Everything helps

Amanda and Laura talked for a little longer about nothing in particular. When Laura saw the time, she realized she needed to get to the store to have dinner ready for Dan when he got home. It was the least she could do. After saying her goodbyes to Amanda and thanked her for the amazing lunch, Laura rushed to the grocery store.

She got a text from Dan that he had a surpise for her when he got home. Laura smiled and texted back that she couldn't wait and that she loved him.

"Hey dear," Laura greeted from the kitchen when Dan came through the door. "How was your day?"

"It went really well, actually," Dan said as he dropped his keys on the counter and kicked off his shoes. "How was your day?"

"Oh, I puttered around for a bit. Made a few calls. Amanda stopped by for a while and we talked and talked. It was really nice. Oh, she forgot her plate from the cookies. Could you run it over to her really quickly? The door across from us."

"Sure," Dan said and picked up the plate. A few minutes later he came back and said, "wow," as he closed the door behind him.

"Everything okay, dear?" Laura asked as she looked around at him.

"Uh, yeah," Dan muttered as he headed over to the bags that held his clothes.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah," he answered. He had a faint blush to his cheeks and an obvious discomfort in the front of his pants. She wondered what he'd seen in the hallway.

"You said you had news?" Laura asked from the stove, trying to pull her son out of whatever fantasy he was living inside his head.

"Oh, yeah! Here," he said as he pulled the papers out of his back pocket and put them on the counter beside his mother. Leaning over, Dan kissed her on her shoulder, her shirt blocking most of the kiss.

"Hey," Laura laughed as she wiggled away from his affection.

"Thank you," she murmured as she set the large spoon down. "What's this?" Her entire body tingled, and she felt warmth and love like putting on a coat in the rain.

"Our little bit of good news."

Laura frowned and picked up the papers, unfolding them to read the contents. "Oh, this is wonderful," she gasped as she picked up the gift card from the middle of the papers. "What's this?" she questioned with a laugh. She had a feeling she knew what it was.

Dan looked up from his phone to the slip of paper his mother held. "Oh, that's Ms. Carmen's number. She said if we needed help to give her a call," he said with a shrug.

Laura looked back and forth between the paper and Dan. "Uh, huh," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Seriously," he shot back. "I know you think she likes me, but she really is nice."

"Uh, huh."

"Really!"

"Uh, huh," Laura continued with a smile. She loved teasing him. "This will really help. I honestly need to pick some things up. Do you need to be with me when you use the gift card?"

"I didn't read the papers, but I probably need to. I know I'm not supposed to use my discount though. Something about it not being right or against some rule. It was on the second page, I think."

"We'll go after you get off work."

"Works for me, just make a list. I think I've got some pens in my car."

"I have one in my purse. Uh, I'll get it later," she called when she saw him head toward her small bag near the bed.

"I was going to get changed," Dan laughed. "You taught me not to look through a woman's purse."

Laura laughed and flushed. That had been a more memorable day for both of them. Her Ben Wa Balls and ribbed pink dildo was not something she'd forget her son discovering. "Yes, I suppose you did," she eventually said. "Are you getting a shower? We've got another ten before the rice is ready."

"Actually, that sounds wonderful. See you in a few."