Parole (Hypernaturals 7)

Epilog: Rachel

Morgan and I sat at the table drinking some later in the morning Cold Brew. An experimental Chiapas I did. She is limiting herself with the amount of coffee she drinks, but not removing it completely.

Rachel sniffed the air "Is there more of that coffee? It smells lovely."

Morgan told her: "Sit. I will get you some."

Rachel picked a chair opposite to where Morgan and I sat. Morgan poured a large glass, with some ice, diluted it since it is concentrated, and then handed to her.

Rachel sipped. "This one is different than the usual. Darker roast, but not French Roast." She said.

"Experiment. Normally I cold brew a coffee called 'Lone Star Blend' for Helen, and 'Mexican Chocolate' for Jessica, Morgan, and myself. That one is from a roaster out in West Texas."

"I like it." Rachel said, sipping more

We waited. Rachel is here for a reason.

"You two are like peas in a pod lately." Rachel offered.

"That is why when you decided to talk to us about the personal thing you want to talk to us about, you waited until you could talk to only the two of us." Morgan stated.

"You are perceptive." Rachel said. "Yes. I need advice. I have not talked to Helen or Jessica about this."

"Rachel: you are my best friend, female edition. You know whatever is on your mind, you can talk to me about it. Right?" I tried to sound reassuring without sounding like I am talking to Diana. It's a hard trick sometimes to change mental gears.

"Indeed. However, you and I have that relationship. Morgan and I have always been more, shall we say, reserved. Yet in this family, Morgan is your business partner. Soon to be the mother of your child. Etc. This is NOT what I want to talk to you about, but as a side note, please be careful with Jessica." Rachel pinned me with a very serious look. "I know she is the strongest one of you, emotionally. Probably physically. But you, Adrian, are, as the phrase goes, her one true love. You know that. Right?"

"I do." I said. "I would never hurt her for any reason. I love her so much it aches every time I look at her."

"You know the way of it. When she was pregnant with Diana, you two were inseparable. When Helen was pregnant with my little namesake, Jessica tried to not be jealous of the time you spent with her. Helen needed you. She understood that. You made up for it as much as you could, and when you could. Still, she is used to having you around whenever, and you were not always there anymore. Before that, when you went missing in France...well... I have never seen her like that. She was a wreck."

Morgan agreed. "That is so true. I have never seen her like that either. She was proposing to me because I reminded her of Adrian. I was keeping myself together far more that I felt like I could but Jessica needed me to be strong, so I was. When Jessica heard you were OK? Oh My God. She could not get to France fast enough."

"Whereupon you joined the family." Rachel said with a smile. "You were affected as well, for like Jessica, Adrian is the man you love. I mean that in the singular very much. For you, Morgan, there is no other. Same as with Jessica. That is complicated. Group families are complicated. When this family is stressed, it seems to pull together, not fall apart, but still: You cannot count on that. I love your new family rule about 'spend time as couples'. I think that is excellent. However, the reality is that you will have the need to be with Adrian for the next many months, Morgan. Jessica needs to not have to be strong that entire time."

"We'll fix that, Rachel. I promise." I reassured her. "Now. Let's talk about you."

"Yes, well, you and I would not be the friends that we are without you knowing I needed to talk about me, would we?" Rachel half-smiled. I can see she is nervous: no scent required.