Chapter 34: Saturday Afternoon: Part 3

Kara stood up, grabbed the bags containing each pair of shields, then quickly made her way down to the kitchen. She bounded through the doorway, holding a bag in each hand. “Oh! She said yes I hope.”

“She’ll come down once she’s cleaned the remaining lotion off of her hands. I’m not quite in the mood to feel that on my breasts.”

Clara nodded her head. “Rachel’s special lotion?” They all nodded their heads. “Unless you’re really in the mood for something intense, you don’t want that anywhere near sensitive areas like that.”

“Wait” Kara began to reply, her surprise clear in her voice “you’ve felt that before?”

“Once, followed by the promise that it would never happen again. Even my tolerance has it’s limits.”

Do you have a preference for who puts your shields on darling?

No. However, you’re assuming that Manny wants to.

I hadn’t been thinking about that, but I’m up for that. Unless Vanessa objects, I’d like to claim Kara this time.

Kara handed the bag containing Allison’s shields to her, then turned toward the open doorway as the squeak of the last step registered in her ears. “Do you have a preference for which of us you get to put the shields on?”

Vanessa smiled from the doorway, a huge grin plastered on her face. “I want Kara. I didn’t get much of a chance to do anything really fun with your breasts in the shower, and...” her voice dropped suddenly as she spotted Clara “uhm, well...”

“Act is if I’m not in the room if the idea makes you uncomfortable. I’ve heard far more explicit things over my lifetime.”

“But, surely you wouldn’t want to hear any details like...” Vanessa started to reply, her voice thick with nervousness “wouldn’t that bother you?”

“Goddess no! I’ve already heard plenty of those from Kara herself already. And very few topics are impolite to talk about as far as my ‘hippie’ mind is concerned.” Kara watched a glint of mischief sparkle in Clara’s eyes. “As I best understand it, such explorations honor the goddess herself. Celebrations of the power of the feminine and all that.”

“I’m sorry ... I just couldn’t get away with talking about or doing a lot of what I’ve done here at home. Not under mom’s rules.”

“You don’t have to worry about such things here. Please, feel free to finish your earlier thought.”

Kara nodded at Vanessa, a reassuring smile on her face. “I want to do the sort touches I did to Allison.” She turned to Kara. “As long as that’s okay with you.”

“That would definitely be nice, but...” she motioned Vanessa to come close. “There’s something else I’d want you to do as well” she began to whisper in Vanessa’s right ear “I’d love it if you’d directly play with my nipples as well. Just the stuff from the shower won’t be quite enough to get them ready for the shields.”

Her head snapped up towards the others as her mother’s soft giggling suddenly seemed to fill the room. “Oh my! Whatever it is, that’s a wonderful blush you have going there.”

She’s definitely right darling.

Kara glanced back at Vanessa. I hadn’t intended to have quite that effect on her. She lowered her mouth back near Vanessa’s ear. “No need to be embarrassed. Mom’s just letting out a little bit of her playful side probably.” She thrust her chest forward slightly, holding the small bag out to Vanessa. “Feel free to begin whenever you’d like.”

Vanessa drew close to her, bringing her mouth to Kara’s ear. “You’re not uncomfortable with that happening in front of your mother?”

“Last week, I might have been. She’s seen far more than you’d be doing for me, and I’m sure she’d only judge you if she suspected you were doing something I hadn’t already consented to.” Kara watched with glee as the grin returned to Vanessa’s face, then gasped softly as some of Vanessa’s fingertips began to dance all around her left breast. Some moments later they brushed across her areola for the second time, and darted up the nipple. Soft moans seemed to leap from her mouth; her smile widening as the first shield was brought over the nipple and settled against the areola.

She watched Vanessa’s fingers slip over to the right breast, repeat their initial dance, then waited for them to find her nipple. A gasp of surprise leapt from her mouth as Vanessa’s mouth closed around it instead, followed by several quick sucks. She started to stifle a disappointed groan; stopping as Vanessa gracefully put the second shield on before pulling away. “Are you pleased with yourself?” she joked, cracking a toothy grin a moment later.

“Of course! I managed to surprise you after-all. Why shouldn’t I be proud?” she replied, the same grin briefly appearing on her face. Soft laughter started from Allison and Clara a moment later; Kara opened her mouth to add it as the doorbell rang suddenly.

“Oh!” Clara exclaimed, darting toward the doorway. “Already?” she seemed to muse aloud before turning to Allison. “The roast is almost done, but I need to let our guest in and talk to them for a few moments. Can you pull it out in a few minutes if I’m not back in the kitchen by then?”

“The big pot of potatoes on the stove are supposed to be mashed, right?” Clara nodded her head. “Then I’ll finish those off and let Manny pull the roast out.”

“However you want to work things is fine; just as long as neither the roast or potatoes overcook.” Clara quickly disappeared through the doorway.

“You know how to finish the potatoes my muse?”

“I know the basics; I seem to remember our moms all using a very similar recipe for them. And the spices will be super easy.”

Vanessa glanced around the kitchen quickly. “But I don’t see a recipe anywhere for them”.

“There isn’t one” Allison began to reply, pulling the potato pot off the burner and onto a hot plate. “One thing Clara always used to do when we were growing up was to gather the spices she needed and place them near the dish they were intended for. And sure enough, there’s salt, garlic and pepper next to the big serving bowl right here.” Allison pointed to another counter top. “And the cutting board for the roast is conveniently right by that platter.”

“Wow! That’s really impressive.”

It also means Kara paused in thought for a moment that at least one of us knows how to cook.

Manny has some skill ... I think, anyway.

Maybe a little I suppose.

Kara watched enraptured as Allison practically danced around the kitchen for about a minute; grabbing milk from the refrigerator, poured some of it into the pot, and began to mash away at the potatoes hidden within it. “Manny, it’s time.” He nodded his head, grabbed a pair of oven mitts from their nearby hooks, and carefully pulled the roast out of the oven. “She probably wants it on that hot plate.”

“The one right by the cutting board” he quietly replied, resting the pan down. “What now?”

“Usually” a somewhat familiar voice began from behind them “you need to let it sit for a few minutes before you start cutting it. That pan looks like it has a pair of handles that should let you lift it out of the pan and onto the cutting board.”

Kara watched Emanuel follow the instructions almost reflexively, then turn around rapidly with his mouth open in a surprised expression. “Wait, what are...” he began to slowly let out before the other woman in the doorway held up one finger.

“I’ll explain that when Kara’s father gets here too. For now though, put those mitts down and come give me a hug.” He dropped the mitts onto a clean spot on the counter and moved towards her with incredible speed. The woman looked over his shoulder at them. “Now, even though I haven’t seen either of you in quite some time, I know which of you is Allison and which of you is Kara. Particularly since ‘modesty’ isn’t a concern in this house. But” she paused, looking at Vanessa “I don’t believe I’ve ever met you.”

Emanuel turned his head in the direction she was looking. “Oh, that’s our friend Vanessa. Vanessa, meet my Aunt Eileen.”

Darling, did you catch that look on Vanessa’s face just now?

Oh yes. Manny, I think you might have disappointed her with your ‘friend’ comment.

But it’s the truth!

For the time being, yes Allison’s ‘voice’ echoed softly in Kara’s mind but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it to be false. When you can disengage yourself from your aunt, it would probably be wise to speak with her alone about all this.

Eileen looked straight at Kara. “Come a bit closer dear; I heard a ‘rumor’ that something unusual happened and want to see if there’s any proof in it with my own eyes.” Kara stood up quietly and approached her. “Hold up your hand for a moment if you would.”

Uhm ... I know I wasn’t feeling self-conscious about being naked with her here before, but now I suddenly am.

I’d forgotten for a moment that ... oh... Emanuel thought back as he attempted to pull away from his aunt.

“None of you have anything I haven’t seen before, and I was given plenty of warning that this might happen. There’s no need to be embarrassed.” She motioned Kara a little closer. “Besides” she began to whisper “I can’t count how many baths I gave him when he was a little one. In fact, I remember some of them involving all three of you.”

Hey, you’re both blushing the same tone of red! What juicy little story did she just tell you?

Emanuel shook his head as best he could; Kara returned the motion with a wicked smile. About bath times when we were young. Apparently some of our shared baths were supervised by her.

“Oh? Very interesting...” Eileen blurted out, glancing over at Allison’s cheeks.

“What’s interesting?” Clara asked, her voice ‘showing’ a hint of humor in it.

“They have what my sister in law always wanted to have with you and Rebecca. Two things it seems.”

“Yes they do. I was hesitant to give up the box when Becca’s ‘instructions’ were shared with me, but seeing the three of them communicating the way they do convinced me it was time.”

“And the rings almost seem made for them.”

“Funny how fate works out sometimes.” Kara turned back toward her mom, watching the slices of beef as the carving knife began sawing back and forth through the roast. “Were you able to find everything okay Allison?”

“Yeah. It helps that your organization methods haven’t changed since we were young.”

“I’m surprised that you remember all of that.”

Kara watched Emanuel pull a chair out for his aunt, then sit back down for a moment in his seat. “I think I’m the only one of the three of us who really wanted to learn how to cook when I was younger. So I paid very close attention whenever any of you three were cooking.”

“That makes sense.”

So, do you also remember how my mom tended to work her kitchen?

Like organized chaos. Although, I never could pick up if she had any consistent patterns or simply had everything memorized. She certainly didn’t seem to have any where seasoning was concerned.

A soft laugh escaped from Emanuel’s mouth. That I know the answer for sure. There wasn’t any; if any of her recipes had measurements for spices and the like, they’d probably be nothing more than ‘a pinch of this’ or ‘a handful of that’. That’s why her rice and beans was always a little different each time.

That’s funny Kara started, glancing quickly at the smirk on Eileen’s face because it always tasted the same to me.

I guess I was just more sensitive to those sorts of flavors. Your mom never used anywhere near us much of the spices I was used to.

“Uhm ... you three are doing ‘that’ again.”

Kara turned to Vanessa. “Oh, sorry! It’s such a convenient way to talk that we sometimes forget we’re doing it.”

“It’s okay ... I’m just a little jealous that you can do that. May I ask what you were talking about?”

Allison put down the wooden spoon she was stirring with for a moment. “Just comparing notes on how our mothers cooking styles differ, and how that effected the food they made.”

Eileen chuckled loudly. “Is that all? That ability must come really easy to you three if you’re using it for things like that.” She turned to Vanessa. “If I’m remembering correctly, Rebecca has a carefully curated catalog of recipes, and a very specific place for everything. By comparison, my sister in law always seemed to wing everything; although I’m sure she knew exactly what she was doing. But that meant no real scientific measurements for anything.”

Vanessa’s laughter rang out next. “Just the way my mom and grand-mom do it. I prefer a dish not taste exactly the same every time.”

“Do you know how to cook then?” Clara asked, lifting a stack of slices of beef onto a serving platter.

“A little. If my grand parents didn’t live with us, I’m sure I’d have done a bigger share of the cooking by now. But there’s no way my mother’s letting either me or my sister even think about moving out without mastering most of her recipes.”

Clara laughed, then glanced over at Allison. “That’s good enough I think. Did you add the spices yet?”

“No. I wasn’t sure how much of each you usually put in.”

“With the potatoes, I usually go by taste. Err on the side of not quite enough though” she paused, glancing away for a moment “particularly since there are people you’ve never cooked for before.”

“Okay.” And I suspect she doesn’t want them to be too spicy or salty for me either.

Kara glanced back at Vanessa, then back towards Eileen as a smile briefly flashed across her face. “Emanuel, if there’s an important conversation that you need to have, don’t let my presence stop you from having it. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up over dinner. And the same” she paused, locking eyes with Vanessa “applies to you as well.”

I was sort of hoping she wouldn’t notice, but I really shouldn’t be surprised that she did. “If you say so.” He stood up, offered a hand to Vanessa, and began to open his mouth; then promptly closed it as she took his hand and nodded her head.

Kara watched them disappear from her sight. “Now...” Eileen started, a smirk on her face “there’s more to all of this than what meets the eye, isn’t there?”

Okay! Allison handed a small spoon to Clara, then turned to Eileen. “Before we answer, how much did Clara tell you?”

Kara watched Eileen’s smirk widen. “That’s exactly the way I expected you to respond. So” she paused, shooting a glance at Clara “I know the most important information, and the obvious things too. Even if Clara hadn’t told me a little bit about that ceremony, I would still assume some major commitment to each other because of the rings. Also, knowing what I do know about your mothers, you three forming a triad wasn’t a complete surprise. But that’s about I know.”

“And what do you suspect?”

“You’re right Clara” Eileen quickly remarked “she is as clever as I remember Rebecca being.” She turned back to Allison. “That Vanessa girl isn’t just a ‘friend’ is she?”

“Technically, Manny was right. But you’re not entirely inaccurate either.” Kara watched her carry the big bowl to the table, set it down, then sit next to Eileen. “I assume you know what poly-amorous relationships are.”

“I have some basic information, yes.”

“Well ... while it IS true that only the three of us are basically on a trial marriage, it’s not true that our triad eliminates the possibility for any of us to be with someone outside of our relationship. Vanessa is Manny’s outside interest...”

“Who just happens to also have an interest in doing things with Kara as well?”

Allison grinned. “And me too. But here’s the thing...” she leaned in a little closer to Eileen “from a technical standpoint, we’re exploring the possibility of what might come from a relationship with her. She’s only expressed explicit interest in pursuing a relationship with Manny, but I don’t think that’s going to stay that way for very long.”

“Not after some of our conversations earlier.”

“Conversations or ‘conversations’?” Eileen asked, raising her eyebrows.

“A bit of both” Clara laughed softly “if the screams from upstairs were anything to go by.”

“Y ... yeah” Allison stammered, her face suddenly lit with a bright red glow.

“I suppose our little show with the shields would have given that away too.”

“So then” Eileen’s voice dropped to slightly “I take it she didn’t want to hear that particular word from my nephew’s mouth.”

Kara nodded her head. “Exactly, and the two of us realized that right away. Manny can just be a little slower at figuring out when it’s not wise to speak the objective truth.”

“To be fair, he’s learning faster than the rest of the boys in our grade.”

“Oh, certainly! I didn’t mean to suggest anything bad about him.”

“Is everything good again?” Eileen asked as Vanessa stepped back into the room.

“Yes. I just thought after that conversation during lunch and everything earlier that I’d made it past friend. But I can understand if maybe it’s too soon for the girlfriend label.” She glanced down for a moment as Emanuel stepped into the room. “I mean, I know I can’t trust the rumors at school, but some of them are pretty appealing sometimes.”

Allison sighed unhappily. “How many of them are throwing around the word?”

“Maybe five or six? Distinct types, not ones that are practically the same as another one.”

“That’s up to you and Manny to figure out when you’re both ready to do so. Maybe tomorrow will be enough, or maybe you’ll need a few more dates.”

Vanessa nodded her head.

Eileen quickly glanced at all of them. “And to be truly fair to him, I did surprise him. I’d expect the most folks would be a bit flustered if they were in his shoes.”

“We talked about it” Emanuel quickly began “and figured out that ‘possible future girlfriend’ is acceptable to her if we need to introduce her to anyone else.”

A quiet tapping on the floor slowly began to fill the room. What’s that darling?

Mom ... I believe that’s a ‘time to move on’ message. Helpful when dad or I are too caught up in whatever we’re doing to pay attention to her. “Any news from dad yet?”

“Almost home. Close enough that we need to finish setting the table and the like.” She chuckled as Vanessa started toward her. “Everyone except Vanessa and Eileen. You’re a guest on the first visit, and don’t need to help. And it’s been long enough since I’ve seen Eileen that she’s basically a guest again.”

“I won’t complain about that!” Eileen laughed raucously.

“Uhm ... if you’re sure” Vanessa added slightly timidly, then sat back down in her seat. “Is there a lot left to do?”

“Thankfully no. Just a few dishes to put out, some serving utensils, and the water pitchers from the fridge.”

Kara watched Allison resume her earlier dance, quickly grabbing several knives and large spoons. “Does Dad know about our guest?”

“I told him this morning. Whether or not he remembers is up to him.” Kara watched the dance continue, her mother’s motions adding to its beauty while Emanuel’s movements introduced a degree of chaos into the mix. A few moments later the doorbell’s angry chimes, however, snapped most of them out of the dance. “That’s him. Emanuel, all I need you to do is put that last platter onto the table, and we should be all set.” She quietly motioned for Allison and Kara to sit back down; as Emanuel laid the platter down carefully Kara’s father stepped into the room.

“Oh! You’re early.”

“I wanted to make sure I was guaranteed that I’d make this on time today. Early is even better.”

“Give me a moment to change out of my work clothes from earlier, and I’ll be right down. I’m sure all of you are quite hungry.”

Is your dad usually pretty quick about changes like this darling?

Usually? No. But this meal is one of his favorites, so he’ll be as quick as he can get away with.

“Are you doing some kind of work on the house?”

“Did I forget to tell you? We’re renovating the ‘shed’ out back into an apartment for the kids. Today was the first real day of work.”

“And like any DIY project, one of you realized that you didn’t have everything you needed to get it done?”

Clara laughed again, her voice full of mirth. “In a larger way than you might be thinking. I tried to be thorough when I was making the plans for it, but didn’t know the extent of the problems we were going to encounter. Thankfully, a few of their friends have more skill in those areas than we believed at first.”

I suppose it would be a bit much to accept that we’d have friends with the skills they have.

Only to those who start thinking that any degree of mastery in such things is hard to come by, my muse. Although, if our friends group was more like most of the cliques at school, then I doubt we would have had the fortune we do.

Yet another reason it’s better to be one of the ‘freaks’.

“Such as?”

Kara glanced at the doorway, then looked straight at Eileen. “Plumbing and electrical to start. And what Pia doesn’t know how to do, her uncle does.”

“And don’t forget the surprise friend” Leonard added from the doorway. “I didn’t think someone so young would be as good as she is.”

“Surprise friend?”

“We got confirmation from everyone except Laura that they were coming this morning. Laura originally said no, but decided to change her mind unexpectedly and just showed up with Shelley and Pia.”

“Was she afraid that she wouldn’t be able to help properly?”

“Not in the slightest” Leonard replied, sitting down in his usual seat. “When it comes to overall project management she’s as good as a professional.”

“That’s unusual.”

Allison grinned. “Not really. Her parents are contractors, and she’s learned enough from them that she really does know her stuff. The real reason she said no at first was that she didn’t want them to think that she had any real interest in joining them in the family business.”

Eileen flashed each of them a knowing smile. “Ah, yes. Those kind of parents. Let me guess” she paused, passing the mashed potatoes to her left “it was something like ‘the power of friendship’ that changed her mind.”

Kara laughed, taking some beef before passing it along. “Pretty much.”

“Now then...” Eileen started “since everyone is here let me get straight to the information you three have been waiting for. In the wake of an...” she paused for a few moments, gathering her thoughts “unexpected tragedy, my brother forfeited his ownership of his house. And because my nephew’s emancipation hasn’t been fully processed yet, ownership and all of its problems have transferred to me.”

Isn’t that a bit unusual?

That’s normally true darling, but in this case it would go to the adult next of kin. And since she’s the adult on Manny’s joint bank account, clearly she’s someone he trusts.

She’s also his only sister, and my grandparents live out of state. She’s the only person who makes any sense in this case ... at least, until I’m considered old enough to ‘inherit’ it.

“That leaves me in a bit of a conundrum. I don’t have the time or money to maintain the house; especially since we don’t know when he can...”

“There’s no need to tip toe around the truth. Vanessa already knows.”

“We don’t know if he’ll be let out of prison. So that leaves me with two options. The first is to allow Emanuel to live in the house again. That would mean that you two could move in with him as well. The main problem with this option is that none of you has the time to hold down a job that pays enough to cover the bills you’d have to deal with.” She paused for a moment, glancing around at them. “The second option is to sell the house. I wasn’t prepared to do that after hearing about what he did ... but as Emanuel’s technical guardian now, the final decision falls on me for now.”

“Really?” Vanessa asked, putting down her fork. “Even though he’s eighteen?”

“Without a job that allows him to support himself, he’d be considered my dependent. Although given enough time, the state could turn that status over to the Kirses. I’d still be the one who has technical control over the house until they recognize his independence.” She looked over at Emanuel. “All that said, this is not the kind of decision I’d want to make entirely on my own; especially knowing how many memories that house could hold for you.”

“I’m torn to be honest. There are a lot of good memories there, that’s true. But there are perhaps as many bad ones too. How much would the bills likely be?”

“I can’t say for sure, but between electricity and water probably a few hundred a month. Gas and taxes would likely add another four grand per year at least.”

“If I’m remembering the size of the property correctly, it’s only a little smaller than ours. The property tax is probably closer to six or seven grand alone. And a house half our size would likely use about five-hundred dollars worth of gas each year.”

Yikes! That’s quite a bit.

No kidding Ally. The only way we’d be able to make enough to afford that is if all three of us worked. Emanuel’s voice dropped slightly, a hint of sadness in it. “I think keeping the house really is out of the question. The only decision that makes any sense is to sell it.”

“I figured that would likely be your answer. Anything left after the Realtor’s fee is yours.”

“How much do you expect it could sell for?”

“Bear in mind that I haven’t been over to that house for quite a few years. If it’s still in the same kind of shape it was back then” she paused, thinking for a moment “then maybe something in the ballpark of four-hundred thousand dollars.”

Emanuel laughed sadly. “It’s not in that shape anymore. I’m pretty sure there are a few holes in the walls. In recent years he seemed to give up on the maintenance unless he needed to do it. And” Kara watched a look of guilt briefly flash on his face “I haven’t been back there since I had to flee from there last week.”

Manny...

I know Kara, but that doesn’t prevent those thoughts from popping back up from time to time.

No, but that doesn’t mean we won’t worry for you when they do. We care too much about you to leave you to fight that alone. Like... Allison paused, glancing over at Clara for a moment how you two were by my side when ‘those’ thoughts came back again.

“As long as the damage isn’t too extensive, I think somewhere between two and three-hundred thousand is possible. And it might be worth hiring someone to fix any problems we do find before we list it.”

“Ho ... how soon would this happen?”

“Preferably soon, especially considering how strong the market is for sellers right now. Whenever it does happen though, you’ll have plenty of time to look through everything and take anything you want to keep.”

“There won’t be much there. Everything of importance is at the Kirse’s already, and Dad threw out or destroyed everything that reminded him of Mom over the last four years.”

“Including the albums Isabella spent so much time lovingly crafting?”

“Sort of” Kara smiled. “Manny saved a few things, and Mom rescued most of the rest of them from the trash.”

“And my wonderful daughter” Clara added “volunteered to make a single album for Emanuel, even though...”

“Even though I thought I’d lost the chance to be more than just friends a few days earlier. I just wanted him to be happy.”

Eileen’s mouth shifted into a grin. “I’d say you succeeded at that.”

Was it okay for me to share that, Manny?

Yes. I’m glad this has worked out the way it has. Thanks mostly to you and Allison.

Don’t downplay your part in all this sweetheart. Without you, I wouldn’t have been in a place where I could have even explored dating anyone, let alone multiple people.

“Are you okay Clara?”

“Yes. Their auras just become almost painfully bright to look at when they’re ‘talking’ sometimes.”

“I see. There’s one more important thing to discuss concerning the sale of the house. I’m prepared to open up two bank accounts to deposit any money made into. One will be in your name only, to do with as you please. The other will be in all three of your names;” she paused, slowly scanning their faces “meant generally for household needs.” She studied their faces again, then focused on Kara. “You kept the secret.”

Kara watched Emanuel and Allison’s eyes rapidly lock up with her own. “Wait ... you knew about this?” Emanuel started to stammer. “How much?”