Chapter 55

The few weeks before Christmas flew by. Tiny and I had to go to Montreal a couple of times, but it was just straight up and back home the same day, to check the build out progress.

How do you shop for four women that are special to you? Kate wasn't a fixed ingredient yet, but Sue, Mercy, and now Juanita were family. Sue was still first in my heart, with Mercy following in a very close second. Juanita may have been third on my depth chart, but she had become ingrained into my heart the same as Mercy had. Kate, well she was becoming more of our family, but to me she was still trying to figure out where she was in life.

I found what I thought would be perfect. I found a beautiful ankle chain with a small plate integrated onto the chain. I bought one for Sue, Mercy, and Juanita at first. Then I went back and got another for Kate. After thinking about it some more, I bought a chain for Maggie and one for Glenda. The next night, after having thought about it again with a mug of beer in my hand, I bought a bunch more of them and had them engraved as well. There was Shawna, Hannah, Debbie, Ruth, Alice, Sheila, Nancy, Susan, DeeDee, Star, Tina, Crystal, Samantha, Mickey, Sandy, Mandy, Deeane, Betty, and Joan. I bought a couple more chains not engraved in case I forgot someone.

That was cool, but I still needed something special for my two Moms and Juanita. For Sue, I found a wing insignia worn by military pilots. For Mercy I found a Navy Captain's insignia. For my dark Cuban, I found a small pendant that was a replica of the Cuban flag. These were the special, just for the girls, gifts. I had the two military insignia's gold plated and the pendant framed with a gold rope.

All of us had a good time shopping for the kids. What one kid would get, all the kids would play with, so the toys had to have a general appeal. We also had to make sure that it wouldn't injure one of the younger ones.

The days for the Christmas party for Sue's factories came. The first day I was at the original building, where there were now three large buildings, instead of just one. Sue had a huge grab bag with wrapped trinkets for everyone that was there. I had to go to the daycare center first and let a couple of hundred kids sit on my lap, before I went through the various work rooms ho ho hoing and handing out gifts.

The second day out at the park was even more difficult. There were over two hundred kids between a couple of months and age five in daycare. I did the ho ho ho stuff and gave out gifts to literally hundreds of kids. Instead of touring four buildings, I hit all of the lunch breaks in the cafeteria and handed out gifts there. It went pretty well, but I have to tell you, I was one tired Santa.

When I went home, I had been warned not to get anywhere near the kids with the Santa clothes on. I actually changed in the front seat of my truck, leaving the Santa suit, and heading straight to the bar.

Sue, Hannah, Joan, and Betty all came to me to give a hug of appreciation for helping their employees celebrate Christmas. They said they didn't realize how much work it was going to be trying to give out gifts to almost two thousand employees and daycare kids. I suggested that next year they give out coupons for a restaurant, but that would be more expensive than the little gifts they had given this year. We just needed to come up with an easier delivery system.

Christmas came to the patio. We had a large tree in the back corner, on the far side of the bar, but in front of the rest rooms. We had enough lights around the patio and in the yard, that I think the electric company named us customer of the month. As the big day approached, more and more presents appeared under the tree. Sue and Mercy had found something for everyone in our crew.

Tiny and Bear had created and built a fake fireplace that looked very real. They even had one of those glowing flame log things that make it look like a real fire. On the fireplace mantle, there were stockings for everyone. Kate, Glenda, and Maggie had sewn up little fuzzy red socks with a white top, and embroidered names on them.

Finally Christmas morning came. When I turned on the patio light and the tree Christmas morning, it took less than fifteen minutes for the place to be filled. We had gallons and gallons of eggnog, plain and spiked. Tiny was making up all kinds of drinks, including Irish coffees along with the staple Bloody Marys.

Glenda and Maggie had made up some homemade coffee cake or what they called stolen. I don't know who they stole it from, but it was good.

The older kids were first. The four big ones; CJ, Robbie, Mia, and Steve were all old enough to tear paper and be excited about presents. As soon as they were handed a present, paper flew, and excited little kids would immediately begin playing with the toy they had received.

You often had to have them stop playing with one toy so they could get another present. I thought we should just keep them, and let them open them when the first toy wears out. Once the kids opened all their toys and were settled in the living room, the other presents were handed out. We had all agreed that presents should have a max value of five bucks, as there were too many people in our huge extended family.

Several groups overcame the five dollar gift limit by going together to get a single gift for someone. An example would be the fancy captain's hat that I received from Tiny, Phil, and Ryan. I could wear it when we flew or when I was on the sailboat. Some others gave me a scarf to wear as a doo rag like a pirate. Sandy and Mandy gave one of those funny three cornered hats that you see pirates wear. A lot of gifts were homemade, as Mercy and Sue received a ton of handmade infant wear. They were going to need it with five of those little rascals all coming at the same time.

All the girls receiving my chain said I had cheated, but I just said tough. Sue, Mercy, and Juanita liked the special little gifts that I had for them. They presented me with several pair of gold toe white socks that I wear every day, a couple of really neat shirts, and a certificate to go out with a local dive group for a day of scuba diving.

All in all, everyone enjoyed the gifts, the food, and the spirit of Christmas with friends. When the lights went out Christmas night, I sat with Sue, Mercy, Juanita, and Kate out on the patio, enjoying our closeness for a few minutes. I told them all that this had been one of the best Christmases I've ever had. I was so lucky to have them as my wives and friends.

Each of the girls said something about how happy they were. Juanita said how she has all but sold her own mobile home. It was now rented out and she was living exclusively with us. She said we had made her life full and happy again. Juanita said, "I love all of you, each one of you so much. Thank you for being my family."

Mercy said, "This is my home now, and I'm married to all of you. Sue and Steve captured my heart and soul when we first met. I still feel the same. Now that I have a baby and three more coming from Steve and Sue, we are forever bonded.

Sue kissed me, and offered, "Steve and I found each other on a rainy day. That day marked the beginning of our spectacular life that you all are now a part of. There has been so much that has happened and we've been so lucky that none of us could ever tell it all. Now I'm a Mom, a mother to two more of Steve's children, and of another two on the way. No one will ever know how lucky I feel."

Kate said, "I'm not your wife yet, but you've made me feel like I was. When Jim was here today playing with Carson, I knew then that I still love him and hope that he might come to his senses. We girls do with each other what he does with other guys, so I can't criticize what he does too much. It's accepted that girls can do that, but guys can't. I think that when we get back from our trip, I'm going to talk to him about him trying to be bi-sexual instead of all gay."

Kate's head was bowed; she was looking at her lap where her fingers were laced with Sue's. She looked up and said, "When we get back from our trip, I will be pregnant. I will be carrying Carson's new brother or sister. I want this more that you'll ever know. If Jim wants me back, then he'll have me back, but as a mother of two, not just Carson. I hope you all understand and will help me reach that goal."

Sue hugged Kate and the two were weepy-eyed in their embrace. Mercy and Juanita both went to her and hugged her as well.

After the emotion settled, Sue said, "We will talk about this a lot, Kate. But if you want another baby, then I know exactly how that can be done. Mercy and I will teach you how to do the deed."

This brought some laughter from all of us. Kate said, "I would prefer just one at a time, okay?"

When we went to bed that night, there was some slow gentle lovemaking that encompassed the five of us. We all made love to each other. Sue was in her mischievous mode, and when I was buried within Kate, Sue whispered loudly into my ear while squeezing my balls, "Knock her up, shoot her full, fill her up with that sperm that's made a bunch of babies already. Oh yeah, Honey, fill her up."