Mended Hearts

by Sarah Markel

  Before either woman could respond, they heard the front door open. The sisters glanced at each other questioningly, knowing that all of the children were upstairs playing video games. Alex's face lit up when she realized it must be Kelly returning from wherever she had ventured. “Angie, could I bother you for a towel?” Kelly asked as she shivered her way into the kitchen. Alex looked at Kelly, concern showing in her eyes, as Angie left to find a towel and some dry clothing. “What's wrong?” Kelly asked Alex. Angie handed Alex a towel from the dryer and hurried upstairs for clothes. Wrapping the warm towel around Kelly, Alex guided her to a chair and went to get another towel. Returning quickly, Alex attempted to dry Kelly's drenched hair. “You're blue!” She exclaimed, worried that Kelly might get sick. After drying Kelly's hair the best she could, she wrapped the towel around Kelly's shoulders, over the other towel. Alex busied herself making Kelly some coffee, worried that she and Angie's playful banter that morning had been the reason Kelly had left the house and gotten caught in the storm. “Here, Kelly, why don't you go upstairs to my room and take a warm bath? I put some dry clothes out for you on my bed, and some new towels in the bathroom.” Angie offered when she came back into the room. “Th-th-thanks, A-Angie. I j-j-just n-need to warm u-up a b-b-bit first.” Kelly stuttered. “I'll go run the bath. That will give you a few minutes.” Alex offered. Smirking at her sister, Angie nodded. “Good idea, Sis.” She said.

  While Alex ran upstairs to start the bath, Angie refilled Kelly's coffee. “Where did you run off to?” Kelly sipped her coffee with shaking hands, wondering to herself what to say. I can't tell her where I was. Kelly thought to herself. “I went f-f-for a walk and I g-g-got l-lost.” She stammered. “Alright, come on let's get you upstairs.” Alex said, coming back into the kitchen and saving Kelly from further explanation. Carefully, Alex helped Kelly from her chair, and led her slowly up the stairs, rubbing her back as they walked in an attempt to warm her up. When they got to the bathroom, Alex helped Kelly out of the towels then paused. Should I offer to help her undress? Alex wondered. Noticing Alex's discomfort, Kelly turned away, blushing. Kelly attempted to undress herself, but her freezing hands would not cooperate. After several failed attempts to remove her pants, she looked to Alex. “I kn-know it might be w-w-weird, but c-could you h-h-help me?” She asked, teeth still chattering. Alex smiled and gently helped Kelly remove her clothes. Once she was fully undressed, Alex helped her step carefully into the large Jacuzzi tub. “Is the water too hot?” She asked. Shaking her head no, Kelly let herself sink slowly down under the water.

  Alex couldn't help but stare as Kelly lay with her eyes closed. Moving her eyes slowly over the naked woman's body, Alex felt her breath hitch. Aside from the first day when Kelly's white outfit turned clear from the water balloons, Alex had never seen this much of her body. Long, toned legs led to a trim waist that was belted by a thin lined, intricate tattoo. Although she was unable to see the detail of the art, Alex thought it may have been little butterflies. Slowly bringing her gaze upward, Alex noticed that a small, blue stone was nestled just below Kelly's navel. Smiling to herself, she allowed her gaze to trail further, taking in firm, supple breasts, bobbing in the water, tipped with small perky nipples that were currently rock hard. Alex felt a hard pull in her private parts at the sight. Kelly was stunning. Alex had been doing her best not to notice too much of Kelly's body over the past several weeks. But after the events at Callie's grave, she felt that she wanted to know more of it. Her eyes drifted up the rest of Kelly's body, and came to rest of soft, full lips that were curved in a sensual smile. As the tug in her groin became stronger, her gaze met Kelly's.

  Alex gasped loudly, startled that Kelly had caught her. “I'm sure you have seen breasts before, Alex, but I'm afraid it's impolite to stare.” Kelly sat up at that moment, startling Alex and causing the woman to jump. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Will you help me out, I'm done in here.” Kelly asked softly. When Alex reached out to take Kelly's hand, the other woman grabbed her and pulled her hard, causing her to fall into the tub. Sputtering and letting out an embarrassing squeal, Alex gave Kelly a shocked look. Tossing her head back and laughing loudly, Kelly informed Alex, “That's payback for telling Angie we had sex.” Alex joined Kelly in laughter for a moment, then pulled the other woman close. “Okay, okay, okay, we are even now.” She chuckled, leaning towards Kelly's soft lips. “What in the hell?” Angie exclaimed from the doorway, ruining the moment. “I send you up here for a bath, and you two end up making a bigger mess than the kids!” The look of annoyance on Angie's face sent both Alex and Kelly into hysterics. Frustrated, Angie stomped out of the room, yelling behind her, “You two better clean that mess up when you're done!”

  Chapter 12

  "Would you like to have dinner with me next Friday?” Alex asked as she buttoned her shorts. Looking over her shoulder to where Kelly was just finishing cleaning up the bathroom, she said with a smile, “You know, just the two of us.” Kelly gave Alex an unreadable look. After a few moments of silence, Alex shrugged and walked toward the bedroom door, “We don’t have to, I just thought it might be fun. No big deal.” She said, hiding her disappointment. “Wait,” Kelly said before Alex could make it out the door. “I would love to go out to dinner with you, but will that make things weird? At work I mean.” Alex chuckled and shrugged her shoulders, “Who cares? It's not like anyone is going to fire either of us.” She replied with a smirk as she left the room, closing the door behind her. Thank you, Callie! Kelly thought as she smiled to herself.

  After gathering the wet clothing and towels, Kelly headed downstairs to the laundry. She stopped short at the foot of the stairs when she noticed Zane and Dej hiding behind the half wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. “I'm telling you, Dej" Zane said quietly enough that Kelly barely heard him, “I heard Mom ask Doctor Kelly out!” Dej looked at her brother as if he had just tried to explain astrophysics to her. Smiling to herself, Kelly quietly made her way to the laundry to drop off the wet load. Hearing voices out on the deck, she decided the twins must have gone outside. Following the voices, she spied the two women talking on the deck sofa.

  “Well Alex, “she said as she stepped out to join them, “I hope you weren't trying to keep our dinner date a secret.” Alex looked up at her with surprise, blushing when Angie gasped. “Dinner date?” Angie's surprise caught Kelly off guard. Confused, she sat on the arm of the couch next to Alex. “I hadn't actually told anyone yet.” Alex muttered. Embarrassed, Kelly avoided eye contact with either woman. She noticed that the rain had passed and was now replaced with a bright, cloudless, blue sky. “I'm sorry, Alex. I overheard Zane telling Dej about it, so I just assumed you had already told Angie.” Alex laughed out loud, patting Kelly's knee. “It's ok, I was actually going to tell Angie later on when I asked her to babysit.” Resting her hand on Kelly's knee, Alex looked to Angie, who had an ear to ear smile plastered on her face. “So, Ange, will you babysit the kids on Friday night? I promise to label Dej's food this time.” Both Alex and Kelly were taken aback when Angie lunged at them, wrapping both women in a tight bear hug. “Of course I will!” She squealed. Just then, Steve walked out on the deck still wearing his work clothes.

  “Hmm, every man's dream is taking place right in my own backyard.” Snorting, Alex threw one of the sofa pillows at him, hitting him right in the nose. “Oh shut up, you pervert.” She admonished. Grinning, Steve took a seat on the other arm of the sofa and kissed his wife in greeting. The four of them sat chatting as all six children raced out into the yard to play. As Zane and Dej made their way past the group, Kelly noticed Zane give his mother a subtle smirk, while Dej chose a more direct approach. “Are you dating my mom?” The little girl asked Kelly in a matter of fact tone. “I wouldn't call it dating, honey, but we are going to go out and have dinner next weekend.” Kelly replied gently. Dej stood in front of her, hands on her hips, and gave her a once over. Apparently satisfied, she turned without saying anything more, and went off to
play. Alex, Angie, and Steve all burst out laughing. “What?” Kelly asked with a chuckle. “You've just been given the Dej seal of approval.” Steve informed her. Confused, she looked to Alex, whose hand was still resting on Kelly's knee. Amused, Alex explained, “Dej is very hard to please. And she does NOT like change. So when she stands and looks something over like that, it means that she feels it's worth a try. It means she is ok with you and me going out.” Kelly watched the child play for a moment and thought to herself, Boy, I hope I don't disappoint you, sweetheart. You've had enough of that to last a lifetime. "So. Who's up for some pizza and video games tonight?” Steve asked loudly as he clapped his hands together, making Kelly jump.

  As the brood of excited children came clamoring onto the deck to swarm around Steve, Kelly was knocked off her perch and into Alex's lap. Blushing, she scrambled to get up. Alex laid her hand gently on Kelly's arm, stopping her. “You might as well just stay here. Otherwise you will probably end up on that nice ass of yours on the ground. These kids LOVE their pizza.” Her blush deepening, Kelly could only nod as she stayed, nervously, where she was. After Steve told the children to go get ready, Kelly had a thought. “Alex, can Dej have pizza?” She asked, looking at Alex and feeling the pull in her abdomen as those emerald eyes locked on hers. Momentarily speechless by the woman’s concern, Alex shook herself. “Yeah, the place we go to is called Billy's and the owner slash manager has been Steve's best friend since grade school. His daughter, Adalyn, also has PKU and he and his wife Chelsea have devoted their lives to making junk food that kids with the disease can eat.” She explained. Once the crew had headed inside, Kelly reluctantly stood. She was surprised that she actually felt disappointed at leaving Alex's lap. Reaching her hand out to Alex, she pulled the woman to her feet. “Well then, we mustn't keep the children waiting.” She giggled, as she walked into the house hand in hand with Alex. When they reached the foyer, Kelly had to stifle a laugh. Steve had the children lined up, from shortest to tallest, and was asking them each trivia questions. Each time a child answered, whether the answer was right or wrong, he handed them a roll of what looked like quarters. After distributing his cache, he opened the door and stood back as the children flooded happily out the door.

  “Do you want Zane and Dej to ride with us?” He asked Alex with a mischievous smile. Alex pinked a bit and shrugged. “They can go with whoever, it doesn’t matter. They've already loaded into your van, so I guess you win.” She said, watching the kids from the doorway. Steve and Angie shared a look and chuckled as they locked the door behind them. “Well at least TRY to make it to Billy's when we do.” Steve whispered to Alex, causing her to blush scarlet. Wondering what he said, Kelly followed Alex to her SUV. She decided it best not to ask, and sat in silence as Alex drove. After a few blocks, Alex spoke up. “If you like pizza, you will love Billy's. They make some of the best pizza in the Northwest. They have several awards and have been in countless newspapers, magazines, and TV shows. He loves Dej. Every time we go in there, he picks her up and asks her how she is. Dej always asks him to dump Chelsea and marry her. It's hilarious! Chelsea is great too. She is my and Angie's cousin by marriage. Her mom married our uncle a couple of years ago. And their little girl, Addy, is so sweet! She's about three or four now I think.” Kelly sat back and listened contentedly as Alex gave her the scoop on the restaurant.

  Thirty minutes later, Alex pulled into a parking spot next to Steve. “Here we are.” She announced, getting out and opening Kelly's door. Kelly thanked her and followed the rest of the group as they led her to a large building with floor to ceiling windows lining the front of the restaurant. A large sign with the name BILLY'S in big block letters hung over the entrance. Before they entered, Alex took Kelly's hand and whispered, “It can be a bit jarring when you first go in. It’s loud and there are always a million kids running around.” Patting Alex's hand, she whispered back, “I'm sure I will be fine, but thanks for the warning.” Alex smiled and hand in hand they entered the bustling eatery. “Don't say I didn't warn you."

  Chapter 13

  "Welcome to Billy's, how many today?” A bubbly blonde asked as the group stopped at the hostess station. “Ten, please.” Angie answered politely. The hostess nodded and motioned for them to follow her as she led them to a booth with a sign that read "Reserved.” Removing the sign, the hostess, whose name tag read Tyfani informed them that she would be their server this evening. Thanking her, Steve and Angie took their seats after making sure the kids were all seated. Alex pulled out a chair next to Angie and motioned for Kelly to sit. Blushing a bit, Kelly sat. As Alex took her seat across from Kelly, Angie leaned over and whispered to Kelly, “Be warned, Alex is annoyingly chivalrous.” Laughing out loud, she replied, “I know. And it's not annoying, it's sweet! It's something I will have to get used to, but I like it.” Looking to Alex and smiling, she had to stifle a snort when Alex stuck her tongue out at Angie. A moment later, Tyfani reappeared with four pagers, and six paper bracelets each with a rainbow pattern. Handing the items to Alex, she informed the group that she would return momentarily. Alex caught Kelly's confused stare and explained.

  “Since this place is also an arcade, and the kids are free to run around as they please, each group gets a pager for each adult and a bracelet for each kid. The bracelets each have a chip in them that is linked to the pagers by a number. If any of the kids leave the building before the hostess deactivates the pagers, the pagers will beep with the number on the bracelet. Each bracelet has a number on it that corresponds to the chip.” Showing Kelly the numbered bracelets, she continued. “It’s designed to help keep parents from losing their kids. See the little emblem here? Each bracelet has the same emblem on it, so if someone tries to get the bracelet deactivated without a pager with the same mark, the hostess with lock down the building, and hit an alarm at the hostess station that calls the police.” Alex handed out the pagers to the other adults, and called the children over to get their bracelets. After each child had their band, the kids went off to play games. As Alex was writing the name of each child next to the number of their bracelet on a little card that was sitting on the table, Kelly heard Dej squeal as the little girl ran into the waiting arms of a very large man. Concerned for the child's safety, Kelly alerted Alex. Turning to see who it was, Alex smiled. “Hey Billy. I didn’t know you were going to be here on a Saturday. How's Addy?” Billy, who was easily 6' 6" tall and weighed probably 250 pounds, sidled up to the group with Dej tucked happily on his hip. “She's great! Chelsea has her around here somewhere.” He said, looking around. Turning his attention back to the table, he spotted Kelly. “Well now, Alex. Who is this stunning young lady?” He asked, offering his hand to Kelly. “Joe Hitchcock. But you can call me Billy. Everyone else does.” He introduced himself with a chuckle.

  Greeting Billy and introducing herself, Kelly couldn't help but notice the wide grin on Dej's face. The little girl looked at Billy as if he was her hero. After releasing Billy's hand, Kelly noticed a woman coming towards them. The woman was about 5' 3" tall, long wavy auburn hair, and had a small girl tucked onto her hip. When she arrived at the table, the woman said to Dej, “I thought I heard someone trying to steal my man!” Fixing a look of pure indignation on her face, Dej replied, “He's MY man, Chelsea. You are just gonna hafta get over it.” As the adults laughed, Dej turned Billy's face towards her and planted a big kiss right on his cheek. After returning the kiss, Billy set Dej down and she went off to play. Pulling over two chairs from the table next to them, Billy sat backwards facing the table. Chelsea handed her daughter to Alex and took a seat next to her husband. After Kelly and Chelsea had exchanged greetings, Kelly asked, “How old is she?” Chelsea and Billy both smiled and answered in unison, “She's three.” Addy was a very pretty little girl, sharing both her parents features in such a way that she looked like both of them simultaneously. She had long strawberry blonde curls, her father's nose, and her mother's blue eyes. Kelly watched as Alex played with the girl for a few moments, then set he
r down to let her wander. Turning to Billy, she said with a faint blush, “So why do people call you Billy, if your name is Joe?” Kelly felt her blush deepen as the other adults laughed. “Billy is actually my twin brother's name. All through school, and I mean from Kindergarten through graduation, people got us confused and would always call me Billy. No one ever called him Joe, but I always got to be him. A few years ago, right after Addy was born, we were trying to come up with a name for this place. It was supposed to be Addy's Pizza, but a week before our grand opening, Billy died in a skiing accident. So we decided to keep his legacy alive by naming the restaurant after him.” Billy explained. Kelly offered her condolences to him and apologized for being intrusive. “Oh, don't worry about it, people ask all the time.” Chelsea said, rubbing her husband's thigh. Billy smiled and hopped up when a harried looking man came hurrying up to him and whispered in his ear. “Duty calls. Dinner is on me tonight, guys. Anything you want just tell Tyfani to give the bill to Chelsea.” With that, he hurried off into the back. Chelsea said her goodbyes and went off in search of her daughter.