Chapter 62

When I got home, Joyce could see immediately that something bad had happened to me. She knew me so well. I could see the concern on her face.

"What happened, Kenny? Did something bad happen?" Joyce started moving towards me.

For whatever reason, or just because I needed someone to be at fault, I blamed Joyce for Brenda's being unfaithful to me. In my mind, she and I had this unwritten contract that she would always take whatever steps necessary to further all my interests, and to safeguard and protect all that was mine. That is how I felt about the lengths I would go to in order to protect her interests. With everything that had happened before, and now this revelation from Brenda, I couldn't believe that Joyce had lifted even the tiniest finger to do that for me. She had just stood by and let my whole world come crashing apart.

"I don't want to talk about it now, Joyce. I need to get ready before the limo comes. Lay out my blue suit and a light blue shirt. I'm going to take a quick shower. We have to be ready to leave on time."

Joyce followed after me as I went by her, heading for my bedroom. I didn't want to talk to her right then. I was still trying to get my emotions back under control. Brenda's comment had really hit me hard. I hadn't expected anything like that from her. She had already had so many opportunities, when we were alone, to talk to me about something as important as that was.

Brenda and I had discussed the situation I was already in with Emily, Eddie and Dale. I had told her how upset and hurt I'd been to find out the news. Maybe those discussions had convinced her that she didn't want to be around me when I found out that she too had been unfaithful. What she had said to me still buzzed around inside my head, the words repeating themselves with the same resigned finality she had used when first saying them to me.

Already, as my blind rage dissipated, I realized that she had been right not to tell me face to face. It didn't make the pain any less, but I was glad she hadn't been within my grasp when I'd learned of her betrayal. I loved all of them, and I didn't really want to hurt them.

I quickly showered and had another shave. When I came out of my bathroom, Joyce was standing next to my bed looking anxious and very concerned. There must have been some change to my expression that let her see that I had myself back under control again.

I started noticing how nice she looked all dressed up, with her hair done up and professional make up applied to her face.

"You look real nice in that dress, Joyce. I like what they did to make your eyes look bigger too. I hope they have a photographer working at that inn tonight. I'd like to get a picture of the two of us for our family album." Joyce started smiling. As always, any compliment from me about her appearance was cherished far more than any regular praise she routinely received from me for doing something incredibly difficult on behalf of the company

"Thank you, Kenny. You need to hurry up and get dressed though. The limo driver got here early, and we're supposed to be picking Laura Lee up in fifteen minutes. She's already called and said she's ready."

My earlier good mood had been completely destroyed by Brenda's words, but I knew I was somehow going to be able to get through the evening. That was a relief to me. My confinement in that clinic had already raised too many concerns about my emotional control and everyone down in Alabama already had their own unasked questions about my mental health. I didn't want anything like my reaction to Brenda's confession cropping up to add fuel to all those concerns. It was important that people had faith in my ability to lead the effort we were getting ready to undertake.

I was already starting to adjust my opinion about the seriousness of Brenda's transgressions. I was beginning to put it into the same category as what had occurred with Emily, or with both of the Pipkin sisters. It was something that had happened while I wasn't available to prevent it. I had decided, with Emily, Dale and Eddie, that those things wouldn't have happened if I'd been there. Deciding that had allowed me to accept a portion of the blame for it myself. In reality, I was prepared to make whatever allowances necessary to restore my family to what it had been before the episode had sidelined me.

My illness hadn't been their fault, and it was unreasonable for me to expect that nothing untoward would occur. All of my wives had enjoyed very active sex lives with me. In a way, the fact that they missed sex with me enough to go out and find some replacement was a kind of compliment. It meant that, for these four women at least, girl/girl sex hadn't been sufficient to completely satisfy all their needs.

I didn't think I'd have been able to refrain from being unfaithful myself, not if I'd been left in their situation for almost three whole years. I knew I was rationalizing about it, but, even so, I knew I needed to do something to make it possible to not make these activities more traumatic to our lives than they absolutely had to be. Nothing I could say or do was ever going to change what had happened. I needed to put my life back together again, not to take any impulsive actions that would ensure our reconciliation never happening.

In some ways, it helped that Brenda and I had already been down this road twice before. I'd managed to get over the betrayal then, and I'd manage to get over this one as well. In some ways, because it was Brenda, it wasn't a complete surprise to me that she was capable of doing something like this. For this reason, it was quickly becoming easier for me to accept it.

I found myself wanting to make sure there weren't other problems I didn't know about. I didn't want to have these same types of situations occurring every week or two. If there was more for me to learn, I wanted it out and over with. It was time for a new beginning for all of us.

"Joyce, did you go out and fuck any other guys while I was in that clinic?"

She had been standing there watching me getting dressed. I was sitting on the bed putting on my shoes and socks when I'd blurted out my question. My question had taken her completely by surprise. I could tell it was the last thing she had expected me to ever ask her. I knew she hadn't done what I'd asked even before she got herself under control long enough to answer me.

"I've never been with any man since that first time with you, Kenny. If I was going to do it with another man, you'd know about it before it happened. Why did you ask me that? Did someone tell you that I had?" Joyce was upset that I'd asked her that. She was more upset that someone might have lied about her to me.

"I called Brenda after you and Cindy left. She told me that Emily was moved back in. She asked me if I really meant it when I'd told Emily I was going to beat her ass black and blue if she ever decided she wanted to come back and be one of my wives again. When I told her I really did mean it, she told me I needed to beat her ass black and blue too. After she said that, she hung up before I could talk to her about it. I went a little crazy right after that, but I'm back in control again. I asked you about it because I don't want to keep having new information like this popping up all the time. I'd rather find out now, and get it all out in the open and over with."

"I didn't know anything about Brenda and any other man. I think Shirley might have something she needs to say to you, but I don't think it's anything like what Brenda said. Shirley is afraid of you. I think that's the only reason she moved out rather than face you again after you came back home. I'm pretty sure she didn't let anyone screw her though. I think I'd have heard about it if she had. Something might have happened over at the country club, but not anything like sex. She acted guilty a few times after she started taking playing lessons from that new pro out there, but it was probably more because of what she was thinking about than anything she actually ended up doing. I do know that Cindy has been with two other women since you were put in the clinic, but she told me she hasn't even gone out on a date with any other guy."

We were already late. I accepted Joyce's reassurances, knowing we needed to leave right away to avoid being late for the party. I didn't want to get myself upset like I'd been before.

As much as the evening was supposed to be a celebration, for me it was also an opportunity to demonstrate to my key Alabama people that I was back to how I had been right before my breakdown.

Laura looked amazingly the same as she had the last time I'd seen her, three years previously. On the ride to this inn, she and I talked and I got caught up with all the changes in her life.

She and Gene were still very much at odds, but they had gotten together for some family outings involving all three of their children. I had to endure an earful about Trudy's shortcomings too. She wasn't quite as disparaging of Vellie to me, but I could sense that she and Vellie had issues that Laura was trying to refrain from going into.

I gathered that Laura wasn't close to any of Trudy or Vellie's children. Trudy and Billy Ray had produced a new son together, and Vellie was then carrying the first baby she and Kyle would have together.

Laura hadn't been in the limo for more than five minutes before she started trying to get information from me regarding any future plans or designs I might have on Cindy. From the tone of her questions, I knew she hoped that Cindy and I would be reconciled.

I thought of telling her that Cindy and I still shared a strong physical attraction to each other, but I decided not to do that, preferring instead to let her see that attraction for herself. I didn't think there was much doubt that Cindy and I would resume our sexual relationship at some point. Whether or not that resumption would result in her returning to being a member of our family, I had no way of knowing. There was a strong chemistry between us though, and I knew we would act on it if we kept coming into close physical contact.

I was more concerned, at that moment, about my feelings of anger towards Joyce. I knew I needed her with me, but it was becoming uncomfortable for me to have this large rift standing between us. No one but me even believed I had any right to be angry with her because of all that had happened in the past three years.

They didn't understand the relationship Joyce and I shared. It was a complex compact where we had intertwined all of our lives in a symbiotic state of connections. We both had understood that all of our interests were joint and mutual, and that neither would do anything, or refrain from doing anything to protect all those interests.

Joyce had failed to perform her responsibilities at a time when I was unable to protect any of these interests myself. She had allowed my children to be scattered in the wind, my wives to be unfaithful to us, and, most importantly, had failed in her responsibility to preserve and promote the business growth that she and I had agreed to jointly pursue before my collapse. There had been nothing in those plans that was beyond her capabilities to bring to fruition.

At the party itself, I greeted everyone and tried to put on a good front for all of them. I had a nice discussion with Gene, renewed my acquaintanceship with both Trudy and Vellie, and outlined for all of them my beliefs about the fantastic growth and opportunities that lay ahead of us.

Trudy and Vellie remained on their best behavior with each other. They tried their best to avoid one another, but I wasn't allowing them to do that. Instead, I got both of them together, off to the side with me, and told them directly that only by cooperating with each other could they hope to further the careers of both their husbands.

"I don't know if you two women realize it or not, but both your futures are heavily dependent on each other. In order for Kyle and Billy Ray to really be successful, they need to have a calm and orderly home situation. These should be the start of their peak earning years. Anything that happens good for one of them will undoubtedly be good for the other one too. The same is true of you two, and for all your children. You need to work together and both be supportive, of the men, and of each other. You are natural allies, not competitors. Build each other up, and that will allow Kyle and Billy Ray to be free to help each other succeed. I don't want either of them having even the slightest worries about anything having to do with their home front. I want all of you to do more things together with both families. Picnics and vacations, maybe even going in together on investments like a summer cabin by a lake or a fishing boat that both families can use and enjoy. You didn't go nearly far enough before when the two of you decided to share the men."

"We don't share them. Its only for the kids sake that we do that." Trudy spoke up first, but I could see Vellie hadn't been that far behind her when she did start to speak.

"I'm sure that's what you tell Kyle and Billy Ray. That doesn't make it true though. I'm sure that each has his strengths and weaknesses, and you both decided you preferred not to have all your marbles in one bag. I don't really care what you use to justify what you do. I want you doing a lot more of it. Enough of it to let them know you're both happy with this arrangement. If you do that, you're both going to end up being well off. If you keep on with this charade of being angry and upset about anything having to do with each other, things are going to get much worse than before. I won't have men working for me in key positions if they can't keep their home lives under control. I'd rather fire those two and go find other men who have tranquil family situations."

The two of them stared after me as I walked over to Gene to start a conversation with him. We had finished our meal, and were doing a sort of cocktail party social thing, with all of us standing around in small groups, drinking, talking, and watching everyone else out of the corners of our eyes. I saw that Joyce and Cindy were cloistered close together, talking heatedly about something. Laura was still sitting by herself, with Kyle and Billy Ray standing over by the table's other end, discussing some new racing engine design that Billy Ray had been reading about.

"Gene, are you ready to come back to work yet?"

"I've been ready. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to run interference for me down here. I don't have the time to go around and tell everyone what I'm expecting them to do. I thought I could explain myself to you, and you could go around, acting as my spokesman, getting everyone doing what I want them to be doing."

"I could do that. How much does it pay?"

"Sixty thousand a year. Part of your job is going to be trying to keep your family in line for me. That includes Laura Lee too. I'm tired of her sticking her nose up in the air around Trudy and Vellie. It wouldn't be so bad if she'd just ignore them and be quiet, but she's actively going around causing them problems."

"I don't think she causes them problems, Kenny. Unless you mean because of what she says about the both of them to Kyle? The rest of the time, she pretty much does ignore them, and doesn't interfere with how the children are being raised."