Andi's Dream - Joy to the World

© 2023 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions. All characters are original, any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental. This story or any part thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary.

For readers of Stormwatch and We're A Wonderful Wife, this story is the genesis. On the Stormwatch timeline this is one year before

Stormwatch - A Blizzard in Buffalo

and it falls during the same time as

We're a Wonderful Wife Ch. 10

and twenty years after

The Pilot's Conjugal Christmas

.

Doctor Adrianna (Andi) Roberts and her twin girls ended up in the ditch during a Western New York Lake Effect Blizzard. She was rescued by a man she once met in the past, Doctor Paul Jarecki. He took Andi, Sandy and Madeline to his cabin and as they waited out the storm they opened their souls to each other and love bloomed. Now having proved to Andi's best friend that he can protect Andi and having driven her ex-husband away, it's time to get married.

_______________________________

Andi's Dream

Peace On Earth

The conference that initially lured Andi to Western New York ended on time considering its rocky start delayed by a blizzard, and with that complete there was so much to do! There was Christmas shopping, presents to be wrapped, pre-marriage classes with Macy and John, and dance practice. With the furniture moved aside, the library in Paul's house was a fine ballroom, which both Paul and Andi began to suspect was its original purpose. Their neighbor Veronica van Köster came by with her dance coach Mitch and gave Andi and her fiancé Paul some pointers. As a couple they looked a bit odd on the dance floor, Andi is curvaceous and sweetly cute with long dark blond hair and large breasts but she's under five feet tall. Paul is over a decade older than her, slim and very tall, with a hook nose and thinning hair. They look mismatched, until you see them together and you realize that they were truly placed on this earth for each other.

Dancing at the Crikit House, a local tavern, was much more fun and became almost a nightly event and Andi was becoming good at several types of country dancing. On several occasions their neighbor Veronica von Köster joined them with her coach Mitch and put on a show of country style ball room dancing that had the rest of the people in the bar applauding.

"What's Worzil's?" said Andi as she returned from an expedition to find her twin girls new clothes.

"It's a pub just up the road on the corner," said Paul as he studied a document.

"Veronica said it's a good place to eat."

Paul glanced at the clock and was shocked to see how late it had gotten and he didn't have anything to start for dinner. "Would you like to go there for dinner?"

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" chanted Andi's twin girls Sandy and Madoline. The twins are tiny for their age (5) and have bright blond hair. They look identical, but their attitudes can be light years apart. Finally Madeline said, "What's a pub?"

"It's a place where they serve beer," said Andi, "and food."

"Grab your coats."

The soon-to-be family of four trooped up Howard Ave through the old neighborhood, boots crunching through the snow, their breath white in the cold air, the twins trying to catch the errant snowflake on their tongues. Most of the houses they passed were Victorian, one was fifties retro modern and one was eight sided with a porch that went around the entire house. Finally they reached Worzils. Paul held the door open for his girls and from behind the bar a woman cried, "PAULIE!" The co-owner, Julissa Tanaka came out to greet the family. "How long were you going to hide them from me?" she asked. Short and matronly with thick brunette hair Julissa rushed up and hugged Paul. Being a retired USAF Sergeant, she looked like that mom that you never wanted to cross even though she never had children. Julissa is almost 100% of German descent, the Japanese name came from her husband.

"Do I

have

to drink a beer?" asked Sandy. "I'd rather have pop."

As the middle aged brunette shook hands with Andi she turned to the twins and said, "You'll drink what your momma gets you."

Andi breathed a sigh of relief; the twins are masters at twisting people around their little fingers and Julissa just shut Sandy down. "Thank you for that."

Sandy was plotting to get an orange soda and whispered something to Madeline about it and Madeline whispered that she preferred root beer. The bartender and Julissa's husband Ayato Tanaka leaned over the bar and said, "Sorry, we can't sell you a pop under the age of ten without your mother's permission." Ayato is 100% Japanese and he was an officer in the USAF. He and Julissa retired together, put on civilian clothes and got married. Although Ayato has poor eyesight and wears thick glasses, he has incredible hearing; it's rumored that if you drop a quarter he can tell what the image on the back of the quarter is from the sound it makes when it hits the floor.

"I wasn't talking to

you

," pouted Sandy and she followed her family into the dining room with her head held high.

"I guess she told me," muttered Ayato with a grin.

Paul led them to a table in the back where they were joined by Paul's younger brother John, the pastor at the local church who was going to perform their wedding, and his wife Macy. John is a younger, shorter version of Paul, but Macy was completely different. She's tall and slim and very black. She has a beautiful figure, a delightful smile, long straight raven black hair and being from Quebec, she has a delightful French accent.

"Can I see a menu?" asked Andi which brought chuckles from around the table.

"Menu, she said," said John with a laugh.

"

Débutante

!" said Macy with a giggle.

"What? What did I say?" asked Andi.

"Nothing," said Paul. "The menu is simple, Beef on Weck, Pepperoni Pizza, Wings, Fries, and beer. On Fridays its fish fry only. I already ordered."

"What? What did you order," but shortly Julissa came out and gave the adults a large roast beef sandwich on a salt covered hard roll with fries, the girls got a mound of very mild chicken wings and fries along with a root beer and an orange pop.

"This is incredible!" gasped Andi after she tried the Beef on Weck. The Kimmelweck is a simple hard roll that is covered with kosher salt and caraway seeds and toasted a little bit so the crust is crunchy but the inside is still soft. The roast beef is tender and moist and dipped in au ju and the sandwich is completed with horseradish so hot you could light a cigar on it.

"This is the real food of Buffalo," said John as he added horseradish to his beef on weck. "The wings are for the tourists."

"And this makes it perfect," said Paul as Julissa placed a draft Genessee Cream Ale in front of Paul and Andi. It's the only beer that Andi likes and she put a big dent in Paul's stash at his cabin. They discussed the upcoming ceremony, and the "homework" that Macy assigned in their marriage class and after dinner they walked home in the gentle snow while looking at the Christmas lights of the village.

<><><><><>֎<><><><><>

The highlight of this time was the Christmas shopping. At first Andi's list was short, trying to stay in budget, when Paul asked her what she was doing. "Planning my Christmas budget and shopping list."

"Oh, here." He handed her a credit card that was pure black and made out of metal. "Don't forget a gown for New Years Eve, we'll be at a nice place, John and I will be in tux. Also - swimwear for you and the girls and see if Macy needs any."

"Swimwear?" she asked as the sound of the neighbors son shoveling snow off their driveway filled the house. Andi pictured a hotel with a pool, that's what the folks do in North Dakota in the winter, go to a hotel with a pool. "What's the limit on this?" Andi asked as she inspected the black card.

"It's not anything you can hit," said Paul as he gave her a kiss then headed upstairs to his home office.

She sat at the table and stared at the card for a long time. Occasionally she considered calling out to Paul but in the end she sighed and stared at the card again. Slowly she bundled up the girls as she pondered what Paul had said, then she grinned, and picked up her phone. "Macy? I'll be by in 10 minutes, we're going

shopping

!"

And the wedding details were keeping them busy; Andi was constantly on the phone with Mary Kraft the church treasurer and church matron about using the church, she was constantly reassuring her maid of honor Lucy that what she picked out for Lucy to wear will be beautiful but not

girly

, there was the tuxes for Paul, Gus, and John, the dresses for the twins, and most importantly how to keep them in line during the ceremony. Macy and Lucy both volunteered to do that most important task by babysitting the twins in the church's nursery, but Andi would have nothing of it, Macy and Lucy and the twins were all in the ceremony and she wasn't going to allow any of them to escape. Then Paul came up with an idea which everyone laughed at, then thought about, then tried, and it worked, so it was left in the ceremony. Music was left up to the church pianist, Melissa Kraft, and the church worship leader Peter Runyon. It shouldn't be much because they were getting married immediately after the church's Christmas Eve service, so they want to keep the ceremony short.

Paul caught Andi in a thoughtful mood in the breakfast nook one morning, she had her reading glasses on and was holding a clipboard and pondering very thoughtfully. Paul topped off her coffee and asked, "What are you working on now?" as he sat down with her.

"Christening our house," she said like it was general news, "I think I have a preliminary plan." Paul understood that Andi, like many wives, want to make love in the house to christen it. "To christen a house this beautiful, we're going to have to christen every room. Should we start in the attic and work our way down, or should we start in the basement and work our way up?"

"Are you counting closets?"

"Only ones that we can stretch out in, why?"

"You're putting a lot of work into this; most couples just do it in like the kitchen and the living room."

Andi looked over the top of her reading glasses at Paul. "I've waited my entire life for a house this beautiful and a man with a big dick to love. We are going to do it right." She got up, scooped up her clip board and her impossibly big coffee cup and headed off to do whatever she had planned next and she elbowed him on the way past. "Rest up, you have a lot of christening ahead of you."

Paul sipped his coffee and wondered how he got so blessed.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Years ago Paul bought an old farm outside of Springville and built a cabin on the property. The original barn is still there and inside the barn is Paul's flock of chickens. Right now each hen is in a small cage in their heated coop, waiting for spring to return. Every day the twins went to visit their chickens and were getting much better at collecting their eggs, even the eggs that the chickens pooped on. Before they realized it, their little hands were able to get the eggs all the way from the roost to the basket, as long as the hen wasn't in a pecking mood.

And many of the hens now had names, usually names like Sally, Red, Pecky, and Chook Chook. Unfortunately for the hens, the twins often forgot which chicken belonged to which name. Also, taking the eggs to the Hirsh's and the Clemmons was not as much fun as the first time they did it in the Snowcoach being towed by Pappa's snowmobile. Now that the road was open, they could be driven in momma's car or pappa's truck which wasn't any fun. They couldn't wait for the next storm; it was so much fun living in the cabin!

Then one day they went with Aunt Lucy and Aunt Macy to make sure that the cabin was ready. They stocked the refrigerator with bottles of wine, cheese, and fruit, topped off the Christmas tree's water, stuffed the wood stove full of wood, then they did something that the twins always thought was amazing. The couch back folded down and the couch became a big bed. They knew it did that, they just never seen it happen. The twins wanted to play on it, but Aunt Lucy kept scooting them off while Aunt Macy put sheets, soft fluffy blankets, and pillows on the couch.

<Who is Gus?> Sandy whispered to Madeline in their private language TwinBabble®.

<He's poppa's friend, him and poppa and Aunt Lucy went to the suit store yesterday> answered Madeline.

<Aunt Lucy sure asks a lot of questions about him>

"What are you two carrying on about over here?" Aunt Macy was looking down on them with her huge smile.

"Nothing."

"Things."

"Yeah, things."

"They won't crack," said Aunty Lucy, "when they're talking their TwinBabble® they never reveal what the conversation is about."

<I'm cold>

<Let's go to the hotroom> and off they went.

It was cold in the cabin, while the modern cabin had electric heat, when no one is there it is usually only warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing, the main cabin was 100% wood heat, and the stove was not lit. When Macy and Lucy finished up with their decorating and bed making. Macy grabbed a couple pieces of newsprint, crumpled it loosely and stuffed it in the wood stove under the logs, closed the door and opened up the oxygen feed and the chimney damper. "One match and this place will be toasty warm in a matter of minutes," she announced.

"Should we put these under the tree?" asked Lucy as she stacked gifts on the table in front of the windows.

"They will be fine there on the table," said Macy, "they'll be missed, ignored, or forgotten under the tree." She picked up one gift, slightly taller than a soda can. It was wrapped in military camouflage colored paper and a tag read "Survival Supplies" Macy held it up next to her striking face like she was modeling for a magazine campaign. "Lubricant?" she asked Lucy.

"And a roll of cherry Lifesavers."

"Is that joke ever going to grow old?"

"Not in my lifetime... where's the twins?" asked Lucy as she suddenly noticed that the twins had been out of sight for a few minutes.

They searched the cabin for a few minutes with growing desperation, there's not much room to hide in 350 square feet. They searched the loft under each cot and in each locker, listening desperately for the telltale sound of a giggling five-year-old. It was a warmish, slushy day so they went outside to see if the girls were playing in the puddles, then they searched the barn, then they got desperate.

As they searched the laundry room again Lucy pulled out her cell phone and prepared to call Andi, but Macy said, "Wait a minute... the washing machine is full of clothes." She opened the front loader and pulled out a jacket, a shirt, play pants, boots, everything the twins were wearing earlier in the day. Both women looked over at the sauna, they never checked the sauna.

Opening the door they found both girls in the sauna, naked, chittering to each other in their private language. Madeline was pushing the steam button over and over not realizing that the steam button only delivers steam when the system is turned on from a control panel outside the sauna. "Come out here and get dressed you guys, you'll freeze to death."

"We were cold..." whined Sandy.

"...so we went to the hot room to get warm..." said Madeline sadly as she pulled up her tiny panties.

"...and the button didn't work..." said Sandy struggling to get her pullover sweatshirt on.

"...don't tell poppa we broke it, please?" said Madeline as she pulled up her play pants.

The women marveled at the manner in which the twins completed each other's thoughts. "You didn't break it," Macy reassured them, "there's a control panel that you can't reach that has to be turned on. There's a security code used to prevent little fingers from cooking themselves."

"There is?" asked Lucy.

"John and I come by on occasion to uh... unwind," grinned Macy. "Come on twins! Big day today, let's take eggs to Grandma and Grandpa Hirsh and Clemmons!

Energized the twins struggled on their coats and ran for the door, the trauma of the "broken" sauna forgotten.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

Harold and Heather Driscoll landed at Buffalo International Airport and Heather called Andi as soon as they were off the plane, "Andi, it's mom."

Andi was nervous enough; she was getting her hair done by Carol Snow in the master bedroom. "Hi mom, how was your flight?"

"About as good as you could expect on an economy flight. Are you on your way to pick us up?"

"I'm getting my hair done mother, I told you, Larry is going to pick you up and bring you here."

"You can't put things aside a moment to come meet your mother at the airport?

"Mother please, I'm getting married in a few hours, I still haven't given the twins their bath." Andi was going to lose her temper and scream. Why did her mother have to be this way?

"I wouldn't want to be in your way, I'll just have this Larry fellow take us to a motel, I'm sure you have motels in Springbrook," her mother sniffed. "Let's just hope he's not a mad rapist."

"Spring

ville

. Mother please, I need your..."

"No, that's fine," Heather interrupted her daughter, "I wouldn't want to be a burden." And she hung up.

Andi stared at her phone for almost a full minute. It's not like she couldn't believe her mother acted that way, unfortunately Andi was quite familiar with this kind of emotional abuse. Her mother probably drank her entire time on the flight. She sighed. "Hey Carol, Larry isn't a mad rapist, is he?"

Carol made a show of thinking about her husband. "No, he's got a bad ticker. His doc told him to stay away from the three R's - Rape, Ravishment, and Razing villages."

"I suppose that rules out being a pirate, does he want to be a pirate?"

"Doesn't everyone?" Carol shrugged and Andi could see her shrug in the mirror, it made her laugh for a moment, but it doesn't take away the sting of her mother writing herself out of the wedding. Luckily, she had a backup plan.

"Wonka, you're up." Wonka didn't raise his head, but his tail sagged and thumped against the floor loudly.

<><><><><> ֎ <><><><><>

"Ok, does everyone have everything?" called Paul. Garment cases where checked, purses and wallets checked, "Good to go," said Andi, "Lucy will meet us there."

The family started out the back door when the twins shouted "STOP!" in unison.

"What's the matter girls?" asked Andi worried that it could be something serious.

"Santa! We forgot a letter to Santa!" The twins were nearly in tears, which would ruin their pretty dresses.

Andi sounded a bit perturbed. "Oh, for crying out loud..."

Paul raised a hand in a 'I got this' manner. "Ok girls let's do this quick," and he led them into the library. In the corner of the room was a small desk. Paul sat and drew out a piece of paper and said "Ok, let's start this with 'Dear Santa, we've been incredibly good this year' is that good?