It has been two weeks since Marcus first moved into his and Natalie's new home.
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Chapter 4: Natalie
One particular morning after another night of steamy, passionate sexual liaisons, Marcus awoke to the ringing of his phone. "Hello," he answered groggily. Susan woke at the sound, making out what she could of the conversation.
"Hey sweetheart, how are you? It's... 1 AM over there, shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Silence, then "Well where are you?... no you're not, don't bullshit me... all right, put him on... is that so? I still think you're full of shit... whatever, I'm listening... NO FUCKING WAY!!!" Marcus shot out of bed, something having fully awakened him. "I'll be there to pick you up ASAP. Bye!" Marcus ordered Susan to get dressed while he hurriedly threw on some clean clothes. Susan was more than a little curious. "What's the big rush?"
"Natalie's at the airport, waiting for me to pick her up."
"Your wife Natalie?"
"Yeah! She's gonna be home for a month. C'mon, let's go! We can talk in the car!" Marcus finished getting dressed, than carried Susan downstairs and out the front door, almost knocking Marianne over just as she prepared to knock on the door! Marianne asked where they were going, but all Marcus did was pick her up and put her in the car along with Susan! Once the three were on the road, Marianne asked again what was going on. Susan explained the situation to her. "Um, Marcus, can we ask you something?" Marianne said nervously.
"Sure, go ahead," Marcus replied, keeping his focus on the highway as he sped towards Philadelphia International Airport.
"Why are you taking us to pick up your wife?"
"Well, she has said she wants to meet the two of you. I'm sorry for not saying anything, but I'm in a bit of a rush, seeing as how I haven't seen my wife in six months."
"Wait a minute, you told her about us?!" Marianne panicked.
"I tell her about all of them, just like she does. We have a... what's the word... open marriage?" Marcus chuckled.
"I'm just worried about this woman wanting to whip my ass the second she lays eyes on me."
"Don't be, she's more likely to stick her tongue down your throat."
"What?!" Now Marianne was really worried. She was still coming to grips with her own lesbian side; the thought of being anywhere near, much less spending an hour in a car with an admitted, card-carrying bisexual was almost too much for her to handle.
"Yup, she's here, plus another buddy of ours is home on convalescent leave. Got shot in the leg."
"Oh my... I hope he's all right," Susan said.
"They patched him up pretty good from what I was told."
"Oh, that's good to hear." The rest of the ride was a blur as Marcus made haste to the arrival terminal at the airport. Once parked, he grabbed a black leather vest from the trunk of the car. Susan and Marianne took a moment to admire the garment; it was covered from seam to seam with patches. "Where'd you get this from, Marcus?" they asked.
"This I had made during my tour to Korea. She knows to look for it. It should be the most recognizable garment in the place." Donning the vest, Marcus and the two ladies went inside towards the baggage claim areas. He looked around and saw a number of Soldiers in desert camouflage; he presumed they had all been on the same flight. Suddenly he heard his name cried out from off to his left. He turned towards the sound just in time to catch a shoulder to his jaw as he was tackled to the ground. He lay in a daze for a moment, but the lips searching for his brought him back around. The body on top of his pulled him to a sitting position, and he was able to make out the name "KOHLFIELD" stitched onto an Army desert camouflage uniform. He looked up for a moment into his wife's eyes; never had she seemed more beautiful than this very moment. He pulled himself up, and only then did it become apparent to Susan and Marianne just how much taller he was than she. Marcus stood about 6'2"; Natalie stood a few inches shorter than Susan, who was only 5'5" herself. She also looked strangely familiar for some reason, but neither could place it. Marcus picked his spouse up and swung her around, clearly overjoyed at her presence. He put her down and they shared another passionate kiss before Marcus finally introduced Susan and Marianne. Natalie greeted each woman with a half-hearted hug, leaving them to wonder if what Marcus had told them was really true. "Oh, and Corporal Richards is around here somewhere... I don't think he's left yet." Marcus and Cpl. Richards had been bandmates in Italy, along with two other Philadelphia natives.
"Really? I'm gonna whip that sumbitch's ass..." Marcus joked. Almost as if he had hears the sound of his own name, another young man appeared, his luggage already loaded onto a cart.
"Mark, what's going on, man?"
"Mike, good to see you. How's that leg doing?"
"I got a little bit of a limp, but the docs say that should work itself out soon enough."