Chapter 57: Bad News Comes in Threes

Mark

There’s bad news and then really bad news that comes your way once in a while. I had two major doses of it on Monday morning.

I’d been talked into a late start at work so that we could all have a relaxed breakfast, plus bid goodbye to Troy and Janet, and Dan and Sandy. That was fun and we had a heart warming parting. Their departure went like clockwork and they were out the door before seven a.m. to catch their flight to Atlanta.

My first bout of news I didn’t want to hear came from Brita shortly after our guests departed. She pulled me aside, and I could tell she had something touchy and sensitive to talk about. I’d known it all weekend, but I hoped it was something I could cope with.

Brita sat in a chair as I lounged back on one of the sofas in our media room. “Mark, this is very awkward for me to broach with you, but I must. First, I must premise my comments with the words I love you. I deeply love you, have loved you, and will continue to love you.

“That said, I’ve made a decision I need to share with you. Nils has asked me to marry him, and I have accepted.” She paused and added, “I would have raised it earlier, but I didn’t want this news to influence your enjoyment of the party and all.”

I was dumbstruck. My brain went into freeze mode. I just nodded to indicate I’d heard her words. Hopefully, she’d know that I was still processing them. I was choked up and unable to speak in any case.

She went on, “Nils and I do not plan a monogamous marriage, as you might expect from watching our behavior this weekend. I will always be available for you, and despite this change I hope I can always approach you in the same way. As I said, I continue to love you and will feel proud to be one of your wives in the future, if you’ll have me.

“Through you, and with Nils help, I have learned that I can love more than one person. I love you two men, and I love my sisters – Elsa, Cindy, Melanie, Sheila, and KC. I have not yet told them about this because I wanted to talk to you first. They are to be my next conversation.”

She looked at me for a long time, hoping I would say something, but I could only stare at her and try to formulate a response. My eyes got all teary and my throat constricted.

Finally, my brain reengaged and I could think and speak. “Brita, thank you for your forthrightness. I ... I’m feeling a sense of loss for some reason, despite your point that as far as you and I are concerned little will change. We have access to each other, and I want that, and we continue to love. I do love you and this situation won’t change that. Nils is a great man and I like him; you couldn’t have done better anywhere in the world.

“I love some other married women, but I have remained a little more distant from them than I felt with you: Margo, Amber, Edie, Kim, and Pam to mention five. After this weekend, I think I’d add Janet and Sandy to that list.

“I continue to love my other five girls too – KC, Mel, Cindy, Sheila, and Elsa – my wives, as you noted. I know that a person can love more than one other, so I think I know what you are feeling, and how you might also be dealing with conflicts now and then. I think we each feel them now and again.

“You deserve someone as nice a Nils. He will be a good husband, and I can tell he has long been devoted to you. If you do any kind of significant service, I hope you will invite us to your celebration. We don’t want to dominate, but we would like to add our blessings to the many others your friends and family would give.

“Lastly, I have always worried about the distance between us – the physical distance. I know we talked and wrote, but it’s not the same as being there. Nils can be there to hold you, kiss you, and make love to you every day. Under other circumstances, I’d love to be that man.”

Brita cried and came to be beside me; we hugged. She apologized again, “I feel badly for dumping this on you, but I promise nothing will change ... and, of course, you’ll come to our ceremony. We won’t do a large wedding, but we will have a middle ground celebration some weekend in the not too distant future.”

“We’ll be there – all of us,” I assured her and then we kissed.

I had known I’d be saying goodbye to her that morning, but this felt different. I steeled myself and put my brave front on.

Brita and I then walked back to the kitchen where the others sat over coffee. Nils was sitting there with them along with Tom. I saw Brita lock eyes with Nils and give a small nod. Brita went and stood by Nils, and then made her little announcement to everyone. An embarrassed hush fell on the room, and the other girls looked at me to see my reaction. I nodded and tried to smile to show I knew, and then I made a few general comments wishing them happiness and joy. I toasted them with my cup of coffee.

Brita emphasized that her relationship with all of us wouldn’t change – she didn’t want it to change. She wanted an ‘and’ and not an ‘or’. She wanted Nils to be a steady presence in her life, and she wanted all of us in all the ways she’d known us in hers. She mentioned how she hoped we would all welcome Nils in a loving and caring way into our lives the same way that she had. I realized that this moment was unique because in a way, we were annexing Nils into a large international polyamorous family. I was pleased with that thought, and it took the edge off the pain I felt at losing Brita. I wasn’t losing her; I was gaining Nils.

A buzz of conversation soon erupted that took the edge off the raw emotions most of us suddenly felt. Eventually, Nils and Brita left us to head to the airport and Brita’s corporate jet for the flight back to Denmark.

I think we were all introspective about the event, because after their departure we seemed to talk about everything but Brita’s decision and her wedding to Nils. I was grateful that we’d had some romantic time together during her visit, but I still had that hollow spot in my gut.

The second bit of bad news came to me in the early afternoon on Tuesday.

Melanie came and stood in my office while I was finishing up a phone call to our plant in Mexico. She’d come in that way often, usually when there was a phone call or visitor we hadn’t expected, so I thought little of the interruption. I waved her in.

After I hung up, Melanie said, “Lucas is here. He needs to see you and says it’s important.” I detected a raw edge to her voice; something was wrong. She knew what Lucas had to say but didn’t plan to upstage him.

I gestured her to bring him in and a few seconds later he strode into the office in his long, meaningful steps to get somewhere in a hurry. Melanie and Sheila came to the door behind him and stood listening. Izzy peeked in behind them, realizing that something important was happening. None of them looked happy. Most all of them knew what the news was.

He started, “Mark, I’m sorry to tell you this, but ... you should know. Myron Tanner escaped from police custody early this morning. He was being moved from the city jail to the detention center out in Maysville for psychiatric evaluation. He was put in the van at the jail, and wasn’t there when it arrived, at least that’s what the police told me. They’re investigating, of course, but the important thing is that we’ve tripled up on security again. We have guards on their way right now to cover KC, Elsa, and Cindy where they work. Others will be here shortly, but access is normally very tight here in any case, but when you head out tonight, you’ll know what to expect.”

“I don’t suppose they have any idea where he went or what his plans are?”

Lucas shook his head. “Nothing we know about. I’ve already suggested to the police that they interview the others who were in the van and in or near his cell at the jail to see if they can piece together anything. They already had his apartment under surveillance.”

I paced around my office and said, “There’s really nothing we can do is there?”

Lucas again indicated no. “We just have to wait and see and hope that if he tries anything with us it will be annoying but not life threatening. Maybe getting arrested and being on the run will make him leave the area.” We all knew that was pure wistful thinking.

Elsa

Geck came into my office at the architecture company. Sean and I were working on some details for several closets at The Meadows – hopefully our house come the following July. He informed me about Tanner and the renewed security coverage.

I asked Geck about Mark and my sisters, and he explained that they were being covered with additional security even as we spoke. I reflected on the problems we’d had with Tanner before. A couple of them could have turned deadly. This man either wanted blood or he wasn’t thinking too clearly about being annoying. Mark thought he was rehearsing for something deadly.

I called Cindy and we talked briefly about Tanner and the increased security. Because she worked on investments with a lot of personal data, she was behind locked doors in a better secure area than where I worked. At least that made part of the security job easier.