After a night of wild sex to consummate their marriage, the newlyweds Peter and Felicity headed back to the compound, but not before Felicity sensed God speaking to her again saying that they had conceived a son during the marathon. So Felicity was now carrying twins. She was delighted, but she couldn't help feel sad that Ruthie's dream had been crushed nearly a year before. Peter also felt it was in a way unfair to his now ex-wife. If there was an upshot, it was James and Heather wanted siblings and they were now going to have them.
The birthday dinner for both sets of twins went well enough. James and Heather said having twin siblings on the way was the best birthday present of all; but their father, mother and new stepmother all insisted on plying them with the usual boatload of toys. Rod and Shelby did the same for Rhiannon and Maighread, while Hope was now ever more optimistic that luck would be coming her way too and sooner than later.
As supper wrapped up about eight in the evening, the doorbell rang. At the same time, the phone receiver began emitting a series of two short rings in a row indicating an incoming call on the intercom.
Ruthie picked up the receiver.
"Who is it?"
"The Firm!" said Annie coldly. "You'd better open this damn door open, now!"
"Come in, Mom," said Ruthie, and remotely unlocked the front door.
"The Firm?" asked Hope. "What's that?"
"Not what, Hope. Who. The whole Camden gang," said Peter. "Annie, Eric, all of Ruthie's sibs, their spouses and all their children!"
"They know?"
"Yeah. Brace yourself, pal."
It didn't take long for the family to file in. After wishing the seven-year olds a happy birthday, they headed straight for the den and filled every single seat in the room. The Gang of Six had no choice but to stand up.
"I'll get to you in a minute, Reverend Hunter," said Annie, declining to address Felicity by her Christian name. "I'm going to start with you, Peter, instead. What in God's name possessed you to cheat on Ruthie?"
"Mrs Camden," said Peter contritely, "I've already said I'm sorry to Ruthie and our children. And I'll say I'm sorry to you and the Camden family, too. I have no excuse for what I did. But you and Eric know our marriage was at an impasse. Losing the twins, on top of losing Sam all those years ago when we first starting having sex, was beyond unbearable. We tried everything to put things back together. We couldn't. It was just a matter of time before one of us cheated on the other. As you know, we both did at pretty much the same time. Maybe it was just better putting an end to the charade."
"And in the process, you knocked her up!" Annie said even more coldly, pointing at Felicity.
"We already had cybersex for weeks," admitted Peter. "Actually, for three months."
The Camdens gasped.
"It was bound to happen," Peter continued. "I wasn't planning for it to happen on that day. I thought she might seduce me after her comeback broadcast. If you want to take it out on Felicity and me, by all means. But don't even think about taking it out on the twins we've conceived. Two innocent children who had no say in the matter. I've stepped up to the plate. I've made Felicity an honest woman. And regardless of what happened between Ruthie and me, she will always be my best friend, and the mother of my children. And she will have a full hand in helping Felicity and me out, and Felicity will help out with James and Heather. We've worked that out. It's a done deal, Mrs Camden, and there is nothing you can say or do that will change what happened or what will happen going forward!"
"Slippery when wet?" asked Annie rhetorically.
"I wouldn't choose those words, ma'am, but if you want to put it that way, yes, and I like it that way!"
Annie then turned to Felicity.
"Let me guess ... he's very creamy -"
"Shut up, Grandma!" shouted Heather at the top of her lungs. Her voice was cold steel, as her grandmother was. Calmly, she then said, "You're one to talk, after all, you and Grandpa cheated on each other! Remember that?"
"Whoa ... there's a big difference, Heather," said Annie. Eric was quiet the whole time, he wasn't going to thunder in on Annie's tirade. "Your grandfather and I were both wrong. Check on that. But both your parents are ministers. And if that wasn't bad enough, your father cheated with another minister. That doesn't just complicate things, it make our whole family look bad."
Felicity was starting to make mental notes for her defense. She agreed Annie was right on some points, but she wouldn't let her off that easily.
"As for you Ruthie," said Annie, "it may be a good thing you finally admitted what the rest of us already knew, have known for years - that you go both ways - but just because you're bisexual doesn't mean you have to have sex with a woman."
"And not just any woman," added Lucy, "but one of my best friends from high school. A woman who was raped into lesbianism - if that's possible. And you let her take advantage of you!"
"Whoa, let's back up here!" said Ruthie in shock. "How did you guys know I'm bi? And for how long?"
"Your secret stash of a certain 'gentleman's' magazine that you started building up even before you had your first period. Sis, no one, male or female, reads it just for the articles. Or the editorials, most of which I actually agree with. We found it the day after you and Peter got married. The only surprise was how far back it went."
"Okay, you found me out, sis. You could have confronted me years ago. Be that as it may, Lucy, I didn't have sex with Lisa because she gave me all that intelligence info," said Ruthie. "I had sex with her as revenge for Peter doing it with Felicity. Was it wrong? Yes. Did I like it? You're damn right I did! Does that mean I want to have a woman as a life partner? Um, probably not. I don't think so. I just wanted to try it, just once. If it wasn't with Lisa, it would have been with another woman.
"Besides, the DNA sample that linked Edward Sanderson to Hope here as well as Chandler and Roxie's daughters, has now been matched in the database to Lisa's rape. It's taken more than fifteen years, but she finally knows who nearly destroyed her. "
"Edward!?" asked Hope, shocked. "When did you find out?"
"Lisa called me three hours ago," replied Ruthie. "She told me to thank you, Hope. If it wasn't for your courage as well as that of Cathy and Rita, she would never have known the name of the mystery man."
"I guess her brother Thomas is now on a vigilante mission."
"Yup," smiled Ruthie. "Just for when he needs help, I gave him the cells for Rod and Shelby."
"Anytime Tom's ready, we're ready to whack Ed," said Shelby. "It'll be our pleasure to do an extrajudicial execution - for him."
It took a minute for all this to sink in. But finally, Annie was ready for the conversation she really wanted. She stood up and faced Felicity eyeball to eyeball.
"You know why I think 'home wrecker' is way too kind a word for you," said Annie.
"Yes, Mrs Camden, I totally agree and then some," said Felicity. "And I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am. I could take forever to say my piece. But I'll get right to it. In defense of the indefensible, my life was in danger. It still is. Hope's parents are two of the most evil people on the planet. In the name of Christianity they have done everything to destroy normal people's faith in themselves as well as God as unrealized expectations came and went. I have fought for years against them going back to my days at the think-tank and before I came a Contemporary Christian and Southern Gospel singer. It was no idle threat.
"Harrison and Prudence have a record of having everything go their way. I prayed for God for something to give. I thought I would be incommunicado for months. The only one who reached out to me was Peter. Once I was satisfied he was looking out for me that I started sharing personal secrets with him online. This escalated to cybersex, and finally the explosion that happened earlier this week. He was recovering from hurt, too. And through it all, it's occurred to me that if it wasn't him, it would have been someone else - eventually. Your son-in-law is a blessing. He made me want to stand tall again. And I am proud to carry his seed now - well, seeds!"
"What about the engagement ring?" asked Annie. "This is the ring that Ruthie wore! How did you get it?"
"Once Peter and I signed off on the divorce yesterday, Mom," said Ruthie, "so did the reason for me having the ring. I accepted it with a promise to marry Peter. Now that we're no longer married, I wanted to give Felicity something to tell her I forgive her unconditionally. And I'm not taking it back!"
"So that's it then," said Annie in exasperation. "You just gave up. I've always taught you and your siblings that if you have or believe in something, to fight for it and not to throw in the towel."
Ruthie paused. She then said, "Mom, would you rather have had James and Heather suffer in silence, knowing they were part of a sham? This way, they don't have to worry about pretending ... not to their friends, not to themselves."
Annie was silent for a moment. "Check," she finally said.
More silence followed. Finally, Sarah Glass spoke up.
"Well guys," she said addressing Peter and Felicity, "since you know it's going to be a boy and girl, what are you going to call them?"
"The first thing that had come to mind, at least with Felicity, is Jacob and Rachel ..." said Peter. He paused, then continued, "... but I immediately told my wife that was out of the question. Those were the names Ruthie and I were going to give our babies until they went to Heaven to join their brother Sam."
"Thank you for remembering that, Pete," said Ruthie, appreciating the tactfulness.
"We're totally at a loss, Dr Glass," said Felicity. "That could take months."
James and Heather had a very quiet face to face. Then Heather spoke up.
"How about Isaac and Rebecca? They too, like Jacob and Rachel, are among the Patriarchs buried in the Cave at Hebron."
Sarah was going to point out that it was Leah who was buried with Jacob at the Cave - Rachel, Jacob's other wife, was actually buried in Bethlehem. But she bit her tongue once she realized how brilliant the suggestion was.
"That's perfect!" said Peter and Felicity in unison, hugging their children. Felicity was beaming. She said, "And so it is. Children, in eight and a half months time, you'll be welcoming Isaac and Rebecca as your new brother and sister!"
Once James peeled off his stepmother's tight grip, he said, "Well guys, we can't let all this food go to waste. Let's finish it off!"
The gang cheered and headed back to the kitchen.
It wasn't such good news for Harrison and Prudence Anderson. One hour later, Edward stormed into the inner sanctum at Casa Anaheim.
"Damn sons of bitches!" he screamed. "This isn't financial data. This is hard-core porn. And of you two!"
"What!?" said Prudence, shocked.
"The old washers in the money bag trick again. And it looks like there is already a fifth column inside these walls who filmed these secret home videos. And it sure wasn't your daughter either!" He threw the disks in their packages his bosses' way.
"Then who?" said Harrison.
"I'll need time," said Edward. "But you'll have to call Jackson Whirry in Moore, Oklahoma and tell him the summit is postponed indefinitely."
Harrison looked up to the ceiling. "Where are You when I need You?!" he screamed.
To this question, and seemingly for the first time in ages, the Lord was silent.