The Proposal

Remembering the previous couple of nights I was ready to go, but, the boys gave me a hard time. "Missus got you on a short leash Bro?" Call it peer pressure, but I snapped back. "Fuck you." It was about eleven when I walked in at home. The lights were out and deathly silence prevailed.

Seeing the pair of them cuddled up in bed seemed weird, sound asleep they looked like a couple of angels.

I was about to go and crash on the sofa when Bea called out softly. "Come to bed babe, we tried to wait, but you took to long."

Stripping off I slid in beside her. "Move over."

"Maxy babe, you have to give Franki a break. Kath is her friend."

Pushing up against her I hissed gruffly. "That bitch is not getting involved with that house. If she does then this is over."

"I get it, don't worry we talked about it."

The next couple of weeks flew by. Work as busy as we closed out the stock take. I spent all my spare time ringing around banks. I had the damn money, but having lied my way into this corner, there as no way out without looking like a dumb arse.

What I had to do was find a way of explaining how I suddenly had two hundred grand at my disposal.

I can't explain why it was so important to me, I guess it was a male thing, I wanted to do it, I wanted to be the one who got it for us. The last thing I wanted was bloody Kathleen coming to our rescue, thankfully Franki picked up on it and stopped pushing Kathleen's influence.

The girls were just as obsessed with the house, and it still remained the main topic of conversation. There were comments about, "I would love to paint it a bright white."

"I would love, this, or that. After days of going over it, I decided to buy the place myself. Using the money I had, it brought the repayments down to a level I could afford on my own.

I went back to the bank, and arranged to make an offer. I managed to get it for eight thirty five. I as so proud of myself, I floated home the day I got notification of the sale. We now had thirty days to get organised.

When I got home I found the girls in a sad frame of mine. They were working on dinner, glasses of wine in hand. "Why so sad girls?"

"The house sold." Bea grumbled.

"Oh really."

"Uh, huh." She replied. "We should have talked to Kathleen's friends."

I tried to find a way of breaking the news, in the end I just blurted it out. "It's sold because I brought it."

They both stopped in their tracks, glaring back at me in amazement. "What do you mean, you brought it?" Bea gasped.

"I mean I brought it, I got the notification today. They accepted my offer. We take possession, in thirty days."

They stared back and forth, then back at me. "How did you do that?"

"Let's just say I managed to work it out."

Franki gave me a very piercing stare. "You kept Kath's money, didn't you."

"How I got the money is irrelevant. The important bit is we got it."

I was shocked when Bea growled unhappily. "No Max, we didn't get it, you did. What are we going to be, tenants?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I had to do it that way. The banks wouldn't wear our joint submission. Jesus, I thought you would be happy."

"I am happy, we wanted it to be ours, all of ours. Not just yours."

Throwing my hands in the air, I sighed. "Fuck I can't win with you. You wanted the house I brought the house. I thought you would be happy."

"I am happy, but I'm sad that you couldn't talk to us, let us be part of it. If you had money for the deposit, the bank would have taken our joint offer more seriously. Why didn't you tell us you had the money?"

I shrugged nervously. "I don't know. I wanted to do it without using the money. I wanted it to be ours, without any connection to that experience."

Franki walked into my arms, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It doesn't matter where the money came from. I am happy, so very happy that we will have a home."

She waved with her hand and Bea walked into the hug. "I can put all your names on the title. It can still be our home."

"Oh, it is definitely going to be our home." Bea sighed.

"I still have the money I was going to put in, we can do the redecorating we talked about." Franki added brightly.

"A big bed, we need a giant bed." Bea gushed. Then with bulging eyes she shrieked. "Oh my god, the other day, I was sent a brochure." She wriggled out of our hug, and rushed away. She returned with her computer and scrolled through until she reached the picture. An enormous bed, bigger than a king. It had a really ornate, Asian styled headboard.

Franki giggled. "That is definitely a big bed."

Bea taken aback by her tone said. "You don't like?"

"What, no, I love it, I think it is perfect."

They shared a scintillating kiss, their eyes moist.

It opened up a new phase of our lives. We moved into the new house on a Saturday morning, which turned into a huge party. I had mates from work who rocked up, and we were definitely not short of helpers. The moving complete, the evening degenerated into a party to celebrate.

I saw looks of of envy on my mates faces as they took in the situation.

"You lucky fucking bastard." Mike one of my work mates. "Fuck, not bad enough you get two fucking chicks, but, fuck Bro. They're hot." There were some laughs, as we stood outside on the deck staring out over the Hauraki Gulf.

The first night in our new home brought out some interesting emotions. "This is it, we're home." Bea said reverently.

"Yep, our new home."

The house cemented our relationship. There were lots of moments, far too many to document. We cooked, painted, decorated. Spent hours in the gardens. The fact we were doing it for us brought out some hidden emotions. It took a while for them to surface, but they eventually bubbled away.

We had nearly twelve months of honeymoon, and it was the happiest time of my life. The love overflowed it encompassed and enveloped us. Comforted and soothed. It was amazing, it was exasperating, being the only male felt weird. Sometimes I felt more like a woman, everything was so bloody girly.

Sometimes I invited the guys around, just so I could hear male voices, opinions, talk football, cricket. Anything but fashion and hairstyles.

The overwhelming feelings of happiness overcame the niggling little arguments that every couple go through. When this arrangement was first floated to me, I was reluctant, hesitant maybe a better word. I couldn't for the life of me see how three people who proclaimed love, live together. I expected jealousy, and dissatisfaction would destroy us.

Yeah, we had some of those moments, like when Franki was on the phone talking to Kathleen. When she included Bea, and the pair of them sat around the phone laughing with her. It bugged me, always would.

Another emotion surfaced, and I guess it had the power to destroy us. It happened one day when I got home from football, and found Franki cuddling Bea, rocking her gently. Bea's face buried in Franki's shoulder bawling her eyes out.

When Franki spotted me walk in she waved me over. "What happened?" I whispered.

"Bea's just having a moment."

"Why, is there something wrong."

Bea bursting out in a frantic sobbing fit forced me to sit down and try to console her as well. It was uncomfortable, I desperately wanted to know what the issue was, but couldn't find a way in.

Franki jumped up mumbling. "I need to pee."

Bea sank fully into my arms and I asked. "What's the problem Honey?"

She dragged her arm across her eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring everybody down."

"What happened Bea, what is the problem?"

She leaned away from me. "Maxy, our home is so beautiful, so perfect, but lately I realised there is one thing missing. Children. Then I just lost it. I will never be able to give you that."

"Oh god Bea, we can adopt. We can fill the place with deserving homeless kids."

"But, it was my dream, my gift would be your own children."

"It doesn't matter Bea. As I said we can adopt."

We hugged it out, and Franki turned up with a couple of glasses of wine, and a beer for me. We sat huddled together, we kissed, hugged, caressed. Words were unnecessary, the support, the love it circled and lifted us. Emotions, sometimes are more powerful than words.

The third glass of wine brought Bea out of her quiet depressing funk. "Oh my god. The answer is simple."

Franki, I think knew immediately, I of course missed it entirely.

"Just because I can't have children, doesn't mean we can't flood the house with smiling faces."

"That's what I said Bea, we can adopt."

"No dipshit, I'm not the only woman here. Franki can give us our family."

It shocked me, it wasn't something we had talked about. Franki was so focused on growing her business, she had never voiced a desire to have children.

Bea, stared at Franki, the emotion flooded her stumbling voice. "Babe, you have to do it, give us children. Bring joy to our house."

"Bea, I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, we are a family, we need that, the joy of children. Just because I can't give Maxy that gift, you can, not just for him, but for all of us."

"I'm scared Bea, what if you feel resentful, or hate it. I know it sounds romantic, but it might bring out some deeper emotions."

That conversation swirled around our new home, it infused every conversation for days, and with every passing day, Bea became more adamant.

It was the Sunday market, Franki came to help me. We set up and were sitting down after a busy start.

"Max, be honest with me. Do you want children?"

"Yes, of course. You and I talked about it often enough when we were married. Yes I do."

"But things are different now aren't they. Really it is you and Bea. I am the spare wheel."

"How could you think that? We are in this together, aren't we?"

She winced a little, her face drawing tight. "I want to be, I just get this feeling that you don't feel that way."

"Franki, I know we have walked a torturous path to get where we are, and I know most of that is my fault. I just couldn't forgive you for what happened. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Bea, I would never have let you back in my life. Now, I can honestly say that I have let go that anger. I love you, I appreciate you. I see us as one entity..."

She sniggered. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Franki, Bea and Max. That's us, I love where we are. Don't get me wrong, I love Bea completely, with all my heart. She brought light into my life, when all I could see was darkness. Now though, now my heart is open and I love that you are here with us, you complete a circle."

"Do you think we could do it, have children?"

"If you mean physically then oh god yes, but I worry about the mental aspect for Bea, I wonder if she has thought it through. I what about you? I mean you're busy, you have your business."

"Max, I would walk away from that in a heart beat for children. I want that more than ever, I just don't want to hurt Bea,"

"We need to talk to her together and find out for real."

That night, when we all got home Bea frowned. So insightful she saw through us. "What was your outcome then?"

Jeez, we weren't even in the door. "The outcome is going to be your call Bea." Franki murmured softly. She took a sneaky glance at me. "Yes we talked about it, we both agreed, that you are the most important piece of this puzzle and nothing is happening until we are comfortable that you really are okay with this."

She gave a big sigh as we walked inside. There was a brief silence as we all put away the bags and shit we carried in. Bea looked perplexed as she set about pulling out pots for dinner. I walked up behind her, my hands sliding around her tummy, my nose sliding over her shoulder, inhaling her wonderful essence. "Hmmm." I moaned, you smell nice."

She turned in my arms and her lips slid lusciously over mine. The kiss was slow, delicious. Her mouth devouring me. "Max, I want children, it doesn't make sense to adopt. If Franki wants it then why can't we do that?"

"We can babe, we can, but we're both worried about you. We know how much it hurt you having that bloody hysterectomy. We want you to feel comfortable."

Franki, who had been milling around behind us, slipped into our hug. "Bea, just because I bear the children, doesn't make them any less yours, you will be their loving yummy mummy, just as much as me. They will be all of ours, and I want to do it for us."

They kissed, a long toe curling groin tightening one, which seemed to sign off the moment. Bea stood tall and said. "Then lets do it, let's start a family."

She moved out of our hug and vanished up towards the bedroom. When she returned she had something in her hand. She stomped on the lid of the rubbish bin. The lid popped open and she made a big show of dropping Franki's contraceptive pills in. As the lid closed. "Right, decision made." Bea whispered. "All I ask is that I'm there when our children are conceived."

Franki giggled. "Oh, you'll be there all right. You will be every bit as much of it as I will."

If the sex was good before that, well after that day our sex life exploded and it was Bea who drove it. Franki conceived about three months after that. We did everything together. The anti natal classes, the doctors visits, everything was done together. I think Bea was more excited than either Franki, or me.

The birth of our daughter was a momentous occasion. Both Bea and I attended, Bea cutting the umbilical cord. Bea and Franki sharing cuddling duties. I was reduced to photographer as they loved and hugged poor little Rebecca to death. She was as cute as you would expect.

I hoped for a boy, I so wanted another male presence, but once you hold your child in your arms, there can be no regrets.

We had to change things though. I had to give up work to look after the shop, because Bea and Franki took turns either managing the Salon, or staying home to look after Rebecca.

Life was pretty good, I don't know why we were worried. Bea was like a crazy mother. She couldn't be separated from Rebecca.

I didn't think it as possible for life to get better, but it did. Our big family expanded again, and this time we were blessed with a son, thank god. A male, I was pretty happy.