Little Packages Ch. 09

And just like that, she came back, congratulated us, and fussed over the ring and how lovely it would be to have a daughter-in-law again. I turned to say something to dad and the look of relief that his wife was back, if just for a few minutes, was so great that my heart broke for him. I couldn't be mad at him. I was losing my mom. He was losing the only important thing he had in the world.

God, could I empathize.

Dad, of course, was still trying to fix it. I got my fixer attitude from somewhere. Kitten just stepped up and told my dad he needed to get her help. Now. I'm not the only one who can't say no to her. Within a day we had a homecare worker.

That was the start of my winter of going back and forth between Toronto and Vancouver. To help out dad and spend time with her while I could. But it became apparent it was a losing battle. She needed to be in a home where she could get more support.

Dad fought the idea tooth and nail, but even he gave into the inevitable when the homecare worker said there was nothing else she could do. My last trip was getting her settled into a care home and getting someone to help with the cooking and cleaning for dad.

It's a hard thing to lose your mom even when she's still there physically. It's hard to watch your father, a rock, slowly break. A year and a half ago I would have been useless. But now I had my rock, even if she was in a 5-foot tall package.

"Look, that was a tough thing to do. I'm not going to say otherwise. But I've known this was coming and I knew the risks of me sliding again. That's why I've been talking to my therapist again and sticking with my meds. It's why I'm talking to both of you all the time.

"Over three years ago, I thought my life was over. Now I have way too much to live for to go off the rails again. So yeah, this sucks and there are going to be some hard days for me," I said. "But I've got people who love me and this time I know it. So yeah, I'm....ok."

I could feel Kitten making a snurfing noise next to me. Meg came around the table and hugged me. I was a wiser man than I was last time and I knew better than ever how precious moments like this were.

Finally, I gently broke the hug. Meg looked slightly embarrassed and Kitten was looking at me with bloodshot eyes, but she was smiling. That's all I needed.

"Soooo," she said, trying to change things up, "On the good news front, I have a week off coming up."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"A couple of the stars have promo tours they need to do and they scheduled a break between Victoria Day weekend and Memorial Day weekend. I can come up to the house for the week so you're not rattling around up there alone," she said.

That was exactly what I needed. School, work, and my mom meant this had been a rough year for us so far.

"A week alone with you is just what the doctor ordered. I wouldn't pack much clothing," I said, trying to get Kitten to blush and a slight rise out of Meg. Instead, Meg laughed.

"Go ahead and tell him the other part," she said, going to the fridge to grab some water.

"Kitten?"

"I....may have mentioned to Gillian and Soo that I had a week off and I was heading back to Kingston. And they asked if they could come for a visit for the weekend because they wanted to get out of Montreal," she said. "I kinda said yes...."

"Kitten," I groaned, putting my head in my hands. I loved those two girls. They were great and under other circumstances, I'd love to see them, but I wanted a week alone with my fiance.

"And since you were turning your place into an AirBnB for lesbians, I figured I'd come up for the weekend. I need a break to get the stink of Toronto off of me."

"I thought you were bi?" Kitten said.

"Eh. Who knows these days," Meg replied.

I was about to protest when Kitten cut me off.

"Nope. First of all, we'll still have the rest of the week and I promised to do everything your depraved mind dreams up," she said.

"TMI," Meg complained. Kitten ignored her.

"Second, we all need breaks and the house is a perfect little getaway."

"And third?" I said, knowing there was a third point.

"You need to have some friends around for a few days, to relax and have some fun. Meg agrees with me on this. So please, Daddy," she said.

It was a done deal, but I needed to salvage some dignity. I sighed and got up from the stool and went to look out the window of Meg's condo. I used to like this condo. I used to love the one Beth and I had back in the day. Now it felt small and all I could see were other condo towers. It was bloody depressing. No wonder Meg needed a break.

"Fine," I said in a voice that was an attempt at being magnanimous. It fooled no one. "Under one condition."

"Which is?" Meg said, clearly amused at me trying to negotiate the terms of my surrender. As a divorce lawyer I imagine she heard it all the time.

"You are going to be taking Gillian and Soo out at least once to give Kit and I some alone time. Take them on a cider tour, take them shopping or out to dinner. I do not care. But I'm not sneaking around my own house when I want sex."

Meg came over and shook my hand, sealing the deal.

"Like I want to hear the two of you go at it anyway," she said. Kitten came over and tackled me, pushing me against the condo window.

"Best Daddy Ever," she said, happy I caved so quickly.

"You say that now," I whispered in her ear. "There's a price to pay for inviting guests without checking with your Daddy first."

"I'm counting on it," she said, leaning up to kiss me.

****

Neither Kitten nor Meg loved the idea of me heading back to Kingston; I would be alone for over a week before the hordes descended on me. I compromised by spending another couple of days in Toronto to make them happy. But they were both busy with work so my time with them was limited. Even catching up with some people from the old days was weird. Several didn't have time and the couple that I did catch up with, well, we'd all changed over the last couple of years. It was nice but odd. They mostly asked if I was sure it was a good idea to get engaged so quickly. That got old in a hurry.

So it was with relief that I hopped on the train back to Kingston and walked through the doors of my home. I walked around opening windows, grabbed something to drink from the fridge and then went out on the deck. I sat down in the chair and soaked in the view. It was good to be home.

I knew part of me should feel bad about being home with everything going on with dad, but he was insistent about me returning home.

"You'll do no good rambling around here. We'll get on each other's nerves and, well, as hard as it is for me to say this, your mother won't miss you," he said, and I could tell it killed him to say it as much as it killed me to hear it.

"Dad," I began, but he waved me off.

"Come out when you can. Bring Kit if you're able. She lightens the place so much when she's here. I swear even your mother responds better with her around," he said. "But you have a life with her now. She needs you more than your mom does."

"Ok dad," I said. He was right, but I still felt terrible.

"When you first told me you were engaged to her, I thought maybe you rushed it a bit. She's a lovely girl, but it had only been a year. But all those times she came out with you, well, she's a special girl. You need to take good care of her."

And so here I was, back home, waiting for my special girl. And her friends.

The time went quickly. I cleaned the house and got groceries. I worked out and took care of a few freelance things that I had let slide due to travel. I even did some work in Kitten's room so the girls could sleep in there without having to kick her debris field around to find space.

Before I knew it, it was the long weekend. I offered to go into Kingston to get Gillian and Soo, but Meg said she could grab them from the train station along the way.

"We've got them. We'll see you soon," Kitten texted.

"The place is ready for the hordes," I replied.

She replied with a picture of all of them in the car. They all looked happy, at least. Soo had dyed her hair again, this time with a pink streak. She also appeared to have her nose pierced. Ever since she moved to Montreal, she was eager to try everything, making up for lost time. At least Gillian looked unchanged, albeit happier.

The door banged open and Kitten called out, "Daddy! Where are you?" which signalled their arrival. She ran out onto the deck, her short green sundress distracting me with all the leg it was showing. Before I could respond she pounced on me as I was trying to get up from my chair. I had the air knocked out of me, but still managed to laugh.

"I'm guessing you missed me, Kitten?" I asked. She nodded into my shoulder.

"Come on, working on a TV show, making clothes for famous actors, sounds like a good gig," I said. "It should make up for me not being around."

She leaned back and looked at me like I was nuts. It always gives me a jolt when I see her after any kind of absence. Those huge green eyes, the red hair already getting a little more strawberry in the summer sun, and her smile. It was insane that someone this beautiful could love me, but the universe is deeply weird.

"They're not that famous, Daddy. It's a CW show," she said.

I roared laughing, which made her giggle and squirm on my lap. She could also feel my cock getting hard, and she gave me a hungry look. Under other circumstances, this would be the prelude to her sundress vanishing. However, that was the moment when Meg, Soo, and Gillian came out onto the deck.

I sighed. They were here for less than five minutes and they were already cockblocking me.

Kitten got off my lap and I stood up. I took a second to adjust myself. Meg just nodded. Gillian gave me one of her slightly awkward handshakes because that's who she was. She liked me, but that was affectionate as she got with men. Soo, on the other hand, gave me a big hug.

"Thanks for letting us come for the weekend, Ben," she said. "We needed a weekend away from Montreal. Someone was getting cranky."

"That's her natural, charming state of being," Kitten replied.

"Standing right here," Gillian shot back. The three of them bantered while I walked over to Meg. We walked into the house. I suspected she needed some coffee and possibly something stronger.

"Still think this was a good idea?" I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I think so. People are good to have around, or so I've been told," she said. Knowing she was coming I made an extra-large pot of coffee. She poured a cup, took a sip of her coffee and then made a quiet moan of pleasure.

"You live in Toronto. It is possible to buy good coffee there rather than the crap you drink at the office," I said.

"I know, I know. But stealing your expensive coffee gives it extra flavor."

I shook my head and poured my cup. We were leaving unspoken why she was even here today. When they talked about coming up for a visit, I assumed she would drive up late Friday evening after work. Yet, here it was just after lunch and she was standing in my kitchen drinking coffee. It meant she blew another day off work.

The girls came into the kitchen with Kitten telling them to fend for themselves. They looked a little sheepish about it, but there was no way they were coming here and buying their groceries. Soo and Gillian did bring their own alcohol. My relationship with alcohol was still complicated years after that drunk killed Beth. It made no logical sense, but I still hated buying it, and I certainly wasn't going to be drinking any. But as long as they didn't make a nuisance of themselves, having something to drink was ok.

"Ben, I just want to say thanks again for this," Gillian said. "Soo's remark about being cranky aside, I've been going all out this year with school, graduating and work, so a long weekend away helps."

"No problem," I said. And for the first time I meant it. "How's the new job?"

"I love video games, but too many of the people who make them are assholes. This company is pleasantly not filled with douche-bros, so that helps."

I laughed.

"How about you, Soo?" I asked. "Still the best barista in Montreal?"

Gillian laughed, which resulted in Soo shooting her as close to a dirty look as I'd ever seen.

"What, Che Guevera over there? She can say we're getting out of town because I'm grumpy, but we're escaping before half the coffee shop owners in Montreal put a hit on her," Gillian said. She was teasing, but she also looked incredibly proud.

"What happened?" Kitten asked.

"I like my job and the people I work with, but the owner? Just...no. He was being inappropriate to some of the baristas and making them uncomfortable. So I stood up to him, he threatened to fire me, and then, well, I might have organized a large number of baristas from his other shops to all quit their jobs at the same moment as a protest of his inappropriate behaviour. Some people are not taking it well," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Meg practically did a spit take, Kitten was at a rare loss for words and I started laughing.

"You deprived people in Montreal of their coffee?" I finally managed to get out.

"It was beautiful," Gillian said. I noticed that Gillian enjoyed the suffering of people she considered aggravating. By default, that meant almost all of Montreal, Quebec, and a good chunk of Canada.

"So what now?" Kitten asked. "I assume you're blacklisted at every coffee shop in town."

Soo nodded her head but didn't seem the slightest bit worried.

"I'll figure something out. I've been busking for a while and I make ok money at that. An art program accepted me for classes this fall. Plus I can always pick up a few things. I find if you try to be a good person and do the right thing, things work out for you," she said.

The staggering optimism of a 20-year-old. I didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. A glance over towards Meg confirmed she was thinking the same thing but was also biting her tongue. I could only hope Soo was right.

After they all managed to grab drinks, I attempted to lay down some ground rules.

"Look, I'm all glad you're here, and please feel free to relax and do whatever. But as I'm sure you all know, I'm not having the easiest year in the books. So I'm not really in any shape to be playing cruise director for the weekend...." I started before Kitten cut me off with an exasperated sigh.

"Nobody is expecting you to do anything for the weekend, Daddy. We're here to distract you. So you don't have to cook, drive us anywhere or cater to us. Just hang out in your house. We're going to hang out, use the sauna and jacuzzi, maybe go down to the swimming hole," she said, looking a little sheepish. That was our spot, but I could hardly ask her to hide it from her friends if they were visiting. "If there's a problem, Meg or I will deal with it. Ok?"

Well, I could hardly argue with my little girl when she put it that way.

"Sounds good," I said, holding my hands up. Kitten nodded her head, my surrender a foregone conclusion.

"I'm going to take Gillian and Soo to the pool for a swim. You and Meg can chill here for a bit. We'll be back in time for supper. Which Soo is going to make," Kitten said. She then grabbed the two girls and marched them to their rooms to get changed.

Meg looked at me and smirked.

"I thought you were supposed to be the dom in this relationship? Because I think she just put you in your place," she said, heading back out towards the deck with her coffee.

"Oh well. At least now I know what it'll be like when Kitten sends me to the retirement home," I replied, again nearly causing Meg to do a spit take.

***

Meg and I were sitting on the deck, just shooting the shit. The girls had left about 45 minutes ago and I wasn't expecting them back for at least another hour. It was a good chat about nothing, which is sometimes what you need. However, Meg knew what was going on with me, but she remained frustratingly coy about herself

"Ok, I've been patient, but enough. What gives?" I asked as my patience finally wore out.

She sighed and stared off into the distance.

"Pretty sure I either quit or was fired yesterday. Not entirely sure which, but given the lawyers at my firm, I'm sure it will end up being the latter if it ends up in court," she said, seemingly more annoyed by the whole thing rather than upset.

"Did you tell one of the partners to fuck off?" I asked. She always said if she was going, the last thing she was going to do was to tell "some of those old white bastards where to go."

"No," she said. "Well, I eventually got there, but no, at first it was just a meeting about my attitude. They thought I was disrespectful to the new partner...."

"Which you were," I said, interrupting. I knew Meg.

"Which I was," she continued. "It escalated into me telling them I was looking for another job because not making me a partner last time was bullshit. Then there was a comment about my lack of gratitude for all they had done for me...."

"And that's when you told them to fuck off," I said. Meg toasted her coffee cup towards me, indicating I'd guessed correctly.

We sat for a few more minutes. I was waiting to see if Meg would say anything else, but she was content to enjoy the view.

"Fuck it. They don't deserve you," I finally said.

"Well, duh," she replied, but with a grin.

"So is there a plan or am I making up the spare bedroom for your inevitable homelessness?"

"You understand that if it ever came to that you couldn't say no, right?" she said. I knew she was mostly kidding, but there was more than a bit of truth to it as well. She kept me alive for almost two years; that was a debt I was never crawling out of.

"I can probably do something with the shed out back, maybe run a space heater back there, give you a bucket you could draw water from the stream," I said. Meg reached over and punched me in the arm.

"Asshole. I expect your bedroom and you and Kit can have the shed."

"Good luck convincing her of that."

She was quiet again for a few moments, finished her coffee and examined the empty cup with grief. Then she looked at me.

"There is a plan, believe it or not. I'm not your level of borderline OCD organization, but I don't get into a fight in the office if I don't have a backup plan. Besides, I think I'm getting done with law and done with Toronto. I need a break. Every time I come up here for a visit I don't want to leave. Don't let that go to your head. It's less to do with you and more to do with getting out of the city.

"You don't do as much pro bono work with women's shelters as I do without getting some good connections. So there are a few options with women's organizations, here and in Ottawa. I had one political party reach out and inquired if I wanted to run in the next provincial election...."

"Ooooh, that's intriguing," I said.

"I might. It's tempting. But I'm going to go on vacation first. I haven't had a proper one in ages. So I'm going to go over to Europe, bumble around for a bit. Practice my French," she said.

"Is that a euphemism?" I asked. She laughed.

"I need to get laid, so sure," she said. "Kit already knows most of this. She's good in the condo for the rest of the summer, so you guys don't need to worry. Then we'll see. A change will do me some good, I think."

I reached over and squeezed her hand.

"This is a good thing. I'm glad you're changing things up. You've been unhappy for a while," I said, standing up to take her cup and refill it.

"Yeah, it was time to get off my ass. You know that," she said.

I nodded my head. I hope it went as well for her as it had for me.

****

Later that night we were sitting around a fire pit I had on the front deck. Kitten cuddled into me while the others were in different chairs. Marshmallows were roasting over the fire and I couldn't recall the last time I was involved in that.