Love, the Second Time Around

"It's okay, Mom," Nichole said, and I could see her hands trembling. "Her credit is better than mine."

"Even better!"

Three men I recognised from other pictures around Nichole's apartment walked over from the kitchen before John could say anything else embarrassing. They were all carrying drinks. Nichole took a glass of wine and gulped down about half of it.

"So do we get to meet her now?" the biggest of the three asked. He was easily a head and a half taller than I, with strong arms, broad shoulders and a hefty middle-age paunch. He was the oldest of Nichole's siblings. "I'm Nathan."

I was going to have to get used to this family's penchant for hugs.

"Is Betsy here yet?" I asked. Prior to coming up, I had devoted a sizeable amount of time trying to learn the names of everyone whom I might meet and connecting them to a face.

"She'll be here later with the kids," he beamed. They had two kids in high school, whose names had just flown out of my head despite my efforts.

The other men were a couple, Michael's younger brother Rhett and his husband Felix.

I took the offered glass from Rhett who leaned in to give me another hug and quick peck on the cheek. They were the stereotypical gay New York couple: handsome, fit and immaculately dressed.

Seeing how easily her family accepted me seemed to put Nichole at ease. Or maybe it was the wine.

"We're so happy not to be the only queers at family dinners anymore," Rhett hooked his hand into the crook of my arm. "Is your daughter one of us, too?"

"I'm not a queen, if that's what you're asking," Maureen took his other arm. "I'm a princess, bitches, and I like to be treated like one."

"Sassy, too! You are going to fit right in around here," Rhett laughed. "I love her already."

We engaged in some more small talk, as more people began to show up.

I kept an eye on Nichole while trying to engage everyone, matching up names and faces and trying to remember who was married to whom, and who their kids were. Thankfully, Maureen ran interference for me, her mother's charm coming through. She has a near-eidetic memory, as well as McKayla's infectious laugh, rapier-sharp wit and warm, gregarious personality.

And have I mentioned that she's gorgeous?

But then again, I'm her mother and I'm a little bit biased.

Very quickly, she had all of Nichole and Michael's families eating out of the palm of her hand.

She made a point of quietly quizzing me on the various people at the party, pointing them out and expecting me to remember their names, or giving me a name and I had to come up with their relationship to Nichole. I did okay with most of the adults, but keeping up with the kids was a blur.

Maybe it was some silent command Emily lorded over everyone like the big sister she was, but it seemed to me that Nichole's extended family was on their best behavior. They didn't pry into my past life too much and they made a genuine effort to be friendly.

I'm sure it helped that they knew money wasn't an issue for me.

One thing I noticed is that every time someone called out for "Mommy!" or "Daddy!", half a dozen heads shot around to see what the problem was. All of the parents surely knew whose children belonged to whom, but the fact that everyone in the room was interested in the welfare of everyone else spoke to the strong bonds this family shared.

Speaking as someone from a small family, it was something refreshing to be a part of.

The other thing I noticed is they laughed a lot. Sometimes at each other, sometimes near each other. Sometimes they would let me in on a joke, sometimes not, and as the evening went on, I felt more and more at ease.

The wine glass in my hand that never seemed to empty probably contributed to that, too.

"I like them," Maureen saddled up next to me and put her arm around my shoulders. Her eyes were starting to glaze over. I'm sure between the flight up and the excitement of meeting all these new people, she was dead tired. "Mom would have liked them, too."

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly. "Do you think she'd be angry with me?"

My daughter snorted. "Mom would only be pissed off that you took six years to find someone else to be with."

"I don't want to feel like I'm moving on."

"You have to, Mommy," Maureen said. "If you don't, you'll spend the rest of your life being lonely. Statistically, you're going to live another forty years. You deserve to be happy for the rest of that time. Mom knew that. And she didn't want you to spend the rest of your life moping and pining away for her. If it's not Nichole, there are other people out there for you, too."

I chewed on my lip for a moment.

"What if Nichole is that person?" I whispered. "And what if she gets sick and dies on me, too?"

"Then you bury her and find another someone," Maureen replied, and I was a little shocked at her bluntness. "Dwelling on the 'what ifs' will only lead you to becoming a crazy cat lady. And I can't be related to someone like that."

We both laughed, if only to break the maudlin moment. I knew she was right.

"Are you okay with me dating again?" I took her hand in mine.

"Of course," she replied softly. "Especially since your girlfriend lives someplace I like to visit!"

We snickered.

The families with kids began to gather their things to go home.

There were a flurry of "Good nights!" and "It was nice to meet yous!" and I tried to call everyone by name.

Carole stopped to see me before she left with John and Elizabeth.

"I haven't seen Nichole this happy in a long time," she told me with a warm smile. She gave me a hug and squeezed my hand. "Make her stop working for a while so she can enjoy life!"

"I'll do what I can," I winked.

Those who were not in the process of leaving were cleaning up after dinner. There was an unspoken choreography as the trash was gathered, the dirty dishes cleaned and the leftovers packed away.

An hour or so later, the last of the stragglers were gone, leaving Stephen, Maureen, Nichole and me.

Stephen was already in his pajamas, and Maureen settled into the guest room.

"I had a wonderful time tonight." I wrapped my arms around Nichole and pulled her to me.

She let out a great sigh of relief and melted into my arms. "I'm just glad no one let Rhett near the piano so he could start singing. I swear to God if I had heard him start into 'Let It Go', I was going to punch him in the throat."

I kissed her through my snickering.

"Your family is very nice," I said. "Is this the one night of good behaviour I'm going to get?"

"Probably," she took me by the hands and we headed down the hallway to see the kids before bed. "After tonight, you don't qualify as a guest."

"What does that mean?"

"You have to bring something to dinner from now on. And you're not allowed to buy it from a store."

Stephen was watching something on his tablet through glassy eyes

"Time for bed, young man." Nichole took the iPad from his hands and set it on the nightstand. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Stephen."

"Good night, Mom," he said. "Good night, Amberle. You're very nice. And so is Maureen."

"Thank you, Stephen," I gave him a quick hug and we left him along. I was sure he'd be asleep in a matter of minutes. "It was nice to meet you. Good night."

Maureen was waiting in the door to the bathroom. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"The big party is tomorrow night," Nichole gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"After tonight, the 'big party' must be some production."

"You have no idea," my girlfriend sighed.

I gave my daughter a kiss and took Nichole's hand. She led me back to her bedroom. We changed into our nightclothes without speaking.

Nichole curled up in my arms. The heavy curtains were drawn, blocking out much of the light from the windows. Her hair smelled sweet. Her breath smelled of wine.

She jerked a couple of times and her breathing became regular.

Her breath was warm on my neck.

I pulled her close to me and fell asleep, wanting nothing.

*************************

Nichole

It's a good thing we weren't sleeping naked.

Amberle was curled up against me, her head on my shoulder and her arm draped around my waist.

I had a splitting headache from way too much wine the night before. "Coming out" to my family had gone well. I think.

Mom, my siblings and all of our extended family seemed interested in my girlfriend, and no one made a scene. I should not have been surprised that my relationship with Amberle was an open secret, but I was. I thought we were being cool and distant, but it seems that most of my family had us figured out. My friends probably had, too, but maybe they were keeping their comments to themselves until I came out on my own. Damn you, Facebook!

I was very relieved that my mother and my son seemed okay with my sudden homosexuality, or at least they were taking some time to process my newest love before confronting me about her.

What I had forgotten was how much my body disliked binge drinking.

My stomach wasn't upset. I wasn't going to puke my guts out. I just felt like a four kiloton warhead detonated at the base of my skull and my breath tasted of stale merlot. Thankfully, the heavy curtains were drawn, blocking out most of the daylight that was trying to creep into my bedroom.

The room started to spin as I lifted my head, trying to get a glance at the alarm clock. It was just after seven.

I collapsed back into the bed and fell into the plush pillows. Amberle smiled in her sleep and snuggled up a little closer to me.

Pulling her close, I kissed her forehead. She was so beautiful.

Caressing her cheek, I tried to will away the pounding in my skull and wondered what future we might have before us.

My reverie was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Stephen didn't wait for an answer, and slowly turned the knob and came into my room.

When he was little, Ethan and I didn't let our son sleep with us, but we never turned him away if he came into our room after waking up.

"Hi, Mom," he said quietly. I motioned for him to climb under the covers with us. My girlfriend stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake. "How long are Amberle and Maureen going to stay with us?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," I replied. It hurt less if I didn't open my eyes. "Maureen has to go back to school soon, but Amberle might be here for a little while. Would you mind?"

"No," he said softly. "They're cool to be around."

"I'm glad you like them." We cuddled for a little while, then I fell asleep again, my son on one side and my lover on the other.

*************************

When I woke up again, I was alone in the bed.

The door was open and I heard voices from the kitchen. My headache had mostly subsided and the light was no longer unbearable.

Even so, I took great care not to move too quickly, or change direction suddenly. I went into the bathroom and took care of business. When I came out, Amberle poked her head in through the door.

"Get back in bed," she scolded playfully. "Someone wanted to surprise you with breakfast this morning."

"Okay," I mumbled and crawled back under the covers.

A few minutes later, Stephen led Amberle and Maureen into the bedroom. He was carrying a tray with plate full of pancakes, bacon, and eggs along with a mug of coffee and some toast.

The four of us spread out on the bed, enjoying the first of many breakfasts together.

Despite my hangover, I appreciated the effort Amberle was making to get to know my son. She is a natural with kids, as is her daughter.

"What are we going to do today, Mommy?" Stephen asked, helping himself to a piece of "my" bacon.

A quick glance over at the clock showed it to be just past ten. Mentally, I started counting backwards from the party that was going on later to see how much free time we might have. I checked my phone and saw about a dozen text messages, two missed calls and two voicemails.

I turned my phone over and set it back on the nightstand. If anything were life or death, someone would have called the landline to my apartment. All of the other business could wait until I was done with breakfast. And a shower.

"Probably just a little bit. We'll have some time between now and after lunch, but you're going to stay with Uncle Nathan for a while, then we're going to go to the party." My hangover still lingered, but my temples had stopped throbbing. "And then you're going to go spend the night with your cousins."

We finished up our breakfast. I insisted on cleaning up while the others rotated through the showers. I quickly washed myself off, then dressed while answering text messages. Most of the party arrangements were already made; now it was just time for details.

New York is one of those cities where you know that every time you leave to go out for the day, it's going to cost you a certain amount of money. Whether it's for a taxi, lunch, groceries or whatnot, there's a certain overhead that comes with living in the city. At least all the walking and the steps meant that everyone is in relatively good shape.

I threw some bottled water, pop and snacks in a backpack, then the four of us headed out for a little while. Since I live right along Central Park West, we headed over through the park and walked around the Sheep Meadow and up to Strawberry Fields. It was cool, but not cold. There was a little bit of residual snow in places where no direct sunlight hit, but it was otherwise pleasant out for a January day.

Amberle and I held hands a lot, often with one of the kids holding on to the other.

Stephen seemed to take to both my girlfriend and her daughter, and Maureen was nothing but an angel to me and my son. We stopped for lunch at Tavern on the Green, and as the four of us sat there talking and laughing, I glanced over at Amberle.

There was a distant look in her eyes for just a second, then she met my gaze.

Her warm smile.

The soft bounce of her curly hair.

She winked.

My heart skipped a beat.

And in that moment, I let myself fall in love with her.

*************************

I like to think that I'm a patient person. But not tonight.

We had less than an hour before the official start of the party. Of course, almost none of the guests would be on time. That wouldn't be fashionable.

After our lunch, we hurried back to my apartment. Nathan came to pick up Stephen, Maureen retreated to her room to study for a chemistry test and Amberle mostly stayed out of the way as I made call after call.

I ran around taking care of all the last minute details of the big party.

The first two stories of my building are retail and office space. There is a separate residential entry that is accessible from the street and from the lobby area. The first floor has a nice spacious open area, and the second level has a mezzanine which looks out on Central Park West through a set of glorious bay windows.

A restaurant had recently gone under, so I had some empty space there. I knew enough catering companies through the family business that I got good food at an inexpensive rate. My sisters were in charge of decorating. I run the property through an LLC, which pays the maintenance and security staff.

Usually, I like to take care of things personally, but several years ago, I realised that I couldn't do it all myself, so I grudgingly hired an office manager and a couple of other office staff.

The former restaurant was a nice setup; they put a lot of money into expensive hardwood floors, high-end kitchen equipment, and comfortable seating. When it was open, they did good business, but their menu was way too ambitious, their prices on the wrong side of reasonable and one of the owners "forgot" to tell the New York State Liquor Authority that he was a convicted felon. So their booze licence got revoked and the place went belly-up, leaving most everything for their creditors.

This wasn't the first restaurant to go out of business on my property, nor was it to be the last. I purchased most of the equipment and décor from the bank at a substantial discount. After all, I was willing to take the place lock, stock and barrel, while they would have to pay someone to come in, inventory what was left, find buyers and dispose of everything.

I would either sell the equipment to the next tenant or make a couple of calls and have someone who could really use it come get everything. If I played my cards right, I would do a little better than breaking even, if not make a respectable return on my inventment.

"How ya doin' tonight, Miz Galloway?" my doorman asked in his thick Jur-zee accent. He had been working at the building since before Michael moved into it. Friendly, professional and discreet, he was in the know about everything within a four block radius.

"Just fine, Paulie, how are you?" His real name was Palmiro, but no one called him that except is mother and his wife.

The lobby buzzed with caterers and decorators putting the last minute touches on the place.

"Doin' well, ma'am," he replied with a smile. "Great night for a party."

"Yes, it is." I stopped for a second and rummaged through my purse.

"I already got yer guest list, ma'am," he said, one step ahead of me. "I gave it to all the boys, an' they know where to send everyone."

"Thank you," I patted him on the shoulder. "Remind me to give you a bonus at Christmas."

"I remind ya every year," he laughed, and then leaned in so none of the other people buzzing around could hear. "Oh, an' I told 'em that Miss Amberle would be staying for a while, an' I gave her a key to the back elevator."

Of course he knew what I wanted before I did.

"What am I going to do when you retire?" I smiled appreciatively at him.

"I don't plan on that any time soon." Paulie winked and went off to check on the valets and other staff.

What had started out as a small party for my friends had turned into a ginormous production. I sighed as my phone buzzed.

Can you come up here for a second? Amberle's text message flashed on the lock screen.

I looked around, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

If it hasn't been done by now, I don't need it, I thought to myself, supressing the urge to go back for one of the gazillion things I hadn't checked or double-checked.

The elevator opened and Maureen stepped out. She smiled mischievously at me, but said nothing and went on her way to check out the party location.

It was a short ride up to my apartment. Amberle was waiting in the foyer. Her hair was pulled back and it looked like she had already started getting ready for the party.

I let out a surprised yelp when she grabbed me by the lapel and pulled me in for a hard, sloppy kiss.

Her touch was calming and I melted into her arms. One hand groped at my breasts and she pinched one of my nipples right at the point between pain and pleasure.

"Knees," she commanded, and I reflexively obeyed. By nature, Amberle is not a domineering person in either her personal life or in bed, but when she get's that look in her eyes, I can tell I'm in for a hair-pulling, ass-slapping, scream-and-wake-the-neighbours orgasm.

She lifted her skirt to show me she wasn't wearing any underwear.

"Lick."

I closed my eyes as she thrust her pussy forward into my mouth. My tongue snaked between her labia, brushing her swollen clit. The space between my legs became slick.

"You are so good at that," Amberle smiled, her eyes hooded over with pleasure.

My heart raced, happy to be able to satisfy my lover. I reached around and cupped her magnificent rear end. As I pulled her closer to me, she pulled away.