Chapter 19

Monica’s mother was elated that the “plan” had worked. She happily gave her permission for her daughter to visit Bobby’s family over Christmas.

And so it was that, on a blustery, cold day, Bobby blindsided that family by bringing a girl home without telling them a single thing about her beforehand. Their introduction to her consisted of him saying, “Hey! This is Monica. She’s my girlfriend. I know it’s a surprise, but I hope you like her.”

The girls were speechless. They had both been practically manic in their anticipation of having him home for the holidays. A schedule for his ... services ... had actually been drawn up. They stared, open mouthed, and didn’t even hug him.

Monica could have handled this in two ways. One would have been to put her hand through his elbow, establishing possession, and taken the attitude of, “He’s mine now, bitches. I have the keys to the kingdom, and if you want any scraps in the future, you need to kowtow to me.” It would be an open declaration of war, but some women might have thought their pussy would win the day. She went the other way, trying to make peace. She had already learned of (and yelled at him about it on the ride there) his complete lack of common decency in not warning them. She gave Bob a nervous smile and addressed Julie and Barbie.

“I know this is a shock. He was a complete idiot about all this. I’d love to try to explain it to you in private if you’re willing to listen to me.” She smiled, hopefully.

The two girls kept staring at her and it wasn’t until she saw thunderclouds forming on both faces that she begged.

“Please! Give me a chance to explain.”

“Bobby?” Bob could sense disaster approaching, too. He was only too aware of how excited his daughters were that their brother lover was coming home. He’d been servicing them (their term for it) alone and the demand on his time and energy had gone way up as it got closer to the day Bobby was expected home. That had more to do with their heightened level of emotion than being more horny for Daddy than usual, but he was exhausted, and he was happy that Bobby was coming home, too.

Now, though, he knew things could get ugly. It was obvious to him that Bobby hadn’t said anything to the girls about having a girlfriend. If he had, they would have screamed long and loud. Bob knew about the “agreement” that Bobby would abstain until Julie joined him at mining school (!?) next year. It was obviously important to Julie because she was actually looking forward to going to mining school! She’d even been doing internet research on the different occupations associated with mines and mining. Barbie was less excited, but then Barbie would still have another whole year of high school left when Jules went off on her big adventure.

For Bobby to have done this meant something really important was going on.

“Yes!“ he said, a little too loudly. “You three ladies must go get to know each other while my son and I catch up.”

He then assisted his daughters toward the bedroom Julie now occupied alone. Barbie had moved into Bobby’s old room. Both were looking forward to alone time with their brother, and the schedule had him in a different room each night. Along the way, he looked over his shoulder at Monica and smiled.

“You three can talk while I get supper ready.”

Monica suppressed a groan. It was only an hour past noon.

“What the fuck is going on?!” whispered Bob, once he’d closed the door to Julie’s room. Bobby had followed him down the hall.

“She’s pregnant!” gasped Bobby. “Or she might be pregnant.”

“There’s a heck of a big difference,” said Bob.

“It’s a long story,” said Bobby. “Actually, it’s a pretty short story, but it seems long.”

“I can’t wait,” sighed Bob.

Monica didn’t wait for the screaming to start.

“I know you two are furious about this,” she said, trying to set the tone for whatever was about to happen. “Bobby should have told you about us, but it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t have time. And there’s no way to get through this without you hating me, and I know that, so it’s okay. Hate me all you want to. I know about his relationship with you.”

It worked. Her last comment brought both girls up short.

“What do you mean you know about his relationship with us?” asked Julie.

“I know he has sex with you,” gasped Monica. She winced. She hadn’t meant to characterize it that way. “I know he loves you, and that you love him, and that he wasn’t supposed to have a girlfriend at college. He got kind of ambushed, which is another reason you’re going to hate me, but please, I don’t want you to hate me. You guys are different, and don’t think anyone outside the family would understand that. I get that. And I’m not saying I do understand it, but it’s important to Bobby, which makes it important to me, so I’m trying to be open-minded about it. And the thing is that he and I got together in a way that most people also probably wouldn’t understand, or say is right, but he understands, and I really hope that you’ll try to understand, too.”

“He told you about us?” Barbie’s voice was both high-pitched and hollow.

“Yes, after I told him I got pregnant on purpose to set him up for a ... um ... shotgun wedding,” said Monica.

“He told you about us?” spluttered Barbie.

“Shotgun wedding?“ yelled Julie.

Monica had planned it all out, exactly what she’d say to get them to listen to her. But she hadn’t said any of it. It had vanished from her mind. Everything she’d said so far had just been winging it.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she whined.

Bob and Bobby had only gotten ten feet down the hallway. Bob was too desperate to get information, and Bobby was too desperate to try to explain things, and neither could pay attention to all that and walk at the same time. That turned out to be propitious, however, because when the screaming started, they were close enough that they were through the door and into Julie’s room before things got physical.

It was Bobby who restored order, at least primarily. Bob helped by seizing an elbow of each daughter and restraining them, while Bobby stood between them and Monica and yelled longer and louder than they did.

“This is my fault!” he said, still yelling, when it finally got quiet. “Now, everybody shut up. We’re going to discuss this rationally and calmly.” Whether he actually remembered what his father had done on that fateful night when Barbie plucked his virginity (and hers), or not, he used the same tactic. “If you want to talk, raise a hand. Unless I point at you, don’t say a fucking word!”

Barbie’s hand shot up instantly, but she didn’t wait to be called on.

“You promised!“ she yelled.

“Girls!“ barked Bob, warning in his voice. “Don’t say something you’ll regret!“ He wasn’t aware that Monica already knew the secret he was afraid they were going to reveal.

“She already knows, Daddy!” yipped Barbie. “Bobby told her about us!”

“I said shut up!“ screamed Bobby. “Either shut up, or we’re leaving!“ He turned to look at Monica, who was crying openly. “C’mon, Monica. I thought they loved me. Obviously they don’t. Let’s go.”

She let herself be turned and took one step before Julie and Barbie both screamed, “Wait!“

Bobby turned in a flash and Bob knew in that instant that it had been a bluff. The girls had caved, though, and Bobby was smart enough to jump on that.

“Do you promise to just shut up and let us explain?” he asked. “Because if you can’t do that, we’ll go back to Wide Ford. Her family would love to have me there for Christmas.”

“Okay!” yipped Barbie.

Julie still looked angry, but now she also looked worried. Bobby wasn’t this forceful. Or at least he hadn’t been when he left. This girl wasn’t the only thing different about him.

“Yes,” she said, her voice closer to normal. “But I’m really upset with you, Bobby.”

“I know you are,” he said. “All we’re asking is that you let us explain how this happened. Okay? Then if you’re still mad, we’ll leave and you’ll never have to see either of us again.”

“Who asked you to leave?” growled Julie. “I can’t wait to hear why you told her something that will ruin our entire family! I’m surprised she didn’t bring the cops with her!”

Bobby walked over to stand only inches away from his older sister. He leaned down to put his nose in front of hers.

“Julie, I love you, but if you don’t shut up and let us explain, you’re the one who’s going to ruin everything.”

Bob was concerned, of course. He was less worried about what Bobby had told this girl, who he obviously trusted, than about what his daughters might do in a fit of rage. After all, Bobby’s new ... girlfriend ... had come with him, had come to meet this incestuous family. Was she really pregnant? If she was, was that enough to get her to remain silent? If the girls started screaming, though, and the neighbors heard it and called the police, who knew what his disturbed daughters might blurt out?

He pulled both girls into the embrace of one arm.

“Girls,” he said. “We need to trust him. And listen to him. There’s obviously more going on here than we understand, yet, and you know Bobby wouldn’t have done this without a good reason.”

“What he thinks is a good reason,” growled Julie. “All he’s ever thought with was his balls.”

Bobby turned back to Monica.

“Let’s get your suitcase,” he said, his voice calm. “We’re too tired to start back now, but we passed a motel in Frampton. We can stay there tonight.” He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his family. “I’m sorry.”

Then he ushered Monica out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

It was Julie who chased them. To be honest, her entreaties wouldn’t have made any difference, except as she was calling out to her brother she slipped on the icy sidewalk and went ass over tea kettle, landing on her arm and crying out in pain. It was hearing that pain that made Bobby pause.

Monica went with him to see if she was okay and they knelt over her together.

“Don’t go,” she groaned, holding her shoulder and wincing.

“What hurts?” asked Bobby.

“Something’s wrong with my shoulder,” she moaned. “It feels all wrong and it’s killing me.”

“She may have dislocated something,” said Monica. “I’ll call 911.”

Julie wanted to get up, but Bobby wouldn’t let her. By then, Barbie and Bob had followed and were aware something had gone amiss.

“I’ll be good,” whined Julie, as they waited for the ambulance. “Please don’t go.”

“Do you promise to be good?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, her face a rictus of pain. “Fuck this hurts!”

“We should get her inside,” said Barbie. “It’s freezing out here.”

“If something is broken, moving her could make it worse,” said Bobby.

“He’s right,” said Bob. “Go get some blankets and bring them out here.”

By the time the ambulance arrived, Julie was swathed in blankets, which the paramedics promptly removed. They determined Julie’s shoulder was dislocated. They took her into the house and worked on her there. As one paramedic held her, the other pulled. One agonizing scream later, Julie’s face calmed.

“That’s better!” she gasped. “Wow. I can’t believe how much that hurt.”

“We have saved the day. Our work here is done,” said the paramedic who had pulled her shoulder back into place. “You should still follow up with your doctor. He may want to get some X-Rays to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”

Then they were gone and the family was, once again, left with an elephant in the room.

Bobby looked at Barbie.

“Julie promised to be good and give us a chance to explain,” he said. “Will you promise to do the same?”

“Can I ask a question first?” asked Barbie.

Bobby’s instinct was to leave again, but he nodded. If she was out of line, they could still go.

“Does she change the way things are with you and me?”

Bobby blinked. He and Monica had talked a little about how he felt about his sisters, and how the taboo relationship had developed. She was aware that the family had been completely “normal” before that night, when suddenly, “normal” meant something else. Having no brother, she couldn’t imagine lusting after one. On the other hand, Bobby was completely different from any previous boy she’d been interested in. She and Bobby had talked, and asked questions, and shared their pasts. They had shared secrets. In that sense she could imagine that he was her brother, and she definitely lusted after him.