Roy DeSoto lounged in his favorite chair with his head back and eyes closed. Their Fourth of July activities had wound down, the house was quiet, and the blond-haired man was enjoying the peace. He was tired from the long day and was nearly dozing when Joanne walked into the room.
“Roy, honey, I have good news.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Mmm hmm. Tina Sorenson just called and offered to take Chris and Jennifer to the fireworks show in the park tonight. Georgie and Sam really want them to go.”
“That’s nice.”
“Honey, don’t you know what that means?”
“Uh, yeah. It means we don’t have to take them.”
“No, silly.” Joanne bent down close to Roy’s ear and whispered, “That means we can make some fireworks of our own.” She emphasized her point by sticking the tip of her tongue in his ear.
That woke him up, and a grin lit his face.
“When do they leave?”
“Tina’s picking them up in . . . let’s see . . . twelve minutes and . . . fifteen seconds. They’re stopping for ice cream on the way.”
“Great! I’ll be upstairs.” Roy disappeared in record time. Once in their bedroom, he fished around on the closet shelf for a moment looking for a certain item. When he found it, his smile widened. He couldn’t wait for Joanne to get up here.
Long minutes later, the door to the bedroom opened and Joanne stepped across the threshold. The second she was inside the room, strains of the Star Spangled Banner filled the air.
“Roy, what in the world . . .” she questioned as she walked toward the bed where her husband lay. As she got closer, it dawned on her that the music seemed to be coming from his . . . his . . . underwear. She giggled.
“M-m-m-musical underwear?”
“Like ‘em? I bought them just for you. Look at the box.”
The dark-haired woman looked down at the packaging spread out on the bed. Her giggling turned to outright laughter. The advertising on the outside of the box read, “Stand up and Salute!”
Dropping down next to her husband on the bed, Joanne wrapped her arms around him. After a long and thoroughly exciting kiss, she whispered, “It’s good to know they work.”
* * *
And as everyone agreed much later that night, it was one of the most spectacular fireworks displays any of them had seen in a long, long time. As for our hero, well, Roy DeSoto went to bed that night whistling the Star Spangled Banner.
* * * The End * * *
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Stories By Vanessa Fourth Of July Stories Page
