Chapter 4: The Invasion Spreads Further

Belinda looked at me and then back at Mike.

“Belinda, I need you to release me from Boomers vow. I need you to tell me that I’m free to walk away so I can find my own life.” Tears began to fill his eye as Belinda gasped. “I need you to let me go ... please.”

“Let you go?”

“Yes.”

Belinda looked at my wives, her eyes overflowing with tears. She sobbed loudly and tried to clean herself up, but the tissue was already used up. Lynn let go of my hand and ran to the kitchen, careful to not jostle her sons in their slings. She returned with the tissue box and handed it to Belinda.

“I’m sorry, Bel. I really am, but I need you to do this for me. Please!” Mike broke out in tears as well, as he begged.

Belinda closed her eyes and wiped the tears, sniffed, and then looked deep into my sons’ eyes.

“Mike, I love you with all my heart, but if that is what you need, then I’ll do it. Michael O’Dell, I release you from the vow you made to Boomer. You no longer are responsible for me and the kids. I’ll miss you.”

Michael stood and walked up the stairs as Belinda melted into a sobbing heap in Lynn’s arms. A few minutes later, Mike came back into the room. He had an envelope in his hands and knelt next to Belinda as she sat on the floor. He pulled out the contents of the envelope and began to read.

“Little O, my brother. I’m sorry. Really. This shit is too much for me. I love my wife and my kids. I love you, but I hate this life. Too many backstabbers. Too many life suckers. The last time I went out with Belinda there were guys hitting on her when I went to the head. There is no more honor. There is no more brotherhood, except with you. I am going to do it. You know Belinda loves you. I think that she loves you more than me because of the way I have been. Please, my brother. Take care of my family and if Belinda does love you, please love her back until she can find a man, or you realize that you love her too.”

“Belinda McMahon, I’ve realized that I love you too. NO, that’s wrong. I’m IN love with you. Will you please marry me and allow me the honor of adopting your children as mine?”

Belinda went silent for what seemed like forever. Her sobs stopped. She, very slowly, sat up and then lifted herself into the love seat. It took several minutes for her to gather herself, then she looked Mike in the eyes and roundhouse punched him right in the mouth.

He hit the floor, dazed and lay there. The first things that went through my mind were, first, damn is she gonna hit me too? And second, man that’s true love.

“Belinda! Are you OK?” Lynn said loudly.

“Oh yeah, I’m just fuckin’ peachy,” her tone learned from years of marriage to a soldier.

Mike stirred on the floor, looked up at the woman he had just asked to marry him and who had almost knocked him out.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

“Yeah! It’s a yes,” Belinda looked down at him. “But why did you have to do that to me?”

“Dad told me to,” Mike said.

“Oh really?” Lynn turned in my lap and gave me the stink-eye.

“I didn’t tell him that!” I denied.

“Yeah you did,” Mike insisted.

“How did I do that?” I said hoping I sounded as mixed up as I felt. “I’m just a tad bit confused here.”

“You said that before you could fall in love with Lynn that you had to ask mom to release you from your vows to her.” Still rubbing his jaw, Mike got up and sat next to his fiancé. They hugged and he kissed her with a passion that might have grown into something if my wives and I had not been there.

Mike and Belinda broke their kiss and looked over to see me surrounded, my wives on my left, right and on my lap. With that Lynn stood, took my hand and pulled me out of the house and into the back yard. Erin and Blossom followed us, not knowing what was going on. When we got into the shade of the oak in the middle of the yard she stopped and the four of us formed our circle.

“That was quite the dramatic scene. I would have sworn that Mike was going to leave her,” Lynn said.

“I thought that she was going to kill him. Did you see that right hook?” Erin gushed.

“Mike seemed like a different man when you and he came back in from the bus, Paul,” Lynn continued.

“We did have the first real father to son heart to heart that we have ever had. I didn’t know the affect it would have on him,” I said.

“What did you and Mike talk about?” Lynn asked in a very stern voice.

“Exactly what he said, Lynn. I told him that before I would allow myself to fall in love with you, I called his mother and I told her that I had met you, but I couldn’t go any further until I was free. I asked Deb to release me from my vow to her. She did and from that point on I have been deeply IN love with you.”

I tried to pull Lynn into a tighter hug, but she resisted.

“Nope. Not enough. Something else happened,” Lynn crossed her arms under her breasts.

“OK, Mike told me that he has felt trapped in his life for a long time. In his mind, he’s had no say in anything concerning his life since Deb and I divorced. He was feeling more and more trapped each day. I also told him that since Boomer was dead, that only Belinda could release him from his vow to Boomer. I guess he felt like I did. As soon as he was free, he felt he could finally do what he wanted to do, because he wanted to and not out of obligation. He loves Belinda, but now I think he is going to be in love with her. I believe that we will be back soon for a wedding and an adoption party. I think my son just took control of his life and is going to be very happy. Maybe as happy as me.”

Lynn took me in her arms and gave me a loving kiss. We walked back into the house to the sound of Mike and Belinda having their own heart to heart.

“And that applies to this how?” Belinda asked.

“I was in this relationship because of my vow to Boomer. It had nothing to do with my feelings. I felt trapped again. So, the first thing I had to do was get you to release me from Boomer’s letter. Once I was free, and no longer felt that I was being forced to be here. I could admit that I loved you because I do and confess that I am IN love with you, because I am, a whole shitload. Now I can marry you, adopt the kids, and finally be almost as happy as my father, because I can do all that without anyone forcing me.”

“When you explain it that way it makes all the sense in the world,” Belinda said stroking the spot on Michael’s chin where her roundhouse had landed.

We went back to the couch and I pulled Lynn into my lap after I sat down. Erin let go of Blossom’s hand and my other two wives sat on either side of me.

“I guess at this point I need to say that no one could be as happy as me,” I said.

“Nice try at a save, Lover,” Lynn said.

“What?”

“We could have just as easily been sitting here giving Belinda CPR. Hell, I almost had a heart attack!”

Before I could reply to Lynn’s statement our attention was jerked away to the sound of World War 3 coming from the basement. I almost dumped Lynn on the floor as I stood up. Mike and Belinda flew past us towards the basement stairs, with me and my wives following at full speed. We got down the stairs to find Margaret Erin in a face to face with Phillip.

“No, it isn’t!” Phillip said loudly.

“Yes, it is!” Margaret was insisting.

“How do you know you’re only five!” Phillip argued.

“I’m six and I know it’s right.” Margaret was standing her ground.

“Hey!” My son broke out his military voice before I could cut loose with my outdoor coaching voice. “What’s going on?”

“We are playing this stupid game and she cheated and made up a word,” Phillip said.

“I did not. I don’t cheat!” Margaret was now not only pissed; the little blond was also insulted.

“Whoa!” Mike looked at the two adversaries. “I’m sure you don’t cheat Margaret. Phillip, you better be pretty sure before you accuse someone of cheating.”

“Um ... Phillip, if I can ask, what’s the word?” I asked quietly trying calm the tone of the room.

“I don’t know. She spelled it c-h-u-t-z-p-a-h,” Phillip said, struggling to remember the spelling.

I almost burst out laughing at both the word and the context we were in. I looked at Blossom and it was all she could do for her to not burst out laughing.

“Um ... Phillip, chutzpah is a word. It kind of means...” I was speaking when Belinda cut me off.

“Hold it, Paul. Phillip this is one of those things I’ve been trying to get you to do. In the old days when we played Scrabble, we always had a dictionary with us so we could look up words. Why don’t you go and look it up?”

“Really, Mom?” he whined. “I don’t even know where that book is.”

“I understand,” Belinda said. “You would know if you used it more often.”

While the young man was going upstairs to find the dictionary, I looked at the rest of the kids. The girls were all calm and smiling. Kayleigh and Diana were sitting next to Penelope and Paula, it looked like they were playing as partners.

“Girls? Other that this little kerfuffle is everything else OK?”

“Yes, Uncle Paul. Phillip doesn’t like it when girls are smarter than him,” Kayleigh said.

“Phillip doesn’t like anything, lately,” Diana added.