Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

174. Chapter 174

Chapter 174

"Looks like you got something from Japan," the mail carrier said as he handed over all the mail to JJ including a package covered in stamps with Kanji writing along with a sticker with the tended recipient in English.

"I think I know what it is," JJ said with excitement and immediately tore at the packaging not even glancing at the other bills. Jae Sun had told him the manga officially published in August, but only now nearing October where they finally getting their copy.

He pulled out a little manga just as he'd expected. At first, the cover confused him since there was what he assumed was a long synopsis on the back with some tiny pictures, but then he realized he was holding it backwards remembering Japanese literature read right to left and turned it over. When he did, he saw what looked like proper cover art. JJ noticed the little cartoons he'd come to know as his and Eun Mi's cartoon equivalents and chuckled. He couldn't read any of it but it didn't stop him from opening the manga and using his thumb to browse the pages.

"My son made this," JJ said with a proud smile as he presented the book to the mailman.

"Did he? Good for you; you must be very proud," the mailman said.

"Definitely," JJ said.

JJ called home to let Eun Mi know the book had come in and Eun Mi waited eagerly for JJ to get home so she could see it. When he finally did, Eun Mi rushed to JJ and nearly grabbed the book out of his hands so she could see it. Eun So, Hae Li and the twins tried to look but Eun Mi made them wait so she could skim through it. The age range intended for the book meant each piece of Kanji had Hiragana beside them to make it easier for young children to read and it made it much easier for Eun Mi to read as well. They called Mae Sun to let him know so he could come over to see it and they called Natalie and Suerro so they could come and see it. Before long, the whole family had heard about JJ and Eun Mi receiving Jae Sun's manga and were at the house wanting to see it. Kai and Edward being the only fully fluent in the group, Kai read through it and translated the premise of the story so they had context when they took their turn to look.

"That's amazing," Nesia said when it was finally her turn. Ahiga was sitting beside her looking at it with her.

"So is he living in Japan now?" Ahiga asked.

"No, he's still in Korea," Nesia said.

"So he's doing this, writing comics for a newspaper and running a farm?" Suerro asked.

"Yeah," JJ said.

"He certainly inherited your work ethic," Suerro praised. "How has Yon been feeling? Is she still alright?"

"She's doing alright," JJ said. "Jae Sun's pretty much taken over the farm for her."

"She complains Jae Sun's efficiency has caused her boredom," Eun Mi said gently though the pride in her voice was unmistakable.

"So will he be inheriting the farm after Yon passes away?" Natalie asked.

"Yes," Eun Mi said. "Yon already put that in her will."

In the meantime, Tristan and Lilliana continued preparing for their Mitzvahs. Kevin was still working on setting up the trip through Europe that the twins wanted to have and Embry and the others were already prepared for Anatoli to have an extended leave. Ivory told her supervisors at Macys but would have to wait until the start of the new year when the vacation time was available before she could request the time off. The plan was to start in Paris though Lilliana was considerably more excited about that than Tristan was. Then they would go to Germany. Tristan wanted really badly to go to Berlin, but that was still up in the air. They would definitely go to Munich which was another place Tristan wanted to make sure they went to. Then it would be off to Venice, then Rome and finally they would end in Naples before returning home. That was the plan anyway.

Back in Iran, it felt like they were always busy. September was about the time Roshad's associates from India came into Tehran and nearly every night they were out to dinner with them. She and Roksana were seated together so they could keep each other amused while Roshad and Bastet spoke business with Jash and Aadiv. Rashida, also able to speak Punjabi, engaged in the conversation when it wasn't pertaining to business and Jash, the only associate that could speak English, would try to engage Jaedynn in conversation. Then at the beginning of October they had another party at the palace inviting investors, Jash and Aadiv, diplomats and, as promised, the Shah and his wife even attended though their son was not present. As they'd done with their other party, Jaedynn, Roshad and the children were welcoming guests as they arrived and when the Shah arrived with his wife, Jaedynn kept quiet. She'd never been in front of a congressman much less a king and was really nervous, but Roshad was able to ease her nerves.

"Padshah," Roshad said to the Shah with his hand behind Jaedynn's back touching her comfortingly, "this is my wife Jaedynn. Jaedynn, this is Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife and our Shahbanu, Farah."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Jaedynn said politely and bowed. The Empress curtsied to Jaedynn in response just like what she'd see in a Disney movie and it actually dazzled her a little. The Empress was a lovely woman with light brown hair while the Shah was grey haired but looked no less regal.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you as well," the Shah answered. "I hope you can forgive me for not attending the wedding; I'm afraid there were other matters that demanded my presence. I had the privilege of seeing your picture in the newspaper after the wedding and you were a most ravishing bride. Roshad is a very lucky man."

"Thank you so much for saying," Jaedynn smiled kindly with a blush on her cheeks from nervousness.

"And he's certainly kept you busy I see," the Shah said glancing at the children chuckling lightly.

"Yes, he has," Jaedynn said and bounced Navid on her hip gently. Roshad was holding Leo while Morvarid stood nearby holding Mikie and Don while Ashti held Sherry. Kamron and Iman were standing beside one another in front of Jaedynn and Roshad visibly bored and tired having been greeting people for the past thirty minutes. Jaedynn took a moment to properly introduce all the children and when she got to Iman and Kamron and noticed how bored they looked, she patted Kamron's head gently. "I'm sorry; they're very tired. We've had them standing here for a long time."

"It's no trouble; do not apologize," the Shah chuckled. "My wife and I will leave you so you can greet the other guests; hurry this along so they can be released from their torment." The Shah said the last part while looking at Kamron with a humored smile then patted the boy's head before walking away with his wife.

"He's really nice," Jaedynn said once the Shah and his wife had walked away.

"He's always nice around pretty women," Roshad said both with humor and as a bit of a jab but then kissed Jaedynn's head. "He was right about one thing, though: you were a ravishing bride."

Jaedynn blush deepened as she giggled a little and Roshad leaned down to press a quick, chaste kiss to her lips but pulled away the instant Ashti began to scold him in Farsi demanding he behave decently in public. It was another twenty minutes of welcoming people before Kamron and Iman were finally allowed to run off to get themselves some food and play outside with Morvarid staying close behind. When it was getting really late and the children were getting cranky, Morvarid, Ashti and Jaedynn all brought the kids upstairs and tucked into bed, but Jaedynn needed to return downstairs as soon as possible to rejoin Roshad.

Jash and Aadiv remained in Iran another week after the party but when they returned to India, Roshad returned to going into the office daily and returning home at around five so could sit with Jaedynn, Morvarid and the kids for dinner and play with them before it was time to put the kids to bed. Since they wouldn't be home for the holiday season, Roshad did his best to make up for it for the children's sake as much as for Jaedynn's. When Halloween rolled around, Roshad asked his employees to do him an enormous favor and engage in trick-or-treating. The majority had never heard of the holiday but were each given baskets of candy (both of American and Iranian variety) and asked to give the children some candy when they came to their cubicle. The actual day of Halloween fell on a Sunday, so the office hosted Halloween that Friday beforehand.

Roshad went into the office early as he normally would and Jaedynn and Morvarid got the children dressed up in little costumes they'd helped make. Wanting to emulate the characters from The Super Friends, Kamron asked to be Superman and they'd made a makeshift superman outfit for him while Iman dressed as Wonder Woman, Navid was dressed as Batman but Sherry did not want to be Robin and asked instead, as best she could, to be the Pink Panther, so they dressed her in a little pink onesie with pink rounded ears they'd made and attached to a little hat for her. Mikie ended up being Robin while Leo dressed as Aqua Man and Don was the Flash. When it was closer to the end of the business day, Jaedynn went to the office with Morvarid and Ashti close to help her and they walked around the building with the children in their costumes and little cloth bags to carry their candy.

It started at the front desk where the receptionist had a basket of candy and welcomed the children with a big smile and the kids all cried Trick-or-Treat. Then they went through the building in an organized circle with Kamron leading the way excited to get more candy and each cubicle they visited, they would cry Tick-or-Treat and the people at the desks would give them candy even if they were busy on the phone. They ended the whole trip by going to Roshad's office who was sadly on the phone when they arrived, but he got through with that quickly enough and met them at the door asking them how they enjoyed their Halloween.

Then in November when it was Thanksgiving, Roshad made a large dinner for everyone. They didn't have a turkey, but they did have two chickens, Fesenjan (Kamron's favorite) and some saffron rice with Tahdig for dinner. Then for dessert there was baklava and the remainder of the candy the kids still had from Halloween. Finally when it was Christmas, Roshad made sure all the presents were hidden away so the kids wouldn't see them until Christmas morning. Through the night, Bastet and Roshad set up an evergreen tree that had just arrived from Lebanon in the ballroom and got it decorated with glass ornaments Roshad made from marbles as they went along and finished with a star on top. Once the tree was ready, all the presents were taken out of hiding and put under and around the tree in a giant pile of gifts for all the kids. By the time Roshad made it to bed that night, Jaedynn was fast asleep. He got into bed and came up behind her to hold her close as he fell asleep.

"It's Christmas!" Kamron cheered as he was running down the hall to Jaedynn and Roshad's bedroom. They eventually woke up from the commotion just as Kamron had made it to the door, let himself in and rushed to their bed climbing onto the mattress and jumping up and down repeating, "It's Christmas" over and over again.

"Kamron, don't jump on the bed," Jaedynn mumbled as she forced herself awake. When she was finally sitting up, Kamron fell into her arms to hug her but soon released her and grabbed her hand.

"Maman! It's Christmas!"

"Yes, Kamron, we heard you," Roshad said as he sat up. Then he grabbed onto Kamron, got the boy lying on his back and started tickling him making Kamron kick and squeal with laughter.

While Kamron was squirming around violently as Roshad tickled him, Morvarid made it to the room with Iman and the other children who all ran to Jaedynn's and Roshad's bed to join the fray before finally going downstairs. Roshad led them all to the ballroom so they could see the big evergreen tree decorated in all sorts of glass ornaments and bright lights, but it was the enormous pile of presents that held the children's attention. Kamron, Iman and the babies ran for the tree. Navid, Sherry, Leo, Don and Mikie all ran as best their tiny legs would allow and Morvarid chased after them to make sure they didn't start opening presents with abandon. Bastet, Roshad and Rashida had the presents divided up until each child had their own personal mountain of gifts while also giving the kids some hot chocolate and a plate of cookies. Ashti complained to Roshad such was an unacceptable breakfast for growing children and Roshad only told her in English, 'Tis the season for indulgence'. Her answer was to excuse herself to make the children a proper and healthy breakfast.

Morvarid, Jaedynn and Rashida helped the youngest children open their presents while Kamron and Iman were able to do it on their own. With each present opened and new toy or clothes revealed, each child's face lit up with joy. When Kamron had opened half his gifts, he had so much to chose from and started playing with them while another pile was left unopened temporarily. Roshad sat beside Kamron and encouraged him to continue opening his presents and started helping him get through everything. It took nearly an hour for all the kids to finish opening all their gifts after which Ashti returned to the ballroom with a large platter of Kookoo Sabzi, steamed rice, pomegranate seeds and pistachio nuts that she'd already shelled along with some gold milk. For Jaedynn and Morvarid, that gold milk contained tea while the children only got the milk. They all stayed in that ballroom for several hours. Jaedynn and Roshad stepped aside for a moment to take everything in and watched their children playing with their new toys and eating their breakfast a little bit at a time.

"I think this is the best Christmas I've ever had," Jaedynn smiled.

"Is it?" Roshad asked. "I'm glad to hear it. Just because we had to spend the holidays in Iran, I didn't want that to take away from their good time."

"I know," Jaedynn said and rested her head against Roshad's shoulder.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you," Roshad said and made Jaedynn look up at him. "I would like it if you and I could spend New Year's in Chalus. Just you and I."

"I think we should," Jaedynn said with a loving smile. "So long as we're not gone for too long, it'll be nice to get away."

"Indeed it will," Roshad smiled back at her. "There's a particular reason I wanted to go."

"What reason is that?"

"You recall how I had dreamed of you?" Roshad asked. Jaedynn blushed and nodded her head with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I want to immortalize my first memory of you."

"You remember how I looked in your dream?"

"Like it was last night," Roshad whispered to her.

Jaedynn's blush deepened and Roshad leaned forward to press a very quick and chaste kiss to her lips making sure to pull away before Ashti noticed. For the next few days, things more or less returned to normal with Roshad and Bastet going to work and returning home around five or six so the family could sit down together for dinner. Then when it was December 30th, Roshad and Jaedynn packed light and told the children to behave themselves with Morvarid and Ashti while they were gone, then made the four hour drive to Chalus. It was extremely chilly out but the sun was still shining helping to warm the otherwise cool air. The pomegranate tress lined the property just as she remembered but the fruit wasn't quite ripe yet. Some pieces of fruit were further along in growth than others ranging in color from green to an extremely pale red and green. She could hear the waves of the sea hitting the rocks of the beach right behind the mansion. It felt more like fall than the dead of winter but that's how she liked it.

"I missed being here," Jaedynn said when they reached the entryway of the mansion and Roshad stopped the car.

"Me too," Roshad said. "I confess what I miss about living in Iran is coming here every summer. If Gloria would be comfortable with it, I'd love to take Raphael with us to spend a summer here."

"That would be nice," Jaedynn agreed. "We should wait until the boys are a little older, though. Maybe right before they start school."

"We'll bring it up with Gloria next we get a chance," Roshad said.

The two of them left the car and grabbed their overnight bags walking into the mansion through the enormous double doors. Just as she remembered, the entryway was a vast open space with a ballroom area separating the entrance from the back patio that looked out onto the sea with the mountains in view. Roshad took Jaedynn's hand and they walked together through the ballroom to the left of the entrance where a hallway led to the stairs going to the second floor and then walked down the hall until they reached their room. As they were walking together, the sound of their footsteps bellowed through the halls and the heavy door to their bedroom opened with a creak that she swore had not been this loud last they'd been here together. The water splashing outside with the wind blowing added an ambiance to the bedroom filled with deep red tapestries and an ornate Persian rug with red, orange and gold. It was just as she remembered save for one thing.

"It's so quiet," Jaedynn said as she put her overnight bag on the bed.

Roshad chuckled lightly, "Yes, when you're used to tiny feet running around playing noisily, the peace and quiet is quite shocking."

"It certainly is," Jaedynn agreed. She took out her toiletry bag and brought it to the bathroom but didn't take anything out since they'd only be there for three days. She heard Roshad walk to the closet and move around in the bedroom and when she stepped out, she saw a dress she recognized immediately. "My wedding dress?"

"Yes," Roshad smiled, "A photographer will be coming tomorrow to take those pictures on the patio. Remember?"

"Oh, right," Jaedynn said, "So I'll be wearing my wedding dress for that?"

"If it's alright."

"Absolutely," Jaedynn said, "as long as I can wear my veil and not the hijab."

"It will be the veil," Roshad said.

"Okay, good," Jaedynn said. "The hijab was beautiful but it covered the whole top of the dress. Should be a crime after all the work that was put into lacing all those pearls into the bodice."

"Agreed," Roshad said.

"I should probably try it on and make sure it still fits," Jaedynn said.

"It still fits; don't worry," Roshad said reassuringly and walked over to her. He took Jaedynn in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Jaedynn lifted her hands up so she wrapped her arms around his waist resting her hands against his shoulder blades. "Let's go into town and get the things we need for tomorrow."

"What else do we need for tomorrow?"

"Pomegranates, almonds and dates," Roshad said. "The crocus flowers are in a pot in the kitchen ready when we need them."

"Sure," Jaedynn said. She looked up and went on her toes to give Roshad a kiss.

They left the mansion driving into town to obtain all the things they needed. The market place was much smaller than the Grand Bazaar she'd become used to in Tehran but it was no less bustling with people and food on display. There were men and woman walking through the bazaar with their children inspecting the wares and the smell of cilantro, parsley, green onion and fenugreek filled the air from the herb merchant that was chopping several pounds of herbs in a giant food processor made from metal while patrons waited for the herb blend they'd ordered. There was also lamb kebab being cooked nearby and the smell of it made Jaedynn really hungry so they bought two skewers of that for Jaedynn to nibble on.

They each had three large tote bags that they put all the food into as they went along buying things for the photo shoot the next day as well as for food for the next three days. Jaedynn carried the vegetables and herbs while Roshad carried the meat, eggs and a small bag of rice. Once they'd returned to the mansion, they went straight to the kitchen to put everything away. In the corner were several pots of crocus flowers that even had the bright red threads in the center.

"What are you in the mood for tonight?"

"Those lamb kabobs were fantastic. I could go for those again."

"Consider it done," Roshad answered with a smile and got a cup of rice in a bowl to start washing. "Plain or saffron rice?"

"Plain," Jaedynn said. "I've got a dress to fit into tomorrow."

"Alright," Roshad chuckled and started washing the rice thoroughly.

"You know, until I met Eun Mi, I'd never heard of washing rice before cooking it," Jaedynn said.

"It gives the rice a good texture," Roshad said, "gets rid of the extra starchiness too."

"That's what Eun Mi always said," Jaedynn said. "But she also washes her noodles when they're done cooking."

"Yes, to make them chewy," Roshad said. He put the rice through five washes then put some water in a kettle to bring to a boil.

"I prefer your cooking; it's not as spicy," Jaedynn said and Roshad laughed.

"You're too kind," Roshad said. "Koreans do have a fondness for chilies."

"Chilies and pickles," Jaedynn said. "I do really like the pickled radish Eun Mi makes. I feel so bad eating it, though. It takes her weeks to make."

"Such is the nature of pickles," Roshad said. A few minutes later, the kettle started to whistle so Roshad took it off the heat pouring the water over the rice to soak for the next three hours. Roshad turned around and leaned against the marble counter so he was looking at Jaedynn with his arms crossed. "It's too cold to go for a swim outside, but I could use a nice hot bath." Roshad's smile changed to be alluring and when he spoke again, he lowered his voice just a little. "I would love some company if you're open to it."

"I'd love to," Jaedynn answered with an equally sensual smile.

Roshad walked around the island to her so he could take her hand in his and lead her through the house to their bedroom. Once in their bedroom, Roshad let go of Jaedynn's hand and continued to the bathroom. The bathroom illuminated from the light of the lanterns as Jaedynn slowly followed after him. By the time she made it to the door, Roshad was already filling the tub with hot water. As the tub filled, Roshad walked to a cabinet where he kept oils and perfumes. He picked one of the neutral smelling oils as well as some floral oils, frankincense and myrrh and poured about a cup of neutral carrier oil into the tub and a few drops of the scented essential oils. As he was putting the oils away, the steam and hot water filled the room with a unique earthy and floral scent.

"It smells so nice in here," Jaedynn said. She walked further into the bathroom as she was pulling off her clothes and tossed them to one side. Roshad started removing his clothes as well and the both of them got into the tub together. Jaedynn cuddled up to Roshad then positioned herself to straddle his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck resting her forehead against his. "I love you," she said in a loving whisper.

"I love you too," Roshad said and then pressed a tender kiss to her lips.

They remained in the tub together for nearly an hour making love then soaking in the water in a state of bliss until the water was getting cold. After Roshad made Jaedynn dinner, they sat outside on the porch together. The ocean cooled the temperature considerably but it was so relaxing to listen to the sea water rush back and forth over the rocks and the sounds nature produced. They stayed outside on that patio for nearly two hours just talking and watching the sun set together. They went to bed early still tired from the long drive but the next morning, Roshad was up bright and early. He was careful not to disrupt Jaedynn as he got out of bed and dressed for the day.

He retreated downstairs to the kitchen to gather everything they needed for the photo shoot that day and brought everything out onto the patio. There was a wide ottoman loveseat on the patio that was a light teal blue and bright green pillows on the right and left of the ottoman. He removed the pillows and put them aside on the tiny dining table so they were out of the way and started arranging the pomegranates, dates, almonds and crocus flowers. The angle was really flat, though, so he walked to the shore to grab some rocks and used those to create some gold stands that curved around so Jaedynn could sit in the center of them. He rearranged the fruit, nuts and flowers and was much happier with the display once it was put together. He went back to the kitchen to put together a light breakfast both for Jaedynn, for photographer and the makeup artist once they'd arrived.

They were due to arrive by 9, so Roshad returned upstairs after breakfast was ready and everything was set up. Jaedynn was still in bed and Roshad sat on the edge of the bed beside her placing his hand gently onto her shoulder. Using his fingers, Roshad gently squeezed and released on her arm and shoulder over and over in a soothing massage until she started to moan as she woke. Jaedynn didn't move over but did open her eyes and look up at Roshad with the same tender smile he gave to her.

"What time is it?"

"About 8," Roshad said. "The makeup artist should be here soon."

"Give me one moment," Jaedynn said and sat up stretching her arms out. "I didn't realize you had asked a makeup artist to come."

"I thought it would be more relaxing for someone to do your hair and makeup for you rather than have to do it yourself," Roshad said.

"You'd be right about that," Jaedynn said and leaned forward giving Roshad a kiss before getting out of bed. "Do you suppose I'll have time to take a shower?"

"Of course," Roshad said. "I need to be downstairs when the artist and photographer arrive; I'll send the makeup artist upstairs once she arrives."

"Okay; can you lay my dress and veil out?"

Roshad went to get the dress and veil while Jaedynn went into the bathroom to shower. Once he'd returned downstairs, he waited another twenty minutes for the makeup artist to arrive first. He'd already sent a copy of a picture of Jaedynn from their wedding for reference, so she came prepared with all the right colors and what she would need to recreate Jaedynn's hair. Jaedynn came out of the shower, dried off and put on a silk robe with a towel wrapping up her hair and the artist knocked on the bedroom door as Jaedynn stepped out of the bathroom. Sadly the artist did not speak English but she was able to communicate with Jaedynn using the pictures she'd been provided and hand gestures. Regardless of the language barrier, the artist used a blow dryer to blow out Jaedynn's hair then put it into a tight bun, pinned the veil into the bun then moved on to applying her makeup. She used the same deep burgundy lip for the emphasis and black eye liner and black mascara and a gold tinted eye shadow.

Once her hair and makeup was done, the artist helped Jaedynn get into her dress tightening the corset until it was secured. Before going downstairs, Jaedynn walked to a full length mirror to look at herself and it was like reliving her wedding day. The pale pink pearls sewn into the dress were as beautiful as she remembered and the pure white silk was clean and light, the lace of her sleeves were the same floral pattern she remembered. Meanwhile downstairs, the photographer arrived and Roshad welcomed him then led him to the back patio area. The photographer evaluated the display and made some slight adjustments to make it more visually appealing while the two of them waited for Jaedynn to come downstairs. When she finally did, Roshad watched her approach the back patio with the makeup artist close behind. Her walk was graceful, her smile and her eyes sparkled especially when their eyes met. Roshad smiled back at her feeling the same way he had when Nathan had walked her down the long aisle to their Sofreh Aghd. Once she made it to the patio, she went straight to Roshad placing her hand in his.

"You look so beautiful," Roshad whispered to her. He placed a kiss to her hand then looked up at the makeup artist saying something to her.

"If you could sit please, Mrs. Javadi," the photographer said politely, his accent extremely thick.

Roshad held her hand as he walked her to the ottoman helping her to get comfortably seated in just the right spot between the display so it framed her body. The photographer walked over to guide Jaedynn into the best position possible until she was sitting on the balls of her feet. Roshad gave Jaedynn a pomegranate for her to hold in her hands. Roshad finally stepped away so the photographer could get started. Roshad already explained exactly what he was looking for so the photographer directed Jaedynn as they went. If Jaedynn didn't catch something the photographer said, Roshad would repeat more clearly. The photographer got a few pictures from further away and several pictures much closer up but making sure the entirety of the shot was in view. It took about forty minutes before the photographer was confident he'd captured exactly the shot Roshad had asked for and he promised to have those pictures developed immediately so they could be retrieved before Roshad and Jaedynn returned to Tehran. Jaedynn stayed on the patio while Roshad walked out the photographer and the artist remaining in the seated position on the ottoman that she'd been directed into. When Roshad returned to the patio, she was still holding the pomegranate and she looked up at him sweetly and lovingly meanwhile his gaze appeared miles away to Jaedynn.

"Offer the pomegranate to me," Roshad requested in a quieted tone.

Jaedynn's smile broadened with a light giggle but she did as he asked and offered the pomegranate to him. Had he not prepared himself, it would have sent him to his knees just as the visual had in his dream. He took the pomegranate from her hand putting it down on the ottoman before taking her hand in one of his own and then wrapped his free arm around her waist lifting her off the ottoman bringing her back to her feet. After that, he pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that was immediately passionate. Roshad pressed his tongue passed her lips so their tongues could dual together. Jaedynn wrapped her arms around his neck pressing herself against him. Roshad released her hand so he could wrap his arm around her waist and lifted her up so her feet were dangling just above the ground. He held her like that kissing her for several minutes. Then he put her back on her feet never taking his lips from hers so his hands could trail up her body gently going over the pearls. His hands went to her breasts and squeezed them affectionately before trailing his hands further up. He rubbed her bared shoulders then her slender neck trailing his thumbs over her jaw line. He started to trail his hands into her hair but was interrupted by the bun and veil.

"Let's go upstairs," Roshad whispered against her lips, kissed her again and then released her to take her hand to lead her upstairs.

When they made it upstairs to their bedroom, Roshad turned so he was facing her and lifted his hands to her hair to remove the veil first. Once removed, he folded the veil gently and walked away to put it back in its little box for safe keeping.

"I recall," Roshad said as he was putting the veil away, "that on our wedding night we had gone straight to bed."

"We'd had a really long day," Jaedynn said and started to slowly approach Roshad.

"True," Roshad said with a gentle smile. He came to Jaedynn meeting her halfway and taking her in his arms as she wrapped her arms back around his neck.

"I should probably get out of this dress," Jaedynn said both sincerely and with a hint of seduction in her voice.

"In a moment," Roshad answered as he lowered his face to meet hers so their noses touched. "It doesn't feel like 2 or 3 years."

"Since our weddings you mean?" Jaedynn asked and Roshad nodded. "I know. It just flew by."

"It did, didn't it," Roshad smiled. "Thank you for this morning. I know I sprang this on you at the last minute."

"I was happy to do it," Jaedynn said. "It was nice having an excuse to wear my wedding dress again. So will that picture be a new addition for your office?"

"You'll see," Roshad smiled mischievously and finally pressed his lips to hers again.

While he kissed her, Roshad reached up to undo her bun and after a lot of fighting with pins and having to pull his lips away from hers to see what he was doing, her hair finally cascaded down over her back and shoulders with a slight curl to her hair from being in the tight bun. Then he grabbed a hold of her, taking her into his arms bridal style, making Jaedynn laugh as he carried her to the bed. Roshad sat her down on the edge of the bed and started kissing her again about to press her down onto the mattress, but she pressed against his chest to stop him.

"Roshad," she whispered against his lips through kisses, "can you take off my dress? I don't want to ruin it."

Roshad pulled away and took her hands so he could pull her to her feet then turned her around so her back was to him. Jaedynn pulled her hair to the side and Roshad started untying the corset of her dress. He made quick work of the ribbons releasing the tautness until the dress was loose. He helped Jaedynn out of the sleeves and picked her up out of the dress and would have happily left it on the floor had Jaedynn not said something. He released Jaedynn so she could retrieve the dress and sit it atop a chair in their bedroom, but she quickly returned to their bed where Roshad grabbed a hold of her wrist pulling her onto the bed then rolling over so he was on top of her. She'd worn nothing under the dress except her panties having not bothered with a bra this time around so all Roshad had to do was pull down her panties and remove her shoes so she was naked.

She sat up on the edge of the bed and started unbuttoning Roshad's grey dress shirt. Their eyes locked as she unbuttoned his shirt and Roshad trailed his hands over her hips tenderly. He kissed her once her hands had finished unbuttoning his shirt and had moved on to his slacks. He brought his hands behind his back pulling the cuffs off his wrist so his shirt would fall and Jaedynn pushed his slacks down just as he brought his arms back around to hold her. Jaedynn pulled her lips away so she could start kissing his neck and Roshad did the same to her. The scruff of his short facial hair tickled her neck and made her shiver and moan. She trailed her hands down between them and passed his briefs so she could touch his erection all while Roshad brought a hand between her legs to touch her intimately as well. He slipped his fingers inside her while his thumb gently rubbed her clitoris with his dampened thumb so that Jaedynn was whimpering through her kisses.

Jaedynn continued to stroke his erection while Roshad used his fingers to pleasure her and bring her on the verge of her release. However when he sensed she was getting close, Roshad took his fingers away and brought his hands under her thighs to lift her up against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck holding on tight while he lowered her hips onto his. Their lips met again in a loving kiss and Jaedynn reached between them to take a hold of his erection and guide him inside her. He lowered her further until he was fully sheathed and held her there for a moment just savoring as they continued to kiss. But soon he started moving her, lifting her up and down to mimic a thrusting motion. Jaedynn contributed, using her legs' grip on his hips to lift herself up and down. The exertion made it difficult for them to continue kissing so Jaedynn lifted her head away and rested her forehead against his. When she opened her eyes, she looked into his hazel eyes seeing the same passion and longing that she felt. She pressed another kiss to his lips but pulled away again so she could catch her breath, but soon Jaedynn slowed down and the two of them continued to look into each other's eyes.

"I remember," Roshad started, "when I saw you in my dream, I asked myself if brown eyes have ever been so beautiful as yours."

"I ask the same thing about your hazel eyes," Jaedynn said through a light moan and pressed her lips to his again.

Roshad took steps forward until he hit the bed. He kept on hand on her hip while is other hand laid onto the mattress so he could climb onto the bed and laid her down onto the mattress hovering above her. Once they were on the bed, Roshad started to move again and Jaedynn kept holding onto him. As he moved, Jaedynn eventually loosened her legs' grip on his hips allowing him greater range of motion. He started to move faster and faster to build her to climax. Then Jaedynn pushed onto his shoulders to get Roshad onto his back and straddled his hips before taking over, moving her hips back and forth with her hands planted on his chest. Roshad grabbed her hips so he could guide her to move faster. Jaedynn got even faster the closer she was coming to her release and when she was really close, Roshad turned over to put her onto her back again, brought her legs up so her calves were resting on his shoulders, pressed forward until her thighs were pressed against her chest and took over.

Jaedynn cried with pleasure when he started to hit her in just the right spot as he thrust against her over and over. Jaedynn's arms fell back resting above her head gripping onto the comforter moaning his name. After another minute of constant moving, Jaedynn felt her whole body convulse with pleasure as her orgasm hit her and she moaned as she cried out his name. Roshad quickly joined her going stiff on top of her when he reached his own release and gripped his fists into the comforter on either side of her. Once he'd come down from his high, Roshad trailed his right hand up her leg pressing feathery kisses against her calf and Jaedynn brought her hands up to touch his hand and cheek.

"I love you," Jaedynn said.

"I love you too," Roshad said and kissed her foot before finally taking her legs off his shoulders and lowering down so he was right on top of her and hugged her. Then he chuckled a little. "I just realized you haven't eaten any breakfast."

"We sort of went right into the photo shoot," Jaedynn said.

Roshad got off her and went to grab her silk robe and handed it over to her. While Jaedynn got into her robe, Roshad dressed into a fresh pair of clothes. Once they were dressed, Roshad took her hand and they walked downstairs together and went back onto the patio where all the fruits and nuts were still laid out. They sat on the patio together while Jaedynn had a late breakfast and that night, they stayed up until midnight staring out at the moon. He'd even gotten a bottle of champagne for Jaedynn to enjoy while he had a cup of tea with a clock out on the patio with them so they could count down together. Even if they were only once and a while, Jaedynn loved these quiet days just the two of them. They held their drinks sitting on the ottoman together and quietly counted down together but had to redo it once or twice, misjudging how many seconds were left in the year.

"Happy New Year," they whispered to one another when it was finally midnight, sipped their drinks and then gave each other a kiss welcoming 1977. Their kiss started chaste but soon became passionate and they really welcomed the new year making love on that ottoman right on the patio with only the view of the sea, the mountains and the moon to witness them.

With 1977 came the year the twins would finally have their Mitzvah and their after school curriculum at the Synagogue to improve their reading, writing and speaking in Hebrew. After New Year's, Embry had to return to California but they were making good time and he was looking at potentially returning before the start of February. After returning to Tehran New Year's Day, Roshad returned to business as usual. Thankfully there were no more big events to contend with but they would be remaining in Tehran until February. However, within a month of the New Year, Jaedynn was feeling really sick. She woke up every morning feeling nauseated and the first morning it happened, there was a knock on the door just as Roshad had come out of the shower that morning. He dressed in a robe and walked over to the door and Ashti was on the other side of it when the doors opened. Roshad asked her if everything was okay, but Ashti replied everything was fine and walked over to the bed sitting beside Jaedynn already holding a large mug of gold milk tea.

"Morning, Azizam," Ashti said to Jaedynn, "I have gold milk tea for you."

"I don't know if I'm up for it," Jaedynn replied, "my stomach's in knots this morning."

"Is the reason to drink it," Ashti said with a smile in her voice. She was rubbing Jaedynn's shoulder affectionately. Jaedynn sighed a little and sat up in bed accepting the tea.

Roshad remained home that day to care for Jaedynn, but she was feeling sick on and off the entire day. After a few days of this, it became abundantly clear to Jaedynn what was causing it and given Ashti was being extra affectionate, it was almost a certainty. Jaedynn and Roshad didn't tell the kids, though; at least not right away. Jaedynn wanted to wait until she could see Kyle to be sure. At the end of January, Embry finished the construction project he'd been commissioned for and the moment the final check cleared, he flew back to Washington and went straight home. He'd use the remainder of the week to relax and would come back to work on Monday. He was in the shower desperately needing one after a four hour flight as a bird and running home after making it to a secluded wooded area. He'd lost all track of time, the hot water being just what his sore muscles needed. Then he heard the bathroom door open.

"Embry?" Heather said.

"Yeah, it's me," Embry answered and pulled the curtain aside slightly so he could look at her. "Did you just get back from work?"

"Yeah," Heather said and was already pulling off her clothes. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Come right in," Embry smiled and stepped to one side pulling the curtain out of the way and Heather stepped into the shower once she was naked. After stepping into the shower, Heather went up to Embry and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his waist and Embry wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her head. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Heather said and tilted her head up so they could share a kiss. "It's so good to have you back home."

"It's good to be home," Embry said. "I don't plan to take any commission work any time soon."

"No complaints here," Heather said. "So what would you like for dinner tonight? I admit the fridge is a little under stocked at the moment, but I've got plenty of eggs. I can make you egg salad if you want," Heather offered.

"I'd love that," Embry said. "I haven't eaten since this morning before I left, so I'm starving."

"I'll get that started after our shower then," Heather smiled and gave him another kiss.

Their shower stayed tame and they washed themselves off and as soon as they were done and out of the shower, they dried off and got into some fresh lounge clothes and went downstairs to the kitchen together. She got a large pot on the stove bringing the water to a boil and had all the eggs laid out and ready to be dropped into the water once it was boiling. She went to the pantry to get some bread out but realized they didn't have any.

"Well shit," Heather sighed and closed the pantry door, "I forgot we don't have bread."

"That's fine; I'll eat it straight out of the bowl," Embry said. "I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll make up a list for you," Heather said and went to grab a pencil and pad of paper and started her list.

She got halfway through when the water was fully boiling so she got the eggs in the water, the timer started and then went back to writing her grocery list. He watched her from across the kitchen island just smiling affectionately at her. Meanwhile, Heather was focused and straight faced. Those that didn't know her might mistake her for being upset, but she wasn't; she was just deep in thought. She finished the list just as the alarm went off and she went back to the stove to remove the eggs and shock them in some cold water leaving them there until they were cool enough to handle.

"I wrote down what stores have the best prices on certain items just for your reference," Heather said as she handed the list to Embry. "I think tomorrow we should celebrate you coming home properly so I'll make us some short ribs. I'll let you decide what we'll have on the side."

"Got it," Embry said and read through the list. After he finished reading, Embry looked up at Heather and watched her peel the shell off the eggs. "Do you want me to help you do that?"

"Yeah," Heather said and Embry walked around the island into the kitchen to help Heather peel the shells from the hardboiled eggs. They stayed in relative silence for a moment and Embry peeled two eggs and grabbed a third one when a thought came to his mind.

"So Heather," Embry said, "Did you still want to start trying?" Heather looked up, her face changing from focused to loving. She returned her gaze to the egg she was peeling but kept the same smile.

"Yes," Heather said, "I would like to start trying. I admit I haven't exactly been keeping track of my cycle or anything so I don't know if a baby will be 'sure as spring' as they say, but we can always start whenever we want."

"That's true; we can," Embry replied. "I admit this isn't quite as romantic as it probably should be."

"I can always make up for that later. What do you say after I've fixed dinner tomorrow, you bring me some bread and I'll see you well taken care of," Heather said with a seductive smile and winked at Embry.

Embry chuckled under his breath, "That would be awfully generous of you."

The following day, Heather was up at 7 as usual to get to work while Embry slept in. He was still asleep when she was getting ready to leave and she kissed his cheek before going to work. Later after he'd gotten out of bed and had some breakfast, Embry went grocery shopping following Heather's instructions about what stores had the best prices. Once he was finally home, he put the short ribs he'd bought into a bowl right away and got them marinating according to the note of instructions Heather had left for him. As for the bread, he made sure to get a large round of artisan bread that he vaguely remembered being similar to what the bakery in Chateau Thierry sold assuming one had the money to afford it. The instructions Heather left him instructed to sear the short ribs in the Dutch oven until browned on all sides then throw in the oven so he did as her instructions said browning the meat, deglazing the pan with red wine and beef broth, throwing in some roughly chopped onions and garlic then putting in the oven to bake for 2 ½ hours. Everything else, her note said, she'd take care of once she got home. There was about an hour left on the ribs by the time Heather finally returned home.

"Dinner smells fantastic already," she said as she walked into the house.

"Not bad if I do say so myself," Embry chuckled and got up from the couch to welcome her with a hug and kiss. "So I bought a bunch of potatoes and broccoli."

"Okay, that'll be easy to whip up," Heather said and put down her purse and keys. "Let me get comfy and I'll finish up dinner. In the meantime. I'd like my payment."

"Your payment?" Embry asked but then realized what she meant. "Oh, right. Absolutely."

Heather smiled at him then went up the stairs to their bedroom to change. Meanwhile Embry went to the kitchen and cut off a large triangle of bread off the artisan loaf he'd bought and made sure it was ready. A few minutes later, Heather came downstairs in an oversized shirt and shorts and came into the kitchen going to the pantry walking past Embry.

"I have the bread you asked for," Embry said. Heather looked up from the pantry and fluttered her lashes.

"You hold onto that until after dinner," Heather said then leaned down to grab the potatoes. "Can you get these peeled?"

"Sure," Embry said and put down the bread.

For the next hour, Heather made creamy mashed potatoes and baked broccoli without any further mention to the bread or other plans for the night. Had she not brought up the bread, he'd think she wasn't in the mood tonight. He set the table after she'd taken the short ribs out of the oven and finished up their sides before bringing everything to the table. She took her seat and Embry was about to take his but Heather stopped him.

"Get my bread?" she asked him. Embry went to the counter and grabbed the piece of bread for her. He handed it over to her then finally took his seat. "Thank you, brave soldier," Heather said sweetly, accepting the bread then taking a bite out of it. "I hope this humble dinner brings you comfort."

"It's like being back home," Embry said with a loving smile as he played along. He picked up one of the ribs to bite into it and it was so tender. "It's better than being home," he said with a sigh.

"I'm so happy to hear it," Heather smiled and dug into her own share of dinner. "So besides grocery shopping, how was your day?"

"Relaxing," Embry said, "How was your day?"

"Pretty normal," Heather said. "Anatoli, Taraq and Bayaq finally finished the condo flip we were working on up in Lynnwood. Now we just need to put that on the market."

"How much do you think we'll see in profit?" Embry asked.

"We're putting it on the market for $20,000 and bought it for $15,000."

"Do you think we'll get that much this time of year?" Embry asked.

"I think we will," Heather said. "It's a really nice sized condo. I'll bet it's the perfect size for a retired couple and it's a good price for that. We just need to price competitively."

"This is why you wait until the summer," Embry said.

"I know, but it was in terrible shape and it looked like a really good opportunity," Heather said. "It might not be summer listing prices but we'll still see a profit."

"I trust you," Embry said with a loving smile. "With any luck some properties will come up near the summer that we can flip."

"I'm sure we will," Heather said and took another bite of her short rib.

As they enjoyed their dinner together, Embry would bring his foot towards hers and rub her ankle with his toe while they were talking. She appeared like she was ignoring the gesture continuing with her train of thought but under the table, she reciprocated his affection by trailing her toes over his foot and ankle. Once they'd finished their dinner, Heather backed out her chair ready to get up and do the dishes but Embry backed away from the table first.

"I'll take care of the dishes Heather," Embry said.

"That's awfully kind of you, brave soldier; thank you," Heather said and batted her eyelashes at him. Embry chuckled a little and gathered all the dishes then taking them to the kitchen to start cleaning them. Heather stayed in her seat for the majority of the time he was cleaning but he knew she'd turned in her chair to watch him. "Do you mind if I get comfortable?" Heather asked seductively.

"Not at all," Embry said.

"Thank you," Heather replied and got up from her seat. "Meet me upstairs when you're done?"

"Okay," Embry agreed.

"And make sure to knock before entering my boudoir dear soldier," Heather said sensually and started running up the stairs before Embry could reply.

He continued doing the dishes but he could hear Heather moving around upstairs. He had no idea what she was plotting and his mind went wild with all sorts of possibilities. Maybe she'd be in white lingerie again like their first night together topless pretending to smoke a cigarette while French music played. Or maybe she'd cut all pretense and be naked on the bed waiting for him. Or maybe she'd be wearing his uniform coat or better yet, just his hat and boots. Or maybe she'd be in a sexy nightgown. It took a lot of effort to take his time with the dishes so Heather had plenty of time to get ready. He even dried and put away the dishes but he was fumbling with them and nearly dropped the glasses he was drying. Finally when he was done cleaning and putting everything away, he climbed up the stairs taking the steps two at a time. Once on the landing, he approached the master bedroom slowly. She'd stopped moving around about five minutes before he was done and the bedroom door was closed. He approached the door feeling a jolt of excitement. He waited a moment and took a deep breath before finally knocking gently on the door.

"Is that you, dear soldier?" Heather asked in a sugary sweet voice. There was no attempt at an accent of any kind. It was just her voice.

"It is," Embry answered.

"Please, come in," Heather said and Embry grabbed the door knob and turned it.

He pushed the door open looking forward at their bed figuring that's where she'd be and was she ever. That wasn't what made his jaw drop though. It was what she wore, how she had her brown hair gently curled it just the right way, the long nightgown she wore: he had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Her hair was longer than the original photo he remembered from the forties, but the way she was posed, the style, the dress: she was recreating the pin up of Rita Hayworth. The gown was grey silk and black lace as if to recreate the photo down to being black and white to the best of her ability. Her lips were a bold red while the makeup she wore on the rest of her face was more neutral save for liner on her eyes and curled lashes blackened with mascara. She took his breath away and the way she smiled made him hard instantly and he simply couldn't resist.

"Gilda, are you decent?" Embry asked.

Heather fought a smiled, bent her head forward and flipped her hair before looking at Embry saying, "Me?" Embry chuckled a little and started to approach the bed. When he did, she put the metaphorical cherry on top by starting to sing.

"Amado Mio

Love me forever

And let forever begin tonight.

Amado Mio

When we're together,

I'm in a dream world of sweet delight."

That's as far into the song she got before Embry reached the bed, grabbed a hold of her by the arm and pulled her roughly to him and pressing a kiss to her lips as he wrapped his arms around her making her stand on her knees on the bed. Heather giggled into their kiss and wrapped her arms round his neck meeting his passion with her own. Embry pressed his tongue passed her lips ignoring the momentary interruption of the taste of lipstick and instead focused on her taste and how it intoxicated him. As their tongues dueled, Embry trailed his hands down over her back down to her butt where he firmly squeezed her flesh. Heather moaned into their kiss and her hands trailed up into Embry's hair making him shiver as a flash of pleasure shot through him and he pressed her against his growing erection.

Embry started trailing his hands further down until he reached her thighs and started pulling the hem of the dress up, but not with the intent of removing it. Oh no. It would stay on. He finally pulled the hem out from under her knees so he could lift it up to touch her bare skin. When his hands made it up to her hips and back around to the round flesh of her ass, he realized she wasn't wearing any panties and it excited him more. With his hands pressing her against him, Embry lifted her off the bed then fell forward so Heather was on her back and he cradled his hips between her parted legs with the dress bunched up at her hips. Their lips parted as he lowered her onto the bed and he looked down at her. He'd smudged her lipstick and she gave him a humored smile when she saw the red paint she'd transferred onto his lips, but she quickly changed her smile sultry and brought a hand to her face and trailed the back of her pointer finger over the bottom of her lip both in an effort to fix the smudging and also appear sexy. The former was a failure, but the later was a resounding success.

Embry rubbed the back of his wrist over his lips to try to get rid of the lipstick but whether it worked or not didn't concern him in the least. He removed his shirt and tossed it to one side then going to unbutton his pants. Heather sat up as he did so and quickly brought her hands between them dipping them under the fabric of his jeans and briefs so she could touch his erection. She stroked it while Embry pushed the rest of his clothes down and once they were uncovered, she brought a hand down so she could cup his balls. She let go of him so he could take off his socks and release his feet from his clothes so he was completely naked. By then, she'd gotten off the bed onto her knees on the floor grabbing a hold of his erection again. One hand stroked his erection while her other hand massaged his balls and she dipped her head down taking the head of his shaft into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around as her hand went up and down in a rhythm and Embry almost lost his balance. He brought a hand into her hair guiding her to bob her head up and down in time with her hand. Then she flattened her hand against his body pushing her head forward until she had all of him in her mouth and he could feel the back of her throat.

Embry groaned as his head fell back a moment. When he could, he looked down at Heather again. Her eyes were closed at first but then she opened them and looked right up at him as her head went up and down and he felt a twist of pleasure from the site. Heather moaned as she pleasured him and then she pulled away both so she could breath more easily and also so she could stroke his erection with more vigor. She took him back unto her mouth and brought her hands to her shoulders to pull off the straps of the dress. She pulled her arms out from the straps and was about to pull down the cups of the gown.

"Keep it on," Embry said firmly like an order. Heather looked up at him and smiled despite having her mouth full. Her lashes fluttered before she closed her eyes again bringing her hands back up to stroke his length as her mouth sucked. "Fuck, Heather," he groaned.

Hearing Embry say her name like that made her moan and she brought her head down again as far as she could go and contracted her throat muscles to swallow bring him even more pleasure. It was nearly too much and so he gripped her hair to pull her mouth off his erection. When he pulled her mouth away, she gasped as she caught her breath and he felt that twist of pleasure all over again. He guided her to her feet then pushed her to sit on the edge of the bed. Embry got on his knees lifting the hem of her dress to bare her hips again.

"Lean back," Embry told her and Heather did as he ordered lying back onto the bed getting relaxed.

Embry pressed his hands against her thighs to spread her legs wider. He touched her entrance to test her readiness and was delighted to feel how wet she was. Embry slipped two fingers inside her and Heather moaned his name. Then she cried out when he pressed his tongue against clitoris. He ran his tongue around the bundle of nerves in circles, gently nipped to give her just enough pain that it was pleasurable and sucked on her clitoris building the pleasure in her core. Heather's back bent upward off the bed when she felt an especially sharp pleasure between her legs from his tongue and his fingers pressing into her g-spot. She cried out and it encouraged Embry to apply more pressure with his fingers and tongue. Heather brought her hands into Embry's hair gently tugging as her fingers griped at the strands with pleasure.

"Embry," Heather moaned again as she came closer and closer to her release.

The pleasure kept building and building until she finally felt that snap of release and cried out. Embry continued licking her clitoris and rubbing the spot inside her savoring the feel of her inner walls quaking around his fingers. Once her body started to calm, Embry removed his fingers and stood back to his feet. He gently pulled Heather forward so her hips were just off the bed and positioned his erection at her entrance pushing his hips forward until he was fully sheathed inside her. They both moaned and Embry fell forward taking her in his arms. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd had sex without using a condom. He'd certainly never done so with Heather. So when he slipped inside her with nothing between them, it was the most intense and glorious feeling in the world.

Heather brought her arms up around Embry's neck as he started to thrust forward. He made sure he was slow at first to enjoy the warmth of her inner walls around him but he quickly became impatient and started to move even faster. When he increased his speed, Heather's hold on him tightened as her head fell back and Embry was sucking her neck tickling her and giving her even more pleasure. Embry came upright after a while and held onto her legs while he continued to move after a brief slowed pace. When Embry increased his pace all over again, Heather grabbed a tight hold of his forearms. Her breasts bounced with each thrust and inevitably they fell out of the cups of the dress until her nipples peaked above the fabric. It was such an erotic site to see and Embry stopped so he could come back down pressing his hands against her breasts to push them together then began sucking her nipples. He started with her left breast swirling his tongue in circles around her nipple and nipping at her flesh then kissing his way across her chest to her right breast to give it the same attention.

Heather started running her fingers through his short hair and Embry came back up to give her a tender kiss. He finally started to move faster again. Feeling the build again, Heather reached a hand between them so she could touch herself and Embry increased his speed even more. The build continued more and more until Heather felt that snap of her orgasm and her whole body trembled as she moaned grabbing a hold of the comforter with her free hand. Embry kept going at the same speed after Heather achieved orgasm to reach his own. He leaned down again to grab a hold of Heather to hug her as he kept thrusting and Heather wrapped her arms around Embry's neck.

"I love you," Heather whispered in Embry's ear and started nipping at the lobe of his ear to excite him.

Embry groaned with pleasure and answered, "I love you too."

Heather sucked on Embry's ear and finally Embry reached his own release slowing his movements until he stopped moving altogether and started kissing her. Embry lifted her into his arms so he could carry her further onto the bed and continued kissing her once they were on the bed and comfortable. A few minutes later they relaxed and cuddled in bed for a while until they eventually got dressed and went back downstairs together to watch the news together enjoying the rest of the evening on their couch. Heather had a moment of intense disappointment about a week after Embry returned home when she got her period, but they didn't let it discourage them and as soon as she was feeling better they got right back to trying.

Midway through February, Roshad and Jaedynn finally returned to Washington with the kids and Ashti. Bastet and Rashida remained in Iran but would be coming to Washington for Kamron's third birthday the following month. Not long after returning home, Jaedynn reached out to Kyle and asked if he or Carlisle could come over for a pregnancy test. Carlisle was there that same afternoon to perform the test while Ashti took the kids outside to play and as Jaedynn, Roshad and Ashti suspected, Jaedynn was indeed pregnant. It was safe to assume she was a month and a half along but Carlisle set a date for Jaedynn to come to the tribal hospital for an ultrasound to be sure. That evening at dinner, Jaedynn told the kids and Kamron and Iman began to bicker over whether it would be a little brother or little sister while Sherry and the boys weren't the least bit interested, focusing instead on enjoying their dinner Ashti had cut up for them. Jaedynn made sure to call her parents to let them know and once they knew, so did the whole tribe. She called Ivory next to let her know and her reaction was exactly as Jaedynn had expected.

"For shit's sake, woman, again?!" Ivory said.

"Yes, Ivory, 'again'," Jaedynn said as she laughed. "Roshad and I went to Chalus together for New Year's and I'm pretty sure that's when I conceived. So I'm about six-ish weeks along."

"Jaedynn's pregnant?" Jaedynn heard Anatoli say further away from the phone.

"Yeah, again," Ivory answered, "she's insane I tell you. So what's that going to make this? Eight?"

"Yup; just eight," Jaedynn said.

"Christ almighty. Just eight she says. Eight with ten more to go," Ivory said sarcastically.

"I wouldn't go that far," Jaedynn said.

"It wouldn't surprise me at this point; let's put it that way," Ivory said. "So are the kids excited about the new baby?"

"Kamron and Iman are debating over whether it's a boy or a girl. Sherry and the boys aren't as interested," Jaedynn said.

"I'm sure they will be once you start showing," Ivory said. "I assume Roshad's proud of himself?"

"He's happy about the baby, yes," Jaedynn giggled.

"Good to hear," Ivory said. "Congratulations, Jaedynn. Despite my shit talking your loss of sanity, I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Ivory," Jaedynn smiled.

The following day was when Jaedynn and Roshad called Bastet and Rashida to let them know the pregnancy was official and lastly, Jaedynn called Gloria to let her know. They ended up talking for about an hour catching up with each other and also just checking on the boys. They took some time to do some initial planning for the summer both for the kids' birthdays and so they could visit one another. Jaedynn suggested them all maybe going to Niagara Falls and Gloria agreed that sounded like a great idea and agreed they'd start planning for that. Not long after they'd returned home, Roshad suggested that they take the kids to get all their pictures taken. Jaedynn assumed it would be another family photo, but he insisted each child be photographed separately.

Each child was old enough to stand in the picture. Kamron, Navid, Leo, Don and Mikie were all wearing tiny dress pants and dress shirts of various colors while Iman and Sherry wore casual little dresses. Iman wore a red sleeveless dress with little white polka dots and white shoes and Sherry was in a sleeveless solid purple dress that had a little white flower embroidered into one corner of the dress and her shoes were purple. Another week after the pictures were taken, they came in the mail and Roshad retreated to the master bedroom asking Jaedynn not to come upstairs while he got those pictures on the wall. Jaedynn heard the sound of a hammer banging into the wall nine separate times over the course of thirty minutes and at the end of it, Roshad came downstairs stepping outside where Jaedynn and Ashti were both sitting in patio chairs while the kids were running around in the backyard.

"Maman," Roshad began and then continued in Farsi and Ashti replied. "Come upstairs with me?" Roshad said to Jaedynn as he offered his hand.

"All the pictures of the kids are hung?" Jaedynn smiled and stood up from her chair and accepting his hand and following him inside.

"They are," Roshad said, "I put them all above my desk."

"You did?" Jaedynn replied.

Roshad nodded and continued leading the way up the stairs and to their bedroom. Once they stepped inside, Roshad directed her to look at his desk that he kept at one side of their large bedroom. There had always been pictures of her and the kids sitting on that desk, but now there were pictures right above it. First there was the picture of her that they'd taken in Chalus. Jaedynn's smile radiated off the picture as she was offering a pomegranate and wearing her wedding dress surrounded by fruit, flowers and nuts. Right below her picture was a horizontal line of all the kids starting with Kamron at the far left then ending with Leo and the far right. It was slightly off center though, Jaedynn noticed. Her picture wasn't dead center above the kids. Instead, it was slightly to the right.

"It'll look center once we add this baby's picture," Roshad whispered in Jaedynn's ear while holding her, her back to his chest, with his hands on her still flat belly.

"Roshad," Jaedynn said as her eyes started to water.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it," Jaedynn smiled and turned around in his arms so she could hug and kiss him.

A few weeks later, Heather reached out to Kyle the moment she started to feel sick. Kyle drove into the city as soon as he was able to and was able to confirm for Heather she was pregnant. Heather and Embry told their parents first, but from there the whole family and tribe knew as was par for the course. Her due date, however, rose some concern. She was due in October and based on the measurements from her ultrasound, it would be end of October on top of that. She didn't want to disrupt the twins' Mitzvah, but Amber and Kevin insisted that she didn't need to worry about it. They would cross that bridge when they got there. Eventually, Levi found out about Heather being pregnant. He'd found out in the evening when Nadja was still out at the theatre and by the time she got back, he was already asleep. Thankfully, they had the weekend together until the evening when she'd be performing again.

"So guess what," Levi said to Nadja while he made himself some coffee.

"What?"

"I got a call from home last night. Heather's pregnant," Levi said.

"That's wonderful! Good for her!" Nadja smiled.

"My cousin Jaedynn's pregnant too," Levi said.

"Wasn't she just pregnant?"

Levi laughed, "Not since Navid and Sherry and they're turning two this year. I think it's June or July…Definitely July."

"So is this the last baby?"

"We'll see," Levi shrugged. "So," Levi continued since the topic of his family came up, "are you excited about moving to Washington in June?"

"I'm….nervous," Nadja admitted.

"Why's that?"

"I'm basically starting my life all over again," Nadja said. "I've never worked outside London. I know you've never worked in London before moving here, but you were just out of college with your professional life just beginning. It's a little different for me."

"Hey," Levi said gently and walked over to give her a hug, "it'll be okay; I promise. We've got a reliable safety net just in case. We can stay with my parents or my brother while we look for work and find out own place and we'll only lease an apartment for the year. After that, we'll decide whether we're going to stay in Washington or return to London just like we talked about." Nadja only nodded her head and hugged him back. "I love you," Levi said.

"I love you too," Nadja answered. "You gave London a chance. I can give Seattle a chance."

"Thank you," Levi said and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay; I promise. I'll even leave ahead of you so I can find a job and a place for us so we're not both staying with my parents or my brother."

"It would give me extra time to get my work visa," Nadja said.

"Okay, then I'll leave in June and you can come to Seattle as soon as I've got an apartment."

"Okay," Nadja agreed and tilted her head up so she could look up at him. She smiled and rubbed her hands over his five o'clock shadow that he'd allowed to grow out since it was the weekend. "I'm sorry I'm being like this."

"It's okay; I get it," Levi said with a reassuring smile and pressed a brief kiss to her lips. "We'll make it work. Whatever we end up doing, we'll make it work."

For the remainder of his time in London, Levi made his work aware he'd be leaving in June so they could make the necessary hires and within two weeks of letting his manager know, there was a new guy in the department that he and David were training so he'd be prepared to take over once Levi left.

The year progressed until it was finally May. Evalynn's last day of class was in May cutting it really close to when the Tribal school's graduation day was. She'd not promised Shyann that she'd be there, but she really, really wanted to be. So right after she'd taken her last final, Evalynn was on a plane the following morning to get to Washington. She wanted it to be a surprise, so when she landed, she requested Jaedynn and Roshad to come pick her up from the airport. When they arrived in Roshad's Porsche, it was just him and Jaedynn. Jaedynn got out of the car to give Evalynn a big hug while Roshad got Evalynn's luggage into the trunk of the car.

"Welcome home, Evalynn," Jaedynn said. "How've you been?"

"I've been alright. What about you? How've you been? How're you feeling?"

"I feel great," Jaedynn said. She was just barely showing the smallest little bump under her pants and shirt. Evalynn asked to touch her belly and rubbed the area hoping to feel a kick. "Smells still bother me but I'm not getting sick in the morning anymore."

"That's good to hear," Evalynn said. When she didn't feel a kick, she said, "I take it the baby's asleep?"

"Yeah, I think so. The baby's more active in the morning," Jaedynn said and led Evalynn to the car. "So how was your flight?"

"Calm," Evalynn said and got into the back seat of the car. Roshad and Jaedynn got in the front and Jaedynn turned in her seat so she could look at Evalynn. "So I take it Ashti has the kids?"

"Yeah, she does," Jaedynn said.

"Aside from getting pregnant, how was Iran?" Evalynn asked and both Jaedynn and Roshad laughed.

"It was really nice," Jaedynn said. "Roshad bought a new warehouse and office so the first week or so was getting adjusted to that and we had a party for his employees and another party for his investors. I actually got to meet the Shah and his wife."

"The guy that made gas prices skyrocket you mean?" Evalynn said with humor, but she could still hear Luke in the back of her head going on a rant back when the gas prices had first jumped in price. He'd gone on about how he'd been late to his first period class because there was a line at the gas station and the price had been 'too fucking high'.

"Please don't remind me of that," Jaedynn said. "He was actually really nice when I got to talk to him. Doesn't make 63 cents a gallon sting any less."

"Your husband literally produces money out of thin air; you've got nothing to complain about," Evalynn said and patted Jaedynn's shoulder.

"Not out of thin air," Roshad said, "I need inanimate objects."

"Still more than most of us can do," Evalynn teased.

"Oh! So for Halloween, Roshad let the kids trick-or-treat at the new office. Everybody had candy at their desk to give the kids when they walked over. I'll have to show you a picture of them; they're so cute!"

"Well that was awfully sweet of you, Roshad," Evalynn said. "So do you think you'll be staying in Iran that long again anytime soon?"

"Probably not," Jaedynn said. "Roshad, when do you think you'll need to go back to Tehran?"

"Not until November," Roshad said. "I may have to stay through December, but I'll be home before Christmas and New Year's."

"Okay, good," Jaedynn said. "So Evalynn, how much longer do you have before you're graduating from Med School?"

"I graduate next year," Evalynn said. "Then it'll be on to Law School. My counselor said I can register to take the LSAT as early as January but I think I'll at least give myself until March next year. I'll be registering as soon as I can though."

"You're staying at Yale, yes?" Roshad asked.

"Yeah, I'll be going to Yale Law School," Evalynn said. "Post-graduation will be a hoot. I'll be taking the BAR exams for the state of New York and the state of Washington. I hear the test in New York is among the hardest versions of it."

"Well, good luck to you," Jaedynn said. "So after this, it's just three more years?"

"Yeah – I graduate for good in '81," Evalynn said.

"That sounds so far from now," Jaedynn said.

"It'll be worth it," Evalynn said.

They brought Evalynn to their house first and she stayed with Roshad, Jaedynn and the kids until it was around time for Heather to be back home from work. They dropped her off at Heather's and Embry's house and Evalynn walked up to the door to knock. She waited a moment before Heather opened the door. Her belly was swollen but definitely not extremely obvious unless she was wearing tighter clothes. At the moment, she was wearing jeans and a baggy white shirt and when she saw Evalynn, her face lit up.

"Evalynn!" Heather said and went to give her a hug that she reciprocated. "When did you get in? I didn't think you would be here until June."

"I wanted to be here for Shyann's graduation. She doesn't know I'm here so you're sworn to secrecy," Evalynn said and the two released one another.

"Come it," Heather said and stepped aside so Evalynn could enter the house then closed the door.

"Where's Embry?"

"He's still at a job site," Heather said. "Are you hungry or thirsty? I've got some beer in the fridge or water. I'm making chicken thighs and pasta for dinner."

"How are you cooking the thighs?"

"Just with chicken stock, some lemon juice and Dijon mustard. I'm afraid I don't have any wine in the house right now. Not like I can drink any," Heather said.

"A beer would be great then," Evalynn smiled. "So how've you been feeling? I've barely gotten to talk to you since Christmas."

"I know; life's been busy," Heather said both referring to her and to Evalynn. She opened and reached into the fridge taking out one of Embry's beers then come back to Evalynn to hand it to her before going back to the kitchen getting dinner started. "I feel like a beached whale, but I'm fine otherwise. I've been craving chicken so badly since I conceived, so I've been making it every which way imaginable. Embry says at this rate he'll be so sick of chicken he won't be able to stand eating it again until our baby's first birthday."

"I can't say I blame him," Evalynn smiled and came to the island of the kitchen taking a seat on one of the bar stools. "Do you want me to help?"

"No, I've got it," Heather said. "You don't mind rosemary and garlic right?"

"Love rosemary and garlic," Evalynn said and sipped her beer. "So what's the baby's name going to be?"

"Sara for a girl, William for a boy," Heather said, "After our great grandparents."

"Love it," Evalynn said. "So are you and Embry waiting until the baby's born to find out the gender?"

"I'm still debating it," Heather said. "Uncle Kyle says he can tell me the moment I decide I want to know, but I keep flip-flopping on it."

"Hey, if you want to wait there's no shame in that," Evalynn said. "I say find out now so you've got a head start on decorating the baby's room but that's me."

"I'm seeing Uncle Kyle again next weekend, so maybe we'll find out then," Heather said. Having gotten the cast iron skillet hot enough, she got the chicken thighs into the pan skin down to sear it. "So are you excited to see Shyann? Have the two of you still been calling each other?"

"I'm a little nervous I admit," Evalynn said. "We talked last week before my finals. She told me she's going to Arizona for the summer then she's coming back to Washington and will be looking for work."

"Is she still planning to ask Aunt Ada for work?"

"As far as I know," Evalynn said, "But the way I hear it, Ada's pretty much staffed as needed. Unless Nadeshka wants to find other work."

"Good luck with that one," Heather said as she huffed a condescending laugh. Then she realized she sounded rude and said, "No offense."

"None taken," Evalynn said, waving her hand dismissively. "Honestly, I think she'd probably rather work in the city so she'll be applying to places in Port Angeles. My concern is where she plans to apply to. She can't really work at a bar; she's not 21."

"She could still be a waitress, though, couldn't she?"

"If it's a restaurant she could, but not if it's a bar. She can't serve alcohol," Evalynn said. "Maybe she can keep working at the coffee shop. That's done her well the past two years."

"It's an idea," Heather said. "So….do you think things will change between you?"

"I don't know. That's what's got me nervous," Evalynn said. "Even if my feelings do change, I won't do anything about it. Not now anyway. She doesn't deserve for me to be tying her down when I'm on the other side of the country."

"I don't know; a long distance relationship has worked for a bunch of us," Heather said.

"Maybe, but Shyann's still…I guess 'young' is the only word for it. She doesn't strike me as the type that would be satisfied with a long distance relationship."

"I mean…if she loves you, she'll work with you," Heather said. "At least I would think so."

"I wouldn't count on it," Evalynn said. "Hell, she hasn't even been with another woman since the one Grandpa Edward put a grinding halt to."

"I wouldn't let that discourage you. You know how shallow the dating pool is for homosexuals compared to straight people," Heather said.

"It's not that shallow if you know where to look," Evalynn said and then rubbed her face with a sigh. "Whatever. I need to stop over thinking it."

"I'd suggest that," Heather said. "Since I'm thinking about it: did you want to stay with Embry and I? Or are you staying with Jaedynn?"

"I was going to stay the night with Roshad and Jaedynn and they're going to drive me home tomorrow so I can be at the graduation on Friday," Evalynn said. "You aren't going right?"

"No, we're not," Heather said. "I know Oscar and Travis are definitely coming."

"Well yeah, I would think so," Evalynn said. "It'll be nice to see them again. Same with Levi. I've missed having him just 2 hours away. All the gals at the Marmalade Bar really miss him."

Heather laughed, "Leave it to Levi to leave behind a few broken hearts. He's coming back in June but I guess Nadja's not joining him right away. He's planning to find work and his own place first."

"Is he moving back in with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Amber or is he living with Anatoli?"

"He's staying with Anatoli," Heather said.

"And he's coming back in June?"

"Yeah," Heather said. She turned over the thighs now that the skin side have been seared then added the rosemary sprigs, smashed cloves of garlic and poured the chicken broth, lemon juice and mustard mixture over the chicken and got it covered so it could cook the rest of the way.

"Dinner smells amazing by the way," Evalynn said.

"Thank you," Heather said and then the front door opened. They looked towards the door as Embry stepped into the house. "Welcome home, Embry," Heather said.

"It's good to be home," Embry groaned and kicked off his shoes. He was filthy. His skin and clothes were covered in dust from drywall and his forehead was still sweaty.

"Long day?" Evalynn asked.

"Very," Embry said then realized Evalynn was there. "When did you get in?"

"I flew in this morning," Evalynn said. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by."

"Not at all," Embry said, "But I'm going to go shower. Heather, can dinner wait until I get out?"

"Sure," Heather said. Embry walked over to the kitchen to thank her, gave her a kiss then ran upstairs to shower away all the dust and sweat.

Heather got a pot of water on the stove and waited until she heard the shower turn off before putting the pasta into the boiling water. Once Embry was back downstairs in a fresh pair of clothes, they all sat down together to have dinner and Evalynn stayed with them for a few hours before Embry drove Evalynn back to Roshad's and Jaedynn's house for the night. The next day, Roshad drove Evalynn to Forks dropping her off at her parents' house where she'd be staying for the rest of her time in Washington. When she was able to, she walked back into town making her way to Caleb's and Ashley's house so she could visit them as well.

Then it was finally Friday. Save for the seniors that were graduating, the dormitory was a bustle with students that were enjoying the beginning of their summer break before they would be making the trip to Arizona for the summer. The seniors, Shyann among them, were getting ready for their big day. Shyann was in her room getting her makeup on after getting out of the shower and, going bold, she went with a purple color scheme. She used lavender as her base, lined her lids with a thick coat of dark purple for some pop along with a thin line of black eye liner and her black mascara. She kept her lips nude save for a shimmery gloss and once her makeup was on, she blow dried her hair that now reached just below her shoulders with some curlers in trying to accomplish a messy wavy look akin to Mick Jagger. All her classmates and cousins that were graduating were going to dress really nice, but not her. She'd be in high waisted bell bottom blue jeans and a purple sleeveless tank top. No one would see her outfit under her graduation gown anyway.

All the seniors went to the school by 10:00 in the morning in preparation for the ceremony that would be starting at 11. Virtually all the Tistilal kids, save for a few that took a different name, would be some of the first to accept their diplomas since they had Barker as their last name. Shyann was among those kids but she was towards the end of the line-up. All the senior teachers, Renesmee and Jacob were already outside on the stage while parents were taking their seats. Oliver and Oscar were among those that were seated up front along with Wisteria and the parents of the Tistilal kids that were graduating that day. The majority of the left hand side seats were taken up by members of the Tistilal tribe while the right was the Quileute. Evalynn was seated on the right towards the back making sure not to take up any space from the parents.

At 11, all the seniors were escorted by Suerro to the three front most rows in alphabetical order and Evalynn knew Shyann the moment she came out. Shyann didn't notice her, looking forward then at the stage once she'd made it to her assigned seat. The graduates stayed standing until everyone was outside and finally took their seats once Suerro directed them to. Renesmee and Jacob both gave a speech congratulating the seniors for their hard work and wished them all luck in their future endeavors before they moved on to handing out the diplomas. There were only about 40 graduates, so handing out diplomas took about thirty minutes and once they were all handed out, the ceremony ended and the seniors were released to congratulate one another and go to their parents and friends. Evalynn stayed out of the way initially so Shyann could talk to her parents, to her Grandpa Oliver and Uncle Oscar. It took a while for Evalynn to get through the crowd so she was closer to Shyann staying in the center aisle.

Except for her hair growing out, Shyann looked as Evalynn remembered her. She had the same beautiful smile, the same beautiful black eyes and black hair; but there was something different. Evalynn couldn't remember if she'd ever noticed the sparkle in Shyann's eyes. Or maybe it was the excitement of graduating. Regardless, when Shyann finally noticed Evalynn and looked in her direction, Evalynn knew. She didn't see a child anymore. She saw a woman and the attraction was instantaneous.

"Evalynn?" Shyann said with a bright smile and ran over to her. She gave Evalynn a tight hug that Evalynn reciprocated despite the surprise of the sudden outburst of affection. "What the fuck are you doing here? When did you get here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" she proceeded to ask but retained her same bright smile after she released Evalynn.

"I got here a few days ago. I wanted to surprise you," Evalynn answered and took Shyann in. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks; you're not half bad yourself. Wouldn't hurt to put on some rouge though. I'm just graduating is all," Shyann poked fun and patted her hand against Evalynn's cheek playfully.

"You're right. How could I have been s insensitive?" Evalynn played along. "So what's the plan from here?"

"Find a better job and my own place. What else?" Shyann smiled. "It'll wait until I get back from Arizona, but that's pretty much it."

"Well, congratulations to you. Now it's time for the real world," Evalynn said.

"Damn straight," Shyann said.

"You realize that means bills and taxes, right?" Evalynn said with a light laugh.

"What do you think I've been doing since I got a job and bought my car?" Shyann said. She stared at Evalynn a moment seeming to notice something. Whatever it was, it made Shyann's smile turn to that flirtatious smile Evalynn recognized. "So where are you staying? With your parents?"

"Yeah, I'm staying at home," Evalynn said. "Are you staying in the dorms once you get back?"

"At least until I find my own place," Shyann said. "You'll have to come visit me once I've moved."

"Definitely," Evalynn replied. She glanced at the crowd noticing everyone was going to the other side of the beach where food was being offered. "I don't know about you, but I could really go for some lunch right about now."

"Same," Shyann said, "Desarae made rattle snake stew and scorpions. Have you ever tried that?"

"I've never tried it, no. I'm a little hesitant if I'm honest."

"Oh, don't be a bitch," Shyann said and grabbed Evalynn's hand. "Give it a try. You'll love it, I swear." Shyann pulled Evalynn with her to where all the food was being served. As they waited in line, Shyann removed her graduation gown and when she did, Evalynn almost laughed.

"You get on my case for not wearing makeup, but you're in jeans and a tank top on your graduation day," Evalynn said.

"I put makeup on; that's what counts," Shyann smiled and tossed the gown over her arm while the hand of that arm held her cap. "So are you here through July?"

"Yeah, I'll be here until the first of August before I have to go back east," Evalynn said. "When are you leaving for Arizona?"

"We're leaving Monday," Shyann said. "The flock is flying home themselves. The rest of us get to take a plane or the bus. I'm taking a plane with my mom, grandma and the others."

"It's definitely faster than the bus or driving there yourself," Evalynn said. "So do you have any specific plans while you're back home?"

"Nothing special," Shyann said. "I asked Uncle Oscar if he and Travis would let me stay with them for a while. Last I heard, Travis was still trying to convince Uncle Oscar to let me stay with them for a few days at least. What about you?"

"The only big thing I'm planning for is Gay Pride," Evalynn said.

"That's right! When is that?"

"June 2nd," Evalynn said.

"Damn it," Shyann said. "I wish I could join you. I wonder if there's a Gay Pride rally in Phoenix. Oh!" Shyann was giddy with excitement and looked around to find Oscar and Travis. They were further down the line ahead of them but were within earshot if she spoke up. "Uncle Oscar!" Shyann yelled and Oscar stopped talking to Oscar and looked at Shyann.

"What?"

"When I stay with you and Travis, can we go to a Gay Pride rally?" Shyann asked. Oscar looked at her a moment, really confused.

"Pardon?"

"A Gay Pride rally. I've heard of them and I'd really like to go but the rally here is happening when I'll be in Phoenix so I thought we could all go to a rally in Phoenix."

"Shyann, there is no rally in Phoenix," Oscar said.

"There isn't?"

"No," Oscar said. "And as far as you staying with Travis and I-"

"We'll get back to you on that, Shyann," Travis interrupted and took a hold of Oscar's arm to get the man's attention again and started to talk to him. Evalynn could overhear Travis trying to convince Oscar to let Shyann spend a few days since she just wanted to have fun in the city but Oscar still wasn't really convinced.

"Well that's bullshit," Shyann groaned.

"I'm sorry," Evalynn said. "If you're staying in Washington next summer or you'll be here in June, maybe I can take you."

"I'll be here next summer; don't you worry," Shyann said with an irritated sigh. "With Uncle Oscar being such a pill, it doesn't look like I'll be having much of a summer."

"I'm sure Travis will convince him to let you stay with them a few days," Evalynn said. "Just remember not to blast your music all hours of the day and disrupt the neighbors. They're not really in a position where they can afford their neighbors being nosy, you know what I mean? It's a miracle they've been in that apartment this long and not had people put two and two together."

"That is so silly. What business is it of the neighbors and why do they care?"

"People make it their business," Evalynn said. "Honestly, the only thing we can do is work towards normalizing it; help people realize that being gay is irrelevant to one's character and it shouldn't matter or be a discriminated against. It'll be a while but I do look forward to a time when I can tell someone I'm a lesbian and the worst reaction I get is 'good for you'. I'll take that over risking being assaulted any day."

"Aren't you one of the wolves? I have a hard time picturing someone being able to assault you. I just figure you'd overpower them. Hell, I've seen you do it," Shyann said.

"That's not really the point," Evalynn said. "Whether I overpowered those guys or not, the point remains we could have gotten seriously hurt and that should never have happened in the first place."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'd hire you as a body guard any day of the week," Shyann said with a playful smile directed at Evalynn and Evalynn finally smiled with a gentle laugh.

"I'll hold you to that," Evalynn said.

Once they finally got their share of food, Shyann and Evalynn found a place on the beach near the shoreline where they could sit. Evalynn got herself a hot dog just in case she didn't like the stew or the scorpions but Shyann was insistent that she was confident Evalynn would like it.

"So," Evalynn said as she stared at the three scorpions on her plate, "how do you eat these exactly?"

Shyann gave Evalynn a weird look before saying, "Okay, pay attention 'cause this gets complicated. What you do is: you put it in your mouth and then you chew it. Once you've chewed it enough – now this is the hard part – you swallow." Evalynn started laughing.

"You little brat," Evalynn said through her laughter. "I meant are you supposed to not eat the exoskeleton or something."

"You can eat the whole thing except the stinger, but that's already been taken off," Shyann said. "Stop being a baby and try it. It's really good; I swear."

"Fine, fine, I'll try it," Evalynn said.

She picked up one of the scorpions by the tail bringing it closer to her mouth. She took a deep breath before taking a bite of the scorpion head and claws first with her eyes closed. She kept her eyes closed as she chewed. It wasn't unpleasant much to her surprise. There was a slight fishiness or to her it was a fishiness, but it was a strange nutty, salty and roasted flavor. The texture was very similar to a soft nut like a macadamia or a pistachio, but the flavor was something all its own.

"So? What do you think?"

"That was….interesting," Evalynn finally said once she'd swallowed. "Is it supposed to taste fishy?"

"I never thought of it as 'fishy' but I guess that's one way to put it," Shyann said and took a big bite of a large scorpion from her own plate. She closed her eyes and moaned as she chewed. "See, this is the only thing I miss about home: fried scorpions."

"It's better than I thought it would be; I'll agree with that," Evalynn said and finished the remainder of the scorpion she'd started eating. "On to the stew now," Evalynn said, the stew not scaring her nearly as much as the scorpions did. She tried the broth first and it was extremely fatty and flavorful. She could taste onion, carrot, chilies and a unique flavor she assumed came from the snake. She picked up a piece of meat with her spoon and quickly realized it was a segment still attached to bone. "Are you able to eat the bones?"

"No, you eat around them," Shyann said and proceeded to demonstrate starting with fishing out a segment of meat from her own stew. "So what I like to do is suck on the broth first until its clean. Then you eat it off the bone with your fingers like you would a chicken wing or something."

"Okay," Evalynn said as she watched Shyann pop the segment in her mouth sucking on it before spitting it out into her hand and eating it like a chicken wing as she'd described.

The spitting it out part grossed Evalynn out a little, but she did as directed, putting the segment in her mouth and sucking away the broth. She tried biting down hoping to avoid spitting it out, but with one poke of bone against her teeth, she knew it would be painful to chew and gently spit out the segment so she could eat the meat away from the bones. Compared to the scorpion, the rattlesnake was extremely bland and had a weird texture that reminded her of biting into really weak cartilage. Perhaps like biting into chicken cartilage that had been boiled for ours and was soft enough to lose some of its chew. The broth was vastly superior to the snake itself so she got a big spoonful of broth in her mouth to accompany the snake.

"Is rattlesnake supposed to be that bland?"

"The broth is the best part. Rattlesnake is all about the texture," Shyann said and put the cleaned spinal bones of the snake on her plate with the scorpions.

"So you're the type that, when you eat chicken, you like to chew on the cartilage?"

"Well, yeah," Shyann said as though it were obvious, "that's the best part."

Evalynn scrunched her nose, "I'm not a big fan of it if I'm honest. I prefer the skin and the meat and leaving it at that."

"And you call yourself a wolf," Shyann teased and picked up another scorpion that she dipped into her stew before biting into it then moaning. "Fuck me, that's good." Evalynn took a scorpion that she dipped into the stew just as Shyann had and when she bit into the scorpion, the broth of the stew really did make it better.

"That really was good," Evalynn said then dipped the remainder of the scorpion into the broth before finishing it off. "It's like a fishy cracker."

"Stop calling it 'fishy'. Salmon is fishy."

"Salmon's fantastic," Evalynn said. "The lot of us grew up on salmon and geoduck. Out east, I've been to clam bakes and they're amazing, but nothing compares to geoduck. It's probably the best clam on planet earth."

"The only dick you'll ever have in your mouth, am I right?" Shyann joked and Evalynn burst out laughing. She took a moment to breath and then sighed.

"Sure," Evalynn managed through her dying laughter. Once she was finally done laughing, she looked at Shyann who had a cocky smirk on her face as she dipped another scorpion into her soup. Once dipped, she looked at Evalynn again.

"Speaking of eating dick, how's your love life?" she said then took a bite of her scorpion.

Evalynn laughed a little, "I've never had that kind of love life."

"You know what I mean," Shyann said.

"Yes, I know," Evalynn said. "Honestly, it's been really slow. I've been focusing more on my school work than actually dating. I'd just as soon rather go to the Marmalade Bar when I want a drink and spend time with my school friends than bother with a girlfriend. What about you?"

"Same as always," Shyann said with a shrug.

"Are you still seeing….what was that guy's name?"

"Jean and no," Shyann said, "we broke up last week. I probably should have called things off months ago, but his brother is going to college up in Seattle and invited Jean to all these parties and he'd take me with so I kept things going for the sake of having a good time."

"Ah," Evalynn said and sighed a little as she realized she might 'see' a woman and feel romantically for Shyann now, but she was still immature. Perhaps it was unreasonable to expect otherwise given she was just 18.

"I see you're unimpressed," Shyann said but she was smiling, humored by Evalynn's reaction. Evalynn was about to say something, but then who was she to judge? She'd been in a relationship with Jessica first seriously only for it to shift to friends with benefits.

"I'm just not used to putting 'friends with benefits' so bluntly," Evalynn said.

"I take it you're the type that won't be with someone you're not in love with?"

"No, I've been with women I'm not in love with," Evalynn admitted. "I guess it just feels like you're a little young to be doing things like that."

"There you go, calling me a kid again," Shyann said and put down her bowl before scooting closer to Evalynn until their shoulders touched. Evalynn looked at Shyann worried she might be upset but she wasn't. If anything, she had a flirtatious smile on her face and her dark eyes held that same sparkle that caught Evalynn's attention. "Can I admit something to you?"

"Sure."

"The name of the woman I dated was Loraine. I've been with plenty of guys and they're fine. The sex is fine. Loraine, though? That might have been the most fun I've ever had with anyone. The sex was great, she was a lot of fun, her friends were great: I really, really liked her. I don't know if I'd say I was in love or anything, but I really liked being with her. Since then, men just don't do it for me. Every guy I've been with treat me the same. I'm an easy fuck and they treat me that way. I don't really care if I'm honest. They get what they want, I get what I want. I prefer a man's adoration more than anything anyway. I like being coveted. There's something thrilling about being wanted. But Loraine treated me 'right' if that makes sense. She cared about how I felt, she treated me like an equal; she didn't treat me like a slut. I guess she had no reason to. She didn't know my reputation like everyone else does."

"I'm sure she was great, but she was too old for you," Evalynn said.

"I know, I know," Shyann said. "I put her in a bad position. I get it. It was still just nice to be treated like I was worth something you know? And not just some notch in the headboard that all the guys brag about getting a swing at."

"I mean…..a guy would treat you like you're worth something. Anyone could. What's important is knowing for yourself you're worth more. If you know you're worth it, then anyone you're with will agree with you assuming they're worth your time in return."

"So I brought it on myself," Shyann said.

"I wasn't saying that," Evalynn said.

"No, you were," Shyann said, her face becoming serious, "and you're right. I know you're right."

"Hey," Evalynn started in a gentle tone, "there's nowhere to go but up."

"I guess that's true," Shyann said. She looked up at Evalynn and just stared at her. Evalynn kept quiet as she looked at Shyann in return. Shyann's cheeks started to develop a rosy hue but with her tanned skin, it was harder to see. Evalynn suspected she might be blushing as well, feeling a burn in her cheeks, but she kept her expression neutral. Shyann's expression was decidedly expressive by comparison. She'd looked sad initially but soon developed a light, affectionate smile that was now turning flirtatious all over again. She long, black lashes fluttered and she started to giggle under her breath, though at what, Evalynn wasn't sure and then she looked away, staring at her plate. "Sorry. I made it awkward."

"It's okay," Evalynn said. She'd not felt even a hint of awkwardness when they were staring at one another. "I didn't feel awkward."

"Really?" Shyann said and looked up at Evalynn again. Her smile brightened. "Neither did I if I'm honest." Shyann looked forward out at the water, took a deep breath and fell backward first to her elbows then laying down on her back on the rocks of the beach. It was only now that Evalynn finally realized Shyann wasn't wearing a bra.

"I can't believe you're not freezing," Evalynn said and looked away, not wanting to stare.

"I've been freezing since the first time I set foot on this rainy tundra," Shyann giggled and noticed Evalynn wasn't looking at her. She glanced down seeing that her nipples were erect and she almost laughed, but she held it in. She realized Evalynn's cheeks were red. Shyann bit her bottom lip gently for a moment, then licked her lips and lifted her left knee bringing her right leg up to cross her legs. "How much longer do you have left with school? A year, right?"

"I have a year left of Medical School, then I'll move on to Law School. That'll take me three years," Evalynn answered.

"You have a hell of a lot more dedication than I do," Shyann smiled. "Or maybe you just want more than I do."

"What is it that you want?" Evalynn asked, glancing at Shyann again and making sure to focus on her face.

"Hell if I know," Shyann shrugged. "I just want independence. I never really thought about how I'd get it outside get a job and a place of my own. If I thought I could make a living wage continuing to work for that coffee shop, I might just do that but I know I can't."

"So you're not picky?"

"Not really, no," Shyann said. "So long as I can find myself a job that pays well enough to live, I'll consider myself a lucky girl. If I happen to love my job, even better."

"A positive mindset is a good start," Evalynn said.

"But the key is hard work and determination, right?" Shyann said.

"Pretty much," Evalynn replied. "That goes for most things."

"Noted," Shyann said and sat back up to grab another scorpion that she dipped into her stew before taking a bite. She dipped the remainder of the scorpion into her stew again and then finished that off. Evalynn did the same, finishing her scorpions and drinking the broth of the stew but she left the snake alone. "You're not eating the snake?"

"I don't like the texture," Evalynn said.

"I don't know what disappoints me more: that you don't like rattlesnake stew or that you don't like David Bowie," Shyann said and took Evalynn's bowl so she could add the snake to her own bowl of remaining soup.

"I'd far rather listen to Queen or Elton John. So sue me," Evalynn smiled.

"So long as you're not completely void of taste," Shyann said and started eating one of the segments of snake. "What about Fleetwood Mac? Do you like them?"

"Yes, I like Fleetwood Mac," Evalynn said. "Now let me ask you this. Did you like Fleetwood Mac before Rumours or did you only just hear of them this year?"

"Rumours was my first introduction to the band but I'm aware they were popular in England beforehand," Shyann said.

"For shame; I'd think you'd heard of them long beforehand," Evalynn teased.

"Fuck you," Shyann said but she was starting to laugh. Evalynn laughed as well and for a moment the two of them were looking at one another again. She had the overwhelming desire to ask Shyann out on a date or even just ask her on a night out.

"There's actually a drag club in Seattle that I've heard of but never had the pleasure of going to," Evalynn said. "Would you like to come with me? They might give you a bracelet to show you can't drink, but everything else will be fun regardless."

"I have a fake ID. It's fine," Shyann smirked.

"No, Shyann. If I'm taking you to a drag show, you're going to be on your best behavior," Evalynn said. "I'll tell you what: I won't drink either."

"Bullshit."

"Scout's honor," Evalynn said, holding up her right hand. "I won't even have a glass of wine. We can both just have cokes or something."

"And when would we do this little outing?"

"How about tomorrow?"

Shyann looked like she thought about it then smiled, "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Good," Evalynn said. "It'll take a few hours to get into the city, so we'll have to leave early but I can ask daddy if he'd be okay with me burrowing his car."

"To hell with that; I'll drive," Shyann said. "What time would you suggest we get there by?"

"They open at 9 but I doubt the show starts until 10," Evalynn said. "We should get there early anyway and make sure we can get a good table."

"We'll leave at six then," Shyann said. "Come to my dorm and we'll even get ready together."

"Sounds like fun," Evalynn smiled. "What time should I come to your dorm?"

"Come to my dorm at 2. We can take our time that way," Shyann said. She glanced at Evalynn's hands and even reached over to take a hold of them seeing the short, bare nails. "We'll paint our nails while we're at it."

"I don't usually paint my nails unless I'm with my cousin Heather," Evalynn said.

"Well, now you'll be doing it with me," Shyann said. Then she glanced at her own nails with were long. "I need to straighten my nails out too while I'm at it. A few of my nails are longer than the others."

"Honestly, I'd suggest just cutting them off altogether," Evalynn said.

Shyann laughed, "That's funny."

"Fair enough," Evalynn said with a light smile and a shrug. "Just remember we're going to a night club, not Prom. We can't out dress the drag queens. It's bad manners."

"If I'm out dressing the Queens, they deserve my bad manners," Shyann smirked. "So long as we're dressed casually, we can go all out for our hair, nails and makeup. Surely they wouldn't fault us that."

"I guess you're right," Evalynn said.

"Shyann!" Shyann and Evalynn looked over their shoulder and saw Desarae approaching them. "We're all going to take a picture with the graduates. Put your gown back on and let's get you in that photo."

"Sure," Shyann said and stood up taking her gown and cap with her. "If I don't see you again later, I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Evalynn reciprocated and then Shyann walked away with Desarae so she could be in the large group photo with her cousins, classmates and all the teachers including Desarae, Blu Jae, Uilette, Cidelle, Nesia and so many more.

When she got back to her parents' house, Evalynn rummaged through her suitcase for the makeup she'd known she'd packed as well as trying to find the perfect outfit for hers and Shyann's night out. She picked a pair of bell bottom dark wash jeans and one of her scarves that she liked to wear as a shirt. She'd seen Cher wearing a shirt that looked like a scarf wrapped around over her breasts and tied behind her neck and when Evalynn saw that look, she loved it and it became a favorite summer look for her. This particular scarf was a dark purple with white polka dots on it. She figured it was casual enough but dressed up enough that it was a good look for a night club. She had tan high heeled wedged shoes that were strappy and tied at the ankle. Once she had the outfit picked out and resting on the chair to her old desk in her room, she sat on the edge of her bed with her head back as she sighed.

Kyle and Evalina were home really late that night but Evalynn was still up when they got home so Evalina cooked some dinner for Kyle and Evalynn and the three of them sat down together to properly catch up. The next day, Kyle had to go to the hospital but Evalina had a day off so she stayed home with Evalynn and had her help with laundry and with some other house chores until it was time for Evalynn to leave. She kept her clothes in a large tote and made sure to bring her tan fringe jacket since there was an expectation of rain that day. She made it to the dorm and most of the students were either out with friends or getting packed for the trip to Arizona. Shyann's door was closed so Evalynn knocked on the door and waited a moment before the door opened. Shyann's hair was a mess and she was in just her panties and once of her torn up band shirts.

"You're still in your pajamas?" Evalynn asked as she raised her brow with humor.

"We're not going anywhere yet," Shyann said and stepped aside so Evalynn could come in. "The showers are full right now but once there's room, we'll go take a shower."

"I didn't bring my soaps," Evalynn said.

"It's fine. You can use mine," Shyann said and closed her door. "My color variety for nail polish is limited but I've some nice options." She walked over to her desk where she kept her makeup box and opened one of the drawers and took out 10 bottles of polish. Evalynn noticed the silver polish right away.

"I'll do silver," Evalynn said.

"Well that was easy," Shyann smiled and took the bottle of silver nail polish and putting it to the side. She looked through the colors trying to decide what she wanted for herself.

"Shouldn't we wait until after we've showered before we paint our nails?"

"We will, but it doesn't hurt to have the color picked out ahead of time," Shyann said, still looking through all her colors. She held up a bottle of deep brown polish and another bottle of pale pink polish and looked between them for a 2nd. Then she turned and showed them to Evalynn. "Which do you prefer? The brown or the pink?"

"I think the pink would look really nice on you," Evalynn said.

"Pink it is," Shyann said and put down the pink polish beside the silver then put all the other bottles back in her drawer. "So what are you wearing?"

"Jeans and a scarf top," Evalynn said.

"A scarf top?"

"Yeah," Evalynn said and pulled out the scarf in question. "It was a different scarf, but I wore a scarf top to Pride last year and the weather was amazing for it."

"I never took you for the type to dress so scantily," Shyann smirked. "I love that color."

"Thank you," Evalynn said and put the scarf back in her tote. "So what are you wearing?"

"Some overall shorts and a long sleeved shirt," Shyann said and went to her closet to pull out the blue jean overalls that were really, really short and a long sleeved thing but it wasn't a 'shirt'. It looked more like a really tiny cardigan that was tie-dyed in a rainbow of verifying shades of purple, red and pink.

"Is that really all you're wearing?" Evalynn asked.

"I'll have a bra on underneath," Shyann said and looked at Evalynn with a mischievous smile. "That's a real big lecture coming from someone that'll be wearing a scarf for a shirt."

"I'll have my jacket at least," Evalynn said.

"I'll have one too," Shyann said, pointing and her oversized Leather jacket. It was far too big and looked like it belonged to a guy.

"Who's jacket it that?" Evalynn asked.

"It's mine," Shyann said.

"I mean before you kept it for yourself," Evalynn said knowingly.

"Oh," Shyann said with a laugh, "Some guy I dated up in Forks. One night we were out together and he put his jacket on me and I kept it. When we broke up he asked for it back and I just said I'd lost it. He was so pissed."

"If that's real leather, I don't blame him," Evalynn said. "Alright, as long as you've got a jacket. It's supposed to rain tonight."

"It's Washington. Rain is the default," Shyann said. Then there was a knock on the door before it opened and one of Shyann's relatives poked her head in.

"Some shower stalls opened up," she said.

"Thanks," Shyann answered and the girl walked away leaving the door ajar. Shyann grabbed her toiletry bag off the floor by her desk and grabbed her towel off the desk chair and then went to her dresser to pull out another fresh towel that she handed to Evalynn. "The showers are supper close together so once I'm done with my soaps, I'll hand them over to you."

"Sounds good to me," Evalynn said.

The two of them left Shyann's room walking down the hall to the girl's showers and thankfully there were 2 stalls open beside one another. A few girls were still in some of the stalls and some were in front of the mirror washing their faces, doing their brows or whatever else they still needed to do. Shyann and Evalynn took adjacent stalls and got undressed putting their clothes aside and turning on the showers. Shyann poured her shampoo out into her hair and got it lathered before poking her head out from the stall and reaching into Evalynn's.

"Shampoo," Shyann said and Evalynn took it from her. She washed her hair and rinsed out the soap in time for Shyann to hand over the conditioner and then a bottle of body wash right after. Evalynn smelled the soap before she got a hold of the bottle and could read the scent. It was a Lemon scent but it didn't smell like soap. Rather, it made her think of candy.

"I take it you're not big on floral scents?" Evalynn said as she poured some soap into her hand.

"I'm into whatever scent smells the best at the store," Shyann said.

Evalynn smiled a little. She didn't believe this was the best smelling thing at the store but she didn't say anything. Once they'd turned off the showers, Evalynn dried herself off as much as possible and put on her panties she'd put on that morning and wrapped the towel around herself but didn't have a towel for her hair. She stepped out of the stall holding her clothes and waited a moment before Shyann came out so the two of them could walk back to her room. Shyann closed the door behind them once they were inside and walked over to her dresser taking out a fresh bra and pair of panties. Shyann tossed the towel aside so it landed on her desk chair and put on her panties and bra while Evalynn quickly looked away and kept the towel around herself.

"Do you have a shirt I could burrow while we get ready?" Evalynn asked. "A full shirt I mean?"

"I'll have to look," Shyann said with a light laugh and started rummaging through her drawers once she had on her panties and bra. She eventually found a plain white shirt that she offered to Evalynn. Evalynn took the shirt and turned around so her back was to Shyann and finally pulled off the towel then put the shirt on so she was mostly covered.

"Thank you," Evalynn said as she put on the shirt. Shyann grabbed a back out from under her bed.

"Let's get your hair in some curlers," Shyann said and guided Evalynn to the desk chair and put the bag on her desk, unzipped it and pulled out a large purple roller with short bristles. Evalynn sat still while Shyann sectioned her hair and pinned the rollers into her hair until her head was completely full with these large purple curlers. "Perfect," she said. "Let's do your makeup while we wait for that to dry."

"What do you have planned?" Evalynn asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Shyann said and came around the chair so she was standing in front of Evalynn. "I think with the purple, we'll keep your eye shadow subdued but give you a bold lip."

"I love a bold lip," Evalynn answered. "I brought my own foundation."

"It's in your bag?" Shyann asked, already walking over to the tote and grabbing the makeup out and bringing it to her desk. She examined the makeup to make sure she knew what was what and got to work on Evalynn's makeup. "Honestly, I don't know why you bother with concealer. Your skin doesn't have a single blemish."

"Most of the time, I don't," Evalynn said. "I usually only wear it if I'm going out somewhere."

"So only the Queens ever see you like this?" Shyann teased.

"Them and my dates," Evalynn smiled, keeping her eyes closed as Shyann applied the foundation. She made quick work of that first layer then moved on to give Evalynn a pop of purple shadow that stayed close to the lash line so it wasn't too much and finished with a black eyeliner. Finally, she pulled out a mate lipstick that Shyann presented with a smile.

"It's called Wicked," Shyann said and unrolled the stick from the tube. It was a deep, dark burgundy that Evalynn loved instantly and she parted her lips so Shyann could apply the color to Evalynn's lips. Once done, Shyann grabbed a tiny mirror and held it in front of Evalynn so she could see. The vocal point was definitely the lipstick while the rest of her face was conservatively made up. The purple on her eyes were barely noticeable but she could see it enough to know it was there.

"You've outdone yourself," Evalynn said.

"Thank you," Shyann answered with a proud smile. "Okay, my turn. Do my makeup."

Evalynn got off the chair and Shyann took her place. Evalynn looked at Shyann's assigned outfit again to decide what to do. The bold colors of the sleeves Shyann would be wearing seemed like they would require a more tame makeup look, but 'tame' was not a word that applied to Shyann. Evalynn applied Shyann's foundation first and thought about what look to give her. Ultimately she decided to give Shyann the opposite effect, making her eyes the vocal point of the look. She gave Shyann a bold pink shadow as the base and added a layer of purple that she did her best to make blend into the pink shadow going up gradually. When she finally had the shadow down the way she wanted, Evalynn lined Shyann's lash line with a thick black line that she ended in a little wing to give her a cat eye look and then curled her lashes before applying a generous amount of mascara while the bottom lashes Evalynn kept very light on mascara. She finished Shyann off with an application of gloss with a pale, peachy hue so it would emphasize Shyann's natural lip color rather than cover it.

"Okay," Evalynn said, "I think that looks good." She picked up the mirror and held it in front of Shyann so she could see herself and she gasped with a bright, excited smile.

"Hot damn," Shyann said and turned her head to see the makeup from all angles continuing to smile as she admired her image. She put the mirror down on her desk and got up from the desk chair going to her outfit. "I think we'll be the bells of the ball, don't you?" Shyann asked, turning to look at Evalynn.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Shyann. Remember: it's rude to be dolled up more than the Queens," Evalynn smiled.

"I guess," Shyann sighed and then took the towel off her head releasing her hair. She shook and flipped her head a few times to loosen the strands and the bunched her hair in her hands to encourage the natural curl to stay in place.

Shyann insisted on helping Evalynn get the shirt off over her head so as to not disrupt the curlers and Evalynn quickly got her purple scarf wrapped around herself covering her breasts and tied it at the back of her neck. She put on her pants but didn't bother with her shoes just yet while Shyann pulled her overalls up to her hips but didn't bring it up the rest of the way. She didn't grab a bra like she'd said she would. Instead she grabbed a white strapless bikini top which she tied behind her back then pulled over her breasts so they were covered then tugged the sleeves of her 'shirt' over her arms. Then she finally secured the buttons of the overalls, but it still left her sides almost completely bare and the shorts were short enough that her but was poking out seductively.

"Alright, let's check if your hair is dry," Shyann said and ran over to Evalynn touching the hair in the curlers. They weren't completely dry so Shyann grabbed her hair dryer, turned it on and helped Evalynn's hair along until it was finally dry. Then she removed the curlers one section at a time until her hair was completely free. Shyann came around to make some adjustments and smirked. She grabbed the mirror and presented it to Evalynn so she could see herself. "Farrah Fawcett, eat your heart out." Evalynn actually giggled a little. Shyann really had managed to give Evalynn that specific beachy wave look and she even felt a little like one of Charlie's Angels.

"Maybe the Queens won't be too mad at us for stealing their thunder," Evalynn joked.

"What are they going to do? Kick us out?" Shyann joked and took back the mirror.

"Once we start tipping them, I'm sure they'll forgive us," Evalynn said. "That reminds me, do you have cash?"

"I do."

"Good; it's customary to tip the Queens, so make sure you bring plenty of cash," Evalynn said. "I always make a point to bring at least $20-30."

"Jesus, sounds like you're a generous tipper," Shyann said and started rummaging through her wallet. "Okay, I've got $15 in singles."

"That'll be plenty," Evalynn said. "Let's go ahead and get going. It's a long drive to Seattle."

Evalynn put on her tan wedge shoes while Shyann wore black tennis shoes with knee high white socks. She looked adorable and Evalynn said as much to her. Evalynn started to blush when Shyann smirked seductively with her head held high as she said thank you. Evalynn drove the two of them into Seattle managing to get them into the city in about two hours. Once they'd made it to Seattle, Evalynn had to drive around for a while to find the bar. She'd known it was on Pike St. near Cascade and Capitol Hill but she wasn't positive where. Eventually, though, she found a location where two men were standing outside together in very close proximity so Evalynn drove up to them, poked her head out and asked if they were close to the bar. They confirmed she was, gave her the last of the directions and even told her where she could park.

"Hold on, Shyann; we need to put money in the meter," Evalynn said once they'd parked and gotten out of the car. Shyann sighed and came to Evalynn's side while Evalynn put the coins in the meter so they could be parked there for the full two hours. Evalynn reached into her purse to pull out a watch to check the time. "Okay, I'll come back out at 11 and put money in the meter again."

"Again?" Shyann said and rolled her eyes. "Are you serious?"

"That's what happens when you park in the city and there's no parking lot," Evalynn said.

She opened the back door of the car to grab Shyann's umbrella then they started walking to the gay bar. From the outside, there was a single door with blue lights surrounding it and right above it was a neon sign with the name of the bar being advertized. Rainy Day was the name of the bar and on the door was a little sign that said, 'Drinks, Drag, Fun! Come inside and spend a Rainy Day with our lovely ladies!'. It was quite refreshing to see a bar be able to be so open as this, though unless someone was to walk up to the door and see the sign, they'd miss it never realizing it was a gay bar. They stepped into the bar and right up front was a man sitting at a tiny booth dressed in jeans and a black shirt.

"Evening ladies. May I see your IDs?" he asked and Evalynn pulled her wallet from her purse to present her ID. Shyann did the same but Evalynn immediately noticed it was the fake ID and grabbed her hand.

"Your real ID, Shyann," Evalynn said and released Shyann who rolled her eyes with irritation and put the fake ID away then grabbed her real one, handing it over to the guy. He handed Evalynn back her ID then looked at Shyann's.

"I'm sorry, miss, but it's 21 or older only," the man said.

"Are you serious?!" Shyann whined.

"Sir," Evalynn said, "Please, she's not going to be able to go to Pride this year and I promised I'd take her to a drag show to make up for it in some small way. She'll not be drinking and I'll make sure of it. Can you look the other way? Just this once?" Evalynn pleaded but kept her smile professional.

"One second," the man said and walked away from the little table to go grab someone. Another group of people walked in behind them waiting to present their ID and get their own tables but Evalynn didn't look at them. She already felt really bad asking this guy to bother a manager. At least she assumed he was getting a manager. Then she looked at Shyann who was pouting but it wasn't like staring at a brat that wasn't getting her way. She looked genuinely disappointed and even looked like she might cry. Finally the man came over and sat back at the table but he had something in his hand. "Can I have your wrist please, miss?"

"Mine?" Shyann asked, surprised, but gave the man her hand after he nodded. Then he wrapped a little plastic band around her wrist and secured it.

"That'll let the servers know you're underage. You can order soda or water, but no alcohol. Otherwise, enjoy the show," the man said.

"Thank you so much," Evalynn said with a smile and guided Shyann with her further into the bar.

The lights were dimmed and there was an ambiance to the space that reminded her of The Marmalade Bar. There was loud music playing. At the moment it was Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees. There was a stage that had a runway poking into the room with tables on either side and in front of the runway and more tables surrounding the stage as well as a bar to the far end of the room far away from the stage. Evalynn noticed the bar table wasn't made of wood. Rather it was plastic and it had a light function that illuminated the bar. They found a table close to the stage and Evalynn told Shyann to wait for her while she ran back to the bar and ordered both of them cokes and a bowl of pretzels. She put the bowl on the table and then sat beside Shyann presenting the glass of soda.

"Your coke," Evalynn said.

"Thank you," Shyann said and accepted it. "God damn state changing the drinking age to 21," she muttered.

"The law's the law, kid," Evalynn said. "Hey, I promised I wouldn't drink either, so we'll be sober together. Besides, you don't need alcohol to enjoy the show."

"I know, but it would just be nice to get to have a grasshopper or a Tom Collins or something," Shyann said.

"I'm partial to a Sloe Gin Fizz myself," Evalynn said rather than bother asking Shyann to explain how she knew what a grasshopper or Tom Collins tasted like.

"Oh my God, I love those too," Shyann smiled and took a sip of her coke. They were interrupted when one of the queens dressed in a French maid outfit with fishnet stockings, platform wedge black shoes and a curly blonde haired wig with a lacy black and white headband pinned into it came to their table.

"Good morning, ladies," the queen said. It was definitely a man's voice but the queen had done wonders to present a woman's figure likely with the use of a really tight corset and padding to give herself an hourglass shape. "My name is Envy Mimi – I'll be your server this evening."

"It's a pleasure," Evalynn smiled.

"Will we get to see you performing tonight?" Shyann asked eagerly, resting her chin in her hands. Envy Mimi giggled, waved her hand a little and rested her hand on her chest in a bashful display.

"Oh no, not little old me," Envy Mimi said, "I'm just your cocktail waitress. I've also got singles in case you need to break full bills."

"We've got singles, worry not," Evalynn said with a smile.

"So is this your first drag show?" Envy Mimi asked.

"It's my first," Shyann said. "I'm a little new to the scene."

"Well, it's a joy to welcome you," Envy Mimi smiled. "I'd better get to the other tables, but if you need anything, just wave for me okay?"

"Absolutely, Miss Mimi," Evalynn said and Envy Mimi walked away to help other patrons.

"She's really not performing?" Shyann asked, disappointed.

"Oh no, she'll be performing," Evalynn said. "I suspect they've got a specific set up ready. She's just not hosting the show. There's usually one Queen that's the host of the show and she'll give the most performances and between hers, there'll be more queens that will lip sync."

"I see," Shyann said, "and we tip them when they're lip syncing?"

"Exactly," Evalynn said, "but I suggest giving each Queen one dollar for their first performance then give the big tips at the end of the show that way you've met all the Queens and you can get to know them and learn who you like the most."

"Got it," Shyann said. They waited another ten or so minutes before the music stopped and an announcer's voice came on through the sound system.

"Ladies and gentlemen! How are we all feeling tonight?!" The whole bar cheered in response including Shyann who screamed with excitement. Evalynn laughed and patted Shyann's shoulder as she laughed. "That's what I like to hear! Make sure you show our lovely hostess the same love! And without further adieu, please welcome our host for tonight! Miss Bella Donna!"

The crowd cheered and whistled as a queen came onto the stage dressed in a suede baby blue jumpsuit with bell bottoms and a halter top so her lean but strong arms were visible, a shoulder length black wig that curled at inward at the bottom and bangs wearing brightly colored blue eye shadow and a bold pink lip and eye lashes that seemed to go on forever. Once she was on the stage, Dancing Queen began to play and Bella Donna began to lip sync to the song dancing up and down the runway twirling around and giving a good show. Bella Donna zeroed in on a few patrons, Shyann included, apparently having been told beforehand that these were newcomers, and guided them onto the stage with her so they could start dancing and singing along with her. Evalynn laughed and clapped her hands as she watched Shyann have a great time dancing and singing along with the other newbies while Bella Donna went around the room continuing to lip sync and effectively welcome everyone. By the time the song ended, Bella Donna returned to the stage and Envy Mimi guided them all back to their tables so Bella Donna had the stage to herself again.

"Good evening, how's everyone doing tonight?!" Bella Donna asked once she'd grabbed a microphone from off stage. The bar cheered in response. "Good, good, I'm so happy to hear it. Let's give a big round of applause to our bartenders, Jack and Ed," she said with a big smile and everyone looked towards the bar and applauded for the two bartenders that waived back to the crowd. "Let's also give a round of applause to our cocktail waitress, Miss Envy Mimi." Once located in the bar, the crowd cheered for Envy Mimi who waived to the crowd like Miss America. "That's right, bitch; you've got to tell people they should be jealous of you."

"Fuck you!" Envy Mimi answered with a laugh and the rest of the crowd was laughing to.

"Love you too, bitch," Bella Donna said with a big smile. "If you need to break your bills to singles, make sure you wave Envy Mimi down and she'll help you out. If you're really nice to her, she might even get you a drink." The crowd laughed a little and clapped again for Envy Mimi who curtsied this time. "Oh stop it, you're no more a lady than my dog," Bella Donna teased.

"He's the only man you'll have in your life with that attitude," Envy Mimi jabbed back and made the crowd laugh again.

"Ow!" Bella Donna said while bringing a hand to her chest, "My feelings." Bella Donna and Envy Mimi both started laughing until Bella Donna went on with the show. "Now, I have a confession to make. I'm not really 17," Bella Donna said, making a joke about the song she'd just performed to, and the crowd laughed. "I won't tell you how old I really am, but let's say for the record when I was 17, we'd just gotten our first Catholic president." The crowd laughed lightly. "Those were good times. I'd graduated high school, I was applying to business school," Bella Donna paused briefly, "my parents thought I was straight." The crowd laughed again. "Thanks so much; you're a great crowd. Let's move on to our next act for the night. She's a little new to the drag game, so be sure to make her feel welcome. Please give a round of applause for Miss Rosy Pike!"

The crowd applauded as Bella Donna got off the stage just as the music started playing: Lady Marmalade by Patti LaBelle. Just in time for the music to start, a black Queen wearing a bright pink floor length sparkling dress and a massive faux feather shawl came on stage and started dancing and lip syncing to the song. Her wig was a large, black afro and, from what Evalynn could tell, it was actually his natural afro which made to display all the more impressive. The earrings were giant gold hoops that framed her face and her makeup was reminiscent of Patti LaBelle.

As she performed, Rosy Pike stayed on stage initially but was soon walking down the stairs of the stage to go around the room, shimmying her hips as she went along. She danced from table to table accepting tips as she went along. Once she'd made it back to the stage, the song was coming to a close and as soon as that song ended, she shifted to lip syncing to Stoned Love by the Supremes. Once that song ended, Rosy Pike started to walk off the stage blowing kisses to the crowd as they all cheered. Then Bella Donna came back on the stage clapping for Rosy Pike before grabbing the microphone stand.

"Let's hear it for Rosy Pike everyone! A fantastic first show!" Bella Donna said and encouraged the crowd to applaud for her again. Once the applause died back down, Bella Donna continued. "Our next performer has informed me that she would like some involvement from the crowd. You'll know what I mean once you hear the song choice. Having said that, please welcome our next performer to the stage: Miss Goldie Locks!"

The crowd applauded as Bella Donna got off the stage and was then replaced with a Queen who not only wore a long, blonde wig that was about as big as her head, she also wore a gold mini dress, gold platform boots and a bright yellow faux fur jacket. Once on stage, The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad began playing. Goldie Locks started clapping and encouraged the crowd to do the same and clap along with the song. Once everyone was clapping along, Goldie Locks started to sway but soon got off stage into the crowd and grabbed a hold of one of the patrons making that guy stand behind Goldie Locks starting an actual train. She danced along and made people join the line. Evalynn encouraged Shyann to join when she saw that she clearly wanted to and Shyann got up. But before she joined the line, she grabbed Evalynn and made her come up with her. By the end, nearly everyone was doing the Loco-Motion with Goldie Locks and when the song ended, she went back up to the stage and began to lip sync to ABC by the Jackson Five. After Goldie Locks finished her performance and left the stage, Bella Donna came back up with the microphone stand in hand.

"I swear if you make us all do the chicken dance, I'll smack you into next year," Bella Donna said with a big, humored smile. "Now, do we have any requests? Maybe a dance number you'd like to see us do?"

As a joke, Envy Mimi yelled out, "Dance to Disco Duck!" The crowd laughed as did Bella Donna.

"You know, ladies and gentlemen, we haven't had a performance from our dear cocktail waitress Miss Mimi. I think it's about time she fixed that," Bella Donna said and the whole crowd cheered in agreement.

Bella Donna left the stage to grab Envy Mimi and bring her up to the stage. She feigned shyness and tried refuse to perform, but the moment the music started to play, Bella Donna got off stage and Envy Mimi ripped off her French maid outfit to reveal a corset covered in fake pearls that hung off her to create a little mini skirt and she began dancing to Play that Funky Music White Boy. The crowd cheered for the display and started to dance along with Envy Mimi when she directed everyone to get out of their seats and start dancing while also accepting tips as they came. Shyann grabbed Evalynn and got her to get up and dance with her and the two of them gave Envy Mimi nearly all their singles contrary to Evalynn's earlier advice. The show continued until 11 and Evalynn told Shyann she needed to go out to the car and feed the meter again. Once she got back in, Bella Donna was on stage again doing more standup.

"Alright, everyone, you've been a great crowd, but my feet are killing me. We're open until two, so have some drinks, dance, dry hump; whatever you like." The crowd laughed a little. "Thank you so much for being here! Have a great night!" Bella Donna said, the crowd cheered and Bella Donna got off the stage and music started playing again, starting with Get up and Boogie.

"So how'd you like your first drag show?" Evalynn asked Shyann, practically yelling at her so she'd hear her over the music.

"That was a blast!" Shyann yelled back. "We need to do this again next time we're both in town!"

"Absolutely!" Evalynn answered. She pulled her watch out of her purse to check the time and thankfully they have another hour before the meter ran out. "Did you want to stay a while longer or get going?!"

"Let's stay! Come on! Dance with me!" Shyann said and grabbed Evalynn to pull her on the dance floor so they could dance together. They danced together along with the music until the song changed to Somebody to Love by Queen. The couples in the bar danced along with that song and while other patrons retreated to the bar to get themselves another drink while they hummed along. "I love this song," Shyann said once they'd stopped dancing. Then she came closer to Evalynn, wrapped her arms around her neck and guided her to dance. Evalynn was a little surprised by the gesture but danced along with her.

"It's a really good song," Evalynn agreed. "Honestly, we should probably get going. As it is, it'll be one in the morning by the time we get back and I'm getting really tired."

"If you're tired, you shouldn't be driving," Shyann said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Evalynn said. "I've pulled plenty all-nighters."

"I bet you have," Shyann said with a playful smile.

They went back to their table to grab their purses and left the bar together. When they stepped outside, they saw that it was pouring rain, so Evalynn opened the umbrella and they hurried through the rain to Shyann's car up the road. Evalynn opened the door for Shyann and kept the umbrella above her head as she got into the passenger's seat then Evalynn came around the car to the driver's side letting herself in and quickly closing the umbrella and closing the car door before tossing the umbrella in the backseat. Shyann was shivering, so Evalynn turned on the hot air but kept it low for now.

"Thank you," Shyann said.

"No problem," Evalynn said and turned on the windshield wipers. Then she turned on the headlights and took a moment to glance up and down the road before turning the car onto Pike Street so they could start driving.

"I had a really good time tonight," Shyann said once they were on the road.

"Me too," Evalynn said as she smiled gently but she kept her eyes in front of her.

They were quiet for a while until Evalynn made it to the highway and started the long drive out of the city. Shyann was staring at Evalynn the whole time. She'd always thought Evalynn was an extremely beautiful woman but she always felt like Evalynn just saw her as some dumb kid that needed to be babysat. It just annoyed her before. Now, for some reason, it was much more than annoyance she felt. It was frustration and dejection. Ever since their road trip, she'd developed a big crush on Evalynn and seeing her again only intensified how she felt. But how was she supposed to pursue a woman that just thought of her as a kid?

"Evalynn?" Shyann finally said after they'd been quiet for so long.

"Yeah?" Evalynn replied but once again her eyes stayed forward paying attention to the road. Just when Shyann was about to speak bluntly, she stopped herself. She remembered when Evalynn had rejected her and she wasn't sure she could handle that rejection again.

"What kind of women do you like?" Shyann finally asked.

"What kind of women do I like?" Evalynn asked and finally glanced at Shyann but she soon returned her gaze forward. The confusion on her face, however, was conveyed loud and clear. "I mean…if you're asking me my 'type' I guess I'm not hugely picky. I like a pretty girl as much as the next person but pretty girls are a dime a dozen. I'd rather someone smart and that I can see as my partner rather than some dip with more outward beauty than brains in her head that relies on me you know what I mean? I'm working hard to be independent in a world that assumes I need a man to be happy so I would never want to be with a woman that doesn't hold herself to the same standard."

"I see," Shyann said thoughtfully. She looked out the window watching the landscape go by thinking about what Evalynn had said.

"Why do you ask?" Evalynn enquired after there was another silence between them.

"I was just curious," Shyann answered as she continued contemplating.

A woman that didn't need or want anyone to take care of her: that certainly described Shyann. At least she thought so. But a woman that Evalynn could see as her partner? That was something Shyann had no confidence Evalynn could feel for her. After all, she had no intention of going to college – had no desire to quite frankly. She was a girl that, while she didn't want to rely on a man, certainly loved having male adoration: knowing a man thought she was stunning, knowing she held that kind of power – there was something thrilling to her about that. She honestly preferred the chase and their efforts to win her attention more than anything else and it took nothing for her to lose interest in them. Would Evalynn ever be able to stand that from a woman she's in a relationship with? Her gut answer was, 'no, of course not'. They eventually made it back to the tribe and Evalynn parked Shyann's car in its original space. It wasn't pouring anymore, but it was still misty.

"Your things are still in my room right?" Shyann asked once the car was parked.

"Yeah. Do you mind if I grab everything?"

"Sure," Shyann said and the two of them got out of the car and rushed to the entrance of the dorm and walked through the hall to Shyann's room. She let them into the dorm and turned on a light so Evalynn could see where she was going. She grabbed her tote and her small makeup back then turned to look at Shyann.

"You said you're leaving on Monday?"

"Yeah," Shyann said.

"Did you want to do something tomorrow? Or I guess later today?"

"I still need to pack and after tonight, I'll be sleeping in until afternoon," Shyann said with a light smile. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah," Evalynn said and approached the doorway to Shyann's room. "I'll talk to you later. Have fun at home okay?"

"You too," Shyann said. "You have a good morning okay?"

Evalynn smiled, "You have a good morning too."

Evalynn finally left Shyann's room and, contrary to how Shyann was feeling, Evalynn felt really good about the night. They'd had a great time together and if they kept up like this, Evalynn was confident when she finally returned to Washington for good, she could ask Shyann out and they could be together. Evalynn walked home through the mist at a slow pace with a silly smile on her face. To her, things were looking up between them.