The Tangled Web is a story spanning several years and is based on the complicated lives of a brother and sister and those they live with. Set in the English Midlands, the tale is told through a series of interlocking short stories. Although designed to be read in sequence, I have tried to make each chapter stand as a complete and satisfying story in itself.
*****
It is once again a Thursday night. Sara and Sam are sitting in the lounge of Sam and Lynn's house. Sara is now obviously but not yet hugely pregnant, with a surprisingly large bump for this stage in her pregnancy. Blessedly, she can still wear 'ordinary' clothes, but Sara knows that the horror of full maternity dresses is only a few weeks away.
Their supposed tennis sessions have had to be curtailed because of Sara's condition. She has told David that she is taking up swimming to try and keep in reasonable shape now her normal exercise regime is no longer an option. She has also told David she will drop in on Sam after her swim.
Sara is troubled by her pregnancy. Although delighted to be pregnant, and after all her carefully laid plans, even more delighted to be carrying her brother Sam's child, she is having trouble coming to terms with some of the changes her condition has brought about.
Sara and Sam are sitting on the couch in the lounge, talking and sharing a little white wine (just one glass for Sara). Sara's legs are across Sam's lap. She is clearly uneasy about something.
"It really seems a bizarre way of bringing new life to the world" Sam was saying. "I mean, there can't be many species where the female gets so incapacitated."
"You're telling me!' Sara responded "and there's more to come. It looks like I'm going to get really big before the end. My back has already started to ache in the evenings and I'll just die if my ankles swell up. I can't stand even the idea of maternity dresses, but I suppose I'll just have to get used to it all."
"You've been quite lucky so far, compared with Lynn. She was sick really badly, every day for months. It didn't look as if you were anything like as bad."
"No, I wasn't. Just for a couple of weeks, really." Sara wriggled to try and get more comfortable. "I didn't think I'd ever feel sympathy with Lynn, but I do now." She went on. "It's a bit frightening having all these changes happening so quickly. My clothes don't fit properly any more and I'm starting to get cravings for funny things, like cookie dough ice cream."
"Watch out for that one," said Sam, "we don't want you getting fat."
"Thanks for the sympathy." Sara said grumpily, poking Sam hard in the ribs. "I can see you're interested."
Sam squeezed her thigh playfully. "You know I'm only joking, Midge. I really do want to know all about how you're feeling. It's my baby too, isn't it? I just don't want you to lose that fantastic figure of yours. You know what it does to me."
Sara smiled, his tone of voice pacifying her a little. She continued "Well, I'm finding it harder and harder to sleep on my back. I'm getting more tired all the time."
She paused then, under her breath said "And it affects me in other ways too. Some things that they don't tell you in the books."
"What do you mean, Midge?" asked Sam, concerned.
"Never mind. It's nothing, Sam." She blushed.
Sam noticed her face flushing. "If it really was nothing, you wouldn't have mentioned it. Come on, tell me! I'm almost unshockable."
"I'm not sure you are, Sam. But I think I do need to tell you something important."
"I'm listening, Midge. Go on!"
Sara took a deep breath as if summoning up her courage, then blurted out "Something strange has happened to me, Sam. I can't stop thinking about… "
"About what?"
"About…..about sex."
Sam laughed out loud. "If that's your problem, I know exactly what you mean. I've had that problem for years. I find it's especially bad whenever I'm with you."
"No Sam, I'm serious." Sara's face was unsmiling now and Sam listened carefully. "I'm getting worried about it. I can't stop wanting sex, needing sex. The whole time. It's driving me crazy and I'm getting frightened. Do you think it's normal? My hormones must be going crazy."
Sam looked a little amused by his sister's discomfort, but saw the serious, worried look in her eyes. He thought it over for a while, then said slowly
"I'm not sure, Midge. We could look it up in one of our books, I suppose. Between us we've got most of them, I reckon." He thought further. "Apart from that, it's hard to know who we could ask without getting all embarrassed about it." Then he suddenly looked up and asked, "Does David know?"
"He certainly knows something's changed. For the last two weeks I've needed sex every morning and every evening. And if it's a weekend, during the day as well. At first he thought it was great, but now he's getting tired and I'm getting frustrated."
Sam winced as he always did at the thought of David making love to Sara. "Don't tell me that, Midge. You know it always upsets me."
Sara stroked his cheek. "Come on, Sam, you know how I feel about you. No-one could ever mean the same to me as you do." She had found, since her pregnancy that she had needed to comfort him more, that he seemed more insecure about their relationship at a time when she thought her swelling belly would have proved the depth of her love to him.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, she adopted a more confrontational role.
"And anyway! How do you think I feel about you and Lynn doing it? I'm surprised she lets you. It might spoil that perfect body of hers." She added cattily.
"If only you knew!" thought Sam, but didn't speak. He had never discussed the detail of his sex life with Lynn, believing it would upset Sara, who had always been intimidated by Lynn's body. In truth, their sex life was at best only adequate. Lynn never really let herself go during their lovemaking, and Sam felt unable to let his passion take over.
But his love for Sara was different. There could be no pretence with Sara, who had known all Sam's misdemeanors from an early age, and now knew and shared his deepest secret of all. When he and Sara made love, it was unconditional, understanding, unifying, uninhibited. Sam and Sara both remembered clearly the moment they believed their child had been conceived; when their forbidden love had created a new, living testament to itself. He would never forget that moment.
Sara was talking again.
"I don't know what to do about it, Sam. It's reached the point where if I don't keep having sex I feel like screaming."
