Mother Road Ch. 03 - Rush Hour

Olivia waved back, "Love you guys!"

Laura smiled, "We love you too, sweetheart! Enjoy your time with Brad! Bye for now!"

Hanging up, I leaned in and kissed Laura's cheek. I could tell my love was emotionally overwhelmed. I couldn't blame her. Grasping her hand in mine, I gently pulled her along.

"Come on, sweetheart," I told her. "Let's go talk to our lovebirds."

Ashley and Ava were still sitting at the table. The glass coffee pot was empty. It looked like Ava had caffeinated herself to the max, her foot was tapping like a telegraph operator's finger. With Laura beside me, I began, "Ava, Ashley, thanks for waiting. It was a lot to digest at one time. Thanks to Olly, Mom and I were able to wrap our heads around everything. Your big sister really helped us understand, so we're not so overwhelmed." I turned to Ava and took her hand.

"Ava, your Mom and I are so proud of you for getting the scholarship. And I'm extremely flattered that you want to study architecture like I did. Flattered and amazed."

I turned to my future daughter-in-law and took her hand. "Ashley, you came into our lives and became one of the family. We already love you. If you and Ava want to get married, then Mom and I will make it happen. Case closed. Right, Laura?"

Laura was still a little overwhelmed but nodded her head yes. Ava and Ashley both squealed in delight. Throwing their arms around each other, they kissed, a long and loving kiss. Then the two of them came around the table, Ashley behind Laura, Ava behind me, hugged our necks and kissed our cheeks. "I love you, Daddy," Ava said.

"I love you, Mom," Ashley echoed. I took Laura's hand, as I could see her beginning to cry again. Today was already a big dehydration day, and it wasn't even 10am yet!

Trying to get them focused and give Laura a chance to compose herself, I asked, "So, tell us about how you want to be married. Do you want to do it in a church, in City Hall, or..."

Ava exploded into action, opening her laptop to show us spreadsheets and providing us rapid-fire details of her wedding plan, of course. Should I expect anything else from our wonder girl?

The details flowed out of Ava like water from a dam bursting, "We've picked March 4th as the date. Our ceremony is going to be in the old barn. Once the barn is cleaned out it should fit twenty chairs or so, which will be more than enough. Ashley and I are still working on the guest list, but it will be just family and a few friends. The weather will still be cool that day, so we'll need to rent some patio gas heaters to keep it warm inside.

I've completed gift registries at a couple of department stores and that bed/bath place everyone likes, and booked a non-denominational wedding officiant, Minister Jane Barksdale. She'll come up from Oklahoma City that morning.

Olivia will be my maid of honor. Ashley's older sister Melissa will drive down from Denver to be her maid of honor. Pearl will be flower girl, Amelia will be the ring bearer, I've got my wedding outfit already picked out, but Momma will need to take Ashley shopping to pick out her dress. I can't go with her, it would be bad luck for me to see it before the wedding."

As Ava stopped to draw a breath, I jumped in. "Hold it, girls. Ashley's sister Melissa will be driving in from Denver? That's a 10-hour drive, plus it'll be through the mountains at the tail end of winter! It's awfully dangerous. Can't Melissa fly?"

Quietly, Ashley spoke up, "My sister Mel doesn't have a lot of money. My parents threw me out, but Mel had to run away when she was 16. Since she was the oldest, she got blamed for everything, and as punishment our father usually beat her with a belt.

She hitchhiked as far as Denver, and the last few years she's worked wherever she can find it, whether it's bartending at strip clubs, washing dishes at cheap diners, or working a cash register at all-night convenience stores. Flying is like $100; gas to drive would be about $60."

Laura stepped in, back in form and her voice firm, "Ashley, listen to me. Your sister's safety is a worth a great deal more than $100. You tell her that Ava's parents will be happy to buy her ticket, and we can't wait for her to be here. And now that I think about it, it might be good for her to come at the beginning of February and stay here at the house to help with the wedding preparations.

Maybe it will give her some time to decompress from life in Denver. What you're describing sounds very stressful, I'm sure she could use some time away. I don't care how you do it, but call her up, and get her down here."

Ashley nodded her head in agreement, but then added, "Mom, Dad, there's some stuff you should know about Melissa. She's my only sister and I love her, but she's um, not average. She's tall and kind of heavy set, and dresses like a goth. Probably because of what she went through, she has a short temper. You might not like her."

I stood. "If she's your sister, Ashley, she'll be our family too. We'll find a way to like her. Ok?"

Ashley came up and gave me a big hug, her face buried in my shirt. "Thanks, Dad," she whispered, "I really miss Mel."

That night in bed, instead of spooning like we usually do, Laura lay on my left side and pulled my arm over her. Turning her face up to kiss me, she whispered, "Thank you for being strong today, Tom. I was so overwhelmed, I needed that."

I kissed her back, and replied, "Give yourself some credit, you were plenty strong too, sweetheart. I love you because you bring out the best in me." I felt her hand reach down and caress my soft cock, which, unsurprisingly, began to respond to her attention.

"Like this?" she teased.

"You know that's not what I meant, but don't you dare stop," I warned her. As her head disappeared under the covers and I felt her mouth envelop my hardening dick. I said a silent prayer of thanks for that flooded-out bridge that led me here nearly seven years ago. God, I loved this woman.

++++++++++

A few days later as I was headed to the cabin office. I spotted our reclusive son James heading into the motorhome. He saw me as well. To my great surprise, he asked me to come in.

We made small talk for a bit. He told me about his classes. He was getting A grades but was bored. I asked him where he was headed with his academics, but he didn't really know. His gregarious and easy-going twin brother seemed to be on a career track, but James seemed ... rudderless.

I felt like James had asked me in to talk, but having trouble saying what was on his mind. Hoping if I took the lead he might open up, I started in. "James, are you OK? You're isolating yourself, not even sleeping in the house, what's going on? You're 19 and a good-looking man, you should have the world by the tail, but instead you seem like you're carrying a huge weight on your shoulders. You want to talk about it?"

He got a look on his face like a man freed from prison. "It's been tough, Dad, Olivia's engaged, Ava's engaged, Liam's got a girlfriend he's serious about, but me, I don't have anybody. It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to go out anymore, I just like keeping to myself these days."

Keeping his eyes downward, he asked in a quiet voice, "Dad, let me ask you, how do you keep a woman happy in a relationship? I go out with girls sometimes, but they never want to go out a second time. I think I'm doing something wrong. After Christopher ran out on us, Mom was unhappy until the day Liam brought you home. She's been happy ever since. How ... how exactly do you do that?"

Wow, I got my boy James to open up to me! Breakthrough! Inside, I was jubilant. Now that the emotional wall was breached, I hoped I could keep this discussion going. But, baby steps, right? I couldn't pressure him.

"James, if you find the right woman, you have to remind her regularly that you love her. It sounds simple, and yet it's hard to do because you have to keep it up! You can do this a bunch of different ways; tell her how pretty she is, caress her butt, spontaneously kiss her cheek, hold her hand and most importantly, always listen to her. But you do it every day.

With my first wife Beverly, that didn't happen. It was nobody's fault, we both were constantly traveling for work and weren't together that much. We lost touch with each other, really.

When I met your mother, the minute I laid eyes on her I fell hard and fast. I worked my ass off to convince her to marry me. Every single day I find some way to remind her that I love her, even when I'm travelling on business."

I paused for a second, and something dawned on me - something important. "You know, son, with my first wife Beverly we began liking each other because we shared interests. The thing we never did though, was change for each other. We stayed the same for a year, and we grew apart. Then our marriage failed.

With your mother, I'm not the same man I was 7 years ago - I'm much more focused on our family, especially Laura. Your momma isn't the same as she was 7 years ago - she's more adventurous and learned how to roll with the punches better when bad stuff happens. We both changed, and it's made our relationship much stronger. The bottom line, son, is the key to a relationship is not finding the right person, it's being the right person."

James nodded, then asked, "Dad...when was the first time you had sex?"

Whoa! This was sure getting interesting. "It was the summer before I went to college. I had just turned 18, and I met this older woman - sounds funny to say that now, she was only 26 - but we met at a party, we went back to her place, and that was it! I must admit that first time I wasn't very good, but I was young like you with amazing recuperative powers, and she was patient. By the end of the night, I'd gotten much better. How about you?"

Whoops. By the redness in my son's face, I had my question answered. My handsome and strong 19-year-old was a virgin! I carried on, "Ah, I see. Well, don't let it worry you, son. When the time comes, you'll know what to do. No need to hurry. Some woman is going to get an incredibly special gift when the time comes."

We sat in silence for a while, then he asked, "Dad, when you met Mom, how did you know it would last?"

I thought about it, then replied, "Honestly, son, I didn't know a damned thing except she was beautiful beyond words. After that bastard Christopher took off on her, the last thing she wanted was a relationship. But you know what? I knew what I wanted, and I worked my ass off to convince her. I fought for it, son. If you find the right woman, that's what you do. Fight to keep her. Don't walk away unless and until she flat-out tells you no."

A smile crossed my boy's face. "Thanks, Dad." We both stood up, and although James was not a physically demonstrative kid, I gave him a hug. To my shock, he hugged me back, murmuring "I love you." Then he added, "About the virgin thing, um, you won't tell Mom, will you?"

I crossed my heart, "Our secret, son."

Leaving the motorhome, I was overwhelmed by what a burden my poor introverted son had been carrying all by himself; how lonely his life had become! My heart hurt for the poor kid. I went into my cabin office alone, sat in the dark. If I was crying, I didn't want anyone to see.

+++++++++++++++++++++

FEBRUARY - Meeting Melissa; Liam's Big Reveal

The first of the month rolled around. Ashley and I drove down to Will Rogers World Airport to pick up Melissa. Ashley wasn't wrong. Melissa was a big girl, 6 feet tall, wearing clothes that could best be described as a 1983 punk rocker look: Black Doc Martin boots, distressed black denim jeans with a black T-shirt and studded bracelets, and black choker necklace. On top of it all, she wore a black leather biker jacket.

Her lipstick and fingernail polish were black, with that heavy black eyeliner which gave her a smoky-eye effect. Her hair was jet black with streaks of bright blue dyed in, piled up in an Amy Winehouse-style beehive.

What was most remarkable was her size. Her face was as pretty as her sister's, except Ashley weighed probably 120 pounds at most. Melissa looked to be at least 230 pounds.

We met her just outside the baggage claim area. Ashley squealed and ran up to Melissa, hugging her tightly. I reached down to grasp the handle of Melissa's suitcase, and she snapped, "Not so fast, fuckface! You trying to steal my shit?"

Ashley intervened before I could respond, explaining that I was Tom, her future father-in-law that she'd told Melissa so much about. I held out my hand to shake, but she ignored me except to say, 'OK, you can take my fucking suitcase then."

As we walked to the parking garage, Ashley and Melissa got into what seemed like the rhythm of siblings who seem to effortlessly understand each other's meanings. I began to relax. They were doing their sister-speak in the Fury all the way home. When we got home though, things got dicey.

We were all sitting around the dinner table except for Olivia, who was out with Brad, and Liam, who James said was on a date with his mystery girl. Ava, Ashley, Elijah, Amelia, Lucas, and Pearl were just starting to eat the beef stew I'd prepared - it was Olivia's recipe, so I hope I did it justice.

Melissa had taken off her jacket; she was wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. A half-sleeve multi-colored cloud-and-rain tattoo covered her left arm from shoulder to elbow; her right forearm was covered with a huge red rose tattoo.

6-year-old Pearl was fascinated by the tattoos and kept staring. "Momma," she finally asked, "we're not never 'spozed to draw on the walls, right?"

"Mmm-hmm," Laura confirmed, her mouth full of stew.

"What about drawing on Melissa's arms, can she do that?"

Laura laughed, "You'll have to ask Melissa, dear," was all she could manage to say between chuckles.

Once Laura laughed, it was a chain reaction. I joined in, then Ava and Ashley, then James. The little ones started laughing too, just because they found it hysterical when grownups laughed.

Suddenly, Melissa jumped to her feet, enraged. "Stop laughing at me! I wear a size 9 shoe, a size 24 dress, a 44DD bra, and I weigh 240 pounds! Are you happy now? I don't need your fucking pity! I've done fine on my own. I'm tired of being a circus freak that you feel sorry for. You can all eat shit for all I care!" Then she turned to James and tore into him.

"And you, you creepy motherfucker, what's YOUR deal? I've seen you staring at me ever since I arrived, thinking you're so sly, sneaking looks at me when you think I won't notice. Are you looking at me because you think I'm a circus freak, or is it because you're one of those sick chubby chasers?

James, our handsome-but-introverted son who'd until recently avoided human contact as much as possible, shocked us all by his calm response, "I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. It's just that ... well ... you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I have a hard time taking my eyes off you."

Laura and I looked at each other, in complete shock. Who WAS this changeling, and what had he done with our shy son James?

Melissa stopped cold, suddenly speechless. She stood for a second to see if everyone would start laughing again, expecting she was being ridiculed. When no one laughed, she turned and ran out of the room.

Ashley promptly stood up and ran after her sister. Ava stood up, but Laura held up her hand. "This might be a family matter, Ava. Let Ashley handle it; she'll let you know if she needs help."

From the other room, the two sister's voices were loud enough to be audible. "I shouldn't have come back, Ash. I fucking hate it here, I hate these smiling people sitting there judging me, I hate it all! Let me go back to Denver, please!"

Our little ones were giggling, except for Pearl, they all knew what bad words were and tonight they were certainly getting an earful. "Momma's going to send her to her room, I bet," Elijah whispered.

"Mel! Listen to me, damn it!" It was hard to believe this angry voice belonged to our mild-mannered Ashley. Ava's eyebrows were up in surprise as well, I doubt she'd ever heard her fiancée shout before.

"Nobody's judging you! These people are not our mother and father! They took me in and saved my ass when our parents threw me out! They helped me feel safe, and they'll help you as well, if you just stop being so fucking sensitive!

This family laughs all the time, they like to laugh together, nobody's laughing at you, especially not James! He's really sweet, not an asshole like your other boyfriends were. If he said you were pretty, he meant it! You need to go back and apologize right now, especially to James! You were really mean to him!"

Hearing this, James flushed red, took his bowl to the sink and rinsed it before grabbing his jacket and heading out to the motorhome.

Melissa pleaded, "Ash, please, I just want to go back to Denver."

"Mel, NO! I want you here with me, you're my sister! I love you and I need you in my wedding! Make up your mind, are you going to apologize, or are you going to leave me?"

It was quiet for a bit, then Ashley walked back in, pulling Melissa by the hand. Melissa had her eyes on the ground, not making eye contact. "Mom, Dad," Ashley announced, "Mel has something she'd like to say to you."

Melissa raised her eyes just a little, just enough so she could make eye contact. "Mr. and Mrs. McFarland, I'm sorry for losing my temper and swearing. I'm not used to this kind of stuff."

Laura stood up and walked over to Melissa. With her boots on, the dark-haired girl was almost a foot taller than my wife. Laura wrapped her arms around Melissa and said, "We accept your apology, Melissa. We know it's hard for you, you've had a tough life. We understand this is not what you're used to, but in this house, we like to laugh, and we like to forgive." Slowly, Melissa put her arms around Laura.

Laura went on, "Some of the language you used is not OK in this house, so you also need to apologize to Elijah, Amelia, Lucas, and Pearl, please."

Looking at their four sweet faces, Melissa was less reluctant this time. "I'm sorry I used bad words in the house." Following their mother's example, all four kids rushed up and hugged Melissa's legs. Suddenly she quietly asked, "Hey, do you guys like to draw?"

This was the right question to ask, and the next thing we knew Melissa was in the kid's art room, helping them draw pictures. Ashley later told us her sister Mel had a natural talent for drawing and had lots of sketchbooks in the house before she'd run away.

The next morning, I saw Mel going out to the motorhome to apologize to James. It apparently didn't take long. A few minutes later, Ava and Ashley had pulled her into the barn to talk about how it would be set up for the wedding ceremony.

When it was time for lunch, I went looking for Melissa. I walked around the farm looking, but she'd disappeared. She wasn't in the motorhome. The cabin was empty. Then I realized where she might be. I'm guessing she'd seen the hayloft's ladder when she was in the barn earlier. Sure enough, I heard sniffling when I went up the ladder.

She was sitting on an old hay bale, shedding a few tears. I sat down next to her. "Hey kiddo, almost time for lunch! We were worried about you. You OK?"

Still sniffing, she shook her head no. "All this happy family shit feels too good to be true. I feel like all you people are phony. It's like nothing bad ever happens to you. It's just so fucking unfair."

I exhaled. "Melissa, we're a family, and bad things happen all the time. But we work through them together, which is what families are supposed to do! Kid, your parents handed you a fucking raw deal. Ashley told Laura and me a little of what you've been through.

You've had one tough life, no two ways about it, you have every right to feel angry about it. I get that you hate this town because you were so miserable here. But now I'm asking you to look at it again through different eyes.