Blending Families

Sitting in her new office, Polly felt like her head was spinning as she dialed Mac's phone number. She couldn't explain the warm feeling that washed over her when he answered.

"Mac, it's Polly. Is there any way you can meet me for lunch? If I have to hold in what's happened today, I will absolutely bust."

She heard his chuckle. "How about Mario's, around 12:30. A friend and I used to have a standing appointment there and we had a permanent reservation. Just ask Mario for my table. If I'm not there, I will be shortly."

"Thank you. I really appreciate this. This and everything else you've done. How can I ever repay you?"

"How about a dinner date, just us, no girls?" He held his breath. It had been just over a month since he found Tod dead next to the minibus. Was it too soon?

"That would be nice. We can talk about it over lunch. Okay?"

"I'm looking forward to it. See you soon, Polly."

Polly spent the remainder of the morning reviewing the lease and building services contracts. On her way out to lunch, she stuck her head in Joan's office and announced, "As soon as we can, we're moving. I'll have places for you to look at next week." Joan looked up at her, mouth agape, but Polly was gone.

***** Mac arrived early. He wanted to be there when she walked in, partly so she wouldn't have to wait for him, alone; partly, to watch her as she entered the dining room oblivious to the reaction of the men around her. Tall, at five ten, she was thin enough to earn the descriptor sylph-like, or willowy, but not skinny or even thin. With sylph-like comes the impression of bustlessness. She nearly qualified, with a generous A-sized bust, but with anything larger, she would have seemed top-heavy.

Her crow -wing black hair set off her pale complexion. Her wide cheek bones and slightly almond shaped blue eyes hinted at a Slavic presence in her ancestry. The overall impression was one of approachable beauty.

He rose to greet her and was rewarded with a hug, more than the A-frame usually given by friends' wives, less than the full body hug given by family members and lovers. It lasted a beat or two longer than convention suggested. When they broke, he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek and was rewarded with a dazzling smile.

"It's good to see you again. Was your trip successful?" Polly asked. Mac had been called out of town on business a couple of days after Tod's funeral. He had returned late yesterday afternoon and had not yet had a chance to say more than hello.

"You could say that. I got the listing for a warehouse complex in the city, and a factory building in Murrayville, signed the seller to a five-year lease with option to buy, and sold them a 20 acre parcel already zoned commercial. The combined commission puts me over the 500 K mark for the third year in a row. Enough bragging. What's happening with you?"

"My talk with Joan caused some upheaval at the office. Besides the five jerks, the regional manager was let go, and Joan was given his job." Her smile got wider. "And I have been promoted to office slash business manager, with a huge raise. Joan told me if it impacts keeping the office functioning, its my responsibility, including finding new quarters.

"You've seen our office space. Based on what you know of the local market, what should we be paying?"

He looked at her, quizzically, then scrunched up his forehead. "You got what, 3,000 to 3,500 square feet, with parking, interior and exterior services, in that part of the city? Level three rent, $3.50 a foot, 10,12K a month, tops."

"I have a feeling you just got me another raise. Would you believe we have been paying more than twice that, plus plowing and janitor service are extras, as is after hours security." She reached out and took his hand. "What kind of space could you find us for that kind of money?"

"Hell, for that kind of money, I can put you on the top floor of Central Tower, downtown. And that would include parking underground. For a lot less than that, there's a new office complex opening up on the east side. Brand new buildings, configured to your specs, with all latest electronics already built in, including free WiFi, so you could be hooked into the internet for business as soon as you turn on your computers. Live security 24/7, after hours janitor service, per your instructions, plowing in winter when ever it snows two inches or more, and lanes are kept clear during the day. All for six bucks a foot, guaranteed for three years. For another half buck a foot, they'll give you the top floor. Depending on the decor you choose, and the configuration, you can move in three or four months."

"That sounds ideal. Can you arrange for Joan and me to see it next week?"

"No problem. I'll have the listing agent set up the site visit and give you a call."

"We won't be dealing with you?"

"Not on this property. Betty, our agent, got the property owner, a relative of hers, to agree to an exclusive listing with her, not the agency. He won't even schedule a telephone discussion unless she's on the line. You could commission me as a tenant's agent, to find and negotiate a lease for you. I don't charge much, a weekend away when the lease is signed."

Polly laughed, then blushed. "Be careful. I might just take you up on that. The problem would be that my boss might want to pay your fee. And right now, the only thing keeping me from saying yes, is what the neighbors might say."

"Screw the neighbors!"

Polly's face broke into a grin, her eyes laughing, "I intend to, soon!" She squeezed the hand she had not let go of while they were talking. "I just can't promise you when. Know that when I'm ready, you'll be the one I call."

He lifted their hands to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand. "What if I book a motel room for us on the other side of the city, for the night we go to dinner? We could get in the bed and talk, and see where it takes us."

"That's even more tempting than the weekend away. When were you thinking of?"

"I hadn't really thought. Is this weekend too soon?"

"Oh!" she replied, the disappointment clear in her voice. "Cindy and I were going to the cabin to scatter Tod's ashes. If we wait much longer, there's a real danger of getting snowed in. Could you drive us in your four by four? Tara could come, and we could spend the night, sort of a closing celebration. There are some things I have to do to close it up for the winter."

"Be glad to. Like I told you, anything you need, just say so and it'll get done. Anything." He picked up her hand again and looked at her intently.

"Polly, I know you and Tod were having some problems. And I know why. I think maybe you should know, now that Tod is gone. I told you I used to meet a friend here at this time every week. That friend was Tod.

"He told me he had decided that, when Cindy had graduated from high school, he was going to ask you for a divorce. He'd give you whatever you asked for in terms of support, and he was going to pay for Cindy's college. He loved you both, he just didn't think he could be a husband to you, not the kind he thought you deserved.

"Tod told me he had been experimenting with alternative life styles. That was his term. When I asked what that meant, he said he had discovered that he was at least bi-sexual, quite possibly homosexual. The next to last time we met here, two weeks before his heart attack, he told me he hadn't approached you for sex in nearly three months. I think you deserve to know why." Tears were forming in Polly's eyes. She was alternately nodding and shaking her head, not looking as devastated as he had feared.

"I knew something was going on," she said, "but I didn't expect..."

"I understand. There's no way someone would know Tod and suspect he was gay. He didn't fit any part of any stereotype. But, you have to understand he loved you. That is why he didn't ask you to make love with him those last several weeks. He had learned that one of the sex partners of someone he had been with had tested positive for AIDS and other STDs. He was waiting for his own test results to come back."

"Wow," Polly said, wiping away her tears, "you sure know how to make a girl feel good."

"I'm sorry, Polly. I've been debating since...since that day, whether or not to tell you. I finally decided to because I didn't think you should beat yourself up for failing Tod, or for being unfaithful to a faulty memory." He paused. "Does that make any sense to you?"

"I know what you're trying to say, and thank you for caring." She reached up and stroked his cheek, then glanced at her watch. "I have to get back. Walk me to my car?"

"Give you a piggyback, if you want," he grinned.

"Don't tempt me." As they walked out, she slipped her arm in his, so they were walking together, side to side, touching. In a low voice, so only he could hear, she asked, "Why don't you make reservations for 'dinner' some night next week, during the week?" The accent on dinner told him all he needed to know. At her car, he claimed a low intensity kiss.

***** "Hey, Dad? Can you explain this to me?" Tara was walking into his home office, carrying what looked like a letter.

"What's that?"

"For my driver's license, I needed a copy of my birth certificate, so I wrote to the county office of vital statistics, and they say I don't have one on file any place in the state. Was I born someplace else?"

Mac winced and made a face like he was tasting something vile. "What name did you use, sweetheart?"

"Mine, of course, duh. Whose name should I use, Cindy Freeman's? C'mon, Dad."

"Well, technically, your last name isn't really MacMillan. Your mother wouldn't let me adopt you."

"Oh, shit! Oops, sorry, Dad," she blushed at the obscenity. "I forgot you weren't my real...damn it, you know..."

Mac laughed. "I know, sweetie. Sometimes, I forget it, too. I have a copy of your birth certificate if you need one."

(Author's note: although there is no legal or biological relationship between Mac and Tara, since he still considers her his daughter, so will we.)

"How'd you meet Mom, anyway?"

"I was on the job, but off duty, on my way home. I was stopped at a red light, when this cute girl jumped in my car and offered her services."

"Mom was a prostitute when you met her?" Tara asked in a shocked voice.

"Not quite. I didn't tell her who or what I was, and she directed me to her room. She was put up in some seedy motel, and she had left you there while she went out and raised some money to pay the bill. The guy she had been traveling with, who she said was your father, had bailed, taking all their money.

"When I saw the conditions you two were living in, I id'd myself as a sheriff. She just collapsed, in tears and from hunger. She said it was her first attempt at selling herself, and she had to go and pick-up a cop. I helped her move into an efficiency and had a friend give her a job waiting on counter in a diner, then helped her find daycare for you. I'd stop by the diner every couple of days, and pretty soon it got to be every day. I guess the fact that a deputy sheriff was interested in her kept anyone else from hitting on her, because one day she walked me to my patrol car and said I either had to move on her or stop coming around because she was getting so damn horny she couldn't stand it. My next day off, you all moved into my apartment. A couple of weeks later, we got married."

Tara giggled. "Boy, nothing subtle about Mom, was there? Did she ever hear from my biological father?"

"From him? No. A few years after we got married, she saw an article in the paper about a killer being convicted on a manslaughter charge instead of murder two. The picture was fuzzy, but the name was right and she said the picture could have been him. As far as I know, that was the last time she heard anything about him." He turned back to his work, then looked up.

"Oh, before I forget again. Polly and Cindy are going up to their cabin this weekend, to scatter Tod's ashes. They invited us to go along, to spend the night. I think Polly wants some help closing up for the winter."

"Okay. That'll be fun. I haven't seen much of Cindy since the funeral service. She's been keeping to herself. I can understand why. She really loved her Dad, and must miss him. Maybe I'll tell her she can borrow you once in awhile. Is that okay? I feel like we're sisters, sometimes. Twins, since we were born on the same day."

"Sure. That's just what I need. Another female teenager around the house." But his smile said, "of course." ***** The two hour drive to the cabin was without incident. Because of the efficient heater in the Jeep, Mac and the three women were unaware of the dropping temperature. Not until they stepped out of the Jeep at the cabin did they realize it had dropped fifteen degrees, to near freezing, from when they left home.

Polly and Cindy quickly carried out the brief ceremony they had planned, scattering the cremains at the water's edge, watching as the lake's motion carried the floating ashes away from the shore. When they were done they quickly repaired to the cabin where Mac had fresh coffee waiting.

As they sipped on the welcome beverage, they discussed what needed to be done to close the cabin for the season. That led into a discussion about Tod and some of his foibles, resulting in a long laugh fest.

The task of unloading the food and luggage from the jeep was assigned to the girls. When they left for their first load, Polly asked, "Mac, can I ask a personal question?" He met her gaze and nodded. "Is Tara your daughter? Cindy looks enough like me to be my sister, but there are definite traces of Tod in her face and body build. But when I look at you and Tara together, I don't see any of you in her."

"No, she was Janice's daughter, abandoned with her mother in a town in the southern part of the state. I had been sent down on a combination of training and temporary duty assignment. One night, on my way home from patrol, out of uniform, she tried to pick me up. It was her first attempt at prostitution. When I saw the conditions she was living in, I helped her find a job and a better place to live.

"I kept an eye on her for a couple of months, when she told me to either state my intentions or disappear. Apparently my interest was keeping several possible young men from making a move on her. I had her move in with me, and we went through a marriage ceremony, which I suspect was invalid. The night we met, she was wearing a wedding ring, which wasn't there the next time I saw her.

"Tara has always known I'm not her biological father, but I just told her that Janice wouldn't let me adopt her. I suppose, if push had come to shove, the state could have taken her away from me." He stood up and stretched. "I'll go close and lock the shutters, except for the living room and kitchen. They'll just take a minute tomorrow. What about the emergency generator? Do you drain the gas?"

"No, it runs on natural gas. We'll set the thermostat to 38 or 40 degrees. If there's a power failure, the generator will kick in automatically to keep the furnace on. That way we don't need to drain the toilet and hot water tank, which we will have to turn off. Tomorrow. I don't fancy a cold shower in the morning."

They got to work and completed shutting down all the non-essentials by suppertime. After a picnic style dinner of burgers, potato salad, and apple pie, they cleaned the kitchen and bagged up all the food which would not last over the winter, to carry it to a waste collection site in a nearby village. When clean-up was done, they spent an hour or so playing euchre, adults against the teens.

After the girls retired to bed, the adults spent some time sitting together on the couch, Polly with her legs curled under her, leaning into Mac's side. "I'm looking forward to our dinner date," she whispered to him. "If the girls weren't here..."

"I understand," Mac interrupted. "And I agree. They are worldly enough for their age, maybe too worldly. They don't need any examples of intimate behavior from us, they get enough on TV."

Polly laughed. "Is that the over protective Papa Bear I hear?"

"No," he growled softly. "It's Horny Bear, justifying to himself why he doesn't pick you up and carry you to the bedroom, to ravish you," he continued, kissing her warmly on the lips.

"Ohhh," she moaned. "Promise me you'll do that soon." She pulled back. "I am sorry you have to spend the night out here on this old couch." After another quick kiss, she pulled back again, saying, "I better go, or the girls will get their live lesson in the sights and sounds of sex."

A couple of hours later, a peculiar grinding sound woke Mac. It took him a couple of moments to recognize the emergency generator trying to kick in. He slipped his pants and shoes back on, and pulled a sweater over his head.

He was back inside in ten minutes. His sense of organization differed slightly, but frustratingly from Tod's. It had taken some time to locate a flashlight and then find and adjust the inlet valve. Enough time so he felt frozen to his core.

Polly was waiting for him by the back door when he came in. "Jeezus, you must be frozen. Come with me. I'll get the blanket from your bed. You can cuddle up against me to get warm." Shivering, teeth chattering, Mac didn't question her.

He woke to find a warm female body wrapped up in his arms, his morning wood firmly planted between her thighs. Involuntarily, his body stretched, pulling his staff away from its nesting place, which attempted to follow it. "I didn't realize how much I had missed this," Polly said, reaching between them to take hold of his hardness. Maintaining her grip, she turned over to face him. "Good morning. Are you better now?"

"Warm again, anyhow. Thank you for the rescue. I owe you one."

"I am so glad to hear you feel that way, " she grinned, kissing him and pushing him over onto his back. "Just don't make any noise," she continued as she straddled and mounted him, moaning with him as she slid down his shaft.

It is rumored that there are some couples who, after years of training together, can screw on a water bed and not cause any ripples. Polly and Mac were not one of them. And, like most cabin furniture, the bed was old, and had been well used. Springs squeaked, joints creaked, and in certain situations, the headboard banged against the wall. The cabin was sturdily built, but the interior was broken up by modular partitions, which did little to muffle any sound louder than a hobo's fart. The partitions were eight feet tall, as were the cabin walls, but the roof peaked at twelve feet, resulting in a significant gap between walls and ceiling, a gap which did nothing to muffle the banging of the headboard against the cabin wall. Nor the moans and squeals the couple made.

Tara was woken by the rhythmic knocking sound. As she became oriented to her strange surroundings, she heard the human sounds and realized what must be happening. She rolled over to wake her friend and found her wide awake, her hand over her mouth, holding her laughter in. "D'you suppose that's what I think it is?" she whispered to Cindy. "Dunno," Cindy answered, "What do you think it is?" Her eyes alight with amusement and excitement.

"I used to hear that sound when Mom was still home, and the next day she was always in a good mood. I think our parents are screwing. You?"

Cindy nodded. "I used to hear my Mom and Dad, too, but it's been a long time, since before he died, I mean. I should be mad because he hasn't been gone that long and she's replacing him already, but I'm glad for her. I know how horny I can get, and I've never done it.

"We should go in when they're done and let them know we think it's okay. You do, don't you?" She looked at Tara.

Tara nodded, "Mostly. I feel a little jealous, too. Of your Mom."