IX. Georgia Stays a Little Longer
PAUL
I got the first email from Lauren late the next afternoon. Because of the time difference, it was evening there, and she had probably written it shortly after she had returned to her hotel room. Crazy as it sounds, my heart actually started beating faster as soon as I saw her email address in my Inbox. My fingers fumbled as I finally managed to click on the message icon.
The email started out this way:
Dear Everyone,
As soon as I was on the plane and in my seat, I dove into my bag and got out the little package you gave me at the airport. I don't know why, but my fingers were trembling so badly, and I was so frustrated I was almost at the point of asking the little girl in the next seat to open it for me. But I finally got control over my fingers. I was so excited, and when I opened it, I almost burst into tears. I couldn't believe you'd ever find a chain and charm with five interlocked hearts. I put it on immediately and got this incredible sense of calm and well-being, knowing that wherever I might be, the five of us were together. I love you all so much.
It continued much the way you would expect: greetings, description of the flight (uneventful), arrival and immigration (Italian -- need I say more?), baggage claim (again, Italian). But once outside of baggage claim and customs, she quickly saw a young Italian woman holding a sign card with her name on it. The woman's name was Annabella, and she was to be Lauren's liaison with the Rome office of the Italian accounting firm that they were assisting. Annabella drove her to the hotel to check in and deposit her luggage. They got a quick Italian business lunch and went to the office for a few hours to size up the task ahead and lay out plans for the next two weeks. They left the office at 7 p.m. (19:00 Central European) and went to a small family-run trattoria near the hotel before Annabella dropped Lauren off at the for the night.
There was also a second email that she sent just to me.
"Dad, I know that you are missing me as much as I miss you, Darling, and you can't imagine how good I feel knowing that Georgia is there to comfort you. BUT, ... I don't want you and Georgia to get so comfortable that you forget my sister."
An aside here. Lauren and Jane really do see themselves as sisters. There is a closeness between them, an attachment that could not be any stronger if they were related by blood. I think part of it could be the fact that they both lost their mothers, at about the same age. There's also another aspect to their sisterhood: they share the same fathers.
Her email continued,
"With Georgia there, and all the attention surrounding my trip, Janey has been stuck with just that hideous troll Matthew to service her sweet, delicate femininity."
Of course, Lauren does not see Matthew as a hideous troll. Lauren's eyes see the character in others. They can see the fake, the insincere, the vacuous, the deceptive and, occasionally, the cruel. When she looks at Matt, Lauren's eyes see strength and kindness and love, wrapped in a pleasant-looking male package. You and I would look at Matt and see an average, decent-looking guy. In Lauren's eyes, he is beautiful.
"So, dear Dad, PLEASE rescue our little Janey from her terrible fate -- SOON! Also, I see the way that Matthew has looked at Georgia since the first day she arrived. I bet that he has some special kinds of lovin' he'd like to try with her, and I think that she's kind of curious about him (about Janey, too, for that matter!). Anyhow, dear Dad, I know you'll let Janey know how much you love her, or you'll have a lot of explaining to do to me!
"This assignment will be terribly exciting, but I think you already know how much I am missing you. Please take care of everyone I love,
Your Princess."
Okay -- I admit it -- I bawled like a baby. Fortunately, no one was around to observe my disgustingly unmanly performance, although I think my red eyes did garner a few curious looks later on.
********
Apparently Georgia had also received an instructional email or two from Lauren, because one evening when we were sitting together on the small loveseat-giant armchair in our bedroom, watching TV, out of nowhere, Georgia asked, in a provocative way,
"So ... tell me about Jane. Is she really the wild woman that Lauren hints at?"
"Jane -- Janey -- is, how shall I put this, 'uninhibited.' She has a rather -- 'creative' -- approach to sex. She's certainly the boldest of all of us and is usually up for trying most things, even if she decides later that she doesn't like something and doesn't want to do it again. Also, she has the most adventurous tastes in pornography. I can't believe some of the shit she comes up with. But we also end up watching it with her, and it's usually followed by some pretty wild sex. And she really likes dirty talk. I don't mean just crude talk. I mean really lewd, suggestive talk that can drive you wild."
Georgia then asked, "As I understand it, you and Jane have a special relationship -- because of the first time?"
"Yeah, I guess you'd say we do, because of that first night I spent with Janey to sort of prepare her to get her father to make love to her. It was Lauren's idea that if we could get Jane used to the thought of sex with 'a' father, it wouldn't be so big a leap to sex with
her
father. We had a beautiful night together, and I guess it worked, because here we are now. So everything we all have now comes from that night. And I don't mean the sex, which is crazier and more satisfying than I could have dreamed of in my wildest imagination. What I mean is, we have a family here -- four people -- now five, with you -- who care deeply about each other and love each other and share a wonderful life together. So, if it weren't for your amazing granddaughter, none of this would be here, nothing would be like it is.
"But, yes. That first time with Janey, the sex was incredibly exciting. But through it all, the main thing I kept thinking was how I had to make it perfect for her -- almost like protecting her -- so that she and her father could have the kind of relationship that's so important to Lauren and me. And ever since that night, I've had those feelings of love and protectiveness -- almost like how I feel about my own daughter. Matt and I have talked, and we're pretty much agreed that if anything were to happen to either of us, the other would look after both girls like they were our own.
"Jane sounds very special. Matt must be, too."
"She is, and he is. Lauren absolutely adores him, 'though I'll bet that hasn't escaped your notice, has it?"
"You're right, James, there
is
something special there. But I don't think it's something that could ever come between you and Lauren.
"You're a good man, James. But then, I've known that since you were a boy. Now, you're a man-sized version of that boy. And speaking of 'man-sized version,' I think it might be time for you to re-unite your man-sized version with Jane. From what Lauren told me, you have a lot of relationship maintenance work to catch up on. Plus, maybe you could pick up some new ideas. You don't want to get boring, do you, James?"
"But what about you? Won't you feel lonely and neglected if I spend all my time boffing cute little Janey?" I could scarcely get this out with a straight face.