14 A Meeting of the Minds

They parked in the driveway of the large house and went inside. Claire sent her daughter and Arnold upstairs to do their homework and took Annie into the kitchen for some girl-bonding time and to check on supper. She saw the food was coming along nicely and left it in the oven, then she made tea and gave Annie a cup. They sat down at the small kitchen nook and stared at each other.

“You, too?” Annie asked and Claire nodded.

“Heather thinks he left before she was born.” Claire said and took a drink of tea.

“Why?” Annie asked.

“It was easier than telling her the truth about him being murdered.” Claire said with a shrug.

“M-murdered?” Annie asked, surprised.

“It wasn't like a conspiracy by a best friend, or a business partner, or something else contrived.” Claire said. “It was just a random act committed in the street, late at night, while he was closing up the store.”

Annie reached over and took her hand and held it tightly, just like Claire had done for her in the car. “Now I know why you really asked me over.” Annie said.

Claire couldn't help but smile at that. “I couldn't have just wanted my daughter to spend time with her boyfriend?”

Annie smiled back. “You would have just asked for him to come over if that was what you wanted.”

Claire chuckled. “I'm trying to secretly comfort you in your time of need and you've already discovered my ulterior motives.”

Annie nodded and took another drink of tea. “This is really good. What is it?”

“It's a specially concocted blend of leaves and water.” Claire said.

Annie let out a laugh. “You know what I meant.”

Claire walked over to the pantry and came back out with a generic box of tea bags. “Here's the magic secret.” She said and tossed the box onto the small table.

“You're kidding.” Annie looked at the tea bags she bought herself because they were so cheap. “How...”

“I cheat and use two bags per cup.” Claire said. “It brews twice as strong and gives it great flavor.”

Annie looked at her cup and at the box, then shook her head. “So simple and yet so effective.”

“Stick with me and I'll show you all the tricks you need to live like you're rich with almost no money.”

Annie opened her mouth to respond, then her eyes teared up. “Oh, god.” She said and started crying.

“I knew there would be a sore spot that I shouldn't talk about.” Claire said and sat down next to her and hugged her. “Now that I know, you might as well tell me all about it.”

*

Heather took Arnold upstairs to her room and they put their backpacks on the bed. She had him sit down on the bed and she went back to her door to shut and lock it, then she leaned against it guiltily.

“We should start our homework.” Arnold said and looked at her small desk that was crowded with the computer, make-up, and a bunch of other little things, then he glanced around the room. “There's not enough room for us to do homework in here.”

“That's okay.” Heather said and slowly walked over to him. “We don't have any homework.”

Arnold turned and looked at her, and her face was flushed red. Heather put her hands on his shoulders and eased him backwards onto the bed to get him to lay down, then she straddled his waist. She looked at him expectantly, then she bent down and kissed him. He kissed her like she had taught him and she put her hands on his head and rubbed his blonde buzz-cut as they made out.

Heather rocked her hips and ground herself against him, and she was really glad that she had worn jeans today. She wouldn't have been able to sit across his lap like this if she had a skirt on. She broke the kiss and sat up and didn't stop her hips. She felt something hard grow and she smiled at him.

“Heather, what...” Arnold started to ask what she was doing and she covered his mouth.

“It's okay.” Heather whispered. “We don't have a lot of time, so we can't really do anything.”

Arnold looked down at her hips and looked back at her face.

Heather softly laughed. “I want to do a lot more than this.” She whispered and closed her eyes.

Her hips went a little faster and she rubbed against him a little harder, then she caught her breath and opened her eyes.

“Oh, Arnold!” She gasped and bent back down to kiss him again.

Her hips eventually stopped moving and she was breathing heavily as she relaxed against him. She broke the kiss and rolled off to lay beside him.

“That... wow.” Heather said and tried to slow her breathing.

“Are you okay?” Arnold asked and turned his head to look at her.

“Yes.” Heather said. “I'm more than okay.”

“You don't sound okay.” Arnold said and sat up.

“I'm fine... well, I just...” Heather's face flushed a little more red. I can't say I just came!

“Did you hurt yourself?” Arnold asked and reached out and grabbed her between the legs.

Heather gasped at the touch and tensed up, since she was still sensitive after rubbing herself through the denim.

“You must be sore.” Arnold said and looked at it.

“R-rub it.” Heather encouraged. “Make it feel better.”

Arnold gave her a disbelieving look. “Mom always said that you should kiss it and make it feel better.”

“Oh!” Heather went a little again at the thought. “Oh... oh, god.” She whispered. “Would... would you really do that for me?”

Arnold nodded and moved his hand. Heather quickly opened her jeans and slid them down past her hips to reveal her very damp underwear. She sat up and had the jeans off and tossed them aside, then her underwear quickly followed and she laid back down.

“It's all red.” Arnold said and knew she had hurt herself rubbing on him.

“Then... then you better kiss it all over to make it feel better.” Heather said, her face completely red as she spread her legs for him.

Arnold bent down and kissed her right on her sensitive spot and she clamped her mouth shut to stop from screaming in pleasure. He saw her tense up again and thought it was even more hurt than he assumed, so he kissed it again and again.

Heather writhed on the bed as Arnold kissed her all over. It was nice and she liked it; but, it wasn't giving her what she wanted. “Kiss it like... like you kiss me on the lips.”

Arnold did as she said and Heather was immediately transported into a dream world. She had a guy go down on her before and it was okay. He had stopped after only a minute and she barely got anything out of it. Even the sex afterwards was as bland as the guy's tongue had been. Now she was in heaven, because she never imagined that a guy would do it to her and kept doing it without asking to stop.

Mom was right. Arnold thought. It really does leak a lot when you play with it.

If Arnold had cared about the taste at all, he would find that it was a bit off, probably because Heather had been sweating in her underwear in class all day. He didn't care though, so he kept kissing and adding the occasional tongue. He really was getting better at kissing and it showed.

*Knock* *Knock*

“AH-mmm!” Heather covered her own mouth to stop her startled yell as she sat up.

“Hey, how is the studying going?” Claire asked.

Arnold sat up and looked at the door. “Heather's teaching me a lot.”

“Y-yeah!” Heather said nervously. “He's... a quick learner!”

“Supper will be ready soon.” Claire said with a smile. “If you're done, pack your stuff up and come down to the dining room.”

“We are.” Heather said in a normal voice. “We'll be right down.”

They clearly heard her footsteps walk away and Heather collapsed back onto the bed.

“We almost got caught!” Heather said with a laugh and looked up at Arnold.

Arnold looked down between her legs and back at her face. “Was that fun for you?” He asked, wanting to confirm what his mother had said.

“Arnold, that was the most fun I've ever had, even though we had to stop.” Heather said, then she rolled onto her side to look at her jeans on the floor. Her wet underwear had landed on them and had made a huge wet spot. “Oh, damn.” She said and sighed. “If I go downstairs in different clothes, they'll know we were up here doing something.”

“They already know that.” Arnold said and Heather gave him a wide-eyed look, then she laughed.

“Okay, I guess they do.” Heather said and stood up, then went over to her bathroom and washed herself up. She came back out and grabbed another pair of underwear and slipped them on, then grabbed a pair of shorts and put them on, too. She looked at Arnold and was a little surprised that he didn't have that leering look she had seen on other guy's faces when they saw something of hers that she normally kept hidden.

“You're a really nice guy, Arnold.” Heather said and pulled off the t-shirt she had on, which left her in just a white bra, then she walked over to her closet and took out a shirt similar to Arnold's. She buttoned it up the same as his and the bottom of the shirt covered the shorts she had on and made it look like she was only wearing the shirt.

“Casual chic.” Arnold said.

Heather nodded and held a hand out to him. He took it and she brought him downstairs to the dining room. Her mother and Arnold's mother turned their heads to look at them and saw the different clothes Heather was wearing.

“Heather? What are you wearing?” Claire looked at her daughter's half-naked body.

Heather laughed. “I'm wearing shorts, mom.” She said and lifted the shirt. “They are a lot more comfortable than my jeans.”

“I told you not to buy your exact size.” Claire said and shook her head. “You know they only fit well on certain days.”

Heather rolled her eyes and walked Arnold over to the table and sat him beside his mother, then she walked around the table and sat beside her own mother. This surprised both mothers and they exchanged pointed glances, mainly because they had thought she would take the opportunity to stay right beside him.

“Arnold, your mother and I have been talking...” Claire started to say and Heather groaned. “...not about you, dear.” She said and pat Heather's hand. “It was about Arnold needing a job.”

“What?” Heather looked at her mother and then at Arnold's mother. “Why does he need a...” She stopped talking when she remembered what had just happened. “What kind of job?” She asked, knowing that whatever job it was, it was going to take away nearly all of their time together.

“We think we can start him with yard work.” Claire said. “Right here, in fact.”

“Mom?” Heather couldn't have heard that right. Arnold will be coming here to work? Her heart beat faster. That's too good to be true!

“We'll start off small at first. Just the lawnmower and maybe the lawn edger.” Claire said. “Once he can use them competently, we can try the hedge trimmers and have him tend to the flowerbeds.”

“Those things are half-dead.” Heather said before she could stop herself. “Ah... I mean... he's got a lot of work to do.”

Claire chuckled. “Don't worry, Heather. I'm not a slave driver and I don't expect miracles to happen.”

“But... well, I suppose if he wants to.” Heather looked at Arnold. “Do you want to try it?”

Arnold looked at their expectant faces, especially his mother's. “When do I start?”

All three of them had huge smiles for him and he wondered why him working there got that reaction.

“I'll pick you up first thing in the morning when I drop Heather off at school.” Claire said.

“We can pick him up on the way.” Heather said with a smile.

Claire looked across the table at Annie, who shrugged slightly. “Okay.”

It would only be a difference of a few minutes either way, so picking him up first didn't make much difference, except to Heather. She would get to see Arnold first thing in the mornings, even though he wasn't in school. If she was lucky, she would also see him after school, either still working at her house or as her mother dropped him off.

“Did you get done what you started upstairs?” Claire asked.

“Almost.” Heather said and looked at Arnold. “If we had a bit more time, I'm sure we could finish up.”

“I don't mind staying for a while longer.” Annie said. “Claire and I can talk a bit more about... things.”

Claire smiled and nodded. “I believe supper should be just about done.” She said and left the table to go check.

“The teachers appreciated you doing your homework, even though you didn't attend classes.” Heather said to Arnold.

“Can you tell the biology teacher I'm ready to take his test?” Arnold asked.

“What test?” Heather asked, then she covered her mouth. “Don't tell me there's a bio test coming up!”

“Only for me.” Arnold said and she relaxed. “Remember those pictures you gave me?”

“You memorized them already?” Heather asked, surprised.

Arnold nodded. “He told me to tell him when I was done.”

“Heather's been telling me that you've been doing a lot of extra work for that class.” Claire said and brought in a huge oval metal pan that was a foot high and two feet long.

Annie took in a breath through her nose. “It smells good, whatever it is.”

“It's roasted mongoose!” Claire said dramatically and pulled off the top of the pan.

“WHAT?!?” Heather and Annie said at the same time and Claire laughed at their disgusted faces.

Arnold stood up to look inside and it didn't look like a mongoose. “It's too big to be a mongoose.”

Claire put the pan lid to the side and nodded. “It's actually pork shoulder roast.”

“Ha. Ha.” Heather squinted her eyes at her mom. “Very funny.”

“It was!” Claire said and walked over to a cabinet and grabbed two large forks, then came back to the table. “When you cook it like this, it just falls apart.” She said and dug the two forks into it and the meat split apart like nothing was holding it together and she put a good portion onto a plate. “There's also potatoes, carrots, turnips, asparagus, broccoli, parsnips, brussel sprouts, and green beans.”

“You cooked them all together?” Annie asked.

“Well, no.” Claire said. “They had to be prepped separately and added when their cook times required.” She smiled. “They would become mush if you cooked them as long as the meat.”

“That's just what I was going to say.” Annie said with a laugh.

Claire served them and herself and moved the pan down the table, that way it was still accessible and out of the way at the same time. She sat down and they all ate together. She had given them fairly large portions and it took a while for everyone to eat their fill.

“It looks like we'll be eating leftovers for a while.” Claire said with a laugh, because barely a quarter of the roast had been divided up.

“You don't want it to go to waste.” Annie said.

“No, I don't.” Claire said. “Why don't you take some of it home with you?”

“What? No, I... you don't have to do that.”

“Heather's going to be sick of it in a couple of days.” Claire said and glanced at Arnold. “A growing boy won't complain about getting good food whenever he can.”

“All right.” Annie said. She knew Arnold would eat anything she put in front of him, so leftovers wouldn't bother him at all.

“Why don't you two go back upstairs and finish what you were doing before.” Claire said. “Annie and I will be in the kitchen and dealing with this thing.” She waved at the large pan.

“Okay.” Heather said and stood up, then held a hand out to Arnold. He took it and she led him out of the dining room.

Claire covered the large pan and carried it back into the kitchen to divide the food up.

Annie followed her and waited until she was sure that the kids were far enough away not to hear her. “You do know that they are making out upstairs.”

Claire chuckled and grabbed a large plastic container. “And right under our noses, too.”

“Claire.” Annie sighed. “I've tried to explain about him.”

“It's all right.” Claire said and used the big forks to start transferring the meat into the container. “I already promised to keep a close eye on them for the both of us.”

Annie sighed. “He can be so... so...”

“Straightforward.” Claire said.

Annie raised her eyebrows for a moment, then nodded.

“I know now, so I'll take good care of him.” Claire said. “If you want, you can come with him tomorrow and see how he's doing.”

Annie thought back to what she had said to Arnold about not being able to be there all day while he worked, and shook her head. She needed to see if he could do it without her help.

“I'm sorry that I'm trusting you with so much.” Annie said.

Claire put the forks down and put her hands on the other woman's shoulders. “I know we just met; but, I hope we are going to be good friends.” She said. “As your friend, I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to your son.”

Annie took a deep breath and let it out, then nodded.

Claire smiled and let her go, then picked up the forks. “You know, I really hate brussel sprouts.”

Annie smiled and looked into the pan. “Why did you cook so many?”

“I didn't want to be the only one to suffer with the awful taste.” Claire said, then both women laughed.