At breakfast, the steward asked if we’d like Mimosas instead of coffee. “Round two?” he joked.

“Sure, why not? We are on vacation, after all,” I said.

“Round two?” Hank’s wife Jo said, puzzled.

“Yeah, we started the day off with alcohol,” I said.

“Rum Punches,” Angela added, her good mood showing. At Jo’s quizzical look, Angela explained. “I woke up this morning from a dream we were sunbathing on a tropical beach, drinking Rum Punch drinks with those little umbrellas, so Leah got us some.”

Jo smiled at the image. “That’s perfect,” she said.

“It truly was,” Emmy agreed.

During breakfast Captain Walter announced that since we’d gotten a break in the weather and it was a beautiful sunny day, the Narcisse would stay there in that pretty little anchorage and we could all do the kayaking, hiking, and fishing that had been so unattractive because of the consistently wet weather we’d experienced so far.

I recommended the hike up to the ridge to Emmy and Angela, but told them I wanted to try kayaking. I needed the exercise that paddling could give me, and I’d already done the hike.

The morning warmed up quite quickly, and by the time the hikers got on the skiff to head to shore most of them were down to T shirts or other base layers. I was already past the initial learning curve with the kayak by that point, so I did my best to make it a race to the shore. I couldn’t quite keep up with the skiff’s outboard motor, but I did manage to work up quite a sweat in those brief few minutes.

I’d long since stowed my jacket in the kayak’s cargo area, but now stripped off my long-sleeved mid layer top as well. Even that ensemble was too warm as I paddled vigorously around the little bay, so I made my way back to the ship to change clothes.

Down to the pair of shorts I’d optimistically packed and a wicking tank top, I was back on the water and paddling like a madwoman, working up one heck of a sweat.

My technique was lousy, sure, but I made up for it in enthusiasm as I worked myself into some good muscle burn, paddling up and down the length of the inlet, out to the little barrier island, then eventually around it entirely. I lost track of time, absorbed in the motion, the sun, and the water.

When I finally made my way back to the boat, lunch had already been served and eaten. “We asked them to save a sandwich for you,” Angela said with a kiss.

“We watched you,” Emmy said. “You were glorious out there. We are not the only ones who thought that, either. You had a lot of admirers.”

“What?” I asked.

“There were a lot of people, passengers and crew, who watched you rowing around,” Emmy explained. “You were beautiful. So strong, so vibrant and powerful. It is no wonder so many enjoyed watching you,” Emmy said, a teasing twinkle in her eye.

“You were like an amazon out there,” Angela added. "Your blonde hair, your golden tan, and those shoulders… ¡Ay mamí! She said, shaking her hand as if she’d just burned it.

“Did you two enjoy the show?” I asked, amused.

“Oh, yes,” Emmy replied. “Very much.”

“It was hot, seeing you out there, rowing around with such… power,” Angela agreed, trying for the right word.

“After all that work,” I said, lowering my voice a little, “my shoulders might get sore. Maybe my back, too. I’m sure I could use a good massage.”

“I think your legs maybe got tired, too,” Angela said. “They probably need some attention, too.”

“They might,” I agreed, nodding. “Can I talk you guys into giving me a good rubdown?”

“Oh, yes!” Angela said, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards our cabin.

“It is a good idea to do it before your muscles cool down too much,” Emmy said, taking my other hand.

The moment we got back to the cabin the two had my clothes off and were shoving me into the little shower stall. I washed up quickly, emerging to find Emmy and Angela waiting expectantly. Emmy took the towel from my hands and carefully dried me off completely, then gently pushed me towards the bed, where Angela sat cross-legged. I lay down on my front, and soon four hands were caressing my body.

“There’s something wrong with this picture,” I complained, even though it felt amazing.

“What do you mean?” Emmy asked.

“You guys are wearing too many clothes. This would be much better if you were naked, too,” I said, groaning a little as Angela (I think it was) found a tender spot on my lower back.

“But if we took off our clothes, too, we wouldn’t be able to control ourselves and soon we would just be having sex,” Angela said.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I said, turning my head to look at her.

“Oh, it’s not a bad thing, not at all, but first Emmy and I have to give you a good massage without any distractions.”

“I’m finding myself very distracted,” I said as one of them started working on my glutes.

“I am, as well,” Emmy said.

“Stay focused, Em,” Angela admonished as Emmy’s fingers strayed a bit.

“But Ange, I am certain these muscles need massage, too,” Emmy said, her voice just a tiny bit petulant.

“I’m pretty sure they do,” I agreed, moving my legs a little farther apart to give Emmy easier access.

“Em,” Angela cautioned as Emmy’s fingers gently stroked my labia. “Remember what we talked about.”

“Did you two talk about how you were totally going to jump my bones?” I asked, hopeful.

“Yes, we did, but we talked about other things, too,” Angela said.

“Can we skip the other things?” I asked.

“No, Angela is right. Yesterday we said that we needed to talk about some things, and this is a very good time to do so,” Emmy said, her fingers withdrawing with one last gentle squeeze of my lady parts.

“Lee,” Angela said, her tone turning serious, but still loving. “If everything goes right, Em and I will soon be pregnant, right? I have been thinking about this a lot, and we- me and Em- have been talking about it. We both think that when we’re pregnant, we are going to need to cut back on our… our work, and other commitments outside the home. We want to spend more time together, and of course, with you.”

“Leah,” Emmy said, her voice gentle. “Angie and I, we want you to spend more time with us. As we get bigger, we will need you to be home more. When our babies are born, we want you to stay home for a while with us. This is very important to us, to Angie and me, and to our babies.”

“You’re the boss. You can take all the time you need away from the office. We have a huge home office for you that you almost never use. Maybe only actually go in when you really have to, but work from home most of the time?” Angela pleaded.

“This is what you two wanted to talk about?” I asked, surprised. “Of course I’ll take time off when our daughters are born. Of course I will.”

“Your work is so important to you,” Emmy said. “We don’t want to take that away from you…”

“My work is important to me because it allows us the things we like, and the freedom to do what we want, and of course, to provide for our people,” I said, maybe a touch defensively. “It isn’t important because I love it. I love you two much- infinitely more.”

“We know,” Angela said. “We do. And we love you, Lee. So much it hurts. We’re both dying to have your babies. We want it so bad…”

“I’ve had daydreams about it, too,” I said. “Imagining you two as mothers, our little girls running around the house. I can’t wait.”

“So, when we’re big as blimps, you’ll stay home more?” Angela asked.

Propping myself up on one arm to look at both of them, I said, “I’ll stay home so much you’ll beg me to go to work just to leave you alone for a bit.”

This must have been the right answer, since both gave me happy smiles.

“Now that that’s settled, can you guys work on my front?” I asked, rolling over onto my back.

“Is sex all you ever think about?” Angela asked in mock dismay.

“It’s not all I think about,” I said, dropping my head onto the pillow. “Just, um, eighty per cent or so. Actually, I blame the two of you.”

“How are we to blame for your nymphomania?” Emmy asked, her eyebrows raised.

“By being so damned sexy, that’s how. I can hardly look at either of you and not want to drag you to bed immediately,” I replied.

“She really is a beast, isn’t she?” Angela asked Emmy.

Emmy leaned down and kissed my sternum, right between my breasts. “Yes, and I would not want her to be any other way. She is our beast.”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t, either,” Angela admitted.

That night Emmy played her guitar in the salon again, just instrumental renditions of classic rock tunes. Somehow it turned into a parlor game, people calling out what song she was playing as soon as they recognized it, trying to be the first. Some were really easy- I think it took Jack about two notes to recognize ‘Life In The Fast Lane’ from the Eagles, for example, and about the same for ‘Norwegian Wood’ by the Beatles, but it took a long time for anybody to guess Tool’s ‘Forty Six And Two’. None of the other passengers recognized it- it was one of the younger crew members that walked in and almost immediately said, “Oh, wow!” When he heard what Emmy was playing.

After she finished the Tool song, he asked her to play some Nirvana, so Emmy happily obliged. This started a round of people making requests, and Emmy managed to play most of those, too.

While Emmy was enjoying goofing around on the guitar for everybody, Angela and I cuddled under the wool Pendleton blanket in our familiar easy chair and just enjoyed Emmy’s effortless playing.

“I will never get tired of watching her play,” Angela said quietly.

“No, neither will I,” I agreed.

We lapsed back into silence again, just holding each other and maybe occasionally fondling some sensitive bits under the blanket where nobody could see.

Blake and Jack were completely enraptured, sitting right up front near Emmy. Anne, their mom, didn’t seem too enthusiastic at first, but as the evening went on her mood seemed to soften. All in all, I figured that if she came away from this trip with the idea that not all of ‘those people’ are so bad, that was a win. She’d already seemed to admit that Angela was nice, and now maybe she might concede that Emmy seemed like a nice person, surprisingly down to earth despite being a famous rock star… That only left me as ‘the wrong kind of folks’.

Her husband certainly seemed to have enjoyed watching me work out a couple of days earlier, and Angela had told me he was one of my admirers while I was paddling. He didn’t seem too bothered by the idea of women being overly friendly with other women… Unkind thoughts about his web browser history made me chuckle a little, which got me a questioning look from Angela.

“Nothing, babe, just thinking about things,” I said and gave her a little kiss. Reassured, she snuggled back against me and tucked the blanket over my opposite shoulder. Of course, this gave her cover to give my boob a little loving squeeze, keeping her hand there.

In bed that night Emmy and Angela sandwiched me in the middle, each one laying her head on my shoulder, facing each other.

“Have I told you two I’m the luckiest person in the world?” I asked.

“No, I am,” Angela countered.

“You are both wrong, I am sorry to say,” Emmy said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “I am.”

Our last day on the Narcisse was a bit sad, but at the same time I have to admit I was definitely ready to get off the boat. It had been a great little vacation and wonderful to spend so much time with Angela and Emmy, but ten days cooped up on the little cruise ship was more than enough.

Stepping ashore in Ketchikan with our bags somehow felt more like the start of something rather than the end. I don’t know if it’s correct to say that I’d fallen more in love with Angela on the trip, but somehow the relationship between the three of us had deepened at the same time as it had mellowed.

I felt more sure of Angela’s place in our little family. More confident that this really was how things were meant to be and that we were on solid ground as far as our emotions and connections to each other were concerned.

I’d resolved to begin cutting back my hours right away, too. I didn’t want to wait until Emmy and Angela were as big as houses before suddenly becoming an attentive partner. Clearly they both felt I was making myself unavailable to some degree, and I didn’t want that for the three of us.

We only had a couple of hours in Ketchikan before our flight back to Seattle, so we made a quick pass through the old red light district, then got a ride to the ferry to take us across the channel to the airport.

As the jet left the runway Emmy looked out the window. “Goodbye, Alaska,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”

“I had a great time, too. Thank you for this, Lee,” Angela said, resting her head on my shoulder.

Mia was waiting for us when we collected our luggage in Seattle.

“The weather’s been shit,” she said, taking Angela’s duffel bag and leading us to the parking structure. “But I guess that’s what this place is famous for, right?”

Crossing the covered walkway to the parking garage, I could see what Mia had meant. It was raining pretty hard, the skies so dark at four o’clock in the afternoon it looked like twilight.

The drive to the hotel was easy, despite the rush hour traffic- Mia had clearly become accustomed to driving around Seattle in the week and a half she’d had there.

“I’m gonna miss this Range Rover,” she admitted, patting the steering wheel.

“Hey, I think we’re gonna go across the street for dinner again tonight,” I told Mia when we checked in. “If you want to join us, we’ll be heading over there at seven or so.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she said. “See you here in the lobby right at seven,” she said before making her way tot he elevators.

“Seven? That is over two hours from now!” Emmy protested.

“That’ll be just about enough time for a soak in that big tub in the room,” I told her. “It’s been almost two weeks without a long, hot bath, and I plan to make up for lost time.”

“Ooh!” She said, her big green eyes lighting up with anticipation.

Emmy made a beeline for the bathroom almost immediately upon entering the suite, followed by the sound of the tub filling.

“It was your idea,” Angela said with a shrug. “You and Emmy go ahead. There isn’t room for all of us in there.”

“I know,” I said. “An obvious oversight on the hotel’s part.” I leaned down and gave her a kiss, and when I went to pull away she grabbed me and held on tight.

“Thanks for this vacation, Lee. I really mean it. This was some of the best time I’ve ever had in my life.”

“It was good, wasn’t it?” I agreed. “We need to do things like this more often.”

“You guys need to take me to Europe. I’ve never been there, and always wanted to go. I want Emmy to show us around Paris,” Angela said, still holding on.

“That would be awesome, wouldn’t it?” I said, kissing her again.

The water in the tub was scalding hot, as usual. I never understood how Emmy had developed a preference for such hot water, but I’d certainly grown to expect it. It took me quite a while of slowly easing into the bath before I was finally settled in and submerged. Of course Emmy had simply climbed in with no issues.

Emmy turned and lay back against me, taking my wrists and wrapping my arms around herself. She leaned her head back on my shoulder and let out a satisfied sigh.

“This vacation has been wonderful, Leah. Thank you for this.”

“I think we all needed it more than we maybe realized,” I said, kissing her fine, white hair. “I am going to spend more time at home with you and Ange,” I added. “And maybe we can get away, just the three of us like this, more often.”

“That would be lovely,” Emmy said. “I feel that this trip has brought us closer than ever before. I can only imagine what another similar holiday could do for our relationship.”

“It wouldn’t make me love you any more than I do now- that just isn’t possible. But spending this time with the two of you, almost twenty-four hours a day for nearly two weeks straight, it has made me feel closer,” I said.

Emmy sat up and turned to face me, sending little waves of scalding water across my shoulders.

“I have been selfish,” Emmy said. “I have not given myself to you and Angela as fully as I should have been doing. I have focused so much on my work, and not enough on my family. You, Leah, you and Angela are my family. You are what matter most in the world.”

“Em, don’t think about it like that,” I said, stroking her cheek. “Ange and I, we’ve been happy to support you and your music and all that, you know it. In fact, I told one of the guys on the cruise that we both think that what you’re doing is incredibly important, and so we do anything we can to make it easier for you to do what it takes.”

Emmy looked as if she were about to object, so I put my fingertip on her lips. “Em, when we got back together, back at Stanford, and you said you had things, duties you needed to fulfill, I said I would do anything at all to help you. We made the decision for you to follow your music, to try to use your music and looks to become famous, so outsiders could see a Night Child for the first time, and see them in a positive light. Em, it’s worked,” I told her. “You are literally world famous. Now, when people see any other Night Child out in the wild, they think, ‘Hey, that person must be like Emmy Lascaux’, and you know what? They’re right. You, Em, you’re the face of the Night Children.”

I put my hand on Emmy’s chest. “We did that. You did that, with my help and support. I did what I could to give you the freedom to make this happen, babe. I see it as a victory for both of us, for the mission we have set ourselves. Every new stray that we can help make a better life for, that’s a win for us. Us, Em, which now includes Angela. She understands, and supports it, too.”

“Oh, Leah,” Emmy said, her expression softening. “When I fell in love with you back in Fallbrook, I could never have imagined that you would ever be so strong, so… courageous, and so very, very important to my people.”

“Our people, Em. Our people.”