Epilogue

It was sort of a joke as we ate.

I was smug as the kitten who got all the cream!

I sat to Alex’s left, and Luna to his right, with the two vacant chairs between us girls, and across from Alex.

Sure, I was a little grumpy at the start because I did not have any of Daddy’s cream in my little pussy, but I got to share with Luna!

I dropped a few pieces of fruit into my mouth, watching my man and Luna giggling and chatting like I wished they had for years.

Of course, if it were not for their family strife, I never would have had a chance, but here we were!

Luna’s phone vibrated now, mirroring the one that just shook Alex’s phone.

Still angry with her mother, Luna snapped, “Well, I guess it’s about time they woke up! It’s damn near noon. Brunch is almost over!”

Luna deliberately ignored the message and then the call that followed.

We all saw the two cheaters who made all this possible tangled in a stale tequila and sex-reeking pile as we left. They were sleeping off the hangovers and sexual exertion from the night before, obviously.

I shrugged and watched my man.

He sighed and quietly asked, “Do we agree?”

Luna nodded, “Yeah, I guess I finally understand what you do and how we’re not actually destitute like Mama kept saying.” Luna huffed and shook her head, frustrated.

I cupped her hand across the table, and gently offered, “You know that Alex has offered a bunch of times to just pay everything for you and your mother. I’ve been there and heard it all a bunch of times, long before I worked for him. But you’ve both insisted on jobs and stuff like that right? So all that stress you two bring home is pretty much your own doing.”

Alex sighed and actually chopped me off at the knees! He corrected, softly, “It was never that bad, Celia. I can understand someone being concerned. I don’t do a very good job of explaining things. I have always been a closed book about that stuff.”

Frustrated, my eyes flicked from Alex to Luna and back to Alex again. Before I sniped back, much harsher than I would have liked, “I barely passed high school math and I understand what you taught me! Stop fuckin’ covering for them!” Looking at Luna I apologized, “Sorry Luna, but y’all chose not to listen when Alex spoke! For like, years! Literally, for years, I listened to him making you both those offers as an outsider, but you both ignored him!

“It just makes me so frustrated and angry thinking about that disrespect to our man!”

Luna shrugged and accepted, “Yeah, true. But we’ll start fresh this morning. Right?” She looked around the table and Alex nodded.

I nodded, accepting Luna into our cabal.

Alex teased, “Well, actually, didn’t it all really kick off last night?”

Luna smiled shyly, and corrected, “It was technically after midnight, so it was this morning,” She flushed total red, the blush subsuming her light tan features, and she jumped way out past her comfort zone and finished whispering, “When you stuck your big man-dick into me and filled me with sperm!”

That made the three of us smile together, like a good family should!

My phone rang with a text.

I asked, “Are we ready for them?”

Both nodded.

I quickly typed out the restaurant we were in all morning.

I was surprisingly calm, waiting for this final confrontation.

Luna looked pretty calm too.

Alex noticed me gauging him and he just shrugged easily.

When Ramona and Juan dragged themselves in they both looked like something the cat chewed on, swallowed, and retched out again in the middle of the night!

A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth, but I squashed it quickly, staying serious.

Ramona and Juan stumbled still drunkenly into the seats Luna pointed to. Luna’s face was cold and completely impassive.

Ramona croaked, voice hoarse from the tequila and smoke generators in the club they were at all night. “What’s going on today?” She looked around, nervous, and asked, “Why is everyone so serious?” She attempted to joke, “Did someone die?”

Luna eyed me, and at a tiny nod, spoke out of turn. Deadpan, Luna told Ramona and Juan, “Yeah, you could say that.” Looking at Juan, she said with a snarky edge, “My boyfriend’s relationship and Alex’s wife’s relationship both died last night.”

I had to struggle to keep from laughing at that one!

Ramona’s jaw just worked soundlessly.

Juan started saying something.

Alex silenced him with a simply raised hand and a small negative shake of the head.

Juan’s mouth snapped shut.

Luna and Alex looked at me.

Ramona and Juan followed them, their haggard state apparent in their blurry eyes.

I recapped, in about fifteen seconds flat, “So, last night it came out that you two have been fuckin’ for almost the whole time Luna ‘n Juan have been dating. That makes the one of you cheating on his girlfriend and the other cheating on her husband and daughter.” Before they could speak I added, “But, we have a counter offer.”

Ramona and Juan looked at each other, then around the table, trapped.

Alex shrugged and quietly told them both, holding their eyes directly, not looking away, just flicking from one to the other and back. He told them clearly, “Ramona, this would be your second divorce. Luna refuses to leave with you. Anything you say to your extensive family will be countered by Luna and humiliate you both.” He looked at Juan, shrugged and told him, “I don’t give a fuck about you.” Looking back at Ramona he told her, “Keep fucking him if you want. You seemed to enjoy yourself.”

This was the dangerous part!

Alex nodded at both Luna and then me and wrapped up calmly and quietly speaking to Juan and Ramona, “I’m buying a new house in cash when we get back. Celia and Luna are coming with me. I’m going to rent out the old one. If you want to come, you two can have a non-master bedroom to yourselves and we can pretend to be a happy family. Or you can both live somewhere else and we’ll cover for you at family functions, but that will be hard because I know you and Luna like doing mass family calls so you should be in the same house.”

The cheaters looked at each other, the adrenalin of fright apparently burning through some of the tequila still sloshing around in their blood.

Alex shrugged and finished, “Celia and Luna are mine now. I’m going to keep them both pregnant until my balls fall off.”