Chapter 10: Casual Dining

Laura was in charge of arranging the pizzas for the evening. To be sure everyone would be satisfied, she ordered six medium size pies with a wide variety of toppings. There was a veggie pizza, a carnivore’s fantasy, and even a simple plain cheese pizza.

And, soft drinks, iced tea, and beer (imported and domestic). When everyone had arrived, Laura opened the dining room door and all the guests trooped in. Staggered by all the choices, they all applauded and Laura sketched out a little bow in acknowledgment.

They all took from the pile of super-sized paper napkins, except Teresa stopped Andrew.

“I’m in charge of wiping you clean tonight, to make sure you’re ready for kissing afterwards.”

“Dad!” Marina was giggling. Erica spoke next.

“Oh, let him be, ‘Rina, they are in love, like teenagers. Laura’s right in there with them.”

“Dad! Sisters? What would your cardiologist say?”

“He would say, ‘You lucky dog.’ And he’d be right. Since I’ve fixed my diet and I’ve lost 15% of my weight, he’s rescinded all of his warnings for me. I just need to remember: avoid the saturated fats and to take my, um, statin pills every day. They used to be Lipitor, but now they’re inexpensive generics.

“You should ask your doctor about that, because you probably inherited my tendency for gunk in your arteries. You want a long life with Steve, and maybe, I hope, safely make some grand-babies.”

“Not now, Dad, I want to get my degree first. I might even transfer to Ball State and get a bachelor’s, considering my age. We should be getting some lawsuit money soon to pay for the tuition.”

“You’re right, makes sense. God, I’m already so proud of you, ‘Rina.”

“Me too!” added Steve.

“Me three,” Donna put her arm around her for a side hug. “Maybe I will transfer too. BSU is only an hour from here up in Muncie. We can carpool, even.”

“Both of you get good grades?” asked Teresa.

“Yes we do. Steve gets really cross when I try to slack off. He says, if I bring home a ‘C’ or lower he will make me eat turnips and drink some kind of green slop made from liquefied broccoli.”

“Steve!” Erica was horrified. “Don’t be so mean to my other granddaughter. Donna, come over here.”

She gave Donna a gentle hug and kissed her forehead. “If he tries that bullshit, you come stay with me. I can bring a guest down to the hotel’s dining room where I get my meals. Same goes for you, Marina, although I know you’re getting good grades at the junior college.”

Steve threw up his hands. “Aw, c’mon. I am NOT an ogre. Donna is really smart and I want her to succeed. Sometimes I wish I could have gone to college instead of working on roofs or in dirty basement utility rooms.”

“On that note,” said Teresa, “you all go out to our living room with your drinks and start digesting. I’m going to clean up. Later we can send you home with slices of the pizza that you prefer.”

“Can I help clean up?” asked Donna.

“Oh, thanks, but no, it will just take me a minute. You all go relax and I’ll join you. Steve, take a couple of chairs from here so you all have places to sit.”

Digesting

In the living room, Teresa returned and asked, “Steve, how did you get in the business of blowing around hot and cold air?”

“It kind of fell into my lap. One of my high school buddies suggested I talk to his mother, Bonnie, who owned the business.”

Erica had been listening to Steve. “Your high school buddy sent you to his mother to get a blowing job?”

Donna and Marina exploded in laughter, hanging on to each other trying to get control.

“Steve, are you susceptible to older women’s charms?” continued Erica.

“I was in high school and being closely watched by my sex-hating aunt, with no bedroom door for any private moments. On top of that, and forgive me for saying so, Bonnie’s tits were like 3/4 of your size, Erica. I feared I was standing in a puddle of my own drool and leakage soaking into her office carpet.”

Imitating Mr. Spock, Erica raised one eyebrow and said, “Fascinating.”

Somehow, I left her office that day without bursting open the fly of my pants. I started there with a summer job, and over time the work took more and more of my non-school hours.

“Once I managed to graduate, Bonnie put me on a full-time schedule, because I learned quickly and I worked hard for her.”

“I’m sure you were hard when you worked for her,” noted Teresa, merrily.

“Stop, Jeez! By then I had stopped walking home Donna and her BFF after school, because ‘Rina got her little blue car. Thanks for that, Dad.”

“You’re calling him Dad?” asked Laura.

“Of course. Donna and I, well, we’re orphans. It was just our Aunt Faye who we had to live with while Donna was still in high school. Because she was our only living relative, she had full legal custody.

After the tornado killed her, we are now completely on our own—that is, except for Marina’s father.

“We’re proud to call him ‘Dad’ now; he’s a great guy and look what a fantastic daughter he raised as a single Dad.”

“With Mom’s help, too,” Andrew indicated Erica, who smiled proudly.

“Recently, I guess, Teresa ran into Andrew when ‘Rina was moving out and he was adjusting to the idea of being on his own. I mean, with respect, you guys have had kind of a ‘whirlwind’ relationship.”

“Like a tornado, but the good kind, I guess,” added Marina. “Both of you, it seems.”

“Yeah, suddenly I’m adjusting to having TWO new daughters.” Erica was smiling at the twins. “But to be fair, just look at them, they are so glamorous and adorable. Along with my two spectacular young granddaughters.”

Revelations

“On the other hand,” mused Erica, “with Bonnie around, you were probably bored by Marina’s moderately-sized chest.”

Marina shot a concerned look at Steve’s face.

“Oh, that’s completely not true! In all the time I’ve known her, ‘Rina has always impressed me with her sweetness, her devotion, her love for my sister, and her exceptional big, big, sexy—”

Marina gave Steve a hard direct stare.

Completing his thought, “—brain.”

Donna, relieved, blew out her breath noisily. She watch her friend launch herself at her brother and plaster him with excited kisses. Erica just smiled at them.

“Hey, ‘Rina, he’s mine, too. We just need to get a king-sized bed for our honeymoon.”

Marina froze, backed away, with a shocked look on her face.

In a tiny squeak, Donna gasped, “Oops!” and ducked away to the far end of the couch, hiding her face in her hands.

Teresa was dumbfounded. “Andrew, did I just hear what I THOUGHT I heard?”

Then rising to her feet, angrily, “Did you KNOW about this?”

Laura had her hand over her mouth. Above that, however, her eyes revealed merriment. She could barely stifle her laughter.

In Charge

Erica felt surprise and dismay. Teresa’s reaction seemed very inappropriate.

“Teresa, SIT DOWN.”

“But this is MY house!”

“Do I give a fuck? Sit your ass down and just listen to me! Good.”

Erica tugged her sleeveless polyester blouse over her head, followed by the stretchy XXL sports bra she wore for support when she was away from her hotel room.

“Remember these, Teresa? One of them was in your face already today. And your sister was latched on the other one. That was before you started doing that ‘69’ together. That would be sex with your sibling, would it not?