CHAPTER NINE

-:- MIA -:-

Finally, being back home is a weight off my mind. Stuck in the hospital was too much for me to take. Axel worries during my pregnancies, having him worrying about complications was driving me crazy. I swear to God, his mind turns the tiniest issue into an epidemic of global proportions; the doctors would roll their eyes and take a deep breath every time they saw him.

I’ve called the girl gang to a breakfast meeting because we haven’t had a meeting since before Summer was born. There’s nothing for me to tell them, but it’s past the time we got together and had a few laughs, if nothing else. I’ve told everyone to be here by ten. Here being my house, not the clubhouse. Amelia, Bitty, and Sybil are here as nannies so that all the kids will be well cared for in entertainment as well as in general care.

I’ve sweet-talked Meat into providing brunch for us, so that should encourage as many as possible to attend, although the only one who has said they may not make it was Gemmy. Working in the Sheriff’s office, I can understand that if they are busy, she can’t just walk out. Raven has persuaded Grease to give her and Cora a couple of hours off. I bet that will cost her tonight. Winter just told, and not asked, Target and Chaos to manage without her at the range.

As they begin to arrive the kitchen soon becomes a hive of activity. I love it when it gets all hectic and bustling with life. Space at the table soon fills up and the kitchen island is next.

Summer is the center of attention as expected. Although she’s fast asleep, she’s still being passed around, so everyone can get a cuddle. The twins get ‘hellos’ but before anyone has time to cuddle them, they are off to get dirty, into mischief, eat, or a combination of all three.

Checking off mentally who’s here and who’s missing, I hear an engine roaring outside. Gemmy has arrived on her trike. That means Forest would have followed her here to make sure she arrived safely. She loves that trike but rides it like she stole it. When I told the members of the girl gang to get themselves a bike or trike, Gemmy knew what she wanted and embraced it.

There’s only one missing now… Jo. I fricking know where she’ll be, and what she will be doing. Taking my phone from the table, I press the contacts list and ring her.

“Hi, Mia,” she greets, and sounds like she’s been running.

“Why aren’t you at the meeting?” I ask all sweet and nicety-nice.

“Oh, my God! Is it that time already? I’ll just put my research away, and I’ll be there in ten minutes. Sorry about this.”

“Tell you what, Jo. Be here in five minutes, and tell your research to put his pants back on and mind he doesn’t catch his cock in the zipper. Four and a half minutes.” Ending the call, I see Red looking shocked.

“Research my arse, Red. Those two are forever at it. It’s a wonder they don’t both get friction burns or start a goddamn fire the way they’re always rubbing their bits together.”

Star bursts out laughing and points at me. “Arse! Hahaha!”

“You can bloody shut up with your Britishisms. Dammit.”

“I bloody love it. You guys are doing it more and more these days, and I don’t have to keep throwing them around either.” Star looks around the room and her gaze settles on Red. “You, I may have to work on, but you haven’t been here long.”

Hearing the front door open and then almost slam shut, Jo rushes into the kitchen. When everyone goes silent and looks at her, she blushes furiously.

“What? It was research. You’ll all thank me when you read the book and you know you will. You’re all as bad as me and Knuckles. You just need our imagination to spice up your sex lives.” Tipping her head back in what I think is supposed to be defiance, she takes the last stool at the kitchen island and spoils the effect when she almost slips straight off the back of it. “Oh, bugger.”

This sets off not only Star, but all of us, in loud raucous laughter.

Calling the meeting to order, I let them all know why I thought it was time we had a get-together. Everyone agrees that we were due some girl time.

An hour into the meeting we all seem to have talked about club business enough, and I turn to look at Gemmy, who is cuddling Summer. “Mia, you were able to walk this time, I’ve been told. You know, when you were having Summer.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe Axel when I was having the twins. Honest, every single time I took a step he picked me up and carried me where I wanted to go. I was told I had to exercise more and you know what the idiot did? I’ll tell you…he ran with me in his arms instead of walking!”

Giggles erupt around the room, and Eden laughs, recounting a story of her own. “Well, Silver tried to feed me all the time, saying ‘Now come on Eden, you are eating for two and this is the baby’s portion.’ No way could I eat all the stuff he put on my plate, and he gave me every vegetable he could think of, which only gave me gas.”

“Hammer was nearly as bad,” Tilly pipes in. “With me being a little older, he was concerned I’d have issues, and he was reading every baby book he could get his hands on. He even filled up my Kindle with eBooks on baby care. In the end, I told him if he added one more book to his collection, he could forget holding my tits every night as he goes to sleep.” Tilly laughs when we all look at her aghast for a moment, but then burst out laughing at the thought of the look of shock he would have been wearing.

“Another thing Axel kept asking was when we had sex, he was worried he’d bang the babies’ heads with his cock. I mean honest to freaking goodness. I don’t know how long he thinks his cock is, or how it would reach the boys' heads.” I giggle at the memory of it.

“Oh, I had that with Silver too, bloody idiot.” Eden laughs.

Star takes great delight in pointing at Eden and her cursing, but it’s the proud look she has on her face that says she is doing her best to teach us her English. It’s hilarious, to be truthful, as we don’t always say things in the right context, which has her looking at us as if we’re idiots.

Star laughs, "I had a friend in the UK who was in bed watching the TV with her man and her water broke. She told him it was time to go to the hospital. She was, however, naked in bed, but he didn't give a damn. He wrapped the sheet around her and carried her out of the house, into the car, and then out of the car right into the hospital, bellowing loudly, 'Baby coming', 'Attention’, ‘All hands-on-deck', and more. She was so embarrassed she pulled the sheet over her head, but she hadn't realized that the sheet pulled upwards and had her arse hanging out the bottom for all in the hospital to see."

“I had a funny incident, not with having a baby, though,” Jo adds to the conversation, and we all turn to give her a curious look. “Well, we were practicing and researching for a scene, you know, as we do. Anyway, I’m underneath pretending to be an innocent virgin, when Knuckles settles over the top of me, you know to do the business. But, as he does, his elbow catches the skin on my right breast, and it damn hurt. I oohed, and squeaked and said to move, but Knuckles thought all the noises were sounds of pleasure so when I said move he pounded faster, and leaned even harder on his elbows. Well, the conclusion was I screamed with the pain, and he bellowed as he orgasmed. Then he said, ‘Jo, that had to be so good because you screamed so loud they must have heard you in town.’ I then watched him dress and saunter out of the bedroom looking like he’d won the fucking lottery, but my tit hurt all week.”

That just has every one of us hysterically laughing, and we continued laughing for quite some time. But I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to look Knuckles in the face without the vision that Jo placed in my mind. Men, honestly, sometimes they are just dumb.

Peace reigns supreme in the house again. The girl gang has all gone. Summer and the twins are asleep. The Three Stooges have gone to check on Meat next door and I’m enjoying a coffee.

The front door opens and Axel calls out, “Mia, where are you, Babe?” That has me suspicious right away.

“I’m in the kitchen, ‘Babe’. What have you done this time?” Placing my mug on the counter, I wait for him to break the news of his latest fuck-up.

Watching the door and waiting for him to show himself, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a couple walked through and stood there.

“Oh, my God! Suzie! Graham! What the fuck? What are you doing here? When did you arrive? Are you both ok?” Jumping from my seat, I quickly run to them to give them both a massive hug.

Axel stands behind them with the biggest, stupidest grin on his face. “I did good this time, huh? I’ll leave you guys to it and catch you later.” Marching away, whistling happily to himself, I hear the front door close.

Releasing Suzie from my bear hug, I step back and look them both over. “You both look great. You look younger than you did the last time I saw you. Retirement must be working for you.”

“Oh hell, yes,” Graham spouts, “We’ve traveled so much. We were always too tired at the diner to enjoy life, and we haven’t had so much sex since our honeymoon!”

“Graham!” Suzie slaps his shoulder, but she looks like what he’s saying isn’t wrong. “We’ve been to some very cool places. We went to Mount Rushmore to see the Presidents, the Grand Canyon, and Niagara Falls. We’re doing Route 66 soon. I want to do it on bikes, but this boring old fart wants an RV. And he thinks I don’t know why! I’m not stupid. He’s become a sex maniac since we sold up. He wants to be able to stop whenever he likes and have his way with me.”

Graham looks suitably defiant at this statement, but not at all bothered that his motive has been rumbled. “She’s not telling you the bits she doesn’t want you to know, Mia. Ask her what happened when we visited Niagara Falls. Better still, I’ll just tell you.” Graham looks at Suzie and she blushes furiously. “We went on the boat, ‘Maid of the Mist’ and while everyone was taking photos of the Falls, Miss Butter-Wouldn’t-Melt here dragged me into the ladies' restroom and damn near raped me.”

“The excitement of being there, the atmosphere and the crashing of the Falls was too much for me. I didn’t know what else to do to calm down. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.” Suzie sticks her chin up and raises an eyebrow.

Hearing Summer waking, we head for the nursery. By the time we get there, the twins have woken up, got there first, and are babbling away at her. She looks as though she knows what they are saying, and that she’s okay with whatever it is.

Suzie melts as soon as she sees the kids and can’t decide who to hold first. Hunter is the first to recognize the signs of an impending hug and takes off like his ass is on fire. Carter is a fraction of a second too slow, and Suzie has him up and squeezed tight before he can make good his escape.

Graham laughs at Hunter’s dash for freedom, and the look of abject horror on Carter’s face as this strange woman smothers him in kisses.

Picking up Summer, I suggest we head back to the kitchen, the hub of the house. More time is spent in here than all the other rooms combined. Hunter came running when he heard ‘kitchen’ as the boys associate kitchen with food… and they live for food.

Passing Summer to Suzie, she almost throws Carter to the floor in her eagerness to hold a dainty feminine baby rather than a squirming toddler. Passing her the formula, she feeds Summer, who is no slouch herself when it comes to feeding time. Her legs kick with excitement, but once she’s on the feed all her energy is focused on getting that formula inside her as quickly as possible.

Halfway through the feed and Suzie sits Summer up to burp her. Before she can get her sat upright, there’s an almighty belch that has the twins laughing, and the feeding continues.

Listening to Suzie and Graham’s adventures makes me think about the girl gang and a road trip. Not sure how I’m going to sway Axel into agreeing with that, now that Summer is here, too.

Thinking out loud, I tell them they were lucky they didn’t come to visit last week as I was still in the hospital.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Graham states. “Axel has been planning our visit for months. He’s kept us up-to-date for the last five or six weeks, so we could be sure to be around this neck of the woods at the right time. We’ll be here for a few days.”

“My man’s been keeping secrets, has he? I’ll be having words with him later,” I threaten good-naturedly and grin. “It’s so good to have you here, though.”