A House Full of Women (Chapter 6)
Kathryn M. Burke
One of the main reasons Vanessa wanted to go home that evening was to talk about the whole situation with Joanna. Vanessa had told her briefly about her acquaintance with Sullivan, and the older woman had sensed that something might come of it; but neither of them could have expected that it would happen so soon.
When she got home, she immediately pulled Joanna aside for an intense talk in the first-floor den.
Joanna didn't need to be told. When she saw Vanessa's flushed face and disarranged clothes, she knew the state of affairs.
"You slept with him?" she said.
"Yes," Vanessa responded.
"That was fast!"
"I know it was--but he's a very special person."
"You have strong feelings for him?"
"I do."
"And he does for you?"
"I'll say! He already told me loved me."
"He said that? So soon?"
"Maybe it was just the sex talking. He was a virgin, you know."
"A virgin!"
"Joanna, there still are twenty-one-year-old virgins, male and female, in this world. But I think he knows his feelings pretty well--he's very introspective."
"But if he's never been with a girl before, he may really not know what he's feeling right now."
"Yes, I get that--but I'm pretty sure he's aware of what his heart is telling him. I'm just a little worried, that's all."
"Worried? About what?"
"Oh, Joanna, do I have to spell it out? How's Jack going to take this?"
"Hey, we've both been urging you to find someone of your own age. He can't expect you to be tied to him forever."
"Okay, fine. But then there's the matter of what goes on in this house."
Joanna fell silent for a moment, then said, "Ah, yes. Of course."
"I think Sullivan's going to totally freak out when he finds out."
"Does he have to find out?"
"How are we going to keep it from him? I don't want to deceive him, and I certainly don't want to just give up my intimacy with you and Eileen and especially Jack."
"That's going to be a tough thing to manage, Vanessa. I told you once before that men can be much more possessive than women where such things are concerned--and that applies especially to a guy who hasn't had any experience. It seems he's already put a lot of emotional energy into his feelings for you; and when he finds out you're, um, otherwise occupied, it might make him really angry--or at least hurt and disappointed."
"Yeah, I know," Vanessa said lugubriously. "I really don't know how I'm going to handle this."
"Well, maybe we can all help somehow," Joanna said encouragingly--although she was far from optimistic about how this whole situation was going to play out.
Vanessa kept on seeing Sullivan--at his place. After they finished sorting out his poems, she began typing them on her laptop. After an hour or two of work, they'd clear off the bed and get down to some intense lovemaking. This of course didn't happen every night, and on the nights when she stayed at home she continued her sessions with each member of the Martin family.
But the time was rapidly approaching when she had to at least introduce Sullivan to her housemates. He had already been baffled at her bland statement that she was living with "a family" near campus, and after a few weeks he finally got up the courage to say, "You know, I'd really like to meet these people."
"What people?" Vanessa said evasively.
"The ones you're living with."
"Oh. Yes, of course. Um, well, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow?"
"That would be great."
Vanessa was full of apprehension when dinnertime approached the next day. Even some soothing words from Joanna and Eileen didn't calm her down much. Jack, who had taken her involvement with another man with surprising tranquility, did his best to be supportive, although in all honesty he had no idea how he'd respond to this new love in his sweetheart's life.
