Heaven’s Gate
37 Expansion
My family didn’t fall apart, it spread out.
In August, the kids, as we all called them, started coming home. It was great to see them. There were a couple missing.
Rich came back to the ranch. Amber didn’t. I saw her regularly at the studio and she told me she would be back at the ranch in the fall, but had another month on her three-month rental agreement and she was enjoying being only fifteen minutes from the studio instead of an hour and fifteen minutes.
“I really love him,” she told me, “but he’s so clingy. I have a job. A career. I love my work. Great sex can only go so far. That’s all we seemed to have.”
“But you are coming back to the ranch?” I asked.
“Yes. I’ll be in apartment two. Why don’t you come up sometime and see me? Come on up, I’ll tell your fortune.” I gasped. Her Mae West imitation was impeccable as far as I was concerned.
“I think you’d take my fortune,” I said.
“You made me my fortune,” Amber said. “I was such a wreck when I came to the ranch. Now look at me, a television star. I know it’s Elaine’s show, but the whole summer has been mine! And I’m booked on tour this winter. Hannah and I are working out the details, but she is so helpful and supportive. She really wants me to succeed.”
“We all do, Amber,” I said.
“I really love her, Brian,” Rich said, when I caught up with him at the ranch. “But she is so driven! I want a woman to come home to every night, not one who is on tour someplace. I don’t even have a job yet and she’s pulling in big bucks. I’m not going to pound nails for a living. Not that I’m dissing my brother. He loves construction and working with Ron. And hell, he comes home to three beautiful women at night who all want him. I’d just like to do something with my degree. I’ve got an interview at the Parks Country Club in Greenwood. I’ll have to work my way up, but it looks like a good career path. I’m in the dorm right now, but if I get a job over there, I might have to move closer.”
“Rich, I only wish we had a club for you to manage here,” I laughed. “Maybe someday we will. Can’t you imagine the area between here and the airstrip as a golf course?”
“Oh, yeah. I got a plane in one!” We laughed.
I walked out to the pasture to call a horse Monday after I’d worked with the little ones for half an hour and found Ross standing in the middle of the garden with his hands on his hips looking around and shaking his head.
“Hey, Ross!” I called. “I didn’t know you’d gotten back. How was the trip?”
“Great. Great. What a mess.”
“What?”
“Hasn’t anyone been taking care of the garden?”
“Well, I guess we all have spent time out here. It’s not in as good condition as it used to be, is it?” I said sheepishly. There were a lot of weeds in the garden, but we’d been harvesting things almost as fast as we could.
“I’ve got to get this under control,” Ross said. “I’ll go talk to Brenda. I know she’s working on some advanced theoretical mathematics thing, but this garden is both our livelihood and our sustenance. It’s not producing at all like it should be. Look at all these weeds!”
“I guess we haven’t had good leadership on the garden,” I said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help. Let me know.”
“Right,” Ross said. “I’ll talk to you after I’ve spoken to Brenda and Maribelle. Sheesh! Oh, and it’s nice to see you, Patrón.”
I saddled Toby and headed for the woods.
“You’re teaching the babies!” Judy exclaimed. “That’s so cool! Can I help?”
“Of course you can, sweetheart,” I said. “Welcome home.”
“It is so good to be back. Ross and I had a great time and we toured parks from Maine to Florida. Let me tell you, the Everglades are hot and muggy and full of bugs and vultures. I was never so glad as when we got up to the Smoky Mountains. We drove the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was really wonderful,” she said.
“You and Ross are great friends,” I said. “I’m glad you were able to make a pleasant trip this time and not one that… well, you know.”
“The last trip was good, too,” Judy said. “It was just a little more stressed with everything that happened and I was pretty much a wreck when Lexi died. But, Brian… Ross and I are a little more than friends now. We haven’t got everything resolved about our relationship, but we’re definitely lovers now. We’re going to take one of the apartments now that we’re back and see how that goes.”
“What will you be doing this fall?”
“Well, I’ve got a job in corporate security for three different companies. I’m going to continue in school for my master’s in criminal justice. I’ve even got an interview with Sheriff Donaldson lined up. Ross is going to work on his book. It’s funny. I’m so physical and he’s so cerebral. I guess knowing each other for the past ten years helps.”
“I’m happy for you, honey,” I said. “You finally got an age-appropriate boyfriend.”
“Now that we’re both out of college, there’s nothing inappropriate about our ages, Brian. You once told me that ages didn’t make as much difference as you got older. Don’t think I’m never going to be crawling into your bed. Ross is still very fond of Monte, too. I just make him wash.”
“We’ll see,” I said. I hugged her and the next morning she was with me in the sacred space exercising with the kids.
I got to spend time with Angela on her birthday only because the first was on Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Her rotation was in surgery and there weren’t any scheduled on the holiday weekend. She stripped me of my clothes upon entering her house and I wasn’t at all surprised to find Dinita naked in the living room. Both women gave me a hug.
“Happy birthday, Angela,” I said. “It’s hard to believe we’ve made it this far. This is your last year and then you’ll be a doctor!”
“Thank you, Brian,” she said as she gave me a peck on the cheek. “You know, though, that this isn’t the end, right?”
“Well, I know you have to get experience, but we’ve been thinking about what it would take to support a doctor in the village,” I said.
“Residency,” Dinita said.
“What’s that?”
“I’ve applied to a dozen different hospitals. Starting in October, I’ll be going out on interviews if they like my applications. If I don’t get enough interviews, I’ll have to make more applications. I’ve got my second tier almost ready to send. After I’ve had as many interviews as I can get, I have to submit my list to the matching service. Sometime around May when I graduate, they’ll tell me where I’m going for my residency. I’ll ship out in June to wherever it is and I’ll be there for two or three years practicing in the hospital a hundred hours a week,” Angela said.
“Holy shit! That’s insane. Where will you go?”
“It could be anywhere. I’ve applied to hospitals that will help me get into my chosen field, which is oncology. That’s diagnosis and treatment of cancer. I’m pretty sure I won’t get into a program anywhere near here.”
“Angela, you’ll be…”
“I’ll be gone, Brian. I guess… It’s part of why I’ve been pulling away… living with Mom instead of in the big house. I don’t know when I’ll get to come back or what will happen when I’m away from everyone I know and love. I know you don’t believe in goodbye fucks, Brian. That’s why I’m telling you all this now. We could make love today and we won’t have to say goodbye for nine more months.”
“I think I’ll go visit Sylvia and Bart,” Dinita said, standing up. “Have fun.” She headed toward the door.
“Mom?”
“What, dear?”
“Clothes.”
“Oh, yes.”
Angela and I spent the rest of the afternoon together. We did make love and I made sure to show her that I remembered everything she’d taught me about her wishbone clitoris. But mostly, I held her and we talked. She’d been dreaming of becoming a doctor since before I met her in fifth grade. She was close to fulfilling her goals, but that would mean leaving.
“Do you think it was an accident that I was slow to make love to you? Or that I have kept myself separate from so much of what happened in our casa?” she asked. “Brian, if you only knew how much I love each and every one of you. But I’ve always known I would be leaving. I wanted it to be because it was the natural course of my education and goals and not the reason that over a quarter of physicians who get married get divorced. The rate is much higher for those who are in med school or residency. I didn’t want to lose you, so I couldn’t let myself have you.”
“Angela, you know I’ll always love you.”
“Yes. And I will always love you, my farm boy. No matter who I end up marrying.”
We celebrated Céleste’s and James’s birthday a few days later. They were one year old, but they wouldn’t be the youngest for much longer. Rhiannon was waddling with the weight of her next child.
“I still say it’s not fair, Liz,” Rhiannon said as we celebrated with both families together. “At least last time you shared the pregnancy and labor. I didn’t mind nursing both babies, but I didn’t have to carry them both.”
“Well, at least Céleste has weaned herself. What is poor James going to do when both tits are occupied?” Liz laughed. In fact, Céleste had pushed away Rhiannon’s nipple a couple weeks ago, but was still getting a couple bottles of goat’s milk each day. Dr. Jan had told us that it was because the consistency of the breast milk changed to colostrum during the final stages of pregnancy and many babies rejected the breast at that point. It didn’t seem to bother James.
“Wait!” I said. “Twins? You’re having two?”
“Guess so,” Rhiannon said. “Dawn says there are definitely two heartbeats. Jan confirmed when we talked to her about nursing. James, however, is just like his father. Can’t get enough of sucking my nipples.”
“I guess Céleste takes after me,” Liz said. “No interest in girls. She still sucks on one of my nipples when she has the opportunity, even though there’s no milk there. It’s more like a pacifier.”
“You had a little snack at the milk bar,” Rhiannon laughed. Liz blushed.
“That wasn’t… I mean… I thought I should know what I was feeding my baby,” Liz spluttered. “It was tasty; I’ll give you that.” Rhiannon grinned at her. I had a feeling there had been just a little more between the moms than a taste test, but I would never push it.
Still. Twins! I made slow but passionate love to Liz that night.
The last to arrive back at the ranch was Elaine. She got in just in time to start her new season Monday afternoon. She was filled with stories about LA and ideas for movies. She’d had a small role in the movie she filmed and spent most of the summer simply enjoying the life of an actress in Hollywood. Since she played herself in the movie, it would bring a big boost to her show when it was released next year. She had all kinds of ideas about a new movie she wanted to do with Hannah directing and Nikki scripting it.
A movie? Hmm.
The twins were born two days after my birthday. A boy and a girl. Her little girl they named after her mother, Claudia, with Doreen as the middle name. I was shocked when they announced that the twin boy would be named Brian Douglas. Doug smiled at me and nodded. I hugged him. I kissed Rhiannon and both babies. I took Doreen to the other room and made love to her. Sandy joined us.
Sarah had a Halloween baby. It was nice that the twins would have a playmate living right next door. Lamar and Sarah eschewed the process Lionel and Sugar had established of naming kids after family members. Their little boy had the very sensible name of Henry David Trane.
We all joked that there were no Trane wrecks in that family.
And almost in a blink, it was Christmas. Our seventh Christmas at the ranch. I was having difficulty comprehending that a year had gone by. I distinctly remembered standing here in our group, friends, family, and the entire village, tossing our worries and cares on the Yule log to burn. Remembering all the good things that had come our way during this year. And expressing our hopes for the coming year. It was our tradition now.
Out in the central square of the village, between the grocery, the apartments, and our two office buildings, Rhiannon had designed and Del had created a center for our holiday celebration. The tree was still pretty small, but it was lit with a thousand lights. The open fire pit opposite it, burned brightly. The seasons had turned again.
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