"Gonna have to sister. He is forever part of the equation. He already knows about the deal."
"I kind of figured that. Come on, let's go get the girls ready to go."
When we got down to the second floor Alvin and Holly were pulling the girls together. Celeste was more awake than the other girls, she was so excited. I expect that excitement will have a short shelf life. Fifteen minutes tops. As Holly put her coat on, I put Celeste's on over her Chester County Swimming sweatshirt. Avi went with them. Hannah's Rule No. One, Nobody goes anywhere without at least one of our bodyguards. For any other protective services, I have no problems with the people Gloria and Alvin are using. I believe the ones who went to Malcolm's with us were particularly dedicated. At least very trusted. I wonder if this has more to do with him than the Tuttlehills. Another thing for me to keep my eye on. I need more eyes. First of the year, I will be tapping the resources of Duane's new security company, and may end up my own best client.
Tomorrow is a free day for all of us, but tomorrow night is Sisters Night. This was Lizzie's plan. Holly had so much to do she did not interfere with Lizzie's plans. Our Annual Philly Bridge House Sisters Extravaganza would be Wednesday night at Cramps, which we bought out for the night. It was by invitation only, and we had over one hundred RSVPs. Cramps is a good-sized club, even considering the number of women interested in women, but we'd be elbow to elbow that night. Hopefully the weather will be good so we can hang outside too. I would not be giving a blanket invitation to everyone at the party to come to the house for New Years, but if I ran into an old friend, I'd certainly extend an invite.
The tough part is that Holly and I would be leaving the kids without one of us. A first. Bertha, Aggie and Mac had the con. And Lizzie and I had a goal. Get Holly shit faced. She'd had neither drugs nor alcohol since the incident, and we were taking baby steps. Maybe with so many of her sisters around her she'd let her hair down and have some fun. We were hopeful.
For the most part the kids stayed in their pajamas and played with their tablets and communicated with their friends. It gave Lizzie and I a chance to review the list of attendees tonight. Between the two of us we knew more of them than we thought we would. I guess I'd better let the caterer know there will be a few more than expected Thursday.
The kids were getting rammy around lunchtime so we decided to give Bertha a break and I took the kids out for a walk to see if the four of us could find a nice place for lunch. Of course, Duane was along for the ride. We headed down Walnut Street from Eighteenth and hooked a right toward Broad Street. This was Rittenhouse Row, one of the most distinguished streets in the city. It was Philly's little slice of Beverly Hills. Name brand clothing and shoe stores, Jewelry stores, women's cosmetics, terrific little boutique stores and some of the best eats around were the trademarks of Rittenhouse Row. It was also one of the most secure pieces of real estate in the city. You could not take a step without seeing either a pair of Philly's Finest, or bodyguards from one of the private agencies up the asses of their wealthy clients. We went south when we hit Broad Street and after a block and a half found this family style restaurant that was casual and right up our alley. And wouldn't you know it, Duane knew the restaurant manager from way back and our week of royal treatment continued.
I cannot begin to explain how it makes me feel the way the kids interact with Duane. They have, in one way or another, all their lives. In many senses, he has been more of a father to Georgia and George, Jr. than George Barry, Sr. ever was. I could feel us coming together as a family. And soon we would be six. But it was messy. Three Royces, two Barrys and a Todd just seems like too many loose ends. Not to mention a couple of Bernsteins. I think we've got to work on tidying that up a bit. I think when the twins get here, Linnie and I will have to bring this family into a singular unit.
I might be the boss of this operation, but nothing moves without Duane's say so. Nothing. He is the commanding force in our family. And I never stand in the way of that. Well, tonight he is going to have to be the commanding force with the kids. I'm going to party with my bitches. And we will rock Cramps till the windows shake.
The party was set for eight, and we were just waiting for Holly to arrive home from the mountains with Celeste and the Tuttlehills. Lizzie and I were already made up and dressed to the nines. Even she was wearing heels. When the group from the mountains arrived, Lizzie grabbed Holly and dragged her upstairs to get her ready for tonight.
Celeste was crying. Apparently, the entire ride home from Mt. Pocono she and Holly have been feuding. Celeste insists that the Tuttlehill girls stay over till the day of the parade and her mother says that she is not in the position to make that decision.
"Well, I sure am. Break out the sleeping bags. I'm just not sure where we are going to put Alvin and Gloria."
"Don't mind us, we'll beg off for the night. We can stay with friends in Queen Village. We can be here in ten minutes if you need us."
"Excellent. Come by for breakfast and stay for the day. We'll be serving invited guests soups, small plates, and hot drinks from about noon till dinner time then no one but my special Bridge girls will be coming and we'll be unfolding some tables and chairs."
"Wouldn't miss it. But before we take off can I take you aside for a private moment?"
"Sure. Come back upstairs."
When we got up to my suite, she took me by the hand and sat me next to her on the bed. She had a very serious look on her face and eyes that seemed to be pleading.
"Hanna, you know that I told my Master about our big score."
"Oh please, Gloria, don't tell me you gave it all to him."
"No silly. But let's say he'll have no financial worries. The reason I wanted to tell you this is because one, I wanted to, and; two, my Master commanded me to. While we were up in the Poconos, he summoned me while Alvin and the crew had the girls in the pool. I knelt before him, and he told me that I could not let this newfound wealth go to my head. That Alvin and I must be humbled. He decided that certain conditions must be met if we were to have sex."
I was not liking the way this was sounding. Somehow, I was feeling drawn into this spider's web of Malcolm's, and powerless to pull myself out. I had to let her know where I stand regarding her master.
"Gloria, please do not include me in your relationship with Malcolm. I want nothing to do with him and your business with him."
"Oh Hannah, it's too late for that. Hannah, you can make this the most joyous year of my life or the most miserable. And the next six months will be the worst of all. No sex."
"What? That's the goofiest thing I've ever heard. What do you mean no sex?"
"My master has commanded that I cannot have sex with anyone, not even myself, until you and I have had sex."
"Who the fuck does he think..."
"Please, Hannah, don't even think that. But I'm begging you to think about it. I know since the first time I laid eyes on you I have wanted to get with you. The heat I feel for you has been constant since that time. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to expend that heat elsewhere tonight. My master has given me free sexual rein until the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Eve to spread my wings and fuck like crazy. I wish I could fuck you right now. But God willing, it will happen sooner rather than later. Because, Hannah, in 2055 there will be no fucking for me, until you."
"You give me much to think about my Glorious one, but you go and fuck your brains out in Queen Village, and we'll revisit this after the first of the year."
"Fair enough. See you tomorrow."
After a quick kiss, she ran downstairs and I sat back. I have to collect myself. Tonight is one of my biggest social nights of the year and I am going to go out there and slap a lot of skin and kiss a lot of cheeks. I took my time going back downstairs and Holly and Lizzie were right behind me. Holly looked very pretty, if not sexy. I think she was going for the matronly look. It saddened me to see her fall into that mode. She's much too young for that, and I'm much too young for that kind of partner. Let's see what a little liquid lubrication can do about that tonight.
Tonight, will be a night without parents at the Todd-Bernstein townhouse. Bertha, Aggie and Mac would keep a good eye out with Duane overseeing with his commanding presence. Controlling the kids was easy. The secret was to ask Harry if she wanted to do something, she'd say yes and the kids would follow, like little chickees behind the mother hen. And tonight, Harriet Tuttlehill vowed to watch White Christmas all the way through. I believe she did. Her attraction to the film kept the little ones riveted.
When Holly, Lizzie and I were dropped off at Cramps the women were pouring out of the place. In various degrees of dress and sobriety. As we cut through the crowd to the sign in table, we were looking for our girls. Nothing yet, but we grabbed the badges that had our names on them and the years we attended Bridge House. It was long before someone called out, "Holly, Holly, over here." They always see the tall ones first. It was Missy. She was sitting with Clarissa and Samantha at a table toward the back. As soon as we got there Elena was emerging from the ladies' only room and approaching the table. We all fell into a group hug and then hugged and kissed each other individually and we finally sat down with them. "With all these women, how did you manage to reserve these seats for us?"
