Chapter 12: The Family Call and the Aftermath
Mandy left the deck with a smile she couldn't wipe off her face, her bare feet leaving soft impressions in the sand that had drifted onto the wooden planks. The sliding glass door hissed shut behind her, muffling the sounds of easy laughter and the low murmur of Bruce's brogue as he told some story or other. The kitchen was dark, lit only by the soft glow of the range hood and the moonlight streaming through the windows. She padded across the tile, her body still thrumming with the aftershocks of pleasure, her skin tacky with salt and sweat and the evidence of what they'd done.
She needed to call her mother.
It wasn't a conscious decision. Her hand just moved, grabbing her phone from the counter where she'd left it hours ago, the screen lighting up with notifications she ignored. Her thumb found Casey's contact without thought, muscle memory from a lifetime of calling home whenever something significant happened—and tonight definitely qualified as significant.
The video call connected on the second ring. Casey's face filled the screen, and Mandy was immediately struck by the fact that her mother was clearly, obviously, and completely naked.
"Oh, sweet Jesus," Casey said, her eyes going wide. "Are you naked too?"
Mandy looked down at herself. "I mean—"
"Amanda Elizabeth Williamson." Casey's voice was half-scandalized, half-delighted. "I did not raise you to video call your mother without pants on."
"You're literally naked right now."
"I'm forty-seven, I get a pass." Casey shifted, and Mandy could see the edge of Judy's condo behind her—the soft, neutral colors of Aunt Judy's guest rooms, the rumpled sheets of a bed clearly just vacated. "Your father is in the shower. He's also naked, if that helps."
"It does not help."
They both laughed, the awkwardness breaking like a wave against the shore. Casey settled back into whatever she was leaning against, her silver-streaked hair loose around her shoulders, her skin glowing with the kind of contentment that came from a good evening and better company. Mandy felt a sudden, fierce rush of love for her mother.
"How was the deck?" Casey asked, her eyebrow arching. "I saw the lights from here."
"Eventful." Mandy leaned against the kitchen counter, the cool marble pressing against her bare skin. "Agent Kay showed up."
A long pause. Casey's face shifted through several expressions—surprise, then understanding, then something that looked suspiciously like pride.
"Let me guess," Casey said slowly. "She became a regular part of the evening's entertainment."
"I invited her. For Ben."
Casey's laugh was bright and entirely unjudging. "Of course you did. That boy's been getting the Williamson treatment since the day he met you." She tilted her head, her eyes softening. "You okay, Bug? That courtroom business was intense."
It was the nickname that did it. "Bug." Only her parents called her that. It wrapped around her like a hug, carried the weight of twenty-two years of unconditional love. Mandy felt something loosen in her chest, a tension she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"I'm okay, Mom. Actually, I'm more than okay." She pulled her knees up, wrapping her free arm around them, making herself small on the kitchen stool. "That spell, the one Alban cast—it was scary. Losing control like that, not having a choice. But I took something back from it, you know? I made it mine."
Casey nodded slowly, her eyes glistening. "That's my girl. That's exactly what I would've done." She let out a shaky breath. "I was so worried about you, Bug. When we were trapped in the stone—your dad about drove himself crazy trying to find a way to leap across that prosecutor's table and pinch that Alban in his elf nose"
"I'm okay," Mandy repeated, and this time she believed it. "I'm okay, and I'm in Miami, and I have the most incredible people in my life, and I just spent the last hour fucking my boyfriend and a gorgeous Golden Wand agent on the deck while my best friends watched." She grinned. "Life is good."
Casey absolutely lost it, laughing until tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh, my God. You are your mother's daughter. You know that, right?"
"I've been told."
"I need to tell Beth. She's going to die."
Mandy perked up. "Beth is awake?"
"She's always awake. That girl has the worst sleep schedule I've ever seen." Casey's fingers tapped at her screen. "I'm conferencing her in. Don't be weird about it."
"I'm never weird about it—"
Beth's face appeared on the screen, splitting it in half. Her short blonde hair was sticking up in every direction, her cheeks flushed, and behind her Mandy could see the familiar walls of Shiv's guest room. She was also, Mandy noted with a grin of pure delight, extremely naked.
"Lizzy," Casey said, her voice rich with amusement. "Are you in bed with Marty?"
"What? No." Beth's eyes darted guiltily. "I was just—I was editing photos. You know, for the gallery show. It's important to stay on top of—" She stopped, obviously registering something. "Wait, is that why you're calling? Because something happened? Mandy, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." Mandy shifted, letting the camera angle dip just slightly, giving her sister a full view of her bare shoulder and the curve of her breast. "Everything's actually really right."
Beth squinted at the screen. "Are you naked?"
"Mmm. Are you?"
"I was editing—"
"You're naked, Beth. I can see your boob."
Beth looked down at herself, then back at the camera, and her face split into a sheepish grin. "Okay, fine. Marty's asleep. I got a little bored. He's not as much of a night owl as I am."
"So you just laid there, naked, editing photos?" Casey's voice was teasing. "That's my artistic girl. Sensual and productive."
"Okay, but why are you naked, Mandy? And Mom, why are YOU naked? I need context."
Mandy took a breath. "This is going to be a long story. But I'll give you the short version. Ben and I, we had company tonight. Agent Kay, from the trial. And things got very, very friendly."
Beth's eyebrows shot toward her hairline. "Oh, my God. You didn't."
"I did."
"You—with Agent Kay? Jessica, like you did—"
"On the table? Yeah. That." Mandy couldn't keep the smugness out of her voice. "She came over, we had a great time. She's actually really fun once you get past the whole government-agent exterior. Turns out she was just repressed."
Casey snorted. "'Repressed' is a word for it. Mandy, that woman had a stick so far up her ass it was practically a tree. What did you do to her?"
"Helped her remove it." Mandy's grin was pure mischief. "With my hand. And my mouth. And Ben's dick."
Beth howled, covering her face with both hands. "Mandy! Mom's right there!"
"And?" Mandy shrugged. "Mom's the one who taught me that sex is beautiful and nothing to be ashamed of. And she's also, I might add, currently naked in her big sister's condo. So her judgment about appropriate family conversations is officially void."
Casey raised her hands, a silent admission of guilt. "Fair enough. Although for the record, your dad and I were having a lovely quiet evening. There was a hot tub involved, and some wine, and —" She paused, a dreamy look crossing her face. "Actually, Jan came over. You know how that goes."
"Might want to remember that when you're giving me grief about my choices," Mandy said, not unkindly.
A third face appeared on the screen.
Calista. Her silver hair was loose and flowing, her ethereal features framed by the soft lighting of her Chicago bedroom. She was also, Mandy realized with a swell of amusement, completely naked—but unlike the rest of them, she made no attempt to hide it. She was lounging upside down, her hair pooling on the pillow behind her, her long pale limbs arranged with the kind of casual elegance that made even nudity look like art.
"Did someone say Agent Kay?" Calista's voice was warm and interested. "Because I have questions. Many, many questions."
"Callie!" Beth's voice pitched upward in surprise. "You're naked too!"
"Of course I'm naked. It's the middle of the night." Calista stretched, catlike, her elfin features unbothered. "Why is everyone acting like this is weird? We're all women. We're all over eighteen. We're all comfortable with our bodies. The only person who seems to have a problem with it is you, and you're the one who was trying to hide."
Beth sputtered. "I was not—"
"You had a pillow held up to your chest when I joined."
"That's because I wasn't expecting—"
"Which is exactly my point." Calista rolled onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows, her silver hair spilling around her like moonlight. "You were acting like being naked is something to hide. But it's not. It's just a body. And not to brag, but some of us have really nice bodies. Mandy, I can see you're naked. Show everyone."
"I am showing everyone," Mandy said, adjusting the camera angle with a flourish. "Just enjoying the fact that everyone's trying to pretend they aren't doing the exact same thing.
Casey laughed again, that full-bellied, delighted sound that Mandy had grown up hearing. It was the sound of her mother genuinely enjoying something, without reservation, and it made her heart ache with affection. "Okay, okay, you got me. I'll drop the pillow." Casey's hands moved, and Mandy watched as her mother's bare shoulders and chest came into view. She looked good—soft and round and confident, the kind of beauty that came from living fully.
"See?" Casey said. "That wasn't so hard. Now, Beth. Your turn. Drop the pillow."
Beth made a face, then reluctantly lowered the pillow. Her flat stomach and small breasts appeared, and she crossed her arms over her chest with a pout. "There. Happy?"
"Extremely," Calista said. "Now we're all naked together. Isn't this nice?"
"It IS weird," Beth insisted, but Mandy could hear the grin in her voice. "We're all naked, on a video call. If someone hacked this, they'd have some serious blackmail material."
"Who would they blackmail?" Calista asked, genuinely curious. "I'm a model. Nudity is part of my job. Mandy's a tech consultant. Mom's a painter. And you're a photographer—which, might I point out, you do naked as often as not these days."
Beth's mouth opened and closed, a protest forming and dying on her lips. "That's different."
"Because... because when I'm editing, I'm not trying to be sexy. I'm just comfortable."
"I bet Mandy was trying to be sexy tonight," Calista said, her silver eyes twinkling. "Weren't you, bug?"
"Absolutely," Mandy said, unashamed. "I was very, very sexy. I had a whole audience. Mai and Felicity and Bruce watched while I got wrecked."
"Bruce was there?" Beth perked up. "How's he doing? I haven't talked to him in forever."
"He's great. He was very enthusiastic about the whole thing. Scottish people are apparently very supportive of gay sex."
"Mandy, you're not gay."
"I'm bisexual, actually. I've told you this."
"Sorry, sorry. Bisexual. I forgot." Beth shook her head. "You just seem so into Ben."
"I'm into a lot of people. Ben's just the one who gets to be my boyfriend." Mandy stretched, feeling the pleasant ache in her muscles. "He's very secure about it. He knows he's my number one. He just also knows I like variety."
Casey hummed approvingly. "That's a healthy relationship. I'm proud of you."
"Speaking of healthy relationships," Calista said, her voice dropping slyly, "how's Marty, Beth? You know, the boy you're teaching 'how the world works'?"
Beth's face flushed a deep, telling red. "He's fine. He's sleeping. He's very... enthusiastic."
"'Enthusiastic.' I bet he is." Calista's grin was pure mischief. "I heard him through the portal last week. He was very loudly enthusiastic."
"CALLIE!" Beth's shriek was muffled by the pillow she'd grabbed again.
"Don't throw pillows at me through the screen, it doesn't work." Calista was laughing, her whole body shaking with it. "I'm just saying, I'm happy for you. You deserve someone who matches your energy."
"My energy is a lot," Beth admitted, lowering the pillow. "He's doing his best to keep up."
"He's been trapped in a timeless void for gods know how long," Casey said, her voice gentle. "Give the boy a break. He's catching up."
"I am. I'm being very patient with him. He's a good learner." Beth's smile was soft now, sweet. "He's genuinely sweet, you know? Like, he cares so much about doing the right thing. He just doesn't know what the right thing is, half the time."
"That's where you come in," Mandy said. "You're the perfect person to teach him. You're kind and patient and you've got a good heart."
"Aw, Mandy. That's sweet."
"I mean it. And also you've got really good boobs, which probably helps."
"OH MY GOD."
The laughter that followed was loud and genuine, filling the quiet kitchen. Mandy felt warm and happy, the way she always did when she was surrounded by her family, even if it was only through a screen. These women—her mother, her sisters, this impossible, tangled, wonderful family—were her anchor.
"Alright, alright," Casey said, wiping her eyes. "I need to get some sleep. Your father's going to be out of the shower soon, and I'd like to be awake when he comes back."
"Gross, Mom," Beth said, but she was smiling.
"Don't act like you don't know how babies are made. I made three of them, you're living proof." Casey paused. "And Callie, you're proof of a much weirder thing, but we don't talk about that."
"I'm proof that love finds a way," Calista said solemnly, then broke into another grin. "And that my grandmother—well, not grandmother, technically—but the Elf Lady knows how to make magic work."
"Bless her heart," Casey said, her voice warm. "I'm still not entirely sure how to explain that at family gatherings."
"Just say I'm a gift from the fae," Calista suggested. "It's technically true."
"It's weird, Callie."
"It's weirder that you adopted your own granddaughter and didn't tell anyone for years."
"TO BE FAIR," Casey said, raising a finger, "I didn't know at the time. And your father still has trouble with it."
"He calls me 'daughter-sister-granddaughter,'" Calista said, laughing. "He's getting better, though. Last time I visited, he just called me 'kid' and didn't stumble."
"That's progress," Mandy said. "Dad's doing his best."
"He always is," Calista agreed. "That's why I love him."
The conversation drifted, then, into the comfortable rhythms of family—plans for the morning, questions about the gallery show, updates on people Mandy hadn't seen in months. Beth talked about her photography, her excitement barely contained as she described the series she'd been working on. Calista mentioned a modeling gig in New York, the first one she'd done outside Chicago. Casey talked about Mike's latest IT project, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about solving a particularly tricky problem.
"It settles his brain," Casey explained. "He needs puzzles. Always has."
"He gets that from you," Mandy said. "You're the puzzle solver."
"I'm the problem creator, mostly," Casey countered. "You're the one who solves them."
"That's true. Williamson IT Solutions, baby. I exist to fix what people break."
"Speaking of which," Beth said, her voice shifting, "the gallery show. It's next weekend. You're still coming, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Mandy said. "I'll be front row, cheering."
"Front row at a gallery opening is not a thing, but I appreciate the sentiment. And I'm holding you to it." Beth glanced off-screen. "Oh, Marty's stirring. I should go. He gets confused when he wakes up alone."
"Go," Casey said gently. "Be with your boy. I'll see you all in the morning, yes?"
"Breakfast," Mandy agreed. "Shiv's house?"
"I was thinking the beach house," Beth said. "I've been craving that smoothie place near you. The one with the matcha stuff."
"I'll have it ready," Mandy promised.
"Matcha for everyone," Calista said. "Even though I think it tastes like grass."
"That's because you have elven taste buds," Mandy said. "You're too refined for mortal beverages."
"I'm not refined at all. I once ate an entire box of donuts by myself and threw up in the garden."
"I REMEMBER THAT," Casey said, her voice pitched with sudden delight. "You were so dramatic about it. Your father thought you'd been poisoned."
"I told you it was a donut overdose. You didn't believe me."
"I believed you, I just found it funny. Still do, actually."
Calista rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "You're all impossible. I'm going back to sleep. And I'm staying naked, because I'm comfortable and it's my god-given right."
"I'm not going to argue with that," Mandy said. "Night, Callie."
"Goodnight, bug. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Beth."
"Night!" Beth's face had already started pulling away from the screen, distracted by whatever Milo was doing. "Love you all!"
The call dropped, but Mandy didn't end it. She sat there, the silence of the kitchen settling around her, her phone warm in her hand. The screen still showed Casey's face.
"You okay, Bug?" Casey asked softly.
The question caught Mandy off guard. She opened her mouth to say yes, that she was fine, that everything was great, and then she made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob.
"Yeah," she said, and her voice cracked just slightly. "I'm okay. I'm really, really okay."
Casey's eyes were soft, knowing. "Good. That's all I've ever wanted."
"I know. I know, Mom." Mandy swallowed, feeling the weight of her mother's love across the miles. "I love you."
"I love you too, Bug. More than you'll ever know. Now go sleep." Casey's grin was knowing, a little wicked. "You look like you've been rode hard and put away wet."
"Mom!"
"I'm just saying." Casey blew a kiss to the camera. "Night, baby girl. See you in the morning."
"Night, Mom."
The call ended. Mandy sat alone in her kitchen, the phone dark in her hand, her skin still flushed and her heart aching with love. Outside, she could hear the sounds of laughter drifting from the deck, the low murmur of voices, the crash of waves.
She stood on legs that were only slightly unsteady, padded to the sink, and poured herself a glass of water. She drank it slowly, savoring the coolness, letting the world settle back into focus.
"Mandy?"
The voice came from the doorway. Mandy turned to find Jess standing there, wrapped in a sheet that she'd pulled from somewhere, her dark hair tousled, her face still flushed from everything they'd done.
"Hey," Mandy said softly. "You okay?"
Jess considered the question for a long moment, her dark eyes scanning Mandy's face like she was looking for something. Then she crossed the room, the sheet rustling, and stopped in front of her.
"I don't know what this was," she said, her voice low and rough. "But it was something. And I think I need to figure out what that means."
Mandy reached out, her hand finding Jess's, their fingers intertwining. "We can figure it out together. If you want. No pressure, no expectations. Just... see where it goes."
Jess studied her for a long moment, then a slow smile spread across her face, softening her features. "Yeah," she said. "I think I'd like that."
The moon hung high over the ocean, casting a silver path across the water. Inside Judy's beach house, in the warm and salt-tinged air, two women stood holding hands, on the edge of something new. And at Shiv's house down the beach, a photographer with a big heart and a gifted eye slept in her lover's arms, smiling in her sleep.
And on a hotel balcony a few miles away, a mother and father looked out at the sea and held hands, their hearts full of love for the family they'd made and the family of choice their children were building.
The waves whispered their secrets to the shore.
The night held them all.