NotExpected 18

Not What We Expected by Tiffany B. Quinn We were home in Wisconsin in time to go out on the town for a celebratory dinner. Being in the role of a twelve-year-old, I had to settle for a Pepsi for the toast to our new beginning. The fact that Sandra couldn’t indulge in alcohol either, due to her pregnancy, made me feel a little better. I officially took up permanent residence in my princess suite that night. It would take some time for it to feel like home.

Chapter 18

I moved more of my things to the big house over the next couple of weeks. I had not been in a hurry. I left a lot of my things at the condo as I planned on keeping it as my safe haven.

The condo became the effective clubhouse of our little clique until we completed high school together six years later. Our parents were a bit worried about the lack of adult supervision, which prompted some discussion of my past experience as an adult. This didn’t allay all the fears at first. We had to lay down a few clubhouse rules before the parents were comfortable. The most sacred of the rules was that no boys were allowed without real adult supervision (I didn’t count). Also, any parent could break up the gathering at anytime, recalling any or all of us to our respective homes without reason. Being the techno geek that I am, I installed secure webcams in the public areas of the condo so that parents could see what we were up to whenever they wanted. This made the parents of the other girls much more agreeable.

----<0>----

In keeping with my underage profile, we decided to minimize my use of my car. I only used my car occasionally, and never for routine things. My driving raised too many awkward questions. So, after Sandra had a long chat with Kelley’s mother about my situation, it was agreed that Sandra would drop me off at the condo every morning that summer on her way to work and pick me up on her way home. I would keep in touch with Kelley’s mom throughout the day as she was to be my ‘sitter’. Kelley’s mom was a stay-at-home mother, caring for Kelley and her three younger siblings. Susie’s parents both worked full time and she had a relative nearby that she stayed with during the day. Jenny’s mom only worked part time so, between the two mothers our little group was shuttled to cheer and sailing practices. The lessons did not occur every day, but these lessons meant that the girls and I spent most of the summer together.

All this activity kept me from hiding out with my computers full time, like I had the first time that I was a teenager. As the summer progressed, I slowly let myself settle into the role of a tween girl. It was awkward at first but immersion in the culture with three very vivacious teachers soon had me feeling reasonably comfortable with who I had become. I even caught myself acting like them from time to time. When I let go and just went with the flow it was fun, but more mature me would kick in and often would keep us from being too stupid, like unnecessarily being catty. I think that my influence had a maturing effect on my three friends. I know that their influence made me more care free and silly.

I did not stay completely away from my computers. I bought high end computer workstations for the condo and for my room at the mansion. It didn’t take much to convince Tom to let me set up secure connections to his computing center. He also gave me full physical access to his laboratory and computer center with a warning to not break anything or hurt myself. I spent most evenings, and days when not with my girlfriends, completing computer engineering class assignments using my workstations and Tom's considerable computing resources. I also spent time with Tom in his lab when he wasn’t traveling. He started to teach me how to use his design and analysis software. By the end of the summer I had become one of his part-time assistants and was helping him work on some of his designs. I was providing the computer expertise that he lacked when developing the various medical technologies. I even came up with a few ideas of my own for us to start development work on. We became pretty good friends and actually looked forward to our time working together on his projects and mine. The relationship had quickly become an odd combination of working peers and father-daughter. I liked it.

----<0>----

The girls and I did have the promised sleepover one night the week after the party. We spent the afternoon swimming in the outdoor pool, working on our tans, and talking non-stop. At least the others talked non-stop. I did a lot of observing and joined in when requested or when I felt that I had something to say. We stayed up late watching Beauty and the Beast, for Susie’s benefit, and other teen chick flicks in the home theatre. As Tom was out of town again, Sandra joined us for a while. She had to go to work the next day, so she didn’t stay long. The girls and I all fell asleep together on my huge bed and didn’t get up until late the next morning. We were all just a little late for the morning’s cheer class.

----<0>----

Speaking of cheer class, it had been Jenny’s idea and we all soon found out why. While all three of the girls had had dance lessons when they were small, Jenny had made it her passion. She was light years ahead of us all, and me in particular, when it came to dance steps and moves. Having taken cheer lessons the summer before, she was instantly the head of the class. Apparently she had been practicing on her own all the prior year. We struggled to keep up with her. Many an afternoon was spent on the tiny back lawn of the condo practicing our cheers. Jenny was quite the taskmaster. The results were satisfying. When it came to doing splits, I was thankful for my young limber female body. I could never have done that as a male.

"And One!" counted Jenny as we prepared to do a basic jump.

We all positioned our feet together with our arms by our sides.

"And Two!" we clasped our hands briefly then quickly raised our arms, not quite in unison, into the high V position in preparation for our jump.

"And Three!" we bent our knees at the same time as we swung our arms down and crossed them in front of our knees at the wrist.

"And Jump!" Up into the air we all went, trying our best to do the most basic of cheer jumps, the spread eagle.

It was a disaster. I didn’t get high enough, which resulted in a bad landing. Susie was very enthusiastic in the jump but totally missed her landing and ended up on her butt. Kelley sort of did it, but she was tentative and did not spread eagle nearly as much as Jenny did. Only Jenny stuck her landing.

There were giggles all around at the awkwardness of the attempt.

We had finished only two cheer lessons by this point, and things were looking hopeless for three members of the group.  Well, at least two of us. Kelley did show some promise.

Jenny looked at us for a moment, waiting for the giggles to subside, before giving us encouragement. "That was better than last time, girls. Remember to land with your feet together and knees bent with your arms down and wrists crossed. Once you stick your landing then stand up on the next count, moving your arms to your sides.

"Let’s get in position and try again."

And we did. Over and over again until Jenny was satisfied. Kelley picked it up the fastest. Susie and I, not so fast, but we did eventually get it - sort of.

Then we move on to the next jump. And the next one. Until we had half a dozen jumps down cold.

Then there were the basic moves. High V, low V, touchdown, low touchdown, daggers, punch, etc. The moves weren’t to bad. It was putting them together into a cheer that was the challenge. Timing and coordination were everything. Oh, and keeping the moves sharp and our lines straight were also hard to do. There is a lot to remember to pull off a good cheer.

My respect for cheerleaders went up considerably as the summer wore on.

----<0>----

The sailing lessons went well too. This was my area of expertise. Fortunately all the girls engaged rather quickly. This group of girls liked a mental challenge and sailing keeps the mind sharp. By the end of the summer, they all had the basics down. We joined a small local yacht club that had regular dinghy races, and provided the boats. The girls were quickly out performing many of the regulars.

After talking with Tom and Sandra, I bought four Optimist sailing dinghies that the girls and I used from Tom’s dock. We would regularly challenge each other to races, which greatly enhanced our proficiency. One of our favorite games was sailing tag, where we played a simple game of tag, but with the boats. The game gave lots of incentive to improve sailing skills and strategy. There were several Optimist races within reasonable driving distance that we participated in. One or more of our families often came along and we would make a day of it. Sandra never missed a race and was our biggest cheerleader.

"Oh crap!" Kelley grumbled as Susie shouted "You’re it" with glee after gently bumping Kelley’s boat with hers. With giggles and laughter, Jenny and I beat to windward to gain an advantage over Kelley. There was a moderate wind which made the sailing enjoyable. We had a restricted operating area to keep participants from dispersing too much. If you went out of bounds, you became ‘it’. The restricted area meant that Kelley wouldn’t be ‘it’ for long.

It would seem that sailing brought out a rather competitive streak in the normally mild mannered Susie. Her personality changed when she grabbed a tiller. I remember wondering what kind of monster would be unleashed when she finally got a drivers license.

Susie also became the best sailor of the Posse as the years went by.

We would graduate to Lasers in the coming years and Susie and I became serious challengers in regional and national high school sail racing.

Tom and Sandra also got into the act. Sailing would become a favorite family activity, just as it had been for my parent's family. I talked Tom into dropping over $120,000 on a J/88 racing boat that we also used as a daysailer for family outings. The girls and I would successfully race the boat as an all girl crew in offshore races during our high school years.

We did a few bareboat charters in the Caribbean over the years for family winter vacations. It was an awesome way for the family to bond. I also like the warm, clear water and the many snorkeling opportunities.

----<0>----

By mid-summer I was starting to enjoy the lack of responsibility of teen life again. That was until my new parent’s exercised their rights one night after I got home later than I normally did. It was an evening when I was making use of my driving privileges. Both of them were waiting for me when I rolled in around 11 PM one Friday night. Neither of them looked happy.

"Andi," Sandra opened the conversation, "Where have you been? We’ve been worried about you. We tried calling and texting you and you didn’t answer."

Tom just looked at me with an expectant expression.

"I was with my girlfriends," I told them.

"Where, exactly?" Tom asked sternly.

"We went to see Despicable Me at the movie earlier," I told them. "I had turned off my phone and forgot to turn it back on. Sorry. After the movie we went for ice cream then to Susie’s house for a while. On the way home, I dropped by the store for a few supplies."

I pulled some tampons out of a carrier bag to show them.

"Can I see the receipt please?" Sandra asked holding her hand out.

I provided that and she looked at the time stamp. She showed it to Tom.

"It looks legitimate," She informed him.

"What’s the big deal?" I asked a little miffed. "I can take care of myself. It’s like you don’t trust me."

"The big deal is," Tom started, "that, as far as the world is concerned, you are a twelve-year-old girl wandering around by herself well after dark. In most circles, that is considered an unsafe situation. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you’d checked in or answered our messages. We called around to your friend's homes and were told that you left Susie's an hour ago. It shouldn't have taken this long to come straight home. We were worried sick about what might have happened to you and were on the verge of calling the police for help locating you."

Sandra wrapped me in hug, "Andi, I don’t know what we’d do if something happened to you. It would break my heart, girlfriend. I love you and we are responsible for you now. You agreed to that. From now on, we want you to let us know where you are at all times. We want to know who you are with and what you are doing. And we want you home no later than 9 PM unless you have permission to do otherwise."

I got angry and pushed her away. With my fists on my hips I informed them. "I may look like one, but I am NOT a twelve-year-old. I know how to stay out of trouble."

"I don’t think that you do," Tom replied. "I don’t think you understand how the uninformed world views you. All anyone sees is the pretty, intelligent, and very adorable, and extremely vulnerable, twelve-year-old girl. I recall that you complained that you were ignored by the adults at the barbecue. That’s because of how the world sees you. When did you last include a kid in your adult conversations before the change?"

He had a point there, but I wasn’t ready to concede the point.

"Andi, sweetheart," Sandra picked up were Tom left off. They made a great team. "As you seem to have forgotten, there are a lot of bad people in the world and, as Tom said, you are extremely vulnerable now that you are a young girl. It’s not your fault. It’s just the way things are."

"I know that," I tell them. "I am careful. You have to have a little trust in me."

"We do trust you," Tom said, "We don’t trust the rest of the world. We want you to be safe."

He gave Sandra a worried look before continuing.

"You aren’t going to like the restrictions, but we think they are necessary." He said.

"You’re right," I replied with a touch of anger. "I don’t like them."

Sandra interceded, "What time do your girlfriends have to be home?"

I was surprised that I didn’t know the answer to that question. We’d always gotten parent’s permission before doing anything. I guess that I just assumed that I was exempt.

"I see your point," I admitted, letting a little heat out of my anger. "I guess that we always have parent’s permission for whatever we do."

"That’s what we are asking of you, girlfriend," Sandra says gathering me into another hug. "I love you and worry about you."

"We love you, Andi," Tom says. "I didn’t realize how much until we were afraid that you’d come to some kind of harm."

That was the first time that Tom had admitted any kind of feelings for me. Wow, I recall thinking that I must have really worried them.

I had put my arms around both of them and said, "Thanks for worrying about me. I love you guys too. I am sorry to have worried you. I won’t do it again."

Tom had then cleared his throat as he prepared to say something that I just knew that I wasn’t going to like.

He stuck his hand out and said, "Your car keys please. You are grounded for the weekend for scaring your ‘mother’ and I to near death."

"But…" I start to argue.

"It’s in the agreement, sweetie," Sandra reminded me.

Reluctantly, I handed over the keys.

I have to admit, however, it turned out to be a great weekend. We spent it together doing family things. Tom only snuck off to his lab once all weekend. I did have to cancel my plans with the girls though.

----<0>----

As summer wound down, I had changed my school plans. Instead of going to the private school recommended by my mother, I decided to join the rest of the girls at my mother’s public middle school. The same middle school that I had attended the first time around. My plan was to drive to my condo each morning and catch the bus to school with my three girlfriends.

My new parents had other plans. Sandra decided to take me to school each morning instead. Tom would pick me up after school when he was in town. Otherwise, I would take the school bus to the condo and Sandra would pick me up from there on her way home.

I wasn’t sure how we were going to justify my enrollment in the school, given my true age and the fact that I had already graduated. Fortunately I have a well connected and creative mother. It turns out that the school district had a policy in place for visiting exchange students. By stretching the rules a lot I was admitted, under special dispensation, as a ‘visiting’ student. This meant that I was not really considered a diploma seeking student, but records were kept anyway. I agreed to pay a generous tuition for taking up space unnecessarily in the state funded school, which helped to smooth the feathers of some people in the administration who didn’t feel kindly towards the plan. Mom had put her good reputation with the district on the line or none of this would have happened.

In retrospect, getting accepted into the private school would have been much easier, as we would not have had to deal with the public school bureaucracy. The private school’s main concern was that I have the financial resources to cover their exorbitant fees, which was not a problem now that I was a member of a very wealthy family.

The girls were ecstatic when I told them the news.

"That is totally like the best news ever," Kelley grinned.

"Yes!" Jenny agreed, "We will be together. Just imagine what it will be like when we all make the cheer squad."

Susie rolled her eyes, "It is great news, but Jenny, get real. We are not all going to make the cheer squad."

"We so are," Jenny disagreed. "We are a team. Like, all for one and one for all, or something like that. We just need to work harder to make it happen."

Susie and I had shared a knowing glance. We both knew that there is no way that either of us would make the squad. We were not bad, but we were not good either. We felt that Jenny was a shoo in and that Kelley would have a good shot. Unless they started taking girls with two left feet and uncoordinated arms, Susie and I didn't stand much of a chance of making the squad.

"Do you think that your grandmother can get us in all the same classes?" Susie tried to change the subject. We had decided to refer to my real parents as grandparents. It would make things easier. "It is going to be so weird not being in the same class all day."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. Hopefully she can help us get lockers close to each other."

Kelley pulled me into a hug, "I am so happy that you are joining us."

----<0>----

By the end of July, Sandra was looking a bit off most mornings. It turned out that she developed a rather extreme case of morning sickness. Tom, like most new fathers-to-be, was clueless on how to help. So was I. Sandra glared at him a few times when he did try to help.

"This is your fault," she grumbled at him one morning as we were getting breakfast.

"Actually," coming to Tom’s defense, I corrected her, "I think it’s your fault. You’re the one who wanted a baby so badly."

She just glared at me. Tom look gave me an appreciative smile when Sandra wasn’t looking.

After a few minutes, she clarified her accusation, "You did this to me."

"I did indeed," admitted Tom with a huge smile. "You asked for it. According to Grandma, we hit a home run on our first try. I think that she was right."

Sandra didn't know whether to scowl or grin. She settled for "humph!"

Later, when Sandra and I were alone, I observed, "He's pretty proud of his accomplishment."

She rolled her eyes. "Something about impregnating a woman validates the male ego."

"Something about not impregnating your wife is hard on the male ego" I sadly pointed out.

She hugged me, "Good thing you don't have a male ego anymore."

"I don't have a bat anymore either." I said mournfully. "Maybe having a bigger bat makes all the difference in hitting a home run."

"Trust me." She assured me. "You have something better now. You have the home plate."

"How would you know that it is better?" I snorted. "That’s all you’ve ever had."

"Well," she grinned, "think about it. As a guy you had to perform. As a woman, if you want to, you can please your partner without much effort. The best sex is really about the emotional connection more than the physical. A woman can have a good sexual experience without actually having a climax. The experience is mostly about expressing love and developing closeness with your man. An orgasm is a bonus when it happens.

"Remember the times that I wore you out and it took awhile for you to recharge? Also, when we were having daily sex trying to have a baby and the romance was gone, we had to work at getting you going. Girls don’t have that problem. We may not always achieve orgasm but we can always have sex.

"As near as I can tell, female orgasms are much more intense and longer lasting than a male’s. Someday you will have to tell me who has the better orgasm. And for a woman there’s no recharge cycle so multiple orgasms are very doable. Once I get going, I like to keep going. Males, on the other hand, just shoot and are done. They typically just fall asleep as soon as they are done."

I remembered being guilty as charged.

"Women have breasts as a pleasure center," she continued. "Men don’t.

"I could go on about how nice it feels to have the man you love inside you," she continues dreamily, "and the feel of him sliding in and out. Or about how fantastic it can feel when he fondles and licks your breasts when you are aroused. Or how you feel as if you’ve done something wonderful for your man when he tenses and releases. And more, but that’s probably too much information for a twelve-year-old girl. I can’t imagine that the sexual experience is so all encompassing for a man as it is for a woman."

"I will have to take your word for it." I said blushing more than I should. "As you pointed out, I am a little young, physically, to test the theory."

"Good plan." She agreed. "Take it from me, it's best with that special man. You should wait for him. I've been lucky to have married two of the best. The best sex happens when both partners are more intent on pleasing the other than in pleasing themselves and that comes from a loving emotional connection."

Later that night I decided to partially test the theory with a little self stimulation. I had been doing a fairly thorough investigation of my new genitals as the changes occurred, but had avoided arousing myself up to that point. My field test that night indicated that maybe Sandra was on to something. Being the catcher at home plate just might be better than being the batter. It is at least its equal. The true test, I suppose, will be if I ever do it with a man.

This thought should have been repulsive, but it was not. I found that I actually looked forward to the day. Just not anytime soon!

----<0>----

I had heard that living with a pregnant woman can be a bit challenging. First of all, Tom and I had to learn more than a little diplomacy. It wasn’t hard to set her off. She wasn’t always the pleasant person that we both knew and loved.

At the end of August, she had her first sonogram. The resulting grainy image of Sandra and Tom’s little bean was posted on the kitchen refrigerator door for all to see. Sandra would stop to stare it every time she went through the kitchen. She’d reach out and touch the image gingerly with a big smile on her face.

By the time the daily nausea passed in mid September, she was her happy self again though she was prone to the occasional unannounced meltdown. I would catch her feeling her belly looking for signs of her precious burden when she thought no one was looking. In all, she was in seventh heaven over being pregnant.

Somewhere near the end of September, she was beaming when she announced that she could feel the baby bump. They had learned, by then, that they were having a son. Tom was pretty excited about that.

Tom, to give him credit, was a very attentive husband. He did his best to help Sandra through the pregnancy. When Sandra became a new, unpredictable, person as her hormones went wild he stood by her. Foods that she liked before now made her nauseous. Foods that were acceptable one day were disgusting the next. Tom would try to find out what she did like on any given day and get it for her.

She would occasionally have a meltdown and cry with little or no provocation. Tom would just hold her and do his best to comfort her.

She started to question her ability to be a good parent. She worried that the baby wouldn’t like her. Tom worried about the same issues. I had to reassure both of them that everything would work out. As her best girlfriend, she would express these worries frequently and I did my best to listen and reassure.

In the first trimester of the pregnancy Sandra tired easily and would often go to bed soon after eating dinner. This gave Tom and I plenty of time to work together on his designs and my homework.

Tom and Sandra hadn’t really had time to get to know each other as well as they should have before getting pregnant. Poor Tom, I am sure, was wondering where the woman he knew before the wedding had gone. Nevertheless he hung in there. I did reassure him that the woman we both loved would be back when this was all over. At least, that's what I had heard about pregnant women.

As the pregnancy entered the final trimester, Tom and Sandra went shopping for baby clothes, furniture, toys, etc. They spent hours together discussing names. I was always on the periphery of these discussions, acting as a sounding board for both of them. I also helped with painting and setting up the nursery.

Tom went out of his way to pamper his wife. He made sure that there were romantic dinners, back massages, foot rubs, and more.

I had to hand it to Tom. He was probably better at helping Sandra through pregnancy than I would have been. He was the definition of patience. I know that it was hard on him, but he rarely complained. He was pretty excited about becoming a father. His love and devotion to Sandra was sweet to see.

When the baby finally arrived in March, all the challenges were forgotten.

Little Thomas Andrew Broussard was born on a cold night during a blizzard in March of 2011. Yes, he was named after both of Sandra’s husbands. I actually drove them to the hospital in Tom's 4x4 SUV while Tom tried to comfort Sandra. He didn't do a very good job as I am pretty sure that he was a bit scared himself. I skipped school the next day to stay with the little family at the hospital.

The first time I saw little Tom junior, he was snuggled up to his mother’s breast for one of his first meals, with a very happy Tom senior beaming at his wife and son. When I saw the joy and wonder on Sandra’s face and the love that Tom had for his little family I knew that everything was right in the world. The magic knew what it was doing.

When I first held little Tom, I felt a stirring. I tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away. I felt it get stronger every time I got to hold little Tom. I knew then that, when the time is right, I wanted a baby of my own. I started to understand Sandra’s compulsion.

Little Tom was only eight months old when Sandra announced that she was pregnant again. It wasn’t long before the ultrasounds showed that she was pregnant with twin girls. Melanie and Charlotte were named after their two grandmothers when they were born in the summer of 2012. They were beautiful babies.

The twins were also hard to tell apart. I recommended that one of them get a small tattoo on her wrist, but the parents shot down the idea. I still think that it would have saved a lot of heartache over the years. When the twins later learned to play swapping games to mess with people, I thought that maybe they should have had their names tattooed on their foreheads!

When they were four years old, Melanie took a fall and cut her right elbow, requiring stitches. She ended up with a small scar there. If there were any doubts of who you were dealing with, all you have to do is ask to see her right elbow. You have to know what you were looking for, but if you do, you can get a positive ID. As the girls get older, I expect that Charlotte will find a way to duplicate the scar.

Fortunately for us, if you lived with them long enough, there were also tells in their personalities that make it possible to distinguish between the two little adorable imps.

Now, at seven years old, the two of them have already perfected Daddy control through their innate feminine wiles. Tom is in deep doo doo for the next eleven years or so. I almost feel sorry for the guy. I just wish that I could have been half as effective, as a teen girl, as the twins are as young girls! Fortunately for Tom, Sandra is there to protect him - most of the time.

I have noticed, that Big and Little Tom will often sneak off to go fishing or to do some other 'guy' things to get away from the otherwise estrogen saturated household.

Grandma Broussard’s prophecy had been fulfilled.

Sandra was content and happy. We all were, and still are.

-----<0>----

Sandra ended up resigning from the investment firm six months after marrying Tom.

She had effectively been filling the role of CEO, behind the scenes, for the new Broussard Industries as Tom’s business began its rapid growth. After she resigned her investment job, she formally took control of the company’s business operations. Her contacts and marketing skills added a dimension to the business that had been missing. Sandra was a genius at handling the management of the business. Tom came to depend on her more and more as the business outgrew his studio and they started serious manufacturing and marketing of some of his innovative products.

The two of them were an inseparable team. His technical vision and her business savvy were a match made in business heaven. They were each half of an unbeatable whole. After a few years they even started completing each other's sentences. It was scary how in tune they were, not to mention annoying. It did not take long for Tom’s hundred million dollars to multiply into something much greater under Sandra’s effective management of the business. As Pete observed during our first date, Sandra is a force of nature.

One of the best financial decisions that I ever made was to invest a portion of my millions in the family enterprise. My share of the profits from the business plus the royalties from the patents with my name on them caused my net worth to steadily grow as well. I also got paid for the time I put in on Brossard Industries projects. Unless the world markets totally collapse, or Broussard Industries goes out of business, or I go on a real bender, I don't think that I will have a problem with lack of funds in this lifetime. I suppose that I could retire now and be a beach bunny if I want to. Fortunately, having met a few beach bunnies, that fate doesn't interest me at all.

The design studio at the house has remained the heart of Broussard Industry’s Research and Development efforts, even after they opened a larger research facility nearby. Over the years, I spent many hours in the studio working around my schooling, college courses and extracurricular activities. Even working part time, I still was able to contribute to the growth of the company through research and development.

It was exciting.

----<0>----

If I thought that living with a pregnant woman was a challenge during Sandra’s first pregnancy, I soon found out that dealing with a couple of hundred girls going through puberty all in one place was probably worse, if not its equal. Throw in approximately the same number of boys going through their own puberty and you have a real hotbed of hormonal emotional turmoil. I don’t know how my mother had dealt with kids in this state of being for her whole career. I NEVER want to be a middle school teacher.