I'm sure the babysitter had some idea about the nature of our relationship. We never outright said that we were a polyamorous triad, but she knew that while all three of our children were Josh's, I had given birth to two of them and Jessica had given birth to the other. I was "mama" and Jessica was "mom" to the kids and the three of us raised them equally. Plus she had been out at the house around the three of us enough to see us being affectionate with one another. She'd notice my hand on the small of Jessica's back, or see Josh kiss Jessica quickly as he was leaving for work and quickly glance away like she had seen something she wasn't supposed to. But she'd always peek up from her dark lashes with curiosity.
Stephanie was 18, fresh out of high school, and had been watching our three children for a couple of years. She was a cute little thing, very petite with long, thick natural red hair and full lips. She had plans to attend Oregon State University in the fall with the intention of going to medical school eventually. The weekend Josh worked to get our pool opened up, we invited her out to spend the day swimming with us. We didn't mention that the kids would be with Josh's parents and it would just be the four of us, though.
Stephanie showed up, her usual cheerful self, wearing a pool coverup and the strings of her triangle top bikini peeking out around her neck. Jessica and I were in the kitchen fixing some lunch and Josh was already out swimming laps in the pool.
"Hey, Steph!! We're so glad you could make it! I just put some fruit salad in the fridge and Jessica is making some fresh guacamole. Help yourself to whatever you want," I said, greeting her.
"Thanks," she said, smiling. I could see her looking around for the kids.
"The kids are at Josh's parents for the weekend," Jessica called to her, winking at me before opening the pantry to get out some tortilla chips. "Come on out back with me!"
Jessica lead the way, carrying the guacamole and chips in nothing but her white bikini. Her long, tan legs looked so good and her blonde hair was piled up in a messy bun. Even after almost a decade together, she still turned me on like no other woman ever had. Stephanie followed her out to the lavish patio just as Josh was getting out of the pool, pressing a towel to his face to dry off. He walked over and kissed Jessica blatantly on the lips right in front of Stephanie, and I could see her nervously look away.
I grabbed the fruit salad out of the fridge and followed them out to the patio. Everyone was sitting at the table chatting when I sat down, too.
"Stephanie, do you know what kind of relationship the three of us have?" Josh asked suddenly once we were all sitting together.
"Um...well...I think so. Are you all married to each other?"
"Well, not exactly. I'm married to Rachel, yes. But legally, the three of us can't marry each other. We've had a commitment ceremony, though. So even though Rachel and I are married, we're also both in a committed relationship with Jessica. It's called a polyamorous triad," he explained.
Stephanie's fair skin flushed. "Okay. That makes sense now. I always knew things were a little different."
"It IS a little different, but it works for the three of us. We've been together for ten years," Jessica added.
"Wow, that's a really long time. Doesn't anyone ever get jealous or anything?"
"Well, I think every couple goes through those issues when they're first starting out but after a decade, we know that we're all in love with each other and we work hard to make sure we get one on one time with each other, too," I explained.
"That's really neat. I saw something on TV about people who have relationships like that once but I didn't know it was real."
