Three Lovers on the Grift - 20

Nigel pulled onto their street and felt his heart drop as a wave of panicked fear washed over him. There was a police car parked in front of their house. For a second he debated turning around and leaving but there was no way he'd desert his lovers and the babies.

On the other hand he wasn't going to just march into the house without knowing what was going on. He continued down to the end of the street and then into the alley behind the house. Parking, he picked up the boxes of diapers, which were the reason that he wasn't inside. Cautiously, he moved up the walk to the back porch, setting the boxes down silently by the back door.

With infinite care, he unlocked the door and slipped inside. Silence greeted him for a minute then one of the babies started to cry. Without a thought he snatched open the door to the living room, expelling a sigh of relief. Page sat on the sofa, Marcia at her breast, while Vaughn held Brian on his shoulder, patting his back to make him burp.

"Very domestic," Nigel said, a bit of tension in his voice. "What the hell's with the cop car out front? I aged ten years when I saw it."

"The end of a traffic stop. They should be leaving soon, hopefully," Vaughn replied. "But I'll tell you what, when I heard the siren—well, you weren't the only one who put on ten years. I think this may be the last impetus we need to finish packing up and get our asses out of Dodge."

"I'm all for that," Page agreed. Smiling at Marcia, she expertly put her over her shoulder and burped her before getting up to set her in the bassinet. "How soon can we get a van?"

Putting Brian down next to his sister, Vaughn replied, "As soon as I make the call." Which he did seconds later. When he'd finished, he said it would be available in an hour.

"Good." Nigel tossed him the keys to the car. "You go for it; I'll get what's left boxed up."

With a chuckle, and a salute, Vaughn left. Nigel immediately went into the bedroom to put the last of their clothes, other than what they'd take in suitcases, into the open boxes on one side of the room. Page joined him minutes later to finish dressing and then clear out the bathroom.

"Put all the babies' things in there," she told him, pointing to an empty suitcase on the desk in front of the window.

By the time they heard Vaughn pulling up behind the house, they had all but the very essentials sealed in boxes. While Page tended to Marcia and Brian, getting them bundled up and ready for the trip, the men moved the boxes to the van.

"Good thing we travel light," Nigel commented when they got the last of them in. "Anything more and we'd need the car too."

"Which isn't an option since it was the trade-in. Let's make one more check to be certain we haven't forgotten anything and then get the car seats installed."

It took half an hour before Vaughn was satisfied that everything was as it should be in the van. Once the babies were in their seats, Page got in beside them while the two men settled down in the front seat.

"Portland, here we come," Nigel said with a smile as Vaughn pulled the van out of the alley onto the street. "A new life and a real home."