Chapter 3

He had a family.

That's the only way Fred could describe the feelings he had as the three of them made their way through the streets of Merida. Well, five, although two weren't doing much walking and one of those really couldn't see all that much from where they were. They had slept late, partly due to being awoken at various points by Violet and partly due to the resulting time up together leading to sex. He didn't know how common that was among new parents, but this wasn't a common situation.

Fred looked down at Anita, who was walking on his left holding onto his arm while he pushed the carriage. He could see what had attracted the scumbag manager, as there was such life and sparkle in her face and eyes. Her body also moved in rather interesting ways, her hips setting a tempo that made you want to do more then dance. But they had also talked long into the night, and the mind in her was incredibly sharp. She was well read, even if she tended to limit herself to a few subjects, and she was quick to see the humor in things. If she had a habit of not seeing the truth about certain men ... well, it was a common flaw.

He was falling in love.

Fred glanced to his right at Taylor, who was possessively holding onto his right arm. Her light body was practically bouncing, and she kept a constant stream of conversation going through him to Anita. He had known that Taylor had at least been with women in the past. As she had said once, sort of quoting Kathleen Turner in 'Romancing the Stone', "Hey, I went to college". He also knew of her harem/breeding pack fantasy. But ... that she showed no jealousy still surprised him. That she could still surprise him made Fred love her even more. She seemed to be falling for the brown skinned beauty as well, and she was completely taken with Violet. Was this fate?

Once again Fred wondered if he should thank/blame Lisa or some other spiritual agent. He had no beliefs in that area, but it was a fun way to personify blind chance and luck.

"So," Taylor said, turning her face up to him and interrupting her girl talk, "where to next?" They had made it to the main plaza, from which all roads flowed. Today was an explore the town day, with no plans to deal at all with the future. It was also Thanksgiving, and they would certainly be doing that. Tomorrow they would think about Anita's situation.

Fred let go of the baby carriage handle and got out the guide book. Anita took this time to check on her little girl, who promptly tried to eat her finger. Taylor gave the infant a mock growl.

"Hey, you don't know where that's been!" This got a suitable blush from Anita, who gave her new friend a shy smile. Taylor smiled back and offered her finger to the baby, who promptly sampled this new delicacy. Both women laughed.

"There's an art gallery through that large archway there," Fred said, pointing down a wide stone paved alley. "Wanna give it a try?" The girls were up for it, so off they went. It was a nondescript doorway, not giving them much hope, but once inside they found what was probably an old industrial or storage building converted to large art filled rooms. Taylor was in her element. She almost floated from exhibit to exhibit, sometimes staring at a particular work for awhile as she just absorbed it. Fred noticed her hands would make slight brushing motions, and he decided then and there he'd try and get her some paint and paper before the day was out. The works were all Mexican and mostly modern, and rather good. They drifted through the rooms.

While they were going rather slowly, at one point they caught up with a couple going even slower. It was a young woman, maybe college aged, and man maybe a few years older. As they went from painting to painting the man was going on at great length about each piece, his hand on the woman's back as she soaked in the art and his interpretation. Even without Anita's translation, or even having to look at the smirk on her face, Fred could tell the guy was doing everything in his power to point out all the romantic elements in these works, working his magic to show his sensitive artistic side and hopefully get her in not just the mood but ready to jump him. He was just being so ... obvious about it that Fred had to laugh. When the Romeo happened to glance their way Fred took the chance to give each of his ladies a quick kiss, and with them pressing their bodies against him they walked into the next room. Anita took a glance back, and turned back to Fred trying to stop from breaking down laughing.

"Oh, Dios, he's pointing us out to her as an example of what he's been talking about!"

"Well, if I can help one man get into a threesome my job is done."

They suddenly heard the sound of a large slap and angry words.

" ... or protect a woman from a jerk. That works too."

Taylor was not one, she had always told people, for deep thought. Deep thoughts led to depression, to seeing problems that couldn't be fixed. Much more for her were fantasies, imagining a possible happy future without concern for realism. That this at times meant she wasn't paying attention to the here and now had led to much of the pain in her life, which only caused her to try and imagine a perfect future even more.

Thus, the fact she was now trying to seriously work out what to do was unusual. Taylor blamed Fred. He had made her so happy, given so much love to her, and caused so much of her dreams come true that fantasy wasn't needed. Hell, she even now had a co-wife kinda!

... And she didn't want to lose that. Her eyes slid over to Anita, who was sitting on the bench next to Fred talking about some statue of a famous guy near them. She loved Anita. Love, for Taylor, tended to come easily. She had fallen for Fred the moment she had stumbled out of the lake and fell into his arms. She had also fallen for the dickwad who had forced her to make that horrible swim seconds after first seeing him, so it wasn't really a good trait to have. But that didn't make the love any less real.

She wanted Anita to be with them. Come home with them. Be her sister mare getting bred by the hunky stallion ... No! This wasn't some fantasy. It wasn't some story where they could just invent a totally unrealistic happy ever after. I mean, there were serious problems to consider!

They'd need a bigger bed...

No! Well, yes, but that's not the issue! What if she doesn't want to come? What if Fred thinks this is just a vacation fling? Although, that might not be an issue...

What if Fred loves her more then me?

That, Taylor realized, was the first step. Figure out where they all stood. Talk about it. She thought she could be jealousy free about it. Certainly, there had been none so far. Her love for Fred was total and unconditional, and she thought she could share. Maybe...

"Hey."

Fred was looking at her, and as often seemed the case it was like he could see right into her soul. One reason she had always assumed there wasn't much to her was that everything was just on the surface for anyone to see. But there were depths, even if Fred seemed to always find his way down there to keep her company.

"Fred ... Anita ... can we talk?"

Fred cocked an eyebrow at her, then looked over at their new friend. Anita nodded, thinking she knew what this was going to be about. Looking around, Fred saw a nice empty piece of grass in the shade in this small park and they left the bench to go sit in a circle. Anita held Violet, and seeing she was starting to fuss decided it was a good time for her snack. She and Fred looked over at Taylor and let her start.

"Umm ... I'm bad at this."

Fred reached over and held her hand.

"Just speak from the heart."

Anita also took her hand, smiling at the small woman.

"Well ... we've known each other for ... what, twenty four hours?"

"Veinticuatro," Anita said with a straight face. Taylor's eyes widened in surprise, then she laughed and stuck her tongue out at her. She continued.

"Yeah, well ... what I mean is, I know what I want. I know how I feel. I also know it's too soon to have those feelings. Fred made us wait when we first met, to make sure we both weren't just in the moment or wanting the first person who happened to come along. I ignored him and stayed in love with him until he came around and brought the subject up." She squeezed his hand, and the look he gave back made her wet and just want to jump him. "So, anyways, I don't like waiting. Anita, I ... I don't want us to leave without you."

Anita looked shocked. She just stared at the waif of a girl. She ... Her head whipped over to look at Fred, and saw the brown haired man giving his woman a sad, understanding look. What was going on here? She couldn't be saying what she seemed to be...

"I love you, Anita"

"But ... you and HIM!"

"You didn't think last night was just sex, did you?" Anita lowered her head in shame and shook it. No. She had never thought that. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't feel, if they hadn't ... she raised her eyes and looked at Fred. He returned it, and squeezing her hand smiled.

"I love you too. I don't know if it's the type of love that will last, but at the very least it's the type that will grow with constant care and attention."

Anita dropped her gaze again. Not even really knowing she was doing it she switched Violet to the other breast. She closed her eyes.

"I ... don't know what to say."

"Say what you feel," Fred said. "Even if you don't think you should feel it. And don't worry about what you think we want to hear. I, at least, have no problem with the word 'no' when it comes to these things."

Anita took a deep breath. And another. Then she grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink. Taylor looked on anxiously. Had she blown it? Had she driven her away?

"I ... want to love you." Taylor put both hands over her mouth, trying to keep from squealing for joy. "Both of you. I think I love both of you. I've never ... it's too soon!"

She looked up at them, tears in her eyes.

"I can't love now! It's too soon! But if you go I don't know what I'll do!"

Next thing she knew Fred had pulled her into his arms, and Taylor was on the other side pressing against her. They were both making cooing sounds like she was a baby, which maybe she was. Maybe this kind of thing was common in America.

"We can find a way," Fred was whispering. "It doesn't have to be now. We can make the time you need."

"How?" Her nose was starting to run, and for the second time in two days Taylor had a tissue out for her.

"Don't know. But I think it's time to start looking.

They had a couple options.

One, they find Anita a job and place to live, then worry about the rest later. Taylor wanted none of that.

Two, they bring Anita home with them. This, Fred said, was not likely for a host of reasons. She didn't even have a passport.

Three, they get her a job and place to live and at the same time set into motion whatever the final plan was. Maybe they get her a job in the US near them, or she visits for a month to see how compatible they really are.

"She could just marry you!", Taylor suggested helpfully.

Anita blushed furiously, and Fred gave his partner a questioning look.

"Well, that's the answer in the movies and in sitcoms," she continued, defensively. "You marry her, the three of us live together and you father a dozen babies between us!" That drew a reaction from Anita, and Fred just had to laugh.

"Don't mind her. My companion here has a few fetishes you haven't come across yet, and popping out babies is one of them. We'll see if that survives an actual child birth." He reached over to tweak Taylor's nose, and when she stuck out her tongue he made to grab at it before she pulled it back in laughing. Anita just shook her head at them.

"I think my Violet is more grown up then you too." Grinning, Fred reached over to tweak her nose, and a short tickle fight broke out that only stopped when the baby started crying. They also were starting to get looks from passers by.

"I think we should get to work," Fred said, sitting up and stretching. "It's... 3 PM. We passed an internet cafe back there a bit. Why don't you two go see if you can find some job leads and housing options for our lovely friend here. I have some shopping to do then I'll hit the computer room at the hotel. We'll meet back at the room and decide about dinner. Is it a plan?"

It was.

Trust having to play with a government web site to drain any remaining optimism.

Oh, OK, Fred had to admit, it hadn't been that bad. The US government travel and immigration site was actually laid out pretty well. Too well, in fact. It didn't take long for each possibility to be tracked down and proven to be impossible. No wonder people get frustrated with the US, if this was what they had to go through to even visit the place. He hadn't needed a visa to visit Mexico, but to go in the other direction? Whew. Sticking Anita in the back of a truck was suddenly an attractive option.

He looked at the stack of printouts on the table beside him in the hotel room. This was the choice she had to make. He hoped they had had some luck in their searches, because it was going to be a long road ahead.

And did he want to travel it himself? He wasn't rich. He was barely sure things were going to work out with Taylor and the baby. Forget all the emotional baggage they'd have to wade through, could they make it work practically?