Chapter 193: Meeting the Norrises

Sunday, May 8, 2005 (Continued)

Prof and Vanessa hadn't bothered putting a phone in my study, so I went up to Julia's bedroom to call Mackenzie. On the way I tried to think of something more interesting to do than a movie and dinner. I hadn't thought of anything by the time I got to the phone, mainly because I knew almost nothing about Mackenzie; unlike her about me, given that she'd won the quiz. I didn't care about not having an idea, as it wasn't an important date and I didn't need to finalize it immediately anyway. It was just something to think about on the way to the phone.

I called her number, and a woman's voice answered, presumably Mrs. Norris.

#4: <Remember how useful mothers can be. Ask her what Mackenzie would like.>

#2: <Good idea.>

"Hello. Is that Mrs. Norris, Mackenzie's mother?"

"Yes it is. How may I help you?"

"My name is Mark Anderson, I'm one of Mackenzie's classmates. But can I talk with you for a moment, before you call her please?"

"Ahh, okay. What's on your mind?"

"If it's okay with you, I'm going to ask Mackenzie if she will go out on a date with me. I've never asked her out before, so it's possible she might turn me down, but if she agrees could I please call you back in fifteen minutes to ask you what Mackenzie's favorite food is, what some of her hobbies or favorite activities are, so I can plan a first date she'll enjoy?"

"You're very confident young man."

"Not so much, ma'am, that's why I'm asking for your help. I could spend all day worrying about it and not come up with anything Mackenzie would enjoy nearly as much as if you helped."

"I'll get Mackenzie for you, and we'll see what happens after that. Hang on." Followed by a muffled yell of, "Mackenzie, it's a boy for you!"

#2: <Mrs. Norris didn't recognize or remember our name, so I doubt Mackenzie's been talking about us at home. Not that it matters; it's just an observation.>

A few seconds later I heard footsteps running to the phone, then, "Hello?"

I could hear Mrs. Norris walk away, so I didn't have to worry about being overheard.

"Hi Mackenzie, it's Mark Anderson here."

"Mark! You're back?"

"Yep, got in early yesterday morning. I'll be back at school on Monday. Julia told me you won her quiz and what prize you wanted, so I'm calling now to formally request the pleasure of your company for a date one evening soon. Would you do me the honor?"

"Of course, silly, {giggle}. What have you got in mind?"

"I haven't had a chance to catch up with what happened while I was away yet, so I haven't thought about next week much. I'm calling now just to touch bases with you, to make sure I know what's going on. If it's okay with you I'll think about it today, and talk with you about it on Monday. Is that okay?"

"Sure. What night do you want to go out?"

"That's the next question I was planning to ask you. Are you allowed to date school nights, or just on the weekend?"

"Friday or Saturday mostly, why?"

"I'm going out of town this weekend, and Julia has already booked me for the first of the pipeline dates on Friday night. I can't change that as it'd inconvenience sixteen people, so we might have to delay our date to the weekend after next."

"Oh. That's two weeks away."

"Yeah, sorry."

"What about tonight? Are you free tonight?" asked a hopeful Mackenzie.

"Sorry, I'm busy again. A family dinner type of thing which can't be postponed. Let's not worry too much about the when yet Mackenzie. Our date's definitely on, and I'll talk with you about it tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks very much."

"No need to thank me; you earned it. I'm curious how you were so knowledgeable about me, but we can talk about that on our date." I wasn't going to waste a conversation item on the phone now, as I expected to need every distraction I could find on our date. Sex seemed very unlikely, and Mackenzie isn't a particularly outgoing girl, so I expected a dull evening.

Just before I hung up Mackenzie suddenly said, "Oh Mark! Can I ask you a favor while I think of it?"

"Ask away."

"Whenever it is that we have our date, could you please not wear the clothes you wear to school. I don't think my parents would approve."

I couldn't resist saying, "Okay Mackenzie. Just to make you happy, I'll turn up naked, bye," and hung up.

Chuckling to myself, I called home and chatted with Dad for a few minutes, telling him I'd be there some time in the morning. I asked, "If I hang around here for a while and drive home slowly, is there a good chance you'll have finished all the chores before I get home?"

"Not a chance. I'll make sure I save you a few."

Then I chatted with Carol, who mostly talked about how excited Mom and Donna were. Mom for being able to own and furnish a wonderful new home, Donna for being able to gallop around the outside of it.

When it was time to, I hung up from Carol and called Mackenzie's number again.

Mrs. Norris answered the phone.

"Hello Mrs. Norris. It's Mark Anderson again."

"Hello Mark. You don't have to tell me what Mackenzie's decision was, because the girls have been whooping it up since your call."

"Girls? Has Mackenzie got some classmates there?"

"No, her sisters. We've got three daughters. It seems they all want to date you."

"Oh. I didn't even know Mackenzie had a sister, let alone two with such questionable judgment."

"That's not how I expected 'the school stud' to talk."

"That's what they called me, 'the school stud'?"

"Yes indeed. They're quite envious of Mackenzie."

"No one's ever called me a 'stud' in my hearing before. That feels weird. And it occurs to me that it's not the ideal thing for a mother to hear about a boy who wants a date with her daughter. Is my alleged studliness of concern, Mrs. Norris?"

"They assure me you're a nice boy, and you don't come across how I imagined the school stud would, but I do have some concerns."

"I'm spending today doing chores and studying, which I can interrupt for a while. I was intending to ask your advice about a good date for Mackenzie, so how about I come to your house and we do that in person? That'll give you a chance to gain an impression of me."

"That sounds reasonable. How about now?"

"I need to put you on hold for about one minute while I check something first. Is that okay?"

"That's fine."

"Thanks. I'll be back in a minute."

I dropped the phone on the bed and shot downstairs and outside, to check on my car as I couldn't see it from Julia's bedroom. It was washed already, apart from the top of the roof that Lily couldn't reach, and probably couldn't even see.

I ran back inside, picked up the phone, and said, "Hello, I'm back. Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"Coming right now is ideal. If you give me your address I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Yes." I didn't, but I had a good memory. I expected this to be the first and least of several 'simplifications of the truth' that I'd be making this morning.

Mrs. Norris gave me her address, then, "Do you know where that is?"

"No ma'am, but I have a map in the car. I'll find it. I'll see you in a few minutes."

#1: <Why don't we try memorizing the map?>

#3: <There are a LOT of streets in Corvallis. It'd be impressive if we could do it, but is it worth the effort?>

#1: <No, probably not. It was just a random thought. Forget I mentioned it. We've got plenty of more useful stuff to learn.>

I'd showered after having sex with Ava and Julia, and was already dressed tidily but casually. Not as I do for school, and not naked as Mackenzie had requested. I grabbed my wallet and keys, let Prof know that I was leaving, then left. I paused to wipe the roof of my car with a rag we keep in it, as there was still enough water on it to make cleaning the missed area easy.

While driving to Mackenzie's, I thought to call Lily to thank her for washing my car, but then remembered that I didn't have a phone. Oh well, she'd be an unthanked serving girl today.

I found the Norris's house easily. Mr. Norris let me in, even before I got to the front door. "Come in... , Mark, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. Mark Anderson."

"Come into the living room, Mark. The girls decided they all needed to get changed when they heard you were coming, and their mother is supervising them. How is it that all three girls are so excited about your visit?"

"Until ten minutes ago I didn't even know that Mackenzie had any sisters. Maybe when I see them I'll recognize them, and have a better idea of why."

"I understand you've got quite a reputation around school?"

"I thought a large part of my reputation was that I was a quiet, smart, hardworking student. I got up at 3am this morning to start studying, and I'm going to spend most of today doing chores and more studying. I'm a very diligent student who does very well at school. But Mrs. Norris told me that your girls called me 'the school stud'. I've never heard that term applied to me before, so I'm apparently not too well clued in to my own reputation. I'm aware that there are girls who are attracted to me at school, but I thought it was mostly because I was a high-achiever rather than a 'stud'."

"What are you a high-achiever at?"

"There are really only two possible areas: sir, academically and sports. I'm doing very well academically, especially in Math and Physics. I'm also good at most sports, although I only play soccer regularly. Sports take second place to my studies in my priorities."

#4: <We're also an overachiever financially and sexually. Do you want to mention those?>

#3: <I think I might leave them out for the moment. Thanks for your help though.>

"If you are so popular, why are you interested in Mackenzie?"

"It's really not much more than a 'Get To Know You' date, sir. We're in some classes together, but we're both quiet in class so we don't know each other very well. One of the other girls in our class told me that Mackenzie was interested in me. With three daughters I'm sure you know how that 'friend-tells-a-friend' process works. So I called her this morning to see if she'd go out on one date with me. Since the two of us don't actually know each other very well, the chance of it turning into anything significant..."

I heard the sounds of either a herd of elephants galloping down the hallway, or some excited schoolgirls. I shouldn't exaggerate, so it might have been only half a herd.

I quickly and loudly finished my sentence, " ... is low." I stood as the prettily dressed girls ran into the room.

First in was one of Donna's Ducklings, who was also a member of the Athletic Club (hence her arriving first). Closely following her was one of Carol's friends, who'd come to the group lunch Carol had held a couple of weeks ago, then Mackenzie.

"Good morning Mackenzie, Claire and Diana. And Mrs. Norris, nice to meet you."

Mrs. Norris said, "So you know our girls."

"Yes indeed. Claire is friends with my sister Donna and they're are in the Athletic Club together. Diana is friends with my sister Carol. Now I understand why your daughters have such high opinions of me: I promised my sisters very good birthday presents if they spread good stories about me around their girlfriends at school. Looks like it worked, haha."

Diana and Claire were visibly happy to be remembered. I particularly remembered Claire as she was one of the more outgoing Ducklings. She had a very different personality from Mackenzie, although apparently the same taste in boys.

Claire proudly disagreed with me, "Donna says Mark's the best brother in the world. He's GREAT! He visits her at lunchtime sometimes, and he came to the club a week ago because he was worried about her..."

"That's nothing," interrupted Diana. "You should hear how much Carol loves Mark. I don't know anyone who cares for her brother so much. Most girls think their brothers are a pain, but Carol worships the ground Mark walks on."

"That's nothing," deliberately echoed Mackenzie, with a smile on her face. "I see Carol every lunchtime, because she comes to high school to eat lunch with Mark and Julia..."

#1: <Uh oh. Mentioning Julia is a bit risky.>

" ... Mark and Carol get on like they're best friends, and the best thing I have EVER heard was Mark giving his speeches about Carol's coming out. Most of the girls in the room were crying by the time he'd finished, including me."

#4: <I hope the parents aren't anti-lesbian, or the custard's going to hit the fan.> ("Custard" being an Anderson family euphemism usually employed when Mom is listening. It's become somewhat of a habit as well as a term we use for situations which aren't bad enough to use "shit".)

#3: <We don't really care. Worst thing that happens is they forbid Mackenzie to date us. Hardly a major loss.>

#1: <That's true. Changing the subject, we've now got a good idea why Mackenzie knew so much about us. The three of them have probably been sharing their knowledge about us.>

#4: <Yeah. They've obviously all got questionable taste. I wonder if Claire and Mackenzie shared the sexual elements of their encounters with us? Just a pussy flash in Claire's case, but still pretty radical for a 12-year old.>

#3: <Do you want me to ask them now?>

#4: <Haha. Perhaps later might be better.>

Mrs. Norris did the eyebrow thing at Mackenzie, who understood it to mean "Please explain in more detail." (Eyebrows have an impressive bandwidth, given their ability to move only a limited distance along one axis.)

Mackenzie expanded, "Carol came out as a lesbian about a month ago, and a lot of the boys started behaving totally immature about it. They were hitting on her, teasing her, crowding around her. Being total jerks. Mark went around several classes giving a speech about how much he loved and supported his sister. I can't describe it well enough, but by the time he finished speaking there were girls bawling all over the place, and the boys were totally taught a lesson. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. Half the girls in class fell in love with Mark because of that speech. It was awesome!"

"Well, well. It appears we misjudged you, Mark."

"I can still be 'the school stud', though can't I? It's not often a math geek gets that reputation, and I'd hate to lose it so quickly."

Mackenzie and Diana both shrieked, "Mom! You told him."

While they were doing that, Claire advanced on me. Proximity showed me what she intended, and there was no reason why not, so I let her push me backward into my seat. What I hadn't foreseen was her then immediately leaping into my lap. I was still falling, so it would have taken a silly amount of gymnastics to avoid her. I took the easy way out, letting Claire achieve her goal. After all, it'd be her that got in any trouble, not me.

There was a howl of protest from her two sisters, and some quick rebukes from both of her parents. Claire chose to ignore her parents, instead just proudly telling her sisters, "You snooze, you lose. I got first dibs."

The parents started ordering Claire to get up.

I held up a hand to stop them - I had two spare hands; they were NOT going to touch 12-year old Claire while her parents looked on - saying, "My sisters frequently do the same to me, which is probably where Claire got the idea from. She's copying Donna. She's very similar to my sister: no hesitations and no subtlety."

"No politeness either," chastised Mrs. Norris. "Get up, Claire."

Mr. Norris was more direct, he lifted Claire off me. Her hands remained locked around my neck, until I bowed my head enough that her hands slipped over the back of my head.

"Aww," from Claire, as her father carried her a safe distance away.

"Sorry about that," apologized Mrs. Norris.

"It was the highlight of my visit; I'll go back home chuckling. Can I tell Donna what you did, Claire?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Would it embarrass you around school if I told Donna? I don't mind pretty girls throwing themselves at me, but you might not want your classmates hearing about it." I was just spouting moral-sounding crap to impress the parents. They had three pretty daughters, all of whom were interested in me, so fooling them about my morality was a good idea.

"You think I'm pretty?"

Her parents were relaxed enough to chuckle at their little girl, so I was on reasonably safe ground.

"Yes, I think you're pretty. And I'll be completely honest by adding that Diana is also pretty, as is Mackenzie. I'll even make sure I stay in your mother's good graces by saying she's pretty too. I'll leave it up to you to tell Donna about your flying visit to my lap."

^-- I turned to Mrs. Norris, "I don't want to be rude, but my father is waiting for me to get back home to my chores. You made a couple of comments earlier which I thought indicated approval for my taking Mackenzie out on a date. Did I understand you correctly?"

"Please, Mom?" urged Mackenzie.

A momentary look between the parents, then Mrs. Norris said, "Yes, that's okay."

The three girls all cheered the decision, Mackenzie's cheers instead being of the "Thank you" variety.

I also told Mrs. Norris, "Thank you." Not that I'd particularly cared either way.

While that was going on, I stood. Mackenzie moved across the room, to stand beside me, but that was as 'romantic' as she could bring herself to be in front of her parents. No actual touching between us, not that I particularly wanted her to touch me in front of all her family, I'm just describing her caution.

The thought of kinky sex with two or three sisters had crossed my minds (several minds, several times each), but the parents were clearly cautious and restrictive people, Mackenzie had told me in the hot tub that she was a virgin, and that seemed likely to be true. Diana seemed similar to Mackenzie, and Claire was only twelve, an age when girls have trouble keeping secrets or controlling themselves. Getting involved with them was more trouble than it was worth; potentially a LOT more trouble! I resisted my lascivious thoughts and got back to business, saying, "I'm sorry, Mackenzie, but this isn't a social visit. I can't stay and chat. I've got a backlog of stuff to catch up on after my absence." I turned to Mrs. Norris, adding, "If you've got a couple of minutes I'd like to talk with you privately please, as we discussed on the phone earlier?"