Chapter 26: A Slight Awkwardness

Dave, Pam, and Alice hosted dinner Wednesday night for their ‘surrogate’ spouses, in this case Owen Bennett, Roy Goodman, Christie Lee, and Heather Manning. Dave barbecued steaks and chicken on the outside grill, but the temperatures were cool so they ate in their dining room. The mood was festive.

Both Alice and Dave seemed to have come to grips over the tension and anxiety resulting from Alice’s emotional attachment to Owen and the trip to Europe. Owen’s feelings might be another issue to be dealt with, but the casual dinner intentionally frustrated such discussions because so many ‘outsiders’ were present, some meeting for the first time. The dinner was the first time Alice and Owen had seen each other or talked since returning in his plane, except for a brief call setting up the dinner.

Pam had described her week with Roy as pleasant, but not fraught with emotional attachment or any desire for something other than what she had with Alice and Dave. Pam had been surprised at how close Alice had come to upsetting things in their marriage with her strong feelings for Owen. Dave had noted that his two ‘wives’ had several long and intimate conversations about that topic that he wasn’t privy to; he was only told that all was okay between the two. He could, however, tell that Pam was not entirely pleased with Alice.

Christie and especially Heather glued themselves to Dave after their arrival and introduction to everyone. Heather had only known Dave and Christie until that night. Alice smiled at how the two women had bonded with her husband, but again, longer talks with him had assured her that he was devoted to her and Pam, as agreed.

There was no agenda for the get together other than dinner and celebrating being back with friends and family.

Dave watched as Owen kept following Alice closely, hoping for an opportunity to talk to her and more so an opportunity to be alone with her. He was sure at one point when they were alone in the kitchen that he’d shared some kisses with her. Pam had even winked at him as she came out to join the rest of the company intentionally leaving the couple alone for a few moments.

Dave watched Pam pay some special attention to Roy, but didn’t feel the qualms and tugs on his heartstrings as he had about Alice when she was away. He knew it was the foreboding sense of loss that might have transpired if Owen had won Alice over completely.

Also at the dinner party, Heather especially found ways to hug and kiss Dave, and to tell him how special she thought he was. The difference seemed to be that Heather was happy to be more public about it. Christie also openly encouraged her friend.

Dave encouraged Heather to spend time with Alice and Pam, including telling them the story of her life and about her aspirations. Heather almost took that suggestion as a command, and executed the instructions perfectly, spending quality time with each woman.

Being a work night except for the strippers, everyone left about ten o’clock. There was a noted reluctance by the guests to leave the partners they’d bonded with the week before.

As Pam and Alice headed up to bed, followed closely by Dave, Pam said, “I liked Heather and she really likes us, and Dave especially. She’s got guts and ambition, but no way to start on her goals. She told me that every cent she makes is spent on rent, food, and her toddler, and even then, she’s always short. She even helps with her mother’s rent.”

Alice turned to the others, “I liked her, too. She’s a good fit with our personalities. Could we help her in some way?”

Dave chuckled, “Do you want a toddler around? If you do, she’d move in tomorrow. We could help her with some money, too. I’d be happy to do that, especially if we knew she was starting on a college degree. Christie might be a following friend, too, although she told me she needs another couple of years to mature more before undertaking college.”

Alice whipped around again, “Would YOU tolerate a toddler around? We’ve talked about starting a family.”

Dave shrugged. “Sooner or later, I assumed that each of you would want at least one child. You know me, I love kids, and so far, it’s been so long as they’re someone else’s.”

Pam said, “Ask her to come back on Saturday and bring her kid. I want to see the little tyke and see what she’s like with him.”

Saturday just before lunch an old battered black sedan with faded paint and almost no muffler pulled up in front of the house and parked. Heather got out and waved, and then extracted her four-year-old from a child seat in the backseat on the passenger side of the car. She set the little boy down, and carefully held his hand as she allowed him to set the pace for coming up the front path to the door where Dave and then Alice waited.

Heather said, “Matthew, this is Mr. and Mrs. Prentiss. They’re my best friends along with Christie, who you see once in a while.”

Matthew looked up at the couple and said with a grin, ‘Hi. Do you have toys?”

Dave and Alice laughed and drew the couple into the house. Heather produced a plastic bag of toys from her large shoulder bag and suggested that Matthew would like the Cartoon Channel on the family room TV set. Matthew was good as gold, played with his array of toys and often watched some the action in the cartoons on the TV.

Dave went in and spent some time talking to the tot and helping him drive some of the small cars around the patterns in their area rug, and then building various houses out of the cushions from the two sofas in the room. While the two played together, Heather talked to Alice and Pam, but kept a watchful eye on her child.

Pam served up lunch, and Dave wasn’t surprised to again hear some specific talk about college, the kind of course that Heather had investigated and what she’d do if she got a degree. Alice raised concern about the costs involved and getting saddled with student loans. Both older women commented on the non-monetary issues like spending time studying and reading to keep her grades up, all while trying to be a mother and maybe even have a social life.

Heather laughed at the last point, “Social life? Ha! That’s a laugh. The last serious date I had was when I got pregnant ... well, I guess, and last week with Dave. Once I found out that I was pregnant, I started to hustle to build up my bank account. I knew I was going to be in deep shit financially. I was working three jobs at one point, until I just couldn’t keep up the pace as Matthew grew in my womb and my time approached. That changed last week when I joined Christie to be a surrogate wife; that was one helluva date.” She laughed and gestured at Dave.

“What were you doing?” Dave asked. He hadn’t had this in-depth discussion with her.

“I started at the Club Ecstasy long before my belly started to swell, and then they let me tend bar; that was nights. I got a job early in the morning three days a week cleaning for a couple of small offices downtown, and then I worked as a waitress doing lunch and dinner in a diner out by the Interstate. My mom was worried about me, but she was a lifesaver and still is taking care of Matthew around my crazy schedule. He likes being with his grandma.”

After lunch, Alice took Matthew into the guest room and bedded him down for a nap. She carefully explained that his mommy and the rest of us would be right down the hall talking. He was very accepting of the situation, and Alice’s heart melted when he asked her to kiss him before his nap.

Alice commented when she joined the others, “Matthew is so well behaved, and so engaging as a youngster.”

Heather looked proud, “That’s my mom’s influence more than mine. I’m just glad he remembers me, because I fly in at strange hours. I try to be there in the morning for him before my mom takes him for the rest of day and evening when I work the club.”

Heather came back in the room after checking that Matthew was asleep. She said, “I have a question about your Saturday parties. Christie has to work tonight, but I don’t and she suggested that I ask you about going in her place.”

Pam snorted, feeling that her friend had set up Heather. She said sotto voce, ‘Set up,’ but everyone heard her. Heather looked confused.

Alice laughed, too; tears coming to her eyes as she realized what Christie had done.

Dave said, “Heather, do you know what goes on at our parties?” He was laughing.

“Socializing?” Her answer sounded hesitant because of the way Dave had asked his question. “That’s what Christie told me – socializing.”

Alice snickered, “Errr, sexual socializing.”

“Oh, you have sex with the others that are there?” There was a question there as well as a lot of uncertainty.

Dave said, “Exactly. Didn’t Christie tell you?”

“No, that rat. She said she’d made love to some really nice men, but I didn’t connect it to your neighborhood party until just now. It does sound nice, though.”

“And you still want to come?” Alice asked.

Heather nodded, “I haven’t had sex in almost four years except for last week with your husband.” She rummaged around in her shoulder bag that was next to where she sat. She pulled out a couple of pages. “I even got tested before Christie took me over to meet you that night, but you didn’t ask, and I haven’t been with anybody else. I’m clean, which is not surprising given my utter lack of dating or a sex life until a week ago. I was hoping I might break my log jam, so to speak, since Dave is kind of taken.”

Alice said, “Then you are definitely coming to tonight’s party. Can you be here at five-thirty? We go over then, ‘socialize’ and have cocktails, have dinner – often barbecue of some kind, talk, and then have adult fun – the kind of fun that’s sexual. Tonight’s party is at the house of a couple we know named Dori and Ty Winter just a short walk from here. Dress is very informal, and sexy if you can pull off the look and looking at you a burlap sack would be sexy on you. We tease each other a lot, as you’ll see. There are some preferred couplings, but most people spread their talents around.”

“You mean like you and Owen?” Heather posed with a twinkle in her eye.

Alice cautiously said, “Yesssss, why do you ask?”

“Oh, while you were gone, Dave was very preoccupied with what you were up to with Owen. We found that sex was a nice way to calm him down and temporarily divert his attention to your affair.” There was a teasing tone to her voice as she glanced at Dave with a smirk.

Alice rolled her eyes and Dave shrugged. Alice added, “Heather, you touched a possible open nerve. I do need to talk to Dave about Saturday night in that regard since that will be the first time that I’ve seen Owen since I got back where sex is on the table. I briefly talked to him to invite him to the dinner party but we kept that tame.”

Dave smiled at his wife; “You can be with Owen if you want, honey. Fuck his brains out. Make love with him. You can spend all night with him doing sexy things.”

Alice whirled around to him, “Are you sure?” The look on her face was one of complete disbelief in what he’d just said.

Dave nodded, “I like Owen, and I know that he is madly in love with you, and I know that you have strong feelings for him. I am hoping that all our feelings will keep things within the boundary of the usual and sexual relationships that we have developed not only between us, but also between all the others we have around us.”

Heather said, “That’s complex. Say more, I think you’re deep, but sometimes confusing.”

Dave said, “Heather, I love you and Pam in many ways. I can assure Alice that my love for the two of you ADDS to the love I already have for her. I take nothing from her in order to love you both. Hopefully, she knows that I don’t plan to run off with either or both of you and leave her behind. My love for her is too strong for that to happen. I think of the situation like a multi-dimensional boundary that I’ve constructed with Alice and me in the center. I can wander around inside that space and find you, Pam, Alice, and the others we socialize with, and never leave my space or make anybody uncomfortable. Alice is always within sight, has my attention and affection, and if she tunes in to it can feel my passion and desire for her.”