Victory & Glory

[JawnKarTurr]

Jason had gone outside while his wife and other daughter did cooking to help Lee with her plans for the dog house. They wouldn’t be taking it on this weekend he thought, but they could plan it out at least and find if they needed anything else. This became clearer as Lee began to nod off as she sketched out a design on graph paper. Cody would walk by or she’d wake up, but she did seem very tired so he picked her up and put her on one of the body length chairs and put her head on a balled up towel and let her drift off. Cody the ever faithful protector hopped up on the chair and laid down next to her placing his head on her torso. He smiled at the pair and headed into the house to see what the others were up too.

With him and Victory it was all about teaching the girls skills and there were never boy skills or girl skills. They learned how to do laundry, clean firearms, cook, split wood and a host of other things they were happy to pass on. They engaged their grandparents and other older people in the community. They’d been to the police station, the radio station, and the hospital all to help them learn more about life. While the girls never spent a lot of time in the big city until now he’d always felt the girls were better equipped to deal with life than most, but they were still kids and the chauvinist part of himself always saw them has his little girls.

Hearing Ramona wanted to go on a date wasn’t something he wanted to hear and he made his intentions clear. After that he took his beer and headed downstairs and turned on the TV, and relaxed. After all it had been a long night and while he felt they took care of themselves he and Victory weren’t in their twenties any longer. Not long after heard Victory’s bare feet come down the stairs and she walked over minus the apron and sat down next to him and just watched the TV for a few minutes before saying anything.

She turned to him and said, “Why did you say that to Ramona? I’m sure you heard some of the conversation at least. These aren’t bad people and you know it has to start sometime.”

He nodded and kept watching the TV but did reply and say, “She and her sister are only twelve there will be plenty of time for dating when they’re older.”

“You’re right but it has to start somewhere and going out with a group is a good idea. I mean it’s a start and we’ll setup some ground rules. We’ve had the sex talk and we’ve talked about responsibility.”

“Yeah we have and you know what kids make stupid mistakes all the time anyway. We can’t watch her all the time and I don’t want her pregnant or anything else.”

“Honey we’ve got to trust her, and we taught her well. Besides Lee thinks of Hunter as her boyfriend Mo should be allowed the same thing.”

“That’s different. We know that family and they don’t go out alone they just hang out around the farm. I know where to find Hunter and choke the little hick boy.”

“Those are very good reasons, and we never had sex in our parent’s homes while dating.”

“We were older and responsible it’s completely different.”

“I was making a point Victory and you know what I’m talking about.”

“Yes and you’re right, and it’s all reasons to be concerned, but not say no outright. We can meet him together.”

“Well do whatever the hell you want when I’m not here okay. If I hadn’t walked in you probably done what you wanted anyway.”

Victory sat up off the couch and held up her hand and shook her finger. “No that is not the case we’re parents together with these girls. I wouldn’t even have done that if we were divorced. You need to compromise here and I think what she wants is fair.”

Jason sat up and nearly spilled his beer. He paused for a moment before turning to her and said, “Look them going out without an adult in the city isn’t exactly something I’m comfortable with okay. It’s hard to compromise there. Never mind I’ve compromised plenty. You took the girls from me; you moved out, you took the job you wanted. What did I do? I wanted you back with me! Not because I wanted to hold you back, but because I wanted my family together. You know I was actually thinking of getting a job in Atlanta, but you probably like this better. Free to do what you want most of the damn time.”

Jason got up and so did Victory who followed him as he headed up the stairs. She raised her voice and said, “You know I want you here and this was never about us. I wanted more and I wanted you to be part of it. If you got a job you’d expect the whole family to move, but I do and I’m the bad guy.”

The back and forth continued as they headed upstairs with Ramona in the kitchen hearing more then she wanted too. She checked on all the food and then ran to the back door and looked out and sighed with relief. Lee was still sleeping with Cody in the back. She’d already taken a picture for Facebook, but now she was just glad her sister wasn’t hearing them go at it again. Before her mom told them they were going to Atlanta things were tense at home. He parents didn’t fight about big stuff, but every little thing they got on each other about. She stood at the food of the stairs unsure what to do as she heard the bedroom door slam. Damn they were so happy this morning. She wanted to cry.

Victory slammed the bedroom door behind her as her husband began to gather up his things and began tossing them into his bag. She walked up to him and put her hand on his as he grabbed the hand and looked in his eyes and said, “look I don’t want to fight but don’t walk out on us! Let’s work this out this time. We’re physically part but that’s it baby. ”

“Seems like you have a life and I don’t need me to be in it.”

 

[grdybiwife]

“Seems like you have a life and I don’t need me to be in it.”

To say that Victory lost her shit at that would have been an understatement. Her blood had already begun to boil at Jason's insinuation that she wasn't concerned with their girls' safety, but she kept her cool. Then that little bit about all his compromise sent the fire to her eyes, but that, that did it.

"You know what," she said through clench jaws, grabbing the bag and yanking it out of his hand before she stormed into her closet. "I don't fucking need you Jason. But I damn sure want you and right now I can't even think of a reason why," she shouted as she yanked a shoe box down off one of the upper shelves and tossed it onto the bed. "You want to talk about compromise. How dare you? You don't know how much I've given up because I want to be with your country ass. You think this was the first job offer I've gotten since we been together Jason. I'm good at my job...damn good...and I passed up so much in the hopes that you might want to cut whatever tether keeps you in that Podunk town."

There were at least 15 letters spread out on the bed. Most from radio stations, a few television stations, from all over the country. "This one," she said and tossed the first letter at him. "That's from an internship that I passed up. I was going to accept but the day I was going to tell you, you proposed and like an idiot I said yes. This one came a few years later but you put the down payment on the farm...without even telling me! How the fuck were we going to move to Chicago when you spent all our money on a rundown farmhouse. How Jason, how?! This one...I actually interviewed for this but couldn't pick up and move to Miami with those gorgeous girls in my belly. You want to talk about compromise Jason, well I've done plenty of that since we been together. And why? Not because I'm some weak minded woman who needs a man's approval. Not because I'm afraid of striking out on my own. Nope none of that. Because I want to be with your backwood, dip-spitting, cowboy boot wearing, beat down truck driving, redneck country ass..."

"Alright now I ain't no redneck," he said quietly, his eyes on the papers she hadn't thrown at him. It was safer than looking at her at the moment.

"Fuck you Jay," she shouted back at him and kicked his bag over. "And where the fuck do you get off implying that I'd let my babies do anything unsafe. They're barely ever alone. I just started leaving them in the morning to run last week and even then I had to convince myself that it would be okay. As expensive as that school is you think they don't have a fucking bus Jason. I drive those girls and pick them up every day because I need to know they're safe. You think I'd just let them go out into the world alone. Are you fucking serious? If that's what you think of me as a mother then maybe you should leave because I'll be damned if I sleep next to somebody who thinks I'd put my babies in harm's way," she said and flung open the door so hard the knob jammed into the wall behind it.

Her eyes alight with rage, Victory didn't expect to see her twins standing in the hall. Judging by their red eyes and wet faces, they'd heard every bit of the argument. They had always tried to shield them away from what they called "grown-up stuff", even if the girls were mature enough to pick up on the changes in their parent's relationship. It was for the best, and Victory didn't mind how they hated her for taking them away from home. She was about their age when she started hating her own mother so she figured it was a natural thing. She all but expected them to charge past her and cling to their father, begging him to stay. But Lee's eyes held the same intensity as her mother's as she looked at her father. The fingers of one hand was clenched in a fist, the others were laced with her sister's.

"Girls I'm sor..."

"We're sorry," Ramona sobbed as she pulled away from Lee and threw her arms around her mother. "We don't want you to fight. I knew I shouldn't have said anything. We were having such a good time and I ruined everything..."

"No baby," Victory said, wrapping the trembling girl in her arms and stroking her hair. "This doesn't have anything to do with you and don't you ever forget that. I love you more than anything and you're the best thing that ever happened to me. Me and Daddy might not agree on a lot of things but that's true for both of us so don't ever think you're to blame for us acting like assholes."

"But we heard everything..."

"Everything," Lee said with a look at her father and Victory pulled her into the hug.

"And you cool down firecracker," she whispered into her ear and kissed her fiery red cheek. "Take a deep breath for me...another one...one more," she said and by the last one Lee was crying just as hard as her sister. "Whether Daddy leaves tonight or doesn't, you need to know that we love you very much and nothing that happens between us had anything to do with you. Nothing. You two are our world. You understand that don't you?"

"Yes Momma," they tearfully in unison.

"And just because we fight doesn't mean you should stop talking to us about stuff. Good daddies always want to keep their little girls "little girls" and good mommies will always want to raise strong independent women. That's just the way things are so we're always going to disagree about the things that mean you're growing up. And you know what? We're both right," she said with a glance at Jason. "The hard part is trying to find a good middle and whether we're under the same roof or not, we won't every stop trying to find that place because we love you."

And just like that the angry wife was replaced by the loving mother and Victory ushered the girls out of the room and down the stairs. She didn't care if Jason decided to stay or not at the moment, all she cared about were her babies in pain.

https://youtu.be/gkeCNeHcmXY

Victory plopped them down on the sofa with a blanket and box of tissues before she headed into the kitchen to warm a few of the croissants and milk. They hadn't had dinner yet, but that was an afterthought as she set the plate and mugs down on the coffee table. Lee grabbed her shirt before she could move away and pulled her down to sit between them, and Victory threw an arm around them both. Planted a kiss on both heads. And eventually the sobs subsided to shuddered breaths which quickly became snores as both girls fell asleep. She shifted them both, one at a time, to lay on her lap before she allowed her own tears to fall.

 

[JawnKarTurr]

With three of the most important women in his life downstairs miserable and crying Jason was pretty sure he knew he’d crossed a line. While they were all upset and unhappy he went around the room doing little things. He picked up a few items were out of place straightened up as best he could and picked up the mail Victory had been storing. He went through of it all of it opened and carefully went through like she always did. Thing was she respected him when it came to the mail though. She never opened anything addressed to him though these days most of it had both their names on it. He collected it all and went into her office and sat down to do a little reading. Cody probably sensed he needed some kind of male support so he laid down near his feet for a while.

He heard her on the steps a couple hours later and when he looked up from his notes saw Victory with a cardboard container in hand looking at him a little grim. She cleared her voice before saying, “I called the organic taco place and got a delivery. Didn’t feel much like cooking so I had the girls’ pickup and ah eat and they’re on the couch. Finally needed to get some rest after being up all night I guess. I got you something to eat before you hit the road.”

Jason gesture to the chair nearest him and said, “come her and sit down we need to talk.”

“Look it’s all packed up and ready to go like you, so we don’t need to talk besides we both have work tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion and if we have a problem we’ll stay up all night and work it out! Now I can eat while you yell at me, but we’re still going to talk about things. So sit down already. Did you get any hot sauce?”

A little miffed Victory stat down looking at him at her desk and a little annoyed, but what he said had her at least curious. So she sat down and plunked the box down in front of him and looked over at him. “Of course I got you hot sauce. I don’t like being hurt like that especially…”

He interrupted her as he opened the box and looked inside and then looked up quickly and said, “When I know it’s not true. Besides being sorry I handle it wrong. We don’t have an out because of this living arrangement. We’re stuck together and that means we have to work it out. That is because I love you and I don’t want to get your old Brujah of a mother giving me dirty looks at the supermarket until she dies.”

“Hey you love my mother!”

“So you’ve told me but that being said we have to come to an agreement about this kind of thing without thinking we can storm out to some other place like a farm or a town house or whatever. Now I’m glad you love me and want to be with me, but we don’t get to complain about compromises unless we are open with each other. I went through all the mail that you had there and don’t remember you bringing any of it up to me once.”

“Well I knew we couldn’t do it or you wouldn’t want to so I just turned it down.”

“Yeah decided because you thought you knew what was best. Well you might have been right so let’s review here shall we?”

“Fine it doesn’t matter now.”

“Humor me then and you can tell me how wrong I am afterwards.”

He began in order holding up each envelope as he spoke and first up was the internship. “You never told me and I wasn’t with the department yet and I was waiting to hear about other full time jobs. I would have at least listened, and if I’d gotten any of the others I would have talked to you. Next Chicago well would have been nice to know, but somebody talked all the time about not letting some developer get a hold of all that land and destroying it. We bought a lot along with others, and it was you who lobbied the town council to have them move to another site and perform environmental work there.”

He placed three more envelopes on the desk before saying, “This is when we had Judy, Madison and Amber. I remember because I had the chance for a new truck, but the girls needed stuff. We could have gotten that large lovely apartment, but we agreed that helping Ethan was the right thing to do. He’s never paid us back in money, but he’s a great friend. So I’m thinking you wanted to be mom more, and didn’t even tell me. I’d say that makes you a good person, but you didn’t tell me. Not sure if we could have worked it out, but it affected us both.”

“Okay fine I compromised and didn’t tell you, but that still doesn’t make less about you and staying in town.”

He put down five more envelopes and looked at Victory and said, “These are all when the girls came into our lives Victory. I know you mentioned Miami, but was it such a good idea to pick up and move to a city where we know nobody? I mean the only thing I know about that place is from playing GTA: Belly of the Beast. Anyway if you remember right we looked into selling the farm for another place, and the market sucked. Also there is that little thing about child care. We used both sets of parents plus the girls who practically lived out of our house helping to take care of our too girls. Your loved our pediatrician, you have friends here too, and you had the top slot at the job you did have.”

He laid out the last five and look at them and then back at Victory and said, “I could probably come up with some stuff for these, but once again you didn’t tell me you were compromising. Also I looked at your Facebook page. Working Moms Inc. ring any bells? Tons of suggestions including that one lovely lady who got her media company to build a studio at her rural home.”

“She’s a huge talent and she sold a few country albums, and she..”

“Worked out of her local station after she got tired of commuting to Denver. Her husband is a state trooper by the way.”

“Fine you might have a point somewhere in all that. Care to enlighten me?”

“Don’t blame the stupid redneck for living most of your life in South Range. You made choices and it wasn’t just because of me, and while I should have been better about this whole thing we haven’t exactly been a team here. We did what we needed to and didn’t talk to each other. You have had a great opportunity here and clearly they think you have talent.”

She gave him a stern look which went away when he replied back, “I already know you’re talented and I remember us talking about sports through a door on the day of our wedding so we could talk about the game. One of my favorite pictures is of you in my Atlanta Hawks Jersey and a thong.”

“God you still have that? I was drunk I…You better not have shown that to anyone.”

“Dear it was at a bonfire all are friends saw it they don’t need a picture.”

“Damn why didn’t you and Carmen stop me!?”

“We were laughing and taking the picture dear, but enough about the past it’s about going forward.”

For a moment they just laughed and then looked at each other and he slowly reached over and took her hand and squeezed it and said, “I know we both want in this, but we have to resolve these things better. We got in a fight and I shouldn’t have thought I could just have walked out, and you know what silence wasn’t working for all that time either. As to the minor issue she can go out with her friends including what’s his name. I hope they have a good time, but keep tabs on them. I know you take care of them, but I’m not here and it hurts. Might change that, but we’ll see okay. We’ll work this out baby.”

Tired she leaned over to him and whispered, “Yeah I don’t want to fight any more honey. This is can’t keep happening. We can get loud, but let’s go to bed knowing we worked it out okay?”

“Yeah I think we’re in a good place.”

“Yeah you going to eat those tacos?”

“Yes I am because my loving considerate wife who was crying and mad at me still didn’t want me to go hungry.”

“I’m pretty awesome aren’t I?”

“Yeah you are and that’s why you married me. I’m pretty awesome too so you recognized one of your own so you knew you needed to breed with me.”

Victory laugh so hard she snorted and couldn’t stop giggling as he ate. When he finished they headed downstairs and he picked up the girls one at a time and carried them to bed. They spoke softly remembering the times when he could take both or when they could each easily handle one. Good times he thought and they continued to talk after they tucked the girls into bed once Victory undressed them. With alarms set and good night kisses given they walked out into the hallway where Cody was patiently waiting. Without talking they walked back to the bedroom and climbed on the bed and still dressed she pushed back against him as they laid on their sides and listened to quite night. Cody laid down nearby and for a moment all the world was at peace.

 

[grdybiwife]

She lay there a moment, her back pressed against his chest, basking in the glow of resolution. Jason was right about most of it, even if he wouldn't readily admit that he hadn't always been very welcoming to change, Victory never gave him the opportunity to prove her right. But there was no need to dwell on all those missed opportunities now. She had the job she always wanted, in a city she loved that was only a few hours drive from everyone she loved. The house was great, her girls were thriving at a more challenging school that was stepping stone for Georgia's best student-athletes. A thought occurred to her that caused her to sit straight up in bed.

"Hold up...now I might have been a little rage deaf but I could have sworn I heard you say something about seeing about a job in the city," she said with a raised eyebrow and Jason only smirked as he rolled out of bed to undress. Victory followed suit, leaving a trail of clothes from the bed to the bathroom. "You weren't bullshittin' me were you? I mean that would be great," she said, using the make-up remover wipes to get rid of what survived her tears. But still Jason said nothing, following her into the bathroom to brush his teeth, still with that shit eating grin on his face. "So you're not going to tell me?"

"Haven't we done enough talking tonight darling," he said and gave her ass a playful tap as he past her to go back to bed, turning out the light on his way. Jason looked at Victory, arms folded across her chest back lit by the vanity, and smiled. "I know you got an early start in the morning so come on let me hold you..."

"Sure until I start snoring and you roll me over," she said with a snort, finally relenting and crawling into bed with him. Panties and bra were tossed aside before she snuggled up to him, her head on his chest and his arm tight around her torso. They both let out a contented sigh before Jason kissed her head then brought her face up to kiss her lips. "You sure you want to handle them alone tomorrow morning. Lee was pretty pissed..."

"Just like her mother and I think I dealt with her just fine," he said with a shrug and Victory shook her head. "I'll talk to 'em both. What you said was nice but I think they need to hear it from me too. I'm not going anywhere Vic...I can't."

"Good because this family needs you...I need you Jay."

"No you don't but that's part of why I love your stubborn ass..."

"My hot stubborn ass," Victory added and Jason kissed her smirking lips.

"Very hot. Now go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

Victory didn't hear his reply but Jason kept his word and she awoke in his vice like embrace with a smile on her face. It was still dark, the sun just peeking above the horizon as she slipped out of his arms and put her feet on the floor. Cody stirred immediately and Victory put a finger to her lips as she passed him to get dressed. Jason grunted at the kiss she planted on the back of his neck before she headed downstairs with Cody trotting along behind her. He waited patiently by the door while she scarfed down, chugged a glass of oj, and set up her smoothie for when she returned.

"Ready buddy," she said, scratching behind his ears as she grabbed his leash and Cody beat his tail on the floor with excitement as she hooked it onto his collar.

Victory used the first two blocks as warm up, fast walking with Cody beside her, sniffing every few steps before they broke out into a run that would take them in a six-mile circle around the neighborhood.

About a half hour later, Jason awoke with a start. The bed empty and in unfamiliar surroundings it took him a moment to recall Victory's wet kiss and the jingle of Cody's tags. A small smile came to his lips at the thought of her sweating in stretch pants and his morning wood twitch as he climbed out of bed. A quick flick of the tip forced it down so he could relieve himself without making a mess of the pristine bathroom before he brushed his teeth and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. He glanced at the clock, noted the girls wouldn't need to be up for another hour or so and figured that was enough time for him to make breakfast. And amends.

Making up with Victory was easy. It took years of practice, particularly when she was pregnant, but Jason knew exactly what to say to his wife to get back in her good graces. Dealing with two hormonal teenagers was uncharted territory, something he didn't think he'd have to deal with anytime soon. Victory was right, they were becoming women. He'd done a few loads of laundry and been in their bathroom. The evidence was clear. He was wholly unprepared and reacted poorly to the idea of them not being his "little girls" anymore.

"Overreacted," he mumbled to himself as he set about preparing Daddy's Famous Pancakes. There weren't anything special, just box mix but Jason cooked them with sliced bananas and chocolate chips arranged like a smiley face that the girls always made the girls giggle. It had been a while but he hoped they might have the same effect of them now.

Three floors above, Lee Smith tossed and turned in her bed. At some point in the middle of the night Ramona heard her crying in her sleep and lay down beside her to calm her down. Neither of them liked when their parents argued but last night was more than either of them had expected. The things their father said to their mother were heartbreaking but what they learned about their mother was worse. Ramona put on a brave face through all the changes but Lee was more reactionary. She battled their mother tooth and nail, said horrible things to her because she believed that everything was Victory's fault. Their mother making a blanket decision to take them away from everything they knew and loved for her own benefit. It wasn't fair but now they knew the truth.

Sure it was for her benefit but in the wee hours of the morning the girls had a rather mature conversation and came to the conclusion that they actually liked their new house. Their new school. Sure they missed their friends but they were making new ones and Victory never complained about the hours they spent on their phones keeping in touch so long as their homework was done. Inviting friends from South Range was never forbidden but most of their friends parents were like their Dad, reluctant to have their kids in the city unsupervised. Having strangers believe Victory allowed them to run amok was one thing, but their father thinking it was hurtful and they understood why their mother was so angry. And why she decided to uproot their lives when she did.

"You smell that?" Ramona said quietly and Lee shift her eyes at her. "You think he's still here?"

"Why would he be? He packed his bag Mo. You saw him."

"Yeah but do you remember getting in bed last night. I know I don't?"

"That doesn't mean he stuck around."

"Yeah but Mom only makes big breakfast on test days and the weekends," Ramona said, her nose in the air as her lips curled into a grin. "Bananas and chocolate Lee. That's Daddy and you know it."

"So what? He made Mom cry last night and I'm just supposed to eat his pancakes and forgive him?"

"Yeah but he stayed so they must have sorted it out..."

"Denny Baker said his mom made him pancakes the morning she told him his dad split," Lee offered with a shrug and Ramona rolled her eyes.

"The same Denny Baker who said he caught his mom in the guest room with her trainer. The same Denny Baker whose mom got kicked out of parents night for being drunk," Ramona said with a raised eyebrow, making her sister smirk a little as she too sat up in bed. "Besides, you heard what Mom said. What happens between them doesn't have anything to do with us and if she could forgive him, why shouldn't we? It was just a fight Lee, and he's still here. The way he was yelling and Mom was swearing, there's no way he would have stayed if they didn't work it out. Now I don't know about you but I could use some pancakes on a Monday morning."

With that Ramona hopped out of bed but still Lee didn't move, so her sister dragged her out by the ankle sending her crashing to the floor in a heap. Jason was on his eighth pancake when he heard that thud and would have went running if not for the giggles that followed. He could hear them bickering over the sound of plumbing and assumed they were getting ready to start their day. While he waited for the last round of pancakes to brown, Jason started the coffee and gave Victory's smoothie a whirl before pouring it into one of her travel jars and setting it in the fridge. She liked his pancakes just as much as the girls and he assumed she'd skip her grass shake for something more hearty.

By the time the girls came rumbling down the stairs, two plates had been made, complete with fresh fruit and eggs. Ramona dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs and dove at her father while Lee simply slipped into her stool at the counter to give her eggs a poke. She barely looked at Jason, her face twisted in a scowl as she pushed away the plate.

"Mom knows I don't like scrambled eggs so she makes me sunny side up," she said with a grunt, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well that's news to me," Jason said with a shrug and scooped the offending eggs onto his own plate and sat down beside Lee. "Still like pancakes though right?"

"I guess," she grumbled and Ramona gave her a nudge.

"How 'bout this? Why don't you guys make me a list of all the stuff you don't like now that you moved to the city so I can keep up? Help Dad out a little?"

"I got a list for you," Lee mumbled under her breath and Ramona gave her side a pinch. "Quit it! He asked so I'm gonna tell him. You know what I don't like Dad? I don't like it when somebody makes my mom cry! I don't like it when somebody tries to make her out to be a bad mom! I don't like it when somebody who knows better tries to make it seem like she some selfish asshole! I don't like it when somebody thinks that protecting me means making my mom feel like shit! I especially don't like it when somebody thinks they can just run away when things get hard! Now how's that for a list Dad?!"

Jason sat there stunned a moment, listening to his "little"girl lay into him, all the while looking just like her mother with her arms folded across her chest. Her head bobbing from side to side and tears of fury in her eyes. She might have looked more like a Smith but clearly she was full of Fuerte and he couldn't help but smirk.

"So you're still good with pancakes then right?" He said, straight faced. It was a shot in the dark but if Lee was as much like her mother as she seemed at this moment than a joke was the best rage breaker in his arsenal.

"Daddy?!" she shrieked, face red, but her eyes softened and eventually she began to laugh. "That's not fair. I'm supposed to be mad at you."

"Yeah I've heard that from your mother more than once," he said and reached to put his arm around both girls. He held them tight for moment, allowing the tension to pass completely before he gave them both a quick kiss on the forehead. "Look girls I'm sorry about last night. Things go out of hand and I said some things to your mom that I shouldn't have. I know your mother loves you very much and she'd murder anybody who hurt you girls but you have to understand that it's hard for me being so far away. You girls are growing up so fast and I'm afraid of missing out..." Jason could feel emotions welling up inside him but quickly sniffed them away before he continued with, "It's just like Mom said, we're never going to agree on that kind of stuff and sometimes we'll fight about it but know that neither of us are running away..."

"See I told you," Ramona whispered to Lee who rolled her eyes.

"We're a family girls and sometimes families fight but we always stick together. You understand?"

"Yes Daddy," they said in unison, making Jason smile.

"And you, watch your language young lady," he said to Lee with a stern look and she dropped her eyes to her plate.

"Yes Daddy."

"Now that that's settled, eat up so we can have this place cleaned up before Mom gets back."

Victory watched the whole scene unfold from the front window. She heard every word her daughter said and felt bad for how good it made her feel inside. The last thing she wanted was for her daughters to feel the need to protect her but still she felt triumphant that Lee felt compelled to do so. It was all the proof Victory needed to know that she was in fact doing a good job raising strong women. If a middle school bully and their father weren't safe than nobody would be. She waited until they were finishing up before she finally put her key in the door and peeked into the window to watch them scramble to get the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Well I hope you guys saved some for me," she said with frown before Jason nodded at the plate warming on the stove.

"I put that green stuff in the fridge. Figured you could eat real food for breakfast and have that for lunch."

"Well aren't you sweet," she said and leaned up to kiss him good morning. It was supposed to be quick, but given the night they had and what she witnessed this morning, it lingered a little. Long enough for the girls to protest.

"That's enough guys,"Ramona said and Lee covered her eyes. "We do have to get to school you know."

"We know," both parents said in unison and Victory grabbed a pancake to eat on the way.

"I'll take 'em babe. You stay and eat. What time you have to be into the station?"

"9:30 at the latest," Victory said with a grin.

"That's plenty of time," he said with a wink and blew her a kiss as he ushered the girls into the garage.

"Have a good day ladies," she shouted after them with a smile on her face thinking that if this was what the new normal felt like then it wasn't half bad.

 

[JawnKarTurr]

https://youtu.be/YqeW9_5kURI

Things were reset after the morning breakfast with the girls and the tryst with Victory didn’t hurt either. If you were a couple with kids you knew what the definition of a quickie was, so during the brief period after dropping the girls at school and heading to work Victory and Jason had a lot of fun. In a few hours they made love, showered together, dressed shared breakfast. It really wasn’t a lot of time and Victory arrived at the station with her freshly washed hair in a loose bun, gray Lady Thrasher’s hoodie, and jeans and flip flops. She walked right past Tammi who was at the breakfast cart looking over her choices. She was in a tight dress heels, and looked tanned rested and makeup professionally done.

She giggled picking up her large morning coffee and said, “morning sunshine is that a new hoodie?”

“Yes it is thank you and I’ll remind you that we’re on radio and some of us don’t have time to look like we walked out of hip hop video.”

“Actually I was kind of channeling my inner Tawny Kitaen this morning when I rocked out after the gym. My wonderful stylist works out there to and for a small fee she did my hair in the locker room. The heels are coming off once we’re in the studio though my feet are killing me.”

“Wore them on the stair climber again?”

“That was a promotional photo! You’re glowing though honey I take it your boyfriend came to visit?”

“I spent time with my husband and family thank you.”

“How exactly did you spend time?”

Victory looked around at the crowded hallway and the girl pushing the snack cart and just grabbed Tammi and dragged her into her own office. She pushed the door closed and got up close and whispered into her ear, “We fucked in the shower! He bent me over and took me from behind. I had one hand on the rail and the held the shower massager in place. It felt so good and man I think we’re going to be working out together again and it was some of the best makeup sex. Oh and he made me breakfast.”

“I hate you you know that right?”

“Don’t care I’m happy and I need to sit down for a bit.”

Jason made a visit to fire headquarters where he met Matt “The Hammer” Harrison who he originally met at the community college back in South Range while getting his criminal justice degree. Matt had actually talked the school into giving him an emergency service degree after combining two associates degree. He’d applied for the Atlanta fire department early on and while he didn’t get on right away every year he did things to enhance his chances. He ran marathons, became an EMT, and joined the volunteer fire company that covered the college and hospital campuses. The nickname came from carrying a splitting maul he carried everywhere, and when he witnessed a crash on the highway he used the tool to rescue an injured and entrapped couple. He was on the department a few months later, and had done well while there.

The shook hands and Jason bent down to pet Lainey Matt’s border collie who was a trained as a search and rescue dog. As Matt watched Jason lovingly played with his dog he said, “So I got your email and I talked to my friend from personnel. She can give us twenty minutes, but can’t promise anything. You’ve got to take the test like everyone else man.”
Jason stood back up and replied, “Well I expected that man I just want to know I have a fair shot.”

“Yeah about that I talked to an instructor friend. You’ve got to impress them on the physical end of things too man. When was the last time you really worked out? I mean you have to be in beast mode for this, and you’re going to be competing with kids.”

“Yeah I got it. Have to go old school on this one and just get damn scary again.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear man. Let’s go inside and then let’s make it happen,” and with that they grasped hands banged chests and then walked in together.

Matt’s friend was very helpful and took him through all the paperwork and what he needed to do hand what things would help him out the most. Seemed his lifestyle had at least in part made it easier for him to make the transition and being in the pension fund already didn’t block him from joining because of his age. After the discussion the pair went out to lunch and for a change ate healthy and enjoyed large salads while Lainey snacked on strips of steak under the table. They parted ways and Jason headed back home, but turned on Victory’s show and listened to her and Tammi as he headed down the highway.

While she covered all the usual sports action including scandals and gossip he smiled as he listened to Victory talk about topics close to her heart. She covered the importance of youth sports especially for girls, and didn’t mind talking up her own girls’ team. She also spoke about how she was never disappointed in her husband who never acted like having girls somehow put a damper on the family’s sports tradition. She’d mentioned the girls went hunting and fish as well, so when an irate female called got on the line and called her a bad parent she put the woman in her place. She talked about the need for more people to farm, and how hunting was part of conservation and taught many important skills. It made him feel pretty good considering she didn’t think he’d be listening.

A rather upbeat Victory Strong finished off the last hour of the show talking about things like working out while pregnant, sports couples could share, and asked couples to call in about some of their best times together after a sporting event. Some of the calls were outrageous, but several were very romantic. One former female Olympic hockey player called in and talked about the struggles of getting back into the sport six months after having her baby boy. She said it wouldn’t have happened without her boyfriend now husband who encouraged her and took good care of their son.

One woman called to promote an ALS run she was doing with her father in support of her mother who struggled with the disease. She said her father hadn’t run since college, but said it was something he had to do so was working out every day. Tammi almost cried listening and texted her dad on break. While they went a bit off topic they got more women callers, and the guys that did call were happy to talk about wives and daughters proudly. Victory signed off saying how sports like life and marriage was all about character.

Once back at home Jason had to hit the ground running. There were shifts to work and a farm to manage and while Debbie was a great help there was still plenty to do around the place. Their sweet old dog Peaches was having a hard time getting around, so he moved her bed downstairs with the other dogs. The first night did the he webcam with the girls he put the laptop on the floor so the girls could talk to their dog. Peaches was so happy she licked the screen. He also had the Farmer’s over for a video dinner one night, and to Victory’s shock he did have dinner with his in-laws. He drove his parents to Atlanta for the next home game, and they surprised the girls.

His parents went over to the city house after the game for apple pie and ice cream and actually liked the town house. They didn’t like living on top of people, but they were satisfied their grandchildren weren’t living in some crummy apartment complex. They even wrote on Lee’s wall and gave Cody a new toy to play with. While the grandparents were in the yard with the kids though Jason and Victory shared some inmate time together, and while they didn’t get to go all the way the moments were intense. For the first time in a long time Victory was blushing as she said goodbye to the older Smiths before their son took them home.

Things weren’t ideal as but they were real and reality being good was just a matter of perspective. Still though goodnight calls were made and phone sex was enjoyed. As spring break approached and was discussed as the two weeks went by the only thing discussed about vacation was going back to the farm. Sure the girls were going to do some sleep overs and visit the grandparents, but it would be a break from city life. Victory had secured the time off from the beginning, and when she negotiated a contract she made it clear she wanted to match up with the girls’ vacations as much as possible. Management said it was ballsy considering how much they gave her, but she said it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t have her family.

She did promise to call in when Tammi was covering though and only laughed when she found out Tommy McKenzie would be filling in for the week. He was a college football hero who’d been in a few action movies, and wrote sports columns about working out. He had blond hair like an 80’s rockstar, a body like a weight lifter, and a jock’s personality on steroids. To top it off he had a thing for Tammi. Sure he was a forty something frat boy, but he could actually be a polite intelligent man if he wanted to be. He knew he was low on the list so Victory wasn’t surprised when he sent her flowers thanking her for letting him be on the show for the week. It had been awhile so the two teddy bears wearing college jerseys for the girls didn’t seem out of place. Tammi on the other hand wasn’t as pleased.

“He spits dip everywhere, he doesn’t own any shirts that have sleeves, and he smells like body spray and sweat all the time!”

“Come on he isn’t that bad, and he works cheap besides he thinks the world of you.”

“Oh so I’m lying about all that?”

“No not lying he does all that, but he’s like a big slobbering dog. He’s sweet and he means well.”

“Oh yeah and he’ll try to hump my leg by the first break.”

“Well if it helps ratings go with it.”

 

[grdybiwife]

Victory let out a barrage of yawns as she waited in the pick-up line outside the girls' school. Given that it was the last day before spring break things weren't moving as quickly as usual. Long good bye's were exchanged as if they were soldiers going off to war, not kid's with a week and a half break from school. Usually she might have been annoyed, given her exhaustion from staying up all night repacking the girls bags and loading up the truck on her own. She could have waited so the girls could help but she was just as excited as they were to hit the road. When Ramona and Lee finally emerged from a gaggle of pre-teens, Victory gave the horn a tap and the girls took off to the truck like sprinters to a starter's pistol. A race to see who got the front seat that ended in a tie which led to a shoving match that had Victory barking for them to "cut it out". They did a quick best of three session of rock-paper-scissors which resulted in Lee being victorious, but unlike usual, there was no pouting from Mo. They were too excited for they.

They'd been making plans all week with their South Range "squad" whose vacation began the day before but Victory made them promise to spend at least one night with their grandparents before time got away from them. Being bright and insightful almost teenagers, they decided to make the first weekend grandparents only. And it was their decision to see her parents first since Nana Pam and Papaw had visited most recently. They even made the arrangements themselves, calling both sets to ensure availability, and Victory applauded them for being so thoughtful.

But to their father she expressed relief that they would have the house to themselves for a couple days. Jason still had to work a few shifts throughout the week but assured Victory that there would be no overtime and she didn't mind. Given the accommodations already made for him since they got back together it was a wonder that he got any time off at all and she already planned to spend their "staycation" playing "Suzy Homemaker". She even allowed Tammi to accompany her on a shopping trip for a few outfits to wear when the girls were out of the house.

Really it was Tammi's idea to splurge on some new slut gear and since the girls had an away game, Victory decided they should make an evening of it. It was her first night out since moving to Atlanta, and sure there wasn't any wine, but Tammi drag her to the salon for a few upgrades to her look. After a trim, a Brazilian blowout, and some well placed red highlights, Victory felt like a new woman which made Tammi's suggestions on new lingerie easier to accept.

"A body like that and this is what you pick," Tammi said, utterly disgusted by Victory's idea of lingerie. It was a baby doll type nightie in blue, Jason's favorite color, with black lace trim around the the cleavage. "That barely shows any skin and you need some pink to make that beautiful chocolate skin of yours to pop. It's been how many weeks since you've seen each other? I know he loves you but the least you can do is remind him why."

"I'm not some spring chicken Tammi..."

"And what's wrong with that," she said with a raised eyebrow making Victory laugh. "We are in the prime of our lives honey so you better act like it. If I had ass like that They'd have to pay me to wear pants," she said giving Victory's ass a quick goose before she shoved her towards the more revealing negligees. Between Tammi's picks of cupless body stockings and bondage wear and the playful nightie, Victory found a few things that she might not have picked without Tammi's push.

When she picked up the girls later that night, Mo raved about her hair and begged for some highlights of her own. It was Lee's idea to hide the changes from Jason and Victory agreed, so she made sure to keep it up in a bun whenever they video chatted. Now that she was halfway home, she found herself nervous about his reaction. With both girls asleep, she put in her blue tooth earpiece to give him a call. In the middle of his shift, Victory didn't expect him to answer but she should have known better.

"Everything alright babe," he said midway through the first ring, making her giggle.

"Of course so turn the sirens off," she said with a grin and he sucked his teeth. "We're almost home actually, I just wanted to let you know that the girls will be with our parents this weekend...and I know you miss them but we'll have plenty of time to do family stuff. I figured we could use a little time to ourselves that's all."

"Well I always said you're the brains of this operation," he said with a chuckle and Victory grinned at his compliment. "Mom already told me they were coming sometime Saturday and since I'm working late tonight I figured they'd be at yours tonight."

"Your detective skills are wasted in South Range Blue Jay," she said teasingly and again he sucked his teeth.

"I love you," they said almost at the same time and broke into giggles, but it was Jason who spoke next.

"I can't wait to see you...all of you."

"I know baby...just a couple more hours. What do you want for dinner?"

"You," was all he said and Victory couldn't hold her blush. "Alright my love, I gotta get back to work. Some asshole just blew by me going 80."

"Alrighty Deputy Smith. You be safe out there."

"Always."

Victory grinned the rest of the ride into town and for the first time in a long time there was no anxiety as she drove down those familiar streets. It was just before eight by the time she pulled up to her parents house and woke the girls. Despite how excited she was to get home, she didn't rush them out. Her parents, though had other plans. It had been months since they saw them and it showed in the way they pushed past Victory to get at the girls who'd barely opened their doors. Each got a big hug from her father and a shower from kisses from her mother before they were ushered inside. Victory started to follow but her mother stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you have some place to be young lady," she said sternly and Victory snorted.

"He's working Ma. Can't I spend a little time with my folks."

"We'll here Monday morning," she said with a smirk and Victory rolled her eyes, but it was more reflex than anything. "You get your ass home and have a hot meal ready for him when he gets there."

"Yes Mama."

"Coming to church on Sunday?"

"Might have to," Victory said with a smirk, making her mother laugh.

"Ain't sinnin' if it's for the one you pledge forever to," was her mother's response to that and Victory shook her head. "Yeah well you walked into it," she said with a wink and pulled Victory into her arms. "I love you baby...and I'm proud of you for working things out. This will make your family stronger, you'll see."

"I know. I love you too. I'll be by sometime Monday."

With the girls taken care of Victory headed over to Main St. to pay a visit to Cardoza's liquor. She didn't expect Carmen to be there so close to her due date but she wasn't surprised to see her heavily pregnant best friend barking orders at Danny from behind the counter. They both greeted her with big hugs before she grabbed a thirty rack and hefted it on the counter.

"Feeling nostalgic huh Vic," Danny said with a smirk at her selection. "I don't think I've had one of these in years."

"Not since you stopped that nasty ass dipping," Carmen said with her face all screwed up.

"Yeah, finally tasted how terrible it was," Danny said with a snort.

"Terrible as it might be there's some sentimental value attached to it," Victory said with a grin and Carmen swooned.

"Your first date right," Danny said and both women looked at him, shocked. "Jay took you muddin' right? Said you guys fished too and cooked what you caught on that shitty grill he used to keep in the back of his truck. I only remember 'cause I couldn't believe that you ever went for that kind of thing."

"And I'm sure you said it just like that," Carmen said with a smirk and Danny shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah we all know I was an asshole and Jay gave me a few good licks to set me straight...anyway good to see you Vic," he said with a wink before he disappeared into the backroom.

Once he was gone, Victory turned to Carmen, giving her a serious look, and said, "Now when the hell are you having this baby?"

"I know right?" she said with a giggle. "But honestly I feel good though. She's nothing like the boys. She sleeps when I sleep. No heart burn. No fat feet. Guess she's as comfortable as I am. I didn't go this long with the boys."

"Well I'm here for the next week so hopefully I'll finally get to meet her."

"Me too," Carmen said and took Victory's hand. "You were there for the others and I want you to be there for her too."

"Please girl I would leave in the middle of a show," Victory promised with a grin.

"You hear that Siobhan," Carmen said, pulling Victory's hand to her belly. "Auntie Vic is just as anxious to meet you as I am."

With that Victory said her good byes and rushed home to get dinner started. She went shopping before she picked up the girl and packed all the perishables in a cooler filled with ice for the ride home. She didn't bother to unload anything else, except the small overnight bags she hid in the back of the trunk so the girls wouldn't stumble upon the grownup goodies tucked inside. With the dogs barking and jumping around her Victory erred on the side of caution and made two trips. Once all the food was secure, she got down on the floor to greet her furry babies and it wasn't long before a few barks in the distant sent Cody running out the back door. The others followed suit, except for Peaches of course who moved sluggishly to her bed in the living room once all the excitement died down. Watching her, knot of sadness sprang up in the pit of Victory's stomach. It wouldn't be long, she thought to herself as she went to sit beside her girls first best friend and gave her belly a healthy rub. Her tail still wagged strong though and Victory took that as a good sign.

https://youtu.be/juqws1LIH-I

Victory loaded the beers in the iron bucket and got busy making a quick nicoise salad. Sure it wasn't exactly their first date dinner but all the ingredients were basically the same, minus the cold chilli cheese fries from The Bridge. Plus she figured Jason would appreciate the upgrade, if not, her attire would keep him quiet. Once everything was plated, she cleared some space in the fridge to keep them chilled while she went about setting the atmosphere. Candles were lit, curtains drawn. She even hooked her ipod up to the stereo and played some soft jazz before she jumped in the shower to begin her transformation from working mom to hot wife. Make-up was applied. The curling iron made an appearance to accentuate her natural waves. By the time she was setting out her outfit, Jason was texting that he was on his way and she rushed to get dressed. She didn't go through all this effort to have him come in before she was ready, and she was glad she opted for fishnets instead of tradition thigh highs or, in her haste, she would have surely put a run in them. Victory gave herself a quick once over in the mirror and laughed. She barely recognized herself.

"Not bad Mrs. Smith, not bad at all," she said with a grin as she gave a little twirl in her 5 inch pumps. Victory paused and gave a quick twerk, marveling at how good the shoes made her ass look. "Tammi's right I need to show all this off more often," she said and blew herself a kiss before she headed downstairs to set the table.

Peaches was snoring by the time she made it down so she closed the sliding doors that separated the kitchen from the living room and dimmed the lights. She found herself pacing as she waited, her stomach in knots. It's just Jay, Victory kept telling herself, but it was more than him. It was the house, and being back in her home town. Even though they made amends, part of her still held reservations about the future of their relationship. Late nights on the phone and video chats were great but they were nothing like spending real time together. And when they did actually see each other, the touches they shared were always so intense from distance that Victory worried it wouldn't be the same once they were under the same roof again. That they might fall back into the turbulence of their last year at the farm. Granted it was up to them to ensure it didn't turn into that but Victory was a realist. If it happened once, it could happen again.

"Not if you don't let it," she mumbled cracking open a couple beers. Victory could hear his truck ambling down the gravel driveway, could see the headlights as she made her way into the hallway. She tried a few poses before she settled with something more natural, leaning against the banister with her feet crossed at the ankles and his beer dangling between her manicured fingers. Her stomach fluttered with his booted footsteps up the stairs and her lips spread as she heard the jingle of his keys.

"Vic I'm home," he called out with his back turned then bent to pick up the mail before he closed the door behind him. She almost forgot how hot he looked in his uniform, even after an 12 hour shift, and her body responded immediately. Nipples hardened beneath hot pink fabric and moisture developed between her thighs. "I'll unload your truck in the morning baby, I'm beat," he said, his voice still raised and Victory realized he hadn't noticed her yet.

"Not too beat I hope," she said with a giggle and he jumped a little, shocked that she was standing so close. Then he noticed her outfit and dropped the mail on the table as that cocky grin came to his lips. "I made you dinner," she said, strutting over to him and she couldn't help her blush as Jason devoured her with his eyes. He'd been looking at her like that a lot lately, almost always had, and it still gave her goosebumps.

"Damn Vic...just...damn," he groaned as he dropped his bag by the door and took the beer she held out to him. Jason reached to put his arm around her but Victory grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together and stepped in for a kiss. She didn't want to ruin the great reveal with his hand on her bare ass so she held onto him as she back away, pulling him with her. "I don't know what I did to deserve all this but it must have been damn good," he said half into the bottle and Victory grinned.

"Just being you. A wonderful father to my babies. The man I love," she said with a shrug and he snorted.

"That's it huh?"

"That's it Deputy," she said, turning her back to him, and Jason choked on his sip. "You alright back there Deputy," she asked with a glance over her shoulder as she led him into the kitchen but all Jason could do was nod as he took his seat at the head of the table. She grabbed her own beer and slid into his lap.

"You, my dear, have out done yourself," he said, finally recovered and planted a kiss on the back of her neck. "And I'm not just talking about the fishnets either. All of this. You know how to make a man feel good after a long day...but if you don't get off my lap all this is gonna be ruined when I bend you over this table," he said with a chuckle, gentle pushing her away with a hand on her ass. But once she was standing, Jason grabbed her hand, raised a finger on the other, and whirled it around a bit. The groan that came with that spin had Victory biting her lip. The hard slap to her ass that followed brought a moan and she slid into her chair with a grin.

"I'm glad you're pleased," she said after her first bite and Jason chuckled into his plate.

"I don't even think that's the right word for what I'm feeling right now."

The rest of their meal was spent with mostly small talk. She express her mild anxiety over what might happen to her show with Tammi and Tommy at the helm and he told her about South Range's newest deputy, Bobby Lawrence, the 20-year-old child of classmates. Granted his parents were a year ahead of Jason, and he was conceived after the homecoming dance, it still made them feel old. He'd been paired with Jason for his probationary period, which is why he couldn't get the time off but apparently he wasn't doing bad for his first week on the job.

When the plates were empty, Jason didn't budge and Victory didn't mind. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time as she cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. She made a show of it, strutting around and bending over unnecessarily to blow out candles. Even when she went to the back door to whistle for the dogs, Victory struck a pose with her back arched and arms up high against the door frame. They all came barreling in and Jason sent them to their beds with a snap.

"Ready for bed baby," she asked sweetly, holding out her hand to him but Jason didn't take it.

Instead he shook his head and said, "I want to watch you leave."

"Jay," she said with a giggle.

"Vic," he said with a raised eyebrow and she sucked her teeth, but still she turned around, swaying her hips as she made her way to the stairs.

"I'm gonna lock up and hop in the shower. Don't take any of that off," he shouted after her.

"Yes Big Daddy," was her answer to that and Jason groaned.

"God I love that woman," he mumbled to himself, finally getting up from the table and locking the back door.

"And she loves you back," Victory shouted back and he smiled listening to her heels click on the floor above him.

 

[JawnKarTurr]

Jason knew Victory most of his adult life, and when you get to know someone that intimately you see all their sides. He got to see her as both a jock and as a scholar. She was a mother and a lover, the country girl and the urban professional. Seldom did anyone get to see them all and that made their relationship special. Tonight he would have been happy to come home and find her frolicking around in only panties and a t-shirt, but she was dressed to the nines or whatever that meant when it came to sexy. Even listening to her go up the front stairs sounded hot. First up the house needed to be put in order, but he looked at it as eliminating any possible disturbances.

He made sure all the doors and windows were secured after checking the animals in the barn one last time. Once he came back in he took care of their furry little children making sure they all had a gourmet bone Victory sent back for them. He made sure they all settled down and began turning down all the lights. He also made it clear to Cody he was sleeping with his peers that evening, and then he laughed to himself as he headed upstairs. He was reasoning with his wife’s dog, but then dogs were always willing to listen so why not. He walked passed Victory who was lounging on the bed stretched in between the pillows. He turned back and smiled undressing in the bathroom doorway hanging his gun belt on a hook.

He stopped at his shorts and looked over at Victory and pretended to be incensed when he said, “Victory I told you not to take anything off baby.”

Victory looked down her body quickly to see if there was anything out of place and then looked down at her stocking feet and shook her head before replying, “I never understood why girls in porn kept their damn heels on when they were in bed! I look hot and sexy in them and I can even run in them to get to you baby, but there off and I’m here for fun now. So get cleaned up and use the new stuff I brought you baby.”

Jason breathed out a laugh and nodded before pulling off his shorts and throwing them in her direction. She laughed as she heard the water running and hoped he’d use the gift basket she got for him at the men’s shop. For her husband all a man needed was a razor, bar of soap, and a tooth brush. She’d tried to soften the edges a little bit over the years, but at the end of the day she liked his rugged good looks. She loathed admitting it that one night she used the old body wash he used in the shower put her hair up and slid on one of his oversized t-shirts and pleasured herself thinking about him. She smiled though thinking she still liked thinking about having sex with her husband, and that was a good thing.

In the shower her husband was frantically trying to get as clean as possible as quickly as possible. The new body wash didn’t smell all that bad, actually it smelled like cider, but he could have just spent the day at the lumberyard. He’d wait to use the razor another time, and the bath beads had to be something for both of them to share in the tub. The first time they did that was at Tech where they snuck into the athletic training facility and used one of the rehab tubs. There was barely enough room for two so they snuggled up close and shared beers and love. The funny thing was it never felt monotonous he liked getting to be with Victory as much as he could.

He dried off and walked out into the bedroom in only a towel though it didn’t seem like much point and watched Victory slowly and sensually uncross her legs and slide her stocking feet along the bedspread. He looked at her and wanted to express all the feelings of love and lust he felt towards her, and how even after more than two decades spent together. He wanted to tell her how much it meant to him that she did her hair special and got new lingerie, but he was a man of action. Why tell her when you could show her, so he rushed to the bed losing the towel along the way and climbed on top of her and began kissing her.

They began rolling around and grinding on the bed and he caressed her hair and kissed her lips. He groped her breasts and moved his hands down her body massaging her as he went until he got to her buns and held her close as they dry humped. There were no words just sounds of pleasure and grunting. She kissed him and nibbled on his ear, and ran her nails down his back. This made him smile and he reached around behind her and began to undo the lingerie. It unzipped and he slid it over her shoulder and down her body exposing her lovely mocha flesh. He moved down to unclasp her fishnet stockings, so he could continue to pull off the main piece.

Once it was off he tossed it to the bedpost and it hung there which made Victory giggle and she sat up kissed him. She smiled and caressed his face and said, “you think I’m still pretty baby? You like me in pink?”

“I didn’t know you ever stopped being pretty honey,” he said he caressed her breasts.

With that he slid his cock inside her to the hilt and slowly rhythmically began fucking her as he felt her fishnet clad legs wrap around his body around his lower back. Early on he and Victory would talk about sex and love during that late night chats after they’d had sex and before they slept some only to awaken and share more pleasure. Laying there things were simple for them. Fucking was a primal thing you could do with anyone if you felt attraction, sex was with someone you felt some kind of connection even friendship, love making was a combination of the other two that was only enhanced with love. The funny thing was that no matter which type of sex they enjoyed he always felt the between them.

So they thrusted and grinded moving about in bed from missionary to taking Victory on her side to finally ended up doggy style with Victory screaming as she held on to the headboard tightly. Finally he came inside her with her milking his cock as he hung on tight to her hips. He thrusted a few more times but as he grew soft he slowly withdrew from her, and sprawled out on the bed next to her. Soon Victory quivering slightly moved to her back and rolled on her side putting her head on his chest and there were several long moments of both of them panting.

Victory eventually spoke and said, “I suppose I will have to make you dinner now that you had sex with me.”

“Is that how it works? We have sex and I get a good meal.”

“Yeah I think we might have been doing it wrong all this time.”
“No we’re good baby.”

After falling asleep and then waking to enjoy some more fun the pair made it downstairs to get some food. Victory was dressed in what she called white trash sexy, fishnet stockings, cheap panties, and one of her husband’s t-shirts. Jason opted for sweat pants and a t-shirt saying the dogs might want to go out. They cooked together as they shared a few beers and talked about the past week. The dogs wondered around them begging for food all except for Peaches who seemed content look on from her bed. See that Jason walk over and sit down with her and with a beer in on hand he gently petted her with another.

Victory was still feeling the post orgasm high after making love with her husband twice, but she looked over from the stove concerned. She stopped herself from getting choked up and said, “It seems like just yesterday she was a puppy now she’s the grandmother of the group.”

Jason looked up at his wife and nodded. “I always love that she insisted on sleeping between the cribs. I know woof woof was one of the first things the girls said.”
“Yeah I remember we really didn’t need that baby monitor. If one of them was upset she’d come to our room and make it clear we needed to go to tend to them. The girls will just be devastated when she isn’t around and Cody…”

Jason interrupted her by hugging her from behind and kissing her neck. He then whispered in her ear, “We love her and she’s with us tonight. Let’s be happy for what we shared, and for the fact that she’s still here.”

With that they had a happily late night meal and like the old days they talked laughed and fed the animals from the table. Peaches even came over and quietly slept by Victory’s feet until they decided to head upstairs. After putting out the dogs once more they tucked in Peaches and took care of all the other dogs. When they went back to the bedroom they didn’t stand on formality and without speaking much they got naked and made love again. A lot of kissing and touching until they both felt satisfied. They fell asleep in sweaty sheets feeling good and holding each other, and when the sun came up they embraced the day. Though after a full night once the sun was up they closed the drapes and went back to sleep.

The girls could guess what their parents were up to, but there time with Nana and Papaw was enjoyable as always. After they unpacked in the guest room that was furnished with all the pink towels and sheets with their names on them their nana had since they were little they joined Victory’s father in the garage. He was restoring a classic mustang and showed the girls all the progress he’d made and they helped out tidy up the place. He promised it would be ready for them when they were ready to drive, but made no promises their mother wouldn’t keep it he teased. Their time with nana was typical, but fun in its own way and after ever experience the girls felt for what their mother must have went through growing up.

Nana Cheryl was an odd mix of feminism and traditional that made her complex to say the least. She would tell the girls how good it was to keep a good house, be a good cook, and find a good man. Then in the next breath tell them to have careers, don’t marry the first boy they love, and always have your own money. She told them if they wanted birth control or to talk about sex or anything else they could call her any time, and not to worry about their parents. She was wise and they were still learning to be good parents. She had done it right, and if Victory had listened more it would have been even better. Along with that was her usual pitch about going to nursing school.

As Ramona was putting in the corn biscuits into the oven she asked her nana especially sensitive question. “Did you tell mom not to marry dad? It’s not like she was pregnant or anything.”

Before she could answer Lee stopped chopping vegetables for the salad and said, “Yeah you’re so mean to daddy and stuff. Were you mad she wasn’t going out and getting a job and stuff?”

Cheryl Fuentes shook her head and downed half her cocktail before she replied and said, “I see you to love your daddy so it’s gang up on Nana. Well I love your father I was so happy when your mother came home with that ring on her finger. I trusted her and knew that she’d do everything she wanted to do. Your father was her cheerleader not holding her back.”

She walked over to the liquor cabinet and refreshed her drink and was oblivious to her husband listen nearby when she continued, “I give your father a hard time because I love him. He has a lot of potential and he never needed to stay in this town. He was a good boy and he became a good man. I was so proud of your mother and him when they took those girls in. I would have strangled their mother. Anyway I keep him in line, but I’m very proud of him. I told your mother leaving wasn’t an option.”

Ramona looked a little worried and she knew Lee was already thinking bad thoughts when she asked, “you mean they were really going to get divorce.”

Cheryl put down her drink and walked over and hugged the girls and said, “No they weren’t they were just too stupid to realize they weren’t. Nana knew they’d talk and work it out. When you have love that’s the foundation you build everything on. That will help you get through the bad times and love the good times even more. Girls when you find someone who really loves you it’s just a matter of figuring out how to make it work.”

 

[grdybiwife]

Pamela Smith waited until the sun came up to phone the Fuertes' home but she wasn't surprised when someone answered on the first ring. Like her, Cheryl Fuerte was an early riser but that was about they had in common. That and their granddaughters. Pamela, the ex-pageant queen, was the consummate southern belle with her bouffant blonde hair and impeccable manicure who had spent much of her married life as a homemaker. Despite graduating from Wesleyan and spending her early twenties wrangling second graders, the then Pamela Beaumont always dreamed of becoming a wife and mother. At 25 and still single, she was starting to think it wasn't going to happen for her. By her family's old money standards, she had taken the wrong path, choosing education over courtship, and lost her chance to find a man to take care of her. That's not what she wanted anyway, Pamela wanted love and eventually she found it in a young Vietnam vet. Sure he was rough around the edges but she didn't mind that and within a six months he proposed, much to her family's chagrin. Her father refused to pay for a wedding to someone so beneath their standards, so Pamela and Michael Smith eloped on a balmy morning in June. She was pregnant by September but the baby didn't make it, nor did the next. Her mother told her she was cursed for defying her father but they kept trying and eventually Jason was born. Unwilling to go through the trauma of another possible miscarriage, the Smiths decided that he was enough and Pamela put her life into raising him. And once Michael left the service to run his own auto service shop, she left the classroom to become Suzy Homemaker.

It was her husband who befriended the new couple down the street. He might have been rough around the edges but Michael Smith was as neighborly as they came so when he saw a pregnant Cheryl Fuerte moving boxes a few houses down he didn't hesitate to lend a hand. He even rounded up a few of the other neighbors to lend a hand. Pamela stayed home to look after a toddling Jason but kept pitchers of sweet tea and lemonade coming until the truck was empty. She even invited the new couple over for dinner, excited that they might have new friends.

But the excitement was short lived when she found that Cheryl had more in common with her husband than herself. Pamela couldn't imagine how a woman could be excited to get back to work after bringing a life into the world and she barely asked about their little Jason. And when Manny commented about how good her roast was, Cheryl didn't even bat an eye. Her own husband knew better than to gush about another woman's cooking but clearly this ex-army nurse could have cared less. "She probably doesn't even cook," Pamela told Michael that night.

"I wouldn't love you any less if you didn't Pam," was his snarky reply and she almost sent him to sleep in the den.

Over the years the two women kept their distance, which wasn't all that difficult since they ran in different circles. Most of Cheryl's friends worked at the hospital and all of Pamela's friends were stay-at-home moms like her. The two only crossed paths at community events. When Jason moved out, the Smiths decided to downsize, moving them away from the Fuertes for good. Manny and Michael still enjoyed a contentious friendship given the proximity of the shop to the hardware store, but Cheryl and Pamela had no reason to see each other. That is until their kids started dating, and neither woman was particularly happy about the union.

Cheryl assumed that Jason was some Momma's boy who'd need coddling and Pamela assumed that Cheryl had raised feminist nazi who wouldn't take care of her son. Unfortunately for both women, the two fell very quickly and deeply in love. Before either knew it a wedding was being planned and they had no choice but to deal with each other and after a heated argument over seating arrangements Jason and Victory forced their mothers to settle their differences.

"If you think we're gonna have separate birthday parties and holidays because you two heifers won't get along you got another thing coming. So settle it or consider yourselves forever uninvited," Victory yelled at them and stormed out of her future mother-in-law's house.

"Yeah, what she said," was Jason's only addition before he followed after a furious Victory.

It was then the mothers realized that they'd never actually talked. About anything. Victory gave them a common enemy, temporary as the label might have been, it gave them common ground and eventually they realized they weren't that different after all. They both loved their children fiercely and cherished the bond they shared with their husbands. And even though Cheryl was a working woman, her family always came first and Pamela couldn't look down on her for that. If anything she envied her a little since Cheryl had her cake and ate it too. By the time the wedding rolled around the mothers were enjoying a tentative friendship that only strengthened when Victory announced she was pregnant. Both assured the new parents that there would be no fights over time with the babies. Given the situation with their own families they figured the more the merrier. It helped that Victory and Jason made sure to give both sets of grandparents equal share but there was never a dispute about who got the girls when.

They even stood on the same side during the separation, though neither was completely honest with the other in their blaming of Victory for leaving. They both agreed that the girls needed to be in South Range. But Pamela changed her tune after her visit and gave Cheryl a full report over tea the next morning.

"They ain't even up yet Pam," Cheryl said in greeting and Pam let out a chuckle.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Aside from the caller id, no one else calls this early honey," Cheryl said with a chuckle of her own. "I promise as soon as they're awake and fed, I'll bring them right over."

"Great," she said with a grin. "And tell Manny I'll have his $20 when you get here."

"Mmhmm, we'll see you in a few hours." Cheryl didn't comment on the bet, there was no need to gloat. It was as simple as her husband said, always bet on a sure thing. Even when the odds are staked against you. The nanas plotted on stealing another day with the girls before they said cheerful goodbyes.

It had been a long time coming, Pamela thought, as she went about her morning routine. She wanted to have every chore accomplished before the girls arrived so that there would be no break in the quality time. Michael did his part, setting up the sprinklers in the backyard for the girls to splash around like they used to when they were little.

Across town though, there was no preparations being done as far as the girls were concerned. Victory Smith's only concern was making up for lost time. She waited until Jason was snoring again before she slipped out of bed to shower, in the girls' bathroom as to not disturb her sleeping husband. It had been a long night, longer than they had in a long time and her a host of sore muscles told the story. Her back ached and there was a tenderness between her thighs that she hadn't experienced since after the girls were born but that didn't deter her from her plans of continued reconciliation. Nor dd her sticky thighs. If anything it only reinforced the idea that she was woefully out of practice in the husband pleasing department and Victory planned to make up for that so she showered quickly. She skipped the glam hair and makeup this time, deciding on a fresh faced look and bedhead instead. But still, she put on a little something special beneath the old robe Jason bought her when she was pregnant.

Once dressed, Victory crept down to the kitchen to cook a late breakfast of veggie omelets, home fries, and sausage. She even whipped up a batch of the cranberry scones she'd learned how to make when they first moved in together. But of course Jason came rumbling down the stairs before it was all ready. The smell of food cooking and coffee brewing always brought him out of bed, no matter how tired he might have been.

"Morning hot cakes," he said with a grin as he stepped up behind her. Jason planted a few wet kisses along the back of her neck and breathed in her scent.

"Been a while since I heard that," was her giggling response as she gave him a playful shove. "Don't go far Blue Jay, it's almost ready."

"I'm just unloading the truck and letting them out so we can eat in peace. I already told Tony and the guys at the station that I'm spending the day with the missus so expect my full and undivided attention," he said before stealing another kiss and heading outside.

Victory listened and laughed at Jason complaining about all the bags, but she was quick to remind him how excited he was to have girls. And that they were growing out of being tomboys, even Lee. But Victory was sure that had more to do with hanging out with Hunter than age. She'd overheard them giggling the night before, planning on how Lee could sneak off for some alone time with her "boo", as Mo called him. She kept that to herself though, not wanting ruin the fun her and Jason were having alone. The girls' love lives would come up, she was certain of that but not before she had her fill of him. Which wouldn't be anytime soon with him clunking around in his work boots, sweatpants, and tank top. So when he announced his last trip up the stairs, Victory ditched the robe in the laundry room before she set out the plates.

"So I was thinking we could have a lazy day," she said nonchalantly, bent over to get the scones out of the oven. Her exposed hindquarters strategically placed right in his line of sight as he rounded the corner. "Brian texted not too long ago to see if we wanted to go for drinks later..."

"Do me a favor babe," he said as he came up behind her and ran he fingers down her ass before he gave it a little jiggle that made Victory laugh. "Let's not talk about your ex while you're dressed like that."

"Stop it Jay," she said with a smirk as she slid the piping hot scones onto a cooling rack on the counter before she picked up her phone to show Jay exactly what it said.

"If you two can find you're way off each other tonight," Jason read aloud, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Might be nice to get together for old times sake. Ethan's back on land for a few weeks and Danny's already got permission from the prego...yeah like Carmen would let him come alone."

"Yeah she'll be waddling her ass right up to the bar."

"Never stopped her from hanging out before," Jason said with a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure we can do that. Might be nice to get out for a change."

"It's been ages right."

"Sure you up to it though...I mean Charley ain't making you no cosmos and the wines in a box..."

"You shut your mouth Jason Smith," Victory said, tossing the oven mitts at him which he caught with a wink before he took his seat at the table. "I'll still drink your ass under the table..."

"Yeah cause you always make me drive Victory Smith."

"Not tonight, Brian doesn't drink remember and he's already promised to be sober shuttle."

"Well shit why don't we just do it here," Jason said with a grin as Victory set his plate down in front of him. And this time it was him who pulled her into his lap. After all the excitement of last night, finishing breakfast with her bare ass on his thighs didn't cause much of a stir. "We can set up the Beirut table like old times. Think I still got the cornhole boards in the garage too," he said and Victory looked at him over her shoulder with a raised eye brow a moment before he let out a snort. "Yeah you're right. No clean up at the bar and I'm sure Charley wouldn't mind us setting up a table on the patio like we used to."

"Now that sounds like a much better idea," she said and leaned down for a quick kiss before they both dug into breakfast.

It took them a while with both of them eating one handed and occasionally feeding each other but it was the perfect beginning to a leisure day. And this time Jason cleaned up while Victory watched, all the while chatting about plans for the week. A family camping trip with the Cardozas was tossed around and a serious talk with the Farmers was discussed, but nothing was set in stone. Today was not a day for too much thinking and once the dogs were fed and watered, they relocated to the couch to lounge.

Jason stretched out and Victory lay along his length like they used to before responsibilities took over their lives. With one hand tucked behind his head and the other wrapped securely around Victory's hip, Jason didn't have a choice but let Victory control the remote. Fortunately for him they had mostly the same taste and she quickly found a marathon of survival shows on one of the nature channels. It was nice not to have to watch teeny bopper shows for a change but after such a large breakfast, a spontaneous nap seemed like an even better idea. Before long Victory had shifted to lay on her side and Jay rolled over to face her.

"I miss this," she muttered against his chest, eyes closed, punctuated by a contented sigh. But all Jason could do was grunt his affirmation and plant a kiss on her forehead as he ran his fingers through her hair.

Even in his sleep, being so close to Victory wearing so little had some effects. No panties meant he had not choice but to rest his hand on her bare chocolate flesh, his fingertips drawing light circles every so often. But he never opened his eyes, not even when Victory slipped her hand into his sweatpants to massage the bulge trapped beneath his boxer briefs. He let out a groan as Victory eased down the waistband to release him, all the while planting soft kisses along his jaw. But still he didn't open his eyes, even has his shaft thickened in her grasp. He did shift over onto his back though and Victory sucked her teeth.

"You're so full of shit Jay," she whispered as she sat up on her knees, eyes transfixed on the angry red column of flesh before her. Victory knew what he wanted, it wasn't the first time he'd feigned slumber for a blowjob and, like before, she didn't mind playing along. That didn't mean she would play fair though.

In one fluid motion, she flipped herself around to sit on his chest and leaned forward to take him into her mouth. Slowly she devoured him inch by velvety inch before her lips were pressed against his pelvis. His tip at the back of her throat, she let out a quiet moan that vibrated down his shaft to send a jolt to his balls. That got his eyes open and he gave her ass a quick slap before he spread her cheeks wide to marvel at her moist pink center.

"Can't get enough of my country ass huh," Jason teased as he ran a finger down her slit and Victory lifted her hips so he could find her clit.

"Your hot country ass," she moaned, her soft lips brushing against his lip before she swirled her tongue around his mushroom cap making his toes curl ever so slightly. "Like that huh?"

"Like this view even better," he said quickly and leaned up to plant a kiss on her folds, then ran his tongue her entrance. Jason looped one arm around her hips, pulling Victory back against his face while his other hand worked his pants down around his thighs. And like a good wife, Victory helped push them down to his knees. That was good enough for both of them for the time being and they set about pleasuring each other in ways they didn't get around to the night before.

After so much time apart, all oral action was put on hold until now and Victory had been salivating all morning at the thought of having him in her mouth again. She didn't even care if he reciprocated, she missed taking care of him that much. She wasn't the type of woman who treated blow jobs as a chore, nor was she the type to pretend she didn't enjoy having him down her throat. Pleasing her man was something she took pride in and she would do so by any means necessary. At the beginning of their relationship, Victory took her cues from porn until she worked up the courage to ask the one man she knew who enjoyed pleasing other men for tips. Brian Hanover turned out to be a wealth of knowledge on the subject and happily passed it along to his best friend.

It was one of Brian's moves, the gentle grazing of her teeth along his tip, that had Jason lurching forward, forcing his tongue into her opening. And they moaned together as Victory lapped up the clear fluid brought forth by his excitement.

"Don't hold back baby," she said quietly with a lust glance at him over her shoulder. "I want to taste you Blue Jay."

"Fuck Vic talking to me like that it won't be too much longer."

And it wasn't. Once Victory started using her hands, Jason lost the grip he held on his climax and exploded down her throat. Her name on his lips muffled by his face buried between her thighs. Ten years ago, maybe even five, Jason would have been up again in a heart beat and chomping at the bit to get inside her. With the excursion of the night before, and being a 18 months shy of 40, neither of them had any illusions about his abilities. Victory climbed off him with a grin, ran her fingers along his softening shaft as she lean down to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm gonna go change the sheets and pick out something to wear tonight. You coming?"

"I'll meet you up there soon as I can feel my legs again," he said with a contented grin and Victory left him, feeling accomplished as she headed up the stairs.

Back across town, the Smith twins were finally arriving at their paternal grandparents' house. Nana Pam was busy in the garden while Papaw tinkered under the hood of his pick up truck, but all activity stopped when the '69 Le Mans blue El Camino rumbled to a stop out front. Manny Fuerte threw Micheal Smith a nod as he eased out of the driver's seat followed closely by his granddaughters who made a b-line to their father's mother.

"Little old to be cruising ain't you Manny," Micheal said as he stuck out his hand.

"Wouldn't know. You're older than me last time I checked," was Manny snarky response, as he took the other grandfather's hand to shake. "I see you still keeping that ugly hunk of metal alive."

"She might not be pretty but she gets the job done. Can't say the same about that now can you?"

"Please, Marlow doesn't work..."

"Don't you two start that bickering," Cheryl warned sternly as she passed them to greet the other grandmother.

"Mira we're just talking baby. Right Mick," Manny said with a slap to Micheal's back and Cheryl raised an eyebrow at them both.

"Right. Just two men discussing cars, that's all," Micheal added with a snort and Cheryl kept walking.

She offered Pamela a hug, who tried to discreetly slip her a twenty but Lee caught the exchange as she headed back to the car to get her bag. She didn't say anything, not even to Ramona as she came up behind her to do the same.

"Why don't you girls take your stuff inside, then we can go around back to pick a few things for dinner tonight? There's some peaches back there that are good and ready for cobbler..."

"Not if I don't eat 'em all first," Mo said with a grin.

"Pig," Lee mumbled under her breath and both Nanas shook their heads.

Good byes were quickly exchanged and the Fuertes went on their way kid free. The girls followed Nana Pam's directions and dropped off their bags in their room before meeting her out back to work the small plot Papaw set up for her when they first moved to the house a few years before the girls were born. There were rows of greens and beans, strawberries, tomatoes, and corn. And of course the peach trees that were already there before they settled in. The girls got to work immediately, weeding and pruning without direction and Pamela smiled contentedly as she watched them work together in the gloves and aprons she made for them.

"Nana Pam?"

"Granddaughter Lee," she answered with a grin but Lee didn't giggle like she usually did. "What's the matter baby?"

"Are you happy that Mom and Dad got back together?"

"Well they never really broke up now did they," she asked with a grin but Lee stared at her stone faced. She could feel Ramona's eyes on her from where she kneel a few feet away with a lap full of green beans.

"You know what I mean Nana...it's not like we don't know Mom isn't your favorite person in the world," Lee said, intentionally being more specific and Nana Pam shift her eyes to Ramona who shrugged her shoulders. "We've heard stuff..."

"Not very nice stuff..."

"From both of you," Lee clarified with a look at her sister who nodded her approval. "We just want to know...it's not because...well you know..." The usually outspoken twin trailed off, her eyes on her feet, unable to say the words that had been bouncing around her mind since her father brought his parents to Atlanta.

It took her grandmother a few moments to realize what those words might be, and when she did, tears came to her eyes. "Oh girls," she said getting up to take one of their hands in hers before she sat down in the dirt between them. "Now you listen and you listen good, Nana Pam might not always be as sweet to your mother as she is to you but that has nothing to do with what she looks like or who her parents are," she said with a raised eyebrow. "I just want my son to be happy, and for a while he wasn't..."

"But you're always mean to Mom...even when she's trying to be nice," Ramona said with her eyes narrowed at her grandmother for a moment before she shift them to her sister. "What's that word again Lee? Persuasive..."

"Passive aggressive," Lee said with a raised eyebrow and Nana Pam couldn't help the chuckle that came at that look. Or those words.

"You two are too smart for your own good you know that," she said before she pulled them both in for a kiss to the forehead. "Listen girls, I love you like I love my son...and deep down I love your mother too. She a good woman, takes great care of you girls and makes my son a happy man. When I came to visit you guys in Atlanta, I was expecting you girls to be begging to come back to South Range with us and for your Daddy to miserable in that house but I was wrong. You love it there and that's a beautiful home your mother made for you and your Daddy," she said choking up a little at the end and both girls put their arms around her.

So wrapped up in the moment, none of the Smith women realized Micheal come up until he cleared his throat. He'd heard the whole exchange but kept his distance, curious at how his wife would explain the real reason she was so impolite to his daughter-in-law. He wasn't surprised at how well she danced around the real issue and took it upon himself to shed a little light on the entire situation.

"The truth is simpler than that little ladies," he said with a smirk and his wife turned looked up at him with hard eyes, but all he did was smile. "Your mother is the first girl your father ever really loved. Don't get me wrong, he had other girlfriends but your mother...before you two came along she was his world. All he talked about was her...Victory this and Victory that...sickening," he said, making a face that made his granddaughters laugh. His wife, not so much, but he kept talking. "It's hard on a mother when her son falls in love like that, makes her feel like she's being replaced."

"Is that true Nana," the girls said in unison, wet eyes on their grandmother who scowled at her husband.

"Ain't it Pam," he said with a smirk and she rolled her eyes. "You gonna tell 'em or should I? No woman will ever be good enough for her Jason," he said when she sucked her teeth. "Even if that woman is the best thing that ever happened to him."

The girls swooned at that and even Pam cracked a smile before she said, "Papaw's right and I am happy that your parents worked things out...really I am. Your mother is a wonderful woman. Strong. Ambitious. Hard-working. I couldn't have asked for a better mother for my grandchildren," she said honestly and kissed both girls again.

"So can you do us a favor and act like it," Lee said with a smirk and her grandmother gave her a playful shove. Lee fell over giggling and Ramona very quickly joined in. His work done, Micheal left the ladies and went back to his truck to wait for dinner.

A few hours later Jason Smith waited patiently in the living room, his feet kicked up on the coffee table. A beer in one hand while the other absently stroked Peaches' head in his lap. A car approaching on the driveway caused an uproar with the dogs outside.

"It's Brian tell them to relax," Victory shouted down the stairs, turning his concern into something like annoyance.

And for the life of him Jason couldn't shake the knot that came to his gut whenever Victory's ex-boyfriend was around. It had been years since they'd been together and deep down he knew the feelings Brian had for his wife had long since morphed into the brotherly kind. More importantly, Jason knew his wife loved him and cherished their relationship as much as he did. Victory always told him that what happened between her and Brian was puppy love, something that probably wouldn't have lasted even if he were straight. What she and Jason shared was the real thing and, to his credit, Brian ad been nothing but supportive throughout their relationship. Still though, he had her first and no matter how irrational it was, Jason had always been envious of their near constant connection. Even if it wasn't a threat.

But still, he had to open the door. Jason could hear Victory scrambling around upstairs as he head down the hall to let Brian in and was surprised to find him waiting with Danny Cardoza, Ethan Gable, and a man he'd never met. The guy seemed to be fitting right in, Jason could hear them all laughing it up through the door.

"Well at least it won't just be the three of us," Jason grumbled before he threw open the door. Boisterous greetings were exchanged and Brian introduced the stranger as his "boy from the gym."

"Augusto Maretti, Jason Smith," he said and the man stuck out his hand for Jason to shake.

"Just call me Gus," he said with a grin, in a drawl thicker than any of the other men in the room. "Brian tells me you're the sheriff 'round here."

"Just a deputy," Jason corrected with a snort before he waved the guys in. "Vic ain't ready yet..."

"Course not," came from Danny, Brian, and Ethan, making the new comer laugh a little as the filed into the kitchen. Jason pulled down his bottle of Jack from the fridge and poured them all a shot. Everybody except Brian of course, who got his own bottle of water from the fridge. While they waited, the men filled each other in on life and all were quick to congratulate Jason for getting his family back. A round of beers were distributed before Victory finally made it downstairs in cutoffs and long sleeved flannel shirt over a tank top. Her hair was a cascade of red tinged waves and she blushed at the wolf whistles from the men who weren't her husband. Just showed his approval with a smirking wink. He quickly set her up with a shot and a beer so she could catch up, quietly accepting her challenge from earlier.

https://youtu.be/eIUzq7X020A

With the group complete, and even, they piled into Brian's big SUV and headed over to Main St. It was a classic moment, with Victory crammed into Jason's lap rapping along with Danny and Brian to music that Ethan and Jason only tolerated. By the time Brian pulled into the lot behind Charley's Bar and Grill they were taking turns telling Gus each others embarrassing stories from their high school days. It was just like old times, teasing and bickering but not without laughter and firm slaps to the back. Once inside, she was happy to find a few of their other townie friends in attendance and quickly realized that Brian had organized an impromptu welcome home party for her. And as the drinks started flowing it wasn't long before Victory slipped back into the drawl she practiced out of her diction.

"You mean tell me that heifer couldn't drag herself outta bed for this here party in my honor," Victory said to Danny, well shouted, with her arm thrown up around his shoulders. "I got halfa mind to call 'er up an'give 'er a piece-a my mind..."

"Nah don't do that Vic," he said with a snort, then shift his eyes over to Jason and smirked. "She just tired is all. You know how she gets around this time. Eatin', sleepin' and barking out orders is about all she's up these days..."

"Yeah well it's all your fault anyway," Victory said and gave him a playful shove.

"How's that," was Danny's wounded reply, hand over his heart. "Ain't my fault I can't keep my hands off her and she's terribly fertile..."

"Shit, you look at her right she get knocked up. It's a wonder this only number 5 insteada 10," Victory added with a slurred laugh and threw her arms around a shocked Danny. Jason simply shook his head as Brian came up to them at the bar.

"Hey bro you mind if I borrow your wife," he said to Jay and Victory gave him a pleading look. "I got out song queued up on the jukebox..."

"What song?" Jason and Vic said in unison but the tone was different. Brian only smile and held up a finger.

https://youtu.be/lFyTzjJDeCk

"This song," he said with a grin and Victory squealed, threw up her hands and immediately started singing along. Her hips rocked back and forth as she turned to Jason with a pout.

"Alright, alright just keep your hands where I can see 'em," he said with a smirk before he grab Victory around the waist and planted a kiss on her neck. "I know you're feeling good but be good for me."

"I'm just warming up for you Big Daddy that's all," she whispered back with a wink before she took Brian's hand and headed for the dance floor.

Jason watched for a while as the two mostly just sang along but he couldn't help the pit in his stomach as Brian spun Victory around and she backed her hips up against his. Even if they barely touched, and Victory's eyes seemed to always find his, Jason still felt heat rising in his neck.

Unbeknownst to the Smiths, another set of eyes had been watching them from the time they stepped into the bar. Though she maintained her distance, Heather Conner, had been clocking their activities throughout the night. Every kiss, every grope, was like a shot to her heart. In the years since Victory had been gone, she thought that she had made a good amount of headway with Jason and hoped that she could convince him to leave his wife for good. He was always quick to steer their conversations away from his marital life but Heather was certain it was only a matter of time before he finally came to his senses and chose her. Unfortunately, she couldn't help but hear bits and pieces of Victory's silly radio show. She never listened on her own but she noticed a distinct increase in her mention of Jason and South Range. Heather wasn't a stupid woman, she knew that could only mean one thing. That they were on the mend and Jason had slipped out of her grasp again.

But judging by the way he watched Victory grinding her hips against her supposedly queer ex-boyfriend, Jason might be interested in more respectable company. So Heather took her chance, while he was alone to go chat him up a bit before that wife of his finished her slutty dance.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said casually as she slid into the empty stool beside him but Jason only grunted as he shift his eyes to her briefly before he turned his attention back to Brian and Victory. "Seems like she's enjoying herself."

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've been able to go out like this," he said, the corners of his lips curling a little as Victory caught eyes with him and winked. Another song had started and though she still danced with Brian, her moves were clearly for him as she swayed her hips and twerked a little. "And with the girls by herself most of the times, she hasn't been able to cut loose."

"But shouldn't that include you," Heather said suggestive and turned in her stool so that her knees brush his thigh. She put her elbow up on the bar and rest her hand on her fist, opening up her cleavage for him to see. "I mean you said it yourself...it's been a while right? So shouldn't be you she's shaking her ass for?"

"Oh she is... and she will," he said with a smirk, his eyes on Victory with her hands on her knees, dropping it down like she used to back in the day. Brian was still there but was more of a hypeman than a dance partner at this point and Jason grinned at that. "I can't dance to this anyway so why keep her from it?"

"But still...I mean...I know they dated..."

"Yeah but they're just friends now," Jason said, stopping short of outing Brian. He chuckled to himself, realizing that he was protecting a man he could barely stand. Hearing his own feelings from Heather made him realize just how ridiculous he'd been all these years and he made a quick decision to have a talk with Brian once everybody was sober. With that he set his empty bottle down on the bar and turned his attention to Heather. "It's just dancing Heather..."

"So does that mean you could take me for a spin sometime," she said quickly and Jason burst out laughing. "What's so funny? We're just friends right?"

"Yeah sure we are," Jason said, signalling for another round. "I know what you're up to Heather Conner and if Victory knew she'd ripe those pretty blue eyes out of your head."

"Please, I did two tours and I carry a gun. I'm not worried about Victory," she said with a giggle and flipped her hair out of her face. "So you think I have pretty eyes?" she asked and Jason rolled his eyes, turning back to the dance floor just in time to see Victory approaching with Brian following quickly behind. His eyes bulged a little and he shook his head ever-so-slightly, the universal man sign that shit was about to hit the fan.

"All done dancing babe," Jason said, slipping his arm around Victory, pulling her almost into his lap. Brian took up a position behind her just in case. "I got you another round if you're ready..."

"Oh I'm ready," she said with hard eyes on Heather who only smirked as she moved to stand.

"Well Jay it was nice talking to you," she said with a hand on his shoulder and Victory lunged forward but Jason held her tight.

"See you around Heather..."

"See you around...see her around," she said with a raised eyebrow, arms folded across her chest. "The fuck is that supposed to mean Jason..."

"Chill Vic..."

"Shut up Brian this is between me and my husband..."

"Victory," Jason said and slipped his hand up to cradle his face. "That woman's been chasing me for years but I been chasing you so do like Brian said and chill. We having a good time right," he said and moved her head so she would nod, making her giggle in the process.

"She just thirsty Vic that's all. I'm a sucker for a man in uniform myself. Gus is a EMT over in Albany," he said with a smirking nod at the man playing darts with Ethan. Jason slipped his arm around Victory's shoulder and held out his fist for Brian to bump discreetly, thanking him for diverting her attention from Heather. "Looks damn good in his dress blues," he added with a smirk at Jason.

"He seems like a nice guy," Jason said with a shrug and Victory grinned. "Worth settling down with."

"Must be if he dragged him out with us."

"Maybe, we'll see."

 

[JawnKarTurr]

This was just one of the reasons Jason had wished they’d stayed back at the house and gotten Danny to fill their order for drinks and just barbecued. While he would never admit it part of him felt flattered that Heather had a crush on him, and would want to be in a relationship with him. The thing was he wasn’t just comfortable with Victory, but remained in loved with Victory during the good and bad times. Hell even if things fell apart and they were actually divorced he’d have been hard pressed to do anything relationship wise. Well he had to be honest with himself and think he’d manage to bone Heather, but he was a guy and having sex was like having a cup of coffee sometimes. You didn’t care where it came from even if you might regret it later. So she had to show up and process her feelings in front of Victory and complicate his life.

So when he had a moment he got away from the gay drama in his group and went behind the bar on the lit but empty patio which was embraced by smokers. He had Victory close and caressed her hair and face as she checked herself. She looked up at him and asked, “Who the hell does she think she is? You’re my husband and I don’t care about what happened before me, but I’ll be damned if I…”

He kissed her hard on the lips and then leaned in and whispered “you’re my wife and I don’t want to change that. She had her chance and I’m not giving her another. Not because I’m married, not because I won’t get caught, but because I love you and I know it would hurt you.”
Victory rested her head on her husband’s shoulder and whispered softly, “I love you too, and it’s so sweet you thought I wouldn’t catch you.”

With that she playful hit him and after another kiss they went inside again and he and Victory linked up with a more pleasant female. Shawn Jordan was another lifelong resident of South Range who was an interesting mix of traditional and modern. She was a school teacher who believed in America and apple pie, but flew a rainbow flag just because and enjoyed sushi. Went hunting but shopped at the organic market and when she was only an assistant coach she demanded that the girls play lacrosse just like the boys. She did this while having her hair styled and full makeup though so nobody knew how to nail her down. She was probably the only Girl Scout troop leader who listened to thrash metal and of course she was a childhood friend of Victory’s. When everyone else thought her name was odd Shawn said it was cool.

She warmly embraced the pair and told them how much she missed the girls at school, and sports and the scouts weren’t the same without the terror twins. Fortunately it had been Shawn who caught the girls trying to climb up the side of the school one weekend using rock climbing equipment. She helped them rappel down the side safely though, but being Shawn she took them home and told their parents everything to their girl’s collective horror. She kept the girl’s grappling hook, and the pair could only be mad for so long. She was one of the “cool” teachers after all.

This weekend she was clearly out of teacher mode though she kept her regular dark framed glasses her nose ring was in, half her hair dyed blue, and her full tattoo sleeves exposed. At school she taught in very conservative attire, and coaching she had a variety of team ware to cover herself. She wasn’t ashamed of her ink, but she didn’t want it distracting the kids from their education. She was a free spirit and a lot of fun so they invited her to join them and greetings and hugs were exchanged. After talking and drinking she and Victory headed to the ladies room.
After taking care of business they both washed up and Victory commented on her lovely purple nail polish she giggled and replied, “You can’t do all this and just keep your nails plain red can you?”

Both women laughed and Shawn gave her favorite class mom a hug and said, “I’m so glad you guys are trying to make it work. I see so many kids messed up with divorces and bad relationships. Kelly Burners was crying Friday after school when I talked to her she said she didn’t know where to go. Her dad was locked up for domestic violence and her mom told her before school she was going to rehab and to take care of herself.”
“Oh the poor thing. I remember her she was always so happy. I guess things haven’t been good lately.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Found her a place to stay and let the authorities know. Sometimes I can’t take the job.”

“Yeah but you make a difference in that classroom. The girls keep comparing their teachers to you, but while they’re some good ones your unique.”

Shawn laughed hard before opening the door and walking out but as she exited she replied back, “That’s better than the school board. They think I’m some weirdo they gave tenure too.”

Victory teased as she followed her out and said, “And you thought they didn’t know who you were.”

While the girls were chatting Jason finally went over to Brian and talked to him about the possibility of a new job, but only after making him swear he wouldn’t tell a soul about it. He knew the man had his own training area setup which went well beyond the weights and basketball court people could see from the road. Brian was a certified trainer in addition to his other work, so he didn’t see any problem just being another client. Victory from day one always said she was attracted to him because he was a good person even though she felt something was a little different about him. They all found out about that eventually, and Jason took comfort in the fact that the man had to be gay if he didn’t want to keep having sex with Victory.

Brian checked again to make sure the girls weren’t walking out of the bathroom and then turned back to Jason and said, “So you want me to train you to pass the Atlanta fire department test. I can do that and it wouldn’t the first time either. I know one of their instructors, so I’ll put in a call. Anyway with the girls not around for a bit longer we can work without much problem, but buddy you need to live in the gym. You’re not a kid anymore.”

Jason him gave him a look that reminded him why rednecks could still scare him so he took a moment and rephrased. “You’re going to be competing against guys twenty years younger than you man. You don’t need to just pass you need to dominate the competition. Any help you get will want to point to the fact that you’re an asset in more ways than one.”
“I understand and well it will take a lot of work, but the important thing is don’t tell the girls anything. When I have the job, and know I want it than I talk to Victory. Are we clear on that?”

“Crystal I’ll setup a training schedule, and charge you the exgirlfriend rate.”

“I’m not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.”

As they started to laugh the girls came out and pleasantries were exchanged. For Victory South Range always seemed a little behind the times, but it wasn’t stuck in the 1950’s either. Soon the music changed and everyone was out on the floor including Jason to Victory’s surprises. She smiled at him as they danced next to each other and blew him a kiss and mouthed the words Thank You to him. While she loved the city there was nothing like time with old friends in familiar space. The question was what were the two men in her life plotting.
https://youtu.be/fE_64SdD27w

 

[grdybiwife]

By the time last call rolled around, Victory Smith was stumble drunk and bordering on belligerent. Being among so many friends it was easy for her to suppress the tiny pockets of rage that bubbled up at the slightest inconvenience, like the line to get into the ladies' room. Brian was there with the quickness, guarding the door to the men's room like he had so many time before while Jason settled the tab.

"You settling up for me too cowboy," Heather Conner said, sidling up behind him while he waited for Charley to return his card, but Jason did well to keep his mouth shut this time. He knew his wife, and with the state she was in, there was no telling how she might react to Jason chatting it up with Heather again. "What's the matter Smith? Vic got your tongue," she teased and Jason rolled his eyes. "Or is it your balls?"

"Whether she does or doesn't shouldn't concern you in the least Conner," he mumbled as Charley slid his card across the bar. Jason made a quick scribble and stepped away from Heather with a grin. "As much as any man loves attention from someone other than his wife, this whole thing has to be getting old, ain't it? I mean, even when I had you I didn't want you...not like you want me anyway. Married or not, I love Victory...love her. She might be a handful but that's what makes her special, keeps me interested. We had some fun together, I'll give you that, but it was never a forever thing..."

"And she is," Heather said venomously, arms folded across her chest but all Jason did was smile, even as she continued. "The woman who took your babies and ran away to the city. That don't seem like forever to me."

"Like I said she's a handful and keeps me interested. She might have left South Range, but she never left me," he said with a shrug. "You never had a chance Heather, not then and definitely not now, so get over it. There's somebody out there for you...just ain't me."

"You heard the man," Danny said, having come up behind Jason on the tail end of his speech and slapped his best friend on the back. "Now kick rocks before Vic comes back and knocks you into next week."

"Fuck you Danny," she said with a sneer making Danny laugh. "Don't you have babies to make."

"Not anymore, Carmen's shutting it down after this one."

"Finally came to her senses then..."

"Unlike some women I know," was Danny's quick comeback and Heather spun on her heels.

And just in the nick of time, Brian was on his way back to the bar with Victory on his back but as soon as they came to Jason, he dumped his inebriated friend in her husband's lap.

https://youtu.be/xGytDsqkQY8

"What's the matter Vic? Legs don't work," Danny said with a chuckle and Victory gave him a wild shove before she threw her arms around her Jason and gave him a big wet kiss.

"Ain't my legs, damn floor keeps movin' around..."

"Sure, it's the floor's fault," Jason said with a smirk as he stood and hoisted Vic up onto his shoulder caveman style. She squirmed and squealed a moment before Jason gave her ass a squeeze to settle her down.

Ethan and Gus were already outside having a smoke when the other three filed out of the bar and Victory begged Jason to let her down for a few drags. Reluctantly, he let her down to lean on Ethan while she smoked one of his cigarettes. It was just like old time, just because the bar was closing didn't mean people rushed out of the parking lot. Dates were being made, sober rides arranged. The boys continued to tease Victory about her loud slur and tilted gait but she didn't care. Tucked under Jason's arm, only Carmen's presence could have made the night better but Victory promised Danny she wouldn't give his wife a hard time about missing the night out.

As they were clearing out, she caught sight of Heather Conner standing not too far away from Brian's truck. If she were sober, Victory probably wouldn't have given her a second look, would have ignored the exaggerated laugh meant to draw Jason's attention. She might have ignored the wannabe homewrecker's gaggle of friends wishing them a good night, but of course a belly full of booze washed away her rational mind.

"I fucking hate that bitch," she said, louder than she meant but of course she didn't care and Jason quickly shoved her into the back seat.

"We know baby, we know," he said, shaking his head as he pulled her into his lap and planted a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Ain't stop you from smiling in her face all night..."

"All night, really Vic," he said laughing but Victory was not amused. "I remember spending a good amount of time with you on the dance floor..."

"Whatever Jay I know what I saw..."

"Be honest Vic," Brian said, turning the music down and glancing at her in the rear view mirror. "You can't see much of anything right now. How many fingers?"

There were three but Victory didn't trust her double vision so she didn't say anything and spent the rest of the ride home stewing in her husband's lap. Deep down she knew the dumb blonde wasn't a threat but that didn't stop her drunk mind convincing her she was an issue. While the boys yucked it up, Victory plotted about a million ways to maim and murder the bitchy cop.

And Jason knew it. He could feel the rage wafting off his wife and did his best to squelch it with soft touches and stolen kisses. The last he thing he wanted to do was spend their last night alone arguing about some woman who didn't even want.

But argue they did. As soon as Jason shut the front door behind him, Victory laid into him with a barrage of filthy that might have made a lesser man's ears bleed. He paid her little mind as she followed him around as called in the dogs and locked up the house. Even as he helped Peaches into her bed, she didn't stop and all he did was shake his head.

"You want to fuck her don't you," she screamed so loud her voice cracked. With his back turned, half in the fridge, she couldn't see how he grit his teeth. "Is that it? Dangling that dick in her face just in case this doesn't work out..."

"Enough Victory! That's enough..."

"Just say it Jay you want to fuck her!"

"I did fuck her..."

"I knew it, you piece of shit..."

"Calm down it was before me and you...and it wasn't even good. Why do you think I was so quick to jump in your pants..."

"Fuck you Jay," was Victory's usual comeback but there was a hint of a smile when she said his name and Jason latched onto it. Onto her, his hands went immediately to her ass as he pulled her close.

"Right here or did you want to head upstairs," he asked with that cocky grin and Victory tried to push him away.

"That wasn't an invitation Jason."

"Sure it was...always is," he said and hoisted her onto his shoulder before she could get away. Ignoring her demands to be put down, Jason carried her upstairs caveman style and tossed her down on the bed. "Now Mrs. Smith, you listen and listen good," he said, kneeling down before her, his hands on either side of her face. "I'm gonna tell you just like I told her. I love you. Your short temper. Your filthy mouth. The crazy way that big brain of yours work. I love all of you and wouldn't trade any of it for a night with some lousy pussy I already had or I lifetime with someone who'd just say yes to me all the time. I could have had her Vic but I didn't want her. I wanted you, always have and I always will, even when you're being an absolute asshole...I still want you," he said, taking her hand at the last to push into the front of his jeans. Victory bit her lip as her fingers wrapped around his erection as her other hand went to undo his fly.

"She really had lousy pussy," she said with a grin as she freed his cock and Jason let out a snort.

"All that I said and that's what sticks."

"Well I knew all that other stuff already," she said still grinning as she stood up to undress and Jason sat back on his heels to watch. Victory took her time revealing the new bra and panty set. "I'm a journalist Jay, gotta question new information," she said as she crawled up onto the bed.

"That ain't all you are," he said with a groan as Victory rolled onto her back and spread her legs, presenting herself to him.

 

[JawnKarTurr]

https://youtu.be/PPmyYs92GDs

Finally she was done with the verbal abuse Jason thought as he looked at her body clad in barely there lingerie. Victory could trash talk like nobody’s business and more than once she said, ‘I hate you because I love you so much baby.’ After the last year of fighting and bitching to each other about everything they were finally getting back into the grove that they could fight and love and fuck again and that’s just what he did. He just got naked and got on top of her and pushed his cock into her wet and wanton pussy. While you should savor love making with your spouse there are those primal moments when you just need to go for it, and with her willing he wasn’t going to miss a chance.

He was inside her right away and didn’t bother with the panties; after all they were easy access for a reason so he slid past the soft material. Reaching around her lovely torso he ripped off her bra after getting the clasp barely open and pulled it from her lovely brown flesh. He moved up and yanked her hair back and kissed her as they got into a rhythm. Victory registered her approval by moaning into his mouth, but being honest with himself he really didn’t care. On hand on her mane and the other went to her hip and he began thrusting like a jackhammer.

Victory cried out with pleasure so loud she covered her mouth and blushed to which he replied, “scream we don’t have any kids tonight and the dogs will go back to sleep!”

“Don’t stop honey,” she whispered as she dug her manicured nails into his shoulders and wrapped her freshly shaven legs around his lower body crossing her ankles. They’d barely slowed down but were encouraged by making love like they used too. It took them to nights after bar hopping at Victory’s college or when they had a few extra bucks to spend at South Range Bar and Grill. They’d had plenty of fun drinking on the roof of their old apartment building and fell into bed together. Even after the rigors of the police academy when a loving massage turned into something more even when Victory had said they didn’t need to do it and she understood. That was being in love with someone. Having sex when you were too exhausted to want just because of the feelings you had for the person.

https://youtu.be/RriQt0ebFaw

The cries and moans and begging him to stop let him know before long that her orgasm was approaching even if he couldn’t feel her body against him. Victory could be loud and so many times when they had to be conscious of others she’d done everything from scream into a pillow to bite into his shoulder. Soon her makeup was running from tears of pleasure as she sweat out some of the booze all over him and she cried out hard as her body ungulate against him on their bed. He didn’t last much longer and he came inside Victory hard, but along with that was the flowing orgasm. Like most guys he could cum from sex with any partner, but with Victory his body still shook with pleasure. As he let go he pushed her down and laid out on the bed for a long moment.

Victory was in bliss she was feeling good, just had sex with her husband, but her head was spinning and soon she was squirming under him and pawing at his back. Embarrassed she whimpered, “Baby I need to get up move.”

“We can go to bed in a minute you want to take a shower or something?”
“No please baby get up it was great but…”

Jason realized where this could be going and while it wasn’t romantic he rolled off of his wife and she jumped to her feet. He did lay there and watch her athletic butt rocket off, but as she dashed into the bathroom. Soon he could hear the toilet seat slamming against the tank and the less than pleasant but familiar sounds of Victory throwing up all the booze and appetizers.

Well this wasn’t a romance novel Jason thought as he got up it was reality. The bed was sweaty, Victory had got hot and dizzy, and their night would be perfect despite a few minor flaws. He yelled out to her from the bedroom, “If it was that bad you could have just said so honey.”

There was no witty reply so he knew what he had to do and walked into the bathroom. A little while later after some mouth wash, some cleaning, and a relaxing shower they were in the guest room. The air conditioning was on high making the room perfect for cuddling and that’s what they did under a quilt. Victory had her hair up in a towel and a short terrycloth robe on as she rested her head on her husband’s bare chest as they lay in the bed. They’d been a two bed couple for a while and it didn’t mean they didn’t sleep together.

When they did have fun at a motel they would make love in bed, and sleep in the other. After all the other bed would be covered with sweat, massage oil and things like lube and whip cream. So they’d have fun and shower and go to bed, but it wasn’t a hard rule and often times in the early morning hours they’d have sex again. When they first moved to the farm they had so much playing in all the rooms that the bed pretty much was just for sleeping. When Victory was heavily pregnant with the twins they had to make space for fun away from the bed that was surrounded by pillows and other sleep aids. Having the girls meant finding a place far enough away from the girls to not wake the little angels who they found could cry for hours.

The night passed peacefully with Victory and Jason sleeping tangled in each other’s arms. So it was an unpleasant shock when she woke up to an empty bed. She jumped to her feet and immediately regretted it as the room spinned around her and she had to lean against the bed. She hadn’t been this screwed up in a while, and she was out of shape for it. She wanted to die, the sun hurt, and her head felt like it had a Vanderbilt university cheerleader living in it. Even putting on flip flops seemed like too much of a balancing act, but what her flip flops doing in here? She glanced at them and then the night stand which had bottle of cherry pedialyte sitting a bucket of ice. It was the old standby for hungover college students and rock stars to get you back in the game after a night of drinking. As she sloppily chugged it down she silently thanked her husband. She managed to get her flip flops on and finished the bottle and headed out into the hallway to escape the sun. Jason had music going in the kitchen so rather than clean-up she headed down. After all he’d seen her worse off in the morning, and if a man couldn’t put up with his wife with no makeup or fresh breath he was just a coward.

Jason was cooking when Victory made her appearance looking rough while he’d woken earlier and despite her sleepy protests got up and let out the dogs. He’d taken care of the bedroom, made sure Victory was comfortable, and started breakfast. She walked passed him kissing his cheek and smiled thinking Jason was a lot of things, but he was a man who took care of business. He’d walk out every day trying to make a world a better place, and her only real gripe was she wanted him at home more to share life. The look back from him across the counter as she sat down told her though he still loved her being his companion on the journey.

What he said was less metaphysical though when he said, “We got fifteen minutes to make church you better hurry. Put on a dress and please run a comb through your hair.”

Victory responded by flipping him the bird and letting her head go down to the cool granite counter tops. They’d been installed by a friend in exchange for two ATV’s they’d gotten from someone else who was clearing out a relative’s house who needed help on a Saturday. Face down she did murmur, “What’s for breakfast honey and have I mentioned despite being an educated well off biracial couple I still think we’re rednecks.”

“True but we’re not well of we work for a live last time I checked and I made you a protein bomb. Don’t worry I’ll have one two and we can have salads for lunch, but right now you need some grease and meat in you and I don’t think you’re in the mood for sex again.”

“Sorry about last night honey.”

“Why be sorry. I got to have sex with you and then hold your hair as you puked in the toilet until you asked me if there were cherubs flying around the room. I showered you and I hope I did okay with your hair.”

“I love you and thanks honey. It’s nice to know that after all this time I can be mean to you, puke everywhere, and pass out you still care. Now can I eat something?”

Jason placing the large glass of water on the counter wasn’t all that loud, but when you were lying on the counter top and the air hurt it was like a thunderclap. He smiled as he put the dish in front of Victory as she sat up and looked at his signature sandwich which was proudly served at his favorite corner store in town. It was the ultimate post-hangover monster sandwich with two eggs, a generous amount of bacon, several sausage patties, four slices of cheese, and served between a pair of warm frozen waffles. If that wasn’t different enough it came with steak fries covered in hollandaise sauce. Victory nodded and began eating it trying not to think of all the things a responsible adult should think about when eating something that was the picture of unhealthy.

“MMMM….can‘t remember the last time we had these baby. I take it we didn’t have any cheese whiz?”

“No but we had fresh cold cuts so I figured that would work. We can do grilled chicken and salad later, but it’s already pretty late. Maybe a snack before going over my parent’s later? You know my mom is going to do a ton of food right especially with the girls to help.”

“Yeah I’m sure she’s already done breakfast and a family walk before church and I’m sure they’ll do ice cream after with the girls.”

“What can I say they enjoy routine, and I talked to them after they got out of church. You know my mom didn’t just invite your parents over but she said your mom could do desert and appetizers for the meal.”

Victory was eating and drinking at the time and she almost choked. Of course Jason started laughing but when she finally cleared her throat she said, “I could have died there dumbass. In twenty years those two have kept a rivalry going for who is the best cook.”

“I know and I think it’s still going on but they’re compromising a little.”
“Maybe it will work for everyone.”

 

[grdybiwife]

They never made it to church. After the sandwich, half a gallon of water, a pot of coffee, and about a handful of aspirin Victory was still in no shape to get dressed. Or run a comb through her hair, as her loving husband suggested. Jason seemed more interested in doting on her than getting suited up to sit in a pew at All Faiths Community Ministry. When Victory grumbled something about a quick nap before she sprawled out on the sofa, Jason was quick to cover her with the throw quilt his mother made them as a housewarming gift. He even squeezed in on the edge of the couch, allowing Victory to rest her head in his lap while he slowly stroked her hair. Church wasn't going anywhere and now that they had made amends there would be plenty of opportunity for them to enjoy family worship together.

Cheryl Fuerte was not at all surprised that her daughter hadn't made it before the ushers shut the big wooden doors to the chapel. As far as she was concerned, mending their family was just as good as hearing the good word on a Sunday morning. Being married to a self-proclaimed atheist, her views on religion in general were lax to say the least. "Do unto others" was the only tenet that need be followed to be a good Christian, or a good person for that matter. That's how she ended up falling for Manny Fuerte in the first place. He was a good man, generous and kind, whether or not he believed was an afterthought. He never ridiculed her for her faith and she never looked down on him for having none. They may have been married at city hall but when it came time for Victory to be baptized Manny had no objections because he loved his wife. And even though he only attended on special occasions, he still got dressed every Sunday morning to drive his wife to church and waited for her outside so they could go to brunch.

Sitting in the pew in front her was Pamela Smith looking very much like she expected her son and daughter-in-law to be in attendance, despite the fact that her husband and grand-daughters spent much of the morning trying to convince her otherwise. She still held out hope though, occasionally glancing back at the doors only to catch glimpses of Cheryl shaking her head. They hadn't been regular churchgoers before but she had hoped that the family coming back together that accommodations would be made. Mike tried to soothe her hurt feelings insinuating that Victory and Jason might be making her another grandchild but even that didn't help. She wanted them there even as Pastor Kevin brought the sermon to a close, Pamela hoped to see Victory and Jason sitting in the back pew. As the congregation filed out of the sanctuary and gathered on the manicured lawn out front, she scanned the parking lot for Jason's pickup but of course it was nowhere in sight. Even the girls had disappeared to chat with their friends.

Well, Ramona chatted with friends while her sister dipped off behind the church with Hunter Farmer. Though surreptitious, the meeting was nothing but innocent. Eyes barely met, cheeks rosy with embarrassment. They barely spoke, content to simply stand close together for a few moments before they were forced to part ways again.

"I really missed you, you know," Hunter said, his green eyes cast down, embarrassed by his cracking voice. Lee covered her mouth to hide her giggle but it was too late, and despite his usual defensiveness, Hunter laughed too. "Terrible ain't it," he said brushing his shaggy chestnut brown hair out of his eyes, a playful grin on his face.

"It ain't so bad," Lee said and covered the compliment with a quick shot to his arm. "And I missed you too."

"You guys aren't coming back are you?"

"Maybe for the summer but my mom likes her new job...and we like our new school..."

"Yeah I saw all those pictures on Facebook...sucks you gotta wear uniforms."

"It's not so..." Before she could finish her sentence, Hunter's lips were on hers. Her first kiss and she had no idea what to do, nor did he for that matter. As abruptly as the moment began, it was over.

"Maybe we could go fishing before you go back. Dad lets me take the ATV up to the creek if I do my chores on time," he said all in a rush. "I should probably get back. I'll see you around."

Like that he was gone, and Lee couldn't stop grinning, frozen against the side of the church like a deer in headlights. She knew she should probably go find her sister but her legs felt like jello and her heart beat a mile a minute. Her first kiss, and she couldn't wait to tell Ramona. Unfortunately it would have to wait until later. They still had family dinner and the last thing she wanted was a repeat of the night Mo asked about dating. On a cloud, she made her way back to her sister and the rest of their South Range squad plotting out their next few days before names were called and families departed.

Sandwiched in the backseat of Papaw Mike's crew cab, Lee tried her best to remain tight lipped about Hunter but of course her sister knew something was up. They might not have been identical but they still had what they called "twinstincts". Lee never smiled so much and when Ramona suggested a Twilight marathon, she simply nodded her head with a far off look in her eye. No snarky comment, not even a heavy sigh. Not the response Ramona was expecting but it was just a test anyway. When they pulled into the driveway the their grandparents Ramona asked what was up but all she got was a blushing giggle as Lee piled out of their Papaw's truck. Just as she was about to press further, Nana Cheryl and Buelo were pulling up, cutting off any attempts for further interrogation.

Once inside the girls hightailed it up to their room to shed their Sunday dresses for cutoffs and t-shirts before they were put to work for dinner. They giggled quietly as at their grandmothers playful arguments over who made what better and their grandfathers yelling at the television.

"It's a wonder we even made it into the world," Lee whispered to her sister as the two shucked corn.

"I heard that Lee," both Nanas said in unison and all four of them burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, their mother had finally recovered from her night of overindulgence enough to drag herself to the shower. Her eyes were still blood shot with dark circles beneath but nothing a little concealer and fancy eyeliner wouldn't hide. With her hair washed and blown straight, she looked nothing like the mess she was this morning and smiled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. In just her towel, Victory headed back to the bedroom to find something presentable to wear. She knew her mother-in-law would be less than enthused that they had missed church so Victory thought it best to dress to impress. No matter how much it annoyed her that she still felt the need to impress a woman who she was certain would never like her, but today wasn't the day for that. It was about reuniting their broken family so she put on a brave face and pulled on the flowing maxi dress she had designated for church and wedge sandals. Looking at herself in the mirror, the whole outfit seemed a bit much for Sunday dinner but Jason's whistle as she came down the stairs made it worth it.

"Breathtaking as usual Mrs. Smith," he said, holding out his hand and she couldn't hold her grin as she took it. "Makes me feel kinda under dressed though," he said of his t-shirt and jeans but Victory shook her head.

"You're always under dressed Blue Jay but I wouldn't have you any other way," she said sincerely and pulled him to her for a quick kiss. "Thanks for taking care of me baby."

"Thanks for letting me," was his quick reply as they headed outside, hand in hand. Even when he locked the door, Jason didn't let her go, not until he opened the passenger door on her truck to let her inside. Victory was surprised at his choice in vehicle but she kept it to herself, not wanting to rock the boat.

https://youtu.be/JAfuUZRou7g

Still, Victory controlled the radio but Jason didn't seem to mind. Especially when she leaned back in her seat and stuck her feet out the window. It was just like old times. One hand on the wheel, he brought her hand up to kiss her knuckles before he laced their fingers together and she leaned to put her head on his shoulder as she sand off key. He even took the long way, he was feeling so good, down the old dirt roads that weren't on any maps made after 90s. It was the perfect end to an almost perfect weekend, he only hoped that dinner went as well.

"You think our moms are at each other's throats yet," Victory asked with a chuckle as Jason made his way back to the main road and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Wouldn't seem right if they weren't."

 

[JawnKarTurr]

As usual with in the kitchen Pamela Smith had plenty to do, because long before farm to table became the in thing she’d always believed the best food was made from scratch. When she first met Victory that was among the questions she asked, and was glad to know that her son wouldn’t have to go home to get a real meal. Victory’s thing was to make a variety of dishes and put them in the freezer so her or Jason could enjoy good food whenever. When the girls came she was cooking all the time, and while she was happy that her daughter-in-law became a skilled domestic diva she knew she wanted more than just being a farm wife.

In retrospect she might have encouraged her a little more to fill in part time at the station and maybe even teach communications at the community college. She didn’t have a problem with how she’d lived her life, and saw there was no reason she shouldn’t like it either, but Victory was a very different type of woman. She’d hoped there was more healing with their marriage, and while she’d had ups and downs in her marriage it never got to the point of someone packing a bag and leaving. Looking over at Cheryl Fuerte who was making the salad she knew everything couldn’t be perfect with those two. She ordered him around and she knew there had to be times when he didn’t see it her way.

With the game on loud and the girls outside checking the turkey fryer and she suspecting texting she said to Cheryl without looking up from her prepping, “You know when the kids were fighting we should have talked. I mean we don’t talk and we wouldn’t have been friends if they weren’t married but we’re the experienced ones. Oh I do love your daughter very much and not just because she gave me grandchildren.”

Cheryl nodded but didn’t stop chopping and replied softly, “That would have been a shame if we weren’t friends. All those lovely Christmases and birthdays, and we do like coming over here. Your son is loved too don’t every think we didn’t. He was so kind to Victory I never thought she’d stop running around to be a mom and be married. We supported her because it’s what she wanted, but couldn’t tell her to deal with something she didn’t like. I’m glad their working it out, and well maybe we could you know have dinner together more often. Doesn’t have to be a holiday you know.”

Pamela nodded and went and refilled their water glasses and went back to work. For them there was no need for two strong women to have an emotional outpouring. They could share a lot with very few words and the love was there. Eventually everything was prepared and dishes were cooking in the ovens or sitting in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later. They eventually joined their husbands in the den watching the game on the big screen TV. The girls eventually joined them and while they kept texting it was good to have the family together for a little while.
While the plasma screen was mounted above the traditional stone fireplace on one of the bookshelves Pamela had setup a digital picture frame.

Ramona noticed it first and during a commercial break hopped up to take look at it. She was always proud that neither of her nanas ever stopped learning about technology. They struggled with computers, fought with cellphones, but never were going to be left out of the loop. This example though was a mix of the passed with the present and she giggled as she saw the pictures come up. Lee who was still texting put down her phone and hopped up and walked over. Soon they were both giggling and teasing each other as early childhood pictures flashed on the screen.

Ramona turned to Pamela and smiled and asked, “Nana when did you do this? It’s so cute I mean our baby pictures,” and as she did he favorite came up of her and her sister in diapers playing with Peaches as her father and his father remodeled the kitchen the next room over.

Lee spoke up and said, “Mom talks about this day. Told dad to watch us and she found out he did. He changed the oil on the truck while we slept on our blanket, and then he came here to work for a few hours.”

“Yes and you two were good sports. Your father was crude but he took good care of you, but Peaches watched you two the whole time. Only time I saw her get mean was when some raccoon came by the backdoor where you two were at. She got mad and chased that thing away.”

There were more smiles and with each photo there were more stories. There were even a few Victory’s parents were part of and happy to recount. Soon the game went into the background and the only thing to interrupt the peaceful talking was the need to tend to the food. By then though the truck was pulling up outside and the girls went out to greet their parents. Pamela smiled and thought despite cultural differences, generation gaps, and host of other reasons they were still managing to have a good old fashion Sunday dinner. Well the more things changed the more they stayed the same.

 

[grdybiwife]

"So what are the chances I can just skip this whole thing," Victory said as Jason pulled up in front of his parent's home. She was only kidding of course, but there was always a little vein of truth in every joke. Even as she chuckled, Jason knew Victory would have rather just pick up the girls and spend the rest of the evening doing something with just them.

"Awww, come on Vic it'll be fine," he said, cutting the engine and leaning to kiss her cheek. "Too late anyway...cover's blown," he said with a nod at the girls as they came running down the walkway. "Soak it in babe..."

"Yeah I know," Victory interrupted with a smile as she opened the door. "Before too long they'll be all eye rolls when they see us coming."

"That's not fair Mom missed you," Ramona said with a frown so fake Victory couldn't keep from laughing as she pulled both girls to her and kissed their heads.

"And we wouldn't do it to your face anyway," was Lee's snarky addition and Victory licked her tongue out at her. "I hope you guys had a good time 'cause Nana Pam is po'd you guys skipped church."

"Ahh she'll get over it," Jason promised as he wrapped his arms around all three of his girls.

"Maybe for you," Victory mumbled under her breath as Jason released them and the girls took off back inside.

"Come on Vic," Jason said, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. "It won't be too bad so long as the General's there."

Victory laughed at that and allowed Jason to lead her inside. She expected the atmosphere to be tense once they crossed the threshold but she was pleasantly surprised to find her father with Jason's watching the Braves. Lee had plopped down on the floor between them while Ramona went to join her Nanas in the kitchen. She could hear them laughing from the doorway and a smile came to her lips as Jason planted a kiss on the back of her neck.

"See not so bad," he said and gave her ass a pat before he went off to greet the men. She followed behind him only to say hello, and stall before she had to face the two most judgmental people in her life.

Victory expected the laughter to stop when she came into the kitchen but it didn't. Not even when she cleared her throat to bring their attention to her. They paused long enough for Pam to shove a dish towel in her hands and direct her towards the oven to get the pot roast. Once it was resting on the counter, her mother sent Ramona to retrieve her sister so the two could started setting the table. Victory knew it was just a ploy to get her out of the room, and judging by the quick look Ramona shot all three women, she knew it too. But she didn't stick around and Victory steeled herself for a double team.

"Girl relax," her mother said with rolled eyes and Pam snickered a little as she piled fried chicken on a platter. "Look like a deer in head lights. We just want to make sure you two are done being stupid. We're too old too be dealing with all this up and down nonsense. And those girls deserve a whole home...no matter where it is," Cheryl said with a look at Pam, whose nostrils flared ever so slightly. "So what's the word little girl...you two get your act together or what?"

"Well, we came here together..."

"And," Pam said, with her arms folded across her chest and Victory rolled her eyes. "You two went a lot of places together before you up and ran off..."

"Now Pam, we talked..."

"No Mama," Victory said, shifting her fiery gaze to her mother-in-law who stood firm with a glare to match. "I did run off...to a better job so my daughters could go to a better school. I wanted them to see, with their own eyes, that all the stuff I've been telling them about running towards their dreams isn't a crock of shit. You're right they deserve a whole home but for that to be possible they have to have whole parents and I couldn't be that here. What kind of mother would I be if the only example of womanhood they see is a woman who gave up on her dreams because she became somebody's wife and had babies? I want them to know they can have it all and any man that doesn't want her to ain't worth having...and I know that's not Jason but that's how I felt and I'm woman enough to admit I didn't handle all this the right way just like he's man enough to admit the same. The moral of the story is your son loves me Pam, and I love him, and we're going to figure this out. Whether he come to Atlanta for good or we split time, those girls are going to grow up knowing their parents love them and each other."

Jason had made his way to the kitchen by then but stopped at the doorway to listen to his wife's explanation. It wasn't as if she hadn't told him the same before but it was nice to see her standing up for herself, for them, without breathing fire all over everyone. The girls didn't even seem to notice the tense conversation going on a few yards away from where they laid down the good china on the dining room table. He was proud of her, and as soon as she was finished Jason startled her with his arms around her waist. The mothers swooned as he planted a kiss on Victory's neck that immediately soften her glare.

"So, like I told you after that tantrum you threw after the engagement party, you're stuck with me Pam and ain't nothing you can do about," Victory said with a grin as she laced her fingers with Jason's.

"I don't remember you putting it so nicely Victory," Pam said with a smirk.

"No she didn't," Cheryl agreed with a smirk of her own and Victory rolled her eyes.

"See I can't win," she said to Jason, but she smiled at the end and that's all that matter to him. "So you here to rescue me from this inquisition?"

"Not a chance," he said pushing her away to greet his mother and mother-in-law with warm hugs. "I just came to say hello to these beautiful young ladies..."

"Mmmhmm," Cheryl said with a raised eyebrow as Jason kissed her on the cheek. "Flattery'll get you no where son."

"Got you to call me "son" instead of "that white boy" for a change," Jason said with a wink before fleeing back to the safety of the baseball game.

With the ice thoroughly broken, three generations of women went about laying out a smorgasbord for the family meal. There were the standard fried chicken, collard greens, corn bread, and sweet potato casserole. And of course, Jason's favorite pot roast with roasted potatoes. But Cheryl Fuerte would not be outdone and brought her own additions to be included in the tradition with arroz con pollo, maduros, black beans, and her famous drop biscuits. Once the food was blessed, the matriarchs surprised everyone happily passing each other's dishes around the table without a snide comment or raised eye brow. Micheal Smith gorged himself on Cheryl's biscuits without his wife so much as batting an eye. But it was Victory's request for Pam's sweet potato casserole recipe that shocked the gathering to silence.

"What?" she said of everybody's eyes on her, mouth full of the marshmallowy goodness. "Mine never comes out like this, does it Jay?"

"Naw Vic it doesn't...that don't make it any less good though," he said, the last with a syrupy sweet grin that made her roll her eyes.

"I thought you were already out of the dog house son," his father said with a snort.

"Doesn't hurt to hedge your bets though," came from Manny with a wink at his wife. He mumbled something in Spanish that made Victory gag and her mother turn all shades of red.

"Buelo ewww...Eso no es una conversación apropiada para la cena de la familia," Lee said in perfectly accented Spanish.

"De ningún modo," came from Ramona and Victory burst out laughing.

"Yeah Daddy...what they said..."

"Ehhh you're no fun," was Manny's reply to that with his eyes narrowed at his giggling granddaughters before shifting his eyes to his daughter. "You turn them against me with my own language."

"Well they are part yours ain't they Manny," came from Jason's dad with a smirk and all the women rolled their eyes.

"You gotta point, Mick?"

"Makes it their language too don't it...I'm just saying," he said with a shrug at the last and Manny opened his mouth to respond but clamped up after a hard look from his wife.

With that debate settled, they moved onto less contentious topics. Ramona and Lee spent the rest of dinner filling their grandparents in on their pre-teen lives. Of course they left out all talk of boys but the women in their lives read well enough between the lines to know that most of their stories involved some manner of playful flirting. Victory thought it might be a good idea to arrange a girls day so the five of them could figure out a way to get Jason to loosen up a little and recognize his little girls were becoming young women, but she kept the idea to herself for now. Any invitation extended to his mother would be immediately suspicious and as much as she didn't want to sneak around, Victory was done fighting with her husband. Even when he volunteered them to clean up, Victory bit her tongue and followed him into the kitchen while the girls cleared the table.

"Now was that so bad," he said, pulling her to him with hands full of her ass as soon as they were alone.

"Up until about a minute ago everything was great," was her snarky response as she slipped her arms around his neck.

For a moment they just looked at each other, grinning like two idiots in love. Eventually their lips met. It was just a peck, but with the air full of good vibes the simple kissed turned to something more. Before either knew it, Victory was pressed against the counter. One hand up the front of Jason's shirt, the other gripped the back of his neck. Jason was bracing himself to lift her up when someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Your father's whining about cobbler," Pamela Smith said with a smirk as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Sorry Mom," Jason said, like a teenage boy who'd just been caught necking with his girlfriend.

"Don't be...but if you need me to keep the girls another night just say the word."

 

[JawnKarTurr]

Jason did talk to his mother and she said it was no trouble having the girls and she didn’t mind having the in-laws stay a bit longer either. While romance might have been on his mind it was also about quality time so they were all together even if for just a few hours longer. They all shared pie, ice cream, and coffee and went into the living room and played a board game. They hadn’t done that in ages and while he and Victory enjoyed a good video game now and then it was about the company. While the girls did text a little they kept the headphones oof and talked with their elders. Nobody got any more gossip from the pair, but face to face chats always beat a phone call. As he and Victory cuddled on the couch a fire was started he thought how lovely it was to have his family back.

When they’d finished with their game Victory went through one of the boxes her mother-in-law had put to the side. She’d been scanning in all the family photos so they’d have kind of a database for the family reunion which was still awhile off, but the volume of photos motivated her to start sooner than later. Soon Victory was flipping through a huge album of photos all of the girls growing up. There were photos of every sport the girls played which was quite a few, and there were plenty of shots of her with the girls at home. While Victory didn’t like taking a break from her career she did love being with the girls. She wished she could do both, but only until now could she even attempt it.

Jason was looking over her shoulder and gently hugged her and leaned in and whispered, “A lot of happy memories there. Halloweens, sports seasons, and watching you raise the girls.”

“Yeah as crazy as it sounds and as much as I missed work I miss having a baby around,” she said trailing off as she’s looking at girls sitting by the fireplace talking with her mother.

“Even while we’re thinking about packing them off to college? Wow how did we get this old,” Jason said with a laugh.

“Seems like just yesterday I was trying to get three other little girls to sleep in our little apartment.”

“I remember you having to hold both ours while you were singing to them. Dad wasn’t good enough they both wanted mom.”

With that Victory got up and walked over and hugged and kissed both of her girls. They were surprised and even protested a little, but were smiling as they chased after her into the kitchen. There were laughs all around and surprisingly the girls were first to turn in for bed after their nana mentioned she wanted them to stay so they could help with breakfast. Victory’s parents brought up lunch and ice cream and that the girls could see some friends giving time for their parents to put the farm in order. Or in other words have some fun get some sleep and be ready to be parents the next day or else. For Victory the message was loud and clear and her husband knew the tone of things only too well.

The couple went home and handled the usual routines which included taking care of the animals, checking emails, and locking up the house. Once all that was done they could enjoy some more erotic fun. They showered separately but met again in the master bedroom where they had a massage table they’d bought from a place going out of business. Victory was the first to drop her robe in the candle light and was only clad in a thong and her long mane was in a towel. She seductively climbed on the table and stretched out as Jason got out the bottle of scented oil. They’d joked about it because when it came to thongs you’d might as well just go commando. The conclusion they came up with was that they just seemed naughty.

He began working on her shoulders with his bare hands and she reached out and pulled away his towel and smiled. He worked his way down her body paying special attention to her booty he still liked to smack as he walked through the kitchen and after many happy sighs he took care of her legs and feet. Victory sighed happily remembering the times Jason would massage her feet after track meets something that made her team mates jealous. Now the soft kisses to the soles her feet made her sigh contently. The body oil they’d bought some time back was still a favorite and warmed on contact as Jason’s strong hands worked it into her lovely mocha skin. He cupped her kitty in his hand and gently rubbed her getting her relaxed before pulling the thong down her legs and tossing it with her robe.

Next he covered her from head to toe in oil front and back his hands gliding up and down her body. Then he Jason climbed up on the table and straddled her. The table was robust and easily supported both their weights as Jason moved to his knees. Victory moaned as she felt his hard cock between her warm oiled buns as he teased her going in and out between her cheeks slowly. She pushed herself back against him and sighed and asked, “Oh baby don’t you want me to rub you down too?”
“Oh who says were done with that honey,” he said sliding off the table. “Roll over for me baby. I think you being half naked is a good enough reason to fuck. It always was before right, and maybe I took an herb supplement.”

Oiled and feeling hot and bothered she rolled over and spread her legs on the table and caressed her sex but looked at him and said, “Honey you don’t have to do that you can always make me orgasm and feel good.”
“I know but we have the night so let’s enjoy it a few times,” he said climbing back on the table and moving between her legs. The massage was their foreplay so without waiting he slid inside her warm vagina. Lifting up her legs from hanging over the edge of the table he began thrusting hard in and out with the candle light flickering off their bare skins. He went into her deep and grunted and moaned. They worked their way to passionate orgasms with no words of disapproval or warning when he shared his seed with her. The squirming as she hugged him afterwards and nuzzled on the table was a warm and wonderful break in the passion.

Victory would return the favor and massage him all over and once covered in oil she rolled him on this back and used her oiled hands on his cock. She had a strong yet gentle grip and hand him hard in no time. She hopped up the table and gently impaled herself on his hard shaft and rocked up and down as she dragged her nails across his chest. They’d done reverse cowgirl a few times and while it felt good she also liked looking into his eyes and seeing him look straight back as they worked themselves into frenzy. After another hot fuck they showered together cleaning off the oil and all the sweat and toweled each other off.

They went to bed, but after sleeping for a while but before the sun came up they shared love one more time. Jason let Victory sleep after that and went downstairs and took care of the dogs and sat and watched the sunrise over the fields and the trees. There was something wonderful and familiar of making love to the woman you loved again and again. All the love an emotion attached to it only enhanced the passion.

 

[grdybiwife]

The sun was good and up by the time Victory stirred the next morning. Stark naked, tangled in the sheets, her body wrapped around Jason's pillow and a grin plastered across her face. This was the perfect start to her vacation, way better than any trip she could have planned without him. She had half a mind to just stay in bed all day but they'd done enough of that already. Jay had a shift and she had to get the girls, so she dragged herself out of bed and burst out laughing at her reflection in the mirrored doors of their closets. Her hair was a sloppy mess after their wild night and there were still streaks of oil on her chocolate skin. And Jason's leftovers acted like an adhesive between her thighs. There was no way she could leave the house without a proper shower, so she set to it with the efficiency of a woman who'd grown used to being alone. There were no razors used and she brushed her teeth while she waited for the conditioner to do its work. She got dressed in knee length stretch pants and a loose running tank top before she headed downstairs to make coffee.

Meanwhile in a ranch house a few miles away, Lee Smith was already awake and glued to her phone screen. Ramona stirred every time she giggled but had yet to open her eyes and Lee was glad for it. She still hadn't told her about Hunter and the kiss, nor did she plan on it. She didn't want a repeat of their parents last fight after Ramona foolishly asked about dating. Regardless of how happy they seemed at dinner, the last thing Lee wanted to do was remind her parents of their opposing views. Plus she figured the secret would be easily kept so long as she and Hunter were careful, and that meant doing a little sneaking.

Their plan was simple, organize a fishing trip with all their friends so no one would think twice about the two of them hanging out. It was basically the group date their mother would approve of but country style with ATVs and swimming at the creek. Hunter thought it was a great idea but Lee wasn't naive, she knew he would have gone along with anything she suggested. That's how it'd always been between them. She was the adventurer and Hunter was the back-up always. But that kiss proved that he was more of an adventurer than she remembered.

The coffee made, Victory set out their favorite mugst, christmas gifts from the girls when they were five. It was his mother's idea to take them to one of those paint your own pottery places. Victory's was painted Georgia Tech old gold and white with a sloppy rendition of a yellow jacket on one side, a "V" sponged on the other, and dotted with various athletic equipment to represent the sports she played. It was all very busy but she cherished that mugged. Jason's was just as busy, painted all the official Falcon's colors, dotted with J's and sheriff's badges, and a big truck painted on the front. She couldn't help but grin as she poured them both a cup, hers black with way too much sugar and his with just a touch of cream.

"Morning Blue Jay," she said sweetly as she came out onto the back porch and pushed the cup into his hand before she climbed into his lap. "What times your shift?"

"Noonish," he said with a smirk and planted a kiss on her neck before he took his first sip.

"I know that look Jason Smith and I think we both could use a break," she said with a giggle and rest her head on his shoulder. "Maybe me and the girls could meet you at The Bridge for dinner tonight? Like we used to when they were little."

"I'd like that very much. They still don't serve salad though. Think your system can handle all that..."

"Boy please I was raised on the same food you were...just cause I don't eat it as often don't mean I can't take it..."

"Yeah, you can take it alright," he said with that cocky smirk of his and Victory gave him playful shot to the ribs. Well tried to anyway, Jason caught her hand, lacing their fingers together and kissing her knuckles. "I missed you Vic that's all...missed this," he said half into his coffee cup.

"I know Blue Jay, but we're figuring this out though right?"

All he did was nod, and squeeze her tight, but it was enough. The weekend alone was like a defibrillator shock to a stopped heart, setting them right again. Once the coffee cups were empty, they went about their morning like they hadn't been apart for over a year. Like the last few tumultuous years of their marriage hadn't happened. Victory went about making Jason's lunch, something he stopped doing even before things went sideways. And though he thanked her, Jason didn't seem at all surprised when he came down in his uniform to find the mini cooler already full. Even the kiss they shared was of the normal variety, a quick pressing of lips together before "I love you"s were exchanged as he headed out the door.

Victory watched from the porch as Jason's kicked up dust down the driveway with a smile on her face. They were figuring it out, and that's all that mattered. It would never be perfect, whether she came back or he moved to Atlanta, but they couldn't give up. She wouldn't give up, not again.

Just as she was heading back inside, she caught sight of Tony Farmer heading out to the barn. He saw her too and tipped his hat in greeting but that wasn't enough for Vic so she headed out to meet him. He'd never been much of a talker, though Victory knew well he was a good man, and just like her husband, he was content in the life he made for his family. He worked hard, taking care of the Smiths' land like it was his own and his wife had always been like a second mom to the girls. She was a few years older than Victory but the two had always gotten along. They were more than employees, more than neighbors. The Farmers were like extended family and Victory agreed with Jason that they deserved more than that trailer.

"Hey there Tony," she shouted as she came up to him already hard at work spreading seed for the chickens.

"Well if it ain't big city Vic," he said with a grin and Victory rolled her eye. "Come back to regal us with tales of big buildings and fast cars."

"Nothing as fast as that T-bird you used to drive," she said with a snort as she to got to work racking out the muck in the now empty coup. "And the buildings well...they ain't all they cracked up to be."

"Sound a little home sick to me," he said with a raised eyebrow and Victory shrugged her shoulders. "So what's going on Vic, ain't like you to be out here?"

"That obvious huh," she said with a chuckle and again Tony raised an eyebrow, spit his dip. "I was just wondering if Debbie talked to you at all about us wanting to expand a little bit, actually making some money with all this land...real money."

"Yeah she mentioned it but I ain't put much thought into it. I'm not a numbers guy Vic you know that."

"Yeah I know Tony but I want to know what you think, that's all. Could we do it? I mean I'm country but I ain't no farmer. You know this land, the animals. We want this to be lucrative for all of us, not just me and Jay. All our kids deserve to have their own piece of this world."

For a while he didn't say anything, just looked at her but Victory could tell he was thinking about it. Eventually he went back to work and Victory stuck with him, allowing him to guide her through the chores, chores she hadn't done in years. But she stuck with it, he may have teased her for being a city girl but Victory had never shied away from a little hard work and that impressed Tony. Impressed him enough to actually tell her what he thought they could do and before the morning turned to afternoon they came up with a few idea. It was nothing like a business model but at least he had something to tell his wife and they made plans to have dinner later in the week to better hash things out.

Victory went back inside feeling a little better about making things right with the Farmers. She was certain that they felt as in flux as she and Jason, not knowing what would come of the farm with the Smiths did head to divorce court, but they weren't the types to pry. Whatever happened, they would deal with it and Victory didn't think it was fair to keep them out of the loop.

After cleaning up the remnants of their tryst from the night before and rinsing off the evidence of her work with Tony, Victory called her mother to inquire of her plans for the day. Cheryl Fuerte had been retired for the last decade but that didn't mean she spent her days at leisure. She still put in a shift or two at the elementary and middle school, and volunteered at the senior center most days so Victory was surprised to catch her at home.

"Relaxing," was her simply reply when Victory asked what she was up to for the day.

"Well how about taking that relaxation a step further with a mani-pedi...my treat," Victory said with a chuckle. There was a long pause when she thought her mother would turn her down, since that wasn't really her thing but again Cheryl surprised her daughter.

"Sure, why not," she said and Victory could almost hear the smile on her face.

"Great! I'll call Pam and see what she had planned for the girls..."

"You inviting her too?"

"Ummm...well...yeah...I figured we could have a girl's day for old times sake."

"You mean no times sake," Cheryl said with a snort and Victory rolled eyes. "I don't know what that husband of yours put on you but it seems to be working." Victory couldn't help but laugh at that which only seemed to egg her mother on. "Weekend in the house you too built together, all by yourselves...mmmhmm...you ain't slick Victory Smith. All I know is yall better be making us a grandson."

"Aight mommy that's enough. I'll call you when I get to Pam's."

"Mmmhmm...you do that."

Once that was all taken care of, Victory texted both girls in a group chat to let them in on her plan of getting their grandmothers assistance with dealing with their father. Though Lee wasn't all that keen on a beauty day, she seemed just as excited as her sister putting one over on Jason. A little too excited but Victory didn't press too much, having witnessed her firecracker of a daughter being all too attached to her phone recently. She was a tomboy like her growing up and the only thing that shifted her focus was the evolution of her relationship with Brian Hanover. Unfortunately for Lee, Victory didn't have to be nearly as secretive. Unlike Jason, Manny Fuerte believed that if he taught his daughter how to take care of herself, boys would be more worried about dealing with her than they were him. That made him no less protective. When Manny caught Victory and Brian making out on the back porch when she was in ninth grade, the next time Brian came over for a visit her father just so happened to be cleaning his shotgun. He didn't say anything, but the message was clear. She would recount that story for the girls to show them that even a father as progressive as hers could be overzealous in his protection of his daughter, and she would be honest about her own reaction.

https://youtu.be/HzxW4eu9heY

By the time Victory got to her in-laws, all three were waiting for her on the porch. Pam seemed nervous at first but once they picked up Cheryl things smoothed out to resemble the Sunday dinner. They were all giggles, especially when Victory turned on the oldies station and both Nanas began belting out the songs of their youths. Victory pitched in where she could and was surprised that Pam would even know the words to so many disco and Motown songs.

"There was a time when I danced the night away. I went to college too you know," she explained, and with none of the passive aggressive venom that usually came when she corrected Victory. They all heard it but no one commented and they continued on their trip down mirror lane until they got to the mall.

On a quiet Monday afternoon, the nail shop was theirs and they continued the giggle fest even as they sat in the message chairs. And again Victory was surprised at how Pam rolled with her mother's crash comments about the effectiveness of the massage chairs. With them all thoroughly relaxed, and giddy, Victory figured it was the perfect time to broach the topic of the girls and boys. And just as she suspected both mother's were in agreement that it was about time for them to safely begin exploring that part of life. As demure as she seemed, Nana Pam was the more adamant than Victory expected.

"Don't you worry Vic, I'll give that son of mine a good talking to," she droned with her chair reclined to the max while the young Asian man messaged her feet. "Can't expect them to learn what's right, and deal what's wrong, if they don't go out and try. Ain't nothing wrong with them hanging out...that's what's wrong with these kids today. They don't know what it means to be courted and I'll be damned if any woman in my line gets roped into some bad relationship because her daddy was too stubborn to realize that it was apart of life."

"Preach," Cheryl said and the girls gave each other a look that Victory had seen all too often. It was the beginnings of a plot but she let them have it.

"Well this was way easier than I thought," Victory said with a smirk, making her mother-in-law laugh a little.

"Hey Nana, you think you can talk to Daddy before we have to go back to Atlanta," Ramona said with her eyes on Lee. There was some silent communication between the two of them that all the older women caught but they did their best to hide their smirks as Ramona nudged Lee.

"It's just that...well...I want...we want..."

"Hunter and Lee are kind of a thing now and he wants to take her fishing..."

"What do you mean a thing," Victory asked, sitting up in her chair and both girls rolled their eyes.

"Shhh, let them talk," both Nana's said and it was Victory's turn to roll her eyes.

"It's just...well...we've been talking a lot since we left...like really talking...and I think I like him...like like him like him and I know he like like's me and I don't want Dad to get all Deputy Smith on him. It's just fishing..."

"And I'll be there, plus the Cash and Caed Cardoza, Brit and Tay Barnes and their cousin from Savannah who's never been fishing..."

"Can you believe it?"

"And we'll even take Sprite and Judy..."

"That's five girls and three boys...four who hunt and fish just as good as they do..."

"And Brit just started rugby this year..."

"And how long has this stew been cooking," Nana Pam asked for all the mothers and the girls looked at each other a moment before they answered in unison.

"Last week."

"Humph," all the mother's said, making Ramona and Lee nervous.

"And when did you all plan to take this little trip," came from Victory and again the girl's answered in unison.

"Wednesday morning."

The mother's huddled up at that and exchanged a few quiet words before turning their attention back to the girls. Victory remembered the look on their faces, all their hopes rested on the word of women who'd been there, done it, and knew all the short cuts and side streets. But they were honest and that had to count for something. She didn't have the heart to drag it out any more than it needed to be.

"Five to three is a pretty good ratio and those Barnes girls are as much a force as you too. I don't have a problem with it but we still have to run it past Dad..."

"And I'll talk to him well before Wednesday. I'm sure I have something heavy that needs to be moved," Nana Pam said with a wink at Victory before the girls broke out into squeals.

Things were going so well that Victory suggested lunch after their nails dried and being in the mall turned into an impromptu shopping trip. Victory picked up a couple dresses and convinced her mother to get a makeover at one of the department store kiosks. The girls got new shorts and a couple t-shirts from Nana Pam who allowed Victory to talk her into a pair of skinny jeans.

"You got the legs for 'em...why not show 'em off."

"It ain't my legs I'm worried about," she said, trying not to like them as she spun in the 360 degree mirrors outside the fitting room. "And who's going to help me get 'em off."

"Sounds like a job Mick might enjoy," came from Nana Cheryl and both the girls balked at the implication. "I saw how he was looking at you serving that pie Pam..."

"Oh stop it Cheryl," Pam said blushing but she didn't leave the store empty handed.

When it was all said and done, Victory had spent well over $500 but it was well worth it for the laughs alone. She called Jay on the way home to check in about dinner and Pam was nice enough to ask him to come move an armoire from the garage so she could clean it up and donate it to the church. He promptly agreed to both before thanking Victory again for his lunch to which all the women swooned. With only an hour to kill before dinner, Victory thought it best to mill around a bit and they ended up back at her in-laws, much to Mick's chagrin but Cheryl was nice enough to invite Manny over so the too could argue a little bit before dinner.

"We should definitely do that again," Lee said as the girls piled into the backseat.

"Definitely," came from Ramona and Victory couldn't argue with either of them.

"Yeah, we should definitely make girls day a habit."

 

[JawnKarTurr]

Jason worked to control his breathing and as he silently cursed making his way down the trail looking for the next marker. Sure he’d run it half a dozen times now, but the fact was you looked for things to motivate you. If you could make it to the next marker you could make it to the next one and so on. It was simple and it worked and that’s what he’d told the girls when he trained with them. Most guys seemed to think when you had a daughter you wouldn’t be able to share sports in the same way you would with a son, but for him, his daughters were no different.

By now he was past the specter of them being gone from his life after his marriage went down in flames. Now his motivation was to stay in their lives and meet a new career goal. Taking on something as physically brutal as being a firefighter gave most men pause even during their youth, but to take it on at middle age was crazy by most people’s standards. He wasn’t most people though and he never was, and while he was from some little town down south he was a fucking badass. He was the best athlete in the police and fire academies, and if you wanted to go back further captain of the basketball and football teams. He’d had rescued, taken down suspects, and won bar fights. He was a farmer, a hunter, and took on every challenge. He’d even learned to do two French braids faster than Victory.

https://youtu.be/TFdVIBsasRw

So the new challenge wasn’t about all he couldn’t do as fast as he used to, but it was just about what was next. Being lost in thought was what let him make it to the last stretch of this course put together for the kids on the cross country team around the old pond a little easier. What had motivated him from the first day on was that his trainer was his wife’s ex-boyfriend who happened to be gay? No matter how secure a guy might be the reality was no guys liked looking weak when compared to someone else even if it was only a matter of perception. Was he jealous of the relationship Victory had with Brian? No, he was just a girlfriend with up body strength Jason said to himself as he smirked and then pushed it hard the final stretch.

The success was short lived though because when he made it over the last small hill he saw Victory and Brian sitting in lawn chairs in front of Brian’s Land Rover. Why couldn’t he buy a pickup like everyone else? Even as an athlete he had to be different, a star football player who did yoga and ballet. The fact that they had a cooler of Victory’s favorite beer was just adding insult to injury. He stumbled to them sliding the 20lbs pack off his shoulders and dropping it behind him before walking a few more steps and reaching for a cold one.

Brian shook his head and pointed to the bottled water and said, “Honey clean living at least when you’re training with me. The organic market had a special on that wonderful glacier water.”

Jason grunted and reached for the oddly shaped bottle and replied, “They must have seen you coming we all have pure good water. Oh and you told her didn’t you.”

Brian drank down more beer and let out a sigh of satisfaction as Jason slammed down most of the bottle in one gulp. “You think your wife can’t figure things out on her own. You’ve been getting up early coming back late and exhausted. You’re not doing your normal routine at the gym at the firehouse. You’re supposed to be on a working vacation. ”

https://youtu.be/YqeW9_5kURI

Jason grunted and looked over at Victory who was styling in her new under armour sweat suit women. She smiled and put down her beer and said, “Looking good out there baby. The girls are with their old ballet teacher. She has them showing the little girls stuff to help them in other sports. She was so happy to see them again. She’d been teaching the girls since they were six years old.”

“Yeah I remember. They refused to wear the same color ballet leotards at the same time to class. Take a walk with me?”

“Until the end of time baby,” she said jumping up and taking his hand. She squeezed his hand and playfully teased. “The shower is all yours when we get home.”

After they got down the trail away from the vehicles Jason asked, “So what did he tell you?”

“Nothing honey he kept your secret. I just put things together. You only workout like a beast when you have something coming up, and I know about all the stuff you’re doing even when I’m not around.”

“Nice to know you still have an interest in someone who used to be an athlete.”
Victory messed his hair and smiled. “You used to be an athlete and now you’re a warrior. You don’t have to do this for me and the kids though honey. We’ll make a scheduled work for all of us, and you know I want to come back the farm.”

“Yeah I know but I thought about it and realized you stepped out of your comfort zone when you took that job. You could have maxed out as a local legend here and probably ended up running the station. You took a risk, and while I wish things had gone differently I think I should do the same. I didn’t leave home and things have been good to me, but I want to prove that I seal the deal not just claim I had the potential. It would be nice to sit down at the same table for dinner a little more often.”

“Yeah I’d like that too. We’re not through talking about this though honey. I’m with you a 100% but the job has to work for you and there is the pension and I don’t want you hurt and out of work.”

“I know I’ve been looking into things and I’ll lay it out for you, but first we have to survive tonight. We have to deal with all the kids, their parents, and there might be some camping and fishing involved too. Never thought I’d say this but it used to be simpler when they were little.”

“Yeah I remember they’d pretend to be pixies for hours and were more than happy to play in the water. Now it’s boys and trying to get a signal, but they do still love it out here so we must have done something right.”

 

[grdybiwife]

They'd done a lot of things right, so far as Victory could tell but she wouldn't allow talk of the girls to distract her from her husband's covert operation. He'd need more than Brian could give him if he planned to survive the rookie fire fighter's fitness test. She done some research on her own and found that his experience with the local volunteers wouldn't carry much weight, on top of the fact that Jason was twice the age of the average recruit. He'd be starting from scratch, but Victory knew her husband, failure wasn't an option. Once he set his mind to something there wasn't much anybody could do to shake his focus.

But she still had to finish getting things ready for tonight. She'd done the grocery store run after dropping off the girls but she still had to get the grill going. Being besties with the owners of the package store meant all the adult beverages would be delivered so all she had to do was load up the aluminum buckets with ice. Jay could start the fire pit whenever he got home.

By the time she made it back to the farm the girls were already there, tackling the list she left them on the fridge. They sat at the counter shucking corn and peeling potatoes, giggling like they usually did when they were alone. They were having such a good time that neither heard their mother coming in through the front door. With the dogs outside, there was nothing to alert them to her approach, allowing Victory to listen in to their conversation a moment before making her presence known.

"I can't believe he kissed you," Mo said between giggles, her eyes on the potato she peeled. "And at church...did you know..."

"Of course I didn't know...how the hell was I supposed to know he was going to do that. I was in the middle of a sentence and then bam..."

"Right in the kisser," came from Ramona and they both burst out laughing. "I can't believe you got kissed first..."

"What about Brandon and the Spanish club trip to Plaza Fiesta?"

"Well he missed and kissed me on the nose so it doesn't count..."

"A for effort though," Lee said with a snort as she tossed the last ear of corn into the sink

Victory tiptoed back to the door shaking her head as she opened and closed it hard, properly alerting the girls to her arrival. All the giggling stopped immediately and she did her best to fix the sneaky smirk as she made her way back down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Look at you two," she said as she popped her head into kitchen with a grin. "If this is the effort I can expect, I might add dinner prep to your chore list..."

"Please don't," they said in unison and Victory chuckled as she washed her hands before getting to work chopping the potatoes into hearty cubes for potato salad.

"I know you're only helping because of your friends coming over but hey, a mom can dream can't she."

"I'm always willing to help Mommy," Ramona said, with a syrupy smile and her sister rolled her eyes. "So ummm...did you talk to Dad?"

"He was still working out with Uncle Brian. Let's wait until he gets here, give him a few beers..."

"Take your hair out of that bun..."

"And put on those itty bitty shorts..."

"Hey!"

"What?! Daddy likes them," Ramona said with a smirk and Lee giggled as she scrubbed off the corn.

"They're uber distracting Mom."

"That might be true but I don't think I appreciate you guys pimping me out…”

“But it’s Dad,” they both shouted and Victory couldn’t help but laugh, even as she shook her head.

“Those shorts are not for company and I don’t need them to distract your father. You let me take care of him, you two just worry about having a good time tonight.”

With the girls help, Victory had all the food prepped and ready to go. There were burgers and hot dogs for the kids with all the fixings. Surf and turf kabobs for the grown ups. Pulled pork and BBQ chicken from the bridge to go with her own potato salad, roast corn, and coleslaw. There was also a wide variety of salad fixings that she left in the fridge because it would most certainly go to waste with her hometown friends. Looking over the array of food arranged on the picnic table on the back porch, even she had no interest in what her husband called rabbit food. Victory laughed to herself when she realized how long it had been since she actually had a salad, or been on a run for that matter. She hadn’t had the time, and beside, it wasn’t like her and Jason hadn’t been exercising at all since she’d been back. Sure he’d been doing his “secret” workouts with Brian but they’d been doing a lot of private cardio in the bedroom, the thought of which brought a smile to her face. After sending the girls outside to keep the dogs away from the food, Victory headed upstairs to make herself more presentable.

In the end, she decided that the girls were right about the shorts but she paired them with a baggy t-shirt and ankle boots. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was almost certain there was a picture of her in the yearbook in a similar outfit but Victory was certain she filled it out better now than she had then with hips and thighs thickened with motherhood. She put her hair back in a quick messy braid and headed outside to light the grill.

As expected, the Barnes clan was the first to arrive just as Victory was loading up the grill with a mix of all the meats and the girls greeted each other as if they hadn’t just been together a few hours before, with high pitched squeals that set the dogs to howling. Victory and Kelly Barnes greeted each other in a similar way, mostly to embarrass their daughters but they too were genuinely excited to see each other.

Kelly Barnes, and her husband Richie, were on the short list of people Victory had kept in contact with once she graduated from South Range Regional High. The once radical feminist and marching band saxophonist had been together since high school when Kelly demanded that the shy boy in their homeroom take her to the homecoming dance freshman year. Victory and Brian were witnesses at their wedding when they eloped five years later before the newly weds ran off to New York City in the hopes of Richie becoming a professional musician. By then he’d learned the trumpet and taught himself guitar so they figured it would be easy for him to get in somewhere. But of course the Big Apple is full of talented people trying to make it and the jazz scene proved harder to break into than the dreamy eyed teenagers from Georgia thought. They ended up bouncing around the Northeast for a while before Kelly’s mother had a stroke. They only planned to stay until she recovered but the middle school just so happened to be looking for a music teacher and Richie jumped at the chance to pass on his love of music. Against his wife’s judgement, he applied for,and accepted, the job all while Kelly shuttled her mother to rehab and took classes at the community college. It wasn’t long before Mrs. Oleynick made a full recovery and Richie fell in love with his job. Kelly threatened divorce until she talked to Victory who informed her that she would probably be heading back to South Range after graduation. Jason had proposed by then and before long the four of them were living in the same apartment apartment building. They didn’t hang out much as a group back then though, since Jason and Danny still occasionally picked on Richie, while Carmen and Kelly clashed over their very different views on the roles of women in society. Parenthood changed all of that though. Being pregnant at the same time, it was hard for Victory’s two best friends not to bond while the guys found common ground when Victory insisted that Jay include Richie when he chose his groomsmen so that her matrons of honor could walk down the aisle with their husbands. By the time Victory got pregnant, the other two women were heading into the second trimester of their second pregnancies and implored Victory to get on the pill as soon as she finished waning, while Richie and Danny took great joy in scaring the living shit out of Jason with fatherhood horror stories. Playdates weren’t just for the kids, and today wasn’t any different.

“I’m so sorry we missed your party,” Kelly said as she gave Victory a second squeeze before Richie stepped in, his guitar in tow, to do the same. “Britt had a game in Columbus…”

“Ehh you ain’t miss nothing but me making a fool of myself at Charley’s…”

“Awwww man I miss drunk Vic,” Richie said with a smirk and Victory gave him a shove. “What? It’s been awhile since we’ve been in her presence.”

“Shit it’s been awhile since I’ve been in her presence...speaking of, here comes Danny with the booze.”

“Carmen still ain’t pop yet,” came from Kelly and Victory shook her head. “What is this month 12?”

“Tell me about it? She says she feels good though…”

“Well that’s a blessing. Those last two kicked her ass…”

“And now look at them,” Carmen said with a chuckle as the twins bolted out of the back of the van and sprinted over to her girls. “I can’t believe how big they got.”

“You miss a lot with all that big city living,” Kelly teased as she linked arms with Victory and headed over to Danny unloading the back of his van with the help of his oldest sons. Richie was nice enough to lighten the load, stealing one of the longnecks before Danny could get too far away.

Unfortunately Danny couldn’t stay, given his wife’s condition, he thought it best that he stay home “just in case.” Victory guessed that Carmen didn’t tell her husband that they’d already enlisted Judy’s help, gaining a cool chaperone for the coed campout and relieving Jason of his closest ally in one fell swoop. As soon as all the beers were on ice, Victory sent Danny off with a platter for him and Carmen. The Farmers arrived shortly thereafter, probably alerted by the noise of eight kids entrenched in a water war, complete with balloon grenades and Caed Cardoza perched in a tree picking off anything that moved. Hunter and Wyatt jumped in immediately while the adults retreated to the porch for beers and civilized conversation.

It was about an hour before Jason came rumbling up the driveway and Victory grabbed a couple beers before walking around the house to meet him at his truck. She traded him his lunch bag for a beer and slung it over her shoulder as she nudged her way under his arm. Jason looked at her with furrowed brows but all Victory did was smile as she lean up on her tippy toes to kiss him hello.

“How much does it cost,” he grumbled as she pulled away and Victory rolled her eyes. “This is the same greeting I got when you put the girls in that expensive ass preschool that you ended up hating.”

Victory laughed at that and tightened her grip around his waist but kept her mouth shut as they headed around back so that Jason could greet their guests properly before heading inside to get out of his uniform. He narrowed his eyes at her as she followed him up the stairs but didn’t say anything until she reached to help him unbutton his shirt.

“Alright cut the shit Victory,” he said, swatting her hand away and Victory rolled her eyes. “And don’t give me any of that “I just miss you crap”. I had a very interesting conversation with my mother yesterday but didn’t think much of it until I saw the sleeping bags stacked up on the back porch,” he said with a raised eyebrow as he pulled his holstered gun off his belt and set it down on the dresser. “I don’t like this Vic, not one bit…”

“I know but it’s happening whether we like it or not,” she said, setting the trigger lock on his side arm before putting it into the lockbox in his nightstand. “Better that they see us as allies in their maturation than enemies Jay. I want them to feel like they can come to us and they won’t do that if we make growing up harder than it has to be. It’s just fishing Jay…”

“Remember what happened the first time I took you fishing?”

“Of course I do and I wasn’t 12,” Victory said with a smirk as she watched her husband strip down to nothing and head into the bathroom. “And you know what happened before you picked me up that day. My mother handed me a condom and said have a good time.”

“Your mom gave you that condom?!?!”

“Well she is a nurse,” Victory said, following him into the bathroom and turning on the shower before he got in. “You better be glad she did or your no protection havin’ ass wouldn’t have got none of this.”

“Well excuse me for not being presumptuous…”

“Says the man who went to third base after he climbed into my window the night before,” she added with a snort. “All I’m saying is, despite how much me and my mom got into it when I was their age I always knew that I could come to her when I needed support. No matter what it was and I want our girls to have that. We have to trust them Jay…”

“It’s not them I’m worried about.”

“And I get that too but we can’t protect them forever. At some point they’ll be out in the world without us and I want them to be prepared…”

“You sound like my mom…”

“Well, it turns out we got more in common than loving you,” was her response to that and Jason could hear the fury beginning to build in her voice. Sure there might have been a slight smirk on her face but they’d been married long enough for him to notice the signs. The way she squinted as she looked at him. Her arms folded tightly across her chest. And he didn’t have to be looking at her to know Victory was rocking a little as she stood in the bathroom doorway. But there had been a new development in recent years and he heard her take a deep breath before she spoke again, in a more reasonable tone. “If it makes you feel any better Judy’s gonna camp out tonight with the littlest Cardozas so we can relax...and I’ve got a nice cross country run planned for us tomorrow that might take us over the old creek bridge,” she added as Jason got out of the shower.

“It doesn’t but I...it’s just...all this is happening so fast,” he said catching the towel Vic tossed him. “I made them banana chocolate chips pancakes just this morning…”

“And they’ll never stop wanting those Jay. They’ll always be your little girls but we still have to teach them how to be women. I know it’s a lot to wrap your head around but we can’t stop time Blue Jay...or lock them in the basement until they’re 30,” she added with a smirk and Jason sucked his teeth.

“Get outta my head woman!”

“It’s my favorite place to be,” she said with a wink, leaving him to finish getting dressed, satisfied that he would behave. At least for tonight, Victory had no doubt they would have this same conversation over and over again.

She still remember the knock down drag out fight her parents had after Victory announced she’d be moving in with Jason after graduation. It was at a family dinner before she headed back to school after spending her entire spring break in Myrtle Beach with Jason, Carmen, and Danny. Her mother reacted to the news nonchalantly but her father exploded into a ball of Latin rage like she had never seen before. Even threatened to disown her if she decided to “live in sin with that backwater blancito”. Cheryl was quick to remind him that her father said the same to her about Manny, intentionally redirecting his rage to her. They fought for hours and even though they went into the basement, Victory could still hear her father bellowing in Spanglish. The next morning, he didn’t even come out of his room to see her off and Victory cried the entire ride back to Tech in Jason’s arms. It was months until he spoke to her again, on a surprise visit to her dorm. He didn’t apologize but made her understand how hard it was for a father to lose his daughter, especially to a man he knew loved her the way he loved her mother. “You’ll be gone for good,” he told her with tears in his eyes. “Protecting you has been the most important job in my life and it
feels like I just got fired.”

Victory was certain Jason was getting that itch now that his little girls were wearing bras and shopping in the feminine aisle but she would do a better job of helping him cope than her mother had with her father. Cheryl Fuerte was more of a “shut up and deal with it” type and Victory tried that approach when it came to her new job. It didn’t do her any good then and it certainly wouldn’t work now, so she took a page out of Pamela Smith’s book for a change. Soft gloves on a firm hand was the way Jason was raised and he turned out well enough.

Back outside, Judy had arrived and was leading the kids in a game of hide and seek while the adults patiently waited for the reemergence of their hosts. The sun was just beginning to set and Tony Farmer was nice enough to get the fire pit going while Victory put out the last of the food, but no one seemed to be in any rush to eat so Richie whipped out his guitar. He was never one to take requests but he was pretty good at gauging a crowd. The first song was always for the wife though. https://youtu.be/HZqscSWtHmo And no matter how corny and overplayed it had become in the twenty years since it’s release, it reminded her of a simpler time when a shy band geek showed up to her house in the middle of the night with a guitar and an amp to sing under her window before her father came out with his shotgun. Victory lived only a few doors down and watched from her bedroom window as young Richie Barnes poured his heart out to Kelly Oleynick. She swooned then as she did now. Jason’s reaction was altogether different.

“Save that sappy shit for when you’re alone Dickie,” he teased, even as he offered the man a fresh beer. He had one for Tony too, which only compound the women’s collective chagrin.

“You are such an ass,” Vic and Kelly squealed in unison while Debbie Farmer simply shook her head.

“Jealous is more like it,” Richie explained with a wink at Jay as his fingers danced across the strings playing a melody without a name. Jay shrugged his shoulder as he pilfered a kabob off the grill before pulling Victory out of her seat then pulling her down into his lap. “You know Jay, there was a time when that might have hurt my feelings.”

“And now,” Jay asked with a snort as Victory settled against his chest.

“Now...well...now I just don’t give a shit,” he said with his eyes locked with Jay as his fingers found a rhythm that made the women burst into giggles. https://youtu.be/NzB1wEmvMAE When Kelly and Debbie joined in, Jason couldn’t help but laugh by the time they were done. That didn’t mean he was done teasing.

“You’re right Rich...I am a little jealous,” he whimpered, feigning tears and Victory gave his nipple a pinch.

The consummate performer, Rich laughed his way to the next song https://youtu.be/xnWGJoPvQ5U , which had become just as overplayed but it was one of Jay’s favorites. He had fond memories of the keg party Danny threw for Jay’s bachelor party. The guys convinced him to bring his guitar and he was certain it was only to tease him. But he played anyway, allowing them to bond over cheap beer and singing loud and off key. The song reminded him of the moment he became one of the “guys” and he was prepared to sing it the way he had then. Tony Farmer had other ideas, cutting in as soon a Rich opened his mouth, shocking everyone except his wife with his raspy baritone. Apparently it was one of his favorites too, he didn’t miss a bridge. Not even an ad lib, singing with his eyes closed as he drummed on his lap.

“My husband sings to me too,” Debbie said with a grin when the song ended and wrapped her arms around his middle.

“Aww Vic you want me to sing something for you honey…”

“Please don’t,” was her quick reply to that and everyone burst out laughing as Rich meandered to his next tune, https://youtu.be/iC6SDcQdmWk the sound of which ended hide and seek with the girls running over squealing to join in. As did Victory and by the time he got to the end, the Cardoza twins were shouting out the last lines.

“Where’d you guys learn that song,” their biggest brother Cash asked and the identical twins gave him the same perplexed expression.

“Mommy sings it at bedtime,” Chance said matter-of-factly

“Our mommy used to sing it to us too,” Ramona said with a grin and the boys looked to Lee for confirmation.

“She sure did,” Lee said and both boys swung their eyes to Victory.

“Where do you think your Mommy got it from…”

“All we got was Mary had a little lamb,” Caed said with rolled eyes and Cash shook his head. “We were born to early bro.”

Richie did a couple more songs with the kids in mind while the Moms set up a makeshift buffet line for dinner, which they all enjoyed around the fire. Adults included. Looking around at everybody Victory fought back a few tears, realizing all that she had missed. No one but her husband noticed of course, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. Simply slipped his arm around her, pulled her in close, and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

The rest of the night flew by after that and before Victory knew it tents were being pitched in her yard while she and Kelly made plans to do lunch before they headed back to Atlanta. Once the Barneses were gone and all the kids were tucked in tight, Jason and Victory made their way inside. Together, they cleaned up and settled the dogs before heading upstairs. Jason headed straight for the guest room, with windows overlooking the backyard. He expected some sort of pushback from his wife, since she continued down the hall to the master bedroom. But after a few minutes of Jason staring out the window, Victory came up behind him. Wearing only one of his old sheriff’s department t-shirts, she put her arms around his waist and pressed her lips to the back of his neck.

“Come lay down Blue Jay,” she said as he laced his fingers with hers and allowed her pull him away. “You had a long day and I know those almost 40 year old muscles are tired. Judy’s out there. Cody and Sprite are standing guard. Why don’t you let me rub you down?”

“You should have lead with that,” was his chuckling reply as he spun to put his arms around her shoulders. They shared a quick kiss before Jason pulled away to strip down to his shorts and belly flopped onto the bed.

Victory hit the lights and climbed onto the bed, straddling her husband’s back. She skipped the oil this time, instead using some of the lotion she’d bought him from the men’s shop, squeezing a thick line down his back before rubbing her hands together to warm them up. Victory concentrated on his low back and shoulders, knowing that these would be the most sore after his workouts. All Jason did was grunt his approval, occasionally let out a deep moan as she worked her thumbs along his spine. Just as she was about to instruct him to roll onto his back, Victory heard her phone ringing from the bedroom. She made a quick glance at the nightstand before letting it go to voicemail. When Jason’s phone immediately started buzzing, she sat up and brushed her hands off on his boxers.

“Aww come on it’s probably nothing,” he groaned as she slipped off his back.

“We have people’s kids here Jay we can’t...it’s Danny,” she said as she swiped across the answer bar, immediately put the phone on speaker before setting it down on the bed beside Jason.

“This better be worth it,” Jason groaned into the phone.

“Uh-oh sounds like I’m interrupting...can’t be doing too much with all them rugrats in your yard,” Danny said laughing and Jason let out a sigh. “I was looking for your wife anyway. Tell her Carmen’s in labor...water ain’t broke yet but the contractions are coming pretty quick. Judging by the last ones, we probably got another 3 hours or so but she’s asking for Vic.”

“You’ll be alright with Judy and the kids right? If anything, I’m sure Debbie’ll help,” Victory said already halfway to the door.

“Isn’t it great when they make it seem like we got a choice,” Danny said laughing again and Jason rolled his eyes as Victory blew him a kiss before hightailing it to their bedroom.

“We stopped making choices the moment they said they’d marry us,” Jason grumbled as he pushed himself off the bed. “Tell the baby machine her back-ups on the way. And tell her I said good luck.”

“Thanks but I don’t think she needs it. I’m thinking this one’ll just fall out of her when she’s ready,” Danny said before he hung up.

Victory was already dressed by then, in black yoga pants and a sweatshirt Jason was sure she wore nothing underneath. She gave him a big wet kiss and made him promise to behave himself with the kids in the morning.

*********************​

As usual, Ramona was the first to wake up and slipped out of the tent she shared with her sister and their two best friends. Her barefeet in the grass and the sunshine on her face, she couldn’t think of a reason for it not to be a good day. Then she glanced at the driveway and saw her mother’s truck missing. Tears filled her eyes as she sprinted across the yard and barreled right into her father at the breakfast counter sipping his coffee.

“Hey what’s the matter punkinhead?”

“Did you fight again,” she sobbed and Jason looked at her perplexed a moment before he threw his arm around her.

“Relax kid, your mom didn’t leave...well she did but not because we had a fight. We didn’t fight, everythings fine. Auntie Carmen went into labor last night,” he explained and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Baby still ain’t come yet so I guess it’s up to me and you to provide breakfast for the masses. Now take a deep breathe before your sister gets any of these hurt signals and comes looking for blood,” he added, giving her another squeeze before she let out a tearful giggle. “We meant what we said Mo, there won’t be anymore running away. Mom and I working this out…”

“You swear?”

“Scouts honor…”

“Nana Pam said you got kicked out of boy scouts…”

“That was Uncle Danny’s fault but that’s not the point. I don’t want you getting worked up anytime one of us leaves in the middle of the night.”

“Its just...well...I know you’re not too keen on this whole thing…”

“I’m not but some pretty smart ladies informed me that I was being foolish. I can’t stop you guys from growing up but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” That got him another big hug before Ramona padded off upstairs.

It wasn’t long before the rest of the girls, Judy, and the Cardoza twins followed. The big boys went over to the Farmer’s place to get themselves geared up. Jason fed the dogs first while the girls got situated upstairs and Judy plopped the little guys in front of cartoons with bowls of cereal. Just as he was getting ready to crack a couple dozen eggs, the girls came down to kick him out of the kitchen.

“Chill out Dad, we got this,” Lee said as she ushered him into his seat at the kitchen table. From there he watched as all four girls worked together to make a quick cold breakfast and pack up a cooler for their trip. Bagels went from the freezer to the oven. Ziplock bags of leftover burgers and hot dogs were packed along with bottled water and cans of soda. There was even a backpack full of junk food. There was the occasional spat of bickering but for the most part it was a team effort. And the boys were doing the same outside breaking camp. They also had a cooler of their own in a wagon, piled high with their fishing gear.

It was two cups of coffee before the preparations were complete and Jason had everyone line up for inspection. Only the boys took it seriously though, answering all his questions with straight back and hard eyes while the girls giggled through every response. He checked the contents of both coolers, expecting to find some sort of contraband but there was none and he no excuse but to send them on their way.

“I’m tracking your phones by the way,” he called after them, talking to his girls and they both looked back with a shrug.

“Duh Daddy,” they said in unison, shaking their heads and all Jason could do was laugh as he headed back inside.

Meanwhile, Carmen Cardoza was in her 14th hour of labor but unlike the births of her sons, she was completely content. The heart rates of both mommy and baby were steady and strong. Her only discomfort came with the contractions that were roughly 30 minutes apart. She was on her third lap around the maternity ward, arm linked with her best friend, as the two laughed and chatted about Victory’s rekindled marriage while Danny napped on a cot in the birthing suite. All in all, the experience was a far more pleasant than her last birth but just before they headed to the hospital, Carmen started to notice some changes in her “birthing buddy”.

Despite the countless large coffees she’d drank, Victory’s eyes were heavy and often far off. And though she hadn’t complained, Victory seemed to wince at the slightest contact with her breasts. At one point her eyes watered when Carmen’s shoulder brushed across her chest as Victory helped her to the bathroom. There were other things too, like the wet burbs, but Carmen kept her inklings to herself. This was her day, her daughter’s day, and she wouldn’t ruin it getting into a shouting match with Victory.

And still it was two more hours before she began to push. Fifteen minutes after that the youngest Cardoza came screaming into the world at a whopping 9 lbs. 5 oz. At 21 inches, she was the biggest of the brood with a full head of curly brown hair and a face full of freckles, just like her mother. Victory stayed long enough to watch the miracle that was an infant latching on for the first time. Exhausted herself, she kissed all the Cardoza congratulations and headed for the door.

“Don’t you want to hold her first,” Carmen asked without taking her eyes off her new baby girl and Victory waved her off.

“Maybe tomorrow. I think I might be coming down with something,” she said, punctuated by another belch.

“Ehh, I’m sure you’re fine. Do me a favor and have Judy bring the boys when they get back from their little fishing trip...that’s if Jay let them out of his sight.”

“I’m sure they went. Caed and Cash are as much big brothers to my girls as they to that little one.”

“Damn right,” Danny cooed as he scooped up his child with the confidence of an experienced father and pressed her to his chest. “You’re never gonna get a date pretty girl...Daddy and all your Uncles plus all your big brothers will make sure of that.”

Victory made herself scarce before that little debate got going, but made a note to remind Jay to keep good notes on dealing with little girls becoming little women. She called Judy on her way to the car to pass along Carmen’s message. Once that was done she shot a text to Jay and the girls with pictures and all the new baby stats to share with the oldest Cardoza boys. Nobody texted her back but that didn’t much matter to Victory, as far as she was concerned the house might just be empty. Empty house meant she could get a solid nap in before dinner.

Despite Jay’s truck in the driveway, Victory was greeted by silence as she entered through the back of the house. She didn’t bother calling out or looking, simply headed up to the master bedroom and flopped down on their lumpy king sized bed. They’d had it for years, almost as long as they’d lived at the farmhouse. As much as she remembered complaining about it, Victory found it comforting as she snuggled up against Jason’s pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, in the woods a few miles away, Lee Smith sat on a boulder with Hunter Farmer. Both their feet were bare as they dangled fishing poles into the waist deep creek. Neither of them were interested in catching anything, or talking for that matter, unlike the rest of their fishing party who hadn’t stopped giggling and bickering since they left the house in the morning. In fact, Hunter and Lee were the only ones who “fished”. The rest alternated between swimming and telling tall tales around the fire Cash and Brittany built with nothing more than a couple sticks, a few cotton balls, and some dried out driftwood. It wasn’t anything the country kids couldn’t handle, just large enough for them to reheat the barbecue leftovers and the odd marshmallow for s’mores.

Lee had expected there to be a little more teasing when her and Hunter drifted away from the group but her sister ensured there would be none of that, giving the rest of the boys a stern talking to on the way to the fishing hole.

“I might live a million miles away but I can still make your lives a living hell if you ruin this for my sister,” she said to Caed and Cash with both the Barnes girls as back up. “Britt told me you’re sweet on Tara Graham, be a shame if she found out you're an immature asshole like the rest of the eighth grade boys,” she said to Cash and his little brother burst out laughing until Ramona swung her steely gaze to him. “Esme Sandoval’ll get the same message if you ain’t careful Caed.” That shut them both down and allowed Hunter and Lee to enjoy their day relatively undisturbed.

There was still a wily 10-year-old in their group who took great joy in catching frogs and various other slimy things in an attempt to gross out the girls. Unfortunately for Wyatt Farmer, the girls on this trip weren’t the prissy kind. Sure they chattered about One Direction and the latest episode of Girl Meets World, wore lip gloss and poorly applied mascara, not one of them were opposed to catching worms for live bait.

A few yards away, Jason Smith watched from the vantage point provided by the old creek bridge. He stayed in the shadows of the old oak trees that had overtaken the old country road. On his hike, his mind created all sorts of scandalous scenes and his blood boiled knowing that he would be proven right in his reluctance to let his girls go off alone. He’d seen the strings of bikini tops barely hidden under t-shirts as they ventured off but he heeded his wife’s words, trusted her judgement. But now alone in the wilderness, he allowed his mind to ruminate on what might transpire between his sweet girls and a group a prepubescent predators. Regardless of the fact that he’d known those predators since birth, you could never be too sure. As a deputy, Jason had arrested enough childhood pals to know that, when it came down to it, you never really knew anybody.

Imagine his relief when he came upon the little group to find them all doing what kids did. Granted there was a fair amount of swearing, but that was the only transgression he could find. Lee and Hunter perched on a boulder with the fishing poles jammed into the dirt, barely touching as they talked quietly. He couldn’t help the smile that came as he watched his daughter burst into giggles at something the Farmer boy said. She gave him a playful shove, and when he recovered, Lee put her head on his shoulder and Hunter put his arm around her waist. Britt and Cash stood on the bank of the creek, giving little Wyatt a lesson in rock skipping while Caed and Taylor put out the small fire they’d built. Jason scanned their makeshift campsite and found not one bit of litter. No empty beer cans. No smoldering cigarette butts. They were all good kids, enjoying some relatively wholesome unsupervised fun. There were selfies being taken but not one set of duck lips, and he felt bad for the hard time he’d been giving them.

That didn’t make him anymore ready to see them out in the world though, just made him realize that maybe he could loosen up a little. But he would not tell Victory she was right, or he’d never hear the end of it. With his mind eased, Jason made the trek back home with a smile on his face.

The smile only widened when he found his wife curled up in bed around his pillow. Had he not been sweaty and dirty he might have joined her but Jason thought a shower might be a better idea. He hoped that the sound of plumbing might wake her but there was no such luck so he planted a kiss on her forehead and headed down to wait for the kids to get back. He settled down on the sofa with Peaches for a little mindless television and before long the barking of the rest of the dogs announced their return. They didn’t come inside right away and Jason didn’t go out, allowing them to say their goodbyes in peace. He listened as clean-up tasks were delegated and an impromptu water fight broke up, but still he sat, hoping that the noise might wake Victory.

But still there was no such luck. The Barnes girls were picked up by their parents shortly before Judy arrived to wrangle the Cardoza boys. He laughed thinking she would be a good mother the way she barked orders and shut down the gripping of the pre-teen boys. And still he sat, even as the sun began to set and his daughter sat on the back porch with a boy who Jason was certain was more than a friend at this point. It was a part of life, his mother told him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it but he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Tony Farmer call his boys in for dinner.

Ramona and Lee came giggling inside shortly thereafter and only paused long enough to kiss their father’s cheeks before they headed upstairs to clean up. Jason waited for their door to shut before he too headed upstairs to check on his wife, who still slept peacefully in their marital bed. She wasn’t curled up anymore though, the blankets were half on the floor as she lay spread eagle. At some point she must have awaken because her yoga pants were in a ball on the floor, along with the hoodie she’d worn the night before. He leaned down to push her hair out of her face and found that she was drenched in sweat. Jason held his hand on her forehead a moment then shifted it to the back of her neck, checking for fever but there was none. Night sweats wasn’t something that Victory typically experienced but he’d gotten enough lectures from her to know that he was almost clueless when it came to “the ever changing female anatomy”. Just as he was getting up though, Jason remembered something about this particular change. It was almost 13 years ago but he remembered very vividly what triggered this particular change. If Victory hadn’t been rolling into the fifth hour of a nap he might not have thought anything of it, but together only meant one thing to Jason. Victory was pregnant, had to be. It explained everything. All the sex and heavy sleeping. How sweet she’d been with his mother. The uptick in protein and fat in her diet. All signs pointed to a bun in the oven, and Jason had to convince himself to remain calm until he knew for sure. As far as he could tell Victory had no idea, given how much she’d been drinking.

“You watching me sleep...holy shit what time is if,” Victy said as she shot forward and Jason couldn’t help laughing at her bedhead. She narrowed her eyes at him a moment before he reached to run his hands through her tresses and Victory leaned into his hand.

“Almost seven,” he said with a grin and Victory narrowed her eyes at him again as she slid out of bed.

“Guess I better go get dinner started…”

“You don’t have to honey,” Jason said quickly, catching Victory hand and kissing her palm. “How ‘bout I take my girls out for a night on the town?”

“I don’t much feel like getting dressed Blue Jay.”

“Well ain’t no dress code at the Bridge,” he said with a grin and Victory shook her head as Jason pulled her into his lap. “What do say? Me, you, and the girls get barbeque in sweat pants.”

“Sweat pants….I think I can manage that.”

 

[JawnKarTurr]

A Victory & Glory Blog post

I normally let my beloved wife and partner in all things Victory would be handling the blog work here at Farm & City but I thought I’d do this entry because I was realized while a lot of you had been along for the ride for some time now there is always somebody reading a post for the first time. This all started roughly twenty years back when Victory and I found out we were blessed for the second time when we found out she was pregnant with our third child Jacob. It was a little bit of a shock since we were both close to forty and we had a pair of teenagers at home thinking about college. Ramona and Lee, of course, handled in the news in a mature fashion asking in disbelief that we still had sex. That said those two were great to their mother during the whole pregnancy and beyond.

For those of you who don't know we went from the verge of divorce and living in separate communities to not only getting back together but also a new living arrangement, and a new child. To make things even more complicated I took on a new career path at an age when most people were looking to the home stretch. Victory was always open to the unconventional so I tried it too, but rather than give up farm life we found a balance. While our girls loved their private school at least one weekend a month they came home to see grandparents and friends. Lee kept things up with her boyfriend Hunter up until High school and that wasn’t the last chapter either.

Victory this time around made having a baby a project with launching this blog about having careers and a farm, but also a website about having children later in life. She covered everything with experts from sex during pregnancy to working out and managing your career. She interviewed all her friends and even did a series of lingerie shots for maternity store in Atlanta. You don’t always want to see your half naked wife all over town, but knowing she’s all yours makes it a little bit easier. Also as I went on my own fitness journey she wrote about that too, and her best friend was soon able to set up his own fitness camp. I still say I made his business when I performed so well at the fire academy. More than a few people were thrown off when I was greeted at graduation by a sexy woman with a baby on her hip and two teenagers. Hey, life is about pushing to keep living if you take anything from me that should be it.

At the farm the S&F Corporation had been busy improving the land. A new house was put on the property on the other end which meant a new dirt road and gave our longtime friends and employees a real house. Not the most conventional arrangement, but while a lot of money was spent we soon saw our farm fresh products in restaurants all around Atlanta. Fresh eggs, meat, veggies, and even honey saw the company brand thanks to the Farmer’s and our growing staff. It was simple really never hire anyone you wouldn’t make a partner. It was also a wonderful place to watch Jacob grow up and play with his grandparents looking on. Most kids have one of those toys that make animal sounds, but he had the real thing.

We saw our other daughters’ graduate, get married, and buy more dogs. One nurse, one vet tech, and dance instructor who thinks pole dancing is art. If you don’t know what I’m talking about click on the Mama V link and you’ll see all about it. They were there for Jacob as much as they were for his sisters, and I don’t even think distance slowed them down. They were also with us when we had to say goodbye to our beloved dog Peaches. She was there for the girls since they were babies and it was heartbreaking just to post her many pictures on the site. I sit don’t like clicking over unless I’m ready for a good cry. All I can say is if you have beloved pet spend time with them and in the end comfort them and relieve their pain. The girls took it particularly hard, but were comforted by our other animals and happy in the thought Peaches was in a better place happy and healthy.

I won’t end on a low note though because there are up’s and downs in life, and with changes Victory and I knew we had to make them and thankfully work permitted it. We had date nights and shared care for Jacob as much as we could. Victory fought for daycare not just for herself but for all the women at the station and threatened to not resign her contract and her on air partner who didn’t have kids at the time made it clear the same went for her. For all the women who had to work hard, this was a lifeline and she was their champion. So while she talked about sports Jacob would sleep in the office. One famous show she covered herself and breastfed while interviewing an NFL player. She actually got him to open up and talk about home and he praised his wife a lot for caring for the kids while he was way. He came off really well if embarrassed a little, and for that, we received 11 teddy bears in Atlanta jerseys.

Thanks to fire department I got to spend more time with my son and even took him on trips to the gym on my days off. Victory thinks Jacob’s love of athletics comes from his childhood days of trying to copy me as he watched workouts. I have to say my time with the department has been very rewarding. I came to the job with the maturity and experience I needed, and I got to help a lot of people and meet new people who became my friends. I stayed active for most of my twenty years with the service before taking a position at the fire academy. Victory said it wasn’t about slowly down, but rather being at a stage in life when it was time to share everything I learned.

In all I’m glad we had the life filled with birthdays, graduations, and a lot more good times then bad. Ramona surprised us first with joining the Marines out of college so she could be a helicopter pilot. Three years later she was back to us in the reserves and flying medical helicopters. Also she was engages to Cole a college sweetheart she kept in touch with on Facebook who was also applying to the fire department. If that wasn’t enough she told us six weeks later she was pregnant. Taking after her mother she had a website called Marine Mom and had all kinds of links helping women with benefits.

Lee was a good athlete and after college she continued her love of sports as a fitness model. She was a real gym rat and did all kinds of competitions including MMA. So we were a little surprised when she ended up with Hunter again. It wasn’t like he was waiting around either, he’d been married and while he still worked with us he owned his own business selling and repairing ATV’s. Once they got reacquainted though it was only about three weeks before Lee was taking a selfie of her showing off a new ring. The Farmers who had for years been like family finally were and for a short time while the kids were looking for places and working out child care we had everyone back at the farm. Victory and I look at the time as a mixture of joy and insanity.

Before we knew it though our baby boy wasn’t a baby anymore and for a kid who grew up on a farm the surprise this time was him wanting to join the Coast Guard. While traveling overseas he met Karmina Somper a beautiful dark haired Israel girl. They were both young, but they connected well. Go figure her mother was a woman’s soccer coach and her father fire fighter, and she was already a veteran. It took some time but she later immigrated and we met her parents who also had a farming background so we all got along fine. Karmina had to deal with her new big sisters, but survived the experience and was loved. Seemed she was good enough for the brother they never wanted. The girls tease but they love him a lot. We’ve been to Israel as well, and Jacob is still serving while his bride attends college. They’re regulars at the house.

I’m sure Victory could do a better job of all this and I know I’ve left somethings out like Victory making the move to TV and doing some teaching at the community college. She’d say I was too modest like adopting a dog we rescued from accident scene and other heroics, but I believe all that just comes with the job. As to me and Victory we’re still having fun and we always go for a walk and hold hands and talk about our days. We still do date night even if we have more salads then burgers, and cuddles can still turn into some more fun. So I guess in closing never forget what you have when it’s good, and never get so lazy that you don’t work to keep it. When I look back on that time we were apart nobody was happy. Lot of anger and tears, but when we worked through that I knew we had something good. So complain about the little things, but fix the big things and you’ll do fine.

 

[grdybiwife]

The first comment...

I don't think I could have said it any better.

VS