An Angel's Fix Pt. 01

Jasmine was like the oldest sister. Often she would be playfully picking on the others, but then she would also pick up after them.

Ashley and Kim were like the fun-loving twins. The relationship between these two was the most intriguing. Ashley was currently engaged to Joe, and it was clear that they loved and adored each other immensely. At times, she was a touch unstable emotionally, although Cindy told Doug that Ashley seemed much more balanced since her life-saving surgery last winter that had robbed her fertility. Kim was Joe's most recent ex, and habitually flirted with him openly. He would smile and appreciate the attention, but neither approached the unspoken and well-understood boundary closer than that. No one would have faulted Ashley if she flew into a rage and killed Kim on one of those many occasions. Instead, she would normally laugh the flirting off, or if she felt her status with Joe was even slightly threatened, Ashley would reassert her claim to him by wrapping herself around him while giving Kim a sideways glance. Ashley didn't get truly jealous, or even had need to. Everyone knew that if there was a real contest for Joe's heart, Kim would lose mightily before the game even began. Knowing all this, Doug found it odd still that the two friends were, well, FRIENDS. The two were hardly seen without the other nearby.

Cindy alleged to Doug that in addition to Joe, Ashley would often engage in sex with Kim and Jasmine, though not usually at the same time. Her physical relations with Joe were strictly one-on-one since their engagement, and to Cindy's knowledge Joe was currently exclusive to Ashley. It now looked like Ashley was willing to share him with Jasmine, as her dream compelled her to, but whether he would agree to it remained to be seen. Jill was active with Jasmine, and at times with Kim, as well. Trysts between Ashley and Jill were rare, although they would happen occasionally if both were in a particular mood. Even with all this going on, their open communication between each of them displayed no jealousy at all. They all seemed to know exactly where each crooked and tangled boundary line existed, and they respected those lines as if they were rule of written law.

As for Cindy's role, she kept Joe and Ashley on-track and organized. Doug met her in Denver when Joe pitched his company's communications encryption system to the military, his last act before taking Carter Electronics public. Since they were both merely assistants, they were relegated to wait in the lobby during the negotiations, even though both hold top secret clearances. The two chatted it up and became interested in each other. Their outlook got brighter when Doug told her that he and his admiral were being transferred to her hometown. They were everything the other was looking for: young, intelligent, attractive, but most of all, patient and understanding when the opposite got busy and tied up for extended periods. Cindy had confessed to him that Ashley had hit on her when they met during the emotional tragedy of the loss of Joe's parents. Although Cindy was not repulsed by the advance, she just was not interested in a relationship with any female. She was already friends with the other girls, since Joe had befriended them early in high school. Ashley was new to the group, and although she was politely turned down, she embraced Cindy as a treasured friend.

Although Doug mostly believed that Cindy was not one for telling fiction about her employer or friends, he still didn't completely believe how sexually open the girls were made out to be. That is, until last night. After Ashley's then-bizarre comments, Cindy assured the group that Ashley just needed to "sleep it off." Jokes and theories of Ashley's confusion dominated conversation for a while, and then talk settled into reminiscing of antics the group shared, especially over the past year. The topics got quite arousing, and before he passed out from the late hour and the alcohol, Jill, Jasmine, and Kim had started some serious foreplay before crashing themselves.

While Ashley was relating her dream as the reason for her outburst, Doug hung back in a corner of the cabinets, trying to process everything he had seen and heard up to now. His eyes fell deeper into his coffee when Ashley again offered Joe to Jasmine. Cindy noticed this, of course.

"Well, Joe," she said when Ashley finished up. "The girls need to get ready for the dinner tonight, so Doug and I will help you clean up the media room."

"Wait, you're not coming?" Jill had her share of drinks, but there wasn't enough of a hangover for her to miss the veiled escape statement.

"No," Cindy began and then had to pause until the girls' chorus of disappointed aww's died down. "No, no. This is the Roberts' celebration for y'all on your graduation. Besides, if we had two Navy guys in the same room, we wouldn't hear anything but military jargon and acronyms." She was referring to Doug and Commander Roberts, Ashley's father.

The ladies gave dejected, yet loving, hugs to the couple, and disappeared to the rooms and showers upstairs.

* * *

"They're not bad, Doug," Cindy told him on the way to her apartment. He hadn't said anything to her since the party, and she felt the need to break the silence. "They even go to church on their own accord every Sunday."

"I didn't say that they're bad."

"Well, it seems that you're thinking it. I understand if you do, because I didn't know how to take it when I first found out about Jill and Jasmine. It's more than just sex with them. They're...I don't know...their emotions are tied to each other."

"Yes, I got that last night. I just didn't expect them to be so open about things."

"They aren't, outside of that house. Besides, I told you that they..."

"Yes, yes...you did. It's quite a bit to process, okay?"

"I know. I think you'll grow to love them as time goes on."

Doug stared out the window while Cindy drove. "We'll see."

"So what did you think of Ashley?"

"I told you before, she's beautiful, smart, and knows how to play ditsy."

"Well, she's not really an experienced drinker."

"You think?" he said with a chuckle.

Cindy laughed with him. "Yeah, but what did you think about her concert? Told you she could sing."

"Well, that was unexpectedly good. I never put together that Ashley was 'Ashley's Song' Ashley. Her voice is sweet and angelic, but powerful, too."

"Ashley's Song" was currently the number one requested single in the area. It's discovery and rise to the top is a story of itself.

Cindy nodded. "Yes it is. You should have heard her at the funeral last year. Her Ave Maria took everyone's breath away."

"Well, if she can keep her focus and emotions reigned in, I think she has a legitimate shot at hitting it big."

Cindy grinned from ear to ear. "That's what I thought when I first heard her."

* * *

A few hours later, Joe polished off his plate and sat back. "That was excellent, Mrs. Roberts. What did you put in that sauce?"

Ashley's mother affected an impish grin. "A little of this, some of that, and..."

The young ladies chimed in, "a whole lotta love!"

The exclamation garnered a large quantity of giggles when the inside joke finally got turned onto Joe. He nodded in good humor and got up to start cleaning the kitchen for his future mother-in-law. Commander Roberts cocked his head in amusement, since he had only seen Joe prepare a meal in the kitchen, never to clean up. That was usually left to Jasmine with some help from her friends. But then again, these large dinners were usually at Joe's house. It was a welcome sight to find a young man take unprompted responsibility in politeness. Jill and Jasmine were quick to jump up and start clearing the table on their way to help Joe in the kitchen. Joe was hand-washing everything while Jasmine dried, and Jill worked on the counters in between putting things away as they were ready.

"Joe! Girls! We'll get that. You're guests in this house, sit down, please."

Joe replied, "That's right, Mrs. R. You should spend as much time as you can with your guest of honor. We'll be done shortly."

Ashley took her mom's hand to enforce his statement. Mrs. Roberts softened and directed Kim and Ashley into the den, where the gifts would be handed out.

Once seated, Ashley's dad said with a knowing grin, "Did y'all have a fun night? You ladies look lovely, but tired."

Kim bristled a bit at the jab. Ashley had educated her on her family's history of needling comments that would turn into shouting matches. His blunt statement was correct in its entirety, however. Aside from partying hard, the girls had known that tonight's meal would be at Ashley's house. Even so, they used the event as an excuse for playing dress-up. All were in very nice dresses that went below knee length, and they had primped their hair and faces for a couple of hours that afternoon at Joe's.

Ashley settled Kim with a pat on her knee. "So, what did you think of my show last night, Daddy?" With Joe's help, she had learned how to defuse these situations with a not-so-subtle subject change.

Her dad softened from his "gotcha" posture. "Quite entertaining. Although I can't say I liked the way you sang and danced to some of the songs."

"Oh hush," her mom defended. "It was spirited."

The cleanup crew appeared and took their seats. Commander Roberts was surprised at how soon they joined them, and excused himself to get a beer. Ashley slit her eyes at him. Her dad just couldn't seem to let go of his "trust, but verify" attitude with her or her friends.

He returned without the beer, announcing proudly, "I haven't seen that kind of efficiency or thoroughness outside a Navy ship! The kitchen and dining room are cleaner than when they got here."

Mrs. Roberts rolled her eyes, grabbed petite wrapped boxes off the sofa table, and handed them out to the girls. "Happy graduation," she said to each of them.

The boxes were opened to reveal matching silver broaches and Ashley's parents were rewarded with a string of aww's and hugs. Joe's box held a black Cross pen engraved with his name and year of graduation. He thanked them, stating that he never had one. At that point, the doorbell rang, and Mrs. Roberts escorted the arrival to the den.

"Uh oh, am I too late?"

"Cindy!" exclaimed Kim. "I thought you weren't coming."

"What? And ruin the surprise?"

Commander Roberts abandoned his recliner to sit next to his wife on the love seat. "You're right on time, as usual, Cindy. Have a seat."

There was a bit of silence until Ashley broke it. "So what did you get me, Joe?"

"Why would you ask that now?"

"Well, it's my party, and I can ask what I want, right?"

He smiled at that. "Your gift is the wedding in three weeks. What's my gift?"

The others were enjoying this tit-for-tat.

Ashley grinned. "I'll be there at the wedding, how's that for a gift?"

The group laughed and Joe stated that he would treasure that gift the most.

By this time, Cindy was on the front edge of the recliner, practically bouncing. She looked at Ashley's dad. "Well?"

He nodded, pulled out a drawer from an end table and retrieved a thick envelope. Handing it to Ashley, he said, "We wanted to give you something special for your graduation, Ashley. It's from us and Cindy."

Ashley stared at the manilla envelope, confused. Cindy added, "It's something I wished Joe's parents had done for themselves a long time ago. It would have saved a lot of grief for them."

"Have I been served?" asked Ashley, baffled.

"No, just open it," Cindy replied while giggling.

Ashley slid the contents out uneasily, not knowing what to expect. On top was a blue certificate, and her eyes were drawn immediately to the center which read: "Ashley, LLC."

She brushed behind her ear a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "Wait, what is this?" she asked as she tried to make sense of it all while she scanned the document.

Joe put his arm around her and gently squeezed her opposite shoulder. "That would be a business license." As she flipped through the documents, he named them, "A company charter, tax certificate, employer identification number..."

After Ashley saw the last page, she turned to him and accused, "So you've seen these before? You knew about this?"

"No to both, sweetheart."

His answer was so confident that she correctly believed him. "So what does all this mean?"

"That you are the owner of your very own company," Cindy answered cheerfully. "Actually, it's more specifically important that it's your own limited liability company."

Ashley still didn't put all the pieces together. "Cool, I guess. What do I do with it? I mean, why would you give this to me?"

Cindy slumped back into her chair, her bubble being burst.

Joe grinned at her. "Cindy, she's bright...really. The light just needs a moment to warm up." He looked down at his fiancee at his side. "Ash, you sing, you perform...that's your business. Your parents and Cindy just gave you the framework to make that business it's own entity, or being."

Her face fretted for a second before it suddenly hit her. "OH! Like when I do weddings, I can have the company technically sign the contract. Or, when the clubs around here want me to stand in."

Joe snickered and looked back at Cindy. "See, she'll get it if you give her a few seconds."

Ashley smacked his ribs with the back of her hand. "Quiet, you. But I don't understand why you think I need a company, Cindy. I can agree to those things myself and it would be simpler."

"And then that light sputters."

Jill threw a dart with her eyes. "Stay out of it, Kim," she warned through her teeth.

The parents were at a loss on how to explain what they were thinking, so they both looked to Cindy who had pitched this to them weeks ago. She took a deep breath. "Ashley, that's true, but you're thinking too small. I see...we all see...much bigger things in your life than wedding receptions and local club gigs. Your first album is hitting stores this Tuesday...is that right? Yeah, this Tuesday. Your name is going to get so much bigger when that happens. Your first single is in the top five now.

"Having a limited liability company allows you to run things the way you want, but has the benefit of protecting your personal property and money in case things get screwed up and you stop performing. Your company has its own credit line, business bank account, and tax ID number. You can pick your own salary from the company, and its payroll can pay the musicians who perform with you. There's also a bonus in that you're only taxed once. Other forms of business, you get taxed personally, in addition to your business getting taxed."

"In other words, when you hit it big-time, your company can buy your tour buses and instruments for you on its own credit," added her father. "If it gets sued, or goes belly up, you only lose the company and its assets. You get to keep your savings, car, house, etc."

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"I don't," interjected Kim.

"Aww, sweetie, I know. I'll draw you pictures later, okay?"

Kim shot Ashley a bird in response, to which even Ashley's father had a hearty laugh.

Ashley put the stack back into the envelope and put it in Joe's lap before getting up and giving a firm hug to the three who had given her the gift. "Thank you! I don't know what to say, much less how to use it, but thank you! One question, how did you do this without me?"

Cindy answered, "You gave me power of attorney when I got you the security clearance on the way to Denver last fall, remember?"

"No, so much was going on with his parents and all, I didn't know what I was signing then."

Joe resumed holding her as she sat back down. "You really need to start reading what you sign, honey."

Cindy continued, "Well, I'll get you the paperwork to revoke the power, if you like."

"No, I trust you, Cindy. Besides, it seems that it comes in handy once in a while."

The other three girls found themselves nodding in agreement. More than once, Cindy helped them out by taking care of something when they were busy with school and cheering.

Cindy said, "Then we'll keep things as they are. Just let me know if you change your mind. And, I'll help you figure out what your new company can do for you and how to manage it. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds. Anyway, on to lighter things. Joe, you said you wanted to share something?"

He cleared his throat in a dramatic fashion. "Yes, actually. You all know that the wedding is in three weeks."

"Hells yeah," exclaimed Ashley before kissing him and receiving cat-calls from the group.

Joe smiled. "Well, Tales of the Blind called me today and said they're giving a concert later that week and asked if Ashley would open for them."

"But, what about our honeymoon?"

Joe stroked Ashley's hair. "That's why I'm bringing this up. Their concert is going to be in Hawaii, and they offered to give us an expense paid week-long honeymoon there as our wedding gift if you agree to the performance."

She squealed in excitement and threw her arms around Joe. "I hope you said yes," she said over his shoulder.

Once she released him, he said, "Well, I took a gamble and gave them a tentative yes."

"YAY!"

"I'm glad you're happy." He glanced around the room. The others were happy for the couple, but had hints of jealousy on their faces. "I'm not done, yet. Since I'm saving so much on our honeymoon, I'm paying airfare, hotel, and meals for everyone in this room to join us."

The group gasped and couldn't conceal their thrill.

"But! Ash and I WILL have our own room, and we reserve the right to disappear from the group as we...uh...need to." He said this with a wink.

Nobody objected, as they were already consumed with dreams of what the vacation would be like.

As Jill drove them all back to his place, Joe wrapped his arm around Ashley's shoulders. "You feel better now?"

She snuggled closer against him. "I always feel better in your arms," she said, finishing up with a sweet kiss. "That's awfully nice for you to bring everyone along for the honeymoon."

"I know you wouldn't truly enjoy it without the others at least nearby."

"You know me so well. I love you!"

He gave her a peck. "I love you too. You don't mind working in the middle of our sexual getaway? I could call them back, tell them no, rent a place in the woods, and screw your brains out all week."

Ashley feigned like she was considering that. "Hmm, nah. Hawaii sounds better." A grimace appeared on her face. "Besides, things aren't quite working like they used to, so I haven't been getting as wet. We might chafe after a few days."

"EWW!"

"Zip it, Kim!" Ashley shouted as she reached forward to pop the head in the middle row of Jill's SUV. "Stop eavesdropping."

Joe pursed his lips for a bit and then lowered his voice while taking Ashley's hand. "Is that why you've been pushing Jasmine onto me? You're afraid you can't go as much or as long?"

She looked down to avoid his gaze and matched the tone. "No, I don't think so. Maybe subconsciously. I didn't realize I was trying to push anything."

"I didn't mean to say push..."

"No, you're right. I can see how you could take it like that. It's just that she's wonderful, and I want to see her happy. Not...dead. And, if...IF...something were to happen, if it happened from you, I know we wouldn't leave her to go through it alone." She let him trace her knuckles as she looked up into his eyes. "That's how I envision us being. Seriously, I wouldn't be mad if you two hooked up on occasion. I know in my heart that I would be happy that you two would enjoy the wonderful things each of you can do. Please know that it would be so okay with me."

"But I love YOU."

"And I love you. Who says a man can't enjoy sex among friends?"