Naed Vows

Laura rolled out of bed and struggled into her bathrobe. She had it tied closed by the time she reached the stairs. "Marcy, wait!"

Marcy was in the front room tugging on her husbands arm. "Come on Spence, we have to go."

"What's wrong?" Spence's face contracted with concern. "Is your mom all right?"

"Lets go!" Marcy tugged so hard at Spence's arm she pulled him half way to the door.

"Wait. Please, Marcy, don't go yet. Let me explain." Laura stopped at the foot of the stairs.

"Laura, what's going on?" Spence turned and when he saw Laura his eyes went wide and he smiled. "Oh, you interrupted something." He turned to his wife. "Marcy, settle down. You should be happy for your mom."

"No, I shouldn't! Let's go."

"I told you not to walk in." Spence grinned down at his wife. "Maybe next time you'll listen to me."

"It's not funny." Tears filled Marcy's eyes and she looked even paler than she had upstairs. She dug her fingernails into Spence's sleeve and hissed at him. "Get me out of here."

"What is wrong with you?" Spence turned to Laura then his gaze flicked up the stairs and they went wide again. "Oh." His eyes jumped from Laura to Sarah and back again. "You walked in on that, did you?"

"Yes. Lets go!"

Sarah rested her hand on Laura's shoulder and the older woman was more grateful than she could say for that simple gesture of support. Laura patted her hand and glanced at her. She wore one of the dresses she brought over and looked presentable. Except her hair which looked as mussed as Laura's must be.

"Hello." Spence's smile looked forced but Laura didn't know if it was because of Sarah or because of Marcy's behavior.

Laura reached out to Marcy, not sure what she hoped to accomplish.

"Keep your disgusting hands away from me!" Marcy slapped Laura's hand away. Her face contorted into something Laura would never recognize as her daughter. Then Marcy spit at her.

It felt like all the air was sucked out of the room.

"What is the matter with you?" Spence grabbed Marcy's arm and made her face him.

"What do you think?" She gestured at Laura and Sarah. "Do you know what they were doing?"

"I've got a pretty good idea." Spence glared at her. "So what?"

"So what?" Marcy's face went from pale to red and Laura doubted it was a blush. "They were . . . they were . . . "

"Yea, I know. I have a cousin who-."

"Your cousin isn't my mother!"

"You're right." Spence took a steadying breath then fished in his pocket for his keys. "Come on, you need to wait in the car." He opened the door and pressed a button on his key chain. Laura heard a car beep.

"Why wait? There's no reason for you to stay. We need to leave now. My mother is a degenerate, a sick pervert. There's nothing left to say because we're never talking to her again."

"Watch it!" Sarah stepped forward. "You have no right to speak to her that way."

"It's ok." Laura grabbed Sarah's arm and eased her back. "Let me handle this." Sarah looked ready for battle. Despite the sick feeling in her stomach Laura felt indescribably pleased. No one stood up for her in years and, for once, Laura didn't feel alone. "Please."

"Ok." Sarah stepped back.

Laura took a deep breath and forced her emotions away. The last time she hurt this bad was when she buried Tom. But she refused to let her own daughter talk to her this way. She imagined herself facing a room full of snide investors and she wore her best suit instead of a bathrobe. When she opened her eyes, she felt her control click into place.

Marcy stood in the doorway staring at Laura with empty contempt. "What would dad think?"

Laura knew Marcy meant that as a devastating parting shot but it didn't work. Instead, it surprised a laugh out of her, especially after what Clair said about it. Even so, Marcy had no right to behave like a spoiled little girl. "Your dad would have loved it." She glanced at Sarah with a small smile. "Hell, he would have wanted to join us."

"I hate you!" Marcy's purple face contorted with hate and impotent rage. "You're a filthy, unclean whore!" Marcy slammed the door on her way to the car.

"I'm sorry about that." Spence spoke into the ringing silence.

Laura opened her mouth but she had no idea what to say as Marcy's last words echoed in her ears.

"I'm Spencer." Spence walked to Sarah and held out his hand.

"Sarah." She took his hand.

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure, but . . . " Spence shrugged. "Maybe next time thing's will go better."

"I don't think they could go much worse," said Sarah.

"Heaven forbid. Can you take care of her? She looks like she needs it."

Laura wanted to say she didn't need to be taken care of, but she couldn't stop staring at the door.

"Of course." Sarah put an arm around Laura's shoulders.

"Good. Now I need to go take care of my wife." Spence gave Laura a brief hug. "Don't worry, Marcy walked in on something she doesn't understand. She'll calm down soon enough. I have experience with these things."

"Your cousin?" asked Sarah.

"Yup. Listen, Laura. Tell Logan as soon as possible. It will be easier for everyone." Spence gave them a friendly wave on his way out.

When the door closed Laura ran for the bathroom. Her stomach roiled like boiling water.

* * *

Sarah felt sick to her stomach so she could only imagine how Laura felt. She put her ear to the bathroom door in time to hear the toilet flush.

Sarah knocked softly. "Laura? Are you all right?"

"Go away."

Sarah took a deep breath then let it out in a sigh. She had never been caught having sex before and wanted to be embarrassed but Marcy's aftermath left her feeling a thick numbness. Poor Laura. Laura didn't want people to know yet and Sarah felt the same way. Their relationship was too new and fragile for other people to put stress on it. They should have been able to talk about it, decide together how they wanted to make their relationship public. Instead it all came crashing down.

Well it was public now and they needed to deal with it. Or at least start dealing with it. Except she had no idea what to do or even where to start. She needed inspiration and ironically Laura was the best place she knew where to get it from. What would Laura do if she wasn't the one in so much pain? She would take charge, that's what. So Sarah had to take charge and take care of Laura. Now she needed to get Laura out of the bathroom so she could start.

"Laura, come out of there right now." Sarah didn't expect Laura to obey, at least not right away. "I'm not going anywhere so don't tell me to go away again."

Much to Sarah's surprise, Laura opened the door. Her face was red and tear streaked and Sarah smelled bile. "You look like hell just spit you out." Sarah pulled Laura into her arms and felt her lover's body wracked with sobs. It unnerved her to see how hurt and helpless Laura was. It also pissed her off. Marcy had no right to treat Laura like that.

Sarah held Laura and stroked her hair while she cried. It was one thing to decide to be strong and take control but Sarah had no idea what to do. She knew how Laura would act but she didn't know what the older woman would do. Sarah didn't know how to make this better, she didn't know how to do anything except organize house parties.

If this happened at one of her parties, what would she do? First thing, get the unhappy guest cleaned up. "Come on, Laura. Lets get you in the shower."

"I'm not in the mood."

Sarah wished Laura had spoken with a little heat or maybe some irritation. She never imagined hearing that quiet, broken voice from Laura. Damn Marcy for doing this to her. "Me either, but we have to get cleaned up."

Laura followed Sarah upstairs and into the bathroom. Sarah started the water and took Laura's robe off then handed her into the shower where she stood with her back to the hot spray. Sarah lifted her dress off over her head and hung it on the door next to Laura's robe. Laura didn't so much as glance at Sarah's body when she climbed into the stall and closed the door. She stared blankly, lost in her personal world of misery.

Sarah took the soap and gently and impersonally washed Laura. She moved as quickly and thoroughly as possible while making sure her touch wasn't misinterpreted as sexual. "Turn around so I can wash your hair." After she rinsed out the shampoo, Sarah used the conditioner. When she finished, she shut off the water, dried Laura, then wrapped the damp towel around her own body.

Sarah helped Laura slip into her bath robe then led her to the bedroom. She gently brushed Laura's hair then pulled it back into a tight ponytail. Once her hair was immaculate Sarah applied Laura's makeup until she looked as sever and commanding as any CEO could hope for.

"Lets get you dressed." Sarah started with the plain panties and bra she had intended to throw out a few short hours ago. Did she say short? It seemed like years had passed since Marcy walked in on them. Laura pulled her panties on but Sarah had to help with the bra. Next Sarah picked out a plain white blouse and grey slacks. Laura took a little more incentive with the blouse and slacks and almost seemed herself when she pulled on the suit jacket. "You look invincible." Sarah looked Laura up and down. "Go downstairs and wait for me. Why don't you get us some wine while you're down there."

Without a word Laura walked out of her bedroom.

Sarah yanked her cloths on and put her hair into a ponytail not nearly so neat as Laura's then ran downstairs. She found Laura on the couch sipping wine. A second glass sat on the coffee table waiting for her. Sarah debated setting next to Laura and holding her or facing Laura across the table to speak face to face. She decided to set across from Laura to better gauge her lovers emotions.

"I can't even begin to understand what you feel right now." Sarah wanted to take Laura's hand but she was too far away so Sarah settled for the glass of wine. "I don't know how to help you or even how to help you feel better. But I am here and I will help you through this."

"I know." Laura spoke gently and avoided Sarah's eyes. She sat her wine glass on the table then hugged herself.

"Good." Sarah forced the word into the silence threatening to grow awkward. " Spence is right, the first thing we need to do is tell your son."

"There may not be a reason to."

"What do you mean? Of course there's a reason to. He'll find out from Marcy if you don't tell him first. Which do you think will go better?"

"Logan is on a trip. He won't be back for another week."

"You should still call him. If you don't, Marcy will. She want's to hurt you and I can't imagine a better way than telling Logan first."

"We can't call him. He's on a river rafting trip. There's no way to contact him."

"Good. That gives us plenty of time to figure out what to say." Sarah finished her wine, set the glass on the coffee table, then moved around to sit next to Laura.

"We may not have to tell him anything."

"Laura, he needs to know. He'll find out one way or the other." Sarah snuggled up next to Laura and stroked her shoulder.

"I need some time to think. I'm confused. We need to stop seeing each other for a while."

Sarah's hand stopped stroking Laura's shoulder and her stomach felt like it dropped to the center of the earth. "We can stop having sex, but we need to keep seeing each other."

"I can't, not right now. When you're around, I can't keep my hands off you. I can't think when you're next to me. Right now I need to think harder than I ever have in my life."

Sarah moved to the far end of the couch afraid Laura might feel her tremble. It was Frank all over again. Sarah suddenly became inconvenient so Laura was throwing her away. "I just got you back. It's not fair. You'll feel different tomorrow." Sarah tried to sound confident but she wasn't.

"You need to leave." Laura got up and grabbed her purse and fished in it for her car keys. "I'm going back to work."

"Don't go! You can't leave me, not now. You need me. Please say you need me."

"You should understand." Laura stood in the doorway, her back to Sarah. "This is the same thing you demanded from me when Frank came back."

* * *

Sarah paced from one end of her house to the other visiting every room in between. She carried her cell phone with her everywhere checking constantly to make sure it worked. She turned the land line ringer to maximum and double checked it every hour or so to make sure it worked. Then she called her land line from her cell and vise-versa to triple check they worked. Why didn't Laura call?

Stupid Question. Laura called her dozens of times after Frank showed up and Sarah ignored her for days. Sarah hopped this was Laura's way of teaching her a lesson. She deserved it. It must have crushed Laura when Sarah ignored her.

What if Laura decided to break up? She had every right to, Sarah gave her more than enough reasons. The biggest one was sleeping with Frank. Only Laura wouldn't dump Sarah for that, not when Laura made love to her after her confession.

Slick, icy fear knotted Sarah's stomach; she was ashamed of what she did and hadn't actually confessed, she just said something about falling into old habits. Maybe Laura didn't want to understand what Sarah meant. Still, Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that Laura figured out she cheated on her. If Laura did, that might be why she didn't call, she couldn't forgive Sarah.

Late at night, In her darker moments, Sarah knew Laura decided their relationship was over; Sarah had made too many unforgivable decisions. She got so scared and depressed she didn't dare drink. The one thing keeping Sarah from falling to pieces was her dead certainty Laura wouldn't avoid a confrontation. After the way Laura stood up to her own daughter Sarah knew she would look Sarah in the eye and dump her face to face.

She couldn't count the times she picked up her phone to call Laura. Each time she picked it up she remembered the way she ignored Laura's calls and lost her nerve. What if Laura recognized her number and decided not to answer? She couldn't work up the nerve to call; better to not call than be rejected.

If Sarah had known how it felt to be treated this way . . . It wouldn't have made a difference. At the time she was too lost in confusion to consider other people's feelings.

Five days later Sarah noticed the date while checking the charge on her phone. Logan would be back soon. They needed to work things out before then. Sarah ignored the phone, she went through the depressing process of wondering if Laura would answer too often. The only way to do this was face to face. She snatched her purse and strode to the door intent on going straight to Laura's office and demanding to see her.

Sarah got half way there and chickened out. As in control as she wanted to be, she didn't have it in her to beat down Laura's door. She ended up driving around aimlessly trying to decide what to do. The answer came to her while filling her gas tank. Ironically, a conversation she had with Laura gave her the answer.

Sarah went to a tailor shop. It wasn't something she ever did for herself but she needed it to face Laura. She needed every physical and emotional advantage she could get. Laura talked about using clothes to make an impression or project a certain personality trait. Right now Sarah needed to project confidence and desirability. A skirt suit is what Sarah decided she needed. While the tailor made the alterations, Sarah went back to the lingerie store Laura took her to. She needed underwear that made her feel confident and sexy. When she got back to the tailor's she gulped at the bill. She never imagined paying so much money for clothes. Frank gave her a generous alimony and her needs were simple since she didn't do anything except waste away in her house. Although she could easily afford it, her hand shook when she signed the receipt.

Before going to Laura's office she stopped for a make over and hair do. Sarah had to admit she looked important enough to demand to be seen at once. She marched into the building like she owned it, intent on seeing Laura no matter what.

When she walked through the door to Laura's office suite, she saw a woman about Laura's age seated behind a beautiful mahogany desk. She raised a quizzical eyebrow but smiled invitingly. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Laura." Sarah spoke with all the confidence she could manage and though she felt sick with dread, she sounded convincing.

"You're here to see Laura?" The woman's eyes went wide then her face relaxed into a friendly smile. "You're here to see Laura, not Mrs. Westover." Her smile deepened. "You must be Sarah."

The name plaque on the woman's desk said Clair. "I'm so glad you're here." She came around the desk and shook Sarah's hand.

"You are?" Sarah expected several possibilities, most involved her being thrown out. Not once did she foresee being welcomed.

"Yes I am. Please have a seat." Clair led Sarah to a comfortable couch beneath a large window. "You have no idea how unhappy Laura's been for the past few days. She's miserable and dragging everyone else down with her." Clair sat next to Sarah and looked at her with an intense frown. "Laura used to glow when she talked about you then last week she came back to work early looking as bad as she did when Tom died. What happened?" What did you do? Was written across her face.

"Laura and I are . . . were . . . " Sarah had no idea what Laura had told Clair about the day Marcy caught them and didn't want to say too much. Yet she needed Clair on her side to talk to Laura.

"I know you're lovers. I also know you ignored her for a week. What happened?" Clair looked ready to claw Sarah's eyes out if she didn't start talking.

"It wasn't my fault." Sarah gulped and licked her dry lips. "This time," she continued, compelled by honesty to take the blame she earned. Clair raised an eyebrow that spoke volumes of disbelief. "We were . . . making love and . . . " Sarah's face burned but she didn't know if it was from remembering what happened next or admitting it out loud to a complete stranger. "And her daughter, Marcy, walked in on us."

"Oh." Clair blinked, and looked thoughtful. "Oh. I take it there wasn't a way to explain it as something else?"

Sarah closed her eyes and shook her head no. "Laura told me to leave. She said . . . " Tears filled Sarah's eyes and her throat closed around her words. She sat there struggling to get her voice under control but didn't bother trying to stop her tears, she knew it was futile.

"It's ok, sweety." Clair patted her shoulder. "I'll bet that was one ugly scene. Marcy has always been high strung. Laura hasn't spoken to you since then?"

"No, but I need to see her, Logan will be home soon and we need to know where we stand. If we're still together-." Her voice hitched and she had to swallow hard to get her throat back under control. "If we're still together, we need to talk about how to tell him. Spencer insisted we tell him before Marcy does and I agree." Sarah looked at the door with Laura's name on it. "Can I please talk to her? I need to."

"I'm sorry, she's in a meeting."

"Of course." Sarah was a fool to think she could get past Laura's secretary. She stood up and straightened her skirt. "I don't suppose I can make an appointment."

"I can do better than that, but first you need to fix your makeup and dry your eyes." Clair led Sarah through Laura's office to a private restroom. "Hurry up in there. Laura's meeting is one of her larger ones and it's common for assistants to come and go. I think I can sneak you in."

"You can?" Sarah didn't trust her ears. She expected Clair to brush her off but it looked like she wanted to help her fight for Laura.

"Yes, I can." Clair smiled at Sarah. "I haven't seen Laura so happy in years, and I refuse to let Marcy ruin it."