Chapter 25: The Nightmare After You Wake Up

After breakfast, Erin, Lynn and Blossom took the girls into the family room and gathered them around.

“Ok, we are going to read this morning. Each of the moms is going to read a different book, so figure out what books you want us to read then we will break up into groups and we will read the books to you and our babies. Now go!”

As soon as Blossom said ‘Go’ the girls took off for their book shelf and after some chatter they returned with three books.

“Nice! Now which mom is going to read which book?”

Margaret handed a book to Erin. Genevieve handed one to Lynn and Paula handed one to Blossom.

“I’m going to the TV room.” Blossom stood and turned to take her stroller and walk up the stairs out of the family room.

“I’m going to the ball room.” Lynn grabbed her stroller and walked towards the double doors.

“I’m going to stay here.” Erin sat down in the big comfy recliner next to her triplets stroller. “Now, girls go to the mom with the book you want to hear.”

The girls split up and went to the room with the book they wanted and that allowed me to get some quiet time on the phone.

I dialed the phone and went out onto the deck.

“Hello.”

“Hello James. This is Paul O’Dell. Before you come over tomorrow, I think we need to have a bit of a heart to heart.”

“Why? I’m still married to Erin.”

“But she isn’t married to you. She is now married to Lynn and Blossom and me.”

“That’s not possible. You can’t be married to more than one person and women can’t marry women. Your full of shit!” James was not happy.

“James, no reason to get angry or testy.” I remained calm in spite of my rising anger, “You want answers and I’m trying to give them to you. Let’s assume that what I told was not true. After this many years what is it you want?”

“I want my wife back.” James said firmly.

“Well, as you should have been able to judge from yesterday, that’s just not going to happen. From what Erin told me, there is no way under the sun that she wants you anywhere near her. And as far as Lynn is concerned there aren’t enough bullets in the world to shoot you with. I would not aggravate Lynn if I was you.”

“All I want to do is get Erin back.” He almost seemed to be pleading.

“James, that is not gonna happen. Last night Erin was ready to shoot you and you saw Lynn. Erin doesn’t want you anywhere near her or her kids. Our kids. James, you had your chance to man up, you blew it. When you blamed Erin for killing her son, you blew it. She was crushed. When our daughter was killed earlier this year, it all came back, and she was scared to death that I was going to leave her.”

“Her daughter was killed?” He sounded like he didn’t believe me.

“Our oldest daughter, Taylor Erin O’Dell. It was a home invasion and Erin killed two of the guys and Lynn shot the third guy, but as he went down, he shot Taylor Erin in the head and killed her. Lynn still blames herself for Taylor Erin’s death.”

“Why?” He asked quietly.

“Because she thinks that if she had shot to kill, he wouldn’t have been able to get off a shot. I was shot too. The leader got off a shot as he went down when Erin put two in his chest from across the room. When Erin figured out that we were sticking together as a family she bonded to all of us more strongly than any of us thought possible. She began to feel like she wasn’t good enough for us. We had just gotten life back on an even keel when you showed up to shit in our corn flakes.”

“But she is still MY wife!”

“And that is going to be the core of the problem. She filed for divorce and moved and considered the whole issue over. But you refused to sign the papers. She had left everything in the hands of her lawyer and walked away. She moved in with Lynn and they hadn’t heard from you in six months, so when the lawyer sent a letter telling Erin about the situation, Lynn intercepted it. Like I said, they hadn’t heard from you in six months, so Lynn never showed the letter to Erin, and until yesterday, she thought she was divorced.”

“Her lawyer should have tracked her down.” James said.

“Maybe, but he’s dead from a heart attack. We are checking to see if he kept any records of the case.”

“I need to talk to Erin. I need to.” James was adamant.

“James, no matter what you say, she is not going to come back to you. What is your goal going to be if you aren’t getting her back? I won’t stand by and let her be hurt and I’m not sure that I can stop Lynn from killing you, if you do hurt her.”

“You’re serious about Lynn?”

“James, you were there yesterday! Did you think that she had a toy gun? She is a dead shot with that Glock. She would gladly trade her life for Erin’s, or Blossom’s or mine. But when you walked out on Erin, she and Lynn became lovers. I got involved with Lynn and when I proposed to her, she managed to drag Erin into our relationship.”

“I just need to talk to her.” James repeated.

“Well, you were invited to the house tomorrow. You still are. Blossom is going to BBQ a couple of briskets, which she does very well. I can’t promise you anything, except that Lynn will not shoot you on sight. After that you’re on your own.”

“So, you’re still going to let me come and try to take Erin from you?”

“No.”

James sounded like he didn’t understand a word I said.

“James, you are not getting Erin back. There is no situation where you are going to walk out the door with her and our six kids.” I was adamant.

“Six!?”

“She likes having babies. Two sets of twins and one of triplets. Plus, twins on the way.”

“Well, I need to talk to her, so I’ll be there at 1:30 tomorrow.”

“Ok, and James?”

“Yeah.”

“Please, for both of our sakes, don’t start something that will end badly for you; my kids will be there.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh! I need the address!”

I gave him our address and told him how to use the gate phone before I hung up. I had been walking and talking so at the end of the call, I found myself on the back deck. I looked around and had a powerful urge to talk to my daughter. I stood and walked out to the big tree that provided shade for Taylor Erin’s grave.

Walking slowly in order to take in the late Fall’s cool and still air, it occurred to me that our yard always seemed to smell like something warm and alive. Between the trees and flowers and Blossom’s BBQ, the air was always rich with aromas. At Taylor Erin’s grave I stood in silence for a few minutes before I took a deep breath and then dropped to my knees and spoke to my daughter.

“Hi Taylor Erin. I’ve got a problem. The man who was married to your mother before me, is back and he wants to take her away from us. Please stay with me while he is here tomorrow. I’m going to need your strength to give me peace and keep me calm. I love you.”

I stood and took a long slow walk around the yard, my thoughts slipping back and forth from light to dark, until I was startled to the here and now by a quiet little girls little voice.

“Daddy, Blossom Mom said to tell you that you should come in for lunch.”

“What? Oh! Hello, Erin Lynn. I was just talking to your sister and thinking. How was your book reading?”

“It was good. Blossom Mom read ‘The Princess Bride’.”

“Erin Lynn! You’ve seen that movie a million times!”

“I know, but I like the story. Are you coming?”

“Only if you’ll hold my hand so I don’t get lost in the fire swamp and get eaten by the ROUS’s”

“Daddy! There aren’t any ROUS’s here. But I’ll hold your hand.” She said in a comforting tone.

Erin Lynn held out her hand and we walked back to the house. This was the first time that this one of my little redheads had stepped out on her own. Taylor Erin and then Margaret Erin had been the leaders of the Herd and the other girls quietly followed their lead. Of late Genevieve Lynn had begun to show more of her personality and now Erin Lynn was as well. The two redheads were going to be like their mother and their sister Dara. Beautiful, petite and hotter than hell when they got older.

When we got to the house Erin Lynn opened the door for me and let me go in first.

“Erin Lynn, a gentleman is supposed to open the door for a lady.”

“I know, but you are a Daddy.”

I picked her up in my arms and gave her a big kiss as I carried her into the kitchen and set her down. I took my seat at the table and after putting a towel between us, I picked her up and set her on my lap.

“How are you feeling?” My little wife asked.

“I’m fine Blossom. I had another talk with James, and tried to prepare him for what Erin was going to tell him. He’ll be here at 1:30 tomorrow, but I don’t think he is going to be staying very long. But just in case, will you have enough time do some brisket after church?”

“Yeah, I’ll start it before we go. What else are we having?”

“I figured that we could pick up some potato salad and cole slaw on the way home, if Erin and Lynn haven’t planned to make those things.”

“Ok, then I won’t worry about anything.” Blossom said calmly.

“How many rounds am I going to need?” The voice behind me was cold and serious

“Lynn, I told you no shooting! I’m serious. If anyone is going to take a stand it will be me. I want you to support Erin if she needs it. Blossom will take care of the food and I’ll take care of the enforcing ... if it is needed.”

“Ok. I’ll take care of Erin.” She said.

“I want you to do that because you have been taking care of her since she lost her son and James walked out on her. Keep it that way. She will feel safe and anchored with you.”

“She’ll feel safe with you too, Paul.”

“I know, but if I have to be the bad guy, I don’t want her to feel like she’s lost her best friend and her lover and her wife. If things go south, I can punch James in the mouth and muscle him out of the house. All you can do is shoot him.”

Erin walked in with two babies in her sling.

“Lynn, babies need feeding.” Erin announced.

“I thought Blossom was going to get this round. She was heading that way.” Lynn replied.

“Wasn’t she getting lunch for Paul?” Erin asked.

“She already did that for Erin Lynn and me.” I said.

“Already did what?” Blossom asked as she came back into the kitchen with two feeding babies in slings and a third in her arms. “Clara is being fussy; I think she needs some Daddy time.”

“Erin Lynn would you help me feed Clara?”

“Yes Daddy. You hold her and I’ll hold the bottle.”

“Thank you, my little love!”

I held Clara with one arm, Erin Lynn held the bottle with one arm, and we ate lunch with our free hands. I caught myself thinking that I was living a dream. Wives. Babies. The strangest family in the world. And James was trying to break it up. Wasn’t going to happen. Whatever it took, it wasn’t going to happen.

“Daddy, are you ok?”

“Yes Erin Lynn. Why?”

“Your arm got really stiff.”

“Sorry. I was thinking.”

“Is it the ROUS’s?” She smiled her little smile, knowing that she had made a joke. I kissed the top of her head.