Building the Family

by Amy DeMeritt

  Madison and Shannon walk in from the kitchen where they were waiting and listening and Sam laughs.

  “There’s the sexy spies. You set me up.” I smile and shake my head. “No, they were just giving me a few minutes alone with you because they know I miss you so much.” Sam smiles really big and puckers her lips and blows me a kiss. “I miss you too. So, I guess I’ve officially given my seal of approval to this family we have. Shannon, Kayla told me how you’ve been rebuffing her many advances out of respect for me and the time I needed to get to know you. Thank you for doing that, but you can stop rejecting her now.”

  I look at Shannon and she has a cute shy smile with blushing cheeks. She nods and clears her throat.

  “Thank you for the seal of approval and all that. I know we only started these dates because we both want to share a life with the same two people, but I really do like you, a lot.” Sam smiles in a playful way and tilts her head to the side some to regard her. “That’s a good thing, since I just gave you permission to have sex with my babies.” Shannon laughs and blushes deep red. “And you, when you get here.” Sam smiles really big and nods once. “Oh, that is a must.” Sam looks at me and giggles. “I love when you smile like that.”

  She looks over at Madison and leans forward some. “Hey, Mommy.” Madison smiles wider and blows a kiss at the screen. “Hey, baby. How’s school?” Sam’s smile fades and she shrugs a shoulder. “I hate it here. If it wasn’t for Jody and Tracy, I think I would have dropped out.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  This is the first time that Sam has told us she hates it there. She talks about certain classes or teachers that she hates, but never said she hates it there completely. Before she showed up here to surprise me, she acted like she liked it there and was meeting lots of cool and interesting people. I guess all of that was a lie to try to make me jealous.

  “All anyone here wants to do is party. They drink and get high pretty much every minute they’re not in classes. They are so loud and obnoxious that it’s hard to find a quiet space to think and study. I’ve gotten on a first name basis with the librarians and know all of their cats’ names because I spend so much time in the library trying to hide from people. My roommate is nasty and has a different guy in her bed at least once a week. I have to stay over at Jody’s and Tracy’s dorm more than I get to sleep in my own because of it.”

  “Why don’t you transfer here?” All of us look at Shannon, surprised the suggestion came out of her before Madison or I. She looks between us and blushes. “Sorry, I just thought…”

  “No, it’s a good idea, but I don’t know if I could. Plus, I don’t want my babies to think I’m only trying to do that because they have you there while I’m out here stuck in American Babylon.” I laugh at the “American Babylon” and Sam looks at me with a grin. “Sam, if you hate it there, you should transfer. It doesn’t have to be here if you have a different school in mind, but it would be nice to have all of my girls together.”

  “What about you, Mommy? Would you care if I tried to transfer there?” Madison smiles really big and shakes her head. “It would make me very happy to have you here. But, are you sure you really hate it there or is missing us just making that place look worse than it is? I thought that school has a superior program for your degree than ours? Would you be missing out on a better education to come here?”

  “Well, that’s another thing. They made this program sound like it was one of the best in the country, but half of the professors are never even here and we have their apprentices doing the lectures. Supposedly, the real professors are out in the field or working on some major report for a scientific journal or something.”

  Sam is majoring in geology and wants to be an engineering geologist. Sam is passionate about humans leaving the least amount of footprint on the earth as possible as to not harm it. She figured going into that field would give her the greatest opportunity to help make that happen, since she’d be helping to figure out how to prevent our many types of waste from seeping into the ground. My mom used to call us the “new age flower children” because both of us want to go into fields to benefit the planet and prevent pollution.

  “Would it make you happy to transfer here?” Sam smiles and looks between each of us. “Yes.”

  “Well, then come home, baby. Your family misses you.” Sam looks at me with so much emotion it makes me want to hold her. Her eyes tear up and she quickly wipes at them. “I miss all of you so much. Ok, I’ll find out on Monday what I have to do.”

  We talk to Sam for another hour before her dorm starts to get too loud to hear us. She looks at us longingly as we say goodbyes and she touches her screen a moment. Just before the feed disconnects, I notice a tear streak down her cheek. God, I miss her. I stare at the blank screen and feel my own emotion well up deep inside me. I pull my phone out and send her a text.

  Me: I’m going to buy or build a special brace for my body so when we pick you up at the airport, you can jump into my arms and wrap your legs around me. I miss you and I need your tiny ass to tackle me, hard.

  Sam: Thanks, baby. I needed that smile. It’s going to be so hard to refrain from doing that when I see you.

  Me: So many things will be hard to refrain from when I see you. I may end up in jail for indecently exposing you and for pornographic PDA right in the airport.

  Sam: Oh god. Baby, don’t do that. I already ache so much with my own sexual thoughts of you.

  Me: What do you think about?

  Sam: You are so bad. Are you trying to sext with me, Daddy, and make me have to touch myself?

  I smile and laugh a little. I look up at Shannon and Madison, who are watching me with amused grins. I bite my bottom lip and show Madison my conversation. She laughs and shakes her head.

  “You are bad. Go ahead and play with Sam. We’ll make dinner.”

  They stand up and give me a soft kiss on the lips before heading into the kitchen.

  Me: You able to lock your room down so you can do this? I don’t want anyone walking in on my beautiful cup of milk and honey with her legs spread wide.

  Sam: You’re really going to do this with me? Are you going to touch yourself too?

  Me: You know I can’t do that because it does nothing for me. But I’d like to help you cum if you want me to.

  Sam: You know I think its super-hot that you can’t pleasure yourself, but are so fucking good at making us cum. Ok, baby, talk dirty to me. My door is locked and barricaded.

  I smile really big and lick my lips, trying to think of what I would do to her first if she was here. We go back and forth for several minutes with things we want to do to each other and what I want her to do to herself right now. She takes pictures of herself doing certain things, like palming her breast, squeezing the inside of her thigh, cupping her groin, and pressing her fingers deep inside herself. I release a couple involuntary moans when I see the pictures and look up to see if Madison and Shannon heard me. Of course, they hear me each time and look at me with amused smiles that make me blush.

  The last picture Sam takes is of her licking her juice off her fingers and smiling.

  Sam: Thanks, Daddy. That wasn’t as good as when you touch me, but I really liked doing that with you.

  Me: I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I can’t wait to be able to love on you, but anytime you need some assistance till you get here, you let me know.

  Sam: Count on it. Ok, I guess I kept you long enough. Go give our other girls some attention now. I’ll talk to you soon, baby.

  Me: Ok, I love you

  Sam: I love you too.

  I place my phone on the table and go into the kitchen to check on my girls. They have their backs to me and are working to cut stuff up on one counter, so I lean against the other counter to watch. Shannon turns to wash her hands and jumps when she sees me.

  “Oh jeez. How long have you been standing there?”

  “Only a few seconds. Anything I can help with?” She smiles and slides up next to
me to wash her hands. “We’re just about ready to assemble the pizzas if you want to help with that.” Madison turns to look at me with a cute grin.

  “How’s Sam feeling?” I laugh and look down a moment, making them giggle. Madison also washes her hands and then kisses me on the cheek. “So, are you better at spreading pizza sauce than you are at spreading frosting?”

  “I do ok, but I like a lot of sauce. Shannon, how much sauce do you like?”

  “Uh, just a little bit. I don’t like it to ooze out when I take a bite.” I laugh and shake my head. “Then I shouldn’t be the one to do the sauce. You make it how you like it and I can just add more to mine when it’s done.”

  Madison playfully ruffles my hair and turns to grab the jar of sauce. After Madison has the two pizzas sauced, we load them up with lots of cheese and toppings. We have pepperoni, sausage, bell peppers, and black olives on one pizza, and a bunch of veggies on the other.

  Shannon puts the cookie sheets in the oven and starts cleaning up, but I grab her hand and push her aside.

  “I got this. You two prepped, so I’ll clean up.”

  She smiles and lets me take over. While I clean up, they lean against the counter next to me and watch. After I have the counter cleaned and the cutting boards and knives washed, dried, and put away, Madison opens the fridge and opens a glass bottle of a really good root beer and holds it out to me.

  “Thank you. Pizza and root beer, huh? Are we hunting giant man eating spiders later?” Madison smiles and shakes her head. “No, I think we’ll be doing something very different later.”

  I smile and nod as I swallow a sip of the delicious vanilla brew.

  “Do you mind if I grab a quick shower and change out of my scrubs? I should be able to finish before dinner is done.” I pout and look Shannon up and down. “But I like you in your scrubs.” She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck. “I know, but don’t you like me even more in pajama shorts and a tank top?” I release a small moan and lean into her dramatically. She giggles and kisses my face and neck a few times. “I’ll be quick. If the pizza finishes before me, just take them out and set them on the stovetop.”

  Madison and I sit down at the dining room table so we can be close to the oven when the timer goes off.

  “Whitney texted me earlier that they’re supposed to have the elevator working by mid-next week. They’ve been waiting on special parts or something, but they finally came in.” Madison looks sad and takes my hand in hers. “I guess we knew it would eventually happen, but I was really hoping they would never fix it and we’d have till you were strong again. This past week has been so amazing with the three us staying together. I don’t know how I’m going to go back to sleeping without you. I’m going to miss waking up with both of you and eating meals together.”

  “I know. I don’t like splitting up my family. I know we’ll all be together again when Sam is here for those four days in a couple weeks, but then we have to separate again.”

  “What if Sam does transfer here? How are we going to live separately from each other then?”

  I pull on her hand, scoot my chair back some, and pull her down to sit on my lap. She wraps an arm around my shoulders and leans her head on mine. I wrap my arms around her and breathe in her beautiful strawberries and honeysuckles scent. I love that each of my girls feels like home for me. Sam was my first real girlfriend and we made so many amazing memories back home, Madison is from my home state and her scent is two of my favorite things that always remind me of home, and Shannon can cook like my mom and reminds me of my family. And the amount of love we all share is pure home and family. I’m home when I’m with my girls. I’ll feel like I’m in a foreign place again like I did before I met Madison if I don’t have them with me.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Shannon walks over in her short cotton shorts and a tight tank top, making Madison and I smile. We open our arms to her and pull her into a hug with us for a minute. Before we can answer, the oven timer goes off, so Shannon pulls back and goes to the kitchen. After she takes the pizza’s out and turns the oven off, she comes back over to us.

  “Why do you both look sad?”

  “The elevator in my building is supposed to be fixed this week.” Her face drops and she pulls a chair over to sit down next to us. “Oh. So, I guess you both will be going back to your dorms soon?”

  “Yeah, unfortunately.”

  “Do you have to go back?”

  “Don’t we?” Shannon smiles and takes both of our hands. “It’s up to you, but I’d like you to stay. And if Sam transfers here, then her as well.”

  “Are you allowed to have that many people living here?” She shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t think it will be a problem, but I guess I can find out. If not, we can upgrade to a two bedroom. The extra room would give all of you someplace quiet to study so it wouldn’t go to waste. We don’t have to decide anything right now, but I’m serious about the offer. I love both of you and I’ve loved everything about every minute with you living here with me this week.”

  “Ok, thanks, baby. We’ll talk about it more later. Let’s eat these pizzas before they get cold.”

  Shannon cuts the pizzas and Madison heats up some of the leftover sauce for me to dip my pizza in and then we sit around the table to eat together. The table is a small round table with four chairs. I can’t help but notice how perfect the size is for our family and it makes me smile. Shannon has a king size mattress, because she found a really great deal at a mattress store that was going out of business, so the four of us sleeping together wouldn’t be difficult. Her sofa is a large sectional with more than plenty of space for all four of us to sit or lounge out on. The only concern is dresser and closet space. A two-bedroom apartment would probably be necessary just so we have the space for all of our own personal belongings.

  Our parents have to pay for dorm housing, so if we abandon our dorms, then we’ll have to tell our parents and explain why. Mine already know about what I’m doing, and even though they haven’t said much, I know they are very concerned. If I tell them I want to give up my dorm and move into an apartment with my three girlfriends, will they put up a fight about it?

  Madison’s parents are extremely homophobic and she hasn’t even told them about me yet. She wants to wait till we go home for Thanksgiving because she’s worried that if she’s not there to talk it out with them that they’ll stop helping her with college. Madison would probably have to keep her dorm and pretend to still live there, at least till we can talk to her parents.

  “Can I take you both someplace after dinner?” I look up and Shannon is looking expectantly at both of us. “Yes, as long as you put clothes on.” She laughs and gives me a cute smile. “Yes, I’ll get dressed.”

  After we finish stuffing ourselves with pizza, Shannon runs off to get dressed and Madison and I clean up. When Shannon comes back out, she has a canvas tote bag over her shoulder and a cute grin on her beautiful face.

  “What you have there, baby?” She shakes her head and walks towards the door. “A surprise.”

  We follow Shannon out to the car and she places the bag in the trunk, teasing me with a grin, saying, “so you can’t get curious and peek inside”. She heads away from campus and soon gets on a small two-lane backroad that’s mostly woods. After about twenty minutes, she turns down an even narrower road and then parks in an empty gravel lot next to a huge open field surrounded by woods.

  We follow her down a trail that turns into a wooden deck and it takes us through some marsh lands. The woods open up and the deck juts out several feet into a large pond surrounded by trees dressed in their beautiful vibrant autumn colors. Madison and I gasp in awe and take Shannon’s hands as we stand at the end of the deck and admire the scene.

  “I found this place my sophomore year of college. My grandparents live in a house that overlooks Saginaw Bay and when I was younger, my grandmother taught me how to make paper lanterns to float on the water. It became a tradition to make them and float
them out every time I was struggling with a decision and needed guidance. She would say that we come from water and it connects us to those that have passed and we can seek their guidance and wisdom by whispering our problem into the flame and floating it out onto the water. Anytime I have a big decision to make, I come out here and float a lantern and watch it glide across the water. So, I thought, maybe, we could make some paper lanterns and float them out and ask for guidance on what we should do. It might be real or it might just be superstition or whatever, but I’ve always been able to figure out what I should do after I’ve released my problem into the floating flame.”

  I feel so profoundly connected to Shannon right now that I step forward to stand in front of her. I run my fingers through her hair, looking in her eyes.

  “You make me miss home so much. I felt like I could hear my mother or one of our tribal elders talking just now.”

  Shannon’s eyes mist up with emotion and she presses her lips to mine, pulling me into a kiss. When she pulls back, she runs her fingers through my hair smiling.

  “You are such a beautiful person, baby. Ok, show us how to make these things.” She smiles really big and kisses my lips again. “Thank you. Ok, it’s not too difficult.”

  We sit down on the deck and she shows us how to fold the rice paper into little open top cubes. Shannon finishes hers first and then makes a fourth for Sam. After the cubes are made, she pulls out four little candles that look like mini tea lights, but don’t have a metal cup around the wax.

  “Where’s the metal cup to keep the wax from spilling everywhere as it melts?” She smiles and shakes her head. “We don’t want to pollute the water with the metal and paper. The wax will melt and pool out on the bottom and eventually the flame will engulf the paper.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea.”

  Shannon carefully lights each candle and we silently send our problems out onto the water. We wrap an arm around each other’s waists and hold each other close as we watch them slowly bob away from us. Within five minutes, they’re in the center of the pond and the flame consumes them. They turn into little balls of fire and then quickly disappear into the water.