Chapter 20

Nobody stirred until almost nine o'clock the next morning, which was almost unheard of in our house. The very late night obviously affected all of us.

Jen and Julie crept downstairs when they eventually woke up and made a pot of tea, bringing me a mug in bed and taking turns kissing me 'good morning'. Despite having been incapable of further interest the night before, Gustav had benefited from almost seven hours sleep, and expressed his appreciation of their presence.

But we knew that Mum and Dad would be up and about before long, so I didn't bother letting them know that their arrival had given me a stiffie. I was also a little wary that I might have made Gustav sore, and I wanted to give him a little time to recover

As usual, the first mug of tea scarcely touched the sides as it went down, so I put on my dressing gown as well, and the three of us went downstairs and put the kettle on again. Jen and I shared a passionate kiss in the safety of the kitchen, and then she went upstairs to see if our parents were awake, while Julie and I embraced.

I quietly asked her if they were both okay after making love so much; she smiled as she admitted that we might all have got a little bit carried away, but assured me that they were both fine, if a little chafed on certain more delicate parts of their female anatomies!

Jen came bounding back down the stairs, presumably in order to make enough noise to warn us that Mum and Dad were following her. We heard the upstairs loo flush, and sure enough my parents appeared in their dressing gowns and gratefully took the mugs of tea we held out.

"Was the dance good?"

"Yes, it was one of the best ones yet! The band were excellent, and we had a great time."

"And the canteen staff really pushed the boat out; it was a superb buffet."

"We promised to go in at eleven o'clock to help tidy up the canteen after the party - will you three come along and give us a hand?"

I looked at Julie to answer for us all.

"Yes, Mrs Baker, of course, we'd love to!"

I winked at her to show that she had given the correct answer - firstly, I was fairly sure that all three of us were still a bit sore, so there was no prospect of any more hanky panky this morning, and secondly, I knew that once they saw how hard she worked, it would speed up Mum and Dad's recognition that Julie was a pearl beyond price.

"Thank you, Julie, dear. It will all get done a lot faster with more hands on deck! Now, I'll put some breakfast on, and you four nip upstairs and get dressed; we haven't got that long. And then while you lot are washing up, I can throw on some clothes and we can be off."

Mum's organisational skills came up with their usual efficient outcome; we had scrambled eggs and bacon with toast, and another mug of tea, and then Dad got the car warmed up while we cleaned up the kitchen and Mum got herself dressed.

Jen and I put Julie in the middle of the back seat of Dad's car, so that she could see between Mum and Dad's heads. She edged forward to hear what Mum was saying about the local landmarks that we passed, and Jen and I took the opportunity to each put a hand on Julie's delicious denim-covered bottom. From the tiny little wiggle she made, I deduced that she was pleased with the attention. I moved Jen's hand up under Julie's top, so that she could caress a little of the bare skin of Julie's back, while I slid my fingers under the jeans and panties, so that I could gently stroke the soft skin of her buttocks. She shivered as we fondled her, and I suspect that she was quite relieved when Dad pulled up in his works car park, and we had to remove our hands.

Quite a lot of Dad's colleagues had turned out to help return the canteen to its usual state; we mucked in to assist wherever we were needed, and within an hour and a half the tables were back in their places, the extra decorations were packed away, the rubbish (including a large number of empty bottles and cans) had been piled in the waste bins, and we were on our way home.

Dad pulled in to the pub car park.

"I think you all deserve a drink as a reward for helping us!"

Jen and Julie were on their best behavour and joined Mum in having a half pint of bitter, Dad and I had a pint. I made no mention of Julie's liking for a full pint, as Mum had ticked Jen off in the past for asking for a pint. Mind you, Mum had also ticked off the barmaid once for giving her a half pint in a dimpled beer mug rather than a more lady-like fluted glass!

"Cheers! And thanks again for your help!"

"No problem, Dad!"

"So what was the TV like last night?"

"Even for a Friday night, pretty awful! There wasn't even a repeat of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus', or 'Steptoe and Son'. Mind you, looking at the Radio Times, tonight is going to be just as bad - 'The Generation Game'."

"Yes, Bruce Forsyth seems to have been around for ever! I reckon your Dad quite fancies Anthea Redfern, every time she's on, he says that her legs go all the way to the ground."

"Okay, I do think that she has got very good legs, but they say that his wife divorced him on her account, so she's not my type! Isn't Dave Allen on tonight?"

"Sorry Dad, I forgot, yes he is, but it's a repeat."

Dave Allen was different from the other comedians, who normally relied on filling up most of their shows with sketches or special guests. Yes, he had some pre-recorded sketches, but he spent most of the programme sitting on a bar stool in front of the audience smoking cigarettes and taking the occasional sip from a glass of whiskey. He spoke softly and slowly, and we always enjoyed his ability to make us look at the world in a different light.

Jen commented that Dave Allen was probably the only thing worth watching that evening.

"And then they always overdo the programmes that we do want to watch on Christmas Day - we'll miss the 'Black and White Minstrels' because we'll be eating our Christmas Dinner, and then it will be only rubbish until 'The Generation Game Christmas Special' is over. It looks allright after that; Mike Yarwood and Morecambe and Wise. Boxing Day is Dick Emery and The Two Ronnies, which will be good, but why can't they space it out so there is lots of decent stuff?"

"I suspect that the people timetabling the programmes still think everybody goes out on a Saturday night, and on Boxing Day, so there is no point in putting the best stuff on then, as it's only going to be babysitters watching it! New Year's Eve will be just as bad!"

"Anyway, drink up, or lunch will be very late on the table!"

We had forgotten that Mum had made one of her special steak and kidney pies, and we all quickly finished our beer and trooped out to the car.

Dad always jokingly called them 'snake and pigmy' pies, and until I was about ten, I had thought that it was their real name. Mum's always had a plentiful rich and thick gravy, and I could feel my mouth already watering, before it had even gone into the oven.

Jen got the things out of the cupboard and Julie and I laid the table in the dining room; Mum had put the pie in the oven and was boiling the potatoes, while Dad opened a bottle of red wine. Then he had second thoughts, as there were five of us, and fished another bottle out of the pantry.

It was a very cheerful lunch; the pie was excellent, the wine worked very well with it, and we had a plum crumble and ice cream to follow. The conversation didn't stop; it seemed as if Julie had been part of the family for a long time. I was really proud of her; I knew I wasn't going to do anything like as well when the time came to meet her parents...

In the afternoon, Dad had a nap, Mum nipped out to see her parents and check that they were ready for Christmas, and Julie and I went with Jen up to her room to listen to her record player. The girls put me in the middle of the bed on my back, and then one of them cuddled me on each side while we enjoyed the music.

Jen's window overlooked the drive, and at about half past four I noticed the headlights of Mum's Mini turning into the drive as she returned home. The chances were that she would come up to ask us of we wanted a cup of tea, so we pre-empted her and headed downstairs. I had loved having the two girls cuddling me, even though we were fully dressed, and I knew that being alone in my bed that night would be even more disappointing than usual.

The Dave Allen repeat that evening was one that I hadn't seen before, because I had been in Cardiff, and I really enjoyed it. His take on 'The Lone Ranger' was hilarious.

We were all tired after our late night the previous evening, and we went off to bed almost as soon as Dave Allen had finished.

Jen and I were extremely sorry to wave Julie off at the station after breakfast on the Sunday morning, as we would rather have liked another threesome; but she had promised her parents that she would be home for Christmas, and we didn't want them getting too suspicious, and demanding that she introduce them to the boy she spent so much time with! Monday was Christmas Eve, so she'd have a chance to do some last minute shopping with them. Like most compromises, it was the sensible course of action, even if it was seriously disappointing.

Mum and Dad had both hugged her when they said goodbye, and expressed the hope that she would visit again. Mum had given her a big parcel of sandwiches wrapped in aluminium foil, to sustain her on the four-hour train journey home to Exeter.

Julie and I were sad to say goodbye, even though we would be together again in Cardiff in less than a fortnight, and Jen was also tearful at her friend's departure.

But the great thing had been that Julie had at last met my parents, they had liked her, AND we'd managed to have a wonderful session of making love.