Consequences

Consequences 11

Part A:

Facing reality and catching up, and a school reunion.

Cast of Characters at the end

Tags: Reunion; Coupling, Marital Conflict, Relationships,

I invite readers to make constructive comments by email. Suggestions of escapades for the characters are very welcome.

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Plans for the future become something more

It wasn't going to be many weeks before we eventually moved into The Retreat as we called the new ex-farm buildings, it was finished first and the remaining buildings followed soon after. The Golf Club and Hotel, although later starting, had matched pace with The Retreat and many of us became entrenched in the completion of the Conference Centre, the Hotel and The Clubhouse. The whole was given a grand opening with lots of dignitaries present on a freebee but it had the required effect and the place never looked back. The wedding as planned was the first event after the opening but that story is a tale all of itself and there was much that could happen in between time. My thoughts drifted back to all that had happened during the weeks before....

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Bree eventually colluded with the others to get her way and she brought her man home and I found him pleasant, however I made it clear that it had to end before the wedding. Despite references to Ana also having a relationship I stuck by my guns and refused to give on the issue, I did however ban her from our bed after his visits.

Notwithstanding, Roger certainly seemed to be dedicated to pleasing Bree and when he left Bree always shined, I began to be worried but it never became too heavy. The guy came fairly regularly and Bree was always excited for hours leading up to his arrival. She has never yet let anyone else but me into her bedroom at the same time. I bit the bullet after Bree persistently pleaded with me as she had dreamed of us taking her at the same time. No one else was trusted with her rosebud but me, she said, and after the second time my brain began to accept that it could be part of my life, short term. Bree didn't seem to want to give that part of her up to him anytime soon and I began to realise it was her way of staying true to me; for what it was worth. But I wasn't happy and refused to show any great pleasure in what I was doing just for her. From time to time Jane wanted to go out flirting and Bree always went with her and got herself into scrapes just as often.

But I get well ahead of myself. I allowed a week to pass after Ana's presumed break-up before I lost patience. Ana was mooning around like a heartbroken school girl so I dragged Zoe's business details from her and headed there from our office. I bent a few rules to get to her personal office so that when I dropped into her chair opposite she nearly jumped into the air, the perfect effect I was hoping for.

So I said, "What have you got against me?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Well you seem to have thrown the love of a wonderful woman out the door because of me and yet you don't even know who I am, we have even had dinner together. Are you really that stupid?"

She glared at me "How dare you come into my office and start having a go at me."

"How dare you wreck the life of someone who loves you?"

"But she loves you not me, she told me so."

"She told you no such thing because it isn't true, she loves you dearly, you are breaking her heart, probably for the first time in her life."

"But she loves you too."

"Yes so? Are you going to tell me that you have only ever loved one person?"

At least I made her think for a moment, and I allowed the time before continuing.

"How much did you listen to what she told you about where she lives and why and what our place is all about?"

She shook her head, still mad but becoming sad, 'she must miss Ana too,' I thought. "Do I have your undivided attention now then?" I was trying to make her cross and concentrate on what I had to say.

"I am David Thurlow, and with my wife we own the Thurlow Architectural and Design Company and you may have heard of the name in connection with my family's Development Company." I saw her eyes widen slightly suggesting she did. I went on for some time explaining how The Retreat came to be through Ana's efforts to connect with my wife and the happy accidents that took place thereafter. At the end of my speech she sat thinking for a while, trying to get her thoughts in order.

"How many women did you say live in your retreat?"

"Twelve including my estranged wife"

"And how many of them do you love?"

"Pretty much all of them, including two of them who are insatiable."

"You poor man!" she tormented sarcastically.

"You don't know the half of it." I was about to say that some of them were pregnant then thought better of it.

We batted question and answers back and forth for ages then I thought it was time to turn the screw, I started with a shock question. "So have you always been a lesbian?"

Her eyes blazed. "Who said I was, Ana?"

"No. we don't have that word in our establishment except in jest, neither is any other such sexual marginalisation referred to, we are all what we are, the ladies enjoy sapphic fun and they date men."

"Well that's refreshing at least."

"Surely this isn't about you not wanting to be thought of as a lesbian?"

She shook her head but then admitted, "well maybe a little." So you would give up the love of your life because someone might think you're a lesbian?"

"Noo" she argued, which may have been true but I was trying to switch her to the idea that she was prejudiced. "So you are prejudiced against people who are polyamorous. Prejudiced against lesbianism and prejudiced against men, Is there anyone else you're prejudiced against that you know nothing about?"

She just kept shaking her head.

"Well you have to admit that you didn't listen to what Ana was telling you and you didn't pay attention to who I was in her life, so I can only believe you are totally prejudiced. I am beginning to think that you're not worthy of Ana, she is probably the most beautiful, glamorous person you will ever meet, and you don't even listen to her." I huffed angrily, got up and left noisily. Thus as I stepped outside her office there were a bunch of people pretending to be very busy in the vicinity, so the rumours would fly, 'serves her right' I thought.

I was afraid that I had done more harm than good, but in a way if she wasn't up to dealing with it then I really didn't think she deserved Ana, unfortunately we can't always decide who we fall in love with. I've wondered many times recently what if I'd dealt with Jane differently all those years ago, would that have saved me my recent heartache?

The following day Ana received a message from Zoe apologising and I thought 'it's not enough but maybe it's a small step.'

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Really Olivia?

I had now become fatalistic and upon receiving any good news I automatically foresaw trouble ahead. It came first in the guise of Ross who I understood kept messaging Olivia. I never believe anything she says anymore unless it's unrelated to sex or our relationship. But I will make some allowance that she didn't ask the question for some weeks by which time I'd forgotten who Ross was. My negative mind on anything Olivia immediately assumed that she was asking just because Bree had a male visitor so I wasn't surprised when she asked if Ross could visit. I thought she was trying to play it off by saying he'd been pestering her for some time. I knew her way too well to believe it was that simple. I would put money on her having had something going with him for a while before, was it worth my while checking? No, I couldn't be bothered but it did remind me to chase Angela, that therapist should have made some progress by now but Olivia didn't seem any different.

I acceded to Olivia's request but made sure I would not be available for any rescue, threesome or whatever else she might dream up. So, when I got back her face was as long as a kite, "Where were you, did you go out on purpose?"

"In a way, yes, I didn't want to make things awkward for you if I was next door."

"It was not the same without you being here."

I looked at her, plastering an image of not understanding on my face.

"I only said yes to him hoping that a bit of our old teasing might bring us closer."

I was confused, "Sorry I must be thick today, it seems like there is more than one thing going on here, The weirdest thing is that you want us to be closer, how does bringing someone in help that? Secondly, it sounds like he wasn't your type or you would still be in your room reviving him for 3rds or 4ths or whatever number."

She couldn't stop herself giggling at that.

"You know that thing we keep talking about 'honesty' I put exclamations marks in the air, well if you had been honest with me it might have been you and me upstairs working on your 7

th

or 8

th

(I like to brag a bit.)

"But you don't believe a word I say anyway!" she eyed me, she had me there.

"Do you really want to try again and see if we can be closer? Try to rebuild some of the bridges? Would it make life better for us?" I said incredulously.

She thought for a minute. "The problem is I still get the urges, what I call my demon."

"Aha, and it won't let you be honest?"

"Well yes."

"Try to give me an example of something your devil wouldn't want you to tell me, let's go into the little office and call it therapy."

She looked worried but tried to be determined. We sat down, her on the couch and me on a chair opposite. I gave her a notepad and pen. "Right" I said, "I am going to try to make this really easy for you. I want you to write a list of all the things your devil doesn't want you to tell me. This list is going to be private so I am not going to see it unless you show it to me. Would you like some privacy while you work on it?"

She thought for a moment and then nodded. The office door had a small glass insert that had a privacy screen but I didn't shut it. I stood outside watching her write and became increasingly self-satisfied by the length of the list. It bore out all that I suspected, and I was beginning to think she could write a book! I waited patiently, not bothering to keep checking after she had been writing for a while. I was killing time pondering over whether her revelations could hit a bestseller list for erotic true stories.

"Wow! that must have been a long list" I said when she opened the door to let me back in. She just looked sheepish and I hardened my heart for what I might now hear.

When we were back in our seats I asked, "was that hard to do?"

She nodded. So of all the things on the list how many could you tell me if they happened again in the future. She looked down the list and said "None of them."

I was mystified, surely they can't all be unconscionable I thought, so all I could say was "What none of them, why?"

"Because I would have to see your eyes and your face when I told you."

"So you're saying you can never be honest with me?" she agreed and I thought 'well that's blown that therapy out of the water.' I sat and thought for a while, trying to get my head around it. Finally I said, "So why did you want me around today?"

"To rescue me."

"But suppose I didn't arrive until he was on top of you?"

She shrugged. "It's only sex."

I was flabbergasted, I had nowhere to go that wasn't biting and nasty. So all I could say was "It seems impossible to reconcile an attitude of 'it's only sex' with an intimate personal relationship. In my opinion, accepting your wife having sex with someone else is on a par with not caring what happens to them and certainly not loving them," and in my gloom I got up to go.

"No David, please don't go." she pleaded. I sat down probably looking lost. "You have that face again, that makes me feel guilty and my demon gets angry."

"Yes, well, I suppose I am not surprised."

"What does that mean?"

"Anything to do with your demon is negative and destructive to our marriage, and for as long as you have it, you have absolutely no chance of a worthwhile future. You know my view, the Shrinks have not come up with a cure despite all the things we have uncovered so for me 'Demon' is just an euphemism for Slut."

"Why do you have to say such things?"

"Because it's a fact. There is nothing I can do for you except keep shocking you into realising what you have become. Do you not understand that? No, don't answer that because you clearly don't or you wouldn't prevent Angela from doing her job.

Her face suggested she knew but something inside her wouldn't let go. I let her think about it and gradually her face screwed up in sadness. "Sometimes I think I would rather die but then you say or do something nice and I can't."

I softened, "Has Angela made no progress with you?"

"A little I suppose, at least I am here with you and the others."

"Come and sit on my lap" I asked, breaking one of my rules for her.

She snuggled in much as we used to and I allowed myself a little respite from the Olivia dilemma. She rested her head on my shoulder and we chatted about this and that, about life in the retreat and at work, about plans to make for the future and it hurt that Olivia couldn't be any more than a bit part in the long term. I had been busy compartmenting weeks ago so that everything was safe from fallout if something awful happened. Jane's Father and mine had been as good as their word and I was in overall control. So my work and my income were steadily on the rise such that I was having to leave more and more to Michael, who did not complain; eventually I planned to make him a partner. Rachel too was working out impressively and she was integrating efficiently with my father on the Ohio project as we called it, so that I was able to concentrate on the next project.

We heard someone call Olivia's name which snapped us out of our private time so I hardened my heart once again and she headed out. I noticed that she had left her papers behind, so I carefully folded them into an envelope and placed them in my safe. I would tell her later, then a thought struck me, maybe she left them there for me to see? A kind of disobedience of her demon, or maybe not, more likely something to widen the chasm between us; my realistic side told me.

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I don't know why, something triggered me then to think of Aleesha, after our trip to Ohio I had sent her a message telling her how much our time together had meant to me. She replied carefully saying 'thank you David, me too' and she added a surprise little heart to fill in all the other things she might have said; I was touched. I decided it was time we got away together again and I messaged 'let me know when you have another trip to make" Then I realised what I was doing, trying to wipe away my thoughts of Olivia.

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My thoughts drifted back from the past and I decided to go for a wander around the new building checking all was well. It was now large enough to cater to the needs of all our present residents, a room each if necessary, but on the whole most nights people slept together, and during the day we mostly congregated in the huge kitchen cum dining room. We weren't actually looking for new residents but had no doubt that they would come. I had noticed a few women reading our brochure with great interest at the grand opening and hoped it meant more supporters not more inmates.

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The Present

Our 'wedding' was coming up soon and the invites had gone out, there was still room at our hotel for anyone who wanted to stay over and our list of invitees had grown to include people we had all met since our last party. This time however there would be a little more caution about some that came before. Ana and I sent Tania and Christina an invitation explaining what it was and also suggesting they exchanged vows as we were doing. We explained that we were doing it to mark our commitment to each other and not for any public or legal purpose. When the invites went out there were one or two surprise replies and unexpected ones. In particular Joannie and Francine must have garnered their courage because they wrote congratulating us and understanding why they hadn't been invited but hoped that one day we could reconcile our differences. I decided I would leave it to our social committee to decide, which now comprised Ana, Bree, Jane, Nina, Jo, Amber and Ruth and anyone else who happened to be around, I kept well out of the way.

Although I had second thoughts, the committee became keen on my idea of inviting the crowd from the local bar and were enthusiastically trying to work out a suitable outfit for the many bridesmaids, one of which Ver had become and thus was often at the committee meets, everyone seemed to like her. They wanted to continue the theme of my reputation at the bar of being a top Porn Star surrounded by beautiful women, although on one previous occasion I had been taken away by demonesses so the reputation changed slightly. They were thinking of dressing as Angels but of course they had to be of the fallen Angel variety, I heard talk of diaphanous clothes with no underwear for the Bridesmaids and similar for the brides in a colour such as crimson or black, the jury was still out. I liked the diaphanous idea but did wonder if it might start an orgy.

Ana wrote to Tania and Christina again garnering their opinions in the hope of encouraging them to come and eventually they conceded under strict promises of not allowing any press or similar at the event. There was no way we would allow that so it was no hardship but then the committee scrutinised the invite list again checking whether there were any unsavoury connections. My friendly detective was coming with his latest girlfriend and they even checked the girlfriend out. I suggested that we get Aleesha in to advise on security. I felt that we might need protection long term and such protection would provide a blueprint for future developments. I also decided to consult Tania on my idea, as much to show what lengths we were going through, as to gain the benefit of her advice.

What else was on the list? School reunions, Olivia had spurred a number of invitations coming to life that had previously been ignored and now I was being asked to be their escort next time around. I thought it a bit of an honour. It took me back to thinking of the past that included Olivia's school reunion.

On the subject of lists, at the next meeting we had for her to talk about her memories, she asked me outright. "Did you find my list interesting reading? I was expecting you to react in some way or another."

"No." I replied.

"Why not, I left it there for you to see, I wanted you to read it when I wasn't too near to you."

"Weren't you afraid that I would find out about your boyfriends? And your multiple sex scenes. While I was waiting as you were writing, I was trying to work out how many sexual acts there could be that could fill such a list and to be honest it was getting difficult, some of the options were getting very extreme. Then I realised it might be all of the above but the same thing with different people."

I noticed a little quirk at the corner of her mouth, it made me comfortable that I was right. I looked her straight in the eyes and she tried hard to brazen it out but eventually she let her head drop. "So how long have your affairs been going on? I could probably guess from your behaviour but I am trying to establish if you are capable of being honest, honesty means telling me things I should know whether I ask you or not. It is now a rule of this house, Rule One is to keep me apprised of when you're not coming home. Rule Two is not bringing men into this house until they have been checked and approved. And finally for anyone who wants to be close to me, Rule Three is honesty at all times, no secrets."