Chapter 7

As usual, I awoke first the next morning. I shook Linda awake, and slipped over the the bathroom for a quick shower. Linda followed me a few minutes later and slipped into the shower as I was getting out. We played a little grab-ass, but in the interest of quiet, didn’t go much further.

I got dressed quickly, and headed to the kitchen, where I put on a pot of coffee. While it was dripping, I got the paper and flipped through it. As usual, it was more paper than news.

I was feeling pretty peckish, so I decided to fix a big breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon maple link sausage, and pancakes.

I started the bacon frying slowly in one skillet, and the sausage in another. I watched it cook for a while, keeping it all turned to cook evenly. I was ready to mix up the pancake batter when Loren came wandering in.

“G’morning, Tommy”, she said with a yawn, “You’re an early bird. I heard the shower, so I guess Linda’s up too.” She was wearing a long, light blue sleep shirt. I could see her nipples poking against the knit material. “I guess I’ll get a shower after breakfast.”

“Yep- can’t change the habits of almost a half-century. Coffee’s on. Cups are in the cabinet to the left of the sink” I smiled. “Linda ought to be done pretty quick.”

“Thank goodness!”, she smirked, “I may survive this early hour after all!”

“You’d better get used to it, if you’re going to be a hunter. Lots of the game is most active at dawn and dusk.”

“Oh, I know. I’m mostly a morning person anyhow, I was just grousing at you.”

“I seem to remember having a similar conversation a while back.” I said with an exaggerated wink.

“I do too, now that you mention it.”, she winked back. “What can I do to help?”

“If you’’d like to mix up the pancake batter, what would be a help. I’ll cook them on the griddle.” I pointed out the stuff for pancakes that I’d already laid out. “The griddle’s preheating now. I just grease it up with bacon fat.”

“Okey dokey!” She grinned. “I’m surprised you have so much energy this morning.” She gave me another wink.

I grinned back. “Worked up an appetite.”

Loren chortled. “Didn’t sound like work to me.” she whispered, as we both heard Linda coming.

“Good morning, Hon! You were a little hard on the Beaver last night weren’t you, Ward?” She giggled, lifting a line from the old “Leave it to Beaver” TV show. She apparently hadn’t seen Loren over by the counter.

Loren and I both burst out laughing, and Linda, finally noticing Loren, blurted out “Oh, SHIT!” She blushed furiously, but started laughing herself. “I guess I put my foot in it. Tommy said you probably heard us.” She was still blushing but hanging in there, gamely.

Loren was grinning like a mule eating briers. She was having way too much fun, so I decided to stick my oar in. “Linda said you were probably playing with yourself as you listened to us.”

“You did?” Loren blurted out. I’d seen her blush before, but this was one was turned up to “11”.

“You were!” Linda piped up.

They both turned on me. “Tommy, you’re awful!” they chorused, but they were laughing too hard to be too mad.

“Well, it was a little hard not to! It’s been a dry spell for me, and you two weren’t exactly discreet!” Loren was pretty flustered.

“Well, it had been a dry spell for us, too! I guess I’m just too used to having the house to ourselves.” Linda explained. “I hadn’t had much drive for a while, but the doctor changed my blood pressure medication and I feel a lot more normal.” She was bushing, but soldiered on.

Loren was blushing too. “I wonder of that might be part of Bob’s problem? What medicine were you on before? And what are you on now?’

Linda named both her meds. “The new one is a new version of the older drug, Doc said. It’s supposed to have less side effects”, she giggled, “I’d have to say he was right, too!”

“Let me write that down. I’m almost sure that Bob’s on the same one you were on.”

I’d been wisely silent, but I pushed a notepad and pen over to Loren, who started writing furiously. “I’m going to call Bob this evening! Linda, you may be a Godsend!”

While all this was going on, I was keeping the food from burning. “One of you two needs to make up the pancake batter and get them going, while I cook the eggs.”

They both laughed. “I’ve got it”, said Loren,”just hand me the milk from the fridge, Linda, Tommy, I’ll need one of those eggs and a big spoon, oh- and some vanilla extract if you have any handy.” She put a dollop of the bacon fat from my skillet on the griddle and spread it around with the turner.