Loading the Bus (THE END)

The sun shined brightly as I ferried the last of the bags to the Bus. The sun had finally come out it seems, and the damp had settled within every nook and cranny of the area, giving the whole place a feel like it had just been power washed. I placed the last bag onto the floor of the van, and turned to find myself hugged by Helen, almost out of nowhere.

"Kaila's just checking that we didn't leave any laundry. Charlotte's with her. You know they're going to play grab ass for a while. They always do."

"I don't own her." I nodded.

"And nobody else does either. Neither of them really. They're free. Charlotte makes what she has work, but Kaila... well, she had to make a choice." Helen spoke, stepping back from me. She tossed her bow case one handed into the bus, where it landed with a satisfying thud.

"We didn't... we didn't win, Brent. We didn't lose either. We... I guess we tied. But the game's over." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm happy with a stalemate. Especially considering that this was a grotesque."

"What?" I asked, not understanding what she was talking about.

"It's a chess game, Brent. Games... well, they're how humans try to deal with things they don't really understand. A grotesque is a game you're not expected to win. Not unless everything goes perfect. Even then, a stalemate is considered a major victory."

"We do tend to tie a lot, I notice." I mentioned, thinking back over the last week.

"It's better than losing." She nodded. She leaned back against the bus. She was wearing my leather jacket again, I noticed. It suited her, and her beret managed to give her a very martial look. She crossed her arms and looked back at the cabin with a smile. "Far better than losing what we have. What Kaila has... She divorced my dad. I really didn't ever think she'd have it in her. And she's hooking up with me, her step-daughter, and you, the boyfriend with less than half her experience... And her ex's Ex-mistress. Yeah, I know sounds like a porn movie, but compared to some of the other stories, this is positively wholesome. This means that much to her. Off the Map, you know?"

"You... you never wanted to win, did you?" I asked. "Nobody got hurt. The game's over, and... I'm having kids with all three of you."

Helen nodded, the owl on her beret drawing my attention. "It's nice. Nice that what you wanted was what I wanted too. But I'm totally NOT going to be a stay at home Mom. I love you, but I've got things to do, people to inspire... Course, might have to take a few decades off to... you know, get a feel for the mom role. And I want to spend at least A LITTLE time with you. Ok, a lot of time with you. I wanna be a badass mom, I think I can pull that one off. Better brush up on my nineties action movies."

"I guess I just... what happens when Odysseus shows up?" I glanced back at the cabin, Noting that Charlotte and Kaila were exiting the cabin, giving each other a soft kiss. "And what happens with Charlotte?"

"You read your own Wikipedia page, didn't you?" Helen asked.

"Soon as my phone was charged." I nodded.

"Don't believe that shit. They only know what people tell them. There are a lot of things women don't tell men. A lot of things that didn't get written down. And a lot of people lie about good people. Bad guys win, Brent. It happens all the time. "

I arched my eyebrow at her.

"Right... I'm not answering the question. Sorry, love, old habits. Sometimes it doesn't work out. Maybe you never met him. Maybe he was a woman this time. Maybe he was a guy you made out with in college." She winked at me. "As far as Charlotte goes... well, she loves me. She loves you. She loves Kaila. And she won't lie to us any more. That's enough for me. She's a big girl, and she won't get hurt."

She paused. Her eyes drifted over some clouds. The next words she spoke seem distant.

"Things don't repeat themselves exactly. Wisdom is... learning from your mistakes. It leaves scars. I can't just wave my fingers and make it happen. You have to live it. It Hurts, and I am sorry about that. You did make a choice." She looked at me with a challenging stare. "You made... I think you made the right choice."

"But I didn't... I didn't CHOOSE." I objected. "How can that be... the game's over, right?"

"We can always play one more. Just for fun. It doesn't really matter. Do you want the Real answer, or the Bullshit Answer?" Helen asked, her grey eyes flashing mischievously.

"Both..." I breathed out.

"Yes. It's over and you chose us all."

She kissed me. Her lips were soft, passionate. There was something there though... a taste of sugar... cinnamon... and apple. I realized that while she was kissing me... I couldn't see if she was making the "Jerk off" motion.

The End.

(Suggested Credits Music)

OR

(Credit Music. If you prefer something a little more... ambiguous as to whether this is happy ending or not...)

[Note to the Reader: Thank you for enjoying the story! This is but ONE of the 5 possible endings, but as Eris alluded to, Two of them are not written yet. It's been a real labor of love writing the second draft of this story, and I really want to thank everybody who took the time to leave comments, thoughts and likes. Thanks to everybody who read this, and I hope you continue to let me know what you think, and give new directions you want to see things going. And heck, maybe even write a thread or two yourself, I don't bite. Hard.

Thanks to the goddesses whose likenesses appear in this story. Thanks to Athena, Hera and Aphrodite for their inspiration, and I hope that this portrayal doesn't offend too much. But if it does, Fuck it. The rules suck, and goddesses deserve the chance to cut loose once in a while. Thanks to Eris for helping me out a bit, appearing in this story, and many others on this site. She usually doesn't give her NAME of course, but anytime there's a mischievous, slightly bitchy female character getting everybody into trouble... I look for apples.

Thanks to Erato, Calliope, Melpomene, Thalia, Clio, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Urania and Terpsichore. Since I have many interests, I thank them all and graciously accept their inspirations.

And yes, I do know if Helen's hand is still.