Surviving Retirement

Harold was the first to speak, "I have been watching each of you looking for signs that you were hiding or covering something up. I don't see anything. To be honest, I have never worked with anyone who has been as accepting of each other as the two of you are. I think that the separation has been good, but I have a feeling that you future will be even better. Can we continue to talk with you as things go forward?'

"Yes, of course. The only thing is that this time, I would like some feedback from you. There were times that I wanted to scream when I was confused and wanted to have you tell me something to clarify my confusion." He nodded.

Susan then asked, "I guess the major question has to do with your relations with others, particularly the ones you had sex with. That is always a threat to a relationship and can be hard to overcome."

Ellen answered first, "I knew when I walked on the plane a year ago that Joe would develop relationships especially with women. That is part of Joe. And if he gets close to them, he does genuinely love them. He doesn't just have sex with them, but he loves them. He loved Lorena and Rachael. I also knew that he would have sex with someone or several someones. He is a very sensual man and that is the way he expresses his love to those closest to him. As for me, I knew that I wouldn't fall head over heels in love with anyone unless they were a lot better than Joe. I knew that I would have sex because I enjoy it, but I wasn't going to go look for it." She stopped for a moment and sipped on a soda.

"The young guys were almost mercy sex. They were twenty years old and had never experienced a woman before. I was teaching them. It was nice but not great. Many of the other students were gay and nothing happened with any of them. The guy I went out with was handsome and a great date. He was also a good lover. I always looked forward to him coming to town. I didn't know that he was married until he mentioned that he was thinking about getting a divorce and moving down to be near me. That is when I broke it off. The sex was nice, but I wasn't going to break up a marriage for it. I liked him every two weeks, but I couldn't live with him on a daily basis." She paused and took a sip of her soda again before continuing.

"The big surprise for me was when Alexandra and I got together in January. She was divorced and older than the other students. It was a totally different experience to be with a woman and I enjoyed that a lot. But she started to get a little possessive in late February and early March and I decided to end it. I paid off the rest of the lease and let her stay there for the rest of the time. I told her that I had some personal business to take care of and I left. I went to Washington and looked at the galleries there. Then I flew to Paris and London and spent a lot of time in the galleries in those places. That was when I stopped writing. I spent all of March and the first week of April over there." She looked at me and added, "I spent two weekends with a French businessman in Nice while I was there. It was great sex but that was all." I flew back and contacted you to tell you where I had been and that was when you sent me Joe's journal. Since then, I rented a car and just drove leisurely back here. I actually got in five days ago and just spent the rest of the time in our condo."

Susan looked at me and asked, "Joe, do you have any problems with that?"

"Of course not. I know that she likes sex and expected her to enjoy herself. I was surprised about Alexandra but then, I could easily see how that could happen. I mean we were in the woman's clothing business for fifteen years. I knew that she admired a woman's body and how it looked. It wasn't a stretch for her to explore that side of herself. I hadn't thought about me the way she described me but I guess that she is right. I really do love the women I have gotten close to like Lorena and Rachael. I never thought about having sex with them, but I do love them. The same was true for Cindi and Megan. I love them and slept with them, but they weren't Ellen. Abby is a different story. She might as well be Ellen's twin sister. They are different to work with, but their personalities and attitude about life are virtually the same. Many times, I turned to her at night and I felt like I was holding and making love with Ellen. That is why I have had so much trouble figuring out what we are going to do about this. She said a minute ago that she and Abby would share me. That would be a perfect solution from my point of view. I still don't see how that will work though."

Ellen said, "That isn't for you to worry about. Abby and I will work that out. You just be you. I need you tonight; can we go see her tomorrow?"

"She will be in Denver and yes, I'll make reservations for the morning."

"Make it for the afternoon. I won't be through with you tonight."

We both looked at Susan and Harold and they were both smiling. Susan then said, "I don't know what you will work out either, but I certainly want to hear about it. We suggested this separation with a certain amount of fear but also hope. You two have exceeded even our fondest hopes. Why don't you go on and spend time together and let us know how things work out."

We all stood up and shook hands. Then I took out a check for $100,000 and handed it to Harold. "What is this for?"

"You have helped us each find a new life and you have more research to do on people like us. Use this as you want, but help others along the way." Ellen just squeezed my hand as we walked outside.

Once there, we stopped and she said, "I hope that you have a car. I turned my rental in when I got to town and took a cab here today."

"I got a rental at the airport; it is over here." I led her to the car.

"I guess I expected you to drive the camper down. We never did get to christen it."

"And we probably won't. I am having it cleaned and fixed up. I am giving it to Bob and Megan as a wedding present."

"That s wonderful, but we will have to get another one. You and Abby enjoyed it and I want to enjoy it with you too and maybe Abby too. Will I like her?"

"Think about a combination of Lorena and Rachael and you have Abby's personality. Think about you and you have her body."

"Crap, I am going to love her."

"I guess that we need to do something about the condo if you want to come to Washington with me."

"I already have an idea about that. I was going to wait until tonight, but I'll tell you now. Lorena is getting a divorce. He decided to cheapen his business to grow faster and she wants to set up a customer based shop like she did with us. He is being a prick about the settlement and it may take six months to get the divorce final. So I sort of told her to move into the condo and use it until the divorce is final. Actually, I sent her the key before I went to Europe. So I have been staying with her this week and she is a wonderful lover too. Tonight, she will sleep with both of us. I get you first because I am fertile, but she wants you too. So you better have good energy built up. She is making dinner for us. What do you think?"

"I think that if she decides to stay here, we will just give her the condo. If not, we will sell it or something."

"Not that dummy; what do you think about making love with Lorena tonight?"

"What's not to like? I love both of you and making love to both of you seems to be the most natural thing in the world."

"God, I love you. Let's go home."

We went to the condo and I saw Lorena for the first time in a year. If anything, she looked even better than she had before. She gave each of us a big kiss and said that dinner would be ready in an hour. With that announcement, I picked Ellen up and carried her to the bedroom and undressed her. I followed by undressing and moments later, I was deep within my love. I felt the bed move and discovered that Lorena was sitting with us holding Ellen's hand. Ellen looked at her and said, "With luck I will be pregnant before dinner. Isn't he wonderful?"

"Yes, he is. Will he have something for me tonight too?"

"Honey, stop a minute and kiss Lorena and tell her that you love her too."

I thought that this was a truly great idea and did as Ellen asked. When I finished, Lorena lay down next to Ellen and began kissing her as I continued my efforts to impregnate my wife. Dinner was late because when I finished, Ellen needed to have Lorena too. That was a wonderful experience to witness.

True to her word, Ellen wanted me in the morning before we got up and then before we dressed to go to the airport. Lorena wished us well and would keep in touch as things went along. I turned in the rental car and we took the people mover to the terminal. Ellen only had one small suitcase and I only had an overnight bag. We didn't bother checking the bags; they were carry ons. Ellen was quiet on the flight until I asked her what she was thinking.

She replied, "I asked you if I would like Abby but now, I am wondering if she will like me."

"Let me answer that this way. I have known her for almost a year and I have not seen her meet anyone that she doesn't like. She came to the school cold knowing only one person. The whole faculty loves her now."

"Honey, we are going to share our man; that takes a different like than someone you work with."

"Ok, then, she will hate you and never speak to either one of us again."

"You idiot; don't make me laugh."

We arrived at the airport and I rented another car to take us to the hotel. I knew which hotel she was staying at, but I didn't know what Abby's schedule was. That problem was solved when we entered the hotel lobby and I saw her disappear into the club. Without saying anything to Ellen, I just led her to the club and I saw Abby sitting alone at a table scanning the menu.

I led Ellen until I was standing next to her and then I said, "Excuse me miss, can we join you?"

She looked up startled and looked at me and then at the smiling face of Ellen. Finally, she said, "I wasn't expecting you today. Yes, sit down. You must be Ellen. I am Abby."

"I guessed that, but our boy here is getting bad eyes. He told me that you and I could be twins. You are so much more than that. You are a woman and make me look like a girl."

Abby looked at me and said, "You told me that she was cute and beautiful, but you understated her by a lot. Sit there and shut up. Ellen and I have things to talk about." I know how to follow directions from the director.

Ellen and Abby locked eyes and carefully read each other as smiles grew on each of them. Finally, Ellen asked, "The only question I have for you is can we share him?"

Abby almost broke down. "I knew when he left that he wouldn't let go of you. I prayed to find a way that things could work. Yes, we can share him. I have never wanted anyone as bad as I want him."

"Good. That is settled. We have lots of time to work out the details. Let's order something to drink and eat. I'm hungry. I might be pregnant today. I won't know for a couple more days."

"I love kids and hope I can have a couple of them with Joe."

"Start whenever you are ready. I want to take classes and be a mommy. You can continue your career and I will take care of our kids or we can get a nanny or something."

I asked, "Can I say something about this?"

Ellen replied, "Not really. You have two women to keep happy. Your women will take care of you and our lives together. We just have to work out the details."

Abby said, "I couldn't have said it better myself. So what now? I did my audition, but I am ready to withdraw it so we can fly home today."

Ellen replied, "I have a better idea. You withdraw your audition and tomorrow we will go buy a new camper for the three of us and we can take a slow drive home so we can get to know each other better."

"But we already have a camper and it is great."

Ellen looked at me and said, "You aren't allowed to keep secrets from either of us anymore." She turned back to Abby and said, "He is giving that one to Bob and Megan as a wedding present. So we need a new one for the three of us."

"I love that idea and I know that Bob will love it too." She thought for a moment and then looked at Ellen and asked, "Can we become lovers too?"

Ellen looked back at her and said, "We need to try it out first, but from where I sit, I won't have a problem being your lover at all."

"That is exactly what I am feeling too. Let's eat and then go try it out."

"Great idea."

I just waved the waitress over and let the girls order what they wanted. I ordered a tall beer and a big meal. I expected that I would be doing a double for the second night in a row.

The next morning both girls were smiling like school girls in love. I probably looked exhausted. Over breakfast, they talked about the drive home, the house, and a lot of details. When we finished, Ellen dug around her purse and took something small out.

Then she took my hand and said, "When I read your journal I knew that you would never want to give Abby up and now I know why. We are going to make a great family together. However, there is something wrong and you need to fix it right now." She pressed a velvet pouch into my hand. I peeked inside and knew what she wanted because it was what I also wanted.

I took Abby's left hand and held it and said, "Abby, I can't say that I love you more than Ellen because I can't imagine anything greater or better than the love I feel for her. But I feel that same love for you. Will you marry me?" I took out the ring which looked very similar to Ellen's engagement ring and held it in front of her ring finger.

She looked back and forth between Ellen and I before she said, "This is really special. The man I love and hoped that I could marry just asked me and had a beautiful ring that his wife bought for him to give me. I can't think of a better way to propose. Yes, I will marry you. But I will warn both of you that when I get comfortable with Ellen, I am going to ask her to marry me too."

Ellen smiled and said, "When you ask, I will say yes." With that, I slipped the ring on Abby's finger. Then both Ellen and I kissed her. We had the makings of a great family.

We took the car and drove to an area where there were several RV dealers and spent the rest of the morning looking over what was available. By the time we went to lunch, we quickly agreed which one we wanted. Instead of a truck body based camper, we went for a more bus like one. It wasn't one of the long road yachts, but a shorter one with a diesel engine and more features than the other one had. It also had two bedrooms. Abby and Ellen said it was for me to sleep in when I was a bad boy, but I knew that they were already thinking about a place for kids to sleep. We went back and I bought it. It took an hour to have the money transferred from the bank and then the dealer said that he would have it prepped and ready to go in the morning.

With that taken care of, we went back to the hotel, but when we got there, Ellen said, "I need to go shopping a get a few more clothes. I didn't bring many with me. Abby, do you want to come with me?"

"Yes, I would. Honey, why don't you go take a nap. If we could wait, I would suggest this great website to get clothes. It used to be the best, but they have changed a little in the past year and are now more commercial, but they still have good clothes. It is called JoEllen."

Ellen grinned and said, "Joe, go take a nap. I need to have another talk with our lover. You have kept too many secrets from her." Abby looked confused as I got out and Ellen moved into the driver's seat. I went straight to our room and did what they suggested and took a nap.

I wasn't sure what time it was when I felt a pair of lips on mine. I wasn't even certain whose lips they were until I opened my eyes. It was Abby and her eyes shined. "No wonder you can do so many wonderful things. Ellen told me how you were the one who made JoEllen run."

"I couldn't do it without her ideas and presence. It is the same as at school with you. You provide the inspiration and I just take care of the details."

"Honey, where do you think Ellen and I get our inspiration from? They come because you let us dream and support us and make things that we can only dream of happen. Your women are going to shower and get dressed so you can take us out to a great restaurant we found. Casual is perfect."

She got up and I saw Ellen behind her smiling at me. Then she kissed me too.

The restaurant they had found was indeed very, very good with a nice quiet dining room with good food and an adjacent club for drinks and dancing. After we ate, we sat and relaxed as we waited for coffee. Then I looked at Ellen and said, "Honey Ellen, I have an idea about what to call the Performance Hall and Gallery at our campus and the Art Institute at yours. What do you think and calling it the Carter-Magnon Family Art Institute and the same for our campus."

Before she could respond, Abby asked, "Wait a minute. We are getting a new Performance Hall and Gallery? Nobody has breathed a word about anything like that."

Ellen took her hand and said, "Joe likes to keep secrets. He has been working for a couple of months to have a new facility built for the Music and Art Departments. I think he wants to have the theater all to yourselves. And Joe, I like that, but let me think a little more about it before you tell them for sure."

Abby looked at me and said, "Just how do you propose to pay for this project without getting the College Board approval? This must cost five or ten million dollars."

"Actually, the Board approved it at their March meeting at the same time they approved you moving to full time next year. They couldn't say anything but yes since I and now we are going to pay for it. Right now it looks like it will probably be in the twenty to twenty five million dollars. That is before we do the upgrades to the theater. You need to start thinking about what changes you want."

Abby looked at Ellen and said, "All he does is make me crazy; explain what he just told me."

"He told you that we made a lot of money selling JoEllen and we both saw a need that we wanted to do. He wants the hall and gallery for your campus, I mean our campus, and I want an art studio and gallery for the college I was at for the past year. The total for both will be about $50 million or so."

"What kind of people have I fallen in love with?"

Ellen patted her hand and replied, "Honey, you just fell in love with a couple of regular people who happen to have a very big bank account. We don't brag about it or talk about it, but it is there. When we get home, I don't think that Joe wants to have that spread around. If anyone really needs to know, he will tell them."

Abby looked at me and I nodded. "I told your dad over Christmas. Just think of us like you think of him. He sold his business at fifty; we sold ours at thirty five. He is still your dad and we are still your lovers. That won't change."

That seemed to make sense to Abby and she calmed down. Then I took them into the club and we danced for an hour before we went back to the hotel for our last night in Denver. In the morning, I got up early and ate breakfast alone. Then I drove the car back to the rental agency and they took me to the dealer to pick up the new bus. I spent an hour going over everything with the head mechanic. He also gave me some tips about driving it. The bus had everything. It had satellite television with an automatic antenna to hold reception. It had built in satellite radio and a router with signal amplifier so that we could stay on line even in weak signal areas. The driver's station had a full monitor to show all of the operating system on the bus and included its own weather station. I took the wheel and drove it around the lot once before I pulled it out into traffic to drive back to the hotel. When I got back, Abby and Ellen had dressed, packed, and eaten breakfast. They were waiting for me and we loaded up quickly. It was now Wednesday and I felt that we should be home on Friday unless we pushed it which I wasn't ready to do in the mountains.