Chapter 14: Daddy Knows Best—The Conclusion

From Daddy Knows Best Part One:Tommy and I showered together. We exchanged hugs and soft kisses but didn’t do anything sexual. He left my room to get dressed, so I did the same thing and then walked to my kitchen.

I expected to find the four other women sitting around drinking coffee as they waited for me to make breakfast. I was wrong, however. Gina, Jennifer and Charmaine had set up a production line. Raw goods entered one end, and cooked breakfasts exited the other. I rarely eat a cooked breakfast, but I decided to make an exception this morning. I loaded my plate with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and mushrooms and sat at the BBQ table outside. The others, including Tommy, swiftly did the same thing and joined me out there. Patty arrived last bearing mugs and a pot of hot coffee.

None of us had anything much planned for the morning, so we sat around the table and laughed, chatted and teased until nearly eleven a.m. Tommy announced he had a lunchtime wedding to photograph and left, taking Gina with him. Patty said she had to meet Billy to discuss selling their home and dividing what shared assets they had. Patty hoped that Billy would agree to buy her half of the house and didn’t care about virtually anything else they shared. It seemed they’d kept the finances separated, and dividing the few shared items shouldn’t take much.

Jennifer and Charmaine needed to meet their respective study groups to work on their projects, leaving me home alone again. But, as I’ve mentioned before, that’s pretty normal for me, so I wasn’t bothered. I called my sisters, Mary and Yvette, and asked if they’d meet me for coffee here at my place this afternoon. When they said they would, I phoned Mom and asked if she could join us, too.

The three of them arrived in Mom’s car. It seemed that Yvette and Mary were worried that John and I had broken up, and that was what I wanted to talk to them about. I laughed and showed them my ‘slave collar’, pointing out that John had finally stood up and begun doing his familial duties, including deflowering his daughter. They warmly congratulated me, and I made coffee and served cake and biscuits to share as we discussed why I’d brought them over.

Mom and my sisters were keen to meet my girls, Jennifer and Charmaine, although Mary and Yvette both pointed out that they hadn’t done anything sexual with another woman since leaving home and weren’t sure if they would be much help with Charmaine. I explained that I wanted them to show my girls how being submissive to your lover didn’t make you a doormat. I said that Charmaine and Jennifer needed to learn how to be ‘the power behind the throne’. How to lovingly guide their owner into making the right decisions for their career and family and to do it in a way that leaves their lover believing they were the one making those choices.

We discussed how and when we’d get them all together, and once we’d worked that out, we caught up as family always does. Mary’s and Yvette’s marriages were both strong, and they’d accepted being empty nesters and rejoined the workforce. Mary was office temping, using the skills she’d learned in college years ago. Yvette is a checkout operator, or ‘terminal tart’, as I jokingly called her, at her local Coles supermarket. She seemed slightly embarrassed until I congratulated her on getting her first job. Neither of my sisters had to work because their husbands held high-paying positions, but they needed the jobs for their sanity’s sake.

After about two hours, Yvette announced that she needed to get home and start dinner because her husband, Matt, liked to eat no later than six. Mom and Mary, of course, had to leave with her. Mom waited until my sisters had gone outside before quietly saying, “You will come for dinner next Saturday, Kate. Bring a change of clothes because you’ll be staying the night.”

“Yes, Mom,” I said dutifully. “What’s going on?”

Mom evaded, “You’ll see next Saturday, Kate. Now kiss your mother goodbye, and I’ll see you next week.”

I did as I was told and then cleaned up. I’d made myself a cup of coffee and sat down just as Patty returned. Seeing her red eyes and tear-streaked face, I swiftly crossed to her and enveloped her in a loving embrace. “Bad, huh?”

“To see twenty years thrown away like that, Kate,” Patty sobbed. “It’s just such a waste. Billy won’t even look at or talk to me; he just signs everything my lawyer puts in front of him. All he does is sob and say how sorry he is, but he won’t change his mind about leaving me instead of us staying married and keeping Mason as his live-in lover. Shit, Kate! To think it would be Allie’s brother that broke us apart! Allie cussed Mason up and down the block, but all he said was that it wasn’t any of her business.”

Fortunately, Allie, Courtney and Maggie banged in through the door. They held bags of chips and dips and carried several bottles of wine. “Mason phoned and said you needed cheering up,” Allie announced as she sat everything on the bench and hugged Patty. “If we can’t rescue your marriage, the least we can do is get you as drunk as a skunk so you forget what your name is, as well as the fact you’re married to an asshole.”

“Cheers to that,” Courtney said as she unscrewed the cap on the first bottle of wine. “Kate, we’ll need those cigarettes from last time. It’s time for the girl gang to get together and disparage our ‘lesser halves’.”

I got a couple of bowls to put the chips in, found the packet of ‘cigarettes’ in the drawer where I’d returned them, got some glasses and followed the girls into my lounge. Offering the ‘smokes’ to each woman as Courtney filled our glasses, I growled, “That’s my last packet, so enjoy them while you can!”

“I wonder if you can buy them online,” Courtney mused as she sipped her wine and pretended to light her ‘cigarette’ and draw deeply.

“Use your phone and see,” Maggie suggested as she accepted her glass, rolled onto her back and ‘blew smoke rings’ into the sky.

“I’ve found them,” Courtney said excitedly. “There’s a company in America selling them.” She scrolled down. “Shit! They don’t post outside of America.” Courtney searched further. “Fuck!” She added. “They’re banned in Australia.”

That’s ridiculous,” I pointed out after pretending to take a deep drag followed by a sip of wine. “Real cigarettes that kill people are available, but harmless candy ones are banned?”

“Looks like it.” Courtney said, “I agree. How bullshit is that?”

“No tax money in candy cigarettes,” Maggie pointed out. “The government can point at the ban and say they’re ‘doing their bit to stop teen and preteen smoking’ without negatively affecting their tax revenue.”

“You’re just cynical,” I joked.

“Hey, it ain’t cynical if it’s true,” Maggie responded.

“As the only leftie in the group, I’d like to point out that teen and preteen smoking is at an all-time low,” Allie stated.

“Bullshit!” Patty and I said simultaneously.

“It is at an all-time low,” Allie defensively said.

“You’re about as left as Maggie Thatcher,” Patty explained. “And as for the other, care to show some stats that prove the low figure is caused by banning candy smokes?”

“No,” Allie admitted. “But if I’m as left as Ms Thatcher, you’re further right than Genghis Khan.”

“Hey,” Patty joked. “The most effective form of governance is a benign dictatorship. Which is fine, as long as I’m the dictator!”

“You don’t even like dick,” Courtney muttered amusedly. “Besides, I always thought that a dictator was someone whose dick was stuck in a ‘tater’.”

“The problem isn’t with the ‘dick’,” Patty airily replied. “Dick can be fun. It’s the useless piece of man meat the dick’s attached to that’s the problem.”

“Well, this girl quite likes a hefty chunk of ‘man meat’,” Maggie joked.

“Shame you married Chris, then,” I teased. “If seeing him in his DTs (Speedos, Dick Togs) is any indication, ‘hefty’ isn’t the description I’d use.”

“Oi!” Maggie protested. “Chris is a grower, not a shower.”

“He grows from ‘inverted’ to ‘perverted’?” Allie asked innocently.

“You’re all a bunch of bitches,” Maggie grumbled. “Tell me why I put up with you?”

“Because we’re the only ones who love you,” Patty, Courtney, Allie, and I said together.

“Fuck you!” Maggie jokingly said. “Chris, and his five-inch cock, love me just as much as you do.”

We sipped our wines and ‘smoked’ as we contemplated life. After a few moments, I asked, “Anyone hear from Kath? Is she hosting The Big Bash coverage this year?”

“Yeah,” Courtney replied. “I think she is. But it hasn’t started yet. She’s doing some preseason interviews and prerecording some stuff. She said she’d get here around eight and would bring Chinese.”

That was dinner taken care of, so one less thing to worry about.

Over the ensuing couple of hours, Tommy, Gina, and my girls trickled in. I texted Kath, saying we’d have two extras for dinner. Tommy and Gina were going out, but Charmaine and Jennifer were a little short of cash this week, so they were staying in.

I thought about that before deciding they needed an allowance. They were already doing most of my housework, all of my laundry, and a good part of the yard work. They also cooked at least as often as I did, so they deserved to be rewarded for their work.

Eventually, we split into the older and younger groups. Jennifer and Charmaine stripped and got in the hot tub, and the rest of us hit my games room. Uncovering the pool table, Patty and I challenged the others to a game. We thrashed Maggie and Allie, sinking the black when they still had five left. Patty and I then beat Maggie and Courtney when Courtney accidentally sank the black as she pocketed another ball. Then, when we beat Courtney and Allie, those three demanded we swap partners.

Readers, you have to understand that my friends are all gorgeous women. We all dress revealingly, if not outright provocatively. Seen from behind, every shot revealed vast expanses of silky-smooth, toned upper thighs and slender calves and ankles. If they really stretched to make the shot, barely covered asses would show. If you were before them, then, as they bent over, firm breasts that their tops struggled to contain threatened to fall out into view. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one turned on by that view.

Knowing that Allie was the most daring of my friends, I challenged the others. “Allie and I challenge you three tarts to a game of strip pool. The losers of every frame have to remove an item of clothing. Footwear and jewellery do not count.”

We’d all drunk enough to think it was a good idea, so we started, and Allie and I immediately lost. I didn’t know what to take off because all I had on was a short skirt and tank top. As usual, I hadn’t bothered with underwear that morning.

“Oh, just take something off, Kate, you little slut,” Maggie teased. “You’ve already been flashing your bald pussy to us as you played, and we’ve all seen your big tits many times before.”

Laughing embarrassedly, I pulled my top off and placed it on the wet bar beside the pool table. Allie winked at the other three and worked her bra out from underneath her clothes. “Not fair!” I complained.

“It’s not our fault you don’t wear underwear,” Allie pointed out. “Besides, this was your idea.”

“That it was,” I agreed as I handed Maggie my pool cue and walked to the bar. I put an extra sway and bounce in my step as I walked. A quick glance revealed that all four of my friends were biting their bottom lip as they watched my breasts bounce and my ass swing.

“No one does ‘earthily sexy’ as well as Kate,” Patty muttered. “Even Raquel Welch in that fur bikini doesn’t do sexy as well as Kate does.”

“Keep your eyes in your head, you big old dyke,” Maggie teased. “She’s taken.”

“A girl can dream and fantasise,” Patty innocently said, making everyone laugh.

I watched and listened to this conversation, knowing it was explicitly aimed at keeping Courtney unaware of the sexual activities the rest of us shared. The teasing, playful comments deflected attention away from stiffened nipples and aroused smelling pussies. I understood now why I hadn’t twigged that Patty, Maggie and Allie were intimate with each other. I then compared how Kath and I now acted around each other and realised it was no wonder the others hadn’t worked out that she and I were lovers because we acted as naturally with each other as they did.

With this new knowledge, I observed my friends, trying to see any sign of their intimate relationships. The only thing untoward I noticed was that Courtney’s nipples were poking her top out at least as much as the nipples on the rest of us poked out ours. Well, except for mine, of course. My breasts were uncovered, and my arousal was plain for all to see.

Maggie and Patty played Courtney and Allie, and Allie lost again. Courtney did the same ‘bra out through the sleeve trick that Allie had done, and Allie took her panties off. Then, Courtney and I played Maggie and Patty. My team won, and more bras exited from sleeves. Courtney and I won again, leaving Patty and Maggie pantyless. Because we’d won three in a row, the girls demanded that Courtney and I split. They decided that I should get more wine since I was already down to my last piece of clothing.

I was bent over getting the bottle from the fridge when I felt hands sliding up the backs of my thighs and onto my sexily curved ass. Pretending shock, I jumped, squealed and spun around. I smelled the food as soon as Kath came in the door and knew who it was. Looking at my exposed breasts and rock-hard nipples, Kath grinned. “Are you cold or just happy to see me?”

“The air from the fridge is quite cold,” I said teasingly. “However, my love, I’m always happy to see you!” I examined my best friend as we hugged. She wore a mid-length white dress that clung to her slender body, emphasising her small, firm, high breasts, lean stomach and toned hips and legs. I ran my hands down her back and onto her tight ass. “No bra or panties, you tart,” I grinned. “Doesn’t Foxtel pay you enough to afford them?”

“The lines they create look terrible on the TV,” Kath answered primly. “So, my lusciously endowed, tarty friend, why are you topless?”

“We’re playing strip pool,” I explained.

Kath giggled, “And you’re losing badly, obviously.”

“Hey,” I protested. “I’ve lost one game!”

Kath held her sides laughing as she realised why I was already mostly naked. “Teach you to go about sans underwear all the time.”

The girls, young and old, had heard Kath come in through the door, so they appeared in the kitchen, looking for something to eat. Allie and Courtney must have lost because they were down to their skirt (Allie) and shorts (Courtney). Charmaine and Jennifer wore only towels as they got plates and serving spoons out. Kath and Charmaine shared a look and smile. I happened to be looking at Patty at the time, and I saw her eyes narrow as she picked up that they were close.

I nudged Kath and imperceptibly nodded in Charmaine’s direction. Kath clued in on why I’d done that and said, “Charmaine, my director loved your piece on Saya Sakakibara. I’m scheduled to meet her in Surfers next week. I’d like you to do the interview, please. I’ll be there to take over if it all goes pear-shaped.”

Patty and the older girls looked questioningly at Kath, so she clarified, “Charmaine is a journalism major. Kate introduced us, and after I saw her résumé and uni work, I made her my intern. It’s unpaid at the moment. But I think they’ll pay her something when she starts working four days a week over the summer uni break.”

Courtney, Allie and Maggie nodded understandingly, but I noticed that Patty wasn’t having a bar of it. I hoped she’d keep quiet but then realised I was being silly. Of course, she’d stay quiet because she, too, was used to living a life with hidden secrets.

We used the outside table because it was larger and less formal than my two inside ones. Jennifer and Charmain were initially unusually quiet. But as we older girls teased them mercilessly, they came out of their shells and joined in the jocularity. They grew curious as we teased each other about our pool skills, or lack thereof. They looked at each other and nodded.

Jennifer said, “We challenge the reigning table champions, Patty and Maggie. Then, after we’ve taken their shorts, we challenge the two Ks.”

“Two Ks?” Courtney asked.

“Kath and Kate,” Charmaine clarified.

After quickly tidying up, we took our wine glasses and returned to the pool room. Patty had already set the table up, so she broke and the game began. True to their word, the youngsters almost ‘pantsed’ Patty and Maggie. Only a fortuitous double cushion pocketing of their red ball stopped Patty and Maggie from losing with seven of their balls still on the table. If that hadn’t happened, they’d have ‘lost their pants’ as well as an article of clothing for losing the game.

That left the younger girls wearing only their towels and the rest of us, except Kath, in nothing but their skirts or shorts. Kath had only her dress on. The next pair to lose would be the first ones to be naked.

In a close fought game, I managed a difficult cut shot on the black, only barely putting enough side spin on the cue ball to prevent it from going in off the black. The problem was that Kath and I immediately lost the last game to Courtney and Allie, leaving them as the only ones still wearing some modesty.

“Ahh, fuck that!” The typically pithy Patty said as she grabbed Allie’s skirt and pulled it down. “Now Courtney, you uptight bitch,” Patty pretended to growl. “Are you stripping with or without help?”

“Eek!” Courtney jokingly squeaked in a high-pitched voice. “The dyke wants to see my pussy.”

We laughed as Courtney unashamedly dropped her shorts and strutted naked to the pool. She put her wine glass on the pool’s edge and jumped in. The rest of us spread our glasses in a line beside Courtney’s and leapt in after her. The volleyball net was still up, so we made teams and began playing. Courtney’s team had a natural advantage because she was the only one of us athletically inclined, but it was still fun.

I begged off after the second game and got out of the pool. I picked up my glass and got in the hot tub. Courtney joined me moments later. Uncharacteristically, she sat close with our shoulders touching. Usually, she’d carefully keep her body separated from the rest of us. I’d always wondered why, and I was about to find out.

Taking a hefty swig, Courtney emptied her glass. Then she stood, took my glass, and said, “Be back soon.” She returned with two full glasses and sat so our shoulders touched again.

Courtney sniffed and then sobbed. “What’s up, babe?” I lovingly asked.

“You’re all so close and affectionate,” she stated. “Even your young charges are comfortable with physical affection from women. Kath was always a little aloof, but after you and she went away for those days, even she’s quite physically affectionate now.”

“And that bothers you?” I asked, wondering if Courtney was homophobic.

She took another large swallow of wine and sobbed again. I wanted to touch her to reassure her that everything was okay, but I wasn’t sure if that would be appreciated. Courtney sniffed again and said, “Do you remember Lilly Petersen, the girls’ softball coach at high school?”

I did. Ms Petersen was a severe-looking, tall, angular, mid-thirties teacher. She didn’t believe in body grooming, makeup, hair dye, or deodorant. With her hairy legs, arms and armpits, Doc Martens boots and androgynous looks, we all assumed that she was a lesbian.

“She tried to rape me at summer camp during year 10,” Courtney shockingly said. “When I refused her advances and threatened to scream, she snarled, ‘Deny what you are, if you want, Ms Evans. But we both know you want me to eat your cunt.’ Kate, the scary thing was that I did want her to, just not like that, you know? I wanted it to be romantic and loving. Not forced and dirty like she was making it.”

“Did she rape you, Courtney?” I asked empathetically. “Is that why you’re uncomfortable with us girls showing you and each other affection?”

“No,” Courtney said firmly. “She tried to grab me again, but I twisted away and ran from the room. If you remember, I refused to play for the school after that and played for my local senior team.”

“Have you spoken to anyone about this before, babe?” I asked, wanting to put my arms around her but knowing I would probably be rejected.

Shaking her head, Courtney said, “No. I never said anything to anyone.” She sobbed again. “I wonder how many other girls I could have saved if only I’d been brave enough to put a complaint in.”

I thought about that before venturing, “I don’t know if there were many to save, babe. It’s been more than twenty years, and if she were a rapist and molester, at least one person would have come forward by now. Think about all those historical cases from years and years ago that are coming to light. If Lilly Petersen were a serial molester, one of her victims would have put a police complaint in by now.”

“In some ways, that’s even worse, Kate,” Courtney sobbed. “If it was only me, why did she pick me out? What did I do to make her think I’d be interested in lesbian sex?”

“Maybe because, at that age, you looked similar to her? Tall, skinny, almost no breasts, and little interest in clothes or makeup.”

“I filled out some,” Courtney self-deprecatingly said.

“You filled out gorgeously,” I said, aching to take her in my arms and comfort her.

Courtney sighed and lay her head on my shoulder. “May I ask a very personal question, Kate?”

“Sure,” I replied. “As long as you don’t mind me not answering.”

“What changed for you, babe? You were always beautiful and incredibly sexy, but you kept your light hidden beneath a bushel. Then, about ten months ago, your light suddenly shone brighter than the sun. Now, you exude sexual confidence. Men and women turn to watch you walk by, and you don’t even notice. Cocks stiffen, and I’m sure pussies get wet around you, and you walk on unaware they do. So, babe, what changed?”

“When I saw Edgar Fontaine to cure my nicotine addiction, he counselled me, too,” I explained carefully, unwilling to admit too much. “Edgar led me to understand that I was a sexual being, and that by hiding that I was, I hurt only myself and my family. Since then, I’ve chosen to show that side of myself, and trust me, I’ve had to beat suitors off with a stick ever since.”

“So, just like high school, then?” Courtney joked.

We laughed and had to leave our conversation there because everyone else wanted to join us. My tub sits four comfortably and six tightly, but there was no way eight of us could fit. It didn’t stop my friends, though, because Kath sat on my lap facing out, and Charmaine sat on Patty’s facing her.

Courtney’s, Maggie’s, Kath’s, and Allie’s eyes widened in surprise as Charmaine and Patty kissed and hugged. “What?” Patty asked. “Haven’t you seen an older woman kissing a teenage girl before?”

“No!” The other five shouted.

They looked at me, and all I did was shrug. “They make a cute couple, don’t you think?”

“Rebound sex?” Kath worriedly asked. “Is that fair on you or Ms Charmaine?”

“Charmaine and I have discussed it, Kath,” Patty explained. “I’ve been careful about telling her how I feel and that I, too, am worried about this being a ‘rebound relationship’. Having just had my heart broken, I have no desire to hurt Charmaine. We’re taking things slowly, but we’re enjoying discovering each other.”

“Yeah, but so soon after splitting with Billy?” Allie asked, with Kath agreeing.

“Don’t I get a say?” Charmaine asked as she turned to face the others. “I saw Patty and instantly felt attracted to her. I know our love might only last until Patty recovers from her heartbreak, but I’m prepared to take that risk.”

“The age gap is too much,” Maggie fretted. “In ten years, Patty will be close to fifty, and you won’t even be thirty yet.”

“And in a year, Patty will be forty, and I will not even be twenty yet. So, so what? I’ve always been attracted to dominant older women, and Ms Patty fits that perfectly.”

The girls began to protest, so I quietly said, “It’s their choice, ladies. You may not like it, and you can choose to reject Patty and Charmaine by not accepting it, but you will acknowledge their right to make that choice.”

“We’re not unaccepting,” Maggie protested. “We’re just worried about them both getting hurt.”

“So you’d tell them to reject the chance for happiness together in case they’re sad later?” I asked. “What if we’re here together in twenty years, celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary? Would you still say they should never have started?”

“Them breaking up in a few weeks or months is more likely than twenty years together,” Kath stated.

“Then why aren’t more of us separated or divorced?” I countered. “Patty’s, which we all acknowledge was only a marriage of convenience, is the only one broken. The rest of us are happily married. What are the chances of that?”

“Kate’s right,” Kath acknowledged. “What’s that old Lord Tennyson quote? ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’.”

We pulled Patty and Charmaine to the tub’s middle and surrounded them. Then, we covered them both with hugs and kisses and wished them the best. Once they’d settled back into place, we finished our wines and the girls got out, dried off, dressed and left. Patty, Charmaine and Jennifer went upstairs together after saying goodnight.

I returned to turn the tub and lights off and get the wet towels and my clothes. I re-entered my house and heard knocking on my door. I opened it and found a teary Courtney standing there. “Can we finish our conversation, Kate?” She asked.

“Sure,” I said. “Let me put these towels in the washer, and we’ll grab a drink and sit and chat.”

“I’ll help,” Courtney offered.

It didn’t take long to throw the towels in the washer and turn it on. I tentatively put my arm around Courtney’s hip and squeezed her lightly as we walked back to my kitchen. Courtney sobbed and leaned closer, so I guessed I got that right.

I poured two glasses of wine and took her to the lounge. Sitting on the sofa ensured Courtney had plenty of room if she needed to keep her distance. But Courtney sighed deeply, leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder.

“Tell me what’s bothering you, babe,” I asked.

“I feel that I’m missing out because I can’t accept affection from you girls, Kate,” she said. “I remember reacting sexually to Ms Petersen’s declaration that I wanted her to have sex with me, and I’ve been terrified that I was a lesbian ever since.”

“Have you been closeted all this time, Courtney? I mean, I’m sorry, but given what I recently learned about Patty, I have to ask. Have you secretly been gay all these years?”

“No, or at least, I don’t think so. But I get turned on when I see you all naked and kissing and cuddling, so maybe I am.”

“I get turned on when we’re all naked and kissing and cuddling,” I pointed out. “Heck, you and your tall, lush body excite me. Do you think I’m a lesbian?”

“I excite you, Kate?” Courtney wonderingly asked. “You don’t think being attracted to women makes me gay?”

“Again, I ask, babe. I’m attracted to some women. Do you think I’m gay?”

Courtney shook her head. “No,” she replied. “You’re as heterosexual as anyone I know.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping I wasn’t about to scare her away and ruin a friendship. “You might be surprised,” I said quietly.

Courtney disbelievingly asked, “You’ve had sex with a woman? Women? Who with?”

“No names,” I replied. “The ones I’ve been with have their own story to tell. It’s not up to me to tell them for them.”

“Patty, right? You’ve had sex with Patty, right?”

“If you’re going to grill me for names, then this conversation is over,” I told her firmly. “How would you feel if one of your lovers went around telling everyone you’d had sex with them?”

“Michael fucking Thorpe did that when we were at uni, Kate. Do you remember? And all I did was give that bastard a handjob. He told everyone that we’d fucked and that I was a dud root.”

I risked a joke, “Were you a dud because you would have preferred to have been with a woman?”

“Bitch,” Courtney said, flicking my nipple.

Ignoring her comment, I returned to her original question and said, “Yeah, I remember. Did you know Ewan, Mike, and John confronted him and offered to use him for tackle practice if he didn’t stop?”

“No, I didn’t,” Courtney replied. “Hah, interesting. I began dating Ewan right after that.”

“Yeah, until he heard Michael Thorpe bragging about being with you, Ewan was too shy to ask you to go out. He wanted to for ages before he finally did.” I wanted to get to the truth about Courtney’s sexuality, so I asked, “How is your sex life with Ewan, babe? Is it good? Has it always been good? Do you need to fantasise about someone else, a woman perhaps, to get off?”

“No,” Courtney answered. “I don’t have to imagine Ewan’s a woman to get off. Our sex life has waned some over the last twenty years, but it’s still fantastic when we do make love.” She stopped before embarrassedly admitting, “I do sometimes fantasise about having sex with a woman. It’s, well, weird because my favourite lesbian fantasy is being made to submit by someone resembling Ms Petersen. Is that it, do you think? Was she right? Am I a lesbian?”