The next morning, the pair woke up almost simultaneously, cuddled a bit more, and then got ready for breakfast. They drifted into the kitchen together, holding hands. Seeing Melody at the small table drinking some coffee, they abruptly let go of each other's hand, a sudden spasm of embarrassment coming over them.
She smiled at that. "You can hold hands all you want to, my dears."
They laughed, and Rohit bent down and gave her a long kiss on the mouth, one hand snaking down and, parting her robe, gently squeezing her bare breast. This was done not out of some sense of masculine possessiveness, but to convey—not that it was needed—that Melody was just as desirable a female as April.
She received the mark of affection in the spirit in which it was intended.
"I hope you two had a nice time," she said.
"Wonderful," April breathed. "Rohit was just incredible."
"Yes, I thought he might be," Melody said, staring pointedly at Rohit's groin.
"He's such a sweetheart," April said. "You
both
are sweethearts. I feel ever so much better." She seemed on the brink of choking up. "You guys are the best friends a girl ever had."
"We were glad to help," Melody said.
They settled down to breakfast and got ready for another day of classes.
Without any real discussion of the matter, the trio quickly resolved on a schedule whereby April and Melody would each have Rohit three nights a week, every other night; Saturday would be a wild card, with the sleeping arrangements determined by whatever they felt like doing. Rohit was reassured that he would not be expected to "perform" every night: he might be young and vigorous, but the girls didn't want to wear him out!
But Rohit suspected that something more permanent and dramatic was needed. And that's why, a few weeks later, he found himself on the doorstep of Carolyn and Kumar's house.
By this time, he'd been to the house frequently—although never alone. As he knocked tentatively on the door this Saturday afternoon, he wondered if anyone was even home. He had decided to come unannounced, because of the awkwardness of even hinting over the phone what he wanted to say; but now, as he stood irresolutely on the steps leading up to the front door, he wondered if he would have the courage to say what he felt needed to be said.
It was Carolyn who opened the door.
"Rohit!" she said with a big smile. "How wonderful to see you! Come on in."
He walked in, stepping into the living room on tenterhooks, as if he expected land mines to have been placed under the floorboards.
"Did you want to speak to Kumar?" Carolyn said. "I'm afraid he isn't here right now. You should have let us know you were coming."
Carolyn's presence had at first unnerved Rohit. He had thought it advisable to speak to Kumar; but now that he pondered the matter, he felt that a preliminary discussion with Carolyn might in fact be best.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you," he said in a low voice.
She raised her eyebrows, her smile now mixed with uncertainty. "Me? Well, how nice."
She led him to the sofa, where he sat down at the far left-hand side. Carolyn sat next to him, about two feet away. He was still, technically, too young to drink, but she felt that a little something—maybe the chocolate mint liqueur he had liked on previous occasions—might make him a little less shy and nervous.
As he continued to remain silent, she said, "So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
He gazed at Carolyn, realizing that he had never been alone in her presence before. At last he said, "I have something to tell you about April."
"Oh?" Carolyn said. That single syllable was so filled with apprehension, even fear, that it squeezed Rohit's heart.
"She—she was in the hospital recently," he said.
At that, Carolyn leaped up from the sofa and covered her mouth with her hands. "The hospital? What on earth for? What happened to her? Is she all right?"
Rohit held his hands up in a placating gesture. "She's fine. I'm sorry to have alarmed you. It's just—"
"But—but why was she there? People don't go to the hospital for nothing!"
Rohit couldn't endure to look at her. Staring at his hands, he said, "Well, there was this incident at a fraternity."
All the color seemed to drain from Carolyn's face. "Is that so?" There was such an unpleasant undertone to those words that Rohit winced. "What exactly did she do?"
"She, um . . . she . . ." He couldn't go on.
In a snide voice Carolyn said, "You're saying she made herself
available
to the guys?"
Rohit nodded, still staring at his hands.
"How many?"
"All of them," Rohit was forced to admit.
"
All
of them? How many is that?" Carolyn's voice was rising in alarm and anger.
"I think about fourteen."
"
Fourteen guys?
April had sex with fourteen guys?"
"I guess some of them came back for seconds."
God, why did I even say that? Isn't it bad enough that she fucked them once?
When at last he looked up to Carolyn, he could tell that she was seething. In a low hiss she said, "God, I
knew
her craziness about boys would get her into trouble someday! Jesus, what was she thinking? All those guys—one after the other—over and over again—"
"Listen, Carolyn," Rohit said desperately, "it's not what you think!"
"What do I think? You're saying my daughter's not a—"
"Don't say it, Carolyn," Rohit warned, and something in his one made Carolyn's mouth snap shut.
"She's not a bad person," he went on. "What she did was—was a symptom of something bigger. I think she's been really unhappy, maybe even depressed. Basically, she's lonely. Possibly she's upset at how her best friend, Melody, has found a guy to love. I mean, she's been with a lot of guys this past year, but those relationships haven't amounted to anything. I think that she's coming to realize that just spreading her legs for any guy who comes along is a bad idea."
"Then why did she—?"
"I'm telling you, that was a symptom—maybe a cry for help." He licked his lips, not knowing how to proceed. "I said she's lonely, and I think she's lonely for—Kumar."
Carolyn dropped her head to her chest. She staggered back to the sofa and sat down heavily.
"Then you know about that?" she said.
"Yes, I know about it."
She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "Um, do you also know about . . .?"
"Melody?" he finished for her. "Yeah, I know about that too."
"You do?" she said, surprised. "And you don't mind?"
"Look, Carolyn, that happened before Melody ever knew me. And even if it didn't, no one can help their feelings. April loves Kumar, and so does Melody. That's just the way it is. You can't somehow force yourself
not
to love someone."
Carolyn looked upon Rohit as if he were the fount of all worldly wisdom. Softly she said, "You know, I never wanted them to leave. But the girls somehow came to feel that, when Kumar married me, it wouldn't be right to keep on seeing him. But I never meant for that to happen. They're free to be with him anytime they want."
"Really?" he said, dazed. "It would be okay with you?"
"Of course! As you say, they love him, and there's no reason why they shouldn't express their love." She let out a little chuckle out of the side of her mouth. "Let me be frank with you, Rohit. Kumar has quite an—appetite, and it's sometimes a lot for me to deal with. I'm not shy about saying I might like some help every now and then!"
He smiled broadly at her. "I know what you mean."