Chapter 35

Alan's turn:

I really enjoyed the little side trip to visit Jason's folks. His dad was like mine, just a hard-working decent guy who did his best to care for a family, and his mom was equally a decent sort. That Jason turned out as he did was a testimony to their success.

We dearly enjoyed the food and the friendship, but as the evening went on, sleeping arrangements for the evening had to be figured out. It ended up with Tina and Susan sharing a bed and Jason rolling a sleeping bag and air mattress on the floor in the living room where I occupied the sofa.

"You need your rest. You're flying, you know..." Jason said.

"Uh-huh ... I fly a lot less since Tina started."

"And she got Susan going. Or is that YOUR fault?"

"Uh, my wife and your fiancée are perfectly capable of running our lives all on their own," I said.

"You got that right. And I'm damned happy that they are, too."

"Your folks seem to like Susan," I said.

"Oh, she completely torpedoed Dad with that 'Bridgeport' thing. The whole idea that she's not some prissy little ball of fluff, I mean."

"I get the idea that your mom considers Susan to be an improvement over your first wife."

"Susan helped Mom in the kitchen. Volunteered. Walked in there and asked what she could do. Her an' Tina both, really, but Mom ... well, the ex never did that. Not like Susan."

"Life is good when your wife gets along with your folks. Especially your mom."

"Yes it is," Jason said. "It will be, indeed."

We got up early the next morning and caught breakfast at a local diner on the way to the airport. We were the only plane in the skies that morning, so we made a circling low pass so that Jason and Susan could wave a final goodbye before we set our heading northeast.

Tuesday morning got us a gentle chiding from the project manager over our day's delay, but when we actually got back to work, things were still happily on track. That was good. Susan and Tina went back to school and started the glide toward graduation. I and the two Dans and Jason did a Skype conference call later in the week to reinforce emails.

Life would've been almost idyllic. There was a serpent in our little paradise, though, and it came in the form of MY ex-wife. It didn't even wait for us to get settled in Tuesday evening.

My cellphone rang. The ringtone was an identifiable bit that tagged it as originating at the ex's house. Usually that meant Terri, but as of late, Terri called Tina's phone instead of mine.

I'd laughed with Tina over that little fact. "She doesn't mean anything by it, Alan," Tina had laughed. "She says my number's prettier. Doesn't have sharp points like yours."

"That's an odd observation..." I started to reply.

"That I totally understand, baby," Tina finished. "She's such a sweetie."

But tonight, MY phone was ringing. I punched the 'answer' button and put it to my ear. "Hello," I said, expecting to hear either Terri's voice (good) or Carole's voice (a lot less good). I heard the voice of Martin, Carole's husband, NOT one of my favorite people.

"Alan," he said. "You got time to talk?"

"Sure," I answered. "What's going on?"

"We need you to take Terri for a while."

"Uh ... sure. What's wrong?"

"Carole's ... well, she's in the hospital. You know she's bipolar, right?"

I was familiar with the claim. I put up with a lot of stuff over our years of marriage because I was trying to deal with her mood swings. "Yeah, why?"

"We been juggling her medications with this new doctor, and it hasn't been workin' real well. She tried to kill 'erself."

"Oh, gee..." I didn't LIKE Carole very much, to be quite honest, but I didn't want her dead. "Is she okay?"

"Depends on what you call 'okay'," he said. "She's gonna live, and there's no permanent damage, we don't think. But she's pretty whacked out, and she's gonna be in the hospital, in some facility, for a while. Uh ... I don't think I can handle Terri by myself. She's pretty much a mess right now."

"Terri?"

"Yeah ... She's in 'er room right now. Can you guys take 'er for a while?"

"Sure," I said. "We'll work something out."

"Uh ... can you send 'er a ticket? We're kinda short on cash right now."

"Gimme your email address. I'll get you something ASAP. Can I talk to Terri?"

"Sure. I'll call you back in a minute." The phone clicked in my ear.

I spilled the news to Tina who was stuck to me, having seen the look on my face.

"We'll do what we HAVE to do to take care of Terri." She cast her eyes around our tiny trailer. "I know families that lived in trailers smaller than this after that hurricane. You and me, we can do it."

The phone rang again. This time it was Terri, her voice strained, tearful. "Daddyyyyyy, Momma's SICK!"

"That's what Martin said, baby. Are YOU okay?"

"Uh-huh ... but I can't be with Momma. Can I come stay with you an' Tina?"

"I'm sending you a ticket tonight. Martin will get you to the airport tomorrow, just like you did at Christmas, and we'll be at the airport here, waiting for you when you get here."

"Can I talk to Tina?" she asked, trying to fight back a sob.

"Yes, sweetie. Here she is." I handed the phone to Tina.

"Hey, Terri," Tina said softly. "I heard some of the news." Pause. "Uh-huh. You told me that." Pause. "No, baby. This is as much YOUR home as anybody's. He's YOUR daddy, and daddies are forever." Pause. "No, baby, you won't be any trouble. When you get here, we'll be living in our little trailer for a bit. You'll fit right in, I just know. And we're going to get an apartment this summer, maybe sooner." Pause. "No, baby. You WON'T be trouble. And we both love you, okay?" Pause. "I'll tell 'im you said good night. We'll see you tomorrow." Pause. "Bye, baby."

When she closed the phone her eyes clicked with mine. "Alan, She WON'T change things between us. You and I have HAD this conversation. We made it through Christmas."

"I know, love, but this is open-ended."

Tina's brow knit. Her 'I'm NOT moving' look. "And I knew, Alan Addison, that YOU had a daughter before we got married. And I knew that you'd be part of her life. And I learned that I wanted her to be part of MY life, too. This is a GOOD thing, at least for US."

"What about you and the sisterhood?" I asked. I should've known better.

"Ask me a HARD one, husband! You know that I talk with my sisters, don't you? And the subject of MY daughter has come up, been discussed and settled."

"Settled?"

"Oh, yeah. We unanimously figured that Terri belonged to ALL of us, and while I get a daughter, they get little sisters. And we're collectively responsible to see that she grows up in a happy, loving, civilized environment."

"I should've never doubted you," I said. "Sit by me. We need to get her an airline ticket."

That task took a few minutes, following which I emailed the details to Martin.

When I closed the lid on the laptop, Tina took my hand. "Come on. Let's get our showers. And we can talk more after..." She managed a smile.

I wish I was as certain as she seemed to be.

We completed our customary shower routine with me standing behind her, hairbrush in hand, her short auburn locks shining before me. She picked up a bottle of perfume and put a couple of strategic dots on herself, then stood, pulling our naked bodies together in an embrace.

"Are you up for a BIG one tonight, baby?" she asked, smiling.

My love. Here I was dragging her into a thorny situation and she was concerned about how I felt. I kissed her. "Always," I said.

Giggle. "I can tell PART of you is." Her fingers encircled that part of me that was always happy to be with Tina. "Come on!" she said, tugging me toward our bed.

Eight months I'd been making love with this doll and it was like a kaleidoscope, all the same pieces, put together in a myriad of beautiful patterns. Tonight was no different. I found my tongue teasing her to orgasm, savoring the juices, and I had her atop me, straddling, riding, bringing herself a second climax while pushing me into alternate dimensions.

And then we ended up in each other's arms.

"We won't be able to be as uh ... unrestrained, not with Terri at the other end of the trailer," I said.

"No, Cindy told me how that works. She an' her mom lived in a little trailer and her mom..."

"I didn't know that," I admitted. "Knew things were rough for her."

"But this is a LITTLE different. For one thing, we're married. For another, we know how to be quiet. Like at Christmas."

"You're an astounding thing, you," I said.

"Alan, she's your ... OUR daughter. I LIKE 'er. We're more than just unrestrained, uninhibited sex, you and me, even thought that's so terribly, awfully good, but we LOVE each other, and we love Terri, and this is what we HAVE to do, okay?"

I looked at those blue eyes. Here she was, telling me what WE had to do with MY daughter, and it wasn't MY daughter to her, it was OUR daughter. What a remarkable young woman. I went to sleep with her in my arms.

The next day, Jason and I were sipping coffee and looking over a stack of reports. "Alan," he said, "this ain't a problem."

"What ain't a problem?" I asked. I'd given him an outline of the changes in our little family.

"You and Tina and your daughter. It's really simple, you know..."

"Ooooo-kay, buddy. How simple is it?"

He laughed. "We do a little swap. I've got an apartment on a month-by month rent, and it has TWO bedrooms. You have a travel trailer and you NEED two bedrooms. I call my landlord and explain that they'll have a responsible set of renters only slightly less spectacular than me, and you and Tina and uh ... Terri, y'all move into the apartment and I move into the trailer, and the problem's solved. And in a month or two, we ALL move into new apartments in Auburn, Alabama."

"Remind me again why you're not making more money," I laughed. "What's that gonna do to your future wife? She's been so impressed by your classy bachelor pad."

"Another easy one, buddy," he said. "She thinks your trailer is romantic."

"She's warped," I laughed.

"Oh, don't be talkin' 'bout the future Missus Ellerbee," he grinned. "Lemme call my landlord."

He made the phone call, ending with, "Yessir, we'll all come by there after work so you can see what sort of criminals I associate with." His nimble thumbs relays that information as text messages to Tina and Susan. "There! It's a done deal!"

"I appreciate it, brother-in-law!"

"No problem, brother-in-law!" Jason retorted.

One of our caring co-workers leaned backward out of his cubicle. "Why don't y'all just kiss each other!"

"Hey!" Jason replied. "Just because YOU'RE alone and unloved doesn't mean everybody is!"