Chapter 23: We Take Another Trip.

While Kay spoke with her family, I had been outside picking up in the back yard and pool area. There really wasn't that much to do but I wanted to give her privacy when she told her parents my background. I didn't think there would be a problem but I wasn't sure. It could become awkward.

I didn't go in until Kay called me for dinner. When I did I found the table already set with everything we should need. I still went back to the kitchen to get a bottle of wine to go with Kay's stew.

When we were seated, Kay dished out the stew and I poured us each a glass of wine. I waited for Kay to say something about the phone call but when she didn't, I spoke up. "How did the phone call go?"

"Oh, it went fine. Everyone back home is doing well. Tommy is back in class and happy to have a vehicle there. Mom and Dad both asked me to thank you again for cooking up the steaks for dinner Saturday. They both liked them a lot. They hoped you had a good time with us for Thanksgiving."

"I did, it was very gracious of them to have me in their home for the weekend. Did you get around to talking with them about our Christmas time plans?"

"I did, they think it's a good idea for me to go to Florida with you."

"You told them about my background, that I'm Jewish?"

"I did. They didn't have a problem with you being Jewish or me going with you or me being around you, and more. My dad said there is only one God and it doesn't matter what you call him because he probably has a lot of names from all the different people in the world and they all mean the same thing. I told you there wouldn't be any problem with it."

"You can understand I'm still relieved to hear it."

"I guess, but I still don't think it's that big a deal."

"That's because of your age, or lack of it. In any case, I'm glad you're not affected by at least one of the somewhat common prejudices that exist. I'll call tomorrow and make the flight reservations then I'll tell my folks to expect us when I call on Friday."

"Do your folks have the room for us?"

"They do. Believe it or not, just like your parents, they still keep a room for me, even though I've never lived with them since their move to Florida."

"Are we going to share a room?"

Was that outraged shock or hopeful expectation on her face? "Are you kidding? My parents are no less proper than yours, there's no way my mother, or my father for that matter, would tolerate that. We're not married, we're not engaged and we're not involved romantically."

"Okay, I was just wondering, that's all. You know I trust you more than enough to share a bed with you and not be worried about it."

"We're housemates and friends but we'd have to be a lot more connected than that. They might be unhappy about it but they'd accept us living together as a couple if we let them know we were committed to each other. My mother would like grand babies, just like your mother does."

"Hmmm, are we a couple?"

"That's a question for you to answer. After all, you're the one who's been getting into my bed, not me into yours."

"I'll think about it and let you know." There was a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

I changed the subject. "Your stew is very good. I like it this way."

"Thank you, Rob. I've got to do some school work tonight. I have to do my part for the study group. Don't forget we're meeting here tomorrow. It's still okay isn't it?"

"Absolutely, I told you this is your home too and you can have as many school meetings and the like as you want to. You can have parties too, just let me know about them in advance so I can find somewhere else to be and not step on your toes."

"You wouldn't and I'll tell you right now, you're welcome to any party I have."

"Thanks, Kay, but that isn't necessary."

"It may not be necessary, but I'd like it."

"I'll be gone most of the afternoon tomorrow; I have a client I'm giving a proposal to. I'm going to take their I.T. manager to lunch and spend some time with him."

"Okay. Will you be home for dinner? I think the group is going to bring in Chinese."

"I should be home by six."

After we cleaned up I went to the great room to sit and read. Kay stayed at the dining table and spread her books about as she did her work.

Kay put up her books in time to join me watching the evening news. When they went into sports for the last part of the news I turned it off. We said goodnight and headed for our bedrooms. I wasn't in bed ten minutes before Kay joined me, slipping under the covers, laying down with her back to me and her head on my shoulder.

"Kay, I'd ask what you're doing here, but it doesn't matter, does it? You're going to spend the night with me for whatever reason. Aren't you?"

"Yup!"

"And I should just grin and bear it?"

"Yup!"

"It's a good thing you're comfortable to snuggle with and don't snore."

"Well, in case you're interested, you don't snore either. I'd have to put a pillow over your face if you did."

"Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. Now, are you going to talk all night? I have to get up in the morning." She turned over so she was facing towards me and giggled.

"Good night, Kay." I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her in close.

With her head now on my chest she wiggled a little as she settled in. "Good night, Rob."

Damn, she felt good. I was smiling and quite content as I fell asleep.

In the morning, as we got up, she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before getting out of the bed and scampering from my room. I assumed she went to get ready for school. I got out of bed shaking my head still in disbelief.

As I was taking my shower I continued to think about Kay. I may not know all her reasoning but at least some, if not most, of these nocturnal visits had some serious reasons behind them. How could they not? Was she doing this to tease me? I didn't think so. It wasn't in her nature to tease that way. When she teased it was more light hearted and for fun. Her getting in my bed wasn't light hearted or done for fun.

She knew I reacted to her being in bed with me, how could she not? She's seen me react both in and out of bed. I keep a level of control over my emotions but I can't keep that same level of control over my physical reactions. She's a pretty young woman; I've seen her, all of her. I know she's pretty, probably better than she does. Besides her getting in my bed, we use the hot tub in the buff.

What is going on? Is she going to keep on getting in my bed? She's got to answer those questions. I sure can't. I knew I didn't mind. Hell, I wanted her to continue, even if it was a torture.

I shaved and got dressed in business attire for my meeting. I clean up okay. While I was dressing, I kept going over things dealing with and about Kay, over and over again. When I was dressed and ready to go, I didn't have any new answers but I had a lot of new questions. Help!

I was running a little late when I went to the kitchen for breakfast. Kay was still there but about ready to leave for school. I poured a cup of coffee and grabbed a big orange. "Have a good day. Don't forget, I won't be here when you and your group come in but I'll be back by six."

"See you later." She said and walked out to catch her bus.

I went to my office and made sure all my materials were together. I was taking my car instead of the SUV and I planned on being there at eleven to pick the I.T. guy up for lunch. I still had some time and did a review of the computer logs; I couldn't get backed up on reviewing them. At nine-thirty I called my airline company contact to get the tickets I'd need to take Kay to Florida. It was always easier for me to go through their office instead of trying to use any of the reservations numbers or services. One of my few perks and I used it every time I flew.

I also placed an order for a decent lap top. I was going to surprise Kay with it to give to Tommy as a Christmas gift. I had a regular equipment supplier and got a break on costs. Now that it was confirmed she was coming to Florida with me, she could mail it to him early instead of taking it back to Kansas with her. Even though it was going to Tommy, it was a thank you gift to her family for my visit.

The lunch and meeting went well. I was liked and trusted by the I.T. manager and the purchasing agent so it was easy to close the sale. They still wanted to review the written proposal but I wasn't worried about it. What I proposed was reasonable and met the requirements they gave me. By the end of the first quarter I'd have a nice fat check to cover the outlay for equipment and my service to install it and connect it to their network. Fifty percent of that check would be pure profit. My bank account would like that.

I got to the house about five-thirty to find seven people working away at the dining table. None of them was Kay though. I started to say something when she came in from the kitchen with the iced tea pitcher. The study group had picked up one since Tuesday and was up to eight.

Kay saw me walking into the great room. "Oh, hi, Rob, you're early."

"Yeah, the meeting went well and I was done early. They went for it but it wasn't a surprise. How's it going here?"

"We're making progress and I think we're doing good."

"Who's the new guy?"

"Oh, that's Jim. Jim, this is Rob, my housemate. Rob, this is Jim."

The new guy came holding his hand out to shake mine. I gave points to him for the courtesy. "How'd you get added to the group, Jim?"

"I wasn't meshing well in the group I started with. None of them seemed to have a clue about how to get started on this project. We were meeting in the student union building and getting constantly interrupted the whole seven hours we met."

"You met for seven hours in one sitting?"

"No, we met both Tuesday and Wednesday but it was the same both days. I talked with the professor today and he said as long as the group I was in was willing to let me leave and the group I wanted to join was willing to have me it was okay to make the change. So here I am. Thank you for allowing us to meet in your home." He scored more points for that.

"It's Kay's home as well as mine; she's the one you need to thank."

"Oh, I already have. It's so much easier here without the interruptions."

"Kay has you on the house network, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, we all are. It's faster than the network I have where I'm living and it's way faster than at the student union."

"It's probably no better than at the student union but it doesn't have all the users that the student union's does so you have more bandwidth available here. That makes it seem faster."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about."

A couple of the other guys were looking over at us and listening to the conversation.

"I should, it's my business, and how I make my money. It's not that hard but I specialize in it, specifically networks, both wired and wireless plus all the equipment for those networks. The only drawback is I have no coworkers but not everyone sees that as a drawback. I don't most of the time but it's tough to take a vacation. I'll leave you guys to your work. I'm going to change so I don't feel out of place with all of you."

I went back to my room to change and to leave them to their work. I didn't want to be an interruption. After changing, I went into my office and again reviewed the logs. I was still working when Kay called me for dinner.

I found everyone in the great room sitting on the floor around the cocktail table. The table was pretty well loaded down with Chinese food. There were bottles of soda as well as the iced tea pitcher too. All in all, it was impressive. They all had food on their plates so I picked up a plate and helped myself. Like Tuesday, we sat around talking about anything and everything, except their project. That was okay with me. I could have probably kept up with them on their work, at least for a little while, but it would have become a strain. I didn't need it. These seemed like good kids, serious in their work. I got to talk with each of them some and found I liked them.

Before the end of the evening I told Kay what I had done. "I ordered a lap top and it should be here in a couple of days. When it gets here I'm going to set it up for Tommy. I want you to send it to him as an early Christmas present."

"You didn't have to do that, Rob."

"I know but I wanted to. It's a good one and I'm sure he can use it for school. Your dad doesn't have money lying around and it's something I can do. It's one less Christmas present you have to worry about getting for your family."

"I'm not going to take credit for it; I'll tell them you got it for him."

"That's up to you but I'm fine with it coming from you."

"They know I don't have that kind of money to spend and they'll ask me where it came from. I have to tell them."

"Okay, but it's your choice, either way. I'm ready for bed, g'nite, Kay."

"I'm going to bed too, good night."

I went to my room, I didn't know what to expect, and would I have company or not. It turned out I slept alone. She kept me guessing.

The lap top came in and when I had it set up, Kay sent it to Tommy at school. The three weeks from then until we left for Florida went by with Kay and me in a routine. I worked every day; Kay went to school and to work. Her study group showed up Tuesdays and Thursdays. They stayed out of my way and I stayed out of theirs. I knew when they were in the house but they weren't any problem. I heard them having discussions but they didn't fight. They worked hard and didn't clown around. I was impressed and my overall impression of college students went up.

I had told my parents what day we were coming in but not on which flight. I didn't want them dealing with airport traffic to pick us up. I rented a car to drive to their house instead. I had called ahead to let them know about when we would get to their house and asked if they wanted to come out to dinner with us.

My parents lived in what's called a senior community. While we were in the air, I explained it to Kay. All the homes were on the smaller size and had larger front yards than back yards. There was a community pool with a nearby barbeque area that anyone could use. For small groups they didn't need to do anything but if they were having a large party, they were supposed to make reservations. The Home Owners Association kept the common areas neat and well cared for, they also maintained the tennis courts and kept a lifeguard at the pool.

When we drove up, my mother came out to greet us before we could get out of the car. My father was a little behind her but he came out too. I made the introductions.

"Mom, Dad, this is Kaitlyn Sandersen, my housemate and housekeeper. She's the one who answers the phone normally. Kay, this is my mother, Danielle, and my father, Phillip, the Listers."

"Mr. and Mrs. Lister it's so nice to meet you."

As she gave Kay a hug my mother jumped right in. "Please call me Dani or Danielle and you can call him Phil or Phillip. May we call you Kay?"

"Oh, please do." Kay was still in my mother's clutches while my father and I got the bags out of the trunk and headed for the front door. They followed when my mother realized Dad and I were disappearing through the front door.

I gave Kay my room with the full bed, and I took the smaller room. It was my mother's sewing room and had a day bed I'd use.

After dropping the luggage in the rooms, I returned to the living room where Kay was being questioned about her preferences for food so mom and dad could figure out which restaurant we would go to. Kay was completely flexible so they settled on Cuban food for dinner. We talked about dancing but decided, for tonight, it would just be dinner where we could sit and talk during and after the meal. We might all go out dancing after Christmas.

When we got to the restaurant we had to wait for a table. We waited in the bar and had drinks, Kay and I had wine while my parents had mixed drinks. We brought them with us when we sat down for the meal twenty minutes later. My mother made people comfortable and willing to talk and I think she could make a mouse comfortable in the elephants' cage at the zoo, but it was my father who asked the questions.

During the meal the conversation flowed. The talk was easy and pressure free, thanks to Mom but before we left the restaurant Dad had elicited from Kay what she was doing in school, what brought her to the school in the first place, what and how her parents were doing on the farm, how they felt about her schooling and a lot of other things. He got Kay to tell him things I didn't know, even after going to Kansas with her. I wasn't surprised; he could teach the CIA how to get answers from anyone.

While she was talking about her parents, Kay asked my father about the insight he gave me about her father. "Phil, how'd you know what my dad was feeling about me being in California? You never met him but apparently you were spot on."

"It wasn't hard. I know I'm from the east coast, your dad is in the Bible belt and we were talking about you on the west coast but parents are the same no matter where they are in the country, as long as they love and care for their children. Your dad's reaction wasn't extreme, it was typical. He only wants the best for you and to protect you. If you think about it from that point of view, it's logical. I take it things worked out?"

"Yes, they did, thanks to you and the advice you gave Rob. Dad still grumbles a little but he came out to California to challenge me and we turned him away. When Rob and I went to Kansas for Thanksgiving, Rob met the rest of my family and they've accepted him fully."

"What do you mean they've accepted him fully? We knew the trip at Thanksgiving went well. Was there more to it?"