Colleen Ch. 02

I didn't speak until I could get my emotions under control, and then it was barely above a whisper. "Thanks Mom. You don't know what it means to us to hear that from you."

We all sat in silence for a few minutes, then finished the desert and sat enjoying the after dinner coffee. Jimmy was telling us a story about some adventure involving him and his patrol partner, making us all laugh. Colleen was sitting with her arm on the back of my chair, slowly and lightly stroking the back of my neck. There was a lull in the conversation when she leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"I'm not wearing any panties."

Fortunately the coffee cup was empty when it slipped from my fingers, bounced off the plate and landed on the floor. The racket startled everyone except for Colleen who stood and said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the ladies room."

Sharon and Mi Lin immediately pushed their chairs back and stood up.

"Sounds like a good idea, we're right behind you." Then they all left the dining room.

As we watched them walk away, Jimmy's brow was furrowed as he asked the question Mike and I were wondering about.

"Why do they do that?"

"Do what?" Mom asked.

"Why do women always go to the bathroom in a group like that, is it some sort of herd instinct?"

Mom only laughed. "It's one of those secrets that only women know and I'm not going to be the one to tell. You're just going to have to suffer without knowing, just like your father did."

The four of us continued talking but after a while I noticed that our wives had been gone for quite awhile. Just as I was getting up to go look for them they returned to the table. As she sat down, Colleen had her half smile on her lips and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Where did you go, I was starting to get worried."

Colleen only smiled and whispered, "We had a very interesting conversation in the ladies room."

"What about?" I whispered back.

"Oh just girl stuff, I'll tell you later...when you're ready."

Sharon and Mi Lin had sat back down by their husbands. Mi Lin scooted her chair closer to Jimmy and it looked as though she had subtly put her hand in his lap under the tablecloth. Jimmy's mouth opened part way and his eyes rolled back as he slowly tipped his head upwards.

Sharon leaned over and was whispering into Mike's ear. His head snapped around and looked at Sharon, his eyes bugging out as she slowly nodded her head yes. Mike looked first at Jimmy and then me, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He gulped as he spoke.

"This has been a lot of fun, but...umm...I...uh...I...I...I have to get out to the job site early so we better get going."

Jimmy was quick to add, "uh...yeah, me too...I mean I have a lot of paper work to finish at the station...we better get going...quick."

Mom and I looked at each other, confused, but shrugged our shoulders and began gathering our stuff to leave. Mike and Jimmy were doing everything they could to get us to hurry and I noticed that Colleen, Sharon and Mi Lin each had a small conspiratorial smile on their faces.

On the ride back to the house, conversation was stilted and the twins seemed nervous and agitated. I invited everyone in for some tea before they had to go back to Santa Teresa, but Mike and Jimmy both yelled "NO!" The last thing I heard as Colleen and I got out of the limo was Jimmy yelling at the driver, "There's an extra hundred bucks in it if you get us home by eleven."

The tires were screeching on the pavement as the limo pulled away from the curb.

Colleen and I stood on the sidewalk and watched the taillights of the limo as it sped down the block and turned the corner. I was baffled by the twin's behavior and looked at Colleen.

"What was that all about?"

Colleen looked at me with her half smile and said nothing for a few moments before answering.

"Let's get inside; I'm sure that Debbie wants to go home."

We walked up the steps of the porch and stood at the door. Before I unlocked the door to go in, I took Colleen in my arms and pulled her to me. I kissed her lips softly and quietly said. "I love you Colleen."

"I love you Bobby."

After we got inside the house, we found Debbie sitting at the dining room table with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, working on some math problems for her homework. Debbie was the teenager from across the street that did most of our babysitting.

"Hi Debbie, how were kids?"

"They were great. Noelle fussed a little about going to bed but Meghan took care her right away. When she and Molly get a little bit older, I think I'm going to out of a job. How was the restaurant?"

Colleen and Debbie were talking as Debbie gathered up her things to leave while I went to kiss the girls good night in their sleep. I was coming back down the hallway when I heard Colleen call out softly, "I'm going to walk Debbie home, I'll be back in a few minuets."

I raced into the bedroom and began ripping my clothes off. I knew that Colleen would take a few minutes to exchange pleasantries with Debbie's parents but time was short and I wanted it to be just right. Finally everything was ready and I lay down on the bed just as I heard the front door open. I listened as Colleen locked the door, turned off the last of the lights in the dining room and heard her footsteps in the hallway.

When she stepped into the bedroom, the light from the hall was shining through the doorway and the backlight made her hair glow even more golden. She looked at me lying on the bed as her half smile slowly turned into a grin of eager anticipation.

"I'm ready for the rest of my birthday present."

This is definitely not the end of the story.

~~~~~*~~~~~

What started out as a simple story has now taken on a life of its' own. There will be a third and final (I promise) part. I had not intended to take so long to get this far in the story of Colleen and Bobby but I am a very slow writer and lazy to boot...not to mention that there is this thing called "Life" that continues to get in the way of all the things we actually want to do. I can't wait to find out what happens in part three.

Since I'm not getting paid for this story, my only reward are your votes and the comments posted below plus feedback through the e-mail. So the far the comments have been positive and I am very grateful, they have made it all worth the effort. Please give me more; everyone likes to have their egos stoked one in awhile.

Thanks.