Dorsai - Full Circle

"And you didn't get bored? Or have you been awake that long?" I asked.

She grinned and said "Oh, I've been awake for a little while. Your computer asked if it was okay to make coffee, but you were still asleep, so I told it no." Evelyn and the others had been over enough that Mabel had learned to recognize their voices, at least for simpler commands.

Evelyn went on to tell me "No, you're not boring, at all. In fact, you're anything but boring to look at. When I really started looking at you this morning, I realized just how much character there is in your face. I mean, even when you're asleep, your face looks so strong and handsome; and I can see that you're just as honest and fair as you can be about everything. You're getting gray, and I know you're getting old and everything, but somehow, you still look young, too. I was just trying to figure out why that is when you woke up."

I smiled at her and answered "Oh, there are days that I feel every bit as old as I am – but most of the time, I don't. I think its because I have smart, pretty, sexy little teeny-boppers like you taking care of me", I teased.

She smiled back and asked "Will you let me take care of you? Not just in bed, physically, but be part of your life, too? And be part of mine?"

I put my arms around her and gave her a hug and kiss before answering "Of course I will, Evelyn. You are part of my life, now. Not because of what we did last night, but because you're willing and able to love me as much as I love you. And you'll be a part of Kelly's life, and Jan's, and Candice's, and even Sheri and Crissy's lives, too, for the same reasons."

I could hear the happiness in her voice when she replied "I like that idea."

Softly stroking her back, I told her "Now, if you're through hallucinating about how handsome I am" – she giggled – "I need to get up and visit the bathroom. After that, I need coffee.", making her laugh before she rolled off of me. I got up, and turned to look at her – and saw that she'd stretched herself out, arms extended above her head, as though she were displaying herself for me. I leaned over and kissed her on the belly-button, making her laugh, before heading to the bathroom. On the way, I told Mabel to start the coffee.

When I came out, I saw that she was waiting for me after having made the bed. I looked at it, then her, and she simply told me "After all you and Kelly have done for me, I am not going to be leaving messes for you to have to straighten out."

I just put my arm around her, and the two of us headed for the kitchen. Each of us got a cup of coffee and I sat on one of the stools at our breakfast nook, with Evelyn standing with her back to me between my legs, with my arms around her.

We were still like that when Jan and Kelly came in. Their first considered action was to get their own coffee, then Jan started another pot as Kelly asked Evelyn "I'm trusting you had a good time last night?" – and then smiling at the broad grin that split Evelyn's face. Jan saw it, too, and commented "Oh, yeah – she had a good time!"

Evelyn told Kelly "Thank you for letting me be with Dan last night. It was so wonderful!"

Kelly just told her "I think you know you don't have to thank me. You love him as much as any of the rest of us do; its just that last night was your turn to be with him, is all."

Jan added to that by saying "And now you know why none of us minds if he wants to be with someone: all of us feel like you do after we're with him. Would you be jealous, now, if Sheri or Crissy wanted to be with him?"

"No, of course not!" Evelyn answered.

Jan smiled, and said "That's how the rest of us are. And we're like that about being with each other, too. When you finally realize that you don't have to be selfish about loving other people, it makes staying happy so much easier!"

With that, Evelyn went over to give each of them a good morning kiss – kisses that were more than passingly friendly, too, judging from what I could see.

As Jan and Evelyn were parting, Crissy and Sheri came into the kitchen; Evelyn just went over and welcomed them with a kiss, too – no tamer than the ones she'd given Kelly and Jan. Each of the twins responded in kind before heading for Jan and Kelly, then me.

A few minutes later, Claire and Bonita showed up – and seemed surprised to see me with one arm around Evelyn's waist, and the other around Kelly's.

Bonita got herself a cup of tea, while Claire headed straight for the coffee. Taking the last of it, she asked if she should make more; Kelly told her to go ahead, and she did. After taking a sip of her coffee, she came over and kissed me on the cheek, and let me kiss her back. Bonita was a little more reserved, kissing the others, but only saying "Good morning" to me.

Jan got Bonita in a conversation while Evelyn and the other youngsters bunched up to whisper among each other. Kelly was still next to me, and commented "I'll give you just three guesses what they're talking about."

I looked at her and suggested "Santa Claus? The Easter Bunny? The Great Pumpkin?"

Kelly just laughed softly and answered "If you believe its any of those, I need to get you to a doctor – you're delusional."

"I'm going to go way out on a limb, here, and say that maybe they're comparing notes? Or at least telling each other what happened when each of them was with me?"

Kelly laughed again and told me "That's not a limb, it's a steel beam. Yeah, its a pretty safe bet you're the subject."

About that time, Claire looked over and saw us looking at them – and promptly blushed furiously. Yeah, I was the topic of discussion, all right.

Jan and Bonita came over and the four of us chatted about a couple of things until the others realized that they'd been pretty much excluding the rest of us. When they broke up, Jan told everybody "It's time for breakfast, and I'm cooking. I need two volunteers – one to help with the food and the other to take care of the other stuff, like making sure there's enough coffee, getting the dishes ready, and so on. Dan and Kelly are excluded 'cause its their house. Evelyn's out because I say so. Who's it going to be?"

Claire, the twins, and Bonita all smiled before Claire and Bonita both raised a hand – only slightly ahead of the twins. Jan told them "Thank you." before announcing "The rest of you? Get out of my kitchen!" – to the laughter of all of us.

Those of us not on kitchen duty drifted into the den and took seats. A minute later, Claire came in with a carafe of coffee and filled all of our cups, telling us "Jan says breakfast won't be long, so this should hold you until then", before disappearing back into the kitchen.

I was starting to think about braving the dangers of the kitchen for more coffee when Jan and the girls came out. Bonita had one tray piled high with food, Claire had another, and Jan had one with plates and eating utensils on it, along with condiments. They set everything down on the coffee table and got plates of food distributed. For some reason, Kelly and I kept getting the first ration of everything.

Breakfast turned out to be American amp; cheddar cheese omelets, crisp bacon, fried potatoes, and what looked like enough wheat toast to put a dent in Kansas' annual grain production. Added to that was an ample supply of coffee, with milk and orange juice for everyone. As we ate, we continued talking with each other; everyone was considerate enough to wait to ask questions until the person the question was for wasn't chewing.

When we were done eating, Kelly granted permission for the twins to give the last couple strips of bacon to Cat, who had been industriously trying to beg from anyone that she thought might fall for her cuteness. That earned them Cat's gratitude – which, unsurprisingly, lasted exactly as long as the food did. For the most part, Cat's loyalty extended only as far as her fur.