.

The phone rang and I answered and explained to Jenny’s mother what was going on. She agreed to the plan, but stipulated that Jenny needed to be home by 6 PM so that if she had any homework, she could get it done. I had no problem with that, and so, by about 1 PM I had the house to myself.

I started to sit, but then it occurred to me that if I sat, I’d probably go to sleep and I didn’t want to not get Jenny and Lou, so, instead, I took Jake for a walk. He was happy with that, and when I got home, I changed clothes and went over to the hospital. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got there.

I went to Faith’s room and I found that Naomi, Ruth and Gina had all left. Faith was sitting up in bed watching Lou holding little Adam with Jenny sitting facing Lou. Lou was in a rocker, going back and forth and when I arrived, she looked up at me with eyes bright with tears. “Jonny,” she said, “he’s so beautiful!”

I came over and knelt there beside the rocker facing Lou. “He is, at that,” I said. I looked at Faith. “You do good work, woman!” She just beamed at me.

“Thank you,” she said. “But I couldn’t have done it without Logan.”

I wondered where he was. “They’re going to discharge me tomorrow,” said Faith, “if nothing goes wrong. He needed to go home and get things ready there and bring back the car with the baby carrier in it. We can’t go home without the proper car seat, you know.”

I hadn’t thought about that. With everything else I had to think about, it just wasn’t on my radar, I guess. After about a half-hour of chit chat, I told Lou and Jenny that it was time to go. Lou handed the baby to Jenny before getting out of the rocker, and Jenny slowly, reluctantly returned the baby to Faith. Lou came over and gave Faith a kiss on the cheek. I was surprised when Jenny did the same thing, but I was not surprised when they both gave Adam a kiss, too.

Faith looked at Lou. “Could I talk to Jonny alone for a minute?” she asked.

Lou nodded her head and looked inscrutably at me. “Be nice,” she murmured as she turned and left the room, herding Jenny before her.

I turned to Faith. “Yes?” I asked. “What can I do for you?”

Faith carefully put Adam down beside her and gestured for me to come closer. She was wearing the red babydoll top she had been wearing the night before, and it was very loose as she bent forward a little. I put my head down next to hers, trying not to ogle her leaking breasts. They had made two wet spots in the top where her nipples grazed the material.

“I just wanted to thank you for everything,” she said, softly. “Last night I felt so beautiful before my contractions started, and you made me feel so safe and protected once they did. You didn’t have to stay with me, and you have no idea how special I felt when you did stay and held my hand.”

“Faith,” I said, “it’s nothing more than I would do for anyone.”

“I know,” she replied, “but that it was me you helped made me feel so special. Lou tells me you’re working on getting her pregnant. All I can say is, I wish it was me.” She blushed, then put her arms around me pulling me in close to her. “You’re going to make such a good daddy,” she said and she gave me a sound kiss on the lips. “Now, go and make Lou happy with you!”

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and said my goodbyes. I reminded her that she was going to find some money in her bank account by the end of the week, and I jokingly told her not to spend it all on Adam. Then I left her as she picked up the baby, lifted her top and put him to her breast. I could hear him suckling all the way out into the hall.

Lou and Jenny were waiting for me and each of them took an arm and guided me out of the hospital. None of us said much on the way home, but once we were there, Jenny turned to me.

“Thank you, Jonny,” she said, and raised up on her tip-toes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. She turned and ran home, slamming her door in the process. Oh, how the doors in our two houses must hate her!

“Yes,” said Lou. “Thank you. You’re a good guy, you know that?” She linked her arm with mine and led me into the house. We started some dinner, put it into the oven and then took Jake for one more walk. After dinner, we tidied up a bit and just enjoyed the quiet. We were both tired and went to bed earlier than we normally would. We didn’t even make love, just held each other before she rolled over and I spooned myself against her back. She took my hand and pressed it to her breast and murmured something, but I couldn’t exactly hear what she said. However, I said, “I love you, too,” and that seemed sufficient. Soon, her even breathing let me know she was asleep and I soon joined her.

It was early the next morning when I woke up, still spooned with Lou, only she was spooning me! Jake was sitting next to the bed, his breath hot in my face.

“OK, OK,” I whispered. “I’m coming.” He seemed satisfied with that and went trotting out of the bedroom and down the hall, his nails clicking on the bare floor. I extricated myself from Lou’s embrace, getting a protesting moan out of her, and went and let Jake out while I took care of business. I got dressed as quietly as I could, found Jake and took him for a quick walk around the block. Of course, around the block in this neighborhood was more like a mile or more, but we did it in pretty good time, about twenty minutes.

When we got back, I headed straight for the shower, only to find Lou starting to climb in. The curve of her ass was always a turn-on for me, and today was no different. I quickly shed my clothes and joined her in the steaming, streaming water where I wrapped her in my arms, taking the soap from her hands.

“Have you washed your hair yet?” I asked as I used my hands to make sure her body was well drenched.

“No, I just got in here,” she replied. “Care to do the job?” She turned her back to the spray, wetting her hair thoroughly. I spied shampoo down near my knee, grabbed it, and poured out a generous helping into my hand. I proceeded to soap her hair, using my strong fingers to massage her scalp in the process of cleaning her hair.

When I was done with that, I put a hand to the small of her back and leaned her backward into the water’s stream, using my one hand to work the water into the hair, dispersing the shampoo. While I had her in that position, I leaned down and took one of her nipples into my mouth and I sucked. She sucked in a large breath in response, but I didn’t give her much of a chance to do more than put her hands on my shoulders before I straightened her upright again.

I put some more shampoo in her hair and again massaged her head while washing her hair. I know that she loves that, and I love doing it for her. This time, instead of bending her over backwards to rinse her hair, I pulled her towards me out of the water stream and I took the soap and proceeded to thoroughly wash her body. I loved doing her arms and legs, but I took especial care to wash her torso, holding and rubbing her breasts, trying to tweak her wet and slippery nipples.

When I was done with her torso, I knelt down and washed her feet, then her legs. I was gentle when I washed her pussy and ass, after which I stood up and turned her around and washed her back. When I was done, I gently pushed her under the showerhead and sluiced the water and soap from her body while she rinsed out her hair. She turned when she was done and wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a deep kiss.

“Thank you,” she breathed. “I love it when you wash me. You’re so gentle you just drive me crazy!” She moved us around until I was under the spray. “Your turn,” she said, handing me the shampoo. I’m too tall for her to properly wash my hair, so while I was doing that, she washed my body, taking care to wash my cock squeaky clean.

I have a razor in the shower, which I used to scrape my face clean of my day-old beard. When I was finished, Lou gestured for the razor and she started to shave her legs. Now, I’m not one to get all bent out of shape about a woman using my razor to do that, but I decided I wanted to do it for her. I took the razor from her and knelt down before her. I kissed her pussy then proceeded to shave her legs. Her look of concern melted as I did that, and I made sure to get all of her legs, right up to the crease where her ass meets her thighs and even the tops of her feet.

I made sure that the razor was clean of stubble and hair, then reached up and soaped up her pussy lips and proceeded to shave them and the area above her pussy. Lou started to protest and shy away from me, but my admonishment to hold still or I might cut her stopped her protests. She stayed steady as I took the razor all over her pussy and even bent over so I could get the hairs around her asshole. The showerhead was a hand-held model, and I took it, turned it on to ‘pulsate’ and proceeded to rinse her clean of soap.

I was a little devious in that I held the sprayer on her clit longer than necessary and in moments she was squirming, pleading with me to stop. I did, and when I stood up, I gave her a long, sensuous kiss. She wriggled against me and took the razor from my hand.

“Your turn,” she said. She took the soap and lathered up my balls and cock, then knelt before me just as I had knelt before her, and despite my protests, proceeded to shave me. Her admonishment to me was the same as mine to her: ‘stand still or you might get cut!’ Believe me when I say that I stood still - I was a statue!