by Nicole Field
Rebecca digested that, remembered all the times she wondered if Kate and Grant were screwing. "Kate's not, she and Grant never…?"
Elizabeth smiled. "She and Grant do plenty. It's just that her interest in male genitalia is purely academic. If it doesn't involve Zeus and someone getting turned into a swan after or something, she doesn't care for it."
"Oh," Rebecca said.
"Anyway, Kate. You know that story, I believe. She got Michaela addicted to her coffee, and then to her. And Kate loves Grant, truly, despite what you saw last time. And then well, Kate was Kate, and she was determined to seduce me."
"Sure," Rebecca said. Like this was normal and not a lot of information and confirmation all at once.
"What are you thinking, Becca?"
"I don't know. A lot of things."
It was an honest answer and Elizabeth seemed to take it as such. "Is there anything you want to ask?"
A lot of things, so many things. Her mind jumped back to the beginning of the story though. "You said Grant and Michaela were in the hospital together?"
Elizabeth nodded, but her words didn't match the gesture. "Yeah. But that's, those aren't my stories to tell. They're both fine though. No big, tragic cancer reveal coming your way. Promise."
"That's good."
"You can ask Michaela. Ask Grant. If you'd like to know. If you'd like to come back."
"It's my job to come back."
"I'm not here about your job, Becca."
Elizabeth was looking at her with such intensity that Rebecca couldn't hold the gaze. She sipped from her drink and stared at the cup. "Do the others know you're here?"
"Of course. Grant's hiding from you, as well he should be. Kate, I know you know Kate better, she fought for a bit to be the one to talk to you, but I was there for all of it and she wasn't."
"Why?" Rebecca said after a few moments of pretending to care about her drink. "Why tell me all this?"
"I think you know why."
The words were careful, measured. Rebecca's heart trip-hammered. She was misunderstanding. Clearly. She'd misunderstood so much already. "
"You… think you like me?" Rebecca asked, like a junior high school idiot. But all of her hopes and fears were in that one single sentence.
"I know I like you. All of us do. I'm certain of that, at least. But I won't, I can't start anything without all parties involved being fully aware of the situation. The kids, it's not fair to them or anyone else."
"No," Rebecca agreed, trying to get her brain to catch up with her heart rate.
"I need to know if someone likes me as well, before I get into anything."
Elizabeth was as vulnerable as Rebecca had ever seen her and now with all of this on the table, Rebecca felt closer to her than she ever had.
"I like you," Rebecca said, probably too fast. "I like all of you. I love your family."
"Good." Elizabeth's shoulders visibly relaxed.
"So, what does that mean then, really? Going forward."
Elizabeth sipped her drink, nails tapping against the Styrofoam. "Hopefully, that we can see more of you, spend more time outside of your tutoring Andy. If that's okay with you. I don't want there to be awkwardness because Grant and I pay you to tutor him."
"There won't be," Rebecca answered, nodding her head. "And I'd like that."
"Good," Elizabeth repeated. "I'd, we would like to see where this goes. Explore. No pressure, no expectations. No one's asking you to join a harem." Elizabeth frowned. "Shit. I probably should've led with that, shouldn't I?"
Rebecca laughed as the usual levels of comfort between them returned.
*~*~*
The next time she saw them, it wasn't for a lesson. Grant presented her with a huge tray of cookies, covered in very hard frosting. 'Sorry' was carefully etched in blue across each one.
"They wouldn't let me add 'I'm an asshole,'" Grant told her with uncharacteristic seriousness. "But I was an asshole. And if I ever talk to you like that again, feel free to hit me in the face."
"I'm not going to do that," Rebecca said, slightly shocked.
"I will," Michaela declared cheerfully.
"Still friends, Teach?" Grant asked, ignoring her.
"Yes," Rebecca said. She had questions, but they were no longer urgent.
Kate grinned and hugged Rebecca tight. Rebecca froze briefly, met Michaela's eyes over Kate's shoulder. Michaela smiled and Rebecca breathed, then returned the embrace.
*~*~*
It was a little awkward, tutoring Andy now that she was no longer just his tutor, but they figured it out. There were no obvious changes at first; everyone was careful about the kids. Mostly Rebecca just spent more time and learned bit by bit what the dynamic of this family truly was, rather than what she'd thought from just watching them.
She got to see the inside of Kate and Michaela's house, the whole bookshelves dedicated to anything and everything Greek. Michaela complained about these, saying that every book was on Kate's e-reader and the extras were just taking up space, but Kate only laughed.
Rebecca saw that each child had two bedrooms, one in each house, and that both were crafted with equal amounts of care. She learned that more often than not, everyone was together in one home or the other.
She envied the children a bit. Her whole life up till now had been spent drifting from home to home, doing her best never to get attached. Andy, Ty and Ellie had not one yard to run around in, but two, and they treated the separate houses as one big one.
Rebecca liked her apartment fine for what it was, but after a day spent at the Harrison-Jones property, it came off as positively inadequate.
It was on one of those days that Rebecca found herself getting shot. Repeatedly.
The kids each had water guns of various sizes and, though they'd started out with teams, Rebecca somehow became everyone's target. Kate and Michaela—meant to be supervising while Elizabeth and Grant bought groceries—were doing a stellar job protecting her.
"Get Becca," Kate yelled, helping Tyler pump his super soaker when he fumbled to do it. "Get her, get her, get her!"
Rebecca called them all traitors, sure they'd given her the defective gun. She shrieked as she was hit in the back by a jet of cold water, making a show of tossing her useless weapon and falling to the grass.
"I surrender!" she called, laughing and shivering. "White flag, white flag!" She grabbed an edge of her shirt, more gray than white now, and held it up as much as she could.
Michaela came jogging up with Ellie on her shoulders. Ellie laughed and kept firing her little water gun, which thankfully held much less power than what the boys were using.
"Uh-oh," Michaela said, all dramatics. "Uh-oh Ello! I think you got her too much, I think she's Sleeping Beauty, I think you better wake her up before it's too late!"
Which was how Rebecca ended up with a messy kiss on the cheek from Ellie.
By the time Michaela helped her up, she was out of breath, covered in grass and water and generally a mess. She was taken back to the Jones place, where Michaela produced towels and fresh clothes.
"You fought valiantly," Michaela declared, affecting some sort of accent Rebecca guessed was meant to be medieval.
"Damn right," said Rebecca. "Especially with all of you jumping me at once."
"Would that be such a terribly bad thing?" Michaela asked. Then she told Rebecca to enjoy the shower. And winked, actually winked.
Jesus.
The shower itself was absurd. Bigger than Rebecca's entire bathroom. As the hot water loosened her muscles, Rebecca found her mind letting go as well, drifting. She'd been in more houses than she could count; the joys of a military childhood. She'd been sad to leave some of those. But none of them were homes. None of them were anything like this. She didn't catch herself in unguarded moments wondering what it would be like to stay in those places forever. In a matter of weeks, these two houses meant more to her than any of the countless others she'd passed through as a child.
No, not th
e houses, the people inside them. Rebecca did not want to pass through here, to pass in and out of their lives. She wanted to stay, could see herself staying. That realization was terrifying ad wonderful.
After she had enjoyed the shower, though not like she would have if she were alone, Rebecca slipped into the tan shorts and flannel shirt Michaela left for her. The shirt was big on her, but comfy. She rolled the sleeves up and wandered downstairs.
She could hear the others outside, hear Grant's voice, deeper than the rest. She knew then that he and Elizabeth were back.
She still jumped when she heard footsteps.
Elizabeth had entered the kitchen, a bright colored bag in her hand. Elizabeth was looking at Rebecca quite intensely. Her skin might as well be under the hot jets of the shower again.
"Well, hey there," said Elizabeth, her eyes raking over Rebecca.
"Hey. What, what are you doing here?" Rebecca asked, then immediately felt stupid.
Elizabeth held up the bag. "Fruit snacks. If Tyler doesn't have them stocked in both houses, he loses his mind."
"Ah."
Elizabeth set the bag on the counter. "You look—"
"Ridiculous?" Rebecca laughed, shrugged. The clothes felt good on her and she was very, very aware that they were last on Michaela's body. But she couldn't wear them like Michaela could, look like Michaela did in them.
"That is… not at all the word I would use."
Elizabeth approached her. Rebecca reminded herself to breathe. She could hear the dryer running nearby, her clothes inside. Grant saying something to Kate. She heard these things, but she didn't.
Elizabeth stopped right in front of her. She reached out a hand, touched the flannel over Rebecca's shoulder, then down her forearm, where the sleeves were hiked up.
Rebecca shivered, watched goosebumps rise on her arm under Elizabeth's fingers. Elizabeth took her hand away and Rebecca bit her lip to keep the protests inside.
Elizabeth's hand found Rebecca's cheek, rested there. Her other hand lifted, braced the back of Rebecca's neck and Elizabeth kissed her. Soft and exploratory, but lingering. Rebecca forgot what to do for a moment, the very basic things she should've been doing at that moment. By the time she figured them out, went to reach for Elizabeth, Elizabeth was pulling away.
"Too much too soon?" Elizabeth asked, the kiss broken and some distance between them, but her hands still in place, still touching Rebecca.
Rebecca closed her eyes. The skin of her cheek was incredibly warm, the pads of Elizabeth's fingertips just barely moving across it.
"Not," she swallowed, tried again. "Not at all the words I would use, Mrs. Harrison."
Elizabeth smiled, leaned back in.
*~*~*
Rebecca sat in the Harrison's backyard, the smell of barbecue thick in the air. The kids were playing nearby, shrieking occasionally. Grant and Michaela were fighting over the grill again.
"It's my damn house," said Grant as he and Michaela crowded each other. "I should be able to use my damn grill at my damn house."
"Your damn house, that I built."
"Always with that same line. God."
Rebecca let their banter wash over her without really hearing it. She'd been told by Elizabeth and Kate that this was an essential survival skill if she planned to stick around. And that they wanted her to stick around, so she'd better learn.
Elizabeth sat next to her at the outdoor table. Her dress was simple and summery, but she remained beautiful, elegant. And quieter than the other two, happy to observe.
So was Rebecca. She could watch them all day probably, and not just because Michaela was a thing of perfection in those shorts.
Rebecca's eyes shifted to Grant. It was a slow thing, the realization, made as a slight breeze hit them, kept the sun from being too hot. Something about the way Grant moved as he maneuvered around Michaela, the way the breeze shifted his clothes. One of his pant legs was just… wrong. The movement of it didn't make sense to her. The material caved inward a bit, like there was nothing to push back against it.
"Sunglasses?"
Rebecca blinked, looked at Elizabeth. "Sorry?"
"You're squinting," she said, in that quietly amused way she had.
Grant spoke up from where he was flipping burgers. "What do you think, wife? Is she finally noticing how great my ass is, or is it the other thing?'
"Other thing," Michaela said before Elizabeth could.
"Nice." Grant rolled his eyes.
"Well," said Michaela
"Bet you five bucks."
"Deal," Michaela replied without the slightest hesitation.
"Done. So, what is it, Becc? My perfectly sculpted, impossible to look away from ass, or my leg that isn't there?"
Rebecca froze. Stared. She'd never seen him in shorts, now she thought of it. And she'd never asked about those pain days, the hospitalizations. Hadn't worked up the nerve yet.
"It's the leg," Michaela said. "She was looking at my ass and your leg."
"Damn."
"Oh shit," Rebecca blurted before she could stop herself. "Sorry, I, you—"
Grant cut her off, said it was okay. "I like walking next to Michaela. Her ass is usually more interesting than my leg. Distracting. See, baby, our brilliant plan continues to flourish."
"Yup. I want my money."
Grant cursed quietly and backed off the grill to fish cash from his pocket. Michaela took it, kissed the bill, kissed him. She put the money in the back pocket of her shorts.
Kate came from inside with a tray of drinks, set them down. She passed Rebecca a glass.
"Might have to take that back," said Elizabeth. "Strengthen it up some for her."
"Oh?" Kate said, looking between them.
"She knows about the leg."
"Oh," Kate repeated, much more interested. "Did she ask or did he tell?"
"Told. Pay up."
When the food was ready and they all sat together and the boys learned that Rebecca knew now, Tyler nearly bounced in his seat.
"Daddy," he said, excited and with his mouth half open and crammed with food, "Daddy's a cyborg. The metal detectors at the airport hate him. Isn't that awesome?"
Rebecca, still in a daze, agreed that it was.
"It's cool," Andy said. "And dumb."
"Andrew," said Elizabeth, warning in her tone.
"What? His old leg was better. It had flames on it," he added, talking to Rebecca. "This one doesn't have anything cool, it's just boring."
"It is," said Grant, sipping from a beer. "Doesn't stop you from stealing it though, huh princess?" He reached over, combed at Ellie's curls, but he was watching Rebecca. "You can laugh. That was a joke. It wasn't but it was. It's a thing that happens that you can laugh at."
"Grant, she pretends to like enough of your stupid jokes. Leave the poor woman alone." Kate punctuated her words by squeezing Rebecca's thigh under the table.
*~*~*
Rebecca had to wait until later, when Ellie was napping and the boys were upstairs playing, to get more. Which should've given Rebecca plenty of time to gather her thoughts, prepare.
Should have.
The Harrison's couch was large and L-shaped, large enough to accommodate all five of them. Kate sat at one end of, her legs tucked under her. Michaela was perched on the arm next to her. Elizabeth and Grant were a bit further down the sofa. Rebecca had the opposite end from Kate's. She could see all of them. Speaking, that was the hard part.
"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I never noticed." She hated herself instantly. The apology sounded like pity, and the rest of it like she should've noticed, should've seen just that about him.
"It's okay," Grant said. He was sitting closest to Rebecca. "Do you want to know what happened?"
"Yes?" She did, but was she supposed to? Was she an ass for wanting to?
Grant sighed, rubbed at the stubble over his face. "You know how people have lucky numbers?"
Rebecca nodded, sat forward because Grant was speaking very softly.
"I don't. I have an unlucky number though. You know what it is?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"Sixteen. Do you," he breathed, shakily, "can I tell you why, Becca?"
Rebecca nodded.
Grant took her hand, ran his thumb over the back. His shoulders hunched. His head was low. "When this happened," he waved at his leg with his free hand, "I was the sixteenth victim of a shark attack that year."
His voice broke. His shoulders shook. Rebecca stared, listened to choked, strained noises from him. For long moments all she could do was watch him, hunched and heavy. Then she blinked, made herself see beyond him. Elizabeth was sat back with her head resting against the couch, eyes closed. Kate had her face hidden against Michaela's shirt. She was shaking too. Michaela watched Rebecca with a somber expression, stroked Kate's hair.
Michaela's lips twitched.
"You bastard!" Rebecca grabbed Ellie's tiny stuffed rabbit, left on the floor near her feet. She threw it as hard as she could at Grant's head. He'd looked up from laughing at just the right time, was struck in the eye.
"Hey, Jesus! I'm handicapped, I'm handicapped, come on!" His hand covered his eye. His other one left Rebecca's, tossed the rabbit aside after it landed on his lap, where his left leg should be.
"You're a fucking bastard!" Rebecca repeated, unsure if she was crying or laughing. The others were definitely laughing. "You're all bastards."
Kate clapped her hands. "This is so great. They did that to me and I never thought I'd get to be on the other side of it, but here you are."
"Fuck you," Rebecca grumbled.
"Now, is that any way for a teacher of small children to talk?"
"When she's surrounded by large, stupid, asshole children, yes."
Michaela snorted. "This is somehow going even better than I expected."
It took several moments for everyone to calm down, for Rebecca to stop cursing. Elizabeth confiscated Ellie's rabbit because it kept being used as a weapon.
"Come on," Grant said finally. "You can't stay mad. You can't, no one can lose a leg and not make a shark joke. That's one of the few perks of losing a leg."
"Bastard," Rebecca said again, half-hearted.
"I know. I did lose it in the water though. Kind of."