Epilogue 3 - The Wealth of Wanting Nothing

The Granger house was too big for the two girls who used to count every dollar.

Serena still caught herself staring sometimes — at the grand staircase curving like a ribbon of light, at the tall windows that caught the morning sun, at the way the walls seemed to hum with opulence. She'd grown up in apartments where footsteps upstairs meant sleepless nights. Indira had grown up under rules and watchful eyes, in a home where every little thing had to be justified.

Here, nothing needed explaining.

Joey never talked about where the money came from. He didn't have to. The bills were paid, the pantry was full, the marble floors were spotless, and the closets were lined with clothes they'd only dreamed of owning.

He took care of them — of everyone — with an ease that felt almost divine.

There were enough bedrooms for each of the girls who loved him to have their own, palatial chambers to spend those nights that they weren't the lucky ones in Joey's own room. But Serena and Indira had chosen to share. Their room looked out over the gardens — a space that was all their own, warm with golden lamps, velvet throws, and little pieces of both their lives stitched together.

Indira stood before the mirror, holding up two dresses. One shimmered like moonlight, the other was soft and white, both with necklines that made Serena blush with anticipation.

"Which one?" Indira asked, tilting her head.

Serena lay back against the bed, hair tumbling loose, black slip catching the light. "The white one," she said lazily. "He likes when you look like you don't even know you're glowing, so you'd better put on your game face and pretend you don't know how gorgeous you are."

Indira laughed — the easy, musical laugh Serena adored — and slipped into the dress. It clung like it had been waiting for her. Serena stood and crossed the room, running her hands down Indira's sides, fingertips lingering on silk and skin.

"You're perfect," she murmured.

Indira smiled. "You always say that."

"Because I'm not a liar."

They kissed then, slow and sure, the kind of kiss that had become as natural as breathing. There was no hesitation between them anymore, no guilt, no competition. It was been almost a year since they had discovered that hidden inside their deep and profound love of Joey Granger was a smaller, but still intense love. For each other. Serena still remembered their night together in the tent, touching, kissing, lovemaking, all while waiting nervously for their man to reappear.

Joey, of course, had no qualms with their relationship. Obviously, had he taken issue, Serena and Indira would have broken it off. Nothing could ever stand in the way of their love of him. But Joey was kind and generous. Indira had told Serena that he was the kind of man who wanted his women to support each other, to be on the same side. And of all the women that Serena had come to know from Joey's love life, none of them were more supportive than she and Indira were of each other.

Their kissing intensified, hands touching, their bodies moving instinctively toward the bed. Serena could feel the heat growing in her stomach, moving down toward her groin. It was always that way with Indira. It wasn't just that she was the sexiest woman Serena had ever met, she also knew exactly how to get Serena going. Soon they'd be naked on the mattress rolling about, screaming each other's names, just as they'd done so many nights before. Her hands found the zipper to the dress Indira had just put on and began to pull it down.

"Woah," Indira said, stepping out of their kiss, panting, taking obvious pain to stop herself. "Tonight's our night with Joey. Maybe we should save our energy."

Closing her eyes and steadying her breathing, Serena agreed. It would do them no good if they got ready for Joey only to give him two half-spent women in sexy dresses. No, he deserved them fresh.

In her mind's eye she pictured her man, Joey Granger. Short, skinny, messy hair, concave chest. He was every bit the incredibly attractive man he was when she first met him in the hotel lobby. The memory was still as clear as if it had been yesterday, handing her number to Donna at the hotel door, worrying that despite Serena knowing how attractive she could be, he was already a kept man. That was before she knew how deep and how far Joey's love could reach. He had a big heart, a big love, that had room for all of them.

Back into their routine, Serena brushed Indira's hair, the rhythm steady and tender. Indira dabbed gloss on Serena's lips, smiling at the precision. They laughed over perfume, shared jewelry, finished each other's sentences. They didn't think of it as indulgent anymore. It was simply how life was in the house.

When they finally stepped back, Serena in a fitted black satin dress, Indira in white, they looked like reflections of one another — opposites in colour but perfectly matched in everything that mattered.

"He'll be home soon," Serena said softly.

Indira nodded. "Let's not keep him waiting."

They left their room hand in hand, barely noticing the gleam of wealth and luxury that surrounded them. The house wasn't what mattered. They had Joey, they had each other. Had they ended up living in a hovel, as long as they were together it would have still been worth it.