"HEY BIG BROTHER! WE ARE HERE! IS EVERYBODY DRESSED?"
"KIND OF."
"KIND OF?"
He popped his head out the door, looking down the stairs at his sister. "I have a towel on, and your sister-in-law is wearing a couple strips of cloth."
"Ooooh. I want to see it!" Makayla exclaimed.
"I told you," Dean said.
Allie walked into the hall at the top of the stairs. "Damn, girl! You look good enough to eat."
"Seriously?" Dean said.
"A girl-on-girl-on-girl threesome would be amazing."
"Gross! Makayla, you are talking about my sister and my wife."
"No. I am talking about my girlfriend and my best friend. IF YOU said it, it would be your sister and your wife. Plus, it's not like it would be the first time Allie and I—"
Allie cut her off. "OKAY, that's enough Stroy time! We will meet you by the pool. I need to feed Gwen."
"BUZZ. KILL." They walked off to the kitchen, making their way to the pool.
"Any idea where my suit is?"
"Maybe I got you a matching colored Speedo." Allie winked.
"Oh, hell no! No. Nope, not going to happen, Alexsandra."
"Alex would have worn it," she said under her breath. "So would Malibu." Man, I really miss having them both around.
"You're a stick in the mud, you know that, right?"
Better than buzzkill. She's been calling you that since the day we met.
"I think my suit is in the dryer. Why don't you feed our Little Bean?"
Allie was in the kitchen making some snacks for them while she watched her family in the pool. She loved how much Gwen was smiling. She was clapping and splashing water into her face. She saw Natalie take her. She was trying to teach her how to float on her back. Makayla had read an article about teaching babies to float on their backs to prevent drowning.
She wanted Alex there so badly. She looked at the picture she had taken of her and Gwen when Dean had left the room. She stared at it and debated heavily.
He has to text me back if I send him this. How could he not?
HI, UNCLE ALEX😍 Mommy and I wanted to show you our pretty bathing suits. I miss you so much. No one makes funny faces like you do. We love you and miss you so much. Please come to swim with me soon. You promised to take me down the slide. Mommy still loves you just like I do. Daddy misses you, too. You are his best friend.
It took a while, but he texted her back. She was so excited. She had been texting him, and he had yet to answer her. She read the text, and her smile faded away.
"He misses us, but he wants me to stop texting him. Wow, that hurts. I don't understand. How can he do this to us, to Peanut?" She was so angry. She started typing back feverishly.
Look, Alex, I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you, but you are being a horrible person. I am glad you aren't in our lives anymore. You abandoned Peanut! I can't believe I ever wanted you to be her daddy. You just left. How could you just leave? What kind of a person does that? I guess our relationship wasn't real. Just like my orgasms! I.... Her tears were flowing, and her face was red, and she could hardly breathe. Makayla came in from the porch.
"Hey, Allie Cat, do you need help with... Honey, what's wrong?"
Alex finally texted me back. She gave her the phone.
"Okay, first of all, we are not sending this text. You don't mean any of this. So we are going to delete this now before you accidentally send it and tell the best lover you have ever had that you had fake orgasms." She deleted the text.
"If you want to text him, tell me what you want to say, and I will text him."
"I just want to know if he plans to be in Peanut's life. Does he want to be her Godfather and her guardian? I suppose, in reality, that's the only important thing I genuinely need to know."
"Okay, I will text him. Now, you need to come back outside and swim with your husband and daughter."
She grabbed a couple of the plates Allie had put together. "Come on. Quick, like a bunny!"
Allie took the tray with the pitcher of lemonade and the cups with the ice.
They put the stuff on the table and walked down to the pool.
"Look! It's your beautiful mommy." Dean was holding Gwen and repeatedly dunking her in the water, then swinging her side to side and dragging her toes along the top.
She looked at them. She was fortunate. She had a loving, handsome husband who could provide her with anything and everything money could and couldn't buy. She had a beautiful baby girl who was getting so big. She was squealing with delight. She loved them so much that thinking about it made her heart hurt. It was such a deep, intense love.
"Hey, Daddy, I think it's snack time."
Dean climbed up the steps, carrying Peanut in his arms. He looked so sexy. The water was beading up on his skin, and his muscles were hard and flexing with every movement.
"Hey, baby." He kissed Allie. "Have you been crying?"
She just looked down at the ground. He took her gently by the chin and tipped her head up to look at him.
"Have... You… Been… Crying?"
She took Gwen from him. "I'm going to feed her. I'll be back out in a bit."
"Allie, it's too early. She just ate a couple hours ago. She still has at least an hour."
She turned and walked back into the house without saying a word.
"Makayla, do you know what is wrong with my wife?"
Natalie and Makayla looked at each other for several seconds. They were having a conversation just through their facial expressions.
"What is going on?"
"She texted Alex, and he texted her back. She sent him a suggestive picture of her and Peanut."
"I told her not to," Dean said, sighing.
"Well, she did. He told her you both had to stop texting him, and it really upset her. That's all I know." Makayla poured more wine into her glass.
"And what do you know?" He asked Natalie.
"I know nothing."
She got out of the pool. "Is he talking to you?"
"Not really. Just short little conversations. Which sucks because he ended up becoming my best bro. You know he was the only person at our wedding. His friendship meant a lot to me. I was really starting to like having him here. I really like him." Dean had to clear his throat.
"You mean your trip to city hall that you told no one about?" Natalie was squeezing water out of her hair.
Are you still upset about that?
I wanted to see my brother in a tux, watching his bride walk down the aisle. But no. You went to California fucked everything up, then you come back, by some miracle, win her back. You took her from Alex. I still have no idea how. On top of everything, She marries you on the way home from the hospital. You could have at least gone to Vegas and had us all tag along. It was a dick move.
"No. This is a dick move." He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.
"Put me down! Bean! Put me…"Dean lifted her over his head and threw her into the deep end.
She popped back up to the surface. "There's my big brother I know and love."
Dean went and sat down at the deck table. He popped a couple of grapes in his mouth and threw some, hitting Natalie in the head.
"You're a dork!"
"And you're short!"
"Hey! Your little girl is going to look just like me. Don't hate on the shorties."
Natalie and Makayla both got out and came and sat down.
"So, what are you going to do, Dean? Do you want Alex to come back?" Makayla asked.
"I wouldn't kill him if he did. I might hurt him, but I wouldn't kill him.
"Honestly, were you happy when he left; you could have her all to yourself now." She said.
"I don't have her to myself. Today is the first time we've been intimate since he left. Sometimes, I wonder if she would have instead married him."
"Then let her," Natalie said, eating a handful of M&Ms.
"What?" Makayla asked.
"Let her marry him. He wants a wife, so let him marry Allie."
"Bug, what the fuck are you talking about? I'm not giving up Allie so Alex can marry her."
"I didn't say to give her up. Haven't you ever watched Sister Wives? He's not legally married to all those women."
"You watch sister wives?"
"I started looking into what you guys were trying to do, the whole triple thing. After a while, it made more sense to me. I actually have a slightly higher opinion of you. I can't believe you agreed to the situation so Allie could be happy."
"Yeah, and look how well that turned out," Dean mumbled while taking a drag of his beer.
"You know, before people like us could get legally married, they had commitment and binding ceremonies. So have one of those. Let Alex have his wife."
"Yeah, but that's the only issue Bug. It's not a horrible idea, but…"
"But what? You already shared your lives and had things worked out."
"Bug wants a kid with a wife of his own. He loves Gwen, but as a man and a father, I know how amazing it is to have a little part of you and a little part of the woman you love all put together to create the greatest thing on earth. I look at my little bean, and I love her so much that my heart hurts. Who wouldn't want that if they could have it?"
"Then give him a kid. Would you be willing to let him have a baby with Allie?"
"Natalie, she can't have any more kids," Dean said, opening another beer."
"No. She can't carry any more kids. She still has ovaries, so she still has eggs."
"Natty Bug, what are you suggesting they have a surrogate carry a baby for Allie and Alex?"
"Yeah. I am."
"Allie won't go for it. When I suggested using a surrogate, she shut it down real fucking fast. She said she didn't want to have to adopt her own child. She didn't want another woman carrying my baby."
"I think it's worth a conversation," Makayla said, draining her glass.
"I think it's a crazy, far-fetched idea, and getting a surrogate involves a lot of red tape. Plus, what if the woman ends up being a psycho? What if the baby is born and decides she wants to keep it? She has every right to. I know Allie will want to see the person like every day. I don't want some stranger moving into my house so she can. So, I can think of more reasons not to pursue this any further. So, unless one of you wants to do it, I think there's nothing worth discussing with her."
"Okay. I'll do it."
"What!" Dean and Makayla said together.
"Bug, you can't be serious."
"As serious as a heart attack. I don't want children. Mom is right. I make a perfect Auntie Bug, but a mom? No. Too much adulting involved. But I would love to know what carrying a baby is like."
"What's everyone talking about?"
Allie had come back. Gwen was babbling and blowing raspberries.
"Let me hold her. Come to Auntie Bug, my little Gwennie Bee."
Allie handed her over and sat down. "So, what did I miss?"
"Nothing," the three of them said.
"We were just talking about—" Natalie was cut off. She is a terrible liar. As Dean said before, she sucks at poker.
"Nothing, Princess. Just shooting the shit. Who's ready for some dinner? The chicken and ribs should be done by now." He got up, grabbed his beer, and went to the grill to check on the food.
"What is being pregnant like?"
Dean spit beer all over the grill. Thank goodness he didn't open it yet
"You okay over there, Big Brother?"
He was coughing now. "Yes, never been better." He pushed out between hacks.
"Well, when you actually know you are, it's pretty great. I would give anything to have another baby."
"You just want to be pregnant again, or you don't want Gwennie Bee to be an only child?"
"A bit of both. I do see how close you and Dean are, and it warms my heart. I miss my brother so much. I became an only child and would have given anything to have my brother grow up with me."
"Alex–"
"Okay, girls, it's time to eat. Enough girl talk."
"Dada. Da. Da." Clap. Clap. Clap. "Dada."
"Oh my GOD, THAT'S so cute!"
"Alex taught her." Allie's face fell.
"She's getting too big too fast." Natalie quickly kissed Gwen all over her little face. Gwen was laughing hard.
"That is the most incredible sound ever. I can see why you want more than one."
Dean shot his sister a look.
She shot one right back.
"Let's eat before it gets cold," Dean said, setting the food down.
"Would you ever consider a surrogate to have another one? I know Dean said you weren't too hot on it before you had Gwennie Bee."
"Natalie!" He shook his head. "Stay in your lane, Bug"
"I'm only asking one question. She said she would like another one."
"No one asked me if I wanted another one," Dean said, picking up a rib.
Allie looked at him with a hurt look on her face. "If I were able to have another baby, you wouldn't want another one?"
"Yeah, don't you like having a sibling? We grew up best friends," Natalie said shocked.
"Why are we even having this conversation? You can't have more children. And you said you don't want to use a surrogate. So this conversation is over."
Dean, what if I changed my mind?"
"Have you?" he asked.
"Maybe. I don't know. It's always a possibility."
"You're getting older, Allie. Your eggs are not exactly fresh. What if we have another baby, and something is wrong with it? Then what are we going to do?"
"We love it. What else would we do with it? If, for any reason, we need anything for its welfare, you have the money."
"We have the money. Why are we having this sensitive conversation in front of my sister and her girlfriend?"
"We are having this conversation in front of my two best friends. And I thought one was your best friend, too."
"Regardless this is different from a conversation we should be having with other people."
"You know who should be part of this conversation? Alex. Because I know that he wants one." Allie spat.
"Well, he up and left. He left you, and he left Little Bean. He said he would die for my family. Instead, he left, and it killed my wife. He killed the woman who was bubbly and fun. The woman who made love to me at every given opportunity. The woman who had our child. His peanut. The only father she knew for months before I got home."
"Did he just say, father?" Natalie asked Makalya out of the corner of her mouth.
"That's what I heard," she replied the same way.
He looked at them. You two... OUT!
"Damn, okay, we will be going now."
"AND THANK YOU, NATALIE, THIS WHOLE FUCKING THING IS HAPPENING BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT!" Mikey was starting to rear his ugly head.
Makayla stood up aggressively.
"Down girl." Natalie put her hand on Makayla's shoulder. "He has a good point. Not that he needed to yell and swear at me, but I did stick my nose where it didn't belong," she said.
"Put that asshole back in his cage, Dean!" Makayla said. You worked too long and too hard to have him break out."
"Come on, Kay Kay. Let's go to the pool house and fool around," Natalie said. "Oh, and if you ever talk to me that way again, not only will I unleash my girlfriend on you, but I will also tell Mom." She took Makayla's hand, and they walked to the pool house.
Natalie closed the door behind her. Makayla sat on the couch.
"Baby, you know I love you more than anything else on this planet, but you, Dean, Mikey, or whoever yelled at you was right. You really should have stayed in your lane."
"I was only trying to help."
"Help with what? Their divorce?" Makayla said.
"Alex left because he wanted a child. I think it should be discussed if I could help bring him back to make Allie happy. I know now that Dean would have never done it by his response. I never would have dreamed he would want Gwennie Bee to be an only child. I thought I was helping them solve a problem."
"Did you ever think Dean didn't want Alex to come back? Even if he said, he wouldn't mind if he did. He finally has his family all to himself. There is no one here with whom he has to share Gwen; he's now the only father she needs to know. He has his wife all to himself. It's always amazed me that he agreed to this situation. I could never share you. Could you share me with someone?
"If you loved them and you loved me, I might. I would want you to be at peak happiness. And if you had died twice beforehand, I would definitely have given you what would make you the most happy."
"Good God, who are you people? You are the nicest, most understandable people on earth. You both put other people's happiness first. Having the people we love to be happy is one thing that makes us happy."
"You guys need to put your happiness first sometimes. I think that is what Dean is doing."
"So even if I died twice and it would make me happy, you wouldn't share me?" Natalie said.
"I just don't think I could."
"You constantly joke about having a threesome. Isn't that sharing me?"
"Sharing you with someone who you love? What if you end up loving someone more than me? You saw how Allie reacted when Alex left. She fell into a depression like that of a widow losing her husband. You heard Dean. How much Alex leaving changed her."
"You know what? I may have done them a favor."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because. Dean is finally getting a word in edgewise. He's going along with everything. Doing and saying what she wants to hear. What makes her happy? She needs to listen to him for once."
"Wow. Natty Bear, you know you may be on to something."
"I'm not as blonde as you may think. I'm short, not stupid. I'm kind of stupid because I figured out what I did was beneficial. This wasn't what I was going for when I started it."
They started to hear them raise their voices. "One of us needs to get Gwennie Bee. She shouldn't be listening to them."
"I'll go. You stay here." Makayla smiled.
Makayla kissed Natalie on the cheek and headed out to get Gwen. She approached the two and cleared her throat to stop their bickering. "Ah-hem. Guys."
They didn't acknowledge her. She went over to the highchair and picked up Gwen.
"Come on, Gwennie Bee. You don't need to be subjected to this."
She kissed the little cherub on her cheek and walked back to the pool house.
"I don't see why we need to continue this conversation."
"It's a fight, Dean. Call it what it is. You don't want to have another baby? Even if we could?"
"Come on, Alexsandra. You don't want another baby with me. You want a baby with Alex."
"Of course I do. Do you want me to lie to you and say no? You know damn well I want to. You know, if I could, he would be back in our lives, and he would stay forever. He wouldn't have a reason to leave."
"I will not divorce you so you can marry him."
"When did I say that I wanted to divorce you? I never even alluded to that."
"I am so overwhelmed. My emotions are at such a peak. All this talk about babies and Alex. He left you, Allie! How can you still have so much love left in you for him?"
"I can ask the same thing about you and me. You left me. And when you came back, I didn't even know who you were."
"Where's Gwen?" Dean said.
"What?"
"Where is Gwen? Where is our baby girl?"
They both looked over at the highchair and then back at each other.
"I really hope one of the girls took her."
"I don't think she got up and out on her own," Allie said. She looked at Dean, and he smiled back.
"We were so caught up in this bullshit that we didn't notice that someone came in and took our daughter."
"Allie, I'm sorry." He took her by the elbow and pulled her towards him. "I don't want Little Bean to be an only child. I am tired of everyone assuming what I want. I want to be asked and not told about what will happen in my life."
"I'm sorry now. You have a very valid reason to be mad. I never thought of it that way. Baby, do you want another baby with me?"
"Who else would I have one with? You are the only woman in my life, and I am your best friend. I love you, Princess."
"I love you too, Cowboy."