I picked up the phone and dialed Roy's number at Ipperwash. I made a mental note to send the aunts some money toward their phone bill. The operator answered and switched me to Roy's extension. Carol stood by me, listening to my side of the conversation.
"Major Searle, how may I help you?"
"Sergeant Major! Payback's a bitch ain't it?"
"Dave? Jeez, I didn't expect to hear from you before tomorrow. Diane said you were at a funeral, when I called on the weekend."
"You called the house? She never said anything, but then, there's a lot going on, it probably slipped her mind. Was it a social or business call?"
"A little of both. I have a name for you on that sergeant's former CO who might be the one we're looking for. I just wanted to let you know on the QT. I didn't tell Diane, just said I was calling to say hello. She did sound a little preoccupied, though."
"Lots and lots going on in our lives right now. Big things happening. Next time I see you, I'll bring you up to date. You and Patty still coming for Thanksgiving? It's only a couple weeks away now."
"As far as I know, now about that name..."
I interrupted Roy before he could tell me. "Colonel Robert Scott, late of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps, now retired. He's still alive, living in the Queen Charlotte Islands. If you need an address, I can have it in a couple minutes, I think. <Carol nodded and pointed to her purse.> No need for the QT, Roy, this is official, and you can label it a complaint if that carries any weight. I want this bastard nailed."
"How could you find that out so quickly, Sergeant Major? You must have some pretty good sources to get it as quickly as we did — that's our man."
"No need for 'sources', Roy; I suspected him all along. I thought it'd take me quite a long time to get into a position where I could confront him, but he was handed to me on a platter. The funeral I attended was for his ex-wife, and he also attended. We started rehashing old times, and with a little coaxing, he admitted everything in front of witnesses."
"That's great, Dave, are the witnesses willing to sign statements to what he said? He may be an old man now, but we want him. He and his kind have given the Army a real black eye with their 'Old Boy' network. The more we dig into these old files, the more we're finding. There's a real scandal brewing"
"Hang on Roy, I'll ask."
I turned to Carol and the aunts. "Would all of you sign statements that that man admitted in front of you he had my records altered?"
All three nodded and spoke as one. "Yes, David."
"Roy? I have three witnesses here who will all sign statements if and when you need them, plus me, of course. There's another witness; I'll hafta wait until I get home to talk to her, but I'm sure she will. With my own statement and four witnesses, you should be able to nail him. If he's convicted, I may even consider civil action for slander and defamation based on that and certain other of his actions regarding me."
"Sounds good, Dave, and I think the old sergeant might be willing to open up too. Anything else?"
"Uh, yeah, Roy, there is, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Let me pose a hypothetical question."
"Go ahead and shoot, Dave, this is me, remember?"
"Suppose a person came upon some information regarding a rape committed by a Canadian serviceman during the War. How does the Army treat a crime committed that long ago? Oh, and assume the crime was committed in Liberated Holland, sometime in 1945. It wouldn't be a civil matter, but one for the Provost Corps. Would they still want to prosecute?"
"Jeez, Dave, I'm not a military lawyer, so I can only give my opinion now, but I can check it out for you and let you know. For myself, I would think as long as there's a strong case, such as a living victim and witnesses, the military would still want to proceed. Like I say, though, I'll hafta check it out. Can I get back to you later in the week?"
"Sure, Roy, there's no rush. Even if the Army can proceed, I'm not sure about the victim yet. I think a lot will depend on what the Army's willing to do. I'll be grateful for anything you can find out."
"OK, Dave, leave it with me. Does this have anything to do with Colonel Scott?"
"I'm sorry, Roy, I'm not at liberty to discuss even that much yet, but here's a hint: if you send the MP's to pick him up over the document altering, tell them he might merit 'special' treatment, if you catch my meaning."
"I understand completely. Nasty person, eh?"
"You could say that. I have my personal reasons for wishing injury on him besides changing my documents."
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Love to. Can't, right now."
"Oh. Thanksgiving, then?"
"Sounds good."
"I assume there are people listening, so start saying good bye, and end the sentence with the quantity of info."
"Sounds even better, Roy. I know you're busy, so I'll let you go now. See you at Thanksgiving. Give my love to Patty and the kids. And Roy? Thanks for everything."
"I understand, Dave. Hope I haven't put you on a spot. We'll get right on this thing with the good Colonel. See you at Thanksgiving. G'bye."
"'Bye, Roy, look forward to hearing from you."
As I hung up the phone I wondered if I was doing the right thing by keeping Carol and the aunts a little in the dark and promising Roy I'd tell him everything. Then again, little did he know the 'everything' I was going to spring on him. He was going to finally hear the full story of my life. I'd promised once upon a time to tell him what happened to my 'girlfriends' when I thought the time was right. It was finally time.
Everyone gave me a questioning look, so I filled them in on the scandal brewing over the altered documents, how Roy had stumbled over it just going through some old documents, and the role that man had played. I also told them how seriously the Army was taking it, and that Scott would at the very least be brought in for questioning along with the sergeant who did his dirty work for him. I told the aunts Roy would also let me know how the Army would treat an old rape case and that once I got that information, I would call them and they could then decide what, if anything, they wanted to do.
I'd like to see Scott spend the rest of his days behind bars for what he did to Jo, Carol and Riekie, but I also knew it would open old wounds for Jo, and might be better off left alone. To see him discredited with the Army and possibly imprisoned over the documents scandal might be enough, given his age. He was definitely being removed as a threat to us, and some small measure of justice would be extracted. That man was definitely a footnote in Carol's and my lives. How much he still loomed in Riekie's remained to be seen.
My conversation with Roy had only taken a few minutes. Carol and I helped the aunts with the breakfast cleanup then went to our room to dress and pack. Carol and I packed in silence. She seemed preoccupied with something, so I offered her a penny.
"A penny? Oh! <grin> For my thoughts!"
"Yeah, you seem a little lost in thought and somewhat down — not the happy, fulfilled woman of a half hour ago."
"It's just all this about my former father. I thought I was done with him. I don't ever want to see him again, but if he gets charged, I'll have to appear at his Court Martial and I'll have to face him. I don't want that."
"You may not, and in all likelihood won't, have to appear. That's why Roy wants the statements. Courts Martial don't usually call civilian witnesses if they can avoid it, preferring to make their case from evidence gathered in-house, especially where there might be even a hint of public scandal. If I understand Roy correctly, they may have enough evidence, including the old sergeant, if he testifies, to convict him without calling you or the other witnesses. When I talk to him next, I'll tell him your concern. OK?"
"OK, David. Hold me, please? I get all cold inside just thinking of him; I need some of your warm, soothing love."
I took Carol into my arms and just cuddled her. She didn't cry, she just snuggled up and held on, drawing strength from me. At length, she turned a smiling face up to me, and I kissed her tenderly.
"That's a lot better. I love you, David. You make me feel so safe and protected. Will you make love to me before we leave, please? I need to feel you inside me one last time before we go. Who knows when we'll get our next chance."
When a lady asks so sweetly, who am I to refuse? I lowered my lips to hers and kissed her again. Soon we were French kissing hotly, swapping spit and sucking each other's souls from our bodies. Carol got her tongue-suck thing going, and I soon had a raging boner poking through the front of my robe.
We moved to the bed, and removed each other's robes. We fell onto the bed and I entered her tight, wet pussy. We were soon rutting like fools, bucking and thrashing in ecstasy, our hips humping and squirming together, once again in perfect sync. All too soon, I felt the eruption rise within my balls as her body tightened and clenched beneath me. Our lips were locked together in a continuous kiss as our bodies succumbed to the maelstrom of bliss. My penis swelled and spit as her muscles clamped and rippled. I came and came, squirt after squirt of thick, creamy baby sauce. Carol's body jerked and heaved in her own orgasm, her convulsions timed with each jerking squirt of my cock, her juices squirting hotly onto my genitals. Her scream was muffled by the seal of our kissing lips as we came together.
As we relaxed and caught our breath, our hips gently humping together, we looked deep into each other's eyes, and as one, we both said. "I love you."
We traded sweet little kisses, holding each other tight, and as my penis fell from her with a soft sucking sound, once again we murmured a mutual, "I love you."
We soon had to rise to finish dressing and packing. We still had plenty of time, but we weren't going to leave it so late we had to rush, either. Before dressing, I took Carol into the bathroom and gave her dripping pussy and soaked thighs a good wash. I finished by planting a wet kiss on Mrs. Pussy's lips. Carol returned the favour to her Rascal. We returned to our room and dressed before finishing packing. Carol started putting on her old matronly clothes, but I stopped her.
"I don't ever want to see you looking like that again, except maybe at Hallowe'en. Give those old rags to the Sally Anne or something, but don't wear them. There are just too many sad memories associated with that wardrobe. You have enough nice dresses now to get you home. I guess we shoulda got you a couple pairs of jeans that show off your pretty bum."
"Jeans are OK when I'm away from you, but when I'm even near you I have to wear a dress or skirt to hide the wet. Jeans would soak it up and show. What should I wear today, then, David?"
"How 'bout one of your new skirts? It's still fairly warm here, and the last report I heard, it's still warm in Calgary."
"OK, but which one?"
"I like the little 'fuck-me' skirt, but I think the denim one for today, seeing as you're going West, and it reminds me of our wedding day, one of my happiest memories. How's that sound?"
"Why, you romantic old softy! I think that's a wonderful idea! I guess I should wear a bra, though, eh? Jeez! I've gotten so used to not wearing one, I bet it'll pinch. Oh well."
Carol slipped on the sexy bra and blouse to match her denim skirt then stepped into the skirt itself. The picture she created was to die for! With her long hair falling in soft waves to her shoulders and those legs movie stars and models would kill for, she was the sexiest looking creature on earth. We had made love only a few minutes before, but I felt a stirring in my groin just looking at her. Thirty six years old, and still my Teen Angel! The transformation was miraculous!
We finished our packing, and Carol left out her matronly skirts and blouses. She saved her sweaters, because she might need something warm if it got cool. Those sweaters could be very sexy if worn braless, too. One in particular that wasn't a turtle neck looked like it would go well with the denim skirt. She packed it on top of her carry-on bag where she could get it easily if she needed it.
Despite the beautiful picture she presented, Carol fidgeted and twisted, complaining about the bra feeling restrictive and pinching. She'd finally had enough and reaching inside her blouse, did one of those magic things women can, and removed it. The resulting image was breathtaking. Those beautiful breasts, her nipples semi erect, were clearly visible through the thin material of the blouse. She decided against it as too risqué. I suggested she put on her sweater. I meant to put it over the blouse, but she stripped that off, and fishing in her carry-on bag, retrieved her sweater. She pulled it over her bare breasts and instantly smiled in delight. When asked, she said the wool of her sweater rubbed her nipples wonderfully and she felt so free under it.
I slipped my arms around her from behind, and slid my hands under her sweater, found her luscious boobies, and as she said, her nipples were very erect. She never needed the support of a bra, so this worked well for her and me. I was able to cop a nice feel almost whenever I wanted. The sweater matched her skirt better than I thought, and went with her hair beautifully. From a teen angel she became a coed, more appropriate for traveling alone than the super sexy high school girl look.
Finished packing, we headed downstairs. If we left right at noon, we'd have two hours to catch her flight. It was just a little before eleven when we set our bags by the front door. I still wanted to look for a speaker phone to hook up for tonight's tell-all session. I'd seen a Home Hardware in this town, and thought they might have just what I wanted.
I like small town hardware stores, but the old-style ones are quickly disappearing. Home Hardware still maintains that small town familiarity in a modern store setting, and their selection and prices compare favourably with the big box store chains like Canadian Tire and K-Mart.
We were ready to leave. Carol would eat on the plane, and I'd grab a sandwich on the road, so we asked the aunts not to bother with an early lunch, as it wasn't that long since breakfast. I took our bags out to the truck and loaded them in the back. Fortunately it was another sunny day, a little cooler than the last few, but still lovely, and I didn't have to worry about protecting our gear from the rain in the open pickup. Carol took the time to call the CN/CP telegraph office and dictated her 'WE DID IT... ' message to Riekie, through the university. She might be wrapping up her marriage, but she was still on staff there, making it the most reliable address Carol had for her. She'd have it later that day.
I went back inside to say goodbye to the aunts. They were sorry to see us leave and said they'd really enjoyed our company. They complimented Carol on her appearance, and again noted the happy glow of pregnancy. After many hugs and kisses and not a few tears, Carol and I finally climbed into the truck. I helped her in, and got a lovely flash of her still-leaking muff as she swung her legs up and in. The aunts, standing behind me, had seen it too, but only smiled warmly, and commented on the lovely sexy young woman leaving where a dowdy matron had arrived. I promised the girls I'd call with any news of Paul, gave them each a last hug, and climbed behind the wheel. As we drove away, I glanced in the rear-view, and saw the aunts, arms around each other, waving us off.
Driving out of town, we stopped at the Home Hardware to check for a speaker phone. They had exactly what I wanted for a reasonable price, so I bought it and we continued on our way. The trip to Toronto International (now Pearson) took about two hours in moderate traffic. Carol snuggled as close a safety allowed the whole trip. Her skirt rode well up her thighs, and except for occasional adjustments to the vehicle controls, my hand was firmly trapped between those beautiful legs; I worked her to a couple small orgasms as we drove. We talked happily about our new baby, and joked and kidded about being parents, Carol for the first time. Our love seemed to grow even more as we talked.
We made good time and stopped at a small conservation area picnic spot just before the city to relieve our bladders. I've been on the 401 in the city before with a full bladder and no place to stop. It's no fun, to say the least if traffic slows down for any reason, and although it wasn't rush hour, one never knows. Even a small fender bender can snarl traffic. The small parking area was vacant as we pulled in. With tourist season over, the only ones using this spot on a weekday were smart travelers like ourselves.
I helped Carol down from the truck and she deliberately slid out so her little skirt rode right up past her delicious brown muff. I slipped my arms around her as she slid out and clasped her warm bare buns in my hands. She wiggled her pussy into my growing erection and whispered that Mrs. Pussy was suddenly ravenous for her lunch...
There was no one else around, so we slipped into the ladies' privy, the only one big enough for two. Carol was in a rush and could hardly wait. Her hands were busy with the fastenings of my pants even before the door closed and latched. My penis responded to her urgency, throbbing and jerking to be released from its imprisonment. She quickly had me undone, and as my pants fell to my ankles, my cock sprang free. She wrapped her arms around my neck and lifted herself, begging.
"HURRY, David! Hurry! Put Rascal in Mrs. Pussy now! Something's hap-happening to me! PUT HIM IN NOW! HURRY!"
I grabbed her cheeks and lifted. My now raging boner centred on her sopping opening, and I lowered her onto me. Carol moaned in relief as I penetrated her, and her cervix opened completely once again welcoming me to her depths, surprising me delightfully as I felt it almost sucking me off.
"MMMMM! That's so-o-o-o Goo-oo-ood! Mrs. Pussy won't spill her lunch this time." Carol's delighted voice giggled and cooed. "She wants to take some of his Precious Stuff home with her."
Her hips wiggled and ground on me, burying me deeper.
"Then Rascal, her Sweet Prince, will feed her well, and make sure she has enough to last the trip."
Carol's hips suddenly heaved and bucked into me, her heat suddenly scalding.
"Hurry, David, Fuck me NOW! Something wonderful is happening! Hurry! Fill me up! FEED HER!"
Stimulated by her heat and urgency, my hips lunged and bucked, driving my cock even deeper. We fucked and rutted, thumping against the thin walls of the privy, our grunts and groans of pleasure loud in the small space. Once again we caught the tail of the comet and rode it to the edge of space as we humped and pumped together. We rode ever higher, glimpsing meteors and shooting stars as our bodies churned into each other. My balls lifted and swelled as we reached the top of that joyous ride.
Carol's pussy convulsed and spasmed as her muscles contracted around my pulsing cock. We reached the top together. I withdrew as far as I could and still remain joined, then lunged upward and in one last time. As I penetrated to her very core, my balls heaved and erupted; my cock swelled and spat. I saw stars and super novae as I came. Carol's hips convulsed and jammed forward and down. My erupting penis pumped and squirted gob after gob of creamy sperm deep into her convulsing uterus, bathing and soaking her completely. The mouth of her cervix clamped tight around my penis, trapping every drop as her muscles milked and stripped every last bit I had. Our coupling was just as short and intense as that which made our son, and seemed very similar in its urgency. Carol shouted her ecstasy as she shook and convulsed on my spitting member.
"YES!! YES!! YES!! DAVIIID!! YES!! OH YE-E-SSS!! STARS! I SEE STARS!! DAVID!! OH DAVID!!"
Still joined, my penis slowly deflating within her, Carol kissed me urgently, hungrily and elatedly. As our breathing returned to normal from our extremely torrid quickie, she shook me to my foundations.
"I don't know how it's possible, but I think we just made another baby! I saw that white explosion again! How?"
"I don't know for sure, Honey, there's probably some medical explanation, but for now, let's just enjoy the moment."
I held her close and kissed her tenderly as our hips slowed to a stop. My penis wilted completely, and fell out of her clutching pussy with a soft sucking sound. Carol dropped to her knees, licked my flaccid member clean, and spoke to it.
"Well, well, Rascal, my Sweet Prince! Mrs. Pussy thinks you put another bun in her oven! You really are a rascal!"
She helped me up with my pants and started to tuck my penis in. I reminded her why we stopped in the first place so she steered while I relieved myself, then she passed her own water. Giggling, she leaned back and did her "How do I look routine." Mrs. Pussy had indeed swallowed all her lunch without spilling a drop, and once again appeared very full, her vaginal opening closed so tight it almost puckered. I commented that she looked exactly the way she did after we conceived our son, and if that was any indication, she was probably right. We'd worry about the why's and how's later.
We hugged and kissed and left the privy just as another car pulled in. The lone occupant, a friendly looking older man smiled at us as he saw us leaving the privy together. "Newlyweds?" We just smiled back and climbed in the truck, Carol once again flashing me as I helped her up.
We hit the road again with time to spare, and drove on to the airport. I found a parking spot and carried Carol's bags in for her. She checked in and checked her baggage, but her flight wasn't due to leave for another half hour. Despite our unscheduled stop and lovemaking, we'd made good time. While we waited for her flight, we talked quietly about this possible second pregnancy. I remembered hearing about so-called double pregnancies, but didn't know much. I told her to check with her doctor, and I'd ask Mom about it when I got home. Maybe we'd have some word for her when she called tonight. I was more concerned about Carol and how the possibility of having twins affected her. She was totally unconcerned, and said.
"We've always wanted to make babies, remember? We always talked about having more than one, so it seems we just may get them all at once. I'm ready, are you? And Ben won't mind. Maybe the second one is the girl he wanted."
We would have talked more, but her flight was called. Our conversation turned to tearful goodbyes, and we kissed a long goodbye until the purser reminded us the plane would leave without her if she didn't go now. I watched in sadness as she left the departure lounge for her plane. In about five minutes, through the big windows in the lounge, I saw the aircraft taxiing out, waved goodbye, and walked back to the truck, suddenly very lonely.
The drive home was uneventful; I had a lot to think about to mentally prepare for tonight's revelations to Diane. I arrived well before supper to a tumultuous welcome. Rhiannon was outside playing when I drove into the yard. As I stepped out of the truck, she ran up to me, arms outstretched screaming "Daddy! Daddy!" I wrapped the little bundle of energy in my arms and hugged her tight. She washed my face with sloppy little girl kisses.
Diane heard her screaming and rushed out to see what was wrong. As soon as she saw me, she too ran to me, screaming happily, "David! David!" I released Rhiannon, enfolded Diane in my arms and got a soul-searing kiss the like of which she'd never given me. She even seemed to have learned Carol's tongue-sucking thing, causing me to pop an almost instant boner. I wondered just how much information she and Carol had actually exchanged. I also noticed she was wearing one of those light cotton dresses. I didn't squeeze her sweet bum, but I had the distinct feeling she was pantiless, too. I was pretty sure Carol hadn't told her about that, but perhaps Mom had.
Jenny toddled to the door, wondering what all the fuss was, and when she saw me hugging and kissing her sister and her mother, she jumped up and down, screaming, "Daddy! Daddy!" With my arm around my beautiful young wife, and my oldest daughter holding my other hand, we entered my home, where I scooped up Jenny and hugged her, her pudgy arms locked around my neck.
I was home, and my family was overjoyed. Life was good, but I still felt a twinge of sadness that my First Wife wasn't here to share the joy of homecoming with us. I hoped her own homecoming would be as joyful.
The greetings soon died down and I was able to retrieve my bags form the truck. Diane went back to finishing her supper preparations. Mom and Dad would be there tonight for my tale of love, love lost and now love found again. While Diane worked in the kitchen, I got out the new speaker phone, hooked it up and tested it, and it worked better than I expected.
Just as I finished connecting the new phone, my folks came over. I hugged Mom and gave her a warm kiss on the cheek then she went to help Diane in the kitchen. Dad and I headed into the living room to talk. He had Mom's photo album under his arm. Since we bought the farm from them, we'd maintained the big rooms pretty much as they had, and we used them regularly. The big living room was our quiet place for conversation and reading, and the dining room became an extension of the kitchen. Rhiannon didn't have much homework, but still had some school projects which the big table was perfect for. Diane did her craft work on it as well, and of course, it was still the place for board games.
The only real changes we made were upstairs. We had taken over my folks' room as our own, Rhiannon had my old room, and Val's old room became our spare bedroom. The big change was in Heather's old room. It was the smallest of the rooms, but was still a good sized room. We split it in two, the front part used as a nursery, and the back half we had made into a full bathroom, with a door through into our room making it our 'en suite' or private bath. It had a door that opened into the nursery as well. Jenny still slept in the nursery, but was outgrowing it quickly now. We'd soon be moving her out of there, and either in with Rhiannon, or into what was currently the spare room. We hadn't decided yet.
Dad and I settled down into our chairs in the living room. He hadn't taken his old recliner when they moved to the new house, saying he was at our place often enough, he'd still like his own chair. I had acquired one of my own, so we each had our own whenever he was over, which was often. Dad still had a real attachment to the old homestead, not surprising, since he was born in this house.
Dad was curious about the weekend, obviously, but didn't want to ask too much about Carol until the women were there with us, so I gave him a thumbnail sketch of what went on, particularly my confrontation with Bob Sr., and that he admitted it was he who caused my records to be change so I missed out on RMC. Dad was flabbergasted that he'd go to such lengths to discredit me over his daughter. Then I told him about Roy, and what he'd found in July that got me wanting to finally hunt Scott down, and that Dolly's funeral was an opportunity I couldn't pass on. Then I asked Dad if he'd ever heard of multiple pregnancies. He raised his eyebrows, but asked no questions.
"Well, David all pregnancies involving more than one fetus, like twins or triplets are considered 'multiples'."
"I thought as much, Dad, but what if there are actually separate conceptions?"
"Consider this: seventy percent of all twins are what is called 'fraternal' twins. They come from two separate ova, and can be of different genders as well. By definition they're separate conceptions."
"I was aware of that, but I always thought both ova were fertilized and implanted at the same time."
"I don't think that's necessarily so. I've heard of cases where one twin was delivered a few days ahead of the second, meaning the woman had two separate labours. It's rare, but I have heard of it. That would indicate to me that the two ova were fertilized at separate times. Many women release more than one egg during their cycle, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if many fraternal sets of twins were created even days apart, depending on how the ova were released, and their relative speeds descending the fallopian tubes to be fertilized. Why, do you think you and Carol Anne might have made twins?"
"Hmmm. Makes sense, Dad. I thought it might be possible, but wasn't sure. Twins run in her family. Riekie has a set, but I can't tell you anything concrete right now. I'll wait until Carol Anne calls, and we'll see if she wants to make that kind of announcement."
"OK, Son, I understand. Now, we brought over Your Girls' prom pictures, which as far as I know, Diane has never seen. When do you want to show them to her? And do you still have Carol Anne's Christmas present?"
"I know she'd like to see them as quickly as possible, but I think we'll show them at that part of the story. Maybe I'm being melodramatic, but I haven't seen those pictures in close to twenty years myself. If I'm telling the story, I want to be able to refer to those pictures at the same point in the tale. As for Carol Anne's sketch, I put it away years and years ago; it was just too painful for me to look at. I'm not sure if I can find it, but I'll go look right now. Diane was wanting a picture of Carol Anne. That might be a good one. It'll help point up to her the depth of emotion we felt, and still feel. Do you know? Carol Anne has hardly changed? She still looks the same, except she let her hair grow out similar to Riekie's. It's really very lovely, and if you can believe it, it made her more beautiful than ever."
"That's hard to believe, Son, she was a real beauty to start with. What about Riekie?"
"Dunno, Dad, nobody at the funeral seemed to have any pictures of her, but I did see one of her little girls from last Christmas. They're adorable, and look just like her as I remember her. I better see if I can find that sketch before supper. Oh, before I run out, look what I found."
I held out my hand and showed Dad my ring. His eyes lit up in astonishment.
"Where in the world did you find that? I thought it was stolen years ago!"
"So did I. I was cleaning out my old Northern tool pouch, and it was stuck in the bottom. I guess that day when I took it off, I either put the ring in the pouch thinking I'd put it in my locker, or it fell in while I was getting something else from the same shelf. Doesn't matter, really. The point is -- I found it. And you know something else? As soon as I put it on, I felt the Power was back. Now I must look for Carol Anne's sketch. I won't be long."
I went up to our room where there were some boxes in the back of the closet I hadn't opened in years, a lot of it memorabilia from My Girls. I rummaged around and brought out all the likely ones I could find. There weren't many, but I thought I'd take them all down and go through them. Those memories weren't so painful anymore, thanks to this past weekend.
I carted the two most likely boxes down to the living room first, and set them between Dad's chair and mine.
"That didn't take long. I thought you said you weren't sure if you could find it."
"I'm still not, but if it's anywhere, it should be in one of these boxes. Let's look."
Dad and I each opened a box. Dad opened the biggest one, which turned out to contain mostly clothing. It was all the stuff My Girls had left behind in my closet. Even after all this time, I could still smell faint traces of the girls on them. The second box was the mother lode., which wasn't much, really, but all the gifts the girls had ever given me were in there — the Righteous Brothers album from Riekie, the keepsake box with the lock of pubic hair from Sweet Pussy, the rose from the prom now dried and withered, a few trinkets from my sixteenth birthday party, even the watch Dolly had given me for Christmas (It had quit working and rather than throw it out, I kept it with all the stuff from the girls.) and Carol's nude sketch. I showed it to Dad, and told him to picture that body with long hair. He just sucked in his breath.
"You say she still looks like that? My God, David! And you let that get on a plane to Calgary? You must be made of stone!"
"I'm not made of stone, Dad. It was very difficult to let her leave, but at least this time we're in contact, and that body won't stay like this for much longer." <GRIN>
Mom stuck her head in the door and called us to supper. I slid Carol's sketch under my chair to be revealed at the appropriate time, which I thought should be after the prom pictures, so as not to give too much away.