"Where are Amanda and Terry?" Dan asked as he exercised on the weight lifting machine.
"They are out on a date," Tom answered while peddling the bicycle.
Dan was about to ask who they were on a date with when he realized that it was a pretty stupid question. He asked, "How is it going with them?"
"Good, I guess," Tom answered. He stopped peddling and said, "Saturday nights have become barbecue nights over at Amanda's house. His father is warming up to me, but her mother is nasty as hell to Terry."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Dan said.
Nodding his head, Tom said, "I had to pick up Amanda for their date tonight. Terry waited around the corner."
"That really sucks," Dan said.
"The one good thing about this is that Terry and my mother really get along," Tom said. He hadn't been surprised that his mother would be nice to Terry, but they were really turning into friends. He had no idea what they talked about, but they were always together.
"I'm glad," Dan said. His legs were starting to burn from the exercise. He stopped and said, "It sounds to me like Terry doesn't have anyone to turn to for advice. She talks like her parents don't understand her sexuality. Amanda's mother isn't accepting it."
"You're right. Terry hasn't told me much about her past, but it doesn't sound like her home life was all that great," Tom said.
Dan returned to exercising and said, "Maybe you ought to take her out on a date."
"Are you kidding me? She'll kill me if I suggest such a thing," Tom said.
Shaking his head, Dan said, "No, I'm not kidding. You two need to work out the issues that exist between you. It isn't healthy."
"You're probably right," Tom said returning to cycling. His legs were really starting to hurt. He'd been surprised at how little exercise he got at work. Back at the university he had to walk everywhere.
Dan said, "I've been taking the women out on individual dates. It is amazing how much that is helping ease tensions around the house."
"Really?" Tom asked.
Nodding his head, Dan said, "Yes. It is hard to say what has changed, but the general atmosphere in the house is a lot more relaxed."
"That's good," Tom said. He felt that Dan was so much better at reading people than he was. It was as if those years of being tortured by his classmates had given Dan a much better appreciation of the qualities of the people around him.
"I was talking to Sue the other day and she was telling me that she couldn't see how our relationship was functioning. She felt that it was too far out of balance to work," Dan said. Her comments had forced him to think about the problem long and hard. He didn't want it to change, but he knew that it was going to have to grow and evolve in order to survive.
"I can see that. Alison is really kind of stuck as an outsider," Tom said. He could imagine what would happen if Terry had twice as much power as him in their relationship with Amanda. He'd hate to be in that position.
"Yeah," Dan said.
"So what are you going to do about it?" Tom asked.
Dan answered, "I don't think there is anything that I can do to relieve the tensions any more than I have."
"You're probably right," Tom said.
Dan made one last leg lift and then said, "Let's hit the pool."
"Good idea. I hate this bicycle," Tom said.
"What do you mean you hate that bicycle? You always choose it," Dan said.
"It doesn't go anywhere," Tom answered winking at Dan.
Amanda and Terry were seated in Tom's car at the park watching some kids playing baseball. Parents were watching the game from bleachers meant to hold a hundred people while young brothers and sisters were running around playing the kinds of games that kids their age have played for centuries. There was a small shed selling snow-cones and soft drinks. Occasionally the air would be filled with the sounds of the watchers cheering some action on the field.
The two women were not interested in the baseball game. Amanda looked over at Terry and said, "I'm sorry that I dragged you here."
"I'm not," Terry said.
"My mother has been perfectly horrible to you," Amanda said unable to believe that Terry wasn't completely miserable.
"I really like Tom's mother," Terry said. Meeting her had been worth the whole trip. She had never had a mother figure who accepted her for what she was. It was rather amazing to her that someone understood.
"She's a doll," Amanda said wishing her mother was more like Tom's mother.
"Why don't you move in with us?" Terry asked. She figured that Tom's mother would accept Amanda living with them.
"I couldn't do that," Amanda said shocked by the idea.
"Why not?" Terry asked.
Looking at her lover as if she was crazy, Amanda said, "My father will kill me."
"I don't think so," Terry said. She studied Amanda for a minute and then said, "Let's go get some coffee at a coffee shop and call your father."
"Why?" Amanda asked.
"To talk with him," Terry answered. She had talked with Tom's mother about this problem. The woman had not given her any kind of advice, but had suggested that she consider the feelings of Amanda's parents before making any rash decisions.
"Why?"
Looking at the terrified expression on Amanda's face, Terry said, "I think it is time that you let your father be your father. Ask him for his advice. Tell him how unhappy you are. Let him get to know me."
"Are you crazy?" Amanda asked.
It was obvious to Terry that Amanda was miserable. She needed to spend a night or two with Tom. Looking out the window, she realized what she was thinking. Tom would help Amanda. Knowing that it was a slim chance to get Amanda to agree, she asked, "Do you want to spend the night with Tom?"
"Yes," Amanda said looking away from Terry.
"Then take my advice and talk to you father. It's very easy. We'll go to a coffee shop and call your father from there. He can come meet us there and your mother will never know," Terry said.
"What if my mother answers the phone?"
Terry rolled her eyes and said, "Tell her that you have car trouble."
"My dad will be charging over there in a minute," Amanda said. The light went off in her head and she said, "That's what you want."
"Yep," Terry said with a grin.
A half an hour later, Sidney walked into the coffee shop and looked around for his daughter. He frowned for a second when he saw that Terry was there. He had been expecting to see Tom. Walking over to their table, he asked, "Where's the car?"
"Sit down and have some coffee and apple pie. Amanda said that it was your favorite pie," Terry said feeling her lover's hand on her thigh. Amanda's hand was shaking. In other circumstances she would have enjoyed it.
Sidney looked at the pie and coffee on the table for a second. It did look good. He took a seat and said, "I'll eat a little bit and then go look at the car."
"There's nothing wrong with the car," Terry said. Amanda nudged her in the ribs with an elbow.
"Why'd you tell my wife that there was something wrong with it?" Sidney said with a frown.
It was tiring holding up the conversation. Terry glanced at Amanda and saw that she was just sitting there trying to look small. Terry smiled and said, "She's still Daddy's little girl."
"No, she's not," Sidney said.
"Yes, she is. She's cowering here afraid that she's let you down. She loves you, you know," Terry said. She slid out of the chair and said, "I'm going to powder my nose. I expect to see you two talking when I get back."
"I'll come with you," Amanda said.
"No, I can find my own way. You need to tell your dad that you're miserable. You need to ask him for his advice," Terry said.
Sidney did not have a good opinion of Terry. She was a lesbian and he thought there was something wrong with that. He tolerated her, but he didn't like her much. He had to admit that his impression of her was rising. He looked at Amanda and asked, "What's the matter?"
Amanda covered her eyes with her hands and started to cry. Between sobs, she said, "I'm so unhappy that I don't know what to do."
"What do you want to do?" He asked. His daughter had never cried to him like this. He knew that it a sign of great pain on her part.
"I want to run away and live with Tom and Terry. I want to run away from them and live with you and mom. Sometimes, I just want to run away from everyone," Amanda answered. She reached out for a napkin with which to wipe her eyes.
"We all feel that way sometimes," Sidney said eyeing the cup of coffee and the pie. Giving into temptation he picked up his fork.
As he cut off a bite of pie, Amanda said, "You don't feel that way."
Sidney stopped what he was doing and put the fork back on his plate. He said, "Every morning I drive past a highway intersection and think it would be so easy just to slip over a lane. Eleven hours later, I'd be pulling into Galveston. An hour later, I'd be standing by the edge of the water with a surfboard in my arms waiting for a wave."
"You're kidding," Amanda said looking at her father. She couldn't imagine him being a surfer.
"Nope. The day after you told me about your rather unusual threesome, I was two hours late to work. I had eased over and got in that lane. I had driven for an hour before my common sense caught up to me," he answered. He picked up his fork and took a chuck of the pie.
"Wow, I never knew that about you. Maybe you can stop by Austin the next time you decide to take off like that," Amanda said.
"I'll never do it," Sidney said with a gesture that was intended to dismiss the idea. He said, "It's a foolish bit of nonsense that would only create more problems than it would solve."
"I know," Amanda said.
"I only think about it when I'm bothered by something. What's got you so sad?" Sidney asked.
"I love Tom, but we never get any time alone for me to express my love to him," Amanda answered.
There was only one interpretation about expressing her love and that meant having sex. Since they were a threesome, he imagined that would include Terry. Barely able to get the words out of his mouth, Sidney said, "So spend the night with him."
"What about mother?" Amanda asked rather surprised by his answer.
"She'll be overjoyed that you're sleeping with a man. We don't have to tell her that Terry would be there too," Sidney said.
"She won't be there. She doesn't like men at all that way," Amanda said looking at her father.
"Oh," Sidney said. The threesome was beginning to look more like a lover's triangle with his daughter the critical vertex. He asked, "Nothing goes on between them?"
"Nothing goes on between them. She tolerates him and he accommodates her," Amanda said.
Shaking his head, Sidney asked, "So what is holding this relationship together?"
"Me. I love them both despite the lack of feelings they have for each other," Amanda said. She knew that it wasn't exactly true that Tom and Terry didn't have feelings for each other, but it would have been too hard to explain.
Sidney took a bite of pie thinking about what she had explained. It was a strange relationship and he didn't really approve of it. After swallowing his food, he took a sip of coffee. Amanda watched him trying to gauge his mood. He sighed and said, "I wish that Perker fellow with the pizzas was here."
"Parker," Amanda corrected. She wondered when Dan and her father had talked. He occasionally let it slip that the smartest of the bunch was the guy who ran the pizzeria.
He shook his head and said, "That boy has a boatload of commonsense. I'd like to hear what he has to say about this mess."
"Tom thinks highly of him," Amanda said.
"That speaks well for Tom," Sidney said. He laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. He ate some more of his pie. After chasing it down with a sip of coffee, he said, "So what else is bothering you?"
"Mom," Amanda said. She knew that her father would react negatively to that so she quickly added, "She's very mean to Terry. It hurts to watch two people that you love fight."
"There's not too much that I can do about your mother. I suppose that getting her to talk to that Parker fellow would be too difficult to arrange," he said rubbing his chin. He glanced across the restaurant and spotted Terry seated at the bar. He wasn't sure if she was staying there because she didn't like him or if she was giving him a chance to talk with his daughter. He said, "Go get your girlfriend. Let her know that I don't bite."
"I wondered what was taking her so long," Amanda said looking in the direction that her father had pointed. Terry was seated at the bar drinking a cup of coffee and staring off into space. Amanda didn't think this was exactly the date she had been hoping it would be. She looked at her father and said, "This was all her idea."
"Oh," Sidney said. It was nice to know that she looked out for his little girl. If she was just a friend of Amanda's, then he'd value her a lot more. He knew it wasn't fair, but he didn't understand how his daughter could love a woman. He said, "Bring her over here."
By the time Amanda returned with Terry, Sidney had finished eating his pie. He'd thought about the situation, but couldn't come up with a solution that might work. He understood his wife's feelings only too well. He took a sip of his coffee and watched how his daughter looked at the other woman. It was definitely love.
Amanda asked, "So do you have any ideas?"
"No," he answered. He looked over at Terry and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"
"Yes," she answered looking back at him. Her lips were tight as if she expected this to explode into a shouting match.
"Well, what are they?" he asked.
"My first idea is that she moves in with Tom and Me," Terry answered hearing Amanda gasp beside her.
Sidney took a deep breath to control the sudden anger that he felt. Staring at Terry, he asked, "What does that accomplish?"
"It lets Amanda spend time with Tom and me without it being a hassle. What you don't know won't hurt you," Terry answered watching the muscle of his jaw tic.
"That's out of the question. I'm not sending my little girl to live with you and a guy," Sidney said. Even as he said it he realized that his daughter was of an age where she could go where she wanted.
Terry smiled and said, "How about letting her spend the night on occasion?"
"No," he answered automatically. He had forgotten that he had already told his daughter to spend some time with Tom.
"No?" Terry asked. She looked at him and asked, "Isn't that better than having her move out of your house for good?"
"It is better, but I can't condone what she's doing. It is wrong," he answered. He could convince himself that she would only be with Tom, but even that would not be acceptable.
Amanda asked, "How old were you and mom when you got married?"
"I was twenty three and she was twenty two," he answered.
"How long did you date before you got married?" Amanda asked knowing the answer. They had met his sophomore year of college and waited to get married until after he had graduated.
"Three years," he answered.
"Were you virgins when you got married?" Terry asked.
Sidney flushed in anger. The truth was that Sidney and his wife had gone at it like rabbits when they were dating. It had started with their first date and had never ended. They even told their daughter that she was born two weeks early when she had been born a week late. They hadn't known it at the time, but his wife had been pregnant when they married. He snapped, "That's none of your business."
"You're right. That is none of my business, but it is relevant to what we are talking about. You keep calling her your little girl, but she isn't a little girl. She's a young woman. Everyone else except for you and your wife recognizes that. Legally, she can vote, get married, and even have a beer. I was just wondering if you were putting expectations on Amanda that aren't realistic," Terry said.
The reminder that she was old enough to buy alcohol hit him like a punch to the stomach. He hadn't even thought about that when she had her last birthday. He could get angry if she came home falling down drunk, but not for having a glass of wine with her dinner. His anger would be justified on the basis of irresponsible behavior rather than drinking. He stared at Terry and said, "I'll talk to my wife. I'm not making any promises."
"What kind of promises could you make?" she asked puzzled by the suggestion that he could make any kind of promise.
"I don't know," Sidney answered realizing that it was a very good question. He looked across the table at Amanda and said, "Spend tonight with your boyfriend. I'll talk to your mother."
Seated in his chair, Sidney snapped the paper as he turned the page of the newspaper. His wife came in the living room and asked, "Did you fix his car?"
"It wasn't really broken," Sidney answered.
"So they called you out on a false alarm," she said. She figured the air was low in his tires or something equally stupid.
"Yes," he answered. He slowly folded up his newspaper and said, "Have a seat. I want to talk to you."
"Sure, honey," she answered as she slipped into her chair.
"I'm not enjoying Amanda's visit at all," Sidney said shifting in his chair and rubbing his chin. He had thought about how to broach the subject with his wife on the drive home. The more he had thought about Amanda spending the occasional night with Tom the more he had come to like the idea. Although he would never admit it, his motives were purely selfish.
"Neither am I," she admitted. She was about to start on a rant about her daughter turning into a lesbian, but held back after looking at the expression on her husband's face. There was something else on his mind.
"It was pretty nice around here when she was away at school. We were able to do things without having to plan around her," he said scratching his cheek.
"I know what you mean," she agreed. It did seem to her that life was a lot less complicated.
He rubbed his crotch as he said, "We were even able to do some things in any room of the house without being worried about getting caught."
"Yes," she said knowing exactly what kind of things he was suggesting. She looked over at the door wondering if their daughter would show up anytime soon. She shook her head thinking that it was too risky.
"You know that we were younger than she is when we first met," Sidney said.
"Don't remind me. It makes me feel old," she said fussing with her hair. She had been a young and free spirit back then.
"We're not old," he said. Looking over at his wife, he added, "I actually felt young again when she was off at school. I guess not having to be a parent twenty-four hours a day was a little more liberating than I realized."
"Yeah, you can say that again," she said in agreement. So far, the summer had been miserable. They had kind of gotten used to doing things on their own schedule and that had changed when Amanda had returned home. They were back to waiting for her to arrive home from her dates and scheduling their lives around hers. She looked at him and asked, "Where is our daughter?"
"I said that she could spend the night with that Tom fellow," Sidney answered. It was close enough to the truth that he didn't mind saying it.
"You did what?" she asked sitting up a little straighter.
"I said that she could spend the night with that Tom fellow," Sidney answered expecting her to explode any second.
"Why on earth would you do that?" she asked glaring at him.
Sidney answered, "I thought that it would be nice to have an evening at home alone with you for a change. I kind of missed that."
"Oh," she answered settling back in her chair thinking about the implications of what he had said. She looked over at the door realizing that it wasn't likely to open until morning. There was going to be no late evening spent waiting for her to return. She turned to look at him and asked, "So you mean that she won't be home tonight?"
"That's right. We've got the whole house to ourselves until morning," Sidney answered with a nod of his head.
"We could go and get something to eat in the middle of the night without worrying about her?"
"The Derkins restaurant is right down the street," he replied. Occasionally they made a midnight run to the restaurant for desert or a breakfast dish. It was an unexpected little pleasure they had discovered last fall.
She fiddled with a button of her blouse and said, "We can do anything in any room of this house until morning?"
"That's right," he answered smiling over at her. He looked over at the fireplace. He asked, "Remember the last time we slept in front of the fireplace?"
"Oh yes," she answered. That little episode had occurred during the last cold snap of winter. The evening had started with wine and snacks on a blanket in front of a roaring fire. It had only gotten hotter as the evening progressed. It hadn't dawned on her until he had mentioned it that their lives had been a lot better with Amanda off to school.
"Or the hammock beside the pool?" he asked.
Another evening with them taking a late night skinny dip in the pool had ended with them asleep in the hammock out back. They had slept the night away under the stars. There hadn't even been any mosquitoes. She smiled and said, "I remember."
"I've missed doing things like that," Sidney said.
"Me too."
He said, "I don't mind if she sleeps over at his house occasionally. It gives us a chance to relax."
"What about that woman?" his wife asked.
"I don't know. They say they love each other. They're kids, what do they know? For all we know, they'll grow out it," Sidney said.
"I don't know about that," she replied. She had seen the way that they looked at each other. It definitely looked like love to her.
Shrugging his shoulders, he asked, "What are we supposed to do? What can we do? Yelling at her isn't working."
"You're right," she answered with a frown.
Rather than allowing the discussion to focus on his daughter's sexuality, he suggested, "How about we take a quick dip in the pool and then head over to Derkins for a late night breakfast?"
"You've got work tomorrow," she said glancing over at the clock realizing that it wasn't that late.
"So what?"
Lazlo Zalezac