Astarte Ch. 06

"Only if the two of you don't mind two girl threesomes."

Jordan laughed. "That night you did me in the bar was the first time in two years I hadn't been had by three men or more at the same time. I've come more times than that night, but never that hard." Her face got serious.

"I didn't come up here to get laid, or to find a husband for me or Ma. I'll talk to her and let her know what your conditions are. You can find me here.

"We don't want much; don't need much. When you get tired of your harem, and can give a little more of yourself, give me a holler. If I'm going to stay monogamous for you, then you should be able to give me more than maybe once or twice a week." Then she smiled. "But I'm still on the menu, if you're interested."

Deon pulled into the driveway of his house. His mother's Mercedes had been pulled out of the double garage and was sitting in the drive. He went into the house. Sally and his mother were sitting in the living room, sipping on something long, tall and colorful.

"Hey, Deon. A letter came for you Special Delivery. It's in the bedroom. There's more of this in a pitcher in the kitchen," Sally greeted him, waving her glass.

"Hi, Sweetie. I had Sally drive me to the store. I needed something to drink and what was here didn't appeal." Kate smiled at him, looking better than she had all week.

He went to the kitchen and got himself a rocks version of whatever was in the pitcher. Then he went into the bedroom to get the letter. Astarte was there waiting for him. She handed him the letter. "It's good news."

He opened it and began to read the handwritten letter. 'Dear Mr Davies,' was crossed out and replaced by 'Dear Gideon,' I have decided to retire from teaching. It was not a hard decision since I have been out of the classroom doing administrative work for a few years now. The agency I am working with down here has offered me a position where I would be doing actual community nursing 25 to 30 hours a week, and administrative work 10 to15, a much better mix from my point of view.

'That means I must sell the house. Since you are currently living there ( I presume), I thought I would give you first refusal. Similar houses in the area, I'm told, are selling for 250K or more. To facilitate a quick and convenient sale and to insure that my personal belongings stay safe, I will let the house go to you and your family for 200K. The offer is good until Saturday, Sept 10. Please reply to...' and she gave an e-mail address.

"Wow!" he said. "Double Wow! This is great." he looked at the goddess and saw traces of tears. "What's wrong? Why the tears?"

"I must leave you now. Amun says Kate's recovery is well on its way; the baby is safe, and with care, she will deliver it safely. He has said I must return as soon as we say goodbye."

"What do you mean, with care she will deliver safely? What's wrong?"

"When she was physically attacked and kicked, her abdominal wall was bruised and weakened. From the end of her third month, she will need to restrict her activity, and will require assistance for anything besides basic activities after her fifth month. That is why I said Sally should postpone her first year of school."

"Have you told Mom this yet?"

"No, nor have I said anything more to Sally. Come kiss me goodbye. Remember, use my gift to enjoy your life and to spread joy. The women I have given you are all basically good and will love you. If you want, all the younger women will gladly bear you children. I foresee many sons and daughters to support you in your old age."

Deon wrapped his arms around the beautiful creature and bent to kiss her one last time. She continued her goodbye in his head, "I will watch over you, and, Amun willing, will return from time to time. You are a good man, my Gideon. Love be with you always." She stepped back, smiling, tears running down her cheeks, and slowly faded away. Gideon wiped away the dampness she had left on his cheeks, and was surprised when it returned.

Eight months later:

Gideon was sitting in the waiting room on the obstetrics floor of the University Hospital. Bertie, Sally, Donna, and Jordan were with him. Kate had been taken to surgery for the C-Section about fifteen minutes earlier. His smartphone vibrated in his pocket. Someone in St Louis was calling him.

"Hello. Deon Davies speaking."

"Deon, Gary Daniels here. I was trying to get hold of your mother. The woman who answered her phone gave me this number. I have news about Harry Bonesteel. He committed suicide when a Kansas trooper tried to arrest him for speeding, just before Christmas last year. He tried to run across an expressway; got hit by a tractor trailer.

"He had some fake ID, and it took them awhile to track down his real identity. They tracked him back here because he had a rare form of liver disease that also showed up in an immigrant who worked here."

"Well, I'd like to say I'm sorry, but I can't. I'll let Mom know. Right now she's in surgery, delivering my new baby brother."

"Holy... was it from that night?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"No, she was already pregnant when she got to Altamont. She knew when it happened. Part of her mood that day was that she was afraid she'd miscarry."

"Thank God. By the way, you remember Cindy Bonesteel, Harry's wife? She's about ready to pop out a kid, too, and Polly Hardin. Strange, them all gettin' preggers at the same time. Oh, well, I guess it happens."

"Yeah, strange." Deon grinned.

FINIS