Chapter 14: Thanksgiving, Prying Dad, Girls at Play

Thanksgiving morning was a rush to stuff the big bird, and get it in the oven early so we wouldn't be waiting to eat until late in the afternoon to eat. Stacy was planning a one o'clock meal. After that, a parade of other dishes got made, heated, and so on. The last thing the kitchen needed was a short-order breakfast cook – me.

I gathered up Melissa, Todd, Summer, Megan, and Chris, and we headed off to the diner beside the Interstate. The place was usually a truck stop, but with the holiday, truck traffic was pretty light, so the diner was quiet. The waitress actually looked glad to see us all come in and brighten up the place. We had a nice conversation with her and wished her a happy holiday.

We had relatively small breakfasts, saving room for the turkey dinner, and then all the leftovers after that. I got some take out bacon and eggs for Stacy, and we took it home for her.

The kids parked themselves in front of the basement TV to watch the parade in New York. Todd and I captured the family room TV, and started in on the football games. Stacy, Summer, Melissa, and my mother were cooking up a storm in the kitchen, but I could hear a fair amount of girl talk going on too. Just when I thought it couldn't get any busier, Stacy's parents arrived and so did my father.

Todd was obviously bored with the games that were on. My father and Stacy's were talking about great places to fish in Tennessee. I said to Todd, "Hey, would you care to show me your sports car? I'd love a guided tour."

Todd lit up. "Sure! Let's go."

We excused ourselves and went outside to his Jaguar. He tossed me the keys. "You drive it." We got in and I adjusted the seat, mirrors, and got familiar with the dash, and then turned the key, as Todd explained the various features of the magnificent car. The engine leaped to life, and the car purred like no other car I'd ever been in. The sound alone made my heart beat faster. I was in love.

I grinned, "That is the most expensive sound I think I've ever heard."

He nodded. "I still can't believe I ended up with this. My parents had a wild card investment pay off. This was one of the fall outs, really a present from my folks. My father bought one too, only in the U.K. his has right-hand steering and all."

I chuckled, "When I was in college, this would have guaranteed getting laid every night. One of my fraternity brothers called cars like this 'PE's.'"

"PE's?"

"Penis extenders."

Todd burst out laughing and nodded. "I get it. It has been amazingly effective on everyone except Melissa."

I just nodded. I didn't want to pry.

Todd said, "I learned a lot about her life with you last night. She'd referred to you as her lover, but I thought that was a throw away term. She meant it. You do Summer too, huh?"

I got serious, "Stacy and I don't buy into the monogamy meme. We believe that you can love more than one person at a time – many people. There are many people who I love: Stacy, of course; Melissa for another; and Summer are three of them. There are others, but I don't 'do' them. I love them."

Todd looked embarrassed. "Bad choice of words. I had a bit of an epiphany last night with Summer. I mean we were sort of pushed together to just have a friendly fuck, but something really wonderful happened, at least for me. I think it did for her too. We had some really powerful chemistry going on."

I smiled, "It looked like that was the case. You two were beautiful together."

Todd stated, "You'd made love to her before I did?"

"I did."

"And you'd cum inside her. I knew your jizz was there, but I didn't care because I was so wrapped up in her from the first time we kissed. I don't know how to ask this, but would it be OK if I dated her. I feel a deep connection with her. I'll have to drive to her campus from ours on weekends or something, but..."

I interrupted, "Yes, you may date her as far as I'm concerned. I have no hold on her, and she is her own person. She'll make that decision, but I won't block it in any way. I think it'd be really nice. I would hope to maintain my relationship with her, but if that has to change, then so be it."

"Oh, I don't want her to stop loving you," Todd said defensively.

"I like that train of thought ... allow an 'and' instead of a 'but.'"

I backed into the street with the car, and we drove around the neighborhood as I tried out the car. Suddenly, I wanted to spend a hundred grand on a car like this. Bad decision to try driving something this nice. The car was calling to me in a siren voice that said, 'Buy me. Drive me. Buy me. Drive me.' Stacy would keep me sane, and our bank account wholes.

Todd and I talked a little more about our open loving environment. He sounded most interested in it, and not just because of the implications for the 'free' sex. He'd heard of a commune, but had never thought of an open relationship or how and why it would work better than a restricted attempt at couplehood. We spent time talking about jealousy and some of the drawbacks too.

Back at the house, smells of delight filled the air. Stacy had the key to Lisa's house, and was using her oven to cook some pies, so she was running back and forth using the 'mom bomb' to transport warm dishes the hundred yards or so. Lisa had gone again to be with her family in Upper New York. Others in our circle were also gone.

Everything came together about one o'clock. To satisfy the older adults I said a grace of thanksgiving for the multitude of love and blessings in our lives. Truly my cup runneth over, so much I had tears in my eyes as I finished. Melissa was sitting next to me and she reached over and squeezed my hand. The move was seen by others at the table.

We ate and ate and ate and ate and ate and ate. Even just having a little bit of everything, meant you ate a huge amount. I'd planned on my diet going to go to hell in a hand basket that day, but not as bad as it did. The pecan pie at the end just did me in. That was courtesy of Stacy's mother.

We helped clean up and put away, and then the guys went back to the more serious football games that had come on. The morning games had been between pissy teams: Two Dot Montana College playing Butt Fuck Arkansas State. The afternoon games got real and into the Big Ten. The teams were more evenly matched, the plays superbly executed or defended, and the scores worth savoring.

My father engaged me in a brief conversation that I didn't expect. He was sitting next to me. He leaned over, "Melissa is in love you." I noted that it was a statement and not a question. I wondered why he would care one way or the other, but then remembered that he loved to stick his nose into other people's business.

I smiled, "And I love her as well, and that takes nothing away from Stacy."

He pushed a little harder, "I think she wants to be physical with you." I'd been on fishing expeditions like this with him before. He wanted juicy details about whether I was physical with Melissa.

"Good. I like physical."

"I mean, she wants to make love with you."

I nodded more that I'd heard him than anything. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of a definitive answer.

He kept going figuring I was missing his implication, "She wants to have sex with you."

"Good, but I'm full of food right now. It has to digest. Sex on a full stomach can get uncomfortable."

"I mean sometime later." He ignored my having teased him.

"Also good. Maybe after all this digests." I motioned to the sofa, indicating that if we were to have sex it would be right where we were sitting.

"Would you do that?" He sounded surprised at my accumulated responses. No one else in the room was paying any attention to us, fortunately.

I looked at him in mock surprise. "What? Make love to her? What makes you think I haven't already?" I turned back to the TV wondering what he'd do with that turn of events. He started to guffaw and huff, trying to come up with something to say. I let him stew in it.

I finally tried to put an end to it; "Dad, why are you poking your nose in her sex life or mine or Stacy's?"

He came back, "Next, I was going to say the same thing about Summer and you. It's the way she looks at you; so longingly."

"I'll tell you about her too. I love Summer as well, and we also have a close and intimate relationship. There are others. Stacy and I are open about our relationships and have never been closer to each other. If you ask her, you will find that she also loves Melissa and Summer. We have been doubly blessed to have them come into our lives."

My father sat back and said, "Oh." He sounded a little deflated, like a kid who'd discovered something only to find that everybody else already knew about it and that he was the last to know.

Summer came into the room and over to me. She leaned in and kissed me in beautiful way, drawing out the length of the kiss so we could both savor the affection between us. She said, "Todd and I are going to take a walk." She winked at me, and I winked back.

"Have fun." I thought for a minute, and pulled her onto my lap. I said to her in a low voice that probably only my father could hear, "I want you to know that I will still love you, even if you fall deeply in love with someone else. Be careful who you give your heart to, but know that you always have mine to fall back on."