Spirits in the Material World, Part 8
by storyteller0112
All persons are over the age of 18, and all characters and locations are totally fictional.
Thank you to all who read these, and especially to those who provide feedback via comments. The payoff I receive is from your comments. Yes, the star ratings are nice, but the comments feed my soul.
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Wednesday:
Alan's alarm clock rolled from 5:59 to 6:00, and the radio came to life. "Good Day, Sunshine" by the Beatles woke Alan, and the happy song put a smile on his face. It was entirely apropos, as the sun was indeed shining in his window and the sky was a proper North Carolina Tar Heels blue. You just had to hand it to the DJs for playing wonderful wake-up music at 6:00 am. He reached for his phone, checking for messages, but there were no new messages. "Ha! Up before Rose," he thought and composed his opening missive.
Alan: *Good morning, beautiful! So looking forward to Friday night!*
He then got up and headed to his bathroom for his S3 ritual to get his day going. By the time he emerged, there was a reply waiting.
Rose: *Good morning, handsome! Chin up, shoulders back, and git 'er done!*
"Git 'er done, indeed," he repeated aloud. Alan dressed (Docker's and a dress shirt, no tie, socks and loafers), straightened out the sheets and blanket on his bed, and headed for the kitchen and the all-important coffee maker. "It will be really nice to have Rose and Maggie here for the weekend," he mused. He made some toast with butter while waiting for the coffee to brew. "I really ought to get a coffee maker with a clock so I can set it up the night before," he thought. But then he recalled that this one was the last kitchen appliance Laura had bought, and he began to lapse into melancholy. He could not part with it on his own. It would seem to be disrespectful to Laura's memory.
When the brew cycle had completed, he poured a mug, sat at the kitchen table, ate his toast, and drank the coffee. His life had been turned upside down, some of it by the actions of others, some of it as consequences of his own actions. He could not control the actions of others, only his own, and he was responsible for his reactions. Some of these changes were good. The introduction of the Lawson family into his life he counted as good. The issue(s) with Maria he did not count as good, but he might be able to count employment alternatives in the good column. He wasn't set, yet, on leaving his employer, but once he did, he would never even consider accepting a counteroffer. Clearing his head, Alan filled his go-cup with coffee, turned off all the lights and the coffee maker, and headed off to work.
= = =
Rose had thought to take the morning off from texting Alan, so she got up and got into her shower. She did take time to imagine it was Alan's hands on her breasts, rubbing down her tummy to her slit, caressing her clitoris. It was a light but pleasurable orgasm for Rose. She marveled at the changes in her life in the last week. And she counted them all as good, especially the adult time she had spent with Alan. She was realizing that Alan satisfied a missing part in her life, a part she had been pretty much ignoring. Well, she wasn't ignoring it any longer. When she emerged from her bathroom, her phone was flashing with Alan's message. So much for taking the morning off from texting him.
She appreciated his texting her and responded with one of encouragement. His work life had become difficult this week, and the message was all she could do for him from this far away. She dressed and on her way to the kitchen, she rapped on Maggie's bedroom door.
"Maggie! You need to get up and going, please!" Rose did not stop to listen but headed on to the kitchen to get the coffee going. But the coffee was already made. Then Maggie stepped out of her room attired in a nice blouse and skirt combination, not her usual jeans and sweatshirt. Rose gave Maggie a puzzled look.
"Why are you dressed like that for school, dear?" Rose asked.
"Because it makes me feel pretty. Normally I don't care, but David has been very persistent in telling me how beautiful I am and I suppose they are sinking in. I thought today I'd show it a little."
"As good a reason as any, I think," Rose responded. "Please be ready at 3:30 for your doctor's appointment. Oh, and thank you for starting the coffee this morning."
Maggie flashed a wide smile at her mother.
= = =
David's, Tom's, and Julie's days all seemed very ordinary and commonplace. At least the start of the day for each of them.
David caught his Drawing instructor before class and asked for ten minutes of her time after class. He showed her the drawings he had done while home the previous week, and she complimented him on his choice of the focused color use in the two charcoal portraits. She was not familiar with Japanese mythology, so she had no point of reference for what a Kitsune was, but she smiled broadly at his caricature of his new girlfriend.
For Tom and Julie, the rest of the week passed without anything untoward occurring. Perhaps due to Julie's continuing presence at the T.A. Lab for Tom's scheduled shifts, or perhaps due to external factors, but there was not a reoccurrence of the "kissing bandit". A positive outcome of that was that Tom and Julie spent time just breathing the same air, being present in the same place without having even to be touching each other. A few students came in during Tom's shifts for help and Julie kept a watchful eye on the females. And they did have public couple time as Tom walked Julie back to her dorm. All in all, it was beneficial to their relationship, and their love for each other continued to bloom and grow deeper.
= = =
Alan's Wednesday was fairly ordinary as well. Daily stand-up meeting for the project team, assignment of tasks, roadblock removal for some of the project members who needed the cooperation of others to complete their duties. And still, Maria maintained her position on Alan's behavior the previous week, despite a couple of ladies' attempts to probe deeper saying that kind of behavior was not typical of Alan, ever. Essentially, the office was split as to who was telling the truth. He endured the harsh looks still given by a few of the women with stoicism, reminding himself that "this, too, shall pass."
So, when Alan's cell phone rang with a call from one of the recruiters, he stepped outside to take the call. One of the clients previously discussed wanted to schedule an interview with Alan as soon as possible. Alan had already cleared most of Thursday afternoon for his doctor's appointment, so he suggested Thursday at 4:00 pm for the interview. That time worked for the other company, and he blocked the afternoon from 2:00 pm as out-of-office. When his workday ended, he practically bolted for the door, which was a dramatic change from his previous habits of coming in early and working late so as not to have to go home to an empty house. And others were noticing.
= = =
Rose picked up Maggie just after 3:30 and they were early for their appointments and still had to wait past the appointed times. Rose was finally shown to an examination room where the nurse drew her blood for the requested tests and advised that the STI results would likely take a week and the HIV results would be two or three weeks returning. Rose could call the doctor's office next Wednesday to check, but the results would be mailed to her home address. Maggie passed Rose as Rose was headed back to the waiting room. When asked why she wanted the birth control pill prescription, Maggie said that she wanted to regulate her periods. She said nothing about wishing to have sex with her boyfriend, but the doctor was experienced in such matters. Smiling, she wrote the script for Maggie and offered to call it in to the pharmacy. Maggie chose to take the script and make the arrangements herself. With another smile, the doctor advised that pills plus condoms was significantly safer than either one alone, then gave the prescription to Maggie and wished her good fortune. As an afterthought, the doctor also advised Maggie that it could take up to a week before the birth control pills were completely functional, depending on Maggie's cycle.
All smiles, the ladies departed the physicians' offices and headed to their preferred pharmacy. They must have hit the pre-supper lull as Maggie had her prescription filled very quickly. Rose picked up a box of a dozen condoms for Maggie to keep a couple in her purse. Maggie asked Rose if they could get Chinese take-out for supper, to which Rose agreed. Taking the food home, they quickly changed into casual clothes, sat at the dining table, and ate their chosen food.
Rose informed Maggie of her Saturday morning interview at the AgCU in Middleburg.
"What happened with the bank position?" Maggie inquired.
"There is a lot of competition for that opening, and I believe my chances are very slim. I'm told that there is no one internal to the credit union who wishes to apply for the position. Oddly enough, the lady who wishes to retire next month attends the Harrisons' church and is good friends with Maeve Johnson."
"So, you're just going down for the interview on Saturday and coming back?" Maggie asked with a small twinkle in her eye.
"Well, given that we now know somebody down there and have an open invitation to come to visit, I thought I'd drive down on Friday and back on Sunday. Wanna come with?"
"Hmmm. I could be bored down there or be bored up here. It's not like I have many people in Centreville I wish to hang out with. At least down there, Alan will likely make breakfast for us. Sure, I'll come with you. I'll bring my schoolwork with me."
"Ok, I'll tell Alan when we talk tonight."
