Family Love

by Jeanne Mccann

  “I think that’s wonderful.”

  “Mom, I have to go to the bathroom.” Max stood in the doorway of the bedroom.

  “Okay honey, I’ll be right there. Payton, I enjoyed spending the day with you.”

  “I enjoyed the day too.” Payton smiled at Reina. “Here, let me take your glass.”

  “Thanks, goodnight.” Reina gazed for a long moment at Payton before reaching for her son’s hand. Payton watched her enter her bedroom before turning away. Quickly she took the glasses into the kitchen and rinsed them clean before heading for her own bedroom. Rapidly she changed out of her shorts and blouse into a pair of navy silk pajamas. A soft knock on the bedroom door got her attention.

  “Yes.” Payton responded.

  “Max is done in the bathroom, Payton. Why don’t you go ahead and use it. I’ll use it when you’re done.”

  “Okay.” Payton opened her door and waved at Max as he and Reina shut theirs. She scrubbed her face, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. She wiped up the counter and knocked on Reina’s door. “I’m done.”

  “Okay.”

  Payton shut her door and headed for bed. She crawled under the covers and turned her light out. She could hear Reina speaking qui¨etly to Max, and then as she cleaned up in the bathroom. Payton was just getting comfortable when the door of her bedroom opened up.

  “Payton?”

  “Max, what are you doing out of bed?”

  “Are you sleeping?” He came to stand next to her pillow.

  “I’m trying to. Does your mother know you’re up? Come on little man, you need to get back in bed.”

  Payton got out of bed and picked Max up. She carried him into his bedroom where Molly was soundly sleeping. “Okay buddy, let’s put you back to bed.”

  The bathroom door opened at that moment, to reveal Reina dressed in the white silk nightshirt that ended at the top of her thighs. The light from the bathroom shined behind her, making the nightshirt transparent. Payton stopped breathing. She couldn’t believe how incredible Reina looked. Her hair was piled up on top of her head in a loose bun, her face devoid of any makeup. Payton didn’t know quite what to say.

  “Max decided to visit me while you were in the bathroom.” Reina gazed at Payton as she spoke but remained silent. She was as sur¨prised as Payton to be caught in her nightgown. “I brought him back.”

  “Thank you. Come on Max, climb into bed.” Reina walked up to Payton and took her son out of Payton’s arms with a smile. “He seems to have fallen for you.” She grinned.

  Payton felt her stomach flutter in reaction to Reina. Max climbed into bed and Reina slipped in next to him. Payton turned to leave the room. “Payton. Kiss please!” Max called from the bed.

  “Okay, little man.” Payton stretched over Reina to kiss Max good¨night. “Go to sleep buddy.” She hugged him and he flopped over on his side, closing his eyes. Payton started to stand up when she caught Reina watching her.

  “Where is my kiss goodnight?” Reina whispered.

  Payton stared at Reina, before leaning down to place a kiss on Reina’s lips. She had only planned to kiss her quickly, but Reina had another idea as her lips responded to Payton’s kiss. Payton moaned and slid her hand under Reina’s neck to pull her close as Reina’s arm snaked around Payton’s neck. She murmured with pleasure as her lips opened to Reina’s tongue. The kiss grew in intensity, passion exploding between them. It was several moments before the kiss ended, leaving them both gasping for breath.

  “Reina.” Payton started to speak but Reina’s lips covered hers again and Payton’s words flew out of her head. They kissed for sev¨eral more minutes before pulling apart. Reina smiled up at Payton, her arms still around Payton’s neck.

  “Goodnight, Payton.”

  “Goodnight, Reina.” Payton slowly stood upright. She was still dazzled by the kisses they had shared.

  “Sleep tight.” Reina called as Payton left the room.

  “Not after that goodnight kiss. I’ll be lucky if I sleep at all.” Payton grumbled on her way out the door. She could hear Reina laughing as she headed toward her bedroom. She moved very slowly, wondering what had just happened. Had she really just shared a kiss with Reina? She crawled into bed, still a little dazed by the kiss and the over¨whelming reaction she had. It was a long time before Payton fell asleep, and it was with visions of Reina that kept her restless and unable to sleep.

  “Payton, are you awake?” The soft little girl voice of Molly woke Payton up.

  “Yes Molly.” Payton rolled over to find both Molly and Max stand¨ing next to her bed, their faces lit up with smiles. “Hello you two. Does your mother know you’re up?”

  “She knows.” Reina smiled from the bathroom door. “I kept them away from you as long as possible.” Reina entered the room fully dressed.

  “Well, come here then.” Payton gathered the two little children in her arms and rolled with them on the bed, tickling them. They began giggling as she teased them both.

  “Mom, come help us tickle Payton,” Molly requested, hanging on Payton’s neck.

  Reina came over to the bed and sat down. Grabbing her daughter and tickling her, she responded, “Help you tickle Payton? I am going to get you, you little rascal!”

  The four of them wrestled together on the bed with lots of laugh¨ter and fun. Every time Payton touched Reina, she tingled with arousal, and it was hard to keep it hidden.

  “What’s all this noise?” Tamara and Lindy were watching from the bedroom door, grinning from ear to ear.

  “We are tickling Payton,” Molly volunteered as the four of them looked up from the bed. They were in a tangled heap of bodies, with Payton half across Reina and Max lying on top of her. Molly was pre¨paring to launch herself at the three of them.

  “Molly and Max, why don’t the two of you come eat breakfast? Banta is already in the kitchen and Maria and Amena are getting dressed,” Tamara suggested. She and Lindy wanted to leave Reina and Payton alone for a while. They were hoping Reina and Payton might do a little bit more then just stare at each other. The two were obviously attracted to each other, but Lindy and Tamara weren’t even sure if they had figured that out yet. They just wanted to give them a little nudge.

  “Okay.” Molly climbed off the bed along with Max. Max’s tee shirt hung off his shoulder and fell well below his knees. Payton couldn’t help but laugh as she watched the two children leave the room.

  “Your children are darling.” Payton turned to look at Reina, who was leaning on her elbows watching Payton closely.

  “They aren’t the only ones who are darling.” Reina’s dimples deep¨ened as she leaned over to Payton. Payton couldn’t look away as she watched Reina’s lips meet hers. Softly they kissed and Payton’s arms reached out to surround Reina holding her gently. She sighed and deepened the kiss, her mouth and tongue tracing Reina’s. Reina pulled Payton tightly against her body as her tongue slid into Pay-ton’s mouth. Their kisses became almost frantic. They couldn’t get enough of each other. Payton rolled on to her back, pulling Reina with her. She kissed Reina’s mouth, her chin, and nuzzled her neck, breathing in the delicious fragrance that floated on Reina’s skin. Reina’s hair was still piled on top of her head and Payton placed her face against it and breathed in the wonderful scent. She loved the taste of Reina’s skin as she tasted and kissed her. Reina’s lips laid kisses on Payton’s eyelids and cheeks before covering Payton’s mouth once more, drawing a cry from Payton. Both of their hearts beat loudly in their chests as they shared another wet hot kiss. As the kiss ended, they held onto each other tightly, trying to catch their breath.

  “Payton, I like you very much and I would like to spend some more time with you while you are here.” Reina traced Payton’s mouth with her finger, causing Payton’s stomach to jump. “And my kids love you.”

  “I like your kids a lot and I would love to spend some more time with you. I would really like to see you and get to know you better. I think you’re very beautiful. I can’t get
over how sexy you are.” Payton kissed Reina softly.

  “And I think you’re sexy and gorgeous and very, very special.” Reina kissed her in return. “Will you go out to dinner with me tomorrow night, just the two of us?”

  “I would love to.” Payton smiled at the beautiful blond woman currently lying in her arms. She had fallen for Reina the minute their lips touched the first time in a breath-stealing kiss. It was only an added benefit that she had also fallen irrevocably in love with Molly and Max.

  “Good.” Reina smiled at Payton and Payton’s stomach fluttered. She loved Reina’s dimples and the way her blue eyes crinkled when she smiled. Molly’s eyes did the same thing even though they were brown. She was definitely her mother’s daughter. “Much as I would like to stay here all day with you, I need to go rescue Lindy and Tam-ara.

  They shared one last searing kiss before slowly getting off the bed. “I’ll be out shortly.” Payton hugged Reina and they held hands for a moment gazing at each other. Reina was the first to pull away and walk to the bedroom door. Payton stood in the center of her bed¨room trying to catch her breath long after Reina left the room. She found it impossible.

  Never in Payton’s wildest dreams did she think someone like Reina would find her attractive. She was tingling from head to toe. The kiss the night before had caught her by surprise. She had never reacted so immediately and deeply before. It was all new to her. She was in serious trouble and she knew it. There was no way to turn back her feelings for Reina and her children. They just bubbled out of her. When she left at the end of her stay it would be very painful no matter what happened between them.

  Sighing heavily, Payton headed for the shower. She didn’t know if her heart could take that kind of pain again. It might be easier not to get involved with Reina; maybe she could avoid a broken heart. It wasn’t much later that Payton lingered in her bedroom drying her hair. She had showered and dressed in a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, and a pair of sandals. As she put down the hair dryer, she looked at herself critically in the mirror. At least the gray hair showing up on her head in rapid fashion was silver in color. It didn’t bother her that much that she was getting older. She didn’t feel any different. She did mind that it was getting harder and harder for her to stay in shape. She had always found it incredibly easy to stay slim, but lately she had to work very hard at it. She had always been slender, but now she wondered what Reina thought of her. A knock on her bedroom door forced her to turn away from the mirror.

  “Come on in.”

  “Hey sweetie, I brought you a cup of coffee.” Tamara smiled as she handed the cup to Payton. “Are you okay?”

  Payton smiled shyly. “I’m okay, thanks for asking.”

  “You like Reina,” Tamara stated, touching Payton on the arm to get her attention.

  “Very much,” Payton admitted, her face revealing her fear.

  “Sit down honey. I think we need to talk.” Tamara shut the bed¨room door and then sat next to Payton on the bed. “Is there some¨thing wrong with caring about Reina or falling in love?” Tamara asked softly, as she took Payton’s hand in her own.

  “No, there is nothing wrong with falling in love. It’s what happens after that, that is so painful.” Payton looked sadly at Tamara.

  “Oh honey, you know that isn’t always true. Look at Lindy and I.” Tamara hugged Payton tightly.

  “You two are special.”

  “So are you and so is Reina.” Tamara held onto Payton’s hands as she spoke.

  “You know how hard it was for Lindy to tell me how she felt, can you imagine how hard it was for me to tell Lindy about my feelings? I was a much older lesbian mother with three kids, who had fallen in love with a beautiful young woman. Adding on top of that the fact that I lived in another state made it seem impossible. I also was not the best candidate in the world for committed relationships.”

  Payton listened quietly as Tamara talked. She’d listened to Lindy’s fears about admitting to Tamara how she felt, but it had never crossed her mind how difficult it was for Tamara. “Do you know how hard it is to think someone finds you sexy and beautiful when you’re exhausted from work and taking care of three children? That someone could love you enough to put up with all the difficulties of two women raising a family?”

  “But Lindy loves you and the kids.”

  “She does, but I didn’t know that at the time. I only knew I was deeply in love with her and my children were crazy about her. I also knew that I couldn’t move, which meant that the only way we could be together was if Lindy quit her job and left her home to be with me.” Tamara’s eyes filled with tears. “Thanks to you, Lindy overcame her fears to tell me how she felt and it was the luckiest day of my life.”

  “She didn’t take much convincing,” Payton assured her with a smile.

  “The hell she didn’t.” Tamara chuckled. “She was scared to death and she should have been. I had three kids who, even though I love them to death, are very hard to handle. I have a job that requires a lot of time and travel and, think about it, I made such a good impres¨sion on her. My track record included a lot of screwing around. Lindy should have run in the opposite direction and never looked back.”

  “She was madly in love with you,” Payton reminded her.

  “And very brave. I look at her at night sometimes when she’s sleeping and thank God for putting her in my life.” Tamara couldn’t prevent the tears that slid down her cheeks. “Now, we need to talk about you and Reina.”

  “We just met.”

  “And if I’m not mistaken by the look on your face when you look at her, you are very attracted to her.” Tamara grinned.

  Payton’s head dropped. “She’s gorgeous. I’ve never met anyone so sexy and beautiful,” Payton admitted.

  “She is beautiful, a fantastic mother, and a wonderful friend. She is also scared to death that you won’t find her attractive, that you wouldn’t date someone who has two kids.”

  “But I can barely breathe when I look at her. I tingle from head to toe. And I love her kids. They’re terrific,” Payton protested.

  “Honey, I already know you would be perfect for Reina.” Tamara chuckled.

  “But I live in Seattle.”

  “So what? You could move.”

  “But I don’t even know Reina. We just met.”

  “And bit the dust. Now you just have to convince Reina how much you would love her and her children. I know you’ve been hurt very badly by your ex-girlfriend. If I had my way, she’d be painfully injured for what she did to you. Reina was also hurt very deeply by her ex.”

  “What happened?”

  “She always planned on having children, it was no secret. She and her girlfriend went to the doctor and Reina was artificially insemi¨nated and became blissfully pregnant.”

  “She must have been very beautiful.” Payton smiled. She would have loved to see her pregnant.

  “You know what, doll? I just love you.” Tamara hugged her tightly and sighed. Hearing Payton say that erased all her uneasiness about Reina and Payton. She had been right about Payton; she would love Reina unconditionally. “Three weeks before Reina delivered Molly, her girlfriend left. She couldn’t handle Reina being pregnant. It broke Reina’s heart.”

  “She left her alone?”

  “Yes, and Reina did not have an easy pregnancy,” Tamara revealed. “Reina’s heart was painfully damaged but she had a little girl to raise. Eventually, Reina met someone else when Molly was about a year old and again she shared her heart. It wasn’t until Reina shared her plans about having another child that the woman decided to leave. She had fun sleeping with Reina, she just didn’t want any responsibilities.”

  “You are kidding!” Pay ton’s eyes grew heavy with tears.

  “No, and Reina decided at that moment that she would concen¨trate on her family and not try to have a relationship. She hasn’t had a serious one since.”

  “But if she doesn’t want a relationship, why are you encouraging me?


  “Because since Max was born I have never seen Reina respond to anyone like she has to you. More importantly, you would never choose to be with Reina if you didn’t know you could love her for the mother she is. She is wildly attracted to you and she didn’t walk away like she usually does. You love her kids and if Reina is lucky enough to fall in love with you, she would love you forever. That’s if she let herself.”

  “So where do I go from here?”

  “Just be open to falling in love, Payton. And if it happens let her know how much you would love her as a mother, and understand if she gets scared.” Tamara hugged Payton tightly. “Just be yourself honey. Reina won’t stand a chance.”

  “Tamara thanks. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I will keep an open mind.”

  “You’re very welcome, and 1 know you would be perfect for each other. Now, let’s go join those two stunningly beautiful ladies in the kitchen.”

  As Payton and Tamara entered the kitchen, Lindy grinned. “Hey guys, it’s about time.”

  “What are the kids up to?” Tamara asked kissing her girlfriend. Payton smiled at Reina as she sat down at the table. Reina slipped her hand into Payton’s and squeezed her fingers quickly. She tried to pull her fingers back but Payton wouldn’t let her and threaded her fingers with Reina’s.

  “They are in Maria and Amena’s room playing,” Lindy shared. “Reina and I have been talking and we decided to have a barbeque this afternoon. What do you think?”

  “I think that sounds terrific. 1 promised all the kids they could go swimming later, so we can eat afterwards,” Tamara suggested.

  “Good. Reina and I are going to do some shopping and pick up some clothes for her and the kids.”

  “I’ll bring back their swimming suits.”

  “Perfect. I’ll put Payton to work folding laundry while you’re gone.” Tamara grinned.

  Lindy laughed out loud. “Better you than me, Payton.” Payton just grinned. She was still holding Reina’s hand and at that moment she would agree to just about anything to keep Reina close to her.

  “Mom!” Maria cried as she entered the kitchen. “Banta is cheating and he won’t stop.”