Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes

The McCaskill’s SUV pulled in the driveway a little after 1:00 on Saturday, December 30^th, the day before the New Year’s Eve dinner.  I went out to greet them, as well as to help carry their suitcases inside.  This time instead of just having a suitcase, Devin and Pa had black garment bags for their suits, and Ma had a clear gown bag for the dress she’d be wearing tomorrow night.  I took Ma and Pa’s suitcases inside, while Devin carried his suitcase and garment bag, and Pa followed behind with his garment bag and Ma’s gown bag.  My parents met them at the door. 

“Is the game on?” Pa asked after he said hello to my parents. 

“Yes, but it’s halftime in the first game,” Dad answered. 

“That’s good, because it will give us a chance to get organized before the game starts again,” Pa said with a sigh.  “Devin, let’s take these things upstairs, and we’ll hang the garment bags in the closets.”

While I was helping them, Mom and Ma began to chat.  “I’m glad to see you have garment bags for the clothes you’re going to wear tomorrow night so they don’t get dirty or wrinkled in your suitcases,” Mom said. 

“We had to go out and purchase them, since we didn’t have anything we could use,” Ma explained.  “We’re not used to going to events that we have to dress up to attend, at least not any where we can’t get dressed at home first.   And to tell you the truth, it’s got me very excited about doing this.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Mom replied, “and I bought our garment bags while I was Christmas shopping, since I knew we’d most likely need them.”

When Pa, Devin, and I returned downstairs, Devin wanted me to go out to his dad’s SUV and help him move the things he was taking to Fort Collins to his SUV.  When we finished doing that and came back inside, Mom was still chatting with Ma. 

“And I want to help when you prepare supper tonight,” Ma offered.

“That won’t be necessary, because Mickey insisted on preparing the meal for us.”

“Really?  Mac is fixing our supper?”

“Yes, he prepared supper for us every night this past week and each meal was very good.”

“And he made sure we had dessert too,” Dad crowed. 

“The meals weren’t anything fancy,” I added.  “They were really pretty simple,”

“Some of those side dishes you prepared weren’t so simple, and they were very tasty as well,” Mom challenged, “but we can talk about that later.  Let’s all sit down in the dining room and have lunch first, since we’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” 

“Aaron and I will eat in here,” Dad said when he heard what Mom said.

“Yes, your highness,” Mom replied mockingly.  “I’ll take care of that right away.”

I heard Ma chuckle when Mom said that, and then she spoke.  “Let me help you bring everything to the table,” she offered, and then she and Ma went into the kitchen to get the food that Mom had prepared before their arrival. 

While we were eating, I made a comment.  “I hope you are all ok with having ham for supper.”

“Yes, that will be fine,” Ma replied.  “All of my family has eaten ham at home.”

“And I think you’ll be impressed with what he’s preparing,” Mom followed.

“And I’m offering to do whatever I can to help him,” Devin stated.

“Thanks, because I can use your help,” I agreed.  “Instead of taking out bowls of food, I’ll bring everyone a small bowl of salad and both large and small plates with the main course and the side dishes.”

“Wow, just like the restaurants do,” Devin replied.

“Exactly,” I concurred, “and there will be plenty for everyone.  I’ll only urge each of you to save some room for dessert as well, because I’m preparing that as well.  What time do you think I should be planning on having it ready?” I asked.  

“You’d better go into the living room and ask the football fanatics,” Ma replied. 

I listened to her snide advice and repeated the question to Dad and Pa when a commercial came on, and then I waited for their answer.

“There’s only one more football game after this one and it should be over by 7:30,” Dad replied, “so anytime after that.”

“Thank you for that information, so we’ll have supper at 7:45.”   

When I returned to the dining room, Mom had Dad and Pa’s lunch ready for them, so Devin and I volunteered to take it in to them.  I set up two TV trays while Devin held the plates, and then after we set their plates on the TV trays, I asked them what they wanted to drink.  We then went out to get that for them as well.

Our Moms continued chatting while we were eating, and when Devin and I finished our meals, we went up to my room. 

“Is there a lot that I’ll be able to help you with when you’re preparing supper?” Devin asked. 

“Yes!  We’ll start with the salads and you can watch me while I prepare the first one, and then we’ll take turns making them after that.  And after the salads, you’ll be able to help me take the various items out of the oven and put them on the plates.  Then, I’ll fix the first plate and you can just duplicate what I just did on the first plate.”

“Ok, I’ll try to do everything as well as you do it.”

“If it’s a little off, then that plate or bowl will be for us.”

“Ok, that makes me feel a little better.”

We talked about other things after that, such as what we did during the past week and what tomorrow night was going to be like, and we also kissed and hugged a lot in between talking about those things.  I kept an eye on the clock in my room the entire time, so we could go downstairs in time to get supper started.  When it was time, we went down to the dining room first, and I had Devin help me set the table first. 

“We only have to set the silverware, napkins, and cups and saucers                                          tonight.  Oh, and I just remembered, we’ll have to place a wine glass along with the other items.” 

“Really?  We’re having wine?”

“Yes!  I asked Dad to pick up two bottles of Rose during the week, since I read online that Rose goes well with ham!” 

“I like that idea.” 

 “I kind of figured you would.”

When we finished doing those things, we entered the kitchen and Devin helped me with the various tasks I had to perform to prepare the meal.  As soon as everything was completed, I asked Devin to tell our parents that supper was ready and they should come out to the dining room and take their seats.  He did as I asked, just not how I had expected.

“Dinner is served,” he announced in a deeper voice than his normal speaking voice.  “Please come to the dining room and be seated,” he added, sounding a butler for an upper-class family.  After he did that, he returned to the kitchen to assist me. 

As I finished putting the final touches on the salads, Devin opened one of the wine bottles and took it out to the dining room so he could pour a half glass for each of us.  As soon as he finished doing that, we began carrying out the salads, which consisted of lettuce, tomato quarters, cucumber slices, black olives, and croutons.  I’d also added a raspberry-walnut vinaigrette dressing to each of them as well. 

“This dressing is very good,” Ma commented.  “I don’t believe I’ve ever had it before, but I really like it.” 

“Yes, it’s very good,” Pa agreed.  “What is it?”

After I told him, I added a disclaimer.  “I didn’t make it, though.  It’s from a bottle.”

When Devin and I finished eating our salads, we went out to the kitchen again and prepared the plates with the main course and the smaller plates with the side dishes.  When they were ready, we began carrying them into the dining room and gave them to our parents first.

“Each of you is being served half of a ham steak that is lightly coated with a brown sugar glaze and topped with a pineapple ring with a maraschino cherry in the center of the pineapple ring.  The smaller plate contains two items, a buttered smashed sweet potato and a serving of cheesy bacon butternut squash.”

“Now the cheesy bacon butternut squash doesn’t sound like it was simple to prepare,” Ma stated once she heard me explain the second side dish.  

“No, that was a little harder to prepare, and I hope you will all enjoy everything.  Oh, and there‘s a bottle of maple syrup on the table that you can pass around, if you’d like to add a little of it to your sweet potato.  I would have added it for you before I brought it out, but I wasn’t sure if all of you would want it on your sweet potato.”

“You should have known we would after you saw how much syrup we used when we had pancakes, waffles, or French toast,” Pa replied. 

“It’s all quite delicious,” Mom said after taking a few bites “but I’m afraid I won’t be able to eat the entire ham steak you gave me,”

“Then let me have what you can’t eat,” Dad suggested.

“I knew you were going to say that!” Mom shot back.

“And you can have what I can’t finish,” Ma told Pa, and he simply nodded in response. 

“Is there any more of that cheesy side dish or the smashed sweet potatoes?” Dad asked. 

“Yes, I made extra of each and I’ll put them on a platter and you can pass it around and take what you want.”

“Devin, you’ve definitely got a keeper here,” Pa said when he finished eating.  “He has a lot of great qualities and the meal he just prepared was par excellence.”

“I know I’ve got a keeper,” Devin concurred, and then he kissed me on the cheek. 

Devin even got up at one point and went out to open the second bottle of wine, and then he came out and refilled the wine glasses of everyone who wanted more.  And when we’d all finished eating, I spoke again. 

“I hope you’ve all saved room for dessert, because there’s Dutch apple pie a-la-mode and French vanilla pudding, and you can have either or both.”

“Oh, I’m too full to eat dessert now,” Mom replied.  “Let’s have it a little later.” 

“I second that suggestion,” Pa followed.  “I can eat a lot, but even I’m full.”

Since Ma and Dad agreed with the other two, we decided to wait an hour or more before we had dessert. 

Since they were all in agreement, we remained in the dining room sipping our glass of wine.  Mom was also busy telling Ma and Pa about each of the suppers I’d prepared during the week, along with describing the different side dishes I made. 

“Each night during the week we had a different side dish, and during that time he’d prepared: green beans almondine, bacon fried cabbage, garlic-parmesan carrots, cauliflower au gratin, and parmesan roasted baby Brussels sprouts.”

“Damn, before long you will be on the Food Network,” Pa teased while looking at me.

“I agree,” Dad stated, “because every one of those dishes was absolutely delicious.” 

“I’m amazed and totally impressed,” Ma added, “because I’m not sure that Devin can do those things.”

“That’s why Mac and I are great for each other, because we each have skills the other one lacks, and we complement one another quite well,” Devin explained.  

“I see, and I guess your father and I are like that as well,” Ma concurred.  “It’s probably what makes our marriage so strong.”

“And I think that’s what Mike and I have as well, and even though I’d like him to lose a little weight, we still do very well together,” Mom agreed. 

When our parents were finally ready for dessert, I asked them if they wanted the Dutch apple pie a-la-mode, the French Vanilla pudding, or both.”

“I still can’t believe you made an apple pie too,” Devin stated. 

“I didn’t.  It’s a Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie that I just heated up in the oven, and the pudding is a Jell-O box mix.”

“It’s still impressive that you even did something like this,” Ma stated.  ”I think most guys would’ve merely gone out and bought something for dessert instead, but I have a question for you.  I’m still pretty full, so I’ll have the pudding tonight, but can I have the apple pie tomorrow with lunch?”

“Certainly, as long as Dad doesn’t get into it later tonight,” I joked.

“He’d better not!” Mom quickly stated, glaring at Dad.  “He’s lucky I’m letting you make or purchase these desserts for him in the first place.”

 When I went out to the kitchen to dish out the desserts, Devin made a fresh pot of coffee, and then he poured everyone a cup while I was delivering the desserts.  As soon as the others had what they wanted, Devin and I took a pie a-la-mode and sat down at the table with the others. 

“I don’t care if this was a frozen pie,” Dad stated, “it’s still very tasty.”

“I agree with you, Mike,” Pa concurred.

“And this pudding is very good as well,” Ma stated. 

“And I agree,” Mom added.  “You’ve done a wonderful job tonight, Mickey.”

Once we’d all finished our desserts, we took our coffee into the living room to chat some more

“It was a wonderful meal and a lovely evening,” Ma said.  “I hope tomorrow night goes as well.”

“I think we all do,” Pa concurred, and then dad turned on the TV so we could all watch a movie.  Devin and I decided to watch it with them, and when it ended, we all decided it was time to turn in.

As soon as Devin and I woke up in the morning, we put on the clothes we’d been wearing the previous day and headed downstairs to see what we were going to have for breakfast.  We soon learned that our Moms were fixing omelets this morning, along with home fries, bacon, and sausage links.

As soon as we were full, we went into the living room to chat with our parents. 

“Mickey, you should probably go up to your room and pack the things you’re taking with you later, because we’ll be leaving right after lunch.  And I placed a garment bag on your bed to put your suit in.  You’ll also need a change of clothes for the next day as well, besides what you plan on wearing to go there this afternoon.”

Devin went with me when I did this, and he told me what he was taking with him, so I did the same thing.  When we came downstairs again, I asked Pa how long it was going to take to get to the Ramble Hotel.

“You should be able to figure that out, since you drive through Denver on your way to Fort Collins, but it should take about two hours.”

“I just didn’t know which exit you’d be taking or how long it would take to get to the hotel once we got off the exit.  Do you know how to get to this place?”

“I’ll just punch the address into my cell phone.”

“Ok, that works for me.”

After we ate lunch, Devin and I went up to my room to change and use the toilet.  When we were ready, Devin and I carried everyone’s suitcase out to the SUV.  We also carried our garment bags out to the SUV, while our dads carried both their garment bags and those of our moms as well.  Once everything was in the SUV, we all hopped into our seats and began the trip to Denver. 

“I’m getting excited already,” Ma said as Pa was backing out of the driveway.  “This is going to be a fun evening.”

“I agree,” Mom stated, “and I can’t wait to get on the dance floor.” 

“I thought Gramps and Pops were coming too,” I said. 

“They are, but they’re going to meet us there.”

And while our moms continued to chat, our dads stayed fairly quiet during most of the trip to our destination.

When we arrived at the hotel, we all went to the front desk to check in.  We gave the desk clerk our names and told him we were there as part of the package deal, and he checked us in.  He then not only gave us the key cards to our rooms, but he also gave each couple a large brown Manila envelope with our name on it. 

“Could you tell me if Aaron and Jacob McCaskill have checked in yet?” Pa asked, and the desk clerk checked his records. 

“Yes, they have, and at their request we placed both couples in rooms that are right across the hall from your rooms

We then went up to our rooms to check them out, and then we all met up again in the hall. 

“The room is much nicer than I expect,” Pa said.

“Yes, our room is as well,” Ma concurred. 

“And it definitely beats a dorm room,” Devin chimed in. 

I had also looked in the manila envelope while I was in the room discovered several items inside.  There was a nametag for both of us, and there was also a diagram of the layout of the hotel that had a dotted line indicating the way to the banquet room.  That was where we would have our meal and celebrate the New Year.  There were also two tickets that indicated the meal we had chosen, and there were also two smaller tickets, and each one could be used for one free drink from the bar. 

After our parents finished talking about the rooms, Pa and Devin knocked on the doors of Gramps and Pops rooms, and then they came into the hallway to join us.  After Mom and Dad had been introduced to those they hadn’t met yet, we talked about some other issues. 

“What time are they serving the meal?” Pops asked. 

“They’re serving from 6:00 to 9:00, to take some of the pressure off the wait staff and the kitchen,” Mom replied.  “We just have to present our meal ticket to the wait person after we’re seated.”

“Then what time do the rest of you want to go there to eat?” Gramps asked. 

“I don’t want to eat as early as 6:00,” Dad offered, “but I don’t want to wait until 9:00 to eat either.  What do the rest of you think about eating at 7:30?”

We all agreed that would be fine, and then we moved on to the next topic. 

“I think we’re going to take a nap so we’ll be well rested and rearin’ to go later,” Ma said.  “I don’t plan on turning into a pumpkin at midnight.”

“That’s a good idea,” Mom agreed.  “I think that’s what we’ll do as well.  What about you boys?”

Devin looked at me and I nodded.  “Yeah, we’re going to do that too.”

“Actually, that‘s a good idea,” Faith and Hope agreed.  “I think we’ll do the same thing, and we’ll set the alarm on our phones so we’ll wake up and to get ready in time to go down and eat with the rest of you at 7:30.”

Now that those issues had all been agreed to, we went to our rooms to take a short nap.  I set the alarm on my phone for 6:30, because I felt that would give us time to shower, put on our suits, and meet up with the others to go down for our meals.  And then we cuddled on the bed and fell asleep.

After we woke up, we got ready and then sat down and waited until someone contacted us.  Eventually, Mom called. 

“We’re all meeting in the hallway again, and then we’ll go down to the banquet room together.”

When we arrived at our destination, the area was decorated with holiday lights and various other decorations and looked very festive, and when we entered the room, we were greeted by the maitre d who asked our names.  As soon as we told him, he glanced at a list that he kept in a black padded folder, and after he‘d located our names, he had one of the wait staff lead us to a table for ten. 

“Wow, this is a lot better than the Elk’s Club,” Ma said.

Now that we were all seated, the wait person took our meal tickets and asked if we would like coffee, tea, or water with our meal.  After we responded, she went to turn the tickets in to the kitchen so they could prepare our meals while she went to get our drinks.  I believe we’d all asked for both water and coffee. 

The meals were delicious and the band started playing at 8:00, just as we were finishing our meals.  We waited and ate our desserts first, and then we all got up and went out onto the dance floor.  The band was playing a series of slow songs at the time, so after Devin and I had danced to two songs with each other, we asked our moms to dance next. 

While we were on the dance floor with our moms, our dads were able to go to the bar and get us all a drink, and when they returned, we left the dance floor as soon as the next song ended. 

 

“Just what I needed,” I said.  “My mouth was getting a little dry.”

This was basically the same routine we followed for the rest of the night.  Each time Devin and I asked our moms to dance; our dads would go to the bar and return with drinks for each of us. 

While we’d been downing our drinks, the band had started playing faster songs, so Devin and I went out to dance to a couple more songs together.  When those songs ended, we asked Hope and Faith if they’d like to dance. 

“How sweet, and I’d love too,” Faith replied. 

“And I’d like to do that as well,” Hope agreed. 

“Would you prefer a fast or slow song?” we asked.

“It doesn’t matter.  We’ll dance to anything.”

After we‘d danced with each of them, Devin and I danced to a couple more song together, and then we asked our moms to dance again.  We continued this pattern until we saw the wait staff passing out the noisemakers, confetti cannon, party hats, and small bottles of champagne to each table.  That’s when we knew it was getting close to the magical hour. 

Around 11:30, a microphone was placed beside the TV at the bar, and the TV was set to a local station that was replaying the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square.  The station had recorded that event and was replaying it so it was in sync with Mountain Time. 

As soon as we heard the announce say they were only a couple of minutes away from the countdown, we all opened the bottles of champagne.  Next, we poured some into the champagne glasses that had been there from the start of our meal, and we got ready to toast each other.

Eventually, we all began to count down with the TV announcers.  At midnight, we held up our champagne glasses and wished each other a Happy New Year before taking a drink.  The room had also erupted in a cacophony of noise as the confetti cannons exploded, the other guests wished each other a Happy New Year, and the assorted noisemakers produced a discordance of sounds.

At the same time, the band started playing Auld Lang Syne, and some of us even attempted to sing along, and when the song ended I gave Devin a very passionate kiss and wished him Happy New Year again.   And as I did that, Devin was staring at me strangely, with a very serious expression on his face before he spoke. 

“I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to say, at least I hope I do, but here it goes.” 

He then bent down on one knee and opened a ring box that he must have taken out of his jacket pocket, even though I hadn’t noticed him doing so, and then he held it out to me.  This elicited a round of oohs and ahhs from our moms, Hope, and Faith, and possibly even a few of the other women who’d been seated nearby.

“Michael Alexander MacPherson, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

“Of course I will,” I replied without hesitation, “but do you mean now, while we’re still in college, or after we graduate?”

“I mean after we graduate.  It can be a small ceremony with only our families there, and then after we get jobs, and are ready to settle down then we can have a larger ceremony.  I just couldn’t wait any longer before you gave me your answer.”

“Why?  You’ve always known that we were going to get married eventually.”

“That’s true, but now its official.  To be honest with you, I was a little concerned that you might not feel this way after I was so inconsiderate during finals week.  At least now I know for certain that you aren’t upset with me for how I acted during that week and I don’t have to worry about whether we’re going to get married.”

He then took the ring out of the box and placed it on the ring finger of my right hand.  It was a white gold men’s band with a fairly large radiant-cut diamond in the center, and it was absolutely stunning. 

“I wanted to give this engagement ring to you for Christmas, but it didn’t arrive in time.”

“Actually, I think this is the perfect time to do it.”

As we looked at the others at the table, our moms were crying and our dads were beaming with approval.  The others were acting the same way, and then some of those closest to us started clapping to show their approval, and our families joined them as well. 

“Is this why you had me ask the salesman fitting the seniors for their class rings to see if the ring finger on each of my hands was the same size?”

“Yep, that way I’d know for sure what size engagement ring I should order for you.”

“That was very sneaky of you.  I wondered why you were so insistent about doing that, since we aren’t supposed to get measured for our class rings until next year, and we won’t get them until we graduate.”

“I didn’t know how else I could find out the size of your ring finger for certain.”

“Does this mean I should’ve gotten you an engagement ring as well?”

“No, the person making the marriage proposal buys the ring and gives it to the other person, if they accept the proposal.”

“But we’ll both have wedding rings when we get married, won’t we?”

“Yes, we’ll exchange wedding rings during the marriage ceremony.”

We stayed around and danced for another hour, and during that time a fight broke out on the dance floor.  I’m not sure what started it, but it could have been anything.  A guy might have done something to another guy’s girl or maybe he just insulted her, but no one seemed to be trying to stop them.  In fact, it appeared that others might be getting ready to start fighting with someone else, thus expanding the fracas. 

“Come on, boys, let’s put an end to this little scuffle,” Pa said. 

As we began to follow him out on the dance floor, we began to bulk up.  I think Dad started to follow us, but Gramps and Pops stopped him. 

“You don’t need to go out there with them,” Gramps said as he stopped my dad.  “They can handle this without your assistance.”

When we reached the brawlers, Pa got between them and tried to get them to stop without any success, and they even began to take swings at him.  That was the cue for Devin and me to get involved.  We were across from one another when we came up behind the two combatants and wrapped our arms around them, in bear hugs.  While we were keeping them apart, Pa was making sure that no one else got involved. 

“Let me go, you sonofabitch,” the guy I was holding shouted.  “This is none of your business and doesn’t concern you.”

He tried his best to break free of my grip, but since I had his arms pinned against his side, he couldn’t do much.  His legs were flailing and the heels of his shoes were smashing against my shins, so I covered them with something similar to the shell of an armadillo, but I wasn’t about to let go of him.  

“Damn, you sure are strong,” he wheezed as he continued to struggle. 

“If you calm down I’ll release you,” I told him, “but you’ve got to drop whatever you have against that other guy, at least while you’re here.”  After a few more seconds, he quit struggling and stopped trying to break free.

As soon as I let him go, he tried to sucker punch me, but I was ready for him to try something like that.  I not only blocked the blow with my left arm, but I was also able to grab his wrist with my right hand and use the tactic Pops had shown us.  The guy was soon howling in pain as I forced him to his knees.

“You just made another dumb mistake,” I told him as I looked around to see how Devin and Pa were doing.  I also saw others gawking at me, since I was currently controlling the guy with just one hand.  Before long, another person approached us. 

“Let him go.  I’m his father-in-law and I’ll take him to up his room to cool off.”

“Ok,” I said, and then I let the guy go. 

I’d been hesitant about releasing him, and I was ready for him to attack me again, but he merely turned and stared at me. 

“You sure are stronger than you look,” he said. 

“It’s too bad the guy you were fighting with wasn’t able to do those same things to control you.”

“That was my son he was fighting with,” the other man said.  “They both had a few too many beers tonight.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but my boyfriend, his father, and I thought we should stop them before they, or someone else got badly hurt.”

“I’m glad you did, because I wasn’t able to reason with them earlier, but I thought they’d let their disagreement drop.  I went to the men’s room and my daughter came looking for me when the fight started.  When she found me, she told me what was going on, so I hurried back here.  If I hadn’t I stopped at the bar to get another drink first before my daughter found me, I might have gotten back in time to prevent this from happening.  When I returned, I went to take care of my son first, and I assume now that it was your boyfriend that was holding him back.”

“Yes, it was, and I hope you have someone to take your son to his room so they won’t start up again.”

“Yes, my wife and his girlfriend are taking care of that, so I’ll take care of Mike Tyson here and walk him and my daughter back to their room.”

“Ok and good luck.”

Dad came up to me even before I got back to the table.  “Damn, Mickey, I didn’t know you were that strong or could handle yourself like that.”

“Pa has me workout with weights when I stay with them, and I’ve continued doing that while I’m at college.  And Gramps and Pops showed Devin and me a few tricks about what we can do when we get involved in situations like that.”

“I take it you mean what you did to that guy that dropped him to his knees?”

“Yep, it’s all because Pops showed me there’s a spot on the wrist that you can jam your thumb or finger into and you will hit the nerve in the arm.  It’s very painful and can usually control a situation like that.”

“So I see, and I’m glad you can handle yourself.  And Devin could too.”

“I didn’t have as much trouble with the other guy,“ Devin said, “but that might be because his father got to him first, before he came over to speak with you.  His father sent him to his room to cool down, and then he had the other guy’s mother and girlfriend to get him to go back to his room as well.” 

“Yeah, and the man was taking the other guy, who happened to be his son-in-law, back to his room as well, with the help of his daughter.  It kind of sounded like he was dealing with naughty children.  I guess it was just the party version of Family Feud.”  

“Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it,” Pa confirmed. 

When we reached my mom, she looked at us and spoke.  “Having you three around might be as good as having a police squad nearby.” 

“Except we don’t carry guns,” I said with a laugh. 

I then continued to dance with Devin, each other’s mom, and Faith and Hope until the band finally packed up and called it a night, and then we headed up to our rooms.  It had been a fun, and interesting, night, but Devin and I had one more thing to do before we went to sleep. 

“I didn’t get a chance to properly show you how much it meant to me when you proposed,” I said, “and I also want to thank you for this awesome ring.”

I then gave him a hug almost as strong as I’d given to the guy on the dance floor, along with a very passionate, open mouth kiss.  I then had to remove his tie, along with his suit jacket and shirt, so I could get to his neck.  After doing that for a while, I moved down and went to work on his chest and nipples.  I gradually worked my way to his navel, but I couldn’t go much farther until I unfasten his pants, but he stopped me. 

“Allow me the opportunity to do the same things to you first, and then you can continue what you started.”

I didn’t have a problem with that, and then we spent the next hour and a half hitting all of the erogenous zones on each other’s bodies before we took turns making love to each other.  What a fun and exciting way to bring in the New Year.