The kids get up around eight and wake me up. I make breakfast and start the Thanksgiving dinner. I make the stuffing like Ma always has, stuffed the turkey, set the veggies out, homemade mashed potatoes and the gravy. I prep the potatoes and sweet potatoes for baking. Ma gets up around ten and is wondering why it smells so good. "What's cooking?"

"Morning, Ma. The turkey, regular potatoes, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade gravy. Turkey will be done by 12:30."
"I forgot to do that yesterday. Sorry."
"Do you have cheesecake stuff?"
"No, but I can get it."
I go in my suit case and give her $60. "Get everything for cherry, strawberry, apple, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry cheesecakes. Six of em. Two Oreo, honey graham, and nilla crusts, each. Take Mikal, please?" I write a list so Mikal can help.
"Mikal. Come on. Take the list from your mom and let's go. Aaliyah and Kimosabi, you guys get to help me make em and lick the bowls. Deal?"
They nod and Ma and Mikal go get the ingredients for the cheesecakes. My cell rings. I glance at the clock. It's close to ten thirty. I wipe my hands and pick up. "Hello?"
"Hi, my beautiful mystery."
"Hello, baby. How close are you?"
"Just crossed the Massachusetts line. Be there in an hour and a half. Maybe two hours, tops."
"That's perfect. I got the turkey and everything going. Ma took Mikal to get the stuff for cheesecakes. Mmmm. There's gonna be six of em! I gotta watch my girlish figure." We crack up.
"You're definitely gonna pig out with me."
"Yes, I am. I can't wait to see you."
"I can't to see you and the kids. Call you soon as I get into town. See you soon."
"See you soon." We hang up.
Aaliyah comes out. "Is Josh close?"
I smile. "Just crossed into Massachusetts. He'll be here by one, like he said yesterday."
"I miss him."
"Me, too, baby, me, too." I sigh, check all the food and sit down to watch 'Lion King' with the two of them.
Ma and Mikal come back ten minutes later with all the cheesecake stuff and Mikal sits in Demitryus' spot. His turn to make a cheesecake. Aaliyah pulls everything out and helps prep. I check the food again. Everything is done just as JC calls around 12:45ish. "Hey, honey."

"I'm near, uh, Kmart. In the plaza parking lot. Where do I go now?"
I lightly laugh. "Go to the back of the plaza, take the small road at the other end till you have houses in front of you."
"Ok. Passing an Outback Steakhouse, Hannaford's store, I'm sitting at at stop sign with a house right across from me. Where now?"
"Look to your left. Should be a little side road, take that till you come to an intersection and can see a Salvation Army thrift store."
"Ok." A few seconds pass. "I'm at a four way intersection with that store you said. Where to now, baby?"
"Turn left. When you come to a light, turn right."
"Is there a store on the corner? Caribbean market or something like that?"
"That's the street you want. Follow that one till you come to a three way intersection."
"Turning onto the side road. I see what you mean. Bus company should be on my left?"
"Yes. Turn left. Follow it until you see a blue building on the corner and a white pickup parked on the side. That's Ma's. There's a tiny diner and a butler's furniture across the road from her. I'm outside. Look for me." I stand outside and flag him down. "I see you, baby."
"Ok, let me park." We hang up.

He parks and gets out before I hug and kiss him. I lead him inside. My cell rings again. It's Shaun. "What's up, Shaun?"
"I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Ok, Josh came up from Bowie."
"Where?"
"Bowie, MD. His parents are there. That's where we're gonna be tomorrow."
"Oh. Coming around the corner. See you in a minute." He hangs up.
"Ma, this is-"
Aaliyah turns around and sees JC. "JOSH!" She runs up as he squats down and gets hugs. The boys run up and hug him too.
"Hey, guys. Lil Man, I think Nana may need your help after I meet her. Mikal, I heard you helped Nana get everything from the store for the cheesecakes."
Mikal smiles. "Yeah, I did."
"High five!" They high five and Mikal sits down to watch 'Lion King 2'. "Aaliyah, how'd you help?"
"I got it ready to go. Set up the cheesecake stuff."
"Hugs. Good job. Go on, watch that movie." He gives her another hug. She walks in the living room to watch the movie. "I'm sorry. You must be miss Vikki. I'm Josh." He shakes her hand and steps back beside me.

"You have been seeing Sam since September?"
"Yes. I've known her since March."
Shaun comes in, bumps into JC. "Oh! Sorry."
JC turns around. "Let me help you with that." Shaun had brought soda and juice. "Where would you like this?" JC looks at my mom.
"Some in the fridge. Um, the rest can go on the porch."
He and Shaun put the soda and juices where Ma told them. Shaun comes up and hugs me. He puts me in a headlock and tries to give me a noogie. I get out of it. "How you been? Looks like Cali has been good to you."
"Good and it has been." JC stands behind me. "Shaun, this is Josh. Josh, this is my cousin, Shaun."
"How are you? Must be out of ya mind, dating her." They shake hands and JC puts his hand back on my hip.
"I'm good. I'm far from crazy."
"After you meet some of this family, you're probably gonna question that."
I cover my face with my hand. "Shaun. Quit it."
"Just telling the truth."
"So? Quit. Please."
"Be happy Scott isn't here."
"Oh God! I'm so thankful for that!"

JC looks back and forth between Shaun and I. "Scott?"
"The one I have a picture of on my phone, blue sweatshirt."
"The one you call Scottie?"
"Yeah. Him."
"Why?"
I turn three shades of red. "He'd embarrass me."
"No worse than Nick or Aaron."
"As bad as those two combined."
"I get it now."
Shaun looks at me. "Seeing Ellen and the kids later?"
"Yeah, after Ma heads to work. Is the key still in the same spot, Ma?" I look at her.
"Yes, Samantha."
Josie butts in. "Samanther!"
I turn around and head for Josie's cage. "Yes, Josie. Jealous cuz I haven't introduced you?" I look at JC. "Come meet my little baby sister." He stands beside me. "Josie, Josh. Josh, this is my baby sister, Josie."
Josie starts to bob and stops to look at JC. "Hello."
"She talks?"
"Yeah. Watch this. Josie, merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho."
Josie opens her tail. "Meeeerrrrrryyyy Christmas! Ho, ho, ho!"
JC laughs. "Can she talk on her own?"
"Watch this. Follow me." I look at Josie and walk away, out of her line of sight.
A few minutes later, Josie wants my attn. "Samanther!"
"What, Josie?"
JC is caught off guard. "What did she call you?"
"She calls me 'Samanther'. Sasha and I purposely used to, and sometimes still do mispronounce each other's names. I call her 'Sasher' and she calls me 'Samanther'."
JC laughs. "What kind of bird is that?"
I interlock my fingers with JC's. "She's a yellow nape amazon parrot."
"You said something about wanting a bird this past summer."
"Yeah, a rose crested cockatoo, a blue front amazon or a speckled amazon. From when they're young."
"Miss Vikki, how much do those birds usually run for?"
"Rose crested is usually $2500, the blue front is about $2000 and the speckled amazon is about $3500."
"We can look into it, babe."
I smile and Shaun laughs. "You're gonna turn her into a bigger spoiled bitch than she is already, Josh."
He shrugs. "She's far from spoiled. She won't even let me get her a new lap top. That's only four or five hundred."
"What do you mean she won't let you?"
"She tells me not to get it because the one she has 'character'."
"She would rather spend it on the kids."

I move JC's hands so I can make the kids' plates. He grabs me by one of my hips. I look at him and he kisses me. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks, baby." I'm smiling.
He lets go and shows Shaun pictures on his iPhone. I have Ma clear her little kitchen table so the kids could eat there. I serve JC, Shaun, Ma and myself. We sit down to eat and Shaun watches JC and I, sitting close enough on Ma's couch that from our hips down are touching. "Josh, you make my baby cousin happier than she's been in more than ten years."
"Really? I compliment her when I can and help her when she lets me. I always make myself reachable."
"What do you do for a living?"
"I produce music, write songs and judge for ABDC."
"ABDC?"
JC finishes the mouth full of food and follows it with some orange Hawaiian punch. "America's Best Dance Crew."
Shaun thinks for a few minutes as he eats. "Why do you look familiar?"
"Maybe from my face being plastered on Sam's walls for a few years?"

JC and I burst out in laughter. Shaun is trying to figure it out and Dawn calls, throwing my cell into a fit of 'I Want You Back'. JC's verse plays as I grab it. "Hey, girl."
"You made it safe and sound?"
"Nope, took the wrong plane and it caught fire. Damn puddle jumpers."
"Not funny. JC with you?"
"Yes, he's bonding with my cousin, Shaun. Shaun's trying to figure out why Josh looks so damn familiar."
Dawn cracks up. "He was on the Mickey Mouse Club, in *NSYNC, a solo artist and now judges on ABDC."
Just then JC's cell rings. "Excuse me. It's my parents." He puts his plate down and picks up. "Hi, mom. I'm here with Sam and the kids. Getting to know her cousin, Shaun, her mom and eating a very good meal. I will be back with-no, it's a surprise. We will be back before Thursday morning. Yes, I will make sure to drive safe. I love you, too, mom. Bye."
"Girl, it's so funny. I'm gonna let ya go and maintain some level of safety. Yeah. Tomorrow. Ok. See ya." I hang up, go online to the google site and search for a good *NSYNC picture. I find one and show Shaun. "Make sense now?"
Shaun looks back and forth between my cell and JC. "That's him?" He's pointing at JC in the picture from 'Bye, Bye, Bye'.
I nod. "Yes, Shaun. JC Chasez. You can't say anything. I know by Friday there will be pictures of us everywhere. I just hope the press don't get em from my family."
"Ok. I guess it's cool. He treats you good?"
"He treats us very good. He helps all the time. He makes time for us."
"What about video games?"
"Sometimes we play together. But we spend more time at the beach, at a park or out of the house."
"Do you live together?"
JC and I look at each other. "No, we spend a large of chunk of our free time together but have our own places. In case we annoy each other. He's helped us out so much in the past eight months."
We finish eating and talking before Shaun heads to Ellen's. Ma gets in the shower. JC is sitting with Demitryus on his lap, me on his left, Mikal on his right and Aaliyah is laying on my lap. We're watching 'Cars'. He has an arm around Demitryus and the other around my shoulders. I'm leaning on him, my head on his shoulder. I'm running my fingers through Aaliyah's hair. "When do you wanna go see your family?"

I look at the clock on my cell, 1:49 in the afternoon. "In a about an hour." My cell rings and 'Kari' flashes on the screen. "Hey, Kar-bear."
She groans. "I hate that nickname. When are you coming by? We're all here right now."
"When will you be heading to Jake's mom's?"
"About an hour."
I look at JC. "Josh, can we head to Ellen's?"
He kisses my forehead. "Sure. C'mon, guys, let's go see your cousins!"
"Josh? What happened to Joe?"
"Divorce. Message ya about it on Facebook after the holiday."
"Ok. How long till you and the kids get here?"
"About ten minutes."
JC kisses me. "Ready when you are, my beautiful mystery."
"See ya soon, Kari."
"Ok." We hang up.
"Josh, over here. We can take the one I rented." I unlock it and the kids get in. We buckle them and get in, making sure to buckle up.
Ma comes out and hands me her house key. "Just drop it off before you leave tomorrow."
"Ok. Be up around ten. We'll call before we head over."
She nods and we pull away as she steps back. "You seem anxious."
"I am. These are like my little brother and sister. She's not gonna believe it's actually you."
"Who? Kari?"
"Yeah."
"Baby, don't worry about it. What's the plan for tomorrow?"
"Get up around half past eight, kids shower, we get dressed, breakfast on the go, drop the key off with Ma at Rick's, see Dawn till just before dinner, then bound for Bowie. Won't get there till wicked late. Three am-ish."
"They gave me a key just in case I'd get in late." He holds my hand. "How far are we from your cousins' place?"
"This is the fifth street bridge. Take a right, go a few streets down, take a left, another left, a third left and be there in about five to ten minutes."
"Ok. How long has it been?"
"Since what?"
"Since you've seen them."
"Uh, over a year."
"Why?"
"They didn't have time for me. So I moved to LA."
"It'll be fine."
"Nobody told them I left Joe."

He nods and rubs my hand with his thumb. "So you know they had no idea about us."
At this point we're going up Granite Street. "Nope. Be there in a minute or two."
My cell rings. "Says it's Jacob."
"My other cousin. Put it on speaker, please." JC puts my cell on speaker. "Yeah, Jay?"
"Where are you?"
"Just getting to the corner of Pine and Rollstone. Be there in a minute."
"Can't wait to see the four of you."
"Same here to you." He hangs up and my phone turns off.  We pull into my cousins' dirt driveway. "Welcome to Fitchburg. Some call it Snitchburg, Bitchburg, but I call it Don'twannabehereburg. Can't wait to head back to Cali." I turn the car off, get out and take a deep breath. JC and I get the kids out and up a flight of stairs to my cousins' place.
Aaliyah knocks and Kari answers the door. The kids scream Kari's name and knock her on her ass when they rush her for hugs. Kari's smiling and crying. "I missed you guys so much."
"Missed you more, Kar-Bear." I smile.
"Fuck you. How has Cali been?"
"Really good. Ya know you should get off the floor and invite us in." The kids get off her.
She picks up Demitryus. "Come in." She looks at JC and her eyebrow goes up. "Sam, the kids and her boyfriend are here!"
Jacob comes out. "Hey." The kids hug him.
Ellen comes into the kitchen and stops dead in her tracks. She's staring at JC. He shoves his hands in his pockets. Shaun cracks up. "That's only Josh, Ellen."
"I thought his name was JC Chasez for a second."
JC smiles and offers a handshake. "Josh, this is Ellen. That's Jacob, almost everyone calls him Jay. This is Kari." George rounds the corner with Eddie and comes inside. "That's George, Ellen's husband and her brother, Eddie." I look at Shaun. "You met that dinkus in the living room." He looks down. "The black one is Sergio and the other one is Trevor. Lhaso Aspsos." I look at everyone in the kitchen. "This is Josh."

Kari's tired of biting her tongue. "Isn't he JC Chasez?"
"Yes. But he doesn't pay our way in LA. I work and make good money."
Everyone nods. Kari takes the kids and Jacob in the other room. Ellen's thinking and I can see the gears turning. "How long have you known him? Do you sleep together? Live together? Who takes care of the kids? How long have you been together? Josh, have you been faithful? Are you into drugs? No lies."
I quickly answer her questions. "Eight months. We're adults. No, we live separately but spend alot of time together. Both of us. Just over two months. He is very faithful. He doesn't even smoke pot, but might be considering it after this. He fears needles." I cross my arms and stand in front of JC. He wraps his arms around my waist. I feel him shaking.
"Does he hit you?"
"Not ever. He treats me and the kids beautifully. He's the opposite of Joe. Josh helps all the time with so much."
She nods and checks the pork chops, Mac and cheese, stuffing and veggies.

JC leans over so that he can whisper in my ear. "Can we get some fresh air?"
I nod. "Kari, Jay." They look at me. "Keep an eye on the kids? We're gonna get a bit of fresh air. Ten minutes."
They both say sure and we head to the driveway.
We get outside and I sit on the rear bumper of my rental. JC sits next to me. "Now I understand why you were anxious about me meeting some of your family."
"Imagine what Nick's gonna face."
He laughs. "Ellen scares the shit outta me."
"Don't piss her off, you'll be fine."  He pulls me to standing after he stands up. We hug and share a quick kiss. We stand there hugging for a few minutes. I look up at him. "Ready to face the demons again?"
"Yeah." We head up the stairs. "My family's a little more welcoming." We quietly laugh.

"I hope so."  He knocks and I look at him like it was wasted time. I walk in. My cell rings and I see that it's Scottie. "Hi, Scottie."
"I hear you got a new boyfriend."
I look at Shaun. "Your brother told you, didn't he?"
"Yup. He's some kinda producer or something?"
"Look up the name Joshua Chasez." I casually look at my nails.
I hear Scottie type 'Joshua'. "How does this asshole spell his last name?"
"He is NOT an asshole."
"Spell his last name."
"C-h-a-s-e-z."
A few seconds pass before Scottie says a word. "Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?!?!?!" He starts laughing and falls outta his chair. "You're dating a faggot? Prove you're dating him. Send a picture to me, right now."
"Ok. I'll let you go and send it via text. Call me when you get it."
"Yeap."
I hang up. JC takes a picture with me real fast and I send it to Scottie. He calls back. "Told you."
He sounds shell shocked. "Damn. You got the better luck. Put me on speaker."
"Gonna be nice?" JC's talking with my cousins, mainly Jacob and Kari.
"I guess I can be."
"Hold on. Josh, come here for a second." I put Scottie on speaker. JC comes and gives me a kiss, holding me close. "Go ahead, Scottie."
"Josh, let's get one thing straight-she's A) my little cousin and if B) I hear you put your hands on her or hurt her, C) I will be after you."
"Scott, I understand. I just got her outta that type of relationship two months ago. Why would I put her in another like that?"
"So the asshole she's married to or was married to hit her?"
JC looks at me and I shrug. "Yes, and I have put him in his place over it. Helped her get on her feet, get her own place, her driver's license, save money and make sure she's safe."
"She have a car?"
"She has two. I got her a 1986 Ford Mustang, just like her mom used to have. Then she has a 2007 Expedition. Both can fit all four of them and myself."
"You fucking spoil the shit out of her!"
"She wanted the Mustang and I got her the Expedition first. I refuse to let her take care of the maintenance bills for them. She trouble shoots first."
"I hear she has a surprise for the family out there, sometime in the next couple months."
"Maybe. I know in the next few months, I'd like to meet you face to face."
"You wanna meet me?"
"Sure."
"You're one brave fucker."
My eyes bug out. "I love you, Scottie. I'll call you later."
"Ok. Bye."

"Bye." I hang up, shaking my head. My cell rings again. The caller ID flashes 'Icky-Boo'. My nickname for Nick cuz his for me is 'Baby Boo'. I call Aaron 'Acey-Boo'. "Hey, Icky-Boo."
"You alone?"
"No, I'm at my cousins' place. Josh and the kids are with me."
"Can you go in a room alone?"
"You don't need to worry. Nobody else can hear your side of the convo."
He sighs. "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, understand?"
"Yeah, it's cool. Pinky promise."
"I'm scared fucking shitless outta my brain meeting your side of the family." I'm quiet. "Go ahead and laugh."
"Nick, when we get back ask Josh how bad it is. Just take him serious and his advice to heart."
"How scared is he?"
"He's almost as much as you."
"How scared were you?"
I shrug. "Not as much as half an hour ago, which was quintuple what you are."
He sighs. "I guess it could be worse."
"Yeah, at least it's family and not" I step away from JC "possible in-laws or your girlfriend's family."
He laughs. "I guess I'm over thinking and overreacting about this."
Demitryus shrieks. "Talklater." I hang up and see JC tickling Demitryus. "I thought he got hurt." I lean on the door jam.

JC looks at me. "I'm sorry. Caught him off guard. Nick nervous about January?"
"Yeah. He'll be fine. You serious about what ya told Scottie?"
"Yeah. I'd like to get to know your family, especially the ones that mean the most and have more memories of you."
Ellen's cell rings. "What the hell does she want?"
"Susie?"
"Yeah." She answers it. "What? No. Sam, you wanna visit her?"
"Why? So she can try to get Josh in her bed? Fuck no. She's not seeing the kids. Fuck her." JC looks at me, curious. I close my eyes and shake my head.
"She said no. I'm not forcing her to go. Susan, she has her reasons. She said to go see her or she's gonna disown you."
"Disowned her when she pulled the shit with the Volvo."
"She doesn't care. Ok." She looks at her cell, shrugging and puts it away. She leans against the china cabinet, looking dead at me. "Still holding that against her?"
"No, I'm holding everything wrong she's ever done to me against her. Do I wanna talk to anyone about it right now? No."

Ellen shrugs and drops it, knowing she won't get far or much more outta me. "Dinner's almost done."
"Lemme know when it is and I'll help set the plates. Thanks."
She gives me a sympathetic look. "You're welcome." She finishes cooking. We have dinner and leave. We hug everyone as we leave.
Kari's crying. "I'm gonna miss ya guys."
I smile. "It's only till Christmas. We'll be back the week before. The week of I'm gonna be in Bowie with Josh and his family."
"What about after that?"
"I'll be back with a cousin or two I didn't know I had in January. From Darryl's side. Just give them a chance to get to know you. They're like us. Keep in touch."
She nods. Jay steps up shakes JC's hand and hugs us. "Same goes for you, Sam."
Ellen smiles at JC. "Stay outta trouble." She turns on me. "Especially you. Quarries." I turn beet red immediately.
JC's curious. "What's that about?"
Ellen smiles. I turn to leave. "C'mon, Josh."
"I guess she's gonna tell me or I can call you and find out."
Ellen laughs. "She won't tell you. Bye, guys! Keep in touch."
"We will." He helps me get the kids in their booster seats and buckled. "What did she mean by 'quarries' and why did you go beet red?"
"Tell you later. Maybe show you the quarries. It's not gonna be till better weather though."
"Ok."
"I was pretty promiscuous for a few years after I lost my gramma. My way of rebelling. It was that, emo or goth."
He stops before closing the door by Mikal, thinking. "You wouldn't look right. Emo and goth don't fit you. Maybe the promiscuous, but not the other two."
"That's what I said about the emo and goth looks."
He closes the door and I close the back door. I get in the front seat, close the door, buckle Demitryus, sit and buckle up myself. "Where to now, beautiful mystery?"
I think. "I'm gonna show you where I've lived since moving here. West St." I direct him to West St and we stop in front of my first apt I shared with my gramma and mom. "Ma and I shared this with gramma. I'm gonna see if we can quickly walk through." I dash up the stairs and knock on the door.

A woman who looks about 24 and 5 months pregnant answers the door. "Can I help you?"
"Would it be possible for me to show my boyfriend this apt? I lived here twenty years ago."
"I guess."
"Thank you for your generosity." I go to the top of the stairs. "C'mon. Bring the kids." The kids come up and I pick up Demitryus. He carries Aaliyah, piggie back. "We'll be out of your hair in minutes."
She stares at JC. "Is that JC Chasez?"
"That's my boyfriend." I smile softly. Mikal holds my belt loop. "Living room. Kitchen. I had a little plastic piano and there used to be an old heater/stove here and I kinda melted one of the legs. This is where we put Ma's bird, Cheeks. Gramma's room and my room."
"Wow. When did you live here?"
"From the time I was four or five until we moved to Payson. Six or seven. Two years, I think. Thanks again for your hospitality." We leave and get situated in the car.
"Where next?"
"109 Payson St." I program the GPS. I'm starting to get tired. He pulls up in front of it and I smile.
He looks at the stairs. "And I thought the stairs from my studio to the bedroom were a bit much." I know he wanted to say 'bitch'.
"Imagine the stairs covered in snow and ice." I get out and knock on the door. A little girl answers the door and I squat to her level. "Can I talk to your mom or dad? Or your grandma?"
She runs to get her mom. "Can I help you?" She's about five three and a little chunky, black hair and honey colored eyes. Maybe early thirties.
"Hi, could I possibly show this apt to my boyfriend and kids? I lived here as a little girl."
She thinks about it. "Don't touch anything and I will be following you."
"Thank you." I signal JC to bring the kids up. We walk in the hallway. "This was our hallway. The living room. Tv used to be there, coffee table there. We had an Atari." I laugh lightly. "My moms bird, Sammi, was here. Dining room. Table in the middle and a desk on that wall. That was Ma's room. Kitchen. That's the bathroom. Back door over there and a little porch. Kitchen table here. This used to be my room. That was gramma's room. The pantry." I look at the woman and nod. "Thanks for your hospitality." We go out the back door. "I had my first and last cat in that house."
"What did you name it?"
"Named him Figaroe."
JC smiles and chuckles as we walk down the driveway. "How'd you come up with it?"
"I was watching 'Looney Tunes'. The opera one with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd." I laugh as remember. "My gramma's cat, Tigger, had her kittens in my mom's boxspring and I got to pick one. Gramma said to name it and I heard them singing 'Figaro, Figaro, Figaro'. That's what I named him. I was about seven."
We get the kids buckled in and I put the next address into the GPS. "Next up is the projects." JC looks at me. "Cap is all you need. I'll point out my gramma's apt as we pass it. But we won't stop."
"How bad are the projects?"
"Someone says hi, just nod and wave. Other than that, don't say anything or stare. Here we are. I'll show you this one and just mirror image this one in your mind. That's what the other one on Leyte looked like." I walk up the little hill and run across the grass. I knock on the door.
A teenage boy opens the door. "Jeff, gotta let ya go, man. No. There's a hottie on my porch."
I quietly laugh. "Could I quickly show my kids and boyfriend where I used to live?"
"You used to live here?"
"Mmmmhhhhmmmmmm."
"Uh, sure."
I signal JC and the boys come to me. Mikal grabs my belt loop and I carry Demitryus. JC is carrying Aaliyah. He gives me a kiss. "Living room. I got my first Sega Genesis here. Sonic came into my life. Altered Beast and learned to play Pac-Man. Started watching 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' and played it outside with my friends. Ma dated Brian Marcil while living here. They hid the Sega in that closet, on the shelf, thinking I couldn't see it. Sammi's corner. Ollie in that one till he passed, then our speckled amazon, Spanky. We didn't name them, not a one." I walk to the kitchen. "Kitchen, back door and basement." I head for the stairs. "Is it ok?" He nods his head. "Bathroom. My old room. Bunk beds here, toy chest there, dresser there, other toy box over by that window and a little black and white antenna tv. Linen closet. And my mom's room. For the other one on Leyte, just put it all backwards. Ready to go, love?"
"Yeah, he's staring at us." He nods at the teenager.
I giggle. "He told his friend he had to go cuz there's a 'hottie' on his porch."

We come down the stairs. The teenage boy looks at us. "One question."
I look at him. "What's that?"
"Is he JC Chasez?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Could I get a picture with all of you?"
I look at JC and he shrugs. "Sure."
He sets up his camera and it snaps a picture. "Thanks. Hope you stay safe."
"You're welcome and you stay safe too." We leave. I look at JC. "We should let the kids run around for a few. There's a McDonald's Play Place nearby. Nobody should bug you with your cap on."
"Ok. I start getting bothered, we leave."
I nod. "Graim thu."
"J'amour tu." We kiss and the kids say 'ew'. "After this, where to?"
"Hazel St. Then East St, Pine St, South St, other end of Payson St, Federal St, Plymouth, Pleasant, which we won't go inside-bad memories, Garnet and Myrtle Ave."
"You moved alot."
"Yeah. Go out that end of the projects and turn right. I met Dawn while living on Leyte." I point up Leyte Rd. "We would cut through a field that's now fenced off. That's the playground we would take Mikal to. That used to be a school, a head start or something. That's the state pool we'd go to. Follow this road up to the gas station. Need gas."
Without missing a beat, JC has a smartass comment. "That's what fast food gives me."

I tickle his side. "Hahahahaha."
He pulls into the gas station and gives me a kiss. I get out, pump and pay as he talks to the kids. I get back in. "Which way now?"
"Take a left and go straight. The McDonald's will be on your side of the road and the kids will flip a nutty when they see it." I put my head back against the seat and smile at him.
"That's not very funny, beautiful mystery."
"I'm being honest, not funny."
We get near the Play Place and the kids point it out. "Oh. I see it guys." He pulls in and parks. "Rules. Stay in the play area unless you're with your mom or me. Play nice. Mind your manners. Ok?"
"Yes, Josh." They say together and they unbuckle their belts and get out. They stand on either side of the car, making sure to keep a hand on it.
JC sees this and smiles. Aaliyah immediately grabs his hand. Mikal grabs hold of my belt loop and I carry Demitryus. JC and I hold hands, smiling. We get inside and let the kids go through the play set. JC and I share a strawberry shake and laugh at the kids' energy, talking about how his family can be so welcoming. He tells me things his family does to be more open to his friends and girlfriends. An hour later, we're heading out to look at the rest of the places I've lived, and we see almost every single one of them, with the exception of three-Pleasant, Garnet and Myrtle. It's around nine at night and the kids are sleeping in the backseat. "Maybe we should get back to your mom's before we join the kids."

"Sure." I put Ma's address in to the GPS. "We're less than a ten minute drive away from Ma's anyway."
We sit in Tedeschi's parking lot. "You're calmer than you've been in a couple weeks."
"You met some of my family. Next time I'll get nervous and anxious like that again will be when we go to Wisconsin."
"What, or rather who's, there?"
"Aunt Grace, Bernie and his family. Oh, and Scottie."
He smiles and gives me a kiss. He puts the rental into reverse. "You said something about telling me about where you lived before your mom settled here."
"You don't really wanna know, do you?" My eyes haven't left his face since we kissed. He pulls onto Main St and goes onto Summer St before answering me.
"Of course. I wanna know as much as you do. Including the meaning behind the quarries thing." He grabs my hand and interlocks his fingers with mine.
I groan and sigh. "Alright. I was concieved on Colfax Dr in Denver, Colorado in March of 1985. They, as in Ma and Darryl, drove from there to some shithole in New Jersey. I say shithole cuz there was less of a bathroom floor than Justin has patience and brains sometimes."
"Wow."
"Yeah, by then Ma was about eight months pregnant with me and had to jump over a huge hole in the bathroom floor just to pee. My grampa and one of my aunts, drunken bitch had her head on straight back then, helped her move to Massachusetts. They stayed with the bitch and had me nine days late. I was due on New Years. Soon after that, we moved to Worcester. When I was two, my brother, Jimmie had defended my mom and beat Darryl with a bat. Ma chose Darryl over her son and Jimmie went to BST, Boston Secure Treatment. We moved to Thayer Pond from there. That's Oxford."
"England?"

"No, here in Massachusetts." I laugh. "It's in the middle of nowhere. It's a condo complex and all the kids that lived there played together and some became the best of friends. Mine was Amanda. I can't remember her last name. Which sucks cuz all I have is one picture of her and I'd love if I could find her."
"You said something about a Sherri and an Addie."
"Sherri I knew from the time I was about six months old until we stopped talking. Back in 2000, the fall. When No Strings Attached came out, it's a great memory. It was her birthday and it makes that album mean more than anything because of the sentimental memories. That's why I'm not gonna let those songs be erased from my iPod. March 21, 2000. She turned 15 that day. She's just about nine months older. She was like a sister. I helped her with a serious issue, made her choose me or the problem. I'm still proud of her for choosing me to this day. She met Demitryus and stopped talking again a few months later. Found her on myspace, I was pregnant with him, she came out to meet him, sporadically spoke until a couple years ago. She stopped answering me on Facebook, via texts." I sigh.
"Addie?"

"I met her through Sherri. She was one of the neighborhood kids that didn't have many friends and I was the kinda kid that stuck to her circle and hardly ever let someone in. Nobody knew me like Sherri, her mom and sister. Sherri, Debbie and Stacy." I smile. "Sherri had us meet and I slowly opened to Addie. I let her in. In middle school, I really opened up to Addie. After school, if I wasn't with Sherri, I was with Addie. I practically lived between their houses. Until eighth grade. Sherri's gram moved her to Gardner and didn't like me. After awhile she even cut down when we could hang out, then when we could call each other, then lost contact in high school. I started hanging with Addie more and more. We were pretty much joined at the side, from the arm pit to our hip."
"What happened?"
"She had to move to Townsend and we started drifting apart. High school was hell for me. For the first four months, I had one friend there. Bekah. Met her in elementary school and lost contact. She introduced me to Joe. Middle of my freshman year Addie came back to Fitchburg and we hung out with Bekah all the time. Bekah was 'Queen Bitch', Addie was 'Lil Bitch' and cuz I'm always the smallest and look the youngest, I'm 'Baby Bitch'."
He laughs. "Why bitch?"

"Stood for beautiful, intelligent, talented, creative and honest. Bluntly honest, we spoke our minds. Bekah introed me to my ex, taught me so much and left for Colorado. I stuck with Addie through thick and thin. I got pregnant with Mikal and she started coming over to hang with Sasha. I was tossed aside when I needed her the absolute most. I moved out of my mom's and for the first three years, I think she stopped by once. Dawn came in and left. Dawn was a minor and had no say in the matter. We moved to East St and ran into her. We started chillin again, left there and didn't hear from her until I got a Facebook. She started coming around again. I think that was in 08, no, that was 09. Sorry. She kept in touch and moved in with us during March, the following year. Shit went downhill and fast. By July, I didn't want shit to do with her. We had a HUGE falling out, stopped talking, made up cuz she needed me, moved in together and then when taxes came about earlier this year, we left. Just up and left. I stopped caring cuz all she did was use me and put me down. Telling me I'd never be anything or get anywhere in life. Well, she can take her negativity and shove it."
We pull up at Ma's, he turns the car off, puts the arm rest up, and hugs me. He pulls back slowly, looks at me and gives me a kiss. "I'm here now. I tell you how beautiful you are, that you can do anything if you just try, and you're a great person. You're a good mom. A very sweet and thoughtful girlfriend. She's a user and you don't need that."
I look at him. "Thanks."

"Let's get our babies inside and head to bed."
I nod and we do that. We shower and cuddle in my mom's bed. I had left my pjs at the bottom of the bed, so I was naked. We start kissing and I straddle him. "I want you."
"Sure... She... Won't... Come... Back... Here... Tonight?" He had to ask in between kisses. I nod during a passionate kiss. I moan and do a bodywave. I start kissing his neck and doing bodywaves, knowing he'd cave faster. He grabs my hips and thrusts toward me. I lean into a kiss to tease and I know he's as hard as he can get.  He pushes my hips down onto his dick.
I take in a deep breath, sharply and between my teeth. I know I can't be loud. "Mmmm" is all I can manage while biting my bottom lip.
He knows I'm close and starts playing with my clit. He knows what it does to me. I start breathing a little faster, closer to my climax, and he pulls me close to kiss me as we roll. He's on top. "Cum with me." I nod and he starts kissing and gently biting my neck, meaning he's close. I wrap my legs around him, one hand goes in his hair and the other goes on his back. I push back against him in harmony with his motions. He grabs my hip as I start doing bodywaves. He keeps kissing my neck until just before we both get off, he starts to kiss my lips to keep me from screaming with pleasure. We both climax at the same time and he keeps going for a few minutes afterward, to heighten my climax and to treat me. When we get off at the same time, he'll go a few more minutes to focus on me, knowing I love when he does. I pull him as close as I can to let him know to stop. He lays on me with his head on my shoulder, breathing so fast he can't get a word out. So am I. "I love that, when we can get off at the same time."

"Me, too. I love when you heighten it."
"I love when I feel your muscles tighten and your body becomes kinda like a vice."
"I love when you kiss me when I get off."
I feel him smile. "Makes for a better climax, I think."
"It does. I wish we were at home."
"Why?"
"Cuz we can't sleep naked here. Ma will freak. We have to put our pjs back on."
He groans but gets up, hands me my pjs and gets his back on. He lays back down and I put my head on his chest. "What about the sheets?"
"We'll strip the bed and put the sheets in the washer. The blankets weren't on us. We'll tell her we spilled something on them and put em in the washer."
"You've had sex in your mom's bed before?"
"No, I just don't want her finding our stains on her sheets. I know she would call screaming at me. Better safe than sorry. She would embarrass the fucking shit outta me."
"Well, when we get to Bowie, we're staying at my grandmom's and other than my grandparents, it's us, the kids, Heather and Tyler. My parents are staying with one of my cousins."
"This is gonna be interesting."

He rubs my back as I feel him laugh. "Knowing Tyler, more than you know."
"I'm not even gonna ask."
"You'll see. I have a few ideas on what he's gonna do. C'mon, think of it this way-you're five two, 137 lbs, big hips, big tits, hourglass figure, bright and beautiful blue eyes, medium brown hair with red tones, very confident, highly intelligent and always have a quick comeback. On top of all that, you can defend yourself and beat pretty much anyone's ass that threatens you."
I think for a few minutes. "Is that what you told him?"
"I sent a picture to Kace and he showed it to Tyler. Since then, Tyler's been saying he's gonna make you his woman."
I start laughing. I shake my head. "Not happening. Sorry, I don't keep it in the family. You're my last hope for a great man. So far, you're doing everything right."
"What do you mean 'last hope for a great man'?"
"If we don't work out, I might as well go lez." I laugh. "I don't think I could, but I would try my damnedest not to be in another relationship for a long ass time. Fooling around is one thing, but a relationship after you wouldn't happen for long time."
"Why's that?"
"Baby, 20 year crush that I dated? I'd love to be friends after, if it happens. But honestly, I'd love it better and more to stay together."
"You're really invested in this relationship."
"Yes. I have my whole heart, my soul and I'm putting everything I have invested in us. I have so much on the line and I trust you."
"I plan on staying with you for a long time. I want to be with you. Hardly any publicity, very low key and I can be myself."
"Josh?"
"Hunh?"
"I wanna keep you forever. Can I keep you?"
He lightly laughs. "Yes, you can 'keep' me."

I laugh for a second, too. We cuddle and fall asleep. I wake up to JC's cell ringing. He flings his right hand out grabs his phone. "What? It's what time? J, it's three in the morning out here. I'm gonna sic my girlfriend on you when we get back. Call me later. Going back to bed now. Bye." I stir. "I'm sorry. None of us are good at time zones." He puts his cell back on the table by the bed and interlocks our fingers again.