Chapter 4: Cards on the (Kitchen) Table

After work, I walked into the house both nervous and exhausted. All of today’s emotional turmoil had made even simple repair work tiring for me. As I expected, Nancy and Terry were at the kitchen table waiting for me. There was a distinct smell of dinner, and three table settings were laid out for us.

“I had lunch today at Ellie’s. I discovered that having a meal helped me stay calm and improved my thinking. So, let’s eat first before we get into it.”

Nancy started to apologize, but I abruptly (even rudely) cut her off.

“After dinner.”

Terry looked up at me quickly but didn’t say anything. We ate in silence, except for minor bits like “pass the salt.”

“Would you like dessert?” Terry asked.

“Maybe later. Are we ready to talk?” They both nodded.

“Then, I want Nancy to listen while Terry repeats the explanation she gave me last night. Terry, if you have anything different to say this time, I want you to explain the discrepancy. Nancy, if you disagree with Terry’s explanations and descriptions, now is the time. Terry, you are testifying now. I expect the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. Because you have already ... You know what I mean. Don’t hide anything or tell me what you think I want to hear. Alright?”

“Yes, Charley, I swear.”

“Nancy?”

“Charley, I swear.”

“Then begin.”

Terry relayed the same account, starting with the two of them sharing the studio apartment and the bed. I stopped her when she described the time when we met.

“Nancy, you were in love with Terry then. Correct?”

Nancy swallowed nervously and affirmed that she was.

“Terry, you were in love with Nancy then. Correct?”

“Yes, Charley, I was. I am. I’m so sorry.”

“Terry, keep going.”

She described our courtship and marriage, then finished with Nancy coming into our house and them falling into bed together.

“Nancy, is all of this correct? Is there anything important that Terry has left out?”

“Only that I knew, I know that Terry loves you with all her heart.”

“But she loves you too, Nancy, so it’s not all of her heart.”

Tears streamed down both of their faces, but their voices remained steady. Terry tried to explain.

“I know this is hard to explain, Charley, but I need to try. I love you AND I love Nancy. If Nancy left me, it wouldn’t free up more love for me to bestow on you. My love for you is the maximum possible. You are my life, Charley. Losing you would devastate me, and it wouldn’t increase my love for Nancy.

“I know that I’ve hurt you terribly. As bad as I felt that time when I slapped you, this is a thousand times more painful. I don’t have any right to your forgiveness, even though I want it desperately.

“While I’m being truthful, losing Nancy would devastate me as well, but I recognize that I made vows to you just weeks ago, and one of them was to be faithful. It’s bitter and awful to imagine, but if I’m forced to choose one but not both, I would have to choose you instead of Nancy.

“But honesty demands that I tell you I will suffer from that loss. I will be miserable, even despondent. I wish this could be easy, but it isn’t. I’ll say it one more time. I love you AND I love Nancy. That is the total and complete truth.”

Terry subsided and studied the table in front of her.

“Nancy, what do you have to say?”

“Charley, I promise you. I love Terry with all my heart. So much so that I will sacrifice my happiness and step away if my love makes it impossible for you two to love each other and be happy together. I will NOT be the cause of breaking you apart from your true love. I believe her when she says she will be miserable from missing me. For a time, that will be true, but I need to be strong enough to leave her so she can be happy with you.”

“I think you should be quiet now, Nancy,” I said, scowling. “How am I supposed to tell Terry she should leave you when you show how right she is to love you too?”

“Terry, if this woman loves you so much, what, uh, why do you love me?”

“Because, silly boy, you love me just like she does, and you have an extra fun part between your legs I enjoy. It seems complicated, but it isn’t. Not really. I love both of you, and I don’t want to give either of you up. I want to have my cock and eat you too, Nancy. Now, let’s have dessert.”

Mentally, I threw up my hands. I enjoyed my vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce while my mind raced. In truth, I was spinning my wheels, unable to see a solution for our situation.

Finally, I took my spoon and dinged it against my bowl.

“Ladies, I think I’m ready to say what I think about all this. It seems I have made some bad choices. I can say that I can’t handle sharing Terry. That leaves either divorce or Nancy breaking off with Terry. I can say I don’t want Nancy in our house, which leaves her homeless. I can say Nancy can stay as our servant but not have intimacy with Terry. I don’t think that will work either.