Chapter 6

The two families spent the rest of the day relaxing around the pool and by mid-afternoon, Chet had the steaks on the outdoor grill. Liza opened a bottle of wine for her and Sherri, Chet and David enjoyed his stock of imported beer.

“I hate to bring this up,” Chet said looking very anxious, “but I guess you know about Sherri’s and my arrangement?”

“She told me about it, yes,” David said, looking at his wife and grinning.

“Are we okay? I mean it was a dirty thing to do to you,” Chet asked him.

“I have been thinking about it all afternoon. I have to admit it did bother me that my wife would do something like that.”

“I promise that I will never go behind your back again,” Chet told him. “As Liza and I told you, we have never done anything like this before.”

“I appreciate that Chet but let me ask you this. Where do we go from here?”

“The only thing I can tell you is that the four of us need to sit down and discuss it.”

“We will need to include the kids into that discussion as well,” David said.

When the food was ready, everyone gathered around the table. There was a lot of laughter and lively conversation as they enjoyed their meal. It amazed both David and Sherri how comfortable Emily seemed too as she sat naked next to Brandon.

“May we go play Xbox,” Brandon asked when everyone was finished eating.

“Actually,” Liza told him, as she glanced around the table, “we need to have a group meeting.”

Emily and Brandon settled back in their seats and looked expectantly at the adults. They had no idea what the discussion was about or how it was going to affect their lives.

“Here’s the deal,” Liza started. “We invited the Olson’s up here for a fun filled weekend. I think they got more fun than they expected.”

There were grins and giggles from all around the table.

“And Emily, I think you enjoyed yourself too.”

Sherri saw her daughter’s cheek glow red in embarrassment so she reached her hand out and laid it on her arm. “It’s okay sweetie.”

“That is part of what we need to talk about. What happens when we get home?”

Liza looked around the table again before proceeding. “I think that we should be open to doing this again. Hopefully real soon.”

“I agree,” said Sherri and then she turned her head to face her husband. “I know what Chet and I did in his office was cheating and I’m sorry for that. I know that Chet promise you that we will never go behind your back again but I hope that we can work something out that we all can live with.”

David looked at his boss and considered his next thoughts very carefully. “I don’t mind if you two get together every once in a while as long as you extend the same courtesy to Liza and I.”

“What did you do in Chet’s office Mom?” Emily wanted to know.

Sherri looked at David and then at Chet before looking at her daughter. This was an adult conversation so she decided to tell the truth. “Chet and I had sex. I did it so your father could get his promotion.”

“Oh.”

David suddenly thought of Chet’s secretary, Betty Summers and without thinking asked Chet, “Does Betty know what happened in your office?”

“There’s not much Betty doesn’t know about what goes on,” Chet chuckled.

“Do we need to worry about her telling others about it?”

Liza laughed when she heard that. “Betty has forgotten more dirt on people then most of us will ever learn. She will not tell a soul.”

“Mom?” Emily said. “Brandon and I did it Friday night.”

“We know. When we get home I will make an appointment to get you birth control.”

“How often do we want to get together?” Chet asked.

It was David that spoke first. “What about this? We agree to see each other a couple of times a month. We tell the other spouse where we’re going and what time to expect us home. We do not hide anything from anybody or we will have major problems.”

“That sounds good. I think a couple times of month will keep things exciting,” Sherri agreed.

“One more thing,” David said pausing to be sure he had everyone’s attention. “This is between us. I am not interested in sharing Sherri with anyone else.”

“And I am certainly not willing to become a slut,” Liza told the group.

“So I guess we just agreed to open our marriages up. At least to each other,” Chet surmised.

“What about me?” Brandon spoke for the first time.

Liza looked at him and put her hand on his arm. “Nothing changes,” she told him and then her eyes widened as she looked at Sherri. “Unless...”

“We’ll see,” Sherri said with a smile for the boy.

“Okay then,” David said. “I think we have our ground rules. There is no going behind backs. We limit ourselves to a couple of times a month and we keep everyone informed of our plans and expected time home. Oh, and we are exclusive.”

“I have a question for you, Sherri,” Chet said. “What do you use as protection?”

“I’m assuming you mean birth control?”

“Well, yes, I mean Liza and I are clean and I’m certain you and David are too.”

“I use a diaphragm. My body cannot tolerate the pill,” she told him and saw a look that she could not interpret pass over his face.

“I’m on the pill just for the sake of FYI,” Liza informed them.

The rest of the afternoon passed with the kids playing Xbox in the family room and the adults sitting in the living room talking. They were shocked when someone noticed that the clock read 10:35pm.

“Wow, where did the time go?” Liza asked.