Surprisingly, Faith was calm and relaxed. I expected lots of tears with her burying her face against my chest. I was also wondering why my emotions were relaxed. Maybe it was a relief that our relationship would be out in the open. I was about to ask what happened, when Faith took my face in her hands and kissed me softly. As she pulled away she smiled.
"I love you, Sam. I have always felt safe with you, protected by you. I'm glad that my parents know."
I motioned for Shannon to join us on the couch. I pulled her close as she sat down next to me.
"Tell me what happened."
Shannon spoke first. "Things were going so well. Both of us were so enthusiastic about what we were proposing. I kept thinking that there was no way this could fail."
"Yeah," said Faith. "I felt that too. Mom and Dad kept smiling and nodding as they listened to us. I really thought that they were all for it."
"And then they dropped the bomb," said Sharon.
Faith rested her head against my shoulder. "I never saw it coming."
"Neither of us did," responded Shannon. "With big smiles on their faces, they told us that they had been thinking about enrolling us in school in Tokyo. International studies would be valuable for both of us. They just could not understand that we don't want to leave."
My heart sank. I never saw that one coming either. I felt like I had failed them both because I didn't think about how the tables might be turned on them.
"We tried to convince them that what we wanted was to stay here and go to school. But there was no changing of their minds." Shannon's eyes started to tear up.
"And then I told them. I wasn't emotional. I was actually very calm," said Faith. "I told them I loved you and that I would not leave you. And then I walked out of the house."
"I didn't follow Faith out right away," said Shannon. "They immediately were asking who this Sam person was. I almost laughed out loud. I told them that Faith was talking about you. They appeared shocked. And then I told them that I didn't want to leave you either and I walked out to join Faith."
"Are you both ok? That could not have been easy."
"I'm fine, my love. But I'm worried about Shannon."
Shannon lifted her head and looked at Faith. "You're worried about me? Why?"
Faith lowered her eyes. "I guess it's because you've lost your parents once before. I feel like I dragged you into this."
"Whoa!" I said. "Neither of you have lost your parents yet. Let's not be premature."
Shannon smiled at Faith. "You didn't drag me into this, Faith. I'm here for two reasons. One is that I love you and I don't want to be separated from you again." Shannon paused and looked at me. "The other reason is that I love you, Sam. I know you're not ready to say that back to me, but I don't care. I want to be here. And like Faith said earlier, I also feel safe with you. I don't want to lose that."
I smiled at Shannon. I lifted her chin with my fingers and leaned over and kissed her lips. Shannon pulled back after the kiss and slid off the couch. She knelt before me. Faith, sensing what was happening, slid off my lap and sat next to me.
"I've wanted to say this for a while now," said Shannon. "I have had but one regret when I have been in this house. I regret the way I talked to you when we met. You have always treated me with respect ... and love. Maybe you didn't say it, but I always felt it. I want to be yours. I want to give myself to you. I want you to possess me and everything about me. I want to serve you and give you pleasure. Please accept me, my body, and my spirit as yours."
I reached down to stroke Shannon's cheek. "The gift of yourself to another is the greatest gift anyone can give another. I am humbled by what you ask and what you wish to give to me. I will be proud to call you mine, Shannon."
Shannon's eyes begin to fill with tears again. But this time, they were tears of happiness. Faith joined Shannon on the floor and hugged her. And then she began to cry too.
"I love you Shannon," said Faith. "I could not be prouder or happier with what you just did."
I helped them both to their feet. "Come on. I'll fix you some lunch. Or I'll be in tears too." And then I chuckled.
As I prepared sandwiches for them, I finally spoke of the one subject that we had all avoided.
"We need to talk about your parents. You've told them you will not leave with them. But now what?"
"I don't know, but I won't get into an argument with them." Faith sounded quite firm and sure of herself. "I don't even plan on sleeping in that house again."
"Whatever you decide, don't cut them off. You'll regret it, my love." I really did fear the possibility of the girls relationships with their parents could end. And then I made a decision. "I'm going to talk with them."
Both Faith and Shannon stared at me with surprise. "You don't have to, Sam," said Faith. "This is not your problem."
"Oh yes it is. Your happiness is my concern. You may be upset with your parents now, but I can't allow you to break the tie with them without trying talk with them. This is all of our problem."
Shannon shook her head. "I don't know. I can't see either of them even willing to speak to you. I can see you trying to talk to them and all they can think of is you fucking their daughters."
Faith laughed. "Oh yeah, that'll work real well. 'Hi, I'm Sam and I love to tie your daughters down and fuck them.' "
I gave Faith a look, but couldn't hold it. I cracked up and started to laugh. And then all three of us were laughing.
We finished lunch and all worked together to clean up the kitchen. Considering the morning's events, we were all in a very cheerful mood. But we all came crashing back to reality when the door bell rang. I told the girls to go sit in the living room while I answered the door. I was sure of whom it was before I even opened the door. I didn't even get a hello out.
"Are Annie and Shannon here?" He was a bit younger than I was, but at the moment, his face made him look older.
"Yes they are, Mr. Dawson. Please come in. They're in the living room."
"This won't take long." He followed me to the living room. When he saw the girls, he turned to me. "Please leave us for a moment. I would like to talk with them privately."
His request was reasonable and I was about to leave the room, but there was something inside me that kept whispering to me 'Don't leave the girls.'
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dawson, but I'm staying right here."
"Fine!" he said angrily. He turned back to the girls. "Annie, Shannon, come with me. You are coming home right now."
"I'm sorry, Dad, but I am not leaving. I'm staying right here." Faith was surprisingly calm. "I'm not going to argue with you. As far as I'm concerned, it's not even open for debate."
The girls' father was very close to losing his temper. "You are both coming home with me!"
Faith rose from the couch. "No, we're not!"
Faith started to leave the living room and Shannon got up to follow her. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't act fast enough. Their father grabbed Faith by the arm and slapped her. I started to move, but Shannon was quicker than I was. She slapped her father across the face. I moved between him and the girls just as he was about to strike Shannon with a closed fist.
"Don't even think about it," I said. "You were about to strike Shannon with your fist. Think about that. You've probably never struck either of them in your life. Your temper has gotten the better of you. Go home and cool off."
"Don't tell me what to do!" And then he looked at the girls. "If you two don't leave this man and come home, there is no place in my life for you."
"Don't! Don't make them choose!" I said. I was trying to be calm, but I was struggling. "If you make them choose, you will lose them forever. And you don't really want that. You don't really mean what you just said. Believe me, you don't want to go through the pain of losing any kind of a relationship with your daughters. It's a pain you cannot imagine."
"How would you know?" he snarled back at me.
I was close to screaming back at him. "Because I have two sons whom I have no relationship with! And it is the worst thing I've ever been through! It still hurts like hell! Now go home and think about what you are about to do. Think hard. And when you can control your temper, come back and talk with them."
My eyes filled with tears with what I had just admitted to him. I didn't want to tell him about my pain because I knew he could care less. But I wanted him to understand a father's pain. Damn it! Why couldn't I control my tears? He looked at me for several seconds. He considered saying something, but then turned and left. Not a word was uttered by anyone. Even after the door closed, it was quiet for another couple of minutes. When I turned to Faith and Shannon, both of them came to me as their own eyes filled with tears.