Gus nodded at his future mother-in-law. “I love Lois with everything that’s in me. I promised you before I’d always take care of her. And I will. Stacy loves her, too. Just as much.
“We take care of each other.” He looked around, looking at the yard and house next to them. “That’s what this is all about. All of us, the others, Stacy, Lois, me.
“We’re here for each other. We’re family, and we protect each other, love each other, and are there when someone needs something. Someone once told us we’re like a bunch of lost puppies that found each other,” Gus chuckled.
“We’ve made this home together, and it works for us.”
Lois held her father, wiping her eyes with her hand. He looked over the table at Gus.
“Son,” he said, sighing. He paused, shaking his head. “You got me at a loss for words,” he smiled ruefully.
“That’s a first!” Grace chuckled. Lois laughed and burrowed her face into his chest.
George smiled at his wife, then down at his daughter. “So are we going to spend any time with your… friend before we leave tomorrow?”
“Can we all meet for lunch?” Lois asked.
Grace smiled and said, “That would be fun. We don’t fly out until evening, so bring Stacy with you. We’d love to get to know her better. She’s part of the family now, I guess!”
Gus watched George nod, then look over at him. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, then a small smile crossed George’s face.
“I’m counting on you, Gus, to take care of my baby. She’s all we have left.”
Gus nodded back. “I will. I promise you. She’s my life. I can never love anyone more than her.” He looked over at her mother, then back. “I know what we’ve told you is strange,” he chuckled. “It’s strange to us, too.” Lois nodded, smiling.
“But it works for us. That’s the bottom line.”
George nodded once. “Okay. I guess we’re looking forward to getting to know your third half better,” he said, chuckling.
—***—
“Do I have to go?” Stacy whined as they walked out the door.
“Yes,” Lois said impatiently. “Get in the car.”
Stacy huffed, but did as she was told. Gus started the car and pulled out.
“Where are we going?” Stacy asked from the back seat.
“That place that just opened. I heard they have great lunch food. Sandwiches, and other stuff,” Lois said.
They drove on for a while, then Stacy asked, “So you think they’re gonna be okay with me being there?”
Gus looked at her in the rear-view mirror. “They will, Stace. Don’t worry. They really are nice people.”
“And they want to meet you,” Lois added. “We told them about our relationship last night. They seemed to take it pretty well.”
“All things considered,” Gus said, chuckling. “At least I still have my balls!”
They pulled up to the restaurant and parked. Her parents were standing in the waiting area just inside, and rose as the three of them walked in.
“Daddy! Mom!” Lois said as she hugged them. Turning, she beckoned Stacy over. She stood next to Gus, pressed to his side for a moment, then nervously walked over.
“Hello, Stacy,” George said kindly, smiling and extending his hand. She held hers out, and he gently shook it, his large hand enveloping hers.
She smiled up at him, her brows raised a little. “Hi,” she said softly, “nice to see you folks again.” She turned and extended her hand to Lois’ mom. She chuckled and pulled Stacy into a hug. Stacy squeaked, then wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Gus shook George’s hand, then got a quick hug from Grace.
“It’s so good to see you again,” Grace told Stacy. Just then, the hostess came up and showed them to their table.
Once they were seated, and drinks ordered, Grace spoke up. “Dear,” she said, looking at Stacy. “Lois and Gus told us last night about your relationship.” She smiled at her, then looked over at her daughter. “I can’t say I understand it, but I do believe them when they tell us it works for you three.”
Stacy smiled warmly at the woman who looked so much like her sister-wife. “It really does. I know this probably isn’t something you’ve run across before.” She laughed, then said, “I know I sure haven’t.”
“And yet, here you three are. Together,” Grace said, almost as if asking a question.
Stacy nodded. “Yes, we are.” She looked over at Lois’ father, impressed with his presence. She could see why Gus got nervous around him, but the love in his eye for his daughter was obvious.
“I hope my being part of this won’t be a problem for you,” she said, looking at George.
He shook his head, then said, “It’s not our place to judge. We just want what’s best for Lois. She’s our baby.”
Stacy nodded, smiling at him. “That’s what we want, too. For all of us. We’re family.” She looked at Lois, then Gus, and smiled. “Lois and I consider ourselves already married to Gus. We call ourselves sister-wives.”
George’s brows shot up, and he nodded, thinking. Grace chuckled, and said, “That actually makes sense. I know I’ve heard that phrase before.”
“Stacy’s right,” Gus said. “For all intents and purposes, we do consider ourselves married. I’m totally committed to them both, and love them with all my heart.”
“All we need is the ceremony,” Lois chuckled.
“That’ll be a problem,” George said slowly, his hand rubbing his chin.
Gus nodded. “True. Here, in the States.”
“But in a few other countries, they allow polygyny,” Stacy added. “We need to do more research on it.”
“What’s polygyny?” Grace asked as she sounded out the word.
“That’s where one man is married to more than one wife,” Lois explained.
“And you’d have to go to another country to get married?” Grace asked.
Lois nodded. “Right. We can’t all get married here. It’s illegal to do that in the US. But,” she paused, and looked at the others, “we’re hoping we can go to a country where it’s legal. We’ll get married there, then come back home with a proper marriage license.”
“The US government won’t recognize the marriage, but also won’t prosecute because the marriage happened in another country. It’s the act of getting married to more than one person that’s illegal here,” Gus explained.
“And that way we can be officially married, the three of us,” Stacy said. “Of course, one of us will marry Gus here later so we can have the benefits of a married couple.”
“For legal and medical reasons, and the like,” Lois added.
The three of them looked at Lois’ parents and waited. Grace looked at George and chuckled. “Sounds like they’ve got this figured out!”
George nodded, then smiled. “Yes, it does.”
“Are you guys okay?” Lois asked, her eyebrows raised.
George smiled at his daughter. “As good as we can be, I guess,” he chuckled. “We certainly won’t cause you kids any trouble.”
“And we’re very happy for you. All of you. You do seem happy,” Grace added.
“We are,” Lois said, smiling. “Thank you guys for being so understanding. We can only hope other people will be this nice in the future.”
—***—
August 1982
“So we’re really doing this?” Sam asked, her face split by a big grin.
Mick grinned back at her. He held up the winning card. It was a king. She looked at the single card sitting face up on the table in front of each of them.
“I got the highest card,” he beamed around the group. Gus leaned over, laughing and high-fived Mick.
“Way to go! You guys are the winners,” Bob said, patting Mick on the back, then squeezing one of Sam’s plush butt cheeks, getting a satisfying squeal out of her.
“So how are we gonna do this?” Lois asked, looking around.
“Well, my mom’s got a business trip she’s leaving for tomorrow. She’ll be gone overnight, and won’t be back until the next evening.” Sam looked around, a gleam in her eye. “You guys can come over there,” she said, a seductive smile on her face as she looked at Gus, then Bob.
“And we’ll be here,” Mick said, looking up at the girls. He noticed Stacy looking around the group as she bit her lower lip. He reached over, taking her hand.
“Honey, you know you don’t have to do anything. You can just hang out and watch TV, go see a movie, or whatever.” He smiled warmly at her. “There’s no pressure to do anything. Ever.”
“That’s right,” Demi said. “We all understand.”
Stacy smiled nervously at her, then at Mick. “Thanks, I know.” She took a deep breath, then shrugged. “We’ll see.” A small smile spread over her face as she stood there, looking down at the table, her eyes moving over the cards as she thought.
There was an air of excitement around the house the next afternoon. Smiles and quick gropes happened all over the place. It wasn’t uncommon for two people passing in the hallway to suddenly embrace, kiss passionately, then release and go on their way, giggling and smiling broadly.
As night fell, Sam took a long, hot shower, then dressed in one of her tight, slinky dresses. She wore some new sandals she’d recently bought, and put on just the right amount of makeup to bring out her beautiful brown eyes. A spritz of perfume finished the package, which looked forward to being utterly ravished later that evening.
“Okay, we’re outta here,” Bob called as he, Gus and Sam headed toward the door. Stacy hurried down the hallway, followed by Lois and Demi. They all took time hugging and giggling. Mick came up behind the girls and swept Sam up in his arms, kissing her gently.
“I love you,” he told her as he held her close.
She sighed, then pulled back and kissed him. “I love you too.” She looked in his eyes and wiggled her eyebrows. “Have fun tonight!”
He arched one eyebrow back at her. “You know it!” He laughed, shaking his head a bit. “You too. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
“We all know there’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” Lois piped up, laughing.
“True,” he grinned. “Anyway, you guys have a blast. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
They finished their goodbyes, then Bob led the way out, followed by Samantha, then Gus. Mick closed the door, then turned to look at the girls, a broad grin on his face.
“Looks like it’s just you here with us tonight,” Lois said in a soft, sultry voice. She slowly walked over to him, swinging her hips. Demi followed and stood next to Lois as she looked up at the tall man. Stacy grinned a couple of steps behind the girls, watching as they ran their hands over his chest and down his arms.
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