Chapter 3: What Now?

Back in my lonely marital bed, I was smiling, reminiscing over our first “date” at Ellie’s coffee shop. I could almost taste the pie, even though it was many months ago.

By the third evening we spent together in the garage, I was congratulating myself. Talking with Terry was everything I could have hoped for. Conversation flowed easily; I found myself growing more and more excited every time she parked her bike at my office door. And then it happened.

I asked Terry to hold a drop light (a caged light bulb on a long electrical cord) for me while I had both hands deep under Daisy’s hood. When I thanked her and pulled my hands back, she ducked in and kissed me on my cheek.

“What was that for?”

“I couldn’t resist. A man with his tool in his hands makes me hot.”

“Terry!”

She giggled and stepped back, switching off the light and smiling at me. Suddenly, her words sunk in, and I’m sure my face went through several shades of red.

“You’re teasing me.”

She held the light over my head and switched it back on.

“See, Charley? You’re getting the idea!”

Memories of our early playful conversations were enough to settle my stress; I fell asleep.

In the morning, the first thing I noticed was being solitary in the bed for the first time in months. That’s when I remembered yesterday’s terrible events. Cursing, I stumbled into the bathroom and easily peed through my softening dick.

In a foul mood, I dressed quickly and headed for the kitchen, where I found my wife fully dressed and mostly finished preparing breakfast.

“Please sit down, honey, and I’ll bring your coffee. I made scrambled eggs and bacon for you.”

“You’re dressed?”

“I tiptoed into our bedroom while you were still asleep to get my clothes. I wanted to be dressed and making breakfast when you got up so you could get to work this morning on time.”

“Thank you, Terry.” My tone was neutral and polite but without warmth. Some of yesterday’s fury and hurt still controlled me. She served my breakfast and put the coffeepot on the table using a trivet. She gestured to her regular chair, asking permission without words, and I nodded my head.

“I have some questions, and I want you to be completely accurate in your answers, yes?”

“I will, Charley.”

“Nancy is couch-surfing; she has no fixed place to live?”

“That’s right.”

“Do you love me?”

“I do, Charley.”

“Do you love her?”

“I do. I’m not being disloyal to you; it’s hard to explain.”

“Look, I need to go to work. Tell Nancy to be here tonight. We’re going to hash this out, or you’re going to find a new place, and you’ll go back to living with her.”

“But, Charley...”

“NOT NOW. Do your shift at the medical center, pick up Nancy, and I’ll see you both tonight.”

“I will. Will you kiss me before you go?”

“NO. Terry, I need to think.”

Abruptly, I left her. I was angry, and I knew she was crying again. It was probably the first time since she moved in with me that I’d left her without a kiss. I honestly thought after tonight that my marriage would be over.

At the shop, I ruminated while I had my hands in yet another Volkswagen Golf. They sure didn’t last the way they used to when they were called Rabbits. Then I had an idea.

“Guten Tag, Oskar.”

“Charley! It’s so good to hear from you. How is Terry?”

He’d flown up from Deek-zee to be my best man at our marriage ceremony, and I took comfort in how well he and my bride got along.

“She’s why I’m calling. I’m afraid it’s bad news.”

“Oh, no! Is she hurt or sick?”

“No, Oskar. You remember her maid of honor?”

“Um, Nancy?”

“That’s right. Yesterday, I came home from the garage and found her in our bed with Terry, both of them naked and sweaty.”

“Das ist ja unerhört! Sorry, I mean, that’s so outrageous! I’m so sorry. You must be heartbroken.”

“Yeah. But I don’t know what to do. She’s telling me that Nancy is homeless and wants to move in with us, supposedly to be our assistant. Keep house, make meals, stuff like that.”

“And have sex with your wife.”

“I’m sure, although Terry is skating around being honest about that. I can’t think of anyone whose opinion means more to me than yours. Do you have any advice for me?”

“I couldn’t possibly give you direct advice in this situation. I think it’s telling that you called me, because you might already have some idea what you want and are looking for confirmation.”

“I don’t know what I want!”

“OK, let’s be indirect, Charley. What do you think of Nancy? I remember her as being, well, hot. I’m pretty sure I saw her checking you out in that fancy outfit you were wearing. In my mind, I thought she could be bisexual. Tell me the truth, would you be content with two of the cutest women living with you, one of whom is the love of your life?”

“Terry IS the love of my life. That’s why this hurts so much.”

“Don’t deflect. Charley, what do you think of Nancy?”

“I don’t want to, but I have to admit, she’s really hot. And I can tell those feelings are being returned.”

“I believe Terry will tell you that loving Nancy doesn’t mean she loves you less. Think about it. If you had a child with Terry, you’d have deep love for both the child and your wife at the same time. I never told you about Heidi, did I?”

“Who is Heidi?”

“I loved Heidi with all my heart, and she left me. It was ten years before I knew you, Charley. She wanted more of a man than a mere mechanic. It took several years before I was over it. Heidi had a sister, Elise, and for a long time both of them were my romantic partners. That is, they shared me. At the same time, in the same bed.”

“Oskar! You dog! I had no idea. I never saw you see anybody; it was like you didn’t have any interest.”

“After Heidi and Elise, I was burned out. Also, I was well past fifty, and you don’t have the sexual urge like you do when you are younger. I want to tell you something else. Down here in the senior community, there are all kinds of social and sexual arrangements. I have a good friend, Eddie, who lives with two women, and he tells me he’s screwing both of them.”

“Wow. You’re trying to tell me, if Nancy moves in with us, we could make it work?”

“Charley, I’m not telling you anything. I’m only saying some people can work out triangles or pentagons or all kinds of crazy combinations. Down here, sometimes they all live together; other times they just meet for sex, well, orgies.”

“I just never really thought about such things. The idea of sharing Terry is really painful. I said she should bring Nancy to the house tonight so we could figure all this out.”

“Then you have all the information to find your answer. I wish you the best. Call me when you can; I want to know what happens.”

“I will, Oskar, and thanks.”

Well, shit. Now I had another idea to think about. On top of the image of Nancy and Tanya naked in each other’s arms (and legs), I imagined a future with all three of us in bed together. It was all an emotional stew I wasn’t prepared for.

“All of those simple years I lived on my own. Eh, simplicity is overrated.” I was talking to myself again. In front of me, a relatively uncommon diesel New Beetle regarded me with its bug-eyed stare.

“You’re no help,” I muttered.

Garage work left me with lots of time to reminisce. In the early weeks of working on Daisy, we learned a lot about each other. We learned of common interests. One week “Star Wars” was all we talked about. Another time, it was a whole week on Classic Rock.

The great thing was when I would drive her home, I left her wanting to continue talking. I think she wanted to continue as well, even though we were both hungry from delaying our dinners. Terry put an end to that by volunteering to bring food from the hospital cafeteria.