Tango on the Razor's Edge Ch. 06

"Can't I wear a robe or something?" I asked.

"Where would the fun in that be?"

"I'm not trying to have fun. I'm trying to console my daughter."

Holly smiled, "She is your daughter, isn't she?" After a short pause, she continued, "Cathryn's your daughter too, but you probably can't appreciate it right now. Someday you will, though."

"What does that mean?"

"Cathryn needs your attention too, but not in the same way."

"Yeah, I think I know what Cathryn wants. She takes after you."

Holly adjusted the golden CUCKOLD at my neck one last time and said, "She knows what she wants, but she doesn't understand what she needs."

I had no idea what Holly was talking about.

***

I knocked three times at Chris's door and asked, "Can I come in?"

The door lock clicked, and the door swung open. I stepped past Chris, letting her lock the door behind me. She looked me up and down, shook her head in disgust, and said, "Why are you wearing that?"

My head sagged as I replied, "It's complicated."

We both sat down on the side of her bed. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and held her tightly. She burrowed her head into my chest and asked, "Why do you let them walk all over you?"

"Are you asking why I am the way that I am? Do you really expect me to know the answer to that?"

"Maybe I could understand it with Mom, but why do you let Cathryn walk all over you?"

"I did what I did because it was what your mother wanted, but that's not what I want to talk about."

Chris looked up, expecting me to say something insightful.

I supported her neck in my palm and said, "When I found out about your mother's affair, I thought I was going to lose the three of you. But your mother made it clear that she didn't want a divorce. She wanted me to, well, she wanted me to dress like this and play her little games with her. You've probably figured it out already, but I'm not totally straight, and part of me likes the humiliation, so I agreed to play it her way. Maybe it was a mistake, but right now, it's keeping us together."

"What if letting Mom have her way is the wrong thing to do? What if the only way to hold us together is to stand up to her?"

"Well, when the time comes, maybe that's what I'll do." I touched her forehead with my finger and said, "The thing I want you to know is that you're important to me. If you can accept me for who I am, I will always be there for you."

Chris answered with a sob as she buried her head in the comfort of my embrace.