Cassidy Estate

[Psylocke]

Home to Black Tom Cassidy (hire your own decorator. )

[Black Tom]

Tom stepped out of the shower, paying no attention to the young woman walking out of the bathroom. She knew her place when the maid shooed her away earlier. The shower was merely a short extension of her time with Tom. Pulling a towel from the rack, he dried himself off and wrapped it around his waist.

His room was clear of the women and the maid was already cleaning up from the night before. Tom went to his wetbar and pored a small glass of bourbon to start his day. Sitting directly over the bar was a painting he’d looked at many times. It was of a girl in a red dress apparently hiding from. She was sitting on a stool with her legs pressed into her chest. In a room overflowing with water and covered in vines. The painting grabbed at him in an odd way, always had. That’s why he put it somewhere he knew he’d see it often.

That thing’s creepy. His maid, Madison, had a different opinion. “It’s all a point of taste,” he replied, looking at the painting longingly. “It reminds me of Theresa.” That was all the explanation she would get. He didn’t care how much he liked the woman. If she knew too much about Theresa, she was gone. It remind him of her though, when he found her in wreckage of that building, clinging to her dead mother. The fact that she survived was truly a miracle. Tom didn’t care about her then, the crying spawn of his wretched cousin. All he knew was it would kill Sean to know Tom had his daughter.

Even more of a miracle was what she did to him. It didn’t take long until he was praying Sean never found him. The child who looked so much like her mother also managed to steal his little black heart. Eighteen years later, she was still the white light in his darkened life.

Tom poured the remainder of the drink down his throat and walked away from the bar. He quickly dressed himself in a pair of khakis and a collared shirt, then left his room. He appeared again in the dinning room where his breakfast was already on the table as well as his coffee and newspaper. Taking a bite out of his eggs, he began to read.

[Siryn]

Terry placed her Academy jacket on over her blouse and groaned. Wearing her formal uniform was the last thing she wanted to do on such a hot day but she was going in public and it didn't matter that she had the day off, it was still the official uniform and she still needed to wear it. Soon, however, the skirt, blouse and jacket would be replaced by the uniform of the Red Guard. As soon as there was an opening available, Terry had been reassured that she was next in line. It was about time, too. She had learned all she could, was practically teaching four of her classes as a teacher's aide and her control over her sonic scream was amazing. Lord Magneto had a powerhouse right under his nose, someone just had to retire or die in order for her to get in the Guard.

Her long red hair pulled properly back into a long braid down her back, Terry was ready for the journey home. Tom would have a car ready to pick her up outside and promptness was one of her very first lessons seven years ago. Never, ever keep anyone waiting. Zipping the briefcase closed, she didn't need any clothes or overnight bag as her bedroom in Tom's house had everything she needed, Terry walked out her dorm room and locked the door behind her. She had one of the largest rooms in the dorm and was one of the few to not have a room mate. Rank as the top in her class had its privileges and she made sure to take advantage of them all.

The envy of the other girls in her hall as she walked along brought a slight smile to Terry's face. She knew they thought she had it all and honestly, she did. She had an amazing mutant power that had developed when she was fairly young. She had a cousin who loved her enough to get her into the best school possible when that power emerged, granted it didn't hurt he was part of Magneto's elite forces. She really did have a knack for learning and a strong desire to be the best. She had been completely overwhelmed at first but once she grew comfortable in the Academy, Terry had soared to the top and there she remains. Now she will have to start over again in the Red Guard but it would be so worth it. And she knew that Tom was proud of her. That was what mattered most.

The car was waiting for her as usual and Tom's driver got out and greeted her. No matter what she had accomplished in her training, however, to Tom's staff she would always be Miss Theresa or Miss Terry. She enjoyed it for sentimentality sake. Although most of the staff was human, she felt no malice toward them and appreciated their respect. The car pulling up the massive driveway that led to Tom's mansion brought Terry out of her thoughts and she smiled as the familiar building came into view. When Tom moved them from Ireland to Genosha, he had been so proud to give her a place large enough to hold her boundless energy. And it had. The vast estate proved to be a grand place to play and she had spent many hours outrunning her nannies and tutors.

The car pulled to the front door and once again, the driver opened her door for her with a tip of his hat and a wink. Terry grinned back at him, the people here really the few that knew her adventurous and happy nature, and she walked up the steps. Before she even reached the door, it was swung open and the butler was there to greet her. He told her that Tom could be found in the dining room so Terry went in that direction and sure enough, there was Tom still lazying about with his newspaper. Most likely he had spent most of the night up with one of his little tramps and only woke a short time ago although it was afternoon. Not that it was any of her business and hadn't been for the last seven years. He'd honestly been able to be a happy-go-lucky bachelor the whole time since she spent most of it at the Academy.

The sound of her standard issue heels clicking on the hardwood floor probably caught his attention and Terry grinned at him, her light blue eyes sparkling, and asked, “Care ta put up with yuir little cousin for a bit?” She wanted to walk over and hug him but waited until he acknowledged her first, a part of her training seeping into her home life.

[Black Tom]

((OOC: I'd like to thank Tracy for finding a nice way to remind me that Genosha time is ahead of regular time, instead of just calling me a moron....which I am.))

Tom heard the familiar sound of heels clicking their way through the hall. The sound brought a smile to his face as Tom knew their were only one woman who was allowed in his house without his prior approval. He followed the sound until the familiar face of his cousin and pseudo daughter came from around the corner. He smiled genuinely at the sight, which was something he didn’t do often.

“Care ta put up with yuir little cousin for a bit?” Standing up, Tom walked to the end of the room. “If ya don’t mind givin an old man a hug.” He didn’t wait for the answer. She’d never refused to hug him as long as he could remember. He squeezed the young girl while his arms were around her. He didn’t get to see her as much as he liked anymore. When she was a child, It’s was just the two of them. The occasional tutor would come and go but none were permanent. If he had thought about how much they would have been separated by her school, he probably would have kept the tutors around. Finally letting go, he said “Come sit down. Do ya want some breakfast? It may be a little late but the food is fantastic.”

Tom walked back to his seat where everything was sitting. The maid, Madison, had already set out a plate for Theresa. He waited for her to come and sit with him while taking a bite of his eggs. Once she did, he looked at her and said. “I was so very proud of ya the other day at graduation.” Laying his hand over her’s, he continued “Yuir mom would have been as well.”

[Siryn]

Tom gave her a smile and stood up to greet her. Coming close to her, he replied, “If ya don’t mind givin an old man a hug.”

He wrapped his arms around Terry without waiting for a reply and she would have been disappointed if he had waited. Hugging him back, she was whisked away to her childhood in Ireland. His strong arms holding her was the most important thing in the world to a little girl who didn't see too much of the man she considered her father. Terry had no memory of her mother's death or of any time before then. As far as she was concerned, her whole life had revolved around “Uncle” Tom and when he would come home from doing his “business”, she was always there, ready to jump into his arms and smell his familiar aftershave. He still smelled the same and it delighted her on a childish level.

Letting her go, Tom said, “Come sit down. Do ya want some breakfast? It may be a little late but the food is fantastic.”

Never one to pass up a meal with Tom, since they shared so few of them in the last seven years, Terry replied, “Of course. Madison could come down ta tha Academy and give tha cooks there a lesson or three. Her cooking is much, much better and worth coming home for.”

Sitting down at the table next to Tom where Madison put her plate, Terry smiled appreciatively at Tom's maid and turned her attention back to her cousin. “I was so very proud of ya the other day at graduation. Yuir mom would have been as well,” he told her as he placed his hand on hers.

Terry's face glowed under his praise. She could please her instructors all she liked but the only person's opinion that she ever really cared about was Tom's. He had been involved in Magneto's war against the humans and although Magneto himself didn't take credit for the war, it had still been him that Tom had allied himself with. That made it Magneto's war in her mind. “Thank ya, Tom. It's hard ta believe it's already been seven years since I blew tha wall out in tha other room,” she replied. Turning her hand over and giving his a gentle squeeze, she continued, “I wish mum could have been there. It really was my proudest moment and ta share it with her would have been nice. Tha three of us together would have made it perfect.”

She didn't mention that if her mother had still been alive, chances were her father wouldn't have abandoned her and pretty much left her an orphan. She'd never found out why Tom took his cousin's baby in and raised her as his own but she had a feeling it had something to do with her mother. From the pictures Terry had seen of her, she had been a beautiful woman. And Tom still talked about her with a softness that could only come from loving a person. Releasing Tom's hand so she could begin eating, Terry continued, “Now I just have ta wait for an opening ta come along in tha Red Guard and I'm in. My supervisor promises that I'm next in line so hopefully soon, I can put all this training and my voice ta some use.”

((OOC: Awe, you're welcome. It happens to us all.))

[Black Tom]

Terry absolutely beamed at Tom after his compliment. He always knew how much she looked up to him, and he honestly meant every word of it. In the old days, he would have trained her himself, tried to bring her into his life of crime. He even planned for that, but he didn’t have to be an outlaw anymore. Besides, she was too good for that kind of work. She would have made a great partner though. The Red Guard wasn’t lax. She couldn’t get in just by having an influential relative.

Tom smiled fondly at Theresa’s recollection of the day they found out she was a mutant. He was happy for him, even though the wall could have easily been him. They were arguing over something that day, he couldn’t remember what. Their arguments always seemed trivial after the fact. Before he could reply, she said “I wish mum could have been there. It really was my proudest moment and ta share it with her would have been nice. Tha three of us together would have made it perfect.” It was like she could read his thoughts. In a perfect world, Maeve would have survived and left the moron that left her to fend for herself. Her and Theresa would have moved in with Tom and they’d have lived happily ever after. Hell, Tom probably stopped the life of crime, Maeve would have kicked his ass if he didn’t. He squeezed Theresa’s hand also and said. “Yes, It would have.”

“Now I just have ta wait for an opening ta come along in tha Red Guard and I'm in. My supervisor promises that I'm next in line so hopefully soon, I can put all this training and my voice ta some use,” Theresa said as she began eating. Tom also returned to his meal. Taking a few bites first, he said “Yuir welcome ta run with my Marauders until then, but it’s not exactly Military work. At least ya won’t have to be around Exodus.” Oh how Tom hated Exodus. He couldn’t even resist a jab when Exodus was no where near them. In truth, she probably wouldn’t see much of him at all. Mystique ran that part of the military and never put up with his crap, something Tom always liked about the woman.

[Siryn]

They ate in silence for a few moments, Terry really enjoying the meal although it was at a time she was not used to eating. Meals were fairly regulated at the Academy and although they had their nights free to do whatever they wanted, most of the time the students were too tired to take advantage of it. She could say one thing about Magneto's elite school, it was run with an iron fist. What few extra privileges she had she'd earned. Even with Tom as her guardian and cousin, no one had given her any slack. And Terry would have had it no other way.

“Yuir welcome ta run with my Marauders until then, but it’s not exactly Military work. At least ya won’t have to be around Exodus,” Tom spoke up, breaking the silence.

Theresa had to laugh at his comment on Exodus. She had no clue what had started the hatred between the two men and she honestly didn't care to know. She'd only seen Exodus a few times, most of them during some engagement that Tom would take her to. Now that she thought about it, it was odd she had even attended those functions since he could have easily taken one of his floozies with him. The only time she'd even spoken to Exodus was the night she was introduced to him. He was stiffly military, however, and it was a simple “Pleased to meet you” that she had offered. Terry didn't think he even acknowledged her, just kept his eyes on Tom like he expected her cousin to do something unseemly.

“That's a tempting offer, Tom. It would certainly be a change of pace and it wouldn't surprise me if they were soon trying to kick me out of my dorm room ta give it ta someone else. I'll speak with my supervisor and see what he says. This has got ta be tha hardest part of tha Academy. Waiting,” she replied to him, her anxiety about getting settled into the Red Guard coming through her words. She really had spent a long time training and was more then ready. With a glint in her light blue eyes, she took on a lighter tone and asked, “Sure ya can't speak with Ms. Darkholme and get me in faster?”

Her breakfast gone, Terry pushed the plate aside and Madison was there instantly to clear it away. The woman either watched them through a cracked doorway or had a hidden mutant talent to know when dishes in the dining room were empty. She'd been like that ever since Tom had brought her home. It was amazing but she'd been around longer then most any other maid/housekeeper that Tom had hired.

Giving the woman another grateful smile, she pushed back in her chair and said, “I am ready ta get out of this hot uniform and turn into a happy teenager for a while. I'm gonna get changed then probably take a swim in tha pool. Ya wanna meet me out there or do ya have plans that I'm keeping ya from?”

[Belladonna LeBeau]

Time really had no bearing on Belladonna Boudreaux...it was late afternoon but she had been up for the past 18 hours drinking and partying with the young uns' of Genosha.

After a few hours sleep she had changed into a pair of tight pedal pushers and baby blue tank top that accented her eyes...bloodshot as they were. Some aspirin and a car ride later, she was there at the Cassidy Estate.

Flipping her bleach blonde hair, she knocked several times on the door. A tall woman holding a dirty dish opened the door. "Merci." She said coldly, not waiting around to be invited it.

From what she could gather, Tom was home...and he had a guest. Walking into the dining room, she smiled. "Well hello everybody...dis' is a nice party ya' have goin' on." Her tone wasn't any more malicious than usual.

[Black Tom]

Terry chuckled at Tom’s comment, no doubt re-living the few meetings she’d had with the man. As he remembered, Exodus rarely acknowledged her. He didn’t take his eyes off Tom when they were in the same room. He still didn’t trust Tom, with good reason. Tom would screw them all over given proper motivation. But with his position, that was doubtful. Magneto’s rule was absolute and unless Tom found a huge crack in the armor, he wasn’t risking what he already had.

“That's a tempting offer, Tom. It would certainly be a change of pace and it wouldn't surprise me if they were soon trying to kick me out of my dorm room ta give it ta someone else. I'll speak with my supervisor and see what he says. This has got ta be tha hardest part of tha Academy. Waiting,” Theresa said. Then she tried to shmooze him. Looking at Tom with those big blue eyes, she said “Sure ya can't speak with Ms. Darkholme and get me in faster?” It worked, as usual but he had some reservations. If he called in a favor, she would be the proverbial redheaded stepchild. She’d have to put up with twice as much as any rookie because she got in through family ties. Theresa had to know this. She probably went through it in the Academy. “You know what it will look like if I do that. You willing to pay that price?”

As Theresa finished her food and said something about swimming, Tom heard knocks at the door. He allowed Madison to answer it and waited for whoever was coming. To his surprise, it was Belladonna. She looked lovely as ever, if not a little hungover. “Bella, To what do we owe the pleasure?” Like she really needed a reason to come by, she was probably bored. Tom sometimes thought she agreed to join his Marauders just for something to do.

Turning back to Theresa, Tom said “I’ll meet you by the pool in a few minutes. Perhaps Bella would like to join us.” He looked back at her. Tom always tried to show the same amount of venom in his voice as she did whenever they talked. It was something he started a s joke but just kind of went on.

[Siryn]

Tom thought over her “plea” to talk to Mystique and finally answered, “You know what it will look like if I do that. You willing to pay that price?”

Oh, she knew quite well what he meant. She had to fight twice as hard as anyone in the Academy just to prove that not only did she belong there, she was better then they were. It was no secret who her “father” was and she had heard enough whispers behind her back (thanks to her enhanced hearing due to her powers) to know what was said about her. So Terry proved them wrong. Every single one of them and now she was at the top of the Academy waiting impatiently to get into the Guard.

“Aye, I would be willing to pay any price, ya know that but I'll give it a chance on its own. However, if I find myself completely at my wits end, ye'll probably hear from me,” she told him with a wink.

After announcing her intentions to change out of her Academy uniform and into something more suitable for the heat, a commotion came through the quiet house and in grand, dramatic fashion, Bella entered the dining room. "Well hello everybody...dis' is a nice party ya' have goin' on,” Bella said in her usual voice.

Terry had to keep herself from sneering at the woman. Bella had always rubbed her just slightly wrong and even though she'd known the woman since she was a child, she had a hard time warming up to her. Granted, it didn't help that Bella could care less about her. It was always Tom she was after. As usual, Terry had always been in the way when it came to the handsome bachelor.

Tom greeted Bella in his usual charm, “Bella, To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Before allowing the woman to reply, he turned back to her, his voice softening and Terry once again held back a smile, this one of satisfaction, “I’ll meet you by the pool in a few minutes. Perhaps Bella would like to join us.”

“Sounds good, Uncle Tom,” she told Tom in a sweet voice. Then she turned to walk out of the room and looked at Bella. Staring directly at the woman, giving her a saccharine sweet smile and a tone of voice to match, she added, “Oh, maybe you had better not. Unless one of your friends left a swimsuit here, I don't think I have anything mature enough for Ms. Beaudreaux to wear.”

With that, she walked out of the room and headed to her bedroom. Terry silently fumed the whole way there. How dare Bella interrupt her visit with Tom. It wasn't like Terry had that much free time to come home and once she did, some woman had to show up and make him split his attention. Was she being selfish? Of course. This was her father in every way but sperm. They even shared the same blood, being cousins and all. All she wanted to do was crash for a couple of days, spend it lazily with him before she had to go back to her life at the Academy. If she did get into the Guard soon, who knew when she would get another vacation to come home.

Slamming her bedroom door, Terry immediately slipped out of her uniform and rummaged in her drawer for her favorite bikini. It was light blue, almost the color of her eyes which is why she bought it, and it showed off her extremely well toned and trained body. A sheer white cover up that really didn't hide a damned thing but looked awesome over the bikini graced her body and Terry left her hair in the braid. She was planning on working out her frustration by swimming laps in the pool.

Avoiding the dining room as she walked through the house, she stopped at the linen closet to grab two towels and Terry headed to the pool. Laying the towels on a chair near the pool and taking off her cover up, Theresa dove into the water and began to swim with her long, powerful body.

[Belladonna LeBeau]

“Bella, To what do we owe the pleasure?”“I’ll meet you by the pool in a few minutes. Perhaps Bella would like to join us.” Bella didn't need to owe him any pleasure...but she decided to keep that to herself. "I jus' stopped by to see what ya was up to today."

That was the truth really. She didn't really know anyone in Genosha...on pourpose. Yes, she was a legend amoung legends in the Genosha underground, but up in the higher class segment, her name was either obscure or dirt.

She had Remy Lebeau for that.

Smiling coolly, she nodded. "Oui, I tank' you for the invitation." Well that would give her some time away from her home for a while.

Then that girl interfered... with a disgustingly sweet little smile, she spoke: “Oh, maybe you had better not. Unless one of your friends left a swimsuit here, I don't think I have anything mature enough for Ms. Beaudreaux to wear.”

"T'anks but I don' need a swimsuit." She said, matching her tone almost completely. But Bella's voice always dripped with malice...even when she was trying to be nice.

After she left,Bella turned to Tom. "What a sweet little girl." She said, keeping herself in check. "Dats what I want my daughter ta be like."

And that WASN'T a lie...maybe he could tell, maybe he couldn't. But Bella knew if she ever had a daughter (which was HIGHLY unlikely), she'd want to teach her all the bitchy arts...including sarcasm and manipulation: both of which Terry had down pat.

[Black Tom]

“Aye, I would be willing to pay any price, ya know that but I'll give it a chance on its own. However, if I find myself completely at my wits end, ye'll probably hear from me,” Theresa replied to Tom’s warning. It was perfect, exactly what he wanted to hear. Too often, people wanted something but weren’t willing to work for it. That may seem odd coming from a criminal, but he always put just as much work into his criminal endeavors as he would have a regular job. That was Tom’s problem with Mutant kind during the war. They all wanted equality, but few were willing to fight in the war. Tom couldn’t respect that. He knew the price for failure, and was willing to endure that for the gains of success.

Bella admitted to stopping by out of boredom, just like Tom had thought. It wasn’t odd for that to happen. Bella was a lot like Tom. She never looked for friends. They just happened sometimes. Their friendship started much the same way his friendship with Cain did, from a mutual respect.

The interaction between Bella and Theresa was kind of funny really, although unsettling. The two women make up quite a large portion of his life as it is now. Needless to say, they weren’t allowed to fight, although catty was perfectly acceptable. "What a sweet little girl. Dats what I want my daughter ta be like." Tom couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Now Bella, ta have a daughter, ya need ta be sexually active.” Which she apparently wasn’t, or at least that what she told Tom. He’d tried to coax to woman into bed many times. The guy who put those rings on her hand kept Bella in line very well from wherever he was. What a waste!

He gave Bella a jovial smile as he usually did when playing with her. “Have a seat, unless ye‘d rather have a drink by the pool.” Tom was in no real hurry to put the girls back together. Short visits were probably best for now. But at the same time, he wasn’t going to pass up time with Theresa. If she was bound for the Red Guard, they would see each other even less. He wanted to get in some quality time before calling Mystique.

[Belladonna LeBeau]

“Now Bella, ta have a daughter, ya need ta be sexually active.” Bella's head snapped up, her eyes blazing. Leave it to Tom to bring that up. "Dat' wasn' very nice." She snarled.

That was just the reason that she never let anyone in...as soon as someone got close they either left her or brought up the worst aspects of her life to kick her while she was down.

But Black Tom was a tenative friend...maybe the only one that Bella had...ever. Folding her arms over her chest, she sneered down at him. "Don' look like you been getting any either, oui?"

That would fix him.

“Have a seat, unless ye‘d rather have a drink by the pool.” Bella nodded. "Merci...I t'ink i will. Den' I can take some notes from dat' daughter of yers. Dat way, if I ever become 'sexually active'-" She mocked his tone blantantly. She give him a sweet little smile that penetrated a little deeper into a genuine smile (despite her point, "Den' I'll know jus' what ta teach dat girl."

Running her fingers through her platinum hair, she walked toward the pool. "Don' keep her waitin."

[Siryn]

Terry had swam several laps and was considering the diving board when movement by the pool gate caught her attention. Stopping at the opposite end of the pool from the gate, she held onto the side and watched as Bella and Tom came outside. Bella was beautiful, for a practical ice queen. She had fair, classic features with her blue eyes and pale blond hair. She wasn't particularly tall but not short either, standing about Terry's own height. However, as beautiful as she was, Bella's almost hateful attitude on life shone through her beauty and made her impossible to approach. How her and Tom ever hit it off was beyond Terry. Her cousin deserved much better.

Since she was practically under the diving board, Terry pulled herself out of the pool with ease and climbed the ladder to the springboard. She preferred the platform that they had in the Olympic style pool at the Academy but the springboard would have to do while at home. Not that either mattered at the moment. Her only goal was to draw attention to herself and if there was one thing Terry excelled at, it was capturing Tom's attention. She walked to the edge of the board and made sure it was nice and dry before tried to bounce on it. If it had been wet, she could have slipped and that wouldn't have been fun at all. She'd seen it happen to a classmate and Terry still cringed at the memory.

Walking back to the end with the ladder, Terry turned and faced the end of the board. Now that she was up there, she didn't care why she had decided to do the dive in the first place. For her, diving had always been about competition and she was one of the best in the Academy. As her competitive nature took over, Terry concentrated solely on what she was doing and did a sort of hopping run to the edge where she bounced three times before pushing up and outward with the third bounce. At the peak point in the air, she did one and a half twists, one of her more simple dives, before plunging into the water with a minimal amount of splash. If she had been in competition, she would have received a high score for that dive.

Swimming underwater over half the length of the pool, she came up for breath just before reaching the side. Pulling herself out, Terry walked over to where she had laid her towel down and dried her face off. Looking over to where Bella and Tom were, she looked right at Bella and shook her head. Didn't the woman know that as long as Terry was around, Tom wouldn't take her to bed? It had always worked that way. She knew from talking to the staff that Tom had “company” practically every night but whenever she stayed over, he became celibate. She didn't know why he did that but she wasn't about to ask. It was his business and frankly, she didn't want to hear anything that went on. It was bad enough what she had to listen to living in the dorms where the walls were much thinner then they were here.

As she looked at Bella, Terry said, “Wait till I leave, then ya'll get what ya came for. I'll only be around a couple days at most.” There was no malice or cattiness in her voice that time, just the bare truth. Terry would be out of the way in a few days and Tom could go back to being a carefree bachelor again.

[Black Tom]

"Don' look like you been getting any either, oui?" Ouch, he must a struck a nerve today. The hangover probably wasn’t helping either. Tom almost apologized to Bella. He wasn’t trying to really hurt her. Why would he? She was the friend he’d had since Cain died, except Theresa of course. But she was always more of a daughter than a friend. Still, Tom didn’t apologize, ever. Bella would be fine.

"Merci...I t'ink i will. Den' I can take some notes from dat' daughter of yers. Dat way, if I ever become 'sexually active’, Den' I'll know jus' what ta teach dat girl." See? Bella was already doing better. Wait, What’d she say? Oh no, Theresa wasn’t sexually active. At least not around Tom. He was forced to come to terms with things she might have done while away at school. But there was an unspoken rule about when they were both home. That’s why the revolving door of bimbos stopped spinning when Theresa came for a visit. At least that was the agreement they had in his mind.

No matter though, Tom followed Bella out to the pool and took a seat in one of the chairs. Theresa wouldn’t be happy she was staying, but Tom had hoped they could learn to coexist now that Terry was older. That was a long shot given Bella usually malicious attitude and Terry’s unwillingness to share his attention, but Tom could always hope.

He watched as Terry set up and performed and very nice looking dive, Bringing a smile to his face. Tom knew she couldn’t get the same height here that she did in the Olympic style pool he’d watched her dive into during school competitions, but she still did well. If needed she could always give herself a little extra lift.

Madison came out with drinks for the three of them, daiquiris for Tom and Bella and a soft drink for Theresa as she came out of the pool. After drying her face, Theresa looked at Bella and said “Wait till I leave, then ya'll get what ya came for. I'll only be around a couple days at most.” There wasn’t any malice in her voice at all, but it was clear what she was saying. Tom watched for Bella’s reply. This could be quite interesting. The last time they had spent this much time around each other was before Theresa went away to school. She wasn’t nearly as confident then as she was now. Still, he didn’t want them to fight. “Bella and I aren’t lovers, Theresa, never have been.” Tom left out the part where she was married to some mystery man, in case Bella decided to mention Tom’s attempts at sleeping with her. She would do it, even if he was trying to make a point.