Four Years Later
Elizabeth had claimed she owned a second home in Dover, but AJ suspected it had been purchased the week before they arrived.
AJ and Vanessa had lived there together for four blissful years. AJ found work at an old bookstore, while Vanessa sold her paintings and worked part time at a flower shop.
“I’m going to be late for work,” AJ protested weakly.
“Excuse me, but what happened to your promise of lazing mornings in bed?”
“Darling, the workout you just gave me could be classified as anything but lazy. Also, if you had your druthers we’d spend every moment of every day in bed together. It’s hardly practical.”
“And I doubt you’d regret a second of it,” Vanessa said while slipping a hand between her lover’s legs.
“Oh,” AJ moaned. “You really are a master of temptation.”
“Of course. What else do you expect from the gorgeous devil on your shoulder?”
AJ giggled and buried her nose in her partner's neck, inhaling the scent of her sweet, intoxicating perfume. “I’ll only be gone a few hours. Maybe this evening I could make it up to you with an apple tart, a bottle of wine, and a promise to pick up where we left off?”
Before Vanessa could answer with an emphatic hell yes, the telephone rang.
“I’ll get it,” AJ declared, standing up. “I wonder if it’s Elizabeth asking to come for the summer. It was lovely hosting her last year.” AJ was still naked as she moved to the phone. The image made Vanessa’s mouth water. Four years of living together and Vanessa still felt insatiable around the woman.
“AJ Vantackle and Vanessa Mable residence,” she chirped. AJ loved saying their names together.
“M-Mother?” she stammered
“Your mother?” Vanessa mouthed. AJ nodded. They hadn’t spoken since the day AJ packed up her things at the manor. Her parents had vowed to never contact her again and had sworn to deny her existence.
“Why are you calling, mother? What’s wrong?”
There were a few moments of tense silence before AJ replied. “You can’t be serious!” AJ shot a look of exasperation to her partner. “Well, it appears that old habits really do die hard!”
Vanessa could hear what sounded like yelling on the other end of the line. She wished they had a second phone so she could listen in.
“I need time to think about this....Her name is Vanessa, and yes, I’ll need to talk to her first…..No, SHE is my family!” She paused and turned away. “Yes. Yes, I understand. I'll get back to you soon.”
AJ turned around, looking flushed and nervous.
“Are you alright, angel? What did they say to you?” Vanessa was already searching for her keys and shirt. “I’ll drive to London right now and egg that precious manor if they think they can call just to be nasty!”
AJ moved back towards the bed and sat down. She gave an audible swallow before she started speaking. “Vanessa, we need to talk.”
Vanessa’s heart shriveled. “I already don’t like where this conversation is going.”
“Not about us,” AJ clarified. “About my family.
“I still don’t like where this conversation is going.”
AJ swatted her arm playfully. “Just listen,” she chided. “I have a cousin called Lillian. We were close as children, but grew apart when I left for university. She has a son, Andrew. No one talks about him because his parentage is sort of a mystery. Lillian is unwed and no one is quite sure who the father is. The family doesn’t draw attention to him because they find him shameful. I guess he’s having some behavior issues lately.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Vanessa replied sarcastically. “Honestly, it’s a miracle you turned out as well as you did with how the Vantackles treat each other.”
“Well, I did have a guardian devil to help me see the light.” AJ placed a gentle kiss on Vanessa’s forehead. “Anyway, with all of the issues Andrew has been having, Lillian is at her wits end. She sent him to live with my parents in an attempt to straighten him out, but that hasn’t seemed to help things. They can’t find a nanny and they don’t want to send him to boarding school because his existence might sully the family reputation. So…” AJ eyed her expectantly.
“So…?” Vanessa replied, not sure where this conversation was going.
“They want to know if he can live with us.”
“What!?” Vanessa squawked. “Those people treated you like a leper for four years. It’d be unfair for them to ask you to run a bake sale, let alone raise a child!”
“I know it is, dear. But…” She gave a shaky exhale. “I’ve always loved children. We’ve never talked about them for obvious reasons. I mean, the country would never let two unmarried women adopt together, even if we’re more committed than 90% of the people we know.”
“100%,” Vanessa corrected. “And you know I’d marry you if it were legal, right?”
“Yes, darling. I hope you know by now that the feeling is mutual. That being said, I always pictured myself having children, even when I was a little girl. One of the hardest things to accept about my sexuality was never having children of my own.”
Vanessa tried to suppress a frown. She hated that there were things she could never give AJ. AJ noticed her reaction and quickly clarified, “Of course, I would rather have no children than any number with this wrong person, but this could be an opportunity for us. Assuming you want this too. Please don’t feel like you have to say yes. I promise that I will respect your decision either way, but I’d like for you to at least think about this.”
Vanessa had no idea how she felt about it, but it was obviously important to her partner. “How long would it be for?”
“They asked just for the summer, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up being longer. If we allowed it, it could probably turn into a permanent arrangement. We could send him home at any time, but they would likely have him stay with us until we were unwilling to host him any longer.”
“That’s assuming the boy wants to stay with us at all.”
“Of course. My parents said they would pay for Andrew’s living expenses, if that makes a difference.”
“It doesn’t.” It was no surprise AJ’s parents thought this could be fixed with money. “I don’t care about that. We’re not taking a penny from them.”
“Agreed.”
“How old is he?”
“He turned seven in October.”
Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “That’s fairly young.”
“I would say so, though it’s probably been a very lonely seven years. Oh, but think of all the children in the village he could play with! This town has been so accepting of us, I’m sure he’d feel so welcome. I could even do my magic act as an introduction!”
“Please don’t. You’ll scare the boy off before he steps through the door.
“Well, the children at the library used to love it,” she protested.
“I think they just loved you, AJ. It’s hard not to,”
AJ blushed. Vanessa loved that she could still make her blush. “At least butter the boy up with some of your biscuits first.” Vanessa moved to cup AJ’s face in her hands. “It seems like you really want to do this, huh?”
“Honestly? Yes. We could give him a home with so much love and kindness. We could really make a difference in his life. How do you feel?”
“I’m open to it for the summer. We’ll see from there.”
Before she knew what was happening, Vanessa had been lifted off the ground and was spinning around the room. “Thank you! Thank you, my love! I’m so grateful you’re willing to give this a try!”
Vanessa gave her a devilish smile as her hands roamed down AJ’s body. “Prove it.”
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