The Body McAllister is dedicated to my friend Enrique Pullo. Special thanks to my friend Kat for her editing assistance.
This is the conclusion (for now) to the Body McAllister story. I reserve the right to revisit it later. My mind is already full of my next story. Having said that, I loved this universe and fully believe there are so many stories to tell. If you have any stories you would like to see featured based on the people you met in this series, please drop me some feedback.
Minette was a fun character to right after the perfection of Heather. Min is flawed, so delightfully so. Seeing her start to embrace them was satisfying to right. After the intense love of No Sacrifice and Lucky, this story was a bit of a break for me.
Having said that, I'm curious as to whether you all can figure out my favorite character in this story. ;)
Without further ado ...
*****
Minette Dusseau stood at her brother's doorway. She had a realization after talking with her ex-boyfriend. She had never really talked with Luc about what happened all those years ago to drive them apart. They had been lovers in their youth, as their mother's family embraced incestuous sexual encounters in a system known as the body McAllister. Their feelings for each other had deepened beyond what was normally considered acceptable in the family's system, but they both continued to pursue other lovers. Minette had accidentally walked in on her brother with their cousin Abigail, whom she had no idea he was even seeing.
Part of the way the body McAllister worked is that everything was kept confidential. Min had a vague idea Luc had at least one other lover, but she didn't know who it was or anything else related to it. Likewise, Luc had no idea who Min was sleeping with in the family. Min had more lovers than her brother did, but she didn't see them often due to attending university on the other side of the state. Luc, on the other hand, made it a practice to have sex with Abigail often, at least twice a week. They were comfortable with each other, their encounters loving and special.
When his sister walked in on himself and Abigail, it was just in time to witness him telling Abigail he loved her as he orgasmed. Min had been horrified and ... jealous. She had run from Luc's dorm without giving him a chance to explain. Her father had sent her out of the country for the summer at her request. Min chose to leave the body McAllister. While she had loved the traditions of her mother's family, she wanted a shot at a normal life.
Ted Aiello, a colleague at the District Attorney's office, had seemed like the perfect opportunity to make that normal life a reality. To her shock, he had abruptly ended things with the announcement that his twin's sister was pregnant with Ted's twins. Reeling, Min had tried to take comfort in Luc, but he had pushed her away. Luc had pointed out to Min that she tended to make things about her rather than thinking about the other side of the equation. Minette was ready to discuss all of this with him at last.
"Minette ... Hey," Luc said. He stepped aside, letting her into his condo. Breathing a sigh of relief that he had let her in and that he was alone, she set her purse down and walked into his living room. They both took a seat on his comfy sofa. Luc cleared his throat. "What brings you by?"
Taking a deep breath and struggling to find the right words, Minette said, "Ted Aiello came to see me today. He requested that I keep the story of Heather and the paternity of her twin daughters a secret."
Luc nodded thoughtfully. "It took a lot of courage for him to ask that of you, but I think it would be harsh to ruin her reputation when she didn't even realize they had switched places during the conception." He said this hesitantly, waiting for a potential explosion from his volatile sister.
Minette quickly agreed, reaching out to touch Luc's arm reassuringly. "I always liked Heather a lot, she was nice and accepting. We got along great, I would never dream of embarrassing her by revealing what John and Ted did to her."
He grinned, pleasantly surprised at this reaction. Min had the right idea and he was relieved at the change. "So, you came by to ask me to keep the secret as well?"
Shaking her head, Min explained, "I know you would never violate your ethics. You helped assist in the birth, you would be in all sorts of trouble if you breathed a word. Besides, that's not you, Luc. You're a good guy and it's just not in you to do something like that." She took a breath, and then went on. "Ted said something that really shocked me. He told me that what we had was real, that he had never cheated on me, that his 'encounters' with Heather were over before I came along. He was sincere, and I believed him."
Biting his lip, Luc asked, "Well, that's good, right?"