First Year After Ch. 03

Uncle Dave asked, "Does my Mom know about this?"

I leaned forward and, trying to stay calm, answered, "Why, Uncle Dave? Because you think she'll disapprove? I... don't... care. It's not her wedding, it's mine and Patti's. If she wants to fuss and fume about some aspect of another of it, I'll disinvite her, I really will. And you can tell her I said that, if you want. I don't owe her the right to ruin our day, just because she's my grandmother."

Uncle Dave looked spooked. "God, did you ever sound just like Tom just now. Of course, you're right, Drew. Not that being right ever matters when it comes to my Mom. But I promise, I'll help run interference, if needed."

"Me too," said Uncle Tony.

"Me three," said Aunt Toni.

"Thanks," I said.

We'd used up half of the provided firewood, and wanting to have another fire the next night, let this one burn down, and then put it out with sand. Mom, Patti and I said our goodnights, and walked down the row of houses to ours, and let ourselves in through the porch door.

Mom practically attacked me once the door was closed, showering me with kisses. "God, I so wanted to do this on the beach, when you were taking a stand against Marion and her criticisms. You didn't get angry, just firm, like your Dad always was. Dave was right, you did sound a lot like your Dad doing it, and in the firelight, you even looked more like him. I got so wet, I'm surprised people couldn't hear me squish when we left. Come make love to me."

Patti spoke up, "You're not the only one who got turned on by that, Tina. He was defending my choice, after all. Make love to both of us."

So we went to the bedroom, disrobed, and I laid on my back. Mom and Patti both licked my cock until it was hard, then Mom mounted me, while Patti sat on my face. I think my wives liked this position the best because it let them kiss and play with each other's tits, and help the one on my cock cum by rubbing her clit. I was dealing with a little bit of sand that had gotten into Patti's bathing suit, but soon cleared that away, and licked her thoroughly, while thrusting up into Mom with my hips.

Patti came first, and lifted her leg over me, and as she did, I turned my head.

And out the window, I could see Aunt Toni, watching us, transfixed. When our eyes locked, she jumped, and ran out of sight. "Oh, fuck! Aunt Toni was watching us."

I pushed Mom off of me, grabbed my swim trunks, and ran after Aunt Toni. I could see her, not running towards her cabin, but towards the water. I ran after her, calling out, "Aunt Toni, Aunt Toni!"

She reached the water's edge, stopped, and I caught up to her. She finally turned, her arms wrapped around herself, looking not horrified, not angry, but terrified.

"Aunt Toni? Are you okay?" I asked.

She grabbed me to her, wrapping her arms around my neck and started sobbing, just as a wave swirled around our feet. I walked her up to dry sand, and actually had to pick her up she was holding me so tight, so that I could sit us down, winding up with her in my lap, still holding onto me for dear life. I stroked her back, trying to calm her, before I could talk with her. The sobs finally subsided, and her grip relaxed.

"Aunt Toni," I whispered. "I know what you saw, and really didn't expect that this would be the reaction it would provoke. Is there something else going on?"

She pulled away enough to look in my eyes. "Drew, can you keep a secret?" she said, with a definite tremble in her voice.

So it was something about her. I said, "I thought so, but I guess I just failed tonight to keep my biggest one, and now you know it. But I think you can trust me, if I can trust you."

Tina thought about that a moment. "Yes, I'll keep your secret, if that's what you're asking. I was... out looking at the waves, just like last night, and I noticed that the lights were still on in your cottage. I walked up, thinking we could all talk some more, but before I got to your porch, I could see through the window, and you were... were..."

I hugged her tighter, and said, "Making love to Patti and Tina. It's okay, I guess we can say it out loud now."

"Right," she said. "It actually was beautiful, Drew. I was getting little feelings all weekend, like the relationship between you and Tina and even between Patti and Tina had changed in a pretty significant way, but told myself I was imagining things. Except for being angry at myself for violating your privacy and spoiling the moment, it's not what got me upset."

"So what is, Aunt Toni?" I asked. "Is it the secret you're asking me to keep?"

She took a deep breath, before saying, "Seeing the three of you... made me flash back to when I caught my Dad and sister having sex, back when I was your age and she was 18. After my Junior year in college, I came home from my summer job a couple hours early, and... caught them fucking in the living room, and instead of running away or stopping them, I... joined in. I didn't think twice. I'd fantasized about Dad for a while. They'd been doing it for about six weeks, and I'd been home for two of them and missed certain signs. The... position you were in, it was one of my favorites with Dad and Mona. And watching you brought it all back. Except it... it didn't end well for us, Drew. Incest basically destroyed my family. And I guess I still haven't recovered from that."

"How did it destroy your family?" I asked. "As you can imagine, we may have to deal with similar risks."

She nodded, and said, "Well, at first, everything was good, sex with Dad was great, better than my fantasies. However, halfway through the summer, Mona started getting more and more jealous of me, started picking fights, refused to have sex with me or sex with Dad and me at the same time, and Dad was taking her side, every single time. I finally had to tell him I was backing away from it and letting Mona have him, and then I went back to college, prepared to move on. Mona and I barely talked the last weeks of that summer, even though the fights stopped once she'd gotten her way."

She took another deep breath, and continued, "After I was back at school, though, I got a call from her, crying, saying that she was pregnant. And of course, it was Dad's baby. She was on birth control, but must have missed taking her pills on time, or they weren't effective. She went into labor in the middle of a store, about two weeks early, was taken to the hospital and delivered, all while Dad was out of town on business, and I still had seven weeks left in school. She was staying with our grandparents, but the hospital didn't call them. And when the hospital staff handed her the birth certificate form to fill out, she was either still affected by the drugs or just didn't think clearly, and actually put Dad down as the father. Well, you can imagine what happened next. They arrested Dad, got him to provide a DNA sample that I suspect was against his will and could have been tossed out in court, and tested the baby, confirming him as the father. He... died in jail even before he could be convicted in court, because everyone there thought he was a child molester, and someone cut his throat."

"Oh, god," I said.

She took another breath, and continued, "DCS took the baby away from Mona, threatening her with prison, too, and she had a mental breakdown, and then killed herself six weeks later when she got the news about Dad dying, before I could get back to her. They died within 12 hours of each other. I barely passed my finals, and graduated with nobody in the audience. My grandparents still won't talk to me, to this day, because they're sure I knew, and suspect I was involved. I don't know where my niece is, the authorities still refuse to tell me. She'd be 15 now. Maybe once she's 18, and if she even knows she was adopted, she might try to search for her birth parents and wind up finding me, but I'm not hopeful. DCS questioned me about what I knew, but I denied knowing anything, and they had no proof otherwise, but even the suspicion that I knew and said nothing is enough in their minds to keep her away from me. I'm almost lucky my Dad's life insurance didn't have the chance to lapse before he was killed, or I'd have lost everything. After our savings ran out, It let me keep up with the mortgage until I could sell the house. Then I moved away and got my career started, away from all the people who knew because of the press and it's 'right to know'."

"I'm so sorry, Toni, that must have been horrible," I said.

Toni lowered her head to my shoulder, before saying, "Thanks, honey. I've never actually been able to tell anyone else about it, and I guess it's been bottled up inside."

Mom and Patti must have been searching the beach towards where Grandma's cottage was, and finally caught up to us. "Drew, Toni? What's going on?" Mom asked.

I looked at Toni, and whispered, "Are you ready to expand the circle of trust?"

She nodded, and I helped her to her feet, telling my Mom and Patti, "Aunt Toni has a story to tell you." I took Toni's hand in my right, Patti's in my left, and Toni took Mom's, and together we walked back to our cottage, where Toni repeated her story for Mom and Patti over a glass of wine, making them both cry. We let her know where our triad relationship stood, explaining the true symbolism behind our wedding rings and pendant. She was sincerely happy for us.

After we each got done, I asked, "Does Uncle Dave know this?"

"No, Drew," she said. "Beyond knowing that my grandparents won't talk to me and my Dad and sister died the same year, he doesn't know the why behind it, and hasn't ever pushed the matter. Like I said, you're the first person I ever told the whole truth, because I knew you'd understand. Now Patti and Tina are second and third. I doubt he'd react well. I mean, he's not as judgemental as Marion, but he didn't fall all that far from the tree. He probably inherited the most of that of the three brothers, your Dad the least. He's homophobic, for one. Just the idea that I'd ever licked another woman's snatch, never mind my sister's, would end us, for sure."

"Is he expecting you back?" Mom asked. It was now about 11:45.

"No, he was already asleep half an hour after the fire got put out, and Dave Sr. and Marion were asleep even before that," Toni said. "He's pretty used to my seashore meditations sometimes lasting until dawn, though, so he won't be waiting up."

Mom took her hand, and said, "So, since you know our secret, and we know yours, would you like to join me, in bed tonight, maybe all of us?" My eyebrows and Patti's both shot up at that.

Toni snorted, "Ha! I'm flattered, Tina, and tempted, but I do really want things with Dave to work out, and that does include being faithful to him, except for not telling him this secret. I made several ultimatums to him this morning, starting with him calling me Toni, thanks to Drew, and ending with insisting that he stop acting like I'll be another Pam, and propose to me in the next six months, or I was ending it with him. So, if he doesn't step up, can I have a rain check?"

"Oh, sweetie, of course," Mom answered. "Can I at least get a kiss?" And they kissed, for about two minutes.

"Whew," Toni said, when it ended. "Oh, yeah, definite rain check. Anyway, before I say goodnight, I do have one more thing to say. You all need to be more careful, without looking like you are. Marion's suspicion antenna have been up and scanning the three of you. She doesn't quite know what she's reacting to, but she's sure there's something. So, besides making sure your window shades are drawn when you're making love, I'd also make sure that the other bedroom in this unit looks like it's being used, which is another mistake my sister made. She was sleeping in Dad's room, and her bed was perfectly made, which it never was when she was younger. For two weeks, I noticed the bed was made, but never saw her make it, or in it. The answer was she wasn't sleeping in it at all, and just sneaking in and out of Dad's before I caught them. If I'd gone in there even one time when she should have been sleeping, and found it empty, I'd have known immediately where she was. So, keep your wits about you, and your shades closed, alright? Love you all."

We hugged her, and she left via the porch, and walked back to her beach house.

I turned to Mom, and asked, "You and Toni? What's with that?"

Mom grinned. "What? She's hot, always has been, and now I know she's bisexual? Damn. Plus, she's the one person outside of the three of us that I can trust and talk to about us. We're supposed to be exploring sexual openness with each other, why would you want to slap absolute exclusivity onto that? Or did you really think I was going to be at home celibate while the two of you are finishing your Senior Year? Momma's going to date, starting this fall, and if that leads to some sex, I want you to be happy for me, okay? I'm not looking to marry anyone else because I've already got two great spouses, and probably won't date any one guy more than a few months, but an occasional fuck-buddy would be nice, while you're gone. And that includes Aunt Toni if she collects on that raincheck."

I thought for a moment and said, "No, you're right, Mom. It wouldn't be fair to ask you to go without for that long, and it wouldn't look normal for you not to be dating eventually, so this helps cover our secret, too, so long as your dates don't suspect us, which is certainly easier while we're gone, but might still be necessary even after we're back."

Patti, nudged me with an elbow, asking, "So why didn't I get permission to find another lover the last five months?"

I shrugged, and said, "Partly because I didn't think of giving you permission when you really don't need it from me, but also because to the public, you're my girlfriend, with them expecting you to be faithful, even while I don't require you to be, while Tina's my mom, with the public having no expectation that she's being unfaithful to me by having a boyfriend nine months or more after my Dad died, regardless of how I feel about it. I mean, how would you explain another relationship to your mother?"

Patti shuddered. "Oh, no way. She'd never accept that. She's monogamy now and forever. She'd freak if she found out I was married to two people, never mind to a mom and son. But I'm not going to live my life based on what she thinks of it."

I said, "No, but you do need to make its outer appearance one that doesn't threaten our secret, right? Mom could be charged with a felony if her relationship to me got out, because they usually charge the parent and not the child, even when the relationship starts in adulthood. And having the public see you taking a lover at school when I'm supposed to be home missing you and most definitely NOT having sex with my mom doesn't do that."

Patti nodded, and said, "Right. It's done and over, and wasn't that bad, since I was busy with classes and we played on Skype so much. I was mostly kidding you," she said, hugging me.

The hug turned into a kiss, and the kiss led us back to bed - after mussing the other bed and pulling the shades, of course.

----------

May 26, 2013

Sunday was a more normal day, to be sure. We caravanned in our cars to a local breakfast place, where we split into separate tables, to get served faster. Patti and I wound up paired with my cousins, and we had a fun time laughing with them. I noticed even they had picked up on using 'Aunt Toni', and it looked like it was going to stick, given that we were the only nieces and nephew who'd need to use it..

Uncle Dave and Aunt Toni were in an affectionate mood, apparently reflecting progress in what Toni wanted from him. Mom sat with them and managed to not flirt with Toni.

That left Tony and Mimi to sit with Grandma and Grandpa, and while she remained as eagle-eyed as ever, I didn't notice any suspicious looks my way.

Afterwards, the men took Tony's SUV and went to the charter company where Mom had booked us an offshore fishing day. Not deep sea, but far enough off the coast of Galveston Island to get some good fishing. We managed to catch about 20 fish between us, which should just be enough for our dinner. We got all the fish cut and cleaned at the doc, and put them in a cooler Tony had in the back, over some dry ice the dock sold us.

One notable conversation from the day came when Uncle Dave asked, "Drew, what led you to start calling Antonia 'Aunt Toni'?"

I responded, "Mom, Patti and I were taking a walk on the beach Friday night after we got back from dinner when we ran into Antonia. We started talking, and Mom talked about how calling her 'Aunt Antonia' would sound weird, and she responded that she'd rather be called 'Aunt Toni' instead. So I just did it. I mean, I do think of her as my aunt, even if you haven't married her and all."

"He's got you there, Dave," said Uncle Tony.

"Hrmph," Dave snorted. "She wants me to call her Toni, too. And now she's angling to have me propose to her. Do I have you to blame for that, too?" I wasn't supposed to know about her ultimatums, so needed to chart my course carefully.

I shook my head no, then said, "The closest we came to the topic of you marrying her was Aunt Toni saying you wouldn't marry her because of what Aunt Pam did to you and Mom saying she considers Antonia to be her sister-in-law, with or without a ring, which helped me realize that she's my aunt, with or without the ring. If she decided based on that conversation that she'd rather have the ring than not, we didn't suggest it. Does make me wonder, though. Do you love her less because she's not your wife?"

"No, of course not," Dave answered. "At least I hope she doesn't think that. I love her like I never loved Pam."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked "I mean, that's the way I feel about Patti, and we can't even wait until Graduation to get married. You've at least got her in your will, right?"

"Umm, no," Uncle Dave admitted.

That's when Grandpa Dave cuffed Uncle Dave across the back of his head, nearly knocking his hat and sunglasses overboard. "I know I taught you better than that, boy! You always take care of your woman, and if Antonia isn't that to you, I don't know a stupider man in creation!"

I had never heard Grandpa talk like that before. Around Grandma, it was like she'd amputated most of his voicebox, his voice very soft and polite.

He continued ranting at Uncle Dave, saying, "Boy, you better set to fixing that error, or I might just think of writing you out of my will. Drew's right. The way you say you feel about Antonia or Toni, or whatever she wants you to call her, you should have put a ring on her hand a long time ago. I've waited for you to figure that out, but I guess today you get treated to what they call an intervention."

I was trying not to laugh, but finally had to say, "And look at it this, way, Uncle Dave. If you marry her, you won't have to call her Toni and worry about people confusing her and Uncle Tony. You could just call her 'Wife'. She'll love it, after waiting this long."

He looked at me, said, "You..." and finally had to laugh himself. "Okay, so do you want my wedding before or after yours?"

I had to push one more time. "You know she's going to pick the date for you, Uncle Dave, but if she asks me, my answer will be ASAP, before you change your damn mind." And I ducked a swipe from him.

-----

Back at the beach homes, Tony set up his charcoal grill again, and Mimi and Grandma wrapped the fish in tinfoil with some lemon slices and olive oil, and we cooked those on the grill, and had a great fish feed on the beach. Baked steak fries helped it feel like a fish and chips kind of night, but without the grease.

Afterwards, we started another fire in the firepit, and settled in to wait until midnight, which is when we would take turns scattering Dad's ashes into the surf. Wine came out this night, and we sat around the fire, telling stories about Dad, some of which I'd heard, some which I hadn't. Patti was cuddled up by my side, while Mom was sitting with Uncle Dave and Aunt Toni again. Uncle Tony and Aunt Mimi were necking, while their kids pretended to be disgusted, but even I could see they were really envious. Grandma had gone in for a nap, but Grandpa was telling some of the best stories about Dad as a kid. This was what I wished Christmas Day would have been like, but nobody was ready for it, then. I was glad they were now. These were the memories of my Dad I wanted to have. Five months, nine days, and my extended family could think of him and laugh.