Ch. 5 A Dinner With The Flanders

Inside his new home, Leo lounged on his couch, lazily flipping through TV channels with a remote in hand.

"Senator elections, new burger special ad, weather updates, a clown with a monkey…?" 

Leo said what he saw on each channel out loud, as if the act of voicing it would somehow make it all more interesting. Maybe it was to relieve boredom as he waited for his guests‒the Flanders family. 

He sighed. Tonight, things had aligned perfectly. Cookie wasn't at the house yet, which relieved him greatly. She was attending some cultural event with her cousin. He wasn't sure of the specifics, but he did know that by the time she would arrive back, the Flanders would have been gone already, which was a relief. 

Having her here at the same time as the Flanders would have been a nightmare, especially after promoting the need for Jesus during their previous conversations. The last thing he wanted was for them to walk in and make assumptions and guesses about him having Cookie around.

Of course, that was only while they were there. He would have loved it if she was there with him as long as the Flanders had left already. 

He checked his watch. The Flanders family would be arriving any minute now. A small grin spread across his face as he thought about the overly cheerful family he had met the day before. Leo was certain that tonight's dinner would be… interesting, to say the least. He definitely couldn't be his actual self while they were there. 

*Ding Dong!*

"Right on que," Leo muttered to himself. 

He clicked off the TV, ran a hand through his hair, and took a deep breath. "Time to play the good neighbor," he said under his breath as he walked to the door. 

When he swung it open, Ned Flanders and his entire family filled his vision. Ned, who was wearing his signature green sweater and round glasses, smiled and greeted Leo.

"Howdily-doodily, neighborino!" Ned greeted him with enthusiasm. "I hope we're not too early!" 

Leo gave a polite smile.

"Not at all. You're right on time. Please, come on in, make yourselves comfortable." Leo gestured for them to enter, and they soon did.

Ned stepped in first, followed by his two boys, Rod and Todd. As they walked in, they stared up at Leo with wide, almost unnerving smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hi, Mr. Depp!" The two boys chirped in unison, their high-pitched voices making Leo's eye twitch involuntarily. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, their faces annoyed him. A strange reaction, but there it was.

Leo forced a grin. "Hey there, kids! Ready for dinner?"

"Yeah!" they both shouted again, their enthusiasm a bit too much for his liking. "The Lord has blessed us with another meal!" Rod happily chanted as he hopped quickly up and down in excitement.

Ned, watching his boys, smiled approvingly. 

"And He's blessed us with a wonderful new neighbor too! How lucky are we!"

"Very lucky," chimed in Maude as she entered, her voice calm and measured. 

"You all are too kind," Leo replied to their display of gratefulness. "Here, why don't you guys get comfortable and leave your jackets on the coat rack." 

"Yes, that sounds good, let's do that boys." 

Ned began to help Rod and Todd take their jackets off. 

While Ned helped the boys, Leo reached out to help Maude. He took her coat, hanging it on the coat rack. She thanked him with a polite nod, and Leo took a moment to glance at her attire.

Her clothes surprised him. Unlike the last time, she wore a less modest dress. It was much more revealing than what he thought they would be, especially considering she gave off the vibes of a very holy woman the last time they talked.

To be exact, it was a light pink dress that exposed a good chunk of her upper cleavage. Around her waist was a tight hot-red waistband that highlighted a curvy figure. The outfit made it so that when she bent forward, the angle would reveal plenty of her boobs, all the way down, close to where her nipples would be. If anyone was near her while she did lean forward, their eyes would become hypnotized, gluing them to her cleavage.

And that was the exact sight Leo had gotten to see when she leaned forward to remove her coat. Leo wasn't one to not look at a beautiful view presented, so of course his eyes were hypnotized, enjoying what he saw, until she leaned back upright. 

"Thank you, Mr. Depp," Maude said softly and politely, stepping past him and joining her family who had now moved to the living room. 

"Of course," Leo replied with a nod, closing the door behind them.

"Let's head to the table. Dinners ready," Leo told the Flanders, while he directed them the right way. The house was rather large and it wouldn't have been a surprise if they had struggled to find the dining room without him. 

At the moment Leo was really glad that the house came furnished because the thought of inviting his neighbors to eat and then having no chairs or table to eat or sit on would have been embarrassing and buying them would have been a huge hassle. 

When they finally arrived Leo gestured for them all to sit. He was happy to see the sight of them whiffing and enjoying the scent of the food, along with the slight watering of their eyes. 

They all settled down, and soon, dinner was underway. The conversation started with pleasantries, Ned asking about Leo's move and how he was adjusting to Springfield.

"So, Leo," Ned said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin, "have you had the chance to meet any of the other neighbors around here yet?"

Hearing the question, Leo smiled, setting down the fork. "Actually, yeah. I met the Simpsons the other day‒Marge and Homer."

Ned's eyebrows lifted slightly in recognition, though his smile remained unchanged.

"Oh, the Simpsons! Yup, we've had quite a few run-ins with Homer over the years. Good folks, though… they've got their quirks." 

Leo chuckled, leaning in slightly. Ready to hear their reactions to his next words. 

"Yeah, that's one way to put it. I went over the other day with some gifts to introduce myself. Marge was really sweet, very polite. But Homer?" Leo paused. "All Homer wanted was a beer."

Ned blinked, his smile faltering for just a moment before he quickly recovered.

"Oh, well, you know Homer. He's always been a fan of the ol' Duff beer. We all have our little indulgences, don't we?"

Maude sighed softly, her expression remaining calm but thoughtful, before she finally spoke.

"It's a shame. Marge tries so hard, but it must be difficult living with someone so… indulgent. Still we must keep faith that Homer will see the light one day." 

Leo nodded, going along with his act.

"Yeah, who knows. Maybe with the right influence, things could change."

The conversation naturally flowed into other topics and Leo was enjoying the break from small talk, when somehow, the topic of the Simpsons came up once again.

"What do you guys think about their children? I haven't had the chance to meet them." 

Rod and Todd exchanged looks before chiming in at once. "They're scary!"

Ned laughed nervously, though his eyes showed a hint of concern,

"Now, now, boys, don't scare Mr. Depp. Bart's a handful, but they're good kids deep down. Remember, God says to love thy neighbor."

Leo nodded, as if agreeing with his words, but he was still wondering just how much trouble the kids were.

'They must have got it from their father,' thought Leo, remembering the sight of buzzed Homer.

The conversation shifted once more as the meal wound down. Ned suddenly perked up and turned to Leo.

"That reminds me, Leo, you mentioned yesterday about possibly having a Bible study with us. When do you think you'll be free for that?"

'Not anytime soon, I hope.' Leo was not interested in having a bible study, at least not with the entire Flanders family. If he was going to be forced to have one he would at least prefer to have it with just his wife, Maude, alone with only him.

Leo took a slow sip of drink, giving himself a moment to think.

"I'm not sure, Ned. With just starting this new work, it's been a bit hectic and my schedule has been all over the place. I'm usually not free when most other people are, and when others are working, I'm often the only one free. My schedule is always so unpredictable." 

Ned nodded sympathetically,

"Oh, that's no problem at all! We know how busy work can be. I'm usually free on the weekends if that helps." 

'I'm free on the weekends too but there's no way I'm telling you that. Sorry Ned,' Leo's internal voice rang in his head.

"Ah, weekends are probably tough for me," Leo lied smoothly.

He then turned towards Maude.

"What about you, Maude? Do you have any different days free or is your schedule the same as Ned's? It'd be great to get your perspective too if I can't get Ned's."

Maude seemed to light up at the attention.

"Well, actually, I have some weekdays free when Ned's at work and the boys are at school. I'd be happy to help you with any questions you have or just be there if you just want to read scripture."

Leo smiled. "Perfect. That might work better for me. How about two days from now, maybe about noon? I think I could make that work."

Maude glanced at Ned for confirmation, and when he nodded, she smiled.

"That sounds good to me. We can study the good book together."

Leo made a mental note of the arrangement. "Great, let's plan for that, then"

With the Bible study plan settled, the conversation shifted back to more mundane topics. They talked about Springfield, its charm, and the places Leo should visit. Rod and Todd asked their usual barrage of innocent, but odd questions, keeping things random and lively.

"Mr. Depp, do you think Jesus had a dog, or maybe a cat?"

"Mr. Depp, do you think there's a heaven for bugs?" 

"Mr. Depp, what do you think God's favorite color is? Mines yellow!"

Today was the most times Leo felt his eyebrow visibly twitch. 'These kids never stop,' he thought. He couldn't wait for the night to come to a close at that point.

And soon it did. 

As the evening came to a close, Leo escorted the Flanders family to the door. As they bundled up and prepared to go out into the cold night outside, Leo helped Maude with her coat once again while Ned helped the children. 

This time, however, as he slipped it over her shoulders, his hand brushed against her bare skin. The brief contact left Leo enjoying how soft her skin felt. Maude didn't seem to notice—or maybe she did. She gave no hint of it and just gave him a smile as she finished adjusting the coat.

"Thank you again for dinner, Mr. Depp," she said, her voice soft but meaningful.

Leo smiled, watching them walk away. It had been a long night, but things were starting to fall into place. 

…

…

…

Leo was once again sitting on the couch, reflecting on his time with the Flanders. While he managed to steer the conversation away from topics he wasn't keen on, it took effort and he was mentally drained. Leo joked within his head that now he just needed to make his body physically drained so it could match his low mental energy level. 

Before he could continue with that train of thought, the doorbell rang and Leo got up, already knowing who it was. 

Cookie Kwan stood at the door in a stunning, tight red traditional Chinese dress. It clung to her body in all the right places, the fabric wrapping around her neck and leaving parts of her inner side boobs and stomach exposed in a tantalizing and sexy way. She also must've gotten a pedicure because Leo now noticed her nails had changed to red which matched her outfit. Either way, the sight of her was amazing, and Cookie must've been trying to make it so because she was posed slightly, with her hips arched, clearly intending to show off her figure as she looked at him.

"Miss me?" she asked with a teasing smile. 

Leo grinned, stepping forward to pull her inside. It seems like the solution to his fully filled physical energy levels had arrived.