The next morning, Samuel awoke with a pounding headache. He opened his eyes and quickly shut them again as the bright sunlight streaming through the window made him wince in pain.
Oh, my aching head.
His carefully opened his eyes again, and tried to focus on the nightstand next to him.
Where's my clock?
Something wasn't right here. The clock wasn't on the nightstand like it usually was. After he rubbed his eyes to clear up his fuzzy vision, he blinked at the sunlight shining through the white lace curtains.
White lace? Those aren't my curtains. This isn't my bedroom. What's going on here?
He then noticed something else.
And where's my shirt?
He peered under the blankets and discovered that his shirt wasn't the only piece of clothing missing.
What happened to my clothes?
A movement in the bed next to him startled him. He slowly turned around and discovered that Delia, who was just as naked as he was, was lying in the bed next to him. Horrified, Samuel stared at her in disbelief.
Oh my God, I've bedded Mrs. Ketchum!
Startled awake by his sudden movement, Delia opened her eyes and then quickly shut them again.
"Oh, what a headache," she mumbled.
"Uh, Delia..."
At the sound of Samuel's voice, Delia's eyes popped wide open. "Professor Oak? What are you doing..." She then realized that she didn't have any clothes on and the blanket was down around her waist. Shrieking, she frantically pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. "What are you doing here? What happened? What's going on?"
"Now, now, Mrs. Ketchum, don't panic," he tried frantically to reassure her. "I'm sure there's a logical scientific explanation for what's happened here."
"Which is?"
"Uh, I haven't figured it out yet."
Delia pulled the covers up around her chin.
"Look, maybe nothing happened between us last night." Although he personally didn't believe it since neither one of them had a stitch of clothing on. "Why don't we try to remember what happened last night and try to reconstruct what happened?"
"Okay," Delia said in a small voice. "What do you remember from last night?"
He thought about it for a second. "I remember that we were on the sofa, drinking wine. Lots of wine," he said as his head started pounding again.
Delia groaned. "Don't remind me."
"And you accidentally spilled some wine on my shirt."
"I remember now," Delia said. "I made you take off your shirt so I could do the laundry. And then..." Her face reddened at the memory. "I took off my shirt too, didn't I?"
Samuel nodded.
Delia continued. "And then I asked what we should do while we were waiting for the laundry. And then we started kissing."
Samuel nodded again. "And then you started saying something about how maybe we should take off all of our clothes so that you could have a full load of laundry."
Delia was horrified. "I said that?"
"Well, yes," Samuel said reluctantly. "After we...well, after we did what you suggested, you disappeared for a few minutes. When I couldn't find you, I started looking around for you and found you here, in the bedroom. You said that you forgot where the washing machine was. And then we...things get a little fuzzy after that."
Delia sank even further under the blankets, her face growing redder by the second. "I was lying on the bed and you said that you wanted to conduct some research."
"I did? What kind of research?"
Delia made a "you know" face.
"Oh. That kind of research. Oh wait, now I remember. You called me the 'naughty professor' and then I asked you which part of your body you wanted me to study first and you said your..."
A mortified Delia completely disappeared under the blanket.
The two sat in awkward silence for a moment. Finally, Samuel spoke up.
"If it's any consolation, it was the most memorable Thanksgiving I've ever had."
Delia groaned.
Samuel stared at the lump under the covers for a moment. When he realized that his attempt to console her had been unsuccessful, he sighed and rolled over in the bed.
Delia, who wished that she could completely vanish at that moment, closed her eyes and tried to shut out the whole scene. But she couldn't ignore the incessant pounding in her head, so she decided to get an aspirin. Peering out from the covers, she searched the floor for something to cover herself with. Remembering that her bathrobe was in the adjacent bathroom, Delia slid out of bed. Just as she stood up, Samuel rolled over and was treated to a vision of a completely naked Delia, who screamed and pulled the blankets off of the bed in a desperate attempt to cover herself. "Turn around! Turn around!" she ordered. After quickly complying with her request, Samuel tried to defuse the awkwardness of the situation and lessen her embarrassment. "Delia, if it makes you feel any better, you have nothing to be ashamed of."
She looked up from knotting the blanket around herself. "What?"
"You really do have a beautiful body. And not only that, but you're also a beautiful person on the inside as well as the outside."
Delia was surprised. "You...you really mean that?"
"Of course I do. You were kind enough to take me into your home on Thanksgiving, you always take time out to talk to me whenever I stop by, you're a good neighbor, and a good friend. You're a good person, Delia. I…I've been attracted to you for some time now."
Delia was stunned. "You have? Why didn't you tell me until now?"
"Well, they say that alcohol does lower your inhibitions."
"Don't remind me," Delia said, hugging the blanket closer to her.
"I...I don't know. I guess because I wasn't certain that you felt the same way about me. That you thought of me only as your next-door neighbor, your son's instructor, the crazy Pokémon-obsessed researcher at the top of the hill."
"Samuel, I always enjoy your visits. I like when you stop by to talk to me and let me know what Ash is doing. Since he's been gone, I value your visits even more." She smiled to herself. "And you do have a nice butt too," she said, checking it out once more.
Samuel smiled. "Delia, even though I'm sorry about the circumstances under which we ended up this way, I can't deny that I've been wishing for some time that we could be together like this. I just wish it wouldn't have taken getting drunk to end up this way."
Delia unknotted the blanket from around herself, placed it back on the bed, then crawled underneath it. "Okay, you can turn around now."
Samuel flipped over and found himself face-to-face with Delia, who then proceeded to climb atop him.
"This time, I want to remember exactly what happens between us," she said as she kissed him.
---
"Hey, look guys!" Ash said as he pointed to the building with the giant "P" on the roof. "There's a Pokémon Center. Let's stop here so I can call my mom. I feel bad because I didn't get to talk to her yesterday."
As Brock and Misty gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy (and Misty bopped Brock on the head for shamelessly flirting with the red-haired nurse), Ash dialed his house.
"You know, I think that was the best shower I've ever had," Samuel said as he toweled himself off.
The phone in the next room started ringing.
"Oh, there's the phone. Do you want me to get it?" Samuel asked as he peeked into the shower.
Delia, who was busy washing her hair, replied. "If you would, that would be nice."
After treating himself to an extended glimpse, Samuel shut the shower curtain, wrapped the towel around himself, and ran into the bedroom. As he picked up the phone receiver, both he and the caller gasped and exchanged shocked glances.
"Professor Oak? What are you doing there? And how come you don't have a shirt on?"
"Oh, hello, Ash," Professor Oak stammered, trying desperately to come up with a good excuse for being in Mrs. Ketchum's bedroom clad only in a towel. "I, uh, came over to visit your mother and she accidentally spilled something on my shirt. She was kind enough to let me take a shower while she did the laundry."
"Oh, okay," said Ash. "Is my mom around?"
Nice save, Samuel. And the story really was the truth, after all.
Now Brock, who knew better than to buy such a ridiculous excuse, heard the shower running in the background and correctly figured out the real reason why Professor Oak had stopped by to visit Ash's mom. Winking, Brock gave him the "thumbs-up" sign.
Professor Oak choked and started turning bright red.
"Hey, Professor? Are you okay?" Ash asked.
A puzzled Misty grabbed Brock by the arm and dragged him aside. "What was that all about?" Brock took her aside and whispered in her ear. "You're kidding!" she exclaimed. "Professor Oak and Ash's mom were…"
"Samuel, who's on the phone?" Delia called from the other room.
"Oh, is that my mom?" Ash asked. "Can you put her on so I can talk to her?"
"Uh, wait just a second, Ash." Professor Oak dropped the receiver and ran into the bathroom.
While Ash was waiting for his mom, he noticed that Brock and Misty were looking at him in an odd way. "Hey, what's wrong with you two? You're both acting weird."
Misty stifled a laugh.
Just then, Delia, who was wearing a bathrobe, appeared on the screen. "Hi, honey! How are you? I was sorry that I missed your phone call yesterday."
"Hi, Mom! I just wanted to wish you a happy Thanksgiving, even if it's a day late. I was kind of worried that you might be lonely since I'm not there this year, but it looks like Professor Oak's been keeping you company."
Delia choked and started turning bright red.
"Hey, Mom? Are you okay?"
"Uh, I'm fine, dear. I just…I…oh, sounds like the laundry's done. I've got to go. Talk to you later, sweetie. I love you. Bye."
That's weird, Ash thought as hung up the telephone. I didn't hear the washing machine buzz. And how come Mom was taking a shower at the same time Professor Oak was? Oh well, guess she wanted to conserve water or something.
As Ash turned around, he saw Brock and Misty trying desperately not to break down laughing.
"What is it with you guys?" Ash exclaimed. "What's so funny?"
"You…you don't know, do you?" Brock giggled.
"Know? Know what?" an exasperated Ash exclaimed.
"He…he doesn't…" Misty collapsed in a fit of laughter.
Brock grinned and whispered in his young friend's ear.
"MY MOM AND PROFESSOR OAK WERE DOING WHAT?????"
THE END