It was obvious that Susan wanted some quality time with her daughters and on the second day they were there she practically threw the men out of the house after lunch with orders not to come back until suppertime.
Robert stood on the porch with the two younger men and wondered what to do with them for the afternoon. Alan could ride, but John had already confessed to barely knowing one end of the horse from the other. Besides, Robert really only rode to keep Susan company. It was never something he would choose.
Alan resolved the problem by asking, "So, is there anywhere around here to get a decent beer?"
Perhaps this son-in-law had some potential after all. Melissa had certainly mellowed in his presence. He felt in his pocket for his car keys. "Let's go."
Alan quietly took the back seat of the Lincoln Mark VII. Robert had already noticed that Alan deferred to John as naturally as he breathed. From what Helena and the two men had said John Koenig had saved their lives on numerous occasions, and kept all of Alpha functioning.
John made a comment about the car and they struck up a conversation about the Lincoln and other cars. Alan stayed mostly quiet and John joked that Alan really didn't care about anything that couldn't go airborne. Alan had responded quickly that John's GTO could manage that with John at the wheel. Robert remarked that he had owned a GTO when he and Susan were dating and they discussed the fine art of muscle cars all the way to town and through the first round of drinks at the bar.
The small town consisted of a gas station, a small grocery store the size of an army barracks, and looking like it was built from an old quonset hut, a Dairy Queen, and the bar. The bar had no sign, other than the pink neon sign in the window claiming that it was air-conditioned. Even after noon on a weekday there were a couple of dusty pick-up trucks parked in front of it.
The refrigerated air hit them as they walked through the door into a long low room with dusty floors and a well polished bar. At one end of the bar the room widened out to accommodate a pool table, and two old men clad in jeans, undershirts and cowboy boots were shooting pool, cigarettes hanging out of their mouths. They chose a booth at the opposite end of the bar, in a corner by the jukebox that still contained 45's of Hank Williams and Dolly Parton. Alan went straight to the bar to place their order. He turned and looked at his father-in-law. "Is it too early for a bourbon?"
Robert shook his head, silently pleased the younger man had remembered his usual. After all, it had been five years for him.
By the time John and Alan had finished off the first pitcher of beer and the plate of nachos they had pretty much exhausted the topic of muscle cars. The talk had, of course, ended up with the various models of Corvettes and their merits.
"The best damned car I ever owned," Robert said, shaking a chip at them as he drained his second bourbon on the rocks, "was a 1978 Corvette. God I loved that car. Best summer of my life. How old are you, Koenig?"
"I just turned forty, sir."
"I was just your age," Robert said with a sigh. "Miss Susie and I had been married twenty years. It seemed like everything was going my way. My father-in-law was such an asshole. Never believed I'd make anything of myself. Hated it when I chose pharmacutical research over some more lucrative field. He'd even suggested I go into plastic surgery! What horse shit. The man never believed I could adequately support my family. Funny, I ended up with about as much money as he had. But I was home for dinner every night and never had to leave Miss Susie's bed for an emergency or crap like that." He noticed the quick grin on Koenig's face.
"You know what I mean, don't you John?" The bar tender placed another round in front of them and moved off.
"We've been-- called out of bed for too many emergencies. And it was my fault as often as hers," John said quietly remembering past demons that would never quite be put to rest. There had been too many times they had been in danger and nearly lost each other.
"Susie was too precious to risk. Her career was me and the girls. I wasn't going to let my work come between us."
Alan shifted uncomfortably and tried to cover the move by topping off the beers, but Robert noticed it. "Susie and the girls have been my life, Alan. Don't let Melissa tell you otherwise."
Robert continued, staring at Alan despite the fact that Alan wouldn't meet his eyes. "That year I felt like I'd finally come into my own. The company I worked for had granted me patent rights on several drugs my team had developed and they had just hit the market. We burned the mortgage on the house that Spring and I paid cash for that Corvette. Susan suggested we take a trip together in it. We put the girls on the plane to their grandparents for the summer-- they always loved being down here anyway-- and we took the Corvette along Route 66 to L.A."
He drained another drink and chuckled at the memory. "Susan navigated while I drove. We drove as fast as the road would allow, stayed in cheap little motels, paying cash and registering as 'Mr. and Mrs. Rob Smith'."
"Did you know," he leaned forward, twirlling the empty glass with his finger, "there's a little town in Missouri that has the world's largest frying pan? They have some kind of pancake festival every year and fire the damn thing up. Susan insisted we stop and see it. Then she went to the dime store in the little town and bought an apron and the tackiest high heels you've ever seen. She talked me into going back out there after midnight that night and I had her in the damned pan, with her wearing nothing on but those heels and the apron!"
Alan had to laugh. "Now I know where Melissa gets her creativity from."
Robert met his eyes this time. "She put that hammock up for you and her didn't she?"
Alan reddened and nearly choked on his beer. John grinned and answered for him with a laugh. "She thought it might be similar to zero-gee."
Robert chuckled. "Is it?" He knew that if Melissa had been in space she'd tried it.
Alan admitted, "It has its-- similarities. She said they both required the same kind of balance she learned while ice skating."
"She was mad for ice skating," Robert said, shaking his head. "The allure for her seemed to be the speed and the element of danger. Much like driving those muscle cars. I was always afraid she'd steal the Corvette and take it drag racing. Melissa seems to crave danger. She's always seemed to seek out the most exotic ways to kill herself."
"Like sailing that boat of hers alone," Alan offered.
"Exactly. Susan and I had our hands full trying to keep her occupied with things where the danger level was high enough for her but acceptable enough for us. Those damned ice skating lessons nearly cost me my marriage."
He saw Alan shift again and knew Melissa had told him something. John was waving down the bar tender for another round and appeared to know nothing. "The fall after that vacation we took, Helena was head cheerleader, and going to every sporting event the high school held. Melissa was skating competitively. Susan was going crazy trying to keep up with the girls' schedules. They were barely sixteen and we weren't ready to turn them loose in Chicago traffic alone. Missy's skating rink was a forty-five minute drive from our house and she practiced two hours a day after school and competed nearly every weekend. Helena had her own schedule of events on weekends, and it took both of us to keep up with the demand for transportation. Our schedules were so different we hardly ever saw each other. Even when I took Helena to something and came home, Susan was out somewhere with Missy."
The new drinks came and he took a sip. "I had just gotten a promotion too, and was dealing with several research projects at once. The company hired me an assistant. She was in her twenties, beautiful, intelligent and always at my elbow. It wasn't the first time I'd been around a woman who could talk with me professionally, but Debra seemed to have the same interests I did, and we would lose all track of time talking. And talking led to... other things; like a drink after work while waiting for the time I needed to leave to pick up Helena. Debra was willing...perhaps she figured it would be good for her career. I don't really know."
He rubbed the glass. "I turned into exactly what my father-in-law thought I was. Susan was busy and I was cheating on her. I never thought it would happen to me. We were so happy together-- when we were together. And at that time we had lost virtually all contact with each other. Missy knew, didn't she?"
Alan had to nod. "She told me she took a bus downtown to surprise you at lunch one day. She'd received an acceptance letter from Harvard. She checked herself out of school and headed to the place you worked. When she got there, you were just getting out of the Corvette with the girl-- coming back from...lunch."
Robert's heart dropped. Harvard? He'd never even known she'd applied to Harvard. "Oh, God," he moaned softly.
"She tore up the letter and got back on the next bus."
"She never said anything."
"She wouldn't. She never told Susan either. I don't think she even told Helena everything."
John asked quietly. "What happened?"
"Susan found out-- some way or other . She never said how. When the girls' Christmas vacation came she put them on the plane to her parents again, promising we'd follow a few days before Christmas. When I came home from work that night she was dressed to the nines and had dinner reservations for us. She took the keys to the Corvette from me and drove us to the restaurant, a favorite of ours. Then after dinner and a bottle of wine, she drove us out by the lake and we parked and talked. She told me what she knew. I was sure she was going to leave me. Her parents would have welcomed her and the girls with open arms. Then she did the most amazing thing. She forgave me. She told me never to do it again, and I swore I wouldn't. Then she crawled into my lap and we had the most amazing sex I have ever had. We did things in that car that night that I would have sworn were impossible."
Robert was nearly in tears, more in the moment of that night than in the bar with his two sons-in-law. He was also overwhelmed by the news that his daughter had thrown away admission to an ivy-league school because of his infidelity. "If either of you ever treat my daughters the way I treated Susan, I'll kill you. Without hesitation. Believe me, Lee Russell is lucky he remained lost out by Jupiter." His voice was rough with emotion and neither John nor Alan doubted that he would keep his word. He met Alan's eye this time. "Although I doubt I'd have to worry about you. Melissa wouldn't be quite as forgiving as my Susie. There probably wouldn't be enough left of you for me to worry about."
"That's probably true."
John drained his beer and tried to lighten the tone, "Alan prefers a challenge."
Alan grinned at him and Robert could see that there was a lot of truth in that statement. Alan Carter wasn't the sort to be attracted to the demure wallflower type.
Robert turned to Koenig. "About that girl you ran into at the hotel on New Year's day..."
"She, ah, she was on Alpha with us. My involvement with her was more fantasy on my part than anything real. I met her at almost the same time I met Helena and was strongly attracted to her. But Helena was too special for me to risk. She and Helena worked out any misunderstandings I caused and I have no regrets." John made the statement in a straightforward manner, but gave Alan an odd look, almost a glare as he finished. Alan didn't appear to notice.
Robert looked at his watch and realized that he was having a hard time focusing on it. "All right, which of us is in shape to drive?"
John and Alan looked at each other. Alan sighed. "See, Eagles have autopilots. They're much more useful."
All three men laughed. Robert pulled out his phone and dialed his home number. When Susan answered, he said, "Miss Susie, we're in town at the bar. Do you think the girls could drive the pick-up in and get us. We need a designated driver."
He smiled as she told him they should have designated a driver before they started drinking. He agreed with her and let her scolding wash over him. When she told him they would be there in about a half-hour he smiled and nodded. There would be time for another round or two before they got there.
Thirty minutes later the three women entered the bar and spotted their men by the pool table. Robert was leaning against the wall. At the opposite corner of the table, John was sitting on a stool holding a beer in one hand and his pool stick in the other. Alan was eyeing the table for his shot when he heard a familiar voice, "I should have know this is where you three boys would end up."
The men turned in unison and smiled at the women. Susan moved toward her husband as did Helena. Missy winked at Alan then headed to the bar. "Now don't go kickin' up a fuss, Miss Susie, me and the boys are just shootin' a little pool."
"And how many of these have you consumed while you and these good-ole-boys were playing?" Susan said in best Texas accent as she reached for his empty bourbon glass.
Helena stepped on the bottom rung of the barstool and sat down on John's lap giving him a look that all but echoed her mother's question.
"Well..." John sputtered as he leaned his pool stick against the table. "I don't think we've had more than, what would you say dad, 5 or 6?"
Robert chucked at John's question, "I'd say that's about right, son." He saw Helena give John a look similar to the one Susan had given him on a number of occasions when he had a few to many.
Melissa joined the group with a beer in her hand. Alan watched her as she pulled off her brown bomber's jacket. A smile crossing his face when he noticed that she was wearing a tight white t-shirt tucked into her skin tight jeans. His smile soon disappeared when he noticed his brother in law grinning at her too. When he looked back he realized that she wasn't wearing a bra and that John could see through his wife's shirt. Then next voice he heard was that of her father. "Damn it Melissa you're a married woman now, I don't think your husband appreciates your exposing yourself in public like that. Geesh, every man in this bar, including John, is able to see through your shirt!"
"Oh Daddy!"
"Don't- Oh daddy- him! He's right." Alan said as he helped her put her jacket back on.
"Alan!"
"You heard him, Missy. He's your husband now. You have to do what he says." He father was laughing so hard he nearly choked.
Melissa looked at her mother for help.
"Come on Hot Shot, I think you've had just a little too much to drink." She gathered him up, pulling his arm around her waist.
As they started walking toward the door, He slid his hand down and patted her on the rear several times. "Let's go Miss Susie."
Helena pulled John to his feet, "I see you, Daddy and Alan have bonded over the last few hours."
John chuckled, "I don't know about bonding but I think we've cleared the air on a few issues."
"Well come on Hot Shot, let's get out of here." Helena said mocking her mother's tone.
As she turned around John moved his hand from her waist down to the bottom and patted it several times like he'd seen Robert do. 'Let's go home, Miss Cake." He said to her when she turned around and smiled at him disbelievingly.
"You guys take the car, Alan and I will take the truck." Melissa said as her mother and sister moved past them.
"See you at home, Missy." Susan replied on her way out the door.
"Alan, we need to talk!" She said as soon as they were alone.
He kissed her cheek and put up his pool cue. "Then we will talk. I'm glad you're here." He turned to pay the bill but the bar tender waved him off. Robert had a tab here.
"You didn't seem to be." Melissa said as they stepped out the door.
"Seem to be what?"
"Glad I'm here."
"Wait a minute, your dad was the one commenting on that shirt."
They got in the pickup and Melissa started it up. The pickup was an old Ford F150 with bench seats and a standard transmission with the shift on the column. Melissa manhandled it with practiced ease. She had learned to drive in this truck years before. "You agreed with him!" She said, loudly, which was the only way to speak once the old truck was running.
"You were giving John a hard-on!" Alan shouted back. He scooted closer to her, thankful for the bench seats. Putting his hand on her thigh, he stroked her softly. "Honey," he said more quietly. "I don't want to shout about this." He drew his finger up and down the inseam of her jeans. "Why don't we get a couple of beers when we get home and go someplace quieter."
She liked the way he was touching her and favored him with a smile. She floored the pickup and caught up, then passed her sister in the Lincoln. Alan kept his hand on her thigh, stroking her gently. "How about the stable?"
"Perfect."
She leaned forward and turned on the AM radio, the strains of country music filling the truck. She kept an eye on the Lincoln behind her, and encouraged Alan's roaming hands.
When they arrived back at the ranch, John and Helena headed upstairs.
Robert headed toward the bar in his den to his wife's dismay. She followed him in the room and closed the door.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Susan said as she sat down and watched him fix another drink.
"What makes you think something's wrong?" He picked up another glass and poured her one.
"Robert Thompson, I've been married to you for almost 40 years and you only drink like this when something's bothering you. Talk to me."
He handed her the glass and sank down on the sofa beside her. He leaned his head back against the leather and exhaled deeply. She waited.
"Susie, I've done some really stupid things in my life...to you and the girls." He reached over and took her hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "Any other woman would have left me by now, but not you."
"Honey, what are you talking about? You aren't making much sense." She said gently as she pulled a pillow into her lap allowing him to lie down.
"Susan, did you know that Missy applied for Harvard?"
"Lately?"
"No, when she was sixteen."
"Robert that was over twenty years ago, I'm afraid I can't remember who applied for what. We were so busy then."
"Carter told me today that Missy was accepted at Harvard and the day she received her letter she saw me...with Debra." Tears rolled from his eyes as the pain of his indiscretion resurfaced after twenty years.
"Oh Robby." Susan shook her head, clearly upset. She always thought they'd done a good job of covering up his...mistake.
"Carter said she tore the letter up and went back to school without saying a word."
Susan remained silent. The affair was long over but the pain of his infidelity would never leave. She stroked his forehead softly. "That... explains a lot."
"I feel like I'm responsible for completely screwing up Melissa's life."
"I think you're being too hard on yourself."
"She would have gone to Harvard! Remember what the guidance counselors used to tell us? How bright she was, how it was so hard to challenge her? What remarkable things might she have done if she'd been dedicated to something? Helena's test scores were high, but Missy's were always higher. She was always the brightest. Dammit I always thought it was her dedication to ice skating, or to boys, that kept her from excelling in school. It was me, oh god, Susie, it was me!" He leaned toward his wife burying his face against her stomach.
She let him cry for a while, settling things in her own mind. "Honey, we have two lovely intelligent daughters. Both are happy and well adjusted, and both now seem to have wonderful husbands who love them dearly. Helena managed to become just the kind of doctor she always wanted to be, and who knows where she'll go from here. Missy followed a different path, but that has never made her any less successful."
Robert placed his hand against Susan's waist, caressing her.
"Even if she had gone to Harvard, that's no guarantee she would have paid any less attention to boys, or applied herself more diligently to her studies. Face it Robert, she has always been the sensual one. Her affinity for sexual stimulation is as much a part of her personality as her attraction to danger. But in some ways both of those things helped make her a successful businesswoman."
"A business she's ruined by running off to Alpha."
"Robert," Susan said firmly, "Let her live her life. Don't dictate what she should do. It's the thing you hated most about my father."
He moved hand up her body from her waist. "You're right," he said contritely. "It was."
"Love her for who she is. Don't worry about how she got there."
"Or where she's going?"
"That's up to her," Susan said firmly, discouraging further conversation by shifting so that she could cover his mouth with hers.
"Hmmm...John what are you doing?" Helena said as she lifted her arms and leaned back against her husband.
John looked over her shoulder and unbuttoned the top button on her jeans. "I'm undressing my wife." He said. As he reached the second button, he asked. "Is there a problem with that?"
"And what do you intend to do when you get me undressed?" She purred with a smile on her lips.
He reached the last button and pushed his hands up her belly palm side down pushing her pink t-shirt up at the same time. "My intent should be clear at this point, Doctor." He grinned as he lowered he hands inside her jeans to the top of her thighs. He heard her sigh as he moved them over the top of her lacy pink panties.
"And?" She prompted as she enjoyed his caresses.
He reached up and touched her breasts cupping them in his hands. "My intent is to make love to my wife in her father's house during broad daylight with the drapes open." He pushed her bra over her breasts so that he could touch them without the constraints of her bra.
Helena lowered her arms and stopped his hands. "With the drapes opened?"
She was smiling as she felt his lips on her neck.
John laughed slightly as he resumed his quest to rid her of her clothing. "Well they do have those lacy things-what do you women call them-sheers on them."
She turned in his embraced and kissed him fully. By the time they parted, John had separated his wife from her shirt and bra and was well on his way to removing her jeans when she stopped him.
"What?" He said as he pulled her arms up around his neck.
"Aren't you afraid your father-in-law will come rushing in that door?" She lifted her finger off his shoulder and pointed to the door behind him.
John grinned down at her; "I'm not worried." He nibbled at her earlobe as he pushed her jeans from her hips.
"And just why not?" She cooed in his ear.
"Because my father-in-law is quite intoxicated and I have a feeling that he may be entertaining my mother-in-law in much the same manner I intend to entertain his daughter."
"And your sister-in-law?" She pulled her hands back and started unbuttoning his flannel shirt.
John gave her a hearty laugh as he watched her slim fingers remove his clothing. "My sister-in-law recruited my brother-in-law for a little walk to the stables, however I suspect she had an ulterior motive."
Helena laughed with him as she sank to the floor and pulled John down with her.
"Wouldn't you prefer the bed?" He asked when they were both on the floor.
"Too squeaky. I think Mel and I jumped on these beds too much when we were kids. You can't roll over in them without every one in the house knowing it."
"I heard Alan and Mel around three this morning."
"Did it do anything for you?" She kissed that spot right below his ear, the one that always seem to distract him.
"No but that t-shirt of hers did." He teased.
"Really? And, is that T-shirt the reason that you are so...excited now?" She purred.
He didn't answer her question instead he kissed her breasts. "You realize we are running the risk of carpet burn." His lips were already in exploratory mode and he felt his wife shiver as he kissed her belly.
"Pull that comforter off the bed and we'll spread it out on the floor."
John stood and struggled out of his jeans. It had been along time since he struggled out of anything but a uniform and he nearly tripped as he tried to get his leg out. He grabbed the end of the spread and fanned it up into the air. It covered his wife as it fell gently to the floor. John went to the end of the comforted and tunneled underneath it, kissing his Helena's legs, belly and breast as he went. When he reached her lips she was purring his name, "Johnnnnn."
"Yes, dear" he said as he penetrated her warm wet recesses.
"Oh," was her breathless reply.
The first thrust reminded him why he'd retrieved the comforter. In one swift movement she pulled the comforter back and rolled him over onto the fabric as she straddle him. "Nice move." He said as she ran his fingertips around her belly button.
"John, do you want me?" She asked with one raised eyebrow and if to emphasis her point she squeezed him with her sex.
"In the worst way." His voice was horse and his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the feel of his wife's gentle pressure.
"How bad?" She raised up slowly and then slid back down quickly.
A moan slipped from John's lips and he moved his hands to her hip hoping to encourage more movement.
"Johnnnn?" She squeezed him again and heard his sharp intake of breath.
She lay flat against his chest purposely moving him inside her body.
"Helena!" he pleaded trying to get her to rock up and down on his throbbing erection.
She smiled and laughed knowing she had him just where she wanted him. "Hmmm" she moaned as she shifted positions again. "I love the way you feel inside me. I want it to last."
"Helena, I need..."
"You need what, darling?" She shifted again.
John could take no more. He rolled her onto her back and moved inside her at a fevered pace. His rocking brought Helena to the end and she buried her head against his shoulder and bit her lip to keep from screaming. With one final deep and penetrating stroke, John came inside her.
John rolled off of her and lay breathlessly beside her. She rolled up on her side and fingered the curled hair on his chest. She was giggling as she gently pulled the strands through her fingertips.
"What was that?" He said when he caught his breath. "Wait you aren't Melissa are you?"
Helena fell back on the carpet laughing. John rolled over and kissed her deeply. "I love you." He said as he looked deeply into her eyes.
She graced with a smile, "I'll have to borrow that shirt from Mel."
A pleasant alcoholic haze surrounded Alan as he walked down the sidewalk next to his wife. He steadied himself by putting his hand on her hip. She cut her eyes at him seductively as he looped his thumb through her belt loop and tucked his fingers in her back pocket. "Maybe you don't need another one of these," she held up the two bottles of Corona she held in her other hand.
"I'm fine," he said with a grin. "Wonderful, in fact."
"Just not in good enough shape to drive?"
Alan stopped and moved his other hand up under her leather jacket, brushing the bottom of her breast through the thin knit of her t-shirt. He moved to nibble her neck. "I missed you."
Melissa laughed. "You are so drunk."
"I haven't been drinking much lately. I think this went to my head."
"You're telling me, flyboy."
He covered her lips with his and moved his hand further up, his thumb rubbing her nipple. He could feel her body responding to him, her hips pushing against him. "I love you, Mel." He breathed in her ear as they ended their kiss.
"Oh, Alan, I love you too." Her arms had moved around his neck as he kissed her. She kissed his earlobe. "You know, as much of a turn on as it would be to take you here on the lawn, it's not only a bit chilly, but my parent's bedroom window is right over there."
"Oh, I'm sure he's otherwise occupied." He moved to nibble her neck.
Mel shuddered. "I've never seen him so plastered. And I've never heard him call her Susie either. I could see him in the rear-view mirror too. He was all over her in the back seat of the car. Do you think it's being around us that makes him so horny?"
"No, I think you're just not around much. I expect he's pretty horny all the time."
"Well, you two are certainly buddies all of a sudden." Melissa gasped as Alan pinched her nipple, sending waves of pleasure through her.
Alan pulled back and grinned at her. "For a complete son-of-a-bitch he's not such a bad guy. He swore he'd hunt us down and kill us if we hurt either of you."
"Swell guy."
"Of course," Alan chuckled. "He figured he didn't have to worry about me cause you wouldn't leave enough of me in one piece for him to bother with if I cause you any grief."
"Well, he certainly knows me well." She unwrapped herself from him and stepped away, waving the bottles of beer. He grinned and followed her. Melissa noted that he didn't seem nearly as unstable as he had when they left the bar. Maybe he had been faking. She led him quickly along the path to the stable and inside.
She closed the door behind them and they both took in the sights and smells around them. They leaned against the door, exchanged expectant looks, remembering their last tryst here. She handed one of the beers to him and he twisted the top off. Together they tipped the bottles against each other in a toast that required no words. His eyes continued to watch her as he tipped it back and took a swallow of the cold golden liquid.
"When things were really awful on Alpha. When I'd get really homesick, I'd go to my place and close my eyes and think about you. I'd remember being here with you. The way you looked, lying on that blanket, your voice, the way you felt beneath me. I could smell the hay and the feed and that sexy perfume of yours."
Melissa took a sip of her own beer. "Did it help?"
He sighed. "Sometimes. Other times it was sheer torture, but I'd remember every time I got to touch you. I didn't want to forget." He reached out and touched her cheek. "I can't believe you found me. I can't believe you married me."
She moved closer and kissed him softly, her nipples moving against his chest. "Do me again, Alan, like you did that day." She pulled away from him and headed down the breezeway.
He watched her walk away from him, watched the sway of her hips and her confident manner. She pulled off her jacket, then the t-shirt and hung them on a hook. Then she turned and faced him, allowing him to enjoy the view of her bare breasts and tight jeans. Then she pulled the blanket off the hook and carried it into the stall where the hay was stored.
Alan took another pull on his beer and headed for that stall. He pulled off his own shirt and jacket before he entered the stall. His own jeans were tighter than they should be. She was reclining on the hay, completely nude. He felt his need for her increase as she languidly spread her legs for him and stretched luxuriously.
"Unbutton them slowly," she said, watching his crotch carefully and licking her lips. She ran her hands down her body and back up.
"Squeeze your breasts for me," he asked, following her request despite the urgency he was beginning to feel.
She complied, and he could see her breathing quicken. He was still removing his pants. "Now, Alan," she encouraged him.
"You're ready, love?"
"I was born wet for you," she replied.
She spread her legs and held out her arms and he came to her, penetrating her quickly. She pressed against him, moaning her need. "Alan, oh, Alan!" They peaked quickly and held each other tightly gasping for breath.
He rolled next to her and they lay close together.
"Alan?"
"Mmm?"
"Do you think we'll still be doing this when we're really old?"
"I hadn't planned to give it up. We'll probably still be doing this when our kids are grown and the thought of it disgusts them."
Melissa laughed and cuddled closer to him.
"By the way," he asked. "When does your plan to make a baby go into effect?"
She smiled and traced patterns on his chest with her finger. "Right away. Helena removed my implant the day before we left Alpha."
Alan sat up and stared at her, dumping her back onto the hay. For a moment she feared that he was angry with her. The deal had been they get married, then make a baby. She had stretched the deal a bit, knowing that she wouldn't be fertile right away. Her fears were allayed almost immediately when he leaned over her belly and called out, "Okay, guys, do your stuff. This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill."
Melissa broke into giggles and ran her fingers through his blond hair as he gently kissed her belly. He caressed her gently and she moved her hip against his hand, encouraging him. He brought her to orgasm then moved back to hold her in his arms as her breathing slowly returned to normal.
They dozed together for a while, enjoying just being together. Melissa stirred against him, "Alan?"
"Yes, love," he replied without opening his eyes.
"What do we do now?"
"I suppose we should begin to think about supper."
She smiled, knowing he was joking with her. "That's not what I mean."
"I know, love," he said gently. He turned on his side so he could face her. He touched her cheek softly. "We're going to figure out how to feed and clothe little Melissa in there." He moved his hand down to her belly.
"Or little Alan." She said.
"Either one. And our careers have both recently taken nose dives."
She sighed and nodded. "I referred all my business to someone else when I left. I'm hoping I can pull some of my clients back, but..."
"That'll take time and hard work."
"Yes. How about your job?"
"Well, for the next month, I'll need to be in Houston for those debriefings. Can you work from there?"
"I'll need a few things from home, but yes, I can."
"We've got my savings, and hopefully my bills were all paid by the accountant I was using. And there's that stock account you opened for us."
"Don't count much on that. Those investments needed careful watching. And with all the chaos here, there's no telling what happened to them."
Alan shrugged. "You told me that when we opened the account with the money from that kissing contest."
"What about the space program?"
"Hard to tell." He leaned forward and kissed her. "You know how I feel about being in space, but I don't want to be away from you and the little one here. I expect the space program will run with that jump drive. We'll have to see if I can get a ground job here, in Houston, or Florida perhaps."
"What if they offer you a ship?"
"I don't think they will. But if they did, I think I'd turn it down. Maybe there'll be a training job."
"You'd turn it down for me? Us?"
"I can't keep my marriage vows to you, and my obligations to our child while traveling around the universe." He held her close.
Mel shivered and held him close. "Will you expect me to change too?"
"Expect you to change? Of course not!"
"Not even the way I dress?"
"Honey, I may get jealous occasionally, but I love you the way you are. Even the way you dress. I have to admit I didn't like the way John was looking at you..."
"Has he ever caught you looking at Helena like that?"
Alan laughed. "Helena's not my type."
"We're identical twins!"
"There's a difference." He noted the look in her eyes and quickly added, "and no tests. I can tell you apart. Helena and Maya already played that trick on John once, and he could tell the difference right away."
"Oh, she did?"
"Let Helena tell you about it," Alan replied with a laugh.
Melissa retrieved their unfinished beers and took a swallow. She knelt next to him. "I want to go home. It's nice being here with you again, but in order to make plans for our life together, I need to look at my finances and yours. Let's go home to my place for a few days before we need to be in Houston."
He lay back in the hay and looked her over carefully, then nodded in agreement. Combining two careers and creating a family would be a delicate balancing act. He rubbed her thigh. "Promise me one thing."
"What?"
"If you're ever unhappy, if you ever think something is going wrong between the two of us, you'll talk to me about it immediately."
"Do you think something is going to go wrong?"
"I'm just trying to prevent that. I intend to spend the rest of my life with you."
"That's good, flyboy, 'cause I don't intend to marry more than once." She stood gracefully and pulled him off the hay. They dressed and headed back to the house.
"Make the reservations and we'll leave tomorrow," Alan told her as he picked a blade of hay out of her hair. He agreed with her. They needed to be on their own.
"All right. We should also talk to Gina. I promised her before we left she'd get an interview."
Alan put his arm around Melissa and nodded. "There's one more thing," he said as they left the barn.
"What's that?"
"What's for supper?"
Melissa giggled and hooked her arm with his.
Dinner was a cooperative effort. Susan had put a roast in the oven before they left to get the men. Upon their return from the barn Melissa and Alan found a quiet house and a wonderful smelling roast. Melissa found potatoes and carrots in the pantry and she and Alan washed them and added them to the roast. John and Helena arrived shortly looking rested and pleased with themselves. Helena pulled vegetables out of the refrigerator and began to fix a salad while Melissa directed Alan and John in setting the table. Robert and Susan arrived as John was pouring the wine and they all settled at the table in the dining room. Dinner was leisurely and relaxed and John felt more at home here than he had so far on Earth.
He picked up his wine glass and stood. “I want to propose a toast.” The others lifted their glasses and smiled. “To my new family. Without whom, I would not be here. In fact, without their actions, it’s doubtful we could have returned to Earth at all, and our survival would have been… uncertain.”
Helena and Alan nodded in solemn agreement. Melissa leaned toward Alan and spoke softly in his ear. He smiled, shook his head and whispered something to her in return as he brought his glass to touch hers. Then they held out their glasses to the others.
John noticed that although Susan smiled and raised her glass with the others, Robert hesitated and looked down at his plate. At Susan’s nudge he picked up his glass and joined the others, still not making eye contact.
Helena also noticed something odd in her father’s behavior. “Dad? Is everything all right?”
“There’s something… you should know,” he said hesitantly, quietly, very unlike his usual nature.
“Robert,” his wife said, warning in her voice. “This isn’t the time.”
“I can’t have this hanging over my head, Susan.” He didn’t look at his wife and spoke calmly, voice full of regret.
“What is it Daddy?” Melissa asked puzzled.
Robert sighed and looked carefully at his daughters then steeled himself. “This mess,” he said. “It’s all my fault.”
“Your fault?” Helena asked.
“You might not… have even been there, if not for my interference. You too, Alan.”
Alan put his arm around Melissa. “What do you mean, Dr. Thompson?”
“That Thanksgiving. When Melissa brought you here to Miller’s Bluff.” Robert sighed and continued. “I had Senator Harris make sure you received that appointment to Alpha.”
“You had Senator Harris ‘make sure’—“ Melissa repeated. She was suspicious, but not quite sure she understood.
“I paid him to make sure Alan and Helena were appointed to the moon.”
“Paid him?” Helena said, eyes wide. “What do you mean?”
“He means, a bribe,” Alan practically growled. John remembered Alan’s suspicions after that visit, and the conversation he’d overheard between Senator Harris and Robert Thompson.
“You bribed someone to get Helena and Alan their positions on Alpha?” Melissa was incredulous. “Well, you have certainly reached an all time low.” The fury in her voice was barely contained. She gripped Alan’s hand.
Alan leaned forward. “Tell me, Dr. Thompson. How much does a Chief Eagle position cost anyway?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
Melissa was practically sputtering. “You paid ten grand to get a man I’d just begun to date a job that would keep him away from me?”
“And paid more to put me on the moon away from John?” Helena’s fury was more contained than Melissa’s, quieter, but no less apparent.
“About forty thousand,” her father confirmed.
“I thought I earned that position!” Helena’s voice, stayed soft, but still conveyed both anger and despair.
Robert continued to look down, not at his daughters.
“Dad, how could you?”
“See, Cake. I’ve told you before how manipulative he is.”
“I only wanted to protect you, both of you. To keep either of you from getting hurt—“
“Has it occurred to you that we might be old enough to make our own decisions about our life?” Helena was shaking with rage.
“Helena, Lee was—“
Helena slammed her fist on the table. “Lee was a bastard. John is not Lee. And you did your best to ruin my best chance at happiness?”
John placed a restraining hand over her fist, but it was his father-in-law that he spoke to. “You wasted your money, Dr. Thompson.” He and Helena had never spoken about money before, but to hear her father speak of spending fifty thousand dollars simply to keep them apart? It surprised him. Even her recent assurances that all would be fine had not made the same impression that this admission had.
“John, what are you saying?” Helena asked. “He—“
John silenced her with a look and turned to his father-in-law.
“You paid him in late November. I had already seen the promotion list. Alan was the top choice for the position.” He glanced at Alan. “The news couldn’t be released until New Year’s, but the decision was already made. Gorsky had already selected you from the short list, it only required confirmation by the commission.”
He turned to Helena. “How many screenings had you been through by that Thanksgiving, Helena?”
“Three—“
John nodded. “The screenings were complete. You were still going through the selection process through January, but again, it was mostly a foregone conclusion.” John made sure he had everyone’s attention then turned to Robert. “Harris took your money under false pretenses. He could have made things harder for them to get their positions. But it was too late to do anything to get them the positions.”
“Why am I not surprised that Harris wasn’t completely forthright with him,” Melissa said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Actually, Mel,” John continued. “I’m glad Harris didn’t do anything to keep them from being on Alpha. Admit it, if either Alan or Helena had been on Earth, would you have done all that you did and come after us?”
Melissa looked from her sister to her husband, uncertain. “Probably not, John. I’m not sure.”
“Dr. Thompson,” John turned again to his father-in-law. Even though he had called him ‘Dad’ earlier in the day, he felt the formality was necessary here. He didn’t exactly condone what Robert Thompson had done, but knew he had benefited from the results. “Helena and Alan were among my top advisors during the entire time we were away.” He lifted Helena’s hand to his lips. “Helena saved my life more times than I can name. And Alan as well.” Still holding his wife’s hand he looked the older man in the eye. “If your money had any influence at all in making sure they were there with me, I owe you my life. And with Melissa’s determination to rescue the two of them I owe her my future.”
There was a period of silence. John knew Helena was still angry with her father. Melissa had always been suspicious of her father, for reasons he had just learned of today. It might take a while for the two women to come to terms with their father’s overprotectiveness, but they all needed each other now.
“I think this proves again that Harris is not necessarily someone we can trust. But we aren’t out of trouble yet. We need each other, and each others’ support.”
Susan had remained silent. She had known about the bribes for months, and during the pain of her loss, had wondered what her daughters would think of it if they ever found out. But their return had driven thoughts like that out of her mind. She simply wanted her family together again. “John is right. Harris is the enemy, not Robert. We’ve known him for many years, but we’re obviously seeing a different side of him now. Melissa, Helena, what’s important right now is making sure you are both safe.”
Melissa nodded reluctantly. Alan poured more wine for both of them and placed the wine glass in Melissa’s hand.
Helena’s eyes were filled with tears. “Daddy, why would you do something like this?”
Robert sighed. “Oh, Helena. You were so devastated when Lee vanished. And that would have been bad enough without the publicity and the revelations of the indiscretions. And from the way you and Melissa were both acting over these astronauts of yours, it appeared you were putting yourself in danger of going through it all over again. I would do anything—pay any amount—to keep that from happening.”
“He meant well, but made the decision in haste. Now that we know Alan and John better…” Susan said.
Helena turned to her mother, still angry. “Mother, it doesn’t matter whether you know them or not. Melissa and I are both old enough to make our own choices, free of manipulation.” She turned to John. “I understand what you’re saying, and they’re still my parents, and I still love them. But right now, I’m too angry to deal with them.” She stood and strode quickly from the room without looking back.
The rest of the family exchanged glances. Robert started to stand, but Melissa put up her hand. “No, let me Daddy. She’ll calm down.” Melissa leaned down and kissed Alan and whispered something to him quickly then she followed her sister.
Alan sighed as she left and leaned over to split the rest of the wine between the other three. “Melissa and I decided this afternoon that we need to go to Florida for a while before we’re needed in Houston. She wanted me to assure you that it has nothing to do with this business.”
“You just left Florida,” Susan said. She had been watching the kitchen door swing shut behind her daughters, and Alan’s words startled her.
“We need to take stock of what we have. Make some plans for the future. Melissa needs some information she can only access from her place.”
Robert nodded. “Sounds like a sensible plan, Alan.”
Alan looked at John. “We’ll put it off for a day, in case Helena needs Melissa around. But we’ll need to leave day after tomorrow.”
John took a sip of wine. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Helena quite so angry. Melissa didn’t seem as upset.”
Alan shrugged. “She wasn’t happy. But Mel trusts very few people anyway. Helena…” he glanced at Robert.
“Helena idolized Robert. She’s always thought him infallible,” Susan finished the thought softly. “This will hit her hard. John, we appreciate your support.”
“I meant every word I said, Susan. We need to remain unified to survive.”
“We’ll help, John,” Robert said quietly. “Any way we can.”
Melissa took the stairs to the second floor, then opened a narrow door beside the staircase and climbed another flight of stairs. A naked bulb shone dimly above the stairs. Melissa knew she was on the right trail.
A wall of boxes stood at the top of the stairs. Her father hadn’t touched these files since he’d retired. She maneuvered around the boxes and farther from the stairs, past fishing equipment, steamer trunks full of family pictures, an old wooden rocking horse and a pair of old cribs. She touched the cribs softly, smiling slightly and seeing them in a new light than she ever had before. Behind a pile of old clothes, abandoned fifty years ago and played with when she and Helena were little, were several pieces of furniture covered with old sheets. Helena was curled in a low ornate rocker with thick velvet upholstery, the sheet that protected it from dust in a snowy pile in front of the chair.
Melissa pulled the sheet from her own favorite spot, a fainting couch suitable for a silent movie queen, the plush golden satin upholstery nostalgically familiar. She lay back luxuriously with a sigh and looked at her sister.
“Come to gloat?” Helena asked softly.
“Come to offer moral support,” Mel replied cheerily.
“Why are you so cheery?”
“Why shouldn’t I be? I’m home, I spent the afternoon making passionate love with the man I love, and maybe even started a baby.” She glanced toward the cribs again. “Remember when we’d be down here for the summers, and Daddy would call. He’d talk to me for about two minutes then ask for you and the two of you would chatter away for a half hour or more? I’d come up here to pout.”
“I’m not pouting.”
“Oh, of course you are.” Melissa crossed her legs and settled comfortably. She reached into the folds of the padding and pulled out an old crumpled package of Lucky Strikes. She smiled and examined them. “I wonder if they’re still any good.”
“Dad will be furious with you.”
“What do you care?” Melissa asked flippantly. “You know, these things really are addictive. I haven’t had a cigarette in nearly seven months, but I can still feel the taste of the tobacco on my tongue. I’d just love to light one of these up and take a long… slow… drag.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Alan doesn’t want me to. He’s awful sweet about it. He told me when we first met that he didn’t mind me smoking.” She caressed the package lovingly. “But he doesn’t like the way I taste when I smoke. He doesn’t like the smell.”
“Dad’s always told you the same thing—since we were teenagers.”
“True. He tried everything, bullying, punishment, even bribery—remember when he offered to buy me a car if I’d quit? You even encouraged me to take him up on it.”
“We all wanted you to quit.”
“Why?”
“Smoking’s bad for you. It could make you horribly ill. We didn’t want you to go through that.”
Melissa tossed the package up and down. “It’s my life, it should be my decision.”
“Mel—“
“Hel—his attempt to bribe me is no different from what he did to you.”
“Oh, of course it is, Melissa,” Helena said impatiently. “He sent Alan away too. How can you not be angry at him?”
“Oh, Helena. Alan wasn’t mine to keep chained here on earth. His heart was already on the moon. Hell, if they’d told him there was a ten thousand dollar entrance fee, he’d have paid it himself! You would have too!”
“Melissa—“ Helena shook her head.
Melissa sat up and leaned over, taking her sister’s hands. “John is right. Dad wasted his money. Dad’s a jerk. Harris is a jerk. All men are jerks. They’re just—men. But they do have their uses.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Footsteps were heard on the stairs. They approached slowly and their mother appeared around the pile of old clothes.
“This place is a mess. I should throw out most of this junk.”
Melissa smiled and slid over to make room for her mother on the couch. “Don’t. I’ve always loved it just like this. There’s an air of mystery about the attic.”
Susan sat and patted her daughter’s hand. “Good. I’m glad you agree. I told the men to do the dishes. Your husbands took the order with much better grace than mine did. I think I’ve spoiled him too much.”
“Mother, how can you condone what he did?” Helena turned and asked. Her tone was no longer angry but there was still a touch of despair and pain.
“Condone what he did? Helena, I don’t condone it. When I found out about it I threw him out of the house and told him I wanted a divorce.”
Both women looked at their mother; two pairs of wide green eyes registering shock.
“When did this occur?” Melissa finally asked.
“After you had gone. After you both had gone. I’d lost you both and there was no one to turn to. It nearly killed me. He was gone for a week. I realized I was too old to find someone new and I couldn’t face the rest of my life alone. So I took him back. He loves you both so much, and in his own odd way, he did this out of love.” Susan turned to Helena. “If I’d known about it at the time, I definitely would have stopped him. But as John said, the outcome would have been the same.”
Helena looked down at her hands, nervously fingering her wedding band, still not completely convinced.
“Talk to him. If not tonight, tomorrow. It may take you a while to get over the shock, but he is still your father, and he loves you very much.”
Helena nodded reluctantly.
Susan turned to Melissa. “Missy, Alan says the two of you intend to leave tomorrow or the day after. I was hoping we could have a bit of a wedding reception for you—both of you—on Saturday afternoon.”
“Mom, I really don’t want to make a big deal about this. Alan wanted to make it legal, and I agreed.”
“You sound like you don’t expect it to last, dear.”
“Yes, I do. I expect it to last my whole lifetime,” Melissa replied firmly. “But I really don’t want to go through a big production or obligate a bunch of people I barely know to give me toasters.”
Helena hid a smile by changing her position and putting her hand over her mouth.
"Really, Mom. There’s too much else going on right now for me to enjoy something like that. How about giving your first grandchild a splendid christening party instead?”
Susan’s eyes grew wide. She looked at both daughters. “Is there a chance of that happening soon?”
Helena had to smile at this. Her mother had never pressured either daughter for grandchildren, but Helena knew she would love it. “A good chance. We both stopped our birth control measures when we left Alpha.”
“And the way we’ve been carrying on since we got back, you should be a grandmother before a year is up,” Melissa added with a laugh.
“Oh, Helena, Missy—“ Susan took both her daughters’ hands, eyes shining, not quite crying.
“Mama,” Melissa said. “There is one thing you could give me as a wedding present.”
Susan looked at her.
Please call me Melissa, or Mel, and try not to call me Missy.”
Susan looked shocked. “Of course, Melissa. I never thought---“
Melissa shrugged and kissed her cheek. “Thanks,” She turned and looked at Helena. “Finished pouting, Sis?”
“I was not pouting!”
“Whatever. I’m going to see if my husband has dishpan hands and then get back to work on that grandchild for you.” Melissa laughed and stood. As she maneuvered around the odds and ends of the attic. She looked back at her mother. “I want dibs on that divan if you decide to clean this place up. It has wonderful possibilities,” she winked.
“Of course Mi—Melissa. It’s yours whenever you want it.”
Maureen J. Long
May, 2000