It's So Easy To Love Maddie
This story is the property of the co-authors and cannot be reproduced or distributed without specific consent of the authors. It is written for your enjoyment only. This story about the love between two women and is fiction. Any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental.
Chapter Seven
By Chrissy and Peyton
The next morning Izzy woke up to the smell of coffee and what she thought was either bacon or sausage cooking. She slipped out of bed as to not wake Maddie who was still sleeping. She took off her t-shirt and slipped on a sports bra and then a sweatshirt putting her feet in her slippers and crept out of the bedroom closing the door behind her. As she walked into the kitchen her mom and Aunt Mary were busy cooking scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. "Good morning sweetheart," her mother said to her.
"Morning mom," Izzy said giving her mom a kiss on the cheek. She then kissed Aunt Mary too. She went into the cabinet pulling out a cup and poured some coffee into it. She took out a second cup making one for Maddie. "She's still asleep but if I walk in with this and put it under her nose she'll wake up," Izzy told Aunt Mary who was looking at her as she poured the second cup.
"Your dad will be back in a minute. He went for a walk this morning and as soon as he's back we'll eat," Evelyn told Izzy. "If you want to get Maddie up you two can make the toast for us. That would be a big help," she added.
"Sure mom," Izzy said as she took both cups of coffee and walked back to her bedroom. She gently opened the door walking in seeing Maddie still curled up with her blonde hair cascading over her face and onto the pillow. She stood there for a second staring at the beautiful girl before her amazed that her life had turned so much and so wonderfully because of Maddie. She thought she could never be happier than she was now and hated waking her but her mom would be expecting them to make the toast. She put the coffee on the nightstand and leaned over kissing Maddie on the cheek. "Time to rise sleeping beauty."
Maddie stirred and rolled over now facing towards Izzy standing at the side of the bed. "Mmm, that smells good," Maddie said as she could smell the coffee.
"Yours is on the nightstand babe. But you need to get up. Breakfast is almost ready and mom wants us to make the toast. I'll go get started while you get up'" Izzy told her and leaned down and kissed Maddie again.
Maddie came strolling out of the room holding her coffee. She didn't bother putting anymore clothing on other than her bunny slippers she wore at night. "Morning everyone," she said as she entered the kitchen.
Maddie walked over and kissed both Aunt Mary and Evelyn before going over to Izzy putting her hand on Izzy's shoulder pulling her out and kissing her on the lips. "thanks for the coffee," she told Izzy.
"You're welcome," Izzy said as she placed a knife and a tub of butter in front of Maddie. "You start buttering the toast as I work the toaster. Cut them in half slices too and put them on this plate as she pointed at it to Maddie.
Maddie set her cup down and began to butter the toast. Both Evelyn and Mary had watched Maddie kiss Izzy and saw the look they gave each other when they kissed. Evelyn whispered to Mary, "they do seem to be perfectly suited for each other, don't they?"
"Perfect is a good choice of words," Mary whispered back. "I don't think I have ever seen two people look at each other with such a gleam and love in their eyes as those two. I just hope they can survive all the condemnation, hate and tribulations that they will face with their decision."
"What are you two whispering about over there?" Izzy spoke up. "Why are you looking at us? Haven't you seen two still half asleep teenage girls trying to function before?"
"We were just admiring how you two are so different but so alike early in the morning. If it weren't for your hair we wouldn't be able to tell you apart from the back," Evelyn said covering up what they really were talking about.
Just then Frank walked in from his morning walk and immediately up to the coffee pot to get some coffee. "It's cold out there this morning," he said. "I cut my walk short because I didn't realize how cold it was going to be."
"Have a seat Frank," Evelyn said. "breakfast is almost ready and that will warm you up."
Maddie placed the plate of toast on the table and sat down as Izzy went up behind her dad and put her arms around him. "Maybe this will help you warm up dad," Izzy said.
"Thank you honey," Frank answered Izzy.
They all sat and ate breakfast and discussed what time Grandpa and Grandma would arrive, what time they needed to put the turkey in the oven and start on everything else. Chores were divided up amongst all of them as they ate. After breakfast, Maddie and Izzy were assigned to clean up the kitchen from breakfast as Mary and Evelyn went to take showers and get dressed for the day.
When Maddie and Izzy finished the kitchen, they both went to their bedroom to shower and get dressed as people were expected to arrive soon. As they were finishing up they could hear someone had arrived. They finished and walked out together Maddie trailing Izzy by a step or two. Izzy saw it was Grandma and Grandpa and immediately went to give them both a hug and kiss. Maddie was right behind her as she knew both of them. "Hi Grandma, Happy Thanksgiving," Maddie said as she hug her new grandma.
"Happy Thanksgiving sweetheart," Grandma said returning the hug and kiss.
"Happy Thanksgiving Grandpa," Maddie said and putting her arms around his chest as there was no way to put them around his shoulders with him being a foot taller than she was.
"Same to ya, sweetie. Daisy and me have missed you," Grandpa said as he pulled Maddie in and hugged her kissing the top of her head. "Maddie this is Izzy's great Aunt Silvia. Silvia is my brother's wife."
"Nice to meet you," Maddie said to Silvia.
"Nice to meet you too Maddie. I've heard a lot about you and I must say you are a beautiful young lady. I love your hair, so long and the blonde color is gorgeous," Silvia said.
"Thank you, I normally wear it in a pony tail but Izzy likes it better down so I wear it down as much as I can for her," Maddie replied.
Maddie and Izzy went into the kitchen as the other ladies did to help with any preparations they could. It seemed the ladies already had talked because each was busy doing something different even Aunt Mary. Maddie pulled Izzy to the side and in a whisper asked her if Aunt Silvia was the wife of the brother who was killed in the war. Izzy nodded her head then whispered back, "She never remarried. She couldn't. She has remained a big part of our family ever since and we never do anything without including her."
Maddie understood what Izzy was saying and squeezed her arm and smiled at her. "Your family is so amazing and loving. I am so glad that I've been able to see how a real family functions even through hardship."
Izzy could see Maddie's eyes getting red and moisture forming so before Maddie started crying she took Maddie by the hand and out of the kitchen to where her dad and Grandpa were sitting. She asked them if they would play the guitars for Maddie and Izzy.
Frank and Grandpa looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders then Frank told Izzy to get the guitars out. Frank and Grandpa began playing their guitars and of course it was country music they were playing. Izzy knew most of the songs and would voice the words as they played. After a few songs Maddie noticed the piano on the other side of the room.
"Do you play?" Maddie asked her pointing to the piano.
"No, in fact nobody plays. It's mostly decoration," Izzy said. "Do you?"
"A little, can I try?" she asked Izzy.
Izzy pulled Maddie by the hand over to the piano and pulled out several books of sheet music then they sat on the piano bench. Frank and Grandpa were still strumming while Maddie looked through the music. Maddie found a song she remembered hearing and pulled up the sheet so she could play. Maddie told Frank and Grandpa the song and told them she didn't know if she could do it but if they could follow along the best they could with her playing. Izzy was surprised that Maddie picked that song until she realized it was the song playing when Maddie kissed her the first time on the dance floor. Maddie began playing and surprisingly she was able to play the song from the music like she had been playing piano all her life. Frank and Grandpa had no trouble playing along with Maddie. Izzy began to lightly sing the words to the song as she stared at Maddie playing next to her.
In the kitchen the ladies were almost finished with all the preparations other than waiting for things to cook and they heard the music from the other room.
Evelyn especially was curious and said to no one in particular, "Who's playing the piano? No one here knows how to play that thing." She proceeded to walk out into the living room followed by the others to see Maddie playing. They listened and while not perfect it was very pretty.
After the song was done the ladies clapped and Aunt Mary spoke up, "Maddie, when did you learn to play the piano? Did you have one at your house?" she asked.
"Yes well no," Maddie said confusing everyone. "We didn't have one so I went out and bought one of those portable keyboards and taught myself to read music and play by going online."
Izzy had already picked out another song and they began to play it and a few more as the ladies watched and Izzy sang along on some of the songs. Maddie picked out the next song and it was another Garth Brooks song titled "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Maddie began playing except this time Frank and Grandpa watched instead of playing along. Maddie started singing along with Izzy then Izzy stopped and let Maddie sing the whole song. Izzy could see Maddie putting her whole self into her playing and singing. Izzy noticed some of the ladies were wiping their eyes and she looked back at Maddie and wondered if she was singing a song or foretelling what was yet to come.
After Maddie finished the song Grandma began clapping and the rest followed suit. This surprised Maddie making her turn red with embarrassment as she didn't realize she had become so lost in the song and forgot everyone else was there.
Aunt Silvia asked Maddie to play one more song. Maddie and Izzy looked through the music and Izzy found one she wanted Maddie to play. It was a song by Lonestar titled "Amazed". Maddie began playing and Frank joined in playing a little low key as to not distract from Maddie's piano. Izzy started singing and Maddie joined in and they sang together. Not far into the song everyone noticed that Maddie and Izzy were looking at each other as they sang as if they were singing true words to each other instead of singing a song.
Evelyn leaned into Mary and said, "There's that look again. They seem lost in each other's eyes as if that song was written for them about how they feel." Mary just nodded her head as she wiped the moisture in her eyes.
As the song ended Maddie and Izzy were staring into each other's eyes until they realized where they were then Izzy needing to lighten the mood stood up and bowed saying, "Tip your waitresses well as we take a short break," drawing laughter from everyone.
Izzy walked past Grandpa and as she did he grabbed her by the arm pulling her over to him. "You two sounded great together. You had better hold on to that one. She is something really special," he said as he pointed to Maddie.
"I plan on it Grandpa and she really is special," Izzy told him as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.
The ladies had gone back into the kitchen to finish the last of what they had to do as Izzy walked in and up to her mom. "Anything I can help with?" she asked her mom.
Evelyn turned and put her arm around Izzy saying, "No honey you and Maddie have already helped all of us out today. You two sounded beautiful but we have all this under control."
Maddie was right behind walking in as Izzy went to the fridge and got them both a soda. As she past Maddie she said, "Follow me."
Once they got into Izzy's bedroom Izzy asked Maddie, "Why didn't you tell me you could play the piano that well?"
"I didn't know I could," Maddie said. "I've never played before anyone else and haven't played in almost a year. You see I started trying to play when I became confused over my sexuality and needed something to clear my mind and distract me from all that was happening. It's something like you going riding to the cabin to clear your mind and I used learning how to play the piano as mine. I'm not very good and this was the first I've tried country music too,' she added.
"Well I thought you were great and so did everyone else," Izzy told her. "I don't know if you knew it but Dad and Grandpa quit playing to listen to you. Mom, Grandma, Aunt Mary and Silvia all were wiping their eyes at how beautifully you played. Come here," she said and held out her arms for Maddie.
They hugged and Izzy added, "I love you," hugging Maddie even tighter.
Soon a few more relatives arrived, which were cousins of Izzy's, bringing the total to twelve that were there for dinner. They spent the better part of the day talking catching up on each other's lives before dinner was ready and on the table to be served. There were just enough seats around the table for everyone to sit. Frank and Grandpa sat on the ends as they are the heads of the family. Maddie was the first on the one side on the corner from Grandpa followed by Izzy, Aunt Mary, Evelyn, and Aunt Silvia. On the other side are the four cousins and Grandma who is sitting across from Maddie. Before the turkey is carved and they eat Frank tells everyone but directed to Aunt Mary and Maddie that they have a custom that if anyone has a special thank you they want to say that they can do so now before Grandpa says the prayer and they eat. He adds that most of the time no one says anything so don't feel obligated to say a thank you.
No one speaks up and right as Grandpa begins to stand Maddie interrupts, "I would like to say something if I could?"
Grandpa sits back down telling Maddie, "Sure honey, you go right ahead."
Maddie stands looking around the table hesitating before she begins, "I have many reasons to be extra thankful this year and I would like to express those thanks. First I want to thank my Mom and Dad for being my Mom and Dad. I love both of you and hold no animosity or hard feelings and hope one day you will be able to accept me for who I am and we can be a family again. I also want to thank my sister Callie for being there for me, standing with me and being all she could be as a sister. I love her with all my heart. I want to thank Aunt Mary who took someone in knowing it would cause more problems between her and her sister, accepting me for who I am and guiding me as I enter adulthood. I can't begin to tell you what you mean to me and how you have helped me. I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Walker for being my extended family allowing me to be a part of this wonderful loving family. I want to thank Grandpa and Grandma Walker for allowing me to stay at their place and teaching me to ride Daisy and how to shoot a gun without hitting something I'm not aiming at." Maddie hesitated before she continued, "But most importantly I want to thank the unknown person who made the room assignments at college this year. Without them assigning me to room 4206 Beta Hall, I most likely would have never met Izzy. I don't know what my life would be right now if I didn't know her but I'm sure it wouldn't be as wonderful as it is right now. So whoever you are I will always be indebted to you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making that assignment."
Maddie sat down as Izzy grabbed her hand and squeezed it. The table was a mixture of giggles and wet eyes from Maddie's thank you until Grandpa arose to say the prayer.
"Thanksgiving is a time for family to come together and enjoy great food, good times, and feel the love that families should have as we say thanks for the food before us. We are grateful to add two new members to our family. Mary you are welcome anytime at our table. Maddie," he then paused, "This three armed one-eyed creature that Izzy dragged home..." Before he could say anything else Maddie reached over and poked Grandpa in the side causing him to flinch and everyone to laugh. "I wasn't sure if Izzy knew what she was doing but after getting to know her and if she doesn't stop poking me she'll learn she isn't too old or too big to be turned over my knee and spanked," causing more to laugh. "I hope that you will feel welcome in our house anytime and we get to hear her and precious sing and play the piano."
As Grandpa sat down Maddie got up and sat sideways in Grandpa's lap putting her arms around his shoulders and giving him a big kiss on the cheek. Now everyone was laughing more as Grandpa turned red from embarrassment as he hugged Maddie back.
The dinner was great and everyone was stuffed from overeating. Most decided they would save desert for later as they were too full to eat anymore.
Friday was spent eating leftovers and just sitting around and chatting. Saturday Maddie, Izzy and Aunt Mary got an early start back as Maddie and Izzy wanted to get back to school by nighttime. They both had assignments that needed to be done for class on Monday since their Wednesday classes were cancelled and they needed to do laundry. Before they left Izzy's house they all discussed Christmas. It was planned that Maddie and Aunt Mary would come back for Christmas to the Walker home.
Two weeks after they got back to school it was the beginning of finals week. Maddie and Izzy each got their schedules and Maddie would be finished two days before Izzy. Both girls couldn't believe that they had already completed their first semester of college and were both elated and sad as it seemed time was going by too fast for them.
The day after Maddie finished her last final, she was to head home as she had her part time job lined up and she was scheduled to work the next day after getting home. That night before they made love each having multiple orgasms as it would be a while before they would be together again. The next morning they got up to pack Maddie's car and to say goodbye.
Before they walked out of the dorm they hugged and kissed Maddie telling Izzy, "I love you so much and will miss you every second of every day until I see you again."
Izzy hugging Maddie responded, "And I'll miss you just as much. Call me every day so I can hear your voice. I love you Maddie."
They walked out to Maddie's car and put her things inside and hugged one more time before Maddie got in and started to leave. She waved and blew a kiss to Izzy as she pulled away.
The drive home was lonely for Maddie. She played music from her playlist which now included many country songs. Each one had a memory attached to it and they all were about Izzy. As she approached her Aunt's house she was already missing Izzy and hoping the next two and a half weeks would go by fast so she could see Izzy again.
The next day she started to work at 8:30am a half hour before the store opened. The department manager was happy to see Maddie and told her to be prepared because they were short on help and it would be really busy right up until Christmas.
Maddie asked her if they were hiring more people since they were shorthanded and the manager said yes but there were not many people who were willing to only work part time through the holidays like Maddie was doing. Maddie said she might know someone who might be willing if they needed help. The manager told her to have the person come in for an interview as soon as they could. Maddie told her she was in her last day of finals but she would get a hold of her and see when she could be here since she was away at college.
Maddie texted Izzy telling her to call as soon as possible. In her text she asked if she was interested in a job over the holidays. Maddie didn't hear back from Izzy until just after noon when she had finished her last exam.
"Hi beautiful, I miss you," Izzy said when Maddie answered her phone.
"I miss you too," Maddie said back. "Would you like a part time job here over the holidays? My manager says they are in need of more part time help and I mentioned you and she said for you to come in as soon as possible for an interview. You can stay with Aunt Mary and me and then we can go over to your house together for Christmas."
"That sounds really good since I didn't have any job lined up and was just going to hang out at my parents until you got there. Let me call my Mom and make sure they are okay with it and I'll call you back."
Izzy called her mom and she said as long as Aunt Mary was ok with it she thought it would be good experience for her. Izzy called Maddie and told her what her mom had said and that she was leaving school in about an hour and could come by the store first which should be in about three hours. Maddie told Izzy her shift was over about that time but she would wait around for her and then they could drive home at the same time. Maddie told her manager who was delighted to have someone come in and told Maddie to come find her when Izzy got there.
Late that afternoon Izzy pulled up outside the store having received directions from Maddie on getting to the store. Izzy walked in to find Maddie waiting for her by the door. She smiled and they hugged then Maddie led Izzy to the back where the manager's office was located. The manager was coming around the corner and saw Maddie and Izzy and told her to come in to her office. Once inside she asked Izzy a few questions about her experience in retail and if there were any hours she would not be available to work. Izzy told her she could work any amount of hours up until two days before Christmas as she would be heading home then. The manager told her the pay and gave her some paperwork to fill out telling her she was hired and could start the next day. She would try to give her the same hours as Maddie but she would be in a different area and she couldn't guarantee they would always be the same. Izzy told her that was alright and she was appreciative of her trying to accommodate her schedule with Maddie's but she understood if it was not possible.
Izzy walked out of the manager's office a few minutes later seeing Maddie talking to another employee. She walked up with a smile and said, "Looks like I'm staying at your place for a while."
"You got the job?" Maddie said and smiled. Izzy nodded. "That's great," Maddie said and clapped her hands together. She introduced Izzy to the co-worker and they chatted for a minute before leaving the store.
"Follow me, it's only about 10 minutes to Aunt Mary's house from here," Maddie told her. "I'm so glad you are going to work here. I was really missing you and it was hard to sleep last night in the bed alone."
"I know the feeling. The dorm was not the same without you and the bed was not the same. I pulled your pillow up to my chest and could smell your hair on the pillow so that helped," Izzy said.
"Aw, you're so sweet. Well tonight you can smell my hair all you want in our bed together," Maddie said and they went to their cars.
The next two weeks Izzy and Maddie worked fifty hours each week and were exhausted but they had made very good money in that short time which they would need for expenses until they were out of school for summer. They also spent some time shopping for gifts for Aunt Mary, Callie, and Izzy's family and of course each other. They placed a limit on the amount spent for each other's gift so they wouldn't spend too much of their just earned money. Christmas was just two days away and Izzy and Maddie left the store telling the manager they would come back a few days after Christmas and could work through the first week of January before they had to leave back for college.
That afternoon Maddie had made arrangements for Callie to come over so she could see her before Christmas. They sat in the living room and talked and laughed before exchanging gifts. Callie gave Maddie a framed picture of her that Maddie treasured and hugged Callie for giving it to her. She told her she would place it on her dresser at college where she would see it every day. She gave Izzy a small collage she made of pictures of her and Maddie growing up. Izzy was very touched at how thoughtful she was for thinking of her. Izzy and Maddie then gave Callie a charm bracelet that had a charm for her birthday and then a charm from each Izzy and Maddie. They told her she could only wear it away from Mom and Dad so they wouldn't know she was seeing them. Callie was speechless for a moment because she had wanted a charm bracelet but also because she now had one with both Izzy's and Maddie's charm on it. She had Maddie put it on her wrist and she then stared at it before bringing it to her chest and holding it with her other hand.
It was time that Maddie, Izzy, and Aunt Mary leave for Izzy's house so they had to say goodbye to Callie and wished her a Merry Christmas before leaving.
The drive over to Izzy's was filled with laughter and singing as they played a CD of Christmas songs, they got free at the store because the cover had broken and they couldn't sell it. Even Aunt Mary chimed in with the singing from time to time. They arrived mid afternoon at Izzy's house and got settled in. The house of course was fully decorated for Christmas with figurines, placemats, and lights throughout each room of the house. The tree was especially pretty and it was a real tree giving off the scent of pine to the room. Under the tree there already was a pile of gifts and Santa Claus hadn't even come yet.
Christmas Eve was a special occasion at the Walker house. They attended a late afternoon Christmas Eve service at a local church then went home to chili that had been cooking in the crock pot all afternoon. Evelyn and Mary made cornbread to go with the chili and they sat around the living room eating their warm chili and the adults had wine to go with it. Frank told Maddie he had purchased some sheet music for Christmas carols and wondered if she could play some carols for them and they would all sing along.
Maddie pulled out the music and played the best she could while the others sang along. If she made a mistake it didn't matter as the singing usually drowned out the mistake. They played for an hour or so until it was getting late and they decided it would be best to get some rest as the rest of the clan would be over early in the morning for Christmas day.
That night after Maddie and Izzy went to bed they were laying facing each other and talking about this being the first of many Christmases together and how wonderful it had already been. Maddie leaned over and kissed Izzy letting her tongue caress Izzy's lips and teeth before Izzy allowed it inside her mouth to her waiting tongue. They pulled each other close and kissed with more emotion running their hands over each other's back and over their butts. Maddie's hand squeezed Izzy's butt cheeks and Izzy moaned into Maddie's mouth. Maddie's hand came around and down over Izzy's pjs onto her mound that stuck out that Maddie loved so much. This caused Izzy to gasp for air and her legs involuntarily opened up for Maddie. Maddie let her hand go down further over Izzy and she pushed her fingers into the slit of Izzy's pussy pushing her pjs in too. Maddie could feel Izzy tightening her grip on her giving Maddie the ok to keep going.
She brought her hand up until it was just over the waistband of Izzy's pjs and she slipped her hand under it and back down finding Izzy's now bare pussy. Izzy stopped Maddie's hand and took both of hers down to her waistband and lifted her butt up pushing her pjs down past her knees and pulled one leg out of them. Before she brought her hand up, she moved it over to Maddie's leg and pushed down on Maddie's pjs to get them off of Maddie. Maddie lifted up enough and she was able to help Izzy push her pjs off her legs too. They both then went back to kissing now with each having a hand between the other's legs. It wasn't long before the sound of their fingers going in and out of each other's wet pussy echoed in the quiet room. They kissed and moaned while trying to keep the noise down as they brought each other to an amazing orgasm. Maddie then brought her fingers up to Izzy's lips and Izzy kissed and licked Maddie's fingers clean of her juices. She then brought her hand up and put on finger in her mouth before giving Maddie the other one to lick and clean. They kissed each other again and Izzy pushed Maddie's cascading hair back whispering to Maddie, "I love you Maddie, Merry Christmas," as the clock had already chimed past midnight.
Maddie stared into Izzy's eyes and whispered to her, "I love you with every fiber of my body Izzy. I never knew I could ever love this much but I do with you, Merry Christmas." They kissed again and soon they were asleep.
The next morning, they awoke hearing noise out in the living room. They picked up their pj bottoms and got dressed before walking out to the bathroom. Once they were presentable, they made their way to the living room finding Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Silvia there. After everyone got hugs and Christmas greetings they settled down for some hot chocolate and a breakfast casserole that Grandma had made with eggs, sausage, tomatoes, diced potatoes and cheese.
After everyone was there, they began to open presents. Maddie and Izzy opened the presents they had received from everyone receiving some clothes and other items they would need for school. One of the presents received from Aunt Mary that was to both of them. When they opened it they found a tri-fold picture frame of three 5 x 7 pictures in the frame. The middle picture was Maddie and Izzy standing side by side dressed up the night they went to the gala with Aunt Mary. The pictures on the side were of Maddie with Aunt Mary and Izzy with Aunt Mary. They both hugged the picture and showed everyone the photos after each giving Aunt Mary a hug and kiss.
Maddie and Izzy saved the presents they gave each other until last. Izzy went first and she opened a purple Kavu bag similar to the one Maddie carried. Maddie told her since she kept commenting on her bag and complaining on having to carry her backpack around campus she couldn't think of anything Izzy needed more than the bag. Izzy was thrilled then she turned it over and saw Maddie had the initials IW - MR stitched into it. Izzy was next to tears as now the bag had a special meaning to it as she would carry Maddie's initials around with her every day.
Maddie then opened the gift from Izzy finding a gift certificate from a shooting range not far from their college. It was a carry permit class that Maddie could take and then be able to legally wear a hand gun. Izzy told her since she seemed so excited after they had gone shooting that one time she thought this is something they could do together in their spare time. Maddie was overjoyed as she did enjoy shooting and wanted to do it more. Now she could learn all that she needed to handle the gun properly and become a better shot. They hugged and thanked each other for thinking of thoughtful gifts for each other.
Later that day a thought came to Maddie about what she wanted to do for Izzy's birthday that would be coming up in April. She pulled Frank aside and talked with him about her idea and he thought it was a very meaningful and thoughtful gift and he was all for it. Maddie told him she would look into it when she got back to school and she would let him know how they could coordinate to get it done.
The holidays were soon over and Maddie and Izzy were back at school beginning their spring semester. They had received their grades over the holidays from the first semester and they matched GPA's each having a 3.75. Now it was time for them to get back to business as usual because there would be no long breaks until late in March for them to go home.
Maddie went about working on her idea for a birthday present for Izzy and found while it wasn't going to be as hard as she thought it was going to be instead it would be time consuming and that could be a problem. It would be hard to get away without Izzy wondering what she was doing. It wasn't in her to lie or deceive but in this case she just might have to and hope Izzy wouldn't be too upset with her. She began to work on it discussing it with Frank who gave her some other ideas to supplement what Maddie was doing.
The first couple of weeks she was able to get away without raising too much suspicion but the third week Izzy finally confronted her.
"What's going on?" Izzy asked Maddie when she walked into the dorm late one afternoon.
"Nothing's going on, why do you ask?" Maddie responded knowing that she was pushing it but almost finished and needed to keep it up the deceit for a little more time.
"You've been leaving campus a couple of times a week now for the last 3 weeks without telling me. Is there something you're not telling me? Do I need to be worried?" she said with a noticeable amount of hurt in her voice.
"No, there isn't anything for you to be worried about," Maddie said then changed the subject telling Izzy about a class she had today.
Izzy didn't accept Maddie's explanation but she wasn't going to push Maddie. Up till now she had compete trust in Maddie and was trying not to lose that trust but she was definitely uncomfortable with Maddie's explanation. Her attempt to change the subject only made her more suspicious. It brought back memories of when she broke up with Tommy and she could see this causing those same feelings. One thing that had changed was they hadn't made love for the last few weeks and Izzy rejected any attempt by Maddie to get close.
Another week went by and Maddie needed a few more days to finish her part in the surprise. By now things were getting more intense with Izzy. Going behind her back obviously had bothered Izzy and Maddie knew she was hurting her but only hoped in the end Izzy would forgive her for hiding what she was doing. The next day Maddie left to work on her gift for Izzy and upon returning she found a note from Izzy on her dresser. "Maddie, I don't know what is going on and I want to trust you but I can't take it anymore. You have me worried and when I try to talk to you, you keep changing the subject. If you are seeing someone else I deserve to know and we need to talk about it. I have decided to spend tonight with a friend to give you time to think about us and decide what you want to do. She has also agreed to let me stay here the rest of the semester if this is the end for us. If you don't want to talk just leave me a note and I'll read it tomorrow, Izzy"
Maddie was devastated. She didn't think Izzy would take this as hard as she did and she underestimated her sneaking around having an adverse effect on Izzy. She didn't have a choice now but to tell Izzy what she was doing without trying to tell her what her birthday present was which was still over a month away. She picked up her phone and called Izzy. Izzy didn't answer her phone so Maddie had to leave a message. "Izzy, I'm so sorry. I'm not seeing anyone and I'm not cheating on you. In fact it's the opposite. I didn't want to tell you because it is a surprise for you and I just ask that you trust me and you will soon see what I have been doing. Please call me back, I feel horrible and I should have handled it differently but I didn't think it would take as long as it did. I love you with all my heart and would never do anything to hurt you or jeopardize our relationship. Please call me."
About an hour later Izzy walked into their dorm room and it was obvious she had been crying. She put her bag down and sat in her desk chair facing it towards Maddie who was sitting on the bed talking on the phone with someone. When she saw Izzy she told whoever it was she had to go because Izzy just walked in.
"Was that your new girlfriend?" Izzy said matter of fact.
"Izzy, no, I'm looking at my one and only girlfriend right now. If you must know it was your father I was talking to," Maddie said.
"My Dad? Why would you talk to my Dad about our problems? They don't need to know about us! If we break up I'll be the one to tell them not you!" Izzy said with a little more anger and louder than she had talked before.
"Izzy please," Maddie pleaded. "Listen to me. I'm not cheating on you. You are everything to me. My every breath I breathe is for you. I was talking to your dad because he is part of what I've been doing for the last several weeks. It is a surprise for you and I don't want to say anymore about it or it'll ruin the surprise. You just have to trust me on this. I know I didn't handle this well and my actions caused you to question me and us. I'm truly sorry for the way I handled it but I was trying to do something special for you and it just took a lot longer than I anticipated. I hope that once you see what I've done you will forgive me and will trust me again. I just need you to be patient for a little more time and it will all be revealed. Can you please see it in your heart to wait before you make any rash decisions?"
"I'll wait but my trust is being tested. I don't know what you are planning especially with my dad but since he is involved you wouldn't dare be doing something wrong because it would be too easy to verify through him," Izzy responded.
"Thank you and I'm sure once you see what I've done you will feel better about me again. And I am sorry about the way I've handled it," Maddie said.
The next month Maddie talked several times with the person that was putting her present together to make sure everything was on schedule and it would be ready before Izzy's birthday which was now only two weeks away. He assured Maddie he was almost done and added some things to it to make it better. Izzy and Maddie still were not back to normal as Izzy wasn't completely trustful of the situation and while they had kissed a few times they still were not making love to each other.
Izzy birthday finally arrived and Maddie had her present which she had picked up the week before. She hadn't opened it herself so she wasn't sure what to expect. When Izzy came in from class Maddie had decorated the room with balloons and streamers and had a small birthday cake with a single candle on top. Next to it was a small package in the shape of a box about six inches by six inches and a card. Izzy was carrying two boxes with her that she had picked up from the reception area on the first floor where their mail boxes were. She saw the room and had to smile at the extent that Maddie had gone to make her birthday joyous. Maddie jumped up yelling out "Happy Birthday" to Izzy.
Izzy told Maddie she had packages from both her parents and from Aunt Mary.
"Open them, let's see what they sent you," Maddie excitedly said.
"Why can't I open your present first?" Izzy asked.
"No, mine has to be last. Open theirs first," Maddie told Izzy.
After Izzy had opened the package from her parents which also included a gift card from Aunt Silvia and a present from Grandma and Grandpa she opened the one from Aunt Mary which also included a present from Callie. That left the card and present from Maddie. She opened the card first which was just a normal birthday card with Maddie drawing hearts all over the card and signing it, "Yours always and forever, I love you, Maddie.
Izzy hugged Maddie and gave her a kiss and asked if she could now open the present. She also asked if this was the present Maddie had hid from her over the last few months that caused all their problems. Maddie told her yes and just open the damn present.
Izzy laughed and unwrapped the box. Inside the box was a CD in a plastic holder. On the label it said, 'Made for Izzy Walker by Maddie Rogers with accompanying by Frank and Russell Walker.' Underneath there was a list of 4 songs, "The Dance," "Amazed," "Breathe," "Every Thing I Do".
"What is this?" Izzy asked Maddie with a puzzled look on her face.
"I made a CD of me playing the piano and singing those songs for you. Your father and Grandpa played the guitar on some of them too. I picked the songs for obvious reasons before your dad and I decided it was right for recording. Your dad and I talked about the last song because the style is out of his comfort zone and he doesn't play electric guitar but we decided to try it anyway," Maddie told her.
"Oh my God, Oh my God," Izzy said holding her hand to her mouth. You did this for me and my father and Grandpa were in on it too? But how with them so far away did you do this?"
"Believe me it wasn't as easy as I thought but then it was. I was just going to have your dad and Grandpa record their playing on tape sending it to me. I was then going to find a place where I could record me playing the piano and singing then get one of the music shops to put them together. I went to the universities music department to see if I could use their piano and one of the professors there put me with a graduate student named Dave. It seems as part of the master's program they had to have a project of creating and putting together from scratch a recording. This guy jumped all over my idea and we discussed things he wanted to add to it to make his project and my present something more special. So he found a music shop with a recording studio in your town and had your dad and grandpa go in and record their playing the guitars to the songs with Dave there to tell them how they should play. Dave then had me come in to a recording studio he works part time at and play the piano to each song without singing. He then put the two together editing our playing so that at times the piano is in the forefront and sometimes the guitars. Then he played it for me in headphones while I sang and he recorded me singing. It took a while as we could only do one song a session because he would show me where to sing higher or draw out my words to make it sound better. I've not heard the final on any of the songs yet so when you play it it'll be a first for both of us to hear," Maddie explained to Izzy.
Izzy's hands were shaking but she put the CD in the player and turned it on sitting on the bed with Maddie sitting next to her. The first song that played was The Dance and even Maddie was surprised how good it sounded. Maddie told Izzy that song was picked because it was the first time they kissed and would always be remembered as the beginning of their relationship. Izzy hands were still shaking and tears came to her eyes as she realized what Maddie had done for her and how she almost ruined their relationship for not trusting her. Maddie then told her the next three songs she chose because they best describe how she felt about her.
By the time those three had ended tears were rolling down Izzy's face and she had rested her head on Maddie's shoulder and had her arm interlocked with Maddie's holding her hand. Maddie told her that Dave had injected some other instruments into the recording because you could hear them in the background. By the end of the last song Izzy was gaining control and she waited a minute until after the song finished then turned to Maddie.
"Maddie, I am so, so very sorry. I should know better than to not trust you. It was just so similar to what Tommy did to me that I thought it was happening again. I don't know what to say. What you did is the most beautiful thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me and to think I almost ruined it by thinking you were cheating on me. Please, please forgive me. I'll never mistrust you again," Izzy pleaded with Maddie.
Maddie looked Izzy in the eyes and put her hands to Izzy's cheeks using her thumbs to wipe the tears that were still running down her face and said, "Izzy, it's me who should apologize to you and ask for your forgiveness. I pushed you to the edge trying to keep from you what I was doing instead of being up front and putting your fears to ease. I'm sorry I caused you any pain." She continued to look into Izzy's eyes and then to lighten the mood she asked, "So did you like your present?"
At that Izzy's eyes lit up and a smile came to her face and she pushed Maddie down on the bed rolling on top of her and pinning Maddie's arms above her head.
To be continued...
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