Chapter 77: Taking a Deep Breath

The end of the radio call seemed to be the end of the issue for the next few weeks. Morgan, Jason, Jessica, and I did get together and reviewed our plans for the summer. We ended up abandoning the plans to go to the local waterpark and instead flew to Florida to spend three weeks enjoying all of the resorts and amusement parks in the area.

The ladies loved the trip. They all had an amazing array of clothing available. When we went to a water park at least half of them would remove coverups to reveal bikinis that did not look like they would survive one run down a waterslide. Lenore proved that they could by spending one day in my arms as we tried out every slide in the park. Nights were even more fun as all the women insisted on individual dates at any of the dance clubs or other nighttime activities. Ashley in particular loved to drag me to some of the dance clubs for teenagers. The only problem was that we got thrown out twice when Ashley and I started making out.

Ashley admitted that the amount each woman had spent on clothing while we were at the mall totaled more than one thousand dollars. They had made multiple trips to the vans to put away dozens of bags before the aborted lunch. Jason, Morgan, and I agreed that we had no problem as long as the ladies continued to shower us with affection.

We tried very hard to avoid attracting any attention during the trip. Erica and Matti thought it was great fun. Angelique did not understand, but she quickly figured out what we were doing. The pretend tantrums she threw were epic in scale and intensity. Lenore or I had to run from a couple of venues carrying a wailing girl. The instant we were out of sight of the suspicious person who had been the reason for the tantrum Angelique would start to giggle. She thought the whole thing great fun.

It was early-July when we finally caught a flight back to our hometown. I remember hearing a palpable sigh of relief from Morgan as the wheels of the jumbo jet carrying us home touched down.

"Happy to be home?" I asked.

"I know Bea and Becky will be. They are expecting to give birth in a month and didn't really get to do much on the trip," Morgan said.

"I thought it was Beatrice's idea," I said.

"Oh it was and she loved every day," Beatrice said from across the aisle. "I got to see my children having fun. Before you met my son, that didn't happen very often. The murder and the trial really seemed to sap all of the life and fun out of our lives."

"We were always afraid to say much because for that first year you burst into tears over little things," Ashley said apologetically.

Beatrice sighed. "I know. You'd do something wonderful, and all I could think about was that John would never get to see it. He missed your first game as a cheerleader. He missed every touchdown Jason scored. He won't be there to give you away when you get married."

Beatrice sighed louder. "Not that you'll get married."

I put a hand on Ashley's. "Ashley we'll have to work out vows, and I'd prefer to wait until we have met the fourth lady for our little band, but do you think you, Lenore and Miki would be willing to marry me?"

I felt a ball of paper hit me in the shoulder. "Don't do that to placate me!" Beatrice snapped.

"I didn't," I told Ashley's mother.

"Really?" Beatrice said sarcastically.

I nodded. "Beatrice, what is going to happen isn't fair to Ashley, Lenore, or Miki. They will be coming with me, but officially have only the rights I give them. However, I thought about it. What if I give them rights? I can't give them weapons or free passage, but I can give them the rights of a married woman."

"That's..." Morgan said.

"Brilliant!" Jason said. "Mark, you just answered the question I couldn't. I always worried that Jana and Letty might feel slighted by the rules, but if I give them everything I can including my heart..."

Ashley gasped and grabbed at my arm. I glanced across the cabin to see Lenore and Miki staring at me. I nodded to them and put a hand over Ashley's. "Yes. These three already have my heart. That is probably my largest worry. Once we find another person, will that person be able to become part of our family. It would be unfair to combine three women I love and one I don't."