Chapter 64

The phone rang a number of times before someone answered. Ben actually answered himself for a change. He apologized for being slow answering. They weren't expecting us to call so early, and had been busy while Carol changed his dressing. This was the first I'd heard of a dressing, and he said one of the old lesions had ulcerated and wouldn't heal. He sounded upbeat and lively, tonight, though, so we carried on the conversation. He knew Mom and Dad by now, and of course Diane and the kids. He'd been introduced to Paul a couple weeks earlier. He said Carol would be right with us; she had to put her 'doctor kit' away.

Soon Carol joined us, and everyone said hello again. Paul knew Carol was pregnant with twins, he just didn't know I was the father. Carol started the ball rolling as only she could. That's why she got the job. Ever since she jerked that blue haired lady's chain, I had a new respect for her ribald off-the-wall humour. "David, My Love?"

"Yes, Dear?"

"What did you pump into me besides His Precious Stuff? I look like you pumped a basket ball in there."

Everyone tried to keep a straight face, but Paul looked thunderstruck! His eyes were huge, and he looked to be gasping for breath. We couldn't let up just yet — HE had to ask the question.

"What are you talking about, Carol Anne?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about you lecher! My belly looks like you pumped up a basket ball in there. You used to like it when I had a nice flat tummy you could lay your head on. If you tried that now, it'd slide right off and bounce on poor Mrs. Pussy!"

It was all the people at my end could do to keep from busting a gut. We all knew Carol could go on for hours if you kept feeding her enough lines to ricochet off. Paul was now looking from me to Diane and back, the question obvious on his face. I decided to work it by seeming to go to Ben for support.

"Ben, help me out here."

"No way, Sunshine, you put that thing inside her, you deal with her."

Paul had had enough. He somehow sensed his leg was being pulled, but he still had to ask. "David, it's not really my business, but am I to understand that you're the father of Carol Anne's twins?"

Paul had never heard us refer to Carol by anything but Carol Anne, so he called her that as a matter of course. Diane smiled sweetly at her father, and answered the question for me, all innocence. "Why, Daddy, what's wrong with that?"

"But... But..."

"That's what husbands and wives do, isn't it? Make babies?"

'H-husbands and w-wives?"

'Yes, Silly, Dave and Carol Anne have been married for twenty years. These are their first children together. Isn't it wonderful?"

"I-I guess so, Muffin, as long as you're OK with it."

"The only regret I have Daddy, is that I wasn't able to be with them when they made Our Children."

I thought Paul was going to faint. The rest of us had kept quiet, but now we all laughed. Paul kept on gamely, though. "You mean you're a multiple marriage? But why is Carol Anne in Calgary, and I thought Ben was her husband?"

I took pity on him. "Paul, we've wanted to tell you from the beginning, but we weren't sure how you'd take it. Carol Anne has a wicked nasty sense of humour, and we thought that might be the best way to break the ice with you. Carol Anne's gag is her way of letting us all know that she's started showing. Our babies were conceived on Sept. 22 and 23 after her mother's funeral. Carol Anne and I were forced to be separate for many years, and that was the first we were able to fulfill a lifelong dream. I'll tell you the whole story later. It takes too long for it to be told over the phone, and it's the third time in as many months it will be told."

Carol came back on. "I'm sticking my tongue out at you, David."

"Thought you might, Sweetheart. Do you want to tell part of it?"

"Thanks, Lecher! <raspberry> Paul, I'm sorry if we embarrassed you, but what David and Muffin — Oh Diane Marie, I LOVE that! — have told you is the truth. David and I were married twenty years ago, but only got to spend a year together before tragedy drove us and our other wife apart." Carol's voice was sad as she laid this latest explosive device at Paul's feet.

"Other wife? But Diane isn't old enough..." Paul was reeling.

"Not Diane Marie, Paul — my sister is our other wife. First there was me, then a few days later, Riekie. David married Diane Marie eight years ago, thinking he'd never see us again." Carol giggled as she added. "Now he's got me knocked up with twins, and Riekie is in a mad rush to get her affairs in order so she can get the same way."

Paul was still trying to get a grasp on the situation. "But what about Ben?"

Ben laughed as he came into the conversation. "What about me? I heartily approve of the whole situation, Paul. If you only knew the love these people share, you'd be moving Heaven and Earth to get them physically together again yourself. I married Carol Anne just a few years ago after I lost my first wife who I loved deeply. I've raised a family and I can't have any more. Carol Anne needed a friend and the best way to ensure I was there for her as a friend day or night, was to marry her."

Just as Paul got his head wrapped around one thing, he'd think of another. "Don and Lori, you knew about this?"

Dad explained his and Mom's role. "Yes, Paul, we knew. We knew twenty years ago. Lori even married them again with the Goddess' blessing twenty years ago this Christmas Eve when they formally exchanged rings. I think the kids still consider that to be their true anniversary, although they were actually married in August. David, show Paul your ring."

I took off my ring and showed him the inscription. Paul went white then smiled broadly. "Well, as long as my Muffin is happy, that's all that matters. And if the sounds I hear coming from your room at night are any indication, she's beyond happy, she's in love. But how do you girls feel about each other, sharing one man?"

"Carol and Diane both giggled, and Diane answered. "Well, Daddy, we're in love with each other, too. It's complicated, but it's true. I haven't physically met Carol Anne yet, but I'm as much in love with her as I am with David, and she loves me just as much. Isn't that right, Darling.?"

The love in her voice was very apparent, and when Carol answered, you could tell it was mutual. One was almost embarrassed to intrude on their intimacy. "You're so right, Muffin. Paul, sorry to steal your pet name, but it's so sweet, I just have to. May I?"

When Carol called Diane 'Muffin', you could just see her melt. I think she soaked the couch where she was sitting. She wasn't wearing panties, so it had to be the couch — our NEW couch.

Paul told Carol, "When you say it, Carol Anne, there's enough love in your voice to convince even the hardest of hearts, and I can assure you, I don't have a hard heart. We'll both use it, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear others use it too. Somehow it suits my little girl."

So Diane became 'Muffin' to all of us except the kids. Except now and then, one would refer to her in later years as 'Mommy Muffin'.

Ben started to cough, and I heard real concern in Carol's voice. "Oh dear! Ben, are you all right?"

Ben could hardly speak for coughing. "Yeah, I'm Ok for now, but I think I better lie down. You finish up with your family, and I'll see you later. Oh, Lori? I saw Beth again today. I told her I might be talking to you tonight. She sends her love and asked that I say 'may the Goddess be with you, Lori'. Did I say it right?"

Ben was weakening fast. Mom said. "Yes, Benjamin, you said it right. Now you get some rest. May the Goddess be with you, Benjamin, and with your spirit."

"Thanks, Lori <cough> Goodnight, all."

Mom told Carol. "Don't be long, Dear. He doesn't sound good. I know tonight was supposed to end happily, but poor Benjamin tried a little too hard to stay with us. Give him our love, and you better close off. We'll fill Paul in on the rest."

Carol was in tears. "Oh, Mom, I love you so much! I wish you were here to hold me! This is getting too hard for me. Ben keeps trying to go on, but he's slipping fast, and I'm scared."

"I can't come to you right now, but I'll call Beth and have her come over, OK?"

"Th-thanks, Mom! Sorry to be such a pain."

"You're no pain, you're My Daughter. Now say your good byes and look to your Friend. He needs you."

"OK, Mom. 'Bye everyone. I love you all. Nighty-night Rhiannon and Jenny! Sweet dreams, Muffin, my love. David, I need you... I love you... Come when I call, OK? I don't think it's going to be long. Byeee."

We all said goodbye at once. Diane and I said ours last, and told her we loved her. We told her we'd come on a minute's notice. Then she was gone to tend to Ben.

Diane took the kids to bed while the rest of us sat and talked. Seeing as Mom and Dad were already there, as soon as Diane came down from putting the little ones to bed, and I went up and kissed them good night, I started to tell Paul our story. I told him the whole thing. I gave him basically a synopsis without names except our own. It made the story more impersonal and it went a lot quicker. Still, Paul got the feel of how much My Girls and I loved each other through our whole ordeal, and had a tear in his eye when I finished. He thanked me for sharing it with him.

Diane cuddled up to her father and asked worriedly. "Are you mad at us, Daddy?"

Paul hugged her to him as he reassured her, "No. Muffin, I could never be angry with you for falling in love so completely. I once knew a love similar to yours and lost it. I'm happy for David and the other two that they're getting back together, and very happy for you that they found you. I'm grateful that all of you think enough of me to share this with me. Besides, I'm going to be a grampa again, if I understand the way you speak. Have you joined their knot, yet?"

We were all a little shaken that he referred to our knot, and Diane's joining it. She explained. "Not yet, the time isn't right yet. David's Power will tell us when the time is right."

Paul was intrigued. "David's 'Power'?"

I had to explain. "Since I first met Carol Anne, I have felt there was a Power guiding our lives. Then twenty years ago, it either turned away or was forced to turn away by an Evil. That Evil is still there, but is fading fast. The Power is gaining strength, and when it's ready, all four of us will be joined. It's going to be soon, too. I can feel it. How did you know to ask if Muffin was going to join our knot?" Muffin! I really liked the feel of that on the tongue!

Paul was deliberately vague. "I was raised in the Old Ways, David. I can tell you no more for now."

I thought I knew what he'd disclose someday — I could wait. "I understand. I see a familiar old pain in your eyes that was in mine until recently. But you've helped answer a lot of questions with that one admission. Did you know Rhiannon has an especially strong Sight? It was she who knew the twins were a boy and a girl." It was nice to be able to use familiar words in a way unfamiliar to most people and have him understand.

Paul said simply, "No, but it doesn't surprise me, either. Your whole family has it, don't they? You, with your Power. Lori, the High Priestess. Don the Wise and Learned One. I feel I've stumbled into a family coven."

Mom spoke up, then. "No one, except a few, knew of my rank, and certainly none of my family except for Don. How did you?"

Paul spoke with certainty. "Your bearing and strong presence. Your family wouldn't notice it because they're with you all the time. But why the secrecy? The Inquisition is long gone. Surely you don't still hide from that persecution?"

Mom was noncommittal "Old habits die hard, Paul, on both sides. It is wise to be cautious."

"I understand, Lori. I'll say no more."

With this enigmatic exchange between Paul and Mom, our evening came to a close. Mom and Dad blessed us, and left for their own home. Mom said she was going to call Beth and have her check on Carol. Paul visited with us for a while on small things then we all went to bed too. Diane and I made love, but it was a gentle, quiet, almost reflective lovemaking, and didn't disturb any one.

Sunday was a quiet day with everyone seeming very reflective. Even the kids seemed quiet. Paul stayed in his room until almost noon, and when he did come down, he was already packed for home. He left early, saying he had things to do at home, and he'd see us again Friday night.

The week went fairly quickly. Mom and Diane recovered their spirits and started decorating both houses for the Festive Season with real holly and mistletoe. Dad and I started looking for Christmas trees and selecting Yule logs for the big fire pit in our yard. Since that first Old Ways Christmas, Dad and I had kept a Yule log burning every year, almost as a beacon for My Girls to find their way home. Ben managed to call on Tuesday, but he sounded frail.

Thursday Dad loaned me his new car, and I drove to the aunts' to bring them home. I hoped they'd decide to stay on over Christmas. Our invitation was an open ended one. With Ben's condition apparently worsening rapidly, I thought having all Carol's family except for brothers and sister concentrated in one spot would be good for her. It would sure cut down on the number of phone calls she'd need to make.

I arrived at the aunts' in time for supper. They greeted me with warm hugs and warmer kisses (!) and fed me a wonderful meal. We spent the evening visiting, and I told them about Ben, and why I'd like them to be closer for Carol. They thought that was a good idea, and kept their return plans open as I suggested. They hadn't talked to Carol recently, and didn't know how poorly Ben actually was. It was extremely pleasant just to spend time with these marvelous ladies who had done so much for me, and I hoped they'd enjoy their stay with us. They did seem to be looking forward to it despite their original misgivings.

One thing I did notice about the girls, they were dressed less severe than was their wont, and their hair, while up, wasn't in its usual tight buns. They looked like the pull of a single pin would release it. We all turned in early; I automatically went to Carol's and my room. I could still smell her in it, and slept soundly. We'd left a lot of love in this room, and it wrapped around me like a warm blanket. We were up early the next day, Friday. The weather man was calling for a snow storm, and I wanted to be on the road in daylight if it struck before we got home. I didn't like traveling on Friday the thirteenth either. Hey! Allow me a little superstition!

After breakfast, I started loading their stuff in the car. The amount they had, it looked like they were moving in. When I kidded them about it, they said most of what they were bringing was Christmas presents and some baking they'd done. I thought I'd smelled olieballen.

I'd been really good about my diet and exercise routine, and no longer had a belly, such that I could almost fit into my old jeans from high school that is if I could get them over my thighs, which had muscled up from hard work and walking. I feared for my new youthful waistline from their baking. My shoulders had filled out from the time I was sixteen, and slinging a chain saw around for the last month had bulked them up even more. I thought Carol would like the package I presented now. It fit what she said I should look like, and I felt good, too, the best I'd felt in many years.