"Billie told me a little something about your case. How old is your daughter?" she asked Julie.
"Kaleigh is seven, going on twenty," Julie answered. "I never would have imagined that one child could be such a handful!"
"You should try three!" Cat replied.
"Three?" Julie exclaimed. "Gosh, I'd be losing my mind! How old are they?"
"Well, Seth is sixteen, Tara is fourteen and Skylar is nine," Cat answered.
Shannon immediately interrupted the conversation. "Sixteen? No way! You can't possibly be old enough to have a sixteen year old child."
"Actually, Billie is Seth's biological mother and the two girls are mine, although you'd never know it by the way they act. Tara is so much like Billie, it isn't funny," Cat chuckled.
Billie took Cat's hand and kissed the back of it. "And Seth is exactly like you, my love," she said. She looked sideways at Shannon.
Cat smiled back and nodded in agreement.
"So what keeps you busy, Cat?" Julie asked.
"She's a doctor," Billie said proudly.
"Actually, I'm an anesthesiologist," Cat replied.
"Wow, I'm impressed," Julie said. "How do you have time for a job like that, plus three kids?"
It was Cat's turn to reach for Billie's hand. "Well," she said, "Billie and I pretty much share the workload evenly, and the kids are pretty good about picking up after themselves. Oh, and we have a wonderful support system in our neighbor, Jen, who has saved our butts on several occasions. I don't know what we'd do without her," Cat explained.
"It sounds like you have a wonderful life," Julie said wistfully.
"It's more than wonderful," Cat replied.
"Well, with your help, Billie, maybe our lives will improve as well," Shannon remarked.
"There is always a loser in a case like this, Shannon," Billie replied. "I really hate fighting cases based on emotional issues. Legally, this is an open and shut case. The law is clearly on your side. Emotionally, it will cause deep wounds. The child may lose a set of grandparents, who probably love her very much," Billie replied, leading the rest of the evening's conversation toward the legal case at hand.
***
"Did you hear that?" Jen asked.
"Hear what?" Fred replied around a mouthful of medium-rare steak.
"I just heard my name. Someone just said something about a neighbor named Jen. Didn't you hear it?"
"Ah, no, I didn't."
Jen strained her neck to look in the direction she thought she heard the voice come from. "I know I heard it!" she exclaimed as she finally spotted the table in the alcove. There at the table, she saw four women. The two with their backs to her looked vaguely familiar. They looked very much like they were engaged in lively conversation, laughing, and smiling. The woman with short dark hair almost appeared to be flirting with one of the women, while the blonde at her side smiled and chatted amicably. Suddenly, the two women with their backs to Jen turned to look at each other.
"Oh. My. God," Jen exclaimed in a hoarse voice. "That's Billie and Cat over there."
"Where?" Fred asked.
"Over there." She pointed, trying hard not to be noticed by the two women. "So that's why they broke our date?" she rasped. "It doesn't look like a business meeting to me. It looks like Billie and Cat have bigger fish to fry than us, Fred." Hurt filled Jen's voice.
Fred patted Jen's hand. "Jen, don't jump to conclusions," he said. He looked at the women just as all four laughed suddenly. "Hmmm. I have to admit that the little gathering at the other table really doesn't look like a business meeting."
"So much for best friends," Jen said sadly. "I want to go home."
Fred looked at his wife incredulously. "But Jen, we just got here. They just barely delivered our meals."
"We'll ask for doggy bags. Fred, I really don't want them to see us."
"For crying out loud! Oh, all right," he said after seeing the hurt expression on Jen's face. "I guess it would be kind of awkward if they saw us."
Jen touched the side of Fred's face. "Thanks, hon," she said as she called the waiter over.
***
"Billie! Did you see that?" Cat exclaimed.
"See what?" Billie maneuvered the car through the dark city streets.
"Up there, in the cemetery," Cat replied. "I thought I saw something."
"Cat, who in their right mind would be in the cemetery at 10:00 p.m.? You must be seeing things."
Cat turned back around in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. "Maybe," she mumbled.
"So, what did you think of Shannon and Julie?" Billie asked.
"I really liked Julie. She's kind of quiet though."
"With Shannon around, I'm surprised she gets a word in edgewise," Billie remarked.
Cat looked at Billie. "I sense you don't like Shannon very much." she said.
Billie grinned sheepishly at Cat and chuckled to herself. "It's not that I don't like her. It's...well, it's the fact that she was openly flirting with you that I didn't appreciate," she explained.
Cat was flabbergasted. "She was not!"
"Oh, yes she was. When Billie said you were beautiful, that was quite an understatement!" Billie mocked. "You can't possibly be old enough to have a sixteen year old child!"
"Why, Billie Charland, I do declare you're jealous!" Cat said in her best Grandma Alex voice.
"Yer damned right I am, darlin'," Billie replied as Josephine Wyclyffe, causing a round of laughter that lasted the rest of the way home.
CHAPTER 6
Cat and Billie entered the kitchen to the sounds of the TV blaring loudly from the family room in the basement.
"I'll get it," Billie said.
"All right. While you do that, I'll check on Skylar." Cat detoured into the living room on her way to the second story bedrooms.
Billie descended the basement steps quietly, intending to sneak up on Tara to scare her from behind. She looked around when she reached the bottom stair. The back of the couch faced the cellar stairs, illuminated in stark relief by the only light source in the room—the TV. She saw no apparent sign of life. The room was seemingly empty. "Tara?" she said.
Two heads popped up quickly from behind the couch, followed by lanky bodies scurrying into a seated position.
"Mom!" Tara exclaimed nervously. "You're home early!"
"Apparently, not early enough!" Billie replied. "Wanna introduce me to your friend?" She crossed her arms and struck a pose that clearly indicated her agitated state.
Tara looked back and forth between her mother and her companion. "Ah, Mom, this is Kevin. Kevin, my mom," Tara said haltingly.
"Kevin," Billie reached out to shake the youngster's hand just a little too firmly. "Nice to meet you, now, I think it might be a good idea if you said goodnight to Tara."
Kevin winced as his hand was squeezed between Billie's fingers. He looked at Billie towering over him. "Ah, yeah. Right. Goodnight. Good idea." He turned to Tara. "I guess I'll see you later."
"I'll walk you to the door," Billie offered.
"Mom, you don't have to do that," Tara protested.
"Oh, yes I do. You wait right here, sweetheart, okay?" Billie replied in a saccharine voice.
Tara frowned. When Billie used that tone of voice, it usually meant she was in big trouble. A worried expression masked Tara's face as she watched Billie, followed by Kevin, ascend the stairs. Kevin looked back at Tara with an expression of sheer terror on his face. Tara winced once more.
Cat entered the kitchen at the same time Billie did.
"Sky is sound asleep, love, oh, and Seth isn't home yet," she proclaimed. She stopped short when she noticed the young man following closely behind Billie. Her eyes opened wide and then narrowed into slits. She placed her hands on her hips. "And who is this?" she asked sternly.
Billie took Kevin's arm and pushed him ahead of her, toward Cat. "This," she said with emphasis, "is Kevin. It seems he was keeping our daughter company while we were out. Kevin, this is Cat—Tara's other m
other," Billie said.
A confused expression crossed Kevin's face. He shook Cat's hand. "Nice to meet you."
Before Cat could say anything to the frightened young man, Billie took his arm once more and guided him toward the door. "Kevin was just leaving," she said. Billie pulled the door open and stepped aside for Kevin to exit. "Goodnight, Kevin," she said firmly.
"G...Goodnight," he said and made a hasty retreat out the door. He broke into a dead run down the driveway as soon as his feet hit pavement.
Billie closed the door and turned back to Cat. "Looks like we need to have that talk with Tara," she said. "I just hope it isn't too late."
***
Tara sat on the couch in the family room. "For crying out loud, we didn't do anything!" Tara exclaimed. She looked at both mothers, who stood before her, anger radiating from their body language.
"Tara, when I came into this room, the two of you were flat-out horizontal on the couch. Christ, I couldn't even see you until you scrambled to sit up!" Billie shouted.
"But we didn't do anything! Just a little kissing," she explained.
"You don't need to lie down to kiss, Tara," Billie responded angrily.
"Wait. Wait a minute," Cat tried to calm Billie down. "Look, if you said you didn't do anything, I guess we have to believe you."
Her comment drew an incredulous look from Billie. She turned back to Tara.
"Tara, do you understand what could have happened? Do you understand that allowing yourself to get into the position Mom found you in could lead to things you are not prepared to handle?" Cat asked while Billie paced behind her.
"Gee Ma; even I know you can't get pregnant by kissing. Geesh! I did have sex education in school. I do know how babies are made," Tara said sarcastically.
Billie looked to Cat with an expression on her face that clearly communicated her desire to strangle their oldest daughter.
Cat placed a restraining hand on Billie's arm to calm her. "Tara, we really can do without the sarcasm," Cat scolded. "Look, you're fourteen years old. You're a smart girl. We all know you can't get pregnant by kissing, but you can get pregnant by allowing the heat of the moment to carry you away, allowing yourself to do something you'll regret later."
"Ma, I had no intentions of having sex with Kevin," Tara said in a raised voice.
Billie stopped pacing and stood behind Cat's shoulder. "But did Kevin have intentions of having sex with you?" she asked sternly.
Tara looked at both of her mothers. "I...I don't know," she admitted. "Yes. No. Maybe. Heck, I don't know. I wouldn't have let him anyway," Tara vowed.
Billie looked at Cat for silent approval for what she was about to say to their daughter.
Cat nodded her head slightly in affirmation and began to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace.
Billie sat beside Tara and took the girl's hand in her own. Tara refused to look her in the face. Billie placed her fingers under Tara's chin and forcibly turned her head so that their eyes met. "Tara," Billie began. "Honey, you do know that if Kevin wanted to have his way with you, he might have succeeded, just because he's bigger and stronger than you. He could have used force to take what he wanted."
Billie silenced Tara's emerging protest with two fingers against the teenager's lips.
"I'm not saying he would have done that, but he could have. Baby, most teenage boys are testosterone bombs waiting to explode. It's foolish to tempt fate by teasing them like that," she explained.
"I wasn't teasing him," Tara said. "How can you even suggest such a thing?"
"Tara, you were lying on the couch with him, kissing him and allowing him to run his hands over your body. All the while, you had no intention of putting out. Like it or not, that's teasing. You're lucky we came home when we did, or things might have gotten out of control."
Billie paused and looked at her daughter while Tara studied her hands in her lap intently. Billie looked at Cat when Cat stopped pacing and stood directly in front of them.
Cat sat on the coffee table, facing Tara. "Tara, honey, look at me," she urged the teenager. When Tara finally met her gaze, she smiled. "Sweetheart, you know I love all of you with all my heart. We both do. You know that, right?" she asked.
Tara nodded.
"Well," Cat's voice choked with emotion when she began to speak again. "Honey, do you understand how your sister was conceived?" she asked.
Tara shrugged. "Obviously, there was a guy involved."
Cat nodded. "Yes, there was, but not in the way you think. You were only five, so I don't know how much you remember. Honey, your sister was conceived through rape," she explained.
Tara's eyes grew wide. "By that man who beat you up?" she asked.
"Yes," Cat replied. "He was bigger than me, and stronger than me, and he took what he wanted. He threatened to hurt you and your brother if I fought him."
Tears filled Tara's eyes and Cat took Tara into her arms. The dam holding back Tara's tears burst, allowing them to flow freely down her cheeks.
Billie sat on the other side of Tara and rubbed her back. She placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
Cat held Tara at arm's length. "Honey, I don't want you to think for one moment that I didn't want your sister. The moment I realized she was growing inside of me, I fell in love with her. Her conception is the only thing that kept me sane after what that man did to me. Tara, you'll be a woman soon enough. You'll fall in love, get married and have children of your own some day, but please don't rush it, and please don't put yourself at risk for having it forced on you. Do you understand, sweetheart?" she asked gently.
Tara closed her eyes and squeezed the tears from between her lids. She nodded and looked at her mothers. "I understand. I'm…I'm kind of tired. Can I go to bed?"
"Of course, love." Cat hugged her daughter once more. "I hope you have sweet dreams."
Tara hugged both mothers then bid them goodnight.
***
Cat sat on the edge of their bed and stared at the floor.
Billie glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "Cat?"
"I'm sorry, love, I didn't hear you. What did you say?" Cat replied.
Billie was brushing her teeth, within Cat's view, with the bathroom door wide open. She spit the rest of the toothpaste into the sink and quickly rinsed her mouth and brush then shut off the water. "Cat, are you all right?"
Cat nodded in a distracted sort of way. "Yes, I'm fine. I just can't stop worrying about Tara."
Billie sat on the bed next to her and draped her arm around Cat's shoulder. Cat immediately rested her head against Billie's cheek. "Honey, I know you are. I'm worried too, but I think we got the point across to her tonight."
"Billie, it's the way we had to do it that I'm upset about. It just seemed like such a hard topic to broach, you know?"
Billie looked into Cat's eyes. She never grew tired of looking at those beautiful green orbs. Each glance reminded her of how much she loved this woman. She smiled and nodded. "I know what you mean. To be honest with you Cat, I don't know if she would have really understood it until now," Billie reasoned.
Cat rubbed her face with both hands. "You may be right, Billie, but being a teenager is hard enough without having to learn something like that," Cat explained.
"Cat, I think you did a really good job of explaining to her that even though Sky wasn't conceived in love, she was born in love...and she is certainly being raised in a loving environment." Billie squeezed her shoulder slightly. "She'll be all right. I'll talk to her about it tomorrow if you think it will help," Billie offered.
Cat looked at Billie and smiled. She caressed the side of Billie's face. "Billie, have I ever told you what a good Mom you are?"
"Thank you, sweetheart." Billie lowered her face to capture Cat's mouth with her own. "And so are you," she added after a heartfelt kiss.
Once more, blue eyes met green as a spark of desire jumped between them. Without breaking the gaze, Cat gently brushed the erect nipple that stood out so prominently
through Billie's nightshirt.
Billie gasped.
Cat smiled. "You liked that didn't you, my love?" Cat slid to her knees on the floor in front of Billie and pushed Billie's nightshirt up.
Billie braced herself and spread her legs to allow Cat closer access. She dropped her head back and moaned as Cat inhaled one erect bud into her mouth. Spurred on by Billie's reaction, Cat placed one hand flat on Billie's breastbone, and pushed slightly until Billie lay back on the bed, her legs hanging off the end and feet securely planted on the floor.
Cat ran both palms across Billie's abdomen and grasped the waistband of Billie's panties. A moment later, the panties were discarded. "Shirt next."
Billie briefly sat and helped Cat pull the T-shirt over her head. That, too, was discarded.
Cat felt a flood of desire invade her abdomen as she took in the beauty of the woman before her. Tears unexpectedly filled her eyes. "How did I get so lucky?" she asked softly.
Billie lifted her head from the bed and looked at Cat kneeling before her. She sat up and took Cat's face between her palms. "Sweetheart, you're crying. What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is oh, so right. I love you, Billie. I have never been happier in my life."
"Then, why the tears?"
"I…I don't know. I guess I'm just overwhelmed by what I feel for you…for us…for our life together."
Billie smiled and wiped the tear that had fallen to Cat's cheek. "So this is happiness leaking from your eyes."
Cat nodded.
Billie pulled Cat's face toward her and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Cat. You've completely owned me since the day you walked into my aerobics class ten years ago. No matter how crazy our lives become, I look forward to spending every minute of it with you."
Cat looked directly into Billie's eyes. "I want you," she said.
Billie kissed her again. Soon the intensity of the kiss increased to the point that a deep growl grew from the depths of Cat's chest. Cat rose to her feet and one more placed her palm on Billie's chest. She pushed her back onto the bed and lay direct on top of her, breast to breast.
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