Happy Birthday?

The next morning, Robert awakens to a press of bodies. Moving carefully, he manages to slip out of bed without waking anyone, carefully easing the door open before stepping out into the hallway. Turning, he walks towards the stairs, intending to grab a small snack, not wanting to ruin his appetite for the breakfast that he is sure that Jane has already had Lucia and Mei planning. As he is passing the formal sitting area, a cough stops him. Turning, he sees Megan sitting on the couch, half covered by a blanket.

“Have you been there all night?” Robert asks incredulously.

Megan nods, an angry, but almost sick expression on her face. “Did they… Did Layne…?” She begins to ask, before stopping for a moment to take a deep breath.

“I was going to grab a snack.” Robert says, nodding towards the stairs. “I don’t think they will be awake for a bit. Why don’t you join me, and we can talk?”

Megan nods, putting the blanket to the side, before following him down the stairs. When they reach the kitchen, Robert opens the fridge, rummaging a bit. “I won’t pretend I fully understand what you are worried about with Layne.” He admits, before emerging with a carton of eggs. “How do you like your eggs?”

“I don’t want food right now.” Megan says, voice shaking a bit. Robert looks up at her, noticing for the first time that her hands are at her sides, clenching and unclenching nervously.

“I think it’s time that you explain exactly what your concerns are.” Robert says, as he digs out his favorite pan, setting it on the stove to heat up. Turning back to look at her, he says. “Before you do, it will hopefully make you happy to know that Layne is fine. I’ve rarely seen someone look as content as she did when she was falling asleep last night.”

“She doesn’t know any better.” Megan hisses. Pointing upwards, she continues, face growing red and chest heaving as she becomes more agitated. “They all want to take advantage of her. I’ve seen the way they look at her. She has no idea what women are capable of.”

Waiting a moment to make sure she is done, Robert turns, cracking a few eggs in the pan, before turning to look back at Megan. “You aren’t worried about me taking advantage of her?” He asks. “I’ve given her much more than a look.”

“That’s different.” Megan says, flushing a bit redder. “You know it is. You are a man, she’s a woman. That’s natural.”

“I see.” Robert says, turning back to poke at the eggs.

After a moment’s silence, Megan continues. “So, you’ll keep them away from her?”

“I was under the impression that Layne was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions.” Robert says. “You did just call her a woman, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but…” Megan begins to say, before Robert cuts her off.

“She’s one year younger than you.” Robert says. “You aren’t her mother. Even if you were, she’s an adult, and is entitled to make her own decisions. You wouldn’t like it if one of the other girls told you what you were and weren’t allowed to do, would you?”

“That’s different.” Megan says, voice rising in anger again. “Layne is special, and she’s naive about other people. She hasn’t seen what I have seen. I told Rick I would keep an eye on her, and I’m going to do that.”

“Why don’t we give him a call?” Robert suggests sarcastically. “You can ask him if he thinks you should be making all of her decisions for her, even decisions she clearly wants to make herself. Not that he has the right to give you that ability.”

“Someone has to watch out for her, and do what’s best for her.” Megan says stubbornly.

“You don’t think I’m doing that?” Robert asks. “And Jane? Do you really think that I would let someone take advantage of any of you?”

Megan clams up, looking down at the floor. Robert sighs, grabbing two plates and flipping the now cooked eggs onto them. Grabbing two of the stools Mei and Lucia keep in the kitchen, Robert set them in front of a prep table, before setting the plates onto it. “Let’s eat.” He says, nodding at one of the stools, before sitting in the other.

When Robert finishes his eggs a few minutes later, he notices Megan is just pushing hers around the plate. “Your concern is that Layne’s ADHD makes it hard for her to say no to things?”

“It’s not just that.” Megan says. “She’d never even left town before you picked her. She doesn’t have enough life experience to make these kinds of decisions.”

“Did you have a suggestion for how she gets that experience?” Robert asks. “Because so far, all I’m hearing from you is that she shouldn’t be allowed to live her life the way she wants.”

“I don’t know.” Megan admits, looking down at her plate again.

“I don’t think this is really about Layne.” Robert says. “What else happened at the sorority?”

“I don’t want to talk about that.” Megan says, pulling her arms tight around herself.

“You don’t have to talk to me about it.” Robert says. “But I’d like you to talk to someone about it. Whatever happened to you is clearly still affecting you. Trust me, your trauma isn’t just going to go away if you ignore it. I can see if we can find a therapist or something similar, if you would prefer not to talk to one of us.”

Megan shakes her head, staring sullenly down at her plate. Choosing to leave it there for the moment, Robert picks up his plate, taking it to the sink and washing it, before putting it on the drying rack, before he begins to empty the dishwasher, mostly as an excuse to stay in the room and keep an eye on Megan.

When Megan brings her plate over a few minutes later, Robert takes it, putting it into the now empty dishwasher, before asking, “How would you like to spend the day with me? We still need more livestock, maybe we could go see what’s available?”

“I think they have plans for you today.” Megan says.

“I’m sure those plans can wait a day.” Robert says. “And I think you could use an excuse to get out of the house.”

*****

“You can’t just run off today.” Jane says in protest when Robert emerges from the basement and explains the new plan. “Your girls have spent most of the week making plans to spend today with you. Think about how you running off with Megan will make them feel…”

“We won’t be gone all day, and I’ll spend tomorrow with the other girls.” Robert explains, before pausing. “I haven’t spent much time with Megan since we moved in. How long has this been an issue?”

“I don’t know.” Jane sighs. “A while. The day you and Amber left for the California trip, I guess. The whole Mei and Layne incident in the van really kicked it off, I think.”

“I did notice a change when we came back.” Robert admits. “Did she ever continue her training with Amber after the trip?”

“Amber tells me she showed up for a few days, but then she stopped.” Jane says. “It was her choice to go, and we didn’t think it was a good idea to try to force it.”

“I’m not saying we should force it.” Robert says. “But I think I’m going to bring it up. Megan needs to create real bonds with the other girls, and I think that was helping, especially with Amber and Emily. Right now she doesn’t seem to feel like she has anyone she can talk to.”

“I’ve got an idea for that.” Jane says. Before Robert can ask, she cuts him off. “Let me check with Lorraine and a few of the other people who knew Megan when she lived here, and then I’ll explain it, if I think it’s a possibility.”

“Hopefully I can make some progress today.” Robert says, before nodding at the door of their makeshift bedroom. “Are the girls still sleeping in there?”

“Lucia and Alexia sent them off to get ready when they realized you were already awake.” Jane says.

“Then I’m going to get dressed, so we can get moving.” Robert says.

“You aren’t even going to stay for breakfast?” Jane asks. “Lucia is going to be upset.”

“I’ll go explain it to her.” Robert says.

After stopping at their bedroom to throw on some jeans and a decent shirt, Robert climbs the stairs, intending to quickly explain to Lucia, and be gone before he could get sidetracked. Those plans didn’t survive first contact with an excited child.

“Happy Birthday!” Isabel squeals as he reaches to the top of the stairs. Running up to him, she pushes a small box into his hands. “I made this for you!”

“Aww, thank you.” Robert says, stopping and taking the present. Kneeling down so that he is at her level, he opens it carefully, revealing a small leather bracelet, with his name embossed, slightly crookedly, into it. “You did a great job!”

“Layne helped me make it.” Isabel says excitedly, holding up her arm to show that she is wearing a similar bracelet. “I made one for me, too.”

“Can you help me put it on?” Robert asks, holding out the box, and his wrist. Isabel grabs it quickly, struggling for a moment with the clasp, before getting it. “Thank you, Isabel.” Robert reaches over, pulling her in for a hug.

“She’s been waiting with that box for like an hour.” Robert hears from down the hallway. Looking up, he spots Kendra smiling at them.

Pulling back from the hug, he looks down at Isabel. “Why don’t you go show Jane your bracelet? I bet she’ll think it’s really neat.”

Isabel squeaks with excitement, heading down the stairs at a rapid clip. “Thank you for keeping an eye on her.” Robert says.

“It was no problem. She’s a good kid.” Kendra says.

Robert nods, continuing to Lucia’s room at the end of the hall. Knocking once, he waits a moment until he hears her voice, too muffled to understand. Popping the door open a bit, he says. “Sorry, I couldn’t make that out. Can I come in?”

“I thought you were Alexia asking to use my shower again.” Lucia says, stepping out of the bathroom. “You don’t have to knock. This is our room, not just my room.”

“I know.” Robert says. “It’s just habit.”

Coming closer, Lucia goes up on her tip toes for a kiss. Robert holds her gently, taking some of her weight without putting too much pressure on her stomach.

“Still feeling a little better in the mornings?” He asks.

“A bit.” Lucia says. “Today is a good day. Which is good, because we have a busy day.”

“About that…” Robert says, watching Lucia’s happy expression falter. “Can any of the plans for today not be pushed back to tomorrow?”

“Why?” Lucia asks, face growing a bit cross.

Robert quickly explains about Megan. “I really don’t want the situation to fester.” He finishes.

“You really are going to waste your first birthday together on Megan?” Lucia asks incredulously. “If you think she’s going to be a problem today, Amber can find something to keep her busy.”

“Lucia, honey.” Robert says, thinking for a moment about how best to explain this. “It’s not that I don’t want to spend the whole day with you and the other girls. But I think Megan is close to being in crisis. If I thought you, or any of the other girls were in a similar situation, I would drop everything and spend the day trying to find a way to improve things. Keeping her busy isn’t going to fix the problem. I need to get her to admit there is a problem, so we can start working on how to solve it. I’m just asking that we push things back one day. We can just pretend that tomorrow is today, and if I don’t make progress with Megan, I’ll let Amber give it another shot.”

Picking up her phone, Lucia types something out. “Will you be gone all day? Or can we still do the dinner we planned?”

“I’ll make sure I’m home for dinner.” Robert promises. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Lucia says. “And happy birthday.”

When Robert leaves the room a few minutes later, he’s still not certain Lucia isn’t upset with him. As he walks down the hallway, he runs into Taylor.

“I hear we are going to look at goats?” Taylor asks.

“Megan and I were going to look at some livestock.” Robert says cautiously.

“That’s what she said.” Taylor says. “I just need to change and grab a few things, and I’ll be ready.”

“Taylor, I really need time with Megan. Alone.” Robert says. “This trip isn’t really about animals, it’s about getting time to figure out what is going on with her.”

“I’ll bring my headphones.” Taylor says. “It would be really stupid to buy animals without having a vet look at them, when you literally own the local vet.”

Robert sighs. “Fine. But bring the headphones, and try to stay out of the conversation, as much as you can.”

*****

“Where to first?” Robert asks when they climb into the car. “And what are we looking for? Taylor mentioned goats?”

“We only really kept horses.” Megan says, a note of uncertainty entering her voice. “I think goats will be easier than cows, so I thought we could start there.”

“I can’t provide much input there either.” Robert admits. “There were a few cows on the farm I was on for a few years as a kid, but it was mostly horses. They didn’t have any goats. Taylor, any thoughts?”

“I would start with goats. They are smaller, cheaper, and safer for people who don’t know how to deal with them. A goat might injure you, but it’s not going to kill you.” Taylor says.

“Ok, goats it is.” Robert says.

“Then you get to decide what kind you want.” Taylor says. “Meat or dairy? Do you want purebreds, or just something cheap to get started?”

Robert looks over at Megan, raising his eyebrows.

“I don’t know!” Megan says in frustration. “I don’t know anything about goats.”

“We can see what they have, and then decide.” Robert says. “Have you talked to Lucia or Mei about whether they could use goat’s milk? Either for cooking, or to make cheese, or something else?”

“No.” Megan says, looking out the window.

“Ok, do me a favor.” Robert says patiently. “Text Amber, and ask her to talk to Lucia, and see if she has a use for milk. If she doesn’t, there is no reason to go in that direction. In the meantime, who do you know that has goats?”

“Kris has a couple.” Megan says. “But I think they are pets.”

“Taylor?” Robert asks.

“I haven’t been on any goat calls yet.” She says. “It’s mostly been cows.”

“We’ll call Rick, and see if he has an idea.” Robert says. “If not, Tom should know of someone.”

“I’ve got a few that got dumped here after the detainments.” Rick says, when they get him on the phone. “I have no idea what kind they are, but you are welcome to them.”

“Can we come by now and take a look?” Robert asks.

“Sure.” Rick says. After a moment’s pause, he says. “I had to step outside for a minute, Wanda isn’t thrilled about having a full house.”

“We can come by another day, if you’d prefer.” Robert offers.

“Hell, no.” Rick says. “I’ve never wished so hard for an emergency that requires my immediate presence. Come on over, and feel free to stay as long as you want.”

“We’ll be over in a few minutes.” Robert says.

*****

Robert isn’t sure what he expected when he arrived at Rick’s house, but it definitely wasn’t this.

“It almost looks like the fucking White House.” Robert laughs. A large portico with four gleaming white pillars drew his eye, given how completely out of place they are in a small, backwoods town.

“Some rich guy built it years ago.” Megan says. “Rick hates it.”

“I bet.” Robert grins. “At least our house is brick, and kind of fits in.”

“Why would you build something like this where no one can see it?” Taylor asks. “I don’t get it.”

“I have no idea.” Robert says. “There is no accounting for the strange shit rich people do.”

Turning onto the circle that goes by the front door, Robert stops the car. Before they can even get out, Rick comes out the front door, accompanied by a few women.

Megan hops out of the car first, running up and hugging the women, lingering on the portico when Rick comes down the steps to greet Robert and Taylor.

“Friends of hers?” Robert asks, nodding towards Rick’s new concubines.

“I don’t know about friends.” Rick says. “But most of them were involved with the rodeo, so they all know each other.”

“That’s good.” Robert says. Hesitating a moment, he adds. “She’s been struggling a bit lately; That’s the real reason we are doing this today. I wanted to get her out of the house.”

“Why don’t we go see those goats?” Rick asks loudly, looking at the gaggle of women on the portico. Not waiting for a response, he leads the way silently.

When they reach a pen behind the house, Taylor leans over the fence, looking at the curious animals. “Nigerian Dwarfs, I think.”

“How can you tell?” Megan asks, joining her at the fence.

“Most other breeds are twice this size.” Taylor says, before looking back at Rick. “Unless these aren’t fully grown.”

“I have no idea. They got dropped off here, I didn’t ask for them.” Rick says. “Feel free to go in and do your thing.”

Nodding towards Robert, Rick walks twenty feet or so away from the women examining the goats.

“What’s going on with her?” Rick asks, nodding towards Megan.

“As best I can tell, she’s got strong opinions.” Robert says. “And she isn’t reacting well when no one else agrees with her. It was bad when we first got her, but I thought we had figured it out. But over the past few weeks, she’s started trying to make decisions for Layne.”

“Oof.” Rick exhales. “She’s gotta be careful with that. If it’s something Layne doesn’t care about, then she can appreciate someone helping keep her from having to make decisions. Even then, it’s best to phrase it as a suggestion. If she’s trying to make decisions that Layne has opinions about, it’ll cause a problem fast.”

“Exactly.” Robert says. “She seems to think she needs to protect Layne, and as best I can tell, she thinks she’s being helpful, but I’m worried it’s starting to damage the relationship.”

“It sounds like it.” Rick says, shaking his head in frustration. “She’s always been stubborn, especially when she thinks she’s right.”

“Yep.” Robert says.

“They should work for now.” Taylor says. “They are one of the smallest breeds, which should make them a little easier to deal with. Eventually we’ll probably want to move up to something bigger for meat.”

“Or just get cows, like a normal person.” Rick says. “You aren’t farming the side of a mountain. There is no need to screw around with goats.”

“Let’s make sure we can keep these alive first.” Robert says. “Most of my girls have no experience with livestock, this should be a good introduction. And we need to fence a lot more pasture before we talk about cattle.”

“I suppose.” Rick mutters. “You want me to drive them over? Or are you going to toss them in the trunk?”

“If you don’t mind bringing them…” Robert begins to say.

“It’ll keep me out of the house.” Rick says, giving Robert a look. “If you want to head back, Megan can help me get them loaded, and we’ll have them over in a few minutes.”

“Can we come?” One of the concubines asks.

“Nope. Let Wanda know I’ll be back in a bit.” Rick says.

“Not it!” Most of the women say, leaving one of them standing there with a grimace on her face.

*****

“That was quick.” Jane says from the sitting area when Robert opens the door.

“Rick had some goats.” Taylor says.

“And I decided to see if he could talk some sense into Megan.” Robert says, coming a bit closer and pitching his voice so that only Jane can hear him. In a more normal tone, he continues, “They should be here in a bit.”

“Goats!” Isabel says from the stairs, running excitedly down the stairs.

“Little goats!” Taylor says with a smile.

“Dwarfs?” Jane asks. When Taylor nods, Jane continues, “Oh, those are so cute. Ooh, we can dress one up and keep it as a pet.”

“Absolutely not.” Robert says firmly, before Jane can get Isabel excited. “Jane, this is going to be a working farm. These are livestock, not someone’s pet you saw on TikTok.”

“Honey…” Jane whines, leading Robert to look at Taylor expectantly.

“It may be best not to treat them as pets.” Taylor says.

When Jane looks at her questioningly, Taylor makes a finger across the throat motion.

“Oh, right.” Jane says, looking a bit unhappy. “I guess…”

“Trust me, it’s easier this way.” Robert says. “Livestock are not pets, and vice versa.”

As Isabel looks questioningly between the adults, Robert speaks up. “Isabel, could you go get Amber for me?”

“Sure!” Isabel says, racing up the stairs.

“Jane, if you treat them like pets, she will think of them as pets.” Robert explains. “If we want this to work, we need to set the expectation from the beginning, or you’ll have half of the house revolting every time we run low on meat.”

“I know…” Jane says sulkily. “Why couldn’t we pick something less cute?”

“These are beginner animals.” Robert explains. “They are free, smallish, and shouldn’t be that hard to take care of. You and Amber are welcome to take over the animal selection process, and choose something else once we are ready.”

“Fine.” Jane says unhappily.

“Just think, you can finally put that amateur butcher experience to work.” Robert says with a smirk.

“I’m not cutting up cute goats.” Jane says.

“You’re back!” Lucia says, coming down the stairs, followed by several of Robert’s other girls, with Amber and Isabel taking up the rear.

“Yep.” Robert says. “We can still do some of the birthday activities, once we get our new goats put away.”

“I’ll let Mei know.” Lucia says. “This is the last plan change for the day, right? No other unexpected trips that are going to wreck our planning?”

“I promise, sweet girl.” Robert says, taking her into his arms.

*****

When they hear Rick’s truck pulling into the driveway, everyone piles out into the yard.

“I’ll get the gate.” Taylor offers, jogging in the direction of the empty pasture.

Robert nods, waving Rick in the direction Taylor was going, before moving off to follow her. When he arrives, the trailer is backing into the gap left by the open gate.

Looking back, Robert sees most of the women have followed him. “Ok, when we get there, I need volunteers to make sure they don’t squeeze between the fence and the trailer.” He explains.

When the trailer comes to a stop, Rick hops out. “Took a bit longer than I thought. Goats are truly stupid creatures.” He says in disgust.

“Thank you for bringing them over.” Jane says. “Now Robert doesn’t have an excuse to miss his own birthday.”

“Ugh.” Robert groans when Rick turns in surprise.

“Birthday, huh?” He asks. “Happy Birthday, I guess.”

“Thanks.” Robert says shortly. “Why don’t we get these goats unloaded?”

“Are you staying for lunch?” Jane asks as they squeeze between the fence and trailer, to access the tailgate.

Rick’s face brightens at the offer. “I suppose I could stay for a bit.” He offers.

“Anything to avoid going back home?” Megan says sharply, coming unnoticed from the far side of the trailer.

“Megan!” Amber hisses.

Ignoring Amber, Megan unlatches the tailgate, letting it swing wide.

When the goats are safely secured in their pen, Jane ushers the girls inside, before turning to face Rick and Robert. “I take it your conversation with Megan didn’t go well?”

“I didn’t think it went THAT badly.” Rick says. “She’s always been a bit stubborn, but…”

“Any chance any of your new concubines would have better luck with her?” Robert asks. Seeing Jane’s inquiring look, he explains their previous connection to Megan.

“Maybe?” Rick shrugs. “Like I said, she’s stubborn sometimes. She may have to bash her head on the wall for a while before she realizes she needs to back up.”

“Robert, honey, why don’t you go check on the girls?” Jane suggests.

“You just want to get rid of me.” Robert says accusingly.

“Yep.” Jane says. “Thanks!”

When Robert makes his way inside, Jane asks. “Is there anyone who might get through to her? Maybe someone we could bring into the house? Tom has been pushing for us to take one more.”

“Maybe…” Rick says, after thinking for a moment. “When she first started competing, an older girl used to show up to support her. I never asked, but it seemed like she took Megan under her wing at school.”

“And you think she’s still available?” Jane asks.

“She’s still at the camp.” Rick confirms. “It’s a complicated situation. Lots of drama.”

“Oh…” Jane says with a smile. “This is Suzie, right? Lorraine mentioned her to me.”

“Yep.” Rick says. “Like I said, lots of drama there. I don’t even want to know all of the details.”

“You do think she could help with Megan?” Jane asks.

“Couldn’t hurt.” Rick says, scratching his head. “Well… Probably wouldn’t hurt. I only met her a few times, and I have no idea how much of the drama is her fault.”

“I’ll look into it.” Jane says. “Thanks.”