by Bella Knight
“Now, let’s look at the tools in the toolbox. She pulled out a silver vibrator. “Want to see what this does?”
“Give me two,” said T-Man. She pulled out a pink flexible one with an attachment to put against the clitoris, and handed it to him.
“Know how to handle this one?”
He tilted his head. “Teach me,” he said. The woman passed Baby two hundred more dollars.
“You put this part inside, and this part against the button here,” she said, showing her own body.
She took out a vibrating cock ring, slid it on him, and turned it on. He stiffened, then smiled.
“Now we can all shake it out,” she said.
Sheila took the pink vibrator from T-man, and put it inside herself, positioning it carefully. Baby turned it on. She arched her back, moaning. Baby guided T-Man’s hand holding the silver vibrator into herself and showed him how to turn it on, speed it up, slow it down, make it pulse, and turn it off. He grinned and played with the controls, making Baby writhe with pleasure. Both women came, over and over, and Baby turned off the vibrators. She wiped down Sheila, then herself. T-Man came into a wet wipe, gasping. Baby got rid of all the trash, throwing the trash bag into the tiny bathroom on the side.
She got everyone dressed, put on palazzo pants, pinned her hair up in a clip, put on makeup and golden sandals, and walked the couple back out to the front.
“Come again,” she said, and she kissed them both, and Damian put them in the limo to drive them back to Vegas.
She found Di’s office. “You got the W-2 tax form I emailed you?”
Di looked up. “You Baby?”
“Yeah,” said Baby, handing over Di’s cut of the take in hundred-dollar bills.
“We gonna get along just fine,” said Di.
“There’s nothing quite like home.”
5
New House
Housewarming
“The love of a real home.”
Ivy, Callie and the dog Daisy rushed over to Ace and Lily’s place right after dropping off the girls a few days later. The punch list had been done, with the interior of the house smelling like paint and polyurethane. Ivy and Callie exclaimed over the double sinks and deep tub in the master bath. They were amazed by the cute little kitchen island, and the pod bunk beds made them drool.
“We can do this,” said Callie. “We can knock this out. This is just little shelves inside for the kids’ stuff, and particleboard or MDF for the pod walls, and a lot of screws to hold it on. We run the cords up the back for the lights, and these LED lights are both bright and energy-efficient.”
Ivy listened, her jaw on the floor. “Wow. You’ve been over here a lot, haven’t you?”
“I can get the MDF at Home Plus,” she said, fiddling with her phone. “Look, a plan. I’ll add this to Evernote and get on it next week.”
Ivy stared at her. “Who are you and what have you done with the woman I first met?”
Callie waved her hand. “Fuck that shit,” she said. “You taught me to be more, so I got there.”
Ivy pulled her close. “I love you, woman,” she said.
“I love you more,” said Callie. They kissed, deeply. There were cheers and stomping from the audience. Callie smiled, and Ivy laughed.
Ghost and Alicia came in the room, Ghost’s arm around Alicia’s neck. “We wanna talk witchu,” Ghost said.
Ivy nodded. “Go ahead,” she said.
“When we got togetha, we dunno we lesbians. Now, we good wit it. We can get married now, too.”
“Yeah,” said Ivy, smiling at Callie. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“We wonda, you wanna git married wit us?”
Callie parsed the sentence correctly first. “At the same time?”
“Yeah,” said Ghost. “Save on da cost o’ da minister, do it at da same time. An’ we can have it at the clubhouse, ya know. Everybody dere anyway. Or da lake.”
Ivy let out a tiny sigh at Callie’s side. She was not after an open marriage. Check, thought Callie.
“When were you thinking?” asked Callie.
“Lily n’ Ace heah, they git married in August when they git da boyz back. We tinkin, Septemba?”
Ivy looked into Callie’s eyes. “What you thinking, babe? You wanna go lake, or clubhouse, or something else?” She saw, out of the corner of her eye, Ace, Lily, the boys, Henry, Inola, and Bella listening at the door.
“Why not have all three together?” asked Lily, her arm around Ace. “It’ll be one huge party.”
“Sounds great,” said Callie, then she kissed Ivy.
Ghost and Alicia kissed, then Ghost nodded. “Sounds good fo us,” said Ghost.
Pavel let out a windy breath. “I can get you a dress,” he said, rushing in, standing next to Callie. “You need a tux,” he said, looking at Ivy. “Kieran can do that part.”
Keiran stepped in the room. “Yeah,” he said. “Black, all black. With tails, and motorcycle boots.” Ivy burst out a laugh. “But you gotta marry in late August, we’ll be in school by September.”
“We can work with that,” said Ivy. Callie kissed her, laughing with her eyes.
“Hey,” said Ghost, tossing her head. “You dress us too?”
“You want gangsta?” asked Keiran, pulling up a picture on her phone. “Beyonce or Jay-Z?”
Ghost laughed. “Snoop Dogg. Usher.”
“Usher,” said Keiran. “I can work with that.”
Ace and Lily hugged them. “Sorry, our little brothers put you on the spot.”
Ivy laughed. “I’ve been looking at rings anyway.”
“You have?” asked Callie, looking up into Ivy’s eyes. “I found some titanium ones, with little sapphires.”
“That sounds gorgeous,” said Ivy. “I kinda suck at the ring thing.”
“Send me the ring pic and who has it,” said Keiran, stopping from showing gangsta wedding apparel to Ghost and Alicia. “I’ll order it, pick it up or have it shipped.”
Lily looked at Ace. “I see a second side business. That’s a good thing,” said Lily. “Maybe they’ll get the college thing done on their own.”
Ivy and Callie and Ghost and Alicia were dragged out of the room, where Bella, Inola, and Henry could congratulate them. The dogs got in the act, running around getting petted.
The boys turned on their tablets, sitting at one desk, moving both chairs over. Ace and Lily carried over the other desk, creating a corner pod for the boys. They got to work, getting things done for Ghost and Alicia. They found black pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a white tie, and a fedora for Ghost, and a short white sleeveless dress for Alicia… with black ruffles and a white fedora.
“Classy,” said Ghost. “Very Alicia Keys.”
“Got the music!” said Keiran.
Ivy and Ace got the party started, with chips and dip, and veggies from one of Callie’s plastic boxes. The music was Kid Rock’s Cowboy.
“Like the subwoofers,” said Ivy, laughing.
Club members drifted in and out, including all the people that had worked on the house before or after their own jobs. They talked deep into the night. The pizza, fried chicken, and trays of lasagna all showed up and were wiped clean. They all danced and sang.
Ivy, Ace, and Lily all went to Dirty Vegas for work, and Henry and Callie went back to spring the older kids out of school for the party. The kids played with dogs and played video games with the adults on the widescreen TV. The boys laughed and brought the kids that were unable to play to their pods. There was a widescreen TV on the wall and controllers in the pods, and some wild games ensued. Grace and Hu, as always, were inseparable, with Daisy following them everywhere. They didn’t seem fazed by Gregory and Katya’s daughter Elena, who had facial scars.
Pavel spoke Russian to Elena. Her face lit up. Pavel ditched Keiran, engaged in a vicious video game battle, and took her out to the patio. They sat in deck chairs, sipping colas, while Elena told the whole story about how her own father threw acid on her face, and how Gregory
had saved them.
“He is good father,” she said in Russian. “He will marry my mother, and I will be safe.”
Pavel told her the story of how his father murdered his mother, and how his best friend Keiran’s brother had gained custody of him.
“That is terrible,” said Elena. “Much worse than my own story. My mother is still alive.” She touched his hand. “You are a very strong boy. You will be well.” Her eyes swam with tears. “My mother will not stop crying about Dimitri. He had been so kind. He brought babushkas into my mother’s life, to help take care of us. I will introduce you to them. They will adopt you too.”
Pavel wondered why he needed Russian grandmothers, but he nodded. “That would be very good.”
“Dimitri… my mother explained that his sister was sick and that he did not ask for help. Gregory said he would have sold his bike to pay for what Dimitri’s sister needed.”
Pavel’s eyes swam. “He was an excellent teacher. When I do math, I become sad.”
“He was like an uncle to me,” said Elena. “I am so angry and sad. My mother is always crying. Gregory tries to help, but he does not know what to do.”
“Time,” said Pavel. “Ace told us it was time. Keiran lost both his parents, but it was the other way around. His mother murdered his father. Ace told both of us that we were sad and angry about the crimes and that our relatives did. He also said we were angry and sad that we did not have the childhood we wanted. They took our happiness. Once that is stolen, it is difficult to get back.”
“How do we do it?” asked Elena, wiping her tears.
“We take it,” said Pavel. “We will raise dogs to help other children. We will plan weddings. We will go to school and do well, to please our parents, and learn what we like to do to please us, too.”
Elena nodded. “We take it.”
“We take it,” said Pavel. They clinked soda cans.
The party was still going on when Ivy, Ace, and Lily all came back from work. The kids were picked up by their parents, who stayed to dance a bit before going home. Callie cleaned everything, getting rid of trash, and kept the chocolate and peanut Chex mixes, and the pretzels and veggies coming.
There were three rounds of pizza. The girls got in a pod and fell asleep watching cartoons. Callie was dragged out of the kitchen to dance. The music was a wild mix of Usher and Kid Rock and hard rock. Both bands from the club showed up, and they played acoustically, trying not to piss off the neighbors. They all sang to acoustic Aerosmith, Eagles and Rolling Stones songs.
The party broke up at four in the morning. Ivy got Hu, Callie got Grace, and they cleared out.
Gregory and Katya came back to the new house the next day to take the boys off to lunch. “We are so sorry, Pavel,” said Katya. “We have been so caught in our grief that we forgot yours.”
“I am well,” said Pavel. “I have many plans and a new brother.”
“Two new brothers,” said Keiran. “He has an older brother now.”
“Couldn’t have a better brother,” said Gregory. “He’s one of the best men I know.” He took a sip of his soda. “And really good at getting houses ready.”
“He cheated,” said Keiran. “We haven’t done the roof, or the cracks in the driveway, or the artificial turf and dog houses. We’re going away, so he won’t have whole days of free kid labor anymore.”
“Did you have fun?” asked Gregory.
“He kept asking us if we wanted time off,” said Keiran. “We told him not to worry about it. We learned a lot about stuff we needed to know.”
“We can learn more,” said Pavel. “Habitat for Humanity is in Phoenix. We can learn to build things ourselves while getting volunteer hours.”
Katya put a hand on their hands. “You are very good boys,” she said. “I see my mistake now. I have been sheltering Elena and myself. We should become busy, like you. I have given us too much time to hurt, to cry.”
“Some is good, baby,” said Gregory. “But, I agree.”
“She can train her own therapy dog,” said Keiran.
“Already on it,” said Gregory. “She’s got a new puppy, a spaniel from the local, no-kill animal shelter. That dog does anything she wants.”
“Elena can plan your wedding,” said Keiran.
“Yes,” said Pavel. “It is very relaxing. It is like a puzzle. You find the most excellent pieces, and when you are done, you have a very good party.”
Gregory laughed. “You guys are amazing.”
Gregory talked to Keiran in English, and Katya talked to Pavel in Russian about the same things. Including their plans for the summer session and to raise dogs.
Gregory and Katya dropped them off at the club because Lily and Ace had to go to work. The boys played video games, then went out to learn about Bonnie, Ghost, and Alicia’s Harley dog boxes. They discussed weights and dog breeds with them and touched on the wedding.
Bonnie grinned. “I’m gonna give them to each other, walk down the aisle with one on each arm.” She wagged her finger at both of them. “You both have to eat more. Get a little curvy for your wedding night.”
Pavel’s ears turned red. “Perhaps we should play more video games, da?”
They went in and got dragooned into helping with the younger kids. They helped to feed the babies and worked their way to the older ones. They dragged them to the park and got into a spirited soccer game. They all went back, had dinner, and then the boys scurried away to play a game that involved driving a truck through Europe. They hit their pods as soon as Ace and Lily took them home, exhausted from the soccer game and playing with little ones. Lily and Ace went to bed as well.
“It’s good to be home,” said Lily, kissing Ace.
“That it is,” said Ace. “Welcome home, future wife.”
Boys Return to School
The next day they were up early. It was their last day in Vegas. They took a bus to the movies, then hit up an arcade. Then, they went to the park and got into a spirited volleyball game. Pavel turned out to have a hell of a spike shot.
Henry came by with a truck and took them to his ranch. They spent the day with horses and dogs and ate a huge dinner of chicken, salad, biscuits, honey, and butter with pitchers of lemonade. They enjoyed their time with Inola, Bella, and Henry.
They helped clean up, then Henry walked them out to the fence. They stood there, watching the horses play and munch on hay.
“This is the life,” said Henry. “You can save up your funds, get a small ranch, raise the dogs and maybe some horses. Ponies and horses are used like therapy dogs, too. You make a profit and pay for half of your schooling yourselves, I’ll give you the part of the property to the road back there, just off the road. Give you a trailer, or help you build tiny houses. Or, hell, you can build a dome house from a kit. Then you may raise your dogs and build your barn for your horses down there. But, you gotta be damn sure this is where you want to live, and that dogs is what you want to do.”
The boys looked at each other. They knew they were getting a big hand up. “We can do that,” said Keiran.
“We’ll be sure,” said Pavel.
“Good,” said Henry. “This life isn’t for everyone. It’s a hard life, not a lot of money in it. But, you can be happy here. And, some kids like Ivy’s daughter Damia can get some help.”
“We’ll be sure,” said Keiran.
They helped to muck out the stalls and gave the horses their feed backs. They curried them and checked their hooves for stones. Then, they went in, and read eBooks and watched videos on YouTube. Ones about raising and training therapy dogs, and on how to build doghouses in the great room. They were quiet; they had a lot to think about.
Lily and Ace rode up after work and after a shower, the boys’ duffles in their saddlebags, and all three dogs with them. They crashed on the couches. In the morning, they ate a huge farm breakfast at an ungodly early hour. With pancakes, sausage and bananas and almonds. The boys helped get the horses out, then they rode their metal horses to
Arizona, leaving Jake the pug sleeping in the sun on a doggy bed. They stopped at Lake Mead at the overlook to rest and walk the dogs, and to give them all some water. They got back on and rode to Arizona.
Principal Wovoka met them in the entranceway. “The pups are wonderful!” she said, rushing to meet them. “Bianca and Algis have the dog runs set up with the outdoor dog houses, and I’ve had the school bylaws adjusted to allow you to keep the dogs in your room. They’re therapy dogs, so we have a loophole.”
“Da,” said Pavel. “Thank you, Principal Wovoka.”
Algis and Bianca came running out. “There are our little friends!” said Algis, kneeling. He was a tall boy, with a shock of wavy brown hair on his head, long fingers, and a wide smile.
Both of the dogs licked his face. “I want to invest in your company,” he said. “My father has given me the funds, and I will pay you to train me.”
Bianca had long brown hair and a slight slant to her green-brown hazel eyes. Her grin was even wider than Algis.’
“I have fewer funds, but I will help with your dogs in exchange.”
“Who are your friends?” asked Ace. Lily was smiling widely.
“Algis, Sir,” said the boy, shaking Ace’s hand. “I am from Lithuania. Bianca is from Italy.” He shook Lily’s hand. “And you are Ace and Lily.”
“We were so sorry to hear about your parents,” said Bianca, shaking their hands, and keeling for doggy kisses. “You and Keiran are brothers in more ways than one.” She stood. “You will help me find a dog to raise this afternoon,” she said, smiling.
“Me too,” said Algis. “Principal Wovoka will drive the van.”
“Let’s get inside,” said the principal. “The dogs need water.” Ace and Lily hugged each boy and patted the dogs, and then they all vanished around a corner.
“They grow up so fast,” said Ace, stunned.
“And make entrepreneurial friends,” said Lily. “I don’t think we’re going to get dinged for many vet bills. Methinks their rich friends will take care of it.”
