Dawn and Marie Ch. 02

After talking to Marie, Dawn and I quickly packed and then managed a fitful night's sleep before an early start.

We headed east at six in the morning. You don't want to cross the passes tired in winter, and we were into mid-November. Snow at Snoqualmie Pass was measured in tens of feet and snowfall in tens of inches. We hit the pass at eight, Yakima a little after ten.

I'm glad there are signs pointing toward the hospital, they make finding it easier. We found the hospital, parked, and quickly went to reception; asking for Marie's room.

On the fifth floor, we found her in a private room being attended by a nurse, while a strained looking middle-aged woman sat in a corner. It was only as Dawn stepped next to the nurse that Marie knew we were there. "Dawn?"

She had a cast visible on her left arm, fading bruises on her face and neck, and a suspicious looking lump under the sheet.

Her eyes darted from Dawn to me and back again. "How? You came for me?" Tears welled in her eyes.

Dawn stepped to her, taking a hand in hers. "Shh, it's ok. We're here. When you're ready we'll take you home."

"Mom...this is Dawn, and that's Ron. They're friends, good friends."

"I know dear, you've been calling for them."

She turned to us; "I'm Agnes, obviously her mother. She's been calling your names all the time she was unconscious, and even when she slept. You must be pretty good friends?"

Dawn and I exchanged glances and nodded together. "Yes," I said, "we love her."

"Ahh." Was all she said. "I'll leave you alone for now; Jonathan is down stairs, he's going through therapy for his stroke. Right now his goal is to come up here to see his girl."

"How bad was the stroke?"

"He's lost a lot of motion on his right side, but we're already seeing some of it coming back. The doctor said we were lucky to get him here as fast as we did, but we had been shopping just a mile away, and I happened to be driving when it hit. I'm going down stairs now; it's nice to meet you. I take it you're staying a while?"

"As long as we need to."

"Then we can talk later."

I watched her walking into the hall and had to think she had to be a very strong woman.

We visited until Marie began nodding, then kissed her goodbye.

We took a room at a hotel within ten minutes of the hospital. While checking in I had a thought and asked if they had a two bedroom suite. Fortunately they did, so while Dawn moved us in, I returned to the hospital looking for Agnes.

She had returned to Marie's room, and seemed to be sleeping when I walked in. At rest, you could see she was feeling the strains of the last few weeks, but she woke quickly when I whispered her name.

"What is it?"

"I don't know how far from here you live, but we've taken a suite at the Ledgestone. It has two bedrooms, and you're welcome to one of them any time."

"Home is almost an hour away. You're sure I won't be a problem?"

"Agnes...here's a key. Get some rest. It even has a small kitchen so you can make something at any hour."

"Thank you. I could use a full night's sleep. And a bath. I'll come over in an hour or so."

***

We settled into a routine over the next week; up early, breakfast for everyone, then to the hospital in separate cars. We visited with Marie while Agnes joined her husband, and then one of us would adjourn to a lounge to take care of business on line or by phone. After an hour, we'd trade off. This gave us a lot of time to be with Marie, and being in a non-sexual situation, we talked about many things; she liked hiking and would like to do sections of the Pacific Crest Trail, but most of her experience was on the Eastern slopes of the Cascades. She'd never been on a sail boat and when I told her about The Dancer, looked apprehensive. "I don't know...what do you do when they tip over?"

"They only heel over so far, then they're stable, but that's not a problem with my boat -- she's a trimaran and they heel no more than five degrees."

"Trimaran?"

"Three hulls; the central, main hull where all the accommodations are, and the amas, floats, they provide stability. She's easy to sail and pleasant to sail on. Next summer we'll get a lot of time on her."

"We?"

"Sure. You don't think Dawn and I have given up on you, do you?"

That's when Agnes came in, watching over an older man struggling with a walker. Realizing it was Marie's father, I stood, leaving so they could be alone. He held up his hand; "Are you the man my wife has been telling me about?" he said with some difficulty.

"Most likely, I don't know what she's been telling you though."

"Where's the other one? The woman?"

"Dawn? She's in the lounge, probably on her computer."

"Ah, was that her? My wife didn't tell me. We'll talk later; I'd like to see my daughter now."

I joined Dawn in the lounge, filled her in on events.

"How did he look? What did he say about you and me?"

"Only that we'd talk later.

Twenty minutes later, they did join us in the lounge. Dawn had still been busy on her laptop, but closed it when they entered. I had a better look at him; he wasn't a big man, stocky would be a good description. He was well muscled and his hands a bit rough. He was probably in his late fifties, and his graying hair was thinning.

"My name is Jonathan Walters. That is my daughter Marie in there, and this is my wife, Agnes. I appreciate you coming across the mountains at this time of year to be with her, but I want to know why. Why are you here?"

"Jonathan! You shouldn't be treating them harshly; they came right away when she called them."

"I know that. I don't mean to be rude. But Agnes tells me Marie has been calling for you ever since the accident. Now, there isn't much I can do right now, but I still want to know what's going on."

"We love her. Before the accident we were going to ask her to live with us. Then, when we didn't hear from her for weeks, and when she wasn't at work, well ... I guess we thought she didn't want us. When she called, and told us what happened, there was only one choice for us."

"So .... Agnes, I need to sit ... so, you want my daughter to live with you? Isn't one woman enough for you?"

"In this case, no. Marie fills a spot for both of us. We probably didn't know it beforehand, but when we got to know her, we both realized we needed her. Sitting here, talking with her over the last few days has only re-enforced that feeling."

"What about you young lady? I'm sorry; I can't remember your name."

"That's ok. It's Dawn, like in the sunrise. Yes, I love Marie also. I've really missed her these last three weeks. The house feels empty without her. I want her back."

"I can't allow it. My daughter is saving herself for someone special. I'm sorry, but you might as well go back to Seattle or where ever you came from."

"Jonathan! You have no more right to interfere in Marie's life now than you did her namesake."

"But I just want her to be happy..."

"Nonsense, you're trying to keep control. Well, it's too late. I saw her face when they came in the room. She loves them, yes both of them. And they love her. We had something very much like that, but you drove her away and I never forgave you. I loved Marie. I thought you did too. But you were more concerned about the neighbors, or the church, or your boss. Not about me; your wife, or Marie; our lover. And she did love you. She still does, even after all these years."

"She ... how do you know?"

"We talk every week. I've kept her up to date on you since the stroke. She wishes she could be here."

"We shouldn't talk about this now. Not in front of them; they're not family. We'll talk later."

"The hell we will! They love our daughter. They came running when she called. Marie has been calling their names for weeks. I would have called them if I'd known how. They are family as far as I'm concerned." For a woman reputed to be submissive, she really had some steel in her spine.

I've seen several men receive bad news better than Jonathan Walters. He was already in the chair, or he'd have gone to the floor. As it was, all the air in him seemed to leak out. He sat quiet for several minutes; we waited.

"You've been talking to Marie? Agnes, I'm sorry, I really am. I've missed her since that day. I wished many times to undo all of that. But I didn't know how. Now you tell me I could have cleaned up my mess years ago? Oh God ... what have I done?" He whispered.

No one spoke for the longest time; Dawn and I were stunned by the revelations, Jonathon was slumped in his chair, and Agnes had left the room. She returned about fifteen minutes later; "She'll be here tomorrow. God help you if you treat her like you did twenty five years ago, because I will leave you this time!"

***

Dawn and I returned to the hotel. We really didn't have much to say, so we both turned to our computers and our work. Agnes came in an hour later. She went to her bedroom and stayed for three hours. When she came out, she looked much better so I'm sure it's fair to say she'd been sleeping.

"I'm hungry, let's go have dinner. I'd like to know you two better."

Checking with the desk, I found a nice little Italian restaurant down the street. Given the cold wind blowing, we agreed the closer the better. It was a quiet place, ten or twelve tables with only four occupied. We checked the menu while munching on fresh bread dipped in oil.

Eventually we ordered dinner and a bottle of Chianti. Agnes sipped her wine and relaxed, looking around. "This is nice, do you mind if we come back tomorrow night? I think Marie would enjoy this."

"Marie?"

"Oh, I'm sorry; I forgot you haven't heard the whole story yet. Before 'our' Marie was born, there was the first Marie. She was Jonathan's and my lover. But he sent her away because the neighbors were talking, and his church gave him an ultimatum. After she left we moved to another town and restarted our life. I've stayed in contact with her, and we've gotten together a few times over the years, but only for two or three hours."

"Did she ever marry?" asked Dawn.

"Yes, but it didn't work out. They divorced amicably after five years."

We ate quietly for a time, then she asked; "How did you meet Marie?"

Dawn told her our story, while Agnes listened intently. As Dawn wound down, Agnes smiled; "You may not believe this, but ... Jonathan and I had been married just over four months, when we went into a café for lunch. Marie was our waitress. I couldn't take my eyes off her, and when I looked over at him ... he was transfixed. Now, the way we had been brought up, I was supposed to get angry at him. Maybe make him sleep on the couch for a week. But I couldn't. He wanted her, and I did too! It had never happened to me before, I'd never been attracted to a woman, and I didn't know what to do. All I knew was we had to get to know her. For two weeks we ate lunch there, at her table. We became friendly, and eventually friends, and months later, lovers. We lived together for almost three years."

"And now she's coming back? Why? I mean besides meeting her daughter."

"She still loves him. She loves me too, but she has missed him. Understand, he's not a bad man. He's really a very good man. Somewhat misguided perhaps, but he's seen today how much he has missed and I think he's ready to change. We'll see tomorrow."

***

We were visiting with Marie when Agnes stopped in; "She's here. I want to introduce her here first then take her down to Jonathan."

Marie looked up from the magazine she had been reading. "Who's here?"

Before one of us could answer, Agnes stepped into the hall, then back into the room, followed by another woman. To say we were shocked would be an understatement. We were looking at a more mature version of Marie. Let me put it another way: Marie was Marie. Just younger, or older. Depending on how you referenced it. Them.

It suddenly came to me; "Agnes, you didn't tell us everything last night."

Marie (Our Marie) looked completely dazed. She was looking at herself, and not understanding why.

Seeing the consternation on everyone's faces Agnes said; "I know this is a shock, but when you two came, I realized now was the best time to do this. Marie needs your support to meet Marie."

"Darling," Agnes said to Marie (the younger), "this is hard for me to say, but is long overdue; Marie, I want you to meet your mother. Your real mother."

The other Marie had been quiet at Agnes's side, but now she stepped to the bedside, and extended her hand. "Hello, I've wanted to do this for a very long time. I'm sure you have many questions and I, and Agnes, will answer all of them in time. But for right now, I'm going down stairs to have a long talk with your father."

Agnes looked over at Dawn and I; "Will you fill Marie in on what I told you last night? We'll be back in a bit for all the questions."

"What do you guys know that I don't? And why didn't you tell me?"

Dawn spoke first; "Last night your mother, um, Agnes, told us how she and Jonathan loved a woman named Marie, but because of pressure from the community, they broke up. Really though, she didn't tell us you were that Marie's daughter."

"And," I added, "She didn't tell us you were almost identical."

***

Agnes and Marie returned with Jonathan in tow, greeted by a roomful of silence.

Agnes began to speak, but Marie held up her good arm, palm out; "No. Since Dad seems to be at the heart of this, I want him telling me exactly what happened. Daddy ... is it true that Mom, that is to say Agnes, isn't my real mother, but this other woman is?"

This time the other Marie started, but Marie cut her off; "Not yet, please. I don't want to seem rude, we'll talk in a few minutes, but he is going to explain twenty five years of a lie, because I know he was behind it."

I was beginning to feel sorry for the man; He had no good explanation that would make him look good, and he knew it. Three of the five in the room were angry at him, and the other two were witnessing his humiliation. Dawn moved beside him, and in low voice said; "Mr. Walters, just tell them everything. I'll hold your hand. It'll be better getting it done."

He looked up at her, probably really seeing her for the first time. Tears were running down his cheeks as he fumbled to a chair next to the bed. He started to speak, stopped and cleared his throat, then began again in a low but clear voice; "Agnes and I married in 1982, we had known each other for almost a year before that. I was 12 years older, but we fell in love and age didn't matter, she was 18 and I was 30 when we married. We had been married about half a year, when we met Marie. She waitressed in a café we went into for lunch one day. When I saw her ... Agnes understands this ... when I saw her, my breath stopped. I fell in love instantly. I wanted her, but I already had Agnes. I think given a choice ... no, that's wrong ... I was given a choice. I think if it had been anyone else but Agnes next to me, I'd have abandoned them to be with Marie. I don't know how long I stared at her, but it finally registered that she was asking if I wanted to order, or just ogle her all day. I looked over at Agnes, and she had almost the same look on her face as must have been on mine."

He took a sip of water from a glass next to him, squeezed Dawn's fingers, took another deep breath and continued; "We went back every chance we had, looked past her beauty, got to know her as a person. One night Agnes and I had a long honest talk; I admitted I was in love with Marie. She surprised me by admitting she too loved Marie, but had no idea what she could do about it. The one thing we knew though was we wanted her as a friend.

We invited her home; it wasn't much, a small rental house in Moxee, you know, east of Yakima. I was working for one of the grain elevators nearby, and the rent matched my pay -- low. But she liked it, and us, and we became friends and then lovers. Now, I know in lots of the country, this would have been acceptable, but not in Moxee. It was then, probably now, a fundamentalist Christian community. We were tolerated for a while, but when Marie started showing, they began talking, and eventually became quite cruel to all of us but especially Marie.

When you were born, we, no ... I, decided we had to move. But Marie wanted to keep the job she had; the people were accepting and supportive, and she made good money as a waitress."

He took another sip, looked around the room. "We took you as our daughter and moved to Toppenish where I got a job maintaining farm equipment and we bought the house we raised you in. Not as an excuse, but I have regretted that decision every day of my life. I was wrong. I should have insisted Marie come with us. But I didn't."

He looked over at his former lover; "Marie, I have missed you every day. Just like Agnes, you filled a part of me. I've had that hole a long time. Please, can you forgive me?"

"No. Not yet anyway. Maybe never ... I just don't know. Before I concern myself with you I want to know my daughter, and I need to spend time with Agnes. You thought you knew everything, and wouldn't listen to us. What you left out in your version of events, was YOU decided it would be best if you and Agnes kept my daughter, but you told her I made that choice. I didn't learn that 'till last week. So you've been a manipulating sonofabitch all these years. And now I hear you're still trying to control her life. Well, Mister, that is so yesterday."

She looked around the room; "Now, I want all of you to leave, I will spend time with Marie. Agnes, come back in a while please. Jonathan, go away. Go do therapy or something. I don't care what. And you two," speaking to Dawn and I, "I'd like to get to know you also, but not right now. I hope you understand."

Agnes escorted Jonathan back to his room, and Dawn and I returned to the hotel where I threw back a stiff drink. All Dawn could say was; "Wow, I feel like I was caught in the middle of a whirlwind."

"I know, Talk about your soap operas ..."

After a time we adjourned to our bedroom, where we tantalized each other, by pulling a piece of clothing off, then kissing the exposed skin until our victim was squirming. I had Dawn down to panties and was busy sucking her nipples into hard points when Agnes stepped into our bedroom. Obviously we hadn't heard her come in, but even more interesting, Marie was behind her. The older Marie. Dawn was even slower to realize we had company, and had slid down and taken my cock into her mouth. "Well, I'm sorry to disturb you. Is there any objection to Marie staying here tonight?"

I looked down at Dawn, who only raised her eyebrows while going deeper on my cock. "No, we don't mind, where is she going to sleep?"

Marie giggled and said; "With Agnes of course. We have a lot of catching up to do. Sort of like you. And dear ... you seem to have an excellent technique; perhaps we can compare notes sometime?"

Dawn gurgled an answer while nodding her head, a very interesting sensation.

They went to the other bedroom, leaving both doors open. Taking the hint, I had Dawn curl spoon like in front of me. I caressed her tits, pulling sharply on the nipples and nibbling on her neck. All the while we watched Agnes and Marie strip each other; they didn't rush, but then again they didn't dawdle either. Quickly we could see Marie was indeed the model of her daughter, the figure was very similar, just a little fuller; her hips a bit rounder, but the butt just as firm, the waist just as well defined, her breasts fuller but still very high and beautifully shaped. Agnes on the other hand, was taller and slimmer; her legs had a wonderful shape to them, leading to a small, tight ass. Her hips were narrow, leading up through her waist to a strong back and finely muscled arms. A brief twist exposed small, firm tits.