The Secret Redux Part 2 by Andrea DiMaggio

It was the evening before their trip. You may recall that as a birthday gift to Maired, Erica and Maired and Gina and Katie were going on a nice long weekend trip to Boston. Their little girl Marie was safely off to the Esposito/McPherson home, as they liked to call it. April wasn't due for at least another three weeks, so they felt safe leaving Marie with the happy couple. (See Providence) Lainey had just come to the conclusion that she really didn't want to be a daddy after all. She would provide their daughter with all the love and encouragement that a daddy might give his daughter, just from a decidedly feminine perspective. She and April had decided that there would be no physical changes in their future because they enjoyed each other just the way they were, in a manner of speaking, as well as having plans for as many brothers and sisters God would bless their daughter with, but little Diana Regina Esposito would grow up with Mama April and Mama Lainey. Any confusion or questions would be handled with the help of their new friend Renee Montalbano, a lovely woman who had raised her daughter with her wife Carmen. They met Renee and Carmen one day at the store, and all four, well five, since Diane is always everyone’s friend, struck up a friendship which extended past closing hours to dinner at their home. Lainey would remain non-op, to use an absolutely way-too-clinical sterile term, and while others might make a different but equally valid choice, she would nevertheless be a mother to her daughter along with her beautiful bride.

Erica placed the suitcases on the bed and began to pack. She grabbed lingerie and some PJ's, but didn't pack any other clothing. Mark had left for the weekend, so to speak, and Maired was standing by the closet.

"What do you want me to get? I think your blue floral might be nice for tomorrow evening, yes?" She turned around and saw Erica standing by the bed with a sheepish grin on her face, as if she were going to say something...well not so bad, but not necessarily great either. She noticed Maired's worried look and broke into laughter.

"Oh, don't worry; I just have a little birthday surprise for you, sorta early." She grabbed Maired by the hand and pulled her close for a passionate kiss, followed by,

"I think you deserve a new wardrobe." She smiled and began to laugh again. "And I think I deserve one, too. You and I and Gina and Katie are all going shopping tomorrow on the way up to Boston. Breakfast at 8:00 sharp at Ruby's Diner and then off to Willow Grove for some retail therapy. We have had a long hard road the past few years, and we need some time to enjoy each other. You may recall that Mark had struggled with Maired's role in the relationship, but recently he had come to a peace about Maired place in the Kiernan home. He no longer felt threatened by her, so to speak, and she was finally enjoying her own place as Erica's lover, if you will; hence the birthday celebration for Maired.

“I got you an early present, sweetheart. It's hanging in a garment bag on the back of the bathroom door. Go have a nice shower and then try it on and come out for a walk down the runway." She kissed her again and licked her ear playfully before shoving her into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Maired came out. She wore a lovely bridal ensemble from Victoria's Secret. A lovely satin floor length gown with lace overlay at the bosom. The matching robe was also floor length, but high enough off the floor to reveal open toed white two-inch heel slippers. She actually was crying softly, more out of a release of anxiety after so many struggles with her identity. Being the same person as her "brother" it really wasn't a struggle between the two as much as a long journey of exploration that was finally providing her and Erica once again with the permission never really needed to enjoy each other. She looked around, but Erica wasn't in sight. Closing the bathroom door, she was startled to find Erica hiding behind the door. Erica wore a rose lace peony garter thong with matching hose and three-inch heeled pumps...and nothing else.

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, My Dear Maired, Happy Birthday to you!" Erica sang in a breathy whisper in Maired's ear, all the while rubbing her breast against Maired's, which felt wonderful through the soft fabric of her gown. She grabbed her and kissed her again. Her hands explored and probed and caressed, aided by her long fingernails. Maired kissed back, not merely content to receive, her own hands exploring and caressing, sans the long nails, owing more to her piano playing than expected conventions. They fell onto the bed, which Erica had remade with new linens and some nice new pillows. Their love continued throughout the evening and well into the night, finally complete with Erica asleep in Maired's arms as Maired sang “In your eyes, I see the deepness of the sea I see the deepness of the love the love I feel you feel for me” before drifting off herself in a quiet peace.

It was already proving to be an interesting day. The four women sat in a corner booth at the diner, After finishing breakfast, Gina and Katie and Erica sang Happy Birthday to Maired over coffee, causing her red cheeks to grow redder, if that was possible. The diners watched as the women got up to leave the restaurant. At one table near theirs, two sisters sat with their husbands for a nice long-weekend breakfast sans the kiddies. (see Another Secret) The two could have been twins, but they were a year and a half apart and very attractive themselves. The older, I believe, said,

“Oh my god! Look. It’s Erica Kiernan. You remember last year when we saw them at the airport. “You may notice that even the nicest, most polite people you know may grow louder when they get excited. Well, these nice ladies were most polite, but the younger of the two said loudly,

“That redhead with her looks just like…Julianne…” The two had the same block remembering the actress.

“Julieanne….Now don’t tell me…I’ve almost got it.” The older said.

“She looks just like Erica’s husband….” The younger woman’s eyes widened. All the while their husbands looked as if they wanted to be anywhere but there. Once again, Erica couldn’t help overhear the two and was going to walk over. Gina looked once at her and said,

“That’s okay, sweetie, I’ve got this one.” She walked up to the table and smiled.

“Julieanne Nicholson…Law and Order CI... Jeff Goldbloom’s her new partner. Come on, girls, you know.” She said this even louder than the two sisters, finishing with,

“Her name’s Maired Underhill and she’s the best jazz pianist not married to Elvis Costello,” she said, referring to Diana Krall, Maired’s and, as you may have noticed, this author’s favorite musician. Happily, Gina had already finished her coffee or she would have snorted it out when she laughed as she walked away.

The expedition wound its way through hill and dale, field and stream; actually a trip up the interstate to Willow Grove Park Mall, where they found remarkable sales on just about everything everywhere. After getting a few ensembles for the rest of the weekend, they left for lunch, but not before having some fun again shopping for shoes at Aldo’s. A nice young man, fairly new and easily embarrassed had an even nicer opportunity to display both characteristics when he was fitting Katie with a pair of sling backs with a nice two-inch heel. She had never been shopping for shoes before, having Gina pick them out for her over the last few years, as you might expect. She wore a nice silk full-skirted aqua dress, which came to just below her knee and rode up her leg just a little as she sat down. Katie was almost as easily embarrassed as the young man before her, and you might have expected her fair complexion to grow pink, but she maintained her composure when the clerk fumbled with the left shoe. The same sense of humor usually found in her “brother” Ben came out as she said with her soft brogue,

“I think you might have more success, perhaps, if you spent less attention on my calf and more on my heel, yes?” The young man's face turned crimson, and this time fate was unkind as Gina snorted the diet Coke she had been sipping.

After a quick bite at T.G.I.Fridays, it was on the road again up to I78 and over through New Jersey heading to New England. They were in no hurry, and stopped at the Radisson in New Rochelle, New York at about five. A conspiracy of sorts was cooked up, not by Gina and Erica, but Maired and Katie. After checking in, Maired steered Gina into her room with Erica while she and Katie took the other room. There was something they had wanted to try, and now was as good a time as any to experiment. After dinner at the hotel restaurant, the ladies retired to their respective rooms. Gina sat on the edge of her bed after changing for the night; she wore jade green tap pants and matching camisole. She was a little restless, and kept looking over at the door while Erica settled into bed after changing into her PJs, a nice cream floral satin top with matching shorts. She had the newest Faye Kellerman mystery, and was perfectly content to relax for the remainder of the evening. Gina had a pad of graph paper and a New York Times Diagramless Crossword Book she’d purchased at Borders, but her attention remained on the door.

Finally, the suspense was killing her enough to walk into the hallway, failing to notice she had neglected to put on her robe. She knocked ever so emphatically on the door to the adjoining suite. She didn’t suspect anything unusual, but you never know. A few moments later, Katie opened the door. She was wearing gray silk PJs under a matching robe. Maired was sitting on the bed by the window sipping diet Sierra Mist.

“Okay…what gives? Why the secrecy?” Gina said, staring at Katie with an expression that almost rendered her words redundant.

“We wanted to see….” Here’s where it gets confusing, even for this writer, but it made perfect sense to Maired and Katie. Gina stepped into the room to find the TV tuned to MyNIne in NYC, where the Phillies were beating the Yankees handily.

“We wanted to do something that Ben and Mark might like.” “We” being Maired and Katie; they had never done anything together that didn’t include their wives or their wives plots and schemes, and they wanted to see if their likes and dislikes “followed” them while en femme, if that makes any sense. You may recall that Maired’s taste in music was somewhat different at first from her “brother’s.” Katie had noticed that even after four or so years, she had grown to like foods that Ben hated. Such is life, I suppose. Gina sat down on the bed and looked at the two girls watching the ballgame and laughed and said,

“I wonder if Primetime would want to do a show about you two.” She got up and went back to her room.

After the ballgame finished, a knock came softly at Gina’s and Erica’s door. Maired was standing in the hallway, with her Bible under one arm and a pillow. The only thing missing was a dolly, since her expression was almost like a little girl at that point. She wore nice wine colored satin PJ’s and a crocheted shawl that was her mother’s.

She smiled and said softly,

“Can I change my mind?” She scrunched down ever so slightly and smiled. Gina pulled her close and gave her a nice hug and a kiss on her cheek, saying,

“Of course, sweetie, you can have anything you want; you’re the birthday girl.” She waved back to Erica and walked over to the other room and entered. Maired closed the door and walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge next to, Erica.

“I missed you.” Maired said softly. Erica put down her book, lay back on the pillow and opened her pajama top.

She grabbed Maired’s hand and pulled her down onto the bed and said,

“As did I, My Dear, as did I.”

“Do you still love me?” Katie said. While Ben had become fairly secure in himself, Katie still needed assurances every now and then.

“Oh, honey, of course.” Gina looked almost hurt, but she was actually concerned about what Katie just said. “I love you deeply and truly and madly.” She pulled Katie close and kissed her passionately, while whispering in her ear. What they said to each other I cannot reveal, but rest assured that they had a perfectly wonderful evening and even nicer night.

A few years ago, my beautiful bride and I rented a room to a lovely couple from Beijing. One morning at breakfast, the wife said to us that they knew we had an argument the night before, but they were happy to know we had made up.

When I asked how they knew, she said, and while I can’t quote the Mandarin, I believe the translation was that they heard us making “happy sounds.” The guests at the hotel might not have wanted to admit it, but they probably were sure they heard “happy sounds” from both couples.

Next: The Look of Love