Mother Road Ch. 07 - Passing Lane

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Later that afternoon, I stopped by Eli and Natty's apartment building. Natty had given me her apartment key, so I let myself in. I was shocked to see the place was mostly empty except for Natty's clothes and Marie's crib. Apparently, Eli had cleaned everything else out. Everything not nailed down -- pictures, pots, pans, furniture -- was gone.

If Natty had come back to live there, she would have been sleeping on the floor. It seemed now that he'd been caught, Eli was taking a scorched-earth approach to the destruction of his marriage. I could picture Walter's reaction when I told him about this; he'd be breathing fire. Not cool, Eli.

I swung by the Manager's office to take Natty's name off the lease, but Eli had gotten there first. He'd taken his name off, leaving Natty as the only lessee. Since there was four months left on the lease, I just cancelled it and paid it the penalty.

I brought Natty's clothes back to the farm. Laura told me she'd been crying on and off, which was to be expected, but my tall girl smiled and put on a brave face for me. She told me she decided she wanted to stay with us for now; given my discussion with her mother, I was totally fine with that.

I checked in on Lucas. He was sitting in the bedroom that he used to share with Eli, just staring out the window. I quietly closed the door and left him alone with his thoughts. Then I went upstairs to our bedroom. Laura was there, nursing Ruthie.

All of the other kids had been weaned off the breast and totally to solid foods at 2 except for TJ, who was weaned at 3. Even though little Ruthie was almost 4, Laura never turned her away if she wanted 'boobie.' Ruthie began eating solid adult food around the same time as the other kids had, but still liked Laura to feed her from time to time. Our youngest usually liked to nurse when she was tired or upset.

I always enjoyed seeing Laura breastfeed. It made her look extra-feminine to me, if that makes any sense, and only increased my desire for her. Yeah, like that even needed increasing.

The one time I'd innocently asked Laura when she planned on weaning Ruthie, I was told in no uncertain terms that if I thought she should deny Ruthie her boobie access, she'd also deny me MY boobie access. You better believe that shut me up; I never asked about it again. Not losing my boobie access, no ma'am!

I laid down on the bed on the far side, so that Ruthie lay between us, gently kissing my daughter's head and stroking her light red hair as she nursed. At almost 4 years old, our tiny girl was solidly at the bottom of the weight chart, barely 24 pounds, but to me she was still perfect. Then I leaned over, kissed Laura, and asked "How are my sweet girls doing?"

She sniffled a bit. "Ruthie's fine. Me, not so good. I can't believe Eli did what he did, and that he's gone. I'm so upset, Tom. He's being just like Christopher!"

"Yes, I was thinking the exact thing myself. He'd come so far, and was doing so well, too. I really thought he was finally making something of himself. Did Natty tell you she decided that she and Marie will be staying with us for now?"

"No, but I'm glad. I love having Natty with us, plus Ruthie and Marie love playing together."

"I spoke to Arlene, and she agreed it was best the Natty stay with us. She told me how the situation with Eli and Lucas had stirred up some old resentments between Natty and Josie, so it's better if the two of them are apart for now." I stopped, debating if I should tell Laura, but figured it best to get everything out there.

"She couldn't have gone back to their apartment anyway. Eli cleaned it out, taking everything but Marie's crib and Natty's clothes. I imagine he's cleaned out their bank account as well, we'll have to check tomorrow."

"Oh, no, he really is being just like Christopher. It makes me sick just thinking about it. How could this happen, Tom?"

"I wish I knew. If I had to guess, I'd say the visit with Christopher in prison that time did a number on his emotions, tore him up inside. I thought I'd reconnected with him, but I guess I was wrong. He seemed more upset about disappointing Walter than disappointing me. Only Eli knows for sure."

"How's Lucas holding up?"

"When I stuck my head in to check on Lucas, he was sitting in the dark just looking out of the window, the poor kid. I don't want to be the one to tell him, but Arlene thinks Josie won't ever take him back."

Laura sighed and shook her head. "What a mess."

"It sure is." I leaned in and gave Laura another soft kiss, then noticed Ruthie had fallen asleep. Her mouth hung slightly open, with a little milk running out of it and down her chin. I put a little of the milk on my finger and touched it to my tongue. The taste was similar to almond milk, and it brought back lots of good memories from my first night with Laura.

She'd just weaned Lucas, and milk was dripping out of her. I couldn't resist; I had to taste it. I was not disappointed, it was heavenly. I told her, "All these years later, your milk still tastes as good as it did the first night we met. I told you that night that your tits were magnificent. Do you remember that?"

Laura smiled for the first time that day. She teased, "How could I forget, Tom McFarland? There I was, a lonely single widow with seven children, and you wickedly took advantage of me!"

I stroked my fingertips across her tear-stained cheek. "Why Laura McFarland, you are completely leaving out the part where you came into the cabin with a bottle of whiskey, got me drunk, seduced me without a condom and baby-trapped me!"

She giggled, "Oh, no. You deliberately fucked me bareback until you finally got around to buying condoms, and you took your sweet time - by then it was too late. You wanted to get me pregnant, you wicked man, and you certainly got what you wanted - I don't seem to recall you ever protesting."

I kissed her again, quickly slipping her a little tongue. "And I never will protest, either. You bewitched me." I reached over our peacefully sleeping Ruthie and caressed Laura's exposed nipple, causing her to shiver. "I'm going to carry our little sweetheart downstairs and put her in her own bed, then I'm coming back for you. When I return, I'd better find my trophy wife naked, do I make myself clear?"

She smiled, lowered her eyes, and whispered obediently, "Yes, my husband," completely validating my calling her a temptress. My desire for her shot through the roof.

Despite my desire for wild monkey sex, I knew my wife well enough to know that's not what she needed tonight. Laura needed emotional intimacy, not lust. When I got back upstairs, I undressed and slid between the sheets.

Laura was naked, on her side facing the wall. I submerged myself under the covers, then kissed my way from the base of her spine all the way up to the back of her neck. Sliding my right arm under her neck to cradle it, I draped my left arm over her and fondled her sensitive nipples lightly with my fingertips.

"I can't believe we've been married almost 20 years," I whispered, "because every time I look at you, I still see that smoking hot 34-year-old widow who lured me into falling in love with her."

Laura rolled onto her back and pulled me on top of her. "Tom McFarland, in 19 years you've never lied to me, so I believe you," she whispered back, "although frankly I think you're delusional."

She pulled my left hand down and covered her mons with it. I could feel her moist heat and caught the light scent of her arousal as she whispered, "please don't ever stop being delusional." I maneuvered my cock until it was poised at her vaginal folds, then slipped in.

"I love you so much, Laura," I whispered just before I pressed my mouth on hers. Our coupling was soft and gentle, intimacy being the goal. We moved together for several minutes, just savoring the taste and feel of each other. Finally, she gave a sharp little cry, and I felt the familiar soft warm grip of her pelvic muscles on my hardness as she climaxed. Burying my face in her soft neck, I kissed it until I came, groaning softly as I released my load.

I rolled onto my back and pulled her to me, her breasts pressing against my side. I held her close, and, as I expected, heard her quiet mournful sobs begin. I'd succeeded in temporarily distracting her, but there was no holding back the feelings in her that this awful day had produced.

"My sweet baby Elijah," she said in between her tears, "Tom, what will become of our son?" I had no answer; nothing I could say would be of any consolation. The only thing I could do was hold her as she cried her feelings out, then fell asleep. It was only after I felt her calm, slow breathing that I was able to sleep myself.

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On Tuesday morning, after breakfast I went into the cabin office to start designing our new rental unit, and also to try to get my mind off the family disaster of yesterday. Deborah Sampson came in early as well.

She sat down in the chair next to my drafting board where I was working -- I could have used a computer and plotter, but I loved the old-school tactile essence of an actual board -- and began to talk. Since she was my employee, I resigned myself to listen.

Deborah and Terry had been hired at the same time and had become friends, as far as I knew anyway. (I'd been wrong about more than a few things lately, so I was done making assumptions.) Friends or not, with the level of violence Deborah had witnessed, yesterday must have been traumatic for her as well.

She spoke quietly, but her tone was resolute. "First of all, Tom, I want to thank you for making sure I have a job for two years after the acquisition. Honestly, I was nervous about being laid off. The corporate HR department has already been in touch, and let me know I've been assigned to Cryptodira's training division.

They've asked me to work out of their Trenton headquarters, which is OK by me. I'm kind of done with Oklahoma anyway. I've accepted their assignment and already started packing. I'll be moving the first week of June."

I nodded. It was nice to know I helped at least one person. "I'm glad to hear that, Deborah. You've done a great job for Walter and me, and we appreciate it."

She looked at the ground as if ashamed, and continued, "I also wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday, and about a lot of things."

This apology struck me as odd. I asked, "Why? It wasn't you out there beating the stuffing out of Eli, and you weren't the one who slept with him."

She took a deep breath, as if building up courage to tell me the next part. "No, but I knew about Eli and Terry. Las Vegas wasn't the first time they'd been together. Eli and Terry had been having an affair for 6 months before the Las Vegas trip. Terry was looking for a boy toy right after her divorce and she thought Eli was cute, so she made her move on him." She shook her head, almost in disbelief herself.

I sipped my coffee as she continued, "It was never supposed to be serious, just a brief affair, but they developed feelings for each other; things blew up and got way out of hand. I tried to warn Terry a couple of times, but it was too late; their affair became a runaway train. Neither of them wanted to stop."

I pondered what Deborah told me, then took my own deep cleansing breath before responding. "Deborah, I appreciate your apology and your being so candid. We hired you to be a trainer, and you did that well. Reporting your co-workers' love affair was not in your job description, so I wouldn't waste any more time feeling bad about it."

"Thank you, sir. One other thing I thought you should know is, if you need to find Eli, he moved into Terry's apartment yesterday." Well, shit. Given the extent of the affair, and now Eli's cohabitation with the homewrecker, this looked like a knife in the heart of his marriage for sure. My son didn't exactly sound like he'd be open to marriage counseling. I was not surprised, but I was saddened -- for Natty and Marie, mostly.

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June -- New Beginnings

It had been almost a month since Lucas and Elijah's confrontation. Natty had reached out to Eli to see if they could try marriage counseling to reconcile, but of course it was a futile gesture. He'd moved on with his new woman. Lucas, in the meantime, started spending less and less time in his room staring out the window, and increasingly more time quietly taking care of Natty and Marie.

Natty wanted to go to the mall to buy clothes for Marie? Lucas was with them, holding her purse and carrying their bags.

Natty crying because she was sad? Lucas was there with a tissue, a kind word, and a shoulder to cry on.

Marie needed help using the potty? Lucas cleaned her little bottom before she could say 'wipe me'.

Natty's period starting? Heating pad, pain reliever, cheese snacks and a big box of chocolates magically appeared, courtesy of Lucas.

Laura, Dotty, and I could all see where this was headed. Even Walter, normally clueless about this kind of thing, mentioned he thought Lucas would be a good husband for 'somebody' someday. I think the only person who was oblivious to all this was Natty herself, still mourning the death of her marriage. Even little Marie was noticing, demanding more attention from her 'Loookis' every day.

Under my watchful eye, our family attorney Dave Stewart drew up Natty's divorce papers. On May 31st, the last day Walter was officially Eli's boss, Eli was served while meeting with Walter at a job site. Walter had insisted on serving the documents to Eli himself. I think Walter was carrying a lot of guilt about what Eli had done, and he was determined to help Natty out any way he could.

It had been a tough few weeks, and poor Natty was an emotional wreck. One night she was sitting in the TV room crying her eyes out when I came home around 8pm. Seeing me, she sobbed, "Papa, I don't know what I did that made Eli stop loving me."

Poor Natty, even at 22, she still had the emotions of a young girl. My heart ached, and I sat down beside her and tried to be reassuring. "Natty, you did nothing wrong, I promise. You were everything a good man would want in a partner. It was Eli who went astray. He was blinded by his own ego and didn't appreciate what he had in you. You're a wonderful woman, I swear."

"Nobody else will want to marry me, Papa," she cried out, "I'm all alone now, just me and my baby."

Just then I heard a young male voice. "That's not true, Natty. You got me. You're pretty and you're nice and I'll marry you as soon as I'm old enough." My eyes opened wide as my 12-year-old son Tom Junior sat down next to Natty and put his arm around her. I was impressed; not even out of puberty yet, but already the romantic heart of a McFarland was beating in TJ's chest!

Then an older male voice chimed in, "Sorry, little brother, but you'll have to take a number and wait your turn. I was in line before you." Lucas walked in wearing a suit and tie, and took Natty by the hand, pulling her to her feet. To say he had resolution in his eyes was an understatement.

"Natty, Elijah may be a piece of shit, but when he said I loved you more than he did, he was telling the truth."

Lucas then got down on one knee and held up a ring. "Natalie Elizabeth McFarland, I want to marry you the minute your divorce is final. I promise to be the husband you truly deserve, and the daddy that Marie deserves. Please say yes."

At that moment, you could have hit me with a hammer, and I wouldn't have felt it. It appeared Lucas had stared out his damned window long enough. He'd made up his mind he'd marry Natty, and like the Apollo 13 mission, failure was NOT an option!

Natty appeared as shocked as I was. She looked at me, confusion on her face. I just shrugged, and grinned. Turning back to my #4 son, she asked, "Lucas, is this for real? Do you really want to marry me?"

Lucas stood, took the old rings off her left hand and tossed them to me, then slipped on the ring he'd bought for her. "Natty, I've wanted to marry you since you walked into our house 4 years ago." Then he kissed her, the kind of kiss that melts unlit candles and defrosts old refrigerators. I had always been proud of this kid, but never more than right now.

When he was done, between sobs Natty finally answered, "Yes, Lucas. I'll marry you."

I turned to a disappointed TJ and said, "Sorry son, looks like you'll have to find your own girl. This one's taken. Go on to and help Marie and Ruthie get ready for bed now."

"It's OK, Dad, Natty's happy, that's all that matters." Ever the good son, TJ headed off to do his brotherly duties.

I stepped up and put my arms around the couple. "Congratulations, I couldn't be happier for you two," I said, "you deserve each other."

Lucas grinned. "Hey, uh, Dad, is the cabin unlocked by any chance?"

I returned his grin, "Yes, Lucas, it is. Just remember, as of 8am tomorrow I have work to do, so make sure you're out by then."

Lucas kissed Natty one more time, and said, "We'll do our best, but I can't make any promises."

I went upstairs to our room, where I found Laura in bed, wearing a flannel nightgown with reading glasses perched on her nose. She was reading an interior decorating magazine. Having loved my idea of building another structure on the property, my wife was taking an active interest in the unit's design and decoration. I laid a pick-up line on her. "Hey, baby. Did you know that contrary to popular opinion, men actually do make passes at girls who wear glasses?"

Ignoring my smooth line, Laura smiled. "What was all the chatter going on down there? Did I actually hear Natty laughing again?"

I chuckled, "You're not going to believe this, but Natty was crying, depressed about Eli moving on. She was blaming herself. That changed pretty damned quick when not one but two of our other sons proposed to her tonight. They were both quite serious, but since TJ was too young, it was Lucas Natty said 'yes' to. TJ will just have to find his own girl when he's old enough."

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Since Natty's divorce from Eli went uncontested, it would be finalized by the end of August. Mostly out of consideration for Josie's feelings, Natty and Lucas had no interest in a fancy wedding; they decided as soon as Natty's divorce was finalized they'd go to the nearest City Hall and have a quick low-key ceremony. They only wanted Natty's parents, Joshua and Arlene, to be there as witnesses along with Laura and me.

With a family to support now, Lucas had to buckle down and actually find himself a job. Olivia's husband Brad made Lucas an offer to come learn the home improvement business, and he snapped it up. It would mean moving to Clearwater, Kansas, but they'd be living close to Olivia and Brad, so they'd have family nearby.

Things appeared to be settling down; I was finally able to concentrate on the plans for the new unit. Laura and I had a lot of good-natured discussions about the size. My original plan had been for a single story 600 square foot 1 bedroom/1 bath with a carport; with Laura's input, the final blueprint was for a 950 square foot 2-bedroom 1-bath unit with a medium sized kitchen, small dining area and a small family room and an attached 1 car garage.

The design was quickly approved by the City Planning Commission in Wellston, and I asked Cedar Partners Construction for a bid to build it. Cedar Partners Construction was the firm run by Walter's old boss, Quiet Sal Bartolo, and I trusted him to give me a good deal. Also, Sal trusted me not to jerk him around by asking for competitive bids. That's how you did business with Quiet Sal; one hand always washed the other.

The other unspoken thing between us was, all those years ago when Brad was being a jerk to our daughter Olivia, he'd sent Walter Connor to help me fix things. Because of that, Brad and Olivia were now happily married. I now owed Sal a debt of honor I could never repay.