Update 17
Afterwards, I loaded the car with bottles of water, a few snacks, and some ropes and tie-downs I found in the shed. As far as I could tell, we were ready to go. I went and checked on Granny, who was having a snooze in her chair. I felt at a loss as to what to do and then realised if I rang my school now, I could possibly make an appointment to see the principal tomorrow, rather than just turn up and hope for the best.
I went back outside and made that phone call. I spoke to the receptionist, who disappeared for about five minutes before returning. I was beginning to think she had forgotten about me before she came back sounding a little flustered.
"Sorry that took so long, Jeff. Principal Turner can be hard to pinpoint sometimes. He said if you come in towards the end of the day, he will stay back to talk to you about your options."
"Oh, that's fantastic. Thanks for that."
"That's quite alright. Just remember it's the last day of term, so he might be running a bit late."
"That's fine. I'm sorry to do this on the last day of term, but unfortunately, these things never happen when it's convenient, do they?"
She chuckled.
"In my experience, they wait for the worst possible moment."
I thanked her again and decided to make a similar call to my boss. I spent a few minutes on the phone with him and asked if I could set up a meeting for the next day. He asked if it could wait for another day as he was going to be out of town tomorrow. I explained the situation as best I could over the phone, and although he was annoyed that he wasn't getting much notice, he understood my reasoning and wished me all the best. He even offered to be a reference for me for future job applications, which was really good of him considering the manner in which I was leaving. I thanked him for giving me the job in the first place and for being so gracious about the circumstances.
I felt crappy about leaving him short-staffed, especially right at the start of the school holidays, because he had always been a good boss to me, but I was also grateful that it freed up a chunk of the day for me tomorrow. I looked at the time and realised that Mum's alarm should be going off. I walked back inside, and as I approached the room, I could hear the alarm chiming. I turned off her alarm and sat with her while she sat up groggily.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
She yawned and stretched mightily.
"God. I was in such a deep sleep. I feel all out of whack now. Sleeping during the day messes with me."
"I know, but you will be grateful for the couple of hours of sleep later tonight."
"I guess. There's still so much to do. I need to get the washing off the line, get the trailer organised, and crap, it'll be so late by the time we get going."
I chuckled.
"All done. The trailer has been ready since this morning. I found some ropes and tie-downs in the shed. I have checked the car over and put water and snacks in the car. It's ready, short of putting our pillows in. We don't need to take our bags with us because we will be getting our clothes from home. The only thing I can think of that we need to take with us is the pillows if we decide to sleep in the car. The washing is all folded too."
I pointed to the neatly stacked pile of clothes on top of the dresser and laughed at her bewildered look.
"Perhaps I should have an afternoon nap more often if this is what I am going to wake up to."
I smiled as I held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet. She smiled coyly up at me as I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her on the forehead. She mumbled something against my chest, but I didn't catch what she said.
"Hmm?"
She looked up at me and smiled.
"Nothing. Just enjoying your cuddles."
We both stood there enjoying the feel of our bodies wrapped together for a few moments before she released me.
"Is Chilton back yet?"
"He wasn't when I came in here, but I doubt he's too far off. Granny is having a snooze in her chair."
We spent the next few minutes making the bed, and when I picked up my pillow, I remembered the panties that I had placed under there around this time yesterday afternoon. Mum spotted them and laughed.
"Probably shouldn't leave them there, should we?"
"That may not be the greatest idea."
She shook her head but smiled.
"I can't believe I did that."
I watched her closely, trying to detect whether she had any regrets about all that had unfolded over the last few days, but she didn't seem upset.
"Neither can I, but I am glad you did."
She grinned at me but held out her hand for them. I handed them to her, unsure of what was going to happen now. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
"No point in leaving these lying around. If you ever want my cum, you can get it direct from the source."
I growled, and suddenly that was all I wanted. I began to kiss her feverishly, but she stopped me.
"Naww, don't pout. Time and place, Jeff. This isn't either at the moment."
She leaned back in and nibbled gently on my earlobe.
"Soon, though, real soon."
"Oh God. I want you so bad."
"I know. I want you too."
She released me, and when I looked at her, she was blushing red and had the cutest, sultry look on her face. I could tell she was struggling with self-restraint as much as I was. She giggled and fanned her face with her hand. It was at that moment that we heard the front door open and close. We both turned to the door to listen and realised that if we hadn't controlled ourselves, we absolutely would have been caught. She wiped her forehead in an exaggerated fashion.
"Whew. That was close."
I chuckled a little nervously, knowing how right she was. She stuffed the panties into the side of her bag and looked at me.
"We need to go talk to Chilton now and let him know what we are doing. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get going."
We walked out into the lounge room to see Chilton kneeling next to Granny and talking softly to her. He looked up at us and smiled.
"Looks like someone has been getting their beauty sleep."
He turned to face Granny again.
"I think we should get up and go for a walk. It's a beautiful day out there, and you will sleep better tonight if you get some sun. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds lovely. I was just about to say goodbye to these two, but after that, we can go wherever you want to take me."
They both chuckled, but Chilton looked at us with a look of concern and mild accusation.
"Is everything okay? You're leaving?"
I got the impression that he thought maybe we were abandoning Granny, but he couldn't have been further from the truth. Mum nodded but didn't look very happy at all.
"Unfortunately, we have to go temporarily. It has become apparent that matters aren't as we thought when we left, and things have become more urgent to sort out. If we go now, we can be back by Sunday, and we'll be back to stay. I am really sorry to do this, but this is truly best dealt with immediately."
He nodded but looked sceptical. Clearly, he thought we were running away from the situation here, and he looked disappointed. It kind of pissed me off to be judged, but he wasn't getting the full story either. Clearly, Granny could see what was going through his mind and put a hand on his arm, getting his attention.
"What she's not telling you is that she is helping to save my house from a situation where her husband could potentially take it from her. She's going to finish a marriage that has been miserable for all concerned, and Jeff needs to go with her so that they can do this as quickly as possible and get back here to me. They are not abandoning me. I told them to go now while I'm still well enough."
Chilton nodded, and although it was hard to tell, he seemed to turn a shade darker.
"Oh. I am sorry. It's not my place to judge."
Mum smiled at him and squatted down next to her mum and in front of Chilton.
"Chilton, in your place I would have made the same judgement. It's okay. I feel awful about it, but it's best for everyone if I do this now. I spoke to a solicitor this morning, and they told me that the sooner I get this handled, the less complicated it will be later, and I will be here for Mum when she needs me. Once I'm back, I won't be going anywhere."
He nodded and gave her a small sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't assume; I know better."
"You have nothing to apologise for."
Granny nodded, then added.
"If anyone should be apologising, it is me. I didn't tell her how far this bloody cancer had progressed. She had no idea what she was coming to. I think if she had, this all would have been dealt with before she even left to come here in the first place, so if it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
I just shook my head in exasperation.
"This is no one's fault. The whole situation is a shit sandwich that we are all trying to deal with as best we can. Now, everyone needs to stop apologising, or I'm going to lose it, and then I'll have to apologise too."
They all turned to look at me and then started laughing.
"Right, now that we all have that out of our systems, can we please get going so that we can get back here as soon as possible?"
Mum snapped a quick salute and laughed.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good. Now move your ass."
We were all laughing now, but it did get things moving. I helped Chilton get Granny up from her chair, not that he needed the help; I just wanted to. We walked her out the front door to the porch and then down the stairs. Both Mum and I gave her a big hug and told her we would be back as soon as we possibly could.
"Don't go risking your necks to get back here five minutes earlier. Be careful; there are a lot of idiots on the road, and the weekend will be worse. Remember, it's school holidays this weekend."
I had completely forgotten about the traffic situation around here during the school holidays, and I wasn't looking forward to it, but we had no choice but to deal with that when we got back. I shook Chilton's hand, and Mum gave him a hug. I heard her thank him again for everything he was doing for her Mum. He nodded and smiled, and we both walked around to the car.
"Do you mind driving first? I'm still feeling a bit groggy from the nap."
She asked as she tossed the keys in my direction.
"Sure. Have you got everything you need?"
"I think so. I've got the paperwork in my bag here, and that's the main thing."
She looked at the shed.
"We should close that up before we go."
"On it."
I was just about to pull the door down when she stopped me.
"Grab those furniture blankets and that picnic blanket. We might need them to wrap some of the stuff."
I put them in the car, shut the shed, and started the car.
"Ready?"
She looked kind of nervous but a bit excited too.
"As I'll ever be."
I went back outside and made that phone call. I spoke to the receptionist, who disappeared for about five minutes before returning. I was beginning to think she had forgotten about me before she came back sounding a little flustered.
"Sorry that took so long, Jeff. Principal Turner can be hard to pinpoint sometimes. He said if you come in towards the end of the day, he will stay back to talk to you about your options."
"Oh, that's fantastic. Thanks for that."
"That's quite alright. Just remember it's the last day of term, so he might be running a bit late."
"That's fine. I'm sorry to do this on the last day of term, but unfortunately, these things never happen when it's convenient, do they?"
She chuckled.
"In my experience, they wait for the worst possible moment."
I thanked her again and decided to make a similar call to my boss. I spent a few minutes on the phone with him and asked if I could set up a meeting for the next day. He asked if it could wait for another day as he was going to be out of town tomorrow. I explained the situation as best I could over the phone, and although he was annoyed that he wasn't getting much notice, he understood my reasoning and wished me all the best. He even offered to be a reference for me for future job applications, which was really good of him considering the manner in which I was leaving. I thanked him for giving me the job in the first place and for being so gracious about the circumstances.
I felt crappy about leaving him short-staffed, especially right at the start of the school holidays, because he had always been a good boss to me, but I was also grateful that it freed up a chunk of the day for me tomorrow. I looked at the time and realised that Mum's alarm should be going off. I walked back inside, and as I approached the room, I could hear the alarm chiming. I turned off her alarm and sat with her while she sat up groggily.
"Wake up, sleepyhead."
She yawned and stretched mightily.
"God. I was in such a deep sleep. I feel all out of whack now. Sleeping during the day messes with me."
"I know, but you will be grateful for the couple of hours of sleep later tonight."
"I guess. There's still so much to do. I need to get the washing off the line, get the trailer organised, and crap, it'll be so late by the time we get going."
I chuckled.
"All done. The trailer has been ready since this morning. I found some ropes and tie-downs in the shed. I have checked the car over and put water and snacks in the car. It's ready, short of putting our pillows in. We don't need to take our bags with us because we will be getting our clothes from home. The only thing I can think of that we need to take with us is the pillows if we decide to sleep in the car. The washing is all folded too."
I pointed to the neatly stacked pile of clothes on top of the dresser and laughed at her bewildered look.
"Perhaps I should have an afternoon nap more often if this is what I am going to wake up to."
I smiled as I held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet. She smiled coyly up at me as I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her on the forehead. She mumbled something against my chest, but I didn't catch what she said.
"Hmm?"
She looked up at me and smiled.
"Nothing. Just enjoying your cuddles."
We both stood there enjoying the feel of our bodies wrapped together for a few moments before she released me.
"Is Chilton back yet?"
"He wasn't when I came in here, but I doubt he's too far off. Granny is having a snooze in her chair."
We spent the next few minutes making the bed, and when I picked up my pillow, I remembered the panties that I had placed under there around this time yesterday afternoon. Mum spotted them and laughed.
"Probably shouldn't leave them there, should we?"
"That may not be the greatest idea."
She shook her head but smiled.
"I can't believe I did that."
I watched her closely, trying to detect whether she had any regrets about all that had unfolded over the last few days, but she didn't seem upset.
"Neither can I, but I am glad you did."
She grinned at me but held out her hand for them. I handed them to her, unsure of what was going to happen now. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me.
"No point in leaving these lying around. If you ever want my cum, you can get it direct from the source."
I growled, and suddenly that was all I wanted. I began to kiss her feverishly, but she stopped me.
"Naww, don't pout. Time and place, Jeff. This isn't either at the moment."
She leaned back in and nibbled gently on my earlobe.
"Soon, though, real soon."
"Oh God. I want you so bad."
"I know. I want you too."
She released me, and when I looked at her, she was blushing red and had the cutest, sultry look on her face. I could tell she was struggling with self-restraint as much as I was. She giggled and fanned her face with her hand. It was at that moment that we heard the front door open and close. We both turned to the door to listen and realised that if we hadn't controlled ourselves, we absolutely would have been caught. She wiped her forehead in an exaggerated fashion.
"Whew. That was close."
I chuckled a little nervously, knowing how right she was. She stuffed the panties into the side of her bag and looked at me.
"We need to go talk to Chilton now and let him know what we are doing. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get going."
We walked out into the lounge room to see Chilton kneeling next to Granny and talking softly to her. He looked up at us and smiled.
"Looks like someone has been getting their beauty sleep."
He turned to face Granny again.
"I think we should get up and go for a walk. It's a beautiful day out there, and you will sleep better tonight if you get some sun. What do you think?"
"I think that sounds lovely. I was just about to say goodbye to these two, but after that, we can go wherever you want to take me."
They both chuckled, but Chilton looked at us with a look of concern and mild accusation.
"Is everything okay? You're leaving?"
I got the impression that he thought maybe we were abandoning Granny, but he couldn't have been further from the truth. Mum nodded but didn't look very happy at all.
"Unfortunately, we have to go temporarily. It has become apparent that matters aren't as we thought when we left, and things have become more urgent to sort out. If we go now, we can be back by Sunday, and we'll be back to stay. I am really sorry to do this, but this is truly best dealt with immediately."
He nodded but looked sceptical. Clearly, he thought we were running away from the situation here, and he looked disappointed. It kind of pissed me off to be judged, but he wasn't getting the full story either. Clearly, Granny could see what was going through his mind and put a hand on his arm, getting his attention.
"What she's not telling you is that she is helping to save my house from a situation where her husband could potentially take it from her. She's going to finish a marriage that has been miserable for all concerned, and Jeff needs to go with her so that they can do this as quickly as possible and get back here to me. They are not abandoning me. I told them to go now while I'm still well enough."
Chilton nodded, and although it was hard to tell, he seemed to turn a shade darker.
"Oh. I am sorry. It's not my place to judge."
Mum smiled at him and squatted down next to her mum and in front of Chilton.
"Chilton, in your place I would have made the same judgement. It's okay. I feel awful about it, but it's best for everyone if I do this now. I spoke to a solicitor this morning, and they told me that the sooner I get this handled, the less complicated it will be later, and I will be here for Mum when she needs me. Once I'm back, I won't be going anywhere."
He nodded and gave her a small sheepish smile.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't assume; I know better."
"You have nothing to apologise for."
Granny nodded, then added.
"If anyone should be apologising, it is me. I didn't tell her how far this bloody cancer had progressed. She had no idea what she was coming to. I think if she had, this all would have been dealt with before she even left to come here in the first place, so if it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
I just shook my head in exasperation.
"This is no one's fault. The whole situation is a shit sandwich that we are all trying to deal with as best we can. Now, everyone needs to stop apologising, or I'm going to lose it, and then I'll have to apologise too."
They all turned to look at me and then started laughing.
"Right, now that we all have that out of our systems, can we please get going so that we can get back here as soon as possible?"
Mum snapped a quick salute and laughed.
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"Good. Now move your ass."
We were all laughing now, but it did get things moving. I helped Chilton get Granny up from her chair, not that he needed the help; I just wanted to. We walked her out the front door to the porch and then down the stairs. Both Mum and I gave her a big hug and told her we would be back as soon as we possibly could.
"Don't go risking your necks to get back here five minutes earlier. Be careful; there are a lot of idiots on the road, and the weekend will be worse. Remember, it's school holidays this weekend."
I had completely forgotten about the traffic situation around here during the school holidays, and I wasn't looking forward to it, but we had no choice but to deal with that when we got back. I shook Chilton's hand, and Mum gave him a hug. I heard her thank him again for everything he was doing for her Mum. He nodded and smiled, and we both walked around to the car.
"Do you mind driving first? I'm still feeling a bit groggy from the nap."
She asked as she tossed the keys in my direction.
"Sure. Have you got everything you need?"
"I think so. I've got the paperwork in my bag here, and that's the main thing."
She looked at the shed.
"We should close that up before we go."
"On it."
I was just about to pull the door down when she stopped me.
"Grab those furniture blankets and that picnic blanket. We might need them to wrap some of the stuff."
I put them in the car, shut the shed, and started the car.
"Ready?"
She looked kind of nervous but a bit excited too.
"As I'll ever be."
