Dorsai - Jan

Kelly added to that by saying "Yeah, I've heard her with some other girls, too. Some of them were talking about how they'd like to hang out with Kathy and Mary Alice, and Robyn told them right out that those two were nosy about everything, and couldn't be trusted to keep a secret.

The other girls didn't want to believe her, but she told them a little bit of how Kathy and Mary Alice had done her – not about us, just that they'd been so mean, and they believed her. I know it had to have hurt her, but she did it anyway. And some of the other girls that I know have come up to me and told me that Robyn is really sticking up for us whenever somebody starts to talk bad about us."

I have to admit, these little snippets of information about Robyn's behavior did make me feel a bit more comfortable.

"That's good to hear; I'm glad that she's doing what she said she would, and trying to make it right. I think it does give us reason to give her some trust – but we're not going to go overboard with it, are we?" I asked.

Both shook their heads, smiling. They were willing to give Robyn a chance – to either prove herself, or hang herself. They were ready to cover themselves – and me – in either case.

Thanksgiving saw me, and Kelly, at Paul's house for dinner. He'd been thoughtful enough to make the invitation in Kelly's presence, to make sure she understood that she was welcome, too. When we all sat down to eat, he delighted her by filling her wine glass without asking, telling her "If you're old enough to stay with that old fart, you're old enough to drink. God knows, you probably need it!" making Kelly and Jan both laugh. They both laughed harder when I asked him "So, Paul, what have you broken on the computer, lately?" (he was notorious for having trouble with it), and getting an "Up yours, asshole!" in reply.

After the meal, Paul and I headed into the den to watch the games; the boys were charged with clearing the table, and Jan with putting the food away. Kelly, to my pleasant surprise, offered to help. While the boys were getting started, Jan and Kelly brought Paul and I each a cup of coffee, then headed back into the kitchen.

During one of the innumerable commercials/replays, Paul asked me "What's the deal about this party tomorrow night?"

"Jan and Kelly's idea. They wanted to visit with some friends, and didn't want to bother you and the boys. Didn't want to be bothered BY you, I think."

"You expecting any trouble?"

"Nope. Phil is long gone, and his two sidekicks seem to have settled down quite a bit, last I heard."

"I mean trouble besides that."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You and Kelly is one thing; she's an adult, now. You and Jan, I'm okay with – I know it's been more than just the one time with you two." – the last part coming as something as a surprise to me.

"Oh, yeah? Sez who?", I responded (brilliant conversation, eh?) "C'mon, Dan. I'm not blind, and I'm not always stupid. I know she's got boyfriends, and she likes them, but any time she's over at your place for more than a day, she comes home too damn happy for her own good."

"That so?" (such interrogation technique!) "Yeah, that's so. Like I said, I'm okay with it – I know you care about her, and if she's happy, then I'm happy. And it doesn't happen often enough for me to worry about it; I know she's got her head on pretty straight, and that sooner or later, she'll find the guy for her. Until then, I know she's okay with you."

"Hmmmph"

"Anyway, like I was asking, you expecting any trouble?"

"Five or six girls, one of me. What could go wrong?", I asked, sarcastically.

"I thought so. The way I hear it, these girls may be a little more frisky than you want."

"Frisky how?"

"Frisky as in not too fussy about what kinds of view you get. Frisky as in one or two of them might just decide to have a run at jumping your bones."

"Paul, where do you hear this kind of crap?"

"Heh. Told you I'm not always stupid. Most of them have been over here to visit Jan the last couple of weeks. She isn't always here when they are, and I'm harmless enough that they feel they can talk to me, a little."

"And they talk to you about this kind of stuff?"

"Nah, not even close. I might be harmless, but I'm still Jan's dad. No, it's not so much what they say, as how they say it, and how they act."

"You can get that much from that?"

"C'mon, you know I'm a hell of a salesman. How do you think I got so good, without being able to read people, and figure out what they want?

If you ask different questions about the same thing, you can figure out how the other person thinks. Ever play '20 Questions'? It's like that, only more subtle."

"So you think some of these girls are gonna get 'frisky', huh?"

"Yup. Not a doubt in my mind. So watch yourself, pal."

I nodded, and content that he'd done his fair share about warning me, Paul let the subject drop; we watched the rest of the games talking about other things.

Early the next afternoon, Jan came over, and the three of us sat around the den while I told them about Paul's warning to me – something that absolutely amazed Jan, when she heard about how he'd figured it out. I also reiterated the party rules, and cautioned them about letting things move too quickly; they understood that if any of the other girls got it into her head to take offense or cause trouble, there would be hell to pay for all of us.

About mid-afternoon, Mabel let us know that there were people at the door – 4, she thought. (Yeah, I know, Mabel isn't a 'she', Mabel is a collection of circuits and sensors, an 'it'. But it was easier to refer to her as a 'her'). Checking the front door camera, we saw that all of them had arrived; apparently all dropped of by someone's parents. Kelly, doing her 'hostess' bit, went to let them in; once they'd shed their coats and scarves, they all trooped into the den. I stood up to welcome them, and was surprised when Susan moved right into my arms to give me a hug, and brief kiss full on the lips. Not far behind her was Robyn, also giving me a hug, though her kiss was to my cheek, along with a whispered"thanks!". I was surprised to see that Candice had opted for a different haircut – from her mid-back tresses of the last party, to something that stopped short of her shoulders and curled in and under, framing her face – and those eyes! – very nicely.

Since Candice, Sandra, and Susan had never been there before, and Robyn only briefly, Kelly and Jan took delight in showing them around the house – and particularly Mabel, and all the convenience features I'd built in. Every time they saw a new feature, or went into a different room, I could hear a collection of oh's and ah's. When they got back to the den, all the newcomers had a vaguely overwhelmed look in their eyes – and, in turn, looked at me as though I were some kind of benign Dr.

Frankenstein. Of course, Kelly and Jan had to show off the voice command system, and the security system – at one point, I was obliged to go outside in just my shirt and pants, so they could see the video monitor in action, and hear as Mabel announced a visitor. Then Jan joined me, and they discovered that Mabel could make educated guesses about the number of people at the door, as well.

Once I was let back in – chilled, but okay – I had to explain to them that Mabel only answered to me, Jan, and Kelly, but that Mabel would learn to follow basic commands from all of them – lights, temperature, yes/no, the intercom and phone, and so on. Following that, there was a not-too-lengthy class, and we (Jan, Kelly, and I) managed to get them all trained on using Mabel. Following that, each of them got to phone home – using voice command, of course – and let their parents know that they'd arrived okay. Jan showed off by dictating an email to Paul; a while later, they were awed when Mabel not only announced she'd received a reply, but read the message to her, as well. With the introduction to my house done, Jan and Kelly got them all into the den, and explained the basic rules about the sleepover – heavily emphasizing that my office was strictly off-limits, and that if I couldn't be found in one of the rooms, I was in my office, and absolutely not to be disturbed. While that was going on, I went into the kitchen, and made them all some hot chocolate; by the time it was ready, the lecture was nearly over. As I brought them their drinks, Kelly added one last bit, something that surprised the hell out of me.