It took me a bit of time to figure out where I wanted to go with John and Christie, but they're back. I appreciate the words of encouragement and patience from my readers.
I also appreciate you looking out for me, as I recently received a heads up from an anonymous reader that one of my stories had been stolen and plagiarized, word for word save a few name changes, on another site. It has been taken down, and the other 'author' banned from the offending site. Thanks to that reader, very much.
With that in mind...
The following is an original work of fiction. All characters are fictional, and over the age of eighteen. This work remains the intellectual property of myself, the author, and is published by Literotica with my consent. All rights to this work are reserved, and it is copyrighted.
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I felt bad.
Even though everything had worked out fine, I still didn't like the way we had bushwacked Ed. It had just been the lesser of multiple evils.
The biggest problem was Angela. If she hadn't known about us for months, we could have just proceeded the way most couples do, even though the situation was anything but ordinary.
But, because Angela did know, and had been hiding that from her husband, I had no choice. It had to be abrupt, and sudden, or Ed might find out, and be angry with her. I was taking the bullet, because I could. How he felt about me was less important than how he felt about his wife, especially since her predicament was because of me.
When Ed had said we 'needed to talk', I had anticipated a conflict, possibly during dinner. That hadn't arisen, thankfully. Perhaps he had decided to think it over, or maybe he just didn't want to spoil the celebration, but I had escaped without having to deal with it. At least for now. He certainly knew where to find me, and I was sure my reprieve was temporary.
My phone rang. It was Christie.
"Hi baby," I smiled. "Coming over for a visit? A swim? Something more fun?"
"Absolutely," she chirped back, "but not right now. I just thought you should know that my Dad is going to be knocking on your door soon. He wants to talk to you."
Like I said... a temporary reprieve.
"I expected as much. How's his mood?" I asked.
"Concerned, but not angry," she replied quietly. "He's still happy that I'm happy. I think you'll be fine."
"I know," I laughed. "He's more afraid of you than I am of him. I speak from experience, because I feel the same way. The thought of losing you scares the shit out of me."
"Well, then there's nothing for you to worry about, because I'm not going anywhere. Although, you did surprise me yesterday. You could have told me to be ready for it," she said softly.
"It was better that way," I explained. "It had to be a surprise for everyone, so your mother would be safe. She had to appear to know nothing..."
"Ah... and saw nothing. That's what the 'Schultz' stuff was about," she giggled. "That was pretty funny. Message me after my father leaves, okay? I'll come over and we can talk more then."
"Will do," I replied.
"Good luck, honey," she smiled.
"Thanks, baby."
***
The knock on my door still made me jump, despite the fact that I knew he was coming. I stood, with my hand on the doorknob, gathering myself, before I turned it.
"Ed!" I laughed, feigning surprise.
"John," he replied ominously. "It's time we had that talk I mentioned."
"Yes it is," I nodded, and gestured for him to come in. "Let's sit outside. It's a beautiful day."
"Fine. I could use a drink, too," Ed nodded. "Scotch. Neat. A double."
Okay. It's just after noon, a bit early for the hard stuff, so I guess he's as nervous as I am about this.
I went to get him his scotch, and poured myself a soft drink, then joined him by the pool.
"Here you go," I smiled, handing him his glass, and taking my seat next to him. "So... what do you want to talk about? Cars? The Broncos? Politics?"
I caught him off guard with that one, and he laughed, easing the tension for both of us.
"Something a little closer to home, I think," he said slowly. "I always knew this day was coming, sooner or later. My little girl has grown into a beautiful woman, and some young man was bound to fall in love with her. I just thought he'd be a little younger." He looked at me over the rim of his glass as he sipped the scotch.
"Hey! I'm younger!" I laughed.
"Than me? Yes. Barely," he nodded. "But you're not younger than the mother of your girlfriend... my daughter. That's going to take some getting used to. I know I'm hardly the one to lecture, being twelve years older than Angela, but?..."
"Yes, I know, Ed. Believe me, you're not saying anything I haven't said to myself several times," I answered. "I didn't plan to fall for her. I didn't plan to get involved with her. I didn't even start things going. We just spent some time talking, and became friends. One thing led to another, and before we knew what was happening... well, I'm sure you are aware of how mature Christie is. She's unlike any woman her age I've ever met."
"Uh huh," he said softly. "I get that. I suppose I need to trust my daughter's emotions in this matter, but you've got to admit... you're not going to be a normal son-in-law. You were married for longer than I've been married, already. I mean, jeez, you're supposed to be coming to me for relationship advice, and how to deal with my daughter... but you have more experience!"
"Yeah, and it ended so well," I grumbled, sipping my own drink. "Maybe you can still teach me how it should be."
"From what I've heard, you can't really be blamed for your ex-wife's departure. I'm sorry I brought it up," he said. "Makes my life easier, though. I don't have to ask you what your intentions are."
We sat silently for a few minutes. He was making me question my motives. Maybe that was his plan all along, but I had done enough questioning over the last five months to be quite sure of why I loved Christie, and it went way deeper than simple physical attraction.
"Ed, you needn't worry about how I feel about Christie. I do love her. More than I can possibly explain. She loves me too," I said evenly.
"So I gather, and I'm glad for you... both of you... but..." his voice trailed off, and he tipped his glass back, draining it into his mouth.
"I'm not going to hurt her, Ed," I told him. "She's the most important thing in my life, and I love her almost as much as you do."
"I appreciate that. Look, John... I know my daughter. She is certainly capable of making her own decisions, and once she has, there's little that can change it, so I'm not going to waste my time arguing with her. I am left with no choice but to trust her, and you. Just know that there's no time limit to her happiness. If you ever hurt her, we'll be having this conversation again."
Ed smiled, and stood up. "Thanks for the scotch, and the talk. I think you two will be happy together, and that's all I really care about. Take care of my baby." I nodded, and he left me sitting alone. I heard the front door close.
"Well, that went better than I expected," I whispered.