Les is Mor

She led me through the house to the kitchen, "We didn't eat dinner, and I know you didn't. Tatum made lasagna last night, and she said I could warm leftovers for us."

Tatum was cooking? It was some of the best I've ever had, and it was a day old. I was surprised she was cooking, but I wasn't surprised it was good. Whatever she did, she did extremely well. So did her little sister/stepmom, and she proved it twice more in the sumptuous king-size bed in the master suite before we won the battle with insomnia.

We could hear activity in the morning, but Willow wanted an encore before we showered and walked toward the kitchen again. Before we got there, a little boy of four or five ran up to me.

"Are you Les too?"

I laughed, "Less than what, and who's Les one?"

My dad's brand of funny didn't work as well as I had hoped, but Tatum followed him in.

"Yes, that's Les, just like you baby."

"Mommy! I'm not a baby!"

I stopped, stared, and didn't know what to think or where to look. Tatum was more beautiful than ever and she was a mother. Her son was half black and very active. All that shock was nothing compared to Tatum's first words to me.

"Hello Les. Would you like to shake hands with your son Les?"

I just stood, unmoving, a statue in a catatonic stupor, when Baker joined us.

There was none of the tyrant tone, "Shake hands with your father, little man."

He bounced over and stood right in front of me with his hand out. I finally had some brain function, but didn't offer my hand. I picked him up and hugged him.

"I think we need to say hello better than shaking hands."

He hugged my neck back, "Can we eat now?"

I put him down and we all laughed. I looked at Tatum, "You shouldn't have waited."

Her wry smile, "I waited a lot longer Les. I know what I want now. It took a mess for me to figure it out."

I walked over to give her a nice-to-see-you-again hug, "I know what I want too."

I hoped we were on the same train on the same track going in the same direction, and suddenly I realized that I'd been waiting too. From what Willow said, we'd both used sex as a diversion, but I knew I was ready to stop taking every available siding. I wanted to stay on the main line, one track, no diverting,

I picked my son up again and carried him to the breakfast table and sat him down before turning toward Tatum. She was giving me a lot more than a courtesy hug before I completed my turn, and my eyes teared with happiness. Her hug included a shimmy before she pulled my head down for a prolonged kiss. I couldn't ever remember any time when I had been so filled with pure joy.

Eventually she pulled back, "I have to finish making breakfast."

She did, excellently of course, while I talked with my son. He was smart, in pre-school but anxious for kindergarten, and big for his age. I couldn't wait to start playing sports with him, and I thought about being around him all day, every day. That possibility seemed closer when his mom asked if she could work another day at the store.

**********************

I didn't let her assume her old sales girl role, but rather sat her next to me in my perch explaining and demonstrating. By closing time, she was as adept at being the store monitor as I was, except for one thing. After catching and embarrassing a college girl, she was doubtful.

"I'm not sure I could do that. You caught a couple of my sorority sisters, and I don't know if they ever got over it."

"Did they ever come back here?"

"Yes."

"They're over it."

At six, I went through the shut-down and lock-up procedures, and then she asked to see the 'Den of Iniquity' again.

She walked around touching everything, especially the bed. I hoped and almost expected we would use it, but she finally stood in front of me.

"Let's go home. I always put our son to bed, but then I want to put you there too. I hope you'll stay the night. Les needs a little brother."

I RSVP'd to her invitation in person, and then enjoyed the party that occurred at the same time. By the time I left on Sunday morning to open the store, there had been three different deposits of squiggly-tadpole suitors in the egg drop competition. She was regular with her periods, and she explained each of those deposits should be within the window of the peak ovulation time frame.

We pillow talked in the morning after my morning attempt to provide Les with a little brother, "I didn't want to go to New York Les, but dad insisted."

"I didn't want you to go either."

"I know. We both hated it."

"Did you know you were pregnant when you left?"

"Yes, I found out that week. I was trying to get pregnant."

"When did you tell your parents?"

"I never told them that I was pregnant. My mom never saw or even knew she had a grandson. I felt like a shit, and I was so low."

"When did you tell your dad?"

"I didn't. He just showed up one day at my apartment in New York. He figured it out real quick when he saw Les, and I think that brought him back into the world although he was really pissed off at me."

"How old was Les?"

"Almost two."

"Was he happy?"

"Not at first. He and I were both still in a funk over mom and he was mad. Les is the one that changed his mood. Dad stayed with us for a couple months."

"When did you come back?"

"Almost four months ago."

Little Les arrived and had no problem interrupting. He quickly climbed under the covers, and it didn't take him long to discover his mom was naked.

"Mommy, you lost your jammies."

She looked at me and smiled, "Your daddy hid them Les. He said he was always going to hide them when he's here."

He lifted up the covers, "You hid his too."

She laughed, "Yes I did little man. I don't think he'll ever find them."

The extended pillow talk I'd wanted had to be postponed. I got up to shower and dress while Willow talked to our son. She was so good with him, always listening and responding to every question, and he had many. I answered his questions while Tatum got ready, and we all walked together to breakfast. This time Baker cooked, but as he did, he talked. Tatum, Willow, and little Les talked among themselves as I listened to his proposal.

He started by apologizing for his insulting behavior on Friday night, and promised that he wouldn't ever talk that way to anybody ever again. It wasn't just his words that left me bitter. I'd been played, and that was almost as demeaning as his insults.

"This was just a game to you, and I was a pawn."

He then opened himself to further disrespect.

"I'm sorry, but there is more. We want you to be the father of Willow's first child, and that was the main reason we were there. We wanted you to skip condoms, and you never do. She should have been ovulating that night."

Their game was more devious than I imagined, and I reflected on my thoughts of insemination revenge when I first entered his wife. Revenge was not a dish I was serving at any temperature because the customer was ordering from a different menu. Revenge requires that the act must hurt the target, and mine did exactly the opposite. My vengeance response was an attitude they put me in to get what they wanted.

I scowled, "Why would you want that?"

"My grandson. He's smart, handsome, active, and considerate, and he likes to play and talk to me. I've been fixed for a long time, and Willow wants a child. We think you would be the best father, especially if what I think is going to happen between you and Tatum happens."

There were two beautiful women who wanted me to provide the genetic code for their next child, and both were passionate lovers. The problem was that I only loved one of them, and I couldn't see a way to reconcile that.

His apology wasn't complete, "There is one more thing. Tatum didn't want to move to New York after graduation, but I forced it. She didn't want to leave you but I didn't think it would be good for her in the long run. She didn't even tell her mom and me that she was pregnant, and little Les was born ten months before Piper died. I'm sorry and I apologize to you just like I've apologized to Tatum. I was wrong and I shouldn't have made her move."

Before I could sort my thoughts, Tatum helped, "Willow and I know each other intimately, Les honey, and we would love to be with you together. We want to be pregnant together."

I'd never been with two women at the same time, but the idea wasn't one I hadn't thought about. They were both gorgeous and I'd already been inside each. Plus, I would get to watch them 'know each other intimately' together.

I had questions but they were all fighting with each other in my brain. Before I decided which one won, I guess they all figured it was a tacit acceptance of his apology because Baker went back to his proposal.

As I quickly learned, there were two parts: personal and business. The personal part was apparently over, and he started verifying information he already had about my businesses. I just nodded as he talked, barely able to concentrate. When I nodded to confirm that the building was paid for and that I had paid my grandfather back for the loan to start it, he made his pitch.

"I want to finance five more stores, but I want you to be the CEO of the umbrella corporation. I would like to put one in each of these cities: LA, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. The store design would be the same as yours, with any modifications you want to make. You would need to train a manager for each one at your store here while they are being built."

That avalanche was roaring at me, "I don't know. I like working the hours I have, and I don't want to increase them now. I just found out that I have a son and I want to spend my off-work time with him. I want more free time, not less."

"So train six managers and put one of them in your store here. Kick yourself upstairs. You can spend time designing and spend time with Les. And maybe with two more of your children."

"That's a whole lot to digest. Let me think on it."

"It will give you more time to help others get their businesses going too."

How did he know about that?

"I'll let you know."

Baker kept cooking as he talked, and his eggs benedict was excellent. As soon as I got to work, I called a nearby jewelry store and the manager agreed to stay open for an extra hour passed their 6:00 PM Sunday night closing. I thought it was ironic based on the fact that it was exactly what Baker asked me to do, and he had to bribe me in order for me to comply.

I made it worth the manager's time, and I had an engagement ring in my hand when I knocked on the Ashburn front door. Tatum answered, and before she could hug me, I was on my knee.

"Tatum Ashburn, I have loved you since the first day we met and I finally figured it out. Will you marry me?"

I was holding the ring and she put her left hand out, "Les, it is my greatest wish to be your wife, and I am so happy."

As I was placing the ring on, there was cheering and clapping behind her. I stood and Baker, Willow, and little Les were whooping it up. I smiled as I hugged the daughter of one of them, the step daughter and big sister of another, and the son of the third before locking my lips to hers.

We walked inside to congratulations and hugs. Baker welcomed me into his family, "We would like for you to move in here. I already hired a contractor to make a second master suite, and you can have your pick afterward, but in the meantime you can stay in Tatum's room."

It was all too fast, but there wasn't anything on his agenda that I crossed off.

"Mr. Ashburn, I'm still thinking and I need to talk to my family. The most important decision was just made by your daughter, and that's on the top of my priority list right now."

"It's Baker, Les. Forget Mr. Ashburn. And I agree that your wedding should be first. When you are ready to decide on the others, let me know."

Did I want to sell my house and move in with a full family? Did I want to expand my business while I was just getting to know my son? Did I want to sleep with Tatum and Willow at the same time, especially after just asking Tatum to marry me? Did I want millionaire Baker to be a big part of my life? Would he try to control and direct me? What kind of wedding did Tatum want? What would my family think? Ach du liebe!

That avalanche that started at 5:00 PM on Friday was picking up power and speed as it rumbled down the mountain at 8:15 PM on Sunday. I was riding high on an exciting tsunami of events, and there was a chance that it would bury me before it stopped, but I wasn't jumping off. Regardless of what was going to happen, the minimalism, the simplicity, the less is more, all took a major hit. My life was going to get more complicated, but Les, Tatum, Willow, and even Baker were all making me change my mind. Less is not always more.