Chapter 1
The wedding was absolutely lovely, of course. It was a bit strange, of course, to watch my daughter take the plunge with this new man in her life. She was beautiful, of course, just like her mother in her own way. Even though my wife and I were estranged, we had never quite divorced, at least not yet, and I definitely considered her one of the most gorgeous women on Earth. One of the few rivals to her was my daughter, and, well, she took my breath away at moments like this. I didn't generally tend to like the whole "princess" thing, but it was hard not to feel like a king and think of her as just that, my princess, when she stood there in her bridal gown, all eyes on her.
"Who gives this woman to be with this man?" the priest asked aloud.
"Her mother and I do," I smiled at both my wife and my daughter right then, unaware of how my life would change pretty soon.
The priest then called for the rings, after which my daughter and her bridegroom, a nice enough fellow, if a bit timid and shy, exchanged both bands and wedding vows. I couldn't help but notice the way that the mother of the groom leered at me, even as she also ogled her own son, but that was none of my business at the present. I was there for my Amy, at least at the moment. Any further fallout, well, that was another matter, wasn't it, for another time. This was her day, and to a certain lesser extent in my lights, given my partiality, her Billy's day.
When the priest pronounced them man and wife, I was very happy for her, even though wedded bliss hadn't been my own experience of marriage. Speaking of which, I saw the look in my wife's eyes as she saw me and also the way that Billy's mother mentally undressed me. There was jealousy, but there was also a fascination of sorts. After all, Billy's parents were still married, and supposedly not as estranged as us, so what was going on there? Were unfaithful wives my lot in life, to have them, hold them, and sleep with them, from my own to other men's? I looked over at Billy's father, who was already a bit sauced from the look of him, and wondered what in the ever loving world his wife ever saw in him in the first place.
"It's your curse, you know. Adultery seems to just follow you everywhere, doesn't it?" my wife whispered in my ear as we signed the license as witnesses together, "for what it's worth, I know what a jealous, hypocritical bitch I've been, but I'm human, so sue me. Maybe we can ... you know, make a truce of sorts in spite of that."
"Yes, I'm a walking Murphy's Law of marital infidelity, aren't I? Yours, mine, other women's, etc. What sort of truce did you have in mind? I've dropped any pressure on you to sign the divorce papers, and neither of us have spoken to our lawyers in how long now? Isn't that a kind of truce in itself? We're basically separated, that's all, for all intents and purposes?" I addressed Cassie's comments as we headed out for the reception.
"I appreciate that, by the way. I'm a horrible Catholic, but I am a Catholic. I appreciate you not putting me in permanent danger of eternal damnation, for all that's worth. Thank you for that, babe. I also appreciate getting to attend our daughter's wedding Mass in every way, without feeling an utter pariah. Enough people already judge me, knowing our past. I'll explain the truce in short order, if you're still interested, just not here, not yet, and obviously, you can make your counter-offer, if mine still displeases you," Cassie whispered huskily, her voice leaving no question of her continued lust for me.
"Very well. We'll talk it over later, then. There's still the big party back at your place, anyway. Should I drop off the payment there, too? It's a little early, but would save a trip and gasoline," I alluded to the mortgage check.
"Hey, it's not as if it's court-ordered, as with most such payments. If you want to pay ahead, that makes it easier on me, too. Still, I appreciate that you've been keeping me housed and all that jazz. At least the alimony stopped when I got a new job, by mutual agreement, and didn't I get one rather fast, babe?" Cassie reminded me, feeling a little defensive about that whole matter of me paying for the mortgage so many years.
"That you did, to be fair," I acknowledged, as it was true, perhaps due to pride on her part, "Why exactly did Amy want a masque as her party's theme, anyway?"
"My idea, babe. I suggested it, and being a good daughter, she went with it. Such a sweetheart, our little girl. She is our little girl, you know. Yours and mine. I know that some of your friends urged a paternity test, but I'm glad that you never sought one. I don't know if it was spite or if they were just trying to protect you, but... ," I stopped her with a finger to her lips.
"She's my daughter. Case closed. I don't even want to discuss that issue, because it was never in doubt with me. She's our daughter, mine and yours, as you say. My baby. Your baby. Our girl. There was no way in Hell that I would ever do such a thing, unless, well, it came down to donating organs or blood, and even then it would only be to save her life. I'd test for blood type and expect the results to be a match. End of story," I refused to even entertain the notion that Amy wasn't my daughter in every sense of the word.
"Anyway, she wanted a masque, too, once she thought of it. That's our little girl. Always willing to do things for Mom and Dad, always wanting us back together, of course, though she was angry with me for hurting you ... and for some reason always took up for you more. Defended you for your revenge affairs, but to be fair, maybe she didn't realize that you were always on the cusp of infidelity, so didn't need much excuse. Then again, also to be fair, I didn't exactly qualify as wife of the year, did I? I never apologized for cheating on you, though you never did for the revenge affairs, either.
"I never had a right to expect fidelity from you, given my own adultery, but I was selfish and scared, okay? Terrified of losing you to another, better woman. That doesn't explain my infidelity, though, but that was just another case of my selfishness, I guess. The dirty thrill of getting some on the side. The Catholic guilt thing, I guess. The more I fear sin, the more I desire it. It's the lure of the taboo, that's all. It wasn't to hurt you, but I definitely managed that, anyway, and got burned for my pains. Even so, thanks for basically letting the divorce drop, at least of late," Cassie told me in between stopping to greet folks and get some punch.
"Um ... first part of the truce, at least for tonight, no more rehashing the past, okay? We've been all over this, haven't we? You asked for marriage and monogamy, per your religion, not mine, and you didn't follow your own moral code, which I didn't even share. I, ironically, did follow yours, up to a point, but not past the point where you reneged on your own proposed contract. But again, let's not go into that. For our daughter's sake, let's just drop that for today," I encouraged Cassie, who nodded, eyes moistening with the tears that she wouldn't shed.