Man of the House Ch. 09

Erin's breath escaped in puffs of steam as she ran through the gold arch of trees that lined the median and sides of her neighborhood's main road. The pavement was wet under her feet, but the air was dry and the sun was low as it started its ascent into the empty blue sky. She loved the fall. Always had. Today was no different. But in a way it was. The last few months had been more peaceful and cheery than she had ever experienced. Since her parents' divorce and the burgeoning intimacy between she, her mother and her brother, things had settled down quite nicely for the young blonde.

And today she was twenty. She had beaten her mother out of bed because it was her long run day, so she was up before the sun was, but she fully expected the birthday breakfast when she returned home. She also knew what she wanted when it came to part of her gift from both her brother and mother. Their words were the same that they had always been on her birthday: "Whatever you want." This is what was described in their house as a freebie. It didn't take the place of an actual gift, but was instead something additional that wouldn't cost anything, but would make the birthday celebrant have the best, most stress-free day possible.

When she was growing up she would have Cory do the dishes or make her bed or be her "slave for a day" and she would get to choose the movie(s) the family would watch together. Nothing new or different than any child would ask for. Last year she blew out her candles after dinner and her mom and brother whisper-sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Then she opened her eyes and looked over at her father passed out on the couch, before she simply said, "Nope." Her mother smacked her lightly on the arm for wishing the same thing several years in a row, always disappointed: her father being gone (whatever that meant).

But this year she had to find something new to wish for. As it turns out her nineteenth birthday wish had come true, just not actually on her birthday. As it stood, she didn't know what to wish for this year. Everything was about as good as it could be as far as she was concerned. She had all day to think about it, however, and may come up with something simple by the time dinner rolled around.

As her mind was wandering through the list of potential birthday wishes a faded blue Ford Ranger with large gray spots of primer exposed through chipped paint, slowed to a crawl next to her. She smiled and pulled out one ear bud.

"Happy birthday, beautiful," Cory smiled at her.

"Thanks, slave," she smiled.

"Oh, god, no," he laughed, rolling his eyes.

She simply nodded as she continued to run, eyes forward, her ponytail swinging with each step.

"You want a ride the rest of the way?" he asked. His sister shook her head and he said, "Okay, then. See you in a few."

She gave him a thumb's up and popped her ear bud back in as she watched him drive away in his friend's borrowed pickup truck, hauling a black metal-grate landscape trailer behind him, two pieces of rented machinery resting beside large bags of seed and fertilizer. It was his fall routine.

Cory had unloaded the aerator and was struggling with the dethatching machine when he saw his sister approaching. He just stopped to watch her run toward him as she made that last hundred yards. He had come to love watching her run in her winter gear. Her hair was still in a ponytail, but on the cool winter runs she added a broad warming headband (this time it was hot pink) that wrapped from high on her forehead back over her ears. She had opted for her fluorescent green running jacket, unzipped midway, over a tight black shirt and tight black running pants. Her shoes were the same bright green as her jacket. On her arm was a black arm band that housed her iPhone with a white wire draped down in front of her before splitting at her chest and disappearing up under each side of the glowing pink headband.

She stopped a few feet from the driveway, smiling as she asked, "See anything you like?"

He was leaning on the handle of the dethatcher when he laughed, "Abso-fucking-lutely."

"Maybe I'll let you rub my feet later. Slave," she said glibly as she walked past him toward the front door.

"I'll make sure to keep my hands nice and cold for you, then," he replied as he turned back to roll the second piece of lawn machinery off the borrowed trailer. They both smiled, neither seeing the other do it, but both knowing they were.

Michelle heard the front door open and turned from scrambling the eggs so she could greet her little girl on her birthday. "Happy birthday, baby girl!" she exclaimed, her face beaming with joy as her daughter rounded the corner.

"Thanks, mom," she said, returning the smile as she met her mother halfway. They embraced and kissed on the lips briefly before her mother pulled away and stroked Erin's cheek.

"I can't believe my little girl is twenty years old," she sighed, her eyes filling with tears.

Erin just smiled in response, letting her mother absorb the moment.

"Well," Michelle said, clearing her throat, "I'm making your birthday breakfast. Come tell me what you want in your omelet and I'll have it ready in a few minutes. I guess Cory's home?"

"Yep. Do you want me to go get him?"

"Pick your omelet fixings first and then if you'll ask him what he wants, I'll make his."

"Okay." Erin selected a few items from the selection of cheese, ham, bacon, ground sausage, onions, peppers, and black olives and watched as her mother poured some of the scrambled eggs into the skillet from the glass bowl. She turned to get Cory's order and by the time she walked back into the kitchen, her mother was folding the omelet over and tilted the pan over to slide the large, perfect omelet onto Erin's plate.

Erin sat down at the table where her juice was already poured and there was a basket of biscuits on the center of the table, surrounded by various condiments. Cory walked in as his mother sprinkled cheese into the eggs in the pan, and bent down to kiss his sister on the cheek. "I'll be happy to give you that foot rub today. Pick out a nice polish and I'll do the full workup," he whispered, again kissing her on the cheek before he pulled away and grabbed a biscuit as he saw her smile and nod.

He walked over to kiss his mom on the cheek, placing his hand on the small of her back as he moved toward the sink to wash his hands. He set the half-eaten biscuit on a paper towel before washing and drying his hands, then picked it up and took another bite as Michelle slid his omelet onto a plate and handed it to him. Cory took his seat at the table and finished his biscuit. He and Erin talked about nothing in particular as they waited for their mother to cook her omelet and join them at the table.

"What are your plans for today?" Michelle asked whoever would answer.

"I just need to get the yard done," Cory replied. "I'll aerate, dethatch, then seed and fertilize it. I'll be done well before lunch. I only rented the aerator and dethatcher for four hours. Otherwise, I don't have anything."

"What about you, birthday girl?" Michelle asked Erin, eyeing her over the rim of her tilted juice glass.

"Well, I already went for my run and now I'm having my birthday breakfast (thank you, mom), and Cory has promised me a pedicure-slash-foot-rub. My only other plans are to spend the day and specifically the night, with my two favorite people. I want my birthday to go out with a bang. Or two. Or three," she laughed.

Her mother and brother smiled at her innuendo.

"So nothing during the day, then?" Cory asked, surprised.

"Megan said she would call this morning, so until I hear from her, I can't say. Unless you had something planned, mom? I can always tell Megan I can't do anything."

"If we go out for your birthday, Megan is welcomed to join us if you would like. It's no trouble."

"Okay, thanks, mom."

"Have you thought of a birthday wish, Erin?" Cory asked. He smiled, indicating that he knew she couldn't use her old one.

"Oh, that's right!" Michelle laughed. "Last year's came true so you have to come up with a new one."

Erin laughed and shrugged. "I don't have one yet."

"You have to have a birthday wish!" her mother exclaimed. "You can't think of anything?"

"No," she said. "I can't. I have everything I could possibly want right here, right now. I have a family that makes me so incredibly happy," she laughed, taking both of their hands. "I have an amazing best friend, I'm doing great in school, having great sex, and have never, ever been happier. Ever!" She was sincere in everything she said. She squeezed their hands and let go before picking up her fork and taking another bite of her omelet.

"Well," Michelle said, standing up to take her plate to the sink, "You'd better think of something before I light your candles tonight." She talked as she walked to the kitchen. "Since last year's wish came true, I'm expecting something big this year." She smiled at her daughter, who smiled back.

"Okay," Cory said, standing up. "I'd better get this yard finished up."

"Don't wear yourself out," said Erin. "That's my job."

"And it's not even MY birthday," Cory smiled before walking out of the kitchen and through the front door.

"Thank you for breakfast, mom. It really was amazing." She sighed and ran her thumb up and down the side of her juice glass as she stared at it.

Her mother came and sat back down. "What's the matter, baby?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I mean, I do, but I'm just trying to figure it out."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

Erin shook her head. "If I talk about it, it won't come true."

"The birthday wish?" her mother reasoned. Erin nodded. "You know that's just a game, right? We don't really believe that your birthday wish really has any power to it, or that if you say it out loud it jinxes it."

"No, I know that," she snickered. "But it helps to believe it, you know? Like, if there's any possibility of it coming true, but I say what it is, then it won't. And I really want it to, even though I know it's not real."

"I want to say you're not making any sense, but that would be a lie. I think I get it. What you're saying is that you want something to happen, but even though you don't believe in the birthday wish, if you say anything about what it is, it might change it somehow so that it won't come true, even if it could have before?"

"Something like that. It's like... you know how we always find something we like at a restaurant and get attached to it and then after a while they take it off the menu? So we joke about not saying out loud that we like something so it doesn't go away. It's like that."

"Okay, so what's the wish, Erin?"

The young blonde took off her headband, her ears getting warm, and she ran her hand over her hair, trying to flatten the stray hairs that had been mussed by the headband. She sat silently for a minute, but her mother didn't prompt her to speak; she just sat with her and waited, patient and gentle.

"I don't ever want this to end," she said quickly.

Her mom looked down at the table and nodded. "Your wish is that what we have now won't ever end."

"Yes. But I know it will. It has to. It's too good to last. These last few months have been pretty amazing, mom." She started to sob. "I've never felt like I do right now and I'm so afraid that one day you or Cory will tell me we have to stop because you've found someone else." She started crying heavily now and Michelle quickly stood beside her and hugged her head and shoulders to her own stomach, beginning to weep gently with her daughter.

"Shhhh," she said, stroking the soft blonde hair, "It's all right. Shhhh." She just whispered and embraced her daughter for a couple of minutes until Erin pulled away and wiped at her eyes, still looking down at the floor.

Michelle knelt on the floor at Erin's feet and took her hands. "Now you listen to me. We have all three been pulled into this beyond our expectations and it has been incredible for all of us. I see the way Cory looks at you. He loves you. I know that if it ever came down to Cory introducing a young lady to us, it would only be because she would be absolutely incredible. You know how picky he is. And if that day comes, you won't be the only one disappoint...hell, devastated, by it. But, sweetie, you can't be afraid of the possibility that this relationship won't last. Our relationship will never end, even if that one aspect of it does. Neither Cory nor I will ever leave you, not as long as we live. You have to believe that."

Erin nodded. "I know. And it's stupid for me to think about it, but the truth is, I find myself falling more and more in love with both of you every day. Cory is everything I could want in a man, and you're all I could want in a woman. Don't get me wrong. I mean, I love Megan and she's an incredible friend and lover, but I think we both know that, one day, one or both of us will find someone and the relationship will change. We may be maids of honor for each other and our kids may play together, but our relationship as it is now?" She shook her head no.

"I understand, baby girl. You know what, though? We have now. We can waste our time hoping against hope that the future stays bright, and fearing the end of our happiness, or we can invest with joy in where we are today. Do you know that I think about that same thing every night? Every. Damn. Night, Erin. After we make love and you guys are either asleep or cleaning up, I lie there alone thinking that it will all end one day. And I force myself back to my present reality, that I have two amazing lovers, one handsome young man and one beautiful young woman; and two fantastic children. And it's at that point that I realize I'd be an idiot to let this time pass while I'm fearing for the future. And so far, every morning I have woken up, my lovers and children have still been right there with me and for me and every day seems a little better than the one before.

"And I'm finding that the fears are receding. They have no foundation, Erin, except in my own insecurity. What have I specifically done to make you think I was going to want to stop what we have?"

Erin thought for a moment and then answered, "Nothing."

"And Cory? What has he said or done?"

Again, Erin thought before shaking her head.

"See what I mean?"

"I think so," Erin replied, a tiny smile appearing, a glint in her eye. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, baby. In the future, any time you need a reassurance from me, I'll be happy to give you one. And I may come to you for it from time to time as well. How does that sound?" she smiled.

"Sounds good." Erin hugged her mother, kissing her on the cheek before hugging her more tightly a second time.

Michelle jumped as the iPhone on Erin's arm, rang right in her ear, a burst of bubblegum pop assaulting her eardrum.

"Sorry," Erin laughed, sliding the phone out of the holster. "It's Megan."

Her mother nodded and stood to clear the table as her daughter began a one-sided conversation with the cute brunette on the other end.

"Hey....Aww, thanks....Not that I know of...." Erin's voice and laughter faded as she walked up the stairs, leaving Michelle alone to tidy up the kitchen and to think on Erin's fears. Were they really unfounded or would that day come? And which of the three would back away first?



The pulsating jets of hot water beat away the tension in Cory's shoulders and upper back. With both hands on the wall, he hung his head to stretch his neck and back, and just relaxed into the rapid-rhythm stream between his shoulder blades. That aerator had a tendency to beat him up as he fought to hold it back while it pulled forward in the wet clay. And the dethatcher wasn't much better. After more than an hour of using both machines, he still had to load them onto the trailer, repeatedly lift and handle fifty pound bags of fertilizer and seed, and stoop over to fill the spreader in small batches. He had just returned from the hardware store to turn in the machines and one bag of fertilizer before dropping off the truck and trailer and picking up his own car. He hadn't seen the ladies since breakfast, but thought he would be better off showering first. He knew they would appreciate it, if nothing else.

He heard a voice call out over the shower and looked out through the curtain. Erin was standing with a smile, still in her running gear. "I said, got room for me?"

He smiled at her. "I always have room for you, birthday girl." She smiled and he watched her undress. She had already removed her jacket and shoes so she was in her running pants and shirt, both skin-tight, which she removed to reveal that she was not wearing a bra and had on a pair of hot pink boy shorts with cheetah spots. She took a step toward him. "Wait," he said. She stopped and looked confused. He looked her up and down slowly, noting her long, tone form, her navel small and her stomach having that single line down the center that indicated her fitness. "Beautiful," he said, looking her in the eye. She looked away.

"Stop it," she said.

"No, Erin. I won't stop it. You are." He held his hand out to help her into the tub, which she took and stepped in with him before he closed the curtain again. He reached up and twisted the knob to turn on the second showerhead. This summer they had bought a new showerhead with a second showerhead on a hose, both with massage patterns available, and now they were both on. Erin stood under the main head and Cory removed the attached head, using it to keep warm. Tucking it into the towel bar on the side of the tub, he embraced his sister.

"I love you, Erin," he whispered, his chin resting on top of her head.

She had her arms around his waist and her cheek rested against his chest. "I love you, too." She felt him kiss the top of her head before pushing himself away.

"Here," he said, "Let me wash your hair."

"Mmm, okay." She smiled before rinsing her hair under the spray while he reached for her shampoo bottle. She stepped out and turned around so the spray hit her between her breasts and upper stomach. Her brother gently stroked the shampoo through her golden tresses before piling it on top of her head and working the strawberry shampoo into a rich lather. She enjoyed the massage, feeling his fingers and fingernails firmly glide over her scalp in varying patterns. Afterward, he combed his fingers through her hair, pulling lightly at it, enjoying the soft feel as her hair was lubricated by the rich white foam.

She felt him press gently on her forehead and she tilted her head back, feeling the spray of the second shower head heating her scalp as it washed away the shampoo. Cory lovingly protected her eyes by creating a hand visor at her hairline, which she appreciated. As he moved away from the front, however, he used that hand to comb through her mane. Once he was confident he had rinsed her hair thoroughly, he repeated the process with her conditioner.

Once the conditioner was rinsed out, Cory took her natural sponge and squeezed the body wash into it, working it into a lather. Her back was still to him and he began working the sponge gently over her shoulders and back. She looked over one shoulder with a gentle smile and brought her hand back to lift her hair so he could get her upper back and neck. He loved that look and he loved her neck. He rinsed of the soap so she could release her hair, but before she did that, he leaned in and kissed the very back of her neck at the hairline, bringing a quiet moan from his sister's throat. It was at this point that he started to stir. Whether it was the look she gave him, the kiss on her neck or running his hands over her soft, wet skin, he was getting more turned on.

He tried to concentrate on his task of soaping her up. He did her upper body first, back then front, noticing the erection of her nipples as he stroked over them with the sponge. He wanted so badly to touch them, to lick them, to take her entire breast into his mouth, but now was not the time. He had a job to do.