The Beach House

I'd like to thank kenjisato, again, for great editing. If you find any mistakes, it's probably something I did after editing.

Active sexual activity only involves characters over the age of eighteen. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and my bank account.

The Beach House

Widowed father of twins finds love again.

It was 1991, and I held my twin daughters' hands as we walked into our beach house, the first time since we lost Shiloh Lynnanne Grayson, my wife. She had then been gone two years, having died of an aggressive cancer just four months after being diagnosed. The doctors had told me it was from exposure to carcinogens that were present at her workplace. I had lawyers working on lawsuits against her employer; the building owner; the former occupants of the building; and anybody my lawyers could put a name on a legal brief. WHY? Because I had two almost twelve-year-old twin daughters, Faith Lynn and Grace Ann, who had not had a mother for two years, and I had not had a wife for two years! It would still be some time before we got any money.

Sorry, I do get mad at times. My name is Robert John Grayson, Bob.

Our love

Shiloh and I had met in college, at a weekly, old-movie festival held in the student union; it was horror movie night and she and her girlfriend had sat down next to me. The movie was 'Psycho', she and her friend were chit-chatting like all the other students were, since this was a social event where a movie just happened to be showing. Shiloh was a dazzler; she had blonde hair, bright blue eyes, curves where they belong, and nice B-cup breasts (my kryptonite).

Shiloh had never seen 'Psycho', so when the stabbing scene came on, Shiloh jumped into my lap, and buried her head into my neck— she was actually shaking. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her and held her 'til she stopped shaking.

She was very red-faced when I let go of her, saying, "I'm sorry."

I said, "I'm not sorry. Would you like to go for a bite to eat after the movie?"

Shiloh's friend whispered, "Say yes."

My roommate who was sitting on the other side of me just said, "You, son of a bitch, you just had a hot girl fall in your lap, and now you are going out with her."

Going out with her, indeed. This was the start of a forever-soulmate connection, or so we thought.

Mr. Bob Grayson and Mrs. Shiloh Grayson

We finished college, got married, and both of us got wonderful jobs. I was working for an accounting firm with my Bachelor of Arts in Accounting. I was heavily recruited and put into a managerial position because of employees having left the company; retirements, terminations, just quitting, and such.

Shiloh used her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration to become a Human Resources Manager, her workspace was in a remodeled manufacturing facility— it was what was left behind that caused Shiloh's cancer.

We both received a contract bonus for signing, and with it, we bought a beach house just before we became pregnant, a year into our marriage.

We were a typical newlywed couple, we made love frequently. You'd think we were on a yearlong honeymoon. Within months, we knew each other's joys and wants when it came to our lovemaking.

As for her pregnancy, since she had a basically a 'sit and work' job, she worked until almost her due date.

We had many memories of when the girls were little at the beach house— we had many: sandcastles and bonfires; caught little crabs and collected seashells; watched the sunsets; we tried to fish; played in the surf, trying to surf; and getting a tan. Shiloh would wear her bikini with pride. Even after the girls came, her body was still beautiful, you would never believe she had carried twins. The beach house became our refuge from the everyday world— the hustle and bustle of our lives; no bosses; no underlings; and once the girls were asleep, we enjoyed our love life.

The girls had a seashell collection to take to show-and-tell. Their "What I did on my summer vacation" essays were always about the beach house and the boardwalk along the town beach. The arcade, the carousel, and the ice cream parlor, there was always something to write about.

Before the girls were born, Shiloh would sunbathe topless on our deck since we had a solid half wall around it. Needless to say, after her sunbathing, we always had a great session of lovemaking. We kidded each other that one wild night after Shiloh's sunbathing, we conceived the twins.

Shiloh's pregnancy was uneventful, I would take off work early and pick up Shiloh almost everyday. When the time came, I was in the delivery room and cut two umbilical cords; after the nurses cleaned up the girls, I helped guide our babies to a breast each. When the girls were finished nursing, they were given to me to rock— they had a special rocker just for twins. The nurses had me take off my shirt; they said it was called skin-on-skin contact. With their little bodies, they snuggled up to me; it was the first of many snuggles we would share, especially after we lost Shiloh. Even at ten years old, the girls would pull my shirt up so they could snuggle up to me, skin-on-skin. The night when we lost Shiloh, we spent the whole night snuggling and crying.

When my girls were babies and toddlers, I took my Faith and Grace to work with me every day, and dropped them off at the company's daycare. I ate lunch with the girls and Shiloh would fix dinner with the girls' help (at an early age the girls' help was just giggling). By the time we lost Shiloh, the girls could cook full meals. Shiloh's workday finished an hour earlier than mine, so she would pick up our girls early. As the girls got older in elementary school, they would take the school bus to my company's daycare.

I had Faith and Grace checked for any signs of Shiloh's illness— they always tested negative.

My girls were not just sisters, but best friends, too.

Shiloh and I had many talks about what was to come after she was diagnosed; we talked about college for the girls. What her dreams were for Faith and Grace.

Before Shiloh left my world, she made me promise to find love again, to find a woman who Faith and Grace could look up to as a mother and a strong woman.

When Shiloh passed, I had to be the Big Strong Daddy for my girls, and I aced it! For me, many times at night, my pillow would catch my tears. The girls were just past ten years of age, when I took them to see a counselor; after a year, they were lessening their time needed with her. For me, after two years, I still saw the counselor once a week and sometimes twice. Going back to the beach house was our counselor's idea.

My girls, one on each side, walked with me through the beach house and on the grounds. I had a company that had cleaned the house and had kept up the grounds for the last two-plus years. We had all seen the counselor before leaving, and her advice was to remember the good times; she had us make a list of happy times and told us to read it aloud whenever we felt down. Believe it or not, it brought me out of a funk a number of times.

********

I had built up a big reserve of vacation days. So, I was taking four weeks' vacation. Plus, I was able to get two more weeks, by working remotely for a couple of days a week from the beach house.

My twelve-year-old girls had 'dad approved' two-piece bathing suits. When we had gone to the sporting goods store, I said, "No!" to about five or six bathing suits before I said, "Okay," to the eventual two I bought for each of my girls.

I was just hitting my middle thirties.

We had sun for the first six days. During those six days, my girls met a number of kids their age, a couple of boys needed me to let them know that my girls were (and are) my pride and joy (if you know what I mean.) I did not see the horny little bastards after that!

On the seventh day, it rained. Faith and Grace had met a pair of cousins; all the same age, with birthdays just days apart. I had four pre-teen girls laughing and giggling in my living room. The TV was showing some old movies. Being a good host, I served soda and made sandwiches for the girls. The cousins were Olivia and Amelia. Olivia's parents owned a beach house about two lots to the east of ours, and Amelia and her single mother were visiting Olivia's parents. With Olivia and Amelia, the family resemblance was breathtaking.

Sometimes, the rain brings in some cooler weather, so I started a fire in the fireplace. When I had four smiling pre-teens all sitting near the fireplace, there was a knock on the door. Faith jumped up and answered the door. Faith returned to the living room followed by Amelia's mother, Amanda.

To tell the truth, I was speechless.

Faith introduced me, with a wink, "This is the world's greatest single dad, Robert John Grayson."

Then Amelia spoke up and said, "This is my fantastic single mom, Amanda Reese Grant!" Again, with a wink.

All four girls started to giggle.

Amanda was a beauty— blonde hair, aquamarine blue eyes, curves where God wanted them, and what looked like B-cup breasts (again my kryptonite). She also looked a little like Shiloh, just a little taller. I invited her to sit and warm up by the fire. The girls all jumped up and ran into the twins' bedroom.

I asked Amanda, "Would you like some soda or wine?"

Amanda replied, "Sure, wine, it is vacation."

I asked, "So what brought you to my humble abode?"

"Olivia's parents are out tonight for an 'adult date' (she used air quotes). I do it all the time for them, if I ever get a boyfriend they will do it for me. I was bored and I needed to check you... er... I mean check on them."

From the twins' bedroom, I could hear— Bryan Adams, Paula Abdul, Amy Grant, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Wilson Phillips, Gloria Estefan, Rod Stewart, Prince and the occasional country song (I could name a few more)— playing from their room. I had one rule they had to give me the lyrics of any song they wanted to listen to or record. I knew it was a bit over the top, BUT I WAS THE DAD! And my rules had kept them safe and alive all their lives, so why would I stop? Hey, a dad's got to do what a dad's got to do!

Amanda and I started to chat about our lives. She had dated the wrong type of guy her senior year in high school and Amelia was the result. He had disappeared, never to be seen again; well, at least for the last few years. She had finished high school and started college while being a single parent.

I told her of how Shiloh and I met and fell in love and how I had lost her.

Amanda's eyes were tearing up, she said, "That is the most beautiful love story I have ever heard."

"Well, maybe the girls would like a sleepover and give you a break."

"I can't do that, but if we all did a sleepover, I could do that."

"Well, I do have the room, and this couch does pull out."

Amanda, with an impish smile, said, "I'll run back to the house and grab PJs and clothes for Olivia, Amelia, and me. I'll leave a note for Betty."

Amanda left, and returned about twenty minutes later. It was at that time the girls decided to bless us with their company.

Olivia and Amelia asked, "What time do we have to go home?"

Amanda said, "Oh, after nine-thirty."

"Mom, it is ten-thirty PM!"

"OH, I mean nine-thirty AM! Bob invited all of us to have a sleepover."

My girls looked at me with a different look in their eyes.

"Faith and Grace, set up your room for the four of you, Amanda and I are claiming this room; we are having a great time just talking.

All four girls ran off, giggling. I think I heard, "Yeah, sure, dad, 'talking'..." from one of my offspring.

Amanda and I started our conversation again. It turned out Amanda had a degree in accounting, but did not have a support system to help her with Amelia so she had stayed with her company, afraid she would lose too much money, starting with a new company. I filed that information away; I knew I might be able to use it in the future.

Before I could say Jack Robinson, all the women were dressed for bed the girls had on granny nightgowns that went to their ankles. Amanda's nightgown was modestly shorter, and she wore a robe. After Shiloh's death, I had started wearing PJs. My girls did not need a dad underdressed walking around.

The girls disappeared into the bedroom. I pulled out the couch, it made a queen-size bed. I placed a couple logs on the fire. I lay down, truthfully it was very platonic, we both were on opposite edges of the bed and just hanging on. We talked until two in the morning and fell asleep almost at the same time.

In the morning, the girls were standing at the foot of the sofa-bed, with arms folded and fake frowns. During the night, Amanda and I had rolled into each other, and Amanda's head was buried into my neck, like Shiloh had done so many years before. We did not realize that we were so entangled until Grace said, "Oh, that is how dad starts all his romances." She had heard Shiloh and my love story a million times.

Both Amanda and I looked at each other, and jumped apart to a chorus of giggles.

***

One thing we found out during our late-night talk was that we lived close to each other, we were mere minutes from each other. All four of the girls would be attending the same high school.

Us

Away from inquiring ears, Amanda and I talked and decided it would be nice to try dating. It became no secret. The second week of the vacation, Olivia's mom, Betty, did give Amanda and me some adult time. No, we didn't consummate our romance... just yet.

Amanda's vacation was only two weeks. Amanda left Amelia with Betty, and I gave Amelia a ride home when vacation time was over.

A Job!

Since Amanda had mentioned that she wouldn't change jobs because she was afraid of losing money, I checked with my HR department to see if we had any openings (I knew we did, but I wanted it to sound like it was Helen's idea, the head of HR, about hiring the woman who I was beginning to fall for.)

We dated, and on our second date after returning from vacation, I handed Amanda a job application and job description (which included the pay rates) for my company.

Amanda looked at it. "Is this a real job offer?!"

"Yes, it is, and we will not be in the same managerial team so... we can keep dating!"

Amanda said, "I don't want to just date... I want to see if we can become boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Well, I was kind of leading up to that, Mandy."

"You called me Mandy! No one has ever called me Mandy. Ever since I first heard the song 'Mandy', I have wanted someone to call me Mandy!"

Just like that, I had a lovely, blonde-haired, aquamarine blue-eyed, curvaceous, gorgeous woman's lips on my lips! And a girlfriend!

We dated regularly and had many romantic nights, while Olivia's parents, Betty and Joe, gave us time for our adult relationship.

The first time was a night out of a storybook. I made reservations for a very romantic dinner; after which, we moved on to a small club with a small house band. The band played mostly slow, romantic songs. After we left the club, we drove to a lookout at the local mountain park. The valley looked like a jewelry box. I pointed out the amethysts, emeralds, opals, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and pearls in the huge jewelry box we gazed upon.

We returned to my house and turned on the streaming channel in my bedroom. The movie was 'Titanic' and as Jack and Rose fulfilled each other's desires, Amanda's and my desires reached their peaks. When Rose dropped the 'Heart of the Sea' necklace into the water, we were deep into lovemaking, the caresses we shared were out of this world. We took our time; this was the first time in years that either one of us had been intimate with anyone. As we embraced and explored our bodies, I kissed Amanda on her neck, and I moved down her body; kissing her breasts was a joy. As I touched her areola and nipples, Amanda shuddered and moaned. I moved my hand to her mons and played with her slit and clit. She was so wet.

Amanda grasped my cock, and gasped, "Oh my God, Bob! You are fantastic."

I got myself between her legs, and slowly entered her.

As my glans slipped between her pussy lips, Amanda gasped, "Slowly, it has been a long time."

I felt her pussy stretch to accommodate my pussy-starved cock. After a few strokes, I was fully in. Her pussy grasped my cock like a glove. Amanda wrapped her legs around my hips, and with my hands on her ass, I pulled her closer and we became one. I was balls deep in my wonderful girlfriend; she was singing my praises. The more she moaned, the harder I pumped.

Amanda whispered, "Cum in me, I am on the pill."

When the time came, I flooded Amanda's pussy with what felt like over two years of cum. That night, we became more than just boyfriend and girlfriend, we became lovers... Our love grew deeper and deeper.

Are we becoming family?

Our daughters got closer and closer; we spent many evenings together as a 'family'. As luck would have it, all four girls ended up in the same freshman homeroom, and with last names starting with 'G', it happened for all four years of high school. Throughout the day, they shared classes; if not all four, then at least two of them together in each class.

My secret conversation.

Little did the girls know, I had visited both the jewelry store and Shiloh's grave. Whereas, it only took me minutes to pick out my purchase at the jewelry store, I spent almost two hours 'talking' to Shiloh at the cemetery.

It was quite a peaceful day, there were blue jays and cardinals flying all around. There was a willow tree near Shiloh's gravestone, which had two distinctive trunks, almost like two trees; the cardinal flock claimed one and the blue jays claimed the other. The two different types of birds seemed to ignore each other. One thing that was odd— there was a nearby gravestone that had two birds etched on it; yes, a blue jay and a cardinal. Below the blue jay and cardinal, etched were the words, "To my love and soulmate, I will see you soon."

The blue jays and cardinals took turns sitting on that gravestone. Both male and female of each genus wanted to tell me something. I sat on the stone bench that I had placed at Shiloh's grave.

I sat for a very long time, trying to phrase my words to Shiloh. I still loved Shiloh, but it had changed; if I wanted to see Shiloh, I just looked at one of my daughters— they were almost doppelgängers of her. I mused that could have been the reason it took me so long to come to terms with Shiloh's death. I discussed that with Shiloh. I was openly tearing up. I talked to Shiloh about the girls and how my job was going, offhand I mentioned about the lawsuits and how the girls would be cared for, for life.

I told her I was doing okay, and that I missed her. I kind of danced around my feelings about Amanda and Amelia. I questioned my own feelings; was I being untrue to Shiloh? Inside of me, I was hearing her sweet voice like she was sitting next to me. Shiloh seemed to dance around something also. There were a few times when there was silence; at times, even the birds were quiet.

Two birds landed on Shiloh's gravestone and looked at me, intently cocking their heads from side to side.

Finally, I asked, "Okay, guys, what do you want to tell me?"

The two birds took turns doing a little nod.

"Oh, I should talk to Shiloh?"

Both birds flew back to the other gravestone, and took turns nodding.

"Shiloh, before you left us, you made me promise to find love again, to find a woman who Faith and Grace could look up to as a mother and a strong woman. I think I have found one."