by L. Ann Marie
“Peace. It is the Mohegan word for peace.” He smiles and pats the mound they have down then runs their little motorcycles over it. They laugh and wait until he gives them the motorcycles then they do it making the noises. Justice signs, ‘thank you’ to him. I laugh. Jess has been teaching them sign language and Mohegan. They’re smarter than me at a year old.
They named them Peace and Justice. “That’s a lot of pressure for anyone else that has kids. What the hell can you name them that would be as cool as Peace and Justice?”
He laughs. “It isn’t a competition babe. I’m pretty sure any name would be cool. Unless you pick Ennis.”
“Eewww who the hell would name their kid that?” He just laughs. “How about Honor for a girl and Blade for a boy, like a sword blade?
He looks at me. “I know you’re not pregnant. Are you wanting a baby right away?”
I laugh. “No honey, I just want to have the names ready for when we do.”
“In that case, I love them both.” He kisses my cheek. I’m getting to hate the cheek kisses.
Justice sits in his lap. He’s signing, but I can’t see. Darren laughs and kisses his head. “Babies are friends Little Brother. You like having your friends at school. That’s good. You be good Brothers and you’ll have lots of friends.” Aquyà signs, ‘yes’ and goes back to the track they made bigger. They are so damn cute.
***
Darren
Honor and Blade. I like those names. They fit too. I wonder if she has more. I like the idea of a lot of kids. Mom and Dad did it with eleven. We don’t need that many, but I wouldn’t mind more than two. She just lost a baby. It’s not the time to ask. I know Jessie is waiting until the boys are two to have more. I don’t mind borrowing theirs. They remind me of Colt and Devan, except they look like Dakota and Jessie.
We get them back to the house and Jax pulls up. “I knew you’d have them. I have their bikes.”
Oh man. “Should we wait for Jessie and Dakota? That’s like a dad thing isn’t it?” I look at Eliza. She signs, ‘I don’t know.’
I hate to call them over this so I call my dad. He says to video them so Jessie and Dakota get to see it. The boys aren’t going to let the bikes get stored without trying to get at them. “I could bring them in and they won’t see them.” He laughs saying they’ll know. Shit. I look at them. Freaky kid shit already?
They’re trying to climb in Jax’s truck. “Gotta go, they know.” He’s laughing. “Babe, video them.”
She laughs. “I am.” I grab the boys and Jax takes the bikes down.
They do a dance clapping and I think of Devan dancing in the video Tess sent. Fuckin’ awesome. Jessie will get a kick out of this. They have replicas of Dakota and Jessie’s bikes. Justice takes Dakota’s and Aquyà takes Jessie’s. I laugh. They’re like Jared and Kaleb. They push them around and Jax shows Justice how to turn the key. The bike starts moving. He shows him a button and the bike goes faster. He rides in the grass laughing then stops and gets off looking at Aquyà. Jax shows him how to push the button and he’s off. We laugh the whole time. They have no fear and ride like their fathers. Eliza thinks this is the shit.
Twenty minutes is their limit. They park the bikes both hitting the garage door. Jax steadies Justice; I have Aquyà. Justice signs, ‘nap’ and Jax cracks up. “These fuckin’ kids are a trip. Jess will have them speaking six languages before they’re three.”
“They have about a hundred in sign and Mohegan already. I wouldn’t be surprised,” Eliza tells him.
He nods. We pick up the boys and he asks about her bike. “It’s good for now. I get the robotic off in a couple of weeks then I’ll need it adjusted back to the regular height. The HS bike is perfect. Mine takes some thought. I think it’s the different angle. Thanks for taking care of them.”
I’m surprised, but don’t say anything. I thought she was driving the Jeep for work. He throws her chin. “Let me know when you need them adjusted.”
She throws him chin and I smile. My wife. We get the boys in, washed and changed then down for a nap.
I check the feeds and put my laptop down. She’s on her tablet. “Reading a book?”
“No. I was putting names on a list. Then you can decide which ones you like. Have you noticed how many twins are around the a something people?”
I laugh. She always says ‘a something’. “They’re ‘specials or ability kids’, well now they’re growing up, but that’s what we call them. Twins do seem to run rampant with them. My mom, Nancy, CJ, and Te Jess are the only ones that didn’t have twins.”
“With Devan and Brenna it’s like she had them and they all adopted kids. All but Nancy and Te Jess have twins.” She smiles.
I think about that. Devan is my dad’s and I think Brenna is Pres’, but she has my Dad in her too. I nod, maybe she’s right. I wonder about Nancy’s kids – maybe there’s a twin to one out there. “So you’re putting names on a list for more kids? I like the more kids. We grew up happy with a huge family.”
She laughs. “Rein it in dad to be. I’m not up for that many.”
I kiss her and she sets me on fire. Fuck it’s been too long. She pulls away and smiles. “I could release all that tension you got going on or you could wait until the boys go home and make love to me giving us both the release.”
Shit. I sit up. “You still have a week.”
“Tess says I’m fine; the Indian thing healed me faster.” She looks serious.
I smile. “If Tess said it I’ll wait.”
She smiles big for me. “Thank God. I hate the cheek kisses.” I leave her to her list and get dinner started, trying to control my hard-on. Now I can’t wait for Jessie to get back. She comes in and gets the boys’ food out, setting their plates. “You’re a good husband. I need to thank your mom and dads.”
I laugh. “We’re all like this. Mom worked a full time job so we all helped. Dads would usually cook and Mom would jump in when she got home. The weekends were for playing and we did everything together. Boys and girls learn everything there, it made us all worth the same. Little Ben practically lived at our house and did what we did.”
She gets a sad look. “It sounds like a dream.”
I kiss her head. “It was babe. It got hard at times, but my dads always made it good.”
Her head turns and she walks out. The boys must be up. I didn’t get anything on my glasses and wonder how this will work with babies. I don’t want her telling me when they wake up or need something. I’ll ask Mitch when she’s down. Aquyà runs to me and I lift the little guy up. “Good sleep?” He signs, ‘yes’ and lays his head on my shoulder. Eliza comes in with Justice and I freeze. Fuck. We lost a baby. I watch her smile and talk to him as she gets their food heated up. She’s not carrying that around. Everyone said it’s as it should be. That makes it easier, but I still feel it. I turn and finish cooking the chicken talking to Aquyà. He’s happy to just listen.
Jessie, Jess and Dakota come in as they finish eating. They had fun and the wet suits kept them from dying. I laugh at Dakota, he’s so fuckin’ funny. Eliza hooks her phone to the laptop and shows them the video.
“Fuckin’ kids,” Jessie says. We get everything cleaned up and I take them out to the garage. The boys fight to get down and ride the bikes. Jessie is cracking up at the replicas. “Jax is the fuckin’ man. These are awesome!”
I’m glad they got to see their second ride. Prez pulls up smiling. The boys ride right to him and stop before hitting the bike. I laugh. It didn’t take them long to learn.
“Nice bikes Little Brothers.” They sign, ‘thanks’ and he laughs looking at us. “Fuckin’ kids.” He lifts Justice up and he goes right for the bar. My glasses say ‘noise.’ I guess he’s making it. He puts Justice down and picks up Aquyà. “The Mobile Ops truck is almost done. I need to sign off before they go further. You want to ride with me?” He looks at us.
Fuck. Or not. I nod. “Let me tell Eliza I’m out.” Jessie follows me in. “Babe I need to go check
out the Ops truck so they can finish it.”
She looks surprised then smiles. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
I kiss her head. “So fuckin’ easy. Thanks babe.”
“I’m hoping you won’t be.” She laughs. Fuckin’ woman. I walk out feeling my dick swell.
We get to the dealer and Prez checks out what they’ve done. He had it painted and has the emblem on the back, it is an actual rescue truck, but looks cool as shit. When they pull the truck in I ask about Connecticut’s feeds.
“It’s the network or something. Brantley and Jason got them straight within hours. Those two are unbelievable and had their IT head working with them to see how to fix it if it happens again. They have a decent set up, but not the people to keep it straight. I think Brantley is going to work something out to help train their IT for the programming side.”
He didn’t say anything to me. That’s not something he would let slide.
Prez laughs. I look at him. “We were just there today Brother, relax. You know more about that than I do. He’s bringing it to you at Church.”
“Get out of my head Brother,” I say smiling and follow him out. Jessie and Hyde are behind us to the compound we throw respect and all I can think of is Eliza is waiting. When the garage door opens I groan. Her Jeep is gone. Fuck. I smile and walk in looking for the note. She always leaves a note and today isn’t any different.
“Went to get ice cream. I’ll be right back.” She has a heart with VP in the middle under her name.
I pull the laptop over and pull up her tracking. She’s just leaving Baskin. Since she’s three minutes out I run to the bedroom and light her candles. I need to do slow.
The lights blink and I walk to the kitchen. She’s got a bag and a smile. “I’m glad you’re home. I got us sundaes.”
I pull her to the bedroom and put the bag down then undress her putting the bed brace on. She doesn’t say a word. When I’m undressed I sit on the bed and hand her a sundae. She laughs and starts eating it. Watching her eat gets me hard. Jesus it’s been way too fuckin’ long. She’s talking about Tess’ email and Maryellen going to the Center alone. I watch her pull the spoon out of her mouth and lick it. I’m done. I take her spoon and cup and put it on the nightstand.
She laughs. “I was wondering how long it would take.”
“You wanted ice cream. You got that, now it’s my turn and I want you.”
“You didn’t finish.” Her eyes are shining.
“I will.” I lay her down and paint her tits with fudge and ice cream. She moans. I lick every bit off her while she’s squirming and my glasses say ‘moaning.’ I can feel her vibration and smile up at her. “Love knowing you enjoyed my ice cream as much as I did.”
“I hope you have more.”
I pull the cup. It’s almost all melted. I get my shirt and put it under her then pour the ice cream on her pussy. “No more babe.”
“Hurry.” I feel her moan and smile. I’m not the one rushing tonight. I put my mouth on her and finish my ice cream before she comes. When she does she’s bucking into me trying for more.
I grab a condom and roll it on then lift her up. I want to slam into her, but don’t want to hurt her. We’ve done everything but this and I’m a little nervous about what will hurt her. I kiss her while sliding in a little way. I’m going to fuckin’ die here. I pull my mouth off hers and look at her. “Take what you can babe.” She nods and moves up then down further. I clench my jaw when she moves up again. Once she’s seated on me she stops. My arms are shaking, I want to lift her and keep fighting to let her have her pace, but she’s not fuckin’ moving here.
“Honey, if you don’t fuck me soon I think I’m going to die.”
It’s all I need. She’s on the bed and I’m moving with my mouth on hers. I pull my mouth away and look at her eyes. I see no pain and push up to my knees lifting her with me. “Say when it’s too much.” She moans and wraps her legs around me pulling for deeper. I give her what she wants and she’s asking for harder. “Love my fuckin’ wife. Anything you want babe,” I tell her, pulling her down. One hand is on her tit and I watch as she slides it down her stomach. I’m not lasting here. I angle her out to watch and feel her tightening around me. I’m gone. She says something, but I missed it watching her hand. I can’t stop and don’t until I’m empty. She always pulls everything from me. It never gets old. “Love you babe.” I smile when my glasses say ‘grunt.’
I carry her right to the tub. Since I made us a sticky mess, I better get us clean. I can’t wait for the morning so we can do it again. She’s tired, but sits while I get the brace off. I start the water and take care of the condom. I don’t get in with her and she pouts. “I don’t want to hurt your foot babe. I’ll shower when you’re clean.” She nods and lays back. I kiss her smile and finish washing her.
“Did you always take care of your girlfriends?”
I look at her surprised. She’s never asked me about my past. I think about Jess, but it was Jessie that took care of her. I’ve cleaned them up, but never like with her. “Never babe.” She opens her eyes and looks into mine. “Patches said this is what you do for your old lady. I started and never stopped.”
Her eyes go big. “You talked to Patches about me?”
I laugh. “Never. He sends a list. He always sends lists, but the old lady list is different. Women like baths so I do that. The candles and shit too. He knows what he’s talking about so I follow his list.”
She cracks up. Since she’s not stopping, I take a shower. I guess the list is funny to a woman, but how are men supposed to know this shit. It’s not like she told me she likes baths or feels special when I dry her. She’s never said anything, but yes and harder when I’m in her so how would I know it’s better for her getting off with fingers on her clit? Patches hasn’t been wrong so I’m good with it.
When I get out she’s got her eyes closed. I dry and put my glasses back on. I flip the plug and her eyes open. “Thank you. I’m glad Patches gave you a list. You always do perfect.” I nod and lift her up. She’s standing on her foot while I dry her. Usually she holds it up. I smile. She’s getting better fast. I lift her and see ‘giggle.’
She’s tired and doesn’t move when I lay her down. I get her brace on and she rolls. I kiss her head and tell her I’m going to the patio. I get, ‘grunt’ and smile.
Jessie and Taylor are here. I grab a beer and sit. No one says anything, but it feels good to sit with them. Taylor stands. “I’m out Brothers.” We throw chin.
“Thanks for watching the kids. Jess had a blast,” Jessie says watching the water.
I smile thinking about the boys. “Your kids are fuckin’ awesome. Justice told me when it was nap time.”
He laughs. “They are.” He looks at me. “Eliza was good?”
“Yeah. She loves them like I do.”
“I see that. I wasn’t here when she lost the baby. I meant with that. It doesn’t hurt her to have the boys?”
I look at the water thinking about that feeling seeing her with Justice. “I think it will always be there, but it was early and we didn’t know. It’s not a hurt, but a loss of what could have been. She’s never showed that pain I think everyone expected. She believes Jeremy and Dakota. It’s as it should be.”
“And you Brother?”
“I talked to Prez about it and feel the same way she does. Things hit and I feel that ‘what could have been’ feeling, but I have Eliza and we can have kids. She was picking names today for future kids.” I smile.
“That’s good Brother. I should have talked to you sooner. I’m glad Prez was here for you.”
I think about that. He never said a word until I was away from Eliza. In the cafeteria he talked about me losing it and then the baby. He told Dakota not to tell us so the loss wouldn’t hit Eliza so hard. Telling us changed things that would hurt others later. It was a tough decision, but he was right in making it. No one expected me to lose it.
“Always,” Prez says.
/> He came in from the back. “Yeah,” I say. He always is.
“Lily have a good time?” Jessie asks him.
“Yeah.” He smiles. I’m glad.
I stand. “I’m out. I’m in Mass tomorrow for family dinner.”
Prez nods. “I got you covered. I’m up too. Jared will fly us.”
Fuck. “I hope we’re all together. It makes it easier.”
“I was thinking of having a dinner every other month. We can alternate. They show here then us up there.”
“I like that. It’s a pain in the ass when we have to stop all over the fuckin’ place,” Jessie says.
I nod. “It will take the pressure off. Stopping in every fuckin’ house is like trick-or-treating without the candy.” They laugh. “What time?”
“Noon. I’m meeting Pres and Dad after their ride. We’ll leave from Church.”
I throw chin and leave.
Chapter Nineteen
Church
Darren
Prez got coverage so every Officer would be here today. Brantley comes running in, the last to sit. He nods to Prez and Prez stands. He gets through financial and old shit and tells us about the new PD building. It should be ready for Driscoll to move in two weeks. The wiring is being done through Mitch. She won’t let anyone fuck with it.
“The Mobile Ops Center will be finished Friday.” Everyone is happy about that. “We need to be prepared to run with alternate visual feeds and alternate Bluetooth. That alternate is through different carriers. We have it set so each Team will be set up on conference calls in the event that we lose audio again. The feeds are with a cable company in the event that we lose visual. The auxiliary power has been tested and we tested everything together on Thursday without anyone realizing the switch.” He’s wrong there, I don’t get the feeds without the satellite. I ran Thursday using the hologram boards in Ops. My Ops glasses didn’t work. I can’t say that here so I wait.
