Chapter 28

Jack wasn't sure if it was the six times Allison asked that evening if she could help him with anything, the eye-rolling Abigail gave whenever she asked it, or the way they practically fought over who got to refill his water glass at dinner or put his dirty clothes in the laundry room a millisecond after he pulled them off. Whatever it was, he knew they were up to something.

Allison had just returned from taking the clothes to the laundry room.

"OK, both of you, sit down," he said, in a tone that made it clear he expected no argument.

Allison immediately sat on the edge of the bed. She blushed when he made eye contact with her. She looked nervous. Abigail had been washing her face in the bathroom, and she was still drying it when she came out. She looked a little perturbed at his forcefulness, but she didn't say anything, at least not until she sat next to her sister.

She gave Allison a smirk. "And your approach was supposed to be better than mine?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack asked, as he looked down on his two lovers. He tried to look forceful and authoritative, but they all knew he was a softy. "What are you two up to?"

"We think you should have sex with Brianna," Abigail blurted out.

"Abigail!" Allison hissed.

Jack stood frozen, his jaw open. He wasn't sure he heard his wife correctly.

"Oh, close your mouth, Jack," Abigail said, with another eye roll.

He closed his mouth, but then narrowed his eyes.

"Very funny. What's this really about?"

"She's serious, Jack," Allison said, with a sigh.

He looked from one sister to the other. "She's serious, huh?"

They both nodded.

"This is some kind of test, isn't it?" he asked, though he was pretty sure it wasn't. "You're just trying to see if I'll respond appropriately."

"I think you need to listen to Allison's reasons," Abigail said, matter-of-factly.

"I don't need to listen to any reasons! It's absurd!"

"Shh..." Abigail admonished. "You don't want Brianna to hear you REJECT her."

Jack's eyes opened wide. "She already knows about this?!"

"No," Allison said, "I wanted to wait until you agreed before saying anything."

Abigail stood up and put her hands on her hips as she glared at Jack. "Allie wanted to wait because she loves her friend enough to shield her from REJECTION."

"Why on earth would you want me to have sex with your best friend?" he asked Allison. He was still reeling.

"Oh, will you make up your mind?" Abigail asked. "Do you or don't you want to hear Allison's reasons?"

"I want to know what possessed her to come up with this idea."

Abigail gave a dramatic sigh. "Not that it will matter what Allie says, since you've already REJECTED Brianna."

Jack ground his teeth in frustration. "Will you stop saying that? I didn't reject her!"

Allison popped up from her seat. "So you'll do it?" she asked, hopefully.

Jack closed his eyes and willed himself to be calm. "I didn't say that."

"Will you make up your mind already?" Abigail asked.

"AAARGH!" Jack threw up his hands, even though he knew it was exactly the kind of response Abigail was hoping to get out of him.

"Shh..." Abigail admonished, trying not to laugh. "You don't want her to hear you RE—"

"Don't say it!" Jack growled at her. She closed her mouth, but she looked ready to bust a gut. He pointed from his wife to the bed. "You, sit down. I'll get to you later."

"Please, Jack," Allison pleaded. She took his hand and pulled him as she sat down. He allowed himself to be pulled down between the sisters. "We've talked about this before, you know, sharing the intimacy of our relationship with those we care about."

"Don't you care about Brianna?" Abigail asked.

Jack shot a glare at his wife. "Dammit, Abigail!"

She made a show of locking her lips and throwing away the key.

"We talked about this," Allison repeated.

"We had ONE conversation," he said. "We need to think this through, Allie, really discuss it. We have to look at how this will affect our relationship, how it will affect our relationship with our friends. We need to make sure it's right for US."

"It IS right," Abigail said firmly, despite her promise not to say a word.

"We don't have time to discuss it anymore," Allison pleaded. "Brianna will only be here for a short time, and with the wedding... ," she let her words trickle off.

"Why are you so insistent that I have sex with Brianna right now?"

"One of the reasons Brianna came out here was so that she could work through some things. She's confused about her sexuality. She's confused about her relationship with Merrigan, and to a lesser extent, with Ben. She's at a crossroads where the experiences of her life could push her one way or another. I want her to have everything she needs to make the right decisions."

"How will having sex with me clear up her confusion? Won't that just muddy things?"

"I don't think so. I know Brianna. She needs to know if she'll like sex with guys. Until she's been with a guy, she'll be ... unsettled. She'll always wonder, and that's not fair to Merrigan. If Brianna and Merrigan are together, I want there to be no doubts."

Jack thought about her words for a minute. They seemed absurdly logical. "I can understand that, but why me? Why not some other guy? Why not Ben?"

"Ben and Merrigan have feelings for each other, too. It's too complicated. She needs to experience sex with a guy without all the emotional turmoil. I don't want to leave it up to 'some other guy'. Too often a girl's first time is so ... so unpleasant."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And you know this because YOUR first time was unpleasant."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Of course not, but I have friends, Jack. Girls talk. Many of my friends didn't have a first time as wonderful as mine."

"Many of my friends were in the same boat," Abigail interjected, "And I think you just proved Allison's point. HER first time WAS pleasant, and so was MINE. You really know how to make love to a virgin."

"And every other time has been pleasant, too," Allison said.

"I agree," Abigail said, "You're a wonderful lover, Jack."

Jack flopped back on the bed. "This is crazy."

Allison rolled onto him and straddled his hips. She put her hands on his chest and leaned forward. "This is the only way that Brianna can go back to Tennessee with less confusion."

"You hope," he said, but as he looked into his young lover's sapphire blue eyes, he knew he'd do it.

"I don't hope, I KNOW," she said.

"You're assuming that Brianna will want to go along with this."

Abigail slid up and nestled into the crook of his arm. "She's smitten with you, Sweetheart, she'll agree."

"What about you two?" he asked. "Is she going to make love with you?"

The girls shot each other a look, which made Jack smirk.

"Hadn't thought of that, huh?" he said, misinterpreting their look.

The girls obviously communicated without words, because Allison turned back to Jack.

"We won't be there. It'll just be you two."

Abigail slipped her arm around his middle. "When I first brought up having an open relationship, I was thinking that we'd set a rule that we were all present whenever one of us was with another person, even if all of us didn't participate. I don't think that's the right thing in this case."

Jack turned to look into Abigail's dark brown eyes, and was moved by the hope he saw there. Was he getting ready to agree to make love to Brianna ... ALONE?

"I'll only agree to this on one condition," he quietly said. "We're going to do this right. Dinner, entertainment, and a romantic conclusion right here in our apartment. I won't let it be rushed; I want it to mean something to both of us."

Allison squealed and fell on him, kissing his face until he laughed. Abigail's hand cupped his cheek and turned his head so she could soundly kiss him. "Be careful, Mr. Williams. You are liable to make her fall hopelessly in love with you."

Jack furrowed his brow. "So you think a romantic date is a bad idea?"

"I think it's perfect," she smiled, then kissed him again. "So you'll do it?"

Allison wiggled against Jack's cock, which Jack suddenly realized was rock-hard.

"Oh, yeah, Abigail," Allison giggled. "He'll do it."

"Remember the other day when I said you need to get laid?"

Brianna looked surprised by that question. "Yeah," she warily said.

"I still feel that way."

Brianna rolled her eyes. "Whatever. We already decided that Ben was off-limits."

'Actually, YOU decided that, ' Allison thought. Instead, she said, "OK, so we find someone else for you then."

Brianna's eyes narrowed. "Is this what you were doing the other day? Trying to hook me up with Chris?"

"No, I wasn't trying to hook you up with him, though it wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?"

Brianna gasped. "I can't do a casual hookup! I-I'm not wired that way. I would need to actually FEEL something for the guy first."

"So you would be open to being together with a guy if you had feelings for him?"

Brianna's eyes opened wide. "Wha--? No, wait, I didn't say that."

"Well, you SORTA did. You said you'd have to feel something for the guy before you could have sex with him."

Brianna blushed. "Well, I would think that would go without saying. But—"

"OK, so are there any guys, other than my baby brother, that you would consider?"

"I can't believe we're talking about this."

"Come on, I'm serious, Bri. You have so many doubts about your relationship with Merrigan, but you can't really even consider a relationship with her because you can't get past this sexual orientation roadblock."

Brianna's brow furrowed. "But aren't they one and the same?"

"I don't think so. Look, every relationship, even the straight ones, are faced with doubts about whether the other person is really the right one. I don't think you are able to separate your feelings about Merrigan from your feelings about being a lesbian."

Brianna blushed again. "I don't know, Allie. I didn't come out here with plans to lose my virginity."

"Do you trust me, Bri?"

Brianna didn't hesitate. "Of course."

"Then trust me when I say you need to clear up this sexual orientation thing before you can even CONSIDER a relationship with Merrigan. You need to know if guys do it for you at all."

"What's it going to matter?" Brianna moaned. "I pushed Ben and Merrigan together. For all I know she's already scribbling 'Merrigan hearts Ben' all over her Algebra notebook."

"Don't be silly. It's summer; she probably doesn't even HAVE her Algebra notebook anymore." Allison teased.

Brianna rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"And you know what I mean. OK, maybe you don't get back together with Merrigan, but you still need to know if the next person you should be pursuing is a she ... or a he." Allison raised an eyebrow at Brianna. "Or you need to know whether or not the gender really matters at all."

Brianna slumped back in her chair. "I'm so confused! I don't know what to think."

"Trust me?"

"Yes."

"Are there any guys, other than my baby brother, that you would consider to take your virginity?"

Brianna sighed in defeat, but looked like she was really considering the question. After a few minutes, she sighed again. "Nobody that is legal."

"You want to do it with little boys?" Allison asked, in mock surprise.

"Ew, no! I didn't mean ILLEGAL illegal. I meant illegal as in off-limits for one reason or another."

Allison crossed her mental fingers that Brianna was considering Jack. "For the sake of this discussion, let's assume that no consenting person is off-limits. Who would you consider, then? You have someone in mind, don't you?"

Brianna blushed and looked away.

Allison leaned forward. "One of the boys from school?"

"Why would I consider them off-limits?"

Allison shrugged. "Girlfriends, maybe?"

"Oh. No, it's no one from school."

"Dex?"

Brianna's blush darkened at the mention of her brother-in-law. "He's hunky, and yes, I do care about him, but he doesn't do it for me."

"So are you telling me this mysterious guy makes your panties wet?"

"Allison!"

Allison's eyebrows shot up. "Your DAD?!"

"NO! Dear Lord, Allison, I'm not interested in my dad..."

"He's a hunk."

"I love my dad, but no way. It's not even someone back home."

Allison's expression didn't change, but inside she was pumping her mental fist. She pretended to think about it.

"Well, you already said you couldn't do 'casual', so that rules out Chris and Ryan, so unless you have been sneaking off to meet some guy around here at night, that can only leave one guy."

Brianna smirked. "You already knew I had a crush on Jack. Was this game really necessary?"

"Nah, but it was fun. Besides, I didn't want to presume. Liking him is one thing; considering him to take your virginity is another."

"It's all a moot point anyway. He's off-limits."

Allison crossed her fingers—physically this time—and hoped for the best. "What if ... what if he wasn't off-limits?"

"It's a moot point, Allison, because he IS."

"Brianna, what if Jack WASN'T off limits."

Brianna gave her a confused look for about two seconds, and then her eyebrows opened wide. "What?! Jack wouldn't agree to that! Abigail would NEVER agree to that! I can't believe you would even suggest it."

A slow smile spread across Allison's face. She knew she had Brianna now.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. They've already agreed to it."

Brianna mouth opened as wide as her eyes, and she stared, dumbfounded, at Allison. After an inordinate amount of time, Allison's smile slipped a little.

"Well?" she asked Brianna, "Say something."

"Y-you g-guys talked about J-Jack and me, you know ... doing it?"

Allison slowly nodded, no longer confident in her agenda. "I'm sorry, Bri. I wasn't trying to talk about you behind your back, but I needed to see if they were OK with it before I pitched the idea to you."

"Jack wants to have sex with ME?" Brianna's eyes remained wide open as she squirmed in her chair.

Allison's grin widened again. "Oh, yeah."

"You didn't coerce or force him to say that?"

"Well, he put up socially-acceptable resistance, but it really didn't take much to convince him. He adores you, and he thinks you're sexy."

"Get out!" Brianna squirmed more. "And Abigail doesn't have a problem with this idea?"

"She thinks it's a brilliant idea."

Brianna blinked twice. "I can't have sex with Jack!"

"Why not?"

"I don't know! I can't think straight at the moment!"

Allison giggled. "Why not?"

Brianna blushed, but said nothing.

Allison leaned towards her friend. "Com'n, Brianna, why can't you think straight?"

"Because I'm horny!"

Allison laughed and clapped her hands. "Perfect! That makes two of us!"

Brianna covered her red face with her hands, but then she started giggling, too. It took a minute for both girls to settle down.

"So, how would something like this work?" Brianna asked.

"You'll do it?" Allison just wanted confirmation.

"A part of me says this is the most insane idea I've ever heard, but another part of me says why the hell not! I mean, I care about him and I think he's hot, and since you and Abigail are all for it ... My only real concern is that I would want it to mean something to Jack, too. I don't want to be a casual hookup for him, either."

"Trust me, Bri, just like you, Jack doesn't do 'casual'. He had one condition he wanted before he would do this."

"Really?"

"He insists on it being a full-blown romantic evening. He said he would only go through with it if you guys did the evening right."

Brianna was quiet for a long time. When she looked up, her eyes glistened. "You guys are so awesome! That he wants to make it special for me is so sweet, and I know I won't be as nervous with you there."

Allison frowned. "We, um, we won't be there. Abigail and I think it should just be you two."

Brianna was shaking her head before Allison finished. "If Jack can have conditions, I can, too. I won't do this unless you're there. I love you, Allie. Just having you there will keep me calm. Abigail should be there, too, since Jack belongs to both of you."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I mean, the date part can be me and Jack. Oh, and you and Abigail won't actually have to be involved in the ... you know ... act, but when we get to that point, I want you there with me."

Allison felt her own eyes burn with tears. She hugged Brianna. "Then I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Please have a seat," Bill said as he ushered Sharon into the dining room of the Donathon home. He pulled a metal folding chair out from underneath the card table. "Sorry, they're not the most comfortable of chairs."

"It's fine," Sharon said as she accepted the seat, still holding the apple pie she'd baked. She looked around at the stacks of boxes lining the walls. "You look like you are close to being finished."

Bill was moving half-empty boxes off the card table. "We're down to the last few boxes, and then we have to load the U-Haul, of course. Then I can finally rest."

"Oh, no, not until we clean the house from top to bottom," Barb said, as she came into the room carrying a small box. "Welcome, Sharon!"

Sharon stood. "Good afternoon, Barbara."

Barbara set the box on a stack of boxes. "Please, let me take that pie." She glanced over at Bill with a scolding look in her eyes. She took the pie from Sharon, gave the other woman a hug, and moved to the kitchen counter. "Thank you for coming by and bringing such a wonderful treat. We've been resorting to fast food and Oreos for the last three days. This smells wonderful, and will likely be our last homemade food for another week or so."

Sharon smiled at Barbara's comment. "You're welcome. So what are you plans after you finish up here?"

"We'll enjoy a short visit with our family before Bill needs to start his new job."

Sharon was surprised. She assumed he was retiring from the ministry for good. "Oh, I wasn't aware you were going to another church."

Bill moved to the kitchen to help his wife. "It's not really a new church, per se." He began pouring milk into plastic cups. He seemed too hesitant to say his next words. "I'm going to filling the position of Chaplain at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington."

Sharon's eyes opened wide. "That's Abigail's hospital! You are going to be working with my Abbie?"

Bill smiled. "She actually offered me the position. She made it very hard to refuse."

Sharon felt the lump already forming in her throat. She was shocked by the news, and also by the fact that she felt jealous. They were going to be able to see Abigail and Allison, probably Analise, too! Then a new thought hit her. They could watch over her girls, be there for them when they needed parental advice. She felt ... hopeful ... for the first time in a long time.

"I hope you don't mind eating on a paper plate with a plastic fork," Barb said, pulling Sharon from her thoughts. She smiled at Bill and patted his arm as he stood next to her. "I'll just serve the pie and leave the two of you alone."

"Please stay," Sharon quickly said. "I would love to talk to you, too."

Barb glanced at Bill. "Are you sure? I know the things you have to talk about must be ... personal."

Sharon wasn't sure why she wanted Barb to stay, but there was something in having them both present ... together ... that comforted her. "I'm sure. It might be nice to have your insight as a ... as a woman ... and a mother."

Barb smiled warmly and brought two plates over. She handed one to Sharon and settled in the seat next to her. Bill brought them each a cup, and then retrieved his own pie and milk before sitting across from Sharon.

"You do that well together," Sharon said.

Barb hesitated before taking a bite of pie. "Do what well?"

Sharon found herself surprisingly at ease. She was shocked at how much she wanted to talk to them, to share her feelings and thoughts, and get theirs in return.

"Work together," she replied, "You work well together. It's obvious that you are a team."

Bill was silent, content for Barb to take the lead. "Well, yes, we do," she said. "We've always enjoyed spending time and doing things together."

"Does he often help you in the kitchen?"

"Oh, yes. He's quite the accomplished assistant."

Sharon saw the way Barb looked at her husband. There was so much adoration in her eyes. He returned her look with an identical one. It seemed almost surreal to Sharon.

"Assistant is a nice way of saying 'go-fer'," Bill laughed. "She tells me what she needs, and I go-fer it."

Sharon smiled, but was too absorbed in her observations to laugh.

Barb lovingly patted Bill on the arm again. "But your help makes my cooking possible, Dear."

"It's amazing," Sharon almost absently said, as she watched how comfortably they interacted, how lovingly they touched and talked to one another.

Barb seemed surprised by Sharon's comment. "What is, Dear? My cooking or our teamwork?"

Sharon seemed to snap out of her trance. She blushed embarrassingly at her flightiness. "I'm sorry, Barbara, both actually." Sharon looked down at her pie and finally took her first bite.

"Thank you, Sharon," Barb said. Then she pointed her fork at her pie. "You are an excellent cook, as well."

Sharon took another bite and slowly chewed, thinking about her husband. When she swallowed, she looked up and found it hard to see the couple through the tears in her eyes. "Imagine how well we could have done if we were a team."

She couldn't keep her emotions in check any longer. She covered her eyes with one hand and cried. Warm arms embraced her.

"There, there, Dear," Barb whispered in her ear, "There, there."

Sharon didn't know how long she cried, but Barb never let her go. Her tears eventually stopped and she looked up. Bill held a napkin out for her. She wiped her cheeks and nose and tried to smile.

"You are so happy together," she said, in a trembling voice. "I know it's a sin to be envious, but I can't help it. I guess I'm a sinner."

"Nonsense," Barb said, "There is nothing wrong with wanting such a righteous desire."

Sharon didn't know how to respond to that. She looked into her lap and nervously began twisting the napkin around her fork.

"Sharon?" Bill quietly said.

She looked up. "My marriage is a farce. It always has been. I was just too blind to see it."

Bill shook his head. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You weren't blind; you were hopeful. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. You couldn't have known..." He let his voice trail off.

"I couldn't have known that my husband was so despicable, so dishonest? Maybe I couldn't have known at first, but I chose to remain ignorant, in spite of the many signs around me." Sharon felt the rage boiling inside her. She knew it was just barely contained. She clinched her fists and heard the plastic fork snap. She slapped it on the table in disgust and looked at her host and hostess. "And now that vile man has cost me my family!"

They were silent for a long moment, for which Sharon was grateful, because she was able to get her emotions in check. She was left with a touch of embarrassment at her outburst, but only a touch. Barb finally took her hand.

"I might be blaspheming a bit, and I don't mean to trivialize your situation, but ... maybe your marriage has run its course."

Sharon leaned back. "Are you saying I should end it, get a divorce?"

Bill cleared his throat, and both women looked at him. "Sharon, there are times, I believe, when the divinely-anointed institution of marriage has been tainted by the failings of God's children, times when for one reason or another, there is no longer sanctity in it." He sighed. "I believe that in some cases, God removes his blessing from the union, because remaining in that relationship would be harmful to one or both of the individuals involved in it."

"And you think mine is one of those cases?" Sharon felt the sadness like a crushing weight. "Then I've failed God, my children ... myself."

"No, Sharon, you have not failed. You have remained faithful in the midst of insurmountable odds. A successful marriage requires all parties to be committed, to meet together on an equitable footing. Just as you noted earlier, successful marriage requires teamwork, people working together for a common goal. Just like a pair of yoked oxen with different goals is destined to fail, so is it with a husband and wife. I can honestly say that I believe that you and your husband no longer have a common goal, and I can just as honestly say that it is NOT you who has failed in this."

Bill's words struck Sharon in a way she'd never felt before. She was sure she was at least equally to blame, if not more so, for the destruction of her family, but for the first time she realized what Bill had been trying to say during all his hours of counseling. Even if she kept striving to follow God's will, to raise her family up in the path of righteousness, she knew Ted's divergence from that path impeded all of them. She felt a new emotion welling up inside of her. Ted's pious and hypocritical behavior had muddied the path, so she and her children were left to find the best alternative course. How many others had lost their way because of him? His power stretched far into their church and their community. He was a bully and a manipulator. Sharon's biggest sin was only that she ignored the signs that were now so clear to her. Bill's next words pulled her from her thoughts.

"You are one of God's daughters. He desires you to be happy, loved, and fulfilled. Cursed is the man who interferes with God's desire. The scriptures are full of verses declaring that God views His daughters as precious. Don't get me wrong; He feels His sons are, too, but He speaks of His daughters with such reverence, gentleness, and love."

"Even if they've sinned?" Sharon asked. "Even if they've diverged from His ways? Do they lose favor in his eyes?"

"Sharon, you have done nothing wrong. You have not diverged from His ways."

"But what of my daughters, Bill? Have they not gone astray? Have they lost His affection?"

Bill was quiet for a few moments while he appeared to gather his thoughts. "Sharon, you know the scriptures tell us that a bond between a husband and wife should be second to none, including the strong bond between them and their parents. In a perfect world, the couple's bond assimilates into the existing familial bonds and is strengthened by love and support from their parents. However, there are times when for a marriage to really succeed, for a couple to become one, they must leave their parents behind, break the bonds that already existed." Bill's expression saddened. "Your daughters were driven away by their father. It was necessary to break that bond with you, as much as it pains you, in order to build and strengthen the bond with Jack and ... and with each other."

Sharon shook her head. "I understand that concept for Abigail and Jack, but how does Allison fit in. How can it be good for her to strengthen bonds such as the ones she has formed?"

Barb squeezed Sharon's hand. "She has chosen an alternative path, one not viewed as traditional. You don't have to agree with that choice, their lifestyle, or their moral beliefs, but you could still celebrate the love and happiness they have found."

"Celebrate my daughters sinning?"

Bill sighed. "Sinning by whose standards? Yours? Mine?"

"God's!" Sharon said, but she wasn't so sure of her stance anymore.

"You mean God's standards as traditional Christianity has declared? Remember the story of Jacob, a righteous man who married two sisters. God's chosen people were the result of those two unions."

Sharon hadn't thought of it that way. Bill's example made things seem so clear, so obvious; she chided herself that she didn't see it herself. "I ... I guess there is some precedent for this, but what about Abigail and Allison. Jacob's sister-wives weren't intimate with each other."

"They weren't? Do you base this on scripture ... or on conservative Christian dogma?"

Sharon was stunned. "Are you saying that they WERE?"

"What I'm saying is that we cannot judge people based on our own beliefs if they are based on assumption and hearsay. I've counseled with Abigail, Allison, and all three together. They are happy in their union, and they sincerely believe that God has sanctioned it. You can be happy for them, love and accept them, or you can let it drive the wedge deeper into your family."

Sharon was sure that she had never heard Bill make such a bold statement from the pulpit. His view WAS contrary to all she had been taught, but she found herself becoming more accepting of this view as the seconds ticked away. She looked up at her long-time spiritual leader and his dear wife, seeing them in a different light—a brighter light—than ever before. Were they just giving her justification for her daughters' choices? Were they just giving her an easy out from her marriage? She decided she didn't care, because their words brought peace to her heart for the first time in ages. With this peace came resolve and courage.