It didn’t matter that I was still new at my job and would have a hard time convincing my boss to let me have however long off to handle a ‘family’ problem. In fact, I was pretty sure my boss would just fire me as I was little more then general labor and lacked the experience to make me hard to replace. None of that mattered to Mel and Aud though, despite the fact I was the sole bread winner in our large family. They didn’t feel safe and my ‘job deion’ as leader of this family included security, to which I had no problem providing. It was just that every time I was trying to move forward in my life, our lives, something new would come up and derail the process.
Although I never let on to the women in my life, I was seriously questioning if this was what I wanted in the end. Sure, I loved them all, but what none of them knew was that I would give it all up just to be with Dana alone. There was no question that she was the love of my life, my soulmate and she was everywhere and in everything I saw. At times, I felt more a slave to my women than they to me as I would constantly have to give up things I wanted to do to make sure they didn’t feel neglected. I never got the sleep I really wanted or needed, because I would have to keep my tired ass up to make time for one or more of them when all I really wanted to do was sleep. It would’ve been a lot easier if I wasn’t so connected to them or they to me, but they all relied on my leadership and they had all surrendered their lives to me willingly, accepting whatever life I chose to give them and not necessarilly the lives they might choose for themselves. This was the trade off for having multiple women.
Perhaps I was just too weak to lay down the law, but for someone who always wanted a family, but never had one, until now, this was the price I was going to have to pay to keep it. I knew I could never send any of them away, not after accepting their submission, not after they pinned all their hopes and dreams on me, so sacrificing myself was the only currency I had to exchange for their service. As much as I dreaded the coming days ahead, I told Mel and Aud I would be on my way as soon as I could and hung up. Now, I just had to explain to the rest why I was leaving and do so in a way that didn’t cause them all to fear for us, especially after the incident in Wausau.
There was one person I couldn’t lie to and would never lie to however, and that was Dana. I took her aside and explained the whole story to her. She, being the good wife she was, understood completely why I needed to go and supported me a hundered percent, but the truth was there in her eyes. She knew I didn’t want to do this and she also knew how I truly felt about my life. She wanted our family as much as I, but she also understood that to make a pleasant life for the others meant sacrifice on my part. However, my struggle was her struggle and it bothered her that there was nothing she could do to fix it, to make it right, because it was inherent in the life we lived. After all, we were just a couple of kids ourselves, being the youngest in our family by far and yet, we had all the responsibility of keeping it afloat.
I told my girls that Melanie and Audrey were having emotional problems being pregnant and having been away from me for so long. Thankfully, they could relate to those feelings so they bought into the lie. Next, I called my boss and told him that a family emergency came up and since I wasn’t sure when I’d have it worked out that I was also tending my resignation. I guess I had impressed my boss all this time, because he told me that I was the hardest worker he’d ever seen. He gave me his best and while he couldn’t afford to promise me my job back should I return, he did say that if the guy he replaced me with didn’t measure up, the job would be mine. I thanked him profusely and was pleased there was a silver lining to this otherwise dismal situation. With a series of long goodbyes, I was loaded up and was watching my home disappear in the rearview.
I wasn’t desperate to get there right away, but I was desperate to stay in motels even less so I drove through the night. It was around five in the morning on Monday when I called Karen’s to let them know I was near. Another twenty minutes of driving and I was pulling up in front of her small home. I grabbed my bag from the back and my weary legs carried me to the front door where I was quickly swarmed by Melanie and Audrey. As much as I missed them, I was too tired and this was not the place to reunite so I urged us inside.
Karen was standing in the middle of the living room when I entered, waiting to be introduced. She was around 5′ 6″ with brown hair that was parted from the left in a smart-looking bob that hung just off her right shoulder, providing a nice view of her neck and jawline. She was neither fit nor fat, but retained a small ponch from the birth of her child that she’d never been able to get rid of. The most remarkable feature she had were her eyes. They were brown, like her hair, but had a distinct almond shape to them, giving a peircing or predatory look about them, which I imagined worked well in the courtroom as they were capable of a wide range of expression. Indeed, if she were ever incapable of speaking, I have no doubt she could still carry on a basic conversation with just her eyes alone.
“Karen, we’d like you to meet David.” Audrey said.
“David, it’s so nice to finally meet you.” She said, sincerely, taking my hand in hers to shake. “I cannot begin to thank you for coming all this way. You have no idea how it feels just having you here.”
“The pleasure’s all mine.” I lied, yawning.
“Oh, Daddy, you must be dead tired?” Melanie observed.
“Yeah, I don’t want to disrupt my sleep schedule, but I’d sure like to take a nap.” I said.
“I only have two bedrooms, but you’re more than welcome to take a nap on my bed, David.” Karen offered, gesturing down the hall.
“You don’t mind?” I asked.
“Oh, heck no. You sleep as long as you like and we’ll work out a more suitable sleeping arrangement later.” She said, leading me down the hall.
“Thanks, Karen.” I yawned again.
“No, thank you, David.” She insisted, leading me through the door. “You just make yourself at home and don’t worry about us.” She said before closing the door quietly behind me.
I set the alarm clock for 9 am. Like I said, I only wanted a nap, not a full sleep, no matter how badly my body wanted it. The last thing I remember was kicking off my shoes and crawling face first onto the bed.
*****
I was awaken by Melanie gently shaking me.
“Did the alarm go off?” I growled into the pillow.
“Yes, Daddy. About six hours ago.” She giggled. “It’s a little after 3 pm.”
“Shit.” I mumbled. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.” I said, still wanting to slip back into the warm embrace of sleep.
“Do you want to go back to bed, Daddy?” She said softly, stroking my hair as she placed kisses on my arm.
“No.” I grumbled, rolling over onto my back offering a place for Melanie to snuggle into under my arm. “But let me hold you for a bit, first.”