Author: Thinking Horndog
Title: Second Best
Part: 132
Universe: Second Best
Summary: A full-length novel that follows several young couples and their
families through the period immediately preceding their Senior Prom.
Keywords: nosex

Keywords for full story:  F-solo, Ff-inc, M+F Ffm MF mf oral anal bd D/s Mg-
inc Fm-inc mm mmf rom MF-reluc

Chapter 132
Frankenwho?


      Danny pulled Jimmy Hightower's BMW up in front of the Franken 'estate'
- a classic, split-level ranch set in a sea of similar ones.  Actually,
Danny's place was similar, and only a few blocks away, but Jimmy's place was
a bit of a walk...  Turning to Thelma, he rumbled, "So, when can I see ya?"

      Thelma smiled, but it masked the 'Yippee!' going on inside.  "Well,
it's already almost noon.  Tomorrow?"

      "Okay," Danny replied, "We can do a movie or somethin'.  Theaters will
be empty - if the flick is boring, we can always neck in the back..."  He
grinned.

      Thelma grinned back.  "Okay!  I'll see you at school!"  She leaned
across the center console to buss him on the cheek.

      But a burly arm went around her shoulders, and she found herself doing
a proper job on his lips.  After a short eternity, she pulled back. "I got
to go..." she muttered weakly.

      "Yeh," Danny replied distantly - but he pulled her in for a second
kiss, and she didn't fight it.

      This second eternity lasted a bit longer, but when they finished, it
was time to go.  Thelma backed out of the car, closing the door, and waved
as she resolutely made her way up the walk.  Danny sat there a moment,
watching her disappear through the door with a last wave.  Something was
bothering him...  He turned around and his eyes dropped into the rear
floorboards.  "Aw, shit!"  How was he gonna handle this?

      Thelma let herself in and headed downstairs to check in with the
family, humming distractedly.  She stepped out of her heels and wriggled her
bare feet in the somewhat dated shag rug of the dining room, and announced
herself:  "Hi, Daddy."

      Ed Franken sighed, gathered himself, and looked over the top of the
paper.  There was gonna be a shit storm, for sure; Thelma had been reduced
to going to the Prom with a girlfriend, so she probably had a lengthy tirade
about the injustice of life in general and proms in particular stored up.
Might as well get on with it..."Hi, Punkin.  How was the dance?"

      "Oh, fine, Daddy..."

      Ed stopped and actually looked at his daughter, instantly suspicious.
"And you had a good time?"

      "Uh huh.  It was a blast..."

      Ed eyed Thelma warily.  She was answering questions, but it was like
she wasn't giving the full story - and it was NOT the expected tale of woe
and injustice!  And that look in her eye...  Holy shit!  "Norma Jean!" Ed
roared, "Get in here!"

      Thelma's mother came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a
dishtowel, "What is it, Ed?"  Norma Jean shared Thelma's dark, curly hair,
but was built on a more robust scale - in fact, she was a looker, and two
children hadn't really altered her that much from her high school days.
"Oh, hi, Sweetie, how was the Prom?"

      Thelma favored Grandma Trottmeier, rather than her mother; there was
some confusion in the family how, during the period when "The Wizard of Oz"
was a popular new picture, someone who distinctly resembled the villainess
managed to collect a husband.  The popular theorem, uttered only behind
closed doors, was that she somehow tripped Grandpa Trottmeier and fell under
him, becoming instantly pregnant.  But Grandpa had never been known to
complain, and had sired Norma Jean, a sister, and two brothers on Grandma
before they apparently discovered birth control.  Ed, looking at the dreamy
look on Thelma's face as she replied, "Oh, it was wonderful, Momma!"
experienced the beginnings of enlightenment.

      Norma Jean processed her daughter's reply and turned raised eyebrows
on her spouse, who directed, "Maw, go take a look out the door and tell me
if there's a car there."

      Norma Jean nodded and went up the stairs to the main level, where a
quick glance revealed Jimmy's BMW and a bit more.  She pitched her voice to
carry down the short stair, "Yeah, there is, Paw."

      Ed locked eyes with Thelma, who, for the moment, was confused.  "Is it
Miz Kelleher's car?"

      "Nope," drifted down the stairs.

      Thelma caught up and her eyes widened as Ed asked, "Who's in it?"

      Norma Jean chuckled as she replied, "Nobody.  But there's a boy
standin' next to it holdin' Thelma's overnight bag like it's burnin' him..."

      Thelma's eyes rolled up and she went away for awhile...

      Ed lurched up to collect his fainting daughter.  Fortunately, he was
fast and she was light, or she'd have collected a knot on her head from the
table edge.  He dropped her in the chair and directed, "Go ask the boy in,
Maw.  I'm thinkin' he has a tale to tell."

      Norma Jean threw open the door.  "Howdy.  You want to bring that on
in?"

      Danny froze like a felon in a spotlight, and Ed, joining Norma Jean in
the doorway, chuckled, "You're about as subtle as Thelma, I see..."

      Norma Jean looked behind him.  "Where is she?" she murmured.

      Ed showed more teeth than a shark, and whispered, "Fainted dead away
at the mention of her overnight bag.  I wonder why?"  Eyes like gun barrels
tracked Danny as he shuffled up the walk.

      Danny took a shot:  "Thelma left her overnight bag.  Amy-"

      "Ain't here, and hasn't been, either, 'less I miss my guess!" Ed cut
him off.  "C'mon in, son, let's get to know one another."

      Danny let himself be shepherded through the door, then caught sight of
Thelma, collapsed in a chair.  "Thelma!"  Ed, watching him, didn't detect
his feet touching the stairs as he flew down them and scooped Thelma up.
"What happened?"  Danny seemed to grow three inches in every direction as
his brows came down in accusation.

      Ed exchanged glances with his wife.  "She fainted dead away when Maw
told us about you standin' out there with her overnight bag..."  Ed replied
blandly, "Maybe you could tell us why that might happen?"

      "Uuuhh!"  Danny turned distinctly green.

      "Maybe you oughta sit down," Norma Jean interjected, "You don't look
so good!"

      Danny plopped into a chair, just as Thelma began to stir in his arms.
Her eyes popped open and focused on Danny.  "Hi, Baby," she murmured,
nuzzling his neck, "How come you're..."  She froze, taking in her
surroundings.

      Norma Jean examined her nails. "So, why don't y'all tell us about the
Prom?" she drawled sweetly.

      Thelma sat stock still for a moment, then hopped up.  "Okay, but I've
GOT to get out of this dress!  I'll be right back!"  She ran out of the
room, floating on her second burst of adrenaline in three minutes, and took
the switchback of the stairs to the second level.

      This left an extremely uncomfortable Danny eye to eye with both of
Thelma's parents.  By mutual consent, nobody opened the subject of the
meeting; Norma Jean settled upon inconsequentials and hostessing.  "Would
y'all like somethin' to drink?" she asked brightly.  "A coke?"

      Danny, wishing he could ask for something with enough alcohol in it to
make him instantly comatose, murmured, "That'll be fine."

      "In a glass?  Ice?" Norma Jean prompted.

      "No need to go to any trouble..." Danny deprecated.

      "We've got time..."

      Upstairs, Thelma rapidly zipped herself out of the party dress and
reached into her underwear drawer for a pair of plain cotton panties - the
REAL reason she had bolted.  She couldn't face the prospect of the third
degree by her parents while bare-assed - it was just too much of a mental
handicap!  Besides, if... Thelma shuddered, unable to even complete the
thought.  She stepped into shorts and threw a spaghetti-strap top over her
head, then dashed for the stairs - Danny was unarmed down there!

      Norma Jean handed Danny the coke and announced, "I think we oughta go
upstairs to the parlor."  Everybody rose and adjourned to the living room on
the mid level, Ed waving Danny onto the couch while he and Norma Jean took
chairs across the coffee table.  Danny glanced around for a coaster, found
one and deployed his drink on it as Thelma crashed down the stairs.  Seeing
the setup, she sat on the couch next to Danny, but at a distance designed to
lend an air of plausible deniability (an effort that was ALREADY totally
wasted).

      Knowing the there would be no private opportunity to put their heads
together, Danny probed for some clue to how deep the water was, "So, how bad
is this?"

      Thelma frowned.  "Not too bad, I hope!  I was only a few seconds from
letting the cat out of the bag when Daddy beat me to the draw...  I was
going to discuss the other problem with Momma tonight some time, after the
uproar settled a bit - hypothetically."

      Ed grinned.  "You'da never made it!"

      "Huh?" Thelma retorted.

      "Get up an' walk over to the stairs an' back," Ed directed.  Puzzled,
Thelma did so.  "You see it?"  Ed asked Danny.

      Danny looked crestfallen, "Yeh."

      "What?"  Thelma's usual irritation surfaced, mixed with her confusion.
"What is it?"

      Norma Jean smiled gently, "Sweetie, aside from the fact that you
probably glow in the dark, and you aren't raising Hell about anything, you
walk like you were rode hard an' put up wet..."  Thelma's face fell as she
threw a shocked glance at Danny, who nodded soberly.  "Why don't y'all start
from the beginnin'?"

      Thelma diffidently settled next to Danny, who sat a moment, took a
breath, and began, "I think it all started when Dina Nellis shook the place
up..."

      Thelma looked surprised, murmuring, "I'd have started with Amy, but
you're right!"  Seeing her parents watchful silence, she took up the tale,
"Dina came roaring in wearing clothes and makeup that made her look like a
black and white photo of herself, and once she had everybody's attention,
she started doing wild stuff like baring her tits.  This got some guys to
watching her to the point of totally ignoring their dates - until somebody
developed a defense...  Who was that?"

      "Twyla Banks," Danny supplied.  "Pretty surprising, really - she was
dressed pretty hot, for her, to start with!  Way I heard it, she told her
date that he could look at Dina's tits, or he could TOUCH hers...  I don't
have to tell you how THAT went!"  Danny grinned in spite of himself.  Ed
just eyed him, and the grin disappeared.

      Thelma took over, "Things got a lot looser at that point; basically,
Dina took control of the party from the Prom court, and they knew it, even
though they had to go through the motions.  Couples started breaking up..."

      "Why?" Norma Jean wanted to know.

      Danny took over, sensing that Thelma couldn't approach the matter
correctly.  "A lot of the 'A' group - especially the girls - are, uh,
ornamental - they're with their boyfriends to get seen by others, not
because they have any interest in the guys.  They're all show and no go.
Guys have a term for it..."

      Ed nodded, "Prick tease?"

      Danny smiled gratitude, while Ed took 'the look' from the women.
"Yeh.  Lately, there's been some backlash on the whole idea; the 'A' group
has been takin' some heat from the group Dina's with about what's right and
fair in a relationship.  Well, some of the girls at the Prom saw
opportunities to steal away 'A' group boys by makin' them a better offer...
The 'look but don't touch' set started comin' apart, including the King and
Queen."

      "That's where Amy comes in," Thelma took up the tale.  "Dina and her
boyfriend were doing some highly-visible matchmaking, and when Rob and
Claudette crashed hard in front of everybody, she got big ideas, and went to
ask Dina to hook her up with Rob.  Dina told her she was outgunned, and,
anyway, ought to settle for somebody steady - then she recommended Jimmy
Hightower."

      "Why is this important?" Ed asked, frowning.

      "Because Jimmy and I run together," Danny supplied, "just as Amy and
Thelma do."

      Thelma nodded, "So Dina proceeded to add us to the equation.  When Amy
told me, I had a fit - I'd been standing around for three hours without
dancing with anybody, and Amy comes back to tell me she plans to drape
herself on Skinny Jimmy Hightower - oh, and by the way, why don't I make
nice with Danny?  You can imagine..."

      Both parents grimaced; they had good reason to know how Thelma could
get.  Danny took it up, "Well, I got to SEE and HEAR it!  Bobby came around
to collect Jimmy and well, Jimmy had a thing for Amy anyway, so he didn't
take any persuading.  Me, on the other hand - well, Bobby had to go to some
lengths.  A lot of stuff got said - guy stuff, big ego stroking..."  Danny
glanced around, sheepish, hoping Ed would rescue him.

      He didn't.  "Like what?" he growled.

      "Well," Danny hung his head, "Stuff like reminding me that she WAS
female, and might be trainable - that kind of thing.  Drawing pictures of
possible relationships...  Sorry, Thel - I didn't know you then, and you
weren't any too appetizing."  Thelma shrugged.  She was hurt, but...  Danny
continued, "I still wasn't that hot on the whole thing until Bobby let go a
couple of things he supposedly got from Amy:  Supposedly, Thelma's bad
temper had everything to do with lackanookie, and that she was nursing a
fantasy that it was gonna happen on Prom night."  He eyed Thelma sidelong.
"Bobby said that knowing that ought to put me in the driver's seat.  Since I
knew Jimmy was gone, anyway, I rolled over, figuring that a slim chance was
better than none..."

      "Good Lord!" Norma Jean hit the roof!  "What a bunch of terrible
things to say!  Where did Bobby get that load of..."

      "From Amy, Momma," Thelma cut her off, red as a beet.  "And,
unfortunately, it was all true.  If anybody knows my troubles, it's Amy."
Ed and Norma Jean both looked like they'd been slapped, but Ed got a funny
look on his face as understanding set in.

      Danny nodded his head.  "I thought he was just jerking my chain, but I
didn't really have anything to lose...  Now I think about it, I haven't
caught either of them in a lie, yet!"

      "Me neither," Thelma agreed.  "While Bobby was drawing dirty pictures
for Danny, Dina was shrinking my head, reminding me that I wasn't doing too
well, and couldn't afford to be picky."  She reached up and touched her
nose, remembering Dina's physical reminder, causing the other three to
wonder just what she was thinking.  "She was vicious - gave me a serious
reality check, then told me that if I kept my mouth shut, I'd at least be
able to claim I'd danced.  And she made it sound like she didn't expect me
to accomplish THAT!"

      Danny grunted, "Bobby's parting shot was that I should stomp on you if
you opened your mouth - remind you that boys weren't exactly waiting in
line..."

      Thelma grinned, "He did, too!  I started acting up right away, and
Danny let me know in no uncertain terms that I was blowing my one shot at a
good time right out the window!  Dina had just hammered me the same way, so
I backed off and followed him out onto the dance floor."  Both Thelma and
Danny paused at that point, and shared a glance.

      Thelma's parents waited a moment, then Norma Jean prompted, "Then what
happened?"

      Danny's face took on this incredibly fond expression, "Then things got
really sweet..."  The look said a hundred things, and the women, in
particular, read them all.  After a moment, Danny gathered himself and
continued, "Thelma's kinda pleasant to hold...  I ain't no dancer, so I
slipped up a couple of times, but she took it.  I figured if we worked a
little closer, things would be more stable - and they were! - but I got
distracted..."

      "Oh?  You just snuggled up?"  Norma Jean eyed Thelma askance.

      "Well, I gave it some thought, but he was being a perfect gentleman...
He stepped on my foot and was all apologetic - then he said they were
pretty!"

      Danny shrugged, confused. "So?  They are..."

      Thelma's face lit with pleasure.  "Thank you, Baby."

      Danny, still confused, replied, "You're welcome..."  He couldn't
figure out what the deal was.  It was eleven o'clock, the sun was out,
Thelma had pretty feet.  All facts. So?

      Norma Jean looked at Danny, then at her daughter's glowing face, and
got it.  Danny was totally artless; if he said something, very probably
there was no subtext, no underlying scheme - the surface layer was all there
was!  If he offered to dance closer, it was probably because it made the
system more rigid, easier to predict, more stable...

      Thelma's hand had stolen into Danny's, and their eyes were locked.
Despite the threat across the table, they were drifting off into a world of
their own.  Ed wrenched them back by clearing his throat and rumbling, "You
got distracted?"

      Danny grinned distractedly, remembering, "Yeh.  We were up close, and
it was a new experience.  Thelma felt good, and smelled good...  I
remembered some remark Bobby McCormick made to Jimmy about kissing girls on
the neck..."

      "I came UNGLUED!" Thelma exclaimed.

      "I figured I'd stepped in it.  I figured she was gonna slap the Hell
out of me, or kick the shit out of me, or both!  Instead, she got real
cuddly..."

      Thelma grinned ruefully.  "By then, I wasn't just doing Amy a favor
any more - things had gone 'way beyond that!  Outside stuff didn't matter
any more..."

      "Yeh," Danny agreed.  Ed looked at the pair and ruminated on the fact
that for a fella who seemed a little slow, Danny had a certain gift for
understatement...


      Doug Franken stuck his head around the stairwell balcony wall from the
upstairs level.  The sound of an unknown voice had caused him to go into
stealth mode; he didn't want to run headlong into one of Maw or Paw's
friends and have to make nice while the adults yammered on about how big or
cute he was or whatever.  What bullshit!  At twelve, he was beyond such
things - they were no longer compliments, but rather indications that they
had not yet realized that he was an adult!

      This, however, was different!  Sis was sitting on the couch with a
boy!  A big 'un, too!  Looked like Maw and Paw were givin' 'em the third
degree, too!  No THIS was grist for the teasing mill - something no self-
respecting brother could pass up!  He settled in to collect his blackmail
material.

      Dougie didn't have long to wait; Paw's next question opened up new
vistas:  "Okay, so, this sounds all very nice and romantic, but you two went
a good deal beyond this, didn't you?"

      "Yeh," Danny's eyes hooded.  "I kinda put the whole thing away at the
Prom - what we were doing was good enough for me.  Thelma was... totally
different!  I was so surprised...  Jimmy was, too; I think Amy was floored.
It was just... good!"

      Thelma's eyes were dreamy.  "I couldn't seem to get mad - didn't want
to try, things were just too good.  The only thing that bothered me was not
knowing when it would end..."  She leaned against Danny and sighed.

      Danny unconsciously extracted his hand from Thelma's in order to wrap
his arm around her shoulder.  The momentary flicker of unhappiness the
extraction caused went away immediately as the arm settled around her
shoulder, and she reached for the other hand, which Danny made available
without comment.  "Anyway, we weren't ready to call it a night when the band
did at the Prom, so we went to breakfast.  I don't normally go out that
late, but I'd have lugged garbage cans to keep things going..."

      "We got to the restaurant, and Dina's bunch arrived right behind us.
Jimmy knows Terry Michaels, so they kinda sucked us in, adding us to the
group, and we took over a couple of booths at the back."  Danny gave Thelma
a significant glance.

      Thelma shrugged.  "It's what they want to know..."

      Danny was really worried.  What the Hell was gonna happen when they
finished telling this?  Would he be able to see Thelma again?  Was this
smart?  "Well, okay," he continued reluctantly, "Dina's bunch had been in
those booths a while back and made 'em kinda legendary.  The girls all gave
their boyfriends a b - oral sex in the booth."  Extreme discomfort followed
the parental reaction of surprised disapproval; Danny added, "I told you
Dina was kinda wild.  Actually, the group is more known for being
intellectuals, and they're all stable couples - none of them play around, or
anything.  But Dina likes to shock people - it's her thing."

      Norma Jean turned the fisheye on her daughter, "So, did history repeat
itself?"

      Danny pulled attention back to himself, "Yes and no.  The waitresses
were obviously expecting something, so Bobby decided to give it to them.
The guys decided to return the favor, and Jimmy and I... participated."

      Ed covered his face, and muttered in a pained voice, "Do I wanna hear
this?"  Despite the voice, he was hiding a chuckle behind those hands...

      Norma Jean wasn't working as hard at parental disapproval, "No, but
she wants to tell us, bad!"  Thelma had become animated and sat forward,
then shut her mouth.  She wanted to share the experience with her mother,
badly - but Daddy?  "Go ahead, Sweetie, but keep it clean..."

      "It was...  It was...  Ohmigod!" Thelma found she didn't have words.

      Danny came to the rescue, quietly.  "She seemed to enjoy it...  I, uh,
think she's gonna be a little bit famous for a while..."

      Norma Jean turned a significant glance on Ed, "Momma was a screamer."

      Ed looked back, surprised, "Worse'n you?"

      Norma Jean nodded, eyes dancing.  Danny bit his lips and his eyes
watered from his efforts, but the laugh escaped anyway.  He covered his face
while his shoulders shook.

      Thelma hung her head, red faced.  "I wasn't alone - there were six of
us - but I was the loudest.  I... got applause!"  She ruminated a bit.
"Afterwards, I had a meltdown.  I just knew that it either all had to be a
dream, or - worse - the whole thing was gonna end and I'd be that much worse
off!  The girls dragged me off to the Ladies Room and told me to buck up - I
was my own worst enemy!  So I tried to just settle down and accept
things..."

      Dougie's eyes were as wide as saucers!  Sis had had her muff dived on!
In public!  Hell, if she was famous, maybe he was, too!  Cool!  Who'd have
thought that Sis was a wild chick?

      Norma Jean had undercut Ed quite a bit, but he managed a halfway
serious mien as he pressed, "Awright, that was... interesting..." (he
managed to manufacture a glare) "but it doesn't result in walking bowlegged.
Surely you didn't do THAT at the restaurant, too?"

      "Uh, no," Danny responded, "We went to Jimmy's.  He has a pool and a
uh, cabana.  After breakfast, we went there."

      Ed rolled his eyes, "Not the old 'Oops!  No swimsuits!' gag?"

      Danny shrugged.  Thelma smiled, remembering.  "Well, not quite.  They
DID have SOME stuff in the changing room - but about all that fit were some
filmy pool wraps.  Amy called her mom and, well, led her to believe that we
were coming here, and told me that she was planning on having sex with
Jimmy.  She figured that Danny would be a good boy if I asked him to."

      Two sets of suspicious parental eyes settled on Danny.  "She was
wrong, I take it?" Ed offered.

      "Oh, no!"  Thelma threw out both hands in negation, "He was a perfect
gentleman!"  She sat for a moment, while the obligatory glares settled on
her, and continued, "I wanted it, bad!  Things were just perfect!  It was a
dream come true!  But I was scared, so I asked him what he would do if I
asked to be taken home.  He said he'd do it... Then I asked him if I DID do
that, would he call me, afterward.  He got up and wandered off..."

      Heads turned to Danny for an explanation.  "I got up to go get her
dress, and to find something to write her number on!  Then she stops me and
asks what I'm up to..."  Danny looked confused and truculent.

      Thelma and her mother shared a glance.  Ed nodded in slow
understanding.  Norma Jean said gently, "It was a test, Danny.  And you not
only maxed it, you got extra credit!"

      "And then?" Ed asked, dreading the reply.

      Thelma sat up straight and looked her father in the eye, "Then I asked
him to take me to bed!"

      Ed threw up his hands and rolled his eyes, but Norma Jean murmured,
"Well, what do you expect?"  Turning to Thelma, she clarified, "There WAS a
bed?"

      Thelma nodded, and Danny amplified, "The pool house is fully done up -
like a studio apartment.  Jimmy and I spend a lot of time there; Jimmy's mom
can be a pain."

      Ed eyed him, "So, what do ya know about rubbers?"

      "They're an uncomfortable pain in the ass!" Danny erupted feelingly.

      Ed sat back, smiling.  Catching Norma Jean's eye, he chuckled, "I see
what you mean - there's a lot to like about the boy."  Seeing Danny's
confused expression, he murmured, "Recent experience, right?"

      "Well," Danny glanced at Thelma, quickly, "Yeah!"

      "I figgered from the way you said it..."

      "Oh.  Yeh."  Danny nodded and sat back.

      "Speaking of Jimmy's mother," Norma Jean pressed, "Where was she?"

      "She was there last night, but we sneaked the girls in - she didn't
know 'til this morning," Danny sighed.  "This is the second one of these
we've sat through this morning..."

      "And his dad?" Ed prompted.

      "His dad knew, but was cool about it," Danny replied.  "Jimmy's dad
kinda helps him duck his mom sometimes; she's all over Jimmy like a blanket
- he can't breathe!"  He grinned.  "He supplied the rubbers."

      "That reminds me, Baby," Thelma interjected, "Jimmy's mom was about to
fry Amy and you dragged her off - and when she came back everything was
cool!  What did you say to her?  And who did you call on the phone?"

      Danny frowned, "Well, you can't tell anybody - even Amy, although
she'll figure it out sooner or later... Jimmy's mom figured Amy for a gold-
digger."

      "Huh?" Thelma was nonplussed.

      "She figured that Amy was after Jimmy for his money."

      "But Jimmy isn't rich," Thelma argued.  "His grandpa owns a car
dealer, but that isn't rich!"

      Danny grinned.  "It took me a while, but I realized it a couple of
years ago.  Think about it - what do you figure it cost to fix up the pool
house?"

      "Oh.  OH!"  The light dawned.

      "Yeh," Danny grinned, "Jimmy's dad is some kinda banker.  I figure
Jimmy's worth a few million, at least.  Jimmy's dad likes to keep a low
profile, but I kept running into stuff at Jimmy's that I recognized as real
- and expensive, because it was so much nicer that the cheap artificial
stuff I had...  Jimmy doesn't even know - he's lived like that all his life
- but I could tell."

      "So what happened with his mom?"  Thelma asked, mystified.

      "She was gonna let the cat out of the bag - and then nothing Amy could
say would help her.  I dragged her away and called Dina and had her tell
Jimmy's mom why she hooked them up.  Money didn't enter into it, but the
fact that Amy is sweet tempered and a good match for Jimmy did - so Jimmy's
mom settled down."  Danny looked smug.

      Ed was impressed, in spite of himself.  "Well, seems like I can't yell
at ya too much..." he drawled.  "We ain't scared ya off?"

      "Nah."  Danny gazed into Thelma's eyes, "I don't think so."  She slid
a palm along his mildly scratchy cheek.

      Dougie had heard it all and could contain himself no longer!
"Thelma's got a boy-friend!" he caroled, popping his head around the corner,
"Thelma got her ashes hauled!"

      "You little shit!"  Thelma was up in a flash, fuming as she rushed up
the stairs.  Dougie's laughter, mixed with further taunts, drifted toward
the back of the house.

      "Hard ta stomp ya for what appears to have been a public service," Ed
observed, "but I got concerns...  I don't want her even MORE unhappy..."

      "Jeez!"  Danny rolled his eyes, "Is EVERYBODY gonna ask me that
question?  Look, I can't make guarantees - but she makes me as happy as I
make her!  Okay?  We're not done!  If I get MY way, we're not even STARTED
yet!"

      This revelation penetrated to Thelma as she was chasing her little
brother back down the stairs, to the sound of his screeching glee.  She
stopped dead, eyes huge.  They fastened on Danny, but she addressed Norma
Jean:  "Momma, we've got to talk!"

      "Sweetie?" Norma Jean turned toward her daughter.

      "Rubbers - don't cut it!  I-We..."

      Norma Jean sighed, "I'll call the doctor."  Ed rubbed at his face.

      Dougie came back to find out why he wasn't being chased to find his
sister crawling all over her new boyfriend, "Ewwww!"

      Ed got up and looked at his son, "For once, I'm in total agreement."
Turning toward the couch he rumbled, "Don't make a mess, you two!  C'mon,
Maw, I want some coffee!"  He strode out.  Norma Jean followed, but she
stopped at the door for a last fond glance.  "Maybe we'll get a little peace
around here..." she observed wistfully, and followed her husband downstairs.