Sex and the Ex-Wife's Sister

I thought about it.

OK, Cassandra was back being best mates with my ex-wife and that had passed relatively painlessly; so did the news of her pregnancy, but this was the woman that I'd lived and loved with for five years and I just wasn't sure. There was a time that I would have walked over broken glass and burning coals for her, but she had dumped me for an infatuation with a total arsehole that had lied to her for their entire relationship.

But I hadn't seen her in almost three years and that familiarity that I was probably so concerned about had transferred to her sister...

Aaah fuck it...

"Yes of course!" I said, "BUT..." I added with some dramatic emphasis.

"There's a 'but'?"

"Yes," I said, this was it, "You move in with me, permanently," the line went quiet for a second, "once the baby comes along you'll be living here won't you." It wasn't a question.

"Yes!" she said, "I hadn't really thought about it, but yes. If I'm honest I've been mentally turning the corner bedroom into a nursery ever since you brought me home that night."

"Home," I said, "I liked the way you said that."

"Awwwww Tom!" she cooed down the phone. It was getting very smoochy and slushy considering it wasn't even half seven in the morning, "Yes... please!" she said, "even Charlie has asked when I was moving out."

And that was that. I drove to the flat on my way home and we packed all of her things into her car, shared a very tender goodbye with Charlie, then to her Dad's place and the few pieces of furniture in his garage that completely set off the sitting room. She lived at 'our farmhouse' from that point and Rachel and Josh were invited to stay for the weekend.

They came to the farmhouse a few days later where I met Josh for the first time and he seemed like a really nice bloke, and seeing the pictures on the kitchen wall he asked all about the house and how I'd rebuilt it, with particular emphasis on his speciality which was electrics and IT wiring. Before I knew it he was looking at my remaining plans and drawing me a circuit diagram to increase the efficiency of my alarm and CCTV, finishing with him insisting that I really should have a better mobile phone signal. I grinned and poured him more coffee, saying how hard it had been just to get electricity and fibre re-directed there.

"Yeah," said the IT and finance wizard, "but I wasn't involved then was I..."

His fiancée Rachel looked across the kitchen to me from where she was sat looking at wedding magazines with her sister and shrugged hers shoulders with a 'what can you do' kind of look. Fair play to him, in less the three months Cassie and I were able to get a mobile signal anywhere on the farm and as far out as the hill fort. It's good to have friends.

He also fished and with Cassie's urging unpacked a whole mess of kit from his car and before I knew it, we were in my boat and down the riverbank and he was fly-fishing, quite successfully I might add.

I'm pleased to say that I felt no ill will to him or my ex-wife, much as three years previously I certainly had, especially to Martin. Rachel very quickly became like Cassie had been, the girlfriend's sister, even though I had shared a bed with her for five very enjoyable years. She had even told new fiancé Josh about our joint history prior to that weekend and he didn't seem bothered by it in the slightest.

We had a very pleasant weekend and it was just two couples; the most pleasant thing of the weekend was me heading up to bed on Sunday evening for an early night and finding a naked Cassie on her side of the bed and a tube of KY jelly on mine.

The weeks went on and at the six-month point Cassie was transferred from her role as an operational Crew Manager to a more desk bound job at the regional headquarters to see out her last six weeks before her maternity leave started.

A day into Cassie's last week I was driving back towards town and my office when my mobile phone nestling safely in my jacket pocket rang, then bleeped that I had an answerphone message. I was on a dual carriage way and couldn't stop and it was corporate policy that however good the kit we were not allowed to be 'hands free' on mobile phones on work time at all.

A few minutes passed and the phone rang again. I pulled off at a service station and got the phone and saw it had been Cassie both times. I dialled the answer phone number and the first message was Cassie, slightly breathless and a bit concerned.

"Hi Tom, my waters broke this afternoon Babe," she said, "and I'm being driven to the hospital, please drop everything and come straight here!"

I was just about to fire the engine and set off when the second message played.

"You'd better get your finger out Tom," it was Rachel's voice, "it's all fine, Cassie has been admitted and they're just plugging her in to all the monitors and stuff, but put your fucking foot down big boy or you'll miss all the action. Don't just sit there dickhead!" it was almost like she could see me, "fucking drive!"

I cancelled the call and fucking drove.

Ignoring MoD protocols I switched on my hands free earpiece and rang the office telling them that Cassie had gone into labour and that I would ring them later and let them know what happened.

I slowly drove around the hospital car park and because it was mid-afternoon the whole place was packed with visitors and sick people and I spent a few minutes cruising around and waiting for someone to leave, which they eventually did. I paid and displayed and ran to where the maternity ward was.

I ran in and recognised one of the midwives that had been there for a walk around a few evenings before.

"Thomas!" she said, with the brightest voice, "Glad you made it!" she took my hand, "Everything's fine, step this way."

I walked into the delivery room and my gorgeous Cassie was laying back on the bed, and she raised her head fractionally as I entered. She looked tired, but happier than I ever seen her.

"Hiya Tom," she said, "come and meet your daughter."

I hadn't even noticed Rachel in the room until she turned around and walked to me carrying a tiny wrapped bundle,

"Here you go Thomas," she said her face as aglow as her sister's, "She's so gorgeous." She looked up into my face, "Congratulations Tom," she whispered handing over my new child, "Now you look after my sister and my niece!" with the slightest hint of something in her voice.

"You bet," I said, the image of my perfect child laying peacefully in my arms having taken away any feelings I might have had for missing her birth. "Wow!" I said.

"You didn't miss much," said Rachel switching out of soppy sister/auntie mode, "it was just a mess of goo and blood, Cassandra screaming like a wimp, legs up in stirrups, then little princess popping her head and shoulders out. I was going to film it but... eeeeeeewwwwww!"

I smiled at her,

"Thanks," I said, "I'll catch the next one."

I stepped closer to Cassie and was joined by Rachel.

"Wow, look what you two did!" she said slipping an arm around both of us.

"Your turn soon Rachel," said Cassie stretching up her chin up to kiss her twin's cheek.

"Wanna know a secret?" said Rachel in a whisper. We both turned and looked at her, "I'm already almost three months pregnant."

Cassie spun with more energy than I would have thought a woman could have after giving birth half an hour before.

"Does Josh know?"

"Of course Josh knows," she hissed back, "he knows my body clock just as much as Tom knows yours."

We took our daughter Ellen Francis home the next day and the cot was in our room, even though Cassie and Rachel had spent weeks turning the next bedroom into a nursery.

It turned out to be perfect timing for Cassie to be Chief Bridesmaid to Rachel again six weeks after and rather than a second drunken hen night in Paris, it was a long weekend in Rimini with lots of swimming and relaxing, while I stayed at home and had the best time looking after my daughter with my parents there to assist initially but actually for my Mum to take over doing everything for her first granddaughter and loving every second of it.

The stag for Josh was quite simple - the millionaire nerd was good at lots of things except for making friends and many of those he did have were work colleagues, so along with his best man Gavin, another old school friend of Cassie and Rachel it turned out, Josh's rather bookish father the University Don, we packed a bag with good wine, good beer, a huge selection of breads, cheeses and meats and hiked across my fields to the place Josh considered was the best fishing. Me, Joe and my Dad had already built a fire and put up a huge tarp, set out some very comfy chairs, so all that needed doing was to light it, bait the hooks and chill out. We drank something then ate something, fished, then with my silenced air rifle Joe and I lamped some rabbits which I skinned, gutted and roasted while we waited for the fish to bite.

Quite a primitive going-on but for the university Don quoting Shakespeare, Josh waxing lyrically about good wine and good cheese and telling Joe about the Greek Gods that the constellations represented on that amazingly clear early spring Friday night. It was most agreeable to all concerned.

The following weekend I cradled my daughter as my fiancée stood and held my ex-wife's bouquet while she married an old boyfriend and they exchanged the platinum rings they'd chosen.

Josh and Rachel's son Jack was born four months later with Cassandra on hand as well as Josh, and all was well.

Three months later there was a reciprocal arrangement for chief bridesmaids and the planned trip to Paris for the hen night although there were two babies in tow, both under the incredibly watchful eye of my Mum who had stepped in as mother of the bride, as well as the groom.

She had forgiven Rachel for dumping me and at a barbecue at the farmhouse when she was changing both Ellen and Jack, actually quite tipsily admitted that she had always really liked Cassandra and now reckoned I had the better of the pair.

Two weeks later our perfect Ellen was the tiniest bridesmaid and sat on Grandpa Joe's knee after being held by Auntie Rachel until he'd given his daughter Cassandra to me. It was a really nice ceremony and every bit as cute as the first one.

My best man Airborne Officer Tony was there in his uniform and being as playful as he normally was; it was something you learned to live with around soldiers, the banter was brilliant but you had to be on your guard constantly.

Still with a little bit of a headache from the few beers we'd had the night before, Tony straightened his beret and his many medals as we stood outside the church having photos taken, and had the look I'd grown to be wary of,

"Oh Tom," he said with an almost suppressed grin, "this isn't a 'Friends' episode mate, remember NOT to call her Rachel..."

"Bastard..." I smiled back to him as the shutter clicked.

I was good to my word though and Cassandra Jane was Cassandra Jane all the way through, and with the benefit of hindsight my replies to the priest were spot on because I was concentrating so hard.

"Works every time," said Tony once we'd made our way back to the Farm for the reception in the large meadow cut especially for the large marquee and the parked cars, "that's the third time I've done that and it's always ended well."

"Ended well..." I said smiling and shaking hands with wedding guests as they arrived, "coming from a bomb disposal expert I suppose I have to consider you opinion."

He shook my hand,

"You've married a beauty Tom, in fact," he said looking across the sunny field to where Rachel was climbing out of the child friendly SUV that had replaced her convertible, "you've married a second beauty; you're a lucky bastard Tom, never forget that."

Tony was stood next to his wife, another beauty wearing her uniform of an officer in the Royal Engineers with a similar number of medals, their young son and daughter looking very smart and cute in their summer wedding finery.

"Not doing so badly yourself Tony and again, coming from a bomb disposal man, I'll take your opinion of good luck as well."

Joe gave a very funny speech, Tony gave a speech that was even funnier and then in was my turn and I made a quite humorous one raising a glass to my two gorgeous bridesmaids, my ex-wife and my daughter, and the moment wasn't lost on the guests.

We had a wonderful summer enjoying the rest of Cassie's maternity leave and backpacking across countryside, some of which actually belonged to us with our daughter and just having so much love. Not only did we feel the love we seemed to be constantly making love as well. As our baby girl slept under a tree under, her naked Mum and Dad could be found quite close to her but even closer to each other.

Cassie went back to work part-time, while I was working either from the office or at home with regular drop-ins from colleagues who would stop for 'a brew' when passing Tom and Cassie's place, I widened the driveway and installed a hammerhead so a fire appliance could turn around and park.

It's our little bit of paradise, and I was actually talking to a colleague about the purchase of a golden retriever puppy when I saw Cassie looking at the third bedroom which was looking more like a nursery with the things that Ellen had grown out of, and I guessed working on our next child.

Yes, we bought the puppy - and he is all about Ellen and her baby brother Mark.

Not to be outdone Auntie Rachel had twin girls three months afterwards.