At Times Like These

(I owe so much to two people. My Beta Reader dustybin63 and my editor. Both worked on this story, even though it's not a genre they are comfortable with. Thank you both so very much my friends.)

This story exists because I asked a dear friend of mine what she wanted for her birthday, you who are reading this are about to see, I've settled the debt that was owed to my friend.

*******

"David, I'm getting that vibe again."

We sat on our loungers in the back garden while the children enjoyed the sunken pool. I looked up from my book towards my wife, and her attention was on Abigail, our daughter. Josh had just spotted me looking intently at his sister, swam the last few yards to the edge of the pool, and got out to join his sister as they both now entered the house.

Abigail and Josh were twins, and we thought we had lucked out when we were told my wife was carrying twins. It was childish of us, but we fist-pumped each other when we found that bit out. We only wanted two anyway, so getting both at the same time felt like winning the baby lottery. Abi arrived first, followed by Josh three minutes later; the pair had been inseparable in my wife's womb, of course, just as they continued to be outside of it as well.

Abi was the ringleader, and although Josh wouldn't admit to being a follower, he almost always seemed to be one when around her, but I have seen him put his foot down on a few of Abigail's crazy schemes and ideas and win most of them. My wife and I figured out early in their lives that he was the perfect foil for her temperament.

Just as it seems that my wife, Jennifer, was the only person who could pick up on that undercurrent or vibe, as she calls it, when we discuss the twins and what they get up to. Something was brewing, and even with her own insight into the children that she had birthed, Jennifer just couldn't get a real handle on what they were scheming. They were up to something; even the slow knucklehead that I am had seen it now that my wife had pointed out her suspicions to me.

*******

Almost as soon as Jennifer had figured out that she was with a child and confirmed it that very evening, well, after a quick trip to the drugstore for a test kit, we sat down together and did what all parents do. We mapped out what we wanted to do to protect our child and prepare him or her for life.

All that was put on hold while our family doctor got involved. She confirmed Jennifer's pregnancy and after some more tests a few weeks later, she made sure she sat us down and announced that my wife was going to have twins. Both of us froze, looked at each other for a moment, and smiled. Weeks later, feeling just a little curious, we checked through both our families; none had twins, and we went back as far as great aunts and uncles could remember. Hell, we even got technology involved, and we checked up on our family trees--ours were going to be the first.

After months of planning, in which all expecting parents and close relatives are brought into the fold, forward planning comes into action. All too suddenly, the day of the visit to the hospital comes along, and both parents look on in awe at the little screen, and you're introduced to the life living within you. Tears of joy are shed, more so as the technician points out body parts and you're told the sex of the lives living within you.

Life for us both accelerated, and details could now be added. Armed with the knowledge from the technician, names are given to the lives living and growing within Jennifer. Then comes the big day that we're introduced to our little ones in person; their names now have a reality about them as eyes and ears pick up through the weeks and following months the names we had given to each of them.

The sleepless nights were new to us but still shared. I helped because I was now a work-from-home father. We were expecting some nightmare years to come as close family members shared those same memories as Jennifer's stomach got bigger. Yet they never occurred; we were more shocked than the family was. They all smiled and told us to grab that small island of peace with both hands and never look at it as anything other than a gift from the twins.

Our introducing both the children to the nudist club was amusing, more so when the mothers there pointed out that they weren't true nudists when they carried diapers around with them. I'm told it's one of those lifelong amusing jokes within the club. The twins were a source of amusement within the club and family all through the ages, yet they were always respectful of their elders and of us, personally. We very rarely had to bring them to task over anything we would deem serious.

Yet my wife and I are now more closely watching the children walk from the pool naked and into the house, both loosely wrapped in a towel each, and wondering what we had missed, after all these years of guiding and educating them.

*******

"Is it still as strong?"

I finally turned my attention to my wife; a tear trickled down her left cheek. I got up and sat next to her on her lounger, my arm around her as her head now rested on my shoulder.

"It's stronger than ever. Whatever it is that's bothering them is going to come out within the next day or so."

It was then that I stated the obvious to us. "Just in time for their nineteenth birthday."

Jennifer took a deep breath; I also felt her head nod on my shoulder as she did so. Her arms came around me, and we hugged really tight, somehow hating what was going on and yet not being able to do anything about it. We had instilled in the twins all through their short lives, both separately or together, that if they ever had a problem with anything, they should come to us together or individually, and we would sort it out. As the years rolled on, they had indeed done just that a few times in their lives, and yet, in this case, the children held all the cards.

"They're in pain, David. I can see it in their eyes. I don't need this vibe thing telling me this; they are both in pain over this, and I haven't got a clue what this is all about."

All I could do was shrug my own shoulders; I was, after all, in the same boat as my wife. "They seem to have their own time window to do something about whatever this is; their birthday is in three days. The gap year they were on was at the request of both of them--another one of those times when they came to us together and explained that they did want to go to college but requested a gap year. They then got vague about why, only continuing to remind us that it was just a gap year, they still wanted to choose and then go to college to complete their education."

"Mom?"

We both looked up; Abigail was still barefoot, so we didn't hear her approach. Her own eyes had tears within them. I sensed Jennifer tense up and loosened my own grip on my wife as she broke contact with me, got up from her lounger, and rushed to hug our daughter.

Tears were freely rushing down both their faces when they parted. Abi turned to face me, and her cheeks went bright red.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, but I need Mom. I truly want to talk to you as well, but I'm so afraid at the moment and I need my mom."

I nodded. I was also more relieved that she would finally talk to someone other than her brother about whatever this was. I rose from my wife's lounger, hugged them both, and tried--oh so hard--to ignore the fact that my own daughter stiffened when I did something that I had been doing all my life around the family.

"You two girls talk. I'm going to the golf club for the afternoon; I will even leave my phone in my locker so you can both have some peace."

Looking at Abi when I said even that, she only nodded her head to show that she had heard me; it was my wife who thanked me.

Abigail nodded to confirm my wife's thanks. What she said next came out as a whisper. "Please take Josh with you."

What both ladies saw in my eyes when she said that had both of them gasping.

"No. I don't need my own son looking out for me when your mother and I have been doing that willingly with each other all your lives."

I just nodded to my wife and went into the house to get dressed. I even made it out of the house and into the car without seeing any of them. I did go to the club. I even paid to do all eighteen on my own. But all I was doing that day was hitting balls down the course with a stick. My handicap would have taken a monumental hit that day if I had taken a card with me.

I was on the fifteenth when I sliced the ball off the tee. I only know a few swear words, but I made sure I used all of them as I watched that damn ball make a slow, lazy arc and bury itself in the rough just short of a hundred-odd yards from me. Feeling kind of guilty that I was taking today's frustration out on such an inanimate object as a ball, I thought it best that I at least go looking for it.

Within ten minutes, I had recovered four balls, none of them mine. As I looked up from picking up the last ball I had found I thought I saw a familiar figure in the distance. "Could it be Abigail? What would she be doing here at the golf club," I pondered to myself.

Abigail recounted the news she had heard in the shop. "I've just come from the shop; the Golf-pro has a couple of reports of some lunatic swinging at his ball, and it's going all over the place."

We stood looking at each other for a moment; perhaps it was a moment too long for Abigail because she started to tear up.

"Can I caddy for you, Daddy? We can walk and talk at the same time."

My heart melted. I hadn't meant to make her cry, it was why I was here rather than at the house. "Yes, baby, it will be like old times."

My golf bag hit the floor, and we both looked down at it and then at each other.

"No, Daddy, that was the past. I need to talk to you so badly about the future that I was afraid you would freak out. I went to Mom to ask her opinion; it all came out, and she went after Josh to get his version. Mom said everything hinges on you. If you say no, then it's going to kill Josh and me, but we will obey you."

I kept my mouth shut. It was clear to me she hadn't finished.

"You didn't say anything when we both asked for a gap year before going to college. That will finally be explained when we talk to you both. We do want to go Daddy, but as you've always told us, family comes first, so we need this settled before we go."

I stared at my daughter, wondering if she was going to add to this cryptic conversation--she never did, so I shrugged my shoulders, and we casually walked towards the sixteenth. Just before the start of the sixteenth hole, the club had put up a bench seat as they did at other various strategic points around the course for those who wanted to use it and watch those playing. I sat and patted the space next to me.

Her smile almost felt forced. She watched what little activity was going on before she said, "Why are we nudists, Daddy? Momma said you never were before you met her, or even when you courted her."

I knew I would end up having this conversation with at least one of the children someday.

"Your mom and I never wanted you or Josh to hate your bodies. Almost as soon as your mother told me she was pregnant with you, I sat her down and told her that I wanted to become a nudist and the reason I just gave you was one of those reasons. It took her a New York minute to agree with me, saying she had those same challenges when she hit puberty; she was all for it."

I gave out an involuntary laugh, and Abi looked at me. "She actually slapped my arm for not suggesting this earlier in our relationship."

We both sat looking at everything and nothing. Her hand came off the golf bag and held onto the top of mine. I looked down at what she had done and then at her--her tears were in abundance now.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, but I need you to hold me real bad."

I flung my arms around my little girl and hugged the living shit out of her as her sobs became almost desperate. We were still like this twenty minutes later, but thankfully, only a few of the golf members recognized us both, as they too played the course and kept a distance from us. To them, this was family business, not the club's. I could feel her slowly calm down now. When the sobs turned into hiccups, I knew she was almost done.

"Do you feel any better, little one?"

Her head nodded against my body, and that's when we parted. Between us, we agreed that golf today was a complete disaster, and rather than finish on an all-time low, I carried my golf bag over my shoulder and placed my other arm over Abi's shoulder. Her smile didn't look so forced now. We took a leisurely walk hand in hand along the path by the side of the course towards the clubhouse, waving occasionally at some of those still playing the course.

"Please, Daddy, let Josh and I sit you down and talk to you both. It's important, and you've always told us that no conversation is off the table when it comes to family. Promise me you will sit with momma when we talk again."

This time I just nodded, I didn't want to push this any further. I had always told the children the same thing. I never got used to the girlie talks though, that need to be done between mother and daughter. More so when it's the daughter initiating the conversation with the mother. Jennifer had told me a couple of conversations she would have dearly loved to have had with her own mother as she grew up.

Conversations that were never initiated between them and thus turned into precious mother-daughter time lost between them.

Our lives had been one of no secrets between us; too many of them that were never aired within a family could have the potential to tear a family apart. I thought we had steered the murky waters between puberty rather well, it seems I was still getting blindsided when those conversations needed to be done as mother-daughter.

*******

We walked hand-in-hand around the clubhouse and to the car. I looked around the parking lot for hers, and Abigail noticed and smiled before letting me know that she got a cab to the golf club.

When I came into the house, Jennifer was waiting for me with a cup of coffee.

I looked at her while taking the coffee from her and said, "That bad, is it?"

She smiled, but it looked forced. She then looked at Abi and asked her to round up her brother rather than yell up the stairs for him. Jennifer then pointed to my home office and told her that's where they could find us when they were ready. Her hand went into mine, and we left Abi heading towards the stairs.

As we walked, Jennifer said, "I plan to sit on your lap when Abi talks. I know you're going to lose it, and my tongue in your mouth will take your mind off of disowning our children."

That input alone took all my concentration to keep walking.

"So it is that bad then?"

Her hand squeezed mine. "It's not for me to say, that's Abi's. Just know that I agree with her. David, I want you to promise to hear her out. This does involve the whole family--the children know my opinion, and I'm not telling you what I told them yet. I will tell you because we don't keep secrets, but I need you to be open-minded on this and remember, these are our children, or rather, young adults."

Sitting was because my wife made me; she even threw a leg across both of mine to make sure I didn't make a run for it. The twins came into the room hand in hand, hands parted about halfway in. That's when Abigail came and knelt in front of my wife and me.

"Daddy, Josh and I love each other." Seeing no recognition of her words, she then stood.

"Daddy, Josh and I are in love; we wish to take our relationship to a physical level."

Understanding slammed into me like the night bus driven by the devil himself.

"Do you understand the consequences of your action if you do this?"

The nod of her head was only the beginning.

"Daddy, Josh and I want you and Mom to teach us all we want to know about sex and making love."

I felt Jennifer's hand grasp my wrist just a little tighter. That one action forced me to take my eyes off my daughter and direct my attention to my wife. That's when she backed up her threat and moved her body to sit slightly further up my lap, her arm around my shoulder.

"They're in love, David."

Jennifer pressed home the fact that I was still sitting and hadn't thrown both children out of the house yet. Abigail and Josh confessed everything to her this afternoon. She's their mother. She already knew and told them so. She wasn't ready for the next part, when Abi recited some history of our lives, like when we lived in a smaller house and the walls were thinner, how they heard my wife scream out her orgasms, and both thought I was beating up their mother.

Yet my wife left her bedroom the next morning with a smile and not a scratch on her. This point was driven home even more when they went to the nudist club and didn't see a bruise on her. As age and knowledge grew, they started to understand love and the physical aspect of lovemaking. When sex education was taught to them at school, both paid attention. The lights of understanding went on within them both, just as their own attraction to each other did.

It was Josh who thought up the idea; it was he who suggested that they seek help and advice from their mother. By the time they had laid everything out and Jennifer actually told them that she knew most of this from their actions towards each other, it didn't take them long to realize that not only did Mom know, but she was waiting for them to accept that same feeling between each other.

Jennifer's hand came to my cheek and rested there; her warmth was comforting.

"David, this is the part they are desperately struggling with. They need our help. They want us to teach them about making love."

My wife watched me so intently, still forgetting that I may be her husband, but I'm also a guy. Her lips tightened, and she slowly took a breath. Still seeing no light at the end of that tunnel, she leaned in and kissed me, the way she does when she so desperately needs that nice dress in the window or really wants that cruise rather than fly to Hawaii.

"David, Abigail wants you to teach her about sex and making love, and Josh wants me to teach him. They don't want to spend endless weeks and months frustrated and getting only parts of it right. They want us to help them get to the point that we are now so that they can just ease into each other's bodies and not spend half a lifetime fumbling around."

My mind was taking its time to decipher what my wife was saying; the words that left my lips sure weren't what they expected.

"You and I are going to jail for this, you know that, right?"

This time, Abi was getting involved again. "It's the main reason why we both asked for a gap year, Daddy. We're --soon to be nineteen--and we both so desperately want you to teach us everything. We do plan to go to college. Our education is important to us, and we can have a place off campus. Neither of us wants to get involved with the frat scene, just each other."

My wife's hand was still on my cheek. I held onto her wrist and looked at her. "You know all four of us are going to hell even just talking about this?"

A sadness came to my wife. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I would spend an eternity in hell if I thought I could help my babies. But this all hinges on you, my husband. You were my husband before our children came into our lives, so I will bow to you on this. Just remember how we have planned with our children; we changed our lifestyle so they wouldn't have the hang-ups we had when we were younger. Are we to pull them away from this and make a mockery of experiencing the freedoms we allowed them all through their lives so far?"

She was right, of course. Neither of us was a nudist when we met. It was a lifestyle we chose so that our own inhibitions could finally be exorcised, and the friends we made from the club had also lasted outside of it as well. But what the children wanted was illegal, and us helping them in any way would not bode well.