by Marci Wilcox
"Jarod wants to make a deal," Heather said.
"He's not exactly in a position to do that," Chuck said.
"I know," Jarod said. "But hear me out. I think this will work for all of us."
Chuck and Heather sat in kitchen chairs and looked down at Jarod.
"Go ahead," Heather said. "We're all ears."
Chapter Twenty-Five
The new Subaru Forester parked in the driveway of a mansion in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. Alex Alcott climbed out of the car and ran to the front door. His parents took their time. Candi carried a casserole dish and Tracy carried a bottle of white wine. Alex rang the doorbell and immediately heard a dog barking inside. He turned to his parents.
"Is that the puppy?" Alex said.
"It's either the puppy," Candi said, "or Heather singing. Hard to tell the difference."
Heather opened the door. A puppy stood between her feet, his tail wagging furiously.
"Alex!" Heather said. "Thank goodness you're here. This puppy needs a boy to play with."
Alex kneeled down. The puppy rushed to the boy and licked his face. Alex giggled.
"What's his name?" Alex said.
"Omar," Heather said.
"Can I play with him now?"
"I wish you would. Take him to the back yard."
The boy ran around the house to the spacious lawn with the puppy nipping at his heels.
"What kind of dog is Omar?" Tracy said.
"Not sure," Heather said. "He's a mutt we picked up at the animal shelter. I think he has some Pitbull and probably some kind of terrier. I chose him because he was sweet-tempered and cute as hell."
"Just like the original Omar," Candi said.
They were about to go in when a BMW pulled into the driveway. Dane got out of the driver's side and waved at the others. He went around the car and opened the passenger door. He held out his hand for Samira.
"Once a princess," Candi said. "Always a princess."
Dane and Samira joined the others at the front door.
Heather noticed how differently the three sisters dressed. Candi wore a fitted T-shirt and faded jeans with pink tennis shoes. She wore no make-up. Samira had on a shiny red blouse and skinny jeans with black high heel shoes. She had on heavy make-up. Heather had on a flower print summer dress, sandals, and just a little bit of make-up.
Heather was about to lead them inside when Samira grabbed her hand and shrieked.
"A ring!" Samira said. "I don't believe it!"
Heather blushed as the women admired her engagement ring. Chuck had wanted to buy her the biggest diamond he could find, but she insisted on something less expensive and showy.
"Look at how excited we are over an engagement ring," Candi said. "When did we become such typical women?"
"I remember how happy you were when we got you a new wedding ring." Tracy said as she put her arm around Candi's waist.
Candi twisted the gold wedding band on her ring finger. Jarod had thrown away David's wedding ring when he turned David into Candi. Even though she had changed genders, Candi was still legally married to Tracy. She and Tracy went to a jewelry store and got her a ring that was exactly like her old one, except smaller since her fingers were smaller than David's had been.
The group went inside. Candi put the casserole dish on the kitchen counter next to other bowls of food. Tracy handed the wine bottle to Heather. She went to the bar in the den and got out a wine bottle opener. She removed the cork and filled glasses for Tracy, Samira, and herself. Dane went behind the bar and prepared a Gin and tonic for himself. Candi got a beer out of the bar's refrigerator.
They went outside to the patio where Chuck stood in front of an outdoor grill. Smoke billowed about him as he turned over thick steaks. As he turned the steaks, he took sips from a cool bottle of craft beer.
"I hope you're all hungry," he said, "because I've got a ton of meat here."
Heather walked up behind him and pinched his butt.
"You're got the only meat I want," she said.
Standing the back yard, they had a stunning view of downtown Seattle. The Space Needle's lights twinkled as the sun set behind the mountains. But nobody was looking at the view. Instead, they watched Alex play fetch with Omar.
"How old is Alex now?" Samira asked.
"Ten," Candi said.
"I can't believe how easily he got used to the idea that his father is now his second mother."
"Kids can adapt to just about anything."
"It also helps that his second mom loves him so much," Tracy said. "You know, David wasn't so great about doing housework and looking after Alex. But Candi is all over that shit. She does more than me now."
Candi pulled Tracy to her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"I lost three years with my family. I'll never them for granted again. Taking care of Alex and Tracy makes me happy."
Tracy pulled Candi to her and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips.
"Time to eat!" Chuck announced.
He carried a plate of grilled steaks to the kitchen. Heather put out a stack of plates so that everyone could serve themselves. She made sure everyone had something to drink, including a soft drink for Alex. Candi called Alex in from the yard and made sure he washed his hands before sitting down at the table. Omar sat under the table in case anyone dropped anything.
When everyone had filled their plate and were seated, Heather stood and held up her wine glass.
"I'd like to say a few words," she said. "I was an only child so I didn't know what it was like to have a sibling until Prince Samir bought Candi and I our freedom in Dubai and though not official, he adopted us as his sisters. But then he revealed to us that he was actually a she and we became the three sisters. It's hard to believe that was only two and a half years ago. So much has happened since then.
"I discovered that I love Chuck Rosewood even more than Henry loved Charlene Thorn. I got my company back and with Chuck as my equal partner, we've expanded to the point where I can devote most of my time to developing a way for my machine to do what I always dreamed it would do: cure diseases that plague mankind.
"As for Candi, she has reunited with her wife and son. When we were slaves in Dubai, she talked about them every day. She missed them so much. It makes me so happy to see her reunited with them. But Candi's good fortune didn't end there. She was brave enough to write her story, leaving out none of the horrible details, about her experience and she shared it with the world. Her memoir, 'To Bimbo and Back' became a best seller last year. And then she went and sold the movie rights. What's going on with that, Candi?"
"The script has been written and they're almost done casting the movie," Candi said. "Scarlett Johansson is going to play me, Emily Ratajkowski is going to play Heather, and Sarah Shahi is going to play Samira."
"I don't see a lot of movies," Heather said, "so I have no idea who they are."
"Sarah Shahi is hot," Samira said. "I approve of her playing me."
"Which brings me to Princess Samira," Heather said. "Your family may have disowned you so you're not an official princess, but you will always be our princess. You rescued me and Candi and then you showed us your true self. Watching you come out of the machine as a real woman was like watching a beautiful butterfly emerge from her cocoon. When I first met you, you didn't know anything about business and now you run a highly respected and very successful international insurance company."
"And I get to have sex with the boss," Dane said.
"It's consensual," Samira said. "So, it's not sexual harassment."
Everybody laughed.
"If you're like me, the smell of those steaks is driving you crazy," Heather said. "So, let me wrap this up. To the Three Sisters."
"To the Three Sisters," everyone said in unison.
"To Doctor Bimbo," Candi said.
"To Doctor Bimbo," everyone said in unison.
"Let's eat!" Chuck said.
After dinner, Alex sat on the living room couch
and watched TV while Omar slept in his lap. Chuck, Dane, and Candi sat on the patio drinking beer and talked about the Seahawk's upcoming season and their chances of getting to the Super Bowl. Samira and Tracy helped Heather clean up and wash the dishes.
"How come you two aren't out there talking football?" Tracy said.
"If they were discussing real football, what you call soccer," Samira said, "then I would be out there. Though I do enjoy how those football uniforms hug the men's butts."
"Male or female, I've always been a science nerd," Heather said, "so I was never into sports."
"But Candi told me you're very athletic," Tracy said.
"I run, work out, and play tennis. But I never played a team sport."
Samira peered outside to make sure no one was coming. She put down the dish she was drying and grabbed Tracy's arm.
"Be honest," she said. "How are things with you and Candi?"
Tracy finished spooning the leftover potato salad into a plastic container and narrowed her eyes at Samira.
"We're good," she said. "Honestly, we've never been better."
"I have to admit, I've wondered about it as well," Heather said. "I felt certain that you and David loved each other enough that when she came home as Candi, that you would still love her."
Tracy put her hands on her hips.
"But you two nosy girls want to me to tell you about my sex life?" Tracy said.
Heather and Samira glanced at each other.
"It's none of our business," Heather said, "but yes. We'd like to know. But only because we care so much about Candi."
"Three sisters and all that jazz?" Tracy said.
"Something like that," Samira said.
Tracy leaned against the kitchen counter.
"When David and I first hooked up," she said, "we had sex all the damn time. But you know, that's how it is at the beginning of a relationship. It's like a thrilling expedition in which two people discover each other's body. I thought it would calm down after we got married, but that didn't slow David down. Especially after he returned home from a long assignment. He would be all backed up. He'd carry my ass into the bedroom and we wouldn't leave for days."
"I've had weekends like that with Dane," Samira said as she hugged herself.
"Got a little harder after Alex was born, but we still found the time," Tracy continued. "David was always the instigator. Not that I didn't want sex as much as he did, but I'd get involved in everyday stuff and he'd come along with that look in his eye and I would be like oh yeah, I like sex.
"Then David disappeared. I thought I was used to him working on stories that put him in harm's way, but he'd always come home. I didn't really panic until six months had passed without a word from him. I called his editor. He didn't know where David was either. Then a year passed. I was so scared. I knew in my bones that something terrible had happened to him. Then another year passed. I imagined every terrible thing in the world. The worst thing I imagined was that he had run off with another woman. But then I'd push those horrible thoughts aside. If not for me, then for Alex, I had to believe that David would come home someday."
Tracy wiped a tear from her eye. Samira hugged her.
"I'm sorry I pried," Samira said. "Heather's right. This is none of our business."
Tracy smiled.
"It's okay," she said. "I want to talk about it. I mean if I can't talk to Candi's sisters about this, then who can I talk to? Besides, we all know this story has a happy ending."
"Then tell us more," Samira said.
"I didn't have sex when David was gone. I was a married woman. I wasn't going to cheat on my husband. I didn't want to. As far as sex was concerned, that part of my body shut down. I wasn't interested. I was busy raising my son.
"Then my neighbor Jim Beers started asking me out. He said it wasn't a date, just two friends hanging out, and that I needed to get my mind off worrying about David all the time. I knew Jim well enough to know what he really wanted. The man was a horny bastard. But I went out with him because it did help distract me. We had a nice time. It was nice to have a man flirt with me, but I had no intention of letting him get in my pants.
"And then, this woman Candi shows up and tells me that she's David. You know how that went down. It was confusing to say the least. I never experimented with the lesbian thing in college. I was dedicated to dick. I figured we'd be one of those couples that doesn't have sex. That was okay with me. By this time, my pussy had grown cobwebs.
"But then we did have sex. And it blew my mind. I really liked it. Was it because I was a lesbian all along and didn't know it? No. The plumbing doesn't matter. It's the person. Candi was the same person that I fell in love with. She was still my husband.
"And then a new thought popped into my head. Candi wasn't my husband. She was my wife. I had a wife. I liked the sound of that. And I became the instigator. Candi is still a bit shy about wanting to have sex, so I've taken charge. I'm the one carrying her ass into the bedroom. I can't get enough of that hot body of hers. I want to do her all the time. I want to do her right now. So, when I say we're good, I mean it. We're good. Really good."
Heather and Samira glanced at each other and smiled.
"Heather," Samira said, "Are things are good between you and Chuck?"
"Yes," Heather said. "They're good. As far as who instigates sex, I'd say it's 50-50. What about you and Dane?"
"Things are not good."
Tracy and Heather stared at Samira.
"Oh no," Tracy said. "Is he lousy in bed?"
"The sex is amazing," Samira said. "The man knows what he's doing. The problem is he's my first and only lover. As a real woman. I'm not counting the wonderful times I had with Candi and Heather."
Tracy glared at Heather.
"I thought Candi told you everything that happened when we were in Dubai," Heather said.
"Obviously she skipped a few details," Tracy said.
"I guess she never told you about all the times we pegged Samira's ass when she still had boy parts? At the time, we didn't know if my plan was going to work. It was our way of bonding and it was a lot of fun."
"Tracy. If it will make you feel better," Samira said, "you can peg my ass. But the point I'm making is that since the machine physically transformed me into a woman, I've only had sex with Dane. I like him, but I'm not in love with him. He would love it if I would settle down with him."
"Does he want to marry you?" Heather said.
"I don't think he ever wants to get married again, but when I hint about seeing other people, he proclaims his undying love for me."
"I understand," Tracy said. "You want to see other people. That's natural."
"Yes! I want to date other people. Men. Women. It doesn't matter. I want to have sex with more than one man at a time. I want to have sex with a man and a woman at the same time. I want to do it all."
"I like Dane," Heather said. "But you're right, Samira. It wouldn't be fair to either of you if you stayed with him. Let him down gently."
Samira put her hands on her hips.
"You're right," she said. "And the sooner the better. I'm going to take Dane upstairs, rock his world one last time, and then break his heart. Excuse me, ladies."
Samira strode out of the kitchen to the patio. She whispered in Dane's ear. He jumped to his feet and left the others without a word. They climbed the stairs to the second floor.
"You're going to let Samira have sex in your house?" Tracy said.
"We have plenty of guess rooms," Heather said. "And it wouldn't be the first time Samira had sex with Dane in this house. Besides, you've had sex in this house."
Tracy covered her face with her hands.
"I'm going to kill Candi," she said. "She wasn't supposed to tell you."
"She didn't. You two can be very loud."
"I'm so embarrassed. Just kill me now."
Heather rolled her eyes.
"Don't be silly. It's one of the reasons why I bought a house. So, my sisters could s
tay over and feel at home when they're here."
Tracy stood next to Heather and stared into her eyes.
"If Candi is your sister, then that makes us family, right?" Tracy said.
"Absolutely," Heather said.
"There's something Candi has never told me. She claims she doesn't know, but I don't believe her. Maybe she's telling the truth. I know you know so now I want to know."
Heather looked confused.
"Know what?"
"What happened to Jarod Blackwell? Candi says she has no idea where he is now. She says he's probably living somewhere in Europe. That's bullshit. You're the smartest person I know. You wouldn't have let him get away that easily. You did something to him. I don't care if you killed him and cut him into pieces. The man deserved it for what he did to you and Candi. But I want to know."
Heather nodded.
"You're right," she said. "You deserve to know. Come with me and I'll show you."
Heather led Tracy to the den which she used as her home office. She had a desk next to a picture window. She turned on the computer sitting on the desk. She sat in the chair in front of the desk and had Tracy pull over a chair and sit beside her. This way they could look at the computer screen together.
"I had everything I needed to send Jarod to jail for a long time," Heather said. "I even had a videotape of him confessing his crimes. I even had him hogtied on his own kitchen floor. I shit you not. All I had to do was call the police to come pick him up."
The computer screen came to life. Heather clicked on a web browser.
"Why didn't you call the police?" Tracy said.
Heather chuckled.
"Jarod begged me to make a deal. I had no intention of making a deal with that skunk but I was curious. I couldn't imagine what he could possibly offer me that would convince me to let him go."
Tracy sat back in her chair.
"What did he say?"
Heather typed in an address and to Tracy's surprise, a porn site came onto the screen.
"I must admit, I wasn't skeptical at first," Heather said. "But then, I felt his deal had a certain poetic justice to it. In exchange for signing complete control of TGI over to me and a signed written confession of his crimes should he ever try to any shit with us again, I agreed to make Jarod Blackwell disappear."