Dorsai - Kelly's adventures

I went into my home office to see how many messages I'd received while I was gone; only to be pleasantly surprised at how few there were. Always efficient, my secretary had done an even better job while I was gone; there were only a couple dozen things needing my attention. It didn't take me long to tell her how to deal with most of them, and the few that were left were things that I'd have to take care of myself at my offices. While I was at it, I send an email to Marlyn, telling her that we'd gotten home just fine, and that we wanted to thank her for all the help she'd given us. Kelly came in as I was doing it, and gave me a hug and kiss when she saw who I was sending it to.

With most of our just-got-home stuff done, Kelly and I both realized that we were still tired – and most definitely jet-lagged. At her suggestion, we went in to share a shower, then went to bed – with Cat curled up next to Kelly's belly while I spooned with her back.

We slept in the next morning, and even took a nap the next afternoon – waking when Paul called to see what time they should all come over. A quick consultation with me, and Kelly told him that 6:30 would be fine.

Awake again, we got up and moving. We went grocery shopping to make sure we had enough drinks and munchies for everyone, with a side trip to get some supplies so we could wrap the gifts we'd brought back. We were just finishing when Mabel let us know that everyone ("Seven", as Mabel reported) had arrived. Kelly opened the door and invited all of them in – Paul, his boys John and Leo, Sandra, Jan, Robyn, and Susan. The girls came into the kitchen where I was getting the drinks ready; each of them gave me a more-than-friendly kiss before going back into the den where Kelly and the guys were.

Back in the den, Kelly was chatting with Paul and the boys; when all of them had our drinks and a seat, she started telling them about our trip – starting with the flight over – while I got some pizzas ordered.

By the time the pizza arrived, Kelly had gotten them as far as the start of our trip south from Manila – and laughing so hard they were almost crying as she described her reactions to watching Bhoy drive.

As we munched our way through the pizzas, Kelly and I took turns describing the different things we'd experienced. When the pizza was gone, I cleaned up as Kelly continued telling them about her adventures.

With the trash put away, I stood in the background to listen as Kelly went on with her story. She had all of them completely wrapped up with what she was saying that they really didn't notice my absence. I gestured to Kelly, drawing a bow in the air, and raised my eyebrows. She understood that I was asking if she wanted to hand out the gifts, and let me know she did with a quick nod of her head.

I made my way back to the bedroom and collected some of the things that we'd brought back, then moved them to the end of the hall, but where they'd be out of sight of our guests. I went back for the second trip, left the second armload with the first, and went back to where Kelly could see me, nodding to her when she looked at me.

She ended her current story, and told them that we had some gifts for them. Paul wasn't particularly surprised, and didn't say anything – nor did John or Leo. But the girls did protest – but it didn't do them any good. When it suited her, Kelly could be almost as uncooperative as I could.

Once the fussing was over, it didn't take long to get everything handed out. Paul was delighted with the carved nameplate Kelly had gotten him, and the Barong Tagalog I'd picked out. The boys were in awe over the wall plaques I'd brought back that showed all the different types of weapons – mostly knives with blades of varying designs – that the Philippines had seen. The girls were all delighted with the embroidered blouses and seashell jewelry we'd brought them. Finally, it was time for us to give them the silverwork that we'd gotten them in Baguio.

Kelly and I took turns handing out the last gifts. Jan was absolutely overawed by the filigree bracelet we gave her. For her part, Robyn was speechless after she'd opened the box that held the white gold and silver earrings Kelly had helped me select – each of them an incredible work of art. Susan could only stare at the gift I handed her: a ring with an incredibly detailed floral pattern, fastened by a fine silver chain to an equally detailed bracelet. Last was Sandra, who started crying when she saw the delicacy of the silver mesh necklace Kelly had handed her – nearly two inches wide ("Five centimeters!" the salesman had assured me), the bottom side was fringed with incredibly small silver links, each smaller than a grain of rice. The four of them took a few minutes to ooh and ah over each other's gifts before the all decided that it was time to give Kelly and me a hug and kiss. I could tell from Kelly's reaction that the kisses she'd gotten had been as 'personal' as I'd received – I didn't expect that either one of us would have to worry about washing our tonsils for a long time to come. By this time, Paul had figured out that all the girls were more than 'just friends'; he didn't bat an eye at what went on. The boys seemed pretty sure that all the girls were just crazy, and didn't pay any more attention to them than necessary.

When they'd all sat down again, Kelly resumed telling them about her adventures; I picked it up after a little while, so Kelly could rest her voice. A bit later, Kelly took over for me, for the same reason. We spent the rest of the evening going back and forth as we replayed the highlights of our trip – except for the side trip to San Fernando. By unvoiced agreement, Kelly and I skipped around it; at least, until we knew what was going to happen with my idea.

By the time late evening came around, we'd covered about half the trip.

Kelly was talking at the time, and saw the boys getting sleepy. She finished what she was talking about, and gestured toward them, saying that if everyone wanted to come over that weekend, we'd finish, and have photos to show them, too. Everyone – except the boys, who were too sleepy to be paying attention – agreed, and we set a time for mid-afternoon, with the promise of a cookout for supper.

Things broke up soon after that, with each of the girls giving Kelly and I another kiss before they left.

The next day, I went in to my office to take care of the few items that my secretary hadn't been able to deal with while I was gone. When she saw me coming in the door, she surprised me by getting up to give me a hug before welcoming me back. She was in awe at the craftsmanship and beauty of the bird brooch I'd gotten her in Baguio, and hugged me again in thanks.

A couple of hours later, Kelly came in after she'd taken all the film she'd used (over fifty rolls of 36 exposure!) to be developed. She got a greeting similar to mine, and had brought her own gift: a beautifully embroidered shawl that my secretary, Sarah, absolutely fell in love with.

Kelly and I quickly got ourselves organized, and started working on the first draft of the report my client expected. Sarah took care of organizing our receipts and expense claims, Kelly went through the forms that I'd completed (I'd taken the time to gin up a form that covered the details my client was after), and I transferred my notes from the electronic organizer Kelly had given me and got them into my computer.

The rest of the day went by relatively quickly, with all of us thoroughly engrossed in our respective tasks. When Kelly and I finally left, Sarah again thanked us for the gifts before giving each of us another hug.

The next day, Kelly and I arrived together to see Sarah proudly wearing both the shawl and pin we'd given her. She fairly beamed at us as we went back to drafting our initial report.

Kelly finished before I did, and came in to bring me a cup of coffee and a kiss as she watched me work. I looked over at her and said "Why don't you see if you can get us an appointment with the Bishop? Preferably for some time after we get back the pictures you took – say, next week?"