Justin Thyme Ch. 18

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the way out to the car for the trip home Grandma slipped up to me and gave me a big hug. "I never doubted you for a minute, young man. I know the kind of young man your Mom and Dad raised, even if those two knuckleheads worried!"

What Grandma said meant more to me than all of the gold!

Rosemary held my hand and snuggled with her head on my shoulder for the trip home. I laid my head on hers and before I knew it I dozed off for the trip home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Michael woke up early Friday morning, disoriented by his surroundings. He was in the room in which he grew up, the room his mother kept just as he left it when he moved out of the home. His bookcase still had all of the Hardy Boys books from his younger years, and his desk on the other side of the room still had notebooks filled with printouts from his now very profitable program. Of course, team pictures of the Cardinals still graced the walls.

Finally he awoke enough to remember what the day was, and why he was in his old room. That realization guaranteed he could not go back to sleep. This day would be pivotal in changing his life forever, and for the good he was sure. Arising, Michael made his way to the bathroom where he took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. He still had some clothes in his dresser drawers that fit, so he threw on a pair of shorts and a polo and made his way to the kitchen, where he found his mother sitting at the table drinking orange juice and reading the paper.

"Morning, Mom. Anything good in the paper today, or is it the normal shootings, cuttings, and wrecks?"

Joanne stuck her tongue out at her son. "I'm sure you could find something good in here if you would just read it once in a while." Michael followed his father's lead when it came to the news. Leave it alone! He figured if it was bad enough somebody would tell him, and there was enough bad going on in the world he preferred to fill his mind with positive material.

"What has you up so early, Son? Troubled conscience?"

Michael grinned at her just before engulfing his mother in a bear hug that left her gasping for breath. "I just woke up and thought I'd been caught in a time warp or something, and then I remembered what today is, and that got me wide awake." He moved around the room with almost a dance step as he poured himself some juice and dropped an English muffin into the toaster. "I wish Zeni opened before ten o'clock in the morning! I can't wait to see what she created for Susie."

"You know it will be nice. This is a momentous day, and I couldn't be happier for you. I know how much you love Susie, and your father and I do, too. It's really hard to believe my baby has grown up so fast! I know you are already on your own, but this makes it seem much more permanent somehow."

Michael pulled his muffins from the toaster and grabbed the jam from the fridge before sitting down next to his mother. "Mom, you know you'll always be my favorite mother, and I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for you."

"I'm really glad you paid attention in Biology, Son," Joanne quipped drily. "That's about like the scientist conducting a study to determine that if your parents don't have children you won't either."

Both of them laughed together before Michael put down his muffin and reached a hand over to capture his Mom's hand. "Seriously, Mom, thank you for all you've done for me. I really wouldn't be what I am today without what you and Dad have taught me. I hope I'm able to do as well for my children as you two have done. I'm so grateful for what you've done for Susie, too. I'm glad we won't have 'mother-in-law troubles' on either side."

"You know your Dad and I really love Susie. She has been very good for you. We were getting worried about you there for a while. After your experience with 'she who's name I will not mention' I was afraid you were going to be totally jaded on women in general."

"I nearly was. In fact, I had decided not to even look for a girlfriend. I guess things work out for the best if you let them." He got up from the table and rinsed out his glass before putting it and his plate into the dishwasher. "I know Zeni won't be open for a while, but I have a couple of other errands to run. I think I'm going to go ahead and hit the road. Thanks for letting me use the car. Justin and I'll get it back up to you over the weekend sometime. Tell 'his nibs' I said I love him whenever he decides to roll out, today."

Michael bent down over his mother and kissed the top of her head. Joanne quickly got to her feet and embraced Michael before he could walk away. "You can't get away without a good hug. This might be my last chance to hold my baby before he officially belongs to someone else, even if it isn't finalized yet."

Michael hugged his mother back and then turned and walked to the garage with misty eyes, and left his mother with tear streaked cheeks. Michael would always be her son, and her baby, but after today it was just going to be different. Good, but different. How fast time flew!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie and Madge were on the road north at six o'clock in the morning. It was earlier than necessary, but Susie, the frustrations of last night already forgotten, was so excited for the day she couldn't sleep. She felt like she woke up every fifteen minutes and looked at the clock to see what time it was. Finally she arose at five o'clock and got her shower.

Madge, always a light sleeper, heard her go into the bathroom and decided to go ahead and get up also. She made her way to the kitchen and made coffee and started frying bacon before tapping on the bathroom door. "Breakfast will be ready when you get out. Don't be long."

"Thanks, Mommy!"

Madge wasn't sure how she felt about her daughter and Michael. For sure, she loved him like a son she didn't have, and if he wanted to marry Susan when she got out of college she would be more than happy, but she was afraid it wasn't going to work that way. Though many people thought she was stiff and proper and overly formal in her mannerisms she was a quietly passionate woman who loved her husband dearly. She nearly burned the bacon as she stood at the stove looking unseeingly into the skillet while her mind's eye saw herself and Tom as they were back when they were dating.

Madge did not go to college, but got a job right after high school as assistant bookkeeper for a large lumber yard. This was of course pre-computers when all ledgers were kept in actual ledgers, and written out by hand. Tom, who started his own small construction and remodeling business right after school came in to the office when there was an error on his account. She was so glad it had not been her error, but she was the one he saw to correct matters. He asked her out to dinner, and things went from there. Their romance had been very carefully controlled due to Madge's parent's rules, and she knew her upbringing prevented a more openness in her expressions of love.

All restrictions and efforts to curtail their budding romance notwithstanding it wasn't long before Madge was head-over-heels in love with Tom, and when he popped the question she immediately said, "Yes!" even before asking her parents. Fortunately, her father had looked at Tom much more favorably than did her mother, and six months later they married. Was this the way things would be for her daughter?

As much as she tried to stop it, a tear trickled down Madge's cheek as she thought back on hers and Tom's romance. The last several years seemed to be so busy they had grown somewhat apart. That was the biggest reason for the cruise they were on, and it had done a lot to restore their relationship, and the accident with its attendant uncertainties and lack of knowledge for nine interminable days had driven her into Tom's arms for comfort. She wished she didn't have to go to Phoenix today! She wanted to get back into bed with Tom and show him how much she really loved him. That had slipped away over the years too, and she was really sorry.

Susie came into the kitchen just as Madge fished the last of the very well done bacon from the frying pan. She hugged Madge from behind and said, "I didn't expect you to be up already. I just couldn't sleep."

Madge quickly dried her tear before turning and hugging her daughter. "I heard you get up, and thought I'd fix breakfast for us before we have to go today. I can't believe my little girl is going to her Senior Prom tonight, and just has one more week before she graduates and gets ready to go off to college."

Madge wrapped her arms around Susie, totally surprising her by her show of emotion. She always knew her mother loved her, but she was just not the demonstrative type.

"Would you mind terribly scrambling the eggs? I didn't get that far, and I have something I need to do really quickly. I'll be right back."

Susie looked at her mother wonderingly as Madge hurried down the hall. She didn't see her enter her bedroom and close the door quietly behind her before crawling onto the bed. Tom was sleeping quietly on his back, with just a hint of morning wood pressing against his pyjama pants. Madge smiled softly at him before she made a move she hardly ever did any more. She really didn't care for oral sex.

She was raised to believe sex was for procreation, and although she enjoyed sex with her husband, she still had the stigma that oral sex was somehow dirty. Today was going to be different. Without waking Tom she carefully slipped his pyjamas down far enough and engulfed his cock in her mouth. The very act was an act of love, and stirred her feelings, causing her to moan as she sucked firmly as she slipped her mouth up to the carona and licked it before popping it from her mouth. Quickly she sucked the now hard organ back into her throat as Tom awoke and sat up quickly in the bed, totally bewildered. Madge looked up into his eyes and smiled as she moaned her own arousal again.

Remembering Tom's surprised face, and how quickly he had nearly exploded into her mouth, brought another smile to Madge's face as she drove Susie north. Susie looked over at her questioningly, but Madge wouldn't say anything. She just smiled at Susie and drove to have her daughter's hair fixed, and the final fitting for a gown that would be the envy of every girl - and of all the woman teachers - at the Prom tonight. She knew she would soon lose her daughter, but also knew she would regain the relationship she once had and missed with her husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't set my alarm for this morning. For the first day in quite a while I didn't have to work or do anything of substance. Sometime after noon I needed to pick up flowers for the girls, and get my tux from the men's wear store. I needed to stop by Jim's store and talk with him about Brian and our plans, but for all practical purposes today was a day off.

I woke up just long enough to hear Mom back her car from the garage and to hear the door go closed again and I rolled over to catch just a few more zzz's when my door opened and Rosemary came in, naked as the day she was born. I watched with great interest as she strolled across the room to my bed and crawled in with me.

"I just wanted to come in and say, 'good morning' and 'I love you.' This is going to be a big day." She reached down and stroked my cock, which of course stood at attention as soon as she walked in the door. "You really have no idea how badly I wanted to sleep with you last night. Snuggling in the car was great, but I didn't want it to end."

I pulled her to me for a deep kiss feeling the softness of her breasts against my chest and her silky tresses against my cheek.

"Ummmh. I'd like to stay here and enjoy this all day, but you might want to get up and grab a shower and brush your teeth. Steph is coming over just as soon as her mom leaves for work, right about now, actually. As much as I would love to take advantage of this . . ." as she stroked my cock, "I promised Steph I'd save it for her. I wouldn't mind helping you take a shower, though!" She leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips before resting her head on my chest. Her sigh of contentment mirrored my own feelings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Tom Meechum sat at the head of the breakfast table in the Winters's house, still a bit uneasy about being there. Amazingly, it was Stephanie who insisted he stay. "Mom," she had said, "You've waited ten years I don't think you should wait any longer." What surprised and gratified him even more was the way Stephanie made it a point to give him a good morning hug each morning before he and Mary left for work. Her unqualified acceptance of him was just so gratifying, especially as he found himself - for the first times since his childhood - as a part of family.

Stephanie set a glass of orange juice down by his plate before placing a kiss on the top of his head and then wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her cheek on his head. "Thank you again for loving my mom," she whispered. "I can't remember seeing her so happy."

Mary walked down the hallway from her bedroom wearing scrubs, but with a happy contented smile on her face such as Stephanie could never remember seeing. "Morning, Mom. You look happy this morning!"

Mary colored slightly, but said, "Thank you. I am happy this morning." She hugged Steph before sitting down at the table. "What has you up and going already today? I didn't think you would be up before noon."

"Rosie and I have a few things to do this morning. I'm heading over there right after breakfast, but I'll be home in plenty of time to get ready."

"OK, you have fun, and thank you for fixing breakfast."

"No problem. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Don't worry about your dishes. I'll take care of them for you." Steph gave them a little wave and went down the hall to her room. She couldn't wait for them to go so that she could go see Justin. Steph slipped off her bra and waited until the coast was clear.

Tom stood from the table when he finished his breakfast and gave Mary a hand to lift her to her feet. Together they walked to the front door where Tom stopped and faced Brad Winters' picture, and as he always did coming or going, nodded and said, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madge pulled their Buick into a parking spot in front of Jacqui's Salon at eight-fifteen, a little early for their eight-thirty appointment. Jacqui, who was just unlocking the doors saw them and waved for them to go on in. Susie suddenly was nervous about the appointment, for what reason she had no idea. For weeks now she had been going to school with a partially shaved head and scars in view and suffered through it fatalistically, but now that there was a chance for her to look normal again she was afraid.

Jacqui met them at the door with hugs and asked Susie, "Are you ready for your big day?"

"I guess," was the almost listless reply.

Jacqui took her hand between her own and caressed it softly. "Afraid?"

Tears sprang up in Susie's eyes as she nodded.

"I understand. Let's sit down and have a cup of tea and talk for a few minutes before we do anything with your hair. This is Jennifer, one of my stylists, and a cancer survivor, whom I've asked to sit in on this with us this morning."

Jennifer set down a tray loaded with a tea pot and the attendant condiments and small pastries. She set about pouring each of them a cup of tea and passed them around as Jacqui led them to a small table in the waiting area.

"I do a lot of work with cancer survivors, Susie," Jacqui said. "They all have the same reaction when they first walk into my shop, and I think I can tell you what is on your mind. Please tell me if I'm wrong." Susie nodded as Madge watched her, concerned. "You are thinking, 'I've gone weeks with my hair gone and have gotten used to it. Do I dare hope to look normal again? Is that about it?"

Susie nodded, still mute, and Jacqui nodded to Jennifer to speak.

"Susie, I know exactly how you feel. I've been there. When I had chemo for breast cancer five years ago I lost all of my hair, including my eyebrows. Jacqui, who had cancer herself twenty years ago knows how we feel, and she spends a lot of her time in the cancer wards of the hospitals encouraging women who are undergoing treatment."

Jennifer paused to look Susie in the eyes briefly before continuing. "I don't think there is much more humiliating and discouraging to a woman than to have her hair gone, or growing in patchy so she can't make it look nice." Susie nodded.

"I wish my hair had been like yours when I first came in to see Jacqui. When hair grows back in after Chemo it is like baby hair. It's really fine and hard to work with, kind of like the little feathers on a baby chick or else it is stiff and scraggly. Jacqui taught herself how to work with that fine hair and make it look natural and good. Still, it is often terrifying to women to make the attempt. Your hair on the other hand is mature. It's just short. Sure, she has to work around the scars, but she often has to do that with women who have had a brain tumor, and it is amazing what she can do. I promise you that you'll walk out of here feeling like the beautiful young lady you are."

"It is all a matter of mind-set. Maxwell Maltz wrote a book in the early seventies, I think, called Psychocybernetics for his plastic surgery practice because they had trouble believing they could be beautiful after what they had undergone. This is not as serious an issue as that, but that is the reason Jacqui has me talk with new clients dealing with something as traumatic as what you or cancer patients have undergone. You are a beautiful young lady, and when Jacqui is through you may wonder why you didn't wear your hair short all your life."

Jennifer pulled out a folio of pictures of her own head during and after chemotherapy, and then again after Jacqui styled her hair. Susie could feel the fear dissipate as they looked through the photos.

"I'm just a baby, I know. I just don't want Michael to be ashamed of me, or to think I don't look nice enough for him."

Jacqui laid a hand on Susie's. "My dear, that is the absolute least of your worries. I've known Michael since he was in diapers, and I've never seen a young man as smitten by a young lady as he is by you. You could walk out of here with your hair all standing on end and frightful and he would still think you beautiful, but we will do much better for you than that."

"You can really fix it so that I look human again when I go back to school Monday?" Susie whispered.

"If you fix it the way I will show you I'll bet you ten dollars you have at least one guy ask you for a date on Monday."

"It won't do them any good," Susie giggled. Jacqui was pleased at how quickly her spirits perked up. Often she and Jennifer spent an hour or more with a client before they were even in a position to start working on their hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At nine-thirty Michael couldn't wait any longer. He sat in front of Zeni's Jewelry waiting for her to open. He knew of course he was being foolish, but he really had nothing else to do with his time, other than to look at the materials for the UP, and there was no way he could keep his focus on something that for today was so mundane.

Just to find a way to pass the time he started making a list of things to do for the day. The first thing that came to his mind was to call the contractor his father recommended and make an appointment to take a look at the apartment in the old servant's quarters. Changing screens on his phone he quickly did a search for Richardson's Contractors and placed the call.

"Richardson's," was the terse answer on the second ring.

"Good morning. You were recommended to me for doing a remodel. When would be the soonest we could get together and take a look at the place?"