Diva
Eighteen
I STOOD IN THE DOORWAY, staring again at the little twin bed in the room I’d grown up in—Allison’s picture no longer draped. I’d been ‘home’ for more than a month and I wasn’t sure how I could bear to go into this room again. I had to talk to Mom and Dad today about going back to Seattle. And somehow I had to get Melody there with us.
Mom and Dad had come in to see the painting when I told them about the unusual night I had with Beth. Dad had given me a hug. Not just a squeeze or a man-hug, but an all-out bear hug that threatened to crack my ribs.
“It’s so much better than seeing photographs of your work,” Mom said. She walked up to it and without touching it traced the outline of the shadow figures with her finger. “You know we are always here for you, too, Tony,” she said as she left the room.
Saturday, she and Dad had a whispered conference in the kitchen and then Dad left for the rest of the day. When he came back in time for dinner, he announced that we were going camping and asked me to get the gear ready first thing Sunday morning. He and Mom were going into Omaha to pick up supplies. Damn it! I’d talk to them while we were traveling.
I spent a long time on the phone with my lovers Saturday night. Crying.
Sunday morning, I dutifully got out the tents, sleeping bags, portable grill, equipment, and water jugs. Once the sleeping bags were opened and hung on the line in the sun to air out, I went inside and showered, returning to the cave of my room. I wanted to spend some time with Mom and Dad, sure, but I really missed Melody and Lissa. Melody had had a rough weekend, too, and we’d talked much of the night with Lissa. Most of the time one or more of us was crying. Somehow, I had to get my family back together.
I heard the car pull in the drive, telling me Mom and Dad were back. I was going to have to tell them I couldn’t go on this trip. I needed to get my family back together. I’d empty my savings and fly to Boston, pick up Melody and fly to Seattle. It was the only way.
“Tony!” Dad called from downstairs. “Tony! Did you get the gear all prepared?”
“Yeah, Dad,” I said coming downstairs. “Two tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, grill, tarps, ropes, canteens, mess kits. Everything is there and aired out. I just need to roll the sleeping bags back up and stuff them in their bags. But Dad…”
“How much equipment do you think you’ll need for a week on the road with your two ladies?” Dad cut me off. I looked at him, not quite comprehending what he was asking. “Come on, son. Let me show you something.”
We walked out the front door and there was a cherry red Ford Escape sitting in the drive. When did Dad get that? I wondered.
“This is something I’d planned for next summer to celebrate your twenty-first birthday, Tony. But it seems that the timetable has moved up. A family man needs a family car. This gets good mileage—in fact, better than the later models—has comfortable seating for five, and room for cargo. It gets thirty miles a gallon on the highway, so it shouldn’t cost too much to operate,” Dad said leading me out to the car. I could tell by the license plates that it wasn’t new, but it looked to be mint condition. He handed me the keys.
“Dad?” I said. I couldn’t believe what I thought he was telling me.
“It comes with a year’s insurance paid and a full tank of gas. There’s a prepaid fuel card in the glove box with a thousand-dollar credit on it,” Dad said. “Son, your family needs you. Your mom and I have talked to Lexi and Melody is stressed out. Lissa says even the boys want to know when you are coming home. I know you talk to them, but Melody needs you to take her home to your family. Pack up the camping gear you need. Mom’s getting food ready for the cooler. We’re not trying to get rid of you and we expect you to stop here on your way back west, but if you can get your butt in gear, you could be on the road at seven tomorrow morning.”
I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to say or how to tell my dad how much I loved him. I just wrapped him up in a big hug and danced around the yard. Next thing I knew, Mom was in the dance, too, as I thanked them and hollered out my happiness.
I knew just what I needed to do next. I pulled out my cell and called Lissa.
“Hi, baby, I miss you,” she said as soon as she got on the line. “Is Melody on, too?”
“No, Lissa,” I said. “This is just between you and me.”
“Tony?”
“Can you get away for that week of vacation you mentioned?”
“I’m pretty flexible. You know my work schedule. If I’ve got my laptop I just need to check in each day. Tony, what’s up?”
I explained what my folks had done and inside of five minutes I could hear Lissa screaming “Yes! Yes! Yes!” through the phone. When she was off the line, I thought about all the times we’d all been together, and the times that Melody had done something special for me that helped me through school and life. I knew I’d get a phone call buzzing back at me in minutes, but I tapped out a text message for Melody.
“Darling, pack everything. Will be there on Wednesday to take you home.”
When I left in my new car on Monday morning, I think I could have driven straight through to Boston without stopping. Dad made me promise not to drive more than six hundred miles or ten hours in a day, though. He said he wanted me to be with my family, not to have them gathered at my gravesite. Honestly, though, stopping in the parking lot at Walmart in Elkhart, Indiana for the night when it was only five p.m. was a pain. I didn’t bother trying to camp on the way out. I just cranked the passenger seat back and slept. Of course, the fact that the store was open 24 hours meant that people were driving in and out of the parking lot all night long, and three huge campers pulled up near me to spend the night as well.
I was out of there at six the next morning, but the day went a lot slower. I kept having to pull off to get coffee and burgers to keep me fueled. It was no farther to Syracuse, New York than I drove on Monday, but I didn’t pull in until seven that night. Half the time I was driving, I had my phone connected to the Bluetooth system in the car and was talking to my loves. They kept me awake, at least. I know that technically it took more than the ten hours of allotted drive time, but when I stopped, I knew I was within range of Boston and what would be my trickiest day.
Melody didn’t live in Boston proper, though we always referred to it that way, but rather in the historic town of Lexington. At three in the afternoon, I drove right past her little town and through the craziness of Boston to Logan International Airport. I was never so happy in my life as seeing Lissa swing a backpack over her shoulder and rush off the curb to climb into my car. She kissed me so hard and so long that the next car in line at the curb started blasting its horn to get me to hurry up and move.
Now we had a little surprise for Melody.
It doesn’t seem to make any difference what time you go through Boston; it’s rush hour. It took nearly an hour and about a dozen wrong turns to navigate the twenty-five miles to Melody’s house. She was waiting for me and came running out the door as soon as I pulled into her driveway. Lissa and I threw our carefully orchestrated surprise to the wind and just both jumped out of the car to rush our girlfriend. When Melody saw it was both of us she stopped running and began jumping in place screaming. The girl gets a little emotional.
It was five o’clock when people started arriving. Supposedly, they were just there to help Melody pack. Well, even with getting her loom broken down and packed, it only took about an hour to cart her stuff out to the car and fill it to the gills. We kept the camping gear accessible and a seat for each of us, but the rest of the car was jammed. Lexi opened the garage and I pulled in beside her Corolla so the Escape wouldn’t be on the street overnight. Then everyone headed for the backyard where a neighbor had the grill working and hot dogs and burgers on it. It turned out that Melody had invited several friends, as had Lexi, to meet her boyfriend and girlfriend. Melody was leaving town with a splash.
She and Lissa disappeared for a few minutes at which time a tall, thin guy with sandy hair and the darkest green eyes I’d ever seen on a man walked up to me. He held out his hand and when I took it, he squeezed just a little harder than necessary. I didn’t try to compete; I just looked at him while he introduced himself.
“I’m Ricky Barlowe,” he said. “Congratulations on making the best catch in Lexington.” I smiled at him and said thanks, but he wasn’t finished with me. “Look, I don’t know how this thing of yours works, but Melody is special and I will hurt anyone who hurts her.” He was looking right into my eyes and still gripping my hand tight enough to let me know he meant business. It was just at the soft edge of being painful.
“Ricky,” I said, “we all need our friends. But Melody and Lissa are more than that to me. They’re my family. They are strong, independent women and don’t need anyone to come to their aid. That includes guys who kissed my girlfriend a couple weeks ago.” He was really taken aback and let go of my hand. He apparently didn’t think Melody would tell me that they’d kissed.
“Look, I didn’t mean… I didn’t know at the time…” All shook up.
“Hey,” I said. “From what I hear, she enjoyed it. But if there’s ever anything else she needs from you, she has your number.”
We were interrupted at that point by Melody and Lissa returning and Ricky backed away. I was pretty sure he’d been filled with a lot of crap from Mr. Anderson. But the girls had something on their mind and dragged me over to Lexi. Lexi in turn, called for everyone’s attention. Then she made the formal introduction of Lissa and me. She made sure to let everyone know that Melody was girlfriend to both of us and was moving out west to be with us. Then she turned it over to Melody.
“A lot of you have noticed the necklaces Lissa and I are wearing. Tony surprised us in Chicago with them, but we didn’t have anything for him. Well, in the meantime, our present for him has arrived and you can all witness it.” She took my left hand in hers and Lissa held out a length of silver chain.
“I get to go first again,” Lissa whispered, “so I suppose tonight…” She giggled and then spoke up so everyone could hear. “Tony, this isn’t quite as intimate a setting as when you gave us our jewelry, but we want everyone to know we love you. You’ve shown me so much about life and love since we met. You’ve been my friend, confidante, racquetball partner, and lover. You’ve been friend to my children and boyfriend to me. You introduced me to the sweetest girl I’ve ever met, and you showed me what it means to be looked at with love. I love you, darling.” With that she laid the bracelet across my wrist where Melody held it in place while Lissa kissed me.
“Darling Tony,” Melody said when Lissa and I had broken our kiss. “All year you were a shining light that I thought was out of reach. Then one day I got up the courage to ask you out, since it was obvious that you weren’t going to do it.” Everybody laughed. “Our dates were unconventional. We spent hours lying nude in front of each other under the guise of modeling for our art.” Now everyone was laughing so much she had to pause to go on. “You introduced me to the woman we love and you let us see ourselves through your eyes. The connection and love swept me away. I love you.” She finished fastening the bracelet on my wrist and gave me a passionate kiss. But the public ceremony wasn’t finished.
Melody pulled Lissa’s hand over to join ours. “You both let me grow and discover love more deeply than I’d ever imagined possible. I love you, Lissa.”
“When I was sure I could never be what you wanted,” Lissa picked up, “you wouldn’t let go. You pulled this sinking ship to the surface and saved me. I love you, Melody.”
Everyone had been told that we were definitely all three together, but there is nothing like a really hot kiss between two beautiful women to cause a collective gasp from onlookers. And when I joined the kiss, it quickly became obvious to them that the onlookers were no longer needed. People began to leave soon after. Everyone there stopped to wish us well and a safe trip home.
When Ricky came up he shook our hands—less aggressively this time—and also wished us luck. He was a little in awe as he looked from Melody to me to Lissa, but he was practically knocked off his feet when Lissa reached up and planted a good kiss on him.
“I know you were wondering,” Lissa giggled. Ricky’s eyes shot open and he gave me a nervous look, afraid, perhaps, that I’d be mad that he’d now kissed both my girlfriends. I intentionally misinterpreted his look.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I said lightly. “To me AC/DC is strictly a band.” Ricky’s mouth was still hanging open all the way out the door.
Lexi made no objections to the three of us sleeping together and when we woke in the morning, we were happy and at least partially sated. It seemed like so long since we’d been together and our bodies craved the drug of each other.
Our noses told us bacon was frying downstairs and we showered, dressed, and were in the kitchen in record time for three naked horny lovers. Lexi had made us Mickey Mouse pancakes, eggs, and bacon and we washed it all down with pretty darn good coffee—a rarity for the Boston area, I’d found. It was about ten in the morning before we finally convinced Lexi that we had to get going. My folks were expecting us for the Fourth of July barbecue and I guessed it might take longer for the return trip than it had coming out. We went to the garage and Lexi opened the garage door.
Harold Anderson was standing in the middle of the drive.
He looked drawn and not nearly as pompous as he’d acted in Chicago. He was wearing a pair of chinos and a polo shirt. I hadn’t seen him since the night Melody told him to go back to Boston. I knew she’d talked to him during her time home—after all, it was Harold who had set Melody up with Ricky—but I wasn’t sure where their relationship was.
Leave it to Melody to just do the right thing. She marched down the drive toward her dad and flung her arms around him. Lissa and I hung back a little, but neither of us could let her get too far away.
“Thank you for coming to see me off, Daddy. I do love you, you know.”
“Melody, baby, please don’t ever think that your daddy doesn’t love you. I’m sorry I’ve been hard to get along with and that… everything,” he finished. There were tears in his eyes. “A father should walk his little girl down the aisle,” he said, softly.
He pulled her right hand to his left arm and walked Melody toward Lissa and me. He held her hand and reached for ours, which we gave him. He held our three hands together between his and looked at each of us long and hard as if it were the last time he’d ever see us.
“Drive carefully,” he said as a way of blessing. Then he turned away and we saw him get in his car and drive off.
We were on the road and heading west—facing home. Melody and Lissa were giggling and by the time I hit I-90, they were leaning over the seats kissing with loud rock music on the radio.
I pulled over at the tollbooth, stopped the car, and turned off the radio.
“Uh-oh,” Melody sang. “We’re in trou-ble.”
“My darling lovers,” I said. “There is one rule of the road that is absolute. No sex and no sex play while the car is running. As my dad told me, I want my family together, but I don’t want them gathered at a gravesite.” They could see that I was serious. They both reached for me and kissed my cheeks—Lissa from her position as first shotgun and Melody from the rear seat.
“However,” I said, smiling, “there’s a campground about 130 miles west of here… and we have a tent.”
I put the car in gear and we headed west.
Comments
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