Chapter 11: Closer

“Thanks for watching the girls, mom,” Cathy said, as she came into the apartment.

“So how did it go dear?” Judy asked.

“Okay. He’s playing hard to get. He said something at the end about not seeing each other again. I’m sure we’ll get over it,” Cathy explained, off-handedly.

Judy looked at her daughter with a confused look on her face. Cathy walked over to the girls and kissed each of them on the head. She started to pick up their coloring and puzzle books.

“Come on girls, let’s go home,” Cathy said.

Judy closed her mouth and composed herself before saying, “Wait, he said it was over, but you think you’re going to see him again. Am I missing something?”

“No, it was just a little disagreement. I’m sure we’ll get past it,” Cathy replied.

“Honey, are you feeling okay,” Judy said, as she came over and placed her hand on Cathy’s forehead.

“I’m fine, mom!” she snapped back. “Now, just drop it, I know what I’m doing.”

Once again, Judy had a confused and concerned look on her face.

Cathy finished putting the girls’ things into a duffel bag. She leaned in to her mother and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thanks again, mom. I’ll let you know when I need you to watch them again. Say bye to grandma girls,” Cathy said.

“Bye, grandma,” Rebecca and Theresa called out.

Judy closed the door behind her daughter, still troubled by the conversation she had just had with her.

Wednesday morning, Roger answered his phone at work and heard, “Hi Roger, it’s Cathy, what are we doing this weekend?”

“Cathy, we just had this conversation on Sunday, we’re not seeing each other anymore,” he responded, firmly.

“Come on Roger, I know you didn’t mean it. Let’s get together on Sunday. I’ll show you how much fun we can have together,” she whined.

“Look, Cathy, I’m trying to be nice here, but it’s over. Do not call me again,” he growled and hung up.

On Thursday night and Friday night, Roger received messages from Cathy on his home machine, wondering where he was and why he wasn’t calling her back.

On Wednesday night, Roger quickly went in for a kiss when Rose answered the door. This led to a chorus of “ooohhhs” from Vicky and the girls.

Over dinner, Rose brought up their relationship.

“Roger, does it feel like we’re rushing things? I mean, this is our third date in less than two weeks, and we even had sex on the second date. I’ve never done that before,” she asked, nervously.

“I know what you mean, but I don’t regret anything. Everything we do together just feels right to me. Do you regret anything we’ve done?” he asked.

“No. I agree, everything feels right. It’s like a high school crush, when we get together my heart races and I just can’t seem to control myself ... oops, I shouldn’t have said that. See what I mean? When I’m with you, I just do things without thinking. It’s a little scary,” she said, nervously.

Roger reached across and covered Rose’s hand with his. He calmly stated, “I know what you mean. I feel the same way. I think we just need to trust each other. You say it’s scary how you feel things are out of control, but that’s because dating is usually a slow, feeling out process. Look, there are a few things you should know about me that might shock you. I promise I’ll tell you about them, soon. If they don’t scare you off, then we’ll be in a really good place to go forward. If they do scare you ... well I’ll be pretty upset, but that’s just a risk I’ll have to take.”

“Yeah, I guess there are a couple of things you don’t know about me, either. So, when are we going to talk about these deep dark secrets?” She asked.

“Well, this conversation is already making me a little nervous. We should probably do it pretty soon. Do you think we’ll be able to have a private conversation Saturday evening?” He asked, calmly.

“Yeah, I guess we’d better. Once I put the girls to bed, we’ll reveal our deep dark secrets and see what happens,” she replied sullenly.

The ominous tone of their discussion put a damper on the rest of their dinner. Soon after, Roger paid the bill and they headed back to Rose’s apartment. Outside Rose’s door, they shared a soft and gentle kiss before Roger left for the night.

“Hi, Jessica. How was your week?” Roger asked, when she answered the phone.

“Not bad, work was uneventful, and the kids were better than normal,” she responded.

“Would you like to come over Sunday evening? I’ll grill some salmon and we can relax by the pool,” Roger asked brightly

“I think that sounds nice. Normally, Blake brings the children home Sunday night. Let me see if he can just drop them off at school, Monday,” she replied, sweetly.

“I also want you to attend the next munch with me. It will give you a chance to meet some other people with alternative lifestyles and ask some questions. It’s on April seventh. Will you go with me?” He asked.

“Hmm. Alright, I guess I have nothing to lose. I’ll have to make sure my mom can watch the kids that night,” she responded, tentatively.

“Hi, Mandy. It’s Roger.”

“Hey, Roger. How’s it going?” Mandy answered, smiling when she heard his voice.

“Well, let’s just say that trying to date fewer women isn’t any easier than when I was dating a different woman every week,” he told her, with a hint of sarcasm.

“Oh, this sounds juicy. What’s been happening? The last time we talked, you had just had a falling out with ... I think her name was Jessica. And wasn’t there someone named Cathy, too?” She asked.

“Yeah, so Jessica and I met last weekend. Hopefully we can make it work. She’s really a great woman. Of course, that was the second intense conversation of the day. Before seeing Jessica, I had lunch with Cathy and ended things. That was not a fun conversation. She got rather ... heated by my breaking up with her,” Roger explained, a bit of strain in his voice.

“Oh, dear, what happened?” Mandy asked, sweetly.

“Well, we had lunch together. Near the end I told her we shouldn’t see each other anymore. She got rather loud in her protests and started pleading with me. It was a little embarrassing in the middle of le Petit Amour, having her beg me not to break up with her,” he said.

“I’m sorry to hear things didn’t work out with you two. But, hey, good news on Jessica. Do you think she might be ‘the one’?” she wondered.

“I’m not sure about ‘the one’, but she has definite long-term potential. But I also met another woman a couple of weeks ago. Her name is Rose, and we went out for the third time last night. If there’s such a thing as ‘the one’, she’s it,” he replied.

“So, let me get this straight. You think you’ve found a long-term partner in this Rose woman. At the same time, you just got back together with Jessica, who you also say is a keeper. How is that going to work?” She asked, skeptically.

Roger snorted and said, “I’m not sure, yet. You know the munch that Stretch introduced me to? I’ve learned about poly relationships from them. It’s not unusual for some of the members to have more than one boyfriend or girlfriend at a time. The key is open communication. Jessica knows I’m dating someone else. Remember, her discomfort with it was one of the reasons we stopped dating. I’ve convinced her to have an open mind and give it a chance. I haven’t told Rose, yet. We’re getting together on Saturday and I’ll tell her then. She says she has some things she hasn’t told me yet, and will tell me on Saturday.”

“You know, Roger, you’ve been living a very charmed life recently. If you pull this off, I may place a statue of you in a shrine at my house and start worshipping you,” she said, chuckling.

“I know. I thank my lucky stars every day. Enough about me. How are things going with Dennis?” He asked.

“Pretty good. We just spent the weekend in Key West. Now he wants to introduce me to his daughter. I really like him, but ... is it too early to meet his daughter? That feels like a big step,” she wondered out loud.

“I think I know enough about women to know you don’t really expect me to answer that question. But, let me see if I can help. You say you really like him, right? Can you see yourself marrying him?” Roger asked.

“I’m not sure, yet. He’s definitely ‘marriage material’. He treats me well and has a good job. I like talking to him and spending time together. I guess I’m just not sure. I don’t exactly have a very good track record with long-term relationships. I think it’s made me gun-shy. Do I sound like a total basket case?” She responded, unsure of herself.

Roger chuckled and said, “You’re not a basket case. How you feel is totally understandable, given your past experiences. You’re allowed to be guarded with your feelings. Just don’t be too guarded. If you’re not open and honest with him, he may give up on you. Do you want my advice?”

She sighed, and said, “Sure.”

“It sounds like you’re not ready to meet his daughter. Tell him you think it’s a big step and you’re not sure you’re ready. If he’s the right guy for you, he’ll listen and understand. I think you’ll actually learn a lot about him and your relationship from this,” Roger advised.

“Thanks, Roger. I’ll do that. I’m glad I have you to talk to about this stuff,” Mandy replied, her voice rich with sincerity.

“I’m no relationship expert, but it’s the least I can do. You’ve been a great friend for the last couple years and helped me get back on my feet. I’m glad I can return the favor. Good luck,” Roger said.

When Roger came over on Saturday, Sage and Cindy sat with Rose and Roger to look through the photo albums. Rose showed him pictures of the small wedding that she had with Chuck. The girls smiled at the pictures of them as little babies. There were some more recent pictures of Sage and Cindy playing on their soccer teams.

When it came time to prepare dinner, Sage helped Rose in the kitchen while Cindy sat with Roger.

“So, Mr. Price, what do you do?” the bold eight-year-old asked.

“Well, Cindy, I’m an engineer.”

“What kind?” she asked, surprising him.

“Well, I went to school for mechanical engineering. Right now, I work as an aerospace consultant. I’m part of a team that advises airlines, the military and some defense companies about airplane engines. We help them figure out the best engine to put on their planes, depending on what they want the plane to do,” he informed her.

Cindy just stared at Roger and blinked, sorry she asked the question.

“My team reads a lot about airplanes and their engines and we tell other people what to do,” he tried again.

“Okay.” Cindy said and she shrugged her shoulders.

“What about you Cindy, do you like school and soccer?” He asked.

“School’s okay, I like hanging out with my friends. Soccer’s okay too. I really wanted to take gymnastics, but mom says we can’t afford it,” she responded, with a hint of sadness.

At dinner Roger asked Sage about her school and soccer experience.

“I have some good friends at school. I get bored in class sometimes, especially math. They spend a week teaching things that take, like, a day to learn.”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” Roger agreed.

“Soccer’s okay, but my friend Gina started taking ballet last year and I really wanted to, but mom said we just don’t have the money,” she said with a big sigh.

After dinner, Roger and Rose picked up the dishes while the girls set up “Life” on the dinner table. The foursome had a lot of fun driving their cars around the board. In the end, Sage won.

Later, when the girls were in bed, Roger and Rose sat on the couch drinking Irish coffee. While looking at her, Roger asked Rose about the girls, “Have you ever talked to Sage’s school about her math ability?”

“Yeah, they say she’s the best in her class, but they don’t have any programs to further challenge her,” she responded.

“What about Cindy, how does she do at math?” He asked.

“She does alright, but I don’t think math is her cup of tea. She’d rather catch bugs and study them with a magnifying glass,” Rose said.

“I see. And what about you, my lovely? Have you given any more thought to your career?” He continued.

“Yes, but let’s not talk about that now. I thought we were going to confess our secrets tonight,” she said, mysteriously.

“Yeah, you’re right. We did agree to that, didn’t we,” he said, cautiously.

“Yes. Should I go first, or you?” She asked.

“I’ll go first. But, just so you understand, the things I’m going to say may be shocking or offensive. The last time I talked to someone about these things, she got more than a little upset,” Roger started, slowly, as he looked Rose in the eye.

She stared at him, her face calm, with a slight furrow in her brow.

He continued, “I’m going to talk about some unconventional lifestyle choices that I’m pursuing. I’ll start with what I think is the easiest. I’ve started living a nudist lifestyle.” He paused, then continued, “What that means is, when I’m at home, I often walk around the house without any clothes on. That includes lounging by the pool and swimming,” he stopped talking to see how she would respond.

Rose relaxed her brow and said, “Okay. I often walk around my apartment without clothes on. So, that doesn’t sound like a big deal.”

“That’s good to hear. I didn’t think that would be a problem. But you never know, some people have strong reservations about nudism,” he said.

Rose shrugged and waited for Roger to continue.

“Let’s see how you feel about this next one. I’m looking for long-term romantic partners who are willing to have submissive relationships with me,” he revealed.

Rose maintained her passive expression and said, “I’m familiar with the concept. Can you tell me what that means to you?”

Roger sat quietly for a moment, a bit surprised by her response. He explained, “I’ll admit, I’m still learning about dom/sub relationships and all of my knowledge is second hand from listening to others in a special group called a munch. As I understand it, it’s built on a trusting relationship with well-defined roles and a significant degree of intimacy. For me, I see myself committing to making important decisions for both me and my sub and her committing to take the steps necessary for both of our happiness. I would expect you, for example, to be open-minded. Most importantly, we must have open communication about our wants and needs, and the decisions would reflect those wants. But I want to emphasize that I haven’t actually tried any of this yet.”

After contemplating Rogers’s words, Rose responded, “Huh. That’s interesting. But I don’t think it affects us right now, especially since you are trying to decide how you want to proceed. As we get more intimate, we’ll have to keep talking about it and figure out what works for us.”

Roger took a deep breath before saying, “I’m also looking for a relationship with more than one woman. In other words, you would not be my only romantic or sexual partner.”

Rose’s eyebrows raised at hearing this. She took her time considering this information. As they sat looking at each other, Roger reached over and enclosed her hand between both his hands.

Not sure how to interpret the silence, he commented, “Well, you haven’t kicked me out yet. I guess I didn’t completely repulse you.”