The Prodigal
Four
“SO, HOW MANY DATES you got tonight?” Howard asked as he soaped up my face. I only do this when I’m going out for something special and tonight was a concert at the zoo.
“Well, let me see,” I said. “There’s the wives, Melody and Lissa, and our girlfriend Kate.”
“When are you going to marry her?” Donna asked as she watched, waiting for her chance to get her hands on my hair.
“Kate’s special. She probably won’t want to join the partnership until we’re out of school,” I said. “We’re working on her, though.”
“Okay, so the four of you?” Howard asked.
“Well, then there’s our girlfriends, Allison, Bree, Wendy, and Whitney,” I said.
“So, each of you in the central four has a girlfriend?” Donna asked.
“Well, Wendy is Kate’s girlfriend. Bree is Melody’s girlfriend. Allison and Whitney are both kind of Lissa’s girlfriends. She’s insatiable.”
“And yours?”
“Oh, I’m just along for the ride.”
“What a bullshitter,” Howard laughed. The last time I was in, he was sure I’d lost all my girlfriends.
“Howard, look at this,” Donna said softly as she finished using that vacuum thing on my neck. Right on time, Melody, Kate and Lissa walked into the barbershop. Allison, Wendy, Bree, and Whitney were following right behind.
“Holy Mother of God!” Howard said. “Whatever that kid’s got, I want me some of it.”
“In your dreams, Howard. In your dreams,” Donna said. “What are you doing tonight, anyway, big guy?”
I handed the money to Donna as my girlfriends stepped up one at a time to get a kiss and feel my baby-smooth cheeks. We left the barbershop in a group and I saw Donna wrap an arm around Howard.
It was a different dynamic at the zoo than it was when we were here last summer. Last summer it had been our first date with Kate and the four of us were so head-over-heels in love that I was swept away by the environment and did a new and colorful sketch that would start me on the way to painting things other than reclining nudes. This time, I didn’t pull out a sketchbook at all, but we were caught up in the torch and twang of K.D. Lang as we ate a down-home picnic of fried chicken, potato salad, and soft drinks. Being the upright male amidst seven glorious, sexily-clad ladies, made me the obvious envy of a lot of guys and several gals. Kisses were shared liberally among us. We held hands and joined a crowd two-stepping around the edge before collapsing on our blanket in a Gordian knot of arms and legs.
“Attention, everyone!” Kate said as she stood naked at the foot of the bed. That was enough to get the attention of the other seven of us in bed. Wait, where’s Wendy? “You all might not know it, but the Fourth of July is an important holiday for more reasons than Independence Day. The Fourth is also the official anniversary of Tony, Melody, and Lissa. They were blessed by a minister in Nebraska. So, I think we should wish them all a happy anniversary.”
Wendy walked in the door with a little cake and a candle glowing in the middle. We had a raucous celebration after the three of us blew out the candle. I didn’t know people blew out candles on an anniversary cake, but we did. We all ate cake and then there was a little game of find the crumbs, played with tongues. I don’t think there were any cake crumbs in some of the places I found tongues. We went to sleep a happy and exhausted crew.
For two weeks, life was routine. Up early, breakfast, and read to the boys. Studio all morning, working beside Kate.
About two o’clock, I went to the club with Lissa, Whitney, and Allie. We warmed up, played hard, and Lissa criticized everything we did. In a good way, of course. It seemed like the better we played, the more little things she had for us to work on. I spent one afternoon five feet from the wall returning balls I couldn’t see coming. I got hit in the face so many times my left cheek was black and blue. By the end of the session I could hear the ball coming and move to where I needed to be.
We were as ready as we were ever going to be and John arranged an invitational at the club. He kept it small, inviting top players from the area to participate in the round-robin tournament. Allison and I did well. Neither of us lost a match, even though we’d managed to get some incredible players to come to the tournament. I came off the court after my first match and saw Karl Higgendorfer warming up. I hadn’t seen him since our surprise match-up before Nationals.
“How’d you get into this tournament?” I asked as we shook hands.
“Got an invitation from the Ice Queen. Can’t refuse to appear when the queen summons,” he laughed.
“How are classes going?”
“Tiring. I’m only taking an extra day to come out here to play and then it’s back to the grind on Monday. They don’t give med students a break,” he said. I remembered my time at the med school here in Seattle sketching the dissection of a cadaver with a shudder.
“Hey. Anybody special in your life?” I asked.
“No time. Why?”
“Just wanted to know before I set you up tonight,” I laughed. I ran to my locker and called Amanda. Yeah, she guessed she could come over to watch a match and go to dinner tonight if I could promise dancing and drumming. Well, little lies.
Karl and I met again in the last match of the day and we were both at the top of our game. We both dropped into our zones so easily that it was a joy to play. The match was tight and I took the last game by two points. We were both damned proud.
“Karl, we’re headed to our favorite restaurant tonight and you are coming with us,” I said in the locker room.
“Um… I wouldn’t dream of saying no, but I’ve got to ask you. Do you know that gorgeous brunette with the electric blue eyes that came to watch the last match? You know you wouldn’t have won if I hadn’t been thinking about her,” he said.
“Ah. My strategy worked,” I said. “She’s your date tonight.”
“She’s what?”
“She doesn’t know it yet, though, so please don’t blow it as soon as you meet her, okay, Doc?” I laughed.
“Tell me about her,” he demanded.
“Senior, pre-med, beautiful, and sharp as a scalpel. That’s all you need to know before I introduce you.”
“Uh, Tony?” Amanda said as she approached me in the restaurant.
“Geez. I invite you out and you don’t even talk to me. What’s up?”
“As if you didn’t know, you ass. I just wanted to tell you I won’t make it for drumming and dancing tonight.”
“Oh, well that’s too bad. I’m glad you could join us for dinner.”
Amanda plopped down wiggling between Kate and me.
“Is he for real, Tony?” she asked. “I know you planned this, but I’m not sure I’m ready for anything serious. He’s just so nice.”
“He’s a good guy, Amanda. I don’t know if he’s right for you, but I just knew that you’d like to get to know each other. He’s a couple of years ahead, but that could be advantageous, too. And you’re on opposite coasts for the next year. You can’t get so involved that you neglect your studies,” I said. “If you like him, enjoy the company. If you don’t, come over and do some drumming.”
Amanda glanced over to see Karl in an intense conversation with Allison. She leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.
“I miss studying with you, Tony,” she said. “Thanks for watching out for me.”
The three teens stood nervously at the foot of our bed. Melody, Kate, Lissa, and I had just gotten out of the hot tub and crawled into bed. It was about the first time this summer that it had just been the four of us, with Allison in a rehearsal, Wendy working, and Bree and Whitney in a meeting with Coach Jacobson. We’d barely crawled into bed when there was a knock at the door and three naked teens entered the room.
I just assumed they wanted to use the hot tub, but they came to the foot of the bed to address us.
“It looks like you’ve adopted the family uniform,” Kate laughed.
“Well, it’s just us,” Sunday ventured. “I mean, none of your… um… girlfriends are here.”
“Even if they were, it would be okay,” I said. “What’s up? You want to use the tub?”
They looked at each other and Willow and Rainbow nodded toward Sunday to continue.
“Tony. Everybody. We didn’t realize you had such a busy summer coming up when we asked to come and stay with you,” she said. “I guess none of us knew when we talked about it. But we never meant to be an extra burden to you. And with all of you leaving, we don’t want to impose. We were thinking that if you wanted us to, you could drop us off at the train station tomorrow and we’ll go back to Oregon, or something.” I was shocked.
“Are you tired of your big adventure?” Kate asked softly. “Had enough of the city and ready to go back to live on the commune again.”
“No!” Willow said. His mouth worked some more, but no other words came out.
“We love it here,” Rainbow supplied. “None of us want to leave, but you’ll all be gone.”
“Oh dear,” Lissa said. “I didn’t think. I assumed you’d love the opportunity to be independent. I didn’t think that you’d feel abandoned.”
“We don’t feel abandoned,” Sunday said. “We just thought you wouldn’t want us here without you to supervise.”
“Do we do that?” I asked. “Who didn’t tell me we were supposed to supervise the Trips? I feel terrible that I haven’t been doing any supervising. Kate have you been supervising?” I was having a hard time keeping a straight face. Kate was smiling and Melody was outright laughing. “I’m serious guys. Didn’t you go out and get summer jobs? Was I supposed to go with you? Did Melody go along when you bought new clothes?” I didn’t know if the teens were going to laugh or cry. They looked like they were struggling with their own facial expressions.
“Um… no,” Willow whispered. That’s the only word he’d said so far since they came into the room.
“Willow,” Kate said softly, “Sunday, Rainbow. We never thought that it would look like we were all leaving, so you’d have to, too. I kind of thought you’d jump at the chance to live together for a couple of weeks with nobody around but you. I know you’ll keep the house up and not wreck it. You’ve all been super-responsible for two months living with us. I think I speak for us all when I say we trust you. If you don’t want to spend two weeks without us, then we can work it out so someone else comes in to stay, but, it’s up to you.”
“Really?” Rainbow asked. “You’d let us stay here without you?”
“Really,” Lissa said.
“You guys are so cute!” Melody squealed. “I don’t mean that to be condescending, but it’s been harder for me to keep from being Miss Bossypants and telling you everything you should do while you are staying with us. But there’s never been a reason. Now there is. So, I’m telling you that the four of us and our entourage are going to be gone for a while this summer. We’re leaving the house in your care and expect you to live here and treat it as your home. If you choose to refuse this assignment, I’m going to self-destruct in ten seconds. Got it?”
The teens finally got the message and broke out in laughter as they jumped on the bed to kiss each of us and say thank you. I’d even got used to having Willow give me a kiss over the past few weeks. I don’t think he was gay in the least, but he just didn’t make a distinction between me and my wives. It was okay.
If anything, Stockton, California was even hotter than Tempe. It was ninety-four degrees when we got there Monday. It was ninety-nine when we flew out for the Dominican Republic a little over a week later. Even the air conditioned club felt like a sauna. Lissa flew down with Allison and me, but the rest of the family were flying to London, so she only stayed two days. Allison and I were truly on our own.
There were six men and six women on the U.S. Team roster, but only three women and four men were headed to World’s. We were in rare company and we got schooled. There was no requirement that everyone on the team be there so I about fell on my butt when I walked into my first training match on Friday after Lissa had gone home and found I was facing Randy Lewis. Holy shit! I was playing the best I ever had and he took me down like he wasn’t even trying. Coach Elliot had us paired up twice that day and I was considering giving up racquetball. You just wouldn’t believe it.
Randy was the reigning National and World Champion. I asked him why he was even here at the training camp.
“Oh, my coach is working with the junior team this week, so I came here to get warmed up,” he said. Arnie Redman was almost as famous in racquetball circles Randy.
“It’s not hard to get warm in this weather,” I laughed.
“How serious are you about racquetball?” Randy asked.
“I love to play,” I answered, not sure where he was going.
“Want to make a career of it?”
“Well, not exactly. It’s helping pay for college, but I’m an artist and sometimes it’s a real struggle to make time for both.”
“I don’t know whether to be pissed or relieved,” Randy sighed. “On one hand, you’ve got raw talent that could be refined into something great. You’d just have to dedicate yourself to it. Playing pro racquetball is like any other job. You get up in the morning and start working, whether it’s conditioning, endurance, or skills. You’re never at the level you could achieve. Each time you enter a tournament, you ship a product and the prize money is your paycheck.”
“I can relate to that, I guess. I have to paint every day or I’ve got nothing for the next show. Sometimes, I just paint for the sheer joy.”
“That’s racquetball all right,” Randy said. “On the other hand, I’m relieved that I won’t have you to compete against in the pros. It’s going to be bad enough holding on with that kid out East that’s been making a mark. Brian Summers took the Elite National Singles title. We were all a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see a matchup between the two of you. If he decides to go pro, he’s going to be better than Karl Higgendorfer and a threat to all us older players.”
“I was disappointed that I couldn’t make National Singles, but that was one of those instances where I had a deadline for an art project and there just wasn’t an option,” I said.
“Well, no offense, but don’t count on more than a day in competition in Santo Domingo,” Randy said. “It’s like any other seeded tournament and the lowest ranked competitors face the top ranked competitors in the first round. You’re not the lowest, so at least it won’t be me that you face in the first round, but amateurs almost never progress into the round of thirty-two at World’s.”
He was a nice guy, but after our five minutes of talking he was off to lift weights. His focus on the sport is phenomenal. I thought back on our games over the past hour and realized he was probably taking it easy on me. He did allow me to score a couple of times.
Allison and I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics Friday night and Skyped Whitney, Lissa, Melody, and Bree in London. The broadcast was delayed until prime time on the West Coast, so by the time it wound down at eleven our time, it was already eight in the morning for them and they were planning their day. We never did see them in the crowd, but what are the chances that you’d see a specific individual on camera in that venue. Allison and I settled into bed.
“What a day!” Allison said. “Heard you got schooled by Randy.”
“Yeah. I don’t know about you, but there’s a whole order of magnitude between me and his level. It looks like it will stay that way.”
“I know what you mean. I played Hannah DeMarco. Probably got the same talk. How much of it do you think was just psyching us out?”
“Probably some, but there’s a lot of truth in it. I don’t think I can be on the top of the heap in both art and racquetball,” I said. “I’m not likely to make it to the top in either if I try for both.”
“You can be at the top of my heap,” she said pulling me toward her. I rolled with her and came to rest pillowed on her awesome girls. It was officially the weekend and even though we’d go in to work out Saturday, it wasn’t a required training day. That meant that Allie and I could play late and not worry about when we got up in the morning. I showed my approval with a long, deep kiss.
“This reminds me a little of Chicago,” I said.
“I hope it doesn’t end with you saying it isn’t right,” Allie laughed. “I loved what it inspired you to paint, and I treasure the drawing, but I’d like to feel you in me tonight.”
“I’d like that, too. I was thinking more about how we’re alone together. Lissa left Wednesday, but we’ve been too busy and too exhausted to just enjoy each other’s company. I’d like to spend some time just connecting with you,” I said.
“Should I get the rubber bands and tie us together?” she whispered as we kissed again.
“I’ve got a better idea,” I said between kisses. “How about if we connect this way?” I slid into her and she moaned deep in her throat.
“Do you think we can anticipate each other’s moves?” she said, pushing her pelvis toward me.
“I think we need to practice. A lot.”
“Could be a full-time job.”
“At least for the weekend,” I said.
“That’s all I’m asking for.” For a few moments we relaxed into a rhythm that built toward climax as we moved together. “Tony, darling. I meant what I said about not coming between you and your real family. Bree and Wendy meant it, too. But I do love you. In so many ways, you changed my life for the better. I love you.” There was no way to say the words without letting our orgasms take control of our bodies.
And I loved Allie, too. I could almost imagine a different set of circumstances that would have made us a couple, but every time I thought of that, there was a huge hole that was empty. If we’d tried to fill that hole for each other, I think we’d have been frustrated no end. But relaxed like this—knowing that even when we were alone, we were surrounded by the love of our other partners—it was easy to lose myself in Allie’s willing heart and body.
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