Here they come to snuff The Rooster...
- The Rooster, Alice In Chains
###
October
Fall came in a cascade of colors, seemingly all at once, and with the warmth required to go out and enjoy them. Green faded into yellow into orange and red, and the days were just brisk enough to remind you to pack a fleece to cut the chill down from "barely uncomfortable" to "actually enjoyable." The days got shorter and the crisp evenings all seemed to smell like a high school football game, the scent of cold and bonfires rustling down the street on currents of wind that shook the storm of colors into the gutter.
I spent the next month helping Sienna with physical therapy when I wasn't at work, and taking over for her the tasks she couldn't do by herself, taking back a lot of the household chores after my job at the bank ended every day. Jane tagged along as I cooked, washed dishes, washed laundry, raked leaves, took down the garden for fall. She babbled insane questions at me, and I corrected her pronunciation and grammar at each opportunity, carrying on complete conversations with the child as I worked. Her speaking skills actually seemed to improve over the course of the month.
And her mother - her mother was silent and lost in a world of fear and pain and traumatic memory. She quit her jobs and didn't leave the house, not even to set foot on the porch.
Jessie resumed school, though she was taking more online classes now, not wanting to leave the house in a car as much. Another six months and she'd have her degree. Now though, she was a harried, hectic dervish of studying, spreading out her homework on the kitchen table or living room floor every night, wings of paper stretched on either side of her and flashcards held up urgently in front of my face for definition review.
McKenna had moved back to her apartment two weeks ago. She wanted some privacy, probably to entertain Don, with whom she'd spent considerable time watching over Ashley and Sienna. She was no longer making sexually charged comments towards me, and I liked to think she may have found a less random outlet for her carnal energy than her best friend's significant other.
Car bombs still went off randomly - two, three a week - but it felt like the invasion of my home had been the capstone to the summer's violence. Morgan had fled my house and thankfully my life, and while I wondered when he'd turn up again, I was happy that he was keeping a low profile in the world.
###
The football game was loud and raucous, and Jessie and I texted each other instead of talking. It was easier that way. We watched the home team kick the crap out of the away after a disappointing first half, the entire home side of the bleachers standing and cheering like maniacs after a Hail Mary pass that cemented the lead late in the third quarter. Standing with the rest of the crowd, I looked around at the field, the bleachers, the storage facilities.
Everything was worn. The door on the concession stand was sagging off, the uprights were rusting, the fencing was practically falling to the ground, and if I had to guess, those uniforms probably didn't have the necessary amount of padding to keep the players' brains safe. So that was what Jessie had seen in this place.
We went to two or three home games a season. It was a nice, cheap date night, kept us visible and known and liked within the primarily black, primarily poor neighborhood. It gave me something to chew the fat with customers about when I stopped into Ashley's store. My gothic lover had seen the rundown nature of the high school sporting field and facilities as she drove back from school, stopped and poked around, walking through ankle-deep orange leaves to inspect the grounds and equipment. And when she told me her plan, I couldn't help but smile and agree. It sounded like something I'd done a few times.
We filed out of the bleachers, most of the spectators heading for the parking lot, some heading for the concession stand for one last dry hot dog or watered down soda. A smaller stream of people filed past the donation stand, most keeping their heads down and studiously ignoring it. They could barely afford to drive here and pay the entry fee, maybe get some food, much less give any anything else to keep it running.
We passed the donation box and each dropped in a messy wad of ones and fives, and I hoped they didn't thunk too loudly when they hit the bottom. The principal thanked everyone as they passed through the line, and we each shook his hand before heading to the parking lot. Once inside the truck, Jessie pulled me into a frantic kiss, then laughed like a maniac as we pulled out. "Finally! Something GOOD will be on the news!"
The bills we'd dropped in had been wrapped around stacks of American Gold Eagle ounces. When they finally got around to counting their cash tonight, they'd find that two anonymous spectators had untraceably paid for their entire athletic department renovation campaign.
I smiled. It felt good to do good.
Sienna and Jane were upstairs when we got home, and Jessie cuddled up by my side on the couch when I put the news on. She was very obviously feeling frisky and affectionate, shifting constantly against my side like she couldn't contain the energy inside her, running her hand over my body, leaning in to kiss and lick at my neck. I'd move to reciprocate and she'd demurely fold her hands in her lap and point out something on the TV screen.
It was obvious her goal was to drive me wild.
And it was working.
The next time her hand "accidentally" grazed my groin I grabbed it, pulled her to me. I looked into her amused eyes before I kissed her. "You, young lady, are getting a spanking tonight. This teasing is getting out of hand. I wanted to watch the news, but you just can't keep your hands to yourself."
"I'm horny, daddy..." she whined, then giggled.
I leaned in and kissed her again. "Then let's get upstairs. Computer, goodnight."
It was hard to walk up to the second floor with my slim, pale lover wrapped around me, her ass in my hands and her arms and legs crossed behind me, her lips doing distracting things against my neck and whispering about how she wanted to be hurt and defiled and humiliated by her daddy tonight. I made it up unsteadily though, my cock hard as an iron bar between us.
Sienna was sitting next to the second story door to our "apartment." She was dressed for bed in a long-sleeved white nightgown, and her knees were pulled up, wrapped by her arms. When she lifted her head, I could see in the gloom that she'd been crying, her face puffy and red and wet.
Jessie slid out of my arms and crouched next to her instantly. "See, what's wrong?"
"Hold me?"
We did.
Jessie cuddled with her in bed while I got ready, then I held her while Jessie got ready. And then we shut off the lights.
Sienna was spooned against me, one arm pillowing her head, the other wrapped around her waist, holding her tight. My lover lay facing her, an arm draped loosely over us. The blonde between us didn't say a word, just snuggled back into me. I could tell from her breathing she was fighting panic, trying to keep from crying. I pulled her tighter to me.
I looked past See's blonde hair, caught Jessie's eyes, and she gave me a rueful but sad smile. Fun times would wait until tomorrow. This was more important.
It crossed my mind right before I fell asleep that this was love - sacrificing what you wanted for someone else.
###
Sienna rose well before us, untangling her body from ours and quietly exiting the room in the pitch black of early Saturday morning.
I curled up with Jessie and she sighed and smiled happily, moved her slight frame to my chest, her weight barely noticeable. She felt SO good in my arms.
This was love too.
###
"What are your plans for the day?" Sienna asked as the four of us ate breakfast.
"Homework," Jessie spoke around a mouthful of cereal.
"Helping you with your exercises this morning."
"Leafs?" Jane asked.
I chuckled. The little girl enjoyed floundering around in the big piles of orange and red and brown. It looked like the day was going to be warm and clear, so some yardwork was definitely in order. "Yeah, probably some leafs."
"A trip to get groceries would be good," See told me. "Think you could go, maybe get Jane out of the house?"
"Yeah, we'll go this afternoon."
"Fantastic, can I make you a list?"
"Sure."
###
Sienna and I did her stretching and basic, light weight-lifting exercises, and then Jane and I went outside while Jessie spread her books and tablets out on the table. I watched Jane toss the leaves up in the air, dive into them, over and over, laughing and squealing in the cool fall air. Wind rattled dry leaves down the streets and somewhere, a fireplace was already chugging out fragrant smoke into the beautiful blue sky.