CHAPTER 4 ...Laney....
The next morning, Tom had been up for an hour when he got a phone call from Laney. He was invited for supper with Laney and Grace, and was happy to accept, as it gave him a chance to spend more casual time with Laney.
Tom arrived at the Frost residence just before four o'clock, and brought along one of his parents' bottles of wine. Even if they didn't have it with their meal, he wanted to bring something to contribute. Grace warmly received his small gift, and promised to share it in moderation with Tom and Laney.
While they were waiting for the oven to do its work, the three of them sat at the kitchen table and talked about Tom and Laney's upcoming date for the graduation dance. It reminded Tom that the night would also be a celebration of Laney's birthday, and that he would be having to decide on a birthday gift for her. After getting a chance to speak with Grace alone, Tom decided that upgrading Laney's cell phone, with unlimited calling and texting would be both well appreciated, and a way to make sure they would be able to easily remain in touch while she was away at University.
It was when they were discussing the costs of having Laney attend the State University that it became apparent that her mother was a bit concerned. Tom wasn't able to secure the full details, but Grace did mention that she had an upcoming appointment with the bank to secure a loan to cover the balance of Laney's University costs. Grace had been forced to tap into Laney's education fund when the heating and air-conditioning system in their home had suffered a terminal breakdown.
Their casual discussions about graduation and University were ended by the ring of the timer that Grace had set to indicate that the meal was ready. With Tom's help the three of them soon had the table set, and the meal was ready to enjoy. The wine that Tom had picked went well with the meal, and they all enjoyed a small glass as they ate.
Being able to eat a meal with others with whom he felt so comfortable was an enjoyable experience for Tom. The past few weeks he had been eating solitary meals at home for the most part, with the odd restaurant meal included, and had enjoyed one meal with his grandparents. This evenings' opportunity to share a meal with good company was very welcome indeed; it made him long for his parents once again, something that happened with regularity.
The evening ended with a pleasant conversation in the Frost living room, with Tom and Laney sharing the sofa, and Grace seated across from them. It once again made Tom aware of how much like sisters the two Frost women were. Grace was able to speak as an equal to a variety of subjects like modern music, styles and the latest fads. At one point Tom made the comment, "Are you sure you aren't sisters?" before laughing at his statement with the two of them.
Just before nine o'clock Grace excused herself for the evening, not wanting to interfere with the young couple on the sofa. Her departure led to almost an hour of mutual admiration in the form of caresses, kisses, and a lot of heavy breathing. The young couple was getting more and more comfortable together, and they were both disappointed when it became time for Tom to leave.
They were looking forward to the following Friday, and the graduation dance that they would be attending. Laney walked out to Tom's pickup with him, and Tom used the opportunity to suggest that maybe they could end the upcoming Friday evening at his place. There would be several post dance parties they could attend as well, and they decided to wait until after the graduation dance ended before making a final decision. The fact that Laney didn't rule out the possibility out of hand left Tom with the opportunity to let his imagination run wild. He could only hope that his imagination was at least half right.
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The days leading up to the graduation dance passed quickly for both Tom and Laney. He was busy with his summer classes, and Laney was kept occupied with preparations for graduation and the dance. One afternoon Tom arranged for the upgrade of Laney's cell phone plan, effective the following Monday. By prepaying the plan for a year he even managed to get her phone upgraded to a fancier model.
Friday was a busy day for Tom and the Frosts. The afternoon was taken up with Laney's high school graduation ceremony, at which she received her diploma while Tom and her extremely proud mother watched from the audience. Because she had completed her high school education by correspondence, Grace had never been able to take part in a graduation ceremony herself, and became very teary-eyed as Laney strode confidently across the stage for the presentation.
The hour after the last diploma had been handed out was spent getting lots of pictures of Laney and her mother, Tom and Laney, and Laney with various of her high school friends. Documenting this important day in Laney's life was left mostly to Tom, and he managed to do an admirable job. He filled two memory cards with numerous views of the two Frost women and himself.
There was enough time between the afternoon graduation and the evening dance that Tom was able to take the two lovely ladies for a nice supper. After the meal, Tom gave Laney her birthday gift, the nicely gift wrapped cell phone. He explained that she would be able to call as often as she wanted while away at University. She was very thrilled by the gift, and gave Tom a sensuous kiss right there where he sat. Grace's laughter did nothing to ease his slight embarrassment with the very public demonstration of affection.
It was soon time to return to their homes to prepare for the evenings long-awaited gala. Just before eight o'clock Tom returned to the Frost house to pick up Laney. When he arrived, she was nervously waiting for him. Grace had just left to help the other volunteers prepare for the dance, so Tom was able to spend a few minutes alone with Laney. He managed to take a couple of pictures of her in the blue dress that his mother had once worn.
"You look even better than my mother did in that dress, Laney," he said.
It fit her perfectly, and his unasked question was answered when she said, "I never even had to make an adjustment to it, Tom. It's almost like it was made for me." She was smiling broadly as the two of them walked from the house to Tom's pickup. As he helped her into the pickup, he was treated to a quick flash of her thighs, and was pleased to be able to notice that she was wearing stockings, rather than pantyhose.
That image flashed across his mind numerous times as they drove to the dance, and even prompted Laney to ask him what was on his mind when he appeared distracted as she spoke to him. Rather than explain what had been the focus of his attention, he made an excuse that he was concerned about whether he had locked his front door.
