Emily's Home - Ginger's Out Ch. 12

"Hey, hi Tammy, this must be your ball and chain." Tammy laughed, Jeffrey blushed. I wanted to smack Reenie – who held my hand way too tight. "He's pretty cute for a guy. You two do the nasty last night?" Oh my god!

Jeffrey laughed. "Reenie, I'm sure you know that Ginger's date night really helped our marriage." A beaming Tammy nodded vigorously. "I know you were teasing – but everyone in a relationship, married or not, should have a date night." When he looked at his wife it was all about love. "We both want to thank you." Whatever dude.

Lucy? Oh my gosh! I already told ya how people raved about the food. She was too cute. "So does this mean I'll get you in my office to talk business?" She said it with a smile. I nodded.

"Yeah, there are some things I need to talk to you about now that this one is in my life." Damn her – my ribs! "Is there some sort of insurance for your girlfriend poking you in the ribs?" Lucy laughed. I stuck out my tongue at my honey.

Reenie surprised me when she said, "Maybe I'll come too. I've got car insurance and stuff. We'll see." Who knew?

I'm not going to do something on everybody. You'd be bored. But she's my sister, so I have to give you something about them. I'm snickering. Jenny looked like she needed a nap; David looked well satisfied. Clear enough?

I gave them both a quick tour of the house and then asked if they wanted to see the hot tub. Jenny demurred.

"Let me get the two of us a drink. Honey, do you want a beer?" He did.

Once we were away from prying ears, David let me know what was on his mind. "I have no doubt you and Reenie talked about Jenny." You bet! He looked a little embarrassed when he said, "She was very aggressive with me last night. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, but I couldn't help but wonder who she was really making love to." Geez Jenny, what have you done!! Or was Reenie at fault here? I wasn't sure. And, I had no idea what to say to David.

"Has she given any indication that she's thinking about acting on the fantasy? She hasn't with me; not for some time."

"Nope, there hasn't been a word since early on with Janice." Yeah, Janice – who was interested in me! Damn! "I'd like you to talk to your sister, Ginger. It feels like she'd open up more to you about it than me." He doesn't know she already had a taste of that fruit. I sighed. David looked at me with pleading eyes. "You probably think I'm a coward and, to be honest, I am a little scared." He looked away for a moment. His shoulders sagged a little. "We have a good marriage, or at least I think we do. I don't want to lose her, but if she feels she needs to explore this, I'd like ..." He shook his head, unable to continue. I don't need this, not one little bit.

"All right, I'll talk to Jen." Although I wasn't sure it was the truth, I had to say it. "David, I can't imagine the two of you getting divorced. I'm sure it's not always easy but, at least from the outside, you and my sister have a solid relationship."

"She really looks up to you, Ginger." He smiled a little. "And she'd kill me if she knew I said that to you." I laughed.

I was so happy to see Kayla! After we hugged, she introduced her honey. "Ginger, this is my Brittney. Brittney, this is Ginger Butler, my boss." She looked around. "Where's Reenie?"

From just off my left shoulder I heard, "Here." The goof pinched my butt. "How ya doing Kayla?" She looked at me with that smirk. "Another redhead huh? She's a hottie too!" Yup, she is!! Poor Brittney turned about ten shades of red.

I gave Brittney a kiss, saying, "My redhead is a cut up sweetie. She is right though; you are really pretty." I looked at Kayla. "And you ... how come you never told me that your honey was a redhead?"

"We talk about it all the time at home. When she came home the day Reenie showed up, we laughed all through dinner." Eek! Brittney has one of those tiny, impossibly high voices. She looked adorable in a navy spaghetti strap sundress, with a hint of a tan on otherwise very pale, lightly freckled skin. Brown eyes glimmered with love, under short-ish red hair that was, for the most part, combed off a pretty, round face.

I was getting something to eat from the veggie tray when Tammy asked, "Is Crystal coming?" OOPS!

I blushed and said, "Damn, I forgot to invite her." Tammy's face fell. "Sorry babe, but I forgot to invite my doctor as well. I thought I had everyone's name in my little notebook. I have no clue. Are you and Jeffrey having fun?"

"Yup, it's fun to see the people we work with outside of work. We've talked to several others as well. Your neighbor Carol is cute. Have you met a lot of them ... your neighbors?"

"No, actually not, just Dan and Carol and Bill and Lauren. They're on either side of us. I'm pretty sure Bill and Lauren won't be coming." I told her why then asked, "What did you think of Brittney?"

"She seems nice." That is such a girlie answer, Tammy. She laughed at my glare. "Nice try boss." I cracked up.

"I guess with Kayla being as strong as she is, I expected her honey to be a little more like her.

Tammy shook her head as she smiled. "Ginger, not everyone can be like you and Reenie." I stared, confused. "Stop it! The two of you are really strong personalities. Well, I guess I'm saying that based on Reenie being a cop." Oh my god, Tammy said that not knowing that Reenie was behind her. She had her in cuffs before Tammy knew what hit her. The look of panic – I thought Tammy might have wet her panties.

"Is that what you meant Tammy?" my cop breathed in her ear. Wide-eyed, looking at me, Tammy nodded vigorously. I could not believe the brat did that, especially to someone like Tammy. I looked around for her husband, who was nowhere to be found – thankfully!!

"You two have fun. I'll wander among our guests." Tammy didn't talk to me for two weeks after I did that!!

Having visited with a few of the party goers, I found my sister and took her outside. I got right to it.

"I couldn't see because I was behind you, but Reenie told me what she saw in your eyes. Are you on the prowl, have you been on the prowl, what's going on with you?" Her initial reaction was surprise, but what came next was a shock.

"Back the hell off, Emily!!" Emily? "I'm not a kid anymore and I do not have to answer to you."

Whoa!! Had I been too blunt with my questions? Was she hiding something? Of course my sister doesn't have to answer to me! That was the least of my concerns. Hmm, that's a good question. What are my concerns and why? It's really odd, because I'm writing this bit of detail months after it happened. I remember the conversation in my head as if I it was happening now.

"Okay, Jen, maybe I came on a little too strong. I hope you know that I'm not judging you." She frowned. "Anything you want to tell me." I saw that her eyes had moved from mine and were looking over my shoulder.

"Oh my god, who is that?"

I turned to see Reenie, with Kathy in tow. "Look who I found!" Kathy was in a black and white polka dot blouse, a white skirt, and white pumps. The two of them looked like they'd been friends for years. I saw Kathy's eyes flick from me to my sister and back. "Kathy, this is Ginger's sister Jenny." I had already given Kathy a kiss.

"Hi Jenny; yup, I can see the resemblance. It's very nice to meet you." The two of them were shaking hands. My eyes met Reenie's; they registered amusement and curiosity. "How are you, Ginger?"

"Everything's good Kathy. We got a break with nice weather for the party. As the sun goes down, I'm hoping our guests will come outside. The house really isn't big enough for this many people." I turned to my sister, whose eyes were glued to Kathy. "Kathy is my personal trainer, Jenny. It's her workouts that have gotten me in shape." Reenie snickered. "I'm ignoring you!" The other two laughed. Reenie came and stood next to me, her fingers digging into my ribs. Damn her!

"I'm present at some of those workouts." No way was I getting out of this without giving her a kiss. Tough duty huh?

Eventually we got something to eat and joined Candy and Georgia at a table on the patio. The sun was quite a bit lower in the June sky and, for Dayton, the air was pretty dry. There was a lot to talk about.

"Who was the gorgeous blonde with the gorgeous blonde?" Reenie and I laughed.

"Tara is our decorator and Marie is her wife." Reenie looked at me as she spoke.

I said, "Neither of us knew she was a gay, let alone married." Reenie nodded.

Georgia asked, "Where did you get this food! It's delicious."

Candy looked hurt. "You don't like my cooking?" Reenie smothered her laughter ... badly!! "Shut up bitch. I wouldn't let you boil water!"

Reenie asked, "You both met Ginger's trainer?" I laughed, thinking about Kathy's last name.

Candy jumped in. "Yeah, I spotted Jenny and what's her name laughing and carrying on in a corner." She looked at me.

"I'm not my sister's keeper." It was lame but it was all I could come up with.

Never one to pass up a chance, my beauty said, "That's the very definition of lame." Bitch!

Georgia surprised me when she said, "No, Ginger's right. Her sister is an adult. It's hardly her job to be her ... whatever."

I knew what she meant but Reenie jumped in with, "Judge and jury?"

"Exactly," I said. "I'm not sure if anything's wrong, but David's worried." I saw Reenie's questioning look. "He saw what you did babe. He asked me if I knew anything, which I don't." I gave an exaggerated shoulder shrug.

I was a little disappointed that Jodi and her hubby didn't come until 'after' dinner. Kerry explained, in between bites, "We did too much today Ginger. Jodi wanted to get some shopping done, and we went grocery shopping as well. We were out for quite a while and she was completely worn out." Jodi, happily munching on roast beef, nodded. "Once she lay down for a nap, I didn't want to wake her up. I hope it's not an inconvenience that we're here so late." He's so cute!

"Of course not Kerry; it's an open house, so people can come and go as they please. Our decorator and her wife were here very early and left rather early. They had another party to go to." I looked at Jodi. "Has the tired thing gotten worse as the months have gone on?"

After taking a sip of her water, she said, "Early on I didn't know what to expect. It's kind of a hit and miss thing. My Mom told me some stuff, but she also said every pregnancy can be different. Today did catch me by surprise though."

I had a thought and excused myself. I found Tammy and said, "Can you come with me for a moment? I'd like to talk to Jodi about a baby shower." She brightened immediately. When we were back at the table I said, "Tammy and I would like to have a baby shower for you. It would be women from work and spouses of the guys." I looked at Jodi and said, "It's the middle of June so there's no rush. But give some thought to when you might like us to have it, okay?"

She looked at her husband. "We've talked about me going on leave around the middle of August. That would be wonderful. Thank you so much."

Sunset was around 8:30. Everyone was gone except my sister, David, Candy and Georgia. The six of us lounged on the patio, relaxing and chatting. It was fun.

Candy asked, "Who's Rita Cutler?"

We both answered, "Our realtor." All of us laughed.

Reenie said, "When that jerk Lily had her meltdown, Ginger pretty much forced a change in who was gettin' us this place." She looked at me and asked, "Did I ever meet Rita?" Good lord, I had to think about that.

"Isn't that odd? I'm not sure you did. She called on a Friday and introduced herself, called me on Saturday when the check cleared, and took me to the house. I got the keys that day." I looked at Candy. Why do you ask babe?"

"She was real nice, pretty easy going and personable." Candy looked at my sister. "Did either of you get to meet her?"

Jenny looked at David, who shook his head. "I saw you and several others chatting off and on, but she didn't introduce herself to me and it seems she didn't to David." She looked at Reenie. "Who's Kerri?" Reenie looked at me.

I said, "Which one?" Jenny looked puzzled. "There's Kerri the nurse and Jodi's husband Kerry." Jenny laughed.

"How funny is that? Two people named Kerri, two spellings, two sexes." My sister looked at me. "I swear – only you."

My redhead jumped in with, "Yeah, and how about Kayla's wife Brittney. Talk about a bunch of redheads."

I looked at Reenie. "I don't think you were there when Jodi's Kerry told me this. It seems some nights they reverse spoon – his back against her tummy." I smiled. "I guess he likes to feel the baby kicking." Even David smiled.

"I did that." He shrugged. "It's probably about as close as a man can come to feeling what it's like to have the baby moving inside the mother." We all 'Aww'd.' I don't think that's a word or how you spell it if it is. Do I care? No!

I said, "Getting back to your Kerri – did you talk to her?" Reenie nodded.

"She had a pretty good lookin' guy with her. She introduced him as Russ without any other explanation. They did seem pretty comfy together." I saw Reenie's quick glance at David and wondered what that was about.

Jenny was either being dense or persistent. "I get that the female Kerri is a nurse. But who is she and why was she here?"

Reenie, who by now was on my lap, (grin!) explained, "She's the emergency room nurse who took care of me when I got shot. She was pretty cool; Ginger told her the day I got released that she'd get an invitation." She looked at me asked, "You didn't get a chance to talk to her, huh?" I shook my head, a little chagrined.

"No, and I wish I had." I looked at Candy. "We told you about her right?" She looked at Georgia, who had followed our lead and had Candy on her lap.

"You may have. There was a lot goin' on those first few days. I'm not sure her name came up. She's cute though."

"Brittney - did any of you get to meet her or Kayla?" I smiled and kissed my honey.

"Whatever the reason, Reenie was amused that Kayla didn't tell me that her wife was a redhead. I guess it was something they'd laughed about – probably the coincidence of it all."

Brightening as she remembered, Jenny said, "Oh I remember her. I liked her sundress. That voice – ugh!"

"I'm sure you and David are in a hurry to get to the hotel." When Reenie said that, I shook my head. Georgia and Candy laughed like crazy. A clearly embarrassed Jenny smacked David as he tried to stifle a smirk – very much in vain.

I needed to change the subject. "I was mortified when Tammy asked me if I'd invited her sister-in-law. For whatever reason, I'd forgotten to invite Crystal, the travel agent who'd done so much to make my trip as much fun as it was." I shook my head. "At least I could tell my friend that I'd forgotten to invite my doctor." Reenie turned and stared.

"You forgot to invite doctor gorgeous?" Bitch!

David, who'd been quiet as the hens were chatting, chimed in with, "Paging doctor gorgeous." We all cracked up!!

And so it went. It was a little after ten when Jenny said, "I guess we better get going. We'll see you in the morning for breakfast." Reenie snickered; Jenny glared. Reenie was not impressed. I laughed; I don't know what the hell my sister was thinking. Reenie is not going to lose a stare down.

All of that made what happened next all the funnier. "Georgia and Reenie will take you back to the hotel while Candy and I clean up here." Yes, I did that on purpose, but without thinking. My sister made a face, but I'd said what I wanted (I think) and wasn't going to change now.

After giving David a kiss, I asked him, "Did you enjoy yourself? I'm sure it was a little odd not knowing anybody."

Always gracious, he smiled and said, "Absolutely Ginger. I got to meet a bunch of people, most of whom I'm not likely to see again." His eyes twinkled at that last. I blushed, knowing what he meant. "The house is great. Your decorator did a wonderful job." His eyes held questions that I couldn't answer. "Isn't it funny? After five long years, we've seen you three times and Reenie twice in the last few months." I was near tears.

"Take care of my sister, Dave. I know she loves you. Let me know if there's anything I can do, whatever it is. Please!"

He nodded, then surprised me with a gentle kiss on the lips. He followed that up with his traditional bear hug.

Next was my sister, who seemed amused. "A kiss on the lips huh?"

"It was a surprise for me too, Jen. Did you enjoy yourself?" Let's see if she takes the bait.

"Yeah, I did. Your caterer was above and beyond. I love your house. Not as much as mine of course, but I can see why you bought it." She corrected herself. "Are you going to buy it?"

"I can't think of any reason we wouldn't. Reenie likes it as much as I do. We're going to get a dog soon." I smiled. "Anyway, you better get going. We'll see you for breakfast tomorrow right?"

She leaned in and whispered, "Shut the fuck up, Emily." Then laughed. "Our flight is at four. Why don't we make it brunch ... to be safe? Call us when the two of you are ready." She stopped herself just before she said, 'to eat.' I think.

Just before they left, Jenny turned her head and found me. I lifted an eyebrow. She winked, which told me nothing.

Candy was already busy gathering plates and stuff. I got the garbage can, put in a fresh bag, and put it in the middle of the living room. Cleaning was easy; we didn't need to talk much. I wanted to stab myself with a fork. How silly of me to have her here with me. Again! I didn't want to say anything and I didn't want anything to happen.

I was thinking about what Jenny said, what she hadn't said, and what that wink might have meant, and I didn't feel Candy next to me until she said, "Ginger?" I jumped about a foot, my heart pounding in my chest. Alarmed, she stepped back and said, "Are you okay? I'm sorry if I startled you," and gently put her hand on my shoulder. "Can we talk?"

Not that long ago, this beautiful woman was naked in her apartment and wanted to do a lot more than talk.

"Do you know why I told Reenie she wasn't welcome at the crash pad?" Huh? What?

"Um, no, I don't." What on earth was she getting at? I admit to not wanting to let my guard down.

"Georgia told me what she said to you that night when Reenie left you and came to our place." Honestly, I only vaguely remembered. Candy's eyes were bright, but not with lust. "We've known her for a while now, Ginger. Neither of us has ever seen her so emotionally available, so happy, so ..." she stopped, searching for the right word, "content." She smiled and said, "She loves you Ginger." She kissed me, adding, "I do too, but that morning, when you ... couldn't." I had tears. "I knew what the two of you have is too precious, too special." We both had tears. She reached for my hand and held it up. "Some day soon, there's going to be more than a promise ring." Uh huh, she was holding my left hand. Her eyes bright with love and tears, she said, "I love you." After moving a bit closer, she put her arms around me and we kissed. I never hesitated and hugged her close. She didn't open her mouth; I hadn't expected her to. It wasn't that kind of moment nor was it that kind of kiss.

After all this time, it won't shock you that our kiss was the exact moment that the other two appeared.

My redhead crowed, "You owe me a dollar Georgia!" Candy made a move to pull away but I held her to me and opened my mouth. She laughed and responded. She pawed me, which I reciprocated. Uh huh, give 'em a show.

Georgia said, "You two gonna come up for air any time soon or should we go to bed?" Laughing, we broke the kiss, turned, and went to our honeys.

"Let's spend what's left of the night in the hot tub." Candy loves that hot tub!!