An aging overweight man who plays too much online gaming receives a gift from Freya, the
goddess of love, lust, beauty, sorcery, fertility, gold, war and death.

Freya's Gift

Chapter 31: Thanksgiving

Saturday 21 November

Rising to the glorious rays of sunshine streaming through the windows, I knew today was going to be a wonderful day.
Today was the day when Michael, Candy and Maryanne were coming for the Thanksgiving holiday, five happy days with the
rest of the children. I was so happy, I was bouncing around like Maryanne does, that was why I called her 'Sunny Bunny'.
She always had a smile on her face, she could be contagious that way.

This morning, I actually was singing in the bath, Lauren and Jimmy came in to join me, just smiling at how happy I was. I
was 18 weeks along and showing well. Everywhere I went people would ask about the babies. Lauren got the same treatment
at the store from all the women that shopped there. In the bath, Jimmy sat between us and rubbed our tummies and talked
to the babies.

Now some might think that was strange, but for us it was very natural. And it's not like Jimmy was talking babyish, he
just spoke to them like they were regular people. No oochie, coochie coo, no, we always treated them like little people.
It was the same thing I did to Katie and Michael as babies when I was their nanny. Some phycologists believe this can
lead to children being precocious, all I know is that from the day the twins were born, we talked to them normally and
they seemed to achieve better than other kids did that got baby talk.

Another reason I felt Katie was so at home, so to speak, being an outdoors girl, was that I always told her she could do
anything she set her mind to, and to damn with gender stereotyping.

Before we made breakfast, I called to see if they were ready for pick-up. Michael answered on the second ring, I say, "So
are you guys ready to go? I'm so excited for you guys to being here for the week."

Michael laughs, "Maryanne's no better, she can hardly contain herself. And yes, we're ready. We're at our old high
school, in the back. There's not a soul around and should be safe. But how are you bringing us up?"

I told them, "Lauren will be there as soon as she's dressed, she has a surprise for Maryanne. If you thought she was
happy before, when Lauren gives her the surprise, she'll probably bounce here on her own."

Michael holds the phone so Candy can hear but not Maryanne, they both respond, "Really!"

Maryanne can be heard in the background, "What was that about?"

They're both heard saying, "Oh, nothing really. Won't be long now."

Just then, Lauren pops in near to Michaels truck riding Cassie. She says, "Hi kids, I hear you're all ready to go."
Lauren hops off Cassie and walks to Maryanne. "I hear that you like kitties Maryanne, would you like to ride with
Casandra back to the house?"

Maryanne literally shrieks and starts bouncing up and down. Cassie watches her, following with her head going up and down
matching Maryanne's hysterics, smiling. If you didn't know what a 'pussycat' Cassie was, you might be worried. Calming
down, but still bouncing she makes it to Lauren for a big hug.

"Thank you aunt Lauren, I love you."

Lauren starts to get misty eyed, "That's alright sweetie, I love you too. Do you mind if I call you 'Bunny', sort of like
your aunt Freya does? But shorter"

Maryanne says, "I kind of like that, sure. Everyone can call me Bunny." Lauren kisses her forehead.

"Ok then, 'Bunny', you get up on Cassie, she knows all about you. And we know that your brother and Candy have told you
about all our 'friends'. So up you go." As Bunny finds her seat, she pets Cassie's head that is turned to face her.
Cassie purrs loudly, creating an echo through the hallways of the school.

Lauren hops into the truck with Michael and Candy. She explains "Just so you know, I'll port the truck into Austin's
garage spot. And Cassie will port directly into the living room. Everyone's waiting to start breakfast." With that they
disappear from the school parking lot, and appear back in Oregon.

What no one saw was, that someone had watched the entire exchange in the lot. And she was both shocked and irate at the
same time by what she witnessed.

************************************************

At the house, Cassie pops in with Bunny to a small group of family and two she didn't know. But nothing stops her, she
jumps down off Cassie and bounds to me and we both start hopping up and down. Katie groans and says, "Oh Goddess, now
there're two of them!" She smiles to let everyone know she's just trying to be funny.

Maryanne says, "Aunt Lauren gave me a new nickname."

Just as Lauren, Candy and Michael walk in the door, "Actually, I just shortened the one you already have." Lauren says.

Maryanne says, "Yeah, she's right, but you can call me Bunny, I really like that."

I smile at her, "That fits you perfect 'Bunny'. Now who's ready for some breakfast?" Looking around the gathered group.
As one they call out, "Me."

A half hour later, we were all sitting down to eat, today we went all out. I made bowls and Jimmy made his famous
pancakes. Everybody had a little of both, with milk, OJ and of course our tea. Bunny thought it was funny to see the two
dragon drinking tea with a straw while Cassie had just creamer. After eating, Gloria and Bobby excused themselves to go
to Mom and Pops for the day.

When asked what they wanted to do, the group was divided. The boys went fishing and we girls lay in the sun except for
Katie. When they went into the garage for the fishing gear, Michael asked about the Mustang. Already knowing about her
getting the car, since we had returned her old hybrid to the house.

Michael says, "I see you finally got the car you always wanted Katie. Are you happy now." Teasing like only a brother
can.

Katie beams at him, "Michael, this car is more than 'I' ever dreamed of, way more. Aunt Freya had an inspirational idea
and made all our cars unique."

Michael ask, "How so? Looks like an average high end Mustang to me." Austin, Jimmy and Katie laugh at that.

Katie says, "Let me get the keys and I'll show you what I mean." She's back in a flash. She pops the hood to show him
what's so different.

Michael looks confused, "Just what the hell is that? I have never seen anything that looks like that before." Then

"What's with the pulsing lights? Those kind of look familiar somehow."

Jimmy explains, "What your aunt did with magic, was to create a 24th century power supply like on Star Trek. It makes the
electricity that powers the motors at the corners that drive and slow the car. It never needs to be filled up, because
the reactor makes more power than the car needs."

"Wow, that's awesome," he says, "Can you guys do that to my truck before we go home?"

Jimmy smiles, "Of course we can." After thinking a moment. "You know, if we put in an inverter, like they do with solar
cells, we can sell some of the excess power back to the city. If we supply enough, they could maybe even lower
everybodie's electric bills."

Katie says, "That's a great idea Jimmy. It's like the way we all help in fighting the monsters. Every little bit helps."

They got the gear and head for the stream. Lauren, Bunny, Candy and I stretch out on the lounges to enjoy the sun. After
a little while Bunny's phone vibrates, she looks at it and says, "Mom's calling, what do I say?"

I say, "See what she wants first, might just be innocent, you know, checking up on you is all."

Bunny answers the phone, "Hi mom, how's your projects for work going?"

Her mom asks, "Maryanne, why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"

Bunny looks at me. I mimed my head on my hands like I was sleeping. "Oh, I was sleeping, you know the drive to the desert
always puts me to sleep. It just took a minute to wake and find my phone is all." Trying to sound convincing. She's a
terrible liar, but it seemed my sister was taking it at face value.

She says, "Okay then, I just wanted to check and see if you're alright, everything fine? Sweetheart."

Bunny says, "Yeah mom, everything is great. Do you want us to call when we get to the campsite with the others?"

Her mom says, "That's fine sweetheart. Love you."

Bunny, "Love you too mom!" She hangs up. "That was close, but it was weird too. She'd never call this early when we go to
the desert."

I say, "Well, let's forget it for now. Just enjoy the sun."

"Aunt Freya, how does it feel to be pregnant? Is it weird because you used to be a man?"

"Oh sweetie, my Bunny, it feels wonderful. Like it's the most natural thing in the world. I hope one day you'll know what
I mean." Dreamily I say, "Every day I feel them grow, they kick and move. Your cousins Kira and Eddie act like they're
ready for the world. And as for having been a man, well, except for the times I remember with you kids, I feel like I've
always been this way."

She nods, "You mean that, you're finally happy with who you are now. I'm so happy you didn't die, I love you so much!"
She starts to cry and I pull her to me, wrap my arms around her and cry too.

The babies kick and Bunny feels them, "You feel that Bunny? Kira and Eddie love you too."

Bunny puts her head to my tummy and says, "I love you guys too! I can't wait till I can teach you to throw a ball. We'll
have so much fun together. The four sibs and Bunny."

Lauren laughs, "Annie and Tommy like the sound of that too."

************************************************

The rest of the weekend was very peaceful. Sunday we all spent time on the stream fishing, enjoying the day. What made it
extra special was having Edith and Stan with us. It was hard to believe that Bobby had never been fishing before. Stan
spent the day coaching him and showing him how to fly fish. By the end of the day Bobby was doing pretty good, not as
good as Gloria, but Stan was proud of both of them.

Monday 23 November

Cappie had told me to take the time off, since I had family here from San Diego and I accepted with the condition that he
joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. He agreed and I told him dinner would be at 4pm, but to come as early as he wanted,
telling him the fishing was great in the stream next to the house.

We girls did what we do best, we went shopping. We started at Lauren's Victoria's Secret store and worked our way around
the mall. By the time lunch came around, we were all ready to head home with loads of bags for each of us.

At home, we started prepping for Thanksgiving day and for tonight's pre-eve dinner, which called for my pasta dinner. For
tomorrow's dinner, we would have turkey, ham and roast beef, with all the fixings that went with each. No one was going
to complain they didn't get their choice. The turkey was an absolute monster, almost 30lbs. Remembering how mom always
started the turkey early in the morning and let it cook long and slow. The only thing that would have had this
Thanksgiving better, would have been to have my mom there with us. She would be in spirit, she always was.

In the morning, Lauren and I are up before the sun and get a start on the kitchen work. Before too long, Katie, Gloria,
Candy and Bunny join us to make the work light. Once all was ready for later and the turkey in the oven, good thing we
had two double ovens, turkey and ham in the one double and the roast beef in the other with the last for the pies, apple
and pumpkin.

Having earned a well deserved bath, we all head to the pool, joined by Margie, Cassie and Snow. We were just getting
comfortable when Jimmy wanders in the door getting an eyeful of all the bare ladies. Gloria, Candy and Bunny all turn to
hide themselves.

Jimmy says, "Oh, pardon me ladies, I didn't know you were all in here." And started to walk out.

I call out, "Jimmy, could you be a dear and make pancakes for us? We'll be out in half an hour. Thanks, we love you!"

He mutters something as he heads to the kitchen.

Bunny looks a little shocked. I just said, "Be glad he had his shorts on." Katie and Lauren laughs, nodding their heads.
After our time in the bath, we got dressed in some of the lingerie we got yesterday at Lauren's store. In the kitchen,
the boys were wearing shorts and finishing the breakfast. While we ate I noticed Cappie was on the stream and fishing
already. He looked our way and saw us at the table eating and waved.

I held up a plate and waved back, inviting him in. He shook his head and bowed, thanking but refusing. After breakfast
was done and cleaned up, we changed and headed outside. Dressed in my bikini, I grabbed my fly gear and went to join
Cappie. On the edge of the water I whispered, "Morning Cappie! You got an early start."

He says back, "I haven't had a chance to fish in a while and just thought I'd take advantage of it. Hope you don't mind?"

I smile back, "Of course not, you're welcome any time. I figured I'd toss a little line myself, at least until I need to
get back to the kitchen. But I have a little time. What are you using?"

"An 18 Sprout Midge. Been working pretty good. Why?"

"Here try one of these, it's a reverse tied 16 Sparkle Dun. But be ready, cause they'll smash it." Laughing quietly and
handing him one.

Cappie laughs, "Ok, usually I'm more of a traditionalist, but I'll try it."

I wade across the water in my bare feet. As I turn to begin casting, I notice Cappie is watching me. I smile and say
"What?"

Cappie shakes his head, "Oh, nothing really, but you're just so damned cute. Glowing like all pregnant women do. And
wearing a fishing vest over a bikini, well, it's just so adorable."

"Thanks Cappie, that is very nice of you to say."

We spent the next hour or so catching and releasing fish one after the other. At noon we headed for the house for a light
bite and for me to finish in the kitchen.

************************************************

At just before 4pm, everyone is called to the table and we take our seats. Jimmy at the head of the table, on his right
are, me, Katie, Austin, Gloria, Bobby and Cappie. On his left are, Lauren, Bunny, Michael, Candy, Stan and Edith. As was
our norm, the opposite end is left open for any unexpected guest. Everyone has a small sample of red wine, really more of
a juice than wine.

Jimmy starts, "Everyone, join hands, please." Then, "Goddess FREYA, we thank you for your gifts and the bounty you
provide, Bless you for the kind heart you use to make our lives better. And bless those not with us who need your help
more than they can possibly know. Amen!"

"Bless you FREYA." Whispered by most of us.

As the food is being passed around and talk starts to get a little loud, Jimmy notices a cab drive across the bridge onto
the property. He muses, "Wonder who that could be?"

I ask, "What's that dear?"

Jimmy says, "Oh, I just saw a cab cross the bridge and was wondering who it was. Everyone's here already, right?"

"Yes, we're all here." Then, looking out the window, we see the cab drive back across the bridge. "Oh, must have made a
wrong turn is all."

He says, "Yeah, maybe...." Then the doorbell rang. Everyone turns to look at the door. Jimmy starts to rise, but I stop
him, feeling this is something I must do. Gilbert and the others head for the office or the bedroom as I walk to the
door. As I get to the door, I check to see that our friends were out of sight. This is our first unexpected visitor.

I open the door. There in the doorway was someone I never thought I'd see again. She had once been the prettiest young
woman I could ever remember, but two pregnancies had not been kind to her, mostly because she stopped taking care of
herself. She was more overweight than I had been, but she still carried herself well.

I held the door open and said, "Please come in, would you like to eat with us, we just sat down." My sister looked at me
like I was crazy and surveyed those at the table and the rest of the house. Before she could answer Bunny, Katie and
Michael yelled 'Mom'.

************************************************

They ran to her and gave her hugs, after all, they loved their mother, as they should. They asked, "What are you doing
here? We thought you had to work out of town this week." They sat her at the other end of the table and take their own
seats. Michael asks, "How'd you know we were here anyway?"

Darla says, "I got my work done early and came home. And thank you, I'd love to eat with you. As to how I knew you were
here? Well, your phones have tracking chips so your dad and I can know where you are. If you wanted to come and see your
sister for Thanksgiving, why didn't you just say so? We would have let you. I just don't know how you could afford to
come on your own." She had a slight sly smile on her face.

All the children begin to talk at once, until I stopped them. "I'm afraid that's my fault Darla, I asked them to come.
And excuse my manners, I'm Freya and these are from my left, my husband Jimmy," He acts like he tips a hat to her, "My
wife Lauren," that got an odd look from Darla, Lauren says Hi, "You know Bunny, I mean Maryanne, Michael and Candy. Next
are Stan and Edith, close friends and Lauren's aunt and uncle."

"On your left is my boss, Capt. Cappie Parker, Bobby and Gloria are more friends and work for Edith and Stan, then Austin
and of course Katie. Austin is Katie's fiancé." Darla looks shocked, Katie waves her finger showing her ring.

Darla finds her voice as the food is passed around the table. "Katie, you get engaged and you don't tell your own mother,
how could you?"

Katie says, "It's not like that mom, it's a promise ring. And well, we've been so busy with school and work, well, the
time just slipped by. I'm sorry, I really did mean to tell you."

Darla asks, "What's this about work? What are you doing for a job? Does it leave you with enough time for school and your
softball?"

I interrupt, "She works with me, I'm a park Ranger at Willamette State Park, Katie is a junior Ranger on our intern
program."

She asks, "And just who are you? And why do my children know you so well?"

Katie tries to interrupt her mom, "Mom...."

I cut her off, "Not now 'Baby Bear'." Then to all at the table, "Can we finish with dinner first? There's plenty of time
for answers before dessert. Katie and Bunny made the pies. Quite the little 'Suzy Homemakers' aren't they?"

Darla looks at me, "Okay, I can wait."

Soon we were almost done eating and chatting. Jimmy asked Darla about her work, what projects she had been doing in the
grocery stores. Darla seemed surprised that we knew so much about her work. After dinner, we sat in the living room in
front of the fire and watched the sun cast long shadows across the lake. Gloria and Bobby went upstairs to her room.
Edith and Stan sat together close to the fire cuddling in a loveseat. Cappie excused himself and went outside to be out
of the way.

Darla says, "Time for those answers, then, right?"

I said, "Yes, the time has come." Rubbing my tummy, Jimmy and Lauren sit on either side of me for support.

She asks, "How far along are you? When are your babies due?" Looking at Lauren and then me.

I sighed, "That's not the first question I expected you to ask, but, I'm 18 weeks and Lauren is 16 weeks. And before you
ask, yes, Jimmy is the father of both our children. Twins actually, they seem to run in the family." The children looked
back and forth between us.

Darla smiles like a Cheshire cat, "Just so we're up front about things, I saw your 'wife' Lauren at school with the kids
and a large white tiger, then they disappeared. To here, I'm guessing. And your name, Freya, like that lady goddess that
was on the television a while ago. This has something to do with her and magic."

She said it more as a statement than a question, "Yes, it does, Ranger is kind of my second job." I smiled at her, seeing
if she'd put the pieces together. My sister was not a stupid person by any means, but she can be very hard to convince
about some things she didn't want to believe. "What else?"

Darla says, "You call Maryanne 'Bunny', short for 'Sunny Bunny'? And I heard you call Katie 'Baby Bear', what do you call
Michael?"

I start to cry a little, Lauren and Jimmy put their arms around me to settle me down. I say softly, "My little 'Prince'."

Darla shakes her head, "You finally did it, didn't you?"

I ask, "Did what? What are you trying to ask?"

She says, "That you finally got the life you were always meant for...." and she starts to cry too ".... big brother!"

We both rush to one another and hug. Here was the little sister I remember from when we were little kids. The children
group hugged the two of us and finally we sat together. She asks me what had happened. I left nothing out and told her
everything, meeting FREYA, reaching out to Katie for help. Dating Jimmy and Lauren, leaving it PG rated cause of the
audience we had.

Finally Darla says, "All this cause of a game? Really? Where can I sign up? Some pretty impressive perks to your job."
She feels my tummy, "You always were a different sort big sis, I'm glad you're finally happy with your life. You deserve
it. Mom would be proud of you, you know that?"

FREYA says out of nowhere, "SHE is child." Then FREYA appears with us. Darla, Edith and Stan are stunned.

"Darla, Edith, Stan, this is FREYA."

Stan bows to her, "Pleasure to meet you Ma'am."

FREYA smiles at him, "The pleasure is mine, sir."

Edith curtsies, "Ma'am."

FREYA beams at Edith, "Lady, thank you for watching over my child."

Darla looks shocked, "What do I say to a goddess?" at a loss for words.

FREYA surprises her by saying, "You could start with, Hello."

"Oh, hello." I've never seen my sister so.... well, awed.

FREYA smiles at her, "Did I hear you say you were looking for a job? Like your sister and daughter? If you are? Take my
hands." FREYA reaches out, Darla slowly put her hands out. FREYA and Darla clasp hands. FREYA asks, "Darla, do you
promise to guard the world from the terrible creatures that Loki has set upon your world? To fight along side your sister
and daughter to the best of your abilities?"

Darla says, "I do!"

With that, a glow creeps up Darla's arms and soon envelops her completely. The glow increases in intensity and then
flares like a star going nova. When the glow fades FREYA is gone, but her voice beckons, "Train her well my daughter,
make your mothers proud."

Dalra stands there not sure what has happened. Now, instead of the sister who had gained all the weight and more over the
last twenty years, stood the sister as she'd look like if she had taken care of herself, reminding me of the pretty girl
from high school.

She took it all in, the stares from the children and the approval of the adults. "How do I look? I feel fantastic, like I
did in school."

Bunny is the first of course and bounces out of her seat, "Momma, you're beautiful."

Katie and Michael nod, "You really are mom."

She looks at her reflection in the window, evaluating herself. Her hair was just on the red side of blonde, she was still
the same height as before, about 5' 10". She looked and felt younger, maybe just over thirty. Her eyes seemed a bit
bigger and her nose smaller, she felt a slight point to her ears and even if her boobs were smaller that before her
transformation, she never believed she could have a figure like this. Except for the hair and the height, she could
almost be her sister's twin.

She turned to me, "Thank you sister! Freya! This is a Thanksgiving to truly be thankful for. Thank You FREYA!"

I say, "Who's ready for dessert?" Darla looks like she wants to say yes and worries about it, "Darla, don't fret, you
won't ever be overweight again, so you can have dessert."

She says, "Are there any other things I should know?"

Katie answers, "Yeah mom, you'll be healthier than ever before and age slower too. The only drawback is that FREYA likes
her 'daughters' to be able to procreate," pointing at Lauren and my bellies, "So, if you don't want to end up the same,
you better be careful."

Darla blushes crimson, "You're kidding, right? I think I can control myself when it comes to that."

Jimmy smiles, "You might have to re-think that, cause the first date I had with your sister, she practically raped me."
Laughing hard, remembering.

I smiled a little and blushed, "I don't recall you complaining about it at the time."

Lauren laughs, "It was the same on our first date, I didn't even get dinner first. Didn't even get to eat till breakfast,
but I loved every minute of it. She was so cute that night." The two of them cuddle to me and kiss me. It was so nice
being loved.

End of Chapter 31