It was a bright and sunny day. I was feeling good enough to go for a walk. Renee was still in her office working, so I stayed out for a couple of hours to keep myself from disturbing her. I even went far enough to pick up groceries from the store to bring home. I thought Renee would enjoy a surprise meal made by me.
Lately, I have been having some bad days. I knew it was frightening Renee. We had decided not to hide my condition from each other. I hated having to tell her when I was feeling unwell, honestly. I wanted to be the strong dominant who would take care of her. Now, I was the weak one, forcing my partner to watch me slowly deteriorate.
I was starting to lose weight. Despite my age, I had always been a fit man. Now, I was losing my muscle tone. As a result, I could not do things that I used to. Even our play was starting to change. I couldn't go for as long as I once did. I had gone against our agreement and hid it from Renee, but there had been times that I struggled to get stiff. It wasn't for lack of enthusiasm; my body was just slow to respond.
I hoped that Renee would be pleased to see me feeling well enough to take a walk and then cook her our meal. I was terrified of becoming a nuisance to her. I remembered watching Katherine fade away right in front of my eyes. I would be damned if I put Renee through the same thing.
I came into the house excited to complete my plans. To my shock, I found Renee and her father sitting at the dining room table. I thought nothing of it and greeted them both.
"Hey, you two. Curt, you are home early. I just came back from a walk. I was planning to make shepherd's pie for dinner tonight." I started putting the ingredients away in the refrigerator. It became eerily quiet in the room. I ignored the awkwardness while putting things away. After I was done, I sat at the table with them.
"What's up with you two?" I tried to break the tension in the room. I looked at Renee. She quickly looked away. Now, I was inquisitive; that was very unlike her.
"We were having an uncomfortable discussion," Curt spoke up. I eyed him up and down. What was he telling my granddaughter?
"I'm sorry, Grandpa...." Renee got up, excusing herself from the room. What has gotten into her? I asked as much to Curt.
"We were discussing your sex life." Curt looked directly at me. My face paled. "I've known for a while, Dad." He added. I had no words. Luckily, Curt had control of the conversation.
"I know about how you and Mom were, too. I've known since I was a kid. But, in fairness, for knowing your secret, mine is that I have always enjoyed watching your videos. So when you moved back in, I went looking for them, some weird nostalgia. I saw new recordings in the stash, and that's how I found out. Look, at first, I was furious." He paused.
"and now?" I couldn't imagine what goal Curt had bringing this up now. If he had known for months, why did he decide we needed to discuss it now?
"Now, I have a question to ask you."
"Well, don't keep me waiting."
"Since Renee's mother left us, I've been using prostitutes. Lately, I've been using your videos and still purchasing company. I want to save myself the money."
"Look, if you were sneaking my videos already, I don't see why you need my permission to borrow them now."
"I'm not looking to borrow your videos."
"Renee!"
"Please don't give me the 'she's your daughter' bullshit. That would be such a hypocritical argument." Damn, my son, for being so good at arguing.
"Is that why Renee ran out of the room? Look, if she doesn't want to...."
"No, she thinks you'll be upset with her because I found out."
"Fuck, let me go talk to her. Then we can continue this discussion, the three of us." I got up from the kitchen table to go after Renee. I found her in her room sobbing on her bed. I sat down at the end.
"Honey, I'm not upset. No more tears." I begged her. She crawled over to hug me. I shushed her and promised that I wasn't upset. It still took her a few minutes to calm her down.
"How much did your father tell you?" I finally got to ask her when she was calm enough to speak.
"What else is there to tell me? He knows about us, and he's disgusted with me." She started crying again.
"Renee, that is not what he just told me. Come on; we need to have a family talk." Now, she needed reassurance from her father, not from me. Curt was sitting at the kitchen table where I had left him. His head was in his hands.
"Curt, why the hell did you try to talk to Renee without me?" I started reprimanding him.
"She was home; it just sort of came out."
"Please tell your daughter that you don't hate her!"
"What? Of course, I don't hate her!"
"Really?" Renee asked between sniffles.