Chapter 12

She took her time so she was still not quite out of the bathroom when the intercom buzzed to announce the arrival of her friends. But she entered the hall - wearing just a dressing gown and a towel round her hair - by the time I was opening the door for Mary and Anna Beth. I had actually never met Mary and only exchanged a few words with Anna Beth, so Laura made a formal introduction. "George, meet Mary and Anna Beth my very best friends at school -" the girls giggled and studied me and I said a polite 'how do you do, ' "- and Mary and Anna Beth, meet George, my mentor, benefactor, employer, best friend and love of my life."

The girls squealed. "Wow - that sounds official!" Anna Beth said.

"That I love him?" Laura asked. "Yes, that's official. There are certain advantages of turning seventeen..."

She let that notion hang in the air, but Mary got it. "You mean you -" she started, but then her hand flew to cover her mouth and she stared at me wide-eyed.

"I'll leave you girls to it," I said and beat a hasty retreat. I could hear squeals and loud giggles all the way down the corridor.

As I had expected getting dressed and dolled up took a long time. Although Laura had said she would be helping with the cooking, I knew that wasn't going to happen and I had planned it so I had everything ready and simmering slowly at a quarter to six - only needing to heat up the Lebanese flat-bread at the last moment.

The girls entered the kitchen and I could see at once that the decision to keep Anna Beth's dress out of her parents view was a wise one. Anna Beth has Mrs. Cameron's generous curves and in combination with the dress, she was sending a clear message - 'Please fuck me; I want to get pregnant!' I silently thanked my stars that it was a girls-only party, or I would have had to be the Protector of Miss Cameron's Virtue - something I didn't really fancy. Mary, otherwise clearly less innocent than Anna Beth, had shown more restraint in her choice of clothes. She was much less endowed both front and rear, but she had legs that were a mile long and she looked great. Not as great as Laura, of course.

Thank God maternity wear doesn't have to be boring anymore. Laura's dress was a classic gown in many ways, but rather than hiding her bump, it accentuated it in a way that looked very sexy - fertile if you like; at least in my eyes.

The party was only a small one - another three friends from 'Sacred Heart' and two from Laura's old school. The locals arrived first - all very nicely attired for a girls-only dinner, but hey - I didn't mind! They were still hanging up over clothes and changing shoes when the intercom buzzed again. "Hi Laura, is this really where you live?" came a hesitant voice.

"Sure is," Laura replied. "Cross the lobby and take the elevator to the sixth floor."

"Uh huh," came the reply and Laura buzzed them in.

They must have met Ramone in the lobby - he operated the lift for them and knocked on the door a few minutes later. "Happy birthday Miss Laura, he said. These two young ladies said they are here for your party."

"They sure are Ramone. Thanks for taking them up - and thanks heaps for the earrings. I love them!" she said and kissed Ramone after showing him she was wearing them.

"I'm so glad Miss Laura," he said. "I'll tell Debbie when she comes home tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening!" and he turned to leave as Laura returned to the hall with the two last arrivals who looked completely intimidated.

"Joan! Jennie!" Laura said, trying to hug them both at the same time. "It so good to see you."

The first to recover was Joan - a pretty freckled red-head. "Ohmygod Laura, you are huge!"

"What did you expect?" Laura grinned. "I'm nearly six months pregnant with twins."

"Yeah, I guess," she said. "Only I haven't seen you since just after New Year. I didn't even know you were pregnant then, except that your um..." she trailed off suddenly blushing. Enlightenment struck me. 'Except that Laura's breasts were suddenly much larger' was what she meant. This was the Joan whose dad had shown an unwelcome interest.

Before Laura could make the connection and reply, Jennie spoke. "I noticed your name was on that sign down in the lobby." She was a mousy-grey girl - someone you would hardly ever notice. But according to Laura she was exceedingly intelligent - the only girl in Laura's year that could match her - and she was obviously very observant.

"Well, I live here, don't I?" Laura replied with a grin. "Anyway, that sign thing - that was Ramone's doing."

"The doorman who took us up here? The one that had given you the earrings and whom you kissed?" - No Jennie missed very little.

"The one," Laura smiled. "He's a real honey. He helps George looking after me - he won't let me carry anything and so on."

"It makes it look very official, very - permanent?" Jennie said. "The sign, I mean."

"It is," Laura said. "I have no intention of leaving. Ever." There were seven excited teenaged girls in the small hall in addition to Laura and me, but all of a sudden you could have heard a pin drop.

"Oh. But. I mean. What does - George..." - the question was obviously burning on Jennie's tongue. Her eyes darted at me.

I smiled at her. "I don't want Laura to leave. Ever."

Someone let out a long sigh. Someone else muttered 'Oh wow.'

"Girls," Laura said with a huge smile. "This is George. Meeting him is the best thing that ever happened to me."

The noise level rose again. There was a general round of introductions - the other three 'Sacred Heart' girls were Melanie, Heidi and Cathy. Keeping track of all those names was going to be difficult for me! We entered the central living room and sat down for snack and drinks. Non-alcoholic 'in solidarity with the birthday girl', as I put it. In that way I didn't have to worry about outraged parents. Laura got presents - mainly jewelry and accessories; six month pregnant women will frequently get babyish things for their birthdays, but that wasn't really on the agenda for a bunch of seventeen year olds.

I cleared my voice. "Well, this is really a girl's night." They all looked at me "I'm just the little man what comes with the 'ouse," I said in a fair imitation of cockney English to much laughter. "What I mean to say is I'll be eating dinner with you but stay out of your way later. At Laura's request I've cooked a lot of Lebanese food - I hope you like it. Laura can explain why that is special to us."

As I walked through the dining room towards the kitchen to get the last things ready, I heard Laura's voice "When I first met George at the shopping center I was absolutely starving, like I hadn't had a proper meal for days. He fed me Lebanese food from the Food Court and I told him everything."

"That's soo romantic," someone said. I closed the door to the living room behind me.

The dinner was fun. The food proved popular and the talking flowed freely enough - despite my presence and the fact that the two groups of friends didn't know each other, only Laura. At the end of the meal I said "OK, is everyone done?" They nodded. "Laura can show you the apartment while I take care of the kitchen." Protests were overruled and Laura took the girls on the Grand Guided Tour.

Getting the kitchen in order didn't take all that long - in fact, I had finished that before Laura and her friends were back. What they had talked about in the various rooms - bedrooms in particular - I never found out; Laura was evasive about it. They decided to settle in the den where I served them sweet tea and Baklava. I gave Laura a kiss before retiring to the office. As I was closing the door Joan was saying, "Laura, has he got a brother?" to general laughter. I do. He is ten years older than me!

The evening flew. Around 11 Joan's father came to pick up Joan and Jennie. It was unexpected; the original plan was that Jennie's mother would do the driving and Laura was visible uncomfortable about him. He was leering at her and tried a sly wink at me. I put a protective hand on Laura's shoulder and looked as stern as I could manage. When Jennie and Joan had hugged Laura he moved in like he was going to do so too. Laura embraced me instead and his attempt was thwarted. Amazing that someone as sweet and open natured as Joan could have such an asshole for a father.

Shortly after, Mary's brother came to escort the gaggle of local girls home. He's a college sophomore and had been deemed trustworthy. It was obvious all the girls found him cute - they flirted openly with him. He was taking the banter good-naturedly; I was observing the interaction while the girls were getting their coats and outdoor shoes and saying goodbye to Laura and me. I saw his face when he spotted Anna Beth - and especially Anna Beth's dress. He looked gob-smacked - he certainly got the message! "Oh, Anna Beth," I said at neutrally as I could. "Weren't you going to change before you went home?"