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The house was silent except for the wind blowing outside. The autumn leaves were falling, kids finally home from trick or treating, bellies now full of candy. And the DeLuca Bishop house was no different. The wind was strong against their windows that Maya wanted to replace. Leaves rustled into their gutters that Maya kept swearing she was going to clean out, but never made the time to do so. Liam and Andrea were home, safe in their beds, Maya letting them eat too much candy.
Quiet after a night of frenzy.
Maya and Carina were sound asleep. Carina was wrapped around Maya’s back, practically on top of her, unable to move her wife’s sleeping body to her back so she could cuddle into her. She had been at the hospital, delivering an early pregnancy and was longing to fall into her wife’s arms, but Maya would not budge. When Carina tried one last time, Maya groaned, telling her to stop. Carina laughed at how grumpy she was. Her mood didn’t last long as one of Carina’s legs wrapped around her wife’s hip, Maya rubbed her thigh before returning to slumber.
Carina didn’t let it get to her. She knew Maya had a long day and her exhaustion meant that she had spent the entire night with Liam and Andrea, celebrating Halloween, taking them around the neighborhood in their costumes. Carina was sad to miss most of it, but didn’t have much of a choice. She managed to go with them to a few houses before she got the call. Even though her two kids and Maya were disappointed, they understood and Maya’s deep breathing meant their kids wore her out.
As they slept soundly, a small creak went ignored from the hallway. Then a quick pitterpatter of feet running to them. Unbeknownst to them, their door opened. Andrea slipped in, seeing Carina’s limbs practically clued to her mommy’s back like a starfish spread out on a rock. She took comfort in their deep breathing and took her own deep breath to calm herself. The now nine soon to be ten year old girl had been told numerous times she was too big to sleep with them in their bed, but was hoping tonight they would make an exception.
“Mommy?” she whispered from the doorway. There was no movement, not even a twitch. She moved a little closer to the foot of the bed. “Mama,” she tried, but nothing. She walked to Maya’s side of the bed, both her parents facing that direction, trying one last time.
“Mom?”
Maya took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw the shrouded figure in front of her, she jumped. “Jesus!” Her whole body jerked before her child came into view. “Andrea. Don’t do that, ever.”
“I tried calling your name, but you didn’t wake up.”
Maya’s head laid back against the pillows, her eyes already closing. She switched more to her stomach, Carina resettling behind her. “What are you doing up?” she groaned into the pillow.
“I’m scared.”
“Why, Baby?”
“Because… what if…” she paused. She knew no matter what she said, she was going to be in trouble and she really didn’t want to be. “What if he gets me?”
Maya’s eyes opened at that. She lifted her head. “What if who gets you?”
Andrea’s eyes started to water, looking almost identical to the way Carina’s eyes would well up with tears. “Michael,” she whispered.
This was not the answer Maya was expecting. “Micheal? Michael who?”
“Michael Myers. You know, the Boogeyman?”
Maya processed the information and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to relax. She could feel the annoyance rising in her chest. “Andrea, did you watch that movie Mama and I specifically told you not to watch?”
Andrea started crying now. She always hated being in trouble, Liam usually calling her a crybaby when she was. She looked at her feet, not able to make eye contact with her mother and nodded her head.
“Andrea,” Maya whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was exhausted and had a twenty-four hour shift on the horizon. She couldn’t deal with this right now and was too tired to get too worked up. Besides, she never wanted her children to feel afraid. “Okay, come here. Get in bed with me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Come on, Love. It’s okay.” Maya held the comforter up and started pushing against Carina for more space, which seemed to wake her up.
Carina rolled to her back and let out a long, annoyed sigh. “What’s happening?”
“Our beautiful daughter here watched ‘Halloween’ tonight.”
“Andrea!” Carina said, sitting up at the news. “Why?!”
“Because Liam said it wasn’t that scary. That it was just a movie.”
“Liam watched it too?” Carina asked. Andrea nodded, mad at herself, knowing her brother was also going to be in trouble and be mad at her as well.
“Sweetheart, that isn’t the only reason we did not want you to watch that movie,” Maya corrected.
“It’s not?” Carina asked. “It’s why I didn’t want her to because I knew she would end up here in our bed with us.”
“Yeah well there are also naked women in that movie and sex.”
“American’s are so prudish about bodies.”
“Do you want our eleven year old son looking at boobs?” Maya countered, trying to look at her wife behind her. She paused. “Oh my G-d, our eleven year old son is looking at boobs.”
“Which is a perfectly natural age to be curious about all of that stuff.”
“Yes but now we have to talk to him about it.”
“And we will, but right now let's focus on sleep, please.”
Maya clenched her jaw, annoyed at the whole situation. “I mean… Andrea, why? You knew you weren't supposed to so why did you let your big brother talk you into it?” Andrea started crying again and Maya shook her head. “I know you think you have something to prove to him, but you don't.”
“Cazzo!,” Carina mumbled under her breath, still trying to get comfortable.
“Carina! She speaks Italian! And that’s one of the few words I do know so maybe on top of the nudity and the horror, we don’t add swear words.”
“I mean the movie probably had those too, no?”
“Oh… my G-d.” Maya sighed. Maya turned her attention back to their child, who was still crying. “Hey, my Love.”
“I’m sorry, Mommy.”
“Sweetheart, it’s okay.”
“Yeah, Pumpkin, it’s okay. We all watch things we’re not supposed to.”
“I don’t want him to get me.”
Maya rubbed her back and smiled. “It’s not real, my Love. Michael does not exist in real life. He’s a made up character played by an actor, who I’m sure is a lovely person.” She felt Andrea burying her head a little further into her chest. Maya smiled, kissing the top of her head. “It’s just a movie. When it ends, the story is over.”
“But he’s still alive,” she cried.
Carina reached over Maya’s side to rub her daughter’s back and try her best to help her wife soothe their second born. “Andrea, when the TV goes black, the story ends. He can’t come out of the television.”
“I know, but what if he is real?”
“He’s not though, Baby, and that’s what you have to remember.”
Andrea lifted her head to look at Carina. Maya could see in her eyes, she needed both of them so she slowly moved to her back, taking the child with her so they could rotate together and let her be in the middle. Carina scootched back, making sure the little girl had enough room. She quickly fell into Carina’s arms, sniffling against her chest. Maya reached for a tissue behind her and handed it to the small child.
“Andrea, do you think Mommy would let anything happen to us? Our strong firefighter?”
“Liam said he can kill firefighters. He can kill anyone.”
“Okay, so no television for Liam for a week,” Maya stated.
“I think your Mom could take him. And you know what?”
“What?” the nine year old whispered.
“I always feel safe with your mom. I've never not felt safe. She's strong and you know when she gets really mad? How her jaw locks and she forces all her anger down, and her forehead vein pops out-”
“Carina.”
“Shh, I'm making a point. When that happens, I know I have nothing to worry about because she's going to take care of it. You've never seen your mom pissed, but I have and she's scary. Way scarier than Micheal. You want to know why?”
Andrea nodded, completely engrossed in this story.
“Because Mommy fights out of love. Everything she does is with love and love always wins. Always. So Micheal would have no chance against your mother. She loves us too much.”
Carina glanced at Maya, who smiled. “That is a lot of confidence in my ability, Babe, but I would do everything in my power to protect my family.”
Andrea returned to Maya’s arms. She felt comfort with both of them and usually would switch between the two searching for the right comfort. Carina was sympathy and love while Maya was safety and love. Depending on the incident, depended on which one she would end up with. Her mothers closed in and Andrea knew they had shared a kiss. They always did before falling asleep, grounding them back into their space. She felt her mother’s kisses on her head as silence returned. Maya softly rubbed her back, Carina now taking up Andrea’s space a little bit in search of touching Maya, but she didn’t mind. Having her mothers surrounding her brought her enough comfort that she was able to close her eyes.
“He won't get me, right Mommy?” Andrea whispered.
Maya smiled, still looking at Carina, who was staring right back. “No, my Love. Not if I'm here.”
She felt the child nod before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
—-------------------------------------------
Carina was the first to wake up the next morning when Maya’s alarm went off. She looked over to see her wife and daughter both curled on their right sides, Maya’s arms tucked under the covers pulling the comforter to her chin and her daughter doing the same, but with their sheets. Maya groaned enough to snooze the alarm before going back to sleep. She watched as Maya reached behind her looking for Carina.
“There is a child between us,” Carina whispered.
Maya sighed before sitting up. “I know this happened, but I don’t remember why.”
“Michael.”
“Who?”
“The Boogeyman,” Andrea whispered, rolling over towards Carina, who hugged her tightly, rubbing her back.
“Halloween,” Carina corrected.
Maya took a deep breath. “Right… And we have to talk to Liam.”
“Let's just get the day started and see how we go from there. Okay?”
Maya nodded. “Do we have to talk about boobs?”
“Oh yes! He made us sleep in our bed with a soon to be ten year old, so he gets to be embarrassed in front of his mothers talking about boobs.”
“You're evil this morning.”
“I couldn't cuddle my wife so I slept horribly. He did this to himself.” Carina huffed and got out of bed.
“I love you,” Maya said, as her second alarm went off. She turned it off and looked at her daughter, who was clearly contemplating something. “What is it?”
“He’s going to be mad?”
“Who?”
“Liam.”
“Oh, he’ll get over it. Now come on, you gotta get up for school and I have to get ready for work.”
“Are you coming home tonight?”
“No, but I will pick you up from school tomorrow.”
“Not the same,” Andrea pouted.
“I know, but we will get through it. Now, how about you get ready for school while Mama and I make you guys some breakfast.”
Andrea nodded, getting out of bed. Maya laid there a little longer. Her wife came around the corner, immediately falling into her arms. She kissed Maya’s cheek. They shared a few small kisses, enjoying their moment alone. “So how do we deal with Liam?” Maya asked.
“We just talk to him about bodies. He knows all about the differences at this point and it’s not that big of a deal. I know you think it is, but it’s really not and I want our son to have a healthy idea about bodies that are not just sexual. If we don’t talk to him, he’s going to grow up to be a gross man and I don’t want that. He needs to see that boobs are just part of human life and not just sex related things.”
“So how do we do that?”
Carina smiled. “I think you should do it.”
“Me? Carina, no, I’ll make it so awkward and weird. You’re much more casual than I am and I’ll just be a stuttering mess and-”
Carina laughed. “You’re so easy to rile up.” Maya rolled her eyes and tried to sit up, but Carina stopped her. “No, no, no.”
“I’m just gonna take me and my boobs somewhere else,” Maya joked. She felt a small peck against her t-shirt cladded breast and then a quick bite, causing her to jump. “Carina!”
Carina chuckled. “Stay with me, Bambina, for a little while longer.” Carina snaked her hand under Maya’s t-shirt to grab one of her breasts. Maya smiled, looking into her wife’s eyes. “Baciami.” She lifted her head, meeting Carina in a passionate kiss. They cuddled a little while longer, enjoying their alone time.
“Have you noticed our children are being awfully quiet?” Maya asked.
“Why would you jinx it? It’s so nice and I’m falling asleep.”
“My Love, you know you can’t fall asleep. I have to get up and shower and -”
“Talk to our son about boobs.” Maya laughed, letting her wife get closer to her. There was a knock on the door that pulled them apart. “See? You jinxed it.”
They separated, sighing. Maya sat up, while Carina laid, missing her wife’s heat. Liam opened the door asking about breakfast. Maya always enjoyed watching Carina go from herself to mom mode. She had seen it a few times before the children, but it always satisfied her to know that she wasn’t the one in trouble.
“How did you sleep, Liam?” Carina asked, not moving from her spot.
“Fine.”
“Yeah? That’s good because your sister didn’t.”
“Okay.”
“Any idea why?”
Liam looked towards Maya, who was getting stuff together for her day. As she stuffed workout clothes into her bag, she saw him shrug. “Really?” Maya asked, “You can’t think of one reason?”
“No.”
He stared at both of his mothers while Carina grabbed her phone. She pulled up Spotify and started playing the “Halloween” theme. “Ring a bell?”
“She told you?!”
“She slept with us because she was so scared. What did we tell you about watching that movie?”
“That I was too young to watch it.”
“So care to explain to us why you did?”
“Because my friends at school watched it and said it’s not that scary and it wasn’t.”
“And what about the other things?” Maya asked.
“What other things?”
“Liam.” He stared at Maya. It was very clear to her he knew exactly what they were talking about. “You know the reason we told you not to watch it. We told you it was rated R and that it contained what?”
Liam sighed. “Nudity,” he mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Nudity.”
“Exactly. You’re not old enough to watch movies like that.”
“Mom, they’re just breasts. I’ve seen them before. I have two mom’s.”
“Liam, that’s not the point. We need to talk about this.”
“What Mom is trying to say,” Carina interrupted, “is why did you feel the need to watch this movie when we explained to you why we didn’t want you to? Do you want to look at boobs?”
“Mama, I watched it because of the movie, not her boobs. My friends said it was a classic, I think it was okay, but I didn’t watch it because of that. I don’t care about that.”
“You don’t care right now, Liam, but one day-”
“Yes, Mama, I know, but I seriously just watched it the one time with Andrea. You can ask her, we did not rewind it or anything.”
Carina looked to Maya, who took a deep breath. “Okay. You know you can talk to us if you do have those feelings.”
“Yes, Mom, I know. You guys have been telling me this at least once a week for the past few months.” He paused. “I’m sorry I tricked Andrea into watching it. To be fair, she watched most of it through her hands-”
“Which does not take away from the fact that you were told not to watch it and you did anyway,” Maya countered.
Liam scoffed. “How long am I grounded?”
Carina rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a matter of grounding, Liam. We just want you to listen to us. If we say you’re not allowed, we want you to honor that. That’s it. We told you not to watch it and you watched it anyway. Next time, I want you to listen to us and at least if you’re going to disobey us with another scary movie we tell you not to watch, do not involve your sister.”
“Deal.”
“No deal, Liam. No television for a week.”
He looked at Maya in disbelief. “Mom.”
“No, you still broke the rule and didn’t listen to us. So you’re not grounded, but there is no TV unless you are with us for a week.”
“Yeah and that includes the iPad as well.”
“Mama.”
“And video games.”
“Mom!”
“Hey, Mister, you break the rules, you have consequences,” Carina explained.
“And tomorrow, when I get home from work, you and I are going to clean out the gutters like I’ve been telling your mama I’d do for weeks and then we will be doing other things around the house that I’ve been telling her I’d fix since I’m off for the next few days.”
He groaned. “Fine.”
“Oh come on, Kid, you get to get on the ladder!” Maya yelled as he left the room.
“That doesn’t excite me like it used to, Mom!” He shouted back.
Carina looked at Maya, who looked disappointed. “When did he start not liking ladders? He loved ladders.”
“My Love, is this really what we’re focusing on?”
Maya sighed. “No, but at least he’s just a movie kid and doesn’t have any interest in women like that yet.”
“You bought that?” Carina asked. “Oh, my Love, you are so gullible. He liked them, but he is getting to the age where he is not going to tell his mothers that and that’s okay. I didn’t tell my parents when I started kissing boys or girls-”
“You think he’s kissing?”
“No, but we’re going to have to annoy him with all of this so he understands and what a better place to do that than on a ladder while he helps his mom clean out my beautiful gutters.”
“Sex talk on a ladder?”
“Not an indepth one, but an ‘it’s okay to have these feelings and be curious’ one.” Carina got up and kissed her wife. “I know you can do it. I believe in you and I believe you’ll do wonders on my house. So I’m going to get the kids breakfast, while you shower. I’ll take them to school and then head to the hospital.” Maya didn’t move. “Maya, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I am actually terrified to even have that conversation with him.”
“Well, Happy Halloween, my Love. Now chop, chop or I guess in this case, stab, stab?”
“Carina.”
“You’ve got this. And you have a whole shift to think about it. Now let’s start the day.” Carina left the room with a huge smile on her face. Maya could hear Liam and Andrea starting to argue, but Carina shut it down quickly. Maya still stood there, her mind running a mile a minute, Carina re-entering.
“Bambina, shower. You've got to get going.”
“Right.”
“We’ll talk to him together, okay? No fear.”
“Okay.” Maya smiled, grabbing her wife’s hips.
“I have to go make those greedy children breakfast and get ready myself. We don't have enough time.”
Maya continued to pull her towards the bathroom with a huge grin on her face. “I mean I, a grown adult, wouldn't mind seeing some boobs, would you?” She asked, closing the door behind her. Carina laughed, falling into her wife’s arms.