Soccer Women Ch 16

Soccer Women Ch 16

It was now time for everyone to go where they were going for the night. Abigail, Peter, Brianna, Michael and their kids were all going back to the hotel. Katie and Melanie were originally going to spend the night in Katie's room, but Melanie changed their plans. She told her mother, "You need to have the house to yourselves for the night. Besides I expect it to be loud tonight."

"I don't know Melanie, to be honest Carol and I are both pretty tired. I don't know we will do anything more than hold each other until we fall asleep tonight."

"Who said I was talking about you and Carol?" Melanie gave her mother a hug and then went over to Carol. Just like she had before her wedding to Katie, Melanie made a point of saying, "Good night,

future

Mother."

"Good night, Mel." They both smiled. While Carol would not play along totally with her, Carol's use of Mel, which only certain people could get away with, was good enough for Melanie. Melanie gave her a big hug and after Katie had said her goodbyes, they went off to the Smith home.

Now began the process of telling everyone. Most of the people Carol and Jen would have told first had been there. They called Jen's parents first. Apparently, Melanie was not the only one who noticed how much Jen would light up around Carol. Barbara Olson was very pleased with the news. Karl Olson told them it was great news. When they finished the call, Jen had to explain to Carol that getting "great news" from her stoic father was a shock and that the last time he described something as "great news" was when she told him about the birth of his granddaughter Melanie.

Carol picked the next one and they called Jessica. After her experience the day after Katie and Melanie's wedding, Jen was prepared for the eruption of sound that was coming.

"Hello."

"Hi, Jessica. It's Carol and I have you on speaker with Jen."

"Hi Jen. Merry Christmas to both of you."

Jen replied, "Hi, Jessica. Merry Christmas to you too."

Carol now spoke, "Jessica, I want to wish you Merry Christmas too, but that's not actually why I called. I do have some news."

"Good news or bad news?"

"Oh, it's officially great news."

"OOOOOHHHHHH. Let me hear it! Let me hear it!" Jessica practically squealed out in three seconds she was going so fast.

Carol stopped and then asked, "What, do you think you know what it is?"

"I know I know what it is. With that introduction it could only be one thing. But I want to hear you say it out loud." Jessica sounded like she was about to get much anticipated news and she could barely contain herself waiting for it.

"Jen and I are getting married."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" came the shriek from the other end of the phone. Jen thought she faintly heard it all the way from New Mexico. "That's not great news, that's stupendous news. Oh, I'm so happy for you both. So, tell me all about it. I want to know everything. Tell me who asked and what was said. Run me through the whole thing."

Carol had to relate everything about how she asked and what Jen said. It was clear this was going to take a while so Jen excused herself and went to call Kim Smith, John's mother and Melanie's grandmother. Her reaction caught Jen a little off guard. When Jen told her, Kim's first reaction was, "What the hell took you so long?" Kim caught herself though and said, "Sorry honey. I am very happy for you both and this is excellent news, but I'm getting old and I was wondering if you would do this while I was still on this side of the dirt."

"Did you expect this, Kim?"

"Well, I hoped for it, dear. I liked Carol the first time I met her at that soccer tournament of Melanie's. And as I've gotten to know Katie over the years, and she is such a wonderful young woman, I knew that came from somewhere. When we lost John, that left a real hole in your life. And I know you've tried to fill it back up, but you've never found anyone who could do it. But that day we were shopping for wedding dresses, I could see that Carol was the one who could. And I guess I figured that if I could see it, you two should be able to. I'm just so happy you finally figured it out."

"Well, all I did was say 'Yes.' We have not talked about plans or what kind of wedding. I know I'm not looking for anything big. We'll have to see what Carol wants."

"Well, keep me informed dear. I would want to come see you both afterwards if there's nothing that day. I mean it, Jen. You two are perfect together. Not everyone gets that lucky once and you've gotten that lucky twice. Just enjoy it as long as you can. It truly is a gift."

"Thanks for saying that, Kim. We will definitely let you know what's happening."

"Good night, dear. And I guess it really is a Merry Christmas for you."

"Yes, Kim, it very much is. Good night."

***************

Katie and Melanie were driving back to Melanie's old house. Unfortunately, the rental car did not have Bluetooth so they could not talk to anyone through the car. Still, with Melanie driving, Katie could use her cell phone and put it on speaker.

Katie asked, "Who am I calling first?"

"Margaret is at Jo's house for Christmas so you can call either one." Melanie took note that it was Jo's phone that Katie called.

"Hey Katie. Merry Christmas."

"Jo, you're on speaker with Melanie and me. Where's Margaret? Get her on the speaker by you."

"Why thank you Jo. Merry Christmas to you too. Did you have a nice day? Did Santa bring you nice presents? Jeez, who raised you?"

"Okay, point taken. But we have some really big news and we want to tell you both."

"Alright, Margaret's in the kitchen. My mom is giving her cooking lessons. Is it okay if my mom hears too or should I call her out here?"

"No, it's fine if your mom hears too."

"Are you going to give me a hint first?"

"No."

"Okay. Okay."

Katie and Melanie smiled at Jo being Jo. Then they heard through the phone speaker, "

Hey babe. Hey mom.

"

"

Whose on the phone dear?

"

"

It's Katie and Melanie. They said they had some news for Margaret and I and they said you could hear so I am going to be you on speaker.

"

"Okay, you two. I have Margaret and my mom on speaker, what's your big news?"

Melanie snuck a peak over at Katie who counted down using her fingers, three, two, one, "

Our mothers are getting married!

"

"Oh, that wonderful girls." said Angelina Napoli.

"That's awesome." said Margaret.

"Oh no. You mean Carol Rogers is off the market?"

JO!

"Josephine!"

"Bambina!"

Said Katie, Margaret and Angelina Napoli respectively (Margaret knew enough standing next to Angelina not to just say "Jo."). Melanie just smiled but responded. "Jo, aren't you 'off the market' yourself?"

"Yeah, but one day Margaret is going to wake up and realize what a mistake she's made and I'm gonna need a plan B."

Margaret went over and gave Jo a big hug and said, "Oh no. You're not going anywhere missy. I've got my hooks in you and I'm not letting go." Although they couldn't see anything, Katie and Melanie could hear that Margaret was much closer to the phone (and thus closer to Jo). They both envisioned what was happening at the Napoli house. And when they heard what sounded like kissing, they were pretty sure they were right.

When they heard an "Uh hem!" from Angelina Napoli, their thoughts were confirmed.

"Bambina, Margaret already knows you. All the good and all the less good. And she's still here. She's learning to cook for you. What more could you possibly ask for?" And Katie and Melanie heard more sounds that made it clear that Jo and Margaret were kissing once again. Only this time Angelina Napoli did not stop them.

When they finished kissing, Jo still had the phone on speaker and so she began to talk again, "So give me the deets."

Melanie chimed in, "Well we knew they were going to be living together, but the proposal seemed to come out of the blue. My mom was not expecting it. It was cool, too. Mom was sitting on the couch and Carol had been sitting on the floor leaning against the couch. It was like she was on her knee when she proposed. And at first, my mom kind of jumped at her and tackled her. And they were just lying on the floor so I got down there and hugged them both. Then everyone else did the same. And then Katie's nieces and nephews came running into the room and they thought it was a dog pile and they jumped on top of everyone."

They spent the next hour talking about all kinds of things as Katie and Melanie finished their drive. The last thing they talked about was meeting back at school when they all returned and how much they missed each other.

Melanie was waiting to hear about one particular job offer. It was the one she wanted most. But if she got it, she and Katie would be moving to southwestern Pennsylvania and away from Jo and Margaret. Maybe it would work out that they would end up in the same area, but it wasn't very likely. But that wasn't for today.

When they got to the house, they took their stuff up to the master bedroom as they would just be there for the one night. Melanie went through the closet looking to see if she could find Carol's white dress, which unfortunately for Melanie was across the hall in her closet but she did not know.

Melanie dug out the pictures of Katie in that dress and sent them to Margaret. She included in the e-mail, "

Imagine Carol in this dress and you know why Jo still pines a little

."

Margaret sent back, "

Wow! Katie looks pretty hot on her own but sure Carol would too.

"

Melanie sent back, "

Hope what J said didn't bother you?

"

"

No. I know Jo. Better than she knows I know her. I let her see the pictures. She said she had them but deleted them when we first got engaged. Please sent them to her again.

"

"

You sure?

"

"

Absolutely. She's been tame up until now because her folks are here, but we'll rock this place tonight. XOXO.

"

Melanie laughed and she sent the pictures. Then she turned to Katie and got out of bed saying, "I'm done. Do you still want the lights on?"

"I'm just scrolling through stuff waiting for you. If you're done, I'm done. So yeah, please turn out the light. Unless you want to leave the lights on?"

"Why? What are you planning to do?"

"All sorts of nasty things. And now that I think about it, I want to look at you while I do them. So please leave the lights on but get back in bed."

Melanie turned, smiled, and got back into bed. What followed was an amazing night of passion and pleasure. It was fun and it was loud. They finally wore each other out and Melanie was already asleep before her head hit the pillow for the last time. But the best part for her was still the next morning. She opened her eyes and saw the beaming smile and loving eyes of Katie staring down at her.

And this time, they washed the sheets and put new ones on the bed before they left for the drive back to Rogers' house.

***************

After everyone had left that night, Carol and Jen sat together on the couch. Carol was up against the armrest with her legs spread wide and Jen was sitting in between leaning back. Carol had her arms wrapped around Jen's body. Jen and Carol were holding hands and all four hands lay on Jen's lap.

They stayed like this for a time, just enjoying the closeness. Finally, Jen said, "Carol, I am so very happy that you want to get married and I don't want this to sound like I am not completely excited, but I am also very tired and I would like to just go to sleep."

"Me too, Jen. It's been a long day. And there been a lot of emotion even before we all sat down in the living room this evening. And I love our sex life. But how amazing is this moment right now. Just sitting here with you in my arms. Isn't this one of those 'little wonders' from Katie and Melanie's first dance song?

"And you want to go upstairs and lay down next to me and put your head on my chest and your arm around my waist and our feet entwined. How magical is that? How lucky am I to have this gorgeous woman and skilled lover want to spend her life with me?"

"Carol, you know..."

Carol could tell what Jen was going to say and cut her off "Yeah, yeah. I'm beautiful and an excellent lover too. Blah, blah, blah. Jen, I know you hated it when I would run myself down, but I am not doing that. I am very pleased that you think all that about me. But it doesn't matter if it's true or not, as long as you think it is. You're the only one whose opinion matters to me. You are the only one I want to be beautiful for. You're the one I want to give pleasure to. As long as you think it, I don't care what the rest of the world thinks about it one way or the other."

"Well, I know Jo thinks you're hot. So, there are at least two of us." With that they both burst into laughter. When they stopped, Jen said, "This is exactly why I said 'Yes' you know. I never laugh with anyone the way I laugh with you."

Jen got up and held out her hands to Carol. She helped pull Carol to her feet and then kept pulling her into a hug which they held for a while. Then they headed up the stairs, still holding hands and went to bed. They had to let go to change their clothes but once they did that, they got in bed together and cuddled up with each other and went to sleep like they had done so many other times before; with one exception, this time, they were engaged.

***************

The next day was the day for Abigail and Brianna and their families to say good-bye to the house. There were some tears and some laughs. But in the end, everyone knew that they would just have to keep making their memories somewhere else.

The following day was the very last day. Jen's car, Carol's car, and even Katie and Melanie's rental were all filled with the last of the stuff leaving. Anything else was staying behind. Jen and Melanie headed off to the storage unit where Carol was keeping her stuff until she and Jen found their new home. Katie stayed with Carol for one last look around as they waited for Bob Moyer to come and do the official walk around to make sure everything that was supposed to stay was still there.

When Bob had told Carol that is wasn't necessary to do this, she had insisted. "Bob, it's not a matter of you trusting me. Everyone does this when a house is sold. And while technically it was already sold, this is the move out day. It would be unfair if we didn't do it."

Carol had asked Katie to stay with her for this part of the day and everyone agreed this was a good idea. So, it was now just the two of them when Bob came. They did the walk through and everything seemed to be in order. As he was walking Carol and Katie out, Bob asked "Are you going to be okay Carol?"

"Yes Bob. I'll be honest today is a hard day. But there are a lot of happy ones still ahead." Bob gave each of them a friendly hug and got back in his car and drove away.

Carol and Katie were now in the car and giving one last look at the house. Carol said, "Well, Katie, say goodbye to your room."

"Oh God! I almost forgot. Wait here a second." Katie got out of the car and opened the back door. She fished out what appeared to be a large frame wrapped in plain brown paper. She ran it into the house. Carol sat there, waiting for Katie. A chill ran through her and she had a strange feeling of déjà vu. Sitting in the car, looking at the house, waiting for Katie. Then she saw Katie running back out the front door, locking it and leaving the key under the mat. The moment had passed and Carol and Katie backed out of the driveway and drove off to catch up with Jen and Melanie.

Later that afternoon, when the Langdon's moved in, Charlotte brought her first bags up to her room. She saw the wrapped frame and opened it. Then she let out a scream. Upon hearing it, her parents both dropped what they had and ran up to her. They reacted to the sound without noting that the tone was not one of fear or distress. They just started running up the stairs shouting, "What's wrong Charl?!?"

"Nothing. Katie left me something awesome." Relieved, they slowed down but continued up to see what it was. They entered the room to see Charlotte holding a framed, autographed, Neve Cohill Jersey. And under the Jersey was a card which read "Hard Work is the Seed that Bears Success." So, the first thing the Langdon's did as a family in their new home was hang that frame onto Charlotte's bedroom wall.

***************

When something happens on February 29

th

, it's always a little harder to mark the occasion because you must wait another four years for another one. But this year happened to be a leap year and it was February 29

th

when Katie came home from work to see Melanie sitting on their couch with an envelope in her hand.

Katie took one look at Melanie's eyes and said, "Wow, this looks serious. What's up?"

"I got it. I got the job in Pennsylvania."

"THAT'S GREAT! Isn't it?" At first Katie thought that Melanie was just trying to play it cool until she dropped the news, but Melanie was clearly pensive in her mood.

"It's the one I really wanted. But now the reality of it is hitting home. This is a really big life decision here. Is it really fair for me to want to drag you across the country. So far away from Jo and Margaret. You could probably stay working for Coach Quincannon. And while it will be closer to our mothers, it won't be close to them. Not like we can just pop over for brunch on Sunday. I'm wondering if I should wait to see what the place in town says."

"Melanie, why did you apply to school here?"

"Well, I knew you had applied and I knew you really wanted to come here and I wanted to be with you."

"That's a pretty big life decision to make just to be with me."

"Well, I love you. It was an easy decision, actually."

"So why wouldn't it be just as easy for me to want to move to Pennsylvania with you? Melanie, I love you. And I told you, you're my dream now. You came most of the way across the country to be here with me because you loved me. Do you think I would have even the slightest hesitation to go a little bit farther back across the country if I was going with you?"

"Probably not."

"Definitely not. So, seems to me like it's an easy decision, actually."

Melanie got up from the couch, bolted over to Katie and jumped into her arms. "I love you so much Katie."

"Well, that's a relief. I'd hate to have married you and now be moving across the country with you if you didn't." They laughed and then kissed some more.

It was past work hours in Pennsylvania but Melanie had the cellphone number of the director of the place where she would be working. She called and accepted the job. There would be paperwork and whatnot, but that would be taken care of later. Melanie would start June 10th.

The next call was to their mothers. Carol and Jen were still at Jen's house although Carol had been calling it "home" ever since Christmas. They were both extremely happy for Melanie and they were both happy to have them so much closer, even if they weren't close. Carol did say, "Well, at least you're on this side of the Rockies, so that's an improvement."

The next call would have been tougher. In fact, since it was already Thursday, and they had plans with Jo and Margaret the next day, they would wait to tell them in person. It wasn't anything big, just pizza and hanging out. Katie and Melanie agreed that, as friends, Jo and Margaret would say positive things. But they might not want to have a big celebration about it. This might be the best setting to give them what might well be considered mixed news.

The next night Jo and Margaret arrived with the pizza and they sat around and talked while they ate. The conversation was typical Friday night banter about the week. Katie and Jo talked about soccer stuff and Melanie and Margaret talked about school. When they finished eating Katie and Melanie cleared away the plates and the pizza box and got drinks for everyone as they all sat down together in the living room.