Chapter 20: Together, Again

Mike

I don’t think there’s anything as heartbreaking as seeing someone you love in so much pain. I wanted to curl my big girl Teri up in my lap and hold her, like she was doing with Dana. She was hurting as much as she’d hurt Dana. It almost broke my resolve to force her to see what she’d done.

I also, and it’s really stupid that I was thinking something so irrelevant, wanted a dry shirt. My shoulder was soaked.

Finally all our tears stopped flowing (yes, even mine) and we wiped our noses as best we could with Dana’s tissue pack. Dana and I remained on Teri’s lap, one per leg, our knees interleaved.

Teri took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I can say. Or do.”

Dana caught Teri’s eye. When she had Teri’s attention, she said firmly, “We make mistakes, Teri-my-love—we all do. Lord knows I’ve a lot to make up to both of you.”

That again. I looked at Dana pointedly. “You texted something about that, but never explained. What’d you mean?”

She made a pained smile, almost a grimace. “What we talked about, two weeks ago—you were right, I have been pushing having sex instead of being friends. Lust over romance. If I spent more time just being with you guys, talking with you, all this would have happened differently.”

“Bullshit,” Teri snapped before I could. “You don’t own my fucking mistakes, only I do.”

“Nor mine,” I added lamely. (Hey, I’m a crip, I get to use that word.)

Dana took a breath. “Right. Or, right again, I mean.”

“Here’s the thing,” I said more confidently. “One reason we need to talk, to keep up our friendship, is that we’re all still growing up—still growing and changing. What we need and want keeps changing.”

Dana nodded slowly, “Such as, how much sex each of us wants, at a given time.” Her smile was a little bitter. “Sometimes I just feel so inexperienced.”

“Dana,” Teri growled, “we’re all making this up as we go along. You have as much experience at this as either of us.”

Wait, does Dana get imposter syndrome? Really? Or just with us? “You may be younger than either of us, but you are our equal. Never forget that. Nor,” and I grimaced before the admission, “let us forget it.”

“So stop it,” Teri said in her bossy-pants voice.

Which is so not the way to get through to Dana. “No, you stop it,” I told Teri sharply. When I was sure I had her attention, I went on, “Not to turn this into pile-on-Teri day, but speaking of things we need to talk about, you’ve been getting bossy with both of us lately. Bossy isn’t the best way to handle this situation—or either of us.”

I felt Teri stiffen against me. Her jaw worked for a moment, then she left out a puff of a laugh. “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense to order someone to be an equal.”

I wanted to say something about the joy of irony, but Dana whispered, “We can talk about that later. And we won’t forget this time.” She caught Teri’s eye, then mine, and then somehow we all pulled together into another group hug.

When we loosened up again, Teri gave us the stink eye. “But speaking of forgetting, what the hell happened yesterday to your promise to work through together what happens when you guys shack up?”

“Two things happened,” I said quickly, before Dana could explain. “One, Dana was making whirlwinds, and two, you haven’t been making it easy to work through anything together, this week.”

Teri made a bitter face and slumped a little. “And, dammit, I was deleting your texts unread. You were telling me, weren’t you.”

Dana nodded. “We tried. We both know you don’t like surprises.”

Teri made a noncommittal grunt, then shook her head ruefully. “Well, for the record, living next door helps, but you two are still in the same house without me.”

I cleared my throat. “What happens when I leave for college?”

I watched the implications play out on Teri’s face. “Okay, point.”

Dana shook her head. “I should have thought of that.”

“That’s okay,” I told her, “it was your mother who did.”

Teri considered me. “You’re not worried about what will happen with Dana and me then?”

I shook my head firmly. “Too far ahead, for one thing. For another, I trust you.” After a moment, I squeezed my arm around her body, to emphasize it.

Dana nodded. “One day at a time.”

Teri barked a laugh. “Agh. Right.”

“Speaking of which,” I said, “it’s the last day to actually, yanno, get to know one of the most important people in your life.”

Teri blinked at me, nonplussed.

“Teri,” Dana said with careful mock-sternness, “did you really think we wouldn’t want to meet Zoe?”

“I do believe she did,” a British accent said behind me. “Nor that I’d want to get to know you lot, either.”

“Idiot,” I grumbled.

“I—” Teri broke off.

“So what would you like to do together?” Zoe asked.

I don’t know what made me think of it, but the idea was brill. I craned around to look at Zoe behind me. “Do you like llamas?”

That surprised her. “I don’t know—I’ve never met any.”

“Oh! That’s perfect!” Dana said. She slipped off Teri’s lap. “Would you like to?”

“I’m game.”

“Where?” Teri asked.

“Barnhill Ranch is better than Las Llamas Maria for me, even if they aren’t as big,” I said. They have smoother ground underwheel. That they also have alpacas and a better gift shop are just bonuses.

I held onto Teri’s arm as she craned me over to my chair. It struck me that while she’s strong, she’s also brittle. It was an insight that made me ache. And, suddenly, let me forgive her. She’d been hurting as much as Dana.

“And just how is it,” Zoe said, “that you guys know about multiple llama farmers?”

Dana grinned. “My mother is a professor of range management at the community college. She knows all the nearby ranches—and just about every one in the outlying county.”

“And alpaca wool?” Teri said to Zoe. “It feels wonderful. Your mother will love knitting with it.”

“Well then,” Zoe said, “what are we waiting for?”

Dana

I watched, Saturday morning, as Teri pulled into the hopefully-soon-ours dirt driveway. She couldn’t use the hopefully-soon-new Florez house next door (Manuel had just filed an offer) because its driveway was filled with pickups and flatbeds. Mike and I started towards her—he rolled more easily over the packed earth than I expected.

“Zoe safely on her way?” I asked as Teri got out.

Teri clasped Mike’s hand and pulled me into a one-armed hug with her other. “The airport shuttle was on time.” She shook her head. “Why didn’t I know there’s companies running passenger vans to Denver International from all over the state?”

“Just a guess,” Mike said, “but with the size of your family, it’s probably cheaper to drive everyone.”

I smiled. I wasn’t going to say that myself.

Teri grumped. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have risked Baby in airport traffic snarls.”

“And now you do,” I said simply.

Mike snickered. Teri raised an eyebrow at me, then nodded at the empty lot behind us. “This your place?”

“That’s the plan,” Mike said.

“They’re at the credit union now getting preliminary approval on the mortgage, before filing an offer,” I explained. “They hope to move in just before school starts.”

Teri looked around, at both our site and the construction next door. “Your bedrooms would be here, and mine right there? That’s not far at all.”

Way better than currently, I wanted to point out. I knew better, though.

“We might even be able to dig a tunnel between them with a spoon before I leave for college,” Mike joked.

Teri’s whap upside his head was entirely deserved. Especially since a gate between the two backyards was already planned. I merely intoned, “Dry-wall does not a prison make / Nor woodens studs a cage.”

Mike groaned. “Okay, okay, houses aren’t jails.”

“They better not be, mister,” Teri growled. “I expect conjugal visits.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

It warmed my heart to see them flirting like that. Teri had been through so much, and needed to see things were good with us. I did too, for that matter.

A crunch of tires on the driveway announced Mom’s arrival, followed by Matt pulling up behind Mike’s van at the curb.

“Banker said yes?” I asked as she came over.

“Banker said yes, offer is filed.”

Wow—fast work. They were hoping to get it in Monday.

Matt came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Looks like we’ll have a new home.”

“Looks like it,” Mike said.

Mom glanced at me, then Mike, then me again. She was holding herself back.

I smiled at her. “Oh, go ahead and kiss already.”

Mom blushed, then kissed Matt. Quite thoroughly.

Teri stepped up behind me and wrapped her arms around my chest. I leaned back into her comforting strength. I love how, like this, my head’s pillowed between her breasts. I clasped one hand on her arms and held out my other hand to Mike.