Nan, padding sleepily down the stairs, found her mother in the kitchen, getting ready to prepare a big breakfast for everyone. She must have come up to her silently, for when she placed a hand on Vera's shoulder and said, "Hey, Mom, howya doin'?" Vera spun around in alarm.
"Christ, Nan!" she cried. "You scared the bejesus out of me!"
"Mom, calm down, it's only me," Nan said with something of a smirk (she had learned that from Sylvia). Then she added: "So how was it?"
Vera feigned ignorance. "How was what?"
Nan rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Mom, you know what I mean. How was it with Damon?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Vera said primly.
"Mom, I have ears, you know. You guys weren't exactly quiet."
Nan saw a blush proceed from her mother's neck all the way to the top of her forehead, and Vera's mouth gaped open in speechless horror. Nan almost thought her mom was having a heart attack.
"I sent him there," Nan went on softly, "so that you'd, um, feel better. Damon likes to make women feel better."
"I feel fine," Vera said tightly.
"Well, that's good. But you know we're going to have to talk about this."
"What is there to talk about?"
Nan looked at her mother as if she were a dolt. "Are you kidding me? We have to have some kind of—arrangement. You must see that."
"I can't imagine what kind of arrangement that could possibly be."
"Yeah, well, I have some ideas about that. I—"
But at this point Damon stumbled into the room, looking pretty worn out. Nan directed a smirk at him, but he didn't dignify it with a response. And Vera took advantage of her new lover's arrival to say, "Okay, I gotta make breakfast now," and obtrusively brought out pans and skillets to whip up eggs, sausages, and other things for the three of them.
There was actually little talk of any kind over that breakfast. Nan did notice that her mother winced as she sat down at the dining table; she cast a quick and disapproving glance at Damon, and he made an infinitesimal shrug and had a sheepish grin on his face. The meal was at last over, and Damon retreated up the stairs, claiming he needed a shower. Nan pulled her mother away from the safety of her kitchen and led her into the living room, where they sat on the couch.
"Okay, Mom, so what do we do now?" Nan said.
"I don't know," Vera said into her hands.
"You—you like Damon?"
"Certainly I like him. I did so even before . . ."
"Yeah, okay. You like what he did to you?"
Vera blushed again. "Well, why wouldn't I? He's quite—skilled."
"That's for sure. But I can tell that what he did was more than just fun for him. I'm hoping it was for you too."
Vera looked at her daughter in amazement. "How can you—?"
How can you allow your boyfriend—the guy you claim to love, and who says he loves you—to fuck your mom over and over again?
Nan understood at once what Vera was trying to say. "Really, Mom, I don't mind. You may not believe that, but I don't."
Vera just shook her head in disbelief.
"So we get back to the question: What do we do now?"
"I don't know why we need to do anything."
"Mom, are you crazy? You're telling me that after what's happened, we can just go back to pretending we're all just the same as before?"
"I don't—"
"Look, I have a pretty good idea of what Damon is feeling. I
don't
know what
you're
feeling. Are you really saying that you just want this to be a one-night stand?"
Vera's eyes widened, and she stared intently at her daughter. All manner of emotions—fear, desire, apprehension, confusion, regret—flitted over her face like a kaleidoscope. She remained silent for a long time, but finally said in a whisper: "No."
"I had a feeling you'd say that," Nan said matter-of-factly. Then her tone softened: "I know this is all new to you, Mom. It was all new to me too, until a few months ago."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Nan sighed wearily. She had not told her mother anything about her current living situation, and realized that the time had come to lay her cards on the table. So she did so, recounting the whole business of Iris and Brad and Sylvia and how they all interacted in that big house in Charlottesville.
As the tale unfolded, Vera's jaw dropped and her eyes boggled. When Nan finished, there was a deafening silence that threatened to extend till the end of time.
"You—you're not serious," Vera breathed.
"I am," Nan said firmly. "Maybe it's not how most people live, but it's how
we
live—and we like it. It works for us. There's no jealousy, there's no fighting; there's just a lot of love."
Vera's breathing seemed to be getting agitated, and her chest rose and fell irregularly. "And—and you expect me to—?"
"Yes, Mom, I think it would be best if you joined us. Of course, that's Iris's decision—it's her house, after all. And the others will have to have their say. But it seems to be the best thing for everyone. You can easily commute to your bank from Iris's place—it's not that far."
Vera just shook her head. "I don't know if I can live like that."
"I get that. But I suggest that you try it for a while and see how it works. And you don't have to decide right away. Damon and I still have five more days here, and you can have him for another three nights. I hope you don't mind if I have him for the other two nights."
"Of course not!" Vera said with a nervous laugh. "Don't be silly."
"Fine," Nan said. "That's how it'll be."
The trio did all manner of other fun things during the next several days, and they all became closer and closer. Damon, realizing he had Nan's "permission" to cuddle up to her mother, made Vera feel like a queen being fêted by her favorite courtier, kissing her openly on the mouth, even in public, and (in private) squeezing her bottom and nuzzling her neck, shoulders, and breasts when the opportunity presented itself. Vera was entranced by the attentions of this appealing man, and at times it seemed as if Nan were the mother and Vera the daughter whose new boyfriend was making no secret of his attraction.
Damon did his best not to make Nan feel neglected, but that first night with Vera had tired him out more than he cared to admit, and he had to beg off sex with Nan the next night. The night after that, Nan became aware that her boyfriend and her mother were at it even more enthusiastically than before, and when she came downstairs the next morning, Vera was sitting drinking coffee at the kitchen table, waiting for the others to get up.
"Well," Nan said, "you're up bright and early this morning."
I'm always a mess after Damon works me over the way he must have worked you over last night.
"It's not that early," Vera said.
Nan gave a close scrutiny to her mom. "You're looking really good, you know. A lot better than I've seen you in a long time. In fact, you're positively radiant."
Vera colored prettily. "Oh, come on, dear, I'm just the same as usual."
"You're not. You—"
At this point, Damon dragged in. Man, did he look worn out! He trudged over to the coffeemaker, poured himself some black coffee, and brought it back to the kitchen table.