Page 18 of Draco

The second car had Noni, Kate, Maggie, Carly, Bella, and Bren. We’d long ago started having the teenage girls join us, with Ellie and Mila spending some one-on-one time with Reaper and Onyx for some daddy-and-daughter bonding. I had pitchers of mocktails ready for the younger girls and the two preggo ladies.

Abby had finally stopped throwing up every five minutes and at four months was starting to sport a cute little bump. Rea was about six weeks behind her.

“Hey, ladies,” I called out in greeting, stepping aside so they could come in, returning the hugs that came with knowing these women. My home was soon filled with chatting and laughter.

Hours later, the food was decimated and those of us who were drinking were feeling it, much to the amusement of the sober ones.

“So, I've been thinking,” I inform them from where I’m sitting near the fireplace. Everyone else was scattered around my little used sitting room with Bella, Carly, Bren, Avy, Noni, and me sitting on cushions on the floor.

“Dangerous,” snorted Bev, grinning at me from where she was lolling in an armchair, her long legs thrown over the side of the chair.

“I thought I smelt something burning,” Avy giggles, tipping over when Noni moved away from where Avy was leaning on her. Making us laugh as she rolled around on the carpet, trying to sit back up.

“Fuck off you two,” I splutter with laughter.

Once the hilarity dies down, Abby asks, “What have you been thinking about, Molls?”

“Camping,” I tell her.

There’s silence in the room, as they all look at each other in confusion, “Okay,” Kate said with a puzzled look on her face, “When do you want to go and why?”

Now I’m confused. Why would Kate think I want to go camping? Shaking my head in confusion, I say, “What? No, I don't want to go camping. By camping, I mean that I think you should open a campsite.”

“Oh,” Rea nods. “That makes much more sense. Tell us more.”

Picking up my glass of margarita, I take a big sip before answering, “You remember that big piece of land at the back of the field where we had the fair this summer?”

They all nod that they do remember it.

“I was out there the other day. It’s so pretty with lots of trees for a windbreak and it has a lovely stream running alongside it. The first thing that popped into my head was it would make a lovely campsite. We’re not far from the beach and central to all the little villages. Plus, we get a lot of visitors in the summer months. It would be another form of income for you guys. If you can get the planning sorted and build proper ablution blocks by next April, you can start advertising it for the summer,” I tell them.

There was silence for a minute before they all started talking at once. Liking the idea.

“We can call it Raven Roost Campsite,” Bren offered as a suggestion.

“Perfect, baby,” Abby agreed.

“We’ll have you bring it up at the next Church meeting,” Noni informs me.

“Me,” I spluttered, choking on my drink that I’d just taken a gulp of. “Why me?”

“Uh, because it was your idea,” Noni replies, looking confused at my reaction.

“Yeah, but why would I be at Church?” I responded, still confused. Looking around at the women in the room, there was a mixture of confusion on some faces and amusement on others.

“Because you’re Draco’s Old Lady,” Julia answered my query in her gentle way.

I think I must have missed something somewhere because I don’t recall Draco asking me to be his Old Lady. He did say I was his woman and hewantedme to be his Old Lady, but as far as I knew, he hadn’t asked in Church for my status to change.

“I am?Since when? Draco mentioned something last night about me being his woman and he wanted me to be his Old Lady, but it was in the heat of the moment. Doesn’t he have to put it to a vote in Church or something first?” I stated with puzzlement.

“Hold on,” Noni says, her finger raised as she pulls her phone out of her pocket and taps on it a few times. She puts it on speaker, and we hear the phone ringing before Draco answers, “Speak.”

For some reason, those of us that are three sheets to the wind find this hilarious and burst into laughter. A long, suffering sigh comes through the speaker as Draco waits us out and when it quiets down, his voice rumbles through the phone, “Noni, what can I do for you?”

“Is Molly your Old Lady?” Noni queries.

“You know she is. I claimed her in Church a long time ago,” he answers instantly.

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