Mercy’s sitting in our living room and I can tell she’s nervous. Her knees are clenched together and her hands fidget as she looks at us.
“What is it?” I rumble in a low voice. “Sweetheart, I know the business with the flute was really dirty, but we don’t have to go there again if you don’t want to. Or we could switch instruments, if that’s what you’re worried about. How about a timpani? Or a tuba?”
Her eyes go wide.
“How in the world would we work a tuba into our loving?” she gasps. “It seems impossible!”
My brother grins.
“Nothing’s impossible when there are two men,” Derek growls. “Now out with it, baby girl. We can tell you’re nervous for some reason.”
Mercy nods, and then takes a deep breath before reaching into her purse to pull out a small piece of paper. She places it with trembling fingers onto the glass coffee table and then shakes her head.
“Well, there have been some unexpected developments,” she says in a small voice. “I got a hold of twenty thousand dollars, and I wanted to repay my dad’s debt.”
My brother and I share dumbstruck glances.
“What?” I growl. “Where did you get the money?”
Drake is just as befuddled.
“Did it appear out of nowhere? Was it Mickey, down at the bar? Because that boy is no good, sweetheart. We’re going to leave the Drunken Rabbit if they keep him at the helm.”
Mercy shakes her head and swallows.
“Yeah, my dad’s mentioned that Mickey’s not much of a manager. But no, it’s not from anything Drunken Rabbit-related. It’s from my mom.”
I stare at her.
“I thought you hadn’t seen your mom in ages.”
She nods, her blonde curls flying while twisting her hands together.
“That’s true. I don’t think I’ve seen Sunny almost since I was a toddler. But evidently, Patrick called her up and said that I’d been brainwashed by you two, and that I needed her financial help because I was a sexual slave. So she gave me this money in order to free me.”
My brother and I stare at her.
“Bullshit,” is Drake’s harsh bark.
“Total BS,” I add.
Mercy nods.
“Don’t worry, I set Sunny straight. I told her that I hadn’t been brainwashed, and that in fact, it was Patrick’s debt and not mine. Sunny seemed to accept the story but she still wanted me to have this money because … well, my mom is concerned about me. She said some stuff about the scales not being even between us, and how I should use this money to level the field.”
I stare at her.
“Is that what you think is happening? That we’re not even somehow?”
Mercy shrugs helplessly.
“No, because you guys have never made me feel less than whole just because I owe you money. But my mom also says that I don’t know how the “real” world works. There are no free lunches, is what she says, and this is a way for us to level the playing field so that our romance can truly take off.”
I lean back for a moment to think. Never have I thought that Mercy was second-rate because she owed us money. In fact, the debt was just a fortuitous opportunity to claim her because of her dad’s idiotic decisions. I can tell my brother feels the same way, and after a knowing nod, he begins to speak.
“Mercy, you know that we treasure and cherish you. Twenty thousand dollars is nothing to us. Our new business ventures are actually already up and going, and the cash is flowing in like a river.”
She nods.
“Yes, but twenty thousand is a lot to me and my family, and I don’t want you to think that I’m doing this only because of the debt. Maybe I was at first, but not anymore.”
I nod.
“Of course not, sweetheart. The same goes for us. We saw the debt as nothing more than a hook of sorts. We wanted to spark your interest and get to know you, and although not a lot of time has passed, you’ve been amazing, honey. You are exactly the type of woman we’re looking for, and to be honest, the debt means nothing to us anymore.”
To emphasize this, I lean forward and take the check in my hands before ripping it in two emphatically.
“You see, sweetheart? We want you, and not the money. We’ve always wanted you, ever since you walked through the door of the Drunken Rabbit in that cheerleading outfit while toting your flute in hand. You mean the world to us, and Mercy, we’d love to make this permanent.”
Her cheeks flush and that beautiful mouth drops open.
“Permanent?” she whispers. “What do you mean?”
My brother and I share another look, and then simultaneously, drop to one knee in front of the curvy blonde. I take one of her small hands in my own, while my brother takes the other.
“Mercy Williams,” I intone.
“Will you marry us?” Drake finishes. “You mean the world to us, and without you, we will never be whole. You are our better half. Or better third, should I say.”
She gasps and goes hot, and then grips our fists with her own.
“Yes,” she mewls. “I’d love to marry you, Drake and Derek Stone. The money never meant anything to me either, and with you, I feel completed. Yes, yes, yes. A thousand times yes!”
With that, we lean forward to kiss our curvy girl because Mercy is the answer to our dreams. Maybe our initial introduction was made through the bungling and misguided efforts of her father. But our love is real now, and with or without Patrick, the three of us will be united as one right in time for the holiday season.