Summer Surprise

Disaster strikes for one of the roommates. Chloe seeks comfort from her friends. Erin and Barbara play a joke on Marty. This chapter contains lesbian and oral sex as well as regular sex. My thanks to FatChick4Erotica who is helping me edit all of the Summer Surprise series. Any remaining errors are mine.

 

Summer Surprise, Part 3 – Disaster

 

Things were going pretty smoothly for everyone until a Monday in mid-April. Matt and Dianne came home from class to find Chloe crying piteously on the floor.

“Chloe, what’s wrong?”

“They killed her, Matt! They killed her!”

“Who’s they and who’s her?” Dianne asked.

“Monica! They killed her!”

“Monica is dead?” Matt asked, shocked. “Who killed her?”

“Haters! The haters killed her.” Chloe descended into gut-wrenching sobs, so hard she couldn’t speak.

Matt picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. Dianne got some washcloths to use as cold compresses. When she got back, Chloe was curled up in a little ball, still bawling her eyes out. Matt had his arms around her trying to comfort her. Dianne folded one after wringing it out and putting it on her forehead.

When her crying had died down a little, Dianne asked, “What happened, Chloe?”

“Monica was at an LGBTQ rally she helped organize at the U of W in Madison. They do them at the colleges when the students are there instead of June when they hold most of the Gay Pride stuff. Some asshole plowed into the crowd with a big ass pickup, killing over a dozen people and wounding dozens more. Then he started shooting, trying to kill as many people as he could before the police killed him. She died alone, Matt. I wasn’t there with her when she died. I was working on my next play. She died alone. Why can’t people leave us alone? What did we ever do to them?”

Dianne and Matt started crying as well. They’d come to know Monica well over the past several months and she had become a substantial part of their lives.

“How did you find out, Chloe?” Dianne asked.

“She had a card in her pocket asking that I be contacted if anything happened to her. The police found it and called me.”

“Do her parents know? Do yours?”

“I’m reasonably certain the police called her parents before they called me, but I haven’t talked to anyone. How am I going to live, Matt? How can I go on? Monica meant everything to me. All I see is a fucking hole so deep and black I’ll never be able to crawl out of it.”

“I don’t know, Chloe,” Dianne said, “but somehow you do go on. As time passes you feel a little less horrible every day. Then one day you realize that your pain has eased a little. You come to an understanding that you have survived and you’re not going to die, no matter how much you may have wanted to.”

Chloe started crying again, body-wracking sobs. “Dianne, call my family and Chloe’s. They’ll want to know,” Matt said.

“I don’t have the Hamilton’s phone number.”

“Use my phone. It’s in there.”

Dianne nodded. She got Matt’s phone and started making phone calls. She phoned Chloe’s family first. They hadn’t heard anything and were devastated to hear Monica was dead.

“Oh, no,” her mother said. “How is Chloe taking it?”

“She feels like she’s going to die, or wants to. We are all devastated.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Thank you. She’ll need as much support as she can get.”

“Thanks for calling us.”

Chloe’s parents lived in Manitowoc, clear on the opposite side of Wisconsin, so it would be several hours before they arrived, even with the best of driving conditions.

Dianne called Georgina next. Since she was using Matt’s phone, Georgina answered, “Matt, did you hear what happened in Madison? Some idiot plowed into a crowd of gay supporters. It’s all over the news.”

“Georgina, this is Dianne. Monica was at that rally. She was killed.”

Silence, then “Oh, no! Poor Chloe. How devastating for her. We’ll all be there as soon as possible, even Ethel, but it may take awhile because Elaine and I are both scheduled to work tonight and we’ll need to find replacements. I can’t believe this happened.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Sanders. I know Chloe will appreciate it. Matt and I will too. We were all close to Monica.”

Until people showed up, there was nothing more to do, so Dianne went back into the bedroom. She curled around Chloe, on the opposite side of Matt, cocooning her in loving arms. About two and a half hours after the phone call, there was a knock on the door.

“It’s probably your family, Matt. I’ll get the door.”

When Dianne opened the door, she didn’t recognize the people standing there.

“Hello, you must be Dianne. Where’s Chloe?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton?” Dianne queried, quasi-recognizing the voice from the phone call earlier.

“Yes, I’m Mary Jane Hamilton. A lot of my friends call me MJ. This is my husband, Ben. I’m sorry we’re not meeting under better circumstances.”

“How did you get here so fast?”

“About ten minutes after you called, we got a call from a woman named Ethel. She told us to go to the Manitowoc civil field and there would be a helicopter waiting to take us here, plus a rental car and motel room on this end. I thought it was a cruel joke at first, but she said she was a friend of Matt’s mother. We took a chance it wasn’t a joke and here we are. I have no clue why she did this for us.”

“As she said, she’s a friend of Matt’s mother. She’ll be arriving shortly too, and you can meet her. Chloe is in her bedroom. Matt’s in there with her.”

Dianne followed them into the bedroom, where Matt was holding Chloe, still tightly coiled in the fetal position.

He looked up as they entered and said, “Chloe, your parents are here. I’m going to leave you with them for awhile.””

Chloe opened her eyes, saw them, and started crying again as she reached for her mother.

“Oh, mom. They killed her, mom. They killed my Monica. What am I going to do?”

Matt got up and Mary Jane took his place, enveloping her daughter in a motherly embrace.

“Hi, son,” Ben said. “Let’s give them a moment alone. I’d just be in the way for the moment.” They stepped out of the room. “Thank you for being there for Chloe. You’ve always been there for her.”

“She’s always been there for me too, sir. It’s mutual. This is my girlfriend and Chloe’s roommate, Dianne. We’re all devastated by Monica’s death. We considered her part of the family.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Dianne. Ben Hamilton. Chloe’s told us so many good things about you. I wish we’d met you before. This is a piss poor way to make your acquaintance.”

“You too, sir.”

“Please don’t call me sir, Ben is fine. I’m so glad Matt found someone nice to date because he was the first young man Chloe brought home that didn’t make me cringe. For a time, I even thought he was going to be my son-in-law, until Chloe discovered her sexual identity. He’s a stand-up guy for remaining such good friends with my daughter after what she did. I wish we’d been better parents, but at least she had friends like you and Matt to get her through it.”

“You’re a better parent now, Ben,” Dianne said. “It means a lot to Chloe for you to come. I know it does.”

Ben started crying and Dianne pulled him into an embrace, gently patting his back. “I’m so sorry, Ben.”

“Monica was so fucking nice. Chloe lit up around her. I finally got it, you know. How some people are just right for you, no matter who they are.”

Ben sobbed quietly for a few minutes, then wiped his eyes. “I have to be strong, you know, for Chloe. She’ll need someone to cling to.”

“I don’t think she’ll mind you’re unhappy too, Ben. I think she’ll appreciate you loved Monica enough to feel pain,” Dianne said. “It’s nice to know you’re not the only person who suffered a loss. Knowing how badly my husband’s parents felt after his death helped me get through it. I knew I needed to be strong for them. If not for that, I might have gone to pieces.”

He nodded and went into the bedroom with his wife and daughter.

Dianne and Matt sat on the couch, just holding hands. There was another knock on the door a half-hour later.

“That’s got to be your family, Matt. I’ll get it.”

“We’ll get it together,” Matt said. “I can’t sit anymore.”

They stood up and answered the door. As soon as they opened it, Matt’s family and Ethel came flooding in. A round of hugging and crying amongst everyone ensued.

“Did Chloe’s parents make it okay,” Ethel asked.

“They did. They’re in with Chloe now,” Matt said. “Thanks so much for your help.”

“It was nothing. What’s money for if you don’t do something good with it. Georgina and I are going to start cooking comfort foods. We’ve got a couple bags of groceries out in the car. If you could help bring them in, Matt, that would be fantastic. Elaine and Dianne, you must know where everything is. If you could show us where the pots and pans are, we’ll go ahead and get started.”

Matt went out to the car and got two grocery sacks filled with food from the Festival Foods store. He brought them inside and noted that there were a number of pots and pans already out. He emptied the bags out on the counter and Georgina and Ethel started mixing stuff together.

“A nice stew, some lasagna, some chili for later, and brownies with vanilla ice cream,” Georgina said. “We need to find out from Monica’s parents what the funeral arrangements are going to be, including where the funeral going to be held. One of you should talk to them. Do we even know if they know about Monica yet?”

“Chloe thought the police had notified them,” Dianne said.

“That’s some shitty news to be delivered by strangers. Where do they live?”

“Milwaukee,” Matt said. “But if they know, they’re likely in Madison by now.”

“You’re probably right. Maybe we should have delayed a bit before coming. At the very least, they’ll probably need to get some clothes from here, maybe some of Monica’s other things, jewelry and such. Do we know how badly Monica’s body was injured? Will it be an open casket or closed casket ceremony?”

“I don’t know anything except that she’s dead,” Matt said. “I don’t know what Chloe was told when the police called her. I’ll have to get Chloe’s phone because I don’t know how to contact them.”

“Go ahead and grab it. She won’t want to talk to anyone for awhile anyway and you should probably start making some other calls. Monica and Chloe had other friends who should be notified. This is a sad business, but things need to be done.”

“Chloe’s new show was supposed to start in two weeks,” Dianne said. “I’d imagine she’s not going to be able to do it now. We might want to notify the Community Theater.”

“Don’t cancel it yet,” Ethel said. “That should be Chloe’s decision, but let the theater know it might affect her ability to go on.”

“I heard the University is planning a memorial service for the dead, in a week, at Camp Randall Stadium,” Elaine said. “Chloe will probably want to attend that.”

“They might do one here too,” Matt said. “Monica went to school here. They might not even know Monica is dead yet.”

“I can’t believe anyone would do what that person did,” Beth said. “I heard some of the people killed weren’t even LGBTQ affiliated; they were just there to support friends or family who were. For goodness sakes, there was even a baby killed. Who would be so angry and why?”

“I don’t know. It seems like hate groups are getting more and more violent,” Ethel said. “And not just hate groups. Even the crazies are becoming more violent. For example, that guy who did the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Las Vegas was not the only venue he checked out before shooting there. It seems he just wanted to kill a whole bunch of people for no reason.”

“I’ll start making some calls,” Matt said. “I’ll get Chloe’s phone, ask her if there’s anyone special she wants notified.”

Matt went back to Chloe’s room. “When you’re ready, my family would like to see you, Chloe. Plus I need to talk to Monica’s parents and other people, so I’ll need your phone to make the calls. Is there anyone you think should be notified from around here?”

Chloe gave him seven names. “Tell your family thanks for coming. I’ll be out there in a little while.”

“I’ll call the Dean’s office and let them know about Monica, and we thought we’d call the Community Theater, too.”

“I suppose. I can’t see myself doing the show anymore. The reason I didn’t go with Monica was to study my lines for the damn show. I should have been there with her. She shouldn’t have died alone.”

Ben said, “It may be horrible of me to say so, Chloe, but I’m happy you weren’t. I think you’ve got a lot to give the world yet, and I’d have hated to see your life snuffed out so young.”

“I agree Chloe,” Matt said. “As bad as losing Monica was, losing you both would have been a hundred times worse.”

Matt got her phone and left her with her parents again. He started by calling Monica’s parents. Monica’s father answered the phone. His voice sounded like gravel rubbing together.

“Mr. Franklin, this is Chloe’s friend, Matt. I wanted to tell you how sorry we are about what happened and what a huge loss Monica’s death is to all of us. She was an incredible person we all loved deeply. Chloe is especially inconsolable, sir, she keeps saying she wants to die too.”

“Thanks for calling Matt.”

“You’re welcome, sir. I also wanted to find out about her services. We’d all like to be there.”

“I don’t know anything yet. The police haven’t released her body, and we don’t know when they will.”

“Are you still in Madison, Mr. Franklin?”

“Yes. We got here about two hours ago. I had to identify her body. Matt, you can’t believe what that madman did to her.” He started crying again.

Matt waited for him to regain his composure. While he waited, Ethel asked if they were in Madison. Matt nodded.

“Tell them as long as they need to remain in Madison, they can stay at my house. I’ll let the maid know to set up the guest house for them and bring in food. Here’s the address and phone number.” She quickly wrote down her address and phone number, handing it to Matt. “Anything they need, let me know.”

Georgina hugged Ethel, then gave her a quick kiss.

When Mr. Franklin was coherent again, Matt said, “A friend of my Mom has a house in Madison where you can stay as long as you need. The guest house will be waiting for you. Anytime you’re ready, I’ll give you the address and phone number. Also, please let us know when you’ve had a chance to make arrangements.”

“Give me a second. Tell your friend thanks. I feel useless right now.”

About a half minute later, he said he was ready, so Matt gave him the address and phone number. Ethel was already on the phone with her staff making arrangements.

“We’ll talk to you later, Mr. Franklin. Again, our deepest sympathies for your loss,” Matt said.

Matt finished up by making calls to all of the people Chloe had asked him to call, including the Dean’s office and the Community Theater.

“Do you know for sure Ms. Rogers won’t be doing the show?” the theater manager asked.

“Not for sure. Right now, she’s out of sorts, doesn’t know what she can or can’t do. I think she’ll have it figured out in a couple days.”

“Please let her know we’re sorry for her loss. She’s extremely talented. We’ll miss her if she can’t perform.”

“I’ll tell her.”

Some of the other people Chloe had asked to be notified began showing up, friends of either Chloe or Monica or both. A couple he recognized included Erin, the first person he’d dated after Elaine.

When Matt introduced Dianne, she said, “No wonder I never had a chance with you.”

“It wasn’t you, I swear, you seemed like a pretty nice person from what I can remember. My head just wasn’t on straight. I’m afraid I was so out of it I don’t actually recall much of our conversations.”

“That’s because there wasn’t much conversation to recall. No worries, Chloe warned me, said you might not be ready yet. Hi, Dianne, my name is Erin.”

“Matt didn’t say much about the others he dated, but I think he said you’re in the theater with Chloe?”

“I’m surprised he remembered that much,” Erin laughed. “Matt was pretty much a lump of seaweed. I’m glad someone managed to yank him out of the doldrums. Yes, I work in costume design and set decoration. I was scheduled to be one of the bridesmaids for Chloe’s and Monica’s wedding.”

“Were they going to have best man,” Dianne asked, “or twice the bridesmaids?”

“Chloe hadn’t said anything yet, but she was going to have Matt be best man. It’s not like he needed to be fitted for a dress, so she was keeping it secret for a short while longer.”

“Erin, let me introduce you to the rest of my family,” Matt said, suddenly sad all over again, knowing again how huge Chloe’s loss was. He took her hand and walked over to his family. “This is my mother, Georgina, her partner, Ethel, and my sisters, Elaine and Beth. Everyone, this is Erin, Chloe’s friend and one of the bridesmaids scheduled for her wedding.”

They drew her in and made her feel welcome. Around five, Chloe came out of her room accompanied by her parents. She’d made an attempt to clean up, but her eyes were puffy and red from crying. She tearfully hugged and greeted everyone who’d come before having food thrust on her by Georgina as she sat down on the couch, too exhausted to continue standing.

“I can’t believe Monica is now nothing more than another anti-gay statistic,” Chloe said, tearing up again.

“Didn’t you say that statistics don’t change people’s minds, Chloe?” Dianne asked. “You told Monica you have to make it personal. So it seems to me that you need to make what happened to Monica personal, so everyone who didn’t know her, knows her; who she was, what she was, and what she stood for. Everyone who died today. It has to be personal.”

“Dianne is right, Chloe. Everyone should bleed the way you’re bleeding now. Otherwise, things will never change,” Matt said.

Chloe suddenly stopped crying and instead started thinking. Where her mind was going, no one knew.

“They’ve posted video online from the rally this morning,” Beth said. “It’s hitting the major news networks. It’s horrible.”

“I want to see,” Chloe said.

“I don’t think you should, Chloe. It’s dreadful and appalling. It will make you sick,” Beth said.

“No. I need to see it. I need to see what happened to my Monica, what they did to her. Give me your phone.”

Beth reluctantly handed Chloe her phone. Dianne and Matt held her as she watched the large truck careen through the huge crowd, people scrambling to get out of the way. They gasped with her as the man jumped out of the truck after crashing it into the stage and opened fire with a handgun, changing clips twice, before he was killed himself. Chloe watched it twice, choking back sobs, before handing the phone back.

“People will bleed,” she said, “but I’m going to need the help of everyone here and then some.”

“What do you need?” Matt asked.

“We’ll need the names of everyone killed or injured today and everything else we can find out about them, including why they were there, even if we need to speak to their families or friends.”

“It will probably take a day or two before they release the names of everyone because of family notifications,” Matt said, “but we’ll do all we can.”

“Great. The world is going to know their names. Monica will not be forgotten.”

******

Later that evening, Matt’s and Chloe’s families left to spend the night in a motel paid for by Ethel. The plan was for them to return the following day. After everyone left, Chloe retired to her bedroom exhausted and grief stricken. Matt and Dianne straightened up the apartment and then went to bed shortly thereafter, making love in order to get something good from an otherwise wretched day. Just before they were about to go to sleep, Chloe knocked on their door.

“What is it?” Matt asked.

“It’s Chloe. Can I spend the night with you? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course. Give us a minute to put something on.”

“Don’t bother. I’ve seen both of you naked and I’m not wearing anything either. I just need some skin on skin contact.”

“Then give us a minute to talk about this.”

“Okay.”

“Dianne, what do you think?” Matt whispered.

“I can understand the impulse,” Dianne replied. “It’s part of the reason we just had sex. To feel alive. I don’t particularly care if that’s all she wants.”

“It’s going to put a damper on a morning repeat.”

“I’d give that up to help Chloe.”

“Where does she sleep? Next to you, next to me?”

“Right in between us, the way we did before.”

“Let’s leave the light off anyway.”

“If she can make it here without stumbling in the dark.”

Matt raised his voice. “Come on in Chloe. Do you need a light?”

“No.”

Chloe opened the door, silhouetted briefly in the moonlight coming in from the windows, before the room went black. Dianne felt her presence on her side of the bed. She drew down the covers on her side.

“Get in between us, Chloe, so we can both hug you,” Dianne whispered.

“Thanks for letting me join you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Chloe climbed in between them and curled up. Enveloping Chloe in their arms, they cuddled around her and pulled the sheets up to cover them all. Chloe sobbed softly until the comfort of her friends allowed her to fall into a fitful sleep.

******

Matt woke up with morning wood, which was comfortably ensconced between Chloe’s butt cheeks, although he almost forgot they were hers and not Dianne’s. Fortunately, he stopped himself before his dick took advantage of its current position without thinking. He got up to relieve himself. When he came back to bed, there was enough morning light coming through the drapes to see Chloe curled around Dianne. Looking at the two naked women sleeping there caused his cock to stir, so he put on underwear before climbing into bed again. It didn’t keep his erection from redeveloping, but at least it kept a layer of cloth between him and Chloe. He curled around her again.

“Men,” Chloe whispered, “can’t live with them because they just can’t keep their erections from poking you in the backside in the morning.”

“Very true. You nearly got a shocking surprise this morning when I woke up erect and almost forgot it was your backside my dick was pressed up against. It’s the reason I put on underwear.”

“I appreciate your discretion. I’m sure Dianne does too.”

“What’s with all the racket?” Dianne asked, sleepily.

“Matt waking up with his usual morning wood is what’s causing the racket.”

“Didn’t he just get up to pee? That usually takes care of it.”

“There’s enough light in the room so that I could see you cuddled together, which had the opposite effect of peeing.”

“Mmmm. Too bad we have a guest. What is it about men watching women?” Dianne asked. She turned around to face Chloe.

“Maybe they wish they were lesbians too,” Chloe said.

Dianne chuckled. She kissed Chloe softly on the lips. “I’d almost say we should give him a show, but I have no experience with women whatsoever. I’m afraid I wouldn’t do much for you.”

“It’s too soon anyway, but I thank you for the gesture. I can’t sleep anymore so I’ll leave you two to it.”

Chloe got up, did a 360 degree twirl in the doorway, before closing the door and heading back to her room.

“You were joking, right?”

Dianne smiled mysteriously. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She got up to use the bathroom. “We should get up too. People will be arriving soon.”

“What about this?” Matt pointed to his erection.

“You can’t tell me you don’t have lots of experience taking care of that on your own.” She disappeared into the bathroom.

“Shit!” Matt exclaimed. He almost got up but thought better of it and pulled his underwear down instead.

“I’m using my left hand,” he shouted.

“Use any hand you want, honey,” Dianne called back. “It’s been long enough you probably need the practice.”

Matt laughed. “Fuck.” He started stroking.

******

People started showing up at eight. Beth, Matt, Chloe, Elaine, and Dianne all decided to skip classes. Additionally, Georgina and Elaine both took another day off from work. Everyone quickly started to work on Chloe’s plan.

Chloe was on fire. She called up the Community Theater and told them her play was changing. When she told them what she wanted to do, they said they didn’t think they could afford to do what she wanted.

“It would give up a lot of the paying seats,” the manager said.

“I’ll give up my pay. This is very important to me. My fiancée was killed.”

“I understand. I’m perfectly willing to give up ten seats or even fifteen, but you know how many were killed and wounded. Half of the theater would be non-paying seats. Plus, how many people will come to a tribute show for people they don’t even know. We barely get by as it is.”

“It costs practically nothing to put on. You need a light guy, a ticket guy, someone in concessions, and a few ushers, and that’s it.”

“Plus electricity, air conditioning, and parking. You’ve been profitable for us, Chloe, filling what’s essentially been dead space for us, but it would be cheaper to leave the theater empty for those two weeks. We run on a shoestring budget. You know how it is.”

“Fuck!” Chloe said when she hung up the phone.

“Didn’t go well?” Ethel asked.

“It went fucking nowhere.”

“Call him back,” Ethel said.

“He was pretty adamant,” Chloe said. “I don’t think he’s changing his mind.

“You don’t know how persuasive I am. Give me the phone after you make the call.”

Chloe dialed the number and handed the phone to Ethel.

“Hello, my name is Ethel Thornhill and I’d like to speak to the manager please. I’ll hold.”

She waited for fifteen seconds before speaking again.

“Yes, I’d like you to put on Chloe Hamilton’s play and don’t bother telling me you can’t afford it. I shall pay full price for every seat that isn’t filled by a paying customer for the entire two week run. There are only two occasions which may conflict with the scheduled performances, Chloe’s fiancée’s funeral and the memorial in Madison for all the slain. If any scheduling conflict arises regarding those events, you may shutter the theater on those two nights.” She waited a few more seconds. “Of course I have the money. Would you like me to prove it by buying up the mortgage on your loan note at the bank and foreclosing?” Another few seconds. “Thank you. You’ve made a wise decision.”

Ethel handed the phone back to Chloe. “Rich people don’t like to fuck around.” Everyone laughed.

“Remind me to never piss you off, honey,” Georgina said. She was making breakfast for everyone with the help of her two daughters.

“Consider yourself reminded,” responded Ethel.

Chloe wrapped her arms around Ethel and gave her a huge hug. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Thank me by putting on a bang up show.”

Everyone ate a quick breakfast and then gathered together to scour the different media outlets who had just begun to release victim information. Once a comprehensive list of victims was established, each person took several names and delved deep into the victims lives hunting for enough family information to make an effort to contact them.

“Don’t forget to check for FaceBook and Instagram accounts,” Beth said. “You can find a lot of stuff on there. Dianne taught me that. Seems more than friends care what you put on there.”

Soon, ten people were cobbling together as much information as they could gather, including Erin and another close friend of Chloe’s, Barbara.

******

Later in the day, Ethel returned to Madison with Georgina, Beth, Elaine, Chloe and Chloe’s parents to handle a multitude of tasks. They had scheduled meetings with injured survivors in several hospitals who had agreed to meet with them. They had also arranged to meet up with others who’d been at the rally including some of the organizers Monica had worked with, to gather more names. Additionally, they had boxed up a lot of Monica’s things. Some of it was going to her parents and a few things Chloe would be keeping, mainly photos and some personal items. They still didn’t know if Monica would have an open or closed casket so they intended to provide something she could be buried in other than what she’d died in, which was a bloody mess.

Ethel had her own agenda. She went home and met with Monica’s parents, who were staying at her guest house.

“Hello, I’m Ethel Thornhill. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about the loss of your daughter. I met her five or six times and I found her to be intelligent, warm, and loving. In addition, she was doing a marvelous job helping the world understand the plight of lesbians, gays, and transgender people. I’m about ready to come out as a lesbian myself and your daughter helped prepare me for that, for which I’ll be forever grateful. Have you been told when they’ll release Monica’s body?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Will you be having the funeral in Milwaukee?”

“Yes. We have a family plot there. I don’t know how to thank you for all of this.”

“I don’t know how to thank you for bringing your daughter into this world, so I suppose we’re both at a loss for words. I understand they’re planning a memorial service at Camp Randall stadium for the people who died. Do you know if you can be here for that? I can tell you Chloe is planning something pretty special for the Memorial. She and some friends want to make it memorable.”

“I suppose it depends on when they hold it. We’ll probably hold services on Saturday.”

“I believe it’s going to be Monday, but I’ll be making some calls to confirm. If you come, you’re welcome to stay here again. Chloe and her family will be staying up at the main house. You can meet everyone who loved Monica. She’s had a big impact on a lot of lives.”

“Thank you, Ethel,” Mrs. Franklin said.

“Here’s a card for my business manager. Call him if you need anything at all from me. He can arrange transportation if you don’t feel up to driving, or anything else. I want to help all I can. Chloe is in town making arrangements. She’s extremely busy at the moment, but would like to see you tonight around nine. She wants to tell you what she has planned to pay homage to Monica.”

“We’d love to see her.”

Ethel hugged both of them and left.

Next, Ethel made contact with the Governor, the President of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Board of Regents, plus a couple of the larger TV stations to make plans. Money talks and not only did Ethel have it, her brother had even more. People were going to listen.

Chloe, spent the day interviewing people and organizing all the stories they were acquiring, crafting them into something the world would listen to. She received regular updates from everyone else in the form of e-mails, which she categorized by victim. By nine, Chloe was exhausted, having spent most of the day running around constantly.

Despite her exhaustion, she still insisted on going to see Monica’s parents before she would go to bed. She knocked on the door of the guest house and was greeted by Cassie Franklin. Chloe stepped into her arms, who was an older version of Monica, and both women began crying inconsolably. Cassandra was overcome by seeing her daughter’s loved one. Paul joined them shortly, wrapping his arms around both of them, before gently steering them both into the house.

“Why won’t the bigots and haters leave us alone?” Chloe cried. “We’re not killing anyone. We’re not harming anyone. We just want to love the ones we want to love in peace. Monica was one of the best and kindest people I knew. She never hurt anyone. She didn’t even argue nastily. She tried to use love and acceptance to make people change their minds. She didn’t even care if people ultimately didn’t understand. She only wanting to be able to live a life of peace, without fear. She knew who she was even before I did. It’s not fair. Why can’t we love like you do?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Cassie said. “I’ve long given up trying to figure some things out.”

“I’m tired of it. So fucking tired. Every day seems like a struggle. Monica kept me sane. She kept me going. Being with her was like a bolt of lightening energizing me to get up and face the world every day. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.”

“We feel the same way,” Paul said. “She made every day brighter. No parent should have to outlive their child. Not like this. Never like this.”

“We’ve confirmed they’re holding a memorial for all the victims in Madison on Monday and we’re planning on a lot of things to make it unforgettable. I want everyone to remember Monica’s name and how she died, but I’m going to need your help to do it.”

“What do you need us to do?”

Chloe told them. They started crying again, but agreed with everything she needed them to do.

******

Elaine knocked on Chloe’s door at 10:30.

“Who is it?” Chloe asked.

“Elaine. Can I come in?”

“Sure.”

Elaine came in wearing nothing more than an extended length t-shirt.

“Is there anything in particular you need, Elaine?”

“Remember a long time ago, you helped Matt and I with some pretty bad things. You held your hand up like this.” Elaine put the back of her hand on her forehead, elbow high. “You said, ‘Remember this if I’m ever forlorn and distraught because my girlfriend has broken up with me and I need spiritual and physical solace.’ Do you remember?”

“Yeah, when you found out Matt was your brother.”

“I know your girlfriend didn’t break up with you, but she’s gone and you might need solace. I’m willing to do whatever you need to provide it as long as you don’t mind an old whore in your bed.”

“Quit running yourself down, Elaine. I hate that. Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I’m ready for sex yet.”

“It doesn’t have to be sex. It can be a simple back rub or some cuddling, whatever you need.”

“Are you wearing anything beneath that shirt?”

“Nothing.”

“Take it off.”

Elaine slipped it off. She’d quit trimming herself when she quit having sex, twenty months ago, so her pubic bush was quite hairy.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen many. Come to bed.”

She pulled back the sheets so Elaine could slip into bed with her. “I don’t want anything particularly sexual, but I wouldn’t mind sleeping next to a naked body. In fact, I slept in between Matt and Dianne last night. They had a Chloe sandwich. It was pretty nice except for the erection Matt woke up with.”

“He didn’t try doing anything with it, did he?”

“No. In fact Dianne didn’t even do anything about it after I left the room. He had to stroke one off. It was nice of them to make room for me. I wasn’t going to get to sleep if they hadn’t.”

“Are you sure this is all you need?” Elaine asked.

“I’m sure. Well, maybe a little kiss would be nice, but nothing more because I am terribly tired right now.”

Elaine gave her a long, soft, gentle kiss. Chloe sighed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

******

Elaine woke up due to Chloe’s soft sobs. They’d become disconnected during the night and Elaine was facing away from her. She turned over and gathered Chloe in her arms once more.

“Every time I think it’s getting even the teensiest bit better, I’m overcome with a loss so deep and profound that I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Chloe said.

“I know. It’s hard. Leaving my home when I was eighteen was damn hard. I was leaving everything I loved except my bastard step-father. My whole world was taken away and what replaced it was even worse. Somehow, you survive even though you don’t want to, and eventually the pain eases. Someday, you find someone else to love.”

“You haven’t.”

“I’m not ready yet, any more than you are. If I didn’t think I’d find someone sometime, I’d give up. I’m not giving up yet and neither should you.”

They were holding each other loosely, while Elaine stroked Chloe’s hair. Chloe lifted her face for a kiss and Elaine gave it to her. One kiss led to another, then another, each one becoming more impassioned than the last. They clasped each other more tightly, breasts coming together, and nipples peaking. Elaine slid her hand between Chloe’s legs, letting her soft fingers skim through her furrow, causing a quick gasp to escape Chloe’s lips. Sensuous slow kisses became harder and more demanding. When Elaine bent to take a peaked nipple in her warm and wet mouth, Chloe whimpered. She shivered and gasped when she felt Elaine’s mouth continue its journey to its ultimate destination, the moistness between her legs.

Light kisses, tiny nips of teeth, and a swirling agile tongue searching her hidden folds and secret places sent Chloe over the edge. Her back bowed as she climaxed, holding Elaine’s head tightly against her. Her entire body quivered as three more just like it rolled over her, before Elaine’s head retraced her journey and they were kissing again, Chloe tasting herself on Elaine’s lips.

“For a non-lesbian, you do that pretty well,” Chloe whispered.

“I was a professional,” Elaine said, kissing her again.

“You don’t even like girls.”

“But I love you and it was something you needed. What are friends for if not to make their friends feel better.”

“It did. Thank you.”

“Go back to sleep now, Chloe. You have a lot more work to do in the next few days.”

Chloe snuggled back into Elaine’s arms, enjoying the feeling of her breath warm against her neck and an arm around her cupping her breast. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

******

By the time Chloe awoke, Elaine had already gotten up and disappeared. She found Monica’s parents having breakfast with the Hamiltons, Ethel and the Sanders. She greeted everyone with a hug, reserving a special one for Elaine.

Ethel told Chloe that plans were coming along and she could go back to La Crosse with her parents. “We’ll have everything set up here. Don’t worry about that.”

“Matt already texted me this morning that a bunch of the football players will be taking part. I can’t believe so many are willing to pretend they’re gay. The jocks don’t usually do things like this. It’s not masculine enough. Erin said a lot of the theater people are signing up too. We’ll need to get them to Madison for the memorial.”

“Wisconsin – La Crosse is providing busses for any La Crosse students who sign up to go, as many as they need,” Ethel said. “Just make sure all your participants are signed up. I’ve arranged a flight to get everyone to Milwaukee for Monica’s services on Saturday and then back here. You’ve got a meeting with the Camp Randall people on Sunday afternoon to give them the photos, videos, and everything else you need for the memorial on Monday. They’ll be putting everything you give them up on the Jumbotron in accordance with the script you need them to follow.”

“Got it. Thank you, Ethel. Are you prepared for your parts too?”

“Ready, willing, and able,” Ethel and Georgina said. “We’ll be the leads for that part.” Ethel added, “I’m actually looking forward to it. I’ve been on the sidelines long enough.”

“We’ll also be there opening night of your play,” Georgina said. “Get that part started again.”

Chloe hugged them again, then started crying some more. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

“It means a lot to all of us, Chloe,” Georgina said. “We’re taking a big step.”

“Still, you’re the best friends, ever. There’s no way I could pull this off without you; all of you. You’ve all been there here for me when I needed you and I won’t forget it. I know all of this would have meant a lot to Monica too. We thought alike in so many ways. It’s why I’m going to miss her so much.”

“Nor will we,” Paul said. “I wish we’d gotten to know you before all this happened, but I’m glad Monica had so many good and kind people in her life.”