“Holly!” Karen objected.
“What? That’s why he’s here isn’t it?” She asked, defensively.
“No, he’s not here to shoot anybody.” Karen replied.
“I’m here to make sure you two are safe. Whatever that entails then that’s what I’ll have to do.” I explained.
“How long do you think it will take?” Holly asked.
“I don’t know, really. I figure someone like him will either make a move or give up after a week. It really depends on how badly he wants you.” I said.
“What would you do if one of your girlfriends left you?” She asked, figuring Miguel and I shared something in common when it came to seeing women as property.
“I’d let her go.” I said, flatly.
“But I thought they were your slaves or something like that?” Questioned Holly.
“Holly, I don’t think we should bother David about his personal life.” Karen suggested.
“I don’t think it can get any more bothersome, actually. I mean, keeping our life a secret was always a big deal so now that the cat’s out of the bag, I’m interested to know how you two feel knowing about it?” I wondered.
“I guess I don’t have an issue with it. I mean, as long as you’re all happy, that’s all that matters, right?” Holly started, “However, I think it’s pretty weird you sleep with your own mom and sisters.”
“You know about that, huh?” I inquired. “Mel told me only your mother knew about them.”
“I’m sorry, David, but I thought it might come up in conversation and I wanted Holly to have a chance to come to terms with it.” Karen apologized.
“Yes, well, I guess I can’t fault you for wanting to keep her up to speed.” I reassured her, “As far as it being weird, yes, I know how it looks, which is another reason we try to keep a lid on it.”
“But do you love them?” Holly asked, her candid tone seemingly absent of judgement, only wonder.
“With all my heart. I love my mother as much as you love yours, even more so, I would wager, considering the nature of our relationship.” I explained.
“Because you sleep with her too?” She asked.
“Yes. It’s like having a mother and a wife wrapped in one.” I said.
“I thought I would have more difficulty dealing with it, myself.” Karen joined the conversation.
“So you’re not?” I wondered.
“Well, one the one hand, I think it’s wrong, but on the other, I see how happy Melanie and Audrey are and they have become very dear to us, so…” Karen wrestled with her feelings.
“Yeah, I really like Audrey and Melanie. They are so sweet.” Holly gushed.
“Yes, that they are.” I smiled.
“Exactly.” Karen added. “It was they who convinced me to allow them to call you for help. When I think about how wrong other aspects of your relationship might appear, I have to assume everyone in your family is just as happy and content as Mel and Aud.” Karen admired.
“Yeah, probably even more considering how excited they got since David arrived. It almost made me cry when you three were saying goodbye.” Holly recalled. “I can only imagine how happy they would be if you all were reunited.”
Karen and Holly went on singing praises about my girls. As I listened to them carry on, I couldn’t help but think back to my own struggle and doubt about my family. I wish I had come to this conclusion on my own, but sometimes you need a fresh pair of eyes to see. Karen and Holly were that fresh pair of eyes. As they went on and on about how much they loved my girls, I felt guilty for even entertaining the notion of possibly reducing my family’s size. I mean, it was kind of a foregone conclusion, as I don’t think I could ever part with those I care about, but just listening to this mother and daughter, these outsiders, disregard the taboo and unconventional aspects of my relationships and focus only on the love and unity we shared, I knew I was doing the right thing, even if it meant I would have to run myself ragged to keep up.
“I’m glad they’ve been such a positive influence in your lives.” I finally broke into the conversation.
“It’s you, David.” Karen gleamed. “You’re the positive influence.”
“Yeah.” Holly agreed. “I used to get so excited listening to them talk about you.”
“Well… erm.” I was dumbstruck and I could feel my cheeks heating up.
I may be a confident and dominant person, but that mostly relates to my capability and drive. I’ve always struggled with receiving praise, because to me, when I set myself to task on something, I do it because it needs doing, not because I am seeking praise. I came into this situation, the odd man out. The four women had had a lot of time to get to know one another and share with one another and I was learning much for the first time. No question, I certainly felt proud to hear Karen and Holly laud my contribution to it all, but it was humbling as well, because it wasn’t all me. My girls, every single one of them, had been instrumental in helping to shape the person I was and it was only for them, for our family, that I strove to try and make things work. It was then that I noticed that Karen and Holly were looking at me in a different way than before. It was a look that I had become quite used to at home when my girls looked at me…
“Shit. Where they falling for me now?” I thought to myself, but my thoughts were cut short by the phone ringing. “That’s probably Mel and Aud checking from their room.” I said.
“Hello?” Karen answered.
I could tell right away who it was when I saw Karen’s once smiling face become hard as stone. Karen didn’t want Holly to talk to Miguel and Holly wasn’t keen on doing so, but I insisted that should Miguel call, she had to speak to him. He couldn’t know I was here so I couldn’t do it and he’d likely just blow Karen off had she tried. The only problem with putting Holly on the line was that she wasn’t as calm and collected as her lawyer mother or I. Fortunately, the instructions I gave her were pretty simple.
Holly took the phone from Karen, “I don’t want to talk to you, Miguel.” Holly said, first thing.
I could tell Miguel was an asshole as I could hear him yelling at Holly over the phone halfway across the room, even if I couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying.
“No, Miguel. I don’t want to see you anymore and I don’t want to talk anymore.” Holly calmly spoke into the receiver.
As expected, Miguel wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer and I could see Holly starting to lose her cool. She looked to me and I gestured to her calm down. The last thing we wanted was for the two of them to get into a shouting match. Miguel was going to be pissed unless he got his way anyhow so my only concern was keeping Holly on .
“You know why.” She answered.
I wished I could’ve been listening to the conversation on the phone in the kitchen, but then I wouldn’t be able to be here for Holly. I couldn’t hear Miguel over the phone anymore so I was assuming this was the part where he was trying to convince her that he was sorry and that he didn’t mean it, the classic bullshit lines abusive partners use. Unfortunately, they work well more often than they should however, Holly had me there and we’d already gone over what was likely to be said. She was doing pretty well, although I knew she couldn’t keep this up indefinitely. Miguel would not be satisfied until she agreed to see him and no amount of talk or reason was going to change his mind. This was more of an exercise in human nature than anything. By going through the motions, we could force Miguel to unknowingly play the game on our terms and not his.