I looked at Laura and she helplessly shrugged. Shaking my head, I tried to get my head around what had transpired in the night besides me getting my pipes cleaned by my trophy wife. Taking a deep breath, I tried to formulate a rational response.
“Thank you for telling me, David,” I began, “I think you’re a great kid and I’m glad you and Pearl have such strong feelings for each other.” I looked at Pearl, and she seemed to be anxious about my reaction. “You’re putting me in a tight spot, because I promised your father I’d make sure you and your brother went to Harvard like your mother wanted.”
David was quiet for a moment, then spoke softly. “I get that you made a promise to Dad, but when our mother was dying in the hospital, she told Del and I that life was too short and we should do what makes us happy. Going to Harvard won’t make me happy. Being with Pearl does. I think Mom would understand.”
I realized that David was a lot like our son James, a man who didn’t say much but when he did, it was usually something significant. I had to admit, there was no arguing with his logic. Still I had a feeling that my daughter might have influenced him, and had to make sure what he was telling me was what he really wanted. I asked, “David, you’re really young to get married. Was this idea yours or Pearl’s?”
David straightened his posture defensively, looking at Pearl as he answered. “We decided together.” Then he turned his steely gaze on me and asked, “You wanted to marry Mrs. McFarland the minute you saw her, isn’t that right? That’s what Pearl told me.”
The kid was no dummy; he’d nailed me on that one. Looking at Laura’s teary eyes, I admitted, “That’s not exactly accurate. It wasn’t a minute, it actually took me a few hours, but in my defense, I was established and in my late twenties. But yeah, I wanted to marry her pretty much from the day we met.”
“Have you ever regretted it?”
“Never, not even for a minute.”
“If you’re trying to persuade me that staying here and marrying Pearl is a bad idea, it’s not working.”
To describe David as impassioned was not giving him enough credit; I felt like a high school debater who’d been destroyed by a collegiate national debate tournament champion. I nodded in surrender, no fight left in me. I offered my hand and said, “Welcome to the family, son,” and shook with my future son-in-law.
I heard Pearl give a happy squeak, and looked up. Laura’s arms were wrapped around her, and she was crying happily, with her mother’s happy tears were mixed with hers. David stood up; taking her in his arms, he gave her a loving kiss. They then disappeared upstairs.
I told Laura I’d make toast and eggs for our breakfast. As I cooked, I could hear a soft rhythmic thumping coming from the ceiling. Coincidentally, Pearl’s bedroom was located directly above the kitchen, so I didn’t need to be Einstein to know what was happening. (Coincidentally, this bedroom was no stranger to young love; it was the same one that we’d discovered Ava going down on her girlfriend Ashley late one night, and the one that Lucas and Natty had shared before moving to Kansas.)
I made a perfect omelet for Laura and I, but we’d only eaten about half of it before the overhead sounds of our daughter and David losing their virginities compelled us to finish breakfast in the TV room.
~~~~~~~~~~
Later that day, I went over to Walter’s place to check on the construction progress of his new unit. Ours was almost done, we were just waiting for the final inspection by a Wellston building department inspector. Because of some last-minute changes Dotty had asked for — additional electrical plugs in the kitchen wiring – their unit was not as close to completion.
When I arrived, Walter and Dotty had just gotten back from the store and were unpacking groceries. It was a hot day, so Trent, Jackie and Athena were outside splashing in a kiddie pool. Del and our recently-arrived kid sister were nowhere to be seen. I grabbed a soft drink from the refrigerator and asked, “How are Connie and Del doing?” Walter just smirked and chuckled, while Dotty rolled her eyes.
“Del slept in Connie’s room last night,” she told me, a hint of disgust in her voice. “He’s still there. The two of them came out mid-morning for some breakfast, grabbed some fresh sheets, then went back in.”
Walter chuckled, “Them two was at it like a pair of them bon-bon monkeys.”
“You mean ‘bonobos’, and they’re apes, not monkeys,” I corrected.
Before he could respond, there was a shuffling noise and Connie walked in. She was barefoot, wrapped in an old robe that did a lousy job of covering her admirable cleavage. (I had to admit, every Terhune sister I’d met had award-winning boobs.)
My sister-in-law had a serious case of bed hair, plus the smug look of a woman who’d been thoroughly fucked. I knew that look well; I’d seen it on Laura’s face the times when I’d really gone to town on her, like pretty much every time during our first year of marriage, and on our babymoon in Hawaii.
Pouring herself a cup from the coffee maker, Connie purred in a sleepy voice, “Good morning everybody!”
“It’s already afternoon,” Dotty scolded, “are you going to stay in bed all day?”
Her look of smugness turned to one of utter bliss. “Let me tell you, Del is amazing. He lasted about a minute the first time and was really embarrassed about it, but I told him that was common for guys on their first time. Plus, I took it as a compliment that I was that exciting to him. Then, he asked me if we could do it again!”
OK, this was a little more than I cared to know, but apparently Connie was taking no notice.
“I assured him once he recovered, we could do it as many times as he wanted. Turns out his refractory period lasted all of 4 minutes before he was ready again; we did it two more times before finally falling asleep, then this morning he kissed me awake and we done it again! Thankfully, he fell back to sleep afterwards; if he hadn’t, I might not be able to walk! His stamina is just unbelievable.”