Chapter 13
As I stood there holding Lisa-Marie in my arms, I couldn't help but think back to that day, almost three years ago.
It was in the early spring of my last year in high school and it was a Saturday, April 15th to be exact, a date I will always remember.
I'd been helping Joe fix the brakes on his truck and by about one in the afternoon we'd found the problem. After pulling the keys out of the truck and locking it up, he and I left the farm to go to town in my car in order to get parts for his truck. Lisa-Marie decided to ride along with us, but Pam, who was five months pregnant, was having a nap so we decided not to disturb her. Joe went inside to leave her a note about the truck as well as let her know where we had gone, but as he went into the kitchen, the phone rang. He got into a discussion with a neighbour about some detail that had been raised at a recent meeting of one of the local farm groups and completely forgot why he had gone inside in the first place.
We were halfway to town when he realised that he'd finished the phone call and had come straight out afterward to get into the car, forgetting the note. Since he had the keys to the truck in his hand and since Pam had known that we were going to work on the truck, we decided not to go back to the farm over such a small detail. Besides, we thought we'd be back before Pam woke from her nap.
I don't know how many times since then that I've wished that we'd made any other decision.
When Pam woke, she decided that she wanted something from town. She assumed that we'd finished fixing the truck, then had gone to Dad's place for some reason. Since the keys weren't in the truck, she simply stepped inside the house and got another set, then hopped into the truck and set out for town. After turning out of the driveway, the road is dead straight for the sixteen miles into town. She never had to hit the brakes once, at least not until the last half mile.
About a quarter mile from town, the side road we lived on crosses a busy highway and the last few hundred yards of the side road are down a relatively steep grade. The moment Pam hit the brake pedal and it sank to the floor, she realised she was in trouble. After a quick glance at the traffic on the road, she made the decision that she would be able to cross the highway during an upcoming break in the traffic. Rather than try to stop the truck by running it into one of the ditches beside the road, she panicked and gambled on her judgement that she could miss the traffic.
Pam has never been able to remember the accident and probably doesn't want to. We found out later what the police and the insurance companies believe happened.
Pam might have made it across the highway, except that at almost the same instant as she made her decision to gamble on crossing, a salesman pulled out to pass a slower moving semitrailer truck. The police thought he might have accelerated heavily because he was going to be late for an appointment. He must have seen Pam coming though, because his car had all four brakes locked, with the wheels skidding as his car struck the truck on the rear quarter panel. The resulting accident spun the two vehicles around, yet they remained on the highway and directly in the path of the oncoming semitrailer. Both drivers might have walked away from that accident, but the semitrailer was heavily laden and the driver had been behind the wheel of the big rig for almost six hours. His reaction time was slow.
Pam's pickup truck had now spun almost ninety degrees and was hit head-on by the tractor portion of the semitrailer. It was driven almost a hundred yards down the highway by the inertia of the huge load the eighteen wheeler was carrying. Somehow the pickup remained upright, but it was crushed beyond belief.
Because she was five months pregnant, Pam hadn't been wearing her seat belt and had been thrown sideways by the first impact, so as the steering wheel was driven back into the cab of the truck, it had passed above her lower body. Luckily, the cast iron block of the engine was driven down and under the cab, otherwise Pam would not have survived at all. Her injuries were caused in the first impact and then by the crushing of the cab of the pickup as the semi ground its way forward.
The salesman's car had been locked into the frame of the pickup truck by the first impact, but it spun free after the second. Unfortunately, the trailer of the semi had swung slightly sideways on impact. The trailing wheels, carrying the fully loaded weight of the trailer, passed over the passenger section of the car, killing the salesman instantly.
The driver of the semi had been wearing a seat belt, but was thrown forward over the wheel in the initial impact and suffered multiple facial and upper body injuries. On top of that, he had a broken leg, but he did survive.
When we left town and drove out toward home, we saw the accident, but we didn't recognise the pickup. We wouldn't have known it was Pam, but the policeman on the scene recognised us and flagged us over. The volunteer firemen were there, trying to get Pam out of the wreck. She was pinned into the seat by the crumpled dash and cab of the pickup and it was no easy job.
I'm not sure how long it took them to get Pam out of the wreck, but it seemed to take forever. I do know that for the next forty-eight hours, we maintained a constant vigil at the hospital while the medical staff did their best to save both her and the baby's life. The baby was actually born prematurely and really didn't stand a chance, in fact it may have been born dead. If it wasn't dead at birth, it died in the first few moments.
Somehow the staff of that tiny hospital in a hick town on the prairies managed to keep Pam alive though. They even managed to repair her shattered body to the point that she was able to recover and again live a full life, but for a long time that was touch and go as well. She almost gave up from the guilt she felt after she came out of the drugged stupor she had been in and realised that her baby was gone. She felt guilty about his death, she felt guilty about the accident and she even felt guilty that she hadn't been able to attend the baby's funeral. Her guilt and grief were terrible to witness.
And the feelings of guilt and grief didn't stop with her. We all shared in that. Joe felt guilty for not leaving that stupid note and for not disabling the pickup so it couldn't be driven in an unsafe condition. I felt guilty for not turning back and insisting that Joe leave the note. Lisa-Marie felt guilty for not staying behind so she could warn her Mom that the truck was still unsafe to drive.
It took months for the whole family to get over the grief and the guilt. In fact, I suppose we've never really gotten over it, not as much as we've accepted the facts of the matter and gone on with our lives. However, I like to think we try just a little bit harder to see the repercussions of our actions before we do something irrevocable or unsafe.
Now Lisa-Marie and I were living through another loss of almost the same kind. It was true that this time we didn't share any of Andy's feelings of guilt and it was also true that Andy was a friend not a relative, but I couldn't see how that made a huge difference. Instead it seemed to me that life was forcing us to relive feelings dredged up from our past.
I hugged Lisa-Marie a bit tighter and she sighed softly.
"We have to go talk to Andy and Willy." She whispered. "They're going to wonder what's wrong."
"I guess we should tell them, huh?"
"Unh huh. It isn't fair for them to think that they're at fault for us feeling grief all over again."
"Yeah, I'm not sure I can talk to Andy about it though."
"I feel almost the same about Willy." She admitted. "Why don't you go out to the truck with him since he wants to go home right away? Then while you're with him, you can give him a short explanation of what happened. At the same time, I'll talk to Andy and explain a bit about the way we feel."
"Just as long as we don't lay a guilt trip on either one of them." I agreed and she nodded.
Hand in hand, we went back into the kitchen to see our friends. I walked right over to Andy and wrapped her in my arms, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.
"Sorry to be a bit abrupt, we were having a private moment." I explained.
"Oh that's okay, and I didn't think you were short with us, not really." She snuggled briefly, then pulled back slightly. "Besides, it is your house and . . ."
"And you're a guest, in fact, you're almost a member of the household." Lisa-Marie suddenly wrapped her arms around both Andy and me, squeezing us tightly together. "When you came out to the back porch, we were reliving a moment of our past. I'll explain it to you later, Andy, after there are no guys around."
"That sounds like a hint for me to get out of here." I sighed and started to pull away.
"You can wait a moment and hug the two women in your household." Lisa-Marie's hug tightened briefly.
"Yeah, I need to go and do my chores at home." Willy offered.
"I'd like a hug from you before you go." Andy wriggled out of Lisa-Marie's and my embrace and walked over to him.
As Willy gave her a brief hug, I looked down at Lisa-Marie, winked and slipped out of her arms, moving over near the door.
"I'll give you a hand to clear the snow from your pickup." I said to Willy as I grabbed my coat and yanked on my boots.
"I don't think I need . . ."
"I'll give you a hand." I interrupted him firmly.
He was frowning at me as we went out onto the porch so I paused and frowned back.
"Look. I wanted to talk to you without Andy hearing what I said." I growled at him. "You damn near queered that with your silly desire to have me stay inside."
"Oops, sorry about that. Did you want to tell me something important?"
"Yes, in a way." I sighed, "Come on, I'll talk to you as we clean off your truck."
So I told him the basic story about Pam's accident and about the way she had reacted afterward. Then I explained about the fact that both Lisa-Marie and I knew what Andy was going to go through. We didn't have to guess about it. I tried to give him the impression that we were the perfect people to sympathise with Andy and help her cope with her grief. At the same time, I tried to play down the amount of grief we were going to be feeling ourselves. I'm not certain how successful I was, but at least I felt better for having told him the larger part of the truth.
By the time I was done talking, it had taken a good ten minutes. His pickup was cleared of snow and warmed up enough to drive, so he got behind the wheel and looked at me seriously.
"Thanks." He nodded. "I'll let Mom and Dad know, and you know, I think it will make them feel better. I'm not sure if it helps me much, but then the only thing that I know for sure would do that is if someone gave Fred a free medical procedure."
"A medical procedure?"
"Yes, I was talking to one of the nurses at the hospital and she called it an orciectomy. I'd like Fred to have a double orciectomy. I'd even pay for the job."
"What in blazes is an orciectomy?"
"That's when they surgically remove a testicle. I'd like Fred to lose both of his." With that, he slammed the door shut, put the truck in gear and accelerated away.
I watched him as he drove down the drive and then tried to turn when he got to the road. His brake lights came on, then his front wheels turned, but it made no difference. The icey surface of the road and the wet fallen snow made the turn impossible and the speed he was going prevented him from stopping. The pickup went straight across the road and plowed into the snow-filled ditch on the other side.
I just threw my hands in the air and turned to trudge up to the machine shed. It was going to take the tractor to get him out of there, so I slid open the big doors and turned on the lights in the shed. The old John Deere fired up quickly and while it was warming up, I went to find a chain so I could pull Willy's truck backward. At least I knew where Uncle Silas had kept a couple of logging chains for towing things and I dragged one down the shop, tossing it and a couple of shovels into the front end loader's bucket. Then I drove the tractor outside and closed the big door.
Willy was still sitting in the truck when I got there and parked the tractor just inside my driveway. He was shaking his head as he leaned out the window.
"I can't even open the dang door." He snorted. "That's what I get for losing my cool, isn't it?"
"Yup, nature has a way of telling a man that he's being an asshole." I grinned at him, then calmly started to shovel the snow away from his door.
"Yes, Silas, number two." He said sarcastically, then chuckled. "You do sound just like him at times, and from me, that's a compliment."
"Well thank you, that's the way I took it. Now, that door should open easy enough and I brought another shovel." I said as I stepped back to give him room to open the door.
"Yes Boss." He chuckled again as he got out and grabbed the other shovel from me.
With the two of us working, it was only a few minutes before we had the snow cleared away from the tires and fenders of the truck. Then I pulled the tractor ahead and hooked the logging chain from the front end bucket to the frame of his truck.
"When you come out of the ditch, your back tires may get traction and I've only got a fifteen-foot chain." I warned Willy. "Be ready huh? I don't really want to have my tractor all bashed up."
"You're not worried about me bashing up my pickup then?"
"Nope, it's not mine and you're driving, so I couldn't do anything if I wanted to." I grinned.
As soon as I put tension on the chain, Willy dropped the truck into reverse and just as the tires on the tractor started to spin, his truck popped out of the snowbank like a cork out of a bottle. He got stopped before hitting the tractor, but just barely. That was only because I hadn't stopped right away, but had waited until an instant after I saw his brake lights before I hit mine. After I'd stopped, I back away a bit further with the tractor until he had a bit more room to back up and turn, then I locked the brakes and hopped down to get the chain unhooked.
"Thanks Tom." Willy said as he handed me the shovels. "I'll take it a little slower on the way home."
"You do that." I grinned. "See you tomorrow."
I watched as he waved, hopped into the truck, then pulled away slowly. After tossing the shovels and the chain into the front bucket, all I had to do was put the tractor away, then I closed up the machine shed and went inside. Lisa-Marie and Andy were setting the table for our evening meal.
"How did Willy manage to drive straight into the ditch?" Andy demanded as soon as I walked into the kitchen.
"He was going a bit fast when he tried to turn and that snow is real slippery. He just lost it for an instant and that's all it takes." I shrugged.
"Silly damn fool. He knows better than to drive too fast in the snow." Andy snorted.
"Hey, everyone is allowed to make a mistake or two. None of us are perfect."
"Yeah, but that was stupid and it just made more work for you." She turned on me with a frown on her face. "You two are spending all of your time cleaning up after things that Willy and I have caused."
"Do you see me complaining?" I asked, glancing at Lisa-Marie who was standing behind Andy and wrapped her arms around herself in a hugging motion.
"No, but it's unfair and I think . . ."
She stopped speaking as I wrapped her in my arms and smiled over her shoulder at Lisa-Marie who nodded at me. Suddenly Andy was snuggling and crying softly as she cuddled tightly in my arms. I raised my eyebrows at Lisa-Marie who just touched a finger to her lips and smiled slightly.
For several minutes, Andy simply snuggled and cried softly as she leaned against me. I just hugged her and gently stroked her back, waiting patiently as she cried herself out. What I found slightly surprising was that Lisa-Marie never said anything and seemed to be watching with a slight smile. Finally Andy pulled back slightly and her face turned up toward mine.
"Thank you, for everything." She whispered softly.
I never even thought about my reaction as I bent my head and kissed her gently, hugging her again.
"Hugs and snuggles are free." I smiled as I pulled away. "Now, I'll be right back, I need to clean up and change. I actually did some work with animals tonight and even I can smell it on my clothes."
I noticed a look pass between the two of them, but didn't think anything of it. Instead I went upstairs to wash and clean up, once more resolving that I wanted to get the half bath built on the main floor as soon as possible. As I was drying my hands, I realised that just telling Willy about Pam, and knowing that Lisa-Marie had told Andy the same thing, had relaxed me somehow. I was no longer holding onto a secret and I realised that I felt that way because I trusted them and I wanted the trust to flow both ways.
As I walked downstairs, I suddenly smelled fresh bread and I frowned to myself. I couldn't see how Lisa-Marie could have baked bread in the short time that we'd been home, and truthfully I would have expected to have noticed some sign of it before now if she had been. Yet when I walked into the kitchen, Lisa-Marie was slicing a loaf of home made bread as she stood at the table.
"Wow, when did you have time to bake that?" I asked quietly.
"Last week." She smiled. "Actually Andy made several loaves and we froze most of them. I just threw one into a paper bag and tossed it in the oven to thaw it so we could have it with my stew."
"Stew?" I looked at the empty stove top.
"Yes." Andy spoke up. "Last week Lisa-Marie bought a slow cooker and she started a stew this morning. Can't you smell it? The smell has even been making me a bit hungry."
"Well, I hope you're hungry." I grinned at her. "I think I'm nearly starved."
"Well, you should be. You haven't eaten much today." Lisa-Marie offered. "I think all you've had is a couple of eggs this morning. Now sit down and enjoy a good meal."
It was a good meal. The stew hit the spot and the home made bread went with it perfectly. Both women talked between each other as they ate, but I was so hungry that I was paying more attention to the food than to what they were saying.
"Tom! Have you gone deaf?" Lisa-Marie's sharp tone made me look up. "Well, you are alive. So, what do you think?"
"I'm sorry, what was I supposed to think about?"
"I think he was more interested in food than anything else." Andy smiled. "Lisa-Marie wanted to know what you thought of the tea that you've been drinking?"
"Umm, to be honest, the stew and the bread are so good, I wasn't really paying attention. Why?"
"Because it's different." Lisa-Marie said quietly. "We were explaining that Fran called while you were doing the chores and she insisted that we all add some calming herbs to our tea. She's going to cut short her trip and come back, leaving the boys to carry on."
"I tried to tell her that I'm going to be okay, but she wouldn't listen." Andy said quietly. "She's going to stop and talk to you at the college on her way home. I think she's worried that I'm much more upset than I am and she's going to ask you about exactly what happened."
"Oh." I tried to sound noncommital. "I'm surprised she's coming back, I thought this meeting or whatever it is was very important to her."
"It is and I tried to talk her out of coming home." Andy frowned.
"I agree with Andy." Lisa-Marie frowned.
"So, do you have her phone number?" I asked. "I can call her if you want me to."
During the rest of the meal, we tossed that idea back and forth. Andy thought calling Fran would be useless because she knew Fran was stubborn, but Lisa-Marie felt I should talk to her. I was uncertain about the idea. I did want to talk to Fran, yet I didn't want to inconvenience her and I couldn't see how she could help by being on hand. That was the final deciding point, I couldn't see that she was going to be of any help in any positive way. I felt that she would just be one more person that Andy would have to deal with. After all, I felt that Andy was in quite capable hands and she had all the help she was going to need around her. If she had been acting suicidal or exceptionally depressed, I might have felt differently.
In the long run, I decided to call Fran, but I warned both Lisa-Marie and Andy that I wanted to talk to her by myself and without either one of them around. That started another argument, which I won by the simple expedient of explaining that if they interfered in my call to Fran, I'd just say goodbye to her and hang up the phone. That brought protests from both of them that I was being mean and nasty, but I remained adamant.
As a result, I left them to clean up the table and wash the dishes while I went off and dialled the number to get Fran on the line.
"Hello? Lowther's Herbs. Fran Lowther speaking. "
"Hello Fran, it's Tom. What is this nonsense about you coming home to take care of everyone? I thought you said this meeting thing you're at was important?" I growled as soon as I knew it was her.
"Oh Tom. I didn't think you'd be opposed in any way. Is there a problem?"
"Yes, dammit, there is. Both Lisa-Marie and I have dealt with this same thing before and probably a far worse case than this. We know just what to expect and we both know it's not going to be a short time until things straighten out. You're being here a few days earlier isn't going to help one damn bit. When we may need your help is in a few weeks. Right now, Andy needs to have some privacy and with just Lisa-Marie, Willy and me around, she's going to get that."
"But there are herbs that will help her and If I'm there to observe . . ."
"Hold it right there." I growled, interrupting her. "Just then, you sounded a lot like the doctor that drugged Lisa-Marie up and loaded her with crap because it was 'good for her.' I don't want to see Andy going through that sort of crap too. She's young and she's resilient, she can handle this on her own with some help from those of us around her. You just can't use drugs and herbs to handle everything or you get dependent on having a damn crutch and it cripples you. I'm not trying to push you away, I'm just asking you to let her grow, let her feel. It's going to make a better person of her in the long run. If the time comes when she needs more herbs or drugs or any other kind of support, I'll be the first to ask for your help. But for now, let's not smother her, okay?"
"You don't think that my being there would help at all?" She sounded close to tears.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't." I said firmly. "Andy has Lisa-Marie as a close buddy and a confidant and Lisa-Marie knows exactly what she feels like. Lisa-Marie's mother was in an accident a few years ago and lost a baby. Lisa-Marie nursed her through the worst of it and I was there too. We know what Andy is going to need. She doesn't need another person to help, she just needs a few people close by to support her so she can lean on them as need be. There's no magic pill or elixir that can take away the pain. Time is the only cure for that. I just realised today that each of us goes through things like this and in the long run we grow from them because we learn to accept the pain and still move on with our lives."
Fran was quiet for a moment as if she was thinking quietly, then she sighed softly.
"Tom, I'll go along with your wishes and you can pass that on to the girls, but I am going to drop by when this trip is done and no arguments. I want you and Lisa-Marie both to call me each and every night, and if I'm needed there, I'll be there whether you like it or not."
"Yes, Aunty Fran." I had to grin. "I know you want what's best for us, but in this case, I think leaving us alone is best for now. Now why do you want me to phone you every night, I'll be at the college?"
"Well, I want to compare notes and besides, I enjoy talking to you."
"If I'm not here, I'm not going to have any notes to compare." I snorted. "But I'll tell you what, if anything important comes up, I'll call."
She gave a deep sigh, then asked me how I felt Lisa-Marie was handling things.
"To be honest, I think this is something she needs." I admitted. "It's almost as if a switch has been thrown since she now needs to care for someone else."
"Oh." She sounded surprised. "I didn't expect that."
"Well, she's always been dependable when she's needed, so it's no real surprise to me." I shrugged my shoulders and then realised that Fran couldn't see them move. "Actually, I wouldn't expect anything different. And then too, I think the fact that she's now made up her mind to move here to the farm full time has made a difference. Now she's treating it as her home and in a way, she's nesting."
"Would you care to explain that?"
"Sure. Up until the last few days, I think she almost treated being here as a holiday. Now, she's starting to take it seriously and has decided that she can set her life up the way she wants it to be in the future."
"You know, strange as it may sound, that makes a weird kind of sense." Fran said slowly, then I heard a voice in the background. "Tom, I have to go. You can tell the girls to phone me each night if you would and what I'll do is to phone you after talking to them, especially if there is something going on that I think you should know. If that's okay with you?"
"Yeah, I suppose. Look after yourself and best of luck with whatever you're doing."
"Thanks Tom, Goodnight." She hung up.
I sighed as I hung up the phone and walked back into the kitchen. I could smell fresh perked coffee and the smell of cinnamon.
"What's cooking?" I asked
"Cinnamon rolls." Andy smiled. "Lisa-Marie is showing me her special recipe and they're almost done."
"What, giving away family secrets." I kidded Lisa-Marie as I grabbed and hugged her.
"Andy is family!" She snapped, then kissed me on the cheek. "We were just having a discussion and it involves you."
"Oh, oh! That sounds ominous." I grinned, kissing her back. "Now what do I have to do?"
"Put up with us." Lisa-Marie snapped instantly.
"Well, I've managed this far."
"Yeah, but she's raising the stakes." Andy smiled, almost apologetically. "I think . . ."
"Andy, shut up!" Lisa-Marie giggled. "Let me tell him my way."
"This sounds ominous." I sighed, exaggeratedly.
"Oh, it's not that bad." Lisa-Marie shook her head at me. "Can we wait a few moments and talk about it over a coffee? Right now we just had a thought, you went to all the trouble to separate that cream and it's just been sitting out there in the back porch. It'll go sour if you don't do something with it soon."
"Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me." I hurried out to the back porch and thanked my lucky stars that it was quite cool.
I found that the bucket of milk from the one cow had given me a little more than two cups of cream and since the churn I'd found in the basement was made to be used to churn about two gallons I'd certainly need either more cows or a smaller churn if I was planning on making butter before the cream would go sour. Laughing to myself, I took the partially full jar of cream and went back into the kitchen.
"What do you think, should we have pure cream in our coffee?" I asked.
"Why not put it into the fridge and we can cook something with it tomorrow?" Andy suggested.
"Well, you two can decide, I've got to wash the separator."
"You do that, and don't throw out the skim milk either." Lisa-Marie ordered. "I've got a recipe that I want to try that uses skim milk."
"Okay boss." I laughed and grabbed a couple of the recycled gallon pickle jars that Uncle Silas had used for his milk. "Do you know if these were scalded?"
"If they were in the cupboard they were, but I wouldn't guarantee them."
"They'll do." I shrugged.
"There's boiling water on the stove, for gosh sake, do it again." She snapped. "All you need to do is rinse the inside with boiling water and they'll be safe."
So I scalded the jars again and then took them out back so I could fill them from the bucket of skim milk. After that, I took all the parts of the separator and went back into the kitchen to wash them as well. All in all, just handling everything took almost twenty minutes. When I was done and everything had been stored away again, I sat down at the table with a slip of paper and a pencil to make notes on the results of what I'd found and the time it had all taken.
I was still making notes when Andy brought me a cup of coffee and a fresh cinnamon bun.
"Well, what have you decided?" She asked quietly.
"Oh, no firm decision yet, I'm still calculating." I smiled up at her. "Thanks for the coffee and the bun. Now, what were you two going to talk to me about?"
"Well, we were thinking about sleeping arrangements." Lisa-Marie said quietly.
"Sleeping arrangements?" I stared at her with a slight frown.
"Yes, I don't think Andy should sleep alone right now." She said firmly. "She admits that she'd feel better if she had someone to cuddle up to and I think it's a good idea."
Andy wasn't saying anything, instead, she was simply staring at her coffee cup.
"To be honest, I don't really like the idea, after all, I like sleeping with you, but I can live with you sleeping with Andy for a few days." I admitted as I looked directly at Lisa-Marie.
"Well, I like sleeping with you too." She smiled. "And I wasn't planning on letting you sleep alone, I don't get to do it often enough as it is."
"So, just what are you suggesting? That you want Andy to sleep with us?"
"Why, yes!" She grinned. "I'm glad you agree."
"Holy crow." I stared at her. "Andy, are you in on this too?"
"Sorta." Andy whispered. "It's not like you and I are going to be having sex or anything, it's just sleeping in the same bed, for crying in the sink."
"Come on, Tom, be realistic. The last thing that Andy needs right now is to be alone if she wakes up in the middle of the night." Lisa-Marie added.
I just stared at the two of them. Cripes, I hadn't had any sex at all in two weeks and now they wanted me to be in bed with two sexy women. What the hell were they thinking? I knew Andy shouldn't have sex this soon after having suffered an abortion, but Lisa-Marie had been having her period the week before and I was hoping to get a little bit tonight. It simply wouldn't be fair to Andy if Lisa-Marie and I had sex, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anything with her there anyway. Yet if I turned them down, I was going to look like I was a heartless bastard.
Just what the hell was I to do?
Andy cleared her throat and looked at me apologetically. "Please, Tom. I really don't want to sleep alone."
"Oh shit." I swore softly. "It's not the sleeping in the same bed part that's worrying me so much as the fact that I've gone short of sex for a couple of weeks and I'm scared of accidents. I could hurt you."
"Well, Andy has to have a bath before she comes to bed, you and I could go take care of the first problem while she's in the tub." Lisa-Marie suggested. "Then you could wear a pair of shorts when we do go to sleep. That should solve your worry about accidents."
"I don't have any cast iron shorts dear." I snapped. "And, it's not just my pecker that I'm worried about anyway. What would you do if you woke up and I had my hands where they shouldn't be?"
"You mean touching me?" Andy snorted. "You'd wake up too, because as tender as I am down there, I'd probably holler bloody blue murder."
Lisa-Marie broke into laughter at that and even I had to grin.
"I was thinking of other places too." I managed to say seriously.
"Huh, if you squeezed a titty or two, I wouldn't complain." Andy snapped instantly but looked like she was going to break into tears. "But, since you're so damn adamant about it, I guess I can sleep alone."
"If he says no, you won't be the one who will be sleeping alone." Lisa-Marie growled.
"So now it's become an ultimatum has it?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess it has." Lisa-Marie's chin jutted forward. "Your choice."
"Okay, then we have to compromise." I took a deep breath. "All of us have wear some sort of clothes that make access quite difficult or at least an intentional action. No negligees or baby-dolls and Lisa Marie sleeps in the middle."
"Nope, if we're wearing bloody armour to bed, then Andy sleeps in the middle. That way if she needs us, we can both cuddle her." Lisa-Marie argued, then she smiled sexily at me. "After all, Andy still has doctor's orders to take a bath before bed."
Andy just looked from one of us to the other, then broke into tears.
"Whoa, what's this?" I pushed back my chair and moved to her side.
"I don't know?" She whimpered.
I tried to hug her, but with her sitting hunched forward in the chair, that was almost impossible. Instead I found myself simply stroking her back, then she stood and turned, wrapping her arms around me. Lisa Marie had come around the table as well and suddenly we were all hugging each other.
Something about this was so weird, but still it felt so good. I bent my head and kissed Lisa-Marie's cheek, then Andy's. My mind was truly awhirl because I knew somehow that we'd just made a decision that was going to affect all of our lives for a long time.