INTEMPERANCE VIII

Living in Limbo

Alan Steiner

This book, like those before, remains dedicated to all of my patrons over at Patreon, who supported me at a dollar a chapter (and sometimes more) as I composed the third through now eighth book of this series. You were my beta testers, and your encouragement, feedback, and error reporting were invaluable to me.

Intemperance VIII, Copyright © 2024 by Alan G. Steiner. All Rights Reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover designed by Alan Steiner



This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Alan Steiner
Email me at alsteiner237@gmail.com

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: December 202
4Amazon self-publishing

ISBN-9781708958305

Chapter 1

Runnin’ Down This Dusty Road

Cleveland, Ohio

October 31, 2002

The house lights were up and the stage lights were down at Gund Arena in downtown Cleveland. It was the intermission break of the Halloween performance of the Never Say Never tour. Many of the crowd of more than nineteen thousand were in various forms of costume, particularly the women, most of them quite risqué and revealing. From what the band could see from the stage, it was like an erotic ball out there, with many more breasts and vaginas flashed at them, many more pairs of panties flying up on the stage, and more than the usual amount of stage rushers getting up onto the stage and going after either Jake or Matt.

“That second one that got to me was pretty fuckin’ hot,” Matt opined as the five members of the band-Jake Kingsley, Matt Tisdale, John Cooper, Charlie Meyer, and Nerdly Archer-sat on packing boxes and wiring spools in the stage left area, all of them drinking Gatorade to rehydrate the fluids and electrolytes they had sweated out. The timer on the wall read a little over eleven minutes before it was time to put their ears back in and go back out on the stage for the second half of the show. “I almost wish they would have held onto her. Did you see those fuckin’ titties on her?”

“I saw them,” Jake agreed. They had been large, firm, very aesthetic eighteen year old titties (or perhaps a bit younger?), worthy of respect and admiration. While he had appreciated the view of them, he was glad she had gone for Matt instead of him. The stage rushers scared him. So far, all of them had been drunken females who wanted their moment of fame to be gained by taking off their tops and rubbing their bare breasts on one of the bandmembers and who were willing to pay the price of a night in jail and a fine of several thousand dollars for criminal trespass (as well as missing the rest of the show they had paid several hundred dollars to attend). In Jake’s mind, however (and in the minds of the security guys) each one was a potential Jenny Johansen or other form of assassin. Any one of them could have a knife or a gun and the intent to do lethal harm. And it was almost impossible for the security team to get to them before they made contact. “She’s probably already in jail by now.”

“She might not have even been legal,” Coop added.

“Yeah… good point,” Matt allowed with a sigh. “And it’s too late to even request something like her. My slut order is already in for the night so it’s too late to change it to a barely legal with big fuckin’ titties.”

“What did you request tonight?” Jake asked, out of morbid curiosity more than anything else. Matt, Coop, and Charlie were all frequent requesters of groupies on the tour, all three doing their best to keep up the old Intemp reputation for debauchery. Charlie was even still hetero at this point, quite possibly a record stretch for him.

“I asked for a MILF in her thirties,” Matt said. “Stretch marks, a little sag in the titties, the whole deal, but with a really pretty face and a nice body.” He shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Variety is the spice of life,” Jake said, wondering how many MILFs of Matt’s description showed up at the groupie selection points on any given night. That might be a tough one to procure.

“Fuckin’ A!” Matt agreed. “I’ll order up the barely legal for the Pittsburgh gig.” He thought about it for a moment. “Maybe even two.” He smiled. “Yeah, two barely legals, one blonde, one brunette, and they have to be willing to dyke out with each other.”

“Is this a great fuckin’ job or what?” Coop said, imagining the scene and thinking he might ask for the same once they got to Pittsburgh.

“It does beat cleaning out shithouses at construction sites,” Jake agreed, remembering a threat from one of the National Records suits of how they would end up way back when they had been trying to get out of their first-time contract.

“It’s even better than being a proctologist,” Nerdly said. No one was able to tell if he was joking or not. Jake, however, was intrigued by the subject of proctology.

“You ever thought about the doctors who decide to be proctologists?” he asked. “I mean, they just went through four years of undergrad school, four years of medical school, the entire field of medicine is open to them, and they pick looking at people’s assholes for the rest of their careers? Is it a really good paying gig, looking at assholes? Or are these just freaks who like looking at assholes?”

“Perhaps that is what becomes of you if your medical school grades are not the best?” Nerdly suggested.

“Could be,” Jake said thoughtfully. “The near flunk-outs have to go into proctology. An interesting theory, Nerdly. That’s even worse than having to be a podiatrist and look at people’s nasty feet your entire career.”

“Can you imagine being a fuckin’ gynecologist?” Matt said. “You spend all day looking at skanky, diseased pussy and then you go home and the old lady is in the mood and you’re like ‘no thanks, baby, I’ve seen enough.’”

“Damn,” said Coop. “I never thought about it that way. I always thought being paid to look at pussy would be cool.”

“These gynecologist motherfuckers don’t just have to look at those diseased pussies,” Matt said, “they gotta smell ‘em and put their fuckin’ hand all up in ‘em.”

“Can we talk about something else?” Charlie asked. “I’m losing my enthusiasm for my request for the night.”

“What did you ask for?” Jake asked him.

“Skinny girl,” Charlie said. “Small tits, not many curves, short hair if possible. Willing to do it doggy style and take it up the ass.”

“Oh shit,” Matt said, shaking his head. “Here we go.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, genuinely confused.

“Nothin’,” Matt said, taking another swig of his Gatorade. “Just getting ready for a fuckin’ paradigm shift of the fuckin’ universe.”

“Huh?” Charlie asked, totally lost now.

“We’re down to four minutes,” Jake said. “We better get our ears back in.”

“Right,” Matt said, a look of disgust on his face.

They stood and put their ears back in, cutting off all outside noise. A brief sound check was done with the techs out on the soundboard to make sure everyone was working properly. Everyone was. The clock continued to tick down. The guitar techs handed Jake and Matt and Charlie their respective instruments and plugged them in. Outside, the sound of the crowd began to pick up as they anticipated the return of the musicians. When the house lights dimmed down, that roar picked up even more.

The stage left door was opened and the five of them stepped back out onto the dark stage, finding their way mostly by feel to their microphones and instruments. Jake pulled a pick out of his microphone stand.

“Okay, guys,” a voice spoke in Jake’s ears. “Lights on in five, four, three, two, one.”

The stage lights blared to life and they began to play the intro to Crossing the Line, one of the most popular hits from their second album. The crowd cheered appreciatively. Within seconds, everyone was back into the show, waving their lighters, dancing their dances, showing their tits. Jake belted out the lyrics to the piece-a song about taking a life-changing, dangerous step forward to achieve a goal-with all the power and emotion due the subject. Matt belted out the primary riff with skill and obvious fondness for the tune. He had told Jake on more than one occasion that Crossing was one of his favorite Jake-penned tunes, particularly since they, the band, had crossed the line with National Records shortly after the tune’s release and had come out winners in the end.

After the applause from Crossing’s closing faded down, Jake stepped back up to the microphone. “Thank you, Cleveland,” he told them. “I have more than a little bit of fondness for your city, you know. Me, my wife, my ex-wife, and my sister Pauline all got to experience your hospitality for a few days back in September of last year during an event we now call nine-eleven.

“You see, we were all supposed to be on United Flight 175 from Boston to LA on that morning. As you all know, that was the aircraft that crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone aboard and a whole lot of folks in the building itself. Thanks to fate, we ended up not being on that flight but on Delta 1989 instead. Delta 1989 was one of three flights that took off from Logan International for LA on that horrible morning, the only one of the three that was not hijacked and crashed. Instead, we were told to land here in Cleveland when the FAA and NORAD shut down United States airspace and we got to spend a few days here before they opened the airspace back up and we were finally able to finish our flight home.

“You all made us feel welcome in your city and took care of us in the wake of one of the worst days in American history. For that, I sincerely thank each and every one of you, especially those we came into contact with at the hotel and at the airlines during that very trying time.”

Cheers erupted and Jake was given a standing ovation that lasted the better part of a minute before the crowd settled back down and resumed their seats.

“This is another one from the new CD,” he told them, returning to his scripted banter. “It’s called Waiting for You.”

Coop gave a four count and they launched into the tune, starting mellow, with Nerdly playing the primary melody on the piano while Jake strummed his Les Paul clean. When the choruses came, Matt jumped in with his distorted Strat and Jake joined him by stomping on the number one effects pedal. Jake used his voice to his best advantage, belting out the lyrics intensely, using his range and timbre to shape the words powerfully, to put emotion into them. And then came the guitar solo after the second verse. It was at the tempo of the verses-a hundred per minute, slow and mellow-and featured one of the most complicated combinations of effects pedals that Matt had, serving to both chop the notes and increase their pitch to the maximum. It was a unique solo, the likes of which had never existed before, and Matt duplicated the CD version precisely, much to the delight of the audience.

As soon as the last note of the solo ended, all of the other instruments ceased playing. Jake, now standing at his microphone, strummed clean at eighty per minute and sang the bridge section as if he were playing guitar/sing for Caydee at home. It was an emotional and meaningful transition that the audience loved. At the end of the bridge section, Jake stepped on his number one pedal again and they launched into another chorus in full heavy metal sound, with two distorted guitars and four part harmony. The tune ended with a long, drawn out singing of the final syllable of the chorus.

“Thank you!” Jake told the crowd as they applauded and held up their lighters.

*****

Daniel Brockford was in the VIP section in front of the stage. His wife of fifteen years and his thirteen year old daughter were seated next to him. He was forty years old on this day and a twelve year veteran of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, a supervisory agent currently assigned to the Cleveland office. He and his family were occupying three seats that could have sold for six hundred dollars apiece retail, up to three thousand after-market, but which Dan (as he liked to be called) had spent exactly zero dollars to obtain. All it had taken to acquire the tickets had been to give his personal email address to one Jacob Glenn Kingsley, a passenger on Delta Flight 1989 he had interviewed on September 11, 2001. Jake, it turned out, was a man of his word.

“Text me your email and I’ll get you the tickets,” Jake had told him at the conclusion of that interview on that terrible day. “I don’t know when we’ll be in Cleveland at this point, but I’ll have them get you VIPs that will be waiting for you at will call. How many do you need?”

“Uh… well… my wife and my daughter would both like to go,” he had told the famous (and infamous) singer that he had found so strangely and unexpectedly personable during the interview. And this was true. Dan had always been an Intemperance fan ever since high school. His wife had been one as well (and she had more than a little bit of a crush on Jake Kingsley, he knew). His daughter, Marissa, had grown up hearing the music of Intemperance and Jake Kingsley played frequently by her parents and was a fan as well (and undoubtedly had a crush on Kingsley too). Dan had not believed for a minute at the time that Kingsley would actually hook them up with tickets to the Intemperance reunion show. But he had been proven wrong. As soon as the tour schedule was announced, he received an email from Jake Kingsley (JGKingsley2112@hotmail.com was his address) telling him that the tickets where there waiting for him and he should mark Halloween on his calendar. Dan had replied with a sincere thank you and Jake had replied with a don’t mention it, I support what you do and appreciate it.

And now here he was, more than halfway through the show, a sixteen dollar beer in hand and having the time of his life. He looked decidedly out of place among the other fans in the VIP section. He sported a flat-top haircut and a conservative shirt and slacks combo. He was not smoking any marijuana and refused to even pass on those joints that were passed in his direction (earning him a few dirty looks from the longhairs). His shirt was long and untucked to conceal the fact that he was carrying a forty caliber semi-automatic pistol on his right hip (he had gotten through security with it by flashing his badge). Like most cops, he would not dream of going to a place like a concert (or even a grocery store) without being armed.

“I love that song,” his wife, Karen, told him, a big smile on her face. “It’s my favorite one on the new CD.”

“That was totally the bomb!” exclaimed Marissa. She was wearing a Never Say Never tour shirt that had cost Dan forty-five dollars. This was her first concert ever and she having the time of her life as well. She did not know it yet, but every subsequent concert she would attend in the future would pale in comparison to this one. The combination of the best seats in the house, the awesome music that she knew well, and the band’s showmanship could not be beat.

The band launched right into What I Need, one of Matt Tisdale’s tunes from the Balance of Power album. It was full of not-so-subtle lyrics that what Matt needed was sex and drugs. Not one of Dan’s favorites but he managed to enjoy it, tapping his feet to the beat and applauding loudly when it wrapped up. They then launched into the title cut from the Balance of Power album. This one, one of Jake Kingsley’s tunes about struggling and getting an advantageous shift in said power, was one of Dan’s favorites. The lyrics spoke to him, as good lyrics did, and he sang along without shame (Marissa was, of course, mortified by his action and tried to pretend she was not associated with him).

After Balance of Power concluded, Matt launched into a screaming guitar solo while the rest of the band exited the stage. The spotlight shined on the guitarist and he ground his way up and down the fretboard of his Strat for the better part of five minutes. It was an almost sublime performance and Dan found himself in awe of the skill and musicianship he was witnessing. Matt would frequently step on the pedals at the base of his microphone, changing the way the notes flowed out of his instrument. He shifted tempo, bringing it up to an almost insane speed for a minute and then bringing it down to a slow, sorrowful mellowness the next. The finale of the solo was the fastest tempo yet, his fingers a blur on the fretboard. He ended it with a long, drawn out note that faded slowly while the crowd erupted in cheers. He threw the guitar pick into the crowd and it landed just in front of them. Karen dove for it, having to scuffle with two men and a woman. She held it up triumphantly when she finally secured it, her hair now mussed up, and an abrasion on her right elbow.

Dan smiled at her as Jake and the rest of the band came back on stage.

“Matt fuckin’ Tisdale, Cleveland!” Jake said into his microphone. “Can he fuckin’ shred, or what?”

The crowd agreed that Matt could shred. Dan, Karen, and Marissa all agreed as well.

*****

The Cleveland show was brought to a close at 10:07 PM Eastern Time and the band made their way back to the clubhouse. They drank some Gatorade and then switched to beer. A joint was passed around and everyone but Charlie took a few hits from it (Charlie had his own pipe so he would not be exposed to his bandmates’ germs by partaking in the ritual). They then made their way to the locker room to shower and change into fresh street clothes. The groupies for Matt, Charlie, and Coop were brought back. Jake and Nerdly were polite to them when introduced but kept off in their own corner while they ate the catered food (it was turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and corn on the cob, all of it quite tasty). Charlie ate the stuffing and the potatoes without gravy on it. He left the corn and the turkey alone.

It was 11:30 when the large stretch limousine dropped them off at the Ritz-Carlton downtown, the same hotel that Jake, Celia, Laura, and Pauline had stayed in after Flight 1989 was forced down and they were trapped in the city. Jake, in fact, had the same suite he and the ladies had stayed in for that little visit.

Celia Valdez-Kingsley was asleep when he entered the bedroom. She woke up when he leaned down and kissed the side of her face. Her eyes blinked open and she smiled up him. “Hey, Rev,” she said. “How was the show?”

“We nailed it,” he told her. “How was your night?”

“It was okay. I had dinner in the exclusive restaurant up top. Pretty good.”

“What did you have?”

“A filet with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus. A nice merlot from Napa. It was a little awkward eating alone in a restaurant but the food was good.”

“We’ll be able to have dinner together tomorrow night,” he told her. There was no show tomorrow. They would fly to Pittsburgh in the late morning and have the entire evening to themselves. It was such built-in breaks that kept them sane, that kept the road fatigue at bay.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “I still haven’t started yet.”

“No?” he asked hopefully. She was currently four days overdue for her period. They were hopeful that Aunt Flo had finally dropped the mic and left the building for nine months. “Did you pee on a stick?”

“Right before I went to bed,” she said. “Still no positive sign.”

“Hopefully there’s just not enough of the hormone in you yet. Keep the faith.”

“There’s nothing else to do,” she said. “Are you coming to bed?”

“In a bit,” he said. “I’m gonna have a drink and give Laura a call. It’s only 8:30 there.”

“Okay,” Celia said with a yawn. “Tell her I love her.”

“Will do,” he said. He leaned down and gave her a big kiss on the mouth, just touching her upper lip with his tongue.

“Mmm,” she cooed. “That was a good kiss.”

“Yes, it was,” Jake told her.

In the dark he kicked off his shoes and socks and then changed into a pair of sweat pants and a battered old t-shirt. He neatly folded the clothes he had been wearing and put them on the stand at the foot of the bed. They were still clean and he would wear them tomorrow. By the time he was done with this, Celia was back asleep, her breathing slow and regular. He left the room and went into the main sitting room of the suite.

At the bar, he poured some rye over a few ice cubes and walked over to the couch. He looked at the phone, read the directions for making a long-distance call, and then dialed his home number. It was answered on the third ring by Laura’s “hello”.

“Hey, babe,” he said. “I just got in from the show. Wanted to call and tell you I love you.”

“Hey, sweetie,” she said, warmth in her voice. “I love you too. Where are you tonight?” He had not talked to her in a few days now and she did not have their tour schedule memorized.

“Cleveland,” he said. “We’re staying in the same room we stayed in after nine-eleven.”

“That was a nice room,” she said. “How is C?”

“Sleeping right now,” he said.

“Has she started?” she asked carefully. She had talked to Celia yesterday and was aware that she was late for her period.

“She has not,” Jake said. “Still no positive test, but it could just be too early.”

“I tested positive before I even missed my period,” Laura reminded him.

“Everyone is different, hon. Maybe you just made a little more of that hCG stuff than she’s making at this stage. Maybe your test was more sensitive. We’re staying hopeful. She pees on a stick every morning and every night. If we get a positive you’ll be the next one besides us to know.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed,” she said.

“She told me to tell you that she loves you,” Jake said.

“Awww. Tell her I love her too. I can’t wait to see the two of you. I am so far over the line now. I was just playing with my toys when you called and it wasn’t doing it for me. I need the real thing.”

“That’s kind of hot, hon,” he told her. “Are you still naked?”

“I have my long t-shirt on with no panties,” she said. “This entire room reeks of my pussy.”

“Mmmm, I wish I was there right now,” he said, picturing the scene perfectly in his mind. She was probably wearing the long shirt that was blue and had white clouds all over it. That was one of her favorites. And she probably had a little stubble down below as she tended not to keep up the daily grooming when he was not home. He could almost smell her.

“I wish you could be here too. Will you talk dirty to me a little? Help me out some?”

He smiled and then talked dirty to her, telling her what he would do to her if he were there in the room. He was very explicit in detail. She moaned a few times as he spoke and his member became erect. It took almost ten minutes but he finally heard the familiar sound of her moaning out an orgasm.

“Ohhh… that was good, sweetie,” she told him once she caught her breath. “Not as good as the real thing, but much better than my own fantasies. I want you to do all of those things to me when I meet up with you.” She was going to fly out and meet them in Charlotte when they arrived there on December 4th. They would have two nights off and then two shows in North Carolina’s biggest city. It was true that Charlotte did not have happy memories for Celia, but it was the most convenient time for a reunion and maybe they could make some happier memories there.

“I will do all of that and more,” he promised her. “What’s the word on Meghan? Will she be able to watch Caydee or will you have to bring her along with you?” As of September 15^th, Meghan was no longer a live-in nanny for the Kingsleys. It had been a mutual decision. They really did not have much need for her these days because Laura was home with Caydee full-time and was able to take her to preschool and watch her. Meghan herself moved in with Massa in his townhouse in San Luis Obispo. She was still willing to watch Caydee on an on-call basis if she was not busy doing something else (they paid her fifty dollars an hour for such duties, plus overtime if it was more than eight hours or took place overnight) and they continued to pay for her healthcare and dental benefits. But often she was too busy. She had gone back to school. Not to Cal-Poly but to Cuesta Community College just west of San Luis Obispo city to work on the prerequisites she needed to get into the college’s nursing program. She wanted to follow in the footsteps of her sister.

“She won’t be able to do it,” Laura said. “She’s taking her first semester of Anatomy and Physiology this semester. It’s one of the hardest classes she needs to get into the school and she’ll be coming up on finals during those dates. She feels really bad about having to say no, but I told her not to worry about it.”

“I understand,” Jake said. “We’ll make do. I miss my little Caydee and so does C. We’ll find some fun things to do with her in Charlotte.”

“That was my thought,” she said.

They talked about Halloween and Caydee’s second experience with dressing up and trick or treating. She and Kelvin were now quite into the concept of free candy and had been very enthusiastic participants. They both scored a considerable amount of booty. He told his wife he loved her and she told him the same. She told him to have a good time in Pittsburgh (but not too good of a time) and to let her know one way or the other if C started her period or tested positive. He promised he would and hung up the phone.

He finished the rest of his drink and then got up and turned out the lights. His member was still half erect from the conversation he had had with Laura. He took off all of his clothes and then climbed into bed with Celia. He snuggled into her from behind and let his member rest against her pajama covered butt. As soon as he did this, it started to stiffen up completely. He slid one of his hands under her pajama top to feel her smooth belly. He then slid it up to her bare breasts. It took her a few minutes but she woke up.

“It feels like someone needs something,” she said slyly.

“Do you have something to give me?” he asked her.

“I’m tired but I might be persuaded.”

“How might I persuade you?”

“You know what I’m talking about,” she told him.

He did. A minute later, her pajama bottoms and panties were on the floor and her long legs were wrapped around his back while his tongue licked and sucked between those legs. He was able to successfully persuade her.

*****

By unspoken agreement, the band tended to avoid each other during travel days and off-days-all the better to keep the peace peaceful. The exception was Nerdly, who enjoyed having breakfast and dinner with Jake and Celia and accompanying them on whatever adventures they went on. As such, they met in the exclusive restaurant the next morning at 8:30. Jake was freshly showered and shaved. By the time they performed in Pittsburgh, he would have his characteristic layer of beard stubble at an appropriate level.

“Good news,” Nerdly told them as the three of them sipped from Bloody Marys while waiting for their respective dishes. “Sharon’s parents are going to drive up to San Luis Obispo on December 3 and will take care of Kelvin for us so Sharon can travel with Laura to Charlotte.”

“That’s awesome, Nerdly,” Celia told him.

“Yes, it is,” Nerdly agreed. “I am quite looking forward to actual sexual congress with my wife instead of hollow self-pleasure while looking at internet pornography.”

“You’ve crossed the line,” Jake said.

“I have,” Nerdly said. He was familiar with the concept. “A long time ago.”

“It’s a good thing you brought your laptop with you,” Celia said.

“Indeed,” he said. “Kim Kowalski’s website has been extremely helpful to my cause.”

“She does put out the best internet porn,” Jake said. “I’m a fan of the amateur section.”

“I have to go with the amateur lesbian section,” Celia said. “There’s just something about two girls who don’t usually do that sort of thing doing it. And when you can see it’s real and not scripted, that makes it much more erotic.”

“I concur,” Nerdly said. “The amateur lesbians are my most visited section of the site.”

“Those are pretty hot too,” Jake had to concur. “Anyway, it turns out that Caydee will be coming with Laura for the trip.”

“Won’t she be missing out on school?” Nerdly asked.

“It’s preschool, Nerdly,” Jake said. “It’s not like we’re hurting her chances of getting into a good college by pulling her for a week.”

“I suppose,” Nerdly allowed, though it was clear he disapproved of this.

“I’ve already got the flight chartered,” Jake said.

“Private?” Nerdly asked.

“It’s the only way to fly post nine-eleven,” Jake said. “They’ll be on a Gulfstream that will leave SLO at nine in the morning on December 4^th. They get to Charlotte just after five in the afternoon.”

“I’ll pay for half of the cost of the two flights,” Nerdly offered. After all, he knew that such a flight would cost around eighteen thousand dollars each way.

“It’s no big,” Jake said. “I would be booking it whether Sharon was going or not.”

“Still… at least let me pay for a third of the costs. It’s only fair.”

“All right,” he said. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll email you a copy of the receipts and you can wire the money to our account.”

“I will do it as soon as I get the email,” Nerdly promised.

They finished their breakfasts and then went through the ritual of packing up their single travel bags. They carried them downstairs to the lobby and met the rest of the band, Jim the paramedic with his football, and Greg Gahn, the road manager. The limousine arrived and took the eight of them to Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport on the shore of Lake Erie just north of downtown. There, the Cessna Citation that had been leased for band transport was waiting for them. The two pilots-John Engram and Larry Stevens were their names-put them through the ritual of weighing and stowing. There was no flight attendant.

The hop to Pittsburgh International Airport was a short one, only taking fifty-three minutes from wheels up to touchdown. A limousine then took the travelers to the Westin Hotel, which was just across the Alleghany River from PNC park, the new home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Heinz Field, the new home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both facilities could be clearly seen from the windows of Jake and Celia’s twenty-sixth floor suite.

“Should we get some lunch?” Celia asked once they had stowed their bags and explored the suite.

“Yeah, that looked like a pretty nice café down in the lobby. Let’s check it out.”

They checked it out and it wasn’t bad. Jake ordered a club sandwich with fries and Celia ordered a tuna melt with extra pickles.

“Extra pickles?” Jake asked. “Is that a sign?” Aunt Flo still had not shown her unwelcome face but the stick she had peed on this morning was still negative.

“I just like pickles,” she said. “You know that.”

That was true. She would eat them whole and by themselves at home, generally going through a jar or so a week. “You do look very sexy when you eat them,” he said.

She smiled and said nothing.

They were approached by an obvious troll just before their food was brought to them. She was a woman in her late thirties, reasonably attractive, who had been hanging out by herself in the bar, slowly nursing a drink. She had pinged Jake’s radar the moment he had seen her. She introduced herself as Laurie Smith and said she was a big fan of both of them.

“Thank you,” Jake said politely, taking a sip from his beer. He said nothing else.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Celia said, just as politely. She too said no further.

“You must be in town for the Intemperance concert on Friday night,” she said.

“Uh… yeah,” Jake said slowly. “That would be why we’re here.”

She giggled a little. “I guess that was a dumb thing to say.”

Jake simply shrugged and had another sip of beer.

She continued trying to ingratiate herself to them, trying to get them to say something personal, but they were much more experienced at the game than she apparently was. She was obviously a troll (as opposed to a groupie, a legitimate reporter, or just a general fan), but not a very good one. She asked questions that were far too personal before establishing any kind of rapport. And she seemed to have no idea that the couple knew exactly what she was. She asked how their marriage was going, how Laura Kingsley was doing, how Jake’s daughter was taking the divorce. They answered her in monosyllable replies, offering no details whatsoever. Finally, they were saved when the waitress brought their plates to them.

“If you’ll excuse us now,” Jake told her, “we would like to have our lunch and then we’re going to find something to do here in Pittsburgh.”

“Oh… yes, of course,” she said. “It was very nice to meet you both.”

They told her it was nice to meet her as well and she wandered back to the bar.

“She was about the worst troll ever,” Celia said, shaking her head a little. “Don’t they train these people anymore?”

“Apparently not in Pittsburgh they don’t,” he said. “Can I have one of your pickles? They only gave me one thin little slice on my sandwich.”

“No,” she said, indignant. “These are my pickles.”

“We’re married,” he told her. “They’re community property. I’m entitled to half.”

She reluctantly handed one of her five dill spears over to him. He crunched it up before he picked up the first half of his sandwich. She bit into another pickle spear. Some juice ran down her chin.

“I would really like to lick that pickle juice off of your chin,” he told her.

She smiled. “Maybe we should take a nap before we go out exploring.”

“Maybe we should,” he replied.

They went back up to the room after Jake signed for the bill. They did take a nap, but it was more than a half hour before they got to that. And both were going to need a shower before they went out exploring.

*****

Intemperance played Friday night and Saturday night at the Civic Arena in downtown Pittsburgh in front of nearly fourteen thousand fans for each performance. Jake began to wonder about having any future tours, whether for Intemp or as a solo artist or even Celia, done in the round, where the stage was in the center of the arena and rotated. Had they the capabilities, they could squeeze an extra three to four thousand fans in for each performance in every sports arena. Something to think about.

Celia’s Aunt Flo continued to stay away. Her pregnancy tests continued to be negative every morning and every night. Celia began to get worried. “What if I’m infertile?” she asked Jake as they laid in bed the night after the last Pittsburgh show. “What if I’m not having my period because my equipment is just not working anymore?”

“That doesn’t make any sense, C,” Jake said, trying to reassure her. “You’ve been having normal and regular periods ever since you stopped taking your birth control pills. Why would your ovaries and other parts suddenly stop working now?”

“Because I’m not meant to have a baby!” she said, a tear now running from her left eye.

“That’s ridiculous,” he said, putting his arm around her and pulling her close to him. “Let’s do some Occam’s Razor here. What is the most likely possible cause for your missed period after we’ve been having frequent, unprotected sex for the past several months? That your ovaries and eggs and hormones have all just shut down? Or that you’re pregnant and it is just not showing up on the tests yet?”

“Well… I guess maybe that does kind of make sense,” she offered.

“Of course it does,” he said. “Are you having any other symptoms? Nausea? Sore boobs? Weird food cravings?”

She shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I feel perfectly normal.”

“Maybe you’re one of the lucky ones,” Jake said. “By the time she missed her first period Laura was barfing every morning and sometimes at night.”

“Let’s hope so,” she said.

The next morning, they flew to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, just across a bridge from America’s most populous city, where Intemperance would perform on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Madison Square Garden. They had four entire days to themselves in the Big Apple before the first show. Unfortunately, the weather was miserable-rainy, cold, windy, and even a little snow-so they stayed in their Park Avenue hotel most of the time. Both talked to Laura on the phone at least once a day. Celia even took a turn at talking dirty to her while she masturbated three thousand miles away, getting the redhead heated enough to have an orgasm while Jake slid in and out of her in the missionary position. She even held the phone down at one point, so Laura could hear the sound of Jake’s member sliding in and out of the smoothly shaven chasm.

No Aunt Flo showed up during those four days. No positive pee test or symptoms of pregnancy showed up either. On Friday afternoon, Jake got dressed and left the hotel room at one o’clock to go meet the limo downstairs with Matt. The two of them had two record store signings and two radio station interviews scheduled before the show. The weather outside was still miserable. It was thirty-three degrees, overcast, windy, and the sky was spitting a mixture of rain and snow.

Celia stayed in her pajamas all day. She still smelled of the sex she had had with Jake the night before and did not want to wash that scent away until just before he came back to the hotel. She drank a few glasses of wine, ordered a cheeseburger and fries from room service for dinner, and then called Teach just to chat. The two co-wives talked for the better part of an hour about anything and everything. Teach told Celia that Massa had proposed to Meghan, giving her a two-carat diamond ring. Meghan said yes. They had not yet set a date or told her parents. They had not even told her sister yet.

“I’m happy for them,” Celia said. “I hope her parents don’t freak too bad.”

“Yeah,” said Teach. She could certainly relate. Her parents had lost a daughter because of their refusal to accept her choice of husband.

They said their I-love-you’s and hung up. Celia watched some mindless TV for a bit while she had a few more glasses of wine. It occurred to her that maybe she should stop drinking alcohol for now. After all, if Occam and his razor were correct, she might very well be pregnant. She looked at the wine in the glass and decided she did not want it anymore. She poured it down the sink. No more until I start my period, she vowed to herself. Whenever that might be.

It was now nearly 8:30 PM. At MSG, Jake and the band would be on the intermission break. She decided to take her shower to make herself clean and sweet smelling for when he returned. He was quite often randy when he came back from a show and she was generally accommodating to him, even if he did wake her up by pushing his erection into her butt.

She walked into the large bedroom and pulled her maroon pajamas and a fresh pair of panties from her travel bag. She carried them into the bathroom and set them down on a stand next to the large tub. She debated for a moment if she wanted to take a bath instead of a shower and decided the bath sounded more appealing (as well as burning more time). Of course, she would have no wine to sip in the tub, but she did have a good novel she had been reading the past week (it was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold). She started the tap of the tub and then spent a minute or two adjusting the temperature to just above body temperature. The running water reminded her that she needed to pee.

She went back to her bag and pulled one of the home pregnancy tests out of a box of twenty-five that now had eleven left. She carried it into the bathroom and set it down on the sink counter. She stripped off her dirty jammies and dirty panties and left them on the floor. She then picked up the package with the HPT in it, ripped it open, and pulled out the little strip inside. She went into the throne room and sat down. Once her pee started, she expertly held the little window in the stream and let some of her pee hit it. She then set the device down. It would take two minutes to give her a reading.

She finished her pee, wiped, flushed, and then picked up the HPT and carried it back to the sink, where she set it down. She turned back to the tub, which was about a third full at this point. She pondered whether she wanted a bubble bath or if she wanted to turn on the jets. You could not do both. Soap and jets would produce an enormous mountain of soap bubbles that would grow and run onto the floor and not dissolve for hours. She decided the bubbles would be better than the jets. She went back to her bag and pulled her novel and a medium sized bottle of scented bath bubbles out. She carried these back into the bathroom and dumped some of the soap into the tub. The bubbles began to form. She checked the temperature of the water and found it was still as she liked it. She then set her novel down on the edge of the tub.

She turned back to the pregnancy test on the sink, already anticipating the disappointment of another negative. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw what was there. Where there had always been a negative sign before, there was now a faint but clearly visible vertical cross bar intersecting that negative sign exactly in the middle. A negative sign with a vertical cross bar looked like this: +

“Madre de Dios,” she whispered, feeling her heart pound faster, feeling hope flooding into her. “Am I dreaming?”

She knew she was not dreaming. Reality was too firm around her. She was looking at a positive pregnancy test. After all the worry, after all the trying, after all the frustration, the test was now positive! She was pregnant! Pregnant with Jake’s baby!

She continued to stare at the test in disbelief, in conflicting emotion until a strange slurping noise began to come from the bathtub. She looked over and saw that the water was now near the top, that it was being sucked into an overfill drain to keep it from running out on the floor. She stepped over and shut the water off, all thoughts of her bath, all thoughts of her novel, gone from her head.

I need to tell Jake! she thought. But she couldn’t. There was no way to get hold of him at MSG. Even if there were a genuine life-threatening emergency, it would be difficult for her to contact him. It would have to wait until he returned after the show.

“Teach!” she said aloud. “I need to tell Teach!”

A moment later she was in the sitting room, still naked and smelling of sex, the telephone in her hand. She dialed the number. It rang three times and then Teach picked it up. She obviously recognized the number on her caller ID screen as being the same that had called her earlier.

“Is that you, love?” she asked.

“It’s me,” Celia said. “I need to talk to you right away.”

“What is it?” Laura asked.

“I just peed on a stick,” she said. “It came back positive this time!”

“Oh my god!” Teach said, clearly excited. “That is so amazing, love! I am so happy for you, happy for us!”

“He finally knocked me up,” she said.

“He sure did,” Teach said. “Have you told him yet?”

“He’s at Madison Square Garden right now,” she reminded her. They had discussed that earlier, but Teach could be scatterbrained at times. “He won’t be back until after eleven our time. I’ll tell him then.”

“This is the best thing I could have possibly heard today,” Teach said. “You stuff still works. Jake’s stuff still works. I told you to have faith in his little swimmers, didn’t I?”

“You did,” she agreed. “Just as I was starting to get morose about this whole thing, the miracle has happened. I am just so fucking excited about this, Teach. I can’t even begin to tell you.”

“I know how you feel, love,” Laura told her. “And I’ll be with you through the whole thing.”

“I am a little bit scared though,” Celia told her.

“Scared of what? The pain?”

“No, not that,” Celia said. The pain of childbirth was so far in her future right now that she could not even imagine it. “All the things that can… you know… go wrong in the first trimester.” She had a hard time saying the word but she managed to spit it out. “Miscarriage, things like that.”

“It’s a natural fear,” Laura assured her. “I had it too, but everything worked out fine.”

“But I’ve already lost one, remember?”

“I remember,” she said soothingly, “and that was horrible, but they fixed the problem. They put that stent in your fallopian tube so it’s wide enough for the embryo to drop down and implant. It’s been less than five years. Everything will be fine. The little zygote is probably already through the tube and getting ready to implant now.”

“You really think so?”

“I really think so,” Teach told her.

“Madre de Dios, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. Don’t tell anyone yet. I’ll tell Jake, but no one else knows until… you know… we know it’s real and it’s going to stay.”

“I understand,” Laura said. “I won’t tell a soul. I just wish I was there right now so I could hug and kiss you.”

“I wish you were too,” Celia said with utmost sincerity.

“Caydee is going to have a brother or sister,” Laura said, her voice elated. “And your parents are going to have that grandchild.”

“God willing,” Celia said, instinctively crossing herself.

“It’s part of his great plan,” Laura told her. “I’m sure of it.”

*****

Jake knew something was up when he opened up the door to the suite and found the lights were on. Celia, dressed in her maroon pajamas, was sitting on the couch, looking at him expectantly.

“Hey,” he said. “Why are you up?” Generally, she was always in bed when he returned after a show.

“I have something to show you,” she said softly.

“Oh yeah?” he asked lasciviously, with that look in his eyes.

“Yeah,” she said. “But not what you’re thinking. At least not at this moment.”

His expression changed a little, becoming lest libidinous and more concerned. “What is it?” he asked.

“Come and sit with me,” she said. “I think you’ll like it.”

He walked over and sat down on the couch next to her. She reached into the pocket of her pajama bottoms and pulled something out. He recognized it as one of her pee tests. She turned it toward him. The + was still clearly showing in the little window. She pulled another one out. It showed the same.

“It’s positive,” he said numbly. It was not a question.

“I’ve checked three times now,” she told him. “All three were positive. You did it, Rev. You knocked me up.”

His face erupted into a smile. “Oh my god, C, that’s fuckin’ awesome! Come here!” He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly and then kissed her soundly on the mouth. These were not lustful or sexual gestures of affection, but genuine love and happiness. “I am so happy for us! Did you tell Laura?”

“Yes,” she said. “I called her as soon as the first test came back positive. She’s very happy for us.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

She shook her head. “No, and I don’t want to, not now. No one except you and Teach needs to know about this right now. You know… in case… uh…”

He nodded. “I understand,” he said quietly. “Mum is the word until you decide otherwise. But… oh my God. I can’t believe this. I mean, I knew it was likely, but until now… do you know when it’s due?”

“Estimated,” she said. “I got on the internet after I got done talking to Teach. They have a calculator thingy I found on Google. My last period was September 27^th. That means my estimated date of delivery is July 3^rd.”

“July 3^rd,” he said, speaking the date with reverence. “That means we might have a Fourth of July baby.”

“We might,” she said. “That’s a long time from now. Lots of hurdles to jump over between then and now.”

“When do you see the doctor for the first time?” he asked.

“I Googled that too,” she said. “They say I should see a doctor in the next few days to get a blood test that will confirm the pregnancy and show how far along I am. You know… like the test they did the last time I was… uh… pregnant.”

“Okay,” he said softly. “Should we do that here in New York, or should you fly home and do it with your OB doctor?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet,” she said. “I don’t have an OB doctor in SLO but I can probably hook up with Teach’s to get me through this. I am going to have to go home at some point early in the pregnancy to get all the appointments in and get the care I need, but I don’t know if I need to rush home tomorrow or anything.”

“We have great health insurance,” Jake said. “You can probably hook up with someone here in New York just to confirm the test without much problem.”

“Play the celebrity card?” she asked.

“If you have to,” he said.

“What do you think the odds are that the story leaks shortly after I see some New York doctor?” she asked.

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “I didn’t think about that. It’s hard to tell, but probably not very likely. I mean, there would be no doubt where the leak came from.”

“True,” she said, “but this is a pretty juicy story. All it would take is one lab tech or medical assistant to tell one of her friends that Celia Valdez is pregnant and it could explode from there. I really don’t want people knowing about this until I am ready to let them know.”

“I understand,” Jake said. “So… back to SLO?”

She nodded. “I think I should go as soon as we can book a flight for me. I’ll call Teach in the morning and have her call her OB doc to set things up. If we can arrange to get me home tomorrow, I think that would be for the best.”

“I’ll call the concierge and see what I can work out,” Jake said, his face sullen now.

“Thanks, Rev,” she told him. “And after you do that, come to bed. I’m kind of in the mood tonight for some reason.”

He smiled and stroked her face. “I love you, C,” he told her.

“I know,” she said. “And I love you too. And I thank you and Teach from the bottom of my heart for giving me this gift.”

“I was glad to be involved,” he said with utmost sincerity.

*****

The concierge was able to book a Gulfstream out of Teterboro that would fly Celia direct to SLO Regional in a single hop. She was told to be ready to board at 9:45 AM for a 10:00 AM takeoff. She made love to Jake one final time after breakfast and then showered and shaved for her journey. She was both sad and elated as the limo picked her up after a final hug and kiss from Jake. Sad to be leaving him, excited for the journey she and her body were now embarking on.

While she was in the air heading across the country, Laura did a little name dropping and got Dr. Gloria Niven, the OB/GYN who had seen her through her pregnancy and had delivered Caydee, on the phone. Dr. Niven said that she was not currently taking new patients but she would be delighted to make an exception and sign up Celia Valdez-Kingsley. She did seem a little puzzled about why Laura was making the call. She knew, of course, that Jake and Laura were now divorced but still living together (well, not at the moment since Jake was out on tour) with Celia living in the same house as them. She knew their standard statement on the matter was that they all remained good friends with each other and they were trying to have as little impact as possible on Cadence. But still… the situation was weird.

“Not a word to anyone about this for now,” Laura told the doctor.

“I would never break confidentiality,” Niven said huffily.

“I know you wouldn’t,” Laura said, “but someone in your office might. This is top secret information for now.”

“My staff will say nothing to anyone,” Niven said. “I will make absolute sure of that.”

“Thank you,” Laura said.

“Have her in my office at 8:30 tomorrow. That’s a half an hour earlier than I usually start taking appointments. We’ll get all the paperwork done and then I’ll have her go to the lab for the hCG quant and some other screening labs. We’ll have the results back before noon and I’ll give them to her personally.”

“Thanks, doctor,” Laura told her. “We’ll be there.”

“Both of you?”

“Of course,” she said. “Someone needs to go with her and Jake is still in New York.”

“Right,” Niven said slowly.

Celia’s plane landed at SLO Regional at 12:15 PM Pacific Time. Laura was there to pick her up. The two of them hugged each other affectionately but did not kiss or make any other physical contact. There were too many eyes on them, too many tongues that might wag. They picked up Caydee from preschool on the way back home. Caydee was ecstatic to find See-Ya in Mommy’s van. She gave her huggies and kissies for the better part of three minutes.

“It seems like somebody missed me,” Celia said, smiling at the love.

“Fuckin’ A,” Caydee agreed. “See-Ya stay home now?”

“For the time being, yes,” Celia told her.

“Badass!” Caydee declared.

Elsa was also glad to see Celia home. Though she had been quite dubious about the divorce and marriage scheme that had been laid out, she did know that the three adults loved each other very much and belonged together. It was unconventional, that was true, but it was hardly the strangest thing she had seen in her long career of being a servant for rich people. At least their relationship was in the open and they were all faithful to each other. And she rather enjoyed the Venezuelan singer’s company.

Elsa laid out a sandwich bar for the three ladies and they all enjoyed a late lunch. When Caydee was finished and went off to play, Celia and Laura sat Elsa down and told her what the deal was.

“It looks like I’m finally pregnant,” Celia told her. Elsa, after all, knew the reason for the whole divorce and marriage scheme was to give Celia a legitimate baby.

“Excellent,” Elsa said with a smile. “I figured that was why you returned home. When is the blessed event?”

“July 3^rd is the estimated due date at this point,” Celia said.

“That is based on the date of your last cycle?” Elsa asked.

“That’s right,” Celia said. “Information I got from Google, no less. We’ll know more exactly once they do the ultrasound in a month or so. Assuming, of course… well… you know.”

Elsa nodded. “I know,” she said. “Try not to dwell on that too much. It does neither you nor the baby any good to stress out about something that will likely not happen and that you cannot control even if it does.”

“I’m trying,” Celia said. “I think I’ll feel better just talking to Dr. Niven tomorrow.”

“She is an excellent clinician is my understanding,” Elsa said.

“She’s the best,” Laura said. “I always felt at ease with her. Even when she was sticking her hand up my hoo-hoo.”

“It does pay to have a female gynecologist,” Elsa said. “They tend to have smaller hands.”

Laura giggled a little at this.

“Anyway, Elsa, we’re keeping this close to the vest for now,” Celia said. “You have to know because you live here, and Jake knows, of course, and Dr. Niven knows, but nobody else does. We’re not going to tell Tom or Mary or Meghan or even Paulie. I suppose Jake will tell Nerdly, who will probably tell Sharon, but they’ll all be sworn to secrecy for now. That’s the way I want it until I know… you know… that this thing is going to work out.”

“I will tell no one until authorized to do so,” Elsa said simply. And both women knew her word was as good as gold.

Caydee rarely took daytime naps anymore and today was no exception. While Laura was dying to get her hands and mouth on Celia, and Celia was quite looking forward to the reunion as well (she had very much missed the softer things in life while away) it could not happen until after Caydee’s bath, after guitar/sing/harmika time, after story time, and after the almost five-year-old was put to bed.

Finally, however, the time came. The two lovers got naked in the master bedroom and basked in the joy of sapphic love. As was typical when it was the two of them without Jake involved, they made love slowly, carefully, with lots of kissing, lots of touching, lots of suckling of nipples, fingers, even toes. They brought each other to multiple orgasms with their hands and mouths and by tribbing, finally collapsing in a sweaty mess almost two hours after the first kiss.

“That was soooo fucking hot,” Teach breathed as they lay next to each other, looking up at the ceiling fan.

Celia made the little see-saw motion with her hand. “It was all right,” she said with smile, earning herself a little punch on the shoulder by her lover.

Chapter 2

Little Passenger

San Luis Obispo, California

November 12, 2002

Dr. Gloria Niven’s office was mostly empty when they arrived. There was just the doctor herself, a medical assistant, and a receptionist on duty. The receptionist checked Celia in and the young medical assistant, her name was Yami and she appeared to be Indian (dot, not feather), took her vitals. They both seemed quite awed to be in Celia’s presence but neither of them expressed any surprise at her appearance in their workplace. They had obviously been briefed about the special new patient. Hopefully they had also been sternly briefed to keep their freaking mouths shut about it.

These preliminaries took about fifteen minutes. Dr. Niven then entered the exam room wearing her white coat, a stethoscope around her neck.

“It’s good to see you again, Celia,” she greeted. Celia had been present when the good doctor had delivered Cadence Kingsley nearly five years ago.

“It’s good to see you as well, doctor,” Celia replied. “You don’t know how good it feels to have to visit you in this capacity.”

“So, this is a planned pregnancy then?” she asked.

“A very much planned and wanted pregnancy,” Celia assured her.

“It’s always good to hear that,” Niven said. She then greeted Laura and told her it was good to see her again as well. It was clear, however, that she was still puzzled by her presence. Current and ex-wives simply did not hang out together, much less live together. It was unnatural. But still, she had a very famous patient to take care of and it was time to start doing it. They passed a few more pleasantries and then she pulled out a notepad. “I’m going to ask you some basic questions about your health and gynecological history to get us started.”

“Okay,” Celia said.

Niven then asked about her general health. Did Celia have any medical problems? Was she taking any medications? Did she have any allergies? She then asked the first loaded question. “Have you ever had any surgeries in your life?”

“Uh… yes, I have,” Celia said.

Niven looked up at her. “What kind of surgery was it? And when was it?”

“It was… uh… November 20^th, 1998. It was a laparoscopic removal of my right fallopian tube due to an ectopic pregnancy.”

Niven continued to look at her, her face expressionless. “So… you have been pregnant before then?”

Celia nodded. “Just that one time,” she said.

“That makes you gravida two, para zero at this point then,” Niven said, noting that down. “Assuming that we confirm this current pregnancy, of course. That was going to be my next question.”

“Uh… right,” Celia said, knowing that gravid was Latin for pregnant and para was Latin for birth. The phrase could only mean she had been pregnant twice but had produced no living children as of yet. Such a cold, medical way to put it. “Second pregnancy, nothing to show for them yet.”

“In November of 1998, you say?”

“November 20, 1998,” she repeated. That date was burned forever into her memory.

“I have to ask some rather personal questions at this point,” Niven said. “Anything you tell me will be in confidence. Being truthful with me will be very much to your advantage and to your baby’s advantage.”

“Okay,” Celia said softly.

“Was your ex-husband, Greg Oldfellow, the father of your lost pregnancy?”

Celia shook her head. “No. That was a considerable time after our divorce.”

“Do you know your blood type?” Niven asked next.

Celia knew exactly where this was heading. “I do,” she said. “I’m A-negative.”

“You’re sure about that?” Niven asked. “I mean, the labs we’re going to run today are going to check, but if you are Rh-negative there are some concerns involved.”

“I understand,” Celia said. “If a Rh-positive father gives me a Rh-positive baby and our blood mixes, as it undoubtedly did during the ectopic, future babies might be attacked by my immune system as they reach late term. We went over this at length after the ectopic surgery. The father of that lost pregnancy is Rh-negative as well.”

“You’re sure about that?” Niven asked. “Absolutely sure?”

“He was tested at the time for confirmation,” Laura said. “We’re absolutely sure.”

Celia took a deep breath. They had discussed this but it was still hard to share such personal details. Before Niven could ask if Celia was one hundred percent sure if who she assumed was the father of the previous baby (this alleged Rh negative person) actually had been the father, she said, “The father of that lost baby is the father of my current baby.”

This time Niven’s facial expression changed. They had managed to break through her professional façade-the medical professional assumption that everyone was lying to her in some way, shape, or form-quite well. “You mean…”

Celia nodded. “That’s right,” she said. “Jake Kingsley was the one who got me pregnant back in 1998. Jake is for sure O-negative blood type. If you want to test him again, that’s fine-he can fly home during one of the extended tour breaks and do that-but we are one hundred percent sure that he was the father of the ectopic pregnancy and we are one hundred percent sure that he is the father of this pregnancy.”

Niven’s mouth dropped open now. She looked at Laura. “Did you know?” she asked.

“It depends on what you mean by that,” Laura said. “I did not know that Jake had impregnated C until the ectopic happened. I did know, however, that the two of them were having regular sexual relations.”

“I… I see,” Niven said softly, though it was quite clear that she did not.

Celia and Laura shared a look and passed a little nod between them.

“Listen, Dr. Niven,” Laura said. “C and I talked it over last night and then we both talked it over with Jake.”

“Talked what over?” she asked.

“Talked over how much of what is really going on in this situation that we need to share with you,” Laura said. “We decided it would be in the best interests of all to tell you everything.”

“Everything?” Niven said, confused. “What is everything?”

“The story of the three of us,” Celia said. “Why Teach is still living in the house, why Teach and I still hang out together, why Teach and Jake still hang out with each other.” She paused. “Why Jake got me pregnant back in 1998 and Teach was okay with it.”

“Okayyy,” Niven said slowly.

“The story needs to stay in this room,” Celia said. “You cannot tell it to anyone. Not to your husband, not to your staff, not to your boss, not to your priest, not to your best friend while you’re drinking wine together. No one. Ever. This is information you take to the grave, the ultimate test of your confidentiality oath.”

Niven nodded slowly. “I will tell no one what is spoken to me in confidence for as long as I live,” she promised. “I swore an oath to that and I take it seriously.”

“All right then,” Celia said. “Here it is in a nutshell. Me, Teach, and Jake are in a relationship with each other.”

“A… relationship?” Niven asked.

“A romantic and sexual relationship,” Celia said. “This has been going on for more than five years now, since Teach was about three months pregnant with Caydee.”

“You mean… you all do it with… with… each other?”

“We do,” Laura confirmed.

“At the same time?”

“Not always, but quite frequently,” Celia said, “but that is not the primary basis of the relationship. We do not expect you to understand or condone what the three of us have together, just that you keep it to yourself. We are in love with each other. Teach and I are both bisexual. We both love Jake. Jake loves both of us. We both love each other. Let us just have you assume in your own mind that these statements are correct. You don’t have to believe it or approve of it, you just have to take our word that, in our own minds at least, this is the case. Can you follow along with us on this?”

“Yes,” she said, her mouth still open, “but how… uh why…”

“Hows and whys don’t matter,” Celia said. “The situation is what the situation is. We need to be honest with you about this because you’re going to be my doctor through this thing. I need to be able to trust you and you need to be able to trust me for this relationship to work. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” Niven said, still reeling. “It makes sense.”

“Jake and I are not really divorced,” Laura told her. “I mean… in the eyes of the law and the courts and public opinion and all that, we are, but in our hearts and in our day to day lives, we’re really not.”

“Why did you get divorced then?” Niven could not help but ask.

“So that Jake and Celia could get married,” Laura said.

“I… I don’t understand,” Niven said.

“I want to have a baby,” Celia said. “I want to have a legitimate baby that can take the father’s name and grow up not being thought of as a bastard or a lovechild. That is very important to me. Teach was nice enough to let me borrow her husband for a while.”

“As long as she gives him back when she’s done with him,” Laura said with a smile.

Niven had thought the story had been as bizarre as it could possibly be. With this statement and with the explanation that followed, she found she was wrong.

*****

Gloria Niven did take doctor-patient confidentiality quite seriously. Though she had been blown away (and more than a little intrigued) by what Celia and Laura had told her about their relationship with Jake Kingsley, she had no intention of ever mentioning it to anyone. That secret was safe, at least from being revealed by her. But there was also the matter of the simple fact that Celia Valdez-Kingsley was pregnant in the first place (assuming that she actually was, verbal reports of a positive home pregnancy test were not considered reliable in the medical community). She needed to take steps to keep her famous patient’s condition secret until Celia was prepared to release the information publicly.

She had already talked to her staff about keeping Celia’s condition (or the fact that she was even a patient of Niven’s) confidential, gently but clearly letting them know that any breach of that confidentiality that could be traced to an individual would be cause for immediate termination from employment and possible criminal charges. Yes, it was juicy gossip, but they were not to share it with anyone, not their boyfriends, their girlfriends, their best friends, their priests, their pastors, or even their pets. All had assured her they would abide by this and she believed them.

But there were now other people about to get involved. The outpatient lab downstairs was not a part of her business, but she had considerable influence there as fully twenty percent of their business came from her office. She called up the manager of the lab while Celia was still sitting in the exam room. She had to go through a receptionist to get to him, but that receptionist put her right through.

“Hi, Dr. Niven,” the voice said. “Steve Serna here.”

“Hey, Steve,” Niven said. “I need you to do something for me.”

“I’ll do it if I can,” he told her pleasantly.

“Come up to my office as soon as possible and bring with you whichever phlebotomist currently working that you consider the most trustworthy. Have him or her bring whatever is needed to draw a CBC, a CMP, an hCG quant, and an ABO-Rh. A standard new pregnancy blood workup, in other words.”

“Come up there?” Serna asked, confused. “Why would we do that? Just send the patient down to us with the order slip, like usual.”

“This is a high profile patient who is not ready to announce that fact just yet,” Niven said. “We want her presence in this building to be as unobserved as possible.”

“Who is it?” he asked her.

“You’ll find that out when you get up here,” she replied.

“But… well… we need to have labels for the blood tubes,” he said.

“You can print them up when you take the blood tubes back down,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“It’s against policy and procedure,” he said. “We cannot run labs that were not labeled in the presence of the patient. We have to be able to verify name and date of birth of the samples with the patient at the time of draw.”

She gritted her teeth in frustration for a moment but did not protest. She actually understood the explanation. Failure to follow that policy could easily lead to mislabeled specimens. There could be all kinds of consequences, some quite nasty, if that were to occur. “Okay,” she told him. “How about this? I send one of my medical assistants down with the order sheet for the labs. You personally input them and print the labels. Then you and your phlebotomist come up here and make the draw. You then run the samples yourself. You are a certified clinical lab scientist, are you not?”

“Yes, I am, but I’m an administrator. I haven’t run the equipment in more than six years. Someone familiar with their operation should run the samples.”

Niven sighed. Again, she understood the concern. Steve would likely foul up the samples if he tried to run them. “Okay,” she said. “That makes sense. Have your most trustworthy CLS run them, but he or she must understand the seriousness of confidentiality here.”

“Who is this patient?” Steve asked. “I’m going to know as soon as you bring the order slip down.”

Again, he had a point. She gave in. “It’s Celia Valdez-Kingsley,” she said.

“Wow,” Steve whispered.

“Exactly,” Niven said. “She believes she is pregnant. I just signed her up as a patient. She wants to keep this information private until she is ready to release it. This is a very common thing among newly pregnant women but Celia is not a common woman. Everyone in SLO County knows who she is and knows who her husband is. They are major celebrities. All it would take is one person with knowledge of her situation to mention it to one other person in their life and the secret is out and we would be responsible for that. We need to make sure that does not happen. My people have all been told how important confidentiality is in this case. You need to make sure that all of your people understand the same. No one who does not need to know is told about this. Those who do need to know need to keep their mouths shut. If a breach in that confidentiality is traced back to a member of our team, that person will be immediately fired and possibly criminally prosecuted. If it is traced back to someone in your lab, I obviously cannot fire them, but I can cease sending my patients to you and I can encourage the other physicians in this building to do the same. So, I ask you again, can you impress upon your people the importance of absolute confidentiality in this matter?”

“I can,” he said. “We rely on the doctors in this building for more than eighty percent of our business. If we lose eighty percent of our business, corporate would shut us down. We’ll be up in five minutes.”

Steve really had no reason to come up, but he did so anyway. With him was a cute girl in her late twenties and a fussy looking bald man in his forties. All three of them were wearing white lab coats. Niven led them into the exam room where Celia was waiting. Laura had gone back out to the car to avoid giving the lab people one more thing to keep secret.

Steve introduced himself and his two underlings to Celia. Carla was the phlebotomist. Gary was the lab scientist. All three seemed quite awed to be in her presence. Carla told Celia how much she loved her music. Celia thanked her politely.

“Okay, Celia, I’m going to go ahead and draw the blood now,” Carla told her. She held up a sheaf of three labels. “Can you verify your full name and date of birth for me.”

“Celia Valdez-Kingsley,” she said. “January 15^th, 1962.”

“Very good,” Carla said. “Just want to make sure I have the right labels.”

Celia, as someone who exercised regularly and worked with her hands, had good veins. Carla had many to choose from. She decided to go for the easiest, the large vein in the crook of Celia’s right elbow-the antecubital vein, or AC, it was called. She put a tourniquet around the bicep and then cleaned the area with an alcohol swab. She put her tubes in easy reach and then opened up the sterile packaging that held the phlebotomy needle. Though she was not showing it, she was very nervous. She was good at her job, one of those who were specifically called to obtain difficult sticks, but this was Celia Valdez she was poking here! What if she missed on Celia Valdez? She took a deep breath, commanding herself to be calm and then made the stick. She did not miss. She plugged her tubes into the back of the needle assembly one by one. She filled two that had purple tops on them and one that had a green top. She then put a sterile 2x2 swab over the needle site and removed the needle. A safety device covered it automatically as it came out. She secured the bandage with a large piece of tape.

“That’s it,” she told Celia, carrying the needle over to the sharps container on the wall.

“I hardly felt it at all,” Celia said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Carla said, stripping off her gloves and tossing them in the trash can. She then took a pen from her pocket and wrote the time, circled the date, and then put her initials on each label. She peeled them off and stuck them to the blood tubes, which she then handed to Gary the scientist.

“I hope that Steve has impressed upon the three of you the need for absolute confidentiality in this matter,” Niven said.

“He has,” Gary said. “We will tell no one what we did up here.”

“No one means no one,” Niven said. “Not your coworkers, not your spouses, not your clergy, not your best friend. No one.”

“I will tell no one,” Carla said. “I promise.”

“Me as well,” Gary said.

“Thank you,” Celia told them. “I want to keep this thing private until I know I’m really pregnant and I’m reasonably sure I’m going to actually deliver a baby. If even one person outside of the medical establishment hears about this, I guarantee it will be on the news within twenty-four hours. That’s the life I live.”

They nodded solemnly, actually feeling a little pity for her. Imagine having to live life like that. Maybe being a beautiful celebrity was not all roses and champagne.

They left the room a minute later, telling Celia it had been nice to meet her.

“Do you think they’ll keep their word?” Celia asked the doctor.

“I think so,” she said, “at least until you break the story on your own anyway.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Celia said.

*****

Meghan had watched Caydee for the appointment but did not know what the appointment was about. She did have her suspicion, but she said nothing. She simply gave the two ladies hugs, gave additional hugs and kisses to Caydee herself, and then left, heading back to the townhouse she shared with Massa. She would not mention her suspicion to him. She was good at confidentiality.

Dr. Niven called personally about an hour after Meghan left. Celia took the call.

“I have your labs back,” the doctor told her.

“Okay,” Celia said. “What’s the word?”

“You are indeed pregnant,” Niven said. “Your hCG quantitative came back at thirty-eight thousand. That is consistent with a four to five week pregnancy and it matches up with your reported last menstrual period of September 27^th. That would give us an approximate date of conception of October 11 and an estimated date of delivery, or EDD, of July 3^rd.”

“That’s awesome!” Celia said happily. “That all matches up with what I found on Google.”

“I’m glad I can validate Dr. Google,” Niven said. “Anyway, we can refine things a bit when it comes time for the first ultrasound at eight weeks estimated. As for your other labs, your CBC and metabolic panel were all perfectly normal. Blood count is good, platelets are good, all electrolytes good, kidney function and liver function are both beautiful. As for your blood type, you are indeed A-negative. If Jake is indeed O-negative, there is no need for concern for an immune reaction.”

“I already knew that, but it’s good to have confirmation,” Celia said.

“All right then,” Niven said. “We’ve already set up your next appointment for December 16^th. That’s when we’ll do the first ultrasound and get a look at your little passenger so we can estimate due date, check for any abnormalities, and make sure he or she is actually implanted in the right place. It will be too early, however, to determine sex of the baby at that point. Will Jake be able to come with you?”

“I’ll have to look at his tour schedule but he’s already told me that if there is any way for him to be there, he will.”

“Very good,” Niven said. “I’ll look forward to seeing him again. In the meantime, you have the pamphlets I gave you and Laura told me she still has a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Start reading that. Follow the advice. Avoid alcohol as much as possible and avoid any marijuana use. Current studies say that caffeine is okay as long as you don’t go crazy with it. No Motrin or other NSAIDs including aspirin and Naproxen. There is a list of medicines you can and cannot take in the pamphlets. If something does not appear on the ‘can’ list, don’t take it even if does not appear on the ‘cannot’ list. Keep exercising like normal. Keep eating like normal. If you start to get morning sickness, give me a call and I’ll prescribe Zofran for you. A little bit of spotty vaginal blood at times is normal but consistent bleeding or heavy bleeding and abdominal cramping are not normal. Get to the ED at Baptist if anything like that happens.”

“I understand,” Celia said.

“I gave you my personal number,” Niven said. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you have any concerns.”

“I won’t,” Celia said.

*****

Celia had lots of concerns, but she did not call Dr. Niven about them. None of them were anything more than speculative or imaginary concerns that any forty year old pregnant woman might have. Jake had been updated by phone on her official condition. He expressed sincere happiness about it. They checked the tour schedule and found that December 16^th was the first day of a three day break in the tour between the last of two December 15^th shows in Tampa, Florida and the first of two in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jake booked a charter flight to take him home after the show in Tampa. He would have to pull a Doug Foreman and bail immediately after the performance, go to the hotel and shower, and then go to the airport and board the charter plane for the five hour flight home, sleeping during the flight so he would be awake enough for the 8:30 appointment.

Meanwhile, they still planned on the reunion in Charlottle on December 4^th to visit with Jake for four days and nights. Both of Jake’s women were already missing the harder things in life and wanted their share. And Laura could not wait to engage in one of her favorite activities now that Celia did not actually need Jake’s deposits to stay in place. It had been a long time since she had last enjoyed that pleasure.

“I’m going to fly back to be with Rev,” Celia told Laura the evening of November 16^th, just after the two of them had finished up an hour-long sapphic session that had ended with mutual, trib produced orgasms. Both were sweaty and quite satiated.

“I figured,” Laura said, unperturbed. If all went well, Celia would have to give Jake back in another year or so. She understood wanting to spend as much time as possible in his company as his lawfully wedded wife.

“I’ll call Rev up in the morning and have him make the flight arrangement.” She shook her head a little. “I’ll have to look at the schedule just to see where he is going to be.”

“They’re flying to Baltimore tomorrow morning,” Teach told her. “They did the last show in Philly tonight. They’ll have a two day break before the first Baltimore gig.”

“Oh… I see. How do you keep track of all of that?”

“I usually can’t,” she said, “but I talked to Jake this morning before he left for the meet and greets. You were still sleeping.”

“That makes sense,” Celia said. “I’ll have to fly into Baltimore then.”

“Yep,” Laura said, snuggling a little tighter into her lover, enjoying the feminine smell of their combined musk, enjoying the clammy feel of her skin. She kissed her, enjoying the taste of her own juices on Celia’s lips. “I really do love you, love.”

“And I really do love you, Teach,” Celia returned with complete sincerity. “I hope it doesn’t bother you that I want to go back and be with him. I could lie and say it was to keep up the subterfuge we’re putting on, and part of that is true, but that’s not really the reason. I just want to be with him as much as can.”

“I understand, love,” Laura assured her.

They fell asleep in each other’s arms and slept soundly.

The next morning, after breakfast (Laura had to cook it since it was the weekend and Elsa was off-duty, but, since delivery was not available at their isolated house, she had become reasonably good at making breakfasts and even the occasional dinner), Celia consulted the tour schedule to see what hotel the band would be staying in for the Baltimore dates. It was the brand new Marriott of Baltimore on the waterfront. She checked the time. It was 10:20 AM here, which meant it would be 1:20 PM in Baltimore. The band should have made their flight and gotten checked in by now. The schedule helpfully included the hotel’s phone number. She dialed it and asked for Glenn Sutter’s room. The operator, knowing who Glenn Sutter was and that anyone who asked for him was authorized to speak to him, made the connection. A moment later, she was talking to Rev.

“Can you get me a flight to Baltimore today?” she asked him.

“Probably,” he said. “I’ll just have to call the concierge. Can’t stay away from me?”

“I can’t stay away from you,” she confirmed. “My next OB appointment is not until the day she does the ultrasound so there’s no real reason for me to stay here. Teach and Caydee and Sharon will still fly out to meet us on the 4^th. I feel bad about missing Caydee and Kelvin’s birthday, but… it would be a little awkward anyway, what with your parents and the Nerdlys’ parents all being there.”

“I understand,” Jake said. “Laura is cool with it?”

“She is cool with it.”

Three hours later, she was the only passenger on a Gulf Stream jet that was accelerating down the runway at SLO Regional. Another twenty thousand dollar flight across the country. But it was fast and easy and there was no airport security to deal with. And, though they would receive endless grief about it from Jill, it was only money.

*****

Jake and Celia kept their secret from all the rest of the band except Nerdly, who had deduced the reason for Celia flying back to SLO the moment he had been informed about it. Nerdly kept his silence and did not even mention his suspicion to Jake or Celia. Everyone else in the band and road crew were under the impression that Celia had had to fly home to deal with some KVA business that required her presence. No one questioned this. It seemed reasonable enough on the surface.

Celia developed no morning sickness (or afternoon sickness or evening sickness for that matter). She experienced no bleeding. She experienced no fatigue or soreness in the breasts. In fact, she continued to feel perfectly fine. Had she not been quite late for her period and had she not had a positive serum pregnancy test, she would have had no suspicion that a little embryo was growing in her. A nickname for the embryo soon developed. She had taken to referring to it as “my little passenger” as Dr. Niven had referred to it. Jake soon picked up on this as well, although he would say “the little passenger”.

Celia worried incessantly about her little passenger. Having lost her first little passenger to a narrow fallopian tube, her mind kept picturing the passenger lodged in her remaining tube, growing and growing and running out of room to expand, doomed to a fate of trying to kill its mother before dying itself. Not out of maliciousness, but out of circumstances and fate. She kept expecting to feel that hollow pain erupt within her, signaling the onset of ectopic rupture. Any little minor twinge in her belly, no matter how brief or how mild or what location, would trigger a panic attack within her.

She always felt better when Jake was with her. Just his very presence was enough to soothe her mind and his soul. Intemperance performed their two shows in Baltimore and then everyone moved onto Richmond, then Virginia Beach, and then Raleigh for one show apiece. And then, the morning after the Raleigh show, they flew to Charlotte. When they took off to make the short hop, Laura, Caydee, and Sharon were in their own plane, at 7:10 AM Pacific Time, at San Luis Obispo Regional Airport, ready to take off for the five hour flight. They would arrive a little after three o’clock Charlotte time. Jake and Celia took a nap (just a nap) and then had a late lunch. They lounged around in their sweatpants and t-shirts, Celia without a bra on, watching a little television, mostly just relaxing. They were well into the grind of touring at this point and, while it was not nearly the same grind they used to undertake, what with all the built in off-days and extended travel breaks, it was still a grind, and they were both over forty now and exhausted.

At 3:30 PM the hotel phone rang. It was Laura on her cellphone, letting them know that they were in the limousine and on the way from Concord Regional Airport to the hotel. They would be there in about thirty-five minutes.

“I can’t wait to see you and Caydee,” Jake told her.

“We can’t wait to see you either,” she said.

Jake and Celia both took quick showers-separately to avoid temptation-and then got dressed in their jeans and t-shirts. Celia put a bra on and tied her hair back into a ponytail. She then turned on some smooth jazz-Laura’s favorite-on the room’s sound system. Jake put on some of his cologne, dabbing it on his neck, while Celia wore some of her vanilla body spray.

The suite’s door clicked and was opened. Laura and Caydee were both there, both dressed in jeans and green shirts. Behind them was a bellhop with a luggage cart. As always, Laura traveled light but Caydee traveled heavy. At least she was done with diapers and portable cribs now, although if all went well, those things would be making a reappearance in about seven months or so.

“Daddy!” Caydee nearly screamed when she saw him. She rushed over to him and leapt into his arms. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, little girl,” he told her, hugging her little body to his and giving her kisses.

“I’m a big girl now,” she said huffily.

“Sorry,” he said. “Big girl. And you’ve certainly put on some weight since the last time I saw you.”

“Forty-eight pounds as of the last appointment,” Laura said, giving him a sly smile. She offered no affection, verbal or physical, to him for the time being. It was already scandalous enough that she would be staying in the same suite with Jake and Celia. No sense giving more juicy gossip that might be spread around. They had no hope of concealing the fact that Laura, Jake’s ex-wife, would be staying here. Their story was even partially true: that Laura was bringing Caydee to visit her father for one of the tour breaks. There was no sense in renting a separate suite just for Laura when the suite Jake was in had a perfectly good fold-out couch in the sitting room. Laura had already let that story slip to the front desk girl who had provided her with her keycard (in the name of Lynn Dolan, of course) and to the bellhop on the way up in the elevator.

The bellhop-a young male who was maybe old enough to legally buy an alcoholic beverage, maybe not-unloaded the baggage from the cart and then graciously accepted a ten dollar bill from Laura. The moment he closed the door behind him, Laura was in Jake’s arms, hugging him tightly and kissing one side of his face while Caydee, giggling and still in Jake’s arms as well, kissed him on the other side. Caydee did not kiss him on the mouth though. And she certainly did not slide her tongue between his lips. Laura did both of these things. Jake relished the feel of his wife’s body, relished her smell and taste even if she was a little ripe from a day of traveling.

“Did Sharon find her way to Nerdly’s room?” Jake asked once all the hugging and kissing was done (but not the hungry looks from Laura).

“Presumably,” Laura said. “She got out of the elevator with us. We’re going to meet for dinner at 6:30 or so. You and C pick the place.”

“Sounds good,” Jake said.

Laura stowed her bag in the main bedroom while Jake carried Caydee’s gear over to the fold-out couch. Jake opened a bottle of Merlot from the bar and poured two glasses. He then poured some ginger ale over ice for Celia and some apple juice for Caydee. They all sat on the couch and sipped from their drinks.

Caydee sat on Jake’s lap and frequently gave him hugs. It was quite clear that she was happy to see him. She told him she missed him multiple times and that she loved him even more. He returned the sentiment each time. He really had missed his daughter terribly while out on the road.

After finishing her glass of wine, Laura announced that she was going to go take a shower because she felt icky and gross. She disappeared into the bedroom, leaving the door open behind her.

“You know,” Celia said with a naughty smile, “I think that Teach could probably use a nap about now, don’t you?”

Jake looked over at her, picking up what she was laying down. “Maybe she could,” he returned. “She probably only got three or four hours of sleep on the flight in.”

“Exactly,” Celia said. “And Caydee probably slept most of the flight, didn’t you, Caydee girl?”

“I sleeped most of the way,” Caydee confirmed. “Me get sleepy flying high in the sky.”

“And you also just had a major shift of time zones,” Celia said. “Maybe we should find a way to burn off some of your energy so you’ll have an easier time sleeping tonight.”

“How we do that?” Caydee asked.

“Maybe you and I could go down to the pool for a bit while Mommy and Daddy nap,” Celia suggested. “They have an indoor pool here, after all. And I’m sure Mommy packed your swimsuit, right?”

Caydee’s smile lit up her entire face. She had not been swimming in months now. “Swim in the pool!” she cried. “Fuckin’ A!”

“Fuckin’ A,” Celia agreed. “Let me go get changed into my suit. You do the same.”

Caydee quickly stripped off her clothes while Jake dug in her clothing suitcase and found her one-piece swim suit (it was emerald green with white polka dots). He handed it to her and she quickly donned it and then put on the flip-flops that Jake had also dug out. Celia then emerged from the bedroom dressed in her own frumpy one-piece, a bathing cap on her head, flip-flops on her feet, and two large bath towels in her hands. She picked up her key card from the table.

“Come on, Caydee girl,” she told the five year old. “Let’s go have some fun so Mommy and Daddy can nap.”

“Swim in the pool!” Caydee said excitedly. “Bye, Daddy!”

“Bye, big girl,” he told her, accepting another hug and another kiss on the cheek.

“Bye, big boy,” Celia said with a smile, giving him a kiss on the lips. “Make her feel good.”

“I will,” he promised. “Thanks for the naptime.”

“Anything for my loves,” she said.

A moment later, they were gone.

Jake turned and walked back into the bedroom and then the shower and bathing room. Laura had just emerged from the shower and was toweling off. Her hair was dry as she had not washed it. She looked and smelled incredible.

“Hey, sweetie,” she said, bending to dry her legs. “What’s up?”

“You know what’s up,” he told her, reaching out and caressing her bare buttocks.

“Mmm,” she said, clearly enjoying his touch, but also shying away. “Don’t start anything you can’t finish right now.”

“I’m not,” he said. “We have all the time we need to finish.”

“Huh?”

“C thought that maybe you and I could use a nap after your long day of travel. She took Caydee down to the pool.”

“Did she now?” Laura asked, smiling.

“She did.”

“Well… in that case, I guess there is no point in getting dressed. Why don’t we retire to the bed?”

“Let’s do it,” he said.

They went back to the bedroom. Jake closed the door. He then stripped off his clothes. His member was already erect from the sight and smell of Laura’s naked body.

“How about I eat your pussy out for you?” he asked. He had eaten Celia’s pussy plenty of times since leaving for the tour, but Laura had her own unique taste, texture, and smell and he longed to experience it after so long without it.

“No,” Laura said. “There will be time for that later. I want to fuck you.”

“Uh… well, okay,” Jake said. “Just jump right in?”

“Let’s kiss a little first,” she said, “and then I want you to suck my boobies and maybe kiss my neck. I want to smell you as you get worked up. But I want that dick inside of me. I need that dick inside of me. It hasn’t been there in way too long. I want to fuck you in all of our favorite positions. I want you to fuck me until I come. And then I want to feel you coming inside of me.”

That was all Jake needed to hear. “All right then,” he said. “Let’s do this thing.”

They did that thing. They did it for more than thirty minutes, utilizing all of their favorite positions. They did cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, doggy style, and then finished up with missionary while tongue kissing each other. Laura had three orgasms during the thrusting. Jake finally blasted off inside of her while her hands scratched at his back deep enough to leave marks.

After, they really did nap. They were still asleep when Celia and Caydee returned from the pool. They entered the room still in their wet bathing suits.

“Mommy and Daddy still sleepin’,” Caydee said, observing them cuddled together beneath the sheets.

This woke both of them up. “What time is it?” Laura asked.

“5:20 local,” Celia said. “Caydee and I are going to take a quick big girl shower to rinse off the chlorine. You two should probably do the same after.”