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As Tuck Would Have It -*- Copyright 1998 by Ellen Hayes.

Any resemblance between the writings in this work, and any actual
persons or places, living or dead, are purely coincidental, except when
used for satirical purposes.

This work contains adult situations, adult language, adult concepts, and
possibly sex.  If you are legally not allowed to read materials
containing such things, then you will be breaking the law by reading
this.  I am not responsible.
Continuing to read this document, or storing it or reproducing it
in any format means that you explicitly affirm that you are legally
allowed to possess and read such materials in your city, county/parish,
state, and country.

All rights reserved.  See the bottom for distribution rights.


As Tuck Would Have It


***
06:31 13 Mar

     My alarm went off, and I slammed it until it shut up, then lay
there in the dark until I found all my wits and jammed them together in
some sort of thought.
     *No work today, amen.  So I'd better get a shower...*

***
07:26 13 Mar

     I was sitting down in the front room, looking like I was waiting
for a ride, and reading again.  Brian came pounding down the stairs and
around the corner and down the hallway and yanked the door open and
rushed through it and slammed it.
     "Are you ever gonna remember what time the bus leaves?" I asked
rhetorically as I watched him run across the lawn.

***
08:13 13 Mar

     My phone was flashing as I opened the door to my room, so I dove on
the bed and grabbed the handset.  "Hello?"
     "Hi hon," said Debbie.  "They gone?"
     "Yep!"
     "See you in a bit, then.  Kisskiss," and she hung up.

***
08:21 13 Mar

     Someone knocked on the front door.  I went to look, and sure enough
it was Debbie.  I hauled the door open.  "Helllllloooo, darling!"
     "Hi," she said back, smiling.  "can I come in?"

***
08:26 13 Mar

     "Oh, wait," I told her when she got done kissing me again.  She
lifted her eyebrows at that, but I just turned around and picked up the
remote for the stereo.
     As the waltz I'd found lurking in my mom's classical music
collection floated out of the speakers, I turned back to her and asked,
"Would my lady like to dance?"
     Her smile told me everything I needed to know.

***
08:56 13 Mar

     "Oh, and I changed the sheets and everything..." I mentioned as I
keyed in the access code on my bedroom door.
     "Oh, good," she said, and stuck a hand down the back of my pants.
"I like your butt," she said over my squeal of surprise.
     "What?"
     "It's a nice butt," she told me.  "It used to be this little tight
butt, but now it's a lot nicer," and she ran her hand along it, not
coincidentally shoving my pants down, where they fell to my ankles. "Got
some meat on it or something.  It's not all bony like it used to be."
     "Oh, good," I said, kind of confused.  I thought it was getting
fat.  Guess not.

***
09:42 13 Mar

     We were both sort of taking a rest, curled up against each other.
I was stroking her back gently, seeing what kind of noises I could make
her emit.  Rather a lot, I'd found, especially around her rear end and
her neck.  I think I liked her butt a lot more than she liked mine.
Then I got this weird idea that I couldn't get rid of.
     "Deb?"
     "Nnnnn?"  She opened her eyes.
     "So what do you and Lisa do when you're together?"
     "Huh?"  She blinked a few times.
     "When you two...."
     "Oh."  She thought about it.  "Mostly the same stuff, really,
except you have something she doesn't, and she has something you don't."
She giggled.
     "What's she got that I don't got?"  I knew what I had that she
didn't.
     Debbie got this smile on her face.  "Breasts, for one thing."
     "Oh?  What do you do to hers?"  I was hoping she would show me what
she liked.
     She pushed me over on my back, and climbed on top of me.  Then she
bent down and licked one nipple once.  "Eeeeeyaaah!" I said, a little
stunned by the intensity of the reaction.
     "Oh, you like that?" she asked rhetorically.
     "Uh huh!"
     "Want some more?" she taunted me.
     "Uh huh!"  I curled a hand around her bottom and towards her sweet
spot for encouragement.

***
10:21 13 Mar

     "God, you're insatiable," she told me.
     "Is it too much?" I asked, a little worried that I was tiring her
out.  She was tiring me out.  I got so tired I forgot to orgasm last
time.  I was feeling better now, though.  Heh.
     "Oh, I dunno..." she said, and stuck a finger on her chin in this
fake pose.  She giggled way too soon, though, so I wasn't worried.
     "Besides," I reminded her, "who keeps saying 'Lick me, lick me,'
huh?"
     She stuck her tongue out, so I stuck my mouth over it.

***
11:04 13 Mar

     "Want a shower?"
     She gave me a look.  "Were you thinking of taking a shower, or us
taking a shower together, or us screwing in a waterfall sort of thing?"
     And I had been thinking I was gonna be limp for the rest of the
week.  Twitch.  Nope.  "Um, sort of B, but C might be an option, now
that you mention it."
     She reached down to check it out, and her eyebrows went really far
up, like I did when she put her hand around my dick.  "Jeezus, Tuck,
you're unbelievable."
     "It's you, you know," I told her, and started kissing around her
throat.  "You drive me crazy."
     "Uhhhhhhhhhh," she said as she threw her head back and grabbed me
around the body with both arms.  "Oh, God," she added.

***
11:16 13 Mar

     "This time you get the shower side," I told her as we got in.
     "No way!  I don't want any bruises from the nozzle."
     "Hey!  You didn't mind ME getting 'em last time!"
     "Let's wrap a towel around it, okay?" she suggested.
     "Okay, but you still get the faucet side this time."

***
11:31 13 Mar

     I was so glad I was almost lying down, because I was gonna need
help to get up after that.  Unfortunately, it looked like Debbie was in
the same boat.  And I knew the hot water wasn't gonna last that long.

***
11:40 13 Mar

     "Do my back?" she asked.

***
12:04 13 Mar

     "Well, now what?" I asked her as we sat back down on my bed.  I was
gonna have to change the sheets again.  Oh darn.
     She gave me this tired but happy look.  "Sweetie, I am so tired out
I don't think I could do anything else."
     "Oh thank God," I sighed as I flopped down on the bed.  She giggled
at that, then flopped down beside me.
     I'd almost fallen asleep, unbelievably, when she kissed me.  "Huh?"
I said stupidly.
     "I said thank you, silly," and she kissed me again.
     I kissed her back.  "No, thank YOU.  This is the best day I've had
in a long time."
     "Me too."
     We snuggled against each other.

***
13:41 13 Mar

     The phone flashed a couple of times before I woke up enough to
remember what it was.  "Uh, 'lo?"
     "Hey Tuck, come on!"  It was Mike.  "You're still in bed?  It's
almost two!"
     "Got my reasons.  What's up?"  Debbie moved tighter against me.
     "Wanna do something?"
     "Uh.  Maybe inna bit, okay?"
     "Okay."  He hung up.  I shrugged mentally, then hung my phone up
and snuggled back against Debbie.

***
14:02 13 Mar

     *Red light, red light... door,* I thought dimly.  So I stumbled up,
made sure Debbie was covered up, and slipped on my robe before I went
to go see who was at the front door.
     When I opened the door to my room, though, Mike was right in front
of it.  "Ah!" I said, remembering way too late that one flash was MY
door signal.  I never should have given him a key to my house, I
thought.
     "Hey, man, you're still-" he started to say before I shushed him
and slipped out of my room, shutting the door behind me.  "What?"
     Debbie was naked in my bed and didn't want any surprises, I didn't
say.  My bedroom smells like sex, I didn't add.  "Nothing," I lied, and
started downstairs.  "What's going on?  Did you bring anybody else?" I
asked, suddenly thinking again.
     "No, just my lovely self," he said, following me.  "So you're off
today, huh?"

***
14:05 13 Mar

     We were in the kitchen as I sucked on a coke and tried to figure
out how to get rid of Mike so I could get Debbie out of the house.
     "You know, just figured that we could, uh..."
     "Oh, hey," said Debbie's sleepy voice.
     *Uh oh,* I thought as I turned around.  She was in a nightgown,
which really boggled me for this long minute until I figured that she
must've figured out where I had stashed everything she'd given me, and
gotten it out of there.
     "Nothin'," she answered Mike, and smiled at me.  I smiled back at
her, full once again with the warm glow I'd had since last night.
     "'Nothing'?" Mike said in disbelief, turning around to glance at
me.  "Oh, God, it's just not fair," he complained to the ceiling.
     Debbie floated over to me and swigged half my coke.  "Got any
more?" she asked.
     "In the fridge," I told her, and watched as she went and got one.
Luckily, they were on the bottom shelf, so she had to bend over to get
it, which meant I got to look at her butt outlined against the
nightgown.  It was a glorious rear.
     As she stood up and turned around, Mike asked, "Are you listening?"
     "No," I told him truthfully as I beckoned to Debbie.  "Let's go in
the living room."

***
14:08 13 Mar

     I was really enjoying Debbie sitting on my lap, even if she was
making really disgusting noises as she sucked caffeine into herself.
     "I dunno," she said after one gulp, "lunch would be good."

***
14:17 13 Mar

     "All night?" Mike asked me after Debbie was up the stairs to get
changed into something decent.
     "No... she came over this morning after my folks had left."
     "So it was all morning?"
     "Yep."  I couldn't help grinning at that.
     "You're disgusting, Tuck."
     "Why?"
     "'Cause, man, she dresses you up like a girl and all this other
stuff, and then she does things like this."  He shook his head sadly.
"Me, I just have normal girlfriends with normal dates and no sex."
     I shrugged.  "Maybe you should try letting one dress you up like a
girl sometime.  It seemed to... do something for Debbie."
     He made a face at that.  "I think Debbie's one in a million as far
as that's concerned."  I shrugged.  "Besides, that's not my thing."
     "Not my thing either," I pointed out, "but it seems to be working
for us, you know."
     "Like I said, I think that's sort of a rare thing.  Besides, what
if I suggested it to some girl and she freaked, and then spread it all
over school?  I'd be doomed."
     He had a point.

***
14:38 13 Mar

     "Dang, the place is deserted," Debbie mentioned as we walked back
to a table.  "This seems like the time to go if you want to avoid
crowds."
     "I like avoiding crowds," I mentioned.

***
14:51 13 Mar

     "Well, I dunno," Debbie said as she snagged a fry out of my basket.
Unlike Book, I wasn't gonna protest.  Besides, it would be really petty
after what we'd done this morning.  And since it was stolen it had no
calories, though why that continued to bother her, I had no idea.  I'd
inspected her very closely this morning, and in my opinion, she was the
ultimate perfect weight.  Whatever it was.
     She went on, "But I think you ought to try asking Kim to do
something or other.  You might be surprised."
     Mike and I both gasped at the same time, "KIM?!"
     Debbie just nodded as she lifted another french fry.  But she had
this smile on her face, like she'd just scooped the New York Times.

***
14:56 13 Mar

     "But-" Mike was asking desperately, when Debbie's pager went off.
     "Oh, shit," she said, with feeling, as she pulled it off her purse
and looked at the number.  "Who... I should know this number," she
mumbled to herself.
     "Who is it?" I asked.
     "Dunno, lemme out and I'll find out," she replied, pushing me.  I
got up and let her out of the booth.
     Mike and I looked at each other.  "At least your girlfriends aren't
on call all the time," I told him.
     "Uh huh, but what do you think about Kim?" he asked.  One track
mind.  "Do you think Debbie's serious?"

***
14:58 13 Mar

     I was telling Mike why Debbie had to be telling the truth, at least
as far as Debbie knew it, when she came back to the table, looking a
little upset.  "Vah, uh," she stumbled.
     "Uh oh.  Who was it?" I asked.
     "Miz Parker.  Ricky's sick, and she wants to know if you could come
sit tonight, her and her husband have some kind of business party that
she says she HAS to go to."  
     "Waiiittt.... she has to go to this party, and she didn't call
until now?"
     Debbie shrugged.  "She was gonna get her sister to sit the kids,
but with one of 'em sick, she doesn't want to spread it."
     "Awww....  Shit."
     "Sweetie, I've got two consults to do tonight, so it's not like we
could be together much longer anyway, tonight..."  She trailed off.
     "You gonna take it?" Mike asked me.
     I shrugged at him.  "I guess so, she wanted me specifically."
Debbie sort of looked relieved when I said that.  We all sighed at the
same time.  "What time?"
     "She wants you there at five thirty," Debbie said.
     "At least it's not right this instant," Mike remarked.
     "Yeah," Debbie sighed sadly.

***
16:41 13 Mar

     "So you're just gonna get dressed while Brian's home?" Mike asked
me as we shut the door.
     "Like I have a choice?" I asked him.  Debbie was already digging in
the dark depths of my closet to find something for me to wear.  I was
gonna have to do better at concealing this stuff.  I'd gotten sloppy
over the last week.
     "What're you gonna do for a ride home?" he asked.  "I gottta Do
Something tonight," he said with that special emphasis that meant it was
technically illegal and the less I knew the less I could say under oath.
     "Dunno," I replied.  "Hey, Deb?  Can I get a ride home after they
get back and I can go home?"
     I heard her sigh.  "Dunno.  It's been a long day, and I've got to
help Lisa tonight.  I may not be safe to drive when you get out.  Lemme
think about it, okay?  I think..."  She trailed off.  "When was the last
time you washed any of this stuff?" she asked out of the blue.

***
16:56 13 Mar

     "Bye, hon, be good tonight," Debbie told me as we embraced outside.
     "You too, okay?"  She nodded before I kissed her some more.
     It was a long kiss, but more romantic than passionate.  I thought
we'd used up all the passion that morning.

***
17:02 13 Mar

     "So where are you gonna do your superhero identity change thing?"
Mike asked as we drove off.
     "Uh, there's this parking lot I tend to use... I dunno.  It might
be busy, right now.  Any place that's relatively quiet."

***
17:09 13 Mar

     "Damn," Mike commented as I worked on my hair.  "You're getting
scary with this, Tuck.  I mean Val," he corrected hastily as I glared at
him.
     "Don't get me killed, you dumbass chink," I warned him.  "One slip
in the wrong place..."
     "Jeez, sorry, I mean, one minute it's my old buddy Tuck, then it's
you, and I didn't even see you move."
     I sighed.  "Sorry."

***
17:31 13 Mar

     Close enough, I hoped.  "Well good luck tonight," Mike said as I
got out of the car.
     "Thanks... um, talk to you later, I guess."  He shrugged, and
nodded, and I slammed the door.
     I walked up to the door and knocked, and looked behind me.  He was
still waiting.  The door finally opened.  "Hi, uh," I said, because it
was some big older guy I'd never seen before.
     "Valerie?" he asked, and I nodded.  "Come on in, I'm Dave Parker."
Oh, good.  I walked in behind him, and waited while he turned and shut
the door.  "My wife said you've sat for us before, right?"  I nodded, a
little too intimidated to talk.  He had this really awesome presence
around him.  And he seemed almost as big as Travis, too.
     "Ricky's up in his room," he continued.  "He's got some kind of
cold, since this morning."

***
17:33 13 Mar

     It was a definite relief to be in Ricky's room, while his dad went
to finish getting ready.  He scared me a little.  Sad, really.
     Ricky did not look well.  He opened his eyes as I turned on the
light by his bed.  "Hi," he said.  He even sounded sick.
     "Hi, kiddo," I replied as I sat next to him.  "How are you doing?"
     "I'm sick," he told me, sounding a little irritated.
     "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry."  I felt his forehead, just to check.  It
was warm, almost hot, but not burning.  That was good.
     "Are you gonna stay with me tonight?" he asked before he had a
coughing fit.
     When he finished, I told him, "Yeah, until your mom and dad get
back, okay?"  He nodded, looking exhausted.  "Why don't you rest for a
little while, okay?"  He just closed his eyes.
     I got up slowly, trying not to disturb him, and walked out.
     Ricky's mom was there, dressed but no makeup.  "Hi Valerie," she
said.  "Sorry to call you on such short notice, but I was just so busy
today... and this is one of those work parties for David.  We can't just
skip it, even with a sick child."  She sighed tiredly.  "Thanks for
coming," she finally said.
     "Oh, it's okay," I lied to her.  "Have you taken Ricky to the
doctor yet?"
     "Yes, we went this morning.  He's got some medicines to take, uh,
let's go over them, okay?  And don't let him talk you out of taking
them, either."
     I shook my head.  "My mom wouldn't let me out of it, and I'm alive
today because of it.  I used to have asthma," I explained.  "He won't be
a problem."
     She gave me a look.  "You do seem to have a way with him," she
said.  I shrugged, and she smiled.  "You'll make a good mommy yourself
someday."

***
17:46 13 Mar

     She was giving Stella her last feeding before she left.  I was Not
Looking.  "Has he eaten already?" I asked her.
     "Ricky?  He had a little supper.  He might want some more later, he
usually does.  He just can't handle too much at one time."
     I nodded.  Too much swallowing of gross things didn't leave much
room in the stomach for food.  Been there, done that.  "Well, I think I
can handle it from here," I told her.  "You two go out and have a good
time."
     She smiled, but it was her husband, whom I didn't know was in the
kitchen, who said, "Thanks, Valerie."  I didn't scream.  "We're really
grateful for you coming on such short notice," he continued.

***
17:49 13 Mar

     I put Stella into her crib for the time being, since she looked
like she wanted to take a nap anyway, and went into Ricky's room.  He'd
rolled over, but didn't seem awake.  I stayed and listened to him
breathe for a while.  He sounded fairly clear, at least, with no
wheezing or anything worse, just a little congestion, though he was
breathing through his mouth and not his nose.
     His next dose was at six, so I decided I'd let him sleep as long as
he could.

***
18:02 13 Mar

     "Mom?" Ricky asked from his room.  I dropped my pencil in my
history book and went to go see what he wanted.
     "Mommy?" he asked when I walked through the door.
     "No, hon, just me, Valerie," I told him.  "What's up?"
     He just sat there for a while.  "I got scared," he finally told me.
     I walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.  "I'm right outside,
Ricky," I said, trying to be soothing.  "I'm not going to leave you
alone, okay?  I'm right over in Stella's room."
     He rolled over and coughed on my knee.  I could have done without
that, but I didn't yell at him for it.  When he got done coughing this
time, he asked, "Could you read me a story?"
     I looked at his clock.  "Why don't we wait until after you take
your medicine, and then I'll read you a story then?"
     "Do I have to take it?" he whined.
     "Yes you do," I said firmly.  "If you don't want to be like this
forever, you have to take your medicine so you can get well."  Actually,
if it was a cold, there was probably nothing anyone could do to make it
go away, but most cough syrups and so forth were to make it easier to
sleep anyway.  Which a sick person needed desperately.  I always did
when I was sick, at least.
     "It's nasty," he told me.
     "I know.  I had to take a lot of different kinds when I was little,
and it was all nasty.  But it helps you get better.  At least you don't
have to take it all the time like I had to," I told him.
     "Every day?"
     "Uh huh.  Four different kinds, and it was all bad."
     He looked at me skeptically.  "Why?"
     "Because I had asthma when I was little, which is something where
you can't breathe out sometimes.  If I got it too bad, I could have
died, and I always had to take stuff to keep it away."  Not to mention
inhalers and adrenaline injectors when it got really bad.  There was a
reason I didn't like hospitals; I'd spent too much time in them already,
and not in a nice way like getting my tonsils out, either.  Bad things,
like ICU for recurrent persistent pneumonia, for example, or the
innumerable runs to the emergency room in an ambulance before I choked
to death.
     "Really?"
     "Yep, really."
     He rested for a little bit, then opened his eyes again, and asked,
"Did you get better?"
     "Eventually," I told him.  "I'm okay now."
     "Did the medicine make you better?" he asked.  I was about to give
him the straight answer when I realized what he was going to lead up to
if I let him.  So I put a spin on it.
     "Well, it kept me alive and okay long enough for my body to get
better.  Which is what a lot of medicine is supposed to do.  It makes it
not hurt so bad, or makes you stop coughing, so you can sleep."
     "Oh."  He sounded almost disappointed.  I tried to keep a smile off
my face.

***
18:04 13 Mar

     "You take some," he told me.
     "Ricky, it's not my medicine," I told him patiently.  "I know it
tastes bad, but y-  Hold on a minute."  I looked in the refrigerator,
and there was some orange juice there.  "Here, what you do, is you take
your medicine, and then you wash your mouth out with this.  It'll make
the taste go away faster."  I poured a glass, and handed it to him.
"Medicine first, okay?"
     He sighed, but I think he was too weak to argue, or he knew he'd
take it if I had to hold him upside down and pour it down his nose.  So
he screwed up his little face, and gulped down the cupful of vile brews
as fast as he could.  He made this really amazingly funny face
afterwards, but I kept myself from laughing by telling him, "Quick!
Drink the juice!"  He did, really quick.  The whole glass.  When he came
up for air, he made a disgusted noise.  "I know," I told him, "but it's
better, isn't it?"
     He didn't want to agree with me.  I managed to keep my smile hidden
until I was washing my hands, and he couldn't see my face.

***
18:06 13 Mar

     "Can I watch TV?" he asked as I was ready to take him upstairs.
     "Um, sure, if you want to... I have to go get Stella, though."
     "Could you get my blankets, too?  I'm cold," he explained.
     I stifled a sigh.  "Sure."

***
18:22 13 Mar

     I looked behind me, and sure enough, he was asleep on the couch,
with the little stuffed teddy bear I'd found in his bed clutched in his
arms.  "Well," I told Stella, "this is as good a place as any to sleep,
I guess."  She smiled and gurgled at me, which I was going to take as
agreement.

***
19:06 13 Mar

     Even changing Stella wasn't so bad tonight.  Or maybe I was getting
used to it.  They said that you could get used to hanging if you did it
long enough.

***
19:17 13 Mar

     Ricky had a coughing fit, and as it ended, he whimpered, "Mommy?"
     "I'm here, Ricky," I told him,  getting up and sitting on the edge
of the couch.  He just grabbed my hand and sat up with it.  "Want to
blow your nose?" I asked.  He nodded, so I got him some kleenex, and
helped him.  Gross.
     "Valerie?" he asked when he was done.
     "What?"
     "Are Mom and Dad mad at me?"
     "What?  About you being sick?"  He nodded.  "No, they're sad you're
sick, kiddo.  They aren't mad at you.  Why would you think that?"
     "They left," he said simply.
     I felt so bad for him, I had to hug him.  "Noooo," I whispered into
his ear.  "They had to go to something for your daddy's work tonight,
it's very important.  They love you, they're not mad at you."
     "Are you sure?"
     "Absolutely positively," I told him.
     He held on to me for a long time, but he didn't say anything else.
I hoped that was a good sign.

***
20:06 13 Mar

     Stella was sort of mumbling to herself, and as it sunk through my
consciousness, I realized that she was hungry.  I sighed, and got up to
fix some formula before she really got upset.  And wash my hands some
more, so neither of us got what Ricky had.

***
20:11 13 Mar

     There was something seriously weird about sitting here, feeding a
baby in my lap while watching a sick child sleep.  Seriously weird.  I
wondered if my dad had felt that way about me, when I was younger.

***
21:39 13 Mar

     Ricky woke up and had another coughing fit, while I checked my
watch to see if it was time for him to take his medicine again.  Not
quite.
     When he finished, I helped him clean up, and asked him, "Feel
better?"  He shook his head.  "Sorry."  I checked his forehead to see if
he was any hotter.  Nope.
     "Let me up," he said, "I gotta go."  I had no problem with that.  I
wished I could teach Stella to go by herself.

***
22:03 13 Mar

     "Come on, come on, you can do it..." I told Ricky as he stared at
the medicine cup.  He took a deep breath, then choked it all down in one
go.  I handed him the orange juice as he gasped.

***
22:39 13 Mar

     I finished up the last of my history, and sighed, and leaned back.
And realized that I still didn't have a ride home.

***
22:40 13 Mar

     "This is Lisa Simmons, I'm not here right now so leave a message."
Oh shit.  At the beep, I said, "Lisa, it's Val.  I'm at the Parker
residence, and I need a ride home tonight, Debbie said to call you.
Um," I read the number off the phone.  "Please call back, please..." I
begged.

***
23:06 13 Mar

     The phone rang, and I reached over to get it before it woke anyone
up.  "Hello, Parker residence, may I help you?"
     "Uh, Val?"
     "Yeah, who's this?"  It wasn't Debbie, I knew that.
     "It's Lisa."  Oh.  "Listen," she continued, "We're still stuck at
this catering thing, but I know someone that can give you a ride home,
if you want..."
     "Of course I want, who is..."
     I trailed off because I realized who it had to be, if she was
acting like that, even as she told me.  "It's Travis, and he called me a
little while ago, to see if I needed any help tonight."
     I sighed.  "Oh.... sh-"  A glance at the children prompted me to
change it to "Shoot."  I thought about it.  "Yeah, okay," I sighed.
"Just, where am I gonna change?"
     "Um, page me when Travis gets there, and I'll give him directions,
and then you can hang with us until we get out."

***
23:11 13 Mar

     I sighed, and dialed Travis' number.  He picked up on the second
ring.  "'Lo?"
     "Travis?  It's Valerie, I've got a big favor to ask..."

***
23:14 13 Mar

     I hung up the phone, glad that he was having post-party insomnia.
Then as I looked at the phone, the idea crossed my mind that I ought to
call my folks and tell them I was still okay.  So I dialed Dad's office
number.  "Dad?  It's me," I told him when he picked up.
     "What's up?" he asked.  He didn't like late night phone calls; they
usually meant trouble.  "You're not in jail, are you?" he joked.
     "Worse, I'm still babysitting."
     "Oh, still?  How much longer are you going to be?"
     "I dunno, Dad..."  I sighed.  "I just have no idea.  Wish I did.
Anyway, I was just calling to tell you I was okay, and still working.
Do you want me to call when I get off?  I'm not sure I'll be done by my
normal check-in time," I warned him.  I hoped I would; normally I had to
be in by one.
     He thought about it for a while.  "Well, since you accepted this
job, I guess so, since you can't really leave, can you."  He wasn't
asking, but I told him no anyway.  "Are you going to need a ride home?"
     "No, I did get that arranged, I just don't know when it'll be."
     "Well, okay."  He sighed.  "I just wish you would arrange things
like this before they happen."
     "Dad," I told him, a little peeved, "if I knew about it before this
afternoon, or that it was going to go on this long before now, I WOULD
have.  But.... you know how it is, right?"  I hoped he remembered being
the only one on call for the ISP he was running, back when it was
smaller.
     "Yeah, I do."  He sighed again.  "Well, good luck, and don't forget
to lock up when you get in, if I'm not up."
     "I won't Dad," I agreed, relieved.  "Anyway, I gotta go change the
baby, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"
     "How many children are you sitting for?" he asked.  I sighed.

***
23:22 13 Mar

     I finally hung up the phone, glad beyond words that I'd finally
gotten rid of him.
     "Who was that?" asked Ricky, and I almost had a heart attack before
I realized that I could in fact tell him the absolute truth.

***
23:36 13 Mar

     Ricky had just drifted off again when there was a knock at the
door.  "Ahhh," I said, as quietly as I could manage considering how
scared I was.  I thought about it for a long time, and decided that if
it was an axe murderer, I'd jump him and either never have to do my
English paper, or end up a hero.
     "You gonna answer it?" Ricky asked, but instead of answering, I
just got up and went to check who it was.
     It was Travis, or a close facsimile.  "Oh, shit," I mumbled.
"Travis, what are you doing here?" I asked after I opened the door a
little.
     He gave me a stupid look.  "Um, didn't you call up and want a ride
home?"
     "Yes, but I can't leave yet!  They're not home!"
     His face fell.  "Oh, I thought, I thought you wanted it now."
     "Ohhhh..."  Shit!  "Heck.  Um...."  I didn't want to lose my ride
home, but I didn't really want him around either.  I thought about as
long as I dared, and finally decided that I'd better not risk it, a ride
at the door being worth three in the bush or something.  Especially
since I didn't have enough cash for a cab.  "Come on in, but you gotta
be quiet, okay?  I've got one sick kid and one baby, and they both need
to sleep."
     He bobbed his head spastically.  "Okay, I'll be quiet."  I opened
the door enough to where he could come in.  "When are they gonna get
here?" he asked.
     I sighed, and almost ran my fingers through my hair before I
remembered I didn't want to mess it up.  "I dunno.  Soon, I hope."

***
23:38 13 Mar

     I put my homework away quietly as Travis looked around the front
room, and at the two kids.
     "Who's that?" Ricky asked me as he looked at Travis.
     "This is Travis, he's giving me a ride home tonight.  Travis, this
is Ricky."
     Ricky managed to say hi before he had another coughing fit.  I went
over to help him, which I guess was kind of silly, since he wasn't
having any problems.  Not like I'd had sometimes, anyway.
     "Sick, huh?" Travis stated the obvious.  I just nodded, and helped
Ricky blow his nose and so on.
     All the commotion woke Stella up, and she started to fuss, so I had
to pick her up and put her on my lap.
     "Are you her boyfriend?" Ricky asked Travis, and I was about to
scream but Travis just said, "No."  But he looked at me when he said it.
     "We're just friends, Ricky," I added.  I hoped like hell he would
drop it.  Amazingly, he did, and wanted to know what was on television
at this time of night.  Travis just sat himself down near Ricky, with
the remote, and proceeded to find out.

***
23:56 13 Mar

     It was about time for Ricky's medicine, but he and Travis were
watching music videos, so I went to fix the doses and another glass or
two of orange juice.  He needed to drink more, but he'd been sleeping so
hard that I didn't want to wake him up to drink.

***
23:59 13 Mar

     "Go dude go dude go dude," chanted Travis as Ricky steeled himself
for the ordeal.  I thought it was kind of stupid, but Ricky took one
gulp, and then swallowed it all, then grabbed the glass of orange juice
and drank most of it.
     "Hey, way to go dude!" said Travis.  "I knew you could take it like
a man!"  Ricky just grimaced and nodded.  I just sighed.
     "Can I have something to eat?" he asked when he could talk again.
     "Um, sure, I guess.  What would you like?"
     He looked at Travis like he wanted his approval before he said
anything.  I got a little peeved at this, I mean, I HAD been good enough
before Travis got there, but now I felt kind of like I didn't matter any
more.  It was annoying.  "How about jelly crackers?" I asked, trying to
keep the irritation out of my voice.
     Ricky nodded enthusiastically.  Travis looked up at me and
shrugged.

***
00:07 14 Mar

     I'd made a whole bunch, but they went pretty quick, with all three
of us munching on them.
     Travis asked me what I'd been doing all week, and I told him, and I
asked him about his week, and he told me, and then he asked me how
school was doing, so I told him about that, and when I looked over
again, Ricky had passed out on the couch again.  He had drunk both
glasses of juice, though, so I felt better.
     Just about then, Stella must've smelled the food, because she woke
up and started this sort of mumbling moaning thing which meant she was
hungry and she should be fed or we'd regret it.
     I sighed and got up, and Travis did too.  I put a finger to my lips
so he'd be quiet, and picked up Stella and headed for the kitchen.
Amazingly, he actually collected the plates and stuff behind me and
carried them in while I was washing my hands before fixing her bottle.
     "Oh, thanks," I told him.  He just shrugged, and gave me this goofy
grin.  I didn't know what to make of that, so I just took the stuff from
him and dumped it in the sink before washing my hands again.

***
00:10 14 Mar

     "You look really pretty like that," Travis told me out of the blue.
     "Like what?"
     He pointed at me and Stella.  "You, I dunno.  You look like you
should be a mom or something."
     "Oh, please, I mean," I almost said, don't be ridiculous, I'm a
guy, but I remembered in time.  "I mean, I'm only fifteen.  Don't you
think it's a little young for kids?"
     He just shrugged.  "Sorry, you just look..."  Words failed him
then, and I couldn't tell what his gestures meant.  They didn't look
rude, at least, so I didn't worry too much.

***
00:38 14 Mar

     Ricky was asleep again, but Stella didn't want to be put down, so I
had her in my lap as we watched this old movie.  At least until I had to
go to the bathroom myself.
     I was going to just stick her in the little seat, but a glance at
Travis told me that he really needed to have a baby on his lap, heheh.
"Hey, Travis."  Let's see how you like being a daddy.
     "Huh?"
     "Hold Stella for a minute, okay?  I gotta go freshen up."
     He looked a little panicked.  "Do what?"
     "Here, just hold her," I told him, standing up and sticking Stella
into his hands.
     "But, but what do-"  He looked almost completely panicked now.  It
was hard to keep from laughing.
     "Just hold her, okay?  I'll be back in a minute."  I turned around
and went off to the bathroom, remembering to snag my purse.

***
00:43 14 Mar

     When I came back, feeling much better, Travis still looked like he
was holding a rattlesnake.  I tried not to laugh, and managed to keep it
down to one snort.  "Oh, come on, it's not that bad, Travis!  She's just
a baby, like you used to be."  I picked her out of his hands, and he
almost collapsed from relief.
     I sat down with her in my lap again, and just watched him try to
deal with the idea.

***
00:54 14 Mar

     "So, uh, you wanna go out tomorrow night?" he asked me.
     "Um, yeah, okay, I guess."  I did promise, and this would be the
last time.  Too bad Lisa's four hundred dollars hadn't lasted this long.
"Did you have something in mind to do?" I asked, not adding "Or is this
gonna be up to me like last time?"
     "Yeah, uh, a friend of mine, he's having a party, an' I thought,
y'know, we could go to it for a while, if you wanted to."  He was
staring at his feet as he told me this.
     "Yeah, that'd be okay, I guess," I told him.
     "Cool," he mentioned, bobbing his head.

***
01:24 14 Mar

     I must've fallen asleep, because the sound of the door opening was
a real surprise.  "Nnnh?" I said, waking up Stella, who said almost the
same thing.
     It was Mr. and Mrs. Parker coming through the front door, is what
it was.

***
01:26 14 Mar

     I paged Lisa and prayed that she would call back.

***
01:29 14 Mar

     The phone rang, and I dove for it.  "Parker residence, may I help
you?"
     "Val?  Are you still there?"  It was Lisa, amen.  "We finished a
while ago, we thought you were going out with him or something.  We're
home."
     "Uh, what?  We?"
     "Me and Deb," she explained like I was stupid.

***
01:36 14 Mar

     "Valerie, I really don't want you to have other people over when
you're sitting," Mrs. Parker told me sternly.
     "I'm really sorry," I tried to explain, "it's just he got confused
about the time to come over, and I didn't want to lose my ride home, is
all.  I kept an eye on him..."

***
01:38 14 Mar

     I think we finally got it all straightened out.  I hoped.  I
prayed.  So I grabbed Travis before he could get me in any more trouble,
and we left.
     "Is something wrong?" he asked, like he didn't know what was wrong.

***
01:40 14 Mar

     "Oh, God, I'm so sorry," he kept telling me, while I just stared
out the window and fought the urge to scream, or kill him, or something
else rash.  Debbie was gonna kill me if I lost this client.  And it was
all his fault.

***
01:41 14 Mar

     "You TALKED to her?"  I was scandalized.  I mean, I had thought it
couldn't possibly get any worse.
     He jerked his head.  "Yeah, I thought that maybe she might be
upset, about you having me inside while you were supposed to babysit, so
I told her that I was really sorry, about causing her and you problems,
and stuff, and she said it was okay."  I sat there as my stomach
churned.  *Why does this always have to happen to me?* I wondered.
     "It turned out she knows my mom," he mentioned.  "So she said it
was okay, since she sort of knew me."
     That woke me up.  "What?!"

***
01:49 14 Mar

     "So you wanna go get something to eat or something?" he asked.
     "Um..."  Something to settle my stomach might be a good idea.
"Yeah, sure, why not?"

***
02:09 14 Mar

     I slid into one side of the booth, and he slid in next to me.  Oh
boy.  I was going to protest, when I just gave up.  I was too tired.
And I hurt in strange and unusual places, probably because of Debbie and
me messing around this morning.  I never thought you could do it too
much, but I'd been wrong before.  And it felt like I'd been wrong again.
     "Um, is this okay?" he asked as he juggled the tray into place in
front of us.
     "Oh, sure," I said generously.

***
02:26 14 Mar

     "Val?"
     Something was irritating me, but if I ignored it, it would go away.
     "Valerie?  Hey, why don't we take you home, okay?"
     Something moved under me, whatever I was lying on, and I sat up,
angry.  Angry and confused.  "Huh?" I demanded.
     "Val?" asked Travis.  There were two of him.
     "Whuht?"  I stared at him until the two images fused into one.  He
was right next to me.  "Huh?"
     "Come on," he told me gently.  "Time to go home."

***
02:39 14 Mar

     I'd eventually gotten over my irritation at him waking me up,
especially when he told me that I'd just leaned on his shoulder and
passed out.  Now I felt a little embarrassed instead, especially when I
remembered what I was going to call him for waking me up and making me
move.
     "Sorry."
     He shrugged.  "It's okay," he said.  "I didn't think you meant it,
really."  He smiled at me.  I wondered what I'd actually said.
     We turned the corner, and shortly pulled up in front of Lisa's
house.  There was a light on which was about in the right place for her
bedroom, which was good.  I remembered very hard where Lisa had said the
buzzer was.  "Well," I said uselessly.
     "Hey, um," he said back.
     "Thanks for giving me a ride tonight, I really appreciate it.  I'm
sorry it took so long, but..."  I shrugged.
     "It's okay," he said.  "Sorry about the trouble and everything."
     Pause.
     "Well, guess I'd better go," I told him, and moved to get out.
Before I could get all the way out the door, though, he was there, and
holding my bags for me.  "Oh, thanks.  I'd, uh, I haveta go."
     Pause.
     He slowly bent down, and put his arms around me.  When his lips
touched mine, it was like I'd been shocked.  I put my arms around his
neck to keep from falling down, and he dropped my stuff on the lawn and
held me up.  He didn't stop kissing me.  Oh, God, he was warm.
     When I realized I was starting to rub my breasts against his chest,
I broke the kiss, and then had a few fun seconds trying to catch my
breath while the world spun around my feet.  When I thought I could
stand up by myself, I gently pushed against him, and he let me slide out
of his arms.  "Um," I gasped at him.
     "See you tomorrow night, okay?"  I nodded helplessly, and he waved
and went around to the driver's side of his truck.  That gave me enough
emotional space to pick up my stuff and run for the safety of the door.

***
02:41 14 Mar

     Lisa finally opened the door, and as I rushed in, she waved to
Travis, who was still waiting in his truck.
     When she shut the door and turned around, her eyebrows shot up.
"Again?"

***
02:44 14 Mar

     When I stopped shaking, Lisa asked, "Feel better now?"
     I nodded against her shoulder, and she let me go.  "Where's
Debbie?" I asked her.
     She sighed.  "She had to come and help me with the catering
tonight, so she came home with me, and she just passed out on the bed."
She gave me this little lopsided grin, and asked, "So what did you do to
her this morning, anyway?"

***
02:50 14 Mar

     She was fast asleep under the covers.  And she looked beautiful,
like she always did when she was relaxed.
     "She's beautiful like that," Lisa murmured, echoing my thoughts.  I
nodded, and slipped an arm around her waist.  She put her arm over my
shoulders, and we stood like that for a while.
     Debbie finally sensed something, because she rolled over and looked
sleepily at both of us.  "Oh, hi," she smiled at us.  "Coming to bed?"
     Lisa said, "I think I need to take Val here home, sweetie."  It was
a sad thing, too.  I didn't want anything more at that moment to crawl
into bed with Debbie and sleep for a day or two.  Even if Lisa was in it
too.
     Debbie pouted a little, then said, "Well, give me a kiss first,
before you go."  Lisa gave me a little nudge, so I slipped over the bed
and kissed her once on the cheek, and once on the lips, and once on the
forehead.  Debbie put her arms around me and gave me this long, sleepy
hug.  As I pulled back, Lisa took my place, and got the same kind of hug
I did.

***
02:54 14 Mar

     "So did you two do anything tonight?" I asked Lisa as she started
her car.
     She shook her head.  "She was way too tired, and she said she was
too sore."  She looked over at me before she looked behind us to pull
out of the driveway.  "What did you do to her anyway?"
     I shrugged.  "I think we just weren't up for four hours of sex."  I
had to smile, saying that.
     "Four hours?" Lisa asked incredulously.  I nodded.  "No wonder.
You too?"  I nodded again, not as happy about it.

***
03:17 14 Mar

     "Thanks for taking me home," I told her as she pulled up the brake
on the car.
     "Sure, no problem... um, can I come in for a minute?" she asked.

***
03:21 14 Mar

     She came out of the bathroom, looking relieved.  "Thanks a lot."
     "Oh, sure, no problem."  I sighed, thinking of Debbie back at
Lisa's house, and me here.  I didn't like it.  "You...  Take care of
Debbie, okay?  And tell her I miss her?"
     She nodded.  "I will."  Then she gave me this sort of funny look,
like she was just noticing something, and said, "You take care of her
too, don't you?"  I nodded, not sure what she was getting at.  "You're
probably the first guy she's ever gotten close to.  Be careful, okay?
You could really hurt her."
     "That's the absolute last thing in the world I want to do," I said
honestly.
     Lisa nodded, like she knew that already.  "That's what makes you so
special, Tuck.  I think you really mean that."

***
03:23 14 Mar

     Neither of us were really up for True Confessions tonight, so she
gave me a long hug at the door.  And a kiss on the lips, which surprised
me.  "From Debbie," she grinned.  "She wanted me to give you one."
     So I pulled her closer, and gave Lisa a seductive, long kiss, with
just a little tongue.  When I let go, we were both breathing a little
heavy.  "Give that back to Debbie, okay?"
     She looked a little shocked, but then she gave me this pure Debbie
grin.

***
03:30 14 Mar

     I imagined I could still smell Debbie in the sheets from this
morning.  It wasn't her, but it was better than nothing.

***


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