KEVIN

Okay, for the first time in weeks I can actually say I know how I feel about all this Portal crap.

Yeah, I was pissed. John was a good friend who had one whopper of a secret. A good friend, even though he had history with my wife LizBeth before he met Riley. A good friend through thick and thin and I’ll say it, I fuckin’ miss him. Don’t make me gay or nothing, but … anyway. Having had time to digest the whole weird phenomenon that brought him and the others from their celluloid world to this one, I’m not sure I’ll ever understand it, but I think I can cope. No, I know I can.

The turning point was this big ass bruiser of a news reporter standing in my living room and threatening to tell the whole story. Does the fucker even know the whole story? All I kept thinking about was the guys … their wives … their kids … and what being exposed will do to them. Then there was that other thing. The DNA thing. Shit, bringing this out into the open was bound to fuck up Crowe’s life too, and I’m not real sure the man deserves that at all. Yes he’s responsible for creating characters powerful enough to crash through from one universe to another … but really. Is that his fault? Anymore than it’s John’s fault that he’s one of them?

I waved McAffrey to the sofa and glared down at him. Sometimes I’m a real asshole but I knew the score … finally. Time to clear things up between John and me and shine a little light on this reporter while I’m at it.

“McAffrey, just what is it you plan to expose?”

“Mr. Boyer, I’m here because I understand you had a friendship with John Biebe and –”

“Have a friendship,” I corrected. He stood too. Guess he didn’t like being looked down at.

“Okay, have a friendship with John Biebe. I’m just trying to understand why there are so many men, living within a few hundred miles, who all have a striking resemblance to film characters? I’m trying to figure out what’s behind it … what’s the pay off for all this … deception?”

“Let me flesh out your question a little better for ya, McCaffrey. You want to know why there are so many men here who look like Russell Crowe characters; who have the exact same names as those characters. Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. What do you know?”

“I know you have a striking resemblance to a Crowe character yourself, buddy. Cal McCaffrey, Washington Post investigative news reporter. Movie was called … uh … State of Play. I know you probably woke up sometime at the end of April, early May pretty damn confused. I know you fit right into the mold you’re investigating. I got that right?”

McCaffrey’s ass dropped right back to the sofa cushions.

“Tell you what else I know,” I spat. “I know these men are real men, not fakes, not wannabes. I know they don’t like the situation much better than you do. But … they’re here and they’re real. They break and they bleed … and they die. I know the Portal that brought them here is some kinda miracle. Don’t got a clue how it works but it did something unbelievable. Just ‘cause it’s unbelievable don’t mean it ain’t real. Big time reporter like you should know that much.”

Now he was looking kinda pale.

“Know what else?” I was on a roll. “A few hundred miles ain’t the half of it. Maximus is in California along with a few I never even heard of. Crowe characters ain’t the only people coming through either. We’ve got other men; Marc Antony and Pullo from Rome. Dr. Stephan Maturin came with Jack Aubrey and Dino O’Leary came with Thorne. Juba just showed up. That pub owner in town, Gerry Kennedy? He’s from a sappy chick flick, P.S. I Love You. I met a man named Shane Falco from some stupid football movie and recently we had a murder investigation done by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks, for Christ’s sake. There was even a visit from some damn television vampires. This Portal isn’t as picky as you’d think. Hell, it brought you, didn’t it?” Damn, it felt good to say all this, actually get the words out and damn if I didn’t feel fantastic knowing I could speak them with conviction.

McCaffrey had actually dropped his notepad and pen. His eyes were glazed over. Maybe, just maybe I got through to him? No doubt he came here thinking I’d expose something else all together.

“But why? To what end?” McCaffrey whispered. Not sure if he was asking me but I sat across from him and shrugged.

“Dunno. It wasn’t easy for some of them, ya know. John had a wife, three kids. Wade had just escaped … again. I’m sure Wigand misses his girls. Some good stuff did come from it all though. Look at Maturin. He went to college, med school, he’s now a surgeon at Bethesda Military Hospital. He’s saves lives. Same with Thorne with his Kidnap and Ransom expertise. These dudes are building businesses, getting married, having children. Making an impact. They … you … are all part of this world now.”

“Uh …” He abruptly stood, wavered, looked disoriented. “I gotta go.”

He left like a bat outta hell, his notepad and pen still on my living room carpet.

KIM
 
I awakened with a start from a deep sleep and snuggled up close behind Emmie. We were up late the evening before rearranging the bedroom closet to make room for all of Emmie’s clothes, shoes and handbags, but it was hopeless and putting up a fight over land rights was only going to delay the inevitable. I took the only action left to me and moved all my stuff from my closet into the smaller closet in the spare bedroom. I guess a man has to know when to fight and when to run, and I really shouldn’t complain. Emmie’s given up her apartment and has moved in with me; her name’s on the lease and it’s all official. It almost makes going to bed at 2am worth every exhausted moment.

Somewhere outside I heard a dog barking. Bloody hell; that’s a new annoyance. It’s bad enough that my barmy neighbor plays her stereo until the wee hours of the morning. Emmie must have heard the barking as well; she pushed her tight warm little bum back against me and suddenly sleep was the last thing I had on my mind. I slipped my fingers beneath the band of her panties as she pulled off her tee shirt. Have I ever mentioned how firm and perky her breasts are? Just the right size for a playful nibble with soft pink nipples that turn hard with the slightest touch …

I was out of my sweatpants and sliding into the soft warm nest between Emmie’s soft creamy thighs when I heard the dog barking again, only louder this time. It sounded like the poor bloody mutt was being catapulted into space. I tried to focus; firm breast, pink nipples, warm moist wonderland nestled between smooth delectable legs that had wrapped themselves around my back …

The barking grew louder.

Emmie groaned and I felt old Sparky giving up the ghost.

Emmie sighed. “Good grief, what the hell is wrong with that darned dog?”

I just lay there. Dejected and deflated, my body wanting Emmie more than anything but then another dog joined in with the barking and then another started howling.

Emmie kissed my forehead and looked at the window “Maybe if we turned up the stereo…”

Too late. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m no longer 16 and the old boy takes a little longer recovery time between each, well, you know. I rolled off of Emmie and she reached for her tee shirt and panties.

“I’ll go make some coffee.”

LACHLAN

It’s funny how one moment you’re busy worrying about any number of supposed troubles and the next you’re walking on air. I think it’s in my nature to always focus on the bright side, even when everything’s falling apart around me, but at this moment, my cup runneth over; I am one damn lucky, lucky, bloke.

Jess and I are going to be parents again. It’s completely unplanned and unexpected, but I don’t think anything could have made me happier. If I had any sense, I’d start looking over my shoulder, but I seem to be on a roll these days. This was further reinforced when I dropped by the office between stopping off at the bank and making a collective lunch run for my crew. Enid greeted me at her desk with a smile as she hung up the phone. Her voice was more cheerful than usual, but she’s been on cloud nine ever since Jess and I told her the news. .

“Well hello, my precious son in law. You’ll never believe who I was just speaking to right before you came in.”

I made a show of trying to guess the answer. “Um, Jessie’s just come back from the doctor’s office and he’s discovered that we’re having twins?”

Enid cackled. “Nope. Try again.”

“Triplets?”

“Oi vey, get a load of Mr. Cock of the Walk.” She laughed again, but this time I noticed the rather dreamy look in her eyes. “Try again, smarty pants.”

”Quadruplets?”

“Close, sonny, but no cigar. That was Senior Martin Santiago Dominguez from Brazil.” She rolled her R’s in a saucy trill and snapped her fingers in an impression of a flamenco dancer’s castanets.

This could only mean one thing. “He’s accepted our bid for the old MacGruder project?”

Enid got up from her chair and clapped her hands and stomped her feet. “Si, senior. Es mui mucho gusto!”

I laughed at her bad Portugese as I waltzed over and twirled her about in my arms. We nailed the MacGruder contract!

“What else did he say? Did he leave a telephone number?”

“He left his number and I gave him the number to your cell. He asked me to contact his secretary with the time that would be best suited to your busy schedule to discuss the details. He’ll be arriving in Vermont in early August and looks forward to meeting you in person.” She sang out her last word as if performing an aria.

“What’d he sound like? ‘

I never thought I’d see Enid blush, but her cheeks turned all pink and she smiled dreamily. “Like Ricardo Montalban with a touch of Raul Julia.”

I had no idea who she was talking about, but I sussed her meaning.. “Like sex on a bagel with lox and cream cheese?”

“Exactamundo!” She twirled around again and stopped all of a sudden. Her expression grew suddenly serious and when our eyes met, we both broke out laughing.

EAST

Been a while since I had to work through a ragin’ hang over, but there was work to do and as the only man around the Aubrey farm, I had to be bloody doing it. Drank late last night and still stinging from Biebe catchin’ me with Natalie like that. Fuck. The bloke has some vicious timin’, that’s for sure. But, so what? I mean, what difference does it make? Me and Natalie, we didn’t do anything and if we did … or ever do, what business is it of his? Or anyone?

Really. I been thinkin’ ‘bout this a lot. Back during the game, in that other swapping/sharing life we used to live, there were blokes with number ones, the loves of their lives and all that bloody shit … and then there were the rest of us. Sometimes we’d get called on for a visit. Nice. But it didn’t happen near often enough for my taste. Most of us on the back burner simply made the best of things and broke the rules real quietly. Some relationships got hot. Grant almost married a woman from St. Louis. Now that would’ve caused some real trouble.

But in the end it was Biebe who did the marriage thing and brought it all to a grinding halt. Most of my brothers just rolled with the punches, but me? I kinda still get mad about it all. Lookin’ around, there are only a few women left from those days.

Riley? Well, I did have one visit with her. Helped her purchase the first two draft horses for the Inn’s now famous carriage and sleigh rides. Had a spectacular few nights between the sheets with her too. So, check that one off the list.

Then there’s Meredith. Yup. A crazy afternoon in the stables back at the Temple. The old days had their perks, that’s for sure. Shared her with Egan that day. Still good as could be. I’d like a solo shot at that, but Hando’s gone all middle class establishment on me and he’d enjoy tearing me apart, limb by limb while I watch and scream. A shared afternoon in the hay is gonna have to satisfy where Mere’s concerned.

That leaves Natalie. Sweet, beautiful Natalie. No, she never once even asked for me. She took Colin as her number one then chose Aubrey as her husband. Aubrey, who just sails off. Aubrey, who thinks it’s just fine and dandy to leave his pretty wife behind.

Okay. John made his feelings clear and now I’m gonna make mine real clear. I’m goin’ for this. I want it and I intend to have it. Maybe after that I’ll be okay about bein’ around the family. Maybe then I’ll feel like I got my fair share too.

After makin’ sure everything was done and taken care of in the stables, I went out into the field and picked an armful of wild flowers. Yellow, blue, pink and red. Then I went up to the house.

NATALIE

No letter from Jack today. No email, no phone call. Poor Chelsea cried herself to sleep calling for her daddy and Eddie asked more than once about when Jack was coming home before he left for a weekend camping trip with the Gilberts.

I swear I never felt so lonely in my life. Of course there are very legitimate reasons why Jack might not be in touch the last two days. There might have been a major haul and they’d have him working day and night to help identify and catalogue the find. I really shouldn’t be so sad about all this, especially since I know in my heart of hearts that Jack must be filled with joy. He’s at sea. He’s on a deck and the wind is blowing his hair. He may or may not be thinking of us, but he’s happy.

I slammed down the washer lid and twisted the knob then collected stray sippy cups and coffee mugs to place in the sink. When did it get so late? Already lunch time? Was I hungry? Not really. I poured more coffee and sat at the table.

The quiet of my big farmhouse speaks in whispers. It tells of families that lived there long ago, children running on the steps and husbands wrapping their arms around wives. It speaks of marriages and funerals, love and sadness. That afternoon it said nothing. It felt empty. Lonely, just like me.

I tried to shake it off. It was only temporary. Sunday evening Eddie would be back. In an few hours Chelsea would wake from her nap ready and raring to cause all forms of terrible two havoc and eventually … Jack would come home. Jack. I miss Jack. Maybe I miss more than Jack. I think I miss being Jack’s wife. Right now I feel like the widow lady living in a big empty farmhouse.

But I didn’t have to be so lonely. There were nearly a hundred horses boarded out in the stables. There were people coming every day to ride their horses. I should be making friends.

My stomach growled. I should be having lunch.

“Oh! I can have lunch with East!” I realized and quickly made a few sandwiches then slid into my shoes to go out and find him. I didn’t have to go far.

He was coming to me, stepping up onto the porch with his hat in one hand and the most beautiful bunch of wildflowers in his arm.

“You’re just in time for lunch.” I was smiling through tears. How nice to be treated special.

“Thank ya, love. These are for you.”

BEN

I was proud to take my woman to lunch. We sat in that nice restaurant on Front Street and we talked about the missing dogs and her customers and the house we were renting and how much I think we need to buy a house of our own. Since I came to this world I’ve lived in motels and hotels, Biebe’s Inn and now a rented house owned by an absentee landlord who don’t give no never mind if the plumbing works or not.

I’ve sure had a mess of adjustments in a real short time. The law baffles me the most. Can’t figure out why some things that should be done just can’t be, and some things that get done make no fuckin’ sense. But, what the hell? It’s the way it works in this day and time so I play by the rules. If it weren’t for Tracy, I swear I’d be on the road, making my own rules. For her, I’ll do whatever I gotta do.

While we ate I looked around. In that nice place, there were a lot of women Tracy cuts hair and paints nails for, but none of them said nothin’. In fact, more of them nodded ‘cause they recognized me and purty much ignored my wife. Now see, I just don’t get how that can be.

To me, Tracy’s perfect. She’s beautiful where it counts. She don’t need to be changing the color of her hair so much, but whatever color it is (right now it’s orange, but she calls it sunset apricot), it’s beautiful. But I ain’t so blind that I don’t know what people think.

See, back when I was a young buck, I spent some time in a small town outside Denver. A man I knew fell in love with a saloon singer. Yeah, she was a prostitute, but he married her anyway. It was real hard for him to get the other, respectable town ladies to be nice to his wife. ‘Course, Tracy ain’t no hooker. I don’t think they think that around Stowe, but I can see they treat her like she’s less than them. Damn, I know my lady officer, Samantha, thinks like that. Now that really pisses me off. Gotta be grateful though, at least the family wives are good to Tracy. I just feel bad she don’t seem to have many friends. A woman needs woman friends. It makes ‘em contented and lord knows a man wants a contented wife. Makes everything a whole mess easier.

We shared a piece of pie and it was time to head back to the station and what my officers are callin’ The Missing Mutt Case. But first I took my time walking Tracy back to her little shop. I stood out there on the street with her and kissed her long and hard. Made sure the folks passin’ got a good look too. My wife is somethin’ special and I want them all to know, goddamnit.

JOHN

Summertime in Vermont is like heaven on earth. No matter how many problems a guy has, nothing feels better than a glass of iced tea on the porch, a view of the mountain … and a loving wife. So, okay, my wife right now is kinda moody, but really, can any man understand what it’s like to carry a growing baby in his belly? Nope. So the best thing is to be sweet, be kind, and hope for the best. This afternoon, I’m hoping for sex.

Nathan is growing so fast. At nearly four he knows like the back of his hand when it’s naptime and he knows exactly when we’re gonna let him back out of his room. As Riley’s pregnancy progresses, he’s been giving us less trouble over it. Maybe he’s got this thing figured out with his mommy? How not to piss her off? God sakes, maybe I can get a few pointers from my son?

But he’s sleeping soundly and I’m watching Riley rub her belly and stir a pot of spaghetti sauce. Some things I have learned. Spaghetti sauce takes a long time to cook, hours. It also doesn’t really need her attention. Seemed like a strategic time to make my move.

I stepped behind her and slid my hands to cup her belly. Shit, the baby moved right that moment and we both gasped then laughed. My hand lowered, just far enough to brush over hidden heaven and she gripped it tight.

“John, what are you doing?”

“I want to love you,” I said, nuzzling for a kiss.

“How could you? I mean really. I’m almost a freaking house here.”

“You are a house. Baby lives inside and daddy wants to come in and visit.”

“You’re a goof.” She slipped from my grasp and went to the living room. Riles is only six months pregnant but she looks bigger than she did with Nathan. Someone told me that the babies get bigger with each pregnancy. Makes me wince to think about her giving birth to a kid the size of a kindergartner. Maybe it won’t come to that. Besides, thinking about it sort of takes the wind outta my sails.

I check my watch. Nathan won’t wake for another hour and there was nothing pressing on her agenda. I decided to forgo the sitting at her side and schmoosing, telling her how beautiful she is and … well … begging. I went right to my knees at her feet. What I did next even surprised me. Nope, I didn’t plan it, but there, eye to eye with her swelled belly I was so compelled to kiss it I just did. My palms smoothed over the rolling baby inside and I whispered, “I love you.”

Damn. Right after that Riley dragged me to bed. The sex was over the top fan-fucking-tastic and I’m not real sure I deserved it. After all, I really put no effort into getting it. I just, I dunno, did what I felt and for once, it turned out good.

I kissed her mouth real softly and lowered to capture a nipple between my lips. Soon it would be the sole possession of my second son and I needed to get my time while I could.

“Are you worried about him?” Riley asked quietly, her fingers in my hair as I settled my head on her shoulder.

“The baby?” Breaks my heart to remember how she lost our first baby; worries me that she might still be thinking about that.

“No. Cal. Are you worried he’ll, you know, break the story?”

“Sweetheart, don’t you be concerning yourself with this. I plan to talk to him tonight when he gets in. Front desk will let me know when he’s back. Chances are he has no story to break anyway. But you’re right; I need to get this taken care of.”

“Maybe I should talk to him, John. Maybe I can convince him to …”

“Shhh.” I kissed her again. I hate when she gets all worried about stuff I should have dealt with already. “Let me talk to him first. If I strike out, he’s all yours. Now. What do you think about another round?”

She snorted. “What do you think of another round?” He hand slithered to my growing cock. “Oh! Well, I guess you think favorably. Let’s go for it before Nathan demands freedom from the nursery.”

Score!

JACOB

There’s something bad happening in our neighborhood and my dad and Samantha were talking about it in the kitchen while we ate my dinner.

“Egan, this could be the start of something much bigger, and I don’t think the Sheriff fully understands the seriousness; dog napping is a lucrative business. Three more were stolen yesterday; that makes twenty in less than two weeks.”

 I looked over at Bella and suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

“Ben’s one of those blokes who doesn’t really see the use of a dog unless it’s workin’ for a livin’” My dad reached for the salad dressing with one hand while reaching for the plate of biscuits with the other. “I don’t think he had the luxury of having a dog of his own when he was a kid.”

Now my stomach really hurt. “Dad, what if someone steals Bella?”

Samantha reached over and ran her fingers through my hair, her eyes all soft and pretty. “Honey, that’s not going to happen.”

“But how do you know?”

“Son, only special dogs are being taken.” My dad looked at Samantha and then back at me.

“But Bella is special. She’s the smartest dog in the world.”

 Samantha smiled. “Jacob honey, these bad men don’t care about smart. They’re stealing expensive dogs from wealthy people.”

“But my dad has a lot of money. He told me so.”

“But we don’t have an expensive dog. Bella is very special, but not the kind of special like these bad men are looking for.”

I tried to eat my dinner but I felt like I was going to throw up. Samantha put her hand on my forehead; her fingers felt soft and cool.

“Egan, I think he’s running a fever. I think we’ve upset him with all this adult talk.”

My dad reached over to also feel my head. “You’re probably right. He does feel a little warm. Hey squirt; why don’t you go get in bed and you can watch the telly for a bit before it’s time for lights out.”

“Can Bella come with me?”

“Doesn’t she always? “

I just wanted to be extra sure.

EGAN

Neither one of us stopped to consider how upset Jacob would get over the dog thefts and we both felt more than a little guilty over how it had affected him. Sam’s so sensitive about his feelings and I knew she’d be beating herself up all evening. I tried to change the subject to lighten the mood.

“Hey, speakin’ of your boss, his wife called me earlier this afternoon and invited the three of us over to join them for dinner on Saturday. I know Ben gets on your nerves but Tracey’s really tamed his wilder side. It’ll be worth it if you gave her a second chance”

Sam’s eyes went all wide, kind of like a deer’s in the headlights and I felt a sinking in my stomach. “Hey, you never know; might be even more enjoyable than mucking out Ooljee’s stall.”

If Sam is put off by Ben’s old fashioned ways and Tracey’s ever changing hair color, how will she react when I try to explain the dynamics in our family? She’s so open minded about some things and yet so stubborn about others; could she handle the truth? I know it’s a lot to ask of anyone, but others have embraced this knowledge with open arms. Granted, they’re all in love with one of the various brothers, but then there’s that Cal McAffrey bloke who’s been asking a lot of questions; how’s he gonna react when he realizes that he’s one of us? And who’s gonna tell him?      

I felt Sam’s hand on my forearm and realized that my mind had been wanderin.’

“Egan, since it’s obviously important to you, I’ll say yes to dinner with Ben and Tracey. But please tell me that we won’t be the only ones there? See if they’ll also invite John and Riley or maybe Lachlan and Jessie or even Jeff and his friend Matt? I’m willing to give it a go, but can we at least have some other normal folks around us as well?”

I don’t think Sam understood my laughter, but again I thought of Riley and her lecture about baby steps. “I have a feelin’ that can be arranged.”

CAL

My last hope was Boyer. Lord knew I couldn’t break the story for love or money. This town is crazy about every one of those guys and not one of the residents seemed to notice a resemblance of any kind. What did Boyer call the Portal? A miracle? Magical? Was it magic that protected them all for so long? Them all? Was I really one of them?

I drove around ‘til practically midnight and couldn’t even think about trying to sleep, so I went down to the pub at the Inn. Nice place. Smaller than Kennedy’s … Gerry Kennedy, another Portal passenger apparently. God I needed a beer or ten.

I drank. The pub got quieter around one a.m. I believed it was about to close but around my fifth beer I looked up and noticed the place was filling up again. Biebe was sitting at a table with his pretty, pregnant wife. Several others were at the bar. Sixth beer, I started to wonder why the place was still opened. My watch said two-thirty. Seventh beer I got the creeps. See, everyone in that pub was one of them. A few had women with them. What the hell? Was there about to be some kind of ritual hazing or something? Was I getting initiated into the cult?

I tried to stand. Too drunk. I asked for coffee and the lovely blond bartender brought me an espresso and one of those fancy Italian biscotti cookies. She sat at the corner of the bar with Cory White, supposedly a blood relative to one of the Portal characters. Bud White. Even looked like him. God, I used to love L.A. Confidential too. I’ll never be able to look at it the same again.

I glanced toward Biebe’s table just as I felt dizziness wash over me. This was the mother of all buzzes, and I wasn’t all that fucked up drunk. It’d take another seven beers to get me that far. Suddenly Riley Biebe rushed from her table toward me, her hand reached out as she screamed over the noise.

“No! You can’t! Don’t take him, please! No! Don’t!”