As Maddie lay between the two women she thought about how Cynthia would react if she discovered the relationship with her mother. They had been friends all through college, and Maddie didn't want to ruin that. She quickly tossed that thought aside, catching her breath and glowing with the waves of delight within her. She knew this was the beginning of a very special relationship.
The room was still partially lit, the sheets strewn on the floor. The three of them lying there in naked bliss, their hearts slowly returning to their normal beat.
It was then that they heard Cynthia exclaim, "Mother!"
They sat upright in the bed; Julia's feet were the first to hit the floor. She ran from the room calling her daughter. Leslie looked at Maddie; her face reflected the shock she felt hearing Cynthia's voice.
"Get dressed baby, this isn't good." Leslie ordered Maddie.
Maddie switched on the bedside light and began gathering up clothes, tossing them on the bed. Leslie helped while grabbing her things and slipping back into them.
Julia almost caught up to Cynthia, who had gone to her old room in tears slamming the door behind her.
"Cynthia, sweetie, please open the door we need to talk."
She was met with the sound of her oldest daughter sobbing into her pillow and a muffled, "NO!"
"Please, sweetheart. I know you're shocked, but I can explain. Please open the door."
Julia knew the door wasn't locked; none of the smaller bedrooms had that option. She granted Cynthia this little bit of privacy, hoping that she would calm down long enough to let her explain what she had just seen. As she stood there waiting for some other reaction beside the sobs, Leslie walked up behind her and whispered a suggestion.
"Go get dressed, if she sees you naked she's just going to freak out more. Maddie is leaving after she finishes getting dressed. Scoot!"
Julia asked one more time for Cynthia to open the door and then nodded to Leslie. Heading back to her room, she apologized to Maddie, who was slipping her shoes back on and looking around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"Maddie, I'm so sorry. I should have planned this better."
"It's ok Julia, I loved it. Well, up to this point anyway. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Thank you sweetheart but I think I need to get dressed and have a long talk with her. She's in shock. I know I would be if I saw my mom like that."
"She's probably been drinking which makes her more dramatic, Julia."
"Maybe so, I want to talk to her and make sure she doesn't do anything rash."
Maddie nodded then kissed Julia good-bye. From the bedroom, she stopped long enough to kiss Leslie and remind her to give her a call.
Leslie knocked on Cynthia's door, hoping she could talk the young woman into opening it. She tried several times in a soothing voice asking Cynthia to open it so they could all talk and explain. It was after Julia returned that the door crept open. Standing on the other side was a teary eyed red-faced Cynthia. Julia and Leslie recognized the scent of alcohol when Cynthia completely opened the door.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry you saw us," Julia pleaded.
Leslie began her apology, "Cynthia, we wanted to tell you, sort of gradually let you know."
Julia looked at Leslie with raised eyebrows, wishing Leslie would hush for a moment. Leslie got the hint as her voice trailed off, letting Julia take the lead.
"Sweetheart, let's go sit down."
Julia walked through the doorway with Leslie a good distance behind. Cynthia had finished sobbing, her eyes red as she let her mother guide her to the double bed where they sat facing each other. Cynthia hadn't drank much, but the combination of drinks made her a bit light-headed. The euphoria she was feeling when she got home had worn off after seeing her mother in bed.
Leslie found a chair, turning it to face them. She considered leaving them alone but figured Julia hadn't asked her to leave so she'd stay for support.
The first words out of Cynthia's mouth once they sat down, "Don't you love dad anymore, mother?"
"Yes, I do love him sweetheart, very much. I also love Leslie and I hope that you can come to understand that."
"Does dad know?"
"No, he doesn't. I promise I will tell him as soon as he's back from his trip."
Julia looked into her daughter's bloodshot eyes. Her hand reached up and softly stroked the young girl's hair reassuring her of her love. Cynthia recoiled in horror, looking her mother in the eyes.
"You're cheating on dad. How could you do such a thing and in our house."
Cynthia looked over at Leslie.
"Does your husband know you fuck my mom?"
Leslie's expression turned to one of guilt. She hung her head and muttered a quiet, "No."
"Cynthia!" Julia exclaimed, shocked that her daughter could be so crude.
"Mother, I just caught you in bed with two other women. I think that justifies my manners."
Leslie stood and grabbed tissues from the nightstand offering them to Cynthia. She took the box, nearly ripping Leslie's hand off with it. She blew her nose depositing the spent tissue on the floor.
Julia tried to explain, "I didn't think you'd be coming home so early. We lost track of time."
"I'm sorry too, Cynthia. Can you please forgive us?"
"Forgive you? I think you need to talk to dad and your husband for forgiveness. I'm mad at you both for doing this here. I don't know if I can forgive you for cheating on dad. What did he do to deserve this?"
"This will never happen again, sweetheart I promise."
"I hope not, now would you two please leave me alone. I just don't want to talk anymore about this right now."
Cynthia rose and walked to the door, ushering her mother and Leslie out. They both hung their heads in shame and headed back to Julia's room, neither saying a word as they walked down the hall. Leslie looked around the bedroom and picked up the remaining pieces of clothing then looked at Julia who was sitting on the bed sobbing.
"We'll figure something out. I guess I have to tell Bill now. I don't think either of us is going to have a good night Julia, so I'll just kiss you and go. Talk to her, I think she might be open to understanding we do love each other and maybe people have the capacity to have more than one love in their life."
"Alright, we'll see what happens in the morning, assuming I can sleep now. I'm still upset that this happened."
"It will work out, at least I think it will. I do love you. I am going to wait until after you tell John before I tell Bill."
"Leslie, sweetie, I know you do and I love you. Maybe I can think of how I'm going to tell him, if she'll just give me some time. If not then it will be when he gets home tomorrow."
Leslie kissed Julia goodbye and left for home, unsure what she was going to do.
Julia thought about the evening and the different ways she could tell John. She sighed, shaking her head as she went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. It had been a long night and she hoped a shower would relax her enough so she could get some sleep. The warm water did help; she stood under the stream and let it soak in. It felt good but didn't reveal the answers she was seeking. With her body clean and dry she walked back out to her bedroom, slipped into her panties and straightened the bed covers. The night was warm enough and coupled with the shower she didn't bother putting on her nightshirt.
After straightening the bed sheets she climbed into bed. She thought back at how lovely the night had been. Leslie was so surprised and delighted with Maddie. Fluffing her pillows she arranged them against the headboard. Reaching up and flicking off the light, she settled in continuing to think about her husband's possible reactions to her confession and what the future might hold. Noticing the light still on in Cynthia's room, she rolled over to try and get some sleep.
Around 9:00 AM Julia awoke, dressed and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. She hoped Cynthia had calmed down, but she didn't think that was likely to happen anytime soon. When Cynthia did come in, she was cool and quiet, so Julia let her stew. After breakfast Cynthia did manage a good bye to her mother as she left.
Julia took the rest of the day to straighten up the house, John wouldn't mind that she had the book club over, but if she was going to tell him about her affair she wanted things to be perfect. She went to the grocery store and bought fresh fruits and vegetables plus a big steak they could share. John and Bill ate out of cans when they went camping so a home cooked meal with fresh items was something he looked forward to. She kept debating whether to tell him or not. Leslie wanted her to stall, but she really wanted to get it over with. Maybe just cooking his favorite meals and having mind blowing sex would soften the blow that was sure to happen when she eventually told him.
It was late afternoon when she heard the garage door open. She grabbed one of John's favorite micro brews and went out to greet him. He stunk after a week with no shower or shave. She was lucky he took extra clothes to wear. Handing him his beer, she smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Thanks, how was your week?"
"Not too bad, I had the book club over last night."
"Sounds exciting, what's for dinner?"
He was never too interested in her book club or any of the activities she liked to do. They had talked about doing more things together to strengthen their marriage since the girls no longer lived at home. Each time they did, it eventually faded and they got back to doing their own things with their own friends.
"I got some steaks, a salad, corn on the cob and artichokes. I'll do the inside stuff if you'll do the steaks."
"Sure, let me just unpack this stuff and take a shower."
"Ok, I'll meet you in there in a few. I'll start the artichokes. Did you want another beer or something else to drink?"
"I'll just put what's left of the ice chest stuff away. I think I'll stick with the beer sweetheart."
She left the garage and went to the kitchen to start dinner. John came in and grabbed another beer and her ass on the way to the shower.