Ellie and Brad

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the eighth chapter of a multi-part story. You should read the first seven chapters to help you understand the whole story. Fair warning... there are some intense, non-consent scenes, but they are not gratuitous and are only done in service of the story. Please enjoy.

He remembered both events as if they happened yesterday...

Event #1

It was early springtime, a time for renewal and looking forward to a better future. But not for Russ. He was not in the right frame of mind to think about such nice things.

With Brad gone, Russ tried to replace his friend's presence at the curling club. All his efforts had so far been unsuccessful. The remaining employees were eager and hard-working, and they tried their best to follow Russ's instructions. However, they didn't have the skills, experience or patience of Brad.

So some things that Russ could always count on to be taken care of before weren't being done to the same standards, and the townspeople noticed. They weren't angry yet, but they also weren't afraid to tell Russ that they hoped for better as soon as possible. He was feeling pressure from the board of directors to rectify the situation.

Matters of the heart weren't providing Russ much respite. He did fulfill one of the last requests Brad made of him before he and Kellie moved away. He screwed up the courage to ask Rachel, who had recently moved to the small town and worked at the post office, out on a date. She accepted, the first date led to a second and so on. They dated fairly regularly for the past few months. But Russ felt that whatever spark there was initially was now fading away, and he thought the relationship was drifting with no clear sense of direction. He didn't want to hurt Rachel, but he could not come to a decision regarding where they should go from here.

Fortunately, the visions of he and Kellie having sex were fading away, slowly yet surely. Thank God for small mercies, he thought to himself.

Why it was happening, though, didn't exactly make him feel any better. Russ carried within him a large reservoir of pain that he had mentally held at bay for a long time. Brad unintentionally broke down those barriers when he asked, during that fateful showdown the day after the "forbidden kiss", as he had come to call it, when was the last time Russ had sex. Through no fault of his friend, Russ was plagued by memories he hadn't allowed himself to contemplate in years. While it was leading to the eventual end of his fantasizing about Kellie, it also contributed to the difficulties he had in trying to make real progress in his relationship with Rachel.

These were the thoughts on his mind when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Russ, it's Brad!"

"Hey Brad! Man, it's so good to hear from you! How's life in the big city treating you?"

"It's been great! Work has been going well, it's interesting and the people here have really helped me fit in."

"Glenn's not working you to the bone yet?"

"Haha, no, he's been good to me so far! He's throwing a lot of responsibilities at me but it's nothing I can't handle. He's almost as good a boss as you were!"

"Oh, stop it, Brad, you're just trying to kiss ass! I'll have to tell Glenn to start cracking the whip!"

"Come on Russ, we both know you don't have the stones to do that!"

The two friends shared a laugh over their practiced and easy banter. Russ shook his head as he briefly recalled again how close he came to destroying their friendship once and for all.

"How's the wife and kid?" he asked.

"Fantastic!" Brad answered. "There are a couple young families with kids E.J.'s age in the neighbourhood so he's had lots of play-dates and is making friends already! And Kellie loves being back in the city. She's close to her teammates again, which cuts down on the travel needed to gather together for practice and training and so on. Plus, she's making friends with the neighbours as well!"

"That's great to hear."

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong, we miss you and everyone else back there but we're really happy we've made the move. The only disappointment we've had is seeing her and the team not make it to the nationals this year, but you know how hard it is to win this province."

"Absolutely, there is no shame in losing to the Schneider rink; they are a very good team."

"For sure. Enough about us though, I want to know what's new in your life!"

"Oh, I'm fine, Brad, not much new with me."

"Yeah? How about you and Rachel? Come on, don't hold back, buddy!"

"We're... OK."

"Just OK?"

"It's... kind of hard to explain."

"Well... if you say so. Hey, I hope you can tell me more about it this weekend! We're planning to drive down to visit with my parents and her aunt and uncle, and we wanted to see you as well, if you're not too busy."

"Sounds great! I'd love to see you all again!"

"Excellent! Listen... there's something else we need to talk about. I don't want to do it over the phone. We'll discuss it when I'm down there. It's important."

Russ gulped. What could he be talking about? "OK, no problem. See you soon, then?"

"Yeah, see you in a few days!"

Russ hung up the phone and checked the calendar on his desk in his home office. He noticed that six months had passed since Brad, Kellie and E.J. had made their move to the big city. 'Six months?' he though incredulously. 'Where has all the time gone?'

But what really occupied his worried mind was Brad saying they needed to talk. Russ hoped it wasn't any bad news for Brad and Kellie; he had a feeling it wasn't but he couldn't be sure. What could be so important for Brad that he needed to tell him about it face to face? Did it have to do with the "forbidden kiss"? The last time they spoke Brad promised he'd never bring it up again. Why would he go back on his word, if that was what he intended to do?

He didn't know the answers to these questions, so Russ was nervous for the rest of the week. He was happy that Saturday finally rolled around so he could see his friends again, but he was especially eager to get down to the matters at hand.

Russ hopped up at the sound of the doorbell. He opened the door to see a smiling Brad holding E.J. in his large arms. "Hi Russ!" Brad exclaimed. "E.J., say hi to Uncle Russ!"

"Russ!" E.J. yelled, filled with pride at being able to follow his dad's instructions.

Russ laughed and greeted his friend. He took hold of the mop-topped toddler with the impish grin so Brad could get the "baby bag". Russ stepped out on his front porch and his eyes widened in surprise as he took in the sight of a very happy and very pregnant Kellie.

"Hello Russ, how are you?!" Kellie asked. She laughed brightly when she saw the look of astonishment on Russ's face.

"Oh, wow, Kellie, congratulations, you look wonderful!" Russ gave Kellie a big hug, and he smiled when he saw E.J. reach forward to eagerly grasp on to his mother. Kellie turned away for a moment with her son, and Russ closed his eyes. His mind began to bring up an image of Kellie naked, but instead of allowing himself to concentrate on that image he forced himself to think about Rachel. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief in the knowledge that his tactic, which he had practiced repeatedly, was working. In the end he didn't really feel anything in hugging Kellie other than the joy of seeing a good (and platonic!) friend after a long absence apart.

Everyone gathered inside Russ's living room. Brad and Kellie sat on the sofa across from Russ, and E.J. amused himself by noisily scooting on the floor with some of his toys.

"So, Brad," Russ asked, "why didn't you tell me before that you and Kellie were expecting another child?"

Brad shrugged and gave a crooked little smile. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you certainly did that!"

"Good, I'm glad! Plus...", and here Brad paused and looked to Kellie for support, "it has to do with what we wanted to talk to you about today."

"OK," Russ said somewhat nervously. "What is it?"

Brad hesitated, looking for the right words to say, but he didn't look upset in any way. Russ was hopeful that this was a good sign.

"Russ," Brad finally said, "I know I promised we'd never bring up... you know, that day again, but I need to mention it as a reference point."

Russ swallowed hard but nodded for his friend to go on.

"After we cleared the air the next day, Kellie and I talked. Then, one thing led to another, and... well, let's just say that was the night Kellie became pregnant again." Brad and Kellie smiled tenderly at each other and held hands.

Russ was now confused. "Listen, I'm so, so happy for you... but if you don't mind my asking, what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, see, how I figure it," Brad answered with a hint of mischief, "in a round-about way, you're at least partially responsible for our good fortune! The whole sequence of events that led up to this was unorthodox, to say the least, wouldn't you agree?"

"That's one way of putting it!" Russ exclaimed.

"Right, so Kellie and I thought about finding an equally unorthodox way to thank you. The more we thought about it, the more we came to the conclusion that it would only be fitting to ask you to name our second child." Brad gently rubbed Kellie's pregnant stomach, and the two shared a brief loving kiss before movement from E.J. distracted them.

Russ's breath was taken away. To say that he was stunned wouldn't even begin to describe how he felt at that moment. To the extent that he thought about it at all, he considered naming children to be a privilege and responsibility strictly to be enjoyed by the parents. So the fact that Brad and Kellie were offering this privilege to him, especially with everything that led up to it, was mind-boggling.

"I don't know what to say," he replied. "Are you sure about this? I don't know if I can accept this honour you're offering to me."

"Russ," Kellie said, "we know we've probably shocked you by making this request of you. But we really do hope you'll say yes. It's up to you, though, and we'll understand and accept your choice either way."

Russ nodded and thought hard about what Brad and Kellie had to say. He fought with his feelings briefly, but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that he really only had one answer to their question.

"OK," he said. "I've made up my mind. Please don't try and change it."

"We won't," replied Brad. "We promise," Kellie added.

Satisfied, Russ continued. "OK, here goes. If you have another boy, I will decline your offer to name him. I'll leave it to you to come up with a good name, and I'm sure you will. However, if your child is a girl..."

Russ sighed and breathed deep. Brad and Kellie looked at each other, and knew what the other was thinking; for some reason which Russ had not yet chosen to share with them, this was a very emotional decision for him. They remained silent, giving their friend the time and space to say what he needed to say.

"If your child is a girl," Russ spoke quietly, "I would be honoured if you named her Kaitlyn."

"Kaitlyn," Kellie repeated. Russ saw the bright smile on Kellie's face and noted the shine of her eyes as they welled with tears. "It's a beautiful name."

Brad also saw his wife's reaction, and knew there could be no other direction to take. "You have a deal, my friend," he said to Russ.

Russ extended his hand to his best friend, and Brad shook it enthusiastically before pulling him into a warm hug. Kellie joined the hug and cried her tears of happiness. "Thank you, Russ," she said.

Not to be outdone, E.J. wormed his way into the adults embrace. He hugged each of them in turn around the legs and sighed, "Ahhh," each time.

Kellie, Brad and Russ all laughed and enjoyed the little boy's show. Not only was it one of the cutest things they ever saw, it was also perfectly timed to release the built-up tension around them.

Event #2

It was now three months later. A hot July day.

Russ was in the hospital visiting Brad and Kellie. He thought about that earlier conversation in the springtime that he shared with his good friends. He also thought about the changes in his own life in that intervening period.

Brad's voice brought him out of his reflections. "Come on, Russ! We're all waiting for the godfather to see the new arrival!" he said as he poked his head out of the maternity room.

"OK, I'll be right there!" he replied. He turned to Rachel, who was sitting next to him, and gave her a kiss. "I'll try not to be too long," he told her.

"Nonsense," Rachel said. "This is something special. You take as much time as you need. I'll be here, waiting for you."

Russ looked back at Rachel with real affection. Soon after he gave his answer to Brad and Kellie's bombshell offer to name their next child, he shared some of the feelings and challenges he was having in his relationship with Rachel. They suggested he should try to stop putting so much pressure on himself over his and Rachel's future, and instead decide to let things happen and see where it took them. Russ took their advice and tried to carry it through to the best of his ability.

And it was working.

He and Rachel were now closer than they ever had been, and, though he had yet to talk to her about the upsetting memories of his past, he thought he would soon feel comfortable enough to do so. It made Russ smile that he had someone who could possibly help him finally deal with this burden. More and more, he realized, he was falling in love with her, and he could sense the feeling was mutual. He saw himself being together with Rachel for many, many years.

He left aside the future for a moment and returned to the present. A joyful scene lay in front of him in the maternity room. Kellie was lying in her bed, tired from her exertions. Upon seeing Russ, though, she smiled and allowed him to carefully take hold of his goddaughter.

Brad was holding his 20-month old son E.J. The little boy was uncharacteristically quiet. The proud father smiled as he watched his son's wide eyes of wonder. E.J. was staring at the little bundle of joy now in Russ's arms. It was his new baby sister, Kaitlyn Eve Galenchuk. The healthy infant girl yawned and wriggled in Russ's careful embrace.

"She's beautiful," Russ whispered as he gingerly returned Kellie's daughter to her arms.

"And she has a beautiful name," Kellie replied.

"Yes, she does," said Brad as he looked at Russ. "Thanks to you."

Russ smiled but said nothing more. He wanted to say more; a lot more as a matter of fact. But his choking up with emotion and the copious amount of tears welling up in his eyes rendered him temporarily speechless.

*******

She was feeling housebound and restless.

Anita understood that, in ideal circumstances, she wouldn't have been able to enjoy the same carefree lifestyle she used to have. Her first priority was her son, Johnathan. Anita knew she had made several bad decisions and careless mistakes along the way, but she was determined that she would do everything she could to care for her boy and do right by him.

And she found it difficult to complain too much about Paul's generosity. She had met him purely by accident, literally running in to him. Out of the blue, he invited her and her son to lunch, and then offered them a place to stay. There was a part of her that warned he had to have some hidden agenda, some ulterior motive, for making such a gesture. The fact that, in her mind, she had zero other reasonable options overruled that warning. In a very short time Anita found herself and Johnathan settling in with Paul.

Months had passed, and they had settled into a routine. On the surface it was as if they were a young family like many others. She and Paul were like husband and wife, only without the sex. She was the "stay-at-home mom" while he was the "breadwinner", going to work during the week. To the outside world, the arrangement seemed to be working well for all involved.

But something nagged at Anita. That part of her that sternly warned her not to move in with Paul was still speaking to her. It was setting off alarm bells, and they were stronger than ever. It was telling her that something was not right.

Paul seemed to have an irrational hang-up over her leaving the house without him. Every time Anita tried to go out and do something, whatever it was, even if it was something simple like running an errand or taking Johnathan out for a walk, Paul reacted in one of three ways. He either insisted on doing it for her, convinced her not to go out altogether, or he joined her to prevent her from going alone. Being an independent woman, Anita wasn't used to this at all, and she found the behaviour very weird.

There were also a number of times Anita felt Paul was undressing her with his eyes. It was an unnerving sensation. Paul was a handsome man, and in the first few days of their relationship Anita idly wondered what having sex with him would be like. But it was never a serious consideration. As time went by she was more and more put off by his generally cold, detached demeanour. She also couldn't help but think he was expecting her to submit to his desires, and she still felt strong enough in her belief that she was not the submissive type. If he really did think that way, however, he was doing a great job of not showing it, not tipping his hand. What were Paul's true thoughts and motivations? Right now Anita could only guess at them.

Today, on a crisp, autumnal Saturday morning, Anita decided solving that puzzle was for another day. She took a chance at striking out on her own. If Paul had a problem with that, well, that was just too bad.

"Paul," she said to him as he sat at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper, "I'm heading out for a little while. I'll be back later this evening, OK?"

"What?!" he asked with some level of exasperation. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Relax, Paul, it's no big deal! I just need some 'me' time. I feel like you're smothering me."

"Ridiculous! I take you and your son in from off the street, give you both shelter and food, and this is the thanks I get?!"

Anita groaned and rubbed her temples. This was not going well at all. "I've told you before, I appreciate what you've done for me and little Johnny, and I mean that! But you being so controlling of me and my life, deciding where I go and what I do... that was never part of the deal!"

'Oh yes it was, my pretty little thing', Paul thought to himself, 'you've just chosen to ignore the obvious signs.' He then heard Anita say something but, lost in his thoughts as he was, he didn't hear it. "What was that?" he asked her.

Sighing, she repeated, "I told you I was a curling athlete, right? A very, very good one, even if I do say so myself. Even a Canadian champion not that long ago, almost... twice." Anita trailed off at the end as memories of her loss in the finals to Kellie, something she hadn't thought of in a long time, and, really, the start of this whole damned mess, came flooding back to her.

Paul just shrugged. She might have told him that, but he didn't really care. He'd hoped to get her turned around to his way of thinking without spelling it out, however that seemed to be less and less likely with each passing moment.

Anita shook her head to regain her composure and continued. "I've been out of the game for a while with everything that's happened to me, and I need to get back into it. My son is obviously number one in my life, but curling is my other love, my other passion. So I've decided to go down to the local curling club to practice. If you're really my friend like you keep telling me you are, you'll let me go!"

"No way!" Paul yelled. "I don't care what you want, it's not happening!"

Anita had an incredulous look on her face, which Paul intended on removing in short order. Then she did something he never would have expected.