Queen of Heaven Ch. 09

"Okay," I said, "so we've got folks coming over on Friday."

"So, put on some damned clothes, Mom. You're embarrassing me?" Anna snidely narrated.

"No. That would be totally up to you. Far be it from me to ever tell a woman to cover her divine nudity."

"Amen, boyfriend," echoed Michelle.

"I'm just saying that there are people coming over. One of which two of us haven't met and both of which I've never cooked for. So, I could use a hand with menu planning, thinking about what we need to have on hand, and anything else I'm likely to forget."

"Right. Well, obviously, you know nothing about feeding people. I don't even see those little packets of red pepper and artificial parmesan laying around here. What sort of establishment is this," cried Anna, culinary expert.

"I hear a call for ordering pizza. Sure," I replied. "But maybe as the second string attack. How about staying with the Italian theme? Maybe a pasta, with a salad, and some fresh bread from down at that spot on 12th?"

"See," said Michelle, "You didn't need us at all."

"I always need you," I replied, "even when you have nothing to offer in the kitchen."

Anna leaned against the kitchen island and said, "Michelle, I think we'll have to introduce Gil-baby here to the Aunt Jemima treatment. Nothing to offer in the kitchen indeed."

"I give. I give." Fending off the 80s quote fest. "You win. No more questions."

"I am mighty!"

Michelle stood behind Anna and wrapped her in a hug saying, "Yes, indeed you are baby. But maybe we should offer to help with something besides the orgasms. I mean, I know he appreciates those, but he does feed us too."

"True. And we want to make a decent impression on Kate."

"We do. I promise to even wear clothes when she gets here," Michelle said. "Maybe not all night. I couldn't promise that. But she's walked into enough rooms where my ass was on display without directly asking for that."

"If she asked, that would be totally different," Anna replied. "I mean, then it would just be the right thing to do."

"So true. Proper host behavior," I offered.

"Okay, I'll buy the groceries. Just make a solid list," Michelle said.

"And I'll get the wine and clean the house," Anna continued.

"Cleaning the house?" I asked a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I know you've got someone who comes out and does that sort of thing, but she only comes once a month - poor girl- and I can read your refrigerator calendar well enough to know she won't be here until the week after. So, I'm offering to clean the house that morning. I don't have a class on Friday, and it seems only fair to pull some of my weight, right?"

"Mom, that's very sweet of you. Thank you. I mean, you're a terrible slob most of the time, but it's nice of you to put on a show for new people," I chuckled and ducked the flying bag of carrots.

She replied, "I would kick your smart ass, if it wasn't so cute."

"It's a gift. And a curse."

We carried on for a bit. I cooked, they ribbed me, I enjoyed the household we'd created here.

We ate by the pool, and they hassled me. As I was washing the dishes, Michelle dried and Mom put away.

I smiled and said, "You know, we make quite the image of domestic - mostly naked- bliss."

"Is there non-naked bliss?" Anna inquired. "Because, I have to say I really prefer this version. Besides, you seem to like it too."

"Very true," I agreed. "I was just appreciating that we make a nice household when we're standing up too."

"I'm all for standing up," Anna answered. "You know, like in the Ladies at our bar. In the shower. Sometimes just against a wall."

"Mother, you are incorrigible. Never change." I smiled and kissed her.

As the last of the dishes found their way into the cabinet, our doorbell rang.

"Well, fuck. Who would that be?" I asked the room.

"Who knows?" Michelle said, "But it's not a pizza guy so Anna and I should probably not answer it. We'll just be in the bedroom."

"I don't hide, Mikey." Anna said quite seriously. "But, I also don't refuse invitations to a bedroom from beautiful girls. So, I guess this time I'll comply."

They popped out as the bell rang again. I flipped the deadbolt and opened the door. Standing on my doorstep were an elderly couple. Well, I guess elderly. Certainly at least my grandparents age. He was tall, though a bit stooped. A fringe of gray hair. Thin and probably once athletic. I'd guess he still golfs occasionally but has given up the tennis. She was probably under five feet tall, roundish, with short white hair, blue eyes, and a cake carrier. Well. Okay.

"Hi there," the old fella introduced himself. "I'm Don and this is my wife Jan. We're your neighbors. Thought it was a darned shame that we hadn't gotten over to meet you."

Jan offered up the carrier, "You've been here far too long not to have tried my carrot cake. It's not for everybody, but I've always found it was the best way to get all your vegetables."

"Wow. Thank you so much," I said taking the cake. "Come in. Come in. I'm Gil. It's very nice to meet you."

"Well, we won't stay long. Jan just made a cake for her Bunco night, and while she was at it she thought it would be neighborly to make a second one. Hope we weren't presumptuous."

"Not at all. Not at all. I'm afraid I'm dressed a bit informally for receiving visitors, but I'm always glad to receive cake."

Jan seemed to give me a slight up and down. I thought, gym shorts and a t-shirt were probably fine for answering the door, but she did seem to have a critic's eye. Not sure if she approved.

"Oh, Gil. No fussing over that. We're intruding on you as it is."

"No intrusion at all. Could I offer you something? Wine? Water? Coffee? Cake?"

"That's very thoughtful, but we won't stay long. Just wanted to pop in and say hello," Don said. "We know the Johnsons from way back. When they rented this place out, we worried that a tenant wouldn't care for their old home, but you've really kept an eye on the yard so it was a comfort to us."

Jan said, "And you've always got the trash bins rolled back on time. I really appreciate that. You don't find a lot of young folks who remember to do that sort of thing."

Don laughed, "Yeah, you'll find that Jan keeps up with the comings and goings around here. She likes to keep things tidy. But, don't worry about her too much. She never complains to the HOA about folks that enjoy her baking. So, even if you can't stand the cake just tell her it was wonderful and she'll never rat you out. Make you fat maybe, but never rat you out."

Jan gently slapped her husband's shoulder. Clearly this was part of their routine. It was kind of sweet.

"Well, Miss Jan, I assure you that I will devour this cake. I've even got my boss coming over for dinner on Friday so hopefully it will survive my initial attack enough to have a bite or two left for her. I'm trying to make a good impression and you will be the star of this show."

"Don, he's a charmer." She grinned.

"Well, as long as he doesn't steal you away my darlin'"

"You never know. He's awfully handsome." Jan was clearly a bit of a flirt. My favorite sort of person.

"Well, I thank you for that. So, the two of you are neighbors. But, which side? I'll need to know where to return the cleaned plate," I said.

Jan chuckled, "Oh, didn't we say, dear? We're directly across the way."

I blushed a bit. "Oh. Really. Uh."

Don reached over and gently punched my shoulder, "That's how Jan knows about your trash bins. She keeps an eye on things in the neighborhood, the old busybody."

"Well, I... That is to say, I-"

Jan put her hand on Don's arm and leaned in conspiratorially to say in a false whisper, "I do like to keep an eye on things around here. And it's nice to see that you're a sociable young man who opens up his house to friends. You should just move, well... at least one, of those ladies in. We've been coming over here for years. There's plenty of room. And not everyone has a pool."

I stumbled along a bit and said, "Well, yes, I do have guests pretty often. Hope that's not a problem."

"Problem? It's a treat, boy. The old girl is always glad to tell me about the goings on. So, you know, don't murder anybody. But, if you want to have beautiful ladies wandering around your place at all hours, we're not going to complain. The more the merrier I've always said."

"Don, you old goat," Jan squeezed his forearm a bit sharply, "Don't scare the boy off. We're just saying, you seem to be a nice man having a fine youth. We thought we'd introduce ourselves and of course be nosy. We used to swim with the Johnsons, and haven't been over here since they moved. So, naturally we were curious about you."

"Oh, well, of course. We've been enjoying the pool. It's quite nice."

"And you're always welcome to join us for a swim," Anna said as she walked out of the bedroom followed closely by Michelle.

Both of them, of course, naked.

"Anna!" I blurted.

"Oh, hush Gil. These two have clearly seen us through the window. I wouldn't be surprised if this beautiful lady called in her hubby to get an eyeful. Am I right?"

"Oh, dear. I'm afraid so. You are quite lovely. Anna, is it?"

"I'm Anna. This is Michelle. We're all a quite a close bunch, so I'm afraid we spend a good deal of time over here. And as you can see through our bad curtain protocol, a lot of that's naked. Sorry about that."

Jan smiled and said, "Oh never apologize for that. You've stirred up the old man on more than one occasion. I owe you more than a carrot cake."

Don hadn't said a word, but was grinning from ear to ear.

Jan leaned a bit towards the door and said, "Speaking of which, I better get the old lecher home before he does something someone regrets."

"Don't rush off on our account," Mom winked, "But don't waste an opportunity if it... arises."

"Amen, sister Anna," said Don, who had a decided need to shift the trousering.

Michelle walked over and extended her arms up towards Don who leaned down for a kiss on the cheek. Anna did the same for Jan. I shook my head and said, "Well, yeah, so if you'd like to use the pool just let us know. You're always welcome. Though, as you can tell, the ladies in my life might have opinions about your swimwear."

Jan walked over to me and offered a hug, "That's very sweet of you Gil. We'll take you up on that some time. And don't worry about the wardrobe," as she pinched me firmly on the ass. "We haven't owned swim suits since 1973."

Anna cackled and looked over at me, "Gil, I really have to find out who your rental agent is. You have the best luck with housing."

Michelle walked the couple to the door, opened it and said, "It was so nice to meet you. Come again."

Jan said, "At his age, it'll just be the once but thanks for the thought, child."

I don't think Don had said a full sentence since the appearance of naked women in my living room, but he couldn't stop smiling as they left.

"Well, I guess the curtain isn't such a big deal after all. Cake anyone?" I asked and then collapsed onto the couch.

---

"Okay, Gil. That's all we're going to get done today. Head home and kiss the lovely Chelle for me," Joann concluded. "Fridays shouldn't feel this long, but they always do. It'll be nice to have a weekend."

"Starting at 7, yeah?" I asked. "Anna even offered to clean the house before you came over. You can't imagine how rare that is, but apparently she likes you."

"Well, that's sweet, but what the hell is she doing cleaning your house? You are, as I hear it, a grown assed man."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm cooking, so she thought she'd pitch in. Since she's a terrible cook, she offered last minute tidying. Of course, that's not to say the place was a dump. Just that she'll make sure I've remembered to stock toilet paper in the restrooms and that the wine glasses are mostly clean," I said.

"Well, bless her. And look. I know that you aren't buttering me up for a permanent gig here-"

"Sure about that?" I asked with arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, not that I mind a buttering, but you're good people."

"Good people don't butter?"

"You know what I mean, smart ass. Anyway, I appreciate you having us over tonight. It was sweet to invite me and sweeter to invite my mother. She's missed Chelle and has been really curious about you and Anna," she explained.

"Well, of course. Besides, if you don't pick up my contract then I'll have your mother on my side to lord it over you. That's gotta be worth something, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I'm going to have to reconsider this whole arrangement aren't I?"

"What arrangement is that, Boss Lady?"

"Well, I was going to tell you that you'll get notice that we're opening up a permanent position in the group on Monday and that you would be eligible to apply. But, now that you're showing your sassy nature, I'm not sure I want that much back talk around here in coming months," she smiled.

"That's awesome!" I said. I was genuinely glad to hear it. My contract was nearly up and if a spot hadn't opened up in a couple of weeks I would have to have started shopping for new gigs. I'm sure the pay wouldn't be quite as nice on staff, but I'm better suited to the stability. A good benefits package and not having to hustle a new spot every six months is a welcome change from what I've been doing. Besides, this is a pretty good corp and Jo is a nice boss. Why not stick around?

"I'm glad you're happy about it. You'll have to apply," she explained. "And I'm certain there will be other applicants, but I'll put in a good word for you, naturally. I can't imagine you won't get it. Besides, we won't have to clean up your desk this way. Just glare at you judgmentally."

"Well, that seems fair," I laughed. "Thanks Joann. I'll even break out the not-cheapest bottle of wine with dinner tonight."

"How very gracious of you," she chuckled.

"That's just the kind of guy I am."

---

"Come in! Come in!" Anna said opening the door wide and scooping up Joann in a hug. "So glad you could make it."

"Anna. Thanks for having us," she said. As she stepped into the living room and turned to introduce the woman with her, Anna casually put her arm around Joann's waist. "This is Kate, my-"

"Moooooommmmmmmmmmaaaaaa!" Michelle dopplered through the house as she ran from the bathroom where she'd been getting dressed (occasionally this happens even at our place) to the front door, past Joann and bearhugged the poor woman who had barely gotten over our threshold. I could tell there was laughing. There were even a couple of tears, but clearly Kate was glad to see Michelle as well.

"Well, yeah," joked Joann. "So, when she comes out from under the she-bear in a sun dress, I'm sure she'll be glad to meet you."

Anna lightly bumped her hip into Joann and said, "Should we warn Gil about his girlfriend's true affections?"

I walked into the living room with a kitchen towel over one shoulder after drying my hands, and offered that "I'm pretty clear on who Michelle is. I imagine she'll have a little time for me... eventually."

Michelle, essentially, climbed off of Kate long enough for her to catch her breath, and said, "Buncha smart alecs. Always giving me a hard time-"

"Th-," breathed Anna before Michelle continued, "Hush it! So, everyone that's not Joann, this is Kate. Kate, this is Anna and that one is her son, Gil. They, of course, don't deserve me, but your daughter set me up with Gil a while back and apparently I just haven't gotten up the gumption to storm out and sweep you off your feet."

Kate chuckled, "You, young lady, are never less than outrageous are you? It's very nice to meet you all. Thank you for inviting me to come along with Joann. I've missed Michelle, of course, but it was very gracious of you to invite me into your home Gil."

I walked up and extended a hand, "Kate, I've heard not nearly enough about you. You should really be ashamed that your daughter doesn't sing your praises all the live long day. Maybe you should ground her?"

She shook my hand gently and said, "But then I'd have her underfoot all day. It would be like her middle school years all over again. Mopey, grumpy, and long."

"So true. Better to just come in, have a glass of wine and get comfortable. We'll pry everything good out of you in no time. This bunch is not shy," I used the hand that we were shaking to draw her into the house and towards the kitchen. Wine had been opened and glasses were out. "Red is open and white is available. Also, of course, water, beer, soda, and possibly even a mixed drink or two. What'll it be?"

"Oh, red is just fine, Gil. Thank you."

Kate was delightful. Joann on an older, firmer scale. Where Joann was a woman of a certain size, Kate was that woman completely comfortable in who she was. Her hair had turned gray about the edges and her fashion sense was... well, comfortable. But, she was also, without doubt adorable. All the cute that one would see in Joann with a twinkle of elfin delight that was sometimes guarded in my boss.

I was lucky to meet them, and I could tell that Michelle was delighted to reunite with her. I think she feared that she had lost a connection to these folks by deciding that living with Joann forever wasn't her destiny. Needing to break away caused her to give up more than I had guessed. That said, a lot had changed for Kate. Clearly, her recent break up had put her in Joann's home and Jo's stability at the corp was a new and interesting venue. It was all a little unusual and something that each of us would need to adapt to.

"Well, Kate, you are welcome to my... er... I guess, our... home... and I hope you will give me just the tiniest bit of approval. Because, if you hate me, then I can't imagine that Michelle will continue to be interested in me, and I'd guess that Joann would succumb to dark notions of what I'm doing in the workplace. I guess what I'm saying is that I really hope you like the wine and that I don't bore you."

I smiled and Kate laughed. She said, "Oh Gil, I know that you make Joann laugh. And you seem to make Michelle happy. So, that satisfies two of my major qualifications for being a decent person."

"Good to know," I responded.

"And now that you're feeding me and giving me wine, well hell, young man. I might marry you myself."

"I understand you're available, so don't rule it out gorgeous," I chuckled.

"Oh, I'm definitely going to give you the vote. Now, wine, then let me catch up with my sweet Chelle. It's been too long."

"I so agree, Ms. Kate. I agree." I poured her a large glass of red and sent her back into the scrum.

The weather was nice, so I had set up a dining area by the pool. Plates and silverware. Glasses and napkins. It was a fairly simple meal so I wasn't too worried about it. Besides, we were all very casual on the best of days. While the ladies chatted, I moved out the bread, the salad, and pulled the sauce off the simmer. With the pasta water already on the boil, it wouldn't take long to finish that side of things. I took the sauce and a second bottle of wine out to the table while the noodles did their thing.

After a few minutes, al dente and drained, I dropped a little butter, a little olive oil and the pasta back into the pan. Salted and mixed in some fresh basil from the pot on my back patio. Tossed everything for a few seconds and dropped it into a serving bowl. Nothing fancy, but easy and welcoming.

As I headed out back I called, "Soups on. Or at least Food That Isn't Really Soup is on. Get it while it's hot. And remember, pizza is on speed dial."

Joann replied, "Coming."

To which Kate audibly said, "Well, I wouldn't go that far."

"Mother!"

"Oh, Joann, the lecherous man who is taking advantage of our innocent little Michelle's virtue, is not going to be offended by a minor swipe," said Kate smirking.