Kate
Adam didn't beat me in the second game, but it was close. Too close. I needed to brush up on my skills.
I was distracted, I thought after he had left. It's tough to focus when my body is full of sex hormones.
When I woke the kids from their nap, Barry looked at me funny. "Are you sick?"
"What? Why would I be sick?"
"Your face is all red," he said. "One time I had a fever, and my face was very red. Like yours."
"I promise I'm not sick," I replied. "Let's start the afternoon German lessons!"
Barry focused more on his lessons today. He squinted with concentration and tried really hard to pronounce every German word. I gave him lots of positive reinforcement, which made Allie try even harder than she had before. The twins fed off each other's energy, and soon they were competing to say each new word before the other.
After the lessons, we went into the kitchen to get their afternoon snack. Claudette was rubbing a pork loin with spices while humming to herself. She gave me a big smile.
"I know what you did," I said.
She continued humming and preparing the pork loin.
"You think you're really clever," I said. "Don't you?"
Without taking her eyes off the food, she asked, "Did it work?"
"Maybe."
She grunted. "Maybe? There is no maybe in love. If your answer is maybe, then it must not have been very good."
"No! It was great!"
Claudette smiled and nodded to herself. "As I suspected. Adam is a sweet boy. Out of the three of them, I like him most of all."
"Wait a minute," I said. "Are you aware of what's going on?"
She turned and gave me a knowing grin, and hummed even louder.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure the twins weren't paying attention, but they were busy eating their apple slices on the table. "Okay. What's your honest opinion of the whole thing? It's crazy, right?"
"Why should this be crazy?" she replied.
"Because... I don't know. It just is?"
She let out a dismissive harrumph. "Throughout all of history women have been told to remain meek and quiet. Especially here in America. Women pretend like they do not enjoy sex, for fear of being called a slut. Such prudishness! Why should we hide what we want? Hmm?"
I glanced at the twins again, and lowered my voice to a whisper. "But there's a difference between enjoying sex and... Being with three men."
"In my opinion there is no difference." She flipped the pork loin over and began coating the underside with olive oil. "If a woman is allowed to explore her sexuality, then that must include being allowed to explore multiple love partners. The logic is quite basic. A man must recover himself before making love again, but a woman can go forever. And so a woman should have multiple partners, if she so desires."
"You think it's really that simple?"
She wiped her hands on her apron and turned to me with a patient, grandmotherly smile. "I believe that everyone should live their life. We should do what feels good, no matter what others may think! This is simple to me, yes."
Allie got up from the table and tugged on Claudette's dress. "Claudette, do you ever sleep with daddy?"
She whirled around. "What did you ask me, Allie?"
"Kate had a nightmare, so she slept in daddy's room. I was just thinking that if you ever got scared, you could sleep with daddy too."
Claudette cackled with laughter. I closed my eyes and sighed with embarrassment.
"As delightful as it would be to sleep with Monsieur Nash," Claudette said, "I do not get nightmares. But thank you very much for thinking of me."
"Bitte," Allie said happily, before running back to the table to finish her snack.
Claudette gave me a sidelong glance while returning to her pork loin. "I am also of the opinion that a woman should be careful what she does around the children."
She resumed humming to herself.
By Friday, I was making good progress with the twins. And I was having a lot of fun with Braxton. So much so that I offered to stay here and work through the weekend.
"Nonsense," Braxton said. "I don't want you getting burned out. There will be plenty of times when you do have to work through the weekend, so take this opportunity to go home and relax. I insist. The car is waiting downstairs to take you back to Norwalk."
I felt vaguely disappointed on the drive home. The limo was nice, but it wasn't as fun when I was alone. I should have insisted that Adam escort me home. Then we could have enjoyed ourselves some more—in a way that didn't involve Scrabble.
But Miranda was glad to see me when I came through the front door that evening.
"You have a lot to tell me about," she said. "Do you want wine? I'm opening a bottle of wine. You need to drink lots of wine so you get drunk and tell me every steamy detail!"
I watched her uncork the bottle. "Actually, I'm not sure if I'm legally allowed to tell you. I signed a non-disclosure agreement..."
She grabbed a FedEx first-class envelope from the counter and waved it at me. "Is that what this is all about?"
I opened the envelope and scanned the documents. It was an NDA similar to the one I had signed on my first day, but with Miranda's name instead of mine. This one specifically mentioned how Miranda wasn't allowed to repeat anything she learned from me.
"I did mention to Braxton that I'd shared some details with you. I guess they're really trying to cover their ass," I muttered.
"What ass!" she demanded. "Whose ass! Why does it need covering! I need information, Kate!"
"This is actually a good thing. By signing this, it means I can tell you everything."
The wine cork came away with a pop. She filled two glasses and said, "What's the point of learning juicy gossip if I can't tell anyone about it?"
I accepted a wine glass and began walking away. "If you don't want to sign it, then I guess I'll have to keep my lips shut..."
She groaned loudly and scribbled her signature on the forms. "There. I hope you're happy. Now dish!"
We sat down on the couch and I told Miranda.
I told her everything.
By the time I was done, the bottle of wine was empty and we had opened another one.
"You're crazy," she said. "I don't mean that metaphorically. You're a literal crazy person. There's no way three guys would agree to it."
"They did," I insisted. "It's been a week and they're all cool with it. I'm just as flummoxed as you are."
"This is like... reverse mormonism!" she said. "Polygamy! Wait, that's marriage. I guess technically it's polyamory."
"Stop putting labels on it." Remembering what Claudette had told me earlier, I said, "Why shouldn't a woman do whatever she wants with three consenting men?"
"Have you had a threesome yet?" she asked.
I almost spit out my wine. "Miranda!"
She sat up like a student who suddenly knew the answer to a test question. "Or a foursome! There's four of you, after all."
"I am not answering that."
"Don't look at me like that! It's a legitimate question. If you're being shared by three guys, why not get down together?"
"I don't know," I said. "Have you ever done that?"
Miranda looked to her left, then to her right. "Why are you whispering right now?"
"It feels scandalous talking about this out loud."
"More scandalous than being in three simultaneous relationships where the guys are totally cool with it?"
"Good point." I tipped my wine glass toward her. "You didn't answer the threesome question."
"I had one in college," she said without hesitation. "But it was with another girl, not two guys."
"Was it good?"
"It was a total letdown. The bitch hogged all the action! And she moaned like a dying pig. Fucking blondes, I swear." She sipped some wine. "But a threesome with two guys? That would be so much better. Two sets of hands touching your body. Two mouths kissing and licking and sucking. Two penises..."
"I get the idea," I said. "So you think I should try it? If the opportunity arises?"
"If I were in your shoes and they suggested it? I'd be too busy stripping my clothes to answer! Are you hungry? I'm starving. We should probably get some food in our stomachs before opening this second bottle..."
We went to the kitchen and opened the drawer with all the take-out menus. "How was your week?" I asked.
"No." Miranda pointed a finger at me. "We aren't changing the subject to my boring-ass life. You still have a lot more to tell me. Starting with what Adam's working with below the belt. I'm talking dimensions, shape, color..."
"Miranda!"
"I'm not joking. I need to know everything. I want you to draw illustrations! Let me find a pencil."
I laughed as she rummaged around in her drawer.