XV − The Routine, and the Not-So-Routine
MATT
Let me take a moment to describe our lives now.
We reorganized the condo so that Jane and Ben and little Christiana had the largest of the rooms, one with an attached bathroom -- much easier with the baby -- and Paul and Lauren took the large bedroom without a bath. I moved into the bedroom that was slightly smaller but had its own bathroom, and Mai and I alternated between there and her apartment. We were still keeping one bedroom free as a study and guest room.
Our lives have fallen into a comfortable routine. Actually, "routine" isn't the best word, with its connotations of "mundane" and "boring." Our lives together are anything but that. Instead, maybe we've discovered an easy, comfortable familiarity. Jane, of course, lives with her husband and their baby. Paul and Lauren continued to live together; and Mai and I have become regular roommates. But I still fuck Janey and Lauren, Paul fucks Janey, and now, Mai. And Ben continues to fuck his mother, as well as Lauren, occasionally.
Strangely, there is never any conflict regarding this. Each of us has a partner, and if someone wants to spend some 'quality time' with someone else's partner -- they ask. For example, if Lauren and I wanted to spend the night together, she'd say to Paul, "Dad, I'd like to spend tonight with Matthew -- will that be OK?" And I'd tell Mai, "Lauren and I would like to spend tonight together. Would that be OK? Would you like to spend the evening with Paul?"
Janey's approaches are far more direct. She'd ask Ben, "How would you like to spend the night with my smokin' hot sister?" Or, "Hey, my hot sister wants to fuck you tonight." Or, "Why don't you go show that hot Asian mother of yours that her baby still loves his Mommy?" Once, Ben made the mistake of asking her, "But what'll you do if I'm with Mom?" She looked at him with an expression of stark disbelief and snapped, "Do you really think a hot MILF like me is going to have trouble finding a stud -- or two -- to fill her bed?" He never asked such a question again.
********
I just realized. This might all sound like one giant fuck-fest, with everyone rotating through a continuous stream of sex-crazed partners.
But in fact, we were testing relationships. We were learning and discovering where the strongest connections were.
And we just about had it right.
********
I think the key was that everyone felt safe. We all loved each other. Easy to say the words, but in our case, there were so many ties of family and of mutual affection that saying "we all loved each other" was not just a trite, throwaway expression. And there was no way that anyone would ever 'lose' someone. The bonds between Paul and Lauren, Mai and Ben, and me and Janey were unbreakable. The fact of my deep attachment to Lauren in no way compromised my feelings for Janey, nor did they threaten or encroach upon Lauren's unique relationship with her father. Nor did Ben being married to Jane or his (or their) occasional lustful evenings (or entire weekends) with Lauren -- and sometimes me -- ever jeopardize the bond that Ben and Mai had created over their lifetime together.
In fact, I can recall no instance when anyone ever asked to spend time with someone and it was refused. We all knew that we had something special here, and we all knew we were safe with each other. Period.
As I said, Mai and I continued as roommates -- very loving roommates, if you must know. Of course, we had been brought together by the romance between Janey and Ben, but our connection had to evolve through its own devices. Mai had not been with any man other than Ben since her half-brother, Christian, died in a motorcycle accident 20 or so years ago. So our being together was kind of accidental, the result of Ben spending time with his now-wife and I spending less time with her.
As I've said, Mai is an absolutely beautiful woman. Gorgeous features, the result of her Malay-Thai-American ancestry, and a fantastic body befitting a woman ten or fifteen years younger. Because she had not been with a man other than her son for more than 20 years, she and I started out a bit cautious and inhibited. I think that as she became more comfortable with the idea of being with a new man, the more passionate elements of her nature began to emerge, or perhaps, re-emerge.
Also, I think that Ben was learning from Janey's lusty, uninhibited approach to love and sex, and in turn was passing those lessons on to his mother when they were together. Just as an example, one night when I was with Janey and Ben was with Mai, we heard through their door, Mai, with a husky voice that we'd never heard from her before, growl, "... like a Bangkok street whore ... anything you want ...," and Ben's voice snarling "... know what I want, cunt!", followed by grunts and cries and a final wail by Mai and a gigantic groan from Ben. It was so hot that Janey dropped to her knees and sucked me and jacked me to a climax right there in the hallway. (Knowing Janey, I was also pretty sure that she would be quizzing Ben about that when they were back together.)
********
Oh, yes -- did I mention that Mai and I are grandparents? Christiana is -- how can I put this without sounding too grandparent-ly -- a delight! She is healthy, and happy, and she observes everything, and almost everything amuses her. And she is going to be a very pretty girl and, later, woman. She mostly resembles Janey (and that's a good thing), but she also has Ben's dark hair and an exotic, Oriental cast to her eyes. Yup, she's going to get a lot of attention as she grows older.
Mai -- she knew what to do immediately. I think that as soon as they become mothers, women begin readying themselves for the role of "grandmother." It's just something they seem to know they'll want, and which will make their lives complete. She manages to spend every moment possible with her beautiful granddaughter, yet somehow without ever interfering with Janey's and Ben's parenting. And Christiana certainly loves her Grandma. Whenever Mai approaches her, she becomes calm, almost serene, but you can also see the excitement and joy in her eyes. I guess babies can recognize a good thing when they see it.
As for me -- I'm not sure men anticipate grandparenthood the way women do. I didn't have any expectations, either of myself or of the baby. But what I do know is that my daughter's daughter makes me happy. I love holding her, and playing with her, and bathing her, and just watching her make sounds and movements while she sleeps. And behind all this is the realization that every time I look at Christiana, I know that through this little girl, my beautiful Janey will, in some sense, live forever.
Curiously, throughout this experience, Mai and I continued along the paths that had already been laid down in the preceding years. Christiana was Mai's granddaughter, and she was my granddaughter. But she was not
our
granddaughter.
********
There was another dynamic that seemed to be emerging. Lauren was beginning to treat Mai more and more like a mother. And Mai seemed to accept this. Times when Paul was away (or with Janey and Ben), Mai and I would wake up during the night to find that Lauren had crawled into bed with us, usually cuddled up against Mai. In fact, when Paul and I were both gone, Lauren would climb into bed and sleep with Mai. Once when Paul and I both returned home about 1:00 in the morning, we looked in to find them sleeping together, Lauren with her lips firmly fastened around one of Mai's dark nipples.
But more recently, Paul and Mai had also been developing their own relationship. They seemed to be spending more time together, in bed, but also out of bed. Their conversations were the ones that were more quiet and personal, as were the understanding looks that often passed between them.
********
Janey continues to get together with Paul every ten or twelve nights. After all these years, they are still very special to each other. And I'm glad.
At first, their relationship was a problem for Ben. He understood Janey's and my times together, of course, because these were the same as his time with his mother, Mai. In Lauren's early "orientation" talk with Ben, she explained the importance of the relationship between Jane and Paul, and that this would continue, even if Jane and Ben were to marry. But he still had a hard time accepting Janey's need to be with Paul. At first, he tolerated it, but he was not happy about it. After a while, he came to accept it. Ultimately, Ben has learned that this relationship is special, and unique, and very important to Jane (to all of us, for that matter), and it in no way competes with Janey's love for him.
As for me -- I'm fine with it. In fact, I'm very fine with it.
********
But I couldn't get out of my mind the words Janey and I heard through the door that night when Ben was with Mai. "Like a Bangkok street whore." I related this to Paul, casually, as though I was just sharing an amusing incident, waiting to see if he would pick up on it.
"Really? And how
does
one treat a 'Bangkok street whore'?" he replied, with a humorous tone, but also leaving it open-ended, like he really wanted to pursue this topic.
"I don't know. But it's something I'd be interested in finding out. Perhaps we should ask Mai the next time we're together."
