Chapter 14

Lisa-Marie and I were still holding Andy moments later when the phone rang. I glanced at Lisa-Marie and she swung her head toward the phone, so I assumed she wanted me to take it and gently disengaged myself to answer it. Instead of picking up the phone in the hall, I went into the living room and flopped on the couch, grabbing the handset as I sat down.

"Hello. Tom here."

"Tom, it's Pam. I was calling to find out how Andrea is doing. Did you go and bring her home today?"

"Yeah, we did. Right now she's getting a hug from Lisa-Marie and I was there too, until the phone rang."

"Oh, sorry about that, but I was worried. I know what she's going through."

"Yeah, if anyone does, you should, but I think in her case there might be fewer feelings of guilt involved. The doctor has made sure she knew that the baby couldn't have survived. The foetus was badly deformed."

"Oh my. That's a burden in itself. How is Lisa-Marie handling it?"

"Wonderfully, I think she's got her feet back on the ground. Now that she's needed for something like this, I can see a change in her. On top of that, I think she's settling down anyway. It's like she's nesting."

"Well of course she is. She's in her own home and she's sharing it with you." Pam laughed slightly. "I could hear the difference in the way she spoke about it late last week, It was as if the whole house was becoming real to her, not as if she was living in a dream of some kind."

"Well, I assumed that was just her coming down from all of those stupid drugs." I said vehemently. "I do agree about the dream analogy though. Right now with Andy's problems, I'm not too sure how much of this is a dream at all."

"Oh, that will straighten itself out, Tom. You're just going to have to be patient." I could hear the gentle smile in her voice. "I can't think of any two people who would be better to have in that situation. Lisa-Marie knows what I went through from a woman's perspective and you know what to do to help. I wish in a way I'd had two people with your experience to help me, even if I would never wish that sort of catastrophe on anyone."

"Well, I hope your faith in us is warranted."

"Oh, Tom. Don't worry yourself about that. If anything you may be too compassionate at times so you get too tied up in other's problems. Thank goodness for that streak of common sense that comes from your father's side of the family." She chuckled slightly. "Joe wants to know how your school work is coming?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine. By the way, Lisa-Marie tells me that you agree with her about dropping out of that Small Business Course she was taking. What's up with that?"

"Tom, I don't think she should have ever started that course." Pam sighed softly. "She was never extremely strong at mathematics and that course is meant for a bunch of number crunchers. All it did was put her under a lot of pressure that she really didn't need."

"I think I mentioned something like that when she started the course, but since she seemed to think it was what she felt she had to do, I certainly feel that I supported her."

"I know you really questioned her wanting to take the course in the first place. Then you did support her in any way you could once she'd started the course, but in a way, you were part of the problem. You were doing so well in the courses you took and she felt she had to try to keep up to you. I think she felt that otherwise she was going to be letting you down."

I sat there for a moment and thought about it. Damn, Pam might be right. Lisa-Marie was a competitive little wench at times and she certainly insisted on pulling her own weight at any time.

"Shit." I swore softly. "Damn it Pam, why didn't you say anything to me about this before now? Her health and happiness are certainly more important to me than any damn piece of crap paper for a bloody course would ever be."

"I didn't say anything before, because you never asked outright and she asked me not to say anything unless you did." Pam sighed again. "It's our fault as much as yours. Joe knew about my feelings too."

"Oh man." I sighed heavily. "Well, what's past is over and done with, but I agree, the course can go to hell. My gal being healthy and happy is a lot more important than that is."

"Good, now if there's anything we can do to help you with Andrea, just let us know."

"Thanks, but I think right now she just needs peace and quiet. She's got to put her own thoughts and feelings back in the right order, we're just going to be here to support her."

"Well, I'll let you get back to the two of them, and tell them both 'Hi' from us. I'll call again in a day or two. We'll see you in a few weeks."

"Okay, see you then."

I listened as the phone was hung up on the other end and then I stood up slowly. In a way I felt terrible. After all, it might well have been my fault that Lisa-Marie had felt enough pressure to start taking those damn drugs and I really didn't like that thought.

Now I was feeling guilty and I liked that even less.

I walked back into the kitchen and found Lisa-Marie and Andy sitting down at the table again and talking quietly.

"Was that Mom calling?" Lisa-Marie asked.

"Yeah, she told me not to disturb you though, she wanted to talk to me I guess."

"Unh huh, that's who I thought it was. She said this morning that she was going to want to talk to you. What did she want?"

"We were talking about your course and I think after talking with her, I agree, perhaps you should pack it in."

"I owe Mom a hug." She grinned at me. "And, thank you. I had enough trouble with all the rest of the stuff they threw at us. I certainly wasn't looking forward to the idea of spending four months doing advertising junk, but it's sure going to 'p' off one of my instructors."

"Why is that?" Andy asked quietly.

"Well, he said I was his most improved student and he also said that I 'thought around corners' from everyone else."

"That I can believe." I laughed. "He should live in the same house with you for a week and see what he thinks then."

"Oh, I don't know? He had me in his classes for up to four hours a day on some days." She grinned at me. "That's more than you get to see me most days."

"Yeah, but in less than two months I get to live with you all day every day." I walked over and put my hands on her shoulders and rubbed gently. "I guess I'll just have to find you some corners to think your way around."

She chuckled softly and leaned her head over to press it on one hand.

"Oh do your hands feel good." She sighed. "When do I get one of your special back rubs?"

"I don't know, do you think you need one?"

"Mmm, I always need one, but you know what? I'll bet Andy needs one more than I do."

"It sounds like I'm going to have a busy evening, this evening." I bent to kiss and nibble an ear lobe that was clear of her hair.

"Oh, don't do that right now." She shivered. "You know what that does to me."

"My, yeah, I do." I chortled.

"Andy, if he does that again, I may be asking you to take that bath really soon." Lisa-Marie sighed as I ran my thumbs up and down her upper spine between her shoulder blades.

"I think really soon might be an idea anyway." Andy sighed. "Right now everything between my knees and my belly button feels tender and I don't want to be too groggy from pain pills if I'm going to be in a tub full of hot water."

"No, I wouldn't think that was a good idea. Perhaps Lisa-Marie should take a chair and sit with you." I suggested. "I can survive another night without."

"Oh no." Lisa-Marie mumbled softly. "I want some 'tention too."

"Jeez, are his hands that good at back rubs? He's only been standing behind you for a couple of minutes."

"Uh huh, he is." Lisa-Marie sighed, then suddenly she sat up straight and shifted her shoulders up and down and her body from side to side so she could dislodge my hands. "Tom, stop that. Please?"

"Okay, I'll be good." I grinned and moved to pull out a chair so I could sit at the end of the table.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Andy asked.

She looked across the table at Lisa-Marie and some subliminal message must have passed between the two of them because first Lisa-Marie smiled, then Andy did. Then both of them turned and looked at me.

"We have a challenge for you." Lisa-Marie smiled, one of those smiles that you see on a cat that just ate the canary. "How tough are you?"

"Tonight, I'm weak as a kitten." I answered, knowing better than to say I was feeling strong and sassy.

"Oh come now. The way your hands felt a while ago, you're tougher than that." Lisa-Marie grinned. "It's not like you did a lot of hard work today, even if you were under a lot of tension."

"Lets hear what you have in mind and I'll tell you whether it's possible or not."

"Well, what I'd like is for both Andy and me to have a short back rub and then while she goes and relaxes in the tub, I'll give you a big reward."

"Two back rubs and sex? What do you think I am, the man of steel?"

"Just short ones, Andy just needs to relax a bit and all you need to do to me is get me going the way you can. Then I promise, I'll make sure you remember tonight for a long, long time."

"Actually, I'll remember tonight forever anyway. Tonight is the night I let you talk me into sleeping with you and Andy. How could I forget that?"

"So, I'll make sure it's even more special." She grinned. "And you won't even have to work hard. Well, not as hard as usual."

"I think you have a nefarious reason for asking me to do this." I hedged, but I knew I was going to get talked into it, after all, I was dealing with Lisa-Marie.

We carried on talking for several minutes, but in the long run I gave in, just as I knew I would. Actually the idea of giving both of them back rubs wasn't something I minded anyway. It was just that for me, giving a back rub to a woman had extreme sexual connotations to it. I'd only done it before with Lisa-Marie and each time we had ended up having dynamite sex afterward.

I was going to have to be very careful about how I treated Andy and about how and where I rubbed. For one thing, I didn't want to make her tense and work her abdominal muscles too hard. And of course, I didn't want to work to far down the sides of her body toward her breasts.

As we went upstairs, Lisa-Marie suggested that I use the bathroom before I started the back rubs, warning me in her own way that she knew as soon as I was done giving her hers, she was going to want to make love. I just grinned and followed orders. From here on I had the idea that this was her show and I really didn't know how it was going to end, but I'd given in and was now trusting her. I must admit I did have reservations, but at the same time I was looking forward to the whole session.

Hey, I admit it, I'm a guy and I had gotten into what might well have been a sexual fantasy for many men. My fiancée was going to be with me while I gave a back rub to a very attractive naked woman in my bed. Admittedly she wasn't someone I planned on having sex with, but just the idea of rubbing the bare flesh of a sexy eighteen year old woman while my own partner looked on was causing a reaction from my libido.

When I walked into the bedroom, Andy was already laying face down on the bed, her arms spread on the pillows above her head and her back bare. Lisa-Marie was slowly stroking her finger over Andy's shoulder blades and to my surprise, she was nude as well.

"What are you surprised about?" Lisa-Marie grinned at me.

"Nothing really, but I was wondering if the bed was really the best place to do this. I really don't want to put any strain on Andy's pelvic area or her abdominal muscles. They've been strained in the last couple of days and I certainly don't want to make it worse."

Andy rolled onto one arm and frowned at me. "Tom, I didn't give birth to a full term baby, my body rejected a foetus that was less than two months old. Do you have any idea how small a foetus is at that time? It was probably less than the size of a golf ball."

"Uhm, and what does that mean?" I asked, trying to look at her face, not her exposed breast.

"It means that I wasn't hurt badly, for instance just how big is the head on your cock? And be truthful, remember, I've seen it at full arousal."

"Well, it's not as big as a golf ball, besides, it's not hard as a golf ball, it distorts."

"Okay, that's true, but what I'm telling you is that I didn't have to strain hard. Oh, my cervix is stretched out of shape and that's painful. And, I used muscles that I never expected to have to use, but I'm not torn open or bleeding. I don't have any stitches like some women have to have after giving birth or anything." She rolled over even further so that now she was on her side and her breasts were open to my gaze. "If I had sex I could get hurt, because my cervix is all stretched and some of the muscles are probably weakened, but we aren't talking about sex are we?"

"No, we're not." I said vehemently.

"Good." She flopped back onto her stomach and shifted into the position she had been in before. "Just so you know, I'm tender and I'm grouchy, but I'm not dying or anything. Oh and do me a favour, if you're planning on straddling my ass with your legs, would you take off your jeans, I don't want my thighs chaffed."

I just stared at her in astonishment, where had that come from? She wasn't acting like the Andy I knew at all. My eyes shifted from her to Lisa-Marie who seemed almost as surprised as I was. Our eyes met and Lisa-Marie shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't know what was going on either. Resolving to still be careful, I did pull off my jeans, then decided to hell with it and stripped to my shorts.

"Chicken." Lisa-Marie teased as I moved to the bed and carefully set one knee on either side of Andy's thighs.

She leaned toward Andy. "He kept his shorts on."

Andy just grunted softly, then sighed as my hands touched her back.

"I'm just going to work on your upper back." I said quietly, running my hands slowly up and down her spine, then over her shoulders. "If I do anything that causes even a tinge of pain in your lower belly, holler, okay?"