Hearthstone Entertainment
37 Strictly Business
AT THREE O’CLOCK, after too many cups of coffee and giving Amy a tour of Dunn’s Woods, we grabbed the car and waited for the call.
“Angel Home, this is Miss Eyes. The time has come.”
“Ten-four Miss Eyes. We are rolling. Our ten-seven-seven is seven minutes.” I pulled out of the lot and headed toward the training center. Maggie was meeting us there and Adam was to be seen handing Heaven off to her producer as he went back to the training center. I knew Shelly Ames would be there with her camera to get one last comment before they got in the car. I hoped they would stop with the camera facing the building and not the car. I wasn’t keen on having the Suburban identified all over campus as Heaven’s ride. We needed to work something out before her next visit. Did our company need a limo? Yuck!
Maggie spotted us and opened the door of the building for Adam and Heaven to emerge. The WIUB-TV camera and Shelly intercepted the trio as Amy got out of the car behind them and opened the back door. “Can we get a picture of Heaven and Adam together?” Shelly asked. The two posed and then Adam swept her into an embrace and kissed her like he meant it. “What’s the word on your television show?” Maggie stepped forward.
“I’m Maggie Kwan, producer of Redress from Hearthstone Entertainment. We’re happy to announce that Heaven will begin taping the pilot episode in October. We aren’t ready to release any other details at this time,” Maggie said.
“Isn’t Hearthstone Entertainment the company that produces Chick Chat with Elaine Frost?” Shelly asked.
“That’s right,” Maggie answered. “As well as other shows.”
“What do we have to do to get on Young Cooking with Chef Brian?” a woman called from the other side of the camera. This was obviously a student.
“I’ll give you my card. When you call, I’ll put you in touch with his producer,” Maggie laughed. “Chef Brian is always looking for another girlfriend!” Gee thanks! I wondered if that question was a plant. By the time Maggie finished answering, Adam had lifted Jessica into the truck and stepped aside. Maggie hopped up right behind her. Amy closed the door and got in the front seat. We pulled away without any incident. I hoped that people were getting used to seeing Heaven around campus. I had a feeling she wouldn’t make the news the next time she visited.
I noticed that Heaven was walking a little stiffly. When we got home we went straight to Stall One for a conference. Hannah joined us for this one. She just sat back and listened as we talked the direction and timing. Then things got off on finances.
“You played hardball with my manager,” Jessica said. “He wasn’t happy with the deal.”
“I considered the deal to have been made when you and I talked. I just held him to it,” I said. “We have exactly one shot at getting you a television series. We shoot a pilot and shop it to the networks. We hope one of them picks it up for a January or February replacement. Barring that, we can try to distribute to our syndicate or we can shake hands and say, ‘Nice try.’ Regardless, the first season is going to cost half the profit from all our other shows combined. I have a family to feed.”
“I don’t pay attention to money. I’ve got it. My manager wants to collect his share. If you need more money for it, I’ll just write you a personal check and we’ll skip all the contract shit,” Jessica said.
“Let’s keep the business business,” I said profoundly. “That way, love and friendship can survive, even if we aren’t successful. Now, about tomorrow.”
We continued the discussion for another hour to prepare for Jess coming down tomorrow. Maggie was taking the day to work in the studio with Jess and Heaven. They would do some test shots and see how well they worked together. I had a lot of confidence that it would go well. Before we were finished, we heard people gathering in the big room and could smell food. Casa del Agua was providing food for all the clan present tonight in celebration of George’s nineteenth birthday.
When we left the office, I headed straight for Doreen. We kissed and I petted her round tummy.
“Third trimester,” she whispered in my ear. “What are we going to do, Brian? We’re going to be parents!”
“Doreen, we’re going to do the best we can. As will everyone else in both our houses and the rest of the clan. And I think we’d better start thinking about when we are going to Seattle to show off our little one,” I said. “Where’s Daddy One?”
“What makes me Daddy One?” Doug said from behind me. He joined my hand on his sister’s tummy.
“Residency,” I laughed. “He’s going to grow up an Agua.”
“Speaking of that, our casa has had a long discussion—including George and Theresa. We believe that in addition to having Dor be a full member of Casa del Fuego, you should be welcomed as a full member of Casa del Agua. Brian, we’d like to formally invite you to join the hearth of Casa del Agua,” Doug said. Holy shit. I was not prepared for that! We are growing a family together.
“I will ask the approval of Casa del Fuego,” I said. “I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”
“We’ve already voted, Brian,” Rose said from beside me. “And, yes, I called Sarah and Nikki. We are all in agreement. May our casas always be linked together.”
“Well, there you have it,” I laughed. “Last to know. I wholeheartedly accept.”
“I know it will be late by the time we get back from the game, but how about we make it a campfire celebration Saturday night?” Rhiannon asked. I nodded.
“I never imagined that I would become your hearthmate this way,” Sandy giggled. “And, say, does this mean that Rhiannon stops being your amiga and becomes your compañera?” I looked at Rhiannon with my eyebrow raised. We hadn’t been together in several weeks.
“Actually,” she said, “Brian and I are going to be hearthmates. I won’t say we’ll never be compañera or even cónyuge one day. I believe there might be more intermingling of the gene pool someday. But that will be in the distant future. The last few weeks… well, even months, I’ve been falling in love with Doug all over again. I don’t think I need to prove I’m a princess any longer. He’s made me his queen.” With that, Rhiannon held out her hand and showed the modest stone glinting on her finger.
“Congratulations!” I almost shouted. I grabbed Doug and hugged him as we danced around. We grinned at each other and then I grabbed Rhiannon. “Congratulations. Just remember the pledge I made the first time we made love, sweetheart. We may not always be lovers, but I will always love you.”
“Well, you know that most of the time, like Casa del Fuego, we are a nude household,” Rhiannon giggled. “It’s not unlikely that you will have ‘encounters’ with your other hearthmates. And that includes TK. We might need you around just so she doesn’t kill Doug.” She licked my ear and sent shivers up and down my right side.
“She got him, too?”
“Oh, yeah. Sandy and I finally had to throw her down on the bed and lick her until she passed out just so we could get some sleep. If she ever settles on just one guy, we should make sure he has a last will and testament drawn up.”
“When are we going to celebrate your nuptials?” I asked.
“Oh, not for a while. At least not until next summer or even the following. We wanted the open declaration, but we’re not in a rush to tie the knot,” Rhiannon said.
“We need to wait at least until Rose gets her ordination,” Doug said. “We were given a reading assignment last week in Radical Thinking. It was Abby Hoffman’s Steal This Book. He mentions a church where you can buy your ordination and it’s completely legal. We’ll all chip in to buy Rose an ordination.”
“Her doctorate, too, if she wants,” Sandy laughed.
“Wait! There’s a class here called Radical Thinking? What department is that in?”
“It’s double listed in Sociology and Political Science,” Doug said. “Adam got me interested in taking it and I took it as an elective. It’s pretty cool.”
“I’ve got to see if I can make room for that in my schedule,” I laughed.
We ate and had birthday cake. Dawn made it clear she was going to make George’s birthday a very happy one and invited Amy to help her. George was so red you could have lit a match on his face. Eventually, I made my way to Jessica and she clutched my hand like a vise. I looked her straight in the eye.
“You were mean to Courtney this morning,” I said. “You were completely out of control. You need to apologize.” She looked at me with wide eyes and started to pull her hand out of mine. I didn’t let go. “For that matter, you were pretty much a bitch to me, too. I’ll let that go until later. Right now, though, we need to go see Courtney.” Jessica opened her mouth a couple times to protest but I just tugged her along beside me to where Courtney, Jennifer, Samantha, Hannah, April, and Maggie were talking. Courtney visibly shrank back.
“Courtney,” I said, “Jessica has something to say to you.” I held out my hand and Court took it, leaning against me. Jessica took a deep breath.
“I guess I was kind of out of control this morning, Courtney,” she said at last. “I’m sorry that I took my frustration out on you. And I suppose I should apologize to Amy, too. Just so you know it wasn’t about you. It was me being my usual bitchy self. I was… hurt and confused when I woke up this morning. It won’t happen again. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Court said. “Thank you for apologizing. I’m happy to help any time I can. Just not like that. Okay?” Jessica rocked her head back and forth with a grimace on her face.
“Okay,” she said.
We circulated around the room for a while and I talked to all my hearthmates and my cousins. I noticed at one point that Lamar made a special effort to go sit with Maggie, Hannah, and April for a while. I saw Maggie stiffen for a second and then relax. At one point, while she was laughing at something that was said, she reached out and touched him. I couldn’t help but admire Lamar. She’d rejected him and insulted him because of his race, but he’d battled back with compassion and a pledge of protection. I had no indication that they would ever become something more than friends, at best, but what he did was inspiring.
I got to hold Eleanor for a while. We danced around the floor together. I had run over to their house Monday night for a few minutes to wish her a happy one month birthday. Her pediatrician had pronounced her healthy and progressing on track. When she fussed, I handed her back to her mother. Theresa pulled her gi open and shoved a nipple in the baby’s mouth. We just kept talking and laughing while she drank her fill.
“Can we go now?” Jessica whispered in my ear. “I’m… I feel like I’m working and I’m tired. And… my butt hurts.” Well, I certainly understood that. I hadn’t been very gentle with her this morning when she’d pissed me off. I told Rose I was going to put Jessica to bed, kissed each of my cónyuge and my novia, and walked out into the cool night air.
Jessica was quiet until we got to the master bedroom where she turned to hug me.
“I’m really sore. I deserved it, but it still hurts. Will you shower with me and take care of me, Brian?” she said.
“Of course I will, darling. You know I love you, Jessica. You are still my Heaven.” I undressed her and took her to the shower. I stripped off my own clothes and joined her. I tenderly washed her, trying my best to soothe her without making it feel like I was probing her. She was equally attentive to me and when we were rinsed, she sank to her knees and took me in her mouth. It was exquisite, and by this time it was short lived. I came as I leaned against the wall of the shower and sank down to her level.
“I love you, Brian. I am sorry I was a bitch this morning. I’ll control myself better. Please come and hold me in bed,” she said. I intended to go upstairs to join my cónyuge, but I couldn’t leave her when she was so sad.
“Just remember that even if you fall asleep in my arms, you can’t get up in the morning and tear everyone a new asshole because I’m not in bed with you. And I have class tomorrow morning. You have work with Maggie in the studio. Jess will be here about ten, so you need to get yourself together by then. Okay?”
“I promise.”
I slid into bed with her and she cuddled against me with her head on my chest. I was reminded of the times we’d fallen asleep this way in the hayloft. I just lay there petting her hair and watching her. I intended to get up and go upstairs with my casa. Instead, I fell asleep.
With the weather so much cooler, it was easy to get up in the morning and bake. I didn’t feel like I was heating the whole house when I turned on the ovens. Our kitchen in the new house was not equipped quite as elegantly as the one in the studio, but it was good. We’d continued to go with the separate refrigerator and freezer concept, dual ovens, and a six-burner stove. Our house was designed to accommodate twelve to twenty people. The kitchen had to be used to feed them. In the studio, we could cook for as many as forty under the right circumstances. I had plenty of counter space to mix my bread ingredients, but not quite as much oven space to bake. Elaine had made sure I had bread stones, but it wouldn’t accommodate quite the number of loaves the other kitchen would.
“I’m lost, honey,” I said. “I feel like something has shifted in my reality and I can’t find my way through. My mind keeps jumping from subject to subject. It’s not like daydreaming, but I’ll be thinking about my chemistry assignments one minute and find that I’m writing down notes on a new recipe the next. Then all of a sudden, I’m holding an imaginary conversation with a network executive or accepting the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. I never know where my mind is going next.” I separated out some of the dough, looked at the two batches and then combined it together again. I’d make a second batch instead. This was a good morning for fried dough.
“I’m always afraid that I will mix something up terribly. That I will call one of you by the wrong name. That I will forget who I’m making love to. Or that I will simply do something thoughtless or cruel. What kind of example will I be for my child or children? Will they grow up simply assuming they have the right to multiple sexual partners in a long-term relationship? Will that distort their worldview? We have our own problems living in the outside world. Are we going to take our little subdivision, our town, and become a splinter group, isolated from the real world? I should be thinking about these things more regularly. I should be the leader everyone thinks I am. I’m so confused sometimes.”
“Brian, do you want us?”
I was startled. Sometimes Hannah was there when I talked to her in the morning. Sometimes it was just me talking in my head. But Rose had never been there to respond to what I was saying.
“Rose! I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was unburdening my soul. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Brian, do you want us?” she repeated.
“Yes! Oh darling, please don’t doubt my love and my desire for you. For all of you. For each of you,” I said.
“We missed you last night. You are not the only one who feels the invisible threads that hold us together. Not this little red thread tied around my wrist,” she said, holding it up. “The thread that holds your heart and mine together.” She put her hand on my chest and guided mine between her breasts. “For a long time, you have had a life rule that says you will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend the ones you love. It doesn’t always work out the way we intend, but every one of us has made the same pledge. We will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend the ones we love. Not just each other, but you, Brian. All of us sometimes have questions. My parents didn’t raise me to be part of a harem. They didn’t anticipate that I would welcome an adult woman to suckle my tits when she is in distress. I’m certain they never anticipated that I would let a woman between my legs to suck my man’s come out of me, nor that I would enjoy orally satisfying another woman. But when the questions seem overwhelming, it always comes back to that one truth. I love you. I love each of you. I love all of you. And I will do whatever is necessary to protect and defend the ones I love.”
“Rose, you are truly our shaman. I love you so much.”
I dawdled after my media class. That’s what Mom would call it. “Stop dawdling and get a move on,” she would say. I supposed that I should get home and find out how Maggie, Jessica, and Jess had gotten along. But I wasn’t going to step into that mess. This was Maggie’s problem and I’d find out how well she handled it tonight.
I grabbed a few minutes with Lonnie to get the list of network executives he promised me. He still believed Public Television was going to be our best bet, or to get on with a cable network like the Lifelong Women’s Network. It was one of the oldest cable networks and was undergoing a revitalization under its new president. Lonnie thought that it was unlikely that we could get a prime time slot on a major network like NBC or ABC.
I decided to walk over to the Union and get a cup of coffee while I waited for Hannah and Samantha to get out of their classes. The coffee wasn’t great, but it was hot and bitter, which was what I needed. I walked out to the arboretum and wandered back toward the media center. I heard voices behind me.
“That’s him. I know it.”
“It can’t be. He’s so short.”
“Let’s ask. It’s not like we’re stalking him.” I turned around and was face-to-face with three very tall, identical women. They wore jerseys that declared them to be on the volleyball team. The names were Holly, Dolly, and Bolly. Triplets?
“Can I help you, ladies?” I asked, looking up at them as they closed in.
“Are you Chef Brian? We just saw you and thought… Yeah, you are, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am, I guess. And I’m not so short. You are so tall.”
“We’re only six-one. We’ve heard you’ve got a girlfriend who’s six-three.” Bolly. What a name. It had to be a joke.
“We’ve watched your show.” Holly.
“We’re cooks, too.” Dolly.
“We’ve tried almost every recipe we could when we had access to a good kitchen.” Holly again.
“Your kitchen is incredible.” Dolly.
“What can we do to get to use it?” Bolly. Well, that was to the point.
“You want to be on the show?” I asked.
“Not really,” Bolly said. “We just want to cook in your kitchen. Of course, we don’t mind if you are there with us. It’s just such an awesome setup. Could we at least get a tour?”
“I suppose so. We’re a little slammed on our schedule this week because… well, we just have a lot going on. I can arrange a tour for next week if you want,” I said. “What do you cook?”
“That would be great,” Holly said.
“We cook everything,” Dolly jumped in. “Lately we’re learning Chinese cooking. We decided to spend this year on it and then move to French cuisine next year.”
“Is there a cooking program here at IU? Like a major or something?” I asked. I’d never heard of it.
“No. We’re Public Health majors. You would not believe what you can study in that school. Our degree target is a B.S. in Nutrition Science,” Holly said.
“You could probably minor in it with the stuff you do in Chemistry. We had a class with you last year, but it was one of those with a hundred students and we weren’t in the same lab,” Bolly said. “Did you know we have to take a course in Food Chemistry next semester? It will be so cool!”
“Man, there are so many opportunities here. Right now, it looks like I’m headed for a minor in Media and Communications. What’s your schedule next week? I’d love to have you come out to see the kitchen. I’m off early on Fridays.”
“We don’t have any classes at all on Friday. Can we cook something for you?” Bolly asked.
“I have a large family that I cook for on Fridays,” I said.
“Oh we’ve heard you talk about the girlfriends at the ranch. Is that all real? How many should we plan to feed?” Dolly asked.
“It’s real.” I made a snap decision. I might regret this. “We’ll be feeding seventeen. With you three, that makes twenty. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“For cool!” Dolly exclaimed.
“We get to cook in Chef Brian’s kitchen!” Holly said.
“Don’t worry, we’ll bring everything we need for food. Where do we meet you and when?” Dolly asked.
“I’m off at eleven and have a big red Suburban parked over in the lot behind the Union. We can go grocery shopping then, if you want, and I’ll pay for the food.” We made arrangements and I gave them my phone number and got theirs.
They waved and said, “Goodbye,” in unison then turned away. This has to be a joke.
“Wait,” I called. They turned back to me. “Your parents didn’t really name you Holly, Dolly, and Bolly Wood, did they?”
“No!” They laughed.
“They’re still living, and that wouldn’t be the case if they’d named me Bolly Wood. The only one that’s real is Dolly. She’s Dorothy. That’s Danielle. I’m Debbie.”
“Our teammates dubbed us this,” Holly said.
“That’s only because they want to see Debbie do Holly Wood,” Dolly laughed. They turned and left.
What have I gotten myself into this time?
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