Following many nights of thinking about our past, I had communicated my apology to Sue for being so trusting of Lyn. At no time during our discussion was she able to show any sign of appreciation that I had made the effort.

This was probably a good thing for me because it allowed me to know that my conscience was clear. It seemed that the situation with Lyn had made little difference to Sue’s decision to leave.

Julie and I moved back into my house immediately after my meeting with Sue. I discussed my situation with my boss who told me that he trusted me to make the right decisions at work so why would he doubt any decision that I made in my personal life. This was a great help to Julie and me because it meant that we could follow up on our plans with Marg and Cherie without any fear of it impacting our work.

Once we had settled into our house, Julie and I went out to see Marg and Cherie. As I parked my car in the driveway they both came out from their unit with big smiles all around.

“Hello, you pair, how are you going,” Cherie called out as we alighted from the car.

“We are great, mate. How’s my favourite princess?” I said as I took her in my arms and kissed her.

“I’m as horny as hell and looking forward to your visit. I thought you and Julie might have given us up. It’s been ages since we’ve seen you both.”

“Me giving up my special princess, not a chance!”

“You are still the same bullshit artist I see, still spinning a line to get in the ladies panties.”

“I don’t have to try too hard with a horny little bitch like you, Cherie.”

“Promises, promises, promises, that’s all I hear these days.” 

“Well, maybe it’s about time that Julie and I changed all that.”

“As I said, promises, promises, promise.”

Cherie moved around to Julie while Marg walked over to me after kissing Julie full on the lips. I saw that very special twinkle in Marg’s eye that was just one of those characteristics that had appealed to me so much many years ago when I had first fallen in love with her.

“Hello, Goyse. It’s good to see you.”

I took her in my arms and as always she moulded into my body as if she belonged there. Our kiss was long and hard. Just holding her made me feel like a million dollars. She looked into my eyes and I instinctively knew that this woman was still in love with me. That spark was still there.

I wondered why she had pushed me away all those years ago and then it suddenly occurred to me. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? She pulled away from me because she didn’t want to destroy my marriage.

She had done it for me. She had given up her chance of happiness to prevent all the problems and stress that I would be exposed to during a marriage breakdown. 

 “It’s great to see my very special lover again.”

I kissed her. When I went to break the kiss she held me so tightly so that I couldn’t get away. Eventually, she let me free but as she did she whispered in my ear so no one else would hear.

“I’m still in love with you Goyse. I want you to know that.”

“Yes, I know. You didn’t have to tell me. I saw it in your eyes. Julie and I would like to talk to you about something tonight that you might like to hear. Let’s go inside first.”

“What are you pair whispering about?” It was Cherie. I turned to see both Julie and Cherie watching us.

“She was telling me how good it is to see us again.”

“Hhhmmmm, I’ll bet.”

The four of us went inside. Cherie, knowing we were coming had organized our favourite drinks and had little titbits of food set up for us. We sat in the lounge. Julie and Cherie sat together while Marg sat beside me. I mean, when I say she sat beside me if she had sat an inch further over towards me she would have been sitting on my lap.

The thought got a rise from me. I was hoping the other girls didn’t see.

“A bit frisky tonight, I see, Goyse.”

“Well, you did say you were horny, Cherie. You would be disappointed if information like that didn’t influence me, wouldn’t you? Besides there are three sexy women here and I’ve got them all to myself, it seems.”

“You are always full of surprises, Goyse, aren’t you?”

“I think you are jealous, Cherie. Marg, why don’t you swap places with Cherie before Julie and I make you our offer.”

“I’m just joking, Goyse. You know that.”

“I thought you were but for a while there you sounded a touch jealous.”

“I probably was. Julie gets you to herself. You and Marg are best friends and buddies every time we are together. Where does that leave me? I sometimes feel like I’m the third wheel on a push bike, stacked away in the shed until I’m needed.”

“Maybe it’s time for us to change all that, Cherie. How would you and Marg like to move back into the unit behind my house? The offer is no rent to pay but some very special conditions. Would you consider it?”

“Consider it, I’d break my leg to get it. How do you feel about it Marg?”

“I’m just as keen as you are, Cherie. We should never have left.”

“We only left because of Sue, you know that but Julie is a different matter. You realize we will be trying to encourage Goyse to sleep with us, don’t you Julie.”

“I hope so. I’d be awfully disappointed if you stopped doing what come naturally to you girls. I suggested it to Goyse. I knew what it would entail before I put the suggestion to him. I hope he is not the only one you want to spend time with though.”

“Oh, that’s the decider. We are definitely coming. What are the conditions, Goyse?”

“OK, the first one is that to all outsiders, it must look as if you are just tenants in the flat out back. The second is that even though the rent will be free, other costs like food, water, power etcetera need to be paid for by us all. The third is that Julie and I are a couple. Any attempt to come between us will mean you will be evicted. There is no good reason why we cannot grow old together if the rules are respected.”

“All those terms seem fair. I have no problem with them at all. How do you feel about them Marg?”

 “They seem OK to me as well. Will it give me an opportunity to spend some time alone with each of you?”

“That all depends on circumstances. If each of us respects the others rights then it may be possible from time to time but generally, it will be Julie and me together and we may invite the two of you to join us. If Julie wants to, then I can see no reason why Julie may spend some time with you, Marg, while Cherie spends time with me or the reverse. It’s a matter of what works for us all. I need to impress on you both that what Julie sees as acceptable will most likely be what happens.”

“So, you are handing the power for decision making to Julie.”

“You could look at it that way but remember any one of us has the right to say no at any time. It stands to reason, that if one of us is unhappy with the arrangement then it will put an end to our arrangement. The reason why I have specified Julie is that she is the one who suggested it and so she needs to be the controller more so than the rest of us.”

“OK, when do we move?”

“Julie and I have a very special event coming up over the next month. I was thinking in six weeks time. Does that sound OK to you, Julie?”

“Yes, I would think perhaps ten weeks would allow us more time for our special event.”

“The unit will be available to you in ten weeks time then. Does that suit you Cherie, Marg?”

The answer was in unison, “Yes, we’ll be ready by then”

There was a pause in the conversation then Cherie asked, “What happens tonight? Would you both like to stay with us? I don’t think we could all fit in the one bed. Ours is a lot smaller than yours.”

Julie responded before I could, “Yes, we’d like that. Perhaps you and I could get together, Cherie. I think Marg would like to have some time with Goyse by her reaction when we arrived. I thought she was going to choke him.”

“Do you think we can trust them together, Julie. She might hurt him or maybe keep the neighbours awake with her screaming and moaning.”

“I don’t know about you but I would find her screaming and moaning a big turn on. Of course, my screams and moans may drown out hers.”

We all laughed. The girls were joking of course but I wasn’t so sure that there was not some truth to the joke. We sat around for a few drinks and nibbles. The talk was jovial and enjoyable.

After about two hours, it was Julie who took the initiative by putting her arm around Cherie and pulling her across to allow them to kiss. The kiss was very erotic. Marg and I watched them both for some time and then I felt Marg take my hand and squeeze.

I looked at Marg and we smiled at each other. She reached over and gave me a little peck on the lips and whispered, “Come with me. Leave them to do their thing.”

I got up quietly and followed Marg into the spare bedroom. It was fitted with a queen-sized bed. Marg led me to the bedside and told me to sit down. She then started to undress.

She did it slowly and erotically, turning around at times as she removed an item of clothing. When she removed her panties she handed them to me. I raised them to my nose to enjoy that sweet odour that I remember so well. 

Once Marg was totally nude she came back to me and pulled my arm to lift me to my feet. She then unbuckled my trousers and dropped them to the floor. My erect penis sprung clear like a spring, threatening to hit her in the face.

Her eyes lifted upwards to meet mine and she smiled. She then pushed me down to a sitting position again and then lifted herself up on to the bed.

Marg placed her hands on my shoulders to keep her balance so that she could stand. Her position put her pussy directly in front of my face. Her sweet odour was intoxicating. I placed my hand on the cheeks of her but and pulled her into my mouth. My tongue snaked out and I ran it up across her wet slit. 

By this time she had joined her hands behind my head. This allowed her to lean her body backwards which opened her pussy up for attack by my tongue. Her groan was loud and long.

“Oh, fuck I’ve waited so long for this. Eat me, Goyse. Eat my little pussy.”

What could I do? I just followed her instructions. The more that I worked her over the further back she leaned until I felt that I was holding her full weight with my neck muscles. Eventually, she was leaning back far enough that I got access to her anus and I included that in my assault on her. 

It was obvious to me that she was having little orgasms all the while. The loudness of her moaning and groaning was a concern to me. The other girls had to have heard her. I thought that Cherie was joking about her screams and groans but I now knew that she was actually serious.

“Oh fuck. I need your cock in me. Lie me down Goyse and fuck me.”

I moved her to the side with the intent that I would stand then turn around to allow me to set her down on her back. As I did so, a streak of light caught my attention. I shifted my eyes towards the door and saw two faces looking through a crack between the door and the door post.

Cherie and Julie had opened the door just enough to watch what we were doing. We had an audience.

“Come and join us, cheeky, if you want to. You can too, Cherie.”

I was answered by a couple of giggles. There were a couple of whispers and then the door opened fully then closed again. I knew they were there but the burst of light had blinded me so I focused my attention back to Marg.

I whispered quietly, “Let’s give them a demonstration of how it’s done, Marg.”

Marg had raised her knees while opening her legs to give me access. As I pressed up along her body, she took my cock and rubbed it up and down her slit to open her inner flaps for my entry. I pushed forward and my head entered her. I felt her hump her hips something which she always had done when I pressed into her.

I pulled back and pushed forward again. She let out a groan as another half inch pushed into her. She was much tighter than I had remembered but then it was a long time since she had a cock embedded inside her. When we had made love in the past she was still having sex with her husband.

I continued to work inch by inch inside her.

When I was a little over halfway inside her she let out one almighty scream and yelled, “I’m cumming. Oh, Goyse, I’m cumming, I’m cumming, I’m cumming, I’m cumming. Give it to me, plllleeeaaasssee. Shoot your baby making juice inside me, plllleeeaaasssee. Fill my pussy with your fertile sperm.”

I could feel the contractions of her orgasm through my cock. It was being squeezed and then released and then squeezed once more. 

The heat of the juices of her orgasm was incredible but then it occurred to me, she would not be protected. If I were to cum inside her she could well become pregnant. I wanted to cum, but could I?

“Cherie, can I cum inside her. Quick tell me, damn it. Is she safe?”

“No, Goyse pull out. For Christ sake, pull out. She’s fertile.”

“Oh, fuck. It’s too late. Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Marg I’m cumming, I’m cumming and cumming and cumming. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Ohhhh, fffuuucccckkk.”

I did it again. I passed out. The world disappeared from my grasp.

The only sound that I could hear was a sound like, “wwwoooo, wwwoooo, wwwoooo.”  

It went on and on while I had the most incredible dream. I was back with Marg that very first time. My heart was beating the same way and those incredible feelings of love and affection came back to me as she held me in her arms. I felt that I wanted to keep her for the rest of my life but then…

I awoke to find three faces above me. It took a while to work out who they were. It took a while to work out where I was. All three had their mouths full open as if they were shocked. It was Marg who broke the stalemate. She started laughing.

“Yes, I loved it too, Goyse. That orgasm of mine was one of the best that I’ve ever had and the night’s still young yet. Come on girls, leave him alone, let him recover.”  

“That’s not what he said, Marg. He said he was in love with you. He said don’t ever leave me again. How do you feel about that, Julie?”

“He was unconscious, Cherie. He may have had a flashback or something. Remember, he and Marg were lovers once long ago. It’s OK. Come on, let’s leave them be.”

“Come on, girls. What did I say?”

Cherie was not ready to let it go, “You said that you loved Marg. You told her to never let you go again like she did before. You said a heap of other shit about how important she is to you.”

“I’m sorry, Cherie. I wouldn’t want to say anything to hurt you. I definitely wouldn’t say anything to hurt my Cheeky. She’s my life now. It was like a dream. The past rushed through my brain and in it, I lost Marg at a time when she was the only one that I really cared about.”

“Come on Cherie. Leave them together. They have things to talk about. If Marg is fertile like you said then they need to talk about it. I want to be together with you tonight. I have been looking forward to tonight with you and I don’t want anything to spoil that.”

“But Marg is my partner. I need to be party to anything that they decide.”

“Yes, I know. Goyse is my partner too. I trust him to make the right decision and you should trust Marg to do the same for you. Now come on leave the lovers alone. Making it hard for them will only make them more determined. We have to wait and be confident they will think of us when they make their decision.”

Cherie got up and left with Julie. Julie had done the one thing that would bond me closer to her. The moment that she said what she did, I knew for sure that she was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

When the door closed, I took Marg in my arms and kissed her. I reached down and rubbed her tummy then kissed her again. I then rolled over on my back and lifted her on top of me.

The thought of her bearing my child had my cock at attention again and I slowly slipped into her. She was still very tight but my sperm made her so slippery that I went all the way home inside her.

Her back humped to give me better access. I pushed as hard as I could inside her. I could feel that I was up against her cervix. It felt like her cervix was holding onto the head of my cock waiting for my sperm. I just held there hard inside her.

“That feels nice, Goyse. You said you loved me in your dream. Did you mean it? I still love you, you know. I have dreams of having your baby every night. Do you want me to give you my child, Goyse?”

“Of course I still love you, Marg. I dream of you as well. Not every night but the dream still comes back to me every so often. Do I want you to bear my child, Marg? That’s a very different question. I’m not going to leave Julie, Marg. It’s not like Sue and me where we never knew what the future holds. For Julie and me the future is us. When one of us dies, the other one will be there. Nothing can split us apart. We are a permanent couple. There is room for you and Cherie to live with us and stay with us for the rest of our lives but I will not leave Julie.”

“What you’re saying is that you don’t want me to bear your child. Is that what you are saying?”

“I’m not saying that at all. What I am saying is that if you do then don’t expect me to leave Julie because it will not be happening. If you choose to bear my child than you may raise it alone or you and Cherie can live with us and the four of us can raise it as our own. It’s not a question that I can answer for you, Marg.”

“It may be too late. I’m close to ovulation. I may even be ovulating right now. I may already be pregnant. It may be too late for me to make the decision.”

“I have a pill, Marg. You can take it if you decide to. It works in most situations. If you want it just say so and I will get it for you later on tonight.”

“The morning after pill, no, I don’t want it. If I’m pregnant then I’ll carry it full term.”

“Maybe you should think a little about that decision. You seemed to decide too quickly.”

“No, a while ago I talked to Cherie about my having another child and we agreed that if by some chance either of us got pregnant we would carry it full term. Both Cherie and I are bisexual. We just prefer to be together but we both need a man occasionally. We decided that we would try to encourage you to visit with us from time to time. Cherie is not as keen on having a child as what I am but she is still thinking about it.”

“OK, so it’s decided. You and Cherie will live with Julie and I. When you have the chance I would like you to discuss this issue of bearing my child with Julie. If you are not pregnant already then if you decide to go ahead with it I want Julie present with us when it happens.”

“Fuck, that’s not going to be easy. You want me to ask Julie for permission to allow her partner to impregnate me? She’s not going to take that well.”

“You’d be surprised. As long as you show her that you are not a threat to her relationship with me, she will agree.”

“She already knows that I am in love with you. She heard us talking earlier tonight from the door. I didn’t know she was listening.”

“Don’t be afraid. Just because you and I share our feelings doesn’t mean that you are a threat to her. If you have doubts then you need to tell her what I just said and make sure she understands that you accept that.”

“OK, I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”

“You need to have that same discussion with Cherie before you talk to Julie.

“Of course.”

During our discussion, I had been moving slowly inside her. Marg had been humping her hips to meet my every movement. I increased my stroke and she matched my movement. It felt very good. Actually, it felt better than good it felt absolutely marvellous.

Like all good things, it had to come to an end. I tried to hold back but unfortunately, it just felt too good. My orgasm was intense but quick. What made it even better was that Marg kissed me at the same time. We lay together for some time not talking and then I slipped off to sleep.

I awoke to find that it was morning and I was alone. I got up and moved down the passageway. The door to the master bedroom was open so I looked in to find Julie alone in the bed. I entered, lay down beside her and kissed her.

She opened her eyes and said, “Hello lover. How are you?”

“I’m fine, Cheeky. How are you?”

“I’m great. I had a wonderful night and I know you enjoyed yours.”

“Yes, it was good to be with Marg again. Where’s Cherie?”

“She heard Marg when she walked down the passageway and went to join her. I thought she would be back by now. They must have a few things to talk about, I guess.”

“Yes, Marg thinks she is close to ovulating and we didn’t use protection. She said she would talk to Cherie about it this morning.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I’ll accept any decision that Cherie and Marg make. The decision has to be theirs.”

We didn’t interrupt them but stayed in the bedroom talking and cuddling. Around thirty minutes later Cherie came to the bedroom with a couple of cups of coffee. She smiled at Julie but seemed to ignore me.

I was a bit worried that she was angry with me. I was concerned for Marg. Had I broken up their relationship? I certainly hope not.

“Goyse, do you mind leaving Julie and me alone for a while there is something that I need to talk to her about.”

'Oh fuck,' I thought I’ve done it now.

“OK, I’ll go down and join Marg.” I took my cup of coffee off the table where Cherie had left it and moved to leave. As I did so I looked at Julie who gave me a little smile. At least I knew that I was OK there but I was worried that I had upset Cherie.

When I arrived at the kitchen, Marg had started preparing breakfast. I didn’t know what to say to her so I said nothing and just took a glass and filled it with water. I was about to drink it when Marg spoke.

“Why so glum. Are you OK?”

“Yep, I’m OK but a little worried about Cherie. She’s upstairs talking to Julie about something.”

“Yes, she told me she needed to talk to her.”

“Why? Do you know what it’s about?”

“All in good time, Goyse, I expect she will talk to you next. Be patient.”

Marg didn’t seem to be worried but I was still concerned. I knew how close Cherie was to Marg and I hoped that I hadn’t caused her a problem. I finished my coffee and made another one for both Marg and me. There was still no sign of Julie or Cherie. Whatever it was they were talking about was taking some time.

Eventually, I could hear them coming down the stairs. They were just in time as Marg was serving our breakfast. I looked up at them and Julie smiled again. She was following Cherie and she gave me a wink to go with the smile. Whatever it was had not upset Julie.

We sat down to breakfast. There was no conversation which was unusual for us. Eventually, Cherie looked at me and said, “I have a favour to ask of you Goyse. If you don’t want to, it will be OK with us. We would like you to do it but we also don’t want you to feel that you have to just because we are friends.”

“Hhhmmmm, a favour I don’t mind. I was a bit worried because you look as if you were upset with me.”

“Upset with you, why?”

“Just Marg and I last night, that’s all.”

“Goyse you need to understand, if it hadn’t been for you I doubt that Marg and I would have got together. Marg liked me and I liked Marg but neither of us would ever have told the other if you have not got us together on that boat show weekend years ago. So what I’m saying is that whatever you and I or you and Marg do together will not cause either of us problems or concerns. We consider you as part of our relationship. I trust you, Goyse and I know that Marg does too.”

“Oh thanks, I’m glad you feel that way because you and Marg are important to me too. Now, what is it that you want?”

“As you would know, Marg and I have purchased this unit that we live in. We need to get some work done on it. We have a contractor but he is a bit of a sleaze. He keeps trying to put the heavies on me but I’m not interested. We were wondering if you might move across and live with us for a week or two. If he sees a man living there it should keep him under control.”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind doing that but it would mean Julie and I would be apart. I’d find that difficult.”

“We expect that Julie could come over too. That’s what we agreed, wasn’t it Julie?”

“Yes, if Goyse comes over I would like to come with him.”

“It’s settled then.”

The days passed quickly. I returned to work and found that the company had offered Julie a low-level management position outside my main area of responsibility. The job had been advertised previously but there had been no applicants with suitable qualifications. Julie accepted and I agreed that it was a good move for her to get outside my area of influence.

I was disappointed in course as she had done such a magnificent job while I had been over east. This meant that I had to look around for a suitable person to train up. I approached Ronny but she declined, stating that she and her husband were soon to consider retirement.

I asked her if she had thought about training someone to fill her position for when the time came. The answer was in the negative.

Ronny came back later in the day and told me that she had given it a lot of thought and there simply was no one in the local business presently that would be suitable to train. She then asked if I knew of anyone. I told her that I did know someone but that person was not working for our company.

Her immediate reaction was, “Could we employ her?”

My reaction was, “Why are you assuming that it is a woman?”

“You’re thinking of using a man as your administration assistant?”

“Not necessarily but there is no reason why a man could not do the job in the same way as some of the traditional male jobs should be open to women.”

“You’re full of surprises, Goyse. That’s why I enjoy working so much with you.”

“Thanks, Ronny. When I propose such ideas to my staff and our crews I don’t always get such a positive reaction. As for a potential person, for you to train, I will be meeting a suitable person shortly. I’ll ask her if she would be interested.”

“So it is a woman then?”

“Yes, it is someone that I have a great deal of faith in. She is well qualified but is working in a job that is not much of a challenge to her. If she accepts, we will make her Julie’s replacement.”

“I guess I would be out of line asking you who she is.”

“You would be, Ronny but since I know that you can keep things quiet, her name is Cherie. She is a pretty special lady who I knew over east.”

“I remember that you and Julie have spoken of her before. Getting some help here now that Julie has been promoted would be good. How soon could she start?”

“At this stage, it is just a thought, Ronny. I’ll need to speak to Cherie to see if she is interested first. After that, we will need to write the justification. We could use Julie’s to start with. It should still be on file.”

“I’ll get on to it straight away.”

That night I spoke to Cherie about it and she was very keen. For her, it meant a full-time job, more money and working with someone that she knows.

By the time I returned to work the next morning the justification had already been written and was sitting on my desk. It seemed that Ronny was very keen, now to convince the other managers.

The following week, Cherie was ready to start work. She and Ronny hit it off straight away. I was surprised how quickly Cherie learned the ropes.

Within a month she was running the office using Ronny as an assistant. It was important that Ronny was happy with the arrangement so I called her into my office on a Friday afternoon.

“Ronny, how is our new starter going?”

“She’s amazing. Give her another couple of weeks and she will be running the place. It looks as if she is going to be another Julie. She keeps asking questions about the plant, trying to find out as much as she can about the operation.”

“She knows Julie quite well. Maybe she understands that if she learns enough she may have a chance of moving up a few levels. Are you comfortable with the way it’s going?”

“It’s great for me. With only a couple of years to go before I retire, I’m happy to allow her to run the place. Are you happy with it all?”

“I’ve never been happier, Ronny. Julie is doing well and Cherie seems to be fitting in well too. The only problem that we may have is that if Cherie does progress through to a better job we will need another assistant.”

“If we can keep her here for another nine months, I have a niece that is finishing a management course around then. Perhaps if we get the timing right she might be interested and she is very bright.”

“OK, let’s keep it in mind and see what happens.”

That evening I spoke to Cherie and told her that her enthusiasm was impressing everybody, everybody that matters that is. She was very happy with the feedback and gave me a hug to show it.

She then asked if she could speak privately with me. I nodded my agreement.

“Marg and I have discussed the risk that she took when you and she spent the night together and she has decided to go back on the pill.”

“It sounds to be a sensible move unless Marg wants to have another child.”

“We talked about that as well. She was not certain if she wanted to or not. I suggested that unless she was certain she should not take the risk.”

“Yes, I would agree with that. To commit twenty or more years to raising a child is not something to be taken lightly. I think that Marg is doing the right thing.”

“You know that I had a baby when I was young and my mother raised it as her own.”

“Yes, you told me years ago on the boat show weekend.”

“I thought I had. I often feel concerned that I missed out on being able to raise my own baby. It’s one of a number of regrets that I have about my life. The other is that with the exception of Marg I really have never had a meaningful relationship. Marg and I are very close but we are more like very close friends with benefits if you know what I mean.”

“Where is this leading, Cherie?”

“Be patient, Goyse. I want you to understand, to know how I feel and how I think.”

“Marg understands how I feel and I understand how she feels as well. We have no secrets from each other. When we talked about the risk that she took, she pointed out that I also would be taking a risk because if we are to live in the same house together, assuming Julie agrees I would like to have sex with you.”

“Yes, I had expected as much.”

“Good. Marg asked me if I would be going on the pill as well.”

“Sounds like a reasonable question.”

“I told her that I didn’t want to. I told her that I have been thinking of having a child of my own, one that Marg and I raise together.”

“That is a surprise.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised. I know how perceptive you are, Goyse and I know that I don’t have to tell you how I feel.”

“Please, Cherie don’t go there. You know how important that Julie is to me and how important I am to her. To even discuss this subject, I would feel that I was deceiving Julie and I don’t want to do that.”

“So you are telling me that I must go on the pill. Is that it?”

“No, I wasn’t talking about the pill. I was talking about how we both feel about each other. Cherie. We will be living close together and can enjoy each other’s company. If Julie agrees, we may sleep together from time to time but taking the relationship any further is out of the question. The point that I’m making is that Julie always comes first. If Julie agrees and you were certain that you wanted a child then we would need to talk it over with her.”

“I already have. She has no objection as long as she can be present and as long as you agree.”

“You surprise me but OK, then it is settled. When will this take place?”

“Once we move into the unit at your place. I’ve had an IUD fitted a while back because I thought that there was a chance that you and I may get together sooner or later. When the time is right I’ll just remove it and hopefully, nature takes over.”

“You’ve got this well planned.”

“Yes, I’ve felt that attraction that you have for Marg and me for some time now so I’ve had plenty of time to plan it all. I was just waiting for the opportunity and Julie has given us that.”

“Did Marg know about your plan?”

“No, we talk about most things but it was a subject that I only skimmed over with her. She would not have known that I had made my decision but she did know that I was thinking about it. That was the reason that I got a bit upset when I thought that she may have beaten me to it. I thought that she may have spoiled my plans. I decided then and there that I needed to talk it through with Julie and ask her to support me.”

“So that’s the reason that you took so long talking to her that morning? I was wondering what was going on.”

“Yes, I not only told her that I wanted your child but I was honest about my feelings as well.”

“So how did she take that? She would have realized that you could be a risk to her.”

“I guess so. She made me promise that I wouldn’t try to break you up.”

“Shit, how did you handle that?”

“I just told her that I had no chance anyway because you would protect her interests. I told her that you had already told Marg that if she tried to come in between you and Julie that she would be asked to leave. I then went on to say that if you told Marg that then no one else stood a chance.”

“Why did you say that to her?”

“I told her that because it is the truth. I know that you try to hide it but I know you still have a soft spot for Marg. She was the one but she turned you down. Do you know why Marg broke it off with you when she did?”

“Yes, I think so. I didn’t understand at the time but I think I do now.”

“So I don’t have to tell you that she sacrificed her happiness to save you a lot of pain and hardship.”

“Why are we talking about this, Cherie?”

“I just wanted you to know, that’s all.”

“OK, how’s the job going? Are you enjoying it?”

“Yes, the job is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time. I really appreciate you giving me that opportunity. I won’t forget it and I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t let me down. If you were not the right person for the job you would not have been offered it.”

“That’s quite a vote of confidence.”

“You have already told me that I am a good observer. I’ve seen enough of you and what you have done to know that you were the best person for the job at the time. I do worry though that we may be too close to each other. I wouldn’t like our relationship to interfere with our work.”

“I can’t see that happening.”

“Good.”

Julie and I spent two weeks living with Marg and Cherie. It worked. The sleazy workman left Cherie alone. I made a point of kissing her a couple of times in a situation where he could see and that was that.

 Shortly after we returned home, Debbie rang and said that she and Gloria would be available to move in with us the following week. Julie and Debbie discussed their plans. I knew very little except that the girls would be moving into the spare bedroom and they would be staying with us at least one month.