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Tuesday, July 5, 2022
THIS WAS, LAUREN decided, nearly perfect.
Dressed in a one-piece bright teal swimsuit, she sat on the private beach beneath a brilliant blue sky dotted with just a scattering of white, puffy clouds. Her bare toes were snuggled into the warm sand, and her hair was just beginning to dry from her last dip in the salty, tropical water.
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, adjusting her sunglasses as she gazed across the sea to the horizon. She let a feeling of utter contentment wash over her. “Nice,” she murmured, already deciding she was going to badger Wayne into begging Starlight Publishing to allow them use this place as much as possible.
“Well, don’t you look ready for a life of leisure?”
Unconsciously, Lauren’s lips pulled into a smile and she turned her head. She could hear the Marlowe children’s squeals of excitement down the beach and shaded her eyes as she looked up at her tall lover. Lauren sighed. “Now everything is perfect. I thought you’d never get here.” She reached out and tugged gently on Devlyn’s hand, urging Dev to join her on her large, soft beach blanket.
“Why can’t I get that sort of greeting whenever I address Congress?” Dev huffed playfully, dropping down onto the blanket with a groan and kicking off her sandals.
A pale brow lifted slightly. “I guarantee that if you do to the members of Congress even a fraction of what you do to me, you’d get a standing ovation every time you took the floor.”
Dev made a face. “No thanks. I don’t want tax reform that badly.” Her eyes suddenly glinted. “Although the representative from Wyoming is sort of cute.”
Now Lauren’s other eyebrow lifted. “I heard she has to shave off her mustache every morning.”
Dev snorted so hard she began to choke.
“Heh.” Lauren patted Dev’s Hawaiian shirt-covered back. “Careful, Devil. You choking on your tongue on your honeymoon would be really hard for me to explain.”
“She does not shave her face!” Dev paused. “I hope.” She gave a little shiver. “What a horrible mental image.”
“I do my best,” Lauren answered smugly, waving at the boys as they raced up to greet her. “How was Disney World?”
“Great!” Aaron flopped down on the blanket next to Lauren and threw his arms around her in an enthusiastic hug. “We went on a roller coaster! And we ate ice cream at the airport!”
Lauren smiled indulgently at the boy. “I’ll bet you had chocolate.”
Aaron’s blue eyes widened. “Wow, how did you know?
Lauren bit back a smile
“You’re magic?”
She shook her head and pointed to a chocolate stain the size of an egg that was plastered squarely in the center of his chest. His eyes tracked hers and he blushed. “Oh.” He glanced up, cringing. “I spilled.”
“Imagine that,” she said fondly, knowing full well that Aaron wore nearly as much as he ate.
“Hi, Lauren!” Christopher bent down for a kiss on the cheek, making room for himself by giving his brother a playful shove.
“Hi, sweetie.” Then she turned to Ashley, who had come up from behind her, and wrapped her arm around the girl’s legs, giving them a solid squeeze in silent greeting. “I missed you all.” And that was, she admitted to herself, startlingly true. While the peace and quiet had been a glorious, bordering on orgasmic, experience, she found herself wondering what the kids were doing and looking forward to seeing how much they were going to love the beach.
“I’m so excited!” Christopher sputtered. “I’ve been thinking about this forever!”
Lauren’s ego purred a little under the attention. “Well, I’m happy to see you too—”
“Have you seen any sharks yet?” Aaron broke in, his face a cross between anticipation and stark fear.
“Yeah! Have you? Have you?” Christopher leaned closer to Lauren as he awaited her answer with bated breath.
“Have you?” Aaron questioned again, looking incredibly anxious.
Dev muffled a laugh and Lauren sent a low watt sneer in her direction.
“They have an uncanny way of bringing you back to earth, don’t they?” the President commented seriously, making a space for Ashley to sit next to her.
“Oh yeah.” Lauren reached out and ruffled Dev’s bangs. “But I recall a certain 6-foot-tall woman who was excited about the very same thing.”
“Well?” Aaron asked impatiently, his gaze flicking around the sand. “Where are they?” His chubby body was slightly shaking.
Lauren laid a comforting hand on his leg. “They’re not on the beach, honey. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“I don’t?” he questioned, his voice skeptical. “But Christopher and Ash said—”
“Whatever they said, you don’t need to worry. All the sharks are in the water.”
Fearfully, the boys looked out to the rhythmically crashing waves.
A wicked smile transformed Ashley’s deceptively innocent-looking face, and she tugged at Aaron’s swimming trunks. “Ready for a swim, Aaron?”
The boy gulped.
“In the water,” she continued, her expression the very picture of evil glee.
Christopher’s gulp matched his brother’s.
Ashley finished on a high note. “Where the sharks live.”
Both the boys screamed, and Lauren dropped her face into her into hands. She moaned a little, hearing Devlyn’s unsympathetic chuckles. “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
Dev chewed her on her bottom lip and nodded. “Pretty much.” Then she glared at her daughter. “I think you should be the first one in the water, Ashley. The boys are a lot smaller than you. And bloodthirsty sharks are the hungriest in the late afternoon.”
Ashley’s eyes went round as saucers. “They are?” she asked, her voice ending in a squeak.
“Oh God,” Lauren moaned. “Bloodthirsty?” She gave Dev a swat. “You’re as rotten as the kids!”
“Of course,” Devlyn said proudly, brushing a little sand off her leg. “They’re all quick learners and I am their role model.”
“Lord help them,” Lauren teased. She decided a change of subject was in order or none of the kids would be going into the water today. “Tell me about your trip.”
For a moment Lauren listened as they all chattered about Disney World and their favorite rides and treats. Then she reached out and touched a new necklace Ashley was wearing, but her attention was drawn to the sour look that had transformed Dev’s face. “What is it?”
Dev motioned down the beach, groaning a little. One of the Secret Service agents who had been watching them, but remaining discreetly out of view, was walking towards them with a phone in his hand.
“Christ,” Dev mumbled. She turned pathetically sorry eyes on Lauren.
“Go, go,” Lauren made a shooing motion with one hand. “It’s not like you have a choice.”
Devlyn winced inwardly. “Laur—”
“S’okay.” Lauren leaned forward and kissed Dev lightly on the mouth. “Just hurry back, okay?” she said softly, smiling a little to show Devlyn she wasn’t angry. Annoyed — yes. But not angry.
Dev let out an explosive breath, her relief so clear that Lauren felt a little guilty for being annoyed at all. There had been regular, if short, interruptions in their time together, and she’d been an exceptionally good sport about the whole thing. But she was only human, and her patience only stretched so far.
“As soon as I can. I promise.” She jumped to her feet and began jogging down the beach.
“Here.” Christopher pulled a giant bottle of sunscreen from the back pocket of his lime green, Bugs Bunny swimming trunks and thrust it in Lauren’s face.
She blinked a few times, moving her head a little so her eyes could focus on the bottle.
Christopher said, “Emma told me to tell you or Mom to dip us in this.”
“Dip?” Lauren questioned, looking at the bottle. “Like a dog with fleas?”
Christopher
shrugged. “I dunno. She just said to do it.” Then, unaccountably, all the children began to giggle.
Lauren’s forehead creased. “What? What’s so funny?”
Aaron began to jump up and down a little and excitedly said, “Emma said if any of us come home with a sunburn she’ll spank your and Mom’s bottoms!”
All three children dissolved into helpless giggles as Lauren’s eyebrows jumped. “Well, get down here then.” She poured a large dollop of thick, coconut-smelling lotion in her palm. “Lord knows I don’t want a spanking.” At least from Emma, she thought wryly.
Ten minutes and a half bottle of sunscreen later, the boys were coaxed into making a sandcastle at the edge of the water with Ashley and Lauren occupying comfortable spots on the beach blanket. Lauren picked up her camera and trained it on the boys. Then she quickly changed lenses and snapped off several pictures of them playing. It had been months since she’d been able to indulge her passion for photography, and she was grateful that Devlyn had reminded her to pack her equipment.
“You’re awfully quiet today,” Lauren ventured after a few moments of unexpected silence. Like her mother, Ashley was at times introspective, at times a chatterbox, but after just coming back from three days in the “Happiest Place
on Earth” Lauren hadn’t expected her mood to be so serious.
“I guess.”
Lauren trained her eyes on the boys and the sea. “Wanna talk about it?”
Ashley hesitated, taking a moment to examine a small white shell near her foot. “Me and Chris and Aaron asked Mom what we should call you. She said to ask you and that we should do whatever you wanted.”
Lauren exhaled. Even though she knew this talk would be coming soon, she was still a little startled that the time had finally arrived. She also knew how important this was to Devlyn and figured that rapid-paced acceptance of co-parents must be some part of lesbian culture that no one had clued her in about. The older woman had wanted the children to address Lauren as “Mom or Mama” the moment they became engaged, which was well before Lauren, herself, felt she was ready. Luckily, the matter came up at a staff meeting, and Michael Oaks had interceded with a mini-protocol lesson, explaining that that parental title wasn’t appropriate until after the wedding. When Lauren had agreed, Devlyn begrudgingly let the matter drop.
Now, however… Now. A slow, easy smile worked its way across Lauren’s face as she thought about the difference the past six months had made. “What is it that you want to call me, Ashley? Forget about your mother for a minute.”
Surprised, Ashley's gaze darted sideways. “I… I guess I’m not sure.”
Lauren nodded slowly. “So why don’t you take some time to think about it? There’s no hurry.” Despite what certain presidents might think.
Ashley frowned. “I have thought about it. A lot.”
Pale brows lifted. “Oh.”
“I don’t remember my other mom.” The girl sighed and continued to examine the shell in her hands. “I mean, I thought I did. I thought I remembered her taking me to the park when I was Aaron’s age. But the other day I was looking at some old pictures and what I remembered was right there.” She sniffed a few times. “I think I was remembering the picture and not really her. Does that make sense?”
She turned heartsick eyes on Lauren, who could only nod. “That makes perfect sense, honey. But it’s not necessarily bad. I know your mom and Emma have kept Samantha alive for you through stories about her and lots of pictures and recordings.”
“She wasn’t really my mom,” Ashley said, abruptly changing the direction of the conversation. “Not by blood, I mean. We’re not related.”
Lauren felt like she was on a roller coaster and her stomach did a flip-flop. Yikes.
“We learned about reproduction in school. You need a man and a woman for a baby, and that doesn’t change just because you call two people Mom.”
Lauren’s eyebrows inched a little higher. “Err…” She cast about for whatever it was she was supposed to say in this instance. “Have you talked to your mom about this, Ashley?”
“I can’t.” Ashley’s lips turned downward. “I don’t think she’ll understand.”
Lauren opened her mouth to disagree, but the words wouldn’t come. Ashley did have a point. This was one subject where Devlyn was too close to the situation to really see anyone’s viewpoint but her own. She had loved Samantha dearly, and their decision to raise a family together was the final word on parenting as far as Devlyn was concerned. And while Lauren tended to agree that love, support, and deeds were more important than biology ever would be, she also understood those were mature concepts that any child would have trouble dealing with.
“You wanna talk to me about it, then?” Lauren asked gently, her gaze darting down the beach in the direction that Devlyn had gone.
Ashley made a face. “I thought I was.”
Lauren smiled a little. “Oh, right.” She edged a little closer to Ashley and perched her sunglasses on the top of her head so they wouldn’t be between her and Dev’s much-loved daughter. “Go on.”
Ashley shrugged one slim shoulder. “That’s it, I guess. I still love my other mom. I just wanted to say that. Nobody ever does.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “People act like my family is just like everyone else’s.”
Lauren reached out and softly petted Ashley’s hair. “I suppose they do. But I don’t think it’s because they think they’re keeping secrets from you, Ashley.”
“You don’t?”
“No way.” Lauren shook her head. “Everyone knows what a bright girl you are. And that most especially includes your mama.”
Ashley looked even more confused and something inside her seemed to snap. “Then why—” Her hands flailed around as she searched for the right words. “Why… Ugh!”
Luckily, Lauren had a pretty good idea of what she was asking. “I think that sometimes when two women or two men want to have a baby, they’re not too happy about the fact that they can’t just… Umm… reproduce the way you learned about in school. It would be easier if they could have a baby the way most people do. But they have to put a lot more effort and thought into it than just that.”
Ashley nodded. “I guess.”
“And so when they do finally have a baby, and they’re so happy, the way your mom and Samantha were when you were born, they don’t want to focus on what it took to get you. They want to think about how wonderful it is to have you.” She stopped and searched Ashley’s face. “Does that make sense?”
Dark eyebrows drew together. “Sort of.”
Sympathy shining brightly in soft gray eyes, she gave her an encouraging pat. “It’s hard, I know. But I do agree with your mom on one thing, Ashley.” Lauren’s voice grew more resolute. She wanted to emphasize this part. “Samantha was your mom. She earned that right by the time she spent loving and taking care of you, even if you two aren’t related by blood.”
“I know,” Ashley said quickly. “I know she loved me and took care of me. It’s just that I really don’t remember much. And I… I…” She groaned and threw her shell into the gently rolling waves. “I don’t know!” She turned so that she was fully facing Lauren. “I don’t know what I think or what’s wrong. I just wanted to tell someone what I was thinking, I guess. I do love Mom and Mom. But if I call you that, then it’s like you’re the same as them to me and you’re not. You’re different!”
“Hey.” With infinite tenderness, Lauren wiped the tears from Ashley’s face, her own heart clenching. “It’s okay. We are all different to you.”
Ashley’s voice took on a sudden, panicky edge. “You won’t tell Mom I said this, will you?” Her eyes widened with alarm, the thought of her mother’s disapproval stinging her to the core. “She’ll be mad and—”
“Wait a second, Ashley. Hey,” she grabbed the girl’s arms and held on tight, just as Ashley was going to bolt. “Hold on. You haven’t done or said anything wrong. Your mom has strong feelings about this, but she’s not so
me ogre. It’s good to talk about things that are bothering you.” When there is someone around to listen. Shit.
Lauren waited a few awkward moments, allowing the sound of the beach and the boys' laughter to slowly fade back in and Ashley to relax a little. Slowly, she released Ashley’s arms. “You can call me ‘Lauren’ forever. It won’t change how I feel about you if that’s what you decide to do. I only recently started to call your grandma ‘Mom’, because it felt right to do it now when it didn’t before. But even then I loved her just the same.”
“But I don’t love you all the same! I love you more!” Ashley shouted miserably, her face crumbling.
Lauren sucked in a shocked breath, then after several heartbeats while they stared at each other, she let it out shakily. She blinked several times as the words penetrated her brain. “I — I—”
“Not more than Mom…” Ashley’s tear-stained cheeks flushed red as she struggled to get the words out. “The same there, I guess, but... bu… but different, too. I can’t help it. I… I.. do love you more than my other mom.” She started to cry again. “I know I shouldn’t and Mom will probably be mad…” She began to hiccup and had to stop speaking.
“Oh, Ashley.” Strong arms pulled the sobbing child into a firm embrace. “I love you, too,” Lauren whispered fiercely, her lips pressed near Ashley’s ear. She felt her own eyes begin to fill. “You don’t have to love us all the same. I swear that’s not something you have to feel bad about.” She hugged her tighter, her heart going out to the trembling girl in her arms.
Ashley shook her head, unwilling to release the guilt she felt she so rightly deserved. “I think I… I’m supposed to love her more. That’s why Mom told us all about my dead mom, so I that would.” She sniffed loudly. “We used to go to the graveyard and bring flowers and—”
“Listen, okay? Listen.” Lauren pulled away from Ashley and cupped her quivering, wet cheeks with warm hands. “Your mom wanted you to know about your other mother because she loved her. And because of how much Samantha loved you. And it’s because of that love that you were even born. And, you’re right. Your moms had a donor to help them with the biology part of things. That’s something someone should have talked with you about a long time ago. I’m sorry for that, Ash. I should have been paying better attention. I didn’t know you felt this way.”
First Lady Page 26
