Elunara swept the front porch, whistling to herself.
"You've never struck me as the domestic type."
Elunara grinned back at Chrissy. "We all pull our weight around the house."
"Okay, I can imagine even less, Grogek sweeping..."
"Honestly, not on his list of things to do. Plus, I kind of enjoy it."
"Aside from that... are you terribly busy?"
"Nah, I don't have much to do today. What's up?"
"Can... can I just spend the day with you?"
"Oh, Chrissy..."
Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Damn it, I said I wouldn't cry again."
Elunara sat her broom down and walked over, wrapping her arms around the woman. "You cry if you need to."
Chrissy curled up against Elunara. "It's just... everyone else I know," She coughed. "Either has babies, or is expecting babies." She hiccupped. "But, I don't want to be alone right now," She shuddered. "And Gerald has to go to work some time."
"I'm here for however you need me, little love."
Chrissy sighed. "Gerald didn't want to leave me, but I threatened him with you."
Elunara laughed. "Yeah, he's seen the edge of my fury before."
She pushed away. "I just wanted to spend some time doing something other than thinking about it."
"Come on, I'll get you the second broom and you can help me sweep my house. I find sweeping is a good way to let your mind wander."
"You know..." Chrissy leaned against her broom. "When Gerald and I were first dating... all of the women I knew, were SO jealous of us. After we got married, I had a couple of them try to tell me, that the only way a nasty little thing like me could keep a man like Gerald, was to get knocked up, so he felt obligated to stay with me."
"Oh, Chrissy, if that's why..."
"No! No." Chrissy went back to sweeping. "I thought it was funny. In fact, it made me more determined to not think about babies. I knew the naughty little secret that made Gerald want me. If those little prissy snots had ANY idea..." Chrissy giggled.
"Well, first they'd have to dislodge that stick up their ass to even let him in."
Chrissy cackled. "I love that. Anyway, they knew that he used to be yours, and they knew that I visited you with some regularity, so when you gave him to me..."
"Let me stop you. Gerald has never "been mine". He was my spotter in the SI:7, and then he was my friend. We have only had one session together. After that..." She shrugged and put the dishes in the cabinet. "Gerald has always been his own man. He was not mine to give."
"Really?" Chrissy blinked. "He told me it wasn't like that... but I thought he was just trying to downplay the relationship so I wouldn't be jealous."
"The two of us spent so much time lying for the SI:7, that we tend to be more honest than normal people. It's not our fault people believe what they want anyway."
"Huh." Chrissy blinked and looked around.
Elunara stooped down with the dustpan. "Let me."
Chrissy swept the dirt into the pan. "Anyway, that was the perception at the time, so then I heard catty remarks about how I wouldn't be good enough in bed to compete with you."
"Why do you hang out with these freaks?" Elunara tossed the dirt out of a window.
She smirked. "When I figure it out, I'll let you know." She handed the broom back. "Yeah, sure, Gerald met me because I had a preference. Yeah, sure, he liked me because of this preference... but Gerald loves me. Every little bit of me."
"I'm changing the sheets today." Elunara hefted a basket.
"Yeah, OK." Chrissy followed Elunara into the downstairs bedroom. "Oh, wow. Those pictures are amazing."
Elunara dropped the basket. "Yeah." She yanked the sheets off of a bed. "That's Bradly and his dad."
"That's always so sad." Chrissy sighed.
"You know, the orphanage always has kids that need some love."
"Not sure I can... Not the love part. The... being faced with the fact that I'll never have my own."
"Bradly is my own. Just something to think about. Strip that bed will ya?"
"Yes, of course." She yanked the sheet off and tossed it into Elunara's pile.
Elunara tossed her the replacement sheets. "You were going somewhere with your Gerald praise?"
Tucking the sheet on the bed, she paused. "I'm not sure I was... Oh! Anyway, those same bitchy women are all having babies, and at first I didn't care, because that wasn't where we were in things. We enjoyed each other plenty, why worry about babies and children and all of that mess?" She sighed.
Elunara tossed the pile of sheets out of the door and jerked her head to the staircase.
"You have stairs in here?"
"Makes it easier to deal with sleeping boys. They can be hauled quietly, with minimal doors."
"I like it." Chrissy followed behind Elunara. "But then I saw them with their babies... and I started to want one for myself." She sighed. "Hell, even Mayby has three, why can't I have just one?"
"I'm pretty sure... at this point," Elunara tossed the basket on the floor of her room. "That Mayby says to Tonas "make me pregnant" and it just happens."