"I don't know, daddy... I don't think... I don't think mom will be ok with it."
"But Olivia, honey, what's the alternative? Do you really think we can keep things as they are forever? That your mom will not suspect anything, ever?"
"Yes, Olly... I think Mark is right. I agree with you, there's a risk involved, but if all four of us explain it to her..."
Olivia was really afraid of what could happen if their mother knew about us, and me and Isabella were trying to convince her while Hellen observed, quiet and without saying a word.
"But what if she freaks out? If she decides that she doesn't want to see us anymore? I love her very much, and I don't want to... to lose her..."
"None of us do, Olivia. I love your mother too, the same way I love you three, and this is exactly why I think we need to tell her. What will happen when she finds out? Because she will, sooner or later she will surprise you with me on the sofa in the early mornings, or suspect my disappearances at the same time that Isabella vanishes, or even wake up in the middle of the night and find me in Olivia's bed. Then what? It will not only be a shock, but it will destroy this family."
After a few moments, Hellen finally said something:
"Olivia, we need to talk to her."
Everyone looked at her, surprised by the certainty in her voice, and she continued:
"I can't do it anymore, not after being able to really be myself with daddy even with you around. And... And it was so good, I felt so... loved and I..."
She blushed before continuing:
"I came so hard, harder than I thought was possible, all because you were here with me, loving me..."
Isabella, visibly moved, took her sister into her arms, saying:
"You were always loved, you silly..."
"I know, sis... But I never felt you that close to me before..."
Everyone was silent for a few moments until Olivia, after sighing, eventually said:
"OK, then... But I think I must be the one to tell her. You can be with me, but she needs to hear it from me. I... I know that Isabella is right, that she... She protects me more than Isabella and Hellen, and she needs to understand that no one was forced to do anything. We are all adults, and we want it."
She was right, and there was nothing left for the rest of us to do other than agree.
***
I was really, really nervous when Claudia finally got home, at the end of the afternoon, to find the four of us at the living room waiting for her. She entered and didn't sense anything different at first, but after seeing our faces she immediately said:
"What... What happened?"
Olivia, acting so maturely that surprised me, said:
"Mom, we need to talk to you. Please sit here by my side..."
"What's happening?"
Claudia was alarmed, but Olivia insisted:
"Mom, please... Sit down here and listen to me."
Claudia moved slowly through the living room and sat down as requested, her face showing how tense she was, and Olivia took her mother's hand before starting to talk:
"Mom... I... We all love you very much, you know that, right?"
Claudia waved her head and Olivia continued:
"A few years ago, when you introduced Mark into our lives, we were not happy at first. I know we never said anything, but the memories of your past boyfriends were not... pleasant, and you know that. We feared that everything would be like it was again. But Mark..."
She looked at me with love in her eyes and continued: