Chapter 15
After two weeks Brenda went back to work. I hired a nanny to watch Adam while she worked and she made a suggestion that we build a day care center for the paving company employees like we had done for our other company. I was in no position to refuse so I told her to work out the details and I would start the plan work and then start construction.
Brenda started work on the day care center and left a lot of her work to Paula to do. Paula had been with the paving company for about a year and she was an excellent worker and was growing in the job. She was always seeking more responsibility.
Paula was a very beautiful girl. She had a nice build but she seemed to always want to hide so that no one would see her. She seemed to be afraid of everyone. Brenda said that Paula never went out or even talked about a boyfriend. Every time I went to the paving company office Paula would take pains to avoid having to talk to me. I began to think that she either didn't like me or she was afraid of me.
I asked Brenda about Paula one night at dinner. Brenda didn't know what was wrong; she had noticed that Paula seemed afraid of everyone. She mentioned that she thought that Paula might have been abused as a child. Peggy told Brenda to invite Paula over for a cookout the next weekend and they could question her and find out if she had, in fact been abused.
At first Paula made apologies about the hundreds of things that she had to do on the weekend but Brenda kept hammering at her until Paula accepted her invitation. Brenda told us that Paula had asked several times if we really wanted her to come to the house. Paula began to drive Brenda nuts asking what she should wear and what she should bring. Brenda told her to just bring herself and be ready to swim. She told Paula that anytime after nine in the morning would be fine.
My parents agreed to take care of the kids for the weekend so that we could have some free time to ourselves. I'm sure that my parents know what's going on with Peggy, Brenda and me but they've never brought it up. I think that they are so happy to have grandchildren to spoil that they take them and not ask questions.
About eleven o'clock on Saturday morning Paula pulled into our long driveway in her old Hyundai. The smoke was pouring out of the tail pipe so much that I was afraid that she'd need oil to get back to Phoenix. When she got out of the car and hesitated I was afraid that she'd jump back in and rush back to Phoenix.
Peggy and Brenda came out to greet her and took her into the house with them to begin preparing the food and drinks for the cookout. She cast a quick glance at me and you could see the wheels turning... two women living in the same house with one man.
I found out later that Peggy and Brenda had put her to work preparing the vegetables for the salad tray. Paula asked about the living arraignments almost at once. Peggy and Brenda told her that it had been their idea, not mine, and that everyone was very comfortable with the arrangement. Paula worked on fixing the vegetables and didn't say much after that.
We all decided to go swimming for a while before starting the grill and Peggy suggested that Paula go to the bedroom so that she could change. Paula demurred that she didn't bring a bathing suit. Peggy wasn't having any of it and she got one of her's and insisted that Paula put it on. Peggy left while Paula put on the bathing suit.
Now, as I said, Peggy has a figure that most women would kill for. When Paula walked out of the bedroom we saw that Paula had a fabulous figure too. Her figure was always hidden by the bulky clothes that she wore at work. I whistled at her as she walked out onto the patio and she paled. I told her that I was sorry but she was so pretty that I couldn't help myself. Peggy and Brenda were already in the pool.
Paula sat in a chair next to the pool and resisted Brenda and Peggy's urging to get in the pool. After several minutes of coaxing they got out of the pool and sat down next to their guest. It wasn't until they started to get out of the pool that Paula realized that they were both swimming naked. She hurriedly turned her head to avoid looking at them. I watched from the house as they teased her for being so modest. Peggy told her that they rarely wore clothes in the hot tub or pool.
"What about Damon? Doesn't he... won't he... ?"
"If he says anything about it, we'll drag him into bed and fuck his brains out," Brenda laughed, "Seriously, he loves watching the two of us. I swear that man has a perpetual hard-on."
Paula was quiet for a long time. Brenda tried to engage her in conversation but it's hard having a conversation with someone that gives a one-word answer to everything you say.
I brought out a very large pitcher of screwdrivers with an extra splash of vodka and sat it on the table next to the chairs. Paula watched me as I talked for a minute with my wives. You could almost see the wheels turning in her head. I went back inside to fix the deviled eggs.
When I was out of ear-shot Paula turned to the women, "Damon, is he... I mean... does he... ?"
She couldn't bring herself to ask it so Peggy answered anyway, "We're both his wives. It was our decision not his. If he hadn't gone along with it we would have cut his balls off."
Paula was silent and just stared out at nothing. She turned to speak a couple of times but either couldn't get it out or she was afraid to ask it. She excused herself to use the bathroom. On her way to the bathroom she passed by me, in the kitchen, very quickly without looking at me. When she came back into the kitchen she hurried past me and went out to sit by the pool.
"Does our living situation make you uncomfortable?" Peggy asked.
It was a while before Paula answered, "No, not really; if you are the ones that decided that is. I was raised in a polygamist community in northern Arizona so I'm fine with it as long as you weren't forced."
Peggy could see that something was troubling Paula, "You talk like you've seen the bad side of plural marriages. Were you forced to be a wife?"
"When I was sixteen years old my father married me off to the prophet. He was sixty-seven years old. I told my father that I wouldn't be the wife of an old man but he dragged me to the prophet's house and helped the prophet tie me on the bed. The prophet raped me and told me that we were married then. We didn't have any sort of a ceremony; he just declared us married. I lived with the prophet for two years on and off."
"What do you mean on and off?" Brenda asked.
"I kept running away. I had a boyfriend and I would go and live with him every time that I ran away. One night several of the men came to my boyfriend's house and they dragged him out of the house and took him somewhere. Later, I found out that the prophet had ordered him killed for making me follow the devil. One of the people in town said that the prophet told him that my boyfriend was one of Satan's messengers. I waited until the time was right and I ran away. I made it to the main highway and got a ride with a trucker to Phoenix. I worked wherever I could to get money for food. I slept wherever I felt it was safe. Now, I'm really afraid that if they find me, that they'll kidnap me and take me back to that old man."
"How old are you, Paula?"
"I'll be twenty next birthday."
Peggy stood up, "I've had enough of this serious talk. I think that it's time for Paula to get in the pool. Will you help me Brenda?"
Peggy grabbed Paula's hand and pulled her out of the chair. As Peggy dragged her to the pool Brenda unhooked Paula's bathing suit top and let it fall. The bottoms followed a minute later. I walked out just as she was about to go in the pool. Paula dragged the other two into the pool with her. While they were thrashing about and trying to resurface and catch their breath, I slipped out of my bathing trunks and continued to straighten up and set out the dishes and silverware.
When Paula and the others surfaced, Paula looked over at me and saw me moving around the chairs. Her eyes fell on my crotch and she stared at me for a long time; like she was mesmerized. Suddenly she noticed that Peggy and Brenda were watching her and her face turned beet red and she turned her back to me.
I walked back into the house to continue making the foods for the cookout. I watched out of the kitchen window as the women got out of the pool. Brenda and Peggy flopped on the chaise lounges and called to Paula to come and sit down and get some sun.
Paula wrapped a towel around her body and as she was about to sit, Peggy grabbed the towel and pulled it away from her. Paula made an attempt to retrieve the towel but Peggy wasn't giving it up. She finally fell back on the chaise and put her hands on her lap to cover herself. Peggy and Brenda were teasing her and laughing at her attempts at modesty and Paula was asking for the towel back; she was laughing nervously.
"Paula, we're shielded from prying eyes here and we go around nude every chance that we get. Damon sees us all of the time nude. Enjoy yourself for a change. Let yourself enjoy the sun on your body and don't let any negative thoughts into your mind."
Paula relaxed a little, "Can I ask you something Peggy? What is it like living the way that you two do? Wouldn't you rather have Damon to yourself?"
Peggy suggested that they move the chairs under the patio canopy so that they wouldn't get burned. They pulled the chaises into the shade.
"To answer your question; as I said, this was mine and Brenda's idea. We both loved Damon. I was his first wife and when I saw that Brenda had fallen in love with him, I asked her if she would be comfortable being his wife also. She jumped at the offer. It was a done deal before we even approached Damon about it. Technically, Brenda is not married to him except spiritually. I guess that she could just walk away from our situation whenever she wanted to. I don't envision that ever happening though. We love each other and the thought of ever separating has never entered our minds. We don't have any jealousy between us and we both feel blessed to have the man of our dreams. If I said that we never have problems and never have arguments I'd be lying to you. We're just like every other family. But there are a lot of pluses too. All three of us work and that means there's more money coming into the house. There are three sets of eyes on our businesses. There are three parents to make sure that the children are raised properly. There are three parents to make sure that the children are taken to the different activities that they want to participate in. All three of us share in the work of the household. Brenda and I are not Damon's slaves. As you can see, he's doing all of the work for this cookout. We each have our duties. He's the main breadwinner. All major decisions are made by all of us. There is no one person here that is more important than the others. To sum up this long spiel; this is our decision. It works for us and it's how we want to live. We realize that it would be for everybody though. It takes a special kind of person to live in a situation like this."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Brenda chipped in.
"As for you going around nude in front of Damon, don't feel
self-conscious about it. Brenda and I keep Damon well satisfied. Oh,
I'm sure that he's going to look and fantasize but I doubt that he has
any desire to roam outside of the family. Now let's enjoy ourselves and
I want you to feel at home today. By the way, I'm going to trust you to
keep this conversation private. We aren't ashamed of the way that we
live but some people would raise their eyebrows at it."