Chapter 22
The next few weeks passed without incident. Christmas was getting close and I had gone to the city to see if I could find a few things for Jan. I didn't want to get anything too personal so I thought that a sweater for the winter and maybe a piece of jewelry. I didn't want to scare her off so I didn't get carried away with an expensive trinket but it wasn't cheap either. I thought an emergency kit for the car would be practical since we lived in the north east where the winters were severe most of the time so that went in the shopping cart.
I knew she probably had everything she needed for school so I didn't go in that direction. I had never seen a laptop or I-Pad but that didn't mean she didn't have one, maybe she used a desktop at her apartment. I could pick up a laptop for her but I thought she would think it was too much for me to do for her. I knew if she didn't have one she could use it for her PHD studies next year. I could more than afford it but I didn't want her to think she was beholding to me because of gifts.
When I got home I put everything under the tree. I had everything gift wrapped so I didn't have to buy any gift wrap or ribbons and although it was a meager pile it looked festive.
Etta still visited me in my dreams and it became natural for me to accept her taking me during the night. I started to wear boxers to bed because it contained the mess I made and cut down on the sheets being washed. She didn't come to me very often like she did the first few weeks and I was grateful for the break.
Jan called me and said school was out for a month long break and asked if I was up for some company. I said I would be disappointed if she didn't come for a visit and she could stay as long as she wanted. I smiled to myself when she said she would be there in the morning.
I knew she would go home for Christmas so we could have our celebration early if she wanted to. I put off changing the sheets until morning but did a little house work to get the place ready for company. I worked with a happy feeling knowing my love was going to be here soon. I went into town to stock up on the things Jan liked along with a few treats to make her visit special. I was giddy with happiness knowing she would be here tomorrow and in my arms for a week or maybe more.
When I went to bed I asked Etta to forgo a visit tonight because I wanted to be a full strength for Jan when she got here. She honored my request and I had a peaceful sleep that lasted all night. I was full of energy when I woke up and after my necessary bathroom break I changed the sheets before even going downstairs.
I was just starting the coffee when I heard a car pull up to the house. I went to the front door and was surprised to find Jan getting out of her car. I ran down the steps, hugging and kissing as I spun her round and round. She was laughing as I finally stopped saying that was the best welcome she had ever gotten.
We got her bags out of the trunk and went into the house ignoring the cold spot at the threshold. I put down the bags at the foot of the stairs and we went in the kitchen. The coffee was done and she sat down talking a mile a minute. She said the urges had not returned since I asked Etta to intervene. She wanted to thank her for that now that she was here and could talk to her. I handed her the laptop and she turned it on waiting for the screen to come up. When it did there was the usual message from Etta "Welcome back Jan. The house has been too quiet without you here."
"Thank you for the welcome Etta, I have missed talking to you. And I want to thank you for stopping Michael from bothering me."
"I was glad to do it, I should have known it was his doing."
"Have you had any luck with Jessica?"
"We are negotiating."
"What does that mean?"
"She needs another host."
Jan asked a few more questions but Etta didn't answer so we assumed that she had used up her energy. The last statement from Etta had me worried, unless Jessica could find another person to possess she wasn't going to leave Helen. I didn't want someone else to go thru what Helen was going thru but I rationalized that Jessica had been doing this for a long time and apparently her last host had passed away or had an exorcism. My mind told me that an exorcism was going to have to happen to rid Helen of her demon. I had to wonder what residual effect would be left if we got rid of Jessica.
We talked awhile and Jan said she could stay until a day or two before Christmas and then she was going to her parents just as I had thought. I said we could have our celebration early and she smiled asking what kind of celebration I had in mind. I just smiled my wicked grin at her and she laughed at me trying to look intimidating. I took her into the living room and she spotted the packages under the tree. I could see the tears start to form in her eyes and I headed them off saying that they were for my other girlfriend. She swatted me and let me know that Etta didn't need any packages. I laughed with her and said I wanted to share the holiday with someone for the first time in many years. She was just like a little kid picking up each package and shaking it trying to guess what was in it.
She said she had to go shopping and I groaned like all males do when confronted by a shopping trip by a female. She said I could stay home and she would go by herself but I said I didn't want to waste one minute of her visit without her.
I asked if she wanted to go into the city or the village and she opted for the city. We drove the hour it took to get to the Mall and she said I should get lost or otherwise occupied and she would call my cell when she was finished.
I knew I could spend an hour or so in the Sears Tool department so I headed in that direction. They always had some new tool that was being released in time for the holidays and this year's gem was a CAD operated carving machine. It looked interesting but quite a bit was fabricated from plastic and I it wouldn't last very long with heavy use. I did like the premise of it and could think of a business or two using a machine like it. Nothing else caught my eye so I moved on to the Video section to see what new stuff they had in the line of TV's.
As usual all the models had the same program or movie running and the picture quality was exceptional. They had everything from a 19 inch flat screen up to a 72 incher. I had to wonder how big a room a person would need to have a TV that large. I was just about to go to a sporting goods store when my phone buzzed and I went to pick up Jan. She was loaded down with bags and I asked if she left anything for the rest of the people to buy and she just laughed, as we made our way out of the Mall.