Chapter 9 - Confession and Confrontation
Friday after my last class, I headed back to the apartment to pack a weekend bag for my trip home. Kacie insisted on driving home with me and she was already packed and waiting when I got there. Thirty minutes later, we were on the road. I had spoken with Carrie every day and we had worked out how and what we wanted to tell my mother about our relationship. Thanks to Kacie, we already knew that she was aware of what we had been doing, but that she was waiting to let us tell her "officially" rather than confronting me directly about sleeping with her best friend.
I mentioned to Carrie that I found out that my parents and my aunt and uncle had apparently been involved with a small group of people who seemed to be in the swinging lifestyle before I was born, but didn't know if that was helpful. Carrie was silent for several seconds. I guessed that she was wondering if I had discovered that she and her ex-husband were part of that group as well. "That's probably not something you should bring up," she advised. "I think we are better off accepting full responsibility for the decisions you and I made and not try to somehow imply that whatever your mother did or did not do in the past has bearing on our relationship. Agreed?"
"You're right," I answered. At some point, I knew Carrie and I were going to have a discussion about her own past involvement with that group, but I planned to leave the decision to have that discussion up to her.
Kacie drove and I sat up front with her saying little. She and I had already gone over things almost every day since her revelation and to her credit, Kacie was very supportive to me, and by extension, Carrie. I saw a mature side of Kacie that I never knew existed and was grateful she was with me. The short times I was in the apartment alone were absolutely depressing and lonely.
I opened up to her about Carrie and described how we accidentally fell into our relationship. As Carrie and I grew closer, I found myself craving to be with her and not just for the sex. The difference in our ages caused some obvious differences in the things we enjoyed, but we found more points in common than differences. We were both looking forward to the time when we could be open about our love and do things together publically instead of limiting ourselves to what could be done in private. Kacie asked about Carrie's two teenage children and I agreed that my potential relationship to them was a complication we had not figured out yet.
I also had time during the week to review the things Kacie had said about her feelings for me. I explained that if I had not already found Carrie, I would have been much more receptive to her advances and desire for a taboo relationship. I don't know that I made her feel any better about my rejection after the one time we slept together, but at least she understood that I still loved her.
When we arrived at Carrie's house, Kacie offered to stay in the car, but I told her I wanted her next to me. Carrie opened the door and if she was surprised to see Kacie standing with me, she didn't show it.
"Carrie, I'm sure you remember my cousin, Kacie," I said by way of introduction.
"Of course, Come on in, both of you," she said with a gracious smile. Once inside, I embraced Carrie and kissed her tenderly. "I've missed you," I whispered. Her eyes grew moist.
"I missed you, too," she said. Then her eyes moved to Kacie who was still standing quietly behind me.
"I've told Kacie all about us," I said. Carrie gave a weak smile and then moved over to hug Kacie. She held my cousin close for several seconds and whispered something in the girl's ear. Kacie's arms wrapped around Carrie and gave the older woman a big squeeze. All I heard was Carrie saying, "Thank you for everything" before they moved apart. Carrie led us into the living room and we sat down on the couch with me sitting between the two women.
"Does your mother know you're here?" Carrie asked.
"I told her I needed to come home for the weekend and Kacie was bringing me, but I didn't tell her why or when I was getting here," I said.
"She didn't ask?" Carrie said in surprise.
"She did, but said I'd tell her when I got there," I admitted.
Carrie sat still. "She knows why you're coming to see her," she said.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Because yesterday, I told her that I needed to speak to her about you and she got snippy. 'You mean to tell me you've been sleeping with my son?' I believe were her exact words," Carrie said. "I told her there was more to the story than that, but she just said, 'Fine!' and hung up. I'm afraid our meeting with her is not going to go as well as I had hoped," Carrie sighed.
