Chapter 48: Epilogue: Part 1: Saturday Afternoon Fun and Business

“A week or two maybe? Dealing with the post office and utility companies will be easy; the lease on other hand...”

“Can you afford any early termination fee he might charge?” Kara asked as she stepped out of the car.

“Yes. I was smart enough to negotiate a small one just in case I needed to move out quickly. I don’t think I can pack everything in only a few days though. Not with work.”

“We can help” Emanuel started “and I’m sure the kids will be happy to help too. Especially if that means you can move in quicker.”

“You’re considering leaving your job?” Allison asked, holding the door open for Kara and Vanessa.

“Yeah. While the traveling was nice at first, now it’s merely a chore; especially with the extended times the trips have been taking lately. This last one was fairly lucky in that regard. And honestly, the work itself isn’t rewarding anymore. The pay’s decent, but ... I imagine Kara told you some of what we talked about earlier.”

Allison headed toward the stairs. “Not in any real detail. She just said that you’re dealing with the same kind of crap at work that we did back in high school.”

“I think I finally understand what you three might have felt back then. Honestly, I’m not sure how much more of their abuse I can take.”

“You don’t have to take anymore of it if you don’t want to.”

“I ... need to think about that a little longer. For now though, I know what I do want.” She grinned at each of them. “And I’m sure you all know it too.”

Kara grinned and pulled her into the bedroom. “If that’s true, then you’re wearing too much right now.”

Vanessa quickly stripped off her jeans and panties, and threw them at a corner of the room. “So are you three.” She returned the grin as the pile of clothes rapidly grew. “That’s much better. Shall we?”

Kara started on Vanessa’s left side as Allison took her right. Soft moans soon became loud screams as tongues and hands met her neck, breasts, and especially nipples. When Allison’s tongue found her clit, and Kara’s finger joined Emanuel’s inside of her, she shook and collapsed on the bed.

“And now, dear Vanessa, time for the main event” he started, nodding to Kara and Allison. Each one returned to Vanessa’s side, choosing a breast and beginning their play anew as Emanuel thrust into her. Once again her moans began in earnest, quickly giving way to piercing screams as another orgasm rocked through her.

One final orgasm rushed through her as Kara felt Emanuel explode inside her. As her scream faded from the room, all three of them collapsed next to her, smiling contentedly. Some moments later, her breathing steadied. “That’s what I needed. Would either of you...”

“Mind if you returned the favor? We’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

“Then I’ll start with you Allison.”

Kara sat up watching intently as Vanessa went to town on Allison, her mouth, tongue, and hands going everywhere. Kara felt the wave beginning to grow in her, jumping wildly as Vanessa’s tongue dipped into Allison. Her scream flooded the room as Kara’s own wave of pleasure crested and went over, sending an orgasm through her a few moments later. I ... I think I’m good. After that...

Then we’ll deal with that. But her aura suggests that she sees whatever it is as largely positive. Kara look at Vanessa again. “Can we take a break and order food? I’m starving.”

“I’m a bit hungry after that too. Did you have somewhere specific in mind?”

Kara glanced at the others. “The chicken place?”

“Oh yeah! Wait, do they deliver, or does one of us need to get dressed to go pick it up.”

“Don’t worry Manny, they deliver now. I don’t intend to get dressed until tomorrow, and I sure Allison feels the same way. Would you like to join us Vanessa?”

“Greeting the delivery guy naked? I’m not sure. Not having to deal with clothes until tomorrow? Definitely. What is the name of this place anyway? I wasn’t aware of a place that specialized near here.”

“Tio’s. They do so much more than just chicken, but ... their chicken is the best. Do you want to look at the menu before we order, or...”

Vanessa sat up and smiled softly. “No. I trust you guys. Do you mind if I freshen up just a little? I don’t want to leak anywhere.”

Kara laughed softly. “We keep towels near the chairs and couch just in case any leaks occur. But, if you’ll feel better having dealt with it before that happens, then sure. We’ll see you downstairs in just a little bit.”

“Okay.” She left the room and turned toward the bathroom.

“The usual?”

“Minus the kids’ meals of course. But yes, that sounds good.”

“Add an order of the fried plantains.”

Emanuel looked puzzled at her as they walked down the stairs. “But you don’t like plantains.”

“Manny, you should know exactly why we should order them anyway.”

“Right ... the cravings.”

Kara shook her head softly. “At least it’s just for plantains, and not something difficult to find or expensive.” Her head turned as a soft creak came from the stairs. “That was fast.”

Allison nodded and picked up the cordless phone. “I’ll place the order. All you two need to do is set the table.” And considering what’s already happened today, don’t take the easy way out and use the paper stuff. I’m willing to take the time loading up the dishwasher later if need be.

Kara grinned softly at Emanuel and grabbed the utensils. “Can you ever remember a time when her hunches have led us to a bad decision? I don’t mean hard ones, just objectively bad ones.”

“No. Okay, I’ll follow your lead. But...”

“We know, and we wouldn’t expect anything different. You’re just trying to keep us safe.” Kara started to lay out the napkins and silverware as the creaking stopped. “Better?”

Vanessa smiled as she stepped into the room. “Yes. That brought into sharp relief just how much was ... well, missing with ‘her’. Can I help?”

“Thank you for the offer, but we’re almost done anyway.” Is the order on its way?

Yes, but it’s going to be another ten minutes at least. Can you two keep Vanessa company while I set one more thing up?

You’re that hopeful?

Call it certain that my additional work won’t go to waste; one way or another today’s been a good day.

Okay my muse. Come Manny, let’s spend some time talking and cuddling with our ‘new’ love. “The food will still be a little while. Join us on the couch?”

“All three of you?”

“Allison has one more thing she needs to do. I suspect she’ll join us when she’s done.”

Vanessa smiled and hooked an arm around Kara’s. “Gladly.”

They sat down on the couch, Vanessa in the middle of them. “So...” Emanuel began, glancing at Kara for a moment “it seems there’s something else on your mind. Is it something you can share with us?”

“Uhm ... I’m still sort of working through it. I’m not sure now is the right time to say anything about it ... can we wait at least until Allison’s done?”

“Of course. Manny, are you willing to grab the book real quick?”

He smiled softly and nodded, standing up. “The book?” she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

“Yeah. The leather bound one that’s always lived under Pia’s painting.”

“Right, that one! What’s in it?”

“Our special memories photo album. We always pull out for certain special occasions, and this certainly qualifies.” She smiled back at Emanuel as he brought the book over. “Are you willing to hold it?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. That’s usually the job of the one in the middle.”

“Oh, right ... sure.” Emanuel rested the book on Vanessa’s lap and opened it to the first page. “You guys have photos going all the way back to high school in here?”

“Yeah. There’s a separate growing up album too.”

They spent several minutes looking through the first few pages. “I ... I didn’t realize just how many of these I’m in. I mean ... I expected some of the ones from the wedding, but...”

“Thank you darling. I was going to suggest bringing that out after dinner, if we had the time, but I’m glad you beat me to it.” She turned to Vanessa. “Check the rest of the book; especially the important pages like Isa and Petra’s birth. You’ve been there right beside us for most of our time together.”

“Yeah ... about that ... I’m...”

“No need to apologize. You needed to find yourself first. Right Manny?”

“Exactly.”

“I ... thank you. I suppose now is as good a time as any to say this then. No matter who I’ve dated or seriously gone out with, I’ve never connected with anyone the way I have with you three. I’m a little ashamed to say that’s its taken me this long to figure out that ... well ... I want to be a part of your lives for ... the rest of your lives. Like, in the official sense. Maybe someday?”

Kara smiled softly as a look of surprise flashed across Emanuel’s face. “Are ... are you sure?”

“Yes. No matter how good ‘she’ could make me feel, it all still felt ... hollow and unsatisfying. But I never remembered time spent with you three like that. Instead, we could be doing anything; chatting about non-sense, working on your old apartment, dancing ... and I was happy. Still am happy ... and as good as all the physical stuff felt today, I’m happier about the conversations. You three still make me feel accepted as I am; not like I’m broken or doing something wrong.”

He glanced at Kara and Allison. “You two suspected this, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t personally, but I know Ally did, and I was content to trust her.”

A look of panic flashed onto Vanessa’s face. “Hold on a moment ... I didn’t mean right now. I mean ... I’d like that, and I’ll admit I’ve been thinking about that on and off for the last week or so, but...”

“Vanessa, my love, let me ask you one question. When did we ever do anything at the speed society expected?”

She laughed and the panic melted away. “Only with waiting to be married for awhile before having kids. But, it doesn’t feel too soon for you? Especially since I basically went off on my own back in college.”

“Vanessa, honey” Allison began “those two years or so were the time you needed to realize that you couldn’t fit into society’s tight mold. We simply realized that back in high school. Since then ... look through the rest of the book for a few moments.” She sat down in front of Vanessa and rested a hand on her knee as Vanessa flipped through the rest of the book. “Do you see why neither Kara nor I are worried about two out of the ten years we’ve known you? You’ve always made every attempt to visit whenever you could, and you’re the only one the kids could ever accept as another mama.”

“I was surprised how quickly they changed from ‘aunt’ to ‘mama’.”

“You’ve been a part of their family ever since they were born. As much as Cosette and Pia helped when I first had them, you were the only one to stay here for the whole week that Manny and Kara needed to be out of town. And they work a whole lot closer to here than you do. You’re the only one we could reliably call on when we needed someone to watch them, and the only person we trusted to not run into any problems with them. You’ve been an important part of our lives nearly as long as we’ve been married. As far as I’m concerned, declaring you to legally be part of our relationship is simply a formality; but it’s something I’ll happily do.” The door bell rang suddenly. “I’ll get it. You three continue talking for a little bit.”

“Wait! You’re...”

Kara laughed heartily. “Naked? Yes, she is. And I’m sure the exhibitionist part of her is getting all sorts of thrills out of answering the door that way.”

“Do you feel the same way that Allison does?”

“Yes, I do. You’ve been here for us too many times to count; we were just waiting for you to realize it. And if the photos in that book don’t prove it as they are, do something for me too ... count how many times you spot Cosette or Tony or Pia in there, then compare that to how many times you’re in there.”

Vanessa grew quiet for a few moments, working her way back through the book. On the final pass, she shook her head with surprise. “I’m in there more times then all three of them combined!”

“You really have been a part of our lives for a long time.”

“I would say so have Pia and the others, but ... they’re really just friends, aren’t they?”

Kara nodded “Good friends, but yes” then turned her head as the door closed. “I assume you gave the delivery person a good tip.”

“Two. After she stopped being flustered by dealing with a naked woman, she seemed to appreciate what I was sharing.”

“She wasn’t the only one...” Emanuel snarked, grinning.

“Anyway, let’s not get distracted by something silly like that. I believe your conversation is far more important.”

Vanessa nodded her head and smiled. “Yes. I’m clear on what you two think, but...”

Emanuel nodded his head. “You should know by now.”

“Yes. But do you need to be convinced this time?”

He laughed brightly. “No. When I was younger, probably. But I’ve learned by now; if they agree on something like this, they’re usually right.”

“So, we don’t need to wait at least several months?”

Allison smiled. “Nope.”

“But it’s too late to go to the courthouse now, and I imagine there’s some kind of waiting period ... and wouldn’t this screw up your anniversary date?”

Kara shook her head and pulled Vanessa’s onto her shoulder. “In reverse order, not unless we want it to, no, and yes, but that’s not necessary.”

“How?!”

“I don’t know how much you paid attention to the finer details of the law that made our marriage legal, but here’s the simple version. In order to streamline the transition for groups that had been in committed relationships for a long time, the law allowed for them to declare the date they made whatever vows they chose to make, and that they could establish the date that the law would consider them married from. The change would be made retroactively with only a minor note for when the change was requested; the only thing a group needed to do was declare that all of them were seeking it by their own, freely made choice. That part of the law still holds true to today.”

“But aren’t such declarations only legal if made in front of a judge or clerk?”

“Not with the online form. You provide your social and a four digit number of your choice, and those serve as your proof. The form specifically hides the chosen number from anyone except the one processing it; only you and they know it.”

“Wouldn’t you tell each other yours?”

“We were specifically told not to if we ever wanted to use the system. We didn’t need to then, but now ... we recognize that its something of a safety precaution. So we could do it before we sit down to eat if you wanted to.”

“I do ... but there’s one more thing that we’ll need to do first.”

“Your family?”

“Yeah ... I’m nervous that they won’t accept my decision. Dad’s always been very conservative, and...”

Kara laid a hand on Vanessa’s head. “And you don’t know until you ask. You may even be surprised by their reaction. Especially if her mother is truly anything like what you’ve told us about her Manny.

Ally, could you put the food in the microwave to stay warm while we do this? I think this call needs to be made now.

And once it’s done, the form too. Sure, give me a sec. Allison stood up quietly. “I’m going to put this where it’ll stay warm while we take care of the call. Give me a moment and then feel free to call them.” She stepped away with the food.

“On speaker, I think. Is that okay with you Vanessa?”

“It’s probably for the best, yeah.” Allison returned a moment later and nodded her head. Vanessa took a deep breath in, took out her phone, and after another deep breath started to put the number in. “Okay, here goes.”

The ring tone went on for a few moments before it clicked and a female voice came through. “Hola!”

“Hola mama`. Is papa` home too?”

“Si`.”

“English please mama`; there are others here who aren’t fluent in Spanish.”

“Oh, okay. Let me get him.”

“Hold your ears everyone.”

Allison grinned. Like our moms, huh?

Great moms think alike?

Exactly, darling.

“RICARDO!!!!!” she began, quickly rambling off into Spanish going about ten miles an hour. A male voice returned the rapid Spanish as they heard heavy footsteps on stairs. “Sorry about that; he’ll be up in a moment.”

“Papa` was downstairs?”

“Doing whatever it is he does down there. I don’t ask.” Another pause. “Prisa!” Vanessa shook her head as more rapid Spanish followed. “English Ricardo! She has friends who don’t know Spanish with her.”

“And why would you have friends in on a call home?”

“Because I have something important to tell both of you, and can’t wait until next week to do it in person.”

“It’s that important? Okay, what it is?”

“I’m...” she started as her voice began to falter. Kara nodded at the others and put a hand on Vanessa’s shoulder, followed quickly by Allison and Emanuel doing the same. Vanessa smiled, breathed in again, and continued “I’m getting married!”

“What? No invitation?”

“No, no ... we want to make it legal as quickly as possible, that’s all.”

“I didn’t think that Hugo would propose this quickly. There will be a proper party, no?”

“Si. But, no, it wasn’t Hugo. We broke up.”

“So someone else, and so soon? Didn’t we raise you better than that?”

“Not as soon as you think papa.”

“So, who is the lucky guy?”

“Well, they...”

“Not a guy? One of the non-binary people your sister is always dating?”

“RICARDO! Let me.” Vanessa repressed a chuckle as he sighed. “They ... does that mean...”

“It’s too bad you were too late to that Lopez boy. He seemed a good match.”

“RICARDO!!!!”

“About that mama and papa ... I wasn’t too late; and no, he’s still with them. You see...”

“It’s about time! What took you so long to figure out he was right for you?”

Vanessa chuckled and squeezed their hands. “Not just him ... all three of them. It took me far too long to figure out I wasn’t cut out to have just one partner.”

“But, don’t they have kids? How will you explain this to them?”

“Ricardo ... do you think we raised her poorly?”

“I don’t know anymore. This decision...”

“Is hers to make, and hers alone. Right?”

They chuckled at the loud sigh. “Yes Maria.”

“So, do the kids like you?”

“Like me, mama? Little Isa asked if I was going to become ‘Mama Vanessa’ and strongly corrected her brother the first time he forgot to say ‘Mama’ instead of ‘Aunt’.”

“And the brother?”

“Calmly corrected himself in the next sentence. I don’t think them accepting me is going to be a problem. I’d have a problem if I tried to back out now.”

“And when you have the big party, there will be an invite for us, no?”

“Si mama! Of course! But first...”

“Yes, yes. Do what you need to do. We will be most disappointed if there is no invite in the mailbox three months from now.”

“Three months?” Kara blurted out.

“That’s a bit short to start planning a great party, don’t you think mama?”

“Which one is that?”

“That’s Kara, papa. She’s the one who’s currently pregnant. Allison is the one with the twins.”

“Okay, okay ... four months. And we must meet the kids well before then. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Yes mama ... we have food waiting, and...”

“Go, go then. And send us pictures of the kids!”

Vanessa laughed softly. “I will mama. Te quiero”.

“And we you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief as the phone clicked. “That went much better than I thought it would. Dad was ... dad, but...”

“Your mom would get along great with ours. Especially mine.”

“Agreed, my muse.”

“Can we eat first, then take care of the form? I’m hungrier than I thought I’d be.”

“Of course Vanessa.”

Kara stood up and started toward the table. You saw this coming, my muse, and I assume you set up some kind of surprise.

Kara ‘chuckled’. I think she can, and if she does, we’ll be surprised by whatever it is. Well?

That’s beautiful, my muse! I thought the fourth glass had broken ages ago.

I was afraid it might, so I hid it in the back to be safe. On the off chance something like this ever happened.

Your clairvoyance is becoming more like your mom’s every day. Maybe, it’s even stronger than hers by now.

There’s the voice again Allison began as Vanessa entered the room with a huge smile on her face and I’m sure it sounds like her.

“How did you ... you guys did this for me?”

“For us. I had a hunch.”