To those who wrote to me asking when I was going to finish this story, I apologize for the long delay. A new job has kept me from finding the time to write, but I believe that will now change. I appreciate your support and feedback.
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I awoke the next morning feeling slightly worn out, but curious as to what the day would bring. Incredibly the whole house had participated in some kind of sexual round robin and I was dying to see the results. I showered and put on some clothes before heading down stairs.
When I got there I found suitcases in the kitchen and Nan, Maggie and Brad talking outside. I crept to the screen door leading outdoors to hear what was going on. From what I could gather Maggie and Brad were getting set to leave, but the awkwardness of the conversation was making it difficult to get a clear message.
I opened the door and everyone turned towards me.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"Uh..Brad and I are going home" Maggie replied sheepishly.
"Oh? Why?" I asked.
"Uh...we just feel like we need to get home..." Maggie said. I could figure out why, given the fact they cheated on one another last night and might be sharing a strong case of the guilts.
"Does Mom know?" I asked.
"Not yet." Nan replied. "She's sound asleep."
"Where's Jim?" I asked her.
"Asleep too." she answered. "Too many late nights watching tv." I knew that wasn't the case, but wasn't about to push it any further.
"Well, we should at least let Mom know." I said.
"Yea, I'll go wake her" Nan volunteered. Maggie, Brad and I stood there awkwardly, trying to make some kind of small talk. Finally Maggie couldn't take it anymore and said she was going to take one more look around to make sure they didn't forget anything. I stood there a few moments longer and then headed into the house.
I went through the kitchen and up to my room. As I entered I was surprised to see Maggie sitting on my bed. I quickly closed the door and sat down next to her.
"So what's going on?" I asked. "Is this about you and I last night?" "Uh...not directly." Maggie replied. "When we woke up this morning Brad told me he had been thinking and he doesn't know if our marriage works anymore. We talked for about an hour and I got really scared. I realized how much I love him, despite the fact he leaves me unsatisfied in some areas. I just want to make this work. So we both agreed it was time to go home and try and figure it all out."
I knew that Brad's little session with Nan probably provoked this, given he's such a boy scout. He probably was wrestling with the guilt and all and just wanted to do the right thing. Not my approach, but commendable just the same.
"I hope you don't hate me now." I said.
"No. Not at all." she replied. "This isn't about you, it's about the hole in my marriage and the need to try and work it out. I was sitting here waiting for you so I could tell you that."
I looked at her and smiled. Then I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss and a hug. I felt really bad for her and wanted to try and comfort her any way I could. We got up and went downstairs, where Mom, looking quite ragged, was talking with Nan and Brad. They explained that they needed to leave because of some personal business that needed taking care of back home. Within moments they were in their car and backing out of my driveway.
The three of us made our way back into the house where Mom announced she was going to take a quick shower.
"Mom, you look all worn out. Are you feeling ok?" Nan asked.
"Uh..yea...I'm..fine." Mom replied, guilt written all over her face. She quickly turned and went upstairs.
"What do you suppose is up with her?" Nan asked.
"Too much activity lately?" I suggested, knowing full well what was up.
It occurred to me that now that it was just the four of us, this thing with Jim and Mom was about to get real complicated and someone was likely to get hurt. I just wanted to try and make sure I was there for Nan when the shit hits the fan. Maybe I should go to Mom and Jim and tell them that I know and help them figure out a way to break it to Nan. I dismissed this idea, figuring that Mom could figure this out without my help, payback for leaving me for Pete and now choosing Jim over me.
The rest of the day was as awkward as hell, with the three of them acting real weird around each other. Nan couldn't look Jim in the eye due to her little fling with Brad, Jim avoiding her at all costs and Mom up in her room most of the day with some excuse about a migraine. We hung out at the pool all day, taking short dips and making small talk. It continued this way until dinner, where we all sat around and ate and had more real awkward chit chat. After supper I watched closely to see if Mom and Jim would try and sneak away, but they were as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof. Finally Mom said she was going to bed, her migraine killing her, while Jim mumbled something about going down stairs to watch tv. That left Nan and I upstairs in the living room.
We started watching a movie, yet it seemed that we were both distracted as we constantly shifted and turned on the couch. We were still in our bathing suits, with Nan covering the bottom half of her two piece with a short sarong. As we repositioned ourselves once again, we ended up side by side, shoulders pressed together. The feeling of Nan's silky, freckled covered skin on mine was nearly intoxicating. I pulled my arm out from beside her and placed it around her shoulder, pulling her closer towards me. She didn't resist as she shifted up against me, leaning in and resting her head against mine.
I couldn't even pretend to watch the movie anymore with Nan snuggled up so close to me. I stroked my fingers up and down her arm, caressing her. She stopped watching the movie and turned to look at me.
"Strange day, huh?" she asked.
"You could say that again." I replied. "What was going on with everyone?"
"Uh.. I don't know. Things have been a little weird between Jim and I lately." she said.
"Oh? How come?" I asked, knowing full well why.
"I...I'm not sure.." she replied, unconvincingly.
"And how about Mom?" I asked, continuing to probe about how much she knew.
"Yea. She is really not herself." Nan replied in a way that led me to believe she had no idea about Jim.
We sat there and looked into one another's eyes for a while.
"It's nice though, to know that we still have one another no matter what." she said as she brought her arms up and around my shoulders.
"Absolutely." I replied as I moved my arms around her waist.