Chapter 7

I went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of wine for Mom and one for Betty. Betty and I tried to calm Mom down enough to drink a little to settle her nerves. Tammy and Julie came rushing downstairs to find out what the problem was.

They saw Mom and Betty crying and wanted to know what was going on. I explained to them that Dad, Uncle Charlie, and Tim were in an accident and all three had been killed. They screamed "Nooo!" Then they both collapsed on the floor at my feet. I gently pulled them up and held them till they calmed down a bit. I held my sisters and Sharon and Betty who were holding each other, all crying, in a group hug. I too was dazed with all the happenings of the last few days. I was happy about some things and sad/guilty about others. In the background, the pervasive thought was: Perhaps our dream soon would come true.

About an hour later, all of them had calmed down enough so I could talk to them. In the meantime, I had sorted out most of my feelings about this sudden, tragic turn of events. I asked them please to sit on the couch so we could discuss the situation.

"I know we are all sorry that this happened, but it did. This was not our fault; it was the fault of the driver that ran the light. Unfortunate as this turn of events is, it will ultimately work to our benefit. Now, we have to decide what we are going to do."

"Betty, how are you going to handle this? Are you going to grieve and then get on with you life elsewhere? Or will you stay with the people that love you and who will help you raise your babies? In other words, does this disaster change things for you vis-à-vis our family? In fact, I think each of you should re-think things at this time and try to get your thoughts for your future sorted out, as difficult to do as that may be in these circumstances. I hope I don't seem too calculating, but we need to have a plan to get through this unscathed. For example, Betty, this is an opportunity to come live with us without anyone raising an eyebrow, if you still feel the same way. With things the way they are, it is more important than ever to avoid any hint of impropriety."

Betty sat there thinking what she really wanted in her life now. She'd loved her husband unreservedly for twenty years. To find out then that he had turned away from her because he was bisexual and was having an affair with her only son and her sister's husband, was soul-searing. Then she'd had sex with her sister's son and might even be pregnant by him. Plus, she had to admit to herself that she was and had been in love with her nephew for many years; only she had been too embarrassed and "proper" to admit it. She had yearned to have an affair with him for at least five years. She would have jumped into his bed at any time, if he had asked. "Shit! What to do?"

Out loud, after a short pause, she said, "Sharon, Jeff, Julie, Tammy, what I have to say is embarrassing and very private. For reasons of honesty and trust however, there are things about me you all should know. She looked at each of them, receiving sympathetic glances in return ... Then looking at Sharon, "Sis, this especially involves you and Jeff."

Sharon and I gazed at Betty and nodded. As she began haltingly, Betty looked at Sharon, "Sharon, my sweet loving sister! I have always loved you more than a sister should. About your comment earlier: yes I've swung both ways. But not since I've been married. However, if Jeff wants it, I will, with whomever he says."

Both Sharon and I looked at Betty with mouths hanging open in amazement. As I was about to speak, Betty looked at me and held up her hand to stop me. "Let me finish. This is tough, but I have to get it out. Jeff, this might surprise you. I've loved you from the moment you were born, but I fell in love with you when you were about14 years old". She got mystified looks from both Jeff and Sharon. "Jeff and Sharon please bear with me." "I know I loved Charlie and Tim, but not like Jeff; he does something to my insides that neither of them could ever do. Sharon, haven't you ever noticed that when I'm around Jeff, I can't say no to him?"

Sharon smiled and said, "I know how you feel. "Two days ago, after I confronted Jeff about what happened between us, he pulled me close and my resolve just melted and I knew I would do whatever he wanted me to do."

"So I think I know what you're about to say." Looking at Betty, "You're at least as submissive to Jeff, as I am".

Betty cast her eyes down while blushing. Then nodded and said "I would have climbed into his bed anytime, if he had asked." She went on, "It was so hard not to grab him any time he was around me. I wanted him to ravish me, take me any way he wanted, to knock me up with his babies. I wouldn't have cared if it happened in front of Charles or Tim, I would have left with him to get fucked or whatever he wanted and be dammed if it would have hurt their feelings. That's how much I love Jeff," she finished, blushing heavily".

Tammy and Julie had just sat through the whole conversation flabbergasted. Jeff, Betty and Sharon had almost forgotten about them till Julie coughed. They all looked at the girls and smiled, benignly.

Sharon asked them if they had anything to add to the discussion. Julie and Tammy looked at each other in their customary, silent communication, then both nodded.

Tammy began, "Aunt Betty, Sharon, Jeff! We love Jeff with all our hearts, that's why we are virgins. If Jeff never took our virginity we would each probably die old maids. We had decided never to give it to anyone but Jeff". "What no one knew is that while we waited for Jeff, Julie and I were lovers, helping each other till we could have him." "Yes, we loved you and Dad, but we have always been drawn to Jeff like moths to a flame". "We hated ourselves at times over the years because we loved him so much. We thought we were sick for loving Jeff like we did. We dated to find out if we could get over these feeling, and realized it disgusted us to be touched by other boys". "But we knew we had to, because it would cover our love for Jeff and the love we have for each other". "So now Mom ... Sharon, you know why we really had those talks with you. We were hoping you felt that way too, or at least would understand well enough to give us the green light to be with Jeff. "We finally decided you never caught on or were as much in denial about Jeff as we had been."