Gym Buddies

Patti Tompkins would remember the exact time her baby sister Kelli called her that rainy Saturday morning - 8:57am - for the rest of her life. She was in a very intimate situation with Ricardo, and ignored the call. Kelli called right back -- their private signal that it was urgent. Patti nudged Ricardo away, checked the time and took the call. "Hey - what's up?'

Kelli didn't answer, but Patti could hear her sister sobbing and what sounded like rain falling and sat bolt upright in bed, shoving Ricardo to the side. "Kel - where are you -- you ok?"

More sobbing. "Kel - where are you?"

Patti could barely understand what her sister was saying through the sobs. 'I've ruined my whole life -- I am so fucking stupid!"

Patti used her big-sister command voice. "Kel - tell me where are -- are you safe?"

"I'm on your front porch."

"Fuck." Patti sprang out of bed and pulled on her robe, running to the front door, not even noticing that she knocked over a plant on a table in the hallway, leaving a very confused Ricardo on the bed. She unlocked and yanked open her front door to find her sister standing there, in the rain, her hair a tangled, wet mess, wearing soaking wet sweats, holding her phone. Patti pulled her inside. "Kel, you're soaked, what that hell is going on?" Kelli continued to sob, unable to speak. 'Damn, this hasn't happened since she was fifteen. What the hell is it?'

Patti walked her sister to the living room and set her on the couch. Richardo appeared, in his robe, a worried look on his face. "Grab me a couple bath towels and some sweats for her." 'Whatever this is I'm gonna need reinforcements.' "And call my mom, tell her to get over here double stat." He nodded and darted down the hall.

'Double stat' was the Helgeson girls' code phrase for an emotional, non-medical emergency, and Richard repeated it verbatim to Connie, who started firing questions at him. All he could do was describe Kelli's sudden appearance. "Ok, tell Patti I'm enroute." She ended the call.

Patti held her sobbing sister until Ricardo returned with the towels and clothes. "She's on her way."

"Thanks, babe." Ricardo, being a smart guy, knew there was no place for a male in whatever family drama was going on, nodded towards the hallway and fled the scene. Patti nodded back at him. She stood her sister up, stripped her out of her soaking wet clothes, dried her off and dressed her. Kelli's face was all blotchy, her eyes red, her nose running, her hair a disaster.

Patti retrieved a box of tissues, dropped it on the sofa, set her sister down on the couch and just held her. 'She'll talk when she's ready. What the hell is it?' It was a good five minutes before Kelli calmed down enough to speak, still sobbing, having consumed most of the box of tissues.

"We were supposed to picnic lunch today, but it's raining so we can't. All of a sudden, at like eight there's this pounding on the front door. I open it and there's about six of his work buddies, all in their camos and hunting gear, looking for Richard. They give him shit for not being ready -- like they planned it. He tells me we'll reschedule the picnic since it's raining and he'll only be gone a half day and we can have a nice dinner. I was just speechless, so I just waved at him to go."

Patti stroked her sister's cheek. 'Damn him, the boy just can't grow up. Will never, ever forgive him for doing this to Kel.' The sisters held each other for a while, quietly, just like they did years ago when their parents were splitting up and they were scared.

"And then there's Tom. He's the most wonderful man I ever knew and he treats me like a princess and he's trustworthy and funny and I just love being with him and I'm always his first priority and he's always thinking of me and I just melt in his hugs and his heart is just huge and I really think I make him happy and he takes me to another world when we make love and I miss that every second of every day. And I lead him on, then out of the blue dump him for Richard. I might as well have stuck a knife in his heart."

'Yea, you pretty much did, Kel.'

Kelli looked her sister in the eye. "I made the wrong choice last week, 'T. What he did this morning tells me Richard is never going to grow up, be what I need in a mate. And I've turned away the one guy who's perfect for me. I am the stupidest woman on the planet." She burst into tears, grabbed a fistful of tissues and curled up in the fetal position on the sofa.

Patti, knowing that being a good sister meant sometimes just being there and not saying anything, held Kelli's hand for a long time until she dropped into a fitful sleep, emotionally exhausted.

Twenty minutes later the front door flew open and Connie burst in, followed closely by her sister Clara. Patti raised her finger to her lips and whispered "Ssshhh." She got up, covered Kelli with a light blanket and led Connie and Clara to the dining room where she gave them the story. On the way over Clara had gotten the most of the back story from Connie, who was furious -- at Richard.

"No man neglects one of my daughters like that. She needs to dump him, be with Tom. You said he loves her, he's good to her, right?"

"Oh, no doubt. But she thinks she's driven him away, that he's gone forever."

Clara stroked her chin. "Think we can convince her to approach Tom?"

Patti shook her head. "That will be a challenge. She's as hard-headed as her mother."

Clara nodded in agreement and Connie slapped her daughter's shoulder. "Hey!"

They trouped into the living room and Patti and Connie sat down on either side of Kelli, who stirred and opened her eyes, blinking, confused that Connie and Clara were there. She sat up. "What are you doing here?"

Connie answered. "This is a family intervention."

Kelli fixed Patti with a hard glare. "You told them?"

"No secrets in this sisterhood, blondie."

Kelli rolled her eyes and looked towards the ceiling. "Great, so happy everyone knows I've totally screwed up my life."

It fell to Connie as the matriarch to ask the money question. "Would you leave Richard for Tom?"

Kell shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I told Tom last Sunday I chose Richard over him. He'll never forgive me for that. No man would."

Patti realized Kelli had just given her an opening, and she seized it. "But you've said Tom is a man unlike any other."

"Oh, he is, but even he would never forgive me. I'm stuck with Richard, and it's all my fault."

Patti considered her next move. 'Time to play this card.' "I think he'll take you back, Kel."

Kelli glared at her sister. "How could you possibly know that? I know this man -- he's proud. He probably hates me -- and why wouldn't he? He'd never take me back, go back to what we've had these last couple weeks."

"I agree he won't go back to the secret relationship you've been having. But he will take you back if he can have all of you, if you leave Richard to be with him."

Kelli started to tear up again. "You don't know that, 'T, nobody can know that."

Patti reached over and touched her sister's hand. "Trust me, Kel, I know this guy. He wants to be with you. He's a big guy -- and you know what the biggest part of him is?"

Connie's and Clara's eyebrows went up at the reference, as did Kelli's -- they were all thinking of Tom's sex organ.

"It's his heart, Kel, you said it, it's huge, and big hearts are very forgiving."

Kelli just stared at her bare feet.

Clara hadn't gotten the full story of Kelli and Tom's physical relationship. "So, does this Tom guy satisfy you in bed? You're a Helgeson woman, only a few men can handle us, give us the sex and loving we need."

Patti laughed as Kelli looked up, and her eyes got big. "Oh, god, Clara, he's amazing. We do it for hours and I just have orgasm after orgasm and I can't get enough of his kisses and we've done it in every room in his house and the neighbor's pool and in every position I'd ever done plus couple new ones."

Patti couldn't resist. "Yea, he took her from behind up against the wall in his front hall and she amazoned him -- twice!"

Clara's eyes widened. "Damn. So, how's his equipment?"

Patti giggled and put her hand over her face, earning a look from Kelli. "Oh, he's big, really big, and thick and so hard. And he's erect almost all the time he's around me." Her eyes closed as she imagined having sex with Tom. "And he spurts so much inside me and it's so wonderful feeling his man stuff inside me -- I just crave it."

Connie, Clara and Patti looked at each other, six eyebrows raised, with the same thought. Connie said it. "Um, Kel, when your body craves a man's seed that means it wants to mate with him, be impregnated, make babies."

Kelli's eyes widened and she whispered. "Oh, wow....."

Patti chuckled. "Yea, Tom would be good breeding stock!"

Clara was still curious. "Does he like the girls, give them the attention they need?"

Kelli wrapped her arms around her chest. "Oh, god yes, he just adores them. He'll touch and kiss and hold them for hours. He's the only man who's made me climax just from touching by breasts. But he doesn't just like the girls like a lot of the men I've been with, he likes all of me. Every inch."

Clara continued. "So, if you stay with Richard you'll be sexually unsatisfied for the rest of your life, Kel. That's not healthy for a Helgeson woman." All four women nodded their heads.

Patti thought for a second. 'One last hail-mary pass.' "Kel, go to him, tell him you had to make a choice, and you chose to keep your wedding vow. But Richard didn't, and it takes both sides. I've seen how Tom just lights you up, how joyous this man makes you, and I've never seen you happier." 'Here it goes..' "You know you're in love with him, right?"

The realization struck Kelli like the roof had fallen in. Ater a long pause, she nodded her head -- and erupted into tears. Patti and Connie leaned over and hugged her and Clara held her hands.

After a long minute Connie spoke. "We're here because we love you, Kel. We want you to be happy. This is for the rest of your life. Go to him. Now."

*****

A half hour later the four of them sat in Connie's car, parked two houses down from Tom's. His driveway was empty. The rain seemed to be letting up some.

"He's not home, turn around, let's go."

Connie craned her head around to look at Kelli in the back seat. 'No. You said you'd talk to him. We wait."

"No, mom, let's go, please!"

"I'm your mother, and I say we stay, Kel, for another hour." When the family matriarch decided something, it was final.

Kelli opened her door, ready to walk home. Clara grabbed her arm and wouldn't let her go. Finally, she closed the door. "Ok, but only an hour." Clara, Connie and Patti tried to distract Kelli with conversation about anything but men as they waited, but she wouldn't engage.

Exactly fifty-one minutes later Tom's SUV drove past them and pulled in. They watched him get out and hustle into the house. Patti, Connie and Clara all turned and stared at Kelli, who burst into tears. "He's gonna tell me to get out, that he's not interested, and I'll be crushed."

Patti leaned around from the front seat. "So, you told me you thought he'd tell you to stick it when you apologized to him in the gym. And what happened?"

Kelli rolled her eyes. "Ok, so you were right then -- doesn't mean you're right now."

Patti smiled and handed Kellie one of those compact umbrellas. "Just remember, big sisters are always right! Now go -- I'm getting old sitting in this car!"

Kelli looked at all three faces, nodded, opening her door, stepped out into the now-drizzle and walked slowly towards Tom's front door -- forgetting the umbrella.

Clara piped up. "So, what are her chances?"

Connie shook her head. "Well, she looks like hell today, so if this works it won't be because of her looks."

Patti smiled. "Hundred percent. He'll take her back. Start planning the wedding. I knew a week ago they were right for each other."

Connie smiled, knowing why Patti was so sure. Clara stared at Patti, then spoke up. "How the hell can you be so sure, Patti?"

She grinned. "Because I paid Tom a visit Wednesday night; we had a little talk."

Clara's brows went up. "Does Kel know that?"

"I may have neglected to tell her."

"So, what happened?'

"He told me he loved her."

"Oh, well, that changes the odds a bit."

Patti smiled. 'Yup."

Clara looked at Connie in the rearview mirror, nodding at Patti. "Damn, Con, this girl's sneaky and devious!"

Connie looked over at Patti, grinning. "Yep, that's my girl!"

*****

Tom spent a fitful night trying to sleep after enduing the agony of meeting Richard at the party. It hadn't helped that Kelli looked especially beautiful and had let her hair down. Sometime around four am he resolved to put her out of his mind forever -- just erase the whole Kelli file, like she hadn't existed. 'I'm strong, disciplined -- I can do this.'

He went to the Y as soon as they opened and worked out hard, running up and down the full court. He'd worked up a full sweat by the time his buddies began drifting in, and it felt good to push himself. Of course, the guys got on him right away about not showing up the last few Saturdays. JP, whose strange personality included a total lack of filter, piped up. "Oh, I guess she dumped you, Meadows, huh?"

Tom flipped him off. "Ha, ha, ha. Come on, I'm going to beat your ass this morning."

The group had a good, hard scrimmage and afterwards Dhev and a couple of the others, sensing that JP, while tactless, was probably right, persuaded Tom to join them for breakfast at the dive place right across the street. They didn't say anything or ask any questions, which Tom very much appreciated.

As he drove home Tom felt better than he had all week. 'Can do this, move past it. It's all mental, just need to reprogram some code'. He'd been home for just a few minutes and was walking from the kitchen to his bedroom, crossing the front hall, when he sensed Her presence, saw a figure at the screen door out of the corner of his eye.

*****

Kelli noticed it as she approached his front steps. A 'For Rent' sign, propped up on the front porch next to the door. Her stomach, already twisted in a knot, spasmed. 'God, he loves this place -- he's moving because of me. Oh, god.' She slowly mounted the stairs and stood in front of the screen door. The front door was open. She froze, unsure what to do, and then started to turn away. She saw her mother get out of the car, fold her arms in from of her generous bosom, and fix her younger daughter with fierce glare. Seeing that retreat was not an option, Kelli turned back, folded her arms over her chest, and just stood there, unsure what to do next, her heart pounding.

*****

As the rain had now stopped Clara and Patti got out and stood next to Connie in front of the car. They watched Kelli standing in front of Tom's front door.

*****

Tom turned, saw Her standing there, and froze. Their eyes met, and they just looked at each other for a full minute. Finally, Kelli found the courage to open the screen door, step in, walk to him. She couldn't help but tear up. She rehearsed a dozen versions of what she could say to him, but now couldn't remember any of them. Tom's eyes were narrowed, his eyes blinking, his face expressionless as he was in shock, trying to process what was happening.

Finally, she bit her lip. 'Here it goes.' "I had to make a choice. Turns out I made the wrong one. I should have chosen you, Tom. I miss you terribly, I want us to be together, like before. I'm so sorry I hurt you." She paused. "But I understand if you don't want to be with me anymore. Who could blame you for being mad at me?"

She studied Tom's face for any reaction -- and got nothing, his face was a blank. That was because his mind was a jangled mash of conflicting thoughts. He'd just got his head right and now here she was, saying she wanted to get back together. They stood silently for a minute - and then it all became clear to Tom.

After a full minute of no response from him, Kelli figured that was his answer. 'I've lost him. I'm not wanted here.' She turned to leave -- and felt Tom's hand grasp hers, turn her back around. She looked up at his face -- now smiling, the face she now knew she'd come to love.

"So, I didn't tell you this part, but when Marjorie can to see me after your interview, she said something like 'too bad she's married -- you two would be perfect together.' And Marjorie's the smartest, wisest person we know, right?"

Kelli nodded. "Yea, she is."

It just tumbled out of his mouth. "I know you weren't trying, you didn't intend for it to happen, but you made me fall in love with you, Kelli Alaine. I can never be mad at you."

Kelli just stared at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, speechless, her heart pounding. 'Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god he wants me!'

He grasped her other hand and they locked eyes. "I want to be with you, every day, every night, like we had two weeks ago. But I can't, I won't share you with him. I want all of you, Kelli."

She paused, then nodded. She released his hands, slid her wedding ring off and, fumbling, found a pocket to slip it into. She held his hands. "I'm yours, Tom, all of me. I love you."

He smiled. "And I'm yours, Kel." She released his hands and slid hers up around his neck. He wrapped his big arms around her and they hugged, hard for a long, long time. 'He wants me, he loves me. And nothing else matters.'

'She's mine.'

****

Clara, Connie and Patti had walked down and were standing at the bottom of Tom's driveway. The two older women looked at Patti. "It's good. If he'd rejected her, she'd have been right out, bawling her eyes out. Oh, and this next wedding, I'm not letting her pick out my bridesmaid dress. That thing was godawful!"

*****

Kelli pulled her head back and they touched noses. For the first time in seven days, she was happy, smiling. They kissed. "So, you have to be sure you want all of me, Tom Meadows, out in the open, all day, every day."

"I am absolutely sure, Kel. And you have to be sure you want me all the time."

'Oh, god yes!' "I am totally sure." She laughed.

"Whaaaaat?"

"So, you know I'm moving in with you, right?"

Tom grinned. "l insist. You know what that means, right?"

Kelli smiled. "Um, that we're going to have sex constantly, I'm hoping?" He nodded, and they laughed.

"Well, definitely that! But also I'll have to learn how to make that awful green gunk you drink in the morning." They shared a good laugh. She wiped her bleary eyes and fussed with her wet, tangled hair.

"God, I look awful, I must be scary to look at."

He held her by her cheeks and whispered. "Kelli Alaine, you'll always be the most beautiful woman in the world to me."

She smiled. 'Yea, someday it's going to be Kelli Alaine Meadows!' Then she got serious. "I'm going to tell him today, Tom." She paused. "That I'm leaving him, that I'm going to be with you. It's going to be very hard."

He squeezed her tighter. "I'm right here with you Kel." 'Absolutely no idea what I could do to help.' He looked past her, not seeing the Jeep in the driveway. "So, where's the Jeep -- how'd you get here?"

"Um, I came with Patti."

Tom's eyebrows went up. "Oh. So she's waiting?" He was hoping they'd have some alone time.

Kelli nodded. "Yea. Oh, and my mother's with us."

Tom's eyes widened and his face contorted. 'Oh, shit, her mother!' His voice cracked. "Your mother?"

Kelli noted his reaction and grinned. "And my aunt Clara, too."

For the first time Kelli saw Tom Meadows scared. 'Yea, guess it would a lot for a guy for the first time. But they need to meet him. I owe them that much.' She pulled him towards the front door. "Come on, you'll like them, and they'll love you! They're probably standing right outside, trying to eavesdrop."