Chapter 9 – Circle Time

Just after noon on Sunday, Christian and Ana arrive at Elliot and Kate's apartment to pick up Ted. Ana and Christian were pleasantly surprised to find Martha and Steven Newsome there, who stopped by to say goodbye to Kate and Elliot en route to the airport.

"Martha! Oh my goodness!" Ana says, embracing her new friend. "Surprise!" Kate calls out. Kate was well aware that Ana was on her way with Christian to pick up baby Ted, but she did not disclose that they had special guests. Kate, Martha and Ana congregate in the kitchen while Christian greets Elliot and Steven sitting on the sofa in front of the television, engaged in a football game.

"Christian thanks man for recommending that realtor to us. She was awesome and we are very optimistic that the owners of the house that we really want will accept our offer by tomorrow," Steven says in gratitude. "I'm glad to hear that," Christian smiles. "And if you need renovations to that new house, I'm your man," Elliot brags. "Good to know. I'm sure Martha will want to expand on her closet space. She needs a separate room just for her clothes," Steven frowns. "I do understand," Elliot nods. He adds, "I can show you what I've done here to Kate's closet. I'm also in the process of building a house for us right now that should be finished by late spring, early summer. Kate wants a closet similar to the one I did in Christian and Ana's home at Puget Sound. Their master closet is laid out in two adjoining rooms and looks like a glorified high-end department store. It's insane."

"Wow, that sounds impressive," Steven replies.

"Whenever you and Martha are back in town, we'll have everyone over to our place for dinner or brunch and we can give you both the grand tour," Christian offers.

"That would be awesome," Steven gleams.

"By the way Christian, that new tub replacement should be in next week," Elliot winks. "It's about time," Christian sighs.

"So where's Teddy?" Ana asks Kate. "He's asleep in his bed in our room. You know Uncle Elliot's ADD and he completely wore the poor thing out this morning. He's only been asleep for about twenty minutes," Kate explains. "Ted is so precious! Even more so in person than in that adorable picture in your office! Kate had just put him to bed when we got here, so we peeked in at him," Martha beams to Ana.

"So speaking of being worn out, Ana, did you get any sleep? You look drained," Kate snickers. Ana lets out a deep sigh and says nothing in response.

"Oh, I know you don't want to talk about it with you-know-who nearby. Let's go in your old bedroom," Kate whispers to both Ana and Martha. "When is your flight Martha?" Ana asks, deploying a diversion tactic. "Oh, our flight to NYC isn't until four, my dear. We can stick around for another hour and a half, at least," Martha grins, letting Ana know that she's not going to get away with avoiding the subject. Kate grabs Ana by the forearm and drags her towards Ana's old bedroom, motioning Martha to come along also.

"So…spill," Kate demands as the three girls sit on Ana's old bed. "It's the Circle of Trust," sings Martha to the tune of The Lion King's "Circle of Life." The ladies giggle. "I'm just here to take notes and learn from the best," Martha adds with a grin. "Kate, Martha…I can't…" Ana starts.

"Come on, Ana! Don't be that way," Kate begs. Ana sighs in frustration. "So what is it you want to know?" Ana says, rolling her eyes.

"Everything! Like what kept you up all night? You obviously didn't get much sleep," Kate snickers.

"Christian's going to be looking for me any minute now," Ana says in urgency.

"Well then hurry up and tell us!" Martha replies.

"What kinky things did you guys do? Or should I say, what kinky things do you recommend that you tried last night?" Kate winks.

After a pause, Ana simply says, "Ben Wa balls."

Kate and Martha let out a collective gasp.

"Are you kidding?! Where?" Kate says in excitement.

"What do you mean, 'Where'?" Ana says, puzzled.

"I mean, I know where, but where were you when the balls were in?" Kate clarifies.

"At the benefit."

"Just wait one damn minute, Missy! You had them in at the benefit?!" Kate squeals, while still trying to maintain her volume. Martha is also amused.

"Yes ma'am. Looking back, it's funny now, but it wasn't funny at the time. It was bad. Like, bad enough that even Grace and Carrick, our in-laws, were worried about me," Ana reveals, almost ashamed.

Kate's eyes are opened wide and she stifles a laugh. "Are you serious?! So did you take them out?"

"Yes. After sex," Ana says, plainly.

"Just wait one minute," Kate drops to her knees in disbelief.

"You said, 'after sex'," Martha adds, making sure that she understood what Ana just said.

"Correct," Ana replies.

"So you had sex with the balls still in?" Martha inquires, looking at Ana with a side eye.

"Correct."

"Oh my God? Where? Where did you have sex?" Kate pleads, excited but also in shock.

"In an empty office at the museum," Ana says with a plain face.

Kate and Martha gasp and then squeal as soft as they can while grabbing each other's hand, pulling on one another in sheer excitement.

"Wow, Grey. You two are unbelievable," Kate sighs as she calms down.

"So, you recommend sex with Ben Wa balls?" Martha smiles.

"Yes. Yes I do," Ana finally cracks a grin.

"Noted!" Martha replies.

"Anything else you'd like to recommend, sex goddess? I know that's not what kept you up in the wee hours of the morning," Kate scolds with a frown.

"Sex swing," Ana replies.

"Whoa!" Martha exclaims. Kate and Martha have equal amusement plastered on their faces.

"Elliot wants us to get one for the bedroom at the new house. Little does he know, his pervy little brother already has one," Kate ribs.

"Get one, Kate. That answers your question as to why I am so exhausted…and sore all over," Ana whispers.

"Wow, Steven and I will have to look into that as well!" Martha smirks.

"So Ana," Martha starts. "…you are the one always giving out all of the tips. I have one too. Have any of you girls ever tried role playing?" Ana smiles and shakes her head, while Kate appears highly entertained. "So, are you saying that you pretend to be someone else and you each play along before you start banging? In other words, you're making a porno, but without the video camera, right?" Kate summarizes. Ana and Martha chuckle at Kate's frankness.

"Well, sort of. The point is to create a fantasy and then act it out sexually," Martha explains. "So maybe Elliot can play the role of the random hot construction worker. One day, go and see him at one of his jobs, and wear something sexy. When he sees you, he might say, 'Hey beautiful, my name is Digger Derrick. What are you doing tonight?'" Kate and Ana burst out laughing. "That's crazy!" Kate reacts.

"I'm telling you, it actually works. One day, I went up to the school where Steven taught during his free period. I walked into his classroom and told him that I was a parent of one of his students and that my name was Mrs. Diamond Bottom." Kate and Ana lose it, both laughing uncontrollably. "I can't breathe!" Kate cries out.

"Anyway, I asked him to come by my place that evening to discuss my kid's progress. He did, and one thing led to another," Martha grins, deviously. "Hmm, you can get really creative with that," Ana ponders. "Try it and let me know how it goes," Martha smiles. "Alright, let's get out of here before our husbands send out the search party," Kate harks.

"So, what were you girls back there cackling about? We all heard you over the television," Christian smirks at Ana. "Just girl talk," Ana replies, coyly. Christian is driving home, while Ana sits on the passenger side. In the back seat, Ted is wide awake in his infant car seat facing the back window, occasionally playing with the toys hanging within reach just above him. Ana catches glimpses of her preoccupied infant through the strategically mounted baby mirror.

"I'm not sure when the last time Ted ate was. I forgot to check with Kate. I'll pass him a few vanilla wafers if he starts to get fussy," Ana says. "If we need to stop to feed him, we will," Christian replies. "So you aren't going to tell me what you girls talked about," Christian grins from the corner of his mouth. "Girl talk, Christian," Ana smiles.

"So," Christian starts after a few minutes. "…are you going in to GP tomorrow, or will you be working from home?"

"I'll probably work from home. I get more accomplished at home sometimes, especially when Teddy naps."

"I can see that. I often get more done in my study at night in two hours than I do in an eight/nine/ten hour day at the office," Christian echoes.

"So, are you going to read that manuscript then?" Christian asks. 'Oh boy,' Ana thinks to herself. Christian sneaks a quick glimpse of his wife, catching sight of her slight discomfort. "Yes, I'll probably read it," Ana replies. "Again, I don't like that this book is making you so uncomfortable," Christian harps. "I know. I'm just being reluctant for no valid reason. I'm going to read it and it's probably going to be great," Ana says, trying to brush off the ill feeling in the pit of her stomach. Christian is still not convinced of his wife's downplaying of the book. Her words say one thing, but her expressions say something else completely different. However, he lets it go.

Ted remains complacent the entire hour and a half long trip home. Upon arrival, Ana feeds him a mid-afternoon snack of yogurt with fruit and Cheerios on the side. Christian and Ana had brunch at about eleven o'clock. However, it is now almost four o'clock, so hunger for the parents is starting to set in. "I'm thinking about whipping up some Philly cheesesteaks for dinner," Ana ponders. "That sounds good," Christian responds.

After Ted's snack, Christian has playtime with his son in the toy room. Ana's in the kitchen preparing her and Christian's dinner. She plans on feeding Ted a bottle of milk with rice cereal and smashed green peas in a couple of hours. In the middle of chopping up onions and green peppers for the cheesesteaks, Ana's iPhone rings. It's Mia. It has taken some time, but Ana has overcome the fear of seeing Mia's name displayed on her caller ID. There was the one time a while back when Mia's named appeared, however the person on the other line was not Mia, but her kidnapper.

"Hi Mia!" Ana answers.

"Ana! How's it going?" Mia cheerfully greets her sister-in-law.
"It's going great," Ana replies.

"Whatcha doin'?" Mia asks, as if she's calling with a purpose, but making sure that Ana is able to talk.

"I'm just cooking dinner for me and Christian. He and Teddy are playing in the toy room," Ana announces, assuring Mia that she has a few minutes to talk candidly if needed.

"So, I wanted to tell you about Skyler Newsome…Martha's brother-in-law," perky Mia announces.

"Oh?" Ana replies in peaked interest.

"I know Martha and Steven are probably still up in the air right now. I called her when she was at her gate before they boarded and we talked for about fifteen minutes. So Martha knows what's going on," Mia starts. "So anyway…Skyler is awesome!" Mia squeals.

"Oh, that's great, Mia! So…tell me all about it! What did you guys do?" Ana smiles in excitement for her sister-in-law.

"Well, he called me Monday and we had a great conversation. We talked about cooking and baking. I told him all about my tenure in Paris and my hope of opening up a French bistro in Seattle. He gave me some great tips on how to hit the ground running with my business."

Mia continues. "Anyway, he later invited me over to his cake shop on Fourth Avenue. He is so cute! Tall, nice brown hair…nice body," Mia giggles. "And he is such a gentleman. We baked salted caramel cupcakes together in his shop kitchen. They were so good!"

"Aww, that's so sweet," Ana swoons. "Yes, I know!" Mia agrees. "So, we've gone out three other times since then," Mia reveals, sounding as if she could be buffing her nails on her shoulder in accomplishment. "Whoa!" Ana says in fascination. "Yep! He's great! I'm so glad Martha introduced us!" harps Mia.

"So, what about Ethan?" Ana says, addressing the elephant in the room. "Well, he hasn't been really calling me anyway. I used to be the one that always called him. Ever since I met Skyler, Skyler and I've been talking a lot. We also text quite a bit. Then I realized how often I would contact Ethan. It was very one-sided with us. It's not that way with Skyler," Mia explains with traces of sadness and regret concerning Ethan.

"Oh, Mia. You're young and you're beautiful. Just have fun and enjoy life. Love will find you when it's ready," Ana encourages. "I know. It's funny hearing it coming from you, though. You and I are about the same age, and you're married with a kid!" Mia giggles. "Yes, I know," Ana sighs, suppressing a chuckle. "Any regrets?" Mia asks. "Mia, when you find your soulmate, there are no regrets," Ana replies. "I can't wait to discover my soulmate," Mia says in longing. "You will, Mia," Ana reassures.

"Oh, its Skyler's calling now. Gotta go! I'll talk to you later, Ana," Mia says, rushing off the phone. "Sure thing. Take care, Mia," Ana smiles. "Bye Ana!" Mia calls out before disconnecting.

Christian suddenly walks in the kitchen with Ted in tow as Ana sautés the steak with onions and peppers. The once frozen buns are almost done thawing in the bread warmer. "What did Mia want?" Christian asks. "Nothing much, just checking in," Ana downplays. "Sounded like more girl talk to me," Christian says with a deadpan expression. "Perhaps," Ana sparkles with a sly smile. Christian presses his lips and shakes his head in bafflement. "Women," he sighs.