Chapter 9

She marched us into the den and we all sat next to each other. Rachel said, "I had to go into the sex shop to buy a vibrator for Brianna. Tell him, Brianna."

Brianna blushed, "Jordan, Rachel said I had to tell you. Before the hurricane, I had a boyfriend in Pensacola Beach. I liked him a lot. About two months before the storm, Jacob and I began having sex when Mom was working. After two weeks, with my coaching and the Internet, he made me feel very good and I wanted to do it every day."

"And..."

"I like sex. After we learned how, he gave me lots of orgasms and I guess I was hooked." She blushed, "When Rachel asked about my sex life, I told her I didn't have any now. She said she would get me a vibrator so I didn't have to worry about Jacob all the time."

"She got it?"

"Yes, today. I hoped you'd make love to me, but you're such a prude that you won't. Anyway, I now have a toy and maybe I won't be in such bad shape."

Rachel was giggling. Brianna seemed adamant to go on. Rachel said, "Brianna, it's OK. Girls have to have their toys to protect them from bad men who shouldn't be in their lives." She chuckled and pointed at me. "Clean it with alcohol from the medicine cabinet before you use it."

Rarely did Brianna blush, but she turned beet red again. "Uh, uh, OK."

Rachel went on, "Now, here's the main topic of the meeting. I talked to your mother for an hour this afternoon. We agreed to take Jordan up on his offer to keep you while she goes to the Middle East for six weeks with Charles."

Brianna's eyes opened wide, and then she cried. "Oh, that is so good. I hated the idea of going to a new school. When is she coming home?"

"She said six weeks. In my opinion, she will use that time to figure out Charles. So, Jordan and I are your parents until she returns."

She came over to me, "Jordan, thank you for keeping me. I was scared they'd make me go over there with them." She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

"We are delighted to have you Brianna."

Rachel said, "If you need me to show you some vibrator tricks, and help you with that excess hair we talked about, I will be happy to help." She got serious. "Pay attention to those good guys in school who might fill your... uhh... void."

In a rare showing of her little girl self, she said, "Please help me with my excess hair."

Rachel hopped up and said, "To bed with you." She looked at me, "Later, dude. I have to make our daughter presentable in her tank suit. We also have to talk."

How could they possibly have anything else to talk about? They settled everything. I worked for a while and did email. Thirty minutes later, I heard this scream from the next room. I remembered Jennifer saying that Brianna had to have her pubic hair removed for her swimsuit and after seeing it, I knew why, but it didn't turn me off to see the curly hair hanging out. Sounds like Rachel may have done it. The second scream was louder. Brianna issued some horrible threat.

At night, I did political stuff making phone calls for my candidates. Then, I went to the bedroom and flaked out. As I contemplated my situation, I realized that Rachel was really an angel. She was also a sexual hottie that made me feel twenty years younger. I had a loving daughter, a hot woman for my bedmate, and enough stability to make life pleasant.

Rachel came in, kissed me, and went to the shower. She was out in five minutes. I watched her dry her elegant body and saw her coming for me. She put her head on my chest and said, "Do you really want me to live with you and be your woman?" I felt her hands clutch me and her tears dripping down my chest.

"Rachel, darling, if you're dumb enough to take up with the likes of me, and God knows I've tried to counsel you, I do want you to live with me. I so look forward to your coming home every afternoon. So, what else do you need to know?" I hesitated, "Hell, in a couple of months, I can take you out to dinner like an adult."

I was prepared for her rabbit punch on my belly, but she moved back and hit me in the side. I gasped. She had my balls in her hand, "If you ever say anything that dumb again, I will Darwinize you. You will never reproduce."

I put both of my arms around her and pulled her into my body. It was one of those gestures that she could never resist. She put her head on my chest and said, "I love you, old man. I wish I didn't, but there it is."

"I love you, jailbait. I wish I didn't but, there it is."

"What about Jennifer?"

"I became infatuated with Jennifer. If I could have talked her into staying, I would. You would then be free to go after what Brianna called 'a real boyfriend.'"

"I hope you mean it when you say you want me here."

"Live with me a while and if love doesn't come through, I'll get you another apartment."

"The poor child just learned how painful it is to be a woman these days. I waxed off her pubic hair so that she could wear her swimsuit like we do in the U.S. without curly hair hanging out. She hates me. It won't feel good for a couple of days." She reached over to pull the alarm button. I heard her giggle, "How do you like being daddy again?" She pushed her butt into my spoon.

"Rachel, when those little girls fixed my dinner according to the instructions and Cathy made my martini, I felt loved. When you came and took charge of them and made decisions, I felt more comfortable than I have in years. You make my life whole."

"My God, asshole. Please don't say too many nice things the same day. Spread them out. I might run out of tears."

We settled into a routine. Brianna and Cathy brought home the names of the mothers in the swim team carpool. Rachel called them and made a schedule.

When Rachel returned from delivering the swimmers to the pool for the first time, she came and hugged me. She said, "Cathy's mother wanted to know if I was Brianna's sister. I told her that I was your girl friend."

"How did she handle that?"

"Oh, I think Cathy must have told her something. She said only, 'Good for you. He's been in bad shape since his wife died. The people who knew them all thought he'd jump off the bridge.'"

"Sounds like she's an OK person."

"l drove off to the pool with those five swimmers in your wife's small sedan. Right then I realized that if I'm going to be a soccer mom, I have to have a van. If any one of them gains two pounds, I'm out of business. They sure won't fit in my car or your truck."

"I'm not sure I can afford you." I defended her rabbit punch. "Go on the Internet and see what you can find. Might as well get one you like."

Rachel scheduled our lives. Who drove to the pool, who picked up. Who shopped for groceries. Who cooked. She went to the Internet and found a van she liked. It was this year's model, low mileage, and a very low price.

When she told me about it, I said, "Too good to be true. Get the serial number and check it out on the state website. After hurricanes, there are always lots of cars that were flooded that people are trying to unload after they collected their insurance money."

"Uh oh, I'll look into it.

"No, let's be rational. Get a new one and then we won't have to worry about the warranty. When you go to the university and Brianna stays with me, I'll need a way to carpool."

She smiled and hugged me. "I've never had a new car. God, I hope I don't scratch it. I never imagined last year that I would be carpooling a swim team. Thanks, asshole."

She got her van and the swimmers were much easier to manage with the extra room. We went on for a month. One night, after a nice dinner, Rachel said, "OK, family meeting."

I sat with incredibly high anxiety. What the hell was wrong? The last time we did this it was all about Brianna's pubic hair and vibrator.

We sat dutifully on the couch. Interestingly, Brianna sat close to me and I put my arm around her. Rachel looked at her clipboard. In my mind, I was thinking, "Aw, shit!"

Rachel appeared to read from her list. "What's wrong in this household?"

I looked at Brianna, who seemed equally confused. Stupidly, I raised my hand. "I don't know anything that's wrong. Someone needs to tell me."

Brianna said, "I don't know either. I thought we were doing pretty well since I don't have a mother."

Rachel paused. "Everybody has to tell the truth."

Brianna said, "OK, Rachel, what's wrong?"

Rachel paused for about thirty seconds and then said, "I don't know of anything. I'm happy. I'm taking this class in family life that says we should have a family meeting every week to let out our problems. So, we had our meeting." She paused, "Next time, I hope you will speak up if anything is wrong. This takes practice." She paused again. "Brianna, when have you talked to your father?"

"Before the hurricane."

Her voice was clear. "Call him. Tonight if possible."

The family meeting was over and I was happy that it was. In my time, no one had family meetings.

When we snuggled in bed and I felt the beauty of Rachel pressing against me, I asked, "Are you OK with all this responsibility?"

She said, "When I said I wanted children, I thought I'd be able to start at the beginning and grow up with them. Now, I'm starting at the hard part and working backwards."

She put her head on my chest and clutched. "Don't worry. I love you and I'm in my element with those girls. I can help them avoid many problems."

Interesting. At breakfast, Brianna was helping Rachel make the meal. Rachel asked, "Did you talk to your dad?"

"Yes. He was in Brownsville, on the Mexican border. He sounded happy to hear from me."

"Did you tell him about your mom?"

"Yes. He'll be in Atlanta next week and would like to see me."

Without asking my permission, Rachel said, "Tell him he can stay here. We have a room. Otherwise, he can stay at the motel down the street."

Daniel came to our house. As Jennifer said, he was charming. Rachel dressed Brianna up to look beautiful. Daniel took Brianna out to dinner-she told him where-and brought her home around ten.

Rachel met him at the door. "Will you stay with us or do you want to go to the motel?"

He looked around and said, "If it is OK, Brianna said I could stay here."

Rachel took him to the guest room and showed him the bathroom. I wondered whether he realized that was where Jennifer had spent many of her nights, and what he was thinking about the situation. Rachel impressed me with her social skills.

Later, she came to bed and cuddled up to me. "Shithead, I love being here with you. I hope that poor man can connect with his daughter." She kissed me full on the mouth with tongue. She laughed, "I'm studying family life and counseling at the university. Here, I have my own laboratory."

At breakfast, Rachel served Daniel scrambled eggs, ham, and toast. When I arrived, Brianna came down the steps in her school 'uniform' and went to Rachel to hug her. She hugged me. Then, she hugged her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she stood with her arms around him.

Daniel said, "I don't understand what's going on. Who is Rachel? Who are you?"

Before I could talk, Rachel came over and took his hand. "Daniel, Jennifer had to go to the Middle East," She paused for effect, "with her lover. Brianna is staying here until the new house is ready."

Daniel was not a happy man. "What the hell do you mean that she went to the Middle East with her lover?"

I didn't know Rachel's complete counseling skills, but she sat close to him. She took his hand, "Daniel, my understanding is that you and Jennifer are divorced. Is that right?"

He said, "Well, yeah, OK."

She went on, "Jennifer is totally confused right now. Her house has been destroyed. She has no job. This is the only place she had for a while. You may not know what that means to a woman, but it isn't just an insurance settlement. She bought a new house. I don't know why since she was selling the one the hurricane destroyed. I can only assume that she plans for Charles to live with her."

"I don't know either. That divorce wasn't my idea."

"I understand."

Old tough Daniel became putty in Rachel's hands. I'm sure that if she asked him to jump off the bridge, he would willingly have done so. She went on, "Daniel, Brianna doesn't want to live with her mother if that man will be there. She doesn't like him and I'm told the feeling is mutual."

"What does she want?"

"You should ask her to be doubly sure, but I think she wants to live with us. She started the swim team, is making new friends, and doing well in school. I'd hate for her to have to change right now."

I always knew that Rachel was smart and that she could handle people well, but she already sounded like a 35 year-old professional counselor. I suppose some of her training made her more competent.

He thought for a minute. "If she told me the story straight, Jordan rescued them from the tent city and brought them home. He fell hard for Jennifer. She was after this guy, Charles. Now, Brianna thinks she loves Jordan and wants to stay here. You are his girl friend."

Rachel said, "Jordan is a good man and takes care of us. We won't have any problems."

I'm sitting in the room, hearing myself being dissected and enjoying every second of it. I liked Daniel from the moment we met. Salesmen have that quality. Maybe if I had to be around him all the time, I wouldn't, but he seems like a good guy.

She replied softly. "Unfortunately, I fell in love with Jordan. I know all the rules, but I have to play this out. When I thought he was leaving me for Jennifer, I felt that I should redesign my life and live without him. When Jennifer left, I made my move on him. I can be convincing. He needed a woman around here to care for Brianna. So, here I am and I ain't leaving."

He seemed shocked. "You'd just keep her? Let her live here and go to school? Be her stepmother?"

"Her evil, wicked stepmother who tolerates no nonsense. I'm not that far from her in age and I know almost all the tricks."

"Would Jennifer agree to that?"

"No."

"I think our divorce agreement said something about joint custody. Anyway, that's irrelevant because I can't be at home enough to take care of her."

Rachel replied, "Well, I don't know what's going to happen. I hate to have Brianna's life torn up any more." She put her gorgeous eyes on him and said, "Will you approve? We'll need you to sign some papers that allow us to get her medical care and take her to the dentist. We have these insurance cards and she has a credit card that I think is on your account."