"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost
Though I had wanted my relationship with my older sister, Sasha, to blossom into something more (sexual), it didn't. Once we were back from the market she seemed preoccupied with Petar, my older brother, and apart from some harmless flirting, she didn't seem to have time for me. However, my relationship with Krissy continued uninterrupted with both of us unable to keep our hands off each other. Krissy was the youngest and was very much like Sasha -- a juicy, obstreperous lass filled with a passion for life.
At no point did I think that what we were doing was wrong. Both Krissy and I accepted the change in our relationship as something normal and healthy and in fact, it had brought us even closer together. We snuck away every chance we got and fucked each other silly.
Then one night, a few weeks later, while I was checking on the goats, Laura, my other sister, came up to me.
"Andy, can you come with me to the bathroom, I heard howling again and it makes me nervous," she said.
"Sure, give me a minute ... I just need to make sure that all the gates are locked."
In the last few days, we had seen signs of wolves in the yard. This meant that they were desperate and a pack of hungry wolves on the prowl is dangerous. We had two Anatolian Shepherd dogs which were capable of fighting off predators but we kept them in the pen with the sheep. We did not want them chasing after the wolves into the hills where they would be at a disadvantage.
Anatolians are large dogs that were bred in Turkey specifically to ward off wolves and mountain lions. These fierce watch dogs weigh over 170 pounds and are excellent herding dogs with a deep protective instinct towards the flocks that they guard. However, in the hills the wolves would gain the advantage and it was not uncommon to find the half-eaten carcasses of dogs that had foolishly chased after them.
After making sure that the pens were all secure and that the dogs were fed I turned to Laura and said, "Okay, let's go ... where's Krissy?"
"In the kitchen helping mother," she replied.
That was unusual -- Laura was always the one helping clean-up after dinner but I didn't give it any further thought.
Once we crossed the yard into the trees that fringed the outhouse, we were hidden from the kitchen and the porch. And just as we neared the bathroom, Laura took hold of my arm and pulled closer to me.
"I saw you and Krissy," she said, her voice dropping to almost a whisper.
"What?" I was really surprised and didn't quite know what she meant. I stopped walking and took a step back so I could get a better look at her.
"What did you say?" I asked again.
"Last night. I saw you both doing it ... like animals!" She asserted, "You were fucking her."
I was stunned and didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if there was anything I could have said. Laura and I had very little in common and were not too close and this was a conversation that was bizarre at best. She was Mother's favorite and spent all her time in the kitchen and at that moment my heart was stuck in my throat as the consequence of her discovery buzzed in my mind.
"Are you angry?" she asked.
I thought about it, trying to come to terms with the revelation -- it wasn't a secret anymore.
"No, not really. I was pretty sure we were going to get caught sooner or later," I replied nonchalantly and then added, "Krissy is just too reckless but I shouldn't blame her ..." my voice trailed off.
"In any case, we are not doing anything wrong," I added as an afterthought hoping my apparent air of indifference would get her off my back.
"You are fucking your younger sister!" she sounded incredulous.
"So?"
We were quiet for a while listening to the leaves rustling in the breeze over the hissing of the ubiquitous Cicada, a sibilant chirrrr, chirrrr, chirrrr. I could tell that she was struggling with her thoughts.
"She makes a lot of noise," Laura said looking away.
"What do you mean?"
"When you were fucking her, she was moaning so loudly I'm surprised Papa didn't come into the bedroom."
"You are kidding ... was it that loud?" it was my turn to be surprised.
"Yes. And, you were both oblivious of everything. At one point, I sat up and watched but neither one of you noticed."
"Are you going to tell?" I asked deciding that it was better to get it over with.
"I don't know. Tell me how it started?" Laura replied.
I shrugged, what the heck, she might as well know.
"Remember that day when I told you we were going to see something special and you went back home? Krissy came with me and that's when it started."
"You mean when you were following Sasha?"
"Sasha and Petar," I corrected.
"Why? What did you see?" she asked with a quizzical expression.
"Hmm ... I'm not sure I should tell you," I answered halfheartedly teasing her but also unsure of what she would do if I told her about Sasha and Petar.
"Okay, then I will have to tell Mama!"
I stared at her and she stared right back. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and I recognized the look; it was that stubborn look of hers.
She could be such a fucking bitch!
After a while I looked away thinking how pretty she was getting to be. Physically, she was very different from Krissy and Sasha. Laura had inherited Mom's Nordic genes. She was lean and tall with a body like a model. She had small, perky breasts and long limbs and was on the slimmer side while Sasha and Krissy were more fleshy and curvaceous. I had always thought of Laura as being the cold one.
"Okay, here goes; we saw Petar and Sasha doing it behind the river ..." there I said it. The proverbial cat was now out of the bag.
It was Laura's turn to look surprised. Her blue eyes widened with disbelief while she just gaped at me.
"You are lying! I know you are, Andy ... you are always making things up!"
"I'm not lying, Laura. I swear on Grandpa's grave ... that is what we saw! Go ask Krissy." I rebutted angrily, a bit miffed that she would assume that I would lie about this.
We stood quietly not saying anything. Laura knew that I would never swear on Grandfather's grave -- ever -- unless I was telling the truth. She leaned back against an old Sycamore Maple with low hanging branches and plucked one of the wide-horned leaves. She kept twirling the leaf in her fingers staring at like it held the answers to the questions that were muddled in her head.
"So, I'm the only one who was left out," she whispered softly and when I didn't reply, she continued, "Why didn't you come to me, Andy? Do you find Krissy more beautiful?"
"No, it's nothing like that! It just happened, Laura, I swear. We got really excited watching them and then ..." I stopped. I wasn't sure how to explain it to her.
"I know exactly what you mean. Watching you both doing it was so, umm ... so sexy!"
"Really?" I was taken aback by her candor.
She nodded and was staring at me again, her blue eyes wide and sparkling with excitement. My instinct kicked in and I decided to strike while the iron was hot.
"Do you think ..." I paused not feeling quite as confident as a moment ago, "... do you want to try it?" I asked her, lifting her chin up so I was looking into her eyes.