"Yeah, I guess she's pretty, for a girl," Seth commented. Then, finally realizing what Dylan was getting at, he grinned. "You like her, don't you?" he teased, causing Dylan to blush.
Look at me! Blushing! I haven't blushed since I was…since I was Seth's age! Damn! I've got it bad! he thought as he answered his nephew. "Well, she is kind of nice. Hey, it's late, we'd better get going," Dylan said, quickly changing the subject.
Dylan and Seth gave each other the once over, one more time brushing imaginary lint off each other's tuxedoes before heading to the dining room for dinner.
***
Cat went to the dining room to seat the children while Billie was dressing. Tara had taken a little more time than they thought, leaving Billie limited time to get herself ready for dinner.
The dining room was abuzz with noise. Cat and Amy scurried around the table, trying to determine the seating arrangements and making last minute adjustments among the children so they could sit next to their favorite cousin. The men and Josephine, all dressed in black tuxedoes, stood around enjoying snifters of brandy while waiting for the signal to be seated. Ida, Bridget and Drew were drafted by Maggie to help pour champagne at each place setting in preparation for the evening toast. Although standing with the men, Dylan's mind and eyes were elsewhere, namely, on the shapely legs and bottom of one Drew O'Grady as she leaned over the table pouring champagne. Seth elbowed him periodically to draw his attention back to the conversation.
Just as Cat turned to head up stairs in search of her wife, the door to the dining room opened wide. All eyes turned as three regal beauties entered, Billie first, followed by Laurel and then Alex.
Cat's knees suddenly weakened as she grabbed the back of Tara's chair for support.
Jim's eyes opened wide, his cigar hanging out of his mouth as he stared at the women.
Josephine grinned ear to ear, licking her lips in anticipation of the after-dinner treat she was sure to enjoy.
"Oh, my God," Cat whispered hoarsely as she took in the vision before her.
The three women were wearing matching gowns, all of the same design, but of varying colors—Billie in a deep burgundy, Laurel in navy blue, and Alex in emerald green. The cut was directly out of Gone With The Wind. The neckline of the dresses ran low and straight across full breasts, exposing deep cleavages. Billowy peasant sleeves pushed off the shoulders, trimmed in lace, a lighter shade of the base color, proudly displayed an expanse of creamy skin and delicate collarbones, while high-cut bodices highlighted slim waists. Full skirts fell around long legs, while gathers of satin and lace accumulated at the back of their waists in pleated layers, trailing to the floor in short trains. All three women wore their hair pulled up into loosely arranged buns on top of their heads, cameo collars around their necks held on by bands the same color as their dresses. Delicate shades of blush and eye color accented high cheekbones and brilliant blue eyes, while red lipstick highlighted full lips. The result was breathtakingly stunning. Three women…identical in appearance…the only discernible difference, being age. Three generations of beauty, flesh and desire.
Cat, Jim and Josephine all stepped forward at the same time as the rest of the family looked on in awe. All three approached their respective wives, lifting bejeweled hands to their mouths for a delicate kiss, eyes never breaking contact with identical seas of blue. Leading their ladies to the table, they held out chairs as the southern belles were seated.
Before seating herself, Cat whispered into her wife's ear, "Someone else I know is in trouble after dinner, my love."
Billie smiled, but kept her eyes trained to her plate in front of her. "Oh, I am counting on it," she replied.
***
The entire family was there, all twenty-two of them, sitting around the formal dining table. Jo and Alex took their traditional places at the ends of the long table. Along one side, to Jo's left, sat Cat and Billie, their three children, Bridget's three girls, Kevin and then Bridget on the end to Alex's right. On the other side, to Alex's left, was Laurel and Jim, Dylan, Drew, Amy's two daughters, Joe, Amy, Doc and finally Ida on Josephine's right. Alex had intentionally seated the table's occupants in order to keep Josephine and Jim as far apart as possible without making it seem obvious.
Once everyone was seated, Maggie and a couple of hired caterers served the salad, followed by a filet mignon entree. Once all the salad dishes were removed and the entree delivered, Jo rose from her seat and walked to the other end of the table to stand behind Alex. Alex's face dropped progressively with each step Jo took toward her. So much for best-laid plans of mice and men! she thought as Jo came closer and closer to Jim, and a potential confrontation.
Josephine stood there behind Alex, her hands on the southern belle's shoulders, looking over the table at her family seated there dressed in formal attire, men in black tuxes, women in beautiful gowns. Taking a deep breath, she felt a rush of happiness and satisfaction at what lay before her.
Alex sat there tensely, waiting for Josephine to say or do something that would upset the proverbial apple cart.
Jo looked down at her wife and smiled. She is still a beautiful woman, she thought. She bent over and whispered in Alex's ear, "Alexandra, you still have the power to take my breath away. I love you," she proclaimed, causing Alex to blush profusely. Jo shifted to one side of Alex and turned her wife's face toward her, softly placing a kiss on Alexandra's lips. Alexandra was beyond caring what Jim thought at that moment.
Twenty faces turned to the end of the table. Nineteen faces smiled. One sat there focusing on the entree until the commotion was over.
The smile on Cat and Billie's faces faded quickly as they saw Jim's reaction to Jo's affectionate gesture. Righting herself again, Jo looked down the expanse of table and locked eyes with Cat, immediately knowing the cause of the frown on her granddaughter's face. Glancing at Jim, she took in the man's erect spine, stoic face and focused eyes. Grinning wickedly, she started nonchalantly pacing back and forth behind Alex.
"Ah, families. You gotta love 'em," Jo began. "You know, the world is made of a lotta different people. Alex and I found that out very early on in life. It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round, to quote an old cliché," she said, her right hand shoved deep into her trousers pocket, her left hand gesturing as she paced back and forth. "Alex and me, well, we've been blessed through the years with lots of loving family, family that has always been open-minded," she stressed, coming to stand behind Jim, "Accepting of all situations, and of all people. Heaven forbid if one of them had turned out to be prejudiced against someone because they were different from themselves," she stressed once more, bending over to make the last point directly into Jim's ear. Jim just sat there, spine ramrod stiff, staring at his plate.
"Josie honey, please," Alex said softly. The entire room was silent. All eyes were turned to Jo.
Jo looked at Alex and took a deep breath. Shoving both hands into her trouser pockets, she dropped her chin to her chest and let out a sigh. Leaning down once more, she whispered in Jim's ear, "I'm not done with you yet," then stood to her full height and walked back to Alex. Standing by Alex's side, she cupped her chin, tilting her face up.
"Alexandra Spirakis, I love you with all my heart," she said, "and as much as I want to do otherwise, I will behave for your sake, for now." Leaning down once more, she kissed Alex tenderly, then stood and looked across the expanse of table. "Well, what are you all looking at? You're just jealous because I have the prettiest girl at the party, aren't you? Well, find your own. This one's mine!" she said proudly, throwing her arm around Alex.
Bending down to place one more kiss on Alex's lips, she once again looked out across the silent table. "Can't a woman kiss her best girl without an audience?" she exclaimed, a big grin on her face.
"Josephine Wycliffe, I'd better be your only girl!" Alexandra said in mock anger, hands on her hips, causing the room to break into laughter. Soon, the diners resumed eating as the rest of the meal proceeded pleasantly for all except Jim
, who knew that his trials with Josephine Wycliffe had just begun.
CHAPTER 11
"You know, Billie, I kind of feel sorry for Jim," Cat said. "I mean, I think he's basically a nice guy, he's just been raised with a set of beliefs that don't fit into this family," she explained as she unzipped the back of Billie's gown. Leaning in, she kissed the space between Billie's shoulder blades.
"Hmm, Cat, that feels good, but if you keep that up, we won't make it to the pool with the rest of the family," Billie said, eyes closed, head thrown back, as she reached behind her to pull Cat closer.
Cat snaked her arms around Billie, laying her cheek against her back and drawing lazy circles on Billie's stomach with her fingertips. "I'd rather be getting wet with you right here, than in the pool," she said wickedly, causing Billie to gasp for breath.
Billie turned around in Cat's arms, the sleeves of her dress falling further. "You are an evil woman, my love," Billie said. She kissed Cat tenderly while pushing the spaghetti straps off her shoulders.
"Mom?" Seth said from the hall.
Billie winced. "Damn!" She gathered her dress back to her chest and left the comfort of Cat's arms to answer the door. She opened the door wide enough to stick her head out, yet keep the rest of her body hidden behind the door as she spoke to her son. Cat took this opportunity to molest her wife behind the door.
"Seth, honey, what is it?" she asked, brushing Cat's hands away as they snaked under the bodice of the dress.
"Mom, Aunt Amy sent me up to get you and Mama. She said to tell you there was time for that later, whatever that means!" he said a bit confused. "So, hurry up, okay?" he said grinning.
Cat lifted Billie's skirts and pulled down her panties. Billie wiggled her hind end in an attempt to help Cat slip the panties off, as she struggled to maintain a straight face while talking to her son.
"Okay, honey...and Seth, tell your sisters to mind Grandma in the pool. Mama and I will be down shortly," she promised.
Cat slid one hand between Billie's legs, sending a jolt of electricity through her. "Oh!" Billie retorted.
Seth had turned to go, but stopped at his mother's exclamation. Turning back around, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Did you say something, Mom?" he asked.
"Ah...ah, yeah...tell Aunt Amy that there's never enough time for that. Okay? She'll know what you mean. See you in a bit, love," Billie said, finally dismissing her son.
"Okay, Mom! Hurry up. You'll miss all the fun!" he said, running off down the hallway.
Billie shut the door and leaned back against it. Cat was all over her, immediately reaching up and pushing the gown off Billie's shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Billie noticed that she too, had shed her own gown, and was now in a similar state of undress.
Allowing herself to be pressed against the door, Billie locked eyes with the smaller woman and said, "You know they'll just send someone else if we don't get moving."
Cat smiled. "I know. This is just a preview of coming attractions," she said, clamping down on one of Billie's nipples.
Billie arched her body toward her wife. "I sure hope the rest of the show is X-rated!" she exclaimed.
***
Sometime later, Billie and Cat arrived at the pool area, hand in hand, sporting skimpy bathing suits, sarongs, towels, and big smiles. Not only had they previewed the coming attractions but had taken the time to read the Cliff Notes as well. Amy raised both eyebrows and smiled knowingly at her sister's late appearance.
Jim, who was in the pool actually playing with the children, looked at their locked hands with distaste. Billie met his gaze with one of her own then squeezed Cat's hand tighter before releasing it so she could check on Skylar. Kneeling down, Billie spread her towel out on the edge of the pool and laid down flat on her stomach, her hands crossed under her chin. She was mere inches away from where Jim was playing with the children.
"You know, there's something I've always wondered about," she said to no one in particular, "Just what does love look like? I mean, I guess I know what it feels like, but what does it look like?" she asked.
Jim turned to look at her. "Love is an emotion, not a concrete object. It doesn't have an appearance," he said.
Billie lifted her head and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? Other emotions have appearances," she said. "For example, happiness can be represented by a smiley face, anger by a frown, sorrow by a tear...but what about love? Is it black, white, blue, red? Is it hard or soft? Is it male or female? Is it one thing at a time, or several things?" Billie paused for a moment before adding, "Jim, you're a man of the world, what do you think?"
Jim faced his stepdaughter and said, "Look, Billie. I know what you're trying to do here. I'm sorry, but I don't support your lifestyle. It's unnatural," he finished.
Billie narrowed her eyes and nodded her head up and down. "Unnatural," she said. "Natural between, say...you and Mom, but not between Cat and me. Is that right?" she asked. Watching him nod his head in agreement, she added, "So what you're saying then, is that love is a multifaceted emotion. It can be many different things at the same times. It can take on lots of different meanings depending on the situation."
Again, he nodded. Billie rose to her knees then paused before climbing to her feet. "Jim?" she asked. "Do you think love is ever a bad thing?"
"No. How can something that feels so good be bad?" he asked quite vehemently.
Billie's eyebrows were perched high on her forehead. "How indeed. How indeed! Thanks, Dad. You've just verified what I've known all along," she said, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek before rising to her feet and walking away, a wicked grin on her face.
Jim stood in the pool, dumbfounded by the corner his stepdaughter had just maneuvered him into.
***
Josephine watched the scene in the pool between Billie and Jim with great interest. When Billie rose to her feet and walked away from the pool, Jo followed her. Slipping an arm around her tall granddaughter's waist, she led her out onto the patio for a private conversation.
"Grandma Jo, is everything all right?" Billie asked when they finally stopped at the far end of the patio.
"Everything is fine, Billie-Girl, and about to get better if I have my way," Josephine said.
"What's up?"
"Billie, forgive me for eavesdropping, but I overheard your conversation with Jim. You know, I really don't think he's a bad guy...a little misguided maybe, but not really a bad guy. And it's obvious how much he loves your mother, which is why I wanted to talk to you," Jo explained.
"You know, Cat said the same thing," Billie chuckled.
"Cat said what?" the object of the conversation said, coming onto the patio to join her wife and grandmother.
"Cat! I was just telling Grandma Jo, here that you don't think Jim is such a bad guy," Billie explained.
Cat sided up to Billie and wrapped an arm around her waist. "No I don't. I didn't much like him at first, but now I realize that his initial reaction to me was out of nervousness, not dislike. According to Laurel, he was raised in a really strict, religious family that preached male dominance and heterosexual relationships for the purpose of procreation, not love. He's just not used to accepting different kinds of love. We need to help him see that love is love, regardless of the wrappings," she explained.
"Male dominance?" Jo snorted. "He doesn't seem to throw his weight around with Laurel," she observed.
"I don't think Mom would let him get away with it, even if he tried!" Billie exclaimed. "And you'll notice that Dylan doesn't share his beliefs. I think that's another one of Mom's influences," she added. "The point is if he can give up some of his beliefs because he has found them to be too restrictive within his own family, then maybe there's hope for getting him to accept other alternatives."
Billie paused to take a breath.
"Look, I'm not saying he has to embrace us with open arms. He has to decide for himself how much of our life style he can accept. What I am saying is that to be a well-rounded perso
n, he needs to learn tolerance, and to accept the fact that every family does not fit into the mold he has built for himself...and that's it's okay to live outside that mold," Billie finished.
"Yeah. I think there's hope for him yet. We've just got to help him see the error of his ways," Jo said, smirking.
Billie threw her free arm around Josephine's shoulder and hugged her. Chuckling, she said, "Why do I get the feeling that you are really going to enjoy this little lesson?"
***
Alex watched Jo, Cat and Billie come back to pool-side and join into the family activities. She had been sitting with Ida and Laurel, talking about the fireworks they had planned for the next evening, "...bein' as it is our country's birthday and all," Alex emphasized. Doc and Jim were still in the pool, throwing the children high into the air to splash down noisily into the water.
Kevin and Joe sat by lazily on loungers, with Kevin making comments about voluptuous hips and full breasts as the various wives and sisters-in-law strolled by.
"Hey, chickie-baby!" Kevin clucked, making kissy noises with his lips as Amy walked by.
Amy looked at her sister. "Bridge, your husband is a pig!" she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear, and swaying her butt side to side a little more dramatically, winking as she passed her own husband. Joe restrained himself, although his wife's actions wanted him to make Kevin's pig status look tame.
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