Ate and Edith Too

KATE AND EDITH TOO

Part FOUR of FIVE

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THE LOVE TRAP

I. AN INTOLERABLE SITUATION

After 'that' night, we all kind of took a step back. Nothing was ever said, but collectively, I think we felt we had gone a little too far - I certainly did.

On the following Monday, Jen got the receptionist position at the doctor's office. In order to get her up to speed as quickly as possible, they would stay after work each day for an hour or so. I was in the middle of a particularly busy time and working long hours myself; and with the girls working extra hours, by the time the weekends rolled around, we were all pretty exhausted.

Friday became a traditional 'do-nothing' night. I or the girls would bring dinner home that night, then retire to the patio and pool for decompress time. Saturdays were our activity day - hiking/sightseeing, and/or pool ops. Saturday nights were the only time we went out, if we did at all. Sundays were for chores, shopping, and such. Sunday evenings were reserved for relaxing before the start of the workweek.

Along with establishing a fairly regular routine, we coalesced into a family of sorts, and made certain adjustments. We adopted a kind of dress code - t-shirts and shorts around the house, during the week, and only going semi-nude for sunbathing on the weekends. And there were no more 'sexy fun' episodes.

Besides the women going topless for sunbathing, we made one more adjustment to poolside attire; one that did not sit well with me. But we now seemed to be functioning as a 'democracy of three', and in this case, I was outvoted, as I frequently am - not a serious complaint.

Liz and Jen conspired against me, bought me a man's thong for sunbathing, and browbeat me till I acquiesced and submitted to wearing it. I've gotten used to it, but that doesn't mean I like it or approve of it. Of course, now I have a well-tanned ass and no tan lines. Yeah, I bet you're all getting hot right now imagining my 'golden brown buns'.

Maybe not.

The week before Fourth of July week was a ballbuster. I had a couple extensive 'addition' builds we were working on, which required working outdoors a lot, and in midsummer heat, that multiplies your normal fatigue. So, I was really looking forward to a relaxing weekend, and the ladies were too.

Friday night, I arrived home before Liz and Jen. They were going to do some shopping after work and would also be bringing dinner home. I changed into a t-shirt, cut-offs, and old deck shoes to do some light, backyard work and pool maintenance while I waited for them. It was almost eight when I finished and still very hot. I went to the outside shower, stripped, and cleaned up, cooling down in the process. Afterward, I picked up my clothes and headed into the house. I was just heading to the bedroom when the girls came in the front door.

"I see you're already dressed for dinner," Liz joked as she and Jen came in with bags of groceries.

"I approve of your choice in dinner attire," Jen quipped, as she kicked the door closed and followed Liz.

"I've laid out matching outfits for you two, also. Just don't get them mixed up," I joked in return as I padded bare-ass to the bedroom.

When Liz made it to the bedroom to get out of her uniform, I asked, "What's on the menu, tonight?"

"Chinese!" she answered brightly, "and one big hunk of prime choice, Anglo beef!"

"You must have worked up quite an appetite," I replied.

She parried, "Well, you know what they say, 'You have Chinese, an hour later you're hungry for more. I want 'more', tonight. I don't want to stop till I'm completely sated."

I laughed, "Well, I'll do my best, but I don't know how 'prime' or 'choice' this Anglo beef will be tonight. I'm pretty whipped."

"Who says I was talking about you?" Liz cracked.

"Hey, if you have a pinch-hitter, put 'em in the game. I'll ride the bench for an inning."

She laughed and remarked, "Bullshit, but you win," as she dropped her clothes in the hamper.

She wrapped me in a big hug, mashing her nude body up against me, "But I'm serious, Little Liz hasn't seen much action, lately, and is missing Big Jack. So, tonight, tired or not, I hope you can muster the strength for a little 'us' time."

This week we'd had zero hanky panky. In fact, in the last couple weeks, Liz and I had seen far less bedroom action than usual. We kissed and dressed for dinner, then joined Jen at the dinner table where she was setting everything out.

It was almost ten by the time we finished eating and cleaning up, so it had cooled off some, and we dressed for the pool, which since it was night time meant trunks for me and bikinis for the girls. We only go 'thonged' for sunbathing. We retired to the patio with a big pitcher of iced tea and immediately hit the water. Though it was warm, it was still refreshing compared to the heat of the night. I dimmed the pool, deck, and landscaping lights, and killed the patio lights. Liz put on some soft music before we came out; and at some point, we ended up dancing in the middle of the pool, where the water was about chest high.

At one point, Liz motioned for Jen to come over, did a twirl out of my arms and Jen twirled in. As we danced, Liz got out of the pool and brought iced teas to the edge, then got back in. She leaned against the side, drinking tea and watching us.

"What a beautiful, romantic evening," Liz commented, wistfully, looking up at the stars and back at us. She set her tea tumbler down, picked up ours and brought them to us where we were dancing. We stopped and enjoyed the iced tea.

Liz was affectionately running a hand up and down my arm, "It's pretty warm. Why don't we go inside and continue dancing," she proposed in soft voice.

We showered, then went in to change into t-shirts and shorts. While the girls dried their hair, I made tequila sunrises, as Liz had requested drinks, but something refreshing and not too strong - just to mellow out a bit.

I mixed up a large pitcher of drinks, going easy on the tequila, and set us up at the bar, which is on one wall of the living room. The girls took a seat and reached for their glasses. I was behind the bar still and was observing the sisters as they each took a sip. My wife's lovely face and long blond hair gave her an angelic look, compared to Jen's dark, sultry look - both very appealing.

"Here's to us, to upcoming Independence Day, and to Jen getting offered the Office Manager position!" Liz announced.

"Here, here, and congratulations!" I saluted, thrilled to hear the good news.

Liz explained to me that Nanna had informed their boss that she wanted to go ahead and retire at the end of November and he immediately offered the job to Jen.

"Here's to me making enough money that I can finally get out of your hair," Jen toasted.

"Jen, you are absolutely not 'in our hair'," I protested.

"Do you think we 'feel like that' about having you here?" Liz asked.

"Well, no, but, honestly, sis, you must be ready to have the place to yourselves again, and get back to normal."

"Seriously, Jen, this has become pretty normal for me, having you here - a good normal," I countered.

She laid a hand on mine, and gave me a sweet smile, "You are the best, Jack. But what about privacy, you know, to be yourselves, do whatever you want when you want..."

Liz cut in, "Jen, honey, you aren't 'cramping our style'. Yes, we've made adjustments, but nothing difficult. Frankly, it's been easy, and we love having you here."

Jen started leaking tears, "Me too, Liz, me too. I've just been worrying that, maybe, I've overstayed my welcome, that as soon as possible, I needed to...leave."

Liz, obviously surprised, emphatically stated, "Jen, we don't feel like that at all, not at all," then on a lighter note, she added, "And I'm positive Jack love's having you here, though I know his libido has gotten a workout," she grinned.

"Yeah, it's been taxing, having two beautiful women wandering around here, in various stages of undress, day in and day out," I complained, jokingly . Jen chuckled and squeezed my hand.

Liz, ever perceptive, asked her sister, "Honey, what's this about? Are 'you' not comfortable here? Is that why you are saying these things?"

Jen looked at her sister, then at me, and back at Liz. She released my hand and took Liz's, "I don't want to get into that...4

th

of July's coming up and...well, not the best time..."

"No, huh un. You can't say something like that and then drop it. Best time or not, out with it," Liz said more forcefully than I think she intended, and quickly amended, "Sorry, sis. I mean, you have me worried. I can't let this go. I'll worry about it till you tell me."

"You're right. I just wish it wouldn't have come up like this, and at this time...I really didn't want to get into this right now, but I guess I have to."

She paused, finished her drink, and indicated she would like a refill. I refreshed all our drinks.

She took a sip, fiddled with the glass a bit, then, eyes pleading, "Sis, I really don't...Okay, okay," she conceded as Liz started to protest again. She took another drink, and started, "You know, when I started working, I thought it might help, might make things work. And for a while, being busy; getting out of the house; learning a new job - it all helped a bit, but..."

She set her drink down, put her hands on her face, rubbed her eyes, stretched her neck, then looked from Liz to me and back.

"When I came here, I was shattered. My world had fallen apart. But more importantly, my opinion of myself, my self-esteem was in shambles, too. I always thought I was better than other women, other people. And I got away with it for years...But two failed marriages - one to a man who cheated on me, then one who deceived me and used me...and may have cheated on me; well, that left me questioning everything, especially who I am.

I get here and the first thing I'm confronted with is a sister, who I always thought I was better than...No, I did...But my sister, it turns out, is successful and happily married to a terrific guy. And at first, I was angry, jealous, and confused." She looked directly at Liz, "You had everything I thought I deserved, and didn't have, and I couldn't accept that. That's part of the reason I was so withdrawn for a while.

But you showed me so much kindness; you didn't judge me; you included me in your lives, and helped me make a fresh start. So, I got past those initial feelings. And an important part of all that was Jack, and how he treated me, obviously with kindness and caring, but more importantly, he made me feel like I was special, that I was beautiful, that I was desirable. My self-worth, my feelings about myself as a woman, were profoundly impacted. I started to feel good about myself again...and coupled with finding Jack attractive and desirable in a way I had never found another man; well, that led to our situation, where I admitted to you that I was lusting after him, and that I had deep feelings for him.

And sis, I know that because of that, you made Jack accessible to me to help me with my loneliness, my 'longings', and that was appreciated. Trust me, very appreciated. But, after we had our little 'sex soiree' that night, my angst and my desires only increased. And though, since then, we've made adjustments to live a less, um, 'sexually provocative' lifestyle, my situation has become more intolerable..."

"Intolerable? Jen..." Liz exclaimed, obviously taken aback.

"Let me finish. Like I said, I was hoping work, being busy, and being out of the house would make it possible to...deal with it, but it hasn't. Every day, we come home...Jack is here. On the weekends we are all together, and Jack is ever present, and always being 'Jack'..."

Liz started to interrupt again, "What? Jack, do you know about this?"

"Liz, please! Please let me finish...Not only was I 'taken' with your husband, and desirous of him, wanting him to bed me, I began to grow very fond of him, deeply fond..." she paused and drained her glass.

"Liz, I'm sorry, but I've fallen in love with Jack." She reached and lightly grasped my hand and gave a slight shrug with a kind of "What can I say?" expression on her face.

There are silences and there are dead silences. This was a dead silence - a long one. I felt like I had cotton stuffed in my ears. I could hear my pulse but nothing else.

And Liz, who rarely lacks for something to say, was speechless. She just sat looking nowhere in particular, biting her lip, and obviously at a loss. Finally, she reached and laid a hand on Jen's arm.

"Jen...are you sure? It's not just, um, infatuation..."

She shook her head, "No. No," then very softly, "No, I'm very much in love with him..."

Liz leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her, "I had no idea, honey. I mean, I knew you were...had a thing for Jack, but I just thought it was more of a crush...that because of the lack of affection...your situation...Jack, grab some Kleenex."

I brought a box of tissues and Jen sat up and began wiping her eyes.

"I don't know what to do, how to...I know I can't stay here, now. You see that, don't you? I just don't know how to..." Jen was saying, when Liz put a finger to her lips.

"Sis, stop..." Liz shook her head, "Right now, at this moment, I don't know what to do, either. I don't have a ready answer. But you need to understand something; this isn't just about you. This is about us. We will work this out together. And you're not going anywhere. Besides the fact that you don't have the money to move out right now, it wouldn't solve anything if you did. You would just be more alone, and still in love with Jack."

"But, Liz, how can you still have me here, knowing that...You must hate..."

"No, absolutely not. I don't even have any bad feelings towards you because of this...development. I'm not happy about it...but mostly, because I don't know how we handle it; but, we will. Besides, I'm probably as much to blame as anyone for my part in this..."

Liz, sat back, thought, then changing her voice and facial expression, she looked directly at me and remarked, "Actually, this is more 'your' fault than anybody's..."

"What? My fault?" I blurted out.

"Yeah, if you weren't so sweet, so handsome, and so studly, this never would have happened," she joked, trying to lighten things.

I replied somberly, "I'm sorry, I try not to be, but I can't help it...I could quit showering, start chewing tobacco, picking my nose..."

Jen laughed, shaking her head, "You guys are too much." She wiped at her eyes, folded her tissue and dabbed at her cheeks, "So, now what?"

"Now we hug," Liz nodded to towards Jen, motioning for me to come from behind the bar. I walked around, took hold of the back of her bar chair, and pivoted her around to face me. I wrapped her up in my arms and she stood, wrapped arms around me, buried her face in the crook of my neck, and started crying in earnest. Liz stood and wrapped her up from behind and held us, while her sister cried herself out.

II. INTERVENTION

Understandably, the weekend was more subdued than usual. Jen was quiet and a bit withdrawn. Liz was probably the least outgoing and upbeat I'd seen her in a long time. It was obvious she was struggling with what to do about the situation, and wasn't handling it well.

By Sunday, I felt an intervention was in order. After a rather somber breakfast, I suggested we needed to get out of the house and go to the mountains."

Liz smiled, "You're right hon, we've been moping around here too much. Jen, what do you say?"

"Sure, guys...Yes, the mountains would be nice."

We packed a lunch, changed, and drove about an hour to a place I'd been with my dad, outside the small town of Globe, high in the mountains. The area was covered in pinion pines, and there were a couple old, abandoned mines in the vicinity. We ate in a small meadow that obviously had a spring somewhere near, and we had a pleasant afternoon, exploring the old mines, the rusted equipment, piles of tailings, and old, dilapidated shacks. No, we didn't enter the shafts. Around six, we headed home, stopping in Globe at a café for dinner, as nobody was keen on cooking.

When we got to the house, I took the initiative again, "Liz, Jen, I want to relax outside and take a dip, if you're up for it," I suggested as we went to clean up and change out of hiking clothes.

They agreed that would be nice, and we took showers and put regular swimwear on. The pool and deck were already in shadow. We brought iced tea out and gathered at the patio table. I turned the overhead fan on above the patio table, and for a while, we sat in silence and sipped our iced tea.

"You start training for the office manager job, tomorrow, right?" I asked Jen, to break the silence.

"Yes, and I'm nervous. I just hope I'm up for this."

Liz spoke up, "Jen, honey, you are going to do fine, and with both Nanna and myself training you, it's going to go well. You'll see."

"I hope so. I don't want to disappoint Rob, or let you down."

"Nonsense, that's not going to happen," Liz replied, adamantly.

Now that we were talking, I said, "Okay, let's talk about what we're not talking about. We need to move past this, ladies." I usually leave this kind of thing up to Liz, but she seemed stuck.

She put a hand on mine, "You're right, hon. I've been avoiding it, mainly because I don't yet know what to do, what to say..."

Jen interrupted, "I thought you were upset with me..."

"Not with you, Jen, but yes, I am upset...because I don't know how to make this better, how to deal with it."

"Well, I have an idea, not so much a solution, but something that will help" I said.

Liz looked at me, questioningly.

"Yeah, I think there is something we can do before this derails us."

"Okay, honey, please," Liz said, sincerely, hopefully.

"We need to continue to be who we are, quit walking on eggshells, quit acting like Jen has an incurable disease..." Jen chuckled and Liz smiled, nodding agreement, so I continued, "Look, honey, we love each other, without question. So, for three people that love each other, and care for each other so much, I think we are getting way too...wrapped around the axle over this. I don't know where we go from here, or exactly what we do; I just know what we need 'not' to do - we need to not do what we've been doing."

My wife, scooted her chair out, got up, pulled me out of mine and grabbed me in a bear hug, "I knew there were more reasons I married you than your good looks, awesome body, and your big...thing; you are a very wise and sensitive man."

She engaged me in a warm, sweet kiss. After kissing, she separated from me and reached for Jen, taking her hand, and coaxing her out of her chair. She pulled her into a firm hug and held her for almost a minute.

When she released her, she smiled at her, "Sis, he's right," she started. Jen was nodding agreement, and tearing up. "Go kiss the man you love, my husband, because, you are my sister, my family, and his."

I understood, and didn't wait for Jen to make a move. As Liz stepped aside, I stepped in, gently put my arm around Jen's back and pulled her to me. I put a hand behind her head, closed my eyes and pulled her to me, kissing her tenderly. She immediately melted into me, wrapping me up and kissing me in return.

I felt her tears on my cheeks as we kissed, and when we broke, I reached and wiped at her cheeks, "We'll work this out, Jen. Somehow."

She nodded and we separated.

I took a big drink of my iced tea and said, "It's damn hot, and those were a couple of hot kisses. I'm going to cool off." I grabbed Liz's hand on my right, and Jen's on my left and pulled them with me to the pool.

When we got to the edge, Liz turned me to her, "You're a good man, Charlie Brown," grinned and shoved me into the pool. I still had a hold of Jen's hand and pulled her in with me. Liz dove in afterwards. We all came up laughing and sputtering.