"Mama do you think Rafe is coming home today?" Fancy asked reaching over her sister's hand and snatching the basket of bread sitting beside Emma.
"Baby, I've already told you that I don't know when he's coming but I don't think it's going to be tonight" Natalia responded with a smile as she watched the two sisters wrestling over the last biscuit. "Whatever crumbs you two get on the floor I want cleaned up by the time I wake up in the morning" She said as she kissed both girls heads and followed Olivia into the kitchen. This was the first night that Francesca was back at the farmhouse from her father's. It was always like this whenever the girl returned home. She and Emma spent most of her first week gently teasing each other and openly shared warm hugs. The second week went almost like the first except the teasing had a bit rougher edge and by the third week they were near to trading blows. By the third week not only were the two girls getting on each other's nerves their parents were silently mulling shipping them both to reform school if they had to quiet their yelling one more time. However as soon the Thursday came before the trade there was a noticeable dark cloud hovering over the house. Friday Frank or Sue would be picking Franky, as she was called in her father's house, up after school and it would be another two weeks before the girl returned home for a weekend visit.
After much negotiation everyone was in agreement that it was best if Francesca rotated homes each month but both set of parents missed her so much by the end of the second week they decided the girl would spend one weekend with the loosing parent during that month. It wasn't only missing each other that made them modify the schedule. Everyone noticed that changing beds every two weeks had made a brat out of the normally even tempered girl. A two week visit was so short that none of the parents wanted to waste time on punishments or enforcing rules and the tween had enough of her mommy's influence to take full advantage of reprieve. The final straw was when Francesca took her father's pepper spray to school and then got an attitude with her stepmother when Sue saw the bottle sticking out of the girl's book bag. Now Francesca had choirs and similar rules at both homes but tonight it was the girl's night off from washing dishes yet that didn't mean Natalia was in the mood to sweep the floor again tonight.
"Ma do you think I could use the car to go to the movies with Rissa? Please? I'll be careful" Emma asked batting her long lashes and brown eyes up towards Natalia, the parent most likely to give in with the least amount of groveling. When she got permission it would be easy to get the funds from her mom.
"I wanna go Emma. I wanna go please. Mama can I go" Emma heard from her little sister as the girl jumped around the living room. Rolling her eyes towards the girl and shaking her head Emma had known very well that the grade schooler would be tagging along. Hanging out with friends from school Emma knew that she was extremely lucky to have such a cool little sister. Of course there were lots of times that the girl made her feel like using her as a piñata but on the whole Emma only preferred spending time with Rissa to her little sister.
"I'll even promise not to dump the rugrat off on the side of the road" Emma said trying hard to keep her voice rough and her face straight. It wouldn't do to let the shrimp or her parents know how much she liked her little sister. Emma had a reputation after all.
"Do whatever you like just know if my baby doesn't come home I'm renting your room out to boarders and moving you into the barn" Olivia said as she dropped keys and cash into her daughter's waiting hands.
"That's okay I like the barn better than my room anyway" Emma laughed as she kissed her parents on her way out. As she took Fancy's and her coats from the closet she saw her mother open her mouth and point her finger in the mirror about to give last minute instructions. "I know be home before twelve, no texting and driving, drive carefully, and no r rated or scary movies. Anything else?" Emma said with a smirk that could have easily graced Olivia's or Ava's face.
"Yeah smart ass no playing with your ipod while driving"
"That's easy cause I don't have an ipod I have a zune"
"You're going to ride your girlfriend on your handlebars if you keep" Olivia started before her saner wife took over the conversation.
"Olivia please go finish the dishes" Natalia laughed turning her wife around at the shoulders. Turning back towards her girls she shook her head and warned "you know better than to harass your mother like that Em. Tell Clarissa I said hello and take care of your sister" as she kissed Emma's head. "And you be good for your sister and you can have popcorn and a few pieces of candy that's it. Love you both" When Olivia came back into the living room holding two glasses of red wine she knew she would find her wife still standing in front of window as if she could still see the long gone car.
Putting down the half filled glasses Olivia whispered "Emma's a good driver. She won't do anything put her sister or Clarissa in danger babe" into Natalia's ears as she wrapped her arms around her wife.
"I know I just"
"What's wrong baby" Olivia asked turning Natalia's face towards her own as soon as she saw the tears tracking down the woman's face. "Did something happen?" Olivia said panic starting to rise in her voice and chest.
"No nothings wrong love" Natalia smiled taking her wife into her arms. "I'm just happy. I have more than I ever thought I would. I have four beautiful children and four gorgeous grandchildren and a lovely home. I've even graduated from college. I think about my life and its like I'm living some wonderful dream. I never thought I could be so happy and its all because of you"
"Hey its because of us. We both worked hard to get where we are. You are the most important thing in my life sweetheart I would do anything to keep you happy. But even I can's take credit for your degree. You did that all by yourself with hard work. I'm so proud of you and all that you've accomplished. I feel so blessed that you decided to share your life with me"
After dropping Spence off at his mothers Blake nearly ran two red lights and rolled through a stop sign in her efforts to get home. She had been calling her wife since leaving the medical library in the hospital to research Addison Disease. For the past few weeks she had been petrified that either the tests would come back with nothing or with some rare horrible illness. For so long she had lived in fear it was almost freeing to finally have a name for her gradual weakness and most importantly she wasn't going crazy. And she didn't have MS or some other slow and debilitating disease that would destroy her and her family. Having Addison was going to be challenging but she didn't have to worry about watching her illness robbing her of her life. "Where the hell are you Doris" Blake kept repeating to herself as she broke perhaps a thousand dollars worth of laws in her fifteen minute drive back to her home. Each time she called Doris' voicemail would immediately pick up. Going over her wife's schedule in her head Blake tried her best to pin point her wife's location. It had been over a month since the two had made love and the first thing on Blake's mind besides thanking God was getting as close to Doris' body as humanly possible. When her cellphone rang Blake immediately picked up expecting to hear her wife's voice "Baby where the hell are you I've been calling all day. We have some love making to catch up on"
"Oh my God mom! How about you just drop me off at the inpatient ward and get it over with jeez. I mean God like I needed to hear that. I swear"
Cutting Clarissa's rant off Blake rolled her eyes at her daughter's melodrama "Baby I'm driving so if you had something to ask me"
"Yeah if I can keep from poking my eyeballs out of my head. Jesus mom I "
"Clarissa! Sweetheart you called me for something so why don't you get to the point sweetie?" Lord once her child got on a roll there was nothing to stop her from bellyaching for ever. The one time she'd walked in on Doris and Blake in the middle of making love you would have thought they'd did it in front of her friends in the middle of a pep rally. Okay so they should have put the slide lock on the front door instead of just the deadbolt but still.
"Emma called and asked if I could go to a movie tonight. I'm guessing from your comment that you'll be glad to get me out of the house"
"How can you tell?" Blake laughed "Get Emma to drop you off at your sister's and there might be a tenner in it for you"
"Ten dollars? Mom you're a business woman so I know you understand about inflation. How about fifty"
"I can always have a set of earplugs waiting by your bedside"
"GROSSS MOMMMM"
"I'll see you tomorrow dear" By the time Blake got home Doris' car was waiting in the driveway. "Thank God" Blake sighed throwing her briefcase and purse down as she walked to her wife's office. "Doris? Doris?" Blake ended up calling out not finding her wife in any of her usual hideouts. "Doris! Where the hell" Blake started but immediately stopped when she caught a glimpse of the other woman standing in Clarissa's bathroom looking pale through cracked door. "What's wrong?" Blake asked moving in the room to take Doris in her arms. It wasn't the immediate tension that filled her wife's body that struck her first. It wasn't even the slight reddish bruise just below her ear that looked suspiciously like a hickey. No it was the light jasmine fragrance that filled her nose because it was completely unlike any perfume that either she or Doris wore. Immediately the scent brought a corresponding picture of a certain blue eyed blond twenty something girl who always stood just a little too close and looked just a little too long at her wife for Blake to trust her. From the look that greeted her on older woman's face Blake knew it was very good that their daughter wasn't home.
"It's not what you think" Blake heard as she turned on her heels and walked out of the room and picked up her purse on her way out of the door. "Blake please. Baby please I know it looks bad but please give me a chance to explain please" she heard from behind her as she stood with one foot literally out the door and car keys in hand prepared to leave the everything she'd come to depend on behind. "Please just give me a chance. Please" Disgust and nausea filled her body when Doris touched her shoulder and she roughly pulled away.
"If you have something to say say it. Say IT or leave me the hell alone!"
"I. Lacy and I. Well we"
"Did you fuck?" Blake asked suddenly more tired and scared than she'd ever been. If Doris had. If she and that bitch had. She couldn't even finish that sentence as bile filled her mouth.
"No I swear we didn't. Blake please look at me. I swear I didn't I wouldn't do something like that"
"Like what Doris? Like coming home to your wife with a fucking hickey on your neck and smelling like some underage tramp? Cause let me tell you that's exactly what it looks like on this side of the door."
"We kissed. She kissed me and I kissed her back but I promise I stopped it. I swear to you all we did was kiss"
"All? ALL? You smell just like her and you have a FUCKING HICKEY on your FUCKING NECK! So don't tell me all. You did a fucking nuff" Blake said blasting her wife with both barrels.
Coming up to Blake slowly and holding up both hands Doris let the tears flow down her face as she whispered softly "I'm so sorry you will never know how much. But I swear it was only a few seconds. I tried to pull away but I guess she thought I wanted it and held me even tighter. I didn't even realize she'd marked me until I got home. It only lasted a few seconds I swear to you."
Turing around Blake looked into Doris' eyes to verify the truth of her words. "Doris it would be better if you told me the truth now because I swear to you if I find out later that you lied to me about even a little part of this"
"I'm not lying. I'm not. I was crying and she came behind me to comfort me and then I turned around to hug her back and then she kissed me. I was so shocked I didn't do anything for a moment and then I" Doris stopped suddenly looking down and dropping her hands to her side in fear.
"Then you?"
"I kissed her for a few second and then I pulled away but she held on tighter and she kissed my neck. I guess that's when she gave me the mark because once she did that I pushed her away so hard she stumbled. She apologized and then she started to cry and ran out the room. Nothing else happened. The whole thing didn't even last a minute. You have to believe me sweetheart."
"Are you absolutely sure nothing else happened because if it did I need you to tell me now" Blake begged feeling as if her heart were breaking in her chest.
"Darling I swear" Doris said risking taking her wife in her arms but not sure enough to close the door behind them. "I love you and I would never do anything to loose you. I would die before I hurt you. I am so sorry that this happened but I didn't come on to her I promise" Feeling her heart soften Blake wrapped her arms around herself and fell to the ground in tears. "Baby I swear I swear to you. I'll do whatever you want I will quit. Whatever you need but please you have got to believe that I would never cheat on you. I couldn't." Taking the other woman in her arms Blake kissed her wife hard and tried to imprint not only her scent but also her heart onto Doris but then immediately pushed the other woman back roughly. Shaking her head when she saw the look of both surprise and extreme hurt in her wife's eye Blake tried to explain over her tightening throat.
"Get her scent off of you. I'll be waiting in the bedroom" Thousands of scenes of Doris wrapped in another woman's arms flashed through Blake's mind as she waited in their bed. It became so unbearable that she almost threw on her clothes to drive far away from the pain but the sincerity in Doris' eyes kept her waiting. Doris had hurt her true but she knew in her heart that the woman would never break their sacred vows.
"I can leave or sleep in the guest room if you want" Doris offered from the doorway with her head hanging down as tears filled her eyes.
Shaking her head Blake offered her hand to her trembling wife "I hate that you touched her for even a single moment" Blake said and immediately dropped her own head so she wouldn't have to see another woman's mark on her wife and turned off the bedroom lights. "But I know in my heart that you would never turn your back on everything we've built together. I came home picturing making love to my wife and I refuse to let that" shaking her head again and taking a deep breath "I refuse to let anyone stand in the way of my making love to you."
"I love you so much baby" Doris whispered kissing Blake as if she were the rarest treasure.
"I know and I love you" Blake added pulling the other woman down onto the bed.