Chapter 6

“Okay, Mom and Dad. Jimmy, we wanted you here, whatever the issues between us, because we wanted to ... make amends somehow for how you were treated, and yes, how Robert was treated to an extent. He took it better than you did, but it was ultimately a bit ... dishonest of us. We should have given you the choice, laid it out for you. Something as big as this. Yeah, we should have been candid, upfront with you. Don’t you agree, Mom, Dad?” Sandra opened up the discussion with her parents regarding the “summer wife” custom.

“So ... you don’t want to do it anymore? It’s a family tradition and a lovely one, Sandy,” my mother-in-law, Enid, spoke now.

“Exactly. A beautiful thing. Look how it brought you five closer,” my father-in-law, Horace, added.

“You lied to me, okay? You LIED!” Jimmy stood up and threatened to storm out now.

I stood in front of Jimmy and looked him square in the eye, “They lied to me, too, Jimmy. They did. And I’ve forgiven them. I’m trying to give them a chance to make amends and start fresh. Not canceling the tradition, but from now on ... being honest and open about it from the beginning of any serious relationship. What say you, Horace, Enid?” I turned to my in-laws now.

“Well, you’re right. I didn’t think about it in terms of how it would affect you in that sense, nor did Enid, I guess. Just please ... understand. This is a beautiful family tradition, originally intended as a surprise ... a pleasant surprise, if you will, especially for the husbands. But also the wives, of course,” Horace smiled after Enid coughed a bit.

My father-in-law was definitely a straight guy and that was a good thing from my perspective. He was not my type. He was, however, a pleasant enough and ruggedly handsome fellow, just very keen on the whole summer wife tradition. His own summer wife was Francine, much to my shock, since she was gay. Then again, she must have kept a soft spot for dear old Dad, enough to offer herself up for that role.

As for my mother-in-law, Enid, she was actually more attractive than one typically pictured of a woman with such an old-school name. She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in fact, and had some traditions that harkened back to that country as well. Evidently, her father was a Royal Army soldier and her mother a fairly typical Belfast girl of Scots Presbyterian/Covenanter stock. She was allowed two summer husbands this time as a special consideration to prevent either Rodney or Stanley being an odd man out.

No wonder she was happy with the custom this year in particular ... two summer hubbies ... what woman in her right mind wouldn’t be thrilled? Such were my thoughts as I coaxed Jimmy into sitting down now. He looked very nervous and gulped a bit as he stared at Kelly. What would happen in their divorce, and what would I do if she ran back to him? That wasn’t still outside the realm of possibility, no matter how much she might protest to the contrary. She clearly had strong feelings for me, but she was also in love with Jimmy. What would she do about any kind of overture from him?

“I’ll ... consider making some kind of peace if amends are made, yes. But ... I won’t share Kelly. If she wants me back ... she’d have to be faithful and return to me now. No more ‘summer wife’ business. I’m not opting back into this. I’m not going along with it. I’m going through with the divorce, unless Kelly stops this ... now. Before it’s too late.

“I’m a one-woman man, period. I insist that my wife be a one-man woman. Monogamous marriage is what I believe in and how I intend to live. It’s just who I am. I’ve converted ... to Bahai. The Bahai World Faith. We believe in monogamy and we do not believe in booze. That is something that I would like Kelly ... to accept and embrace, if possible. I would like all to join me in this, but I understand if you do not.

“If you don’t wish to return to me ... I am told that I have ... one year of waiting, of abstinence, of chastity, in which I must wait for you to change your mind. If, during that time, you should choose to return to me, I will accept you, but it must be in fidelity to me, as I shall have to you. I do not do this to be a martyr, and I do not look forward to an entire calendar of celibacy, but that is what God commands of me, so I will do it.

“During that year, I must also provide for you, if you need it, financially, without expectation of anything in return. It’s your call, babe. I’m just ... being faithful. To my marriage. To my God. To my religion. To my faith. I would like your initial answer, yes, and I will forgive them, all of you, angry as I am, regardless of what it is. Just know that you have a full year to return to me. After that, I will divorce you.