The Winter Date

Katie stared off into the distance as she sat on her front porch swing waiting for her son to arrive. Her faithful dog Parker lay silently beside her, never far from her side. His devotion to Katie was undeniable, since the day she rescued him from the shelter it had been love at first sight between the both of them. Parkers ears perked up when he heard the familiar sound of her sons truck coming down the road. He knew that they were going for a ride and he couldn’t hide his excitement.

Her daughter-in-law Sally and her two sisters were throwing a huge surprise party for their father who had retired after working thirty five years for the city road commission, Katie was helping with the food preparations. Katie had spent all day making up forty pounds of meatballs that were now bagged and in the freezer. Her homemade sweet and tangy barbecue sauce was sitting in the fridge in two large five quart buckets along with all the various cut up vegetables she would need to make the Italian Rotini salad, and the seven layer salad she was making for the party as well.

Her son helped her load the car with all the food that they would transfer to the rented halls refrigerators for the party that night. She had also made up five quarts of cocktail sauce for the cold shrimp they were serving. The girls had already prepared the shrimp and all that was left to do was to plate it all for the party. Katie had made three of her pineapple wedding cakes , at her son’s request for the party the day before at the hall while they had been cleaning and decorating for the party. That cake was the one both of her son’s always requested on their birthdays and had become a family favorite in Sally’s family as well.

Some of Sally’s friends were meeting at the hall this afternoon to put the finishing touches on all the decorations. The men were going to hang all the lights while the women finished preparing the food and setting up the tables.

As soon as they arrived Katie went about making sure that the girls had all the food ready to be set up. Katie placed the meatballs in the roasters and covered them with the homemade sauce and put the heat on low. They set out the two punch bowls on each end of the drinks table. Sally had found two molds that fit perfect with her fathers retirement. One was of a large road plow, the other of a pickup truck. They had taken some of each of the flavored punches the day before and froze them for the party, that way they would keep the punch cold without watering them down with regular ice.

“Mom, I would like you to meet a very old and good friend of our family,” her daughter-in-law was saying.

Katie turned around to meet the friend and was taken back by his startling eyes and good looks. He was tall, a little over six foot Katie guessed, his hair was coal black with little specks of gray appearing here and there. It was his eyes that held her attention, slate gray, they made you feel like they were staring deep into your soul. Katie felt a little shiver run down her spine. Those eyes of his could probably put fear into most men if he was angered, but she could see that they could also make a woman melt if directed at her, especially if in passion.

Katie put out her hand as Sally introduced them. ” Mom this is Dean Summers.”

When he reached for her hand to shake it, Katie got a little electric shock as he touched her hand. She laughed as she jerked her hand back from his, ” to much static electricity from the carpet I’m afraid.”

“I’ve heard so much about you from Sally that it’s nice to finally get to meet you,” he said. “Can’t wait to eat a piece of that cake that she has been going on about as well,” his eyes twinkled with laughter as he looked at her.

Katie had heard Sally and her folks talk about Dean Summers before, she had assumed that he was about the age of Sally’s father. Well, he sure did hide his age well was what she was thinking. He looked like he might be in his late forties or early fifties, not in his late seventies. She also knew that he was a widower, his wife having died three years ago if Katie remembered correctly. Sally had told her when they were leaving for the funeral that day that she had died one week after their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

“Well it is a darn good tasting cake if I don’t say so myself,” she told him with laughter in her voice.

“Hey Dean, could you give us a hand,” she heard her son hollering from the main room.

” Well, guess it’s back to work for me,” he said as he was leaving the kitchen.

Katie put her coat on so she could take Parker outside to do his business, she was surprised at how much snow had fallen in the two hours time she had been inside. She hoped that all this snow wouldn’t put a damper on the party, the girls had worked so hard at arranging it and keeping it secret from their father. When she went back inside Dean was standing by the door and offered to help her off with her coat.

“You sure look like a little snowman coming in from the cold,” he told her smiling at her, while shaking the snow from her coat.

“I just hate winter, always güvenilir bahis have, even as a little girl you would have to force me to got outside. We lived on a lake until I was twelve years old and my father used to drag me out with him to go ice fishing until my brother was born and old enough to go with him. I didn’t mind going out when the weather was nice and even enjoyed ice skating on nice days. If we could just skip winter all together it wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all,” she told him with dead seriousness.

Katie thanked him then went back to the kitchen to help the girls finish setting up. She had her clothes hanging in one of the closets just off the kitchen, that she was going to change into before the party. She would change as soon as they finished setting up the food and then she could relax.

She’d had Sally buy four of those plastic under the bed storage boxes that they were now filling with ice on the food table. She nestled the salads in one of the center boxes, then placed two shrimp platters in both end boxes along with the various meats for the sandwiches. In the other center box she placed the vegetable platters and dips. Serving dishes, napkins and cutlery were placed on both ends of the serving table. The punches, one lemonade and one a cherry ginger ale were sitting on the drinks table along with the coffee and tea. The ice molds of the snow plow and pickup were floating nicely in the punch bowls.

They had put candles on all of the tables and with all the strings of lights the guys had put up there would be no need to have the halls lights on. Her son and a friend of his had set up a cd player that was already playing the country music Sally’s father loved so much.

The girls had already changed their clothes and some of the guests had begun to arrive. Sally’s mother had told her husband that they were going to a surprise party for her sister, who’s birthday was a week away. The guests had been asked to arrive by six thirty and Sally’s mom would have her father there by seven.

Katie made sure everything was set before she went to change her clothes. She had decided to wear one of her more dressier slack outfits for the party. The pants were black and made of a silk like material as was the long jacket that went with them. The blouse was red and long, the neckline of the blouse was scalloped lace that dipped low enough to just show the arch of her more then ample breasts. The whole outfit had a slimming effect which Katie liked due to fact that she had always been a large woman.

The fat jokes had hurt her deeply when she was a small child, then as she got older she ignored them and those who made those remarks. She choose her friends by those who didn’t look at her size but by those who liked and saw the real person she was, both inside and out. Her ex husband had been one of those men who enjoyed the more fuller figured woman. She never saw the divorce coming, she had no idea that anything was wrong with their marriage until he asked her for a divorce.

To say she had been shocked was an understatement. She remembered asking him why when he told her he was leaving and wanted a divorce. He didn’t even try to lie about it when he told her he had met someone else who he wanted to be with. Katie asked herself over and over the first few weeks after he had moved out where he had found the time to meet someone else when he was always at work then came straight home every night. Except during the warmer months when he golfed with his buddies four or five times a week after work. She had later found out that it was on the golf course where he had met the woman he was now married to.

She understood why he left after her son told her about his fathers new wife shortly after they had gotten married. She was a widow who’s husband had left her a nice insurance policy after his death. Her husband had always been selfish when it came to money and things he wanted. It was the only thing they ever had cross words about during their twenty years of marriage. According to her son whatever dad wanted she made sure he got.

They had been divorced for almost then years before she ran into him by accident one day while having coffee with her girlfriend at a small café. He was with his wife and her friend made the comment that she was positive he had married her for money because, as she said, ” she is dog fucking ugly!” Katie had to agree that the woman was hardly what you could even remotely call attractive but she no longer cared, she had gotten over her failed marriage many years ago and didn’t look back on it.

Katie took one last look at her reflection in the mirror and decided she looked as good as she ever was going to and left to join the party.

Five minutes later Sally’s father and mother arrived to shouts of “Happy Retirement” from all his family and friends. The hall was full of people, the girls had invited around a hundred people and it looked like they were all there. Sally invited everyone to help themselves to the food and drinks as the party got underway.

Katie was putting out more salads when Sally’s father türkçe bahis stopped to introduce her to his long time friend Dean Summers. She was going to tell him she had already met Dean when she turned around and saw a much older man standing at his side with his hand out to shake.

” I hear you have already met Dean Jr. so I wanted you to meet the Sr. of the family as well,” he told her.

So that was the son she said to herself as she shook his hand. Now she understood how come he looked so young. “‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’ve heard all about you from Tom and his wife.”

“Well I hope they were good things and not those should be forgotten things we might have done or been a party to in our youth,” he told her with a wink and a smile.

“Well I have been told some stories of your misspent youth and knowing Tom as I do I must say that I believed him totally,” she told him winking back at him.

“Hey you two, mind if I borrow Katie for a minute? I feel like dancing,” he asked as he gently took her arm in his, leading her to the makeshift dance floor they had set up earlier that day.

Katie tried to tell him that she didn’t dance, as he pulled her into his arms.

“Nonsense. I don’t believe that for a moment. I saw you moving to the music earlier while you were playing with the food tables. Your body language says that you enjoy music and moving to it,” he said as he pulled her closer into his arms.

It had been years since Katie had felt a mans arms around her for any reason and she involuntarily shivered.

“Are you cold Katie? I can feel you shaking,” he whispered in her ear.

She wasn’t cold, not in the least. She was rather warm as a matter of fact. Long forgotten feelings were coming forth. Those little electric shocks flowing through your body as it moves slowly against another warm body, as you sway softly and slowly to the music. Building on your passions, long forgotten passions, seeping forth forcefully. Needs that were long left untended now begging to be felt again, to experience, to share, to spill forth like hot lava forcing it’s way through the volcano until it erupts, spilling all of it’s heat.

“Sorry, I just had a little chill, temp must be dropping outside again,” she said in way of an explanation.

Another chill running down her spine as he whispered softly in her ear that he didn’t believe her one bit.

“I’m not cold, in fact I’m rather warm,” he chuckled softly in her ear.

Oh my god what was going on? If she didn’t know better she would think that he was flirting with her.

He pulled her tighter into his chest, making it impossible for her not to feel every movement of his body as they swayed to the music. She didn’t know how much longer she could stand this without giving away exactly what she was feeling.

The song finally ended and Katie was allowed to escape the closeness of his body. She was positive that he had felt how fast her heart was beating as close as he held her in his arms.

“Thank you for the dance Dean,” she said as she turned away from him.

He gently grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop before she made her getaway.

“Running off are you? Afraid I might have designs on you Katie?”

Katie could only stare at him, into those eyes that were drawing her deeper and deeper into his soul.

He chuckled softly. “Don’t worry Katie, you would always be safe with me.”

With that said, he released her arm and went on his way.

Katie decided that she’d try her best to stay clear of Dean Jr. the rest of the evening. Two hours later one of the guests who had stepped outside for a smoke informed everyone that they had a major blizzard going on outside. A minute later the city cops stopped in to advise everyone that they should consider leaving now before they had to shut down the roads because of the snow storm. Almost everyone there had to go downstairs to the front door to check on the weather conditions themselves. One look outside convinced them all that it was time to leave before they became stranded there for the night.

Katie and the girls hurried to put all the food in the refrigerators. They would have to come back tomorrow to clean up if the weather permitted. They weren’t worried about that as the girls had wisely rented the hall for the weekend just in case.

“Mom, I’m going to take you home then come back for Sally and her parents, we don’t want them trying to drive in this mess, they would never make it in their car.”

“Bill I can drive your mom home, I came in my 4X4 and from the looks of it outside it’s a good thing I did,” Dean offered. ” Dad came with Jerry and his wife and they have already left.”

“Thanks Dean that would be great, I have a feeling once I got to mom’s I’d never be able to get back here with as much snow that is falling.”

“Let me help you with your coat Katie and let’s get going, it’s really getting bad out there.” He didn’t even wait for her to say anything, just helped her on with her coat then scooped Parker up in a free arm, taking her arm with his other he led them towards the parking lot.

Katie güvenilir bahis siteleri was cold and wet by the time they made it to his truck. There had to be a good foot of snow on the ground with more coming down rapidly. The wind had picked up and you could see where roads were already starting to drift closed.

The truck was nice and warm as they got inside, thanks to the electronic starter he had installed in his truck.

“Oh my god Katie what a dam fool I am, hell I didn’t even think about you not having anything on your feet but those dam loafers.”

“It’s ok, I would have gotten just as wet getting into Bill’s truck,” she laughed with a quiver in her voice from the cold. “Well let’s hurry up and get you home before we get stranded here in the parking lot. Which way do I head dear lady,” he asked her?

Katie made sure that when she was giving him directions that she gave him ample time to know when to turn so he could concentrate on the roads. When they finally made it to her road they got stuck in a deep drift about fifty yards from her driveway. Dean finally got the truck through after fifteen minutes of driving back and forth trying to inch his way through the drift. They could only get half way up the drive before giving up, the snow was just to deep.

With a nervous quiver in her voice she told Dean that it looked like he was stranded there for the night.

He chuckled, “lucky me, being stranded with such a nice lady. What guy could ask for anything more,” he told her as he got out of the truck to come around to her side to help her out.

As soon as they were inside and removed their wet shoes Katie grabbed them both a towel to dry their wet feet with. The wind was really howling now and all Katie could think of was what if the power went out? She wasn’t afraid of being without heat as she had a huge Kerosene heater in the garage to use in emergencies along with her fireplace and plenty of wood stocked in the garage. What she was afraid of was of being alone in the dark with Dean. She was going to have a tough time sleeping as it was with him sleeping across the room from her tonight.

Dean I have a pair of men’s pajama’s that I keep on hand when Bill has been stranded here before and he has a robe in the spare room closet that you can use as well. I think we ought to take a shower to get this chill off before we go to bed and I’ll put on some coffee while we shower.

As soon as Katie closed her mouth she realized how that had sounded like an invitation when she saw the twinkle in his eyes.

” Katie, I didn’t think that I would be invited to your bed this quickly, but I’m not complaining let me assure you,” he said advancing forward with a devilish look in his eyes.

Katie backed up, her emotions were very much attuned to his playful manner. “Don’t be silly, you know exactly what I meant,” she told him with a small nervous smile. ” Let me show you to your room.” Katie heard his soft whisper of an answer but decided to pretend that she hadn’t.

He had said,” yes I do, but do you know exactly what I meant?”

“You’ll find the pajama’s in the second drawer of the dresser, the robe is in the closet and clean towels are in the linen closet in your bathroom, and there is a new toothbrush in the medicine cabinet,” she turned and closed the door not waiting to see if he would make anymore suggestive remarks. This was going to be a long night she thought to herself as she stepped into the inviting warm water of her shower.

She could smell the coffee as she made her way down the hallway and the smell of the wood burning in the fireplace. The two reasons she enjoyed her little house were having two full baths and the fireplace. She found Dean kneeling in front of the fireplace.

“Hope you don’t mind that I made a fire, he asked her? Just something about a cold winters night and a nice warm fire that make you feel comfy and warm inside, don’t you agree Katie,” he asked her?

“Yes I do, I usually make a fire each evening, I love to hear the logs crackling and as you can see it is Parkers favorite place to sleep.” She glanced down at her much loved pet all curled up in his little bed next to the warm fire, he was sound asleep and looking much more relaxed then his owner was.

” I didn’t realize how long your hair was, it suits you nicely. Long and silky, makes a man wonder how it would feel draped across his body.”

He had stood up and moved close to her when she had been looking down at Parker. She had involuntarily flinched when he touched her hair, but she refused to move. She was not going to let this man see that he was having any kind of effect on her. Besides she was afraid if she tried to move that her knees would give way and she would crumple at his feet.

Her long blond hair suited her nicely he thought to himself. Most women around her age seemed to like their hair kept short, easier to manage he was once told. Dean loved long hair on a woman, he loved to run his fingers through the silken stands and he loved the way a woman’s hair felt flowing across his skin. Just those thoughts made the blood in his veins run hotter and he must try to keep himself under control before he frightened Katie off. He knew she was just as aware of him as he was of her. He saw how her hazel eyes changed to blue as her excitement grew.