Forty-eight

WE TOOK THE BOYS BACK to Seattle with us as Jack headed to Boston with Lexi to help her prepare to move west. We also took an entire extra suitcase filled with baby clothes. I had no idea Mom had kept so many of mine. Lexi promised to bring all Melody’s baby clothes with her from Boston.

“Kate? Where are you going?” Lissa asked as Kate headed downstairs.

“Uh ... to my room?”

“Are you going to go back there now? Didn’t we resolve this?”

“Can I? May I?”

“Kitten,” I said softly, “won’t you come back to our bed?”

“Yes! I wasn’t sure. I mean in Nebraska it was a big room and we were all in it and I didn’t know if I’d be welcome back into the big bed here when we got home and I was so worried but I didn’t want to just barge in and make myself at home because I didn’t know if it was okay and I didn’t want to push anyone into anything that...”

There was only one way to cut that stream off and I used it. Kate was still talking non-stop as my tongue probed her mouth and I carried her to the master bedroom. Wendy pounced onto the bed next to us.

“Didn’t you promise you’d make love to me tonight?” she growled.

“Yes, Tiger. I so want to make love with you.”

“Well, I sleep up here. And I want our lovers and my master to be with us while we make love.”

“I love you, Wendy. I’ll be wherever you want me to be.”

Getting five of us into the big bed wasn’t as challenging as it sounds. We had lots of experience with it. I was happy to have Melody and Lissa lying half on top of me with Kate and Wendy entwined next to us as we wound down after making love. I reached my hand out and touched both Wendy and Kate as I drifted off.

Getting closets arranged was considerably more difficult. As a temporary solution, Kate and Wendy maintained Wendy’s bedroom as a closet and slept in the big bed unless they—or we—wanted a little special time together. Mostly that worked, but there was often a little confusion as we split up among the three baths in the house to get ready in the morning. It was pure chaos.

Something would have to be done before long.

“Family meeting,” Lissa said on New Year’s Eve. We were having a few people over later, but nothing like we’d had in the past. We all settled in the living room. The boys crawled into my lap in the big chair and Wendy and Kate joined Lissa and Melody on the sofa. “It has come to my attention that our house is getting smaller. Five of us are sharing one room. Another is being used for a closet. Damon and Drew are getting to be big boys and if they want, they should each have their own room. And then there is a baby coming. We need a nursery.”

“Or two,” I snickered. I’d been teasing about having twins ever since the weekend I planted a baby in Lissa.

“Or three,” Melody grinned. She could hardly wait to start.

“Yes, beloved,” Lissa continued. “But the truth is, I’m already gaining weight and certain positions are less comfortable than they used to be. Even our big bed is getting crowded.

“And let’s not forget guests,” Wendy said. “Sometimes it gets so crowded in the big bed we have to spread out to another room. Or two.”

“How about if we turn the guest room into a nursery, the boy’s room into a closet, and give the boys the two bedrooms downstairs. It would be like you have your own apartment,” I chuckled to the guys.

“Do we get a kitchen?” Damon asked.

“Just an efficiency apartment. You’ll have to share the kitchen.”

“We could remodel,” Melody suggested. “Make the master bigger, with a bigger bed and a bigger closet...”

“And a bigger bathroom,” Kate suggested.

“ ... and bathroom,” Melody continued. “Then we could have a connecting nursery, give the boys their own rooms and still have room.”

“That works,” Lissa said. “Or we could shop for a new house.”

There was stunned silence. My mind was racing. A new baby. A new house. A new ... relationship. How to manage it all. Who would get what? Pay for what? My god, it was overwhelming!

“I move that the first order of business be to expand the partnership,” Melody said. “I want Kate and Wendy to become full partners. Then we can legally buy and inhabit any home we want to.”

“Wait a minute. That’s not fair,” I said. “Between art sales and Ice Queen, the three of us contribute more or less equally and agreed to hold everything in common. But Kate is making a ton more money off of her art than I ever will from mine. It’s not fair to ask her to contribute on the same terms as the rest of us.”

Kate got up and came to me. She asked the boys if she could borrow their spot and they gladly jumped up to go play. They were bored with the meeting already and all they wanted was to get their own ‘apartment’. Kate settled into my lap and kissed me.

“Tony, my love,” she said softly, “did you really mean to say Wendy couldn’t be a partner because she doesn’t have as much money to contribute?” Oh shit! I looked at Wendy and saw the tears running down her cheeks. Melody and Lissa moved to either side and hugged her.

“No! I mean ... I was just ... If there is a god in heaven, please teach me to keep my mouth shut!”

“I think she just did, darling,” Kate whispered.

“Wendy—Tiger, that’s not what I meant,” I said.

“But it’s true. I don’t have anything. How could I be part of the partnership?” she cried.

“It’s not true that you don’t have anything,” Lissa said gently. “When we started the partnership two-and-a-half years ago, I was the only one who had money. And I had this house. Tony had talent, but had yet to sell a painting. Melody had a talent for fabric design but no concept of how to make a living. Tony made the same objections then that he’s still spouting now. Each person is free to bring what they want into our partnership and if either of you want, we can sign an agreement to exclude whatever part of your current assets you want to hold back. But there is no one who is worth less than the others. We are equal partners. Wendy, you have shown us more talent, love, and determination than any of us can even grasp. You inspire us to be better people. Do not ever say you don’t bring anything to the partnership. We love you and want you to be with us.”

“That’s right. I’m just as stupid now as I was then. Kate, you never wanted to be a part of the partnership. We always understood that. Do you want to be part of it now?”

“Seven nights ago, I came back,” Kate said. “I know I’ve been living here for four months, but I only came back on Christmas Eve. I thought long and hard about what it would mean if I stopped holding back. I’ve thought of nothing else since I stood on your doorstep in the rain in September. I told you on Christmas Eve: I’m all in. No reservations. There is nothing you could ask of me that I would deny.” She leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Nothing.” I looked at Kate and she smiled at me. All the dark spots in my soul were illuminated. I felt love washing over me in waves. I looked at the sofa and Wendy, Lissa, and Melody were all grinning at me equally.

“I’ll test that,” I whispered to Kate.

“Please do.” I squirmed a little.

“Before you ask another question, Tony, I think it’s important that Lissa and I do this,” Melody said. I raised an eyebrow. “Wendy, we all love you and we accept you for who you are just like you are. Tony will agree to whatever we say about this, so you don’t have to consult him. Will you please join our family partnership?”

“Melody, I never had a home before I came here. I lived with my parents and dreamed of escaping one day. I lived with Rafe and lost hope. I lived in a tent and even that was taken away from me. Tony is my hero. He loved me and without asking anything in return, he reached in and saved me. You and Lissa and Kate loved me without demand or expectation. And I fell in love with all of you—Kate first, but all of you. I would love to be part of the family partnership.”