Lottery

"I get that and thanks for sharing. It's not on my bucket list for as long as you and Margaret are."

"That works for me and I believe Margaret as well."

I put on my robe and Claire found another, almost transparent robe to wear. We wandered down to dinner before Margaret called us. Margaret had set two places in the dining room. Claire searched through the cabinets and set a third place for Margaret. I went into the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was Claire's robe thrown over the back of a chair. Margaret was working at the range wearing only her apron hung around her neck and tied at her waist. From the rear, her finely shaped cheeks were on display. I sat in a chair to watch. I made enough noise that Margaret turned and looked at me. She became aware of where I was looking. She looked over her shoulder to verify my interest and turned back to look at me with a huge smile. She threw me a kiss and returned to her cooking with a slight wiggle for my benefit.

When Claire joined us, she punched me on the shoulder when she realized what I was watching. Margaret turned and told us to wait in the dining room and dinner would be ready in a minute. "There's a perfect wine in the cooler on the sideboard. Pour glasses for yourselves and I'll bring in the main course."

I found the wine and poured three glasses. Margaret arrived with tureen of wonderfully aromatic stew and a bowl of egg noodles. When she saw the third place setting, she began to object.

"What I said upstairs was only the beginning," said Claire. "From this moment we are all equals. We share the work; we share the house; we share the food and we share each other. You will no longer be my housekeeper and my cook. You are my companion. Your needs are my needs. You have your own life as well. You can see whom you choose; go where you want when you want. You are not a kept woman. You are a free soul who makes her own decisions and pursues her own desires.

"You can continue to live in the pool house or you can move into a room upstairs. Whatever your choice, you no longer have a salary, you have an account. Whatever you want or need you can purchase it from that account. If you have debts, I'll settle them immediately. You will want for nothing and all I, we, expect in return is your love and acceptance as our partner."

"Please excuse me for a moment," asked Margaret. She returned a few minutes later wearing Claire's robe and a tear in her eye. She sat at the table and served us. During dinner, we talked about the future. Margaret was clear about her role. She was grateful for Claire's offer but she was adamant about her role. She would continue to cook and clean as she always had. No objections would be tolerated. She would also expand her social horizons along with us and time alone with each of us had to be part of the bargain. She was clear we needed to develop and nurture four relationships, three pairs and one triple.

Claire agreed with much of Margaret's ideas and agreed the relationships would evolve and we would adjust as appropriate. After dinner, we all helped clear the table, without objection from Margaret. We waited while she saved the leftovers and washed a few pans. Then we went upstairs together. I followed the women up the stairs and they both took advantage of their positions ahead and above me to insure I had a good view.

Margaret and I sat on the sofa in the bedroom while Claire poured us large snifters of her secret island libation. Claire sat opposite Margaret on my other side and we toasted each other. Margaret was clearly emotional.

"I can't believe how much today has changed my life," she said. "Claire, I've admired and loved you for years. I never had the courage to tell you. I never thought this day would come. I'll never be able to thank you enough. I love you Claire. I love both of you. I always will."

We sat, drank and listened to music for over an hour. I sat for a while with my arms around both women as they cried together and expressed their love for each other and me. We spent the rest of the evening in and out of the bed and shower. We fell asleep in each other's arms and woke the same way.

In the morning, I dressed and returned home. Claire called her attorney and had him give her husband his copy of the divorce papers he signed when they got married. She had the locks and gate codes changed. She gave Margaret and I each a set of gate controllers and keys. She also spent an hour on the phone with her irate father. He was more concerned with losing a valuable, yet weak, business asset rather than a son in law. She managed to calm him down and promised not to demand he fire her soon to be ex-husband. She reminded her father of the stringent pre-nuptial agreement and the divorce agreement her husband had signed before the wedding. Once he realized the divorce was a slam dunk and would not grace the society pages of the local news he was mollified and wished her well before he hung up to attend to more important business.

Two weeks later, Claire cautioned me to be discrete when I visited. Her daughter, Gloria, was off for the summer break and would be staying in one of the upstairs bedrooms when she was home. Gloria planned to travel frequently and when she would be present wasn't predictable.

Things went well over the summer. Claire and I spent some time together at my home, as did Margaret and I. I took a long weekend alone and left the keys for Claire and Margaret's use. We also took a short cruise together to Bermuda as a threesome.

Several times Claire mentioned that Gloria was suspicious of our activity. When I asked how that was possible since we'd been extraordinarily careful, she just responded, "She's a bright girl."

One evening, after particularly exuberant sex with Claire, she said, "David, I want to talk to you while we have a moment."

"Is this our second 'We have to talk' moment?" I asked somewhat light heartedly.

"You've done nothing wrong, so relax. I want to share something with you and I hope you'll listen and help me out."

"Shoot."

"This isn't easy. Let me talk. Save your comments and questions until I'm done, please."

"I'm curious now. You've got the floor."

"Gloria is struggling with her love life. She doesn't have a steady boyfriend, she's curious about our relationship and she's pretty much figured it out. She's been wondering if it were possible for you to..."