CHAPTER ELEVEN
“The Story Thus Far”
Wednesday, December 20th, night
As the two lovers lay there half asleep, the phone rang. Dave heard it but did not have the strength or desire to roll over and actually answer the phone. The phone rang six times and then voice mail answered it.
“Why didn’t you answer that?” Mishy asked. She had dozed off but the phone had woken her up.
“Didn’t have the strength,” Dave told her and kissed the top of her head.
“What if it was important?”
“I can’t think of anything that would be more important than what I’m doing right now.”
Mishy smiled and the two shared a quick kiss. Mishy laid back down and closed her eyes.
“Do you have to go home tonight?”
“Do you want me to go home?”
Dave smiled at the girl’s insecurity.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant were you planning to spend the night or do you need to go home?”
“I guess that’s up to you. I’ll stay if you want. No one at home will miss me.”
“Guess your staying then.” A moment later Dave said, “Mishy, have you ever been with another woman?”
Mishy shook her head no.
“Are you interested in experiencing it?”
Mishy opened her eyes and considered this question for a second. Then she lifted her head, rested her chin on Dave’s chest, and looked at him.
“What are you asking?”
“I’m asking are you interested in being with another woman? I can’t and won’t involve Emily. That’s between you and her but I do have an idea, if you’re interested.”
“What’s the idea?”
“Before we get into that, I want you to answer the question. Are you interested in being intimate with another woman? The woman won’t be Emily.”
Mishy laid there and thought for a long moment.
“I think I’d like to try it, yeah.”
Dave rolled onto his side. They faced each other and Dave looked into her pretty brown eyes.
“Before I say anything, I want your promise that you won’t get upset and I want you to tell me what you think and feel. Don’t tell me what you think I might want to hear but what you really think and feel. Understand?”
Mishy nodded again.
“There’s a young woman I know. She’s older but I think she might be willing to, shall we say, give you some experience. Would you be interested?”
“Who is she?”
“Doesn’t matter. I will tell you it wouldn’t be hard or take very long to organize. It could happen tonight, if you’re interested.”
“Are you sure she’d be interested?”
Dave chuckled. “I can almost guarantee it. So, should I arrange it?”
“Where would we…?”
“I’ve got an extra bedroom. It’s where Em and Hayley sleep…” Dave let the sentence die in mid-thought. “Shit!”
Dave rolled over and grabbed the phone off the hook, dialed a number, and put the phone to his ear.
“What’s wrong?”
“Em and Hayley are coming over. I’m not sure when though. Might be tonight.” Dave tapped in his four digit code to get into his voice mail account. “That might be who called earlier. Hold on. There’s a voice mail.” Dave listened to the voice mail and then hung up. He nodded. “That was them. They were leaving the house when they called.”
“Ohmigod, they could be here anytime.”
Mishy scrambled out of the bed and ran to the bathroom. Dave couldn’t help himself. Watching her jump out of bed and run to the bathroom, her adorable little ass wiggling, was a sight to see. He had to laugh.
Dave tossed the covers off and got out of bed. He went to his dresser, got a new pair of underwear, and slipped on the same pants he’d been wearing.
“I’ll bring your clothes from the living room,” he shouted through the closed bathroom door. Mishy hollered a thank you as Dave turned and left the room.
He stopped in front of the second bedroom, knocked lightly, and waited for Olivia to open the door.
“My girls, Emily and Hayley, are on their way over. Mishy is in the bathroom now cleaning up. Then she will be getting dressed and leaving. You might wanna start picking up in here as well.”
“Okay, David,” Olivia said with a nod.
Dave closed the door and continued out to the living room where he picked up Mishy’s clothes, which were scattered around the living room, and carried them back to the bedroom. He laid the clothes out on the bed and then got himself a clean shirt from the closet. He slipped the shirt on just as he heard the doorbell ring.
“Shit!”
He went over to the bathroom door and knocked. The toilet flushed, then the door opened and Mishy’s face appeared. “I think Em is here. She just rang the bell. Your clothes are on the bed. Go ahead and get dressed. I’ll keep the girls out of here.”
“What are you going to tell them?”
“Mishy, Emily arranged this. She probably saw your car out front. If so, she already knows you’re here. Hayley is going to be the problem. And trust me, you aren’t the only thing she’s going to wonder about. Get dressed. Go home. This is my problem, not yours.”
Mishy smiled. He bent down and gave her a quick kiss then left the bedroom, closing the bedroom door behind him and went to open the front door. The door bell had rung again while he was talking to Mishy and it rang a third time as Dave made his way down the hall towards the living room.
Dave peeked out the eye hole and saw Emily and Hayley’ s smiling faces on the other side.
“This is gonna get interesting,” he said to himself as he unlocked and then opened the door.
“Hi, girls.”
“I called. You didn’t answer,” Emily said as she picked up a suitcase and carried it into the apartment. Hayley followed behind her, also carrying a suitcase.
“I was busy. Set your suitcases down out here for the moment. We have some things to discuss before you all go settle in.”
The girls put their suitcases down against the wall and took a seat on the couch.
“Daddy,” Hayley asked as she sat down., “who’s boots are those?”
Hayley picked up Mishy’s boots and showed them to Dave and Emily. Dave wanted to kick himself. He had picked up all of Mishy’s clothes but had left her boots sitting beside the couch. Dave watched as Emily realized what was happening.
“Oh, my! Oh, God, I am so sorry.” She stood up and came over to him. “I seriously… I didn’t think. I’m so sorry, Daddy.”
She hugged him tight.
Dave lowered his head and whispered in Emily’s ear.
“She’s going to be more upset and embarrassed than you are. She’s in my bedroom getting dressed. Why don’t you go talk to her.”
Emily nodded and started for the bedroom.
“Em, take the boots.” Emily spun around, took the boots from Hayley, and headed for the bedroom.
“Daddy, what the beep is going on around here?”
Dave took a deep breath and went and sat down beside his youngest daughter.
“Hayley, I’m afraid that your sister and I have been keeping some secrets from you. Not necessarily because you couldn’t know, or because we didn’t want you to know. They are just not the kind of things you discuss with people. I promise you before the night is over you will know everything, but there are some things I have to deal with, including the person who’s feet belong in those boots, before I can take the time to explain it all to you.
“So, here’s what I’d like you to do. I need to talk to Emily, alone, for a few minutes. I’m afraid that if you’re here when I talk to her, you will find out things without any context and will become mad, upset or whatever. What I’d like you to do is take my car keys.” Dave pulled his keys from his pocket and held them out to her. “Go downstairs, get in my car, turn the radio to whatever station you want, and listen to some music for a few minutes. I promise you, I will be down in ten minutes and you and I, alone, will get some ice cream and I will explain everything. Will you do that for me?”
Hayley studied him for a moment, then took the keys and stood up.
“Daddy, I don’t know what is going on around here but whatever it is, I don’t think it’s anything that would upset me. But, I will do as you want and I will go and wait in your car.”
Dave stood up, hugged his youngest daughter and led her to the front door.
Hayley stopped just outside the door and turned back to Dave.
“Daddy, are you getting re-married?”
Dave smiled. “Probably some day, yes. But that isn’t what this is about.”
Hayley nodded and went off down the stairs. Dave closed and locked the door and then went over to the sliding glass door that led to the balcony and watched as Hayley exited the building and went to the car. He didn’t look away until she was in the car and the interior light had come on as Hayley searched for just the right radio station.
Dave turned and headed back to the master bedroom. He knocked once, lightly, then opened the door and went in without waiting for a response. Emily and Mishy were on the bed, Mishy was now fully dressed except for her boots which were sitting in front of the bed.
When Emily saw Dave, she stood up, went to him and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered. “You made Mishy very happy. And me, too.”
Dave hugged her back for a few seconds, then pushed her away and sat her down beside Mishy.
“Here’s the deal, ladies. Hayley is out in the car, waiting for me. She knows nothing about what’s been going on around here and I’d like to keep it that way until I have some time to put everything in context. So, here’s what’s going to happen.
“Em, I need to speak to you, alone, for a few minutes. Mishy, I would appreciate it if you would stay in the bedroom while we talk. Once we’re done talking, I will be going out with Hayley for some ice cream and to talk. Once we’re gone, Em will come back, tell you it’s safe, and you can go home. Will you do that for me, Mishy?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Emily, will you come with me?”
Emily nodded and followed Dave out of the master bedroom. As soon as the bedroom door was closed, Dave stopped her and turned her to face him. He put his finger to his mouth to tell her to be quiet. He then escorted her to the bedroom where Olivia was hiding, opened the door, and held up his hand to Olivia. Emily’s mouth fell open. Dave held his finger to his lips once more. Emily remained quiet and closed her mouth. Dave then shushed Olivia and waved for her to follow him and Emily.
Olivia nodded and followed Dave and Em out to the living room. Once there, Dave put himself between the two girls and made introductions. “Emily, you remember me telling you that something had come up on Tuesday, which is why I wouldn’t be home?”
Emily nodded.
“Emily, meet what came up. This is Dr. Olivia Barrett formerly of UCLA and Boston. Olivia, this is my oldest daughter, Emily Jean Bernard.”
The two women shook hands.
“Em, I’m sure you have lots of questions but, put simply, with Hayley sitting in the car, I don’t have time to answer them right now.” Dave turned to Olivia. “So, Olivia, I am ordering you, once I’ve gone out to talk to Hayley, to tell Emily everything you’ve told me. You are to answer her questions, honestly and truthfully. Understood?”
“Yes, David.”
Dave turned back to his daughter.
“Emily, I really wish I could be here to tell you all that’s happened but things have conspired against me, and as much as I hate to lay blame, most of it is your fault.”
Emily’s face dropped at this pronouncement.
“Don’t worry, Em. You’re not in trouble.
“Now, I’m going to go out with Hayley. We will probably be two hours or so. Emily, get rid of Mishy and then sit down and talk to Olivia. Right now, Mishy does not know Olivia is here. My recommendation is to keep it that way. Mishy is already embarrassed enough and finding Olivia here would just cause her to ask questions.”
Emily nodded in understanding.
“You both know where the formula is hidden, correct?”
Both women nodded. Em had seen where he hid the stuff the weekend before and Olivia had been in the bedroom with him when he had hidden the stuff the night before.
“Good. The new formula is sitting on the refrigerator. You have my permission to go in and get it but neither of you,” Dave said, looking right at Emily, “have my permission to use it. Understood?”
Both women nodded.
“Good.”
Dave gave Em a quick kiss on the cheek, gave Olivia a quick kiss on the lips, and headed for the door.
“Olivia, go hide again. Em, get Mishy out of here.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Em said.
“Yes, David,” Olivia said almost simultaneously.
David went out and got in the car with Hayley. She was polite enough to turn down the music before he got in the car.
“Okay, Daddy,” she said once he’d started the engine and was backing up, “you said you were gonna tell me what was going on.”
“Hayley, over the last week or so, I’ve done somethings, somethings that if you or your sister had done them, I would be very mad about and very disappointed in you. I’m not saying this as an excuse but rather as an explanation. Most of the things I did, I did because I didn’t realize the full impact of the action at the time, or, in one particular case, I did it because I felt justified in doing it.”
“You blackmailed Mom into letting us come over, didn’t you?”
Dave laughed. “Okay, Ms. Smarty-pants, you tell me what’s been going on.”
Hayley smiled, laid her head back, closed her eyes, and began to speak.
“First off, I don’t know what secret you and Em are hiding. I’ve known something was going on since Saturday or Sunday but I haven’t been with you enough to figure out what it is, and Emily has been very closed mouthed about the whole thing. I congratulate you on getting Em to keep a secret though.”
Dave chuckled at this. Emily was a horrible gossip, so her keeping a secret was a bit of a surprise.
“I know you had sex with Mom, good sex, too, from the way Mom looked and acted.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why do you say that?”
“It’s amazing what you notice but never think too much of. I remember before you and Mom broke up. I remember you two sneaking off to the bedroom sometimes, or sleeping late on Saturday mornings. It wasn’t until Mom moved us in with Paul that I noticed the difference though.
“On those days when you and Mom would sneak off, Mom would always come out nice and relaxed and have this funny little happy glow about her. I never noticed it until it stopped. Mom and Paul do the same things. They’re a little more open about it, probably because Em and I are old enough to understand what’s going on now. When Mom and Paul “sleep late” on Saturday mornings, she comes out nice and relaxed but the glow isn’t there. There’s also the fact that neither Em or I ever hear Mom when they’re having sex. We never said anything, but we could always hear Mom when you and her had sex. That alone was enough for Em and I to figure out that Paul probably isn’t much of a lover. But, it doesn’t matter because Mom isn’t with him for the sex. She’s with him for the money and because of who his friends are.”
“You don’t think your mother loves Paul?”
“Daddy, I’m not sure Mom’s capable of loving anyone.
“Anyway, Thursday afternoon when Em and I got home from school, we both noticed that the glow was back. At first, we both thought maybe Paul had come home for a nooner or something but we asked Mom about it and she said no. Then we thought she might be having an affair but she wouldn’t do that. She’s too afraid of losing Paul. It wasn’t until Em saw you and Mom together last Saturday that we put it all together.”
“Em told you about that?”
“No. I knew she had seen something when she came upstairs. It wasn’t until later that I put it all together, and it wasn’t until just now that I got confirmation of my suspicions.”
“Brat!”
Hayley smiled smugly.
“So what else do you already know?”
“I know that the “happy glow” is genetic.”
“What?”
“Emily has it, too. She has it every time she comes home from seeing Brian and she had it Sunday evening when I came back to the apartment. She told me she hadn’t gone out. She told me she told you about Brian but that she didn’t leave the house.”
“Smug little thing,” Dave growled.
Hayley’s smile just got bigger.
“Did you have sex with Emily, Daddy?”
“There’s no good answer to that so how ’bout I just say, that I will explain what happened between Em and I on Sunday along with everything else but not right now.”
“That’s fine, Daddy. I’m a patient girl.”
“What else do you know?”
“I know Emily is arranging to send friends over to the house to ‘entertain’ you.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It’s all over the school grapevine that Em is looking for some easy girls to entertain someone special. And I know it’s not Brian. That only leaves you. Plus, I recognized the boots. Unlike you Daddy, Mishy’s change isn’t news to me. I see her pretty regularly. Her, Emily and I all hang out at a lot of the same places. How am I doing so far?”
“Not bad. Go on. What else do you know?”
“Well, I suspect you’re using the fling with Mom to get permission for us to come stay. I hope that’s the justifiable thing you mentioned.”
Dave turned into a Sonic hamburger place and parked. After a quick discussion of what Hayley wanted, Dave pressed the call button and placed the order. Hayley, who was almost as bad a gossip as her sister, took the time to tell Dave everything that had happened over the last three days since they’d last seen each other. After the ice cream sundae’s were delivered, Dave rolled up his car window and turned to Hayley.
“Okay, pooh bear, here’s the story…”
Dave proceeded to tell her everything, starting way back on the previous Wednesday and moving right up the line until the moment she and Em had knocked on the door.
<—————————————————>
Back at the apartment, Emily managed to get Mishy out of the apartment in record time. She even walked her down to the parking lot and talked to her for a moment, standing beside the Prius. Finally, Mishy got in her car and left. Emily returned to the apartment and went immediately to where her father kept the SLuT9. She pulled it out. Emily slipped it in her pocket and headed out of the bedroom. Olivia was standing in the bedroom doorway when she came out of Dave’s closet.
“Did you get both bottles?” Olivia asked.
“Both bottles?”
Olivia nodded. She then came over, waved for Em to follow her, and went into the kitchen. She reached up to the top of the refrigerator, felt around and pulled the bottle down. She showed it to Emily and then handed it over.
“I hope you aren’t planning to use it on me. Your father won’t be back for two hours and I’ll go crazy by then. Trust me, Emily, once I tell my story you’ll understand why it isn’t necessary. I’m going to tell you everything. I’m not going to lie and I’m not going to withhold information. Your father ordered me not to.”
“That doesn’t mean you’ll follow that order.”
“In my case, yes, it means exactly that.”
“What?”
“Let’s go out to the living room. I need a drink and we should get comfortable. This is going to take a while to explain.”
<—————————————>
Just slightly less than two hours after leaving, Dave and Hayley pulled into the parking spot in front of the apartment building.
“So,” Dave said, turning off the engine, “you’ve had a few minutes to think. Any more questions?”
“You didn’t use it on Em?”
“Nope, she used it on herself.”
“Are you going to use it on me?”
“No, Hayley, I’m not. I already had sex with one daughter.”
“I’m not sure whether I should be thankful or insulted.”
Hayley undid her seat belt and climbed out of the car. Dave followed.
“This Olivia,” Hayley said as they started up the stairs, “she’s your devoted slave for the rest of her life, right?”
“That’s what she tells me and I believe her.”
Hayley didn’t look back as she walked. She kept her head down, watching the stairs.
“You should marry her.”
“Pardon me?”
Hayley stopped on the landing that led to Dave’s apartment and turned to him.
“She’s yours, Daddy. She’s yours for the rest of your life. She will always be here. Let’s say you start dating again, how are you going to tell her about Olivia?”
Dave thought about this and realized Hayley had a valid point.
“You might be able to keep Olivia and your dates from meeting. But that would only last until the woman moved in with you. At that point, if you don’t tell them about Olivia, that would be cheating, and look what Mom cheating did to you? Do you wanna put a woman, a woman you’ll probably love, do you wanna put her through that?”
Dave thought about this and then waved for Hayley to move. Hayley stepped aside and let Dave come up the last step and get to his apartment door. Dave used his key to unlock and open the door and stepped into his apartment followed by Hayley.
Olivia and Emily were sitting on the couch. Each had a drink setting on the coffee table and both were looking at him and Hayley.
“Did you two have a good talk?” Dave asked.
Emily got up and came over to her father and hugged him.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t know how much trouble I was causing. I really didn’t.”
“I know, Em.”
Everyone moved into the kitchen. Emily, Hayley and Olivia all sat at the kitchen table. Dave got himself and Hayley each a drink and then joined the women. Dave introduced Hayley and Olivia. The two seemed to take an instant like to each other.
“We have, or maybe I have, another problem. I mentioned it to Hayley but I don’t think you two know about it yet,” Dave said nodding to Em and Olivia.
“What’s that, Daddy?”
Hayley smiled. “Aunt Jennifer is insisting we come to her house for Christmas.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Hayley rolled her eyes. “She can be so smart but so dense sometimes. What’s Daddy going to do with Olivia while we’re over at Aunt Jenn’s?” she asked her sister.
Emily looked at Olivia, started to say something, stopped, and then looked back at Olivia.
“Shit! I was going to say leave her here but that wouldn’t be right. Definitely not over Christmas.”
“David, if that’s what’s needed.”
“No, Olivia. I’m sorry. It isn’t going to happen. Plus, who knows how long we’ll be gone. I’m not going to leave you in this apartment, all by yourself, over Christmas.”
“Speaking of Christmas,” Hayley said, looking at Olivia. “do you have any family?”
Olivia shook her head. “No. It’s part of the reason Jan took me in and I suspect it’s part of the reason that Jan sent me his work instead of one of his other lab assistants. Nobody is waiting for me back home, except my cat.”
“This is why I keep my daughters around. They’re smarter than I am. I should have thought to ask.”
“You’ve been otherwise occupied, David.”
“Shouldn’t she call you Master or something?” Hayley teased.
“I tried,” Olivia said, smiling. “He won’t let me.”
“Can we not talk about me like I’m not right here?”
“Daddy, what about sleeping arrangements? There are only three beds.”
“Oh that’s easy,” Hayley said. “Daddy just has to pick which of you two he wants to take to bed with him.”
Dave turned to Olivia, who was smiling at his situation just like Hayley and Emily were.
“This is why I let their mother take care of them most of the time. They’re both a couple of brats.”
All four broke down laughing.
They continued the discussion. Dave realized it was having numerous effects. First, the girls were able to give their ideas on how to handle not only going to Jennifer’s but also on the use of SLuT, how to explain Olivia, and, best of all, in his opinion, the three were getting to know and, from all appearances, getting to like each other.
“I think it’s the best idea, Daddy,” Emily finally said, agreeing with her sister. “We tell everyone that you and Olivia have been talking on the Internet. That you all had become friends, that she lost her job up in Boston, and came down to see about getting a new job. You two met since she was in the area, and clicked. You offered her a place to stay while she was here rather than staying in a hotel room. From there, things grow naturally.”
David realized all three of them were waiting for him to respond.
“It’s an idea. We don’t need to come up with a solution right now. We aren’t supposed to go to Jenn’s for a few days.”
“Daddy, we do need a solution tonight.”
“Why Hayley?”
“Simple, cuz tomorrow’s December twenty-first. Do you know why that date is special?”
“Winter solstice?” Dave asked hopefully.
“No, Daddy. Okay, it’s that too. But it’s Megan and Molly’s birthday.”
Megan and Molly were the fifteen, nearly sixteen, year old twin daughters of Jennifer’s.
“Why didn’t Jennifer mention that?” David asked out loud, more to himself than the others.
“Because most people remember their nieces birthdays.”
“I’m a man, Hayley. We don’t.” The three women all giggled at him. “If tomorrow is their birthday, then we need to get out tomorrow and get them some presents.”
“We already have, Daddy,” Emily told him.
“Brats, I tell you. Nothing but brats.”