Vivian continued her conversation with Angela by this observation:
"This does lead me to ponder about your love of your fiancΓ©, Ralph Peterson. I've no doubt about the sincerity of your professions of genuine love for him, and for that matter vice versus. Still you are desiring to engage in threesome sex with me during your honeymoon, and in fact last night we did do a threesome while you two are already officially engaged. Besides that, in our conversation, I get the impression that apparently the two of you expect having sex with others pending only mutual permission of same.
"I'm sure that I don't have to spell out to you that traditional marriage vows stipulate that as husband and wife you are to remain faithful to each other while forsaking all others. So what gives?"
Angela smiled as she replied:
"Oh I truly believe in the traditional marriage vows. Paradoxically I believe that Ralph and I will adhere to them. It's just that we don't define being faithful to each other as it's generally narrowly understood. As I see it, just because one engages in sex with someone other than one's spouse does not necessarily mean one has strictly speaking been unfaithful to one's souse. A more prosaic example of such assertion can not be more demonstrative than what you and I are now facing at this very moment. Unless you have some urgent business otherwise, you surely can expect that we'll get it on before too long.
"Now to backtrack just a little. When I first met you, and we had sex, it was truly a most wonderful and enjoyable experience. We certainly liked each other but we were not romantically smitten with each other. But and that is the most important but, even though we were not in deep love with each other we enjoyed our dalliance together to the fullest, because, well dammit if nothing else awesome sex is an enjoyable activity.
"Now I would agree if one has sex with someone other than one's spouse for the perceived reason that the other person is more attractive, sexually or otherwise than one's spouse then that is wrong and that is being unfaithful to one's spouse. In other words that is real adultery which can not be condoned. The extramarital sex both Ralph and I envision that which we may engage in, will definitely not have no such component.
"By the way, I'm positive that Ralph and I will definitely adhere to the other parts of faithfulness in the traditional marriage vows. You know the parts of being richer or poorer, in sickness or in health. It is easy to be faithful when both of you are healthy and wealthy. However your character and your commitment will surely be tested if one of you does become seriously ill or you are both driven into poverty.
"I truly believe with absolute certainty that neither of us will abandon each other even if disaster does strike either one of us or both of us. For example, even if we're impoverished tomorrow we won't crumble. At least in such dire circumstances, I'll have the ability to hock my expensive engagement ring to momentarily survive. You see Vivian what being faithful to each other simply means we have each other's back. And this principle is not violated by tolerated extramarital sex."
Vivian was floored by Angela's stated rationale. In the back of her mind, she thought there has to be some fallacy considering that Angela's conclusions run contrary to established societal norms. So she asked:
"Well OK Angela! I can buy your explanation. Still though, I don't understand that if you profess, and I've no doubt in your sincerity or the genuineness in your proclamation, that you love Ralph unconditionally, why would you want to engage in extramarital sex? And it also begs the question are you OK with Ralph having sex with other women, especially considering your antipathy towards Jennifer Turner?"
Angela replied:
"Jennifer Turner is a special case which we've already explored. The thing is that Ralph was a virgin until he met you, and at this point in time I'm the only other woman who has had sex with him. As for me, although I've been somewhat sexually active in lesbianism, my previous two lame heterosexual experiences don't amount to much. Thus, I can legitimately consider myself as a virtual heterosexual virgin until I had fantastic sexual congress with my Ralph.
"So you see Vivian, you could say both Ralph and I were nomads in the desert of none sex. Then when we met, we reached our oasis. Just like a real oasis in a real desert, where more than water is available, we both realized there is more sex available in our oasis, and that it would be silly for us not to partake of same."
Vivian guffawed at this startling statement. So she asked:
"I guess since you're an English Lit major, I shouldn't be surprised by your picturesque metaphors. I would suggest that an actual thirsty nomad in the desert would be satisfied with the water offered in the oasis, and would not be overly concerned with the alternative amenities available."
Angela answered:
"Ah yes but in our oasis of deprived sex, we had the privilege of a super salesman tempting us with extramarital sex. This would be in the person of the man who will give me away at my wedding in lieu of my deceased father. That would be Jed Baxter, of whom I assume you're aware?"
Vivian was definitely aware of the existence of Jed Baxter, so that all she could only mutter was:
"Jed Baxter? You mean of Baxter and Sons; the wealthiest man in Chicago? One of the wealthiest men in the United States if not in the entire world? That Jed Baxter?"
Angela smirked as she replied:
"Yes indeedy, the one and the same. It so happens my father and he were cousins, and thus is my nearest male blood relative. He has known me since I was born. My father and he were partners in a lot of business ventures which benefitted my father greatly.
"So when I asked Jed to give me away at my wedding, he readily accepted. Then he told me what his wedding present would be, and I was totally blown away. Considering his proposed wedding gift, he apparently knows my mercurial nature better than I."
"How so? And what's the gift?"
"I'll tell you in a sec. But first of all I need to tell you something about him and his relationship with me. You see, all the world believes that Jed and his wife, Felicia, have the perfect marriage, in which they are utterly devoted to each other unconditionally. And in truth I'm positive that Jed loves his wife without any question.
"However during my father's funeral, when the two us happened to be alone together, he felt compelled to confess to me his unhappiness with his marriage. I believe he was in a stage where he had to tell someone of his misery so as to get some psychological relief from the constant strain of disappointment he has experienced.