54: Blonde Explosive

Doug, Rachel, Cassie, and I stood and watched as our sisters pushed their babies in strollers along the path at Green Lake. It was sweet. It was their childhood dream. Off to our left, Addison pushed Maddie on a swing in the playground.

"We'll walk around the lake the other direction," Doug said. "This place is a little chilly, but I can't believe how green it is."

"Betts says that's because everything is covered with moss and mold," I laughed. "I see a coffee shop up on the street over there. We'll walk up and get drinks for everyone and meet you back here in half an hour."

Cassie and I held hands as we walked toward the big sign that said 'Starbucks'. Inside there was a line waiting, but at least it was warm.

"I was getting chilled out there," Cassie said. "Thank you for bringing me inside."

"Chilled? Is that what you call it when your lips turn blue?"

"Well, you could have warmed my lips more directly," she laughed.

"Later on, I will warm all of you more directly," I said. I got coffee and she got a latte. We sat to drink and get warm. "Cassie, what changed?"

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "We became novia in June. I could see you struggling with the concept and really thought that one day you and I would be cónyuge like Doug and Doreen are. I thought that you would eventually consent to Mary becoming Josh's second wife, but that no matter how much in love we were, there would always be that one line we wouldn't cross. Josh really surprised Mary Christmas night, but you shocked me senseless. Something changed for you. I just want to understand."

"My father," Cassie said.

"He's had some difficult times in the past few months. He's a good man, Cassie."

"He likes you, too. He didn't want to like you. When ... When I broke up with you that summer, he was disappointed that you weren't going to church again. He liked that you memorized Bible verses. And I wouldn't tell him why you weren't going. I just said you didn't like church." She paused and looked at me a little chagrined. "Even back then, I let you take the blame."

"Well, it was my fault. And you had to live with him."

"How true. I took him for a horseback ride on Thanksgiving. I can't believe that I can groom a horse and saddle her. Well, Carl helped tighten the cinches and adjust stirrups for Dad." She fidgeted. Whatever it was, this was difficult for Cassie and I took her hand. She looked up into my eyes. "I told him everything. From going to the party and kissing in the closet to our breakup. I told him about our dates and the debate and how I felt about you. And I told him about Josh and how we fell in love, but that I'd always still love you. And I told him that I still wanted you, and that Josh was okay with it, and that we would have Mary, too. I even told him about how often I'd made love with other women. All the time I was telling him this, he rode beside me in silence. And then I asked for his blessing."

"Oh, my. Cassie, your Dad ... you know he left the church, don't you?"

"I knew he left. He told us that last summer. But after I'd unburdened my heart, then he unloaded his. I found out so much about my father that day, Brian. I've always known he was a good man, but I didn't know all that meant. He's like you, Brian. In the last analysis, he does what's right," she said.

"What did he tell you when you asked for his blessing?" I asked.

"He asked me to wait until Christmas. He asked me to pray about it and to talk to Josh. He said he would pray about it, too, and talk to Mom. That really scared me. But he said that on Christmas we would talk and he would tell me what he thought. And I could tell him. Brian, he didn't yell at me. He didn't quote Bible verses. He didn't preach or lecture me. All he said was that he only wanted my happiness. It was easy to slip away for a few minutes on Christmas Day. There was so much activity. We went out and petted the horses. We didn't ride, but we stood out there under the shelter and fed them carrots and rubbed their muzzles. And I told him that Josh and I were agreed and I felt it was right. And he hugged me and cried and said, 'You have my blessing, daughter. Live your life in love.'"

I scooted my chair around the tiny table we were sitting at and hugged Cassie. She leaned her head against me, the sniffles subsiding. I offered her my handkerchief.

"As soon as I told Josh, we ran off and made love. We made love knowing that the next time his penis was in my vagina, it would have been in another woman and another man would have been in me. And you know what? It wasn't sad. If it had been, I wouldn't have gone through it. It was ... It was possibly the most joyful coupling we'd ever had. And we both knew it was right. That's what changed, Brian."

Our time in Seattle was fun. Addison took the four of us on a city tour while Grandparents took all the babies. Betts and Doreen used our hotel room. I found out later they had each sampled the other's milk as well as other fluids. Doug and I were thinking we'd like to compare, too, but that opportunity never arose.

We flew home on Friday. Our greeting that night was pretty damned sexy. Donna, of course, had gone back to Oberlin for her winter term the same day we went to Seattle. Nicki got first dibs Friday night. But she was not the only one who wanted to be reunited with her lover. Sandy flew past me when we all came into the house and, though I expected her to attack Doug, she was in Doreen's arms first. When Rhonda and Elaine came in from their taping session, after the all-clear was rung, both demanded some serious loving. They'd put a full ten episodes in the can this week. Without other shows being taped on the same days, they were considering upping their work load to three shows a day.

I refused to miss Whitney's game against Wisconsin Friday night and watched her become the high scorer for the first time this season as she shot over the top of guards at the top of the key. There was no question in my mind that she was at the position she belonged at. We took away a 77-52 victory. When she got home, we both had just enough energy for a last round of loving before we went to sleep.

After forms Saturday morning, we all went back to bed and just cuddled and loved each other all morning. I felt like baking something special when I finally got up at noon. I made blueberry scones, apple turnovers, and cinnamon rolls. When I ran to the studio to get blueberries out of the freezer I found the triplets preparing a Chinese buffet for dinner. They smiled as I ran into the kitchen from the cold outside. I should have put more on than my shoes. It was freezing cold.

Danielle gave me a quick hug and "I missed you," before she went right back to cutting and chopping. The other two just laughed at me and waved their cleavers. I grabbed the blueberries and ran out, promising to call them when there were pastries ready.

And then it was time to get back to school.

We had some surprises. Rhonda, Maggie, April, and Jason all reduced their schedules to a single class plus a guided study credit. And Nicki had been on set with Elaine the entire time she was back. I wasn't surprised about Rhonda because she was only taking classes that Lonnie told her would be good for some aspect of her work and wasn't working on a degree. Nicki reminded me that classes didn't resume at Brown until the first of February. I was worried about the other three.

"I could reduce my load to part time permanently. Next fall, I should take my last classes in order to graduate," Maggie explained to me. "But I'm still enrolled for ten hours. The difference is that I only have one class I have to attend and can focus on my work, including traveling to wherever we are filming Heaven, without having ridiculous amounts of hassle with classes. My class is on production scheduling and planning, which fits what I need to be working on anyway. The guided study is something Lonnie has created for the four of us called, 'Professional Career Development.' It's actually the same guidelines as a course that takes place at WIUB-TV where students intern for a semester."

"I just don't want any of you to damage your education by having to work on our shows," I said.

"Brian, you are paying me well to produce and direct Redress. If I have to knock off the rest of my coursework at IU with a single class a year or night school for the next ten years, it would still be worth it." We continued our production meeting. When I discussed the issue with Rhonda, she assured me that April and Jason were in the same boat and were enthused to be working on Elaine's show full time. I wasn't sure how we were paying everyone.

"By the way," Rhonda said casually, "we got a check from Nappanee Manufactured Housing for their documentary this week. The $150,000 will keep us solvent for another six months of production on Chick Chat and Young Cooking. The next check from Lifelong Women's Network will come in plenty of time to cover your expenses with Redress. After that, the last two checks from them will be profit. Nice job. You should talk to Louise about our financial statement."

Fuck me!

"Patrón, may we talk?"

I was startled as I came out of the studio Saturday afternoon. Our first taping of the semester went well. Lauren had her new crew whipped into shape quickly. Lonnie had watched the production and was pleased with the way Lauren was developing as a producer and director. This was the most separated that I'd been from the production end since I worked with Harvey and Miss Polly. All I thought about was recipes and presentation. We were out early and I was actually looking forward to my Saturday evening cuddle with Danielle. I had some reading to do and I knew that after she'd squirmed and talked for a few minutes, Dani would settle down and go to sleep on my shoulder. I'd be able to study with no problem.

I wasn't expecting Amber to be waiting in ambush as I walked out the door. She and Rich were standing on the porch.

"Amber! Rich. I wasn't expecting to see you this weekend. What's up? Let's go in the house where it's warm." We walked over to the house, all got hot drinks, and sat in front of the fire. Rose curled up on my lap. She was wearing a fluffy robe, which many of the girls wore in the house now that the weather was so cold.

"I plan to attend IU in the fall," Amber started. "I'd come here for no other reason than that I like all the people and the lifestyle. Please don't think that I'm just coming down here to be with Rich. We're getting along fine and the sex is great, but neither of us are making any big commitments at the moment. We're just having fun being teenagers."

"I'm glad you're coming to join us," I said. "Do you plan to come right after graduation with the rest of the seniors?"

"That's what I want to talk about," she said. "I'm not happy. I won't say that my father is doing anything inappropriate, but he's always looking at me and suggesting that we have a nude household. There's a constant suggestion that I bring my girlfriends home for a sleepover. My mother is no better. I've actually walked in on them having sex while watching teen girl porn. I don't think any of them are underage, but it's freaky."

"You might not call it inappropriate, but I do," Rose said. "You need to get out of that house."

Amber nodded. "I'll turn eighteen on Tuesday. I'd like to stay here at the ranch. Our semester at SJVHS ended yesterday. Conveniently, the semester at West County High begins Monday. I can finish my last semester of high school here if it is okay with you."

"We need advice from Daddy," Rose said. "That's legal advice so we're sure we aren't doing something wrong. I assume you have left home this weekend and don't plan to go back."

"I have all my personal things packed in Rich's car. My parents know I'm moving out."

"And they are okay with it?" I asked.

"Oh, they made a big fuss when we loaded the car this morning. My father threatened to report me as a runaway, but I just asked if he really wanted police investigating our home life. So he just said he wasn't supporting me any longer and I was on my own."

"I think we can support you through the rest of high school," I said. "We'll have to figure out what comes after that."

"You don't have to. My grandparents set up a trust fund for me when I was a baby. I get control of it when I turn eighteen. I can pay my rent and expenses and have my college tuition covered. It's not like I can just quit everything and go travel around the world for the rest of my life, but I won't be a burden," she said. Her lip was quivering and Rich hugged her. I glanced at Rose and the two of us held out our arms. Amber practically flew into our laps. Rich came and knelt beside us, holding Amber's hand.

"You're safe now, Amber," I whispered. "You're with your family."

"I know you don't need another kid, and you have a baby of your own, but if you could hug me sometimes, that's all I ask."

"It's going to make it kind of hard on you, Rich," I said. We'd moved all Amber's things to the girls' dormitory. We were standing in the middle of the big room that used to be the bedroom for Casa del Fuego. Now it was empty unless the whole clan was gathering. I was thinking that we would split the whole upstairs into men's and women's dorms when the younger kids got here in the spring. Younger. They were all going to be eighteen, like we were when we moved down here. Amber was just the first.

"We've talked a lot," he said. "It will be hardest on Amber because she'll go to a school where she doesn't know anyone. She's pretty cute, though. I'll bet she has a date by Valentine's Day," he laughed.

"That doesn't bother you?" He shook his head.

"No. I'll miss her. I'll even try to get down here on long weekends if she wants me to. But like she said, we're pretty sure we aren't in it for a long term commitment. If we discover that we're still interested in each other when I get down here this summer, we might get together again. But we're both free this spring to date where we want to." He walked out to the deck over our front porch and I followed him. It seemed like there was something else on his mind. "Brian, thank you for doing this for Amber. And for me. It's going to keep me from beating her dad to a pulp."

It wasn't long after dinner that Danielle came and settled into my lap. She put a lot of little kisses on my shoulder and neck and then rubbed her face against them. I ran my right hand over her body as I held my philosophy text in my left hand. It was a great idea to take the Radical Thinking class Doug told me about. It was one of the options for my intensive writing requirement and was interesting, too.

Danielle didn't seem to mind where I ran my hand as long as I was touching her. I petted her breasts and her side. She turned in my lap slightly so I could rub her tummy. I never tried to probe between her legs, but I ran across her mound one direction and the other. When I lifted my hand to turn a page, I kissed her forehead or hairline. She often had a hand on my chest, petting my sparse hair. I just wasn't one of those hairy guys. Neither one of us dwelt on particularly erogenous zones. I touched her nipples, but didn't attempt to tease them. She sat with my cock trapped between our bodies, but I seldom stiffened for more than a few seconds. I was pretty sure she wasn't wet, but I wasn't planning to check.