Finding Her Way in a Storm Ch. 13-21

"I promise you. I won't stop seeing Dr. Mathis. I promise that I'll work even harder now to finish what I started so that I can always be the best mom and Mimi I can."

It'd been a slow process with Bree Ann seeing Sadie three times a week until midway through Skyler's second trimester. The therapist and patient had then cut it back to twice a week for the next couple of months. They were now only seeing each other once a week and would soon go to just once every couple of weeks. Bree Ann had come to think of Sadie as more than just her therapist, considering her a friend and confidant. She'd be sad when the day came that it was no longer necessary for the two to see one another.

Bree Ann was suddenly startled out of her own mind, realizing that Macey was calling her name.

"I'm sorry, Macey. Mimi was so busy driving that she got distracted. What was it you asked?" Bree Ann asked while sneaking a peak and the tiny dark-haired angel behind her.

"Is Momma Sky ever gonna have my baby brothers, Mimi?"

Bree Ann had to stifle a laugh as the car came to a stop at a red light. She looked back at her granddaughter and said, "Are you getting impatient? They'll be here before you know it and then you'll probably be wanting us to get rid of them. Babies can be awfully noisy."

Macey seemed to consider that for a moment. Bree Ann couldn't help but grin at the look of intense concentration on the child's face.

"Was I noisy, Mimi?"

"Oh, you had your moments, little girl. But you're going to have two baby brothers at once, so they're probably going to need a lot of attention," Bree Ann said as the light turned green, and she eased the car down the road towards their home.

Macey seemed to consider that momentarily, her pretty little face pinched into a severe expression. Finally, she peered back up Bree Ann's way and said, "Well, Momma Sky will have you and me, Mimi. And my mom and Momma K will probably help too, right?"

"That's right, Macey. We'll all take care of each other."

That seemed to pacify her granddaughter, who settled her little head against the headrest of her car seat. Bree Ann guided the car into their gated subdivision. It was only moments later that she was pulling into their driveway.

Kaia's old truck, which the frugal young woman refused to replace, sat in its usual place. But surprisingly, Lisa's luxury sedan was sitting in the bay of her open spot in the garage, the pretty brunette just sliding out of the driver's side.

Bree Ann was a little concerned to see Lisa home more than two hours early, her mind immediately going to her daughter's pregnancy. But, surely Skyler or Kaia would have called if there'd been an issue. And Lisa's smile and lackadaisical body language as she waved their way relaxed Bree Ann further. There was no air of tension about Lisa as she approached Bree Ann's SUV.

"Hey! What are you doing home so early?" she asked as she gave Lisa a hug.

"I spent the day getting my boss ready for a big road trip and making sure he made his flight. He could be gone a week or two, so I should have a lot of early days between now and then."

"Decide whether or not you're going to take maternity leave with your wife?"

"I am," Lisa replied as she circled around to the other side of the car to retrieve her daughter. "I know Sky has you to help her, and Kaia and I would always pitch in to help when we're home. But I got to thinking back to when I had this little runt. I really missed not having a mate there to share those first experiences with. Plus, it will give me a chance to really bond with the little guys."

"That sounds perfect. I know that Skyler is going to be so thrilled. Now you just have to convince a certain little Miss that it won't be necessary for her to quit school to help out," Bree said with a smile and a nod of her head towards Macey.

Leaving her granddaughter to her mother. Bree Ann made her way through the front door of their home, pausing momentarily to remove her shoes and set her purse on the table in the entryway. She could hear a shuffling noise and low, hushed voices coming from the direction of the living room, so Bree Ann went to investigate.

She found her very pregnant daughter, who was sitting on the room's large sectional wearing a robe, which she had clutched against her chest. Skyler's face was flushed, and she was having trouble meeting her mother's eyes.

Kaia merely had a sheepish grin on her face as she stood there buttoning her shirt. The snap to her pants was still undone, her zipper standing open.

"You know," Bree Ann said to Kaia, her right hand resting on her hip, "the doctor really would like to see her last another couple of weeks and she's never going to make it if you keep doing that to her constantly."

Kaia could only smile as she buttoned her pants, the sound of Lisa and Macey entering the house behind Bree Ann seeming to stifle her response.

The child released a squeal at the sight of her other two mothers. Macey bounded into the room towards them with Lisa reminding her to be careful with her Momma Sky.

Kaia scooped the excited and giggling little girl up before she could get to Skyler. The former Marine began asking Macey about her day, and Bree Ann watched as the child started to answer before her nose wrinkled up, and Macey paused to look around the room.

"It smells funny in here, Momma K!" Macey said in a flash of blatant honesty of the type only young children possess. Skyler and Kaia instantly flushed, with Lisa sliding into to scoop her daughter up for the save, rushing the young girl out of the room.

Bree Ann did her best to keep a straight face as she gave the two a disapproving look, but the three women quickly broke down into a fit of giggles.

"Why don't the two of you go and wash up while I see if I can find some air freshener," Bree Ann ordered her daughter and Kaia. "And try to keep your hands off one another between here and there."

She watched as Kaia helped Skyler from the couch. As her daughter passed, she leaned in and kissed her mother's cheek and said with a grin, "Sorry, Mom, but maybe it's these pregnancy hormones, because I'm horny almost all of the time now."

"Ha!" Bree Ann scoffed, "And what about all the other times I've busted you three over the past five years when you weren't pregnant?"

Skyler batted her eyes as Kaia's arms encircled her waist from behind, lowering her cheek down against the side of Skyler's head. The auburn-haired beauty gave her mother the most innocent look she could and pooched out her bottom lip.

"But we're young and in love, Mom. You remember what those days were like, right?"

Rolling her eyes, Bree Ann said, "Vaguely, although I don't remember your father and I making use of every surface in the house the way you three tramps seem intent to do."

"Eeeeew, I hope not," Skyler said teasingly as she squinched up her nose in disgust. "Not with yours truly having to use all of those surfaces too."

The sounds of Macey's squealing voice reached them from the direction of the kitchen, redirecting their attention.

"You need to go put on something other than just a robe," Bree Ann told her daughter, "And after you've washed up, you can meet me in the kitchen and play the part of my sous chef."

Bree Ann made her way into the kitchen and began to pick through the pantry and spice cabinet for the ingredients she'd need for the meal. She had her head buried in the fridge when she heard Kaia's voice behind her.

"You know, Mom, those days don't have to be over for you. You're still a beautiful woman with a lot of good years left to live."

Bree Ann looked up to see Kaia leaning against the oversized kitchen island as she stared intently back at the older woman.

"I know that you put all of your energy into making sure things keep running smoothly around here. But I think the three of us can handle it if you'd like to go on the occasional date. You deserve to be happy too, you know?"

Bree Ann stood there with her arms full of fresh vegetables and bit at her bottom lip, not exactly sure what to say in return. She'd had friends back home ask why she hadn't made an effort to date. But this was the first time any of her girls had brought the subject up.

Setting all of the vegetables on the counter with the other ingredients, Bree Ann looked at Kaia and said, "Really, I am happy. My depression is a thing of the past, and soon I'll have all that I can handle with helping Skyler with the twins."

Kaia tilted her head and gave Bree Ann a disapproving look, one that said she wasn't readily buying what the older woman was sharing.

"What?"

"Well," Kaia said with a shrug, "There are three grown women experienced with dealing with babies in this house. I think we can handle the newborns and Macey for a few hours while you see what possibilities are out there."

Bree Ann backed up against the counter, her hands finding it for support as she met Kaia's gaze. The look there said this was something the former Marine had been considering for a while.

"Is it because of Jon? I mean, is he the reason you don't want to date? Because I don't think he would have wanted you to go through the rest of your life alone."

"I'm not alone, Kaia. I have all of you to look after, and love."

Kaia offered her a gentle smile and said, "I know that, Mom. And for now, that might be enough. But give it some thought because once the twins are home and we've all settled into a routine, there will be plenty of time for you to take a look at your options."

"And what options are those?" Lisa said, entering the kitchen with a quizzical look in her eyes.

Bree Ann shot Kaia a look of warning, but the cocoa-skinned beauty returned a mischievous smile that told her Kaia intended to press the issue.

Grabbing Lisa and wrapping her in her arms from behind, Kaia said, "I was just trying to convince Mom that maybe once the babies were home and things had settled down, she should consider going on a few dates. There have to be tons of eligible men around here who'd jump at the chance to date such a beautiful woman."

"Oh yes, definitely," Lisa said, wrapping her arms around Kaia's. "And if we can't find a man that strikes your fancy, then I can definitely think of more than a few women who would be interested, Mom. I can think of one or two that have already asked about you."

"Oh, you two stop!" Bree Ann said, her face blushing. She seriously hadn't thought of dating since Jon's death. The thought of being held by another man, well, it left her feeling unsettled for some reason. And dating a woman? Well, despite finding it natural to accept her daughter's sexuality and all of the things Bree Ann had been exposed to since then, she could never see something like that for herself.

Could she?

No, she was forty-seven-years-old, and zebra's that were her age didn't suddenly just change their stripes. If you were attracted to women, that was something that you always knew from a young age.

"We're serious, Mom," Lisa said, sounding ardent and heartfelt. "There's still a lot of great chances at romance out there waiting for you if you're willing to open yourself up to them. Kaia's right; you should definitely give the possibility some thought."

The sound of Macey talking a mile a minute put a pause to their conversation. Skyler entered the room, her prominent belly preceding her, with Macey in tow. The young girl was rapidly expounding on the plans she had for her little brothers once they'd arrived.

There was no more said about the discussion as supper was made and eaten. The four women were consumed with Macey's antics as she relayed tales to them of her friends at school. They all thought it was cool that Macey had three mommies to come home to. There were several that had a mom and a step-mom. But having three moms that lived with her in the same house apparently made Macey quite the novel celebrity among her peers.

Once they'd made sure Macey had her schoolwork done and had taken her bath, Lisa and Skyler settled down in the entertainment room to watch an animated movie with her before bed. Bree Ann went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine, hoping to sit out back in her garden and catch the last few minutes of sunlight left in the day.

She found Kaia sitting at the garden table with paperwork spread out around her. There was a set of building plans and a tablet along with a notebook that held what appeared to be Kaia's hastily scribbled calculations involving building materials.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not," Kaia said, looking up from the set of plans, a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her pointed nose. "I'm just trying to get all of my ducks in a row regarding this next flip. I'll close the property in two days and want to have my crews ready to move as soon as possible. I want the process on this one to be as automated as possible because Sky's giving birth soon. I want to be able to spend as much time here as possible."

"What kind of timeline are you looking at?"

"Six to eight weeks on this one," Kaia said, sitting back in her chair and rubbing at her eyes. "I got this one really cheap from the bank before anyone else even knew that it was available. If I can keep the labor cost down, I stand to make a mint on it."

"So things are still going well?"

Kaia smiled at Bree Ann and said, "They are; the real estate market is really healthy right now. I've been getting a premium on the properties I've redone."

Bree Ann simply nodded her head and stared down into her wine glass.

"What did you really come out here to talk about, Mom?" Kaia asked, removing her reading glasses and setting them on the table.

"Do you think I'm lonely? Is that why you suggested that I start dating?"

Bree Ann looked up and found Kaia staring back at her intently. When the younger woman finally answered, her reply was measured and even.

"Bree Ann," Kaia said, using her first name, something she seldom did anymore, "I think you surround yourself with people you love and that love you in return. I think for you, we're like a warm and comfortable blanket that lets you shut out the rest of the world. But yes, to answer you, I do think that you're lonely."

"I'm not sure that I understand."

Leaning forward in her chair, Kaia said, "Well, there's a vast difference in the kind of love that we can offer you and the type that someone else can. Can you still remember what it felt like to fall in love with Jonathan? Can you recall that high and the way your heart quickened every time he came into the room, or someone mentioned his name?"

Bree Ann thought back wistfully to those days and recalled how her former husband had courted her. She could remember the initial thrill of being pursued and their first furtive kisses. The excitement of merely holding his hand in public and the way her heart had leaped the first time Jon had professed his love.

When they'd wed, Bree Ann had thought it would be for a lifetime. She'd never for a moment considered the prospect of being a widow just this side of forty.

"All of that is still out there for you, Mom. Somewhere in this metropolis is a man that can bring back all of those feelings for you," Kaia said, sounding very sincere. Kaia then smiled and added, "Of course, Lisa could be right. It could be a woman this time."

"Stop!" Bree Ann said with a blush.

"I mean, think of the irony if I had to come home from work and get on to you because you'd been misbehaving with your girlfriend."

"You're absolutely horrible!" Bree Ann said with a laugh as Kaia pulled her in for a hug. "But I promise that I will give it some thought. That dating thing I mean...not the girl thing."

"Uh-huh," Kaia replied playfully as if she didn't believe Bree Ann's final words.

The next week went by smoothly, with the four women spending ample time together. That Saturday night, they held a baby shower for Skyler. Among the varied guests were many of her closest friends from school and their regular group from within the local lesbian community. Bree Ann made an appearance early along with Macey, allowing the little girl to mingle with the guest before the two of them retreated to Macey's room.

Later that night, when the party was in full swing, and there was a lot of laughter emanating from the direction of the den, Bree Ann left a sleeping Macey and snuck into the kitchen for a drink.

She was standing there and pouring a glass of sweet tea when a familiar voice spoke from somewhere behind her.

"There you are. I wondered where you'd been hiding."

Bree Ann turned to see the smiling face of her former therapist. She hadn't laid eyes on Sadie Mathis in over three months, but the pretty blonde hadn't changed a great deal. Her hair was cut a little shorter and styled differently, but otherwise, she looked the same.

"Dr. Mathis," Bree Ann said, feeling a bit confused. "I didn't know that you would be here. I wasn't even aware that you knew my daughter."

"Please Bree Ann, you aren't my patient anymore so call me Sadie. And I didn't really know Skyler until tonight except through the things you told me. But my date Marisa is one of Kaia's longtime friends, so I kind of ended up here by proxy."

"Oh...so you're...I mean, sorry, I just never realized."

That got a smile from Sadie, who seemed to be reveling in Bree Ann's discomfort. Bree Ann felt her face flush and suddenly wished that she could hide. But she had to admit, she'd missed being able to talk with Sadie. Bree Ann had forged a strong bond with her during therapy.

"No, I guess you wouldn't have known. We, therapists, seem to relish keeping our private lives just that while delving into the most intimate details of our patient's lives."

"Wow," Bree Ann said, trying to recover from her shock. But then a thought suddenly occurred to her. "But wait, you once mentioned something about going through a particularly nasty divorce when discussing loss with me."

Sadie nodded her head and made a pained face before looking down at her shoes and saying, "My ex David, the worst mistake of my life. We were married for nearly fifteen unhappy years before I finally woke up one morning and suddenly knew that I just couldn't do it for another day."

"Because you suddenly knew that you were a lesbian?"

"Oh, no," Sadie said with a shake of her head, "that was an entirely different epiphany. That sudden realization didn't happen until nearly a year after my divorce."

"And what was that like coming to you so late in life?"

That got a pronounced laugh from the pretty blonde therapist who literally rocked on her feet and tilted her head back. Bree Ann couldn't help but notice what a slender neck she had.

"It was like going from one of those old tinny-sounding AM radios to Dolby surround sound in an instant. I just never could really relate to my ex. We always seemed to be on entirely different frequencies. I wasn't lucky like you were with your late husband. But with women, I found that it was different. And the sex...well, there's just no comparison."

Bree Ann flushed as she rolled her eyes and said, "You're as bad as Skyler and the girls."

Just then, a pretty brunette perhaps ten years younger than Sadie appeared over the Doctor's right shoulder and slid up behind her, placing an arm around the attractive blonde's waist.

"I wondered where you'd gone," she said to Sadie before turning her attention to Bree Ann. "Hi, Mrs. Grace. It's nice to see you again. I'm not sure if you remember me or not but we met at one of the parties here about a year ago."

The younger woman looked vaguely familiar, but that could have just been a trick of the mind. Remembering what Sadie called her, Bree Ann simply nodded her head and said, "Marissa, right?"

"Yeah, you remembered," the younger woman replied, seemingly thrilled at having left an impression on Bree Ann. To her side, Sadie winked at Bree Ann as she tried to hold back a smirk.